Last use for SL SD captured

The SLN fleet showed up in the Manticore system and disregarded the warning to leave before crossing the hyper limit. Then, the SLN fired on the combined RMN-RHN fleets after having crossed said hyper limit. At that point they were soundly defeated with signicant casualties.
If Manticore puts the survivors in camps to the standard of which they treated the RHN prisoners after the Battle of Manticore, the SLN people should be just fine. Both the SLN officers and SL politicians can bitch and complain all they want but it is the SL's fault that their people (the survivors) are being held and if they would like them back they can agree to negotiated terms with Manticore. VERY early in that discussion, Manticore might just want to mention that the SLN force arrived with the stated intention (and point out that the SL/SLN structure leaks like screen door on a submarine as far as the information on Raging Justice was concerned) of destroying the Manticore Home Fleet, it's other defenses, and subjugating the population of the Manticore System, so the prisoners -who are alive and under competent medical care where required- are actualy quite well off.

Putting ANY Naval prisoners in "disarmed" warships with station-keeping requrements and capabilities is a REALLY BAD IDEA.

Hears my idea for using the captured SLN SD's post battle of Manticore.

1) Temporary prison hulks until POW camps can be built or expanded.

2) Temporary housing for construction workers building Hephaestus II and Vulcan II.

3) Resource for refined metals as stations are built.

saber964 wrote:Hears my idea for using the captured SLN SD's post battle of Manticore.

1) Temporary prison hulks until POW camps can be built or expanded.

2) Temporary housing for construction workers building Hephaestus II and Vulcan II.

3) Resource for refined metals as stations are built.

Do you think 100 ton blocks of stainless steel are a good source of refined chromium?

And Manticore has no problems with raw materials. Other than most of the mining companies will go broke as they have no customers as all the construction is being done in Beowulf or Gregor.

saber964 wrote:Hears my idea for using the captured SLN SD's post battle of Manticore.

1) Temporary prison hulks until POW camps can be built or expanded.

2) Temporary housing for construction workers building Hephaestus II and Vulcan II.

3) Resource for refined metals as stations are built.

Check the timeline. Raging Justice was opportunistically launched in response to the Yawata Strike/Oyster Bay.

OB struck February 1922. Raging Justice arrived in June, four months later. The reconstruction was already underway, to the point that I think they would have had all the orbital housing they needed, as well as arranged for the raw materials they need. As kzt alluded to, Manticore's asteroid extraction industry wasn't attacked during OB.

I'm sure this has been asked and discussed to death. But if anyone don't mind very, I can't seem to specifically recall how the RMN significantly reduced the number of bodies needed to man an SD. I'm sure it was an integral part of the design stage from the beginning. My question is whether it is mainly accomplished by software means -- computers? Of course I'm wondering, failing being able to gut the Solly junk, if they can be made to operate much more efficiently, need less bodies -- less enough to make them practical as gifts to the needy?

Recalling that the number of sheep needed to be grazing along inside of these behemoths is prohibitive.

Anyone have the response handy, having explained it to death? LOL

Another question. Along with all of the tonnage was lots of missiles captured. Surely they can be put to use by some needy navy?

I may have an alter ego... "Johnny," and sometimes he comes lately. I'm sorry, I hate it when he does that. Do forgive.

cthia wrote:I'm sure this has been asked and discussed to death. But if anyone don't mind very, I can't seem to specifically recall how the RMN significantly reduced the number of bodies needed to man an SD. I'm sure it was an integral part of the design stage from the beginning. My question is whether it is mainly accomplished by software means -- computers? Of course I'm wondering, failing being able to gut the Solly junk, if they can be made to operate much more efficiently, need less bodies -- less enough to make them practical as gifts to the needy?

Recalling that the number of sheep needed to be grazing along inside of these behemoths is prohibitive.

Anyone have the response handy, having explained it to death? LOL

Another question. Along with all of the tonnage was lots of missiles captured. Surely they can be put to use by some needy navy?

I may have an alter ego... "Johnny," and sometimes he comes lately. I'm sorry, I hate it when he does that. Do forgive.

The magic words in text have been "Automation"and "Remotes". Essentially, advanced Software, AI smart systems (kinda the same thing, but specific.), Multiple redundant networks (which probably include wireless backups between network nodes), and smart remotes (robots) for remote manipulation and repair.

According to SITS and Jayne's, advanced automation was tried before in one of the destroyer classes in the late 1800s, but wasn't mature enough to actually deal with battle damage, so was ripped out of the existing ships and they were rebuilt for full sized crews.

What is the actual difference between mil spec and merchie automation has never been mentioned, but it definitely exists, and is at least merchie stuff on steroids and muscle enhancers (With a dose of PCP thrown in.)

cthia wrote:I'm sure this has been asked and discussed to death. But if anyone don't mind very, I can't seem to specifically recall how the RMN significantly reduced the number of bodies needed to man an SD. I'm sure it was an integral part of the design stage from the beginning. My question is whether it is mainly accomplished by software means -- computers? Of course I'm wondering, failing being able to gut the Solly junk, if they can be made to operate much more efficiently, need less bodies -- less enough to make them practical as gifts to the needy?

Recalling that the number of sheep needed to be grazing along inside of these behemoths is prohibitive.

Anyone have the response handy, having explained it to death? LOL

Another question. Along with all of the tonnage was lots of missiles captured. Surely they can be put to use by some needy navy?

I may have an alter ego... "Johnny," and sometimes he comes lately. I'm sorry, I hate it when he does that. Do forgive.

Methinks they went from Age of sail crew utilization to automated devices and weapon feeds. Going from muskets to bolt action to semi automatic or fully automatic weapons. Like going from 60's computers to 80's computers.

Fox2! wrote:

zuluwiz wrote:So what are they going to do with them? Here's my idea: give them back to the Sollies. Imagine the effect on Sollie public opinion. "We don't need or want this trash, ours are way better." Do this very publicly, then sit back and laugh. Would the ISLN dare to not recommission them? How much trained manpower and resources would that suck up?

Just announce that you are towing them into orbit around some planetless K-type star and leave them there. Maybe leave a couple of stealthed CAs to make sure some ne'er-do-well doesn't come along and try to make off with them.

I've got a nagging suspicion that this notion falls under the heading of a very bad idea. It conjures up flashbacks of the predicament Alfredo Yu found himself in while at the helm of Saladin. After you make the exchange of all of those captured ships (possibly with as many warm bodies needed to more than just steer the darn things), what is stopping them from turning around at some point and attacking you again with those same ships -- refueled, restocked and repaired, with reinforecements that have benefit of upgrades and the fact that they now have the tactical knowledge born of experience and a do over?

I'll assume that the missiles have been removed, but if you're going through the trouble of returning the ships I'll imagine you didn't trash them. Bit of a problem tearing into them anyways. But what is stopping them from planning for the entire ordeal and bringing several fleet trains and a fleet of repair ships and stashing them somewhere awaiting a rendezvous?

Recall any one of the old movies where there is this type of an exchange and the touchy hair-trigger moments that are dangerous and nerve-racking where each party backs away from each other keeping an eye on any sudden movements. How long to replace PDLCs or whatever innards the RMN may rip out -- still leaving the ships "operable?"

Unless there is something that can be done to disable the ships until further notice.

What am I missing?

cthia wrote:Unless there is something that can be done to disable the ships until further notice.

Adm Gold Peak "triggered the security meltdown" (owtte) on all but one survivor of Adm Bing's task force. That slagged the computer systems, making the ships entirely inoperable until the computers were repaired and reprogrammed.

Of course that would require towing anything given back to the SLN -- unless you waited until you arrived in Earth orbit before slagging the computers.

Weird Harold wrote:

cthia wrote:Unless there is something that can be done to disable the ships until further notice.

Adm Gold Peak "triggered the security meltdown" (owtte) on all but one survivor of Adm Bing's task force. That slagged the computer systems, making the ships entirely inoperable until the computers were repaired and reprogrammed.

Of course that would require towing anything given back to the SLN -- unless you waited until you arrived in Earth orbit before slagging the computers.

Um, Harold. I think "driving" them back to Solly space would fall under the heading of an even worse idea. If you are taking them back it will be without weapons. So you have quite a bit of your needed manpower sitting naked in the bowels of worthless Solly junk. And even if you have adequate escort, it isn't going to help the many souls trapped inside the bowels of Solly junk when the MA's round two goes into effect...

"WTF, those Solly bastards are firing on us again! We're unarmed!"

I suppose you can insist that they send their own bodies to pilot the ships back and you can provide an escort all the way back to Solly space. But even then I can still see a vulnerability to the Malign's BIG RED BUTTON.

If you reverse engineer the MA nanite code the programming you'll find simply reads...

CASE: ALL IS WELL. PUSH: BIG RED BUTTON.