Stalker Fighter Bomber

Stalker Fighter Bomber

The Stalker is well designed autonomous craft, made for the purpose of efficiency and striking fear into the unfortunate enemies of the Grimm Legion. As a craft it is entirely multipurpose, suited for flight in both Atmospheric conditions and in the void of space. In essence it is both the standard Aerial and space fighter vessel. It is incredibly agile and fast, making it a good dog fighter, and its ease of production means it is produced in vast numbers. In an Atmosphere, the Stalker as it name says, can be deadly silent at low sub-sonic speeds, allowing it to stalk enemies using camouflage capabilities, or strike unexpectedly. It can also make loud screams as it flies at faster speeds, giving it a fear factor as well, that grows exponentially when one can hear a horde of them coming.

It goes even beyond that though in its ability to be a bomber as well, however due to the need to be light and fast, it is not capable of having a payload loaded onto it, but instead it carries it, in a magnetic and stasis field generated by its tendrils. A final feature to make this fighter bomber deadly is the fact that it has slip-space jump capabilities, within small distances on its own power, allowing lone Stalkers the ability to escape to a location where a Frigate or Cruiser can pick them up. They can also link up with the systems of larger Craft and use their drives to sling shot themselves into a system ahead of the fleet. So far they are the only fighter class vessel capable of this, and this ability most likely comes from adapted Xenos technology.

Armor

The Stalker makes use of armoring techniques that minimize its presence on radar and scanning systems. It also makes use of advanced metal composites,carbon nanotube-weaves in its armor as well as a reactive gel layer that hardens for impacts or helps disperse heat or diffract high speed particles as it adapts to incoming projectiles. Finally it makes use of the typical magnetic fielding all Grimm Units are known for, this shield increasing in potency in the presence of other Grimm Ships. Its ability to generate a stasis field as well as manipulating magnetic field bubbles allows its tendril to make a last ditch shield in front of it.

Armament

• Twin Plasma Repeaters

The vessel has two forward mounted Plasma Repeated, having three barrels allowing for efficient cooling. This is its Primary weapon in a dog fight. Its exceedingly high rate of fire allows it to easily harass and destroy other fighters. What it lacks in a heavy punch it makes up for in the amount of shots it can put out in a short amount of time.

• Tentacle Particle Cutters

The Tentacle Particle beams are a powerful weapon this vehicle can make use of, giving it a heavier punch its primary weapon lacks. To fire it, it gives up its ability to manipulate magnetic and stasis fields with its tendrils, as it must use each cutter on the end of each tendril and focus them into a single pulse beam, of highly excited particles that can punch through armor similarly to a New Covenant Laser Cannon. It can be used in a dog fight as a coup de grâce, or to strike a vital portion of a larger ship. The Individual cutters can be used to cut into the hull of an enemy vessel as well. Another use is as an air to ground weapon, where the beam can either be swept across troops on a lower setting, or fired in a cannon like pulse for vehicles.

• Plasma/Fusion Ordinance

This is an optional weapons choice for the Fighter, allowing it to become a Dive bomber of sorts. The Plasma or Fusion Ordinance is retrieved from the ship carrying the fighters, they go up to a port hole and grab a super condensed ball of Plasma or a fusion Auspex contained in a stasis field. The Tentacled envelope the ball of Reactive Fusion or Plasma in a magnetic field combined with stasis field tech as a secondary layer. This is flown to the target and flung were the Mag-field allows it to stick to the target long enough to explode and cause damage. The Fusion Auspex is just a more powerful Ordinance capable of doing even more damage than the plasma, and either may be selected depending on the target. Holding this Ordinance removes the ability to fire the Particle Cutters.

• Manipulator Tendrils

The strangest feature of this Fighter Craft, these tendril make the ship more into a robot than something of its type is expected to be. This feature is multipurpose, either using the beam weapons in the tendril tips, the Stasis/Magneto Manipulator Arrays, or using them as Melee Weapons and landing gear. Besides Carrying ordinance, these tendrils can be used to catch and contain oncoming projectiles, stopping Explosives from detonating by placing them in a stasis field, and then using the caught items themselves as weapons. They have been known to catch oncoming Plasma , letting it build up to the point of being a ball of Contained plasma like their typical explosives, as well as even redirecting metallic Projectiles of smaller calibers obviously as a ship grade main weapon would have too much inertia to efficiently redirect without sufficient numbers of Stalkers. As Melee weapons, when grounded or hovering close to the ground, these tendrils pack a punch and can fling targets around using magnetism and stasis field, or smacking a target while the tendril is enveloped in heavy magnetic and stasis fields. Grabbing and crushing is also an option.

Tactics

As a fighter, the Stalker is a nimble adversary, capable of matching the speeds of the fastest fighters. What it lacks in raw firepower, it makes up for in maneuverability, speed, and tactical flexibility. Its Plasma Repeaters, while not powerful per shot, make up for that with the amount of shots it can put into a target. As a finishing move it can fire a full powered Particle beam from its tendrils to finish off a unshielded enemy fighter. It can resort to more unconventional tactics as well, such as physically grabbing an enemy fighter and cutting it to pieces, or hack into and enemy fighters systems.

As a bomber, it is great in numbers, and the fact its payload does not affect its capable speeds, allows for rapid bombings of enemy ships, Meaning a horde of these fighters, swamping with numbers and dropping bombs can incapacitate if not out right destroy enemy naval vessels. With Larger vessels though it is more key to attack key points on a ship to disable it.

As an air Superiority fighter its well suited to aerial roles as much as in space, which says much about its design. It can be a dog-fighter, or act as an anti-ground support. It can also provide stealth reconnaissance and observing using advanced stealth systems for cloaking and its ability to make a small jump lets it escape pursuit quickly in solo roles.

In Progress