Keys to the Future

[Malok]

Although the chief executive officer of Stargo Defense Enterprises was more warrior than businessman, there was a large part of him that fit perfectly in the corporate world. Being that his primary skills laid in the alchemical arts, Darth Metus had always had an appreciation for innovation. He, personally, strived to push the limits of what was possible through alchemy; and that same drive was epitomized by the daily operations of his corporation. Day after day, design teams worked tirelessly to create new and innovative ways to advance warfare.

And today was no different.

The hour was only a few minutes away from noon, and the Sith Lord had only just concluded an early lunch when his alarm chimed. It would soon be time for one of his appointments! Typically speaking, Darth Metus would have sit downs with all sorts of executives or individuals from other nations and entities, but today his appointment was with members of his own staff. Some of the lead designers had put their heads together in order to conceive a rather daring product, and wanted to show the design to their superior for approval. To say the least, this made the Sith vastly excited, for he rather enjoyed seeing the fruits of his company's labor.

As such, when the notification sounded, Darth Metus promptly vacated his office and headed out. Upon exiting, he was greeted by the cheerful tone of a secretarial droid who promptly called up the elevator. The Sith Lord's pace was brisk, for he did not want to keep his designers waiting.

 

[Malok]

The instant the elevator arrived, the Sith Lord took a moment to regard his secretary with a nod before stepping on. The appropriate button was pushed and the lift promptly descended down several floors of the corporation's headquarters. A few moments later, the doors slid open and Darth Metus made his way down the hall and into the appointed conference room. The space was relatively standard for any establishment that conducted business. A large, rectangular table characterized the center of the room whilst chairs circumvented it. A hologram projector was mounted in the center and there was plenty of room for a presenter to roam about the table giving a pitch.

Refreshments in the form of water, fruit, and other such "snacks" were arranged in two neat displays at either end of the table...and were being munched on by a couple of the designers. The Sith Lord offered a modest smile at the sight and promptly took his seat whilst the others practically snapped to attention. They were on time, so he didn't mind that they indulged in a snack before presenting. Upon settling into his ridiculously comfortable chair, the Sith Lord steepled his hands and looked onto the leader designer.

He, a Bothan wearing a simple white coat adorned with his identification and clearance tags, rendered a polite bow to his superior and took the remote to the projector in hand. Darth Metus motioned for him to proceed, adding a simple: "Alright gentlemen, impress me." before the show began. The lights were dimmed. The projector was primed...

And up sprang into being a hologram of the ancient Death Star.

 

[Malok]

At first, the design team had the curiosity of the Sith Lord, but now they had his undivided attention. This was evidenced by the fact that he leaned ever so slightly forward in his seat in response to the projection's bold appearance. Now was the time for the Bothan to show what he and his compatriots had toiled over for literal weeks, and so the pitch began. "The Death Star. A station with power so magnificent that it could devastate entire worlds." he began, before aiming the remote forward. A simple push of a button then transitioned the image, swapping it with yet another impressive example of the Galactic Empire's military might. Where once there was a planet destroyer, there now hovered a Super Star Destroyer.

"The Executor-class Super Star Destroyer. Famed for its destructive prowess on the battlefield." continued the Bothan. This time, he did not transition to another image but instead folded one hand over the other. "Stargo Defense Enterprises has always been a corporation that looks to the strengths of history. Time and time again, we are inspired by ancient powers so that we might innovate in the present. My Lord, today is no different. These two powerful vessels were known for exceptional might, and also had something in common. Something that made their strength possible..."

Now came the time to transition the image. With but a click of a button, the Bothan presented his superior with a depiction of something he had never seen before. It was...a cannon of some sort. "At the heart of these magnificent designs were superlasers that could devastate the Galaxy. Today, we are proud to present that which these armaments have inspired: The Axial Turbolaser!"

 

[Malok]

Now here was something that the Sith Lord was not expecting. For the most part, Stargo Defense Enterprises had been focusing on capital ships and starfighters themselves as of late. As such, when he was presented with images of the Death Star and a Super Star Destroyer, he almost expected to be shown a new ship model inspired by them. However, a cannon overseen by the lead designer was still something that warranted his full attention; and as such he gave the Bothan a nod. With this signal, he proceeded along, starting by pacing forward a few steps.

"My Lord, what we present to you today is a new Classification of armament, one that Stargo Defense has yet to employ on any of its vessels. History has clearly shown us that turbolasers are the most effective, ship-mounted armament in the Galaxy; for they have been utilized without fail for thousands of years. Likewise, history has shown us that superlasers devastate the battlefield like nothing the Galaxy has ever seen! Therefore, the Axial Turbolaser is an attempt to bridge the gap between these two extremes. The best of both, if you will."

Lofting a brow, the Sith Lord raised his hand in order to signal a question. He did not doubt that the design teams were solid in their creation, but he was curious as to why they chose to bridge the gap between the two weapon types. After all, a superlaser would give any ship a ridiculous advantage on the field of battle; far greater than any turbolaser or a derivative thereof. "One question. Why attempt to bridge the gap? Why not build a superlaser like those utilized by the Death Star or the Executor-class?"

 

[Malok]

The reaction that Darth Metus received from the Bothan was one that he did not anticipate. Sure, he expected confidence on the part of his lead designer...but a full blown smile? Teeth and all? This was bound to be good. Clasping his hands together, the Bothan almost happily began his explanation. "My Lord, there are numerous reasons why we did not present to you a superlaser. First and foremost amongst these is simply what history has shown us. A superlaser, while exceptional in might, is also an exceptional target. Furthermore, the examples from the Galactic Empire of old were built with resources gleaned from a unified Galaxy. Our corporation, while great and growing, is no Galaxy-spanning Empire. It would not be cost effective to design such an armament at this time."

"However, bridging the gap between the two classifications affords us a wide variety of benefits. For one, many Axial Turbolasers can be produced without coming close to the cost of a superlaser. Furthermore, this difference in cost allows for most ships to be equipped with it; meaning more collective victory and less reliance on a single unit. History has shown that flagships, while mighty, generally fall prey to destruction operations. An axial turbolaser eliminates this risk by far!"

That explanation was pretty solid, by Darth Metus' standards. A superlaser was not a sound investment for the company, but an axial turbolaser? He was liking this design more and more with each moment. "Alright, I can see the logic in that. Please continue!"

 

[Malok]

Upon receiving confirmation that his stance was logical, the Bothan simply regarded his superior with a polite inclination of his head. Of course, this display did not last long, for he had a presentation to continue. At this point, he aimed the projector's remote forward and transitioned the image once more. From this point, the initial view of the cannon moved to one that was closer-up. Arrows designated key points on the armament with small blurbs identifying what they were. Once this image was in place, the Bothan continued.

"Thank you, my Lord." he began before motioning to the image. "One of the things that Stargo Defense Enterprises prides itself on doing is building upon the our previous, successful designs. I'm sure you are familiar with our products that were constructed at Druckenwell Shipyards and served the Confederacy admirably? Well, we looked to our past works with this concept in mind and began fleshing out the idea's capabilities."

"To begin, as you are aware, the Axial Turbolaser is several times stronger than an average turbolaser. At first, we were entertained the notion of revving up the power of a standard turbolaser to match our specifications, but decided to continue the 'Confederate' trend by building with range in mind. As such, the basis for the Axial Turbolaser is a Long-Range Turbolaser; thereby granting the armament a significant advantage over the competition."

 

[Malok]

Now there was an interesting notion. Building with range in mind meant that, when engaging an opponent, the enemy ships could be hit without fear of a response. Furthermore, from what Darth Metus knew of modern warfare, not ever vessel that frequented the naval battlefields was constructed with Long-Range capabilities. However, this aroused a small sum of concern on the part of the Sith Lord. Superlasers required a literal feth ton of energy to operate, which is why they were mounted on a moon-sized satellite! While he knew that the Axial Turbolaser was less powerful, by virtue of the price tag, that did not necessarily mean that the power drain was insignificant.

"Before you go any further, tell me about the energy consumption. I know superlasers are energy hogs, and I've heard that Long-Range Turbolasers are of a similar caste. How much power will these things demand?"

The Bothan had to be expecting this particular question, but his reaction wasn't what the Sith Lord expected. He looked to his compatriots, each of which had different looks about them. Some looked confident, others looked doubtful. Perhaps this was one of the "issues" with the design? Every weapon had flaws after all. As if to confirm this line of thinking, the Bothan returned his gaze to Darth Metus before saying: "I'm afraid that, while grear in might, the energy demand is quite exceptional."

 

[Malok]

This was the sort of area that could make or break a project, of this there was no doubt. Weapons that consumed an exceptional sum of power, while mighty, could easily spell disaster for vessels wielding them. For one, power had to be supplied by an additional reactor or energy would need to be routed from other systems to accommodate. That meant less fire power. That meant a cool down time. That meant potentially being dead in the water. As such, the Sith Lord was justifiably concerned about energy consumption, but had faith that his designers wouldn't present him a power hog with no plan.

"Could you elaborate on this?" he said, taking a moment to reach for some of the refreshments before him. To this, the Bothan nodded and responded with a "Of course, my Lord." before motioning to the projection. With but a push of a button, the image transitioned yet again and was replaced by an internal view of the cannon. "As you can see, the capicitors present on the Axial Turbolaser dwarf those found on the common turbolaser. In light of this, its energy demands are such that mounting this weapon on anything less than a Cruiser would be an impossible task. When mounted on a Cruiser, such a vessel can only accommodate the energy demands of a single unit; and that happens through diverting energy from two-thirds of its weapon systems. Star Destroyers are better equipped to handle these. On average, they can support a pair by diverting power from one half of its weapon systems. Only the largest of star destroyers can support individual units without fretting about energy consumption."

That...wasn't too terrible for a weapon of this caliber, but the Sith Lord needed a moment to chew it over.

 

[Malok]

Having only just popped a trio of grapes into his mouth, Darth Metus was not about to descend into the realm of barbarism by addressing his designers with his mouth full. As such, he took a moment to chew his snack completely before swallowing; and subsequently chasing the fruit with a sip of water. When the glass returned to the table, the Sith Lord began to address the designers once more. "The energy consumption is considerable, but I believe that our vessels can handle it. Each of our recent models have been equipped with Pulsed Ion Engines that guarantee greater fuel efficiency. Therefore, I believe that, while the energy drain is exceptional, the risk is worth the reward." he began. Almost instantaneously, the Sith Lord could see the brightening of his designer's expressions.

Apparently their greatest concern had been reassured. However, they weren't out of the woods yet. "Alright, so I have a good idea of how much this thing eats and where it came from. However, I'm stuck with only a vague idea of what this weapon is capable of. By its price, I can wager that it leans closer to standard turbolaser rather than superlaser, correct? Tell me about how much bite this weapon has." With that said, Darth Metus returned his grasp to the tray of refreshments before him. He selected a vine of grapes this time before plucking one, briefly inspecting it, and popping it into his mouth.

Meanwhile, the lead designer queued up yet another transition on the projector. This time, a diagram came into view. An intitial glance told that it was comparing firing rates and ranges of common cannons.