Starship designs...

[taalismn]

[

System found by an actual star nation - oh boy, looks like some slaver cartels are in for literal worlds of trouble very soon.

Yeah, it was a case of "Hey, we have these backwater worlds all to ourselves and we're the most powerful arou-Wat just came out from behind that moon?! That's not supposed to be here! It's heading right at us!!!! Whattyamean it's got sensor lock through our cloak?! HARD ABOUT AND GET US OUT OF HERE!!!"

Bridge of the Dempsey:
"Oh, that scow can't be up to any good acting like that-"
"We don't know for certain. They could just be having engine trouble and dropped by this planet to affect repairs.."
"Well, in that case we better check on them. They may be experiencing communications problems as well! In the name of public safety, plot an intercept course to bring us along side them for a safety inspection. And arm all batteries in case we have to deal with any space debris that could do damage. Oh, and launch he CAP to scout the area immediately around that ship for possible space debris."
"And if they accelerate away from us?"
"We match speed and course, in event their engine throttles are stuck open. Wouldn't want them to blunder off into deep space and get hurt on our watch."
"No, sir, of course not. Intercept course laid in, deck flight launched. Sounding red allert, all stations."

[idahobeef]

I've finished this one, just need to add details

https://www.flickr.com/photos/145642313@N07/52978651863/in/dateposted-public/

[taalismn]

I've finished this one, just need to add details

https://www.flickr.com/photos/145642313@N07/52978651863/in/dateposted-public/

Interesting design...I'd almost call it a late Golgan design because of its stingray-like design....no tail armament, though, and the Golgans seem to favor a strong fantail armament in their larger ships.
Size of the cockpit would suggest a smaller patrol-class vessel or corvette.
The split-plate tail on the right indicates something more exotic than a straightforward venturi system for the main propulsion.

I see two sensor probes or gun muzzles in the bow. Presumably the wings can mount additional systems.

[taalismn]

Bolton-Ives BI-InstelC-V Medium Interstellar Transport
(aka ‘Polliwog’, ‘I-wog’, ‘Woggy’)
“The Woggy’s been around long enough that it’s become virtually overlooked at all the ports it can be found at. Bol-ives nearly cornered the market on cheap medium transport”

“The Bee-Aye Five’s definitely a peacetime development; infantry weapons can punch through its plas-steel hull, it’s essentially a metal-spray-plated balloon. Only in the policed sectors of the coreworlds could it really operate. The Rim’s a lot more unforgiving, but so many Fringe-operators bought the Five cheap because they couldm’t afford better. No wonder when Tee-Aye came out with its Neptune, better cargo capacity or not, the Five was rendered virtually extinct in some sector markets. Of late, the Fiver’s making a comeback in some sectors, but only because the local polities have instituted some serious antipiracy measures and backed them with teeth, so the freighters can travel with some security.”

The BI-V was Bolton-Ives’ post-Automaton War contribution to the reconstruction, when there was a pressing need for as many transports as could be fielded to move people and materials to aid in the Human Alliance’s recovery.
The BI-V was simple in its configuration; a fat flattened ellipsoid main hull tappering into a cylinderical propulsion section of lesser diameter, flanked by a short horizontal stabilizer plane ending in curved vertical endplanes. While the tail fins were too small to offer any significant lift in atmospheric flight, they did help with stability and also acted as radiators for the propulsion system.
The key to the BI-V’s success was its simplicity, large payload(relative to its weight) and economy of operation. Its weaknesses were its barebones construction, weak structure, and lack of defenses. In its base form, it even lacked force-shielding. Nevertheless, the BI-V sold well to small operators, especially in the well-policed coreworlds.
Bolton-Ives manufactured the BI-V for several centuries before the corporation finally gave in to business-fatigue. Its designs, however, have outlived it and the design is considered public domain with the BI-V being one of the few that would re-emerge thanks to later and smaller firms picking it up. The Duchy of Harwinton-Sachs’ Saval Industries and Solstice-based TARCO still manufacture BI-V pattern freighters in Human Alliance space, while Mazzerhine-based Hapstan DriveYards and the Zyganian Zullus Group have also taken up production of BI-V-pattern ships.

Type: BI-InstelC-V
Class: Medium Interstellar Transport
Crew: 7
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 1,200
Bridge 300
Engine Bloc 900
Tail Stabilizers(2) 400 each*

*Destroying a stabilizer imposes a -10% maneuvering penalty in atmospheric flight, and losing both leads to -20%. The ship can still rise and descend on the strength of its contragravity, but any other sort of maneuvering will be stodgy.

Height: 70ft
Width: 140 ft
Length: 240 ft
Weight: 2,200 tons
Cargo: 1,700 tons
Powerplant:(original) Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 5; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 7
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.7% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 2 light years per hour
Market Cost: 78 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems
Weapons Systems: None standard. Up to two point defense weapons can be added and no more; the design is not very amenable to modification in regards to weapons mounts.
Auxiliary Craft: None
Variants:
The BI-V’s rather narrow aft engineering section places some constraints on what size ‘step-up’ engines can be swapped in, so variants are often distinguishable by the thicker diameter aft sections or extensions to the rear fuselage holding more powerful engine types.
Though extra armaments cannot be added to the design, most operators add forceshielding, sacrificing 50 tons of cargo capacity for the added protection.
Both the Saval Industries’ and TARCO versions modify the design with more armor around the bridge(raising its value to 700) and use different hull materials to raise the overall hull values to 2,000 MDC. A midsection bulge holds a model-D FTL drive(4 light years/hour)
ZZG’s ZC-V is derivative of the BI-V, but modified so much that it almost qualifies as a new design. The ZC-V copies the SI/TARCO up-armored bridge, makes it into a seperately ejectable life capsule, adds an extended FTL drive ‘carrot’ to the tail end, and wraps so many booster pods around the ship’s midsection that its protective value is raised by 125%. Normal space speed is raised to Mach 9, and FTL speed to 5 light years/hour. Cost rises to 102 million credits

[taalismn]

Hartigal Combine ‘Jhem’ Corvette
(aka ‘FireSprint’, ‘Hartigal-goblin’)
“They can’t do that! They’re not supposed to be able to do that, right? Come up with new product? BETTER product?! That’s.....that’s SACRILIGE!!!! They’re not allowed to come up with new stuff and not pay us royalties! It’s just not happe-”
-Last recorded words of anonymous Naruni Accounting Enforcement Department field executive, during a routine raid on Gandon Point, which encountered unexpected resistance.

“This is a sweet little torch-ride with dance legs and sharp kicks!. It’s just enough ship for a small crew to handle. Hartigal’s going to have the gunfighter teams lining up, cred sticks in hand, to place orders.”

“Hartigal means to field at least two of these things for every Enforcer that Naruni Enterprises has and DROWN any robot lawyers and repomen Naruni tries sending Hartigal’s way.”

“The hardest part for me was coming up with a wholly new aesthetic that didn’t give me away. But the challenge was welcome.”

Hartigal Combine is best known for selling older Naruni desiigns, mainly because its subsequent relations with its vindicative parent megacorp have left it little space and time to produce new designs. However, recent events, especially the Golgan Kultural Revolution and Great War, have given Hartigal some breathing space. With Naruni turning its guns on the Golgan Republik, they’ve had less time to deal with the upstart Hartigal Combine. While Jelko Rodula would have liked to use the opportunity to seriously hit Naruni during their period of distraction, he would also like to pay the Golgans back for trying to conquer his homeworld, so he’s grudgingly given NE a pass for the time being, and has focused his efforts on undercutting them in more subtle ways...such as rolling out brand new product that people will buy from Hartigal rather than Naruni. Rodula thus hopes to hit Naruni in their wallets while they’re bleeding cash fighting the Golgans.
The ‘Jhem’-class corvette/patroller is one such new rollout, and was inspired by Rodula’s observations of the Paladin Steel/Aegis Stellar Industries’(who he considers to be his most likely friendly competition, once he disposes of Naruni) ‘Hazam’-class corvette and the WZT Wasp Light Runner/Singleship. With an uptick in galactic piracy, there was a pressing need for light escort units or fast attack units appropriate for the smaller conflict and insurgency zones.
The Jhem is one of the fastest ‘as-is’ vessels availble on the open market, courtesy of a new propulsion booster system Rodula devised(with some help from the notes of the late Lester M’Kri). The large engines are also mounted in pivoting nacelles, giving the ships formidable agility.
The Jhem is designed to be highly maneuverable, fast and well-armed, a pocket destroyer, compact and deadly. Rodula chose to arm the Jhem in similar fashion to the Naruni Audit-ships, in part because he had a hand in designing them, to present a believable copying(and IMPROVING) of known Naruni technologies, and to thumb his nose at NE’s corporate enforcers. He’s had to make a -few- concessions to make the design more easily manufacturable with the facilities Hartigal has on hand, but the Jhem is still a most formidable fighting craft.
The Jhem is also meant to appeal to smaller PMCs and adventurers, including mercenaries, of whom Hartigal employs a great number.
The downside of all this fabulous perfornance is high maintenance. Though Rodula made the systems as rugged-wearing and reliable as he could, some corners couldn’t be cut. When something does break down on a Jhem, it usually requires specialized parts or servicing available only fromHartigal. The engines in particular are regulated by sealed ‘black box’ computer systems and proprietary software. Cracking open these systems voids the warranty, and anybody not trained directly by Hartigal Combine to maintain them will be -15% to the appropriate diagnostic/repair rolls.
The Jhem has begun appearing in numbers with Hartigal’s ‘house mercenaries’ first, but a small number have already been made available for open sale.

Type: HC-APG07 Jhem
Class: Heavy Patroller/Light Corvette
Crew: 5+3 passemgers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 3,600
Cockpit 700
Particle Beam Cannon Turrets(2) 260 each
Mssile Launchers(2) 300 each
Engine Nacelles(2)* 1,000 each
Variable Forcefield 400 each side, 2,400 total

*Can fly on one engine, but lose the maneuvering bonuses, and reduce maximum speed by HALF.

Height: 40 ft
Width: 90 ft
Length: 200 ft
Weight: 980 tons
Cargo: 100 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30-year energy life between reactor core replacements
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 5; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 16
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.6% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 280 million credits. Initially, Rodula has chosen to offer the ship at a discount to attract buyers to the Hartigal banner, but the price is likely to go up as demand ramps up
Systems of Note:
Standard Light Starship Systems, plus;
*Advanced Fire Control----Because the Jhemlacks the cyberlinked repobots manning its guns, Rodula gave it an advanced FCS. +2 to strike.

*Advanced Reaction Control System---- Swivel-mounted main engines, multiple directional thrusters, and quick-response controls make the corvette respond like a much lighter fighter; +3 to dodge, and +2 to roll.

*EW Suite---Upgraded frequency jumping and radar/IR jamming. Radar-guided weapons are -4 to strike the craft

Weapons Systems:
1) Particle Beam Cannon Turrets(2)---These are similar the Naruni Enforcer ship’s main batteries, but Rodula insisted on better weapons as befitted a war-fighter, rather than a collection ship.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 5 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
Damage: 4d4x10 MD single blast, 4d8x10 MD dual blast(counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Missile Launchers/Weapons Bays(2)---Two missile launchers constitute the main long range anti-ship weapons. Medium Range Missiles are the standard fitout, but Rodula decided, after looking at the PS/ASI Hazam and the WZT Wasp, to emulate his competition, and make the bays modular to accommodate other weapons configurations.
a)Medium Range Missiles-----Volleys of 1-10, Payload of 40 missiles.
b)Long Range Missiles-----Volleys of 1-4, Payload of 16 missiles.

c) Cruise Missiles-----Volleys of 1-3, Payload of 6 missiles.

d) G-Cannon(2)---Rodula learned of the ‘Scorpion Effect’ with regards to gravitic engines increasing the performance of proximity-mounted G-cannons, got ahold of copies of the data, and applied it to this double-barrel mounting.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 800 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD per 20-rd burst, 8d6x10 MD dual 80-rd burst(counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 16,000 rds per gun( 800 bursts), 32,000 rds total

e) Plasma Cannon---Again, Rodula picked up some data from sources on the Rim and applied it to a new weapons system. Relatively short-ranged, but doing massive damage.
Range: 10,000 ft in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100+25 MD per blast.
Rate of Fire: Four blasts per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Lasers(2)---Almost an afterthought, a pair of point defense lasers provide extra anti-missile coverage. These weapons have the option of being linked to an auto-fire system.
Range: ,000 ft in atmosphere, 16,000 ft in space
(Kitsune Values: 3.5 miles in atmosphere, 350 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per blast, 2d4x10 MD per pulse burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH, or six bursts per melee w/ autogunner(+3 to strike)
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

4) Countermeasure Launchers(2)---Rodula thought these were a good idea when he saw them on various USA/ASI/WZT craft. It was childs’s play to copy them. These are identical to the Standardized WZT/PS/ASI countermeasure dispensers, but with capacity for 30 Chaff/Flare bundles, 25 Nano-Pod swarm packs, and 20 Grav-Pack Decoys per launcher.

Auxiliary Craft:
The Jhem has cargo/hangar space enough for 4 small vehicles, up to 10 power armors or drones , OR 80 tons of palletized cargo.

Variants:
*HC-APG07D ----’Deluxe’ model powered by Matter/Antimatter. It is regarded as a ‘hot rod’ due to its faster speed. The shields also get a boost in strength.
Changes/Modifications:
Armor/MDC By Location:
Variable Forcefield 500 each side, 3,000 total
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 6; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 18
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.8% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5.3 light years per hour
Powerplant: Matter/Antimatter w/ 40-year energy life between reactor core replacements
Market Cost: 310 million credits.

[taalismn]

NE-SC/LIS-06 Fastep Light Interstellar Shuttle
(aka ‘Spizzer’)
“If Naruni’s attempting to fire a shot across our bows by using this thing to tell us that they can, if they want to, undercut us in our civilian markets. it’s a rather erratic way of going about it. Their marketing’s scattershot, and I get the impression they really don’t kow how to sell aything that doesn’t go bang or zap.. The thing is, the Fastep’s actually quite well-engineered, but the Naruni have priced it obviously with a mark-up for the prestigious NE brand name. If they got somebody with some used car salesmanship savvy to sell these buggies, we might have to sit up and take notice.”

“Dude, it’s sleek, it’s black, it’s quick on the stick like a fighter, it’s got badassery in its lines. We may simply be hopping to the nearest star system, but we’re going in a good amount of STYLE.”

The ‘ Fastep’ has the distinction of being Naruni Enterprises’ only known attempt at a stellacommuntta-type vessel for the general market.
The Fastep has the shape of a large teardrop laying on its side, with a small impeller ring encircling the narrowed tail. Access is through side doors in the rear.
Though not suitable as a combat vehicle, the Fastep is very agile, and comes with the option of mounting a light point defense laser.
The Fastep’s timing is curious; at a time when NE should be focusing on recapturing armaments marketshare from its many emboldened competitors, they choose to introduce a civilian vessel to the market. This has been interpreted in various ways by market observers; it may be attempt by Naruni to diversifiy its product lineup, in event of uncertain military sales, it may be a weak attempt to compete with some of its aerospace rivals in areas they least expect. Another possibility is that a desperate Naruni is attempting to make the most use of failed or floundering reseatch programmes, and that the Fastep is really derived from an FTL missile or interstellar drone design.
The Fastep’s advantages are a compact design and fast FTL speed. Its minuses are a lack of shielding, modest normal space speed, and mediocre atmospheric handling, despite its streamlining(it is reliant on its contragravity drive for lift and propulsion). Like other light star shuttles/stellacommuttas, the Fastep is too small to mount long range astronavigational sensors, and cannot calculate jumps on its own; it is reliant on already-in place navigational and traffic-control beacons, such as might be found in the heavily-traveled metroworlds. This limits its usefulness on the Fringe where such networks have not yet been established.
The Fastep has been marketed in what some would call a scattershot manner; it’s been offered inconsistently through the built-up Halo sectors of the Three Galaxies and the Rim, though mainly in those areas where the Naruni presence is strongest. It has seen good sales among those who want to be seen flying with the prestigious Naruni logo, especially big-spender clients(more than a few have been sold at discount to high officials to facilitate sales pitches).
Soon after the Fastep appeared on the market, rumors began to circulate that Naruni could rack the movements of all Fasteps, that the shuttles were bugged and would routinely dump their recorded data to nearby Naruni platforms when within range, and that Naruni could remotely turn off the shuttles or steer them wrong using a covert Naruni network of navigational beacons. Though these rumors don’t appear to have hurt sales any(they circulate strongest in areas and consumer segments already strongly biased against Naruni Enterprises), Naruni blames its competitors at WZT and ASI for spreading the ‘scurrilous slander’. Both organizations have denied such action(could be true or plausibly deniability, using OPO cutouts...or elase other groups like Hartigal or the GSA’s Naruni-buster operations are spreading the stories).

Type: NE-SC/LIS-06 Fastep
Class: Light Interstellar Shuttle/Stellacommutta
Crew: 2+1-8 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 800
Drive Spindle 150
Height: 10 ft
Width: 8 ft
Length: 27 ft
Weight: 7 tons
Cargo: Typically about 600 lbs of luggage, in additional to a full capacity of passengers.
If not carrying passengers, the Fastep can carry 1.2 tons of cargo in the back.
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 18 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 6
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.6% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour; the FTL drive can go as far as 40 light years in a jump, before needing to drop out and recharge for five hours.
Market Cost: 32 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Shuttle/Aerospace Fighter Systems, plus:
*FTL Emergency Beacon----Deploys in an emergency and lets nearbu starships and star systems know that the vehicle is in trouble and needs help soonest. Signal propogates at 12 light years/hour.

*Advanced Agility---In space, the Fastep is +3 to dodge in space, but only +1 in atmosphere.

Weapons Systems: None standard, but a single nose-mounted light laser can be installed.
Options:
*Light Laser---This is the same weapon that is fitted as tertiary armament on the Fire-Eater fighter-bomber. The laser unfolds on a pivoting armature in the nose, allowing it a greater arc of fire around the vehicle.
Range: 5,000 ft in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 1 mile in atmosphere, 100 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
Bonus: +2 to strike, thanks to an advanced targeting package included in the installation cost.
Cost: 125,000 credits

*Forcefield---By reducing passenger/cargo capacity by HALF, a forcefield generator can be squeezed in; 500 MDC and costs 1 million credits.

Variants:
Though no variants have been offered commercially, it is rumored that a ‘super-executive’ model exists that has advanced naviation systems, 5 light year/hour stardrive, and a 1,000 MDC shield and basic stealth systems. It also has an FTL radio ‘phone’ and access to a covert Naruni navigational net. The ‘super-executive’ is reportedly available only to high-rank Naruni executives.

[taalismn]

AddisonTechnar ‘Atonex’ Patrol Corvette
“Week-end warrior bath tub toy is more like it. Sending people out to fight in things like that is tantamount to homicide, and convincing them they’re flying certified combat craft adds premeditation to the charge.“
---Major Erin Pollard, Military Analyst, Human Alliance Navy

“Week-end warriors or not, I’ve seen aerospace militia fight like hellhounds on their home ground. While more than a few Atonexes have gone up in gamma-shine at the end of a sub-capital laser battery, they’ve also run up the swords and into the faces of an equal number of astonished pirates who fatally underestimated just how tenacious the ‘war-dinghies’ could really be.”
---Kapten Guillarn Foxrod, Eugenia SpaceGuard, United Systems Alliance Joint Command

“The Atonex looks more like something you’d expect to see from Flan’Loure. I understand that Nosan Corps is working on producing a near-copy of it. Still, it’s no Blackbird, so WZT still has the trophy cup for yacht-to-warship design migration. ”
---Euchard Molg, writer for Armed Stars militech starweb-magazine.

“The Atonex helped keep AddisonTech afloat during the Minion War, building them. It also helped Dorian-Photo regain its footing after the disaster on Dynobi. As a war-fighter, the Atonex’s a bust, but as an economic lifesaver it can be argued to be a sterling success.”
---Pelcher Saang, business analyst, LucreWatch

The ‘Atonex’ Patrol Corvette is a small combatant patrol craft built by AddisonTechmar. The ‘Atonex’ was simply a conversion of the shipyard’s popular ‘Aponi’, a small spaceyacht design built with input from Kurza-Desani. With the Forge War heating up, and sales of yachts drying up in a nervous marketplace, AT, which was already dabbling in military wares, decided to try their hand at a quick-design light combatant security craft.
AddisonTechmar fared away the heavily windowed canopy of the Aponi with an armor skinning, upgraded the communications and shield systems, converted a small bay for planetary runabouts into a missile launcher, attached external launch racks for light missiles and then mounted three external laser turrets and installed a matching advanced fire control system, both subcontracted from sector neighbor corporation Dorian Photonic. Though intended for system patrol and defense, the Atonex carries a Class-D contragravity FTL drive, allowing it to zip fairly fast around solar clusters like the Dweii Republic. Heavy commercial forceshielding provides a level of protection, though not as much as a more expensive and complex military-grade variable forcefield.
Internally, the Atonex has only slightly less cabin space than its yacht progenitor, Though the crew now has bunks rather than separate cabins, the Atonex still has more room than other comparable combat craft. The addition of military systems has necessitated the placement of gunnery and avionics stations where there were once gaming tables and lounging furniture, but the living quarters still have a refresher booth and kitchenette for preparing meals( it has been joked that mission endurance is often dictated by whether the crew stocked tasty, but high volume, foodstuffs, or compact and less appetizing military-style rations), and even enough left-over space for passengers(justified as accommodation for mission specialists and technicians....the Atonex is too small to carry a comprehensive boarding team). The extra space makes for an easier time on extended deployments and patrols, and make the ships favorite assignments among aerospace militia crews, especially if they can bring along ‘observers’ on long-orbit run-silent exercises .
The result has been decried by the spaceyachting community as an assault on the elegant lines of a space-sporting favorite and as a ‘fight club toy runabout’ by the military community. The extra weight of the added military systems, as well as the air resistance caused by the protruding turrets and extra aerials, degrades the ship’s inatmo performance somewhat(this is compensated for to a degree by the ‘aeroshaping’ of the forcefields). The added demand on the power systems means a shorter powerplant lifespan, but AddisonTechmar has locked buyers into a long-term service contract. The engine itself can punch the Atonex up to very respectable speeds, though not as fast as the civilian racer’s top velocities. Though AT did much to ‘militarize’ the Solplex GA engines, the Atonex’s propulsion retains a racer’s temperament, and operating at top military performance for prolonged periods of time requires more frequent maintenance and engine overhauls. The ship still retains very good handling(even with the added encumbrance) and its sensors were already near-military grade to better perform in ‘rough system’ racing, so there are few complaints there. However, few professional soldiers take the ‘Atonex’ seriously as a combatant.
During the Minion War in the Three Galaxies, with massive disruptions in the spacelanes cutting down on trade and isolating worlds from each other, customers in AddisonTechmar’s headquarters home sector of Marse, in the Anvil Galaxy, desperately snapped up whatever weapons systems they could lay hands on, including the ‘war toy’ Atonex. Though many impulse-buy clients came to experience buyer’s remorse when expected attacks never came, and the post-War period saw a plethora of less expensive and more versatile designs hit the market, enough Atonexes saw action against pirates to blood them and test the Aonex’s strengths. AT reaped a healthy profit and a private good laugh at the critics. Since then, the Atonex has continued to enjoy fair sales for

Type: AT-APG-01 ‘Atonex’
Class: Aerospace Patrol Craft
Crew: 6+1-4 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 1,600
Bridge 800
Main Sensor Array 400*
Laser Turrets(3) 120 each
Short Range Missile Launchers(2) 280 each
Engines 970
Wings(2) 500 each**
Forcefield 1,600

*Destroying the Main Sensor Array negates the Advanced Fire Control bonuses

**Destroying a Wing imposes a -15% to Piloting rolls in atmosphere. Destroying BOTH wings imposes a -30% penalty. The ship can still fly on contragravity systems, take off and land, but maneuvering will be clumsy and the controls will be stodgy.

Height: 37 ft
Width: 120 ft wingspan
Length: 140 ft
Weight: 140 tons
Cargo: 3 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear fusion w/ 25 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 10
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.0% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
(Water) Can land on and take off from water
Market Cost: 220 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Ship Systems, plus:
*Military Grade Sensors---The original Aponi carried advanced sensors to better navigate asteroid belt and other obstacle race courses and engage in ‘chase’ competitions. It took very little effort to upgrade the sensors to military spec:; tactical sensor range is 240,000 miles, and FTL detection at 8 light years.

*Advanced Flight Controls-----The Atonex is light on the controls, and enjoys a +2 to dodge/roll in space, but only a +1 in atmosphere.

*Advanced Fire Control-----A Dorian Photonic-produced weapons control system ties the lasers into the sensors and uses refined programming to provide a +3 to strike.

Weapons Systems:
1)Laser Turrets(3)---Two ungainly-looking gun turrets protrude from the flanks of the former yacht’s sleek nose, and a third turret covers the rear fantail. Despite their unsightly placement, the turrets are afforded good arcs of fire. Furthermore, the Dorian Photonics lasers are well-designed(Dorian being a subcontractor to Hartigal Combine) and reliable.
Range: 10 miles in atmosphere, 20 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 1,000 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per single-barrel burst, 6d6x10 MD per twin-turret burst . Up to two turrets can be brought to bear on a single target.
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Medium Range Missile Launcher---Taking the place of a lower deck garage for planetary excursion vehicles(such as a sporty hovercar), this launcher installation reloaded from a front ramp-hatch, but fired from two triple-tube arrays on the lower flanks.
Range:Varies by Missile Type, x4 in space
(Kitsune Values: 160 miles in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-6
Payload: 60 MRMs

3) Short Range Missile Launchers(2)---Mounted behind the bridge and sensor ‘hump’ are two tall and boxy SRM launchers, used mainly for anti-fighter and antimissile suppression fire.. If necessary, the ungainly launchers could be jettisoned with a flip of a switch, gaining the ship some extra 90 MPH in atmospheric flight. This wasn’t always done, because it necessitated replacing the entire launcher array back at base.
Range:Varies by Missile Type, x4 in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in an atmosphere and 500 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10
Payload: 50 SRMs per launcher, 100 total.

4) Countermeasure Launcher----AddisonTechmar decided to copy recent trends in ship design and include a decoy/countermeasure launcher in the tail of the Atonex.
a) Flare/Chaff---Traditional thermal/radar-scattering material bundles.
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
In space, anything flying at high speed through the cloud will take 2d6 MD +1d6 MD per every 100 miles of speed over 670 MPH.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 20

b) Nano-Pods---The second system releases a nanotech swarm of active jamming pods and decoys that are programmed to emulate a spacecraft’s sensor signature, or, at the very least, bury enemy tactical communications in ‘white noise’.
Effective Range: 25 mile jamming radius
Duration: 5 minutes per pod-spray
Effects: Jams radio signals(75% chance of jamming military band command-guidance ordnance), and 60% chance of deflecting ordinary missiles.
Payload: 18 swarm packs

c) Grav-Decoys----The third system uses modified grav-pack drives and signal projectors to create a moving pattern of sensor signatures. The grav-pack short range-missile drives can go for 18 minutes before self-destructing, and can either be remotely directed or run a preset pattern.
Effective Speed: Mach 6
Duration: 10 minutes per pod
Effects: The decoys have a 70% chance of fooling enemy sensor operators and expert systems. They are are also +2 to enemy sensor-guided munitions to strike, increasing the chance that the missiles will elect to pursue the ‘louder’ sensor signature(the missile rolls to strike for both the original ship and each decoy deployed....highest to strike roll determines which target the missile(s) go after).
Payload: 15 decoys are carried, and can be deployed singly, or in ‘packs’ of 1-3.

Variants:
Suggested variants of the Atonex would replace the MRM launcher with a more powerful weapon such as a six-(or even eight-)pack long range missile launcher or even a three-shot cruise missile launcher, install a military-grade VFS, and an electronic warfare suite.
Most industry experts believe, though, that improving the Atonex as a combat vessel would require increasingly less content of Atonex/Aponi and more original ground-up design spec.

[taalismn]

Nosan Corps ‘Pundi’ Patrol Corvette/Gunship
(aka ‘Three Pump Punter’, ‘Dark Debby’, ‘Plasma Plate Special’, ‘Tri-Plas’)
“Stubby little bastards are showing up on both sides of the law these days; the less-funded space guards but them to have the guns in space, and the pirates buy them to have guns to point at merchies. You can’t go by the sensor profile alone to tell you who’s a good guy and who’s a bad guy, and given how in some systems the local authority or mercs, vigilantes, ex-pirates, or corrupt cops all using the same equipment, there’s little difference. I run into a Pundi in the deep blck, uless I personally know the crew, I remain polite...and keep a gun battery of my own trained on ‘em.”

“Get in a firefight with a Pundi, turning your heatshields, if you got ‘em, towards them is a really good idea. Those plasma guns may melt mirror-chrome, but thermal-ceramic fire-brick sheds them.”

“You have to learn to use the cartels’ chicanery to your own advantage. We used a gray-market Pundi with doctored ID transponders to raze that Harushi narcotics warehouse on Synapore. Planted enough fake trails fingering a rival clan or two, or the corrupt aerospace militia the Harushis were using as cover, that they’d be chasing shadows , while we ditched the gunboat in a star. Easy enough to get more if we need them.”
----’Scarret’, Field Agent, Office of Positive Outcomes.

The ‘Pundi’ is Nosan Corps’ clear(at least to the AddisonTechmar organization) ripoff of AddisonTechmar’s ‘Atonex’ Patrol Corvette.
As a front for several organized crime groups, Nosan Corps had both the chutzpah and connections to blatantly copy many AT design features, though NoC’s gnerally lower quality standards degraded performance. Instead of slavishly copying AT’s Aponi yacht hull-form as the basis, Nosan used one of its own higher-performing ‘day-yachts’ to serve.
Armaments-wise, Nosan came up short; they attempted to get Dorian Photonic, AddisonTechmar’s laser supplier, to provide them with the same high-performance pulse laser cannon as they did for AT. Nosan figured that Dorian, smarting from the disaster at Dynobi, would be desperate for business, and would be less likely to honor unspoken exclusivity privilege in its deals with AT. Nosan’s contacts, however, had misread the intelligence and didn’t know that DP was bouncing back faster than expected, thanks to its Hartigal contracts and acquisition of new plant to replace the Dynobi industrial park facilities. Dorian thus rebuffed Nosan’s advances and turned down its offer, which would have had DP supplying Nosan with the same weapons at decidedly fire-sale prices. Unable to secure the better laser weapons, Nosan fell back on its inhouse suppliers, which provided the Pundi with inferior range armament, but kept the price down.
Like the Atonex, the Pundi has an FTL drive. However, the small shps have such limited cabin facilities that they are not suited for long range deployments. and most Pundis rarely operate far from a base facility or mothership-tender. The FTLdrive is mainly used for quick micro-jumps in or around a star system.
Compared to the Atonex, the Pundi is less agile and handicapped by the short range of its armament. However, more extensive automation means that the Pundo can get by with less crew, though if gunnery has to be switched over to manual control, the Pundi’s crew can quickly be overworked in a tight situation.
Though roughly the same size as the Atonex, the Pundi is heavier and more angular, and to many customers looks more menacing than the yacht-derived AT design. Though classified as a paramilitary craft, Nosan Corp’s sales policies regarding the Pundi are as loose as those with the company’s other designs, with little or no vetting(especially in backroom sales).
Lower-priced, but also lower-performing, the Pundi is, no surprise, selling well to budget-strapped planetary security organizations, though it is also much more likely to wind up in the hands of criminal elements.
Soon after the Pundi was rolled out, AddisonTechmar attempted to sue Nosan Corp., claiming the design was an infringement on their own Atonex. However, the courts appealed to determined that the Pundi did not use any illegally appropriated proprietary technologies, and that anybody could mount guns on one of their own designs. AT lost the case, and while Nosan had nothing to do with influencing the courts through their criminal connections, they did quickly seize the opportunity of being in a righteous position for once, and incorporated theit court win into their sales campaign, portraying themselves as victims harassed by a greedy corporation trying to prevent a winning competituve design from the market.

Type: NC-APG-06 Pundi
Class: Patrol Corvette/Gunship.
Crew: 5+4 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 900
Reinforced Cabin 200
Point Defense Lasers(4) 25 each
Plasma Cannon(3) 180 each
Point Defense Laser Arrays(4) 25 each
Short Range Missile Launchers(2) 100 each
Wings(2) 500 each
Forcefield 1,000*
*Regenerates at 10% per melee
Height: 40 ft
Width:140 ft wingspan
Length: 140 ft
Weight: 195 tons
Cargo: 6 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 25 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 9
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.9% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 3 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: 208 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Ship Systems, plus:

*Advanced Flight Controls-----The Pundi is responsive on the controls, and enjoys a +1 to dodge/roll in space and atmosphere.

Weapons Systems:
1) Boosted Plasma Cannons(3)----Nosan executives originally wanted to arm the Pundi with stock weapons from their existing inventory, after failing to coax Dorian Photonics to slip them the same extended-range lasers as outfitted the Atonex. Fortunately, smarter heads made the argument that a military-grade vessel had to have military-grade weapons, and anything less would be seen for what what it was; an attempt to shave costs at the expense of customer survivability. Instead, they went with a boosted plasma weapon, knocked off from other sources. The greater damage spread of the plasma cannons is seen as a selling point, hopefully covering the still weak range of the weapons.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: 5d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH; under control of the automated defense system, the cannons have 5 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Medium Range Missile Launcher---Copied from the Atonex, the Pundi mounts an identical nose-mounted MRM launcher. .
Range:Varies by Missile Type, x4 in space
(Kitsune Values: 160 miles in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-6
Payload: 60 MRMs

3) Short Range Missile Launchers(2)---Also unashamedly ripped off from the AddisonTechmar design are the SRMLs abaft the bridge.
Range:Varies by Missile Type, x4 in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in an atmosphere and 500 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10
Payload: 50 SRMs per launcher, 100 total.

4) Point Defense Laser Arrays(4)---In place of countermeasure launchers or a jamming array, Nosan instead mounted a modified PDS array off their Adulac-series Space Yachts. THE PDS is ordinarily automated, but can be manually operated if necessary.
Range:(Lasers) 5,000 ft in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 20 miles in space)
Damage:(Lasers) 6d6 MD per blast
Rate of Fire:(Lasers) EGCHH; under control of the automated defense system, the lasers have 5 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

Variants:
Most aftermarket variants of the Pundi swap out one or more of the weapons systems for mssiile racks, or take a countermeasure launcher, jamming system, or mine dispenser in place of the PDS system.
Many operators remove the FTL drive components altogether and have the extra saved power and space dedciated to a stronger shield system or improved sensors/communications.
The United Systems Alliance’s Office of Positive Outcomes sometimes uses Pundis(among other vessels) in plausible deniability ops; these ‘burner ships’ usually have jiggered ID transponders(or none at all) and a few other tweaks such as modified engies, bomb racks, or sensor spoofers, and are often disposed off after the op(though one ship was used to infiltrate a commando squad into a pirate darkport, and was rigged to explode quite spectacularly to cover the team’s exfiltration).

[SolCannibal]

Armaments-wise, Nosan came up short; they attempted to get Dorian Photonic, AddisonTechmar’s laser supplier, to provide them with the same high-performance pulse laser cannon as they did for AT. Nosan figured that Dorian, smarting from the disaster at Dynobi, would be desperate for business, and would be less likely to honor unspoken exclusivity privilege in its deals with AT. Nosan’s contacts, however, had misread the intelligence and didn’t know that DP was bouncing back faster than expected, thanks to its Hartigal contracts and acquisition of new plant to replace the Dynobi industrial park facilities. Dorian thus rebuffed Nosan’s advances and turned down its offer, which would have had DP supplying Nosan with the same weapons at decidedly fire-sale prices. Unable to secure the better laser weapons, Nosan fell back on its inhouse suppliers, which provided the Pundi with inferior range armament, but kept the price down.

Soon after the Pundi was rolled out, AddisonTechmar attempted to sue Nosan Corp., claiming the design was an infringement on their own Atonex. However, the courts appealed to determined that the Pundi did not use any illegally appropriated proprietary technologies, and that anybody could mount guns on one of their own designs. AT lost the case, and while Nosan had nothing to do with influencing the courts through their criminal connections, they did quickly seize the opportunity of being in a righteous position for once, and incorporated theit court win into their sales campaign, portraying themselves as victims harassed by a greedy corporation trying to prevent a winning competituve design from the market.

Irony of ironies, Nosan's failure in obtaining Dorian Photonic's high-performance pulse laser cannon and relying on its inhouse suppliers instead pretty much saved them from illegally appropriated proprietary technologies suspicions in the design infringement claims.

The United Systems Alliance’s Office of Positive Outcomes sometimes uses Pundis(among other vessels) in plausible deniability ops; these ‘burner ships’ usually have jiggered ID transponders(or none at all) and a few other tweaks such as modified engies, bomb racks, or sensor spoofers, and are often disposed off after the op(though one ship was used to infiltrate a commando squad into a pirate darkport, and was rigged to explode quite spectacularly to cover the team’s exfiltration).

And now i'm thinking of some scavenger operation somewhere collecting droves of discarded and lost Pundis from all kinds of sources for recycling or production of large quantities of "unnumbered" units for their own use in a variety of misdirection operations or reselling in chop-shops.

Or Yoncatech and 'Phython' (Omegasgundam's Least Old One of Dumb Thuggery and Getting Away With It) making their own knock-offs of the ripoff, for extra entertainment.
Bonus hilarity in that being much more used to replicating the far better quality Naruni gear, Yoncatech's attempt at "quick, cheap imitation" coming out superior to Nosan's "original" is far from improbable....

[taalismn]

I gotta return to Yoncatech some day.....I still have a few unfinished designs of theirs to launch...so many old threads/ideas worth revisiting....

And I've already had a super-genius use a Nosan hull to hide a super-advanced drive system and other bleeding edge technologies.

[SolCannibal]

I gotta return to Yoncatech some day.....I still have a few unfinished designs of theirs to launch...so many old threads/ideas worth revisiting....

How about a place for Yoncatech to have shipyards or a depot/transfer center to coordinate deliveries across the 3 Galaxies?
Maybe Nhobsi, native planet to the Nhobskhet and now one of the Splugorth-owned YoncaTech Corporation’s main employee worlds?

And I've already had a super-genius use a Nosan hull to hide a super-advanced drive system and other bleeding edge technologies.

Their ubiquity is their main value for all too many purchasers!

[taalismn]

Golgan Republik ‘Cosher’ Fighter-Bomber
(aka ‘Binjo-Bopper’,’ Missile-stick’. ‘Manned Missile Box’)
“We always had a concern that if the Golgans got pushed to the wall, it would pressurize their R&D and bring out their inventiveness. Well, the Cosher’s a prime example of that; they clearly learned from watching our stuff in action. Now admittedly, thirty-forty years ago, the Cosher would have been hot stuff coming from the Republik, but nowadays it’s at best a second-tier combatant. As a offensive fighter, it’s too slow to be a good raider without escort, but deployed in a defensive role, if the Golgans can pump out enough of them, it’s going to complicate our plans to take the war back to the Golgan homeworlds.”

“Maybe we should be flattered that the Golgans think badly enough of us to imitate us.”
----Anonymous WZT employee.

“The Cosher is a design that reeks of desperation; there’s faster and fancier, and lots more that carry more; the Cosher is a quick-build for a shrinking cadre of professional experienced pilots and a growing pool of green recruits, strapped into kludged missile-boats and sent out to tease enemies with hard point defense. Expect to see low missile economy and lots of ripple-fire-and-run strikes.
Also expect to see a lot of friendlies get smoked by lucky strikes amidst all that missile-spam. If the Golgans throw enough newbies at us, quantity assumes a quality all its own.”

The ‘Cosher’ is a Great Golgan War design that has come into being out of desperation and inspiration. Based on the Republik’s program to reverse-engineer Naruni desigms like the Broadsword, and from observations and reverse-engineering of United Systems Alliance hardware, especially the WZ-MDF-0080 Volley-Master and the WZT-YF-203 Slingshot. The Cosher was intended as an easily-produced fighter-bomber and missile boat, inspired by similar platforms the Argosy discovered its higher-end enemies were arming its neighbors with.
The ‘Cosher’ is based on the frame of the RASCF-V2.8 Sorgan, itself a Golgan knockoff of the Naruni Broadsword Fighter. The Cosher uses the same general frame, cockpit, and propulsion train as the Sorgan, but replaces the dagger-profiled forward fuselage with a heavier, blunter, more barge-like box-prow holding the main missile launchers. The greater mass of the missile launchers reduces the performance of the Sorgan-engines, but as the Cosher is intended to engage opponents at long range with missile volleys, this wasn’t considered much of a problem.
Coshers are being turned out by the same plants producing Sorgans, with several new plants coming on line to produce Sorgans starting out building Coshers while awaiting supplies of rail guns or G-cannon to build the dogfighters. Notably, the Golgans produce the Cosher with two powerplant options, a standard twenty-year (approx.) installation and a shorter-lived(and less expensive)’decader’ that can last half that before needinga total replacement of the power system. This is seen as another sign of the increasing desperation of the Golgans(or, as some would have it, optimism that their nation will still be around in ten T-years to replace those spent powerplants or ships altogether).

Type: RASCFB-V3.1 Cosher
Class: Aerospace Fighter-Bomber
Crew: 1
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 500
Reinforced Crew Compartment 200
Main Missile Launcher Array 180
Mini-Missile Launchers/Disruptor Pylons(2) 100 each
Variable Forcefield 150 per side (900 total)
Height: 10 ft
Width: 33 ft
Length: 55 ft
Weight: 36 tons
Cargo: Small space in cockpit for a survival kit, small arm, and a few personal possessions
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 10-20 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 2; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 8
(Kitsune Values: 40% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.8% of light speed per melee)
Market Cost: 63 million credits; 54 million for the 10-year powerplant-equipped models.
Systems of Note:
Standard Starfighter Systems, plus;
*Modular Crew Compartment---The Cosher’s RCC is designed to be modular, allowing for specialized cockpit pods(such as optimized for Zebuloid pilots) to be swapped in and out. The module also makes for a convenient escape pod in an emergency.

Weapons Systems:
1) Linked Pulse Disruptors(2)---The Cosher carries the same pulse disruptors as equip the V4.5 Jasta and RASCF-V2.8 Sorgan fighters, but moves them out of the central fuselage and into turrets at the ends of the blocky ‘wings’, similar to installations seen on PS/ASI ‘Hesperia’ and WZT Slingshot fighters . This allows the guns to engage targets in a full arc of fire around the fighter, including to the rear. This is also seen as a cost-saver by the Assemblage bean-counters, as it appeals to the Golgan favorig of rear-defense, without the cost of having to install separate rear-fixed gun emplacements.
Range: 1 mile in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per single gun, 2d6x10 MD for burst from both guns simultaneously(counts as one attack), plus 25% of that to everything in a 10 ft radius of the point of impact.
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Multi-Missile Launcher Array---The barge-like prow of the Cosher is one large missile launcher battery.
Four configurations exist:
a) Mini-Missiles
Range: Varies by Missile Type(Mini-Missiles) generally x4 in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere and 100 miles (161 km) in space.)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type(Mini-Missiles)
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-32
Payload: 128

b) Short Range Missiles
Range: Varies by Missile Type( Short Range Missiles)
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type( Short Range Missiles)
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-16
Payload: 72

c) Medium Range Missiles
Range: Varies by Missile Type(Medium Range Missiles)
(Kitsune Values: 160 miles in atmosphere, 80,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type(Medium Range Missiles)
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-12
Payload: 48

d) Long Range Missiles/ Ion Torpedos----6
Range: Varies by Missile Type(Long Range Missiles)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
(Kitsune Values: 8,000 miles in atmosphere, 4,000,000 miles in space.)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type(Long Range Missiles)
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-6
Payload: 6

3) Mini-Missile Launchers(2)---These remain unchanged from the Broadsword/Sorgan.
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-16
Payload: 32 per launcher, 64 total

b) Modular Launchers(2)---This is the original proposed design which would allow the Sorgan to carry a varied missile loadout similar to the Jasta’s. Modular pods in the wings can carry 12 short-range missiles apiece OR 6 medium range missiles OR 2 long range missiles. It’s been ‘ported over to the Cosher program.

4)(Optional)Countermeasure Launchers(2)----The Golgans rediscovered countermeasure launchers over Altess Prime and in subsequent campaigns in the Periphery(ex-Golgan buffer zone) States where local resistance forces have been supplied with better missile systems. The Argosy fighter corps howled for the same sort of antimissile decoy systems they saw used by USAJC and USA-supplied fighters, and increasingly by CCW-produced aerospacecraft, Subsequently a field refit kit has appeared that fits the Sorgan with two aft countermeasure dispensers providing at least basic flare/chaff defense, though the Republik has yet to (re)produce the ‘smarter’ decoy types deployed by other polities. This has become factory-standard on the Cosher.
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 16 per launcher

Variants:
None, aside from the two different powerplant fits; the Cosher is too new to have yet spawned any variants. Arguably, it already IS a variant of the Broadsword/Sorgan line.

[taalismn]

WZT Aragosi Singleship---Asteroid Scout
(aka ‘Goosi’, ‘Rocktailer’)
“The Aragosi’s got some streamlining, which is unusual in a Belter ship; most deep-spacers are pure creatures of zero-gee, but the ‘goosi’s able to skim gas giants and take on extra remass without having to deploy ballutes or aerofields.”

“Don’t touch that rock, Pendleton! I’m scanning a dozen very dense and very consistantly spheroid masses inside that thing! Call me paranoid, but a cluster of things like that reminds me suspiciously of either warheads or eggs! Either way, we do NOT want to be poking things like that up close! Now whether that’s somebody’s weapons cache or something’s nest, I’d rather we put some, no make that CONSIDERABLE, distance between us and it before messing around with them!”

The Aragosi is a small prospector scoutship produced by WZTechyards. Originally marketed to Belters taking contract with WZT and the United Systems Alliance(what with the growth in mining and industry), the ship has since become available to the open market.
In form, the Aragosi somewhat resembles Paladin Steel’s ‘Skate’ submersible fighter, only several times larger, with a thicker V--finned tail, and swivel-mounted thrusters/armatures in place of the stubby wings.
The Aragosi comes standard with a Class-E FTL drive, allowing it to shuttle between nearby star systems, or make mini-jumps inside a solar system.
The tail, which on the Skate would hold a magnetic anomaly detector, on the Aragosi holds a gravitic scanner. Normally and according to conventional thinking, a rearward-mounted gravitic sensor would be fouled by emissions from the contragravity drives, but the Aragosi uses a newly developed system wherein the CH-flux is actually shaped and projected to -improve- the sensor’s capabilities. The Aragosi g-detector acts as a modified grav-wave ‘radar’, sending small gravitic pulses towards targets and analyzing back-resonance to determine densty and mineral content of a target asteroid by specific gravity. This speeds up mineral surveying. The sensor array also acts as an extra-powerful g-wave radio and emergency beacon.
As a ‘singleship’ meant to be crewed by at most 2-3 people, the Aragosi is heavily automated, with multiple redundancies in case of accidents.
WZT offers these ships at a 15% discount for anybody willing to work a 3-6 year contract working for them.

Type: WZT-AGAGSv-03 Aragosi
Class: Scoutship, Interstellar, Light, Astronomical/Geophysical Survey
Crew: 1-3
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 1,500
Bridge 600
Engine Bloc 900
Lateral Thrusters(2) 500 each
Sensor Array 360
Height: 36 ft
Width: 80 ft
Length: 100 ft
Weight: 320 tons
Cargo: 95 tons internally
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 9
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.9% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 3 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: 43 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Civilian Starship Systems, plus:
*Type 2 Recycling----Compact onboard system recaptures and recycles air, water, and most solid wastes/garbage with 85% effiency. It can even provide basic nutrient material(few Belters would call it ‘food’), thought quality and nutrientional values tend to decline markedly without fresh material added to the tanks regularly.

*Grapplers--Used for grabbing small objects, or attaching to asteroids or other vessels. The grapples are not articulated enough to engage in melee combat.

*Air Brakes----Deployable airfoils for maneuvering in high atmosphere

*Atmosphere Scoops----The Aragosi has a compact gas collection/filtration/concentration system that allows it to extend its fuel supply by scooping upper atmosphere gas. Depending on the atmospheric composition and density, however, this may require several passes to get enough into the tanks.

*Deep Scanners---Penetrating radar, gravitational sensors, molecular analyzers/spectrographs, and other geoscience instrumentation for probing for minerals. The grav-wave ‘radar’ system alone is 80% accurate in determining a target object’s mineral content with just 10 minutes’ of scanning at a range of 50 miles.

*Radio Flare--This is a high-intensity radio beacon that can be set off in an emergency, sending out a broad spectrum /frequency signal reporting the deploying ship, its last known position, and if possible the nature of its emergency. The signal runs full blast for 15 minutes before burning out. Most Belters consider this a device of last resort, and greenhorns who immediately pull the flare deployment for anything less than dire energency are often chided mercilessly afterwards.

Weapons Systems: None standard, but has provision for mounting 1-3 point defense weapons. Many operators will carry a military-grade laser for utility work and ‘communications’ and a mini-missile launcher for destructive surveying, but rarely anything heavier.

Auxiliary Craft: None standard, but many rockhounds carry a micro-gravity scooter or two, or a suit of space-mobile power armor.

Options:
Belters tend to customize any stock vessel they acquire as soon as they buy them, and the Aragosi is no exception. Most operators will upgrade the drives, shields, armaments, or external instrument mounts.

Variants:
The growing popularity of the Aragosi has allowed the intelligence apparati of the USA to disguise scout and surveillance vessels as prospectors in regions where commercial prospectors are not immediately regarded as spies. These vessels generally have faster FTL drives, better shields, scanner-scrambling/decoying hulls that give misleading information to attempted deep scans, and concealed surveillance sensors. There is no one set of specifications for these spyships; they tend to be custom-ordered by the individual organizations and operating regions, after establishing faux histories for their operators.

[taalismn]

PS/ASI ‘Sandran ’ Interstellar Scout
(aka ‘Pirate-snitcher’, ‘Sniffer’)

“Fitting the Sangu driver pod to the Sandran wasn’t entirely a simple matter of snap-on, plug and play; we mounted two nacelles on the Sangu to allow any gravitic fluctuations in the engins to smooth and cancel each other out. When we mounted a single engine pod on the Sandrans, we got pitching and rolling until we extended the damper vanes on the stern and installed a second set of gravity flanges amidships behind the sensor ring. That cured the problem and helped shape the gravity waves better. Made for smoother flight too.”

“You would think deep space is so very very big and -empty- that vrtually all of our time we’d be bored out of our wits because there’s -nothing- out there. Giess again; we tnd to run into so much weird stuff they should pass laws banning it. And it always seems to happen to scout ships, not vessels better equipped and manned to handle that sort of thing. Exolife, cosmic phenomena, other species’ and planets’ scoutships...that last especially. We’re cruising empty space, and DING! we run across somebody else’s scoutships. Most of the time they’re not looking for us or anything in general to shoot at, but they often come with all sorts fo zaniness that nevertheless tries to infect us. Those other crews are pretty crazy that makes them dangerous just by reason of insanity, like the ship we encountered that was going around blowng up planets...”

“Sandrans aren’t supposed to get into open combat if they can at all avoid it, but we’ve had plenty of instances of our scoutships coming across coming across some pirate working over a hapless merchantman and not waiting for reinforcements to arrive before plunging into the fight. Got a lot of scouters chewed up that way, but then too a lot of pirates learned the hard way not to mess with us, because even our recons got a load of fight in ‘em.”

“We’re not the pointy end of the stick; we’re more the hat on the end of the stick...you know, the one that gets the hell shot out of it, letting the stick-holder know there’s somebody out there shooting at her? But somebody’s gotta take a look-see, and there are enough crews convinced of their invulnerability to undertake the task.”

As PS/ASI’s techbase advanced, many of their first-generation starship programs were sunsetted. For instance, the PSS/ASI-DDS-01 Sangu Light Destroyer, superceded by the PSS-DDES-15 Hauberk Light Destroyer , would increasingly be withdrawn and reassigned, with their FTL drives removed, to duty as in-system patrol/defense craft. Construction of new Sangus has slowed to a trickle, with most new production being taken over by the smaller yards of new USA members as introductory work. However, despite their first generation origins, many of the components, especially the engines, of the Sangus were still technologically sound and well-tested, and production of those systems continued. A number of new lower-tier designs emerged to take advantage of the availability of parts and many new security and commercial craft use military-grade systems first introduced on the Sangu.
The Sandran is a new mid-tier light interstellar reconnaisance vessel. Light, fast, easy and inexpensive to maufacture using off-the-shelf components for the most part, the Sandran can be deployed i large numbers to patrol and surveil the large stretches of territory in the United System Alliannce’s operating areas. It is a monohull configuration built using a single propulsion nacelle off the Sangu destroyer design. Forward of the engine bloc is extra fuel tanks, avionics sections, and a life section. Surrounding this is a sensor ring with additional propulsion stabilizers and racks for deployable probes. Though initial examples had a conical prow, later craft have a hemispherical sensor dome in front, improving all-around sensor coverage. Two ring sensory arrays provide additional arcs of surveillance.
Though not as stealthy as WZT’s WZ-SR-011 Wraith Stealth Recon, the Sandran is less expensive to operate and longer-ranged. It lacks the laboratory facilities and geoscience sensors of a full exploratory craft, but is well-suited for tactical reconnaisance and general survey duties.
With a lesser overall mass than the Sangu, the Sandran’s single engine unit can push the light craft faster. Armament is light, as the Sandran is expected to run from fights, and not stay around to slug it out.
The Sandran is deployed by the USAJC as a fleet scout, courier, amd liaison craft. Sales have also been made to USA affiliates and some Irregular units.

Type: PSS/ASI-S07 Sandran
Class: Interstellar Scout
Crew: 8+1-4 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 3,000
Bridge 2,000
Sensor Arrays(2) 1,000 each
Medium Energy Weapon Mount(1) 300
Point Defense Turrets(4) 80 each
Long Range Missile Launcher(1) 360
Engine Bloc 3,500
*Variable Forcefields 800 per side(4,800 total)
*Shield Refresh Rate is 10% per melee
Height: 72 ft
Width: 72 ft
Length: 250 ft
Weight: 2,900 tons
Cargo: 120 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion, w/ 20 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 16 (typically cruises at Mach 9 )
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.4% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5.4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 66 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard(PW) Starship Systems, plus:
*Full Sensor Suite---Specialized sensor pallets include radiation detectors and counters, spectrographic analysis devices, gravitic sensors, electromagnetic activity readers, and optics packages.
*Long Range Radar---Phased Array Search and Early Warning Radars---Maximum Resolution Range of 3.5 million miles
*Laser Targeting-------100,000 miles
*Communications Suite:---Long Range Radio and Video
*Laser Communications ---Tactical (i.e. ship-to fighter/shuttle)Range: 50,000 miles
*Optical Tracking Clusters----These are transparent blisters fitted with gimbal-mounted high-resolution visible-light/IR/UV optical telescopes that continually scan the arc of sky before them. Linked to the navigational arrays and other tracking sensors, and to a series of highly-sophisticated near-AI search and discrimination software systems, these sensors attempt to detect objects that have low radar returns/sensor signatures, such as stealthed vehicles, iceballs, or asteroids. The high-tech equivalent of the man in the crow’s nest with a pair of binoculars.

*’Enhanced FTL Radio-----Scouts need powerful and fast long-ranged commuications to relay their findings back to base, in the event thay cannot deliver the information in person. Effective range of the signal is 9,000 light years, and signal propagation is estimated at 30 light years an hour

*Passive Stealth Systems----The Sandran uses passive stealth systems to reduce its sensor signature by as much as 60%, but in order to achieve this, the ship cannot be under acceleration, and its engines must be running ‘cold’.

*’EW Suite---Stealthing features, such as an electronic ‘blanket’ to reduce tell-tale EM emissions from the drive systems by as much as 60%. Engaging the ‘stealth mode’, however, reduces drive efficiency, by as much as 20%.
The Sandran also mounts a more conventional EW suite for jamming enemy communications and targeting systems. Communications Jamming has a 5,000 mile range, is 90% effective against civilian systems, and is 65% effective against more sophisticated channel-jumping military communications suites. Missiles and guided weapons are -4 to strike.

*’Squawk’ Beacons-----Scoutships have a dangerous role, and they often run into overwhelming trouble. To make sure their discoveries get reported back to base, even if the ship itself is destroyed, Sandrans are fitted with quick-launch FTL radio beacons that blast clear of the ship and began fast-squirting the latest data downloads into FTL-pulsewaves. Ideally, the beaons avoid detection by an enemy and can get clear of any jamming, even if the launching ship is destroyed. Sandrans typically carry 15-25 such beacons.

*Oracle Mk V---Standardized PPE sensor system, Omni-diRectional Aura Classification and Locator Electronics---A TW development of the SNARLS PPE Scanner, this system consists of a series of advanced Technowizardry scanner systems(TW optic mounts, static crystal PPE meters, and whatnot) stationed around the ship, feeding into a central computer system with special TW-derived interface program algorithms. The system is designed to detect incoming magical/paranormal attacks and alert the crew to them(hopefully in time to allow them to take defensive measures). Linkage to the Ectofiber Grid has increased the sensitivity and effectiveness of this system.
See Aura: Slightly different than the spell in that it can scan an entire target such as a ship or station. The enchantment can be used to target a single individual but only have one tenth normal range when being used in that matter. Costs 60 P.P.E. per activation due to extended range. Range: 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) in space and 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: Gives an approximate count of the number of life forms onboard. Gives the average level of experience, highest level of experience, and lowest level of experience [Given in these terms: Low (1-3), medium (4-7), high (8th and up).] Tells if there is any magic onboard. Gives if there are any psychics onboard (Mind Block will prevent detection), Gives a general count on the amount of P.P.E. the target has (basically the P.P.E. of the crew and any devices which store P.P.E.). Detects if there is any kind of possession. Finally sees if the crew or ship has any unusual aberrations.
• See the Invisible Sensors: The ships has several special optical and other sensor systems with see the invisible on them. Same as spell and used at will (requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: 2,000 miles (3,220 kilometers) in space and 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: Can see forces, objects, and creatures which can turn invisible, or are invisible. Can also see vaporous beings and astral bodies.
• Sense Magic: The ship has sensors which the give the ability to detect active magic. Similar to spell and used at will (requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: 200,000 miles (322,000 kilometers) in space and 200 miles (320 km) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: detects the presence of magic if within detection range of ship and gives bearing on magic and basic range although not exact position. Detects active enchantments but will not generally detect spell casters in general.
• Sense Rifts: Ship has sensors which effectively allow Rifts to be detected. The system can be (requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: 500,000 miles (805,000 kilometers) in space and 500 miles (805 km) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: Detects the presence of Rifts (including those created by Rifts Drives) and unlike when detecting magic gives position very accurately.

Weapons Systems:
1) Medium Energy Weapon Mount(1)---Though considered a ‘popgun’ by most warship architects and operators, the inclusion of this weapon is considered controversial by some. Some believe that the relatively heavy weapon encourages socutship crews to stay and fight in situations where they would be much better off avoiding a fight and leaving the scene as soon as possible. Others feel that the weapon gives the scoutship, which is more often than not skirting great danger to itself, an added degree of deterrence, as the longer range of the heavier weapon helps keep enemies that much farther away.
As such, some operators remove this weapon altogether, and instead install extra sensors or jamming gear.

2)Point Defense Turrets(4)---- Four slots for standard WZT/ASI PDS weapons.

3) Long Range Missile Launcher---The inclusion of LRMs is meant to give the scoutship a long range stand-off capability. THe LRML can also launch probe-drones and beacons.
Range: Varies by missile type(speed and range x4 in space)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by missile type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-16
Payload: 80 LRMs. Additional missiles/drones can be carried as cargo and loaded into the launcher magazine as needed.

4) Decoy/Countermeasures Launchers----- Three separate sorts of countermeasures are available:
The first is simple sensor-reflective chaff and thermo-flares. These countermeasures are inexpensive and very effective against lower-end targeting systems and sensor equipment(such as that used by nations equivalent to the Coalition States on Rifts Earth), but are ineffectual against more advanced technology.
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
In space, anything flying at high speed through the cloud will take 2d6 MD +1d6 MD per every 100 miles of speed over 670 MPH.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 50 bundles are available per pod

The second system releases a nanotech swarm of active jamming pods and decoys that are programmed to emulate a spacecraft’s sensor signature, or, at the very least, bury enemy tactical communications in ‘white noise’.
Effective Range: 25 mile jamming radius
Duration: 5 minutes per pod-spray
Effects: Jams radio signals(75% chance of jamming military band command-guidance ordnance), and 60% chance of deflecting ordinary missiles.
Payload: 25 swarm packs are available per pod

The third system uses modified grav-pack drives and signal projectors to create a moving pattern of sensor signatures. The grav-pack mini-missile drives can go for 10 minutes before self-destructing, and can either be remotely directed or run a pre-set pattern.
Effective Speed: Mach 6
Duration: 10 minutes per pod
Effects: The decoys have a 70% chance of fooling enemy sensor operators and expert systems. They are are also +2 to enemy sensor-guided munitions to strike, increasing the chance that the missiles will elect to pursue the ‘louder’ sensor signature(the missile rolls to strike for both the original ship and each decoy deployed....highest to strike roll determines which target the missile(s) go after).
Payload: 20 decoys are carried, and can be deployed singly, or in ‘packs’ of 1-3.

Auxiliary Craft:
A pair of light shuttles can be slung in recessed external racks on the hull.

Variants:
Given the ‘bitzer’ nature of the Sandran’s construction, it’s not surprising that a number of variants have appeared.
* PSS/ASI-S07B---This variant features a detachable life section with its own FTL jump-drive, capable of making a 5 ly/hr escape flight.

* PSS/ASI-S07(TW)---Technowizardry-enhanced variant with PPE Powerstone generators powering a variety of protective systems, including magic hull repair, TW weapons installations, and the ability to ‘surf’ cosmic leylines.

* PSS/ASI-S07Mc----One of a growing number of ‘bigfolk’ ships reformatted for operation for ‘smallkin’, the ‘Mic-Dra’ has ‘expanded’ crew facilities for up to 100 crewmembers of Size Levels 1-3(maximum height being 3 ft tall). Ordinary-sized humans would be reduced to crawling through the ship corridors. ‘Mic-Dras’ often provide piggyback rides for smallkin craft such as flights of Hector- and Arabella-class starscouts and the PS/ASI-McSFR-04 Belisario Deep Space Scoutship(2 can be carried externally).

[taalismn]

PS/ASI/WZT “Steltilla’ Light Shuttle
(aka ‘Tour-Dome’, ‘Vizgo’ )
“Reminds me of one of those cheap snow-dome souvenirs they sell at spaceport tourist-trap concession stands...every time I see one parked on a concourse I want to shake it hard to see the contents fly around.”

“If you love aerial scenery, you’ll love the Vizgo’s window seating. If you have the sligtest trace of acrophobia or vertigo, you’ll want a center seat and pulling a hood over your head during flight operations.”

“Those bandits were not expecting this little bobber-dome to be packing heat, nor having a pilot who knew how to use it. Fifteen years as a drop-pilot in the Gilbertan Guard to my credit, and well-worth the run-up to see those ‘jackers get destroyed and -humiliated- by a tourist shuttle.”

The ‘Steltilla’ is a small civilian-grade shuttle used for short range travel. Originally designed and produced by PS/ASI, it has since been licensed out to be prodused by other shipyards in the WZT network.
The Steltila is a reinforced optexsteel dome sitting atop a propulsion base-disc outfitted with an annular drive ring. The dome is topped by a sensor/communications antennae mast. The shuttle lands on six fold up/out landing legs, and the interior is accessed by a drop-down elevator/ladderway in the underside of the craft. The same elevator slides aside internally to allow the access port to harddock with standard external airlock connectors. The optexsteel dome affords the pilot and passengers a full 360-degree view, making the shuttle popular with tour and safari groups, though the dome can be protectively and selectively opaqued to block light and radiation.
The ‘Steltilla’ is typically used for ship-to-planet and short range circum-lunar travel, but can make short interplanetary runs. Some operators heavily modify the propulsion section with FTL drives, making the shuttle interstellar-capable, but the Steltilla is not recommended as a long range star-transport.

Type: PS/ASI/WZT-PT-050 Steltilla
Class: Light Interplanetary Shuttle
Crew: 1-2, plus 1-8 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body(Top Dome) 400
Reinforced Crew Compartment/Inner Dome 120
Drive Ring(Lower Body) 450
Sensory/Communications Antennae 80

Height: 19 ft
Width: 30 ft
Length: 30 ft
Weight: 36 tons
Cargo: 4 tons, in addition to passengers
Powerplant: Nuclear-Fusion w/ 20 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 6
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.6% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) Not possible(see Options)
(Underwater) Fully amphibious; can float on the surface or operate underwater at 15 MPH, maximum depth 3,000 ft.
Market Cost: 7 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Shuttler Systems, plus:
*Thermal Resistant Heat-Refractory Tile Armor---Special heat-resistant materials designed for reentry vehicle shielding. Heat and plasma-based attacks do 1/4 damage. Note that this applies only to the underside and leading edges of the airframe.

Weapons Systems: None standard, but has provision for being fitted with two light weapons(WZT/ASI Light Weapons Mounts)

Options:
*Laser Reflective Armor (Mode )--- The dome can be tinted to a laser-reflective gold or silver. Lasers do HALF damage. VFLs can NOT adjust to compensate. Cost: 800,000 credits

*FTL Drive----Some operators go as far as to install an interstellar drive system, usually a CG-A or CG-B-class drive( 1/2 light years/hour respectively, and +10/20 million credits-----7/14 million credits if bought from WZT/ASI at the time of purchase with the WZT/ASI) for short hops.

*Forcefield Generator-----The SteltillaWZT/ASI is fully compatible with PS/ASI’s light forcefield module line:
---*VEFFG01RR Forcefield----Adds 100 MDC. Regenerates at 5 MDC per 5 minutes(1 MDC per minute). Cost: 90,000 credits, 290,000 credits with 2 year RTG.
---*VEFFG02 ForceField Generator----Provides 150 MDC, and costs 95,000 credits. 295,000 credits with 2 year RTG.
---*VEFFG02RR Forcefield----Adds 150 MDC and fast regenerator technology. Regenerates at 30 MDC per 5 minutes(or 6 MDC per minute) , thanks to improvements in field stabilization. Cost: 130,000 credits, 280,000 credits with 1 year RTG.
---*VEFFGL03RR Forcefield Generator---This is a self-contained unit with its own mini-powercell(good for three year’s operation) and a light (‘heavy’ by terrestrial vehicle standards)forcefield generator. 250 MDC and regenerates at 50 MDC per 5 minutes(or 10 MDC per minute).
Ot can be tied into the vehicle’s own nuclear powerplant for faster recharging(60 MDC per 5 minutes) but reduce energy weapon/rail gun rate of fire by HALF while this is going on.
Cost: 550,000 credits, 1.5 million credits with 3 year RTG.

---*VEFFGM04RR Forcefield Generator---This is generally regarded as a direct attack on Naruni’s forcefield market, particularly the N-50H generator. The VEFFGM04RR has a protective value of 360 MDC, regenerates at 75 MDC per 5 minutes(15 MDC per minute), and costs less than the N-50H, making it. Cost: 1 million credits, 1.6 million credits with 3 year RTG.
---*VEFFGH09 Forcefield Generator --- Generates a more powerful single field force shield of 900 MDC, but no regeneration without shutting the system down for 5 minutes, and is powered off the ship's own power grid. Cost: 480,000 credits

Variants:
*WZT-PT/A-050---’Flying Fishtank’ for aquatic species such as the QuimBek. Supports a liquid environment.

*WZT-LCT-050---Dedicated cargo-carrier variant that more often than not swaps the transpara-skin for a more opaque hull skinning. The passenger access has been replaced with a larger cargo lift better suited for loading/offloading bulk loads and the crew compartment reduced in size to a two man crew(can be flown by one) and 90 MDC to allow increased cargo capacity. . Payload capacity of 12 tons.

*WZT-LCT-050UvD---Drone version of the -LCT-050, using the PS/ASI ASTROS(AeroSpace Technology Robot Operations System)AI. The ‘Dome Drone’ is typically used for carrying hazardous or sensitive cargoes such as radioisotopes or biologicals, but some operators use them as automated ‘mules’ for mundane repetitive flight runs where it would be time-consuming and expensive to employ a live crew.
Programming:
*Pilot Space Vehicles---- Pilot Space Shuttle and Small Spacecraft. both at 84%.
*Pilot Related----Read Sensory Instruments, Navigation(ALW), and Navigation(Space), all at 94%.
*Communications---Radio:Basic 94%
*Mechanical---Spaceship Mechanics 80% (Diagnostics and recommended repair methods only; the system cannot affect repairs itself)

Actions/Attacks Per Melee: 4
Initiative +1

[taalismn]

AgroLanders
(aka ‘Agrodromes’)
“We’re going to need a hundred agrolanders to tide the Xephos colony over until they’ve licked their local wheat-rust problem. Good thing they held back their colony fleet landers as a reserve, because if they’d cracked open those green-domes and the native Xephosian micrology had infected their backup crops, we’d be looking at a mass starvation event already!”

“Damnit, I thought you said that pigeon would be trapped helpless in his little greenhouse if we seized his star yacht! You never bothered to check if his little retreat was maybe independentally space-capable?! That his rustic cottage dome had full lifeboat capabilities? Including its own jump drive?! Congratulations, our golden goose just flew the coop and we just blew our one shot at a set-for-life ransom! And now that bastard’s going to sic the feds on us! Pull out now, ditch the yacht, and get your ass back aboard, we have to haul out of the sector and maybe the whole galaxy and NOW!“

“Careful! This could very well be the last Gazarian Soulgulper in existence! We don’t want to disturb it any more than necessary during transport to the xeobiology station! Check the microhabitat systems again! And check the demolitions packages again! If this thing gets loose, we want to make absolutely CERTAIN it joins the rest of the soulgulpers in extinction!”

AgroLanders are specialized lighter-style cargo shuttles meant to carry envirodomed cargoes of life, usually flora, in relative safety, and maintain them viable through starflight(as part of the cargo of larger starship). These can be used to carry additional agricultural assets, or specialized environments for the transport of sensitive lifeforms. The enviropods can be detached in an emergency to serve as lifeboats, prevent contamination of the main ship, or as part of regular offloading operations. Depending on how the pods are equipped, they can be linked together to form free-orbit structures, maneuver and land in micro-gravity, or make one-way planetary reentry and landing as part of colony establishment. Agrolanders are a common sight around starting colonies, as a means of supplementing stored rations until local food production meets demand.

A typical agrolander is an armored greenhouse dome atop a contra-gravity lift and drive platform. Additional booster units can be attached if cicumstances require extra or repeated lift. A small cockpit holds the crew during free maneuvering, and also serves as an engineering station for monitoring the life support systems. Several other compartments can hold additional cargo or small laboratories for studying and monitoring embarked biota. The interior of the agrolander can be configured to maximize growing space, or as a terrarium-style microhabitat. Closed-cycle life support is standard, or at least as closed-cycle as possible, with the ship’s power supplemented by passive solar collection through the dome, which can be adjusted to pass select wavelengths of light and radiation.
Typical of the class is the HA-AgroL-C50, a Human Alliance design that has been around for centuries with only small changes to the basic design. The -AgroL-C50 has been copied by innumerable companies both in the Human Alliance and outside it(including WZT and PS/ASI), and it is generally regarded as a category standard.

Type: HA-AgroL-C50
Class: Agricultural Biota Cargo Shuttle
Crew: 5, but can be fully piloted by a single person or automated for simple landings/reentries
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 3,000
Cockpit 700
Landing Legs(6) 200 each

Height: 400 ft
Width: 850 ft diameter
Length: 850 ft diameter
Weight: 50,000 tons
Cargo: 15,000 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/50-year energy life, and solar power back-ups
Most agrolanders spend most of their time linked up to a starship or space station power grid.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 4
(Kitsune Values: 10% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.4% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) None standard(see Variants)
(Underwater) Fully water-sealed, but generally modified to float on water, rather than operate under it. Some variants, however, are capable of fully submersible operations.
Market Cost: 130 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Shuttlecraft-grade Systems.
*Class II Recycling----The rim and under-deck sections hold equipment for thorough recycling of air, water, and biomass, with provision for refurbishment of soil as well.
Weapons Systems: None standard, though some variants may mount anti-meteor point defense, or stunner weapons for wildlife capture.

Auxiliary Craft: None

Variants:
Innumerable, with specialized variants being produced to transport exotic biota.
Standard equipment varies, with some agrolanders carrying extra armor reinforcement, standard commercial forceshields, specialized cargo handling equipment, extendable solar wings, and other accessories.
A few variants have even been fitted with FTL drive capabilities, making them starships in their own right, although these are generally custom jobs commissioned by wealthy operators.

[taalismn]

(sensor ranges and TW sensors courtesy of Kitsune)

Corianus-Typhen-Rosette League ‘Duval’-class Heavy Cruiser
(aka ‘Ball-carriers’, ‘Far-Eyes’)
“Sitrep; looks like something just tripped the fourteen-lear mark on a course inbound to Rosette. Hard to make out mass at this distance, but it’s definitely bigger than a merchantman, and it’s moving faster than a commercial drive at six ly-pee-eech. It’s also coming in approximately from Sector Twolcott Romero-Alpha-Nine where we don’t have any units or friends we’re aware of. Estimated arrival at the inner defense zone is in seventy-eight minutes. I want two intercepts before then to get a better look at it and ideally identify it before it gets within a light of Corianus. -CT RSS Charger- takes point, -CTRSS Leyton- is back-up. Sending intercept courses now. Godspeed and good hunting.”

“What with the Golgans getting more aggressive, and the Empire acting more antsy in the Thundercloud, we were thinking of offering to sell the Corianus-Typhens some of our older Explorers as they were being replaced by newer marks, but it turned out the cee-tee-rose-ellers were already rolling out something equal to, and maybe even better than, what we were offering.”
----Commodore Fenschel D'Selis, Consiortium of Civilized Worlds, attached Thundercloud Command

“As independent deep reconnaissance platforms, the Duvals leave a lot to be desired, but as defensive, space-denial ships, they’re a lot better suited. With the right mix of escorts that can cover their weaknesses and take advantage of the Duvals’ long range sensors, they can make formidable squadron flagships.”

The establishment of the CTRL and the encroachment of more colonial activity in the Thundercloud Galaxy meant that the new CTRL Navy had far more responsibilities to handle. Not willing to simply wait for trouble to come knocking on the three core systems of the CTRL, Navy planners looked to modernize their fleet to be able to seek out and engage threats well outside the core systems.
The Duval-class grew out of efforts to salvage something of several naval projects already on the blocks when contact was reestablished with the CCW. Technology exchanges with the CCW rendered much of the existing Navy obsolete overnight. Rather than bargain with the CCW for older warships or trade with Naruni for more cutting edge designs, however, in order to preserve their independence, the CTRL decided to build their own, and invited in the more free-spirited WZTechyards for assistance. Most of the in-workup hulls already in Corianus’s shipyards were scrapped, but WZT saw that several of the laid-down ships could be converted to more modern CG drives and matter-antimatter powerplants.
The Duval was strongly influenced by observations of the CCW Explorer-class cruisers that brought Consortium envoys to the League. The CTRL Navy wanted a hard-hitting vessel that could range far and wide around the extended territories of the CTRL’s declared perimeter, and intercept threats before they made their way to knock on the Three Worlds. Long range sensors were a must, good intercept speed was specified, and a hard-hitting armament required in the new vessels.
Duvals carry a comparable main armament to the Explorers, but on a smaller hull. Troop capacity on the Duval was minimized in favor of more anti-ship armaments, ammunition, and fuel storage, even with the reduction in overall size due to the omission of most of the cryogenic remass tanks required by the older style fusion drives used by previous CTRLN vessels. As colonial development in the CTRL was still focused on their coreworlds, CTRLN planners saw little reason to burden the new cruisers with additional duties as troop transports or fighter carriers(these duties could be carried out more efficiently by several purpose-built types in the works). The Duvals would focus on deep space interdiction, with a mixed array of heavy armaments and advanced point defense systems to deal with spacecraft threats. Duvals also carry more physical protection than the CCW’s Explorers, despite having a smaller frame(or BECAUSE of it; a lack of large hangar and troop bays meant internal hull reinforcement could be stronger).
The changeover to a more energetic AM system as the primary source of power meant establishing more extensive AM production and distribution in the CTRL. However, as the Duvals would not be operating outside the already plotted territories of the League this was not seen as a problem. A backup fusion system, a holdover from the original pre-ReContact designs, provides emergency power on the Frontier in the event the antimatter has to be dumped or the system otherwise compromised, though the M/AM reactors are based on reliable CCW designs. Speed is about on a pare with most peer-polity cruisers and capital units; expected upgrades are already in planning to tweak the drives for faster speeds, crucial for interceptions and closing to weapons engagement ranges.
Duvals can be distinguished by their large spherical dorsal and ventral sensor arrays, blunt bows and lateral weapons nacelles.
Key to the Duval’s purpose and success is the large sensor arrays; the Duvals mount passive and active sensor suites larger than is normal for the weight-class of vessel. The large and prominent sensor spheres above and below the hull give the Duval excellent all-around sensor coverage, and are tied into an advanced targeting system, making weapons fire very accurate. The large arrays also make sensor upgrades easier, with talk about swapping in more sophisticated systems as they become available to upgrade capabilities. Right from the start, one of the standard sensors included in the Duval’s suite was the WZT/ASI ORACLE system, sets being made available to the United System Alliance’s CTRL allies amidst Minion War incursion fears.
The Duvals’ major shortcoming is a weak missile armament; the ships rely too much, in the opinion of some, on batteries of (albeit very accurate) direct-fire energy and kinetic weaponry. They also carry only a small complement of small craft, mainly dedicated to scoutships and EW platforms. This latter issue was nt seen as a problem, however, as Duvals are expected to act in concert with a patrol or battle group, and often act as the flag for destroyer and light carrier squadrons.
The CTRL is producing new Duvals, with a quarter of the current production run earmarked for export to the USA. Once the CTRLN’s projected needs are met, production will be switched over to meeting USA and affiliated orders.

Type: WZT/CTRL-CG-18 Duval
Class: Heavy Cruiser
Crew: 560+40 passengers and 40 aircrew complement.
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 150,000
Bridge 50,000
Long Range Sensor Arrays(2) 6,000 each
Lateral Main Laser Batteries(2) 7,000 each
Heavy G-Cannon Batteries(4) 900 each
Secondary Particle Beam Cannons(8 ) 600 each
Heavy Long Range Missile Batteries(3) 500 each
Point Defense Turrets(10) 360 each
Main Engine Bloc 72,000
Hangar Bay 20,000
Variable Forcefield* 10,000 each side(60,000 total)
*Variable Forcefields regenerate at 20% per melee
Height: 350 ft
Width: 325 ft
Length: 2,125 ft 2,475 ft/754 m)
Weight: 8.1 million tons
Cargo: 125,000 tons
Powerplant: Matter-AntiMatter w/ 50 year energy life
Backup Nuclear Fusion
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric, but rarely ever land and then only in specially-designed dock cradles.
(Sublight) Mach 10
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not Possible
Market Cost: Estimated at 35 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Enhanced Sensors---The Duvals carry sensors equal to larger vessels’ suites, and in some cases exceed them; radar range of 9 million miles, gravity sensors out to 90 million miles, and can detect FTL activity in real time out to 14 light years.

*Advanced Fire Control(All)----Improved avionics network the various hull sensors and fire control for more accurate targeting, a must when dealing with small agile targets such as fighters and missiles, and for tying in the long range sensors to the long range heavy batteries. Advanced Targeting Bonus: +4 to strike for point defense systems, +3 to strike for long range direct fire weaponry.
The new sensor arrays also give the ship’s own EW personnel a +10% to burn through enemy jamming.

*ORACLE Mk V---Omni-diRectional Aura Classification and Locator Electronics---A TW development of the SNARLS PPE Scanner, this system consists of a series of advanced Technowizardry scanner systems(TW optic mounts, static crystal PPE meters, and whatnot) stationed around the ship, feeding into a central computer system with special TW-derived interface program algorithms. The system is designed to detect incoming magical/paranormal attacks and alert the crew to them(hopefully in time to allow them to take defensive measures). Linkage to the Ectofiber Grid has increased the sensitivity and effectiveness of this system.
See Aura: Slightly different than the spell in that it can scan an entire target such as a ship or station. The enchantment can be used to target a single individual but only have one tenth normal range when being used in that matter. Costs 60 P.P.E. per activation due to extended range. Range: 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) in space and 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: Gives an approximate count of the number of life forms onboard. Gives the average level of experience, highest level of experience, and lowest level of experience [Given in these terms: Low (1-3), medium (4-7), high (8th and up).] Tells if there is any magic onboard. Gives if there are any psychics onboard (Mind Block will prevent detection), Gives a general count on the amount of P.P.E. the target has (basically the P.P.E. of the crew and any devices which store P.P.E.). Detects if there is any kind of possession. Finally sees if the crew or ship has any unusual aberrations.
• See the Invisible Sensors: The ships has several special optical and other sensor systems with see the invisible on them. Same as spell and used at will (requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: 2,000 miles (3,220 kilometers) in space and 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: Can see forces, objects, and creatures which can turn invisible, or are invisible. Can also see vaporous beings and astral bodies.
• Sense Magic: The ship has sensors which the give the ability to detect active magic. Similar to spell and used at will (requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: 200,000 miles (322,000 kilometers) in space and 200 miles (320 km) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: detects the presence of magic if within detection range of ship and gives bearing on magic and basic range although not exact position. Detects active enchantments but will not generally detect spell casters in general.
• Sense Rifts: Ship has sensors which effectively allow Rifts to be detected(requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: 500,000 miles (805,000 kilometers) in space and 500 miles (805 km) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: Detects the presence of Rifts (including those created by Rifts Drives) and unlike when detecting magic gives position very accurately.

Weapons Systems:
1) Main Laser Batteries(2) ----Sponson-mount capital-class laser cannons. They have their own dedicated generators for faster rate of fire.
Range: 40 miles in atmosphere, 130 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 130 miles in atmosphere, 130,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x1,000 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Heavy G-Cannon Batteries(12; 3x4)---Triple-mount ballistic cannon. They can also fire flak rounds.
Range:(Palladium) 10 miles(40 miles in space)
(Kitsune) 10 miles(10,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per 80 rd burst, 2d6x100 MD for a dual burst, 3d6x100 MD for a triple burst
(Fragmentation rounds) Do 5d6 x10 MD to a 100 ft wide area with an 80 rd burst, 8d6x10 MD to a 150 ft wide area double cannon burst, and 1d6x100 MD to a 200 ft wide area per triple cannon burst. Targets of the frag rounds are -2 to dodge.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 32,000 rds(400 bursts) per cannon. Additional ammunition is carried as cargo and can be loaded to the gun mafazines in as little as 15 minutes.

3) Secondary Particle Beam Cannons(16; 8x2 )---Double-barreled medium naval PBCs, for engaging smaller warships and missiles.
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 14 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 14 miles in atmosphere, 14,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per shot, 4d6x100 MD per double-barreled blast
Rate of Fire: Three times per melee per barrel
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

4) Heavy Long Range Missile Batteries(3)
Range: Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-20
Payload: 100 per launcher; 300 total. Additional missiles may be carried as cargo, and reloaded from storage.

5) Point Defense Turrets(10)---CTRL ships use laser and mini-missile PDS turrets of CCW pattern, but USA ships use their modular PDS to customize their vessels.

Auxiliary Craft:
18 aerospace fighters
6 shuttles

Variants:
*WZT/CTRL-CGM-18B----Concern over the long-range sensor-carriers in a fleet element being armed primarily with direct-fire weaponry, instead of types that could take advantage of the greater engagement range afforded by the advanced sensors, led to several Duvals having their main laser batteries and half their G-cannon ballistics being replaced with three long range missile batteries. This has DOUBLED the cruisers’ volley-strength. About 30% of new construction Duvals will be of the -CGM-18B variant.
1)Heavy Long Range Missile Batteries(+3, total of 6)
Range: Varies by Missile Type(Long Range Missiles)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type(Long Range Missiles)
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-20
Payload: 200 per launcher; additional missiles may be carried as cargo, and reloaded from storage.

2) Heavy G-Cannon Batteries(6; 3x2)---Reduced by HALF in favor of more missile throw-weight. Not everybody is happy with the reduced anti-fighter/missile capability.


*WZT/CTRL-CG-18Dx----A concept under consideration for the USA-earmarked Duvals would be to make the lateral weapons nacelles modular in addition to the PDS being customizable, allowing the heavy lasers to be swapped for other heavy energy weapons, such as heavy tachyon cannon, particle beams, and plasma torpedoes.
An improved drive is also possible; WZT/ASI engineers have hinted at boosted speeds of Mach 12 or 13, bringing the Duval into parity with the Explorer.

[taalismn]

GNEverse Variants:

*PS/ASI-Crv018 Windfola Interstellar Corvette:
-*PS/ASI-Crv018M
(aka “Kinwind’)
“Unless you absolutely have to in a dire emergency, avoid traveling on a cee-arv-vee-zero-eighteen-em; I had to and it was even more cramped than the old models. I traveled cargo-class because there wasn’t any other option. Had to wear a sustain-suit, takr torpor drugs, and couldn’t get off my back for a week while the ship made a speed-run back to Sector Central. OF COURSE we had to get waylaid by pirates along the way....somebody may have caught wind of my diplomatic mission, and the captain had to engage in some fancy maneuvering that got us out of a trap, but left me with a nice collection of bruises and cargo-strap burns. Shoulda taken a couple of weeks off on arrival to recuperate, but the same urgency that got me to fly star-smallkin had me on the clock as soon as we docked and I could peel off and yank out the plumbing, hose myself down and pour myself into a set of official greens. ”
----Renwick Dodd, Senior Operative, United Systems Alliance Interworld Trade Commission

“Small does not mean harmless. And modern engineering means it doesn’t matter if the trigger buttons are the size of your thumb or the size of a pin-head; both can unleash a nuke storm on you. The same beings that can sneak through your air vents and geek you in your bathroom now fly combat starships..”

The Windfola was a light, fast, and agile attack corvette of the United Systems Alliance that unfortunately was TOO light and too cramped for extended patrols. The type was soon being withdrawn from frontline service in favor of the Haizam corvettes and Hauberk Destroyers. The Windfolas seemed destined for duty as system-defense ships and early retirement to mothball yards, until somebofy suggested converting several to accommodate all-Smallkin crews. With the crews averaging 1-2 ft tall, the formerlly cramped life-sections opened up considerably, with room to spare for special mission personnel and passengers..
With appropriately-sized power armor and powered-waldoes to handle the larger engineering components, the smaller-statured crew can run the ships just as efficiently as larger BigFolk crews. Smallkin crews also tend to be more resistant to g-forces and so can handle the sort of hard-jarring maneuvering Windfolas typically must engage in to avoid getting hit.
As part of their rennovations, all -Crv018Ms have been upgraded to Bloc IIIs with Conformal Wing Modules and an engine booster to offset the added mass.
The result has been a substantial number of Windfolas formerly destined for second- and third-tier reserve roles being diverted back to active courier, scout, escort, and deep penetration operations.

Changes/Modifications:

Type: PS/ASI-Crv018M
Class: Interstellar Corvette
Crew: 30+30 passengers(must be Smallkin, Size Level 1-3)
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 2,900
Bridge/Cockpit 900
Wings(2) 1,600 each
Outrigger Nacelles(2) 900 each
Secondary Hulls(1-2) 1,000 each
Point Defense Turrets(4) 100 each
*Variable Forcefields 1,000 per side(6,000 total)
*Shield Refresh Rate is 10% per melee
Height: 45 ft (60 ft with one pod attached, 75 ft with two pods attached)
Width: 280 ft
Length: 250 ft
Weight: 5,800 tons unloaded
Cargo: Small cargo bay with a 100 ton capacity
(See pods, below)
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion, w/ 20 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 6; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 10
(Kitsune Values: 55% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.0% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: 69 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Ejectable Escape Module---The entire front end of the ship can eject to become a lifeboat. The command section is streamlined for atmospheric re-entry and can float.

*Escape Pods---Standard model escape pods are located in vertical launch cells in the midsection,. Has 4x4(24)-man life pod modules with emergency first aid gear, emergency beacons, crash kits, water filtration/recycling, and 1 month of life support/rations.

*Stealth------- Various measures have been implemented, such as fine-tuning of electrical systems and engine processes and an electronic ‘blanket’ to reduce tell-tale EM emissions from the drive systems by as much as 60%. Engaging the ‘stealth mode’, however, reduces drive efficiency/speed, by as much as 25%.
The Crv018M also mounts a more conventional EW suite for jamming enemy communications and targeting systems. Communications Jamming has a 5,000 mile range, is 90% effective against civilian systems, and is 65% effective against more sophisticated channel-jumping military communications suites. Missiles and guided weapons are -4 to strike.

*Bonus:+10% to atmospheric maneuvering from added streamlining.

Weapons Systems:
1) Nose Mount Medium Lasers(2-4)---Unchanged
2) Point Defense Turrets(4)---Unchanged
3)(Optional)Modular Nacelle Mounts(2)---Unchanged
4)(Optional)Modular Outrigger Pods(2-4)---Unchanged
5)(Optional)Modular Outrigger Hulls(1-2) ---The two large hardpoints on the ventral and dorsal sides of the main hull can be fitted with the following:
b) Passenger Pod---Outfitted for smallkin, the passenger module can accommodate up to 300 people(must be Size Level 1-3).

u) Dock Module---The -Crv018M can carry a module with docking clamps and ports for 2 -McSFR-04 Belisario scouts, or 12 -McSFR-03 Hector, -McSFR-02 Veterok, or -McSFR-01 Arabella scouters.






*PS-PSS-LHMP-ADST-25 SunChaser Aerospace Multipurpose Corvette/Deep Space Transport
Heavy Wing Sunchaser(-LHMP-ADST-25Hw)
“The ability to carry more cargo and more firepower’s going to put the Sunchaser line firmly in the deep black for Aegis and ingratiate a good number of murder-hobo parties to the United Systems. And though they strenously deny it, it CAN’T be a coincidence that they released this design so soon after both Naruni and Hartigal introduced their latest light combatant starships in the market.”

“If you’re going to go all-out gun on the Heavy’Chaser, be sure to max on your powerplant as well; regular commercial drivers won’t carry the demands of a full weapons loadout. Fortunately, a number of subcontractors under the Aegis and Big W-Zee umbrella will be happy to provide you with good milspec reactor systems that fit quite nicely with the Chaser line. Deudex makes an especially good and affordable swap-in in its Solarstorm line.”

The Sunchaser corvette has become a staple light combatant, scout, courier, and light general transport of the Rim since its introduction by Aegis Stellar Industries. Part of its success has been due to its built-in modularity and easy customization. The engine bloc is easily swapped out for other powerplants, the forward hull is a modular pod, and the sensor and weapons mounts are all designed to accommodate a variety of standardized accessory systems. Few Sunchasers remain in the showroom ‘clean state’ once bought, as buyers almost immediately begin customizing their new acquisitions.
A new variant that has been appearing in the Rim with increasing frequency, the Heavy Wing Sunchaser takes the modularity one step further, replacing the standard production model wings with thicker and sturdier airfoils(also now targetable as seperate structures) able to carry heavier loads on larger hardpoints, or heavy weapons(the cargo clamps and weapons hardpoints are now combined). An additional pair of weapons mounts have been added, and the existing ones upgraded to use standardized WZT/ASI weapons modules.
The Heavy Wing Sunchaser is being snapped up by small paramilitaries and space security organizations who typically max out on weapons and defenses to create ‘pocket destroyers’. Runners looking for something with more carry-weight and firepower than the Wasp are also buying HWSunchasers as soon as they roll off the lines, and pre-order books are filling up for future production.
There’s further rumors of a ‘Super-Wing’ Sunchaser using upgraded wings seconded from the Windfola program.

Changes/Modifications:
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 4,000
Nose Mounts(2) 150 each
Wing Foils(2) 900 each
Weight: 4,000 tons
Market Cost: 450 million credits
Weapons Systems:
1) Nose Mounts(2)---The HW adds a pair of fixed position weapons mounts abreast of the bridge, firing forward. These are compatible with WZT/ASI’s Medium Weapon Mounts.

2) UnderWing Superheavy Hardpoints(4)---The HW now carries four hardpoints compatible with WZT/ASI’s Super Heavy Weapon Mounts, or they can carry 60 tons of cargo each. Or each can carry 2 drones, typically either the UACV-SF012 Enryu or WZT/JAa-UAF-07 Starling.

3) Dorsal/Ventral Turrets(2)---Mostly unchanged, but they are now compatible with WZT/ASI’s Heavy Weapon Mounts.

4) Light Weapon Mounts(6, 4 main body---2 each ventral and dorsal---one on each wingtip)---These are compatible with WZT/ASI’s PD Mounts.

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel/Aegis Stellar Industries StarChaser Multipurpose Corvette
(aka ‘Wide-Wing Windster’, ‘Dragstar’, ‘Starblitz’)
“Basically a lonely Sunchaser met a lonely Windfola out on the Rim and they had a lovechild they named the StarChaser.”

“The usans are building up quite the impressive mosquito fleet with all these light fast transports. When they aren’t busy ferrying small cargos between their various worlds, they’re carrying for other people, making money and incidentally visiting lots of places and seeing lots of things. It’s making sneaking around the Fringe without being noticed a lot more difficult. And the modular hull pods make quickly refitting into fast attack platforms a snap. The courier that spotted you flying suspicious-like yesterday can become the attack cutter hunting you tomorrow.”

“Just as we predicted, the Sunchaser’s spawned a lineage of light combatants and runners that are becoming iconic of the Rim. And that’s not counting the technowizard variants that are popping up. The good news is that most of these ships and spinoffs are in the hands of pirate-hunters and not pirates, which is making a career of banditry a real unhealthy proposition in a substantial portion of the Rim these days.”
----Captain-General Vicen Tracluw, CAF

“I know of more than a few gray-port ship-redetailers who are complaining that their business in modding runners is suffering because Aeh-Es-Eye is rolling out ships that are already maxed...the hotrodders can’t push them any further. Of course, I’ve also heard from others that their business is booming because they’re seeing a surge in runners and pirates who want their ships to be able to get AWAY from the new Aegis ships wearing PMC and system patrol colors. And there’s the cutters and modders who see the new ships as a personal challenge to come up with new ways to push the enevelope.”

“The StarChaser’s a bit wider and sprawls over more space than its predecessor, so it can’t quite get through the same hangar doors and tight squeezes, but it’s got serious legs that can outrace a lot of fighters. It’s at about the upper limit pf practicality for a runner in terms of size and cost, so only the bigger outfits will be acquiring these ships, but I suspect that somehow we’ll be seeing examples show up in the hands of the Free Worlds Council sooner rather than later.”

Following close on the heels of the Heavy Wing Sunchaser, the StarChaser can be considered a descendent based on a heavily modified ‘Super-Wing’ Sunchaser using upgraded wings, engines and other components seconded from the Windfola program.. Taking advantage of stocks of spare parts, unassembled sub-assemblies, and factory tooling, the ‘Super-Wing Plus’ marries the wings of the Windfola to the central fuselage of the Sunchaser, adds twin Winfola engine assemblies, and mounts the modular weapons hardpoints of the Heavy Wing. The dual engine and reactor systems add redundancy to the design, as well as high speed; advances in engine monutoring software reduce the burden on the ship’s engineers during high-speed running. Extra reinforcing improve the armor values of the main hull slightly, and the dual engines/powerplants have allowed an improvement in shield strength, variable forcefields being standard on the StarChaser.
All the extras mean a heftier price tag for the StarChaser over the older Sunchaser, but with the improving economies of the Fringe, a growing number of potential operators can afford these vessels,
The StarChaser has already replaced the Windfola as the light combatant corvette of choice in a number of USA sectors. Roomier and faster than the Windfola, the StarChaser is more comfortable on long range patrols, reducing crew fatigue and greatly expanding the radius of action of these ships.

Type: PS-PSS-LHMP-ADST-26 StarChaser
Class: Aerospace Multipurpose Corvette, Aerospace/Deep Space Transport
Crew: 10 (however, can be run effectively for short periods/or with extensive automation with a skeleton crew of two)
Main Hull accommodations for 15 passengers(40 under cramped conditions)+ possible Main Pod accommodations
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 3,900
Bridge 900
Sensor Array 500
Heavy Turrets(1-2) 250 each
Light Turret Mounts(1-4) 150 each
Main Engines(2) 900 each
Wings(2) 1,000 each
Outrigger Nacelles(2) 900 each
Modular Nose Pod(1) 800-1,000
Variable Forcefield *1,600 per side (9,600 total)
*Shield Refresh Rate is 10% per melee

Height: 80 ft(main antennae mount)
Width:: 325 ft at wingtips
Length: 400 ft
Weight: 3,900 tons + pod weight
Cargo: 200 tons internally, + up to 100 tons externally on the wing clamps
See also Options with regards to pods..
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 50 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 6; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 15
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.5% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: 92 million credits
Systems of Note:
*Full Sensor Suite---Specialized sensor pallets include radiation detectors and counters, spectrographic analysis devices, gravitic sensors, electromagnetic activity readers, and optics packages.
*Long Range Radar---Phased Array Search and Early Warning Radars
Maximum Target Resolution: 200,000 miles
*Laser Targeting-------100,000 miles
*Communications Suite:---Long Range Radio and Video
*Laser Communications ---Tactical (i.e. ship-to fighter/shuttle)Range: 250,000 miles
*Optical Tracking Clusters----These are transparent blisters fitted with gimbal-mounted high-resolution visible-light/IR/UV optical telescopes that continually scan the arc of sky before them. Linked to the navigational arrays and other tracking sensors, and to a series of highly-sophisticated near-AI search and discrimination software systems, these sensors attempt to detect objects that have low radar returns/sensor signatures, such as stealthed vehicles, iceballs, or asteroids. The high-tech equivalent of the man in the crow’s nest with a pair of binoculars.

*Airlocks---The StarChaser has four main airlocks/access points; two lateral airlocks with extending pressurized docking tunnels and universal docking collars, a bottom main access/airlock lift(used when landed), and a large cargo lift forward of the ground personnel lift. If so desired, the nose pod can fitted with its own docking collars and airlocks.

*Life Pods---Has 4 eight-man life pod modules with emergency first aid gear, emergency beacons, crash kits, water filtration/recycling, and 1 month of life support/rations.

*Detachable Bridge Life Module----In addition to the life pods, the entire bridge module can detach and serve as a lifeboat. It has somewhat more maneuvering thrust capacity than the standard life pods, allowing it to rendevouz with the lifepods and shepherd them together(‘rafting’ them to share resources).

Weapons Systems:
1) Nose Mounts(2)---The StarChaser adds a pair of fixed position weapons mounts abreast of the bridge, firing forward. These are compatible with WZT/ASI’s Medium Weapon Mounts.

2)Dorsal/Ventral Turrets(2)---Mostly unchanged, but they are now compatible with WZT/ASI’s Heavy Weapon Mounts.

3)Light Weapon Mounts(6, 4 main body---2 each ventral and dorsal---one on each wingtip)---These are compatible with WZT/ASI’s PD Mounts.

4) (Optional)Modular Centerline Nose Module---The StarChaser retains the Sunchaser’s forward mission module that can carry cargo, passengers, extra sensors, special equipment, or weaponry. Same as for the Sunchaser:
a) Accommodations---1-30 passengers
b)Tug Module---Rarely used, but available; most operators compare it to using a racehorse as a plough-drudge.
c)Cargo---100-200 tons
d) Recon/Sensor Pods
e) EW Pod
f)Fighter Cradle---Still carries one fighter
g) Forcefield Generator Pod--A more powerful forcefield generator that produces a battlescreen of 3,000 per side (18,000 total) MDC
h)Missile Pods---- 150 SRMs OR 80 MRMs OR 20 LRMs OR 10 cruise missiles OR 1 Heavy Nuclear Missile/Rock Buster
i) Cannon Pods---Type A(Gauss Cannon), Type B(rail gun+ 16 MRMs(or 32 SRMs)), Type C(2x KKCannon)
j)Energy Weapon Pods---- Type A(Laser Cannon), Type B(X-Ray Laser ), Type C(Ion Destabilizer),Type D (Particle Beam Cannon),Type E (Plasma Torpedo Launcher)

And as always, new pods are in development and custom work is always available.

5) (Optional)Modular Nacelle Mounts(2)---The forward facing of the thruster nacelles at the ends of the wings are actually modular mounts for weapons; each mount can accommodate ONE of the following:
a) Mini-Missile Launcher
Range:Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-20
Payload: 200 missiles per launcher

b) Short Range Missile Launcher
Range:Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10 each launcher
Payload: 100 per launcher

c) Medium Range Missile Launcher
Range:Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 160 miles in atmosphere, 80,000 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-8
Payload: 80 missiles each launcher.

d) Long Range Missile Launcher
Range: Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-8
Payload: 40 missiles per launcher

e) Point Defense Laser Array(2)
Range: (Palladium) 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: ECHH, as an automated defense system linked to a radar/sensor system, has a +4 to strike, and four attacks per melee.
Payload: Effectively unlimited

f) Laser Cannon
Range: (Palladium) 3.5 miles in atmosphere, 7 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 7 miles in atmosphere, 700 miles in space)
Damage: 6d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

g) Ion Cannon--(ionization rules courtesy of Henning Rogge)
Range: (Palladium) 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values) 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per blast,
In addition to physical damage, the cannon does EM damage. Percentage of EM damage is determined in relation to target’s main body((damage/main body)x100=percentage). For every 10% of damage from main body in ion damage, target will be -1 to strike, parry. and dodge. In space target acceleration will be reduced by 15%, in atmosphere top speed will be reduced by 15%. Roll once on critical hit charts in Phazeworld or Conversion book as appropriate.
If target takes 60% of main body in ion damage, ship or vehicle will be disabled completely. All weapon, navigation, and other systems will shut down and need to be repaired/replaced to work again/reboot.
Does NO damage against non-mechanical/electronic targets.
The ion cannon is equally effective against bionics
Rate of Fire: Five times per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

h) Plasma Cannon
Range: (Palladium) 2 miles in atmosphere, 24,000 ft/4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values) 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space
Damage: 5d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload:Effectively unlimited

i) Particle Beam Cannon
Range: (Palladium) 1.5 miles in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

j) Point Defense Rail Guns(2)
Range: (Palladium) in atmosphere, 5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 5 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per 20 rd burst(can only fire bursts)
Rate {of Fire: EGCHH, as an automated defense system linked to a radar/sensor system, the “Button Gun” has a +2 to strike, and four attacks per melee.
Payload:8,000 rd drum(200 bursts)
Cost: 30,000 credits

k) Gravitic Rail Gun
Range: (Palladium)12,000 ft in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD per 50 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 800 bursts each gun. Additional ammunition drums could be stored as cargo, and replaced within 15 minutes.

l)Heavy Autocannon/200mm MB Massdriver Cannon(PS-MDJ200M)
Range: (Palladium)8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16 miles in atmosphere, 1,600 miles in space)
Damage:High Explosive(HE)---- 5d6x10 MD to 55 ft radius
High Explosive Anti-Tank(HEAT)----6d6x10 MD to 15 ft radius
Fragmentation--- 4d6x10 MD to 75 ft radius
Plasma-----1d6x 50+15 MD to 60 ft radius
(APFSDSDU)(Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot Depleted Uranium) 8d6x10 MD out to 15,000 ft, 4d6x10+5 MD out to maximum range
Rate of Fire: Three times per melee
Payload: 120 rds

m) Forcefield Generator --- Generates a single field force shield of 900 MDC

n) Jamming Pod----Bundled standard ECM suite for confusing sensor-guided weapons; -5 to strike, scrambler field; confuses radio transmissions in an 80 mile(Kitsune: 8,000 mile) radius, particle beams do HALF damage, and 45% chance of deflecting standard missiles(i.e.; ‘dumb’ missiles). Taking two pods does not result in cumulative bonuses; only system redundancy.

o)Tachyon Scatter Gun(2)
Range: (Palladium)6 miles (10,000 m) in space w/ 3 mile wide arc(cannot operate in atmosphere)
(Kitsune Values: 600 miles in space)
Damage:2d4x10 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload:Effectively Unlimited

p) Plasma Torpedo Launcher
Range: (Palladium) 2 miles in atmosphere, 4.8 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4.8 miles in atmosphere, 480 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD to 15 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire: Three times per melee
Payload:Effectively unlimited

q)Tractor Beam Emitter----Effectively rated for 500 tons dead weight, but can be used for imparting small changes in momentum/direction to ships/structures several times that mass. Range: 25,000 ft

6)(Optional)*External Modular Outrigger Pods(2-4)---Each wing has a hardpoint, one under and one over, that can be fitted with a modular pod. These tend to produce substantial drag in atmosphere, reducing the ship’s in-atmo maneuverability(reduce atmospheric speed by 10% and -1 to dodge), so many operators prefer to leave the wings in ‘clean’ state, and only fit the hardpoints when operating in deep space.
a)Mini-Missile Launcher----100 MMs(Volleys of 1-10)
b) Short Range Missile Launcher----48 SRMs(Volleys of 1-12)
c) Medium Range Missile Launcher----24 MRMs(Volleys of 1-6)
d) Long Range Missile Launcher----8 LRMs(Volleys of 1-4)
e) Cruise Missile Launcher---3 per hardpoint(Volleys of 1-3)
f) Heavy Gravity Rail Gun Pod
Range:3 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 10,000 miles in space)
Damage: 5d6x10 per 20 round burst
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 3,000 rds(100 bursts)

g) Anti-Missile Point Defense Laser Pod---A pod mounting a swivel mini-turret and independent target acquisition/fire control, used for point-defense against enemy missiles.
Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere,1,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 per pulse blast
Rate of Fire: Eight attacks per melee round
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
Bonuses: +4 to strike

h) Plasma Torpedo Launcher
Range: (Palladium)10 miles in atmosphere, 20 miles in space
(Kitsune Values) 10 miles in atmosphere, 10,000 miles in space
Damage: 1d6x100 MD to an 80 ft diameter blast radius
Energy ‘torpedo’ has a disruption MDC of 30
Rate of Fire: Every other melee
Payload:Effectively Unlimited

i) Decoy/Countermeasures Launcher----- three separate sorts of countermeasures are available:
The first is simple sensor-reflective chaff and thermo-flares. These countermeasures are inexpensive and very effective against lower-end targeting systems and sensor equipment(such as that used by nations equivalent to the Coalition States on Rifts Earth), but are ineffectual against more advanced technology.
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
In space, anything flying at high speed through the cloud will take 2d6 MD +1d6 MD per every 100 miles of speed over 670 MPH.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 50 bundles are available per pod

The second system releases a nanotech swarm of active jamming pods and decoys that are programmed to emulate a spacecraft’s sensor signature, or, at the very least, bury enemy tactical communications in ‘white noise’.
Effective Range: 25 mile jamming radius
Duration: 5 minutes per pod-spray
Effects: Jams radio signals(75% chance of jamming military band command-guidance ordnance), and 60% chance of deflecting ordinary missiles.
Payload: 25 swarm packs are available per pod

The third system uses modified grav-pack drives and signal projectors to create a moving pattern of sensor signatures. The grav-pack mini-missile drives can go for 10 minutes before self-destructing, and can either be remotely directed or run a pre-set pattern.
Effective Speed: Mach 6
Duration: 10 minutes per pod
Effects: The decoys have a 70% chance of fooling enemy sensor operators and expert systems. They are are also +2 to enemy sensor-guided munitions to strike, increasing the chance that the missiles will elect to pursue the ‘louder’ sensor signature(the missile rolls to strike for both the original ship and each decoy deployed....highest to strike roll determines which target the missile(s) go after).
Payload: 20 decoys are carried, and can be deployed singly, or in ‘packs’ of 1-3.

j) Cargo---25 tons of additional cargo can be carried in each pod, though it cannot be accessed from inside the ship.

Options:
The full range of options available to the Sunchaser is available to the StarChaser.
Variants:
None official yet, but given the propensity of operators to modify even already-heavily modified designs, variants would seem inevitable. TechnoWizardry models are already rumored to be in the works.

[taalismn]

United Systems Alliance Courier Services and Ships
(aka ‘Burn-runners’, ‘Ultra-Mail’, ‘Parcel Propulsors’)

“Like raw speed? Join the Courier Corps.”

“Damn it, that’s the third courier this trip that’s bullied its way ahead of us on approach! Those arrogant intercoursers think they have priority of the spacelanes over -everybody-! ‘Urgent communiques’ my @$$, I bet they’re just carry digital copies of ‘Playbeing’ in their comp-safes!”

“Virtually essential to hard-running under acceleration is a good comfortable crash couch. If you’re going to be spending a week effectively on your back under three or more gees, a comfy seat is a MUST. Some of the new models are virtually life support systems in themselves; they automatically adjust for higher gees, they feed, hydrate, massage, exercise, lotion, medicate, and clean up after you. They also deodorize you. Nose-blind as some crews can become, in my experience the latter feature has saved many a crew from snapping on a long run. So if your ship doesn’t already come with auto-couches, invest in a good model; it will pay off in the long run. Trust me on this.”

“Courier crews are crazy hard-livers; many are Rim brush-jumpers or runners who went legit, others went in for adventure with a steady paycheck. They tend to spend much of their time on-call waiting tediously for a rush order, if they aren’t doing regularly scheduled runs, and then it’s long dashes under hard steady thrust to the destination, dodging gravity wells and anomalies along the way. Then it’s emergences to let the engines recharge, and hoping there’s no pirates waiting for them. Then it’s wait for a reply to carry back and maybe redline the engines again.
So when courier crews get off-time, they often do so in some pretty exotic places, and they hit the local scene hard to blow off steam, unwind, detox, and live it up. Only newbie fighter-jocks or runner riff-raff are dumb enough to poke up trouble with couriers, even gov-employ, on downtime leave ...Many couries got life support cybernetics, booster-augs, or jump-drugs still fizzing in their systems. The veteran spacers let the dumber newbies be punching bags for the couries, the better to let the couries work it out of their systems. ”

Due to its far-flung and dispersed holdings, reliable communications are a paramount concern of the United Systems Alliance. While they are working on connecting as many systems as they can with transit wormholes, or at least communications wormholes, not all space in the regions they hold is amenable to the formation of wormhole connections, and even when successful, the process is slow and expensive. FTL radio communications are extensively used, but space/time perturbations and anomaly zones can interfere with the uniform progression of signals, or stop them altogether(requiring extensive and vulnerable networks of relays to work around them), and furthermore FTL transmissions can be, with the right equipment, picked up on and decrypted by unwelcome parties. And then there are those messages and small parcel-payloads that cannot be consigned to a regular freighter service. For Those, the USA relies on a large fleet of courier craft, many f which, but not all, are built by the USA’s own in-house shipyards, WZT echyards and Aegis Stellar Industries.
While the USA hosts a number of privately-owned and operated courier services and engages the services of organizations such as Andisivon Interstellar Messenger and Olympia HyperCourier, the United Systems Amalgamated Communications Service (USACS) operates the largest single fleet of courier-craft, maintaining pools of ’on-call’ couriers to carry priority messages and shuttle(if comfort isn’t an issue) important individuals about the USA and neighboring territories. Most regional space stations and bases, and especially transit hubs, will have a stable of courier craft ready to go, or to relay-swap out with courier craft experiencing mechanical difficulties or needing to relieve their crews. In honor of the old Wulfen Empire/Ancient Rome network of road/space way- and maintenance stations, these outposts are sometimes refered to as mutationes(earning the workers stationed there the mickname ‘mutants’).
The average courier craft is light, with disproportionately large engines and minimalist habitat sections. Courier engines are expected to be fast, hard-driving, and reliable in operating at maximum performance for protracted long runs, while also be dependable enough to lay cold for long periods and go from a cold start to full burn as quickly as possible. When not running flat-out, or waiting in rapid-turnaround to deliver possible replies, couriers spend more time than other ships in shop having their engines overhauled.
Crew accommodations aboard couriers tend to be spartan, and space for extra passengers is minimal. Typically, if a passenger need to be transported, they ride in special accommodation pods or in suspended animation stasis(as is often the case with non-contagious medical patients being transported to special care facilities).
All couriers will have a secure heavily-shielded inner vault for small and especially sensitive cargoes(sometimes this is just a hard-drive data-vault), that can only be opened by special key codes(often available only in the hands of the recipient). Depending on the sensitivity of the cargo/data, the vault may be fitted with a self-destruct, to prevent the contents from falling into the wrong hands.
Courier crews tend to be stoic and more than a little eccentric; with long-suffering mental endurance born of cramped quarters, hard acceleration, and intense attention to the needs of the ship and the perils of the course. While aerospace fighter pilots may get the glamour for being hotshots, even they acknowledge that courier crews, especially on the Rim, are crazier than they are and arguably the better overall pilots and crews. Courier crews must plot fast and efficient courses through the hyperlanes and gravitational obstacles that can adversely affect CG drives, and they must avoid trouble that almost always outguns them. Enduring long runs in close quarters under high acceleration also tests the nerves and tolerances of courier crews; courier crews see some of the highest turnover in the USA government fleets, and those crews that do stay together have some of the tightest working bonds in the service.
Couriers are, because of their cargoes, prime targets for pirates and privateers. They tend not to carry extensive armament, usually only point defense types(missile systems are rarely fitted, so as to save mass), if any at all, relying on high speed and a degree of stealth to outrun trouble. Couriers carry better than average sensor systems to better spot traps and pursuers in advance, as well as to chart efficient and safe courses ahead. Because of their advanced sensors, couriers also act as scouts, and are expected to report any unusual activity or changes in conditions along their routes.

WZT/ASI Vessels Commonly Modified for Courier Duty:

*PS/ASI LInstelAAT-03 Scobee Light Interstellar Transport------Possibly the smallest of the super-sprinters, Scobee couriers have been compared to bicycle messengers. On longer runs, because of the close quarters and accommodations, these vessels have been named ‘atrophiers’ and ‘rump-rashers’ for ailments attributable to forced crewmember inactivity. Scobee-class couriers are generally made by attaching an oversized engine pod with a courier drive(sublight speed of Mach 11 and FTL speed of 5-5.3 ly/hr).

* PSG-ASI-018 Frontera Medium Multi-Component Interstellar Transport------ The roomy rear cargo hulls were useful in accommodating PS/ASI/WZT’s first oversized attempts at manufacturing Class-G FTL drives. The first PS/ASI-manufactured vessel to exceed 7 light years an hour was, in fact, an up-engined Frontera.

*PS/ASI Allnut Light Aerospace Transport, FTL-capable------Similar to the Frontera, these converted light transports had the room for the early domestically-produced high-end FTL drives. Similarly, these conversions remain in service because, until they open up their enhanced drives, they appear no different from thousands of other unremarkable light transports on the spacelanes. The far-end courier conversions can make Mach 11 sublight and 5.6 light years an hour in FTL at the cost of 2/3s of their cargo capacity.

*PS/ASI-AASTFTL-4 Nighthawk Medium Aerospace Assault Transport------A few of these stealthy ships have been converted into dispatch carriers. Messenger-Nighthawks reportedly can hit sublight speeds of Mach 12 and FTL speeds of 5-6 ly/hr.

*PS/ASI LInstel-SC027 Auriga Light Interstellar Transport------ Re-engined for extra speed and endurance, Aurigas are often used as a ‘torch-runners’ on high speed courier routes. The fastest mods have clocked at Mach 15 and 6.2 light years per hour.

*PS/ASI-LCrv-29 Irpull Patrol Ship------Lightened with the removal of much of its armament, a ‘QFTL’-communications version of this vessel has been used for interstellar courier duties. Fitted with boosters and an FTL drive, it can hit speeds of Mach 17 and 5-6 ly/hr.

*PS/ASI-LCrv021 ‘Haizam’ Heavy Aerospace Patrol Fighter/Light Corvette------A number of these light and versatile ships have been modified into dispatch boats. Most courier upgrades are capable of Mach 11-12 and 5-5.5 light years per hour.

*PS-PSS-LHMP-ADST-25 SunChaser Aerospace Multipurpose Corvette---The Sunchaser and its StarChaser cousin, maxed-out on engines, are frequently used for fast courier/light transport duties. Unmodified sublight speed is an already impressive Mach 15 and some mods have been reported as edging Mach 17.

*PS/ASI-DDC09L ‘Nageyari’ High Speed Corvette------ The ‘Tadpole’ is often used as a government dispatch runner. Unmodified sublight speed of Mach 15, but some tweaks to the FTL drive have allowed supralight speeds of 5.8 light years per hour.

*PS/ASI-Crv018 Windfola Interstellar Corvette------A number of Windfolas have been fitted with booster units instead of armament pods and used as ‘burn-runners’ with a sublight speed of Mach 12 and FTL speeds of 5-6 ly/hr.

*PSS/ASI-DS-15 Hikyaku Heavy Space Scout/Courier------Pretty much the heaviest vessel that can qualify for a ‘courier’ designation, these ‘hellrunners’ have reputations for braving active warzones and coming out the other side to accomplish their missions. Mach 20 and 6.6 light years per hour.

The United System Alliance has also used FTL-capable aerospace fighters as fast couriers for short-jump runs:
*PS/ASI-AFB-29 Chimbane Heavy Aerospace Fighter/Strike Vehicle---PS/ASI have constantly been pushing the envelope with new propulsion on their ‘hot rod strike fighter’, and a number have been used as dispatch carriers. Some reports claim ‘cigarette-boat’ messenger conversions capable of sublight speeds of a blistering Mach 23 and FTL speeds of 6 light years an hour; presumably the pilots were heavily auged or cyborgs and the engines needing rebuilding after such hard runs. The forward armaments pod is replaced with a secured cargo pod and is sometimes modified as a drop-drone, being released just short of the destination to make its own way to the retrieval point.

*PSVS-TAV-SFB-16 Mammatan Aerospace Fighter-Bomber----The powerful and roomy Mammatan frame can, in place of armaments, accommodate advanced FTL drives, making it handy as a short-run courier. The -TAV-SQC-16D can hit FTL speeds of 6 light years/hour and a jump distance of 64 light years before needing an hour to cool down/recharge.

*PS/ASI-SFB-26 Jatar Strike Fighter/Bomber----Stripped of much of its armament, and re-engined for boosted speed, the Jatar is often seen serving as a fast dispatch courier. Listed performance speeds for Jatar-QCs are Mach 11 and 5 light years per hour.

* PS/ASI-FB-28 Sarkal Aerospace Strike Craft----Another short-run sprinter when fitted with high-end FTL drives(6 light years per hour ) , Sarkals have been known to carry their high speed , fairly glowing with atmospheric reentry heat, virtually to the doorstep of their delivery destinations.

*PS/ASI-McSFR-04 Belisario Deep Space Scoutship----A courier version of this ship, meant for very small-statured beings, has been developed. Instead of manned mini-spyships, it delivers courier-pods. The main change is in the FTL speed, with 6 ly/hr being the posted figure.

*WZT-YF-203 Slingshot Heavy Fighter---A courier variant exists, the WZT-YFC-203C Rimshot, capable of Mach 11 and 5 light years per hour.

*WZ-HSI-027 Blackbird High Speed Interceptor------The high profile reputation of the Blackbird, especially in the hands of known eccentric Irregulars, makes the vessel a prime courier, or at least suspected of being a courier, especially after its drives have been modded(from a baseline of Mach 13 and 5 lightyears per hour). The Blackbird, however, is also a victim of its own success; its appearance in spacelanes tends to draw attention, and whether or not it’s actually acting as a courier, it often gets targeted by criminal elements looking for a score of concentrated valuables.

*WZ-RS-052 Wasp Light Runner/Singleship------ This vessel type’s reputation as a runner singleship makes it almost synonymous with ‘courier’ as a legitimate job. The Wasp sees no end of drive modifications to constantly push the limits of the ship’s already ‘insane’ drive performance( Mach 18 and a Phase Drive FTL speed of 7.3 Light Years per hour). However, its small size also means that more extensive equipment installations are limited, and the Wasp is typically reserved for shorter sprint runs.

*WZ-SRD-X Ecto Stealth Recon Drone------ Though hardly acknowledged as even existing by the USAJC and affiliated operators, these stealthy drones have been known to be used as couriers in sensitive regions. Typically they are ferried to within a few light years of their target destination before being set loose. Sublight speed of Mach 35(!) and FTL speed of 4 light years/hour, though some later models have reportedly upped that to 5-5.7.

*WZ-SR-011 Wraith Stealth Recon------Not the fastest courier platform out there, but one of the stealthiest. It’s harder to remain hidden at high velocity, so these ships tend to be used on shorter runs that don’t require long-duration spitball flying.


Example Purpose-Built Couriers:

PS/ASI ‘Tabellarius’ Interstellar Courier
(aka ‘Candlestick’, ‘Tabby’, ‘Sprintlers’)
“Courier crews can be dangerously foolhardy when it comes to pushing the envelope. They’ll try all sorts of tricks to save weight and shave off inefficiency, just to route more power to their engines and get an extra cee-fraction or parsec-rate out of their drives . That includes dangerous stuff like lowering the buffers on their inertial dampers and going heavy the whole trip. We also see a lot of CELESTE DYNE augs harness up on the couriers. They started out tanking up on caffeine boosters, then more illicit stuff before the astro-medical flight surgeons shut them down and came up with the safer monitored drug regimens. We also saw the first tandem DYNE links worked up in the courier corps. ‘Speed is Life’ being the motto of the courier corps, and they do try to live up to it. ”

“Alot bigger than the little hundred-ton boats most everybody else uses, but the Tabbys have a LOT more speed, endurance and cargo capacity. Tiny payloads for their size, but speed is really their thing. FTL tracking array maps of USA territories must show their space crisscrossed by these sprinters like a rug-weave, given how common these mail-zippers are in service.”

The Tabellarius follows the lead of the PSS/ASI-S07 Sandran Interstellar Scout in using spare engines from the sunsetting -DDS-01 Sangu Light Destroyer line. Like the Sandran, the Tabellarius uses a single -DDS-01 engine pod and a cut-down hull to maximize the propulsion power to hull weight ratio.
Tabellarius ships are heavily automated, and some are crewed by a single organic crewmember and companion robot/AI systems(making them, in effect, large single-ships). Crew accommodations are simple and plain, without a lot of room for recreation.
Armament is light, consisting of point defense turrets and a single MRM launcher, but armor and shielding are substantial, and the ships carry a good set of countermeasure, jamming, and decoy systems.
The Tabellarius sees the most service with the USA, but anybody else owning and operating stables of Sangus has taken an interest in the courier, given the shared engine parts supply.

Type: PSS/ASI-IxFTLQCR--29 Tabellarius
Class: Interstellar Courier
Crew: 4+1-2 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 1,800
Bridge 1,000
Sensor Array(1) 1,000
Point Defense Turrets(3) 80 each
Medium Range Missile Launcher(1) 300
Engine Bloc 3,500
*Variable Forcefields 800 per side(4,800 total)
*Shield Refresh Rate is 10% per melee
Height: 72 ft
Width: 72 ft
Length: 175 ft
Weight: 1,200 tons
Cargo: 50 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion, w/ 20 year energy life, but typically needs refurbishing after 8-10 years of constant operation.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 18 (typically cruises at Mach 10 )
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.4% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 8 light years per hour
Market Cost: 60 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard(PW) Starship Systems, plus:
*Full Sensor Suite---Specialized sensor pallets include radiation detectors and counters, spectrographic analysis devices, gravitic sensors, electromagnetic activity readers, and optics packages.
*Long Range Radar---Phased Array Search and Early Warning Radars---Maximum Resolution Range of 3.5 million miles
*Laser Targeting-------100,000 miles
*Communications Suite:---Long Range Radio and Video
*Laser Communications ---Tactical (i.e. ship-to fighter/shuttle)Range: 50,000 miles
*Optical Tracking Clusters----These are transparent blisters fitted with gimbal-mounted high-resolution visible-light/IR/UV optical telescopes that continually scan the arc of sky before them. Linked to the navigational arrays and other tracking sensors, and to a series of highly-sophisticated near-AI search and discrimination software systems, these sensors attempt to detect objects that have low radar returns/sensor signatures, such as stealthed vehicles, iceballs, or asteroids. The high-tech equivalent of the man in the crow’s nest with a pair of binoculars.

*’Enhanced FTL Radio-----Couriers need powerful and fast long-ranged communications to alert their bases of problems, get updates on travel conditions, and call for help. Effective range of the signal is 9,000 light years, and signal propagation is estimated at 30 light years an hour

*Passive Stealth Systems----The Tabellarius uses passive stealth systems to reduce its sensor signature by as much as 60%, but in order to achieve this, the ship cannot be under acceleration, and its engines must be running ‘cold’. This is typically done when recharging in a transit system or when trying to avoid pursuers.

*’EW Suite---Stealthing features, such as an electronic ‘blanket’ to reduce telltale EM emissions from the drive systems by as much as 60%. Engaging the ‘stealth mode’, however, reduces drive efficiency by as much as 20%.
The Tabellarius also mounts a more conventional EW suite for jamming enemy communications and targeting systems. Communications Jamming has a 5,000 mile range, is 90% effective against civilian systems, and is 65% effective against more sophisticated channel-jumping military communications suites. Missiles and guided weapons are -4 to strike.

Weapons Systems:
1)Point Defense Turrets(3)---- Three slots for standard WZT/ASI PDS weapons.

2) Medium Range Missile Launcher---The inclusion of MRMs is meant to give the courier a longer range standoff deterrent capability. Can also be used to deploy decoys. Some operators remove this system in favor of additional countermeasure launchers.
Range: Varies by missile type(speed and range x4 in space)
(Kitsune Values: 160 miles in atmosphere, 80,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by missile type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1, 2, 4, 5, or 10
Payload: 60

3) Decoy/Countermeasures Launchers(2)----- Three separate sorts of countermeasures are available:
The first is simple sensor-reflective chaff and thermo-flares. These countermeasures are inexpensive and very effective against lower-end targeting systems and sensor equipment(such as that used by nations equivalent to the Coalition States on Rifts Earth), but are ineffectual against more advanced technology.
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
In space, anything flying at high speed through the cloud will take 2d6 MD +1d6 MD per every 100 miles of speed over 670 MPH.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 50 bundles are available per pod

The second system releases a nanotech swarm of active jamming pods and decoys that are programmed to emulate a spacecraft’s sensor signature, or, at the very least, bury enemy tactical communications in ‘white noise’.
Effective Range: 25 mile jamming radius
Duration: 5 minutes per pod-spray
Effects: Jams radio signals(75% chance of jamming military band command-guidance ordnance), and 60% chance of deflecting ordinary missiles.
Payload: 25 swarm packs are available per pod

The third system uses modified grav-pack drives and signal projectors to create a moving pattern of sensor signatures. The grav-pack mini-missile drives can go for 10 minutes before self-destructing, and can either be remotely directed or run a preset pattern.
Effective Speed: Mach 6
Duration: 10 minutes per pod
Effects: The decoys have a 70% chance of fooling enemy sensor operators and expert systems. They are are also +2 to enemy sensor-guided munitions to strike, increasing the chance that the missiles will elect to pursue the ‘louder’ sensor signature(the missile rolls to strike for both the original ship and each decoy deployed....highest to strike roll determines which target the missile(s) go after).
Payload: 20 decoys are carried, and can be deployed singly, or in ‘packs’ of 1-3.

Auxiliary Craft:
A single light shuttle can be slung in a recessed external rack on the hull. Many crews eschew carrying the extra mass of a shuttlecraft altogether.

Options:
Not a lot, as operators are loath to add anything that might infringe on performance. As ORACLE sensor sets become cheaper and more readily available, there’s talk of outfitting even couriers with sets, the better to detect and avoid supernatural time/space anomalies and magically-cloaked ships, such as residual Infernal pirates.


Paladin Steel/Aegis Stellar Industries ‘Anabasii’-class Interstellar Courier
(aka “Biga’, ‘Double-Grundar’, ‘Clabulae’)
“The Anabasii looks like it should tear itself apart, but the ship’s a lot tougher and more structurally sound than its appearance would lead you to believe. It’s rumored that it borrows stress dynamics data from the WZT Dampier, which also looks like it should rip right down the middle, but which has been plying the spacelanes for several decades now. And some Dampiers are pretty well tricked out in the engine department.”

“You’d think that em-factor-twenty would be fast enough for these people, but we already have rumor of at least one Anabasi being fitted for tandem CELESTE DYNE enhancement linkages on the main power bus. Kinda happened by accident, too, the way I heard it described, because the two jump-bumpers in harness didn’t exactly like each other too much..something about competing for the heart of the pilot, which would seem a recipe for disaster when you’re hooked up to an interstellar drive, but whether it’s the synch-drugs or each not wanting to be seen wanting in the eyes of the object of their affections...but they seem to keep perfect synchronization and overall it’s a happy ship. They’re already talking about speed run records. But I don’t envy the pilot at all, having to manage two talents and a spitfire ship like that. The ship’s AI must be the calm one in the whole crew. ”

Following closely on the heels of the Tabellarius(and ideally passing it in flight), the Anabasii takes the premise of ‘if one ex-warship engine is good, wouldn’t two be better?’ to heart; the Anabasii is a small crew/cargo section slung between two ex--DDS-01 Sangu Light Destroyer propulsion nacelles. A power bar connects the two powerplants, allowing the ship to transfer power between the nacelles. If one power unit is out of commission, the ship can fly on one engine, a useful redundancy.
Though twice the size of the Tabellarius, the Anabasii carries the same amount of point defense armament; speed and shielding being the ship‘s real defenses.
The Anabasii eschews stealth in favor of blistering speed. However, the minimal airframe and crew, plus the paired destroyer engines, means a necessary amount of advanced automation, especially to keep the engines balanced and behaving. Even with the advanced avionics, though, crews that have flown the Anabasii describe it as a ‘wicked ride’ that can tax and test even an experienced pilot’s skills(-10% to Piloting rolls) .
The Anabasii is considered still rather experimental, and not assigned to novice crews, but it is gaining interest as an ultra-fast dispatch carrier.

Type: PSS/ASI-IxFTLQCR--31 Anabasii
Class: Interstellar Courier
Crew: 4+1-2 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body
Crew Section 700
Engines(2) 3,500 each
Sensory/Communications Array 300
Point Defense Turrets(3) 80 each
*Variable Forcefields 800 per side(4,800 total)
*Shield Refresh Rate is 10% per melee

Height: 79 ft
Width: 210 ft
Length: 98 ft
Weight: 2,500 tons
Cargo: 50 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion, w/ 20 year energy life, but typically needs refurbishing after 8-10 years of constant operation.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 20
-Destroying one engine reduces maximum speed to Mach 10.
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 2.0% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 8.2 light years per hour
Market Cost: 96 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard(PW) Starship Systems, plus:
*Full Sensor Suite---Specialized sensor pallets include radiation detectors and counters, spectrographic analysis devices, gravitic sensors, electromagnetic activity readers, and optics packages.
*Long Range Radar---Phased Array Search and Early Warning Radars---Maximum Resolution Range of 3.5 million miles
*Laser Targeting-------100,000 miles
*Communications Suite:---Long Range Radio and Video
*Laser Communications ---Tactical (i.e. ship-to fighter/shuttle)Range: 50,000 miles
*Optical Tracking Clusters----These are transparent blisters fitted with gimbal-mounted high-resolution visible-light/IR/UV optical telescopes that continually scan the arc of sky before them. Linked to the navigational arrays and other tracking sensors, and to a series of highly-sophisticated near-AI search and discrimination software systems, these sensors attempt to detect objects that have low radar returns/sensor signatures, such as stealthed vehicles, iceballs, or asteroids. The high-tech equivalent of the man in the crow’s nest with a pair of binoculars.

*’Enhanced FTL Radio-----Couriers need powerful and fast long-ranged communications to alert their bases of problems, get updates on travel conditions, and call for help. Effective range of the signal is 9,000 light years, and signal propagation is estimated at 30 light years an hour

*Detachable Bridge Life Module----The entire bridge/crew life system module can detach and serve as a lifeboat.

*’EW Suite---Stealthing features, such as an electronic ‘blanket’ to reduce telltale EM emissions from the drive systems by as much as 60%. Engaging the ‘stealth mode’, however, reduces drive efficiency by as much as 25%.
The Anabasii also mounts a more conventional EW suite for jamming enemy communications and targeting systems. Communications Jamming has a 5,000 mile range, is 90% effective against civilian systems, and is 65% effective against more sophisticated channel-jumping military communications suites. Missiles and guided weapons are -5 to strike.

Weapons Systems:
1)Point Defense Turrets(3)---- Three slots for standard WZT/ASI PDS weapons.

2) Decoy/Countermeasures Launchers(2)-----Same as for the Tabellarius.

Auxiliary Craft:
A single light shuttle can be slung in a recessed external rack on the hull. Many crews eschew carrying the extra mass of a shuttlecraft altogether.


Paladin Steel/Aegis Stellar Industries ‘Cher Ami’-class Interstellar Courier
(aka “Eggbeater’)

“The thinking’s that if you’re only moving secured encrypted data, a smaller, faster, ship’s better than a bigger vessel that might draw all the wrong attention. A ship little bigger than an EVA pod’s hopefully not going to get noticed, especially on initial boost and final approach.”

“Hardly the way to travel between the stars if you can help it, and not exactly the way I wanted to my introduction to the greater universe to go if I’d had any say in it. But after the incident with what I later learned was called an alien intelligence, my rescuers wanted me offworld as soon as possible and talking to some specialists they couldn’t bring to my world. Unfortunately they were pressed for time and only what they called a ‘Cher Ami’ was available to carry me. So I wound up in a cabin with a trio of hyperactive squirrels in spacesuits, while I was wearing a diaper, wrapped in a thermal blanket, strapped to an acceleration couch, and bogged out of my mind breathing something they called slo-mo, which put me in a state of hibernation. I wasn’t supposed to be conscious during the trip, but I remember having some really strange dreams with a lot of chittering.”

The Cher Ami-class courier starship is an experimental type meant to deploy Paladin Steel improvements in captured Gorang Grav-Prop technology. The design is supposedly based on a testbed vehicle found aboard the captured Gorang Sky-Island that would become Fort Stratos.
The Cher Ami is a ‘minimalist’ vessel consisting of a paired-set of the largest grav-prop engines PS could then build, even more powerful than any the Gorang themselves are currently fielding. The two engines are mounted upright, helicopter-style, the coaxial rotors mounted above them. The large spinner cone atop it all houses a sensor array. The crew cabin is a small affair mounted on the underside of the engines, with just enough interior space for a cockpit, bunkroom, and lavatory cubicle. Food services consists of a small freezer/refrigerator, hot water dispenser, and a supply of MRE-style packaged meals. The ship sits on four widely-splayed legs that bend down from behind/underneath the lowermost prop array.
Crew accommodations are little better than those found on pre-Rifts/pre-Golden Age submarines. There’s been some talk of earmarking the design exclusively for Smallkin crews, who’d have more elbow room, but such proposals have been countered with the argument that literally smaller crews could be used to cut even MORE weight from the habitat module, negating any extra cubic benefit gained from using diminutive crew members.

The Cher Ami is still regarded as an experimental type and, as such, the handful that have been produced so far, have been mainly deployed and tested with PS/GNE’s extensive in-house courier services. The demands of the Minion War, however, saw a high demand for available hulls and resulted in an expansion of the preproduction model run to several dozen vessels, the ships pressed into service doing courier runs between the closer and busier United Systems Alliance worlds. Post-Minion War, the Cher Ami is entering limited production while evaluations continue.

Type: PS/ASI-IxLFTLQCR-08 Cher Ami
Class: Interstellar Courier
Crew: 1-2
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 800
Forward Sensor Array 160
Grav Prop Arrays(2) 100 each
Landing Struts(4) 90 each
Forcefields 500 front, 250 to the sides
Height: 18 ft
Width: 10 ft diameter. Rotor diameter of 28 ft.
Length: 10 ft diameter. Rotor diameter of 28 ft.
Weight: 25 tons
Cargo: Minimal; equivalent to a household kitchen closet. Most ‘cargo’ is typically in the form of encrypted data or deep memory implants in the crew.
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion, w/ 20 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 1.6; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 16
(Kitsune Values: 45% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.6% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not possible
onus: The Cher Ami is surprisingly agile and responsive on the controls, and gets a +3 to dodge.
Market Cost: 53 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starfighter Systems, plus:
*ECM Suite----- The Cher Ami has a standard ECM suite for confusing sensor-guided weapons; -5 to strike

*Gravitational Sensor---Because of its FTL capability, the Cher Ami needs to see the way ahead, so a large ‘prop spinner’ cap atop the assembly of engines holds a compact real-time FTL gravitational sensor that can detect gravitational anomalies(but not discern individual ships) out to 3 light years. hopefully giving the courier enough advance warning to avoid potential trouble.

Weapons Systems:
None standard, but at the insistence of some crews, a small point defense laser turret can be added to the crew cabin.
-Pulse Laser
Range: 1 mile in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 1 mile in atmosphere, 100 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6 MD single shot, 1d6x10+10 MD triple burst
Rate of Fire: Standard
Payload: Effectively unlimited
Cost: 67,000 credits

Options:
*Countermeasure Launcher----The Cher Ami can be fitted with a single countermeasure launcher similar to those available to other PS/ASI/WZT aerospacecraft, only the dispenser only has room for 6 pods.

*-Space Magic----The Cher Ami can be fitted with a small TW vehicular multiplexor system(Up to six spells may be carried) and powerstone generator(---250 PPE battery capacity; recharges at 10 PPE per hour, 40 PPE/hour at a leyline, 80 PPE/hour on a nexus) based on TW aerospace systems.
The following spell enhancements are available:
---*Impervious to Energy---- 5 minutes per 20 PPE.
---*Protective Energy Field-----50 MDC per 10 PPE, 10 minutes per 10 PPE.
---*MicroMeteorites:-----Sprays rocky particles. 10,000 ft range(Kitsune values: 200 miles in space), 2d6x10+50 MD per shot. 25 PPE/50 ISP per shot(Alternative: Effectively unlimited, but spells need to be renewed every six months).
---*Nova Blast:-----Destructive energy blast. 1,500 ft range in atmosphere, 4,000 ft in space (Kitsune values: 80 miles in space), 1d4x10 MD per shot in atmosphere, 1d4x100 MD in space. 15 PPE/30 ISP per shot(Alternatively: Effectively unlimited, but spells meed to be renewed every six months)
----*Communications Booster---Boosts comm range 300X. Duration: 50 minutes per 2 PPE/4 ISP
----*Distress Call----Magic FTL distress beacon. Operates for up to 20 hours and has a range of 20 light years. CANNOT be jammed by regular technological jamming systems, though leyline storms and rifts can affect it. 6 PPE to activate.
----*Magic Reentry Bubble---Perfect for those emergency landings. Duration: 30 minutes per 10 PPE/20 ISP
----*Mystical Stealth System----Renders the spacecraft silent and invisible. Great for evading detection, surveillance, and tailing, but the moment the spacecraft takes any sort of aggressive maneuver, the stealth drops and the spacecraft can be readily detected.
Costs 20 PPE per 10 minutes of activation.
----*Hide In Space----Space magic stealth system. Similar limitations to Mystical Stealth System, but cheaper energy-wise(only in space, however).
Costs 5 PPE per 3 minutes of activation.
----*Flicker Dodge---A special capability, an application of the Astral Hole spell, that allows the ship to momentarily(15 seconds) ‘duck out’ of normal space. Typically, this system can be engaged 10 times before needing to recharge the system on a Ley Line(takes about 24 hours), or the pilot can pump in 120 PPE

Variants:
*IxLFTLQCR-09---This is the IxLFTLCR-08 fitted with a third, Rating 5, ‘pusher’ grav-engine under the crew cabin, making for a slightly taller vessel(22 ft tall), but reducing the length of the landing gear array and moving it lower on the hull. This configuration adds additional speed (Mach 1.7); to the vessel, and both adds a rear forcefield and strengthens the flank fields (250 MDC rear, 375 sides). A lucerin-fueled version is also reportedly under consideration.

Paladin Steel/Aegis Stellar Industries ‘Israel Bissel’-class Interstellar Courier
“You need plague medications delivered to your colony right fast, right? Then why are you sending it all on one ship with zero margin of error? We can split the shipment among six ships, with the extra vaccine production tacked on....insures that most of it will get there on time, even if something goes wrong. The way you’re running things, it’s all or nothing, hit or miss. You have a better chance of success doing it our way. Our ships are already ready to go.”

“The Bissel’s about the middle of the commercially-available speedster range; it’s respectably fast in normal space, and its Class-G light-drive, unusual for what’s essentially a movers’ mini-van, puts it into the upper class of carriers. Its cost and efficiency make it one of the more commonly-seen jumpsters out there. You want to move any more payload, get a Sunchaser or a Carpathian.”

Tying together an interstellar business requires fast and secure communications, and to insure that its far-flung branches are kept in the loop when it came to communications, PS/ASI maintains its own stable of courier spacecraft. Though they already use a range of stripped-down and up-engined versions of their Scobee-, Sunchaser-, Frontera-, and Allnut-class starships, the Israel Bissel-class was developed expressly for interstellar express message and light cargo delivery.
Using everything they’ve learned thus far about high performance propulsion systems, PS/ASI developed the Israel Bissel to provide fast service between their outposts. It is a vessel of more or less conventional construction, with a streamlined monohull configuration. The Bissel mounts multiple redundancy in its engine systems, allowing for a large margin of error against engine problems. This makes the Bissel mass slightly more than its contemporaries, but the secondary drive systems give the ship an edge in the long run over more stripped-down designs with no backups.
Armament and armor are light, as speed is expected to be the Bissel’s main defense. It does, however, mount a countermeasures and decoy systems package to decrease its chances of being successfully targeted, and a much more powerful sensor array than couriers normally carry, the better to spot and avoid trouble well in advance.
The Bissel still falls short of the cutting edge designs possible from the Three Galaxies’ more advanced corporations, but it is still a more than adequate performer in its tech- and weight-class, and certainly in its price range. Perhaps more importantly to PS/ASI, it’s attracting buyers in a galactic marketplace already well-established and stocked with good designs, which is a compliment to PS/ASI.

Type: PS/ASI-IxFTLQCR--32 Israel Bissel
Class: Interstellar Courier
Crew: 2, with provision for 1-4 additional passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 1,000
Cockpit 470
Engines(2) 900 each
Communications Array 300
Light Energy Weapon Mount(1) 160
Point Defense Turrets(2) 80 each
*Variable Forcefields 800 per side(4,800 total)
*Shield Refresh Rate is 10% per melee
Height: 22 ft
Width: 38 ft
Length: 80 ft
Weight: 380 tons
Cargo: 30 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion, w/ 30 year energy life; heavy use typically runs that down to 15 years before needing engine refurbishment.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 16
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.6% of light speed per melee)
-Destroying one engine reduces maximum speed to Mach 9.
(FTL) 7.6 light years per hour
Market Cost: 38 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard(PW) Starship Systems, plus:
*Full Sensor Suite---Specialized sensor pallets include radiation detectors and counters, spectrographic analysis devices, gravitic sensors, electromagnetic activity readers, and optics packages.
*Long Range Radar---Phased Array Search and Early Warning Radars---Maximum Resolution Range of 3.5 million miles
*Laser Targeting-------100,000 miles
*Communications Suite:---Long Range Radio and Video
*Laser Communications ---Tactical (i.e. ship-to fighter/shuttle)Range: 50,000 miles
*Optical Tracking Clusters----These are transparent blisters fitted with gimbal-mounted high-resolution visible-light/IR/UV optical telescopes that continually scan the arc of sky before them. Linked to the navigational arrays and other tracking sensors, and to a series of highly-sophisticated near-AI search and discrimination software systems, these sensors attempt to detect objects that have low radar returns/sensor signatures, such as stealthed vehicles, iceballs, or asteroids. The high-tech equivalent of the man in the crow’s nest with a pair of binoculars.

*’Enhanced FTL Radio-----Couriers need powerful and fast long-ranged communications to alert their bases of problems, get updates on travel conditions, and call for help. Effective range of the signal is 9,000 light years, and signal propagation is estimated at 30 light years an hour

*’EW Suite--- Missiles and guided weapons are -5 to strike.

Weapons Systems:
1) Light Energy Weapon Mount----A nose-mounted Light Starship-grade Weapons mount.

2) Point Defense Weapons Turrets(2)----- Two slots for standard WZT/ASI PDS weapons.

3) Decoy/Countermeasures Launchers(2)----- Three separate sorts of countermeasures are available:
The first is simple sensor-reflective chaff and thermo-flares. These countermeasures are inexpensive and very effective against lower-end targeting systems and sensor equipment(such as that used by nations equivalent to the Coalition States on Rifts Earth), but are ineffectual against more advanced technology.
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
In space, anything flying at high speed through the cloud will take 2d6 MD +1d6 MD per every 100 miles of speed over 670 MPH.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 50 bundles are available per pod

The second system releases a nanotech swarm of active jamming pods and decoys that are programmed to emulate a spacecraft’s sensor signature, or, at the very least, bury enemy tactical communications in ‘white noise’.
Effective Range: 25 mile jamming radius
Duration: 5 minutes per pod-spray
Effects: Jams radio signals(75% chance of jamming military band command-guidance ordnance), and 60% chance of deflecting ordinary missiles.
Payload: 25 swarm packs are available per pod

The third system uses modified grav-pack drives and signal projectors to create a moving pattern of sensor signatures. The grav-pack mini-missile drives can go for 10 minutes before self-destructing, and can either be remotely directed or run a preset pattern.
Effective Speed: Mach 6
Duration: 10 minutes per pod
Effects: The decoys have a 70% chance of fooling enemy sensor operators and expert systems. They are are also +2 to enemy sensor-guided munitions to strike, increasing the chance that the missiles will elect to pursue the ‘louder’ sensor signature(the missile rolls to strike for both the original ship and each decoy deployed....highest to strike roll determines which target the missile(s) go after).
Payload: 20 decoys are carried, and can be deployed singly, or in ‘packs’ of 1-3.

Auxiliary Craft: None

[taalismn]

Evelshon EVA Pod
(aka ‘Work-can’, ‘Tin-pod’, ‘Evah-can’)

“Roomier than a work suit, but not as comfortable as piloting an EVA drone from within a proper ship. Still, I’ve heard of extreme Belters who practically live inside heavily-modded workpods for weeks on end. Never met one, though I imagine they must be pretty nose-blind. I’ve worked eighteen-hour shifts in Evelshons and even with the heavy air filters and lined overalls the work sweat can stink up the air pretty well.”

“I surprised some flatworlder goober who thought he could steal a tank of metallic hydrogen out of a Belter garage, of all things. Figured he could come in an open bay in a tourist spacesuit, grab the cryodewar, and coast it back out back out to his ship. ‘Mighty Space Pirate’ decided to make a run for it across the asteroid’s skin and I had to chase him in a Evelshon I was able to duck into. I think he shat himself five different ways when he saw me come flying after him, six arms wielding sharps and beamers reaching for him. I almost felt sorry for the punk, but he tried popping me with a snubber laser, and that just got me mad. I shoulda ripped him open to death pressure then and there, but then I’d have to explain to the judge why I felt threatened bad enough to kill, sitting inside a foundry-shielded pod, by a pop-beamer. Instead I grappled him and dragged hm back inside to face a fate worse than death at the hands of the Belter he tried to rob. Of course, I mighta been simply been delaying the inevitable, because the lady might have elected to vacc him anyway, but I wouldn’t be the guy dialing the death-pressure. ”

The Evelshon is typical of the thousands of designs of unsung space utility vehicles in the Three Galaxies, that work unnoticed for the most part, but without which spacefaring culture would arguably grind to a halt.
The Edelson is a design that has been around for centuries, with few major changes in general configuration. The Evelshon has an upright cylindrical body, with a small anti-gravity unit at the base, surrounded by three small landing legs, and is capped by a dome of variable opacity transplasteel topped by a sensor unit and extendable communications antenna. The sensor unit is hinged so as to allow access to a universal docking collar-hatch underneath.
The main body is girdled by two rotating bands, each one sporting two robotic waldo arms. Each arm ends in a modular hand unit. A third and smaller set of waldoes, for finer work, can be mounted in the hull.
The Evelshon’s AG unit is just powerful enough to propel the pod through open space, and to hold it up against the artificial gravity in most spacecraft and spacestation hangar bays. Though the Evelshon can can make an emergency planetary reentry, it CANNOT fly in atmosphere, nor can it leave a planetary gravity well under its own power. The AG unit is powered either by a battery that can be recharged off a spaceship’s/spacectation’s powergrid, or by a small nuclear powerpack.
Internally, the Evelshon sports a small, but fairly roomy cockpit, allowing the pod’s operator to work in a shirtsleeve environment with enough space to periodically rest in on long work jobs.
The Evelshon EVA Pod is considered an old and now common domain design, so hundreds of companies build them, includig WZTechyards. While PS/ASI uses a space-adapted version of its ‘SkyTek’ GMR utility vehicle, and WZT favors their own ‘Scarab’ design, both of them, and much of the United Systems Alliance, still make liberal use of Evelshon pods in their space-based enterprises.
EVA Pods are built tough enough to handle being battered by loose space junk, chemical leaks, solar radiation storms, and other occupational hazards, but they are generally not considered combat vehicles. Of course, this hasn’t stopped pirates from using modified EVA pods as hull-raiders, or others from using their own EVA pods to defend against pirates and hostile space-dwelling lifeforms.

Type: WZT-EVAP012 Evelshon
Class: ExtraVehicular Activities Pod
Crew: 1; another person can fit inside, but conditions will be cramped
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 200
Top Sensory Unit 60
Hatch 50
Waldo Arms(4) 25 each
Height: 11 ft(14 ft w/ antennae extended)
Width: 6 ft
Length: 6 ft
Weight: 2.5 tons
Cargo: Enough internal space for a spare spacesuit, tool kit, first aid kit, a few small personal possessions, and some rations.
Generally carries external cargo racks for various tools and work supplies such as hull patches, soldering rods, drill heads, and mining explosives.
Powerplant: Battery(good for 188 hours) or nuclear powerpack(5 year energy life)
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to 15 MPH, 3-6 ft off the ground.
(Sublight) Mach 4
(Kitsune Values: 4% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.4% of light speed per melee). Not recommended for sustained acceleration or interplanetary flight.
Market Cost: 350,000 credits for battery-powered, 1 million credits for nuclear
Systems of Note:
Standard Power Armor Systems, plus:
*Extended Life Support----Seven days’ duration
*Thermal Insulation and Radiation Shielding
* Modular Tool Hands---(In general, these can be considered equivalent to a Mining Cyborg’s modular tool hands/arms)
* Robotic Arms-----Reach distance fo 12 ft+ extendable shaft adds +5 ft. Robotic P.S. of 35.
* Magnetic or Molecular Anchor---Used for attaching to surfaces and objects.
*Anchor/Tether Hookups----Reinforced attachment points/stachions for tethers and smart-cords.
* Autopilot---This allows the pilot/operator to program a simple course such ‘fly from dockyard A to asteroid B, while I have a nap/sandwich’. Has an effective piloting skill of 80%.
*Tool Racks---The outside of the pod has multiple racks for arm tool heads and repair supplies such as patches, sealant gunk tanks, gas cylinders, and soldering rods.
Weapons Systems: None standard, but the tool arms can be fitted with various laser and plasma cutters, ion welders, and cutting implements.
Options:
Depending on the operational needs, EVA pods can be outfitted with a variety of different accessory systems, including extra arms, specialized sensors and tools, extra armor(replacing the variable opacity wraparound window dome with solid plate and external view cameras is common), and protective forcefields.
Variants:
There are enough EVA pod variants to fill several volumes. Most variants modify the pods for use in hostile environments, such as the radiation belts of planets, in corrosive nebula gases or close to hot stars

[taalismn]

Klittan Yards Whalohs Medium Starliner/Freighter
(aka ‘Windowlohs’)
“-day used to be this ‘port would see three or four of those mid-range tourist carriers come out here to see the sights, like the gemfire nebulae, up close and personal. Those ships glittered just as much as the scintella-stars, and there was hardly an open berth aboard them to be had, they travelled so full! And they’d come out at this stop looking to eat and party awhile, before returning to their ships to party on to the next sight.
Nowadays, though, with the political instability a sector over, the tourist trade’s dried up, and so have most of the jobs here. The platform’s mainly transiting ore these days and most of the floor room here is, like the few liners that still come in, mostly boarded up. They say that the situation’s only temporary and that eventually things will stabilize and people will want to start traveling again. I hope I live to see it and the starliners return with their domes and window-lounges all uncovered and glistening in the starlight.”

“A Whaloh could fly on one engine if it had to, and that’s a real good thing. We’re not so secure in this patch of space that w can dispatch rescue to a ship in distress with time to spare, so whether it’s to escape bandits or limp into port from a run-in with some celestial konker, having redundancy out here’s very helpful. ”

The Whalohs is a medium-range, medium-weight combined starliner/cargo transport produced by Klittan Yards in the Anvil Galaxy.
The Whalohs has a teardrop-shaped main body flanked by two engine nacelles set flush to the main body. The nose is capped by a sensor array, while the tail sports a ‘fan’ of additional sensory and communications antennae, flanked by additional flanges shaping the propulsive contragravity field. A prominent cockpit canopy-style ‘greenhouse’ runs half the length of the dorsal side. Extensive use of transparasteel distinguished early models of Whalohses, with large areas of the hull and ‘greenhouse’ being heavily glazed and affording passengers excellent views of surrounding space.
The Whalohs enjoyed considerable popularity when it first came out, with numerous spacelines, especially in the Anvil Galaxy, ordering the ships. However, the outbreak of the Forge Wars and later the Minion Wars caused the rerouting or outright cancelation of many passenger routes, especially as many Forge-related destinations, which were also more often than not tourist attractions, became favored targets of the belligerents in both conflicts. The result was the mothballing or sell-off of many surplus and unprofitable ships; many secondhand buyers and operators of Whalohses disposed of in this manner found the extensive glazing too vulnerable to damage and expensive to repair, and simply plated over the windowed sections.The once glittering liners now took on a more drab and pedestrian appearance.
Though not particularly fast or agile, the Whalohs has a reputation for reliability; the split engine bloc provides redundancy, and the ship can fly ad even go FTL on one functioning engine; the ship effectively has two FTL drives. However, for maximum efficiency, extra care must be taken to synchronize the two propulsion units. Poorly-tuned FTL drives have been known to drop Whalohses millions of miles off-course; improperly synched drives have taken the ships billions of miles out of their expected travel lane, requiring lengthy recalibration, recalculation of position, and cruising back to their destination .
Encouraged by the early success of the Whalohs, and not discouraged by the downturn in the market, taking it in stride as an unavoidable but not critical business setback, Klittan Yards would go on to produce a series of general purpose transports based on the same configuration, with varying degrees of acceptance and success in the marketplace.
Interestingly enough, recently there has been renewed interest in the original heavily-windowed configuration of the Whalohs from the Fringe; as the power and reach of emergent Fringe-states has grown, and their anti-piracy programs have borne fruit in the way of more secure spacelanes, travel to the Fringe has gone up, especially tourism. The old ‘tour-boat’ design has been again gaining popularity as a means to see the many phenomena of the Fringe, and with the industrializing Fringe star nations providing easier access to servicing, repair materials and spare parts, Walohses are becoming more economical to operate in the Rim regions.

Type: CCW-KY-22 Whalohs
Class: Medium Range Interstellar General Purpose Transport
Crew:45+ 10-60 service staff and 400 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 9,000
Bridge 1,800
Forward Sensory Array 1,000
Rear Sensory/Communications Array 1,000
Window Bays(4) 900 each
Engine Nacelles(2) 3,000 each
Variable Forcefield 6,000 per side(36,000 total)

Height: 76 ft
Width: 110 ft
Length: 545 ft
Weight: 32,000 tons
Cargo: 4,000 tons in addition to passengers
Powerplant: Nuclear fusion w/ 40 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 6
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.6% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 280 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems
Weapons Systems: None standard; can fitted with 1-8 point defense weapon installations.
Auxiliary Craft: None
Variants:
* CCW-KY-22C-----Dedicated cargo carrier model with plated-over window bays and the passenger decks converted into additional cargo holds. It can carry 15,000 tons of cargo. It actually sells for less than the original -KY-22, at 250 million credits, and the -KY-22C has sold more units than the original starliner.

* CCW-KY/TrC-23----(aka ‘TarcoEXPRESS’. ‘T-Whalo’) TARCO, nominally a competitor in the general transport market with Klitten, negotiated a license to produce a Whalohs-derived design to be produced at its Solstice-branch shipyards. Not having any presence in the sector and seeing this as an opportunity to get a foot planted in that region, Klittan Yards agreed to the collaboration. The result has turned out to be a tidy moneymaker for both companies, especially in light of increasing competition from the newer Rim shipyards.
The -KY/TrC-23 is a dedicated freighter with the same lines as the baseline Whalohs, but is 25% larger in all dimensions and overall MDC, but has 30% greater cargo capacity than the CCW-KY-22C. FTL propulsion has been upgraded to a Class--E ( 5 light years/hour). It sells for 378 million credits.

* CCW-KYL-25-----Updated spaceliner model, meant to take advantage in the revived interest in tourist travel to the Rim regions. It returns to the older cargo-and-passenger configuration, but improvements in materials have upgraded overall protection by 20%(and the lounge windows are now 1,300 MDC each). It also incorporates a Class-E FTL drive, and a booster mode in the main drives allows it to hit speeds of Mach 8 in normal space. It has been rolled out with a 310 million credit price tag.

[taalismn]

(with thanks to omegasgundam for for the FRAM upgrades and some ideas for further improvements)
GNEverse Starship Variants:

*PS/ASI-SCG-17 LaFayette
“The last two decades have seen more changes, modifications, and upgrades to what have become the cornerstone designs of the United Systems Alliance Joint Command than have occurred in the whole of the CAF’s stable in the last three centuries. Part of this is the near-constant brush-conflict combat the usan forces find themselves in providing the equivalent of war-time ar-and-dee pressurization and field improvisation. The other is that the USA started out with, by our standards, lower-end tech and designs rushed into duty with a good deal of unresolved bugs, that are being gradually shaken out as they become identified and the means to rectify them becoming available.
Whether this pattern of improvement continues and their hardware evolves past the current galactic standards, or they eventually plateau like so many of the major power-blocs and settle into a comfortably sustainable state of technological stasis remains to be seen. For now, however, their situation is fluid to say the least.”

As one of the workhorses of the United Systems Alliance, the LaFayette-class light cruisers see a great amount of action, often requiring a great deal of post-combat battle repair. The need to repair damage, sometimes reconstruct entire ship structures, and the constant learning from combat meant plenty of opportunity to improvise, modify and upgrade. And with several different shipyards producing the SCG-17 pattern, variants of this stalwart are inevitable.

Several of the more common that have been observed:

-SCG-17 FRAM 1B---In an ongoing effort to improve the durability of the LaFayette, several shipyards installed a further upgrade to the ships’ shield systems, installing extra lucerin-powered energizers to the shield system to boots shield strength to 5,000 MDC per side(total of 30,000 MDC). These ships are typically assigned to the Expeditionary Force Reserve, but increasingly, as estimates continue to show that the cost of the upgrade is outweighed by the savings in repairs over time, the FRAM !B and similar modifications are expected to become more available to other Fleet divisions and deployments.

-SCG-17 FRAM 1C---Taking the shield improvements of the FRAM 1B upgrade, several ships have been fitted with even more dedicated shield power generation capability, boosting shield power to 6,000 MDC per side(total of 36,000 MDC). The handful of FRAM-1C LaFayettes so far fitted have been assigned to Expeditionary Force Reserve.

-SCG-17D(x)-----The -SCG-17D(x) model Lafayettes copied an idea from the CAF’s Warshield cruisers in remounting the main laser armament such that the nose-mounted weapons could engage targets behind the ship. This necessitated building up the prow into a distinctive ‘hammerhead’ with heavier turret-pylons(Capital Mounts (2)----2,200 MDC each) expanding the arc of fire of the nose batteries to fire to the rear lateral arcs of the ship.
Several -SCG-17 FRAM 1B vessels have been modified to the -D(x) configuration and they have been assigned to the Frontier Defense Force to test the effectiveness of the modification.

[taalismn]

And again, another transport. This is something like my 334th statted-out. starship design. I own a fleet...

WZTechYards Proteus-class General Purpose Heavy Transport
(aka ‘Hexsides’, ‘Underbite’, ‘Big Proty’)
“When the first couple of cargo Protys arrived from the Rim, GalaxoGourmet practically bought the ships outright from under the Rimmies to transport emergency food supplies to the humanitarian crisis developing on Garaselsus. Had the crews pull those big haulers right up to one of GlaxGorm’s carbo and protein synthesis plants and filled their tanks right up with food gloops. But refugees were going to eat nutritious fare and on time even if the hexide crews had to barge their way through a blockade.”

“Behemoths may be able to carry more, but the Proteus has more pressurized space for protected cargoes and passengers. It can also make planetfall, land and take off in a planetary gravity well and atmosphere, and accommodate plenty of small craft. It’s a lot more comfortable than the Behemoth and the Bradford conversions, if more expensive.”

“The United Systems Alliance can be said to have truly arrived economically as they’re able to find lucrative full cargo loads for these ships on a regular basis; it wasn’t so long ago that it was said they couldn’t afford to OPERATE ships of this size, let scrape up enough regular cargo between any five systems of theirs to fill the holds on an annual run.”

“You ain’t seen AWESOME until you’ve seen a Proteus come in for a landing. It just appears like a giant thunderhead hovering overheard. Then it grounds soft as a soap bubble, almost anticlimatic.”

“Being able to land and take off directly rather than wait for shuttles to cross the distance made evacuations with the Proteus a lot simpler, as long as we had the appropriate equipment set up, such as the mass decontamination systems on the intake locks. That bit of forethought saved us plenty of trouble and more than a few lives from onboard epidemics. Nobody wants a repeat of Silstrus IV on their conscience.”

The Proteus is a WZT design for a superheavy-duty multiple purpose large transport. Though originally commissioned as a humanitarian aide hospital ship, the basic Proteus design is well suited to a variety of purposes, including scientific research, bulk cargo, passenger service, troop transport, and star system law enforceforcement.
The Proteus has a long squashed-cylinder hull, with tapered ends. In the aft half of the hull are four(two on each side) lateral hangar bays of the hexagonal design favored by WZT for its larger designs. Underslung the main hull is a large modular bay-pod. In hospital ship mode, this pod is frequently used as a quarantine ward that can be detached from the rest of the ship in an emergency. Other bay-pods include cargo barges, passenger decks, hangar deck, and an adminstration command and communciations center.
The Proteus uses a standard fusion nuclear power system, rather than a more compact Lucerin-fueled reactor system, given that the ship has plenty of space and is not expected to engage in high-power-demand operations like WZT’s fighter and warship designs.
For a transport, the Proteus is heavily armored and carries a variable forcefield projection system as standard, but lacks any armaments as standard-issue equipment. It does have provision for mounting a heavy complement of defensive armaments and the military support versions can be very heavily armed for transports. And there is the ability to carry a complement of fighters.
Since its introduction, the Proteus has become an increasingly common sight on the Fringe, acting as both a commercial transport and as a government general systems vessel, filling in such roles as the original hospital ship, SAR platform, and Fleet tender.

Type: WZT-C-2400 Proteus
Class: Heavy Multi-Purpose Transport
Crew: 280+ 1-400 special duty personnel
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 220,000
Secondary Hull/Pod Module 25,000
Bridge 6,000
Hangar Bays(4) 6,000 each
Drive Bloc 42,000
Variable Shields( 2,000 each side, 12,000 total)
Height: 800 ft
Width: 1,000 ft
Length: 6,000 ft
Weight: 18 million tons
Cargo: Multiple holds spaced through the ship can hold up to 6 million tons of cargo, or 12,000 passengers.
Each hangar bay, if set up to hold cargo or personnel, can accommodate 1 million tons of additional freight or 3,000 passengers
If set up as a cargo bay, the lower hull module can accommodate 2 million tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 55 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 8
(Kitsune Values: 40% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.8% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: 2.7 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Tractor Beams(8 )---Each hangar bay sports two tractor beam projectors. Effectively each rated for 1,500 tons dead weight, but can be used for imparting small changes in momentum/direction to ships/structures several times that mass.
Range: 10 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)(Kitsune Values: 10,000 miles in space).

Weapons Systems: None standard, but has provision for up to SIX Medium starship weapons and 24 Point Defense stations.

Auxiliary Craft:
Each bay can hold 20 shuttles

Options:
* Secondary Hull Pod---WZT was inspired by PS/ASI’s secondary hull pod on the Lafayette, Pillara, and JoshNort, and scaled up the idea to fit the Proteus with a multi-mission module attached to the under-hull.
-
*’A’-Administration Pod---Administration module holding the workings of a command and control center. Features several large monitoring rooms and holotanks, conference rooms,office space, and computer cores for collecting and organizing information. Multiple communications switchboards allow for handling local comm-traffic. Also has a seperate FTL radio center with its own powerplant.

*’B’-Barracks Pod---Adds passenger capacity, housing up to 900 passengers in diplomatic comfort, or 4,000 troops in more spartan accommodations.

*’C’-Cargo Pod----Dedicated cargo module, adding 10,000 tons cargo capacity.

* ‘H’-Hangar Pod----75 fighters or 24 shuttles.

*’O’- Medical Pod(aka ‘OR’)---Flying field hospital with a capacity of caring for up to 450 patients at a time. Includes 16 fully equipped operating rooms, recovery wards, laboratories, and hangar capacity for 12 shuttles.
On hospital ship conversions, this module is either used to provide extra capacity for dealing with mass casualty events, or else it is set aside as a special quarantine ward, in which case it is heavily automated, is isolated from the rest of the ship, and can be detached in event of an emergency, such as a xenopathogen outbreak.

*’S’-Sentry Pod---Holds an advanced long range sensor system. The ship can now pick up on vessels moving at FTL up to 30 light years away, and vessels moving through normal space up to 1 light year away.

*’T’---Tender Pod---Designed to work with the module-equipped Sunchaser- and Windfola-class corvettes. This pod is an open-framework holding additional modules(up to 30) to swap out with the smaller ships, and the apparatus needed to do it in the field.

*’U’---’Universal’ or ‘Unknown’ Pod----A dedicated science pod with dedicated laboratory facilities. Can be variously outfitted for astronomical or planetary sciences studies, including quarantine facilities for medical research. Has onboard living facilities for up to 30 research staff, although in the more extensive/secured research configurations, the scientists may live entirely in the main hull of the ship, and direct automated systems in the science pod. Some variants on this pod can be detached and deploy station-keeping thrusters and external solar panels and antennae to act as free-flying mini-space stations.

Variants:
*WZT-C-2400EF---The -EF variant is optimized for use by law enforcement groups with a large in-system presence, or galactic groups like the TMC. The ship acts as a mobile State/System Police headquarters. Though it rarely enters combat directly(except in the most dire of situations and/or critical cases), it has the firepower to tackle heavy pirate units.
All four cargo bays are set up as hangar bays, with accommodations, between all four, to hold up to 20 heavy shuttles/FTL cutters or 40 heavy fighters. Half the rest of the interior cargo space has been set up as barracks for law enforcement personnel( 9,000 in all). The dorsal hull sports an enlarged bridge/command center( 11,000 MDC) and a multichannel FTL communications system. The service pod module has been set up as a brig, with capacity for 3,000 inmates.
Shield strength has been beefed up(6,000 each side, 35,000 total), and armament consists of to SIX Medium starship weapons and 20 Point Defense stations.

*WZT-C-2400AP---Military transport. It features upgraded shields (4,000 each side, 24,000 total), a full complement of 24 point defense turrets, and a centralized fire control system that gives the weapons systems a +3 to strike.

[taalismn]

Arnoth ‘Tulmut’ Large Interstellar Transport
(aka ’Bundlestiff’)
“Things look like a big fat bundle of giant pencil stubs coming at you.”

“Any Rim pilot who’s flown a multi-hull ship like the Dampier or the Alnut is going to -love- the Tulmut. While the ships may look cringe-worthy to anybody familiar with Arnoth design practices, the ships are actually pretty sturdy and serviceable considering their origins. The Tulmut’s one of the less expensive heavy transports out there, but that’s mainly because the Arnoth got the parts real cheap.”

“The initial reaction most spaceport controllers have to seeing a Tulmut coming in is that a small convoy of gee-woners had a mid-flight collision and their fused wreckage is making a ballistic trajectory collision course with the ‘port. But overall, the design has some strengths to it; it has the capacity of five gee-one transports for the crew requirements of one, though cargos are still limited to what can fit in the basic gee-one hull. There’s only one or two loading points, however, so loading and offloading takes longer feeding through those hatches, though the Arnoth have devised some rather clever conveyor systems to service all the holds. If a port has limited docking capacity, however, it becomes a real time saver, in saved time that would have been wasted maneuvering smaller ships in and out of the loading docks.”

The Arnoth of Sothis are a former Golgan Republik satrapy-species that got their independence and sought shelter under the wing of the United Systems Alliance. Gifted as it were with a massive Republik aerospace boneyard and repair station. While having their aerospace industrial techbase upgraded through trade and assistance programs with the USA, the Arnoth have been bootstrapping their mercantile fleet through kludging together various pieces of legacy Golgan tech that they are able to salvage or produce on their own.
The ‘Tulmut’ is an effort to make the most of a back supply of old G-1 general transport hulls. Though initially using reconditioned boneyard hulls, later Tulmuts used new-construction components. Five general purpose G-1 transport hulls are fused together with extra bracing and a common engine assembly and linked controls. A monoplanar commercial forcefield comes as standard.
The Tulmut is often described an aesthetic nightmare and an atmospheric brick, the multiple hulls causing substantial drag and multiple vortices that would hard-press even veteran pilots attempting manual atmospheric maneuvering. The Tulmut is this heavily reliant on contragravity for any sort of flight in an atmosphere. Because the low gravity Arnoth are intolerant of sharp acceleration/deceleration and heavy shock maneuvering, Tulmuts have especially high-set inertial damping; many more robust-physiology’ed non-Arnoth find the Tulmut particularly ‘soft’ when it comes to high-gee maneuvers.
As an export design, the Tulmut is a flop; aside from really desperate spacers, only the Arnoth are foolhardy enough to operate the design. However, it continues to remain available and in production, being popular with Arnoth operators.

Type: ArSc-C05 Tulmut
Class: Heavy Interstellar General Purpose Transport
Crew: 42
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 7,000
Bridge 800
Cargo Modules(5) 3,000 each
Radiator Fins(6) 700 each
Loading Hatches(3) 500 each
Engine Bloc 9,000
Heavy Commercial Shields 1,500
Height: 170 ft
Width: 320 ft
Length: 500 ft
Weight: 125,000 tons
Cargo: 80,000 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 40 year life.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric. However, they suffer a penalty of -15% to piloting rolls attempting manual atmospheric maneuvering.
(Sublight) Mach 5
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.0% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 3 light years per hour
Market Cost: 250 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems
Weapons Systems: None standard, but can be fitted with up to 18 point defense weapons(See Variants).
Auxiliary Craft: None
Variants:
Most variation in the Tulmut line is what the individual cargo modules are outfitted for. The separate hulls lend well to carrying varied different payloads that, either for safety or security reasons, are best kept isolated from each other. However, special care must be taken in such cases to provide modified access and loading to prevent accidental cross-contamination(as happened when an early-model Tulmut carrying a mixed cargo of chemicals accidentally had a mixing of fuel-stock and oxidizer residues in a common unloading chute; the resulting explosion destroyed the ship and adjacent port docking assembly).
The most extreme armed version of the Tulmut carries a full eighteen point defense turrets and five short-range missile launchers(Volley strength of 12, payload of 360 per launcher). Enhanced sensor domes cap the multiple hulls, adding military-grade sensors and fire control(+3 to strike). A variable forcefield second-sourced from scavenged Golgan inventories is also fitted( 500 MDC per side, 3,000 total). A crew complement of 50 is assigned to run everything and provide several shifts. Ten such vessels were commissioned by the Sothis government to help protect the orbital yards from starfighter and missile attacks. They also serve as training vessels for the nascent Sothis Space Navy.

[taalismn]

Consolidated Galaxy Drives Gyvanzer Interstellar General Transport
(aka ‘Munro-racer’, ‘Gyvan’, ‘Cycloff’)
“If ConGal had slashed their prices on the Gyvan, we arguably might not have so successfully launched our Concord sales campaign. Those old scoovers were fast and had good legs on them. Munro engineering showed through and gave a taste of what those little cyclopses were capable of in the engineering department.”
-Tul Genrich, Sub-Manager, Aegis Stellar Industries

“The Gyvanzer may have had the legs to reach the Rim, but it didn’t do so well once it got there. Those big Merc-drives could get temperamental without specialized servicing, and they didn’t always work in the crazier parts of the Deep Black. That big armor-plass view bay was nice, but I’ve seen more than enough Cycloffs in scrapyards with their fronts punched in and the hull cored by heavy weapons fire to swear off ever wanting one. ”

“That there is what’s left of the old -Margarie Redskirts-, once the bawdiest casino ship in the Fector Arc. Only the best gamblers got invited to junket out to the Rim for some of the highest stakes kamo games in the Arm. It was THE gamblers’ ticket until the Westmann Cartel opened the Satellites of Sins in the Paradises. After that, the old Margarie got to go out less and less, until she ended up here in a Rim anchorage, rotting away. Her interior fittings may be long gone, but her hull’s still good, her seals are still holding, and I bet with a little engine work and refueling she could fly just as sweet as the good old days, if somebody like, say, you were willing to put some money and work into her. Whattya say? Give the old lady a second chance?“

The Gyvanzer is an older ConGalDi design for a fast general purpose mixed cargo/passenger liner.
The Gyvanzer has a distinctive design; a cylindrical prow and forward fuselage swept back to a large bulbous heavily-shielded domed power section flanked by two large engine nacelles. The bridge dome -canopy stuck out above the curve of the prow, and a large cyclopean observation port graced the prow above a nose docking hatch. The Gyvanzer was distinctive at the time for coming standard with a model -D FTL drive and a high turn of speed in normal space. The Gyvanzer was designed in part by Munro refugee engineers, many of who went on to found the Mercolite corporation, and several production runs of Gyvanzer were produced with Mercolite engines as the two companies engaged in a complicated on-again-off-again corporate relationship.
Consolidated Galaxy Drives was a late contemporary of Forraker Aerospace, and when it first came out, the Gyvanzer was competition to the Forraker general purpose designs, against which it initially did poorly. However, as old Forraker stumbled into obsolescence and eventual bankruptcy, the Gyvanzer gained ground with operators along the same routes that the Forraker designs had pioneered. The Gyvanzer and similar designs took over from the older aerospace corporation designs as the carriers of choice.
The Gyvanzer is somewhat overpowered for its type, and fast, meant to reach the newly-opened-up Rim territories and markets. Its speed comes at a high price tag, however, and attendant maintenance issues that drive up operating costs. Few Rim-based concerns could afford the Gyvanzer, so it became a strictly metroworld-operated vessel. This kept the numbers of Gyvanzers lower than they might have been had the ship seen greater distribution, and the design was passed over by many coreworld corporations in favor of slower, but larger-capacity, transports like the civilianized Dray-class. By the time the Rim became prosperous enough to afford ships like the Gyvanzer, new Rim-based corporations like Aegis Stellar Industries and WZT Techyards were offering up Rim-built designs comparable in capability, at lower cost, and with the added pluses of being locally produced and serviced.
Consolidated Galaxy Drives continues to manufacture the Gyvanzer, what with the growing demand for faster ships, but has had to (re)enter into a shared manufacturing agreement with Mercolite in order to bring down the cost of new ships enough to compete with the Rim local designs.

Type: ConGalDi-InstelC08 Gyvanzer
Class: Interstellar General Transport, Medium
Crew: 55+ 350 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 3,000
Bridge 900
Forward Observation Bay* 900
Drive/Power Bloc 5,000
Engines(2) 2,800 each
Forcefield 1,500

*Many operators simply plate over the observation bay window, reducing the ship’s vulnerability.

Height: 76 ft
Width: 250 ft
Length: 600 ft
Weight: 12,500 tons
Cargo: 5,000 tons+ 350 passengers
Powerplant:Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 9
(Kitsune Values: 23% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.9% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 291 million credits.
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems

Weapons Systems: None standard, but can be fitted with up to four Point Defense turrets, and three Light weapons stations.

Auxiliary Craft:
None(see Variants)

Variants:
The Gyvanzer’s been around long enough that a good number of variants have appeared, most being remodeled older ships.
*ConGalDi-InstelC08C ----Full cargo conversion transport. The forward observation lounge window is plated over and the interior passenger space converted into additional cargo bays. Can carry a full load of 8,000 tons

*ConGalDi-InstelPl08 ----Starliner conversion---It can carry only 2,000 tons of cargo, but can accommodate 520 passengers, generally on short interstellar hops.

*ConGalDi-InstelC08Cv ---- Garage-ship conversion; the forward observation lounge is converted into a hangar bay that can accommodate up to 6 mid-sized shuttles or 12 light shuttles/aerospace fighter-sized craft.

*ConGalDi-ZD08 ----The Zyganians acquired a number of older Gyvanzers and took advantage of their speed and oversized powerplants to convert them into patrol/destroyer-escorts. The forward observation lounge window is plated over and the interior space turned into a weapons bay. Extra hull reinforcement armors the bridge to 1,200 MDC, and the forward hull to 4,000, plus a Variable Forcefield(1,000 each side, 6,000 total). Crew complement is 75, plus provision for a 50-strong marine security/boarding contingent.
The -ZD08 mounts an armament of three medium-class starship Particle Beam Cannons(Range: 1 mile in atmosphere, 2.5 miles in space/Kitsune Values: 2.5 miles in atmosphere, 2,500 miles in space, Damage: 1d4x100 MD per blast, Rate of Fire: ECHH, Payload: Effectively Unlimited), two Medium Grav-Cannons(Range: 4 miles in atmosphere, 8 miles in space,/Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 8,000 miles in space, Damage: 6d6x10 MD per 20 rd burst, Rate of Fire: EGCHH, Payload: 500 bursts per gun), six Point Defense turrets(2), three medium-range missile launchers(Volley strength of 1-10, payload of 120 missiles ready-to-fire, each) and one long range missile battery( Volley strength of 1-12, payload of 180 missiles ready-to-fire).
The Zyganians often retain the ships’ civilian livery in order to deceive Golgan commerce raiders and state-sponsored privateers into thinking the Gyvanzers are unarmed transports(especially after the Golgans began identifying Zyganian-owned ASI-manufactured Concord escort-conversions).
It is rumored that since the CCW has entered the Great Golgan War, Consolidated Galaxy Drives has supplied the Zyganians with new Gyvanzer hulls already stripped down for conversion.

*ConGalDi/Mer-InstelC0808M ----The latest incarnation of the Gyvanzer, Consolidated Galaxy Drives went back to their former partners and entered into a more extensive production- and profit-sharing agreement with Mercolite to produce a much-updated version. The resulting craft is produced by both companies, the increased quantity and wider distribution helping to bring down the cost, despite the modifications. The stardrive is upgraded to a model -E ( 5 light years/hour) and Sublight speed raised to a spritely Mach 10. Market Cost: 290 million credits.

*ConGalDi-InstelSAR08 ----Rescue cruiser variant commissioned by the Order of Saint Vuusha. The ship is fitted with extra long range sensors and an FTL beacon tracker. The forward hull has been converted into a universal docking port and rescue section. A model -F ( 6 light years/hour) FTL drive is fitted for faster response speeds. The -SAR08 carries a rescue team of 45 in addition to the normal crew complement, and has capacity for 250 rescuees(600 in biostasis). Two tractor beams have been fitted, with an individual mass towing capacity of 3,000 tons, and a range of 10 miles.

[taalismn]

Devian Astron Nagan-class Corvette

“We call this fire control pattern MG-1...for ‘Meatgrinder’”

“The Nagan’s a pray-and-spray fire-shaker, scattering beam and missile spam around it in hopes of tagging a fighter or missile. A smart enemy will stand off out of range of the Nagan’s small stuff and snipe it with heavy armaments, but few pirates have either the weaponry or patience to wear down warship shielding, so after a few tries, most leave it alone. Get enough of them spaced around a convoy or capital unit, and they can intercept most missile barrages and fighter attacks, as long as the Nagans are willing to risk being caught in the blowtorch if heavier enemies come up to engage.”

The Nagan-class Corvette is a small, light, warship produced by the CCW-based shipyards of Devian Astron, a company that has enjoyed modest success in manufacturing largely defensive weapons systems for the general market.
The Nagan-class has been described as looking like a badmitten-birdy poised on its skirt and four fared-in nacelles. It is a ‘tail sitter’, maneuvering in atmosphere and landing with its decks oriented vertically along its long axis.
The Nagan-class has little in the way of heavy weaponry or offensive capabilities; its configuration is intended more for policing and picket duties more than anything else. Its point defenses are excellent, however, with a large(some say OVERLOADED) bristling array of rapid-fire short range weaponry and interceptor missile systems, directed by a superb and well-tested fire control system. Because the Nagan has more guns than crewmembers, it relies on extensive automation to direct its weapons; a bridge-display touchscreen menu offers the gunnery officers a variety of customizable fire-control patterns and target prioritization programs. Thus, it is often deployed in squadrons to protect other vessels from fighters and missiles.
The Nagan is reasonably fast....faster than the civilian ships it is intended to escort, but not fast enough to pursue the faster fighter types being deployed by the powers of the Three Galaxies.
Armor protection is substantial for the ship’s size, and distributed such that the ship is still nimble in maneuvering. Its forceshielding is also quite high for its size and type, allowing it to tank hits from medium- and even heavy-class starship guns and missiles. However, the Nagan is not designed to sit and soak up damage, and fares poorly in slugfests with heavier opponents.
Nagans are found in a number of militaries and paramilitary organizations across the Three Galaxies. They are generally used for near-space security, escort duties, and general interdiction.
The Minion War, unfortunately, has pointed up the decrepitude of the Nagan and its many design shortcomings. In the frantic scramble to field as many warships as possible in the chaos sweeping the Three Galaxies, the Nagan often found itself thrown into situations it was ill-suited for. Infernal spacecraft and pirates armed with increasingly more powerful weaponry(some of it looted from overwhelmed defense forces) were encountered more and more, and, despite the valiant best efforts and some truly skilled crews, the Nagan’s slow speed and popgun armament often found itself lacking. Hundreds of Nagans were destroyed in the course of facing off against foes with both numbers and firepower advantages. The aftermath of the Minion War has seen sales of the undergunned design plummeting and left a scarred Devian Astron contemplating whether it is time to retire the Nagan and come up with a replacement for it, or get out of spacecraft production altogether. A few military organizations still swear by the Nagan, however, especially those in Star Hive-inflicted regions, and it is expected that many operators trading in their Nagans for newer ships will wind up selling or transferring their old Nagans to those groups.

Type: UWW-R-013 Nagan
Class: Picket Corvette
Crew: 32
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 5,000
Bridge 900
Engines 2,000
Short Range Lasers(8 ) 350 each
Mini-Missile Launchers(10) 200 each
Point Defense Rail Guns(12) 200 each
Point Defense Lasers(8 ) 200 each
Variable Forcefields 2,000 per side(12,000 total)

Height: 150 ft
Width: 150 ft
Length: 280 ft
Weight: 2,000 tons
Cargo: 120 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 50 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 9
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.9% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: 319 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Advanced Fire Control---The Nagan relies on an integrated automated fire control system to coordinate all its various low-caliber weapons; +4 to strike under auto-control.
Weapons Systems:
1) Short Range Lasers(8 ) ---These are the heaviest weapons aboard the Nagan
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 6d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH, or 6 shots per melee under auto-control
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Mini-Missile Launchers(10)---Besides antispacecraft warheads, these launchers can also fire countermeasure decoy missiles.
Range:Varies by Missile Type, x4 in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-8
Payload: 80 mini-missiles per turret, 800 total. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 15 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 96 missiles)

3) Point Defense Rail Guns(12)---The equivalent of machine guns, these mini-turrets spray hundreds of high velocity rounds per melee into surrounding space.
Range: 4,000 ft in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x10 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH, or 5 shots per melee under auto-control
Payload: 500 bursts per cannon

4) Point Defense Lasers(8 ) ---These light weapons ring the rear of the hull and provide cover against missiles , fighters, and power armors.
Range: 3 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH, or 7 shots per melee under auto-control
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

Auxiliary Craft:
4 Lifeboats

Variants:
The Minion War saw a number of desperate efforts to up—gun Nagans, tearing out redundant light weapons, and cramming in such things as missile packs,, and reprogramming the automated fire control systems to handle the different ballistics, with varying degrees of success. Jamming modules were another common addition.

[taalismn]

Gumbion Light Interstellar Transport
(aka ‘Go-Bullet’, ‘Space-Bullet’, ‘Pug-lugger’,’Barrel-Van’, ‘Egg-runner’)
“Yep, this ship’s been in the family business since the Auto-Wars, and it’s moved out with the family as we’ve migrated to where the work is on the ocean of stars. These hull plates have seen more re-entries, splashdowns, and take-off burns than I’ve had days in my life. Stubborn and sluggish, but the jumpseats on the bridge have played host to young pilots in training in my family for generations. We have bigger and faster ships in our fleet, but this old boat’s the one with the charmed life and tradition in its bones. I may as well admit it; it’s family.”

“It’s almost easier to adapt a Super Can into a starship than it is to modify a Gumbi. But Gumbions are sturdy rides and a lot cheaper to operate. You can barrel a space-bullet into environs that would tear a Super-StarCan to pieces.”

“-You got us a Gumbion.”
“Yep!”
“You got us a Gumbion.”
“And at a fair song of a price, too! No questions asked, minimal paperwork!”
“You got us a Gumbion as transport for a Class-A rating infiltration and extraction job.”
“Yes, because nobody takes a second look at a Gumbarrel coming in at the cheapside docks to unload bins full of unibloc smart-plas furniture...they’ll never suspect people like us coming in like that, rather than something like a stealthed LuxCutter or Herackles like you originally sketched out. Saved money for our gear and extraction ship.”
“..I’d almost rather be shot than ride in a Gumbion. We’re supposed to be a bloodstar-rated PMC. We have a reputation and an image to uphold.”
“No, we’re going to keep our bloodstar rating BECAUSE we’re going in a Gumbion. Because we won’t look like a PMC going in where we don’t belong. That’s the beauty of this!”

“Easily seen, easily overlooked. One of interstellar travel’s deglamorized sloggers lost in the dust clouds.”

The Gumbion is a short-haul interstellar light cargo transport of Human design and almost archaic technology; it’s joked that the ships are ‘older than the stars’, though they are much more recent than that. Still, the design was already old when the Automaton Wars changed the face of the Human Alliance.
The Gumbion is very straightforward in design; it resembles a large hollow-tip bullet projectile, with its skin only broken by a few fins and point defense turrets. The stern mounts a large gravity-impellor drive powered by a fusion powerplant. The ‘hollow point’ nose houses a navigational deflector forcefield projector integral to the design.
The Gumbion was once part of a massive interstellar transport system spanning Human Alliance space; to increase the ships’ efficiency and allow fully-loaded ships to save on power during take-offs, the Gumbion was designed to be lofted from a gravity well with the assist of a massive linear accelerator launch system. Though the system has fallen into general disuse as the state of the art advances, a few worlds still retain working launch systems, justifying their continued maintenance by using them in a more traditional cargo/materials massdriving-lifting mode.
The Gumbion can be armed relatively heavily, and its physical armoring is better than most vessels in its class, but the ship’s best defense is its mundanity; few would trust valuable cargoes to be transported by Gumbions, so only the most desperate barrel-scraping pirates bother with them.
The Gumbion is characterized by stodgy handling, slow speeds and uninspiring performance. The vessels are difficult to modify aside from the hull accessories, and internal accommodations are charitably called modest. The ships are poorly suited for long range interstellar, let alone intergalactic, travel, so they are mostly limited to short runs between star systems. The Gumbion also pre-dates the adoption of the Spacers’ Guild standardized cargo ‘can’ system, so the ships are not easily modified to accommodate the loading systems now common throughout Three Galaxies’ space, and subsequently take longer to load and offload.
On the plus side, Gumbions are stoutly constructed and long-lived. Their long operational history means that any serious vices have been ironed out long ago, and the design’s quirks well-documented. Their older technology makes them easy to maintain, and the ships are almost dirt-cheap to buy and operate.
The Gumbion’s original manufacturer has long since gone defunct and the design has become public domain, so Gumbions(or vessels very much like them) are still manufactured by a number of outworlds and emergent societies that have acquired the plans. Thus it is not uncommon to see Gumbions of varying build-quality operating in the Mid-Rim and on the Fringe, though the most common users are short-haul low-budget transport companies just outside the core metroworlds. There are several interstellar organizations of aerospace enthusiasts who almost glamorize the very humble Gumbion, seek vintage production examples, and spent (to some) unjustified amounts of money modifying the ships.

Type: Gumbion LInstel-C018
Class: Light Interstellar Transport
Crew: 2-5, + 1-10 passengers (see Cargo)
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 2,900
Bridge 800
Engine Block 1,500
Sensory Antennae(4-6) 120 each
(Optional) Point Defense Weapons Mounts(1-5) 180 each
Forcefield 1,000
Height: 65 ft
Width: 55 ft
Length: 200 ft
Weight: 1,000 tons
Cargo: Can carry 500 tons of cargo or 180 passengers if not carrying cargo
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion with 40 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 6
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.6% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 3 light years per hour; generally limited to ‘short’ hauls of 12-36 light years.
(Underwater) (See Variants)
Market Cost: 38 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Small Starship Systems, plus:
*Easy to Maintain----The Gumbion’s systems are so generic and well-documented that regular repairs are fairly easy to affect: +6% to repair skill rolls.

*Difficult to Modify----The Gumbion is so tightly integrated that post-construction additions and upgrades are difficult to make . While the point defense turrets and hull fins are easy enough to swap out, more crucial internal systems are much harder to modify without tearing open the ship and spending serious drydock time essentially reconstructing the vessels. -15% to engineering rolls to modify.

Weapons Systems: None standard, but can be fitted with up to five point defense turrets(2 lateral, 2 belly-mounted, and 1 tail-mounted).
Auxiliary Craft: None
Variants:
The Gumbion has been around long enough that a wide range of variants have emerged. Though difficult to modify on an individual basis, the design has been in service so long that incremental changes have added up. Most of these are tweaks to the power system for better efficiency, or to the life support system to accommodate different species. A few Gumbion lines are fully amphibious, able to land, operate underwater like a submarine, and take off from water. Chemical cargo and even sleeper-ship(carrying passengers in hiber-sleep) conversions are also known.
The most extreme variants of the Gumbion originate with the Gumbion-enthusiast organizations, to whom it almost seems an act of potlatch to spend lavish amounts of time and resources to upgrade the stodgy little ships. ‘Gumbi Races’ of heavily-modded Gumbions are a common sport. Reports of ‘hot-rodded’ Gumbions able to hit speeds of Mach 18 have emerged from these events.

[taalismn]

Golgan Argosy Bindas Mine Warfare Variant
(aka ‘Mine-Hives’, ‘Galnars’ )
“Say what you will about the Golgies on the offensive, but you don’t dare underestimate them when they’re standing their ground in their own territories. Also, if you’re already doing business with the Golgans, you want to get into the habit of announcing your schedule well in advance, so you can avoid blundering into a new-laid minefield. I had a near-death experience from going about my business as usual, dropped out of FTL into a system I’d visited dozens of times before....and nearly got my engines shot off by a free-floating missile rack disguised as a space-rock. Had to get a tow to port, got laid up for nearly a month waiting for repairs, and never got an apology or compensation from the local gov because ‘war restrictions’. ”

“We thought it was a loot and pillage raid when we saw the incoming attack cruisers escorting a tail of big transports. Turned out they were minelayers. After they bombed our aerospace control, or forced it all into shutdown and blind, they dropped a **** of sleeper ordnance into our near-orbit. We should have suspected something when they suddenly bugged back out without any heavy cavalry coming to drive them off; we lost two scouters that launched to get eyes on the Golgan taskforce before we realized what they’d done. Had to get help all the way from Zylan to get mine-clearing ships, and we were effectively closed to traffic for a good eight weeks before they declared our speace well and clear. Eight weeks we weren’t shipping metal to Regmo for the war effort, just as the damned Golgans planned.”

“Just because they lack the big guns, doesn’t make the Galnars easy prey. They bang away plenty enthusiastically with their point defense, they still got milspec shields and engines, and if they think they’re going to be boarded, they start throwing mines at you and as a last resort, they blow their powerplants, because they don’t want any enemies getting the charts and codes to their mine deployments.”

As the Kultural Revolution’s reconquista ground increasingly to stalemate, a number of Golgan planetary governors began to fear for the safety of their worlds. To support the front lines in the war, the Argosy pulled many ships from the defense fleets of Golgan member worlds and reassigned them to active combat units. This left many Golgan worlds feeling under-defended and vulnerable to attack. To compensate for the lost mobile units, many of these threatened worlds turned to mine warfare to protect their space.
A number of older Bindas transport-cruiser conversions were pulled from government- and corporate cargo-fleets and converted back into warships as mine warfare vessels to deal with the massive number of mines necessary to secure Golgan systems. A fairly standard configuration for these conversions became disseminated through the Golgan defense corps. Point defenses were mounted back on and in some cases enhanced, but heavier beam weaponry was not remounted(the weapons often going to spares for front-line warships). Instead, the main gun decks were converted into rack space and launch ports for space mines. These ships operate with smaller crews(as there are no longer as many guns to be serviced), but many of the onboard technicians now are ordnance specialists, readying mines, satellites, and minesweeper drones for deployment.
These ships have earned the unofficial reporting name of ‘Galnar’, after a marine animal (native to the Golgan homeworld) that lays clusters of fake and poisonous egg-masses to mislead and deter predators from preying on its true nest.
Not all Mine-Hive Bindas were deployed to defense fleets; the Argosy acquired a number of them to accompany punitive expeditionary forces. These ships would lay mines as area denial devices, often around planets the Golgans wanted isolated from contact with the outside galaxy. At the very least, a ‘nuisance minefield’ would slow traffic to and from a world until the mines could be cleared; an unwelcome diversion of resources that could only benefit the Golgans.

Type: RABCC-MCM8.32 ‘Galnar’
Class: Heavy Mine Tender
Crew: 660(170 officers, 470 enlisted, 30 air group)
MDC/Armor by Location:
Interior Bulkheads per 10 ft(3 m) 55
Interior Hatches 70 each
Exterior Hatches 100 each
Grav Sensor Arrays(3) 900 each
Long Range Missile Launchers (2) 800 each
Particle Beam Cannon Point Defense Turrets(8 ) 150 each
Hangar Bay 4,000
Forward Hull Section 6,000
Midships Hull Section 6,000
Aft Hull Section 8,000
Variable Forcefields----6,000 each side(36,000 total)

Height: 200 ft
Width: 650 ft
Length: 1,220 ft
Weight: 265,000 tons
Cargo: 55,000 tons +mines
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 11
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.1% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 6 light years per hour
Market Cost: 5.7 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Enhanced Gravitic Sensors---These are finely-tuned mass sensors of the sort normally seen on scientific survey vessels, but, given enough time, they can be used to chart gravitational ‘eddies’ around planets and detect solid bodies that would otherwise go unnoticed by regular sensors. In military applications they are used to find the best places to ‘park’ mines, and conversely, they are used to detect stealthed mines and ships(+15% to Read Sensory Instrument rolls). Effective range of 1 million miles.
Weapons Systems:
!)Particle Beam Cannon Point Defense Turrets(8 )---Identical to those mounted on the standard Bindas, but more have been added.
Range: 1 mile in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Long Range Missile Launchers (2) ---As a cost-saving measure, mine warfare ships mount more conventional long range missile launchers.
Range: Varies by Missile Type(double range in space)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type. Can also fire ‘loitering’ missiles that act as single-shot mines.
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-20
Payload: 1,000 missiles each launcher, 2,000 total; additional missiles may be carried and loaded from cargo, but will take at least 30 minutes

3) Space Mines--- The main gun decks and galleries have been replaced with stowage for space mines.
Space Mines generally come in two varieties: ‘loitering’ missile batteries or explosion-pumped energy weapons.
The standard Golgan SRM mine is a 36-shot floating battery, Standard medium range missile mine has a payload of 24 MRMs, and the standard-pattern heavy missile launcher mine has 10 LRMs.
The Golgans also have a pumped x-ray/disruptor laser mine that destroys itself in the process of generating a laser beam; it does 5d6x100 MD, plus 25% of baseline to a 32 ft radius, and has a beam range of (Palladium)20/(Kitsune)20,000 miles in space.
Payload:
-Can typically carry 800 short-range missile mines (36-shot) , OR
- 400 medium-range missile mines (24-shot ), OR
- 200 Nuclear Torpedo mines(10-shot). OR
- 300 bomb-pumped laser mines

The ‘Galnar’ has also been known to carry small battlelites, satellite recon/surveillance platforms, and decoy pods deployable from its mine racks.

4)Decoy Launchers (4)----Rather than packets of flares or bundles of metallic chaff, these silos launch lifeboat-sized transmitter pods to fool long range sensors and standoff mine trigger-sensors.
Payload: per launcher. Additional pods can be carried as cargo and loaded within 45 minutes.

Auxiliary Craft:
Typically carries a complement of a dozen shuttles and mine warfare/sweeping small craft

[SolCannibal]

Golgan Argosy Bindas Mine Warfare Variant
(aka ‘Mine-Hives’, ‘Galnars’ )

A number of older Bindas transport-cruiser conversions were pulled from government- and corporate cargo-fleets and converted back into warships as mine warfare vessels to deal with the massive number of mines necessary to secure Golgan systems. A fairly standard configuration for these conversions became disseminated through the Golgan defense corps. Point defenses were mounted back on and in some cases enhanced, but heavier beam weaponry was not remounted(the weapons often going to spares for front-line warships). Instead, the main gun decks were converted into rack space and launch ports for space mines. These ships operate with smaller crews(as there are no longer as many guns to be serviced), but many of the onboard technicians now are ordnance specialists, readying mines, satellites, and minesweeper drones for deployment.
These ships have earned the unofficial reporting name of ‘Galnar’, after a marine animal (native to the Golgan homeworld) that lays clusters of fake and poisonous egg-masses to mislead and deter predators from preying on its true nest.

Simple & dirty but effective. Well, while there has been always room for fancy, brutal and ugly will always have room in the fields of war.
I ask myself what kind of kitbashing of semi-mothballed Jesstras & Haelras some of the same golgan worlds behind this variant bindas could be up to.

[taalismn]

Simple & dirty but effective. Well, while there has been always room for fancy, brutal and ugly will always have room in the fields of war.
I ask myself what kind of kitbashing of semi-mothballed Jesstras & Haelras some of the same golgan worlds behind this variant bindas could be up to.

THey'll be desperately arming and tanking up old designs to fill in the logistical gaps while the higher-ups try coming up with cutting edge designs which, unfortunately, will make up only a small percentage of the Argosy fleets for a disproportionate amount of expended resources.

The Golgans aren't yet at the stage of using old starships as realistic bombardment weapons, but the thought has likely crossed some minds as possible extreme weapons of last resort if the ungodly hordes of non-Golgans move to do wholesale invasions of the Republic core worlds.

[taalismn]

Ascendor Wing Personal Space Transport System
(aka ‘Fly-suit’, ‘Soi(Surface to Orbit Insert) -suit’, ‘Ascent-Shell’, ‘Jump-bird’)

<<“Orbit achieved, start looking for the promised beacon, channel code three-one-three. Again, folks, Company didn’t say much about this side-job, only that we’re doing a low-orbit live pickup in this system. ”
#“Another mystery mission? Sounds like fun.”
“Mystery cargoes, secret passengers and fly-by hook-ups! Oh boy!”
<<“ Try not to over-exert your circuits, people. Okay, already got a lock on the beacon. Showing strong and right on time, right in space. Confirming IDC. Bolts, get down to the cargo bay and get ready for the scoop-up.”
“Right ahead of you, boss. Bay One is ready to recieve.”
<<“Right, adjusting course to intercept. Getting a read on the contact. Personal ascent shell bearing eight-six-oh, leveling out of boost phase, just about eight fifty kloms ahead of us. Easing on down and shedding velocity.”
“Feeling the grav baffles on, Boss.”
<<“Okay, coming up on forty kloms. Bolts, open the bay hatch and get ready to catch.”
“Bay outer door open. Ready with the catcher. Awaiting your word.”
<<“Coming up on ten, seven....five...four...three...two....
“Hey-hey, I got eyeball visual. Tiny little thing, ain’t it?”
<<“One person fly-pod. Either not waiting for us to station-dock or not wanting to be seen on station. Gutsy, in a backwater like this system.”
“Getting docking approach telemetry, Catcher beam locked on. Ajusting for momentum. Easing right on in, that’s a beauty, nice and slow.Extending grapples.”
#“Proximity alarm on red. Lost long-ear contact.”
“Contact! Catcher beam off! Clamps on skin! Reeling this little fish in. Okay, boss, target is on deck, hard contact, locked down, in past the first door, closing the outer hatch now.”
<<“Confirm your catch and outer hatch closed. “
“Pressurizing. Equalizing. opening inner hatches and rolling into main hold. All systems green on all sides.”
<<“Okay, confirm when you have lockdown on the ascendor. We’ll ramp back up on acceleration once our mystery guest unshells and sits down.”
“Shadn’t be long, new passenger unlocking the canopy now and coming on out....well, hey, hey, that’s a surprise!”
<<“Well, first impressions of our mystery pickup?”
“It’s your wife, Boss.”
<<“Quit joking, Bolts. Bad enough I’m missing my anniverary on this company-ordered extended circuit-run without your ‘bot jibe.”
“Ain’t joking, Boss. Missuz Boss is here in the cargo bay, having just stepped out of that ascendor pod, she’s hardly wearing a stitch of anything and if I’m reading human body language right, she is both very eager to see you and rather torqued that I ruined the surprise.”
<<“What the ---?!”
#”Guess the anniversary celebration’s still on. Better get down there, Captain, and see if she brought her toothbrush. Not a lot of space in those fly-pods if I recall correctly.”

The Ascendor Wing is the next step up in personal surface-to-space transport from the Ascent Suit; a one person spaceplane capable of unassisted boost to low orbit and atmospheric reentry. Its main advantages over the Ascent Suit are better protection, greater endurance, and greater maneuverability. The Ascendor Wing is classified as a vehicle, as it normally has no arm manipulators or tool arms that would classify it as a power armor or EVA pod.
The Ascendor Wing is a small rigid-frame lifting body shell with a transparasteel helmet/canopy that can be covered by extending protective plates( for reentry or to calm those nervous about supersonic bowies only inches from their heads). The shell is faced in thermal-resistant materials, but also has a light forcefield that both protects the vehicle and its occupant and aero-shapes its streamlining profile when traveling through atmosphere. Retractable folding memory-material wings can be extended for atmospheric gliding and braking. The cabin space is pressurized, but many operators wear light EVA suits or skinsuits inside the vehicle. Interna, space is more akin to a power armor, so much so that it is more often refered to as being ‘worn’ and not ‘ridden’ by the passenger/pilot.
Propulsion comes from a contragravity drive pack with booster, powered by a replaceable/rechargeable RTG module. Micro-pulse gravitors provide agility in microgravity. The contra-gravity systems also provide inertial baffling and gravitic shielding that keep the occupant, who ascends in a head-up standing/prone position, from blacking out due to acceleration effects.
The Ascendor Wing is, with wings folded, just small enough to fit in most standard airlocks, but many operators prefer to dock through cargo transfer airlocks.
Ascendor Wings are typically controlled by an onboard AI system that handles ascent and descent stages of operation. Manual override is possible, but it is (STRONGLY) recommended that only experienced and pilot-licensed operators attempt this. The small size of the ‘wing also means that it lacks many of the sensor and navigation systems of larger vehicles and even power armors; it is dependent for the most part on using navigational transponders, beacons, and GPS networks to find its position and fly to its destination. The Ascendor Wing is NOT recommended for extraorbital or long duration travel, though some variants(mainly customized models) have been fitted with extra boost capability and hibernation capability, mainly for PR stunts.
Ascendor Wings are mainly used for single-person surface-to-orbit transfer travel to rendezvous with orbiting spacecraft or space stations, and return or descend to a planet afterwards. They are also sometimes used for personal transatmospheric ‘skip’ global flights, space tourism, and quick orbital infrastructure inspections. They are also occasionally used for covert offworld travel/escapes and atmospheric infiltration. Some variants are sold as one-person lifeboats for larger spacecraft and orbital platforms.
The Ascendor Wing is manufactured by various metroworld manufacturers, but mainly/most notably by high-end luxury-equipment producers such as Bushido Industries, Stargazer Corp, Tyrell Industries, Dehavillan-Aesches, and General Gravitics.

Type: PS/STS Ascendor Wing
Class: Personal Space-Surface Transport System
Crew: One(humanoid)
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 180
Extendable Wings*(2) 40 each
Forcefield 250

*Destroying one or both wings imposes a -20% to piloting rolls for inatmo maneuvers; the ‘wing-suit can still descend on contragravity and possible drogue-chute systems, but anything else will be much more difficult.

Height: 7-8 ft
Width: 4 ft, 30 ft wingspan with airfoils extended
Length: 3-4 ft
Weight: 900 lbs
Cargo: Small suitcase-sized cargo compartment
Powerplant: RadioThermal Generator or Powercell unit, good for 1 year of operation before needing replacement.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 5 in boosted ascent mode; transatmospheric. Generally cruises in atmosphere at Mach 1.
(Sublight) Mach 3
(Kitsune Values: 10% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.3% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) Not Possible
(Underwater) Not possible. Lifeboat versions can float, but not swim.

Market Cost: 1.3 million credits
Systems of Note:
*Extended Life Support----6 day air supply. Pill and water dispenser nipples in canopy.
*Thermal Resistance --- Cuts the damage from plasma and other heat based attacks by 90%! Takes no damage from controlled atmospheric reentry.
* Radio Communications/Beacon----Broadband radio locator beacon. Required in all sports and escape-lifeboatt suits. 5,000 mile comm range in space.
*Mini-Radar---- 10 miles in atmosphere, 1,000 miles in space
*Radiation Shielding--Both passive material shielding and active forcefield radiation deflection.
* Onboard Pilot A.I. ---A drone intelligence with verbal interface. It can pilot the Ascendor Wing through routine ascent/descent operations in a network with 96% profficiency, 80% on independent operations.

Note: Under manual control, the Ascendor can be piloted with a Pilot Spacecraft(Shuttle) skill in-atmo and space, with a bonus of +5%. An EVA skill can also be used to pilot the Ascendor in space.

Weapons Systems: None

Variants:
Depending on the manufacturer, Ascendor Wing variants vary in overall size(to accommodate different species), life support specs, and acceleration/deceleration profiles.
‘Space tour’ models generally feature extra redundancy safety features, such as emergency drogue/parasail chutes and onboard mini-automeds that monitor the health of the wearer and provides anti-shock and anti-nausea medications if the wearer shows signs of distress. Sports models feature remote telemetry, allowing outside support units to monitor the extreme sportsman.
Some personal custom-jobs are fitted with extra-duration boosters for extra-orbital breakout and even (slow) interplanetary flight. These models typically have onboard hibernation equipment (often shared from lifeboat versions) to keep the passenger in low life support demand biostasis during the long interplanetary flight times necessitated by the ascendor wings’ weak engine power.
‘Stealth’ ascendor-wings are known to exist, skinned in sensor-deflecting/invisible materials and used for covert operations. As these are considered illegal in civilian markets(because of the navigation hazards they can pose to other air/space vehicles), they mainly exist in the hands of military or ciminal organizations.

[taalismn]

Klittan Yards ‘Neevi’ Aerospace Medium Transport/Corvette
(aka “Scup-Cutter’)
“Ship looks like a barnacle-bottomed tub lifted from the oceans of some wet-world. It wallows like one, too. Bridge has a nice view and comfy chairs, though, if you don’t mind feeling rather exposed behind all that polysteel glazing.”

“The extendable docking tube may look vulnerable, but the extra length actually serves a purpose. If the atmosphere at the other end of a hard dock proves hazardous, or an inspection boarding gets resisted, the airlock operator has extra warning to seal the ship’s main security hatches and depressurize, or jettison entirely, the docking sleeve. You’d be shocked how often that has been proven necessary.”

“Antiquated these ships may be, but the basic systems are as sound as you can ask for. Oh, there are more fuel-efficient engines available nowadays, but not by much over the old Klittan units, the powerplant’s built to last a long time between refurbishment, the radiator flows don’t seize up, and the life support is more than adequate for long patrols. If you don’t ask too much of the ships, they can’t be considered a waste of taxpayer money. ”

“The Neevi had the misfortune of bad timing; in more peaceful eras it would be perfect, but it was too lightly armed for the Automaton Wars, and when peace did roll back around, there were so many ex-wartime Coristers available at fire sale prices, that hardly anybody wanted to look at the Neev.”

The ‘Neevi’ is an older(pre-Automaton Wars) Klittan Yards design for a dual purpose transport/security cutter. The Neevi was designed with government work in mind; it could move personnel and modest amounts of cargo around and still conduct rescue and interdiction duties. As a ‘colonial’ vessel, it was expected to be easy and inexpensive to maintain.
The Neevi has a distinctive ‘wet navy’ look to it; a large boat-shaped hull surrounding a cylindrical central fuselage adorned with a high mast supporting a sensory array and windowed bridge. Placed below and in front of the bridge tower is a ring mount for either an observation/sensory blister or a heavy weapons turret. Set in the dorsal hull ahead of that , but behind and above the forward sensory array is a large hatch with extendable docking trunk. The main engines are located at the rear along the hull centerline, between several large radiator fins. Cargo and passenger spaces were located in the side sponson ‘wings’.
Propulsion performance was modest, even for the time, and the C-class FTL drives were considered average for the day and sufficiently economical for government work. Another cost-saver in the long run was the use of a large and long-lived Burston-K fusion powerplant that could go for protracted periods of time without overhaul.
Armor protection was modest for the time, and deemed adequate for police duties, though the Automaton Wars would soon prove it thin-skinned. The original fit monoplanar forcefield, though stronger than commercial shielding, also proved inadequate to variable forceshielding.
Armament was another compromise between adequate and economical for police work. A heavy laser(for the type’s class) provided a ‘big gun’ to dissuade pirates, four point defense lasers gave all-around fields of protection from missiles and lighter craft, and a pair of missile bays held longer-ranged fire-and-forget capability. Again, the Automaton Wars would prove these inadequate.
The Neevis proved reliable, but modest, vessels for their type and price, but they were never able to compete with the more versatile Corister, of which a very large number were produced and were quickly redistributed to Human Alliance worlds after the Automaton Wars . As freighter conversions, Neevis proved even less economical compared to contemporary transports. Nevertheless, Klittan gamely produced them for several decades with a number of semi-independent Human Alliance worlds picking them up for system patrol/security duties. Klittan closed down the original Neevi line several centuries ago, but a few ships, lovingly or grudgingly maintained, continue to soldier on with a few regional space patrols and transport companies. Some worlds, such as Eugenia and Georgia Prime, maintain Neevis as training ships in their space guard and merchant marine academies.
The Minion War brought a call for any and all available hulls to be pressed into service either as defense craft or transports, and Klittan found itself reopening several old assembly lines and cranking out a hastily updated version of the Neevi to meet the demand for more ships. Those lines closed back down just as quickly after hostilities subsided and a new generation of starships, constructed using lessons learned during the conflict, arrived on the markets, but the large amount of spare parts produced by Klittan have proven compatible with the older Neevis as well as the updated model. This has extended the life span of the older ships, making it possible that the ships may be seen operating for another century or more.

Type: KY-KFS02 Neevi
Class: Medium Interstellar Transport/Corvette
Crew: 21+ 30 troops, or 60 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 3,700
Sensory/Communications Array 700
Bridge 800
Forward Observation Blister/Heavy Turret 400
Forward Docking Hatch/Tube 300
Forward Sensory Array 700
Point Defense Laser Turrets(4, 2 dorsal, 2 ventral) 170 each
Missile Launchers(2) 250 each
Tractor Beam Projectors(Optional) (1-2) 300 each
Radiator Fins(4) 800 each
Engine Bloc 1,000
Forcefield 3,000
Height: 92 ft
Width: 210 ft
Length: 366 ft
Weight: 8,900 tons
Cargo: 900 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 40 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 4
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.4% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 3 light years per hour
(Underwater) Can land in and take off from water, but cannot operate underwater.
Market Cost: 125 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Light Starship Systems
Weapons Systems: None standard, but a fully-armed corvette would have the following:
1) Medium Laser Cannon(1, forward)----In place of the forward sensor/observation blister, a heavy turret mounting a Medium Starship Laser can be fitted.
Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per single shot
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee round
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Point Defense Laser Turrets(4, 2 dorsal, 2 ventral)----Located under sliding hatches in the side hull sponsons are four light laser cannons.
Range: 1 mile in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x10 MD per pulse-burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Missile Launchers(2)----Two missile launchers are hidden behind sliding hatches in the ventral hull. The original fitouts called for medium range missiles( payload 48, volley strength of 1-7), but later modifications allowed for short range missiles( payload 100, volley strength of 1-10) and long range missiles( payload 24, volley strength of 1-6) each.

4) Tractor Beam---Some Neevis were fitted with one or two tractor beam projectors adjacent to the forward sensor array. Each beam projector has a range of 50 miles in space, and a pull-power rating of 2,000 tons.

Auxiliary Craft: None

Variants:
* KY-WLBFS02----Navigational buoy/satellite tender. This variant replaces the forward docking tube with an extending hangar enclosure frame for capturing satellites for salvage, refueling, or repair. The forward observation blister mounts a tractor beam projector, and the internal cargo/passenger bays turned into machine shop facilities and supply tanks for conducting onsite repairs. External cargo frames can carry additional repair supplies, power cells, and satellites. Normally these ships carry only a pair of point defense turrets. Those Neevis most often found still in government service are of this type.
During the Minion War, a few of this type were pressed into service deploying defense satellites or laying space mines.

* KY-KFSC02----Freighter conversion of the Neevi. Passenger capacity and most armament, aside from the PDS turrets, has been removed to increase internal cargo capacity to 2,700 tons. Cargo loading is either through the forward docking tube or the former missile bay hatches. Most of the original runs of -KFS02s ended up being converted to this standard after being retired from patrol service. A few later ships sported External Cargo Clamps able to accommodate up to four Large Cargo Cans, two on each lateral hull.

* KY-KFS02M----Minion War re-issuance of the Neevi. Improvements included a boosted drive(Mach 7 and 5 light years/hour), updated structure(4,000 MDC main body, 1,800 MDC armored engine cowling, 1,200 MDC armored bridge) and two external docking clamps for shuttlecraft on the dorsal hull(one each side of centerline). The weapons mounts can now accept general-category weapons(or in the case of the Medium Weapons turret, paired- or even quad-barrel Light weapons). Redesigned missile bays increase ammunition capacity by 30%. A laser cooling system replaces the vulnerable radiator fins. A variable forcefield (700 each side, 4,800 total)was added as standard. Despite some commendable quick redesign work and the adoption of many modifications observed on older ships, the KY-KFS02M still did not prove equal to many contemporaries and the update enjoyed only modest sales, and production soon ceased after Minion War hostilities were considered to have dropped to a ‘yellow’-alert level . Klittan Yards, however, did produce a very large stockpile of spare parts that proved a boon to the operators of older vessels.

* KY-KFS02QP----The aquatic QuimBek of Calcid acquired several old Neevis and liked the design so much they approached Klittan and inquired about a custom model. This required some negotiation with the United Systems Alliance as many parts would have to be compatible with USAJC-standardized servicing. This required meeting with the USA’s primary regional aerospace industries, WZTechYards and Aegis Stellar Industries, but in the end KlittanY agreed to produce a substantially modified version of the updated Neevi, with ASI/WZT supplying and installing any differing or proprietary systems.
The KY-KFS02QP incorporates many of the basic structural and performance improvements of the KY-KFS02M, but makes the starship fully submersible, with a submerged speed of 45 MPH, and an operating depth of 2.8 miles. The life support system now supports water-breathers. Other changes included extensive water-sealing, sonar and magnetic anomaly sensors, weapons mounts compatible with the ASI/WZT Modular Starship Weapons System, and missile launch bays compatible with both general purpose missiles and equivalent torpedoes.
Production of the KY-KFS02QP has been limited to QuimBek requirements and the assembly line shut down after the last ordered vessel was delivered. Klittan Yards has kept the specifications on file, but it is unknown, if and when the QuimBek decide to acquire more of the vessels, whether Klittan Yards will reopen/convert an assembly line for the order, or license it to ASI/WZT. The design has not been offered to any other aquatic species(likely as part of the manufacturing agreement).
The KY-KFS02QP has been observed operating in Calcid space and around worlds hosting QuimBek enclaves, such as Felson, Percheyllus 9 and Gerundi.

[taalismn]

Malon Industries P-34 ‘Vysis’ Light Transport
(aka’Brutis’)
“The Vysis may be a commercial general sales no-show compared to the earlier civilian-nised Dylon variants, but the thinking in Market Analysis is that it was never intended for the open market, but as a thinly-disguised challenge to WZT’s Wasp and Sunchaser. As with the shakeups of the Forge and Minion Wars ceasing major big-fleet hostilities, but causing a lot of lower level conflicts and tensions to break out, a lot of PMCs are looking to get out and get a piece of the action, and they’re looking for ships to do so in. As Malon’s already got a good rep from its light military transporters, their brand-name’s well known among ex-servicemen, so that has to be part of Malon’s ad campaigning. The Vysis looks civilian enough to pass for such on the docks, but any ex-military looking at the manufacturer’s plate and spec sheets is going to recognize what’s really under the starsteel.”

“The Vysis’s streamlined sporter aesthetics, the aero-lined wings with inset solar panels, fighter-cockpit-style bridge, and tail bustling with engine, are let down by the blunt prow and general purpose docking port. It’s a grubber-snout on a racer-beast. Then again, Malon’s better known for designing flying crates, so any sort of streamlining’s a break from convention for them.”

“The success of the United Systems Alliance’s use of modular weapns systems has led to a number of metro-core shipyard firms adopting a similar approach in new designs, Rather than design their ships with specific model armament fitouts, they instead have designed general accommodation slots for type-class weapons, and let subdivisions or post-sale subcontractors fit in what the buyer wants. It’s nowhere near as fast and efficient as the usans’ swap-and-lock modularity, but it is faster and more accommodating than previous integrated model designing.”

The ‘Vysis’ is a light fast transport rolled out by aerospace firm Malon Industries, best known for its rather staid heavy shuttles and light transports. Thus it came as something of a surprise when Malon Ind. came out with what some called a ‘muscle car’ light transport.
The Vysis has a horizontally-oriented mono-bloc cylindrical hull, with short broad wings at midpoint, and a stern teeming with engine thrusters and shield generator housings. The bridge-cockpit sits atop the hull amidships, offset from the centerline by an adjacent housing for the ship’s variable facing forcefield generator. The underside of the wing-strakes are crowded with what look like jet intakes, but are mostly gas colectors, radiators, and reverse-thrusters. Inset into the upper surface of the wings are several high-efficiency solar collection-conversion panels; the extra power these panels supply helps reduce strain and draw on the main powerplant.
Cargo is carried in a single forward hold that takes up more than half the front end of the ship. The life section sits partially in a housing running along the top of the ship and in two galleries flanking the cargo hold.
Malon shows its military contacts in having mil-spec performance engines(especially a Class-E-d FTL drive taken from the Dylon 7D-line ) hidden under all the shiny busy stern assembly, and in available armaments. Physical armoring is modest, as is shield strength, but the Vysis comes standard with variable forceshielding.
Because of its armament and high performance, the Vysis is priced rather on the high side for metroworld general transport, but attractive to well-heeled adventurers and courier/delivery concerns. Though initial showings in sales to the general market have been lacklustre, the Vysis is doing well in the PMC and secured-courier markets.

Type: MI-P-34 ‘Vysis’
Class: Light Interstellar Transport
Crew: 7+1-8 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 1,900
Bridge 700
Engines 900
Wings(2) 400 each
Point Defense Turrets(4) 150 each
(Variable Forcefield) 800 each side (4,800 total)

Height: 35 ft
Width: 96 ft wingspan
Length: 200 ft
Weight: 800 tons
Cargo: 200 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 4; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 11
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.1% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5.5 light years per hour
Market Cost: 78 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Light Starship Systems, plus:
*Solar Collectors---The Vysis comes standard with a set of inset high-efficiency solar collector panels in the wings. These have been advertised as allowing greater power efficiency ‘in the rough’(presumably the Rim) by allowing the life systems to draw less power from the main engines. Rim analysts have been more skeptical about these claims, but concede that the collectors -do- work well and help the ships operate at rest without needing to plug into a space station or spaceport power grid.

*Gas Collectors--Another apparent effort to market a vessel that can ‘liveoff the land’. The large collection of intakes under the wings purport to include gas collector scoops that allow the ship to collect raw atmospheric gases, and separate/refine small quantities of breathable life support gases, water vapor, and reaction mass. Quoted performance stats claim this can extend life support by as much as 30%.

Weapons Systems: None standard, but has provision to be fitted with the following:
1) Medium Range Starship Weapon(1)---Concealed among the apparent intakes crowded under the wings is a powerful Medium-grade starship energy projector. The larger cannons, however, do tax the power systems, with a lower maximum rate of fire as the result.
Sample Weapon: ( Nuclex P-21 Particle Beam Cannon)
Range: 4 miles in atmosphere, 8 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 8,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: Three shots per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited
Note: These weapons are considered ILLEGAL in the metroworld systems and no ship known to be fitted with one will be allowed to enter those systems.

2) Missile Launchers(2)----Concealed in other false intakes are missile launchers; mini-missiles( 120 payload, 1-20 volley strength), short range( 72 payload, 1-16 volley strength), medium-range( 36 payload, 1-12 volley strength), or long-range( 12 payload, 1-4 volley strength).

3) Point Defense Cannon(4)---Mounted on the wingtips and concealed in the tail are PDS turrets.
For those wanting to stick to MI-made parts, the PDS can be fitted witha standardized Malon-built light laser system:
Range: 1 mile in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH, or 4 APMs under automated fire control
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

4) Countermeasure Launcher---Concealed in the stern nacelles are aerospace fighter-inspired countermeasure launchers; three different types of decoys can be deployed:
The first is simple sensor-reflective chaff and thermo-flares. These countermeasures are inexpensive and very effective against lower-end targeting systems and sensor equipment(such as that used by nations equivalent to the Coalition States on Rifts Earth), but are ineffectual against more advanced technology.
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
In space, anything flying at high speed through the cloud will take 2d6 MD +1d6 MD per every 100 miles of speed over 670 MPH.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 36

The second system releases a nanotech swarm of active jamming pods and decoys that are programmed to emulate a spacecraft’s sensor signature, or, at the very least, bury enemy tactical communications in ‘white noise’.
Effective Range: 25 mile jamming radius
Duration: 5 minutes per pod-spray
Effects: Jams radio signals(75% chance of jamming military band command-guidance ordnance), and 60% chance of deflecting ordinary missiles.
Payload: 9 swarm packs

The third system uses modified grav-pack drives and signal projectors to create a moving pattern of sensor signatures. The grav-pack mini-missile drives can go for 10 minutes before self-destructing, and can either be remotely directed or run a preset pattern.
Effective Speed: Mach 6
Duration: 10 minutes per pod
Effects: The decoys have a 70% chance of fooling enemy sensor operators and expert systems. They are are also +2 to enemy sensor-guided munitions to strike, increasing the chance that the missiles will elect to pursue the ‘louder’ sensor signature(the missile rolls to strike for both the original ship and each decoy deployed....highest to strike roll determines which target the missile(s) go after).
Payload: 6 decoys are carried, and can be deployed singly, or in ‘packs’ of 1-3.

Auxiliary Craft: None
Variants:
The Vysis is too new to have any major variants as yet.

Nosan Corp, ‘Aurate’ Star-Yacht
(aka’Goldi-lance’)
“It’s a pretty bauble, with enough bells and whistles that the fat-walleted will spring for it. While the ships look pretty much alike, they’re still exclusive enough that those who value prestigious comfort over identfiability will be well-satisfied with a Nosan. And for star yachts they’re inexpensive enough that they’ll have money left over. Want more? Wait in line and get a more expensive custom commission-built.”

“Omo Beseechi the great impressario bought two of these ships; one for his wife and the other for his mistress, figuring that it increased the chances of the two never meeting. Would have worked out nicely if he hadn’t gotten on the wrong one by mistake. ”

The ‘Aurate’ is Nosan Corps’ next step up in status-symbol private starships from its NC-SPS-2432 Adulac Space Yacht.
Like the Adulac, the Aurate is a ‘tail sitter’, but taller, beamier, and roomier. The ships have a signature metallic gold skinning and top ‘reflec-dome’. Unlike the Adulac, which is aimed at the starhopping tourist-class, the Aurate is aimed at upper management and B-list celebrity-classes looking for a comfortable personal cruiser and safe place to conduct business. Though of a standardized appearance, the Aurate both protects in anonymity, while still radiating a sense of status and wealth.
Though carrying over many of the features of the Adulac, such as its automated piloting and point defense systems, the Aurate upgrades many features such as the propulsion, communications, and shielding. The interior is roomy enough to include a comfortable private lounge/conference room and adjacent communications suite.
Though Nosan Corp has flooded the market with cheap Adulacs that often find their way into the hands of starhopping hoodlums, the Aurate is not so crassly marketed. Though the Adulac is frequently used in low-end planetary piracy, the Aurate is very rarely observed in such actions; Nosan Corp is rather more careful about who it sells the Aurate to. Nosan Corp sells the Aurate to many middle-wealthy buyers, including corporations looking to reward high middle-management types with a ‘golden’ transport or retirement yacht. However, the Aurate is as much a criminal enterprise as the Adulac; the Aurate gets the organized criminal concerns, the Ganetti Syndicate, behind the company into easy contact with a number of high-income corporations and individuals. Furthermore, more than a few Aurates have been wired to track and record the movements and activities of their owners; the data is regularly downloaded to a covert Nosan Corps network whenever the ships are serviced by NoC personnel or when they pass by NC facilities. This has provided the Ganetti Syndicate with volumes of sellable information and blackmail material.
Despite being a standardized design, the Aurate is still prestigious enough that sales are brisk to the well-heeled.

Type: NC-SPS-2700 Aurate
Class: Space Yacht
Crew: 1, plus 1-8 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 1,200
Reinforced Cabin 600
Point Defense Lasers(5) 25 each
Plasma Cannon 240
Forcefield 1,000*
*Regenerates at 10% per melee
Height: 180 ft
Width: 60 ft at base
Length: 60 ft at base
Weight: 385 tons
Cargo: 40 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 4; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 8
(Kitsune Values: 25% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.8% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not Possible. For an additional 9 million credits, the Aurate can be made amphibious so it can land, floats stably, and take off in water.
Market Cost: Prices start at 40 million credits, with the cost climbing sharply depending on what features and luxury fittings are added
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Expandable Forcefield--The forcefield expands out about 50 ft from the hull, allowing for the creation of a ‘safe zone’ around the ship for tourists and campers. For an extra 10 million credits, this can be made selectively permeable, blocking/filtering out odors and toxic gases, though it will not hold back a non-breathable planetary atmosphere or external overpressure.

*Hazard-Scan Systems---Nosan has equipped its ships with a complement of sensors designed to alert the crew to hazardous environs...meaning atmospheric, chemical, biological, and incidentally many military target acquisition systems. This system rivals many First Landing planetary survey landers’ sensory systems. Note that this system works only against PASSIVE threats, like poisonous atmospheres and radiation; it will not detect hostile magic or psionic activity, and while it may warn passengers of external motion, it cannot distinguish between an incoming landslide, a large predator, or a local oversized sentient coming around to say hello.

*Crash Control Systems---In event of a crash, Nosan’s ‘goof-proof’ safety systems cut in, using a combination of airbags, quick-release inert aerogel, and cushioning forcefields to protect the passengers, reducing crash damage to them by 75%.

*Nosan Automated Piloting System--Nosan’s ‘foolproof’ piloting system with extensive A.I. pilot tutorial and situation response software makes the ships very easy to fly; +10% to pilot skill, but the ships are -15% for extreme aerobatic maneuvers with the automated systems online...the safety systems tend to fight the pilot from doing death-defying feats that obviously endanger the ship and its passengers, and will automatically steer the ship onto a more conservatively safe course(this may lead to problems if you’re skimming a star’s chromasphere to avoid the pursuing TGE cruisers on your tail).

*FTL Communications Suite----The Aurate comes standard with a ten-channel(in addotion to the reserved emergency bands) FTL radio system. This allows for simultaneous two-way conference calls with up to ten participants.42 ly/hrcomm speed.

*Laser Reflective Armor---Not quite; the gold-tinted hull reduces laser damage by 30%, but it won’t stop ‘hard’ battle lasers.

Weapons Systems:
1) Nosan Point Defense System---”Because Success makes you a target, protect yourself!”; not the most comforting catchphrase, but it sells Nosans. Money attracts opportunists, some of who aren’t above using force(and Nosan well knows that). The standard fit PDS on an Adulac has been carried over to the Aurate, but improved, The automated lasers have been improved with better focal optics for increased range and a fifth node added. The plasma cannon has a second barrel added for a one-two punch.
Range:(Lasers) 11,000 ft in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 40 miles in space)
(Plasma Cannon) 4,000 ft in atmosphere, 1.5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 1.5 miles in atmosphere, 15 miles in space)
Damage:(Lasers) 6d6 MD per blast
(Plasma Cannon) 2d6 x10 MD per blast, 4d6x10 MD for a double blast.
Rate of Fire:(Lasers) EGCHH; under control of the automated defense system, the lasers have 5 shots per melee and +2 to strike.
(Plasma Cannon) EGCHH; under control of the automated defense system, the plasma cannon has 3 shots per melee and +2 to strike.
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

Auxiliary Craft:
Lower garage chambers have room for up to four personal hovercraft or hovercars, or a lifepod.

Options:
As with the Adulac, Aurates seldom remain ‘standard’; though most customizations are internal. Some buyers spring for better propulsion systems, custom armament suites, variable forcefields, military-grade communications, or full laser-reflective armor.

Variants:
*NC-SPS-2700F---’Fatower’---25% greater/wider in diameter, MDC, and cost, the -SPS-2700F has even more interior room, though otherwise performance remains the sam as the base model Aurate.

GM Hooks:
*Hooked a Wrong One----The Ganetti Syndicate has come into some hot information about a Naruni executive making a deal with a Hartigal Combine official. Problem is, the covert conferences were tapped aboard the Naruni officer’s Aurate yacht. How to use this information to best advantage could prove difficult. Anything involving selling or using the information in efforts to leverage deals with/to Naruni will have NE wanting to know how the information was obtained(a turnabout could be that NE knew about the deal all along as part of an entrappment operation aimed at hurting Hartigal; now the Naruni know that a third party’s spying on them). Mishandling the information could result in Naruni coming after Nosan and the Syndicate. Likewise, trying to use the information against Hartigal could backfire badly.

[taalismn]

Gradually working the starships out of my blood until other inspirations come along....

*Tri-Galactic Driveyards ‘Avonte-Seven’ Interstellar Yacht
(aka ’Trike’,’Zorster’,’Zip-cruiser’ )
“Right...this thing’s a yacht only if you squint real hard...I mean really hard.”

“Lines that cut like a knife, mil-grade engines, sesnors, and shields, and a respectable gun-load. The price-tag’s still a bit steep, but that’s just metrocorp price-gouging, parts and labor, and a lot of folks I know easily put out extra for something that shines confidence.”

“The Avonte’s got charisma, I admit---it looks like something Rahv Flashard would fly on -Bounty Galaxy-, and TriGalyards didn’t half-ass the technicals at least. But those good looks make it stand out too much; showing up in one at a darkport or fringe-station will get people talkin’. Most bountyhunters I know like to operate more subtle, unless they’re deliberately hobnobbing with the local money and sportsmen. ”

“Bit pricey for a torpedo boat, but hey, it’s your money.”
---Anonymous USA Rimmer.

“We’re seeing something of a ripple effect with the opening of the Rim; a lot of metroworld aerospace firms are shaking the dust off themselves and trying to regain or stake their share of the outward aerospace market with a slew of new designs, figuring that they can do better than the ‘yokels’. Most of them can’t, but not for lack of trying, and there is, of course, a lot of outward-bound adventurers and fortune-seekers who will buy what they think is the best closer to home before setting out for the Fringe, so the market’s been busy.”

“The explosion of industries in the Rim have made larger warcraft possible and cheaper to build and maintain, and a good many smaller polities are doing just that to give their defense forces heavy iron...but the same build-up has meant that they can also build larger fleets of smaller combatants. The -smart- polities are building up bigger mosquito fleets that can cover more ground and badger the hell out of larger vessels. For those pocket star nations that can’t build themselves fast attack flotillas in number, the recent wave of new-builds from the mid-Rim works out for them as well.
Of course, the unstated downside to this is that it also means that pirates and insurgents now have greater access to a lot of ships that are ready-made with their type of warfare in mind, but that’s the vicious cycle for you.”

The ‘Avonte-Seven’ is the latest offering in the well-regarded Avonte-series of interstellar yachts and commercial racing ships from TriGalactic DriveYards. However, rather than selling strictly to the civilian market with the -7, TGD is pitching the latest Avonte to a broader paramilitary segment of buyers, such as adventurers and security forces.
The Avonte-7 departs from previous designs in having clearly military-inspired lines, in an obvious appeal to the runner market. The Avonte-7 flies more like a patrol craft, and it’s rumored that TGD enlisted the help of Devian Astron to develop the weapons systems.
With its rakish triangular lines, the Avonte-7 looks fast and menacing, even at rest. Semi-exposed rear engine nacelles hint at great power(and incidentally make for easier engine substitutions). Sharp angular wing-fins give it an extra element of marine predator in its looks...as qwell as provide mounting points for its main armament.
Internally, the ship features a spacious cabin under the cockpit with comfortable extra-wide bunk accommdations, relief station with z-gee show/bath, and a well-equipped kitchenette. Extensive automation eases the strain on pilot/crew efficiency, making the ship very comfortable to fly(and fight).
Armament also shows a change in overall design philosophy. For a ‘yacht’ of its mass-bracket, the Avonte-7 comes standard with some rather heavy armament slots. Rather than lock the A-7 into a specific configuration of specialized weaponry(and specific vendors and subcontractors), TriGalactic DriveYards has, like a number of other shipbuilders, left the armament slots opne to accommodate a variety of general category -class weapons. This has allowed buyers to pick and choose what specific gun models they want or can maintain. Though this has led to some problems in shoehorning specific models into compliance with the power delivery, fire control, and coolling systems, it has also meant faster construction of the basic spaceframes and delivery to the customers. The Avonte-7 generally carries two wing-mounted cannon arrays and a medium range missile launcher. Advanced fire control tied to military sensors allows for more accurate use of those weapons, and a countermeasure launch system helps the ship survive against counter-fire.
The Avonte-7 lacks the endurance of larger warcraft and is not recommended for extragalactic travel, but it works perfectly well in relatively short range ‘sprints’ or as a parasite craft aboard larger carriers. One of the other complaints about the Avonte-7 is that it shows the tempermantal nature of racing ships in that it requires more regular maintainence to keep its advanced systems at peak performance; it is estimated that the A-7 requires 30% more hangar down-time to maintain its extra bonuses in operation.
Though newly introduced, the Avonte-Seven is already getting orders from system security forces and private security companies looking for a fast agile and photogenic patrol and escort craft.

Type: TGD-Avt-7 ‘Avonte-Seven’
Class: Interstellar Yacht/Light Transport/Patroler
Crew: 4+ 1-4 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 1,500
Bridge 600
Engines 900
Wings(2) 500 each
Rear Point Defense Turret 200
Missile Launcher(underside) 300
(Variable Forcefield) 300 each side(1,800 total)

Height: 25 ft
Width: 124 ft wingspan
Length: 150 ft
Weight: 275 tons
Cargo: 5 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/20 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 6; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 9
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.9% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour

Market Cost: 46 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Light Starship Systems, plus:
*Military-Grade Sensors---Top of the line Nebex CosmaScan IV sensor suite; can track ships in normal space at 250,000 miles and real-time detect FTL drives at 9.8 light years.

*Advanced Fire Control----: +3 to strike with ranged weapons.

*Advanced Flight Controls----The Avonte-7 shows its racer lineage in its responsive controls: +2 to Dodge/Roll. +10% to Piloting rolls thanks to the advanced control interfaces.

*Aerobrakes---These deployable air foils and fence panels reduce speed by 10% every 10 minutes the spacecraft is skimming atmosphere.

Weapons Systems:
1)Triple Light Cannon Arrays(3x2)---The sharp short wings of the Avonte-7 are less aerodynamic lifting surfaces and more mounting pylons for a triple-cannon array of Light energy projectors(typically all of the same type). Simultaneous volley strength adds up and the cannons run cool. Despite the wings’ apparent rigid fixed position, they actually swivel at the roots, allowing the Avt-7 to engage targets above, below, and even behind the ship.
Sample Weapon: ( TGD-L07 Light Laser Cannon)
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per single shot, 6d6x10 MD for all three lasers in an array firing simultaneously, 12d6x10 MD for a six-shot(both wings) firing simultaneously(counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively unlimited

2) Missile Launcher(1)----Concealed under the main fuselage is a medium-range missile launcher. This can be a short-( 60 payload, 1-20 volley strength) or medium-range( 60 payload, 1-10 volley strength) missile launcher.
Some option packages under discussion would upgrade to a long range heavy missile launcher with 25 LRMs or 12 cruise missiles.

3) Point Defense Cannon---Concealed in the tail is a Point Defense weapon station.

4)Countermeasure Launcher---- TGD’s taken up the trend to install aerospacefighter-style countermeasure launchers in the ship’s tail. Three different types of decoys can be deployed:
The first is simple sensor-reflective chaff and thermo-flares. These countermeasures are inexpensive and very effective against lower-end targeting systems and sensor equipment(such as that used by nations equivalent to the Coalition States on Rifts Earth), but are ineffectual against more advanced technology.
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
In space, anything flying at high speed through the cloud will take 2d6 MD +1d6 MD per every 100 miles of speed over 670 MPH.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 36

The second system releases a nanotech swarm of active jamming pods and decoys that are programmed to emulate a spacecraft’s sensor signature, or, at the very least, bury enemy tactical communications in ‘white noise’.
Effective Range: 25 mile jamming radius
Duration: 5 minutes per pod-spray
Effects: Jams radio signals(75% chance of jamming military band command-guidance ordnance), and 60% chance of deflecting ordinary missiles.
Payload: 9 swarm packs

The third system uses modified grav-pack drives and signal projectors to create a moving pattern of sensor signatures. The grav-pack mini-missile drives can go for 10 minutes before self-destructing, and can either be remotely directed or run a preset pattern.
Effective Speed: Mach 6
Duration: 10 minutes per pod
Effects: The decoys have a 70% chance of fooling enemy sensor operators and expert systems. They are are also +2 to enemy sensor-guided munitions to strike, increasing the chance that the missiles will elect to pursue the ‘louder’ sensor signature(the missile rolls to strike for both the original ship and each decoy deployed....highest to strike roll determines which target the missile(s) go after).
Payload: 6 decoys are carried, and can be deployed singly, or in ‘packs’ of 1-3.


Auxiliary Craft:
The Avonte-7 typically carries a small hovercar or pair of hovercycles.

Variants:
The Avonte-7 is too new to have any major variants as yet. There has been some discussion of different wing designs to fit different classes of weapons, such as missile launchers, EW systems, or heavier medium-range cannons, but nothing official has been realized. The most common variants would be alternate propulsion, such as boosted types, faster FTL drives, and exotic power systems such as TW or antimatter-fueled.

[taalismn]

Solex ‘Kyzix’ Heavy Transport Cruiser
(aka ‘SolaTrawler’, ‘Haula’)
“Looks like a wet-fleet tanker-transport, steers like a meat-beast and eats fuel like a storm drain. The old Parthians relied on pray-and-spray shooting when facing anything not as big and slow as themselves. Taking the guns off them and turning them into haulas was doing the design a favor.”

“Comparing them to the Usagi-conversion Huntress-class light cruisers is doing a disservice because the two ships come from different cultural techbases; described out of context the Solex ship is -always- going to come off a distant second best. Properly evaluated with that in mind, the Kyzix is actually a pretty good ship for the Solfex’s needs and a good second-life use of an otherwise very mediocre warship.”

“Exercise care when interdicting these ships; with the Solar-Fed falling apart into an open warzone, transport captains are awfully twitchy of late. They could run from you and damage their ships, they could put up a fight with their popguns, or they might just kamikaze on you. And a lot of them are carrying cargoes they wouldn’t have when the Solfex spacelanes were more peaceful and orderly; refugees fleeing combat zones, desperately needed food supplies, hazardous chemicals for military industries, or ...and both sides are guilty of this...loads of hostages or slaves. Some of the emergent warlords like using these ships to carry their loot, including slaves being broken on mindracks, to their hideouts. You jostle these ships too hard, and you may wind up killing innocent people, so you have to finesse stop and boarding actions in the interdiction zones. ”

The ‘Kyzix’ is a large multipurpose transport cruiser that is in service throughout the Solex Federation. It is derived from an earlier warship design, the Parthian-class heavy cruiser that reached obsolescence several decades previously. Early Kyszixes were in fact converted Parthians, it having been discovered that with the turret openings in the hull fared over, the freighter conversions were actually sturdier than the original warships.
The Parthian/ Kyszix belongs to the same generation of ship design as the Human Alliance Corister and Stonewall. The relative isolation of the Solex Federation has kept the state of the art fairly stagnant, and the Kyszixes have little in the way of advanced technologies. They have a large uniblock hull with jutting multi-paned sensors in the bow, a ventral missile-launch bow, and a protruding bridge/sensor tower in the rear, just ahead of a tall communications pylon, atop the large engines. These are flanked by two auxiliary propulsion units. A ventral hangar bay, resembling an airscoop, sits at the bottom of the hull, opening to the front.
The resemblance of the design to seafaring freighters has earned the Kyszixes such nicknames as ‘Trawler’ and ‘Rust-Belly’.
Despite their antiquated design, Kyszixes are very sturdy vessels. Internal spaces meant to hold heavy rail gun and large missile bunkers are now available for conversion to cargo and passenger space. The massive engines, though large, cumbersome and inefficient, require little overall maintenance, and their redundancy means that entire sections can be taken down for servicing while the ship is still running(it was common practice in the Solex Federation Space Navy to assign constant make-work duty checking and scrubbing the engine bays). Armor protection is fairly good, the hull being reinforced and compartmentalized for battle damage.
The downside is the age and demilitarization of the Partian hulls; the dated engines are slow, the avionics are stodgy and the armament is pop-gun grade.
The Solex Federation manufactured hundreds of Kyszixes, in addition to the hundreds of Parthian conversions. Kyszixes serve throughout the Solex Federation as multipurpose naval transports, training vessels, picketcraft, troopcarriers, and tenders. For lack of anything better, some Solex worlds use them as system defense ships, though their light armament is virtually useless against dedicated warships. The old Parthian assembly lines were kept working turning out transports well-past what others would consider the life expectancy of the tooling.
Most Kyszixes served with the Solex Federation Space Navy, with some older and early models being sold to megacoporations within the Federation. With the breakup of the Federation and descent into civil war, a good number of these naval vessels have been seized by their Colonial crews and pressed into service as part of the various Colonial resistance forces. More than a few have fled the warzone, their hulls packed with refugees, to seek sanctuary elsewhere. Away from the protection of the Solex Federation Space Navy, however, many of these ships have fallen prey to pirates. Whether sold aboveboard by defecting crews or on the black market by the brigands who took them as prizes(and didn’t press them into their own service), a number of Kyszixes have shown up in the hands of operators outside the crumbling Solex Federation. The United Systems Alliance has acquired some of these ships and uses them for special operations around the edges of Solex territory and elsewhere.
A few aged Parthians still exist in corners of the Solex, and there have been a few efforts to convert the Kyszixes back into full-fledged warcruisers, but these are signs of desperation, as the design is too old, slow, and inefficient.

Type: SF-HIMC17 Kyszix
Class: Heavy Interstellar Multipurpose Transport
Crew: 420+120 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 16,000
Bridge 3,000
Main Communications Antennae 700
Forward Bow Sensor Array 900
Missile Bow 900
Point Defense Turrets(8 ) 150 each
Engine Blocc 11,000
Secondary Engines(2) 2,400 each
Hangar Bay 1,000
Forcefield 4,000
Height: 240 ft
Width: 210 ft
Length: 540 ft
Weight: 65,000 tons
Cargo: 11,000 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear fusion w/ 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 6
(Kitsune Values: 40% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.6% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
(Underwater) Limited; Kyszixes can land and take off from water, but rarely do so, and they cannot operate underwater.
Market Cost: 174 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems

Vulnerabilities:
Being several generations in technology behind advanced star nations, Kyszixes have a number of shortcomings:

*Slow FTL Engagement---The massive FTL drive units of the Kyszixes take roughly 15 minutes(or 4d6 minutes) to go from a ‘cold’ start to readiness for jump to FTL. Also, upon dropping out of FTL, they cannot re-engage safely for 45 minutes. A ‘hot’ jump can be attempted, but this carries a 30% chance of doing 6d6x10 MD internal stress damage, a 40% chance of taking the FTL drive COMPLETELY offline(+another 30% failure chance and TRIPLE the internal damage if the engines are still operational and another ‘hot’ jump is attempted).

*Sensor Self-Masking---If the forcefield is engaged, the ship’s sensor acuity and range drops by 30%. The main direct fire armaments will be at -1 to strike beyond 70% of their maximum range(missiles are unaffected).

*Sensor Jamming Vulnerability--- The Kyszixes’ downgraded sensors have a -20% disadvantage to see through ‘standard’ CCW/TGE-level jamming/active cloaking systems. This is raised to -25% for detecting cloaked approaches from behind, thanks to the heavy efflux generated by the massive engines.

Weapons Systems:
1) Point Defense Lasers(4)---- Basic energy-based PDS.
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 14 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 7 miles in atmosphere, 700 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Point Defense Rail Guns(4)----The Solex also rely on rail guns for point defense. These are fairly effective at throwing out a ‘flak curtain’ around the ship, as long as their fire control can coordinate their firing.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per cannon
Rate of Fire: Each barrel can fire four times per melee
Payload: 800 rds per gun

3) Medium Range Missile Launcher----The old Parthians carried four such launchers and a battery of long range missile launchers; the Kyszixes carry only one in the nose.
Range:Varies by missile type(speed and range x4 in space)
(Kitsune Values: 160 miles in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by missile type
Rate of Fire: From 1-20 missiles can be fired in one volley
Payload: 100 MRMs per launcher. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes

Auxiliary Craft:
Standard complement of 4 shuttles
Can carry 6 fighters

Variants:
Numerous utility variants of the Kyszix exist, outfitted as prison barges, space buoy tenders, liquid and gaseous cargo carriers, training ships, and fleet logistics carriers. These vessels vary little externally and performance-wise, with only the internal fittings and partitioning differing.

*SF-CG17---The original Parthian-class heavy cruiser. The large cargo spaces of the Kyszix were originally, on the Parthian, magazines for the rail guns and missile launchers, and power rooms for the bulky particle beam weapons and variable shield generators. Hull strength actually DROPS to 14,000 MDC main body, but the Parthian was fitted with a VFS(2,000 per side, 12,000 total) and the engines can make Mach 8.
Armament consists of two heavy particle beam weapons( 1d4x1,000 MD per blast, range of 16 miles in atmosphere, 32 miles in space, 3 shots per melee, effectively unlimited payload), four large rail guns( 1d6x100 MD per burst, range of 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space, 4 shots per melee, 1,000 bursts per gun), and two long range missile launchers(payload of 100 each, volley strength of 1-10).

* SF-HICQ17---Q-ship variant. The Kyszix has been around long enough that many people have forgotten its warship origins. The SF-HICQ17 seeks to take advantage of that by mounting extra armament under its freighter skin and pose as a poor helpless lost transport.
The SF-HICQ17 retains the VFS of the Parthian-class, though operationally, the military-grade shields are rarely engaged until a pirate is lured in close. Armament is restricted to types that could be concealed internally behind sliding hull ports, but the Q-ship is still well-armed with 16 point defense rail guns(8 each side), 12 point defense lasers(6 each side), 4 medium range missile launchers, and 2 heavy missile launchers (payload 80 each, volley strength of 1-6). The ships also carry 300 naval troops for boarding actions.
A few SF-HICQ17s are known to have been converted for special operations, but all sign of them disappeared when the Federation collapsed. It is now suspected that both the Federation Loyalist and Colonial factions seized these vessels for their own use and operate them in the manner of pirates against each others’ shipping.

*SF/USAJC-HIMC17---United Systems Alliance Q/spyship conversion. Ironically, these operate in the same ANTI-pirate capacity as the SF-HICQ17 was MEANT to, and there is some betting in USA spook circles as to when SF-HIMC17 and the SF-HICQ17s will meet and what will be the outcome.
The SF-HIMC17 has been modified with x6 WZT/ASI Medium Starship Mounts, x4 medium range missile launchers (payload 160 each, volley strength of 1-20), and x8 Point Defense Turrets and variable forcefields of 3,000 per side, 18,000 total. Four tractor beam projectors(Range: 10 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)(Kitsune Values: 10,000 miles in space), and each rated for 4,000 tons dead weight ) are mounted to give the ships the ability to lock on to target vessels. Engine performance has been upped to give the ships a pursuit/escape speed of Mach 8.8 in normal space, and lacks the slow revv-up. They also sport enhanced sensors(minus the sensor shadows and gaps) and scrambler fields to detect other ships and deflect sensors in return. Two platoons ( 200 effectives) of Stelmarine raiders are available for boarding actions. Advanced fire control gives the ship’s weapons a +3 to strike.

[taalismn]

WZT-Arnoth ‘Scazer’ Corvette
(aka ‘Sniperstar’,‘’Scrapstar’,‘Arnorf’)
“The Scazer’s never going to win any beauty contests; it has an asymmetrical warthog-ugly sprawl of hulls and surfaces that no amount of paint will ever make artistic. Frankly, the thing looks like a starfish that tried to eat an orbital killsat. On the other hand it is quite functional. They fit in quite well with the rest of Alliance gear.”

“All those decoy pods and chaff canisters in the ship’s belly sure came in handy when the Golgans tried to bomb the Scothis shipyards; the defense picket Scazers started dropping decoys left and right, so many that the Golgan long range torpedoes had trouble locking on to individual targets in the ‘yards. Oh, a few got through and hit the ‘yards.... a target that big’s very hard to miss.....but they mainly took out noncritical sections that could be worked around, or old hulks being dissasembled. The shipyards kept operational, and that was the important thing. The Scazers really proved their worth.”

“The Arnoth being low-gravirs, a lot of the life section’s taken up by multiple-redundancy inertial dampers and gravity baffles, otherwise the stated accel-decel rates could never be achieved without turning the crew into red splush.”

“The Arnoth may not be able to contribute much to the overall military strength of the Alliance, but at least they can defend their liittle corner of it pretty well.”

The ‘Scazer’-class corvette/strike ship started out as a collaboration between WZTechYards and the recently inducted United Systems Alliance member Sothis(homeworld of the Arnoth), as part of the program to upgrade the Arnoths’ industrial capabilities. The Arnoth also wanted to try their hand at developing an indigenous light warcraft that could be locally produced for home system defense, and also potentially be exported for sale. Using a combination of Golgan-base- and USA-tech, the combined engineering team drafted the design for the Scazer and soon had a prototype flying out of the Sothis shipyards.
The Scazer has the ‘scrapyard aesthetic’ so common to Arnoth designs, but is actually rather cleaner than previous kludge-designs. The Scazer has an asymmetrical pairing of two hulls side by side, one a heavily armored crew section and the other dedicated to a large axial energy weapon, joined at the rear by a power section and four propulsion nacelles.Two wings are added, mainly as mounting pylons for a pair of missile launchers and point defense turrets. USA technical assistance is evident in the installation of advanced fire control and associated sensors of a sort recently being refitted to many Alliance ships, as well as a countermeasure launch system.
Accommodations are a best described as ‘snug’. The ships are designed for system defense and thus lack accommodations for long duration missions away from the facilities of a base. The design’s FTL drive is meant mainly for ferrying purposes between narby solar systems.
The main criticism of the Scazer is its lack of a secondary weapon to complement the heavy laser. If the main laser should be disabled or prove ineffective, the Scazer is reliant on its point defense turrets and a diminishing supply of missiles to remain in the fight.
The Scazer has turned out to be something of a breakout success for the Arnoth. The small warships have proven popular with their defense forces, and though the USA Joint Command has evinced little interest in them(due to so many already existing or in-development designs of their own), the Zyganian Empire has shown considerable interest in acquiring the design and several other ex-Golgan worlds have also been pegged as potential buyers.
The Scazer takes its name from that of a native Sothis amphibian notable for sporting a long poisonous spine-spike.

Type: WZT-ArSc-LCrv02 Scazer
Class: Aerospace Corvette
Crew: 15+ 1-8 passengers(typically mission specialists)
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 2,000
Bridge 900
Medium Energy Cannon(1) 1,000
Targeting Array* 500
Wings(2) 500 each
Missile Launchers (2) 300 each
Point Defense Turrets(4; 2 fuselage, 2 on the wings) 150 each
Engines(4) 900 each**
Variable Forcefield 300 per side (1,800 total)

* Destroying the Targeting Array negates any centralized fire control bonuses.
**Destroying an engine imposes a 25% reduction in speed

Height: 36 ft
Width: 36 ft, 86 ft wingspan
Length: 90
Weight: 450 tons
Cargo: 18 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 25 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 9
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.9% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 3 light years per hour
Market Cost: 98 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus;

*Targeting Array---- Alliance-supplied advanced fire control; the point defense turrets are networked and coordinated, and all get a +4 to strike. The main cannon gets a +2 to strike.

*EW Suite---Basic frequency jumping and radar/IR jamming/ECM suite for confusing sensor-guided weapons; -4 to strike. It can also project an offset ‘ghost’ sensor-cloud to decoy missiles.

Weapons Systems:
1) 10cm Medium Laser Cannon(1)----Occupying the portside hull-nacelle, this massive weapon, derived from Golgan shipyard stocks, is the primary weapon of the Scazer. The corvette acts as a sniper, angling to blast away at targets at range. The mounting of the weapon requires the crew to aim the ship, as the main laser is in a fixed-forward firing position, with only 30-degree elevation/depression.
Range: 45 miles in atmosphere, 70 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 70 miles in atmosphere, 70,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2D6 X 100 MD per blast.
Rate of Fire: Three times per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Point Defense System G-Railguns (2)----Mounted one ventrally under the cockpit and the other dorsally between the engines.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 5 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
Damage: 2D4 X 10 MD per burst.
Rate of Fire: HTH of Gunner
Payload: 10,000 rounds per gun

3) Point Defense Lasers (2)----Wingtip-mounted.
Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 1,000 miles in space)
Damage: 3D6 X 10 MD per burst.
Rate of Fire: HTH of Gunner
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

4) Missile Launchers (2)----Buried in the root of each wing is a multi-munition missile launcher.
The launchers can hold the following configurations:
a) Short Range Missiles-----100
b) Medium Range Missiles----50
c) Long Range Missiles----18

5) Countermeasure Launcher Bay---Located in the central ventral hull is a bay for launching countermeasure pods.; three different types of decoys can be deployed:
The first is simple sensor-reflective chaff and thermo-flares. These countermeasures are inexpensive and very effective against lower-end targeting systems and sensor equipment(such as that used by nations equivalent to the Coalition States on Rifts Earth), but are ineffectual against more advanced technology.
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
In space, anything flying at high speed through the cloud will take 2d6 MD +1d6 MD per every 100 miles of speed over 670 MPH.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 108

The second system releases a nanotech swarm of active jamming pods and decoys that are programmed to emulate a spacecraft’s sensor signature, or, at the very least, bury enemy tactical communications in ‘white noise’.
Effective Range: 25 mile jamming radius
Duration: 5 minutes per pod-spray
Effects: Jams radio signals(75% chance of jamming military band command-guidance ordnance), and 60% chance of deflecting ordinary missiles.
Payload: 27 swarm packs

The third system uses modified grav-pack drives and signal projectors to create a moving pattern of sensor signatures. The grav-pack mini-missile drives can go for 10 minutes before self-destructing, and can either be remotely directed or run a preset pattern.
Effective Speed: Mach 6
Duration: 10 minutes per pod
Effects: The decoys have a 70% chance of fooling enemy sensor operators and expert systems. They are are also +2 to enemy sensor-guided munitions to strike, increasing the chance that the missiles will elect to pursue the ‘louder’ sensor signature(the missile rolls to strike for both the original ship and each decoy deployed....highest to strike roll determines which target the missile(s) go after).
Payload: 18 decoys are carried, and can be deployed singly, or in ‘packs’ of 1-3.


Auxiliary Craft: None

Variants:
A number of experimental variants replace the main laser armament with other sub-capital weapons, heavy G-cannon, or missile launchers.
A more radical makeover, depending less on old Golgan hardware designs, would likely refit the Scazer to use USA/ASI/WZT modular weapons for the main cannon and point defese turrets.

*-ArSc-LCrv02Z----Zyganian-ordered variant. As both the Arnoth and the Zyganians have heavily Golgan-influenced tech-bases, the Zyganian military felt that the rugged design could be easily adopted by them.
Modifications include a less-cautious inertial damping for the human crew, and an upgraded FTL engine( 4 light years per hour).

[taalismn]

Forraker FA-STH7 Hevfed ‘Hevfed’ Heavy Interstellar Transport
(aka ‘DomeCrate’, ‘Super-Goda’)
“In their heyday, the HevFeds competed quite well with the Beagle liner-conversions on the more scenic runs out to the then-frontier. Both types carried agro-domes, so passengers could be assured of fresh food on the long trips ”

“The dome-crates had the haul-weight, but not the speed, for interstellar commerce. The end-point investors wanted speedy delivery, not leisurely cruises, and the new wave of wealthy adventurer-traders wanted personal ships, not large shared-occupancy people-movers. Forraker saw the big future market was in smaller and faster ships, and had to leave the stately big travelers behind.”

“Shipping out in a super-goda back in the day was an experience to be savored. The old -Wonderlust - had a different environ in each of its domes; desert, arctic, jungle, heavy gravity, low gravity, forest, coral reef, deep ocean....you could spend the trip doing a tour of the domes. It was wonderous. But holos were cheaper, and the old Wonderline folded. Last I heard of the won-lust, she was laid up as an orbital water-processor, taking on ships’ sewage and processing it, before selling back the ech-two-oh and recovered organics.”

The ‘Hevfed’ is another legacy design of Forraker Aerospace and was the largest ship-type the company attempted during their corporate life.
The Havfed had its origins in the Automaton Wars-era Heavy Federal Lifter Number Seven, a basic ‘minimalist’ cargo freighter designed for fast cheap construction to meet the needs of the anti-Network forces. Forraker and several other outworld shipyards jointly constructed the ships in part or in whole for the Human Alliance in the defense effort; Forraker learning a bit more about heavy transport design in the process. Post-War, Forraker decided to have a go at an upgraded and expanded version of the HFLN07, adding new sections and several habitat domes to the otherwise bland-lined cargo carrier, making it better suited to long range combined cargo-passenger transport.
The Hevfed has a large long cylindrical main hull, with four large heavily-framed pagoda-domes on both the ventral and dorsal sides. A large propulsion and power bloc was located at one end, and a large hangar bay at the other. Large lateral cargo airlocks allowed for more direct transfers of material into the domes(if carrying cargo), though these were typically fared over in passenger models. A central two-faced gravity-generation plate running through the center of the ship could provide a sense of ‘down’ towards the center of the ship. The ships were much more stoutly constructed than their HFLN07 ancestors, being intended less for easy construction and attrition logistics, and more for the long haul. Forraker also first trialed and endurance-tested the kelamium-titanium composite alloys that, other than acquiring a distinctive blue-green patina with exposure to free-space mon-atomic oxygen, remained strong with age and would be a regular feature of later Forraker spacecraft.
Hevfeds were used as heavy interstellar transports, both as commercial vessels and colonization transports, their domes proving practical as agro-habs.
When introduced, the massive ships were fairly popular in their day, and sold well with Belters and colonists. Limitations of the day with large FTL engines, however, led to the ships having notably slow speeds, especially compared to newer vessels that were coming out. Because of the ventral domes, Hevfeds had problems landing in anything other than microgravity, and so they were dependent on shuttlecraft or spacestations to load/offload to a planet, which was another limitation to the ships’ operations. They were also expensive to operate, especially with the Human Alliance’s limitations on AI systems. Soon after the formation of the CCW, and seeing growing competition from non-HA shipyards, Forraker quit manufacturing the giant Hevfeds after producing only a relative handful of these ships before deciding to concentrate on the smaller faster-selling light and medium trasports that would really make the company’s name during the Age of Expansion.
A few Hevfeds survive to this day, operating as ‘vintage’ spaceliners and the occasional super-hauler scow. The majority were converted into colonial spacestations (often after the initial transport phase was complete) and tanker outposts(there being enough domes to convert several into gas storage tanks and one of two retained as habitats for long duration station personnel and layover ship crews), it being a simple matter to link two or more end to end or side by side to make useful orbital structures of them.
With the growing economies of the Fringe better able to support large tonnage transfers, the need for heavy transport has increased. Advances in technology, especially propulsion, and reductions in production cost of larger vessels, have led to WZT and PS/ASI, who hold FA’s design rights, recently issuing updated models of the Hevfed.

Type: FA-STH7 Hevfed
Class: Heavy Interstellar Transport
Crew: 400 +1,000 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 40,000
Bridge 9,000
Domes(8, 4 dorsal, 4 ventral ) 4,000 each
Sensor/Communications Arrays(4) 900 each
Hangar Deck 3,000
Engine Bloc 9,000
Cargo Airlocks(16) 400 each
Forcefield 8,000

Height: 1,600 ft
Width: 1,600 ft
The domes are 860 ft in diameter(and would become the standard for many subsequent agrolander adaptations)
Length: 6,225 ft
Weight: 1.6 million tons
Cargo: 120,000 tons.
(300,000 tons if the domes are used wholly for cargo capacity instead)
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/50-year energy life, and solar power back-ups
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric., but rarely attempt to land
(Sublight) Mach 4
(Kitsune Values: 20% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.4% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 2 light years per hour

Market Cost: 68 billion credits

Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems
Weapons Systems: None standard, but many were fitted with as many as 16 point defense weapons stations, lasers being the most common.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

Auxiliary Craft:
* 12 shuttles

Variants:
*FA-STH7L---Starliner conversion, with luxury accommodations for up to 7,000 passengers and a host staff of 2,800.

*WZT-STH7B----ASI/WZT decided that the time was right for a revival of the HevFed and drafted an updated version of the ship. Improved and more efficient engines now push the ship up to Mach 6, can attain 30% of light speed, and FTL speeds to 5 light years/hour. The main hull has improved reinforcing(Main Body 50,000 MDC). Other features include upgraded avionics, sensors, and communications systems. A variable forcefield has been added, and the ship’s optional defense nodes can now support up to six medium-category starship weapons, and the rest modular PDS systems. Shields have been upgraded to a variable facing model( 2,000 per side, 12,000 total). Base cost for the improved model is 71 billion credits
The new variant has spawned several sub-types , depending on the operator and intended purpose. A biological lab ship variant features containment forcefields in the hab-domes for containing particularly active or hazardous biota.

[SolCannibal]

Interesting design and though quite different in description it reminds me a lot of the "citadels in space" colony domes from Macross 7 & Frontier, that would cover a number of clear and not so clear administrative, logistical & diplomatic functions as "urban centers/home ports" for the hybrid colonial/exploration fleets that swarmed around them.

[SolCannibal]

The Death Moth’s real draw is its low cost; WZTechYards typically prices its ships to move, endearing them to small-time military and police organizations that can’t buy from the larger intersteallar corporations or don’t want to get entangled dealing with the likes of Naruni Enterprises. Thus, the Death Moth is becoming a fairly common sight on military bases throughout the Rim States and Independent Systems, though it’s rumored that BOTH the Golgan Republik and several of its former vassal states have placed substantial orders for Death Moths.

I ask myself how the Golgies and WZT might feel about that big order - well, supposing that rumor is even true and not viral propaganda of its time - in the current context of how Republik x United Systems Alliance relations have turned of late.... Well, true or not, at least no Death Moths swarm from the attackers' side ever came up in the Battle for Altess Prime - that would have turned quite damaging for USA forces, on several kinds of levels.

Though their absence makes sense either way - considering the Moths are more of a "cheap system defense and patrol ships" than something you'd use as fighter complement, any such lot might have been distributed within the Republik itself, as substitute for local models (or Naruni purchases) they intended to liberate for use in "the Altess Operation". Not to mention some reverse-engineering and knocking' off on the side. Who knows.

[taalismn]

I ask myself how the Golgies and WZT might feel about that big order - well, supposing that rumor is even true and not viral propaganda of its time - in the current context of how Republik x United Systems Alliance relations have turned of late.... Well, true or not, at least no Death Moths swarm from the attackers' side ever came up in the Battle for Altess Prime - that would have turned quite damaging for USA forces, on several kinds of levels.

Though their absence makes sense either way - considering the Moths are more of a "cheap system defense and patrol ships" than something you'd use as fighter complement, any such lot might have been distributed within the Republik itself, as substitute for local models (or Naruni purchases) they intended to liberate for use in "the Altess Operation". Not to mention some reverse-engineering and knocking' off on the side. Who knows.

It's scary that you know my mental backyard better than I do.

[SolCannibal]

I ask myself how the Golgies and WZT might feel about that big order - well, supposing that rumor is even true and not viral propaganda of its time - in the current context of how Republik x United Systems Alliance relations have turned of late.... Well, true or not, at least no Death Moths swarm from the attackers' side ever came up in the Battle for Altess Prime - that would have turned quite damaging for USA forces, on several kinds of levels.

Though their absence makes sense either way - considering the Moths are more of a "cheap system defense and patrol ships" than something you'd use as fighter complement, any such lot might have been distributed within the Republik itself, as substitute for local models (or Naruni purchases) they intended to liberate for use in "the Altess Operation". Not to mention some reverse-engineering and knocking' off on the side. Who knows.

It's scary that you know my mental backyard better than I do.

I do have this propensity to check for little obscure footnotes and ending up picking other even more forgotten ones.
Was just looking into mentions of the Broctile Hegemony originally....

[taalismn]

PS/CTRL-SBGC01 Tarkas-class Battlecruiser
“With a full load of missile pods, a Tarkas can stay in a combat zone longer than a trio of smaller missile platforms and stay slugging without having to retreat and resupply.
Of course, though, putting that much firepower on one platform risks losing it all if the ship gets taken out. Battlecruiser captains and crews are very thoroughly trained in proper battlfield priorities and disabused of the notion that they’re invincible. The Usans do NOT like wasting multi-billion credit assets. ”

“Baruda’s supposedly an inaccessible wasteworld on the edge of the Dark Gulf, on the ass-end high water mark of one of the old imperial expansion bubbles of one of the Dextren Hives, Supposedly far enough from civilization that the slavers thought they could set up shop there, far from anybody of consequence. Well, misery calls, and there’s no place a merchant ship can get to that a warship can’t follow. The RIGHT sort of warship.”

“Got another Golgan taskforce probing off the Hollan Gulf, possibly looking to intimidate our colonies...or maybe looking to raid and grab some Bushi outposter hardware, what with the turmoil in the Bishi-Fed. Either way, they can’t be up to any good, what with the agitprop being spewed from the Enklaves. Joint Command wants us to take some of our new shiny heavies to go lurk around where the Golgans are most likely to go and show our teeth when they do show up. If the Amatsu-oni see us doing it, all the better; we can prove we’re fending off the sharks from following the blood they’re leaking.”

“The Tarkas shows ASI’s obsession with modularity, with the modules they introduced on the LaFayettes becoming a precedent and a standard. If one hull pod was a good idea, two must be better, three must be better still, and four...I’d think they were pushing it at four, but they already had their Norton-series battleships with -many- pods, so four must seem to them no big deal. The fact that a modular system originally developed for the LaFayettes has been adapted for so many other platforms and station mountings that shipyard depots are actually accumulating supply stocks of spares throughout Usan space speaks volumes of the system’s popularity and, besides, it keeps shipyard sub-assembly lines busy.
In many ways the Tarkas is the Koveh with the gun-weight of a proper heavy cruiser, on top of which are the mix-and-match mission pods.”

The Tarkas-class SBGC is another joint project between Greater New England(and later, by extension, the United Systems Alliance) and the Corianus-Typhen-Rosette League.
The Tarkas is based on the CTRL’s Carter-class fast battleship, an indigenious CTRL design that served during the Rosette Liberation. The Carters were designed to carry a division of small non-FTL destroyers across the stellar gulf to the Rosette system and provide heavy support to the embarked ships in combat operations. Though it served admirably in the Liberation and subsequent anti-pirate action, as the Thundercloud Rush brought larger polities such as the CCW and TGE closer to the CTRL, Navy planners acknowledged that the Carters were becoming long in the tooth compared to more modern vessels, and replacements were sought.
As part of their Navy upgrade program, the CTRL sold off several of its aging Carters off to their GNE allies, as well as agreeing to a shared-cost research program to upgrade the vessels, with an eye towards applying any advances to older ships still in CTRL Navy service.
Emboldened by their work in larger ships with WZTTechyards, PS/ASI engineers thought that the Carters could be more substantially reworked into an improved design that could be produced by the CTRL’s retooling shipyards.
Modernizing the Carter required removing some of the now-redundant reaction mass tankage feeding the large fuson plasma engines(though a secondary set of fusion drives would be retained), allowing the ship’s length to be compacted, and the existing weight of armor more effectively redistributed. The new design cut the external docking ports for the sublight destroyers(the designs would show up on PS/ASI’s Shepherd-class Light Escort Cruiser), the CTRL deciding to adopt PSS-DDES-15 Hauberk Light Destroyers as their smaller combatants. Instead, PS/ASI engineers used freed-up hull space to give the new SBGC the ability to mount mission-specific pods(themselves a side product of work on PS/ASIs Jayntu battleship program). The Carter’s reinforced structure can mount four modules in this manner. .
The newly-dubbed Tarkas-class is produced in the CTRL, with the CTRL Navy getting the lion’s share of new production, and a few making their way into the United Systems Alliance. A second (PS/ASI-run) facility is expected to start production soon, laying down Tarkas SBGCs for the Alliance.

Type: PS/CTRL-SBGC01 Tarkas
Class: Battlecruiser
Crew: 475+100 man aerospace group
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 95,000
Bridge 9,000
Engine Block 33,000
Secondary Engines 10,000
Heavy Laser Cannons(9) 900 each
Particle Beam Cannons(10) 900 each
Heavy Rail Guns(8 ) 1,200 each
Cruise Missile Launcher 1,000
Long Range Missile Launchers (4) 900 each
Point Defense Turrets(16) 360 each
Hangar Bays(2) 8,000 each
Mission Modules (4) 11,000 each
Variable Forcefield (6 ) 9,000 each side(54,000 total)
Height: 400 ft
Width: 800 ft
Length: 2, 350 ft
Weight: 1.9 million tons
Cargo: 45,000 tons (not counting possible cargo modules)
Powerplant:Nuclear Fusion equivalent w/ 50 year energy life
Contra-Gravitic Drive System
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Not Possible
(Sublight) Mach 10
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.0% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5.6 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: 40 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Full Sensor Suite---Specialized sensor pallets include radiation detectors and counters, spectrographic analysis devices, gravitic sensors, electromagnetic activity readers, and optics packages.
*Long Range Radar---Phased Array Search and Early Warning Radars---Maximum Resolution Range of 4 million miles

*Gravitic Sensors----55 million mile range
*Neutrino Detection----55,000 mile range
*Tachyon Radar---3 million miles

*Communications Suite:---Long Range Radio and Video

*Laser Communications ---Tactical (i.e. ship-to fighter/shuttle) Range: 200,000 miles.--For tight-beam communications, ship to ship, or ship/surface. The Laser can even be modulated to the blue-green for communicating with submerged vehicles.

*Optical Tracking Clusters----These are transparent blisters fitted with gimbal-mounted high-resolution visible-light/IR/UV optical telescopes that continually scan the arc of sky before them. Linked to the navigational arrays and other tracking sensors, and to a series of highly-sophisticated near-AI search and discrimination software systems, these sensors attempt to detect objects that have low radar returns/sensor signatures, such as stealthed vehicles, iceballs, or asteroids. The high-tech equivalent of the man in the crow’s nest with a pair of binoculars.

*Advanced Fire Control(All)----Improved avionics network the various hull sensors and fire control for more accurate targeting, a must when dealing with small agile targets such as fighters and missiles, and for tying in the long range sensors to the long range heavy batteries. Advanced Targeting Bonus: +4 to strike for point defense systems, +3 to strike for long range direct fire weaponry.

*ORACLE Mk V---Omni-diRectional Aura Classification and Locator Electronics---A TW development of the SNARLS PPE Scanner, this system consists of a series of advanced Technowizardry scanner systems(TW optic mounts, static crystal PPE meters, and whatnot) stationed around the ship, feeding into a central computer system with special TW-derived interface program algorithms. The system is designed to detect incoming magical/paranormal attacks and alert the crew to them(hopefully in time to allow them to take defensive measures). Linkage to the Ectofiber Grid has increased the sensitivity and effectiveness of this system.
See Aura: Slightly different than the spell in that it can scan an entire target such as a ship or station. The enchantment can be used to target a single individual but only have one tenth normal range when being used in that matter. Costs 60 P.P.E. per activation due to extended range. Range: 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) in space and 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: Gives an approximate count of the number of life forms onboard. Gives the average level of experience, highest level of experience, and lowest level of experience [Given in these terms: Low (1-3), medium (4-7), high (8th and up).] Tells if there is any magic onboard. Gives if there are any psychics onboard (Mind Block will prevent detection), Gives a general count on the amount of P.P.E. the target has (basically the P.P.E. of the crew and any devices which store P.P.E.). Detects if there is any kind of possession. Finally sees if the crew or ship has any unusual aberrations.
• See the Invisible Sensors: The ships has several special optical and other sensor systems with see the invisible on them. Same as spell and used at will (requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: 2,000 miles (3,220 kilometers) in space and 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: Can see forces, objects, and creatures which can turn invisible, or are invisible. Can also see vaporous beings and astral bodies.
• Sense Magic: The ship has sensors which the give the ability to detect active magic. Similar to spell and used at will (requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: 200,000 miles (322,000 kilometers) in space and 200 miles (320 km) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: detects the presence of magic if within detection range of ship and gives bearing on magic and basic range although not exact position. Detects active enchantments but will not generally detect spell casters in general.
• Sense Rifts: Ship has sensors which effectively allow Rifts to be detected(requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: 500,000 miles (805,000 kilometers) in space and 500 miles (805 km) in an atmosphere. Effects / Abilities: Detects the presence of Rifts (including those created by Rifts Drives) and unlike when detecting magic gives position very accurately.

Weapons Systems:
1) Heavy Laser Cannons(9; 3x3) ---Three triple-barrel turrets mounted in the forward hull.
Range: 30 miles in atmosphere, 90 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 90 miles in atmosphere, 90,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x1,000 MD per blast; 3d4x1,000 MD per triple blast ; up to three turrets can be brought to bear on the same target simultaneously in the forward arc and two in the lateral arcs, and fired in synch as one action.
Rate of Fire: Once per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Particle Beam Cannons(10) ---Strong secondary battery of PBCs.
Range:7 miles in atmosphere, 14 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 14 miles in atmosphere, 14,000 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x100 MD per cannon
Rate of Fire: Each barrel can fire three times per melee; up to four cannon can be brought to bear on the same target simultaneously and fired in synch as one action.
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Heavy Rail Guns(23; 3x7, 2x1) ---The Tarkas mounts seven triple-barrel mounts and one double-barrel mount heavy rail gun. The decision was made to use rail cannon over more sophisticated g-cannons to allow for maintenance using a lower tech-base, as might be found with many of the outlier worlds of the United Systems Alliance.
Range: 40 miles in atmosphere, 80 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 40 miles in atmosphere, 40,000 miles in space)
Damage:(Exploding/Fragmenting Fletchette): 5d6x10 MD to anything caught in a 500 ft wide cone/’cloud’----Targets are -2 to dodge the ’shotgun spread’
(Penetrator): 2d6x100 MD per cannon, 4d6x100 MD for a dual burst, 6d6x100 MD on a triple-barrel burst.
Rate of Fire: Four times per melee
Payload: 100 rds per cannon, reloading from the cargo hold takes 1d6 minutes( 500 tons ammunition storage, 1 ton of cargo per 12 rounds)

4) Cruise Missile Launcher---The Tarkas mounts a single large battery launcher for anti-ship cruise missiles but volley strength is equal to that of a WZT Shiva Missile Cruiser battery.
Range:Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-36
Payload: 360. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 20 minutes

5) Long Range Missile Launchers (4) ----These launchers are slightly less expensive and easier to supply than 3G Cruise Missiles, while still opening up the range between the warship and its targets. The launchers can also be used to launch decoy and recon probe payloads.
Range: Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10
Payload: 80 per launcher;320 total. Additional missiles may be carried as cargo, and reloaded from storage.

6) Point Defense Turrets(16)---CTRL ships use laser and mini-missile PDS turrets of CCW pattern, but USA ships use their modular PDS to customize their vessels.

7) Mission Modules (4)----Up to four mission pods can be attached to the Tarkas’s hull.

a) Aerospace Hangar Pod----Has provision for handling 12 fighters or 3 heavy shuttles
.
b)’B’-Barracks Pod---Adds passenger capacity, housing up to 120 passengers in diplomatic comfort, or 320 troops/crew)often required for any extra systems mounted in other pods) in more spartan accommodations. Independent life support(good for up to eight months). If so desired, at extra expense, the Habitat Module can be built with its own independent propulsion system(maximum speed of Mach 3), and can make planetary reentry on its own. On the J. Norton, this is sometimes used to deploy Stelmarine units, the detached pods serving as combat reentry capsules and ground bunkers.

c)’C’-Cargo Pod----Dedicated cargo module, adding 10,000 tons cargo capacity.

d) ’Ion Cannon Turrets(4; 2x2)---Adds capacity for four heavy ion cannons(double-barrel mounting in two turrets) and a dedicated powerplant.(ionization rules courtesy of Henning Rogge)
Range: 12 miles in space
(Kitsune Values) 12,000 miles in space
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per blast, 2d4x100 MD for a double-barrel blast
In addition to physical damage, the cannon does EM damage. Percentage of EM damage is determined in relation to target’s main body((damage/main body)x100=percentage). For every 10% of damage from main body in ion damage, target will be -1 to strike, parry. and dodge. In space target acceleration will be reduced by 15%, in atmosphere top speed will be reduced by 15%. Roll once on critical hit charts in Phazeworld or Conversion book as appropriate.
If target takes 60% of main body in ion damage, ship or vehicle will be disabled completely. All weapon, navigation, and other systems will shut down and need to be repaired/replaced to work again/reboot.
The ion cannon is equally effective against bionics
Rate of Fire: Five times per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

e) Tachyon Projector Turrets---Heavy Tachyon ScatterGun
Range: 10 miles (10,000 m) in space w/ 6 mile wide arc*
(Kitsune Values: 5,000 miles in space)
*Width are reduced to 1/4th in atmosphere
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload:Effectively Unlimited

f) Medium Lasers(4; 2x2)----Module mounts two turreted double-barrel medium laser cannon, as well as its own fire control and dedicated powerplant.
Range: 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per blast, 4d6x100 MD double-barrel blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

g) Quad Heavy Laser Cannon(4x1)---Four-barrel laser turret models taken from the Constitution Battlecruiser program.
Range: 200 miles in space
(Kitsune Values) 200,000 miles in space
Damage: 1d8x1,000 MD per full four-barrel blast(a single barrel does 2d10x100 MD)
Rate of Fire: Once every other melee; up to 6 turrets can be brought to bear on a single target in a single salvo
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

h) Medium Particle Beam Cannons(4, 2x2 mountings)----Module mounts turreted cannon, as well as its own fire control and dedicated powerplant. The two double-barrel turrets allow for a more rapid rate of fire, though less range and damage.
Range: 14 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 14,000 miles in space)
Damage: 4d4x100 MD per blast. 8d4x100 MD double-barrel blast
Rate of Fire: 3 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

i) Heavy Particle Beam Cannons(2x1)----Pod mounts turreted cannon, as well as its own fire control and dedicated powerplant.
Range: 60 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 60,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x1,000 MD per single blast, 2d6x1,000 MD per double-barreled blast.
Rate of Fire: Once every melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

j) Heavy Rail Guns(1x3)---A holdover from the earliest heavy warships in PS/ASI’s warship program; the triple-mount heavy kinetic cannons are reliable, versatile and still very capable.
Range: 80 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 40,000 miles in space)
Damage:(Exploding/Fragmenting Fletchette): 5d6x10 MD to anything caught in a 120 ft wide cone/’cloud’----Targets are -2 to dodge the ’shotgun spread’
(Penetrator): 2d6x100 MD
Rate of Fire: Four times per melee
Payload: 100 rds per cannon, reloading from the cargo hold takes 1d6 minutes( 500 tons ammunition storage, 1 ton of cargo per 12 rounds)

l) Long Range Missile Launchers---Standardized LRM launch cells.
Range: Varies by missile type(speed and range x4 in space)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by missile type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-25
Payload: 600 LRMs per pod, plus 500 tons of reloads, available to the launcher magazines within 15 minutes.
(Option)TW Breaching System(optional)---This can be fitted to any LRM missile prior to firing. Despite its high-PPE installation cost, the system is popular because it allows PS’s relatively low-tech missiles to penetrate high-tech energy shielding, and deliver a surprise knockout blow! Uses the Energy Disruption spell to penetrate enemy defenses. If facing a known magic-using enemy, this system may be enhanced with Dispel Magic Barrier. The system(values taken from Siege on Tolkeen 1, pg. 69) costs 495 PPE to install, 20 PPE to activate per minute of operation.

m) Heavy Torpedo/Cruise Missile Launchers----Paladin Steel didn’t initially have the technology to create cruise missiles on the same scale as the advanced worlds of the Three Galaxies, but they had devised a heavy long range missile (about the size of an old-style SLBM). Nicknamed ‘torpedoes’, these heavy weapons are typically reserved for assaulting the larger enemy capital ships, and fortified bases/spacestations.
Range: 1,000 miles(4,000 miles in space)
(Kitsune Values: 3,000 miles in atmosphere, 1,000,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4 x 1,000 MD to a 4.6 mile destruction radius
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10
Payload: 300 missiles per launch bay

(Option)Cruise Missiles
Range: Varies by missile type
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by missile type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-12
Payload: 360 missiles per launch bay

(Option) PS Long Lance IV---The Long Lance IV is the next generation heavy anti-spacecraft missile from PS, and was developed after the abysmal failure of most of the launched Long Lance IIs to reach the target during the Dreadnought Crisis . This SLBM-sized weapon is smarter, heavier, and carries its own ECM and countermeasures decoy launchers to give it a better chance of penetrating a target’s defenses.
Range: 1500 miles(6,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4 x 1,000 MD to a 4.6 mile destruction radius
Bonuses/Special:
*ECM----The missile has its own expert system and EW transmitters for jamming enemy radar, as well as evading their sensors. The missile is -6 for guided weapons to strike. 60% chance of evading radar detection to begin with.
*Flare/Chaff Launchers(1, 6 bundles)
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees

(Option) * X-Ray Laser Bombs
Weight: 10 tons
Range: 1,000 miles(4,000 miles in space)+laser range
(Kitsune Values: 3,000 miles in atmosphere, 1,000,000 miles in space)+laser range
Damage: 1d4x1,000 MD laser blast; range 70 miles(Kitsune Value: 70,000 miles). Laser-reflective armors do NOT halve X-ray laser damage.---One-shot weapon that destroys itself in the process of firing.
Advanced models can target as many as 10 separate targets within range simultaneously.

(Option) *Plasma Jet Bombs(aka ‘Casaba Howitzer’, or ‘Sunspot Bomb’)---A cousin of the X-Ray Laser Bomb and predecessor to the Plasma Torpedo, the Plasma Jet Bomb is essentially a shaped nuclear charge, generating a conical wave of super-excited plasma and radiation. The Plasma Jet Bomb lacks the range and multiple target engagement capability of the laser mine, but because it doesn’t expend all its force in all directions, it can produce higher damage than a regular omnidirectional plasma warhead.
Weight: 10 tons
Range: 1,000 miles(4,000 miles in space)+plasma range
(Kitsune Values: 3,000 miles in atmosphere, 1,000,000 miles in space)+plasma range
Damage: 1d6x1,000 MD plasma blast; range 30 miles(Kitsune Value: 30,000 miles), in a cone 30 degrees wide. The radiation also has a 60% chance of blanking out the target’s sensors for 1d6 melees---One-shot weapon that destroys itself in the process of firing.

n) Medium Range Missile Launchers(2)---Anti-spacecraft/anti-missile module mounting two large MRM launch arrays.
Range: Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 160 miles in atmosphere, 80,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-30
Payload: 600 missiles each launcher, plus 500 tons of reloads, available to the launcher magazines within 15 minutes .

0) Plasma Torpedo Bay-----This is a large, multiple-emitter ‘bank’ of launchers grouped with a tractor beam mount for targeting. These packets of plasma energy have the disadvantages of short range and low individual damage potential per ‘shot’, but have the pluses of area of effect, effectively limitless payload, and the ability to be launched in large salvoes, saturating enemy defenses and posing a real threat to multiple smaller targets. Each array fires bolts of plasma trapped in a temporary magnetic ‘shell’ centered on an evaporated ‘seed’ of ultra-dense deuterium ice, allowing the plasma to travel farther without losing cohesion and damage potential, and allowing the plasma to explode with area of effect on target. The result is an energy missile with superior range to normal energy weapons(though still well short of comparable missile weaponry) and potentially unlimited payload. However, the plasma packets CAN be grabbed/deflected by tractor beams(this is how the ship’s gunners can manipulate their energy projectiles at short range and correct their course....each of the launch arrays’ mounted tractor beams being able to grab and direct a volley of plasma bolts), or destabilized by ion or particle beam weapons fire(takes 20 MDC to disrupt the plasma containment).
Range: 20 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 200 miles in atmosphere, 200,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per blast to 100 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire: Each array can launch volleys of 1-18 torpedoes, twice per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

Auxiliary Craft:
36 Aerospace Fighters
8 Shuttlecraft

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel/Aegis Stellar Industries Barricade-class Defense Stations/Monitors
(aka ‘Black Marbles’, ‘Bailey Platforms’, ‘Saturners’, ‘Orbital Defense Cruiser’, ‘Saturn Cruiser’)
“Monitor construction allows a star nation to build up its military defenses without appearing to prepare for offensive operations against its neighbors, as would be the case if they were building FTL-capable heavy units. Of course, a paranoid neighbor might decide that a recent increase in monitor construction on the part of their neighbors is simply a prelude to using the completed units to allow more mobile units to be redeployed off system defense and shifted to strike operations while guarding against retaliation.”

“The prevalence of these constructs in a growing number of United System Alliance systems is proof that the usans, if they should come under heavy attack, mean to fight for every kilometer of space in their territory. Even with advance knowledge of such defenses, any opponent is still going to face a bloodying going in. Given how many refugees from TGE space and other habitual invaders have sought shelter in usan space, the usans have pretty good ideas what system invasions entail. Their contingency planning must be pretty extensive.”

“Monitors don’t have the option of quick retreats out-system if things go badly. The DUTY of a monitor is to stay and hold the line, and anything that can take on a monitor’s going to hammer that ship. Monitors have survived capital ship engagements and even been victorious, but they’ve more often than not come out the other end the worse for wear, and clearly having paid a steep price for their victory.”

“Being stationed aboard a Barricade takes the edge off Orbital Guard being a garrison assignment; the Barricade’s got the firepower of a heavy cruiser, the sensors and fire control to put it to best use, and it’s not a sitting waterfowl stuck in orbit waiting to be plucked like a station. It’s a warship posting, and that means a lot to more than a few space force recruits.”

“There’s enough similarities between the Bloc Is with thrusters and the Bloc IIIs with the improved annular drive rings that the two are often mistaken for each other on long range scans. That’s often proven to be an advantage to the defenders, as raiders expecting to be able to skirt around the wallowing defense platform have insead found a fully mobile monitor speeding up their backsides.”

“The Night-Harvesters thought they had a good idea using an old Torian heavy cruiser to hold the colony for ransom, and they certainly had the firepower on that thing to pull it off, but they made the mistake of taking their eyes off the factory station...which wasn’t. They glided right into the sights of six heavy laser cannon that were BUILT to carve through battleship armor.”

Barricade-class DSes are armored space stations meant as high-end defensive weapons platforms for protecting the high orbits of planets, or deep space facilities. They are sometimes deployed in orbit of worlds with recurrent dimensional rifts problems, as orbital fire support against whatever threats may emerge from the rifts.
Barrricades take the form of a large spheroid with a thick ring-like equatorial belt. They are heavily armored, heavily armed with a variety of weapons to a firepower-weight equivalent to a heavy cruiser, and carry a complement of small craft, such as fighters, and several large internal hangars able to accommodate larger craft such as cutters or destroyer escorts. ODPs and monitors carry extensive long range sensor amd advanced targeting systems, the better to have as much advance warning of an incoming threat as possible, and the accuracy to direct effective counterfire on them.
In some systems, the stations are heavily disguised with an outer layering of false baffles, antennae farms, storage pods, and habitat modules(some of which have actual utility as supplemental storage and work space for servicing satellite networks and space mines), in order to disguise their true purpose. Barricades also often serve as the orbital command center for defensive satellite networks and as local aerospace traffic control .
Barricades have enough mobility that many naval architects classify them as monitors(the latest models are actually faster than the old Stonewall-class heavy cruisers). However, the stations, while they are capable of interplanetary flight, generally limit their movement between orbits or circum-lunar maneuvers. Still, their extra mobility gives them an added edge as defensive assets.
Though Paladin Steel/Aegis Stellar Industries designed the first Barricade, the design has since been taken up and reproduced by WZTechyards and the Corianus-Typhen-Rosette League. The stations are a common sight in star systems of the United Systems Alliance, especially in heavily built-up systems such as Eugenia and around vital facilities such as the Kai-Shem shipyards. Frequently a tour of duty aboard a Barricade station/monitor is used as a training assignment for cadets and military academy graduates.
Several Barricades have also been deployed to blockaded worlds or those with known hazardous dimensional rifting activity on the surface, in which case the monitors are used to provide any friendly surface forces with pinpoint heavy ortillery against emergent threats. Barricades have also been used to protect Alliance affiliates on un-unified worlds from ICBM attack.

Type: (Bloc-I-II) PS/ASI-ODP03 Barricade
(Bloc-III) PS/ASI-OMC03
Class: (Bloc-I-II)Orbital Defense Platform/Battlestation
(Bloc-III) Defense Monitor
Crew: 500 + 220 aerospace group
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 110,000
Command Center 4,000
Heavy Lasers(6) 2,000 each
Kinetic Kill Cannon(3x8 ) 800 each
Heavy Missile Launchers(6) 800 each
Medium Weapons Turrets(12) 400 each
Point Defense Turrets(16) 200 each
Large Hangar Bays(2) 5,000 each
Small Hangar Bays(4) 3,000 each
Variable Forcefield (6 ) 9,000 each (54,000 total)*
*Shield Refresh Rate is 20% per melee

Height: 1,500 ft diameter
Width: 1,500 ft diameter central sphere, 1,800 ft diameter drive ring
Length: 1,500 ft diameter central sphere, 1,800 ft diameter drive ring
Weight: 950,000 tons
Cargo: 18,000 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 50 year energy life between refuelings/refurbishings
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Not possible
(Sublight) (Bloc-I-II) Mach 4
(Bloc-III) Mach 6
(Kitsune Values: 30% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.6% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) Not possible
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: (Bloc-I-II) 34 billion credits
(Bloc-III) 36 billion credits
Systems of Note:
*Full Sensor Suite---Specialized sensor pallets include radiation detectors and counters, spectrographic analysis devices, gravitic sensors, electromagnetic activity readers, and optics packages.
*Long Range Radar---Phased Array Search and Early Warning Radars---Maximum Resolution Range of 6.5 million miles
*Laser Targeting-------100,000 miles
*Communications Suite:---Long Range Radio and Video
*Laser Communications ---Tactical (i.e. ship-to fighter/shuttle)Range: 50,000 miles
*Optical Tracking Clusters----These are transparent blisters fitted with gimbal-mounted high-resolution visible-light/IR/UV optical telescopes that continually scan the arc of sky before them. Linked to the navigational arrays and other tracking sensors, and to a series of highly-sophisticated near-AI search and discrimination software systems, these sensors attempt to detect objects that have low radar returns/sensor signatures, such as stealthed vehicles, iceballs, or asteroids. The high-tech equivalent of the man in the crow’s nest with a pair of binoculars.

*Advanced Fire Control----Improved avionics networks the various hull sensors and fire control for more accurate targeting, a must when dealing with small agile targets such as fighters and missiles. Advanced Targeting Bonus: +4 to strike

*Electronic Countermeasures/Jamming---The Barricade can’t hide itself, but its powerful jamming systems can throw out enough electronic confusion as to hamper enemy targeting sensors;-4 to strike.

*Tractor Beam Projectors(6)------Effectively each rated for 1,500 tons dead weight, but can be used for imparting small changes in momentum/direction to ships/structures several times that mass.
Range: 10 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)(Kitsune Values: 10,000 miles in space).

Weapons Systems:
1) Heavy Laser Cannons(6)---These are powerful capital-class starship weapons for engaging heavily armored enemy units. Three can be brought to bear on the same target at any given time.
• Range:(Palladium) 30 miles in atmosphere/ 100 miles in space
? (Kistune)100 miles in atmosphere/ 100,000 miles in space
• Damage: 1d4x1,000 MD per blast
• Rate of Fire: Twice per melee
• Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Kinetic Kill Cannon(3x8 )---Classic PS/ASI massdriver cannon that can switch between anti-ship and anti-missile/fighter with the use of fragmentation ‘flak’ rounds. They can also be used to deliver more specialized munitions, such as anti-supernatural warloads. Eight triple-barrel turrets are mounted on the Barricade.
Range: 10 miles(40 miles in space)
(Kitsune Values: 40 miles in atmosphere/ 40,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per 80 rd burst, 2d4x100 MD double cannon burst, 3d4x100 MD per triple cannon burst
(Fragmentation rounds) Do 4d6 x10 MD to a 100 ft wide area with an 80 rd burst, 6d6x10 MD to a 150 ft wide area double cannon burst, and 8d6x10 MD to a 200 ft wide area per triple cannon burst.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 32,000 rds(400 bursts) per cannon before needing reloading from stores(takes about 30 minutes)

3)Heavy Missile Launchers(6)---Long range missile launchers(cruise missiles are generally reserved for more mobile units). These can also be used to deploy sensor probes, communications torpedoes, ‘sleeper’ mines and decoys.
Range: Varies by Missile Type
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10
Payload: 200 per launcher; additional missiles may be carried as cargo, and reloaded from storage.

4) Medium Weapons Turrets(12) ----WZT/ASI modular slots allow the secondary battery configuration to be customized.

5) Point Defense Turrets(16)----WZT/ASI modular PDS slots allow the point defense configuration to be customized.

Auxiliary Craft:
Each Small Hangar Bay can hold 4 shuttles OR 12 aerospace fighters
Each Large Hangar Bay can hold a corvette- or small destroyer-class ship(no larger than 360 ft long and 100 ft wide) OR 3 aerospace cutters OR 24 aerospace fighters

Variants:
(Bloc-I-II)
*(Bloc-III)---The most recent version of the Barricade goes full monitor-class with an improved annular drive drive, capable of pushing the vessel up to Mach 6, allowing it to edge ahead of many older warships.

*-ODP03/-OMC03SSMLM (Superheavy Strategic Missile Launcher)-----Rather than provide accommodation for smaller vessels in the large bays, these Bastions instead use the large centre-body bays to house launch racks for the crude, but still effective, Long Lance Heavy Nuclear Missiles or smaller x-ray laser bombs.
a)*PS Long Lance II/III/Heavy Nuclear ‘SunBombs’---These are the heavy PS/ASI-made weapons used exclusively by their forces
Range: 1,000 miles(4,000 miles in space)
(Kitsune Values: 3,000 miles in atmosphere, 1,000,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4 x 1,000 MD to a 4.6 mile destruction radius
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2,3,4, or 6
Payload: 180 missiles

b) *PS Long Lance IV---This SLBM-sized weapon is smarter, heavier, and carries its own ECM and countermeasures decoy launchers to give it a better chance of penetrating a target’s defenses.
Range: 1500 miles(6,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4 x 1,000 MD to a 4.6 mile destruction radius
Bonuses/Special:
*ECM----The missile has its own expert system and EW transmitters for jamming enemy radar, as well as evading their sensors. The missile is -6 for guided weapons to strike. 60% chance of evading radar detection to begin with.
*Flare/Chaff Launchers(1, 6 bundles)---
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2,3,4, or 6
Payload: 142 missiles

c) *PS Long Lance V--- This SLBM-sized weapon is smarter, heavier, and carries its own ECM and countermeasures decoy launchers(updated from the previous Long Lance IV’s) to give it a better chance of penetrating a target’s defenses, but its sheer size limits the number of missiles that can be carried.
Range: 1,500 miles(6,000 miles in space)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4 x 1,000 MD to a 4.6 mile destruction radius
NOTE: PS combat doctrine FORBIDS the use of strategic nuclear devices against planetary targets, without full authorization and coded permission from the top echelons of High Command(fortunately, as few ships carry Long Lances or strategic nuclear weapons, there have been few chances to test this doctrine).
Bonuses/Special:
*ECM----The missile has its own expert system and EW transmitters for jamming enemy radar, as well as evading their sensors. The missile is -6 for guided weapons to strike. 60% chance of evading radar detection to begin with.
*Countermeasure Launchers(1, 12 bundles)Updated to use the same countermeasure pods as standard for WZT/ASI aerospace fighters.
(Option)TW Breaching System(optional)---This can be fitted to any LRM/CM missile prior to firing. Despite its high-PPE installation cost, the system is popular because it allows PS’s relatively low-tech missiles to penetrate high-tech energy shielding, and deliver a surprise knockout blow! Uses the Energy Disruption spell to penetrate enemy defenses. If facing a known magic-using enemy, this system may be enhanced with Dispel Magic Barrier. The system(values taken from Siege on Tolkeen 1, pg. 69) costs 495 PPE to install, 20 PPE to activate per minute of operation.
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2,3,4, or 6
Payload: 120

d)* X-Ray Laser Bombs
Range: 1,000 miles(4,000 miles in space)+laser range
(Kitsune Values: 3,000 miles in atmosphere, 1,000,000 miles in space)+laser range
Damage: 1d4x1,000 MD laser blast; range 70 miles(Kitsune Value: 70,000 miles). Laser-reflective armors do NOT halve X-ray laser damage.---One-shot weapon that destroys itself in the process of firing.
Advanced models can target as many as 10 separate targets within range simultaneously.
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-50
Payload: 500 missiles per launcher array

e) Plasma Jet Bombs(aka ‘Casaba Howitzer’, or ‘Sunspot Bomb’)---A cousin of the X-Ray Laser Bomb and predecessor to the Plasma Torpedo, the Plasma Jet Bomb is essentially a shaped nuclear charge, generating a conical wave of super-excited plasma and radiation. The Plasma Jet Bomb lacks the range and multiple target engagement capability of the laser mine, but because it doesn’t expend all its force in all directions, it can produce higher damage than a regular omni-directional plasma warhead.
Range: 1,000 miles(4,000 miles in space)+plasma range
(Kitsune Values: 3,000 miles in atmosphere, 1,000,000 miles in space)+plasma range
Damage: 1d6x1,000 MD plasma blast; range 30 miles(Kitsune Value: 30,000 miles), in a cone 30 degrees wide. The radiation also has a 60% chance of blanking out the target’s sensors for 1d6 melees---One-shot weapon that destroys itself in the process of firing.
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-50
Payload: 500 missiles per launcher array


*-ODP03/-OMC03 HEC(x)---Another central bay conversion, these Barricades are fitted with large co-axial energy weapons:
a) Superheavy Ion MegaCannon(1, center body)---This GARGANTUAN ion weapon is meant to both vaporize targets and disrupt entire electrical systems with enhanced ElectroMagnetic Pulse. Each shot is powered by triggering a fusion nuclear plasma explosion inside the weapon’s firing chamber, then shaping the EMP wave with forcefields and directing it like a giant invisible bullet.
This weapon has been known to cause aurora-like upper atmosphere disturbances on planets that it is used against, as well as lightning-like atmospheric phenomenon in the lower atmosphere.
Range:16 miles in atmosphere, 80 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 80 miles in atmosphere, 80,000 miles in space )
HALF range to expand the area of effect to a 30-degree wide cone.
Damage: 6d6x1,000 MD per blast, DOUBLE damage to forcefields
Plus, electrical damage similar to the Triax Lightning Blaster:
01-15 No additional damage
16-30 Instrumentation flickers for 1d4 seconds, and lose initiative
31-45 All weapons systems go offline! One comes back online in 1d4 melees.
46-60. All systems offline for 1d4 melees
61-75 Communications, targeting, and radar are knocked off-line. Manual targeting only; -3 to strike, and no initiative
76-90 All systems except one weapons system are cooked; -25% to piloting at 1/3 maximum speed. -50% at 1/2 maximum speed, -75% at maximum speed, no initiative to strike, -3 to Dodge and Strike, and lose 1 action/attack per melee.
91-00 All electrical systems are zapped, and the vehicle is dead in space.

(Atmosphere)
Wipes out unshielded electronics within a 100 mile radius of the point of targeting
Rate of Fire:1 shot every 15 minutes
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

b) Triple Heavy Capital Arrays (2): Good range, massive damage potential.
? Range: 30 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space
? (Kitsune: 100 miles in atmosphere, 100,000 miles in space)
? Damage: 2d4x1,000 MD per Shot, may double and triple.
? Rate of Fire: Twice per melee per barrel
? Payload: Effectively Unlimited


Some Barricades also carry specialized weapons such as:
*Neutron Cannons(typically 4-8) ----These radiation projectors are used in a lower power setting to detect the presence of fission warheads, but at higher power settings have the added effect of potentially prematurely detonating fissionable material in nuclear warheads.
Range: 18 miles in atmosphere(36 miles in space)
(Kitsune Values: 36 miles in atmosphere/ 36,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per blast and affects a 5-degree-wide swathe
(Neutron Flux) The intense blast of neutrons also causes problems for systems utilizing fissionable materials like uranium or plutonium. On a Natural 16-20, the neutron flux will cause inadequately shielded fission powerplants to overheat, causing a partial meltdown or force an emergency shutdown by the safety systems, disrupting their power. Fission warheads will be rendered inert(and on a Natural 20 will prematurely go critical, suffering an additional 2d10x10 MD, destroying their casing, and likely spreading radioactive materials around).
Rate of Fire: Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

[taalismn]

Tmelain Republic Actyan IV Frigate
(aka ’ Wingeye’)
“Great eyes, full body, bad legs. That sums up the Wingeye pretty well.”

The Actyan IV is a case of a good avionics system let down by an inadequate platform.
Shipwrights of the Tmelain Republic had developed the advanced COLLEX sensor array system. To deploy it to the field, they decided to mount it on the modified frame of the Actyan series of police cruisers, reliable, if uninspired vessels.
Actyan IVs have an oval or teardrop-shaped hull, with a large nose-mount cannon at the front. A large and distinctive antennae array-wing sits crosswise atop the maiin hull. Multiple smaller turrets line the flanks.
The COLLEX-7 array provided increased high-definition sensor resolution at virtually all ranges. Tied into the weapons systems, it also provided what was at the time incredible accuracy to weapons fire.
Unfortunately, the Actyans, while looking good on paper, turned out to be poor spacekeepers, slow to maneuver, and underpowered. The main armament, though impressive in spec, had a poor arc of fire in its fixed forward position. The ships, while able to detect incoming threats well in advance, were too slow to do anything with the information. It become policy, once the problem had been identified, to group the frigates with other faster units that could be vectored to intercept threats. Alone, though, Actyan IVs were unable to accomplish much on their own.
Fearing the encroachment of the larger TransGalactic Empire, the Tmelain Republic made do with what they had, manufacturing nearly a hundred Actyan IVs and stationing them where their advanced sensors could provide early warning of any TGE movements towards their shared border, and hopefully buy time for the TR’s defenders. Meanwhile, the Tme tried to build up their defenses with better warship designs. Unfortunately, they ran out of time. As expected, the picket ships were overrun, but not before they flashed the warning that the TGE invasion had started.
Several dozen Actyan IVs accompanied the Exodus Fleet from Tmea Prime, the reasoning being that if they couldn’t fight, the ships could at least carry extra supplies and provide a sensor-picket for the rest of the refugee fleet.
The TGE destroyed most Actyan IVs they came across, and relegated to boneyards any they captured. A few refugee Actyan IVs can be found in backwater systems acting as spaceborne warning systems and traffic control.
Despite the versatility of the COLLEX system, the Tme Republic-in-Exile /United Systems Alliance has decided not to manufacture new Actyan IVs. However, elements of the COLLEX system would influence later sensor and fire control systems developed by ASI/WZT. The few remaining active Actyan IVs in TRinEx service have been relegated to system security, guarding the new refugee worlds and shipyards, and the defense forces of Kasane possess several.

Type: TR-Fg06 Actyan IV
Class: Light Frigate
Crew: 145
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 5,000
Bridge 1,000
Sensor Array 1,200
Forward Laser Cannon(1) 500
Long Range Missile Launcher(1) 300
Short Range Missile Launchers(2) 200 each
Point Defense Turrets(8 ) 100 each
Hangar Bay 800
Variable Force Field 800 per side( 4,800 total)
Height: 75 ft
Width: 140 ft
Length: 420 ft
Weight: 51,000 tons
Cargo: 900 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year life.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 4
(Kitsune Values: 40% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.4% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 240 million credits; very rarely available
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Long Range Sensors(COLLEX 7)---Effective real-time FTL sensor range of 7 light years without the need to slow down and assume a relatively stationary position.

*Advanced Fire Control----Improved avionics networks the various hull sensors and fire control for more accurate targeting, a must when dealing with small agile targets such as fighters and missiles. Advanced Targeting Bonus: +3 to strike for PDS systems, +1 for heavier weapons.

*Counter-EW---The electronic warfare technicians on a Actyan IV get a bonus of +10% to counter sensor and communication jamming.

Weapons Systems:
1) Medium Laser Cannon(1)---Mounted in the nose is a high-powered laser cannon. Its fixed position limits its effective arc of fire.
Range: 30 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 100 miles in atmosphere, 100,000 miles in space)
Damage: 6d6x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: Three shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Long Range Missile Launcher(1)---Mounted in the nose is an LRM launcher. The Actyan IV will typically fire off volleys at long range and try to use command guidance aided by the advanced sensors to more accurately lay the missiles on target.
Range:Varies by missile type(speed and range x4 in space)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by missile type
Rate of Fire: From 1-12 missiles can be fired in one volley
Payload: 120 LRMs

3) Short Range Missile Launchers(2)----’Spam’-volley launchers for anti-missile/fighter defense.
Range:Varies by Missile Type(speed and range x4 in space)
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-30
Payload: 300 SRMs per launcher

4) Point Defense Turrets(8 )----The flanks of the frigate are lined with point defense turrets, typically lasers.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

Auxiliary Craft:
2 shuttlecraft

Variants:
*Actyan-II and -III-----The -IV’s predecessors, the series -II and -III corvettes were fair police cruisers, massing 39,000 tons and 42,000 tons respectively. The -II could make Mach 5 in normal space, and the -III Mach 6. They carried only light armament(8 PDS turrets and two Light weapons mounts), and 90 aerospace security troopers for boarding purposes. The ships were well-regarded for their reliable performance, and this was a major factor in the (unfortunate, as it turned out )decision to use them as the basis of the Actyan -IV.

[gaby]

What are the Ships use by the United Systems Alliance?

[taalismn]

What are the Ships use by the United Systems Alliance?

The ones in the last 58 pages of this thread.

To make things a little easier for you, look for 'PS/ASI' and 'WZT'.

[SolCannibal]

What are the Ships use by the United Systems Alliance?

For reference, "PS" stands for "Paladin Steel", a corporation that originated on Rifts Earth but went transdimensional, growing considerably through its symbiotic relationship with a then budding United System Alliance and merges with a number of flagging business in the 3 Galaxies for their licenses, technological know-how and infrastructure to study, tinker with and retool to their own design philosophies, eventually it would grow "ASI", or "Aegis Stellar Industries", as its (much larger) 3 Galaxies-oriented front/consortium with a number of groups.

"WZT" stands for "Wiztech", a techno-wizardry oriented business venture and think tank, also associated with the previous two and some of the Rifts Earth & transdimensional polities involved in the formative proccess of the Alliance.

That's the gist of it as i remember from Taalism's many, many post, since it's very much his brainchild, so he's the reliable source to look for, just in case my quick summary misinterpreted anything.

[taalismn]

What are the Ships use by the United Systems Alliance?

For reference, "PS" stands for "Paladin Steel", a corporation that originated on Rifts Earth but went transdimensional, growing considerably through its symbiotic relationship with a then budding United System Alliance and merges with a number of flagging business in the 3 Galaxies for their licenses, technological know-how and infrastructure to study, tinker with and retool to their own design philosophies, eventually it would grow "ASI", or "Aegis Stellar Industries", as its (much larger) 3 Galaxies-oriented front/consortium with a number of groups.

"WZT" stands for "Wiztech", a techno-wizardry oriented business venture and think tank, also associated with the previous two and some of the Rifts Earth & transdimensional polities involved in the formative proccess of the Alliance.

Yep, that's a good summary of it.

Except WZT is ''WZTechYards', and is actually a consortium of smaller aerospace firms that combined forces and shared IPOs and marketing to better compete with the massive galactic corps. They also provide(d) a safety net for declining and at-risk companies that might otherwise have been buried by the underhanded tactics of more aggressive firms.
So, it was really WZT that was the bigger partner and PS/ASI cam in as a junior partner that quickly rose to the head of the class and now is the defacto company vice-president.

But, since I already had a bookkeeping list of the various types(and to help me keep names and designations straight), here's my inventory lists:


Paladin Steel/Aegis Stellar Industries
Aerospacecraft:
PS-LSTS-CTAV-10 ‘Sparo’ Light Aerospace Shuttle
PS-TAV-40/AAST-7 Skyver Light Transatmospheric Vehicle/Shuttle Transport
PS ‘Condor’ Medium Aerospace Transport
Paladin Steel AAST-8 ‘Wyvern’ Light Aerospace Transport

Spacecraft:
*PSS-SPH-2 Plymouth Multipurpose Space Platform/Habitat
*PS-SDS-040 BattleRing System Modular Orbital/Deep Space Weapons Platform


*PS/ASI-LCrv021 ‘Haizam’ Heavy Aerospace Patrol Fighter/Light Corvette
*PS/ASI-LCrv-29 Irpull Patrol Ship
* PSS/ASI-S07 Sandran Interstellar Scout
*PS/ASI-DDC09 Barong Corvette
*PS/ASI-DDC09L ‘Nageyari’ High Speed Corvette
*PS/ASI-Crv018 Windfola Interstellar Corvette
*PS/ASI- LHDSC07 Lightoller Light Fast Troop Transport
*PSS/ASI-CGS-07Javelin Space Missile Cruiser
*PS/ASI-SFG25 BlackJack-class Frigate
*PS/ASI-SCVE25 Goupillon Light Escort Carrier
PS/ASI-SFG27 Spencer Interstellar Frigate
*PSS/ASI-FGMS-41 Oyumi System Defense Missile Frigate
*PSS/ASI-DDS-01 Sangu Light Destroyer
*PSS/ASI-DDGS-04 Falx Light Space Missile Destroyer
*PSS/ASI-DDES-05 Masakari Heavy Space Destroyer
*PSS/ASI-DS-15 Hikyaku Heavy Space Scout/Courier
*PS/ASI-PSS-ADS-FFG-21 Aurora Fast Aerospace Scout Frigate
*PS/ASI-DDE019 ‘Bullet’ Destroyer Escort
*PS/ASI-S-M/DDG08 Orion II System Monitor
*PSS-DDES-12 Brandestoc Rapid Deployment Space Destroyer
> PSS-DDES-13 Godendag Rapid Deployment Space Destroyer
> PSS-DDES-14 Larna-Pe Heavy Space Destroyer
>*PSS-DDES-15 Hauberk Light Destroyer (Omegasgundam)
*PSS/ASI-CV-08 Sagadag Space Light Aerospace Carrier
*PS/ASI-SCG/CV-25 Koveh Multi-Role Light Cruiser/Carrier
*PSS/ASI-CGG-08 Assegai Light Cruiser
PSS/ASI-CGG-08M Makrigga Medium Cruiser
*PS/ASI-SCG-17 LaFayette Light Cruiser
*PS/ASI-SCG-18 Mazule Light Cruiser
*PS/ASI-SCG-19 Tabar Light Cruiser
*PS/ASI/WZT-C75 Shepherd Light Cruiser
*PSS-FFS-17 Ranger Medium Space Cruiser/Combat Transport
*PSS-FFS-17/PSS-FFS-18 Gurkha Medium Space Cruiser/Combat Transport
*PS/ASI-SCG-21 Voulge Medium Cruiser
*PS/ASI-SCG-23 Pillara Medium Cruiser
*PS/ASI-C55(X) Naegling Cruiser, Armored
*PS/CTRL-CG-17 Palatar Heavy Cruiser
* PS/ASI-CG-18 Kamayari : Heavy Cruiser
*PSS/ASI-FFS-22 ‘Tongia’ Space Medium Troop Transport
*PSS/ASI-LHDOE-09 ‘Shoup’ Spaceborne Heavy Assault Transport
*PS/ASI-SCV07 Zhuge Nu Space Carrier
*PS/ASI-HInstelCvT-10 ‘Ramey’ Heavy Transport Carrier Cruiser
*PS-PCA-35 ‘Providence’ TransAtmospheric Multi-Purpose Heavy Starship Cruiser
*PS-PBC-35 ‘Constitution’TransAtmospheric Battle Cruiser
*PS-PCVF-35 ‘Akron’ TransAtmospheric Heavy Aerospace Fighter Carrier
*PS/ASI-(S)BB01 Joshua Norton Space Battleship
*PS/ASI-(S)BB09 Joshua Norton II Space Battleship

*PS-SMP-2 Asteroid Miner/Tug
*ASI-ARSct-04 Angon Short- to Medium-Range Aerospace Scoutship
*ASI-CANOU-01 Light Transatmospheric Vehicle, Covert Aerospace Null-Signature Operations Unit
*PS/ASI-LTTAV-17S ‘Kunai’ Light Covert Operations Aerospace Aerodyne
*PS/ASI-ASST9 Parus Light Shuttle
*PS/ASI LInstelAAT-03 Scobee Light Interstellar Transport
*PS/ASI LInstelAAT-02 Heston Light Stellacommutta Intersystem FTL Shuttle
*PS/ASILInstelAAT-04 Aquarius Light Interstellar Transport
*PS/ASI- LInstelAAT-09 ‘Civis’ Light Stellacommutta Intersystem FTL Shuttle
*LInstelAAT-09FX-’Civix’
*PS/ASI-IxLFTLQCR-08 Cher Ami Interstellar Courier
*PS/ASI-IxFTLQCR--32 Israel Bissel Interstellar Courier
*PSS/ASI-IxFTLQCR--29 Tabellarius Interstellar Courier
*PSS/ASI-IxFTLQCR--31 Anabasii Interstellar Courier
*PS/ASI-LAT025 ‘Cosgrove’ Light Aerospace Transport, Lenticular
*PS/ASI-LAT026 ‘Roswell’ Light Aerospace Transport
*PS/ASI LInstel-SC027 Auriga Light Interstellar Transport
*PS-PSS-LHMP-ADST-25 SunChaser Aerospace Multipurpose Corvette/Deep Space Transport
*PS-PSS-LHMP-ADST-26 StarChaser Aerospace Multipurpose Corvette, Aerospace/Deep Space Transport
*PS-CGILT-C400 Kepler Intersystem Light Transport
*PS/ASI Allnut Light Aerospace Transport, FTL-capable
*PSG-ASI-018 Frontera Medium Multi-Component Interstellar Transport
*PSS/ASI-MC-04 Trireme Medium Interstellar Transport
*PS/ASI- SC07 Nao Medium Multipurpose Interstellar Transport
*PS/ASI-SC08 Concord Light Interstellar Cargo Transport
*PS/ASI-MInstel -SC11 Carpathia Medium Interstellar Freighter
*PS/ASI-HInstel-SC420 Roamer Long Range Heavy Interstellar Transport
*PS/ASI-FA/MC-317 Bering Medium Interstellar Transport
*PS/ASI-HInstel-SC717 Monmra Long Range Heavy Interstellar Transport
*PS/ASI-SC08 Tsiolkovsky Heavy Multipurpose Interstellar Transport
PS/ASI- SC10 Tychan Heavy Interstellar Transport
*PSS/ASI-LHAOE-07 ‘Brunel’ Spaceborne Fleet Tender/Replenishment Vessel/Industrial Platform Dock/Heavy Transport
*PSS/ASI-LHAOE-08 ‘Goethals’ Spaceborne Fleet Tender/Replenishment Vessel/Industrial Platform Dock/Heavy Transport
*PS/ASI-(A)CSS-02 Weibbe Hayes Armed Transport Cruiser
*PS/ASI-AR03 Brahmar Deep Space Repair/Supply Tender
*PS/ASI HInstelT-08 ‘Bradford’ Heavy Interstellar Transport
*PS-SF-1 ‘Mayflower’ Heavy Mobile Core Construct/Space Facility
*PS/ASI-CGBB Asteroid Cruiser

*Tiger-1 Mobile Battlefortress Mobile Industrial/Base Complex/Battleship


*PS/ASI-AFB-29 Chimbane Heavy Aerospace Fighter/Strike Vehicle
*PSVS-TAV-SFB-16 Mammatan Aerospace Fighter-Bomber, Missile
*PS/ASI-SFB-26 Jatar Strike Fighter/Bomber
* PS/ASI-FB-28 Sarkal Aerospace Strike Craft
*PSS-SF-09/39 StarFox Heavy Spacefighter
*PS/ASI-F200A Rhino-Buffalo Light Aerospace Fighter
*PSVS-TAV-SF-6 Jal’Wan/Thunderchief II Aerospace Fighter-Bomber, Missile
*PS-TAV-SF07 Star Tiger Multi-Role Medium Aerospace Fighter
*PS-TAV-SF-08 Hesperia Medium Aerospace Fighter
*PS/ASI-TAV-SF09-103 Gandiva High Speed Medium Aerospace Fighter
*PS-TAV-SF-5 Tercel Light Aerospace Fighter
*PS/ASI-TAV-SF-14 Almar Medium Aerospace Fighter


(Smallkn Spacevehicles)
PS/ASI-McSFR-01 Arabella Deep Space Scoutship
PS/ASI-McSFR-02 Veterok Deep Space Scoutship
PS/ASI-McSFR-03 Hector Deep Space Scoutship
PS/ASI-McSFR-04 Belisario Deep Space Scoutship
PS-McSOHV-06 ‘Asterite’ Micro-Scale Special Operations Aerospace- Hovercraft

WZTechYard Designs:
*WZ-LS-003-TA(advanced) Cachalot Landing Ship
*WZ-SB-003 Demas Space Battleship
*WZ-OF-CVE17 Gemiyor Heavy Carrier
*WZ-CAC-3050 Perdition Command Assault Carrier
*WZT-BC02 Exeter Battlecruiser
*WZ-TAC-274X Dark Justice Trans-Atmospheric Shock Trooper Carrier
*WZ-CRZ--108 Shiva Heavy Missile Cruiser
*WZT-LHDOEC04 Corvus Assault Cruiser/Marine Transport
*WZ-MD-016 Blade Missile Destroyer
*WZ-CRZ-014 Mogami Cruiser
*WZ-MC-020 Daito Missile Attack Cruiser
*WZ-MC-021 Kardara Missile Cruiser
*WZ-OF-Cov-401 Patrol Ship
*WZT-ArSc-LCrv02 Scazer Aerospace Corvette

*WZ-HIS-875 Raptor High Speed Interceptor
* WZ-MDF-0080 Volley-Master Missile Defense Fighter
*WZ-PFS-1 Personal Compact Fighter System
*WZ-LF-203 Angel Light Fighter
*WZ-XLF-087 Atom Super Compact Fighter
*WZ-HSI-900 Starcross High-Speed Interceptor
*WZ-HSI-155 Kryzbyn High Speed Interceptor
*WZ-HF-M007 Mecha Ray Heavy Fighter/Bomber/Mech-Cutter
*WZT-LF69 Skirmisher Light Aerospace Fighter
*WZ-HF-901-LR Archangel Heavy Fighter
*WZ-HMF-T30 Meteor Storm Heavy Missile Fighter/Bomber
*WZT-YF-203 Slingshot Heavy Fighter
*WZ-HSI-027 Blackbird High Speed Interceptor
*WZ-LF-103 Solace Escort Fighter
* WZ-XLF-099 Bolt Super Compact Aerospace Fighter
*WZ-XLF-075 Tanto Super Compact Fighter
*WZ-CGS-304 Death Moth Compact Gunship
*WZ-CGS-306 Reaper Moth Compact Gunship
*WZ-HSGS-0337 Magus High Speed Gunship
*WZ-CGS-0161 Pteropus Compact Gunship/Fighter-Bomber
*WZ-SRD-X Ecto Stealth Recon Drone
*WZ-SR-011 Wraith Stealth Recon
*WZT SFB-0112 Raiju Heavy Fighter/Attack Ship

*WZ-ISF-105 Komodo Interstellar Freighter, Light
*WZT-R62 Sidar Medium Multipurpose Interstellar Transport
*WZ-RS-087 Dampier Medium Fast Freighter(Runner)
* WZ-UFTLF-3244 Fenlock Light Freighter
*WZ-ECF-079 Baskin Light Extendable Cargo Freighter
*WZT-AGAGSv-03 Aragosi Scoutship, Interstellar, Light, Astronomical/Geophysical Survey
*WZ-ESS-2235 Piecemeal Exploratory and Surveillance Ship

*WZ-ESS-2258 Firestorm Exploratory and Surveillance Ship
*WZ-RS-052 Wasp Light Runner/Singleship
* WZ-PT-7000 W ‘Grand Taalismn’ Interstellar Ultra-Luxury Transport

*WZ-MDS-0556 Quest Multi-Purpose Diplomatic Liaison Transport
*WZ-MPU-003 Scarab Multipurpose Utility Vehicle
*WZT-EVAP012 Evelshon ExtraVehicular Activities Pod
*WZ-PT-0001 “Silver Fish” Personal Luxury Transport
*WZ-PT-0008 H-Class Orbital Hare Transatmospheric-orbital Shuttle
*WZ-MCF-100 Behemoth Modular Super Freighter
*WZ-MCF-500 ‘Immense’ Extendable Ultra Cargo Freighter
*WZT-C-2400 Proteus Heavy Multi-Purpose Transport

*WZ-MZ-89 Silver Swan Hypersonic Atmospheric Fighter
*WZ-MZ-77 Jammer Atmospheric Superiority Fighter

*WZ-USF-023-ST Manta Sub-Fighter

*WZ-SS-7013 Pacifica Space City
*WZ-554-SC Frontier Space City/Habitat Platform
*WZ-MAP-A Aramanthus Artificial Planetoid/Space Base/Techyard


Forraker Aerospace Designs(Acquired by WZT)
*FA-STM-070 Transol(II) Medium Transport
*FA/MC-317 ‘Medin’ Medium Interstellar Transport
*WZT/FA-207 Emaldi Frigate(WIP)
* FA-STM-05 Rhelan Medium Interstellar Transport/Courier(WIP)
* FA-LCV018 Archeris Light Aerospace Carrier
*FA-STH7 Hevfed Heavy Interstellar Transport


This list does not include individual members' pre-Alliance space forces' remaining stables of locally-produced vessels(which include non-FTL system defense ships and monitors), ex-CAF/other military surplus craft, Irregular forces vessels, scrounged, salvaged, experimental or donated craft. It also does not include non-PS/ASI/WZT support and civilian sector ships which come from a variety of sources.

[SolCannibal]

Yep, that's a good summary of it.

Except WZT is ''WZTechYards', and is actually a consortium of smaller aerospace firms that combined forces and shared IPOs and marketing to better compete with the massive galactic corps. They also provide(d) a safety net for declining and at-risk companies that might otherwise have been buried by the underhanded tactics of more aggressive firms.
So, it was really WZT that was the bigger partner and PS/ASI cam in as a junior partner that quickly rose to the head of the class and now is the defacto company vice-president.

I knew i had probably gotten the part on WZT wrong - i cut the "Yards" because i wasn't even sure if it supposed to be part of the name or reference to some literal ship-building yards - but the search function was a mess, so couldn't check to correct myself.

Anyway, thanks for clearing things up for everyone.