Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To provide a variable fire laser cannon in Lucerne Lab’s cataloguep
- Image Source: here
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
- Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi Concord, Closed-Market
- Model: Vaapad-class Laser Cannon
- Modularity: software; mounting hardware (can be fixed in place on Starfighters, fitted on turrets on capital ships, etc)
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: Dallorian Alloy casing and barrel, typical laser cannon components
- Classification: Laser Cannon
- Size: Average
- Weight: Heavy
Standard Fire Mode Supercharged Fire Mode Stutterfire Mode Ammunition Type Power / Blaster Gas Power / Blaster Gas Power / Blaster Gas Ammunition Capacity Average Average Average Effective Range Long Range Long Range Long Range Rate of Fire Average Very Low Very High Stopping Power Average Very High Very Low Recoil Average Average Average
- Equivalent to a typical laser cannon for shipbuilding purposes and rough terms of power in standard mode
- Variable Fire Modes: The Vaapad can be set to use different gas and power consumption levels, allowing it to be easily adapted to fulfill different roles. Aside from acting as an almost typical laser cannon, its stutterfire mode allows it to spew large amounts of weak-powered bolts which tend to be particularly effective against dovin basal shielding, swarming enemies, and person-sized targets. Conversely, its supercharged mode (which is very similar to that of the Hornet Interceptor) gives it much more power than typical for a laser cannon, making it exceptionally useful in punching through heavily defended targets such as heavy tanks or armored gunships or outright disintegrating smaller targets in a single bolt.
- Recursive Galven Coiling: Vaapad uses a unique system of superimposed, recursive galven coiling that allows bolts to be finely focused in a minimum of internal space (though this density does make the weapon relatively heavy). The improved bolt cohesion from this system results in a slightly longer range than the typical laser cannon.
- Flexible Gas Feed: While most standard blaster and laser weapons can use a variety of blaster gases, the Vaapad is designed to be particularly forgiving in accepting different types of gases due to the use of overbuilt components and easily adjustable siphons and valves. With a little work and experimentation, the Vaapad can not only use different types of gases well, but optimize performance for different grades as well, meaning that even some of the poorest functioning gases found the backwater worlds of the Outer Rim or distilled out of disparate components can function in this cannon.
- Variable Fire Modes: The Vaapad can alter the intakes of its ammunition and firing cycle to allow it to be tailored to be better suited for certain roles, whether its using its supercharged setting to incinerate an enemy vehicle or its stutterfire mode to overwhelm dovin basals.
- Long-Range: Vaapad has somewhat better range than the typical laser cannon due to extensive, but condensed galven coiling that increases the duration of each bolt’s cohesion. This is typically a minor advantage because many foes can rapidly close the distance with the Vaapad’s starfighter users during dogfights, but it may allow the Vaapad’s user to get a few shots in first or plink at distant stationary targets without fear of immediate retribution.
- High Rate of Fire (Stutter-fire mode): Vaapad can rapidly increase its firing cycle by reducing bolt cohesion and feeding in lesser amounts of power and gas into each bolt. This allows the Vaapad to almost fire continuous streams of weak-powered bolts, perfect for cutting through a swath of weak enemies or intercepting many enemy missiles.
- Magnum Stopping Power (Supercharged mode): Vaapad can funnel more gas and add more power to each bolt, making it significantly larger and more destructive at the cost of a slower firing cycle. These bolts are exceptionally powerful and almost reach light turbolaser levels of firepower.
- Delay: Switching between fire modes takes a few seconds to recalibrate gas and power feeds, meaning that Vaapad often has a minor delay in firing when switching modes. This is especially true when switching from stutterfire to supercharged mode because of the time needed for the capacitors to build up the requisite energy needed for such shots.
- Heavy: Vaapad is a bit heavier than the average laser cannon due to the density of its special galven coiling and its sturdy Dallorian Alloy construction. This can potentially limit performance when used on small vehicles and makes maintenance and repair more of a hassle.
- Weak Power (Stutterfire-mode): In stutterfire mode, the rapid discharge of fire necessitates less power and gas being directed into individual bolts, which makes them noticeable less damaging. Each bolt is largely equivalent to that of handheld blaster cannon – more than powerful enough to destroy person-sized targets and incoming ordinance, but unlikely to severely damage anything more than civilian or lightly armored vehicles without sustained fire.
- Slow Firing Rate (Supercharged mode): Supercharging bolts requires more power and gas, and with its discharge, a noticeable amount of time to cool and then form a new bolt. This makes the Vaapad relatively slow firing in its supercharged mode, with its cooldown time being slightly less than that of a light turbolaser.
As Lucerne Labs looked to start building its next generation of small craft, starship engineers put out a request to the company’s weapons design department for a new laser cannon which might provide the characteristic versatility that for so long as defined the company’s product line. To that end, the company’s design team actually took inspiration from its subsidiary’s Flamestorm-class Assault Cannon and largely adapted its basic principles to a larger laser cannon design. Additionally, the Vaapad uses a currently unique superimposed and recursive galven coiling system designed by Gai, the company’s notoriously eccentric weapon’s engineer, which has resulted in slightly improved range at the cost of a higher weight.
The resulting Vaapad is a fairly flexible weapons system suited for use on starfighters, larger starships, and some ground vehicles. While in most instances it is largely equivalent to a typical laser cannon, the Vaapad can also produce a huge volume of low-powered bolts or conversely produce a smaller number of significantly more powerful bolts. This allows the Vaapad to be tailored to be effectively employed against anything from small and light targets from enemy warheads to massive, enemy tanks and large gunships. Because its power requirements and size are largely equivalent to that of a typical laser cannon, it seems likely that the weapon will begin to replace the typical laser cannons currently utilized by Lucerne Labs.
