a strange question or two, I admit

[DaveK]

needed for a story I'm trying to write . . . .

. . . . is a jump gate large enough to handle capital ships? Or do they have to do it the hard way with fulcrum drives?

Is there an official answer to the question of how many sectors a capital ship can jump - or is it a military secret?

[Busch]

From the scuttlebutt/myth/lore of the Cap ships, they do not use or require jump gates. Allegedly, their star drives/navigation system(s) are self-contained. Now, they do "get in the way" of some of the jump gates I've trangressed, as if they are trying to "use" them. Wierd when one of them actually passes thru a portion of the gate. Makes it difficult to hit the gate 0-180 spot on sometimes. I've never heard or read of the lower or upward limit on Cap ship sector/warp travel. Vice will have a definitive answer for each I'd presume. Was there nothing germaine in some of the Evochron historical stuff SeeJay has on his web-site(s) ?

[Marvin]

My experience is the same as Busch's. And I like to base a lot of my conjecture on other science fiction ... where capital ships are self-contained energy-magnates.

[DaveK]

Thanks guys! - you put me back on the right track

I've worked quite a bit with tha_Rami's Evoverse History in the past but had a major Yoda moment, vaguely remembering having read about someone inventing gate technology but not that it was a special type of gate . . . .

. . . . it seems that a year after the first probing attacks on naval vessels by the Vonari and their abortive attempt to invade Earth one "Dr Adam Sheford" managed to create a gate (in 2288) that allowed travel to any point in space rather than another "receiving" gate. (Prior to this carriers had to use established gates or C5 Fulcrum drives.)

This prototype "Shefeld" gate was located in Rucker. It was used by the Special Operations Carrier carrying the 80th Wraith Squadron to jump between Rucker and Sol in a single jump arriving just in time to turn the tide in the Vonari attempt to destroy Earth. Soon after, the "gate" technology was refined and reduced in size so that it could be carried by and powered by capital ships, giving the navy their own long range jump drives. (actual jump limit is a military secret)

And a good job too, because more recent Carriers and Battlecruisers are too large to fit through standard gates!

The self contained idea works very well for me!

[Maarschalk]

Yeh, I remmember the intro stories and the clues from the Beacon Quests in Renegades and Legends about the discovery of the Device and the making of the Shefeld gate and the modification for it to be self contained on Military Cap ships!....

[Nubarus]

Obviously they have their own powerful jumpdrive since you have a mission to escort one firing up the jumpdrive that takes several minutes to complete.

So it's safe to assume they can jump huge distances.

[Edited on 1-4-2013 by Nubarus]