Post by DreadPirateMike on Oct 14, 2015 23:07:12 GMT -5
Official Name: Etherium's Vengeance
Faction/Affiliation: Jenek Fayne AKA The Fox
Classification: Destroyer
Stock/Custom: Custom
Dimensions-
Height:130 meters
Width: 95 meters
Length: 380 meters
Manufacturer: Anitharian Stardrive, LLC
Energy Source: Forge Heart Series V Ion Power Core; 6 advanced hydrogen fuel cell generators for emergency power
Hyper drive rating: 4.2
Crew Necessity:
Full Complement: 400
Skeleton Crew: 28
Actual: 223 (Full droid complement makes up the difference.)
Armament:
- 1 x Heavy Ion Cannon
- 4 x Assault Concussion Missile launch tubes. Total capacity: 84
- 4 x Ball Turret Dual Heavy Laser Cannons.
- 12 x Point defense laser cannon emplacements
Passenger Capacity: 200
Cargo Capacity: 100 tons
Consumables: 1 year
Hanger Facilities/Starfighter Capacity: 1 longboat, 4 Cenebra Class Shuttles
Other:
- Numerous active and passive stealth features
- Not designed for planetary landing. However, it is capable of both atmospheric operation and sustained deep water flotation.
- The ion cannon firing chamber's interior is double lined with an energy refractory coating. This serves a triple purpose: It seals in the radiant emissions that would normally give it away on sensors, helps in focusing the blast, and in the event of a catastrophic misfire, it provides another layer of insulation between the cannon and the other ship's systems. The forward cannon port cover incorporates three layers of neuralanium, each 1.5 mm thick.
- On board fabricator plant and machine shop. Able to manufacture simple replacement parts from base materials.
- On board desalination, filtration and cracking equipment. Able to extract either potable water or emergency hydrogen fuel from sources both celestial and terrestrial.
Statistics-
Speed: 7
Maneuverability: 5
Effectiveness vs. Starfighters: 4
Effectiveness vs. Capital Ships: 7
Armor: 6
Shielding: 6
Sensors: 5
Reliability: 4
Description/role:
Etherium's origins are couched deeply in equal parts secrecy and irony. A ship which has for decades numbered among the most maddeningly elusive and effective corsair vessels in the known galaxy was originally designed and constructed as a pirate HUNTER, one which its creators hoped would secure a lucrative contract and pave the way for many more of its kind. It wasn't to be.
By 3,629 BBY, Anitharian Stardrive was only a small to mid-sized shipbuilding company based out of Druckenwell, but well endowed with confidence in a bright future. It had been founded 7 years earlier by a smart and ambitious quartet of engineers who had tendered their resignation from Kuat Drive Yards, dissatisfied with a rigid corporate culture and the impossibility of ever truly being their own bosses given the heridatry ownership of KDY. Now, they had finally begun to turn a significant profit, owing to brisk sales of their proprietary Lone Wolf Class, a mid-sized robot freighter which had earned a reputation for reliability. Despite relatively basic capabilities and a limited cargo capacity, the ability to operate such vessels without hiring a crew was a huge cost saver, making the design a rising favorite among up and coming shipping companies looking to make their start with limited capital.
However, over the two and a half standard years this class had been in operation, a rather frustrating drawback began to show itself.
They kept getting blown up.
The Lone Wolf Class hadn't taken long to become a favorite of pirates as well. Even the most comprehensive suite of automated response protocols proved no substitute for the resourcefulness of a living crew, and all legal upgrades they attempted simply pushed the price point up too high. Worse, Republic naval crews who managed to catch up to these stolen freighters were well aware that no living beings save the pirates themselves were at risk, and the profit margin of a company without any real influence was often inadequate motivation to take any undue risks. More often than not, warship commanders would simply issue a single warning, and then open fire if the pirates attempted to run. In spite of all this, sales of the Lone Wolf Class continued well enough among those operating in safer space lanes, but the line's reputation as easy prey HAD earned it a somewhat embarassing nickname: The Sick Bantha Class.
In some cases, this was addressed by hiring a mechanic or two to accompany the ships on their voyages, but willing candidates proved hard to come by, so the Anitharian board put their heads together, and gambled the company's assets that they could turn this problem into an opportunity. More accurately, a new design, one that would simultaneously address to pirate problem AND help them break into the lucrative realm of military contracts.
They called it the Recompense. It took four years and a mountain of credits to design and construct, but by even the harshest measure, it was a work of art, a thing of beauty...if one could even see it. Which was unlikely in deep space, given that it was solid black and incorporated the most cutting edge stealth systems, the most effective energy impermeable materials available. They already had the perfect pirate bait in the existing Long Wolf, and now this would be the trap. All it had to do was shadow one of the robot freighters on its lonely journey through pirate infested space, and when the pirates descended, Recompense would be waiting with the firepower to maul even the heaviest corsair vessels. Even if the pirates managed to bolt, the speed of this ship made it unlikely they'd get far.
Just as critical to the core concept as the stealth systems, the ship's intended niche was based in one other cutting edge technology. Recompense's frame was built around a massive ion cannon, capable of crippling all but the most most hardened of targets with a single direct hit. A military crew with such a weapon in their arsenal, the staff to maintain it, and the capability to get in position to use it effectively without being detected could do much more than just STOP pirates. They could send over boarding parties, their assault craft utterly unopposed, deal with the pirates, and retake the ship essentially intact, thereby limiting damage to the very commerce they were seeking to protect. Of course, the engineers had to plan around some drawbacks to this technology as well. Ion cannons were notoriously temperamental, but even if it was in perfect working order, its power requirements made for a slow rate of fire. So, in the event that the gunners missed on the first shot, or found themselves confronted by multiple pirate vessels, a formidable suite of conventional weaponry was added as a backup. And just to sweeten the package that much more, the founders had put their expertise at automation to the task of cost savings; for a ship its size, a Recompense Class pirate hunter would require a relatively small crew. All that this brilliant marketing coup required was a maiden voyage to prove the concept.
To that end, they spent the next 3 months discreetly recruiting and training a crew of 150 highly qualified men and women. While nowhere near the ship's theoretical full complement, Anitharian had loaded the ship with a full complement of droids to handle many of the mundane functions and thus help lower the expedition's initial costs. Even two companies of ancient but effective Czerka Mark I assault droids were thrown into the mix, an expendable first wave for those intended boarding operations. And selected to lead this effort was Razlak Kane, a veteran naval commander hardened by a lifetime of territorial feuds in the Tion Hegemony.
The first phase of this extended mission surpassed all expeditions. Within 6 months, a whopping 19 pirate ships were taken or destroyed, and the company's stock rose dramatically. Details of their new secret weapon were jealously guarded, but even so, word began to get out that their ships might not be such easy prey after all. But the board's plan required more. They'd need to demonstrate broader applications if they wanted to be sure of edging out their larger rivals in this particular niche, so they gave Kane and crew the go ahead to expand their operations to any pirate ships, wherever and however they could be found. And they offered a sizable bonus if they could complete one very specific objective: Find and capture The Fox, a semi-legendary pirate figure who had been waggling his ass at authorities throughout the Outer Rim over the past decade.
Razlak Kane was nothing if not driven, and he spent the next standard year following the major shipping lanes, hunting rumors as he went. He continued disrupting pirate activity with some success, but his search for the Fox yielded only frustration. Finally, after all those long and irritating months just silently WATCHING all these fat prizes coast oblivious through space, the temptation was too much, and he heeded at last the call of his distant ancestors in the days of Zim. After organizing the few dozen agreeable to his plan, he marooned the bulk of his crew on Coyn, bidding them to go and hunt foxes until they went blind if that was their wish. With that, he rechristened the ship Entrepeneur, and went to take his fortune.
And thus, the Fox's fame grew. If there was one thing Kane had concluded about this figure, it was that he, she, whatever, could be anyone behind that mask. If the Fox even existed, then what better insult could he give in return for a wasted year than to steal his name and do with it as he pleased? So, while the Anitharian board became tied up in judiciary hearings and their failed investment ultimately forced he company to file for bankruptcy, "The Fox" blazed a trail of theft and terror through the Outer Rim and Wildspace.
As far as the galaxy at large is aware, this run has never ended. But in early 2620 BBY, after nearly three standard years of increasingly savage raids, Kane made the mistake of attacking the freighter Sandgoose, two weeks out of the Arkanis Sector. Onboard and waiting for them was Jenek Fayne, formerly captain of the fast courier ship Dreams of Etherium and one-time victim of the misused stealth warship and its captain. By engagement's end, that debt had been more or less squared, as Kane abruptly found his attack droids reprogrammed to turn on their organic masters in the middle of the firefight. Soon thereafter, his men dead virtually to the last, the pirate captain was forced to plead mercy from his would be victims. He got a single life pod, cast adrift far from any inhabited system with its comm array shot off.
In the twenty-one years since, the RE-rechristened Etherium's Vengeance has been reported glimpsed in every region of the known galaxy. It's a somewhat aging ship these days, but as much trouble as ever, and showing no signs of slowing down.
Faction/Affiliation: Jenek Fayne AKA The Fox
Classification: Destroyer
Stock/Custom: Custom
Dimensions-
Height:130 meters
Width: 95 meters
Length: 380 meters
Manufacturer: Anitharian Stardrive, LLC
Energy Source: Forge Heart Series V Ion Power Core; 6 advanced hydrogen fuel cell generators for emergency power
Hyper drive rating: 4.2
Crew Necessity:
Full Complement: 400
Skeleton Crew: 28
Actual: 223 (Full droid complement makes up the difference.)
Armament:
- 1 x Heavy Ion Cannon
- 4 x Assault Concussion Missile launch tubes. Total capacity: 84
- 4 x Ball Turret Dual Heavy Laser Cannons.
- 12 x Point defense laser cannon emplacements
Passenger Capacity: 200
Cargo Capacity: 100 tons
Consumables: 1 year
Hanger Facilities/Starfighter Capacity: 1 longboat, 4 Cenebra Class Shuttles
Other:
- Numerous active and passive stealth features
- Not designed for planetary landing. However, it is capable of both atmospheric operation and sustained deep water flotation.
- The ion cannon firing chamber's interior is double lined with an energy refractory coating. This serves a triple purpose: It seals in the radiant emissions that would normally give it away on sensors, helps in focusing the blast, and in the event of a catastrophic misfire, it provides another layer of insulation between the cannon and the other ship's systems. The forward cannon port cover incorporates three layers of neuralanium, each 1.5 mm thick.
- On board fabricator plant and machine shop. Able to manufacture simple replacement parts from base materials.
- On board desalination, filtration and cracking equipment. Able to extract either potable water or emergency hydrogen fuel from sources both celestial and terrestrial.
Statistics-
Speed: 7
Maneuverability: 5
Effectiveness vs. Starfighters: 4
Effectiveness vs. Capital Ships: 7
Armor: 6
Shielding: 6
Sensors: 5
Reliability: 4
Description/role:
Etherium's origins are couched deeply in equal parts secrecy and irony. A ship which has for decades numbered among the most maddeningly elusive and effective corsair vessels in the known galaxy was originally designed and constructed as a pirate HUNTER, one which its creators hoped would secure a lucrative contract and pave the way for many more of its kind. It wasn't to be.
By 3,629 BBY, Anitharian Stardrive was only a small to mid-sized shipbuilding company based out of Druckenwell, but well endowed with confidence in a bright future. It had been founded 7 years earlier by a smart and ambitious quartet of engineers who had tendered their resignation from Kuat Drive Yards, dissatisfied with a rigid corporate culture and the impossibility of ever truly being their own bosses given the heridatry ownership of KDY. Now, they had finally begun to turn a significant profit, owing to brisk sales of their proprietary Lone Wolf Class, a mid-sized robot freighter which had earned a reputation for reliability. Despite relatively basic capabilities and a limited cargo capacity, the ability to operate such vessels without hiring a crew was a huge cost saver, making the design a rising favorite among up and coming shipping companies looking to make their start with limited capital.
However, over the two and a half standard years this class had been in operation, a rather frustrating drawback began to show itself.
They kept getting blown up.
The Lone Wolf Class hadn't taken long to become a favorite of pirates as well. Even the most comprehensive suite of automated response protocols proved no substitute for the resourcefulness of a living crew, and all legal upgrades they attempted simply pushed the price point up too high. Worse, Republic naval crews who managed to catch up to these stolen freighters were well aware that no living beings save the pirates themselves were at risk, and the profit margin of a company without any real influence was often inadequate motivation to take any undue risks. More often than not, warship commanders would simply issue a single warning, and then open fire if the pirates attempted to run. In spite of all this, sales of the Lone Wolf Class continued well enough among those operating in safer space lanes, but the line's reputation as easy prey HAD earned it a somewhat embarassing nickname: The Sick Bantha Class.
In some cases, this was addressed by hiring a mechanic or two to accompany the ships on their voyages, but willing candidates proved hard to come by, so the Anitharian board put their heads together, and gambled the company's assets that they could turn this problem into an opportunity. More accurately, a new design, one that would simultaneously address to pirate problem AND help them break into the lucrative realm of military contracts.
They called it the Recompense. It took four years and a mountain of credits to design and construct, but by even the harshest measure, it was a work of art, a thing of beauty...if one could even see it. Which was unlikely in deep space, given that it was solid black and incorporated the most cutting edge stealth systems, the most effective energy impermeable materials available. They already had the perfect pirate bait in the existing Long Wolf, and now this would be the trap. All it had to do was shadow one of the robot freighters on its lonely journey through pirate infested space, and when the pirates descended, Recompense would be waiting with the firepower to maul even the heaviest corsair vessels. Even if the pirates managed to bolt, the speed of this ship made it unlikely they'd get far.
Just as critical to the core concept as the stealth systems, the ship's intended niche was based in one other cutting edge technology. Recompense's frame was built around a massive ion cannon, capable of crippling all but the most most hardened of targets with a single direct hit. A military crew with such a weapon in their arsenal, the staff to maintain it, and the capability to get in position to use it effectively without being detected could do much more than just STOP pirates. They could send over boarding parties, their assault craft utterly unopposed, deal with the pirates, and retake the ship essentially intact, thereby limiting damage to the very commerce they were seeking to protect. Of course, the engineers had to plan around some drawbacks to this technology as well. Ion cannons were notoriously temperamental, but even if it was in perfect working order, its power requirements made for a slow rate of fire. So, in the event that the gunners missed on the first shot, or found themselves confronted by multiple pirate vessels, a formidable suite of conventional weaponry was added as a backup. And just to sweeten the package that much more, the founders had put their expertise at automation to the task of cost savings; for a ship its size, a Recompense Class pirate hunter would require a relatively small crew. All that this brilliant marketing coup required was a maiden voyage to prove the concept.
To that end, they spent the next 3 months discreetly recruiting and training a crew of 150 highly qualified men and women. While nowhere near the ship's theoretical full complement, Anitharian had loaded the ship with a full complement of droids to handle many of the mundane functions and thus help lower the expedition's initial costs. Even two companies of ancient but effective Czerka Mark I assault droids were thrown into the mix, an expendable first wave for those intended boarding operations. And selected to lead this effort was Razlak Kane, a veteran naval commander hardened by a lifetime of territorial feuds in the Tion Hegemony.
The first phase of this extended mission surpassed all expeditions. Within 6 months, a whopping 19 pirate ships were taken or destroyed, and the company's stock rose dramatically. Details of their new secret weapon were jealously guarded, but even so, word began to get out that their ships might not be such easy prey after all. But the board's plan required more. They'd need to demonstrate broader applications if they wanted to be sure of edging out their larger rivals in this particular niche, so they gave Kane and crew the go ahead to expand their operations to any pirate ships, wherever and however they could be found. And they offered a sizable bonus if they could complete one very specific objective: Find and capture The Fox, a semi-legendary pirate figure who had been waggling his ass at authorities throughout the Outer Rim over the past decade.
Razlak Kane was nothing if not driven, and he spent the next standard year following the major shipping lanes, hunting rumors as he went. He continued disrupting pirate activity with some success, but his search for the Fox yielded only frustration. Finally, after all those long and irritating months just silently WATCHING all these fat prizes coast oblivious through space, the temptation was too much, and he heeded at last the call of his distant ancestors in the days of Zim. After organizing the few dozen agreeable to his plan, he marooned the bulk of his crew on Coyn, bidding them to go and hunt foxes until they went blind if that was their wish. With that, he rechristened the ship Entrepeneur, and went to take his fortune.
And thus, the Fox's fame grew. If there was one thing Kane had concluded about this figure, it was that he, she, whatever, could be anyone behind that mask. If the Fox even existed, then what better insult could he give in return for a wasted year than to steal his name and do with it as he pleased? So, while the Anitharian board became tied up in judiciary hearings and their failed investment ultimately forced he company to file for bankruptcy, "The Fox" blazed a trail of theft and terror through the Outer Rim and Wildspace.
As far as the galaxy at large is aware, this run has never ended. But in early 2620 BBY, after nearly three standard years of increasingly savage raids, Kane made the mistake of attacking the freighter Sandgoose, two weeks out of the Arkanis Sector. Onboard and waiting for them was Jenek Fayne, formerly captain of the fast courier ship Dreams of Etherium and one-time victim of the misused stealth warship and its captain. By engagement's end, that debt had been more or less squared, as Kane abruptly found his attack droids reprogrammed to turn on their organic masters in the middle of the firefight. Soon thereafter, his men dead virtually to the last, the pirate captain was forced to plead mercy from his would be victims. He got a single life pod, cast adrift far from any inhabited system with its comm array shot off.
In the twenty-one years since, the RE-rechristened Etherium's Vengeance has been reported glimpsed in every region of the known galaxy. It's a somewhat aging ship these days, but as much trouble as ever, and showing no signs of slowing down.