[jdjtcagle]

This has to be one of my favorite Freespace ship, definately a unsung hero.

I want to discuss 3 main things about this ship

1.  This ship is able to scan an entire system for some kind of activity, (eg. Admiral Petrarch said he was puzzled when the Erikson couldn't detect the subspace portal)  What is the (canon?) basis of this ships ability to accurately "scan" an entire system? 

2.  What are the main functions of these vessels?

3.  How involved are "civilians" with this vessel/do they mainly consider it for "science"? 

What are your opinions?

[FreeSpaceFreak]

From the FSRefBible:

GTSC FAUSTUS
The Faustus Science vessel was, and still is, a primarily civilian craft. However, in the 14 years since the Terran-Vasudan war began, more and more of these were commissioned by the GTA in order to pursue military research.  However, its obvious value, poor fighting capabilities, and lack of speed
make it a prime target for enemy ships; hence, you will rarely find many of these anywhere near the front lines of battle.

[jdjtcagle]

Ok, that tells me that it is PRIMARILY a civilian craft meaning there are of Faustus out there we don't get to see... but what are they there for I wonder....

[FreeSpaceFreak]

Just... All kinds of scientific activities? I imagine them being modular or so, they could be adapted to whatever their mission is...

[Gamma_Draconis]

They're pretty much lightly armored research ships probably loaded with scanners. You can see a huge fleet of them scanning the Knosso portal on a cutscene.

[Dark Hunter]

1.  This ship is able to scan an entire system for some kind of activity, (eg. Admiral Petrarch said he was puzzled when the Erikson couldn't detect the subspace portal)  What is the (canon?) basis of this ships ability to accurately "scan" an entire system? 

I've always wondered... if it has this ability, why can't it act as an AWACS itself? Surely its sensors would be powerful enough.

[WMCoolmon]

These seem like common sense answers; there are analogues with the ships of today. A ship can be loaded with systems, but lack the same kind of specialized and advanced sonar/radar as found on a naval battleship.

[Killer Whale]

In answer to the question 2 above
"However, its obvious value, poor fighting capabilities, and lack of speed
make it a prime target for enemy ships; hence, you will rarely find many of these anywhere near the front lines of battle."

To the question 5 above

Your an army pilot, you are always fighting in the front lines militarily, i guess cause most of those try not to go nere the fighting, you don't see all of them.

[BengalTiger]

(eg. Admiral Petrarch said he was puzzled when the Erikson couldn't detect the subspace portal)

...

What are your opinions?

I think that the Erikson did find the Portal, but the report never made it higher than Bosch's desk (no cannon evidence he was in charge of the operation, no cannon evidence he wasn't...). Once Bosch found out, he made his own report for Command, stating there is nothing interesting there, so he could secretly and undisturbed turn the Knossos on and find out what's on the other side.

That's why the GTVA was so surprized when the Shivans came back.

[Snail]

The Erikson came before the Great War. Bosch was probably an ensign back then.

[FreeSpaceFreak]

The Erikson came before the Great War. Bosch was probably an ensign back then.

Before the Great War, Bosch definitely must have been an ensign. However:

The GTSC Erikson visited the system 15 years ago and reported nothing out of the ordinary.

The Erikson did not come before the Great War. @Snail:I think it's time to go through the main campagn again

[Snail]

Oh right, GD was discovered before the Great War. D'oh.

Still, I find it stupid that only Bosch would get the report. He might not even have been an Admiral back then.

[TrashMan]

I love the Faustus.. It has a rugged terran design to it.
Too bad one doesn't see it too often. There was a sweet medical version out there (methinks I still go it)

[Dysko]

There was a sweet medical version out there (methinks I still go it)

It's in FSPort along with a medical Elysium and medical containers

[karajorma]

1.  This ship is able to scan an entire system for some kind of activity, (eg. Admiral Petrarch said he was puzzled when the Erikson couldn't detect the subspace portal)  What is the (canon?) basis of this ships ability to accurately "scan" an entire system? 

Gamma Draconis might be a special case though.

Gamma Draconis is a remote, uninhabited system discovered shortly before the outbreak of the Great War. The system has no planets and no viable resources.

Could be they could simply check for any signals in the system coming from anything since there is nothing else in the system to interfere with their scans.

[NGTM-1R]

1.  This ship is able to scan an entire system for some kind of activity, (eg. Admiral Petrarch said he was puzzled when the Erikson couldn't detect the subspace portal)  What is the (canon?) basis of this ships ability to accurately "scan" an entire system? 

Assumption not supported by the facts; the portal probably would have shown up like all hell...if it had been active. Otherwise it's just a small cluster of asteroids if anybody notices it without looking too closely.

More to the point, the thing can move, so it doesn't likely scan down the entire system from one spot. It jumps around to take multiple scans because it can't really see that far and to get a view of things from a different, perhaps better perspective.

[jdjtcagle]

There was a sweet medical version out there (methinks I still go it)

It's in FSPort along with a medical Elysium and medical containers

I love them! Definately a civilian usage, probably from a corp like Dynamic Metamer (makes both civilian vessels) or some kind of medical mega-corp.

 

[jdjtcagle]

1.  This ship is able to scan an entire system for some kind of activity, (eg. Admiral Petrarch said he was puzzled when the Erikson couldn't detect the subspace portal)  What is the (canon?) basis of this ships ability to accurately "scan" an entire system? 

More to the point, the thing can move, so it doesn't likely scan down the entire system from one spot. It jumps around to take multiple scans because it can't really see that far and to get a view of things from a different, perhaps better perspective.

That makes of sense, I also think about how Altair had a missing planet for a long time... unless Vasudans just didn't have any scanning equipment or there is a process of moving around...

[Marcus Vesper]

1.  This ship is able to scan an entire system for some kind of activity, (eg. Admiral Petrarch said he was puzzled when the Erikson couldn't detect the subspace portal)  What is the (canon?) basis of this ships ability to accurately "scan" an entire system? 

More to the point, the thing can move, so it doesn't likely scan down the entire system from one spot. It jumps around to take multiple scans because it can't really see that far and to get a view of things from a different, perhaps better perspective.

That makes of sense, I also think about how Altair had a missing planet for a long time... unless Vasudans just didn't have any scanning equipment or there is a process of moving around...

What missing planet in Altair?  I'm....not recalling anything about that.  Archaeological research into ruins doesn't automatically happen as soon as a planet is discovered, so there's no reason to assume the scientists who discovered the remains of the Ancients had just discovered the planet as well.  Where exactly did you read about Altair having a missing planet? 

[jdjtcagle]

"We landed on a uncharted planet"

EDIT:

"are a group of Vasudan refugees seeking the assistance of any Terran ships. We were onboard a Vasudan science outpost when it was destroyed by the Shivans. We managed to land on this uncharted planet when our escape pod lost power. It's uninhabited, but we uncovered the remains of an ancient civilization. They were neither Terran nor Vasudan nor Shivan."