BEOWULF - THE KARMA SUITSYA

Operation Dispatch Boat


How feasible is it for the GA to launch. . . Operation Dispatch Boat?

"Capture every Dispatch boat you see. Period. Before the word gets out."


WANTED: OUTLAW ALBRECHT DETWEILER

cthia wrote:Quintessential MA creed seems to be risk to human life in general is inconsequential. Lives outside the Onion are expendable. Certainly since even members of the Inner Onion seem to be expendable. I think the MA rely upon training - being totally cool under fire, diplomatic immunity, nanites and the fact that there will be absolutely NO chance that a SB will be captured. Self-destructed maybe. But if we get the jump on you first. . .

At any rate, I can conceive of the realities of an MA SB to be just as fraught with unrealistic perils as living life on Darius. I can also conceive of an operating environment when the Streak Drive is initiated which requires genetically enhanced genies to survive. I imagine a SB to be fully tricked out. Why not? I can't conceive of the MA complying to a traffic stop. Sorry, I just can't imagine that.

I wonder how many SB port of calls are bought and paid for.

Why would there be unrealistic perils in operating a streak drive courier boat? It is just an oversize hyper generator. Unless you are referring to the perils of being a spy.
What are the unrealistic perils that you imagine from living life on Darius? The only ones I can see arrive if and when Darius is found by Beowulf and the GA.

tlb wrote:

cthia wrote:Quintessential MA creed seems to be risk to human life in general is inconsequential. Lives outside the Onion are expendable. Certainly since even members of the Inner Onion seem to be expendable. I think the MA rely upon training - being totally cool under fire, diplomatic immunity, nanites and the fact that there will be absolutely NO chance that a SB will be captured. Self-destructed maybe. But if we get the jump on you first. . .

At any rate, I can conceive of the realities of an MA SB to be just as fraught with unrealistic perils as living life on Darius. I can also conceive of an operating environment when the Streak Drive is initiated which requires genetically enhanced genies to survive. I imagine a SB to be fully tricked out. Why not? I can't conceive of the MA complying to a traffic stop. Sorry, I just can't imagine that.

I wonder how many SB port of calls are bought and paid for.

Why would there be unrealistic perils in operating a streak drive courier boat? It is just an oversize hyper generator. Unless you are referring to the perils of being a spy.
What are the unrealistic perils that you imagine from living life on Darius? The only ones I can see arrive if and when Darius is found by Beowulf and the GA.

As I wrote earlier, it might not be that hard to spot the differences in the drive. Also, the people using it get around. There could be gossip. What if a Beowulf ship that has an intelligence agent aboard takes off for a planet ahead of one of those dispatch boats and gets to another planet finding that the same dispatch boat got there two days earlier. That would set off suspicions.

On top of that, most messages don't have to be sent all that fast. Saving a couple of days generally wouldn't tell people all that much. It would work better if used very seldom.

As for Darius, the Renaissance Factor has gotten notice but more as a sector breaking away from the League. If it doesn't push too hard, it might not get all that much notice.

tlb wrote:

cthia wrote:Quintessential MA creed seems to be risk to human life in general is inconsequential. Lives outside the Onion are expendable. Certainly since even members of the Inner Onion seem to be expendable. I think the MA rely upon training - being totally cool under fire, diplomatic immunity, nanites and the fact that there will be absolutely NO chance that a SB will be captured. Self-destructed maybe. But if we get the jump on you first. . .

At any rate, I can conceive of the realities of an MA SB to be just as fraught with unrealistic perils as living life on Darius. I can also conceive of an operating environment when the Streak Drive is initiated which requires genetically enhanced genies to survive. I imagine a SB to be fully tricked out. Why not? I can't conceive of the MA complying to a traffic stop. Sorry, I just can't imagine that.

I wonder how many SB port of calls are bought and paid for.

Why would there be unrealistic perils in operating a streak drive courier boat? It is just an oversize hyper generator. Unless you are referring to the perils of being a spy.
What are the unrealistic perils that you imagine from living life on Darius? The only ones I can see arrive if and when Darius is found by Beowulf and the GA.

Obviously other than the fact that they are WANTED?

I'm simply carrying my own baggage and admitting to conceiving of a special projects Streak Boat which pushes the design envelope to its bleeding edge limits to fit the streak drive along with other classified bleeding edge tech. A state of the art sensor, accel, even a hidden graser. All shoehorned into a normal diplomatic boat design that doesn't call attention.

Ultimately, I'm saying that I understand possible inherent problems in design, like the shoehorning of two 8-cyls together to get 16.

I also recognize the fact that the MA has to travel a lot to get into everyone's business around the galaxy as they are. And they can't be fashionably late when they are herding sheep all over the galaxy.

I would imagine they use the boats quite a bit. Seeing that they come with a built-in powerful loophole called diplomatic immunity, I can't see any of the Detweilers aboard anything else when the trip is urgent!

I am certainly sure to sign off on periods of high activity.

But yea, I can conceive of a bleeding edge SB that isn't exactly safe. For more reasons than one.

Albeit, all superfast sports cars aren't exactly safe.

cthia wrote:I also recognize the fact that the MA has to travel a lot to get into everyone's business around the galaxy as they are. And they can't be fashionably late when they are herding sheep all over the galaxy.

I would imagine they use the boats quite a bit. Seeing that they come with a built-in powerful loophole called diplomatic immunity, I can't see any of the Detweilers aboard anything else when the trip is urgent!

I am certainly sure to sign off on periods of high activity.

But yea, I can conceive of a bleeding edge SB that isn't exactly safe. For more reasons than one.

Albeit, all superfast sports cars aren't exactly safe.

I do not think that they necessarily enjoy diplomatic immunity. It fact, it might be more suspicious if a diplomatic courier from the back of beyond kept transiting between Manticore and Beowulf; better to be a bank or a news courier that has a legitimate business component.
We know the Detweilers did travel from Mesa to Darius and back by streak boat; but I expect the routing was no where close to the GA or Beowulf.
PS. If you put a weapon into one, then it becomes a frigate and subject to laughter and ridicule.

tlb wrote:

cthia wrote:I also recognize the fact that the MA has to travel a lot to get into everyone's business around the galaxy as they are. And they can't be fashionably late when they are herding sheep all over the galaxy.

I would imagine they use the boats quite a bit. Seeing that they come with a built-in powerful loophole called diplomatic immunity, I can't see any of the Detweilers aboard anything else when the trip is urgent!

I am certainly sure to sign off on periods of high activity.

But yea, I can conceive of a bleeding edge SB that isn't exactly safe. For more reasons than one.

Albeit, all superfast sports cars aren't exactly safe.

I do not think that they necessarily enjoy diplomatic immunity. It fact, it might be more suspicious if a diplomatic courier from the back of beyond kept transiting between Manticore and Beowulf; better to be a bank or a news courier that has a legitimate business component.
We know the Detweilers did travel from Mesa to Darius and back by streak boat; but I expect the routing was no where close to the GA or Beowulf.
PS. If you put a weapon into one, then it becomes a frigate and subject to laughter and ridicule.

Not sure about how easily diplomatic immunity may be to achieve in the galaxy, or how common it is. I would think it is common enough. But, as you said, other ruses are plausible, like news agencies.

If Witch on her Stick is involved. When will anyone get to laugh? Moments before you realized she was armed with a graser and you are about to board her with sidewalls down and completely unaware? After all, this is just a DB. Laughter doesn't come to mind.

Certainly not when the entire scenario reminds me of. . .

wiki wrote: Ragnhild Pavletic was killed when her pinnace, Hawk-Papa-One, was destroyed by point defense cluster fire from the Mesan armed freighter Marianne, while in orbit around Montana.

I can't help imagining at least some type of prototype engineered specifically for Inner Onion travel. That is something awfully nasty, for a Dispatch Boat. Worse actually, because she is underappreciated and taken for granted.

cthia wrote:I also recognize the fact that the MA has to travel a lot to get into everyone's business around the galaxy as they are. And they can't be fashionably late when they are herding sheep all over the galaxy.

I would imagine they use the boats quite a bit. Seeing that they come with a built-in powerful loophole called diplomatic immunity, I can't see any of the Detweilers aboard anything else when the trip is urgent!

I am certainly sure to sign off on periods of high activity.

But yea, I can conceive of a bleeding edge SB that isn't exactly safe. For more reasons than one.

Albeit, all superfast sports cars aren't exactly safe.

tlb wrote:I do not think that they necessarily enjoy diplomatic immunity. It fact, it might be more suspicious if a diplomatic courier from the back of beyond kept transiting between Manticore and Beowulf; better to be a bank or a news courier that has a legitimate business component.
We know the Detweilers did travel from Mesa to Darius and back by streak boat; but I expect the routing was no where close to the GA or Beowulf.
PS. If you put a weapon into one, then it becomes a frigate and subject to laughter and ridicule.

cthia wrote:Not sure about how easily diplomatic immunity may be to achieve in the galaxy, or how common it is. I would think it is common enough. But, as you said, other ruses are plausible, like news agencies.

If Witch on her Stick is involved. When will anyone get to laugh? Moments before you realized she was armed with a graser and you are about to board her with sidewalls down and completely unaware? After all, this is just a DB. Laughter doesn't come to mind.

Certainly not when the entire scenario reminds me of. . .

wiki wrote: Ragnhild Pavletic was killed when her pinnace, Hawk-Papa-One, was destroyed by point defense cluster fire from the Mesan armed freighter Marianne, while in orbit around Montana.

I can't help imagining at least some type of prototype engineered specifically for Inner Onion travel. That is something awfully nasty, for a Dispatch Boat. Worse actually, because she is underappreciated and taken for granted.

Completing the scenario, the Marianne did not fare too well. RFC says that no major navy will use frigates, which cannot mount the defenses to survive.
If you are saying a warship actually had sidewalls down when inspecting a foreign vessel, then that Captain just won a Darwin Award and the frigate could have been armed with energy torpedoes.

tlb wrote:Completing the scenario, the Marianne did not fare too well. RFC says that no major navy will use frigates, which cannot mount the defenses to survive.

I can appreciate that. Though my point all along is whether we can include the misaligned thinking of the MAlign in that sentiment. The MA is less concerned with individual life, inasmuch as overall success.

A Streak Boat cannot suffer capture. I'm only saying I'm willing to leave an open mind to the concept of a SB having stacked the deck.

It's also a bit poetic and in keeping with MA design - bleeding edge.

tlb wrote:If you are saying a warship actually had sidewalls down when inspecting a foreign vessel, then that Captain just won a Darwin Award and the frigate could have been armed with energy torpedoes.

LOL

No, I'm saying the Darwin Award is way too common. Elvis Santino had a closet full of them.

MA Philosophy - Our tech bleeds so we don't have to.

I meant to post a while back that the wiki supports the upgraded performance of DBs - pulling 800 gravities. I just don't know how accurate it is. I simply assumed that it must be correct since these things oftentimes fetch the cavalry and putting the pedal to the medal is routine for them.

I wonder just how standard a design they are throughout the galaxy and whether some of the more financially secure owners' personality, and bank account, is reflected.

I would imagine news agencies have their own flavor of tech to include in the design from the keel up. Making for some unusual designs in appearance.

At any rate, DBs seem to be a wild card throughout the series.

The wiki data is rather interesting.

On several occasions, ISTR, the RMN detached a warship for the duty. DBs don't just sit in port, they have the most mileage of any vessel in space.


The wiki also says they have a crew of about 10. Which makes me feel even more that at least a single knowledgeable naval officer should have been included aboard that fateful DB tasked to fetch Tsang.

They have a crew of about 10? I wonder how much the crew can be downsized?

cthia wrote:I meant to post a while back that the wiki supports the upgraded performance of DBs - pulling 800 gravities. I just don't know how accurate it is. I simply assumed that it must be correct since these things oftentimes fetch the cavalry and putting the pedal to the medal is routine for them.

I wonder just how standard a design they are throughout the galaxy and whether some of the more financially secure owners' personality, and bank account, is reflected.

I would imagine news agencies have their own flavor of tech to include in the design from the keel up. Making for some unusual designs in appearance.

At any rate, DBs seem to be a wild card throughout the series.

The wiki data is rather interesting.

On several occasions, ISTR, the RMN detached a warship for the duty. DBs don't just sit in port, they have the most mileage of any vessel in space.


The wiki also says they have a crew of about 10. Which makes me feel even more that at least a single knowledgeable naval officer should have been included aboard that fateful DB tasked to fetch Tsang.

They have a crew of about 10? I wonder how much the crew can be downsized?

In a galactic world most news could wait just a bit. Filareta's loss was a big deal but did not affect people in the League all that directly unless they had a relative on board the ships.

As for the large crews, I would guess that people were required to be on duty at all times so you needed several watches. Figure at least three people at the helm and three dealing with engineering. Plus you need someone to handle things liking cooking, etc. There should be a captain and maybe a second in command. Think of communications. Undoubtedly a lot of the crew handle more than one task. But DB's might have to spend a long time in transit. I remember Rabenstrang spoke of being in one for ten days.