Jorus Merrill
is mek bote
Image Source: Here
Affiliation: The Qektoth Confederation (NPC enemies of the Underground/Kathol Outback)
Manufacturer: The Qektoth Confederation
Model: Ascendant-class Assault Frigate
Modularity: Can be modified with conventional weapons in place of Qektoth technology.
Production: Minor
Material: Durasteel hull, transparisteel viewports
Classification: Assault Frigate
Length: 500m
Width: 400m
Height: 140m
Armament: Rating 16
- 40 Qektoth plasma cannons
- 40 Qektoth bio-energy arrays
- 20 Qektoth bio-plasmatic gel torpedo launchers
- 10 quad lasers
- 1 heavy tractor beam emplacement (ventral, bow)
- Reinforced armor
- Military-grade shield generator
Special Features:
- Qektoth plasma cannons - These particular guns, otherwise comparable to turbolasers, ignore and bypass all currently extant shielding, except for molecular shields. However, they drain the Ascendant's power reserves significantly when fired. Additionally, though they are capital-scale weapons, they only work at short range, comparable to the 1-2km range of small craft weaponry.
- Qektoth bio-energy arrays - These particular guns, otherwise comparable to ion cannons, ignore and bypass all currently extant shielding, except for molecular shields. However, they drain the Ascendant's power reserves significantly when fired. Additionally, they do no structural damage -- a major liability for the only modern Qektoth weapons that function at standard engagement ranges.
- Qektoth bio-plasmatic gel torpedo launchers - These particular emplacements, otherwise comparable to standard heavy warhead launchers, deploy an energized bio-plasmatic gel which latches onto shields or hulls until charge and internal heat are dissipated. Specific shield modulation tricks can force the gel to detach early.
- Internal biotech/cybernetics research facility - The Qektoth tend to actively process their enemies and random encounters for experimental purposes. This facility can prove a powerful lure for boarders -- but also a deadly obstacle in capturing an Ascendant-class vessel. You never quite know what's in there.
Speed Rating: 10
Hyperdrive Class: 3
Strengths:
- A bit quicker than normal for a heavy frigate (rated at 10 rather than 11).
- Main armament ignores and bypasses all forms of currently extant shielding, except molecular shields.* **
**This property, derived from canon sources, was codified for Chaos in the following three submissions based on Qektoth weaponry: Conqueror ion cannon, Retribution plasma cannon, and Kathol junker cannon.
Weaknesses:
- Half the vessel's main guns only function at extremely short ranges.
- The other half do no physical damage.
- Specialized knowledge and experience on the part of the enemy can greatly reduce the bio-plasmatic gel torpedoes' effectiveness.
- The main guns require massive amounts of power. The Ascendant can only fire a handful of main guns at a time, or risk shield destabilization. This tradeoff scales more or less in a linear way: if the Ascendant fires all its weapons at once, for example, its shields will completely fall and need to recharge at a standard rate.
- The Ascendant has only token defensive armament and is highly vulnerable to small craft. In such situations it requires escort.
- The central spaceframe is somewhat narrow where the wings join the hull. After getting past the Ascendant's shields, focusing on that area is more likely to cause significant, even catastrophic, structural damage.
- The Ascendant is quite slow to turn (rated at 14 rather than 11).
- The Ascendant has a class-3 hyperdrive, three times slower than a military-grade hyperdrive.
The main problem with that strategy is the Ascendant-class Assault Frigate.
The Ascendant is a distant successor to the ancient Qektoth attack cruiser, a much smaller and weaker vessel, but one which could strike fear into the hearts of Kathol explorers. The modern vessel boasts weapons which, despite their numerous shortcomings and inefficiencies, can ignore and bypass all currently known forms of shielding, except molecular shielding. Though an Underground Ackbar-class Heavy Cruiser can dish out a far greater volume of fire, precision bio-energy array fire has been known to disable crucial systems in the early stages of a fight, tilting the balance in favor of the Qektoth. And the Underground has very few Ackbars to spare. In short, it's fair to say that the Ascendant, a frequently encountered Qektoth ship of the line, is one of the Outback's deadliest threats.
Development Thread: None.
Intent: Lest one worry that TKO is making Qektoth enemies just so we can play with their weird guns, we already did that, put huge amounts of dev into making our own derivatives, etc. We don't need their tech at all. This sub is solely meant as a point of reference for a standard, somewhat frightening enemy ship. Many of TKO's ships are captured/stolen/salvaged/modified, and I think it'd be cool to capture and modify some of these on a case-by-case basis. Obviously any modifications, other than a straight gun swap for conventional weapons, would require their own submissions.
Who Can Use This: NPC Qektoth enemies of the Underground/TKO. Others, if captured through RP.
Primary Source: All sources linked above as appropriate. Not derived from any Chaos submissions. The stats are adapted from the 'Heavy Frigate' example ship in the Starship Templates thread.
