E X A R C H
SPECIAL FEATURES
*The conceptual foundation for Project BLACK TIDE originated from extensive archival recovery operations conducted within secured data vaults beneath the waves of Mon Cala. While much of the recovered material consisted of obsolete Imperial naval records, communications traffic, and decommissioned warship schematics dating back to the Galactic Civil War, one fragmented archive drew the attention of Karl von Strauss. Buried beneath layers of antiquated encryption protocols and corrupted data packets was a heavily degraded intelligence file originating from the Republic Strategic Information Service.
*The recovered documents detailed an investigation conducted by Agent Moritt into ancient Rakatan teleportation infrastructure discovered on Belsavis. According to the report, Republic authorities first became aware of the system after escaped prisoners successfully utilized Rakatan transit technology to transport themselves from the planet's surface to a frigate positioned in high orbit. While much of the surviving documentation was incomplete, damaged, or theoretical in nature, the implications of the technology were significant enough for Karl to authorize a classified naval research initiative centered around reproducing the phenomenon through modern engineering methods.
Project BLACK TIDE is a classified naval weapons initiative developed under the authority of Karl von Strauss following the collapse of the Imperial Confederation. The system is based on reverse-engineered principles from fragmented Rakatan matter transmission infrastructure that facilitated matter displacement. Rather than functioning as a conventional transport system, BLACK TIDE weaponizes this concept into a ship-to-ship boarding platform designed for rapid internal insertion of strike teams.
*Early development efforts attempted to replicate the original Rakatan capability observed on Belsavis, including surface-to-orbit translocation over distances exceeding tens of thousands of kilometers. These attempts proved catastrophically unstable due to incomplete schematics, degraded source material, and an incomplete understanding of Rakatan spatial manipulation systems. After repeated failures, engineers drastically reduced the operational scale of the project, eventually stabilizing the system at an effective combat range of approximately one thousand meters. While far less ambitious than the original Rakatan infrastructure, the reduced-range system proved viable for tactical naval boarding operations and became the foundation of Project BLACK TIDE's modern implementation.
Operationally, the system projects a stabilized translocation aperture between a capital vessel and a targeted enemy ship once a valid sensor lock and internal structural mapping solution is achieved. This allows designated boarding elements to be displaced directly into pre-selected interior compartments such as engineering sections, command corridors, or hangar bays without the need for hull breaching. Initial testing recorded significant instability rates during early deployment cycles. The result is a doctrine-shifting boarding capability that enables immediate internal engagement and rapid disruption of enemy vessel command and control structures.
BLACK TIDE excels against conventional naval doctrine that relies on external armor, point-defense systems, and shielded hull integrity, as it can bypass most outer defenses once a lock is established. It is particularly effective in decapitation strikes against capital ships, where rapid insertion of naval infantry can neutralize bridge crews, disable reactor systems, or seize critical ship functions before an organized response can be mounted, as long as translocation is successful.
However, the system is constrained by several operational limitations. It requires continuous sensor coherence and spatial targeting, making it vulnerable to heavy shielding, electronic countermeasures, sensor jamming, or rapid evasive maneuvers that disrupt lock stability. The system also draws extreme power from capital-grade reactors and requires mandatory cooldown cycles between mass activations due to thermal and spatial stress buildup within the projector array. Additionally, BLACK TIDE is limited to small-unit short-range translocation, restricting its use to squad-level boarding actions during closer engagements.
*Even during successful testing phases, engineers remained uncertain regarding the exact mechanics of the translocation process itself. Notes recovered from the original Republic investigation referenced competing theories suggesting that the Rakatan system either reconstructed matter at the destination point or generated a temporary dimensional transit pathway between two locations. Unable to definitively confirm either interpretation, Commonwealth researchers intentionally withheld these uncertainties from early test personnel until sufficient medical examinations and repeat translocation trials confirmed that subjects remained biologically and cognitively intact following transfer procedures.
While highly effective in controlled engagements, BLACK TIDE carries inherent risks if misused, including potential spatial misalignment events, failed insertions, or partial translocation under unstable field conditions. As such, its deployment is restricted to sanctioned naval operations under Naval command authority. Despite these limitations, the system represents a significant advancement in naval boarding doctrine, providing a decisive advantage in boarding engagements.
- Short-Range Matter Translocation Array - Experimental Rakata-derived system enabling limited, short-range ship-to-ship personnel transfer via stabilized micro-transit bursts. In layman's terms: a teleport.
- Boarding Aperture Projector - Projects a temporary tranfer corridor that locks onto enemy hull signatures for direct insertion of boarding teams into interior compartments.
- Reactor Tap - The Array has a direct line to the reactor of the ship, providing the system with enough energy at the time of translocation.
- NZ SAP-2A SSA [Sensor Systems Array] - A comprehensive sensor suite, providing the BLACK TIDE with the information it needs to be able to determine the best possible target area for translocation.
- NZ Thanatos ECM/A Suite - An electronic countermeasure suite that can provide the BLACK TIDE with enough protection to, hopefully, get a lock on target.
- Instantaneous Boarding - Transfers small boarding elements at a time (fireteams/squads, no more than ten), bypassing traditional hull breaches and deploy directly into critical enemy ship systems, significantly reducing boarding time and casualty exposure.
- Hard to Crack - Thanks to the combination of the N&Z Thanatos ECM/A suite and Rakatan technology, the system is extremely difficult to hack into in order to disable it.
- Enigmatic Engineering - Thanks to the complexity of the BLACK TIDE, it will take plenty of time and resources to reverse engineer.
- *Death, but not? - It is theorized that the way in which these teleporters work is not by moving matter from one location to another, like hypergates; instead, they replicate the matter in the new location and destroy the matter from the old location. Although that's just one theory.
- Limited Number - Due to the extreme material requirements, only 6 of the BLACK TIDEs were able to be made.
- Short-Range - In the expansive size of naval engagements, the BLACK TIDE has a short-range of 1000m.
- Capital Ship Integration Only - Due to the massive energy requirements, the BLACK TIDE can only be mounted on ships/stations that are destroyer-class or larger.
- Shield Interference - Function is degraded by strong deflector shielding or active electronic countermeasures, meaning that translocation might fail or send boarding teams into a completely different area.
- Cooldown & Thermal Stress Cycle - Requires recharge intervals between mass activations due to severe energy and heat buildup in the projection matrix. The system can safely perform up to three sequential activations before requiring a full thermal purge cycle.
- Limited Deployment Volume - The system is limited to translocating a maximum of ten individuals at a time, which is insufficient to meaningfully compromise large vessels and would instead function only as a temporary hindrance.
- Technical Instability Risk - The experimental Rakata-derived systems carry a non-zero risk of misalignment, potentially resulting in partial transfers or failed insertions if improperly calibrated or under combat stress.
- OOC - I plan on using the dice system to determine whether or not translocations are successful. Using a d6: 1 - Critical failure, no translocation, immediate heat purge needed; 2 - translocation gone wrong, outside of target; 3-4 - within target; 5-6 - on target.
- EX: Rolled a 6: translocated exactly where you wanted to go. Rolled a 3: translocation successful, but instead of the engine room you are in crew quarters three decks up. Rolled a 2: translocation unsuccessful, floating in the void of space meters away from the target. Rolled a 1: Critical failure causes the team to be injured, heat buildup too high, and now I have to spend a paragraph venting the heat from the system.
- OOC - I plan on using the dice system to determine whether or not translocations are successful. Using a d6: 1 - Critical failure, no translocation, immediate heat purge needed; 2 - translocation gone wrong, outside of target; 3-4 - within target; 5-6 - on target.
*The conceptual foundation for Project BLACK TIDE originated from extensive archival recovery operations conducted within secured data vaults beneath the waves of Mon Cala. While much of the recovered material consisted of obsolete Imperial naval records, communications traffic, and decommissioned warship schematics dating back to the Galactic Civil War, one fragmented archive drew the attention of Karl von Strauss. Buried beneath layers of antiquated encryption protocols and corrupted data packets was a heavily degraded intelligence file originating from the Republic Strategic Information Service.
*The recovered documents detailed an investigation conducted by Agent Moritt into ancient Rakatan teleportation infrastructure discovered on Belsavis. According to the report, Republic authorities first became aware of the system after escaped prisoners successfully utilized Rakatan transit technology to transport themselves from the planet's surface to a frigate positioned in high orbit. While much of the surviving documentation was incomplete, damaged, or theoretical in nature, the implications of the technology were significant enough for Karl to authorize a classified naval research initiative centered around reproducing the phenomenon through modern engineering methods.
Project BLACK TIDE is a classified naval weapons initiative developed under the authority of Karl von Strauss following the collapse of the Imperial Confederation. The system is based on reverse-engineered principles from fragmented Rakatan matter transmission infrastructure that facilitated matter displacement. Rather than functioning as a conventional transport system, BLACK TIDE weaponizes this concept into a ship-to-ship boarding platform designed for rapid internal insertion of strike teams.
*Early development efforts attempted to replicate the original Rakatan capability observed on Belsavis, including surface-to-orbit translocation over distances exceeding tens of thousands of kilometers. These attempts proved catastrophically unstable due to incomplete schematics, degraded source material, and an incomplete understanding of Rakatan spatial manipulation systems. After repeated failures, engineers drastically reduced the operational scale of the project, eventually stabilizing the system at an effective combat range of approximately one thousand meters. While far less ambitious than the original Rakatan infrastructure, the reduced-range system proved viable for tactical naval boarding operations and became the foundation of Project BLACK TIDE's modern implementation.
Operationally, the system projects a stabilized translocation aperture between a capital vessel and a targeted enemy ship once a valid sensor lock and internal structural mapping solution is achieved. This allows designated boarding elements to be displaced directly into pre-selected interior compartments such as engineering sections, command corridors, or hangar bays without the need for hull breaching. Initial testing recorded significant instability rates during early deployment cycles. The result is a doctrine-shifting boarding capability that enables immediate internal engagement and rapid disruption of enemy vessel command and control structures.
BLACK TIDE excels against conventional naval doctrine that relies on external armor, point-defense systems, and shielded hull integrity, as it can bypass most outer defenses once a lock is established. It is particularly effective in decapitation strikes against capital ships, where rapid insertion of naval infantry can neutralize bridge crews, disable reactor systems, or seize critical ship functions before an organized response can be mounted, as long as translocation is successful.
However, the system is constrained by several operational limitations. It requires continuous sensor coherence and spatial targeting, making it vulnerable to heavy shielding, electronic countermeasures, sensor jamming, or rapid evasive maneuvers that disrupt lock stability. The system also draws extreme power from capital-grade reactors and requires mandatory cooldown cycles between mass activations due to thermal and spatial stress buildup within the projector array. Additionally, BLACK TIDE is limited to small-unit short-range translocation, restricting its use to squad-level boarding actions during closer engagements.
*Even during successful testing phases, engineers remained uncertain regarding the exact mechanics of the translocation process itself. Notes recovered from the original Republic investigation referenced competing theories suggesting that the Rakatan system either reconstructed matter at the destination point or generated a temporary dimensional transit pathway between two locations. Unable to definitively confirm either interpretation, Commonwealth researchers intentionally withheld these uncertainties from early test personnel until sufficient medical examinations and repeat translocation trials confirmed that subjects remained biologically and cognitively intact following transfer procedures.
While highly effective in controlled engagements, BLACK TIDE carries inherent risks if misused, including potential spatial misalignment events, failed insertions, or partial translocation under unstable field conditions. As such, its deployment is restricted to sanctioned naval operations under Naval command authority. Despite these limitations, the system represents a significant advancement in naval boarding doctrine, providing a decisive advantage in boarding engagements.
5.17.26 - VERSION 1.1 - I've added a few things to this version of BLACK TIDE, marked with an asterisk. Namely, the canon evidence linked in new paragraphs in the description citing evidence of teleportation from a device to a frigate in high orbit. As well as the theories on how this particular version of Rakatan teleporters works, as nowhere in the article does it reference Gree hypergates. I justified the range decrease. Also, I added a neutral section in strengths and weaknesses because I thought it might be interesting.
