NationStates Jolt Archive

"No no no!" an engineer called out as he threw a pen at the scientist in the Ashertonopolis Imperial University Science and Technology Research Center. "You can't do that with the FA-01 Goshawk! Its just not practical!"

"Well, its probably the largest platform to stick an FTL module onto!" the scientist said. "Besides, it'll only lose most of the missile hardpoints on one of the wings to mount the module!"

"Unacceptable," Lieutenant Commander Kyle Johnson of the 457th Assault Corp spoke up. "We need those missiles to hit enemy capital ships! You can't bring down a cruiser with that many torpedoes... maybe a destroyer or two, but good luck with the cruiser."

"Theres just no way to make the drives smaller yet still pack a substantial FTL range," the science said. "The current drives at the size I projected have a range of 5 LYs and are probably half the size of a boxcar..."

"Thats another thing, you're putting too much weight on the wing," the engineer noted. "In a high-speed dogfight, the module will do more damage than the enemy!"

"What if we mounted it on the rear of the spacecraft and jettisoned it when we're done with it?" Johnson asked.

"Theres just no way the government would allow us to dump valuable hardware like that into open space in that kind of quantity," the engineer said as he sipped his coffee. "We need to find a way to make a module the size of a drop-tank, yet be able to jump from the New Haven system to the Asherton system in one charge..."

There was a knock at the door that interupted Chief Engineer Brian Goodyear. "I'd like to inform you that the Shanderan engineers you invited are arriving now on the monorail from the spaceport," a secretary noted. "They'll be here in five minutes... and boys, try not to kill each other before they get here."

"You invited the Shanderans here?" Johnson asked. "We could've done this on our own! They didn't even develop the hyperspace module!"

"Yeah, but they designed the Goshawk," Goodyear replied. "If you have a problem with it, I can ask your commanding officer if you can be reassigned back to your squad." Johnson remained quiet as the door handle turned and the door began to open.

"So, who's the cocky little pigfucker that seems to think that he knows my fighters better than I do?" questioned a greying man in a white labcoat as he walked through the door.

"Who the hell is the old man?" questioned Johnson.

"I, you Allanean dogsmoker, am Dr. James Barton. I designed the Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, and every ship in service with your navy. I suggest that you shut the hell up and play hide and go fuck yourself before I have you flying something that came out of a lego box for the rest of your career." shot the Bryn Shanderan engineer.

"Why you stupid son of a bit-" Lt. Commander Johnson said as he started to pull his sword from his scabbard.

"HEY! PUT THAT SHIT BACK WHERE IT BELONGS RIGHT NOW!" Goodyear yelled at Johnson. "Get the fuck out of here and don't come back until you get your shit straightened out." Johnson slid the sword back into its scabbard and left through the back door. "I'm sorry for the behavior of our military advisor... anyway, thanks for coming. You did read the briefing paperwork I sent via secure courier, right?"

As Goodyear was talking to Barton, Doctor Thomas Young (professor of advanced hyperspace physics at the Ashertonopolis Imperial University) began jotting down seemingly random equations and crude graphs, including a doodle of a fish with a horn on its head. "Fuck yeah!" Young yelled out as he put the marker down.

"Care to share this revelation, Professor Young?" Goodyear asked.

"Well, I got to thinking... do we really need to be able to jump fighters from system to system? No... but we can make it so they can hyperspace within the confines of a star system. We would have to find a way to further refine the Hermium from 75% to 88%, but the added energy capacity would allow us to be able to make a droptank-sized module that might fit within the weight load limits of the Goshawk... Doctor Barton, could you check over my calculations real fast on the mass limits?"

"They look fine, but we'll need to further refine the Hermium in order to make space for a small powerplant on the module. The Goshawk's powerplant can't run the avionics, engines, weapons, and this new drive at the same time. Otherwise we'd have to kill the weapons and engines before charging the drive in flight."

"I need to talk with a few guys with the metallurgy department, but it may be possible to develop a method to boost the refinement process even further," Goodyear replied. "I don't see any reason why they wouldn't... unless they are completely fucking off at all the conferences they go to."

Barton walked across the room and picked up the phone. "Patterson? Get your sorry ass up here, we have work to do! Bring Jenkins with you, we have a few ideas to throw around..."

"I need to talk with a few guys with the metallurgy department, but it may be possible to develop a method to boost the refinement process even further," Goodyear replied. "I don't see any reason why they wouldn't... unless they are completely fucking off at all the conferences they go to."

Barton walked across the room and picked up the phone. "Patterson? Get your sorry ass up here, we have work to do! Bring Jenkins with you, we have a few ideas to throw around..."