John Locke
V U L K A N
Intent: To sub a capital ship weapon for future submissions
Image Source: ModDB
Canon Link: N/A
Restricted Missions: N/A
Primary Source: Lightstorm Turbolaser
Manufacturer: Locke and Key Mechanics
Model: Ionstorm Battery
Affiliation: Closed-Market (Any character can use this if they have explicit permission through, for example, a marketplace purchase)
Modularity: No
Production: Mass-Produced. (Anyone.)
Material: Durasteel, Electronics
Classification: Ion Cannon
Size: Average
Weight: Average
Ammunition Type: Tibanna Gas and Power from a ship’s reactor
Ammunition Capacity: Effectively limitless
Reload Speed: None
Effective Range: Average (Personal when Lightstorm mode activated)
Rate of Fire: Average (High when Lightstorm mode is activated),.
Stopping Power: Average (High when Lightstorm mode is activated)
Recoil: None
Fast tracking
Ionstorm Mode
Speedy: The Ionstorm features custom-made housing and gimbals which allow it to move quickly, easily able to track and follow targets, important for a system designed to put out a high number of shots to be able to keep them on target.
Cooling system: A specialised cooling system built into the Ionstorm allows it to switch to an enhanced rate of fire. The cooling system allows the ion cannon to double its rate of fire for a short period of time.
Hard hitting: The Ionstorm is able to overcharge its blasts without exploding resulting in stronger ion cannon shots.
Ionstorm Mode: The Ion Cannons have the ability to activate an alternate fire mode, overcharging their shots and increasing the ion cannon's rate of fire both be a factor of two for a short time.
Limited Range: The overcharged nature of the ion cannon shots means that they also lose the energy to energy loss rapidly. This limits the shots range to a short range before the energy dissipation makes the turbolaser blasts ineffective at normal and longer ranges.
Shutdown: After activating Lightstorm Mode the turbolaser is enhanced. This, however, will only last for a short period of time, 1 minute, before the cooling system can’ take any further heat and is forced to shut down. At this time the entire ion cannon is taken offline due to the heat, waiting until the cooling system can vent the heat, a process which takes another 30 seconds during which the ion cannon cannot be used at all.
Based on the popular Lightstorm Turbolaser the Ionstorm was the next capital weapon produced by Locke and Key Mechanics, applying the same principles of the Lightstorm to Ion Cannons. Like the turbolaser an ion cannon is one of the staples of intership combat, used at all ranges by all capital ships to try to gain an advantage over one another. The longevity and widespread use of the weapon is the greatest testament to its effectiveness, but even the most well-rounded weapon can be improved on. There were a host of long-range ion cannons on the market, but eventually a fight has to get past that barrier and into a close ranged brawl. It was there that the engineers started, aiming to create a weapon that would give an advantage in close range combat. The ion cannon they created has an activatable mode that achieves this in two ways, through the use of an overcharged beam, the cooling system.
The Beam:
In order to provide the improved punch required for the Lightstorm system the ion cannon blasts are capable of being overcharged to allow them to provide a bigger bang. However, the downside of this overcharging was that the ion cannon blasts proved to be unstable, unable to hold together. As the ion cannon travels the instability starts to degrade the containment of the bolt, causing it to weaken, proving ineffective past a medium range, around half of a normal ion cannons range. Within that range however the Ionstorm is able to strike twice as hard as a normal ion cannon, proving to be a very effective close range weapon.
The cooling system
Through a specifically engineered cooling system the Ionstorm is able to temporarily increase the rate of fire of the ion cannon, doubling it’s rate of fire. This is only a temporary measure though, the cooling system is unable to keep up with the demands of the higher rate of fire for an extended period of time and, inevitably, it will succumb to the added heat demands of this rate of fire. It is at this point that the system goes offline, taking the entire ion cannon with it. The weapon shuts down until all the heat is vented and the weapon is safe to use. Attempting to overwrite this safety measure can result in the entire weapon exploding, not something the manufacturer recommends.
When the Ionstorm mode is not activated the ion cannon operates as an average weapon with no other stand out features, average range, damage and rate of fire. The Ionstorm is a two edged sword providing a brief moment of high firepower at the cost of losing the weapon entirely while it cools making the use of the Ionstorm mode a tactical decision for a captain or Admiral.
