Turning FTL playthrough into a captain's log/blog (X-9 Mod!)

[spongebobsaget]

These are the Black Box recordings and Captain's Logs taken from the voyages of the Federation X9 Prototype, on a mission to save the galaxy from the Rebel Fleet intent on destroying the Federation.

The Prototype's crew is tasked to deliver sensitive information and data on the Rebel flagship to Federation HQ. In order to complete the mission, they must navigate through a series of jump points and Sectors to reach HQ, where they are to undoubtedly make their Last Stand.

Their home base has been destroyed before their ship could be properly outfitted and tested. As a brand new, untested prototype design, their immediate need is to identify their strengths and weaknesses, salvage spare parts and upgrade materials along the way to solve for any deficiencies discovered. All of this must be done on the fly, because the Rebel Fleet is in direct pursuit and scanning for their ship's location in an attempt to head them off. As a result, they must move with great haste to the nearest exit beacon in each Sector to secure their escape.

The following are the decoded logs taken from the Federation X9 Prototype's encrypted Black Box.

As the logs are decoded, they will be uploaded for review.

Federation X - 9 Prototype notes:

Half finished prototype of the fast twin engined Ambush class. This fast but cramped design was constructed, drawing on lessons learned from the Federation scout and bomber ships, to create the prototype fulfilling the role of ambush fighter. Unfortunately the prototype needs some work to attain full potential and the small craft will not stand up to as much punishment compared to larger-classes of ships.

Ship: Federation Ambush Fighter

Name: X9 Prototype



Notable Equipment: 2 x Ion Cannons, Pre-igniter, Advanced FTL Drive, twin reactor/drive technology.

Crew:

Commander: SpongeBob Saget, Captain

Lt. Commander Liu Jun, Human Pilot

1st Lieutenant Matt, Human Weapons Officer

Engineer AJ Hager, Human

Latest blueprints on the X-9 Prototype can be found here:

Federation Ambush Mod by Cyl0

[spongebobsaget]

CAPTAIN'S LOG: SECTOR 1, JUMP POINT 1

Thankfully the 'Proto still has some unusually potent upgrades under the hood. The ship is equipped with a dual set of a new weapon design called an Ion Laser. The spec-sheet on these seem to indicate that they do both system damage like a traditional ion weapon but also have the ability to inflict hull and organic (personnel) damage as well! They have never been used in a live-fire environment so their strengths and weaknesses will have to be learned on the fly, like most of this ship's systems.

The 'Proto didn't make it past proof of concept testing and as such, has never been equipped with a shielding device, nor a cloaking device. We assume it is possible to install such tech, but we cannot be sure as to the compatibility of any existing systems we run into. Until we get some much needed defensive tech installed, our reliance on the twin drives will be substantial. Their ability to allow us to out-maneuver the enemy will be critical.

As a prototype platform, the reactor is grossly underpowered for anything but testing each system, one at a time. Until we are able to upgrade the reactor, running all systems at maximum power will prove nearly impossible. Likewise the other sub-systems are clearly of minimal utility as the ship was not yet approved for wartime use.

We will have to do much better than this if we intend to make our way deep into the battle, past enemy lines to deliver our critical data. We seem to have a slight head start on the Rebel fleet, hopefully we can put that to good use and salvage parts, equipment and upgrades for this untested boat that will see us through to the successful end of our mission to Federation Headquarters.

A quick check of the pre-igniter systems and they are showing all green lights on status. Both ion-lasers are coupled to the pre-igniter and showing full charge. Power has been re-routed from the Med Bay to ensure the twin engines are functioning at maximum power.

Liu punches in the jump coordinates into the nav-computer and punches the authenticate/authorize button on his helm controls. Away we go.

[spongebobsaget]

CAPTAIN'S LOG: SECTOR 1, JUMP POINT 2

Soon after arriving in the system we are hailed by a small cruiser, “What good fortune that we happen to run into each other. Nothing personal, but you have information we need!” The cruiser begins powering up their weapons.

A quick scan shows the enemy ship equipped with a single layer shield, a small missile tube and a large laser cannon of unknown type. Our best bet is to do what this ship was designed for, hit them hard, hit them fast and disable their ability to do us harm. Failure to do so means Liu will have his hands full attempting to dodge incoming fire, as we have no shield system installed on the 'Proto.

Matt is tasked with concentrating all fire on the enemy ship's weapons control center.

AJ is on top of the Engine Room controls, making sure Liu has all the maneuvering power available to him the ship can offer.

The pre-charged ion-lasers light up and two white hot streaks of blue-tinged plasma streak across to the cruiser, catching them off-guard. The weapons system works flawlessly as designed, easily cutting through their shields and slamming home into their weapon control center throwing off a shower of sparks and leaving an ion-charged glow. The ion-charge in this laser system is amazing, causing both a system overcharge and temporary disablement in addition to the physical damage caused by the plasma of the laser itself.

Before we can even stop marveling at this new tech, the weapon system has quickly recharged and Matt sends over the next volley of laser fire, slamming home again into their weapon control center, taking all their weapons offline.

Comms crackle online and a distressed voice says, “Enough! Take everything we have and let's forget this ever happened!” Their offer is accepted and we bring aboard missiles, a box of drone parts and some upgrade materials.

We don't have a missile system installed on the 'Proto but missiles are always valuable for bartering and who knows, perhaps we will have need of them as we upgrade our offensive weapons' suite.

There is a merchant vessel in a nearby jump point! We might even find a shield system or other valuable parts there. However, we have only the materials brought on board from the small cruiser we just defeated, which clearly would not be enough to barter for such a valuable component. There are two nearby jump points we can visit and search for more salvage to barter with.

Liu taps the nav-coordinates into the helm and we power up the jump drive.

[spongebobsaget]

CAPTAIN'S LOG: SECTOR 1, JUMP POINT 3

Sensors detect an unmanned Auto-Scout attacking a small refueling station nearby. We bring the 'Proto around and paint the Auto-Scout with our sensors. No way are we leaving this station to their death.

Time to intervene.

Liu slides both of his throttles to maximum power and we assume an attack vector. The pre-charged ion-lasers are finely adjusted by Matt and the Auto-Scout's weapons are targeted, just as before. However, this enemy ship does not have any shields, but instead has a cloaking module! Matt deftly re-targets the cloaking module with one of the ion-lasers and authorizes the weapons system to fire at will.

The Auto-Scout detects our ship closing with weapons hot and begins turning to engage the bigger threat.

Before it can complete its turn, the ion-lasers come to life with their distinct crackling WAP-WAP discharge. The Auto-Scout manages to cloak itself just moments before impact and narrowly, the shots go wide.

The Auto-Scout comes out of cloak with an ion-cannon fully charged and a missile tube warming up.

Ion-Lasers 53%

Looks like Liu is going to start earning his pay. The enemy ship fires the ion-cannon at our Engine Room, presumably to slow us down and make us easier to hit. Liu throws the 'Proto into a rolling evasive and the ion-cannon's shot misses badly.

The Ion-Lasers have recharged and fire, their bluish plasma streaking towards the Auto-Scout. A half second later, our ship's computer provides an audible alarm in its typically cold, detached female voice. The crew has nick named her “Bitching Betty”, or “Betty” for short. Still, the calm and calculated delivery seems to help reduce tension somehow, despite being the barer of bad news.

WARNING: MISSILE LAUNCH DETECTED

A missile comes streaking away from the Auto-Scout. We have no defenses against incoming fire except for our maneuverability. Liu begins his dance with the inbound missile.

Our Ion-Lasers have missed again! If we can't start landing some shots, this engagement may not go our way. A quick glance to our FTL drive shows only 48% power. We can't jump out yet even if we wanted to.

Liu jinks hard to avoid the incoming missile but it slams home into our Engineering Bay, damaging our engines slightly. We will be easier to hit, and our FTL drive will charge even slower.

The Auto-Scout charges its ion-cannon and another shot is on the way. Simultaneously, our Ion-Lasers have charged again and the another volley is off to the enemy ship.

Liu again throws the 'Proto into a heavy rolling evasive and the ion-cannon's shot goes wide.

WARNING: MISSILE LAUNCH DETECTED

We come out of the rolling evasive but we have lost a lot of speed and are an easier target for the inbound missile. Liu jams the throttles to the firewall but the missile is still arcing through the view-port on a collision course, tracking the 'Proto with deadly accuracy.

Both of the Ion-Lasers have finally struck home! The Auto-Scout's weapons and cloaking module are both offline and it is visibly malfunctioning.

Liu attempts to reverse the 'Proto back across the missile's nose in a last second attempt to avoid the impact and the results are catastrophic. The missile impacts through the hull, just under the nose of our ship, detonating and causing a small fire in the helm control room, turning our maneuverable ship into a floating target drone.

Liu attempts to fight the fire but it quickly spreads. Matt unbuckles from his station in the Fire Control Module and races forward through the bulkheads, grabbing a fire-extinguisher off the walls as he runs.

Our weapons control is on auto-fire and left unmanned. This makes it less accurate and a little slower to charge, but in a few seconds, the Ion-Lasers charge up and thump the Auto-Scout with another pair of plasma bolts. The enemy ship is hurt badly and looks like it will break apart at any moment.

Meanwhile, the fight on our ship becomes less about the enemy vessel and entirely about the raging fire in our cabin. Liu and Matt hammer away at the fire with their extinguishers, getting burned and suffering injuries.

The Ion-Lasers quickly charge again and deliver a final crushing blow to the unmanned ship, breaking it into pieces.

All crew grab fire-extinguishing equipment and join the fight. With this many people on it, the fire is finally out and repairs begin on the damaged sub-systems. The entire crew is rotated in and out of the Med Bay to receive treatments and get patched up.

We salvage what we can from the remains of the Auto-Scout and the re-fueling station hails us, thanking us for saving them from the attack, giving us a small crate of much needed upgrade materials and scrap.

Nav-computations set, drives online, jump authorized.

[spongebobsaget]

CAPTAIN'S LOG: SECTOR 1, JUMP POINT 4

There is a black-market hub here. A message comes over a discreet channel that says, “These are dangerous times. If you have extra military-grade explosives, we will take them and pay you!”

We send over half of the warheads we have in return for a modest payment of barter-able scrap.

Time to jump over to the Merchant beacon and see what is available.

[spongebobsaget]

CAPTAIN'S LOG: SECTOR 1, JUMP POINT 5

The Merchant has an impressive array of wares and mercenaries available for hire. If only we had more barter materials! A Drone Control system would perhaps give us the ability to deflect incoming missiles or perform repairs to the ship. A Teleportation Module would give us the opportunity to board enemy vessels and maximize the salvage potential of each wreck. A cloaking device would be a superior defensive device. The hardened mercenaries available for hire from this merchant include a much-vaunted Mantis warrior, the most feared soldier in hand to hand combat.

It is a difficult decision but we do not have unlimited funds. The Drone Control system is brought aboard and we begin the installation process. It comes with a system-repair bot, so that should help us keep our essential systems up and running at peak performance, ever under fire.

Jump drives online, time to move on towards the exit beacon for this Sector.

[spongebobsaget]

CAPTAIN’S LOG: SECTOR 1, JUMP POINT 6

We arrive to find a number of ships convening around a station. We tune into their encrypted comms channel and overhear half of their conversation. Enough to understand they are wanting to capture a ship intact. We contact them and offer our services but are told we are not properly equipped for the mission. Perhaps if we had a teleporter. No time for regrets, the Rebel Fleet is showing up on long range scans. We have to get out of this Sector before they catch up.

Jumping out.

[spongebobsaget]

CAPTAIN’S LOG: SECTOR 1, JUMP POINT 7

There is a distress beacon being broadcast nearby. We move in closer to investigate and find a civilian ship, who hails us, “Thank you for responding to our distress beacon! Our FTL drive has gone haywire and we are unable to navigate out of this system, can you help us navigate to the nearest repair depot?”

We offer to assist and they provide us the nav-point and some salvage as down payment. The nav-point will take us slightly out of our way from the exit-beacon but hopefully, the payoff will be worth the extra risk.

They are instructed to follow our jump-signature and we begin powering up the FTL drive.

[spongebobsaget]

CAPTAIN'S LOG: SECTOR 1, JUMP POINT 8

After jumping into their destination point, they provide us with some additional scrap and their friends, who were waiting for them, open up their merchant wares for us to browse.

Curse our luck! A shield system that is compatible with the 'Proto's design! We do not have the funds to barter for it. How incredibly unfortunate. Additionally, a nice array of weapons presents itself, but again, we cannot effectively barter for any of it.

Frustrated, we plot our jump and head towards the exit-beacon with maximum haste.

---------------------------------
---------------------------------

CAPTAIN'S LOG: SECTOR 1, JUMP POINT 9

We find an automated scout floating nearby this jump beacon. It doesn't appear to be damaged in any way but is is apparently deactivated. We could risk trying to download any data it may have collected on this Sector but as we are so close to the exit-beacon anyway, we elect to just go ahead and scrap what we can and move on.

[spongebobsaget]

CAPTAIN'S LOG: SECTOR 1, JUMP POINT 10

We detect a Rebel Scout on an attack approach to a small outpost. Their weapons are charged but they aren't firing yet. Time to intervene and save this outpost from the Rebel. They hail us angrily, “I don't know who you are, but no one threatens the Rebel Fleet!” They start turning their ship to face us, weapons seeking a lock on the 'Proto.

Pre-igniter armed, Ion-Lasers online. Matt is ordered to take out their weapons, then disable their engines.

WAP-WAP

The first volley is away. The blue-tinged plasma scorches through their shield layer with no problems and impacts dead center into their weapons array, sending sparks and electrical-arcs of energy across the hull of the ship. Their shield-generator has been disrupted and their weapons systems are entirely offline.

Another quick pair of plasma shots find their mark and the Rebel Fighter's weapons slump against their hull, and their Engine Room is hit and smoking. The recharge rate on these next-gen Ion-Lasers is astonishing! Matt is given the order to fire at will and he unleashes a relentless pounding. Chunks of the Rebel Fighter break off from the main section. The Shield Generator is hit and disabled, the weapons control center is peppered by shots and their bridge takes a brutal pounding. The ship is riddled with holes and floating off-center when something internally detonates, creating a wide debris field.

This Prototype's design is proving its mettle and namesake, ambushing its target and getting the upper hand is definitely the ship's overwhelming advantage.

The outpost hails us and says, “Those pompous bastards wanted free service just because they had defeated the Federation in this Sector! Please, take this on the house for saving us.”

We gladly accept their gift and quickly plot our nav-computations for the exit-beacon.

Jumping out.