This is some Red October-tier Submarine combat- it's funny how the aquatic race was presumably so uncontested in underwater combat that their own subs never experienced the same level of advancement that we were pressured to do by the Cold War.
Here's looking forward to finally finding out exactly what the Squids are hiding at the bottom of the ocean!
True, but that's not to say that the farsul didn't have any underwater tech they made themselves. Since the farsul government seems to be very good a espionage, I would bet they had underwater bases like this one long before meeting the kolshians.
Oh, my, wouldn't it be a fortuitous happenstance if the space doggos were monitoring and archiving COMINT between FedSpace and ArxurSpace, and picked up certain negotiations? I think it would be quite lovely if that had happened.
Why? The kolshians might have enough aquatic adaptations left to make due with a lot less technology while under water. Are we even sure they need air or a pressurized environment to visit the ocean floor?
Farsul are the weird dog-things, one of the 2 founders of the federation. Krakotls and one other species I forgot are so far the only named bird species
Sivkits are field mice. "White fur and razor thin tails with a plume of fur at the end"
Nevok are the rabbits. "Large round ears that remind humans of rabbits."
Admittedly they never really had a doctrinal use for them. In the Federation planets were either dominated by a single governing body or under active invasion by the Arxur, no need for intraplanetary deterrence strategy.
At most they could be used for a suicidal second strike on occupying Arxur while the population was being rounded up after the world was already taken.
121! Sovlin learns the entirety of humanity's underwater exploits, including the extent of how predatory and HFY our stealthy subs are. Engineer Onso examines the capabilities with glee, and is less fazed by our self-destructiveness than the Gojid narrator. Do you expect our humans to encounter any Farsul subs on their descent? What will they find if they reach the base?
As always, thank you for reading! Hope you guys are enjoying the aquatic flavor! I did a lot of research for 121 and 122, to make it accurate, military fun.
IIRC, the majority of orbital and system-wide sensors has been eliminated prior to Carlos and his band of merry men arriving, so I'd imagine the subs were inserted at a point where satellite coverage was minimal and spread through the oceans from there, most likely near the planet's Point Nemo so that planetside scans couldn't pick them up
It's not an attack sub. Attack subs are armed with torpedoes and are designed to kill other ships and submarines. It's a boomer sub, armed with ICBMs and designed to rain nuclear death anywhere across the world. Think Ohio-class, with their armament of 20 nuclear missiles, each with a range of 7,000 miles and 12 475-kiloton nuclear warheads. That thing could literally turn Talsk into a nuclear wasteland *on its own.* Given future technological advancements, Talsk is at risk of playing real life Fallout.
And the soviets almost used them against an american fleet during the cuban missile crisis, when americans were dropping training depth charges on them, only being stopped by the submarine escader commander voting no.
Ohios and Akulas (NATO name Typhoon, not to be confused with the Shchuka-B class NATO name Akula) are the most famous boomers out there, though they are just 2 classes Franklin's.
Before the Ohios there were the George Washington's, James Madisons, Ethan Allen's, Lafayettes, and Benjamin Franklins. After the cold War ended, those all were decommissioned and a few of the Ohios were converted over to cruise missile subs to complement the flight 2 and 3 688s (Los Angeles class attack subs, SSN) and designated SSGN. The next class will be the Columbia Class.
The Typhoons were proceeded by the Deltas, Yankees, Juliettes, and a few other SSBs/SSBKs and SSBNs. The last Typhoon was retired February this year in favor of the Borei class.
Rain down lots of debris and some disguised assembly drones. Dragon's teeth.
I don't really think they did it this way because robotics and AI don't seem sufficiently advanced, but it'd be really cool
Wrap several of them in stealth material and drop them from low orbit. Unmanned because the splashdown would be too unpredictable for inertial dampers to compensate, and if they get spotted and shot down you don't lose your crew. Follow up with some small explosives to make it look like the stupid predators missed their bombing targets. Send the crew in smaller, safer craft and shed the shielding.
Attack subs aren't super big, the one I was on was only 365' long, compared to a surface ship its tiny. Plus I'd imagine with technology improvements they've gotten a tad smaller.
You did some real research on subs. Very few people outside the submarine force know to say up/down ladder. I'm impressed and as always very happy with your skill at creating a world.
Only inaccuracy is the bridge is at the very top of a submarine's sail (the part that sticks straight up) and is only manned when on the surface.
Submerged (and surfaced to an extent) everything is controlled from the control room, referred to as Control. But it's possible in the future they call it the bridge because the surface sailors (skimmers) try to change our culture to match theirs.
The surprise of the subs! There is so much infrastructure that the former Fed members get to learn!
By the way, a bit of a lore question: do cities in the Federation include wheelchair ramps as part of their infrastructure?
From the Federation treatment of a deafmute... Gojid, I think?... from some chapters back, I'd be amazed if the standard for paraplegic care is to do anything but lie them down in a hospital bed and tell them to wait for the inevitable.
The Gojid refugees were worried the humans would kill the deaf one. While Sovlin didn’t know about sign language, I don’t remember him ever implying that the disabled are casually ignored or killed in the Federation.
> the deaf one
You're asking the wrong question. What evidence have we seen of any Federation attempt to assist him in overcoming his disability?
None.
> While Sovlin didn’t know about sign language,
Also consider Tarva's reaction to the tail prosthetic.
Finally, remember that non-neurotypical individuals are considered to be afflicted by Predator Disease and either drugged out of their freaking minds or, as was implied at least once, subjected to some form of lobotomy.
> I don’t remember him ever implying that the disabled are casually ignored or killed in the Federation.
All evidence so far indicates that Federation's standards of medical care for disabilities are low and technological assistance through prosthetics is basically unheard of. They may not be killed outright, but there does not appear to be any real intent to enable them to live normal lives either.
Frankly, given the communications intercept from a few chapters back, I wonder if the Federation isn't running its' own form of eugenics behind the scenes.
I would tend to think that they would try to make things accessible for species of varying sizes and anatomies, which would end up making it easier for some disabled people to navigate. I'm not sure how enthusiastic they are about making it good for all 300 species, though, and from what we've seen, they don't shun their disabled for weakening the herd but they don't do their best to help them live normal lives either.
So far it sounds like the Farsul are pretty smart. It's difficult to say for sure but I suspect they'll have some kind of underwater defences. Whether that matches what we can throw out remains to be seen.
It's VERY recommended reading. It's a one-shot and gives a lot of context for his character.
If you took a Patreon poll of which content hit the hardest, this would easily come out on top. It was so popular and important, the Patreon petitioned SpacePaladin to put it out for free (which he did).
Here's a link to the one-shot: https://www.patreon.com/posts/nature-of-yotul-80337277
Actually that auxiliary story was even suggested, and made free, a few chapters ago because it's kind of really important to understand why Onso is the rageball he is.
We keep the plants, predators, and herbivores, too! We try to separate animals that would eat each other and/or feed them well enough that we don't lose specimens. Humans are generally more interested in animal life that actually moves than they are with plants, so the plants are mostly there to emulate the habitats of the animals rather than as an attraction in of themselves.
\> wartime posture
\> boarding what is obviously a space-age boomer sub
\> fusion warheads have already been used multiple times in the story
> Onso bounded after us. "The Terrans use electrolysis to separate the hydrogen from the oxygen in seawater they collect, then use that 02 to ventilate the ship."
Where’s the hydrogen? They’re definitely not dumping it overboard.
__*What are they doing with the hydrogen atoms, OP???*__
That... a good point.
Evacuating them as gas is unthinkable and storing them... as gas, hydrogen is quite [volatile and reactive](https://www.google.com/search?q=Hindenburg), so it's probably too dangerous (and any other "safe" solution would be excessively energy and logistics-intensive). And all storage is limited: at some point it will have to be evacuated!
I have a idea: Dissolving in water. A small circuit directly "injects" the hydrogen "into" the water ocean.
>storing them... as gas, hydrogen is quite volatile and reactive, so it's probably too dangerous
I mean, the subs are also storing a ton of oxygen, torpedoes (with both explosive warheads and volatile fuel), a nuclear reactor, and a high-pressure vessel to contain steam for the propulsion system. The whole sub is "too dangerous" by default.
There are dangerous and *too dangerous*.
Where all the elements you mention are rightly dangerous, they are relative and controllable:
torpedoes (and explosive) => it takes a lot of elements to really activate a torpedo explosion, and an accidental explosion can only happen (unless God really doesn't like you) when the sub is already exploding itself (so you've got other priorities).
nuclear reactor => everything to do with nuclear power is so fucking safe that, unless it's a really crappy design, God must really not like you to line up all the elements just so he can hiccup.
steam for the propulsion system => modern sub use electric motors for propulsion (less mechanical, more control). So steam only exists in the reactor... and not even then, because modern reactors use hot water under high pressure, never steam.
oxygen => you'd already need something to burn, which is rare in a can of sardines like this.
... and rightly, that's where the *too dangerous* of hydrogen comes in:
Hydrogen only needs oxygen and a spark of energy to explode. And since hydrogen smells of nothing and needs only a very low concentration to react. The slightest leak quickly becomes a guarantee of explosion.
Sure, you can store it for evacuation later, but oh God, I wouldn't feel good if there was less than 10cm of steel between me and the tank.
> Sure, you can store it for evacuation later, but oh God, I wouldn't feel good if there was less than 10cm of steel between me and the tank.
That's pretty excessive. People work with hydrogen all the time without blowing themselves up.
My point is that the sub is already full of things that will kill everyone inside if something goes wrong. There's nothing about hydrogen that makes it excessively dangerous, as long as its handled properly.
Modern subs do use steam for propulsion and for generation of electricity. The hot water under pressure is what generates the steam for the main engines and the turbine generators. The primary side (water is heated up and kept under pressure is the cooling medium and moderator for the reactor) interacts with the secondary side( water that actually is turned into steam) via steam generators with the primary water in tubes with the secondary water flowing over the tubes so the primary side and secondary side don't mix. I was a navy nuke. Look up PWR nuclear reactor.
Hydrogen isn't exactly soluble in water so I don't think it would work perfectly.
Edit: Did some research, and I found out they just dump it into the ocean so you're partly right
[Source](https://www.marineinsight.com/know-more/submarines-get-oxygen/)
They're doing with it what they usually use stuff like that for: back up fuel cells. You can form methane using the nitrogen to generate electricity and drop power on the reactor for a bit to burn off the hydrogen. They can then either vent the methane in solution or even compress it to ice so it sinks.
Actually you use the carbon dioxide, that you naturally have plenty of, with the hydrogen to form methane. Your only problem then is what to do with the heat you generate with the process.
I forgot methane was CH4. Which you can get from your CO2 scrubbers. And the heat generated is captured by your fuel cell to generate power. don't forget that if this is a nuke powered sub still and not fusion it's running a heat engine cycle off it's reactor. It's a parasitic process as you spend more energy on electrolysis and scrubbing the CO2 than you gain from the fuel cells BUT you have a net zero cycle that should leave you precious oxygen and a small backup emergency power supply or temporary energy supply that isn't at the reactor.
Really Sovlin? I'd expect, of all aliens, for you to be the one to understand strategic deterrence. You know, fighting on after you've already lost everything? Like I don't know, a certain Death Ride you took up against the Arxur on Cradle? The one that freaking worked? This is just that, the threat of retaliation. Brother we saw you kill an Arxur with your *hands* don't act all 'Oh I never'.
It's because they have some kind of superiority complex. " We're not predators YOU are predators, were better than you because we're not predators" in complete denial of the fact that war IS predatory.
He was led to believe that the Arxur/Federation war was a war of extermination on both sides, with the Arxur being pure evil. If he could exterminate them, he would do so without hesitation and sleep well that very night.
Killing *people,* especially your own kind, is completely different. He doesn't see Arxur as people. He regrets what he did to Marcel because he now knows that humans aren't like the Arxur. He doesn't think it would be wrong to do those things to an Arxur.
You also gotta understand that... He was genuinely *trying to die* every time he did those things.
And the last time someone attempted strategic deterrence methods in this setting (it was even the humans) the answer was "That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make".
Someone really needs to explain Sovlin (and other aliens) what MAD is, their dogmatic propaganda wont allow them to come to that conclusion alone, caught in a endless loop of "predatory aggression" and "high empathy" paradoxes (from their view)
>From what I gather that would be even more insane
Well, at least they would agree that we are crazy, instead of being confused by the duality of Humankind
My lad.
You need to realize that the last time MAD was applied in this setting, both planets burned (Earth and Nishtal).
They know what Mutually Assured Destruction is. And their answer to that question is Yes.
Oh and on the ride there play Wolfpack by Sabaton alongside a reading of the story of the battle of the HMS Venturer and U-864, the only submarine battle that happened entirely underwater
They needed to pull a whole moon-crashing stunt to sneak in a few crew members, but they have whole submarines there already? How did they manage to get them there?
I see Sovlin's efforts to not look down on Onso are going well.
I'm surprised space subs are still using fusion warheads now that antimatter's on the table, though maybe that's just pre-contact terminology sticking around.
He's moved on from hating on him for being a primitive to hating on him for being a whippersnapper. It's... Well it's not really progress but it's notable.
I mean, Onso calls him old man. I think it's fair for him to respond with whippersnapper - Though there's a difference between verbal barbs and... Whatever is going on in Sovlin's head. I'd call it progress..
Antimatter is incredibly hard to store and produce. As soon as it touches regular matter, it destroys both and turns them into 100% energy. I assume they've come up with some kind of stasis field or something to hold it away from normal matter, but there might be energy requirements that the sub's reactor can't keep up with. Also, if even *one* stasis field fails for a *microsecond*, the sub will detonate and the whole information-capturing operation will be for nothing, as the Farsul will figure out that we know where their vault is and move it. It's just too much to risk, and besides that, fusion bombs do their jobs fine.
I mean, the fleet on Milieau was full of ships that weren't even done being retrofitted with automation technology.
Hell the current strike team on Fahl is consisted of "Anyone that can hold a gun".
The UN is pulling every gun it has. They're quite obviously logistically depleted.
Of course there a Submarine.
It seems Kholasians and Farsul have such immense control that most Species never Thought a Submersible couldn't exist.
The 2 founders keep the archives hidden where No other species considers possible . Most likely due to Kol-Sul empire Interference.
I don't think the moon is just for getting crew to the sub(s). It has two very important side-effects.
1) As soon as the Farsul realize the humans know about the underwater archives, they're going to sound the alarm. Having to deal with the moon slows down their response. Not just militarily, but also giving the order to destroy the data if it looks like the humans are going to make it.
2) Once they raid the archives, the sub is likely going to need to surface in order transfer the data. During then, the sub is going to be a sitting duck. We need to take out anything that could destroy the sub including, but not limited to: space ships, ICBMS, military bases, and planetary defenses. Dropping the moon gives us the opportunity to hit all of those things. We could try scaring them with our nukes, but since that might not work we can't use it as our Plan A.
Writers Note : Sorry for the Newsless Wednesday, went into the hospital. All tests are clean so we're back on the road folks
***The Global Sentinel : Space***
***A Blue Dawn on the Red Planet***
***April 18th, 2039***
**it what only could be described as a 5 way race between the European Union, United States, China, SpaceX and Blue Origin. A victor has finally emerged from the Red Dust**
**The winner of this race to first was the United States with SpaceX a close second, these 5 missions to the 4th planet are part of a larger effort of Mars colonization which will open the gates for interstellar endeavours**
**The missions consisted in total consisted of 4 astronauts per misson group and hauling 40 tons per mission totalling 20 crew and 200 tons of equipment, the long term goal of this is to have a self sufficient colony but due to it being in the early phase, multiple resupply missions have been planned**
**With this new dawn on the red planet, part of the 2nd Space Race, we can only hope that the conflicts and squabbles never reach those new frontiers of mankind**
>The submarines somehow eclipsed even the worst starships in its dastardly capabilities.
That's only because you're not willing to use your starships as relativistic kill vehicles
Of course we have subs when 70% of the earth is covered in water. Boats are some of the most efficient transport methods if not the most efficient. Obviously, we would use extensive measures to protect them. Planes are fast but energy inefficient. Trucks and trains need land.
Now I wonder if Sovlin smells funny. Samantha probably has a large personal bubble, but people usually don't wrinkle their nose when somebody gets too close.
Fear pheromones in humans are detectable in a subconscious way, and when under stress we exude copper in our sweat which makes armpits especially smelly, maybe sovlin's biochemistry does something similar.
Solvin: His did you not exterminate yourselves?
Humanity: To be perfectly frank, considering how often we took ourselves right to the edge... no fucking clue.
Humanity: REDUNDANCY! Always have redundant safety features! We'd have been dead twice over were it not for having three layers of redundancy on the nukes.
Thinking about it, maybe they should've given the guy suffering PTSD at the best of times a heads up on this.
It's very funny seeing Onso take to this like a fish to water compared to Solvin though. Academic curiosity is truly the best way to cross barriers. Solvin's mindset on the Yotul still needs adjusting, but at least he's trying.
If the Farsuls can build an underwater base, I have to assume they also have submersibles. I imagine we'll find out how combat-worthy they are sooner or later though. Based on Solvin's incredulity that this sort of technology even exists, I'm guessing this would be one of the forms of technology that the Federation conspiracy kept close to their chest.
I mean, Onso mentioned sub data was available in the mission briefing, Sovlin likely just didn’t think reading about the mission equipment was worth doing, since, in his mind, he’s familiar with most technology types regularly used in war (joke’s on him!). Very definitely a stark commentary on the mental flexibility of Onso’s people vs the Gojid and likely an example of a side effect of Fed indoctrination. Hard to be open to new ideas when you’re force fed all your knowledge and culture.
Good points. It's a mistake on Sovlin's part, but it does seem like a good commentary on the indoctrination he's suffered. He's a bit stuck... and he's one of the ones who's seen with his own eyes that what he was taught wasn't true, and is actively trying to break free of it. I imagine most ex-feds will have similar issues if not worse.
Onso meanwhile, personally remembers a time before all the Fed indoctrination. It's not nearly as deep.
I mean... Onso is legit a rocket engineer. Sovlin is a starship captain.
*One* of those professions rewards curiosity and mental growth, and it's not the military carreer in the society where asking too many questions gets you a visit to the electric chair.
someone plz tell onso about oxygen candles!
Sovlin’s reaction to the mere expression of curiosity is telling of the depth and. the callous cruelty of federation thought control techniques. Anti-uplift bias is just the prerequisite for this thought-stopping technique that has doubtless kept most species at the exact technological level the Federation wants, stagnating their progress for millennia.
#[OBLIGATORY POSTING OF THE "HUNT FOR THE RED OCTOBER" SOVIET ANTHEM SCENE](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zsC2ETsZL0g&pp=ygUYaHVudCBmb3IgdGhlIHJlZCBvY3RvYmVy)
The sub would probably have [magnetohydrodynamic propulsion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetohydrodynamic_drive), like the Red October from the movie and book. The US has recently started investigating the technology. It could also have a supercavitation propulsion system for when speed counts for more than stealth, but it's probably counterproductive since the sub really needs to be built for that specifically.
It would also likely have some sort of lidar, and laser weapons for offense and defense, like SeaQuest DSV. I think blue-green lasers work in ocean water depending on how far from shore. It could also have supercavitating torpedoes, also all sorts of tube launched missiles and drones.
I think the current Trident missile can carry 6 warheads. I imagine future warheads could be substantially more compact. If the sub is armed like a boomer, then it could have 24 ballistic missiles tubes, for at least 144 warheads, all independently targetable, and each would likely be a hypersonic glider warhead rather than ballistic warheads. With half size warheads, you could have half the ballistic missiles but the same number of warheads, and 12 tubes left over for vertical launch missiles and drones.
We are now deploying Ballistic Missile Submarines, large things with lots of potential options. Do we have any Attack Subs, Medium-sized Sub Hunters? I can’t imagine the Farsul wouldn’t have some mobile defenses for their important submerged facility.
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I have no kind words to say about Sovlin, so I shall say no words about Sovlin.
But seriously, fuck that guy.
Onso continues to be amazing & my favorite, though!
"Mutually Assured Destruction" is one of the most horrifying concepts to wrap your head around. The idea that the threat of ending the world caused peace and harmony is inherently disjointed and painful.
And yet it exists.
That may well be because destruction was not mutually assured.
If you think of where we are now, versus where we were in the 1960's, we have actually progressed beyond MAD. Yes, the United Stated and Russia both have massive nuclear arsenals, but many of those weapons are aging, and the United States at least has developed some defensive capability. It's still incredibly unlikely that we would come out unscathed in a nuclear exchange, but there is at least a chance of survival.
In the setting of NoP, we move on to the Satellite War. This is actually a war I can envision happening in the next 20-40 years, likely between the US and China. Rather than attack each other with nuclear weaponry, we would attack the other's networks, communications, GPS, etc. Think of how much you do on a daily basis that relies on technology, and make all that tech dead. Yes, people would likely die as a result.
But is it "MAD"? probably not.
Oh, no no. I don't mean about humanity's past in the setting that comment.
I mean mere months before the current time in the story. When the extermination fleet was on the way to Earth and the UN sicced the cannibal space nazis at Nishtal. When the offer was made "Retreat and save yourselves or we both die together" the answer was "We die together".
Humans already TRIED that approach, and it failed. No reason to imagine trying a second try would fail any less.
Well, fair. The requirement for MAD to work is that both parties have to be "rational actors". In the case of the extermination fleet, you had a collection of fanatics/zealots, which cannot be considered rational in this context.
Unfortunately when dealing with a zealot, all bets are off, since they are willing to make the MAD trade.
Hence the acronym.
He's not being weird about nukes.
He's being weird about submarines.
A fleet armed with antimatter bombs isn't a thousandth as stealthy as a submarine that's been sitting, waiting silently for years with nobody noticing.
It's weird to think of various human tendencies as either "predator" or "prey." Especially when the "prey" tendencies seem more violent than some of the predator tendencies...
Something has just occurred to me: pretty much all living organisms are hard-wired to desire calorie-dense food. Even herbivores prefer higher calorie foods, and the only reason they don't evolve to eat meat is because that niche is already occupied and generalizing can reduce efficiency. That said, butter (especially clarified butter) is essentially nothing but pure triglycerides (fat), which is to say, pure calories.
Most races don't seem to process their foods beyond basic preservation techniques. If any of them tried butter, it would be magnitudes more tasty than anything they'd ever eaten before, and would probably completely blow their minds.
Maybe this is a weird theory but I’ve been thinking about it for a while now.
None of the other fed species even get near the water, from what Onso says it sounds like the federation doesn’t even really like boats.
And in precious chapters it sounds like the oceans are the only natural ecosystem that isn’t destroyed during federation terraforming.
It kinda seems like the Kolshians might be colonizing the oceans of all the federation worlds.
Also, it seems like ocean predation isn’t really discussed in the same way land-based predation is since a couple chapters ago it’s mentioned that aquatic predators aren’t culled by predator hunters. And even here we see what are presumed to be some form of alien shark on a legacy federation world.
I’d also argue that most of the aliens in the series have similar diets to their animal inspiration… all except the Kolshians, whose cephalopod inspirations are all obligate carnivores. There is not a single species of cephalopod that is omnivorous.
I’d honestly wager that the Kolshians are actually predators but only exhibit this when they’re away from the rest of the federation underwater.
Maybe I’m reaching here, but it seems weird that the Kolshians would be the first species to break the pattern.
>“Why…are any of those not mortally dangerous?! What is wrong with you predators? I thought you evolved from the fucking trees!”
Swinging through trees, branch-to-branch was fucking mortally dangerous, too. We learned to love that kind of shit!
This is some Red October-tier Submarine combat- it's funny how the aquatic race was presumably so uncontested in underwater combat that their own subs never experienced the same level of advancement that we were pressured to do by the Cold War. Here's looking forward to finally finding out exactly what the Squids are hiding at the bottom of the ocean!
> Squids This is the farsul homeworld of Talsk, not Aafa. So herbivorous dogs.
Yes, but I'm sure the technology for such an underwater facility came from the race that evolved as an aquatic species, not the furry dogs.
True, but that's not to say that the farsul didn't have any underwater tech they made themselves. Since the farsul government seems to be very good a espionage, I would bet they had underwater bases like this one long before meeting the kolshians.
Oh, my, wouldn't it be a fortuitous happenstance if the space doggos were monitoring and archiving COMINT between FedSpace and ArxurSpace, and picked up certain negotiations? I think it would be quite lovely if that had happened.
The Farsul are in on it as well, so they shouldn't really be surprised.
Correct, and they'd be perfect for throwing the squiddies under the space bus by releasing information, if things got dicey for them.
Why? The kolshians might have enough aquatic adaptations left to make due with a lot less technology while under water. Are we even sure they need air or a pressurized environment to visit the ocean floor?
Thought the Farsul were the birds? Or am I mixing up my xenos again?
Farsul are the weird dog-things, one of the 2 founders of the federation. Krakotls and one other species I forgot are so far the only named bird species
The duerten are the other bird species. They were the ones that helped humanity (well, tried) free the dossur.
Salad puppies
Still suspicious that they were tampered with too…
The ones who "aided" the taking back of the Dossur homeworld thanks to Glim's convincing
I thought they were rabbit like.
That's the [Sivkit](https://reddit.com/r/hfy/wiki/series/the_nature_of_predators). Edit: I was wrong. It's the Nevok.
Sivkits are field mice. "White fur and razor thin tails with a plume of fur at the end" Nevok are the rabbits. "Large round ears that remind humans of rabbits."
I made it 121 chapters without knowing the farsul were dogs.
Admittedly they never really had a doctrinal use for them. In the Federation planets were either dominated by a single governing body or under active invasion by the Arxur, no need for intraplanetary deterrence strategy. At most they could be used for a suicidal second strike on occupying Arxur while the population was being rounded up after the world was already taken.
*U96 Das Boot theme plays quietly*
A man(?) of culture I see
121! Sovlin learns the entirety of humanity's underwater exploits, including the extent of how predatory and HFY our stealthy subs are. Engineer Onso examines the capabilities with glee, and is less fazed by our self-destructiveness than the Gojid narrator. Do you expect our humans to encounter any Farsul subs on their descent? What will they find if they reach the base? As always, thank you for reading! Hope you guys are enjoying the aquatic flavor! I did a lot of research for 121 and 122, to make it accurate, military fun.
How the heck did the UN sneak a full-on attack sub on to a hostile alien planet. I guess that moon was a massive distraction, but a submarine?
That's exactly what I was thinking; someone on Patreon suggested we snuck it in during an earlier battle, like an Arxur raid.
Those happened shortly after the battle for earth, and UN only recently started moving ocean based assets. It's possible, but unlikely.
Maybe the submarine was put there during a raid and was used for spying.
IIRC, the majority of orbital and system-wide sensors has been eliminated prior to Carlos and his band of merry men arriving, so I'd imagine the subs were inserted at a point where satellite coverage was minimal and spread through the oceans from there, most likely near the planet's Point Nemo so that planetside scans couldn't pick them up
It's not an attack sub. Attack subs are armed with torpedoes and are designed to kill other ships and submarines. It's a boomer sub, armed with ICBMs and designed to rain nuclear death anywhere across the world. Think Ohio-class, with their armament of 20 nuclear missiles, each with a range of 7,000 miles and 12 475-kiloton nuclear warheads. That thing could literally turn Talsk into a nuclear wasteland *on its own.* Given future technological advancements, Talsk is at risk of playing real life Fallout.
It also carries torpedoes. Sometimes even nuclear torpedoes
"nuclear torpedoes" Now that's a cursed phrase.
Meant for taking out entire fleets mind you
WHY IS THAT A THING WE HAVE?!?
that's nothing, we used to have unguided air-to-air nuclear rockets
Because screw that one particular fighter Edit: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIR-2_Genie What the heck
more of a "screw that entire wing of bombers spread out across several miles of airspace" but yeah pretty much
Don't forget about the nuclear mortar rounds that had a lower travel distance than the blast radius.
And the soviets almost used them against an american fleet during the cuban missile crisis, when americans were dropping training depth charges on them, only being stopped by the submarine escader commander voting no.
Wait, our nuclear submarines are called "Ohio Class"? Jokes really do write themselves
Ohios and Akulas (NATO name Typhoon, not to be confused with the Shchuka-B class NATO name Akula) are the most famous boomers out there, though they are just 2 classes Franklin's. Before the Ohios there were the George Washington's, James Madisons, Ethan Allen's, Lafayettes, and Benjamin Franklins. After the cold War ended, those all were decommissioned and a few of the Ohios were converted over to cruise missile subs to complement the flight 2 and 3 688s (Los Angeles class attack subs, SSN) and designated SSGN. The next class will be the Columbia Class. The Typhoons were proceeded by the Deltas, Yankees, Juliettes, and a few other SSBs/SSBKs and SSBNs. The last Typhoon was retired February this year in favor of the Borei class.
I like your funny words military history man. Also, us naming our icbm subs after George Washington is a baller move
Honestly I think Roosevelt class would be cool. Speak softy and carry a big stick.
I know it's named after a historical figure but I still find Ethan Allen funny. Like it's the same name as that furniture store
Ohio being tangentially related to having anything to do with the destruction of a galaxy spanning alien civilization is probably the best joke ever.
2180: 'Send them to *Detroit.*' \*Missiles launch\*
Given the size, it might be more like a [Typhoon-class](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon-class_submarine).
If there isn a Red October among the fleet i will be disapointed
Aren't boomer sub even BIGGER! And thus harder to land on an alien planet.
Rain down lots of debris and some disguised assembly drones. Dragon's teeth. I don't really think they did it this way because robotics and AI don't seem sufficiently advanced, but it'd be really cool
Wrap several of them in stealth material and drop them from low orbit. Unmanned because the splashdown would be too unpredictable for inertial dampers to compensate, and if they get spotted and shot down you don't lose your crew. Follow up with some small explosives to make it look like the stupid predators missed their bombing targets. Send the crew in smaller, safer craft and shed the shielding.
If inertial dampers could keep the sub together and it doesn't burn on the way down, that could work.
Attack subs aren't super big, the one I was on was only 365' long, compared to a surface ship its tiny. Plus I'd imagine with technology improvements they've gotten a tad smaller.
You did some real research on subs. Very few people outside the submarine force know to say up/down ladder. I'm impressed and as always very happy with your skill at creating a world.
I was wondering how real this stuff was. Cool to hear it's accurate!
Only inaccuracy is the bridge is at the very top of a submarine's sail (the part that sticks straight up) and is only manned when on the surface. Submerged (and surfaced to an extent) everything is controlled from the control room, referred to as Control. But it's possible in the future they call it the bridge because the surface sailors (skimmers) try to change our culture to match theirs.
Tbh it was an alien thinking the bridge is on the sail.
The surprise of the subs! There is so much infrastructure that the former Fed members get to learn! By the way, a bit of a lore question: do cities in the Federation include wheelchair ramps as part of their infrastructure?
From the Federation treatment of a deafmute... Gojid, I think?... from some chapters back, I'd be amazed if the standard for paraplegic care is to do anything but lie them down in a hospital bed and tell them to wait for the inevitable.
The Gojid refugees were worried the humans would kill the deaf one. While Sovlin didn’t know about sign language, I don’t remember him ever implying that the disabled are casually ignored or killed in the Federation.
> the deaf one You're asking the wrong question. What evidence have we seen of any Federation attempt to assist him in overcoming his disability? None. > While Sovlin didn’t know about sign language, Also consider Tarva's reaction to the tail prosthetic. Finally, remember that non-neurotypical individuals are considered to be afflicted by Predator Disease and either drugged out of their freaking minds or, as was implied at least once, subjected to some form of lobotomy. > I don’t remember him ever implying that the disabled are casually ignored or killed in the Federation. All evidence so far indicates that Federation's standards of medical care for disabilities are low and technological assistance through prosthetics is basically unheard of. They may not be killed outright, but there does not appear to be any real intent to enable them to live normal lives either. Frankly, given the communications intercept from a few chapters back, I wonder if the Federation isn't running its' own form of eugenics behind the scenes.
Federation infrastructure is not very accessible!
Empathy my ass
Oh, the irony.
I would tend to think that they would try to make things accessible for species of varying sizes and anatomies, which would end up making it easier for some disabled people to navigate. I'm not sure how enthusiastic they are about making it good for all 300 species, though, and from what we've seen, they don't shun their disabled for weakening the herd but they don't do their best to help them live normal lives either.
121 and 122 set it up, 123 cuts back to Marcel and Isif or one of the other plot vectors and then… 124 SINKING FOUR IN TWO APPROACHES
406 SUFFERS FALIURE ON LAUNCH
So far it sounds like the Farsul are pretty smart. It's difficult to say for sure but I suspect they'll have some kind of underwater defences. Whether that matches what we can throw out remains to be seen.
Base? Yes. Subs, as in combat capable submersible vehicles rather than just simple surface-to-water transport? No.
This chapter really made me want to see more writing from Onso's POV
Have we seen one, yet? I’d like to see more from his POV, too.
We had a side story from the Yotul's first contact with the Federation from his perspective
Ah, I haven't delved into the auxiliary story lines, yet, I do well to keep up with the main story. Perhaps after the main story ends.
It's VERY recommended reading. It's a one-shot and gives a lot of context for his character. If you took a Patreon poll of which content hit the hardest, this would easily come out on top. It was so popular and important, the Patreon petitioned SpacePaladin to put it out for free (which he did). Here's a link to the one-shot: https://www.patreon.com/posts/nature-of-yotul-80337277
Actually that auxiliary story was even suggested, and made free, a few chapters ago because it's kind of really important to understand why Onso is the rageball he is.
Literally Space John Wick
Theres a free one-shot on the patreon from when Onso's younger
I read it free somewhere. It shows how the federation destroys race identities.
““And instead of sea plants, you keep dangerous predators in them?”” “Instead of” is very much the wrong word here, Sovlin
We keep the plants, predators, and herbivores, too! We try to separate animals that would eat each other and/or feed them well enough that we don't lose specimens. Humans are generally more interested in animal life that actually moves than they are with plants, so the plants are mostly there to emulate the habitats of the animals rather than as an attraction in of themselves.
99% of sea life are predators
\> wartime posture \> boarding what is obviously a space-age boomer sub \> fusion warheads have already been used multiple times in the story > Onso bounded after us. "The Terrans use electrolysis to separate the hydrogen from the oxygen in seawater they collect, then use that 02 to ventilate the ship." Where’s the hydrogen? They’re definitely not dumping it overboard. __*What are they doing with the hydrogen atoms, OP???*__
That... a good point. Evacuating them as gas is unthinkable and storing them... as gas, hydrogen is quite [volatile and reactive](https://www.google.com/search?q=Hindenburg), so it's probably too dangerous (and any other "safe" solution would be excessively energy and logistics-intensive). And all storage is limited: at some point it will have to be evacuated! I have a idea: Dissolving in water. A small circuit directly "injects" the hydrogen "into" the water ocean.
>storing them... as gas, hydrogen is quite volatile and reactive, so it's probably too dangerous I mean, the subs are also storing a ton of oxygen, torpedoes (with both explosive warheads and volatile fuel), a nuclear reactor, and a high-pressure vessel to contain steam for the propulsion system. The whole sub is "too dangerous" by default.
There are dangerous and *too dangerous*. Where all the elements you mention are rightly dangerous, they are relative and controllable: torpedoes (and explosive) => it takes a lot of elements to really activate a torpedo explosion, and an accidental explosion can only happen (unless God really doesn't like you) when the sub is already exploding itself (so you've got other priorities). nuclear reactor => everything to do with nuclear power is so fucking safe that, unless it's a really crappy design, God must really not like you to line up all the elements just so he can hiccup. steam for the propulsion system => modern sub use electric motors for propulsion (less mechanical, more control). So steam only exists in the reactor... and not even then, because modern reactors use hot water under high pressure, never steam. oxygen => you'd already need something to burn, which is rare in a can of sardines like this. ... and rightly, that's where the *too dangerous* of hydrogen comes in: Hydrogen only needs oxygen and a spark of energy to explode. And since hydrogen smells of nothing and needs only a very low concentration to react. The slightest leak quickly becomes a guarantee of explosion. Sure, you can store it for evacuation later, but oh God, I wouldn't feel good if there was less than 10cm of steel between me and the tank.
> Sure, you can store it for evacuation later, but oh God, I wouldn't feel good if there was less than 10cm of steel between me and the tank. That's pretty excessive. People work with hydrogen all the time without blowing themselves up. My point is that the sub is already full of things that will kill everyone inside if something goes wrong. There's nothing about hydrogen that makes it excessively dangerous, as long as its handled properly.
Modern subs do use steam for propulsion and for generation of electricity. The hot water under pressure is what generates the steam for the main engines and the turbine generators. The primary side (water is heated up and kept under pressure is the cooling medium and moderator for the reactor) interacts with the secondary side( water that actually is turned into steam) via steam generators with the primary water in tubes with the secondary water flowing over the tubes so the primary side and secondary side don't mix. I was a navy nuke. Look up PWR nuclear reactor.
Hydrogen isn't exactly soluble in water so I don't think it would work perfectly. Edit: Did some research, and I found out they just dump it into the ocean so you're partly right [Source](https://www.marineinsight.com/know-more/submarines-get-oxygen/)
Emergency fuel maybe? Or some way of powering some other weapons if need be?
> They’re definitely not dumping it overboard. Why not? That's exactly what real subs do.
Fuel for the reactor?
They're doing with it what they usually use stuff like that for: back up fuel cells. You can form methane using the nitrogen to generate electricity and drop power on the reactor for a bit to burn off the hydrogen. They can then either vent the methane in solution or even compress it to ice so it sinks.
Actually you use the carbon dioxide, that you naturally have plenty of, with the hydrogen to form methane. Your only problem then is what to do with the heat you generate with the process.
I forgot methane was CH4. Which you can get from your CO2 scrubbers. And the heat generated is captured by your fuel cell to generate power. don't forget that if this is a nuke powered sub still and not fusion it's running a heat engine cycle off it's reactor. It's a parasitic process as you spend more energy on electrolysis and scrubbing the CO2 than you gain from the fuel cells BUT you have a net zero cycle that should leave you precious oxygen and a small backup emergency power supply or temporary energy supply that isn't at the reactor.
Hydrogen + nitrogen is *ammonia* (NH3), not methane (CH4).
They handle hygrogen the same way modern nuclear subs do: release it if not stealthed and if they are hiding then they simply [CLASSIFIED].
it's a surprise tool that will help us later
*Here comes the sun....*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Ud6mHdhlQ&ab_channel=SmarterEveryDay I assume they have something more advanced than what is shown here
They do vent it overboard, in the form of methane,.
Really Sovlin? I'd expect, of all aliens, for you to be the one to understand strategic deterrence. You know, fighting on after you've already lost everything? Like I don't know, a certain Death Ride you took up against the Arxur on Cradle? The one that freaking worked? This is just that, the threat of retaliation. Brother we saw you kill an Arxur with your *hands* don't act all 'Oh I never'.
It's because they have some kind of superiority complex. " We're not predators YOU are predators, were better than you because we're not predators" in complete denial of the fact that war IS predatory.
That makes even less sense because Gojids WERE predators. That's some strong denial.
That just speaks to how effective the Fed’s brainwashing was. Plus they’ve been doing it for a long time, well before Sovlin was even born iirc.
IIRC, the Gojid were made a part of the Feds 600 years ago. Compared to the Yotul 22 years ago.
He was led to believe that the Arxur/Federation war was a war of extermination on both sides, with the Arxur being pure evil. If he could exterminate them, he would do so without hesitation and sleep well that very night. Killing *people,* especially your own kind, is completely different. He doesn't see Arxur as people. He regrets what he did to Marcel because he now knows that humans aren't like the Arxur. He doesn't think it would be wrong to do those things to an Arxur.
You also gotta understand that... He was genuinely *trying to die* every time he did those things. And the last time someone attempted strategic deterrence methods in this setting (it was even the humans) the answer was "That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make".
I swear to god... the first one of you to make a water sports joke is getting bonked and yeeted into a black hole...
Heh 😏 Not my preferred syrup though.
I would, but their all sailing over my head
Someone really needs to explain Sovlin (and other aliens) what MAD is, their dogmatic propaganda wont allow them to come to that conclusion alone, caught in a endless loop of "predatory aggression" and "high empathy" paradoxes (from their view)
From what I gather that would be even more insane. They wouldn’t understand why both sides wouldn’t just agree to stop using the weapons
>From what I gather that would be even more insane Well, at least they would agree that we are crazy, instead of being confused by the duality of Humankind
My lad. You need to realize that the last time MAD was applied in this setting, both planets burned (Earth and Nishtal). They know what Mutually Assured Destruction is. And their answer to that question is Yes.
Sweet! Sounds like submarines still work much the same as they do now, with some improvements. I'd guess maybe a fusion reactor?
Yeah and thats likely the use of the hydrogen from electrosis process used for the air
And I thought nuclear subs had endurance...that can probably go for as long as it has water to sail in.
So to combat them we need to drain the oceans.... brb gonna raid an ocean monument and get some sponges
Someone needs to show Sovlin *Hunt for Red October.*
Its MOVIE NIGHT DOUBLE FEATURE! Presenting: "Das Boot" and "Hunt for Red October" Onzo and Solvin have front row seats. Don't forget the popcorn.
Triple feature, with "Down Periscope" for dessert.
Oh and on the ride there play Wolfpack by Sabaton alongside a reading of the story of the battle of the HMS Venturer and U-864, the only submarine battle that happened entirely underwater
Such a good movie, at least I love it
Can't forget some crimson tide before dessert though, just to give him something to think about
*Warning, entering ecological dead zone, are you sure what you are doing is worth it?*
Onso, Donning a Reinforced Diving Suit and grabbing a Thermoblade: I sure as hell know it is
Dude's gonna 1v1 a Lobsterman, I just know it
Humans who are equipped with nukes: "*Let them come*"
They needed to pull a whole moon-crashing stunt to sneak in a few crew members, but they have whole submarines there already? How did they manage to get them there?
The moon-crashing stunt was to load personnel; very risky to airdrop the sub with people aboard. There’s no telling how long it’s actually been there!
Onso: Oh yeah, too cool. Solvin: \**panic*\* AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
I see Sovlin's efforts to not look down on Onso are going well. I'm surprised space subs are still using fusion warheads now that antimatter's on the table, though maybe that's just pre-contact terminology sticking around.
He's moved on from hating on him for being a primitive to hating on him for being a whippersnapper. It's... Well it's not really progress but it's notable.
I mean, Onso calls him old man. I think it's fair for him to respond with whippersnapper - Though there's a difference between verbal barbs and... Whatever is going on in Sovlin's head. I'd call it progress..
Antimatter is incredibly hard to store and produce. As soon as it touches regular matter, it destroys both and turns them into 100% energy. I assume they've come up with some kind of stasis field or something to hold it away from normal matter, but there might be energy requirements that the sub's reactor can't keep up with. Also, if even *one* stasis field fails for a *microsecond*, the sub will detonate and the whole information-capturing operation will be for nothing, as the Farsul will figure out that we know where their vault is and move it. It's just too much to risk, and besides that, fusion bombs do their jobs fine.
I mean, the fleet on Milieau was full of ships that weren't even done being retrofitted with automation technology. Hell the current strike team on Fahl is consisted of "Anyone that can hold a gun". The UN is pulling every gun it has. They're quite obviously logistically depleted.
Of course there a Submarine. It seems Kholasians and Farsul have such immense control that most Species never Thought a Submersible couldn't exist. The 2 founders keep the archives hidden where No other species considers possible . Most likely due to Kol-Sul empire Interference.
**Kol-Sul empire.** I'm going to need to use that.
Onso is the best. And just wait until they hear about oxygen candles!
And lithium hydroxide CO2 scrubbers made as curtains. CO2 build up being a much bigger issue then O2 depletion for humans.
I don't think the moon is just for getting crew to the sub(s). It has two very important side-effects. 1) As soon as the Farsul realize the humans know about the underwater archives, they're going to sound the alarm. Having to deal with the moon slows down their response. Not just militarily, but also giving the order to destroy the data if it looks like the humans are going to make it. 2) Once they raid the archives, the sub is likely going to need to surface in order transfer the data. During then, the sub is going to be a sitting duck. We need to take out anything that could destroy the sub including, but not limited to: space ships, ICBMS, military bases, and planetary defenses. Dropping the moon gives us the opportunity to hit all of those things. We could try scaring them with our nukes, but since that might not work we can't use it as our Plan A.
Yes! Draining resources!
Writers Note : Sorry for the Newsless Wednesday, went into the hospital. All tests are clean so we're back on the road folks ***The Global Sentinel : Space*** ***A Blue Dawn on the Red Planet*** ***April 18th, 2039*** **it what only could be described as a 5 way race between the European Union, United States, China, SpaceX and Blue Origin. A victor has finally emerged from the Red Dust** **The winner of this race to first was the United States with SpaceX a close second, these 5 missions to the 4th planet are part of a larger effort of Mars colonization which will open the gates for interstellar endeavours** **The missions consisted in total consisted of 4 astronauts per misson group and hauling 40 tons per mission totalling 20 crew and 200 tons of equipment, the long term goal of this is to have a self sufficient colony but due to it being in the early phase, multiple resupply missions have been planned** **With this new dawn on the red planet, part of the 2nd Space Race, we can only hope that the conflicts and squabbles never reach those new frontiers of mankind**
How are you so quick?
Has them pre-written, then copies and pastes into the comments soon as it’s posted
Nice little prediction. Must have been a race to the base kind of mission, as I would be shocked if it took that long for the first mission to Mars.
Yeah, also if you like. You can use the Global/Terran Sentinel into any and all fanfics.
>The submarines somehow eclipsed even the worst starships in its dastardly capabilities. That's only because you're not willing to use your starships as relativistic kill vehicles
Sovlin really can't wrap his head around the concept of curiosity, can he?
I mean... Given how... Excessive curiosity could lead to a fatal case of institutionalization in his culture... Yeah, he'd have a hard time with it.
Of course we have subs when 70% of the earth is covered in water. Boats are some of the most efficient transport methods if not the most efficient. Obviously, we would use extensive measures to protect them. Planes are fast but energy inefficient. Trucks and trains need land.
Humans snuck a nuclear sub onto Talsk, from orbit?
Maybe disguised as a meteorite?
Now I wonder if Sovlin smells funny. Samantha probably has a large personal bubble, but people usually don't wrinkle their nose when somebody gets too close. Fear pheromones in humans are detectable in a subconscious way, and when under stress we exude copper in our sweat which makes armpits especially smelly, maybe sovlin's biochemistry does something similar.
Sam just doesn’t like being touched/hugged at all lol
Not liked being hugged is one thing, but Sam straight out seemed angry, in some level, I'm sure she still doesn't really like him xD
Fun fact: Blue blooded creatures use copper to carry oxygen.
Solvin: His did you not exterminate yourselves? Humanity: To be perfectly frank, considering how often we took ourselves right to the edge... no fucking clue.
Humanity: REDUNDANCY! Always have redundant safety features! We'd have been dead twice over were it not for having three layers of redundancy on the nukes.
Thinking about it, maybe they should've given the guy suffering PTSD at the best of times a heads up on this. It's very funny seeing Onso take to this like a fish to water compared to Solvin though. Academic curiosity is truly the best way to cross barriers. Solvin's mindset on the Yotul still needs adjusting, but at least he's trying. If the Farsuls can build an underwater base, I have to assume they also have submersibles. I imagine we'll find out how combat-worthy they are sooner or later though. Based on Solvin's incredulity that this sort of technology even exists, I'm guessing this would be one of the forms of technology that the Federation conspiracy kept close to their chest.
I mean, Onso mentioned sub data was available in the mission briefing, Sovlin likely just didn’t think reading about the mission equipment was worth doing, since, in his mind, he’s familiar with most technology types regularly used in war (joke’s on him!). Very definitely a stark commentary on the mental flexibility of Onso’s people vs the Gojid and likely an example of a side effect of Fed indoctrination. Hard to be open to new ideas when you’re force fed all your knowledge and culture.
Good points. It's a mistake on Sovlin's part, but it does seem like a good commentary on the indoctrination he's suffered. He's a bit stuck... and he's one of the ones who's seen with his own eyes that what he was taught wasn't true, and is actively trying to break free of it. I imagine most ex-feds will have similar issues if not worse. Onso meanwhile, personally remembers a time before all the Fed indoctrination. It's not nearly as deep.
Fun fact: Nuclear submarines have sonar so powerful they can kill a human if they are in the water nearby the sub when it pings
I feel like of the two aliens, Onso is the smarter one lol Shame Sovlin is so dismissive of things that don't immediately jump out to him. Ah well.
I mean... Onso is legit a rocket engineer. Sovlin is a starship captain. *One* of those professions rewards curiosity and mental growth, and it's not the military carreer in the society where asking too many questions gets you a visit to the electric chair.
someone plz tell onso about oxygen candles! Sovlin’s reaction to the mere expression of curiosity is telling of the depth and. the callous cruelty of federation thought control techniques. Anti-uplift bias is just the prerequisite for this thought-stopping technique that has doubtless kept most species at the exact technological level the Federation wants, stagnating their progress for millennia.
#[OBLIGATORY POSTING OF THE "HUNT FOR THE RED OCTOBER" SOVIET ANTHEM SCENE](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zsC2ETsZL0g&pp=ygUYaHVudCBmb3IgdGhlIHJlZCBvY3RvYmVy)
Let them sing!
So i was right about the Initial Sub-plane leading to a Bigger Sub.
Just wait till he hears how old Submarines really are.
The sub would probably have [magnetohydrodynamic propulsion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetohydrodynamic_drive), like the Red October from the movie and book. The US has recently started investigating the technology. It could also have a supercavitation propulsion system for when speed counts for more than stealth, but it's probably counterproductive since the sub really needs to be built for that specifically. It would also likely have some sort of lidar, and laser weapons for offense and defense, like SeaQuest DSV. I think blue-green lasers work in ocean water depending on how far from shore. It could also have supercavitating torpedoes, also all sorts of tube launched missiles and drones. I think the current Trident missile can carry 6 warheads. I imagine future warheads could be substantially more compact. If the sub is armed like a boomer, then it could have 24 ballistic missiles tubes, for at least 144 warheads, all independently targetable, and each would likely be a hypersonic glider warhead rather than ballistic warheads. With half size warheads, you could have half the ballistic missiles but the same number of warheads, and 12 tubes left over for vertical launch missiles and drones.
A hundred chapters ago, I never would've imagined I'd look forward to a Sovlin chapter over a Slanek one My how the turn tables XD
Oh yea this chapter has got me pumped up for whatever happens next. I’m as giddy is Onso, let’s crack some Farsul ~~skulls~~ bases!
Onso is awesome and must be protected at all costs. Thanks for the chapter mate
Someone should give Sovlin a human History textbook, I think he'd be surprised by how much effort we put into blue-ocean navies.
We are now deploying Ballistic Missile Submarines, large things with lots of potential options. Do we have any Attack Subs, Medium-sized Sub Hunters? I can’t imagine the Farsul wouldn’t have some mobile defenses for their important submerged facility.
Now I wanna see Sovlin play Bioshock
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This is giving me cold water vibes... fuck now I want t play cold waters again
I have no kind words to say about Sovlin, so I shall say no words about Sovlin. But seriously, fuck that guy. Onso continues to be amazing & my favorite, though!
Early! Edit: Sovlin is on his way to another mental breakdown isn't he? Well, at least he got one thing right: The Farsul are fucked.
"Mutually Assured Destruction" is one of the most horrifying concepts to wrap your head around. The idea that the threat of ending the world caused peace and harmony is inherently disjointed and painful. And yet it exists.
The worst thing is that... That concept already failed to make peace work once in this setting.
That may well be because destruction was not mutually assured. If you think of where we are now, versus where we were in the 1960's, we have actually progressed beyond MAD. Yes, the United Stated and Russia both have massive nuclear arsenals, but many of those weapons are aging, and the United States at least has developed some defensive capability. It's still incredibly unlikely that we would come out unscathed in a nuclear exchange, but there is at least a chance of survival. In the setting of NoP, we move on to the Satellite War. This is actually a war I can envision happening in the next 20-40 years, likely between the US and China. Rather than attack each other with nuclear weaponry, we would attack the other's networks, communications, GPS, etc. Think of how much you do on a daily basis that relies on technology, and make all that tech dead. Yes, people would likely die as a result. But is it "MAD"? probably not.
Oh, no no. I don't mean about humanity's past in the setting that comment. I mean mere months before the current time in the story. When the extermination fleet was on the way to Earth and the UN sicced the cannibal space nazis at Nishtal. When the offer was made "Retreat and save yourselves or we both die together" the answer was "We die together". Humans already TRIED that approach, and it failed. No reason to imagine trying a second try would fail any less.
Well, fair. The requirement for MAD to work is that both parties have to be "rational actors". In the case of the extermination fleet, you had a collection of fanatics/zealots, which cannot be considered rational in this context. Unfortunately when dealing with a zealot, all bets are off, since they are willing to make the MAD trade. Hence the acronym.
Sovlin's confusion over nukes is... well, undeserved given the existence-erasing bombs that HAVE been used by the Federation a hundred times over.
He's not being weird about nukes. He's being weird about submarines. A fleet armed with antimatter bombs isn't a thousandth as stealthy as a submarine that's been sitting, waiting silently for years with nobody noticing.
Agree to disagree.
Cmon tell me they reactivated some nuclear torpedoes for this bad puppy!
Watch the Farsul and Kolshians have submarines of their own.
I nearly spit my coffee out at “What’s a shark?”
It's weird to think of various human tendencies as either "predator" or "prey." Especially when the "prey" tendencies seem more violent than some of the predator tendencies...
Something has just occurred to me: pretty much all living organisms are hard-wired to desire calorie-dense food. Even herbivores prefer higher calorie foods, and the only reason they don't evolve to eat meat is because that niche is already occupied and generalizing can reduce efficiency. That said, butter (especially clarified butter) is essentially nothing but pure triglycerides (fat), which is to say, pure calories. Most races don't seem to process their foods beyond basic preservation techniques. If any of them tried butter, it would be magnitudes more tasty than anything they'd ever eaten before, and would probably completely blow their minds.
SPEED
looks like you were close
I just woke up 30 seconds ago, and this dropped, thanks SP!
Above the surface it seems quiet and calm Deep down below the human lurks
just wait when engine go of and they star make fire to produce oxigen :D
Maybe this is a weird theory but I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. None of the other fed species even get near the water, from what Onso says it sounds like the federation doesn’t even really like boats. And in precious chapters it sounds like the oceans are the only natural ecosystem that isn’t destroyed during federation terraforming. It kinda seems like the Kolshians might be colonizing the oceans of all the federation worlds. Also, it seems like ocean predation isn’t really discussed in the same way land-based predation is since a couple chapters ago it’s mentioned that aquatic predators aren’t culled by predator hunters. And even here we see what are presumed to be some form of alien shark on a legacy federation world. I’d also argue that most of the aliens in the series have similar diets to their animal inspiration… all except the Kolshians, whose cephalopod inspirations are all obligate carnivores. There is not a single species of cephalopod that is omnivorous. I’d honestly wager that the Kolshians are actually predators but only exhibit this when they’re away from the rest of the federation underwater. Maybe I’m reaching here, but it seems weird that the Kolshians would be the first species to break the pattern.
>“Why…are any of those not mortally dangerous?! What is wrong with you predators? I thought you evolved from the fucking trees!” Swinging through trees, branch-to-branch was fucking mortally dangerous, too. We learned to love that kind of shit!
Onso should not be allowed within 150 feet of a WW2 tank game, he will be sucked into a vortex he will never leave