S-88 Shaitan (Crazy 8)

The S-88 Advanced Dominance Strato-fighter, known to many as the “Crazy 8” Is the main manned multi-role spacecraft of the Greater Arthropod Commonwealth space forces. It is a large-body, forward-swept wing fighter craft. It comes standard with slip-space capabilities, particle shields, an array of plasma weapons, and the ability to carry a large payload of guided munitions.

The S-88 is a testament to the GAC’s ability to put quality over quantity in it's manned spacecraft since their planetary defense is remote/drone operated. The fighter carries no combustible rocket fuel, and it's matter furnace reactor is well protected under multiple layers of armor and hull made from Recycled Chitin and Titanium. Even in the event of damage to one or more thrusters, the ship can still fly. In addition; Being a strato-fighter, the craft can fly with ease in both the vacuum of space, and in an atmosphere, and if needed, can even operate underwater. While in atmospheric conditions, pilots have found that the unstable aerodynamics allow for Aerobatic maneuvers. The craft is capable of pulling very unorthodox maneuvers, which is how it earned the nickname of “Crazy 8” and has become an object of desire for thieves and mercenaries.

The fighter is used in various configurations throughout the GAC: Military pilots, Enforcer Commander Drones, Commando Security Drones, Shifter Ambassadors, and even some members of the Council of 7 themselves.

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Hull: Recycled chitin, titanium
Armor: Recycled chitin
Powerplant: Miniaturized rhagnalite matter furnace
Fuel: Inert liquid/powder waste product⁽¹⁾
Propulsion: Magnetic field, destabilized by particle thruster output.
X 2 Tuatara Particle emission thrusters
X 2 Hovering fan thruster
X 2 solid-fuel rocket afterburner
Output: 10,064,888 pM⁽²⁾
Shielding: Kinetic Absorption particle field⁽³⁾ (Can be swapped for Reflection shields⁽³⁾ upon request)

Standard weaponry:
X 2 Particle autocannons
X 2 30mm Railgun repeaters
X 10 guided missiles (Laser guidance or semi-active heat-seeking can be utilized)
X 4 remote explosive mines (Can be swapped with flash or sonic charges)
X 1 grapple claw




Variants:


Enforcer variant: Mostly stripped of it's weapons except for it's particle cannons. The rest of it's armament and shield systems are replaced with hardware for advanced sensors for search functions. Thrusters are also upgraded for Pursuits

Security Escort variant: Cockpit is modified with an enclosed canopy lined with sensors that display visuals in real-time on screens lining the inside of the cockpit in a 360° field of view. Special software removes the ship itself from the pilots field of view.

Royal guard variant: The craft is heavily modified to increase it's over-all size. Canard wings replace the forward swept wings, and the larger fuselage allows for the inclusion of living amenities including: a full size kitchen, washroom facilities, sleeping bunk, and even a holographic entertainment system

Shifter variants: Craft belonging to the 7 shifters vary WILDLY from the original craft:

Stellas: Originally a Royal guard variant, the craft is further modified into a private passenger craft complete with luxuries including a full-size bar, first class seating, entertainment amenities, and cold storage for fresh food


Venn: Upgraded variant with a more powerful reactor, larger engines, more advanced control surfaces, and . His variant also has a hyper-space system in addition to his Slip-space drive


Pulse: Craft is modified with variable geometry wings, advanced avionics, long range sensors, and a vast array of electronic warfare systems including jamming and other countermeasures. Craft also sacrifices it's railguns and one of it's grapple claws to support stealth-related hardware and thrusters

Pyre: Particle control systems and all relevant propulsion systems are replaced with electric jet turbines and rocket thrusters. Said engines are fueled by Pyre himself by serving as a living reactor furnace, diverting the super-heated particles from his body into energy for the turbines and as burning fuel for the rocket thrusters.

Glacier: Craft’s armor layer is largely replaced with panels of iridescent diamond, increasing it's weight, but makes the craft physically resistant to most small-arms attacks from other fighters



1: Matter furnace powerplant converts inert atoms into super-charged electrons. Using combustible fuel will result in internal explosions and fire, likely triggering a core seal breach and subsequent meltdown detonation.
2: “pM” (particle-mass) is equivalent to “ldf” (pound-force) measurement.
3: Particle shields of the GAC come in 2 types. Absorption and Reflective
-Absorption shields are designed to absorb the kinetic energy of physical projectiles and explosive munitions with a physical barrier of charged particles in a strong magnetic field. Even a large caliber railgun shot could be absorbed, if only once. However, this shield system is weak against laser and plasma weaponry that burn through the particles quickly.
-Reflective Shields are designed to counter laser and plasma weaponry. The particles are arranged in a less dense and more uniform structure, forming a microscopic reflective surface that reflects lasers like a mirror, and absorbs the energy from Plasma bolts until the shielding particle’s charge is lost and must recharge with new particles produced from the powerplant. Of course, it is likewise weak against physical-type weapons that can easily break through the barrier.