[RP] Phobos and Demios: Intwined Fates

Yeah I know I keep posting stuff. I get ideas from the most unlikely things, and this one is a prime example. Kasane Teto's Kasane Territory ~It's Teto's Turn Forever! song sparked this while I was playing NavyFIELD. The spark thought was more specifically had looking at the one-day pracrice Battleship's 20.1'' guns, and imagining the sort of noise they would produce. Then, my thoughts snapped to my Aerospace Vessels for a split second- and I imagined a thunderous roar eminating from outside a clausterphobic box. Out of the ashes came the ISA Vengeance, and a pair of weapons I introduced in the original Solus Ortis, Phobos and Demios, twin cannon types prevalant on the Task Force's primary warships, weapons of incredibly power. Well I just altered them for space operations, and I created in the blink of an eye the third most powerful weapon in all of One Man War to be mounted on a ship.

Note that unlike the Solus Ortis versions, they are one and the same weapon, but given names like Tristan and Isolder from Mobile Suit Gundam's guns on the Arkangel.

Note to Self: Add in proper font styles later.



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Phobos and Demios: Intwined Fates

Note: Primary BGM Sequence Courtesty of [Kasane Teto PV] Kasane Territory ~It’s Teto’s Turn Forever!

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“Primary firing in two!” Gunnery Master Kaito yelled over the rumbling of the hull and assorted engineering noises.
“Roger sir! Primary firing!” One of the gunnery Major’s responded, flipping the switch on his protective earpiece.
Half a second later a tremendous roar ripped through the air as the forward turret of the ISA Vengeance (Indomiable Spirits of War) fired, sending a pair of eight-thousand pound projectiles soaring off in the distance with a Base Charge Muzzle Velocity of nearly 2,600 Meters Per Second. The ISA Vengeance was a special ship, for there was no air in space, yet it still resonated with the thud of the massive guns. This was caused by the ships special shield, one that was built to hold in a massive quantity of air for the purposes of gun acceleration- airburst charges has much faster Base Charge MV’s then the typical Magnetic Hammer propulsion of the Optical-class of weaponry; or for that matter, even, of the huge Par-Three Standard-type Physical Projectile burst systems prevailant on every Imperial BioAndronian Navy vessel. The two systems that passed the Par-Two ‘Megalith’ Base Charge Gun Propulsion System (P2 BCGP System) was that of the Par-One, better known as the Etherial Charge System, the propulsion system prevailant on the E-Series of Plasma Howitzers (for the E-Beam was classed upward into a new class above Plasma Artillery; the E-Baby was still in the Plasma Artillery class, however.) and, of course, the fabled Par-Zero Propulsion System, the elusive ‘perfect’ plasma-based charge/coolant system roumored to be used on the weapon known only as the EoD-I; the weapon, of course, built to accompany the more fearson vessel ever to roam the stars, the IAS Forgotten. However, in practice, the Megalith was far more powerful then the ECS, because it was a physical base charge system, and thus powered a projectile was a far greater mass then a plasmatic energy projectile. The ECS, however, was far faster then the Megalith, for the same reason- a plasmatic energy projectile weighed almost nothing, so it had essentially zero resistance and thus a weaker charge could send it barreling away at speeds beyond imagination.
A shrill alarm rang right after firing, and continued to ring for twenty-five seconds- it was a well-established fact that at least one person was a victim of the incredible force of the firing of the guns, and so they would be deaf for at least fifteen seconds. The alarm signaled everyone to stay clear of the gun housing’s walls, because they were superheated, and as such, contact with them would no doubt prove to be a fatal- and final- mistake. Because the actual air content of the outside hull was low in order to facilitate cooling (90% of physical projectile gun systems were cooled by the Absolute Zero temperature of space) the outer hull frequently did not display the signature thobbing-red colour of heated metal, and did not display any signs of heat-stress or warping colours becaose of their high-stress design, it could be impossible to tell if the hull was safe to touch or not. This was incredibly critical for the gunners inside, who would be jarred around during the firing process (known as Fire Dicipline in the order of battle) and would have to rely on the sound of the alarm to remind them to remain away from the walls- as m,uch as their rattled brains would like to do otherwise.

Far off in the distance, beyond any reasonable degree of visual sight, a fleeing vessel watched in abject horror as their displays showed the Vengeance’s guns firing. The shells closed the distance in little more then twelve seconds, but these twelve seconds were the longest in any of the crew’s life. With a sickening screech, the shells impacted the shield, which offered very little resistance before overloading and destroying their projectors in the backblast of energy. The shells, which lost very little momentum from hitting the shields, continued on as if nothing happened, hitting the hull, driving through a good fifty feet of deck- they were so heavy it took the pressure caps a moment to realise they had already penetrated the hull- before detonating. From all the way in the forward deck, the crew could do nothing but hear the scream of tortured metal blasting away. They had already sealed off every blast door in the ship, knowing that was the best they could do. The sound of escaping air was barely audible- not because of the distance between the deck and the hole, but because the hole was so big the air was gone almost instantly- that which wasn’t outright ignited by the blast. With the horror of the impact over, the captain sat back in his chair, drenched in sweat, and with tears running down his face. No matter what his people did, they were all dead. The other crew members were already rushing to send out a surrender message, but the captain just sat in his chair, knowing it was all for nothing.
“Captain? We should wait at the airlock.” His lieutennant called.
“Why bother? Wait.. Countermand that, let’s go.” The capatain said, thinking of something he could do.
Both men arrived at the airlock in just eight seconds- the only airlock left was the private one for the captain- and the captain motioned inside. The lieutennant, confused, walked in. He heard the doors shut behind him and was immediately filled with an overwhelming sense of panic.
“Captain?! W-what are you doing?”
“Letting you go out easy.”
“W-What are you t-talking about?”
“Those guys aren’t going to let us go.”
“But we surrendered!”
“They don’t care. Hell, they’ve probably got their communications gear powered down.”

As if on cue, an announcement filled the ship:
“Attention all crew! Proceed to escape pods posthaste! The enemy vessel is not responding to our hails! I repeat-”
“See? They’re not interested in talking. We took a gamble trying to escape, and we will pay dearly for it.”
“Then we should-”
“Shut up and accept that you’re going to die one way or another! The shell is no doubt already on its way! At least you’ll go out painlessly.” The captain said, his voice trembling.
“Captain... I... Thanks...”
The captain looked up, surprised. His lieutennant walked over to the interiour command pad and rested his hand on the ‘Purge’ command.
“You’ve been a great captain, I mean that. Even if we’ve never seemed grateful, I know that every one of us would be glad to have you as a captain. You’ve led us through the worst of times, through the worst of deaths. You may be one harsh son of a bitch, but you’re our harsh son of a bitch. We wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Conrad...”
“It’s okay. There’s still time to hop in you know.”
“That’s alright. I’ve decided to stay here. However much I’d like to go out the hatch, I’ve got some unpaid dues to give. Things I’ve done that I can’t even tell you, even knowing you’re going to be dead in a moment. I’ve committed the worst of sins, and I’m past due on paying for them.”
The captain and Conrad stared at once another in grim understanding. Conrad nodded once, then, before he could get emotional, rammed his fist down on the ‘Purge’command. The last thing the captain saw of Conrad was his body hurtling out through the airlock at six hundred kilometers per hour.
The captain knelt on the floor and prayed.
“Our Lord who art in Heaven, Forgive me, for I have sinned...”

The last thing the captain felt was the slow, merciful resonance of hardened steel shaking as a shell grazed it, and then the burling oblivion of death.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
“Fire Mission sucessful Gunnery Master! Enemy ship confirmed total destruction! Telemetry reports no objects of large size retrograding from the vessel before destruction, although they do report a man-shaped object ejecting from the vessel right before we hit it the second time.”
“Show me.”
A video was patched into the gun control room’s single auxillery screen set. The screen was aging, never being used much anyways, so it was never marked for replacement. The screen-damaged image was hard to make out, but there was no mistaking a black streak flying away from the vessel at high speed- and quickly loosing focus, the sign of explosive depressurization, as the body lost the protective forces of pressure that kept it intact, and it blew itself apart. (This is an advanced physics theory of the One Man War Universe, stating that the pressure forces existant on Earth act to keep an object intact by pressing down on it. Every object on Earth has adapted ot this specific pressure range, so when pressure is lessened or increased, the object would begin to warp. If pressure was abruptly reduced to nothing, the object would almost instantly rip apart, as it was in essence push back against the pressure to ensure it itself did not get crushed, and it cannot adapt that fast, resulting in what would look like a body turning into mist in a split second. (While in reality the body would expand at an incredibe rate, much too fast for it to stop itself or even remain intact. It would literally expand into oblivion.)

Upcoming Events:

Side-Story of the ISA Vengeance's time before it was refitted as an Aerospace Vessel, as a member of the three-ship Task Force 17, out in the Pacific Ocean, engaged in surface operations against the PLAN. (People's Liberation Army Navy; Translate that out of Chinese bigotry, and you get Chinese Navy.)

Note: The BGM for the battle is God Slaying Machine from Vocarock- Hope

Members of Task Force 17:

FFS Indomitable Spirit, a modified Montana-II class Battleship, one of the few modern battleships built after the 2069 Fleet Review at the New York Naval Shipyards, which was aimed at providing a number of hulls to modify into Aerospace Vessels. (There are two types of AV hulls: Cylinder, the contemporary time, which feature ~360-degree defensive capability, and Naval, like the Battleship Yamato from the series of the same name. Note that in the case of a Star Destroyer, it falls into both categories because it has a 360-degree defensive system, but would not look that out-of-place sitting in the water. However, it is primarily a Cylinder design, because the bridge does not sport weapons, and thus can be effectively deleted, leaving a more or less symmetrical hull. A Super Star Destroyer, on the other hand, is a Naval design, as it has a clear difference from the top and bottom, and its bottom is much steeper then the top, giving a more shiplike look. As well, in the water, it would be not unlike a battleship without guns, rather having its Armoured Citadel stretching the whole ship's length, and being defended exclusively by its secondary armament. (Which is a joke, because its secondary armament is its primary armament now.)

The Indomitable Spirit has a primary armament consisting of twenty-one 32-inch guns in seven triple mounts, with an average rate of fire of ten shells per minute. (A highly advanced autoloading system and abandonment of multiple-strength charges gives it this blindingly high fire rate for such a large gun. Because its projectiles are fired at such a fast speed and are so heavy, the downsides to adapting a single, maximum-strength charge package are essentially negated. At any rate, it is primarily a land-attack battleship, as it plays more of a Disruptor role on the high seas, using Seaquake shells to throw off the aiming of enemy ships, if not outright capsize small vessels. (It can just as easily use its ground-attack shells against enemy ships- its accuracy is point-and-shoot precise, and the heavy shells make them all but immune to wind factors.)

Its secondary armament consists of one hundred and fifty-two five-inch flak cannons in double mounts located amidships (so 76 per side), as well as a smattering of fixed ZSU-23/4's located all along both sides of the ship, virtually the whole ship's length. (ZSU-23/4's are quad-barreled 23mm flak dealers with a blindingly high fire rate. These have been optimized for ground attack through the use of higher-powered charges and high-angle shots. Because of this they are less effective against aircraft, but can still keep an aircraft keep his distance.) As well as sixteen GAU-8/S Super Vulcans, large mounts consisting of nine GAU-8's welded together on a traversable and removable mounting platform. Configured as 'bullet rain' systems, their purpose is to force enemy troops and light vehicles into shelter, where the big guns will rain death on the clumped units. Equally effective as a last-ditch CIWS against aircraft, because they spray so many rounds in a single cubic foot of airspace. More then a few aircraft have been gutted in an instant, and usually, the wreckage is unrecognizable as anything other then metallic swiss cheese.

In its defensive armament, the Indomitable Spirit uses a battery of sixty-four I-HAWK, or Improved HAWK missiles, an advanced HAWK battery with nine reloadable tubes. As well, for antimissle defense, it has a state-of-the-art CIWS (Close-In Weapon System) battery along the lip of the hull and the superstructure. Much more advanced then the Phalanx CIWS on American Ships, these guns work in teams of at least two against individual missiles, which allows them to catch the missile in a wall of fire. (If three batteries fire on one missile, the one closest to the missile's flight path fired directly upon it while the other two fire in front of it, plus five inches beyond the typical point of fire, and shift inward. This guarantees a kill.)

The ship also is large enough to house its own STOL aircraft deck inside the rear, above the engine compartment. The STOL deck is capable of holding forty aircrafts in ferrying configuration, or up to sixteen combat-ready aircraft with room for error, or twenty-one aircrafts with zero room for error. (Meaning an abort is a crash at sea- there is no room for braking for the first five aircraft out the door.)



ISA Ark Vengeance, the unmodified version of the ISA Vengeance, is the scourge of every military-operated vessel, aircraft, or ground vehicle planetwide. While not equipped with the same kind of primary armament in mind as the Indomitable Spirit, the Ark Vengeance more then makes up for its diminished ability to fill a solid cubic foot of space with shells by being able to target anything, anywhere, anytime with its two massive cannons and huge array of multipurpose missiles. The Ark Vengeance was built to provide a global platform for mounting attacks across vast distances. Because its massive cannons cannot be equipped with the same kind of recoil-negating system on a seabourne vessel as a ground-based structure, the Ark Vengeance rides incredibly low in the water to provide the necessary recoil-absorbing abilities the weapons themselves lack. Because of this, the vessel is propelled almost entirely by waterjets, although it retains propeller shafts in retractable cubbyholes for backup. Utilizing these waterjets, the Ark Vengeance is capable of turning on a dime in the water, doubling its gun traversal speeds. (Because one can turn the ship the port and port the turrets at the same time, so the guns reach their target zone faster. The only downside is that it requires increased trimming, because the ship turning is not as precise as the turret turning, and the braking maneuver has never been an exact science.)

The ISA Ark Vengeance’s primary armament consists of the two massive Phobos and Demoios cannons, single-bore turrets that span almost a third of the ship’s length alone. (The ship itself is longer then the largest supertankers in the world, at almost 540 meters.) These cannons have an adjustable-bore design, allowing them to use literally any rifled projectile known to man, with minor adjustments. (It can fire down to a 1.27 round, but the fact is the round can’t be packed with enough firing solution to propel it at the same clip as a large shell without destroying the shell or bore in the process. However, specially-designed small-calibre shells have been designed to bridge this gap, allowing the two cannons to essentially act as huge, sea-based sniper rifles- albeit ones with a blindingly high muzzle velocity!) Primarily, the two cannons use a 20.1- or 21.2-inch bore for Armour Piercing rounds, while a range of sizes between 24.5- and 56-inch are used for high explosive. Nuclear rounds have been specially designed to be fired from the Phobos or Demios, and the cannons are also capable of firing rocket-assisted projectiles with minimal modification. (If it’s a rocket-assisted shell, the only modification to the bore required is transitioning from full-rifling to two-fifths rifling, because the shell is going to be accelerating in the barrel, so the rifling has to match. If it is preparing to fire- literally- a rocket, the rifling must be retracted, the bore compressed, and Guidance Rails exposed for the rocket to maintain a straight course through the bore. Upon hitting the bore evacuator, the guidance rig is shed, and the Rails become more of helping hands to keep the rocket aligned when it ignites. (Because it cannot use its maneuvering jets inside the barrel; In the case of a winged rocket, the wings are pinned backwards under the guidance rig, and pop out as it accelerates out the barrel by the rig’s pressure being released, and the ignition of the rocket motor. The flaps don’t fully extend until it is quite a ways away from the cannon, but all this happens in the span of about half a second- and the very thought of extending wings inside a barrel is incredibly risky, but they’ve done it. If the rig were shed on the ground as a display, the wings would pop out with enough force to cleave a three-inch think steel plate in half, even without the added boost from the rocket ignition.)

Note: For rough visuals of the cannons, look to the Railway Gun from Lost Planet 2- the mounting is identical in that the exposed cannon in its entirety juts out over the water, and the back end does the same. (Except Phobos/Demios are much bigger then the Railway Gun. The barrel itself spans almost eighty meters, while the whole thing spans 160 meters.) Also, there is no ammo crane on the back because all the ammo is stored underneath the gun.

For a more precise breakdown of the cannon’s length:

Barrel Length (Beyond Ship Edge): 80 meters
Mounting Length (Between Edges): 40 meters
Counterweight Length: (Beyond Ship Edge): 40 Meters.

These are, however, subject to change. I’m not a master on hydrodynamics nor naval gunnery, and these figures would present one hell of an unbalanced recoil effect, even if the counterweight was solid metal. (Assuming the damn thing didn’t sink the ship with all that weight!)

I’m especially sketchy about the width. With a length of 540 meters, this thing would look like a friggin’ twig, not exactly stable. But at the same time, my lack of understanding of naval stability works to my advantage- it would very well be as stable as I need. After all, WWII Battleships were far thinner, and they didn’t even noticeably rock in the water, even after rapid firing their guns. (Granted, their guns were far shorter and lighter. However, it’s like a gear here- it would take much more force for a gun stationed far out to flip a ship then one tucked close in, and I’m fairly sure I can explain away a system. Regardless, I’ll probably widen the beam to fifty or sixty meters. The gun dimensions will stay the same, but rather then say Beyond Ship Edge it would be Exposed Barrel Length. It’ll make it look even more unbalanced, but anyone with half a brain would see that the barrel is measured in its entirety, while the counterweight is still Beyond Ship Edge.) One more thing: Unlike the Railway Gun, the counterweight (rear of the gun) is the same thickness as the mounting area, so it doesn’t have that M10 Tank-looking turret shape. (A sloped back design. The M10’s turret has its gun, a thick carrage over the turret ring, and then a thin lip on the back; the carrage was sloped backwards front and back, the sloping of the back probably for psychological reasons, and to make it appear faster then it really was. Phobos and Demios’ mounts are more of a solid rectangular block with a huge cylinder poked in one end. The cannon is embedded in the carrage, so the loading dock is not exposed like the Railway Gun’s is.)




Third Ship ID coming soon!

The third ship in Task Force 17 is the FFS Silent Torment, an Aeterna-class Ground Effect Submarine.

The Ground Effect Submarines are equipped with a pair of large delta wings that can be stowed away during underwater travel. However, the Silent Torment's delta wings are four times as thick and much more durable ,allong them to be used as additional stabilizing rudders, as well as planing rudders, allowing it to change sub-marine altitude without the use of any ballast tanks, which is much quieter.

The Silent Torment, as all GE Submarines, is equipped with a large array of engines driving five propellers, four of which are arranged in a square, and the fifth being dead center. It is also equipped with four rocket engine 'rings' that circle the four point propellers. These rocket engines are used to propel the submarine out of the water and into controllable flight using ground effect on the delta wings to remain airborne. As such, the large submarine's profile has been updated with a control suite rather then a conning tower. The end effect looks not unlike a tube with the wings of a Mirage 2000, albiet with eight rudders on the wing. (Because a tailwing would be more or less useless on a submarine, as the submarine's huge flank would destroy any hope of boosting its turning ability with a tailwing. The simple fact is you will never be able to turn a huge submarine with the same kind of speed underwater as above water becaose of the density. Also, a tailwing on a plane actually adds drag when turning, because the air is now hitting part of the face of the wing, not just the approach. Without a tailwing a plane would, in theory only, have a better rudder rate then one with a rudder.)

When in GE mode, the propellers retract just into the body and curve to match the contours of the rear curve. At that point, they resume normal operation, but act as fans rather than thrust. Landing a GE Submarine is a tricky business, because water is like a solid wall to a fast-moving object. Standard GE Submarines must decellerate enough to minimize potential for damage, and then ease the beast down. The Silent Torment, being modified by the 753rd Engineering Division of the GDA, the best damn engineering division known to man, is able to make a minimum of three emergency full-power landings without sustaning structural damage. As well, it is sophisticated enough to not only land at high speed, but then begin a dive as fast as possible. Under optimal conditions, the Silent Torment could land at maximum speed, and be totally submerged in just under fwenty-five seconds. It has also been stressed to take a nosedive landing- literally diving nosefirst into the water. However, it can only pull off one of these maneuvers safely, despite the high-strength delta wings. (And that regardless if it impacts the water on an angle, or can pull off a smooth transition between flight and dive- the angled impact just makes a second maneuver that much more risky. It's still like trying to punch through half an inch of solid ice- you can do it if you punch hard enough, but it sure as shit is gonna hurt. Random Fact: Falling in air at 3m/s is like running facefirst into a brick wall. Falling at 3m/s into water would most likely kill you, if not leave you seriously wounded and left to die from drowning or exposure.)

Because the GE subs use five propellers, they can travel underwater at a faster velocity then on the water, primarily because three of its propellers are no longer producing thrust. On the flip side, with three engines off on the water, its fuel endurance is extrodinary.

The GE Subs can be equipped with a large deck gun, available to all types, including combat types, which do not feature the ability to stow the gun. The large deck gun is similar in appearance to the Railway Gun from Lost Planet 2, except the traversal ring is embedded into the hull. For the non-stowing combat types, the traversal rate is faster then stowing mounts, and for stowing mounts, the deck surrounding the gun moves aside, and the gun stows inside. Because of the depth limitations, the gun is not completely stowed, so part of the barrel pokes up out of the hull. (It has an automatic hydrodynamic cap, and unlike the Railway Gun, the gun is closed, not open-reload.)

The Silent Torment is equipped with a rear-mounted hydrodynamically-flush array of twelve missile silos, with a total battery of forty-eight missiles, or four launches each. A complete reload cycle required fifteen minutes, simply because there is not enough room for more then three loaders to maneuver around. Reloading individual silos takes slightly over one minute. Also on the rear are six side-mounted torpedo tubes, mounted higher then the midline, and used as a last-ditch effort to attack enemy submarine targets to its rear. The tubes can hold two full-sized guided torpedoes, or three guided minelayers. (The minelayers can load mines, depth charges, or an adapted ‘Hedgehog’ launcher, optimized for underwater use. Basicially a series of oversized harpoons, with high explosives packed in them.) For their forward armament, they have eight torpedo launchers, in pairs, along the edges of the nose as if it was a square. These launchers can hold two readied torpedoes and one reserve, and the total torpedo load is sixty-four torpedoes. If the submarine does not have a gun equipped, it can use the same space to increase its ammo count for torpedoes or missiles. It can also carry mines in this space, which are ejected out four short tubes on the bottom, angled at a 45 degree angle to the rear. (So they don’t strike the hull when dropped from an airborne state.) Some specially-modified submarines can load a large semi-guided rocket load that is stowed on a rack in the same area as the gun would go. This allows them to continue coastal bombardment when their missiles are depeted, and also allows them to engage surface vessels at close range.