*The Javelin is equipped with an Afterburner which improves the Move to 30/750 (+15) and consumes four times as much fuel (reducing range to 3,750 miles, if used continuously).
The Javelin has room for a single pilot. While sealed, the cockpit has no environmental controls, requiring the wearer to be in a vacc suit for the entire time they spend in the vehicle.
Lightly armed, the Javelin has two, standard imperial fighter cannons mounted in the wings.
The Javelin sits low to the ground on three skids: a single rear skid in the body and two forward skids on the wings. The vehicle’s wings are low slung and forward-swept and, though obviously thinner they take up more “ground space” than the body does. Two blaster cannons, as long as the body, jut out from the wings near the fuselage. The body itself is sculpted but stubby, and is mostly a large plasma thruster and a cockpit, with a rounded canopy that affords the pilot a forward, side and above view. Behind it, the rest of the fuselage is dominated by its powerful engine. The whole vehicle has a glossy, metallic grey and black color, afforded by its carbide armor.
Entering the craft, the Javelin has a comfortable cockpit, approximately as roomy as a civilian car’s driver seat. It has a relatively simple set of controls, arrayed around and above the seat; Its meters, ultrascanner readout and ESM warning info project onto the cockpit window as a HUD. When sealed, the cockpit hisses as it lowers the pressure slightly to prevent any explosive blow-out if the cockpit is damaged, and then sound dampens until the only sound left is the pilot’s breathing within their vacc-suit and the crackle of their comm system. Once the pre-flight checks have completed, the pilot retracts the skid and “floats” on his repulsorlift system, engages his plasma thrusters, and then launches.
The press of the acceleration is the equivalent to a top sports car at full acceleration. The Javelin can go from “0 to 60” in less than two seconds. Under the after-burner, it presses at nearly 3gs, and thus close to the acceleration of the Space Shuttle as it launches. The Javelin requires approximately 40 yards to take off, and it completes its take-off in less than 2 seconds; it can take off instantly with an EM or Pressor launch catapault, but most vehicles afford them at least 40 yards of take-off room regardless, for the sake of safety. Landing is usually a similar process: waiting for a tractor beam to catch them, but they can land in less than 40 yards of space as well.
Most Javelin missions require up to 3 hours to reach the target at a cruising speed of 1000 miles per hour. Once there, they rely on their ferocious acceleration, tight turning radius and cannons to take out any enemies they might face. Standard procedure is to scramble the comms of the enemy and jam their sensors while using your own for an ideal lock and perfect situational awareness, while maintaining communication with your own squadron (Javelins rarely deploy in anything less than 5-man wings). If hit, the unshielded hyperium is almost certain to catch fire or explode, and the ship is lightly armored. It relies on sheer speed and maneuverability to keep from being hit. Missions should not last more than about 10 hours, for the comfort and safety of the pilot, and the fighter itself has only about 12 hours of fuel at top speed.