THE JUMPGATE DEFINITIVE GUIDE - Tripod

Gust
Classification: Shuttle/Ultra-Light Fighter
Powerplant: Sport LP (size 2)
Engines: Respect x2 (size 2 x 2)
Radar: Chime (24000 meter range) (size 1)
Shield: Shelter (6009mm equivalent) (size 1)
Armor: 6600mm
Capacitor: Jug (size 1)
Laser Config: Heavy laser/ER laser, Warper/Distorter
Ammo Config: Cobra/Straker
Missiles (# x size): 2x1
MODx: 3
ECM: 1
Speed (nor/ab/ff): 383/437/756 MPS
Acceleration: 137.9 (laser), 125.0 (ammo) kN/kg
Yaw/Pitch/Roll: 90/60/90 DPS
Cargo: 1 m³
Notes:
Very much unlike the Storm, the Gust is a combat ship in every sense of the word. Streamlined,
faster, and with exceptionally better propulsion, it is designed to give the nugget pilots of the
Holy Armada a decent fighting ship and succeeds much better than the original designers
probably ever dreamed. The Gust is, pound for pound, a match for the Apteryx Ultra-Light Fighter
and butchers any Solrain entry into the Shuttle or Ultra-Light Craft classes. It in fact carries a
slightly heavier gun load than the Ape (though lighter missiles), although it requires a Sport LP
power plant to properly power all of its optimal components. It also outpaces the Ape significantly
(but not the Premia XL) and carries more MODx slots than the Ape does (as many as most Light
Fighters, in fact.) Perhaps this ship’s most frightening aspect is its acceleration. It quite literally
accelerates comparatively with most scout-class vessels, and it is small enough to fit inside an
Assault Fighter several times over. In short, fighting a Gust in a large ship can be like being
nibbled to death by a gnat. No matter how much you swat at it, it just won’t go away. Indeed, in
the past TRI itself classified the ship as a “Light Fighter” and longtime veterans will remember the
Holy Armada’s 1 st Ultra-Light Squadron “Swarm” with either fondness or fear and loathing
(depending which side of the gun barrel they were on.)
With the advent of the modern Light and Medium Fighter, though, the Gust’s heyday as a real
combat craft has passed. It can still be used to annoy, though, and Light Fighter pilots should
make it a priority to kill any of these craft they see buzzing around a heavier craft – they can take
apart a heavier craft much faster than their size might otherwise suggest.
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