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OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To sub a new stealth technology for future submissions and role-playing.
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PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Manufacturer: Visanj T’shkali
Affiliation: Closed-Market
Model: SilentShadow Mk. II Cloaking Device
Modularity: None.
Production: Semi-Unique
Material(s): Segroth Bantam, Synthetic (Mephite) Adegan Crystals, Electronic Components
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Using synthetic mephite adegan crystals, the Mk.II represents a much more powerful upgrade over the previous model.
- Requiring significantly lower power than most other types of cloaking devices in use.
- Creates a cloaking effect and field on par with, or even slightly stronger than, a stygium cloak.
- Able to not be detected by most types of sensors and scanners, ensuring ‘invisibility’ to all but the rarest and most powerful military-grade systems.
- Has an anti-tampering device meant to frustrate slicing and prevent reverse-engineering.
- Lesser versions of crystals cannot be used to power this device, and should the synthetic crystal become compressed or unstable due to poor quality of manufacture, the device will not work properly. Further, synthetic pontite or its natural equivalent will overload the circuits and destroy it.
- Crystal field grav traps and powerful military-grade grade magnetic sensors will still be able to detect a cloaked ship using this device.
- Cloaking field deactivates upon firing when used aboard an armed ship, and must be recycled before becoming operational once more.
- Cloaking field deactivates upon entering hyperspace.
- Brief (1-2 seconds) faint reddish glow provides visual clue that a ship is de-cloaking using this device.
Cloaking devices remain dominated by two essential technologies, Hibridium and Stygian-based devices. However, after considering the various applications of adegan crystals inspired the creation of a compact cloaking system which is on par with a Stygian Cloaking Device. More powerful than the previous system, the Mk. II uses synthetic mephite adegan crystals which are easier than mining for the real thing, however great care must be taken and the process is quite lengthy, as should a crystal be compressed or made unstable, the device will not work and render a ship using it quite vulnerable to detection. This painstaking process of synthesizing crystals to avoid unstable or compressed varieties means production is kept low and drives up the cost of these devices significantly, making the devices hard to acquire and replace and keeping them from the hands of anyone who is not supported by vast personal wealth or the resources of a major faction. You will not see these devices on ships owned by simple spacers, smugglers, or small factions unless they could steal it or acquire it through some unusual means.
In terms of sheer performance, the SilentShadow Mk. II is much more powerful than its predecessor, and only the most powerful and rarest magnetic sensors or crystal grav traps will detect a ship using it. The smaller the ship using it, the better it can be concealed and more saturation the cloaking field provides, meaning you could quite literally be standing right next to it and never know it was there unless you had the kind of sensors that only very large capital ships in service to powerful factions might have. When entering or leaving a cloaked state, the ship appears to be enveloped in a faint reddish glow as it disappears or reappears, providing a brief (1-2 second) visual cue that a ship is de-cloaking.
