View source for VT-HSA PT-01

{{Infobox vehicle|Title=VT-HSA PT-01|Picture=
[[File:VT-HSA PT-01 — Early Concept.jpg|thumb|alt=Early concept of the VT-HSA PT-01 by 3D Artist Jeff Allen|Early concept of the VT-HSA PT-01 by 3D Artist Jeff Allen]]
|Name=Versatact VT-HSA PT-01 "Knuckle Buster"
|Class=High-Speed/Armored variable-frame interceptor
|Role=Air-to-air, air-to-ground, ground-to-ground combat superiority
|Manufacturer=Versatact
|Variants=None: The PT-01 designation stands for "prototype of 1"
|Crew=Single pilot
|Passenger Capacity=Maximum of two<ref group="footnotes" name="seating" />
}}
The Versatact VT-HSA PT-01 is a variable-frame, intermodal aerial interceptor.
===Designation===
VT-HSA stands for Versatact High-Speed/Armored class of variable-frame interceptor, field-capable, and PT-01 is for "Prototype of 1".
===Spec Brief===
The Versatact VT-HSA PT-01 is a variable-frame, intermodal aerial interceptor. The VT-HSA is affectionately known as the "Knuckle Buster", as test pilots of the field-capable prototype are notorious for complaining about how they sustain hand injuries while trying to negotiate with the VT-HSA's flight controls, with one test pilot reporting, "it's like trying to milk a bucking bronco, except the bronco is a male". 
 
The VT-HSA has two operating modes: Interceptor mode, for vehicular transport and air-to-air combat superiority, and an upright armored exoskeleton mode, commonly referred to as "biped mode", for both mobility and close proximity combat superiority. The VT-HSA is capable of both orbital velocity, and effective apparent superluminal transport by way of its self-contained coaxial transwarp drive; not typical of interceptors of this relative size and proportion. Transwarp speeds are well above standard. 
 
===Powerplant===
The VT-HSA is powered by twin antimatter reactor cores that combined generate over 48 meganewtons of thrust through the pair of primary aft exhaust nozzles. Should one of the cores fail, the VT-HSA is perfectly capable of operating with either of the remaining functioning cores. The reactor cores themselves, which are each sufficient enough to motivate a large commercial freighter, have been minified to fit into the VT-HSA's interceptor-sized frame by way of Versatact's proprietary material science expertise. Hence, they are said to "run hot", and require a tremendous amount of stock coolant, refrigerant, and support from multiple redundant cryogenic subsystems. 
 
===Armoring===
The outer hull of the VT-HSA plated with 14mm thick pseudo-ceramic di-clad armor, making it highly resistant to most conventional forms of beam and projectile ordinance, and heat-resistant enough to undergo multiple atmospheric reentry maneuvers. The thick armor plating is load-bearing, and provides structural rigidity for both inertial torsion as well as gravimetric torsion due to coaxial transwarp drive gravitational wave propagation. One drawback to using pseudo-ceramic di-clad is obviously its high molecular density, which makes the VT-HSA almost 4 times heavier than a conventional interceptor of its general size and proportions. For this reason, the VT-HSA was outfitted with an experimental artificial gravity mesh that is similar to that which is used conventionally for simulating comfortable levels of gravity for extra-planetary travel and long-term occupancy, only; the experimental mesh is purposefully designed to generate gravitational waves that act with repulsive force rather than attractive force. By aligning overlapping repulsor fields within the molecular lattices of the VT-HSA's pseudo-ceramic di-clad armor, the effective weight of the interceptor can be reduced by over 200%. This method, called "Gravitational Material Harmonics", or GMH, was proposed and developed by Versitact. Initial tests proved successful, with no apparent compromises to the integrity of the pseudo-ceramic di-clad armor detected. However, the GMH method would ultimately be disengaged, since the anti-gravitational nature of the experimental mesh had been observed causing intermittent interference with the VT-HSA's coaxial transwarp drive output. However, it is not known whether this interference is critical to the VT-HSA's operation, so further assessment is needed. Despite its unwieldy mass, the VT-HSA is highly maneuverable and surprisingly nimble, even for an interceptor of its relative size and proportions. This is due to the VT-HSA's proprietary mechanical subsystems kept classified by Versatact, although a known disadvantage is this combination of speed and durability comes at the cost of enormous amounts of sustained power drain. 

===Weapons Systems===

====Buster Cannon====
The VT-HSA's primary sidearm, the "Buster Cannon"<ref group="footnotes" name="buster" />, is powered by anti-protons that stream as bulk waste from the VT-HSA's twin pair of antimatter reactor cores, which has the added benefit of reducing the overall load on the reactors while allowing them to operate at maximum peak efficiency. The barrel of the Buster Cannon functions as a linear particle accelerator, and also confine the anti-proton stream into a coherent beam of particles that propagate as a wave at 99.93% the speed of light. The Buster Cannon's antiproton beam is equivalent to 400 gigawatts of pure anti-proton particle energy. 

====Buster Sword====
The VT-HSA's Buster Cannon features a bayonet blade that exists as a coherent, 1-particle-thick stream of pure anti-protons. The anti-proton stream is held tight in shape by a "strong self-confinement" matrix. As with the Buster Cannon, the "Buster Sword"<ref group="footnotes" name="buster" /> is powered by anti-protons that stream as bulk waste from the VT-HSA's twin pair of antimatter reactor cores. 

====Buster Rifle====
The VT-HSA is also outfitted with a shorter-range projectile rifle that discharges 27,000 rounds per second of depleted hyperium. The "Buster Rifle"<ref group="footnotes" name="buster" /> requires both of the VT-HSA's main antimatter reactors be online and operating at optimal efficiency. Bulk hyperium is generated by constructive folding of spacetime in the interceptor's "vacuum bladder", which is a curiously-named pocket of subspace that continually collapses onto itself due to the negative energy vacuum of the quantum field. This vacuum bladder has an apparent horizon that in turn acts as a virtual particle pump. In this way, hyperium can be synthesized "on-the-fly" from much lighter elements, while the total mass of ammunition inventory remains behind the apparent horizon. Naturally, because hyperium is meta-stable, and due to its dense molecular weight, it immediately depletes by way of Weak Nuclear interaction. However, the synthesis of depleted hyperium comes at an enormous cost of energy, and the process must be disabled if either of the VT-HSA's primary antimatter reactor cores goes offline. In case of a reactor failure, the vacuum bladder must be emergency ejected from the interceptor, but only after it has been "sterilized" by forcing its apparent horizon to implode. It is not ideal for the Buster Rifle to maintain sustained bursts of ammunition: This is because the vacuum bladder loses mass over time, which counter-intuitively will cause it to shrink like a deflating balloon below its Swarzchild limit. Under normal operations, negative energy density acts as a pushing force, stabilizing the vacuum bladder like the fusion in the core of a star provides nuclear force that prevents the star's collapse due to gravity. There are also thermal tolerances of the rifle itself to take into consideration. 

====Missile Pods====
The VT-HSA has a total of six missile cluster batteries, known colloquially as "hornet's nests". Likewise, the barrage of missiles that they release are called "angry hornets". This attack can be replenished by the vacuum bladder subsystem, but because each missile is made of a lighter cast-deltran alloy, they are more abundantly and rapidly regenerated and restocked. Each angry hornet missile is self-guided, but unlike most missile cluster offensive attack vectors, the angry hornet swarm is fine-tuned to be, in essence, an anti-missile defense used to negate opposing missile cluster attacks. However, the missile clusters can be used as an offensive attack vector if need be, laying-down a suppressive spread of explosive ballistic ordinance, each with a 50 kiloton payload. 

====Fuselage-Mounted Vulcan Cannons====
Two gatling-barreled minified vulcan cannons are arranged straddling the VT-HSA's fuselage at the bow of each wing. The gatling drum of each of these cannons is mounted within the frame of the interceptor in such a manner that allows them to soak excess heat from each antimatter reactor cores' thermal exchange manifold. Like the Buster Rifle, each vulcan fires bursts of depleted hyperium, except the vulcans can fire at a considerably higher burst rate of 68,400 rounds per second. Unlike the Buster Rifle, because of the mechanical gatling mechanism, the vulcan cannons do not suffer from the same thermal limitations as the primary Buster Rifle.
{{Vehicle
|history=The VT-HSA is affectionately known as the "Knuckle Buster", as test pilots of the field-capable prototype are notorious for complaining about how they sustain hand injuries while trying to negotiate with the VT-HSA's flight controls, with one test pilot reporting, "it's like trying to milk a bucking bronco, except the bronco is a male".

Before the events of the game, the VT-HSA PT-01 is acquired from Versatact by a mercenary named [[Ad Azimuth]], one of two playable characters at launch.
|development=In his blog<ref name="design" />, the developer cites the "depressingly underwhelmed" response from his friends, who were immediately reminded of Robotech when showed them the design for the VT-HSA PT-01. 
<blockquote>
''"I decided early-on in my development of Blasternal: I want it to be conceptually 'accessible', e.g.; if I do this right, the audience will find many familiar tropes, be it video games, comic book super heroes, works of science fiction…heck, even pop culture references."'' <ref name="design" />
</blockquote>
|gallery=
<gallery mode="nolines>
File:VT-HSA PT-01 in Biped Mode.jpg|thumb|alt=The VT-HSA PT-01 in Biped Mode|The VT-HSA PT-01 in Biped Mode
File:VT-HSA PT-01 in Interceptor Mode.jpg|thumb|alt=VT-HSA PT-01 in Interceptor Mode|VT-HSA PT-01 in Interceptor Mode
</gallery>
|footnotes=<references group="footnotes">
<ref name="seating">While the cockpit can accommodate two passengers, it is only optimized for a single pilot, as co-pilot seating is afforded by way of a "spare" fold out seat.</ref>
<ref name="buster">In honor of the test pilots who risked their lives and enduring personal injury while testing the VT-HSA PT-01, its primary weapons systems are prefixed with the designation, "Buster".</ref>
</references>
|references=<references>
<ref name="design">From the Official Blasternal Blog — [https://blog.blasternal.com/2023/01/you-see-this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-or-new-things/ "You see? THIS is why we can't have nice (or NEW) things!"]</ref>
</references>
}}