Lucerne Labs Conventional Droid Drafts

[Gir Quee]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To update the Droideka Mark II for Directorate use
• Image Source: originally here, modified by your's truly
• Canon Link:
• Primary Source: here

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Baktoid Combat Automata (originally) / Lucerne Labs (refit)
• Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi, Closed-Market
• Model: Droideka Mark II-D
• 
  Production: Minor
  
• Modularity: Shield modules
• Material: Chimera Composite armor plating, Biolux series Organoform Circuitry, standard droid components

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

• Classification: Fourth Degree
• Weight: 90 kilograms
• Height: 1.83 meters
• Movement: Wheel, Quadrupedal
• Armaments:
  1 Triple Blaster Cannon (head)
• 2 Twin Light Laser Cannons (arms)
• 1 Twin Ion Cannon (chassis)

[*]Misc. Equipment:

• Myntor Personal Shield Generator
• Ionization Buffer
• Magnetic Feet
• Internal Comlink
• Composite Radiation Sensors (per canon droid)

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Wheel Form: Like the original Droideka Mark I and II, the Mark II-D can roll up into a wheel to quickly transverse over surfaces.
• Magnetic Feet: The Mark II-D's feet have modified to have include powerful magnets, which can be switched on to allow the Mark II-D to cling to metal surfaces, such as deck or hull plating.
• Ion Resistance: The Directorate has installed a basic ionization buffer to protect the droid's central processing unit from indirect ion attacks. In addition, a large portion of its internal circuitry has been replaced with Lucerne Lab's proprietary organoform circuitry. This does not make the droid immune to ion or EMP attacks.
• Myntor Personal Shield: The Directorate replaced the Droideka's original shield with a Myntor personal shield, which provides the droid with roughly the same amount of protection as the original. At the cost of making the unit more detectable though, the droid can now alter some its resistances through its auxiliary shield module. It can also expand this shield to protect nearby allies.

Strengths:

• Heavy Firepower: The Mark-IID carries the same weapons as the original Droideka Mark II, which lends the droid an impressive amount of firepower.
• Upgraded Shield: The Mark-IID incorporates a Myntor Shield Generator, allows the Mark-IID to alter its resistances to certain damage types as well as expand shield coverage to cover nearby allies and objects.
• Ion Resistant: The Mark-IID is resistant to low-level ion and EMP attacks by weak weapons or indirect attacks. Many direct ion attacks (such as by a DEMP gun or ion cannon) will still fry many of the droid's subcomponents.

Weaknesses:

• Movement Impaired: The Mark II-D suffers the same movement issues that the original Droidekas experienced. It is a relatively slow unit while walking on its four legs. While relatively fast on flat hard surfaces in wheel mode, it is also not very maneuverable nor can it utilize any of its weapons while travelling in wheel mode.
• Easily Detected: The Mark II-D is easily detected because of its Myntor Shield Generator, which not only has a high energy signature, but which also emits a continual crackling sound.
• Large Target: The Mark II-D is a relatively large target compared to many battle droids or infantry.

DESCRIPTION

Over the years, the Directorate has come into the possession of a large stockpile of Droideka Mark IIs. Most of these droids were captured or seized in operations against criminal cartels across the galaxy, but several Directorate companies started to reproduce them on their own as part of their contribution to the Directorate's armed forces. While still formidable as blunt weapons, the droids have been found wanting in several aspects, which led to the decision to retrofit the droids to better meet the Directorate's current needs.

The most striking change that most people notice in seeing the droids is the replacement of the once gleaming bronzium armor with the dull gray-green Chimera Composite Armor. The benefits are this upgrade are debatable and many Directorate officers think it to be almost superfluous given that the droid largely relies on its shield for protection. While the original shield generator was still adequate in terms of power by modern standards, Lucerne Labs replaced it with a Myntor Shield Generator produced by its subsidiary company Lucerne Personal Defense. This shield can be altered to provide with different types of resistances, which allows the Directorate to tailor the droid's defenses against specific foes or environments. Perhaps just as importantly, it allows the droid to expand its shield to provide protection for allies in its near vicinity. Other upgrades to the droid include an ionization buffer and the extensive use of Biolux series Organoform Circuitry, both of which were introduced to better protect the droid from ion and EMP weapons. Because most Droideka Mark II-Ds see service on Directorate warships, the droid was also retrofitted with magnetic feet to better enable it to maintain firing positions while onboard starships and other artificial constructs where it might be based. Offensively, the Droideka Mark-IID is unchanged from its predecessor, utilizing the same weapons, sensors, and combat programming. It notably still does not have all the power needed to run both the triple blaster cannons and the ion cannons at the same time.

Lucerne Labs has started to roll out these retrofitted units throughout the Directorate forces, with priority being placed to those units engaged in frequently close quarters combat or charged with guarding valuable items. The deep space vault in the Epian Asteroid Belt for confiscated contraband is among one of those facilities. Thus far, the droids have been deployed as supplements to existing units, rather than collectively en mass because of their mobility limitations. Due to the Directorate's partnership with the Silver Jedi, numbers of the droids can also be found in service with organizations affiliated with the Order of the Silver Jedi.

 

[Gir Quee]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To make a small starship repair droid.
• Image Source: originally here
• Canon Link: N/A
• Primary Source: N/A

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
• Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi, Closed-Market
• Model: L3 Emendator Repair Droid
• 
  Production: Minor
  
• Modularity: Tools
• Material: Chimera Composite armor plating, Biolux series Organoform Circuitry, standard droid components

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

• Classification: Second Degree
• Weight: 2.5 kilograms
• Height: 0.2 meters
• Movement: Hexapod (6 legs)
• Armaments: none
• Misc. Equipment:
  1 Plasma Welder
• 2 Modular tool slot arms (capable of taking common tools like hydrospanners, torque wrenches, power caliberators, etc or WED Treadwell arms)
• Magnetic Feet (all six legs)
• Internal Comlink
• Animated Metal Sealant reservoir

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Lateral Hive Thinking: Emendators are designed to cooperate in a hive mind, where their combined processing can allow them to come up with unusual and creative solutions to issues, and then cooperate simultaneously to implement this solution. As an example of this, one Emendator may turn off a power supply in one location while another droid switches and splices wiring before the first one turns the power back on, allowing power to be rerouted to a different area of the ship.
• Multi-Tool: Emendators not only have animated sealant and plasma welders to form basic hull and electronic repairs, but also have a pair of modular tool holding slots designed to be compatible with common hand tools as well as the dirt cheap WED Treadwell appendages. This allows Emendators to be customized for certain needs or be adapted on the go to deal with situations as they arise on the ship.
• Magnetic Feet: The Emendator's feet have modified to have include powerful magnets, which can be switched on to allow the Mark II-D to cling to metal surfaces, such as deck or hull plating.

Strengths:

Creative Problem Solvers:

Adaptable:

Weaknesses:

Quirky:

Noncombatant:

DESCRIPTION

 

[Gir Quee]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To make a supportive unit battle droid in the Lucerne Labs line-up.
• Image Source: originally here
• Canon Link: N/A
• Primary Source: N/A

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
• Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi, Closed-Market
• Model: L4 Auxilia Support Battle Droid
• 
  Production: Mass
  
• Modularity: Auxilia Module options (as described below)
• Material: Duraplast armor plating, standard battle droid components

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

• Classification: Fourth Degree
• Weight: 75 kilograms
• Height: 1.7 meters
• Movement: Hexapod (6 legs)
• Armaments: none (standard) - armaments may be added per modules listed below
• Misc. Equipment:
  1 Auxilia Module Hardpoint
• Internal Comlink
• Ionization Buffer

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Auxilia Module: Auxilias are designed more as a chassis that enables it to carry a single specialty battlefield support module. This module allows the Auxilia to be configured to perform a variety of combat and combat support roles, typically at a squad or platoon level.
• Dual Droid Brain: Auxilias technically have two droid brains. The first is located within the droid's insectiod head and is responsible for the droid's basic movements. The second resides inside the Auxilia module itself and focuses on operating that module as well as providing basic mission guidance to the driver droid brain.

Strengths:

Adaptable: Auxilias can be adopted into a number of roles thanks to the modular hardpoint. With a simple switch of modules, an Auxilia can be anything from light artillery unit to a mobile shield generator or a battlefield mechanic.

Multi-Terrain: Auxilias transverse by using six highly articulated legs, which makes them adept at crossing different types of terrain and navigating past or through different obstacles all while keeping the back (and Auxilia module) very stable.

Weaknesses:

Lightly Defended: By default, Auxilias have fairly limited defenses, enough that it can withstand several glancing hits or a single direct shot from a small arm before its armor is penetrated. This droids are designed to be deployed in the rear of tactical formations, and generally do not do well when placed in the fore because of their light defenses.

Binary-Only: While Auxilias can understand Basic, they can only speak in binary, much like the popular R-series of astromech droids. While some users have little difficulty understanding it, more users resign themselves to the fact that they will have to rely on translators or data-jacks to really understand what the droids are saying. This is typically not ideal in a combat situation.

DESCRIPTION

While many battle droids fulfill the traditional role of infantry, Lucerne Labs recognized that there are other combat support roles that a droid could fulfill. Recognizing that a key obstacle to making such specialist droids is often financial, Lucerne Labs opted not to make a single specialist droid, but rather a mobile platform that could be specialized to fulfill various roles by modules. The resulting L4 Auxilia is a large, insect-shaped droid that typically lingers just in the back of combat formations, where its light armor isn't much of handicap but where it can still function in its specialty role. While it can operate as a direct fire unit with some of its modules, most Auxilias are used in an adjunct role such as mobile shield generators, probots, electronic warfare, battlefield repair, and as sappers. This versatility and budget-consciousness has seen the Auxilia achieve small and steady sales throughout the galaxy, but it has not been the breakaway success hoped for by the company.


Technical Explanations:

Personality: Auxilias technically have two droid brains, one which operates the chassis itself and another droid brain built into the Auxilia module. The base inherent driver droid brain of the Auxilia does not have a personality at all. Unsurprisingly, it comes off as coldly impersonal with those that it interacts with and does not communicate except when needed for practical purposes. The droid brain within each Auxilia module itself has a fairly simple personality matrix. Each matrix possesses a singular emotion trait that provides motivation to use its associated module to the best of its ability. Thus, a weapons-armed Auxilia tends to be 'aggressive' compared to a sensor pack Auxilia which may be described as 'curious'. The two droid brains of the Auxilia must work together for the unit to operate correctly, though the module droid brain always has superiority in making decisions. While this seems to work fairly well for a modular system, Auxilias can be fairly quirky because of this unusual arrangement, especially right after a module change, when they are sometimes behave in a way described as being bipolar.

Skillset: The base Auxilia droid brain has a very limited skillset, typically only have the knowledge to operate its chassis effectively (navigation) and a basic understanding of military tactics in order to ensure that it is in the most optimal place to survive on the battlefield. The secondary and more dominant droid brain found in each individual Auxilia module also possesses an understanding of military tactics to a greater extent, along with possessing all the technical skills and understanding to operate its module's equipment to the best of its ability.

Chassis: The Auxilia's chassis borrows heavily from the BT-16 perimeter droid, which was chosen as a basis for the Auxilia's design due its size and ability to remain stable while moving over uneven terrain. Lucerne Labs did beef up the servomotors in order to carry larger and heavier payloads. This transmission redesign also affected the droid's balance, which led to further redesign. The basic 'driver' droid brain is unsurprisingly housed in the droid's head along with a basic droid sensor pack based primarily on EPRs. The droid's power plant along with the equipment needed for its Auxilia module are housed in its body behind the head, along with its locomotion systems.

Locomotion: Auxilia move around a set of six legs, closely mimicking ants and other insectiod movement patterns. This allows the Auxilia to rapidly transverse through a variety of terrains and navigate through or around obstacles. As it can always then have three legs on the ground, this makes the Auxilia a very stable platform for its modules, which is a priority given some mission payloads.

Weapons: The stock Auxilia does not come equipped with any offensive hardware of their own. However, the rudimentary 'driver' brain of the droid can instinctively use its limbs as impromptu weapons. In desperate cases, it may attempt to trample or impale opponents if cornered. Some Auxilias are equipped with modules that do carry weapons as discussed below.

Defenses: Auxilias are intended to be cheap and mass produced droids, so their chassis are only lightly armored in duraplast, as they are mainly expected to serve behind other combat units. This provides them with adequate protection against occasional incidental hits, though it will not stand up for long against repeated hits from even light personal weapons. The droids also do have a small ionization buffer, primarily to protect them from natural ionic phenomena and area of effect EMP attacks. It provides little if any protection against repeated direct fire from ion or EMP weapons.

Auxilia Modules: Each Auxilia's primary purpose is to carry a specialty module into combat. This module is mounted on top of the droid's main body, and usually reaches a height up to the average human's chest. Depending on the module, an Auxilia may function as a direct combat unit if equipped with weapons or act in a supporting role such as first aid or field engineering. The sheer variety of modules meant that a single droid brain within the droid's body would not be able to have all of the knowledge to effectively use it (at least at a relatively cheap cost) so each module also includes a droid brain designed to specifically use that module. Each module can be installed and/or removed from the unit in about fifteen minutes with basic tools. While Lucerne Labs is continuing to develop modules for the Auxilia, these are the modules currently available for the droid:

Blaster Cannon: This module contains a pair of Flamestorm Assault Blaster Cannons in a turret mount along with extended ammunition. Because the Auxilia is lightly armored, this typically acts as automated sentry turret that is placed in an established fighting position to better protect it. It also sees frequent use as a point-defense weapon against incoming munitions and other light aerial threats.

Grenade Launcher: This module consists of turreted MM-s3 grenade launcher along with a motorized grenade pack carrying one hundred grenades. While it can be used as to directly attack line of sight targets, this module is more often used as light indirect artillery, using its launcher to lob grenades over vertical obstacles like a mortar.

Rocket Launcher: This module consists of sixty single shot wrist-rocket tubes mounted on a turret. This provides the Auxilia to provide a brief storm of specialized munitions, ranging from basic explosives for use against personnel and light vehicles to more esoteric ion and chemical payloads. Auxilias in this role typically use hit-and-fade targets, quickly discharging their payload at the front before scurrying to the back for safety and reloads.

Sapper: This module houses a turreted J-7b Beamdrill along with enough supplies to allow for up to eight hours of continuous use. This module is typically used to create earthen fighting positions or tunnels for conventional troops. It also sees use in carving through enemy defenses such as walls, armor plating, or blast doors.

Mobile Shield Generator: This Auxilia possesses a deflector shield generator, allowing to provide both ray and particle shielding for an area of around fifteen square meters. This typically allows the droid to protect a squad or two of soldiers for several minutes before the shields need to recharge. It's typically powerful enough to withstand sustained small arms fire, though it only provides brief periods of protection from heavy explosive weapons such as missiles or vehicle-mounted cannons.

Automated Repair: This module is essentially a miniaturized automated repair droid along with basic tools and materials that allows it to provide repairs to droids, vehicles, and equipment. Such fixes are almost always temporary patches that will fail under prolonged use or distress, but are a great temporary stopgap solution in trying times. These units also can provide routine maintenance and calibration to the same items.

Sensor Pack: This module consists of a Full-Spectrum Transceiver (FST) and an EnhanceScan General Purpose Scanner that effectively turns the Auxilia into a probot. The FST allows the Auxilia to detect many vehicles and incoming droids within several kilometers of the droid, providing its companions about warning about those threats as well as with targeting feed. Whereas the FST's use is more tactical minded, the general purpose scanner is focused more on providing useful information about the environment around the droid. Its lifeform scanner also makes it an effective sentry and ambush spotter.

Sensor Jammer: This module consists of a 4x-Phantom Sensor Jammer along with its operating droid brain. This allows the droid to better conceal the presences of its companions from a distant sensor scans, and also aids in making the use of automated targeting locks much more difficult. It does not visually hide either it or any of its nearby companions.