Aculia Voland
Protecting her children from the shadows.
Kage Space Ship Mounted Smoke Generator
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Basically the equivalent of a smokescreen in space with the added bonus of obfuscating a wide range of sensors.
- Image Source: source
- Canon Link:
- Permissions: Permission to affiliate Mandal-Elysium Arms
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Voland Military Enterprises, Mandal-Elysium Arms
- Affiliation: Elysium Empire, Aculia Voland , authorized clients.
- Market Status: Closed-Market
- Model: 001
- Modularity: No, it's designed for a specific purpose.
- Production: Minor.
- Material: Durasteel, duraplast, various electrical components and chemicals.
- Produces large amounts of super-dense, thick smoke flecked with various particles capable of distorting most contemporary sensors, especially visual, infrared, radiation, and laser.
- Combined with defensive maneuvers on smaller, more agile ships like light cruisers, destroyers, and frigates, can provide a good degree of extra survivability by making it harder to accurately target them with relatively low weight and cost, an effective alternative to heavy shields or armor for smaller ships that are not meant to take heavy fire.
- Can help discourage enemies from choosing certain angles and vectors of attack.
- Is a nightmare for strikecraft to fight in as they will be forced to rely on clouded visuals with low visibility and their missiles will be wonky outside of extremely close range inside the cloud.
- Too bulky to fit on smaller craft like fighters and freighters unless armament is significantly reduced.
- Due to the thick and dense nature of the smoke required to obfuscate modern sensors, it tends to disperse and lose effectiveness relatively quickly and also uses specialized fuel that requires it to be reloaded. This means that one can't use the screen for long periods of time before having to reload the generator. A wise captain will thus carefully consider its use and timing as it will take a while before it will be available again.
- It is ultimately a double-edged sword-your enemy won't be able to precisely know where you are within the smoke field, but neither will you be able to know their location either.
DESCRIPTION
The KSSMSG-1, officially known as the Kage Space Ship Mounted Smoke Generator, is a product of admiral Aculia Voland 's experiences in the Battle of Tython. It was developed after suffering substantial losses to Mawite Admirals Marlon Sularen and Tu'teggacha during their hammer and anvil ambush on one of her carrier strike groups, comprised mostly of light frigate and cruiser carriers. Although the standoff gravity well generators and evasive maneuvers were able to mitigate significant damage from the longer range fire of Sularen's capital ships, the subsequent assault and suicidal ramming of Tu'teggacha's fast ion cruisers as they were forced back on a particular route to avoid such fire caused significant and heavy casualties as many ships were disabled by their painful ion volleys and then crashed into.
Seeking to avoid a repeat of such losses and needing some way for her carriers to buy time and defend themselves from an ambush from lighter ships without compromising their chief defense of maneuverability by the addition of extra heavy armor or heavier shields and the reactors to power them, the KSSMG-1 was created. It is capable of creating in short order either an omnidirectional or directional dense smoke screen in order to shield the smaller ships from artillery fire or as a desperate measure to force incoming strikecraft to launch their missile payload at extremely close range. This, when combined with appropriate evasive maneuvers, can significantly reduce the amount of fire one's lighter and more maneuverable ships might take from heavy artillery or missiles launched at range.
Of course, the KSSMSG-1 is not without its weaknesses. First of all, it's just a smokescreen-that turbolaser fire and missiles are going to get through, it just gives a commander of a maneuverable craft a better chance at dodging by making it harder to target their exact location. Second, the smoke does not last for long periods of time due to the dense and thick nature of its composition. Third, one might be offered a degree of relief from an enemy's guns-at the cost of reduced accuracy of one's own guns as well.
Ultimately, while it is used as a powerful tool in the right hands at the right time, it does have its drawbacks and limitations.
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