Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To provide a large aerial assault transport in Lucerne Labs product line-up
- Image Source: here and here combined and edited together by yours truly
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: Avril Aurek-class Aerial Cruiser
- Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
- Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi, Closed-Market
- Model: Avril Besh-class Aerial Transport
- Modularity: carried cargo/vehicles, passengers; point defense ordnance
- Production: Minor
- Material: Terenthium-Desh alloy hull with condensed-matter composite bracing and ferroceramic armor plating, Biolux series Organoform Circuitry, Calor series Bio Computers, Bia-series Fusion Generators, turbofans, scoops, syntherope dispensers, typical military repulsorlift craft components
- Classification: Airspeeder
- Role: Aerial Transport
- Size: Extremely Small
- Weight: Extremely Heavy
- Armaments: Average
- 1 Ventral Turreted Hoth Heavy CryoBan Thrower
- 2 Lateral Turreted Hansen FeatherTouch Tractor Beam Projectors
- 2 Lateral Plumbata-class Defense Batteries
- 4 Ventral Firestrike Machine Gun Turrets
- 2 Dorsal Dual Reaper Mag Cannon Turrets
- 2 Dorsal Dual Repeating Laser Cannon Turrets
- Defenses: Extreme
- Maneuverability Rating: Low
- Speed Rating: Very High
- Propulsion: Repulsorlifts / 4 twin gimballed Turbofans
- Minimum Crew: 1
- Optimal Crew: 12
- Passenger Capacity: 200
- Cargo Capacity: Extreme (60,000 metric tons)
- Turbofans: While primarily a repulsorlift craft, the Avril does have auxiliary turbofans mounted on gimball mounts which allow full 360 degree rotation. The primary purpose of these engines is to provide additional thrust to move quickly, or to act as a braking mechanism during the vessel's initial descent. The engines do run on separate hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells used by previous Lucerne Labs vehicles, which means that they are not typically affected by ion, EMP, and other like attacks. This means that they can be used to temporarily sustain the Avril in a hovering position if the repulsorlifts are somehow knocked out by such an attack.
- Gas Bladders with Scoop Converters: The Avril has a network of gas bladders located around the vessel which can be filled with Heglum and other lighter than air gases from intake scoops located around the vessel. As the Avril travels through the air, gases are filtered through the scoops, with heavier elements being discard and those providing lift siphoned to the bladders. These bladders provide the Avril with additional buoyancy to sustain flight, which was a concern given the Bryn'adul use of electrical draining technology. These are used situationally, as they can also worsen the vessel's vertical maneuverability. The bladders can off course be completely emptied, but these can take several minutes if they are especially full. These bladders are sometimes used as ballast tanks by the vessel if it is submerged.
- Ion/EMP Resistance: The Avril Besh is designed to operate in the electrical deadzones that sometimes appear near Bryn'adul positions. Aside from relying on natural buoyancy from Heglum bladders, the Avril Besh uses biological-based computing systems in the form of Calor-series Bio-Computers linked by Biolux organoform circuitry to better ensure consistent performance in such fields. Additionally, the Avril uses a network of Bia-series Fusion Generators to provide power for the vessel - these generators are self-restarting, and even if that fails they have manual restart options. Typically, one of these generators bring the others online, allowing the Avril Besh to be rapidly repower itself if the vessel gets subjected to sustained technological deadzone.
- Multi-Terrain: The Avril is primarily an airborne vessel. However, its sealed nature along with its turbofans also allow it operate as a aquatic vessel, either on the water's surface or beneath it. Its undersea operation is limited by the strength of its hull to the depth of only a handful of kilometers, making it most ideal as a coastal waters vessel.
- Syntherope Dispensers: The Avril has a number of syntherope dispensers located in its passenger hold, allowing for personnel to rapidly rappel down from the vessel without needing the vessel to fully land.
- Target Identification Network (TIN): The Avril Besh comes equipped with a TIN, allowing the Avril Besh to precisely discover many hidden enemies and dispatch them with machine gun fire as it lands or otherwise supports ground operations.
- Hauler: The Avril Besh is designed primarily as a transport and is capable of hauling a full company of troops (or other passengers) with their vehicles and heavy equipment along with thousands of metric tons of supplies.
- Excellent Defense: While the Avril Besh has only average armor for a vehicle its size in order to cut down on weight, it does have powerful shielding systems which allow it too withstand intense enemy fire.
- High Speed: The Avril Besh is fairly fast for its size, largely because it can swivel its turbofans to provide extra thrust if needed rather than extra lift.
- Extreme Weight: The Avril Besh is a rather large vessel, being almost 100 meters long and massing as much as many corvettes. This makes it rather difficult to carry and deploy on most starships. For practical purposes, the Avril must be carried on a dedicated ground force transport vessel or a dedicated warship that is at least the size of a star destroyer. On planetside bases, its large size similarly takes up noticeably more room within the base hangars than several squadrons of transports or airspeeders, making it a vessel of sometimes questionable value.
- Large Target: The Avril Besh's large size causes more than logistical issues. It's a very large target for most opponents, especially those with reasonably good anti-aircraft weapons. While shielding and some point defenses can allow Avril Besh to withstand bursts of AA fire, massed batteries of AA weapons typically have little difficult in tracking and bringing down the craft with sustained ire.
- Poor Maneuverability: The Avril Besh is a rather clumsy craft to pilot, especially when its heglum reservoirs are filled, as it often seems slow to the pilot to respond. Most pilots are taught to think that they're not piloting a combat craft, but to envision themselves driving a school speeder bus instead. Maneuvers often have to be planned well in advance within tight confines, and combined with the vehicle's large size, it's unlikely to be dodging any weapons fire any time soon except from the largest of weapons.
After the introduction of the Avril Aurek-class Aerial Cruiser, Lucerne Labs turned their attention into making a transport version of the same vessel to accompany it. The large missile bays and ammunition bunkers of the Aurek were simply removed and turned into spacious passenger and cargo bays, allowing the Avril Besh to carry a full company's worth of troops along with their vehicles and equipment into battle. Additionally, some of the Avril Aurek's weapons were removed in order to replace them with lighter weapons better suited to clearing out landing zones for its passengers. Combined with the extensive shielding technology and active defense turrets, the Avril Besh can push through enemy hotzones and provide intense covering fire all while disengorging its large passenger and cargo load onto the battlefield. It is also sometimes used for evacuation purposes for the same reasons. Despite its clear advantages and uses, the Avril Besh is handicapped by its large size and poor maneuverability. However, it seems likely to be a solid centerpiece for forces fighting against the Bryn'adul threat for some time to come.
Technical Explanations
Crew & Internal Layout: The Avril can be driven by one person in an emergency, but it is usually operated by a crew of twelve, most of whom are gunners for the vessel's many weapons. The Avril has as bridge near the front which houses the pilot, commander, sensor operator, communications gunner, and several of the vessel's gunners who operate the vessel's missile launchers. Most of the vessels gunners however have stations directly at their weapons, allowing them to troubleshoot the weapons as needed and use iron sights if the vessel's electronics are somehow shut down. The Avril is typically entirely environmentally sealed and pressurized, allowing it to operate in thin upper atmospheres, toxic atmospheres, and even underwater if need be. Most of the vessel's massive interior is taken up by cargo and passenger holds, allowing the Avril Besh to carry a full company's worth of troops along with thousands of metric tons of cargo. The original central hold of the Avril Aurek remains, and it is typically used as the primary transfer point of the vessel. Syntherope dispensers can allow dozens of passengers to simultaneously rappel down onto the battlefield. The loading ramps of the Avril Besh have been enlarged from the original, allowing extra large cargo and heavy military vehicles to easily embark and disembark once the vessel has landed.
Drive & Power Systems: The Avril mostly moves on a collection of high-powered repulsorlifts that can propel the craft at reasonable speeds from the watery depths of the coastal shelves to the highest reaches of most atmospheres. It also has a quartet of gimball-mounted dual turbofans, which can be used to improve the vessel's speed or help it hover in place in case of repulsorlift failure. These turbofans run on hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, meaning that their motors themselves are not typically affected by energy draining attacks, ion attacks, or EMP attacks. Lastly, the Avril has internal gas bladders, which are typically used to help the vessel float (especially in the electronic dead zones often produced by Bryn'adul technology). They can also be used as ballast tanks though when traveling underwater.
Defensive Systems: The Avril's most basic defense is its hull. While most of the hull is made out of a reasonably durable lightweight alloy, important sections of the vessel are covered in ferroceramic plating. These areas include the bridge, engine systems, and the weapons emplacements. More impressively, the Avril sports two entirely separate Phalanx Shield System networks. These typically provide the Avril with a durable, regenerating defense against most common threats such as blaster weapons, energy cannons, and ordnance. However, they have a secondary role of being able to project to and encapsulate up to eight small areas of up to 50 meters in radius with combined ray and particle shielding. This allows the Avril to protect accompanying craft or static locations on the ground. More innovative commanders can also use it to isolate and contain enemies as well. Unfortunately, projecting a shield strips the Avril of that protection as well, making its use situational. Since the primary enemy envisioned for the Avril's design was the Bryn'adul, who seem to favor projectile weaponry, the Avril is also equipped with an Aegis II Anticoncussion Field Generator, which provides additional protection from kinetic threats such as a shells, missiles, and other projectiles. Lastly, the Avril has a trio of modular auxiliary systems turrets, one underneath the bridge section and one on either side of the main repulsorlift engine pods. All defense turrets are ventral mounted. Typically these turrets are fitted with sensor jammers to provide the Avril and its accompaniments with increased protection from anti-aircraft threats, though the projected particle shield and tractor beam options are also quite popular with certain users.
Offensive Systems: The Avril Besh is primarily designed as a transport, but it does carry some weapons for defense against aerial threats and to help clear out landing zones for its passengers. The large hypervelocity of the original Avril Aurek has been replaced with a heavy cryoban thrower, with the intent of using its exceptionally high freezing power to clear out Baedurin and other bryn'adul beasts that are known for their cold intolerance. A quartet of small, turreted Firestrike Machine Guns provide additional and more precise clearing power and are typically loaded with specialty bullets such as corrosive rounds, cryoban rounds, or incendiary rounds for use against heavily armored infantry. The Avril Besh retains most of the original Avril Aurek's air defense weaponry, including a pair of Plumbata Defensive missile batteries as well as ventral turreted repeating laser cannons, mag cannons, and tractor beam projectors. These weapons typically provide good enough defense to batter back handfuls of enemy gunships and fighters are their own.
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