# This Is A Drill **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [October 26, 2025, 3:56am UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489 "2025-10-26T03:56:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![avatar](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/avatar/32/2_2.png) [@avatar](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/avatar)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 3:56am UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/1 "2025-10-26T03:56:20Z")
**LANCET-CLASS FEL BORE** **Operated by:** - Blue-Green Ecociates, ICC - Atalant Materials, ICC **Type:** Orbital Bore, Free-Electron Laser **Construction:** Starflight Shipyards, Seléne **Length:** 1.2 km **Beam (primary hull):** 72 m **Beam (storage rings):** 324 m **Gravity-well capable:** No. **Atmosphere-capable:** No. **Personnel:** 18 **Drives:** Nucleodyne Thrust Applications 4x1 "Sunheart VI" fusion torch **Propellant:** Deuterium/helium-3 slush blend **Cruising (sustainable) thrust:** 3.6 standard gravities **Peak(unsustainable) thrust:** 4.2 standard gravities **Maximum velocity:** 0.1 c (rated, based on particle shielding) **Sensors:** - Standard navigational sensor suite, Cilmínar Spaceworks - Remote sensing (geotectonic specialization), Foiríäs Hall of Fine Instrumentation - High-precision orbital positioning gravimetrics, Mariseth Gravitics, ICC **Other Systems:** - 4 x Empire Nucleonics, ICC, "Big Ion" high-output split-isotope fusion power reactor - March of Photons, ICC custom-build free-electron laser; - linacs and synchrotrons by Arctorr Heavy Industries, ICC and Hammerforge Tool Company, ICC **Small Craft:** - 1 x _Nelyn_-class modular cutter - 2 x _Élyn_-class microcutter - 4 x _Adhaïc_-class workpod The _Lancet_-class is formally typed as an orbital bore. Orbital bores are orbital drilling platforms designed for high-level tectonic engineering, of which the _Lancet_-class is the first example. What is high-level tectonic engineering? _Lancet's_ design and construction was originally contracted by Blue-Green Ecociates, ICC (the ecopoesis subsidiary of Ecogenetics, ICC) to perform planetary modifications in the early stages of ecopoesis, or for critical planetary maintenance work. In these roles, the orbital bore is expected to perform such work as replacing nucleonic cutters (linearized fusion devices) in the construction of large-scale canals and passes, releasing buried aquifers, cutting crater rims, safely venting volcanoes leaving periods of dormancy, modifying geologic faults, performing primary drilling of moholes, and the like. Perhaps the most dramatic display of _Lancet's_ capabilities was the successful safe release of pressure from the magma chamber of an incipient supervolcano on Chenachale (High Verge), after the emplacement of a mycofibrillin-based crust stabilization weave and careful geotecture of above-ground lava channels. The release itself was recorded in _Starfire and Earthfire_, the now-famous painting by the artist Lauré Muetry-ith-Mirari based on on-site footage. Less typically, _Lancet_ has also been commissioned by a _chfssssc_ colony expedition to provide their seedship with direct access to the Mohorovicic, rather than requiring the usual preliminary surface boring; and a sister ship, _Curette_, has been commissioned under license by Atalant Materials, ICC for use in freeing deep ore bodies from differentiated planetesimals or barren worlds. (A militarized version of the _Lancet_-class has also been proposed, tentatively designated the _Eschatofer_-class laser bombard. The Bureau of Ships has not yet indicated whether or not it intends to proceed with the project.) The _Lancet_-class is readily identifiable by its profile. Being constructed around the lengthy accelerator called for by the massive free-electron laser at its core (manufactured to spec for the spaceframe by March of Photons, ICC, specialists in civilian laser technology), it is a long and skeletal vessel until you reach the stern where the storage rings are located. Indeed, the _Lancet_ is largely defined by the reinforced octet truss running from the blocky 144-meter **undulator** structure at the bow all the way to the engineering thrust frame at the stern. The rounded **crew capsule** is chin-mounted below the undulator, with **docks and locks** for the cutters and workpods on its lowest deck. Meanwhile, the primary **accelerator** is largely hidden by fuel tanks as it runs aft through the center of the truss, until it reaches the point at which the four **storage rings** feed into it via the **kicker magnet complex**. 288 m in diameter, the circular storage ring trusses extend from the central truss to dorsal, ventral, port, and starboard, housing the synchrotron electron storage rings and the oversized reaction wheels used for precise aiming. The **engineering section** housing the quadruple fusion torch drives and other core machinery is located within a hardened engineering hull behind the storage rings, bulged to for'ard to contain the power reactors. Thermal control is provided by carp-fin pattern radiators sweeping down from the for'ard edge of each storage ring to just behind the undulator. On _Lancet_, the subtle use of alloys in the radiators makes the Blue-Green logo stand out while the FEL is powering up. When engaged in a fire mission, the _Lancet_ is aimed by maneuvering the entire vessel. The oversized reaction wheels embedded into the storage ring trusses provide exceptional rotational accuracy in pitch and yaw, both leading up to and during a firing sequence. The free-electron laser that forms the heart of the _Lancet_-class platform is supplied by the four "Big Ion" power reactors driving independent photoinjector clusters and feeder linacs to stock the storage rings with high-energy electrons. Since the laser itself can use up bunches of electrons faster than they can be produced, especially when tuned to upper-range frequencies (typically x-ray or gamma ranges; the _Lancet_ FEL can be tuned anywhere between infrared and gamma emission for best effect), the storage ring provides a buffer allowing continuous pulse production during extended firing sequences. To fire, the kicker magnet complex diverts appropriate bunches of electrons from the storage rings down the primary accelerator, and through the undulator, where photonic emission takes place within a tunable Meng mirror-based optical resonance cavity, ultimately producing a coherent and collimated beam. * * * This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at [https://eldraeverse.com/2025/10/26/this-is-a-drill](https://eldraeverse.com/2025/10/26/this-is-a-drill) ---
**Author:** ![avatar](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/avatar/32/2_2.png) [@avatar](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/avatar)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 3:57am UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/2 "2025-10-26T03:57:44Z")
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**Author:** ![avatar](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/avatar/32/2_2.png) [@avatar](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/avatar)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 3:58am UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/3 "2025-10-26T03:58:15Z")
Yes, my mention of the now-famous painting is totally and absolutely artist bait. ---
**Author:** ![Maximilian\_Crichton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Maximilian\_Crichton](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/Maximilian_Crichton)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 4:20am UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/4 "2025-10-26T04:20:56Z")
Did Lauré Muetry-ith-Mirari take a picture first then paint it later, or was the drilling process long enough that they could paint it live? Also, I’m imagining this: ![orbital-beam-v0-ckep3294pdre1](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/eldraeverse/original/1X/e327ee98c596cfdb62e7b82a14032de1db33700d.webp) crossed with a painting of Yggdrasil or something ---
**Author:** ![ahd](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/ahd/32/70_2.png) [@ahd](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/ahd)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 9:47am UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/5 "2025-10-26T09:47:02Z")
Laser bombard, hey? A [capital, or possibly supercapital](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/eschatofer-teaser/2991), idea. Nicely evocative description. This seems to be one of those ships you want a few of but never many of, because how many planets need surgery at any given time? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Kenny](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/scott_kenny/32/226_2.png) [@Scott\_Kenny](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/Scott_Kenny)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 1:02am UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/6 "2025-11-21T01:02:38Z")
As I was reading this, my mind immediately to the supervolcano that was left cooking too long. And then you mentioned it as one of the most famous uses! ---
**Author:** ![avatar](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/avatar/32/2_2.png) [@avatar](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/avatar)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/7 "2025-12-09T17:46:45Z")
Probably later, after going through the on-site footage for appropriately dramatic frames. (Not that it probably wouldn’t have been long enough, but.) Also: nice rendering, although I suspect they’d be going in at an angle. (You really want to make sure the outflow goes the particular way you have in mind, and all. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![avatar](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/avatar/32/2_2.png) [@avatar](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/avatar)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 5:47pm UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/8 "2025-12-09T17:47:29Z")
> [@ahd](#): > > This seems to be one of those ships you want a few of but never many of, because how many planets need surgery at any given time? No point in building them to let them sit idle, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![ahd](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/ahd/32/70_2.png) [@ahd](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/ahd)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 10:11pm UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/9 "2025-12-09T22:11:24Z")
So, Black Flotilla? (I am mentally adding “spinal planetary laser” to my running spec for the _Saxifrage Russell_ class mad science hyperdreadnought, but that’s mostly because it’s designed to run without a support fleet beyond internally berthed auxiliaries, so it needs at least one of everything.) ---
**Author:** ![Maximilian\_Crichton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Maximilian\_Crichton](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/Maximilian_Crichton)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 10:49pm UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/10 "2025-12-09T22:49:03Z")
Forgot to credit: Orbital Beam from Star Citizen ---
**Author:** ![Elise](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/elise/32/427_2.png) [@Elise](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/Elise)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 11:13am UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/11 "2025-12-13T11:13:45Z")
Fascinating. Does the Empire have any “special fleets” besides the Black Flotilla? ---
**Author:** ![avatar](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/avatar/32/2_2.png) [@avatar](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/avatar)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 8:52pm UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/12 "2025-12-19T20:52:48Z")
> [@ahd](#): > > So, Black Flotilla? Regular fleet. The militarized version is designed to snipe enemy capital ships and forts from a healthy distance, not for planetary warcriming. > [@Elise](#): > > Does the Empire have any “special fleets” besides the Black Flotilla? Well, there are task forces and smaller elements specialized for particular tasks, but not, I think “special” in the sense that you mean. I should add that “fleet” is primarily an administrative and logistic term. The Black Flotilla is an _administrative_ grouping of starships, and because of its peculiar nature, one that will essentially never be seen operating together; they’ll just break off a few task elements (individual ships) from it to assign to whatever task group/task force needs them today. ---
**Author:** ![ahd](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/ahd/32/70_2.png) [@ahd](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/ahd)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 12:15pm UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/13 "2025-12-21T12:15:17Z")
I had assumed that ridiculously-large-overgunned-warship was going to be rare, and so the kind of thing you’d have half a dozen of and cross-assign to a squadron of Capital Fleet as and when. But that could live as a specialised squadron of Capital Fleet just as well as a squadron of Black Flotilla. ---
**Author:** ![avatar](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/avatar/32/2_2.png) [@avatar](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/avatar)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 9:57pm UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/14 "2025-12-21T21:57:32Z")
Like I said, “Fleet” is an administrative designation. It tells you which bases ships home port in, which depots supply their reqs, what numbers the yard dogs put on their work orders, whose budget pays for them, who plans refits and replacements, etc., etc. When you might actually use the thing, it (the task element), will be assigned to a task unit, as part of a task group, as part of a task force, which is ultimately part of a battle fleet (which is a strategic designation meaning “all task forces tasked under a single Theater Command or Grand Admiral”). But all ships assigned stay part of their _fleet_ for administrative purposes. Even when a Capital Fleet task force is sent out to assist operations being carried out by, say, Field Fleet Rimward, its ships are still part of Capital Fleet _administratively_, even though they may both be part of the Battle Fleet of Artistic Immolation _operationally_. (This is why navies run on paperwork.) ---
**Author:** ![ahd](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/ahd/32/70_2.png) [@ahd](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/ahd)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 1:20am UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/15 "2025-12-22T01:20:24Z")
At last we find out Fleet Admiral Sargas’ command’s name. ---
**Author:** ![avatar](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/avatar/32/2_2.png) [@avatar](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/avatar)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 5:30pm UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/16 "2026-02-05T17:30:11Z")
…just saw this again, and noticed a thing. Just a regular Admiral, probably going to be promoted to High Admiral one of these days, but not further. Fleet Admiral’s a primarily administrative post, which is certainly important, but she’d hate it. Too much the fighting spacer. Adm. Sargas is very happy that “the needs of the Service” want her exactly where she is. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Kenny](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/eldraeverse.discourse.group/scott_kenny/32/226_2.png) [@Scott\_Kenny](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/Scott_Kenny)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 6:38am UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/17 "2026-02-11T06:38:05Z")
> [@avatar](#): > > (This is why navies run on paperwork.) I was an admin guy in the US Navy. My running joke was that the nuclear reactor powered the computers, printers, copiers, and coffee pots. The ship itself was powered by paperwork. But I never had anyone disagree with it, either. ---
**Author:** ![Maximilian\_Crichton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Maximilian\_Crichton](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/u/Maximilian_Crichton)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/this-is-a-drill/3489/18 "2026-02-12T22:59:00Z")
And I think the coffee pots powered the warrant officers?