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Firefly comes into my mind... I mean they have a decent ship,
a rather good crew, yet (I am around the 6th episode at the moment)
they are on the verge of bankruptcy.

Adios
KLM

I'm note telling you what the rest of the episodes are like KLM. You love the rest of the series! Enjoy! They are worth watching.

Alas, I was always working the nights Firefly played on my local channels...then it moved to cable/satellite TV, which I refuse to get....
So I gotta take everybody's word for it....

taalismn wrote:

KLM wrote:Bah... So you won't be one of my costumers

Adios
KLM

See? Honesty DOESN'T pay!

All depends on which side of the transaction you're on..

If I'm SELLING, I want KLM to help me price accordingly so I get the best price for my goods...
If I'm BUYING, he's staying in the parking lot minding the car and doing crossword puzzles until I'm finished hitching the landing gear tow-bar to the trailer hitch....

Then again, if the product is good, people will pay....and if it's lousy, and you cut the price enough, people will still pay for it...

Best quote I've seen to something related to this:

"China has low labor costs, but you can work out how low the price should be. Businessmen should know something is wrong if the product is cheaper than it should be."

It's worth watching Taalismn!

Ah, my players usually come up with the newest
version "Scums of the Galaxy", with new cytrus
scent...

...up to the usual Space Opera standards

Nevertheless, LoL.

Adios
KLM

LOL...
I started out with a serious Robotech concept campaign..
and ended up with ''Friends' With Mecha'
Considering the players designed their own garrison barracks(four levels of bunker fun and excitment, and a backdoor to the Tirolian sewers).

*WZ-LF-203 Angel Light Fighter
Screw stealth; when the Divinity’s on your side, you may as well flaunt it. This seems to be the design philosophy behind the Angel Light Fighter...With its broad wings. light hull, and high-albedo and high sensor signature airfoil design, the Angel would seem destined to send itself and its pilot to an early appointment with the Maker. However, WZTechYards has built a ringer in this ship; far from being a defenseless target, the Angel makes a virtue of being a skeet-projectile by being able to absorb enemy weapons fire and use it to bolster its own performance. The hotter the combat, the better this little ship gets. The Angel introduces a new energy-absorption technology that allows the ship to soak up energy attacks and then re-direct the energy to be retasked for other purposes; boosting speed, reinforcing shields, and/or pumping up the laser armaments. The fragile-looking wings that make such bright and tempting targets for hotshot gunners and advanced gunnery computers are actually soaking up the energy fire and turning it back on the Angel’s attackers.
The Angel carries only light armament, but its ability to use enemy energy attacks to boost both its shield strength and weapons power compensates for this. The Angel is one of the few ships that actually performs better as it heats up in combat.
Of course, the novel new energy-absorbant plating isn’t totally foolproof, and pilots who mistake the relative immunity from energy weapons fire for true invincibility are well-advised to reread the operator’s manual or buy some other model of ship. Without its cutting edge defense system, the Angel is otherwise a light fighter, small and lightweight, and would make an admirable low-end escort or escort fighter in its own right, especially with its low cost. Its streamlined design and responsive controls, based on both the ARZ-1014 ‘Averon’ atmofighter and the Gr’TA755 Shuttle-Evader(both produced by sub-member companies of WZ) makes for a quick, agile small ship can perform acrobatically both in atmosphere and in deep space.
The Angel made a splash when it first became available on the galactic market. Even though the major powers quickly caught on to the Angel’s vulnerabilities, sales of the light fighter have remained brisk, as energy weapons continue to be the weapons of choice for point defense and combat among most militaries. Both the Angel’s energy-retasking capabilities and its admittedly photogenic appearance have made it as popular with PR-conscious private security and corporate buyers, as with planetary militias and mercenary units.
So popular has the Angel been in sales that when Ulna sucessionists and Golgan-hired Amean Rizul security forces clashed over the contested world of Barkos XI in the Kos’Ulnu system, both sides were equipped with squadrons of recently-acquired Angel fighters. The resulting ‘Battle of Angels’ lasted approximately three hours and resulted in no substantial damage or casualties to either side, and no clear winner, before both forces retired from the field, unable to score a decisive victory against each other.
Type:WZ-LF-203 Angel
Class:Light Fighter
Crew: 1
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 400
Reinforced Crew Compartment 100
Wings(2) 200 each
Laser Cannons(2) 120 each
Forcefield* 1,000
*Shield Refresh Rate is 10% per melee
Height: 6 ft(2 m)
Width: 18 ft (6 m)
Length: 21 ft (7 m)
Weight: 4 tons
Cargo: Small space in cockpit for a survival pack and sidearm.
Powerplant: Lucerin-fueled Fusion Nuclear w/ 18 year energy life.
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 6, transatmospheric
(Sublight) Mach 11
(Kitsune Values: 40% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.9% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) The Angel is NOT equipped with an FTL drive
(Underwater) The Angel is NOT designed for underwater operations
Bonuses: +3 to Dodge
Market Cost: 22 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Spacecraft Systems, plus:
*Energy Absorber Panels----These massive wing panels are composed of a crystalline matrix and conformal forcefield that actually absorbs and diverts weapons energy into retasked energy for the fighter’s own systems. This system actually ABSORBS incoming enemy laser, ion, and particle beam weapons fire and reduces its damage by 75%...the next melee, HALF of the damage initially rolled is applied to one of the following: Forcefield MDC(point to point increase, and the additional MDC can be retained for 4 melees), energy weapons(increase damage by 1 MD per 2 MD inflicted/absorbed and/or range by 100 ft per 1 MD of damage inflicted/abosrbed...energy can only be held for 4 melees or else retasked ), or speed(boost base speed by 10% per 50 MD of energy weapon damage; effects are sustained only for 4 melees). The system is ineffective against plasma, rail guns, and projectile weaponry, as well as magic(does FULL damage). The only other limitation is that it cannot handle more than 600 MD per melee(so a main battle cannon doing 1d6x1,000 MD per blast would do full damage).

Weapons Systems:
1) Pulse Laser Cannons(2)---The Angel mounts only a pair of high-powered lasers for offense/defense, but the weapons can be power-pumped by the energy absorber wings, allowing for upward performance improvements in range and damage, as overseen by an advanced power management computer(which can alter range/damage settings in response to pre-set settings, or vocal inputs by the pilot).
Range: 4,000 ft in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per single blast, 4d6x10 MD for both cannons firing simultaneously on one target(counts as one attack)
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

Variants:
A few variants of the Angel have been attempted in the field, typically to increase the ship’s striking power, but such changes to the ship’s airframe have almost always resulted in a degrading of the ship’s agility.
The three most successful improvements to the Angel have been modifying the fighter to be compatible with the FTL Booster packs available from a variety of manufacturers, the addition of two single-shot medium range missile launch pylons, and the fitting of the ship’s hull with laser reflective armor(any laser energy not being absorbed by the panels doing only HALF damage)...All of these modifications are available as upgrade kits from WZ.

Very nice! Nice Starship Taalismn!

Thank you...struggling to keep up...

I still have to design some more myself! Been think about it. I need to move on it.

Z-SR-MV-013 Wraith Stealth Recon Mechanized Vehicle
“Seesh...twenty-one hours over the target, monitoring the comings and goings out of that zemi-club, and all for a fifteen minute target designator lock-on for an orbital launched interdiction missile to take out one single hovercar and already the Fleet louts are claiming credit for killing Bosz Mheramet----Let’s grab a caffe stand on the way back...I’m tired and I’m thirsty and I need a pick-me-up.”

The ‘Wraith’ is a specialized robot scout vehicle that has been introduced by WZTechYards a part of their ongoing assistance agreement with the mechknights of Hadazad. The Wraith is an adaptation of a lightweight airborne combatron used extensively on Hadazad for battlefield reconnoitering. Because high atmospheric ionic storms and low-level giant predators make flying a conventional aircraft on Hadazad extremely dangerous, a vehicle that could function as both an aircraft and a land-based robot was the best compromise.
In the hands of WZTechYards, the original scout combatron design has undergone some changes. An advanced powr-crystal powerplant replaces the original fusion engine, a more powerful lift-and-drive propulsion system has been installed for superior performance both in atmosphere and in space, and a powerful stealth suite has been mounted. This latter modification has necessitated the removal of most of the original design’s weaponry, as the particular stealth systems installed preclude the use of any energy-based weaponry, and the original missile systems took up room now dedicated to countermeasure gear.
The robot market is a slow one, galaxy-wide, but so far sales of the Wraith have been good. The Free Worlds Council buys a large number(or has them bought for them), and has deployed them in strength on several contested worlds
Type:WZ-SR-MV-013
Class: Stealth Recon Mechanized Vehicle
Crew: 2
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 900
Head 300
Reinforcd Crew Compartment 150
Wings(2) 200 each
Upper Arms(2) 180 each
Hand(1) 80
Gatling Cannon(1) 150
Legs(2) 180 each
Tail 150
Forcefield 700
Height:36 feet (12 m)
Width:66 feet (22 m)
Length:60 feet (20 m)
Weight: 18 tons
Cargo: Small 4 ftx4ftx4 ft closet space for gear
Powerplant:Advanced Lucerin-Fuelled Nuclear-Fusion w/ 30 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 3 , CANNOT leave the atmosphere under its own power.
(Sublight) Mach 11
(Kitsune Values: 50% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.8% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) Not possible
(Underwater) Perfectly at home underwater; can move at 55 MPH, and survive depths of 1,000 ft.
Bonuses: +2 to Dodge, +3 to Roll
Market Cost: 55 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Robot Systems, plus:

*Aura Scanner---For detecting and identifying PPE concentrations. Range: 4000 ft

*ElectroMagnetic Detector---A more powerful version of a magnetometer/magnetic anomaly detector, this system can pick up on electrical emissions from engines, sensor systems, powerlines, and even cybernetics and bionics. The magnetometer has a range of 6,000 ft and can detect vehicles and other metallic structures with 80% accuracy, while non-metallic electrical conductors(such as certain ceramics and plastics) can be picked up with 70% accuracy.

*Long Range Radar---150 mile range(in atmosphere). Has look-down and terrain-mapping capabilities.

*Gravitic Scanner---This is a radar-like device that in active mode uses pulses of artificial gravity to scan targets. Its real strength is the ability to penetrate solid matter and chart hidden bunkers, land mines, tunnel systems, and hidden infrastructure. Against spacecraft and vehicles, it allows the scouts to gain an idea of internal volume and layout. Note that it is adversely affected by forcefields....Gravitic forcefields impose a -20% to Read Sensory Instruments for this system, while magic forcefields block it entirely. Effective range: 50 miles
In passive mode, it can pick up on the gravitic emissions of grav-drives, CG fields, forcefields, and artficial gravity generators. Effective range: 150 miles

*Target Designator---A laser/gravitic beam ‘illuminator’ working in concert with a data-share link, for ‘painting’ targets for assault with guided weapons. Effective range: 3 miles.

*Stealth Cloaking---A combination of advanced electronic jamming and a visual distortion field make the ship -40% to Detect Ambush/Detect Concealment/Read Sensor Sensory Instrument rolls, and laser range/targetting systems are -5 to strike/lock on to the ‘bot.

Weapons Systems:
1) Gatling Grav-Cannon(1, either forearm)---The only integral weapon available to the Wraith is a gatling-style six-barreled forearm grav-rail gun with plenty of ammunition.
Range: 12,000 ft in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD per 20 rd burst
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: 12,000 rds (600 bursts)

2) (Optional) Use of Handheld Weaponry---With its free hand, the Wraith can pick up and use oversized weapons such as clubs, mecha gun pods, and melee weapons.

3)Hand to Hand Combat
Restrained Punch 1d4 MD
Full Strength Punch 3d6 MD
Power Punch(2 attacks) 5d6 MD
Gun Club 1d6 MD
Body Block/Ram/Tackle 4d6+6 MD
Kick 1d6 MD

Variants:
*WZ-SR-MV-013B(oosted)---This variant sets out to address the problem of transtamospheric capability by adding more powerful boosters and a redesigned grav-drive. The mech’s new atmospheric speed is Mach 6, and it IS able to leave the atmosphere/planetary gravity well under its own power. Deep space drive speed has been upgraded to Mach 11. The WZ-SR-MV-013B costs 30% more, however.

*WZ-SR-MV-013D(estroyer)---A ‘throwback’ to the original combat model, the -D variant drops the advanced sensor gear for a tail-mount missile/bomb pod(40 mini-missiles OR 20 short range missiles OR 10 medium-range missiles OR DOUBLE that number of equivalent warhead bombs OR DOUBLE the blast radius of equivalent warheads), swaps out the arm-mount gatling cannon for a more powerful large caliber massdriver cannon(3 mile range in atmosphere/ 10 miles in space, 5d6x10 MD per shot solid penetrator, or 2d6x10 MD to a 30 ft blast radius for a sub-munition ‘shotgun’ round , 80 shots, and carries two light rapid-fire railguns(4,000 ft range, 1d6x10 MD per burst, 200 bursts per gun) on the hand-equipped forearm. This variant is particularly popular with the FWC as a raider.

*WZ-SR-MV-013E(liminator)----Similar to the D(estroyer) variant, the ‘E’-variant does away completely with the advanced sensor and stealth systems, and replaces them with more weaponry and armor(20% more to all locations). Weapons fitout is similar to the D(estroyer), but the massdriver cannon is replaced with a light laser cannon(2 mile range in atmosphere/4 miles in space, 6d6x10 MD per shot), two light lasers in the head( 1 mile range in atmosphere/2 miles in space, 1d6x10 MD per single laser firing), and four medium range missiles (8 total) mounted on each shoulder. Despite the added firepower, the E(liminator) isn’t as popular with crews, since ths stealth systems are the big selling point on the Wraith...the old adage about ‘how to survive getting hit...don’t get hit’ apparently being on crews’ minds.

Nice little stealth ship Taalismn!

Dark Maxx's original illos, so it was relatively easy...

Since I am flying a cloaker in an MMORPG, I must have a
weak spot for silent hunters

Adios
KLM

That doesn't hurt KLM! Good job filling out the shhip based on DM's illustrations!

They are worth picking up!

Phalanx wrote:

taalismn wrote:Alas, I was always working the nights Firefly played on my local channels...then it moved to cable/satellite TV, which I refuse to get....
So I gotta take everybody's word for it....

Or you could get the DVDs. Just saying.

I'm thinking that....as soon as I get another job to justify the expenditure...

Just take your time Taalismn! It's better woning those ones!

Point Nobska-class Light Rescue Cutter
“I really wish that when people go out into space, they’d leave their emotional baggage behind them...Space is dangerous enough without people bringing their own danger up with them...We can apply as many safety standards as we can on starship construction, and force people to adhere to training requirements, and have nice, safe, well-run starships, ....and guess what happens? Some nutbar goes ‘zerk in a confined space and starts killing his crewmates...
I really HATE responding to those calls from out of nowhere....If a ship suffers a regular cosmic catastrophe, like a meteor strike or a plasma storm or a reactor malf, at least the first-responders have a chance to spot the problem when they arrive...dangly bits coming off the ship, loose radiation, blown-out ports, that sort of thing...But a psycho with a laser scalpel? We don’t know if the problem’s a lethal xenoform, life support poisoning, malfing comms, hard radiation dose, or what, until we actually crack an airlock and look in....And if there’s a major damage situation AND a psycho...Lot of idealistic rescue teams go hauling in ready to rescue survivors only to wind up becoming victims, because killers don’t often stop with just one crew...
That’s why I ALWAYS insist on carrying mil-spec firepower on a call....and take my time surveying the situation...usually, with a space disaster, if it’s fatal, it’s already over by the time you get there and it’s just cleanup and registration...but if life support’s still good, you got time to check the situation out, come up with a plan, sort the dead from the living, the guilty from the innocent, and still get any survivors out...”
---Captain Legk Muhamed, CCWSCG LRC _Helping Hand_

The Nobska-class LRCs are small, short-range, rapid-response rescue starships typical of the designs used by various planetary aerospace rescue services and solar guard units. The Point Nobska-class cutters are produced for the CCW by Galactic Systems Ventures(GSV), but the design has been licensed to other manufacturers outside the CCW.
The Nobska-class design consists of a two components....a spherical forward rescue compartment and a stub-winged rear patrol cutter.
The spherical forward rescue compartment is studded with external docking gear of various sizes and types, allowing it to mate with just about any vessel or docking port in the Three Galaxies. Inside, it is packed with rescue equipment, with enough room left over for an emergency medical treatment area. The rescue compartment is designed to be independent of its rear propulsion section; standard operations protocol calls for the rescue compartment to be sealed off from the rest of the ship when performing a rescue where information is scant. This is to prevent any accident in the rescue compartment from taking out the rest of the ship, including chemical or biological contamination, or even boarding attempts. Should it become necessary, the entire rescue compartment can be jettisoned from the rest of the ship to act as an independent rescue platform or lifeboat; it has its own life support and limited maneuvering capability.
The rear cutter is fully atmosphere-capable, and carries the LRC’s limited armaments, mainly point defense energy projectors to deter pirates and raiders(though the cutters are occasionally used in interdiction and customs inspections missions). Its stub-wings can also be used to mount external equipment pods, including additional weaponry, if needed. Because speed is of the essence in rsponding to space disasters, the cutters have military-grade engines for quick response, as well as military-grade sensors for pinpointing distress beacons and survivors.
Point Nobskas typically operate from orbital platforms as part of squadrons of 4-10 ships, or from larger motherships(such as converted Warshield/Blueshield-class cruisers), though it isn’t unusual to see abbreviated units of 1-2 ships operating in systems of low traffic/priority. LRCs typically operate within well-mapped systems with established distress-triangulation satellite receiver networks; rarely more than a quarter-light year outside them(and then, standard procedure calls for one of more additional ships to respond/escort the LRC).
Type: GSV-LRC-070-Nobska
Class: Light Rescue/Patrol Cutter
Crew: 4, plus an eight-man rescue/paramedic/security/boarding team. The rescue compartment can hold up to 30 people
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 2,000
Cockpit 800
Engine 1,200
Communications/Sensor Array 300
Particle Beam Mount 75
Laser Turrets(2) 60 each
Wing-Mounts(2) 300 each
Rescue Compartment 800
Variable Forcefields 600 each side(3,600 total)
Height:(Cutter) 50 ft
(Rescue Compartment) 3 6 ft
Width:(Cutter) 60 ft
(Rescue Compartment) 36 ft
Length:(Cutter) 100 ft
(Rescue Compartment) 36 ft
Weight:(Cutter) 225 tons
(Rescue Compartment) 25 tons
Cargo:(Cutter) 25 tons
(Rescue Compartment) 6 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ 35 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Hover to Mach 5 (transatmospheric).
(Sublight) Mach 7
(Kitsune Values: 25% of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.7% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 6 lightyears per hour
(Underwater) Not possible; the Rescue Compartment CAN be used as a bathysphere, after being dropped off(and subsequently picked up) by the Cutter on the water, and can dive to depths of up to 1,000 ft., maneuvering at a meager 6 MPH per hour.
Market Cost: 95 million credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus:

*Long Range Sensors----The standard LRC sensor complement focuses on locating ships, lifeboats, and spacesuited strandees, but also includeslong range radiation detection and spectrographic analysis of vapors and materials(good for identifying a plume as escaping fuel, atmosphere, or cargo, and what sort of materials involved. These sensors are equivalent to Enhanced Military.

*Universal Docking Ports---W/ extendable docking tunnels.

*Light Tractor Beam Projector-----This tractor beam projector can handle 1,000 tons, and has a range of 10 miles.

*Sensor Probes---The cutter can deploy 2-6 small satellite probes to survey a wreck/accident site to determine the extent of the disaster, and the best ways to go about affecting rescue.

*Rescue Sphere Manipulator Arms(8)---Several of the airlock ports on the rescue compartment have auxiliary robotic manipulator arms(reach of 10 ft, 30 MDC each, robotic P.S. of 30) equipped with egress/cutting tools to facilitate rescue operations.


Weapons Systems:
1) Light Laser Cannon(2)----The Point Nobska carries light armament consisting of a pair of light laser cannons. These mounts are also useful for cutting away debris and venting hulls.
Range: 2 miles in atmosphere, 4 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 4 miles in atmosphere, 400 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2)Point Defense PPC(1)---Mounted just above the rear engine thruster, this particle beam cannon provides defensive coverage against pursuers.
Range: 1 mile in atmosphere, 2 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 2 miles in atmosphere, 200 miles in space)
Damage: 4d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

3) (Optional) Pod-Mounted Ordnance(2 pods)----If circumstances should dictate, the Point Nobskas can be outfitted with additional armaments such as missile pods, lasers, or rail guns. Each pod can hold ONE of the following configurations:
a)Mini-Missiles---50 per pod
b) Short Range Missiles---25 per pod
c) Medium Range Missiles-----12 per pod
d) Rail Gun
Range:3 miles in atmosphere, 10 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 10 miles in atmosphere,1,000 miles in space)
Damage: 3d6x10 per 20 round burst
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 3,000 rds(150 bursts)
e) Laser Pod
Range:2 miles in atmosphere, 6 miles in space
(Kitsune Values: 6 miles in atmosphere, 600 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per pulse burst
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
f) Cargo Pod----Rather than carry armaments, the pylons can instead carry large cargo/equipment pods with 50 ton capacity each. These pods can carry inflatable emergency space habitat modules(capacity of 25 people each/50 cramped), self-annealing breach-sealant bags, radiation-shielded ‘asteroid bags’, planetary surface survival kits, and EVA repair gear(accessible by the Rescue Compartment’s robotic arms), remote survey drones, and additional sensor gear.

Aux. Craft:
Two light 6-man shuttles(‘skiffs’) can be attached externally

Nice cutter! I guess you've created the space equilent of the Coast guard.

I imagine that every starfaring system has a similar agency and if they don't, the CCW (or whatever star nation, especially the more benign ones like the Altess) will establish a small branch station, mainly using military surplus hardware...The CAF will also perform search and rescue if they're in the area, especially if it's more than a light year or so from the nearest inhabited system, but they prefer to leave it to the Solar Guard.

The TGE relies on their second-string military garrisons, but unless the distress call is from somebody important, service is unreliable, and rescuees are just as likely to be looted and arrested.....The FWC is a little better; they have excellent SAR teams for finding their downed pilots, and ships withing their own space, but most FWC affiliates really don't want to broadcast their vulnerability, considering their proximity to TGE space...Furthermore, there's a good chance that unless you're wll-known(and allied to) the FWC, your rescuers will demand some sort of compensation for risking their lives to save your sorry arse...

Golgans are fairly good about resuing folks in their space, similar to the CCW, but again, they tend to be rather paranoid, and once they're sure you're breathing, will bury you under everything-in-triplicate accident investigation forms...

The Central Alliance is worse than the FWC, not so much for the risk, but because they have few ships, and not many of them have ample life support for non-cyborgs...On the other hand, if your accident has left you with a need for bionics, they can refer you to some local surgeons IMMEDIATELY...


Pretty much the Solar Guard organizations are charged with overseeing aerospace traffic control inside star systems, maintaining navigational beacons, tracking, diverting, and disposing of space junk, and assisting the Customs services in controlling the flow of contraband and smuggling...They can call on the military if they come under fire or need special equipment(like asteroid-destroying anti-matter ordnance)...and of course they perform rescue operations...

But I've learned from 'Event Horizon' and 'Supernova', and hope to apply those lessons to space rescue procedure....it pays to be careful....

The lack of planet/star destroyers already calls for some kind
of "FTL Club Rules" (probably introduced by the Prometheans,
and signed by all major powers)...

...so why not include universal rules for rescue and salvage
(similar to the ones already in use on our Earth's seas)?

Adios
KLM

But remember the IDFs for the CCW perform that sort of work at least I would imagine that they would carry out that sort of support their planets equivilent of a coast guard. Maybe we should try to create the larger ships of the space based coast guard equivilent ships while DM is MIA.

Aramanthus wrote:But remember the IDFs for the CCW perform that sort of work at least I would imagine that they would carry out that sort of support their planets equivilent of a coast guard. Maybe we should try to create the larger ships of the space based coast guard equivilent ships while DM is MIA.

Well. I do mention the Blueshield...a converted old Warshield(or hull taken out of the construction stream)which essentially carries only point defense weaponry and a single main weapon, but has a large long range sensor array and communications complement, expanded passenger housing/sickbay facilities, and additional external docking/servicing for a complement of cutters and auxiliary craft(as well as servicing bays for relay/navigation satellites...

A similar mod could be done with the Scimitar frigates....shaving off weapons and armor for more speed....


Taking a tip from Harlan Ellison's short story 'Life Hutch'(which was incredibly well done in Marvel Comic's old 'Epic' series), would be to establish automated rescue stations around inhabited systems where traffic would be expected to be found....small automated space stations with supply caches and quarters...if anybody breaks the door seals, the station powers up and sends an FTL beacon signal, advising somebody to come check to see if it's a stranded crew or survivor, a bandit out to raid the cache, or a local disaster threatening the integrity of the station and its rescue gear....

Yes, that is a great modification to those ships. That would make them the equivilent of our own coast guard. Great idea!

Some of the WZ freighters can also be easily outfitted for the purpose...courier-style Runners are too small, but the larger high-speed freighters are excellent for the role, having the engines to get places FAST...

Those sort of former CCW vessels modified for speed and carrying troops would make an excellent fast assualt troop ships.

Aramanthus wrote:Those sort of former CCW vessels modified for speed and carrying troops would make an excellent fast assualt troop ships.

Ummm...wouldn't that have been their original purpose?

No, I waas thinking of stripping them of most of their heavy armourment and adding extra troops berthing. You'd have a fairly fast combat transport. Its just an idea. It could always be a variant of the war shield class. That would give the CCW a proven ship for those situations when you need something and there you have a resource handy.

The Warshield, like the Ikazuchi it's obviously based on, is most likely the basis for a variety of different designs...it's an older hull, well-tested, and likely has a massive production lobby behind it...

I'm sure that is very true about the Warshield!

WZ-ESS-2258 Firestorm Exploratory and Surveillance Ship
“Ignite the Dark Reaches with the Torch of Knowledge, Let a Firestorm of Learning Sweep the Abyss of Ignorance, and the Light Beget Understanding!”

Despite its destructive-sounding name, the ‘Firestorm’ is actually the ‘Piecemeal’ Exploration Cruiser’s bigger brother, designed for extra-galactic(and presumably interdimensional) missions of exploration.
The Firestorm has a cylindrical hull with two separate life support sections that can operate independently in an emergency, two rotating equipment/shield modules, a rear drive pod, and a forward sensor section. The ‘conning tower’ sticking up from the front is in reality another sensor array, though it does feature a manned observatory station for direct visual readings(and which is frequently used as a crew lounge in off-periods). The craft is very well armored for exploring hostile environments, and its powerplant section contains several separate reactor modules for systems redundancy.
The twin rotating hull rings are often mistaken for centrifugal gravity generation wings similar to that on the smaller Piecemeal; in reality the revolving sections are part of a combination active gravitic sensor/shielding, and drive system.
Because of the unique design of its gravitic drive systems, the Firestorm is uniquely suited for travel and exploration in regions of disturbed gravity/space/time, such as singularities(black holes), dimensional rifts, and wormholes. This makes the Firestorm the most likely commerical exploration vehicle to be used for transdimensional exploration efforts.
Normally unarmed, the Firestorm relies on its powerful shields and thick defensive armor for protection. Most buyers, however, add a few point defense weapons and replace some of the ships’ complement of probe-shuttles with fighters or combat robots. Operators using the Firestorms’ long range sensors for early warning and other military applications(including long range reconnaissance) will detail an escort force to accompany the ships. It isn’t unusual to see Firestorms acting as the command ship of a flotilla of 2-6 ‘Piecemeal’ exploration ships on galactic reconnaissance missions.
Type:WZ-ESS-2258 Firestorm
Class:Exploratory and Surveillance Ship
Crew: 540
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 16,000
Bridge 8,000
Reinforced Crew Compartments(2) 10,000 each
Sensor/Drive Blade-Vanes(4) 8,000 each
Engines 9,000
Point Defense Lasers(8 ) 150 each
Point Defense Rail Guns(6) 180 each
Variable Forcefield (24,000 total , 4,000 per side)
Height: 1440 ft (480 m)
Width: 1440 ft (480 m)
Length: 1800 ft (600 m)
Weight: 75,000 tons
Cargo: 8,000 tons
Powerplant: Advanced Lucerin-fueled Nuclear Fusion w/ 50 year energy life
Speed:
(Atmosphere) Not possible
(Sublight) Mach 6
(Kitsune Values: % of light speed; Accelerates/decelerates at 0.6% of light speed per melee)
(FTL) 6 light years per hour
(Underwater) Not Possible
Market Cost: 7 billion credits
Systems of Note:
Standard Starship Systems, plus;

*Multiple Redundancy Life Support Systems---The bridge and twin life compartments have their own independent life support and power systems, allowing occupants to survive for prolonged periods in event of a disaster that might cripple or destroy the vessel’s main systems.

*Advanced Long Range Sensors---Extreme range of 9 million miles.

*Long Range Astrometric Sensors---These sensors are the equivalent of a military early warning array(something that has military authorities quite vexed) though they’re somewhat slower at detecting small targets like military craft(takes three times as long) due to their being calibrated for stellar phenomenoa. However, the arrays can still pick up the FTL fingerprint of starships travelling up to 100 light years away, and can detect the gravity wells of planets and planetoids(of down to Plutonian size) up to 80 light years away within minutes of scanning(rather than days of observation). Can also measure solar flux from as far away as 30 light years away.
Furthermore, the Firestorm’s advanced gravitic sensors can pick up interdimensional Rift activity at 100 light years, and large singularities, such as black holes, at nearly twice that range.
Other sensors in this group include radio astronomy, gravimetric charting, quantum particle detectors, and space/time flux registers. Additional instruments may be ‘plugged in’ as needed/developed.

*Tractor Beams(6)----Effectively each rated for 1,000 tons dead weight, but can be used for imparting small changes in momentum/direction to ships/structures several times that mass.
Range: 5 miles in space(NOT usable in atmosphere)(Kitsune Values: 5,000 miles in space).

*Dimensional Flux Shielding---The large ‘vanes’ produce a powerful space/time ‘anchor’ that shields the ship and its crew from external space/time flux...In a way, this is a technological equiavlent of an Astral or Spacial Mage’s feat of creating an Astral/Spacial Realm, only much cruder and limited(the crew cannot change the laws of physics within the field to suit their needs/desires.....though supposedly research is looking into that promising aspect of the technology). This also means that it is nearly impossible for magical or dimensional teleports to happen inside the ship while the vanes are in operation.
This also means that the ship enjoys a +15% to piloting rolls to manuever to break out of gravitational and dimensional storms and other phenomenoa. Damage associated with ley line storms, dimensional vortexes, and Rift Cannon are reduced by 75%.

Weapons Systems: None standard, but most operators mount at least point defense weaponry; a standard configuration follows:

1) Point Defense Lasers(8 )---These laser mounts, similar to those used by the Three Galaxies’ larger luxury liners for self-defense, are typically used to destroy space debris and bandit fighters, but they are also ocasionally used to melt portions of asteroids and other spacial debris for spectrographic analysis.
Range 12.000 ft :in atmosphere, 36.000 ft in space
(Kitsune Values: 8 miles in atmosphere, 8,000 miles in space)
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: EGCHH, or auto-fire; attacks per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

2) Point Defense Rail Guns/Mini-Missile Launchers(6)---Combination double-barreled lasers and mini-missile launchers, similar to those mounted aboard the CCW’s Scimitar-class frigates.
Range: (Rail Gun) 3 miles
(Kitsune Values: 300 miles in space)
(Mini-Missiles) 2 miles
(Kitsune Values: 100 miles in space)
Damage:(Rail Gun) 1d6x10 MD per burst
(Mini-Missiles) Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire:(Rail Gun) EGCHH, or auto-fire; attacks per melee
(Mini-Missiles) Volleys of 1-16
Payload: (Rail Gun)1,000 burst drum; additional drums can be carried as cargo(typically takes 2d6 minutes to reload from the holds).
(Mini-Missiles) 128 mini-missiles per turret; additional mini-missiles can be carried as cargo(typically takes 2d6 minutes to reload from the holds).


Auxiliary Craft:
8 Shuttles
Numerous unmanned probes and recon satellites

Variants:
An experimental military model of the Firestorm, the Bladestorm, has been tested, enhancing the gravity-array fans into ‘gravity blades’ , using an intense localized planar gravity disruption wave to tear apart matter on an atomic level when coming into contact with the sweeping ‘scythes’(effective range of 5 miles, and damage from one blade sweep doing 1d6x1,000 MD, half that through forcefields). Though spectacular to watch in trials(the near-black hole intensity gravitic power of the blades occasionally converting disrupted matter into bursts of light and radiation energy), the tactical value of what is essentially a close-quarters ramming tactic remains to be seen.
Other changes include a 50% increase in forcefield strength, expanded hangar facilities for up to 2 squadrons of aerospace fighters/robots, and fifty power armor marines, fore and aft LRM launchers, and six turrets for medium-range particle beam cannons.

That is a sweet design. It would be a good substitute for the exploration cruiser in the service of the CCW.

THen they'll have to sign a whooping big contract with WZTechYards, won't they?

LOL You're probably right about that. Say they order 5 inititally to see how they work with a contract for more depending on how the original vessels function properly.

IMHO, the Explorer presented in THree Galaxies needs more detail given to what facilities it has for exploring new worlds and contacting new peoples...the attention on weaponry and the fact that it's heavier than a Warshield gives the idea that the CCW has a very belligerent or paranoid approach to exploration(can you imagine what KREEGHOR exploration craft must be like? 'Contact and Conquer' all in one platform.).

taalismn wrote:IMHO, the Explorer presented in THree Galaxies needs more detail given to what facilities it has for exploring new worlds and contacting new peoples...the attention on weaponry and the fact that it's heavier than a Warshield gives the idea that the CCW has a very belligerent or paranoid approach to exploration(can you imagine what KREEGHOR exploration craft must be like? 'Contact and Conquer' all in one platform.).

The Explorer is a true cruiser, versus the Warshield, which is more of an upgunned frigate or destroyer. As I have told my gaming group many a time, I would hate to run into an Explorer in a dark corner of the galaxy. Talk about a ship that will make you want to talk first ... then ask some questions ... then talk some more. Now that's what I call gunboat diplomacy.

'We learned some very important information about that new race we encountered today...We can kick their asses if we have to..."

"Diplomacy without arms is like saying good dog, without a stick in
your hand" - or something like that.

Anyway, there are a rather large number of threats, like pirates,
the TGE, Star Hives, Sploogies, and so on, which neccessitate
such firepower on such an expensive asset.

Adios
KLM

I can see the Kreeghor exploring with one of the Doombringer dreadnaughts. That make exploration on their part easy. Then you just enslave as you go. So they must have a massive transport fleet following their explorers around.

Not neccessarily. The "basic, fleet" Doombringer can carry like
40million tons of cargo...

Adios
KLM

The transport fleet isn't for transporting supplies, but for the troops to hold the worlds the DoomBringer explores.

KLM wrote:Not neccessarily. The "basic, fleet" Doombringer can carry like
40million tons of cargo...

Adios
KLM

But do you want that much weighht in smelly, mewing, *****', possibly rebellious slaves crowding the fleet core ship?
MOre than likely, the DoomBringer carries extra ammo and only the best loot....
Bulk slaves travel on cheaper transports whose abyssmal conditions weed out the weak, and which can be easily destroyed/replaced if the Kreeghor need to turn warship guns on them(slave revolt, ultimate quarantine, etc...)...

I could see a fairly extensive baggage train on one of the exploration missions.

Always a good idea NOT to send your main ship/mobile asset roaring into the forefront of an exporation...leave it at a safe remove, so if the advance parties get kacked, somebody will know what killed them and when...

That is true with most powers that be in the universe, but would that describe the Kreeghor?

Kreeghor earn glory and status when young by charging forward and engaging in courageous deeds...the WISE Kreeghor learn to keep a few layers of ablative meat in the form of vassal Legionnaires around themselves...the OLD Kreeghor learn to lead from behind where they can take credit for the young Kreeghors' successes(even if it means killing them off)....

That does sound like the perfect Kreeghor personality! That describs the way they sound in the books!

Yep, one big happly dysfunctional family...with anti-matter-armed starships....