Moonsong is a rebuilt custom Ki-V1 Hoplite owned and flown by Sesshoseki Tamamo presently in the service of the ISC Phoenix.

A custom variation on the Ki-V1 "Hoplite" Variable-Configuration Fighter with the present notable differences of a lack of weapons, a light Durandium Alloy airframe and body with no transparent canopy, and an integrated Destiny "Queen" AI suite.

Light weight, agile, disproportionately powerful computer systems, good trainer unit.

• Air Support
• Ground Support
• Trainer Craft

The airframe is built in such a way as to allow Moonsong a sleek appearance , with a notably smoothed and almost organic airframe. Notably Moonsong lacks a distinct canopy due to the installation of a hard opaque replacement toward the centre of mass with most of the nosecone being packed with electronic and sensor systems. The hull is dotted with shallow divots featuring nodes housing full spectrum optic systems for visuals coupled with with her less mundane sensors.

Moonsong is generally shaped like a sleek swept wing aircraft relying largely on her huge amount of thrust and gravity systems to take to the air at low speeds. The bottom of her airframe is host to a pair of large fusion thrusters that are capable of alternating between air breathing, ramjet, and closed system for out of atmosphere engagements. Along the lengths of each engine are small circular apertures which are used to vector thrust for maneuvering purposes. These form the 'legs' of the craft when out of its typical airframe mode.

Balancing the bulk of the main engines is a supplementary twinned pods of fusion engines and maneuvering thrusters that sit atop the wings providing additional thrust and space to store load-outs of utilities or weapons as required. Nestled along the centre-line of the Hoplite are the arms folded close against the airframe and usually where the main guns are mounted.

Due to the minimal area of the 'wing' hardpoints are instead typically affixed to the engine pods clear of the maneuvering thrusters allowing for additional weaponry to be mounted if needed.

The body is painted a dull, matte grey-white with darker grey detailing, the stark colour scheme broken only near the cockpit where a pin-up is painted; a golden haired and golden furred nekomata Nekovalkyrja wearing an adapted and recoloured cyan and dark grey miko outfit.

Originally acquired by Luca Pavone in a salvage giveaway during a holiday event the damaged Hoplite spent a time within the Cargo Bay of the Crimson Kestrel collecting dust largely unused before being discovered by Sesshoseki Tamamo. Upon her integration with the crew proper she set about restoring and reconstructing the Hoplite with the help of the crew's engineer Allison Kelly, and Luca Pavone's daughter Vitalia Pavone.

Due to the heavily damaged state of the Hoplite, 95% of its mass had to be replaced and fabricated from scratch, the history of the vessel lost within its dead computer that was disassembled and recycled as scrap. A large amount of work was put into fitting the hefty bulk of a Destiny Queen computational suite into a vessel that it had not been designed for however the decision to strip out and replace the traditional cockpit with a more compact coffin-like space for the pilot freed up a large portion of space allowing the more robust computing facilities to be squeezed into the airframe.

Being built and machined from the ground up out of Durandium Alloy allowed for a much lighter construction at the cost of fragility compared to the ruined Zesuaium. As a consequence however the vessel was built by hand piece by piece and as such the familiarity afforded to its owner allows for more thorough and faster maintenance as no aspect of the craft is unknown.

While little of the original vessel remains, the functional components and intended function of the vessel have largely remained the same, allowing the Hoplite to still preform in much the same manner as its aging kin.

Moonsong went through her maiden combat flight on Kennewes during the events of Mission 4 of the ISC Phoenix where her agility paid off keeping her pilot safe and largely untouched in the face of anti-starship weapons fire.

• Class: Ki-V1 Custom
• Type: Custom Variable-Configuration Fighter
• Designers: WickedArms Corporation, Sesshoseki Tamamo
• Manufacturer: Sesshoseki Tamamo, Allison Kelly, Vitalia Pavone, Echelon
• Fielded by: ISC Phoenix

Crew: 1 operator is recommended, 1 is required.

Maximum Capacity: There are accommodations for 1 person. About 2 people might fit aboard in an emergency, but the Hoplite would be extremely cramped.

• Length: 16 meters (52 feet)
• Width: 10 meters (32 feet)
• Height: 3.35 meters (10 feet)

• Continuum Distortion Drive: 5000c
• Speed (Running, S-Config): 300 mph
• Speed (Flying, S-Config): Mach 2 (670 mph/1072 kmph)
• Speed (Flying, I-Config): Mach 5
• Speed (Flying, F-Config): Mach 45+
• Range: Interstellar
• Lifespan: 2 Years
• Refit Cycle: Once every three months, and after every sortie.

• Hull: 20ADR Durandium
• Shields: – (Threshold -)

Designed with function and safety in mind rather than humanoid comfort, as such Moonsong's interior space is minimal consisting only of a a small claustrophobic padded durandium coffin. The interior of this coffin is sculpted to cradle the pilot's body and naturally sets them in position to interact with the makeshift SPINE interface, as well as a pair of key pads where the hands of the pilot would naturally rest forming the extent of Moonsong's traditional interface.

Lacking any gravity projection systems apart from inertial negation, the interior of the coffin features many straps that form a harness intended to secure the pilot into position allowing them to safely remain in place even if the coffin is struck violently. or in zero-g. Notably there are no visual aids in the coffin, being lightless, making the interior an unpleasant prospect to most pilots.

Life support within the coffin is minimal featuring only atmospheric scrubbers and temperature control ensuring that the pilot remains within comfortable if not particularly noteworthy conditions while in operation. The only other notable feature lies beneath the leg area of the 'seat.' there is a hidden compartment large enough to store an smAR/Fatboy, and a large medical kit or survival kit that forms the entirety of Moonsong's normal storage capacity.

Unlike a stock Hoplite, Moonsong features a durandium frame and hull affording it impressive agility, and light weight at the cost of the majority of its defence.

Moonsong's primary powerplant consists of a replicated KG-671 Zero-Point Energy Generator based off of old schematics for the unit, with minor alterations and the inclusion of a few generic parts that increase the efficiency and reliability of the aging generator design by incorporating modern advancements in generator design in tandem with the venerable design.

Through ingenuity and stubbornness an Origin Destiny “Queen” AI suite has been installed into the interior of the Hoplite providing computing systems as well as assistance for the pilot.

Laid out in a decentralized regular pattern are nodes which house the sensors that the Hoplite uses to observe its environment. These sensors are quite varied covering optic, microwave, RADAR, LIDAR, infrared, subspace, terahertz, x-ray, and gamma portions of the EM spectrum.

Moonsong is equipped with a decentralized network of high capacity hyper-capacitors that are capable of providing up to ten minutes of emergency power at optimal performance levels, usually more than enough to get the Hoplite grounded in the event of generator failure.

In addition the forward section of Moonsong's airframe is hardened designed to be detached from the engines, and core body in the event of an emergency turning the main computer and cockpit into a drop pod of sorts designed to avoid being destroyed should the engines, generator, or weapons payload critically fail. To aid in this the forward section of the Hoplite is fitted with gravitic systems and part of the hyper-capacitor network allowing minor maneuvering capacity and the ability to cushion an impact to protect the main computer and pilot.

In the worst case the coffin-like cockpit can be ejected on its own, the armored casing designed to be impact resistant as well as incorporating the entirety of the Hoplite's life support systems allowing the pilot to safely survive even re-entry assuming that the cockpit isn't heavily damaged before hand.

The life support systems included in Moonsong's design are minimal in comparison to other space craft, featuring little beyond air scrubbers, and heat management systems that keep the atmosphere within the cockpit within ideal ranges for the pilot. The only modern convenience is an inertia cancelling system that prevents outside forces from turning the pilot into a paste during high G maneuvers.

Twin Fusion Engines

Largely restored versions of the original Hoplite's twin fusion engines Moonsong features only superficial changes to the construction featuring generic parts and limited upgrades to increase the lifespan of components and their efficiency. While this provides no notable improvement upon the original engine design it makes them inexpensive to service and repair.

Secondary Engines

A secondary pair of fusion engines has been installed on the 'back' of the Hoplite providing additional thrust as well as a cluster of maneuvering thrusters on the ventral and dorsal sections that provide additional high thrust options for precision movement in combat and aid with docking in space. These engines are mechanically identical to the original fusion engines. In soldier mode these form a 'backpack' for the Hoplite.

Gravity Drive

Another legacy system that was only superficially altered from the original design, the Hoplite features a decentralized gravitic drive that primarily works to reduce the inertial forces expressed upon the airframe. Apart from inertial cancelling the drive provides the capability of creating a collapsing gravity anomaly that allows the Hoplite to 'fall' in any direction it pleases with a maximum output of 100Gs.

• None at this time.

Eistheid created this article on 2015/08/25 08:59.

Made an attempt at art finally. Go me.

Approved on 2016/03/18 23:09