Miy'cal Interceptor

Template:UnderConstruction Template:Starfighter-Current The Miy'cal Interceptor was widely utilized during the Civil War and was the main fighter craft for all sides of the war. Eventhough the fighter had its shortcomings, Miy’Cals became very popular since it was easy to produce and faster and easier to maneuver on the battlefield.

History

Development

During the early years of the Civil War, the navies of both sides consisted mainly of large capital ships, and fighter squadrons were reserved for secondary duties. However, as the fighting went on replacing the losses became essential, and House Olanji, which owned the main great shipyards of the Cluster provided the Draconian Union with capital ships, while the Sword Confederacy’s shipyards were limited to produce smaller craft. As a result the Confederacy relied more on the fighter force to destroy the Union vessels, and in the Battle of Lorell, an entire Draconian Task Force was destroyed by dozens of fighter squadrons, which alarmed the Houses of the Union. Developed right after the Battle of Lorell by the House Olanji, Miy’cal Interceptor was created to fill in the need of a fast and agile fighter to protect the convoys and the battle fleets against enemy fighter craft.

Service

When the prototype was produced in 3962, the fighter was the fastest military spacecraft ever tested for the Hapan Navy, but the weakness of the shield were questioned by many. They were readily mass-produced in Olanji shipyards, but the lack of strong protection put the life of the pilot at danger, and at times that cyborgs were not available it was rather difficult to train pilots at a fast pace. The worries were confirmed on the battlefield, while the Miy’cals were successful at small confrontations against light vessels, it was common to lose an entire wing of them in hours in a major space battle. However, some of the greatest aces of both sides of the Civil War were Miy’cal pilots, due to its incredible speed and manoeuvrability, a good pilot could be really deadly with it. The decline of Miy’cals started when imported Z-95s appeared on the battlefields. Not only Z-95 had stronger protection, but it was also armed with proton torpedoes, making them effective against the heavier ships, as well as fighters. While Z-95 had weaker sublight drives, its manoeuvrability was on par with the Miy’cals. Soon the leaders of all sides of the Civil War noticed the inferiority of the model, and started to reinforce their navies with as many Z-95s as possible. Finally when the Civil War ended in 4000, King Andrew I replaced the aged Miy’cals with Z-95s and reassigned the remaining ones to second line duties. Even still Miy’cals can be found on backwater Hapan planets’ militias or as a source of spare parts for Miy’Til Interceptors, whose design was mainly inspired by the design of Miy’Cals.

Ship Statistics

Design & Hull

While the development of the Miy’cals were in discussion, it was decided that the ship’s design should be based on an animal that have always been the symbol of speed and agility in the Hapes Cluster; the Alsinian Cave Bat. Resembling an attacking bat, the Miy’cal’s laser cannons are located under each wing, and the pilot’s seat on the front part. The hull was very light in order to achieve speed but did not provide as good protection as the previous models.

Armament

The Interceptor’s armament was limited to two heavy laser cannons under each wing, and it did not possess any heavier armament against capital ships or large freighters. From the beginning Miy’Cal was developed as an anti-fighter weapon so the laser cannons when utilized with agility and speed, proved to be satisfactory for that particular purpose.

Shielding

In order to achieve high level of speed and maneuverability and to make production easier, the shields of Miy’Cal were lighter and less advanced than other contemporary craft such as Z-95. The speed of the Interceptor was believed to be its main defence, therefore despite the complaints made by pilots, the shields were never upgraded.

Power & Engines

The initial models of Miy’Cal only had sublight drives for short range combat, but over time the necessity of hyperdrives became apparent, especially on escort duty. Therefore all Miy’cals produced after 3974 came with a hyperdrive capable of level 4 speed in addition to 75 MGLT sublight drives.

Famous Miy'cal Interceptors

The Flame of Justice

The personalized Miy’Cal made for the son of Lady Olanji; Lord Treehear Olanji, Flame of Justice had two concussion missile launchers instead of the hyperdrive, and had stronger shield than regular Miy’Cals. Lord Olanji enjoyed fighting side by side with the troops and often led the initial wave with his fighter. Painted bright orange, Flame of Justice became a rallying point for all Draconian fighter pilots until the death of Lord Olanji in a skirmish in system Abeam in 3987.

31st Draconian Fighter Squadron

The first Miy’Cal Squadron to take action, the 31st took pride in that fact, and under the leadership of Baron Werhern became the interceptor squadron with the most confirmed kills in the entire Civil War. Decorated many times by the Ladies of Noble Houses, 31st earned the nickname “Queen’s Firebirds”, until they joined the Phoenix forces a couple of years before the Battle of Gallinore. Despite their fame and success, the squadron retired in 3996, after the death of the squadron’s last original member.