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NEOS Tempest . Prototype Drone Carrier - bunches O' pics of the ship thats been sitting on my coffee table. . NEOS TEMPEST
DEVELOP DATE: 3051
DEVELOPER: Skaborr Military/Trelassi A.I. Innovations(T.A.I.I)
UPDATE 7/25/2011 Now with mostly complete build instruction! You may have to eyeball a few parts.
At the beginning of the war with Dark Augusto, drones and their technology were considered dangerous and uncontrollable. In the year 3001 the Skaborr senate passed a mandate effectively suspending all research operations in this area. At the forefront of this was Trelassi A.I. Innovations, who had been conducting tests on terraforming drones, with some success. It would sit on this technology for the next 50 years, until the mandate was reconsidered.
In 3042, in a highly confidential act, the Skaborr Military captured an intact drone it would later call Prometheus. Prometheus was studied by the highest minds in the military, who eventually came up with a brilliant use of the technology. A space craft which functioned completely autonomously of human interaction was conceived. The craft had balanced speed and armor, but its key point was the group of drones it carried, allowing it to protect multiple settlements at once. They named the ship Tempest, for the storm that came with it. They hurried production of a prototype model and quickly sent it to protect the settlements on the outer rim of the empire, who were in dire need. It was a disaster, the prototype turned on the settlements, completely destroying them and 2 battalions before the Skaborr Navy was able to intercept and destroy the rogue ship.
Having invested much resources into the Tempest, the Skaborr Military was not ready to walk away with such a defeat. Trelassi A.I. Innovations was brought in as consult and manufacturer. Because of similar occurences with their terraforming drones 50 years prior, they quickly discovered that a hidden signal was being broadcast empire wide. This signal was what tied all the drones of Dark Augusto to their single purpose. T.A.I.I. found that although impossible to break the signal, it was possible to bend it around the Tempest. By using an large overpowered bandwidth augmentor, a Tempest could maintain control of its drones within a 80KM area...but at a cost, the Tempest would no longer be autonomous, it now would require 1 drone controller, and 1 pilot to fly the ship.
The last model of Tempest was built in the year 3051, 50 years after the start of the war with Dark Augusto. It's final combat role was to minimize allied casualties by diverting enemy attention to itself. Because of its ability to control multiple drone units at once, it excelled in this role, effectively being in two places at once. The ship saved the lives of hundreds, while only putting the lives of its 2 pilots in danger.
Despite its benefits, the high cost to manufacture this vessel was its downfall, with its drones accounting for three quarters of the cost of an already expensive ship, the Tempest was the main factor for the bankruptcy of T.A.I.I. Only 4 Tempests were built with only 3 ever being fielded in operations. The first was destroyed after going rogue, 2 more were destroyed in operations defending troop movements in the outer rims, the only surviving Tempest is now on display at the Skaborr Prime Wartime Museum.
The occurences of the first Tempest being covered up, it is remembered as a versatile ship, an able guardian in dark times, and one of the few ships to ever field drone technology in the Skaborr Military's arsenal.
(Typical Tempest pilot uniform, pictured left.)
Control pit for the drone controller.
Sketches during conception.
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