MCS-MCXXXVIII Modular Carrier Ship

The **MSC-MCXXXVIII Modular Carrier Ship**, otherwise known as **Type-1138 Modular Carrier Ship**, is a massive carrier ship designed to combat ancient species such as the Formians and Dovah.

## Technical and Development History

Equivalent to a dreadnought, the Type-1138 is the largest known Nisser vessel, clocking in at just under 3 kilometers in length. The vessel was not meant to be revealed until necessary, but the transportation requirements to acquire the entire Ghaz and Vordr populations, plus the chance of Formian aid, required the vessels to be unveiled at the Battle of Rodull.

Despite its name, the ship is not a traditional carrier. Most of its internal space is used as a factory for other platforms that are independent from the vessel once built. It does however, carry an enormous compliment of pulse-drones on its hull, numbering the millions, making its hull often look like a massive nest of bees.

Most notable of its features are its six large Subspace Manipulators that are used for many roles. They can be used for FTL interdiction, propulsion, propelling allied craft, launching its many drones, and even redirecting enemy attacks. Following the Battle of Rodull they are even capable of countering FTL interdiction albeit only in their immediate vascinity.

Its main weapon is traditionally a quartet of nanomanipulators, massive zero-point energy weapons. However, thanks to a faustian deal with the CAST, they can be equipped with a Supermassive Neutrino Burster, perhaps the scariest weapon in the galaxy.

## Equipment and Design Features

* *Transphasic Shields:* While most Nisser technologies can trace their lineage back to the Skapari technology that was adapted by the Ghaz and Vordr, modern Nisser shielding technology seems to be adapted from the UrukHar and the Vaarg.
* *6x Subspace Manipulator:* Resembling a warp drive, this system is actually designed for both support and enemy interference. Using inverted warp fields, the vessel can accelerate nearby allied craft. It can also force enemies to drop out of warp further from it, and jam subspace communications. The manipulator can also ‘hijack’ other warp fields. If the need should somehow arise, the manipulator can be used as a clumsy Warp Drive, inferior to most modern designs, though can use hi-jacked fields to travel alongside faster warp-capable vessels at some loss of speed to both vessels. The sheer number of manipulators on this platform, each powered by a dedicated synced pair of Vacuum Reactors, allow it to use subspace both as a means of propelling itself at subluminal speeds, but also as a shielding system. It many ways, its resembles the Spatial Torsion Drivers used by the Formians and the Twin Worlds of Rodull.

## Optional Equipment

* *Time-Locked Transport Pods*: Developed to transport Ghaz and Vordr populations, these single-occupant pods tremporarly freeze their cargo using controlled subspace bubbles. In order to protect their occupants further, these are typically store in the two large bays of the carriers.
* *Wormhole Generator*: Taking up both bays of the carrier if equipped, this primitive form of wormhole technology allows one carrier to bridge space to another, allowing smaller vessels to travel between them. The portal takes up the vessel's internal cavity, limiting its size. It also has a limited duration.
* *Neurological Suppressant Canister Launcher:* Mounted on the underside of ships, it can cause biological beings to enter a coma-like state. Against the Vordr, it was used to disrupt the Hjarta,their hivemind.

## Fixed Armaments

* *3x Type-32 Hardlight Caster:* A string along the circumference of the top, middle, and bottom 'shells'. This marriage of Hyur and Nisser technologies resembles CAST hardlight weapons. Instead of dark matter, the Caster uses hardlight jacketed Ahab particles to similar effect. The side stripe wraps around both the front and rear, providing many angles of attack.
* *Many x Type-9999 Cross-Phased Pulse Drone:* An intelligent torpedo. It is based on generating a destructive subspace compression pulse. Upon detonation the torpedo delivers the pulse in an asymmetric superposition of multiple phase states. Shields can normally only block one subcomponent of the pulse. The other subcomponents deliver the majority of the pulse to the target. Every torpedo has a different transphasic configuration, generated randomly by a dissonant feedback effect to prevent the enemies from predicting the configuration of the phase states. Unlike traditional torpedos, the drones are not destroyed when their weapon is activated. Provided they are not destroyed when interacting with the target, they can pierce through hulls and attack the same or other targets multiple times, before possibly returning to their mother craft to recharge. The Type-1138 has no true launchers, despite being able to carry millions of these drones on its inner and outer hull. Instead, the drones launch from the vessel under their own power, and are then accelerated by one of the Subspace Manipulators to near-luminal velocities.
* *16x Nanomite Spreader:* Both a weapon and part of the ship’s factory functions, mounted on the side of the platform's shells are factories designed for creating swarms of self-replicating nanites. Able to manipulate Ahab particles for propulsion, the nanites can be launched in clusters around compressed Ahab particles. Used primarily in the construction of other Mobile Platforms, these can also be weaponized in a number of ways. The most common way is the rapid construction of defensive platforms out of asteroids, moons, or even planets, typically using hardlight armaments. It can also be used to create crude replicas of Type-9001 and Type-4242 platforms provided the right resources are available, which can be completed later. They can also be used directly against enemy ships to commandeer and convert enemy ships should their shields be down.

## Optional Armaments

* 4x *Nanomanipulator:* Mounted twice on the upper and lower bays of the carrier, the Nanomanipulator is a powerful anti-capitol ship weapon. A branch of Zero-Point-Energy technology that fires bursts of nanoergen flux. This creates unstable alternate reality waves in the target, resulting in massive releases of exotic particles as the target collides with alternate universe versions of itself.
* 1x *Supermassive Neutrino Burster:* A horrific weapon acquired from the CAST that occupies both the upper and lower bays when equipped.  When activated, weapon releases a burst of cross-phased supermassive neutrinos.The burst possesses a harmonic frequency, which can be tuned to destroy the nervous system of any macroscopic organism that possesses one, even one as rudimentary as a notochord. Simpler life forms that do not possess a neural system, such as microbes, fungi, algae, mosses, and traditional plants are unaffected. When the weapon is fired, vacuum energy is siphoned from local space-time to near-depletion. The radiation is propelled at superluminal speeds and will eventually propagate at a near-infinite velocity, though the weapon can be turned to only cover thousands of kilometers. This was known to generate causal paradoxes when fired. As synthetic beings, the Nisser do not fear the weapon.

## Trivia

* The Nanomanipulator was the most powerful weapon that could be developed in the 1995 game *Ascendancy.*
* The ship's model number, 1138, is also a number George Lucas includes in all his works.