Mark16 torpedo
The Mark16 torpedo is the primary torpedo of the Planetary Union Fleet, utilized in space combat against enemy vessels.
Contents
Overview
The Mark16 is the most powerful of the Keeling’s three torpedo classes, alongside the Mark14 torpedo and Mark15 torpedo. It is typically reserved for high-value targets due to its payload and curvine drive complexity. It is designed to destroy capital ships or penetrate hardened targets.
Specifications
- Type: Anti-ship torpedo
- Designation: Fleet Mark16
- Codename: Tadpole (as displayed in the Fleet Contact Management System)
- Length: Approx. 10.5 meters
- Guidance: Modified Biological brain of Myotis lucifugus' (little brown bat)
- Drive: Chemthruster and curvine
- Warhead: Variable yield — high explosive or transdimensional disruptor
- Range: Effective up to 1,200 kilometers (launch-to-intercept)
- Speed: Equivalent Mach 20+
- Launch Platform: Torpedo tubes aboard PUV James Keeling and other heavy Fleet vessels
The targeting computer of a Mark16 is biological: the modified brain of Myotis lucifugus (little brown bat). The brain is imprinted with a target ship's gravitational signature (grav-sig), which the brain interprets as prey. When the torpedo is fired, a darsat dome within the warhead seeks out that specific signature. Once the target is detected, the "bat brain" it out. An analog interface converts the brain's impulses into directional thrust.
Defenses
Mark16s contain two STCCM (space-time curvature countermeasure) decoys and a point-defense system designed to shoot down incoming missiles. These systems provide limited protection against interception during terminal approach, especially from enemy void-defense turrets or guided missile swarms.
Capabilities
The Mark16 can track targets in space-time curvature (STC) fields due to the biological/analog guidance system. Its warhead can be switched pre-launch to a proximity-based mass-driver explosive or a gravity warp detonation that operates in a similar function to 21st Century torpedo's massive cavitation bubble principle.
The Mark16 is often fired during high-risk strike operations. It is particularly valuable when accuracy and terminal-stage damage are critical. Due to its cost and rarity, Mark16s are typically loaded only when a ship's CO expects engagement with capital-class threats.
Fleet Contact Management System (CMS) Integration
Once launched, the Mark16 receives a designation within the CMS such as:
- Keeling Mark16-One
- Keeling Mark16-Two
In the nav-orb, the torpedo is rendered as an outlined triangle and tracked under the codename Tadpole.
Excerpts
From The Crypt: Shakedown:
- When a warship acquired a target’s specific grav-signature, that profile was transferred to the modified bat brain in a torpedo’s cone. The bat brain’s darsat-modified echolocation ability did what it had done for millions of years—targeted prey in a 360-degree environment. The tiny, non-sentient, analog biocomputer reacted to darsat pulses, or pings, constantly reorienting the torp toward the programmed grav-signature. Sigler, Scott. The Crypt: Shakedown: (A Military Sci-Fi Novel) (p. 267). Aethon Books. Kindle Edition.
- With an internal curvine drive, a Mark16 torp was a starship unto itself. It had its own small darsat dome, along with two STCCM decoys and a point-defense system to protect against missiles aimed its way. Sigler, Scott. The Crypt: Shakedown: (A Military Sci-Fi Novel) (p. 267). Aethon Books. Kindle Edition.
