Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To flesh out the asteroid stations guarding Ceraluen
Image Source: Here
Canon Link: N/A
Restricted Missions: N/A
Primary Source: N/A
Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
Model: Bourtange Asteroid Stations
Affiliation: Silver Jedi player characters at Ceraluen, Ceraluen, Silver Jedi
Production: Semi-Unique (8 stations total)
Material: Asteroid, durasteel, ferrocarbon reinforcement, Duravlex patling, agrinicrete, typical starship and facility components, Isotope-5 reactors
Classification: Asteroid Defense Station
Length: ~5000 meters
Width: ~3500 meters
Height: ~2200 meters
Armament: Very High
140 Angon-class Hypervelocity Cannons
140 Trident-class Autocannons
28 Aura Tractor/Pressor Beam Projectors
150 Harpoon-class General Purpose launchers
40 Mine Layers
150 Rainburst-class Flak Cannons
75 Plumbata Defensive Batteries
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Defenses: Extreme
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Hangar: High: 29
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Maneuverability Rating: None
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Speed Rating: None
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Hyperdrive Class: None
STANDARD FEATURES
Biocomms
Encryption Network
Escape Pods
Electronic Security Systems (Pyrowalls, Rapid Repetition Defense Measure programming, EI-9 network security droids)
Internal Security Systems (Embedded Mantraps, Automated Laser Traps, Internal Force Field Generators)
Oracle-class Communications Package
Standard Detention Cells
Standard Life Support Systems
Standard Sensor Array
Aspis-class Shield Systems (x3)
Molecular Shielding
Aegis Anti-Concussion Field Generator
Isotope-5 Reactors
Fluidics-based controls
Hunter Mynock roosts
Strengths:
Impressive Defenses: The Bourtange stations have impressive defenses, allowing them to withstand heavy enemy fire, which is almost a necessity because the stations lack any capability to move.
Appearances are Deceptive: Bourtange Stations externally appear to be identical to when they were simple asteroid mining stations though the use of powered down devices, sensor shielding by the density of its geological formations, and hidden weapons and hangar exits.
Immobile: Bourtange stations lack engines of any sort. They are entirely immobile, not capable of turning or moving at either sublight or superluminal speeds.
Restricted Fire Arcs: Concealing the station's weapons behind concealed blast doors and geological features makes their firing arcs more constricted than what they would normally be on compared to an average ship. This makes it possible for smaller capital ships to slip into blind spots where at least some of the weapons can't fire on them.
Technical Descriptions
Crew & Automation: Most of the station's crew live and work near the center of the station in an internal bunker compound that is heavily shielded by Agrinicrete and reinforced Duravlex plating. It becomes increasingly rare to see organic crewmembers the further one is away from this compound: the Bourtange Asteroid Stations have a relatively small crew for their size, relying on slave-rigged computers and droids to run and maintain most of the station's systems. As one gets further and further away from this core, the computer systems become more simplistic and hardened against EMP/Ion devices, culminating with the extensive use of fluidics to operate the ship's centrally controlled weapons and hangar doors. This has two effects: it provides resistance to EMP/Ion attacks and reduces the station's energy signature, as the more sophisticated computers and reactors are further concealed by the asteroid's dense geological formations.
Communications: The Bourtange Station has a multitude of communication packages due to their use as orbital command systems. The initial conversion started by the Ceraluen government gave each station extensive subspace transceivers as well as a single holo-net receiver. When Lucerne Labs upgraded the stations, they included single Oracle-class Communications package and the Biocomm frequently utilized by Silver Jedi starships to enhance interoperability between the stations and their Silver Jedi allies.
Hull: Each Bourtange Station is made out of a hollowed out asteroid, which provides most of the station's structure. The initial mining shafts and caverns have all been reinforced with ferrocarbon framework and duravlex plating to ensure that there are no collapses when the station experiences heavy fire. Areas where organic crewmembers are expected to spend a lot of time in, such as living quarters or the command center, are further reinforced by layers of Agrinicrete to protect them from radiation
Security: Bourtanges rely on their innocuous origin for most of their initial security. There is little reason for most ships to approach a little used mining station, and those that do have only a few known docking ports and a single hangar large enough to hold a dozen shuttles or a single small bulk freighter to land in. These entryways are heavily guarded, typically by elements of the 1st Royal Grenadiers and platoons of sleeping battle droids. Penetrating further into the base requires navigating through a maze of unmarked and winding tunnels, some of which are former mining shafts that are dead ins. The base otherwise uses conventional Lucerne Labs internal security systems, making extensive use of code cylinders and droid-specific passcodes to control sensitive access to the ship and its systems. Tripping or attempting to force one's way into the system can not only trigger silent alarms that inform the ship's security complement, but also trigger any number of automated traps. Forced access to most restricted rooms triggers man traps concealed underneath the floor in an attempt to immobilize the intruder. Key rooms, corridors, and junction points are further guarded by Class VI automated laser projectors and force-field generators. In terms of electronic protection, the ship utilizes typical pyrowalls and Rapid Repetition Defense Measure programming supervised by a dedicated teams EI-9 network security droids.
Shields: The Bourtange Stations are heavily shielded, relying on their multiple Isotope-5 reactors to provide enough power to run multiple shielding systems. Three independent Aspis Shield Systems to provide the bulk of the station's shielding, producing a triple layer of protection across the base's rocky surface. A secondary Molecular Shield is layered between the outermost Aspis Shield System while a network of Aegis Anti-Concussion Field Generators adds additional protection against kinetic threats. Typically, during relative times of peace, only a single Aspis Shield System is activated at partial power to better present the image of a civilian station. However, the multi-core Istope-5 reactors can quickly activate and then almost instanteously activate the station's other shielding at full power. This extensive shielding largely makes the stations difficult to destroy, and thus the bulwark of Ceraluen's defenses.
Armament: The Bourtange Asteroid Stations are designed to batter back extensive attacks by large fleets, which is reflected in their armament by a focus on exceptionally heavy weapons, primarily long-range hypervelocity cannons and massive autocannons capable of spitting out a large volume of short-range fire. Perhaps more unorthodoxically, the Bourtanges are also equipped with a relatively large number of Aura Pressor/Tractor Beam Projectors, which are typically used to alter the asteroid field around Ceraluen to better to suit the defender's preferences. However, they can be used to restrain or push away hostile craft. These primary weapons are supplemented by minelayers and general purpose warhead launchers scattered across the station's rocky surface which provide a means of indirect fire which is frequently useful in engaging enemies that may hide behind other asteroids in the belt. The Bourtange does carry a number of flak cannons and Plumbata defensive batteries to protect the station against enemy strikecraft, but it is largely dependent on its own fighter complement to fend off such attacks. Because the station is designed to initially appear to be a harmless mining station, all of the station's weapons are concealed, typically behind blast doors that initially appear to be hard rock surfaces or firing ports that appear to be natural crevices or caves in the station's surface. Adding to this deception, these weapons are largely controlled by fluidics from the center of the base, which dramatically lowers their initial ability to be detected before firing by reducing their innate energy signature.
Carrying Capacity: The Bourtange Asteroid Stations have a large amount of internal volume. While a large part of that is dedicated to ammunition bunkers for the station's extensive use of projectile weapons, some of the more distal caverns and former mining bays have been converted into starfighter hangars, allowing each Bourtange Station to carry almost thirty squadrons of starfighters. These hangars all irregular, being simple relatively adaptations of existing terrain. Like the station's weapons, these hangars are initially concealed through the use of blast doors that initially appear to be rocky walls or by having the hangar exits situated in natural caves which eventually open up to the outside. This allows the Bourtanges to maintain the initial ruse that they are simple mining stations. Because of their nature as stationary, planetary defense stations, each Bourtange carries a relatively small number of troops. Most of these are sleeping battle droids just waiting to be activated as needed, but each station also has a number of typical organic security troops, frequently spearheaded by elements of the 1st Royal Grenadiers Regiment. Bourtanges are noticably home to many of the Ceraluen Belt's Hunter Mynock nests. These hives of genetically engineered and trained animals roost in caves and crags where residual power conducts provide basic sustenance to the creatures and where they can be routinely flash-imprinted to ensure that they can continued to be deployed effectively against any interlopers.
