Master race (3006)

Windy's mission runs into trouble.

Centurion badly damaged by rebel action

Corkscrew destroyer SS Centurion has been badly damaged while engaging a rebel ship. The identity of the rebels has not been revealed by MBO-New Sparta though is not thought to be the so-called Real DDS. The Centurion, which was commanded by Captain Zotopian, suffered a direct hit to the command module which wrecked the bridge, killing the entire command crew including Zotopian. The rebel ship had already been destroyed, Centurion is thought to have been hit by an already launched missile.

An MBO ship was soon on scene and was able to secure the Centurion. The ship has been towed to the nearest port for repairs.

NS GHQ security to be upgraded

The security of NS GHQ is to be upgraded on the orders of Viceroy Caratore. The TPM-G umbrella is to be supplemented by six Zip-G ground based cannons. The air defence radars will also be upgraded and fractal encryption built into the base's datalinks.

Around the island GHQ is on there will be increased maritime patrols by unmanned vehicles both sea and air based. These upgrades will be completed by the end of next year.

Three NS technologies which didn't make it

NS Research and NS Engineering have developed many technologies over the years but not all have been the success that was hoped for. In this article we will examine three technologies which failed to be a success and have largely faded out of use.

H-Scoop

The H-Scoop gathers in "free" hydrogen as a ship travels through space, this can then be recycled in the engine to reduce the need for nuclear fuel. The H-Scoop was fitted to a number of ships including the Freedom 41B, Rome 46A and Pentekonter families. When developed it was hoped the H-Scoop could reduce nuclear fuel burn by up to 5%, unfortunately in practice the reduced burn was around 0.4%! One ship has reported 2% when it travelled through an area of space rich in fuel though this was a one off.

With the small reduction in fuel burn plus the extra costs of maintaining the scoop and filters the H-Scoop has not been rolled out to any other types NS operate or sell. The e-Core family of engines has proven much more effective in reducing costs, though the scoop can help with this. NS say they will maintain the scoops on current ships but will not develop the technology any more or add it to any other types.

FIDO-VR

FIDO-VR or Fully Immersive Distributed Operations - Virtual Reality was considered the hottest new technology breakthrough in the early 2100s, Dr Forbidden even called it the future of the DDS! FIDO-VR was a way to operate ships remotely, even using holo-projection to make it look like the remote crew were aboard the ship.

Unfortunately despite the great promise, FIDO-VR did not work so well in practice, especially in combat situations due to communication and computing bottlenecks. FIDO-VR has been quietly shelved but some parts of the technology such as remote monitoring and virtual assistance have been successfully rolled out to the entire fleet. The VR aspects have also been used for crew training.

Anti-matter weapons

After tangling with the Vosun-Voth Star Empire, NS found it had a weakness to their anti-matter spray cannons which could disrupt NS shields. NS added a similar weapon to it's later Type 35 cruisers. However, the weapon is hardly used due to advances in other weapons such as the Zip cannon. The anti-matter spray is very expensive to run.

NS are not going to add it to any other ships and it may be withdrawn from existing ships when they receive upgrades.

Export Coril standard to be upgraded

Along with the upgrade to the NS fleet of Coril shuttles to Type 86C standard, NS has also upgraded the specification for export Corils it sells in two configurations: personnel transport and VIP. The export ships will also have the new e-Core family engine which has now been revealed to be the Mini Proton RM-53 e-Core. This has similar thrust output to the existing powerplant but a purported 43% reduction in fuel burn along with a 73% reduction in IR emissions.

The export Corils will have the same cockpit upgrades and accommodation improvements. Improved communication and self-defence systems will be an upgrade option. The new export Corils will be known as Coril SX and VX.

NS also said that it's fleets of Coril derived patrol ships (Okra and Navelwort) will also be upgraded later this decade.

MBO Honour Guard increased to 10,000

The MBO Honour Guard, a force of cloned stormtroopers, will be greatly increased in size with the aim to reach 10,000 strong by 2126 (it is currently just under 2,000 strong). Ten new barracks will be built across the UNP. The MBO Honour Guard will be used to support MBO-NS security and back-up Terrestrial Forces.

The MBO Honour Guard owes it's loyalty purely to the Mutre Bee, General Honey and Caratore by genetic design.