Name: Storm Sworder Stealth Type - N (SS ST-N)
Alignment: International (formerly Guardian Force Fighters)
Family:Pteradon
Registration Number: nZi-029
Crew: 1-2
Height: 12.9 Meters
Length: 10.1 Meters
Weight: 108 tons (with Rocket Boosters), 47 tons (without Rocket Boosters)
Top Speed: Mach 23.7 (with Rocket Boosters), Mach 2.2 (standard engines with Rocket Boosters equipped but not in use), Mach 3.0 (standard engines with Rocket Boosters not equipped)
Weapons: Twin Dual 40mm Pulse Laser Cannons, Twin Hardened Alloy Laser Swords, Hardened Alloy Forehead Laser Blade, Hardened Alloy Claws.
Special Abilities:Type II Rocket Boosters, One Life to Live, Aerial Sword Attack, Stealth Paint.
Cost: $1,000,000 per unit
Level: Decommissioned (Level 4 Upgrade Upgrade)
Back during the period of peace following the last Helic-Guylos war, the Storm Sworder Stealth Type was developed by a joint effort between the two former enemies, ensuring that Coalition troops and the Guardian Force Fighters maintained aerial superiority. However, like all other atmospherically bound vehicles, the ST had a service ceiling, and couldn’t pass the boundary into space. This was, in general, considered to be just fine, given that no other aerial Zoids could pass the atmospheric boundary either. The Whale Kings were always an exception to this rule, but all sides possessed these behemoths, and it literally took days of brute force and slow ascension to reach orbit.
The invention of the Hammer Kaiser by rogue third parties, neither Helic nor Guylos, caused concern amongst the Guardian Force Fighters and the international Coalition forces. Though unable to replicate the Hammer Kaiser, a contingent of top engineers, led by the infamous Doctor D, developed a variant of the ST that could shoot down an orbital transport: the Storm Sworder ST-N.
In the many centuries following their developments, on two ST-Ns were ever built and both went on exactly 1 mission: to pluck Hiltz’s Hammer Kaiser and Death Stinger from the sky. Though the original plan, a missile attack, failed, the two elite Guardian Force pilots managed to use an Aerial Sword Attack and destroy the transport. After returning to base and landing, literally hundreds of problems were pointed out in the ST-Ns, and the Storm Sworders were grounded forever. The two original models still survive today, restored and mostly intact, now only museum pieces.
The ST-N breaks into orbit using nothing but red-hot speed. For that reason, its has a dramatically improved aerodynamic design, armor on par with the Battle Cougar, and heat-resistant tiles and paint. However, the ST-N sacrifices maneuverability and conventional speed to be able to carry the massive Type II Rocket Boosters it carries on its back. Also, when it accelerates to higher velocities at lower altitudes, maneuvering will cause the ST-N to break up. At top speed, even the relatively sparse air of the upper atmosphere can restrict the Zoid’s maneuvering.
Weapons:
Twin Dual 40mm Pulse Laser Cannons:
On each of the Storm Sworder ST-N's wings, just below the "elbow" hinge, is at set of two 40mm Pulse Laser Cannons, coming to four barrels in all. They're perfect for dog fighting, and utilize quick bursts of laser energy to rack up damage. Fully automatic. They can also rotate downward a bit to strike terrestrial targets.
Twin Hardened Alloy Laser Swords:
Mounted to each of the ST-N's wings are the Storm Sworder’s trademarks, the laser swords that give it such an edge in aerial combat. They mount on the other side of the elbow hinge, but must be extended in order to be used in combat. They can also be charged like the Blade Liger's laser blades, which is extremely useful for ridding your opponent of such things as wings or other body parts. The wing-mounted blades on both of the ST-Ns are superhardened and have mounts designed to not detach or break before the wing itself does, allowing the ST-N to perform sword attacks at top speed. It’s said that these blades still have oil from the original Hammer Kaiser coating them.
Hardened Alloy Forehead Laser Blade:
This is mounted to the ST-N's head, as per the name. Much like the laser swords, it can be extended, allowing it to be utilized as a weapon. When extended, it reaches several meters above the ST-N, thus allowing it to be used without danger to the Eagle. Unlike the laser swords, the forehead blade doesn't affect the aerodynamics, and thus can be used without sacrificing speed and performance ((even at top speed!)). The forehead blade is capable of charging with laser energy, to drastically increase its cutting ability. Also, much like the wing blades, the blade is superhardened and special mount that allow it to use this weapon even at top speed.
Hardened Alloy Claws:
Simply put, a pair of short, stubby claws that are mounted to the wings of the Storm Sworder ST-N. However, they are located to the same place that the 40mm cannons go, and thus cannot be used simultaneously with those. The cannons and claws can be swapped at any time and it takes a second at most to properly exchange weapons. Though why anyone would switch the cannons for these claws is beyond us; they're not really long enough to be effective in combat, and the wings are in the way in any case. Also, even attempting to use these for anything at top speed is easily analogous to suicide. As a general rule, just don’t use ‘em.
Executing Special Abilities:
Type II Rocket Boosters:
The Storm Sworder ST-N has two 30 ton rocket boosters strapped to its back. These don’t have settings: they merely have an “on” switch. No off switch either. Once ignition starts, its suicide to try to stop it. The ST-N’s Type II-Rocket Boosters should only be activated while pointing straight or mostly straight up, as anything less would be suicide. They then burn for a full two minutes before depleting their fuel and automatically ejecting, falling back to Zi and theoretically surviving for reuse.
Blast Off:
The ST-N must be launched from a special facility designed to launch it. All personnel within a 2-kilometer radius should be either evacuated or moved to special shielded facilities. Even given these safety precautions, a ST-N should begin by taking off like a normal aircraft, climbing to 4-5 kilometer’s altitude, and then engaging the rocket boosters. For the next two minutes, the pilot experiences just over 7 gees of constant acceleration, which is dangerous without a special pressure suit. ((Even inside the already specialized cockpit.)) After the two minutes have expired, the Type II Rocket Boosters eject and fall away from the ST-N. The ST-N has already attained necessary velocity to reach LEO (low earth orbit) at a whopping Mach 23.7, and is already a full 200 kilometers up, skimming the atmosphere. From there, maneuvering (which is done in space via vectored thrusters all over the body of the ST-N) becomes much easier due to the greatly reduced air resistance. The ST-N can then complete its mission. It should be noted that while the ST-N can operate in space, it only has a 24 hour supply of oxygen from the main tank, and whatever rations the pilot decided to take with him or her.
Touch Down:
Having broken the earthly bonds of gravity and touched the face of God, the ST-N may very well wish to come down. This process takes the better part of an hour: it involves aerobraking with at least 200 kilometers of vertical clearance until the ST-N reaches its terminal velocity. From there, it turns around and uses its standard engines to slow down, then lands as normal. Despite being simple-sounding, this procedure is immensely dangerous.
One Life to Live:
Piloting the ST-N is dangerous at every step of the way. The Type II Rocket Boosters exploding, the ST-N braking up from the air resistance or acceleration, a possible leak or loose seal in the cockpit once in space, the angle of reentry being wrong: all are totally legitimate fears while piloting one of these. Though there wasn’t enough time to install appropriate safety features before their first mission, the ST-N got one last modification to its design afterwards. Anticipating another use of the special Storm Sworders, the infamous and ingenious Dr. D. and his crew installed all kinds of sensors in the cockpit and Zoid and then rigged them to a special ejection system. This “ejection system” is essentially the same as the bailing system for an Organoid. The difference is that it plucks the pilot from the cockpit and deposits him directly blow onto Zi’s surface, be it water or earth, stationary -- regardless of height or speed. This system even works from orbit -- works to save the pilot’s life. It would be insane to pilot a ST-N without it. Then again, the only people who ever actually used these things did it without.... ((The system can also be triggered manually.))
Aerial Sword Attack:
A close-quarters maneuver, adapted from the Blade Liger series, which is executed first by extending both of the Storm Sworder ST-N's laser swords and then charging them to maximum. The attack is performed by flying across an enemy Zoid to clip it in half. The reliability of this attack is not the best, considering the maneuverability of today's aerial Zoids, and this maneuver should not be used against terrestrial Zoids, unless you want to crash and burn. The ST-N also has the additional problem that during an actual dogfight, the Type II Rocket Boosters severely limit its speed and maneuverability, further compromising its ability to execute the attack. Despite this, coupled with the Stealth Paint, the Aerial Sword Attack can quickly become a deadly stealth strike, if executed properly. Furthermore, the superhardened blades and special mounts allow this attack to be used in space and at full speed, which allowed the two ST-N’s to shoot down Hiltz’s Hammer Kaiser, so many years ago...
Stealth Paint:
The ST-N, like all Stealth Types, is coated with a special type of paint that absorbs radar and scrambles infrared signatures. It is more advanced than the Helcat's radar-scattering paint, which it is based off of. Due to the paint, no sensors save core signature tracking and basic visual sensors can actually pinpoint the exact location of the ST-N, making it both a stealth device and an antimissile defense. In addition to the standard Stealth Paint regimen, the paint on these two particular Storm Sworders extend to the Rocket Boosters, and is also coupled with special ceramic tiling to make it nearly invincible to heat.
Available Modifications:
Technical Notes:
Shooting Down the ST-N
...is essentially impossible when the aircraft is moving away from the shooter at full speed. The ST-N quickly accelerates to its top speed of Mach 23.7, which is faster than any bullet, missile, rocket, and even the Finger of God. While beam and laser weapons are fast enough to hit the ST-N, it’s more or less impossible to hit just because of the sheer speed its moving at, and its probably out of range anyway. If the ST-N is moving towards the shooter, it’s probably only a matter of seconds or a fraction of a second before it passes the shooter.
When the ST-N isn’t moving at top speed or boosting away, it’s a different matter entirely. Hitting the Type-II Rocket Boosters and causing them to explode will easily destroy the Storm Sworder. Furthermore, the weight of the Boosters decreases the ST-N’s speed and maneuverability, making it easy to hit. Even when those deadweights are ejected, the ST-N still suffers in that department. Stealth Paint only protects against missiles so much....
The Bigger Boom
The ST-N moves at Mach 23.7. The sound and force generated by the Rocket Boosters, like a Sonic Boom, exceeds the theoretical maximum for volume of sound in the atmosphere, which is 194 decibels. The ST-N puts out 225 decibels of sound and pressure from the Rocket Boosters, officially classifying it as a shockwave. The average Sonic Boom is 216 decibels, and this is an exponential scale, remember. Therefore, the ST-N could theoretically scorch the ground below it from 2 kilometer’s altitude, and actually kill people from the sound from anywhere between 5 and 10 kilometer’s altitude, Zoid Cockpit or no. Obviously, flying the ST-N anything but straight up is ludicrous, and would be dangerously illegal. Fortunately, the only ST-N mission ever executed went off without a hitch, but this is just to give you an idea of what could have happened.
