Galnet News

A suite of new Supercruise Overcharge Frame Shift Drives entered the market earlier this week alongside several other upgrades to the new modules.

To celebrate the company’s recent success, Dr. Namin Tirel, Achilles Aerospace’s Head of Research and Development, offered a rare interview to Vox Galactica:

“It boggles the mind, truly. We were working in secret on what would eventually become our Supercruise Overcharge technology for over a year now. We had mountains of data and plenty of theories still to test, but we were struggling to make headway on anything that had real practical application. When we got hold of some of the actual parts of the Thargoids’ drive-like technology, all that time, energy, and financial investment finally paid off. We were able to make huge strides in a short time frame, as you’re now seeing.”

“We purposefully made these drives difficult to modify as they’re still using very new technology, but, with how well the drives are holding up, we saw fit to relax this restriction.”

“Our latest firmware update also removes the prototype safety limiter on jump range which goes hand-in-hand with some brilliant fine-tuning we achieved during development. Not only are our drives capable of Supercruise Overcharge but we saw a few optimisations we could make over Sirius’ aging technology. If you want to go both faster and further, switch to an Achilles drive.”

“Finally, we have our work with Faulcon DeLacy on their Python Mk II. This is something that both companies are immensely happy with, and we want to offer this same collaborative approach to other manufacturers too.”

“Supercruise Overcharge has been a highlight of my career, and being a part of its continued development is a privilege. Thank you to my team helping to create the next phase of space travel, and a special thank you to the independent pilots who brought us the key pieces of technology that made all of this possible.”

The first ever ship built entirely around Achilles’ new Frame Shift Drive has released today, the Python Mk II. Marketing materials are pushing the tagline: “Built for Supercruise Overcharge”.

Faulcon DeLacy, the widely respected manufacturer behind this new ship, released a statement this morning:

“The original Python is an incredibly versatile ship, serving countless pilots in countless roles around the universe. For the Mk II, we wanted to create something more specialised and focused, and so we are coming to market with a ship that truly excels in battle conditions... but that’s not all.”

“Thanks to a fruitful collaboration with our friends at Achilles Aerospace, the Python Mk II has been designed from the ground up to better handle their new Frame Shift Drive.”

“It has improved heat management, better handling, reduced fuel consumption, and even better acceleration and deceleration capacity.”

“With the Python Mk II, we are breaking almost every speed record humanity has set. This is truly the flagship of a new era, and we cannot wait for you to try it.”

Faulcon DeLacy famously has a well-established relationship with the other main manufacturer of Frame Shift Drives, Sirius Corporation. Vox Galactica reached out for a comment on this announcement, but Sirius rejected the request.

Users of the Supercruise Overcharge function of Achilles’ new Frame Shift Drives have reported that the module puts ships under immense mechanical and thermal stress, often causing severe hull damage. Ship manufacturers throughout the galaxy are now diverting research towards overcoming this issue.

Stent Jackson, a ship engineering and design consultant, spoke to Vox Galactica about this new surge of research:

“Now don’t get me wrong, every manufacturer I’ve spoken to considers Supercruise Overcharge to be a great thing, but it’s also ripping our hulls apart. The good with the bad, as always.”

“Funny thing is, every manufacturer is realising all at once that there are some crucial things about ship construction that they’ve all taken for granted. When you get down to brass tacks, we assume certain thresholds, right? Before, we didn’t need to worry about exceeding certain temperatures or hitting high levels of hull stress regularly. Now that’s all out the window.”

“I haven’t seen such a single-minded focus from ship manufacturers for a long time. They’re all clawing to be first to market with a ship that can alleviate Overcharge stress, and it’s not long before one of them really does rise to the challenge.”

"My hat’s off to them, Achilles have changed the game in the industry for good.”

Titan Oya in the Cephei Sector BV-Y B4 system has been confirmed as destroyed by Aegis, leaving five still operational.

Aden Tanner, Aegis’s lead anti-xeno strategist, delivered a cautionary statement:

“I must remind all Commanders that these missions are highly dangerous and cannot be undertaken lightly. Entering a Maelstrom and flying close to a Titan requires your ship to be outfitted with caustic sink launchers and Thargoid pulse neutralisers. AX weaponry will also prove useful, as will Guardian nanite torpedoes to target the Titans’ thermal vents.”

“Be warned that your combat skills will be tested. Counter-attacks by Thargoid vessels become more frequent as the Titans take damage , and the mothership’s own turrets are deployed more aggressively. I would like to see veteran anti-xeno pilots passing on their knowledge to less-experienced pilots, to prevent unnecessary risks.”

*Pilots’ Federation ALERT*

The engineer Ram Tah has discovered a method of immunising existing Guardian modules against the effects of anti-Guardian fields.

Earlier this year, Ram Tah discovered that certain Guardian relics revealed and activated nanite clusters when exposed to specific electromagnetic frequencies. These nanites proved disruptive to Thargoid technology on a molecular level and, importantly, were entirely unaffected by anti-Guardian fields unlike other Guardian technology.

In an urgent press conference, Aegis leadership announced a breakthrough in researching that latter quality.

The following statement was given by Professor Alba Tesreau:

“Our knowledge of the Thargoids’ ancient adversary, the Guardians, is still so very limited, and yet Guardian technology has once again paved a way forward for humanity.”

“We urge pilots to use the modifications we are producing to utilise any powerful Guardian modules in their possession. Use them to push back against the Thargoid threat. Use them to win this war.”

Aegis went on to announce that the modifications can now be made at Ram Tah’s workshop in the Meene system.

*Pilots’ Federation Alert*

Titan Oya is under siege. This is an urgent call to all independent pilots to aid in the complete defeat of the third Titan.

The key modules for the assault continue to be readily available at all Rescue Megaships:

• Thargoid Pulse Neutraliser – To break through the maelstrom defence wave.

• Caustic Sink Launchers – To protect your ship from caustic effects of the maelstrom.

• Guardian Nanite Torpedo Pylon – To hamper the Titan’s vents and make it vulnerable to damage.

Rewards have been requisitioned for all Commanders able to participate in ending the Titan threat.

Good luck, Commanders.

The Titan known as Oya appears to have deployed a large fleet of Orthrus vessels into star systems farther from their own territory breaking expected behaviour.

Analysts noted that the locations in which Orthrus vessels have been tracked didn’t appear to have any particular importance, instead suggesting that this may be a new tactic or possibly a simple panic response to the mounting pressure on its fleet.

Titan Oya has been steadily losing territory to large numbers of AX-equipped human forces. These forces, spearheaded by coalitions known as ‘AXI’ and ‘XSF’ have been reclaiming ground from the Titans successfully for some time and were pivotal in the recent successful campaigns against the now-destroyed Titans, Taranis and Leigong.

The Pilots’ Federation have issued an alert to all independent pilots for each of the star systems where Orthrus vessels have been detected:

“If Oya can be prevented from reclaiming territory, then it’s likely that this third Titan will fall within mere weeks. We encourage all pilots to track and eliminate any Orthrus vessels found patrolling these star systems before the Thargoids can move their assault forces into these footholds.”

Material gathered from the Titan Taranis wreckage has reportedly allowed Achilles Aerospace to complete the research on their prototype Frame Shift Drive.

The recent initiative sponsored by Achilles Aerospace saw over 5000 independent pilots enter the hazardous wreckage of Titan Taranis, retrieving enough Titan Drive Components to allow Achilles to allegedly design a new type of Frame Shift Drive based on Titan technology.

A spokesperson for Achilles Aerospace gave the following update:

The Achilles Corporation would like to commend every brave pilot that responded to our request. The data we are gathering from the collected materials is staggering, and our work has progressed at an astonishing rate. Our teams are hard at work getting the prototype ready for production as I speak, and we are eager to show you all the fruits of our labour very soon.

Sirius Corporation, the current sole manufacturer of Frame Shift Drives, was asked for comment on this research:

“Sirius recognises Achilles’ claims of ‘revolutionising’ an extremely advanced technology in a relatively short span of time, but we remain unconvinced of their substance. If Achilles can produce something other than words we will be happy to comment further.”

Intense investment into research on Titan travel has been announced by the aerospace subdivision of the famed robotics company.

Their research has been centred on the method used by the Thargoid Titans to travel at speeds well beyond that of humanity’s current technological capacity.

A spokesperson for Achilles Aerospace had this to say:

“For so long now, the means of space travel have been controlled by one company in a strict monopoly. Under that monopoly, progress seems to have stagnated entirely. But Achilles is a corporation built on the iteration and refinement of technology, and we intend to bring space travel into a new age.”

“We have been limited to observational data alone so far, but that is no longer the case. The remnant of Taranis is now accessible, and within it lies the missing component to our work. We urge pilots to venture to the wreckage of the destroyed Titan and try to obtain one of the rare Titan Drive Components. Achilles Aerospace will pay generously for any that are sold to Bloch Station in the Ethgreze system.” Experts warn that the Taranis site remains extremely dangerous. Caustic sinks should be equipped, and care should be taken due to reports of Thargoid ships active in the area.

Titan Leigong in the HIP 8887 system has been eliminated, following the same tactical approach used against Taranis.

Vox Galactica’s Jade Sanderlyn reported:

“Two of the eight Thargoid Titans have now been put out of action. Leigong suffered the same fate as Taranis, with its core being targeted by a sustained bombardment.”

“Aegis is overjoyed at these results. Both Professor Palin and Ram Tah are being praised for their development of the Guardian nanite torpedo, which is crucial to these attacks. And word is spreading that the Thargoid war machine has suffered a critical defeat, one that may change the entire conflict. Can these victories be repeated a further six times?”