TheDS wrote:
"I think in RSB there's a Blackheart Strike Cruiser that is designed for just this purpose. The ship has a big jump drive (like J5), plenty of J-fuel (like for two J3's), and a big spinal mount. I don't think the ship was all that big, and it didn't have much beyond the meson gun and the black globe. It was designed to jump in, drift past, lower the globe at the right time, and blast away for a few rounds, then drift off to safety."
Mr. TheDS,
That's the beast in question! It was mentioned in RSB, but first appeared in one of DGP's later 'Traveller Digests'. They're Nemesis-class cruisers prepostioned at deep space calibration points as part of Operation Blackheart. Oddly enough, despite being a MT design, the cruiser isn't broken! Despite most of the designs in FSotSI for example.
As you point out, the Nemesis class is a pretty barebones vessel, designed for hit and run. She's got the globe for stealth; apparently jumping with it ON, and packs the biggest meson gun that can be crammed aboard. She has fuel for 7 parsecs (IIRC) giving you plenty of jump combinations for her 'boomarang' style raids. One note; while a DGP design, Nemesis breaks DGP's own ruling on jump fuel usage and adheres to the one in HG2. Go figure.
Nemsis operations entail a
very accurate, and thus painstakingly calculated, jump plot. She arrives near the 100D limit on a normal space vector that will bring her in towards her target areas. Her globe is up at 100% and gets dropped at a predetermined time; I've forgotten how temporally accurate MT allowed jumps to get but even +/- 10 hours at a well chosen normal space vector isn't too dangerous. Once the time is up, or weapons fire hitting the globe lets her crew know they've been spotted, Nemesis drops her globe, engages targets, and jumps away. DGP even suggested that the Nemesis class used energy from enemy fire collected by her globe to power her jump.
Target selection for Nemesis operations will be tough. They need to go after something they know will be there. Real time scouting by otheer vessels in-system ahead of a Nemesis strike will only tip off the enemy. A militarized Donosev could lurk in the outer system, build up target data, and then maser that information into the Nemesis arrival region hours to hopefully meet the incoming cruiser. Because the scout will be light-hours out, she'll need to maser her data light-hours ahead of the planned Nemesis arrival time. Signals of the nature will be a red flag to any defenders.
Instead, I think that systems will be continually scouted and the information gathered jumped out to a multiple Nemesis cruisers waiting at a calibration point. The data will be ~336 hours old by the time the cruisers arrive to act on it, but the operation's hand will not have been tipped in the meantime.
One thing to note in operations of this type, or in any operations of a commerce raiding nature; Damage is as good as destruction. Nemesis strikes only need damage fleet trains, supply ships, orbital defenses, and the like. Damage by raiders mean the Zhos still need to divert assets to defend against them. The bar is set much lower for the raider in this case; she only needs to threaten and only needs to succeed occasionally. The defender much thwart or prevent raids with a much higher success rate and that usually requires more assets than is expended by the raider.
Finally, I also believe that Nemesis strikes will be multiple ship affairs spread out over time. Once a Zho fleet train or supply nexus is identified, the Nemesis strikes begin. They're a nuisance, they only cause damage, but they give the Zhos no peace until the Zhos leave the area.
The Allies did something similar against Rabaul once it was bypassed with all-night airplane raids. At dusk, a lone B-25 would arrive, circle Rabaul, drop a few bombs, strafe a few targets, and generally make the Japs' evening unpleasent. Just as that bomber reached her bingo fuel mark, another one would show up to take over the job, then another, then another, and forth until the sun came back up. There wasn't a lot of damage done and very few bombers were lost, but the Japs were kept up all night at their air raid stations and were slowly driven crazier than the proverbial sh*thouse rat.
Multiple Nemesis cruisers arriving at staggered times at different points on the 100D shell with varying normal space vectors will drive the Zhos into the bughouse; psionic-based mental health practices or not.
Sincerely,
Larsen