Project Bases

[dragoon500ly]

The next most common installation is the Team Bolt-Hole.

The bolt-hole is simply a underground bunker, designed to protect its occupying team, their vehicle and a minimal amount of supplies. While a detailed description is included below, each team is reminded, that while the bolt-hole will provide both safety and security, it is designed to be abandoned.

CONSTRUCTION

The bolt-hole begins as a very large hole in the ground. The bottom-most layer consists of 4 meters by 4 meters panels, each 1 meter thick and constructed of reinforced concrete. Mounted on this floor are dozens of heavy steel springs designed to cushion the inner layer of the facility. Over this is placed another series of floor panels. Installed on this second level is a steel girder grid, which has a maze of wiring, tubing, pipes and gas canisters necessary for the operation of the bolt-hole. A third layer of floor panels is mounted on top and forms the actual floor of the structure.

The exterior wall panels are 2 meters wide, 8 meters tall and 1 meter thick, and are also constructed of reinforced concrete. Once the exterior wall has been completed, two additional sets of wall panels form the interior structure, each wall is separated by a 1.5m gap that is filled with gravel.

The top of the bolt-hole is also constructed of exterior wall panels set up in a triple layer separated by gravel. Over the very top layer, an additional layer is laid across.

The interior of the structure is painted with an eggshell white, fire-resistant paint designed to reflect and brighten any available light.

LAYOUT

The bolt-hole has several major features.

1) Weapons and Ammunition Storage: All easily removed vehicle weapons and all ammunition is stored in this blast-resistant room. The only entry is through a hydraulically operated blast door located at one end. To gain access a MPID card must be inserted into the card reader to the right of the door. In the event of any explosion, this storage room is designed to vent the force of the blast up and away from the remainder of the bolt-hole.

2) Cyrogenic Chamber: This room contains the team’s freeze tubes. Located on the left end of this room is a hydraulically operated blast door located at one end. To gain access a MPID card must be inserted into the card reader to the right of the door. Located on the outside wall is another hatch secured by a manual handle. To the left of this hatch is a grey metal wall locker, bolted to the wall. This locker contains: 1 Ration Pack; 1 Large MedKit; 4 Shovels; 1 Axe, double-bit; 2 Picks; 2 Crowbars, 400 Sandbags (empty). Next to the entrance door is what has been nicknamed the “Riot Rack”. This is a weapons rack holding two SPAS-12 combat shotguns with 50 rounds of 12 gauge ammunition. (These weapons are intended for the team vehicles).

3) Emergency Personnel Exit: Located in the Cyrogenic Chamber and intended for use only if the other two exits are blocked. This exit is packed with a very light, dry sand that is easy to dig. In fact, most of this sand will fall out of the exit, revealing a metal cylinder with a ladder mounted to one side. At the top of the later is a hatch that opens downward revealing a short length of ladder going up and a second hatch, that will also open downwards. The team knows that after opening this second hatch it will be necessary to dig 1-2 meters in order to reach the outside.

4) Main Room: located to one side of the hatch leading to the Cyrogenic Chamber is a metal picnic-style table intended to be used to clean and assemble weapons, unpack equipment and for any mission planning. At one end is a metal lockbox welded to the table. Inside this box (combination is held by the team leader and assistant team leader) is a sealed package containing mission orders and documents. Also placed on this table are bottles of fluid supplements and energy bars to assist the team in recovering from freeze.

Any team vehicles are parked in the center of this room, raised on four manual screw jacks and four metal blocks used to relieve any tension on the suspension. The vehicle(s) must be first raised, the blocks removed and then lowered to the floor. Suspended from the ceiling over each vehicle is an electrical power hook-up, connected to the vehicle’s onboard fusion reactor. This uses the bolt-hole’s power supply to give the initial jumpstart to the power plant.

A simple four-wheeled metal push cart stands next to one wall. It is used to help move equipment, weapons and ammunition around the bolt-hole.

On one wall is located the Bolt-Hole Computer. This is a very simple machine designed to monitor and control the cryogenics tubes, the ELF receiver, the atmosphere within the bolt-hole as well as the overall status of the bolt-hole systems during the suspension period. Eight hours after the recall signal has been received and the team awakened, the computer will automatically wipe its memory and shut down.

Next to the computer is a control handle for a radio antenna that will raise a 10 meter antenna when activated. A coil of cable is located here and has been run to the nearest vehicle and hooked up to the onboard radio.

On one side of the computer is a charger rack that holds the battery packs for all team equipment as well as a rack of watches for the team’s use.

5) Located off to one side of the computer is the Periscope Package. This package is lifted hydraulically into position, through the earth cover above the bolt-hole. It is designed to view the immediate area around the bolt-hole and is equipped with sensors to monitor the levels of radiation in the area. This cannot be removed from the bolt-hole.

6) Vehicle Access Doors: On the far side of the Main Room are double hydraulic doors. On the left side is a card reader and a control panel holding two levers, marked INNER and OUTER and with OPEN and CLOSED. This panel must be activated by a MPID. When opened, the inner doors rest flush against the sides of the Main Room. The outer doors are concealed behind 3 meters of earth. This exit is large and slow to open, as the armored doors are quite heavy. It is a very conspicuous and slow method of exiting the bolt-hole.

7) Vehicle Exit Tunnel: This tunnel has no standard length. It may slope anywhere from 0 degrees to as much as +45 degrees. In some cases the tunnel can be measured in negative degrees. The exact length and slope depends on local terrain conditions.

8) Personnel Exit: located on the far wall of the Main Room and used to first recon the area around the bolt-hole. This exit is packed with a very light, dry sand that is easy to dig. In fact, most of this sand will fall out of the exit, revealing a metal cylinder with a ladder mounted to one side. At the top of the later is a hatch that opens downward revealing a short length of ladder going up and a second hatch, that will also open downwards. The team knows that after opening this second hatch it will be necessary to dig 1-2 meters in order to reach the outside.

To the right of this exit is a grey metal wall locker, bolted to the exterior wall. This locker contains: 1 Ration Pack; 1 Large MedKit; 4 Shovels; 1 Axe, double-bit; 2 Picks; 2 Crowbars, 400 Sandbags (empty).

[dragoon500ly]

STORED EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

Except for the emergency supplies stored in the two wall lockers, all material in the bolt-hole is in storage. Vehicle weapons are not mounted; all munitions, supplies and ammunition are in sealed metal or plastic boxes, cans, crates and so on. Personal weapons, web gear, medkits, backpacks, etc are stored in the locker located at the end of each freeze tube. All battery powered equipment have had their battery packs pulled are placed in a charger next to the computer. These are automatically charged during the wake-up cycle.

The team members are wearing only light cotton underwear in their freeze tubes with needles in their arms, monitors wired to their chest and head, conductive shock pads taped to their chest and a respiration tube down their throats. Their MPID Card is located in a slot on the inside of the tube, removing this card unlatches and open that person’s tube. There is a one minute delay before the tube opens.

STANDARD OPERATION

While the team is in cyrosleep, the bolt-hole is filled with an inert gas at a slight overpressure. The bolt-hole itself generates a low-level electro-magnetic field, the combined effect is that nothing inside the bolt-hole suffers from the wear and tear of time.

The bolt-hole is powered by a self-contained, long-life, radioactive thermos-electric generator (RTG). The RTG module is buried in the solid rock, 30 meters below the facility. It is powered by a receptacle of low-level nuclear waste within a thick lead shield. This waste gives off heat as the radioactive material decays. Attached to the lead casing is a solid-state thermos-electric module which converts the heat into electricity. The constant heat from the waste is converted into low-level direct current which is then used to charge a series of Eternal Batteries (Project designed ultra- long-life power cells) which, in turn, power the facility.

This system is designed to provide a dependable source of electrical power that will last for hundreds of years without noticeable power degradation, so once buried, the bolt-hole would never need to be refueled.

The only problem with the RTG system, is that, due to the design limits of the system, they can only provide a limited amount of electricity, enough to run the minimal system requirements while the team is frozen, but not enough to run the bolt-hole at full power.

After receiving the recall signal, the bolt-hole computer sets the Eternal Batteries to run at OVERLOAD, thus generating the power needed to wake up the team as well as charging the team’s battery packs and---most importantly---to give the team vehicles fusion reactor its initial charge.
Important to the safe operation of the bolt-hole is the computer. This system monitors the over-pressure of the inert gas and should this pressure drop below a predetermined level, it will sound the Breach Alarm and wake the team. If any water is detected within the bolt-hole, again the computer will automatically wake the team. The computer also monitors the team’s freeze tubes and in the rare occurrence that one of the tubes malfunctions, it will recall the entire team. Finally, the computer monitors the Extreme Low Frequency (ELF) Receiver for the recall signal.

The recall signal can come from a number of places: Prime Base, Omicron Base or any Regional Command Base can trigger the recall signal.

Once the signal is received, the computer first evacuates the inert gas, replacing it with a pre-bottled atmosphere mixture. It then shuts down the electrical-magnetic field, and starts the wake-up process for the freeze tubes. It then turns on the overhead lights.

All Project vehicles are equipped with a fusion power pack with an 18-month supply of fuel. This pack requires an external power source to start the fusion reaction. A cable hanging from the ceiling has been run into the engine compartment of each vehicle and plugged into the power pack, after turning on the lights, the computer then activates the power pack. (The power cable must be manually disconnected from the pack).

After the computer has initiated the recall procedure and it has verified that all team members have been successfully recalled, the computer executes its final program, starting an eight-hour countdown then wiping all programs and shutting itself down. Once this is completed, the computer cannot be reactivated, it is essentially high-tech junk. The computer is equipped with a LCD screen that will display any messages or communiques that it has received, but this screen will fade out after 4 hours.

The bolt-hole’s Eternal Batteries will provide power for twelve hours after recall, they then will turn off. The air supply is good for up to eighteen hours of breathable air.

The override setting essentiality destroys the batteries and they are not recoverable. The RTG cannot be recovered. The bolt-hole is not designed for habitation, there is no water supply, no sanitation and no ventilation. The team must abandon the bolt-hole.

[kalos72]

How does the breakdown work in your game Dragoon?

Prime
Regional
...
...
Team Bolt Hole?

In some of the details I have seen, it feels that there is ALOT of resources spent at the higher echelons and very few of the most needed ones at the local level.

One medical Team in a Region of 5 states seems off to me, but I could be entirely missing the way the typical structure works.

I prefer the idea of a Regional Operations Center (my naming concept) in each state and then Local Operations Centers split out over 4-5 different districts across the state that house Combined Operations Groups that have all the particular skills/teams attached.

IDK, might be my MP naivety OR perhaps that my version of MP is set in the T2K world where there isn't Time Travel or such a massive nuclear exchange that happens 150 years in the past.

[dragoon500ly]

I go National-Regional-Group-Team.

Group kinda/sorta covers (roughly) a state. I run groups for major cities or key resources and then groups that cover the rural areas.

At the regional level, you see power teams, larger science teams, commo teams, medical teams as well as the depot teams, you will also MARS and recon teams, MARS to protect the specialists and recon teams that are larger and lighter than normal and intended for LRRP missions.

Groups vary wildly from 2-5 teams to a 75 team group that covers the LA-San Diego metroplex. LOL, in other words groups are a work in progress. One of my buddies works for FEMA and we have been running weekend skull sessions, nit picking the Project. He actually considers the concept workable. More on that later.

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by dragoon500ly

I go National-Regional-Group-Team.

Group kinda/sorta covers (roughly) a state. I run groups for major cities or key resources and then groups that cover the rural areas.

I use National-Regional-Area-Group-Team, with 1 Nation*, 7 Regions, 43 Areas**, 216 Groups***, and... a lot of Teams. National, Regional, and Area commands have permanent command facilities, Groups and Teams are mobile. So for me, an Area is roughly the size of a state, on average.

Originally Posted by dragoon500ly

Groups vary wildly from 2-5 teams to a 75 team group that covers the LA-San Diego metroplex. LOL, in other words groups are a work in progress.

I tried to keep units standardized both because it makes planning a lot easier and because the nature of the mission is such that activating the Project is already going to require a major shifting of assets to address Project losses, survivor locations, and habitable areas. I look at it like Congressional districting, only without the partisanship - Divide the area of interest into X sections of roughly equal population**** and optimize so that the perimeter/area ratio is minimized. And then on Day 1, throw everything out the window and redraw the lines as needed!

Originally Posted by dragoon500ly

One of my buddies works for FEMA and we have been running weekend skull sessions, nit picking the Project. He actually considers the concept workable. More on that later.

Looking forward to the output of this!!


*: under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
**: Each Region has 6 Areas, plus Alaska is a separate Area Command that reports directly to Prime Base.
***: 5 per Area, with Hawaii as a separate Group reporting direct to Prime Base.
****: On my to do list is to figure out some kind of scaling factor that accounts for the fact that some people will require heavier Project staffing. For example, Wyoming may require more Project members per capita simply because they are so spread out. Conversely, an inhabited city may ALSO require more staff because of higher hazards. The reason I have not delved into this is because it may be more than I can casually address.