Starship designs...

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Sat May 08, 2021 11:50 am

Gotta love wooden starships, treeships, magically-enhanced magic spacecraft(I always seem to hear Gary Wright's 'Dreamweaver' in the background....)

Omegasgundam · Unread post by **Omegasgundam** » Mon May 10, 2021 1:13 am

Moar Kitsune, and I’ve slightly repurposed it to be a generic ‘ok’ fighter. There’s art for it, but it's really dated.

Naruni ‘Kinjal’ Light Starfighter
“The biggest reason Naruni was able to sell so many fighters over the centuries is that they were often the only ones offering something semi-modern to the public. Most of the time, the only plausible competition was the Hyena, and somebody local with the industrial infrastructure to build them. The explosion in manufacturers over the past decade has murdered their order numbers, so they’ve been playing catch up. The Kinjal itself isn’t anything special, with the advanced technology going into making it as cheap to produce for its performance as possible. I have no idea how much it actually costs them to make it, but it's likely less than 11 mil.”
---Captain Harriet McKenna, CAF, Director of Project Prominence

In an effort to save their bulk sales of aerospace fighters, Naruni has produced a surprisingly low cost interceptor. Competing with WZT’s Starcross-A, the Kinjal is the new budget buy for those looking for something to serve as an alternative to a Scorpion. Most experts believe that this is a delaying action to buy them time to finish their redesign of the Broadsword and Fire Eater, which have suffered severe decreases in reputation. While having excellent performance, it suffers from being a pure dog-fighter, having limited range on its weapons and no underwing ordinance capabilities. However, its rock bottom price means that it will see strong sales due to the near endless thirst for new ASFs, and it gives Naruni something to work from in rebuilding their product line.

Spoiler:

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Mon May 10, 2021 10:18 pm

Forraker Aerospace /WZTechyards ’Beltan’-class Long Range Scout Frigate
(aka ‘Beltrack’, ‘Skinny-B’)

“If you’re willing to lose some of the elbow room in the life section, you can fit in some lab space, cargo, and sensory gear that might allow you to compete with the big gov and corporate research ships, but then you gotta have somebody to run the extra equipment, and you’ll find that extra hands need extra space. Then you have to be rather more careful selecting crew, because if you’re cruising the Deep, you want a stable team that can work together and overlook each others’ faults and peculiarities. The gov and the corps got whole offices full of psych evaluators to select crew; freelancers generally got only their gut instincts to tell them if their new crew members will fit in smoothly, or show a surprise predilection for cutting throats after a year in the Dark.”
---Captain Gelric Newsome, System Survey Ship Meraldah

“You’d be surprised at how many pirates go after survey ships; even if they’re not looking to claim-jump rich rocks and work them themselves, they can always sell data, or find out what rocks AREN’T worth attention so they can hide out there. It’s nice to have a good turn of speed and some heavy firepower if a ‘friendly neighbor’ starts target-locking on you.”

The Beltan-class was an effort by FA to cash in on the explosion of exploration that took place in Human Alliance space after the Automaton War.
Forraker used major structural components of their then-in production ‘Medin’ freighter to produce a stripped-down, lighter, faster corvette-style craft with good range and better speed. The Beltan, as it emerged, retained the forward ‘scallop pod’ bridge/lifepod, twin sensory towers, and long connecting neck of the Medin, while aft a life section was slung between two large engine pods. Mounted underneath was a large swappable modular sensor/equipment pallet, typically holding planetary survey or asteroid assaying gear. Cargo pods could also be hung from the same attachment pylon, though the Beltan was not considered to be economical for use as a freighter. Forraker, uncharacteristically for the time, sprung for a more expensive(if more powerful) M/AM powerplant to power the Beltan, though this required them outsourcing the power system from another company, Annihil Dynamics. Forraker defended the choice as being more compact, more powerful, and better suited for long range travel, and weight-savings in onboard fuel-harvesting gear, though some scouts preferred to have the ability to ‘live off the land’ as they could with hydrogen-fusion powerplants.
For a niche function design, the Beltan did modestly well in its designed task as a survey vessel, but the freelance scouts that the Beltan was marketed towards were nowhere near as successful as the larger, better equipped missions sponsored by the resurgent government programs of the Human Alliance. The Beltan saw its most successful use in asteroid surveying, where its speed and efficiency allowed its operators to chase down rocks, assay them, and stake claims before others could get there. Almost all of the surviving Beltans are in the service of Belter rockhounds, and their ships are heavily modified with a variety of factory-nonstandard systems. Though popular with the belter communities, with demand resulting in several thousand ships being produced, the Beltan ultimately was judged a modest commercial failure, and after years of rising costs versus declining sales, the line was discontinued several decades before Forraker made its final slump into insolvency.
As with the rest of the Forraker portfolio, WZTechyards retains the specifications for the Beltan and occasionally produces commissioned copies, updated with appropriate equipment, for customers. The recent colonial land rushes in the Thundercloud Galaxy have led to increased orders for scout vessels of all types for both exploration and system security, and the Beltan is enjoying a spike in sales interest, enough that WZT is considering restarting full-time production of the type.
The updated Beltan features updated electronics and sensory systems, and upgraded defense shielding.

Type: WZT/FA-29 Beltan
Class: Deep Space Scout
Crew: 24(but can operate with a skeleton crew of 7)
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 4,000
Bridge 3,000
Communications/Sensor Tower Array 700
Engines(2) 3,000 each
Hangar Deck 1,200
Forcefield 4,000
Payload Pod 2,000

Height: 80 ft
Width: 220 ft
Length: 400 ft
Weight: 65,000 tons
Cargo: 1,000 tons carried internally, plus 4,000 tons in the external pod if dedicated entirely to cargo.
Powerplant: Matter/Antimatter w/ 50 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 10
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
Market Cost: 190 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Scoutship-Grade Sensors----Military-grade sensors w/ a 240,000 mile normal space range and FTL detection range of 6 light years(primary focus of the sensors is on cosmic survey and asteroid detection/assaying). Long range radar range of 6 million miles.

*Detachable Bridge---The entire forward section of the Beltan can detach to become a large lifeboat. The forward hull has accommodation(under cramped conditions) for up to 30 people, and has separate propulsion capable of pushing the section up to Mach 6.

*Heavy Modular Hardpoint----The underside of the Beltan carries a single large pylon hardpoint which is usually used to carry a large sensor module or automated laboratory pod for cosmic surveying and planetary scans. This pod can be replaced easily enough with other module types, including other sensor types, cargo(5,000 ton capacity), extra fuel tankage, booster pods(up to Mach 16), automated repair/mini-fac units, or even extra habitation. The most popular option carries a mini automated asteroid mining rig and an inflatable habitat module.
The hardpoint can also be fitted with a tug-clamp, allowing the Beltan to carry smaller craft through FTL, or stevedore larger masses in real-space.
Weapons Systems:
The Beltan has provision for carrying one medium-class starship weapon(usually a laser) and six light/point defense-rating weapons. While it has been suggested that the sensor pod hardpoint could be used to carry a weapons pod(and indeed, it is rumored that WZT/ASI has explored the idea) it has never been seen in practice.
Auxiliary Craft:
2 small shuttles

Options:
As noted, post-market Beltans have seen extensive modification, and some of these home-brewed modifications have become showroom options, especially different sensor fitouts and engine types. Other popular options include extra hull hardpoints(1-4) that allow up to an additional 1,600 tons of cargo or extra sensor gear to be carried externally. Military-grade decoy pods and variable forcefield generators are also popular add-ons, especially in regions known for pirate activity.

*Bridge Section FTL---Some buyers, especially those operating in the Thundercloud, outfit the bridge lifeboat section with its own FTL drive(usually with a 3-4 light year/hour capability), giving a crew a better chance of reaching civilization in event of a bailout situation. Cost: 47 million credits.

Variants:
*WZT/FA-29D---This variant of the Beltan reverted back to a stellar-fusion powerplant system during a brief time when Annihil Dynamics looked like it was going to have economic problems, such that it might be unable to keep delivering the M/AM systems the Beltan used. As a hedge against AD defaulting on contract, Forraker drew up plans to convert the Beltan to use fusion powerplants already being produced in-house by Forraker. The FA-29D came in at 25% more mass and was only capable of Mach 7.6 in normal space, and had a main reactor power life of only 35 years, but it also cost 30% less. When Annihil Dynamics’ fiscal crisis blew over, Forraker decided to keep the FA-29D in limited production.
WZT continues to produce FA-29Ds at about the same rate as it produces the standard antimatter-fueled WZT/FA-29A.

Omegasgundam · Unread post by **Omegasgundam** » Tue May 11, 2021 2:03 am

It has it's purpose, and for its price its hard to get a better sensor suite. FTL is also very good for a civilian craft, but it makes sense for its role. I feel it could use more berthing space for various purposes, such as maintenance and additional experts. The crew is likely stretched doing all the needed tasks.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Tue May 11, 2021 2:21 am

Omegasgundam wrote:It has it's purpose, and for its price its hard to get a better sensor suite. FTL is also very good for a civilian craft, but it makes sense for its role. I feel it could use more berthing space for various purposes, such as maintenance and additional experts. The crew is likely stretched doing all the needed tasks.

WZT can probably fix that problem by grafting on a larger bridge section and life section, now that it has even more shipyards to play with(like Taakulum). Could even do it as a refit to existing ships at the cost of some normal space speed/acceleration.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Thu May 13, 2021 9:28 pm

PS/ASI-U17 Kratos Heavy Lifter
(aka’Bulk-Lifter’, ‘Liftmat’, ‘Lift-scow’, ‘Egg-wagon’, ‘Up-crate’, ‘Plate-Lifters’)

“Okay, we got over a hundred Kratos deployed on this one contract to clear the continental shorelines of washed-up garbage and toxic waste. Modified the barges to pull the stuff up, filter and clean it, then dump the immediately recyclables for the locals to use, and box up the rest to be lifted to orbit. There we set up several spacestations to centrifuge the gunk, plasma-vaporize and separate it, then either crate the material up for the free-frame starfreighters to carry off someplace else to be used, or dumped into the local star. It’s not glamorous work, but it is necessary, steady, and we get a hefty percentage of the recyclable material, plus we’re helping an entire planet clean up its ecosystem. And the job pays well, did I mention that?”

These massive ships are ‘lifter barges’, local-space heavy lift vessels equipped with powerful contra-gravity systems to enter and exit planetary gravity wells while carrying heavy payloads. The PS/ASI Kratos is one of the larger types available on the market, and on of the few manufactured on the Fringe, where it is gaining in popularity among users, though piloting a lifter barge is considered amongst the least glamorous jobs in aerospace piloting. Lifter-scows are slow, ponderous, are ‘flying bricks’ in almost every sense of the phrase, and are very necessary to galactic trade and industry.
The Kratos has a large, flat, squared-off appearance that resembles the barge it essentially is. Its stout and rugged construction allows it to make repeated atmospheric reentry and takeoffs while heavily loaded, and the ventral plates of long-service lifters typically show the thermal scoring of repeated atmospheric reentry. Large side hatches allow access to the massive internal cargo bay(though this can be divided ito smaller compartments if desired), though the crew accommodations tend to be small and spartan(few lifter-barge crews spend more than work shift or two aboard their ships, and only private contractors tend to have more kitted-out quarters on their ships). They are heavily armored for civilian ships, on account of the heavy hull reinforcement, but carry little, if any, in the way of more advanced defenses(though they can be fitted with commercial forceshielding and basic point defense armaments if needed).
Kratos are not equipped for FTL operations, and must be carried between solar systems by FTL-capable tugs or heavy haulers. While rated for interplanetary travel, most Kratos don’t make long range in-system flights either, and most are simply involved in surface-orbit flight operations, transferring their payloads to and from orbiting long-hauler spacecraft.
Lifter barges are not combat-rated, though there’s plenty of anecdotal accounts of barges being pressed into service as troop transports, both for orbital drops and in-atmo intercontinental hops. Lifter barges have been used to quickly deploy orbital minefields and battle-satellite networks, and in one incident tossed several hundred tons of junk in the path of incoming attack craft, destroying at least one of the invaders as they flew into the shrapnel cloud. There have also been numerous accounts of lifter barges being hijacked, especially if they were carrying valuable cargoes, hence the point defense weaponry some barges carry.
Paladin Steel/Aegis Stellar Industries both manufactures and operates a large fleet of Kratos barges; PS Resource makes use of a number of modified variants to harvest and package various materials for transport. A variety of similar models are produced by WZT, especially by the Rebliss, Tme, and Kai-Shem yards.

Type: PS/ASI-U17 Kratos
Class: Heavy Transatmospheric Cargo Transport
Crew: 12
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 8,000
Bridge 900
Cargo Hatches(6) 400 each
Height: 35 ft
Width: 360 ft
Length: 450 ft
Weight: 15,000 tons
Cargo: 8,000 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year energy life
Speed:(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 2; transatmospheric
(Space) Mach 6
(Kitsune Values: 18% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.6% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) Not possible
Market Cost: 25 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Shuttle 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: The stock Kratos is unarmed, but has provision to be fitted with basic point defense weaponry if so desired. Can be fitted with up to eight PDS -grade weapons.

Options:
Few lift-barges go unmodified post-market, owing to the needs of their jobs. Most add extra or specialized shielding, such as radiation or thermal shielding, or commercial grade forcefields. Other options include loading cranes and oversized manipulator arms for handling cargo.

Variants:
Depending on the sort of cargoes being carried, there are a variety of Kratos configurations, including radiation-shielded containment, liquid and gas tankers, amphibious carriers, and livestock transports. PS Resource has also fitted a number to directly harvest various materials, such as water, minerals, and dirt from a planet’s surface, partially process it, and carry it into orbit to be transferred to other transport vessels.

Omegasgundam · Unread post by **Omegasgundam** » Thu May 13, 2021 9:53 pm

The cost effective mud-to-orbit trash hauler everybody needs. I imagine that PS usually runs them with mostly bot crews to save on manpower.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Thu May 13, 2021 10:38 pm

Omegasgundam wrote:The cost effective mud-to-orbit trash hauler everybody needs. I imagine that PS usually runs them with mostly bot crews to save on manpower.

Or trainee crews on the refugee and lower-tech worlds that need familiarization with space operations. And some of those trainee ships likely/ironically have free-willed AIs acting as instructors for the meatbags. Your first big ship assignment is likely a lifter scow carrying materials to your planet's space platforms, like supplies for the true deep space ship you'll do your next training phase or duty rotation on.

Warshield73 · Unread post by **Warshield73** » Fri May 14, 2021 1:20 am

taalismn wrote:
Omegasgundam wrote:The cost effective mud-to-orbit trash hauler everybody needs. I imagine that PS usually runs them with mostly bot crews to save on manpower.

Or trainee crews on the refugee and lower-tech worlds that need familiarization with space operations. And some of those trainee ships likely/ironically have free-willed AIs acting as instructors for the meatbags. Your first big ship assignment is likely a lifter scow carrying materials to your planet's space platforms, like supplies for the true deep space ship you'll do your next training phase or duty rotation on.

If you have a free AI running the ship why bother with the meatbags? Use battery powered robots to handle the cargo and just forget about provisions and life support.

Omegasgundam · Unread post by **Omegasgundam** » Fri May 14, 2021 1:25 am

Warshield73 wrote:
taalismn wrote:
Omegasgundam wrote:The cost effective mud-to-orbit trash hauler everybody needs. I imagine that PS usually runs them with mostly bot crews to save on manpower.

Or trainee crews on the refugee and lower-tech worlds that need familiarization with space operations. And some of those trainee ships likely/ironically have free-willed AIs acting as instructors for the meatbags. Your first big ship assignment is likely a lifter scow carrying materials to your planet's space platforms, like supplies for the true deep space ship you'll do your next training phase or duty rotation on.

If you have a free AI running the ship why bother with the meatbags? Use battery powered robots to handle the cargo and just forget about provisions and life support.

To get the local economy/industry running by itself.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Fri May 14, 2021 1:42 am

Warshield73 wrote:If you have a free AI running the ship why bother with the meatbags? Use battery powered robots to handle the cargo and just forget about provisions and life support.

Employment and educational opportunities. Get people trained and familiar with aerospace operations. Sure there's going to be wholly automated ships, especially around hell systems or worlds with more demand for transport than manpower, but other worlds need to employ people, even under AI bosses, until the people are sufficiently proficient.

Besides, some of the free A.I.s LIKE having meatbags around(insert AI N/PC who either be the Taskmaster From Hell or the Pet Owner, with regards to how they see organics)

Omegasgundam · Unread post by **Omegasgundam** » Wed Jun 09, 2021 1:55 pm

And my first conversion of Kitsune's Kittani spacecraft, here's the one most likely to be encountered.

Splugorth Kittani Starfighter
Kittani technology is generally held to be a bit above that of the TGE in most fields, but there are a number in which they exceed the CCW, primarily in regards to smaller scale platforms. Spacecraft are one of the areas where they are weaker, with the Splugorth preferring to concur via Rift travel, but the needs of the Three Galaxies demands that they have something. The Transforming Robot Fighter is in all honesty a compromise design, being focused on atmospheric performance at the cost of void capability. However, its small size, mass, and above all cost meant that corners had to be cut somewhere, and it remained fast enough to escort most of the Kittani’s larger ship designs.

But to be a legitimate combatant, something much more was needed. Enter the Kittani Starfighter, a fixed form design which is half again the mass and 5 times the cost, but still a bargain in several ways. While not as agile than the old Flying Fang, it is faster, better armed, and notably cheaper. It is also commonly available from Phase World outlets, which has resulted in it being the traditional arch-competitor to Naruni products, and often the victor among those that can stomach the thought of paying the Splugorth.

Spoiler:

Omegasgundam · Wed Jun 09, 2021 10:57 pm

And some smaller ships. The Cruisers and above are going to take awhile, because I'm working on how to factor in taalismn's old contributions.

Here’s Kitsune’s attempt at salvaging the Raider into something plausible, with some alterations to not make it as large a divergence.

Splugorth ‘Marauder’ Assault Shuttle
Being a ruthless slavers who consider the fear and torment inflicted on their victims the primary point of the exercise, the Splugorth have a large need for landing forces to take fresh stock from subjugated worlds. The Marauder is their goto method of doing so, able to brutally suppress less advanced air defenses and haul off a substantial number of slaves. The overall troop complement is on the light side by Three Galaxy standards, but if heavier forces are needed they are often teleported directly to the surface or Rifted in.

Spoiler:

Because they need a ship smaller than the Servitude, Kitsune came up with this Scimitar equivalent.

Splugorth ‘Tormentor’ Destroyer
One of the more common escort designs in Splugorth service, the Tormentor is more ‘conventional’ than the alternative Chat’Nol, although it still has its quirks. Compared to the Chat’Not, the Tormentor is much slower in sublight but has substantially greater anti-ship firepower and is more durable, making it something of a ‘brawler’ design. However, it has a competing primary purpose as a commercial raiding ship, with notable slave holding cells and a very large complement of boarding forces, allowing it to take more prizes in a given cruise. Its low speed is something of a liability in the post-Minion War environment, particularly with the shorter range on its primary weapons, so an upgrade is likely being worked on.

Spoiler:

Omegasgundam · Unread post by **Omegasgundam** » Thu Jun 10, 2021 9:40 pm

And I've gone over some of taalismn's older stuff and updated them. After this I'm going to finish off the upgraded Deman and Cachalot.

Revised version of something taalismn posted back in 2007.

Revised Kittani ‘Flenser’ Chat’Nol-class Frigate
(Aka ‘Buzzard’)
(Just bringing it in line with other Splug ships in regards to weapons and stuff.)

Spoiler:

Type: KS-FF

Class: Frigate, Combat and Patrol Ship

Crew: 1

Troops: 90, plus 60 troops

M.D.C By Location:

Combined Main Hull------------7,000 total
- Main Body--------------------4,500
  Main Engines (2)-------------1,250 each
Systems and Components
- Bridge-----------------------1500
  Wing Aerial Arrays (2)--------300 each
  Rear Landing Bay Door-------600
  Bomb-Bay Hatch-------------600
  Prisoner Cells (5)-------------500 each
Weapons
- Fusion Beam Cannons (2)----800 ech
  Dual Heavy G-Cannons (2)---800 each
  Point Defense Turrets (4)----200 each
  MM Launchers (3)-----------160 each
Variable Forcefield--------------1,000 each side, (6,000 total)

Statistical Data:

Height: 90 ft
Width: 100 ft, 260 ft wingspan
Length: 550 ft
Weight: 12,000 tons
Power Source: Anti-Matter with a 30 year life span
Cargo: 1,000 tons, plus holding cells for 50 slaves

Speed:

Atmosphere: Hover to Mach 1
Sublight Mach 10
- (Kitsune Values: 60 PSL; Accels at 1 PSL per melee)
FTL 5 Light Years per hour

Cost: Not generally for sale and would likely cost 800 million if available. Cost to build it is around 400 million credits. Cost does not include embarked power armors.

Systems of Note:

Standard (PW) Capital Starship Systems

TW Sensors: See the Invisible, See Aura, Sense Magic, and Sense Rifts

Displacement Warding: As on the Servitude

Electronic Cloaking System: The elongated tail array holds a powerful long range jamming system, intended to mask the ship’s EM signature and drive radiation.
- 85% chance of concealment from most Rifts-Earth/Orbital sensors.
  60% chance of fooling Galactic -type sensor systems
  Long Range Missiles are -6 to strike
  Long Range ‘Smart’ Missiles are -4 to strike

Weapons Systems:

1) Fusion Beam Cannons (2): Two lance-like Fusion Beam cannon protrude from the top of the main body ‘hump’, projecting forward over the ‘head’

2) Dual Heavy G-Cannons (2): Located in twin turrets on the outside of the engine ’wings’ are sets of high-powered projectile cannons, each identical to those on the CAF Scimitar, with each barrel having 400 bursts.

4) Neutron Cannons (4): The ‘Flenser’ mounts four smaller Nautron turrets for close-in defense, two on the upper rear of the twin engine wings and two on either side of the main body hunch.

3) Mini-Missile Launchers (3, 1 each engine wing, 1 rear): 128 MM per launcher, Volley 2-8.

Auxiliary Vehicle Compliment:

4 K-TRF-M Robot Fighters
12 Modified Fox-Bat Power Armors
Will also have a contingent of 60 troops, at least 50% of which will be in Serpent or Manling Power Armors

Variants:

A number of variants on the Chat’Nol hull have been seen in operation. Most of these variants seek to expand the range and utility of the design by giving it more internal space for cargo, passengers, and prisoners. This is most often accomplished by converting the hangar bay bomb-hatches to a modular connector, and mating a large secondary full pod to the underside of the ship, giving it a bulging ‘pregnant’ look. Available modules can add the capacity to carry up to 1,000 tons of additional cargo, or 100 troops, and have about 1,000 MDC (added to main body), but decrease top speed/acceleration by 15%.

Another variant replaces the large upper wing sensor and EW arrays with additional engine pods or weapons pods, sacrificing EW and stealth for speed or firepower. One pod can hold up to 20 Cruise Missiles or 60 LRMs, for example, or a heavy laser cannon doing 2d4x100 MD per blast, with a base range of 8 miles.

This modification is reportedly unpopular with many crews, though, and is usually applied only to older hulls being re-modelled for system garrisons, or assigned to dead-assignment Kittani crews intent on making a ‘glory bid’....an attempt to gain back honor and restore their tainted reputations by engaging in combat, most often achieved by sacrificing stealth and speed for the ability to soak up and deal out punishment at close range

Splugorth ‘Fleet Servitude’ Heavy Cruiser
Ship losses amongst the Splugorth Kingdoms have been near catastrophic in recent years, with the Minion War only giving a temporary reprieve. The venerable Servitude Heavy Cruiser was frankly not at all suited for dealing with mainstream galactic ship’s whose designs are less than 6 centuries old, and the decline in effectiveness shows. The naval situation has grown sufficiently dire that raiding activities have been dramatically cut back in favor of outright territorial defense, and they were still failing at stemming the tide. Clearly something more substantial was needed, and the most expedient solution was to turn the Servitude into a dedicated combat vessel.

The ship’s core flaws had been known for centuries, with the Invidious being developed as a response to them. But Splugorth ship construction capabilities are sufficiently anemic that they would never be able to replace the older ship on the slipways, so the Servitude remained in production. The new upgrade program consists of tearing out the older weapon and troop complement and filling the space with modern equivalents, more armor, and a useful ASF detachment. Removing the slave cells alone provided enough volume to install enough fusion generators to replace the forward Slicers with the far more capable Mega-Slicers, and the saved mass from removing the legs was invested into thicker hull armor. Other changes include replacing the problematic single tube Splitter Missile launchers with a quad array of modern CM launchers from the Invidious, replacing half the point defense with kinetic weapons, and adding an additional pair of Fusion Beams to the upper surface to cover the blind spot.

The Servitudes are being converted as fast as possible, and they are proving much more effective against modern warships. For the foreseeable future, all Servitudes being constructed will be of the Fleet variant, with raiding duties being handled by the Invidious if any are available. For the time being, the Splugorth Kingdoms can handle their slave pens being filled by independents and breeding planets, but they cannot survive being driven out of the Three Galaxies.

Spoiler:

What Kitsune intended to replace the Servitude (for being nonsense), I’ve made it a bit more in line.

Splugorth ‘Invidious’ Mega-Cruiser
The newest design in the Splugorth fleets, the Invidious is an odd duck by Three Galaxy reckoning, being far larger than what is considered Heavy Cruiser territory but operated as such. This is due to it, like many other Splugorth ships, pulling double duty as an assault and slaving ship. Add in the sheer extent of the weapon suite, the size the aerospace complement, and the fact that it has appreciable atmospheric mobility, and you end up with a single large ship trying to fill the roles of several smaller ones. This also comes with an exorbitant projected price tag, as even Kittani miniaturization struggles to shoe horn in every system. Many would argue that it would be far more practical to use a number of normal sized cruisers, but for the Splugorth the sheer size is often a major factor in procurement.

At 15 times the mass of the Servitude class, the Invidious’ primary advantage is simply range. The Slicer canons of the Servitude are widely diride for their short range and abysmal recharge time, demanding that it manage to take out its opponent in the first or second volley. While this would be acceptable on a secondary weapon, the abysmal throw weight of the ship’s missile batteries makes them extremely ‘hit-or-miss’ in terms of effectiveness. The Invidious on the other hand has faster firing Mega-Slicers, with several times the range and are backed up by a far denser CM salvo. Additionally, the ship has a pair of heavy mass drivers built into the keel, which have been altered to be far more useful in naval engagements by using much more ‘conventional’ shells that can be loaded faster. Secondary and defensive weapons remain underwhelming for its size however.

As stated before, the Invidious is also used as an assault ship, with planetary raiding composing the majority of its operations. While 1456 troops may not sound like much, it is more than enough to overrun most mid-sized colonies and terrorized primitive civilizations. Backed up by the Mass Drivers firing anti-city rounds, a single Invidious can easily annihilate orbital defenses and force entire planets to surrender, after which the Splugorth’s large fleets of dedicated slaving ships come into play. The ship is equipped with holding cells for no less than 8,000 individuals, which is more than the planetary populations of many starting colonies. Conquered primitive civilizations require the use of a fleet of transports or Rift transportation, both of which are straightforward for the Splugorth.

Invidious is a relatively new design, having only been introduced in the last century or so, while the Servitude has been in use for over 3000. Historical attrition of the latter has been relatively low and Splugorth production numbers sufficiently anemic that as little as 20 years ago there were more than 15 Servitudes for every Invidious. Recent pressure from both the TGE and the Shemarians are quickly gutting the Servitude numbers however, and the larger Invidious has tended not to be sent out on the sorts of speculative raids that see them ambushed or hunted down. The remaining Splugorth Kingdoms are frantically trying to rebuild their fleets, but the relative lack of infrastructure is biting them in the rear constantly, and the Shemarians have proven to be particularly adept at crippling what they do have.

Spoiler:

Type: KS-IMC

Class: Heavy Cruiser / Light Battlecruiser

Crew: 1,028 (Includes at least 16 High Lords), and 240 pilots and shuttle crews.

Troops: 1456

800 Kittani Power Armor Troops
300 Kydian Overlords/Power Lords.
300 Altara Blind Warrior Women
50 Splugoth Slavers
8 High Lords
8 Conservators

MDC/Armor by Location:

Combined Hull---------------180,000
- Main Body-------------------120,000
  Engines (4)------------------15,000
Systems and Components
- Bridge-----------------------16,000
  Auxi Bridge------------------16,000
  Hangar Bays (4)-------------5,000 each
  Prisoner Cells (400)----------500 each
Weapons
- Heavy Mass Drivers (2)-------4,000 each
  Mega-Slicers (4)--------------5,000
  Fusion Beam Cannons (6)----800 ech
  Point Defense Turrets (16)---200 each
  CM Launchers (4)------------1,200 each
  LRM Launchers (6)-----------600 each
  MM Launchers (8)------------160 each
Variable Force Field--------------10,000/side (60,000 total)

Statistics

Height: 420.2 feet (128.08 meters).
Width: 785.5 feet (239.42 meters).
Length: 1,680.4 feet (512.19 meters).
Weight: 4.5 million tons (4.08 million metric tons).

Cargo: Vessel has a cargo hold which can carry up to 200,000 tons (181,400 metric tons) of cargo and also has the ability to carry up to 8,000 captives. Otherwise, the ship’s crew has small lockers for personal items and uniforms. Each high lord and officer has more space for personal items. Most of the ship’s spaces are taken up by extra ammunition, armor, troops, weapons, engine, and other equipment.

Powerplant: Anti-Matter with a 30 year life span

Speed:

(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 1.5 (1,141.9 mph / 1,837.6 kph); transatmospheric
(Sublight) Mach 8
- (Kitsune Values: 60 PSL; Accels at .8 PSL per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour

Market Cost: 25 billion to construct, and is thought to be around 3x the cost of a Servitude. No ships of this design have ever been put on sale on the market.

Systems of Note:

Standard Starship Systems, as well as the following;

TW Sensors: See the Invisible, See Aura, Sense Magic, and Sense Rifts

Weapons Systems:

1) ‘Death Lance’ Heavy Mass Drivers (2, fixed forward): Has anti-ship (below) and anti-planet (normal) firing modes
- Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 80 miles in space
  - (Kitsune Values: 100 miles in atmosphere, 80,000 miles in space)
  Damage: 1D6x1000 M.D.C. each (critical on natural 18+ due to its high penetration.)
  Rate of Fire: 2 per melee
  Penalty: -4 to strike beyond 1/4th maximum range
  Payload: 80 projectiles per rail gun for 160 projectiles total. Usually has 6 anti-planet shells total due to infrequent use.
2) Mega Slicers (4): As on the Servitude, but 4x the range and twice the rate of fire. No more than half can be pointed at a single target. They can be fired forward and can be angled up to 120 degrees aft (can only fire 2 cannons at a target at that angle but can spin to be able to bring all of them to bear) and can fire at a 30 degree angle up or down.

3) Fusion Beam Cannons (6): As on the Servitude

4) PD EM Railgun (8): The Kittani engineers seem to prefer electromagnetic rail gun mounts over gravity rail guns due to being lower maintenance.
- Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 20 miles in space
  - (Kitsune Values: 20 miles in atmosphere, 1000 miles in space)
  Damage: 3D6x10 M.D.C. for an 20 round burst
  Rate of Fire: ECHH
  Payload: 2,000 rounds (100 bursts)
5) Neutron Cannons (8): As on the Raider
- Range: 1 mile in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
  - (Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
  Damage: 3D6x10 M.D. per cannon blast
  Rate of Fire: ECHH
  Payload: Effectively Unlimited
6) CM Launchers (4): 120 CMs each (480 total), Volley 2-12. Can fire Splinter Missiles with 4 sub-munitions.

7) LRM Launchers (6): 128 LRMs each (728 total), Volley 2-16.

MM Launchers (8): 96 MMs per launcher (768), Volley 2-16.

Aux. Craft:

80 Kittani K-EPA Equestrian Power Armors.
80 Kittani K-SEP Serpent Power Armors.
160 Kittani K-FPA Flying Fox Power Armors.
240 Kittani K-MPA Manling Power Armors.
240 Kittani K-Universal Light Power Armors.
20 Kittani K-TRF-M Transformable Robot-Fighters.
20 Kittani K-SF-M Starfighters.
8 Splugorth / Kittani KS-AS-2 “Marauder” Assault Shuttles.
50 Slaver Barges

Variants

Recent naval pressure has resulted in the Splugorth Kingdoms focusing more on defending their remaining territory than raiding. A number of new construction Invidious have had their mass drivers and troop compliments removed for more efficient anti-ship weapons and fighter craft. The Kittani are also begrudgingly working on a more economical and conventional design, but they also acknowledge the strategic necessity.

Revised version of something taalismn posted back in 2007.

Revised Kittani K’Norr (‘Hydra’) class Troop Carrier
(Something more easily produced than the Viceroy, but still able to land a large number of troops. And can land and try to run away. I've also made it 20% bigger to justify the mass)

Spoiler:

Type: KS-TCV

Class: Troop Carrier/Light Cruiser

Crew: 1,028 (Includes at least 16 High Lords)

Troops: 4098

1440 Kittani Power Armor Troops
1440 Kydian Overlords/Power Lords.
384 Kittani “Marauder” Assault Shuttle Pilots / Crew.
80 Kittani Starfighter / Transformable Robot-Fighters Pilots.
300 Altara Blind Warrior Women
50 Splugoth Slavers
8 High Lords
8 Conservators
400 Additional Troops (Optional - May include Tattoo or Bio-Wizard Troops)

M.D.C By Location:

Combined Main Hull------------210,000
- Main Body--------------------150,000
  Main Engines (2)-------------40,000 each
Systems and Components
- Bridge-----------------------10,000
  ECM Wings (2)--------------10,000 each
  Tractor Beam Turrets (4)----450 each
  Hangar Bays (4)-------------20,000 each
  Prisoner Cells (800)----------500 each
Weapons
- Weapons Heads (2)----------4,000 each
  Fusion Beam Cannons (5)----800 ech
  Point Defense Turrets (6)----200 each
  LRM Launchers (4)-----------600 each
  MM Launchers (3)------------160 each
Variable Forcefields--------------10,000 each (60,000 total)

Statistical Data:

Height: 380 ft
Width: 1,000 ft
Length: 2,500 ft
Weight: 9.2 million tons
Power Source: Anti-Matter with a 30 year life span
Cargo: 350,000 tons, plus up to 16,000 slaves.

Speed:

Atmosphere: Hover to Mach 1
Sublight Mach 10
- (Kitsune Values: 60 PSL; Accels at 1 PSL per melee)
FTL 5 Light Years per hour

Cost: Believed to cost around 10 billion to construct.

Systems of Note:

Standard (PW) Starship Systems, as well as the following;

TW Sensors: See the Invisible, See Aura, Sense Magic, and Sense Rifts

*Electronic Cloaking System: The elongated tail array holds a powerful long range jamming system, intended to mask the ship’s EM signature and drive radiation.
- 85% chance of concealment from most Rifts-Earth/Orbital sensors.
  60% chance of fooling Galactic -type sensor systems
  Long Range Missiles are -6 to strike
  Long Range ‘Smart’ Missiles are -4 to strike
*Tractor Beams (4, 2 belly, 1 each head): 9,000 tons, 25 miles range in space.

Weapons Systems:

1) Weapons Heads (2): Each Boarding Head has two Fusion Beam Cannon ‘eyes’, a set of close-combat cutting lasers, and a set of powerful clamps that can clamp down on a target’s hull and crack lesser vessels, opening them to vacuum.
- Range: Varies
  - (Dual Fusion Beams) As normal
    (Breaching Lasers) 100 ft
    (Jaw Clamp) Melee/Close Contact
  Damage: Varies
  - (Dual Fusion Beams) 6d6x100 MD per dual shot
    (Breaching Lasers) 2d6x100 per full melee of cutting
    (Jaw Clamp) 6d6x10 MD per melee of pressure
  Rate of Fire:
  - (Dual Fusion Beams) 4 per melee
    (Breaching Lasers) 1 per melee
    (Jaw Clamp) 1 per melee
  Payload: Effectively Unlimited
2) Single Fusion Beam Cannon (5, 2 in forward head, 2 in main body lateral mounts, 1 to rear quarter):

3) Dual LR Neutron Cannons (4): The ‘K’Norr’ mounts 4 dual Long Range (3x normal) Neutron Cannons for close-in point defense, one outboard of each boarding head on the end of the flattened main body wing, one in the middle of the central head’s ‘forehead’, and a fourth on a raised ridge-body above the rear engines, between the two ECM projector wings.

4) LRM Launchers (4): 160 LRMs each (640 total), Volley 2-32

5) MM Launchers (3, 1 each head, 1 rear): 400 MMs each (1200 total), Volley 2-20

Auxiliary Vehicle Compliment:

80 Kittani K-EPA Equestrian Power Armors.
80 Kittani K-SEP Serpent Power Armors.
320 Kittani K-FPA Flying Fox Power Armors.
480 Kittani K-MPA Manling Power Armors.
480 Kittani K-Universal Light Power Armors.
40 Kittani K-TRF-M Transformable Robot-Fighters.
40 Kittani K-SF-M Starfighters.
16 Splugorth / Kittani KS-AS-2 “Marauder” Assault Shuttles.
50 Slaver Barges

And here’s my update of taalismn’s Greater Dragon.

Revised Kittani Draconus Superior Dreadnought (‘Greater Dragon’)
The Greater Dragon Dreadnought is a vanishingly rare sight, with at most a dozen believed to currently be in existence across all of the Splugorth domains across the Megaverse. In their home dimension it was the single most powerful direct combatant that they had ever produced, with larger ships being various forms of carrier or troop transport. It is believed that at most one or two of them were among the refugees that Lord Splynncryth discovered, with it is unlikely that they were anything resembling fully functional. Some deep structure components recovered by the GNE during the Dreadnought Crisis suggest that it came from this time period, so the vessel may have been one of the last remaining direct traces of the Kittani’s former glory. Analysis from records gained in the Three Galaxies show that it was distinctly under armed compared to other known examples, so it is quite possible.

With that one exception, the Kittani have been quite vigilant in keeping the Greater Dreadnoughts up to date with the latest technology. During the heyday of the Three Galaxy Splugorth Kingdoms, they were simply wasteful overkill against anything they could have encountered, meaning that there was effectively no need for them. If the Splugorth needed to make a personal statement, the mighty Gortha was even more impressive and intimidating, and carrier/assault ships like the Viceroy were much more practical. The decline of the Kingdoms since then has drastically cut opportunities for Greater Dreadnoughts to be created, and several have been lost as well. In all likelihood, if the Splugorth were to have the Kittani make a battleship in the current circumstances, it would be something much more practical, so it is likely that the design will go extinct sooner rather than later.

Spoiler:

Type: KS-GDD

Class: Space Battleship

Crew: 900

Troops: Up to 1,500 troops may be carried

M.D.C By Location:

Combined Main Hull----------------------430,000
- Main Body--------------------------350,000
  Main Engine Pods (2)----------------40,000 each
Systems and Components
- Wings (6)---------------------------30,000 each
  Tail----------------------------------30,000
  Auxiliary Thrusters (4)---------------9,000 each
  Sensor Arrays (6)-------------------500 each
  Directional Thrusters (10)-----------400 each
  Hatches (many)---------------------250 each
  Bridge (Base of the Necks)----------50,000 to get to
Weapons
- Wing/Tail Mega-Slicers (3)-----------6,000 each
  Dragon Heads (4)-------------------6,000 each
  Heavy Mass Driver Armatures (2)----5,000 each
  Wing Fusion Beam Cannons (12)----800 each
  Missile Launch Bay (1, dorsal)-------5,000
  Point Defense Turrets (24)----------200 each
  Mini-Missile Turrets (9)--------------500 each
Variable Forcefields-------------------------15,000 each side (90,000 total)

Statistical Data:

Height: 600 ft
Width: 840 ft (1,200 ft at end of wingtips)
Length: 2,400 ft (tail sensor array adds an additional 720 ft)
Weight: 18 million tons
Power Source: Anti-Matter with a 30 year life span
Cargo: 400,000 tons

Speed:

Underwater Can move at 200 MPH, and survive depths up to 2.5 miles
Atmosphere: Hover to Mach 1
Sublight Mach 8
- (Kitsune Values: 60 PSL; Accels at .8 PSL per melee)
FTL 5 Light Years per hour

Cost: NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE!!!

Systems of Note:

Standard (PW) Capital Starship Systems

TW Sensors: See the Invisible, See Aura, Sense Magic, and Sense Rifts

*Electronic Cloaking System: The elongated tail array holds a powerful long range jamming system, intended to mask the ship’s EM signature and drive radiation.
- 85% chance of concealment from most Rifts-Earth/Orbital sensors.
  60% chance of fooling Galactic -type sensor systems
  Long Range Missiles are -6 to strike
  Long Range ‘Smart’ Missiles are -4 to strike

Weapons Systems:

1) Mega Slicers (3, 2 forwards, 1 rear): Far larger than those mounted on the Servitude, these massive weapons have 4x the range and twice the rate of fire.

2) Dragon Heads (4): Each Dragon Head has two Fusion Beam Cannon ‘eyes’, a set of close-combat cutting lasers, and a set of powerful clamps that can clamp down on a target’s hull and crack lesser vessels, opening them to vacuum.
- Range: (Dual Fusion Beams) As normal
  - (Breaching Lasers) 100 ft
    (Jaw Clamp) Melee/Close Contact
  Damage: Varies(Dual Fusion Beams) 6d6x100 MD per dual shot
  - (Breaching Lasers) 2d6x100 per full melee of cutting
    (Jaw Clamp) 6d6x10 MD per melee of pressure
  Rate of Fire: (Dual Fusion Beams) 4 per melee
  - (Breaching Lasers) 1 per melee
    (Jaw Clamp) 1 per melee
  Payload: Effectively Unlimited
3) ‘Death Lance’ Heavy Mass Drivers (2, ‘arms’): The two ‘arms’ are in reality massive weapons armatures, each holding two massive G-Cannons firing relativistic projectiles. They have limited 90 degree freedom of movement. Has anti-ship (below) and anti-planet (normal) firing modes
- Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 80 miles in space
  - (Kitsune Values: 100 miles in atmosphere, 80,000 miles in space)
  Damage: 1D6x1000 M.D.C. each (critical on natural 18+ due to its high penetration.)
  Rate of Fire: 2 per melee
  Penalty: -4 to strike beyond 1/4th maximum range
  Payload: 80 projectiles per rail gun for 160 projectiles total. Usually has 6 anti-planet shells total due to infrequent use.
4) Wing Single Fusion Beam Cannon Turrets (12): As on the Servitude.

5) Point Defense Neutron Cannons (12): As on the Raider.

6) PD EM Railgun (12): The Kittani engineers seem to prefer electromagnetic rail gun mounts over gravity rail guns due to being lower maintenance.
- Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 20 miles in space
  - (Kitsune Values: 20 miles in atmosphere, 1000 miles in space)
  Damage: 3D6x10 M.D.C. for an 20 round burst
  Rate of Fire: ECHH
  Payload: 2,000 rounds (100 bursts)
7) Missile Launch Bay (1, dorsal): The dorsal missile launch tube has been replaced with a massive launch bay for LRMs and Cruise Missiles
- Rate of Fire:Volleys of 1-60 LRMs, or 1-20 Cruise Missiles
  Payload: 300 LRMs, and 100 Cruise Missiles. Reloading the launcher from the cargo hold takes 1d6 minutes (1 ton of cargo per 12 LRMs, 6 Cruise Missiles)
Mini-Missile Launchers (9, 3 each side, 3 along underside): 128 MMs per launcher, Volley 2-8

9) Dragonhead Jaws: The jaws of the dragonheads are fully articulated and able to clamp down with metal-crushing force. The heads are also surprisingly fast, and able to pluck robots and power armor from the Dreadnought’s hull, snatch passing fighters, and chew through ship hulls with relative ease. The necks can also twine around small spacecraft and structures, and slowly squeeze them, crushing them.
- Bite: 1d6x100 MD
  Head Butt: 5d6x10 MD
  Crush w/ Neck Squeeze: 6d6x10 MD per melee
  Rate of Fire: Once per melee

Auxiliary Vehicle Compliment:

4 Marauder Assault Shuttles
20 K-TRF-M Robot -Fighters
500 Manling Armor (space speed 650 MPH)
200 Space-Adapted Serpent Armor (space speed 670 MPH)
200 Modified Fox-Bat Power Armors (space speed Mach 6)
60 Centaur Armors
Maintenance Contingent of 80 ABW-4 Basic Work Drones

Kitsune’s replacement for the Taskmaster. The Mass Drivers were moved to a smaller and more expendable ship.

Splugorth ‘Viceroy’ Command Carrier
The Viceroy serves as a stately flagship for Repression Fleets, with a notable army and aerospace complement at its disposal to expedite planetary conquest. Its design is something of a Kittani artifact, with its FTL drive being of a unique type with little to no relation with the rest of the Three Galaxies. While the production, maintenance, and operation are understood, the losses the Kittani suffered at the hands of the Mechanoids means that none of the survivors knew exactly how it was developed or how it works. The hull is also mostly legacy, derived from the large command ships in which the Kittani asserted their dominance. As their preferred method of warfare was massed light combatants, its direct firepower is only intended for use against smaller cruisers, but it is always accompanied by dedicated combatants such as the Invidious. Its overall profile is closest to that of an inflated whale, but the Kittani’s options were limited due to the need to have as much internal volume as possible to carry their warriors.

As stated before, the Viceroy is a combination of assault ship and carrier. Hosting over 10,000 troops, it can smash strong points of resistance and terrorize large swaths of a planet’s surface all by itself. The assigned ASF complement is also quite sizable, which allows it to handle small fleets if need be. Protection is considered modest, being better than the Packmaster but well short of the CAF’s new Saratoga. As is to be expected for its mass, sublight acceleration is mediocre at best, but it is not any slower than any other known Dreadnought sized vessels. Interestingly, the ship has few slave holding cells for a Splugorth ship, and they are primarily meant to handle the influx from returning Marauders. As a flagship, it is always accompanied by a fleet, and any conquest or raiding action involving it would require a multitude of dedicated slave transports accompanying it regardless.

Spoiler:

Type: KS-CCV

Class: Command Carrier / Battle Carrier

Crew: 2,400 (Includes at least 24 High Lords).

Troops: 10,312 total

2000 Kittani Power Armor Troops
600 Kittani Starfighter / Transformable Robot-Fighters Pilots.
720 Kittani “Marauder” Assault Shuttle Pilots / Crew.
6000 Kydian Overlords/Power Lords.
480 Altara Blind Warrior Women
80 Splugoth Slavers
16 High Lords
16 Conservators
400 Additional Troops (Optional - May include Tattoo or Bio-Wizard Troops)

MDC/Armor by Location:

Combined Hull-------------------460,000
- Main Body--------------------300,000
  Engines (4)------------------40,000
Systems and Components
- Bridge-----------------------40,000
  Auxi Bridge------------------40,000
  Hanger Bays (8)-------------20,000 each
  Prisoner Cells (200)----------500 each
Weapons
- Mega-Slicers (6)-------------5000 each
  Fusion Beam Cannons (16)--800 each
  Point Defense Turrets (24)---200 each
  CM Launchers (2)------------1,200 each
  LRM Launchers (8)-----------600 each
  MM Launchers (12)----------160 each
Variable Force Field-----------15,000/side (90,000 total)

Statistics

Height: 1,125 feet (342.90 meters).
Width: 1,347 feet (410.57 meters).
Length: 6,820 feet (2,078.74 meters).
Weight: 65 million tons (58.97 million metric tons).

Cargo: Vessel has a cargo hold which can carry up to 4.8 million tons (4.35 million metric tons) of cargo and also has the ability to carry up to 4,000 captives. Otherwise, the ship’s crew has small lockers for personal items and uniforms. Each high lord and officer has more space for personal items. Most of the ship’s spaces are taken up by extra ammunition, armor, troops, weapons, engine, and other equipment.

Powerplant: Anti-Matter with a 30 year life span

Speed:

Atmosphere: Hover to 200 mph (322 kph), can enter an atmosphere and can leave but is not designed for atmospheric flight. There is a real chance of crashing when operating within an atmosphere as well.
Sublight Mach 8
- (Kitsune Values: 60 PSL; Accels at .8 PSL per melee)
FTL 6 Light Years per hour (but could be pushed up to 7 with enough power)

Market Cost: Believed to cost around 40 billion to construct.

Systems of Note:

Standard (PW) Super-Capital Systems, as well as the following;

TW Sensors: See the Invisible, See Aura, Sense Magic, and Sense Rifts

Weapons Systems:

1) Mega Slicers (6): As on the Servitude, but 4x the range and twice the rate of fire. No more than half can be pointed at a single target.

2) Fusion Beam Cannons (18): As on the Servitude.

3) PD EM Railgun (12): The Kittani engineers seem to prefer electromagnetic rail gun mounts over gravity rail guns due to being lower maintenance.
- Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 20 miles in space
  - (Kitsune Values: 20 miles in atmosphere, 1000 miles in space)
  Damage: 3D6x10 M.D.C. for an 20 round burst
  Rate of Fire: ECHH
  Payload: 2,000 rounds (100 bursts)
4) Neutron Cannons (12): As on the Raider.
- Range: 1 mile in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
  - (Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
  Damage: 3D6x10 M.D. per cannon blast
  Rate of Fire: ECHH
  Payload: Effectively Unlimited
6) CM Launchers (2): 60 CMs each (120 total), Volley 2-12. Can fire Splinter Missiles with 4 sub-munitions.

7) LRM Launchers (7): 128 LRMs each (1,025 total), Volley 2-16.

MM Launchers (12): 96 MMs per launcher (1,152), Volley 2-16.

Aux. Craft:

160 Kittani K-EPA Equestrian Power Armors.
160 Kittani K-SEP Serpent Power Armors.
320 Kittani K-FPA Flying Fox Power Armors.
400 Kittani K-MPA Manling Power Armors.
400 Kittani K-Universal Light Power Armors.
160 Kittani K-TRF-M Transformable Robot-Fighters.
320 Kittani K-SF-M Starfighters.
30 Splugorth / Kittani KS-AS-2 “Marauder” Assault Shuttles.
80 Slaver Barges

Variants

The Viceroys were the largest remaining ships of the Kittani refugees, and even at their height there were only a handful of hulls, let alone design classes, that had more mass. Those relics are likely stashed away in some minor dimension due to their likely abysmal condition, but it is unlikely that the Kittani would have had the heart to simply scrap them. Their overall systems would be substantially cruder and less effective, but they would be better laid out of a conventional military campaign.

A few of the modern Viceroys are fitted out as pure ASF carriers, sacrificing nearly all of the troop capacity to hold a larger strike wing. They host 640 Robot-Fighters and 720 Starfighters, and have had the number of hangar doors increased to compensate. They are built or converted only due to necessity, with neither the Splugorth or the Kittani liking them. The former due to the lack of slave taking, and the later due to lesser honor in void combat compared to the ground.

Omegasgundam · Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:18 pm

An additional decade of infrastructure development is enough time for the USA to warrant making a good battleship at a reasonable cost, so here she is.

WZ-SB-003B ‘Demas’ Battleship
“The intent of the rebuild is clearly to match the Protector using less advanced technology, as seen by it running straight into the 60-meg line and its relative capabilities. The heavy cap guns they’ve managed to start cranking out aren’t bad at all, and the intermediaries are literally the exact same model we use. It's still lacking in raw durability and shear damage output, but the Syzite-Crystals generally compensates for the first and the second could be dealt with if they swap out that monster of an ion gun with something with a better rate of fire. But they mostly use it as a scatter gun against small ships, so it's not a horrible idea, but it's still highly situational.”
----Captain-General Vicen Trancluw, CAF

The Demas was hindered by the need to keep so much from the Cachalot-TA, but it did greatly simplify development and production. Without the Syzite-Crystal Composite Armor it would have been horrifically vulnerable, and even with it their captains were understandably nervous against heavily kinetic armed opponents or when their own defensive screen was light in anti-missile capability. Its flaws were nowhere near as problematic as those of the Perdition however, and it was still a quite capable design, so their rebuilds would have to wait until the carriers were finished. The delay gave them plenty of time to be more thorough and meaningful however, and incorporated the best ideas to come out of other recent super-capital designs.

The Demas-B was greatly helped by the more developed production infrastructure than the USA developed in the decade after the Minion War, most notably in regards to Sub-Dreadnaught grade power plants and weapons. The Heavy Capital Lasers now available were far superior to the old fusion-pumped array due to their more compact and energy efficient nature, allowing 3 of the slightly less powerful weapons to be installed in the same housings, more than doubling the effective damage output. The outer frame was replaced with a much more capable arrangement that could both hold more armor and be carefully reduced to provide the volume needed for the Cachalot update, reducing the production headaches and resulting in effectively double the protection. This process used up the missing 4 megatons that were absent from the original, resulting in it being able to use the same FTL drive. The sublight engines were taken directly from the upgraded Perdition, bringing it up to contemporary standards for Sub-Dreadnaughts.

The changes to the auxiliary systems and secondary weapons were almost banal in comparison. They included the now typical long range sensors, EWAR suite, and ORACLE array, but the AGC had long been making a push for them to be mandatory. The old Single Medium mounts were upgraded to dual Intermediaries, allowing them to host the Heavy Gauss Cannons that have proliferated across the Three Galaxies. The number of Triple Medium mounts has doubled, with the modular system allowing a choice of versatile options. Missile capabilities were greatly improved by using CAF autoloading models, superior in both volley size and reload time. And the PD grid was not forgotten either, with the full range of modern WZT/ASI options being able to be fitted as is logistically appropriate. They even found room to increase the hangar bays, resulting in a larger ASF complement.

Spoiler:

And the related Cachalot configuration. Starting the design phase of the BB with the assumption that you’re going to also use the same hull design for a carrier helps a lot with effectiveness.

WZ-LS-003-TB Cachalot Landing Ship
“The Cachalot doesn’t hold that many troops from an objective standpoint, but their job is to kick the door open so that others can join in. That means that they’re packing the largest and heaviest gear they can haul, which among other things means that every one of those PA’s is going to be a Minuteman or similar. They secure the beachhead where everybody else lands, and if the enemy is worth using that much force on then they can put up enough of a fight to slaughter anything less. Cachalots are the spear tip, not the whole spear, and we have a lot of platforms that can be used to supply the shaft.”
--- Admiral Soltath, Tmelain Republican Aggression Regulators

The revised Cachalot naturally shares much with the Demas, but removes half of the gained armor and some of the weaponry to host ground forces. Much to the TVIA’s dismay, the Heavy Mass Drivers have been reinstalled, with the recent chaos of the Three Galaxies has provided a great many examples where they have been the optimal tool. The increase in engine strength is most appreciated, as there were several hairy incidents during the Minion War where it had been a severe liability. The aerospace complement has been reduced to the manned wing, and is often composed of more compact designs to save room. If sustained air support is needed, a better suited carrier platform can be called in.

Working under the theory that the ship would only be called in to deal with truly well entrenched opponents, the troop bay is focused on providing as much heavy metal as possible; a full RPA Assault Regiment. Consisting of 80 heavy combat robots (or similarly large tanks such as the Cestus III) and 656 power armor (Glitter Boy equivalents), it serves as a spearhead for more normal infantry forces to follow. To deploy them as fast as possible, the 30 combat dropships are able to transport the entire fighting force in a single load, with the support units consisting of the follow up run. Additionally, a number of spare vehicles are provided in a combat ready state to offset immediate losses. Follow up troops are provided by other (smaller) ships, with the Cachalot being the one to break open the defenses and take the damage.

The remaining original LS-003-T Cachalots are increasingly being declared worn down beyond economical refit, and are slowly being retired. As the Tmelains have much less need to provide ground assault services, only a portion of them are being replaced with the advanced model, and their ground compliments are increasingly drawing from their fellow USA members such as Hadazad and Nettavan.

Spoiler:

Omegasgundam · Unread post by **Omegasgundam** » Sun Jun 13, 2021 3:04 pm

And the biggest bath toy of all for the Eyeball of Atlantis. This is just the intended form when construction starts, and there will likely be a few minor changes due to the length of time it will take to finish.

Pride of Splynncryth
As he put the pieces together after the Minion War, Lord Splynncryth realized that the USA had the GNE as basically the founding core, and it was not something he liked. Those mortals had not only defied him, but had started undercutting his business, and that was simply unacceptable. As he tried to avoid thinking about how that was something that normally Naruni would be concerned about, he began pondering on how to deal with the situation, both militarily and economically. The economics would be complex and have their own perils, but he had no shortage of experience. Militarily however he would have to substantially up his game, and the GNE’s orbital activities inspired his new centerpiece.

While Splynncryth is on the young side for Splugorth, the dissolution of MK(i)SE was only 10 millennia ago, so he was around for their prime. Among other things, he had several sets of 100 megaton FTL drives commissioned for him before their cultural shift, and the aftermath of the whole affair had resulted in him putting them in a temporally locked dimensional depot that he used as a long term treasure chest. He was now finally inspired to break one of them out, and along with it came an exotic mystic power source to power it. None that had examined it knew exactly what it was, but it at the very least it wasn’t something that would hijack whatever it was hooked into, and using it was simple enough if you could make sufficiently high capacity energy conduits. That had been the tricky part, and Splynncryth’s minions couldn’t figure it out before they gave up 20 millenia ago and shoved it in a dusty corner to be forgotten about. Now they had options, and if nothing else TW enchanted systems would solve the ‘flash heating then entire apparatus to the point of becoming a small nuclear explosion’ problem that killed the last effort.

With the all important FTL drive and power source handled, it was time to set the Kittani to work making use of them. Telling them to make something that mostly looked like the old Gortha and shoe horn in everything they could, Splynncryth would be mostly hands off during the development process, although several of his most senior High Lord Techno-Wizards were part of the team to provide consolation for what tolerances and leeway they needed to apply their trade. While the distinctively Splugorth looking Gotha wasn’t the most ideal shape for a warship, the Kittani regularly used worse for artistic flair, and it was otherwise a complete blank sheet. The sheer scale and depth of the work meant that this was easily the single most complicated and involved project that any Splugorth had ever asked of them, so the Kittani entered with a desire to truly impress him so that they could be granted more independence. Splynncryth was sufficiently pleased that he was willing to meet them part way, which has resulted in the Kittani running roughshod over several previously unconquered single planet dimensions.

As stated before, the only thing the Gortha II has with the Gortha I is the profile. Beyond that, absolutely everything is brand new and greatly improved. Simply improving the materials it was made out of greatly helped its capabilities in all aspects, and then they took the step of asking for carapaces from the Metztla. Beyond the novelty of simply being asked for it, the Metztla had undergone an unexpected population boom in several of Splynncryth’s worlds, and the hives were looking for an excuse to get rid of a few hundred thousand of them. Combined with reverse engineered Ectofibre they made the perfect armor, easily surpassing the lesser carapaces that the Kreegor used in their ships and able to be enchanted to a level then unprecedented. The widespread use of Ectofibre also made adding pocket dimensions trivial, and solved many engineering problems without having to make the normal compromises, such as where to store all the ammunition without it being vulnerable.

As should come as no surprise, the armaments of the Gortha II are extremely heavy. The damage output on the primary weaponry surpasses that of the TGE’s upgraded Doombringers, and gravimetric nature of the energy weapons means that they ignore normal enchantments. The secondaries are even worse, and have exceptional range for their type. Point defense is simply unprecedented in the current galactic era, with no less than 90 combination GR-1000 and MRM turrets being backed up by 20 Tachyon Scatter Guns. Offensive missile armaments are more restrained, ‘only’ consisting of 320 CM and 640 LRM autoloading launch silos. And as a final party trick, it features a Mega Ion Cannon like those used by WZT, which Splynncryth found absolutely hilarious.

The ship’s other systems are similarly impressive. While its engine power and shields are merely on par with the Block II Emancipation, that ship is the current apex of CCW technology, which is generally regarded as well above the Splugorth in regards to spaceships. Automation is as high as Kittani technology can make it, with a vast legion of cutting edge ABW-5 Drones performing nearly all maintenance tasks. And the all important interior defenses are as extensive as they are paranoid, surpassing even Splugorth standards. And then there’s the sensor suite, which has been augmented with technowizardry to become near scrying level of awareness within Cis-Lunar space.

Lord Splynncryth was greatly enthused with the project after being walked through a simulation of the finished mechanical design, and took personal interest in applying every enchantment that could be done. Venturing into the realm of diabolism, the ship is infused with various circles of power, forming a functional network behind the exterior plating. While nowhere near as refined as those created by the Old Ones or even Lictalon, it neatly bypassed the remaining difficulties of dealing with an object this large, and it was even unknown to the UWW. Legitimately stealing a march over the Star Elves was quite the feather in Splynncryth’s cap, although there would naturally be complications when it came time to actually make it. Every other mystical system was stolen straight from the UWW shipyards, with many long term agents being promoted into positions with access to minor to moderate secrets due to the post-war rebuilding.

Considering the scale of the project and what resources he has to work with on Rifts Earth, Splynncryth is quite understanding that constructing the ship will take more than a decade, and that time will allow him to figure out how to best use it. If nothing else, its sheer presence will serve to further awe those that come to Splynn, and as a marketing gimmick it is remarkably practical. The first step is to build a secure yard in which it can be built, and work is underway to set up the dome under the Preserves’ inland sea (aka ‘The Bathtub’). Assembly of the components is expected to begin in late 119 PA, and the ship will be ready in 129 PA, after which Lord Splynncryth will have to decide now to test it. In the meantime the Alien Intelligence is working up other aspects on his plan to regain market share, and at the very least will be able to stem the bleeding.

Spoiler:

Type: Gortha II-Class

Class: Dreadnought Battleship

Crew: 850 crew, 400 Rune Statues, at least 20,000 ABW-5 Advanced Work Drones, up to 1000 passengers (usually High Lords), and 20,000 slaves (generally loyal)

Troops: Up to 10,000

M.D.C By Location:

Combined Hull-----------------1,200,000
- Main Body---------------------450,000
  Bridge/Citadel-----------------175,000
  Secondary Hulls (13)----------25,000 each
  Engines (5)--------------------50,000
Systems and Components
- Hangar Bays (8)---------------20,000 each
  Prisoner Cells (1000)-----------500 each
Weapons
- Mega Ion Disruptor (1)--------60,000
  Heavy Mass Drivers (4)--------9,000 each
  Hyper-Slicers (9)--------------6,000 each
  Fusion Beam Cannons (20)----1000 each
  Point Defense Turrets (110)---600 each
  CM Launchers (10)------------1,200 each
  MRM Launchers (20)----------450 each
Variable Force Field------------30,000/side (180,000 total)
Magical Force Barriers---------60,000

The ship is under the effect of multiple overlapping Metropolis spells, meaning that its hull regenerates at a rate of 1D6x100 MD every 15 minutes. It is lost if the main body takes more than 75% damage.

The VFF regenerates at 20% per melee (6,000 per side, 36,000 total)

Maintaining the Force Barriers consumes 1,200 PPE per 30 minutes of operation. The Impenetrable Wall of Force-based spells powering the Barrier, however, are vulnerable to neutralization/penetration by Dispel Magic Barrier and Negate Magic spells.

Statistical Data:

Height: 4,000 ft
Width: Roughly 10,000 ft in diameter; the central sphere is 4,000 ft in diameter
Length: Roughly 10,000 ft in diameter; the central sphere is 4,000 ft in diameter
Weight: 100 million tons
Cargo: 35 million tons

Powerplant: Exotic TW Power Source/unknown energy life.

Speed:

Underwater: 30 MPH, and depths up to 8 miles.
Atmosphere: Hover to Mach 1; Transatmospheric
Sublight Mach 8
- (Kitsune Values: 60 PSL; Accels at .8 PSL per melee)
CG FTL 8.6 Light Years per hour
Emergency Wormhole FTL 1D6x15 light years in a random direction, 900 PPE.
Phoenix Light FTL 30 light years an hour for 30 hours, 1000 PPE but requires full concentration of Lord Splyncryth, and he usually has more valuable things to be doing with his time.

Cost: The value of the components that went into it defy calculation. The only way anyone will ever acquire it is over Lord Splyncryth’s dead body, and it almost certainly has a ‘spite bomb’ of truly epic proportions for that event.

Systems of Note:

Standard (PW) Dreadnought Systems, as well as the following;

*Long Range Sensors: Detects FTL travel up to 50 ly, and sublight vessels up to 1.8 ly.

*ECM Systems: Comm Jamming 90K mile range, 98% vs civilian, 90% vs military. Missiles and sensor guided weapons are -6 to strike.

*Ectofiber Insulation Grid: Magical Attacks do HALF damage/effect, and removes the additional difficulty of installing TW features on a modern conventional platform.

*TW Sensors: On par with the best the UWW has.

*Circles of Protection: +3 to save against magic (including anti-magic cloud and other forms of dispelling magic), +1 save against psychic attacks and a bonus of +2 to save vs Horror Factor. Permanently active

*Tractor Beams (20): 2,500 tons dead weight. Not usable in atmosphere. Up to 20 miles in space (Kitsune 20K miles)

*Extensive Dimensional Pockets: Any effect that would result in the ship’s reactor or weapons to catastrophically fail instead results in them being disabled. Additionally, the first normal disabling effect to any critical system is ignored, and is reset upon repairs.

*Mystic Link to the Lord Splyncryth: Lord Splyncryth has a level of awareness and control over the ship that is deeper than any familiar link, becoming effectively part of his own body. While initially quite distressing, after he got used to it he found he quite enjoyed it, and can now take his multitasking ability to legitimately deific levels. Additionally, thanks to its data banks he has 15th level proficiency in all spaceship related skills, making him an exceptional captain to say the least.

Weapons Systems: 85K+112K=192K forward

1) Superheavy Ion MegaCannon: As on the WZT Cachalot, but has a 5 minute recharge time

2) ‘Grand Death Lance’ Heavy Mass Drivers (4, forward): Has anti-ship (below) and anti-planet (normal) firing modes.
- Range: 15 miles in atmosphere, 120 miles in space
  - (Kitsune Values: 150 miles in atmosphere, 120,000 miles in space)
  Damage: 2D4x1000 M.D.C. each (critical on natural 18+)
  Rate of Fire: 2 per melee
  Penalty: -4 to strike beyond half maximum range
  Payload: 160 ready projectiles per gun for 640 projectiles total. Usually has 30 anti-planet shells due to infrequent use.
3) Hyper-Slicers (9): As on the Servitude, but have a range of 100 miles in space (Palladium) and fire 1/melee. Their mounting balls in the secondary hulls gives them near 360 degree rotation, blocked only by the main hull.

4) Double Heavy Gauss Cannons (20): QZT/ASI Standard, but 4x the ammo. Splynncryth found the irony delightful.

5) GR-1000/MRM PD Turret (90): Taken directly from the Block II Emancipation.
- Rate of Fire: (GR-1000) ECGHH
  - (MRM Launcher) 1, 2, 4, 6, 8
  Payload: (GR-1000) 1000 bursts each
  - (MRM Launcher) 120 each
6) PD Tachyon Scatterguns (20): Scattered across the hull for maximum coverage.
- Range: 3 mile in atmosphere, 12 miles in space w/ 6 mile wide arc.
  - (Kitsune Values: 12 miles in atmosphere, 120 miles in space)
    *Range and width are reduced to 1/4th in atmosphere
  Damage: 2D4x10 M.D.C. each.
  Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee each
  Payload: Effectively Unlimited
7) CM Launchers (10): CAF pattern 32-silo autoloaders, 19 reloads

LRM Batteries (20):
- Rate of Fire: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32
  Payload: 960 LRMs per launcher, 19200 total.
9) Magic Attack: The prior options had little use in space combat, but several quite powerful void use spells have been developed since then. If relevant, count as a 15th level caster, and the origin point can be 2 miles away from the hull.
- Planetary Attack
  - *Summon Ley Line Storm: Affects a 5 mile area.
    *Summon and Control Storm: 2x range, 15 mile area, 600 PPE, 18 hours.
    *Blight of Ages: Affects 10 mile area, 2x cost.
    *Mystic Quake: 10x range, 2x cost.
    *Metropolis: Permanent requires sacrificing a mage.
  Space Use: May be cast at twice cost for 10x the normal range.
  - *Space Dust: 300 PPE
    *Summon Ion Storm: 300 PPE
    *Summon Meteor Shower: 300 PPE +50 per additional intensity
    *Asteroid Strike: 550 PPE
    *Solar Flare: 500 PPE
    *Create Nebula: 1000 PPE
    *Summon Comet: 2000 PPE
    *Nexus Space Warp: 755 PPE
    *Create Gravity Well: 1100 PPE

Active Techno-Wizard Features: 15th level equivalents

The massive PPE generators produce 12,000 P.P.E. per hour / 50 P.P.E. per melee round, and can hold up to 100,000 PPE in storage. It can also drain up 4,000 slaves at a time in an emergency (providing roughly 4d6x1,0000 PPE in additional power)

*Dimensional Teleport Chamber: The D-Chamber has the spells Dimensional Portal (600 PPE to operate for 10 minutes), Circle of Travel (default portal to the Gortha’s homeport), and Dimensional Teleport (400 PPE to operate for single-person teleports).

*Impervious to Energy: 720 PPE to activate, 30 minutes per activation.

*(Improved) Hull Regeneration: 1120/3360 PPE to activate, 10 hours or permanent. The use of mystically conductive materials in the organic hull allows for the regenerated MDC to be at full strength, but still only recovers 5% of the overall total per cast. It does not replace systems or weapons.

*Shadow Meld: 320 PPE to activate, 45 minutes per activation. Other craft are -6 to strike and -4 to dodge the ship unless it is directly illuminated against something. This is nullified by See the Invisible and similar.

*Invisibility Superior: 720 PPE to activate, 45 minutes per activation.

Aux. Craft:

720 Kittani K-TRF-M Transformable Robot-Fighters.
720 Kittani K-SF-M Starfighters.
20 Marauder Assault Shuttles

Omegasgundam · Mon Jun 14, 2021 10:22 pm

And here’ the GNE’s mystic lore comes in very handy in turning space time into a well crafted pretzel.

WZT ‘Winding Road’ Gateship
“We do a lot of preliminary work before we even consider sending out a Gateship, the most important of which is charting the dimensional fabric of the target area and seeing if it's even conductive to be manipulated. A good third of the more important member worlds and almost half the lesser ones are frankly no-go areas because of local conditions, at least for the next few millennia, and others can only link up to frankly poor locations. We could establish a normal Wormhole station instead, but they're frankly tortuous on the senses of Sifters and the SSPs (Second Stage Prometheans) make frowny faces when it's brought up. They’d also result in a bad screw up sooner or later, mostly sooner, and we don’t have the capital to throw into inevitable losses like that repeatedly. And frankly we’re only going to have a single Gateship active at a time, and the work cue is LONG.”

“While our success rate is damn high, we’ve also had a number of close calls. The ‘Shifter’s gut’ can generally tell you when something is or is going to go wrong, and we keep at least one hand over the SCRAM button at all times, but the amount of warning you get can be in fractions of a second. We’ve had to abandon a few promising locations due to space-time reacting in ways that we can’t predict, and at least twice there was some frankly nasty stuff lurking in the layers we couldn't perceive before we started. Those resulted in the SSP watching over us visibly recoiling, so we took that as a cue to move a dozen lightyears away before relighting the hole. I also hear that Phase World put those locations as ‘high end potential hazards’ and strongly advised nobody to go near them for ‘everyone’s safety’, so I count that as an entire magazine of bullets dodged.”

“While they will inevitably charge us through the nose, if only because they also need them, we must seriously investigate the possibility of purchasing the services of the USA’s Wormhole Establishment Corps. The utility of modern Gateships is as well known as their vulnerability, and those rim worlders don’t have to deal with the latter. Their understanding of space-time surpasses us by a comical degree, and our relationship with them makes it plausible that they will be willing to lend out their expertise. If we can establish permanent links between Goldilox and the local HQs of Anvil and Thundercloud, then we will have a major advantage in the next war with the TGE, which we all know WILL come.”
---Overheard in the Consortium Assembly Secure Committee Rooms

-Have the younglings from that cesspool gotten in over their heads yet?-
-You will have to be more specific as to who and what you are referring to.-
-The GNE, their pet USA, and their wormholes. There is a reason we squash so many efforts into such.-
-Interestingly enough, no. Not only that, they haven’t had any major incidents yet, although if you listen to their Shifters it is more a matter of time.-
-At least they realize it. Your thoughts as to their methods?-
-Considering they are talented amateurs? Surprisingly sound and conservative. They could likely do substantially more if they put in the effort, but they’re both being cautious and having to run a balancing act on their resources. And then there’s their means.-
-Go on.-
-Not bad at all. They are still quite limited in what they can perceive, but they are both aware of it and have the right knack to avoid the really nasty stuff. We haven’t had to warn them off from anything in particular, and the few close calls were things not even we knew about.-
-I will admit, that is a pleasant surprise. Not that there were close calls, but that they’ve avoided us having to get involved. Long term?-
-The holes they’ve dug so far aren’t particularly long lasting, 5 to 7 centuries on average, but the relative impact on the local fabric is very much on the low end of things. They would like to do Hubs, but they’re both wary of the pressing too much and can cover more ground by spreading them out. If anything they’re being overly conservative, but that’s not a bad thing for us.-
-And that is the best we can honestly hope for. The CCW will likely turn to them soon, and it shouldn’t take much effort for them to accept the relatively slow pace. That will be one less burden we will have to deal with.-
-If only there were no shortage to pick up the slack. No one thinks we are going to officially endorse them, but our presence and the fact that we’re not shutting them down gives the impression is that we are giving conditional consent for now.-
-Which is close enough.-
-Exactly, and they don’t ask why we attach our recent graduates to them. Not that any of them can tell the difference.-
-As irksome as that is, that has proven to be incredibly useful over the millenia. Very well, you can consider yourself resigned to dealing with the fallout of Orsak’s death. The Silverlight has the actual problems handled well enough, but we need to update our charts to compensate for the forming Ley Lines and Nexus. It shouldn’t take too long, and I’ll have something more substantial for you by the time you get back.-
-I’ll give brats in Commerce Analysis a kick on my way out. Rhilith having an in system Tangent station in A few years is going to change the dynamics of the UWW’s economy, even if it's going to be a distant second to Lothrian and their ectofibre. Speaking of which, thank the Forge that the Millenium Trees know to to clamp down on the worst of the potential side effects. I hear they had a near disaster a few months ago.-
-Lord Thoth’s buddling had a large part to play in it, but it was a very complicated situation. I can tell you that it was a substantial new positive for our greater efforts however. Dismissed-
-And that’s where my need to know ends. As you will sir.-

“This must be how the captains of contractor ships feel. Master and commander until it comes time to deal with why you’re here, and then you’re at the mercy of some ‘specialists’ who do things you can’t understand. At least they haven’t had me ‘move the ship to the right 10 feet’ or something equally trivial.”

The USA delving into Gateships and the associated artificial wormholes both does and does not make sense in their current state. The benefits for their widely distributed holdings made a very convincing argument, but the staggering expense of the technology would normally preclude them from even trying to break in. But as is often the case with the USA, there is a major catch; mystic lore and techno-wizardry. Somewhere in the untold warehouses of recovered artifacts that their Irregular forces bring back was the basis to use Circle Magic as the basis of an equivalent, and it's anyone else’s guess as to how exactly they have applied it. What is known is that they are very good at using them.

The key difference from the CCW’s efforts is that the USA has a level of understanding of the underpinnings of the dimensional fabric that’s only surpassed by the UWW and the Protheans, and even then its due to having millenia more experience for the former and latter most likely being a surviving Second Galactic Age civilization. The GNE’s Dimensional Pathfinders have a ‘knack’ for understanding any and all space-time manipulation methods, and Second Stage Protheans have stated that they have a surprisingly deep affinity for it. Among their many displayed tallents, they have demonstrated the capability of restarting closed Wormholes, such as the artificial ones that Gateships use. This gives the USA a legitimate margin of error, which is a luxury no other major power of the Three Galaxy has.

Other advantages of their TW system is that the overall installation is far smaller and is less sensitive to the mass of the hull itself, allowing it to be almost totally encapsulated in a larger ship. Additionally, a Dimensional Pathfinder can reinitiate the wormhole connection as long as a month after its collapse, assuming the Containment Rings are mostly intact. This allows the USA to chart much more cavalier courses, including using other wormholes and out dimensional detours. And when they do get into trouble, the larger ship and its escorts are much better able to deal with it thanks to their greatly increased weapons and armor. And then there’s its most famous capability; forming permanent and stable wormholes.

While the USA Gateships can operate like normal versions, carrying an artificial wormhole to its intended destination and building up the infrastructure to keep it operational, they consider this an amateurish brute force approach that is far beneath them. No, the true purpose of their journey is to bring the seed of what will become a true Wormhole to an appropriate point in the space-time fabric from which it can sprout, sustaining itself via natural means and causing minimal dimensional disturbance. The process of finding the right spot, working down the timing, and the various other ‘gut’ factors can take half a year after its nominal arrival, but understanding and solving these problems are one of the core components of the Shifter tradition, and Dimensional Pathfinders have much more education and external support to make better use of it. This process does impose some limitations and unfortunate incompatibilities, but it is far more reliable and less likely to result in an unfortunate accident or ‘accident’.

Spoiler:

Wormhole Planting/Gestating
Even for Dimensional Pathfinders, creating wormholes is more of an art than a science, but it is one they are natural prodigies at. The process is what amounts to landscaping the local space-time environment, and there are no end of factors that must be dealt with if the process is to be successful. To continue the analogy, the wormhole must not only be planted in a carefully chosen and excavated hole with aesthetic properties, it must do so in a way that will allow it to survive and even thrive under the expected weather, soil conditions, and local pests. They must also do this while a member of the local HOA (in the form of a Second Stage Promethean) is looking over their shoulder, which understandably adds a notable amount of pressure.

Spoiler:

Omegasgundam · Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:53 pm

And how for a slightly improved version of one of the USA’s unsung staples. The mining sites and near colonies that they have all over the place have a large net production, but individually few of them have enough to justify using one of the big boys. Enter the Komodo, which was made to move moderate quantities of non-perishable export goods across moderate distances to somewhere they can be made use of.

WZ-ISF-105A Komodo-Kai Light Interstellar Freighter
“If it wasn’t for the skull faces, they would be completely forgettable. The novelty has also mostly worn off, so they’re now mostly forgettable. That’s basically ideal for rock haulers, and they have a lock on their market segment in the USA. The closest ASI produces to a direct competitor is the Nao, which has a very different role and is more than twice the price, so the Komodo is going to dominate the shrub lands for a long time. They can fend off casual single craft raiders too, but those have mostly gone extinct out here. Next crop of idiots is waiting in the wings though.”

As the Wycott Nebula is reasonably close to a number of USA transit routes, the cargo ships produced by the Kamasaugh are ubiquitous in their lower end cargo shipping concerns. Nicely filling the ‘low speed/low cost’ section of the market, they see the most use transporting raw material from the extraction location to a larger refinement or shipping hub, cargoes that are normally far beneath the attention of the surviving pirate bands. The most common model, the Komodo, has seen a number of alternative configurations for local uses due to its low cost and reliability, but it remains behind what anyone considers to be ‘modern’. This has slightly changed with the release of the Komodo-Kai during the middle years of the Post-Minion War reconstruction, marking an increase in their available technology base and capabilities.

Among other things, the Kamasaughs have improved their automation capabilities, allowing the crew to be almost cut in half. Considering the Komodo’s operational profile, this is a notable reduction in operational costs, although the remainder need to have a slightly higher skill level to compensate. Passenger space has been cut to provide some of the room, but it is unlikely that they will ever be used to their full capacity. The remaining spaces have been made slightly taller however, so it is less cramped for taller races. The distinctive ‘Death’s Head’ remains, but this has become a familiar and ignoreable sight in USA territories, leading to its normal operators no longer caring. The overall design of the skull has changed to be less overtly menacing however, if only to make it less attractive to pirates looking to use it as a distinctive hauler.

But the most important change is the addition of 4 additional cargo holds by default. This increases cargo capacity by 2/3rds, and the use of moderately improved materials and engines compensates for the loss of acceleration. While still poor in both sublight and FTL, the ship is very much not intended for high or ever moderate priority hauling, so this is not a concern for those that would operate it. An additional pair of CG lifters have been added for atmospheric handling, and the FTL remains the slow but reliable Model B. Overall protection has also increased, with the ship now plausibly hauling enough cargo to be worth the effort of attacking occasionally, resulting in hull and shield durability increasing. The weapons suite has been changed to use WZT modular mounts, and an additional PD turret has been added to cover the expanded hull.

As previously, the biggest selling point for the Komodo remains its low cost to capability ratio. If anything, it has even improved, with the ship now only costing 16K credits for every ton of hauling capacity, and the older model costing 20K. Assuming that the operator can count on sufficiently large loads, this makes the Komodo-Kai the clearly superior choice, and the USA’s shipping firms have readily swapped their orders. Combined with many of the USA’s internal trade routes consisting of consistent but low quantity arrangements, the Komodo will be the most common chartered hauler for years to come.

Spoiler:

Omegasgundam · Unread post by **Omegasgundam** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 4:18 am

And here’s some modest changes. After, this, I have an ONN article to write and then I'm going to have some me-time where I indulge in my fetishes without any thought of actually showing it to anybody else.

WZ-MDS-0560 Quest II Diplomatic Transport
The original Quest remains quite capable, but WZT’s capabilities have grown enough that they thought they could shoe horn more into the same package. Several minor changes in the overall design opened up some more space for systems, which would mostly be focused on protection capabilities. To start with, the ship now has an auxiliary booster system similar to that of many of the new light ASFs, increasing its speed 30% for up to half an hour. This gives it much more room for error in escaping pursuit, and limits what can actually catch up to it. Next, the shields have been upgraded to WZT’s ‘Quad-Regen’ Standard, allowing it to shrug off more hits before being endangered. Finally, the ship carries an additional pair of PD turret mounts, reducing the threat of opportunistic missile vollies. Overall cost has only increased to 300 million as well.

WZ-ESS-2236 Piecemeal Upgrade
“During the war, a lot of second tier sector commands picked up Piecemeals and improved their processors as a way to quickly boost their early warning capabilities, and being science ships they also got pressed to deal with the strange stuff that also cropped up. They were better at it than anything that’s not made by Norro, and they were also sensibly built from a security perspective. They still remain in use in those roles, and they’ve had their old power plants replaced with more common AM ones from written off Scimitars. Hells, they’re still being BOUGHT by the same commands, as they’re the least problematic small ship to give to Exploration Command. Much better survival rate as well, which is no coincidence.”
--- Captain-General Vicen Trancluw, CAF

The upgraded Piecemeal is really just an improvement on the base specifications, upping the long range sensor array to also have full military spec capabilities and replacing the PD mounts with the standardized modula mounts so common on every other current WZT design. A variety of lesser improvements have also happened under the hood, but these are mostly maintenance and operation improvements. The new base cost has only increased to 500 million credits, and upgrading an older model is trivial due to the design’s preexisting modularity, amounting to only 22 million credits of work.

WZ-ESS-2260 Firestorm-Upgrade Exploratory and Surveillance Ship
“On a similar note, sectors with a notable cap fleet and the discretionary budget to burn picked up a Firestorm or two to add some organic long range warning, and 100 light years is still a long distance. Most of the peace time sensor grid was blown to bits by various agitators, so they were critical in running the various belligerent forces down. They could also keep up with the fastest ships we had at the time, which remains a rarity. Sure, they were fragile as hell and cost more than three Warshields, but with a bit of luck they could save you the need to detach a dozen Warshields on patrols, and that was a bargain. Since then Exploration Command has put them through the wringer in the various badlands, but they’ve been doing far better than anything else we’ve previously sent in there.”
--- Captain-General Vicen Trancluw, CAF

Similar to the Piecemeal Upgrade, the improved Firestorm is a standardization of the basic systems, sharing the sensor and PD changes along with those under the hood. A more notable change was the option to add an ectofibre dissipation grid to the hull, further allowing it to handle various exotic complications that it might encounter in the Three Galaxies, and the Dimensional Flux Shielding has seen a number of refinements that make it easier to keep operational. To help deal with the still fragile hull, the shield has been upgraded to ‘Quad-Reg’ standard, as well as being increased in up front durability by 50%. Finally, the hangar bays have also been expanded, allowing it to host 2 squadrons of shuttlecraft or defensive ASFs. The refit cost is 250 million credits, while a new production ship costs 7.1 billion.

WZ-554-SC-A Frontier Space City/Platform
The -A model is a normal product improvement, with more refined internal systems and improved ability to handle more powerful and complicated add-on structures. Cost and base statistics are identical, but it can be used for more functions more easily. The Frontier remains the predominant heavy prefabricated station in the rim and frontier regions of the Three Galaxies, with the smaller Plymouth filling the middle weight role. Larger stations are custom orders by default, and can vary wildly depending on their function.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 9:31 pm

Omegasgundam wrote:And how for a slightly improved version of one of the USA’s unsung staples. The mining sites and near colonies that they have all over the place have a large net production, but individually few of them have enough to justify using one of the big boys. Enter the Komodo, which was made to move moderate quantities of non-perishable export goods across moderate distances to somewhere they can be made use of.
WZ-ISF-105A Komodo-Kai Light Interstellar Freighter]

Unofficially, it's known that Komodos crewed by traditionalist Kamasaugh crews have never been known to suffer Infernal attacks, or other paranormal problems. This is generally ascribed, though, to the adherence to rituals carried out by the crews, rather than the ship's design. However, a number of features are incorporated into the designs to make the rituals more effective, such as prayer alcoves, nooks for charms and ship-shrines, and wood(or other special materials)-lined special chambers; those non-believers who scoff at the 'space feng-shei' and tamper with these features have been rumored to suffer a higher portion of bad luck even over those who simply ignore them. Interestingly, those religionists who use the extra features for their own religious observances, especially with the advance blessing the fairly tolerant Kamasaugh, report a sense of well-being(though not as great as those felt on the 'devout' Kamasaugh ships). There are enough superstitious spacers that few do tamper with the traditional legacy fittings, and Kamazaugh crew members are often sought after in some regions of space for the distinction of being considered 'good luck', especially on a Komodo.

Of course, there are a few technowizardry- and UWW-enhanced Komodos that sport SERIOUS paranormal protections that make messing with a Komodo really bad luck for both mundane and supernatural threats alike.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Mon Jun 28, 2021 9:28 pm

(In the spirit of the Starship Flaws to add color to a spacecraft, here’s some random roll Starship Background)

Starship Background Random Roll Tables
“The -Freedom Rising-?! AGAIN?! What does it take to kill that damn ship already?!”

“If I’m right, you may have something more than just an old courier here. I’m thinking this may be the long-lost royal racing yacht of the Duchess of Shadmor, and the last commissioned design work of Artaloc Amadi, great grandfather of Vareesahn Amadi. If it’s still got the original Windmarc engines, you’re sitting in a serious collector's item!”

“You’re shippin’ out on the old -Gaye O’Shay -? Watch ya’self on that ship, lad! That ship’s engines may be good, but I’ve heard that there’s something finky about its airlock seals, something to do with the captain and exec flushing a midshipman into the void for using the ship FTL comm to view porn, back in ‘oh-seventeen. Word is, the outer doors don’t close so tight on account of the middie trying to hang on and not take that last long walk. Just sayin’ ya might want to be extra careful aboard that ship until ya can get another berth.”

Any mariner of either the briny blue or the starry dark can tell you that ships are alive, defined by their history. Even mass-produced types can acquire noteworthy service records.
Here’s some Random Roll Tables to give some color to your starship.

01-15% Brand-spanking New/Virgin---The ship is too new to have acquired any sort of history
16-35% Reserve Sitter---The ship may be old, but it’s had a boring and uneventful service career, either serving close to home port on low-risk assignments or has spent more time in reserve mothballs than on active service.
36-60% Veteran---The ship has had a number of years and a number of successful war patrols, but nothing exceptional, to its credit.
61-65% Jonah---The vessel has had a string of bad luck attached to it. Blue-on-blue incidents, inexplicable deaths of past crew members, accidents, bad timing, or poor decisions on the part of the ship’s crew have led to the ship being labeled a jinx by the more superstitious spacers.
66-75% Secret Jonah---Similar to the Jonah, the Secret Jonah was involved in a bad luck incident(or incidentS) or notoriety so bad they renamed(and repainted) the ship in hopes of changing its fortunes.
76-85% Lazarus----The ship has a reputation for taking a beating, but coming back from incidents that would have led to another vessel being scrapped. For whatever reason, the ship seems to keep going, or keeps getting patched up and returned to service. Even though the ship might have emerged from the repair dry-docks more new than old, it’s still considered the same ship.
86-95% Famous/Notorious---The ship has a record of being near, or directly involved in, events of great history, such as heroic rescues, speed records, great victories, or important diplomatic events. On the less legal side, the ship may have been a smuggler or floating sin palace, or was owned by a flamboyant master known for odd and colorful habits.
96-00% Infamous---The ship is known to have been involved in activities of a decidedly unsavory nature(much darker than simply notorious); it might be a slave ship, the ship of a particularly cruel pirate, or have been involved in war crimes. Many spacers consider the ship to be tainted by these activities.

Borast · Unread post by **Borast** » Thu Jul 01, 2021 6:17 pm

taalismn wrote:86-95% Famous/Notorious---The ship has a record of being near, or directly involved in, events of great history, such as heroic rescues, speed records, great victories, or important diplomatic events. On the less legal side, the ship may have been a smuggler or floating sin palace, or was owned by a flamboyant master known for odd and colorful habits.

RUN FOREST, RUN! :lol:

You just described the movie's entire storyline!

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Thu Jul 15, 2021 9:24 pm

PS/ASI Koveh-class Modular Light Cruiser/Carrier
(aka ‘Four-box’)
“ Stripped down to the basic configuration, the Kovie’s got armament little better than a heavy corvette, but don’t let anybody tell you they can’t fight worth a damn. They still got cruiser armor and a cruiser’s stride. Was running a ferry flight of two Kovehs out to the Lanteen Gulf worlds...carrying only one or no pods...when we picked up a distress call from a freighter being attacked by pirates. Since we were in the vicinity, we diverted course to investigate, dropped out of FTL in staggered formation in case it was a trap, and sure enough found a Vindiman caravanser being hammered on by an old Huntress and a freighter carrier conversion. Now, a Koveh without modules is pretty much a plucked chicken capital armament-wise, but it’s got damn good point defense and is light enough to have some serious legs. So we came in like fifty-thousand ton fighters, one of us taking a fast pass at the Huntress and the other hanging back to pluck the handful of pirate fighters out of the void and off our backs. Their missiles couldn’t touch us, and our shields could tank their return fire for the brief windows we came within range. True, our own fire couldn’t one-shot the pirates’ ships, but seeing two cruiser-sized warships pop out of nowhere and make repeated thunder-runs at them was enough to spook the raiders, because eventually they decided to cut and run, but not before we’d pecked a substantial amount of holes in them. We saved the merchanter and got some good intel in a new band of pirates, with minimal damage done us in return, so it was a good fight overall. ”

“The Kovies lack the firepower of the Laffs, but retain the point defense, have more speed, and carry more than enough fighters. They’re still not as inexpensive or stealthy as the Goups, but they’re versatile enough that that the Sag-line’s back in production building Kovehs, so the Sag-gang can claim a coup over the Goups. ”

“Brunels may make better fleet tenders, being larger, less expensive, and able to carry more tonnage, but the Kovah is tougher, faster, and better able to keep up with the fleets. When the USAJC dispatches hunter-killer groups to pursue pirates, the Koveh’s a good small force support vessel.”

“I don’t care about engineer and bean-counter rivalries; I’m getting good ships when I need them, that’s all that matters.”

Though regarded by many as a variant of the venerable Sagadag, the Koveh grew out of arguments over the allocation of funding and attention between the first-generation Sagadag and the second generation Goupillion light carriers. Though the GNEAS chose to go with the Goupillion for economic reasons, proponents of the faster and arguably more robust(some said ‘over-engineered’) Sagadag managed to squeeze out a compromise that would appropriate enough funds to upgrade the existing Sagadags and keep them in front line service for another couple of decades or so. The upgrade team, though, saw the compromise as license to do something even more radical with the old design, and make it versatile enough that it could serve much longer.
Upgrades included a strengthening of the spaceframe and refinement of the CG-drives allowing for more efficient thrust without need to replace the engines entirely, thus saving space and money to upgrade the FTL drive. Avionics have been upgraded to more modern standards. Armament has been changed to take advantage of the USAJC’s modularity-oriented logistics scheme, with the Sagadag’s abundant point defense being retained, but supplemented with a set of medium range missile launchers of a type already familiar to and well-tested by GNE forces.
The Koveh retains the two recovery bays as dedicated hangars for the ship’s small shuttle complement, with the elevators/rampways retained to service the upper and lower modules either as small craft or cargo transfer ways.
An early argument for retaining the ‘Sags’ in Fleet service was that their large ‘boxcar’ hangar pods could be much more easily upgraded that the Goupillion’s internal bays. The Sagadag teams decided to take the next obvious step and make the bays wholly modular, using the secondary hull pods of the LaFayette class as a basis. This allows the Koveh-class to be readily modifiable to carry a variety of small craft, missile and mine pods. Beyond simply being a fighter carrier, the Sagadag-Koveh could now replace surviving Javelin missile cruisers and supplant the problematic SCG-18 Mazules in many, if not all, theatres. In its module-less state, the Koveh arguably makes a good escort or scout cruiser, owing to its very high turn of speed in normal space.
The Koveh has been criticized on a number of points; some feel it is overburdening an old-generation spaceframe with too many heavy modules, others feel that placing the hangar pods and their crew complements outside the main hull’s armor belt makes them too vulnerable to damage. Others feel that the Koveh is unnecessary, given the capabilities of the more versatile and cheaper Pillara. Another criticism is that the design is too lightly armed to stand up on its own in a fight, while defenders contend that the design is meant as a standoff fighter or missile platform, and not meant to regularly engage in ‘knife range’ engagements.
The USA has so far deployed a limited number of Kovehs, roughly divided between conversions of older Sagadags and new production vessels, with the ships being assigned to second-echelon positions defending Alliance member worlds. The type, however, is filtering out to frontier units as the USA membership grows and the USAJC covers more ground.

Type: PS/ASI-SCG/CV-25 Koveh
Class: Multi-Role Light Cruiser/Carrier
Crew: 90+ 10 man Stelmarine security contingent+ possible pod crew complements
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 35,000
Bridge 9,000
Main Engine Bloc 9,000
Auxiliary Engines(2) 3,500 each
Kinetic Kill Rail Cannons(3x2) 500 each
Point Defense Turrets(22) 150 each
Medium Range Missile Launchers (4) 200 each
Modular Pods(4) 10,000 each
Lateral Shuttle/Recovery Bays(2) 6,000 each
Variable Forcefield 3,000 per side, 18,000 total
Height: 120 ft
Width: 220 ft
Length: 500 ft
Weight: 50,000 tons without mounted modules, 125,000 tons fully loaded
Cargo: 3,000 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion, w/ 25 year energy life
Speed:(Atmosphere) Hover to Escape Velocity(Mach 6)
(Gravitic Drive) Mach 11. Without any attached pods, the stripped-down cruiser can hit speeds of Mach 14.
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.1% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour

Market Cost: Without its modules, the baseline Koveh comes in at about 750 million credits. Depending on module configuration, this can rise to 2.1 billion credits per unit.
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
*Enhanced Sensors----The Koveh mounts a sensor suite slightly more powerful than those typical of its class, and has 25% better range(effective -Fleets of the Three Galaxies- range of 320,000 miles)
*Laser Targeting-------250,000 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.

*ORACLE Mk V: As normal

*EW Jamming Systems---In combat, the Koveh will attempt to use its electronic warfare suite to confuse enemy sensors as to the ship’s exact position and activity. Communications Jamming has a 10,000 mile range, is 90% effective against civilian systems, and is 65% effective against more sophisticated channel-jumping military communications suites. Missiles and sensor-guided weapons are -4 to strike.

*Passive Stealth Systems----The Koveh uses passive stealth systems to reduce its sensor signature by as much as 40%, but in order to achieve this, the ship cannot be under acceleration, and its engines must be running ‘cold’.

*Tractor Beam Emitters(4)----Effectively rated for 1,000 tons dead weight each, but can be used for imparting small changes in momentum/direction to ships/structures several times that mass. Normally used for recovering fighters and shuttles. Range: 20,000 ft

Weapons Systems:

1) Dual Medium Weapons Turrets(2)---The Sagadags’ 2x2 KKC turrets have been replaced with modular WZT/ASI standard weapons mounts.

2) Point Defense Turrets(22)----The Koveh retains the abundant point defense of the Sagadag, but has made the mounts modular to better fit with the USAJC’s streamlined logistics scheme.
a) Pulse Lasers (LC-3x)
b) Slayer -D Quad-Laser Cannon (PS-RFL-40D)
c) Laser/Mini-Missile PDS
d) 30mm Anti-Aircraft Flak Cannon
e) Rail Gun PDS
f) Particle Beam PDS
g) Ion Cannon PDS
h) Pulse Laser PDS
i) Tachyon PDS

3) Medium Range Missile Launchers(4)--These were added in place of several of the removed point defense turrets, to give the baseframe Koveh some standoff defensive weaponry.
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10
Payload: 30 MRMs per launcher, up to 120 total. Additional MRMs may be carried as cargo and reloaded from storage.

Auxiliary Craft:
*4 Shuttles

Options:
Modular Bays(4)---The strength of the Koveh is its capacity to carry up to four modular pods. Though mix-and-matches are possible, Koveh crews will generally try to match the pods to complement each other(a hangar pod carrying shuttles, for example, will be matched with a barracks pod with the personnel to be carried by those shuttles, or a point defense/minesweeper pod un complement to shuttle/drones).

*’B’-Barracks Pod---Adds passenger capacity, housing up to 120 passengers in diplomatic comfort, or 320 troops in more spartan accommodations.

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

*’E’-Escort Pod---Outfitted with a complement of point defense weapons systems for use in picket and interception duties
-Point Defense Turrets(6)---Adds six more PDS turrets identical to 4) above.
-Tachyon Scatter Guns(4)
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: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

* ‘H’-Hangar Pod---- 32 fighter or 4 assault shuttle capacity. Adjacent housing capacity for a 45 man aerospace group, plus 50 man support unit

* ’M’-Missile Pod--- Mounts a battery of long range missile launchers. The recent introduction of the ‘N’ Cruise Missile Pod with its absolutely punishing heavy volley potential, already has USAJC crews agitating for an ‘M2’ pod with similar volley throw-weight.
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 1-10
Payload: 200 per launcher; additional missiles may be carried as cargo, and reloaded from storage.

* ’N’-Missile Pod--- Mounts a battery of cruise missile launchers similar to those carried by the CAF’s Warshield. The deployment of these modules, with their high rate of fire, has been encouraged by the increased production of cruise missiles in the United Systems Alliance, balancing the large volley potential with a reliable supply of new missiles.
Range: Varies by Missile Type(Cruise Missiles)
(Kitsune Values: 3,400 miles in atmosphere, 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: Varies by Missile Type(Cruise Missiles)
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-32
Payload: 160 per launcher; additional missiles may be carried as cargo, and reloaded from storage.

*’O’- Medical Pod(aka ‘OR’)---Flying field hospital with a capacity of caring for up to 200 patients at a time. Includes 6 fully equipped operating rooms, recovery wards, laboratories, and hangar capacity for 6 shuttles(no fighters).
If other pods are embarked for the purpose of carrying shuttles, the medical facilities can be expanded to accommodate 8 surgical theaters and housing for 380 patients.

*’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.

Omegasgundam · Fri Jul 16, 2021 12:01 am

As a colonial cruiser, its more than fine. Simply being there will likely result in it being the most advanced and powerful combatant, and the lower tech means that it can be stationed more places. Not something you'd want in a modern conflict, but backwaters basically define the USA for the most part.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Fri Jul 16, 2021 3:06 am

Omegasgundam wrote:As a colonial cruiser, its more than fine. Simply being there will likely result in it being the most advanced and powerful combatant, and the lower tech means that it can be stationed more places. Not something you'd want in a modern conflict, but backwaters basically define the USA for the most part.

Of course, backwaters are where you get the strange stuff popping up, or the major menaces probing for weaknesses,
So I imagine in all the major polities, a good share of 'backwater' systems see 'forlorn hope' stands with second/rear echelon-rated equipment, which was all that could be spared, along with newbie or washout crews, because somebody in milintel thought 'nobody's going to bother with those places!'.

"Great, I figure we're Space Belgium...which means the Space Nazis are naturally going to come ramming through this system on their way to outflank the Space Allies."

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Fri Jul 16, 2021 11:07 pm

More Upgrades:

*PS/ASI-DDC09 Barong Corvette
*PS/ASI-DDC09L ‘Nageyari’ High Speed Corvette
(aka ‘Long-Rong’, ‘Darter’, ‘Tadpole’. “Remoravette’)

“Rather distinct little ships with their rounded prows, long tails, and four slender radiator fins at the back. Look quite sleek and they are quite fast. Not a lot of firepower, but they’re a sight better at in-system work than the modified shuttles a lot of fringe worlds have been forced to make due with for customs and policing. They also make good scout corvettes if you remove the boarding team and shuttles.”

“It’s a workaround to create a Hunter using older off-the-shelf components. It’s solid, but brings nothing new to the table performance-wise, though the speed is rightly impressive. I expect the usans to make a lot of them to give their colonial squadrons schools of fast attackers and interdiction units, so all the pirates with their Berserker-copies will find themselves getting swarmed when they try dipping into the rim systems.”

A service life extension of the venerable Barong similar to the up-engined Godendag PSS-DDES-13 version of the Brandestoc Space Destroyer, this variant nearly doubles the length of the Barong and increases its mass by 30% with the addition of an extended engine array. The hull extension also allows for the fitting of a new hangar bay with provision for carrying two light assault shuttles and adjacent cabin space for two squads of space marines or security forces, and a fair-sized brig. The PS/ASI-DDC09L is finding employment in the United Systems Alliance as an anti-piracy interceptor cutter, replacing the inadequate Windfola in the interdiction role. Heavy destroyers such as the Godendag and light cruisers such as the Shepherd will often command flotillas of DDC09Ls in system interdiction units. The PS/ASI-DDC09L is notably being produced at the Thelheim military shipyards, though conversion/production is expected to expand to other shipyards as well.

Changes/Modifications:
Crew: 25+ 20 man Stelmarine security contingent+ 20 passengers/prisoners
MDC/Armor by Location:
Drive Section 2,500
Hangar Bay 1,200
Radiator Fins(4) 1,000 each
*Variable Forcefields 800 per side(4,800 total)
*Shield Refresh Rate is 10% per melee
Length: 350 ft
Weight:4,900 tons
Cargo: 300 tons
Speed: (Normal Space) Mach 15
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.5% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
Market Cost: 240 million credits
Systems of Note:
*Passive Stealth Systems----The ‘Tadpole’s’ radiator fins do more than just shed waste heat from the engines, they also help lower the ship’s overall thermal signature; passive stealth systems can now reduce its sensor signature by as much as 50%, but in order to achieve this, the ship cannot be under acceleration, and its engines must be running ‘cold’.

Weapons Systems:
1) Medium Turrets(2, ventral and dorsal)---Compatible with standard ASI/WZT medium weapons mounts, though the laser cannons remain the most popular.

2)Point Defense Turrets(10) ---Again, the weapons mounts have been updated to use ASI/WZT’s modular components scheme.
a) Pulse Lasers (LC-3x)
b) Slayer -D Quad-Laser Cannon (PS-RFL-40D)
c) Laser/Mini-Missile PDS
d) 30mm Anti-Aircraft Flak Cannon
e) Rail Gun PDS
f) Particle Beam PDS
g) Ion Cannon PDS
h) Pulse Laser PDS
i) Tachyon PDS

Auxiliary Craft:
2 Shuttlecraft

Variants:
*PS/ASI-DDC09LR---Does away with the shuttle bay and marine complement in favor of an expanded sensor complement. Range and accuity of sensors is extended some 50%. The ‘scout’ variant is often used to recon systems and monitor spacelanes.

*PS/ASI-DDC09M---Does away with the shuttle bay and mounts a missile bay instead. The ordnance bay can hold rotary launchers capable fo holding 320 medium range missiles, OR 80 long range missiles, OR 50 cruise missiles.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Sun Jul 25, 2021 8:28 pm

(TW sensors courtesy of Kitsune. Hardpoint weapons categorization courtesy of Omegasgundam)

PS/ASI PS/ASI-FB-28 Sarkal Heavy Aerospace Fighter
(aka ‘Shark-kal’)
“The Sarkal’s an elegant-lined dagger of a ship. It evolved from atmospheric strike craft and it hasn’t forgotten its roots. Besides having the clean lines of an atmo-cruiser, it still handles well when down in the soup.”

“The Sark looks enough like any number of low-tech airbreathing light jet transports, at least from a distance, that the courier models can be used to transport agents, usually d-rifted, recused, and recruited locals, back , home in many cases, to backwater worlds, and any sightings dismissed as local air traffic. in fact, I heard of one case where a taxi-Sark did a VTOL drop and lift in a park, not realizing there was local constabulary wandering nearby. Fortunately the agent had enough gift of gab that he was able to convince the cop that he was air national guard on maneuvers, and his buddies had nicely dropped him off-base when his weekend warrior duties were over. Actually helped establish his credentials.”

“The Hypress engines can be tempermental little beasties, even with the long development time, if you don’t maintain them regularly and devoutly; they’re the most maintenance-heavy part of the ship. Fortunately, they’re at the narrow end of the ship, and the hull plating can be removed to service almost the entire length of the propulsion units without having to dismount them from the ship, so preventative maintenance ain’t the backbreaker it is on oher designs. Unfortunately, it also means armor’s rather thin around the engines, so if it takes external damage, usually means a cranky gravwave compressor’s the LEAST of your problems.”

“The Sarkal knifes through atmosphere very well. As a heavy interceptor it’s on a par with the Gandiva, especially in the surface to space scramble start.”

“The Raiju’s the Bludgeon, the Derecho’s the Boomerang, and the Sarkal’s the Knife.”

The Sarkal was originally intended as PS/ASI’s clone of the CAF’s Proctor, with a greater emphasis on in-atmo strike capabilities. However, as PS/ASI’s involvement in the founding of the United Systems Alliance grew, the development program for the Sarkal lagged behind other more pressing projects. There was renewed hope, as PS/ASI expanded its numbers and facilities throughout the USA, that the Sarkal could become a new standard heavy fighter, again similar to the Proctor, adopted by the then-nascent Alliance Joint Command. However, with a large availability of military-surplus Proctors in the inventories of member IDFs, and more muscular designs such as the WZT Raiju or the Jatar roaring into service, most USA members expected something more than a Proctor clone. Still, the Sarkal team felt that the design could be made a winner with a niche all its own and continued to work on the project.
The Sarkal, as it has emerged, doesn’t try to beat the Raiju, Mammatan or Haizam for firepower or armor, but instead focuses on speed and agility.
The Sarkal resembles a cross between a larger, fatter, pre-Rifts T-38 Talon in-atmo trainer and a space shuttle. It shows its heritage in large atmo-bombers in its streamlined hull, many aero-control devices, and agility in an atmosphere. Firepower comsists of a pair of nose-mounted energy cannon, a trio of point dfense lasers, and botn internal- and external-mounted ordnance.
Internally, it has a cabin modelled after the Proctor, with enough room for the small complement of crew to move about, sleep, eat, and even conduct basic toiletries. High performance, especially in the atmosphere/space interface transition, is central to the design. The long development time allowed the engineers more time to mature and better fit the intended Hypress IV gravitic propulsion units to the Sarkal airframe, optimizing performance and working out the inevitable bugs in a new engine in advance of rollout.
Though not matching others like the Raiju, Haizam, Mammatan, Derecho, or Wasp for firepower or production numbers, the Sarkal has still found its niche in the USA. Many members looking to replace aging Proctors have taken a shine to the clean, elegant, and affordably maintainable design. A number of variant types serve quite ably as couriers and short range executive transports.

Type: PS/ASI-FB-28 Sarkal
Class: Aerospace Strike Craft
Crew: 4
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 1,000
Bridge/Cockpit 400
Wings(2) 430 each
Tail/Engines 480
Wingtip/Tail Laser Turrets(3) 90 each
Variable Forcefield 300 per side (1,800 total)
Height: 27 ft
Width: 60 ft wingspan
Length: 94 ft
Weight: 360 tons
Cargo: 2 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 25 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 7; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 15
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.5% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
Bonuses: +1 Dodge, +1 Roll, +10% to Piloting rolls when operating in an atmosphere.
Market Cost: 240 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Small Starship Systems, plus:
*Aerobraking Devices--- The wings and tail surfaces aren’t just for show; they’re very capable airfoils that account for much of the Sarkal’s agility in atmosphere.

*Passive Stealth---Design work having begun around the same time as early PS/ASI starships such as the Javelin, emphasis was placed on passive stealth, the better to increase the (primitive) vessel’s chances of closing to strike range of an unwary opponent...or avoid being noticd by an aware one. Passive stealth renders the ship 60% likely to avoid detection at ranges of more than 1,000 meters. Sensor-guided missiles are -2 to strike the craft

*Heat-Resistant Hull----The Sarkal is skinned in special heat-refractory material, allowing for repeated high-speed maneuvers in and out of atmosphere. Sarkals have a reputation for ‘running cool’, even with the throttle thrown wide open. Heat(including plasma)-based attacks do 1/3 normal damage to the fuselage.

*Cyberlink(optional): An advanced cybernetic control system allows the pilot to 'jack in', if so equipped, the plane, linking him with the plane as if by telemechanics. The pilot is so in tune with the plane and their environment that he instantly knows everything involving their plane and its operations. A series of tiny external cameras normally used for Virtual Environment Cockpits is tied into the cyberlink, giving them an uncanny 360 degree view around the craft, providing them a +1 to init and dodge, in addition to the normal cyberlink bonuses.

Weapons Systems:
1) Nose Energy Cannons(2)---Two powerful energy cannon are mounted in fixed forward-firing positions in the nose. These can be filled by any of the WZT/ASI Heavy Weapon Mounts.

2) Wingtip/Tail Laser Turrets(3)---The wingtips and tail plane each sport small laser turrets for point defense.
Range: 4,000 ft in atmosphere/2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere /200 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH, or auto-fire; 6 attacks per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Internal Weapons Bay---The Sarkal carries an internal rotary ordnance bay as standard. While the internal bay preserves the passive stealth and streamlining of the ship, the dimensions of the bomb bay also limit the amount and size of ordnance that can be carried. The bay has a total capacity of 3.2 tons.
The Sarkal usually carries high-accuracy missiles such PS/ASI’s ‘Space Stinger’ or ‘Shrike’ series.
a) Mini-Missile Launcher--- 600(usually salvo in 20-50 shot barrages)
b) Short Range Missiles--- 100(usually salvo in 10-20 shot barrages)
c) Medium Range Missiles--- 64
d) Long Range Missiles--- 10
e) Cruise Missiles--- 6
f) Freefall Bombs---
*250-lb Bomb----2d4x10 MD to 50 ft blast radius
*500-lb Bomb----4d4x10 MD to 60 ft blast radius
*750-lb Bomb----4d6x10 MD to 65 ft blast radius
*1,000-lb Bomb----1d4x100 MD to 70 ft blast radius
*2,000-lb Bomb----2d4x100 MD to 80 ft blast radius
*5,000-lb Bomb----4d4x100 MD to 100 ft blast radius
g) Gravitic Disruption Decoy Munitions--- An experimental system just recently introduced by WZT. These are expendable gravity generators that can be used to disrupt the contragravity fields generated by other vessels’ or missiles’ propulsion systems. ‘packets’ of artificially-destabilized space/time that expand upon deployment. Used to cover the vessel’s retreat, or in aerospace area-denial missions, the GDDMs can be used like space mines or bombs to good effect.
The warped space/time field isn’t powerful enough to create a singularity or open a Rift, but it is powerful enough to have some profound effects on people and machinery. Their relatively small area of effect requires careful placement for maximum efficiency in combat.
GDDM deployment on the Sarkal is usually in the initial pass-phase of an attack, to deny an enemy the ability to escape a battle zone.
NOTE: Gravitic sensors can detect an unexploded GDDM
GDDMs are usable only in space.
Range: Affects an area of space roughly 50 cubic miles. Can be triggered from as far away as radio communications permit, or can be set on a timer.
Damage: Effects last 5 minutes (20 melees)
(Drive Systems) The warped space/time is particularly hard on contra-gravity systems; CG drives will go off-line temporarily and there is a 50% chance that FTL CG drives will be burn out when activated. If a ship attempts to jump to FTL in an GDDM zone, there is a far greater chance(80%) of fatal/permanent drive failure. Roll on the following:
01-70% Drive malfunctions and the vessel doesn’t/cannot make the transition to FTL
71-89% CG Drive Ship makes transition to FTL, only to reappear 1d6x100 miles from its starting location, with the main FTL drive system exploding inside/tearing out of, the ship, doing 1d4x100 MD to the vessel
90-00% Fatal drive malfunction; the vessel makes the jump to FTL, but never returns to normal space; lost in limbo
(Sensory Systems) The altered space/time will cause navigation instruments to temporarily drift off true; -20% to piloting rolls and navigation rolls. Chronometers will be off by 1d6x10 seconds.
(Organics) Roll versus psionic attack or suffer he following penalties; lose initiative, HALF all hand to hand bonuses and skill proficiencies, and lose 1d6x10 seconds of immediate short term memory. Disorientation penalties last 2d4 melees.
If a successful save roll is made, the person still suffers some distraction, but is only -1 to initiative, -1 to strike, parry, dodge, and effects last only 1d4 melees.
Rate of Fire: Deployed in volleys of 1,2, 3, or 4
Payload: 16

h)Recon Sensor Pallet---Specialized sensors and optics can be mounted in a modular tray. Exact capabilities vary, as the sensor configurations can be customized according to mission, and can include PPE sensors, molecular samplers, radiation detectors, gravitic sensors, EM detectors, and EW recorders, to name a few.

4) Countermeasure Launchers(2)---Standardized WZT/PS/ASI countermeasure dispensers.

5) (Optional) Under/Overwing Hardpoints(2-4)---The wings could be fitted with up to four hardpoints, but these external mounts, while increasing the warload, also diminish handling and negate the passive stealth characteristics of the Sarkal. The Sarkal was originally meant to carry custom external ordnance pods, but its protracted development meant that the parallel development of WZT/PS/ASI’s standardized hardpoint system caught up to it. The decision was made to scrap the expensive custom system(but keep developing the most promising options and later slide them into the standardized system) and refit the Sarkal to use the standard hardpoints.
The wings can mount two Heavy and two Super-Heavy hardpoints.

Options:
PS/ASI is still experimenting with various material and avionics systems add-ons and upgrades for the Sarkal. The following are the most common/probable:

*ORACLE Mrk IVF---Scaled down fighter-portable TW magic sensors---Given that the sort of missions Sarkals often fly involve paranormal targets, it was considered worth the cost of outfitting the ships with the appropriate detection systems:
• 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: Fighter Mount: 100 miles (160 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: Fighter Mount: 200 miles (320 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: Fighter Mount: 20,000 miles (32,200 kilometers) in space and 200 miles (320 km) in an atmosphere.
• Sense Rifts: Ship has sensors which effectively allow Rifts to be detected. The system can be (requires no P.P.E. to activate). Range: Fighter Mount: 50,000 miles (80,500 kilometers) in space and 500 miles (805 km) in an atmosphere.

*ECM Suite----- The Sarkal can make room in its weapons bay for a modular standard ECM suite for confusing sensor-guided weapons; -6 to strike. This system pod is roughly the size of an LRM or cruise missile.

Variants:
*PS/ASI-FBS-28RC---Scout/recon variant, with the weapons bay and wingtip stations fitted with sensor modules. The FTL is typically upgraded to 5 light years/hour.

*PS/ASI-FSAPD-28T---Transport/Courier version that does away with the internal weapons bay in favor of space for passenger accommodations, and drive boosters. With the deletion of the weapons offficer, there’s space for 3 additional passengers for short hops. The FTL is typically upgraded to 5 light years/hour. This variant is also used as a trainer for many USAJC military fighter and small combatant schools.

*PS/ASI-FB-28TW--- Technowizardry-enhanced model, with a Wizard-class PPE Powerstone feeding power to its spacial systems. The United Worlds of Warlock have purchased a number of these ships for evaluation as a complement to their Shadow Bolt strike fighters.
Changes/Modifications:
Powerplant:
Supplemental PP Powerstone Generator----(‘Wizard’)----400 PPE battery capacity; recharges at 14 PPE per hour, 50 PPE/hour at a leyline, 100 PPE/hour on a nexus

*TW Enhancements---The TW PPE Powerstone integral to the powerplant allows for the quick addition of TW enhancements:

*Ectofiber Insulation Grid---Magical Attacks do HALF damage.

*Forcefield---Provides 50 MDC per 10 PPE/20 ISP pumped into the system; lasts 10 minutes per 10 PPE/20 ISP.

*Impervious to Energy---5 minutes per 20 PPE.

*Overdrive/Full Throttle---Increase maximum speed by 40% for 3 minutes, but -5% to piloting rolls(-20% for trick maneuvers), 10 PPE per activation.

*Doppleganger-Cloak----This amplification of the Multiple Images Spell allows the aircraft to project multiple ‘ghost’ images of itself(up to 3 separate images). These multiple images can carry out a series of preprogrammed ariel maneuvers(can also simulate weapons fire/gun flashes, but only if the mothership is also firing at the same time), but must remain within a mile of the the projecting aircraft(or they vanish without a trace). Also note that the images don’t show up on radar or thermo-imaging, and cannot be used to fool homing missiles, though they DO give off a PPE trace similar to the projecting aircraft.
Range: ‘Ghosts’ can be projected up to 5,000 ft away
Duration: 5 minutes per activation
PPE Activation Cost: 20 PPE per activation

*Flicker-Dodge---A special capability, and an application of the Astral Hole spell. This allows the aircraft to quickly dodge out of sight/reality, for a few seconds, or move up to 2000 ft sideways, up, down, or backwards , with a +2 to dodge while doing so. Typically, an aircraft can engage this system 6 times before needing to recharge the system on a Ley Line(takes about 24 hours), or the pilot can pump in 60 PPE per “flicker-dodge”.

Omegasgundam · Unread post by **Omegasgundam** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 4:20 am

The OPO has versions that looks like civilian aircraft designs, be they pre-space or not, as a replacement for their old combat Learjet.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:08 pm

Omegasgundam wrote:The OPO has versions that looks like civilian aircraft designs, be they pre-space or not, as a replacement for their old combat Learjet.

Being smaller, though, the transatmospheric Lear still is part of the stables. MI6's Q would LOVE to have an afternoon in any of OPO's garages/hangars. :bandit:

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Tue Aug 03, 2021 2:46 pm

-Now for some overdue coverage of the lesser polity space forces, or threat/opposition forces at large in the Three Galaxies.

Acalian Genanarchy Space Navy
“The Acalians are a small polity, but one with a history of internal violence that of late has turned outwards, possibly to vent renewing or suppressed internal tensions. They have a sizable, if behind-the-times, military fleet for their geopolitical size, and that makes them a headache to deal with. They could be planning on forting up, seeing the state of the galaxy now, or they could be planning to exploit it and grab off some territory. They alternate between being aggressively confrontational, and have attacked several ships and convoys traveling near their space, ...and being gruffly psuedo-apologetic. Twice they’ve thrown us obvious sacrificial lambs of officials they claimed acted without orders. The first one worked out rather well, working on algae farms before she found her calling as a spokesmodel for the local colonial gemstone trade, while the other had to be sedated and cold-tanked before they could go mentally critical screaming about being harvested for their internal organs. Neither could give us much insight into the likely direction of the Genanarchy, aside from its internal politics being as convoluted and complex as the Acalex they subscribe to; the laws are just as likely to result in sudden death as peaceful resolution. Their soldiery are itching to let loose on somebody, but whether it’s going to be their own people or outsiders like us remains to be seen.”
----Odeman Fellex, Station Chief, Office of Positive Outcomes, Chromen Sector, Anvil Galaxy

Acalian ‘Ventross’-class Heavy Frigate

“Okay, ID on that big boggie coming up...yeah, it’s a Venti, beaming government hailing codes...looks like our friendly trigger-happy neighbors are feeling lonely out here and looking to talk all official-like to somebody....Got some details on her...Damn, half of her tubes are empty....that means they’re either running light, or we got three outriders out there where we can’t see them until they want to really give us the works. That also means we could just as easily be facing a pirate, damnit.”

The Ventross-class Heavy Frigate is one of the mainstays of the Acalian Genanarchy Space Navy, and is the vessel most likely to be encountered along its borders. The Ventross is based on vessels developed at the end of the pre-Acalex conflicts between the Calen and Banisan power blocs before their unification. The design, originally for a light fast cruiser, was basic and sturdy enough that it could be modified and updated easily enough to serve the needs of the new united Genanarchy government. The advance of technology has downgraded the class to frigate-weight, but has also made it easier to mass-produce the design, so more can be deployed to cover the expanding Genanarchy’s space.
The Ventross-class has a basic flattened cylindrical hull, narrowing towards the front, with multiple weapons turrets mounted along its length, and a main cannon in the nose. What look like three massive missile tubes in each flank of the frigate are really cradles for six heavy fighters/patrol craft.
The Ventross’s main teeth are two classes of laser projectors, giving the ship a respectable direct fire bite, at least for its techbase.
The main weakness of the Ventross is its lack of lower-caliber point defense armaments. The Acalians don’t consider starfighters to be particularly good deep space weapons, and so have never developed fightercraft of the type deployed by civilizations like the CCW or TGE. For defense against missiles and other small craft, the Ventross mounts four rail guns and four medium range missile launchers able to throw out enough ‘missile spam’ at range to intercept fast-movers like anti-ship missiles.
Ventross-class frigates are a common sight in Acalian space. Their patrolcraft give them extended recon and patrol capabilities, making them good picket and anti-piracy warships. Unfortunately, the design also makes a good PIRATE ship, and the design has been around long enough that a substantial number of older vessels have somehow found their way into the hands of lawless elements. This has greatly complicated matters of border patrol for the Acalians’ neighbors, as ID’ing pirates hasn’t been helped by the legitimate Acalian military’s own aggressive border patrol policies and their paranoid reluctance to make publicly available identification data on possible rogue Ventrosses.

Type: AGSN-FgCv-014 Ventross
Class: Frigate
Crew: 96 +30 air group
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 5,000
Bridge 1,000
Small Craft Cradle-Tubes(6) 900 each
Heavy Laser Cannon(2) 750 each
Medium Laser Cannon (6) 500 each
Rail Guns(4) 300 each
Medium Range Missile Launchers(4) 400 each
Forcefield 6,000
Height: 80 ft
Width: 110 ft
Length: 300 ft
Weight: 7,200 tons
Cargo: 300 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 8
(Kitsune Values: 45% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.8% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: Est. 1.3 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems
Weapons Systems:
1) Heavy Laser Cannon(2) ---Mounted in the nose are two heavy laser cannon.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Medium Laser Cannon (6)--Mounted along each side are three secondary laser cannons.
Range: 6 miles in atmosphere, 12 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 12 miles in atmosphere, 12,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Rail Guns(4) ---These are the Ventross’s primary point defense weapons, throwing out bursts of high-velocity metal.
Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 10,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 1,000 bursts per turret

4) Medium Range Missile Launchers(4)---These provide additional defense against fighters and missiles.
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 1-20 each launcher
Payload: 120 missiles each launch bank; Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 24 missiles)

Auxiliary Craft:
6 Patrolcraft, typically AGSN-029 ‘Mandrades’

Variants:
*AGSN-FgM-13---This variant forgoes carrying small craft, and instead converts the launch bays to carrying long range anti-ship torpedoes(i.e. missiles). Each launch bay can carry twenty long range missiles, for a total of 120 missiles(the Acalians do not yet have cruise missiles). Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes

*AGSN-AFFg-14---This variant has begun appearing in the last couple of years and is apparently a response to the use of smaller aerospace fighters by the Acalians’ neighbors. It foregoes carrying missiles or small craft in favor of filling the launch bays with extendable rapid-fire lasers or rail guns. Visually, it can be distinguished by several additional fire control sensor blisters on its hull.
MDC/Armor by Location:
Fire Control Domes(12) 400 each
Heavy Anti-Fighter/Missile Cannons(6) 300 each when extended for firing
Systems of Note:
*Advanced Fire Control--- Each of the HAFMCs is serviced by two fire control sensor domes(doubled for redundancy). These domes give the weapons a +3 to strike. If both domes serving a cannon are destroyed, the weapon loses its ‘to strike’ bonuses’.
Weapons Systems:
5) Heavy Anti-Fighter/Missile Cannons(6)---Can be all of the same type or a mix of types.
a) Rapid-Fire Lasers
Range: 6 miles in atmosphere, 12 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 12 miles in atmosphere, 1,200 miles in space)
Damage: 6d6x10 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

b) Rail Guns
Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 1,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 1,000 bursts per turret

*AGSN-CM-09---This variant is actually an earlier model, back when the type was considered a ‘cruiser’, and was designed for use during the conflicts of the Acalian civil wars. Generally identical in basic layout to the modern FgCv-014s, the CM-09 was intended as a ‘strategic weapons platform’, carrying six heavy planetary bombardment missiles instead of small craft, as a sort of ‘super bomber’. The CM-09’s expected mission was to dash through enemy defenses and deliver the giant kinetic kill or gigaton-yield nucleonic weapons on target, hammering with the force of modern strategic massdrivers. The cessation of hostilities and the implementation of the Acalex removed the anticipated need to bombard Acalian targets, but the discovery of intelligent spacefaring life outside Acalian space meant that the few ships completed were quietly shifted to reserve units in case the Acalians ever needed to strike planetary objectives in alien star systems. The CM-09s and their weapons have been updated periodically(or newer Ventross hulls converted and the missiles upgraded with new penaids) to give the Genanarchy Space Navy a strategic strike capability in case it ever needs it. The knowledge that the Acalians have citybuster-armed strike ships on call ready to foray against their planets makes the Genanarchy’s neighbors rather nervous.

Acalian ‘Mandrade’-class Light StarPatroller

“Under normal circumstances I’d say I was in more danger from a bus, but these Mandrades can be a fatal distraction if I’m busy dealing with somebody else, like a damn Ventross pouring it into my shields. I prefer to have as few people as possible trying to kill me at the same time.”

The Mandrade-class Star Patroller is the standard patrolship carried by the Acalian Genanarchy Space Navy’s frigates. The Acalians tend to use heavier patrolcraft in lieu of the starfighters used by other polities.
The Mandrade has a cylindrical configuration, with a blunt nose and a narrowing propulsion end, with four fold-out fins/radiators, giving the vessel a ‘bomb’-like appearance. It is fast and agile in normal space and has a short-range FTL generator, although it is not recommended for long duration interstellar travel. It sports multiple energy weapons turrets and a small complement of medium-range space torpedoes.
The design is used both on and off the AGSN’s Ventross-class frigates, and is a common sight throughout Genanarchy space. The design is also common enough that a number of older models have been sold to private and commercial concerns, and unfortunately to lawless parties as well, so it is just as likely to be encountered in the hands of pirates and dissident elements.
Variants include a courier version and a boarding craft, modified to carry a squad(10) of troops.
The Mandrade is handicapped by its low level of technology, especially with regards to weaponry, but recent examples that have been encountered have indicated that the Acalians(pirates or the government) have either acquired more modern equipment or have been updating their techbase using Galactic common-domain technologies.

Type: AGSN-029
Class: Light Patrolship
Crew: 5
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 980
Engines 400
Nose Turret 200
Point Defense Turrets(2) 75 each
Forcefield 1,000
Height: 24 ft
Width: 24 ft
Length: 75 ft
Weight: 190 tons
Cargo: 5 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 20 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 10
(Kitsune Values: 45% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 2 light years per hour, maximum range of 10 light years before needing to drop into normal space to recharge for 2 hours.
Market Cost: 20 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starfighter Systems
Weapons Systems:
1)Nose-mounted Dual Laser Cannons(2x1)---A set of powerful rapid-fire light laser cannon.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 MD single barrel, 6d6x10 MD dual blast(counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Laser Turrets(2)---These rapid-fire weapons provide point defense.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Medium Range Missile Launcher(1) ---Mounted in a ventral extendable launcher-tray.
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 1-20(all)
Payload: 20

Variants:
A wide range of Mandrade variants exist, differing mainly in armaments and propulsion.
*AGSN-029Co----- Courier model that drops the crew to three, removes the nose lasers, one laser turret and the missile bay, and installs a larger powerplant able to push the ship at Mach 13 in normal space, and make 50 light year jumps at 5 lightyears an hour.

*AGSN-029Df----- Does away with the missiles in favor of a sensor-jamming suite and two additional sub-turrets mounting rapid-fire rail guns. Intended as an escort or ‘defender’ for larger vessels.
Systems of Note:
*ECM Suite----- ECM suite for confusing sensor-guided weapons; -5 to strike. It covers a 10 mile area in atmosphere, and an 100 mile radius in space, allowing it to protect other vessels. However, the sensor systems of CCW-level polities have a 65% chance of defeating the older technology, negating the penalty.
Weapons Systems:
3) Rail Guns(2)--Mounted in addition to the lasers.
Range: 3 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per 20 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 1,000 bursts per turret

*AGSNM-029M----- Torpedo boat sacrificing the nose lasers for a fire control sensor system and an external ring of MRM launchers that raises the total number of MRMs to 60.

*AGSN-029G----- Pre- Genanarchy variant that eschews the MRML in favor of a massdriver throwing tactical nuclear grenades. Powerful, but slow-firing, and the ammunition has a susceptibility to being destabilized by neutrons. Despite these problems, a number of these gunboats reportedly are still retained in the Acalian navy inventory.
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 14 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 14 miles in atmosphere, 1,400 miles in space)
Damage: Fragmentation--- 2d6x10 MD to 30 ft radius
Plasma-----3d6x10 MD to 35 ft radius
Tactical Nuclear-----1d6x100 MD to a 200 ft radius
Rate of Fire: Four per melee
Payload: 50 shots
Vulnerability: The isotopes used in the nuclear grenades are unstable if hit with neutron beams or neutron flux; on a Natural 16-19, the fission warheads will be rendered inert(and on a Natural 20 will prematurely go critical, doing 1d10x10 MD, destroying their casing, and likely spreading radioactive materials around). That’s for warheads in flight.
If the Mandrade suffers more than 50% Main Body damage,then the radiation shielding of the warhead magazine is compromised and any nuclear grenades in it will be susceptible to destabilization and possible premature detonation.

*AGSNM-029HM-----Another torpedo boat conversion that drops the nose lasers and a laser turret in favor of an advanced fire control suite and provision to fire six LRMs. The LRMs have an additional +1 to strike, riding a radar beam from the ‘boat, but the beam can be detected and jammed , or used to highlight the ‘boat for attack.

*AGSN-029Prx-----This variant showed up in the hands of unidentified parties encountered along the Acalian border; it is unknown if it is a new government type, or a refitted pirate vessel. The tentatively designated -029Prx had been fitted with four HI-laser cannons in the nose. The merchanter that encountered it repirted that the attack ship seemed to run hot, its radiator fins laboring extra-hard to dissipate heat after a quad-strike, suggesting the variant may have issues with power-draw.
Range: 3 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 6 00 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD single barrel, 8d6x10 MD dual blast(counts as one attack), 4d4x60 MD for all four cannons firing simultaneusly (counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

*AGSN-029Pz----- Removes the laser in favor of a more powerful nuclear particle accelerator cannon. Powerful, but slow-firing. The example encountered mounting this weapon also seemed to be having problems leaking radiation, though whether this was a technical issue with the weapon or the result of battle damage could not be determined.
Range: 4 miles in atmosphere, 8 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 800 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: 3 times per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

*AGSN-029T-----Sacrifices both the MRM launcher and the FTL drive to carry extra armor(Main Body 1,400), gravitc hull clamps and a squad of EVA-armored troops.

Acalian ‘Shirlen’ Light Cruiser
(aka ‘Shirl’)
“If the Acalians get serious about pushing the border system issue, their Shirlens could pose a problem for our LaFayettes...or rather our lack of LaFayettes in the region. What we have in the area’s likely to be outnumbered in any serious breakout. These things pose a considerable threat to shipping...and the Acalians have shown a tendency to shoot first, ask questions later, and MAYBE apologize. I don’t want to see them in a deliberate commerce-raiding mood. “

The successor to the Ventross, and designed from the start as a Genanarchy warship. The Shirlen is faster, more modern, and carries heavier weapons(though in unimaginative style, it mainly doubles up on the weapons of the previous Ventross), but still suffers from Acalian lack of knowledge of the ways of the rest of the Three Galaxies. Inadequate point defense and a lack of suitable small craft(fighters) mean that Shirlens enter any conflict with equivalent Three Galaxies forces at a disadvantage. The Acalians try to work around this by deploying these ships in mutually-supporting divisions and squadrons. The Shirlen also suffers from a lack of variable forcefields, the Acalians simply installing larger and more energy-hungry monoplane field generators to compensate.
Shirlens are still fairly uncommon compared to the number of Ventrosses still in service, with homeguard and elite units getting first issuance of the more modern vessels.

Type: AGSN-CL016 Shirlen
Class: Light Cruiser
Crew: 120 96 +30 air group
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 12,000
Bridge 3,000
Small Craft Cradle-Tubes(9) 900 each
Heavy Laser Cannon(2) 750 each
Medium Laser Cannon (4) 500 each
Long Range Missile Launchers(2) 700 each
Medium Range Missile Launchers(4) 500 each
Point Defense Rail Guns(12) 300 each
Forcefield 9,000
Height: 110 ft
Width: 140 ft
Length: 450 ft
Weight: 10,500 tons
Cargo: 500 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 40 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 10
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.0% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
Market Cost: 2.8 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems
Weapons Systems:
1) Heavy Lasers(4, 2x2)---The Shirlen doubles the Ventross’s nose-mounted firepower, but mounts the lasers in two turrets abreast the cruiser’s bow.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per blast, 4d6x100 MD per dual blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Medium Lasers(8, 2x4)--Four double-barreled turrets are spotted about the hull.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per blast, 2d6x100 MD per dual blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Long Range Missile Launchers(2) ----Fairly bog-standard LRM anti-ship weapons, but they suffer from a weak salvo strength, campared to CCW and TGE designs.
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 1-8, up to twice per melee
Payload: 80 LRMs each launcher, 160 total, Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 2 missiles)

4) Medium Range Missile Launchers(4)---Anti-fighter weapons and arguable better than the PDS guns at fendig off Three Galaxy fighter attacks . Salvo strength is more respectable.
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 1-10, up to four times per melee.
Payload: 100 missiles per launcher, 400 missiles total, reloading from the cargo hold takes 1d6 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 10 missiles)

5) Rail Guns(12)---The Shirlen mounts what would on paper seem an impressive point defense array of light rail guns, but these weapons are meant for missile defense, and would have trouble chewing up more heavily protected fighters. .
Range: 3 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per 20 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 1,000 bursts per turret

Auxiliary Craft:
2 shuttles
9 Patrolcraft, typically AGSN-029 ‘Mandrades’

Variants:
With access to advanced technology acquired on the Galactic markets, upgrade prigrams to the Shirlen would appear inevitable, starting with variable forcefields, seeing the success of them on the Malthrus heavy cruisers.
Sector intelligence also has unsubstantiated reports on a number of Shirlens having their small craft cradles reconfigured to accommodate Three Galaxy-style aerospace fighter types acquired through the black market. Whether these ships will be one-offs used as training platforms or in operational numbers remains unclear.
Another report has the Shirlen small craft silo-hangars being fitted to fire the same large anti-ship torpedoes or retasked ‘city-busters’ as the Ventross, perhaps in imitation of PS/ASI’s Long Lance-series heavy torpedoes.

Omegasgundam · Unread post by **Omegasgundam** » Tue Aug 03, 2021 8:53 pm

Exactly what you would expect out of a fledgling problem child-state. Enough capabilities to be meaningful, but have flaws that can be exploited by those that know what they're doing. They'll run roughshod over the typical fringe powers, and have JUST enough capability to annoy notably policies so long as they know to keep it within limits. The nation's going to be a mess to sort out though, and lots of ground work needs to be done before military force is a viable option.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:30 pm

Yah...I've got three more Acalian ships to come, then I'll try working on the Kretig, or are both more powerful than the Acalians, but also reaching the limit of their economy and tipping into desperation territory.
And the Squad, who are either an elder race of terrors, or who have access to some Ancient technology that has made them terrors in the Thundercloud.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Fri Aug 06, 2021 11:16 am

Acalian ‘Thraymos’ Heavy Carrier
(aka ‘Ak-whale’, ‘Eggschlep’)

“The Thraymos looks impressive, but it’s slow, fairly unarmed, and noisy as hell. Our gravitic sensors can track the things clear across the border-space, so we know where they’re moving. And since they almost always move with a fleet, it’s a dead giveaway where the Acalians are moving their forces.”

The Thraymos is the Acalian Genanarchy’s equivalent of the CCW’s Packmaster, the Zyganian Empire’s Torsai, or the United System Alliance’s Zhuge Nu. Being a smaller polity with less advanced technology and fewer resources to throw around, however, the Thraymos falls well short of those other vessels.
The Thraymos was developed from a successful pre-Genanarchy heavy transport, and a fleet tender capability is a secondary role of these vessels. Militarizing the original design meant reinforcing the spaceframe, upgrading the engines, and mounting a substantial amount of armor. Point defense has been addressed with the Thraymos, with a respectably numerous mix of lasers, rail guns, and missile launchers. Against larger warships, however, the Thraymos must rely on its complement of small craft to defend itself, as its single heavy missile launcher can quickly run dry of ready-fire birds in a protracted firefight.
Thraymoses are also large enough to carry a heavy sensor array, the distinct large antennae disc allowing the ships to detect and track other vessels at great distances. This makes the carriers invaluable as space monitoring control craft. However, the massive size of the installations only points out how behind other star nations the Acalians are, as the bulky electronics are necessary to barely keep par with the far more compact sensor systems of the CAF and Imperial fleet.
Though the ships are handicapped by the Acalians’ lack of a good aerospace fighter equivalent, analysts believe that if/when the Acalians ever adopt a more compact and modern fighter doctrine, and even if they had to use common domain designs cribbed or bought from the 3G, the Acalians could very easily cram these ships full of a respectable complement of fightercraft. However. the Acalians would also have to train both ship crew in small craft operations and flight crew in modern 3G fighter tactical operations and doctrine, so any conversion would take several years to pull off effectively.
Other weaknesses in the design can be traced to its heritage as a converted heavy colonial transport. The Thraymos is sluggish in real space, and slow in FTL, while the deep-buried jump-drive makes upgrades difficult without lengthy refits in a fully-equipped space dock. Though upgraded with a variable forcefield, Acalain engineers haven’t yet mastered the imported technology and shield strength remains weak for such a large vessel.
Still, the need to patrol the expanding territory of the Genanarchy means that the Acalian military is building more of these ships at a rate of roughly two per year under a stepped-up building program that has their neighbors increasingly concerned.

Type: AGSN-SCV05 Thraymos
Class: Heavy Fleet Carrier
Crew: 500+ 240 air group+ 250 additional passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 50,000
Bridge 3,000
Main Sensor Array 2,000
Heavy Missile Launcher 1,000
Medium Laser Cannon (12) 500 each
Medium Range Missile Launchers(6) 500 each
Point Defense Rail Guns(20) 300 each
Engines(2) 3,000 each
Auxiliary Engines 2,000
Hangar Bays(4) 2,000 each
Variable Forcefields 2,000 per side(12,000 total)
Height: 250 ft
Width: 900 ft
Length: 3,000 ft
Weight: 850,000 tons
Cargo: 130,000 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 50 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 7. Under auxiliary propulsion it can make Mach 4
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.7% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 3 light years per hour
Market Cost: 12 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Long Range Sensors---The main sensor array on the Thraymos can detect FTL traffic out to 18 light years.

Weapons Systems:
1)Heavy Missile Launcher---This is the Thraymos’ sole integral defense against capital ships. It compensates for a lack of individual batteries by having a large salvo throw-weight.
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, up to twice per melee
Payload: 500 LRMs ready to fire, Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 2 missiles)

2) Medium Laser Cannon (12)---These are single-barrel mounts of the same weapons carried aboard lesser Acalian warships.
Range: 6 miles in atmosphere, 12 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 12 miles in atmosphere, 12,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Medium Range Missile Launchers(6)---Anti-fighter weapons and arguable better than the PDS guns at fending off Three Galaxy fighter attacks .
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 1-10, up to four times per melee.
Payload: 100 missiles per launcher, 600 missiles total, reloading from the cargo hold takes 1d6 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 10 missiles)

4) Point Defense Rail Guns(20)---Acalian standard projectile-spitters, more useful for antimissile work than anti-fighter defense.
Range: 3 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per 20 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 1,000 bursts per turret

Auxiliary Craft:
12 shuttles
27 Patrolcraft, typically AGSN-029 ‘Mandrades’

Variants:
A few Thraymoses have been spotted sporting what look like additional heavy gun turrets, possibly inspired by sightings of the USA’s own Weibbe Hayes or Tychan transports.
Future construction Thraymoses would do well to be fitted with better FTL engines, and intelligence reports suggest that the Genanarchy Space Navy is appropriating funds for just such construction stream upgrades.
A few earlier Thraymoses that have reached the estimated end of their operational usefulness as carriers have been converted back to something more akin to their transport roots, and have been refitted as tanker-tenders. These ships have been stripped of their almost all of their armaments, keeping only four laser cannons, medium range missile launchers and point defense guns. They lack the long range sensor array, instead sporting a ‘crown of thorns’, six long docking/refueling pylons. Maximum speed has dropped to Mach 6 to avoid strain on the older engines. Most of the internal hangar space has been taken up by internal fuel tankage; the ship keeps eight transfer/work shuttles and eight gas collection shuttles. These ships tend to stay near gas giants where they harvest and refine atmospheric gases for Navy resupply, and repair duties.

Acalian ‘Malthrus’ Heavy Cruiser
(aka ‘Malf’)
“The Malths are regarded as a sign that the Acalians see themselves in a serious role with regards to their standing in the greater Galactic community. As defensive measures, they indicate a worry that the Acalian star systems are a potential target worth defending and hard. As a more offensive-oriented statement, they say to others that if anybody is going to do any pushing around Acalian space, it’s the Acalians and not anybody else.”

“There’s some dark humor going around that the first Malthruses assigned to the USA border space have already been updated with a set of floor attachment tie-down eyebolts waiting to immediately accept the shackle links of whatever bridge officer they decide to strip and chain as a sacrifice for whatever ‘unfortunate’ border incident they get involved in next. The Acalians seem to like thinking that’s the way to get away with some of their provocations in our mutually disputed space, and given that the ships involved have gotten steadily larger in class, we figure it’s only a matter of time before we see their heavy iron getting used in their brinksmanship diplomacy.”

Currently the ‘big guns’ of the Genanarchy space navy, these large and thoroughly modern vessels have been replacing a hodgepodge of less sophisticated (and in some cases outright antiquated) armored cruisers, heavy blastships, and ‘battlecruisers’ that belonged to the previous factional space navies of the Acalian peoples.
Malthruses have rarely been seen operating near the Genanarchy ‘s borders, and then only as part of battle groups with other cruisers acting in concert, so the exact capabilities of these ships remain unknown. It is rumored that they incorporate 3G technology acquired through industrial espionage or reverse-engineering of captured vessels. The Malthruses see, for example, the first use of variable forcescreening on an Acalian naval vessel. Unusually for an Acalian ship, the Malthrus does not carry any substantial small combat craft complement, but is instead a dedicated direct combat warship. As such it relies on escorts to provide fighter coverage. Oddly enough, the ship carries a token wing of four patrolcraft, rather than the traditional ‘blade and hilt’ formation of three(suggestion has been made that the fourth is a dedicated armed courier for secure communications).
The Malthruses also show their modernity in having respectable anti-fighter point defenses, inspired by observations of other Three Galaxies polities. Copying the combined-weapons turret layouts of other star nations, Acalian shipwrights have fitted the Malthruses with a mixed rail- gun and laser armament.
Like other Acalian designs, however, Malthruses suffer a number of faults that a smart opponent can exploit. Despite the changes in overall operational configuration, the Malthruses still suffer from a general attitude of ‘just add more’ to warship designs, with a scaling up of the same sort of layout seen on smaller vessels. This lends itself to predictable tactics and weak points.
Acalian gravitics are very ‘noisy’, producing a lot of gravity-wave ‘static’ that can be easily detected, even when the ships are laying at station-keeping. The inclusion of many new systems, such as the heavy particle beams and new rail guns also means that the heavy cruisers require more ship-specific spare parts and supplies that are not cross-fleet compatible, which can become an issue in the small (compared to the Galactic powers they are skirting around)Genanarchy Space Navy. Avionics have seen only marginal improvements, and the ships’ sensors and fire control are still at least a generation behind their contemporaries. They are also expensive to produce and maintain, keeping their available numbers down and competition fierce among Navy officers for a slot aboard these ‘prestige’ vessels.

Type: AGSN-SCG-04 Malthrus
Class: Heavy Cruiser
Crew: 560+100 marines
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 43,000
Bridge 4,000
Particle Beam Cannon Turrets(2) 1,000 each
Heavy Laser Cannon Turrets(3) 750 each
Heavy Missile Launchers(3) 500 each
Medium Range Missile Launchers(8 ) 500 each
Point Defense Turrets(30) 360 each
Hangar Bay 2,000
Engines 10,000
Variable Forcefields 5,000 per side(30,000 total)
Height: 200 ft
Width: 540 ft
Length: 1,250 ft
Weight: 260,00 tons
Cargo: 35,000 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) 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 17 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems
Weapons Systems:
1) Particle Beam Cannon(4, 2x2)---The Malthrus sees the installation of two heavy twin-barrel particle beam cannons for the first time on an Acalian vessel, the weapons undoubtedly being either sourced or copied from Galactic designs.
Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 50 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 5 miles in atmosphere, 50,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x1,000 MD per single blast, 4d4x1,000 MD for a simultaneous blast from both guns in a turret
Rate of Fire: Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Heavy Lasers(9, 3x3)---The Malthrus mounts three triple-barrel turrets with enhanced range and power heavy laser cannons.
Range: 10 miles in atmosphere, 20 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 20 miles in atmosphere, 20,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per blast, 4d6x100 MD per dual blast, 6d6x100 MD for a triple blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Heavy Missile Launchers(3)---Large capacity LRM launchers
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 1-20, up to twice per melee
Payload: Each launcher has 220 LRMs ready to fire, Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 2 missiles)

4) Medium Range Missile Launchers(8 )---Anti-fighter weapons and arguable better than the PDS guns at fending off Three Galaxy fighter attacks .
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 1-10, up to four times per melee.
Payload: 100 missiles per launcher, 800 missiles total, reloading from the cargo hold takes 1d6 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 10 missiles)

5) Point Defense Turrets(30) ---In addition to mounting more numerous and more powerful rail guns as point defense, the Malthruses also pair them with laser cannon
Range: (Rail Gun) 4 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 1,000 miles in space)
(Laser) 2 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: (Rail Gun) 2d4x10 MD per 20 rd burst
(Laser) 3d6x10 MD single barrel, 6d6x10 MD dual blast(counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: (Rail Gun) 1,000 bursts per turret
(Laser) Effectively Unlimited

Auxiliary Craft:
6 shuttles
4 Patrolcraft, typically AGSN-029 ‘Mandrades’

Variants:
*AGSN-SCM-04---A handful of Malthruses were modified in the production stream into missile cruisers; the particle beam turrets were omitted and replaced with a fourth LRM launcher with a 25-missile salvo strength and magazine capacity for 500 ready to fire reloads.
Reports have surfaced of these missile cruisers also testing, on one or more of their missile bays, the ability to field up to six, possibly more, giant kinetic kill or gigaton-yield nucleonic weapons similar to PS/ASI’s Long Lance-series heavy torpedoes. Whether these weapons would be used for planetary attack or anti-fleet actions remains unknown, but intelligence agencies in the region are seeking more information.
Another worrisome report is of the Acalians possibly possessing Golgan-style Ion Torpedoes, USA intelligence is concerned that the Golgans may be covertly providing known opposition states antagonizing their current enemies with more advanced munitions, or that a former or proxy Golgan state is manufacturing and selling the weapons.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Fri Aug 06, 2021 11:18 am

(PPE sensor stats courtesy of Kitsune)

PSS-FFS-17/PSS-FFS-18 Gurkha-class Fast Regimental Combat Transport

“Troops are of no use unless they survive to be delivered to the battlefield. Our transports must be able to accomplish the task of preserving the lives of their complements in the face of potentially heavy opposition, whether by speed, armament, stealth, or a combination of those factors.”

“Why bother with troops when we can blast targets from orbit? There’s an astonishingly long list of worlds where bombing from orbit is NOT possible, requiring the in-person presence of ground troops to strangle or bludgeon someone or something.”

“Regular Army just arrived on its transports. Looks like the Alliance decided to solve the local problems with an ax rather than a rapier. There goes the neighborhood.”

The Gurkha-class is part of the extended ‘third-generation’ of PS/ASI military starships, which saw a shift in emphasis from space combat to surface attack and troop transport. While SpaceForce continued to agitate for big-gun warships able to take on opponents of heavy cruiser-weight and heavier, the General Staff saw a growing need for military transports able to project the larger ground forces of the various member states of the United Systems Alliance, not all of who had spacelift capabilities. While the GNE/PS/ASI spacecraft construction program had built up a respectable stable of designs appropriate for system defense and escort duties, troop transport had relied heavily on converted and militarized civilian design hulls. The late 3rd generation Planetary Force Projection Initiative(PFPI) began a program of producing new transport designs, starting with a number of modified older warships reworked as troop carriers and support vessels.
The Gurkha-class is an extension of the Ranger-class light cruiser, a vessel best known as a ‘task ship’ used by PS/ASI and the SpaceForce Stelmarines to deliver mission-specific troubleshooter teams to crisis points and surgically strike targets. However effective the Ranger-class was, though, in the eyes of some analysts, the stealthy vessels lacked the firepower and endurance for protracted campaigns in support of conventional forces.
The sound and proven Ranger hull was given a makeover, being stretched with the addition of several hull extensions, the hull camouflage gear replaced with heavier armor, and the engines modified for faster speed(though some of the stealth features survive in the form of extended generator- and thermal coolant-flanges that reduce the drives’ sensor emissions to a degree). Additional point defense has been added, and larger ordnance magazines worked into the design. The Gurkha swaps out many of the specialized heavy weapons, such as the ‘grid-killer’ particle beam cannons, for more conventional types, and a greater complement of kinetic and point defense systems. The holds have been enlarged to carry the heavier vehicles favored by Regular Army units, and the hangar bays similarly enlarged to fit the larger shuttlecraft/transfer airlocks able to carry those vehicles. Like the Ranger, the Gurkha relies primarily on shuttlecraft to land its troops(unlike designs like the Tongia, which land directly to disembark their complements), though the Gurkha can still make landfall if necessary(or if the LZ is already secured) to disembark its soldier complement directly to the surface.
Ironically, the public rollout of the Gurkha -class has worked as ‘retro-camouflage’ for the Ranger; reports of the stealth ‘task-cruiser’ have been in many cases now dismissed as early Gurkha trials, and the expanded production of the troop transport has allowed PS/ASI to conceal its number of ‘special missions’ ships as common key assemblies are diverted from the Gurkha lines to be assembled as Rangers. Yard work on the Gurkhas has also allowed PS/ASI to perform some long overdue overhauls and upgrades of the Rangers, allowing them to keep performing their troubleshooting duties without falling behind the times.

Type: PSS-FFS-17/PSS-FFS-18 Gurkha
Class: Medium Space Cruiser/Combat Transport
Crew: 90 + 650 troops
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 54,000
Bridge 8,000
Main Engines(2) 12,000 each
Heavy Particle Beam Cannons(2) 1,200 each
Heavy Laser Arrays(2) 600 each
Tachyon Sprayer Turrets(2) 600 each
Heavy Rail Guns(6) 500 each
Long-Range Missile Launcher 500
Medium Range Missile Bays(2) 500 each
Point Defense Turrets(12) 100 each
Lateral Cargo/Bay Hatches(4, 2 each side) 500 each
Hangar Bay 12,000
Communications/Sensor Fins(2) 10,000 each
Forward Sensor Array 9,000
Lateral Sensor Fins(4) 1,000 each
(Variable Forcefield) 3,000 each side(18,000 total)

Height: 230 ft
Width: 295 ft
Length: 950 ft
Weight: 178,000 tons/ 220,000 tons
Cargo: The Gurkha’s cargo bays have a capacity of 1.8 million cubic meters of available space/30,000 ton capacity
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion, w/ 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; rarely enters an atmosphere or gravity well of more than .5 gee.
(Sublight) Mach 11
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.1% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour

Market Cost: 5 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard(PW) Starship Systems:
*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.

*High Resolution Optics---Another surface surveillance system, for producing high-resolution optical imagery of the planetary surface. Includes thermographic optics for detecting heat sources and missile launch plumes.

*Radiation Detectors---Detect the presence of radiation, from the trace emissions of nuclear powerplants to nuclear explosions

*EM Shielding---Using special electromagnetic radiation shielding, saves on the need for bulky metal or water radiation shielding.

*EW Suite--- The Gurkha mounts a conventional EW suite for jamming enemy communications and targeting systems. Communications Jamming has a 5,000 mile range, is 95% effective against civilian systems, and is 65% effective against more sophisticated channel-jumping military communications suites. Missiles and guided weapons are -4 to strike.

*Tractor Beams(2)----Effectively each rated for 2,000 tons dead weight, but can be used for imparting small changes in momentum/direction to ships/structures several times that mass. One emitter is mounted at the hangar bay, the other in the prow.
Range: 5 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)
(Kitsune Values: 5,000 miles in space).

*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). Increased production of TW systems in the USA and its allies has led to an icnreasing number of vessels being fitted(and refitted) with these systems. Aboard the troop transports, the ORACLE Mk V has prevented a good number of combat uits from dropping into an Infernal or Dark Coven trap. 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 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) Heavy Particle Beam Cannons(2)---Twin double-barrel HPBC turrets
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 14 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 14 miles in atmosphere, 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

2) Heavy Laser Cannon(2)---Twin lateral arrays for burning other spaceborne targets.
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere,16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values)16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per blast. 6d6x100 MD for a triple burst
Rate of Fire: Four times per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

3) Tachyon Sprayer Turrets(2) ---The area of effect of these weapons was deemed so useful in point defense that PS/ASI engineers HAD to add them to the troop carriers to protect them. One covers the forward arc of the ship, the other the stern, and both can engage targets in the lateral arcs. Though some critics question mounting such a powerful weapon on a transport, advocates counter that protecting vulnerable troops in transit is worth the cost(”If your child were aboard this shp, would be complain about point defense cost?”).
Range: 5 miles (2,500 m) in atmosphere, 10 miles (10,000 m) in space w/ 6 mile wide arc*
(Kitsune Values: 5 miles in atmosphere, 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

4) Heavy Rail Guns(6) (Dorsal and Ventral)(6x3). These triple-barreled weapons provide the Gurkha with the ability to chew up incoming fighters, light vessels, and missiles with a swarm of near-relativistic velocity projectiles.
Range: 10 miles in atmosphere,40 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 40 miles in atmosphere/ 40,000 miles in space)
Damage:1d4x100 MD per 80 rd burst; 3d4x100 MD per triple cannon burst
(Exploding/Fragmenting Fletchette): 3d6x10 MD to anything caught in a 120 ft wide cone/’cloud’----Targets are -2 to dodge the’shotgun spread’
Rate of Fire:ECHH
Payload: 32,000 rds(400 bursts) per cannon

5) Long-Range Missile Launcher---The Gurkha swaps the concealed LRM massdriver for a more obvious long range missile launcher. Unlike the Ranger’s installation, the Gurkha’s CANNOT accommodate oversized cruise or Long Lance missiles.
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, 2, 4, 5, or 6, up to 4 times per melee
Payload: 120 LRMs, Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 12 missiles)
6) Medium Range Missile Bays(2)---Two smaller missile bays designated for anti-fighter and ASAT defense.
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, up to four times per melee.
Payload: 100 missiles per launcher, 200 missiles total, reloading from the cargo hold takes 1d6 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 24 missiles)

7) Orbital Bombardment (THOR) Reentry Vehicle Launcher--- The Gurkha retains the ability of the Ranger to deploy kinetic ortillery, with a dedicated ordnance bay. This capability is seldom used on most deployments, however, and much of the time, Gurkhas travel with the bays empty, or loaded only with sensor platforms. Though controversial to many critics of the GNEAS and United Systems Alliance, both ship captains and ground commanders are quick to list the many missions and campaigns where hard-landing ortillery has saved lives, and the conclusion that it is better to have it and not use it, than to need it, and not have it.
The bay system uses special reentry vehicle buses and warheads to attack surface targets from orbit. These MIRVs can be used to deploy sensor clusters, deep probes, and even mobile probe robots, but their real purpose is to deploy warheads.
Warhead options include tactical nuclear, chemical, mine, EMP, kinetic-kill, and TW weapons. Most RVs consist of a 1 ton ‘bus’ with 5 separate, independently targeted warheads. If so desired, before launch, the weapons officers can have the MIRV ‘bus’ fitted with less than the full complement of five MIRVs, in order to conserve the expensive MIRV warheads, or to tailor the weapon for ‘surgical’ strikes.
Range: Orbit to surface
Damage: Varies by weapon type

*Light Kinetic Penetrator---Works similar to a WWII ‘Earthquake Bomb’. Kinetic weapons have the advantage of leaving little or no radiation to contaminate a battlefield or potential postwar acquisition. This weapon type actually carries five separate RVs on a maneuverable ‘bus’ stage. Each RV does 5d6x10 MD to a 40 ft radius

*Heavy Kinetic ‘Smasher’--- A single-shot warhead(no multiple warheads) weighing 12 tons. Hits with considerably greater velocity and kinetic energy. Does 1d6x100 MD to a 90 ft radius, and does DOUBLE damage to any fixed-foundation structures in a 200 ft radius, due to ground shock.

*Fuel Air Explosive Munition---A single warhead(no multiple warheads) non-nuclear area of effect weapon that disperses a cloud of volatile fuel droplets in a mist over the target area, then ignites it in a rapidly propagating explosion. Besides thermal damage, the real damage from this weapon comes in the massive overpressure shockwave that it creates, capable of forcing its way into open ducts and vents, and imploding vehicles and bunkers. Also known as a ‘Daisy Cutter’, it is often used to simultaneously secure and clear landing zones of obstacles(both sentient and material). The heavy FAEMs carried by the drop pods can do 4d4x10 MD to a 500 ft radius, plus 3d6x10 MD to everything else in a 3,000 ft ft radius. Those caught within the blast radius are also likely (01-88%) likely to be bowled over by the blast and stunned, if not worse....

*ElectroMagnetic Pulse Weapon---Designed to knockout unprotected electronics and power distribution networks, exploding at high altitude for maximum effect.
EM effects: Used against unshielded power grids(such as cities and towns), the particle blast has a 99% chance of knocking down electrical systems, including vehicles, in an 100-mile radius of the point of detonation. Unprotected computers and other hardware not protected by surge protectors, and hooked into the common power grid, may still be affected up to a hundred miles or more away by power surges through the power lines.
The EMP is less effective against shielded systems such as those on space structures(25%) and military systems(10% for surface military vehicles), which are hardened against radiation.

TW Weapons---Based on the work done between Paladin Steel and its allies, strategic TechnoWizardry weapons are a safer, more ‘morally acceptable’ alternative to vaporizing enemy cities with nuclear weapons. TW warheads also have certain advantages against magic-vulnerable opponents.
The downside is that strategic TW weapons are hellishly expensive in both the crystal matrices needed to hold the weapons-grade spells, and the high-level mage talent needed to produce and empower them.
Still, PS produces and deploys a wide variety of these weapons, just in case.

*TW Disharmonize---Actually more of an airburst weapon that deploys thousands of small individual grenade-sized TW ‘skeet’ warheads over a wide area, that fall to an appropriate altitude for maximum effect, then explode, causing no initial physical damage, but sowing massive chaos throughout both military forces and civilian populations. Tremendously expansive in terms of magic energy investment, and relatively short-term in its effects, it nevertheless can be an effective weapon in disrupting an enemy’s defenses in advance of a raid or troop landing.
Each MIRV can carry up to 200 ‘skeets’ each
The carrier shell is designed as an airburst weapon(300-1,000 ft up), with the dispersal charge firing the skeets out on wide arc frisbeeing trajectories to cover a maximum area of effect. Each submunition skeet affects a 500 ft radius(some overlap is unavoidable), and effects last 50 minutes. Everyone caught in the area of effect must save versus magic or else lose HALF their attacks per melee, lose initiative, and be -20% to perform all skills. Furthermore
The beauty of this weapon is that the mage-munition officer or loader, if one is available, can , simply by touching the shell before loading and launching, and uttering a safing incantation(Magic telepathy or psionic telepathy will also do the trick), fuze the weapon to affect ONLY enemy soldiers...KNOWN allies are UNAFFECTED by the magic! Of course, if no such trained combat mage or psychic is available , then the ‘generic’ shell will affect EVERYONE in the area of effect.
Needless to say, however, at 150 PPE per submunition, these weapons are awfully expensive.

*TW Magma Weapon(RV)---Modified River of Lava spell, that creates a pool 450 ft in diameter instead, that lasts 15 minutes. If deployed in shallow water it lasts only 7 minutes and does HALF damage, but creates huge bubbles, kills local sea life, and produces a massive cloud of superheated steam that blinds anyone on the surface, fouls up thermographic imaging systems, and creates a belching sonar static that can screw up passive sonar systems in the area.

*TW Tsunami Weapon(RV)---Designed for attacking coastal targets,this weapon deploys up to 5 independently targeting RVs that each generate a tidal wave.
Each warhead creates a tidal wave roughly 150 ft high, 3,000 ft long, lasts 15 melees, reach as far as 450 ft inland, and does 4d6x10 MD per melee. Also has a 75% chance of capsizing any ships it catches.
Note: This weapon is INEFFECTIVE unless aimed at a sizable body of water, such as an ocean, large lake, or deep river.

*TW Hurricane Weapon(RV)----Ocean-attack weapon, but can also be used against large lakes. Each MIRV creates a massive sea storm that covers a 120 ft area, 100-150 mph winds, and 30 ft high waves. Does 3d6x10 MD per melee to large structures, and 1d6 MD to anyone caught out in the open. Effects last 15 minutes.

*TW Maelstrom Weapon(RV)---Another ocean-attack weapon, for attacking shipping and submarine warships/installations. Like the Tsunami Weapon, the ‘bus’ can deploy up to 5 independently targeting RVs that each generate a sizable whirlpool in any large body of water they are aimed at.
Whirlpools are 120 ft wide, lasts 15 minutes, and does 1d4x10 MD to anything caught in its center, 2d6x10 MD per melee to large ships, and 1d6x100 MD to hem if they get submerged or if the whirlpool ‘breaks the ship’s back’.

*TW Earthquake Weapon(RV)---Each warhead acts as a 15th level Elemental Earthquake spell; 3500 ft area of effect, doing 2d6x100 MD per melee, for fifteen melees. Generates a fissure 900 ft long, doing damage to everything within 600 ft on either side of it. A full spread of Earthquakers can destroy a county.

*TW Stormfront Weapon(RV)---Airburst warheads that unleash multiple Tornadoes(one per warhead), and an accompanying Summon Storm, all equivalent to the 15th level Elemental Warlock Spells.
Tornadoes are 100 ft in diameter, last 15 minutes, and do 3d6x10 MD per melee to anything caught by them, and an additional 2d6x10 MD to anything hurled out. Wood, clay, and stone structures take 4d6x10 points of damage(SDC or MDC), and trees are uprooted in one melee round. The tornadoes will also randomly wander about in a half-mile area before dispersing.
The storm element creates a drenching, obscuring downpour that drops 4 inches of rain per hour, does 1-6 points of structural S.D.C. per half hour, immobilizing floods, and reduces visibility to near zilch; storm covers a 14 mile area, and lasts 7 hours

Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-20
Payload: 80 free-fall RVs. Additional RVs may be carried as cargo(one RV ‘bus’ weighs 1 ton)

8 ) Point Defense Turrets(12)---These are standard CCW-pattern dual laser/mini-missile launchers that have been installed for close-in defense.
Range: (Lasers) 4,000 ft in atmosphere/2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere /200 miles in space)
(Mini-Missiles) 1 mile in atmosphere/2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere/ 100 miles in space)
Damage:(Lasers) 1d6x10 MD per blast
(Mini-Missiles) Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire:(Lasers) EGCHH, or auto-fire; 6 attacks per melee
(Mini-Missiles) Volleys of 1-8
Payload: (Rail Gun) Effectively Unlimited
(Mini-Missiles) 32 mini-missiles per turret; additional mini-missiles can be carried as cargo(typically takes 2d6 minutes to reload from the holds).
(Option)---The Mini-Missile launcher component of these turrets can be modified to fire the “S-Sting” ‘Smart Mini-Missile -----The S-Sting(for ‘Space Stinger’) is an attempt to adapt the guidance systems and accuracy of the ‘Black Talon’ L-SAM to a space-based missile. The missile resembles a rather stubby cylinder with a blunt-nosed optical cluster and protruding verniers(extend after launching), owing to the fact that the vacuum of space negates the need for streamlining the weapon.
Note that the ‘S-Sting’ has only limited effectiveness in an atmosphere....HALF bonuses in a thin atmosphere and weak gravity well like Mars’, and NO bonuses, and HALF range in a thick atmosphere and standard gravity like Earth’s.
Range: 4 miles in atmosphere, 32 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere/ 400 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD to a 15 ft blast radius
Bonuses: +7 to strike
Cost: 10,000 credits per missile

9) Countermeasure Launchers(2)---Two small bays are dedicated to deploying countermeasures. Though mainly based on systems in use by the Orbital powers of Rifts Earth, and thus decidedly crude by Three Galaxies standards, these decoy systems can still prove effective, or at least distracting at critical moments.
Range: Typically launch out to 10 miles or more from the ship under the initial expulsion charge.
Damage/Effects:
-Ballute Decoy---This is an inflatable metallic balloon-form meant to be highly visible to enemy radar and optics. A small maneuvering drive (equivalent to a heavy Manned Maneuvering Unit) gives the decoy some capacity to micmic a ship’s normal movement.
-Wild Weasel---A more maneuverable version of the above, but the WW relies not on passive sensor reflection but on active emissions to fool enemy sensors. The WW is more robust, and can ape a more vigorous range of maneuvers on the part of the ship it’s supposed to be imitating. 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 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).

-Smart Chaff--- Jams radio signals(75% chance of jamming military band command-guidance ordnance), and 60% chance of deflecting ordinary missiles.

-Laser Aerosol---Laser Aerosol Clouds are chancy; they impede the lasers of the ship they’re supposed to be shielding as readily as those of the attackers, and the cloud does not move with the ship if maneuvers are necessitated(it will continue moving and expanding in a straight line until it completely dissipates).
Rate of Fire:
Payload: Each CM array holds 50 Ballute decoys, 20 maneuvering decoys(“Wild Weasels”), 100 ‘Smart Chaff’ canisters, 50 laser aerosol canisters

Auxiliary Craft:
1-12 Light Shuttles( Typically modified Dragonflies) or 1-8 Heavy Shuttles(such as the AAST-4 Condor or AAST-6 Gannet)

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 7:57 pm

(based on an old design render by Darkmaxx, so old I don’t even think I have a surviving copy of it)

*WZ-ECF-079 Baskin Light Extendable Cargo Freighter
(aka ‘Beanpole’, ‘Fishbone’)

“On short runs, the small cabin space on a Baskin can be described as ‘cozy’. On longer jumps, it’s ‘cramped’, and on anything longer than a week, it’s a ‘metal-walled straitjacket’. Baskin crews flying the long routes have nerves of steel, geological patience, or are just plain blathering mad.”

“In theory one should be able to access the propulsion module in flight through a crawlway in the central support spine, but few people do; it’s claustrophobic, especially since wearing an EVA suit is recommended...which incidentally shows GREAT confidence in the structural integrity of the access way, thank you very much....and when one gets to the engine module...well, most commercial power pods are sealed access, so there’s not a lot one can do there, except read the redundant readouts and try to do repair work through a few pipe-sized keyhole ports. Some units and custom jobs have proper engine rook spaces built in; one bush-crew effectively doubled their living cubic with an enlarged engineering space; the ship’s engineer practically locked themselves in the engine room for the duration of the trip, taking meals rolled remote control to them from the forward cabin. However, such are the exceptions rather than the standard. Most Baskins are operated by short-jump pilots and technicians who are SOOL if anything major happens to their engines. Fortunately, WZT builds some very reliable power pods for the Baskin, but there’s enough other brands and knockoffs out there that there’s been a good share of accidents attributable to propulsion failure thanks to bad maintenance or poor design. ”

“Cheap, but you get what you pay for, even with somebody with a rep for reliability like WZT backing them. Make sure you thoroughly go over your ‘bargain deal’ before you make payment, and don’t complain about the accommodations unless you’re willing to shell out the yen to custom-modify them. It really helps if none of your crewmembers approach the two meter mark in height.”

The Baskin is a Periphery Space-built design for a light, cheap, easy to maintain, modular freighter. It is actually one of WZTechYards’ older designs, hailing back to the formative years of the company-guild.
The Baskin is readily identifiable as an adaptation of the old Pascal-Rand Corp. ‘Frontiersman’ scoutship, a design familiar to many Rim-spacers. The Pascal-Rand Corporation was one of many ambitious startup aerospace companies with a few good ideas but either poor business sense or bad luck; Pascal-Rand folded after thirty years of operation, but not before turning out one good solid design in the Frontiersman, a solid, rugged, and reliable scoutship. When Pascal-Rand passed into receivership, thousands of Frontiersmen ships were dumped on the market where they were snapped up by Runners and colonial scouts who drove their new ships hard, and made extensive modifications to them for their own purposes. One of the most common adaptations was a version with external cargo racks, often nicknamed the ‘Beanpole’ or ‘Fishbone’. When the need for light, reliable, freighters hit a new peak during the last CCW-TGE war(when most production went to meeting the needs of the major militaries, instead of the civil sector), a few smaller ship-junking yards began recycling the older ships and began limited production of new hulls from recycled materials. Demand for the new ships among the ship-starved frontier was greater than production capacity of the adhoc shipyards, so they elected to band together with one of the newly emergent corporate concerns that had grown independent of the core systems; WZTechYards. Better able to acquire and allocate resources, and build new production lines, WZTechyards could more effectively mass--produce the needed vessels. Ironically, one of the old ‘yards bought up and refurbished for production of new freighters was Pascal-Rand Corp’s plant; once again producing Frontiersmen, but as the modified ‘Baskin’-class freighter.
The Baskin is a multi-segmented design utilizing commercial components of several craft...The front module is virtually identical to the old PRC Frontiersman scout, modified with a large docking collar and tractor-grip unit at its back. The rear module can be one of a number of powerpack drive-pods.
Similar to the larger open-frame ‘Immense’-class super-haulers, the Baskin works by sandwiching the cargo modules and pods in between the command and drive modules, allowing the shippers to compose ‘trains’ of cargo pods for flight. An expandable ‘fishbone’ gantry frame keeps the cargo modules in place, as well as connects the fore and aft utility modules. This ‘fishbone’ represents the weakest part of the ship, despite many efforts to reinforce it, and the vulnerability of the spinal frame keeps the ship from more rigorous roles, such as runner. For short-run regular cargo transport, though, the Baskin is considered adequately durable and suited to the task.
If not carrying cargo, and with the cockpit pod directly mounted to the drive module, the Baskin shows its scoutship heritage by being able to move at respectable speed, though few operators use this configuration because it’s not generating revenue hauling cargo.
The Baskin sports only light armored protection and a standard antiparticle forcefield. Though it can mount several light weapons, it is, by most operators, considered a waste of money to arm the freighter. Naturally, bush-runners on the Rim arm their ships up the focsles and even rig a few cargo modules as missile launchers or countermeasures.
WZTechYards’ various smaller sub-lines produce thousands(if not millions) of Baskins each Standard Year, so the ships are dirt-cheap, easy to come by and spare parts are always readily available, except in the most remote regions of the Three Galaxies. The renewed success of the design has also led to a number of knockoffs of varying quality and capability by other independent builders. The ships are thus a common sight in spaceports throughout the 3G, especially smaller commercial spaceports and rim-ports that don’t see much traffic from the heavier haulers.

Type: WZ-ECF-079 Baskin
Class: Light Extendable Cargo Freighter
Crew: 5
MDC/Armor by Location:
Cockpit Pod 900
Support Spine 800
Cargo Modules(2-55) 100-500 each
Drive Pod 1,000
Forcefield(Standard) 600
Height: 18 ft
Width: 40 ft, Standard-sized cargo pods can increase that to 60 ft, Giant-sized to 160 ft
Length: 90 ft in its compact form without any middle cargo pods(45 ft Cockpit Pod, 45 ft Drive Pod) . 270 ft at standard load extension. ft at maximum safe load extension.
Weight: 250 tons compact minimal configuration. Up to 920 tons fully loaded.
Cargo: The central spine can be set to accommodate Standard- or Giant-sized cargo cans mounted broadside across the axis of the freighter. A maximum of 360 tons can be hauled without diminishing performance(that’s 30 fully loaded Standard cans). Additional modules can be added, exceeding the mass/tonnage limit, but each additional 60 tons will reduce maximum speed/acceleration/deceleration by 20%., and the ship cannot safely maneiver in atmosphere(-20% to pilotng rolls) Can still hyperjump at maximum load(660 tons; 55 cargo pods), though in overloaded state CANNOT operate in atmosphere.
Powerplant: Advanced Nuclear Fusion w/ 30 year energy life(Some power units, depending on cost and power, may fatigue more rapidly or last longer)
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Transatmospheric; Mach 3
(Sublight) Varies by power package, but the Baskin tops off at Mach 8. If not carrying more than two cargo pods, the ship can conceivably be powered up to Mach 11.
(FTL) The most common FTL engine type is Model D ; 4 light years/hour.
(Underwater) Not possible
Market Cost: 13 million credits for the standard configuration Baskin, 53 million credits with a Model-D FTL drive.
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus;
*Escape Pod---The entire cockpit module acts as a detachable escape pod and can separate from the rest of the ship in an emergency.

Weapons Systems: None standard, but has provision for mounting three Point or Light Starship Weapons mounts

Variants:
As a ‘tramper’, the Baskin sees thousands of minor modifications, most of them done post-production. Most modifications are to drive assemblies and armament, and the modular cargo pods of course, in keeping with the needs and preferences of the individual operators. A favorite modification is a wider and more easily traversed central access spine allowing better access to the engineering section and cargo modules, but this comes at the cost of increased mass, especially if the spine retains the ability to telescope and accept more modules. Some of these ‘super-extenders’ can carry as many as 150 Standard cargo pods, though they fairly wallow in real-space.
Given how often pirates force Baskin crews to eject their-life sections from their drive and cargo trains, some Rim operators add extra thrusters and an auxiliary FTL drive to the cockpit module, allowing the crew to make good on their getaway before pirates decide to eliminate the witnesses to their crimes.
A few operators, especially large corporations and military groups, automate their Baskins to fly preprogrammed, beacon-guided courses.
Then of course, there are the non-WZT copies, which can vary in quality and compatibility with WZT-made parts and modules.

Omegasgundam · Sat Aug 14, 2021 11:45 pm

The utterly forgettable sardine can that is the back bone of low level shipping beyond the Core Worlds. The Semi-Truck of the space lanes. And that has some 'ideas' to draw from.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Sun Aug 15, 2021 12:45 am

Omegasgundam wrote:The utterly forgettable sardine can that is the back bone of low level shipping beyond the Core Worlds. The Semi-Truck of the space lanes. And that has some 'ideas' to draw from.

As Eric Fackler in Rifted #34 put it about light freighters: "one of the most unremarkable ships in the Three Galaxies and can be seen everywhere."

That having been said, adapting Darkmaxx's original simplistic rendering gave me fits until I said to hell with it and set the word blender to 'frap'.

Or maybe it was seeing the quirky 'Space Truckers' movie...just plain dumb popcorn-chewing fun for an afternoon.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:47 am

Orion IIF- ‘Fireships’: Automated Drone Warships
“Think of them as enormous space-to-space missile buses. You throw them at an enemy formation, and they don’t dare ignore them, crude as the nuclear impulse drives may be. Even when the enemy sees them in advance, they‘ll have to deal with them. Depending on your tactics and formations, that can mean the fireships tanking fire that would otherwise be directed at your manned ships, or the enemy detaching warships out of their own formations to take out the fireships, and thus being out of position for fighting your ships.”

“The Alliance doesn’t like to be the ones dropping the nuclear mushrooms, given how many members come from still-glowing shatterworlds, but nobody in their right minds wants to be eaten or dismantled alive either. We’ve had to come to the hard realization that there are some species out there who just will not recognize the right of others to exist. Having exhausted all reasonable means of communication and peaceful persuasion to change those species’ attitudes, we must resort to self-defense, including decisive striking at those species’ means of spreading through space and threatening our worlds. ‘Hard Rain’ was not initiated lightly, but after equally hard consideration of all the factors involved. The safety of Alliance citizens, those under our protection, and indeed those beyond the Alliance, was on the minds of all planners of our actions and those carrying them out.”
---Senator Fabicus Photonthought, representative of Kaxxion Station and member of the Alliance Joint Command Defense Planning Council, in an address before the USA General Assembly

“EAT THIS!”
---Graffiti scrawled on the hull of Orion II-32, prior to deployment in Operation Hard Rain, against the Sorm homeworlds.

Though PS/ASI continues to produce the ‘crude-tech’ nuclear impulse drive Orion II system monitor for lower-end system polities, the advancing fortunes of the USA members and affiliates, and the state of the art they can afford to support, meant that many who had previously bought/acquired Orion IIs could now get hold of more modern ships. Rather than junk their old, but still serviceable, Orion IIs, some of these operators have seen fit to convert their Orions into automated weapons platforms.
Though echoes of the Automaton Wars will send shivers up people’s spines when the topic of automated warships is brought up, PS/ASI has thoroughly researched the limitations of AI warship command and control systems, and installed what they consider suitable safeguards. The AI systems aboard the converted monitors are incapable of advanced sophont cognition, but act as oversized combat drones, with advanced safeguards against their trigger interfaces being hacked by unauthorized parties.
The USA member world of Nettavan was first to convert their Orion IIs into ‘fireships’, expendable anti-ship weapons platforms, when they upgraded their defense forces to Oyumis. Half of the Orion-IIFs they retained for system defense, and they contributed the other vessels to the USAJC. It was ex-Nettavan nuclear impulse monitors that were used in the Hard Rain raids on the Sorm homeworlds, the robotic warships(delivered by hypertug to Sorm solar systems) soaking up enemy fire and shredding orbital defenses before the survivors kamikazed to the planets’ surfaces.
All weapons systems aboard Orion IIF fireships can be regarded as having autofire to the maximum physical limits of their construction.

Changes/Modifications
Crew: None; Orion IIF s are completely automated
Systems of Note:
* A.I.----The A.I. systems installed aboard the fireships lack higher cognitive functions and run preprogrammed scenarios. They cannot formulate advanced strategies, though they can be quite proficient tactically. Possesses Math: Advanced 98%, Pilot Starship(Large) 98%, Navigation: Space %, Astrophysics 98%, Weapons Systems 98%, Read Sensory Instruments , Radio: Basic, Radio: Deep Space/FTL, Electronic Countermeasures , and Ship to Ship Combat 80%.
Weapons Systems:
All weapons systems are now run directly by gunnery computers and robot A.I.s
Auxiliary Craft:
The Orion IIfs’ shuttlecraft are replaced with six large decoy ‘birds’ (based on WZT’s Orbital Hare shuttle) carrying sensor jammers. As a last resort, these drones are also fitted with cruise missile warheads, and will kamikaze.

Operation Hard Rain---The Assault on the Sorm Homeworlds
“They impale females and offspring just to send us a message that they own space and can do what they want in it? We cannot, we will not, allow these beasts to continue to worry at our flanks, distracting our attention form other threats and draining resources better used to building a truly worthy civilization. We need to do what is necessary to protect ourselves and the future form such prdators. Here’s our message back to them; nuke the vermin.”

“Hard Rain meant a lot of extra work for the ground troops in the Sorm incursion zones...once they lost their rides home, but not before they learned of what was happening back at their home hives, the stranded Sorm ravagers went nothing-to-lose on the planets they were already infesting. Even after we wiped out their main formations, it was years winkling out the last of them in some places, and that included some second-generation Sorm that were bred onsite in hideyholes with no other purpose but to kill us. The only good news for us was that they wouldn’t be getting fire support and starship-borne reinforcements from home, and that if we kept at our jobs, the Sorm tap would eventually run dry. Still, it was NOT good for us footsloggers facing apex predators who figured if they were going to go extinct, they’d drag us down with them.”

“When word got out about the Hard Rain raids, we actually got some grudging respect from the TGE, who felt it proved us rim-scum could get nasty if we had to. Of course, it also means that the Kreeghort are, in any future conflict with us, likely to take us very seriously and hit us that much harder to prevent us from enacting a similar scorched earth policy on THEIR worlds.”

Operation Hard Rain was a major campaign launched by the United Systems Alliance Joint Command against the Sorm. It as the first known action by the AJC aimed from the start at eliminating an indigenous Three Galaxies spacefaring species from being a starfaring, indeed technological in any sense, presence. Once it was ascertained, with the collaboration of CCW Contact specialists, that all avenues of negotiation with the rapacious Sorm had been exhausted and proved useless, the AJC moved fast to score decisively against their opponents.
Hard Rain actually consisted of two parts; Porch Sweep consisted of the identification of all Sorm vessels in the contested zones and their destruction. This involved a wide range of units dealing with existing Sorm invasion zones, the space between them and their homeworlds, and scouting of their likely directions of expansion. This had the side effect of stranding a good number of disembarked Sorm warriors on target worlds, which required a lengthy mop-up. Porch Sweep was lengthy and covered massive regions of space, but was necessary to prevent the Sorm from establishing new beachheads and refuges offworld.
Hard Rain itself consisted of direct attacks on the Sorm homeworlds and their industrial infrastructure. Weapons of mass destruction(WMDs) were approved for strategic strikes on Sorm factories, mines, spaceports, as well as space infrastructure. Any vessel large enough to carry substantial industrial equipment was to be idenified and destroyed. The Hard Rain raids saw the use of relativistic bombardment weapons as well automated ‘fireships’.
A typical Hard Rain raid consisted of several decoy units dropping into a Sorm-inhabited system to draw off the defenders and make final identification of the positionng of strategic targets. Then, using close-order FTL jumping, the attack force would move quickly to get in close and launch heavy ordnance against planetary targets and near space facilities. Light and heavy cruisers fitted with planetary attack modules, as well as squadrons and wings of Roswell bombers and Chimbane strike fighters would lead heavy tugs carrying bundled KEWs and fireship conversion hulls to savage Sorm facilities. The Hard Rain raids in particular used up a substantial percentage of PS/ASI’s older production Orion monitors that had been converted into expendable ‘super-missiles’. The Hard Rain raids also saw protocol restrictions come off use of the GNE’s Lance missiles against planetary targets.
Operation Hard Rain has often been cited as the USAJC’s equivalent of the CAF’s Operation Gutcutter; a vicious, bloody, grinding mess of extermination against an inhuman foe that blooded more than a few of those who participated in it to the hard realities of war. In the end it accomplished its goal of stopping the Sorm advance into space and crippling their war machine.

Borast · Unread post by **Borast** » Wed Aug 18, 2021 6:46 pm

Hard Rain, eh?

Not using asteroids?
Awwwww!

Sigh... Accellerate a 1000 tonne high density object to 0.99c, destroy terrestrial planet on impact...you now have the birth of an eventual asteroid belt.
Is this what you are referring to as relativistic bombardment?

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Wed Aug 18, 2021 10:19 pm

Borast wrote:Hard Rain, eh?
Sigh... Accellerate a 1000 tonne high density object to 0.99c, destroy terrestrial planet on impact...you now have the birth of an eventual asteroid belt.
Is this what you are referring to as relativistic bombardment?

Yep....Best illustrated in Pelligrino's novel Killing Star, which is extremely depressing as Humanity is on the receiving end of such an attack.
In the Man-Kzin Wars, a 'ramscoop raid' is used as a massive KEW attack on Kzin-occupied Wunderland(Alpha Centauri)...In Larry Niven's Known Space universe, ramscoops are bad enough, because the hydrogen-gathering magnetic fields can kill chordate nervous systems and boil blood. but of you leave the throttle open and aim at something....let's just mention that a Kzin-occupied moon fleet base ceases to exist....

It's also been mentioned in these threads that cg-propelled or even traction-drive pushed spacecraft would make GREAT WMDs, letting them crank up to a good percentage of light speed. Screw TGE dreadnoughts; they could use cheap merchant ships as relativistic kill-missiles....

Omegasgundam · Unread post by **Omegasgundam** » Thu Aug 19, 2021 7:09 am

taalismn wrote:It's also been mentioned in these threads that cg-propelled or even traction-drive pushed spacecraft would make GREAT WMDs, letting them crank up to a good percentage of light speed. Screw TGE dreadnoughts; they could use cheap merchant ships as relativistic kill-missiles....

One of the more plausible counters is what amounts to throwing sand in front of an incoming wave, as the resulting collisions will hopefully take most if not all of the bite out of it. There's still going to be a large number of very fast moving fragments, but in a much less directed manner.

Borast · Unread post by **Borast** » Thu Aug 19, 2021 9:05 pm

taalismn wrote:
Borast wrote:Hard Rain, eh?>snip<

Yep....Best illustrated in Pelligrino's novel Killing Star, >snip<

I prefer Michael McCollum's sequel to Life Probe on this point... Procyon's Promise.
Accelerate an inert mass to FTL speeds, have the pushing ship drop out of FTL a few light minutes out from the planet, and allow the mass to continue at or just above "c," while the ship acellerates away, and the weapon will never be detected, since the radiation "bow wave" will arrive at the target planet after impact.

Omegasgundam wrote:
taalismn wrote:It's also been mentioned in these threads that cg-propelled or even traction-drive pushed spacecraft >snip< cheap merchant ships as relativistic kill-missiles....

One of the more plausible counters is what amounts to throwing sand in front of an incoming wave, >snip< There's still going to be a large number of very fast moving fragments, but in a much less directed manner.

Um...depending on how far out you can stop the attack, and how efficient you are at clean-up prior to impact with the planet. Whether a bullet, or large calibre buckshot, a kill shot is still a kill shot. If you can reduce the ship to small debris, the planet can probably survive, with the debris buring up...although, the amount of radiation blasting that side of the planet can still come near sterilyze that side of the planet. Larger debris is still going to likely strike the surface.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Thu Aug 26, 2021 9:17 pm

(Okay. let's finish off the major ships of the Acalian fleet before moving on to other threat/annoyance/ regional powers')

Acalian ‘Malthrus’ Heavy Cruiser
(aka ‘Malf’)
“The Malths are regarded as a sign that the Acalians see themselves in a serious role with regards to their standing in the greater Galactic community. As defensive measures, they indicate a worry that the Acalian star systems are a potential target worth defending and hard. As a more offensive-oriented statement, they say to others that if anybody is going to do any pushing around Acalian space, it’s the Acalians and not anybody else.”

“There’s some dark humor going around that the first Malthruses assigned to the USA border space have already been updated with a set of floor attachment tie-down eyebolts waiting to immediately accept the shackle links of whatever bridge officer they decide to strip and chain as a sacrifice for whatever ‘unfortunate’ border incident they get involved in next. The Acalians seem to like thinking that’s the way to get away with some of their provocations in our mutually disputed space, and given that the ships involved have gotten steadily larger in class, we figure it’s only a matter of time before we see their heavy iron getting used in their brinksmanship diplomacy.”

Currently the ‘big guns’ of the Genanarchy space navy, these large and thoroughly modern vessels have been replacing a hodgepodge of less sophisticated (and in some cases outright antiquated) armored cruisers, heavy blastships, and ‘battlecruisers’ that belonged to the previous factional space navies of the Acalian peoples.
Malthruses have rarely been seen operating near the Genanarchy ‘s borders, and then only as part of battle groups with other cruisers acting in concert, so the exact capabilities of these ships remain unknown. It is rumored that they incorporate 3G technology acquired through industrial espionage or reverse-engineering of captured vessels. The Malthruses see, for example, the first use of variable forcescreening on an Acalian naval vessel. Unusually for an Acalian ship, the Malthrus does not carry any substantial small combat craft complement, but is instead a dedicated direct combat warship. As such it relies on escorts to provide fighter coverage. Oddly enough, the ship carries a token wing of four patrolcraft, rather than the traditional ‘blade and hilt’ formation of three(suggestion has been made that the fourth is a dedicated armed courier for secure communications).
The Malthruses also show their modernity in having respectable anti-fighter point defenses, inspired by observations of other Three Galaxies polities. Copying the combined-weapons turret layouts of other star nations, Acalian shipwrights have fitted the Malthruses with a mixed rail- gun and laser armament.
Like other Acalian designs, however, Malthruses suffer a number of faults that a smart opponent can exploit. Despite the changes in overall operational configuration, the Malthruses still suffer from a general attitude of ‘just add more’ to warship designs, with a scaling up of the same sort of layout seen on smaller vessels. This lends itself to predictable tactics and weak points.
Acalian gravitics are very ‘noisy’, producing a lot of gravity-wave ‘static’ that can be easily detected, even when the ships are laying at station-keeping. The inclusion of many new systems, such as the heavy particle beams and new rail guns also means that the heavy cruisers require more ship-specific spare parts and supplies that are not cross-fleet compatible, which can become an issue in the small (compared to the Galactic powers they are skirting around)Genanarchy Space Navy. Avionics have seen only marginal improvements, and the ships’ sensors and fire control are still at least a generation behind their contemporaries. They are also expensive to produce and maintain, keeping their available numbers down and competition fierce among Navy officers for a slot aboard these ‘prestige’ vessels.

Type: AGSN-SCG-04 Malthrus
Class: Heavy Cruiser
Crew: 560+100 marines
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 43,000
Bridge 4,000
Particle Beam Cannon Turrets(2) 1,000 each
Heavy Laser Cannon Turrets(3) 750 each
Heavy Missile Launchers(3) 500 each
Medium Range Missile Launchers(8 ) 500 each
Point Defense Turrets(30) 360 each
Hangar Bay 2,000
Engines 10,000
Variable Forcefields 5,000 per side(30,000 total)
Height: 200 ft
Width: 540 ft
Length: 1,250 ft
Weight: 260,00 tons
Cargo: 35,000 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) 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 17 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems
Weapons Systems:
1) Particle Beam Cannon(4, 2x2)---The Malthrus sees the installation of two heavy twin-barrel particle beam cannons for the first time on an Acalian vessel, the weapons undoubtedly being either sourced or copied from Galactic designs.
Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 50 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 5 miles in atmosphere, 50,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x1,000 MD per single blast, 4d4x1,000 MD for a simultaneous blast from both guns in a turret
Rate of Fire: Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Heavy Lasers(9, 3x3)---The Malthrus mounts three triple-barrel turrets with enhanced range and power heavy laser cannons.
Range: 10 miles in atmosphere, 20 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 20 miles in atmosphere, 20,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per blast, 4d6x100 MD per dual blast, 6d6x100 MD for a triple blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Heavy Missile Launchers(3)---Large capacity LRM launchers
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 1-20, up to twice per melee
Payload: Each launcher has 220 LRMs ready to fire, Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 2 missiles)

4) Medium Range Missile Launchers(8 )---Anti-fighter weapons and arguably better than the PDS guns at fending off Three Galaxy fighter attacks .
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 1-10, up to four times per melee.
Payload: 100 missiles per launcher, 800 missiles total, reloading from the cargo hold takes 1d6 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 10 missiles)

5) Point Defense Turrets(30) ---In addition to mounting more numerous and more powerful rail guns as point defense, the Malthruses also pair them with laser cannon.
Range: (Rail Gun) 4 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 1,000 miles in space)
(Laser) 2 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: (Rail Gun) 2d4x10 MD per 20 rd burst
(Laser) 3d6x10 MD single barrel, 6d6x10 MD dual blast(counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: (Rail Gun) 1,000 bursts per turret
(Laser) Effectively Unlimited

Auxiliary Craft:
6 shuttles
4 Patrolcraft, typically AGSN-029 ‘Mandrades’

Variants:
*AGSN-SCM-04---A handful of Malthruses were modified in the production stream into missile cruisers; the particle beam turrets were omitted and replaced with a fourth LRM launcher with a 25-missile salvo strength and magazine capacity for 500 ready to fire reloads.
Reports have surfaced of these missile cruisers also testing, on one or more of their missile bays, the ability to field up to six, possibly more, giant kinetic kill or gigaton-yield nucleonic weapons similar to PS/ASI’s Long Lance-series heavy torpedoes. Whether these weapons would be used for planetary attack or anti-fleet actions remains unknown, but intelligence agencies in the region are seeking more information.
Another worrisome report is of the Acalians possibly possessing Golgan-style Ion Torpedoes, USA intelligence is concerned that the Golgans may be covertly providing known opposition states antagonizing their current enemies with more advanced munitions, or that a former or proxy Golgan state is manufacturing and selling the weapons.

Acalian ‘Kagoes’ Battleship
(aka “Presidawagons’)
“Impressive on paper, and the Acalians like to show them off in their media a lot, to emphasize their military strength, the Kagoeses are mainly backdrops for political theater. Even if they were to live up to their purported strength, it’s doubtful the Acalians would risk them on any foreign ventures outside their systems; they’d be deployed to protect home space. About the only use they’d get from their FTL drives would be to evacuate their leadership if the situation went pear-shaped for them.”

The largest ships in the Acalian Genanarchy space navy, the Kagoeses are a two-ship class of a design predating the formation of the Genanarchy. The first of the class was being built during the height of internicine tensions as a mobile fortress by the largely Banis-ethnicity Polar Alliance. The sight of the massive ship hovering just out of range of the weapons of the rival Acalian factions was meant to intimidate them into suing for peace, though how much actual military value the ship would have served in any Acalian war is debatable.
The formation of the Genanarchy almost spelled the end of the Kagoes, as there were demands that the giant ship be scrapped. Instead, the unified militaries managed to get the ship preserved as a flagship for the newly-formed Genanarchy space navy. This necessitated a change in name from FedrosCanpella(‘Strength of Canpella’, the local name for the Polar Alliance’s main continent) to Kagoes(Old Acyllian for ‘Foundation’ or ‘Firm/Strong Ground’), which became the design’s name.
As the Acalians discovered more and more that they were no longer alone, or isolated, in their part of the Anvil Galaxy, and the Acalians began their military buildup, work began on a second battleship, as it was revealed that the mainly Calen-led Equatorial Confederation had, with plans stolen from the Polar Alliance, started work on their own battleship (the ‘Tamhemera”, or ‘Rising Equatorial Sun’) at the time the Genanarchy was founded. The keel-frame had already been laid when peace was declared. and the work had been mothballed. As the Acalian joint military formed and built up, work on the second battleship resumed.
At latest estimate, the Acalians have two battleships and possibly a third under construction. Though continued battleship construction MIGHT give them enough surplus firepower to consider risking one of these ships on expeditions near/outside their borders, observed Acalian conservatism about the use of their heavier units would dictate otherwise. For now, the ships serve as orbital defensive platforms and administration centers, impressing Acalian citizens and visitors alike with their looming presence. The ships are almost always in a process of extensive maintenance, repair, and refit( so much so that one CAG analyst joked that one had to count the scaffolding as ‘ablative armor’), as the Acalians acquire more advanced technology to upgrade the massive vessels.
Performance-wise, the Kagoes are hardly impressive; they are slow and stodgy, hard on maneuvering, and little better than mobile orbital defense forts. The armor is impressive for the builders’ tech-level, with physical protection better than that of a CAF Packmaster, though shield strength is weak, reliant on an improvised system of multiple shield generators that struggle to remain in synchronization.
Armament is also fairly impressive for its abundance, if not its sophistication, despite ongoing upgrades. Kagoesesfairly drip with weapons turrets ranging in size and tech-level from ultra-fast ‘pea-shooter’ rail guns to massive scatterpack nuclear missiles .
Their long service as administrative hubs also shows in the almost overabundance of long range sensor and communications arrays festooning these ships. The Kagoeses mount heavier sensor arrays than would be practical on a fighting ship of the line, but they, together with the extensive comm-systems, allow the Genanarchy military high command to remain appraised of events far outside their solar system. A large life section has room to spare for extra staff and visitors(typically junketing politicians).
Hints of changes in Acalian military thinking can be seen in recent reports of the Kagoeses’ smallcraft complements including several squadrons of Galactic aerospace fighters sourced from outside the Genanarchy.

Type: AGSN-SBB-01/02 Kagoes
Class: Space Battleship(considered a Dreadnought by local Acalian classification)
Crew: 1,180 +450 passengers+ 500 Marine security contingent+ 560 aerospace group
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 110,000
Bridge 9,000
Sensor/Communications Arrays(4) 8,000 each
Hangar Bays 2,000 each
Engines 40,000
Auxiliary Engines 10,000
Massdriver Cannons(2) 4,000 each
(Kagoes-B) Superheavy Laser Cannons(6) 2,000 each
* Heavy Space Torpedo Launchers(4) 2,000 each
Heavy Laser Cannon Turrets(12) 900 each
Heavy Missile Launchers(9) 500 each
Medium Laser Cannon (36) 500 each
Medium Range Missile Launchers(12 ) 400 each
Medium Rail Cannons(20) 500 each
Point Defense Turrets(50) 400 each
Variable Forcefields 5,000 per side(30,000 total)

Height: 800 ft main hull, plus the sensor/communications arrays add another 250 ft
Width: 1,800 ft
Length: 7,000 ft
Weight: 84 million tons
Cargo: 700,000 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 50 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.(barely)
(Sublight) Mach 5 (Mach 3 under auxiliary drives)
(Kitsune Values: 40% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.5% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 52 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Long Range Communications --- FTL radio equivalent to a static planetside- or station-based installation; Effective range of the signal is 1,000 light years, and signal propagation is estimated at 60 light years an hour(in comparison, standard commercial starship FTL radio sets can attain signal speeds of 20-30 ly/hr, most military sets 45-50, and large static arrays 80-120).

*Long Range Sensors---The large sensor arrays on the Kagoes can detect FTL traffic out to 20 light years.

*Command Center/Flag Quarters---The Kagoeses have large facilities for hosting command staff and spacious adjacent quarters for high-rank officials and other visitors(such as specialists, diplomatic observers, etc.). In fact, given the ships’ current long-running role as orbital administration centers, many flag officers have moved their families(or concubines/mistresses) into the spare acommodations.

Weapons Systems:
1) Massdriver Cannons(2) ---The FedrosCanpella was fitted with two massive massdriver KEW launchers, originally intended to intimidate the Polar Alliance’s enemies with the prospect of bombarding colonies and spacestations into rubble with a few well-placed shots. With the forming of the Genanarchy, this immediate target pool dried up, and the Acalians as yet lacked outworlder targets to threaten. The Acalians have been rumored to be experimenting with modifying the massdrivers to throw nuclear charges, including nucleonic ‘shrapnel’ charges that can, at least in theory, damage massed spacecraft formations.
The massdrivers have been omitted from the second Kagoes battleship, the Tamhemera, and all subsequent construction, the space being replaced with a battery of superheavy laser cannons
*Massdriver Cannon(Kagoes-A/ex-FedrosCanpella)
Range: 500 miles in space; cannot be fired in an atmosphere
(Kitsune Values: 500,000 miles in space)
Damage:(Antispacecraft) 1d6x1,000 MD, but spacecraft are +10 to dodge the attack
(Antiplanet) 1d4x100,000 MD to a 5 mile diameter area, plus 1d6x1,000 MD to another 5 miles beyond that, and 4d6x10 MD to an outer 10 mile area.
(Anti) 1d4x1,000 MD to an 8 mile diameter area,
Rate of Fire: Once every 5 minutes
Payload: 60 rds per cannon

(Kagoes-B)
1)*Superheavy Laser Cannons(6 )---These are some of the heaviest laser weapons yet produced by the Acalians short of static planetary defense batteries.
Range: 80 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 80,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x1,000 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: 3 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2)* Heavy Space Torpedo Launchers(4)---These are similar in concept to the PS/ASI ‘Long Lance’ space-missiles; large fighter-sized heavy missiles packed with explosive power on the form of ‘scatterpack’ nuclear cluster warheads. The missiles are larger, though, and more easily intercepted, with a limited maagzie capacity, so the Acalians upgraded to smaller Galactic-style LRMs whan they acquired the technology. However, the Kagoese-Bs retain four launchers in the space originally allocated for the massdrivers.
Range: 16,000 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 1,800,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4 x 1,000 MD to a 4.6 mile destruction radius
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-18
Payload: 18 missiles each launcher

2) Heavy Lasers(48, 4x12)---The Kagoes carries a war burden of quad-barrel heavy laser cannon turrets.
Range: 10 miles in atmosphere, 20 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 20 miles in atmosphere, 20,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per blast, 4d6x100 MD per dual blast, 6d6x100 MD for a triple blast, and 8d6x100 MD for a quadruple blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) Heavy Missile Launchers(9)---Large capacity LRM launchers. These replace the laefer SLBM-sized weapons previously mounted, with a larger salvo throw-weight.
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 1-30, up to twice per melee
Payload: Each launcher has 300 LRMs ready to fire, Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 2 missiles)

4) Medium Laser Cannon (36)---These are single-barrel mounts of the same weapons carried aboard lesser Acalian warships.
Range: 6 miles in atmosphere, 12 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 12 miles in atmosphere, 12,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

5) Medium Range Missile Launchers(12 )---Anti-fighter weapons and arguably better than the PDS guns at fending off Three Galaxy fighter attacks .
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 1-10, up to four times per melee.
Payload: 100 missiles per launcher, 800 missiles total, reloading from the cargo hold takes 1d6 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 10 missiles)

6) Medium Rail Cannons(20)---Heavier models of the light PDS weapons, but serving much the same purpose. They’ve been retained until the Acalians can develop, or get ahold of, something better.
Range: (Rail Gun) 6 miles in atmosphere, 12 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 12 miles in atmosphere, 1,200 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD per 20 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: (Rail Gun) 1,000 bursts per turret

7) Point Defense Turrets(50)--- These were originally evenly divided between rail- and laser-cannons, but recent fleet improvement allowed the ASN to refit with combined turrets, effectively DOUBLING point defense firepower.
Range: (Rail Gun) 4 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 1,000 miles in space)
(Laser) 2 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: (Rail Gun) 2d4x10 MD per 20 rd burst
(Laser) 3d6x10 MD single barrel, 6d6x10 MD dual blast(counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: (Rail Gun) 1,000 bursts per turret
(Laser) Effectively Unlimited

Auxiliary Craft:
50 shuttles
90 Heavy Fighters/Mandrade-class fighters(it’s rumored that more recently the Acalians have been stationing smaller more modern Galactic fighters aboard the Kagoeses, trading the Mandrades one-for-two for the black market ships)

Variants:
The massdrivers on the first Kagoes that would have proven so devastating against surface targets in any Acalian civil war were omitted during the rebuilding of the Tamhemera, in favor of more anti-spacecraft weaponry. This pattern would seem to be continued in the third ship being worked up.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:30 pm

Kretig Domain Space Fleet( Anvil Galaxy)

“The Kretig pushed for and drew out a nasty little brush war with the CCW for the purposes of economy- and poll-boosting. Sad to say, there were those in the CCW perfectly willing to oblige them for much the same reasons. The result was a long grinding war that cost too many lives and too much treasure to be excused, ruined a generation of Consortium soldiers, piled up a stack of war crimes, effectively destroyed three productive colony worlds, rendered a sector too dangerous to travel through, and, according to recent reports, risked several akira-level WMD events that all too easily could have spiraled into full blown sector holocausts.”

“Backwards enough that we can generally wipe them out on a one-on-one basis. Advanced enough that reducing them by force of arms is going to be a bloody slog, especially the closer we’d get to their homeworlds. Plus indications are the Kregs think they can fight dirty and get away with it. Good thing we got our own asymmetrical warfare specialists on call, no? I’m looking at you, Fringe Military Attache Camos; don’t think we don’t know about...or appreciate.... your shadow-walkers’ involvement, for whatever reasons....in this campaign. State-hunted ‘human assets’ don’t just relocate themselves beyond reach of Kretig state security and secret shipyards don’t just blow themselves up.”

The Three Systems War between the Kretig Domain and the Consortium of Civilized Worlds was a nasty litte brush war that lasted too long due to Kretig desires to have a political distraction, and CCW desires not to escalate what they considered a regional backwater conflict. The CAF essentially fought with one arm tied behind its back, deploying second-echelon forces against elite Kretig units. The war was also complicated by conditions in the battlezones that prevented the CAF from bringing its full range of advantages to bear and the forces deployed to the conflict had to improvise with limited resources.
By the time anybody high up in the CCW government began running the numbers of how much the Three Systems War was really costing the Consortium, and that they should take the increasingly desperate and deranged Kretig SERIOUSLY, other events(the Forge and Minion Wars, for example) distracted the CCW and the better CAF units that might have been deployed to the region.
A number of further local events have conspired to change the nature of the conflict. Apparently Kretig attempts to escalate the conflict pushed the wrong buttons and a number of third parties became involved. It is now suspected that the Shemarrians and United Systems Alliance, possibly others, became involved in covert actions against the Kretig high command. physically neutralizing key elements of the command staff and military industrial complex, as well as releasing incriminating classified files, documenting the true costs of the war and various abuses of civilian dissidents, to the Kretig public.
More overt action came as a result of the Shaw Reforms in the CCW/CAF. A reprioritization of the Three Systems War resulted in the deployment of larger and more modern fleet forces to the sector, and a more aggressive policy towards the Kretig Domain. Faced with greater numbers of better-equipped opponents, the loss of their more jingoistic leadership, and mounting civil unrest back at home, Domain forces on the Three Systems War front have melted away, though a formal ceasefire has yet to be initiated.
Currently the Three Systems War seems to be winding down; Domain forces have withdrawn from the two CCW colonies and resistance only continues on the lone Kretig world, albeit at a much reduced level of activity. Meanwhile, civilian unrest back in the Kretig coreworlds is increasingly dividing the government. Though the Domain lost its more aggressive military leadership that was pursuing the war, the armed forces still have much control over the government, despite a grassroots movement to re-instate a wholly civilian government, and not all elements of the armed services are cooperating with a turnover of power. While a full-out civil war is not predicted, CCW analysts aren’t ruling the possibility out entirely, and CAF forces in the region remain on alert, albeit now armed with more information of the Domain’s armed forces and their capabilities.
The Three Systems War left a number of local sector CAF divisions and commands battered, embittered, and only partially mollified by the fact that many of the officials whose negligence helped extend the war died during the Infernal raids on Terra Prime.

Izaci Strike Fighter-Bomber( Kretig Domain)
(aka ‘Kreig-swan’, ‘Gray Swan’)

“The Grey Swans weren’t the fastest or most agile of the Kretig warfighters, but they reaped enough groundpounders with their raids that word went out that there was to be no quarter shown them in the field. There was no thought beyond smoking them, and there were a few experts in the CAF ranks who knew all the tricks to dropping Izacis.
Of course, the Kretig had their own experts, as we learned when they began shadowing their strike formations, looking for CAF ships stalking their fighter-bombers. But that’s war for you.”
---Major(ret.) Prectal Mez, Consortium Armed Forces

“Tail-heavy bastards, what with three different propulsion systems packed into the rear; given half the chance, they’ll flip over onto their backs if they lose stabilization. But they have enough reduncancy in just about everything that they could go through three or four complete system failures and STILL have a backup to fall back on. If I wasn’t so busy fighting these bastards, I’d respect their brickwork...and the E-zic’s exactly that; a flying brick.”
---Captain Lydiz Holmes, Consortium Armed Forces

The Izaci is a large Kretig strike fighter that served throughout the Three Systems War with the CCW. It became best known for its planetside operations during the war.
The Izaci possesses a long, delta-winged hull with foward canards, and deep-buried weapons bays. Overly large compared to the smaller and more nimble CAF fighters that opposed it, the Izaci compensated by being well-armored, fast, and having a heavy warload. Missiles were the favored weapon of the Kretig fighter corps, and the Izaci packed plenty. It also possessed a fair amount of passive stealth, thanks to its design and prefered operational profile.
Though the Izaci has only modest deep space performance, it has excellent in-atmo handling and, interestingly, a submersible capability(he Kretig are, unusually for a non-amphibian humanoid species, notable for building amphibious capabilities into their aerospacecraft). This allows the fighter to to operate from submarine carriers and bases, and use large bodies fo water to go relatively undetected and unmolested. During the long grinding campaigns in the war with the CCW, more than a few CAF ground formations and forward bases fell victim to Izaci attacks that ambushed them from deep water. Despite being aware of the tactic, the CAF assigned to the Kretig fronts had few ways of countering it, aside from maintaining constant air patrols over any local bodies of water deep enough to hide transitiing Izacis.
Izacis lacked forcescreening, both because the Kretig were slow to acquire the technology, and because conditions around the Alzaric Nebula where the contested worlds in the Three Systems War took place inhibited reliable forcefield generation, at least on any platform smaller than a frigate.
The Izaci served in the Three Systems War fronts long enough to see a progressive program of modifications and improvements that increased its lethality, but it was also around long enough for its opponents to become familiar with its characteristics and flaws. Just as the Kretig military had its expert strike pilots who flew Izacis, the CAF acquired its fair share of aerospace pilots who became adept at killing them, capitalizing on its weaknesses. For example, CCW pilots eventually learned that the large fighters lacked the ability to see through CAF EW and possessed several blind spots in their sensor coverage. Once the CAF established orbital-based global sensor jamming broadcast webs, Izaci strike wings were at a disadvantage, unable to spot, at least with their local sensors, high altitude CAF air patrols waiting to pounce. This inability to spot ambushes was aggravated by the Izaci’s use of a largely ‘virtual cockpit’ in ironic contrast to the more extensively glazed cockpits possessed by CAF fighters; in an EW-rich environment, close quarter dogfights more often went to the ship with the better Mark One Eyeball capability. Nevertheless, the Izaci continued in frontline duty until the CAF’s BACKSCRATCHER raids and the coincidental collapse of the Kretig military leadership brought the end of combat operations in the Three Systems War to a stuttering halt.
The Izaci remains in service with the Kretig Domain, but its future is uncertain. Further development of the Izaci by the Domain would seem likely, but has currently been suspended(along with virtually all other military programmes)with the dissolution of the Three Systems War and the uncertainty sweeping the Kretig coreworlds.
A number of Izacis have shown up outside the Three Systems War zone, most notably in the hands of Golgan splinter-state militaries, presumably because its submersible abilities would make it a natural to strike Golgan deep water facilities. How these fighters got where they are remains unknown, given how Kretig Domain foreign policy seemed to be favoring cozening up to known enemies of the CCW, such as the Golgan Republik.

Type: KDSF-FB017 Izaci
Class: Heavy Strike Fighter
Crew: One
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 550
Weapons Bay(underside) 150
Reinforced Cockpit 120
Height: 12 ft
Width: 53 ft
Length: 75 ft
Weight: 20 tons
Cargo: Small (6x4x4 ft) cargo area behind the cockpit for survival gear. In planetside operations during the Three Systems War, many Kretig pilots took to packing a compact ATV or other light vehicle to allow them to make their own way back to friendly lines if they ever came down.
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion with 10 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 6; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 9
(Kitsune Values: 40% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.9% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) None
(Underwater) 35 MPH, maximum operating depth of 6,000 ft
Market Cost: 68 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starfighter Systems, plus:
*Sonar--A modest sonar array with a 5 mile range was built into the Izaci, to aid in underwater navigation.

*Passive Stealth---Extensive wing- and body-blending give the Izacis a -10% to Read Sensory Instrument rolls to be detected. -15% when flying Nape of the Earth(altitudes of 60 ft or lower)

*Advanced Atmosphere Handling----Izacis have refined aerodynamics, and as such have a +5% to Piloting rolls in an atmosphere.

Weapons Systems:
1) Laser Cannon(2)----Two rapid-fire laser cannon are buried in the wingroots.
Range: 1.2 miles in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per single cannon blast, 6d6x10 MD for both cannon firing simultabeously(counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Rapid-Fire Rail Guns(2)---Also mounted in the wing roots is a pair of rapid-fire rail guns; these tend to be favored over the lasers for ground attack for the better armor-piercing capabilities.
Range: 4,000 ft in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD per 30 rd burst(can only fire bursts)
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 200 bursts per cannon

3) Ordnance Bay---The main weapon of the Izaci is its large warload of ordnance; 35,000 lbs’ worth. Typical configurations:
a) Mini-Missiles---60 shot rotary magazine
b) Short Range Missiles--- 16
c) Medium Range Missiles--- 8
d) Long Range Missiles--- 6
e) Cruise Missiles---4
f) Freefall Bombs---35,000 lbs
*250-lb Bomb----2d4x10 MD to 50 ft blast radius
*500-lb Bomb----4d4x10 MD to 60 ft blast radius
*750-lb Bomb----4d6x10 MD to 65 ft blast radius
*1,000-lb Bomb----1d4x100 MD to 70 ft blast radius
*2,000-lb Bomb----2d4x100 MD to 80 ft blast radius
*5,000-lb Bomb----4d4x100 MD to 100 ft blast radius

g) Torpedoes---Though not a combat submarine as such, the Izaci can still carru underwater ordnance. Can carry 50 mini-torpedoes OR 12 light torpedoes, OR 6 medium torpedoes, OR 5 heavy torpedoes

h) Mines---Identical to freefall bombs, only are set up to atmo-retard to soft water landings and self-deployment on a seabed. Though convetional wet naval combat was not common in the Three Systems War, the CAF was rudely surprised when they attempted amphibious actions in imitation of the Kretig, only to find they’d been anticipated. The Kretig were also fond of mining likely attack approaches around their underwater bases.

4) Wing Hardpoints(4) ---Buried under each wing are additional external hardpoints for wing-mouted ordnance.
a) Mini-Missiles---19 shot pod per hardpoint
b) Short Range Missiles--- 4 each hardpint
c) Medium Range Missiles--- 2 each hardpoint
d) Long Range Missiles--- 1
e) Cruise Missiles---1
f) Freefall Bombs---Up to 1,000 lbs per hardpoint
g) Gun Pod--Rapid-fire railgun
Range:10,000 ft in atmosphere, 5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD t0 rd burst, 3d6x10 MD 30-round burst
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 1,200 rds

h) Plasma Cannon---Late in the war, the Kretig were experimenting with technologies smuggled in from outside the Domain-CCW warzone. Naruni plasma weaponry was apparently among the haul and capacitor-powered plasma cannon pods appeared with some units.
Range: 2,000 ft in atmosphere, 1 mile in space
(Kitsune Values: 1 mile in atmosphere, 100 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x10+10 MD per blast, 6d6x10 MD per 4-shot burst
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 100 shot battery

i) Ion Cannon----Capacitor-powered ion weaponry was also experimented with.
Range: 7,000 ft in atmosphere, 2.5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 1.2 miles in atmosphere, 120 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 200 shot battery.

j) Jamming Pod----ECM suite for confusing sensor-guided weapons; -4 to strike. The Kretig never got quite as good as their CAF dance partners at jamming, despite both sides relying heavily on electronic warfare.

k) Recon Sensor Pallet----Specialized sensors could be carried for recon purposes.

l) Particle Beam Cannon Pod---Another experimental fitout field-tested against CAF forces. Though effective at first, its advantages were soon negated when CAF technicians rediscovered magnetic shielding that was both unaffected by the Alzaric Nebula’s forcefield-distorting effects and HALVED particle beam damage.
Range: 1.2 miles in atmosphere, 2.4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2.4 miles in atmosphere, 240 miles in space)
Damage: 6d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 100 shot battery

5) Countermeasure Launchers(2)---Mounted in the trailing edges of the wings are two countermasure launchers. The Kretig didn’t develop the same variey of ‘smart’ countermeasures as the CAF, so regular thermal flares/ radar-scuzzing chaff are on tap.
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: 12 per launcher (24 total)

Variants:
*KDSF-FBT017----Two-seater trainer

*KDSF-FB017C---- The ‘See-U’ model mounted additional sensor arrays to cover the discovered blind spots in coverage, but the added farings produced enough drag that the fighter-bomber lost the atmospheric piloting bonuses. Still, the -C model was popular with crews because they could, more often than not, ‘see the cafer bastards’ before they could be ambushed.

*KDSF-FBR017---- Recon model based on the -C model with improved sensor coverage, but only the wing lasers retained for self-defense. The weapons bay was converted to hold a sensor pallet, and the wing hardpoints were usually taken up by additional sensors and countermeasure gear. A drive booster system could accelerate the Izaci-R up to Mach 10. The -FBR017 was maintenance-heavy and fared poorly in the air against CAF atmo-fighters unless it could quickly disengage long enough to open up the distance. Many Izaci-R pilots chose to transit underwater as close to their recon area as possible, then attempt a supersonic dash to gather intel.

*KDSF-FB017D----’Wild Weasel’ variant, based on the two-seater model. The -D was equipped to penetrate and locate CAF jamming platforms and take them out using homing missiles. It carries a counter-EW suite that gives a +15% to rolls to counter hamming. Special sensors allow the ship to home in on EM/EW sources(75% chance), and its EM-homing weapons(or Homing Anti-Radiation Missiles) generally have a +1 to +4 to strike active emutter sources.

*KDSF-FB017E----Stealth variant skinned in dark sensor-absorbing materials, and featuring a low-emission drive. Only capable of a maximum speed of Mach 7, but were -25% to be detected on radar. A handful of Kretig units were issued -FB017Es for strike missions against CAF forces, and they were effective in this mission, until the CAF comprehensively sensor-mapped the Three Systems warzones and were able to pick out moving anomalies from orbit.

*KDSF-FB017G----Late war development incorporating either reverse-engineered or smuggled technologies. Advanced features include an upgraded targeting system(+1 to strike), revised sensor systems(eliminates the blind spots ad restores atmospheric handling bonuses), and integral variable forcefields( 200 MDC each side, 1,200 MDC total). Both home system defense and offensive operations against other CCW worlds seemed the most likely deployments for this variant, rather than the Three Systems front, as the Alzaric Nebula would render the shields useless. Only a few were produced before the factory assembling them became one of the victims of a rash of curious disasters sweeping the Kretig weapons industry. The handful of KDSF-FB017Gs that survived have been deployed with Kretig Homeguard units.

Krelnin Aerospace Fighter( Kretig Domain)
(aka ‘Yarts’, ‘Aam-glider’, ‘Fin-show’)
“If you’re piloting a stock spacefighter straight off the production lines or the reserve yards at Goldilocks or Koga-J and get assigned to the Three Systems front, DON’T allow yourself to get sucked down by the Kreggies into a dogfight in the soup. The Kretig know they’re outclassed in space warfare, so they stick to the mud where their ships are optimised for it. They got some respectable flivvers and good missiles they like to share pointy end first with strangers. Wait until you can get assigned to one of the older Gladiuses or Suppas they got modified for air-coursing, or one of the dedicated airbreathers some of the sector guards have brought in. Sounds like a step down from what you were trained to use, but trust me, a little extra wing now can save you finding out early if you’re gonna get them in the afterlife.”
-Flight Commander Loren Nayar, 174th Aerospace Wing, Alzaric Command, CAF

“Glorified atmo-darts is what they were, but even an atmo-dart can kill you if you aren’t careful. Oh, sure, a lot of CAF pilots complained that they were fighting both the Kretig and the obsolete militia-tier crap-equipment they’d been issued, but even a Kitten-trainer could, if the pilot knew what they were doing, smoke those Krelnins. No, the old gear we had didn’t play the critical role in air combat, it was -skill-, and the Kretig had some damned good, or just damned lucky, pilots on their side.”

“’Skill’, hell! The Kreg were cheating bastards. Several times they hacked our orbital combat-net data-feeds and fed viruses to our sitrep and sensory warning systems in retaliation for our global jamming. Half our patrols came down with boolepping sensor glitches just as the Kreg peashooters came out from under the waves to play. Quite a few of our squadrons would take a shellacking and we’d lose more than a few guys eating missiles on those occasions, the survivors would limp back to base, we’d change our battle-net frequencies and encryptions, and we’d go back out to smoke the Kregs in return. Only way the Krelnees could catch us offguard.”

The Krelnin was the most numerous air superiority fighter of the Kretig Domain during the Three Systems War. The twin-engined transatmospheric combat craft was an older design in the Domain arsenal when the war began, but it had the advantages of being easy to produce and available in numbers, with experienced pilots to man them.
Like the heavier Izaci fighter-bomber, the Krelnin had modest deep space performance, but excellent in-atmosphere capabilities, thanks to its exceptionally large wing, canard and tail surfaces(so large that it was nicknamed the ‘sailplane’ by its CAF detractors). The Krelnin also had a modest submersible capability, enough for it to transit through water to submerged bases/carriers, but not much else.
Under normal circumstances, the Krelnin would not have offered much of an challenge to the CAF’s own aerospace forces, but for the operating conditions in the Alzaric Nebula. In that environment, the Krelnin proved a substantial threat to the second-tier forces the CAF’s non-escalation rules of engagement were hamstringing. The Krelnin, while agile enough in atmosphere, suffered from a relatively fragile airframe and low throw-weight of ordnance, and, once it lost the initiative to its CAF opponents, would easily fall victim to the Tigercat and Falx Supia fighters deployed in the warzone. Against the heavier and more modern types such as the Black Eagle and (rumors of) Shemarrian and United Systems Alliance aerospace craft, the Krelnin has fared far worse. The Krelnin all but disappeared from the warfront after the effective collapse of hostilities in the Three Systems region.
Outside Kretig Domain worlds, the Krelnin sees little service, despite its commonality. It is rumored that the Domain was developing heavier fighter designs along the lines of what they were observing in CAF hardware, but the recent political turmoil and increasing civilian government demands for demilitarization have put an indefinite hold on any foreseeable replacement for the Krelnin. The type thus soldiers on in Homeguard units.

Type: KDSF-F18 Krelnin
Class: Aerospace Fighter
Crew: 1
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 450
Reinforced Cockpit 100
Wings(2) 150 each
Tail 150
Height: 24 ft
Width: 42 ft
Length: 57 ft
Weight: 9 tons
Cargo: Small locker in the ejection seat for survival gear
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 10 year operating life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 7
(Kitsune Values: 25% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.7% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) None
(Underwater) 25 MPH, maximum operating depth of 6,000 ft
Market Cost: 41 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starfighter Systems, plus:
*Sonar--A modest sonar array with a 5 mile range was built into the Krelnin, to aid in underwater navigation.

*Advanced Atmosphere Handling----Krelnins have refined aerodynamics, and as such have a +10% to Piloting rolls in an atmosphere.

Weapons Systems:
1) Lasers(2)----Two pulse lasers are built into the nose.
Range: 1.2 miles in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per single cannon blast, 4d6x10 MD for both cannon firing simultaneously(counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Rail Gun(1)----The Krelnin mounts a rapid-fire rail gun in one wingroot.
Range: 4,000 ft in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD per 30 rd burst(can only fire bursts)
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 200 bursts

3) Hardpoints(6)---Missiles were the preferred weapon of the Kretig Domain fighter corps, and the Krelnin mounted hardpoints for six. ‘Heavy hitter’ missiles are favored. In an effort to make the most of the platform, other ordnance could also be mounted, depending on the mission.
a) Mini-Missiles---19 shot pod per hardpoint
b) Short Range Missiles--- 4 each hardpint
c) Medium Range Missiles--- 2 each hardpoint
d) Long Range Missiles--- 1
e) Cruise Missiles---1 pe wing, and takes up all 3 hardpoints.
f) Freefall Bombs---Up to 750 lbs per hardpoint

g) Gun Pod--Rapid-fire railgun
Range:10,000 ft in atmosphere, 5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD t0 rd burst, 3d6x10 MD 30-round burst
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 1,200 rds

h) Autocannon Pod---Rather than fire a stream of hypervelocity projectiles, this weapon fires larger proximity-fuzed explosive shells.
Range:10,000 ft in atmosphere, 5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6 MD to a 10 ft blast radius, 2d6x10 MD to a 30 ft blast radius per 10 rd burst.
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 200 rds

i) Laser Pod---Capacitor-powered accessory laser pod
Range: 1.2 miles in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per single cannon blast, 6d6x10 MD for a three-shot burst(counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 84 shot capacity

j) Ion Cannon----Capacitor-powered ion weaponry was also experimented with.
Range: 7,000 ft in atmosphere, 2.5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 1.2 miles in atmosphere, 120 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 200 shot battery.

k) Particle Beam Cannon Pod---Another experimental fitout field-tested against CAF forces. Though effective at first, its advantages were soon negated when CAF technicians rediscovered magnetic shielding that was both unaffected by the Alzaric Nebula’s forcefield-distorting effects and HALVED particle beam damage.
The PBC pod was unpopular with Krelnin crews for another reason; every time the weapon discharged, there was a 15% chance of EM backscatter temporarily disrupting the fighter’s own radar systems, knocking them offline for 1d4 melees.
Range: 1.2 miles in atmosphere, 2.4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2.4 miles in atmosphere, 240 miles in space)
Damage: 6d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 100 shot battery

l) Chaff/Flare Countermeasures Launcher
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is nuetralized
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 fy into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 12 per launcher

4) Countermeasure Launchers(2)---Mounted in the trailing edges of the wings are two countermeasure launchers. The Kretig didn’t develop the same variety of ‘smart’ countermeasures as the CAF, so regular thermal flares/ radar-scuzzing chaff are on tap.
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: 12 per launcher (24 total)

Variants:
*KDSF-F18T---Two-seater advanced trainer. It was not deployed to the Three Systems warzone.

*KDSF-F18Ewm----War variant mounting integral EW antennae and gear in the large wings. The Krelnin could not be modified for passive stealth easily, but it was hoped active jamming would allow the fighter to ‘fade into’ the already jamming-saturated background(-5 for radar-guided weaponry to strike it, -15% to sensor system rolls to pinpoint it). The theory proved partially successful until CAF ECMW began parsing emissions and identifying -F18Ewms lurking in the static for Wild Weasel units to hunt. Even then, the war-savvy Kretig managed to adapt, some foolhardy pilots using their emitting -F18Ewms as bait to lure CAF headhunters into range of antiaircraft traps.

*KDSF-F18F----War variant mounting a forcefield( 150 MDC each side, 900 MDC total), likely reverse-engineered from downed CAF fighters. Of limited utility in the Three Systems/Alzaric Nebula region, but the majority of suviving Krelnins in the Kretig Domain Homeguard units are of this type.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:35 pm

Kretig SAROS Light Transport( Kretig Domain)
(aka “Kregliter’, ‘Zipflitter’)
“Damn it, there goes another Saros! Never can tell what we’ve missed when one of those things jumps through our blockade net; could be carrying their grunts’ letters home, patients being medevaced back to their coreworlds, courier messages from the forward top brass, or even the top brass themselves leaving the war zone!”

The SAROS was a light aerospace transport of Kretig manufacture. Developed before the Three Systems War as a high speed light freighter and courier, the design was snapped up by the military as a fast general purpose liaison craft. In many ways it was the Kretig equivalent of the CAF’s Dylon 7C light transport and did much the same work.
The SAROS had a straightfoward long triangular-cross-section hull with pointed nose, and three thruster arrays mounted around a rear CG jump drive housing. A large central bay could be outfitted to accommodate cargo or passengers.
The SAROS was fast even for a military craft, if not particularly agile. It could operate underwater, allowing it to service the Kretig military’s various underwater facilities.
Despite hopes of adapting the SAROS for duty as an attack transport, the design proved too resistant to adaptation as a weapons platform. Its structure was so aligned with its performance curve that mounting weapons ruined the high speed that was its main selling point.
The other downside of the design is that the high performance engines take a toll on the fusion-powerplant, requiring more frequent servicing when constantly being used, and ultimately replacement of the entire power system, though the engine bays are easily accessed with this in mind.
SAROSes became fairly ubiquitous around the Three Systems War theatres. Their fast speed allowed them to outrun most pursuit, but their lack of armament and maneuverability kept them limited to transport duties. The CAF learned to be frustrated by SAROS blockade runners, and it wasn’t until late in the war that CAF orbital forces were able to draw the net tight enough that SAROS runs became less guaranteed of success.
The SAROS’s quick surface-to-Jump from a cold start capability endeared it as an emergency evacuation ship, and many SAROSes sat out the war in military bases and stations as oversized FTL escape pods, awaiting evacuation commands. As the CAF began to overrun more Kretig military facilities, the sight of multiple SAROSes erupting from their concealed launch hangars and jumping to hyperspace became synonymous with ‘rats deserting a sinking ship’.
During the war, the Kretig military had virtually nationalized the production of the SAROS, with few being made available to the Kretig civilian economy. However, enough of the ships were either captured or deserted that a fair number appeared on the interstellar market. Post-war, larger numbers have appeared, scavenged from abandoned Kretig military stocks, Too, the deteriorating hold of the Kretig military junta over coreworld industry has led to at least one production facility falling into the hands of civilian management, and a new line of SAROSes has been rolling off the assembly lines.
Despite the stodginess of the design with regards to radical modification, the SAROS has seen a booming second life in the civilian sector.

Type: KDSF-SAROS-E1
Class: Light Interstellar Transport
Crew: 1-4, plus room for 50 passengers in transport configuration, and 120 in evac mode
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 900
Reinforced Cockpit 250
Engine Bloc 360
Height:: 28 ft
Width: 28 ft
Length: 94 ft
Weight: 220 tons
Cargo: 65 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 10 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 7; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 11
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1.1% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
(Underwater) 45 MPH, maximum operating depth 6,000 ft
Market Cost: 56 million credits. The Kretig military didn’t sell any during the war, but enough ships were captured or defected that many made their way to the black market
Systems of Note:
Standard Light Spacecraft Systems.
Weapons Systems: None standard
Auxiliary Craft: None

Variants:
*Q-Ship Drone---The Kretig tried weaponizing the SAROS on several occasions, taking advantage of its automated systems to make it into an expendable drone. One such experiment was to outfit the vessel with a payload of missile launchers and allow the ship to be captured by CAF blockade units. Upon being drawn up beside or into a CAF capital ship, the Q-drone would blow open its cargo bay and unleash its load of missiles into the heart of the CAF formation, doing great damage. This worked once on the Warshield cruiser CAFSS Farlane, which was badly damaged, but survived to relate the details of the trick. Subsequently, the CAF investigated ALL suspiciously derelict SAROS finds with remote probes and deep scan sensors. Further use of booby-trapped SAROSes was discontinued as the regular Kretig military objected that their deployment made their opposite numbers in the CAF more inclined to shoot first, endangering legitimate rescue and medevac shuttles.

*Hypermissile--- Late in the war, the desperate Kretig military toyed with the idea of using unmanned SAROSes as interstellar WMDs, launching them against CCW worlds. Fortunately, nothing came of this idea and the proposers died when the Kretig military high command was effectively decapitated

Kretig Mirik Military Transport
(aka ‘Blunt’, ‘Slab-sled’, ‘Uanis Wagon’, ‘Iron Teardrop’)
“The Kretig military was supposed to have come out of the war with the CCW with a lot of energetic momentum and a whole lot of shiny new toys created by big military spending and pressurized development. Instead, they tumbled out of the Three Systems War with pretty much the same kit they’d gone in with, twenty-five years before. Some crews wound up flying out designs that their parents, and even grandparents, had flown back in their day.”

“The Mirk’s pretty well-armored for its size, bit its engines are exposed; helps cooling, I understand, but a few good shots or one missile up the shorts can bring it down. We captured quite a few Kretig that way...those that didn’t just let gravity take over and augur into the ground.”

The Mirik is an older transatmospheric and supralight aerospace military transport employed by Kretig forces during the Three Systems War.
The Mirik has a large wide streamlined lifting body design, though it relies on contragravity for most of its lift. Armor was substantial, but not exceptional, and provision for a basic point defense and countermeasure armament was included.
The Mirik was designed several decades before the Three Systems War broke out and, despite its years of reliable service, it was one of several older vessel types expected to be replaced in part by the ill-starred Chelmeak frigate. When its intended successor turned out to be plagued by design flaws, the Mirik was required to remain in production and service.
The Mirik soldiered on through the entire duration of the Three Systems War, carrying troops and supplies to and from the vaious bases and fronts. It was occasionally used as an assault transport, but, like the SAROS, proved difficult to fit with heavier armaments. Incremental improvements were made to streamline logistics and reduce maintenance on the ships, and the Mirik became more reliable as the war progressed. However, by the end of the conflict, the Mirik had few surprises left in it. CAF units shot the ships down in droves in enforcing the blockades of the occupied worlds, unless the Miriks were heavily escorted. However, production remained abreast of demand, and there were always replacement ships available...skilled crews, on the other hand, were in dwindling supply.
The Mirik was one of the few ships whose production lines survived the CAF’s BACKSCRATCHER and LIMELIGHT raids, allowing for continued post-war production, this time for the civilian market. However, the Mirik’s entry into civilian life was blunted by the many hundreds of war-surplus Miriks available, reducing the profit to be had from sales of the design. Some of this surplus has bled out to the Galactic markets where the rugged ships are appreciated.

Type: KDSF-LAsT048 Mirik
Class: Light Aerospace Transport
Crew: 10+ 120 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 3,000
Bridge 800
Point Defense Light Rail Guns(4) 100 each
Engines 800
Height: 40 ft
Width: 85 ft
Length: 320 ft
Weight:: 5,000 tons
Cargo: 2,000 tons. If not carrying bulk cargo, the Mirik can be fitted to carry an additional 200 passengers.
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 25 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) 4 light years per hour
(Underwater) 20 MPH, maximum operating depth 6,000 ft
Market Cost: 70 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Light Spacecraft Systems, plus:
*Sonar--A modest sonar array with a 10 mile range was built into the Mirik, to aid in underwater navigation.
Weapons Systems:
1) Point Defense Light Rail Guns(4) --The Fleet swallowed its disdain for projectile weapons on point defense; the ability of ‘bean-shooters’ to spray clouds of kinetic suppression fire being too useful to ignore.
Range: miles in atmosphere, miles in space
(Kitsune Values: miles in atmosphere, miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per rapid fire burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 500 bursts per gun before needing reloading

Auxiliary Craft: None

Variants:
The Kretig military tried several times to make an assault platform from the Mirik, but with limited results. The best they could do, while still retaining its transport function, was the addition of two extra light weapons stations, and some units replaced the rail guns with lasers or mini-missile launchers. Most operational variants were concerned with improved cargo handling and accommodations, with various belly and tail hatch configurations being tried, and several tankers developed to keep various other craft in reaction mass.

A late war model had improved engines that could push maximum local space speed up to Mach 10. The -LAsT048Cee began to reach forward units just before the Three Systems War folded. Much of the first production runs of the LAsT048Cee ended up in the hands of defectors or Kretig soldiers who stepped directly from the warzone into lives as mercenaries,

A more radical variant was an attempt at creating an armed corvette version; instead of cargo or passengers, its central bay was outfitted with rotary missile launchers with a capacity for up to 120 long range missiles. These ships saw some service in the Three Systems War before the CAF began shooting them down, but the concept was resurrected for home system defense as the Kretig military scrambled for available weapons platforms in the wake of the LIMELIGHT attacks.

Most Galactic market examples end up being modified to one degree or other, usually with replacement avionics, improved sensors, and countermeasure systems to improve survivability. Outside the Alzaric region, forcefield generators are almost considered a mandatory addition.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Tue Aug 31, 2021 2:29 pm

Chelmeak-class Frigate( Kretig Domain)
(aka ‘Bright Star’, ‘Backbroke’, ‘Hardlander’, ‘Kolshan Sparkplug ‘, ‘Zomos Exploder ‘)

“We now know from intelligence sources that while the Kretig military was fully united in pursuing war with the CCW, the respective arms of the military were bickering about where each organization stood in regards to the other. A case in point was the Chelmeak frigate; although the Kolshan Explosion was a black eye to their Fleet procurement plans, the decision to restrict the ship class to space operations actually was something of a boon to the Kretig Space Fleet. No longer saddled with the role of playing taxi for the Army because the Chelms lacked enough shuttles for landing operations, the Fleet could turn the remaining frigates to pure space duties. The Kretig Fleet was quick to modify their Chelmeaks in case the Army got any more ideas about using the frigates to schlep for them. That meant the Kretig could throw that many more light combatants into their siege of the Alzaric Nebula worlds and made it harder for us to move our own light units and transports about without extra escort.”

“Not everybody outside the Kretig war zone knows about the Chelmeak’s structural flaws and the black marketeers aren’t always upfront about them either. I’ve heard about a few outlaw bands counting themselves lucky for scoring a MAM warship, only to disappear in a gamma-flash because they tried landing.”

“’Chelmeak’ in Kretigese-Standard translates loosely as ‘Bright Star’, and was originally a marketing ploy to give the small ships an affectionate appellation to serve under. However, turns out the frigates would serve out under a dark star, unless you count the antimatter explosions.”

The Chelmeak is a light warship type in service to the Kretig Domain during the Three Systems War. In many ways, the Chelmeak was a very good ship that helped the Domain be a thorn in the side of the CCW for over a decade, but in many ways it was also a very bad design, which has contributed to its slow and painful demise as a class.
The Chelmeak was designed and built by the state-sponsored Zomos Tinak bureau, part of the powerful military-industrial complex of the Kretig Domain. As originally conceived, the Chelmeak was to be a multi-role light warship that could serve the Kretig military as an interdictor, picket craft, strike transport, and armed cargo carrier, replacing at least three older types of vessels in the Kretig Fleet inventory.
The Chelmeak had a boxy shape, with a shovel-prow heatshield, lateral main turrets, a high dorsal bridge, large central bay section, dorsal sensor arrays and four engine nacelles straddling the rear hull. The large capacity central bay could be quickly converted for cargo or passenger carriage (or, as would be later seen, expanded missile launcher capability). Physical armoring is substantial for a vessel of the Chelmeak’s size and classification, as is the forceshielding, though the Kretig were not yet at the time able to fit variable forcefields to smaller ships, and thus had to make do with a monoplanar type. A powerful armament of mixed particle beam cannons, lasers, and a modest missile and point defense capability rounded out its configuration.
The Kretig having access to antimatter, were able to equip their warships with M/AM propulsion, which gave them a slight edge over their neighbors’ vessels(and roughly on a par with the CAF’s regional forces), balancing the issue of poorer weaponry. Unfortunately, this decision played a major part in a change in operations for the Chelmeak. Though early models were designed with a landing capability being stipulated, and landings being both modeled and tested, it was during a presentation landing at the Domain’s Kolshan military field of an early-mark Chelmeak that the ventral engine nacelles collapsed, resulting in a slow motion crash and a catastrophic failure of M/AM containment in the main propulsion bay. The subsequent explosion killed over two thousand spectators, including the KD Assistant Minister of Finance and several other high government functionaries. Though sabotage was initially suspected(the Kretig Prime Minister was supposed to have attended the presentation, but was known to have canceled his appearance two weeks previous), more exhaustive investigation revealed microfractures in the frigate’s spaceframe giving way under the stress of the landing caused the accident. It was discovered that, despite the earlier landing tests, the Chelmeak’s structure was prone to rapidly developing microfractures, especially around the lower nacelles and propulsion bay.
Follow-up testing showed that ALL the Chelmeak fleet showed signs of this same weakness; Zomos Tinak had failed to exhaustively test the ships or do timely follow-up evaluations. The flaws were shown to be integral to the spaceframe and could not be easily or economically fixed. Even after the Kretig Domain sacked(and in some cases outright purged) the responsible design team and brought in new engineers to evaluate the problem, the verdict remained the same; even with reinforcement, the ships would collapse under their own weight, with catastrophic powerplant failure likely.
Unfortunately, the Kretig military had already heavily invested in the design, and hundreds of Chelmeaks had already been produced and deployed when the flaw was discovered. The Kretig Domain, being strapped for ships for their war with the CCW, could ill-afford to scrap the entire production line of frigates and start from scratch. Instead, the Kretig High Command issued orders that the Chelmeaks already issued to the fleet squadrons were NEVER to engage in gravity well landings. The Chelmeak was to serve strictly as a space-based warship.
The Chelmeak lost some of its versatility as a troop transport and shock-lander(the older vessels it was intended to replace would be forced to remain in production and soldier on), but was instead dedicated to space combat. The space originally intended for troops and cargo was now dedicated to expanded magazine capacity and more room for the crew, allowing the Chelmeak to remain on longer standing space patrols. This also allowed the Chelmeak to venture farther out on patrols and raids, with the CAF forced to expand its own patrol perimeter to stop Kretig forces from flanking them. As a dedicated space combatant, the Chelmeak was actually quite effective, being comparable in speed and armaments to the second-tier older Hunters and Scimitars fielded by the CAF on the Kretig front. These successes seemed to redeem the Chelmeaks’ tainted beginnings, but the vessels were never able to completely shake off their bad reputation with Kretig crews(though a few Fleet officials contended that either a resigned pragmatism or a desperate desire to do well enough to be transferred to other ships was what drove Chelmeak crews to perform so well). Though enthusiastically used, the Chelmeaks were never entirely popular with naval crews assigned to them, and long lists of minor systems complaints being filed with base maintenance divisions were a common trait of Chelmeak operations, very few of the issues having any basis in fact upon closer scrutiny.
That the frigates were flawed and distrusted was unknown to the CAF facing them at the time. not that it would ahve been of any consolation to the CCW military personnel who cursed the fast little corsairs that were harassing their flanks.
As the war wore on, however, the Chelmeak began to show other real problems besides the microfracturing. While some of these could be fixed in the field, others, such as dated avionics, would require more extensive work to fix them enough for the frigates to remain on a par with their peer opponents. Funding for repair and refit programs for the Chelmeaks was hard in coming, thanks to both the Kretig Finance Ministry nursing a grudge against the design for the original catastrophe and High Command’s growing obsession with expensive superweapons. However, as the protracted war with the Consortium was taking its toll on the Domain’s resources, little could be spared to develop an adequate replacement for the Chelmeaks, which were forced to soldier on as best they could.
Ultimately, post-Minion War, when the CCW and a reformed and re-prioritized CAF decided enough was enough, and state of the art CCW warships entered the fray, the Chelmeak found itself completely outclassed. Forced on the defensive to protect Kretig military facilities, the raider-frigates fell like tinder-flies to the guns of CAF warships updated under the Shaw Reforms. No longer able to dock at destroyed space stations, a number of damaged frigate crews had to make the decision to either take to the lifeboats and abandon their ships in space, or attempt landings at the few remaining military bases and hope for the best. Not all the latter vessels made it, as the old flaw came back to bite them.
Postwar, much as the Kretig military would have liked to seen a merciful end to the Chelmeaks’ long-suffering, surviving Chelmeaks have either been forced to remain in service as security vessels in the chaos sweeping the deteriorating Domain, or else the ships have gone rogue with deserting soldiers. As the CAF effectively performed an almost complete sweep of the Kretig military infrastructure and much of its civilian space industry as well, no more Chelmeaks are being produced(which was seen as a plus in some quarters), but also meant that spare parts were harder to come by. Most CCW analysts believe the ships have, at best, another fifteen years’ effective life span left to them, even with cannibalization to acquire replacement parts. As a final irony, many of the Chelmeaks surviving in government service have been stripped of their missile launchers and most of their heavy batteries and converted into space transports.

Type: KDSF-Fg09 Chelmeak
Class: Multi-role Frigate/Space Destroyer
Crew: 45+100 troops/passengers(as originally configured)
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 4,000
Bridge 800
Primary Sensor Array 400
Engines 1,000
Particle Beam Cannon(2) 350 each
Laser Cannon(4) 200 each
Long Range Missile Launchers(2) 200 each
Point Defense Light Rail Guns(4) 120 each
Forcefield 4,000
Height: 81 ft
Width: 96 ft
Length: 425 ft
Weight: 7,000 tons
Cargo: 100 tons. Originally configured to carry 1,000 tons, but the KFleet was (spitefully, the KArmy claims) quick to cut down the cargo capacity in favor of added equipment.
Powerplant: Matter/Antimatter w/ 15 year life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric. (disallowed/discontinued in later marks)
(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: 460 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
Weapons Systems:
1) Particle Beam Cannon(2)---The main direct-fire armament of the Chelmeak is a pair of double-barreled PBCs.
Range: 3.6 miles in atmosphere, 8 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3.6 miles in atmosphere, 3,600 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per blast, 2d6x100 MD per double-blast
Rate of Fire:Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Double-barrel Laser Cannon(4)--- The Kretig Fleet initially shunned projectile guns as artillery, and therefore the Army’s province, and so fitted their frigates with all-laser secondary armaments. However, experience with the CAF would soon teach the Kretig the value of mixed armaments, and late in the war the Fleet began refitting some or all of the secondary turrets with rapid-fire rail guns seconded from Army stocks of land-cruiser cannons. Some crews, however, claimed that vibrations from the rail cannon unduly stressed the spaceframe of the ships; these claims were proven by testing to be false, but complaints continued.
a) Double-Barrel Laser Cannon
Range: 8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 8,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d10x10 MD single barrel, 1d4x100 MD for a double-barreled blast(counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: 4 times per mekee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

b) Rapid-Fire Rail Gun
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 14 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 7 miles in atmosphere, 7,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per rapid fire burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 300 bursts per gun before needing switching to a fresh magazine

3) Long Range Missile Launchers(2)---As originally designed, the Chelmeak carried a modest missile armament. After the forced reorientation of the frigate’s operational parameters, and the dropping of the troop transport role, the missile launchers were redesigned with a greater salvo strength, and more magazine capacity added on.
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 1-20 missiles can be fired in one volley
Payload: 60 LRMs per launcher.

4) Point Defense Light Rail Guns(4) --The Fleet swallowed its disdain for projectile weapons on point defense; the ability of ‘bean-shooters’ to spray clouds of kinetic suppression fire being too useful to ignore.
Range: 2.3 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per rapid fire burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 500 bursts per gun before needing reloading

Auxiliary Craft:
1 shuttle

Variants:
The Chelmeaks saw a number of tweaks over the course of their careers, starting with the post-Kolshan fleetwide removal of the landing jacks from the ships. As mentioned aforehand, funding for formal refit programs was hard to come by from the central government, and the Kretig Fleet had to improvise, when Fleet engineers could be bothered to upgrade the maligned vessels. In-field modifications saw various small upgrades to the sensor, targeting, and EW systems.
Armament changes included the aforementioned substitution of rail guns for lasers. Some Chelmeaks sported cruise missile launchers in place of the long range spacial torpedoes, with a six-shot volley strength and magazine capacity for 36 extra missiles. However, the handful of frigates so modified did not last long operationally, as cruise missiles were considered better used by heavier capital ships.

Tronsk-class Heavy Cruiser( Kretig Domain)
(aka ‘K-Tron’)

“Until we got heavier cruisers like the Cuirassier* to lead our Warshield squadrons, the Tronks would carve up our transports bad. Once we had bigger guns and better command-control, the Kretig quit having it their way and we were able to establish our jamming networks over the contested planets. Every now and then the Kret heavy squadrons would venture in, especially when they were resupplying their ground forces, and we could hardly touch their formations, but they couldn’t raid our supply lines either, not like they used to. ”

(*---The Cuirassier was a variant of the CAF’s Explorer-class cruiser that focused less on strategic recon and exploring and more on combat support. They differed mainly in reducing laboratory space in favor of larger medical bays and more supply capacity)

The Tronsk-class was the Kretig Domain’s main heavy combatant during their decades-long war with the CCW. Larger and better armed than the Warshields that were deployed by the CAF to the Three Systems War fronts, the Tronsk was a respected and hated menace.
Solid and well-designed, the Tronsk was favored for updates by the Kretig military-industrial establishment, keeping it apace with its CAF peer-opponents. From the beginning, it was designed as a M/AM-powered warship, taking advantage of the Kretigs ’ access in their home systems to the antiparticle-rich Keljek gas giant plasma tube system.
The main long range weaponry of the Kretig Domain was missiles, backed by lasers, and the Tronsk carried a respectable complement of both. A mix of accurate medium range missiles and rail guns of various sizes provided point defense. Physical armoring was heavy, which proved useful, as conditions around the Alzaric Nebula where the majority of the fighting in the Three Systems War took place interfered with the generation of technological forcefields.
The only major problem was that the Tronsk was never available in enough numbers, with wartime production only keeping up with operational losses during the Three Systems War. It was only with the diversion of CCW attention to the Minion War outbreak in the Three Galaxies that the Kretig were finally able to catch up their roll-outs to establish a strategic reserve of the ships in anticipation of offensive operations.
Unfortunately, the Kretig concentrated their strategic fleet reserve at their assembly base at Ceti Grendee, where it was smashed, still in its z-g docks, by the CAF’s post-Shaw Reform heavy squadrons in Operation BACKSCRATCHER. The heavy cruiser forces took another blow when the AM collection depot at Keljek exploded, most likely the victim of sabotage, taking out both a major part of the military fuel supply and another fleet depot, as well as selective strikes on Kretig shipyards. This has forced the remaining Tronsks and other heavy fleet assets to draw back to the Kretig coreworlds to defend them against more aggressive raids. Taken in combination with the Kretig warhawk cabinet having suffered a sudden spate of fatalities, the Three Systems War has lost a considerable amount of steam going forward.
The Tronsk continues to serve as a stalwart of the Kretig military, with one remaining shipyard producing them(albeit at a very slow rate). As the political situation in the Kretig Domain continues to deteriorate, several Tronsks and their crews have defected to outside systems, and one is confirmed to be operating as a pirate several sectors over.

Type: KDSF-CH08 Tronsk
Class: Heavy Cruiser
Crew: 400+120 marines +120 man aerospace group
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 125,000
Bridge 15,000
Heavy Laser Turrets(6) 600 each
Rail Gun Turrets(3) 700 each
Cruise Missile Launchers(4) 600 each
Medium-Range Missile Launchers(4) 400 each
Point Defense Turrets(12) 120 each
Hangar Bay 2,000
Engines 8,000
Variable Forcefields----6,000 each side(36,000 total)
Height: 270 ft
Width: 300 ft
Length: 1,900 ft
Weight: 6.5 million tons
Cargo: 120,000 tons
Powerplant: Matter/Antimatter w/ 25 year life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 8
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.8% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 5 light years per hour
Market Cost: 7 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
Weapons Systems:
1 Heavy Laser Turrets(6)---Six double-barrel laser cannons give the Tronsk a respectable direct fire bite, with enough of them to give a Warshield a single barrage shellacking.
Range: 12 miles in atmosphere, 24 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 24 miles in atmosphere, 24,000 miles in space)
Damage: 5d6x100 MD per blast, 1d6x1,000 MD per dual blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Heavy Rail Guns(3)----The Kretig attempted to apply the same accurate guidance systems to their rail gun projectiles as they did their missiles. The large high-velocity slugs had sabot jackets with missile sensors and positioning jets to steer them to the target. Though this gave the projectiles better accuracy under ideal conditins, EW jamming affected the KEWs as effectively as it did 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
Rate of Fire: 4 times per melee
Payload: 600 rds per cannon
Bonus: +2 to strike at ranges over 7/(Kv) 1,400 miles in space(the shell has space to maneuver on the target)

3) Cruise Missile Launchers(4)---The favored anti-ship weapon was the (to the Kretig) newly developed cruise missile. The Tronsk carried a respectable throw-weight of the weapons. However, keeping the magazines of the heavy cruiser divisions full left little for othr units.
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 1-30 each launcher
Payload: 120 each launcher, 480 total. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 6 missiles)

4) Medium-Range Missile Launchers(4)
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 1-36
Payload: 360 missiles each launcher; 1,440 total. Additional missiles may be stored in the cargo holds and reloaded within 30 minutes(1 ton of cargo per 24 missiles)

5) Point Defense Particle Beam Turrets(12)
Range: 1.5 miles in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

Some cruisers began mounting a mix of PBCs and rail guns, after battlefield experience disillusioned the Kretig Space Navy of the merits of an all-energy weapon point defense complement and began refits with rapid-fire projectile cannons.
Range: 2.3 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 500 bursts before needung reloading

Auxiliary Craft:
12 shuttles
36 fighters

Variants:
* KDSF-CHg08---’Big Gun’ variant, an early part of the Kretig High Command’s attempted ‘super weapons’ build-up. The forward secton was substantially modified to mount a pair of massive particle beam cannons, more powerful than CAF equivalents. Sych power came at a cost: the slow rate of fire proved a hinderance, and the weapons installation left much of the PBCs exposed outside the ship’s armor and vulnerable to catastrophic damage. The few times these ships deployed to intercept CAF convoys, CAF military intelligence managed to intercept the deployment orders and route shipping away from them, while vectoring combat assets at them. The surviving -CHg08s retreated behind the minefields of their protected anchorages until they were wrested out by the BACKSCRATCHER attacks and either destroyed at port or trying to chase down the heavy CAF units their armament was meant to destroy.
MDC/Armor by Location:
Particle Beam Cannon(2) 2,000 each*

*An unmodified Critical Strike of 19-20 on the cannon has a 40% chance of triggering a cascade surge that does an additional 1d4x1,000 MD and renders the weapon inoperable.
Weapons Systems:
1) Particle Beam Cannon(2)--These massive weapons required their own A/AM powerplants, which proved vulnerable to damage,
Range: 14 miles in atmosphere, 90 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 90 miles in atmosphere, 90,000 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x1,000 MD per single blast
Rate of Fire: One shot every 45 seconds
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

* KDSF-CHAFG08---Command carrier version, specially outfitted to command fleets in the field, pending the arrival of heavier Kretig types. Command Tronsks spearheaded the invasions of the two CCW colonies in the Alzaric Nebula region, and the initial defense of the contested Kretig world. These units were either all destroyed or withdrawn to be refitted as the CAF grudgingly gained local space superiority, and local Kretig military command and control switched to concealed surface bases. A refitted and updated version was readied to lead renewed offensive operations when BACKSCRATCHER was initiated, and most of the refitted ships were destroyed at their anchorages. The few surviving commandship conversions have been withdrawn to the Kretig homeworlds to coordinate homeguard defense units, but it’s also rumored that these ships are serving as secure government command centers as the surviving Kretig military regime continues to lose its grip on power. One command carrier is known to still be operating in the Alzaric Nebula region, overseeing salvage and withdrawal operations.
Systems of Note:
*Improved Communucations---FTL radio systems
*Improved Sensors---25% increased range of sensor systems.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Sat Sep 18, 2021 8:01 pm

Kellestan KF-01’Lector’ Patrol Fighter
“Looks like a cargo lighter on long range scanners...and then that big-arse laser opens up on yah. Them Kellee ships got some big laser balls on ‘em, so if you catch ‘em on your tactical scans, give them a wide berth. Fortunately, they ain’t got range with their torch-drives, so you can avoid the grevflica* fairly easily, at least if you haven’t run into any of the later models refit with gravity drives.”

(*grevflica---Meljoran gutter slang for a diseased and inflamed male sex organ, in reference to the Kellestan ships’ shape, bright colors, and the planet’s reputation as a former plague-world)

“Bright colors mean danger, don’t you know? And those Kellestan ships with their blazing bright rainbow paint jobs? They prove it.”

The KF-01 was the Kellestan Space Guard’s first effort at producing an indigenous space defense fighter in the aftermath of their reemergence into space, following their centuries-long quarantine. With the reopening of the Kellestan star system to trade, the concern is that the region will see an upswing in piracy both against Kellestan territories and mercantile shipping.
The KF-01 is large for a space fighter, and relies on a fusion drive for propulsion. Its armament consists of a single ball-mounted heavy laser and a light missile launcher. Large and hardly agile, with range problems due to its primitive fuel-dependent fusion drive, Lectors do have heavy firepower and armor protection for their vessel type.
The KF-01 is used primarily by the Kellestan Space Guard in their home system, though a few have been sold/loaned to other United Systems Alliance members. Though considered by many to be ‘primitive’, an argument for the ships to be replaced/supplanted by more advanced designs acquired from Galactic sources, the Lector remains in service thanks to effective lobbying by its manufacturers. A successful series of variant experimentation seems to have justified this lobbying, as recent test models have shown the KF-01 frame to be upgradeable into greater effectiveness.
Most Lectors sport colorful hull paint schemes, mimicking the Kellestans’ own skins.

Type: KF-01 Lector
Class: Space Patrol Fighter/Defense Ship
Crew: 3
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 1,000
Reinforced Crew Compartment 250
Engines 400
Laser Turret 400
Height: 18 ft
Width: 25 ft
Length: 60 ft
Weight: 295 tons
Cargo: 6 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 15 year energy life, and 18 burndays’ worth of reaction mass.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 7
(Kitsune Values: 40% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.07% of light speed per melee)
Market Cost: 12 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starfighter Systems
Weapons Systems:
1) Medium Laser Cannon(1)---Mounted amidships on the KF-01’s hull is a large ball-mount turret holding a starship-grade medium laser projector. This mounting gives the ships excellent arc of fire, and a powerful punch for their weight class. Larger than the main batteries on the CAF’s Proctor class heavy fighter, the weapon is deliberately oversized for power and range, offsetting the Lector ‘s lack of maneuverability.
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 15 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 7 miles in atmosphere, 7,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: 2 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Short Range Missile Launcher---Lectors also carry a bay full of short-range missiles
Payload: 60 short range missiles.

Variants:
*KF-01Gv---Upengined model, using contragravity drives acquired from Alliance sources, greatly increasing speed and range. The more compact and efficient CG-drive also opens up room for a variable forcefield projector.
The KF-01Gv was something of an experimental mark, and while capable fo fairly blazing speeds, also ran ‘hot’, requiring more maintenance and more frequent overhauls of the main power system. After about fifty were made, the decision was made to switcher over to the slightly slower, but more economical, KF-01Avx configuration. The KF-01Gv “speedster’, however, acquired something of a following during its deployment.
Changes/Modifications:
MDC/Armor by Location:
Variable Forcefield 1,200 (200 per side)
Speed:
(Sublight) Mach 10
(Kitsune Values: 40% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1% of light speed per melee)

*KF-01Avx--- Production model KF-01Gv, using a slightly less powerful, but more easily maintained, CG-drive unit. The stepdown allows for the installation of more capacitators to the main gun, allowing for a faster rate of fire. The mark also saw an increase in missile armaments.
Changes/Modifications:
MDC/Armor by Location:
External Missile Packs(2) 300 each
Speed:
(Sublight) Mach 9
(Kitsune Values: 40% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.9% of light speed per melee)
Weapons Systems:
1)Improved Medium Laser Cannon-The medium laser cannon can now max out rate of fire at 4 shots per melee rd.

2) Short Range Missile Launcher(unchanged)

3) External Missile Launchers(2)---The Avx also saw the first use of externally-mounted missile launcher packs in the form of two large hardpoint racks. Each hardpoint could accommodate a missile pack holding 40 short range missiles, 20 short range missiles, 10 medium rage missiles, or 3 long range missiles each.

*KF-01Epex---The -Epex model came post-Contact and showed off the new technologies exchanged. The -Epex mounted an even more compact engine, variable forcefield, maximum fire rate medium laser, and external hardpoints, in addition to improved avionics and two light point defense turrets(off-the-shelf from the USAJC Jatar program). Besides the extra PDS turrets, the -Epex could be identified by the raised dorsal filet fin/sensor array on the nose.
Changes/Modifications:
MDC/Armor by Location:
Sensor Array 360
PDS Turrets(2) 80 each
Systems of Note:
*Advanced Targeting Systems---- Gives a +2 to strike
Weapons Systems:
4)PDS Turrets(2)---The sports two Point Defense Turrets compatible with the WZT Light Hardpoint Weapons system:
Rate of Fire: EGCHH or Eight attacks per melee if in automated antimissile mode(CANNOT be used for anything BUT antimissile duty....disengaging the laser system for any other purpose takes a melee action.)
Payload: Effectively unlimited
Bonuses: +3 to strike missiles

a) Pulse Laser
Range: 6,000 ft in atmosphere, 24,000 ft in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per rapid fire pulse burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH or Eight attacks per melee if in automated anti-missile mode(CANNOT be used for anything BUT anti-missile duty....disengaging the laser system for any other purpose takes a melee action.)
Payload: Effectively unlimited
b) 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: 1d6x10 MD single blast
• Rate of Fire: EGCHH
• Payload: Effectively Unlimited

c) Plasma Cannon
• Range: (Palladium) 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values) 3 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space
• Damage: 2d6x10 MD per blast
• Rate of Fire: ECHH
• Payload: Effectively unlimited

d) Gravity Railgun:
• Range: 2.5 miles in atmosphere, 5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 5 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
• Damage: 1d6x10 MD per burst
• Rate of Fire: EGCHH
• Payload: 200-500 bursts per cannon

e)Particle Cannon
• Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 5 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 5 miles in atmosphere, 500 miles in space)
• Damage: 2d6x10 MD per pulse burst
• Rate of Fire: ECHH
• Payload: Effectively Unlimited

f) Ion Projector Pod
• Range: 2.4 miles in atmosphere, 7 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 7 miles in atmosphere, 700 miles in space)
• Damage: 1d4x10 MD per blast
• Rate of Fire: ECHH
• Payload: Effectively Unlimited

g) Tachyon Scattergun
• Range: 1.5 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space w/ 3 mile wide arc*
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
*Range and width are reduced to 1/4th in atmosphere
• Damage: 2d4x10 MD per single cannon firing
• Rate of Fire: EPCHH
• Payload: Effectively Unlimited

h) Gravity Rail Gun Pod
• Range: 3 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere,1,000 miles in space)
• Damage: 3d6x10 per 20 round burst
• Rate of Fire: ECHH
• Payload: 3,000 rds (150 bursts)

Kellestan KPS-03 ‘D’Nap’ Patrol Frigate
(aka ‘Easter-Egger’, ‘Dirt-Nap’)

“Kellestan ships look mighty festive alright, but learn to regard the bright patterns and colors as warnings, like a lot of the more poisonous insects and reptiles. The Kellestans might be a small backwater world, but they seem to have distilled ingenuity to a deadly degree. They can surprise an unwary opponent.”

The KPS-03 is the Kellestan Space Guard’s main defensive patrol craft, and was designed using legacy Corister-class corvettes as a basis.
The D’Nap has a unique ‘split egg’ hull design, with an upper section holding crew accommodations, a center-mounted main drive, and a lower weapons/sensor module. In operation, the KPS-03 can spin around its central axis to bring its main batteries to bear, as well as spin end for end to maximize deceleration. Two fusion reactors, one in each split hull section, provide redundant power and extra energy to the propulsion and, despite being heavier than the Corister with the same general engine, the D’Nap is actually slightly faster, thanks to a locally-designed gravity-jet focusing system.
The main complaint about the KPS-03 design is that while the two sections of hull provide redundancy, access between the upper and lower hulls is through two narrow personnel shafts that skirt the central engine mount and shielding. In the event of an engine malfunction or damage to the central core, moving personnel between the two hull halves can be problematic. The engine itself is also rather exposed, and while the venturi system is fairly robust, the power connections can be easily damaged.
The D’Nap has proven itself a tough and reliable in-system patrol and defense vessel; a surprise from a colony that suffered much and was cut off from the mainstram galactic culture for so long.
The KPS-03 has benefitted from Kellestan pride; rather than be replaced by more advanced Galactic designs when contact and trade was re-established, the Kellestan government has kept the D’Nap in production and aerospace jobs on Kellest safe. The Kellestan aerospace industry has continued to tinker with the design, producing several promising variants with potential wider applications in United Systems Alliance service.
Like many Kellestan-made vessels, D’Naps are typically done up in particularly colorful paint schemes imitating the genetic skin-scarring distinctive of the Kellestan population.

Type: KPS-03 D’Nap
Class: Frigate
Crew: 36 +6 passengers
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 4,900
Bridge 1,000
Medium Laser Cannons(3, two dorsal, 1 ventral) 350 each
Main Engine* 1,000
Forcefield 2,000
(Upgrade) Variable Forcefield 500 per side, 3,000 total

*The exposed nature of the main engine means that critical strikes on it are made on a natural 19-20.

Height: 220 ft
Width: 180 ft
Length: 520
Weight: 12,000 tons
Cargo: 1,000 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion with 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 6
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.6% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) None in the early models, while the later KPS-03Avx can make 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 225 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems
Weapons Systems:
1) Medium Laser Cannons(3, two dorsal, 1 ventral)---Though not as powerful as those copied from the old Coristers the Kellestans were using as a model, the KLC-10s mounted on the D’Nap compensate by having greater numbers and longer range.
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 15 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 7 miles in atmosphere, 7,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD per shot
Rate of Fire: Four times per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Long Range Missile Launcher(1)---Fairly standard long range missile launcher system, able to launch 10-shot volleys.
Later marks of the D’Nap, under the auspices of the United Systems Alliance Joint Command’s subsidization, would upgrade to a 50-shot cruise 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 1-10
Payload: 60 missiles

3) Point Defense Laser Turrets(3)
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH or Eight attacks per melee if in automated antimissile mode(CANNOT be used for anything BUT antimissile duty....disengaging the laser system for any other purpose takes a melee action.)
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

4) Point Defense Rail Gun Turrets(2)
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 4d4x10 MD per 20-rd burst
Rate of Fire:: EGCHH or Eight attacks per melee if in automated antimissile mode(CANNOT be used for anything BUT antimissile duty....disengaging the laser system for any other purpose takes a melee action.)
Payload: 500 bursts per turret before needing reloading

Auxiliary Craft: None

Variants:
*KPS-03Cv---Variant that sacrifices some firepower to instead carry three KF-01 fighters on docking hardpoints on the lower hull, extending the operational range of the fighters and providing the D’Nap with its own fighter cover.
Changes/Modifications:
Auxiliary Craft:
Replace the ventral Medium Laser Cannon(1) with airlocked hardpoints for three KF-01 fighters. The KPS-03Cv also carries a reserve of reaction mass/fuel, allowing the fighters to refuel at least three times each(or 52 burndays each).

*KPS-03Avx ---Up-engined model capable of short FTL runs.
Changes/Modifications:
Speed:
(FTL) 4 light years per hour

*KPS-03 Dedx---Uparmored version, with extra armor sheathing around the central engine. The added protection comes at the cost of less control over the engine venturi focus, however, resulting in a slight reduction in performance.
Changes/Modifications:
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Engine* 1,600
*Remove the 18-20 critical strike weakness; only the normal natural 20 applies.
Speed:
(Sublight) Mach 5
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.5% of light speed per melee)

*KPS-03SVx---Experimental model testing the feasibility of a combination fusion drive/weapons system, using a modified forcefield containment system to pinch and concentrate engine exhaust plasma and focus it into an x-ray laser. Nicknamed the ‘Golgalite’ because its main weapon fires in a rearward arc.
Changes/Modifications:
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Engine* 1,800
*Retains the original ‘critical strike on natural 19-20’ flaw
Weapons Systems:
5) Plasma Drive-Pumped Heavy X-Ray Laser Weapon
Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 60 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 60 miles in atmosphere, 60,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x1,000 per blast
Rate of Fire: Once per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

*KPS-03Mx---This recent experimental variant mimicks the modular design of United Systems Alliance vessels such as the SunChaser Corvette, Windfola Interstellar Corvette and LaFayette-class Light Cruiser. The lower hull is made readily swappable for mission-specific modules. Although widespread adoption of the KPS-03Mx would require a massive change in the logistics of the KSG, as few natively-produced hull modules exist as such beyond prototypes, the few KPS-03Mxs currently in service use modified Windfola modules.
Changes/Modifications:
*Modular Lower Hull(1-2 pods) 1,000 each

a) Cargo Pod----400 tons of cargo poddage.

b) Passenger Pod---In the alternative, the Passenger Pod can be outfitted to give the crew more living room for extended duration missions, or carry passengers/troops. Can accommodate up to 60 people. 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 re-entry on its own.

c) Sensory Array---Specialized sensors can be carried in the pod, making the Windfola into a Class A scout for scanning systems, sweeping for mines, or conducting quick planetary surveys.

d) Heavy EW Module---In the alternative, the Windfola can be fitted with a high-powered Electronic Warfare (EW) module useful in jamming or sensor decoy operations. The pod contains a dedicated powerplant and control stations for ECM operators.
-ECM----- A powerful communications and sensor jamming suite. Communications Jamming has a 5,000 mile range, is 98% effective against civilian systems, and is 80% effective against more sophisticated channel-jumping military communications suites. Radar systems are similarly degraded....they can pick up the emissions, but cannot pinpoint the exact location of the source within the area of disruption.Missiles and sensor-guided weapons are -6 to strike.
The EW Module can also project sensor ‘ghosts’ mimicking ships’ energy signatures...or can make the Windfola resemble a much larger vessel(up to cruiser class) on long range scans. The ‘ghosts’ can be projected with a displacement of 1d6x1,000 miles, and 1d6 additional sensor signatures can be generated. Accurate sensor readings are at -70% outside that range, -40% outside a 100 mile range.

e)ASAT/AAA Module---A module outfitted with light, rapid-fire, short-range weapons for dealing with fighters, power armors, and missiles at relative short ranges. Houses two twin-mount short-range laser turrets, two rail gun turrets, and a large short range missile launcher bank. The weapons are formatted to create a ‘no fly’ zone around the vessel, driving off more agile fighters, missiles, and robot vehicles.
*Rail Gun(2)
Range: 12,000 ft in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere/ 600 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per 60 rd burst
Rate of Fire: 6 attacks per melee
Payload: 12,000 rds per gun(200 bursts each)
Radar Targeting Bonus: +3 to strike
*Laser Cannon(2x2)
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per single blast, 4d6x10 MD per double blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH, or 7 per melee on automated mode.
Payload: Effectively unlimited
Advanced Targeting Bonus: +4 to strike
*Short Range Missiles---Carries 300 short range missiles(SRMs)(Volleys of 1-15). Fragmentation warheads are typically carried to increase the chance of a hit.

f) Medium Missile Pod----Carries 160 medium range missiles(MRMs)(Volleys of 1-10)

g) Heavy Missile Pod----Carries 80 long range missiles(LRMs)(Volleys of 1-5)

h) Cruise Missile Pod---Carries 20 cruise missiles(Volleys of 1-2)

i) Heavy G-Cannon Pod---Mounts a double-mount heavy kinetic kill weapon of the type already deployed as a secondary armanent on many PS/ASI capital ships.
Range: (Palladium) 10 miles in atmosphere, 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,
Rate of Fire:ECHH
Payload: 32,000 rds(400 bursts) per cannon

j) Medium Laser Pod---Holds two laser turrets, one fore and one aft
Range: (Palladium) 4 miles in atmosphere, 8 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 800 miles in space)
Damage: 1d4x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

k) Heavy Laser Pod
Range: (Palladium)8 miles in atmosphere, 16 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 16 miles in atmosphere, 16,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

l) Medium Particle Beam Pod---Holds two PBC turrets, one fore and one aft
Range: 5 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere, 10,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD pr blast
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

m) Heavy Particle Beam Pod
Range: 7 miles in atmosphere, 14 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 14 miles in atmosphere, 14,000 miles in space)
Damage: 4d4x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: 3 shots per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

n) Medium Plasma Torpedo Launcher Array
Range: (Palladium)10 miles in atmosphere, 20 miles in space
(Kitsune) 20 miles in atmosphere, 20,000 miles in space
Damage: 2d4x100 MD to a 120 ft diameter blast radius
Energy ‘torpedo’ has a disruption MDC of 50
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-6 plasma bolts. Twice per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

o)Heavy Plasma Torpedo Launcher Array
Range: 25 miles in atmosphere, 100 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 100 miles in atmosphere, 100,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x100 MD to a 100 ft blast radius per missile
Energy ‘torpedo’ has a disruption MDC of 50
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-6 plasma bolts. Two volleys per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

p)Heavy Tachyon ScatterGun
Range: 5 miles (2,500 m) in atmosphere, 10 miles (10,000 m) in space w/ 6 mile wide arc*
(Kitsune Values: 5 miles in atmosphere, 5,000 miles in space)
*Width are reduced to 1/4th in atmosphere
Damage: 1d6x100 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload:Effectively Unlimited

q)Heavy Forcefield Generator---Adds more powerful shielding; effectively DOUBLES shield strength. Generator comes with its own dedicated powerplant.
(Variable Forcefield) 10,000 each side(60,000 total)

r) Hangar Pod---Has connectors and servicing points for an externally carried fighter or small shuttle.

s) Bomber Pod---Carries up to 100 tons of freefall weapons, often called ‘rods from god’ when used in high-altitude planetary bombardment.
*250-lb Bomb----2d4x10 MD to 50 ft blast radius
*500-lb Bomb----4d4x10 MD to 60 ft blast radius
*750-lb Bomb----4d6x10 MD to 65 ft blast radius
*1,000-lb Bomb----1d4x100 MD to 70 ft blast radius
*2,000-lb Bomb----2d4x100 MD to 80 ft blast radius
*5,000-lb Bomb----4d4x100 MD to 100 ft blast radius
*10,000-lb Bomb----4d6x100 MD to 120 ft blast radius
*22,000-lb Bomb---- 4d6x100 MD to 180 ft blast radius
*43,000-lb ‘Special’ Bomb-----Designed to be ‘lobbed’ for maximum kinetic impact, the super-heavy bomb does 1d8x1,000 MD to 250 ft blast radius, and can penetrate up to 500 ft of earth(300 ft of rock or concrete), for attacking bunkers or undercutting larger structures.

*Light Kinetic Penetrator ---Works similar to a WWII ‘Earthquake Bomb’. Kinetic weapons have the advantage of leaving little or no radiation to contaminate a battlefield or potential postwar acquisition. LKPs are typically bundled on three-round 4 ton ‘buses’ that can be deployed and maneuvered after launch to engage three separate targets in a ‘footprint’, or bracket a single target. Each RV does 1d6x100 MD to a 100 ft radius and can penetrate up to 250 ft of loose soil(100 ft of rock or concrete). Each

*Fuel Air Explosive Munition---A single warhead(no multiple warheads) non-nuclear area of effect weapon that disperses a cloud of volatile fuel droplets in a mist over the target area, then ignites it in a rapidly propagating explosion. Besides thermal damage, the real damage from this weapon comes in the massive overpressure shockwave that it creates, capable of forcing its way into open ducts and vents, and imploding vehicles and bunkers. Also known as a ‘Daisy Cutter’, it is often used to simultaneously secure and clear landing zones of obstacles(both sentient and material). The heavy FAEMs carried by the Windfolas weigh 45,000 lbs each and can do 4d6x10 MD to a 500 ft radius, plus 3d6x10 MD to everything else in a 3,000 ft ft radius. Those caught within the blast radius are also likely (01-88%) likely to be bowled over by the blast and stunned, if not worse.

*ElectroMagnetic Pulse Weapon---Designed to knockout unprotected electronics and power distribution networks, exploding at high altitude for maximum effect. Each EMPW carried by the Windfola weighs 2 tons.
Damage: 5d6x10 MD to 100 ft blast radius
EM effects: Used against unshielded power grids(such as cities and towns), the particle blast has a 99% chance of knocking down electrical systems, including vehicles, in a 100-mile radius of the point of detonation. Unprotected computers and other hardware not protected by surge protectors, and hooked into the common power grid, may still be affected up to a hundred miles or more away by power surges through the power lines.
The EMP is less effective against shielded systems such as those on space structures(25%) and military systems(10% for surface military vehicles), which are hardened against radiation.

t) Mine Deployer Pod---Can be used to deploy spacemines or military killsats/recon platforms.
Payload: 50 mines or 36 satellites
Damage: Varies by weapon deployed
*Space Mine---A freefloating explosive war satellite...Various types exist, including stealth ‘sneakmines’, ASAT ‘limpets’, and enhanced EMP models, but the standard anti-ship version carries a powerful nucleonic charge that does 2d6x100 MDC to a 600 ft radius
Damage: Typically equal to a Cruise Missile warhead

*Orbital Net Mine---This weapon unfurls into a 10-kilometer(5 mile)-wide free-floating hexagon of high tensile-strength megadamage fibers. Any vessel hitting this net at high speed takes damage roughly equivalent to the UWW’s infamous ‘Death Cloud’ weapon.
Damage: Any ship flying into the net will take 4d6MD times its Mach Speed. Multiply the damage by 10 for ships weighing 10,000-40,000 tons, by 20 in the 41,000-100,000 ton range, and by 100 if more than 100,000 tons.
The net is virtually impossible to detect on radar and ships are -6 to dodge, while larger ships are -8!

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Tue Oct 05, 2021 2:23 pm

Indrel Khonate Vessels( Anvil Galaxy)

“Little better than pirates they are, and they know some nasty tricks they musta picked up from pirates. First thing one of their ‘inspection teams’ does on boarding a ship is to plant, usually near a vital system, a suitcase nuke aboard, on a timer. If the team doesn’t finish its ‘inspection’ within the alloted time because they got ambushed, and they don’t input a reset code, the unlucky merchantman gets nuked.”

“The whole situation reminds me of a bit of pre-Rifts wet-navy history on my homeworld. Sounds like an outfit that called themselves the Barbary Pirates. Hope somebody has an Operation Decatur to teach them a lesson, because they can’t go on extorting honest merchantmen forever.”

The Indrel Khonate is a relatively small, but rapacious, regional power who has ambitiously conquered their neghbors and imposed their will on their new subjects. The Khonate was also fortunate in their positioning near several convenient galactic travel routes, the Khonate has seized the opportunity to police the routes, charge fees for permission to transit Khonate space, and fine or outright seize cargoes they consider contraband, all in the name of combating ‘piracy’. Indeed, there’s little freelance piracy in the Khonate sector, and that largely from desperate resistance groups originating in the conquered territories(thus legitimizing Khonate claims that they’re dealing with ‘internal security issues’ and ‘terrorists’). The Khonate’s space military is known as the ‘Protection Force’(a rough translation from the Indrelian for ‘guardsmen’) , though it is more often ridiculed as a ‘pursuit force’, ‘persecution force’, or ‘pillager fleet’, given its actions against others.
The Khonate’s main strength is that they field the most advanced and numerous warships in the region. Early trading with Galactics, and later outright seizure of Galactic starships falling afoul of the Khonate’s transit schemes, gave the Khonate a technological jump on their neighbors. Few more advanced polities have sufficient interests in the region to warrant opposing the Khonate’s warships and taking them to task, and few free traders have the firepower to consider shooting their way through Khonate territory, so the Indrelians feel emboldened to keep doing what they’re doing.

Khonate vessels tend to have oversized engines to give them greater chase speed, and to provide extra energy for weapons and shields. They have lighter physical protection than other nations’ warships of comparable mass, shaving armor weight to go faster, or have more mass for large boarding parties and other equipment. Instead, they rely on shields and speed for protection.

A number of Indrelian ships have shown up on the Galactic markets, usually taken from Indrelian or Indrelian-proxy mercenaries. Though hard-pressed by Khinate forces, a few rebel movements amongst the conquered territories have managed to get their hands on Khonate warships, either captured/hijacked, or defected.

Indrelian Drossar-class Aerospace Fighter
(aka)
“Large and awkward for a fighter, the Drosser is. But those two big guns, throwbacks to the Indrelians’ inatmo wars when they shot each other up with heavy cannon, can still do quite a bit of damage to even civilian forceshielding.”

“Not having the speed of other starfighters, Indrely Drossers will try to keep the range open where their big lasers play to their strengths. Against merchatntmen, though, they’ll attempt to close to a range they can’t miss at, and snipe at vitals like engines.”

The Drossar is the Indrelian Khonate’s primary aerospace supremacy fighter. The Indrelians do not have a tradition of single-pilot fighter combat in their space eras, and were taken aback by the compact and effective fighter platforms regularly used by the major polities of the Three Galaxies. To remedy their lack, they reached back to their pre-starflight wars and revived their aerofighter traditions...with mixed resuts.
The Drossar is large for a single-seater starfighter, on a scale with the Naruni Broadsword. The most prominent features of the Drossar are the two nacelles, nearly the same length as the entire fighter, connected to the main hull by canards in front and wings aft. These outriggers hold the fighter’s main weaponry; a pair of large lasers. A secondary brace of rapid-fire grav-guns are mounted under the nose, and two wing-mounted hardpoints allow for some expendable ordnance.
The Drossar dominated the emergent Indrelian starfighter corps, which also relied on a mixed stable of captured and bought Galactic fighter types. As Indrelian power has increased, the Drossar has begun to fall out of favor with crews . Instead, the Indrelians have been making larger purchases of Naruni fighters to round out the ranks and make up new squadrons(though the Naruni would not be pleased to learn the Indrelians are copying their acquistions). The expectation is that the Drosser will eventually be phased out of service in favor of the new Naruni-derived designs that will incorporate the more outstanding of the Drossars’ features.
The Drossar takes its name from a trident-like weapon of Indrelian history.

Type: IKPF-F01 Drossar
Class: Aerospace Fighter
Crew: One
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 380
Reinforced Cockpit 100
Laser Pods(2) 90 each
Wings(2) 100 each
Forcefield 800
Height: 11 ft
Width: 36 ft
Length: 49 ft
Weight: 18 tons
Cargo: Small space behind pilot’s seat for survival pack and sidearm.
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 15 year energy life.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 5; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 8
(Kitsune Values: 35% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.8% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) Not possible
Market Cost: 27 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Aerospace Fighter Systems, plus:
*ECM Suite----- The Drossar has a standard ECM suite for confusing sensor-guided weapons; -3 to strike
Weapons Systems:
1) Heavy Lasers(2) ---These large outboard laser cannon are more powerful than the lasers on many contemporaries, but suffer froma slow rate of fire. Their exposed cooling systems also make them more vulnerable to damage.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 5d6x10 MD per single blast
Rate of Fire: Four times per melee each cannon maximum
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Rapid-Fire G-Guns(2) ---Hidden under the nose and often overlooked are two high velocity G-guns. These have a rate of fire equal to the pilot’s APMs, but have a limited ammunition supply.
Range: 4,000 ft in atmosphere, 3 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x10 MD per 10-rd burst, 2d6x10 MD for a dual burst
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 200 bursts per gun

2) Hardpoints(4, two under the main body, one under each wing)
a) Mini-Missiles---8 per hardpoint
b) Short Range Missiles---3 per hardpoint
c) Medium Range Missiles---1 per hardpoint
d) Long Range Missiles---1 per hardpoint

Variants:
* Though the Indrelians have experimented with alternate weapons fits for the IKPF-F01, none of them got past the experimental stage, as the Khonate decided to go ahead with their plans to copy Naruni’s fighters.
The same is not true of the rebel guerillas operating in Khonate space. These desperate freedom fighters have had to make do with whatever they can lay theor hands on, and this has included a number of Drossers. The mst common field modification to the captured ships has been replacing the large wing lasers with alternative weapons, such as particle beam cannons, lower powered(but faster-firing) lasers, and missile pods. The most sophisticated fitout replaces the wing lasers with pods combining a lower-powered(3d6x10 MD per blast), shorter-ranged (1.3 miles in atmosphere, 2.6 miles in space/Kitsune Values: 2.6 miles in atmosphere, 260 miles in space), but faster-firing(EPCHH) pulse laser, and missile launcher( 30 mini-missiles OR 16 short range missiles OR 8 medium range missiles).

Indrelian Tergar-class Heavy Fighter
(aka ‘Cleaver’)
“The Tergar was originally named for an aquatic insect on Achanson’s Lily before the Indrelians took over the design and turned it into their tactical bomber of choice. When the Indrelians want to deliver a message and not with orbital bombardment, they send Tergars for that personal touch. Now the graceful shape that used to grace the skies of the Lily Kingdomis feared and hated as the deliverer of suffering across the Khonate’s conquered territories.”

“If the Indelians ever make a hostile move against any of our worlds, when they start deploying small craft, kill their fighter-bombers first. Khonate fighters are pretty much third-rate pilots, but their fighter-bombers are easily the equivalent of our old Thunderchiefs and do a lot of damage to surface targets if they can get through. Kill them, and you can mop up the rest of their squadrons at your leisure.”

The Tergar actually started out as the Vaallens, a graceful crescent-winged light transport of Achansonian design that had been hastily adapted as heavy fighters by the equally hastily formed defense forces of Achanson’s Lily. The few that actually got to fight the Khonate invasion forces so impressed the Indrelians that they decided to adopt it for their own use. The original factories on Achanson’s Lily were completely uprooted and transported to the Indrelian homeworlds where enslaved Achansonian technicians were forced to help the Khonate develop their own refined version of the heavy fighters and begin producing them for the Protection Forces.
The renamed Tergar is the missile boat that the Drossar isn’t. Tergars serve as escorts for the larger ships of the Indrelian fleet and as bombers. They are also common in garrisons, where a common response to dissidence on the part of the conquered locals is for the Indrellian occupation forces to bomb rebellious communities. Anti-Khonate rebel forces have also acquired a number of Tergars to use against the hated Indrelians.
The Tergar is named for a curved-blade scraping tool(similar to the Native American ulu) used to carve meat from bone.

Type: IKPF-FB02 Tergar
Class: Heavy Aerospace Fighter-Bomber
Crew: 3
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 800
Reinforced Cockpit 200
Wings(2) 300 each
Forcefield 1,000

Height: 22 ft
Width: 90 ft
Length: 75 ft
Weight: 360 tons
Cargo:Small space in the crew’s cabin for survival packs and sidearms.
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 15 year energy life.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 4; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 8
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.8% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 3 light years per hour
Market Cost: 30 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Aerospace Fighter Systems, plus:
*ECM Suite----- The Tergar has a standard ECM suite for confusing sensor-guided weapons; -5 to strike
Weapons Systems:
1) Light Laser Cannon(6, four firing forward and two firing to the rear)---The Tergar mounts a quartet of light pulse lasers in the leading edge of the wings, and a pair firing down the tail for self-defense.
Range:(Palladium Values) 4,000 ft in atmosphere, 16,000 ft in space
(Kitsune Values) 3 miles in atmosphere, 300 miles in space
Damage: 4d6 MD per blast, 1d6x16 MD for all four cannons in the forward arc firing simultaneously. 8d6 MD for both rear cannons firing simultaneously.
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Missile/Ordnance Bays(2)---Each of the two large wings conceals a large ordnance bay. Each bay can hold the following configurations:
a) Mini-Missiles--- 130 mini-missiles
b) Short Range Missiles--- 32 SRMs
c) Medium Range Missiles--- 16 MRMs
d) Long Range Missiles--- 8 LRMs
e) Freefall Bombs--- 10,000 lb capacity per bay, 20,000 lbs total
*250-lb Bomb----2d4x10 MD to 50 ft blast radius
*500-lb Bomb----4d4x10 MD to 60 ft blast radius
*750-lb Bomb----4d6x10 MD to 65 ft blast radius
*1,000-lb Bomb----1d4x100 MD to 70 ft blast radius
*2,000-lb Bomb----2d4x100 MD to 80 ft blast radius
*5,000-lb Bomb----4d4x100 MD to 100 ft blast radius

Variants:
* IKPF-FB02G --- This gunship variant does away with the missile bays and instead installs a pair of laser cannons, identical to those mounted on the Drossar, in each bay, for a total of four. These ships are most frequently attached to garrisons, where their heavy laser firepower can demolish rebel-held positions, or chop down the improvised armed freighters many rebel groups cobble together. The anti-Khonate rebels have made acquiring these ships a priority because their main armament is not ammunition -dependent.

* IKC-20A---A few of the pre-conquest Achisonian cargo lighters still exist in their original form. These ships lack the lasers and bomb gear, and instead have one large cargo bay that can hold 25 tons of cargo or 20 passengers.

Indrel Khonate Garhuwk-- Destroyer
(aka ‘Vultch’)

“These things are better than they have a right to be. Garhuwks are nearly thirty percent larger than Hunters, but faster, and even with their more primitive armaments, they can make hash of the low-mark Hunter deedees the CCW sells to the IDFs and PMCs. They can toss out heavy missile salvoes of nearly twenty birds while the Hunters are trying to crank out a single cruise missile.
I know official USA policy is to avoid traveling near Khonate space, but more than a few of my jay-cee colleagues would love to take a few Brandestocs, Larna-Pes or Blades and futz over some of their occupation fleets, or just chop up some of those territorial patrols that are little better than pirates. Teach’em a lesson to keep their cutlery at home and out of other peoples’ backs.”
---Captain Thomor Practis, United Systems Alliance Joint Command Frontier Defense Force

“Garhuwks lack space for large recreational facilities for the troops, so the marines get in a pretty foul mood that they tend to take out on the crews of ships they board. They’re SUPPOSED to be polite and honorable as befits their warrior credo, but that never seems to work out that way; the troops are either bored to the point of obnoxiousness or anixious to claim a prize and gain their bounty bonuses and get back to base for some furlough.”

The Garhuwk is the Indrelian equivalent of the Hunter-class destroyer. It has a distinct blade-winged design that dissipates heat from the ship’s systems, makes it harder to spot on thermal scans, and makes the destroyer look more intimidating. Some think the ship looks like an oversized TGE Flying Fang fighter with its swept-forward wings. Its distinctive drooping bridge-prow and high-backed hull give it the look of a predator or opportunistic scavenger.
Armament consistes of a trio of double-barreled medium laser cannon turrets, two batteries of heavy missile launchers, and five light point defense lasers.
The Garhuwk trades a fighter complement for a boarding force of marines housed in a deep keel section that also sports a boarding airlock and laser turret.
Besides weak armor and no fighters, Garhuwks suffer from endurance problems; their large engimes consume power and fuel such that they cannot travel far without refueling from a tanker or convenient outpost. Protracted use of battle speed can cause accelerated fatigue of the engines, leading to more frequent repairs and replacements.
Alone or operating in packs, Garhuwks can be a threat to even well-armed merchantmen, but against modern warships of the line, the Indrelian ships become target practice.
Still, the ships are a staple of the Indrelian military, and are the ship most likely to be encountered in or near Indelian space, usually by a pair or trio of them dropping into nearspace and challenging a merchantman to prepare to be boarded, show their papers and intended course, and submit to inspection.

Type: IKPF-DD03 Garhuwk
Class: Destroyer
Crew: 36+ 25 marines+ 1-20 additional passengers/prisoners
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 3,000
Bridge 1,000
Wings(2) 1,700 each
Medium Laser Cannons (3) 500 each
Long Range Missile Launchers(2) each
Point Defense Lasers(5) 250 each
Engines 1,000
Variable Forcefields 1,200 per side, 7,200 total
Height: 79 ft main hull, 65 ft wing down-sweep
Width: 90 ft main hull, 190 ft wingspan
Length: 400 ft
Weight: 9,000 tons
Cargo: 650 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 15 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3; transatmospheric.
(Sublight) Mach 10
(Kitsune Values: 60% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 1% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 4 light years per hour
Market Cost: 300 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:
*Stealth Design----- The Garhuwk has passive stealth and is -15% to be detected on radar and thermal scans.
Weapons Systems:
1) Medium Laser Cannons (3)---The Garhuwk mounts three double-barrel laser cannon turrets, two in the nose commanding the forward arcs, and one in the dorsal read, covering the back.
Range: 4.5 miles in atmosphere, 9 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4.5 miles in atmosphere, 4,500 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x100 MD single barrel, 2d6x100 MD for both firing simultaneously. The two forward turrets can fire on the same target, doing a combined 4d6x100 MD
Rate of Fire: 4 times per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

2) Long Range Missile Launchers(2)---What look like two long box-like structures divided into three segments each, atop the main body of the destroyer, are long range missile launchers.
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 1-9
Payload: 36 missiles each launcher, 72 total

3) Point Defense Lasers(5)---Five point defense laser turrets care spaced around the hull, including one immediately adjacent to the boarding lock and tractor beam emitter, where it can be used to assist in cutting access into an overtaken vessel for boarding.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 2d4x10 MD single blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively unlimited

4) Tractor Beam----- Effectively rated for 2,000 tons dead weight, but can be used for imparting small changes in momentum/direction to ships/structures several times that mass.
Range: 5 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)
(Kitsune Values: 5,000 miles in space).

Auxiliary Craft:
2 shuttles

Variants:
The Indrelians have had time and opportunity to experiment with a few variants of the Garhuwk
* IKPF-DD03CM----- Cruise missile carrier, replacing the long range missile launchers with two 30-shot cruise missile launchers. Because they can salvo-launch their CMs, these ships are considerably more dangerous than the first generation Hunters. Fortunately the Indrelians consider cruise missiles too expensive to waste on line patrol ships, and so they keep the IKPF-DD03CMs with their Homeguard fleets, only to be unleashed if the Khonate is invaded.

* IKPF-DD03Eg----- This variant replaces the marine contingent with a keel-mounted heavy laser cannon. This version is considered a dedicated shipkiller and the few produced are being held back with the Indrelian elite Homeguard units.
Changes/Modifications:
Weapons Systems:
5) Heavy Laser Cannon(1)---Replaces the marine contingent, tractor beams, and one point defense turret in the lower hull with a heavy laser cannon and dedicated powerplant. The ventral position and flanking wings help mask the heavy weapon from sensors, but also limit the firing arc of the weapon to a fixed-forward-firing arc.
Range: 15 miles in atmosphere, 75 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 15 miles in atmosphere, 15,000 miles in space)
Damage: 1d6x1,000 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: Once per melee
Payload: Effectively unlimited

* IKPF-DD03M----- Minelayer, replacing the marine contingent space with a mine magazine(60 mines, roughly equivalent to cruise missile warheads, but DOUBLE the blast radius). A -DD03M2 sub-variant replaces the ling range missile launchers with additional mine racks for an additional 120 mines(180 in all). The tractor beam is used to toss the mines out.

*Rebel Garhuwks---The anti-Khonate rebels have managed to get ahold of almost a dozen Garhuwks. Depending on the codotion in which they were acquired, these ex-government vessels came to vary in their exact fitouts, usually in weapons configurations, with the original equipment replaced with a hodgepodge of scrounged and jurtrigged systems. The best-known of these ships was probably the Defiant Rose, the flagship of the Rosallan pirates, and which was originally the IKPFSS Kita’s Discipline, assigned to the occupation garrison of Achanson’s Lily before the ship was stolen from its spacedock. The renamed Defiant Rose became infamous for striking Khonate targets and evading Protection Force pursuers. The ship was distinguished for having extra communications gear and a reprogrammable ID transponder that allowed it to pose as a freighter or another Khonate warship. Shortly after the Rosellan leadership was betrayed and captured, the Defiant Rose was definitely destroyed in an ambush during a failed rescue attempt. However, with rumors of the original Rosellan princesses having been rescued from a Khinate death-row, there are rumors of another former IKPFSS vessel taking up the name Roses’ Revenge. Whether the vessel is the enw flagship of a resurrected Rosellan or simply a rebel tribute remains unknown at this time.

SolCannibal · Unread post by **SolCannibal** » Wed Oct 06, 2021 3:40 pm

taalismn wrote:Indrelian Tergar-class Heavy Fighter
(aka ‘Cleaver’)
“The Tergar was originally named for an aquatic insect on Achanson’s Lily before the Indrelians took over the design and turned it into their tactical bomber of choice. When the Indrelians want to deliver a message and not with orbital bombardment, they send Tergars for that personal touch. Now the graceful shape that used to grace the skies of the Lily Kingdomis feared and hated as the deliverer of suffering across the Khonate’s conquered territories.”

“If the Indelians ever make a hostile move against any of our worlds, when they start deploying small craft, kill their fighter-bombers first. Khonate fighters are pretty much third-rate pilots, but their fighter-bombers are easily the equivalent of our old Thunderchiefs and do a lot of damage to surface targets if they can get through. Kill them, and you can mop up the rest of their squadrons at your leisure.”

The Tergar actually started out as the Vaallens, a graceful crescent-winged light transport of Achansonian design that had been hastily adapted as heavy fighters by the equally hastily formed defense forces of Achanson’s Lily. The few that actually got to fight the Khonate invasion forces so impressed the Indrelians that they decided to adopt it for their own use. The original factories on Achanson’s Lily were completely uprooted and transported to the Indrelian homeworlds where enslaved Achansonian technicians were forced to help the Khonate develop their own refined version of the heavy fighters and begin producing them for the Protection Forces.
The Tergar is named for a curved-blade scraping tool(similar to the Native American ulu) used to carve meat from bone.

Looking for the Ulu tool via Google showed me a variety of formats that all can fit under your basic description - that together with the hasty/emergential character of the Vaallens' initial production as military production, that was adopted by idrellians, makes me think of the possibility of all of them being valid, the ship still not being fully standardized across their territory due to the costs, logistics and research that would be involved in determining what geometry works best for what, costs in adjusting the many repurposed factories and so on. They will do it in the future, most probably already are doing so, but it is a gradual, somewhat slow process that meanwhile results in some systems producing Tergals that can look quite different from each other.

taalismn wrote:*Rebel Garhuwks---The anti-Khonate rebels have managed to get ahold of almost a dozen Garhuwks. Depending on the codotion in which they were acquired, these ex-government vessels came to vary in their exact fitouts, usually in weapons configurations, with the original equipment replaced with a hodgepodge of scrounged and jurtrigged systems. The best-known of these ships was probably the Defiant Rose, the flagship of the Rosallan pirates, and which was originally the IKPFSS Kita’s Discipline, assigned to the occupation garrison of Achanson’s Lily before the ship was stolen from its spacedock. The renamed Defiant Rose became infamous for striking Khonate targets and evading Protection Force pursuers. The ship was distinguished for having extra communications gear and a reprogrammable ID transponder that allowed it to pose as a freighter or another Khonate warship. Shortly after the Rosellan leadership was betrayed and captured, the Defiant Rose was definitely destroyed in an ambush during a failed rescue attempt. However, with rumors of the original Rosellan princesses having been rescued from a Khinate death-row, there are rumors of another former IKPFSS vessel taking up the name Roses’ Revenge. Whether the vessel is the enw flagship of a resurrected Rosellan or simply a rebel tribute remains unknown at this time.

Are the Rosallan/Rosellans some sort of pirate fraternity with aristocratic trappings, rebels from a star nation conquered by the Khonate or a bit of both?
The citation of "princesses" and the Defiant Rose's stolen character got the mental gears sppining....

edit: just found the info on the Rosallan among the "Notable Pirate Groups" in the Space Pirate Charts thread.

taalismn · Unread post by **taalismn** » Wed Oct 06, 2021 8:32 pm

SolCannibal wrote:Looking for the Ulu tool via Google showed me a variety of formats that all can fit under your basic description - that together with the hasty/emergential character of the Vaallens' initial production as military production, that was adopted by idrellians, makes me think of the possibility of all of them being valid, the ship still not being fully standardized across their territory due to the costs, logistics and research that would be involved in determining what geometry works best for what, costs in adjusting the many repurposed factories and so on. They will do it in the future, most probably already are doing so, but it is a gradual, somewhat slow process that meanwhile results in some systems producing Tergals that can look quite different from each other..

And the Indrellians are sure to capitalize on it to confuse unwary merchantmen and other trespassers in/near their space. Again, Barbary Pirates.