Aotrs004 Murder Fightercruiser (4)

Army Of The Red Spear

Murder Fightercruiser

     The Murder’s job is to transport troops from space to surface or ship and it does so with expedience. The fightercruiser is dominated by its massive engines. Six huge rear drives propel the Murder at extremely high velocity. At the front, four directional plasma drive engines provide an agility that only the Apparition can match. The Murder is the fastest and most manoeuvrable vessel in the 10th generational arsenal – unladen, it can even edge out the Apparition. This is even more surprising considering the vessel’s not inconsiderable size – it is the largest fighter cruiser in Aotrs service – and even more so that it can safely do so while transporting troops.
    The Murder is capable of carrying approximately four companies of infantry in the main hold and in smaller troop holds scattered through the rest of the ship. This is the absolute maximum capacity, and infantry only. More typically, two companies of vehicles plus associated infantry are carried. Advanced gravitational and inertial compensators ensure that the soldiers have a smooth ride, no matter what manoeuvres the Murder is making. It is a point of pride for Murder crews that they can actively dogfight while their charges do not spill a drop from whatever beverage they choose to drink. The Murder is unusual in that the gravity and inertial compensation is not global to the ship. The bridge has a graduated field, weakest at the front, where the pilot sits, allowing them to “feel” the much-reduced effects to have a better spacial awareness of how their vessel is positioned.
    The Murder sports the shielding protection equivalent to many light capital ships, though it has little in the way of hull armour, relying on shields and the extreme agility to avoid damage. It is armed with a pair of side-mounted twin coldbeam turrets, which grant almost full coverage over the ship. A third dorsal, heavier turret provides a little more firepower, though still at the fighter-scale range. All three turrets can be retracted closer to the hull in for atmospheric operations when flying at full speed – though this is more to reduce the load on the weapon barrels than to provide less resistance. It does slightly reduce the vessel’s shield volume, however, which assists in this regard.
    The Murder’s nose hoses a small light energy beam turret. The turret is capable of engaging targets in almost any approach, except in its own superstructure shadow. The weapon can be used for strafing on surface targets and is well suited to literally carving the Murder a hole or landing spot to disgorge its troops.
The Murder's two-level transport hold is capable of transporting any vehicle in the Aotrs' ground forces,Shorter vehicles, as shown with the Revenant MBTs are held in two rows via a locking clamp system in the hold's walls. Wardroids, including both marks of Enragers, are also usually transported in this layered manner, in a crouched position and only transported standing if they are expected to engage in combat immediately upon disembarkation.

Even a Dirge can be fitted within the hold, though it far more typical for a Dirge (and indeed a Fallen Soul) to make its way under its own power.