All Stars Burn as One [Republic flagship construction]

[Jessica Med-Beq]

All Stars Burn as One

OOC thread

OOC:

The Republic has taken several beatings, fighting off two major Rebellions in a month. Desperately seeking to regain its former glory in light-sided space, the Republic knew that they needed a ship capable of fending off even the largest enemy ships their enemies could throw at them, such as heavy battlecruisers. For something truly one-of-a-kind in today's galaxy, to boldly go where no faction has gone before. Not even the One Sith, at the height of its power, was actually capable of building such a ship. But the Republic had more than one trick up its sleeve: they could count on fleeters to actually know what works and what doesn't. Oh, you will say, dark-sided factions have heavy battlecruisers (ten Resurgence Mk.III-class battlecruisers for the First Order, the Darr Itah for the One Sith) but the Republic had even grander plans than what these dark-sided factions had.

With the dark side having the upper hand in the heavy battlecruiser segment of the market, it was time for the light side to fight back. They were not going to be outdone by the Alliance or the Silvers, would they?

For reference, here are the Flagship Rules:

Spoiler

1. Only Major Factions may own Flagships.

2. Flagships are a prefix located in the Star Wars: Open Role-Playing forum.

3. The requirements of the Flagship thread are as follows:

a. The thread must be a minimum of 400 posts.

b. There must be at least 7 writers actively involved in the thread.

c. The thread is public and is open to any other Major Faction to join.

d. The production - or possession - of the Flagship must be the thread's major focal point.

5. No player may captain a ship over 3,000 meters without the Major Faction Owner's consent.

6. No ship over 3,000 meters will be approved for any Major Faction without a completed Flagship thread.

7. Each Flagship must be labeled Unique.

***


Stage 1 phase objectives:

• Press the case for the construction of a flagship to the Senate Armed Services Committee
• Determine the allowable budget for its construction (if the case is successfully made for the flagship to be authorized in the first place)
• Determine the scope statement (under the same proviso)

Objectives that aren't phase-specific:

• Rumors of Mandalorian and/or One Sith spies related to the flagship project abound. Investigate the espionage allegations and, if found, dispose of the spies and their equipment.
• Do your own thing.

***

IC: Yutan, Senate building. The Armed Services Committee issued a call for projects under the Sentinel Initiative, aimed at re-equipping the Republic Armed Services. The main item of concern to some of the senior fleeters, the more senior naval officers, that is, was the Darr Itah, the One Sith flagship, which essentially, from the Republic's standpoint, acted as an enemy fleet-in-being. The Republic had, simply put, no way to effectively fight the Darr Itah even after many of the main heavy One Sith units, such as the Immortal Titan and the Hungering Mynock, were destroyed over Dulvoyinn, or in its wake. Simply put, the Darr Itah's last known location, Bassadro, forced the Republic to keep several kilometers' worth of ships around Duro (Hosnian Prime was a more vulnerable target but not one the One Sith was interested in) even as Mandalorian fleets engaged the Republican forces over Mimban and Deneba in that order. Compounding their woes, they knew only senior Sith Lords or fleeters were granted the right to captain it. But Charzon was nervous: Ringovinda StarYards' expertise lied in making sure even the largest ships could land on planetary surfaces and in the more exotic heavy emplacements, as mounted on the Exodus-class ships and later on the Star Destroyer-sized classes that emerge from Jessica's crazy visions, for one of which Charzon was willing to risk herself in person during the daring raid on Kuat Drive Yards and she was to go to Jabiim to finish the job. Marcia and Jessica were sent home while Charzon was to proceed to Yutan with all haste.

"The Senate Armed Services committee hearing is about to begin" a Senate guard told Charzon and the host of representatives of the consortium that submitted a bid for the flagship.

"Roger, roger"

The consortium included a good number of names known to the Senate Armed Services Committee: Lucerne Labs, Mon Calamari Shipyards, Inquisition Industries, Sasori Research, but Ringovinda StarYards was a rather unknown quantity to Republican eyes beyond what they did over Gyndine. As such it was a last-minute addition. And from what is publicly known about the Republican discretionary budget, it could amount to spending the entire discretionary budget of 1.8 billion and then some: the Senate Appropriations Committee was to hold its hearing later.

Spoiler

[member="Suravi Teigra"] [member="Caius Flavian"] [member="Khyros Sunblade"] [member="Thalia Kaia"] [member="Ayumi Pallopides"] [member="Gir Quee"] [member="Katagiri Ike"] [member="Reshmar"] [member="Sanya Val Swift"] [member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

MEANWHILE
UMBARA SYSTEM
REPUBLIC

An unmanned Kal'ika recon probe exited hyperspace at the edge of the Umbara system, about fifty astronomical units from the nearest inhabited world, too far for reversion sensors to pick up the decant. The current composition of Republic territory was largely an unknown, and this particular stealth probe had been dispatched to assess Umbara's big picture. General level of defense, presence of fleets or major orbital installations, prevalence of traffic, that sort of thing. Using passive sensors from 50 AU wouldn't yield much in the way of detail, but the probe had been designed for this, and at this point every little bit helped.

Ten light-years away, in deep space, Vesta waited aboard a Tegaanalir patrol craft. The probe would transmit its report once it had a good picture of what was going on, or a partial report if detected and attacked. Ideally, though, the probe would go unnoticed. It would tell the Mandalorians what large-scale presence the Republic might have in the Umbara system: shipyards, fleets, et cetera. An identical probe was on its way to the nearby Taboon system, with the same mission profile and stealth precautions.

What would they discover?

 

[Caius Flavian]

I was getting increasingly tired of having to be smuggled into Republic held space.
This time I managed to secure passage on a freighter which happened to be traveling the breadth of the Parlemian Trade Route.
The ships captain was oddly a hutt named Bubba. Friendly for a hutt, his little smuggling gang were small timing it and did so for profit to simply travel.
Very much the odd Hutt. Although disgusting physically the Hutts were certainly a unique species in the galaxy having retained a slice of space for thousands of years under their numerous cartels.
This one was oddly a redneck historian, thus our conversations were pleasant enough to pass the time.
Never have I felt the need for a good scrub after being aboard that ship. For whatever reason he was hauling Nerfs to a client in the Umbaran system.
He jokingly discussed one day opening a food chain called Bubba's Burger Hutt.
After trying what I can only describe as the most toxic looking chili to exist in this galaxy I was surprisingly deceived by its taste.
Life was a little strange...

I managed to get dropped off at Bimmisaari. Saying farewell to Bubba and his odd bunch of crew members was going to remain an unspoken experience for having consorted with xenos for so long. I made my way to the government buildings and presented my credentials to the local authorities at Glastro.
After spending sometime among the social elite of Bimm society I stole away for a night on the town.
Glastro was a beautiful place, the plethora of xenos cultures and species, the food there certainly was weird.

I booked passage through Space Available on a Republic naval vessel.
A Praetorian Class Corvette called the Virtuous Warden, I appreciated the name more than the design but it was certainly an intriguing little vessel.
I met with the ships captain and gave a few speeches and talks to the crew on the importance of their work.
Although I felt it was a success I certainly gauged in the eyes of many of the junior and younger crew a look of confusion given my background.
Still though it was in my personal interests and agenda to ensure the prosperity of the Republic and strengthen its resolve form the lowest level to the highest.

At least that was the plan.
Execution of said plan was of course the most challenging experience thus far experienced at this point.
When word had reached me of the pending resignation of [member="Jack Sparrow"] from the office of Supreme Chancellor I was semi-shocked.
Before I had joined the Ranks of the Republic I was honestly surprised at the fact a pirate had become the SC.
However his thus far hands off policy in many regards worked to the advantage of the Senate where I was presently a member of.
The Republic's ministries though required a lot of taming and thus I had managed to secure the seat of Chairperson over the newly formed Appropriations Committee.
A challenge had risen, not a negative one but a far more positive counter to my own views came in the form of my cohort [member="Martika Varta"], Senator of Umbara. His far more socially progressive views and stringent desire to enforce solid regulations was certainly a kink in my own long term plans. I simply continued to be open minded as much as it pained me but in order to succeed one had to compromise on the personal principles to serve a greater purpose.
Until then I had to wear the veil of a bureaucrat and accomplish things collaboratively.
A further surprise was that of the resignation of the Supreme Commander [member="Willam Forlon"], followed by Chairperson [member="Suravi Teigra"], Senator of Kiribi had stepped down from her office or more or less stepped up I guess to the take over that office in the interim until a new Supreme Commander could be formally confirmed.
After the debacles and genocides and murderous rampages of the Mandolarian Empire and their cronies the Black Tie Syndicate along with the almost typical assault by Sith forces essentially doing the same thing. The Republic's internal leadership was in a high turn over rate and it was certainly a dangerous time.

I honestly looked forward to the day when a lasting peace could be achieved.
I have always admired the martial warrior hood of the Mandolarians.
The rift though that existed now was quite a geopolitical night mare.
It didn't help that the UCM was a decentralized form of government while its upstart neighbor to the north the Mandolarian Empire with its Mandalor the Reclaimer
News from either space or well Mando space was scarce.
I dearly hoped that a peaceful resolution could be made.

Much on my mind, so little time in the universe.
Upon arriving finally to Yutan after a week or so of travelling around in a leap frog fashion I was looking forward to curling up in PJs and recovering from the "hyper lag" of different time zones and worlds.
I preferred just staying in space than on the ground as often as possible to avoid this sort of thing.
I also was having a little bit of recurring back pain combined with the headache.

Other than getting a hot shower and a fresh change of clothes
Speaking of clothing my typical garb of an olive green uniform without its imperial insignia and instead Caridan and Republic regalia adorning it along with black leather officer boots. Chancellor Reagos had requested of me to wear the spiked helmet thing. It looked ridiculous to be honest. I was not one for flashiness, but this station demanded such things. I was a representative and thus essentially karked in the PR department of style sometimes.
I certainly needed to get a new wardrobe it was becoming a habit for a few friendly faces to tease me about being a cookie cut, in my last meeting with [member="Suravi Teigra"] made mention of a shopping trip. I have honestly never done such a thing unless it was picking out clothing for an intelligence op.

So between some space aspirin and an extra strong and well steeped Volegan Bark Tea in my gray steel travel mug I entered the Senate chambers for the Armed Forces Committee meeting.
It seemed a call for new war vessel was being made.
My own mindset was to focus on a expanding the SD and Cruiser numbers over time rather than anything big.
Still though there was merit to having a larger warship and it did not necessarily have to be something incredibly huge like the ole SSD.

I wasn't quite sure what the structure of the committee was now with flurry of changes going around.
The struggle was real having to return to my constituency and sort things out there and then have to come all the way back to Yutan for these tedious affairs.

Taking a presumptive seat next to where the chairperson would sit I opened my datapad and took a look around the chamber.
A number of contributing elements would be here today for this likely first of several meetings.
I noticed that on the official docket this was labelled as "Large Resource Funding" which my jaw cringed ever so slightly at the wording.
Granted I was well aware the issue of taxation was a topic that would arise during this discussion and paying for things.
First I guess was seeing who would be willing to contribute.
The companies listed were some of the leading parts of the industry.
Although I was surprised to see a few were not listed that I might have expected to join in this endeavor.
Still though this was only the beginning and the first things first would be to determine the necessity of even having a capital ship in battle cruiser or above category during this pivotal times.

Yutan's Senate Building was not exactly the most robust of structures.
Still though its security was fairly tight.
The Senate Guard was doing a thorough job these days especially after recent events.
Nothing so far was set in stone.
Hell even the design and look of the ship had yet to be discussed.
No, only the thought and idea of a vessel of war that would defend the Republic.
I dearly hoped it would not look like a mon calamari ship, but my pragmatism often defeated my aesthetic desire for all things pointy and triangle.
The chair was a comfortable brown leather with the basic wheels for the good ole rock and slight roll one could achieve while scooting back and forth.
I actually missed the Chazwa Senate building for at least there the chambers were a little more spacious.
Thankfully ventilation was good in this one.
The temperature outside was warm for my tastes and being on a world with normal gravity and not a weird level of humidity was something to be grateful for.


Senate Armed Forces Committee Meeting

Closed Session: 2210.A

Classification: Secret

Senate Members: [member="Caius Flavian] ; [member="Martika Varta] ; [member="Ayumi Pallopides"] ; [member="Klesta"]
Government Officials: Interim Supreme Commander [member="Suravi Teigra"] ; Director of Technology [member="Katagiri Ike"]

Interviewee: [member="Gir Quee"] CEO of Lucerne Labs; [member="Reshmar"] CEO of Mon Calamari Shipyards; [member="Sanya Val Swift"] CEO of Inquisition Industries; @Ala Crescent CEO of Kiribian Systems Armory; [member="Ciana Teigra"] CEO of Panacea;

Agenda: Large Resource Funding

Location: Yutan

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Charzon was to meet with the representatives of the other companies mentioned in the consortium's documents submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee at some point prior or after the Committee's hearing. She was understandably nervous with some of her staff trying to peddle the wares in the wake of the raid and the follow-up expedition to Jabiim. But as one of the (lesser) heroines of Kuat, she couldn't let go of the notion that she had to lie about what she recovered from the Kuat raid. Kuat-Entralla Engineering, while technically a subsidiary of KDY operating in First Order space, also built ships against which this flagship was to defend against. While she may not know much about the Republic's specific needs and wants, she could always talk about how the One Sith flagship in Bassadro's orbit was a naval straitjacket for the Republic, and the rumors that the Sith Triumvirate may purchase a Resurgence Mk.III-class battlecruiser from Kuat-Entralla or the First Order for use as its flagship. The Senate guard brought Charzon to the hearing room. And one of the main candidates for the position of Supreme Chancellor was to be in the hearing, too. But because most of the other representatives were a little late, she gladly accepted to go first, and she knew that there was a chance that some of the senators would find out about Charzon not actually having stolen the Darr Itah's schematics, nor those of the Resurgence Mk.III-class battlecruiser.

"Greetings, esteemed Senators. As one who personally led a raid on Kuat Drive Yards for stealing starship schematics, I can tell that, since they built several battlecruiser classes susceptible to be used as flagships by our enemies, in fact, one of them already is a factional flagship, the Darr Itah, currently stationed over Bassadro, and the rumor has it that the Sith Triumvirate, to our south, may be placing an order for another battlecruiser class for their use as the Triumvirate's flagship. The Darr Itah has as many as 16 different kinds of weapon systems, missiles, rail guns, ion cannons, turbolasers, light and heavy, many of which have, on average, 30 units onboard. They can overpower any two Star Destroyers we currently have. That is the kind of enemy flagship we're dealing with"

Such a ship is to be a maintenance nightmare worse than even that of the bulk freighter she intends to build in the wake of Jabiim because of the number of hardpoints, even if it was equipped with 60 landing gears. The Resurgence Mk.III-class is just as nightmarish: with nearly 2,000 hardpoints, it is almost like a space porcupine. Charzon did the best she could based on information that they do not know whether the Senators knew it or not. But she was willing to make a gamble about that, and another one for lying about whether she actually stole the schematics or not.

"Among the rumors as applied to the Sith Triumvirate that they neither confirmed nor denied, were that the shortlistees for their flagship competition included either a Darr Itah-class or a Resurgence Mk.III-class battlecruiser. The First Order, however, is using a Resurgence Mk.III for a flagship, about the same size as the Darr Itah: with nearly 2,000 hardpoints, it is capable of delivering a similar punch. Even though we have neutral relationships with the First Order at this point, we need to be prepared for the eventuality that their behemoth fell under Sith Triumvirate hands. I'm sure my colleagues from Lucerne Labs, Mon Calamari Shipyards, Inquisition Industries and Sasori Research, all of which are scheduled to appear for today's hearing will be able to provide the remaining expertise necessary to carry out the project filed under Large Resource Funding for which I have been summoned here today: my expertise mostly pertains to the cargo hold and what makes ships capable of landing on planets. Neither of the classes I mentioned earlier is capable of such a thing, however"

Spoiler

[member="Suravi Teigra"] [member="Caius Flavian"] [member="Khyros Sunblade"] [member="Thalia Kaia"] [member="Ayumi Pallopides"] [member="Gir Quee"] [member="Katagiri Ike"] [member="Reshmar"] [member="Sanya Val Swift"] [member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Beckett Wrath"] [member="Carith Vastili"]

 

[Bubba Da Hutt]

MEANWHILE! [member="Vesta Rekali"]​

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zupqassF6gA

Umbaran System​

SPACE TRUCKING​

Bubba's Big Barge​

Bubba Da Hutt loved his ships speaker system.
Blasting his favorite travelling music.
Tunes that only few enjoyed or were even alive to remember from back in the olden days.
The poor sods of his crew were subjected to it.
Bubba personally flew his vessel and thus had modified the cockpit a few centuries back.
The old freighter was a piece of junk.
But it was Bubba's junk.
He loved it dearly.

Bubba liked the Ghost Nebula.
Bubba had dropped off a paying passenger to Bimmisaari and not too recently back tracked and made his way to Commenor before getting on the old Trellen Route. Now Bubba was had hoped the Human "Senator" being a big wig could get some contracts for Bubba later on transporting around the Republic. It would make smuggling things easier for Bubba long term at least.

Arriving in the Umbaran System was a typical stop for Bubba.
Long ago Bubba had done been exiled for his outlandish views and desires.
Wanderlust had struck this Hutt in his early 100s and when it came time to inherit his clans fortune he spent a great deal of it on travelling.
His great mama was furious with him and tried to toss Bubba into a sarlacc pit as a lesson.
Bubba had spoken to great mama for two centuries now.

Bubba just wanted to see the stars and different worlds.
His first forays into space led tot he death of hundreds of slaves, but Bubba got to see worlds like Yavin and Endor.
During the Gulag Plague Bubba often transported medical supplies.
He typically profited just to get by.

Just like today.
Today was just like every other day for Bubba.
To Bubba the galaxy was just full of a bunch dumb species all trying to make the most out of their short lives and existence.
Bubba still had a long list of places to visit.
Bubba was like all hutts, and viewed those who served him as essentially his property to do with.
They were a loyal bunch though and had no problem doing Bubba's dirty work.
Bubba's figure was not as large as most hutts his age.
Likely cause he kept his weight down to move around his ship better.

Bubba liked Umbara for its bizarre flora.
It was comparable to Felucia in exotic life.
Good hunting too.

Bubba submitted his travel license to the local port authorities.
Being this far out at the edge of the system Bubba liked to take his time getting to the planet proper.
The lesser species tended to get antsy and get close to worlds out of hyperspace.
Not Bubba though.
Bubba liked to stroll through space.

The Umbaran System had a fairly thriving space port.
Bubba had passed through it a few weeks back noticed a few Republic Navy patrols.
Systems switched hands so often as of the last few decades Bubba was having trouble keeping up with it.
Bubba hit one of the big buttons he installed that controlled the 1MC on the ship
"SCRIBE"
"yesss master?"
"What's different from last time we were here?"
"weeell, master it looks like there more trade ships than last time. I don't see that cruiser. The Republic Naval patrols aren't all here like last time. The orbital space docks are still there. Not much else. Still plenty of debris fields."
Bubba belched a little before hitting another big button to bring up his map display. There were a few debris fields around that Bubba had poked through in the past. Maybe after dropping off the cargo and the Nerfs go poke around some more. Old antiquated technology that still held some value to some. Like one time Bubba had found a pristine condition ARC-170. Bubba still had that clone skull sitting on his mantle wall of fun discoveries.

​

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsH4CrwExCQ

Grasping behind him with his stubby arm the Hutt plucked the hose from his hookah and begun to inhale the smoke of his herbal vice.
Bubba changed his play list up and began to sing along with his one of his favorite songs sung by a musician almost 700 hundreds ago.
Bubba liked to think he had one of the remaining originals.
"So let's get to the point, let's roll another joint
And let's head on down the road
There's somewhere I got to go
And you don't know how it feels
You don't know how it feels
No, you don't know how it feels to be me"
In galactic basic it was great, in huttese to any human who would have listened to Bubba singing would have begged for their ears to be perforated...

[member="Martika Varta"]
[member="Marcus Solstice"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"But I believe there could be a possibility to counter these ships fielded by our enemies without us building a ship longer than three kilometers: these things are about 3 kilometers long. If we stick with 3 kilometers long, perhaps we could have a ship that functionally serves as a flagship for us, without actually having to be approved as such, meaning that it can be semi-unique and still allow to engage either the Darr Itah or the Finalizer. Ergo I mean here that it will be a heavy battlecruiser, 2.8-3.0 kilometers long. That said, I believe that the Finalizer is more frightening than the Darr Itah because the Darr Itah features all-or-nothing armor whereas the Finalizer does not"

But even if it was a heavy battlecruiser, for any ship that was to functionally serve as a factional flagship, a Senate hearing was required. Would the absence of one Senator [member="Martika Varta"], on business for his Umbara constituency, affect the fate of the "large resource" being discussed in today's hearing? He appeared opposed to the project even far back to the point it was at the rumor stage, long before it even appeared in the official docket. And yet the Finalizer and the Darr Itah both are weak on their aft quarters' firepower. All-or-nothing armor was practically useless... it would get their battlecruiser destroyed like a glass cannon, if pitted in combat with other ships of similar firepower. The Darr Itah might be useful against the Republican fleet in its present shape, but not anymore once the battlecruiser is completed.

"You may credit Bubba the Hutt for that information, Senators"

Would one Bubba the Hutt even want his Baleen outfitted with landing gears and repulsorlift generators? Bubba the Hutt was a centuries-old space trucker operating a ship that couldn't land on planets, whereas he was seen over Ringo Vinda at a few points, sometimes even going dangerously close to the Ringovinda StarYards docks. Would a Maersk, a Rasta Sub or even an Exodus satisfy him if he saw the need for a new space truck for him to fly? Or did he already purchase a kit of Jessicas? Five or six Jessicas could fit on a Baleen, and Bubba the Hutt's crew had six to eight people in it, depending on the configuration. The main problem with the Maersk was that it required a lot more crew, even if it had the capability to push through blockades and security controls made up of picket corvettes, primarily because of the requirements of gunnery.

Spoiler

[member="Suravi Teigra"] [member="Caius Flavian"] [member="Khyros Sunblade"] [member="Thalia Kaia"] [member="Ayumi Pallopides"] [member="Gir Quee"] [member="Katagiri Ike"] [member="Reshmar"] [member="Sanya Val Swift"] [member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Beckett Wrath"] [member="Carith Vastili"] [member="Dune Rhur"] [member="Jack Law"] [member="Marcus Solstice"] [member="Vesta Rekali"] [member="Bubba da Hutt"] [member="Popo"] [member="Jakkor Kess"] [member="Ar'ekk"]

 

[Klesta]

"Utinni! So, in essence, Charzon, you would want us to build a counter to the Finalizer which would also be a counter to the Darr Itah? The Imperious II is inadequate if the reports we have are accurate. Already the Imperious II cost 450 million to build: If our estimates are correct we would be looking at 700-800 million easily to build just one such ship that would allow us to fight the Finalizer or any flagship the Sith Triumvirate would throw at us, and the price tag of the Darr Itah is rumored to be over 1 billion"

Obviously the One Sith hasn't made public the cost of their flagship, and neither had the First Order for that matter. That's why rumors are just floating around. Not even [member="Darth Centax"] has said anything about it, let alone the supreme commander of the One Sith navy, Cyrus. Not even Bubba the Hutt would have anything to say about it by now... But Ringovinda StarYards products didn't cost that much because they were lightly armed: weapons, targeting computers, and extra crew quarters would drive up the costs pretty quickly. That's why it seems that Ringovinda StarYards was able to build the Exodus and sell it for 57 million even with 20 Jessicas and 2 Marcias while heavy cruisers that big often seemed to hover around 100 million if they were warships like the MBC75. The Exodus had comparatively few hardpoints or tactical systems compared to the MBC75, though.

"What can the combined might of MCS, Inquisition Industries, Lucerne Labs and Ringovinda StarYards conjure up that can be cost-effective and allow us to fight the Darr Itah or the Finalizer on equal terms? That is, cost less than a billion?"

Spoiler

[member="Suravi Teigra"] [member="Caius Flavian"] [member="Khyros Sunblade"] [member="Ayumi Pallopides"] [member="Gir Quee"] [member="Katagiri Ike"] [member="Reshmar"] [member="Sanya Val Swift"] [member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Beckett Wrath"] [member="Carith Vastili"] [member="Dune Rhur"] [member="Jack Law"] [member="Marcus Solstice"] [member="Vesta Rekali"] [member="Bubba da Hutt"] [member="Popo"] [member="Jakkor Kess"] [member="Lady Kay"] [member="Jack Raxis"] [member="Tiland Kortun"] [member="Jacen Clanstrider"] [member="Maxumus Corvus"] [member="Onna Sunrider"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

OOC: Objectives update. There are now objectives that are deemed not to be phase-sensitive, that is, can span multiple phases:

Phase-sensitive:

• Press the case for the construction of a flagship to the Senate Armed Services Committee
• Determine the allowable budget for its construction (if the case is successfully made for the flagship to be authorized in the first place)
• Determine the scope statement (under the same proviso)

Phase-insensitive:

• Investigate and the rumors of One Sith and/or Mandalorian spies pertaining to this project and, if found, dispose of the spies and their equipment
• Ensure security around the Senate building as a protest occurs outside
• Do your own thing

IC: "Senator Klesta, to answer your question, the 1-billion mark refers to the frontier between building a dedicated flagship, one-of-a-kind and a battlecruiser/supercarrier that can be built in semi-unique or limited production. We know that such a behemoth would have to be the result of cooperative work between four or five different manufacturers to supply components. Because a factional flagship is either a juicy target or a fleet-in-being for its owner, it has to include strong defenses. I cannot speak for Admiral Reshmar, but he seems to be a strong proponent of multiple shield generators; while increasing maintenance requirements, it also increases reliability, as well as a specialized system he calls FCMC, which allows a ship to be triple-framed and hence to reinforce its armor as a line of defense"

If the Darr Itah or the Finalizer were actually costing their respective owning factions anywhere between 750 million and 1 billion, Surely the rest of the Senate committee would be questioning her about other components. Ringovinda StarYards mostly manufactured some of the more exotic weapons systems: a rapid-fire turbolaser, if short-ranged, a heavy ion cannon that could cause some damage to hulls, and a super-heavy turbolaser that can be turreted. Even as the design phase of the Ultima nears completion, the temptation is greater to just tack on more weapons on top of what is assumed to be standard at the cost of higher crew requirements. Wring a Star Destroyer from it? Too tempting for many factions... yet it is less armed than what many in the industry call a "balanced" Star Destroyer even though it really isn't, but easily more so than a dedicated carrier that size. 3 squadrons, less weapons: a "balanced SD" the size of the Ultima would carry 5 squadrons and carry 600 turbolasers/80 point-defense quads as opposed to 500 turbolasers/50 point-defense quads. And an astronomically-sized cargo hold to boot.

"I won't pretend to be a fleeting expert, but one needs as much to defend against smaller threats like starfighters, corvettes, picket or not, as well as against larger capital ships like cruisers. Less hardpoints means less maintenance and also a cheaper ship. There are thus three weapons systems I could supply. The Bulkhunter heavy ion cannon, the Lusankya super-heavy turbolaser and the Gatling rapid-fire turbolaser. I do know that the crew requirements are massive: the Finalizer requires 74,000 crewmen, the Darr Itah almost twice as much, at 129,000. Using the Roto-Rooters may help us reduce the crew requirements and drive costs down: one knows that more crew quarters, as opposed to cargo holds and other systems, are more expensive. So one has to wonder what does the Libita cost; I admittedly do not know"

Spoiler

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