Upgrade:Cloaking device

The cloaking device is the ultimate in stealth technology. It makes the ship virtually invisible to optic, radar, or other sensor scans. There are, however, a few "downsides" to the device: 1) It uses a great deal of power, and may drain your *** within a very few minutes; 2) While the enemy can't see you, neither can you lock on to or fire weapons against enemies when your cloaking device is engaged; 3) When the device is engaged, you lose your screen protection; 4) It also makes it difficult for hired wingmen to locate and form with you.

Although the device is highly effective against optical and sensor detection, enemy ships sometimes will detect other indications of the presence of cloaked ships. For example, a cloaked ship passing through a warp gate may be itself invisible, but the gate will still show that it's been activated. Enemy ships waiting around a gate for arriving targets may use this to help them track and attack cloaked ships.

Despite the few disadvantages, a cloaking device is almost indispensible for pilots who will have to fight capships or large squadrons of enemies. They are expensive, but they are well worth it.

Origins

Because the design of stealth devices is cloaked in secrecy, it is not certain which faction was the first to develop the device. The fact that cloaking devices are still found almost exclusively on research stations indicates that they are still under intense development. It's generally accepted by most defense analysts that the Andolians, Aera, and Rlaan all have had cloaking technology for perhaps the last twenty years or so.

However, the issue of why such sensitive technology would be for sale to private mercenaries has called into question whether the device was developed by any one faction. There is a persistent story that the device itself was left behind when an unidentified cloaked ship from an unknown system collided with a freelancer Clydesdale operating on the extreme fringes of known space. there were no descriptions of the ship prior to the collision. The captain of the Clydesdale quickly tractored wreckage of the "mystery ship" onboard and then sold it to the highest bidder. One version of the story reports that the Clydesdale's crew (in a drunken spree at the nearest spacestation) that the few whole bodies collected looked like "demons" with pointy ears and green-tinged skin. This story has never been verified, and no captain has come forward with a formal report of such a collision.

To the enterprising pilot, the device's origins matter little. More important is that, although they are rare and expensive, they are a great boon to combat pilots.