Xenedine Corporation Xc-V3-2X Prototype Aero/Spacy Superority Fighter “Artemis”
The Artemis is a modified version of a YE 24-era Hoplite-class variable starfighter. Its purpose is limited, as the fighter itself does not belong to Xenedine Corporation. Using parts from old and damaged power armor from Ketsurui Fleet Yards (via defunct WickedArms Industries equipment), Phoenix Arms Corporation and Geshrinari Shipyards, as well as proprietary parts, the Artemis acts as a high-speed, 2-seater transport. Weapons were specifically left out of the project, so as not to rise the ire of KFY, but the moniker “superority fighter” stuck because the unit could still be considered a fighter under the laws of various empires.
Xc-V3-E2900 Flight Assisting Redundant Computer Xc-V3-P2900 Triple Continuum Distortion Drive (based off KiE-v2444cdd) Xc-V3-P2900 Gravimetric Propulsion Drives Xc-V3-W2900 Light-to-medium yield Plasma Cannons Xc-V3-S2900 Compact Sensor Suite Xc-V3-C2900 Hyper/subspace Communication Suite Xc-V3-T2900 Transponder Redirection System Xc-V3-G2900 Aetheric Generator Suite + Capacitor (based on the Lamia's aetheric tap) Xc-V3-D2900 Energy Shield Pod Xc-V3-L2900 Life Support Array
Simple plasma cannons. Though not a terribly effective weapon, they give the Artemis some level of armament, since the old arm-mounted scalar cannons were removed to be sure to conform to Yamatai tech restrictions. Their power level ranges depending on the setting chosen by the pilot.
Armed with eight internal missile launchers, the Ki-V1 packs a hidden extra punch. The launchers are mounted in the forward dorsal and forward ventral sections of the craft and have pairs of exit ports on the top and bottom of the wings near the engine nacelles. Designers left the launchers on the Artemis, seeing no reason for their removal. The missiles were new enough, their shelf-life able to last long enough.
Outer Armor: Zesuaium-coated titanium carbide (Armor Rating 9) plates over most of the crucial areas. The spare diamond-coated aluminum carbide (Armor Rating 4) was used to help extend the cockpit to provide for a second seat. Tiny cameras on the outside of the cockpit and holograms inside the back half provide the illusion of a fully transparent cockpit.
Energy Shield Pod (Shield rating 7): A basic energy shield, fit in the place where the old gun pod used to be on the Hoplite. Based on the Zyro Shield system from the Ge-L2-1a Sojourner Medium Transport. Though not as advanced technologically as a CFS's warping shield, it takes nearly six times the punishment than an NDI XF-14 or -21, ensuring that though the Artemis might not be able to damage a power armor, the power armor will have an equally difficult time damaging it. Instead of just one shield unit, however, Kobayakawa had the idea of creating redundant generators using the multiple generators to be installed later.
The pod, which was several meters long, made it easy. The pilot is able to control both shield generators, putting them up both at once or saving one in reserve.
Note: Because the Shield Pod is in place of the old Gun Pod, it is detachable. Magnetic claps can be activated along the top of the fighter in intermediate mode or on the back in soldier mode to keep the Shield Pod with the fighter.
Conformal ADN Device: The version of the Psionic Signal Control device before it arrived at its current state. It is a form of psionic and telepathic protection, capable of nullifying all such activity. The device can selectively allow channels to permit secure telepathic operation and to maintain communication even under psionic attack.
The Conformal ADN devices also negate 'magical' attacks and effects. This device is safe enough to remain active at all times, unlike older “ADN” devices. The field generated by Conformal ADN engulfs and protects the Artemis entirely, extending out two inches outward of the power armor to prevent the appearance of obvious psionic “dead zones”.
Modified canopy: The aluminum-carbide portion of the canopy is joined with the transparent portion to form a single unit. It shifts up and then slides back when opened.
Paint job: Originally a blue with white stripes, signifying its intended participation in the self defense force of Taiie, in the Bard Cluster. Kobayakawa painted it a silvery green, after the owner's eyes. However, after taking the unit for several test flights, the reflective paint was found to be distracting. Kobayakawa stripped the fighter of most of the paint and replaced it with a matte blue-black, but left some of the green paint in the form of two circles – one on top of each wing.
Cargo hold: With the removal of some of its older systems, the space directly below the cockpit was free to become a little cargo hold. It is accessed through a former maintenance hatch about 50 cm square outside of the craft beneath the cockpit. It holds about 1.5 square meters of cargo and is sectioned off to both the fore and aft by some of the aluminum plating from the old Lamia.
Cockpit: Comfortable blue fabric upholstery, not unlike a car's driver's seat, with three crossing straps buckling into a single buckle to hold the pilot into the forward seat (left shoulder, right shoulder, waist). Multi-colored controls are found on both sides of the pilot in the form of old-style banks of toggles, switches, buttons, dials and other devices.
The right tan-colored control stick is mounted on the right side, close enough to the chair that it can be held without any uncomfortable bending of the arm. The left control stick, also tan, is the same, but is shaped a little differently. Foot pedals can be found near the pilot's feet. The seat used to slide forward and backward a fair distance to allow a person to store cargo behind it, but now the seat is pretty much stuck in the forward position, with anything bigger than a lunch bucket being stowed in the cargo bay.
The flight stick, throttle and pedals can extend themselves about 45 cm, and the chair can rise up to accomodate a taller pilot.
Rear interior: The same upholstery, but a little bit more spacious, as it lacks controls. The seat can rise higher than the pilots if necessary, but normally it is the same height, much like a passenger liner. There's plenty of foot room, but only a dozen centimeters or so behind the seat, so resting is difficult.
Life Support Array: The system in the Hoplite was rather basic. With future projects in mind, a slightly fancier system was created. Activiating any of these systems is done with the helmet.
Control Arrays: Keeping in mind that the pilots of future projects might not be Nekovalkyrja with wicked-fast computation abilities, manual and mental controls were incorporated into the Artemis.
The two pedals at the pilot's feet control the microthruster strips on the wings. The right control panel has controls for weapons and sensors, while the left control panel has controls for the engines and shields. The forward control panel is essentially a large datapad, with a rotating screen and extending keyboard.
Right control stick: Carries four buttons on top of the stick facing the pilot, one hat and one trigger. Button 1 (yellow, left) triggers micro-missile fire, Button 2 (red, center down) activates communication laser in a semiautomatic fashion, Button 3 (blue, right) triggers transformation modes and Button 4 (upper right, black below a small lid) initiates a quick shutdown of all systems (excluding vessel sealing and such). The hat is normally disabled; when engaged through the helmet, it allows for much the finer piloting needed for docking and such. The trigger, when weapons are activated, fires the plasma cannons.
Left control stick: Carries one roller (facing port and starboard) and three buttons. The roller is for throttle control, the buttons (labeled 1, 3 and 2 from the port side) are pre-set maneuvers performed with the help of the FACR. The manuevers can be changed with the help of the forward control panel.
Flight-Assisting Redundant Computer (FARC): The power of quantum computers cannot be overestimated, but their availability was limited. AIES and CIES while desired (and calculated for in future projects) were not an option, so the next best thing was a homegrown biological computer, which engineer Yali Chen happened to know how to make. The computer came with a danger – it was not so much an AI as it was an live intelligence, a “soul” of its own – but it was a risk that had to be taken. Instead of relying purely on wireless transmission, which can be jammed, good old wires were routed from the unit to the most important systems (pilot control, power regulation and manueverability).
The new unit, according to Kobayakawa, seemed like a unnecessary addition to the targeting computers already installed in the Hoplite, but the two systems seemed to blend together without overlapping. The computer's independence was toned down substantially, focusing more on sensor management and data processing instead of a be-all, know-all, super-connected computer system.
Its personality was modeled after Yali, the only female designer/engineer of the group (no relation to famed Taisho Henry Chen), giving it a rather soft-spoken presence.
The FARC comes equipped with a multi-channel wide-band comm array that provides security and versatility. Among the types of communication supported are radio, laser, subspace, and hyperspace. Communications can be secured using basic Quantum Encryption technology, which (due to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle) allows the system to detect any monitoring attempts. However the system is also set up to utilize laser communication to its advantage.
The FARC includes:
Transponder Redirection System: A nifty little toy cooked up by Dine, replacing a normal ID transponder system. Though not of much use to the Star Army, which has little need to not identify its vessels, this small, paperback-book-size unit effectively cloaks the unit in an electronic disguise. Using its database of transponder signals, the TRS redirects ID inquiries to the database and shuffles different IDs until it finds a suitable one. That signal is then relayed back to the inquirer.
Part of the genius of the system is its intuitive nature. Understanding that obscure signals rouse more suspicion, not less, the TRS relies on sensor data and marginally used but common signals to create disguises. For instance, testing has shown that personal shuttles are often the best disguise, but sometimes courier services work well too, as several planetary systems among the YSE, NDI and NSE have seen Hoplite fighters converted to civilian craft.
The system is far from foolproof. Close investigations of the signals by more powerful computers (those found on warships, for example) would reveal them to be fakes. Pirate vessels however, with the right illicit equipment and trained personnel, could also figure it out. But most civilian and paramilitary vessels would probably not be able to tell.
Wide-Band Variable Optical Imaging Array (head): The majority of the sensor systems are located in the “head” of the fighter, including a high-resolution variable optical system capable of monitoring a very wide spectrum. By default, the system displays visual and infrared data. There is also a night-vision and ultra-violet mode. The Artemis has a gyroscopically-stabilized view of up to 300x magnification. Two spotlights on the “head” can be employed at night.
Time-Modulated Ultra-Wide Band Radar: Signals transmitted by UWB radars are pulses generated pseudo-randomly in time. They are only 0.1 nanoseconds in duration. The energy content in any conventional frequency band is below the noise, making TM-UWB transmission highly covert. TM-UWB has no carrier frequency or conversion, and because of the low frequency content of TM-UWB signals, they are capable of seeing through foliage and nonmetallic objects better than regular radar can. Ideal for atmospheric operations and nebulae. Range of about 100,000 km.
Tachyon Tracking System: FTL tracking system allows for precise targeting of targets that would normally be impossible to hit due to range and the limitations of standard sensory equipment. Range: 294,000 miles (473,177 km).
Gravimetric engines: The old fusion ramjets, reliable as they were, could not provide enough thrust compared to modern power armor. The gravimetric units were reworkings from the Lamia units, which had gravimetric auxiliary drives. As the ramjets took up most of the “legs” of the Hoplite, the tiny units of the Lamia were not big enough, so they were enlarged, keeping Phoenix Arms Corporation's XF-14 in mind as an example for engine size. Four units were installed, two for each leg (one for each foot piece). The engines draw a lot of power, but the aetheric generators provide more than enough.
Triple continuum distortion drives: The Artemis propels itself at speeds many times the speed of light by generating continuum distortions and nesting them around itselfto create asymmetric peristaltic fields. This allows it to travel thousands of times the speed of light. Distortion based systems allow it to stop or move nearly instantly because the Artemis has not “moved” in the traditional sense.
The three drives are slaved together but can be electronically severed by a command from the pilot. This allows for not only multiple speeds but back-up drives, as one drive is near the front of the vessel and the other two are placed close to the engines.
Atmospheric stabilizer fins: Small fins extend from behind the cockpit area and are at about a 40-degree angle from the wings of the vessel (considered 0 degrees) and are about 1 meter long. These help manueverablility at above-sonic speeds.
Redundantly served variable-sweep wings: An easy addition, due to the increase interior space left open by the now-tossed fusion ramjets. Realizing that the Hoplite's variable-sweep wing system was aged some, Kobayakawa designed a redundant replacement – the hydrualic servos were given a bit of a makeover, using Pico-Jelly instead of the refined water/paste that was in there before. This gave the servos much more life, but Kobayakawa's other addition involved good ol' springs and robotic arms drawn by cams. The arms, partially surrounded by a cammed shell, rotate in an emergency to draw the wings back in.
Aetheric Generators and Capacitor System: The most important part of any vessel is its powerplant(s). Reliance on the old Zero-Tap Energy system the Hoplite normally carries was deemed infeasible; powering the numerous systems of the Artemis was going to take more.
Six aetheric generators – four modified and two created from scratch, all sized for power armor – were slaved in the center of the vessel. Producing roughly 24 times the power of the Zero-Tap, the generators work together or independently to power the vessel's engines, life support, weapons, shields and so on.
Redundancy created the idea for six small generators instead of one large generator. The six smaller units allow one or two to be rerouted to other functions (such as solely powering the shields)
The capacitor system for the Hoplite was completely torn out and redone so the generators could be supported properly. Instead of a single system linking everything together, two systems were created – one acted as the standard “filter power from generators to x, y, and z” found on any starship. The second involved direct routes – Generator 1, when commanded, could feed its entire output to Engine 1, for instance. Two generators are directly routed to the Energy Shield Pod and one to each engine, allowing for power to be immediately sent to those areas without overloading circuits that could go to other systems.
The open vents for the old fusion turbofans were given shutters, so they can still be opened to let air through over the gravimetric engines, but it's mostly to refresh the air supply.
Yamatai's military forces, especially the Star Army, rely on small mecha known as power armor for their main fighting unit. These power armor are incredibly complex packages of weapons, defensive measures and amazingly small electronics. The power armor has generally replaced nearly all other units in combat, especially air units. However, while mecha vs. mecha battles are chiefly dominated by Yamatai, mecha vs. starship battles rarely favor the power armor, even the anti-starship-minded Mindy.
The only starfighter at Yamatai's disposal at the time was the rare Uriko, a torpedo bomber piloted by Nekovalkyrja, but lacking the sophisticated SLICS system. Though it is outfitted with 17.7' torpedo, more than enough to wreck nearly any ship in existence, Yamatai essentially built itself out of vessels in its Expeditionary Fleets that could serve as a platform for it. Only one vessel – the Kyoto-class Carrier – had the capacity and support structure to field it, and the two updated Expeditionary fleets, the 1st and 5th, had very few carriers. The 3rd Expeditionary had none.
Enter an intrepid group of mechanics, engineers and designers based at Port Xenn, Yamatai. Most were civilian contractors when they were faced with an interesting dilemma – a Star Army officer had procured an old Ki-V1 Hoplite-class variable starfighter, the last model used by Yamatai forces. She needed a place to store it. The soldiers of the group were willing to store it, but the officer asked for it to also be a “mechanical project.” A Geshrin Nitô Heisho by the name of Kobayakawa Kanaye (means “zealot”) agreed (with the help of some excellent fish) to store the old fighter.
However, a rush of new armor developments that came shortly after the fighter was dropped off left few to spare working on the aged craft. It was relegated to a portable storage warehouse on the small garrison on the edge of Port Xenn. Kobayakawa hadn't forgotten the fighter, however, and about two weeks after the officer had dropped it off, he decided to go over it in his off time. His girlfriend had been cheating on him anyway.
As he explored the old fighter in the cramped, leaky storage shed (sea water rusts everything), an idea came to him. Several old and damaged M1-2B Lamia, weapons and all, were being retired and sent to armories across Yamatai as practice pieces. Port Xenn was lucky to get 20 of them. A fair amount of their technology was intact … and Kobayakawa knew not all of them were needed; five would give everyone plenty of practice.
He spoke to some of the contractors about his idea. Using four of the old Lamias, they could augment the old starfighter with relatively modern technology – better weapons, better electronics and generators, and so on. He came prepared with a list:
The ideas were sound enough for the contractors. One, a Nepleslian, immediately signed up for it; combined, the group had enough time between each its members to get the product done within a couple of months. They decided to form their own little company, more as a symbol than anything, after the last name of the Nepleslian chief contractor, James Dine (pronounced “Dean”) and their location. Thus, Xenedine Corporaton LLC was born.
Their first “product” was named in honor of the vessel it came from, after an old god of the era – “Artemis.” Though it was called a prototype, there were no plans to further its production.
However, Kobayakawa and Dine felt inspired by the project. This was a modification of an out-of-date fighter, of course. But the basic starfighter frame was still a sound design, and several other designs existed that could be drawn from. With three other contractors, Xenedine Corp. pursued the idea, with Kobayakawa securing surplus parts as they became available.
Written by Doshii Jun. Approved by Wes on August 21, 20061).
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