User blog:Savage Ravage/Project Nightlash 2.0 Pt. 2

The screen flickers and the familiar Aussie, Tech-01, appears on screen sipping from a mug that reads 'I <3 Jet Exhaust' in bold lettering. There's a few agonizing moments of silence as he makes sure everything is recording properly.

"Alright, so... Sir, here is the updates as they stand. We've checked over comms systems. SINCGARS was outdated, using an old A/N-131, we decided to test cross-compatability with upgrades on devices by putting in the newer A/N-188 and matching up the Freq-Hop to our own test channel. Updated the SATCOM encryption as well. Short story, it works. Whatever Ritter did, he made sure she worked with our tech. I'd love to know who else worked on this project, but either they are tight-lipped, or everyone who did is gone. Ritter's records do not even mention a roster."

He brings up an older image, dated 2010, with several persons standing around the Night Raven on the tarmac at night. "Here's what we're working with. Five figures. I've got this guy," he highlights the pilot, "as our former Strato-Viper 719. Here's Ritter," another is highlighted, "and I'm assuming this to be his former second-in-command, Strausus. Likewise not on our active roster anymore. That leaves the last two unknown. What's more, I can't seem to find a good quality shot of their faces. Scrubbing rosters, though, we did have some of our aviation maintenance personnel relocated shortly before the flood hit, and they were never recovered. I know this might sound coincidental, but they were moved to stations that had no air program in place. I checked their service records, there's a few gaps around that time. Stellar performance on both, followed by a lapse, and then reprimands for improper behavior preceding and resulting in their transfers off-station."

The technician shrugs. "So, that leaves us in an interesting spot. Ritter was up to something, and we're just here trying to put together a puzzle. So, on to the puzzle. With her on standby as of last night, we're having an easy time with diagnostics and other scans. Power levels are rising slowly, but still dismally low, she's at about 13%. We've still got the power-cart and huffer hooked up to augment that so her systems aren't draining her back down to 0.

"As per your request, we've focused on the weapon systems first. She was honest about her assessment. The systems she's using came out of a Sukhoi SU-27. It's nothing impressive, at first blush. In fact, the wiring and work to integrate it does not even come close to matching what Ritter's team did with the old tech. The time of install also coincides with a major shutdown in 2011. My guess is she went down, they couldn't find M.A.R.S. tech to replace systems, and swapped. She was inactive for about six months, but there's no real chatter as to what she was up to outside of a possible sighting in Argentina."

He pulls up a display of armament systems. "Here's what she's carrying, and the probable reason for the system swap. FRAS-4C rockets, Soviet-era for sure. However they're Anti-Submarine. Someone shoe-horned these in and made them work, but they're horribly inefficient unless going after a water-borne subsurface target no more than, oh, ten meters deep, fifteen at best from an aircraft. They were meant to fire from a submerged vehicle, though. I've taken two of the rockets from her bay and we'll study those. The last reports from the USSR before it collapsed were the FRAS-1 being under development, and it was a nuclear assisted projectile. While our wing-clipped bird can't use them well, we might be able to on other applications."

The image shifts to a missile. "This is another anomaly. It carries a designator 'AA-X-15'. Last records show the AA-12 to be the last Soviet missile developed, dubbed the 'Adder'. We've dubbed this one the 'Python'. It's rather complex with an upgraded guidance system. However, it's not communicating with the SU-27 system very well. There's a jumbled mix of code that does not translate well. It's like using a 4g phone with a 3g tower, you just won't get the performance you're looking for." He cycles through some photos. "We've kept two samples of this missile as well to see if there's anything of use for our own applications. They're not terrible, but they're not world-class either. Tech-4413 has pointed out an interesting configuration of the gyroscopes that handle target tracking and acquisition that might be of use. It's innovative, if nothing else. These particular AA-X-15's also have the R-73M2 tag, indicating a decent range extension over standard service missiles, in excess of a mile."

The Tech settles back in his chair in thought. "We've also spoken with the subject, Nightlash, since your conversation with her. She claims she cannot exceed the Mach 3.5 boundary, or even cross beyond 3.2 without severe structural stress. That's a limitation our own birds have as well. At 3.5, for more than a few minutes, they will literally disintegrate mid-air. However, the structural engineers are telling me that she's wrong. She should be able to cross Mach 5 without breaking a sweat. She refuses to believe this, though, and actually cited the Night Raven tech manual as proof of her claim. I'm very curious to know why she thinks this way, though, and I'm going back to our earlier scans of processor activity for clues. We'll keep you up to date, as always, Sir."

There is a pause. "As for the weapon system upgrades, we're working on procuring the systems from M.A.R.S. without a carcass. Naturally, they are Depot-level repairable items. But we're using another aircraft's tail number, the one that went down in LA, to compensate. We had hoped to salvage the systems from that aircraft, but they are damaged beyond repair or reasonable use. If M.A.R.S. insists on a carcass, we can gladly send them the scrap as compensation, but when we rebuild the recovered bird from LA, we'll have to go through the process again.

"Tech-01, out."