Starfield: Aegis Black Sparrow

 Aegis Black Sparrow

Introduction

It started with a picture and a casual challenge. Do you think you can build this in Starfield? Soon enough a sort of shuttle craft appeared in the #ship-builder section of Crimson Flyboy's Discord. My very first thought was, "Not before Hell freezes over." I tossed out a couple of thoughts about what engines I would use and which landing gear would work, but I didn't have a clear idea yet. The conversation went on and I noticed, in the back of my mind, I was building the ship.

I hung around the voice channel for a bit, but the need to build soon took over and I excused myself. It really is a compulsion. Sorry guys.

Piece by piece it came together and, unlike almost all of my other builds, I had no backstory or reason to build, other than it was there. A challenge, no matter how informal, had been laid. Soon enough, the first version came to light. I tossed it at a buddy, who noted that, proportionally the landing gear were too far forward. I moved them back and the Structural pieces I had been using, no longer worked. So I chose others. I also noticed that the Reactor and Grav drive were exposed. That wouldn't do for this build, it was supposed to be sleek. A couple of Stroud Mid-Caps later and the engines covered the exposed parts. Before I knew it, I was done and had a pic posted on the Discord.

I should have known better. The next day I woke up wanted to finish the build. Properly gear it up, name it and throw it on my blog. So, after all day of grinding the credits, buying the gear, and making the decision to go full on merge with the weapons, the Black Sparrow was born.

Briefing

"Alright team, listen up. Your pads should have the mission details. Target is one Gilberto Reno. He is a mid-level Ecliptic agent stationed on Bardeen III. One of those old Colony War listening posts. Why we needed that one so far out only somebody from back then can say. Probably because of kickbacks and graft, but anyway, Mr. Reno is part of a rogue Ecliptic squad that started targeting Freestar civilian assets-"

"Why do we care, sir?" one of the agents asked. Friar his call sign was. Legitimate question but not timed appropriately. It caused Pilgrim's temple vein to start throbbing.

"We care because Mr. Reno is the beloved nephew of the Freestar's newest council hopeful. The untimely passing of Ron Hope left a vacancy and Mr. Reno is going to become leverage to turn the likely candidate, a staunch opponent of the UC, to our greatest ally on the council."

"So this is an extraction mission, not a kill one?" came Friar's inevitable question.

"It is. We want to preserve Mr. Reno's life at all costs. Hospitaller, your job is to subdue Mr. Reno with the disruptor. His associates, however, are all expendable. The remainder of the team will be equipped accordingly and lethal force is authorized, without condition, on anybody who is NOT Gilberto Reno."

"I just hope this intel is good, sir. I'd hate to go in under heavy fire."

"Agent Friar, you are currently riding in one of the most well equipped, state of the art vessels in the UC Fleet. Further, it is being piloted by one UC Navy's finest pilots. Besides all of that, if a lone Vanguard, a robot, and two scientists can infiltrate Londinion and secure valuable intel, then Aegis's finest should have no problem extracting one corrupt Ecliptic agent! Now, are there any questions about this operation from any of you besides Agent Friar?"

"Very well then.We touch down in two hours. Get your gear from the armory and be ready. Friar, you are on KP duty. Get the evening mess cleaned up before we breach atmo."

Head Canon/Lore

Not all of the heroes of the UC fight in open warfare, with brightly painted ships and public fanfare. Behind the scenes Aegis tracks down threats to the UC and deals with them quietly and discreetly. Though they are mostly an intelligence gathering and analysis organization, from time to time, highly trained operatives must bring a more direct approach to the enemy. That's where Crusader team comes in. Selected from the best of the best of the UC Marines and Navy operators, Crusader strikes where it will do the most harm to the enemies of the UC, while simultaneously providing the most benefit to her citizens.

The Black Sparrow is one of only a handful of ships designed in concert with Deimos and Stroud-Eklund. It is fast and deadly, striking under the cover of darkness and retreating once the objective is done. It is armed with the latest technology provided to the Vanguard, giving it that extra little punch when it needs it.

Inventory & Assembly

The Black Sparrow uses a lot of merging in order to hide the weapons and maintain (for the most part) the lines of the vessel. In the individual images, I have highlighted/selected the parts that will need to be merged and show before/after pictures.

If you are uncomfortable with merging, that's okay. The structural components on the ship provide ample points to externally connect the weapons. You can ignore the parts of this tutorial that deal with merging and not purchase any of the Horizon Weapon Mounts or Equipment Plates.

As a final note, on the undercarriage, I missed selecting the 100 CM Cargo Hold when I dragged it away from the Main Deck. Rest assured that it should be there. If, for some reason, you don't feel the need for cargo above and beyond that provided by the Cockpit, you can delete the Cargo Hold and gain some Mobility.

 

Undercarriage

1. 100 CM Cargo Hold (attached to aft of Companionway - not pictured)
   
2. (4) Deimos Belly, 2 Fore, 2 Aft
3. (2) 500T He3 Tanks
4. Deimos Companionway 1x1
5. Slimline Docker (under Companionway - not visible)
   
6. NG-20 Landing Gear in Wide configuration
7. NG-6 Landing Bay

 

Main Deck

1. Nova Cowling 2L-BA
2. (4) Nova Cowling, 2 Aft, 2 Fore
3. Deimos Hull A
4. (4) Deimos Wing E, 2 Fore, 2 Aft
5. 104DS Mag Inertial Reactor
6. Deimos All-in-One Hab 2x1
7. R-4000 Alpha Grav Drive
8. (2) Hope-55 Landing Gear
9. Deimos Armory 2x1
10. Deimos Control Station 2x1
11. (2) CE-39 Missile Launcher
12. Vanguard Bulwark Shield Generator
13. (2) Horizon Weapon Mounts
14. (4) Vanguard Obliterator Autoprojectors
15. Viking CP-100 Cockpit

 

 Top Deck

1. (2) Nova Wing
2. Deimos Hull A
3. (3) Nova Cowling - Mid Configuration
4. (2) SA-4330 Engine
5. Deimos Living Quarters 2x1
6. (2) Stroud Cowling
7. (2) Stroud Cap A
8. (2) Horizon Weapon Mount
9. (2) Vanguard Obliterator Autoprojectors
10. Nova Cowling

 

Structural (Not Pictured)

1. Deimos Tail A
2. (2) PBO-100 Auto Neutron Turrets
3. Deimos Spine A

 

 Assembly

Assemble each deck/level as shown in the images above.

Select all of the Undercarriage pieces. Drag them over so that the Aft Deimos Belly pieces connect to the undersides of the Reactor and Grav Drive. Everything else should fall into place. As a guide, the Fuel tanks will connect to the bottom snap point of the Hope 55 Landing gear. Make sure that the Docker goes with the rest of the pieces. It will connect to the bottom of the 1x1 Hab.

Once the Main Deck is assembled, flip merge the two Nova Galactic Fore Cowlings (Blue #2) to the front of  the two 2x1 Habs (Blue #9 and Blue #10). To merge, simply move them into place, hit the flip button, hit the flip button again until the piece is lined up as intended, cancel the move.

From the Top Deck, select pieces from Orange #1 through Orange #6, except for the highlighted #3, and drag them over so that Orange pieces #5 and #6 connect behind the Missile Launchers and Shields on the Main Deck.

Flip merge the two Stroud Cowlings (Orange #7) to cover the Missile Launchers. Connect the Horizon Weapon Mounts and Vanguard Obliterators to the inside points of the Stroud Cowlings. 

 

Flip merge the forward Nova Galactic Cowling (Orange #3) over the Vanguard Shield. 

 

Place the Nova Cowling (Orange #10) to the front Orange #3. Select all of the Structural Pieces. Connect them to Orange #2, so that the Deimos Spine A connects to the Top and the Tail Connects to the Aft. The two turrets should have been automatically selected when the Tail was, but if not, they connect to the Port and Starboard points on the Deimos Tail.

 

Completed ship pictured below.