Sic transit gloria mundi
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Sub a shuttle.
Image Source: Here.
Canon Link: N/A.
Permissions: Blanket permission for all subs made by Laira Darkhold's writer here and here.
Primary Source: N/A.
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Manufacturer: Firemane Industries
Affiliation: Firemane Industries
Market Status: Closed-Market
Model: FM-SS1a
Production: Semi-Unique
Material: Nightshadow Coating, Durasteel, Alusteel, Starship Components, Electronics.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Classification: Stealth Transport
Length: 30.75 metres.
Width: 12 metres.
Height: 12 metres.
Armament: Low
- 1x Particle Beam Cannon
- 4x Blaster Cannon Turrets - two forward, one port, one starboard
- 2x Variable Warhead Launchers - one rear, one forward
- AE-CML1 Dampening Chaff
- Eidolon Deflector Shield
- ECM Suite
- Missile Deactivation Transmitter
- Tractor Shroud
- Cap Drains
- Flares
Maneuverability Rating: Very High
Speed Rating: Very High
Hyperdrive: Yes. 1.0.
- Primary Hyperdrive: AE-HD1 Specter-class Hyperdrive.
- Secondary Hyperdrive: Class 8
- All standard features. Features all sensors, computers, and other technology typical for vessels of its size and class in the modern era.
- Stygium Cloaking Device
- Spectral Diffuser
- Baffler
- Personnel tractor beam
- SLAM
- TibannaX Engines
- Electronic Countermeasures Suite
- NavComputer Route Astrogation Bypass
- Hyperspace Tracker
- Sensor Negators
- Signal Interceptor
- Thermal Dissipators
- Thrust Trace Damper
- Mag-field Generator
- Sensor Jammer
- HIMS
- Photonic Emitter
- Gravitic Amplitude Modulator
- Signature Modulator
- Ion Scramblers
- Anti-Ion Emission Tracers
- Programmable Paint
- Can be equipped with an Enlightenment Quantum Communicator 2. This is a mission-specific feature. Usually it will be linked to a communicator used by mission control, the ship the shuttle is deployed from or the team deployed by it.
- Comprehensive stealth suite consisting of a Stygium cloaking device as well as other devices such as a gravitic modulator, Nightshadow coating and thrust thrace dampers make the ship almost undetectable. It also features a number of secondary stealth systems that make it easier to bypass high security and slip through blockades.
- Ideal infiltration ship. Its speed, defences and and manoeuvrability are a cut or two above average, allowing it to deploy its troop contingent quickly and evade danger.
- Poorly armed. For a ship of its size and class, the shuttle is undergunned. Its purpose is to enable special operators to infiltrate their targets and exiltrate them when their mission has been completed. It is not meant for all-out combat.
- The Stygium Stealth Array is powerful, but Stygium-cloaked vessels need to decloak to fire. Thus, any time the ship fires at someone, it has to decloak briefly. Moreover, the Stygium stealth array is power-hungry, so it cannot be active all the time. An active cloaking device will draw away power from the shields while in use.
In the mythology of the Qadiri of southern Khajwar, Garuda is a legendary bird and sometimes a winged, celestial deity who holds the title of king of birds. Sometimes he is described as the heavenly mount of the Qadiri goddess Kashara, the queen of the heavens. Now Garuda has been able to add another job to his already significant portfolio: Stealth shuttle. The purpose of the Garuda is a simple one. It is supposed to transport small teams of elite soldiers to a target zone within enemy territory, and then get them out. It can also be deployed during high-profile search and rescue operations to retrieve beleaguered sole survivors. The ship is able to transport between ten and twenty soldiers and carry consumables and equipment.
The Garuda utilises a Stygium cloaking device along with various other stealthy tools that render it invisible and conceal it from sensors and other forms of detection. TibannaX fuel and bafflers are utilised to make sure the ship does not leave an exhaust trail. Electromagnetic disturbances are reduced through degaussing. The vessel's hull has been coated in Nightshadow, which baffles sensors. This helps the ship avoid detection even when the cloaking device is inactive, though travelling too fast can negate this. Cloaking devices do not come cheap, even in this day and age, and so the ship has a very limited production run. This limits its use within Firemane to select teams of elite soldiers.
A scaled-down version of the Enlightenment quantum communicator can potentially be installed on the shuttle. It is generally paired with the corresponding device carried by the leader or communications expert of the spec ops team deployed by the shuttle. An Enlightenment can transmit a text based message between two points instantly. The message cannot be blocked, scanned, disrupted or jammed. However, only two paired devices can contact each other. A secondary device may be installed so that the shuttle can contact mission control without the risk of jamming. It is worth noting that conditions in the shuttle can get quite cramped, especially when it is filled to max capacity. It is meant to be a military vessel, not a luxury cruise to ferry aristocrats, and its utilitarian interior reflects this.
A prototype of the shuttle was deployed during the Battle of Csilla. There Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori and her squad used a boarding torpedo to infiltrate. After the completion of the mission, they were forced to exit the superweapon via an airlock and space walk due to being cut off from the hangars. Despite the ongoing space battle, the cloaked shuttle was able to rendezvous with them at the rallying point and evacuate them. An optional personnel tractor beam was later added to the finished product to enhance its ability to perform in a search and rescue role.
