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Kerbfleet: A Jool Odyssey-END OF CHAPTER 21! (and hopefully not so many talking heads in 22!)


Mister Dilsby

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Can bloaked ships detect bloaked ships? I don't think so, but they can communicate with each other. What does this mean for future missions?

Well, for a start, some particles or waves interact with the bloaking system. This means that eventually, a technology could be designed to detect them. And, it stands to reason, since the Kerbulans have had bloaking for a while, they have developed a way to counter its effects- maybe like how you can use water spray to see laser beams.

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16 minutes ago, Dman979 said:

Can bloaked ships detect bloaked ships? I don't think so, but they can communicate with each other. What does this mean for future missions?

 

I don't think so either.... I don't recall a Trek episode where two cloaked ships faced off... but there was a TOS episode where the Enterprise stole a Romulan cloak, and once Scotty got it working the Rommies were just as blind as everyone else to it. So it stand to reason once a ship is bloaked no-one can see it, be they also bloaked or not.

Later down the road ways were discovered to detect a cloak... at least partially... but that was in the later series's... 

Edited by Just Jim
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I'm sure the pilot will be willing to discuss terms of surrender....especially when his RCS and O2 are almost out.
Grab the fighter, wait out the pilot.

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Hm, good question (and answers) regarding bloaked ships. Starfleet canon is of course a reasonably useful reference in this field, but it's certainly not binding. What we do know from Kerbfleet canon is that blocked ships can communicate using something called "focused beam transmission". No time right now to give you the link, but recall that Newdun and Wehrford Kermulan talked to each other while both their fighters were bloaked in orbit around Bop. If I recall correctly Wehrford told Newdun to maintain silence, since focused beam transmissions could be intercepted. It's implied (though never explicitly stated by Your Author) that to use a focused beam you'd have to have some idea where the ship you're talking to actually is. As for the rest--*waves hands*

Edited by Kuzzter
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18 hours ago, 0111narwhalz said:

Hmm... Are the focused beam receivers omnidirectional, or could you use one to determine the bearing on the transmitter?

Based on being focused, I'd guess they're not omni.  The question is, can they be used as Relays with CommNet?!

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20 hours ago, Kuzzter said:

Hm, good question (and answers) regarding bloaked ships. Starfleet canon is of course a reasonably useful reference in this field, but it's certainly not binding. What we do know from Kerbfleet canon is that blocked ships can communicate using something called "focused beam transmission". No time right now to give you the link, but recall that Newdun and Wehrford Kermulan talked to each other while both their fighters were bloaked in orbit around Bop. If I recall correctly Wehrford told Newdun to maintain silence, since focused beam transmissions could be intercepted. It's implied (though never explicitly stated by Your Author) that to use a focused beam you'd have to have some idea where the ship you're talking to actually is. As for the rest--*waves hands*

They're probably sending a weak omni-directional signal to align receiver and transmitter, and then switch to a highly directional mode which actually allows communication. Would reduce the probability of interception to a minimum. Also, I finally know what word "bloak" has been derived from. I always assumed "cloak" but since @Kuzzter wrote "block" that actually makes sense as well. Might as well be a merger of those words - a cloaked block?

If I recall correctly, Star Trek established some sort of "tachyon field" (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Tachyon)  created by cloaked vessels. KF-AJO has done something similar with "positive graviolis" or whatever it was called. Hence, there seems to be some similarity regarding the functionality of that device at least.

 

 

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26 minutes ago, something said:

KF-AJO has done something similar with "positive graviolis" or whatever it was called.

Just going to point out, the positive graviolis were mentioned as cancelling out the inevitable negative gravioli radiation (i.e. gravity waves) caused by any large mass. The positive particles were produced especially to inhibit production of negative particles, which would have given the ship away. There is no indicated that positive gravioli is necessary for the operation of the bloak, they probably only block that particular spectrum of radiation.

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41 minutes ago, greenTurtle1134 said:

Just going to point out, the positive graviolis were mentioned as cancelling out the inevitable negative gravioli radiation (i.e. gravity waves) caused by any large mass. The positive particles were produced especially to inhibit production of negative particles, which would have given the ship away. There is no indicated that positive gravioli is necessary for the operation of the bloak, they probably only block that particular spectrum of radiation.

Could they be detected by an absence of gravilois? If adding a positive to a negative with the same absolute value equals zero, then wouldn't it be notable that there's a place in space with nor graviolis whatsoever? I assume that all solid bodies have gravioli fields, but then again, you know that they say about assumptions.

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46 minutes ago, Dman979 said:

Could they be detected by an absence of gravilois? If adding a positive to a negative with the same absolute value equals zero, then wouldn't it be notable that there's a place in space with nor graviolis whatsoever? I assume that all solid bodies have gravioli fields, but then again, you know that they say about assumptions.

Well, the way I see it, a region with a ship would have more gravity than expected (ambient field from nearby planet or star). This field is carried by negative gravioli. Now, positive gravioli is created to mask this slight increase in gravity. However, the positive gravioli is not consumed in this masking, because it can be detected in and of itself. That one panel, they mentioned that they could not detect negative gravioli anomalies but they could detect some positive gravioli. I guess negative gravioli is what really carries gravity in this universe, and positive gravioli just destroys it whenever they come in contact.

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2 minutes ago, greenTurtle1134 said:

Well, the way I see it, a region with a ship would have more gravity than expected (ambient field from nearby planet or star). This field is carried by negative gravioli. Now, positive gravioli is created to mask this slight increase in gravity. However, the positive gravioli is not consumed in this masking, because it can be detected in and of itself. That one panel, they mentioned that they could not detect negative gravioli anomalies but they could detect some positive gravioli. I guess negative gravioli is what really carries gravity in this universe, and positive gravioli just destroys it whenever they come in contact.

Clearly, this requires some serious study. Wernher and his team should commence study just as soon as they're not being attacked by cruise missiles.

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On 2017-03-19 at 11:11 AM, Kuzzter said:

(last slide, see Newdum flung out of the window)

Heheheh, heh, hehehehe, hehe, heh....

Also @Kuzzter I like how you made Newdum say "surrende"r in a funny way, so it sounded like "SURRENDAAAAHHHH!!!!!"

Edited by Wildcat111
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12 hours ago, Dman979 said:

Could they be detected by an absence of gravilois? If adding a positive to a negative with the same absolute value equals zero, then wouldn't it be notable that there's a place in space with nor graviolis whatsoever? I assume that all solid bodies have gravioli fields, but then again, you know that they say about assumptions.

You need to have gumption to make dem assumptions?

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20 hours ago, greenTurtle1134 said:

Just going to point out, the positive graviolis were mentioned as cancelling out the inevitable negative gravioli radiation (i.e. gravity waves) caused by any large mass. The positive particles were produced especially to inhibit production of negative particles, which would have given the ship away. There is no indicated that positive gravioli is necessary for the operation of the bloak, they probably only block that particular spectrum of radiation.

Gravity Waves are created at the interface of two fluids of whatever kind. This might also extend to aerodynamics and different layers of air (which then cause certain cloud patterns).

As far as I can tell there are three options:

a) Only one kind of gravioli particles exists in the vicinity of a vessel, basically rendering the vessel detectable.

b) Both kinds of gravioli particles exist, rendering the vessel detectable.

c) Positive and Negative particles annihilate according to the Einsteinian equivalence of mass and energy, generating a surge in radiation which could be detected again.

Also, any accelerated mass generates gravitational waves (and I assume, that's what you meant), although extremely weak which are a distortion of space and time that can be detected by a precise interferometer. As it was stated that the Enterprise was equipped with lots of sensors, it is fair to assume she should have the capability to detect electro-magnetic radiation...

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54 minutes ago, KAL 9000 said:

How many Kerbals are on the Intrepid's crew? There are so many I lost count.

:( <-- this is the sad face Kuzzter makes when he's done such a poor job of storytelling that readers can't keep track of the cast.

Recognizing that it can be tough for a new or casual reader, I do try to periodically give a "roll call" like this one at the beginning of Chapter 17. I hit it again, a bit more subtly, with the set of crew portraits (which are not of all the members, but if you're reading through I think it's clear who isn't pictured, and why) in chapter 18. And then there was the shot of them all on the launch pad together, but that was a while ago... and finally, in the most recent pages I've posted in the present chapter, I made sure that every member of the Intrepid crew appeared in-panel, with enough information to identify them by name, and had at least one speaking line...the rest of the exercise is left to the reader, sorry it wasn't clear enough @KAL 9000 :wink: 

5 minutes ago, Dman979 said:

One more than the number of crew spots on her spacecraft.

Also correct, which is surely the same situation as on KSS Enterprise. :( 

Edited by Kuzzter
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18 minutes ago, Kuzzter said:

:( <-- this is the sad face Kuzzter makes when he's done such a poor job of storytelling that readers can't keep track of the cast.

 

I don't think it's due to poor storytelling, I think it's just an inevitable side effect of any story with a large cast. Ask me to list all the characters from one of the Star Trek series and I'll always forget somebody and have to stop and think for a while before I remember who it is. Especially DS9, with all its side characters, many of whom were just as important and interesting as the main cast.

Edited by Hotaru
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