Approved Tech Umbral Grav-Repulsion Grid Mk. I

[Darth Prazutis]

• Intent: To create an advanced Sith engineered repulsorlift / gravitic control system for Kainate starfighters and small craft, enabling omnidirectional attitude control and maneuvering even outside a gravity well.
• Image Source:
  • Headers - Teresa Zambrano | Darth Pellax
• Canon Link: N/A
• Permissions: N/A
• Primary Source: N/A

• Manufacturer:
  
  • Malsheem Hypernautics and Manufacturing
• Affiliation:
  
  • The Kainate
• Market Status: Closed-Market
• Model: Umbral Grav-Repulsion Grid Mk. I
• Modularity: No
• Production: Limited
• Material:
  • Alchemized Sarrassian Iron Coil Housings
  • Bloodsteel Conductor Rings
  • Umbricore Gravitic Baffles
  • Sigil-Wire Control Lattice

• Umbral Mass-Echo Anchors: Traditional repulsorlifts need a gravity well to "push" against; the Umbral Grid fakes that. It projects a localized mass-echo, a Sith-tuned gravitic reference made from sigil-bound field equations, so the craft can generate repulsive force even in deep space. The system basically tells the repulsor plate, "there's a floor here" even when there isn't one. That gives the vessel fine, driftless positional control in hangars, in formation, or during combat approaches.
• Omnidirectional Repulsion Vanes: Instead of a single ventral plate, the Kainate version mounts small repulsor vanes around the hull in a ring. Each vane can invert or vector its repulsion, producing sideways, dorsal, or aft "push", so the ship can translate, pivot, or hold a hover without firing main thrusters.
• Sith Flux-Runes for Atmospheric Authority: In atmosphere, the Grid ties into the craft's flight stabilization, bleeding tiny pulses of repulsion to counter crosswinds, turbulence, or violent maneuvering. The runes keep lift smooth and let the pilot (or droid brain) perform aggressive angles of attack without stalling.
• Grave-Phase Inertial Trimmer: A secondary, low-power grav-trim loop smooths the ship's micro-motions so the rest of the systems don't jitter, especially useful for starfighters doing precision firing solutions. It doesn't replace inertial compensators, but it makes the craft feel "anchored" even when it's not.

• Works Outside a Gravity Well: Unlike normal repulsorlifts, the Umbral Grid can operate in deep space thanks to its mass-echo anchors, letting a fighter hold position, hover relative to another ship, or do docking maneuvers without firing engines.
• Omnidirectional Fine Control: Hull-ringed repulsor vanes give the craft strafing, side-slip, and roll authority at low speeds, perfect for atmospheric knife-fighting or creepy, predatory "drift" movements.
• Kainate-Tier Integration: The sigil-wire lattice lets it talk to other dark systems so the movement can match the deception, it can literally move like a ghost because the repulsors don't kick visible thrust.
• Low-Noise Maneuvering: Because it doesn't need big engine burns to reposition, it can reduce signature during approach runs or in quiet deck operations.

• Power-Hungry in Deep Space: Faking a gravity reference costs more power than using a real one. Long-duration hover/hold in true vacuum will drain small craft faster than normal repulsorlift operation.
• Force Nullification: The mass-echo and control runes are partially alchemical. While under Force Nullification, the Grid degrades to something much closer to normal repulsorlift behavior, losing efficiency.
• Not a Main Drive: This is a control / positioning system, not primary propulsion. You still need ion engines to actually go somewhere; the Grid just makes you frighteningly precise.
• Ritual Calibration Required: Because it uses Sith sigil to shape its gravitic reference, it has to be re-tuned after heavy damage, refits, or if the craft's mass distribution changes a lot. Neglect makes it jittery or uneven.

The Umbral Grav-Repulsion Grid Mk. I is what happens when the Kainate looks at a very old piece of galactic tech, the humble repulsorlift, and refuses to accept its biggest limitation: "it only works near a gravity well." Under direction from the Shadow Hand and implemented by the Shadow Mind on Malsheem, the Grid was built to give Sith strike craft the same effortless control in deep space that repulsorlifts give in atmosphere.

Where civilian repulsors push off a planet's mass, the Umbral Grid creates a false mass to push off of. Alchemized Sarrassian iron housings and bloodsteel rings hold a network of sigil-wired coils that project a localized gravitic reference, a kind of ghost-floor, beneath or beside the ship. The repulsor vanes then act on that reference, letting the vessel hover relative to nothing, translate sideways, or hold steady next to a carrier hull without thrusting. For droid starfighters, that means perfect gunnery holds and creepy, predatory approach vectors that don't broadcast engine burns.

In atmosphere, the system is even more elegant. The Grid feathers repulsion in microbursts to stabilize the craft during high-angle pulls, crosswinds, or low-speed strafes, giving Sith pilots and droid brains absurd authority over attitude. Because the Kainate loves doctrine synergy, the Grid was also made to play nice with their other dark systems, a fighter running Nightcloak or Wraith-Shroud can use the Grid to move in ways that visually match the sensor deception, making defenders doubt what they're seeing.

In the end its a refined, Kainate repulsorlift that solves the one problem repulsorlifts always had: "What if I want to do this in space?" That's exactly what this does. After seeing its success they were quickly rolled out for use.

 

[Krass Wyms]

Darth Prazutis

Nicely made

Apprroved