Ship Specifications
BARRIER [EM-9S/VZ8-5GK]: ARDENT INITIATIVE REFERENCE ONLY
This document contains specifications for the Alliance Exploration Ship ARDENT.
Thoracic Module
More than half of the Ardent’s total mass is concentrated in the thorax of the ship. This disc-shaped module contains many vital parts of the ship, including the habitation systems and primary reactor complex.
If every other part of the Ardent were to be destroyed, the reinforced thorax could sustain the crew indefinitely until help arrived.
“Spinneret” Local Propulsion System
Like most Alliance voidcraft, the Ardent employs bimodal travel. To cross great distances such as the gulf between star systems, she is equipped with a Manifold Collapse Drive (see below). For intrasolar manoeuvres and small spatial adjustments, she relies on the eight Spinneret-class engines mounted to the back of the thoracic module.
Spinnerets were originally a Vari design, having been intended for high-density freighter craft. It is a testament, if one were needed, to the size and complexity of the Ardent that she needs so many Spinnerets to move through local space. It is also a tribute to the ship’s stability, and its inertial dampening systems, that it does not shake itself apart as it does so.
Agricultural Biome
Much of the free space of the thoracic module is dedicated to agriculture. These are the larder and the lungs of the Ardent; fields, hydroponic gardens and terraces are laid out carefully by gardening drones to maximise the yield of edible plants, medicinal compounds, and atmospheric gasses.
This “green space” is also an onboard leisure area, where the Ardent’s crew gather under distant starlight and close fluorescence to explore simulated vistas. No matter how far the Ardent flies, there is always a familiar horizon aboard, and the feel of real flora underfoot.
Crew Quarters
The Ardent’s living quarters consist of two habitation cylinders, which are themselves made up of modular cabins, or “pods”. Every member of the crew has their own pod, which is equipped to support all vital functions. The rotundas connecting the pods are communal areas with facilities for entertainment, group dining, and other activities.
Automated cleaning and provision systems keep the pods fully functional and well-stocked at all times. The system is responsive to crew needs and requests: for example, via A-COM request, pods may be combined to allow partners or working groups to cohabitate.
Reactor Complex
The pulsing heart of the Ardent is her main reactor. The complex which houses it is the most secure part of the ship, a labyrinth of baffle walls and radiation shields which also protects her onboard T/OM brain.
While the Ardent’s energy needs are easily met and even exceeded by the output of her mutual annihilation cores, there is a failsafe battery network threaded throughout the ship to provide power and life support in an emergency. These batteries are charged via solar fans on the Ardent’s hull whenever it passes through a star system.
Testing/Observation Matrix
This term is used interchangeably within the Alliance to refer to individual artificial intelligence entities and the supercomputer arrays in which they are housed. “Toms” are frequently used aboard Alliance vessels to handle the logistics and mathematics of interstellar travel.
To handle the Ardent’s computational demands, its onboard matrix houses numerous T/OM entities responsible for different aspects of the ship. For example, T/OM-Enki is in charge of the ship’s archives and information storage, which includes the documentation you are currently reading. You’re welcome!
Mutual Annihilation Reactors
The modern Dirac-Lazaret Mutual Annihilation Reactor consists of two interlinked systems: a particle accelerator that generates fissile quantities of antimatter, and an ionizing chamber or “core” in which the main reaction occurs. The result is a high-yield and clean (insofar that it does not produce physical waste) energy source, the fuel for which is extremely compact and can be produced inexpensively by a “jumpstart” reactor powered by any conventional energy source.
Cores that can be mounted on a moving voidcraft are an experimental technology, reserved for vessels of uncommon size and stability. The Ardent’s own DLMAR is a tri-core model, a consolidated variation on Geostation Kessler’s node-loop reaction system. Two ancillary cores power the Ardent’s Manifold Collapse Drive (see below), the energy demands for which equal that of the entire rest of the ship combined.
Isolocks
Passage between the Ardent’s primary thoracic module and her secondaries occurs via isolocks, which screen for potential contaminants – such as fauna, flora and MOSAIC agents – and unauthorised personnel. Smaller isolocks are located throughout the ship, including at the entrance of medical bays and crew pods.
Traversal Brackets
Cluster Command vessels like the Ardent are made up of multiple modules, which are connected via traversal brackets. Interlocking elements on the bracket and on the hulls of the ship’s modules firmly hold the pair together, creating an airtight bond and seamlessly linking both systems.
The Ardent has four traversal brackets for its four secondary modules, each of which can also function as a dock for visiting vessels. A fifth bracket, the “vertebral deck”, connects the thoracic and cephalic modules of the ship in the manner of a spinal column.
Manifold Collapse Drive
Modern voidcraft traverse interstellar distances via manifold collapse. The “manifold” in question is a spacetime tunnel constructed via quantum entanglement, with one end behind the craft and the other at the target destination. This manifold is created and then dismantled by the drive – the “collapse” in question, which pushes the ship through the tunnel until it emerges in real space at the other end.
Manifold collapse is an energy-intensive and complex manoeuvre, with larger vessels requiring larger and more complicated tunnels. T/OM-Anubis handles collapse calculations aboard the Ardent.
Secondary Modules
The four modules attached to the Ardent are functional voidcraft in their own right, which house and support the crew divisions aboard the ship. Each module is dedicated to a different vital part of the Ardent’s mission, and its own role in supporting Ardent staff on the ground.
For more information on each division and their remit, please consult the following documents:
Cephalic Module
The prow of the Ardent is analogous to the ship’s head; this comparison is enhanced by the presence of a matrix housing the ship’s navigator intelligence: T/OM-Brigid. With an omnidirectional sensory array also housed in the cephalon acting as the ship’s eyes and ears, points of interest – and threats – can be identified early and relayed to the crew.
Launch Bays
The Ardent uses a fleet of drones for a multitude of purposes, including reconnaissance, hull repairs, defensive combat and asteroid mining. Whether they are automated or remotely-controlled, these drones are housed in the cephalic module – so that they may be launched as soon as they are needed.
Bridge
The frontmost section of the Ardent. While it is a functional communications centre and the office of the ship’s captain, the purpose of the bridge is largely ceremonial: ship-wide broadcasts from high-ranking A-Com personnel are delivered from the helm. Off-duty crewmembers often gather here to observe the vistas of space that lie before them.