The Lane Hackers | Mission Archives

[Von.Hammerstein]

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Good evening to you all. This is to report that, after a few long months, I have completed the test flights of the LHX7 Bomber and LHX9 Gunship prototypes. I have also included a short description regarding the ships themselves. I apologise this took so long.


Mission 49: Oversee development of LHX7 bomber - Phase 2

Introduction

The LHX7-B5H bomber, or more simply the ‘Tormentor’ is a marvel of engineering. Aside from finding an odd but very acceptable balance between sheer firepower and mathematical harmony. I should stress however, that this is, by no means, a light ship. It’s heavy in almost every regard, it has heavy firepower, it’s heavy to fly and it’s armour is thick. However it is well balanced, walking a fine line between able to take and deal out heavy punishment, yet being able to speedily slip away once the task is done.

Test logs

Day one: Today revolved around getting a feel for the ship, as balanced as it is, I can’t help but point out the heavy nature of the ship. Engines only ever do so much to offset the armour of any ship. I must admit I was set on the idea that bombers were slow, unmaneuverable and were at a significant disadvantage when it came to defence and pursuit. This line of thought does not hold completely true for the LHX7.  As mentioned however, this ship very well balanced, it’s turn rate and engine kill speed disprove my assertions that bombers were slow and couldn’t defend themselves. In the right hands this ship can quite easily hold it’s own in a fight. There are few performance issues of note. Day one concludes with no issues or observations of note.

Day two: Having familiarized myself with the movement and weight of the ship I began to test it’s stress levels, putting it through it’s paces, as it were. To say it is ‘fast’ would be doing it a disservice, it’s speed puts most super heavy fighters and a few very heavy fighters to shame. The boys down in engineering went all out with the engines, that much is obvious. I dare say someone from intelligence also suggested that the ship be able to recharge it’s core quicker than the average bomber. This ship can sneak up on a target, charge it’s core quickly and then leg it. Due to its balance, flying it under pressure is not an issue. Credit to the boys at Mactan for helping me.

Day three: Weapons testing is always enjoyable, but I simply wish to say that I was a little scared by what I saw today and I feel nothing but pity for the widows this ship will leave behind. And I do say widows because I cannot see how there would be any survivors should ‘hellstorm’ hit it’s target. The main cannon (the ‘hellstorm’) is capable of destroying light fighters, VHFs, SHFs, bombers and civilian transports in one shot. It ignores all ‘lesser’ armour types and is only stopped with capital and heavy armour classes. Even then, Gunboats best take care, this weapon will burn through armour faster than most captains would like if they are careless. If a wing of these ships were on the prowl then simple Gunboats will not be enough, a group of Hellstrom's fired in unison will cause significant damage to Cruisers.[/spoiler]

Attachments

LHX7-B5H "Tormentor" Lane Hacker Bomber
Faced with an increasing pressure from the capital vessels of more and more aggressive domestic fleets, Lane Hackers desperately required an appropriate response. This response was the Tormentor. Developed over a year of extensive modifications of the LX7 mainframe the ship is a complete contradiction of a typical Hacker design. Equipped with an overpowered prototype double-core engine, reinforced plating and vast array of heavy armaments this state-of-the-art bomber looks heavy, feels heavy and delivers a punishment worthy of its name. Instead of relying on agility and swiftness for survival, Tormentor combines firepower with advanced guidance and electronic warfare systems designed to crush any opposition and vanish long before hostile reinforcements can arrive.

"Hellstorm" Lane Hacker Plasma Forward Gun
Hellstorm is an example of how quick and efficient Lane Hackers can be in reverse-engineering of stolen technology. Shortly after market debut of first prototypes of plasma bomb Lane Hacker engineers started experimenting with a concept of a particle accelerator utilizing electromagnetic rails to propel and overheat plasma. Hellstorm's initial plasma charge is formed in an ionization chamber and then ejected into a long tube where electromagnetic field increases its velocity and energy load. As a result fired projectile is faster and more devastating than a regular plasma bomb, while its electromagnetic discharge remains deadly for any shield generator. The only downside of Hellstorm design is that it is too large for standard weapon mounts and has to be built deep into a ship fuselage.

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