A Lesson in Practicality
31 Jan 2017FriscoFlame
I was amazed he was able to fit through the door. Consul Nezrec was a great many things, but I don't believe Subtle would be one of the words used to describe him. Standing about 2 meters, and wearing wide shoulder armour attached to a Wolf Pelt cloak, He was an intimidating sight. He had brought me some Centauri Mega Gin as a peace offering, and I was currently enjoying the peace of a refreshing Gimlet, since some Fresh Limes had just been shipped in from Futhark.
"You do know why flew The Imperious out to meet you, Right?" Nezrec asked, "We face a unified War, and flying in this system, I wanted you to come Face to Face with the WORST POSSIBLE OUTCOME." Your design is fine for fighter pilots taking on other fighters in a dogfight, but that is not the war we are facing. System Defense Fleet must be capable of just that, Defense."
"You know I've been willing to take suggestions since day one, so if you have any helpful input, I'll happily take that now." I chided, noticing my drink was running criminally low.
"Viscount, I am recieving an encrypted file, sending to your personal datapad now."
Katherine normally didn't activate on her own accord, this meant a higher level transmission was being pushed through. I looked down at my datapad and some Coriolis Schematics came through. Nezrec turned to leave the room.
"Adam has a Bradley waiting for you, I suggest you get familiar with her."
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This was actually my first time in this frame. The Viper Mark IV is an interesting platform, nearly impossible to hit head on, but a wide target if you were foolish enough to let yourself get caught from above or below. Combined with the Fixed Lasers I had equipped, this was definitely a ship that performed best when facing your enemy. He had suggested I visit the Local Resource Extraction, as there were reports of Federal Activity in our Imperial Space. Upon arrival I spotted a Federal Gunship, and no system defense forces to be found, so hardpoints deployed and I flew within half a click of the ship.
The Gunship was having a hard time trying to face me, having depleted its shields, I was able to outmaneuver this Mark IV, despite the fact that it had as much Hull Reinforcement as possible without sacrificing it's hunting ability. I flipped around and decided to test out this build head on. I let the Gunship fire a few shots, but it didn't take long til it blew up into the void. A nice 80k payout, not too bad.
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I decided to take the Bradley to a Nearby System, I had heard word of a religious zealot in need of some personal excommunication, plus another 2.5 million is always welcome for one kill.
Scouting the system, I found that he was located just outside a small moon of a minor planet. Exiting Supercruise, I was taken aback by the sheer numbers he was showing. I counted seven ships, with three disciples in Pythons surrounding his single Diamondback Scout. I was able to fly in and get close undetected, aimed for the Frame Shift Drive and Opened Fire. The Pythons began firing on me as he attempted to flee, but within a half a minute I had successfully disabled his frame shift drive. Chaff flew in the face of my canopy, which messed with my small gimbals, but the fixed lasers found their target true, and with my shields depleted and only having lost 2% of my hull, I boosted and rammed the ship, barely denting my hull integrity and watching that scout disintegrate. A few more quick boosts and I was able to hit the FSD home, my hull almost completely intact.
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The Generals gave their approval. This training platform had been what they were looking for, easy enough to fly, but with the teeth and defensive capabilities necessary to take on the tasks at hand. Some engineering would, of course, need to be done before these could be used in war, but it was ideal for training in its stock setting.
I now knew why Nezrec had done what he had. My platform wouldn't allow time to react to a surprise attack of superior firepower, it didn't have the lasting capability. It may have been a capable fighter, and would have even flown well in wings, but Your wingmates can't respond to your signal if you don't last long enough to send it. I congratulated the War Council on their recent victory in the Senate, which I had been a proponent of, which would now allow them to streamline preparation activities, leading to what I hoped would be a superior fleet.
I left the room and went to the Matsui, admiring my new Entrepreneur Livery.