Battleship News

Game Role Playing Storyline news posts from ISN News. Gus Givens and his staff will keep you updated on the latest news and rumours within the Universe.
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Gus Givens
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Battleship News

Post by Gus Givens »

Hey folks, Gus Givens here from the ISN news desk.

I know it’s been awhile but my partner, Gabby Newsome has been doing an outstanding job of keeping you all informed of what is going on.

I have been DEEPLY embedded with some VERY high ranking members of the military establishment while they discussed some of the more recent developments of the war effort. I was given an exclusive interview with an Admiral; let’s call him Admiral Smith, and he was gracious enough to answer some questions for me. Please pardon the redactions, these were necessary to allow publication of the interview.

GG: Admiral, everyone is wondering why the military is releasing sensitive military blueprints to the public and allowing them to have such a major hand in building these vessels that many are calling Battleships?

AS: Technically they are armed exploratory vessels, not Battleships. The initial plan was to allow Captains to build and fly these vessels in as observation and exploration vessels. If they ran into any issues they were to retreat and call the authorities. The modular nature of the construction, which is pretty standard whether the application is military or civilian. The Starbase owners are the ones who will have a better overall idea of the specific layout of the “battleship”. The military feels the advantages far outweigh the risks.

GG: So, what happened?

AS: There were a number of factors that caused us to reevaluate the scope of the vessel's missions. The first, vessel construction, was a matter of economics. The governments simply can’t afford to build a fleet the size of what will be required to complete the objectives required.
With modular construction, we can redesign the vessels on the fly to equip them for a variety of missions.
The second is manpower. We simply don’t have enough capable line officers to command the number of ships required.

GG: So, the solution is civilian captains?

AS: (Chuckles) these “civilian” captains have, in many cases, seen more ship to ship combat missions than our military officers have. The Sphere has become, with the exception of the A.I. a largely peaceful place. Military influence has actually declined by 40% over the last 100 years. We have quietly been retiring vessels and not replacing them. That’s one of the reasons we rely so heavily on “civilian” captains for suppression of the A.I. in those systems where they have appeared.

GG: So you will be turning civilian captains loose with these huge Battleships?

AS: Not exactly. Initially the mission objectives will be monitored and controlled by the military. As captains demonstrate their capabilities they may receive more leeway in how they conduct missions. This is largely theoretical and truthfully, we don’t have all the details ironed out yet.

GG: So what are the mission objectives going to be?

AS: Intelligence gathering. We don’t really know what we will be facing in spite of several attempts to send vessels into the core using experimental wormhole travel. Depending on what is revealed will determine the types of follow-up missions.
Sphere Captains have proven themselves capable of adaptation, critical thinking and overcoming adversities in the oddest of circumstances. They will also know these vessels inside and out.
The other thing is, military commanders are used to having vessels full of enlisted men to order around. They aren’t used to actually “flying” a vessel. These new Battleships have a very low crew requirement. This type of environment is more suited to civilian captains, than military officers.

GG: Thank you for your time Admiral.

AS: Any time Gus.

So there you have it folks.

Gus Givens
ISN News Desk
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