This is the second piece of Wrathtech's atmosphere series, a
star fighter designed to take on opposing air fighters. With the
Falchion fighter for ground attack, and
the Sky Fortress for heavy operations, Wrathtech is making a strong
bid to corner the Atmospheric market. Fully modified for
atmospheric combat, the 44b6 is not equipped with a hyperdrive,
relying on planetary or carrier launches.
In form, the Scorpio is a small and wide ship, with three
short wings protruding from the body of the ship. Each of these
wings mounts a laser cannon on the front, which are very similar to
the X-Wing's cannons, and an Ion engine in the rear, whose design
approximates those of the TIE/In. The two Ion cannons, taken from
the Y-Wing and hooked to a more sophisticated targeting system, are
mounted directly below the cockpit. The 44b6 has elongated two of
these wings, and shortened the third, to improve aerodynamic
stability. It has also fitted heavy duty repulsors, similar to
those in common industrial use, to the bottom of the two longer
wings, improving power and atmospheric maneuverability.
The droid mounting of the original Scorpio has been replaced with a dual
purpose turret. Mounting both a standard double laser, and a
speeder scale triple blaster, both these systems can be used at
once, or they can be fired separately.
As with all Scorpios, the 44b6 is designed for easy and
effective modification, (add 1D+2 to relevant skill check), with
several systems being particularly modular. The Torpedoes can
easily be replaced with a x3 Hyperdrive, and the Fire Control
Enhancement system can be replaced with a Class C. Navigation
Computer (-1D from all laser, ion and blaster fire control).
WrathTech is happy to perform these modifications in factory,
though the hyperdrive is still not cheap. Other modifications are
possible, as the powerplants (supported by the TIE type solar
panels that cover the wings) are capable of producing a good deal
more power that the ship normally requires, but are left for the
buyer to attempt.
In combat, these ships have proven quite effective, outrunning
and outgunning the standard Z-95s with ease, and more than capable
of taking on several opponents of different scales at one time.
Far more importantly, these ships outclass the Impact Technology Thane fighters, and are only slightly more
expensive. Due to that fact, Impact Tech has done all it could to
keep these ships from the market, sabotaging prototypes, sponsoring
terrorist attacks, and other such shenanigans. There are therefore
very few 44b6s currently available, and they were released without
any great fanfare. WrathTech is relying on word of mouth and
performance to sell this product, trying to avoid a costly PR
debacle if it turns out that Impact succeeded in damaging
the craft's design.