Ashin Varanin
Professional Enabler
Image Source: [link]
Affiliation: Select customers
Manufacturer: Clan Rekali, Incorporated
Model: Meshurkaan ('Gemcutter') Boarding Craft
Modularity: No
Production: Mass-produced
Material: Red havod alloy, insulated ionite
Classification: Light boarding craft
Length: 2m
Height: 5m
Width: 2.5m
Armament:
- 2 point-defense autoblasters
- 2 plasma torches (blade length calibrated based on known or estimated armor thickness)
Squadron Count: 18
Special Features:
- Field Disruptor allows the Meshurkaan to pass through deflector shields (see warnings and conditions). Turbulence may result, especially at high relative velocities.
- Refined, insulated ionite contact surfaces serve as backup to Field Disruptor, allowing the Meshurkaan to pass through shields the hard way if necessary. Turbulence will certainly result, especially at high relative velocities.
- Miniature force cylinder and backup cofferdam allow compatibility with all airlocks; magnetic clamps hold the Meshurkaan stationary relative to the ship.
- Chaff and flare dispenser.
- Slave circuits with beckon call.
- Multi-configuration thrusters add to maneuverability.
- Advanced inertial dampeners and shock absorbers.
- HUD includes ship schematics if available, allowing selection of good target areas like main engineering, bridge, hangar control center, etc.
Maneuverability Rating: 1
Speed Rating: 1
Hyperdrive Class: N/A
Strengths:
- Very fast, tough, and well-shielded.
- Can get through shields.
- Can form a force cylinder link with any ship surface, meaning that minimal pressure drop will not often trigger internal decompression warnings/automated seals. Obviously this requires that the Meshurkaan hold still relative to the target ship, or close enough.
- Can be piloted in full space-sealed armor. Easily entered and exited by spacewalk.
- Window-spotting/sightline-estimation sensor.
- No hyperdrive.
- Very easy to die if you don't know what you're doing - like, say, by running into the ship you're trying to board, or trying to dive straight through a capital ship firefight.
- Pilot is separated from space by only a few inches of hull.
- Once you get there, you're alone -- and you have to leave your Meshurkaan just sitting there clamped to the hull in order to do your job. So pick a low-visibility spot to park and board. Even then, you've probably been noticed on approach.
Description: The Meshurkaan Boarding Craft is your absolute best way to go from range to your enemy's ship in short order. It's an evolution of traditional Clan Rekali expertise in boarding stuff. (OOC note: prepare to spend at least a post or two on each of these stages for fair play purposes.)
Step one: Get there. The Meshurkaan is not stealthy. It is, however, very fast and capable of dodging an awful lot. Your best bet is to stay inside the influence of a given capital ship fight, so that everyone is focusing on more important things, but be careful not to die in the process of approaching your target. Your shields and armor will keep you safe against flak, but friendly fire, the firing lanes of capital ship engagements, and all sorts of other hazards can splat you before you get where you want to go.
Step two: Park. Find a nice quiet niche out of the sightline of whatever windows the ship might have. Conveniently, the Meshurkaan has a proprietary little sensor node that detects windows, estimates sightlines, and lets you know when you're under cover. (Note: you're still vulnerable to being spotted by nearby ships, you probably got noticed on the way over, and not all ships have blind spots for convenient parking.) If your spot has an airlock, even better. Alternately, go for broke and just latch your magnetic clamps onto the bridge viewport or something.
Step three: Breach. Paired plasma torches carve a cone segment out of the hull, a plug kept in position by the ship's own artificial gravity. Engage your force cylinder or cofferdam, or just cold-shirt it if time's critical and you're wearing something vacuum-rated. A small, short-range tractor/pressor beam pulls out the plug inside the miniature force cylinder or cofferdam, preventing decompression alarms from going off. Depending on what you've cut into, either sneak down into the ship or precede yourself with a couple of grenades. If you've velcro'ed a cylinder of coma gas to your hull, now's the time to use it. If you want, beckon-call your Meshurkaan to close the plug after you're inside.
Step four: Do your thing. The Meshurkaan stays at the breach. If it gets noticed, destroyed, stolen, etc. -- tough. It's done its job; now it's time for you to do yours. Alone, on an enemy capital ship, surrounded by people who would like to kill you dead. Buying a Meshurkaan involves signing a waiver to the effect of we are not responsible for you putting yourself in a situation you cannot reasonably survive. The beckon call may be used to bring the Meshurkaan for a pickup, but that's based on a whole lot of assumptions about where you are, where you're going, who you're with and how fast you can run while surrounded. Clearly, if you use a Meshurkaan, you need to be prepared to lose -- or have help, or a very good, very straightforward plan. These fethers aren't for the faint of heart.
Development Thread:
- [link] - Ember Rekali evaluates capital ship boarding technologies in the field
- [link] - Ember Rekali evaluates capital ship boarding technologies in the field
- [link] - Ember Rekali evaluates capital ship boarding technologies in the field
Who Can Use This: Select customers
Primary Source: None
