The Rebel Faction

Excalibur-class Interceptor

Length: 19 meters
Crew: 2 Pilots, 1 Gunner, 1 Astromech Droid
Arsenal:
4 Laser Cannons
1 Quad Laser Cannon
2 Concussion Missile Launchers
Sublight: 85 MGLT (up to 120 MGLT when afterbuners ignited*)



The Excalibur has been the longest standing piece of naval weaponry in the Andozian galactic military. Based heavily off the design of its atmospheric ancenstors, the pre-Helix Excalibur looked very much like an atmosphere fighter, and does indeed have limited atmospheric capability extended beyong the norm of a starfighter.

Almost all of the exisiting Excaliburs were originally constructed without this galaxy's technology, on the Helixians home planet of Andoz. Because of this, the Excalibur is very much an anomaly in space as we know it, and definitely a hybrid. It is described by its designers as a 'stepping stone' to greater and bigger projects, and is at the time considered 'the best we can do at this time to provide our people with a reaosnable level protection.'

That does not by any means mean that the Excalibur is obsolete, or even less suited for the jobs than the starfighters we are familiar with. The design is alien, unnatural, but it gets the job done. The Excalibur is 19 meters in length and 16 meters across, as it was designed with the idea that much more fuel was needed to get a ship off the ground and into space. That is no longer the case, but the designers have, rather than trimmed it down, used the extra length to their advantage, packing in more firepower.

The Excalibur boasts four laser cannons, on top and on bottom of the two wings, on the side of the afterbuners opposite of the cockpit. It carries two concussion missile launchers as well, located underneath the starfighter and behind the cockpit, in the middle of the ship. And last but most certainly not least, the Excalibur has a quad turbolaser cannon at the very end of the ship, right underneath the tail, jutting out slightly.

With the bulkiness of the starfighter in mind, the designers used their enginuity to come up with a little something extra for the Excalibur. Knowing that they would never be able to get the starfighter up to the level of speed common to the rest of the galaxy, the Helixians decided to put in afterburners. Boosters to the engines, the afterburners give the Excaliburs jump starts propelling them at high speeds for very short intervals. But enough to give the starfighters the edge in combat.

The researchers also fitted the once not even wormhole capable fighter with hyperdrive technology. The Excalibur has both particle and deflector shields, which are slightly stronger than most starfighters, but only very slightly. They would probably only last a shot or two longer than most fighters' shields.

Unfortunately, there are many downsides to the Excalibur-class Interceptor. While the afterburners do help, they don't do anything while they aren't active, slowing the ship to speeds barely faster than that of a bomber. Its length and width also present it as a much larger target than other starfighters, making it much easier to hit, especially considering its speed. Also, the quad laser cannon presents quite the target, and the gunner is liable to get hit easier or even become exposed to vacuum if the pod is hit by debris, explosion, or scraped by a passing fighter. The afterburners, if used for too long, can fizzle out, burn out the ship's engines, or worse, explode.

The biggest handicap, however, is production. It will be some time before Helix is able to start producing these fighters in large quantities, with limited or no access to the proper facilities for construction. Their supply almost entirely consists of fighters from the Avalanche that have been refitted to stand up to modern times. The Excalibur is by no means a perfect starfighter, but it is a start.

A start of something bigger...if possible.