Early Warning Picket for Beowulf

Armed Neo-Bob wrote:Thanks, gents, for the interest!

But, I don't think Beowulf would have dropped Hermes Buoys all over the system YET, because I don't think the RMN gave them enough. It is TOO SOON, and just building them if you don't already have a line up will eat up lots of time--as all the engineers will scream about.

Putting FTL (older style) might have been done, but why? Beowulf wasn't intending to shuffle out of the League, and they were avoiding giving the SLN any clues about Manti capability. So, why spend the money to install (and maintain) something you aren't planning to use?

Will they adapt to some method of adding it now? Sure, if the now is Sep/Oct 2022. But there is a limit to how many of these buoys exist, and they are already deployed out with the Fleet, and in RMN sovereign areas. And, unlike a few others here on the boards (total optimists ), I am skeptical of too rapid a change in tech. I think rather than mass introduction of RMN tech, they'll be leveraging the existing (but better) tech first, while Beowulf ramps up; and the ramp-up won't start without funds--so the really BIG muscle up will be after the plebescite, imo.

There. Something different to argue over.
Regards, all.

Rob

Theemile wrote:
That's the 100,000 credit question, now isn't it. The width of the gap of vulnerability of Beowulf will be argued until the next book comes out.

While I doubt the B-SDF ships have been updated to have FTL coms, buying a couple crates of FTL buoys is something a smart admiralty would do for a rainy day (Hey look, instant fleet FTL coms! - just add space!)

No matter how the Plebiscite goes (yeah, right - whatever), I think we all know that the B-SDF is tired of playing nice-Comic Opera Navy. The SD(p) bids are already in the mail and somewhere on Beowulf, a Naval architect is looking at a Sag-C blueprint and wondering how he can make it better. Given 3 years (....right, whatever.....) the SLN would be facing a totally different beast.

Armed Neo-Bob wrote:But, I don't think Beowulf would have dropped Hermes Buoys all over the system YET, because I don't think the RMN gave them enough. It is TOO SOON, and just building them if you don't already have a line up will eat up lots of time--as all the engineers will scream about.

Armed Neo-Bob wrote:

Theemile wrote:
That's the 100,000 credit question, now isn't it. The width of the gap of vulnerability of Beowulf will be argued until the next book comes out.

While I doubt the B-SDF ships have been updated to have FTL coms, buying a couple crates of FTL buoys is something a smart admiralty would do for a rainy day (Hey look, instant fleet FTL coms! - just add space!)

No matter how the Plebiscite goes (yeah, right - whatever), I think we all know that the B-SDF is tired of playing nice-Comic Opera Navy. The SD(p) bids are already in the mail and somewhere on Beowulf, a Naval architect is looking at a Sag-C blueprint and wondering how he can make it better. Given 3 years (....right, whatever.....) the SLN would be facing a totally different beast.

One of the things I wonder about, on a different front,is that given how many books it took to get here, and how few remain (2), I wonder if MWW is going to have a little time-jump, like, you know, around a century. . . Sort of like he did for Bahzell. We may learn about all of this as "ancient history" in some infodump, while he shifts the action to James, Faith, Raoul, and Katherine. . . .

regards,

Rob

Theemile wrote:
I'm thinking you are right - the current (or "forseen" ) crises will be resolved in a way that is not profitable for the Malign. The MAlign will revise their plans, Pull in their exposed limbs, and set the egg timer for ~20 years and enact alternate case 2.