Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a larger version of the Maelstrom Plasma Energy Torpedo Launcher
- Image Source: here
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
- Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi Concord, Lucerne Labs Customers
- Market Status: Closed-Market
- Model: Aurora Bolt-class Heavy Plasma Energy Torpedo Launcher
- Modularity: software; mounting hardware (can be fixed in place on small ships, fitted on turrets on capital ships, etc)
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: Dallorian Alloy casing, plasma rotor, energy torpedo launcher components, Biolux series Organoform Circuitry, Calor Series Bio Computers
- Classification: energy torpedo launcher
- Size: Large
- Weight: Very Heavy
- Ammunition Type: Energy / gas
| Standard Fire Mode | Energy Cannonade Mode | Rapid Fire Mode | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition Capacity | Average | Average | Average | |
| Effective Range | Extreme | Average | Long Range | |
| Rate of Fire | Very Low | Average |
| |
| Damage Output | Very High |
| Low | |
| Recoil | Average | Average | Average |
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Variable Fire Modes: The Aurora Bolt uses the common method of creating energy torpedoes: gas is excited into plasma via a plasma rotor, magnetically contained, and then fired out of the launcher. In standard mode, none of these parameters differ from other energy torpedoes, which creates a mass of volatile plasma that travels quickly over great distances to strike a target. However, building off experience with the Maelstrom, Lucerne Labs experimented with both the amount of plasma that the Aurora Bolt can withstand as well as how efficient of a magnetic seal they could obtain, which resulted in vastly different firing modes. In Energy Cannonade mode, the Aurora Bolt gathers a greater amount of plasma into its firing chamber than normal and minimizes the energy used to create the magnetic containment sheathe. This creates a very large plasma bolt with great potential damage, but the weak sheathe disintegrates quickly, leading to one with much less range for an energy torpedo. In Rapid Fire mode, Lucerne engineers optimized how quickly the Aurora Bolt could form a long-lasting sheath. This could only be accomplished with a small amount of plasma, but it can be formed quite quickly, making it more useful for attacks against smaller or many targets than the Aurora Bolt is typically capable of taking on.
- Variable Damage Type: Like the Firestorm Plasma Turbolaser and Maelstrom Plasma Energy Torpedo Launcher before it, the Aurora Bolt can use a variety of gases and other matters to form different kinds of plasma that acts as its base ammunition, which grants its torpedoes different effects. Each Aurora Bolt launcher can only be plugged into two types of ammunition gas at a time.
- Hefty Weapon: The Aurora Bolt is a large weapon, taking up roughly the space and power requirements of a ten typical turbolasers or a single hypervelocity cannon on most ships. While this makes the Aurora Bolt efficient at damaging and destroying cruisers and larger capital ships, it does have trouble hitting small, fast moving corvettes, frigates, and other lighter vessels.
- Versatile: The Aurora Bolt is a versatile weapon, capable of releasing a wide variety of plasmas with different
- High Rate of Fire (Rapid Fire Mode): Aurora Bolt's plasma rotor can rapidly spin up large numbers of relatively weak plasma bolts.
- Heavy Hitting (Standard & Cannonade Modes): Aurora Bolt is a large weapon, and with it, typically creates fairly large plasma bolts that have the potential to create severe damage to most targets.
- Excellent Range (Standard & Rapid Fire Modes): Like other energy torpedoes, Aurora Bolt's plasma projectiles travel very quickly through space, giving them great range.
- Delay: Aurora Bolt takes some time to purge the previous gas being used in the plasma rotor, leading to a noticeable delay in firing before the launcher can fire a new type of plasma.
- Bulky Weapon: Aurora Bolt is not a small weapon, and while turreted, it frequently has trouble tracking fast-moving, small capital ships and other light craft.
- Low Rate of Fire (Standard Mode): As with most energy torpedoes, it takes time to excite the gas into plasma and maintain a good magnetic seal before firing, leading to a slow rate of fire.
- Low Damage (Rapid Fire Mode): Rapid Fire mode is only able to achieve its high rate of fire by shooting small amounts of plasma, which simply cannot produce as great of damage as the other firing modes.
The Aurora Bolt is a further evolution in plasma weapon technology by Lucerne Labs, building off their earlier Firestorm Plasma Turbolaser and Maelstrom Plasma Energy Torpedo Launcher into their largest version of this technology yet. The basic mechanics of the weapon haven't changed from the earlier and smaller Maelstrom: a plasma rotor excites and ionizes the gas into a plasma state, which the launcher itself contains via a magnetic bottling apparatus before releasing it towards the target. The greatest innovation of the Aurora Bolt is tinkering in how the plasma can be released, whether its the conventional energy torpedo, small rapid fire bolt, or massive but short-lasting energy cannonade bolt. Regardless of how the bolt is built-up and released, most of the damage done is by the superheated plasma itself. But different base gases produce different effects. Rather than attempt to categorize the exact effects of every gas in the galaxy, gunners typically categorize ammunition gases by their practical effect:
Pure thermal: The molecules in these plasmas are highly excited, either kinetically or thermally, which causes them to quickly release heat upon impact, making it useful for quickly burning through armor plating. This is probably the most common reaction of gases used as the Aurora Bolt's ammunition. In practical effect, it is indistinguishable from a normal heavy energy torpedo.
Shieldbuster: The gases that form this basis are identical to that of the T-33 Plasma torpedo or the Aurora Bolt's early predecessor, the Torrent-class Plasma Energy Torpedo. While unusually effectively against shields because of their tuned radiation each warhead produces, they are also significantly less effective against physically damaging to a target compared to most conventional weapons.
Corrosive: The molecules in these plasmas are excited, though not initially as much as in the pure thermal variants. They tend to release energy at a slower rate, slowly corroding through the target in the same manner as the plasma used by the Incinerator-class plasma railgun.
Explosive: These torpedoes explode on impact because of their volatile molecular make-up, imparting almost equal amounts of kinetic and thermal damage. Many gunners compare such plasmas to the plasma bolts used by plasma throwers.
Electromagnetic: These plasmas cause electrical disturbances on their targets, much like the small plasma disruptor, the massive M-68 magnapulse cannon, or the Tenjin Ion Torpedo. These are typically used in a manner similar to ion cannons or ion torpedoes in order to shatter shields or disable electronics to more easily capture vessels.
Biohazard: These plasmas are exceptionally unstable at the molecular level. They produce large amounts of Bremsstrahlung radiation on impact, which can cause radiation sickness or even death of organics or the destruction of organic-based technology.
Like other heavy capital grade energy torpedo launchers, the Aurora Bolt is a fairly large and powerful weapon - several well-aimed torpedoes can usually smash through and outright destroy a corvette. It is most commonly found as a secondary warhead battery on larger capital ships, which have more room and power to spare than smaller frigates and corvettes. The Aurora Bolt particularly seems well-suited for expeditionary warships, as ammunition can be easily gathered by scooping up gas from a nearby gas giant, nebula, or other celestial objects.
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