The Republic Navy: Advanced!

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Eshan

"Niamh you have an appointment at 0930 with Republic Engineering. If you don't want to be late you need to get up."

Teria stood over top of her charge, looking down at the white haired woman's sleeping form. She was more than a little annoyed that it was 0800 and Niamh hadn't gotten out of bed yet. She poked the woman's arm, but Niamh just batted a hand at her.

"It's too early, Teria. I'm still tired."

The result of her saying as much was the blinds being drawn and filtered light thrown upon her. Niamh tugged the covers up over her head. Teria then ripped them off the bed completely, revealing a half naked Niamh who shivered uncontrollably because she was now freezing to death. She sat up in bed and stared at her attache.

"Teria, why do you have to be so responsible?"

"It's my job. Why do you have to be so lazy in the morning?"

"Because I work all night..."

Niamh grumbled and climbed out of bed to walk to the fresher so she could get herself cleaned up. Teria went to see about some breakfast. When she was done getting cleaned up, and had gotten dressed, Niamh went out and ate what her attache had made, which wasn't bad because Teria could actually cook when she needed to. That was something that Niamh had never mastered. She'd practically grown up thinking that all food was burnt.

"What was this meeting about again?"

"You shouldn't have been 'working' all night last night. The alcohol could surely have done with a break from you." Teria rolled her eyes. "You need access to Republic Engineering's data files so you can continue your new ship designs, remember?"

"Oh. Right. And stop harassing me about my late night drinking. It get's lonely when I'm working alone."

Teria just shook her head and went to get the speeder ready, which left Niamh to finish off her breakfast with a glass of blue milk. When she was done, she straightened her hair, nodded to the EMBU standing at the door, and walked out to meet Teria for the ride to the Engineering offices. Hopefully this wouldn't take all day.

 

[Alana Sunrider]

Valara strode through the offices of Engineering, studying the datapad with the supply requisitions she needed. There were lots of them, and some of the quartermasters seemed more than a little taciturn or reluctant to give them to her. She took a deep breath and pushed it away. Now was not the time for the ancient feud between line officers and supply officers. There was a war to fight that did not involve passive-aggressive memos, notices, and filed complaints. An actual war. One she needed to remain completely focused on to ensure the survival of the Republic.

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

When they finally arrived at the base, Niamh was looking more than a little tired. As she climbed out of the car, she was quick to find Teria there fixing her up. She smiled at the woman, a bit sleepily, and then blinked when Teria slapped her across the face.

"Wha... Why?"

"Wake up. You're a flipping disgrace right now."

Niamh frowned, yawned, and then nodded her head, putting her determined face on. She walked into the building, right past the front desk clerk who blinked at her but let her go once she recognized her, and down the halls into the Engineering division. As she opened the door, she slammed right into [member="Valara Tiall "]who was walking down the hall with her face buried in a datapad.

"Gah! Great. I come out of a coma and nearly have a heart attack instead."

She took a deep breath to steady herself as Teria moved up to stand beside her, shaking her head. When Niamh focused again, she looked the woman over and tilted her head.

"Don't think I've met you before. You the chief of Republic Engineering by any chance?"

 

[Alana Sunrider]

Valara tensed as someone ran into her and she began to tense to step aside out of instinct, but stopped herself. She looked over to the woman who had run into her who mentioned something about a coma and if she was head of engineering.

"No, I am not. I am a Naval officer attempting to requisition supplies." She gestured at the datapad in frustration, "But if you could direct me to the chief of engineering so I can file a report on the staff, it would be useful." She shrugged again and let out her breath. "But I may be able to assist in some other way, as I do have a background in engineering."

[member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Teria seemed to have decided that the woman wasn't a threat, as she was now perusing their surroundings, instead of focusing on Valara. That was a good thing. The woman could be rather intense in her scrutiny at times. Niamh took a breath and then nodded her head to the woman.

"Nice to meet a fellow Naval officer. Perhaps you can assist me better than Engineering can. They've been, how do I put this, giving me the shaft of late."

Not very tactful, but Niamh could be rather blunt. Her words got a smirk out of Teria.

"I need access to the Republic mainframe so I can study current Republic technology. I'm working on a new cruiser design, but I need to know what kind of capabilities are available to work from beyond what the Compact brought over with it."

[member="Valara Tiall "]

 

[Alana Sunrider]

[member="Niamh Raste"]

Valara nodded understandingly, "I have been getting the same response as well. Quartermasters and their supply hoards..." She shook her head slightly and forced it away. She needed to stay focused and professional. Emotions would only hinder logical thinking and judgements. And they hurt, which was also a problem when lives depended on decisions. She pursed her lips, and then nodded slowly.

"I could do that, yes. I've been studying up on it lately as well ever since the new ships began arriving. It might be useful for us to find a meeting room with a projector. Anything specific you are looking for?"

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

"Weapons, engines, shield systems. Anything new I can get my hands on that might make this ship even better than what I have available through Silk and my former work."

She motioned for Valara to walk with her, and started moving down the halls. This place was a bit new to her; not the building itself, but the people in it. Still, she knew where the conference rooms were from her time working in the building before. Teria trailed along beside her, and just slightly behind, her eyes always moving, taking in everything, though Niamh didn't know why. There wasn't likely to be a threat within these halls.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself. I'm Lieutenant Niamh Raste, Echani High Protector and Engineer."

Teria made a small coughing noise and Niamh rolled her eyes as they walked into the conference room, which was fully state of the art.

"And this is Teria Cortus, my attache. She can be rather bossy, so watch out."

"I am not bossy."

"Not right now, but I know you."

[member="Valara Tiall "]

 

[Alana Sunrider]

Valara followed her, listening while accessing what information she could. Not very much. Just what she had been studying to gain a perspective for what the ships might be assigned to could do. She paused and looked up at the introductions, and she nodded, "Honored to meet you both. I am Commander Valara Tiall."

She stepped into the room and headed for the projector, plugging her datapad in and pulling up the information for the information. "Anywhere specific you wish to start?"

[member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

"Nice to meet you, Commander."

Niamh took a seat at the conference room table while the other woman moved to set up the projector. Teria stationed herself inside of the door after she did a sweep of the room. If she was satisfied then that was good enough for Niamh at the moment. Not that she was worried.

"Let's start with the engines. Without good engines there is no point in building a ship. What kind of engines do we have to work with?"

A large part of the reason for this was so that she could familiarize herself with the Republics systems. It was going to take her a while to get comfortable.

@Valara Tiall

 

[Kaiden Rohn]

Kaiden had a particular interest in the naval aspects of the Republic. He had a special stake in the military, and being that he was in charge of the Republic's force multipliers, it wouldn't hurt to go check in on the Naval aspects of the military. Large, white, armor plated boots thudded down the hallway. One guard attempted to stop him, but when you are a Commander and wearing a Havoc squad insignia on your armor, a lot of things get waived off. Like security questions. He wasn't armed, but at the same time, someone like him who was a championship shockboxer was never, ever, unarmed.

One guard, however, insisted on a security badge. So Kaiden insisted on threatening him, but sighed and placed the badge on his chest. He had to smile for the photo. Kind of hard to do when most of your face is covered in scar tissue. He blinked, stepping into the room with [member="Niamh Raste"] and her seemingly uptight assistant, and the other lady, @Valara Tiall. He cleared his throat, taking a seat in the back."Sorry to intrude, just trying to familiarize myself with the other aspects of the Republic. I'm Commander Rohn, of Havoc Squad. I hope to be be informed after this meeting."He took a seat, and seemed to actually be quiet...for once.

He was actually showing signs of maturing. Either that or he was just really focused.

 

[Alana Sunrider]

Valara nodded and pulled up he technical specifications for some of the engines, pausing as [member="Kaiden 'Papa' Rohn"] walked in. She nodded politely, "Welcome then, Commander. I have heard of your and your squad's exploits. Very impressive." She returned to the display and looked to [member="Niamh Raste"], "Would you like to examine it at your leisure then?"

She held up he datapad to offer it to her. She could continue to guide and direct, but she wasn't sure it would do much good. She wasn't sure what specifically the woman was looking for, and from some of the engineers she knew, they could be a bit particular about the information they wanted. It could occasionally be expressed through exasperated hand hand waving and attempts to be more specific in technical jargon, which was generally unintelligible to non engineers. She hoped to avoid that here.

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Teria tensed, prepared to engage the Commander when he walked in, but he quickly took a seat off to the side and seemed to pose no threat. She didn't like it when people snuck around like that, but it often happened that way. Still, as she stood out of the way, she watched the man, though not with her complete attention. He smelled of instability. It put her on edge.

Niamh basically ignored the Commander. She was zoned in on the task at hand, and there was much to do.

"Thank you," she said as she took the datapad.

For a short time she perused it and then shook her head. Thoughtful, she pulled out her own datapad and connected it to the projector system. She wasn't happy with the technology that the Republic had to offer when it came to engines. It gave her an idea.

"This is the Eshan ZY-100 Engine. I helped design this engine to make our ships run quieter, more efficiently, and with a modicum of stealth. It's covered in a special plating, and is capable of running on TibannaX gas, as well as standard fuel. It is now somewhat outdated, but is ahead of what I see in the Republic's standard drives. I think, if we apply a second cooling chamber, a smaller combustion chamber between the two cooling chambers, and a new dampening gel, we can increase the output of the engine, and make it viable for larger war vessels. Thoughts?"

[member="Valara Tiall "][member="Kaiden 'Papa' Rohn"]

 

[Alana Sunrider]

[member="Niamh Raste"] [member="Kaiden 'Papa' Rohn"]

Valara frowned slightly and walked up closer to the projector, studying it. What she had said made sense, in a way. It was certainly unorthodox though. She would never have thought of it before. She tapped her chin in thought and bent down to pick her datapad back up, and began running figures and calculations. Comparing thrust and strain and everything else.

It seemed like it would work. Granted, that didn't mean very much. Calculations and reality often clashed, with reality usually winning. Usually. Then they had to go back to the drawing board and modify their calculations.

She nodded finally, slowly at first, but then with more confidence. "I think it might work, with the tweaking necessary to bring a blueprint to fruition. The TibannaX aspect is a good thought as well. How does the efficiency compare between the two, and what purpose does the special plating provide?"

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

"Efficiency is comparable. Slightly more efficient with regular gas, but not overly so. I've not had reports of any of my ships guzzling fuel when running Tibanna X, it's just a harder to get fuel source for them."

She enlarged the image, and zoomed out of the interior workings of the engine. With the question about the plating coming up, she wanted to have it shown on the screen in order to make it easier for them to discuss what was going on. That and she wanted to get a good look at it again because it had been a while since she'd honestly studied her engines in detail. She'd been busy.

"The plating is shielding. It's designed to absorb radiation emissions from the power converters on the original engine system. However, I think if we cover the engines and the converters both, with a friction gel between them, it would be possible to nearly completely dampen any radiation or sound output by the engines, making the ship run quiet, as it were."

[member="Valara Tiall"]

 

[Alana Sunrider]

Valara nodded, listening, and walked around the display, scrutinizing it. Her description sounded reasonable, and it all made sense to her. "The fuel difficulty is understandable. It is a rather expensive fuel source. Not sure we can afford to mass-produce it." She pursed her lips, "Perhaps store it on aboard a select ship of class meant for stealth missions."

The shielding made sense as well now. It complemented the possibility of running on Tibanna X, making it, well, making it almost invisible to scanners. It was clever. Very clever, and she gave a small smile. There were possibilities here. Very good possibilities.

"How much radiation is it capable of absorbing, in terms of a ship class? Frigate? Star destroyer? Or is that more variant on the amount of plating?"

[member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

"Hence the capability of also running on standard fuels. TibannaX is not appropriate for every mission. However, with the other modifications the ship will still run quieter than most."

When she asked about the plating and the absorptive capabilities, Niamh changed up the display. For the moment she brought up an image of two ships side by side. One was an IFAS and the other an AFAS. One was considerably larger than the other, but only the smaller one had the old engines on them.

"The Interceptor-class Fast Attach Ship, or IFAS, was designed with the first generation of these engines. She runs quiet as can be even on regular fuel, and is almost invisible with TibannaX. The AFAS does not have these engines, however, if it was build with the mark 2, it would run at the same optimal level as the IFAS. Strictly speaking, the absorptive properties of the plating depends on the thickness of it and the gel applied beneath it. However, calculations show that the larger ships would require an overly thick plating layer to be as quiet as an IFAS, making it impossible to truly quiet them. However, they would still be quieter than a normal ship of their same length, which could make them read as a smaller vessel, still to our advantage."

@Valara Tiall

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

And with all of this in mind, and having spent considerable time working on this herself, she took to heart what her fellows had to say. She wasn't going to linger, though. This was something that needed to be built and tested almost immediately. It would take them time, patience, and credits in order to see if the design could work. If it did, well, they were well on their way to something genius if she did say so herself. But first things first, building and testing.

"I think that the interest here, and the lack of good Republic engines, is enough to support the movement for the new engines. I'll take my leave now, and get my people working on the prototype. Thank you for your time."

And with that, she left to do just what she said she would.