The Silent Guardian

Posted on Sat 17th Nov, 2012 @ 6:45pm by Colonel Horatio Drake

639 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: http://sb109.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/missions/id/3
Location: Deck 581: Tactical Hangar
Timeline: MD-01: 0900 Hours

ON:

"So tell me how these platforms work, exactly?"

Ashton had now been on Deck 581 for the past twenty minutes, wondering around the numerous rooms and hangars this it boasted. He now found himself in one such hangar that housed two of Protector's Guardian Defense Platforms it's second line of defence. The Ensign that had happily been tinkering away underneath Platform 2 was now almost standing to attention, answering his questions.

"Well, obviously our first line of defence would be the AHDA, or the Advanced Holographic Decoy Array. Whilst this is in operation we would concurrently launch our Guardian Defence Platforms" he motioned towards the one he had been lying underneath.

Ashton had his arms folded, momentarily inspecting the platform in front of him, which was about double the size of a Danube Runabout.

"Er... sir... permission to speak freely?"

"Of course" Ashton said as he continued his visual inspection.

"Sir, why are you down here?" the confused Ensign asked the Commander.

He smiled, "It's nothing to worry about Ensign... I haven't always been a CO, you know... I used to be a tactical officer, believe it or not! I've been recently feeling that I've been out of the loop for a little too long with regard to weapons advancements, I'm just trying to learn all I can about what we have here on Protector" He finished up with a smile.

The Ensign, quite clearly, breathed a sigh of relief.

"So... what sort of a punch do these things pack?"

"Well" he carried on a bit more confident in himself now "The Guardian class Orbital Defence Platform is Starfleet's answer to the Cardassian designs built and deployed during the Dominion war.
Loosely based on the Cardassian ODP, they borrow some specifications from them. The first is regenerative shielding common to the Cardassian design. With a small volume to protect, they provide the best defence possible. Ablative armour was considered as well for when the shields were knocked down, but it was deemed too complex for what it is and the design team settled for duranium armour.
The weapon systems are equally impressive. At the tip of each arm is a Type U pulse phaser cannon similar to the design located on Defiant and Hornet class starships." He directed his vision to the location of these arms.

"Also equipping the platforms is a pair of micro-torpedo launchers. She is stocked with 245 micro-torpedoes. Micro-photon torpedoes are standard but all Federation torpedo types are compatible with the micro-system, including quantum torpedoes. All this runs on two fusion generators... one of which I was fixing when you walked in, sir!"

"Very interesting Ensign, very interesting" whilst the Ensign had been providing him with a brief history, he had walked a full 360 round the platform and was getting more impressed by the minute.

"So, how effective are these in combat scenarios?" he asked, fully aware that whilst things like this looked amazing on paper, their practical application was sometimes a bit more ambiguous.

The Ensign was now in full swing and didn't hesitate with his answer, "Well, independently they have proven to be quite ineffective but they simply haven't got the strength or defensive abilities to defeat even a light cruiser. However, once fully deployed the platforms create what we call a GDN, or Guardian Defence Network. So, whilst these platforms are immobile you've now got them all linked to each other... if one is in trouble... three or four others will concentrate their fire, proving highly effective."

Ashton smiled, "I'm feeling a tactical drill come on... I would quite like to see these in action! I'll let you get back to your work Ensign... thank you for the lesson."

Ashton started making his way back across the hangar, mentally creating a drill that might give the tactical department a run for their money!

OFF:

 

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