Author Notes:
Hello! I am back at last, and I hope I didn't keep you all waiting for the usual OBOM stuff. The next chapter will similarly be an additional OBOM Early Access chapter, just like I planned on the previous announcement.
I am also glad to inform that, right now, the Early Access system for both RM and OBOM are undergoing improvements. Supporters of the two series will be having more and more chapters in the coming days. GSS is scheduled next, after I am done with the next OBOM Early Access chapter.
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https://photos.app.goo.gl/waZgkRa3UQhqKQBi9
OBOM Visual Guide:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/5fQs4Fv
Voyager-class Aircraft Carrier: https://postimg.cc/Bj07kzny
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"How far along are we?" I say, idly petting Lady Bubble's soft fur coat as she lies stretched out on my lap. One hand supports my chin as I gaze at the various personages in the observation deck, enjoying a range of activities to unwind.
Reizen and Vi play holographic 3D chess, while Kokona and the other Dolls split into smaller groups, either to watch the ongoing match or to chat and observe the rain outside. As for why Lady Bubble is here, you can blame Sapientia; she suddenly dropped by, gave us a bit of revised information about the Southern Cold Region, and deposited Lady Bubble into Aurea's waiting hands. Very much like the winds, Sapientia then disappeared as fast as she came, leaving Aurea momentarily unsure whether to keep hugging the cuddly Snowpuff Seal or to reach over and accept a cup of warm milk from a Doll. Fortunately, Aurea didn't have to wonder long when the helpful Doll, with a motherly aura, held out a teacup with, funnily enough, a straw, so Aurea could sip without ever needing to move her hand away from Lady Bubble.
A part of me heard the ever-distant scream of anguish from the British about this desecration of the tea ceremony, but who am I to judge?
And now, back to the present. My question brings a pause to the chess game and whatever conversations the Dolls are having.
"Checkmate~!" Iris does a little yippie as her Orbital Artillery Platform locks onto Reizen's HQ, thus sealing the last path of escape for my partner's commanding staff and finishing the game.
The Dolls, led by Kokona, give the two players a round of applause and cheers. Reizen smiles wryly before nodding gratefully in Iris' direction.
"It was an enlightening game, Iris. I have learned something new; thank you."
"It was a close one, however." Iris winks. "Given some time, you may actually get your first check against your Godmother, Reizen."
The pair chuckles as the holographic 3D chess table fades away. But still... 3D chess is something new, though I reckon the name must be something different.
With our heads back in the game, Iris then claps her hands together, saying.
"Well, we're pretty much done with most of the stuff; we only need to tackle the aircraft carrier and the submarine. Afterward, the mechs, or Knights, according to this world's terminology."
"Make that two submarines." I correct her with a smile.
"Wait, two?" Iris tilts her head in mild confusion. "Why would we need two subs?"
"One for general-purpose, one for strategic deterrence." I explain simply.
"Strategic deterrence, as in Weapons of Mass Destruction deterrence? You do realize that the medieval world very much doesn't understand the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction, right, Umbra?" Iris asks seriously.
I shrug.
"Well, there's a first time for everything. We can't be the only one out there without a Strategic Artefact. If we don't have a Strategic Artefact, then we may as well make our own. I heard nukes are free real estate these days. The common denizens of this world may not understand the concept of MAD, but I highly doubt the same can apply to the Divines behind them."
"... Do we need to clear this with Sapientia?" Iris carefully adds.
"Pretty sure Sapientia or her Mother already know about what we're discussing right now. They are welcome to join us so we can hash out something. If they're not interjecting, then it's safe to go ahead and plot a course for WMD development. It's not like we will actively go around and use them anyway." I shrug. "That said, perhaps something of a less-than-polluting WMD will be nice: a pure fusion weapon. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there."
"Fine by me." Iris nods, with the others remaining silent as they listen to our back-and-forth. "One aircraft carrier and two submarines then."
"Let's work on the aircraft carrier first, something larger than the Bonaparte-class, but not so large that it falls into the supercarrier definition." I nod. "Something that's less than 70,000 tons will do."
"That ballpark is still a large increase over the 55,000 tons of the Bonaparte-class, and will be a stupendously expensive investment, considering the projected size of our Navy. Frankly speaking, even if we end up with a nice aircraft carrier design, it will be unwise to order anything more than a couple of them. Manpower is an issue, but I fear that obsolescence will be a major part of the reason as well." Iris gives her honest suggestion.
"You're thinking about giving future vessels nuclear power plants?" I ask.
"Only on the bigger ships, say our cruisers and carriers." Iris nods. "Technically speaking, our current blueprints can be redesigned in the future to lose the conventional powerplant for something more exotic."
"Unfortunately, fissile materials are the things Sapientia elected not to give us a treasure map for. Until our prospectors come back with some mineable place, though, we will be sticking with diesel and whatnot for some time." Reizen interjects from the side.
"Fingers crossed we end up with something worthwhile in Alaska. Back to the topic at hand, then." I push the topic onward. "To keep the weight in check, three aircraft elevators and three catapults are my suggestion. Oh, an angled flight deck is pretty much obvious."
Iris hums, snapping her fingers to create a warping mass of holographs that depicts various design schematics for the flagships of our Navy.
"How many planes do you want to stick into the hangar area?" Iris suddenly asks as she plays with the projections.
"Well, somewhere around 60 to 70?" I reply, thinking seriously as I do some mental gymnastics of my own. "The likes of the Valkyr and Viking are smaller on average, meaning we can pack more of them inside the hangar. However, considering the enigmatic nature of Arcadia, where we have much to learn and adapt still, I think we need to reserve space for things other than just some CIWS."
"A 76 mm gun, maybe? Something like the ones on the Admiral Talulah?" Kokona suggests.
Reizen shakes her head. "Unfortunately, the same 76 mm turret will be dispensing shell casings directly onto the deck, which is a hazard for aviation operations."
"Then what about VLS cells?" I chime in. "Surely we can incorporate something with the real estate available."
"Overruled. It will be more trouble than it's worth." Iris vetoes the suggestion right off the bat. "You're better off sticking the 76 mm guns just beneath the flight deck instead of boring VLS cells into either the island or, Viola forbid, the center of the damn carrier. Even if we want to incorporate VLS cells, it will have to be something small and light, something that can be hung off the sides of the CV. Most probably, the VLS will be used for medium-range AA missiles at best. Again, I don't think it's worth it."
"So, we stick with what we have then." I nod.
"Uh huh." Iris hums. "If you're thinking about adding firepower, loosely more than 60 airframes, it's doable on this hull... Like this."
Iris then shows us all the aircraft carrier she has swiftly cooked up according to the few suggestions and requirements we talked about on the fly. For the most part, this aircraft carrier seems to be a reimagining of the Charles de Gaulle-class aircraft carrier, unwittingly, of course.
"Does this thing have a name yet?" I ask while leaning forward to take a closer look at the specs and minute details. My fingers scratch that one part beneath Lady Bubble's chin, causing the Snowpuff Seal to squint in joy.
"Not yet. Do you want to decide on it now?" Iris points the question back at me.
"UmU." I nod. "I want to name it the Voyager-class."
Reizen perks up as she and Iris both direct looks of mild surprise at me. My partner goes on to ask. "Voyager, as in the Voyager?"
"From my point of view, your mother, you, the entire crew of that train, are all heroes. All of you deserve to be commemorated for what you sacrificed and left behind for the future. I reckon naming our very first flagship after the Voyager will be a good way to keep the heritage that gave us this opportunity close to our hearts." I explain my reasoning, much to Reizen's heartfelt gratitude.
"I think my mother, and others, would like it very much for our Voyager to live on in some form."
Iris interjects with a wink and an appreciative grin. "Our thanks, on their behalf, Umbra."
I nod with a smile before I digest the data I am seeing. In my arms, Lady Bubble stretches idly as she politely remains silent and at ease.
The Voyager-class aircraft carrier mirrors the Charles de Gaulle-class in the sense that it has the island, the sole superstructure, closer to the fore end of the ship instead of the aft, as most aircraft carriers are. And then, the similarity pretty much ends there. Other than a very much more modern-looking island and mast, the Voyager class features one more elevator and one more catapult, as specified. The flight deck has three medium-voltage direct-current electromagnetic catapults, an angled landing runway with electromagnetic arresting gear, one port and two starboard hangar elevators. Notably, the starboard elevators are behind the island, and the port elevator is nearer to the aft. The EMALS catapult on the angled runway is positioned so that, even if an AWACS is on the catapult waiting for takeoff, it will not interfere with an emergency landing of an inbound plane out of fuel.
In other words, the Voyager-class is quite adept at performing simultaneous takeoff and landing.
"The forward placement of the island will give the Voyager-class better sea navigation capability and will isolate smoke exhaust plus turbulent air from the landing path. While it will restrict forward deck parking spots for aircraft, it will lessen the risk of a catastrophic landing, especially in hazardous weather conditions." Iris helpfully explains.
Now, owing to my desire to protect the flagship of our Navy, Iris specifically designs the Voyager-class to accept a loadout that arguably provides firepower comparable to a small naval fort. We are talking about:
- 4x 76 mm Carnwennan naval autocannons in the same get-up as the one on the Admiral Talulah-class FFG. Each cannon is situated at the four corners of the Voyager-class, just beneath the flight deck.
- 4x 35 mm Millennium turrets. They are situated in the same corner positions as the 76 mm guns.
- 2x 57 mm autocannons with short-to-medium range missile pods, the same weapon system present on the Alaska-class CG. These two turrets are installed on waist outcrops beneath the flight deck of the Voyager. Tentatively, this system is named Prydwen, the shield of King Arthur in legends.
- Lastly, there are four MPLSs in total. Two of which are placed in the gaps between the Carnwennans and the Prydwen on each side of the Voyager-class.
Practically speaking, that's a lot of anti-surface and anti-air firepower. The only downside is the lack of ASW weapons, but that can be covered by the utilization of helicopters and light attack aircraft on hunter-killer missions. Additionally, if an underwater threat is moving to threaten the flagship directly, it's basically FUBAR.
Now, with all that said about firepower, can't really have too much of it; let's move on to the standard aircraft loadout of the Voyager. Iris seems to have already compiled a good one for us:
- FA-1 Valkyr: 36 aircraft across three Squadrons.
- CAV-1 Viking: 12 aircraft across two Squadrons.
- CEV-1 Tanker-Utility Gokstad: 7 aircraft in one Squadron.
- CEV-1 AWACS Gokstad: 4 aircraft in one Flight.
- MH-1 ASW-CSAR Knighthawk: 8 helicopters in one Squadron.
All in all, there will be 67 airframes inside the Voyager's hangar. However, from what Iris is showing, the aircraft carrier can accept a surge of one additional Squadron of fighter craft.
The Voyager-class is quite capable of pushing approximately 33 knots at maximum. Similar to the Bonaparte-class LHD and Alaska-class CG, our CV will be able to go 15,000 nautical miles and endure 60 days at sea before needing replenishment underway. For all intents and purposes, the Voyager-class is something of a very capable ship class.
That comes with a price tag.
Iris laughs aloud, having already foreseen the future operating costs of the CV. "Yeah, ain't no way we can get more than two Voyagers. Otherwise, we can say goodbye to our underwater force!"