M E A T B A G
Intent: To create a Starfighter Interceptor for the Golden Company, and later the Thyrsian Hierarchy.
Image Source: Eve Online - Amarr Empire, Mentor/AwesomewallperperBlog. [x]
Canon Link: Solar Ionization Cannon.
Restricted Missions: If required.
Primary Source: Repurposed Canon Articles.
Manufacturer: Republic Engineering Corporation, The Thyrsian Hierarchy, The Golden Company. (Select, and Contracted Foundries.)
Model: TTH/SCI-001 "Sobek"- Pattern Interceptor.
Affiliation: The Thyrsian Hierarchy, The Golden Company, Closed-Market.
Production: Minor-Scale Production.
Material: Durasteel, Flexisteel, Armourplast, Reinforced Duraplast, Manganese Brass, Glasteel, Dallorian Alloy, Various Starfighter Components (Internal and External.)
Classification: Interceptor Starfighter.
Role: Light Escort, Reconnaissance, Multi-purpose Interceptor.
Length: 12 Metres.
Width: 10 Metres.
Height: 6 Metres.
Armament: Low Rating.
- [1] Twinned Solar Ionization Cannon [Chin-Mounted, Fire-linked, Stutter-Fire Capable.]
- [1] Nano-Missile Launcher Pod [Twenty Seeker NanoMissiles, Retractable Cowling.]
- [2] Rotary Blaster Turrets [Retractable Cowling, Port and Starboard-Mountings, Fast-Track Mountings, Fire-linked.]
- Standard Starfighter Deflector Array (Overlaid Ray and Particle Shields.)
- Standard Starfighter Armour and Hull Plating. (Extreme Small-Arms and Corrosion Resistance.)
- Standard Starfighter Countermeasures (Flares, Chaff, Various ECM, Etc.)
Maneuverability Rating: 80 DPF - Average Rating.
Primary Power Plant: Compact Fusion Reactor.
Secondary Power Plant: Solar Ionization Reactor with Retractable Collection Array(s).
Crew Complement (Optimal): One Pilot, One Integrated Droid Brain.
Crew Complement (Minimum): One Pilot, One Integrated Droid Brain.
Passengers: None.
Speed Rating: High Rating.
MGLT: 120 MGLT.
Maximum Atmospheric Speed: 1,300 Km/H (Higher speeds possible with Deflector's activated.)
Engine Count: Five Starfighter - Grade Drive Units.
Secondary Propulsion: Retractable Solar Sails and Maneuverable Wing Armatures.
Primary Hyperdrive Rating: Class 1.0 - Average Rating.
Secondary Hyperdrive Rating: Class 8.0
Cargo Capacity: 120 Kilograms (Survival and Maintenance Equipment.)
Consumables: One Week.
STANDARD FEATURES
- Standard [Military-Grade.] Sensor and Targeting Systems.
- Standard [Military-Grade.] Navigation and Avionics Systems.
- Standard [Military-Grade.] Communications Suite. (Encrypted with Thyrsian Military Keys.)
- Standard [Military-Grade.] Atmospheric Seals and Perfunctory Oxygen Scrubbers (Life Support Capable Flight Suit Required.)
- Standard [Military-Grade.] Subspace and HoloNet Transceiver(s).
- Standard [Military-Grade.] Inertial Compensators.
- Standard [Military-Grade.] VTOL Repulsorlift Antigravity System.
- Standard [Military-Grade.] High-G Shock and Ejector Seat, with Crash Webbing.
- Standard [Military-Grade.] Homing Beacon (Encrypted with Thyrsian Military Keys.)
- Standard [Military-Grade.] Gyroscopic Cockpit Module.
- Solar Ionization Cannons.
- Integrated Astromech Droid (Droid Brain.)
- Gyroscopic and Retractable Blaster Turret Mountings.
- Deployable Solar Sails: As with all Thyrsian Starfighters, the Sobek comes equipped with a pair of deployable Solar Sails that can extend from it’s central fuselage. These allowed the Interceptor to navigate through the stars without their Ion engines; allowing for the conservation of fuel and making the Sobek a difficult target to track. However, they only worked when there was an ample amount of solar winds to carry them forward.
- Integrated Blaster Turrets: Taking the turreted design from the Anhur, and the Horus - the Sobek is capable of creating an active interception screen in almost every direction around the starfighter - and adding another offensive method in which to carry out it’s duties. However, this turret fails in protecting the starfighter once a threat gets close towards the vessel’s outer hull - because the turrets were incapable of swinging through the metallic flesh.
- Countermeasure Suite: Fashioned with a state of the art countermeasure suite, the Sobek is capable of thwarting the myriad methods in which control of the warship could be taken away from the command crew.
- Limited Armament: As the focus of the Interceptor was poured into speed and maneuverability, there was little room for an extensive suite of armaments. The Sobek was outfitted with an acceptable minimum that struck an effective balance between speed and combat versatility. This technical equilibrium meant that the Interceptor would be woefully outgunned by any standard superiority fighter in a straight up dogfight.
- Fixed Solar Cannons: Due to the use of the retractable turrets and the deployable solar sails, there was little room for the twinned solar cannons to be mounted on a rotational turret. Therefore, while they are closer together and provide a better firing arc than the spread-wide weapons found on X-wing’s, they were sadly fixed forward. This design choice meant that the full lethality of the Sobek was incapable of being thrown at any hostile targets chasing close-behind.
- Solarized Weaponry: Exotic weapons, come with their own exotic quirks. While powerful in their own right, with the ability to bypass conventional shielding and melt durasteel, the Solar cannons were incapable of sustained operation in open space - without a star system to refuel their energy. Therefore, they’d bleed the reactor dry and leave the Pilot starving for choice when it comes to weaponry.
Designed and built in direct defiance of the Almera Accords, the “Sobek” was the first Starfighter Interceptor crafted by Thyrsian hands since their homeworld’s Military was forcibly dismantled by the Echani. As the Horus and Anhur patterns had fulfilled their respective roles as a Superiority fighter and an Assault Bomber - there was a significant gap in the Golden Company’s battlefield roles. Thus, in collaboration with the technicians at the Republic Engineering Corporation, the Thyrsian Enclave was able to develop a capable Interceptor to deploy alongside their other fighters and prove themselves as masters of void warfare. The overall aesthetic design was eerily similar to the other Starfighters currently in service to the outfit of Sun Guards, which allowed the mercenaries a sense of anonymity when deployed against new, or unprepared foes. Knowledge was power, after all, and in denying such a boon to enemy pilots would mean more enemy causalities and a greater take - after the job was finished.
Unlike the Horus or the Anhur, the Sobek’s primary focus was on attaining a considerably higher speed factor - so that it was able to outpace its various counterparts and carry out its duties accordingly. This increased factor meant that much of the Starfighter’s internal and external hardpoints were devoted to maneuvering thrusters and fusial drive units; so that the vessel was capable of intercepting enemy fighters or hostile munitions, long before they reached their intended destinations. However, with this increased speed factor, there came an interesting choice in regards to the placement of the Sobek’s primary weapons. Similar to how the TIE series kept their laser cannons tight when mounted beneath the cockpit, the Interceptor follows that storied pattern - as that meant there was little chance of the vessel’s shots going wide. Something that was seen time and again during galactic history.
While the Horus and Anhur have an external turret that acts as a miniaturized, active-interception array - the Sobek comes outfitted with two such turrets, but are instead mounted internally and on opposite sides of the starfighter. This design choice allowed for the Interceptor to carry out its duties with an extreme level of effectiveness; since both turrets could independently track two targets and work to destroy them. As an added bonus, these turrets would be capable of counteracting the implemented flaw of the primary fixed weapons, since these retractable turrets were capable of shooting down almost every hostile craft or targeted projectile that was within sight.
Therefore, through a combination of arcane technologies and modern advances, the Sobek would prove to be a deadly addition to the burgeoning Thyrsian war machine.
