Shining Star
The Shining Star (Azuli: Visala) is an experimental exploration vessel designed by the Azuli Research Directorate. A ship of the same design but modified for military use as a light corvette was also constructed, and the prototype is currently in it's final trial phase. Shining Star carries a crew of 15, five officers and ten crew.
Contents
Specifications
- Length: 51M
- Beam: 36M
- Complement: 15 (5 Officers, 10 Enlisted)
- Armament: 1 Azuli Heavy Ion Cannon, 2 twin neutron-pulse cannons, 6 externally mounted torpedoes
- 3-man minishuttle (unarmed)
- 6-wheeled crawler with research lab
- Nephilim Battlesuit (2)
Technology
The Shining Star incorporates a number of extreme advances in starship technology. Two years prior, the Azuli discovered a damaged ship from a previously unknown race known as the Jari, and quickly fast-tracked the reverse-engineering of much of it's technology and the development of prototype vessels to aid them in reversing the course of the war with the Tyrin that was starting to turn against them. This involved advances in armor, power, and jump technology, among others. They were never able to unlock the secrets of Jari shield technology, which seemed at least moderately more advanced than their own.
Weapons Systems
The ship carries a single high-power standard ion cannon, but this is generally used as a backup weapon or for CIWS purposes. The ship's main armament are twin double-barrel neutron pulse cannons. These experimental weapons require a lot of power, but they are highly effective against known types of shields and armor and have a very high rate of fire.
Defensive Systems
The Star is equipped with standard Azuli shield technology, but is supplemented by a high-density regenerating ablative armor plate that covers most areas of the ship. While the regeneration process is slow, it negates the need to replace expensive hull plating and drydocking time.
Power Systems
Power is generated through the use of 2 tachyon collectors, which generate tachyon fields to harness charged positrons into four banks of quantum batteries, called energizers. This eliminates the need for the expensive, space consuming and journey-limiting deuterium fuel required to power traditional reactors.
Propulsion Systems
Main propulsion is provided by two powerful standard reactionless gravity thrusters, which provide good performance for a ship of Star's mass. However, additional thrusters are mounted to the port and starboard weapons pods that provide additional thrust, and they can be rotated for rapid deceleration, quick maneuvers, and powerful contragravity for landings and atmospheric operations. The thrusters can be rotated up to 90 degrees independently of the neutron pulse cannons, allowing the cannons to face forward while hovering within a gravity well.
FTL Systems
Shining Star is not equipped with a traditional jump drive. Instead, it is fitted with subspace conduit drive, or "Subspace Drive" which utilizes the tachyon field generators to open a stable artificial wormhole between two points in space. This enables the vessel to travel significantly greater distances in a shorter amount of time than a jump drive. Unfortunately, the drive system has not yet been perfected by the Azuli, and accurately predicting the exit point location can be difficult.
