Earlier attempts at FTL that didn't work out. Either both exploded, or both are flew at full throttle till all the fuel was gone. If the latter is the case I'm sure they will be found some where around the PC and will return as jump capable "super ships."
If they never were FTL, they wouldn't have reached the Pentaurus Cluster in a thousand years...
They're in hiding somewhere like the FTL Scout ships. No crew, completely shut down just waiting for a crew to show up. The captains of the scout ships will fight over them when they are converted to jump ships.
If they were the first ships (and we can see that the Scouts needed lots of effort to keep them flying), then it is likely that the two ships were lost. But How?
Power plant failure (not working/ejected/exploded)
Engine failure (ignition of fuel gases in the wrong place/failure of poor quality materials through Wear and tear/Heat)
run out of fuel (possible leak/explosion/corruption)
Hull failure (the stress of turning/changing speed/failure rushed welds)
Armament failure (missile failure in the ammo dump)
Environmental failure (pressure issues/gas mix/toxicity levels)
Human error/sabotage (any of the above)
There are a lot of ways to loose a ship and not all of them mean the ship is irrecoverable.
I would love to see the Falcon calling the Aurora with some good news.
I would love to see the Jung's reaction to the addition of 2 x Jump Battleships for Earth.
Get them in the Zaruzara Quick!!!
In an effort to keep this thread alive I propose the following: Ignore my previous babbling.
The two ships were hidden like the Celestia, on some tidaly locked moon or asteroid. They have been mostly forgotten because of the present situation. The location will be dicovered by accident. They will activated and taken inside the big empty rock and be refitted.
Any further thoughts/comments.
Lincoln, how about a half n half. One gets shut down and hidden somewhere waiting for the crew to come back. The other, loaded with all the supplies and crew from the first one do more testing and are blasted into far reaches and are making their way back. Or both ships on a joint patrol had fuel failure issues (bad gas, hole in the tank, what ever your brain can come up with) and drifted along until gravity capture was done on some moon or something and that becomes a base of operations?
Here is another idea to keep the thread going......We generally know that before the plaque, humans had spread out...whats in the other directions besides PC? Remember its 4 dimensional travel now, so whats in other areas? Maybe some potential help? More enemies....Little green dudes with bug eyes and a taste for Terran long pork?
Comments? Ideas?
It is a possibility that both ships had warp capability and went to say two or three times light out of the system and on a route for far distant stars (avoiding Jung star lanes). Thinking about it, if those two ships were warp capable, and they left earth 20 years ago they would probably be beyond the fringe by now. Imagine if they were on course for a Colony site recorded in the Data Ark, or two of them, bringing word of the Jung with them.
I like the idea that Earth forces were sent out to play the long game, while the other were kept in reserve to put up a fight. the duplicity and cunning needed for that is in line with the policies of the EDF kind of like the underground networks they began to put in at least 20 years previously.
They are not in the Sol system, or close into the system. They were too big to be parked just down the road a ways, even if they went dark.
As to where other human colonies, it is worth noting that Earth is a ways out from the center of the galaxy so it makes sense to move inward or sideways, (not so much up, down or out but with the threat of the plague people would do some seriously stupid things so I would expect them/traces of them those directions too).
If the Fringe is 50 LY from Earth and people were leaving to get as far away as possible from the plague (and any other ships that could follow on with it) and taking into account the lack of communications being picked up by the Jung (unless they have been, don't know how Ryk will play it) then it stands to reason that 100 LY out from Earth would be a good margin of safety. I would like to hear later on in the series that Jump drones sent to search out colonies find more failed missions at that kind of distance. Yes 50 LY from the fringe is a long ways out, but its way too close for people worried about saving the Human race from the Plague.
Then again they may have experimented with new technology from the Data Ark and inadvertently created the black hole that the Aurora nearly fell into. They may also just have been testing a new weapon - that might also explain why both ships look different to the other Defender class ships, why put star killers on ships in your own system? Christ why destroy a Star? (No I don't think they got out that far even with twenty years at warp speeds. I see them as being to slow for that.)
LOL is it strange to think that the first Warships of Earth could well be the last to fire in the Alliance/Jung War?
Aidan, All I can say on this is holy crap you got some great ideas there. I really like the idea the thought process of using the com-drones to search out in other directions and finding a multitude of different things.
1. Dead space craft floating in deep space (either holed from what ever reason) or out of fuel/life support
2. Crashed ships on isolated moons, or other objects like that
3. Failed colonies (for what ever reason...starvation, low birth rate, little green dudes with a taste for Terran)
4. A surviving colony but lost their tech base and reverted back to earlier tech.
5. An advanced surviving colony
I'm been thinking about BV01 & 2 again, and what could have happened to them. But firstly what do we know about them
1) We know that the general consensus on Earth is that they were built too quickly before Earth knew how to build them properly.
2) The other Defender class ships were build sturdier with more armor.
3) Captain Roberts of the Aurora served as an executive officer on the Defender (BV01) (which may changed in the great Part 1 completed minor error edit because that ship was lost a long time ago, and what was Roberts doing in the meantime?)
4) The latter four Defenders were not build with FTL due to the expense of that tech.
5) FTL Tech existed in the Scout ships at the time the Defenders were built.
6) Defender class ships were the first ships to be build by Earth with weapon system
7) I don't know how long ago the BV01 & 2 were lost so I will assume 10 years.
8) I don't know if they were lost around the same time or not so I will assume they were lost a few short months apart.
9) I don't know if they were lost before the other Defenders were build but due to the style change I will assume that they were lost early in the construction of BV03 & 4.
A) Using what the EDF had learned from the Scout ships the actual structure of the ship and the reactors and the pressurized gases etc would all presumably be safe during normal operations. They were built bigger then the scouts so it is possible that some of the technology used was not scaleable. The Earths best and brightest were involved and I imagine that the ships were build strudy. Not the reason we lost them.
B) Earths first Rail guns went onto the Defenders, it is possible that they might have caused damage to the test ship when fired, but I would assume that a sturdily built ship would only loose a small section to damage from a mishap during a test fire of experimental weaponry. Not the reason we lost them.
C) The Defenders would have been sent on shake up voyages, and sent to loop the system. The EDF was new to Battleships, with lots of mass and very slow engines(compared to the smaller scouts) Is it likely that one of the ships flew too close to a gravity well and became trapped / destroyed on reentry/impact. Earth best and brightest planning and troubleshooting and simulations training. Not the Reason we lost them.
D) Accident on board ship possibly due to unnoticed stresses from driving with so much mass / firing rail guns / collision with unobserved objects near reactors &/or highly pressurized gas storage. Maybe the reason we lost them.
E) Other Tech (believable) we are not privy to being on board, First version of shields failing during testing / I would expect to have seen progress on the Shield tech since then. Warp test failure, not likely as this would require explanation to the Politicians in charge of oversite as they were anti FTL Warships
F) Orders. It is possible that acting on orders from command (or command staff on board) one of the ships came into dificulty. (Helm lest test our engines against the gravity of Jupiter)
G) Other Orders. It is likely that one of the ships at least was ordered off to do something "long term".
H) Other Tech. (Unbelievable) There were a lot of special projects and it is possible that one of them came to fruition before the Jump drive project. Perhaps a wormhole generator was invented but they could not determine where the wormhole would lead them / how to get back. Would explain why the Jump drive project continued / because it allowed for clear control of direction unlike experimental wormhole tech.
I) Subversion/sabotage. Its likely that Jung infiltrators would sabotage or try to subvert the first Earth warships. If Donny on the scout ships could be infected with Nanites and he was on the Scout ship since before the Jung invaded / then others could have been on the Defenders.
What do I think happened?
1) I see a number of accidents happening on the first Defender ships, the decision was made to build the newer ships more rugged was made.
2) Jung Saboteurs were discovered on one of the ships but the ship though damaged was recoverable and saved. The EDF made the decision to report the first Ship lost as they were worried about Jung operatives on Earth ramping up they're efforts if they thought their brothers had failed.
3) Supplies and additional special projects & Spec Ops people were shuttled to the second Defender and then transferred to the first one. The first defender with provisions for 7 years was sent at 65% light speed toward Alpha Centauri.
4) The second defender was then given supplies and its own sets of Special Projects people and additional supplies and later sent after the first Defender.
5) Scout ships were tasked with tracking the two ships, keeping them updated on Earth and eachother.
6) The Defenders when they reached Alpha Centauri were supplied locally with propellant by the local space forces as covertly as possible along with additional necessities and while hiding in that system proceeded to apply the exterior work needed to make them FTL ships.
7) They now proceeded at warp to attempt contact with colonies beyond Jung Influence.
Thinking about it, "Survivors" could have made it back to Earth on Shuttles and escape pods leaving less people on the ships to 1) stretch out resources for the remaining crew, 2) not loose as many "experienced" crew to a long term mission when 2 new ships would need to be staffed soon.
Also I really like the idea that the Space force at Alpha Centauri would have acted against the Jung before they were attacked and destroyed. / The space force being dead would close the loop on why no one on Kent would tell the Jung about the two defenders. The Jung would think that the two ships if they were anywhere it would be Sol, and therefor not suspect / look for them at Alpha Centauri. However if the Jung suspected / or were tracking them with they're own gunboats would have additional reason to destroy Kent (as they would be proven to be likely allies of Earth.)
I guess I really like the mystery of BV01 & 2.
My God was it the EDF's fault that Alpha Centauri was invaded in the first place? To try to find traces of either the Defenders or of what appeared to be FTL capability in the Aplha Centauri system? Just kidding, the Jung didn't need an excuse.
