Tactical Gate
A tactical gate (also known as a bolthole gate when brought as a means of escape in case of defeat) is a stargate brought with a space fleet as part of a military operation.
Tactical gates are much smaller and lighter than normal transit gates, usually massing no more than a few tens of thousands of tons, otherwise they could not be moved at any practical pace aboard a ship. A bolthole gate, intended only to take fleeing ships through, can have a very low mass to make transportation easier, perhaps even being used as a fleet datagate during normal actions.
The gate itself will be carried aboard a special tender ship, as any damage to it could cause it to collapse into a black hole and conversion explosion, this vessel will typically be held back and well-protected in battle. When called upon, the gate can be maneuvered into position to fire an RKV from an ouroboros accelerator located back at a military base, or provide an escape hatch for retreat.
Tac-gates designed for RKV shots are disposable, the sheer shock of momentum transfer from a relativistic object passing through will tear the wormhole from its frame and collapse it. Bolthole gates will connect back to a well-ballasted wormhole in a fortified location, usually buried within an asteroid, with a tunnel leading out, so once the retreating fleet is through the gate can be collapsed before any enemies can follow. Bolthole gates are considered of dubious utility by many tacticians, on account of their fragility and the unlikelihood all ships in a fleet (which may be scattered over a battlespace several light-seconds across) will be able to perform the complex maneuvers required to rendezvous with it and cross through while under fire in the midst of a chaotic retreat. On most occasions throughout history, they only managed to save a small fraction of their attendant fleets.
Tactical gates are much smaller and lighter than normal transit gates, usually massing no more than a few tens of thousands of tons, otherwise they could not be moved at any practical pace aboard a ship. A bolthole gate, intended only to take fleeing ships through, can have a very low mass to make transportation easier, perhaps even being used as a fleet datagate during normal actions.
The gate itself will be carried aboard a special tender ship, as any damage to it could cause it to collapse into a black hole and conversion explosion, this vessel will typically be held back and well-protected in battle. When called upon, the gate can be maneuvered into position to fire an RKV from an ouroboros accelerator located back at a military base, or provide an escape hatch for retreat.
Tac-gates designed for RKV shots are disposable, the sheer shock of momentum transfer from a relativistic object passing through will tear the wormhole from its frame and collapse it. Bolthole gates will connect back to a well-ballasted wormhole in a fortified location, usually buried within an asteroid, with a tunnel leading out, so once the retreating fleet is through the gate can be collapsed before any enemies can follow. Bolthole gates are considered of dubious utility by many tacticians, on account of their fragility and the unlikelihood all ships in a fleet (which may be scattered over a battlespace several light-seconds across) will be able to perform the complex maneuvers required to rendezvous with it and cross through while under fire in the midst of a chaotic retreat. On most occasions throughout history, they only managed to save a small fraction of their attendant fleets.
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