Rusalka

Rusalka
Production information
Manufacturer	Master's Wings Aerospace
Production Year	3071
Model	S-RSL-O
Class	Medium OmniFighter
Tech Base	Inner Sphere
Technical specifications
Mass	65 tons
Structural Integrity
Frame	Spectral Series RS1F
Power Plant	Hermes 325 XL engine
Armor	Divine Shield-D Ferro Aluminum
Fuel
Armament	Primary (Invictus) Configuration 1x ER PPC 1x LRM-15 with Artemis IV FCS 4x ER medium lasers 2x Medium pulse lasers 1x ER small laser
Communications System	Master's Voice Cel-Beta
Tracking & Targeting System	Master's Sight 2-Psi
Heat Sinks	13 double heat sinks
BV (2.0)	1,883

Description

The second, medium-weight OmniFighter of the Word of Blake's trio of Spectral Series, the almost alien-looking Rusalka is named for the vengeful spirits of ancient Slavic lore.

Demonstrating the rapid evolution even on the first Spectral, the Striga, Precentor Vapula continued to refine and improve upon the high-powered multidirectional vectoring engines to boost their performance. Because of this refinement the fighter is capable of sustained bursts of five and a half Gs, an advantage best suited to the elite cyber-enhanced Manei Domini. Likewise, the collapsible wing structures have also been tweaked, further enhancing the Spectral's hallmark, almost halving the fighter's profile to the point it resembles a shuttle or escape pod in vacuum where wing structures are superfluous.

Using a massive 325-rated XL engine and 12 tons of Divine Shield-D ferro-aluminum armor, the Rusalka is a dedicated dogfighter with excellent speed and protection. It mounts 11 fixed double heat sinks and still leaves 33 tons available in pod space of primarily energy weapons to enable to fighter maximum combat endurance.

Weapons and Equipment

The primary Invictus configuration mounts impressive forward firing weaponry with an ER PPC and Artemis IV FCS-enhanced LRM-15 mounted in the nose, supported by a set of two ER medium lasers and a single medium pulse laser in each wing, with a single aft facing ER small laser to discourage pursuit. Seven additional double heat sinks attempt to combat the high waste heat of a large energy weapon loadout to prevent the two tons of CASE protected LRM reloads from cooking off.

Alternate Configurations

• Alternate Configuration A (Dominus) 

  Favoring a mix of missiles and pulse lasers, the Dominus configuration features a large pulse laser, two medium pulse lasers and a single ER small laser mounted in its nose bay, supported by Artemis IV-enhanced MML-9s in each wing. Two standard medium lasers ward the rear of the craft while a single extra double heat sink barely enhances heat dissipation to protect the four ton CASE equipped ammo bay, normally divided into two tons of LRM and SRM reloads to take maximum advantage of the advanced MMLs. BV (2.0) = 1,407, 1,479

• Alternate Configuration B (Infernus) 

  A variable speed laser-boat, the Infernus configuration mounts a large variable speed pulse laser and twin ER medium lasers in its nose, supported by twin medium variable speed pulse lasers slung under each wing. Six additional double heat sinks strain to keep all the lasers firing. BV (2.0) = 1,369

• Alternate Configuration C (Comminus) 

  A short-range ground attack variant, the Comminus mounts a mammoth MRM-40 in its nose, supported six medium pulse lasers; two installed in the nose and each wing. A single ER small laser vainly protects the rear while an additional five double heat sinks attempt to keep the heat of this variant under control to prevent three tons of CASE protected missile reloads from exploding. BV (2.0) = 1,639

• Alternate Configuration D (Luminos) 

  A high power, short-range energy weapon variant, the Luminos features a nose-mounted heavy PPC and twin ER medium lasers supported by a large pulse laser in each wing. An additional six double heat sinks and ton of fuel allow this variant to remain on station for longer. BV (2.0) = 1,712

• Alternate Configuration E (Eminus) 

  A longer ranged variant, the Eminus mounts a CASE protected light Gauss rifle supplied with two tons of reloads in its nose, supported by an ER large laser and ER medium laser in each wing. A single standard small laser guards the rear while six added double heat sinks fight to keep the lasers firing. BV (2.0) = 1,721

Notes

• Rusalka ("Rusałka") means water-nymph in Slavic languages.

Gallery

• 

  Original Rusalka from TRO:3075

Bibliography

• Record Sheets: 3075 Unabridged - The Cutting Edge
• Technical Readout: 3075