Name: Artemie Isra
Gender: Female
Age: 23 (Born 211 SA)
Personality: Brave, enterprising, dutiful, and resolute… On duty. Artemie had to be all of these things to volunteer for the mission she did but she couldn’t have predicted the toll that it would take on her personally. On her own time Artemie feels out of place, or more accurately out of time. Even though the years passed like the blink of an eye for her she is acutely aware that events that feel like yesterday for her happened, in some cases, years before her colleagues were old enough to serve. Every now and again the reminder can give the naturally outgoing girl pause, putting her on the back foot until she can power through it. She tends to overcompensate by trying to learn everything that has happened since her mission began all at once, cramming information in until she can’t help but get some of it muddled. These habits can give the impression of someone a little absentminded.
In the cockpit all of her uncertainty disappears replaced with calm assurance. Despite being one of the most junior members of the expedition experientially she has no problem holding her own with people
actually her own age. Artemie
loves to chat when she has her feet firmly planted in the present, and remains fascinated by the years of Orbital development that happened while she was gone.
Backstory: Artemie Isra was born in 211 SA on the Moon colony of Armstrong, a thriving city of almost a million souls. She was given up for adoption but the fact never really bothered her; she had loving adoptive parents, a home, and a comfortable childhood. The probe bound for Proxima Centauri launched when she was three years old and little Artemie was
fascinated. Her excitement never died down, not when the probe arrived, not in the years waiting for the data to come back, and certainly not when she became a pilot in preparation for any expedition that might come her way. Or when she studied in her free time to become a technician. Artemie Isra had been born in time to explore the stars and she was determined to do just that. Most of her training was done on recently decommissioned Heavies, graduating to the newer Orbitals during her service and signing up for any mission that might get her closer to the stars.
And then the probe data failed to return on time. Months dragged on, and the diagnosis came back; the booster the probe had dropped on its way to Proxima Centauri had malfunctioned. Two and a half lightyears away, too far for any drone to repair it and too far for it to be easily replaced. Someone would have to go and fix it.
Artemie volunteered.
Her adoptive parents had passed away a few years earlier, she had no siblings, and few attachments. And it was a chance to go farther than anyone had traveled to date. Two and a half lightyears, almost ten years of travel, just to reach the booster and repair it. She strapped into the first deep space Orbital anyone could lay hands on and went to sleep. When she awoke she had reached her destination and nothing could have prepared her for the emptiness so far past the limits of her solar system. She made her repairs in just under twelve hours, and went down again for the cold sleep to wait for CAPEI Operations to confirm the data had been received. Not, admittedly, before she took a peek for herself.
The computer woke her again with a choice; the data had been received, and an expedition had been greenlit. It would leave before she returned. She could set course for home and settle in for the long nap, and the twenty year wait for what answers the expedition would find… Or she could go back into cryo and wait for the
Pandora to collect her on its way to Proxima Centauri.
She went to sleep again, with a preprogrammed intercept with the
Pandora scheduled in twelve years. She wouldn’t wake again for another twenty.
But she would see the light of another star.
Skills and Flaws: Despite one of the
longest service records, Artemie has among the
least actual combat experience among the
Pandora’s pilots. She was born, raised, and served on the Moon; so far in-system there was no cause for Orbital deployment on anything more than routine patrols. Her simulator scores, her practice battles, all of her scores on paper are excellent and indicative of the gifted pilot that she is but she has never had to face a real battle; an opponent with the intent to kill. Similarly, despite her best efforts, her knowledge of Orbitals is thirty years out of date.
On the other hand, her
engineering knowledge is top notch. She was tapped to fix the relay for her knowledge in both piloting and electronics, after all, and had to have the requisite knowledge to repair any one of the systems that may have malfunctioned. Additionally, she would need to be able to repair her Orbital, her cryostasis equipment, or any one of half a dozen critical systems necessary for her mission. As a result, Artemie is a repairwoman and Macgyver par excellence.
Her piloting style tends more towards the
creative than the textbook, a work of instinct and not of protocol. She always looks for the edge, the upgrade that she can fashion for herself to narrow the playing field.
Equipment: Artemie has nothing on her person that she did not take on her original mission. Owing to the original mission profile, that means she has an extensive tool box, a standard issue sidearm, a diagnostic computer, a pilot suit, and her uniform.
Model Number: IS-049
Voyager (“Starlight”)
Role: Deep Space Operations
Appearance: Tall and powerfully built at 24.5m tall, with tapered spires upon its shoulders and a protruding chest like a bomber’s nose. Inset in the tip is a gleaming red circular emitter. Its shoulders descend into cylindrical forearms, its legs long and aerodynamic. A regal, crested helm with a red sensor visor to protect its cameras adorns the top. Variable wing stabilizes adorn its back and calves, with thrusters mounted on its back, shoulders, calves, and the bottom of its feet. The Starlight is cast in hues of blued steel, with small red details and gold accents. Inscribed just below the emitter on its chest in hand sprayed gold letters are the words “Ultima Ratio Regum”, and on either shoulder “Luci Ad Tenebras”.
Powerful boosters in unaccented black are added to its shoulders and calves when fully equipped for deep space operations.
Systems: -
X Corp “G-Aegis” Emitters: Beam emitters mounted in the shoulders and chest, designed to form an arrowhead shaped shield ahead of the Voyager during flight to incinerate any debris that might cause harm during its relativistic journey. Can be formed in an arrowhead ‘above’ and encompassing the upper body of the Voyager, or the emitters can flip forward and cast a wider, more blunted shape over the front of the Voyager above the head and down to the waist.
-
Isurugi Heavy Industries “Dauntless” Booster System: Four boosters, with their own additional capacitors charged off of the Voyager’s Oberth Reactor. Fitted on its shoulders and calves, the Dauntless boosters are capable of significantly increasing the Voyager’s straightline acceleration and stamina at the cost of some maneuverability. Can be purged, but cannot be reattached in the field.
-
Isurugi Heavy Industries “Starlight” Electronics Suite: Something of a misnomer, “Starlight” is the Voyager’s computer. Capable of filtering interference out from signals at great distance, limited automation of Orbital functions slaved to voice command, and following preprogrammed flight plans with self correcting trajectories due to outside interference.
Weapons: -
X Corp G-Lancier: The torso emitter for the G-Aegis is also capable of acting as a beam cannon of considerable strength, enough to destroy an Orbital if it hits. The output is variable and can be cranked higher than is recommended, but at substantial drain to the Voyager’s power. The Voyager does not have powerful enough targeting systems to make a shot at greater than medium range unassisted.
-
X Corp G-Aegis: Though intended to deal with debris, the G-Aegis is both the Voyager’s most powerful (and only) defense as well as one of its most powerful offensive tools. The same beam shield intended to protect it from debris will protect it from solid projectiles, as well as energy attacks… As long as the power supply holds. In the same fashion, it can be used to turn the entire Orbital into a beam tipped projectile with considerable ramming speed.
-Isurugi Heavy Industries 50mm Rotary Cannon: Mounted in the right forearm, magnetically fired.
-Jawaid and Jawaid Cluster Missiles x2: Hip mounted.
-Isurugi Heavy Industries Beam Saber: Left arm stored.
Manufacturing History: Isurugi Heavy Industries’ Voyager is a second generation Orbital hurriedly commissioned in 234 SA.. Without the time for a long development cycle Isurugi borrowed one of the prototype frames for what would eventually become the IS-50 Odysseus in reference to the long journey of their sister. Despite their shared base the Voyager was designed from top to bottom in less than six months for use in deep space beyond any hope for assistance. First and foremost, the
Voyager was fitted with thirty percent more capacitors than any Orbital at the time. It wouldn’t speed up the recharge, but it would make sure there was more power initially available. And it was necessary; the booster assemblies that would accelerate it to the nearly same maximum speed available to an Oberth Reactor-powered ship needed an incredible amount of power to start up.
From there the Voyager needed to be able to sustain its pilot for the planned round trip, nearly twenty years. That meant building the facilities to keep Artemie in cryostasis into a single ‘room’ on board the boosters, along with building an access point on the Orbital’s back to move from her stasis chamber to the cockpit. The Voyager required an above average AI to control its functions, as well. Though far from a true artificial intelligence the on board computer needed to be able to follow a programmed course, recognize debris in the way, and wake its pilot in case of emergency.
And in keeping with standing human policy, it had to be armed. No sanctioned human excursion into the black went without the capability to defend itself.
Weaknesses: The Voyager is fast, strong, enduring… And it was never meant to be a frontline combat unit. Its arsenal draws on the same enhanced capacitors it needed for its sustained mission, and the most potent of its offensive arsenal simply repurposes the same technology that mission required. Used at its full potential the Voyager will run out of power rapidly and be left dead in the water. Owing to this restriction, Artemie will refrain from using its beam options (aside from the saber) as much as she can. This means the Voyager makes requent use of its rotary cannon, and frankly, its bare hands. Though the G-Aegis is a powerful defense, against any sort of sustained assault it will drain the capacitors
rapidly. Against a sustained energy attack the shield would drain the capacitors exponentially, while physical munitions are
less of an issue.
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