[TML] Jump variation

[Terry Carlino]

shadow at shadowgard.com wrote:
>
> Heck, given that you aren't going to leave the tender out there all 
> the time anyway, just deploy the relief tender to the new spot and 
> leave the one going in for "shore leave" there until you get 
> confirmation (via arriving X-boats) that no more are headed to that 
> point.
>
> So you have tenders on station for a month or so taking turns.
>
>   
Then the question becomes how many XBoats do you expect to arrive in the 
system and at what frequency? I seem to recall a canon reference to a 
major system which had several XBoats arriving every day. This would 
then suppose the same number of XBoats leaving every day. This would be 
beyond the capacity of a single tender. The same time and distance 
variance still applies to individual XBoats. So to ensure high turn 
around the number of XBoats and tenders must be increased. I suspect it 
won't take long for savings due to the lack of maneuvering drive to be 
absorbed by the increased number of XBoats and tenders necessary.

So the system should look like:
Systems with several XBoats arriving and departing a day. Each XBoat 
would come from a different origin I would suppose, but that is not 
necessarily the case. In Victorian London the post was delivered several 
times a day. It was quite possible to write an in town correspondent to 
make a dinner date and receive an answer before evening. The best 
possible here would be just over two weeks.
Systems which get a single XBoat a day, possibly going one direction 
only, with some days skipped due to jump lag and more than one on some 
days for the same reason.
Systems which get only a single XBoat a week. Less that that you're on 
packet service.
Systems which get regular couriers, maybe every week, maybe once a 
month. Strangely enough these ships don't need tenders because they have 
their own maneuvering drives.
Systems which get their mail via independent contractors (like PCs with 
mail contracts.) Good luck on getting mail.

Of course IMTU the XBoats have M-drives and the main routes use faster 
boats.
-- 
TerryC
All that is Gold does not glitter
Not all who travel are lost