Unreviewed B.A.M.T.O.P. (Braha’ket Aftermarket Modernization Total Overhaul Package)

[Bido Roz’lyn]

Spoiler: How to potentially use this submission

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: Provide the open market with a convenient means of "modernizing" starships that would otherwise be considered "generic" or “outdated”.
• Image Source:
  • Instructions: me
  • Logo: Prex Oda Duun
• Canon Link: n/a
• Permissions:
  • TumblrOS and LK O.N.N.
  • Logo
• Primary Source: n/a

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Dornean Braha'ket Fleetworks Conglomerate
• Affiliation: Anyone
• Market Status: Open-Market
• Model: Braha'ket Aftermarket Modernization Total Overhaul Package (BAMTOP)
• Modularity: Yes
  • All of these upgrade features are scalable to any size of spacecraft, from an over-engineered spacesuit to a full-blown super dreadnought.
• Production: Mass-Produced
• Material:
  • Various hardware upgrade components
  • Various augmentation software programs

SPECIAL FEATURES
Truthfully, the BAMTOP is sometimes considered more of a service than a product. It can be applied to practically any starship. Older starships are completely refurbished to factory specifications during this process. Additionally, various new components are added for modernization purposes. Any ship of any size can receive these upgrades during the service:

• Software Upgrades:
  • TumblrOS – Courtesy of LKM, this advanced operating system is installed to provide the framework for all of these upgrades to work seamlessly in concert.
  • GPO-13 TPS & R.A.C.E.R. – in addition to the protections offered by the TumblrOS, these two programs provide more dedicated and comprehensive protections from Mechu Duru, malware, and slicing attacks.
  • O.S.I.V.P. – this software is used to augment the efficacy of a ship's sensor systems against enemy deception technologies.
  • T.E.C.M.I.S. – if the ship being upgraded is armed with energy or projectile weapons, then this software is used to enhance the efficacy of targeting systems against enemy countermeasures.
  • O.T.A.R.O.C.S. – if the ship being upgraded has tractor beams installed prior to BAMTOP servicing, then this software can be used to re-task said tractor beams as a countermeasure against enemy projectile weapons.
  • P.A.F.I.E.S. – if the ship being upgraded is a warship (capital or starfighter), then this software is used to enhance friendly coordination between starfighters and turret emplacements in an interlocking defense pattern.
  • S.W.O.R.D.-F.I.H.S. – if the ship being overhauled has repulsors and shields, then this software boosts the repulsors to the shields to achieve some obscure damage resistance types.
• Hardware Upgrades:
  • LK O.N.N. – during the overhaul, the ship's processor is upgraded to this for two reasons: 1) it needs the added horsepower to run modern software, and 2) the circuits are immune to EMP disruption.
  • Integrated Combat Deionizers – These help to reduce the effectiveness of enemy ion or EMP weapons on the upgraded ship. Given the constant proliferation of ion and EMP weapons in the modern galaxy, these are installed as a standard component of every upgrade service.
  • Dornean Plasma – if the ship is equipped with blasters, lasers, ion canons, or turbolasers, then they are upgraded to fire Dornean Plasma instead of regular energy bolts for increased range and damage. Dornean Plasma can also toggle between ion/stun and energy damage modes during combat.
  • G.O.U.P. – if the ship would normally have guided ordnance weapons, such as missiles or torpedoes, then they would get this upgrade to make them reasonably more resistant to modern anti-ordnance countermeasures… ESPECIALLY MISSILE DEACTIVATION TRANSMITTERS.
  • Kaleidoscopic Polymer – during the overhaul, the outer hull is coated with this polymer to offer some protection from target tracking as well as some exotic damage types. An electronic energizer is also added to passively run current through the coating when the refraction feature is not desired, as the polymer is dormant whenever energized.
    • Additionally, if the ship would normally have a chaff countermeasure system, then that chaff system is upgraded to a kaleidoscopic polymer dust variant.
  • Compact ECM Asset Spoofing Modules – assuming that the ship being serviced doesn't already have ECM, these are installed as a reasonably low-key countermeasure to enemy tracking measures. They also grant full functionality to the TECMIS and PAFIES software.
  • Missile Deactivation Transmitter – developed around 9 centuries ago, this little countermeasure has become pretty ubiquitous for most ship defences. Top-shelf sophisticated missiles will usually be immune, but it will still defend against most generic guided ordnances.
  • Triple "T" Muscle Motor Module – Fast ships are not hard to come by. But this module adds an additional functionality to a starship's engines by allowing it to selectively reduce top speed in exchange for raw towing power when activated. Conversely, it can be deactivated whenever speed is preferred over power. It is a useful tool for breaking out of traps or restraints…

STRENGTHS

• Total Facelift – this service package uses software upgrades and aftermarket components to modernize a ship's systems that would otherwise be rendered obsolete.
• A Fighting Chance – this upgrade package allows an outdated warship to remain reasonably competitive with contemporary designs.
• Unobstructive – with the exception of the LK O.N.N. computer core, most of the upgrades in this package consume little-or-no space at all. This makes everything in the package compatible with any other additional upgrades if desired.

WEAKNESSES

• Can't Modernize What's Not There – if a ship does not have a specific system or feature at all (i.e.: no shields on a TIE fighter) then that ship would not be able to receive an upgrade for that specific system. It can only improve. It cannot add what's not there.
• Pretty Mid – this package is capable of bringing the various features of a starship up to a respectably modern standard of performance. However, many advanced newer ships of the modern era do tend to go above and beyond with a laundry list of proprietary technologies. A ship using only the BAMTOP upgrade package, and nothing else, would not be helpless against such an opponent. However, they would do well to proceed with caution against such advanced newer ships.

DESCRIPTION
In spite of a galaxy with a long history of strife and chaos, many starships that are well-built seem to be able to remain in circulation for thousands of years. Old caches of TIE fighters are still discovered and thrown back into battle to this day. Harrower class dreadnoughts keep getting fielded even after thousands of years of mothballing. YT-1300s are being retained as family heirlooms to be passed down for generations… The list goes on.

As time goes by, older ship designs begin to fall deeper and deeper into irrelevance. Irrelevant, but far from depleted. There is an endless supply of old hulls in circulation, as the cost of purchasing new ships is heavily offset by the affordability of buying old/used. Old ships are not going away any time soon.

Alternatively, brand new starships are being built every day. With new ships come a cornucopia of emergent technologies that proliferate exotic effects and obscure countermeasures.

• Missile systems with "brilliant" processing capabilities have become the norm.
• Multilayered shields have become the base standard.
• Engines with variable performance capabilities are practically a cliche.
• Weapons utilize exotic damage types to bypass generic deflector shields.
• Everyone and their Kath-hound has a missile deactivation transmitter crammed somewhere…
• And so on…

With modern technologies being perpetually added and refined, older ships struggle to keep up.

Often, projects are undertaken to modernize old outdated hulls. This process often looks good on paper, but rarely ever stays on budget or schedule. Just refurbishing a particularly old spacecraft to original factory specs is often an expensive undertaking. To add modernizations and upgrades on top of that, one might as well build an all-new ship altogether.

The Dorneans are intimately aware of the struggles associated with keeping older ships updated for modern technology. Every decade or so, they've traditionally defaulted to refurbishing and updating their aging fleet of Braha'tok Gunships rather than building new designs. At this point, they've gotten so good at it, that they got it down to a science.

They've essentially cracked the code for keeping overhauls and refits within a reasonable budget. The secret? Software.

After centuries of keeping their ancient fleet in lockstep with modern technology, they've refined the process to just a few key critical areas. Most improvements come from software optimization and subsystem integration, with only a handful of compact aftermarket hardware additions required to bridge remaining capability gaps. The process is relatively budget-friendly, and reasonably time-efficient.

The Dorneans decided to take this skill set and begin offering it as a service on the open market. Clients will often take their ships to a Braha'ket facility, but if a vessel is not in condition for travel, Dornean technicians can be brought to site to apply the overhaul on-site.

Anything can be upgraded this way. From tiny starfighters to massive battlecruisers, the software still works, and the aftermarket modules are easily scalable. The scale can vary too. A single family starship that has been passed down for generations can be upgraded for a reasonable price. Or an entire navy of revived Star Destroyers can get overhauled before being re-fielded.

In any case, the Dorneans know how to keep old things going strong. It's convincing them to embrace change that's the real challenge…