APM has generally focused on developing ships fit for outmaneuvering and outrunning other ships of their class, however, this comes with its drawback: the size of Core ships has been generally smaller, limiting them to smaller Power Cores and rendering them unable to effectively sustain a large number of weapon modules.

This condition has been nullified when it comes to the needs of "Project Apex Predator", since the ship being developed has proved to be of much greater size than anything APM has ever developed, making the capability of using of a bigger power core a reality. A bigger power core is not only vital to offensive capabilities of the ship, but also the needs of other modules incorporated such as stronger shields, heavier engines, life support throughout every floor etc.

For this task I have found IRG Cells to be the most efficient choice available; these cells are devices that engulf a self-sustaining plasma sphere in an electromagnetic field, respectively encased in a unique housing. This technology is most likely of alien origin, hence it's similarities to what we have currently being researched on Invicta Station - Power Cores of Nomad origin. Obviously it would be preferable to use tech understood and developed by APM alone, but given the limited time frame for this project I have contacted the IRG in hopes to get a better understanding of these cells and ways of adapting them to APM technology and hardware within the ship.

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Contact with the IRG has been established: they have agreed to assist us in adapting and modifying APM hardware and mounts towards the proper use of the power cells. For this Dr. James Erzie and one of his engineering teams have been granted authorization to board Invicta Research Station and proceed to the dedicated lab where they would work closely with us.

In the last few weeks we have concluded that the ship will require 3 IRG power cells in total for optimal efficiency and longevity, amount lowered due to Dr. Erzie's concerns of misusing the technology or overheating issues. Initial calculations led us to believe that the enormous size and power needs of the ship will require us to use 5 IRG power cells connected directly to the ships Power Core, as well as being backed up by 2 small Mako reactors as a contingency. The ship itself would'have been using 4 of the cells meanwhile 1 power cell would be dedicated solely to the Plasma Propulsion Engine currently in development.
A unique Power Core has been designed specifically for this ship:

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After long discussions and clarifications, as well as alterations to the provided Power Core schematics made by the IRG team, we managed to cut these demanding numbers in half; with these conditions now in effect we can efficiently sustain the ship with a maximum of 2 power cells (not accounting for the 1 cell dedicated to the Propulsion engines), while keeping the Mako reactors almost inactive.

Following the advice of Dr. Erzie, adequate software has been developed for optimal usage of the technology - the dedicated 2 IRG cells will be running in separate cycles:

• Cycle #1 will be running primary power and systems
  
• Cycle #2 will be running auxiliary power and systems
  

Primary systems will always be more demanding, consequently overheating the dedicated power cell in a much swifter manner, therefore at a certain threshold the 2 power cells being used in this regard will be switching cycles to allow one another to cool down and avoid any sorts of system failure.
A third IRG cell will be acting actively on its own, being solely dedicated to the Propulsion Engines which, even if extremely demanding, will never exceed the overheat threshold.

The ship will be carrying 2 extra IRG cells on board which will be used in extreme cases when it may become isolated and deprived from means of resupplying; switching to these reserve cells will be sustained by the temporary usage of the 2 Mako reactors.
With this in mind the IRG team have assisted us in successfully altering the APM Power Core mount design to fully couple with power cells and use them at full (?) potential.

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With the power sources sorted out there still remains the heat issue: having so many reactors and active power modules in the same place will disengage enormous amounts of heat which, if left unsupervised, would damage the ships internal systems severely over time.
Given the vast size dedicated to the power room while having the power sources in the form of power cells which occupy low amounts of space, we are able to use the remaining space for cooling methods:




Placement of the reactors and power core has been established and the following schematic provided:

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The final step of the projects section 1. is gathering and assembling the required materials at Alabama Shipyard. For this we will need:

When it comes to propulsion means there aren't many options to chose from in present times. Most commonly used engines around Sirius are the fusion engines, a tempting choice but very unstable due to it's volume and size needed to efficiently generate thrust for the vessel in question. On top of it's size limitation, this type of engine also generates enormous amounts of heat and radiation which would deteriorate the ships integrity over time. Use of fusion engines, even if widely used currently, is simply put too unstable in regards to this project.

Considering the drawbacks of current technology, the DM team has been tasked to research adequate means of propulsion. Ever since developing a proper power source for the ship we've come to the conclusion that not only that energy generated will abundant, but we've also have been given the opportunity of seeking thrust through Plasma Propulsion engines.

Plasma propulsion engines are means of electric propulsion that use electricity to generate electromagnetic fields whom in turn compress and excite a gas turning it into plasma. Plasma is then energized through radio waves and then is expelled with the use a magnetic field, generating thrust. The fact that these types of engines are not commonly used is dictated by the need to generate enough electricity to turn gases into plasma; this complication is negated by dedicating one of the IRG cells used in the power module solely to the engines consumption.

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The Core's proximity to the Omicron Delta Nomad Reactor has always made Azurite Gas an abundant resource to be researched and exploited. From previous studies we know that the Azurite is a radioactive element with an average conductivity having a ionization energy value of 1037 kJ/mol required to extract one electron from its shells; it's atom identifies with the 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6 electron configuration with 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 8 electrons per shell, 86 protons and 136 neutrons.

Unlike other gases, azurite has proved to have special properties: when exposed to constant voltage and current, Azurite begins to absorb the energy; this factor facilitates the ionization process and aids greatly towards turning the propellant into plasma. Furthermore the resulted plasma is extremely responsive to magnetic fields, giving it a potential specific impulse value that could reach up to 9500s and an effective exhaust velocity of 95,000 m/s.

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