Quetzal-Class Rapid Intervention Vehicles

Art by Juan Ochoa

The Quetzal-Class Rapid Intervention Vehicles (RIVs) are the elite vehicles used by Omega House. They are deployed to the most dangerous and remote areas of the Empire, and well beyond there.

Quetzals are not birds of prey. They are very lightly armed compared to the Empire's capital ships. But it would be a mistake underestimate them. This is Omega House after all. Their assets are never paper tigers; they are always full of surprises.

The RIVs are highly maneuverable. They can reach the 10th enumeration of hyperspace with at least some crew members remaining conscious. While crew disembodiment is frequently reported, along with some degree of hull decoherence, no Quetzal has ever been lost due to entering enumerations 8-10 of hyperspace.

Quetzals are designed to reach remote areas of space quickly, drop planetside if necessary, and rapidly assess and address exurgent phenomena. Quetzals are often deployed in pairs. When they reach their target, one typically drops planetside to investigate while the other maintains watch from orbit.

Most RIVs operate with a crew of 3-6, one of whom is typically a Witchfinder-class android. Up to 12 Omega House special operations staff can be stored in stasis tubes. Quetzals are equipped for atmospheric re-entry and carry an armored ground vehicle attached to the ship's aft belly.

The Quetzals are built from a highly customizable ship template, reportedly developed by the legendary R.U.R. Artisan-class Intelligence known as Cloud Minder. The "red eye" at the forward end of the ship is not the bridge; it is a detachable, reentry-capable module known as a General Operations Device. Each RIV crew takes pride in selecting the unique features and capabilities of their G-O-D module..

RIV modules are built with one of several pre-formatted functionalities including:

• Gamma Ray Burst Inducer
• Amphibious Saucer
• Combat Tripod
• Outpost Dome

OGL MECHANICS

Fast Strike Vessel
Scale:  Medium (3) Advanced
T+4

ASPECTS:

• High Concept: Omega House's Rapid Intervention Vehicle 
• Trouble: Repairs must be done in R.U.R. space
• Aspect: Advanced hyperspace navigation
• Aspect: Purpose-built to kick the hornet's nest
• Aspect:Witchfinder on-board

APPROACHES

• Careful: +1
• Clever: +2
• Flashy: +1
• Forceful: +2
• Quick: +3
• Sneaky: 0

STUNTS:

• Atmosphere Capable - Vehicle may land planetside
• Auxiliary Vehicle - Vehicle also carries a ground vehicle
• G-O-D Module* - A detachable single-purpose module of a specific type 
• Hyperdrive - Vehicle may enter, traverse, and leave hyperspace for FTL travel

REFRESH: 2


*The Inducer is a common G-O-D Module type. Inducers are manufactured by the R.U.R. Thingmaker-class  Intelligence known as Panjandrum. They are part of the R.U.R. armory that holds back the galactic Anti-Consciousness festering within the galactic core.

A Blue Marble-class weapon of mass destruction, the Inducer takes advantage of the fact that at every moment, somewhere in the universe, a supernova or hypernova is giving off a massive gamma ray burst. The Inducer channels a few milliseconds of a small cross-section of that burst in order to hit a continent-sized target.  The discharge is typically lethal for anything in its path.

Inducers are single-shot G-O-D Modules. They are usually detached and destroyed immediately after use, as they often produce secondary microbursts called gamma radiation aftershocks.

The R.U.R. do not entrust the general crew of a Quetzal-class vessel with authorization codes required to arm and fire an Inducer. They entrust that only to Witchfinder-class androids. This is a R.U.R. ethical safeguard against their misuse.