Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create modern mass driver cannon Lucerne Labs product line
- Image Source: here
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: Juyo-class Ripper Cannon
- Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
- Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi Concord, Lucerne Labs Customers
- Market Status: Closed-Market
- Model: Rhongomyniad II-class Mass Driver Cannon
- Modularity: Ammunition; mounting devices
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: Dallorian alloy barrel and internal components, turbolaser components, typical ripper gun components
- Classification: Mass Driver cannon / light turbolaser
- Size: Average
- Weight: Average
- Ammunition Type: power / blaster gas / projectiles
| Turbolaser Mode | Autocannon Mode | Sniper Mode | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition Capacity | Average | Average | Average |
| Effective Range | Average | Average | Long Range |
| Rate of Fire | Average | Very High | Very Low |
| Stopping Power | Average | Low | Very High |
| Recoil | Average | High | High |
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Ripper (Energy-Propelled Slugthrower): The Rhongomyniad II is a vastly upscaled type of Ripper weapon, which uses energy to rapidly launch projectiles with exceptional shield-piercing qualities. As with previous Lucerne consortium ripper weapons such as the Stormshard rifle, the Rhongomyniad II uses laser ablation propulsion by using a compact turbolaser housed in the weapon's rear to ignite the rear of the projectile along with extra blaster gas to turn it into plasma which then propels and envelopes the projectile as it leaves the barrel. Due to the projectile's encasement in plasma, these projectiles are unusually effective at penetrating through shielded targets compared to many projectile weapons.
- Variable Fire Modes: While the Rhongomyniad II is typically used as a projectile autocannon, it can focus more on its kinetic or energy nature to get different effects. The turbolaser cannon mechanism at the rear of the weapon can be used solely by itself without projectiles (using more blaster gas in this process compared to the autocannon mode), which in mode it is almost undistinguishable from a typical turbolaser for practical purposes. Alternatively, the Rhongomyniad II's firing chamber can be flooded with extra blaster gas. This extra fuel provides additional velocity to make the projectile rounds travel significantly faster, allowing them to deal greater damage at a longer range at the cost of a significantly lower rate of fire in "Sniper" mode.
- Turbolaser Cannon Equivalent: The Rhongomyniad II is designed and scaled to be roughly equivalent to the typical turbolaser cannon for starship construction purposes, making it easier to retrofit older craft with these weapons. Unsurprisingly, in turbolaser mode its rough performance is also very similar to that of most common turbolaser cannons.
- Modular Projectiles: Like many projectile cannons, the Rhongomyniad II is capable of accepting a wide variety of ammunition types, allowing it to use custom ordnance for a variety of purposes from simple kinetic shells for general use to ion rounds to disable electronics and to warhead saboted shells for use against small enemy craft.
- Dual Feed: The Rhongomyniad II's chamber has projectile feeding mechanisms from both the left and the right side which each are fed by their own magazines. The operator can control which magazine is currently feeding the gun or even select alternating feed. This means that the Rhongomyniad II can effectively carry two different types of projectile ammunition into battle, though many users do only use a single ammunition type.
- High Rate of Fire (Autocannon Mode): The Rhongomyniad II can spit out an impressive volume of fire when used as a basic autocannon, making it an ideal weapon for use against subcapital ships, large spaceborne ordnance, and other fast targets.
- Packs a Punch (Sniper Mode) Rhongomyniad II can accelerate a projectile to a very high velocity in sniper mode, which translates to a very heavy kinetic punch.
- Versatile: The Rhongomyniad is an exceptionally versatile weapon, capable of using a variety of specialty ammunition as well using different firing modes.
- Low Damage Output (Autocannon Mode): As with many autocannon and repeating weapons in general, the damage dealt by an individual round is fairly small, with the weapon's potency instead found in its rate of fire
- Low Rate of Fire (Sniper Mode): The amount of blaster gas and cooling time drastically limits the rate of fire for the Rhongomyniad II when used in a long-range mode, giving it roughly the same rate of fire as many starfighter-grade railguns.
- Projectile Weapon: While largely being a projectile weapon makes it unusually versatile, this technology also brings up drawbacks of its own. It usually takes greater skill to use effectively because of ballistic drop in the presence of gravity fields and it tends to be more inaccurate at longer ranges in the atmosphere due to friction and other atmospheric phenomena.
One of Lucerne Labs's first products was the Rhongomyniad-class Mass Driver Cannon, which was arguably was the first product to showcase Lucerne Labs's drive to versatility with a then-unique system of charging to different power levels. But the design is now several decades old and while still serviceable in the more remote regions of the galaxy, has been showing its age to more modern, Core-ward competitors. To that end, Lucerne Labs endeavored to make a suitable replacement based on its more recent innovations in ripper weapon technology.
To that end, the Rhongomyniad II is largely a Juyo-class Ripper Cannon simply upscaled to the size of a typical turbolaser. But there are some minor conceptual changes that actually make some considerable differences. The foremost of these is that the simple blaster mechanism found in previous weapons was not powerful enough to simply scale upwards. Capacitators had to effectively be added to the priming mechanism in order to generate and sustain enough power for each shot during rapid fire- but with a little tinkering also give a reasonable turbolaser mode. As a projectile weapon though, the resulting autocannon can throw up an impressive number of rounds in a short period of time, making it an excellent weapon for saturating an area in order to increase the probability of hitting a smaller target or simply overwhelming defenses by sheer numbers. Conversely, the Rhongomyniad II can add more blaster gas propellant to increase the round's velocity, which translates into greater kinetic damage and range - colloquially referred to as "sniper mode". As the name suggests, it is ideal for hitting enemies at greater than normal ranges, especially in order to inflict severe subsystems damage. As with most projectile weapons, the Rhongomyniad II has a number of projectiles from which to choose from:
Solid Slug: This shell is composed of depleted baradium encased in a durasteel jacket. The high density of depleted baradium makes this projectile well suited for piercing through armor, though it has a relatively narrow cross section of attack compared to either turbolasers or proton-based explosives. After penetrating a target, it does tend so spray the inside with deadly shrapnel. Because of its relative cheapness and inability to explode within the carried craft, solid slugs tend to be the default ammunition for most users.
Flechette: The shell uses a thin durasteel casing to enclose bundles of durasteel flechettes arranged around an explosive charge rigged with proximity/timed fuse. When the shell detonates, it briefly fills an area with durasteel shrapnel in an attempt to destroy or damage small objects like warheads, spacetroopers, and the most lightly protected starfighters. The durasteel shrapnel may also act as chaff, causing brief sensor disruptions and visual obscurance until the cloud disperses after several seconds.
Explosive: This shell consists of a thin durasteel jacket which is filled with detonite. Thanks to detonite's property of exploding on impact, this shell does not need a detonator which also makes relatively cheap and reliable. When used in autocannon mode, these shells tend to operate as omnidirectional explosives, dealing relatively low amounts of damage with a high blast radius, making it reasonably useful against lighter targets such as subcapital ships and civilian-grade infrastructure. Conversely, when hurled at the much higher velocities found in sniper mode mode, it acts more like a shaped charge, trading ominidirectional blast radius for a smaller cone of effect but with much increased penetration capabilities, making it useful in punching through the thick armor plating found on many heavier vessels.
Ion: This shell is effectively a small ion bomb, used to fry circuitry and otherwise disrupt electronics. While a single shell is likely only to disable a starfighter, sustained fire from this weapon can effectively turn it into a reasonable facsimile of a heavy ion cannon, allowing to be used to disable enemy starships and installations.
Thermal: This durasteel-plated shell contains a mixture of baradium and ytterbium to mimic the effects of a Thermal well. In autocannon mode, this is often used to conduct mass incendiary attacks on ground targets and foliage, though it can be reasonably used against most enemy vessels. In sniper mode, it is used to precisely disable or destroy specific systems on a target ship without causing lots of collateral damage or to create entrances for boarding teams.
Cryoban: With the specific thought of the Bryn'adul menace still in mind, the Rhongomyniad II can also use a durasteel shell filled with cryoban. The blast radius of a dozen meters makes it most useful in autocannon mode to saturate light targets such as enemy infantry, though some thought was given the design so that the tip is slightly thicker to allow it better penetrate through the thick hides of some Bryn'adul warbeasts and constructs, especially in sniper mode.
Warhead Sabot: This shell is little more than a hollow durasteel tube designed to hold a smaller, vehicle-grade warhead with added ablation material at the end of the tube. The shell travels straight line for a ways before releasing and then igniting the missile. This can give small munition some impressively added range. Starbolt-class Missiles and its derivatives are the most common choice, though any number of lighter missiles used by the PLX-2M can be used including explosive bunker busters, gas delivery systems, and GAM guided missiles.
While the Rhongomyniad II can carry two different projectile types into battle thanks to its dual feed system, it's not uncommon for the weapon to be fed with only a single ammunition type - usually to keep costs down or to prevent accidental firing of the wrong ammunition type. The most carried combination is solid slug and flechette shells, followed shortly by solid slug and ion shells. The Rhongomyniad is likely to become a common secondary armament on many future Lucerne Labs starships. While it cannot match the ease of use or logistical convenience of the common turbolaser cannon, its sheer versatility is enticing to many operators, especially in multi-role designs.
