:: accessing AP Manufacturing confidential files ::
Vessel Identification Number - APM-RV7386 Hull Designation - Core|APM-Ailuros Classification - Deep Space Science Vessel Assignment - Core Research & Development
Vessel Background Information
The Ailuros is a next-generation Research & Development testbed platform designed by AP Manufacturing for active operations in and beyond the Omicron systems. Planning and design for the Ailuros began in 822 A.S. following the capture of Planet Nauru and the newfound abundance of iridium and alien technology therein. With their dominance over these resources and a strong foothold from which to spread their reach further into the Omicron systems, the Core pushed AP Manufacturing for the development of newer, more powerful warships, weapons, and equipment, as well as other developments to secure their borders.
AP Manufacturing immediately began devoting resources towards facilities and ships designed with the explicit purpose of developing and testing new technologies, and among these projects was the construction of the Ailuros; a vessel which would vanguard the Core's technological supremacy over its enemies. The Ailuros began its design based on the tried-and-true, Zoner-built "Corvo" Deep Space Explorer, providing a reliable foundation to build upon. A standard Corvo hull, purchased from Livadia Shipyard in late 822 A.S., was stripped down and outfitted with APM-Grade equipment, from power relays to drive core to sensors, weapons, and shields. Further remodeling of the Corvo interior aimed to integrate multiple science and research labs, with dedicated equipment for Geology Surveying, Interstellar Cartography, Xeno-Archaeology, Xeno-Biology, Pharmaceutical and Medical study, Surveillance, and Cryptology. Additional modular lab systems allow for custom equipment to be loaded and installed based on mission demands.
The Ailuros was completed and scheduled for its maiden voyage in late 825 A.S., under the command of Damien Mekal, with an initial mission order to survey Azurite and Iridium deposits within the Omicron Delta and Omicron Lost systems, and improvement of mining equipment for more efficient extraction of these materials crucial to the Core's expansion.
Crew Roster & Dossiers
The Ailuros fields seven senior staff members, with additional crew requirements being filled on an as-needed basis. The vast majority of the ship's systems are automated or command-linked to centralized stations throughout the ship, reducing the need for extensive operational crew. Maintenance tasks are handled at-large via robotic assistance and Virtual-Intelligence entities linked to a central quantum computer matrix.
Current active duty roster - Senior Staff
Name - Damien Mekal Position - Commanding Officer / Director of Operations Age - 52 Years (Born 773 A.S.) Birthplace - Planet Los Angeles, California System, Liberty DNA Profile - 72% Libertonian / 28% Bretonian Prior Assignments - Liberty Security Force
Personnel Dossier:
Damien Mekal, born to Luther Mekal (Father) and Charlotte Whitmore (Mother) comes from a long line of military service; both his father and grandfather were pilots in the Liberty Navy. During his youth, Damien wanted nothing more than to follow in their footsteps; he dreamed of becoming a pilot, called by the thrill of a dogfight and the unrequited speed of a guardian fighter. Upon reaching recruitment age, Damien submitted to the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Test for placement within Liberty's Armed Forces. Much to his dismay, his technical scores and IQ were well beyond what was typically sought in pilot applicants, and he was pushed towards other fields of service including military intelligence and command. Pulling strings with his superiors, Damien's Father acquired special authorization to permit his son to travel to West Point Military Academy and take a flight aptitude examination before further placement; excellent marks would ensure that Damien was admitted to the Liberty Navy's flight program. Unfortunately, Damien did not receive exemplary marks in the test, and was denied his career path as a fighter pilot.
Despairing from the failure, Damien withdrew his application from the Liberty Navy entirely, until he was approached some time later by recruiters from the Liberty Security Force who took an interest in his exceptional ASVAT scores. The LSF promised Damien a chance to prove himself - not as a pilot, but as a member of their black-project research group stationed beyond the high-security perimeter of Zone-21. Damien reluctantly agreed, hopeful that the LSF would provide him with the adventure he had been denied by the navy, even if it wasnt from the seat of a fighter.
Damien spent the next 30 years in service of the LSF, with most of that time spent secluded in the Alaska system at Juneau Shipyard and later Kodiak Research Station following the Nomad War. He has assisted the LSF in projects ranging from the original design and construction of the Osiris-Class prototype battleship to the LSF's latest prototype reconnaissance cruiser. Additionally, he has extensively studied fragments of the Valhalla Archive stored aboard Kodiak Research Station, and is one of Sirius' foremost minds in the fields of Nomad and Daam K'vosh study.
Thirty years of seclusion in the cold, bleak confines of Alaska working with few personnel other than similarly-minded scientists and officers has left Damien with an extremely pragmatic personality; he is often considered cold and to-the-point by his peers, and has been described as a morally ambiguous individual for whom the ends always justify the means.
In 821 A.S., after thirty years with the LSF, Damien Mekal officially retired from their employ; signing a strict confidentiality contract prohibiting him from divulging any classified information to parties deemed unauthorized to it by the Liberty government. After two years, Damien was approached by members of the Core's logistics division - AP Manufacturing - with an extremely lucrative offer for contracted employment. APM requested Damien's enlistment in their most recently established research & development program, to which his extensive background with the LSF made him a prime candidate. He accepted the offer and, after serving an initial term studying the Alien Ruins on planet Nauru - a stark contrast in environment from his time at Kodiak and Juneau - was assigned command of APM's newest deep space research platform: The Ailuros.
Damien Mekal maintains numerous classified contacts with associates in the Liberty Security Force, Bretonian Intelligence Service, and other information and science facilities throughout Sirius; this information network has proven invaluable in research for APM and the Core.
Name - Eva Strauss Position - Research Assistant / First Officer Age - 30 Years (Born 795 A.S.) Birthplace - Planet Stuttgart, Stuttgart System, Rheinland DNA Profile - 35% Libertonian / 15% Bretonian / 50% Rheinlander Prior Assignments - Synth Foods, Cryer Pharmaceuticals, The Order
Personnel Dossier:
Eva Strauss comes from a middle-class Rheinlandic family based on Stuttgart. In her youth she rebelliously refused to follow in their stead as farmers, instead signing a corporate contract with Synth Foods at 18. During her brief time working for the food conglomerate, she was tasked with genetic modifications of crops in order to maximize growth speed and efficiency. Following a few short years of employment on Stuttgart, Strauss was recruited by Cryer Pharmaceuticals and moved off-world to Atka Research Station in Sigma 17, where she studied spaceborn microbial life and its applications in both terraforming and medicine.
Strauss was temporarily commissioned by The Order in 817 A.S. as a civilian contractor tasked with finding a cure for an alien plague that had spread through parts of Kusari, most notably the ranks of the Blood Dragons and Order operatives associating with them. While she was considered a paid employee of The Order during this assignment, she was never officially recruited and had little knowledge of the organization beyond interactions with their science and medical personnel.
Following the plague incident, Eva Strauss developed a fascination with the edge worlds, and signed on with AP Manufacturing to further their research into alien organisms and artifacts.
Name - Amanda Keller Position - Medical Specialist Age - 28 Years (Born 797 A.S.) Birthplace - Planet Denver, Colorado System, Liberty DNA Profile - 80% Libertonian / 20% Kusari Prior Assignments - Liberty Medical Network
Personnel Dossier:
Amanda Keller has led a largely standard civilian life, attending medical school on Planet Denver where she was born, and taking additional courses in medical care at universities on Manhattan and Cambridge. She has worked on Planet Denver as a trauma surgeon for 6 years, and was only recently hired by APM as a medical specialist for the private sector.
Keller is one of the youngest crew onboard the Ailuros, and has the least experience outside of House Space. Prior to her recruitment to APM, he was blissfully unaware of the dangers outside of house space, her only knowledge of the Omicrons and Nomads being what little information was released to the public by the Sirius News Network following the Nomad war.
Name - Conrad Schneider Position - Cartography and Survey Specialist Age - 32 Years (Born 793 A.S.) Birthplace - Freeport-1, Omega-3 System, Border Worlds DNA Profile - 70% Rheinlander / 30% Unverified (Zoner) Prior Assignments - Zoners
Personnel Dossier:
Conrad Schneider, despite his Rheinlandic surname and lineage, was born a Zoner and has lived his entire life in the depths of space, moving from one freeport to the next and serving aboard mobile colony ships traveling the boundaries of known space. This upbringing has made him intimately familiar with stellar cartography, and he has an innate talent for plotting courses through space. Additionally, Conrad took an interest in stellar geology, minerology, and space-borne mining due to the Zoners' constant need for fresh resources while traversing the unknown.
Following a stint aboard freeport-11 in Omicron Detla, and seeing the opportunities that could arise from the Core successfully founding a house-like Empire in the edge worlds, Conrad enlisted with the Core as a navigation specialist. He served aboard several Core warships before being transferred to APM to fill the position of Stellar Cartography and Survey Specialist aboard the Ailuros.
Name - Marcus Greele Position - Engineering and Tech Specialist Age - 36 Years (Born 789 A.S.) Birthplace - Planet Pittsburgh, New York System, Liberty DNA Profile - 100% Libertonian Prior Assignments - Liberty Navy, Junkers
Personnel Dossier:
Marcus Greele has always been a near-prodigy with technology; he signed on with the Liberty Navy straight out of school and became an engineering officer aboard the Battleship Rio-Grande, one of the older vessels in the fleet. Marcus is most at home when working with machinery and away from other people, and social interaction has never been his forte; he is a quiet, withdrawn introvert who keeps to himself whenever possible.
Following a lengthy career with the Liberty Navy, Greele was dishonorably discharged for negligence after developing a psychological addiction to Holo-Tainment bands; spending hours in virtual reality scenarios at the cost of sleep and health, while avoiding his duties as chief engineer. This negligence led to an accident resulting in the loss of life of two of Greele's subordinates, and his subsequent court-martial.
After being discharged from the Navy, Greele was aimless, and hard-up for credits. He fell back on the only thing he knew - engineering - and joined a Junker crew, spending several years keeping salvage ships out of Vieques shipyard maintained while they salvaged debris from the dark matter fields in the Texas System. One of those salvage vessels took Marcus on as a permanent engineer, and was diverted to the Omicron Minor system to begin salvaging operations on Order and Core assets destroyed in the battle of Toledo. During an altercation with Core forces, Marcus' technical brilliance was taken note of by Core personnel, and he was offered a contract of employment for a far higher salary than the Junkers had been paying him. Marcus took the deal, and has been maintaining Core and APM vessels since.
Now assigned as the Chief Engineer of the Ailuros, Greele has had access to state of the art equipment including vastly improved variants of the Holo-Tainment and Bio-Neural interface technology. At his bequest, Marcus underwent an experimental surgical procedure to integrate Bio-neural interfaces directly with his brain; these modifications, combined with the advanced interlinking systems of the Ailuros, cause Marcus to be in constant neural contact with most of the ship's systems, and better enable him to identify and repair those systems or improve their efficiency. His neural link also allows him to more quickly process complex information by accessing the Virtual Intelligence interfaces and Quantum computing systems onboard the vessel.
Name - Troy Carter Position - Helmsman Age - 31 Years (Born 794 A.S.) Birthplace - Planet Manhattan, New York System, Liberty DNA Profile - 100% Libertonian Prior Assignments - Xenos
Personnel Dossier:
Troy Carter is an oddity in the Core; a criminal-turned-employee. In his youth, Carter was obsessed with spaceflight, and joined a notorious underground lane-racing gang, using illegally modified vessels to drag race the trade lanes around New York. He was arrested several times for disruption of the lane network, though never on felony charges. As years passed, Carter matured and felt the need to turn his life around, applying to Liberty Police, Incorporated and immediately being denied due to his arrest record.
Lawful options not available, Carter's piloting skills were noticed by a more seedy group that preyed on his sense of nationalism to coerce him into joining the Xeno movement. Troy became a pilot for the Xenos, raiding foreign shipping moving into Liberty from Kepler and Galileo. He was, eventually and inevitably, caught by the authorities and imprisoned at LPI Huntsville for five years. His release was secured by the Core after he agreed to sign an employment contract for the organization, and he has been piloting small warships in the Omicrons ever since.
Carter is still something of a hot-shot pilot, often taking risks deemed inappropriate by his superiors, but the results speak to his favor more often than not. His assignment to the Ailuros was two-sided; APM wanted the best pilot possible for their prototype ship, and the Core wanted Carter to stop risking their warships with his reckless flying. Carter was initially overwhelmed by the complexity of the Ailuros, having flown far less advanced ships in the past; but Marcus Greele quickly put together a visor-integrated HUD that allows Troy to access helm systems via neural input and affords him a unparalleled view around the ship.
Name - Katrina Summers Position - Weapons & Tactical Specialist Age - 29 Years (Born 796 A.S.) Birthplace - Planet Cambridge, Cambridge System, Bretonia DNA Profile - 75% Bretonian / 25% Kusari Prior Assignments - Bretonian Intelligence Service
Personnel Dossier:
Katrina Summers was a career BIS operative prior to her employment with the Core. Still relatively young, Summers is a thrill seeker with a penchant for advanced weaponry. She has served as a gunnery and tactical officer onboard numerous Bretonian warships, and a handful of Core warships, and has moderate experience in firing patterns and tactical maneuvers deemed effective against Nomad and Order forces. Her key asset to the Bretonian Intelligence Service and the Core has always been an inherent knack for anticipating and adapting to hostile situations, a skillset necessary for surviving the frequently violent encounters in the Omicrons.
While Summers has very little official field training in combat exercises, and has traditionally served aboard ships or in a tactical advisory role, she is a relatively good shot and has received additional combat and firearms training by the Core in preparation for her service aboard the Ailuros, where she doubles as both the tactical and security officer. Her personality meshes well with that of the ship's pilot, Troy Carter, as both are adrenaline-driven adventurers who prefer to go all out and throw caution to the wind in favor of instinct. While unconventional, the synchronicity displayed by the pair have been indispensable in seeing the Ailuros through hostile situations.
The Remora is a Bison-Class Liberty armored transport purchased and retrofit by AP Manufacturing to fulfill resupply shipping needs in the deep Omicrons. Equipped with heavily automated systems, Iridium-reinforced ablative armor, high-efficiency APC-ET251 engines, reinforced power conduits, and an upgraded point defense system, the Remora is designed to be capable of surviving the extremely hostile environments at the edges of known space.
The Remora primarily fulfills a logistics role in supplying necessary resources and supplies to forward Core assets, including shipbuilding materials to Alabama shipyard, settlement and research supplies to Planet Nauru, and munitions, personnel, fuel, and rations to Core ships operating on the front line that arent able to return to Core stations for resupply. In addition, the Remora is capable of docking and fielding a variety of mission-based support craft, including mining freighters and repair vessels, allowing for extended range of operations.
Name - Kira Santos Position - Captain Age - 37 Years (Born 788 A.S.) Birthplace - Planet Honshu, Honshu System, Kusari DNA Profile - 73% Kusari / 27% Unverified(Hispania) Prior Assignments - Kishiro Technologies, Golden Chrysanthemum Movement
Personnel Dossier:
Kira Santos was born to a Kusari mother, and an unknown father. DNA tests reveal possible Hispania origins, though Corsair or Outcast relations are not confirmed. Her first employment was with Kishiro technologies, piloting a small Drone-Class freighter, and later commanding a "Big Dragon" transport shipping supplies across Kusari. After several encounters with the Golden Chrysanthemums in Hokkaido, she was convinced to begin supplying their movement in secret, while maintaining her employment with Kishiro. Consorting with the GC led to a cardamine addiction, which - when discovered through random drug testing - resulted in her termination from the company. Following that, she began smuggling for the Chrysanthemums to pay for her Cardamine habit.
Despite the addiction, Kira Santos is very well organized and very formal with her business endeavors, and these qualities led to her recruitment into the Core. She never fully supported the political cause of the GC, and the profit offered by APM ensured she would never want for credits again. Now, she commands the Remora Logistics vessel in support of APM and Core assets operating in the deep Omicrons.
The Novitas is one of several small support ships fielded by the Remora, and is a modified Liberty Rhino-Class utility freighter refitted for geological survey and mining operations. It is most frequently deployed to either planetary Iridium surveying on Nauru, Stellar Iridium mining in Omicron Lost, and Azurite collection from the reactor in Omicron Delta. Additionally, the Novitas' cargo space can be quickly modified for short-range supply operations, when small amounts of munitions or commodities are needed by Core assets.
The Artemis is a requisitioned and retrofit "Taurus" class shuttle, built by and procured from Orbital Spa & Cruise. AP Manufacturing has gutted the interior of the shuttle, repurposing it with a mobile lab and research equipment, as well as equipping it externally with APM-Grade weaponry, engines, hull plating, and shielding.
The Artemis serves as a runabout and away shuttle for the crew of the Ailuros, and is able to dock within the science vessel when not in use. It can be utilized for any operations away from the mothership, including planetary landing, resupply runs, personnel transfer, and insertion into areas too dangerous for the Ailuros to go itself. Additionally, the Artemis may be used as a lifepod in the case of catastrophic damage, and is capable of supporting up to 8 personnel for 24 hours.
Standard operation of the Artemis involves 2-4 crew: a pilot, copilot/gunner, and two members of the science team. While the Artemis is not equipped with the same level of facilities as the Ailuros, it is capable of a wide range of tasks including geological surveys and stellar cartography.
The Apollo, a sister ship to the Artemis, is the second parasite craft designed to dock directly with the Ailuros when not in use. Designed by Damien Mekal and Marcus Greele, The Apollo is intended to perform escort and combat duties, while the Artemis handles passenger transport and away missions. The Apollo is based on the E78-12 "Spatial" spaceframe, originally a deep space self-sufficient mining vessel. The Apollo makes use of the E78-12's interior space and oversized powerplants to supply an array of 8 gun mounts, experimental shielding, and a prototype pulse weapon based on reverse-engineered Naurian technology. Additionally, the Apollo replaces the original survey probe deployment system with an autoloading antimatter torpedo launcher for engaging hard targets. The exterior hull paneling of the Apollo has been skinned over with iridium-based ablative armor, allowing it to take a substantial beating before any risk of hull breaches.
The concept and design phase of the Apollo began with two goals: creating a modular and adaptive escort vehicle that could dock to the Ailuros, and building a small combat craft that could be used as a testbed platform for newly-emerging Naurian-based technologies. The initial design and concept were done by Damien Mekal, while the implementation of those concepts and the final build was handed over to the Ailuros' lead engineer, Marcus Greele.
The Apollo is a two-deck design, moderately larger than traditional fighters. It makes up for this, and a lack of manuverability and speed, by bringing brute force to the field: a combination of high power output stemming from oversized dual reactors, an overclocked shield generator, experimental armor plating, and an overwhelming array of weaponry. This power comes at the cost of a greater crew requirement: the Apollo is designed to be operated by two crew members - a pilot in the lower cockpit, and a tactical officer in the upper deck's gunnery control room. Control of the weapon arrays can be transferred between the two stations, or split, allowing the pilot use of the forward weaponry while the gunner can control omni-directional turrets as well as torpedo targeting and the experimental Naurian pulse cannon. A second seat in gunnery control allows for a third crew member to handle navigation and communications when coordinating with fleet operations.
Name - Marcus Mekal Position - Escort Pilot Age - 32 Years (Born 793 A.S.) Birthplace - Planet Manhattan, New York System, Liberty DNA Profile - 86% Libertonian / 14% Bretonian Prior Assignments - Liberty Navy (West Point Flight Academy), Bounty Hunter's Guild
Personnel Dossier:
Marcus Mekal is the son of Damien Mekal, the lead scientist and commanding officer of the Ailuros. Marcus was born to a Libertonian woman on Planet Manhattan, and rarely saw his father growing up as Damien was constantly on assignment in the Alaska System working for the LSF. Marcus Mekal applied to the West Point Flight Academy with the intent of joining the Liberty Navy as a combat pilot, but was reprimanded numerous times for insubordination of his instructors and commanding officers, and subsequently dishonorably discharged from service. Taking what he had learned at West Point, Marcus joined the Bounty Hunter's Guild, primarily operating in the Texas system for the next decade.
It was under his father's advisement that Marcus applied, and was accepted into, the Core, passing his training and being assigned to the Omega front fighting the Hessians and Corsairs. Marcus' hot-shot attitude and penchant for disregarding orders to make the kill has served him better in the Core than it did in with the Navy, and he's made a name for himself as an unconventional, but effective, combatant. At Damien's request, the Core has reassigned Marcus Mekal to the Ailuros to pilot the Apollo, with Katrina Summers serving as his gunner.
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