Your Very Own Imperial Stardestroyer

[The Mad Monk]

Looking more closely, I found the Executor's conning tower, and it appears to be smaller than the ISD's.

The ISD is in front.

[Kuciwalker]

If it's closer, then the SSD is much more than ten times an ISD's length, and we're both wrong.

[The Mad Monk]

Hey, I'm neutral.

[Kuciwalker]

I meant me and Lonestar.

[st_swithin]

I only have a couple of questions:

1) Does J.Lo's a55 count as a star that may be destroyed?
2) If so, then does Tom Cruise's bloated, swollen, festering ego count as a star?

That is all. If the answers to the above questions are both 'No', then what is the point of having an Imperial Stardestroyer?!?

The trouble about trying to make yourself appear more intelligent than you really are is that almost never succeed." - Tyler Durden

[Kramerman]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Before that I'd start moving command functions toward the center of the ship so I wouldn't get killed in one shot.

The bridge in a ISD is no more vulnerable than the bridge of any modern warship. If i gave you a nimitz class aircraft carrier, would you move the bridge into the interior of the ship too?

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Kramerman
The bridge in a ISD is no more vulnerable than the bridge of any modern warship. If i gave you a nimitz class aircraft carrier, would you move the bridge into the interior of the ship too?

I don't like it when something that big blows up because of something so small.

[Kramerman]

touchee... the odds are next to impossible tho... damn the FORCE

[Kramerman]

long live the EMPIRE!!!

HOOAH!

[The Mad Monk]

Kman, a better example would be "if I give you a nuclear sub, would you move the bridge into the interior of the ship too?"

The answer would be, "no, because the bridge is already there."

[Kramerman]

Originally posted by The Mad Monk
Kman, a better example would be "if I give you a nuclear sub, would you move the bridge into the interior of the ship too?"

The answer would be, "no, because the bridge is already there."

perhaps, but not quite. subs cannot have glass, due to diving pressures of the ocean. And what good would it be any way, when rarely does even one sub engage with one sub (but i bet a sub commander would love to be able to see it)
The 'transparasteel' in SW is just as good as the hull of the ship, but it can be seen thru, which can be necessary in tactical fleet engagements.

People say, well what about cameras and sensors? but what if they get destroyed, system failure, or malfunction? Good old visiblity is a good thing, and when the odds of breaking thru the shields and firepower of the ISD and still being able to harm the command center are so high, they outweigh the risk.

Kman

[The Mad Monk]

Engagements likely happen at such distances that if cameras and other sensors are offline, you're effectively blinded anyway. Plus, while the elevated bridges wet navy surface ships benefit from both increased horizon due to elevation, and good ventilation, spacecraft get neither of these advantages.

[Kassiopeia]

I'm actually going to take the "Loser of the Thread" award and speculate at length on the scenario.

My first task would probably be steering the ISD the hell out of Earth orbit and hope that those who spotted it wouldn't speak of it in fear of being branded nutcases. I'd order it to be navigated to orbit Mars, and have it maneuvre so that Mars will always be blocking the view from Earth to the starship. Keeping the existence of the ship secret is imperative at this point: the population on Earth must remain concent and (relatively) calm. I'd keep an eye on it so that it wouldn't suddenly decide to break out in a WW3 but otherwise I'd stay put and ponder my next move. I would spend a few days assessing the situation and finding out what resources I have.

Most important is acquiring enough resources to expand on the army of drones and ships. Like someone pointed out, if there's one ISD, there could be more. This one might have ended up here in a freak hyperspace accident which erased all its crew, or it could be an excursion ship that's being waited somewhere. If the Empire makes contact with me, my only hope would probably be offering to subjugate Earth and become an imperial overlord of sorts. I'd probably be the best man at hand to do it, after all. I sure as hell wouldn't chance the odds of one man with no experience whatsoever commanding a single ISD against whatever the Empire could throw at me.

Let's, however, assume that the Empire will not contact me. Maybe the ship has been drifting around for hundreds of thousands of years and the Empire is long dead. (I think the SW galaxy itself isn't our galaxy, but this isn't important for the purposes of this speculation.)

My first step, then, would be directing the drones to build the infrastructure required to produce large amounts of more parts for equipment and vessels on Mars. Mining for minerals, foundries and factories for manufacturing. More drones, other automated compliances and the like.

While the bulk of the drone force is toiling away on Mars constructing the foundations of my to-be empire, I'll arrange my own personal security. Trust would be the only weakness of my reign, so I have to use it sparingly. I would remain inside my ship at all times, and no other person should be allowed to board it. I'd carry a blaster at all times and fortify myself into a modified large room in the bowels of the ship from where I can control all aspects of my operations.

One important thing, by the way, would be synchronising the communications technology with that of Earth. Since I know little of it, I'd probably have to send a group of drones on a shuttle on Earth and raid a Radioshack or something. It'd have to be carried out pretty under the radar, but I think it could be done. An employee talking about armed robots looting his store would just be sent to the looney bin. Anyway, the procured electronics would then be reverse-engineered.

After this, as the drones on Mars are pushing out parts and new drones and whatever is needed to maintain them, I would turn my eyes to Earth. It does, after all, have six billion inhabitants, and carefully administered they could become a formidable instrument of production. I would also probably try to somehow send word (via Internet perhaps) to my family that I am fine and that things are going to get very interesting.

What is needed is a limited show of force. I need to convince the leaders of the large countries, US, Germany, France, UK, Japan, Russia, China and so on, that I can put their country at a great advantage or a disadvantage at my whim. Some miracle technology (but quite basic by my new standards) revelaled to a selected group of leaders... perhaps some medicinal skill, method or instrument that really can't be used for harm. If that should fail, then I'd probably send down there a drone-flown TIE fighter and have them ogle at it in some secluded area. In any case, the major population shouldn't find out about this, at least not yet, to preserve some sort of order on the planet.

Note that I would present myself as an alien at this point. I suspect an extraterrestrial with high level technology would receive more thoughtful and co-operative treatment than a Finnish teenager who happened to commandeer a star destroyer.

Once I have the world leaders doing my bidding, I would plan out how the public would find out my existence. It should be done very carefully and slowly, to avoid any panicking or pandemonium. Probably start it out with governments starting to openly consider the existence of aliens a fact on "interesting evidence" and increase the exposure as the information is digested.

At this point though I'd encounter a big problem, a problem I myself probably wouldn't have thought of yet. How the hell am I going to explain the fact that my starship is identical to those envisioned in a 1979 film? The easy way out would be, I guess, having the ship's outlook refitted to make it somehow different. Maybe the databanks have designs that no piece of SW fiction has ever described, but are not too difficult to adapt the ISD into. I could also try to sell it as an astronomical coincidence, after all, one of the key elements of the ISD's badassness is its cool design.

By now, hopefully with the drones increasing exponentially in number and all, I'll have built a few mining ships to send off into the moons of the gas giants and the Asteroid belt to extract more needed resources. I would instruct large Earth governments to assemble a singular UN-esque body that would represent the entire world, so that I could control the planet more effectively. I would try to avoid showing off my turbolasers and instead concentrate rewarding the people who capitulate with technology, still making sure that they won't be withing a few hundred years of creating something capable of harming me. Some rogue countries like, say, North Korea would probably have to be persuaded by doing a few surgical bombing runs with my fighters.

After installing myself the de facto emperor of Earth, I'd engineer the required industrial effort to produce large starships. The technology I possess should be capable of transforming Earth into a well-balanced, slowly growing society without any major problems like starvation. Social problems would, naturally, remain but I'd have more than enough strength to keep them in check.

After this we get into more long term plans... I'd definitely build a handful of more ISDs and possibly upgrade mine to a larger, Executor-like command ship. Maybe get myself implanted with a cool exoskeleton while at it. The Moon would be colonised for living space's sake, and the low gravity offers a great place to assemble and launch starships.

With more starships I need to develop a system where I can rest assured that I will hold all the strings in my hands. I'd need able and above all loyal commanders and I fear that the only way to do that would be getting children who I'd educate myself and with the drones. Kids need a few decades to grow up though. Maybe the ISD has some brainwashing tech onboard it? I'd also make sure that by the flip of a switch I can cause any starship to self destruct into a cloud of gases and junk. My main foundries on Mars, also, would remain restricted and any human beings would be forbidden from entering it to avoid anyone sabotaging or overtaking it (I think I had a better reason but I forgot it). At some point I'd also have to reveal my true identity, I'd time it so that it'll make scant difference.

One great way of ensuring loyalty would be sending the ISDs and their commanders out to explore, of course. Those ships could probably be fitted with large human crews while at it to make colonisation and construction of outposts possible. I'd also start to research terraforming to make Mars and planets I'd find in other systems inhabitable.

From there on, it's the simple life of an interstellar emperor... with the hyperdrive there are hundreds of star systems within immediate reach. I'd try to avoid a too totalitarian rule, but I would most definitely raise a child, not necessarily mine, to be the next ruler, should the medical technology turn out to be unable to render me immortal. Earth would be divided in autonomical regions not unlike nations that have to swear allegiance to me but will have democratic governments which can decide over most things. Micromanaging is a pain in computer games and I doubt I'd like it in real life either. Also I'd avoid making a cult out of myself: not to say godhood doesn't have its charms, but overt self delusion can lead to quick destruction.

I guess that's pretty much it. I overdid this, certainly, but now I am finally tired enough to go to bed. If you bothered to read this far, please tell me if I've missed anything crucial. Maybe I'll make you an admiral or name a planet after you in return.

[Kaak]

Well, first, I would use it to assassinate Hugh Heffner, and take over his job, then I would conquer the world.

[The Mad Monk]

What? And lose such a fine procurer?