Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To provide an unusual combination of a drop pod and mole miner
- Image Source: originally here, modified by yours truly
- 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: Kreetle-class Drop Miner
- Modularity: No
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: Ferroceramic Framework and armor plating, ceraglass viewport panes, Thermal Gel Cocoon (during reentry), duracrete / agrinicrete exterior rentry shell, typical vehicle components
- Classification: Drop Pod / Underground transport
- Role: Personnel Transport
- Size: Average
- Weight: Heavy
- Armaments: High
- 1 Forward Plasma Driller
- 1 Field Disruptor (impromptu weapon)
- Defenses: High
- Maneuverability Rating: Low
- Speed Rating: Very High
- Propulsion: Repulsorlift
- Minimum Crew: 1
- Optimal Crew: 1
- Passenger Capacity: 8
- Cargo Capacity: Very Small
- Standard Communications Array
- Bia-series Fusion Generators
- Biolux Organoform Circuitry
- Calor series Bio-Computer
- Field Disruptor
- Repulsorlifts
- EnhanceScan General Purpose Scanner (detachable)
- Tunneller: Like the classic Mole Miner, the Kreetle is designed to bury through rock, sand, ground, and other similar materials. It accomplishes this by using a plasma driller to drill through these substances guided by sensor guidance from the general purpose scanner for optimal performance. A atmospherically sealed cabin with a full day's supply of air allows the Kreetle's passengers to survive digs through mediums which could be disastrous to try and breath in, such as water, methane pockets, or thick mud.
- Fast: The Kreetle-class Drop Miner is fairly fast in the atmosphere and underground thanks to its powerful repulsorlift systems.
- Tunneller: Unusually for a drop pod, the Kreetle is also designed as a tunneling vehicle once landed, allowing its passengers to roam underground to escape attacks or pop out of the ground for its passengers to launch surprise attacks.
- Shield Penetrator: As with a handful of other modern drop pod designs, the Kreetle sports a field disruptor, which gives its users the possibility of being able to penetrate through shields. As it penetrates through a shield, the miner's other systems often go offline temporarily or are unreliable due to the amount of power that it uses.
- Poor Maneuverability: The Kreetle is not every maneuverable, largely due to the dense construction needed for it to survive atmospheric reentry and the intense pressures found in some underground areas.
- Small Cargo Capacity: The Kreetle doesn't have any dedicated cargo space in its cramped fuselage. It can only hold whatever cargo the passengers can carry on their person or on their lap.
- Limited Sensors: In order to save space in the cramped vehicle, the Kreetle relies on a personal-scaled scale. While it offers a surprisingly diverse set of features, it is not a true combat vehicle sensor array, typically not having the effective range of most vehicle systems nor the ability to connect it with any sort of military targeting system.
The Kreetle Drop Miner is Lucerne Labs unlikely fusion of the classic Mole Miner and the drop pod that was inspired by the Bryn'adul tactics at Sarka. In most instances, it acts as a simple, reuseable drop pod. An exterior reentry shell of rock-like duracrete and agrinecrete contains a yolk of thermal gel that altogether buffer the Kreetle from the atmosphere and physical impact of groundfall. The Kreetle itself provides an extra layer of physical safety for its occupants in this traditional role along with providing them with navigation, life support, and the ability to penetrate through local shielding. Once on the surface, however, the Kreetle is unlike most drop pods in that it can continue move via repulsorlift. While the Kreetle can then travel like a conventional landspeeder, its front contains a plasma drill, which allows it to bury into surfaces or through obstacles. This can allow it to breach fortifications or tunnel underground, depositing its passengers across battlefields. While a highly unusual and effective mode of transport for a squad of combatants, the Kreetle is of limited combat utility due to its lack of any ranged weapons and very limited range sensor pack. Still, it seems like a vehicle that is likely to remain in service with the Directorate and Silver Jedi Concord for some time to come.
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