SAPONA

Sci-fi made from the finest ingredients, except not really.

[thesapona]

So how’d your first time in space go?

[thesapona]

Sentinel minipuller, the MSV Graitas. Smaller sketch on the right showcases the detachable guard bars.

[thesapona]

Sometimes you just gotta draw a guy enjoying his job!

[thesapona]

The Ampersand is a neutral but Martian-run space station: the largest one between Mars and the asteroid belt. Originally designed as an inter-planetary freighter, high fuel costs and low efficiency forced her to decommission. The station became the second non-planetary orbital city ever in the year 103, and is the also second-largest human structure ever built. She is equipped with some of the largest storage compartments, Prismic engines, and gravity wells in the entire solar system. If a rogue asteroid strays too close, she can at least avoid or deflect it. In her retirement, she offers haven for all travelers. Ships can now dock at modified cargo holds along her four wing-like protrusions. The name Ampersand came from her curvy figure and inclusive nature.

[thesapona]

PEW PEW PEW

/eloquence

A flashback to the captain’s Sentry years. Fighting pirates, careening around space, blowing shit up, that sort of thing.

[thesapona]

This is Kaesh Wasidi, the Sapona's gravity specialist (and unofficial second-in-command). She's deaf and mute, but obnoxiously loud - using her IPC to convert thoughts to audible speech. She and Captain Galliway have been friends since college, so she gets away with pretty much anything, including gravity pranks and parties that make the entire ship quake.

...

"That's not very nice, Kaesh."

"But it's true, right? I mean, how do you even sit on that thing?"

"Practice, I guess."

"Hehe, ass practice."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Kaesh..."

"YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"

[kezrekade]

I’ll stop when I’m good and ready

[thesapona]

One day I'll finish this damn alien alphabet. ONE DAY

[thesapona]

Ship concepts, mostly for the Martian Sentinels. Their primary weapon is the extensive use of a tech called ‘gravity wells’ to reign in pirates.

The Sentry Disabler a ship designed to pursue and disable enemy ships. They are the smallest vessels in the fleet, and don’t have any gravity wells (those weight a lot). Most Sentinel ships use guard bars in their designs, to protect their people from direct impacts. On the Disabler, it protects the one pilot in their most vulnerable spot (front) and has saved many lives from oblivion.

The Sentry grav-assist isn’t finished but it gets the point across. This vessel has its own pack of small D.O.Gs that protect the ship from missiles and laserfire, while the ship itself pulls on pirates and drags them into the Sentinel Base. Some pirates try to ram their captors, hence the more extensive guard bar arrangement at the front. Gravs are run by 2 to 3 people: a pilot, a gravity specialist (called Pulleys), and sometimes a D.O.G. controller.

Sentinel Bases are the largest non-cargo space ships in the system. At their core are the biggest, most powerful gravity wells ever made. The four prongs at the front connect an enormous electrified net, and the prongs can close to encase pirates- rendering them safe to arrest. The Bases house squadrons of well-trained Sentries of all skillsets. Their mission is to protect Martians and other innocent travelers through the treacherous vacuum of space.

Since Mars has no official military, the Sentinel Fleet is the closest they get to a space-faring army. They are government-funded, used in emergencies, and highly admired among most Martian citizens. Should a war occur, the Sentinels will be there.

Gravity wells play a large role in the story. I’ll touch on those later!

[thesapona]

A teaser poster. Pictured here is the Sapona herself, protected by a ring of crew-controlled D.O.G.s (Drones Orbiting and Guarding).

:

"What's the blue stuff outside?"

"Ah, that's right, you've never seen this before... It's called vac-mist. Lets us see pirates easier. But it can also be used by pirates as a cover, so..."

"So you mean we're under attack? Right now?!"

"No, no... This mist has already begun dissipating, Erin. The fight here ended a while ago. Maybe."

"Maybe?!"

"Hence the D.O.G.s, kid."

"Dogs?! Out there in SPACE???"

[thesapona]

"Someone get Rao off the intercom."

"THE PEACE THE EEEVENING BRIIIII-*kzzt*"

[thesapona]

SPACE BATTLE

As if space itself was torn apart by a bleeding, gaping wound, red vac-mist rushed around the merchants' ships. It cloaked them in confusion and fear... ripe for a vicious attack from the Flare Pirates.