Most everybody want the probe to be something more than just another free hit for the ships.
Indent This is an idea to make the probe more useful.


THE DATA RELAY BOUY
G5.___.0 PREAMBLE: The probe has long been used to collect scientific information about particular objects of interest but in an endeavour to aid prime teams on the surface of a planet an additional mode was developed for the probe that would allow it to opperate as a 20th century satellite such that transmissions from the communicators of the personnel on the ground on one side of the planet could communicate with with the ship even if the ship was on the "dark side" of the planet.
Indent In Y145, probes became refitted with the mode setting directly hardwired into its curcuitry. It could only be used for relaying comminicator transmissions but in Y150 the more advanced standard system was devloped.

G5.___.1 Arming
G5.___.11 The Arming of the Probe as a data relay bouy cost two points of power, over two turns ( one in each turn ) and the selection of the relay bouy mode must be made during EA of the second turn.
G5.___.12 At least one point of power must come from Impulse or Warp power as this allows the data relay bouy to maintain position even when in orbit although the power must come from one of those two sorces ( or both ) in order to arm the data relay bouy reguardless of whether or not it is to be put into an orbit.

G5.___.2 Launching.
G5.___.21 A Data Relay Bouy is launched into postion as though it was a regular probe. Then an upsidedown T-bomb counter is placed in the location of the data relay bouy.
G5.___.22 A Data relay bouy may be launched and remain in a stationary position or may be launched into orbit around a planet. If a data relay bouy is launched into orbit around a planet then the bouy must move during the initial stages of the orbit ( and hence the rest of the orbit in that clockwise or anti-clockwise direction ) in a direction that is an obtuse angle from the line in which the probe was launched as the data relay bouy doesn't have powerful enough stabalisers to allow it to radically change direction.
G5.___.23 If launched in orbit the data relay bouy shall move like any other orbiting object or ship.
Since Y157 probe drones have been able to be set to Data Relay Bouy mode. They act like any data relay bouy but because they gain their energy from burning the fuel of the drone motor, they require no energisation before launch.

G5.___.3 Duration.
G5.___.31 The Data Relay Bouy shall remain active for 25 turns and then exhaust the power that was supplied to it.
G5.___.32 The Data Relay bouy must be given one seeking weapon control channel to opperate and like a seeking weapon if the ship looses a lock on to that D.R.B. then the connection is lost and the Data Relay Bouy becomes inert ( Note G5.___.43 ). A ship may have more than one data relay bouy active at any one time but the limits in probe numbers and seeking weapon control channels can be a drawback. Best practice is to lay three D.R.B.s at 120 dgrees from each other ( around the point which is the centre of the planet ) so that at all times the ship has a line of sight with at least one DRB ( usually at least 2 but some gas giants can cause problems ) and it has a line of sight with each of the others, such that one never accidently looses a D.R.B. on the dark side of a planet...but how many ships can afford to spend three seeking weapons control channels and three probes on such an activity!?!
G5.___.34 Probe droes may be set to Data Relay bouy mode. They are fired on a balistic coarse and activate when they reach their target hex, they may be launched into orbit this way ( and may choose any direction for that orbit ).
G5.___.35 Data Relay Bouys do not activate and provide their functions ( including probe drones set to this mode ) until eight impulses after they have arrived in the destination hex ( if it moves from the destination hex due to orbit, this will not interfere with the calculation ).

G5.___.4 Functionality.
G5.___.401 There are three basic function that a Data Relay Bouy may perform and may perform all the functions simaltainiously even during the same impulse.
G5.___.41 Communications:- The ship need not have a direct line of sight to the target of the ship's comminication, but rather may redirect the communications through the data relay bouy.
Indent If there is a direct line of sight between the ship and the bouy and the bouy to the ground personnel then the communications may be transmitted.
G5.___.42 Transportors:- The ship need not have a direct line of sight to the transporter landing site, it merely needs to have a direct line of sight to the data relay bouy and the that data relay bouy must have a direct line of sight to the target site.
G5.___.421 Several Data Relay Bouys may be passed through in order to get to the target landing site, but the D.R.B.s can not amplify the transmission and thus the total distance that the transported party may journey may not be greater than the range of the trnaporter ( 5 hexes ).
G5.___.43 Seeking weapon assistance:- seeking weapons may gain data about their targets from the data relay bouy.
Indent If a seeking weapon ( which is not under it's own control ( P2.33 )) is guided by the ship and the target moves behind a planet, the rule P2.3222 is not directly applied, but rather the controling player may choose to use any of his Data Relay Bouys ( any that he controls including those he does not have a direct line of sight to ) as the point that his ship is at for the calculation ( and only for this calculation ) of whether or not a lock-on is lost to the target. In this way by setting up a group of DRBs around a planet the traditional tactic of causing seeking weapon control to be dropped if the target moves behind that planet can become much harder to employ.

G5.___.5 Combat Effects
G5.___.51 Regular:- a Regular Data Relay Bouy can be killed as though it was a T-bomb, at which point it no longer functions and fails to provide the advantages it one did.
G5.___.52 Prode Drone Relay Bouys:- A Relay Bouy that is mounted on a probe drone may be destroyed easily by firing on the drone and destroying the drone, at which point the fuel explodes and the entire unit is incenarated, thus a Prode Drone mounted DRB is destoyed as though it is was simply the drone on which the DRB is mounted.

By Richard Wells (Rwwells) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 01:35 am: Edit

Gaah. Too many rules. The transporter redirector function is too powerful. Allowing an attacking fleet to transport over the horizon with no risk is a bad thing. If a ship pops up to lead the way, the ground defenses have a chance to leave a mark. The ground defenses can do nothing about the probe sitting there. Drop the transporter bender function and the rule is okay if excessively long though it makes ship operations much easier since normally shuttles would have to be used for over the horizon communications.

By Andrew Harding (Warlock) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 02:38 am: Edit

Nah.... how about the Shrapnel Deployer, Ranged, Anti-Matter (SD-RAM ). Uses up a probe, does not require emergency conditions to fire. Arm for 2+2 warp, may use rolling delay, minimum range 9, maximum range 35, fires at a hex, automatic hit. Everything in that hex rolls against it's size class to see if it gets hit by a fragment, getting hit if it rolls above it's size class on 1d6. Hits do one point of damage to the shield facing the firing unit.

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 06:13 am: Edit

---

Quote:

The ground defenses can do nothing about the probe sitting there.

---

By Richard Wells (Rwwells) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 01:16 pm: Edit

MJC: Minesweeping is hard. Lack of tractors stymies the direct fire bases; seeking weapon bases would have to reserve a shot. Both only work if the probe is one hex away. Now the if the ground bases had purchased a Minesweeping shuttle and could manage to fly it to the probe location in time and not have it destroyed and successfully sweep the mine, they might have a chance. Somehow I doubt any ground defense could keep the perfect protection just in case.

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 09:28 pm: Edit

Well I might have to make it a little aseir to kill then, what about just a 5 points of damage against it and it's gone rule!?!

No range limit, no tractor requirements.

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 10:03 pm: Edit

So:-

G5.___.51 Regular:- a Regular Data Relay Bouy can be killed as though it was a T-bomb, at which point it no longer functions and fails to provide the advantages it one did.

should read:-

G5.___.51 Regular:- a Regular Data Relay Bouy can be destroyed being treated as though it was a Defsat but being destroyed after taking just 5 points of damage.

By Richard Wells (Rwwells) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 02:47 am: Edit

MJC: Recheck the rules on Defsats. As I recall, there is no way to lock on them unless they fire. Data bouy can't fire, so never gets hit. Not the result you are aiming for. (5 points of damage at some slight remove may well require phaser-4 fire on it which again puts it into deadly hobson choice catergory.)

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 03:00 am: Edit

I basically need some way of saying, is an SC7 object and is destroyed by 5 points of damage.


2Ph-1 shots at R5 is enough and because it can't extend the range of transporters, that's unlikely, beaming around a planet is likely to put it at R2 maximum and that would allow Ph-2 and even Ph-3s to ill it if enough at deployed ( the average reasul of 2Ph-3 shots being 6 points of damage ).

By Richard Wells (Rwwells) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 03:17 am: Edit

MJC: Defining it as SC7 that gets hits it like a normal SC7. I expect it to be laid at range 3 for around the horizon hops. After one half the planetary defenses are cleared, the hex the bouy is located might be targeted by a single phaser ground base which gives 4 phaser-3s (too little unless very lucky) and a Phaser-4 (gross overkill and needed to damage ships). This probe change would require a massive change to planetary defense doctrines which would fail if the attackers stick to normal planetary attack techniques.

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 09:47 pm: Edit

This might help the ground side invasion thingy.

G5.___.6 Transporter Frequencies
To avoind beaming several groups at once from the tranporters of one ship into the one transporter pad of another ship each transporter opperates on a it's own tranmission frequency.
Indent Unfortunately to avoid jamming, the exact frequency of each transporter on each ship must be kept secret.

G5.___.61 When the Probe is armed as a Data Relay Bouy, it is programmed to detect and recognise and relay if order to, the transporter frequency. In this way only BPs and Crew Units being beamed by one of the trnasporters of the ship that launched the data relay bouy may be used to realy the transporters beam.

G5.___.62 Likewise Data Relay Bouys may only be used as the location of the ship for the calculation of when a seeking weapon goes inert after the target has moved behind a planet for those seeking weapons that are launched by the ship that launched the data relay bouy.

G5.___.63 Likewise still, the communicator transmissions are transmitted on special frequencies that only the ship that launched the data relay bouys may have relayed, except that communicatoras often use the STANDARD frequencies so that all friendly ships may receive their transissions ( which are often scrambled anyway ).

By Richard Wells (Rwwells) on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 01:49 am: Edit

MJC: That will work better. But still consider the expected situation. A base sits on a planet. An attacking squadron of a Fed COV and a Fed FF sits over the horizon from the base. The attacking ships launch 3 probes. The defenders need to kill both COV probes but the FF probe is ignorable. However, the base lacks line-of-sight on the attackers resulting in an inability to determine which probes came from which ships.

You should play it several times and see what the results are. The impact of having an attacking force drop multiple probes across the horizon and bleed off that much damage followed by racing over the horizon to conduct operations in the hex facing needs to be considered. This could be a tricky rule to balance. It looks to fall into the categories of either being nigh useless or quite overwhelming, depending on how conducive the situation is to their usage.

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 09:11 am: Edit

Scrambler Setting

G5.0 Preamble
Probes can be armed to scramble transporter signatures and thus cause people who transport through the broadcast radius of the probe to have a chance of beamming to their destination as a "soup" of sub-atomic particals.

G5.1 Arming
The Probe is armed by 2 point of warp power applying one point per turn. The Probe may be hald for 1 point of power ( from any soarce ) after it is armed if it is to be held.
Reserve Warp power may be used but the probe can not be fired until after at least 8 impulse from the impulse in which the reserve warp was applied.

A ship can not orchustrate a scrammbler probe using a probe-drone.

G5.2 Firing
The probe is fired as a probe to any hex within 6 hexes of the ship. There is no die roll.
It is launched in the direct Fire step of the impulse.

G5.3 Effect
The probe generates scrammbled transporter signals which can cause transportered matter to be malformed when it "rematerializes".
If a Boarding Party or crew unit are malformed during "rematerialization" then they are dead ( not wounded ).
Transporter bombs that have their signals scrammbled shall rematerials as a dumbie.

G5.6 Chances
The chance of "rematerializing" malformed is dependant of several factors the most basic of which is the closested point that the transported unit comes to the scrammbler-probe during the transport.

Take a taught piece of string or a ruler and examine a straight line between the departure point and destination and if it passes through the hex of the probe then the R0 shall be the rule used.
If the line passes through an adjacent hex but not the hex of the probe then the R1 rule shall be used.
If the closest point to probe that the transporter comes is range 2 or more then the probe shall have no effect on the transporter action.

G5.61 Range and Results
R0 At a range of zero the basic chance of the signal being scrammbled is 7 or less on a six sided dice.
R1 At a range of 1 the basic chance of the signal being scrammbled is 3 or less on a six sided dice.

G5.62 Modifiers
If a ship is transporting from one location to another within its own self then the unit being transported shall be protected from the scrammbler to a limited extent.
check the current DamCon rating of the ship with the table below to and see if a modifer lowers the basic chance of the transporter action being scrammbled.

DamCon	Modifier
0-1	0
2	-1
3-4	-2
5-8	-3
9-16	-4
17-32	-5
33-64	-6
65+	-7

In transportion occoures on the suraface of a planet to any other point on that planet's surface then a modifier of -1 shall occour and if the atmosphere is particularly thick then a modifier of -1 per hex of atmosphere between the clossest point of the transporter action and the scrammbler probe shall exist.

G5.7 Duration
The probe is a size class 7 object and will cease functioning after it takes 2 or more points of damage.
It will also cease functioning 8 impulses after launch.


G5.8 Advanced technologies
If an X ship launches a scrammbler probe; there is a chance that it may beam it's own tranporter actions ( and only the transporter from that ship ) safley because it's computer is is "synchronized" to the probes scrambled frequencies.

G5.81 Powering Transporters
To "synchronize" the scrammbler-probe and transporters of the launch ship a transporter must be powered with power to run it computer system for both the turn of the launch of the scrammbler probe and the preceeding turn. The power cost for both turns is 0.1 points of power per transporter and is not inclusive of the cost to actually perform the transporter action.
The first turns power my be applied to a transporter that has not been used that turn using reserve warp power.

A Transpoerter used in a synchronised manner can not be used on the turn previous to the synchronised transporter action.

G5.82 Testing
The impulse after launch during the Identify seeking weapons step the central computer aboard the X ship shall transmit a transporter signal which shall roll a 4 or less on a six sided dice.
If failed the computer ( and thus the transporters of the launch ship ) are not synchronised and thus will be under the usual penalty but if the roll is successful then the computer and probe are synchronized and thus all rolls of the Transporters of the launch ship shall be considered successful for the purposses of rematerialising in a non-malformed state.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 03:08 pm: Edit

Why wouldnt the transporter crew chief (or the 'operator' of the transporter) not know if it was safe to transport?

Couldn't it be similar to the inability of transporters to "beam" thru Andoromedan power absorbers?

If a crew chief is able to determine if it is not safe to transport, then the transport was not successful, but the BP wouldn't 'die' as the transporter crew chief was able to "save" the boarding party 'patterns' from becoming 'malformed'.

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 07:34 pm: Edit

I didn't think there was any secret, I mean you'ld anounce that you were launching a scrammbler-probe just like launching an anti-matter bomb. Then a counter ( probably an upside-down T-bomb counter ) is placed on the board to indicate that an SC7 object is where it is.

The transporter cheif should then know what is safe ( R2+ ) and what is risky ( R0-1 ).

---

Quote:

If a crew chief is able to determine if it is not safe to transport, then the transport was not successful, but the BP wouldn't 'die' as the transporter crew chief was able to "save" the boarding party 'patterns' from becoming 'malformed'.

---

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 11:12 pm: Edit

MJC-

Not arguing, just pointing out that the various races might have a different response to the danger level that such a device represented...the Selts might not care, but the "risk averse" federation OSHA standards would prohibit any transport within a scrambler danger zone...(one which I am sure the starfleet version of OSHA would just LOVE to define!)

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 06:07 am: Edit

I guess a BEAM THROUGH BAN could be linked to NVC.

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 08:36 pm: Edit

BTW, as an Australian OH&S is much more familiar than OSHA.


But then Yanks usually don't know what it means when it's their shout so these things are to be expected.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Saturday, November 08, 2003 - 10:04 am: Edit

MJC:

On a different approach for this thread:

What about "re-engineering" the existing Probe design? I mean, the base Probe frame has not changed (in game turms) for decades...

what about a "double weight" probe...that takes up 2 probe slots (or boxes) on the SSD and gains more information at the same time frame than a standard probe does? perhaps purchaseable with CO points?

Said double weight probe, when used as an emergency weapon (such as a normal probe) might cause slightly more damage than a regular probe when used in combat...

What about a longer ranged probe that could be used over 12 hexes instead of the normal 6 hex range that a regular probe can? also purchaseable as CO points?

what about a cargo probe that could transfer payload to a point opposite the launching ship that lies across a mine field so another ship (outside of the mine field) could recover it using transporters...that way neither ship has to cross the mine field atall and spend no time killing mines...but could be on their way after but a single turn...not exactly an orion thing...but a "hand off" of sensitive material between two races that officially have no 'diplomatic ties' but must cooperate on some layer...

Just throwing out some admittedly odd ideas...but it might be worth consideration.

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Sunday, November 09, 2003 - 04:55 am: Edit

They're all worth considering.


Although a double weight Probe inflicting anything more than 10 points of damage would make Drones and Disruptors look kinda weak.

Imagine what kicking in a 16 point matter/antimatter bomb would do to most battle plans...and since the Feds were going to R4 anyway they get to use the thing quite judiciously ( all they need is to be crippled or have a Legendary Capt' or Outstanding Crew ).

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Sunday, November 09, 2003 - 09:37 pm: Edit

MJC:

If it is limited in range to 6 hexes, not sure that disrupters won;t still have the edge statistically in average damage. Especially as accuracy dimminishes as the range increases!

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Monday, November 10, 2003 - 06:12 am: Edit

1) The most an SC 6 SS can do is 18 points of damage so a 16 point matter/antimatter bomb is getting silly.

2) At R1 a probe autohits for ( say 16 points of damage ) and a Disruptor has a 5 in 6 chance of scoring a hit for 10 points of damage, so it gets silly there!


A) If the double weight probe does only 10 points of damage then it might be workable without being silly.

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Friday, December 05, 2003 - 01:48 am: Edit

TRANSPORTER RIFFLE
G8.___.0 Preamble In 149 a Federation captain asked his Cheif Engineer to develop a system where the transporters could be used to beem matter and antimatter via transporters directly to a location very near enemy vessel and then detonate.
Indent The system would provide a damage release that was smaller than a probe armed as a matter-antimatter bomb but be far more accurate than the probe based systems yet would be much faster than an SS based delivery system.
Indent By 151 the system had been developed and was used that year during a battle that brough down one of the Federation vessel's sheilds.
Indent The system then underwent development by Starfleet R&D where the term transporter riffle was added to it. In it's basic form the a pair of transporters are used to beam matter and antimatter out of their respective flows ( for they meet the reaction chamber ( and hence each other )) and them beem then in a location close enough together that a reaction unleshes a massive explosion which will damage a near by ship.
Indent In 160 a refind form was developed known as the Internalised Transporter Riffle, which inflicts more damage by beaming only anti-matter aboard then enemy vessel and then using the matter of the ship it's to react with.

G8.___.1 Arming: The basic transporter riffle requires two transporters, one beaming matter and the other antimatter.
G8.___.11 The transport requires that each transporter make a transporter action which will cost the basic 0.2 points of power.
In addition either 0.5 or 1 point of WARP power must be syphoned from the matter/anti-matter system to provide the explosive matterial.
Prior to 155, only half point of warp power may be transported.

G 8.___.2 Firing: The transporter opperator needs to land to tansporter beams in very close prximity to each other and thus is not garentteed to succeed.
When an a transporter riffle attack is made the player should roll 1D6 and on a roll of 5 or less at the instant of the transporter action. This die roll is modified by EW.
If successful then the attack shall apply damage during the transporter step of that impulse.
If the roll was failed then the matter and antimatter will likely disipate and make contact at a latter stage, buit the likelyhood that a ship will be within 50 km of the resultant explosion is so tiny as to be considered non existant.
G8.___.21 All transporter riffle attacks are to fall under the regular transporter rules unless specifically noted in these rules...E.g. You can only make a transporter attack through a downed sheild of you own.

G8.___.3 Damage The Regular tranporter riffle attack shall cause a small explosion similar to a probe armed as an anti-matter bomb. The explosion could damage the shields of an enemy shield ( if it is up ) or the enemy ship it'self ( if the facing shield is down ).
G8.___.31 The damage is rolled on the DAC in the regular manner just like Direct Fire and seeking weapon damage.
G8.___.32 Each transporter must have the ammount of matter sent by one trnasporter matched by an ammount of anti-matter sent by a different tranporter ( that it has been paired with ) but the central concept for generating the damage is the number of half points of WARP power applied to the transporters not used in the actual trnasporter action. For every half point of Warp Power the transporter riffle shall inflict 1 point of damage.

G8.___.4 Internalised Transporter Riffle
G8.___.40 Preamble: In Y160 the transporter riffle was advanced to allow for the internalised transporter riffle concept. In effect one simply beams antimatter direct aboard an enemy vessel and that vessel it's provided the matter. However since the matter of a vessel is not duterium the vessel shall cause smaller ammount of damage than one would expect. Basically this allows more warp power to be sent via the transporters and throttling the matter flow into the matter/anti-matter reactor to retain full effiency.
G8.___.42 Arming Thus the internalised transporter riffle can be armed using 1.5 or even 2 points of warp power. 1.5 warp power still only indlicts 2 points of damage and 2 warp power only inflicts 3 points of damage.
G8.___.43 Firing The internalised transporter only need beam antimatter directly into the enemy ship. No attack roll is required and the attack may specify a combat location ( under D16 ). Damage is then rolled on the DAC and if an SSD box is in the named area then that system must take the damage even if other SSD boxes of the same type are availilbe for the damage. Additionally because the damge in internalised the directional phaser rule does not apply.
G8.___.431 The internalised transporter riffle must beam through both the enemy and attacking ship's down, facing shields. If the enemy shield is raised then the shield simply pushes the antimatter to the side without making contact with any matter ( in significant quantities ) and thus does not explode.

G8.___.5 Why
Why is this in the Something Else For The Probe To Do thread...because it's actually making the transporter into an anti-matter chucker, just like the anti-matter bomb and the SS.

Why Riffle...a Riffle is a divice that causes water to flow in a spinning motion to exspell heavy metals ( such as gold ) from it'self; so too the two transporters beam the matter and anti-matter into a location where the particals will flow out ( and naturally spin ) until they make contact.

The weapon sits in the middle ground. It is unable to attack specific locations such as H&R and at 2 point of power for 2 transporters on a Fed CA to inflict 4 points of damage, it falls short of the SS and anti-matter bomb in damage even though it is much faster than an SS ( but also requires the shield be down but then also inflicts damage in it's own seperate volley ) and much more accurate than an anti-matter bomb ( although not as accurate as an SS ). I would like to see this weapon in Stellar Shadows or similar rather than become a core rule but I think it would be fun to give the transporters something that the shuttles and probe can already do.

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 07:25 am: Edit

Reactor Probes

G5.___.0 Preamble
G5.___.01 InY155 Orion captains looking to increased their availible power during their battle runs ordered their science department to develop an energy return system developed around the antimatter bomb mechanism of the probe. It took four long years but the result was simply sensational.
..... By developing a miniturised matter/antimatter reactor inside the "husk" of a probe a system of energy storage was developed. First matter and antimatter are feed into the storage cells similar to the preparation of an antimatter bomb but then when slowly released over about a minute the reacting matter and antimatter release a massive amount of energy that can be directed from the probe to the rest of the ship.

G5.___.1 PROBE TYPE
G5.___.11 Only the probe husk and antimatter & matter storage cells of the probe are the same as the regular probe with the remainder being the reactor chamber and energy collectors and so the probes are bought before the scenario begins at a price of 2 BPV each.

G5.___.2 ENERGY
G5.___.21 Between one and two point of warp power each turn for two turns may be added to the Reactor Probe to organise a reactor probe. Once the warp power is in the reactor probe it can be released the next turn during EA or held for one point of power ( any soarce ) for a turn and held again if needed.

G5.___.3 RELEASE
G5.___.3 On the turn that the energy is required the player simply releases the stored energy into the ship via E.A.! The power released is equal to the power stored in the reactor probe ( maximum 4 points ) and is considered to be AWR power for purpossed of using it.
..... The system for powering the ship is the same system as the probe is powered by but the simple probe conections were designed for limited amounts of power-in ( maxinmum 2 points per turn ) whilst the energy released is 4 points-out, thus the conections melt after used ( as do certain other components so even a 2 point release consumes the reactor probe ) and so the reactor probe is always jetisoned after use. The Connections for the probe launcher itself were built with a much higher factor of safty and can handle the energy output.

G5.___.4 RESTRICTIONS
The Reactor Probe can not be armed before a scenario begins but if a Reactor Probe is aboard the vessel ( and loaded in the probe launcher rack ) then it may begin arming at the start of the scenario; No W.S., crippled ship, Legendary Captain/Engineer or outstanding crew needed.

G5.___.5 HISTORY
G5.___.51 In Y161 klingon spies copied the blueprints from the Orion Probe factory and by Y165 all races that used probes used reactor probes as well.

By michael john campbell (Michaelcampbell) on Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 07:27 am: Edit

I'ld like to thank L.K. for giving me some inspiration.