John Locke
V U L K A N
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[SIZE=9pt]The Bug[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]([/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]X[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt])[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Small and basic the bugs have only one purpose, to land on a droid or suit of armour and use it’s stinger to pierce an electronic system. With this accomplished the bug then opens up a comms channel back to the Hive while it holds on for dear life. The Bugs are a cheap and effective way of bypassing the comms security that most droids and armour systems possess.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]The idea for the bugs came while John Locke was at one of the droid clinics he regularly holds, one of the droids brought in had stopped working, though it’s owner couldn’t figure out way. As it happened the droid had wandered near to a nest of insects and they had swarmed it, some of them even managing to get inside it’s chassis, short circuiting the electronics. It wasn’t a difficult fix for John, but the idea stayed with him, those bugs can really get everywhere. He was familiar with the idea that a small droid, like a bug was capable of sneaking into places no-one ever thought it might. The idea sat in the back of his head until one of his assistant’s gave him a summary of a recent conflict manned by a primarily droid force. Increasingly combat across the galaxy utilises an increasing number of droid combatants, with good reason. Droids are less susceptible to environmental factors and don’t get tired or require food and drink making logistics much simpler. Furthermore, pain or threats will not stop a droid combatant. Yet for all their advantages they are, at the end of the day mechanical beings and are vulnerable to the same pitfalls that all droids would have a weakness to, hacking, emps and yes, even bugs.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]When designing the bugs themselves there was no need for anything fancy, the drones don’t need to be able to defend themselves, don’t need to be able to adapt to fill any other roll. All they need to do is find a weak spot where they can access the electronics of another droid or suit of armour. The concept draws heavily on the [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Scarab Assassin Droid[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt], something small and unarmoured. Instead of relying on a chemical weapons package the bugs contain little more than basic sensors and programming and a wireless communications unit. They can fly and crawl over you until they find a point to access any electronic, creating a communications link back to the hive which it can then use to hack into the suit’s systems while bypassing the standard security that most comms systems use to protect the user.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]There are several disadvantages held by the bugs, first and foremost amongst them is their lack of armour. The drones are very easily destroyed, which is why they are often deployed in swarms instead of as a single attack vector. The idea is to overwhelm an opposing unit rather than send a smaller number of capable units against them. The bugs also have a limited lifespan and a limited range. They aren’t built to be able to provide a long term vector for attack, but rather as a means to provide a temporary work around for the hive. The central concept of the system revolves around the fact that most people build very heavily into communication defences, preventing access by enemies through the comms systems. A physical link into the system would bypass that security however, allowing the Hive unimpeded access to the compromised unit’s systems. At it’s best this can allow the Hive to disable the security systems, meaning that even if the bug comes loose or runs out of power control over the armour/droid can be maintained. At the worst case the unit’s systems can be compromised, providing allies with an advantage on the battlefield.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]The Hive[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]The Hive is the second component of the system, providing the heavyweight punch to follow up the bugs. It is a large droid brain built with only one use in mind, to hack into and either take control of or neutralize enemy electronic systems. Locke and Key, when designing the Hive, went back to the Freyja communications system, utilising the ability of the system to generate multiple networks to provide a dataflow from the bugs and compromised units it might have in the area. The designers knew that the processing power, and power requirements of the Hive would be immense, and so rather than try to house the hive in a droid’s body, rather than give it the issue of having to manage a body and worry about that the engineers designed the hive as a stand alone unit.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]This had an additional advantage, at its core the Hive is a series of connected gigantic droid brains designed with only one purpose, handling the breaking and control of enemy units. The idea for the Hive came from the [droid brain] produced by EED that Locke and Key gained access to. The original brain allowed for the easy hand of of data and processes from one droid brain to another, and that they realised was exactly what they wanted to use. The idea was for a tactical brain to control the bugs, direct them towards targets before passing over the connected bugs to a mathematics/slicer brain to crack their system and set up control before passing back to the tactical brain for use.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]By creating a stand alone Hive unit the power and processing ability of the unit could be increased since it didn’t have to allow for any other processes or systems. However, that much computing power in one place would run hot, and for that reason the Hive wasn’t armoured or shielded, te system would melt down if it was.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Intent:[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] To create a special project for Locke and Key’s, and a droid that can potentially neutralise or turn enemy droids and armour against their owners.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Image Source: [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt](Please link to where you found the image, or to the original artist if possible. TinEye or Google Image Search can help.)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Canon Link: [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]N/A[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Primary Source: [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]N/A[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Manufacturer:[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] Locke and Key Mechanics[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Model:[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] The Hive[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Production: [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Mass Produced[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Affiliation: [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Closed-Market[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Modularity:[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] No[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Material: [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Durasteel, electronics[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Classification: [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Second Degree,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Weight: [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Drone: 30g Hive 50kg[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Height:[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] Drone: 10cm; Hive 1m[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Movement[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]: Drone: wings and 6 feet, Hive, none.[/SIZE]
Armaments: Drone: stinger comp connection Hive nonce
[SIZE=9pt]Misc. Equipment: [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Droid Brain, Hermes, Gabonna Memory Crystals[/SIZE]
- Able to hack into and compromise armour and droids across a large area.
[SIZE=9pt]Capable of hacking into vulnerable armour and droids with the purpose of subverting them or shutting them down.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Able to hack into multiple systems at once on a battlefield.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Hive unit is large and unwieldy[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Bug Drones are very weak and easily destroyed, they have to swarm targets to be sure of getting to them.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Bug Drones can’t be sure of which system they hit, necessitating multiple drones per unit.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Hive unit is un armoured and unshielded, making it very vulnerable to damage or overheating.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]The Bug[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]([/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]X[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt])[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]Small and basic the bugs have only one purpose, to land on a droid or suit of armour and use it’s stinger to pierce an electronic system. With this accomplished the bug then opens up a comms channel back to the Hive while it holds on for dear life. The Bugs are a cheap and effective way of bypassing the comms security that most droids and armour systems possess.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]The idea for the bugs came while John Locke was at one of the droid clinics he regularly holds, one of the droids brought in had stopped working, though it’s owner couldn’t figure out way. As it happened the droid had wandered near to a nest of insects and they had swarmed it, some of them even managing to get inside it’s chassis, short circuiting the electronics. It wasn’t a difficult fix for John, but the idea stayed with him, those bugs can really get everywhere. He was familiar with the idea that a small droid, like a bug was capable of sneaking into places no-one ever thought it might. The idea sat in the back of his head until one of his assistant’s gave him a summary of a recent conflict manned by a primarily droid force. Increasingly combat across the galaxy utilises an increasing number of droid combatants, with good reason. Droids are less susceptible to environmental factors and don’t get tired or require food and drink making logistics much simpler. Furthermore, pain or threats will not stop a droid combatant. Yet for all their advantages they are, at the end of the day mechanical beings and are vulnerable to the same pitfalls that all droids would have a weakness to, hacking, emps and yes, even bugs.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]When designing the bugs themselves there was no need for anything fancy, the drones don’t need to be able to defend themselves, don’t need to be able to adapt to fill any other roll. All they need to do is find a weak spot where they can access the electronics of another droid or suit of armour. The concept draws heavily on the [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Scarab Assassin Droid[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt], something small and unarmoured. Instead of relying on a chemical weapons package the bugs contain little more than basic sensors and programming and a wireless communications unit. They can fly and crawl over you until they find a point to access any electronic, creating a communications link back to the hive which it can then use to hack into the suit’s systems while bypassing the standard security that most comms systems use to protect the user.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]There are several disadvantages held by the bugs, first and foremost amongst them is their lack of armour. The drones are very easily destroyed, which is why they are often deployed in swarms instead of as a single attack vector. The idea is to overwhelm an opposing unit rather than send a smaller number of capable units against them. The bugs also have a limited lifespan and a limited range. They aren’t built to be able to provide a long term vector for attack, but rather as a means to provide a temporary work around for the hive. The central concept of the system revolves around the fact that most people build very heavily into communication defences, preventing access by enemies through the comms systems. A physical link into the system would bypass that security however, allowing the Hive unimpeded access to the compromised unit’s systems. At it’s best this can allow the Hive to disable the security systems, meaning that even if the bug comes loose or runs out of power control over the armour/droid can be maintained. At the worst case the unit’s systems can be compromised, providing allies with an advantage on the battlefield.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]The Hive[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]The Hive is the second component of the system, providing the heavyweight punch to follow up the bugs. It is a large droid brain built with only one use in mind, to hack into and either take control of or neutralize enemy electronic systems. Locke and Key, when designing the Hive, went back to the Freyja communications system, utilising the ability of the system to generate multiple networks to provide a dataflow from the bugs and compromised units it might have in the area. The designers knew that the processing power, and power requirements of the Hive would be immense, and so rather than try to house the hive in a droid’s body, rather than give it the issue of having to manage a body and worry about that the engineers designed the hive as a stand alone unit.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]This had an additional advantage, at its core the Hive is a series of connected gigantic droid brains designed with only one purpose, handling the breaking and control of enemy units. The idea for the Hive came from the [droid brain] produced by EED that Locke and Key gained access to. The original brain allowed for the easy hand of of data and processes from one droid brain to another, and that they realised was exactly what they wanted to use. The idea was for a tactical brain to control the bugs, direct them towards targets before passing over the connected bugs to a mathematics/slicer brain to crack their system and set up control before passing back to the tactical brain for use.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt]By creating a stand alone Hive unit the power and processing ability of the unit could be increased since it didn’t have to allow for any other processes or systems. However, that much computing power in one place would run hot, and for that reason the Hive wasn’t armoured or shielded, te system would melt down if it was.[/SIZE]
