Here's the preliminary design plan I had in mind:
[ ] Plan: The War in the Void
-[ ] (Void Infantry/Armor) Calavar-pattern Chem Cannon: While burning Promethium is among the most iconic of the Imperium's tools with which to dispense death to the enemies of Humanity, it is at its core only as effective as the enemy is vulnerable to fire. Chem cannons are a superlative means of area denial and strongpoint elimination, regretfully limited by the Imperial Guard's lack of widespread chemical protection equipment. Troops in Preserver suits or Shelter Armor are not so vulnerable to friendly fire in this manner, and the environments they are called to fight in are not always conducive to incendiary armaments. As well, the Imperial Guard's Banewolves are available for construction save for their infamous munitions. The delivery method itself is quite simple, the only true obstacle is developing a serviceable mixture.
-[ ] (Strikecraft) Savior S-2: While the Savior has proven to be an effective multirole aerospace frame, it is not yet to the standards that the Admiralty have become accustomed to with Lexicalum imported Furies, most notably in its range. In terms of the mechanics, distances, and timeframes that void combat is fought in, pilot endurance becomes the core limitation to the craft's performance. The S-2 model of Savior endeavors to rectify this by means of a modified cockpit that will be flooded before launch, shielding the pilot from G-forces by means of fluid immersion. The pilot's helmets will plug into the craft itself, through which they are supplied oxygen, nutrients, water, and stimulants by an onboard supply of such during the flight. With an augmented capacity to withstand the stresses of high power maneuvers, the engines are also tuned for greater performance.
-[ ] (Defense) Thunderhead Disruptor Array: While the Thunderclap was rather disappointing as a lance, new avenues of research to pursue have been uncovered by this first attempt to develop our own domestically produced void combat scale direct energy weapons. In particular, the properties of the energy transfer on target have aroused some speculation. In any case, the weapon is much too large in its current state to be serviceable, so the first stage of development for the Thunderhead array is to attempt to miniaturize the weapon to a scale not much larger than conventional point defense guns. While such would make the weapon useless against true voidships, it would allow the Thunderclap to be used as a point defense weapon, especially if the energy transfer were to be enhanced, to say nothing of the possibility of mounting such weapons to smaller platforms than warships...
-[ ] (Boarding Craft) Narwhale Breacher Craft: The first dedicated boarding craft developed in the Crusade, the Narwhale outwardly bears a great deal of resemblance to the Harbinger Transport, because it uses the same hull configuration. Internal space has been sacrificed to add additional reinforcement to the superstructure, more powerful engines, and even install a small Void Shield. An array of hull cutters is affixed to the prow to force entry onto an enemy vessel and deliver its cargo of boarding parties.
I feel we are at the stage where it would be beneficial to give some upgrades to things other than warships. Our current fleet lineup is for the moment in a good placce in terms of tech, so I'd advocate improving our own strikecraft, really work on making the Saviors good enough that we can keep using them for a long time, as well as getting our first boarding craft done. The chem cannon will be an improvement to both our Void Infantry and Armored units, with the PD module as something for the future.
