Bookworm
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To submit a new assault transport for Aurora Industries to sell
- Image Source: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/bDOlv
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source:
- Manufacturer: Aurora Industries
- Affiliation: Aurora Industries, Individuals and Factions that have purchased it.
- Market Status: Closed-Market
- Model: Aerieel-class Assault Transport
- Production: Minor-production
- Material:
- Neutronium-Enhanced Durasteel (Hull Plating)
- Trilamnium (Hull Plating Enhancement)
- Desh-Terenthium Alloy (Inner Skeleton)
- Transparisteel (Viewport)
- Classification: Dropship
- Length: 28 meters
- Width: 12.5 meters
- Height: 10 meters
- Armament: High
- Two Dual AI-LC "Leamonde" Laser Cannons (Located on either side of the cockpit)
- Two Heavy Slugthrower Rotary Cannons (One located on each wing)
- Two Variable Warhead Launchers (Four Missiles each, equipped on the upper fuselage on either side of the turret)
- Two Deployable Heavy Repeating Blaster Cannons (One on either side of the troop hold)
- Deployable Gas Canister Launcher (Located on the underside of the hull)
- Top-Mounted 360 Degree Rotation equipped with a dual AI-IC "Undin" Ion Cannon, Starfighter-Scaled
- Defenses: Very High
- Xandret Shield System
- Triple-layered Armored Neutronium-enhanced Hull Plating
- Squadron Count: Low
- Eight Dropships per Squadron
- Maneuverability Rating: Low
- 50 DPF
- Speed Rating: Average
- 90 MGLT
- Hyperdrive: Yes - Class 1.0
- Life Support Systems
- Standard
- Other Shield Systems
- Communications and Sensor Array
- Standard, Military-Grade
- Power Generator
- Two Starfighter-scaled Ramuh Power Cores
- Navicomputer and Guidance Systems
- Standard, Military-Grade
- Targeting Systems
- Standard, Military-Grade
- Crew Compliment
- One Pilot
- One Gunner (Turret Control)
- One Astromech Unit or Integrated AI Core
- Cargo/Passenger Capacity
- Twenty-four Passengers/Soldiers
- Two Speeder Bikes or One Light Vehicle
- Patrol Features
- Deployable Spotlights
- Magclamps for Speeder Bike or Light Vehicle Storage
- Rapid Deployment System for Soldiers
- Engine Systems
- Countermeasures
- Going off the idea of a complete remodel of their dropship line, the Aurora engineers introduced an increased amount of firepower with additional weapon systems and the upgrading of most old tech to the latest weapon technologies developed by the company.
- The Aerieel is equipped with the Xandret Shield System to give it the powerful electromirror shielding that can reflect back energy, plasma, and solar based weaponry while also giving the ship a triple-layered hull of armor plating to make sure the soldiers within can make it to their deployment zone safely.
- Taking features from the old AIr-D30, the Aerieel is fully hyperspace capable with a capacity for twenty-four soldiers and two speeder bikes or a light vehicle.
- Utilizing Tidal Ion Engines and two Ramuh Power Cores, the Aerieel is able to have vastly superior speed over its predecessor.
- While the Tidal Ion Engines have given it greater speed, its maneuverability is still on the lower side due to the armored hull.
- While the Xandret Shield System is amazingly strong, it cannot protect against kinetic weaponry such as a mass driver or hypervelocity round, forcing the ship to rely solely on its armored hull to survive such attacks.
- Utilizing the versatility of its weapon systems can result in a few issues such as overheating with the Leamonde Laser Cannons and charge times with the Undin Ion Cannons when switching between their firing modes too quickly.
- If the Tidal Ion Engines are tampered with as they are very precise, they become a quickly ticking time bomb for anyone flying the craft.
The next ship for Aurora Industries' Phase III modernization program, the engineers in the company were tasked with creating a brand new assault transport to replace the decidedly aging AIr-D30, a ship the company had created back during the days of the Galactic Republic. The design team moved away from the old Imperial style, going more in line with the company's IX series of starfighters for the overall aesthetic, but several key design features from the older design would see some carryover into the new craft.
The new dropship, named the Aerieel-class Assault Transport, continues the current design philosophies of the company of enhanced firepower and versatility, making use of the latest weaponry designed by the company such as the Leamonde Laser Cannon and Undin Ion Cannon. Slugthrower rotary cannons were added along with warhead launchers to compliment the ship's arsenal while deployable blaster cannons in the troop hold and a gas launcher were brought over from the old design. In addition to its offensive capabilities, the ship was equipped with the Xandret Shield System and a triple-layered armor hull like the Scurrg H-9 to give it impressive defenses to allow its passengers the ability to reach their drop zone safely and with heavy air support present.
Two Tidal Ion Engines were added to the design, giving the ship rather impressive speed for a transport although its maneuverability still suffered some because of the armored hull. The design also decided to limit some of the space for passengers, bringing it down from fifty to the current twenty-four while adding magclamps for the Aerieel to carry speeder bikes or a light vehicle into the combat zone. All in all, the company and its engineers were pleased with their new ship as they felt it could compete against other ships on the market and full production was ordered to finally replace the old.
