Hunter-Killer

A Hunter-Killer is an advanced war android created specifically for the purpose of exterminating Voldernauts.

Design

Hunter-Killers are humanoid in shape, but have no face. Where a face would be is instead a series of scanners and sensors, used to detect the existence of Voldernauts in an area. They have two modes of transport, aerial and ground. When in aerial mode, Hunter-Killers fly with the use of wings protruding from the back. When in ground mode, they move using their legs. Hunter-Killers are not sentient beings, and are programmed exclusively to hunt down and destroy Voldernauts, though earlier models were initially controlled by an individual commander before they developed the artificial intelligence aspect of the drones. Hunter-Killers have no hands; their weapons are extensions of their arms. Hunter-Killers have no distinct markings and are indistinguishable from each other.

Development

Hunter-Killer Prototype

The first of the Hunter-Killers were developed by the Blackdale Museum as an attempt to create a new type of personalized assistant, initially referred to as the Omni-man Project by Lena Blackdale. However, their government benefactors managed to influence the direction of the project by gearing it more toward an auxiliary unit in combat. Unfortunately, attempts to get the prototype off the ground with weapon systems wasn't working out as well as they hoped, and funding for the project was slashed.

Developments changed when the Naxeroth Institute for Multiversal Affairs began taking up lodging in the museum during the early days of the Voldernaut invasion of the universe. Studying the biology of Melia Thomson, a Voldernaut that was separated from the hivemind, the Museum was able to finish a functioning prototype of the Hunter-Killer just in time to deploy it against the first wave of the Voldernaut Armada's invasion force, with Melia piloting the Prototypes via psychic link. The Prototypes were sturdy enough to withstand the initial invasion force, but as the Voldernauts began sending more advanced weaponry and tactics at them, the efficacy of the prototype began to wane.

Hunter-Killer Type-A

As time progressed, development on the Hunter-Killer split into three different groups. The first of these groups were the legion specifically under the control of Melia Thomson, and were mentally linked to the High Commander of the Hunter-Killer Division. She personally piloted these into battle against the Voldernaut Armada in several battles, and were known for the frightening speed and reaction time, as well as their precise strikes on their foes. These variants were armed with the standard psionic disruption array, as well as an arsenal of other weapons, such as rockets, lasers, and machine gun emplacements for long-distance combat, and plasma cutters for close-range encounters. These variants are incapable of acting independently, and require Melia to pilot them into battle.

Hunter-Killer Type-B

The second of these groups were those focused on widespread damage to the Voldernaut Armada. Outfitted with experimental psionic disruption array capable of transmitting across vast distances, these Hunter-Killers were designed to eradicate entire swarms of Voldernauts on the ground and in the air. However, they lacked any sort of additional weaponry to defend itself, as the new disruption array required too much power to function, on top of needing the prerequisite power to run the artificial intelligence sub-routine.

Hunter-Killer Type-C

The third group of Hunter-Killers were designed to sneak into Voldernaut strongholds and cause mayhem in a short period of time before expiring. Equipped with state of the line stealth generation technology, an entire arsenal of weapons to defend itself, and a self-destruct module, these Hunter-Killers exist to break into areas far too fortified for the other types to get into, such as a ground base or a Capital Ship. Once in their designated location, they are to rain hell upon their target, ensuring as much is eradicated as possible, before activating the self-destruct sequence and taking out whatever is left.

There were many questions as to why the self-destruct module wasn't the only module installed into this variant, and why it had to be fitted with as many weapons as it was, but when asked about it, Lena just responded with a shrug and said "Hey, if you trust an explosion to take out everything, that's on you. I personally would rather be safe than sorry."

Behind the Scenes

Hunter-Killer was a MediaWiki bot developed by malacoda to block spambots, revert spambot edits, and delete spambot pages. As the spambots were the inspiration for the voldernauts, so the MediaWiki bot was the inspiration for Hunter-Killers.