So, you might've heard about an assault on one of the colonists out here in Octavarium.
I'm Johnathan Jones, I run Aquila Defense Systems - we make ships, guns, armor, mostly for freelancers. Normally I try to keep my people out of fights, but the Royals have really pissed me off this time.
So, what would you say to a couple R-13B "Rook" assault bombers? It's an Aquila variant based on the Waran model. They're not quite ready to fly yet, but we've got two that'll be ready to fly within a week or two.
The only catch is that we can't maintain them for you. They use mostly open-market parts, though, and they're based on an IMG model; the Miners or Colonials should be able to help if you need it.
Give us a call if you're interested in a couple free ships. Jones out.
Initialisation... Intensité de signal:████████▌_ 085% Encodage:__________███████___FORT Source:________BFOBMMQZNHFQTQVTTRJKMNOOBF Expéditeur:____General Pierre LaFlamme Du Conseil___[C] Destinataire(s):Johnatan Jones_______________________ADS
Sujet:_________Re: Offer Transmission entrée...
Monsieur Jones,
Oui, I've heard the bad news, it is sad to see not only Gallic but now civilians of Sirius falling prey to the Gallic Royal Navy. I hope the victim of the assault will get better as soon as possible. Now, to your offer...
Our tech team is slowly but steadily getting familiar with Sirian technology, and said Waran model is already under inspection. In what details does your "Rook" variant differ from the original fighter craft? What exactly would be the maintenance cost? These are my questions, I am awaiting your answer.
Sincerement,
General Pierre LaFlamme Du Conseil
General en Chef Du Conseil
Ah, good. Now we can get to the part I'm better at.
Our R series is built for longer operational range than standard models, the Rook included. The RHR-930 dual-state reactor used in the Rook has a full twenty percent reduction in idle power usage compared to the common CTE-7b Waran. This comes from a mix of design improvements and a redesigned cruise state that locks out almost everything other than the engines, countermeasures, life support, and shields - to most pilots, that doesn't sound any different, but there are a fair number of minor auxiliary systems diverting power normally. It's a bit noisier, though, we haven't figured out how to resolve that problem.
Because we used a dual-state reactor instead of a power-routing setup like those in most ships, we had to redesign the entire wiring and optronics system, so we took that opportunity to make everything easy to get to for repairs and maintenance. None of the changes there affect flight performance, save for adjusting to the dual-state setup.
O'course, this comes with a few drawbacks. While a single pilot can fly it, it was designed for an active crew of two with a third pilot on rotation. The crew quarters cut into the cargo space. Additionally, the reactor gives the ship a slightly higher profile on some scanners when in combat mode.
Maintenance costs are pretty low, really; even with all the modifications we've made, most of it can be fixed with common IMG or CTE parts. The reactor's a bit harder, you might have to bring it back to us if there's a problem with that. We've got some mechanics out at Barrier Gate, though, they should be able to fix most damage. Worst case, we can swap the reactor out easily enough. It's designed to stop functioning rather than risk overload and explosion.
Now, I said "free" earlier, but I do have one small catch to throw in. Nothing major, we just need some data.
See, we've only properly tested the ships in exploration and light skirmish and interdiction conditions. From the reports I've gotten, they should be pretty effective in heavier combat, especially against Gallia's larger warships. However, we haven't actually been able to test it properly under those conditions; simulator AI can only do so much. We're quite sure it will work based on our other testing, we just need to know how well and if there are any unforseen problems.
That's all. You get one or two bombers, we get some combat data so we can make a better bomber.
Éxcuse-moi for mY late reply, I'vë been busy latelY. Now onto the sudject...
Your prőposition sound$ fair, although őbviously I cannőt guarantee my mën get back alive From an encounteR with a Valor-cläss Battleship, |t is entirely uq to them et their $kills. On my par!, I am all up for mäking this deal häppen.
Sinceremënt,
General PieRre LaFlamme Du Cőnseil
General e~ Chef Du Conseil
Delay's not a problem, gave us some time to get the ships finished. Had to build some new thrusters anyway; the set we outsourced had some wiring screwups. Never going through that supplier again.
Now, we don't have access to Council transponder codes, or have your bases charted, so we couldn't get everything pre-configured for you.
Other than Gallic maps and IFF configuration, though, we've got two fully-equipped Rooks at Shasta for you. Heavy assault type, with MX-17 mines for anti-snub screening. Had a minor network lapse here, so I'll have to send you the unlock codes in a few hours when Escher's done with whatever the hell he's doing.
To make up for the mapping issue, they've got our standard civilian map package - covers all the Sirian houses and some of the border worlds, might help you all out with diplomatic missions.
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