The Rebel Faction

Lighter Cloaking Drive (Seren Ship Tech)

The Lighter Cloaking drive is a mark improvement over the previous drives in that it use's less power, provides longer cloaked time and also hides the ship better from enemy sensors and visual.

The Effect this drive gives off when cloaking however is very unique, and recognizable, a redish electrical current will flow over the ship cloaking it as it goes. This effect also contributes to it's fear factor.

This process is accomplished due to heat sinks placed around the ship to capture the heat being generated by the cloaking drive; this heat is kept between the hull and space. The heat sinks that come with this drive are able to hold up to at least ten hours of consecuetive heating, or over four days if just running on stealth systems and not the cloaking itself. However, if the ship remains cloaked for longer than ten hours, then there is a risk that the cummulated heat will cook the crew alive.

What make's the drive, however, more superior is the fact that unlike the older one's that used the ships own drive core to move the vessel while cloaked. This drive core is, instead, an engine in and of itself.

The drive, as just mentioned, is a cloaking drive but also a stealth drive. The stealth drive operates on the same function as the cloaking drive, except instead of cloaking the vessel, it merely renders it invisble to enemy sensors. It can, however, still be spotted by visual, but it becomes much harder. The Stealth Drive is a seperate 'engine' attached to the main Lighter Drive, this contributes to why the drive can't be removed from a ship by force without severing or destroying vital componants. It use's reduced power for the engines, allowing the ship to cruise at half it's normal speed, but yet have a much lower signature.

Another improvement over the previous drive's is how the crew inside of a cloaked vessel can 'see'. Before they relied on sensor data that was transmitted to the navigation terminal and from there they could plot a course. Now over, thanks to improvements in the cloaking field and sensors, the ship no longer has disadvantage of only seeing a couple hundred feet in front. They are now capable of a full three sixty view of the ship. Depending on the design of the ship, this could either mean through holographic technology, or from a bridges viewport.

Along with the improvement over cloaking time, reduced power consumption, improved sensor disruption. The ship is also more capable of firing while cloaked and remaining cloak, but the ship still decloak's briefly everytime it fires, this is a process that so far can't be fixed.

Certain 'special' drives exist in this drive core. Along with a phased cloaking drive that allows a ship to pass harmlessly through matter (like an asteriod field) but can't be operated when near a gravity well (like a planet or sun)

Do note: The following are additional componants that are 'not' included in the original Lighter Drive. These are only 'added' if requested, meaning, unless the RnD specifies that has that componant, then it just a normal 'Lighter Cloaking Drive'

*The Phase Drive was developed originally for the mining operations utilized on the outer rim, its development allowed miners to phase explosives into an asteriod and then dephase them, destroying the asteroid and thus allowing miners to access the minerals more easily. The Phase Drive, while still used in that capacity, was redesigned for combat use. However, due to it being very unstable, energy weapons and projectiles will pass cleanly through the ships phase field, however concussion torpedo's and other 'sonic' based weaponry can disrupt the field and either destroy the ship outright, or kill its crew in an instant. While the application of this drive is mainly onboard a ship, it could potentionally be used in another, more devastating way, of allowing a bomb to be phased into another ship and detonated within. However, this would require the target ship to be standing 'still', meaning a moving ship would be immune to this type of an attack. Though the power requirements make this component only usable on specific ships.

*Personel Cloaking Device was developed on the same technology as the phase cloaking drive, the difference however is an increased power usage, lower lifespan of the unit, and longer cooling times. The Personel Cloaking Device allows special operations units to phase through a solid wall. This however has it's own risks. Much like it's starship based cousin, the phased part of this drive is subseptible to concussion granades and other concussive forces.

*Mini-Ordanance Cloaking Units are designed for use on torpedo's and other small ordanances, this allows a missile, torpedo or bomb to be deployed while cloaked. This particuler cloaking device is different from the rest, because the unit it operates on is smaller, it doesn't need a cloaking field to be so large. This allows the unit to operate while cloaked for an extended period of time, decloaking only once every couple seconds to reaquire a target lock. These types of units are typically found in heavier ordanances, like anti-capital ship torpedoes, at current these drives do not work in the MAC gun's ammo shells, this is due to the tremendous speeds that the shells are fired at.

*Station Cloaking still exists with this drive, however, at a much higher level. Because the stations possess reactor core's that are far more powerful than those found in starships, the stations are more than capable of remaining cloaked at longer periods of time. While this also means more heat build up, the stations typically have heat sinks located in areas that allows them to vent safely and away from enemy sensors.

Note: The station cloaking and phased cloaking can 'not' be present on the same drive, this is due to conflicting circuits and programming. Because of that, only one, or the other, can exist on a drive.

As a part of the security features of the drive, the ships that house it must be built around the drive itself. In the event of a possible boarding, the bridge crew can opt to fry all the drives curcuits, this includs those leading to the engine drive that's attached to the cloaking drive itself.

The drive also has it's own set of 'motion' sensors built into it, meaning that only authorized personnel are allowed to service the unit, in the event someone 'not' authorized is inside the drive then an electrical current is sent down the wires that the person is touching. The shock can range from just a small sore, to instant death.

In order to service the drive, a person qualifed must be present (for the most part this surrounds Serendivus personnel and anyone they train) however, for serious drive damage, the ship must visit a Seren shipyard for repairs. While the drive can't be swapped out for another, it can be repaired on site by a specialized team of technicians and mechanics.

As a precaution, some ships might have a Lighter Drive that's equiped with a 'guard' program. This program maintains a live connection to the bridge, in the event connection is lost (either due to the bridge being destroyed, or the connection itself is cut somewhere) the drive will auto-cloak the ship and override navigational control and plot a course on an emergency jump vector.

IC Summery:

It take's a full week for one drive to be created - they can't be mass produced due to complexity. While the outer shell 'can' be made without the interfence of human or organic hands, the delicate circuitry involved require's a firm touch.

Concussion weapons, as mentioned, are a phase cloak's worst enemy as it disrupts the space around the phase 'bubble'.

The Phase Drive can allow an object to pass through asteriods and other 'small' bodies of mass, this includs small ships like frigates, carriers and cruisers. Due note, dreadnaughts and super star destroyers are immune and can't be phased through. Moons and planets (and battle stations like the death star) can't be phased through due to their immense MASS and the fact they generate their own gravity.

As a note of worthy: The Phased Drive is still in it's infancy, and thus, it's usage is highly limited. Due to this, only a few specific ships can use it.

OOC Summery:

Because of how complex the drive is, it isn't possible for current Serendivus ships to just return to the nearest shipyard and be refitted, only new RnD'd ships and those with modified RnD's can be equiped with this drive. (In short, that includs the upcoming modification for the Shadow)