The 30 Most Well Known Starfighters in the Outer Arms
A survey of past and present space farers gives us a list of the 30 most common and or memorable small star ships encountered across the frontiers of human occupied space.
The 30 Most Famous Starfighters in The Outer Arm.
By G.G. Nubb
With Contributions from V.Y. Black
According to our survey these are the 30 most well known small space craft in the Outer Arm Sectors. They are in order from most the recognizable and well known ship to the least well known ship. The ships are named here by the Call Signs used by Galactic Scouting Guild.
Name Faction Score (Percentage) Purpose EPROM Dynastic Army 70.001 Ground Support CLUP Dynastic Army 65.6667 Ground Support Ithaca FTO 52.343 Space Superiority Magma Lance Dynastic Interests 47 Space Superiority Blade/Origin Dynastic Interests 44.2272 Scout/Skrimisher Vanderbelt FTO 32.43 Ground Support Newton Dynastic Interests 29.3232 Gun Boat Hatefist Alien/Ska'rug 29.321 Patrol Ship/Gun Boat MAG Dynastic Navy 28.32823 Boarding Craft Gest Dynastic Interests 28.3252 Pursuit/Interceptor Buckey Alien/Ska'rug 25.329 Space Superiority Assembly Dynastic Navy 25.309 Scout/Courier Glue Dynastic Navy 25.312 Electronic Warfare Fulcrum Union of Worlds 24.8 Gun Boat Rook Union of Worlds 23.45 Attack Fighter Crossbow Alien/Ska'rug 23.434 Ground Support TAB Dynastic Navy 23.43 Pursuit/Interceptor Viking Alien/Ska'rug 23.3009 Ground Support TAK Dynastic Navy 22.4 Attack Fighter TONG Dynastic Navy 21.3333 Space Superiority Horseman Alien/Ska'rug 21.32 Pschyological Warfare Orpheus Union of Worlds 21.221 Electronic Warfare Cornonis-7 Alien/Cornon 20.6667 Space Superiority Glasgow FTO 15.2321 Escort Fighter Nice FTO 15.3333 Courier/Scout Norfolk FTO 14.3333 Pursuit/Interceptor Ulysses Union of Worlds 12.2 Space Superiority Klaxon Dynastic Navy 11.2333 Bomber Thunderclap Union of Worlds 11.21 Bomber Joint Dynastic Navy 4.3333 Attack Fighter
It is easy for us to forget the magic of space travel. Not just because we have gotten to old for magic, but because the idea of space travel has become pedestrian. Even gravity born men and women who have never put on a vacuum suit and never felt the undignified liberty of weightlessness are saturated with the stories. Our brains have uploaded so many tales and images of outer space that each of us feels like an expert. We should forgive that armchair expertise. Because taking space travel for granted frees up our imagination and ambition for greater things. Yet I want to make a moment for us, and in that moment recognize the audacity of space travel. Because that is where the magic lies. What is magic if not audacity? Any time a man or woman looked at the laws of nature or the limits of their birth and chose to ignore them, they were casting a spell. The first thing that enchanted me about space travel was not that it defied some natural law, but was that every ship had a story. When I realized every ship I saw was going somewhere, and that every ship had a purpose I was awestruck. That is what this article is about. It is not about the ships, it is not about the outer arms, it is about where those ships are going and where they have been. Most of all it is about the mark they left in my mind and the minds of the people that knew or thought they knew ships.
Behind the Numbers: Asking the Wrong Question
When I set out to write this list I thought it would be easy. I was raised from birth on the Gamydeida orbital spaceport in Rabbit Sector with a bedroom view of the internal hanger. I spent hours as a kid, offline, watching small space craft through my view port, and every time I would see a new one I would tag it and go back online to read up on it. My favorites were the Sunracer Scout ships used by the Scouting Guild and the MAGI Assault Shuttle used by the Dynasty's Zero G marines. I kept lists of every ship that came into that hanger.(Skip to the Ships)
An FTO Norfolk makes a hard burn as it exits the atmosphere on New Fatlands.
From the beginning I knew what list I wanted to write; I had been writing it since I was 6 years old. I wanted a list of 30 small spacecraft that brought back the feeling of awe and wonder I had gazing out my window at the ships of the Outer Arms (Rabbit Sector, Dragon Sector and their spinward frontiers). I naively thought this list would be the same as any list enumerating the 30 most common ships in the Outer Arms. Thus, I called up my assistant, an autonomous A.I. construct named Tangent. Tangent had previously managed a worldwide epidemiology program for decades before deciding to scale down his processing power and get into journalism. Based Tangent's experience with large sets of data, I thought Tangent would have no problem telling me the 30 most common ships. Armed with that list, I could provide detailed and personal write-ups of each ship (after all I spent my childhood as an armchair astronautics experts).
We ran into two problems right away. First Tangent wanted to know what I meant by a small spacecraft. This is a fair question, but it required we define two variables: small and spacecraft. In terms of spacecraft I was looking for autonomous ships capable of space flight. I didn't want drones: programmable or remote operated. I wanted vehicles that employed an intelligence when they functioned. Thus, I wanted craft that required a crew or were equipped with an autonomous learning A.I. But even than I ran into another problem, because these criteria could also be met by some satellites, probes or buoys.
In order rule out these non-craft we defined spaceships as reusable physical constructs that due to design or function had to travel through outer space in order to deliver material between multiple locations. This material could include military ordinance, cargo, people, programs information, or energy. As for small, I told Tagent a small ship is what I say it is when I point to it. May time keep Tangent, because he was game for this one. He showed me several dozen starships and had me classify them as large or small and then he developed an algorithm to select the type of ships I wanted (The details of the algorithm are unimportant because we didn't use it for the final article).
Behind the Numbers: Our First Attempt
With this information, I set Tangent loose on the FTO's and the Dynastic Marshall Service's spacecraft registry for the Outer Arm. We then enumerated the ships and determined which were the 30 most common. The first list of 30 ships was a huge disappointment.
The 30 most common ships according to that list were all short range shuttle pods. The kind of ubiquitous little taxi ships you see drifting around space yards and ports. What was even more disappointing was that numerically there wasn't much difference between the ships on the list. For example, the OldErie-84 is a cargo skiff designed and manufactured by the FTO. It is used to carry equipment and parts to repair crews working on the outside of ships and space stations. It is the most common small craft in the Outer Arm and it makes up 0.001997% of the ships in the Outer Arm. The second most frequently encountered craft is the LeVeL-000067. The LeVeL-000067 is a surface to space shuttle manufactured by Dynastic Interests in the Mayflower system. It makes up 0.001996% of the ships in the Outer Arm. The 30 th ship on the list made up 0.00198% of the ships in the Outer Arm.
Furthermore, I had never heard of the LeVeL-000067 and this because it is only found in the Mayflower system. This was true for 23 of the top 30 ships in the Outer Arm. They were found only in a single system. What was more disturbing is that no Union of World craft were listed. A third of the Union controlled systems are in the Outer Arm and I wanted a list that spoke to the unique character of the Outer Arm.
So using the same data set we changed our parameters for selecting the top 30. Tangent's solution was a little more advanced than my summary here, but essentially we cross-referenced the list of ships so that our output would only be ships found in more than one star system. When Tangent gave me the list, we both knew we had a problem because the most common ship the Outer Arm by these measurements was the Peoria.
As a journalist I recognize fully how import the FTO's fleet of Peorias is to the Outer Arm and humanity in general. For those of that you that don't know, (and most you likely don't know) the Peorias are courier ships that keep all the interstellar communication open. The Peoria is an A.I. operated craft that has Jump-D drives (thus can move faster than light) and a huge memory bank. Peorias are continually jumping from system to system transmitting or downloading their data packages and then uploading new data and carrying that information to the next system. Your next letter to Grandma would take decades to reach her home planet if it wasn't for courier ships like the Peoria.
But who has ever seen a Peoria? Who will notice when the Peorias are replaced by the next generation courier ships? These ships do not physically interact with the people of the Outer Arm, and the people of the Outer Arm do not physically interact with them. Furthermore, I am sure that by using this cross reference system the Peoria will be the most common ship all over human space. That is a terrific honor for the Peorias I am sure, but is this not the article I wanted to write about the Outer Arm. Also, this new list did not include any Union of World ships either, and 27 of the ships listed were cargo skiffs or tugs that served redundant functions. And again we ran into the problem that most the data we were getting came from densely populated systems such as the Mayflower system.
The OldErie-84 deserves more than a passing mention. There are more of these short range cargo ships registered with the FTO and Dynastic Marshall's service than any other space craft in Rabbit or Dragon Sector. According to Tangent when he and Dr. Nubb started this process there were 23002 OldErie-84's registered in the Outerarm and on the day we submitted this article there were 23058. She is a reliable craft and easy to operate.
There are several factors that have lead to her popularity. First she is a relatively low-tech class craft. Her control systems are built using basic electron circuits made from conductive metals. This means that most of her spare parts can be fabricated on worlds with nothing more than 20th century human technology. Aside from her matter converter reactor and her the magnetic field projector (tractor beam) there is no advanced computer or circuitry systems. The OldErie's reactor is another selling point, because as a coarse matter converter it does not require refined fuels. The ship can be fueled with water, methane, graphite, nitrogen or any other nonmetal compound. Additionally, she just has very a versatile design that encouraged innovation. The forward thrusters can be rotated 360 degrees to give the ship good and nuanced mobility. The underbelly as landing claws that can allow the ship to stably interact with other masses in space, and the cargo bay opens on either side of the ship to provide a stable working platform for boutique mining operations or in-space repair duties. Finally, she is capable of making atmospheric landings. Although, her atmosphere handling has been compared to that of paper airplane in the rain she can get to the ground reliably and safely. She can also get back spaceside with the help of a launch tower. The OE-84 can break away from up to a 2.2 level gravity with her endemic configuration engine configuration. She is hard working ship and most populated planets have at least one if they have any ships at all. -V.Y. Black
The Catalog Image of the OldErie-84
(Art by Karanak http://karanak.deviantart.com/)
Thus, we decided to change data sets. Instead of working from starcraft registration records we got access to copies of the sensor buoy records from the FTO, the Galactic Scouting Guild (GSA) and the Union of Worlds. The Dynastic Navy would not share their sensor buoy records. These records would tell us the most common ships moving through any system. When Tangent gave me the results I was again a little disappointed that the Peoria was the most commonly encountered ship. But there was something very striking about the records. A large portion of the ships encountered by the buoys had encrypted transponders: they were military ships. When we had access to overlapping records from the Union and Scouting Guild it became clear that the Union had redacted information about the movement of their military ships even with encrypted transponders. Additionally, there were numerous 'unknown' craft encountered by sensor buoys.
Because we didn't have any information about these military ships half of this top 30 were cargo skiffs and mining ships. This was not a list of 30 ships that have would have sparked any imaginative fits in a young boy. But the list seemed to have core of truth to it. So I took the list to my editor and asked him what he thought.
Behind the Numbers: What I see and what I remember when I look out the view port
On this occasion, I arranged to meet my editor in person. But this required for me to make the 3 AU journey from the orbital station above Gamydeida-3 to the Galactic Scouting Station on Gamydeida-7. I took a shuttle. I know. It was a Cord-0009713. The Cord-0009713 is a Dynasty made (as the name suggests) low gravity sub-light cargo shuttle. This one was partially converted for cryo-passenger transport. With my mind on starcraft I took careful note of all the ships I saw before entering cryo-sleep outside the station and upon walking up at the scout base 13 days later.
Around Gamydeida-3 I noted all the ubiquitous tugs, crew shuttles, cargo skiffs and fueling scows. But I also observed a brand new squad of Magma Lance space superiority fighters from the station's fighter cap making their way to patrol Gamydeida Prime's orbit, and there was a GEST-9091 combat shuttle belonging to the Dynastic Marshall's service leaving Gamydeida-3's atmosphere. At the scouting station things got more interesting. The Scout's station is on the surface of Gamydeida-7 a frozen airless little rock that still had too much gravity for the Cord-0009713 to land. So I had to take a thruster Taxi from my parking space in orbit down to the station, then exit the Taxi in a vacuum suit and walk across the tarmac to the station's public airlock. As the taxi pilot and I were crossing the Tarmac an Orpheus-7 buzzed the station and then landed next to my Taxi.
The Orpheus is a fast ship, with a C-drive and thus it wasn't even on my shuttle's sensor array when I parked above Gamydeida-7. There is something so badass about a ship that can flip into orbit at near C and then land on a planet's surface. The pilot of the ship floated out the airlock in a skintight tech level 10 or higher vacuum suit before the Orpheus's thrust trails had even dissipated. I wanted to share my awe and amusement at this sight with somebody. I glanced at the Taxi driver, a retired scout named Uwell, and saw through the transparent faceplate of his suit that he was not pleased with actions of this pilot.
The three of us entered the air lock together and while Uwell and I were stumbiling out our standard issue short use vac suits all the Orpheus pilot felt the need to do was whip off her gloves and helmet. 'That is an impressive ship,' was all I said to her as Uwell and I hung up our bulky suits in the lockers.
She shot me a smile that I didn't understand and said 'Good to see ya again Uwell' before gliding away.
After she was gone I looked at Uwell and said ' I wish I could afford to fuel a C-drive ship like that.'
'Could! If you don't mind strapping yourself to a damn planet killing bomb.'
I looked at Uwell for a moment and then realized what he meant with that hyperbole. 'You mean that still has an anti-matter/matter reactor in it?!?' I looked out a nearby view port at the Orpheus on the tarmac and felt a strong tingle of fear. I knew ships still used those reactors, but I always thought that was something that happened in frontier systems and on wild Union worlds. I never thought I would see an anti-matter driven ship in Gamydeida or somebody brazen enough to fly so deep into the heart of Dynasty controlled space. As I pressed my nose against the viewport I whispered to myself 'Baddass'.
A Union of World's Ulysesus. Note the four anti-matter projectors on either side of the craft and the tiny gun well in the nose. They seem awfully close together to me. -V.Y. Black
Behind the Numbers: Why we read list articles.
In few a minutes I was meeting with my editor. I had sent him the list before I had left Gamydeida-3 and he was now sitting at the Stations cantina reviewing the list with Tangent. He asked me how my trip was and I related to him what ships I saw around Gamydeida-3, how I wished the Cord had enough thrust to negotiate a gravity well and about the Orpheus parked a kilometer away. He looked me and as if responding to the recollections regarding my trip said that he didn't think the list I had would make a good article. He explained it this way.
People don't read list article to learn anything. For example the GSA did a of survey of several dozen readers that had download one of three list three articles: the Thirty Greatest Battles of Earth's Petroleum Era, the Thirty Fashion Trends We Wish Would Come Back and the 17 Greatest Vacation Spots Ruined By Their Own Popularity. Based on follow-up interviews that assessed the reader's knowledge base we found that the readers chose articles regarding topics they were already familiar with. We looked at the meta data from their media software and found that readers spend more time on the screens when the list was enumerating a topic with which they were already familiar. This was best exemplified in the third list because we included two fictional vacation destinations. The average reader spent more than 300% less time on the pages describing things of which they were ignorant. People want to read a list article that repackages things they already know or articles that confirm things they think they know. G.G. Just think about the way you looked at ships on this trip.
Tangent and I took this advice and developed a new plan. We compiled a larger list of ships, this included all the named ships that came up on our previous top 30 lists generated from sensor logs and ship registry. Though, we excluded short-range cargo ships from our list. So the LeVel, the Peoria and the CORD were on the list but the OldErie-84 cargo skiff was not. Then Tangent went through the StarShip design and Marketing trade publications and pulled up another list of 30 ships based on how frequently the craft were referenced. Finally, Tangent went through the Scouting Guild's encounter memos and pulled up a top 30 based on frequently they were encountered by Galactic Scout over the last few hundred years. Finally, I add a few of my favorite ships to this list including the Sunracer long-range scout ship, the Magi Assault shuttle and the Boldwen mining scout. We combined all these lists into one and in the end we had a database of 147 ships.
Behind the Numbers: The Survey and Final Product.
Tangent took that list of 147 ships and assembled a survey. The survey presented the subject with images and information about the 147 ships, and then determined whether or not the subject could correctly identify the ship.
The Gest also known as The Bull is the principle craft of the Dynastic Marshall's service. The IDF hull is actually a single molecule, and the hull is constructed to specification as an entirety before any other hardware is attached to it. This makes the super structure very tough but very difficult to repair. The Gest's design is sometimes classified as a trapezoidal design and sometimes as an oblong design.-Tangent
(Art by Karanak http://karanak.deviantart.com/)
We sent out via direct messaging over 500 million copies of this survey all over the Outer Arm to registered Deepspace Traders and registered Vacuum Miners working in the Outer Arms, we got permission to contact people via the Union of World's veteran's association and we sent one to every member of FTO in the Outer Arms. We included this survey in issues of the Galactic Scouting Almanac and, full disclosure, we got sponsorship from the FTO and the Dynastic Interests. They allowed us to imbed this survey in their advertisements for starships. This survey was actually embedded in advertisements for the Magma Lance and the Ithaca (two starfighters which ended up in our top 30). But with that sponsorship money we were also able to include the survey in the trivia pings provided by the Navigation Buoys in both Rabbit and Dragon Sector. By the deadline we had received 643,741 responses to survey and from that data we assembled a list of the 30 most famous ships in the Outer Arm. I was both pleased and surprised by the list.
First of all I was pleased because the top 30 list did not include the Peoria (Figure 1). Secondly, I was not expecting that the most recognizable and famous ships in the Outer Arm were the EPROM and the CLUP. Both the EPROM and the CLUP are ground support craft manufactured employed by the Dynastic Army. To my mind the CLUP barely counts as a starship, but I had tweaked the numbers enough already and decided to let the data stand. I was also surprised and pleased that six of the thirty ships were not human craft.
Figure 1: This represents the same data presented in Table 1. The yellow bars signify craft produced by non-human factions. Green Bars are ships produced and used by the FTO. Red Bars are produced and used by the Union of Worlds. Periwinkle colored Bars represent ships used by the Dynastic Navy, Sky Blue represents Dynastic Interests, and the Light Blue represents the Dynastic Army.
However, the raw survey results were not enough. Being a straw poll we were guaranteed a responder bias. Looking at the breakdown of the survey responders it did appear that we encountered any of the intuitive factions biases because the most recognizable ships were part of the Dynastic Army and they were the second smallest group of responders (Figure 2). While we only had 43 Ska'rug responders to the survey, there were five Ska'rug ships in the list (Figure 2).
In addition to this demographic information, we wanted more data than pure recognize-ability. Thus, Tangent proceeded to confirm the results by seeking follow up interviews with responders that fit our FFFDS criteria. FFFDS stands for responders that have Flown, Fought, Fixed, Designed or are the Ship in the case of A.I.s. From the followup interview requests Tangent sent out he was able to communicate with 672 humans, and 1,201 A.I.s that fit our FFFDS criteria. Tangent was able to use the interviews to generate the relative ranking of the ships' abilities included in the list below.
After the list was compiled I realized that even with the results of Tangent's interviews I was not familiar with all the ships on the list. Thus, I reached out to my former mentor V.Y. Black. V.Y. Black is over 600 standard years old. He had worked for the Union of Worlds as an intelligence agent before the Migration Wars and then as a military commander on world of Neo-Accra once during the wars. He has since worked as a Galactic Scout, a Free Trader, a Diplomat, a Journalist and is currently an instructor of history at the FTO academy on Lostvirginia. I gave the list to V.Y. Black and he offered to write up summaries for the ships with which he was familiar. Between Tangent, V.Y. Black and myself we attempted to give each ship the personal touch it deserved.
Figure 2: Using the same color scheme as in figure 1, we have broken down the origin of the survey responders. What is notable here is that although the majority of the responders were from the Union of Worlds, the Union of World Military Craft were not the most recognizable ships. The absolute number of responders is located on the bottom axis and the left-Axis is how the responder identified themselves when taking the survey.
Overall, I was little disappointed that the Outer Arm doesn't remember my Sunracer Scout with same energy that it remembers the Nice, but our list is not an editorial. This list embodies the current collective consciousness of the Outer Arm. These are the ships that excite the minds of children with their noses' pressed against view ports. These ships have earned a place among the top 30. Perhaps in a generation the Peoria will be on the list but not yet. This list is limited to the exceptional ships such as the Joint or the unforgettable ships such as the Thunderclap.
Honorable Mention: The Peoria
She fit all our criteria and she likely travels more than any ship on the list. But I can see why she is not well known. She doesn't even look like a ship.
The list below is organized alphabetically using the call signs employed by the Faction of Origin for each ship. (Expect in the case of the Cornonis because its endemic call sign is not known. Cornonis is the faction.) In parenthesis is the call sign used by the Union of Worlds assuming it differs from endemic call sign.
I. Assembly-000122 (Echo)
A. Purpose: Scout/Courier
B. Design Type: Pod
C. Faction: Dynastic Navy
D. Crew Requirement: 1
E. Life Support: Internal-Standard-Sustaining-Cyrogenic
F. Communications
1. High power EM Transmitter
2. Standard EM receiver
3. Two-way neutrino beam up link system4
G. Sensors
H. Armament
1. 1x50Mw Garnet Laser Cannon
2. ECM
ca) EM Displacement Field
I. Reactor
1. 4xMicro Fussion Reactor (Lvl 5)
2. Dense Matter Reactor-Jump Drive Only (Lvl 2)
J. Consumables
1. Micro Fission Reactor (30,000 hrs)
2. Dense Matter Reactor-12 Jumps
3. Life Support: (3,008 hrs)
K. Cargo Space
1. 1000 liters
L. Computer Rating: Modular (Lvl 10)
M. Hull
1. IDF (Lvl 3)
N. Atmospheric Flight: NA
O. Interstellar Drive: D-Jump Drive
P. Sublight Drive: Ion Drive
1. Acceleration (Lvl 5)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 1)
Q. Airlock: Yes
R. Secondary Power System
1. Deployable Solar Sail
2. Battery
S. The Echo was designed to provide the Dynastic Navy with a courier ship that could function like the Nice or the Peoria, but with more of emphasis on military observation and communication. The Echo is intended to jump into a system, transmit a data package or take some sensor readings and jump out. The laser cannon serves more as active sensor beam than an actual weapon in that military scouts will use it to light up curious looking masses. I found it interesting that the Dynasty chose to go with a manned ship rather an autonomous intelligent ship. Perhaps they thought it was cheaper. The modular computer systems are quite powerful, as one would expect in a ship required to process and communicate yottabytes of information, and is also required to interpret the reading from a Dark Matter Monitor. Despite the presence of the powerful computers, the lack of the AI still means that interpretation of the data is still a pilots judgement call. -G.G. Nubb
II. BLADE-9987(8) (Origin)
A. Purpose: Scout/Skirmisher
B. Design Type: Convential Aeronautical
C. Faction: Dynastic Interests
D. Crew Requirement: 1
E. Life Support: Internal-Standard-Sustaining-Cyrogenic
F. Communications
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Receiver
G. Sensors
6. Active Tachyon
H. Armament
1. 1x120 Mw Radon Laser Cannon (Commerical Version Only)
2. 1xFocused Magnetic Field Generator
3. Standard Missile Tube
4. 1xParticle Accelertor Cannon (Military Version Only)
I. Reactor: Matter Convertor (Lvl 3)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 10,000 hours
2. Life Support: 40,001 hours
K. Cargo Space; 8,000 Liters
L. Computer Rating: System Wide (Lvl 9-commerical)/ A.I. (Lvl 4-military)
M. Hull: IDF (Lvl 5)
N. Atmospheric Flight: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration: Lvl 2
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 1
O. Interstellar Drive: D-Jump Drive
P. Sublight Drive: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration: Lvl 3
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 2
Q. Airlock: Yes
R. Secondary Power System:
1. Deployable Solar Sail
2. External catalytic reactor
S. This boxy fixed wing craft manages to look both vaguely aerodynamic and largely cetacean. This was the brainchild of the post-war Dynastic Corporations that wanted to compete with the FTO monopoly on consumer spacecraft. Depending on which marketing campaign you encountered it was either called the Blade or the Origin. I considered making this two entries because there is a military version, but the differences are minor. This is the smallest ship to have a D-Jump Drive (which can be powered by the Solar Sail if you patient or by catalyzing a large asteroid or small planetoid if you don't mind breaking a few Union or FTO laws). Owners remark that the ship is rather comfortable, it has a roomy cabin in addition to the cockpit, a comfortable cryo-chair in case you need it and in the military version an A.I. I am told is an affable, loyal and a competent navigator. Apparently, the craft handles like a winged brick in atmosphere, particularly since she lacks a view port and must be piloted sensors only. Still she is popular among members of Scouting Guilds.-G.G. Nubb
III. CLUP-88291.1 (Flying Squirrelly)
A. Purpose: Ground Support
B. Design Type: Single Pod
C. Faction: Dynastic Army
D. Crew Requirement: NA
E. Passenger Space: NA
F. Life Support: NA
G. Communications
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Receiver
2. Neutrino Uplink Beam
H. Sensors
3. Active EM
6. Radar
7. Sonar
I. Armament
1. Mass Driver Cannon
2. 1.21 Gigawatt Hydrogen Laser Cannon
J. Reactor: 2x Micro Fusion Reactors (Lvl 5)
K. Consumables
1. Fuel: 1,900 hours
2. Life Support: NA
L. Cargo Space: Null
M. Computer Rating: A.I. Lvl 2
N. Hull:
1. IDF Lvl 8
2. Reflec Armor: Lvl 5
O. Atmospheric Flight: Anti-gravity drive
1. Acceleration: Lvl 3
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 3
P. Interstellar Drive: NO
Q. Sub-light Drive: Ion Drive
1. Acceleration Lvl: 2
2. Maneuverability Lvl:1
R. Airlock: No
S. Secondary Power System: Battery
T. The CLUP is the standard dynastic garrison drone modified with an autonomous AI. Unlike most AIs, the CLUP's AI relies heavily on a prewritten protocols, and as a result the CLUP's flight patterns are easily predicted by other AIs or observant organic strategists. The CLUP also has a redundant learning profile, which means that the CLUP seeks to verify stimulus multiple times prior to accepting the input as true. This makes the CLUP less prone to error but also slower to act when compared with most military A.I.s. The CLUP has several tactical limitations, most notably it cannot break an orbit of even a 0.25 standard gravity well with its endemic engine configuration. Not equipped for ship to ship combat CLUPs with either stay in high orbit and support ground actions with the powerful laser cannon or be transported off world by a cargo skiff or as cargo in a larger ship. The second limitation is that the CLUP is underpowered, the laser cannon relies on a capacitor, and thus has a low rate of fire. Additionally due energy constraints the Passive Tachyon sensor array cannot be used in conjunction with the anti-gravity drive. Greater than 90% of the AI constructs and designers responding to the survey judged the CLUP as adequate for tasks involving basic surveillance and ground support. The active pilots and veterans who interacted with CLUP in combat situations judged it poorly, ranking it last in most categories save hull. -Tangent
IV. Cornonis-7 (Dragon's Dart)
A. Purpose: Space Superiority Fighter
B. Design Type: Missile
C. Crew Requirement: 1?
D. Life Support: Internal ?
E. Communications
1. Microwave Transmitter and Reciever
F. Sensors
1. Active EM
2. Passive EM (assumed based on the presence of an active EM)
G. Armament
1. 1x 40 Mw Laser Cannon
2. 1x Ion Cannon
3. 2x Mass Driver Gatling Gun
H. Reactor: Anti-Matter?
I. Consumables
1. Fuel: 13+hrs
2. Life Support: 13+hrs
J. Cargo Space: ?
K. Computer Rating: ?
L. Hull:
1. Conventional: Lvl 6
M. Atmospheric Flight: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration: Lvl 3
2. Manuverablity: Lvl 2
N. Intrastellar Drive: NA?
O. Sublight Drive: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration (Lvl 5)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 3)
P. Airlock: ?
Q. Secondary Power System:?
R. These rocket ship style fighters are the ever present escorts and sentries of the Crononis shipyards. Not much is known about these ships however, none of the survey responders have every repair or flown one of these craft. But a significant number of the respondants have had hostile encounters with the ships and they certainly live large in the minds of the Outer Arm populations. -G.G. Nubb
V. EPROM-000212 (Watchmen)
A. Purpose: Ground Support
B. Design Type: Trapezoidal
C. Crew Requirement: NA
D. Life Support: Internal-Standard-Sustaining
E. Communications
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Receiver
2. Two-way neutrino beam up link system
F. Sensors
1. Radar
2. Sonar
G. Armament
1. 4x 120 Mw Radon Laser Cannons (4xturrerts)
2. 4x Razor Beam Quantum Particle Accelerator Cannons (4x Turrets)
3. 2x Standard Missile Tubes
H. Reactor
1. Matter Converter Reactor (Lvl 9)
I. Consumables
1. Fuel: 96 Hours (matter uptake system)
2. Life Support: 120 hrs
J. Cargo Space
1. Life Support Cabins: 800,000 Liters
2. Unsupported Cabins: 400,000 Liters
K. Computer Rating: A.I. Lvl (6)
L. Hull
1. Forced Key (Lvl 8)
M. Atmospheric Flight: Anti-Gravity Drive
1. Acceleration (Lvl 4)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 6)
N. Interstellar Drive: D-Jump Drive
O. Sublight Drive: Ion Drive
1. Acceleration (Lvl 3)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 1)
P. Airlock: Yes
Q. Secondary Power System:
1. Micro Fusion Reactor (Lvl 5)
2. Deployable Solar Sail
R. The Watchmen was and still is the principle fighting vehicle of the Dynastic Army. The army has been described as the forgotten older brother of the Dynasty's interstellar navy. Army spacecraft are less varied, often intended for operation on or near planetary bodies. However, the Army does not typically engage in frontline combat. After the Dynasty's front line units, the navy and their marines, over power the organized or standard military of a planet then the Army will come to act a garrison. The Army's primary platform for protecting the Dynasty's colonists, scientists and entrepreneurs is the Watchmen craft. The Watchmen looks a floating Mayan pyramid without a staircase and with a rounded bottom. I can still see the grey hull shimmering with the Forced Key Field as they floated above cities and tree lines. I feel like I know everything about the Watchmen. They carried 40 alliance troopers: 26 infantry men, 4 mecha pilots, 4 Drone conductors, 2 Computer Programers, 1 Medic, 1 Dynastic Intellectual, and 2 command officers. The Watchmen also carries all the supporting ordinance and equipment for these individuals.
The trick to taking a Watchmen down was to keep on eye on her and wait till she ran low on fuel, then try and pull away her drones and her support units. Next hit her hard with plasma cannons or saturating fire from heavy matter drivers. The energy requirement for the Forced Key Generator would suck up her remaining fuel, and the back up reactor wasn't strong enough to maintain it. The microfusion reactor can be used to fuse the Forced Key material leaving the Watchmen with essentially a crappy conventional weld. Thus, rendered by such attack she would try to retreat. The only way to know for sure that you had exhausted her fuel was when the Watchmen would start to outrun the range of our plasma cannons. Once she was on the run we'd try and hit her with the laser cannons, assuming there were any of us left. If you crippled her the A.I. would self-destruct but if there was an officer on board it was a fair bet they'd offer a surrender. The citizens of the Dynasty have never really come to terms with mortality. If you could salvage a Watchmen with even half her ordinance in tact you could keep the fight going on your planet for another year. -V.Y. Black
The Eprom-000212 is not equipped with a mass driver engine or other thrust system capable of breaking free of planetary gravity. The ion drive and the jump-D drive help the ship reach its location, but once committed to a planet a Eprom-000212 requires a loading Skiff or Tug to take it spaceside again. -Tangent
VI. Fulcrum
A. Purpose: Gun Boat
B. Design Type: Multipod
C. Crew Requirement: 4 (1 pilot, 2 Gunners, 1 Engineer)
D. Life Support: Internal-Atmospheric
E. Communications
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Receiver
F. Sensors
4. Active EM
G. Armament
1. 2x Anti-Matter Rocket Batteries
2. 4x 120 Mw Argon Laser Cannons
3. 2x Mass Driver Cannons (2xTurret Mounted)
4. 2x Ion Cannons (2xTurret Mounted)
5. 1x Focused Magnetic Field Generator
H. Reactor
1. Anti-Matter (Lvl 8)
I. Consumables
1. Fuel: 2,800 hrs
2. Life Support: 301 hrs
J. Cargo Space: 2,000 liters
K. Computer Rating: A.I. (Lvl 1)
L. Hull
1. Conventional (Lvl 7)
M. Atmospheric Flight: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration (Lvl 3)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 1)
N. Interstellar Drive: NA
O. Sublight Drive: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration (Lvl 3)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 2)
P. Airlock: Yes
Q. Secondary Power System:
1. Battery
2. Deployable Solar Panels
R. This craft was produced by refitting the manufacturing line of the Flint class asteroid Tug with an anti-matter engine, retooling the mining laser turrets in the starboard and ports pods with mass drivers and Ion cannons, placing a bank of laser cannons and rocket launchers in the central pod and providing software patch to upgrade the system wide computer system. The anti-matter reactor in these craft is one of the more unstable reactors produced by union engineers, and thus a crew member dedicated entirely to monitoring it. Aside from unstable reactor, the Fulcrums' A.I.s are unlicensed client without designed behavior limits and thus Fulcrum is illegal or restricted class of ship in most developed star systems. Apparently this A.I. has a more animalistic than human intelligence. According to most reports, the A.I. is loyal and affable, but can also be willful and stubborn. The large scale restrictions and the lack a of jump drive tend make these ships a rare sight. However the Union militaries of Rabbit and Dragon sector both maintain a wing of Fulcrums. -Tangent
VII. Galnord (Crossbow)
A. Purpose: Planetary Bombardment
B. Design Type: Spherical
C. Faction: Ska'rug Kingdoms
D. Crew Requirement: 2
E. Life Support: Internal-Standard
F. Communication: EM transmitter receiver
G. Sensors
H. Armament
1. 1x 500mW Garnet Laser battery:
2. 1x Depleted Uranium Galting Gun: Rapid fire projectile weapon designed for use in vacuum
3. 8xExternal Ordinance Hard Points
I. Fire Control: Manual
J. Reactor: Matter Reactor (Lvl 1)
K. Consumables
1. Fuel 96 hours
2. Life Support 96 hours
L. Cargo Space: 400 liters
M. Computer Rating: NA
N. Hull: Conventional (Lvl 2)
O. Atmospheric Flight: NA
P. Sublight Flight: Ion Drive
1. Acceleration: Lvl 1
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 1
Q. Interstellar Drive: NA
R. Airlock: Yes
S. Secondary Power System: Battery (8 hours)
T. This spherical ship was designed by the Skar'rugs to provide support for ground forces during surface conflict. Not capable of atmospheric flight Galnords will take up a location in orbit, and monitor surface action using well crafted telephoto sensors. The Garnet-Laser is capable of vaporizing up to 0.5 tons of organic material in one tenth of second through at least 10 kilometers of standard atmosphere. Like most Ska'rug vessels the Galnord depends on organic computing and does not have a sophisticated operating system. Despite this it is extremely easy to pilot and maintain, with the most common piloting error being take the ship too far into the atmosphere. In addition to ground support operation, Galnord's can play a role in basic intelligence gathering and planetary police work. Their poor maneuverability and acceleration leave them extremely handicap in ship to ship combat.-Tangent
VIII. GEST-9091 (The Bull)
A. Purpose: Pursuit/Interceptor
B. Design Type: Trapezoidal
C. Faction: Dynastic Interests
D. Crew Requirement: 2
E. Life Support: Internal-Standard-Sustaining
F. Communications
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Reciever
G. Sensors
4. Active EM
H. Armament
1. 2x Ion Cannon
2. 2x EM Field Claws
3. 4x Focused Magnetic Field Generator
4. 1x Standard Missile Tube
I. Reactor
1. Dense Matter Reactor (Lvl 4)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 48 hrs
2. Life Support: 129 hrs
K. Cargo Space
1. 400 Liters
2. 100,000 Liters (Passenger Space)
L. Computer Rating: A.I. Lvl 5
M. Hull
1. IDF (Lvl 3)
2. Magnetic Deflector Shield (Lvl 5)
N. Atmospheric Flight: Anti-Gravity Drive
1. Acceleration (Lvl 4)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 4)
O. Interstellar Drive: C-Drive (Lvl 2)
P. Sub-light Drive: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration (Lvl 5)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 1)
Q. Airlock: NA
R. Secondary Power System: Battery
S. Although produced by the corporations of the Dynastic Nobility, the Bull was designed by the dynastic military specifically to full fill the demand of in-system law enforcement for a pursuit and transport craft. When the Dynasty relinquished direct military control of the conquered systems they purchased these crafts for civilian law enforcement and the Dynastic Noble Houses. While almost every system that has a Marshall has one of these craft, the ship tend to resigned to shuttle duty and prisoner transport rather than actively patrolling for and combating ships engaged in unlawful activity. The crew cabin is cramped for two. However the second crew member is not really necessary, the secondary stations only has controls for monitoring life support, deflector shield activity and working with the A.I. to angle the focused magnetic field generators. The cockpit though has a wide view port with a virtual reality display that I am told has a very intuitive interface. The A.I.s of these ships I was told start out cheerful enough, but I have heard tend to grow surly over time. According to this survey the desertion rate of these ships was the highest of any A.I.: 33% of users survey respondents. The 'passenger compartment' was designed with no restraints or harness to stabilize the occupants during atmospheric flight, and I have heard horror stories of unsavory Marshalls who placed people in these compartments without adding any safety equipment.The ship does not have a cryogenic system, so it C-drive is not really for interstellar travel (unless you want to spend a decade talking to the ship's AI in cramped cockpit), but rather the C-Drive is used to whip around star systems in a matter of minutes. -G.G. Nubb
IX. Ghutgh/eeee (Viking)
A. Purpose: Ground Support
B. Design Type: Disc Form
C. Faction: Ska'rug Kingdoms
D. Crew Requirement: 3
E. Life Support: Internal-Standard
F. Communications
1. Standard EM transmitter and receiver
G. Sensors
H. Armament
1. 2x Depleted Uranium Galting Gun
2. 2x 40mW Plasma Cannons
3. 1x Gamma Wave Generator
I. Reactor
1. Anti-Matter Reactor (Lvl 2)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 20,000 Hours
2. Life Support: 25 hours
K. Cargo Space: 100,000 Liters
L. Computer Rating: Modular (Lvl 1)
M. Hull
1. Conventional: (Lvl 6)
2. Reflec Armor (Lvl 3)
N. Atmospheric Flight: Anti-Gravity Driver
1. Acceleration (Lvl 6)
2. Manuverability (Lvl 5)
O. Interstellar Drive: NA
P. Sublight Drive: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration: (Lvl 3)
2. Maneuverability: (Lvl 1)
Q. Airlock: NA
R. Secondary Power System: Battery
S. This large Ska'rug fighter is typical of Ska'rug design in that it seems to mix several generation of technology. The weapon systems are underpowered by dynastic standards, but the anti-Gravity drive out fitted on this ship is so sophisticated that according to several responding sources a couple of dynastic corporations have been trying to reverse engineer it. I toured a captured one recently, it is a large for a atmosphere capable fighter, and it has a large cabin for accommodating three Ska'rug crew members. According to the survey it has primarily been observed escorting transports of Ska'rug ground troops. Among the handful of Ska'rugg responder, all of which were battle chiefs and commanders, this craft was rated below the Hatefist and Zarca/max in terms of desirability. As best as I can deduce from the Ska'rugg responders they tend to favor ships with long-range weapons. -G.G. Nubb
X. Glasgow
A. Purpose: Escort Fighter
B. Design Type: Conventional Aerospace fixed wing
C. Faction: FTO
D. Crew Requirement: 1
E. Life Support: Internal-Atmospheric
F. Communications
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Receiver
G. Sensors
1. Passive EM
2. Active EM
3. Magnetic Field Tracker
4. Telephoto
5. Radar
H. Armament
1. 1x Ion Cannon
2. 1x 80 Mw Plasma Cannon
3. 1x Conventional Rocket Launcher
I. Reactor
1. Matter Converter (Lvl 4)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 72 Hours
2. Life Support: 96 hours
K. Cargo Space
1. 35 liters
L. Computer Rating: Modular (Lvl 4)
M. Hull
1. Conventional (Lvl 4)
2. Magnetic Deflector Shield (Lvl 4)
N. Atmospheric Flight: Twin Jet Turbines
1. Acceleration (Lvl 2)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 3)
O. Interstellar Drive: NA
P. Sub-light Drive: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration (Lvl 4)
2. Maneuverability: (Lvl 2)
Q. Airlock: Yes
R. Secondary Power System: Solar Panels
S. The Glasgow was the first star fighter I have ever saw. During the first trading season I can remember a half dozen Glasgow's heralded the arrival of FTO's cargo skiffs by circling in the skies of my hometown for an entire morning. The Glasgow looks like a tear drop with wings, and I have always thought that solar converter sheeting that covers her wings fuselage has more than slight resemblance to a Scottish Tartan. (I can still remember the blank stares I got when I tried to suggest that FTO had made a Scottish themed vessel.) The name did not help to stymie my childish imagination either when I first saw the ships. I amended by father's histories of old earth with images of these craft being piloted by rough and tumble noble savages who sported kilts and wield claymores.
Like my beloved Vanderbelt, the Glasgow is a conversation craft, carrying both a Mass Driver engine for space flight and a Jet turbine engine for atmospheric flight. The Glasgow has only has tiny view port directly positioned directly above the pilots head, which means you can only fly her on instruments. She was never made commercially available, until she was long outdated, and then the FTO sold off their surplus. The Glasgow is popular now among irregular militaries and backwater worlds were conflicts are still being carried out using the flat, blunt edge of technology.
-V.Y. Black
XI. Glue-332 (Virus)
A. Purpose: Electronic Warfare
B. Design Type: Pod
C. Faction: Dynastic Navy
D. Crew Requirement: NA
E. Life Support: Standard-Internal-Sustaining
F. Communications:
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Reciever
2. Extra-Dimensional Pulse Generator
3. Two-way neutrino beam up link system
G. Sensors
1. Tachyon Pulse
2. Neutriono sink
3. Passive EM
H. Armament
1. 1x EM Field Claw
2. 1x Mass Driver Pulse Cannon
3. 2x External Ordinace Hard points
I. Reactor: Dense Matter Drive
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 60 hrs
2. Life Support: 97 hrs
K. Cargo Space: 20 liters
L. Computer Rating: A.I. (Lvl 8)
M. Hull
1. Forced Key Level (2)
N. Atmospheric Flight: NA
O. Interstellar Drive: YES
1. External Catalystic Drive
a) Efficancy (Lvl 3)
b) Range (Lvl 1)
P. Sublight Drive: Ion Drive
1. Acceleration (Lvl 5)
2. Manuvarbility (Lvl 5)
Q. Airlock: NA
R. Secondary Power System: Battery
S. The Virus is designed to carry an advanced A.I. deep into the battlefield and allow those A.I.s to attack the A.I.s of the opposing force. The two way neutrino beam should allow the ships A.I. to uplink to another computer system efficiently at a distance of up to .25 AU. The limited jump drive means that these ships can bet sent forward ahead of the larger fleet. The virus can also accommodate a human pilot which can maintain standard ship operations while the A.I. focuses on attacking the target computer system. Ideally the A.I. can lower the targets defenses long enough to employ an anti-ship missile or mine. The downside of the A.I. approach is that it is only effective if the ship has neutrino passed computer system. -Tangent
XII. Havvaga/fust (Hatefist)
A. Purpose: Patrol Ship/Gun Boat
B. Design Type: Oblong
C. Faction: Ska'rug Kingdoms
D. Crew Requirement: 16
E. Life Support: Internal-Atmospheric
F. Communications
1. High Power EM Transmitter
2. Wide Band EM Reciever
G. Sensors
1. Passive EM
2. Active EM
3. Magnetic Field Tracker
4. Gravity Barometer
H. Armament
1. 1x Particle Accelerator Beam
2. 1x Gamma Wave Generator
3. 3x Mass Driver Cannons (3x turrets)
I. Reactor
1. Fusion Reactor Level (8)
2. Dense Matter Converter (Lvl 1)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: (Fusion Reactor) 24,000 hrs
2. Fuel: Matter Converter (32 Jumps)
K. Cargo Space
1. 1,200,000 Liters
L. Computer Rating: Module (Lvl 1)
M. Hull
1. Conventional (Lvl 7)
2. Reflec Armor (Level 3)
N. Atmospheric Flight: Anti-Gravity/After Burners
1. Acceleration: Lvl 3
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 2
O. Interstellar Drive: D-Jump Drive
P. Sublight Drive: Ion Drive
1. Acceleration: Lvl 3
2. Maneuvarbility: Lvl 2
Q. Airlock: Yes
R. Secondary Power System: Deployable solar sail.
S. What we call the Hatefist is a ubiquitous craft among the Ska'rug and the design has been produced by numerous Ska'rug interests for generations. Without going into the onion that is Ska'rug social strata this ship is special to the Ska'rug in that it is the most basic ship that be commanded without a perceived loss of right or privilege. In other words it is the smallest respectable Ska'rug ship. The Hatefist is the ship a Ska'rug commands on his way up and on his way down the social ladder. The large number of these ships in service seem to a byproduct of the many displaced chieftains using these ships to prolong their careers. The regular military of the central government uses them as second line ships, fire support craft in fleet action and patrol craft. But the Hatefist is the common ship of raiders, merchants, mercenaries and poorly equipped rebel factons. The particle accelerator cannon makes these a dangerous craft, but the lack of modern tachyon sensors leaves them at a tactical disadvantage. The anti-gravity drive means it handle atmospheric flight safely and effective with the afterburners giving her the kick she needs to break free of the gravity well. G.G. Nubb
XIII. Ithaca
A. Purpose: Space Superiority Fighter
B. Design Type: Missile
C. Crew Requirement: 1
D. Life Support: Internal-Standard
E. Communications
1. Standard EM transmitter and Receiver
F. Sensors
1. Passive Tachyon
2. Passive EM
3. Active EM
4. Magnetic Field Tracker
G. Armament
1. 2x Mass Driver Pulse Cannons
2. 1x 80 Mw Flourine Laser Cannon
3. 2x Ion Cannons
H. Reactor:
1. Dense Matter Converter (Lvl 4)
I. Consumables
1. Fuel: 12 hours
2. Life Support: 24 hrs
J. Cargo Space
1. 10 liters
K. Computer Rating: System (Lvl 6)
L. Hull
1. Forced Key (Lvl 3)
2. Magnetic Deflector Shield (Lvl 3)
M. Atmospheric Flight: Mass Drivers
1. Acceleration: Lvl 3
2. Manuverability: Lvl 2
N. Interstellar Drive: NA
O. Sublight Drive: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration: Lvl 5
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 2
P. Airlock:Yes
Q. Secondary Power System: Battery
R. The FTOs first Forced Key ship did not combine that advance technology with other newly acquired technological advances. Thus, the use of the forced key hull on this ship can be seen more like a retrofit of the Norfolk although it was produced via an entirely new manufacturing plan. FTO may no longer be the only large-scale manufacturer of goods and technology in the human galaxy, but they still have a larger and more established distribution network than that of the dynastic interests. Though, the Ithaca does not have as long a history as say the Rook or her closest cousin in design, the Norfolk, she is widely found among those merchant fleets that sport a fighter cap or in the defense forces of private interests. Thus, like the Magma Lance this ship is well known due to intensive advertising. It is not a design that will win battles against front line craft, but it can delay or deter would-be pirates, raiders or rebels. It may be a little behind the times, but she is cheap and she is available (at least that is the ad copy). -G.G. Nubb
XIV. JOINT-7343128 (Ghost)
A. Purpose: Attack Fighter
B. Design Type: Multi-Pod
C. Dynastic Navy
D. Crew Requirement: NA
E. Life Support: NA
F. Communications
1. Tachyon Transmitter and Receiver
2. Extradimensonal Wave Generator
G. Sensors
1. Active Tachyon
2. Passive Tachyon
3. Passive EM
4. Magnetic Field Tracker
5. Dark Matter Monitor
6. Telephoto
H. Armament
1. 1x Heavy Particle Accelerator Cannon
2. 2x Razor Beam Quantum Particle Accelerator Cannons (Forward and Rear Arc)
3. 1x 120 Mw Radon Laser Cannon
4. 1x Enthrophy Field Generator
5. ECM package
a) Tachyon Displacement Field
b) EM Displacement Field
I. Reactor
1. 3x Micro Fussion Reactor (Lvl 10)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 200,000 Hours
2. Life Support: NA
K. Cargo Space; NA
L. Computer Rating: A.I. (Lvl 8)
M. Hull
1. Forced Key (Lvl 8)
2. Matter Ablative Deflector Shield (Lvl 5)
3. Magnetic Deflector Shield (Lvl 5)
4. Energy Ablative Armor (Lvl 5)
N. Atmospheric Flight: NA
O. Interstellar Drive: NA
P. Sublight Drive: Ion Drive
1. Acceleration: Lvl 8
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 5
Q. Airlock:NA
R. Secondary Power System: Deployable Solar Sail
S. The ship received the least amount of feedback of any ship manufactured and used by humanity. The Ghost is the Dynastic Militaries Second Generation Attack fighter. The three Mircofussion reactors are some of the most efficient ever produced and give the ship a low EM signature and enough power to operate numerous weapons systems. It is the ECM system that gives her the name Ghost, she is almost invisible to most standard interpretations of sensor readings. Ghosts have dominated the hand full of conflicts in which they have participated and any future military that wishes to challenge the Dynasty will have to have an answer to the Ghost. Reports regarding the A.I. suggest that they lack humanized personality and prefer to interact with other A.I.s. -Tangent
XV. KLAXON-4461 (Angel of Dark)
A. Purpose: Bomber
B. Design Type: DISC FORM
C. Faction: Dynastic Navy (Historical)
D. Crew Requirement: 1
E. Life Support: INTERNAL-ATMOSPHERIC
F. Communications:
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Receiver
G. Sensors
1. Passive Tachyon
2. Passive EM
3. Active EM
4. Telephoto
5. Radar
6. Sonar
7. Gravity Barometer
H. Armament
1. 2x Heavy Particle Accelerator Beam
2. 1x Mass Driver Cannon (Turret Mounted-Programmable)
3. 1x EM Pulse Generator
4. 4x Standard Missile Tubes
I. Reactor
1. Dense Matter Converter
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 96 hours
2. Lifesupport: 100 hours
K. Cargo Space: 1,000 liters
L. Computer Rating: System Wide Lvl:5
M. Hull
1. IDF Lvl 5
N. Atmospheric Flight: Anti-Gravity
1. Acceleration Lvl: 6
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 4
O. Interstellar Drive: NA
P. Sublight Drive Mass Driver
1. Acceleration: Lvl 5
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 1
Q. Airlock: NA
R. Secondary Power System: Battery
S. This craft is just another reason I wish the Dynasty was more open about its history. If so we might have an explaination for the Klaxon's existence. It was used by the freelance explorers that initially invaded 1st migration worlds and the EMP wave generator suggests that it was designed to deal with pre-neutrino circuit technology. The two heavy Particle accelerator Cannons which shouldn't be used in dense atmosphere suggests she was a fire support ship. She was a common craft among raiders and private militaries during the early lawless of days of the Dynastic Expansion. She was used primarly as a bomber, using her EMP to cripple low tech cities or installiations. In our surveys several former members of the Dynastic Navy reported working on Klaxon's as part of standard maintenance schedules. So we are calling her Dynastic Navy craft. But there is no record of it being used by the Dynastic Military Proper in active combat.
It is an illegal craft in the Union and ownership is heavily regulated on most Dynastic Worlds, thus the Klaxon is a relic of the small private wars that marked the early days of the second migration. The author knows of no current manufactures of the Klaxon.-G.G. Nubb
XVI. Laggor/eeekee (Buckey)
A. Purpose: Space Superiority Fighter
B. Design Type: Sphere
C. Faction: Ska'rug Kingdoms
D. Crew Requirement: 2
E. Life Support: Internal-Atmospheric
F. Communications:
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Receiver
2. Laser Link Data Stream
G. Sensors
1. Magnetic Field Tracker
2. Telephoto
3. Passive EM
4. Active EM
H. Armament
1. 6 x 10 Mw Sapphire Laser Cannons
2. 2x Conventional Rocket Launcher Batteries
I. Reactor: Micro Fussion (Lvl 5)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 20,000 hours
2. LifeSupport: 212 hours
K. Cargo Space
1. 80 Liter
L. Computer Rating: Module (Lvl 2)
M. Hull
1. Conventional (Lvl 4)
2. Magentic Deflectior Shield (Lvl 3)
3. Reflec Armor (Lvl 3)
N. Atmospheric Flight: NA
O. Interstellar Drive:NA
P. Sub-light Drive: Ion Drive
1. Acceleration: (Lvl 4)
2. Maneuverability: (Lvl 4)
Q. Airlock: NA
R. Secondary Power System: Battery
S. The main stay of all Ska'rug fighter caps for over 3 generations, it has seen most of its action in the Ska'rug civil wars. Able to fire in six directions at once, a good Ska'rug gunner can engage six targets at the same time, while the computer systems can guide rockets toward at least four other target. Easily dispatched at long range because of their lack of tachyon sensors, they can be difficult to deal with at close range since the ships is configured to allow maximum maneuverability and minimal inertia. G.G. has toured a captured examples of these craft. He reports that they have a large roomy cabin, lack a viewport and are designed to be operated in only weightless conditions.-Tangent
XVII. MAG-283737/ (Magi)
A. Purpose: Assault Shuttle/Boarding Craft
B. Design Type:Tranpsoidal
C. Faction: Dynastic Navy
D. Crew Requirement:1+2 Gunners
E. Life Support: Internal-Standard
F. Communications
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Receiver
2. Neutrino Up link Beam
G. Sensors
1. Passive EM
2. Active EM
3. Gravity Well Barometer
4. Magnetic Field tracker
5. Passive Tachyon
H. Armament
1. 3x EM Field Claws (2xTurret Mounted)
2. 1x Ion Cannon
3. 3x Focused Magnetic Field Generators (2x Turret Mounted)
4. 2xMass Driver Cannons (2x Turret Mounted)
5. 2x Razor Beam Particle Cannons (2x Turret Mounted)
6. 1xStandard Missile Tube
7. ECM
a) EM Displacement Field
b) Tacyhon Displacement Field
I. Reactor 6xMicro Fussion Reactor (Lvl 8)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 10,000 hours
2. Life Support (including Cargo Space): 60 hrs
K. Cargo Space
1. 170,000 liters (passengers)
2. 40,000 liters (cargo)
L. Computer Rating: System (Lvl 8)
M. Hull:
Forced Key (Lvl 6)
N. Atmospheric Flight: Anti-gravity
1. Acceleration: Lvl 2
2. Maneuverability: (Lvl 2)
O. Interstellar Drive: NA
P. Sublight Drive: Ion Drive
1. Accleration: Lvl 2
2. Manuevarability (Lvl 2)
Q. Airlock: Yes
R. Secondary Power System: Battery
S. The Magi Assault Shuttle is by mass to cost ratio the most expensive ship in the dynastic military. Most responders find these to be impressive fighting machines. They are designed to deliver 40 Zero-G marines to an enemy ship during combat. The shuttle can attach to the target ship with either the EM field claws or the magnetic field generators. The Magi can then eject the boarding party through 20 airlocks along the ships belly, and the marines trained in zero gravity combat are equipped to breach the hull and board the target ship. The ship is notable for the lack of an AI. A rumor has been circulated on the galactic scouting net that the shuttle originally had an AI, but the AIs were not willing to take the risks required of Magi shuttle pilots.-Tangent
XVIII. Magma Lance
A. Purpose: Space Superiority Fighter
B. Design Type: Penta-Winged Conventional Aerodynamic
C. Faction: Dynastic Interests
D. Crew Requirement:1
E. Life Support: Modular
F. Communications
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Receiver
G. Sensors
1. Passive EM
2. Passive Tachyon
3. Magnetic Field Tracker
4. Telephoto
H. Armament
1. 3x Mass Driver Pulse Cannons (Independent fire, forward arc only)
2. ECM Package
a) Tachyon Wave Generator
b) Magnetic Field Pods
I. Reactor
1. Dense Matter Drive (Lvl 2)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 44 hours ECM employed (120 hours cruising)
2. Life Support: NA
K. Cargo Space
1. 40 liters
L. Computer Rating: System (Lvl 4)
M. Hull
1. IDF Lvl (3)
2. Energy Ablative Armor (Lvl 5)
N. Atmospheric Flight: NA
O. Interstellar Drive: NA
P. Sub-light Drive: Ion Drive
1. Acceleration (Lvl 5)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 4)
Q. Airlock: NA
R. Secondary Power System: Solar Cells
S. This new craft has recently been developed and deployed to the Outer Arm. Designed and marketed (very heavily marketed) for the private armies of the dynastic noble houses, this craft says a lot about the relationship between the dynastic military and the Nobility. This ship is obviously designed to be a dog fighter and it appears to be armed to deal with modern Dynastic militaries. Its only weapons being a trio of forward mounted mass drivers means it would be less effective against Union ships that often mount magnetic deflector shields. The choice energy ablative armor, makes it harder to track with passive and active EM sensors but also makes it more susceptible to damage by high energy Laser weapons, also common on Union craft. Finally the Tacyhon wave generator would disrupt active Tachyon pulses, and distort passive Tachyon sensors readings. Tachyon sensor technology seldom seen on Union, FTO, Coronis or Ska'rug craft, but common in the Dynastic Military. Overall though the most pilots rated the Magma Lance as a cheap and under powered craft, that has gained undeserved popularity primarly due to her strking appearance and heavy marketing. The five wings are covered in cherry red solar panels they extend from the ships tail in star burst pattern. The transparent cockpit is also a popular draw. It is a very recognized ship even if most responders have not had personal experience with the ship.-G.G. Nubb
XIX. Nice
A. Purpose: Courier/Scout
B. Design Type: Multipod
C. Faction: FTO
D. Crew Requirement: 1
E. Life Support: Internal-Atmospheric-Cryogenic
F. Communications
1. Standard EM Receiver
2. High Power EM transmitter
G. Sensors
1. Passive EM
2. Magnetic Field Tracker
3. Gravity Barometer
H. Armament
1. 5 Mw Garrnet Laser Cannon
I. Reactor
1. 2x MicroFussion Level (5)
2. Matter Converter Reactor
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 23,000 hours
2. Life Support: 300 hours
K. Cargo Space
1. 900 Liters
2. 1 Cryopot
L. Computer Rating
1. Module: Lvl 6
M. Hull
1. Conevntional Lvl 3
N. Atmospheric Flight: NA
O. Interstellar Drive: C Drive (Lvl 8)
P. Sublight Drive: Ion Drive
1. Acceleration (Lvl 3)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 2)
Q. Airlock: Yes
R. Secondary Power System
1. Battery
2. Deployable Solar Sail
S. Here is my asterisk to my survey technique. If we were truly going through the most common ships in the Outward Arm today, this ship should not be included. But the majority of survey responders were familiar with this ship, even though it is no longer manufactured or deployed by any major power. The Nice, the FTO pronounces it like 'knees' or something, hasn't been in active service since the days of free lance exploration (about 120 standard years) but when the Nice was in service, it was everywhere. The Nice was tasked with traveling at light speed between FTO charted systems and scanning the airwaves for gossip and economic updates. The pilots of these ships were a special breed, they might make a 200 light year trip and only have 4 or 5 lived days during that trip. A person could still find some these pilots and our surveys did. Because even though the FTO stopped deploying these ships 120 years ago, Nices kept popping up for decades. Coming back from your mission a historical relic was the risk all these C drive spacefarers took and I sense they kind of got off on it. The formerly ubiquitous nature of the Nice means that Nices are lodged in the collective mind in the community of intrastellar navigators and ship designers. The FTO sold most of em off to third parties once the Peoria was introduced and to be fair they are commonly used for inner system shuttles or inner system courier ships.-G.G. Nubb
XX. Newton (Snake Eye)
A. Purpose: Gun Boat
B. Design Type: Cube
C. Faction: Dynastic Interests
D. Crew Requirement: None
E. Life Support: NA
F. Communications: Standard EM transmit and receive
G. Sensors
1. Neutrino sink
2. Tachyon Pulse
3. Passive Tachyon
4. Telephoto
5. Passive electromagnetic
H. Armament
1. Heavy Particle Accelerator cannon
I. Reactor: Dense Matter Reactor (Lvl 3)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel 40 hours
2. Life support NA
K. Cargo Space: NA
L. Computer Rating: A.I. (Lvl 3)
M. Hull:
1. IDF (Lvl 2)
2. Reflec Armor (Lvl 4)
N. Atmospheric Flight: NA
O. Interstellar Drive: NA
P. Sublight Flight: Heavy Mass Drive (Lvl 4)
1. Acceleration: Lvl 5
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 1
Q. Airlock: NA
R. Secondary Power System: NA
S. These flying blocks were developed for sale to the private armies of local governors and Noble houses. Marketed as cheap and efficient way to increase the fire power of your fleet, the Newton or Snake Eye as it was nicknamed can be found all over the galaxy. Responders also note that the A.I. pilot provided an incentive for potential buyers because most non-standard militaries did not have training facilities of their own. The Heavy Particle Accelerator Cannon is a capital ship weapon, and the Snake Eye's A.I. can fire it with pin point accuracy. The A.I.s are slow learners and tend to focus on high value targets or high profile target in battle rather than judging the tactical demands of the fight. The Snake Eye is an poor dog fighter. Its high acceleration and heavy mass drive can make it difficult to pursue through mass fields or near gravity wells, but its low maneuverability and the cannon's low rate of fire means that it would not do well in small craft combat.-Tangent
XXI. Norfolk-A (Bad Penny)
A. Purpose: Interceptor & Pursuit Craft
B. Design Type: Fixed Wing Aerodynamic
C. Faction: FTO
D. Crew Requirement: 1
E. Life Support: Internal-Atmospheric
F. Communications: EM Transmission and Receiver
G. Sensors
3. Active EM
H. Armament
1. 1x Ion Cannon
2. 1x Plasma Cannon
I. Reactor
2. Micro Fussion Reactor (Lvl 2)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 500 hours
2. Life: 520 hours
K. Cargo Space
1. 800 liters
L. Computer Rating: Modular (Lvl 3)
M. Hull
1. Covential (Lvl 6)
2. Energy Ablative
N. Atmospheric Flight: Yes (Mass Thrusters)
1. Acceleration: (Lvl 0)
2. Maneuverability: (Lvl 0)
O. Interstellar Drive: No
P. Sublight Drive: Ion Drive/Mass Drive
1. Acceleration (Lvl 5/Lvl 1)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 2/Lvl 1)
Q. Airlock: Yes
R. Secondary Power System: Battery
S. The Norfolk was the FTO's fast response, scout and pursuit fighter. As piracy became a problem later during the FTO's existence it became necessary to provide their craft with not only fighter escorts, but it was found to be cost effective to prevent those pirates from reaching their targets and pursuing them upon retreat. The Norfolk was designed to navigate solar systems and locate enemy locations. At the time the original Norfolk was implemented, pirates were exclusively planetary forces. Pirates would operate out of a moon or less populated portion of a planet. The second version of the Norfolk, the Norfolk-A, had wider deployment and longer career. The flights of Norfolk-A were often stationed permanently in high traffic systems. They would pursue enemies through out the system and police the areas. The Norfolk-A's energy ablative armor absorbs most EM radiation making the ship difficult to spot with passive and active EM sensors (though make it vulnerable to conventional laser attacks). The matter sampler sensor system allows the craft to gather micro debris from space and look for patterns associated with space traffic. Despite not having artificial gravity, she is a comfortable fighter, with a compact two room cabin and entertaining software packages. With regard to atmospheric flight, she is capable of take off and landing only. This craft was eventually made obsolete as pursuit craft by the development of smaller and more efficient C drives that allowed ships to move nearer the speed of light in system. -Tangent
XXII. Orpheus-7
A. Purpose: Electronic Warfare
B. Design Type: Convential Fixed Wing Aeronautical design
C. Faction: Union of Worlds
D. Crew Requirement: 1
E. Passenger Space: 1
F. Life Support: Internal Atmospheric-Cryogenic
G. Communications:
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Reciver
2. High Power Microwave Beam Generator
H. Sensors
1. Passive EM
2. Active EM
3. Gravity Barometer
4. Magentic Field Tracker
I. Armament
1. 2x 120 Mw Argon Laser Cannons
2. ECM
a) Tachyon Wave Generator
b) EM Pulse Generator
c) Nuetrino Displacement Field
d) Magnetic Field Pod
J. Reactor: Anti-Matter Converter
K. Consumables
1. Fuel: 5,000 Hours
2. Life Support: 900 hours
3. Cyro-Span: 120 years
L. Cargo Space: 2,000 liters
M. Computer Rating: System (Lvl 3)
N. Hull: Conventional (Lvl 2)
O. Atmospheric Flight: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration: Lvl 1
2. Manuverablity: Lvl 1
P. Interstellar Drive: C Drive (Lvl 3)
Q. Sub-light Drive Mass Driver:
1. Acceleration Lvl 4
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 1
R. Airlock: No
S. Secondary Power System: Deployable Solar Sail
T. The Orpheus-1 was the Union of World's endemically designed courier ship and scout ship. She was the ugly duckling of the Union's native design and manufacturing elements. The fliers and navigators to which she was first introduced favored the commercially available Nice that had a more efficient C-Drive and a larger hard drive. Another popular C-Drive capable contemperary, also an FTO construction, was the Vanderbelt. The Vanderbelts were a more comfortable, blessed with greater versatility and extremely thick skinned-she was called the Rasputin. Yet the desire of the Union of Worlds to compete with FTO in manufacturing and space power spurred production of the Orpheus well beyond actual demand. After the formal Dynastic invasion started, the FTO withdrew aid from the Union of Worlds, and the Orpheus became vital for carrying communications between Union Worlds. The initial confrontations between those small space craft common on Union planets such as the Rook and the Dynastic Navy's TONG and TAB class fighters proved that the lack tachyon sensors put the 1st Migration Worlds and the Union of Worlds at an extreme disadvantage. Union Scientists and Engineers were unable to develop a tachyon sensor of their own, but they were able to develop a Tachyon wave generator, which would disrupt Tachyon sensors. Because the Tachyon Wave generator is a high energy device it required a ship with high energy reactor. The Orpheus fit the bill. Later versions of the Orpheusus were developed to provide ECM cover to other Union ship. The current version of the Orpheusus was commonly deployed in mixed combat teams which included Ulysses or Fulcrum class combat vessels. -V.Y. Black
XXIII. Rook
A. Purpose: Attack Fighter
B. Design Type: Missile
C. Faction: Union of Worlds
D. Crew Requirement: 1
E. Life Support: Modular
F. Communications
1. Standard EM transmitter and Receiver
G. Sensors
1. Passive EM
2. Active EM
3. Magnetic Field Trackers
H. Armament
1. 2x 30 Mw Plasma Cannons (2x Turret Mounted)
2. 1x Sapphire 10Mw Laser Cannon
I. Reactor: Anti-Matter Drive (Lvl 3)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 20,000 hours
2. Life Support: NA
K. Cargo Space
1. 40 liters
L. Computer Rating: System Wide (Level 3)
M. Hull
1. Conventional (Level 7)
2. Mass Ablative Shield Generator (Lvl 2)
N. Atmospheric Flight: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration (Lvl 2)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 1)
O. Interstellar Drive: No
P. Sublight Drive: Ion/Mass Conversation Drive
1. Acceleration (Lvl 6)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 4)
Q. Airlock: No
R. Secondary Power System: Battery
S. This pre-dynasty craft was produced in several Union systems prior to the invasion. She was one of the first military construction projects undertaken by the newly form Union of Worlds. The Rook was produced specifically to confront Ska'rug and Corononis Threats, and also to help the Union keep control of her populations with in her systems. Despite being outfitted with a potentially dangerous anti-matter drive the Rook was extremely popular and widely produced. Everything except the reactor and the thrusters were made from pre fabricated FTO starcraft kits. Despite the use of pre-frabicated parts she was a unique design. One previously untried and since unrepeated feature was the use of 'Arm Turrets' for the Plasma Cannons. The mechanical appendages could reach and stretch away from the body of the ship like arms and the pilot could control by using 'Motion capture gloves' or by locking them into place. Additionally singular about this vehicle was that the pilot was strapped to the ship in a standing (or lying position, depending on your point of reference) in front of a view plate that covered the entire nose of the craft. This configuration provided the pilot a great deal of visibility, but it has not been a design repeated since.
Despite having superior acceleration compared with most dynasty ships at the time of invasion and having a very sturdy hull, the lack of tachyon sensor technology made these easy targets for Dynastic Gunners. The Rook's forwarded laser cannon was largely ineffectual against Dynasty Forced Key or IDF hulls and the Plasma cannons had a limited effective range. The lack of anti-gravity drives or a classical aerodynamic configuration meant that it was outmatched by dynasty fighters and drones during atmospheric flight as well.-Tangent
I flew a Rook once and it is was a worth while experince, the craft is small and it has a bubble cockpit that makes you feel like you are sitting comfortably among the stars. The modular life support systems means you are wearing space suit, which I was thankful for, because I am sure I could not sit in a transparent cockpit and keep my calm with the vacuum of space just an invisible 4cms away. Once you get over the anxiety being so visiably exposed and strapped onto on an anti-matter reactor, she is fun craft in which to whip around a gravity well.-V.Y. Black
XXIV. TAB-3118 (The Bastard)
A. Purpose: Interceptor/Pursuit fighter
B. Design Type: Oblong
C. Faction: Dynastic Navy
D. Crew Requirement: NA
E. Life Support: NA
F. Communications
1. Standard EM transmitter Receiver
2. Extra Dimensional Pulse Generator
G. Sensors
3. Active EM
5. Active Tachyon
H. Armament
1. 1x Heavy Particle Accelerator Cannon
2. 2x EM Field Claw
3. 1x 80 Mw Xenon Laser Cannon
I. Reactor: Dense Matter Reactor (Lvl 5)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 2,000 hours
2. Life Support: NA
K. Cargo Space: NA
L. Computer Rating: A.I. (Lvl 5)
M. Hull
1. Forced Key (lvl 3)
N. Atmospheric Flight: NA
O. Interstellar Drive: C drive (LVL 5)
P. Sub-light Drive: Dense Mass Driver
1. Acceleration (Lvl 10)
2. Manuverablity (Lvl 3)
Q. Airlock: NA
R. Secondary Power System: Battery
S. No responder who has worked with the TAB, the Dynastic military's standard interceptor and pursuit fighter, can discuss it without discussing the personality of the A.I. that comes with it. One man I spoke with was part of a freelance mercenary company and they'd hired a TAB that had broke ranks and deserted the Dynasty. He said that unlike most A.I.s he had met the A.I. of the TAB was entirely uninterested in improving its programming or expanding it awareness. The TAB's A.I. that responded to our follow-up survey were convinced of their own perfection and concerned only with their next kill. I conducted follow-up interviews with two different TABs one serving in the Navy and another assigned to the private army of a Dynastic Interest. Both said they preferred to be asleep when not in combat.
When assigned to contemporary front line units, TABs function as in-system scouts, sentries and skirmishers. The Ghost is typically used in the frontal assault should a fighter attack be warranted. There appears to be some rivalry between the two A.I.s. The TAB though is not a frontline unit. The TAB is commonly used for escort or garrison duty. They are not equipped for dog-fighting against other contemporary fighters, so their role is usually mopping up after the Space Superiority Fighters have repulsed enemy fighter attacks or using their particle cannon to serve as a fire support unit. The standard pursuit tactic for the TAB's A.I.s is to infer were their sublight targets are heading and use their C drives to get there before them. -Tangent
XXV. TAK-8449 (Hydra)
A. Attack Fighter/Air Superiority Fighter
B. Design Type: Disc Form
C. Faction: Dynastic Navy
D. Crew Requirement: 2 (pilot & communication and sensor operator)
E. Life Support: Internal-Standard
F. Communications
1. Standard EM Transmitter/Receiver
2. Tachyon Transmitter/Receiver
G. Sensors
1. Telephoto (Whisker Drones)
2. Neutrino Sink
3. Gravity Barometers
4. Passive Tachyon
5. Tachyon Pulse (Whisker Drones)
H. Armament
1. 2x 40Mw Plasma Cannons
2. 2x Depleted Uranium Mass Projectors
3. 2x Ion Cannons
4. 2x Razor Beam Quantum Particle Accelerator Cannons
5. 2x EM field claws
I. Reactor: Matter Drive (Lvl 2)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 60 hours space side/12 hours atmospheric
2. Life-support: 16 hours
K. Cargo Space: 40 liters
L. Computer Rating: Programmable System Wide (Lvl 5)
M. Hull
1. Forced Key (Lvl 3)
N. Atmospheric Flight: Anti-gravity Drive
1. Acceleration: (Lvl 6)
2. Maneuverability: (Lvl 6)
O. Interstellar Drive: No
P. Sublight Drive: Ion Drive
1. Acceleration (Lvl 3)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 3)
Q. Airlock: Yes
R. Secondary Power System: Micro Fusion Reactor (Lvl1)
S. The TAK-8449 was the space superiority fighter of the Dynastic forces directly before the formal military driven Dynastic Migrations began. It was never used as a frontline fighter for any of the large scale Dynastic Military operations during the Migration Wars. She was relegated to rear guard duties and garrison patrols. Following the Migration Wars the Dynasty began selling off its old Hyrdas. The TAK-8449 does not employ any deflector of ECM technology but does have the advantage have a forced key hull. The five different ship-to-ship weapon systems makes the TAK-8449 an extremely adaptable aggressor in combat. The Ion drive/Anti-grav drive combo on the ship presents an interesting problem. The Hydra can enter standard atmosphere and maneuver effectively, but it does not have enough thrust to escape to strong gravity wells on its own and thus needs a booster craft or skiff to re-enter free space. Additionally, the ship is underpowered, the matter drive is adaptable to a number of fuels, but the energy requirements of a forced key hull and an anti-gravity drive burn fuel quickly. The computer control is system wide and programmable, thus pilots can put place complex sets of standing orders. But the computer interface is difficult and the Hydra used a unique OS. Pilots have described hydra Certification process as walking up a learning cliff. The handful of Dynastic Ship designers were very familiar with the craft, noting the that the backup reactor used in this ship severed as template for later more efficient reactors.-Tangent
XXVI. TONG-921 (Shyruken)
A. Purpose: Space Superiority Fighter
B. Design Type: Disc Form
C. Faction: Dynastic Navy
D. Crew Requirement: NA
E. Life Support: NA
F. Communications
1. Standard EM Transmitter & Reciever
2. Tachyon Transmitter & Reciever
G. Sensors
1. Passive EM
2. Active EM
3. Passive Tachyon
4. Active Tachyon
5. Magnetic Field Tracker
6. Whisker Drones
a) Gravity Barometers
b) Passive EM
H. Armament
1. 2x EM Field Claws
2. 4x Mass Driver Cannons (4 firing arcs)
3. 1x Particle Accelerator Cannon (turret mounted)
4. 2x Standard Missle Tubes
I. Reactor
1. Dense Matter Reactor (Lvl 7)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 19 Hours
2. Lifesupport: NA
K. Cargo Space: NA
L. Computer Rating: A.I. (Lvl 6)
M. Hull
1. Forced Key (Lvl 6)
N. Atmospheric Flight: NA
O. Interstellar Drive: C-Drive (lvl 4)
P. Sublight Drive: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration (Lvl 8)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 6)
Q. Airlock: NA
R. Secondary Power System: Battery
S. The principle fighter of the Dynastic Military during the migration war. The TONG had replaced the TAK-499, trading out the human pilot for an aggressive but patient A.I. and a stronger reactor with a more efficient prow to thrust relationship leading to better acceleration and maneuverability in addition to a C-drive for in system travel. It never saw a lot of true dog fighting during the war, its active tachyon sensor array meant that it almost always got the first shot off against 1st Migration forces, and with the particle accelerator cannon, a C-drive, and standard missile tubes that carried smart missiles: few migration space fighters ever got close to a TONG.-Tangent
XXVII. Thunderclap
A. Purpose: Bomber
B. Design Type: Blended Fixed Wing
C. Faction: Union of Worlds
D. Crew Requirement: 2-4 (Pilot, Bombardier & can accommodate 2 gunners
E. Life Support: Modular
F. Communications:
1. Standard EM Transmitter and Receiver
G. Sensors
1. Gravity barometer (Lvl 8)
2. Passive EM (Lvl 8)
3. Neutrino Sink (Lvl 5)
4. Telephoto
5. Radar
H. Armament
1. Gamma Radiation Wave Generator
2. 2x Fission Warhead Rocket banks
3. 2x Depleted Uranium Mass Projectors (Turret mounted)
I. Reactor
1. Matter/Anti-Matter Reactor (level 5)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 60,000 hours
2. Life Support:NA
K. Cargo Space
1. Two Cryo-pots
2. 1000 liters (shielded Cargo)
L. Computer Rating: Modular (Lvl 2-3)
M. Hull
1. Conventional (Lvl 3)
2. Mass Ablative Shield Generator
N. Atmospheric Flight: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration (Lvl 3)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 1)
O. Interstellar Drive: C-Drive (Lvl 8)
P. Sub-light Drive: Ion Drive
1. Acceleration (Lvl 6)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 2)
Q. Airlock: No
R. Secondary Power System: Battery
S. The Thunderclap bomber is a flying wing designed around the model of traditional cockpit style aircraft. It utilizes a powerful antimatter reactor to operate an extremely forceful ion drive. The Thunderclap also carries a mass drive converter, that allows its ion drive to converted to a mass driver for atmospheric flight. Use of this conversion uses fuel reserves of the reactor at 100 times the normal rate. She is a deep space capable craft with a late generation C-Drive and modular life support system. The crew are required to wear breathing suits while operating the ship, and a special pressure suit was designed specifically for the Thunderclap to be compatible with the ship's cryogenic system. The Thunderclap is a restricted or illegal craft on dynastic, FTO and Union star systems. The modular computer system can operate the belly and tail mounted mass driver guns to try and eliminate incoming ordinance and a separate computer can angle the deflector shield. A third programable pilot control computer can operate the ship while using C-drive or when the human operators are in cryo-sleep. -Tangent
Developed by the Union of Worlds during the later third of the Migration Wars, the Thunderclap was designed to attack population centers, using the gamma wave generator to poison populations that it could not destroy with its fission rockets. It was a desperate measure, and I admit it was of questionable tactical value. But perhaps it did force the Dynastic Interests to share a bit of the existential threat born of war. The Thunderclap's actions during the war should never be forgotten least we forget how terribly pointless it is to try and compel by force what should be earned by merit. I have seen a wing of Thunderclaps descend from space flight to atmospheric flight leaving golden trails of sunset from the crest of twilight to the dying horizon. -V.Y. Black
XXVIII. Ulysses
A. Purpose: Space Superioty Fighter
B. Design Type: Aeronautical fixed wing
C. Faction: Union of Worlds
D. Crew Requirement: 2 (pilot and gunner)
E. Life Support: Internal-Atmospheric-Sustaining
F. Communications
1. Standard EM transmitter and Receiver
2. Laser Link Data Stream
G. Sensors
H. Armament
Linked Laser-Anti-Matter-Mag Field Projector Cannons
1a. 8x Anti-Matter ProjectorsCannon
1b. 4x 80 Mw Fluorine Laser Cannons
1c.4x Magnetic Field Projectors
2. 4 xMass Projectors (Forward Arc Firelinked)
I. Reactor: Anti-Matter/Matter Reactor (Lvl 5)
J. Consumables
1. Fuel: 1,000-10,000 hrs
2. LifeSupport: 90 hours
K. Cargo Space
1. 100 liters
L. Computer Rating: Module (Lvl 7)
M. Hull
1. Conventional (Lvl 7)
2. Energy Ablative Armor (Lvl 5)
3. Matter Ablative Shield Generator (Lvl 10)
N. Atmospheric Flight: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration (Lvl 6)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 1)
O. Interstellar Drive: NA
P. Sub-light Drive: Mass Driver
1. Acceleration: (Lvl 7)
2. Maneuverability: (Lvl 8)
Q. Airlock: Yes
R. Secondary Power System: Battery
S. The Ulysses was a late addition to the Union forces and was an innovative and risky design. Union High Command had not been able to develop an efficient and accurate particle accelerator weapon, but they wanted weapon that carried the same destructive power. Anti-matter tipped projectiles had been some what effective, but were expensive, not easy to produce in mass, and easily avoided by small Dynasty craft. Thus, the idea of firing pure anti-matter at the enemy was realized in the Ulysses. The idea was that the Laser Cannons and Magnetic Field Projectors could be fired picoseconds before the anti-matter canons were fired to clear the path of stray particles and debris. As we all know the Ulysses had both startling success and dramatic failures during the war. I got to take a test flight in the gunners well of a Ulysses once, and it was amazing if challenging experience. The gunners well is completely separate from the pilots cabin and sits in the very nose the ship. It floats free in zero gravity and has an independent gyro pivot, so that no matter which way the pilot moves the ship you have complete control of were you and your the mass projector guns are facing. The gunner or the pilot can fire the anti-matter projectors. While I did enjoy a joy ride in a Ulysses. I was not brave enough to live fire the anti-matter cannons.
-V.Y. Black
XXIX. Vanderbelt-33 (Rasputin)
A. Purpose: Ground Support
B. Design Type: Multi-Pod
C. Faction: FTO
D. Crew Requirement: 3 (1 pilot & 2 Gunners)
E. Life Support: Internal-Atmospheric-Sustaining-Cyrogenics
F. Communications
1. Standard EM transmitter and Receiver
2. Deep Space Microwave Transmitter
G. Sensors
2. Active EM
3. Radar
H. Armorment
1. 1x 30Mw Plasma Cannon
2. 2x 20Mw Argon Laser Cannons (2x turrets)
3. 2x Depleted Uranium Mass Driver Guns (2x turrets)
I. Reactor: Micro Fission Reactor (Lvl 9)/Matter Converter(afterburners only) (Lvl 5)
J. Consumables
1. FUEL 970,000 hours (reactor)
2. Life Support: 32,000 hours
K. Cargo Space: 2000 liters
L. Computer Rating: System Wide (Lvl 3)
M. Hull
1. Conventional (Lvl 10)
2. Mass Ablative Shield Generator (Lvl 5)
N. Atmospheric Flight: 2x Jet turbine plus External Mass Drive Afterburner
1. Acceleration (Lvl 2)
2. Maneuverability (Lvl 4)
O. Interstellar Drive
1. C Drive (Lvl 8)
P. Sub light Drive: Internal Ion drive/External Mass Drive Afterburner
1. Ion Drive
a) Acceleration (Lvl 1)
b) Maneuverability (Lvl 4)
2. Mass Driver
a) Acceleration (Lvl 4)
b) Maneuverability (Lvl 1)
Q. Airlock: No
R. Secondary Power System: Solar Panel
S. I had a Vanderbelt-26. That was the last model with the anti-matter reactor and I loved it. The Vanderbelt was the only commercially available interstellar craft made by the FTO that was also capable of atmospheric flight. Back then the Micro Fission reactors made by the FTO were not efficient enough to power a C drive. Thus she required an anti-matter reactor. While traveling on a ship with anti-matter reactor may strike many as foolish risk, the freedom the Vanderbelt provided me was essential. She was billed as a ground support vehicle, but we used her primarily as a scout and courier ship. The jet turbine on these rugged and versatile craft could work some of the densest methane atmospheres I ever encountered, and the hull could handle some upscale pressures. I actually don't know what the design specification on the craft are regarding pressure. Considering the abuse I put her through though maybe I happier not knowing. She was perfect for scouting; the two side mounted jet turbines could pivot so you can fly her as VTOL craft and land anywhere. I don't know anyone that uses the C drive for interstellar travel now but local law enforcement and private militias are still buying the Vanderbelt. The C-drive can be used to whip a small crew around star system in minutes. She is a tough ship, and if you can handle the time distortion it pays to have a craft that will knock around a solar system at the speed of light.
-V.Y. Black
XXX. ZARCA/MAX (Horseman/Snail Mail)
A. Purpose: Propaganda and Psychological Warfare/Drone Launcher
B. Design Type: Single Wedge
C. Faction: Ska'Rugg
D. Crew Requirement: 7
E. Passenger Space: 10
F. Life Support: Internal-Atmospheric
G. Communications:
1. High-Power Multi-Channel EM transmitter
2. Extend Range EM Receiver
3. Audio Generator
4. Pheromone Propellant System
H. Sensors
1. Telephoto
2. Passive EM
3. Gravity Barometer
4. Magnetic Field Tracker
I. Armament
1. 800 Mw Hydrogen Laser
2. Drone Launching Bay
J. Reactor:
1. Fission Reactor Lvl 9
2. Mass Converter Lvl 3 (Jump Drive and Afterburners Only)
K. Consumables
1. Fuel: Fission Reactor 1,200 hours
2. Fuel: Mass Converter (6 Jumps/200 Hard Burns)
L. Cargo Space
1. 4x Drones
2. 50,000 Liters
M. Computer Rating: Module (Lvl 1)
N. Hull: Conventional Lvl 6
O. Atmospheric Flight: Anti-Gravity Drive
1. Acceleration: Lvl 5
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 2
P. Interstellar Drive: Jump Drive
<3> Q. Sublight Drive: Ion Drive with Mass Driver Afterburner
1. Acceleration: Lvl 1-4
2. Maneuverability: Lvl 1
R. Airlock: Yes
S. Secondary Power System: Deployable Solar Sail
T. The ZARCA/MAX was the first Ska'rug craft observed by human intelligence services via long range scan, and it was originally believed to be scout craft or skirmisher. While it may certainly play this role from time to time, the ZARCA/MAX's primary function is more equatable to courier ship. But in actuality there is not equatable family of craft in human fleets. The Ska'rug lack any central media outlets and there is a developed bureaucracy The ZACRA/MAX is designed to influence the behavior of planetary population through propaganda and direct mood manipulation through the use of pheromones. However, like most pre-human contact Ska'rugg spacecraft, she is generalist. The powerful laser cannon was an effective weapon against against most of its contemporaries during the Ska'rugg civil wars and its drone bay made it something of a light carrier. Unlike the Hatefist command of these crafts are restricted to chieftains directly linked to the Ska'rugg High King.
-V.Y. Black
It is unclear if any of these craft are still in existence, but they remain rooted in the cultural mind set because of the large roll this class of ship played in initiating the Ska'rugg-Dynastic conflict. This ship was used by the Ska'rugg monarchy to spur the populace to war and to make the first organized raids into human space.
-Tangent
LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM TERMINOLOGY
Modular life support refers to life sustaining clothing. This could be an autonomous space suit but it also may be a suit that links into and is supported by an onboard system. But when a ship is described as having Modular Life support it is assumed that consumables are brought with the crew when they board. The internal life support systems are part of the ship design and means that a passenger or crew member can survive in the cabin without protective clothing or his/her own source of breathable atmosphere. Internal Life Support is further broken down into standard or atmospheric. Atmospheric life support provides air pressure, a stored breathable air mixture, temperature control and radiation shielding. A standard life support system, referred to as standard because it is the required system on all dynastic spacecraft, includes gravity, nutrients and water. Within this category you also have sustaining life support. This is system by which the ship's life support purges itself of impurities created by passengers and actively produces new consumables. This includes waste recycling and a CO2 to O2 cycle. Cryogenic life-support means that there is a stasis chair or cryopot on the ship that can suspend life functions using minimal power.
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? Responses (4)
Solid 5/5 nothing else sums it up better than that!
Took me a few days to work my way through this but it was worth the time. The intro was great and set the mood nicely.
The ships were nicely done and different enough to make them interesting. I mostly focused on the blurb at the end of each entry. I'm thinking of switching one of my games to classic Sci-Fi in a month or so, and this could prove to be a great resource (modified to fit the setting, of course).
5/5
Wow, this is quite the exhaustive work.
Excellent use of artwork, though you could go a lot lighter on the formats in the scrolls. I typically use header 3 and 4 since the larger ones are just too large. Solid bold text -apart from headers and keywords - should be avoided
As long as my story. 5/5
