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Approved Tech QQ-C15 Silkworm Hypertransit Package

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Intent: A very fast, very exclusive hypertransit package, including a hyperdrive, navicomputer, and associated hyperspace-related equipment
Development Thread:

Military-grade analysis of a class-0.5 hyperdrive under the influence of Jorus Merrill - story here, here, and here.

Navicomputer includes proprietary extemporaneous routes established (as best as can be remembered) here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and especially here, as well as the aforementioned development threads.

Manufacturer: Silk Holdings/Eshan Drive Yards (a Silk subsidiary)
Model: QQ-C15 Silkworm Hypertransit Package
Affiliation: Restricted sales, and the Levantine Sanctum
Modularity: Minor. A partially integrated class-10 backup hyperdrive is optional.
Production: Minor
Material: Electronics and advanced hyperdrive materials
Description:

The Silkworm's core unit is a hyperdrive rated at class 0.5, a hair slower than a Mandalorian Bes'uliik or Silk's elite Rassilon starfighter, but still blindingly fast, and equivalent to the class 0.5 unit found on the very expensive minor-production Pathfinder-class from Silk. A class-12 backup hyperdrive is available as a modular attachment. The navicomputer contains proprietary information, as discussed below. The package also includes a powerful (non-eavesdropping) hyperwave signal interceptor and a hyperspace matrix S-thread hypercomm/hyperradio unit. Like many navigation packages, the Silkworm includes a basic hyperspace compass and an emergency dit-dah hyperspace transponder.

In terms of common non-combative attachments, the Silkworm qualifies as Advanced Navigational Systems, as well as the class 0.5 hyperdrive. It also makes a separate HoloNet transceiver redundant.

-Hyperspace Situational Awareness

An advanced, proprietary soliton antenna permits the vessel to detect other ships in hyperspace with some degree of reliability, within 100 light-years (slightly more for the soliton shift of an actual hyperspace jump or reversion). Due to the speed of hyperspace travel, this amounts to only seconds' forewarning, with zero information as to if the soliton contact will decelerate from lightspeed nearby, or, if so, where the contact might appear. On the off chance that two vessels are travelling near each other in hyperspace, with similar velocities (hyperdrive classes) and vectors, the soliton antenna could allow one ship to locate the other, though the odds of one vessel finding another are vanishingly slim, to say nothing of the odds of weapons range being achieved for more than a microsecond. It can, however, permit accurate hypercommunications connections between nearby ships when both are in hyperspace. The soliton antenna is a component in a hyperwave signal interceptor array; this array is generally not optimized for SIGINT, does not contain cryptographic hardware or software beyond the absolute basics, and is in all respects not intended for eavesdropping. Its purpose is primarily awareness of hyperspace conditions, reversions, events and so forth.

-Navicomputer

The navicomputer contains the same set of millions of routes as any up-to-date navicomputer. However, it also contains tens of thousands of intermediate connecting routes gleaned from the navicomputers of the Gypsymoth and the Daragon, the Merrill family ships. A large portion of the galaxy's hyperroutes are considered praedia, local routes which only connect to larger routes with difficulty. Many of Jorus Merrill's uses of instinctive astrogation have connected, whether consciously or unconsciously, with various praedia. The Silkworm Hypertransit Package thus opens up far, far more of the galaxy for easy travel, generally proportional to the distance from the core. This allows Silkworm owners to profit from three major advantages. First, improved connection to potential markets, boltholes, and other useful, remote star systems. Second, a higher effective speed in certain sectors of the galaxy. Third, Silkworm owners can often avoid major hyperlanes, though major hyperlanes are generally faster than an obscure Silkworm route.

Naturally, this data is encrypted at a level proportional to Silk Holdings' immensity and power; there are no larger corporations, and Silk has few peers. Its subsidiaries include military contractors and its private contractors have been known to include the finest technical minds of the modern age. Suffice it to say, the Silkworm nav data is proprietary and will stay that way for a very long time, barring the most serious, time-consuming, well-manned, and well-supplied of foreign efforts.

-Installation Factors

The Silkworm is very mass-intensive, with a freighter-grade package (rated for any ship up to 100m) weighing in at 30 tons of cargo space. Capital-ship-grade packages can run in the hundreds of tons, generally around 20% more than a standard military Class 1 drive. Power drain is proportionate. These concerns absolutely prohibit the Silkworm from being installed on starfighters, bombers, gunships and dropships; it is intended for medium freighters and above. Furthermore, the process of retrofitting existing starships with a Silkworm package is time-consuming and expensive, if not undertaken by Silk personnel. The process is often easier with Silk starships due to technician cross-competency. The EDY-based Mon Calamari design influences allow closer compatibility with Mon Calamari-designed starships, and may become standard on new-generation models of Mon Calamari starships from Silk, of minor production or less. The Silkworm may become erratic if its navigational database is tampered with; should major difficulties occur mid-jump, the Silkworm will automatically revert the ship to realspace and prepare the backup hyperdrive. The Silkworm is also susceptible to ion damage; as a result, Silk Holdings/EDY recommends pairing it with an appropriate number of dedicated cap drain modules, over and above the cap drains required to protect the host ship. The lift mass/structural concern is thus compounded.
 
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