Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a smaller sized variable charge turbolaser in Lucerne Labs product line
- 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: Iris II-class Variable Charge Turbolaser
- 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 and barrel, Biolux series Organoform Circuitry, Calor Series Bio Computers, typical turbolaser components.
- Classification: Turbolaser
- Size: Average
- Weight: Heavy
- Ammunition Type: Energy / Blaster Gas
| Standard Fire Mode | Supercharged Mode | Rapid Fire Mode | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition Capacity | Average | Average | Average |
| Effective Range | Long Range | Long Range | Long Range |
| Rate of Fire | Average | Very Low | Very High |
| Stopping Power | Average | Very High | Very Low |
| Recoil | Average | Average | Average |
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Variable Fire Modes: The Iris II can be set to use different gas and power consumption levels, allowing it to be easily adapted to fulfill different roles. Aside from acting as an almost typical turbolaser cannon, its rapid fire mode allows it to spew large amounts of weak-powered bolts which tend to be particularly effective against dovin basal shielding, swarming enemies, and small craft targets. Conversely, its supercharged mode (which is very similar in concept to the Hornet Interceptor's laser cannons) gives it much more power than typical for a turbolaser cannon of its size, making it exceptionally useful in punching through heavy armor and shielding on capital ships or outright disintegrating smaller targets like gunships and shuttles in a single bolt.
- Recursive Galven Coiling: Iris II uses a uses an unusual system of superimposed, recursive galven coiling that allows bolts to be finely focused in a minimum of internal space (though this density does make the weapon relatively heavy). The improved bolt cohesion from this system results in a slightly longer range than the typical turbolaser cannon.
- Flexible Gas Feed: While most standard blaster and laser weapons can use a variety of blaster gases, the Iris II is designed to be particularly forgiving in accepting different types of gases due to the use of overbuilt components and easily adjustable siphons and valves. With a little work and experimentation, the Iris II can not only use different types of gases well, but optimize performance for different grades as well, meaning that even some of the poorest functioning gases found the backwater worlds of the Outer Rim or distilled out of disparate components can function in this cannon.
- Versatile: The Iris II can alter the intakes of its ammunition and firing cycle to allow it to be tailored to be better suited for certain roles, whether its using its supercharged setting to punch through thick armor incinerate an enemy vehicle or its rapid fire mode to ensure a hit on a small target.
- Long Range: Iris II has somewhat better range than the typical turbolaser cannon due to extensive, but condensed galven coiling that increases the duration of each bolt’s cohesion. This may allow the Iris II’s user to get a few extra shots in the beginning of an engagement or plink at distant stationary or slow moving targets without fear of immediate retribution.
- High Rate of Fire (Rapid Fire mode): Iris II can rapidly increase its firing cycle by reducing bolt cohesion and feeding in lesser amounts of power and gas into each bolt. This allows the Iris II to almost fire continuous streams of weak-powered bolts, perfect for cutting through a swathes of small craft or hitting exceptionally fast or maneuverable corvettes or frigates.
- Heavy Hitting (Supercharged Mode): Iris II can funnel more gas and add more power to each bolt, making it significantly larger and more destructive at the cost of a slower firing cycle. These bolts are exceptionally powerful, reaching levels of firepower more typical for guns several times its size.
- Delay: Switching between fire modes takes a few seconds to recalibrate gas and power feeds, meaning that Iris II often has a minor delay in firing when switching modes. This is especially true when switching from rapid fire to supercharged mode because of the time needed for the capacitors to build up the requisite energy needed for such shots.
- Heavy: Iris II is a bit heavier than the average turbolaser cannon due to the density of its special galven coiling and its sturdy Dallorian Alloy construction. This can potentially limit performance when used on smaller capital ships or large ground ehicles and makes maintenance and repair more of a hassle.
- Weak Power (Rapid Fire Mode): In rapid fire mode, the quick rate of fire necessitates less power and gas being directed into individual bolts, which makes them noticeable less damaging. Each bolt is largely equivalent to that of a light turbolaser cannon or capital-grade laser cannon – more than powerful enough to destroy most small craft in a single hit or damage a subsystem on a capital ship, but unlikely to severely damage any capital ship..
- Slow Firing Rate (Supercharged Mode): Supercharging bolts requires more power and gas than normal, and with its discharge, a noticeable amount of time to cool and then form a new bolt. This makes the Iris II relatively slow firing in its supercharged mode, with its cooldown time being more typical of a much heavier turbolaser.
The Iris II is much up-scaled version of the Vaapad-class Laser Cannon, with the Iris II being several orders of magnitude larger, about the size of a typical turbolaser. This convenient size makes it well suited to form secondary weapon batteries on larger warships or primary weapons on frigates and corvettes. In this basic function and in its standard mode, it is almost indistinguishable from countless turbolaser models that have come before it aside from its somewhat longer range attributed to recursive galven circuitry.
Yet like many Lucerne Labs designs before it, the Iris II has some flexibility that's not immediately apparent do its variable charge fire modes. Effectively, by overbuilding the cannon's capacitor banks and galven circuitry, strengthening the gas chamber, and adding extensive cooling systems to the barrel, the Iris II can adapt its firing cycle to different roles. The most aweworthy of these modes is supercharged mode, in which the Iris II pushes the strength of these augmented components to their max by pushing in a lot of blaster gas and almost overcharging the capacitators. The resulting bolt is exceptionally powerful, with the resulting power being much more typical for the main battery of a star destroyer. While excellent at punching through defenses (especially against corvettes and frigates), this supercharged mode does have a very slow rate of fire due to the high energy requirements and the extensive cool down time. Conversely, the Iris II can fire out bolts quickly that use only a small amount of energy and blaster gas, resulting in a large number of shots per second which is particularly good at improving hits against small or fast moving targets, such as against starfighters or capital-grade warheads. While officially designated as "rapid fire" mode, many starship captains often refer to it as "defensive fire mode" instead.
Turbolaser technology is common enough that most galactic militaries and many starship crewmen are familiar with it, providing a certain amount of training and logistical commonality that the Iris II is almost certainly going to become commonplace on Lucerne Lab and allied manufacturer's starship designs. With a similar size, shape, and power output as a typical turbolaser, the Iris II almost certain to take the place of conventional turbolasers in these manufacturers designs. While not a particularly inspiring weapon, its commonality will make it an important weapon in Lucerne Labs product line for some time to come.
