According to Kreeghor legend, the Night Fangs were an elite group of assassins who played a major role in securing the freedom of the Kreeghor from the Splugorth. Using stealth and sudden, deadly strikes against key High Lords they whittled away at the chains of bondage for their people. In the spirit of that legacy of stealth and deadly skill, the Transgalactic Empire has begun limited production of the Night Fang Space Superiority Fighter.
The Kreeghor for years led the field in space fighter technology. The Flying Fang Interceptor, however, was the last new fighter the Empire had created in 60 years. This has led to the Kreeghor slipping far behind the Consortium of Civilized Worlds and Naruni. With sheer numbers, however, the Kreeghor tended to overwhelm their foes.
With the introduction of Draygon-manufactured fighters to the Free World Council, a rogue collection of star systems seeking liberation from the oppressive regime, the Kreeghor have been forced to develop a new breed of fighter, one that can compete with the heavily-armored and faster fighters being fielded by Galactic Armory, Bushido Industries and Draygon.
The Night Fang is the answer they have put forward, and the other galactic powers have taken notice, especially the Free World Council.
The machine is a deadly, amalgam of speed and firepower, engineered to surprise the enemy, devastate him, and then slip away. In every way a strike vessel, the Night Fang is the first TGE fighter capable of FTL travel.
The fighter is technically a medium fighter, with armor protection between that of the Katana and the Black Eagle. It has powerful shields that make it the match of the Black Eagle in protection however. The main armaments are a pair of variable pulse laser cannons, high-powered pulse lasers that can defeat even laser-resistant armor. These are backed up by an undercarriage gravity cannon on an automated swivel mount, ideal for dissuading pursuing enemy fighters, or strafing ground troops. For heavy assaults the Night Fang also comes with 16 medium-range missiles and can be equiped with up to four cruise missiles (two under each "fang") for heavy assault missions. With a speed equaling that of the Black Eagle, that's enough to make the fighter one of the top-end production fighters in the Three Galaxies, but the Kreeghor didn't stop there.
The Night Fang has a revolutionary intuitive control system built specifically for Kreeghor pilots that makes it a dream to handle. It has several stealth features and is incredibly agile. These extras have been achieved by making ultimate use of the Night Fang's gravity drive. The Night Fang has no thrust nozzles, no exhaust and no manuevering jets, relying entirely on a revolutionary gravity control system that allows the fighter to literally slide its way through space. This not only increases manueverability, but with the lack of traceable thrust emissions, makes the vessel even more stealthy.
The Night Fang does have one drawback, and that is its cost. The most expensive fighter in history, it costs the Kreeghor a whopping 120 million credits apiece, more than twice that of the Flying Fang. The Kreeghor believe it's worth it, however, as the Night Fang has a 3-to-1 kill ratio against Free World Council fighters, a number that increases to 4-to-1 when the FWC is using Flying Fang Interceptors or Broadsword Naruni Fighters. However, it will be some time before the vehicle is put into full production. One option the Kreeghor are considering is making a cheaper version without FTL capabilities.
So far, the Night Fang has been only assigned to Kreeghor turbo-jockeys (rare, but they do have them), invincible guardsmen, and top aces. One squadron has been placed on each of the Empire's Doombringer Dreadnaughts, and a special Imperial Praetorian Guard squadron, piloting blood-red Night Fangs, now escort the Emperor whenever he leaves Kreeghor-Tet. The Praetorian Guard pilots are all Royal Kreeghor and it is rumored that they have added techno-wizard enhancements to these already deadly craft.
Model Type: NF-XX
Speed:
Statistical Data:
Weapon Systems
1. Variable Pulse Laser Cannons (2): These are high-powered pulse laser cannons with variable frequency capabilities. They automatically adjust to defeat laser-resistant armor (takes 1 melee round). They fire simultaneous bursts of laser fire at the same target, an affect that has led Free World Council pilots to dub them "laser gatlings".
2. Undercarriage Gravity Cannon: A gravity cannon on an automated turret is slung under the main body. It can rotate 360 degrees and point up to 45 degrees "down" from the belly. Most pilots tend to enter combat with the cannon pointed to the rear, to dissuade fighters attempting to dogtail them. The cannon is also used to strafe ground troops and destroy incoming missiles.
3. Medium Missile Launchers (2): Two missile launchers are hidden under sliding panels on the top of the fighter. They are used to attack larger vessels or knock down fighters.
4. Optional: Cruise Missiles (4): The Night Fang can be equipped with four cruise missiles with the power to destroy, or severely damage a starship or ravage ground targets. This weapon is not designed for anti-fighter warfare and enemy fighters and robot-sized targets have a +3 bonus to dodge it.
5. Stealth System: The Night Fang has a dramatically lowered sensor signature to both conventional sensors and gravity wave sensors. To detect a Night Fang or a squadron of Night Fangs, a sensor operator must make a Read Sensory Equipment roll at -20%. Every additional squadron drops that percentage by 10%, so an entire wing ( three squadrons) would have no stealth capabilities.
6. Combat Performance: The intuitive piloting system gives the Night Fang pilot a +10% to all piloting rolls and a +1 to dog-fighting rolls. The nimble fighter is also +1 to strike with all ranged weapons and +2 to dodge, in addition to standard sensor and piloting bonuses.
Class: Space Superiority Fighter
Crew: One (capable of carrying one passenger)
M.D.C. by Location
Horns (2) -- 225 each
Horn-Mounted Variable Pulse Lasers (2) -- 120 each
Gravity Cannon -- 80
Cruise Missiles (optional, 4) -- 60 each
* Main Body -- 700
Reinforced Pilot's Compartment/Escape Pod -- 200
** Gravity Control Fins (4) -- 300 each
Variable Force Field -- 300 per side (1800 total)
*Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body destroys the vessel and causes the escape pod to eject. The escape pod has life-support for 24 hours and a beacon that can be picked up throughout most star systems. Once the pod is clear, the fighter will explode, doing 4D6X10 M.D. to everything within a 40-foot radius.
** While the ship has no visible engines or exhaust ports, destroying the gravity control fins will have much the same effect. Destroying one will reduce the fighter's speed by 25% and reduce it's stealth bonus by 5% (see below). Each fin destroyed will reduce the speed an additional 25%, after the second fin is destroyed both the FTL and stealth systems are inoperable, and the fighter loses all its maneuverability bonuses. Destroying all four renders the fighter adrift. None of the TGE's enemies have figured this out however and are mystified at how the craft operates. The FWC is trying desperately to "procure" a working fighter, but they are so rare that it has been a fruitless task so far.
Driving on the ground: Not possible.
Flying: Maximum speed in space is Mach 16 (cruising and combat speed is typically Mach 8). Maximum atmospheric speed is Mach 6.
FTL: G-Drive allows it to travel at four light years per hour.
Range: Technically unlimited, but only has life support for four days.
Height: 14 feet (4.3 m).
Width: 40 feet (12.2 m).
Length: 65 feet (19.8 m).
Weight: 20 tons (18,140 kg).
Cargo: A small 3X5 cargo space for armor, weapons and supplies.
Power system: Dual Anti-Matter System; average energy life of 20 years.
Market Cost: 120 million credits, absolutely not available to anyone but Kreeghor pilots working for the TGE.
Primary Purpose: Anti-Starfighter
Secondary Purpose: Assault.
Mega-Damage: A double blast from both cannons does 4D6x10 M.D. A single cannon blast does 2D6x10 M.D.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the total number of hand to hand attacks of the pilot.
Effective Range: 3 miles in space (4.8 km), 4,000 feet (1200 m) in atmosphere.
Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
Primary Purpose: Defense
Secondary Purpose: Anti-personnel
Mega-Damage: A burst of 20 rounds does 2D4x10 M.D. It can only fire in bursts.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the number of combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot.
Effective Range: 3 miles in space (4.8 km), 4,000 feet (1200 m) in atmosphere.
Payload: 20,000 rounds (1,000 bursts total).
Primary Purpose: Anti-spacecraft and anti-ship.
Secondary Purpose: Defense.
Mega-Damage: varies with missile type. The typical payload is plasma/heat (2D6x10 M.D.) or multi-warhead (2D4x10 M.D.) smart bombs (+5 to strike).
Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of two, four or eight.
Effective Range: about 150 miles in space, about 50 miles in atmosphere.
Payload: 16 total, eight in each launcher.
Cruise missles have excellent speed and range, but the standard tactic is to fire them at targets one mile away or closer. At these "point-blank" ranges the missiles cannot be dodged or destroyed; they travel at 1800 mph (2900 km), so they cover one mile in one-fifth of a second (one km in an eighth of a second). Too fast for any gunner system to react! A favorite tactic of Night Fang squadrons is to sneak in using their stealth capabilities, fire off the cruise missiles at close-range, and then "jump" away using their FTL drives. Many ships that have fallen victim to this tactic haven't even known they were under attack.
Primary Purpose: Anti-Starship
Secondary Purpose: Strategic Bombardment
Mega-Damage: Nuclear warhead inflicts 2D6x100 M.D.; anti-matter warhead does 4D6x100 M.D.
Rate of Fire: One at a time or volleys of two or four (usually fired all at once).
Effective Range: 1,000 miles (1600 km). Optimum launching range is 1-3 miles, however.
Payload: Four missiles. (Note: These are smart bombs; +5 to strike. If fired from point-blank range (one mile), use the pilot's bonuses or +5, whichever is higher.
