In reading a bit about Pearl Harbour, and having a friend who attended Navy firefighting and damage control school, I've wondered how such things are actually affected in the Traveller universe, and what actions people in DamCon parties aboard IN vessels actually take.
I suppose they'd do things like:
- worry about airtightness
- worry about rescuing injured crew members
- worry about re-routing power from the plants to key systems (like guns/scans/etc)
- worry about preventing or addressing explosive or other gas or fluid leaks
- worry about fires in areas still filled with air (or being fed by oxygen leaks or the kinds of fires that are capable of burning in space - plasma stuff, or electrical arcs.... I guess not really *fire* but still a problem)
- worry about things like grav plates and inertial compensators
- fix damaged systems (at least jury rig them) including sensor grids, computer systems, fire control feeds, thrusters, etc
- worry about explosion risks from the fuel tanks or power plant or the batteries or Life Support or other places
One thought I particularly had related to getting power to sections of the ship from the power plant after damage had 'cut it off'. Particularly, to the guns, but the solution I have in mind applies more generally. I thought this up while reading about Pearl and the handraulic ammo transfer lines between mags and guns once the lights went out on the ships.
Idea:
Near each key hatch coaming is a power transfer box. Normally, it does nothing. It is, in essence, a huge plug (on each side). It serves one function: if the normal power feeds go down, it offers a way to get an emergency power feed (a large cable about the side of a man's lower leg in diameter) through an airtight bulkhead or shock frame. (That is to say, without compromising the airtight nature of the other side).
Engineers run these large cables (and they have these stored in lockers around the ship for access in emergencies) from power take-off (PTO) points throughout the ship (from one that works, back near the power plant, say) and run them along corridors and such (using these power transfer points - PTPs - to cross any airtight doors) to an emergency power feed point (PFPs) near the system in question, be it a turret or a scan mount or even the bridge. This gets power to those systems even if all normal conduits have been cut, as long as the plant is up. There are also these kinds of PTO points near the ship's battery farm, in the event the main fusion plant is offline.
I also figure all damage control folks (or a goodly number) would use a modified form of battle dress (less armour, more tools - probably about equivalent in armour to a combat environment suit or thereabouts) with muscle augmentation, cutting torches, prybars, impact drivers, firefighting gear, etc. aboard and specialized software, etc. to drive it.
I suppose they'd do things like:
- worry about airtightness
- worry about rescuing injured crew members
- worry about re-routing power from the plants to key systems (like guns/scans/etc)
- worry about preventing or addressing explosive or other gas or fluid leaks
- worry about fires in areas still filled with air (or being fed by oxygen leaks or the kinds of fires that are capable of burning in space - plasma stuff, or electrical arcs.... I guess not really *fire* but still a problem)
- worry about things like grav plates and inertial compensators
- fix damaged systems (at least jury rig them) including sensor grids, computer systems, fire control feeds, thrusters, etc
- worry about explosion risks from the fuel tanks or power plant or the batteries or Life Support or other places
One thought I particularly had related to getting power to sections of the ship from the power plant after damage had 'cut it off'. Particularly, to the guns, but the solution I have in mind applies more generally. I thought this up while reading about Pearl and the handraulic ammo transfer lines between mags and guns once the lights went out on the ships.
Idea:
Near each key hatch coaming is a power transfer box. Normally, it does nothing. It is, in essence, a huge plug (on each side). It serves one function: if the normal power feeds go down, it offers a way to get an emergency power feed (a large cable about the side of a man's lower leg in diameter) through an airtight bulkhead or shock frame. (That is to say, without compromising the airtight nature of the other side).
Engineers run these large cables (and they have these stored in lockers around the ship for access in emergencies) from power take-off (PTO) points throughout the ship (from one that works, back near the power plant, say) and run them along corridors and such (using these power transfer points - PTPs - to cross any airtight doors) to an emergency power feed point (PFPs) near the system in question, be it a turret or a scan mount or even the bridge. This gets power to those systems even if all normal conduits have been cut, as long as the plant is up. There are also these kinds of PTO points near the ship's battery farm, in the event the main fusion plant is offline.
I also figure all damage control folks (or a goodly number) would use a modified form of battle dress (less armour, more tools - probably about equivalent in armour to a combat environment suit or thereabouts) with muscle augmentation, cutting torches, prybars, impact drivers, firefighting gear, etc. aboard and specialized software, etc. to drive it.