Freelance Spacefarer
T.A.L.O.N. Docking System || A.U.R.A. Mk. II
[ Tractable A.U.R.A. with Logistics Onboard Navicomputer ]
[[ All-purpose Universal Retractable Airlock ]]
[ Tractable A.U.R.A. with Logistics Onboard Navicomputer ]
[[ All-purpose Universal Retractable Airlock ]]
- SCHEMATIC
-
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create RP opportunities by providing a fleshed out, Mass-Produced, and Open-Market solution to an ubiquitous starship upgrade - that is focused on customization rather than increasing a ship's rating.
- Image Source: Imgur
- Canon Link: Docking Ring, Docking Tube, Docking Clamp
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Corellian Engineering Corporation [CEC] - Original Patent.
- Affiliation: Available to any starship with access to a dry dock capable of installing the tech. Many other companies and factions may have their own manufacturing lines of the T.A.L.O.N. docking system.
- Market Status: Open-Market
- Model: A.U.R.A. Mark II.
- Modularity: N/A [The T.A.L.O.N. is already a universal airlock, no further modularity required]
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: By default, the same as the host starship's hull and/or plating [no change in starship's rating] plus Gel-foam and an embedded logistics navicomputer. [Separately upgrading/downgrading the T.A.L.O.N.'s materials can possibly affect a starship's final rating, accordingly]
SPECIAL FEATURES
- An Airlock capable of being installed on any ship with at least one docking ring.
- Ships connected by the airlock's docking tube can also (potentially) have any dimensions - restricted by the size of the T.A.L.O.N.
- NOTE:
- The Host starship is the one with the T.A.L.O.N. installed. The Guest starship is the one that the T.A.L.O.N. attaches itself to.
- After attachment, there is no practical difference between both starships, as the T.A.L.O.N. is completely symmetrical in terms of operation.
STRENGTHS
- The host ship can be of any size, provided it has at least one docking ring - the size of the host ship, is what naturally dictates the size of the T.A.L.O.N.
- The guest ship can be of any size, provided its airlock hatch or cockpit is small enough to fit inside the T.A.L.O.N.'s clamp.
- As long as both starships possess a working propulsion system, they can remain docked with each other while flying, even if they are of the same size, thanks to the Logistics Onboard Navicomputer.
WEAKNESSES
- Some starships still cannot have a T.A.L.O.N. installed, due to not having airlock hatches - e.g., most starfighters. - but a T.A.L.O.N. that's big enough can still attach itself to them.
- Starships that are not at least three size categories apart - e.g., a corvette and a star destroyer or a cruiser and a small craft (like the Gozanti-class carrying TIE fighters) - need working propulsion systems on both ships and a working logistics navicomp on the T.A.L.O.N., for flight to be possible.
- The T.A.L.O.N.'s embedded navicomp is not intrusive, so it can't be used to gain access to another ship's propulsion systems. Both pilots need to willingly connect to the T.A.L.O.N.'s navicomp for it to work.
- While docked, the overall maneuverability/speed/hyperdrive class/etc. of both starships is always the worst among the two values - e.g., a slow ship can't attach itself to a faster ship of similar size, in order to improve its own speed.
- An active airlock is an innate weak spot on any starship configuration. The T.A.L.O.N. is no exception.
DESCRIPTION
The T.A.L.O.N. - or simply A.U.R.A. Mk. II - is an upgrade on the old A.U.R.A. docking system. Both originally developed and patented by the CEC, but whose manufacturing rights have since been sold to several other companies. When referring to either the T.A.L.O.N. or the A.U.R.A., the starship where the system is installed is designated the host ship, while the ship that docks to it, the guest ship. Otherwise, when it comes down to the utility and usage of any A.U.R.A. system, both ships are fundamentally the same.
As the name suggests, the goal of the original A.U.R.A. [All-purpose Universal and Retractable Airlock] docking system was to provide an airlock able to solve three of the most common difficulties in ship-to-ship docking:
- All-purpose: The symmetrical umbilical bridge of the A.U.R.A. allowed it to serve as a two-way docking system, regardless of which starship was the host or the guest.
- Universal: Its patented design is compatible with any docking ring, regardless of size - since the A.U.R.A. can also be scaled to fit the docking ring of the host ship - thus not restricting its installation to any model/s of ship/s, provided they contain at least one docking ring.
- Retractable: The airlock is retractable, so as to have a minimum overhead on the host starship's profile. Furthermore, when retracted, it did not prevent access to the original docking ring if required.
In the end, most starships which required some sort of docking ring or clamp, already had its own airlock system in place. Thus countering the CEC's desire for the A.U.R.A. to become a standard of starship technology.
Therefore, improvements were made to the original design in order to make it more appealing for mass-production, and the rights of manufacture were sold to many other companies.
As such, the T.A.L.O.N./A.U.R.A. Mk. II [Tractable A.U.R.A. with Logistics Onboard Navicomputer] improves upon the original A.U.R.A. design, in the following ways:
- Tractable A.U.R.A.: On top of the usual magnetic couplings, the T.A.L.O.N.'s clamp has an outer layer of tractable gel-foam, allowing for a perfectly hermetic airlock regardless of the profile on the guest ship. It can attach itself, with the same ease, to another ship's docking ring or a fighter's cockpit - provided that the cockpit in question is small enough to fit into the T.A.L.O.N.'s airlock.
- Logistics Onboard Navicomputer: Regular airlocks usually impede or severely hinder starship maneuverability, if both ships are of similar size. In such cases, tandem flight operation requires complicated navigation and often also interoperability and constant communication between the starships. A very difficult thing to accomplish, especially given that the host and guest systems might have completely different sublight and hyperdrive systems. Therefore, clamping docks were usually seen only on larger vessels that would use them to carry much smaller ones, thus bypassing the need for interoperability between its system. The T.A.L.O.N. shattered this dogma, by having it's own ship-to-ship firmware API bridge installed, that allows for automated coordination between the navicomps of both starship's - in a parent/child process relationship, with one starship's system delegating to the other.
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