Personal project overseeing refits of personal strikecraft and light combat vessels. Considerable damage from blackout, disruptions in sensor arrays still present. Hard reset of many systems expected, and replacement of sensitive hardware likely.
Details
After completion of Duskstorm, and subsequent blackout of gate/lane network, many systems relying on advanced Leniex-grade sensor suites were damaged, discalibrated, or otherwise disabled following sector-wide darkening. I've maintained complex presets and diagrams aboard many of my personal vessels, and until now I haven't had time to go through them and recalibrate all the necessary systems.
Freeroll will encompass my personal designs, as well as assets I've kept aside for myself and trusted personnel. Nothing larger than an Inquisitor, but far more delicate.
AV Vindicator - 'Defiant MkII'-class Gunship
Systems aboard this thing are largely non-responsive, even after some tinkering. Hardware details appear to still be operational, and she'll make speed with the rest of them, but gunnery, sensory, systems that rely on coded data from the on-board analysis suite and cyberwarfare modules need a full rework.
Life support remains operational, although it's overcalibrated for the amount of people we have now. As such, it chugs fuel like no one's business. A simple fix, but requires delving into the deep engineering sections.
Overall, the gunship will need extensive work, but it's definitely preferable to calibrating a civilian design.
Blackjack MkI - 'Defender'-class Heavy Fighter
Personal combat patrol craft, and the one I'm most concerned with. I kept a lot of data on this thing, and since the blackout I haven't been able to access it. The dashboard doesn't light up, and although I hear the reactor wirring when the ignition is hit, it doesn't send any power return. Guns will need re-calibration as well.
The ship itself would be a regrettable loss, but the data inside is my primary concern. Still confident that it's doable.
Blackjack MkII - 'Upholder'-class Strike Bomber
Not as much data aboard this one, and I think the ship I'd be least upset with losing if it turns out to be unsalvageable. Bomb locks have been jammed since the blackout, and the entire targeting array is completely disrupted. Hull damage was also taken during Duskstorm, although nothing extensive. Thruster damage, hull markings on the wing.
There are some packets within the ship's computer detailing the Scouring of Bering that I wasn't able to offload before Piledriver, but otherwise not a substantial loss if it can't be fixed.
Double Down - 'Executioner MkIII'-class Interceptor
Would be a shame to lose this one, but damage from the blackout doesn't appear too extensive. Loss of targeting past 200 meters, tracking is out, and only one of the engine emitters actually sends out thrust. Might be a quick fix, although tracking will be a bitch to recalibrate.
Remnant of Chrysalis, this thing is. Good memories. Let's hope I can make more with it.
Flush - 'Avenger MkII'-class Very Heavy Fighter
I think next to Blackjack 2, this is a ship I don't think I'd miss too much. Same general combat setup as Double Down, though with a much heavier profile.
Blackout damage appears to mainly be with weapons calibration, although there are some strange actions with the cargo bay doors that give me a frighten. Too much force when they open, which could be terrifying in a firefight. Aside from that, the usual thruster damage and a lock on the sensor array shouldn't be too hard to fix.
Makes sense that it's sturdy, though. Thing's a tank.
Equipment
The following ships are being earmarked for project focus:
AV Vindicator
Blackjack MkI
Blackjack MkII
Double Down
Flush
In addition, prior access to Omega-level protocols has been given. Directed uplink to the Gladius Network for sensor detection, gate/lane connectivity, and general usage will be enabled for all vessels listed above.
Status
The current status of this project is:
COMPLETE
This project has been completed, and all data from the process catalogued for future use. It has thus been placed into archive.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Hour 1 Profile: Adm. Amy West
Subject: Blackjack MkI
Details
The Mark I is showing signs of improvement, but there's still a good stretch of work to be done. The exhaust manifolds are more corroded than I first suspected, and that lack of energy to ship systems was definitely a transfer issue. I'd been looking at the couplings behind the rear cockpit panel, but nothing seemed out of place, so I pulled them back, and right inside the junction box was part of the coupling that had been fused into the transfer relay.
Took a good few minutes to pry that piece out, but I'll need another heavy duty coupling to keep these cords fastened. We likely have some in storage, maybe even aboard the Incursus, so I'll make a trip over and see what we have in stock after submitting this update.
On top of this, I've been able to access root functions within the ship's computer, but no dice getting the main OS operational. Diagnostics showed the computer was compiling a large data packet for transfer to the network right as the blackout hit. Normally EMP waves from even ion storms don't trigger a massive data flush, but peak load combined with whatever that blackout really was seemed like too much for the software to handle.
I'm frankly not really sure I can salvage the computer, but I'll keep going through the root systems and see if I can fish anything up. I haven't looked through bypassing it yet, since I value the data in this thing, but I'd rather not go through the whole process of reinstalling an entire bootleg combat OS that I may not even have in storage anymore.
Once I have any further updates, I'll submit them here. So far, not looking too hot for the MkI.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Day 2 Profile: Adm. Amy West
Subject: AV Vindicator & Double Down
Details
Double Down
Had a good look at the internals today, and quickly righted the engine issue. Turned out to be a simple coupler adjustment, but the real meat of the problems are with the systems. Got the main computer back up, but so far been feeding me junk info. Likely blackout-induced electrical streams of the old data. Some of it looked familiar, which is how I caught it at all. Like I said, it's gonna be a bitch to get this thing recalibrated.
I'll do some cross-examination with Blackjack I tomorrow and see if I can't apply some of the same techniques to get past the boot errors. Maybe some of the targeting data is still valid, and I can copy it over to Double Down.
AV Vindicator
Looks like I wasn't wrong with this thing being a glorified tug boat. Main computer's powering up now at least, but like Double Down it's throwing me a lot of errors and a lot of garbage data, only I'm not seeing anything familiar here. Poking through the root functions doesn't tell me much either, although poking around in safe mode got me one of the turrets firing, which was a hell of a shock to the one engineer doing an outside sweep.
I was able to connect the ship to the network, though. No feedback, obviously, but the network did acknowledge the ship's computer. Hoping to use that as a backdoor utilizing admin access via computers aboard the Incursus.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Day 3 Profile: Adm. Amy West
Subject: Blackjack I & Blackjack II
Details
Blackjack I
Hunch paid off, big time.
Some of the side programs from Double Down pulled a soft bypass on the main OS files. Simple reboot cleared up nearly everything, although I'll have to figure out how to bring the dashboard lights back online. Might be a temporary fix, but I was able to access nearly all files inside.
Data aboard was as I left it, and I almost don't want to transfer it to the Incursus databanks given its sensitive nature. Until I'm confident the fix is set, it'll stay in the computer. Other than that, ship should be ready for practical tests and recalibration.
Blackjack II
Spent nearly all day working on Blackjack I that I nearly forgot about working on this one. First analysis is still accurate, so not a whole lot of things to fix.
The bypass worked just as well here as for Blackjack I. I'm more confident here, so I've transferred what data was aboard to the Incursus. Again, it's mostly details from the Scouring of Bering, although there are rather unsettling comm logs from the Invictus before she went down. Forgot I was out covering her during that attack.
Mechanically, bomb locks appear to be seized shut, which will only take about an hour given the right tools. Definitely something to do tomorrow. Once those are clear, ship should be ready for tests and recalibration.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Day 4 Profile: Adm. Amy West
Subject: Blackjack II, Blackjack I, & Flush
Details
Blackjack II
Took a good while this morning to track down the right kind of torch to unseize the bomb locks, but persistence pays off eventually. Figured it would take longer, but I suppose unprotected heat exposure to material designed to endure vacuum induced cold isn't all that susceptible to locking. Took probably five or ten minutes.
Good news is that taking the launchers off the mounts didn't damage the hull fittings. Bad news, the pods are completely unsalvageable. Figured this would happen, which is why I've already ordered replacements. I need to recalibrate the targeting systems anyway, so no need to keep the old gear working when newer gear will do it better with less error. Blackjack II is ready for testing and calibration. I don't anticipate this will take long.
Blackjack I
Turned out the temporary fix is still holding up well. No glitches in the software, which tells me that I can likely keep using it in faith on the rest of the lineup. Makes my life easier.
I've transferred all data to a locked personal archive within the network, segmented across the system. With that secured, all that should be left is recalibration, which I can do later. It's usually the better part of this kind of work, anyway.
Flush
Haven't touched this one until now. Least extensive damage from the blackout, likely since I didn't fly this one much during Duskstorm. More of a light situation fighter, for joyrides or patrols where we had way too many allies, back when we had allies.
Damage to this one seems to be mostly focused on software issues, although the cargo doors were a notable problem during the initial lookover. Not a hard issue to fix, same with weapons calibration, although the prospect of placing my trust in math that I'm not too sure about isn't reassuring. After a look over, it appears to be a circuit issue with the main bay door motor, which requires I either climb into the cargo hold myself, or waddle through the access hatch behind the cockpit. Neither seem very fun.
I'll work it over after I've had another look at the gunship tomorrow. For now, it will wait until then.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Day 6 Profile: Adm. Amy West
Subject: AV Vindicator & Double Down
Details
AV Vindicator
Had to go back through my notes about this one. Convenient that I was aboard the Incursus when I did, so it wasn't much of a trip to the network hub.
Once a connection was established, I started combing through what the gunship mainframe was sending me. Most of it was the same usual garbage packets, but after a while the connection seemed to sever on its own, and then came back not long after. At first, I assumed it was a faulty board in the mainframe, but one of the engineers aboard sent word over that the ship's reactor had restarted itself. Sure enough, checking the ship's systems through the network confirmed this, which tells me that the issue is fixable, but likely going to be one hell of a pain in the head.
What the ship needs is a total systems overhaul. Honestly, I should've suspected this from the start, but I was likely too proud of my own modifications to consider it. Regardless, I need a day at least to check if we have the right supplies to overhaul the mainframe, as well as the rest of the ship's networking hardware. Thankfully, this won't require rewiring the whole ship. Can't imagine how much of a headache that would've been.
Double Down
Got calibration data from Blackjack I copied over to this one. It's not a plug-and-play fix, but it's enough of a starting point to begin refinement when the rest of the work is done.
The rest of the grey data seems to have purged itself when the ship booted back up, so from what I can tell the computer is clean, save for the scuffed targeting data. All that should be left is calibration, which I suppose I'll have to do without the gunship, assuming we don't have the materials I need here or for sale on Barrier Gate.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Day 9 Profile: Adm. Amy West
Subject: Flush & AV Vindicator
Details
Flush
Harrowing experience, but the cargo bay doors are running better than I expected after that amount of work. I decided to climb into the cargo bay directly, which thankfully didn't end with me split in two. While I suspected the drive motors for the doors were the issue, the actual issue appeared to be cross-looped wiring directly in contact with pathing for the weapons on the wings. Seems it was also the root cause behind the faulty thruster emissions in the rear, which nails two birds here. A quick covering for the cables, plus some extra fasteners to keep them apart this time, and it all ran like a dream.
Wish I could say the same for the sensor array, but that's what the end-project calibration is for. At least I won't have to worry about compensating for overcharge.
AV Vindicator
This took a lot longer than I expected, but on the gunship I can't say I'm really surprised. A lot of the hardware replacement was done in the first few hours of Day 7, but the real meat of the headache came from reconfiguring all the sensory data and all of the inter-ship connections. Using coding lattice is damn helpful and efficient as hell, but setting it up and fixing it is akin to torture.
I think I've finally got most of it reconnected, though. None of the weapon fixtures will fire without proper targeting configurations, an annoying safeguard on this class of ship, but I suppose that means that I'm finally at the point where I can start fine-tuning the combat data. I won't be able to simply copy Blackjack I's settings, but I can at least have fun watching the Brimstone turrets blast rocks in the nebula.
I guess this means all that's left is the mass-calibration. This is gonna take ages to fine-tune.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Day 11 Profile: Adm. Amy West
Subject: Recalibration - Blackjack I
Details
Blackjack I
All systems appear to be working well enough. The computer takes a bit longer than I remember to boot up, but maybe I've gotten used to the Incursus' direct linking.
Primary weapons linked back in no problem. A bit finicky getting these legacy Hacker weapons to sync right, but a bit of clever linking quickly solved that issue. Pulsar cannons linked in no problem, as did supplementary equipment.
Targeting and efficiency took a good while to dial in, but I've got accuracy tight enough at least to hit the same marker consistently. Glad I didn't have to rebuild the settings from scratch.
Blackjack I should be good to go. Now for the others.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Day 17 Profile: Adm. Amy West
Subject: Recalibration - AV Vindicator
Details
AV Vindicator
Gunship again took ages to get tuned back into shape, although a lot of that had to do with some problems showing up again. Caused some of the lattice to become undone, and links were mixed up a bit before I noticed. Another headache, but I accepted that when I started writing up the lattice again.
Now, though, it's running like a dream. No bumps, no glitches, and only every now and then does the ship's age start to show up before the lattice starts accounting for that. That class at MIT just keeps paying for itself.
AV Vindicator is back to working order. Registry will be updated shortly to reflect.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Day 19 Profile: Adm. Amy West
Subject: Recalibration - Flush
Details
Flush
First point of note, it's very satisfying hearing one of these things power up and idle without any clanking or background noise weirdness. It just fires up and hums like a dream. This thing never got much use before, so there's less wear and tear, but that's gonna change here soon.
Sensor array calibration and weapons targeting were the order here, and thankfully they don't take too long to set up, especially when I have a copy of the data from Blackjack I on hand. It needed some adjustments, since this one's a full burner, but it'll make bringing Double Down back up to snuff a breeze. A shame each one had to have their own sensor data, but fine-tuning that isn't difficult. Probably better that Flush doesn't have infiltration packages outside of cyberwarfare. Not going to be hacking much beyond people's air filtration.
Still, array's back up to snuff, and no lattice needed, so I may even be able to get to another one today before other business takes over.
Happy to say Flush is back in working order.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
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