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Speculation is rife.
June 2024
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
Speculation is rife.
June 2024
Quote:Vigilantes Vigilum 07/13/24________________________________
A new Strategic Weapon System out in the Belt?
So, in the last few months of interesting pronouncements from the Federation and The KCPD armaments scandal, something has slipped by almost unnoticed. Somebody purchased that old Russian Caspian Sea monster and brought it to orbit. And that somebody was not the Soviet Air Force in exile like everyone expected...
It now sits on 77 Frigga, were it is supposedly being waved and converted into some form of utility cruiser. The PEPPER database lists it being registered as Class II Limited.
Allow me to be the first to say:
Bull-fucking-shit.
Let's be frank. If somebody wanted something for general utility, there're a dozen better options out there on the open market than a thirty year old Soviet rustpile. Not to mention the politics of Dagestan and getting the thing out of Russia - something that scuppered any other attempt at buying the thing. Now, you might tell me that they probably bought just because it's a damned cool thing.
You know what people do when they do that? They show it off. They make noise about having it, and how proud they are to have it. Their feeds would be full of photo's of the thing.
If anything, the Friggan folk have been far too coy and quiet about it all. Now, you know how I feel about the place - I've written about my suspicions before. Especially surrounding Jaguar, her partner and all the hardware they have. Nobody there exactly comes across as innocent.
What I do know about this ship is that it's undergoing a heavy rebuild. It does have a shipmind. And most interestingly of all, it was outfitted with an unusually advanced sensor suite for something of its kind. Something far in advance of anything normally fitted to a ship on a Class II Limited PEPPER card.
I'm going to guess that somebody bought and waved that ship with a very specific purpose in mind - a function that one ship was perfectly suited for. And it's one that will never appear on any PEPPER form.
As to what that purpose is, I'm guessing it has something to do with the six missile tubes still mounted to the back of the thing. Each one capable of carrying a 5-ton anti-shipping missile. The prototype was built to hunt aircraft carriers of all things.
Six anti-shipping missiles? Already they've exceeded the limits of Class II. Those missile tubes are large enough to carry a missile capable of destroying a station the size of Stellvia - and it can carry six of them. Each one is larger than a light fighter - and given it won't have to worry about life-support, probably cross-solar-system range at high speed. Couple that with the high efficiency sensor array and any sort of guidance system then add in what we already know they're capable of doing with drives and you've got a recipe for a dangerous strategic weapon's system.
What you have is a ship that can sit outside somewhere in the main Belt and program its missiles to hit any target in Fenspace with surprise and impunity. What you have is a First-Strike weapon. No wonder they're being so quiet - imagine the uproar that would result if this became public? Not to mention ConSec not looking fondly on such a gratuitously offensive platform.
As for why somebody would build a weapon's system like this - I have no real idea. But nobody builds a weapon like this without a clear goal in mind. The growing presence of the Crystal Millenium on Frigga makes me wonder if some Admiral Marcus in the SAM might be trying to do a run-around of those staunch pacifists in the Militia who caused so much trouble for the Hornblower projects. A full-blown strategic missile cruiser however, far exceeds the boundaries of self-defense and the Militia's espoused mission. This is a weapon which can only be used for one purpose.
Rest assured, Dear Reader - whatever the goals of this ship's builders - that I shall be watching this one closely and I shall be the first to let you know.
This has been another message from your friendly neighbourhood Vigilante.
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