Approved Tech Cyclonic Variable Setting Deflector Shields

[Alasdair Voland]

Cyclonic Variable Setting Deflector Shields

An Imperial Engineer adjusting the CVSDS settings on her capital ship.
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SPECIAL FEATURES

• N/A

STRENGTHS

• Mass Driver and Slugthrower Deflection: This technology allows for the true deflection of mass drivers and slugthrowers, enabling them to be and stay quite effective against such threats for far longer than traditional deflector shields.

WEAKNESSES

• Unpredictable Scattering: When activated on its cyclonic mode it can cause unpredictable scattering of the projectiles it is deflecting which can, depending on the situation, be extremely detrimental (examples in description).

DESCRIPTION

The traditional approach to handling kinetic threats such as projectile weaponry has tended to fall into one of two camps: make one's vessel small or nimble enough to dodge such projectiles or strengthen one's deflector shields to better withstand their assault. Both of these, of course, are subject to limitations-one can only make one's ship so fast, and one can only boost one's shield power so much before being limited by one's reactors or energy source. Imperial Military Protective Services, and by extension the Empire of the Lost, has developed a third way to handle this threat following their return: Cyclonic Variable Setting Deflector Shields, or CVSDS.

The principle is relatively simple: rather than simply absorbing incoming projectiles by one or two strong arrays of shields, it will instead attempt to, by a series of weaker shields rapidly oscillating around the vessel, cause the projectile's angle to be "slapped aside" away from the ship instead, seeking to deflect rather than block to reduce overall strain on the shields and prolong their lifespan: in some aspects this is like trying to hit a target inside a spinning ball.

Various settings and configurations have been made for this technology, enabling one to choose the amount of shield layers subject to oscillation, their various strength, to convert one or all of them to normal deflector shields, and more. This allows a wise captain to adjust for a variety of tactical situations on the battlefield due to its flexibility, say, for example having half his shields be oscillating, deflecting some projectiles but allowing room for traditional deflectors to handle, say, missiles its point defense is not able to shoot down and more.

Tests have shown these shields to be quite effective, but with a noticeable downside of unpredictable scattering due to its nature, that is, it is difficult to tell where exactly the mass driver projectiles will be "slapped aside" to-they could quite literally be deflected anywhere away from the ship. This can cause issues for ships in particularly tight formations in the sense that a heavy mass driver projectile could be deflected from a larger capital ship that could in theory simply "tank" the shot into a smaller capital ship whose shields will be overwhelmed by its sheer power. It can also result in "pingponging" in such a situation where a projectile is bounced off multiple times between different ships before eventually deflecting away, arguably draining more overall shield power than it would have if the original ship "tanked" the shot. Thus, like all technology, it is not a panacea but one which requires thought and careful planning to use.

Miniaturized versions of this technology have been developed for personal use against slugthrowers and for ground vehicles, although again careful use is required as the deflected projectiles could go anywhere in the surrounding environment, making it less useful in situations where collateral damage or injury to bystanders is a concern.

Although IMPS initially developed the technology and is the one principally supplying it to the galaxy, the general engineering principles behind it can and have been relatively easily reverse engineered, leading to a variety of such modules being on the market today.

OOC Description: I want this to be an interesting counterplay to various mass driver and slugthrower technology that is not simply attempting to dodge it or making stronger deflector shields and I do not think I have seen this concept posted before. It's Open Market as part of my philosophy of trying to make fleet roleplaying more accessible and plug and play and without people having to reinvent the wheel.

 

[MANIAC]

Alasdair Voland

Nicely made!

Approved.