Tech Supplement: Arrow
Arrow MK-I Light-Recon Fighter
Weight: 40 tons.
Length: 20 meters.
Max Acceleration (Standard Drive): 300m/s/s.
Armament: 2x Rotary autocannon, 24mm.
Other systems: Ailero-Arcano Energy Transformer (see notes).
Lead Designers: Flywheel LiirHra, with assistance from Sunset Shimmer S’jet.
Can Be Piloted By: Pegasus Ponies.
Notes:
The Arrow was designed as the Mothership’s dedicated reconnaissance and defense craft, and is generally regarded as a significant technological leap over earlier designs in all respects.
The Arrow was designed contemporarily with the MK-III version of the Blade-Class Heavy Interceptor (then designated as a Heavy Scout Fighter). Given the shortcomings of the MK-III and following MK-IV, and the subsequent shelving of the Blade Project, the Arrow was left as the Mothership’s primary autonomous scout vessel. It was the only armed support craft to be constructed before the Mothership’s launch.
The Arrow is armed with two light rotary autocannons, which are sufficient for dealing with most fighter-sized threats. However, they are inefficient against heavier armor, and essentially useless against anything larger than a corvette.
The ship is capable of about five hours of sustained flight before requiring refueling, which can be extended by using the boost system. In addition, backup fuel tanks can be attached to the outer hull to extend the flight time. The ship has its own sapphire talisman micro-reactor, which powers all magical and mundane systems. Its sensor suite is highly sophisticated, matched only by those of the Mothership and Research Ship. Its cockpit is not normally pressurized, though there is a tube which can supply a pilot’s spacesuit with approximately two weeks’ worth of oxygen, and a set of vents which can be used to pressurize the cockpit in the event of prolonged stays in space. The Arrow also contains stores of preserved food and water, which can be accessed in case of an emergency, and will last approximately twelve days. Both of these limits can be extended by conservative pilots. The Arrow’s cockpit can be accessed by a hinged canopy and can also be jettisoned as a basic escape pod, along with the oxygen and other supplies.
The Arrow’s most revolutionary feature is the “boost” system, more formally known as an Ailero-Arcano Energy Transformer, or AAET. This system draws magical power from a pegasus’ wings and diverts it into the ship’s engines and maneuvering thrusters through a series of focusing talismans, greatly increasing the ship’s acceleration and maneuverability. The boost system also transfers a fraction of the power to the inertial dampeners and gyroscopes, in order to compensate for the increased acceleration. This system was designed by Sunset Shimmer, known for her work on the Mothership’s neural control interface, and is based on much of the same technology. The system itself is poorly understood, as Sunset Shimmer left few notes as to its functionality, and there seem to be several redundancies and non-functioning components built into the original schematics. Removing any of these components resulted in vastly decreased performance and increased stress on the pilot, however, and thus all in-service Arrows use the original design.
Due to the layout of the controls and the nature of the boost system, this vessel could initially only be piloted by pegasi. Later versions were developed to allow unicorn and earth-pony pilots, but test results indicated a marked decreased in boost-system performance, as well as the lower average in flight-test scores expected with non-pegasus pilots. Arrow squadrons, therefore, consisted all but exclusively of pegasi, particularly those with high levels of magical ability.
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Thank you for not forgetting this fic. Homeworld is one of my all-time favorite games.
5442885 Mine as well. I've put far too much into this to let it die.
Expect a full chapter within the week.
5443034 Another chapter? Within the week? Yes! If you need an editor then shout!
If you do shout, I'll hear it later because I'm going to be gone all day.
5445861 I won't say no to that just yet
but I shouldn't need it for this one.
I will, however, keep that offer in mind. It never hurts to have more help!
5445923 That's fine. Let's just say that seeing if I could help out is my way of saying that a like the story enough that it matters to me :)
5501278 You're not wrong.
Also, Chris Hadfield. Yes.
5506236 I. Will. Not. Let. It. Die.
For better or worse.
Wow, I've had this on my read it later list WAY too long. Honestly, I was a little skeptical at first on how the game's complex and incredible backstory would fit with an mlp universe, but I think you've meshed the two amazingly well. Not only have you kept fairly true to the already awesome lore but found ways to expand upon it as well.
This is probably the only story I've ever read in that the fact that I more or less know what's going to happen hasn't detracted from the drama or building suspense. It's like a little kick in the gut every time a character is mentioned that's going to be left behind on the planet, scaffold, or Khar-Selim.
Time to quote EVERYONE!
5508537
There are not currently any unauthorized ponies on the Mothership. Remember: Security is incredibly tight, what with the risk of terrorist bombings. We'll come back to that, in a bit.
5510796
I may just take you up on that offer, actually. I'll get back to you in a while, once I've got a rough draft of 2.1
5512845
Applejack is not on the Cryo-Trays.
5524796
To be fair, Pinkie has, until now, only had one experience that even came close to what just happened, and it wasn't anything like this.
5527750
Keep in mind that the Blade isn't actually finished—they're just making a prototype or two down in construction. That said, Twilight isn't really the head of the department, anyway. It's a collaborative group, overseen by Fleet Command—who herself is a scientist and engineer of some repute. In addition, Bon Bon—who is older and more experienced than Twilight—gave it the green light.
The rumor is based on the amount of spellwork Rarity wrote into the designs. A magically-intensive schematic comes out of the place where one of the foremost experts on magic is staying, and people are going to speculate. That said, anyone with a grounding in magic would be able to tell you that most of what Rarity added were pretty standard bits of spellcraft—though they would have commended her on the efficiency of it all.
Fun fact: This whole subplot is a throwback to a cool little piece of HW lore.
As for updates? I... can't promise anything, but I've stabilized my life a bit. I'm a bit stuck on the next chapter, but I'm working through it. No promises, but it shouldn't be years, this time.
5528159
I'm glad you approve! Homeworld is probably my favorite video game, and the first one to make me cry, so I'm glad that my efforts are filling the shoes.
And I fully intend to keep filling them, right up until the end.
5530580
Oh yes. Things are about to get rather... intense.
This... is... amazing. I can't even imagine the amount of time and effort you put into re-creating Homeworld into this fic, especially with all the little cultural nuances like the different Kiiths and their beliefs. I really liked Twilight's mental spiel on Rarity when she first saw her, especially the part where you mentioned that members of Kiith Naabal have such a longwinded greeting and social protocol as the norm. You're doing a wonderful job making the characters an interesting and relatable blend, while still keeping within MLP's traditional sugary-sweet formula. I'm really looking forward to seeing more across the board! Keep it up!
5580075
Four tipped. It's supposed to be four tipped.
5582203
More soon. Very sick at the moment, and my internet is lousy at the Uni, but I'm working on it.
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5582587
Thank you. Seriously, thank you.
I love the Homeworld story, and I love the characters in MLP. My main goal through all this has been to do them both justice, and my greatest fear has been that I've failed, in one way or five others.
This story has changed me. I know that sounds ridiculous, but you have to understand: I've been writing this thing for two years. I've learned more about writing in service to this one story than I ever had before, and ever have in any concurrent endeavor. I've developed easily a dozen different narrative voices, contemplated just as many different worldviews and philosophies, and devised histories, mythologies, and a god damned language.
To know that someone is enjoying that, that someone thinks the effort was worth the product... it's good. It's really good.
Can't believe a story like this has so few views.
I believe the phrase "all of my yes!" would be appropriate to describe my feelings for this, yes?
Shortly after it released, I played Homeworld. Regrettably, I was too young to really understand the story at the time. But a few years ago, I had it installed on my laptop and went poking about the files whilst bored one day. I found the Historical and Technical Briefing and gave it a perusal.
Needless to say, that changed everything I felt about the story.
The lore, the science, the people, the history. It just made me excited and teary-eyed, learning about these people and why this mission is so important to them.
And reading your own document makes me just as excited for what you have planned.
I’ll admit, I was a tad skeptical at first, something on par with Homeworld is no mean feat. Also, the sheer number of lesbian relationships introduced thus far initially made me think it was simply authorial wish fulfillment; but after reading your documentation, and the skewed male-to-female population ratios (especially on the Mothership), it seemed more reasonable to me.
Regardless of that last point (which I now feel is, again, reasonable), I really like this fic, the world-building, the melding of Homeworld with MLP, the little differences between the various Kiith, the explanation of Naabal’s long-winded introductions, the dedication on the research vessel; it feels real, I’m loving just about everything about it.
I’m looking forward to more, seeing what’ll happen or develop differently. Needless to say, I’ll be needling my friends to read this.
5672052 Hehehe... I'm kinda regretting the "World of Lesbians" thing that ended up happening. When it started out, OLH was a much less... complicated story. (Plus, damn MLP has so many female characters that you can't start paring the spares without ending up with some odd ratios.) Suffice it to say, that won't stay true forever, as more of the side characters are introduced.
But regardless of that, than you very much for the praise! I'm glad I'm living up to the original, in whatever small way.
5710683
5710695
5714099 I'm stealing the "interlude" format from Worm***, a non MLP story that I've plugged before because it's amazing. In that case, the author used it as a way to break from the first-person narrator and give the perspectives of characters throughout the setting, which did wonders for the worldbuilding. If you have time to binge-read something else, I highly recommend that.
I'll probably do a blog on it sometime, actually...
***(Warning: Worm is arguably more violent and disturbing than Project Horizons—which, for the record, is quite a bit more violent and disturbing than Cupcakes. Reader discretion and all that.)
That moment when you find a great story, start reading it, get addicted to it, and then get immediately depressed when you realize that you have reached the latest chapter... it sucks.
5731646 Thank you!
And... well, sorry.
I don't update as fast as I'd like, but I'm already pretty far into the next chapter. Hopefully, you'll see it fairly soon—assuming I can stick to it and not get sidetracked, again.
In the mean time, I can recommend many other lovely word-clusters to occupy your brainmeats, if you'd like.
5731668 Don't worry about getting updates out, just focus on making them good as they have been thus far.
I didn't mean to imply that you should hurry up and get your next chapter out ASAP, I was just commenting on how good the story is in a sort of metaphoric/symbolic way. More or less "Your story is so good, it is addictive as drugs and give me cold turkey when I am not reading it."
Anyhow, if you have other suggestions for good stories I can read in the mean time, I would be glad to hear about them.
5731714 Well, I don't want to let down those who've developed a dependency!
In any case, thank you! Your praise means more than you know.
Now, as for rambling recommendations:
If you're looking for good sci-fi stuff, I'd recommend Legacy—probably the best "crossover being lands in Equestria" story I've ever found, mainly by being absolutely nothing like those usually are. It's updated a lot since I last read it, so I can't vouch for the later chapters, but I really liked what there was. There's also Arrow-18, (which apparently updated last month!!!!) for a hard sci-fi take on the same concept (without a crossover this time).
If you're into sad stories, I'm always going to recommend Background Pony, both for being an absolutely beautiful story and for stealing its premise right out of my goddamn head and doing it better than I ever could.
A lot of stuff by ShortSkirtsandExplosions also applies, and I'm particularly fond of Hello, Sedna. The guy's just ridiculously talented.
There's also my other stories, the latter of which I consider some of my best work... ever. Self-promotion, ho! Both of these are also unfinished, but I have plans to continue them as well.
If you're willing to branch out into non-pony territory, then take a look at the blog I posted recently. I cannot recommend that story highly enough to do it justice.
Sorry for the rambling, disjointed nature of this reply, but it's 3AM and I'm running on ice cream and tension. Once again, thank you for enjoying my strange little story!
5731921
HA!!! I know that feeling. Thanks for the suggestions anyhow.
My god, this lives! One of the great Homeworld fanfictions LIVES!!!
I have one, very important question about this fic.
In the original Homeworld game, there was a level (Karos Graveyard) in which some MASSIVE pieces of shaped metal from some artificial construction were just hanging out in deep space, plainly visible from the background, and so large that they blotted out huge swathes of the stars from view. Ostensibly, these are shards of a dyson sphere or ringworld, or similar construction megaproject. Are you planning to explore that at some point with this fic? Maybe turn it into the focus of a side chapter or two?
6066302 Considering that those levels were, stylistically, some of my favorite parts of the series?
Yes. Very yes.
Ohsnap! AN UPDATE!...kinda
6744829 (This is not the update.)
6744866 Any kind of activity shows promise...I can hope! YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!!!!
jk
6745043 (No I mean that this chapter is actually not the update. It's chapter 2.1)
6747190
No, your description was fine, and viable. I just have a particle simulator toy.