Design

The Quicksilver is a heavy assault cruiser, typically serving as a ship-of-the-line in Cytaari naval formations. The ship is heavily armed, with a total of six solar blisters, twenty-four point defense lasers, and three electron ray burst emitters. The lattermost of these is built into the blade-like 'wings' of the craft, which serve the triple purpose of maneuvering, cooling, and weapon systems. These electron ray burst emitters are the most unusual trait of the craft, building up a potent electron charge in one section of the 'blade', before channeling them off the sharp edge to direct them towards enemy craft.

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For defenses, the Quicksilver is conventionally protected, sporting thick biomechanical armor plating. As in all Cytaari designs, these biomechanical armor plates sport adaptive barrier tech, expending energy only to resist projectiles that would otherwise penetrate the armor, as such being far more efficient than other nations shielding (which absorb all the impact of all incoming attacks, even ones that pose no threat to the ships armor.) These barriers can take many forms depending on the nature of the threat, being able to adapt electromagnetic, repulsive, or energy barriers as the situation demands. Also as typical, the Quicksilver is fully regenerative, able to rapidly repair battle damage with its biomechanical cells.

 

The Quicksilver's armor is constructed of the "Black Silver" composite, a metallic composite material based on an exotic silver alloy. This composite is generally more effective against energy weapons but less effective against kinetic weapons compared to the "Blue Abyss" composite used in most Cytaari constructions. However, due to the armors adaptive nature, this distinction is typically largely irrelevant, as both armors can effectively adapt their properties to defend against a diversity of threats.

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The Quicksilver has a grade four dimensional engine, sufficient to provide it with an agile semi-inertialess drive and protect itself from dimensional attacks. The Quicksilver additionally makes use of a dimensional countermeasure suite. The crystalline growths that project backwards from the main hull are external nodes used by the dimensional engine to more effectively distort space. The countermeasures largely have two modes of operation, 'assault' and 'silent running'.

 

In Silent Running, the Quicksilver diffuses its spectral signature over a very large area of space by distorting the way electromagnetic radiation travels around it, rendering it largely invisible from long range. At closer ranges (within 0.1 A.U.) this is ineffective, but it allows the quicksilver to move undetected by opposing surveillance. Additionally, in "Silent Running", the bioluminescent organs on the Quicksilver's surface go dark, to improve stealth, though this also negatively impacts the Quicksilvers detection capabilities and slows the charging of its laser weapons.

 

In "Assault" operation, the dimensional engine displaces the spectral signature of the Quicksilver, making accurate assessments of its position nearly impossible. This mode does not in any way make the Quicksilver harder to detect, but it does greatly impact the tracking and accuracy of enemy weapons. In "Assault" mode, the Quicksilvers bridge's transparent fibers close up with armor plating, relying entirely on its scanners for detection.

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For its size, the Quicksilver has tremendous power output; more than half of the ships total mass is taken up by reactors and auxiliary reactors, fueled by enriched plutonium. The rest of the ships internal room is taken up by radiation shields, redundant systems, regeneration nodes, nutrient stores, nervous centers for the ship's Spire, the Dimensional Engine, and countermeasures. The only 'empty' space is the bridge located at the rear of the ship. The 'bridge' is not used for piloting the vehicle, as that is done by the Sage's within their Chrysalis located below the Bridge, but the bridge provides a place for Sage's to relax and observe space when the ship is on autopilot. As well, the Bridge can contain up to twenty Myrskyjakkari marines in cryptobiotic stasis, for boarding actions or defense.

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The main detection of the Quicksilver is its various Multispectral scanners- which are, both in form and function, essentially eyes. The largest concentration of these is on the front of the bridge, but they are also located on each wing as well as under the hull. The 'iris' of these eyes is a bioluminous organ that projects electromagnetic radiation outwards, akin to radar or ladar, with the pupil interpreting EM signatures. It has detection in the Infrared, Visual, and Radio spectrum. In silent running the iris becomes dark, but the pupil can still passively detect electromagnetic radiation. The scanners are redundant, so that even if multiple are destroyed the Quicksilver will still have detection capabilities. As they regenerate rapidly, attempting to blind the Quicksilver is incredibly difficult, as one would need to rapidly destroy all of its scanners before it could regenerate any of them.

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The Quicksilver is typically piloted by two or three Sage's. Together they join with the ships neural spire, dominating its mental processes to their wills, affording it more focus and superior strategic acumen. Sage's work in tandem more effectively if they are close, so they are most often siblings or at least close friends. The instant communication afforded by the direct neural connection is invariably invasive, and it is theoretically possible for one of the pilots to dominate the wills of their compatriots should they prove mentally stronger, just as the Sage's as a whole work to dominate the powerful neural centers of the Quicksilver.

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Even amongst the Lextan Angels, there are fairly few with the willpower and sense of self required to control a powerful ship such as the Quicksilver. To adapt to its alien physiology and sensations without losing ones sense of self in the process is difficult in the extreme, and to do so while also effectively captaining the ship doubly so. It is not unheard of for Sage's to disassociate from their old self, considering the ship itself to be their identity and body. These Sage's will refuse to remove themselves from their ships neural spire, and may in fact have the Quicksilver consume their old body for nutrients, their nervous system melding entirely into the ship.

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This powerful neural connection is what provides Cytaari ships with much of their adaptive capabilities, the Sage commanding the ship able to intimately control every aspect of the ships design and functions. Every Quicksilver is different, because the Sage who pilots it will invariably affect the ships physiology with the presence of their mind, reshaping it to fit their needs and personality better. Every Quicksilver is custom-built in this sense.