Areus

Fighter/Assault craft. The largest of the Aeran strike craft, and thus, the one that looks the most like a more general Aeran space-ship, rather than the hyper-optimized feats of miniaturization that smaller craft and drones must be to function at all.

    • ship size:
    • ~45 meters long
    • basic shape & rhythm:
      • Bilateral and hex symmetries. Primary body is an armored tube (not necessarily circular in cross-section)
      • Engines along primary forward/rear axis center, reactor at each end feeding engines, coupling and cooling apparatus between reactors
      • Reactors and engines are within armored tube, with other components exterior
      • There are two armored cockpits, one on each side, connected together in a rearward arcing loop slung like a saddle on top of the armored engine/reactor tube ~ 2/3 od the way forward on the ship
      • Docking is done through this loop
      • Six short teardrop projections extend from the rear of the ship - three fully at the rear, and three just forward of the other projections, all thick-side front
      • Rather than being topped with turrets, as in capital ships, the projections are topped with small, forward facing shell-slinging mounts that are larger than the tops of the projections
      • In between the projections are maneuvering thrusters, the front three facing up and forward, the back three facing up and rearward
      • The alignment is such that the maneuvering thrusters do not point near the cockpits
      • Mirroring the cockpit, but looping to the bottom, rather than the top, are twin torpedo launchers, just forward of the cockpits, with their feed system arcing rearward to the bottom
      • The two sets of projections, cockpit, and torpedo launchers, among them span the length of the craft
      • Aligned with what would be in a tri-lateral arrangement with the two torpedo launchers ( at top of ship) is a single, forward facing laser lens
      • Radiators sprout from the otherwise smoothish skin of the craft along the sides of the projections
      • A few external hardpoints for small missiles are nestled between the projections and their accompanying radiators.
    • textures & paneling:
    • This is the smallest Aeran strike craft that starts to look more traditionally Aeran in the sense of their larger, more prideful vessels, with visible armoring ceramic-tiled armoring and smooth, curving synthetic sweeps rounding out harsher edges between components.
    • materials:
    • Likewise, this is the smallest Aeran strike craft to feature notable amounts of armor, protecting both the crewed areas and the internals. Armored plates are featured heavily. The relative area occupied by optical lenses and other sensors is much lower than in the Ariston or Nicander. Synthetics feature heavily in any unarmored portions of the ship, and raw metallics are usually only seen on sensors and openings (such as weapon ports and engines)
    • colors & factions:
    • Standard Aeran coloring - mustard, beige, cockpits with purple accents. Strictly Aeran military. No other group uses this craft, and military insignia are present.
    • modular pieces:
    • The mount points for the six forward-mounted shell-slingers are modular, and upgradeable, by default using the same anti-strike craft weapons used in the Ariston. The laser mount is custom to the Areus, as are the torpedo launchers, although the torpedoes are standard issue. Front reactor is the same as used in a Nicander wing, rear reactor is the same as that used in an Ariston. Docking port is standard.
    • weapons and armor:
    • The six forward mounts at the rear are anti-strike craft weapons, mostly designed to engage interceptors. The damage output is therefore limited, but rate of fire and sustainable output are emphasized, as the targets are fairly fragile, but very agile. Primary assault capabilities come from the torpedo load, small as it is. The laser is high powered, but can only fire on a low duty cycle. It is used primarily to target point defenses, sensors, or other high-priority small targets on the surface of large craft in order to increase the yield of the rest of the assault wing. However, it his also quite capable of targeting strike craft and very dangerous when put to that purpose. The laser itself is located amidships, nestled in a custom cooling rig in the space between the two reactors. Missile loadout is strictly anti-interceptor - extremely maneuverable, with very small warheads.
    • propulsion:
    • Linear acceleration is emphasized over maneuvering, but the maneuvering engines are, in concert, quite capable of providing significant thrust. If, for example, the retro engines at front are damaged, the forward facing maneuvering engines can still effectively slow the ship down. The Areus, due to the forward nature of its weaponry still needs to manuever quite a bit in combat, but as its targets often either come right at it (interceptors, in the interest of time) or are even more sluggish than it (assault targets, such as capital vessels) the emphasis on linear acceleration, to reduce the time that must be spent out of weapon range and battling interceptors, is understandable.
    • mobility:
    • Using engine arrays originally designed for use in somewhat smaller craft, the Areus has a somewhat sluggish acceleration curve for a strike craft. However, as its primary goal is to escort assault corvettes, it is more than capable of keeping up with any maneuvers its assault wing may make. It is sufficiently maneuverable to out accelerate and out-turn larger craft that it preys on, but is itself vulnerable to interceptors that manage to get past its forward oriented weaponry. In such situations the Areus relies heavily on its missile loadout to counter the threat. Once missile supplies are exhausted, a lone Areus is very vulnerable to more agile craft - thankfully for Areus pilots, they are rarely alone.
    • power/ reactors:
    • Two, asymmetric, one at front, one at rear. Damage to either reactor may reduce the maximum duty cycle on the laser.
    • functionality/ role:
    • More a fighter than a bomber, this is the secondary assault craft the Aera rely on, after the Agis. These light assault craft are commonly seen as escorts to the larger, more dangerous Agis class assault corvettes, though it is not uncommon to see wings of Areus detatch to spearhead assaults on subcapitals and support vessels. While larger and not as nimble as fighters or interceptors, the Areus is perfectly well equipped to engage any smaller craft foolish enough to wander near its gun sights. Armament on the Areus isn't well suited to assaulting capital vessels directly, but is entirely sufficient for destroying subcapitals, support craft, or softening up craft too large to destroy outright with the limited payload available. The Areus is almost never seen in defensive operations outside of the aforementioned escort of larger strike forces.
    • utilities, arms grabbers, etc:
    • None
    • lighting, how well lit is the ship:
    • Cyan lighting strips on front and trailing teardrop edges, also near certain forward sections of ship.
    • command center:
    • None, cockpits only.
    • crew size:
    • Two, one in each cockpit.
    • cargo space:
    • Limited. Personal support only, plus generic support for small, mission-critical cargo (such as experimental sensor equipment, etc.)
    • range capability:
    • The Areus is well-stocked with supplies and can operate for most of a week on its own without resupply. Areus class ships are always jump-capable. Anti-strike-craft ammunition may be exhausted during long engagements, but not rapidly. Missiles are usually adequately provisioned. Torpedoes, however, are very rapidly exhausted - the Areus is designed to complement and supplement the Agis, adding additional warheads to either a first strike, or to finish off the crippled - it is not designed to be an effective assault craft against well defended targets on its own.
    • sensors:
    • More heavily present toward the front (the rear being dominated by projections and secondary engines). Both cockpits are heavily lens studded, but the most notable sensor equipment are the ample transceivers for use in relaying updated targeting data to torpedoes, increasing the likelihood of successful strikes.
    • docking/ interactions:
    • Usually via docking tube - the Areus is big enough that internal docking is more rare.
    • common maneuvers/tactics:
    • Escorts assault corvettes on strike missions, operates as auxilliary assault craft on said missions, may lead smaller strike missions.
    • civilian or military:
    • Strictly military.
    • significant technologies description:
    • Note that generation of the laser beam is internal to the ship, and only the lens is external.
    • Redundancy:
    • Either pilot is capable of flying the ship by him or herself. Damage to main engines or reactors can be supplemented by secondary thrusters/reactor. Damage to cooling and projections will degrade capabilities semi-gracefully.