Bookworm
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To submit a next-generation mass driver for Aurora Industries to use and sell
- Image Source:
(Linked Artstation page leads to a 404 error, spoiler added because the link keeps defaulting to a media image/link)
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source:
- Manufacturer: Aurora Industries
- Affiliation: Aurora Industries
- Market Status: Closed-Market
- Model: AI-MD "Gnoma" Mass Driver
- Modularity: Can be configured in various forms (turrets, single cannons)
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material:
- Magdymium (Interior of the barrels, magnetic coils)
- Dallorian Alloy (Interior coating of the barrels)
- Alusteel (Exterior of the barrels, plating)
- Ramuh Power Core
- Isotope-5 (Ammunition Core Chamber)
- Thorilide (Shock Absorbers)
- Reinforced Internal Mass Driver Components
- Classification: Mass Driver
- Size: Large
- Weight: Heavy
- Ammunition Type: Neuranium-impregnated Doonium Slugs
- Ammunition Capacity:
- Average (Standard Setting)
- Average (Rapid-Fire Setting)
- Extremely Small (MAC Setting)
- Effective Range:
- Long Range (Standard Setting)
- Personal (Rapid-Fire Setting)
- Battlefield (MAC Setting)
- Rate of Fire:
- Average (Standard Setting)
- Very High (Rapid-Fire Setting)
- Very Low (MAC Setting)
- Damage Output:
- Very High (Standard Setting)
- High (Rapid-Fire Setting)
- Extreme (MAC Setting)
- Recoil:
- High (Standard Setting)
- Average (Rapid-Fire Setting)
- Very Low (MAC Setting)
- Like the Sagitta Mass Driver before it, the Gnoma makes use of the core ammunition system. A solid chunk of doonium, impregnated with neuranium, is loaded into a central chamber by the firing crew. Due to the density of the new core, Aurora Industries engineers have made use of isotope-5 to create an anti-gravity suspension field to suspend the core within to lighten the load. When the firing crew wants to open fire in their chosen fire setting, the computer within the core segments off an appropriate chunk of the solid core with a high-powered cutting laser and shifts that sliver into the launch rails.
- Continuing the design philosophy of the Entite Project, the Gnoma Mass Driver has three different fire settings:
- When in Standard Setting, the Gnoma's ammunition core computer segments out enough of the neuranium-doonium core for what would be needed to reach enemy capital ships. Slugs launched in this setting travel at roughly 20km/s and, upon impact against an enemy hull or particle shielding, will squash or shatter on impact to impart the maximum amount of kinetic energy on the target.
- When in Rapid-Fire Setting, the Gnoma's ammunition core computer segments out much smaller slugs for use against enemy starfighters, essentially acting as an anti-air defense battery. The range for these slugs is shorter than in Standard or MAC Setting, and the stopping power is slightly reduced, but the firing rate is significantly enhanced. Slugs launched in this setting travel at roughly 30km/s and, upon impact against an enemy starfighter hull or particle shielding, will squash or shatter to impart the maximum amount of kinetic energy on the target.
- When in MAC Setting, the Gnoma's ammunition core computer loads the entire neuranium-doonium core into the launch rails. Thorilide shock absorbers are deployed when this mode is engaged to compensate for the potential recoil of when the core is launched. The core travels at roughly 45 km/s, and when it impacts against an enemy shield or hull, it shatters and imparts a massive amount of kinetic energy across a wide dispersal area.
- Gnoma Mass Drivers can be configured as a single cannon or into various turret configurations depending on the ship design.
- Gnoma Mass Drivers have three different firing modes, depending on the situation determined by the firing crew as they can switch between modes with a push of a button and the bridge officers. This gives officers more flexibility during engagements, and can allow them to have different sections of the ship firing in disparate ways.
- The use of the new Aurora Industries material, Magdymium, combined with a Ramuh Power Core dedicated to the weapon allow it to launch projectiles at much greater speeds than previous mass drivers. This also continues the Aurora design philosophy of enhanced firing rates and stopping power as the kinetic energy unleashed on impact will be much greater than before.
- Thorilide shock absorbers are part of the weapon, and although they only activate when MAC Setting is engaged, they heavily compensate for the recoil that firing the entire ammunition core would generate.
- When in Rapid-Fire Setting, the weapon's range and stopping power is reduced to ensure the firing rate is faster.
- When MAC Setting is used, and the shot is fired, the firing crew needs to replace the entire core within the weapon and it cannot be fired until this procedure is done. This may take several moments to do, time during a pitched battle that could be pivotal.
- If the weapon's ammunition core chamber is sabotaged in some way, the core will like smash through the bottom of the weapon due to its density and will render the weapon inoperable until it can be repaired.
The fourth weapon design by Aurora Industries' Project Entite, the Gnoma Mass Driver continues the themes of versatility combined with enhanced firing rates and stopping power. Many lessons were taken from the Sagitta Mass Driver the company had been using previously, and several of its design features were carried over into the new Gnoma. The new weapon was also built around the ammunition core system, although the engineers wanted to use something with even more density to inflict greater damage. A doonium core was impregnated with neuranium, and to compensate for the vast increase in density, the design team created an anti-gravity suspension field within the core chamber using isotope-5 to take advantage of that material's unique properties.
The team next began working on enhancing the launch system itself, utilizing the new material Magdymium created by the company and coating it in Dallorian Alloy to alleviate any issues of overheating and warping of the electromagnetic rails and coils. The new system could launch system at much greater speeds, with each fire setting designed by the team being able to make use of the internal Ramuh Power Core to achieve the desired speed for each setting. The Standard Setting is very similar to that of the Sagitta, although the slug that is fired now travels at 20km/s and the slugs are now designed to squash or shatter on impact to better impart kinetic energy.
The new Rapid-Fire Setting was designed with enemy fighter craft in mind, with the team dialing back the stopping power and range potential, but greatly increasing the weapon's firing rate. Smaller slugs are fired at 30km/s and at a rapid clip, acting like a ground-based anti-aircraft battery or even like a flak gun. The final setting was the most extreme of the design for the new weapon. MAC Setting releases the entire neuranium-doonium core in one shot, utilizing the full power potential of the magnetic rails and the power core to achieve 45km/s for the launch speed. To compensate for the recoil the team encountered while testing this mode, one research almost lost a leg when the weapon was rocked back, Thorilide shock absorbers were installed to reduce the danger by a significant margin.
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