You skirt a puddling of glowing liquid, inspecting the Typhoon,which is somewhat proudly mounted in the middle launch slot...
Designed as a next gen slipfighter-that generation is now-it proved popular as a quick interceptor craft, and more than a few found their way into the civilian market as a joy ride. In combat, the Typhoon is nimble and light with its complicated net of gyro stabilized thrusters, its pilots preferring hit and run tactics to duking it out. The Typhoon is not overly dependent on either guns, armor or even out and out speed to win-the skill of the pilot helps turn the tiny craft into a vicious dogfighter, but leaves little room for error. Those few pilots who can truly be called veterans tend to be risk takers, hard lovers and problem drinkers-those who fly out and scope out hostile spots before their squad arrives in force, and those who bait missiles and guns to keep them off their friends. Their careers tend to be short and glorious.
Stats:
Piloting/+1
Marksmanship/+0
Reflexes/+3
Defense/+0
Guns/1xImperial Arms Plas-Lance (1d6+3 damage)
Ex/2xIncendio Arms 'Superhydra' Assualt Multi-Missile (2d6+6 damage)
Spec/This Typhoons advanced EMC, a recent addition, is a certain boon-once a mission, if a missile or missiles would lock on and strike you, you reroll all those during that turn, using your higher stat. This can be extended to another pilot, given them the same benefit.
'Stealth' Detector-Paranoid pilots everywhere sometimes construct these devices in their spare time to augment their own scanners, ostensibly to spot enemy slipfighters using subslip stealth arrays. They are not exactly proven to work-no one but the pilot sometimes know how they even work-but some swear they have saved lives.
This one seems to have been much better taken care of, and undergone a recent refitting-the guns are standard, fairly weak plasma lances (they have been freshly mounted), but the missiles are non-standard, 'Incendio' corporation Hydras. You've had a few of these fired at you over the course of the years, mostly by pirates. They're pretty nasty...you've heard of some pilots using the black market to smooth over what the Empire can't provide.
Not surprisingly, the armor shows little damage, the shield generator no sign of overcharge-except for a recent, quite large blowout through the port, right into the cockpit-about stomach level. It's been hastily welded and molded back, but the bleak spot is still there. You frown-looks like an explosive rail round took the last pilot who rode this one.
In fact, you feel the somewhat morbid urge to climb up into the cockpit yourself. After a moment of discomfort-it's quite cramped, possibly since the last pilot was a slimmer, shorter female-you settle in. It's interesting, that most of the internals are non factory standard. There seems to have been a few upgrades and frills added to it-notably a homemade broadband signal tracking jammer and a shoebox sized 'stealth' detector. Along with a gyro-stabilized cup holder, seat warmers and a custom stereo system.
Also, noticing the empty spots where pictures and mission notes were probably once tacked on the dash and hud, you come to the realization that this is quite likely the last fighter you heard about...before.
By all accounts, White Wing was utterly destroyed to the man. Only the one woman returned, and she died of her injuries not long after-her bird, though, seems to have survived.
Given the short life span of these craft, she must have been an amazing pilot to have returned through that mess with her Typhoon intact. Short one vital mistake, anyway.
Afterwards, you make a cursory inspection of the Blackweave...
While the Thunderchild is over the hill, the Blackweave Fighter/Bomber is one foot in the grave. An ancient vessel never truly phased out, this vessel occupies nearly every role imaginable-escort, resupply, recon,training, interdiction, strike force and more. Back in its heyday, it was purely used as a heavy bomber, a task which it still performs more or less admirably-these days, with Imperial supply lines running thin and systemic economic failure, the Blackweave is pressed into whatever task is available. At the very least, this slow and ungainly craft has some fans-it's sleek and classy retro shuttle hull is remarkably durable, remisicent of the Empires glory days, when they could afford such expenditure on a mass scale. It's day of striking terror into passing capital vessels is long past, but the Blackweave still flies nonetheless-though, Pilots often joke when they finally make it "C10" the Empire will fall.
Stats:
Piloting/-1
Marksmanship/-1
Reflexes/-1
Defense/+4
Guns/Imperial Arms Tri-Cannon (3d4 damage)
Ex/3xImperial Arms Wave-Pulse Missiles (1d5+2 damage), 4xImperial Arms Hullbusters (10% damage vs vessels)
Spec/The Blackweave is old, but well loved. It's defenses and marksmanship cannot be lowered due to crits, and if you roll that, the result is negated. It has an additional 30% resistance to all critical hits-you will likely fall to pieces before it does. It will always be repaired fully during missions.
There's not much to say. These things are battered and beaten and dirty and probably still fly as good as they did 1000 years ago, or whenever. It's fallen grandeur makes them interesting to look at, anyway. They are great for those still learning the game, being extraordinarily hard to stop.
These ones are not exactly factory fresh. You suppose the local militia 'donated' them. At least the original guns are in place-good old Tricannons, often removed and sold to better craft. Your first kill (simulated) was with such a weapon, and it was with them you learned all your marksmanship tricks.
It also has a few ancient wave pulse missiles and bizarrely, a full load of Hullbuster bombs-if you had a proper engineering team, they would have kitted you out properly for this mission. Then again, who knows if you might need a big boom on the mission?
Author
Topic: Heavenly Shades of Nightfall/Mission 1: Cold Hearth/Turn 1.3 Missing something (Read 7676 times)