The EMPIRE Project
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EMPIRE[size=4]
PROJECT
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EMPIRE[size=4]
PROJECT
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Background
The EMPIRE project is as old as the Empire itself, and has gone through several incarnations since the birth of the New Order. The EMPIRE project is charged with the protection and preservation of the Empire, at any cost. Works created under its banner include the first and second 'Death Star' battle stations, as well as the Sovereign and Eclipse Classes of Star Destroyers.
The latest, and perhaps most potent incarnation of the EMPIRE project was abord Bhindi Drayson's mobile development centre, the Arc Hammer. Under the eye of Yuri Katarn, the EMPIRE Project turned out several new weapons for the Empire, including a revived Dark Trooper program, the Spartan-II 'super' soldiers, and a number of shipborne weapons and defensces.
Since moving to Endor, the EMPIRE project has undertaken its most daring, and potentially rewarding, project to date. Their mission: to create for the Empire a number of warships that could be easily and (relatively) cheaply produced and crewed, and yet hold their own against more expensive, larger enemy vessels.
Working from a secret Endor base, code-named BLACK MANTIS, the EMPIRE team experimented with the very fabric of life, the darkest work known to be undertaken by the Empire thus far. The work paid off, however: the EMPIRE project has all but guaranteed that the New Order will remain dominant in this galaxy no matter what may befall her.
* * * * *
The following are technical specifications of Imperial warships developed by the EMPIRE Project for this date:
The EMPIRE Attack Ship is a new class of vessel for the Empire: entirely automated, the vessel has no living crewmembers, and as such can do away with the massive ammount of infastructure required to support a living crew. The EMPIRE's systems are run through a central computer, which acts under orders from the vessel's commander. While other droid-operated vessels exist, even within the Empire, the EMPIRE class if the first vessel to take this automation a step further.
Drawing inspiration from Emperor Palpatine's Shadow Droids, the EMPIRE makes use of cloned human brains, hardwired directly into systems. This gives the vessel peformance characteristics similar to crewed vessels, except that these brains do not require food or sleep, and operate at maximum efficiency constantly.
The EMPIRE is equipped with state of the art technology, including a cloaking device taken from the ill-fated TIE 'Phantom' project - a skipping device that allows the ship to both operate and see at the same time. While this does not make the vessel properly invisible, as with a traditional cloaking field, it makes her exceptionally difficult to target.
The SOa carries an Imperial wing (36 ships) of EMPIRE class starfighters on quick-launch pylons on its 'wings'. Other Imperial equipment, including Reactive and MultiTrack shielding, is also standard.
Specifics
The EMPIRE "SOa" ("Stand-Off") is best described as a 'next generation' warship. Lightly armed by traditional standards, boasting only 30 quad laser cannons for anti-starfighter defence, the SO carries a far more potent weapon. Two dozen long-barrel missile launchers, all forward facing, are mounted. These weapons are unlike traditional warhead launchers, however: they propell the warhead magnetically to extremely high speeds, sending it out from the ship undetected (traditional sensors scan for propellent trails). Long-range targetting systems, or an uplink to another vessel, allow proper targetting of the weapons. Once within close range (5 kilometres or less) of the target vessel, the warheads propellent ignites, sending them at high speed into the enemy vessel, and correcting for any targetting mistakes or movement of the enemy ship. By this time, the missiles are to close to be avoided. These missiles also carry a far greater payload than standard-issue warheads, and a single volley is able to cripple many smaller and mid-sized frigates and light cruisers.
The guns themselves are large, and as such the SOa carries little else in the way of defence. It can deal with enemy starfighters, but for defence against capital cruisers it depends upon its escorts. However, the SO is designed to be far removed from the battle, as it can strike at nearly unlimited range, and direct combat with enemy vessels is not expected. The SOa does carry a gravity well generator to prevent enemy vessels from jumping directly into weapons range of it.
The SOa is expected to be deployed on a limited scale to combat defensive fleets and stations.
[img]http://therebelfaction.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=658&stc=1[/img]
[size=3]Empire "SOb" [/size][size=3]Class Attack Ship[/size]
[size=3]Empire "SOb" [/size][size=3]Class Attack Ship[/size]
General Description
The EMPIRE Attack Ship is a new class of vessel for the Empire: entirely automated, the vessel has no living crewmembers, and as such can do away with the massive ammount of infastructure required to support a living crew. The EMPIRE's systems are run through a central computer, which acts under orders from the vessel's commander. While other droid-operated vessels exist, even within the Empire, the EMPIRE class if the first vessel to take this automation a step further.
Drawing inspiration from Emperor Palpatine's Shadow Droids, the EMPIRE makes use of cloned human brains, hardwired directly into systems. This gives the vessel peformance characteristics similar to crewed vessels, except that these brains do not require food or sleep, and operate at maximum efficiency constantly.
The EMPIRE is equipped with state of the art technology, including a cloaking device taken from the ill-fated TIE 'Phantom' project - a skipping device that allows the ship to both operate and see at the same time. While this does not make the vessel properly invisible, as with a traditional cloaking field, it makes her exceptionally difficult to target.
The SOa carries an Imperial wing (36 ships) of EMPIRE class starfighters on quick-launch pylons on its 'wings'. Other Imperial equipment, including Reactive and MultiTrack shielding, is also standard.
Specifics
Visually identical to the EMPIRE "SOa", the "SOb" ("Stand-on") varies vastly in her design. While the SOa is not intended to engage enemy vessels directly, that is the SOb's primary purpose. Slow and ponderous at sublight and hyperspace speeds, the SOb is designed to challenge larger enemy vessels and stations and win. Exceptionally well shielded, the SOb packs moderate to heavy armarment - but her incredible staying power allows her to dispatch similarly sized opponents with ease, and even challenge ships several times her size.
The computer/brain combo directs weapons to target the weakest spots of an enemy vessel, using dedicated energy receptors to detect weak spots in shield banks. Weapons systems are syncronized to fire so that the ship is, quite literally, always firing, throwing up a "wall of fire" that is often enough to quell even the bravest of enemy commanders. Too, the ship's shields and hull are so resilient to damage that even the most forceful of enemy attacks barely shakes the SOb. To further this physological advantadge, the SOb is specially equipped with an outer shield layer that, while offering little real protection, will project on enemy computers as a fully powered shield, no matter how low the true shields are.
The SOb is equipped with several layers of redundent shield generators and projectors, and two meters of reinforced, bonded hull plating to make it all but impevious to enemy assault. The SOb is designed to suppliment other capital ships, drawing fire and allowing more heavily armed vessels to offer the 'finishing blow', as it were.
The SOb is expected to be released on a limited scale to combat defensive fleets and stations.
[img]http://therebelfaction.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=659&stc=1[/img]
[size=3]Empire "SF" [/size][size=3]Class Starfighter
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[size=3]Empire "SF" [/size][size=3]Class Starfighter
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General Description
Designed to operate in tandem with the EMPIRE class capital ships, the EMPIRE fighter is equipped with the same cloaking device and droid/brain technology. The resulting fighter is a small, fast vessel with a seperate pilot and gunner, a first for the Imperial Fleet. This setup allows one brain to focus entirely on flying the vessel and evading enemy fire, while the other operates the weapons systems. It is expected that this will lead to an increase in both kill rates and pilot survival rates. Clone brains were drawn from the best Imperial pilots and gunners, respectively.
The EMPIRE fighter draws much inspiration from the TIE Interceptor: she is small, agile, fast, and easily destroyed. The idea is to overwhelm the enemy with craft and fire, as well as keep the production cost of the vehicle to a minimum. As such, the vessel is not equipped with a hyperdrive or shields, and depends upon a capital vessel for deployment. The EMPIRE fighter is only slightly smaller than the TIE Interceptor, but is significantly faster at sublight speeds, and because there is no real pilot aboard, can perform manouvers that would kill any humanoid.
Specifics
The EMPIRE "SF" ("Superiority Fighter") is designed with one goal: the destruction of enemy starfighters. Exceptionally swift and agile, the "SF" is designed to enter to establish clear Imperial superiority in space or atmosphere. Armed with a top and bottom turreted laser gattling cannon, the "SF" enters combat and, while one brain evades enemy fire, the other targets and destroys enemy fighters.
[/size] General Description
Designed to operate in tandem with the EMPIRE class capital ships, the EMPIRE fighter is equipped with the same cloaking device and droid/brain technology. The resulting fighter is a small, fast vessel with a seperate pilot and gunner, a first for the Imperial Fleet. This setup allows one brain to focus entirely on flying the vessel and evading enemy fire, while the other operates the weapons systems. It is expected that this will lead to an increase in both kill rates and pilot survival rates. Clone brains were drawn from the best Imperial pilots and gunners, respectively.
The EMPIRE fighter draws much inspiration from the TIE Interceptor: she is small, agile, fast, and easily destroyed. The idea is to overwhelm the enemy with craft and fire, as well as keep the production cost of the vehicle to a minimum. As such, the vessel is not equipped with a hyperdrive or shields, and depends upon a capital vessel for deployment. The EMPIRE fighter is only slightly smaller than the TIE Interceptor, but is significantly faster at sublight speeds, and because there is no real pilot aboard, can perform manouvers that would kill any humanoid.
Specifics
Visually identical to the "SF", the EMPIRE "AF" fighter is designed with a far different purpose: to target enemy capital cruisers. Trading some speed and her bottom-mount laser cannon for a weapons bay, the "AF" has advanced targetting systems to pick out weak spots in any enemy vessel's shields and syncrhonize fire between craft. The result is a fast and agile fighter/bomber capable of delivering significant payloads to enemy ships.
The "AF" comes with a drawback, however: due to her small size, she carries only enough ammunition for two runs, and after that time must return to her host vessel for a reload. Trials have deemed that the best approach is to launch one "AF" sqaudron (12 ships) at a time and have them target an enemy ship, with each consecutive wave building upon the damage done by the last.
Under a compitent commander, the "SF" fighters are capable of doing a great deal of damage to an enemy warship.
Designed to operate in tandem with the EMPIRE class capital ships, the EMPIRE fighter is equipped with the same cloaking device and droid/brain technology. The resulting fighter is a small, fast vessel with a seperate pilot and gunner, a first for the Imperial Fleet. This setup allows one brain to focus entirely on flying the vessel and evading enemy fire, while the other operates the weapons systems. It is expected that this will lead to an increase in both kill rates and pilot survival rates. Clone brains were drawn from the best Imperial pilots and gunners, respectively.
The EMPIRE fighter draws much inspiration from the TIE Interceptor: she is small, agile, fast, and easily destroyed. The idea is to overwhelm the enemy with craft and fire, as well as keep the production cost of the vehicle to a minimum. As such, the vessel is not equipped with a hyperdrive or shields, and depends upon a capital vessel for deployment. The EMPIRE fighter is only slightly smaller than the TIE Interceptor, but is significantly faster at sublight speeds, and because there is no real pilot aboard, can perform manouvers that would kill any humanoid.
Specifics
The EMPIRE "SF" ("Superiority Fighter") is designed with one goal: the destruction of enemy starfighters. Exceptionally swift and agile, the "SF" is designed to enter to establish clear Imperial superiority in space or atmosphere. Armed with a top and bottom turreted laser gattling cannon, the "SF" enters combat and, while one brain evades enemy fire, the other targets and destroys enemy fighters.
[img]http://therebelfaction.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=659&stc=1" alt="" />
[size=3]Empire "AF" [/size][size=3]Class Starfighter[/size]
[size=3] [/size] General Description
Designed to operate in tandem with the EMPIRE class capital ships, the EMPIRE fighter is equipped with the same cloaking device and droid/brain technology. The resulting fighter is a small, fast vessel with a seperate pilot and gunner, a first for the Imperial Fleet. This setup allows one brain to focus entirely on flying the vessel and evading enemy fire, while the other operates the weapons systems. It is expected that this will lead to an increase in both kill rates and pilot survival rates. Clone brains were drawn from the best Imperial pilots and gunners, respectively.
The EMPIRE fighter draws much inspiration from the TIE Interceptor: she is small, agile, fast, and easily destroyed. The idea is to overwhelm the enemy with craft and fire, as well as keep the production cost of the vehicle to a minimum. As such, the vessel is not equipped with a hyperdrive or shields, and depends upon a capital vessel for deployment. The EMPIRE fighter is only slightly smaller than the TIE Interceptor, but is significantly faster at sublight speeds, and because there is no real pilot aboard, can perform manouvers that would kill any humanoid.
Specifics
Visually identical to the "SF", the EMPIRE "AF" fighter is designed with a far different purpose: to target enemy capital cruisers. Trading some speed and her bottom-mount laser cannon for a weapons bay, the "AF" has advanced targetting systems to pick out weak spots in any enemy vessel's shields and syncrhonize fire between craft. The result is a fast and agile fighter/bomber capable of delivering significant payloads to enemy ships.
The "AF" comes with a drawback, however: due to her small size, she carries only enough ammunition for two runs, and after that time must return to her host vessel for a reload. Trials have deemed that the best approach is to launch one "AF" sqaudron (12 ships) at a time and have them target an enemy ship, with each consecutive wave building upon the damage done by the last.
Under a compitent commander, the "SF" fighters are capable of doing a great deal of damage to an enemy warship.
Comments
#12 2:06am 24/08/05
*shrug*
If first-generation technology was perfect...
#11 1:45am 24/08/05
[QUOTE=Demosthenes X]That's a stretch. There's little to no canon evidence of Jedi "taking over" people's minds - they can influence thoughts, yes, but only in the weak minded. They don't have the ability to run around making people do everything and anything they want, or else there would have been no rebellion.
It's also a good thing there aren't thousands of Jedi running around, isn't it?[/QUOTE]
True, a Jedi couldn't directly make it do whatever it wanted. But for instance, a Jedi COULD make it think certain things (i.e. make it think that Imperial ships are the enemy) thus sowing great confusion within the Imperial ranks.
I'm just pointing out a huge weakness in your ships.
#10 1:23am 24/08/05
That's a thought - can Jedi control droids?
#9 12:48am 24/08/05
960 meters and 6 meters, respectively.
#8 4:25pm 23/08/05
The only thing I am curious of is just how big each of these ships are. None of the descriptions note anything but generalities about size.
#7 5:12am 23/08/05
BTW, the only way C'Boath was able to control all the minds of the Chimera was because he had about twenty years worth of experience doing it to his own people. So unless you have a Jedi Master who has been controlling people for twenty years or so....
#6 4:23am 23/08/05
That's a stretch. There's little to no canon evidence of Jedi "taking over" people's minds - they can influence thoughts, yes, but only in the weak minded. They don't have the ability to run around making people do everything and anything they want, or else there would have been no rebellion.
It's also a good thing there aren't thousands of Jedi running around, isn't it?
#5 3:34am 23/08/05
No, seriously.
A powerful Jedi could very easily influence the minds of several dozens of these things.
#4 8:27pm 22/08/05
The luxury version comes with a ysalmiri holder for your cruises through space shared with those pesky jedi.
#3 8:20pm 22/08/05
It would also be ridiculously easily for Jedi to take control of the brains.
#2 7:03pm 22/08/05
Many soldiers- ie Desaria - would resist the wide-scale implementation of such technologies (the replacement of a platoon of men with forty droids) but would welcome a general deployment that would allow expansion of existing forces (30 humans/20 battledroids) et al....
#1 4:19am 22/08/05
I'm slightly more intimidated by the capitalizations, I must say. If the prequels have taught us anything, it is that droids serve no other purpose beyond comic relief, and make inefficient soldiers due to their penchent for being embarrasingly silly.
Seriously though, very interesting concept. I was kind of suprised to see a droid-heavy turn for your forces, considering it was back when I introduced Panacea that Simon and his fellow High ranking Imperial types snarkily chatted about how the Coalition and BDE's reliance on technology will be our downfall. Unless of course these are just specialist ships used for specific tasks or important missions, or something, then of course there's room, it just seemed a little out of left-field.
Otherwise nifty.
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