| — Lucina on her relationship with the Adjutant |
Adjutant, painted in Lucina's colors.
The Adjutant is a VTOL aircraft owned and operated by Lucina Panzier. Originally a stolen Ibaalin war prototype, the huntress has modified and modernized the vehicle to compete with modern day aircraft and threats.
Appearance[]
The floor plan of the Adjutant. To the left is the top level and to the right is the lower level. Also visible is the rotation mechanism for the Adjutant's torpedo rack.
Like all aircraft of Ibaalin design, the Adjutant takes after bombers and other aircraft from the Second World War of our real world. Its old fashioned dieselpunk furnishings however, betray the advanced technology Lucina has installed.
On the upper level is the Adjutant's cockpit. Lucina herself sits in a chair suspended in the center of the bubble canopy, giving her full view and situational awareness. To the right of her chair is a holographic projector for the HUD and to the left is a smaller projector for 3-D radar and communications. Immediately behind her and to the left is a back-up gunner's suite. Further behind her is the Radio and Navigation station. Thanks to CATSAI, crewing these positions is optional.
Down the hall is the crew quarters. Each room contains two folding cots, a table, and a heating oven. The largest room is Lucina's. It contains a desk and computer for office work, a king-size bed, and is furnished with a traditional Sahali Rug. Right behind this area is the ladder to the lower level in addition to a pair of Gender-Neutral washrooms. These contain toilet, sink, and shower to all in one cylindrical unit to save space.
In the bulbous part of the fuselage is the Adjutant's briefing room and Combat Information Center. The middle of the CIC has a Kiva-style briefing area with consoles for 5 operatives, a large central holographic projector, and conventional screen for communications. The aircraft's CATSAI core is towards the back. Two command and listening consoles are towards the front of the room.
Behind an armored wall is the Adjutant's main powerplant. This dust reactor is normally designed for aircraft twice the Adjutant's size, and only with extensive custom work and retrofitting was it able to be safely fitted on-board. The upper level has a monitoring console and coolant tanks line the wall that separates it from the rest of the ship. The lower level contains a second monitoring station and Magneto-powered backup generator. Ice-dust based Fire extinguishers are installed next to every station. Also, it can only be accessed from the Adjutant's upper level.
The lower level of the vessel only has one entrance; the central ladder. Starting from the front are a set of hidden 30mm autocannons reserved for emergency situations. The forward cargo door can also be found here. Along the fuselage are 10 areas in which crates, cryo-cages, and other objects can be locked down to prevent shifting in-flight. Just before the main belly door is a small gathering area with winch station. 4 rocket lockers are mounted right next to the belly door for quick supply drops.
Immediately behind the drop area is an armory and machine shop. Dust dispenser, Tools, Secure Lockers, everything needed to make weapon tune-ups and repairs can be found here. Behind the armory is the infirmary, containing a slightly larger size hospital bed and Nanohealer. Viton dispensers line the portside wall of this room for quick-fixes.
In-flight, the wings can revolve a full 360 degrees around the fuselage, allowing the Adjutant incredible banking capabilities and a maneuverability not seen by many aircraft on Remnant. These wings are also responsible for containing the Adjutant's Self-sealing, Self-extinguishing dust fuel cells that power the aircraft's weapons and engine. Concealed ports on both wings allow the aircraft to perform mid-air refueling. Using the same technology behind transforming Huntsman weapons, the Adjutant's wings can adapt their shape to maintain Bernoulli's Principle.
Armament and Propulsion[]
In its original form, the Adjutant was armed with four 30mm chainguns. Two facing forward and two facing back. A pair of 125mm rifles were mounted on the ends of the wings with 360 degrees traverse and up to 30 degrees of angling. A pair of 75mm rocket launchers lived near the tail of the ship. The vessel was equipped with 3 standard-issue wind dust engines of Ibaalin design. The modernized form has replaced much of the original weapons with Flagg Institute technology.
KM Laser Cannon[]
4 Kondracki-Meija Integrators replace the original chainguns. These weapons are capable of maintaining sustained laser beams at 5 times the power of the standard infantry grade and are Lucina's main strafing weapons. These cannons are also mounted on ball swivel joints which allow them to target fast moving aircraft without requiring a total reorientation of the Adjutant.
Directed Microwave Emmiter[]
The 125mm rifles now utilize microwave cannons for maximum carnage. Adjustable "chokes" on these weapons allow them to switch between highly-focused long range sniper-like artillery or shorter ranged shotgun-like armaments. Their main boon is that they are equally effective against organic and synthetic enemies. Nevermores, Griffons, and other grimm will find their flesh fried to a crisp when hit and robots and pilots will find their systems and electronics totally destroyed by the arcing caused by high-powered microwaves. Even nastier is that at closer ranges, the Directed Microwave Emitters can actually heat up liquid fuels and dust to detonation. While their fire-rate is slow, one shot is almost all it takes for a neutralization.
75mm Missile Launcher[]
The 75mm launchers no longer use conventional missiles; twin Leighly-Braun Manifolds 3D-print warheads and attach them to guidance systems and engines. The Adjutant carries enough supplies to make 160 of these mini-missiles and each one packs a tank-busting punch. Most of Lucina's directed energy weapons also lack meaningful splash radius which is good for surgical strikes, but when Lucina wants to carpet bomb anything, she goes to the full-auto 75mm. At a total fire rate of 900 missiles per minute, Lucina is a one woman missile massacre.
Resonance Torpedo[]
Mounted in a 5-port cylinder around the fuselage are 25 Type-460X Resonance Torpedoes; the primary anti-ship weapon of the Adjutant. Due to their size and complexity, these weapons cannot be 3D-printed, but they pack amazing firepower, able to destroy even the largest of airships with one well-placed shot. The torpedo works by analyzing the materials used for the target vessel's armor and airframe; for some vessels, Lucina already has the information stored on the Adjutant's flight computer. It then activates a quantity of Sonic Dust to the natural frequency of the target, penetrating the armor and then forcing the airframe to twist and contort until something critical gives. The torpedo only detonates once it makes impact, limiting its blast radius to the target and the target alone.
Emergency weapon[]
In the nose of the Adjutant is the Lucina's concealed emergency weapon: a quadmount of the original 30mm cannons that can be extended through the forward crew door. Their lack of sophisticated dust technology and overall simplicity makes them incredibly reliable and resilient against tech-savvy hostiles; a prime choice for backup weapon systems. Lucina only has 600 rounds for this weapon, but she knows how to use them and how to make each shot count. They are, after all, the Adjutant's originals. When her dust runs out and her missiles run empty, don't think she can't still keep on the fight.
CATSAI has been installed as a flight computer and tactical adviser for the vessel. It defends against hostile hacking attempts as well as operating most of the aircraft's systems allowing Lucina to man the aircraft all by herself. (Lucina's CATSAI is voiced by Jonathan David Cook, Delta-07 "Sev": Star Wars Republic Commando and the Republic Announcer: Star Wars: Battlefront 2)
Flagg-made G-Engines improve the Adjutant's fuel efficiency, reduce the aircraft's heat signature to insignificant levels, and grant the aircraft hyper-maneuverable capabilities. With a service ceiling of 70000 feet and max speed of Mach 2.5, the Adjutant ranks up there with Remant's other high-performance aircraft.
Defensive Equipment[]
The Adjutant's frame and armor has been re-constructed with Titanium-graphene for maximum durability, even under the most incredible combat stresses. A radar-absorbent refractive coating and phased-optic arrays allow for optical camouflaging of the aircraft. A large ECM pod is mounted to the aircraft's left wing which serves as both a defensive radar/sensor jammer and offensive cyberwarfare suite.
In case anything is fired at the aircraft, it is equipped with microwave ECM panels on the fuselage and wings to destroy the electronics of any incoming missiles and defend against Grimm who fly too close. Much of the Adjutant's original avionic systems are still intact despite the heavy modernization; in the event of a blackout for the aircraft Lucina can choose to fly the aircraft completely manually. While the lack of computerized controls make flying the aircraft much more difficult, it's how the aircraft was originally designed to fly and a true testament to Lucina's caliber as a pilot.
Strengths and Weaknesses[]
The Adjutant is a very high performance multi-role aircraft with the facilities and armament to serve as an Airborne Early-Warning and Control (AEW&C), Gunship, and Heavy Fighter. This is naturally in line with its final iteration while it was still in the Ibaalin Air Force's registry; a limited-run multipurpose combination aircraft for the exclusive use of Ibaalin Huntsmen and Huntresses within their military.
Offensively, the aircraft is extremely well-equipped to massacre Grimm; Microwave weapons to exploit the lack of metallic armor of most Grimm and dust-fueled weapons to avoid the need to carry large payloads of ammunition. But Lucina doesn't just take on contracts against the classical enemy of Remnant's society; for humanoid enemies, the Adjutant can turn its extensive computer systems and built-in ECM suite to disrupt targeting and navigation systems on hostiles and her Resonance Torpedoes are a match for any hardened airship she may run into. All this mixed with the Adjutant's Stealth and High Speed allow it to infiltrate deep behind enemy lines or Grimm territory before delivering a deadly, surgical blow or offloading a full team of Remnant's finest fighters while providing support.
The Adjutant however suffers from two flaws; mediocre armor and an over-reliance on Directed Energy Weapons. While certainly able to stand up to punishment, the Adjutant is no better or worse armored than Airships operated by Atlas's Military; whatever can hurt them and hurt it. Speed and maneuverability is the Adjutant's real armor. Its energy weapons, though powerful, are costly to operate and unless Lucina loads her lasers with specific types of dust, her options for penetrating armored targets lie solely in her missiles and torpedoes which are vulnerable to Close-In Weapon Systems.
Backstory[]
A handful of decades ago, the "Adjutant" project was proposed by Emperor Hermelin von Roon IV of House von Roon to Queen Eisena von Scharnhorst of House von Scharnhorst. von Roon wanted a new bomber aircraft to replace their aging and outdated fleet in preparation for their attempted conquest of the Menagerie Island and considering that House von Scharnhorst was the steward of the Ibaalin Navy, he felt it appropriate to enter into the project as a joint-venture. With his engineers designing the aircraft, and her admirals working as consultants, they would develop the ultimate naval bomber. This is where the co-operation came to a grinding halt. Many of the existing officers in the Ibaalin Navy felt their existing bombers were good enough for the job and that a new heavy fighter was needed to supplement their fleet while veteran pilots complained that refitting their existing fleet would be a better use of the project's money. Eventually, von Scharnhorst's elites demanded an stealth insertion aircraft to replace their aging and vulnerable dropships. Infighting like this was unfortunately common in Ibaalin culture and knowing that Emperor von Roon would pull rank and have someone executed, von Scharnhorst saw to developing an aircraft that would serve all three roles equally well. Cost-overruns, the total lack of focus, and even later internal politics between the development teams led to the "Adjutant" project constantly being shelved and re-opened. By the start of the Ibaalin-Sahale War, only a single prototype was operation as opposed to the fleet that Emperor von Roon had wanted for his military. Later in the war , a young 23 year old Lucina Panzier was assigned to capture the only existing example along with a team of Sahale commandos.
The raid involved infiltrating one of the top Ibaalin airship development facilities. Many considered the raid a suicide mission and they were right. Out of the 16 total soldiers who took part in the raid, 13 of them had lost their lives. The 3 pilots were killed due to a bad call, the majority of the fireteam was massacred holding off a trio of Nevermores, and the team leader was killed ensuring that reinforcements would not be scrambled to intercept the airship. The only person on the team with any semblance of piloting experience was Lucina.
Taking the controls and pressing the throttle, Lucina felt romantic attraction towards something for the first time. It's handling, acceleration, weapons payload, everything felt perfect. Despite nearly crashing 4 times from buzzing over various buildings and trees, Lucina claims her first time with the Adjutant was the most fun she'd ever had and when the vessel finally made it to a Sahale Air Carrier, she begged the brass to let her fly the thing.
Sadly, she was turned down. The Adjutant never flew again and sat only in hanger bays far from the front lines for study. The Sahale Air Force could never figure out how to operate the vessel the way Lucina did, even with her consultation. Post-war, top brass ordered that relevant research data be gathered and the aircraft would be marked for destruction. Air Marshal Lin Hong-Shan was the last officer in charge of the research on the vessel.
Hong-Shan however had other plans. As Lucina's main handler in the Sahale Military, he had developed a secret crush on the Huntress and noticed that her current marriage was starting to fall apart. Call it being a creep or having foresight, he illegally had the Adjutant transferred to his mother's farmhouse under the guise of it going to a junkyard. In secret, he and loyal engineers maintained and refurbished the Adjutant in an unused barn on Mrs. Lin's property. Technically, the Adjutant was never placed in the Sahale aircraft registry. By replacing the main powerplant, weapons, and systems, Hong-Shan had made enough changes and was able to technically register the refurbished Adjutant as a "replica built mostly from memory." All of Hong-Shan's men who worked on the project swore to secrecy and no one outside could prove a thing.
Finally after Lucina's divorce and 4 years of dating, Hong-Shan took the huntress out to his mother's farm for New Year's dinner. After dinner, he walked her out to the unused barn and proposed to her, saying "I don't have a ring, but you don't look like a woman who wants a ring to begin with..."
The barn doors slid open and the lights flickered on. As the dark room was illuminated, a very distinctive silhouette came into form. Lucina's first love, painted in her color scheme, standing like a proud bird of prey over the two of them.
"Lucina, will you marry me?" was hung on a banner from the Adjutant's forward cannons.
Trivia[]
- No, I did not goof up when drawing the Adjutant's asymmetrical cockpit. The design comes from the real-world Heinkel He-111 Medium Bomber used by WWII Germany.
- Besides World War 2, other design elements of the Adjutant come from Star Wars. The overall idea of the aircraft, its transforming wings, and its overkill armament was inspired by the Slave I and the layout/features of the aircraft were inspired by the player-controlled vessels of Star Wars: The Old Republic