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Lurker-class
SSBCV:
Displacement: 19 kilotons (submerged)
Dimensions: 170m x 20m(beam)/100m (wings)
Powerplant: One hydrogen-plasma fusion reactor.
Propulsion: Quad "caterpillar" drive impellers.
Armament: 12 x Torpedo tubes (all forward), 10 x
ICBM tubes
(dorsal).
Parasite Craft: 4 S-CAV Submarine Fighters, 6 Combat
Ballistic Rocket Fighters.
Lurker submarines are an old
design from the earliest days of the Board that gathered dust in the
Archives for years, before being rapidly updated and put into
production when the plans for Nemo Base were greenlighted. Originally
conceived as a ballistic missile submarine, the modern design reflects
the Board's declining interest in tossing nukes, alongside the growth
in numbers of aquatic Boardies. Thus, instead of being a missile
platform (although she does retain the tubes), the Lurker is
instead intended to interdict wide swathes of ocean with her parasite
fighters, and provide last-ditch defense against submarine-launched
nuclear weapons - a very real Board fear in their predicted Armageddon
scenarios.
The most obvious feature distinguishing a Lurker
from other "Boomers" is, of course, her support craft. Lurkers
are intended to remain on the edges of any engagement while her
compliment of highly advanced S-CAV "supercavitating" submarines,
propelling themselves in a cloud of near-frictionless bubbles at
massive speeds, do the actual fighting. Their rusty colouring, long
noses, and stubby tailfins rapidly earned the little ships the nickname
"Zombie Tuna" from irreverent pilots.
For missile and aircraft interdiction, Lurkers
carry true engineering marvels - ultralight fighters designed to blast
out of the water using the missile tubes and quickly engage
their targets during a one-way trip to orbit. A version capable of
carrying a small team of assault troops (albeit in very cramped
conditions) is being tested to allow the insertion of troops aboard
aircraft.
Given the Board's lack of sub pens, Lurkers were
designed with endurance in mind - one can circumnavigate the globe over
a dozen times before needing to resupply. Their service record so far
has been mixed - only the class vessel has seen action, in which her
stealth capabilities proved excellent...only to be disabled by
supernatural action.
Hazel Green was given a stripped-down Lurker
hull, sans support craft and weapons, as part of her payment
for services
rendered during the construction of Nemo. Her organisation has
steadily been refitting the vessel for unknown reasons (probably linked
to her growing
connections with Damascus and his island HQ). Given access to his
research, she has almost certainly replaced Board-specific components
and consumables with ones she can manufacture, the better to ensure she
remains independent from the original builders.
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