Post by Gamov on Jan 16, 2014 20:20:00 GMT -5
{Mik Approved}
Manticore
Technical Specifications:
Class: Harrower-class Dreadnaught
Affiliation: Sith
Length: 840 meters
Engine units:
-- Primary: 3
-- Secondary: 12
Hyperdrive:
-- Primary: Class 4
-- Backup: Class 5
Powerplant:
-- Hypermatter Annihilator Reactor
Weapon Payload:
-- Heavy Turbolasers: 10
-- Turbolasers: 30
-- Laser Cannons: 30
-- Ion Cannons: 10
-- ASF Batteries: 40
-- Proton Torpedoes: 15
-- Concussion Missiles: 20
-- Tractor Beams: 10
Crew:
Command Staff:
-- Commander: Lady Nisha
-- Acting Captain: Unassigned
-- Executive Officer: Unassigned
Additional Crew:
-- Officers: 1,106
-- Enlisted: 3,544
-- Gunners: 302
-- Minimum Crew: 2,400
-- Passengers: 7,500
Compliment:
-- Fighters: 70
-- Bombers: 30
-- Ground Troops: 7,500
-- Support Craft: 40
Offensive and Defensive Systems:
Weapon Systems:
Bristling with hundreds of weapon systems ranging from fast tracking anti-starfighter turrets, to punishing turbolaser batteries, banks of lethal proton torpedoes and ion cannons, the Manticore personifies intimidation in every sense of the word. As a symbol of terror and might truly befitting her Sith commander, the ship carries enough firepower and armor to stand toe to toe with even the largest of Republic warships.
-- Heavy Turbolaser Batteries (x10)
--- Arrayed in two rows of 5 located on both the port and starboard sides of the hull (just fore of the bridge section), these heavy turbolasers give the Manticore a lethal bite in close engagements, especially when being attacked on its broadside. The guns are fed directly into the ship's main reactor and are equipped with specially designed heat sinks that radiate excess heat away from the batteries through venting ports on the exterior hull.
The guns are equipped with variable power settings and can draw off of the ship's main reactor for a limited time in order to increase their damage output. Alternatively, the same method can be used on lower power settings to achieve a faster fire rate – but at the cost of fewer shots overall before they need to be allowed to vent and cool.
-- Proton Torpedoes (x15)
--- Set in 3 banks containing 5 launchers on the port, starboard and prow sections of the ship. Each bank contains 50 high yield anti-capital ship grade torpedoes that are fed by an automated internal rail system. The launch tubes themselves have been modified with powerful electro-magnetic rings that run the length of each chamber.
These magnets help to accelerate the projectiles forward at great speed, eventually exiting with extremely high velocity. The sheer kinetic force that is behind each round lends them exceptional piercing capabilities against un-shielded targets and particle shields.
-- Turbolasers (x30)
--- Arranged in 6 groups of 5 guns to a battery, the Manticore's turbolasers give it the firepower to engage smaller ships that manage to outmaneuver its heavier guns. There are four groups of turbolasers located along both port and starboard sides (for a total of 10 guns to a side) and one group on the dorsal surface just in front of the bridge on the conning tower's superstructure. The remaining group is located on the ventral structure just aft of the main hangar, and centered around the ship's adaxial shield generator.
-- Concussion Missiles (x20)
--- Arranged in 2 banks of 10 missiles each along the port and starboard flanks. The missiles are fed by internal magazines and can be equipped with standard missiles, unguided high yield missiles or lower yield homing missiles for greater long range accuracy against smaller targets. Sometimes the Manticore's crew prefers to use a mix of high explosive and homing missiles in order to meet ever changing battlefield conditions.
-- Laser Cannons (x30)
--- Set in 10 clusters containing 4 turrets per group, the laser cannons are among some of the most numerous guns on the Manticore. With their greater numbers and turreted settings, the laser cannons are positioned to cover any gaps left in the defenses that are not covered by the turbolasers. These weapons can also be used to shoot down incoming projectiles such as missiles or torpedoes, and can even be used in ship to ship combat against lighter targets like corvettes and freighters.
-- Ion Cannons (x10)
--- Set in 5 pairings of two cannons each along both port and starboard flanks between the turbolaser batteries. Their purpose is fairly straight forward – to aid the turbolasers in engaging enemy capital ships by depleting shields and disrupting enemy electronics.
-- ASF Batteries (x40)
--- The Manticore's anti-starfighter (ASF) batteries, while not the heaviest guns on the ship, are the most numerous and designed for one purpose – shooting down enemy fighters and bombers. These guns are largely automated and use advanced holographic imaging systems to track even the nimblest snub fighters with incredible accuracy.
Unlike many of the more conventional weapon systems on the Manticore, the ASF batteries are equipped with mixed munitions, such as lasers, flak cannons and mass drivers, to provide an excellent field of coverage against enemy fighter formations.
Shielding:
The Manticore has 3 shield generators positioned along its hull that provide overlapping cover for the entire ship. Two of the generators are encased beneath the hull at the base of the conning tower's superstructure, just fore of the command bridge, and are protected by reinforced alusteel plating. Their close proximity to one another also helps to compound their effects, making the shielding around the bridge the strongest on the entire ship.
The remaining generator is found just aft of the large ventral hangar bay and projects an arc that covers the entire underbelly of the ship. Unlike the other generators which are protected beneath the Manticore's hull, the adaxial generator lies somewhat exposed in a large bulbous dome that protrudes from the bottom of the ship.
Because of the obvious vulnerability this poses, the generator's housing was reinforced with additional durasteel and alusteel plating, and is protected by a cluster of turbolaser and ASF batteries.
Hull:
Like almost every other aspect of the Manticore, her hull is built for punishment.
Constructed out of several layers of thick durasteel and alusteel plating, it is capable of absorbing tremendous amounts of damage. Specially designed stress bracers that help to support the superstructure give the ship additional resilience by allowing her to withstand hard impacts from solid objects such as debris, small asteroids, missiles and even smaller ships.
Due to all of the extra armor and supports that have been packed onto her frame, the Manticore is not exceptionally fast when traveling at sub-light speeds. However, the special design features of her hull allow the ship to make maneuvers that would normally tear ship's of her size apart, and also allows it to withstand the strain of entering a planet's atmosphere.
Because the ship is not overly fast, stealth became something of a priority for its design. Attached to the outer hull in various places along the bow, midship, ventral superstructure and bridge are several interlocking plates of ablative armor plating.
Constructed out of specialized materials that are capable of diffusing radar beams, infrared waves, microwaves and sonar pings, the ablative plates help to break up the ship's signature on long range scanners. While the plates do not hide the ship entirely from such detection methods, they can trick sensors into registering the Manticore as anything but a fully armed dreadnaught.
Hangar Bays:
Fighter Bays:
Located on the port, starboard and bow sections of the ship, the Manticore fields 4 individual hangar bays that are dedicated to launching fighters and bombers into battle. Each hangar is capable of housing up to 25 fighter craft and are equipped with tractor beams to help guide returning fighters into dock.
Additionally, each hangar is readily equipped with the capacity to effect basic maintenance and repairs on the fighters. In the event that a fighter should require more serious repairs though, an automated conveyor system links each of the fighter bays to the ship's central hangar bay where more substantial facilities are located (see: Main Hangar Bay below).
During hyperspace travel, the hangars are sealed and secured by thick durasteel blast doors to ensure that none of the cargo or fighters stored within them are harmed during transit. In combat, however, the blast doors are opened and the hangars are instead sealed against the vacuum of space by atmospheric shields.
Main Hangar Bay:
Situated near the midship section on the ventral surface of the superstructure, the main hangar is easily the largest hangar on the ship and serves a multi-faceted role as part maintenance/repair bay, and part staging ground. In its most obvious function, the hangar is used as a launching platform for invasion forces during planetary operations, where troop and vehicle transports can be deployed en mass.
When the hangar is not being used to launch ground forces, it is fully equipped to act as a repair bay. An intricate series of tractor beam projectors, docking claws, cranes and automated drones help engineers to conduct maintenance on the ship's compliment of fighters, bombers, shuttles and vehicles.
Should the Manticore need to, the hangar is even large enough to accommodate a number of small freighters, or a single corvette-class vessel. The obvious drawback to this is that while the main hangar is being utilized as a dry dock, the ship is fairly immobile and cannot safely enter hyperspace.
Like the smaller fighter bays, the main hangar is also outfitted with a pair of massive retractable blast doors that fully protect it from attack. As a matter of practicality and common sense safety, the blast doors remain sealed at all times during combat operations. Nothing short of a direct override from the bridge, or concentrated heavy weapons fire, can force them open.
Crew Accommodations and Facilities:
Bridge
Bridge
The most vital area of the ship, the bridge is the nerve center of the Manticore.
The foremost portion of the command deck consists of a large observation deck encircled by reinforced plasteel window panes that offer the command crew and unobstructed view of their surroundings. In the event a window should be compromised, automated blast shields will activate to seal off the damaged section and maintain the atmospheric integrity of the bridge.
Located on either side of the command deck are crew pits which contain the helmsman stations, navigator stations, communications stations and fire control stations.
Just behind the command deck sits the ship's Combat Information Center (CIC), a large hexagonal shaped war room with a holographic projection table in the center that is used to display tactical data for the bridge crew during combat operations.
Also located within the CIC are the ship's long range communications relay and sensor arrays, which are used to hail other vessels and provide the command crew with updated intel on battlefield conditions. The CIC also plays host to the ship's electronic warfare center, which is overseen by a contingent of Tactical Operations Officers (TacOps), the most senior of which is the ship's Executive Officer.
The bridge's computer systems and communications network are also hardened against electromagnetic pulse attacks by redundant systems. In the event of a cyber attack, the electronic warfare center can resist, confuse, or even reverse the attempts by initiating emergency protocols that activate a series of artificial systems designed to perfectly mimic the ship's bridge control and communication networks.
These false systems provide what appear to be viable pathways into the Manticore's computer network – with no way of knowing which are real, and which are fake.
In truth, these false paths provide no tangible link to the ship's critical systems. Instead, they are actually dead ends flooded with all manner of hazards ranging from messes of data clusters filled with garbage data, to empty paths cluttered with fire walls, and more devious traps like viruses, binary picks and comm spikes. All together, these dummy systems can play havoc on an unsuspecting enemy while keeping the Manticore's network entirely secure.
Officers Quarters
Located adjacent to the bridge are the officers quarters. This section houses the Captain's quarters, the Executive Officer's (XO's) quarters and a private conference chamber that is used by the ship's command staff as a briefing/debriefing room.
Compared to the more spartan accommodations that are provided to the rest of the ship's crew, the officers quarters are lavishly furnished and provide a number of common amenities and comforts not usually found on a military warship – much less one commanded by a Sith Lord.
Meditation Chamber
Situated just behind the bridge off of a large circular atrium is Lady Nisha's personal meditation chamber.
Few crew members have seen the interior of the room, but those that have return with stories of an abysmal lair shrouded in darkness. The atmosphere inside the chamber is described as being heavy and suffocating, and visitors have commonly complained about persistent sensations of anxiety shortly after leaving its confines.
Its walls are several layers thick, with the outermost wall being composed of durasteel plating that overlaps a layer of sound insulating material that, presumably, makes the chamber entirely sound proof. Deeper scans of the room are made impossible by an embedded lining of oblique duraplast/polycarbon material that disrupts sensors by scattering scanner beams, preventing them from penetrating any further than the outer wall.
The doors to the meditation chamber are constructed out of overlapping layers of alusteel plating that have been hardened against explosive impacts and infused with cortosis to make them resistant to lightsabers. Powerful magnetic locks keep the doors firmly secured, and a built in infiltration deterrent system is capable of sealing a secondary set of blast doors in the event of an intrusion. Failing this, ray shields can be activated from inside the chamber as a last line of defense.
On its interior, the room is barren and dim. It is octagonal in shape with low powered running lights illuminating the outer perimeter. The only visible décor consists of a pair of red silk standards unfurled along the far wall bearing Sith insignias, and a large meditation sphere which is situated in the center of the room.
The sphere is coated in a black ablative shell that is resistant to nearly every known scanning method outside of the Force, and yet even this can be wildly inaccurate. Thermal imaging scans indicate that the ambient surface temperature of the sphere is maintained at a near constant 65 degrees (Fahrenheit) , yet it remains inexplicably cold to the touch.
Both the materials and methods that went into constructing the meditation sphere remain a mystery. Many have speculated, however, that the sphere was built using the Dark Side of the Force and is infused with tainted energy.
Outside of these sparse accommodations, the room holds no other obvious comforts or amenities.
Barracks
Spartan by design and lacking in any real comforts, the barracks are home to the Manticore's contingent of marines and security personnel. Outfitted with crew bunks, lockers, showers and a small rec room, the barracks contain only the most basic of amenities and serve as the home away from home for the ship's combat personnel.
Also located within the barracks is an armory that the marines use to help them maintain their weapons and equipment.
In order to serve as a more efficient use of the ship's combat force, the brig is also located within close proximity to the barracks. This allows for the marines to pull double duty as both a fighting force and a security force that can be used to back up the ship's standard security detail should the need arise.
Brig:
Simply put, the brig holds the obvious distinction of being the least pleasant place aboard the Manticore. Often times referred to as the Crypt by the ship's crew, the entire block is capable of holding up to 20 prisoners at a time and consists of a single narrow hallway with holding cells aligned to either side of the walkway.
Each holding cell has just enough room for an individual to stand inside the cramped space, while a small vent in the ceiling provides a continual supply of fresh air. But that is where the comforts end. There are no beds, windows, lights or facilities to speak of, and the very same vent that is used to provide air to the cell can also be used to pump toxic gases into the chamber – either for the purposes of executing a prisoner, or simply incapacitating them to make their transfer to a new location easier.
The cell doors are constructed out of thick durasteel plating with a powerful magnetic locking system to ensure that they are sealed tightly. They are only accessible from the outside and require specialized magnetic card keys to open.
Each time the doors are opened and sealed though, the combination code for the latch resets. The newly randomized codes are then sent along to a private terminal within Lady Nisha's meditation chamber. In order to reopen the cell doors, one of the aforementioned key cards must be brought directly to the terminal where it is re-written with the updated combination code.
Also located within the brig is a torture chamber, equipped with all manner of nefarious tools and devices designed to extract information from their hapless victims. The room is built to accommodate both Force sensitive and non-Force sensitive captives. Force cages, neural disruptors and specially designed arm binders are on hand to subdue unruly prisoners and make them more compliant.
Like the doors on the individual cell blocks, the doors to the torture chamber use the same card key system and are reinforced with an extra layer of durasteel plating to make them more resilient.
Outside of the obvious physical suffering the brig inflicts on prisoners, those unlucky enough to find themselves interred within its walls claim to experience bouts of intense mental trauma as well. Both crew members and prisoners alike have complained about inexplicable sensations of nausea, headaches, vivid night terrors and (in some instances) violent hallucinations after spending time there.
What exactly causes these phenomenon, most can only speculate... but many assume that Nisha herself is responsible.
