I

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ... ........ A']O~~~S~F~~:~L~~~~~L::~~~~: 8 ..

by CREAM POC 9
r-;.]C!V IA N
HRONICLES
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Introduction 4 3.5 Ship Perso nnel 44

3.5.1 Inte rview wit h a Cloak Co nt rol Officer 44
1.1 Anatom y of a Spaceship 6
3.5.2 Inte rview wit h a Se nsors /Inte lligen ce Officer 45
1.2 Venusian De sig n Principle s 8
3.5.3 Interv iew with a Dro ne Te chnician 45
Chapter 2: Irnperator Patrol Cruiser 10 Game Stats 46
2.1 Overv iew 12 Interlude 48
2.1.1 Capab ilit ies 13 Chapter 4: Chieftain Escort Cruisar 60
2. 1.2 O perat iona l Ro le 13
4.1 Ove rview 52
2.2 Sche mat ics: Side View 14
4.1.1 Capab ilit ie s 53
2.2 Schem at ics: Front View 15
4.1.2 Ope rat iona l Ro le 53
2.2 Sche mat ics: Top View 16
4.2 Sche matics : Side Vi ew 54
2.2 Sche mat ics: Cuta way View 17
4.2 Schem at ics: Front View 55
2.3 Histo ry 18
4.2 Sche matics: Top View 56
2.4 Ship Syste ms 20
4.2 Schematics: Cut away View 57
2.4 .1 Ship Syste ms Des criptio ns 22
4.3 History 58
2.4.2 Ship Systems De scriptions 23
4.4 Ship Syste ms 60
2.5 Ship Perso nne l 24
4.4.1 Ship Syste ms Descriptions 62
2.5.1 Interv iew wit h a Pilot 24
4.4 .2 Ship Syste ms Descript io ns 63
2.5. 1 Inte rview with a Naviga to r 25
4 .5 Ship Personnel 64
2.5.1 Interv iew with a Sec urity Office r 25
4.5.1 Inte rview with a He lmsma n 64
Ga me Stats 26
4.5.2 Inte rview with a Morale Officer 65
Interlud e 28
4.5.3 Inte rview with a Figh te r Pilot 65
Chapter 3: Huang-ti Observer 30 Gam e Stats 66
3.1 Overview 32 Inte rlude 68
3.1.1 Ca pabil ities 33 Chapter 5: Satrap Transport/Carrier 70
3.1.2 Operationa l Ro le 13
5.1 Overview 72
3.2 Schematics: Side View 34
5.1.1 Capab ilities 73
3.2 Schematics: Fro nt View 35
5.1.2 Operat io nal Ro le 73
3.2 Schematics: To p View 36
5.2 Schemat ics: Side View 74
3.2 Sche mat ics: Cutaway View 37
5.2 Schem at ics: Front View 75
3.3 Histo ry 38
5.2 Schematics: Top View 76
3.4 Ship Syste ms 40
5.2 Schema tics : Cutaway View 77
3.4 .1 Ship Systems Descriptio ns 42
5.3 Hist ory 78
3.4 .1 Ship Systems Descript ion s 43
5.4 Ship Systems 80

002
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
T

5.4.1 Ship Systems Descriptions 82 7.3 History 118

5.4.2 Ship Systems Descripti ons 83 7.4 Ship Syst ems 120
5.5 Ship Personnel 84 7.4.1 Ship Systems Descriptions 122
5.5.1 Int erview wit h an Aest hetics Officer 84 7.4.2 Ship Syste ms Descript io ns 123
5.5.2 Int erview wit h a Cargo Off icer 85 7.5 Ship Personnel 124
5.5.3 Interview with a Deck Officer 85 7.5.1 Interview wit h a Capta in 124
Game Stats 86 7.5.2 Interview wit h a Security Officer 125
Int erlude 88 7.5.3 Int erview with an Engineer 125
Chapter S: Tsar Heavy Cruiser 90 Game Stats 126
Inte rlude 128
6.1 Overview 92
Chepter B : Engineering [Operationsl 130
6.1.1 Capabi lities 93
6.1.2 Ope rati onal Role 13 8.1 O perations 131
6.2 Schemat ics: Sid e View 94 8.1.1 Crew Selection 131
6.2 Schematics: Front View 94 8.1.2 Sound the A larm 132
6.2 Schematics: Top View 94 8.2 Dep loyment 133
6.2 Schematics: Cutaway View 94 8.2.1 Ship Status Descript ions 134
6.3 Histo ry 98 8.3 Career Path 135
6.4 Ship Syst ems 100 8.3.1 Navy Pilot 135
6.4.1 Ship Syste ms Descripti ons 102 8.3.2 Naval Officer 136
6.4.2 Ship Syste ms Descripti ons 103 8.3.3 Exo-Engi neer 137
6.5 Ship Personnel 104 8.5 Drones 140
6.5.1 Int erview with a Gunne ry Comma nde r 104 8.5.1 Shipkiller Type I Drone 138
6.5.2 Int erview with a Psychol ogist 105 8.5.2 Exo-killer Type I Drone 139
6.5.3 Int erview with an Exo-Suit Pilot 105 8.5.3 Sent ry Type II Drone 139
Game Stat s 106 8.5.4 EW Type II Drone 140
Interlude 108 8.5.5 Observer Type II Drone 140
Chapter 7: S h a n - V u Battle Cruiser ., .,0 8.5.6 Hunter-Killer Type III Drone 141
8.5.7 Hunter-Ripper Typ e III Drone 141
7.1 Overview 112 8.6 Exo-Suits 142
7.1.1 Capabilit ies 113 8.6.1 Exo-Suit : Kit sune 142
7.1.2 Op erational Role 113 8.6.2 Exo-Suit : Tanuki 143
7.2 Schematics: Side View 114 Index 144
7.2 Schematics: Front View 114
7.2 Schematics: Top View 114
7.2 Schematics: Cutaway View....................................... 114

003
 I N T R ODUCTION
----- ------

1.1 SHIPS OF THE C .V.N.A.

.. In t he face of t he rapid m ilitary bu ildu p of t he ot her so lar nat io ns,

Ven us cannot rely o n its econom ic muscle to keep its cit izens and
assets safe fro m foreig n predation . It is also insuff icient fo r Ven us
to have o nly a fo rce of exo -ar mors and other sma ll craft, how ever

•
numero us, as it s sole ma rt ial arm. W arships are req ui red to main-
t ain Venus' defens ive pe rim eters and esco rt it s many off p lanet
reso urces from lo cat io n to loc at ion . W ithout a spa ce navy, Ven us
wo ul d be as vulnerable a ta rget as M ars, whose ext ensive g roun d
II fortifications did noth ing to protect from orbita l attack in 2213 .

• Although Venu s has had w arships throug hou t most of it s history,

only recent ly have th e variou s co rpo rat ion s th at co nt rol t he veiled
p lan et deemed it necessary to work to g ether to creat e a unified
p lanetary naval force . By mut ual agr eeme nt b etw een the co rpo -
rati ons , no Venusi an city -state is permitted t o po ssess a fo rce of
warships. Rat her, eac h city-state contrib utes mon ey, hardware and
personn el (in equal proportions) to wa rd a un ified space navy. This
II rather od d sit uat ion is the result of Venus Bank's act io ns in t he
early part of the 23 rd century, w hich result ed in a public relations
nig ht m are for all of Venus . In an effo rt t o curb th e abil ity of any
o ne city -st ate to de cisively infl uence Venusian fo reig n affairs w it h-
ou t at least t acit ap prova l fro m t he other city-state s, the Venusi an
nava l fo rces were co mbined int o a sing le fo rce, not controlled by
any sing le Venu sian factio n. Known as t he Coo pe rat ive Ven usian
N aval Administratio n (CVNA), t his new mi lit ary power is in t he
process of upg rad ing o ld er warship s and creat ing a new g enera-
tio n of techno lo g ically-ove rachieving battl ewag o ns.

Thi s m anual p resen t s info rm at io n on t he six m ost im p o rta nt Ve-

nusian wa rships. Sim p le floo rp lans and syste m di agram s are pro-
vided for each shi p , as well as crew int erviews, histories and
samples of so me of th e ships' nam esakes. A lso includ ed are sec-
t ions o n d rones (aut o nomous co m pute r-con t rolled vehicles t hat
serve numero us f unct io ns) and tw o of th e exo- suits used by ship-
board security fo rces.

004
• • • • • • • • • •• • • • • • • • • • •• • • • • • • • • •• • • • •• • • • •
II •
'1 • •• •
INTR ODUCT ION
• • •• • • • •• • • • • • •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •••• • •• • •
•
••• • • •

••
II

II
II
II
II

DDS
 INTRODUCTION

II T

.-.
11

11

Unde r Rot at ion

~ 1.2 ANATO MY O F A SPACES H I P

Each of t he so lar nati o ns has a sp ecific goal in creat ing warshi ps .
The Venusians are focused pri marily on co ncea lment and defense,
and hav e lit tl e need or desire to amass any kind of inva sio n ar-
m ad a. Venu sian ship s are ext reme ly di ff icul t t o b uild and mai n-
t ain due to th eir num e ro us ad van ced wea p o ns and d efen ses, but
are also b ot h effect ive in co m ba t and re lati vely trou ble-free w hen
proper ly serviced .
Venusian sp acecraft are d esig ned most ly fo r sho rt -range opera-
t io n. Few Ven usian ship cl asses mount rot at ing sectio ns, and in-
stea d spin in th ei r en tiret y t o g enerat e an artificial g rav ity grad i-
en t fro m the ir cent ral hull o ut to thei r larg er m ain hulls. This al-
low s Venusian ship s t o have faster scram ble times, sinc e the re is
~ Drive Section
The dr ives are kep t far from the crew areas as both a safety mea-
sure and an aesthetic preference. The drives and their associ -
ated pla sma combustion chambers are sealed systems th at are
virtually impossible to service outside of a spacedock environ -
ment.
~ Mein Hull
Venusian ships have tw o or more mai n hulls . Each one has its
own life sup port system and contro l center, but both hull s are
necessary for t he ship to operate at full efficien cy. For instance,
the Shan-Yu's b rid ge is lo cated in on e main hull, while its strate -
gic op eratio ns center is located in the ot her.

no spinning sect ion that mus t b e halted and lo cked d o wn f o r

co m b at maneuvering .

006
 INTRODUCTION

ANATOMY OF A SPACE SHIP ~

•
•
Shan-Vu-class Battla Cruisar ()

...
.-

_..- _._. - - _.- - --e

-- -._.. ...- ._.- .._""jIA
...

... Secondary Hull

The secondary hull is used to mount wea pons and b attl estat ions.
Since th e g ravity g rad ient in these sectio ns is ext reme ly slight,
the secondary hulls are usually unin habited when the ship is not
in comb at .

... Central Hull

In most Venusia n ships, this section is unmanned in non -combat

op erations and conta ins the primary sensors and comm equip-
me nt . On a few ships, like the Sat rap , the central hull also con-
ta ins a hangar b ay and cargo area, as well as crew areas t hat do
not req uire g ravity.

DO?
 INTRODUCT ION ~-- ---..,...- -- -

~ ".3 VENUS DESIGN P RINCIPLES

Venu sian ship s tend to use a multi-hull d esign, with t he d rive units

.-.
• alo ng a long central spar, and two or t hree main hull un its at-
t ached t o t he spar at equid istant points, lik e outriggers. Thus, t he
ship can spin itself to generate art if icial g ravity, w it hou t having to
I

•
mount a separate rotating sect ion, as on Jovian and C EGA ves-
sels. The advantage of t his system is th at it allows for a faster I I
scramb le t ime and m ore solid con str uction . The dis adva ntage is I
that it m akes Venusian ships fa irly sho rt-range d compared t o Jo - [
II vian and CEGA ships . Due to th eir relatively small numb er, as well
as their need for self-sufficiency, all Venusian warships have int er-
II nal vehi cle capacity of some sort, as we ll as cat ap ults.

11 O lder Venusian warship s are easily id ent ifiabl e as such, with vis-
ib le wea pons turrets and drab m ilitary pai nt sche mes . However,
t he newest generat ion of Ven usian war ship s look exactly like Ve-
nu sian civili an craft , and it is planned for most of t he o lder Venu-
sian ships to be retrofitted to sport non mi litary g uises. Although
II t hey have been grouped into named classes in sim ilar fashio n to
other navies, ship s with in t he same class have cosmetic differ-
enc es t o ma ke them resemb le one ty pe of civ ilian ship or an- The ow ner has ce rtai n d iscret ion reg ard ing when and how such
other. For instance, no two Ch ieftain-cla ss cruisers look quite the im ag es and t ransm issions are to be shown . The leavening ele-
same ; each on e has ad d it ional modu les, windows or drive sec- ment, however, is t he fact that th e ship 's nam esake is consi d ered
t ion s th at set it ap art from its compatr iots. Thus, in keeping with fi nancially and pe rson ally responsib le fo r any mishap t hat sho uld
the CVNA's p lan for eventual naval d ep loyme nt and act ivity, an hap pen to the ship or it s crew due t o an unt imel y advertisem ent.
enemy enc o unt er with any Venusi an ship is potent ially a m ilit ary As a result, m ost ship owne rs do not req uire th eir hull spaces or
con front at ion. t ransm ission allowance s to be act ive in com bat situ at ions. In most
cases, however, th ere is little harm in leaving a few vid-pr o rno-
All Venus ian ships are named after outst andi ng citize ns as a form
t ions p laying on a ship'S hull , even in a p itched battle.
of recognit ion g ift. Such a christ ening be ars with it g reat ho no r I

and respe ct . There is a potentia l f inancial b enef it as w e ll; a ship 's
nam esake ga ins f ull rig ht s to larg e po rti ons of t he ship 's hull , as
we ll as a portion of any of th e vessel's unsecu red no ncombat tran s-
mis sions. Th ese allowances are usually used to put huge adver-
t ising vid -me mb ranes on th e ships, alt ho ug h som e owners choose
t o use their hul l spac e fo r artwork, as a person al exp ression.
A ship's visibility is based larg ely on th e emi ssions fro m it s reac-
tor, d rives and we apons; compar ed t o such vast p rojecti ons of
energy, a few be er comm ercials hard ly make any d iffe rence at all.
Out of combat, how ever, th e g arish lights and b ro adcasts actu-
ally serve a useful purpose, hel ping the warships to b lend in with
other Venusian ships and mak ing t hem even harder to pick ou t.

008
T 1.3.1 Hull C ompo s itio n
INTRODUCTION

•
11
Th e skin of a Venusian warship is a co mpl ex mult ilayered cover-
ing de sig ned fo r p rot ect ion , d isgu ise and attractiveness in equal
me asure. The ship's con cealed systems are protect ed by advanced
~
r----

1»
~

<0>
~

<0>
~~

<0>
~
I---

<(]I •.....
/
0
composite arm or that combines heat-d issipati on abilities with solid ( ) ( ) ( )

0 0 0

•
p rotect io n from p hysical im pact s and penetrat ion . Each secti on
of arm or is supported by a self-sealin g membranous mat rix; wh ile .- 00 0 0

0
it p rovides some radia t ion p rotect ion , t his layer's p rima ry p urp ose 0 0
is t o seal hull ruptures from m icrom et eo rite s and Kickslug s. Hid- 0 0 0
ing t he otherwise-co nspicuous armo r f rom unwanted inspe ct ion
0
0
0
0
0
0
II
is a thin laye r of rad iat ion-absorb ing material designed to look
like d ecrep it civilian-g rade hull mat erial.

At op all th is is a t hin electron ic mem b rane. Th e me m br ane's opac -

ity, color and luminance can b e co nt ro lled e lect ro nically, t urning
I
0
( ) (
0
) (
0
)

it int o a hug e vid eo screen fo r ad ve rt ising, d isguise and conceal-
m ent p urp oses. Hig hly advanced fo rm s of thi s vid eo me mbrane
are t he basis fo r " clo akin g" syst em s such as t he one being t est ed
on t he Huang-Ti-c1 ass Observer Ship .
Th ese layers are p rodu ced as interl ocking seg ments of varying
shap e and size t hat can b e ove rlap pe d for red und ancy or hing ed
t o allow hid de n weap ons and equ ipm ent t o be d ep loyed. To
mainta in the ship 's integ rity and spacewort hine ss, the int eriors of
all weapon and eq uip ment bays are also lined wit h rad iat ion p ro-
t ect ion and some armor, so t hat no real vu lne rab le sp ots are ex-
pos ed when t he ship is preparing t o fi re.
T 1.3.2 Weapons and Sensors
Systems on Venu sian ship s are packed t ightly int o eve ry ava il-
abl e noo k and cranny, in an effort to d ecrease overa ll vessel size
while increa sing crew comfort. This fe at of eng ineering is made
all t he more im p ressive by t he fact t hat m ost Venus ian ship s carry
m uch m or e eq uipment th an t he ir Jovian o r CEGA equ ival en t s,
and t hat all of t his equipment is carefully hidden away f rom ex -
terna l view .
•
(I
Sensor d ishes and comm unicat ions ante nna e are co nside red by
the Venusians t o be aest het ically unacceptable eve n on civ ilian
vessels, and are stored under sliding covers whe n not in use. Ve-
nusian wa rships carry t his doct rine furt her, co ncealing all wea p -
on s and m ilitary equip m ent unde r sensor- de feati ng hull armor,
II
enab ling the warships to be disguised as unarmed merc hant ships .
Venusia ns ten d to p refer using various ty p es of m issiles as p ri-
mary arma ment for t heir warships. In ad d it ion to t he stand ard
heavy m issile bays found on many Jovian and C EGA vessels, th e
Venusians also mak e use of cl usters of smalle r smart missile s de-
signed to engage exo -armors and fi ghters at close range; these
Cluster M unition M issiles (CMMs) are so m aneuverabl e as to be
able to reverse cou rse aft er launch and pi ck off an exo -arm or cling-
ing to t he launching ship's hull. On the other en d of t he gu id ed -
wea po ns scale are t he aut ono mous Drones that come in a m ulti -
t ude of ty p es, from innocuous camera pods to self-des tr ucting
anti -ship t or pedoes. Laser weapons make up the majority of a
Ven usian ship's rem aini ng arm am ent ; kinetic ki ll we apons and
particle beam cannon are rare, due to the difficulty of concea ling
such weapons as well as t heir pe rceived ine legance (acco rd ing to
Ven usian designers).

009
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER

Notabla Ships

Name: CVNA Jos e ph Parkinson

.-. Launched :
Statu s:
Aug ust 24, 2206
Home Defense

Eng inee r First -Rank Parkinson was one of the first proponents of t he "hid den navy"

• princip le , e mphas izing t he need for st e alth , concealment and guile in dealing with
t he changing balance of powe r in the solar system. His co mbinati on of loyalt y,
humility and inte llig en ce, along wit h a photoge nic smile , made him th e pe rfect
cand id ate for t he names ake of t he first ship in t he new class . The Parkinson was a
testbed for many of t he design conventions that have be come st and ard on all new
Ve nusian warships.

• Name:
Launched :

Statu s:
CVNA Akikumo Nakamichi
J anuary 22, 2212
Belt Pat rol

In 2209, Citizen Akikumo wrote and d irected Coals, an ext remely we ll-rece ived
document ary de ta iling t he events and aft ereffe cts of t he Birt hing in Venusian his-
t ory. His sta t us and popularity earne d him t he award of a ship name . Akikumo is

II now a professor at t he Bisset School of Arts in the Jovian Confede rat ion, but t he
ship t hat be ars his nam e is part of a watc hdog fleet ta sked wit h observ ing and
reg ulat ing Jo vian military movemen ts in t he Be lt.

Name: CVNA Cha Haruna

Launched: March 8, 2197
Stat us: Refit

One of a block of Bricriu-c1ass ships purchased from CEGA by t he Venusian Bank,

t he Cha was named for on e of t he accountants who he lped to broker t he difficult
deal. The ship went missing in 2202 while on p at rol in t he Belt. A Be lter salvage
team discovered the derelict in lat e 22 13 and ret urned t he hulk to Venus for a
significant finder's fe e. The bodies of the crew were most ly int act , and evidence
point ed to a fat al collision with seve ral sma ll objects susta ined while pursuing a
pirat e vessel. The crew 's bod ie s were pro pe rly disp os ed of, and the ship is und er-
go ing a co mp lete refit at t he Carthage orb ital shipyards near Venus .

0010
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER
.. . . . . . .. . . .. . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . ...... . . . . . ....
I
. . . . ... .. . . . . . . .. . . . .. .. . . . . . . . .....
•
.. .. r "
I

11
11
II

•
II

•
.•
II

0011
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER

II ~ 2.1 OVERVIEW

• In bo t h Ven us' inco m parabl y crowded loca l space and th e em p-

ti ness of open space , t here is a consta nt need fo r a sma ll, nimble

•
ship tha t can fulfi ll a variety o f roles and be effect ive at all of
t he m . Up unti l ab o ut 2206 , eac h Venus ian corporat io n f ielded
its own mode l of patro l ship , most of t hem based off CEG A's

.
II ubiq uitou s Bricriu-c1 ass hu ll. W hile th ese ships we re certa inly ser-
vi ceab le, t hey d id not exce l in t heir duties as m uch as t heir m as-
t ers desired.

•
G iven th e vast numbers of t hese vesse ls already in service, how-
eve r, it w o uld have be en point less to scrap t hem all in fav o r of a
co mp let ely new de sig n. A com p rehen sive refit and up gra d e p ro-
g ram w as inst it ut ed instead , th at t ook advant ag e of th e Bricr iu's
inh erent custo m izab ility t o an unprece d ent ed ext ent . The result-
ing ship s, w hile ret ain ing the Bricriu's ba sic fram e and internal
systems, loo k nothing like th ey used to , and are far more potent,
both in wa r and pe ace.
•
Each Imperator- c1ass ship inco rp orates th e basic frames and struc-
tu res of t wo Bricriu-c1ass hulls , creat ing a do uble-hulled arra nge-
ment linked by a ce ntral un it co ntaini ng t he d rives and sensor
systems. One of th e hulls sup ports most of the crew areas; ove r-
laid atop t he Bricri u's existi ng fra mewo rk is a sturdy Venusian hu ll.
We ap o ns and shi p system s are stor ed between th e tw o layers,
w it h t he crew be ing w ell-p rot ect ed b y bot h the Bricriu's stru ct ure
as we ll as t he new arm o red coverings . The o p po sit e hull is p rim a-
rily a hang ar and cargo sect io n th at requ ires th e Bricriu structu re
to be ho llo wed ou t and reinfo rced from th e outside. The cent ral
unit is of com pl ete ly new con st ructi o n, ma king use of drive tech-
no logy acq uired fro m the Jovians and t yp ically effective Venusian
senso r syst ems.

The refit p rocess saves o n costs and p rodu ces a sup erb vessel.
The Venusian g overnm e nt ha s acc ess t o hundred s of ag ing
Bricrius. O nly a fe w of th ose t hat are co m b ined into th ese new
ships are act ually t urned into w arship s; t he rest b eco me leg it i-

0012
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER
mate civilian ships t hat are w id ely reg arde d as b eing an insp ired
usag e of d ecad es-o ld te chn ology. A ll of t he ships loo k sim ilar,
however, d iff erin g on ly in m ino r co sme t ic and no nvit al d et ails.
Mo re rec entl y, t he Venusians have beg un bu ild ing vessels of t his
t ype fro m scratch , using lesso ns learned from th e Bric riu co nver-
sions . These newe r ship s (so m e of w hich are Im perat o rs) are cos-
metically ind ist ing uishab le f ro m t he o ld er o nes, p reserv ing th e
natura l cam o ufl ag e of t he Venusian fle et .
'f 2.1.1 Capabilities
A lt ho ug h sma ll, t he Im perato r co nt ains w it hin its hul l a surp rising
variety of equ ip ment . Hig h level s of automatio n and ro bot ic as-
sista nce allow an Imp erator t o o pe rat e at full capa city w it h a crew
ap p roxim at ely half t he size of w hat wou ld be expe ct ed fo r such a
ship. De sig ned t o en g ag e f ig ht ers, exo- arm o rs and small er w ar-
ships, t he Im p erator is arm ed m ost ly w it h lig ht m issiles and laser
weap o ns. However, t he q ual ity of Venusian weap o ns is such th at
the Im pe rator is qu ite cap ab le of ta king o n an enem y ship of the
line and make a g ood showing for itself . In ad d iti o n t o six CM M
pod s scattered over th e hull and a p air of pa rt ially-t urrete d lasers
mo unt ed in a fo rward b ay, th e Im p erat o r also boast s a full-size
anti-ship missile b ay hid d en b eh ind it s hang ar. The ab ility t o com-
bat- launch a p air o f fi g ht e rs o r exo -armo rs co m pl etes th e
Imperator's hidden arm am e nt.
Imperators are well-st oc ked w ith fu el and sup pl ies, given t hat t heir
assign me nt s are gen erall y m o re long-last ing and so lit ary t han th e
d uti es co mmonly underta ken by other Venus ian w arships. The
ship 's d o ub le-hu ll de sig n is p ut to good use, allo w ing sim ulate d
g ravity d uring larg e po rti ons of t he ship 's jo urn ey. Altho ug h speed
is no t a strict req uireme nt for th e Imperator's m issio n envelope,
t hese ships are neverthel ess q uite fast , enablin g superi o r response
t ime in em erg ency/ d istress sit uati o ns.
A n Imperat or posesses ext ensive m ed ical and rescue equipment,
all lo cate d in it s seco nd ary o ut rigger hu ll, part ially as a q uaran-
t ine measure , bu t also b ecause it p roved im po ssib le to sp lit the
0013
facilit ies b etween t he t wo hu lls and still maint ain acceptably eff i-
cient use of space. The m ain hang ar co nta ins space for up to
•
II
th ree exo-arrn or-sized vehicles, and also has ext ra st or age roo m
for EVA pods and exo- suits. In a space-recove ry sit uat io n, m o re
t han half the crew can be rou ted t o rescue and med ical du t ies,
mak ing use of t he secondary hull's co m partm ent alized carg o ar-
•.....
•
eas as temp o rary recovery areas fo r surv ivors or salvag ed eq uip -
m ent. Fo r m or e ext rem e situ ations, t he seco nd ary hull also has
an un usuall y large and well-equ ip ped sickba y and a st urdy and
sp acio us bri g . Desp it e it s sm all crew, th e Im p erat o r sup po rt s
ro ugh ly t w ice t he number of me d ical and securit y p erso nne l
II
p resent aboard ot her sim ilarly-sized vessels.
11
'f 2 .1 .2 Opera tiona l Role
As its class des ign ati o n suggests, th e Im p erat o r is me ant to oper-
at e alo ne o r in small gro ups, pat rol ling var io us are as of t he so lar
system . The nat ure of t heir ta sk requ ires Imper ators to be j acks of
all t rade s; a gi ven ship may be called upon t o p art icipate in a
I salvag e/ rescue operat io n, chase off pirat es, t ransport p riso ners II
and o bserve shipping act ivity all in th e co urse of a sing le pat ro l I
ru n. The Im p erat o r is seco nd o nly to th e Chi eft ain in the num b er
I
of reco rd ed co mbat enga g em ents the class has pa rt icip at ed in,
and is th e o nly Ven usian warship class eve r id ent if ied as such by
fo reig n int e llig ence ag encies .
I Impe rat ors are assig ned to home ports o n a lo ng -term basis. Ma ny
of these po rt s are station s and yards in Ven us o rbi t, b ut most
Imperat o rs o perate o ut of Ven usian-ow ned bases near oth er pl an-
ets . A ship is usually sent to its hom e port aft er its in it ial shake-
down , and is not reassig ned exc ep t in ext reme and unus ual cir-
cumst ance s. A n Imp erato r's patrol run be g ins and end s at its ho me
port. After each patro l run, an Im pe rato r is sp aced o cked for re-
p air and general ma intena nce; alt ho ug h th e Im pe rat o r is q uite
reliab le (in relation to ot her Venusian warships), d owntime fo r t hese
ships averag es t w ice that for ships of Jovi an o r CEG A d esign .
I
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRU ISER

~ 2.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS

.-.
() Side View

&I

IOm 25
i
50

• Legend

1 Drive Fin 11 Ai rlock Hatch 21 Short Range Sensors

2 Exhaust Collimators 12 Auxiliary Screen Generato r 22 Hangar Doo r
3 Engine Mount 13 Rotational Cont ro l Thruster 23 Cargo Bay Doo r
4 Main Hull Support Brace 14 Emergency Elevator Access Hatch 24 Mi ssile l oading Doo r
S Maintenance Bot Exit Bay 15 Emergency Gas Vent 25 Missile Bay (Closed)
6 Rear Vid-Membrane 16 Sensor Pod Mo unt 26 Emerge ncy Elevat or Access Hatch
7 Radiato r Fins (Retracted) 17 Sensor Cluster (Ret racte d)
8 Main Personnel Docking Ports 18 lateral PDS Emitter
9 Ob servation Deck (Closed) 19 lateral RCS Thruster
10 l aser Housin g (Closed) 20 Radar/lidar Emitter

0 01 4
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER

2.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS [CONT.] ....

•
-
Front VielN ()

Specificetions
•
Name: Impe rat or
Origin: Coop e rat ive Venusian Naval Ad minist ration
Manufacturer: Various Shipyards
Type: Pat ro l Cruise r
Control System: Bridg e w/a st ro nomical disp lay
Length:
Width:
100 m overa ll
20 m ove rall
11
Empty Weight:
Loaded Weight: 1000 Tons
Main Drive: 1 x 10 MW
Secondary Powerplant: 1 x 800 KW
Main Thrusters: 1 x 25,00 0,000 kg
Apogee Motors: 78
Acceleration: 2.0 g
On board Sensors: Fire Control Radar, Infrare d/
Ultraviolet , Lid ar, Magne t ometer,
Microwaves, Motion
Detectors, Rad count er, Search
Om 25 50
Radar
Fixed Armament: PDS, 1 x Laser Turret, 1 x Missile
Bay
" Legend
Add itional Armament: n/a
1 Auxiliary Screen Generator 11 Emergency Elevator Acces s Hat ch Defe nsive Systems: Mag Screen
2 Hull Support St rut 12 Emergency Gas Vent
3 Lat e ral PDS Emitt e r 13 Out er Armor Equipment: Escap e Pod s
4 Radar/ Lidar Emitter 14 Fake Maintenance Access Hat ch
5 Cargo Strut 15 Forward PDS Emitt e r
6 Vehicle Bay 16 Main Pe rsonne l Doc king Ports
7 Docking Sensors
8 Cargo Bay
9 Cargo Bay Door
10 Vehicle Bay Launch Door

0015
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER

~ 2.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS [CONT.]

• () Top View

....

•
II

• Legend

1 Drive Fin 5 Airlock Hatch 9 Main Personne l Docking Ports

2 Engine Mount 6 Cent ral Hull 10 Antennae Housing (Closed)
3 Maintenance Access 7 Laser Housing (Closed) 11 Radiator Fins (Retracted)
4 Rotat ional Control Thruster 8 Observation Deck (Closed) 12 Drive Fin Mount

0016
 •
I

IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER

2.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS [CONT.) ....

II

Om
Cutaway Viaw

25
()

•-
'Y Lagand
•
II
+ - - - - - - - - - - - - - --{14
1 Plasma Combustion Chamber Drive
• II

•..
2 Primary Screen Generator
3 Lif e Support Nodes
4 Main Access Shaft
5 Main Heat Exchanger
6 Crew Quarters
7 Supercondu ct ing Batteries

•
8 Bridg e
9 t- Missile Bunker 1
10 Officers' Quarter~
11 Observation Deck
12 Capacitor Array
13 Forward Laser Array (closed)
14 Heat Exchanger s
15 Engineer ing Deck
16 Storage Rooms
17 Access Corrido;
18 Equipment B'ays
19 Phased Sensor Array Panel
20 Forward Sensor Cluster
21 Vehicle Bay
22 Bay Door Hinge s
23 Cargo Door
24 Docking Sensors
25 Bulk Stor age Bay
26 Forwa'rd Storage Decks
27 Bay Superconduetlnq Batteries
28 Missiles
29 Mi ssile Loading Door
30 Missile Launch Tubes

0017
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER
B ~ 2.3 HISTORY
Early o n, th e m ilitary adviso rs to the Venu sian Bank knew t hey
II w o uld soo n need a fast ship t hat cou ld t ravel far from hom e, pro-
...
t ectin g Venusian interests abroad as we ll as pe rfor ming many ot her
I!!I tas ks. The Chi eftain-cla ss vessels were adequate pa trol bo ats and
esco rt ship s, but cou ld not o perate ind ep end ent ly for exte nded
periods of t im e, limi t ing th eir effective range. Design ing a new
ship fro m scrat ch, however, would b e a costly endeavor, and o ne
not looked favo rab ly upon .
II
Ever since the late d ecad es of t he twe nty-secon d centu ry, t he
II Venusians had been acqu iri ng lot s of Bricri u-c1 ass spa cecr aft from
CEGA. These ship s w ere o ld and no t te rribl y effect ive anymo re,
and did not co rresp o nd to the mo dern need s of t he Hom e De -
fen se Fo rce. Seei ng a way t o resol ve both issues at t he sam e
ti m e, Eng ineer First -Rank Josep h Parkinso n sug g est ed t hat the
Venusians impl em ent a d esig n program d esig ned to ma ke g o od
use of the exi stin g Bricri us wh ile also ad o pti ng a w ho le new out-
II look on t he p hilo sophy of buil d ing warships. De sp ite com ing from
a lowly clerical worker, t he so lutio n was too good to be ig no red .
The ambiti o us p rog ram m ad e use of the st urdy and reliable Bricriu
hu ll as t he basis for a new type of spac ec raft. Tw o ships wou ld be
used to create a "catama ran" -t ype hull t hat could be sp un around
its axis t o create gravity without t he need fo r a costly ce ntrifuge .
Sturdy sup p ort beam s w ere soli d ly attach ed t o t he Bric riu b asic
structure, de signed to be the hard iest elements on the ship . The
Bricriu's bulk storage and gas storage tanks (both very reliable
and proven d esign s) were m ove d into these new section s. New
PCC en gines we re de signed j ust for the new ship class; though
th ey lo o ked civilian on t he o ut sid e, they cou ld produce m ilit ary-
gra de thrust , b eing extremely powerful fo r their size. The engines
were eq uipped w it h as secon d ary co llima tor coi ls t hat cou ld b e
activated to reduce t heir sig nat ure, but t hi s was very inefficien t.
The eng ines' reactio n mass ta nks and asso ciat ed p lumbing w ere
all t aken fro m the Bricriu t o save t im e and money.
0018
Th e wo rk t hen moved to the extensive mo d ifications requ ired fo r
th e o ld er hu lls. Many of th e int ernal systems were d iscarded and
rep laced with modern contro l system s and fixt ures. The Bric riu
st ruct ure was holl ow ed ou t for t he hangar ba y. The rema ining
crew q uarters were left int act, however, and becam e t he quaran-
t ine area, sickbay, EVA st ag ing area, brig and expanded crew qua r-
ters. Th e cargo b ay was des ig ned to d ou b le as t he crew's recre -
at io n area. If necessary, it could be used to carry a fighte r or shuttl e,
albe it under cramped con ditions. The w eap o ns and m any other
system s were mo unt ed bet wee n th e Bricriu hull and an add it io nal
layer of Venusian-ma nufact ure d armo r, providi ng lots of protec-
tion fo r t he crew as we ll as str uctura l st rengt h.
The Bricriu nose sections w ere larg ely scrapped; m ost of t he sen-
so rs and inst ruments were moved into t he ce ntral senso r ba y o r
sim pl y rep laced w it h new hig h-tech g ad g ets . The civi lian ver sio n
of the Imperator, how ever - w hich w as de sig ned t o be an excel-
lent cargo ship in its ow n rig ht - reused all of t he Bricriu's senso r
suite , th us furthe r red ucing costs.
M any of th e Bricriu-mod ship s are st ill in service as carg o ships,
and t hey are beco ming a fam iliar sig ht in t he space lan es of t he
solar system. Many fo reign co m pan ies have ex pres sed inte rest in
b uying t he conversions, offering t o sup p ly their own o utdated
Bricriu hulls. The Ven usians are m o re t han wi lling to do this; it
simply m akes for more camo uf lag e fo r t heir own Im pe rato rs.
Im perat o rs perfo rm po lice and security duties in loc al Venus ian
space, and are also occasionally called upon to serve as low-p ro -
file spy ship s in the event tha t more specialized ve ssels are e ither
un available or unnecessary. Approximately 321mperators are cur-
rently in service wi t h th e CVNA , and ano ther seven or eight sim i-
lar ve ssels are susp ect ed to rem ain in covert use by th e larger
co rporations . Th e CVNA p lans to con stru ct between two and fo ur
new Im p erat o rs each ye ar, keep ing p ace with a rising need fo r
Ven us to be self- re liant in matters of ext ern al security.
 •
I

IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER

I
CVNA H IK A R U SaVOCA
II
Irnp e ratar .class Vessals , e 1 sa
•..
I

T
1)
2)
3)
4)
I
Legend

Upgr aded Dri ~e Design

Crew Areas
Modif ied No se Sect ion
Hull Braces
... Om

i
~
25 50
-•
I

5)
6)
Hangar Bay
Carg o Bay
! II

•
•
-t- .....-.

CVNA Hikaru Sovoda : launched October 2192. This side view

shows how t he t wo Bricriu-c1ass hulls have been mod ified to be-
come th e two halves of the Imperat or. Both halves have been left
largely int act - the early Imperat or's armored hull concealed sys-
tems t hat were integrated wit hin t he Bricriu's hull. Bot h were then
mou nte d on a new cent ral p iece to create a double-hull arrange-
ment . The crew section s were inside, surrounded by the Bricriu 's
structure; all the major ship systems were mounted around t hem
f or ext ra protection.

The Sovod a is f airly t ypica l of the co nvert ed vessels fi eld ed by

t he CVN A in t he early year s of the program, before t he design-
ers agre e t hat more d rastic modf ications we re worth the ad ded
costs. More recent vessels have compl et ely reworked hulls whic h
have no outward resem blances t o t he Bricri us t hey originally
came from.

~
L-~,--,--,-_~-,--,--_w_-'-- ~~"'"

~~l

0019
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER
I .
I
• ~ 2.4 SHIP SYSTEMS

• ()
r
schematics

.. AWof the propulslonsyste rris are located in t he

central hull, well away from the main crew areas.
The maiii' tanka ge sub-systems are also placed

• i
t he re, both for shield ing purposes and to reduce
the le ngt h and comp lexity'of th'e duct ing. Strong
vat-grown mono-spars form the bas ic st ructure of
the hullsupport pylons:'effidently t ransfe rring the
thru st of the eng ine to'the rest of th e ship.

The ship's weapon system are all concealed be-

hind movable panels, or e lse mounted flush
aga inst t hesurface of t he hull. Armament varies
I
between individual ships, but most mount at least
one- laser weapon (not counting t he PDS array) I
along with kinet ic kill weaponry of a very com-
' pact design . The latte': can collapse its accelera-
tor array in ~ tiny volurrie to allow it to'fullyretract
int b its bay. '
• "

~ Waapon Systems
...
1 Area Defense Laser Syste m
:2 Powe r Couplings
3 Fo rward Array, Lase r PDS Cells
4 -l- Kinet ic Kill Cannons
S Aft Array, Laser PDS Cells
6 Heat Sinks
i- 7-, ......,.. Main Powe r Conduits

9 Plasma Arc RCS Cluste r

-t 10 ·i-lype..golic RCS Thruste rs
11 - Reaction Mass Tanks
12 Plasma C ombustIOn-Chambe r
13 Exhaust Collimator Coils
14 EM Po.:iier Ge neration Syste m
1S Heat Sink

0020
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER

2.4 SHIP SYSTEMS ....

•
II

.-.
e c h e m e t;lc e ()
•
The se nsor array of t he ship is fairly conve ntional
and is distr ibuted across the other hull. Most of

•
th e anten nae and basic processors are located in
the ce nt ral hull's forward section, where t hey have
a good field of vision. Additional sensors are lo-
cated on the extremities of the two outrigger hulls
to comple te the sensor coverage.

Like all modern spa ce ships, the Impe rat o r is

equ ippe d wit h extremely red undant life support -
systems . The heat exchangers are coupled to pan-

•
els in the oute r skin of t he ve hicle to allow t hem
to selectively rad iate the ship's waste heat in a
cont rolled matter. The main hangar has a se pa·
rate high-powered life support node so the bay
can be rapid ly decompressed or filled.

" Ben or Byet;eme

1 Docking Sensors
2 Microwave Pulse.Ranging Antennae
"
3 Shortwave Instrument Cluste rs
4 Phased Array Radar
5 Laser Ranging and L1DAR Emitters
6 Optical Sensor Cluste r

,, ' Life Bupport; Byet;.

7
B
Shield Ge ne rators
Hangar LS System~
"
9 Secondary Ls Nodes
10 Gas Storage
11 Superconducting Batteries
12 Heat Exchangers

0021
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER
. . . . . . . . . . . 1.

~ 2. 4. 1 Officer's Guert:ers ~ 2.4.2 Downt:ime Room

..-
The da ily d ut ies of an officer unfo rt unat ely include lot s of pap er-
w o rk. This, in tu rn , req ui res a relat ively qu iet and spacio us p lace
in wh ere to acco m p lish t he tasks p ro perly. A s a result , the off icer's
q uarte rs o n most Venusian ve ssels are reaso nab ly larg e and co m -
fo rt ab le, and always includ e th e f urniture req uired t o allow it to
Th e downt im e room is a large (co m pa red to t he rest of the hab it-
ab le areas) open roo m with soft ly-col o red wall s. It is a mu lt i-f unc-
I t io n area th at serv es as a loun g e, meet ing pl ace and di ning area.
There are larg e vid screen s all over the wa lls, and a num be r of
fo ld ing t ab les t hat can ret ract o ut of t he way outsid e of t he d in-

•. serve as a pr ivate off ice.

The roo m sho w n at righ t is ty p ical of th e amenit ies p rovid ed t o

lowe r lev el staff o n bo ard t he Im perat o r-c1a ss ships . Th e cab in is
ner shift s. The m aj o rit y of t he ship'S crew m ust go to t he d ow n-
time ro o m to stret ch o ut , assum ing it is not already in use fo r
so m e ot he r funct io n, b ecau se th eir own perso nal qu art ers are t oo
sm all and drab.

•
recta ngu lar and shaped m uch like a con ve ntional p lanet-bou nd
room for th e sake of t he offic er's co mfo rt . Like m ost sp acecraft
q uarters, however, it is abo ut the size of a walk-in clo set - in -...,.-----,
other w o rd s, ju st b ig eno ug h fo r someo ne to stand up and st retc h ...
11 o ut if he is careful w here he st icks his arms. Th ere are lo cker s
strat eg ically pla ced alo ng t he w alls fo r st o rag e and safe-keep ing ,
II o ne of w hich is equ ipped w it h a security system to lo ck in valu-
ab les (t he elect ron ic lock is fairly hard t o d efeat , t ho ug h t he co d e
is g ene rall y ava ilab le to all sup e rio r off icers). Vo ice -directe d
orienta bl e lig ht s and enviro nme nt al co ntrols ensure co mfo rtab le
surro undings at all t im es.

A co m b inatio n d esk and sleep ing p allet fo ld s d ow n fro m o ne wa ll

(t he hing es have been o m itted in t he illustra tion), Hid d en lat ches
und er t he surface can be used to secu re a sleep ing b ag for zero -
gravity sleep ing, or to hold t he infl atab le m attress tha t is no r-
m ally sto red in on e of t he co m partm ent s. A co m p ut er term inal
sw ing s ou t of t he w all so tha t the user can work faci ng t he d oo r.
Alm ost all t he p ap erwork is d o ne using t his t erm inal, so t he d esk
seld o m nee ds cle aning up fo r sleep .

Beyo nd th e off icer 's pe rson al effe ct s, t he sto rag e loc ke rs ho ld

several larg e cushio ns. These com e in handy fo r several applica-
tions, and can vary t he ir size so me w hat via an infl at ab le b lad d er
hid d en und er layers of synt het ic g oo sed own. M o st of th e t ime,
t hey are used t o soften up t he rath er sp artan be d sid e arrang e-
m ent, o r to p rovide seat ing fo r guests.

0022
 I

IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER

Ther e is a sma ll ga lley locat e d to o ne side of t he roo m's "lower"

a re a; auto mated cooking d evice s ca n prepare a variety of mea ls,
•
.-.
most ly ba se d o n pre packaged algae and vat-g rown protein . De -
spite th is, the y are actu ally q uite pa lat ab le , mo st ly beca use of the
inve ntive presenta tion and use of sp ices. The ga lle y is ope n all
day, t hou gh it is ofte n prefera ble to wait fo r th e d e sign ate d din-

.
ner time to have access to t he tab les .

When not be ing used fo r d ining , t his roo m is often set up as a

"ga rde n," with va rious re laxing images d isp layed o n th e wa lls
and soft ba ckgrou nd music. The back wa ll is cove red wit h lo ck-
ers; these store all man ne r of e q uipme nt use d to co nve rt the roo m
for on e functio n or anot he r, such as pillows and ze ro-ge e clips
an d nets.

T 2. 4 .3 B r ig
•II

The Impe rato r-c1ass sh ips have dedic ated brigs to hold criminals II
o r mut ine e rs until they can be b ro ugh t to tria l. The typica l brig is
a room with two ce ll s, p lace d side by side so t hat o ne gu ard ca n II
se e bot h ro om s fro m his workstat io n.

De spite o utward appearances , t he ce lls have no acce ss pane ls o r

hatche s ot he r th an the main door. They are equ ipped with a sing le
p iece of lightweight multifurnit ure t hat se rves as a bed, table and
chair, and which fo lds up and clips to t he wa llfo r sto rage . A sm all
cabinet on the wall ho lds equipme nt for hyg ie ne , t ho ug h it is
so me what embarrassing as it mus t be use d in full view of the
g uard and the occupant(s) of the other ce ll.

A security alarm is pro minently placed o n the wa ll of the sec urity

station outside the cells, as we ll as a locked hatch t hat le ad s to a
sma ll se curity locke r. There are vidscreens on t he wall in the se cu-
rity station arranged fo r the prisoners' enterta inment, but t he pris-
oners must watch them through the com bination of bars and se -
curity netting that seals e ach ce ll .

0023
 I

~ IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER

II ~ 2.5 SHIP PERSONNEL ... 2.6." Int rvlew with Pilot

•.... The Imperat or-c1ass' crew is divide d int o four departm ents . Op-
erat io ns is comma nded by the First Offic er, whic h is respo nsib le
fo r d ay to d ay operat ions and anyth ing not covere d by oth er de -
partm ent s. The medica l crew falls unde r Operat ions. The Gu n-
nery Dep artment is com mand ed by the Weapo ns Officer, while
Name:
Rank:
Paolo Dallaire

Current Assignment: CVNA Titus Grimaldi

Tai-i

" There is no better job to have in t he

Eng ineering is co mmand ed by t he Ch ief Eng ineer. The crew as-
sign ed to th e secu rity pos it ions fall und er Engineering and help
t he engineers in da mage control duties. The Flight Operat ion s
Officer co mma nd s Fligh t Operations Dep artment , which includes
the fighte rs and/or exo-armors and th e marine squad.
OJ Crew Orgenlzetion Chert
Capta in
First Officer ............................................................................................................ 1
Sup ply Off icer ........................................................................................................ 1
Med ical Offi cer ....................................................................................................... 1
• EMf ............................................................................................................. 1
Nu rse........................................................................................................... 1
Aesthe tic s Specialist .............................................................................................. 1
EME Specia list ....................................................................................................... 3
He lmsman/Navigat or ............................................................................................. 3
W eapons Officer ............... ................................................................................ 1
Gunner ......................................................................................................... 3
Chief Enginee r ....................................................................................................... 1
Master Eng ineer .......................................................................................... 2
Engine er ..................................................................................................... S
Electronics Specialist ................................................................................... 1
Comput e r Speciali st .................................................................................... 1
Security Off icer ..................................................................................................... 1
Security Specialist ........................................................................................ 1
Flight O perat ions Officer ....................................................................................... 1
Cat apult Specialist ....................................................................................... 1
Ordnance Specialist ..................................................................................... 1
Exo/Fig ht e r Pilot .................................................................................................... 2
Mar ine .................................................................................................................... S
CVNA t han a p ilot's p ost ing o n an
Imperator. I' ll tel l you why. You see, in
other ships, wit h lot s of pi lots , lot s of
exos, everyone has to share the credit.
If t he ship is attacked , and t he p ilot s
scramb le, it's all abo ut the team, yes? On
this ship, there's only two pilots . I just
have to be better th an one person, and
the performance b onuses are all mi ne .
"I know, 1sound like a fo reig ner, going on about 'p ersonal fu lfill-
ment.' It's no t my fault . A n exo-armor is t he most powerful war
machine, yo u know, and it make s some pe ople feel, well, very
important . I'm part of someth ing very big, yes, b ut I'm also pi lot-
ing somet hing very b ig too, you see? In fact , I tr uly answer only to
the captain. I don't envy his job, t ho ug h - we've g ot t otally di f-
feren t career g oa l, and I just d o n't wa nt to rise t o t hat level one
day. I ju st can't relate to a ship com mand e job .
"I get a lot of respe ct on thi s ship . People let me get t o the g alley
first. I get an off icer 's cab in . I earn it , t hough. My exo-armor is my
exo-armor. If somet hing goes wrong with it, I can't blame a backup
p ilo t, or even t he t echnicians. It's my fault if I don't t ake care of
t he machine I fig ht in. That 's no rmal for any Venus ian ship, b ut on
thi s on e, a mistake will be very q uickly not iced . A lso, as head
p ilot, I have to work with the captain and fl ight ops off icer t o work
out sche d ules and p roc ed ures. Betwee n fly ing, maint enance and
desk-jockeyin g, it's a wond er I have eno ug h free t ime to make
the other pilot fee l useless."

0024
...
IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER
2.5.2 Interview with e Nevigator
Name:
Rank:
Current Assignment:
Yingshu Lu
Chu-sa
CVNA Joseph
Parkinson
"My job, accordin g t o my m ent or offi cer
back on Ven us, is to make the ship look
casual witho ut actua lly being casual.
That's all she had t o say. Ge e, very hel p-
ful, isn't it ? Do yo u have any idea what
kind of hell my p erfo rmance reviews are
like? I have t o p lot co urses th at t ake us
pa st our assig ned p at ro l p oint s, b ut
which also lo o k p lausibl e fo r a cargo
cou rier vessel.
" If w e end up havi ng to open up on som eone, I have to hel p hid e
t he fact t hat we were ever there. Even if we d o n't g et seen (and
we haven't), t here are so m any ways someone could d owng rad e
me for p erceived mi stakes in jud g m ent . For inst ance, if I d ecid e
to b urn a little ext ra remass to hit a ch eckpo int on t im e, t he cap -
tain can di ng me for ' engaging in maneuvering b ehavio r incon -
sist ent wit h CVNA po licy.'
" I researched some statist ics. Of all br idge pos it ions , navigato rs
b ecom e t he least likely to m ake it t o co mmand rank the long er
th ey serve in t hat position. You'd better love you r j ob , because
it's not g oing t o take you anywhere bu t d own and o ut. Most of
the navi gator s ret ire after a few ye ars and end up in st ress-m an-
agement resorts for a wh ile. Me, I love p lotting co urses; it 's like
jugg ling a dozen balls at a time, trying to balance everyth ing out
and still keep the whole t hing m oving along. I just hate the popu-
larity con test I have to go through just t o keep my job. If I ever
get to be a captain , I' m going to make it a point to be extra nice
t o my navigator. It's just good karma ."
0025
... 2.5.3 Interview with a Security Officer
•
II
Name:
Rank:
Current Assignment:
Koji Shimizu
CVNA Akikumo
Nakamichi
Chu-i
•
.-
IiiI
"Okay, so t here's not a lot tha t need s
security on a tiny little ship like t his, right ?
Hmph. You are so wrong . Even on t he
routin e trip s, t he re 's always someon e
II
wh o ge t s a case of cabin f ever. T he
Imp erat or's ju st too small for a real Ve- II
nusian t o be comfortab le with for too
lo ng, and o n the kind s of j obs we ge t
sent on , it's alw ays too lo ng .
"We may on ly have ab ou t forty peop le ab o ard , bu t it d o esn't
t ake much t o g et a fig ht sta rted . Usually it's o ne of t he pilots b ul-
lying a g unner, or som e navigato r g oi ng off t he d eep end, b ut II
I
t he end result is th at I have to rou gh 'e m up a b it (for ap pearance's
sake, you know), t oss t hem in th e brig for a few shifts, and t he n
spe nd way to o m any hours d o ing p aperwork. It's very much '!
cult ural req uirement - small ships are like frontier towns. You
gotta show th em wh o 's t he boss once in a w hile or t hey will fo rget
and try t o stomp all over you .
"When we run into a pro b lem on a patro l, then things get really
interesting . Since we don 't have many specialized crew members
due to t he ship's size, any boarding pa rt ies usua lly invo lve me
and a bunch of half-tra ined vo lunteers fro m engineering who are
probably more of a danger to my back than a help. That' s alway s
fun . Then there are the search-and-seizures, when I get to p lay
EOD rat and inspect containers and packages fo r undesirab le
items like, oh , say, bombs. And of course, there 's always paper-
work. But I only talk like this when I have time to think about it,
because the rest of the time, I'm having way too much fun ."
 Section: Central Hull
., Main Data :
TV: 2800 Off. TV; I 0 o.f. TV: I 2300 Misc. TV: I 6100 Cos t : 2.4M I Indv . Lemon Dice: 2
Crew : 6Act ion s; 4 I Sensors: +1 /3 km I Comm: +1 / 15 km I Fire Control: o I Type : Um.Prod I
Hull Size: 32 C>ef.w 1t ~iz.: 14 8ase Armor : SO I Ugh t : 50 I He avy: 50 I Overit ill: 50 I
., M ovemBnt D atil:
Mode: Spac e I Comb.. ,2 3 12. 3 9) I Top: 47 (4.7 9) I Maneuv e r: ·2 I RaOQ4': 1.000 hr sRet¥tass : 8.000 BPs

.-. .,
I
.,
Irnperator-class Patr ol Cruiser

Dverell Data:
Ttvwllt Value: 60800 I Off TV I Def . TV: . I Mi sc. TV: . I CO$t : 103.3M I Ind . lemon Dic e: 3
.,
Cargo Say

HEP: Rad
HEP: Vac
P erk ll & Flaws :
Backup Syste ms

Difficult to Mod ify

Ejedion Syst em s

Ufe Support
4
Com m , FireCon. LifeSupp, Sens or
5.000 m3

Pods for 10 people

5cr oon
All

Ag a inst sp ace
Full
Ste alth 2 Add t o Conc e aln-.nt

Movement Data :
I Mod . , Space Combat:6 MP (0.6 9)1 Top : 12 MP11.2 g) I Maneuver : ·2 Range : 3000 h" ReMa5s:2000 BPs Re inforc ed Cre w 3 Absorbs first three "Crew· hit s

., Sections :
.,
Stealth 2 Add to Conc e alment

I I D ffenlliv e and Defens lva Sylltem ll '

I " Main Hull
" Cent ral Hull
" EVAHuH
Qty Nam e k e OM 8R Ace ROF Am~ Special M5 WC AC
I I I
II I
.,
\
I I

I"
I"
O ff & D e f Systems
Pom t Defense System
Missil. Bay
I
I
2. Laser Array I
I
.. CMM

I I I

Section: Main Hull Section: EVA Hull

II Main Data : ., Main Data •

I TV, 34000 I Off. TV: 83000 I o.f. TV: 2500 Misc. TV: 17000 I Prod. Cost: 60M I 1ndv.1emonDice: 2 TV, 24000 I os.rv 39000 I Def . TV: 2500 I Misc . TV: 31000 I Cost: 40 .9M I lndv . t. man Dice:
I Crew : 18 I Act ion s: 6 I SenSOf"!, : -212km Comm.: ·211Okm I Fir. Control : +1 I Crew : 10 I Actions: 5 I Sensors: -2J2km I Comm; -211Okm I Fire Con tr ol: 0 I Type : Um.Prod
I HullSize: 36 I o.fault Size: 32 I Bas. Armor: 50 Light , 50 I Heavy: 50 I Ov&rltill : 50 HuUSize : 34 I Def.wlt Size : 2'> I Ba,. Armor: 50 I Ugh t: 50 I Heavy : 50 I Overkill: 50

., Main Data. ., Movement Data:

I Modo, Towed I Combat : I Top : I ManucV&f : I Rang e : 1000 hrs I Re ,M ast : Mode: Towed I Combat: I Top : I Range : 1,000 hrs I ReMa,,: I
., Park.. & Flaws: ., Perk.. & Flaw.. :
Autopilot Lvi 1 Pilo t Reinf on:e-d Crew 3 Absorbs first three · Crew· hits Backup Syst~s Comm, FireCon, UfeSupp, Sensor Reinfo rced C~ 3 Absorbs first th ree · Cre w· hits
Backup Sytotems COfTNTI, FireCon, Uf eSup p . Sensor Steal th 2 Add to Conc ealment Ca rgo Bay JO.OOOm3 Side.Bay 2 Two pati ents
Co mput er 3 eRE 0, KN O 0, PP3 2x Cata pults (4501m ass)mls 2 Ste alth 2 Add to Concealment
OiffiaJlt to Modify All Difficult t o Modif y All
Eject ion Systems Pod s fOf 20 peop le Eject ion System Pod s fOf' 16 People
HEP: Red 4 Scree n HEP: Rad 4 5<non
HEP: Vile Against space HEP: Vac Ag ainst sp ace
u fe Support Fun Lab Ufe Sciences 0
Passenger Accom 3.000m3 Passe ng e r Accom 2.000 m3

., Dffenslvs and Defanllive SYlltamll : ., Off & Def Systema

Ct y Name A«. OM BR Ace RO F Ammo Speci a l M5 WC AC Ct y Nam e A«. OM BR Ace ROF Ammo Special M5 WC AC
2 Laser Array F ><20 7 0 +1 Inf AD2. Cone . (lnst .). HEAT 14 12214 nI. 1 Missile Say T , 30 5 ·2 +5 40 Cone . (lnst.), HEAT, M lw le 8 2644 2.3
POS hng&dl nI. T
•
..
1 T .10 1 +1 +6 Inf AM. Con e. (lnst ,). HEAT 16 1401 3 CMM . 1B 2 ·1 +4 32• • Cone. (lmt .), HEAT;MiSSile 3106 2.7
POS (shield) FF ><20 M.... +1 +4 Inf Cone. (Inst .), OM., E·9*t, H I. 53.
3 CMM T .' 8 2 ., 32• • Cone.(lnst. ), HEAT,Miss ;1
• 310S 2.7

0026
,.
rv.
Section: .
Main Data.
oarv I Oef .W M isc. TV: I Cost : I Indv lemon dice : •
,.
Iw
Section: •
Main Dsta.
I oa.rv I De{. TV: Misc . TV: Cost : I Indv ktmon dic e: •
•
,
"

•
I Crew: I Act ions : I s.nsors : Com m .: I Fire Con trol ' I TyF!"': I Cre w: I Acti o ns: I Senson : Comm .: I Fir. Control : I Type :
I
I Hull Size : I De fau lt Size : I Base k mOf: li ght : He avy: Owtrkill; I Hull Size: I Default Size : I Base Armor: Light : I Heavy: I Overitil!:

,. Movement Data. ,. Movement Data.

..
I Modo, I Co mb M : I Top: Maneuv er : I Range : Re. Mass: I Modo, I Com b at : I Top: ManMJller : I Range : I Re . Mass:

,. Perks & Flaws. ,. Perks & Flllws.

N.me Rat ing Game Eff ect Nam. Rating Game Effeet N.me Rolt ing GameEffK1 N. me Rat ing Gllme EH.a

,. Offensive and Defensive Syatem s . ,. Offensive and Defllnslve Systemll.

O1y Nam e Ar, OM BR ACC ROF Amm o Sp«ial 0.5 WC AC 01, Name Ar, OM BR ACC ROF Ammo S p«i~ 0.5 WC AC

II

Section: . S ection : .
,. Msin Data . ,. Mel n D llta.
W I Off. TV: I Def. TV: I M ise. TV: I Cost ' I Indv lemon d ice: • rv I Off . TV: I Def.TV; I M ise. TV: I Cost : I tndv ktmon dice: -
Crew: I Act ion s: I Simson : I Comm. : I Fir. Control : I Typo· Crew I Actions: I Seoson: I Comm .: I Fire Control; I Type:
Hull Size: I Default Size : I Base Armor: I Light : I Heavy: I Overkill : Hull Sizl&': I D&fautt Size: I Base Armor: I LIght : I Heavy: I Overki1l:

,. Movement Data . ,. Movement Data.

Mode : I Combat " I Top: I Maneu ....r: I Range: I R• . Mass: Mod e: I Combat : I Top : I Ma~: I Range: I Re. Ma ss:

,. Perks & Flaws . ,. P arke & Flaws .

N. me Rating G ame Eff ect Nome Rat ing Game Effect N. me Rating GilmeEH Kt N. me Rat ing Game Effect

,. Dffenelve and Defensive Systems . ,. Offensive and Datenslve Systema.

O1y N.me Ar' OM BR ACC ROF Ammo Spec ial 0.5 WC AC 01, Name A" OM BR ACC ROF Ammo Special 0. 5 WC AC

0027
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER
---------

•.. ~ PART I: MIXED SIGNALS Gou ld de manded. Tag gart hesit at ed fo r only a moment.

..
Th e b ridge o f th e CVN A Chanta l
O'Connor smelled like clea ning fluid .
In fact , Tal-sa Taggart al-Raschid noted,
even after two months, t he whole ship
still felt too new, too unused . Like her
captain, he t ho ug ht sou rly as he pre -
sented Sho-sho Joshua Gould with a
fol d ed data fax. Gould rou sed himself
from h is seat with a rum b le, and
scanned th e datafax. After a moment,
his porcine eyes peeked ou t ove r t he
to p of t he pa ge.
II "You want th is man to be given a CVNA
po sti ng on my ship ?" Tag g art heard
t he emphasis on 'my: and st rugg led
to hold down his ange r; Gould was
• bo t h a poor capt ain and an insincere
Venusian. Gould co nt inued, incred u-
lous . " His naval tr aining is more t han a
decade o ld , he's bee n unemployed fo r years, and I no t ice yo u've
conveni ent ly left out his crimina l record. Gods , Tag gart , have yo u
ever even heard of t his man? "
"Yes, sir," he affirmed . "As part of my int el team allocation, I' m
req uest ing t he recruit ment of one M ischa Katayama as a civilia n
CVN A cons ulta nt and expe rt in Execut o r operat ion s."
Gou ld shrug g ed . "It's your career, I gues s. We 'll send th e orders
out im med iately." Tagga rt coug hed .
" Gould- sarna, I don 't t hink it 's wise to make such a trans mission
befor e mission completion . If someo ne we re to int ercept and
decipher the orders-"
" They would have to decip her them , wouldn't they?" Gou ld in-
t erject ed . " I hard ly t hink t hat's a co ncern . All the y'll see is an in-
nocent civ ilian message with som e signal noise. I t hink we are
adeq uate ly p ro t ect ed . Anyw ay, I wa nt t o see t hi s," Gou ld
sniggered, " consult ant of yours as soon as possib le."
"Yes, sir," Tagga rt clipped out , doing his b est t o keep any hint of
f urther di sag reem ent o ut of his voice.
He'd arg ued against almost every one of Go uld 's d ecisio ns since
t he mission beg an, and each t ime, he'd be en overridden . He'd
been assign ed to this ship as Gould's intellig ence liaison, b ut Gould
seemed int ent on makin g sure all th e g lory was his.

"Yes, of course I've hea rd of him," Tag gart reto rte d defensivel y.
Then, soft ly, he admitted , " at least, I've heard of his family." He
f ing ered the ornate sculpt-clasp at his neck. "They di d a lot for us
du ring t he Birth ing ."
"A cent ury ago," Gou ld noted. Tagg art shook his head . Gould
could not po ssib ly und erst and .
" l owe him . He's asked fo r my help, and I int end t o g ive him a
chance."
"Yo u're vouchin g for this man, t hen? O n your personal cred it ?"
Turn ing to more p leasant th o ug hts, Tagga rt imag ined what t he
scion of old Toji Katayama wo uld look like. He wondered abo ut
t he q uestionabl e nat ure of t he man's work and crim inal record ,
b ut qu ickly di smissed t he wor ries. He'd d one the right t hing. Now
it was in t he hand s of th e g od s.
* * *
Looks like the g od s dropped the ball, Tagg art th ou ght grimly.
Floatin g in his spacesuit , he lo oked d own con te mpt uou sly at
Gould, who hud d led , shivering in his suit, und er his ow n chair.

0028
 IMPERATOR PATROL CRUISER

Th e b rid g e had already been ev acuat ed, alarm s we re b laring all

over th e shatt ered cruiser, and t he b rid g e viewscreen showed a
The re was b are ly enough light t o mak e ou t t he Jap anese char ac-
te rs. Mis cha Kat ayama looked at the datafax he ld in his unst ead y
•
II
gold and b lack Ryu exo-arm or lounging casually at o p th e hull.

Thi rty-t wo hours aft er th e t ransmi ssion had gone out, th e STRIKE
ships had attacked , with th e Ryu at their head . Tagg art had few
doubts as to how STRIKE had manag ed t o decode t he O'Connor's
han d s, and sat down heavily. He had n't exp ect ed any kind of re-
sponse t o his letter. Surely al-Raschid Tal-i wo uld have looked up
his fi le, and seen the pages of bl ack marks . It had been almost a
joke, a final self-pitying scream . Yet, here was a serious answer, an
•....
invit at ion, addressed not t o a penn iless fa ilure b ut to a fellow
co mm unications. He w aite d fo r t he Ryu to open fire and fin ish Venusian.
th em off, bu t inst ead, t he t ransmission light on t he captain's con -
sole b ega n t o f lash. Slowly, Taggart reach ed out and jabbed a Mischa looked d own. O n a t ab le, ne ar his elbow, were a dataslip
butto n. wit h the word "Kinya" scrawled on th e lab el and a charged p is- II
Th e face t hat appea red on t he view screen was ent irely nonde-
script, long , angu lar and Jap anese. Tag ga rt did n't not ice t he face.
He fo cused instead on t he m an's uniform, a twi n to his own b lack
Int ell ig ence Services att ire, excepting the insign ia, which were
I t ol. He swa llowed . It had bee n so close. Th e order had been on
his lips whe n the d atafax cam e t hroug h.

This is it, he t ho ug ht . An end, or a beginning .

de f init ely not of Venusian origin .
I and soot hing . Like a hum an. Like him.
" A re you the capt ain of thi s ship ?" t he face demanded. Tagg art
g lanced d own, and knew the re was on ly one answe r to g ive.
"Yes, I am."
Th e t raitor sm iled , one sid e of his m ou t h curving up like a scythe .
" N o, yo u' re not. But t hat's all rig ht . Your capt ain's obviously not
wort h half wha t yo u are." The smile van ished . " Here's my offer.
You w ill transfer t o our ship . O nce yo u are aboa rd , your rem ain-
ing crew wil l be allowed t o send a d ist ress call. If you are not
aboard our ship in ten minutes, we wi ll kill t hem all. It 's that simp le .
N ine minutes and fifty second s left ."
Taggart m et the t rait or's eyes , and knew the re was no po int in
arg uing . He d idn't look aro und him. He co uld still hea r Go uld
whim pering . There was litt le ho pe th at t he m an wa s even capab le
of und ersta ndi ng what Tag g art was abo ut t o d o fo r him . Grab-
b ing a hand ho ld , Tag gart hauled him self ou t th e b rid g e door.
•
11
A vo ice int e rrupt ed his thoughts. It spoke from every wall, quiet
II
" Execute final co mmand? " it asked ind iffe rent ly.
II
" No," M ischa br eat hed at last. " Cancel th at ," he d irected, louder.
He t ook a deep b reath, focused on a nearby wa ll camera, and
anno unced , "Stand d own self-destruct, and find me a civilia n fl ig ht
t o Mars. Time t o meet my ang el."
As if in response to his sud d en animat io n, t he vo ice became dis -
t inct ly q uizzical. " I d on 't unde rstand , bu t okay," it said . Mi scha
sm iled and rose fro m his seat .
"You should n't unders tand," he said. "Yo u're not me , afte r all."
He pi cked up the d at aslip and to ssed it t oward a recy cling b in .
Smiling fai ntly, he t urned back to t he wall cam er a.
" At least , not ye t."

* * *

0029
• HUA N G - T I OBSERVER

Notable Ship

Name: CVNA Oyama Hag ane

..
I!!I

II
Launche d:
Stat us:
De ce mber 26, 2210
Refit

The Oyama was t he first p rot ot ype of t he Huang-Ti class, d e sig ned by t he Venu-
sian Bank as an ex perime nt in st and ard izing spy ships and t hus cuttin g costs .
The re al Oyama Hag ane is th e O pe rat ion s Dire ct or of Ve nus Bank's External Se-
curit y Branch, and is we ll-know n in t he Bank's higher ec he lons as t he logist ical
mas termind beh ind Ope rat ion Met huse lah 's su pp ly chain and faci lit y const ruc-
tion. The Oyama ha s rece ntly co mpleted its t wo-ye ar series of fie ld t e sts , and is
curre nt ly undergo ing a complet e overhaul for both ma int e nance and data -col-
le ct ion reasons.
II Na me : CVNA Vaclav Hoe chst
Launched: N/ A
Stat us: Building

Currently be ing fitted out in a sealed and mon itored bay at t he Cart hage orb ital
shipya rds, the Hoec hst is named aft e r the Venus ian Bank agent who calmly and

II efficiently org an ized t he Bank's withdrawa l from t he Jov ian atmosphere in 2210
afte r the Jovians discovered Project Met huselah . Hoechst, whose re al name is highly
classified , has very littl e use for suc h an honor, but it is reported that he does
appreciate t he symbolism.

Name : CVNA John Sale rmo

Launche d: N/A
Stat us: Commissioned

In a move approved by eve ry Venusian espionage office except for those affili-
ated with Ve nusBank, the ne xt Huang-Ti-c1 ass ship to be constructed will bear
the name of t he VAC agent who headed t he op e rat ion to reveal Venu sBank' s
act ivitie s in 22 10 t o the re st of t he Venusian co rpo rat ions. Altho ug h t he Venu-
sian Bank, in its dealings with the ot her co rporations, does acknowledge Sale rmo's
role in b ringing "fairness " to Venus ' p lanetary po litics, mo st out side ob ser ve rs
are cer ta in tha t th is rat he r ob vious jab has be en felt de e ply by th e e g os of
Venus Ban k's board members.

0030
HUANG-TIOBSERVER

•
II

...•.
Ii
II
II
11
II
 HUANG-TI OBSE RVER
- -----

~ 3 .1 OVERVIEW

..- W hen the CVNA w as fo rm ed , it w as wi d ely know n in Venu sian

exec ut ive circles t hat t he Ven usian Bank had used a g ro up o f
hig hly cust om ized stea lt h ship s t o fer ry ca rgo t o and fro m its
Proj ect M et huselah b ases near Jup it er. Using t hi s d esig n (re luc-

.
tan t ly rel eased t o t he CVN A by Ven usBank) as a b ase, a t eam of
engin eers f rom seve ral arcol o g ies created a w arship t hat d id
ex act ly w hat it was supposed t o - and not m uch e lse . The nu-
mero us bu lky sensor-fo o ling d evi ces t hat p ack t he Hu ang-t i's hull
leave lit t le room for weapo nry, and even less fo r armor. Prop erly
d ep loyed , it is a supe rlative scout, bu t if an en emy sho uld g et a
II so lid com b at lo ck, th e Huang-ti is little mo re t han an expensive

• coffin for its crew .

The Hua ng-Ti-c1a ss ship s are secre ts am on g sec ret s; th eir names
are classified and co m e from t he ranks of Venus' intelligence com -
m unity, t hey are no t liste d on any reg ist ry, and t hey bear no mark-
ings of nat ionalit y o r allegi ance . These ships are de sig ned t o o p-
erate alo ne, w it hout co m mu nicati o n o r resup pl y, fo r ext end ed
p eriods of t ime. A spe cial co m m ittee repo rt ing to both th e Venu-
sian Planet ary Advisory Board and t he CVNA to o k six mo nt hs to
select a crew fo r t he first Hua ng- Ti-c1 ass ship t o see servi ce, and
t he crew sele ct ion p ro cess fo r th e tw o next vessels is sim ilarly
int ensive . It is unknow n if m o re Hu ang -Ti-c1 ass ships p ast the fi rst
th ree w ill b e co nst ruct ed ; th ey are p roving to be both expensive
t o b uild and d ifficult t o p rop erly co ncea l.

T 3.1.1 Capabilities

The Huang-Ti is t he closest t hing to an invisibl e ship t he Venu sian

Bank's engi neers were ab le to co ncoct. In ad di ti on to shie ld ed
eng ines, ext ensive temperat ure-co ntro l systems and a co veri ng
of radi at ion -ab sorbi ng mat erial, th e Hu ang -Ti is also equi pped
w ith a mu ch larg er (and correspond ing ly more d iffic ult to use)
version of the visual masking tec hno logy stol en by Venusian agents
from CEGA's Lucifer and Typ hon exo-arrnor proje cts . Lin ked into
the ship's co m munications, sensor and hull vid -me m brane sys-

00 3 2
 HUANG-TIOBSERVER
..... I
tern s, th is " cloak" can hide all of t he Huang-Ti's visual sig nat ure
while simul t aneou sly t ransm itting fal se sign als and sensor imag es
I
to an ene my ship , t ricking the ta rg et int o seeing no th ing at all.
The syst em has p roven effecti ve in t rials at even close d ist ances I has yet bee n pu t in t his uncomfo rtab le p osit io n, t here is current ly
of a few kilometers, but even wit h m ult ipl e skilled controllers aide d
by p owerful co mp ut ers, t he syst em cannot keep th e Huang-Ti
hid den if t here are seve ral enemies co operat ing in a search.
The Huang -Ti, not be ing designed for front line comb at , is not
terrib ly we ll-armed . Its lasers are powerful, b ut fixe d t o fire out of
t iny slit s, rest rict ing t he ir effe ct iveness. It carr ies a few dozen
drones, bu t rat her t han the t or pe does and hunt er-killer s used by
other d rone-carrying Venusian ship s, t he Huang-Ti is obli ged t o
carry bu lky observer and electronic-warfare drones t hat t ake up
ext ra space (due to t he mo d ificat io ns need ed to keep t hem both
stealt hy and mainte nance-frien d ly) and serve little p urpo se in open
b attl e. The Huang-Ti's array of CM M launchers is impressive , b ut
it cannot carry enoug h am munition to have any chance of fi ght -
ing it s way out of anyt hing b ut t he small est skirmish.
Each of t he Huang -Ti's two pr imary hulls has a small veh icle bay
eq uip ped wit h a com p act cata pult system . A ny f igh ter or exo-
arm o r may be carried , bu t t he Huang -Ti's mission p rof ile usually
d ema nd s stea lth and g uile to t he excl usion of all else (and wit h
f inancial exp ense be ing t he least imp ortant of wor ries). As a re-
sult, t he Huang-Ti is usually assig ned a pair of G-8 Korikaze sp e-
cial-op eration s exo-armors, wh ich are eq uip ped wit h stealth and
masking devices even mo re co mplex th an th e Huang-Ti's own .
These tech nolog ically b leed ing -edge units can be used for ad -
vance scou ti ng , shad owing , ambus h or sabotage, and are each
almost as irrep laceab le as t heir mot hership .
The crew of the Huang -Ti is a mix of hardened com bat vetera ns
wit h covert-operat ions experien ce and int ellig ence analysts wit h
little to no milit ary t rain ing . W hile t he so ldiers run th e ship and
are resp onsib le for maint aining secrecy, t he analysts gat her data
using t he ship's sensors and use it to p lan strategic moves or com-
pose reports for transmissio n back to Venus. The analysts are, as
0033
"
I
a rule, unaware t hat if th eir ship is d iscovered , it will be forced to
self-de struct ; t he ir loyalty to Venus and the Ven usian way of life
.
•
II
Idoes not ext end to suicide. However, since no Huang-Ti-c1 ass ship
no shortage of eager Venusian intell ig ence officers hap py t o ac-
cept a post ing aboard one of the se vessels.
•.-.
3.".2 Operational Rola Ii
It is exp ecte d th at t he Jovian Confederat ion will be the p rima ry
t arget of t he t hree Huang-Ti-c1 ass ships. CEGA is mu ch more eas-
ily observed using spies on Eart h and in t he Orb it als, and M ars
has, as far as Venus is conc erned , little to hid e. The vast amount
of sp ace covered by the Confederat io n is a p erfect ro am ing
g round fo r t he Huang-Ti class. Even th oug h t he events of t he
O dyssey have p ut the JA F on gu ard fo r furt her Venusian inc ur-
sions into Jovi an sp ace, t here is no evidence tha t t he Jovia ns
have managed t o imp rove th eir detect ion system s such that t he
Huang -Ti woul d not be an effective spy.
•
A lso of some imp ortance is a syst ematic inspe ct io n of cland es-
tin e act ivit ies in th e Belt . STRIKE is an ever-p resent co ncern , and
th at organizatio n's facil ity fo r p red ictin g Venusian movem ents is
all t he necessaryjust ificat ion for tasking th e CVNA's most advanced
I resources t oward curtai ling STRIKE's acti vit ies. It is also susp ected
th at CEGA and t he Jovians have num ero us hid d en out po st s in
th e Belt; alt hough t hese insta llat ions no doubt " g o silent " th e
moment t hey det ect a nea rby vessel, it is hop ed t hat th ey w ill
reveal th eir secrets t o a ship t hat cannot be seen so easily.
I If an armed co nf lict sho uld ever b reak o ut, t he Huang-Ti class wi ll
be used t o sow d iscord and conf usion in enemy ranks, sab otag -
ing key locat ions and carrying out hit-and -fade attacks o n t he
enemy 's bases. Even in t he current , relat ively warm po lit ical cli-
mate, t he Venusian corp orat ion s are rap idl y f indi ng mu ch co m-
mon ground in t heir mut ual de sire t o use t he Huang -Ti-c1 ass ships
t o p lant evidence, make t roublesome ind ividu als " d isappear" and
otherwise help turn t he oth er solar nat ions aga inst one anot her.
• HUANG-TI OBSERVER

.-.
Bide View
• f)

... j
I
II

•
-!
j
I
Legend
"
1 Drive Fin (Extended) 10 Drone Bay Actua to r 18 Telescop e Cluste r
2 Drive Fin Mo unt 11 Drone Bay Cover (Ext ended)
3 Decoy Launcher Cover 12 Sensor Dishes (Closed) 19 Enhanced Instrument
4 Hangar Bay Door 13 Lidar/Ra ngefinder Emitter Clust er (Ext ended)
5 Rear Cloaking Transmission 14 Fo rward Weapon s Bay 20 Gas Storaqe Access Bay
Clust er (Ret racte d) 15 Cloaking System Transmission 21 Short Range Sensors
6 Inst rument Cluster (Extended) Clust er (Exte nded)
7 Instru ment Ho using 16 Omnidirectional Antenna
8 Elect ronic Warfare Pod (Ext ended)
9 Personnel Airlocks 17 Dir ect ional Gas Vent

0034
 HUANG- TI O BSERVER
T

3.2 SHI P SCHEMATI C S [ CDNT. ) ....

l-.
Speclflcetlons
Front View
-! 1

•
()

J ••
,
Huang-TI
Origin: Cooperative Venusian Naval Ad minist rat ion .. •
Manufacturer: Various Venusian Shipyards
Type: Observe r

•
Control System: Brid ge w/ast ronomical displ ay

.. ,
Length:
Width:
140 m over all
40 m overa ll
Empty Weight : 7,500Tons
Loaded Weight: 10,000 Tons
Main Drive: 1 x 20 MW
Secondary Powerplant: 1 x 4000 ~.
Main Thrusters: ·1 x 25,000,000 kg
Apogee Motors: 80
Acceleration: 2.0 g
Onboard Sensors: Fire Control Radar, Inf rared/
Ultraviolet , Udar, Magn etometer,
Microwaves, Motion
Det ect ors, Radcounter, Search
Radar
Fixed Armament: PDS, 1 x Area Defense Laser Array,

• Legend
25

Additional Armament:
2 x KKC turret
n/a
1 Decoy Launcher Cover 9 Telescope Cluster Defensive Systems: Mag Screen
2 Hangar Do or (Ext ended)
3 Drone Bay Cover 10 Gas Storage Access Bay Equipment: Escape Pods
4 Inst rument Housing 11 Drone Bay A.ct uat or
5 Elect ronic Warfare Pod 12 Inst rument Clust er (Ext ended)
6 Forward Weapons Bay 13 Short Range Sensors
7 Cloaking ?yst em Tra~smi ssi on 14 Lidar/ Ranqefinder Emitter
Cluster (Ext ended) 15 Enhanced Inst rument
8 Omnidirect ional Ante nna Cluster (Extended)
• • (Ext ended) 16 Direct ional G~s Vent

0035
• HUANG-TI OBSERVER

~ 3.2 SHIP SCH E M A T IC S [CONT.]

() Tap Vie lN

FL~
-+ ~.~.- -+

I i
.. -!...
I
I
··.-··: .-t---t-.__..
- r-'...-
I
1·--··t- t·
i
i..._ .,_.•.•.~ ......

t -+ -+ i·· , i- i.
I ..
L. - -+-
t .,
I
. t ._~ .. - .~ -4-.,.,

.. .,l... ._~ .•

---..- ..... _-.~ r·----.....·-·-+···-..,..·-·· ----_._-- .- -+-

t-
; ....
• I t
t...
~
+-
I

!- - - ........
: ...j....•'. -~ ..

+-

-- ." Legend
, .-
1 + D rive Fin(l~;rtended) "' . i6 .
_.~--+-" FOrward Weapons Bay 11 - HangarBayDo~r
Instr~m~nt ~Iuster ~E~~~ed) .
2

3
-
. .
. Rear Cloaking Transmission ' 7
Cluster {Retracted} · ....
InStrument Housing
...
8
. Cloaking System Transmission
."-'" - - .
-'--r ... - ..
ciusiJr (EXtended)
"--
Udar/Rangefinder Emitter
. r Dro~e Bay Cover
12

4 Drone Bay ActU<ltor '9 -...

5 ,Se'nsor Dishes (CI~ed) '10 Electro;;ic'Warl~re P~d T.-
:...... +... . .... ~
j

.+ ... 1
I
J
0036
 HUANG-TI OBSERVER

3.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS [ C O N T . ] ....

•
11

11
Cut:away Vlaw

Om 25
T

•-
5 )---- - - - - - -11
3} -- - :--- - ---ll

4 )----------l!!'_+_

2r---~.11
t . •••
1~II~UI~I'II--f___.c<·
...
•
II

r "."
1
2
3
4
5
6
PlasmaComb ust ion Chamber
"
I
' React ion Mass Tanks
Supercondu ct ing Batteries
Hang ar (Obscures Bulk St orage)
Drone Storage
Instrumen t Bay
•
I
I

7 Drone Prep Bay

8 Bridge
9 Drone Bay
10 Crew Recreation Area

••• 11
12
13
Laser
Laser Capacito rs
Cloak Cent ral Processing Bay
14 • Cloak Room
15 Heat Exchangers
16 Crew Quarters
17 Engineering Bay
18 Gas Storage
19 Commp n Rooni-
1
2
20
21

23
Analysis Room
Analysts' Quarters
Bulk St orage (Obscures Hangar)
- . - Mci"in-EievatorShaft ""
I

L _

0037
• HUANG-TIOBSERVER
. . . . . I. . .. . . . . . . . .. .
•II I
I
~ 3.3 HISTORY
In t he earl y days of th e col oni zat ion of Venus, it w as not unusual
for a co rpo rat ion to commission t he creat io n of p rivate space-
sh ip s t hat w o uld an sw e r its o w n peculia r needs . The o ld er
II VenusBank ship s used fo r t he t op secret Proje ct Me t huse lah were
p rim arily carg o vessels, d esign ed to ferry sup pl ies and be as in-
II visib le as possib le. They had huge carg o holds in each m ain hu ll,
along wit h larg e han g ars sto cked with t ransport shutt les. Ar m a-
m ent w as limit ed to t wo pairs of conc ealed kinet ic kil l cannons.
II
The Venusian Bank's Proje ct M et husela h t ransport ships came very
II close t o b eing revealed in 22 10; one was eve n attacked and was
•
forced t o self-dest ruct t o avo id captu re o r close insp ect ion. The
CVNA has every intent ion of cont inuing Venus Bank's pol icy re-
g ard ing t he d ispo sit ion of stealt hed spy ships, p refe rring t o sacri-
fice t he ent ire vessel alon g wit h its crew rat her th an risk expo sing
Venus' enti re milita ry b uild up to t he rest of th e so lar syste m .
II M o st of the vessel's concep t ion was b ased on th e nee d to be as
d iscreet as po ssib le. Th e d rive was effect ively stealthed, b ut w as
very bulky and ineffi cient as a result . Sen so rs were relat ively un-
important; like a p ackho rse, the ship d id no t need to b e ab le to
see much in orde r to m ake a d elivery. A stand ard civilian-grad e
ship sensor dome was m o unt ed , wit h some ad d ed layerin g to
red uce elect ron ic em issions. N o act ive concealmen t t echno logy
was carried; the ship relied pr imarily on old er passive st ealth t ech-
no log y and d ecoy s along wit h a rud iment ary visual masking sys-
tem . Th e id ea of active ly send ing fa lse projec t ions and sig nals at
a ta rge t observer wa s no t feasible unt il lat er.
W hen VenusBank w as fo rced t o t urn t he stea lt h-ship d esign over
to t he Planeta ry Advi sory Boa rd , th e co nsensus w as th at t he Bank
had b uilt an excellent ship , de sp it e som e fla ws and shortcom-
ings . The Bo ard needed a hidden source of info rm at io n in o rde r
to m aint ain Venusian p owe r, and t hese ships seemed like th e wa y
to g o . Plans we re drawn up to upd at e t he d esign to more m od -
ern specifications and correct th e afo rementioned flaws.
0038
___J
The exist ing vessels w ere t owed to a small and very di screet shi p-
yard in high orbit. Th e main hull s w ere sho rtened by abo ut fo rty
pe rcent , and almost all of t he carg o space was convert ed to ot he r
uses. The front cargo bays were mo d if ied to carry and launch
Drones . Hug e fold ing sen sor d ish arrays, wh ich wo uld sup p le-
m ent the new inst rum ent clusters install ed in the cent ral hull, w ere
installed around t he Drone bays. The m ain hangar was shrunken;
a co mp lement of tw o exo-armors were d eem ed suffici ent. A small
carg o bay was left over in each hull to be used as necessa ry.
Each hull no w cont ained b ot h a hanga r and a b ulk sto rage/carg o
area. Th e new drive syst em m aintained the same leve l of ste alt h
bu t was only half the size, tha nks t o new and mo re efficient drive
coils. A set of p ow erful lasers w as inst alled in the fo rward w eap-
ons bay, g iving the ship som e very impre ssive first-strike cap abi l-
ity. Some ant i-exo m issiles were ad ded , t oo , b ut the lack of any
b ackup anti -ship w eapo ns mad e the Huang-Ti (as th e revised
d esig n was now called) a po o r ship of t he line.
Th e ad vanced cloaking syst em we nt th rou gh a lot of trial and
error, and in fact is sti ll being perfected . The current g rou p of
th ree ships will b e th e t est b ed s fo r t he next gen erat ion of Hua ng -
Ti , which will hop efully be abl e to st ay hidden wit ho ut the mas-
sive exp end it ure of p ow er and m ass cu rre nt ly req uired . The
p resent system is only eff ecti vely ab le t o hid e the ship from one,
pos sibl y tw o enemy units at a time. Since mu ch of th e visual com-
ponent involves sending im ages t hat th e en emy expect s to see ,
m ult ip le obse rvers wh o can compare th eir view point s w ill b e able
t o p ick ou t di screpanci es and p inpo int t he Huang -Ti's loc ati on .
Unli ke most other Venusian ship classes, the Huang -Ti has no real
civilian eq uivalent. A lt hough t here are cargo ships tha t roug hly
resemb le it in size and ge neral shape, anyone wh o g et s a reason-
abl y close look at the Hua ng -Ti w ill realize that it is something out
of the o rdi nary. W hereas th e oth er Venusian w arships are co m-
p letely indisting uishabl e from civilian ships , it was impossib le t o
tot ally hid e the Huang-Ti's natu re.
 I
I
HUANG-TI OBSERVER

A OCTAVIUS MUNCHSTRAKEN ~
•
Stealth Cargo Vessal. ee 10 f)
II
I
... Legend
... 3
Orn 25 II
, Shielded Carg o Section
2
3
Expa nded Hangar Bay
Forward Carg o Section
000
•
4 Light KKC armament
S Sta ndard Se nsor Dome
6 -t- • Large Eng ine
t- t··

II
I·

f -

.., t" ... ;

II
I
I
I
CVNA Octavius Munchstra ken : launched May 2208. The Munchstraken was
one of th e first ste alth cargo whose existence was revealed t o the oth e r
corp orations of Venus. It was very much a pu re tra nspo rt ship at this point ,
with large cargo bays extending from t he back of eac h main hull. The ship's
e lectronics were not as soph ist icated as t hose found ?n more modern ves-
sels, and were bare ly sufficient to keep it hidden from most casual looks.

The original engine was housed in an extended housing in the hope of im-
proving its heat manag ement by increasing the tota l radiating surface . Later
enhancements to the coo lant circulat ion system made t his unnecessary, and
most Observers were late r ret rofitted with the shorter (and lighte r) drive
mount used to day.

0039
••,
HUANG

~ 3.4 SHIP SYSTEMS

TI OBSERVER _ __--.J

•.-. I () Weapons & Propulsion Systems

• I

TIi~bulk of i he·ciiittiJl liuli istak~ii upoy t he drive

system, with the two main reactio n mass reserv es
, being placed on either's ide within"t he reinforced
-

, hull supp ort pylons. The resenies serve a ~ addi -

Ii . ~
' t i61iar shield ing for the liangar bays and i:~ytar, .
eas and abs6rbstr ay'pai-ticleiiemitted by the fu,
sioriC/rive, lowering th1 ship's signat ure. Variable
+ .
···· alb'edo h'eat 'sink'panels sLirroim'd bot h t ile engine ' !

•
bay and the reaction mass r~serves. '
+ ..... ... r ....-. t·· ........; t -t .. ...

The ship's arma ment is rat he r light. Laser systems

•
. .• are -mounted in-ret racta ble housing sa t th e ·p row • .
of both main hulls.The main bite of the ship, how-
ever, is p r'tvided by the m·~ ltiple drone launch
tubes mounted underneat h armored pane ls at t he
front . The latte-rs a lso' se~e as hardpoirits fo r th~
II ve~sers deployable ante nnae a ~ray:

II
.+ -t-:
~~~ I
.~
!
t-_ ··
y Weapon Systems
... l'
•
1
,'" . + -; t ~ ~

' Laser
• 1
T
.··, 2 ,.
i· ..i .. . Laser Capacitor .. I
., 3 Fo~ard PDS Emitter
r .L... ·4 -t
""j
Drone Launch Bay ]
;
~!. ..- I . l .5 -t- i·" t CMM Cluste r J
6 Main Power Conduit I

i r 7 Decoy Syste m (exte rior

to Reaction Mass Tanks)

r 8 .-.~ 1 "Rcs"cTusier
•
! t T t 9 i React ion' Mass Tanks
... t· -+- .".. +-
'I (interio r to Decoy System)
I 10 Plasma' C~mbusiiori Chamber
I 11 Shielded Thermal

..
i- i-
Exh~ust Coilimat or and Iris
t. 12
13
EM Power Generation System
. · '1 'Rad iator Fin
L

0 0 40
 HUANG-TIOBSERVER
-, -----

3.4 SHIP SYSTEMS ....

The Huang-Ti is equipped with an'ext ensive sen-

sor network to enable it to fu lfill it s mission. The
sensor s are clust ered in fi ve main groups. The for:
Sensors end Life Support Systems ()

•.-.
ward array is composed mostl y of lo ng range an-
tennae w hich can b e extended to imp r o ve Ii
perfomance. The side arrays deploy f rom the
drone bays' armo red doors to create a very large
detection surf ace around each hull. The rearmost

•
mo unts are blister housing s wit h trai ling ante n-
nae, which can also be extended out f or better
reception.

The ship's life suppo rt nodes are more clust ered

t han usual f or a ship of t his size. Most of the pri-
mary systems are fo und in the hull support py lons
and t he innermost side of the hulls. This makes it
easier t o manage th eir heat out put.

'f Sensor Systems

...
1 Telescope Cluste r
2 Expandable Enhanced
. Det ectio n Ar ray
3 Lidar/Ra ngefind er Emitter
4 ECM/ ECCM Pod
5 Synthet lc-ApertureSensor Cluster
6 Sensor Dishes
'f ' Life Support Sys .
...
7 Screen Generator
8 Heat Exchangers
9 Gas Storage
10 f- Local Lif e Supp ort Systems
11 Superco~ducti ng B!!ttefi es

~---- ---~ -
........ ...... _-~
HUANG-TIOBSERVER

T 3.4.1 Drane Prep Bey T 3 .4 .2 Cloek Roam

Dron es fo rm a large part of th e ope rat ional cap ab ili t ies of the
Huang-Ti class. The y serve as t he ship 's eyes and ears, and some-
t imes as its ha nd s and weapons. In fact , a sig nifi cant vo lume of
t he int e rna l hulls is taken up by Dro ne sto rag e and hand ling
eq uip m ent .
The Dron e Prep arat ion Bay, also known und er t he sim p le r m o ni-
ker of "P rep Bay," is a combi nat ion wo rkshop/to rp ed o room
w here t he Dro nes are checked and maintained b efo re be ing sent
t o the lau nch bay in t he bow of th e ship. Th e ro o m is lo cat ed
be tw een t he Drone st or ag e bays ne ar th e back of each m ain
hu ll (rig ht next to th e vehicle hang ars) and th e fo rward airl o cks
and launc h bay s.
Each main hull sto res twenty o r so Dron es, d ependi ng on t heir
typ es, and each hull has its own Prep Bay. The Huang-ti 's Dron es
are rath er larg e, averaging five m et ers in lengt h, t o acco mmo-
da te th eir extra st ealt h eq uipment. The Drone s ent er t he Prep
Bay on a t ub ular co nveyo r t hat can funct ion bo t h und e r accelera-
ti on and zero-g ee. The conveyor leaves t he room to ward t he ship 's
bow and carries Drones " up " into one of t he laun ch airlock s. In
t he event of a m echan ical failu re, tw o sets of doors allow crew t o
m ove Drones from storage to launch manually.
The Cloak Room is t he locati on fro m which t he ship 's act ive st ealth
systems are cont rolled . It is a small room with th ree operato r chairs,
all eq uip ped w it h the necessary co ntro ls t o supervise th e status
of th e ship 's st ealt h and " silent running " systems. The room is
loc ate d in one of t he m ain hulls, near most of t he crew recreati on
and off-ti me facili ti es.
Each chair has a VR headset and a set of sma ll cont ro l pa nels t hat
can fo ld out of t he way. The arms of each chair are act ually linear
I f rame limbs; a clo ak co ntroller sit s com forta b ly in th e chair and
p lace s his arm s into t he linear f rame, which read s his arm and
hand m oveme nts, allow ing ma nip ulat io n of t he virt ual environ-
ment di sp layed on t he headset . There is enough room between
each chair so th at a user can make g rand sweeping gestures (sim ilar
in p urpo se to a pa inter's stro kes) without obst ruct ing his neig h-
bors' ow n activities.

The Prep Bay contains m any st orage lo ckers and feat ures d iag -
nostic equi pment o n th e walls beh ind pro t ective pan els. Two
rep air crad les occupy t he cent er of t he room, and a large ro-
b ot ic crane arm is attached to one wall. The arm is strong en o ug h
to assist in moving Dro nes f rom t he co nveyo r to the cradles if
need be .

Due to the sensit ive nature of t he eq uipm ent , the Prep Bay is a
clean-ro om env ironment with its own sp ecial life support syste m .
Access to t he room is via a positive-pressure internal airlock lo-
cat ed opposite t he conveyor. O uts ide, sealed clean -suits are lined
up in a rack next to a scrubdown kiosk .

0042
 •
I

HUANG- TIOBSERVER

Othe rwise, t he room is q uite crampe d. Big ma nual co nt rol pan-

e ls and mon it o rs fold ou t of the wall so th at the cloa k ca n be
II
controlled via keyboa rd, shou ld t he main cloa k inte rface fa il. This

•..
-
ma nua l con t rol se tup is d up licate d fo r e ach se at , a nd is e asily
th e mo st da unti ng se t of b utt o ns and d ia ls on t he en t ire sh ip. I
Dat a and powe r lines , cove red by lig htwe ig ht po lymer pa ne ls
fo r prote ct io n and aesthet ics, are grouped into an ea sily accessed
"t runk" lo cat e d between the sea ts . II
Y 3.4.3 Analysis Room
II

•
This is th e roo m whe re a ll t he data gat here d by the Huang-t i's I
se nso rs is co llat ed , inspe cted, and evaluated by the o nboard sp e-
cialists. It is locate d in t he sa me positio n as the Cloak Room a nd
recre at io n roo ms in the op posite main hu ll,a nd is fairly large fo r a
roo m aboard a spaceship of th is size.

The inner roo m is sphe rica l; since th e corre spo nd ing space in th e II
othe r ma in hull is sq ua re -e d ge d , the Analysis Room is actu ally a I
sph e re posit io ne d within a re cta ng ula r vo lume. The sp ac e o ut- •
sid e the crew sphe re is take n up by co mpute rs and data stora ge
eq uipme nt which is accessible via ac ces s panels in t he wa lls. A
t iny bat hroom and a snack b in are locat e d right ou tsid e t he ma in
door fo r co nve nie nce d uring long sh ifts .

The roo m ha s many chairs a lo ng the walls, but th e central space

is clea r of permanent furn iture. The walls are covered in mon itors;
t hre at board s and ot her large d isp lays can unfo ld from the wa lls,
a llowing even more data display space . In its fully "open" sta te ,
the who le room is packed so lid with disp lay devices . Many crew,
howe ve r, prefer to use virtual rea lity hea dsets and use t he central
space as a virtual e nvironm en t . Up to a doz e n peo ple can work in
th is roo m in tot a l co mfort (as fa r as elbow roo m goes, at le ast).
This room is not set up fo r sh ip con tro l funct ions; it is a thin k tank,
not mu ch e lse .

0043
•• HUANG-TI OBSERVER

~ 3.5 SHIP PERSONNEL ~ 3.6.1 Interview with a Cloak Control Officer

____I

The Huang-Ti has an unusual crew arrangement. Most depart- Name: Jan Topol
11

-
me nt s are st and ard ; t he except io n is th e Diversions Department, Rank: Chu-j
which includ es all t ho se assigned t o the advanced electronic war- Current Assginment: CVNA O. Hagane
I!!I fa re syste ms and ha lf of t he ship 's compliment of Electromag-
netic Em ission s (EM E) Spec ialist (sensor operators t hat double as
" Come in, sit down, and stay out of the
It co mmu nicat ions sp ecialist s).
way. We don't like guests in the cloak
room . We don't even like talking to the
rn Crew Organization Chart
II brid g e, so we turn th e speake rs way
down. It' s not as if t hey ever have any-
Captain

II First Off icer .................................................. ........................................................ 1

Supp ly Officer ........................................................................................................ 1
t hing im p o rt ant to say to us anyway.
'Ke ep us hidd en.' ' M aint ain cloak.' Duh.
Supply Cle rk ............................................................................................... 2 Th at's all we d o . Day in, day ou t . It's like
Aesthetics Specialist .................................................................................... 1 chess, b ut only if every chess m ov e in-
M orale Officer ........................................................................................................ 1 volved paint ing a portrait .
EME Spe cialist ............................................................................................ 6
Helmsman/ N avig at or ................................................................................. 3
"Yeah , I know t hey say we're crazy. I don' t care if t hey t hink we're
• W eapons Off icer .................................................................................................... 1
d ead , as lo ng as th ey d on't bot her us. We need calm and co n-
centr at ion t o d o t his. Can't con cen t rat e if t here's a con sta nt ring-
Gunn er ........................................................................................................ 3

Chief Engineer ....................................................................................................... 1 ing in ou r ear fro m t he int ercom .

M aster Engineer ........................................................................................ 2
Engineer ..................................................................................................... 9
Electron ics Spe cialist ................................................................................... 9
Co mput er Specialist .................................................................................... 1
Security Off icer ...................................................................................................... 1
Security Specialist ....................................................................................... 3
Flight O perat ions Officer ...................................... . ............................................. 1
Deck Off icer ........................................................................................................... 1
Catapult Spe cialist ...................................................................... ............... 2
Or dnance Specialist ................................................................................... 2
Exo-arm or Pilot ........................................................................................... 2
Diversions Off icer ................................................................................................... 1
"Most of t he t ime , only one of us really need s to be on du ty. We
b asically keep t he ship 's hull look ing like exte rior spac e, and moni-
tor all sorts of em issions. If someone rub s their so cks on the rec
roo m carpet, we'll kno w abo ut it . It 's wh en we encounte r anot he r
ship th at all of us have to wo rk at once. In addit ion to th e p hot oskin
covering, we have to creat e false sig nals and sensor imag es t o
t ransmit to t he t arg et to make t hem think t hey're seein g nothing
b ut empty sp ace.

Cloak Spe cialist ........................................................................................... 3
EME Specialist ............................................................................................. 6
Compute r Speci alist ........................................................................, .......- 3
"Ve nusBank t est ed a b unch of people fo r t his j ob . Fifteen people
out of nine hund red p assed. Fifteen. W e' re g etting rich off t hi s
j ob , yo u can be sure of t hat , as long as we d on't screw up . Not
mu ch chance of t hat , t hough , at least not fo r me. O n my te st, I
got wit hin t hree hund red met ers of th e t est ship before th ey saw
me. Dead mea t ."

0044
 HUANG-TIOBSERVER

3.5.2 Interview with en Intelligence Officer ... 3.5.3 Interview with a Drone Technician
11
Name : Geoff Niekerk Name : Lorna Skipworth

•-
-
Rank: Chu-sa Rank: Jun-i
Current Assignment: CVNA O. Hagane Current Assginment: CVNA O. Hagane

"No, I'm not a naval officer. I'm just a
t ech ie, okay? They pay me, I ship o ut .
Me and the rest of t he infor mat ion-analy-
sis gan g, we spen d most of ou r tim e in
t he analysis room, or th e Tank, as we call
"They have nam es. A ll fo rty of t he m.
They' re like child ren really, inq uisit ive and
eager to please . It's my job to make sure
tha t each of them is well-taken care of
II

it . We ' re rest ricted from the military por-
ti ons of t he ship, but most of us don't
m ind . There's lots to d o in t he Tank, from
pl aying g ames and watc hing vids hows
t o actua lly ge tting work d one.
" Usually, t here's not mu ch to d o on t he fi rst leg of any g iven t rip ,
but once we g et on stat ion and t urn on t he b uge yes, t hings make
a one-eighty. We p ract ically live in t he Tank, eat ing and sleep ing .
We let t he comput ers coll ate all t he info that co mes in, and th en
spend d ays up on d ays d ecidi ng which bits of data are actua lly
important.
"The capt ain likes to come down and chat with us. He 's a pretty
nice g uy, b ut I t hink he g et s a b it t oo seriou s about t he m ilitary
side of t hing s. Proced ures and t radi t io ns mean little to us - we' re
t oo bu sy looking for p atterns in t he d at a.
" The b rass also g et s really insist ent when we 're at a surveilla nce
site and he needs us to have a d at a analysis d o ne yesterday.
W e' re not be ing lazy whe n w e' re slow wi t h t hat stuff. It's j ust th at
somet ime s we have a lot of infor mat io n t o int eg rat e b efo re we
can d ecid e o n an appropri at e cou rse of act io n. The captai n may
b e used to making snap j ud g ment s o n limit ed info rmat ion, b ut
f rankly, d oing th at in ou r job co uld g et t he who le ship di scov-
ered and capt ured ."
•
and in perfect working order. Th ese
are n' t your no rm al d ron es , afte r all.
They're eac h sp ecially mod ified t o be
st ealt hy and have g reat er range and en-
d urance t han ty pi cal Class II Drones. It
wo uld n't do for us to launc h a nor mal
d rone, consid ering t hat we're sup posed
to be invisib le, rig ht ?
"B efore t he ship leaves port, I always make sure we have all th e
•
spare part s and equip ment I t hink we 're g oing t o need . The d rone s
t hemselves are loa ded in a shut- d own stat e and d on't need any
babysitti ng. For most of t he tri p out, I serve as a backup hanga r
b ay crewe r, and if there's not hing t o d o in th ere, I usually end up
cook ing fo r t he analysts.
"W hen we 're near a surveillance site, t houg h, I g o down int o t he
d rone b ay, p ut on a clea n suit (woul dn 't want st ray hair o r bad
breat h t o rui n t he st ealt h coating) and do my real job . O nce th e
drones are mo ved up from sto rage, I run t heir syst em checks,
power-up th eir systems and run t he p roper encourag em ent p ro-
gra ms to get t he Executor bra ins in t he righ t 'mood.' Then I kick
th em out th e d oor and wait. Som et imes th ey com e back, and I
spend most of t he t rip home fixing th em b ack up. Somet imes,
t hey don't co me back, and we have a fu neral. Like I said , t hey're
like kids."

0045
• '"
I
I
I

'"
Section: Main Hull wlo Bridge

Main Det:e:
W2SOOO Off. W
Cre w: 28 Action s: 6
Hull Size : 36

Movement: Dat:a:
I
I
I
35000 DoI . W
Se nsors: +2J4k m
De fault Size : 29
I
I
I
2500 Misc. TV:
Com m : +2120 Ir: m
Armor : 50
38OOOCost : 101 M
Fire Control :
Ught:
+1
50
I
I
I
Indv. Lemon Dice : 1
Type : lat. Prot o
Heavy: 100
I
I
I Over\.iJI: ISO

I Modo , Towe d I Com b ,, : I Top · Rang e : 2,500 tv s I Re Mass : I

-
Perk. & Flaws:
'" N. me Game Effect Na me Rating Game Effect

.....
Rat ing

Huang Ti Observer Backup System s Comm, FireCon, li fe Supp , Sen sor HEP Rad4, vee
Ca rgo Bay 1,500 m3 HoIo fi. ld 2
Catapults (450/ mau)m/s2 Lab Int e llige nce 0

I'" Overall Dat:e:

Threat VaIUll: 60900 I Off. N : I Def . TV: - I Misc.lV: I Cost : 246 .6M I Indv.l~onO i c.: 3
2)1;Com pute r
Decoy Syst em
3
3
CRE 0 KNO 0 PP3 (one for Holof ~J
Sensor & Visua l
uf e Support
Pau enge r Accom
FuJI
3,000m 3
DiffiOJIt to Modify All +2 Lemon Die

I'"
Movement: Dat:a:
Moo., Sp ace I Com bat: S MP 10 .5 9 1 Top :10 MP (1.0 9) Maneuver: ·3 ReM an : 2000 BPs ECM 4, ECCM 4 Problem Prone Reinforatd Crww 3 Absorbs first th ree " Cr_" hits
Eject ion Systems Pod s for 24 People Stea lth • Add to Co n<:e a!ment

'"" Section.:
Main Hull wlB ridg. I
" Main Hull w/ Cloak Room
" Cen tral Hull
'" Ct,
Offensive and Dafanelve Syat:ema.
Nam e k c OM BR A<c ROF Ammo Spec ial M5 WC AC
I I I
II I I I 2
3
Las... Array
CMM
F
T
><20
, 18
7
2
0
-,
+1
+4
Inf.
32••
AD2, Cone. (1rnd l. HEAT
Conc .(1mdJ. HEAT, Mis.
12
8
8143
20 7 1
nI.
2.7

'"
I
Off & Def Syet:em.
1x Point Defens. S)'1tem 4)1, U Hf' Array I 6x CMM I
I I I
I I I

iii
Section: Main Hull wlBridge Section: Central Hull

II '" Main Dat:a :

'" M ain Dat:a:
I
TV, sooeo I Off. TV 57000 I Def . TV: 2500 I Mise. TV: 32000 I Cost: 129M I Indv.1<mon Dico, 1 W 5900 I Off. W o I Def. TV: 1600 I Misc;. TV: 16000 I Cost: 1e.6M Indv .1emon Dice: 1
Crew: 28Actions: 6 Senson: +214«m Com m: +2120 km Fire Con t rol: +' I Type : Late Prot o I C"" " 12 Act ion s: 5 I Sensors: OI2k m I Com m: 0I10km I Fire Control: o I Type : Late Prot o
Hull Size' 36 I Default Size : J1 I Almor : so l Ugh" SO I Heavy: 100 I Overkill : ISO Hull Size : 32 I Def au lt Size : 18 I Anno<' 50 I u gh t : 50 I Hu vy: 100 I Overir.ill: 150

Movement: Dat:a:
'" Mode: Towod I Comb at : I Top: . I Rang ll': 2.000 hrs I Re M. s, : - I '" Mod e:
Movement Outs:
Sp ace I Combat:19 MP ( 1.9 g~ Top : 39 MP (3.9 g) I Mane uver : ·3 I Rang e : 2.500 hn I R.M .: 8,000 BPs

'" N. me
Perka & Flawe:
Rating Gam. Effect Name Rat ing Game Effect '" N•.".
Perke & Flawa.
Rating Game Effect NAme Rating Game Effect
Aut op ilo t
Backup S~t.ms
Lvl 1 Pilot
Com m, FireCon, Uf. Supp . SensOf
Eject ion Systems
HEP: Rad 4
·Pods for 20 PeopkJ Back up Systems
Car go Bay
Comm. FireCon. UfeSu pp. Sen sor
10,000 m3
St ealth • Add to Concealm&nt

Cargo Bay 1,500 m3 HEP: Vole Difficult to Modi fy All

Catapults (4 S01m ass )rnls2 ut. Support Full Ejection Syst em Pod s for 12 People
Co mput er
o.c:oy System
3
3
e RE 0 KNQ 0 PP3
S&nSOF & Visual
PasH4"l94tr Accom
Reinforcltd Crew 3 Absorbs first thnM
3.000m 3
-er.w"hits
HEP: Rad
HEP: Vac
•
Difficult to Modify All SteMth 4 Add to Concealment li fe Support Full
ECCM
• Defensive Elec. Warlare Reinforced Crew 3 Absorbs fir$t thr" "Crew- hits

Dffenalve and Dafenalve Byet:ema: Dffenelve and Defenelve Syst:em.:

'" Ct, Name kc DM 8R A<c RO F Ammo Special MS WC AC '" Ct, Name kc DM 8R ACC ROF Ammo Spe d al M5 WC AC
2
1
Laser Array
PDS (ra ng6'dJ
PDS (shie ld )
F
T
FF
><20
, 10
, 20
7
1
M.I ..
0
+1
+1
+1
+.
+.
Inf.
Inf.
Inf.
AD2, Cone. (1rndl, HEAT
AM, Cone. (Instant ), HEAT
Cone.(Inst.l. De( E.SNd,H
I.
12

te
8142
1401
539
nI.
nI.
nI.
3 CMM T , 18 2 -1 +4 32e. Cone.(1mdl, HEAT, Missil 8 207 1 2.7

0 0 46
"
I
I

"
W
Crew :
Section : .
Main D a1:a ,

Hull Size :
I
I
Off. TV:
Actions:
Dtt fault Size:

Movement Da1:a,
I
I
I
Def. TV:
Senson :
Base Armor:
I
I
I
M ise. TV:
Com m.:
Light :
I
I
COlt :
Fir. Con trol:
Heavy :
I
I
I
tndv lemon di ce: •
Type :
CMH-kill:
"
I u-
I

"
W
Section: .
Meln Dat:a'

Hull Size:
I
I
I
Off. TV,
Actions:
D. fault Size:

Movement Dat:a'
I
I
I
Dof.W
Sensors:
Base Arm or :
Misc:. TV:
Com m.:
Light ,
I
I
Cos t :
Fire Cont rol:
Heavy :
I
I
Indv lemon d ice : •
Type :
Over kiU:
•
I

"
Mod"

Nom.
I
Perke & Flawa:
Com b at :

Rat ing
I Top:

Game Eff ect

I Maneuver:

Name
Rang e:

Rating
R• . Mass :

G ame Eff ect

I

"
Modo ,

Nom.
I
Perka & Flawa,
Com bat:

Rating
I Top :

Game Eff ect

Maneuver:

No"'"
I Range :

Rat ing
I Re.Mass:

Gam . Effect
•.-.
II

•
D ffenalv e a nd Defenalv e B ya1:e ma , Offenalve and Defe nalve B y . 1:ema ,
" O1y N""" p", OM BR ACC ROF Ammo Sped ill MS WC AC " Oty N""" p", OM BR ACC ROF Amm o Speci al MS WC AC
I

Section: . Section: .

" Main Da1:a,

" M ain D a 1:a , II
TV,
Cr~

Hu ll Size:
I
I
I
Off . TV:
Actions :
o.fault S iz. ~
I
I
I
Owf. TV:
S. nson :
BiliH Armor:
I
I
I
Misc.. TV:
Comm .:
li ght :
I
I
I
Cost:
Firfl Contr ol:
Heavy.
I
I
I
Indv lemon d ice : -
Typo,
Overkill :
Iw
I Cre w:
I Hull Size:
I
I
I
Off . N :
Actions:
Defa uh $iz. :
I
I
I
Dof.W
Sensors:
8a ~Armor:
MiK . TV:
Com m.:
Light :
I
I
I
Cost :
Fir. Cont rol:
Heavy:
I
I
I
Indv
Type :
~Ofl

Ove rkill:
dice : •

I
" Mod e:
Movement: Da1:a.
I Combat : I Top ' I Maneuv er : I Rang e : I Re. Mass : "
I Mod.,
Movemen 1: Da1:a :
I Combat : I Top: I Maneuv er : I Rang e: I Re . Mass:

P erka & F law a ,

" Nom.
P a rk e & Flawe .
Rating Gam e Eff ect Name Rating Gam e Effect " Nom. Rat ing Gam e EffKt Name Rat ing Ga me Effect

Dffenalve end Defenalve Bye1:eme, Dffenalve and Defensive Bye1:ema:

" O1y N""" p", OM BR ACC ROF Ammo Spec ial MS WC AC " O1y Nomo
"" OM BR ACC ROF Ammo Special MS WC AC

00 47
• HUANG-TIOBSERVER

~ PART II: GUID PRO GUO

,-- - -
Tagg a rt und e rst ood exact ly what Naka ma was talking about.
STRIKE's hatred of Venusians was we ll-known, and Tagga rt was

..
•
Taggart hit the airlock floo r ha rd . The
Kitsune st anding behi nd him pla nted
o ne foot firmly in the sma ll of his ba ck,
pinning him like an inse ct . A ha nd
grabbe d his hair, d raggi ng his head
pa infully upward, and he found him-
sure that Nakama's con tinued survival, much less the exo rbitant
fees he was no do ubt rece iving, depended so lely o n STRIKE's
co nt inued need for his services. If STRI KE d ecid ed that Naka ma
was not prov iding as much aid as he o ug ht, it was unlike ly that
they would simply fire him and se nd him hom e . The drugs had
been mild so far, in a n effort to keep him mentally capable of
se lf staring once again at the face he'd accurately repeating technical informa t ion, bu t tha t co uld n't last
grow n to ha t e since the day th e
II O 'Co nnor was dest royed .
forev e r. Nakama was still pontificating.

• "Hello , Nakama . Miss me?" he rasped .

Nakama laug hed , making a sou nd like
clot h o n glass.
"It's a shame you co uld n't just cooperat e . Now my e mploye rs will
be wanting proof th at I'm not go ing easy on yo u just because
you' re a fe llow Venusian . It's eit her yo u or me, Taggart."

Nakama glanced over to a nearby me d ic dre ssed in CEGA fa-

"Of co urse we missed you, Tagg a rt.
How impo lite , to try to leave ou r hos-
p ita lity without saying goodbye."
"I was gett ing tired of th e roo m ser-
vice," Ta g g a rt m utt ere d . He had
waited two mo nths to make this attempt. They'd cau g ht him just
as he was abo ut to ma ke it o ut the ma in a irlock.
Na kama smiled , tha t same ho oked sneer he used whenever he
talked to Tagga rt. "I've been humanita rian abo ut all t his, haven 't
I? Honestly, I've managed a minor miracle in persua d ing STRIKE
to continue wast ing oxyg en , water and energy o n you. Yo u've
been fed we ll, an d a llowed to co nve rse ."
"Drugged and inte rrog ated , you mean," Taggart sp at. Nakama
let o ut an exagge rated sig h. He re leased Taggart's hair a nd be-
gan to pace.
t igues with STRIKE insign ia. "His eyes," he co mmanded . "If he
cannot se e, he ca nnot esca pe ."
The medic's gaunt face betrayed no e mot io n. The man nodd ed
o nce , a nd began to rummag e in a ne arby to o lbox. Taggart fe lt a
p it growing in his stom ach. He fou ght to kee p it dow n.
"Wha t ha ppe ned to be ing huma nita rian?" he q uipped , certain
th at the re hadn't been a q uave r in his vo ice . Naka ma's ang ular
face softened, an d he leaned over to strok e Tagga rt's head .
"You're not leaving us much cho ice , Tagga rt. Any more dru gg ing,
and we might dest roy exa ctly what it is we need from you. So, if
we can't pe rsuade yo ur mind , then I'm afra id all that 's left is to
persuad e yo ur bo dy."
Tagga rt loo ked straight up at Nakama, ig no ring the pai n in his
spine, and set his jaw.

"I' m so rry, Co mmand e r a l-Raschid, b ut we paid a price to get "I will get o ut of he re, Nakama."
yo u," Nakama said . "We're go ing to get som e use out of you to
re pay t hat price. In this organization, you must und e rstand that Nakama's face hard en ed .
he who wast es, wants. "

0048
 HUANG-T IOBSERVER
" I won't let tha t hap pen," he g row led . " Every ti me you t ry to
escap e, I will remove anot her bod y pa rt from yo u. If you keep
t ryin g to escape, event ually you will have noth ing left, but your
mind. But trust me, "II still keep yo u alive. Even if you end up as a
brai n in a jar on my de sk, I won't let you go unt il yo u give me what
I want ." By th e t ime he finishe d , Nakama was screami ng , f lecks of
sp ittle flying fro m his lips . He nod de d to th e exo-suit , and t hen
walked out of the airlock.
Tag g art heard ap p roach ing fo otste ps, and t he med ic leaned ov er
him , raising a pair of sharpened tongs. Leaning in close, the medi c
whisp ered , "I t's o kay t o scream . Everyb ody does."
They will rescue me, Tag g art t hought. They will rescue me. He
rep eat ed it to himse lf for a very lo ng t ime.
I
* * *
He's probably already dead , Mischa th ought as he walked alon g
th e M art ian station's ob servat ion d eck. There 's nothing I can do.
He' d bee n saying it t o himself for nine hours.
He had received t he news of the O'Connor's d est ruction with the
loss of almost all hands when he arrived at Mars and reported to
Sho-sho Yang's off ice for his assignmen t . He'd also been told t hat
th ere wo uld be no rescue and no ransom payment for t he sing le
known survivor still in STRIKE hand s. A pparent ly, th e risk was not
worth the ret urn. He hadn't taken it well. Making th ings worse, Yang
had th en p resented what he must have t hought was the good news.
"B ased on al-Raschid Tai-i's evaluat ion and recommendat ion,"
he'd said , "we' re willing t o ov erlook some of your, ah, offen ses,
and offer you a p robationary civi lian posit io n in t he CVNA. It's
unusual, b ut al-Raschid 's reco rd and j ud gment were imp eccabl e,
and I would n't want t o dishonor t he req uest of a dead man."
A dead man, Mi scha t houg ht, making his twent iet h circuit of the
d eck. They've already buried him. The offer had only made him
0049
feel wo rse. Tagg art had been willing to pu t his ent ire career on
t he line for a d eb t th at Mi scha barely knew anyt hing about . It was
••
tem pt ingly easy to write Tagg art off as a fanat ic cling ing t o an old
tr adi t ion. It should have be en even easier t o sim p ly forget about
the man and g et on wit h his new life. Somehow, it j ust wasn't
working .
•
II
" Damn it," he muttered. "We ll, 1guess there's only one thing to d o."
•
Misc ha pau sed in his walk, and looked ou t t he wind ow . Ma rs'
dusky red sphere fi lled t he background , b ut what d rew Mi scha's
eye was the massive t rip le-hulled freig ht er ponderously p ulling
int o a nearby docking com p lex. A n idea came to him, and ment al
wh eel s t hat had sat st ill fo r a decade began t o sp in up . M ischa
activated his earring comm unicato r.
••
"Hel lo , Mi scha," came t he qu iet voice . Even t hroug h th e ear-
p hon e, it still seemed t o be speaking from every wall.
" I'm g oing to need a ship ," M ischa directed, sotto voce. " The •
one tha t's d ockin g rig ht now at Bay K-12 will do. When I g et yo u
ab oard , yo u' ll t ake it ove r and g et t he crew to evacuate . Und er-
st and ?"
"Of course, Misch a," t he voice said, almost eagerly. "Th e proce-
dure sho uld t ake abou t f ive ho urs."
" Good. " Misc ha g rinned . He could feel a sense of adre naline and
excite me nt he had n't felt in years. For t hat alon e, he owed Tag g art
his life. " It's yo ur f irst f ield t est in t en years. Do n't screw t his on e
up . It 's imp ortant , t his t ime." Mischa ta p ped his earlobe and cut
th e connect ion.
Hang on, Taggart, he th o ug ht . A debt's a debt.
• CHIEFTA I N

Notable Ships
E S C O R T CR U ISER I

Name: CVNA Haji el-Rehrnen

Launched : July 9,2207
Status: Convoy Escort

....
I!I
Haji ai-Rahman was voted "Most Likeable City Adm inistrato r" in a 2206 planet-
wide publicity conte st. Like many civilianswhose names adorn warsh ips, al-Rahrnan
is unaware of "his" ship 's t rue nat ure, and believes it to be a simp le courier vessel
with no real outstand ing features. In keeping with standard po licy, ai-Rahman is
only pe rmitt ed to view the ship via video -link, for t he ostensible reasons of safety
and unint errupted crew efficiency. The CVNA ai-Rahman has been responsible for
t he destruct ion of three raiding ships of various origins over the past five years .

11 Name : CVNA Elke Hamm

Launche d: Feb rua ry 12, 220 8

II Status: Lost on Marc h 4, 221 3

Dr. Hamm is t he re search he ad at Durbruck Medica l Technology Ce nt e r, respon-

sible for designing t he compact me dical minibot s t hat sta ff mod ern spaceship
sickbays. The ship tha t bore her name was attacke d and destroyed, with t he loss

II of all hands, by unknow n ass ailant s in t he Belt. Recovered debris sugge st ed a

CEGA raiding force , but no hard evidence exists. Dr. Hamm was quite fond of
"her" ship, and has a small me mor ial t o its crew in he r office.

N ame: CVNA Calico Sinclair

Launched : Februa ry 1, 2214
Status: Local Patr ol

Sinclair-otom e is th e niece of Waldsen-N ishiyama's Vice-Presiden t of Urba n Plan-

ning, Erik Waldse n. The Sincl air is Waldsen's gift to Calico for her seventeenth
birt hd ay. The ship 's vid-me mbranes are current ly being used for se lf-p romot ional
purposes by t he ir owner, who is both an accomplished poet and art ist. The ship
itse lf is one of the newest Chiefta in-class ships, and is expected to rema in on low-
prio rit y d ut y unt il it has be en adequately shake n down.

0050
 I
CH I E FT A I N ESCORT CRU ISE R •
........................................J J .

••
....
•
II

•I
II
I
II

0051
•
II
CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER
I
~ 4.1 OVERVIEW
J

A lt ho ug h the Mercuria n Mercha nt Gu ild mainta ins a strong grip

..
11
I!!I

II
on m uch of the interp laneta ry t rad e in t he solar system, each of
the so lar nati o ns also possess es its own t rad ing fl eet , fo r use in
sensitive or high-p riorit y sit uat ions, o r simply wh en a Guild ve ssel
is no t co nveniently avai lable. In the cu rrent col d-wa r clim ate , how-
ever, few merchant vessels are truly safe. Piracy and other forms
of raiding are rampant, and at t he moment, th e m ajo r mili taries
of t he so lar system are too busy eyeing eac h ot her to have ti m e
to worry about ne utra l ship ping . Just as t he Me rcu rians are ac-
cepting the necess ity of supp lying t he ir own co nvoy de fens e, so
have the Venusia ns spen t the last decade gradu ally becom ing
aware that a neut ral f lag is qu it e me aning less t o a raider atta ck-
ing in the depths of int erpl ane t ary space.

As a class, Chieftai ns exhi bit mo re var iab ility in terms of cosme ti c

ap pearance than any other class of wars hip. N icknamed bot h "T he

• Wolf" and " The Sheepdog " by its crews, th e Chieftain is the Ve-
nusian warship most commonly encountered by pirates and priva -
teers. One or mo re of th ese ships accom pa nies every co nvoy of
Venusian civi lian vesse ls, b lending in perfect ly wit h t heir ward s.
Sho uld th e convoy come und er attack, the Chieft ain's speed al-
lows it to intercept host ile ships be fore t hey co me w it hin firi ng
range ofthe real civ ilian ships, and its firepower is enough to hand le
even military ships . Forewarn ed attacker s are not necessarily o ut
of danger, since t he Chiefta ins can wait, und etected , fo r t he most
opportune mo ment to reve al itself.

~ 4.1.1 Capabilities

The Chieft ain has relat ive ly smal l reaction mass reserves; it spe nd s
most of its ti m e t raveling alon g side slug g ish cargo vesse ls, and is
usually within easy reach of refu eling faciliti es. This lim itation makes
its sco pe of d ut ies m o re rest rict ive t han t hose of ot he r Venusian
w arships, which are de sig ned fo r ind ep end ent o peratio n. In its
assign ed t ask, however, th e Ch ieftain is a supe rlati ve ship .

0 0 52
 CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER
The Chiefta in's en g ines, t hou gh designed t o lo o k like st and ard
civ ilian d rive un its , are cap ab le of g enerat ing hug e am o unts of
t hrust over a short pe rio d of tim e, allowing t he Chieft ain t o in-
terc ept attackers and cov er m ultiple t rou b le spots . Like mo st of
the lo ng -rang e civilian vessels it im personates, the Ch ieft ain has
a rotating section t hat increases crew endurance by generati ng
sim ulated g ravity. Al t ho ugh com b at m aneu vers cannot be ex-
ec ut ed whi le t he rot at ing sect ion is act ive, the ring is heavily
reinforced and equipped with heavy-d uty drive m ot o rs, which
ena ble extre me ly fast spin-down in the event of an attack. A lter-
natively, the Chieftain can choose t o rem ain hid d en among its
charg es, wa iting for an enemy ship to close to point-blank range
befo re open ing f ire.
The Chieftain's primary armament consists of a ty pically effective
array of lasers co ncealed in each of the main hulls . Mounted on
pop-up turrets, the lasers cover all incoming angles and can be
deployed and fi red in less than t hree seconds. Secondary weap-
onry cons ists of a quartet of kinetic kill cannon, hidden with in
fixed mou nts in eac h of the Ch ieftain's secondary hu lls. Most Ve-
nusian vessels are not equipped with KKCs; no t only is t here a
perception of such weapons as ine legant , but t here is also t he
practica l problem with concealing turrets for guns of such size.
Fo r the Chieft ain, the KKCs we re deemed necessary because of
th eir abi lity to quickly disable a targ et's systems, t hus redu cing
the ti me spen t in broadside combat; whereas the Chieftain it se lf
can take quite a pounding, t he carg o ships it is meant to escort
cannot. The KKCs can only fire forwa rd, lim it ing their role to that
of first-pass weapons. The initial barrage of kickslugs, however, is
usually eno ugh t o either disarm o r d issuade a raider.
The Chieftain 's hang ar bay is located in t he centra l hu ll, in order
t o allow for immediate scramble of t he ship 's two combat ve-
hicles, whi ch can p rovid e defense and initia l screening for the
Chi efta in while t he ship de-s pins its gravity whee l to prepare fo r
co mb at . Most ofte n, t he carried un its are Sief ried o r Brunnhil d e
fig hte rs, whic h are bette r interceptors tha n exo-armors. However,
0053
the assig nme nt of vehicles is often largely d etermined by t he ship'S
expected lo cat ion and sit uati on, as wel l as the p reference of t he
•
&1
capt ain. As a result , some Ch iefta ins carry exo-arm ors for d efense,
and a few are eq uipped sole ly wit h squads of exo-suited ma rines.
... 4.1.2 Operational Role
•....
There are about forty Ch ieftai n escort cruisers in service w it h th e
CVNA, m aking th is class t he most nu merous of Venusian wa rships.
Al most every Venusian comm ercial or government co nvoy is ac-
compa nied by one or two ofthese ships, and many Venusian space II
stations have a Chie ftain assigned to regular patrols (careful ly
t imed t o appea r as cargo runs or other civi lian activities) . II
A lmost all incid ent s req uiring a Chieftain-class vessel t o d efend
its "flock" have involved p irates or pri vateers with no solidly trace-
able links back to any solar nation . On a few occasions during the
Martian War, CEGA and Jovian ships opened fire on Venu sian
vessels t hat straye d int o battlezones. In these inst ances, the Chi ef-
t ains laun ched t heir fig hters to warn off t he combatants, and no II
shots were ret urn ed , thus preserving Venusian neutrality. It is not
known whether CEGA or Jovian inspections of the Chieft ains was
close or detailed enough to reveal them as anyth ing more tha n
cargo ships with makeshift hanga rs.
The ships are popu lar assignm ents ; they see qu ite a b it of act ion ,
compared to the rest of the Venusian fleet, but are also sma ll
enough t hat individual crewmembers rece ive significant amounts
of resp onsib ility and credit for any victories the ship wins . As Ve-
nusian ship p ing increases in volume, it is expected that the need
for more Chieftains will increase cor resp ondi ngl y. A lready, a short-
ag e of logist ically available escorts has result ed in a few con voys
leaving Venus without any real protection, m uch to the Venusians '
discomfort .
 C H I E F T A I N ESCORT CR U IS ER
-----

• ~ 4.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS

() Side View
R 1
..
II I
I

II
II I

•
II
j
I

II
•

IOm : i
100 200
I
25

T Legend

1 Drive Fin 8 Main Hull Support Brace 1S Hangar Bay Doo r

2 Drive Fin Moun t 9 Main Hull Vid-Memb rane 16 Forw ard PDS Array
3 Exhaust Colli mator 10 Laser Turret Bay 17 Primary Sensor Cluster (Ext ended)
4 Drive Housing 11 Maint enance Bot Exit Hatc h 18 KKC Housing
5 Reaction Mass Access Door s 12 Lidar/ Rangefinder Emitters 19 Main Rot or Block/ Gyro Housing
6 Rot at io n Collar 13 Engineering Ai rlock 20 KKC Loading Bay
7 Emerg ency Elevator Access Hat ch 14Comm Ant enna Clust er (Ret ract ed )

0054
 I
CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER

4.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS [CONT.) ....

•
-
Front Vie\N ()

Specifications
5}---- - - - - - - \ •
Name: Chieftain
Origin: Cooperati ve Venusian N aval Adm inistration
Manufacturer: Various Venusian Shipyards
4}-- - - - - - - - --fI
Type: Escort Cruiser
Control System : Brid ge w/astronomical display
Length: 210 m overall
Width: 40 m overall
Empty Weight: 3,940 Tons
Loaded Weight : 5,200 Tons
Main Dr ive: 1 x 39 M W
Secondary Pow erplant: 1 x 10,000 KW
Main Thrusters: 1 x 14,560,000 kg
Apogee Motors: 92 II
Acceleration:
On board Sensors:
1.4 g
Fire Control Radar, Inf raredl
I
Ultra violet, Lidar, Low-light ,
Magnetometer, Microwaves,
Motion Det ectors, Radcounte r,
Search Radar, Telescope
Fixed Armament: PDS, 4x Laser Array, 6x CMM, 4x

• Legend
Additional Armament:
KKC
Carr ied Vessels
1 Railgun Firi ng Ports 11 Forwa rd PDS Array Defensive Systems : Mag Screen
2 Fake Cargo Door 12 Primary Sensor Cluste r (Exte nd ed)
Equipment: Escape Pods, Laboratory, Vehicle Bay
3 Lifepod Cover
4 EmergenCy Elevat or Access Hatch
5 Main Hull Support Brace
6 Laser Turret Bay
7 Lidar/Rangefinder Emitters
8 Rotation Colla r
9 Armored Housing
10 Hull Suppo rt Strut

_~J

0055
 ______
•
•
CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER

~ 4.2 SHIP S C H E M A T IC S [CONT.)

• f) Tap View
,-

..
n
• ! .~ .

II ! .
• I
I
;
I,

1-··· ..·· 1- +
-<
I
T
.~..

t
-+
.~+

,--'---',--! -e-
1
II 1
1
i
• .. ~

• i-

.~ ,
.. .. •.•J..
t

Om 200 !

... 1
I
Legend ,.-..
~ ~ _.. - ."
5 : Primary Sens~r-Cluster (Extendedi'
".

Dri~e Housing
."

1 Fake,Rear Cargo DOor

2 Engineering Airlock 6 •Comm Antenn a Cluster (Retracted ) Exhaust'Colli mator
3 Armored Housing '7 '-', - KKC\oadlng B~y ' Drive' Fin Mo;;nt
4 Forward Hull Armor 8 Reaction Mass Access Doors Drive Fin
'l' !

0056
 CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER
T

4.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS [CONT.) ....

••

.-.
Cutaway View t)

Om 25

II
II

•
, .I j

I
~

- i
1
~ Legend

1 Plasma Combustion Chamber 11 Forward Crew Quarters 20 Storage Hold

2 Reaction Mass Tanks 12 Laser Gunnery C!!nte r 21 Sensor Cluster
3
4
Elevator Nexus
Storage Bay
13
14
Laser Capacitors
Laser Turret (Ret ract ed)
22
23
Workshop
Primary Elevator Shaft
I
5 Gas St orag e 15 Heat Exchangers 24 KKC Breech (not shown) 1
•. 6
7
Superconducting Batte ries
Heat Exchangers
16
17
Bulk Storage
Engineering Bays
25
26
Hanq ar Personnel Corr id or
Rotati on Motors ,j
8 Officers' Quarters 18 Lab Bay 27 Heat Exchangers .
9 Crew Quarters 19 Hang ar 28 Auxili ary Control Center i
10 Bridge

0057
• CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER
~ 4 .3 HIST O R Y
Venus ian ships g enerally make good t arg ets for pirates, priva-
-
t ee rs and polit ical diss ide nts (like STRIKE and other known te rror-
ist groups). Venus ian ships are alm ost guara nteed to be carrying
.". it em s of value, and t hey w ork for a nat io n t hat has a p o liti cal st ruc-
ture m ost people see as expansionist, cruel and feuda l. Faced
with t his sit uat ion, it is not surprisi ng t hat the Venu sians have bee n
arming their vesse ls for som e t ime.
Unt il 2206, t he Ch iefta in class w as made up of partially-co nvert ed
carg o ship s armed wi th surplus weapo nry bo ug ht fro m CEGA.
These low-end escort ships could give pirates a run fo r th eir money,
b ut were alread y ob solete when th ey were fi rst p ut int o service.
II They were slow and unm aneuverab le , p oorly armored , and t heir
seco nd hand ta rgeting syst ems could not ad eq uat ely t rack some
of th e more advanced spacef igh t ers dep loye d by attacke rs. Things
o nly got wor se when p irat es and ot her raide rs started using exo-
arm ors, wh ich, alth o ug h not as fast as fi ght ers, were even mo re
II ag ile and m aneuverab le.
In con ju nct ion with th e p rod uct ion of a new class of me rch ant
ship s, t he Venusian Bank beg an p rod uct ion of a new b lock of
red esig ned Chieft ains, b ui lt to co nform t o th e new Venusian na-
va l stand ard set by t he Imperator class (see p age 30). W hereas
th e ol d er Chieft ain w as hard ly a t hreat t o any kind of real milita ry
ship , t he new vesse l would be te chnol ogically sup erior in every
wa y. O n June 8, 2206 , t he ex ist ing Chieft ains start ed t heir refur-
b ishing rotat ion at t he Sokama Heavy Industries shipyard s near
th e A lp ha-3 sunshad e group .
The new config urat ion now moun t ed all of it s weap ons on hid -
d en hard points. The new cargo ships had carg o mod ules mou nted
late rally on th e hull, which m ad e a perfect p lace to hide railg un
b atteries. Th is lo cat ion restr ict ed t he arc of fire, b ut t he element
of surp rise th us g ained wa s deeme d an acceptab le t rad e. The
lasers w ere m oved t o t he m ain hu lls and hid de n und er movab le
co vers. The ma in hulls t hemselv es w ere larg ely slimm ed d own ;
0058
on t he carg o ve rsion, the slimmer main hul ls still had cargo bays
as wel l as crew q uart ers towa rd the fro nt. Since t he Chieftains
had lasers up fro nt, t he carg o b ays w ere removed , d isgu ised with
a fak e cargo bay door, and th e crew q uarters and othe r vit al ship
system s w ere mo ved rearward . A rotat io n ring was ad d ed to th e
carg o ship s to allow t he vessel to spi n aro und its axis and gener-
ate gravity, increasing crew comfo rt . The Chiefta in w as given a
sim ilar syst em , both for camou fla ge and t o simplify docking wi t h
t he hang ar in t he non-rot ating cent ral hull.
Not all t he vessels und erwent th e cost ly p rocess. Many of th e o ld
Ch ieftai ns have und erg one only a few m inor upgrades (con sisti ng
mainly of new KKCs and screen eq uip me nt purc hased from t he
Jo vians) and rem ain in service fo r ap pear ance's sake. The y are lo w-
end assig nm ent s usually g iven to officers and crew who wish to
red eem themselves for pr io r failures or who are judged as being
insufficient ly mot ivat ed fo r service in a more p rest ig ious p osting .
A s a class, Ch ieft ains exhib it m o re variab ility in t erm s of cosmetic
ap pearance t han any ot her class of warship . The new Chieft ains
have alread y unde rg on e som e m ino r up g rad es since th eir ent ry
int o service , in ord er t o keep th e ship 'S st ealt h p rofile in line w it h
imp rove men ts in det ect ion syst em t echno lo gy, and to bo ost its
accelerat ion and eff iciency.
In 22 10, a p rog ram was st art ed t o rep lace all t he o ld e r laser sys-
t ems (even on th e new warships, t he lasers were of an obsolet e
de sign) with newe r, more powerful syst ems d esig ned on Venus.
Waldsen-N ishiyama , wit h it s cont act s on Earth, had been inst ru-
m ental in p rovid inq w eap ons fo r the o lder Ch ieft ains. Since t he
new system s were ent irely of Venusian ma nufact ure, it s he lp was
no long er requ ired and W-N w as left ou t of t he new d esig n p ro-
cess. Wh en VenusBank off ered t he new Chieft ain fo r sale t o th e
ot her co rpo rati o ns, Wal d sen-N ishiyam a was fo rced to bu y at full
p rice; VenusBank's p rof it s from th e sales financed a sig nificant
p ort ion of O p erat ion M et huselah.
 I
CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER
. .. . . . ..... . . ..... .... .. . . ... . . . .... .. . . . .I

CVNA SAM WIGGEN

.

....
•
Om 25 50
.....
II

t , .
•
..; "t

~ . Legend
1 Main Hull with Cargo Bays
•
2 Heavy Cargo Loading Door
-3 CEGA Surplus Laser Turret ...1
4 CEGA Surplus KKC Turret
5 Main Hull Locked to Drive Section

CVNA Sam Wiggen: launched April 2201. The Wigge n is typical of the early vessels of J
t he class. The outer hulls are boxy a nd somewhat crude. and the kinetic killcannons are ,
carried on either sides of th e prow. From th e beginning. t he Chiefta in was de signed to '
be a highly modular vesse l. While t his d id not hing fo r th e ship's mainte nance schedule• •
which was as grue ling and demanding as that of any warship of Venusian design, it d id
allow for q uick modifications to t he ship's oirte r appearance. EXtra ca~go pods , brackets
and ot her exte rnal decora.t i~:ln s per.mi~ t he c1as~ a~ a whole to al"l"ays look e.~actly like t he I
~ -.-
rest of die ships in t heir convoy, t Hen and now. , , !
T f t

- -t· ····t-··

0059
I
• CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER

•• ~ 4.4 SHIP SYSTEMS

.... () Propulsion and Weapons

_. ~ .

-
II

[.
o

• + ..,

t t- _. 1. + .. !
"!'"

. 1. ..~ .1 .

...
I ..
~~~~~r ~ 7 3
Main Power C-;)nduit
Kinetic.KiIl Cannon
Fo.ward PDS Emitter
4 Laser Turret (Retracted)
5 .• . Lase r Capacitors
In many ways, th e Chieftain is a fusion of modern shipbui lding t heo ry and Venusian te ch- 6_ + • CMM Cluste
"-1- _.
rs
niques. The inte rnal configurat ion of it~ elongated central hullis quite stand ard, w~h t he plasma
~ Propulsion Byst; ....
combust ion cham bers be ing located at the back behind th e rows o f reacti on mass tan ks. The
only notable d ifference is the shape of the main nozzle, which uses a bowl-shap ed exhaust coil
for better containment. 7 RCS Cluste r
8 React ion Mass Tanks
Though t he ea rly versions of th e ship hous ed'th eir kinetic killca nnons in t he forward sect ion of 9 Plasma Combustion Chamb er
th e main hull, only part of t he point defense system grid rema ins there now. The forward 10 Exhaust Collimator
cent ral hull is taken up by the auxiliary craft hang ars, with t he main armament being move d to 11 EM Power Generation System
12 , Radiator Fin
t he outrigger hulls and side sponsoo~ s in t he centr al hull.
- - _, - It-

0060
 CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER

4.4 SHIP SYSTEMS [CONT.] ~

•
6
Sensors end Life Support ()

•.-.
•• •
II
'-.r- -- - - :..
OO
- , • • •: (I
. .,
•
II
I
8 I
-i I
'f Sensor Systems I
1
• <:::::;;iiijjjjii
Optical Sensor Clust ers
2 Radar Syste ms
3 Docking Sensors
4 Primary Inst rument Clust er
5 Lidar/ Rangefi"nder Emitters
6 Microwave Pulse-Ranging ~ntennae Most of the ship's sensor systems are located in ,t he main hull, wit h the exception of a few
7 Communicat ions Ant ennae clusters spread across the outer skin of the outriggers. Blisters and retra ctable mounts hold
the various long range ant ennae, while surface panels forma phased radar net w ork. Antennae
'f Life Support Syst!f and short -ranged docking sensors are p laced on either_ side of the vehicle bay: 1
~ .... ~!

1
8 Screen Generators The ship's life sUpp'0 rt equipm.ent is wide ly dist ributed th,,?ughout the hull, wit h "s o~e lmpor- 1
9
10
Superconducting Batteries
Gas Storage
tant components like t he gas storage being located in the main hull pylons to beneficiate from I
t he easier thermal regulation effect of t heir large hull surfaces.The rear section of each outrigger
11 Local Life Support Systems hull is a large heat-ex changer for the main crew compartments, radiat ing w;ste heat away ~
12 Heat Exchangers
... from t he forward sensors. __ j
,--
I
0061
•
11
CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER

~ 4.4.1 Laser Gunnery Room ~ 4.4.2 Leb Bey

•..
I!!!II
The Chieftain and all larg e r Ve nusian ships have turreted lase r
syste ms mou nted o n pop-up turrets ; th e sma ller ships use fixed
mo unts o r limited- swivel mo unts which are simple r and take up
les s inte rnal sp ace . Each lase r syste m is co ncealed und e r mov-
ab le ar mo r plat es and is revea led only before att acking . They a re
Ship boa rd labs are genera lly small an d cramped, whe n th ey a re
prese nt at all. The Chieftain's lab is simila r to th e o nes fou nd on
Impe rato r and Hua ng-ti-c1ass ships, a nd is used fo r simple tests
to dete ct the prese nce of biolog ical or che mical age nts. It is most ly
used to inspect q ues t io nable materials or to det e rmine the need

• co ntroll ed fro m an arm o red cha mbe r called a Lase r Gunnery Cen-
te r, which hous es both the gu nners the mse lves and th e main fire
for a q uarantine .

co ntrol co mpute rs. The Chieftain's lab is locate d in the ce ntral po rtio n of the ship ,
right ne xt to the ha ngar. It is pra ctica lly a closet: there is roo m fo r
Each Chieftain ha s two Lase r Gu nne ry Ce nters. This roo m is lo- o ne pe rso n to sit and wo rk, the rest be ing fill ed with eq uip me nt
cat ed near the brid ge atthe e nd of a small shaft. The space arou nd a nd locke rs. Inst ruments (microsco pe s, spec t romet e rs, g e ig e r
the shaft is filled with d iag nostic eq uipme nt, powe r lines and data counte rs, etc ) are stored in wall cab inets o r ve lcroe d to co nve-
fee ds , all accessible th roug h removab le p a r.e ls, The re is an e me r- nie nt hold ing brac kets. The lab doo r leads right out into the han-
g en cy escape hatch located in the "ce iling " of the roo m in case gar, allowing the lab to be op e n to space if necessa ry. The re is a
pre ssu re is lost in the lowe r leve ls; it is practically neve r used in mass of t ubing on the far wa ll, sup plying water, oxyge n, vacuum
th e da y to da y operation s of the sh ip . and a va riety of oth e r ne eded supplies. The lab has its own life
I suppo rt node and can co ntain both open flames and free wate r.
• There is not a who le lot of visib le eq uipment within the cram ped
room itse lf. The furnit ure co nsists of fo ur g unne ry chairs facing
towa rd ea ch othe r to empha size teamwork. The ma in hat ch is
located in the midd le . Above ea ch chair is a sma ll mo nitor listing
the cu rrent status of th e t urret: power o ut put, he at leve ls, etc. An
engi neer ing pane lwith powe r and life support output can be found
at ea ch corn e r of the room to let the gun ne rs patch the ir com bat
space suits into the ship 's ma in life support syst e m.

The gun ne ry stat io ns and the ir disp lay are re latively low-te ch.
This red uces t he costs, simplify maint e na nce and b ring s ad d i-
tio nal re liability. Instead of using virtual reality he adse ts like mo st
othe r ships, each se at has a la rge pano ram ic viewscre e n a round
the use rs' head whe re th e data is pro jected . Co nt rol is assured
via keyb oa rds , spat ia l-mot io n tracke rs a nd joyst icks. Eye- po int I
senso rs are also used to provid e acc uracy and a faster reaction
t ime ; a ring of these sen sors is mou nted aro und t he edge of
e ach user's viewsc re e n.

DDb2
... 4.4.3 Vehicle Bey
CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER

•
II
The Chiefta in's ma in veh icle hanga r is a relat ive ly small chamber
lo cat ed in t he fro nt portio n of th e ship's ce nt ral hull. It ta kes up
most of the int ernal vo lum e of the section , and is cap ped by t wo
mat ching hat ches o n either sid e . Since t here are t wo main hangar
bay hatc hes, o ne o n the "top " of the cent ral secti on and th e other
•....
on t he " bot t o m ," t he hang ar is eff ect ivel y a larg e ho le rig ht
th ro ug h th e ship. The cat apults, no rmall y st o red in fol d ed p osi-
II
t io n, ext end out fro m t hese t wo hat ches to ward th e bow (one is
not show n in t he illus t rat io n at rig ht so as no t to o bscure t he rest II
of t he equipment).

There is roo m in th e hang ar fo r two ex o-arrno r-sized vehicle s and •

th e ir repair and ma int enance crad d le . Tho ug h it may lo ok sp a-
cious w hen em pt y, t he hang ar is rea lly q uit e cram pe d . Wi t h all
t he sup p o rt scaff o ld s and service equ ip ment in p lace , the two
exo-a rmors are pr acticall y co co on ed in place. W it h some eff o rt s,
•I
II
m any more vehicles can be carrie d, w it h a co rrespo nding d ecrease
in reliab ilit y and de p loy ment ti m e. II
Larg e carg o d o ors lead t o a p air of small hol ds on eith er side of
th e m ain hanga r. These are no rm ally used t o store p art s and
non-explosive mate rial. T he re is an arm o red lo cke r in on e of t he
bay s for t he m issiles and w eapon s. A personn e l hatc h at t he rea r
of the ba y lea d s to the crew areas; eq uip p ed wi t h an airlo ck.
A not he r nearb y hat ch leads t o t he lab b ay, whi ch is d et ailed
ab ov e.

0063
•
B
CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER

~ 4.5 SHIP PERSONNEL T 4.6.'1 Interview with a Helmsman

•..
IiiI
The Chieft ain has five d ep artments. The O pe ration s Dep art me nt
is man aged by th e First O fficer, but heav ily infl uenced by t he
Mora le Officer. A lthou g h t he A est hetics Off icer falls under t he
Operations Dep art men t , he is responsib le fo r not o nly p lacing
the displays, but for g etting new spo nsors and mak ing sure t hat
Name:
Rank:
Rosemary Wunderlich

Current Assignment: CVNA H. ai-Rahman

Sho-sa

"I used to helm on e of t he Huang-Ti. A ll

the d ispl ays are up t o date. The other four depa rtments are G un-
I ever d id on t hat ship was " hol d her
nery, Eng ineering , Securi ty, and Flig ht O perat io ns, co mm anded
stea dy." It was all in th e hand s of the
by the Weapo ns Officer, Chief Engi neer, Secur ity Officer, and Flight
cloa k room and analysis tec hies. On t his
O pe rations Off icer, respect ively.
ship, I actually get to do some p iloting .
It's got a lot of t hrust availab le, once
[l] Crew Orge nizatlon Chart
Engin eer ing gets the ord er t o go t o full

.
military power, and t here are p lenty of
Capt ain
First Offi cer ............................................................................................................ 1
RCS thrusters to give us so me ser iou s
Sup p ly Officer ........................................................................................................ 1
ma ne uver ab ility.
Supply Clerk ............................................................................. ................. 1
" It's a g reat feel ing to be p ressed back in you r seat and barrel-
Med ical Office r ....................................................................................................... 1
• EMT ............................................................................................................ 1
M ora le Officer ............................................................................................. 1
ing at full burn t oward a raider who th ought he was about to hit
an easy mark. An d it ge ts better! Since t he kickers on t he Ch ief-
Aesth et ics Specialist ................................................................................... 1
ta in are in fixe d mounts, I'm t ied d irect ly into th e weapons and
EME Specialists ...................................................................................................... 3
t arget ing stat ions, and g et to aim t hem as well as g ive t he initial
Helmsman/ N avigat or ............................................................................................. 3
clearance to fi re. It's like flying a fig ht er, more so t han most oth er
Weap ons Officer ................................................................................................... 1
cap it al ship s.
Gunners ..................................................................................................... 4

Chief Engineer ....................................................................................................... 1

" The only real restrict ions invo lve wait ing fo r t he g ravity wheel
Ma ster Engineer ......................................................................................... 3
Engineer ...................................................................................................... 7 to lock (wou ld n't wa nt to twist th e hull by ap p lyin g t hrust while
Electron ics Spe cialist ................................................................................... 5
Co mput er Spe cia list .................................................................................... 2
the wheel 's spi nning ) and ho ld ing st ill fo r d ocking p rocedu res.
Securit y Off icer ...................................................................................................... 1
Unfort unat ely, t he old adage about combat is all to o tr ue in my
Security Spe cialist ........................................................................................ 4
case. A pocket calcu lator could pil ot th is ship ninety -n ine-po int-
Flight O perat ions Officer ...................................................................................... 1 nine percent of the t ime. In fact , in most sit uat ion s, th e naviga-
Cat apult Specialist s ..................................................................................... 1 t or is act ually cont ro lling t he ship .
O rdnance Specialist s .................................................................................. 9
Exo Engineer ............................................................................................... 1
" O nly in t ho se ever-so- rare occasions whe n we have to d rop
Exo/ Fig ht e r Pilots ................................................................................................. 4
t he bi g d isguise and do som e damage d o I g et to show off. The
rest of th e ti me, it's like I'm b ack on a Huang -Ti."

0064
 CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER
4 .5.2 Int:erview wit:h a Morale Officer
Na me: M ichael Skilton
Rank: Chu-i
Current Assignment: CVNA H. ai-Rahman
"S o, what's yo ur p leasure? Ne ver let it
be said th at the CVNA doesn't t ake care
of its employees. I m ay not have a lot of
spac e to work wit h, but it's eno ugh t o
keep eve ryone on t hi s ship hap py and
relaxed, which is all I nee d to m ove m e
tow ard a promotion p lanet side . I han dle
schedu ling of enterta inmen t aboa rd t he
ship, which sounds easy t o d o until yo u
start th inking about all t he littl e d et ai ls.
" It's part of my d uti es t o set up and cle an up the rec areas fo r
various acti viti es as we ll as making sure t hat no one fee ls left
o ut. That' s hard when the shift st ruct ure means th at someon e's
always on duty som ew here. For crew me mb ers who want som e
peace and q uiet , I also manage t he ship's lib rary and entertai n-
me nt d ata fil es. If som eon e want s somet hing specif ic, it's my
j ob t o f ind a time t o ge t it t ransmitted to us with out com p rom is-
ing security.
" Som e peo pl e m ig ht say th at my j ob aboard ship is unn eces-
sary. Wh at they don't g et is that fo r a b usy and harried naval
officer, even decidin g what kind of fu n to have can be t o o much
of a cho re. All it t akes is one m iserab le pe rson to m ake life a
livi ng he ll fo r every oth er crew me mber. I'm there to ma ke sure
t hat nobody has a chance t o fee l miserable, and also to decide
wh at's fun so th at othe r people don't have t o . Unlike the way it
is for other off icers, It's t he times between the battles when my
j ob is t he mo st importa nt . W it hout me, whe n a fig ht starts, no -
body may care enou gh to make sure we win ."
0065
... 4.5.3 Int:erview wit:h a Fight:er Pilot:
•
&1
Name: Lek Venugo pal
•
-
Rank: Chu-j
Current Assignment: CVNA Calico Sinclair
111I
" M o st Chieftains carry fig ht ers inst ead
of exos, b ecause we can reach t arg et
zon es fast e r t ha n most exos. Th at 's a
d ef inite advantage whe n yo u'r e try ing to
hit a raider before he ge ts wit hin firing
rang e of your co nvoy. Because of th e
need for t he ship to stay low-p rofile, we
don't fl y reg ul ar patro ls. If we're in a
heavily-t raffi cked area, th ere's too m uch
chance we ' ll be seen launchin g .
"B ecause of th at , we get a lot of t im e in th e simu lators to kee p
in p ract ice . The Chiefta in's small, so t here's roo m fo r on ly one
simu lator pod. It's located in the main hull, just d own t he corri -
dor f rom t he lab bay. Simt ime is really im p ort ant for all CVNA
p ilots. It's not q uit e as good as act ually f lyin g , b ut it's pretty
close . We d on't ge t t he f ull feed b ack th at we g et fro m t he fu ll
simu lat or setu ps they have o n the bi g sp ace statio ns, b ut at
least t here's a complet e line ar fram e in th e simpod .
"Because even our fi ghte rs are sup posed to stay out of sight,
m ost of ou r real-w orld fl ying is done in modified W rait hs and
ot her CEGA hand -me-d owns. W e g et rotated o ut regu larly so
t hat we can keep in pract ice wit h both th e fu ll sims and t he
CEGA ships . I've f low n a real Siegfreid-c1ass fighter on a b unc h
of mi ssion s, and I have t o say th at t he sims are actua lly pre tty
clo se to th e real t hin g . Sti ll, I so m et im es wonde r how m uch
bette r I' d be if I cou ld fly a real Sig all the t ime ."
• ~

~
Cr ltW:
Hull Size:
Section: Meln Hull \N/o Bridge

Main Data:
nve at Value :

'6
36

Movement Oeta :
I
I
Off . TV:
Actio ns :
De fa ult Size :
I
I
Def . TV:
Se nso r,: -2/ 2 km
Armor: 75
I
I
Misc . TV:Co st : • M
Comm. ·2/ 10 km
ught: 75
I
I
I
Ind v.lemon Dice :3
Fire Co nt rol :
He a vy:
+1

' SO
I
I
I
Type :
Ov erk ill: ' SO

Mode: Towed I Combat : I Top: I Range: 1 , SOO lvsRe~ss : I

~ Perk.. & Flawe :
N.... Rating Game Effect Name Rati ng Game Effect

I!!I Cheftian-class Escort Cruisar Backup Systems Comm, FireCon, UfeSupp, Sensor Side: Bay 2 Two p atien ts

IiiI Difficult to Modify All Stealth 2 Add to Concealment

~ Overell Data : Ejection Systems 20 people

4
I l'l'natValue: I Off TV· I Def TV' . I Misc. rv.ce«. • M I tndvL.emonDice:3 I HEP: Rad
HEP: Vac

~ Movement D a t a : Ufe Support Full

I Mode, Space I Combat :S MP (0.5 gil Top, 'OMP(' .Og) I Man.-uver: ·3 I Re Mass: 2000 BPs I Passeng. Accom 3,000m3
Reinforced Crew 3 Absorbs firs' thr . . "C rew" hits
~ Sections :
~ Offsnsl ve e n d Defen.lve Systems,
I ', Main Hull w/Bridge I t x Ma'n Hull w/o Bridge I 2x Battl. Hull

I" Central Hull I I Ct, N.... A" OM BR ACC ROF Ammo Special MS WC AC

I I I 2 las. Arr ay F <20 7 0 +' Inf AD2 , Cone. (Inst .I, HEAT 14 12214 .v.
2 CMM T "B 2 ., +4 640. Cooce. (Ins1.1. H., Missile 9 3'06 2.7
~

I "
1 2<
Off & Oef Syetems
Point ~f.nse System 1 2, Laser-Array I ., CMM
KKC I I
I I I

Section: Main Hull \N/Bridga Section : Central Hull

~ Meln Data , ~ Meln Data :

I Th, • • t Value ' Off TV, Def . TV Mise . TV Cost ; Indv le mon Dice : 3 nveat Value : I Off. TV: I Def . TV: I Misc .1V: I Cost : · M I Indv.lemonDice: 3
1 0 ow· '9 I Actions' I Sensors : ·212km C04'TIm.: ·2110km I Fir. Control: +' I Type : I Crew: '2 I Actions : I S."SOI'"$: + 1/2 km I Comm .: 0/15km I Fire Control 0 I Typtt:
I Hull Size" 36 I Default Sizl!': I Armor: 75 Ugh" 75 I Heavy' 'SO I Overkill: 225 I Hull Size : 34 I Default Size : I Armor: 65 I Light: 65 I Heavy: '30 I OveriliU : '95

~ Movement Oeta, ~ Movement Data:

I Mod., Towed I Combat : I Top : Range : 1,SOO nrs I Re M" s, : I I Modo, Towed I Combat: I To p : Range: 1,500 hrsRe ....ss; I
~ Per k s & F l a ws : ~ P e r k s & Flaws:
N.... Rating Game Eff ect Name Rating Game effect N.... Rating Game Effect Name Ra t ing Game Effect
Autopilot Lvi 1 Pilot Passeng.r Accorn 3.000m3 Backup Syst e ms ute Support Full
B~ up S yn.ms Comm, FireCon , lifeSupp. Sensor Re infor ced C......., 3 Absorbs first ltvee ·Crew- hits Cargo Ba y 12,OOOm 3 Reinforced C rltW 3 Absorbs first three "Crew· Hits
Computer 3 e RE 0 KNO a PPJ Stllil.lllth 2 Add to Conc ••lment 2)( Catapults (4SO/mass)m/s2 Ste.lth 2 Add to ConceaJ~t

Difficu lt to Modify All Difficult to Modify All

Eject ion Systems 20 people Eject ion Syst e m Pods for 16 people
HEP: RiK:I
HEP: Vac
• HEP : R&d
HEP: Vac
•
u fe Support Full Lab li fe Sciences 0

~ Offens ive and O efensl ve S y stems : ~ Offens ive end Defens iv e S ystems :
Ct, Name A" OM BR ACC ROF Ammo Special M5 WC AC Ct, Na me ,"C OM BR ACC ROF Ammo Specia l M5 WC AC
2 l as e r Arra y F , 20 7 0 +1 Inf AD2 , Co nc. (Inst .), HEAT 14 122 14 .v.
1 PDS (ra nge d) T "0 , +' +6 Inf AM, Con c. (lnst.), HEAT '6 14 01 .va
POS (shie ld) FF <20 M. I.. +1 +. Inf Cone. (lnst. ), DEF, E.Shld ,H '6 539 .v.
2 CMM T " 8 2 -, +. 640. Cone . (lns t .), Miss ile , H. 9 3' 06 2.7

00 66
 I
I

~
I
I
I
~
Crew :
Section: ex Bettie Hull
Meln Dete.
Thre at Value:

H ull Size:
8
30

Movement Date:
I
I
I
Off. TV
Actions:
De-faun Size:
I
I
I
08f. TV:
Sen so rs: .2/2 km
Ar mor : 75
Mise. TV:
Com m.; ·2110 km
Light : 75
I
I
I
Cost:
Fire Contro l
Heavy:
+'
'50
I
I
I
Indv.l.monOK:e: 3
Type :
Ov erk ill : 225
~
Iw
I
I
~
I
Crew:
Hull Size:
Section: •
Msln Dete.
I
I
I
Movement: Data:
Off . TV:
Action~ :

Def ault Size :

I
I
I
Def . 1V:
Seraors:
Ba ~e Armor:
Mi~c .lV:

Comm .:
Light :
I
I
I
Cost :
Fire Cont rol :

Heavy :
I
I
I
Indv lemon d ice : -
Type :
O verk ill:
••
I

..
Mod . , I Com bat : I Top: I M aneuve r: I Range : I Re . Mas s:
I Mode: Towed I Combat : I Top: Range: 1,500 Ivs Retw1ass: I
~ Perks & Flaws.
~ Perks & Flaws: Rat ing Game Eff ect N ame Rat ing Game Eff ect
Nam e
N ame Rat ing Game Eff ect N."", Rat ing Game Eff ect
Backup Syste ms Weapon Link KKC s
Cargo Bay 1,000 m3 Ste a h:h 2 Add t o Con cealmlMt
Difficult to Modif y All
Ejection Syst em 10 peop le
HEP: R~
,
HEP: vee
Pass eng er Accom 1,000 m3
ReinfOf"ced Cr ew 3 Ab$Ofbs first three · Cre w" hits
~ Offensi ve a nd Dsfensl ve Systsm. :
~ O ffenslvs a n d D e f ensi v e S ystsm s . Q1y N."", "', OM SR ACC ROF Ammo Special M5 WC AC
Q1y Nam. "', OM "R ACC ROF Ammo Spec ial M5 WC AC
2
1
KKC
CMM
FF

T
,30

,'8
7
2
-2
-,
+,
+, ....
4,OOOea AP, Conceal ed (Instant )
Conc.(lnst.l, HEAT,M iS5n&
20
9
16230
3106
3.2
2.7
II

Section: . S e c tio n : .
~
TV
Meln Date.
Off. TV: I Def .1V : Mise . TV: I Co st : I Indv Ifm'lOfl d ice : -
~

Iw
Mein Data:
I Off . TV: I Daf. TV: I M ise. TV: I Cost : I Indv lem on diea : -
II
I Crew " I Act ions · I Sen r.ors : Comm .: I Fire Control: I Type : I Crew : I Action s: I Sensors: Com m .: I Fire Control : I Type :
I Hutl Size: I De f auh: Size : I Base Armor: lig ht : I Heavy : I Overkill: I Hu ll Size: I Default Size : I Base Ar mor : lig ht: Heavy : I Overkill:

~ Movement Data: ~ Movement: Data:

I Mod., I Com b at : I Top : ManflU\l&r: I Range : I Re . Ma ~$: I Mod., I Comb at : I Top : M aneuver : I Rang e ' I Re. M ass'

~ Perks & Flaws. ~ Perks & Flaws.

Name Rat ing Game EffK1 Name Rat ing Game Eff ect N ame Rat ing Game Effect N . "", Rll1ing Gllme Eff.a

~ Offensive and Defensive Systems. ~ Offenslvs end Defenalve Syat:emll :

Q1y Name "', OM "R ACC RO F Am m o Spec ial M5 WC AC Q1y N . "", "', OM "R ACC ROF Ammo Special M5 WC AC

0 0 67
 I

•• CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER

~
-------

PART III: THE VENUSIAN WAY

~
I

In any case, the concept of t he d ebt was somet hing she'd g rown
up w ith . This cause, she arg ued, was wo rt h he lp ing even if

•
II
Tal-sa Yvette Antonova cou ld n't quite
figure out what to feel. She was afraid
that she might die on t his m ission . She
was worried that the inte l t his who le
raid was b ased o n m ig ht b e t ot ally
Katayama were still p enni less and in posse ssion of nothing use-
ful ; thi s, she said , was a test of t he Venusian way of life, a chal-
lenge of faith and loyalty.

false. She was also unspeakab ly excited
to be a pa rt of what had to b e th e no-
blest rescue operation in recent history.
II
Yvette had been invo lved from the be-
II ginni ng. Four months ago , a man
named Mischa Katayama, who had van-
11 ished several years ago, contacted th e
CVNA Di rect or ial Bo ard , reque sting
help in mount ing an operation to res-
cue a CVNA officer from a STRIKE com -
pound . He offered intelligence g leaned
from who knew where , information t hat
would, if true, make the raid childis hly
easy to pu ll off . The Board was skeptica l; the informati on was go od ,
but Katayama 's refusal t o meet in p erson or reveal his locat ion
seemed too strange to accept. Even aft er Katayama de livered mo re
inte llig ence of unbe lievab le quality, and p romised to t urn his ship
over t o the CVNA after the rescue, t he Board remained suspicio us.
Yvette had com e forward , argui ng Katayama's case. She'd received
Katay ama's first commu nication wh ile on deep patrol, and had
spoken to him at length . She had b ee n struck by how ord inary he
loo ked , ho w compl etely unlike her own ideas of someone who
would make such a sacrifi ce fo r a near-strang er.
Many capta ins and off icials applauded her statements, bu t when
t he up roar settled, she was st ill th e on ly CVNA captain will ing to
act ually g o out and pe rfor m t he mission . Nevertheless, she stoo d
he r ground . If her battered o ld Chieftain was all t hat coul d be
spared, the n so be it. If Kataya ma 's informat ion was false, t hen
she wou ld die, and a lesson wo uld be learned . If, ho wever,
Katayam a was exactly what he said he was, t hen she woul d res-
cue Taggart al-Raschid, and another, m uch mo re importa nt les-
son wou ld be learned . It hard ly concerned her at th e time t hat
Katayama wou ld not persona lly participate in t he raid , claim ing a
need to occupy STRIKE attention elsewhere as a d iversion.
Now, however, sitt ing on the Leon Marten's b ridge and looking at
the lo oming asteroid base on whi ch Katayama insist ed Tagg art
was t o be fo und , Yvette could think of only one t hing . I wonder
where Katayama actually is, anyway?
* * *
Wh en t he exo-suits b urst into t he contro l center, Tag gart was al-
ready d iving fo r cover. He d idn 't kno w who was atta cking the
out post , b ut he wasn't about t o bet t hat any stray ro unds wo uld
know friend fro m fo e. He heard g unfire, the sound of breaking
arm or, and several heavy objects fall ing d own . There were a few
lou d foot st ep s, and then a clip p ed , p rofession al voic e spo ke ov er
a tin ny 'suit m icrop hone.

She'd heard of Birth ing Debts, the oblig ation s ta ken on by th ose "Taggart al-Raschid Tai-i? Are you all right? We're here to rescue you."
who had survived Venus' po st-Fall years wit h th e help of th e more
The word s hit Taggart like a thund erclap. Bolt ing upright , he felt thirty
fortunate. In mo st cases, t he debts were called in by t hose ow ed,
I months of pain, slavery and humiliation vanishing, fog dissolving be-
and used fo r blackmail or extort ion . There were precious few in-
fore sunlight. He turned toward the voice and grinned cheerfully.
stan ces of someone vo luntarily rep aying a Birt hin g De bt.

0068
 CHIEFTAIN ESCORT CRUISER
"We ll, I'd say I'm happy to se e yo u, but I seem to have lost my
g lasses," he anno unce d , st raighte ning his tattered jumpsuit. A
ne arby exp losio n rocked the floor, but Tagg art kep t his bala nce .
"Whe re's Nakama? " he shoute d .
"He 's alread y es caped ," the troope r said q uickly. Tag gart co uld
he ar the 'suit loo king ba ck and fo rth anxiously. "We've got inte r-
ce pto rs go ing afte r him, b ut we ne ed to get you o ut now." The
troope r picked Taggart in a firem an's carryand bo lte d out th e hatch .
Jou ncing atop the 'su it's a rmo red sho ulde r, Tagg art 's mind fille d
wit h q ue st ion s. His body had othe r ideas, howeve r, an d as th e
exo-suit ran d own the hallway, dodg ing g unfire an d kicking do wn
barricade s, Taggart close d his e yes an d slept pe acefully for t he
first time in two years.
* * *
It had tak e n the Marte n's cargo crew five ho urs to find the sculpt-
clasp in o ne of t he boxes se ized from t he STRIKE facility. Whe n
the fe athe r-light me ta l o rnament was placed in his hand , Tag ga rt
had sobbed, tea rs streaming from bene ath his newly-ba ndaged
socket s. He'd kept it close throughout his entire stay inthe Marten's
sickbay, slowly g rowing used to th e ide a t hat he was, at last , fre e .
When the docto r finallygave her approva l fo r visito rs, Antonova-
kancho had come in, ecstatic to me et him. They'd bee n talking
fo r ove r an hour.
"Tell me about the sculpt-clasp, " she e nt re ate d . Her o pen admi-
ration was be g inning to make Tagg art uncomfo rtable , bu t he an-
swe re d he r inq uiry ag re e ab ly.
"It be lo nge d to Toji Katayama, the man who ga ve his life for my
family. Toji gave it to my great-great-great-grandfathe r before he
d ied . It's always been a symbol of loyalty and honor fo r me ."
Anto nova d rew anothe r b reath, but whatever she was about to
ask was sile nce d by th e be e p ing of t he co mm console.
[)[)69
"At last ," she g ushed . " He must be on the othe r side of the sys-
t e m, for the lag to be th is lon g ."
•
II
She tap ped a co ntrol o n a ne arby conso le, and th e transmission
be gan to p lay. The voice tha t spoke from the spea ker was ge nt le
and soothing , fullof inte llige nce. It seemed to Taggart tha t it cam e
fro m a ll aro und him, th roug h every corn er of the room .
..
II
IiiI
" He ll o, Tagga rt-san. I'm ho nored to finally be able to speak to
you. I've read t he medi cal re po rt t hat Antonova -kancho sent. I'm
so sorry abo ut your eye s. If Ihad worked faster, harder, this would n't
have happened . Please excuse my inefficie ncy. Regard less of my
pe rfo rmance, tho ugh, I am ove rcome with joy tha t you a re at last
free of your capt ivity and able to return ho me ."
"What does he look like?" Taggart whispered to Antonova, e n-
t ranced . In response , she reached ove r and p lugged a haptic dis -
p lay into th e co mmset's video output jack. Instantly, the tablet's
flat surface began to defo rm, creating a raised image of Katayama's
face. Antonova p lace d t he d isplay in Tag ga rt's hands.
"The CVNA has kind ly re-extended th e ir offe r for the posit io n
yo u secured fo r me ," Katayama co ntinued . "I am eterna lly g rate -
ful for what you d id fo r me . Witho ut yo ur invitat io n, and trust, I
wou ld su rely be long dead . My so n Kinya has sen t word that he
will meet me back on Ven us. 1will begin the journey myse lf very
soon. Live well, Taggart-san . May we me et soon." The screen
went silent.
Tagg art's han ds were rest ing atop the ha pt ic display's image .
"He looks like a Kataya ma," he whispered , and lean e d back in his
be d . Afte r a while, Anton ova left q uiet ly. In th e da rkness, Tagg art
waited to meet his savio r.
 SATRAP TRANSPORT CARRIER

Notable Shipe

.....
N ame: CVN A Mar zieh Irani

Launched : Fe bruary 5. 2209

Stat us: Lost on Decembe r 2. 2209

In an incident th at t he Ven usian Bank has succ e ssfully downplayed, abou t half of
t he IranI's cre w mut inied on Nove mbe r 30, 2209 , appare ntly as a re sult of fac-
t ion al d iffe re nces bet ween seg me nts of t he cre w. The mut ine e rs t hen attempt ed
t o deliver t he ship to t he Jov ians. In order to p reven t th is, the Irani's cap ta in
appare nt ly escape d from the br ig and act ivat ed th e ship' s se lf-des t ruct syst em ,
des t roy ing t he e nt ire vessel along with all hand s. Eve n wit h t he incre ase d diver -
sity in perso nnel brou gh t on by th e formation of t he CVNA, the g rueling psycho-
log ical scree ning p roce du res t hat resu lted from t his incide nt are st ill in p lace
and app ear to be work ing .

N ame : CVNA Hermann von Borsody

Launched : Septemb e r 28. 221 1
Stat us: Dip lomatic Service

The von Borsody is a slightly-modified Sat rap that has kept one of its outer hulls in
a luxury-liner configuration, making it an excelle nt transport for diplomats and
other pol iticos. Often se en docking or departing Pyrea Stat ion. th e von Borsody's
primary d uties involve shuttling bac k and fort h bet we en the home of t he United
Space Nations and t ransfe r ports in Venus orbit. The ship has ne ve r had need to
reve al its combat cap abilit ies, but it is certain t hat t he ot he r so lar nations at least
know th at a Venusian d e legate wou ld not be so na"lve as to t rave l unprotected.
Von Borsodykancho is a noted me rchant cap t ain who owns several ships of his own
and has never so much as seen the vessel t hat be ars his name.

N ame : CVNA Julius Chou

Launched : Ju ly 1, 2213
St atus: Co nvoy Escort

Mr. Chou is Venus' most we ll-known tenor, a con summate performer who to urs
across the solar system . Mr. Chou is reported ly disgruntled that the honor of hav-
ing a ship named for him has been so soured by the fact tha t the vessel is a "fat,
inelegant cargo tug. " Unbeknown st t o Mr. Chou, however, the carrier that hides
under his tug's skin has been re sponsible for overseeing the safe passage of nearly
a dozen shipp ing convoys since its launch.

0 07 0
 I
SATRAP TRANSPORT CARRIER
- ~

•
II

..
II

•
II
II

•
II

0071
 TRANSPORT CARRIER

11 • 5.1 OVERVIEW

• There are two classes of large-sca le carg o haule rs in use by the

-
Venusian sh ipping fleet. One is a huge ve sse l used for nonstop
t ransp o rt of bulk cargo from one poi nt to another; this vessel was
I !!I
used as a tem plate forthe gargantuan Shan -Yu-class battlecruise r.
The second class of cargo vessel is a slight ly sma lle r ship designed
to ferry bo th cargo and passengers on runs with multiple stops
and transfer po ints. These vessels have huge rotating rings for
passenger comfort as we ll as extensive docking fac ilities for t rans -
port shuttles an d dropsh ips, and were used as the ba sis for a
singu lar new concept in warsh ip design.

The modern Satrap carrier is based o n two civilian varia nts of th e

ma in hu ll class . On e of these is a lo ng-range cargo vesse l de-
signed fo r mult iple car go transfers and coach-class personnel
carr iage . Most of the Satraps in serv ice are d isg uise d to loo k like
one of t hese ships, which g ives them a better excuse to be wan-
dering out in the middle of t he Belt and beyond. The other com -
mon use for the Satrap-style hull is as a luxury line r. These ships
are operated by transp o rt compan ies across the so la r system, and
are the pinnacle of luxury transpo rt. They do not have cargo trees;
instead of drab grey hulls, t hey are festooned with windows and
observation galleries for passengers. These add a g reat dea l of
mass due to added structura l re info rce me nt requi re me nts. They
also have large r habitat rings, to sup port passengers who are used
to having an excess of sp ace. All the facilities are desi gned to
provide passengers with the impressio n that they are still on th eir
p lane t o r statio n of or igin. Fo r instance , line rs on the profitable
Moon -Orbital routes have a secondary hab itat insta lled closer to
th e central hu ll, so that passengers from the Moon ca n pass the
trip in normal grav ity conditions.

T 5.1.1 Capabilities

The Satrap has fo ur large hangar bays . On e, in the ce ntra l hull, is

open lyvisible and serves as a shu tt le bay and cargo transfe r area .

0072
 SATRA P TRANSPORT CARRIER
The other t hree bays are caref ully concealed in t he th ree mai n
hulls and car ry t he Sat rap 's co mp lement of com bat vehicles. Fo ur
exo -armors or fig hters can be co mfo rta b ly sup ported in eac h b ay,
for a t otal sta nd ard lo ad of twe lve vehicles. In mor e ext reme sit u-
atio ns, up t o d o ub le t his num ber can be carried , at t he cost of
mu ch of t he ship 's available repair spac e. Powerful d rive m otors
are used to split t he fron t end of each ma in hu ll to reveal the
hang ars, each of which is equip pe d with a pair of de p loyable
catap ults . The central shuttle bay is also equip p ed with two cat a-
p ults, for ad d it ional combat launch capa b ility.
Each of t he main hu ll hang ars is adjoined by a larg e Drone b ay
de sig ned t o support t he " smarter" varia nts of Drone, such as ele c-
tro nic warfare or hunt er-killer unit s. The Dro nes are launched and
recovered in t he main vehicle bay o r via t he cargo doors outward
from t he hang ar. Since torped o-class Dro nes are unab le to launch
without d ed icat ed loa ding and release m echanisms, the Satrap is
un ab le t o deploy such Dro nes. However, there is little need for a
ship like t he Sat rap , which project s m ost of its power wit h it s com-
b at ve hicles , t o act as a torp ed o boa t , so th e omi ssio n is of no
g reat co nsequ ence. The Sat rap 's workshops and repair b ays can
ret urn recov ered Dron es to se rvice extreme ly qu ickly, and can
also assemb le new Dro nes, g iven ad eq uat e sup plies. This ab ility
gives t he Sat rap a much larger effe ct ive sup p ly of Drones tha n
sma lle r ships like t he Huan g- Ti, which are unable to do more tha n
m ake min o r rep airs to their Dro ne sup p ly.
The Satrap d oes not mount the usual laser we aponry found on
m ost Venusia n vessels, relying on it s co mbat vehi cle s to provid e
d irect offensive firepower. The Satrap 's larg e array of missile bay s
is used p rimarily fo r p oi nt defense and heavy fire support, and is
generally not sufficient fo r a full ship -t o-ship engagement. Th ere
have been some concerns expressed over resupply issues, b ut , t rees as additional st orag e space for attack veh icles, which wo uld
the d esign's p rop onents point ou t th at the st and ard d esig n of the
m issile bay s allo w s t hem t o make use of Jovi an and CEGA m is-
siles, wit h o nly minor alte rat ion s.
0073
Th e Satrap 's size all ow s it t o retai n a m easure of it s civilian
eq uivalent's cargo capa city in th e form of carg o t rees tow ed be -
•
II
hind each m ain hull. Wh ile visually sim ilar t o t he st o rag e arrang e-
me nt on p op ula r t ransp orts like t he Eb iiru, t he Sat rap 's cargo spar
and containers are actu ally reasonab ly well armo red and shield ed,
fu lfi lli ng the ne cessary sp ecificat ions for military t ranspo rtati o n.
•.....
I
The ret ent ion of t he hab it at ring gives t he Satrap huge amo unts of
availab le p asseng er space. Even thoug h much of t he ring is t aken
II
up by t he layers of armor and st ruct ural reinf orcem ents necessary
to bri ng t he fr ag ile-loo king sect ion up to m ilit ary spec, t he size of
I t he crew qu arters ab oard the Satrap is rivaled only by t hose on the
larg e Shan-Yu-c1 ass battlecr uisers. During battle alerts, t he hab it at
ring is ev acuated and sealed; d esp ite its increased p rot ect io n, it is
still th e most easily-d am aged part of t he ship . II
... 6.1.2 Operat;ional Role
Should open war ever br eak o ut , t he Satrap's f unct ion w oul d be -
com e t hat of a mobi le fleet tender, cap ab le of self-d efe nse and III
moving from one t roubl e spot t o ano ther. It co uld also serv e as a
fleet carrier, alt ho ug h it wou ld require a sign ificant esco rt in o rd er
t o d o so .
I
Many st rat eg ists fee l that th e Satrap t ries to d o too mu ch and
t hus fai ls in all its tasks. The Satrap 's cargo cap acity is red uced to
accomm oda t e it s veh icle squ adron, which result s in limited lo ite r
t ime and f leet -servicing capa b ility, and t he pre sence of t he vu l ~
ne rable carg o t rees red uces the ship's effe ct iveness as a b attle
carrier. The arg uments surrounding the Sat rap 's effectiveness will
likely not b e reso lved for some t im e, but they have produced
some int erest ing id eas. O ne of th ese invo lves usin g th e carg o
com pl et e ly eliminat e t he ship 's cargo f unctions and rep lace t hem
with as many as three fu ll squadrons of exo-armors o r fi g ht ers,
creating an overwhe lming hid d en strike f orce.
 SATRAP TRANSPORT CARRIER

II ~ 5 .2 S H I P S C HEMA T I C S

•
II
()

I
Side V ie w

'f' . Legen d
,.
,/ /, , / , / / , ,/ ,/ r-
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1
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Dri ve Fin
Dr ive Fin Mount
Engine Mount
... / '\,

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1° 7 M/1 J
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--------.. .
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4 Reaction Mass Housing 8 (j) 1 13 @
II - .,
! 5
6
Uf.epod Cove~
Habit at Ring
6
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-r-- - +--..... ~

7 Carg o Tree Har?p.? int 5 , ru

i - i- - .. -t-. - _w~ l-

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-t"
8 ! Carg o Containers
9 ~fep od Cover~ ,
.
i
I

•
II
i 10
11
12
13
14
15
Missile Bay
,Hangar Bay (Closed)
CM M Clust er Cov er
,RCS Cluster
Personnel Airlock
Rotation Collar
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Workpod Ac cess Bay
Instrume nt,Cluster Bay . i 'e"
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19 Docking Sensors
1
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20
21
Comm A ntenn ae (Retracted)
Cargo Hanga~ Door
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Om 25 50 ' 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

- -,---------

0074
 I
SATRAP TRANSPORT CARRIER

5.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS [CONT.J .....

•
...

1
Legend
Front: View

•
Searchlights
()

..-
I
2
3
Fake Windows
Cargo Conta iner s II
4 CMM Cluste r Cove r
5
6
Hangar Bay (Close d)
Forward RCSCluste r II
7
8
9
10
11
12
Ante nna Mounts
' Lid ar/ Rangefinder Emitters
Short Rang e Sensors
Inst rume nt Clust e r Bay
Docking Target
Cargo Hangar Doo ;
•
II
13 Missile Bay
Comm Antennae (R~tracted)
14 r-
II
16JL-~ §-----=\r
o
15 · Reaction Mass Housing
16 Docking Se nso rs
f· 1
o
II
I
+ ..oM

. ,

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IOm 25: . i
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
I 1

l-
I

0075
I
~ SATRAP TRANSPORT CARRIER

•• ~

o
5.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS [CONT.]

Top View

l
., Legend '
II .,

• 1 Cargo Con tainers

i

2
3
4
·4· ·

· I Cargo Tree Hardpoint

r Antennae Mounts
... + Loading Doors

II 5
! Drive Fin
6
· f
! Eng ine Mo unt

•
7 i Lifepod Cover
8 Phased 5enso; A rray
9 Vehicle Hangar (closed)
10 , t i Driv e Fin Mo unt
11 11
12
; Reaction Mass Housing
.. ' CM M Cluste r;c Civer
I
13 Habitat Vid-Membrane

II 14
15
I : Missile Bay Door •
P.erso~nel Airlock; +
·.. r r-

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200 250 300 350 400 450
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 SATRAP TRANSPORT CARRIER

5.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS (CONT.] ....

•
11
Cutoaway View ()

•..
~
Om 25

-
6 }-- - - -------\\= dJ, II
~ Legend
5 } - - - - - ---t
• II
1 Plasma Combust ion Chamber
2 React ion Mass Storage
4} -- ------t 3 Crew Quart ers
4 Officers' Quart ers
3 } - - -- - - --t 5 Heat Exchangers
8 6 St orage Bay
7 Weapons/Eng. Contr ol Center
8
9
Cargo Cont ainers
Traff ic Cont rol Center
•
10 Bridge
11 Drone St orage and Prep Bay
12 Missile Bay
13 Drone Bay
14 Cargo Bay
15 Catapul~
16 Bulk Storage
17 Superconducting Batteries
18 Launch Bay Act uator
19 Heat Exchangers
20 Hangar
21 M issile Storage
22 Gas Storage
23 Structura l Reinforcement
24 • Security Off ice
25 Storage Bay
26 Primary Instrument Clust er
27 Workpod and Exo-Suit Airlckks

I 28
29 .
30
.,. Centra l Hangar
Habitat Rotat ion Motors
Workshops and Equipm ent Bay
I

-3
DO??
SATRAP TRANSPORT CARRIER
~ 5.3 HISTORY
In 2207 , th e new p rincip le in ship de sign - warship s hi dden un-
d er civilian appearances - had percol ated it s w ay d own to all
t he vario us Venusian cor porat ion s. The Venusian A ero space Cor-
p orat ion, in p art icular, fo und t he id ea t o b e both no t eworthy and
co st-effe cti ve, and b ega n a design effort t o create its ow n se ries
of d isg uised w arshi ps. Rather th an pu rchase hu lls from VenusBank
(or wor se, Earth), VAC d ecid ed to fin d a use for some of its sur-
p lus larg e carg o vessels. Man y sug ge stions were pu t fo rth, b ut
mo st involved an un acceptabl y large num ber of m od ificat ion s t o
the ship 's basic st ruct ure t hat woul d be bot h expe nsive and d iff i-
cult to hid e. Tyler Ne rou lis, a j unior eng ine er wi t h a spotty tr ack
reco rd up t o t hat po int , p rod uced wh at end ed up as th e m ost
workab le soluti on .
Rather th an spe nd exc essive effort t o tu rn th e ship s into battle-
shi ps, Neroulis out lined a cost- effective pl an by w hich th e cargo
ships' forward carg o bays could be converted into m issile, Drone
and veh icle bays, creat ing an eff ect ive carrier. His de sig n not only
allo wed th e retent ion of t he rot at ing section tha t the ot her p lans
regarded as a weakness, b ut also mad e t he syste m w or k in con -
ju nct ion w it h t he hang ars, such t hat t he ship would be ab le to
scramble-laun ch its ent ire vehicle complem ent wit ho ut d e-spin -
nin g it s habit at sect ion. Th e result w as the Sat rap , wh ich has b e-
come t he CVNA's onl y d edi cat ed carrier. It com es in bot h liner
and cargo variants, t he be tter to hide am ong t he civi lian flee t .
The liner's eng ine s are t he sam e as th e freighter-type ships, p lod -
din g and reliab le. The ship is at least as massive as its cargo -ship
b ret hren , due to th e added mass of the win dows and passeng er
am enit ies. A d d ing even more mass are t he attract ive fl ourishes
added to th e ship 's hull by many cruise li nes, such as th e f ifteen-
meter-t all fig ureh ead s th at ad orn the hu lls of t he CEGA-run Bo-
realis Line co mpany. Ho w ever, th ere is seldom any need for a
ship of t his type t o accele rat e powerfully o r reach a d est inat ion in
record time; t he ent ire concept of luxu ry sp ace ships is to ta ke a
leisure ly app roach to t he norm ally frenet ic pa ce of space tra vel.
007 8
A few Sat raps were di sg uised as liners, so as to loo k inc onsp icu-
ou s in th e inner solar system . The von Borsody , fo r inst ance, looks
like a liner in order to b etter fulfil l its ro le as a d ip lom ati c fe rry
be tw een Earth and Venus. It is not a t rue Satr ap -cl ass ship , b e-
cause on e of its hulls (along with mos t of its hab itat ring ) rema ins
in a luxury-liner co nfig uration, fo r ap pearance's sake. Oth er Sa-
t raps th at are d isg uised as liners have no passenge r capacity what-
soever; only the von Borsody act ually has need of t he pal atial
enviro nm ent of a real luxu ry ship.
The von Borsody is som et imes used t o ho st d ip lomat ic di nne r
pa rt ies and meet ing s when in Earth space . Th is has oc curred du r-
ing di pl omat ic junkets when ot her Venusian territory was no t avail-
ab le for use. The hab itat ring is fitted with several posh b allro om s
and loung es, and the line r hull contains a full -size confere nce cham-
be r capa b le of seat in g t he enti re CEG A cou ncil. The liner hu ll is
also reinfo rced wit h ext ra armor and st ructural supp ort, b ringin g
it s d efenses in line with the rest of t he ship . Shou ld a cata st rop he
o ccur d esp it e th ese p recautions, th e liner hull also carries d ozens
of larg e escape pod s and seve ral t hickly-armored " st o rm room s"
(small chambers d esig ned to wit hst and ext rem es of te mperature
and rad iation, and which can sustain t heir occupant s even if t he
rest of th e ship is vapo rized).
The centra l hu ll (which is th e on ly hang ar bay in civi lian Sat rap -
style ships) also rem ains in a civili an config urat ion . Visitors to t he
ship dock in t he cent ral bay and are esco rte d to t he line r hu ll,
where t hey are allow ed fr ee run. Th e liner hu ll is even equ ip pe d
wit h a fake b ridge t hat allows pa sseng ers to watch th e capt ain
and crew " at wo rk." Passeng ers are also allowed to freely wand er
two-th ird s of th e hab itat ring , but are stopped by loc ked b ulk-
heads at t he ju nct ion s of each of t he two other hull s. Behind t he
b ulkhea ds are arm ed guard s and ad d it ional security syst em s;
passeng ers are always warn ed to not attempt ent ry into the " pri-
vat e dip lomatic areas" of th e ship .
~ SATRAP
- -- TRANSPORT CARRIER _ _
.~ 1 ...,.,
I
I
11 o ~ 5.4 SHIP SYSTEMS

• f) Propulsion and Weapons

-,
...
.....
, r . /
I
The layout Of the Sat rap-class ships is divided into
sharp sect ions, eac h with its own purpose and
eq uipment.Th e propulsion section, loeatecf at the
rear of t he Central hull, houses a number of plasma
.: combustion charitbe"rs along with the ir support
.. equ ipme nt in a se aled environment well shielded
by both co,{ventional a~dscreei\ shielding. Safety
.is -~ 'paramotmt feature 'o n t his type of vessel. and
the engines are known for their reliability.
...
The bulk of t he Sat rap's offe nsive powe r is consti-
tut edof itsfnany att ack craft, which are fiou'sed in

• the concealed launch bays that occupy t he for-

ward third of all 6utrigg e r hulls~They are backed
by \niss ile bays, bot h convent ional and duster-fir-
ing, and ";,,(jltiple dro Mes. Th'e ship's' lase r array
most oftEm'~erve
....__ ,I. +in a defe nsive capability only. .
.1. . •

• 1::_ :21-
--..;;
'.,.J

T Weepon Syst:ems

C :""_ _ .:J - -. 1 . Main Power Conduit"

2 Missile Bay
3 PDS Emitt er
4 Missile Storage

.. '.
· i· •• . .. ,¥ ;- • • • •• • -t- • 5 Drone Bay
r'" . . . . .. ...... i • • ,

.J.. ,.:::;:~::::::~.:·:::t:::;~·:;~::j:;:;~;f::l:;~;· ;:: ' 6

7
Drone Storage
CMM Cluste r
>
j~; <~ <:!~~ (/1) ~:: ! :'~ < ~
I

Prcipulslon Syst:.
" / . ;~ ~~ i~> ~, :i~~, \~[; ~/
~ , I

8 RCS Cluste r"

9 Reaction Mass Tanks
10 Plasma Combu stion Chamber
'11 E~haust Co llimator Coils
12 EM Power Ge neration System
13 Radiator Fin

0080
 SATRAP TRANSPORT CARRIER

5.4 SHIP SYSTEMS [CONT.) ...

•
II

The des igner s of t he ship too k advantage of th e

large surface of bot h t he hulls and t he hab itat rings
Sens ors e nd L ife Support ()

•..
to lay down an extensive network of se nsory ele-
"'" i
ment s slaved t o a central dataprocessing corn-
puter. This compe nsates fo r the ave rage q uality
'- -,

/ ·· ······T ·· ·· ~ .._..
L
II
of the ship 's sensor proc essing equipme nt , whidi
was chose n more for cost -effect iveness th an effi-
II
1
ciency.

The life support system is highly modular and t hor-

oughly distrib uted within the various sections of n I •
II
the hull to ensure maximum red und ancy. Each
segment of the habitat ring has its own node and
heat exchanger. as we ll as an indepe nde nt back-
B) I
IJ
up power sup ply. This was to ensure t he safet y of
t he pas sengers of the liner vers ion, but it has
proven useful in battle as we ll.
:10) ,. II
~ ..._.
· · · 1··
. _ ~ . , ._ .....
·1············ II
"'1
I
... Sensor Systems
..
1
2
3
Lidar/ Rangefinde r Emitt ers
Rad ar Syste ms
Docking Sensors " ...' "", ~.
' .... .
. .-1 _'L1.11 -==--__
-til
L 1:
II
·r ·_··_·_··..

4
5
Primary Instru ment Cluste rs
Communication Ante nnae
..... ~

/ r
/ ./ -, /
6 Microwave Pulse-Ranging Anten nae ,; ... " / <. .:». .> \,

... Life Support Syst •

... /
/
-, / -, /
.~

7 Heat Exchangers
B Gas St orage
9 Supe rconducting Batteries
10 Local LifeSupport Syst~ms
11 Screen Gen e rators 9

0081
~ SATRAP TRANSPORT CARRIER

• 'f 5 .4.1 Habitat Ring

The illustration at right is a large-scale view of a cross-section of

'f 5 .4 .2 H a n g a r

R t he Satrap 's main habit at ring 's structure . The ring houses both
crew areas and ship system s as we ll as serving as a major struc-
.......
~ tural b race fo r t he ve ssel's th ree-hull con figu ration, hel p ing to
sp read the load of the cargo modu les t hro ug ho ut the ship. The
hab it ab le area is only o ne f loor high ; the rest of the ring's cross-
Ii sect ion is taken up by armor, st ructure, shielding and suppo rt
machi nery (both ship and life support) .
II
The crew area is lo cat ed deep insid e th e ring, where it gets ma xi-
II mum shield ing and protection from th e syste ms around it. Gen-
tly -slo ped corridors m ake the ir w ay around the ring, linking t he
The Satrap's hangars are much more well -equipped than the
smaller o nes fo und o n ot her Venusian vessels. The Satrap has
th ree ma in aux iliary craft hang ars, each w ith two cata pul ts , along
w it h a pr essuri zed carg o bay in th e ce ntra l sect ion . Th e illu str a-
t ion at right de picts one of t he hangars on t he o uter hull s in t he
d epl oyed (or "ope n ") pos it ion. It is a co mba t hangar, co mp lete
wi th four exo -armorlfig ht er ma intenanc e and rep air ba ys as well
as a ce nt ral staging area that can, in a pinch, store ano ther t wo
exo-armors. Because t he ship cannot, when fully loaded, provide
much accelera t ion, all hangar equipment is oriented for a rota-
tion-generated gravity.

var ious areas to geth er. Th ey are fairly sma ll and include non-slip The catapult mechan ism can fold upon it self and slide in and ou t
II surfaces, lad d ers and handho ld s o n two sides so th at they can of a recessed bay unde r the m ain floor. Both catapu lts start insi de
b e used reg ard less of t he cu rrent orien t at io n of th e gra vity gra- the st ag ing area, so that the exo s can b e o n t he line whi le t he ba y
II d ient . is st ill hid d en and be ready to launch th e mome nt the fo rward
hul l sp lits open.
II The crew cab ins are quite spa cious fo r a warsh ip (or any space-
ship fo r t hat matter), and are arrang ed in row s alo ng the rim of
the ring . O ffi cers' q uarte rs run back and fo rt h alo ng t he ring , and
a recreat ion area/garden is lo cated near th e m id d le .

Sever al heavy-duty elevat o rs car ry cre w "up" to the cen tral sec-
tion o r "down" t o the co m ba t hang ars (assum in g t he ship is un-
der rotation) . Th e elevat ors and t heir well s are heavil y armored
and stru ctura lly rei nforced ; in fact , t he enti re sup p o rti ng str ut fo r
each m ain hull is an extrem e ly soli d ly-b uilt stru ct ure t hat can
surv ive incred ib le t ensile stresses th anks t o nano-vat grow n m ain
sp ars.

A irlocks can be fo und in bo t h t he " flo or" and " ceiling " of t he
hab it at ring (aga in, assum ing t he ship is und er rot at io n). There
are also numero us escap e pods lo cat ed alon g th e rim of the ring :
sm all segments of t he ring 's ou t er hull b reak o p en, revealing the
row of escape pods nestle d w it hin , ready fo r launch.

0082
 SATRAP TRANSPORT CARRIER

In the f lo or of the bay (th e surface facing away f ro m the centra l

••
..-
sect io n), behind th e cat apu lts, is a larg e airlock hatch th at lead s
t o a sm all cargo b ay t hat also has a hatc h for a fl o or. This hat ch
leads to open space ; in emerg en cie s, the han ga r crew can use II
both hat ch es to d rop exos directly o ut th e bottom of t he hang ar,
using t he sh ip's sp in to g ive t he m an initia l velo city. There is
dep loyab le emergency netting at the back of t he bay, right in
fron t of large doors that lead to the rest of the ship . The hangar Ii
ad joins both the hu ll's Drone bay as well as a fully-equipped ma-
chine shop and exo-l imb repair faci lity.
II
... 6.4.3 Security Office
61
Located in the central sect ion of the vessel, j ust off the cargo
hangar, this room is the center of all security-re lated activities on
the ship . There are smaller security offices throughout the rest of
IJ
the hull, but this one is the security chief's home base . The ma -
rines aboard the Satrap get their assignments throug h the secu- r ">... .: :. :".i. ",-"",-:.~ -~-,; . . -r..~~.:-=-~.:=.__+ . ,:_
II
rity office, and the main armory and weapons storage lockers are "_ r
also lo cat ed here . II
The room is quite spacious, w ith seve ral doors which can all be
locked secure ly. One lead s t o the hangar and is quite larg e an-
othe r lead s out to a main corridor. A th ird door leads to a walk -in
st o rag e closet for body armor, and th e last door lead s t o the br ig.
Th ere are several worksta t ions in th e office for t he security d irec-
tor to do pa perwork on . On on e w all, a heavy securi t y pa nel cov -
ers the weapo ns lo cker, wh ich contains pist o ls, masers and shot-
guns as w ell as some ant i-boarding-party m ines and exp los ives.
Acc ess to th e locker is via ke ypad and b io-ID (a rand o m selection
of D NA , ret ina, fingerp rints or vo ice) ; we apo n carriag e ab oard
ship is extreme ly rest rict ive, and is usuall y limi ted to security crew
and, oc casio nally, senio r st aff . There are secu rity camera s o n t he
walls, linked t o reco rd ers t hat can on ly be accessed with sim ult a-
neo us ap p roval fro m the secur ity chief and captain. Th e rest of
the ro om is usable as bri ef ing o r st ag ing sp ace ; cargo inspect io ns
tak e p lace here, as do inte rro g at ion s. ,.. J
..;

0083
1 1. . : ' , ". .;
~ SATRAP TRANSPORT CARRIER

II ~ 5.5 SHIP PERSONNEL ~ 5.5.1 Intarvlew with an Aaethatlcs Offlcar

•.... The re are five dep art ments on the Satrap-class carrier. A lt hough
t he secu rity crew be long s to th e Eng ineering Department and
reports t o t he Chief Eng inee r, th ey often help t he Sup p ly O ff icer
and his Cargo Depa rt m ent. Flig ht O perat ions Depa rtm ent is lead
by the Flight Operations O fficer and co vers all combat EVA ac-
Name:
Rank:
Current Assignment:
Petra Hofstadt

CVNA Julius Chou

Tai-i

" First off, I'm a Corporate Liaison O ff icer.

Ii t ivit ies, includ ing Marine troop deployments.
'A est het ics O fficer' makes me soun d like
some kind of secret ary. My job is to mak e
II] Crew Organization Chart
II sure t hat all those p retty vid -membranes
on the ship 's hu ll g et used for wh at t he
Captain

II First Offic er ............................................................................................................ 1

ship 's own er wants, without causing se-
curity issues w it h t he ship 's m ilitary op-

•
Aesthetic s Specialist ................................................................ .................... 1
Morale Officer ........................................................................................................ 1 erat io ns. O n other ships, I've heard t his
EMESpe cialists ...................................................................................................... 4 can be a pro bl em, espe cially in combat
Helmsman /Navigator ..................................... ........................................................ 4 sit uat ions.
II Med ical Office r ....................................................................................................... 1
"On a Satrap, t houg h, t here's hardly ever a reaso n to t urn off th e
Ass t . Doctor ..... ............................................. .................................... ... ....... ...... ... .. 1

II Nurse s ............................... .................................. ......................................... 2

EMTs ............................................................................................................ 2
membranes. It lets people know exactly who we are and where
we're from , whi ch is just good ma rketi ng . I get requ ests for vid -
Weapons Officer .................................................................................................... 1 t ime and -sp ace from hom e b ase whenever the ship is capable of
Gunner ........ .............. ..................................................... ............................. . 4
receiving civilian tra nsm ission s, and I t hen sit d own and t urn t hose
Chief Engineer ....................................................................................................... 1
req uest s into coherent im age s and ad verti seme nt s for d ispl ay on
Master Engineer ... ...................................... ............ ....... .............................. 1
Eng ine er ...................................................................................................... 8 t he hu ll.
Elect ronics Specialist ............................................................... .................... 5
Comput er Specialists .................................................................................. 4
"I don't g et final say on when th e me mbra nes are on o r off, t hough,
Security Offi cer ..... ........... ............ ............................................. ............. ................ 1
which is reall y irrit at ing . I can spend days wo rking on a new visual
Security Specialist ................................................................................. ..... 19
schem e ta ilored fo r current events and synced t o a b road -b and
Flight Op eratio ns Officer ....................................................................................... ,
t ransmission , and the whole t hin g can be cancelle d if th e captai n
Deck Office r ........................................................................................................... 1
decides he want s to be pa ranoid and overcaut ious . Som et im es, I
Catapu lt Spe cialist s ..................................................................................... 7
O rdnance Specialists ....... .. ....... ..... ..................... ....... ..... ........................... .. 8 g uess, it's j ustifi ed , like t he t ime we had to g o hunt ing for a p irat e
Exo Engineers ................................. ..................... ............................ .......... 12
ExoJFighter Pilots ........................................................................................ 8 t hat had struck one of our convoys . If t hey' d seen us co ming , t hey
Mari nes ............................................ .......................................................... 20 wou ld have run fo r sure. As it wa s, w e caught t hem by surp rise
Supply Officer ...................•.................................................................................... 1 and wipe d them out. The captain g ave m e p erm issio n t o wel-
Supply Clerks ............................................ ................................................... 4
com e t he p ilots back with video firewo rks. Maybe he's not so para-
no id after all. "

0084
 "
SATRAP TRANSPORT CARRIER
5.5.2 Interview with e Cergo Officer
Name: Bernho Bouise
Rank: Sho-i
Current Assignment: CVNA von Borsody
" Because we 're b oth a w arship and a
carg o, I have a lot more d ut ies t han yo ur
average civil ian carg o officer. In ad di tion
to m aintaining t he flow of t raff ic in and
o ut of t he ho ld s and t he hangar, I also
have to keep up security p roto co ls and
perfor m d amag e co nt rol d ut ies. In emer-
'" ,) '00'
g encies, I even have t o take on t he ro le
of a de ck officer, if we end up tra nsport-
ing extra combat un its and have to use
the central cat ap ults as combat cat s.
" That's when th ing s ge t really hect ic. The cargo d ut ies don't go
away. They j ust have to be han d led with a b unch of exo -arm ors
stan d ing in the way. A nd if you t hink it 's easier t o move t he cargo
mod ules ou t of t he way with b ig exo s and micro -g ravity, wel l,
t here's a nice p lace I'd like t o sell yo u in th e Venusian low lands ...
" M o st of t he ti m e, t hough , th ere's not hing t o d o in t he hang ar,
and so I can sp end my shift in one of th e carg o b ays, doubl e-
ch ecking inventory o r inspecti ng t he conta iners. I need to know
at a g lance where any g iven ite m is in t he cargo b ays.
" Let 's say wa r breaks o ut , and we g et assig ned to act as a f leet
t end er. A s ships mat ch ve ct ors w it h us, we' ll need t o get t hem
fixed up and b ack out int o t he field as so on as po ssib le. If I d on' t
rem emb er what I've got and wh ere I've got it , I co uld end up wit h
a comp let e back log, and a lot of de ad Venusians. I know, it's no t
an im portant job unless there's a war, b ut t hen ag ain, in a war,
every one on t his ship sud d enly becomes ve ry im portant ."
0085
" 5.5.3 Interview with e Deck Officer
••
.....
Name: Christiane Muller
Rank: Sho-i 11
Current Assignment: CVNA Julius Chou
"The Satrap 's hanga rs are huge , co nsid -
er ing t hat we usually on ly tran sp ort fou r Ii
exos or f ig ht ers p er bay. When t hey' re
all snug in t he ir crad les, th ere's a hug e
empty sp ace right in t he m id dl e, where
II
t he cat apu lt dollies are lo cked back .
Wh en we 're do ing scram b le launches,
II
•.
we can move t wo vehicle s out int o t he
central area and ge t th em pr ep p ed on
t he cat apu lt while th e hanga r d o ors are
sti ll closed . That me ans t hat when t he
hanga r d o es get opened t o space, we've got two un its already
hot and ready to go. That's assuming , of co urse, t hat we've de - II
spi nned t he gravity wheel. If we haven't, and there's st ill g ravity in
th e b ay, t hen we just open up t he bay in th e m id d le of the centr al
area and drop t he unit right o ut , letting centrifugal force d o all
th e work .
" Recove ry's a bit t rickie r. Unlike a launch situation, a recovery re-
quires th e ship to be at a standstill, bot h in terms of maneuvering
I and t he gravity whe el. We p refer t o recover un it s t hroug h the
main d oors, b ecause it allows t he grea test marg in for erro r. We
can set up safety net s in t he hang ar, and we can even set up
catch-cab les on t he cat ap ult s for use in d ece lerat ing incomi ng
units. Unfortuna t ely, it's oft en mor e secure fo r t he ship's sake t o
reco ver exo s t hrough th e small cargo hatc h, since t he carg o hat ch
doesn't req uire sp litting t he hu ll in two . In tha t case, the incoming
has t o m at ch vect or s and g et reeled in. If someth ing goes wro ng,
w e'll de finit ely feel it ."
~ ~

~
Section:

Main Dsta :
ex Main Hull wlo Bridge

1V 27000 I 00. W 39000 I DoI.lV 5600 I Misc . TV: 38000 I Cost: 4 0.5M I Indv.lemon Dice :2
I Crew: 32 I Actions: 7 I Sensors: ·212km Comm: ·2/ 10 km I Fir-e Control: +1 I Typo' Lim.Pro d
I Hull Size: 40 I De fault Size : - I ,"mo< . 75 I Ught, 7S I He a vy: 150 I Overkill: 22 5

B ~ Movement: Cata:

•..
I !!I ~

~
S atrap Transpo r t Carriar

Ovurall Duta :
I
~
Mod"

N. me
Backup Syst ems
Ca rgo Bay
zx Catapult
Towed

P erka & Flaws :

I Combat :

Rat ing
I To p·

Gam e Effect

100 ,000 m 3
(bOO/mass) m/ s2
I Range : 2,000 hrs

Nom.
PassliHlger Acc om
Re inforc ed Crew
ax Tool Arm
I ReMass:

Ra ting

3
20
- I

Gam e Effect
1,000rn3

Cannot Punch
DiHicun to Modify All
I Thre at Value :193700 1 Off . TV: - I Del . W - I Mi5C.lV: - I Cost : 279 M I Ind v.temon Dice 3

II ~ Movemen t Data:
Ejection Syste ms
HEP: Rae! 4
Pod s for 40 People

I Mode, Space I Comb at :4 MP (0 .4 g}1 Top : 8 M P (0.8 g ) I M aneuver : -4 I Rang e : 2000 nr' Re Mas5: 4000 BPs HEP : Vac

II 'f Suctions,
I 1)1( Cent ral Hull 24, Pre ssurize d Cargo Module ~
Life Support

Offsnslve and Dafanslvs Systs",s:

Full

I" M ain Hull w/Bd dg e

12' Mai n Hull w/ a Bri dg e I ,x Habitat Ring I aty Na me ,", DM 8R A" ROF Ammo Special M5 WC AC

01 I I I 3
1
CMM
Missile Bay
T
T
, 18
,30
2
5
-1
-2
+4
+5
640.
40
Conc .Unst.I, HEAT, Misslkl
Cone.(lnst.), HEAT, Miss"
9
8
3106
2644
2.7
2.3

.
'f Off & Duf Syete",s

11 I"
I
Point Def ense System I
I
91l CMM I
I
3x Missile S"y

I I I

•
~ Saction: Main Hull wlBridge ~ Section: Habitat Ring

'f Main Data: 'f M ain O ats:

W 33000 I 00. W 47000 I Dol . TV S600 Misc. TV: 46000 I Co st : 52 .8M I Indv lemon D;eo , 2 I TV 8700 I 00 1V o I Del . W 1600 MiK .TV: 25000 I Cost : 87M Indv.Jemon Dtce: 2
Crew ' 32 I Actions: 7 I Sen sors : -2/lkm Comm: -2110 km I Fir. Control : +1 I Type ' Lm.Prcd I Crew : 8 I Actions: 5 I Sensors : ·2 /2 km Comm : ·2110 km I Fire Control: o I Typo , Lim.Prod
Hull Size: 40 I Def ault Size : 32 I Armor: 7S Light : 7S I He avy : 1SO I Overk ill: 225 I Hull Size : 20 Def ault Size : 20 Armor: 40 Light : 40 I Heavy : 80 I O verkill : 120

~ Mov o",on t D atu, ~ Movs",ont Oats :

M~: Towed I Comb at : I Top' Range: 2,000 hrsR.~s9: I I Mod" Towed I Combat: - I Top, Range : 2,000 nrs I ReMass ' - I
~ Perks & Flaws, ~ Psrks & Flaws:
Narre Rating Game Effect Name Rating GameEffea: N.ma Rat ing Gam e Effect Name Rat ing Gam e eff ect
Autopilo t Lvi 1 Pilo t HE? : Vac Backup Systems Sick Bay 6 Six pati ents
Back u p Syst em s li fe Sup port Full Difficult to Modify All
Cargo Bay 90 ,000 m3 Pass en g er Acco m 1,000m3 Ejection Systems Pod s for 60 People
2 x Catapult (600/mas s) m/s2 Re info rce d Cre w 3 HEP : Ra d 4
Computer 3 CRE 0 KNO 0 PP3 a x Tool Arm 20 Ca nnot Punc h HEP; Vae
Diffic ult t o Modify All Life Su pport FuJI
Eject ion Syst em s Pod s fo r 40 People Pas senger Accom 6,000m3
HEP: Rad 4 Re inforc ed Cre w 3

'f Offenslvs and D ufunslve Syste",s, ~ Offsnslvo snd Dsfunslvs Systs",s:

aty Nom. ,", DM BR A" ROF Ammo Speci al M5 WC AC aty Nome ,", DM 8R A" RO F Ammo Special M5 WC AC
1 POS (ran ged) T , 10 1 +1 +6 lnf . AM, Cone . (In$t.), HEAT 16 1424 nJ.
POS (sh ield) FF ><25 Me l4H +1 +4 lnf. Cone. (lnst.),De f,E-Shkl.,H. 16 2372 nJ.
3 C MM T x18 2 -1 +4 640. Cone. (Inst.), HEAT, Miuilq 9 31 06 2 .7
1 Missile Ba y T x30 5 -2 +5 40 Cone. (l"nst.), HEAT, Missile 8 2644 2 .3

00 86
~

~
rv .
v_
Section: Centrel Hull

Meln Oet;e:

Hull Size :
'4000
16
14

Movement; Det;e :
I
I
I
Off TV,
Actions
o.f.uh Size'
o I
6 I
. I
D.IlY 6400
SensOf"s: +0/2 km
Armor: 75
Mise . TV:

Comm:
Ught
37000
0115 km
75
I
I
I
Cost : 19.8M
Fire Con tr ol:
He avy: 150
I
o I
I
1I"Idv.l emon Dice :
Typo
Overkill:
Lim .Prod
225
~

~
W
Cre w:
Section: •

Mein Det;e:

Hu ll Size :

Mode:
- I oarv
- I Act ions:
- I
Movement Data:
I
De fault Size :

Com bat ,
· I
I
I

· I
Del W
5e nloors:
Base Armor :

Top,
· I

· I

· I
Mise. TV:
Co mm. :
Light ,

Maneuver'
· I
I
· I

· I
Co st :
Fire Con trol :
He avy -

Rang e :
- I
- I
· I

- I
Inctv lemon d lC. : •
Typo '
Overkill :

Re.Mass :
•
R
Mod . Space I CombIIt :S8 MP(S,8gll To p:l 11 MP (1' .7 9 ) Ma neuv .,. : -4 I Range: 2.000 hrs I R.M .: 15,000 BPs

~
N._
Perk. & Flew.:
Rat Ing G a me Eff ~ Namo Rating Gam e Eff ect
~
NJim.
Perks & Flew. :
Ratin g GarM Effect N."", R. t ing GameEff.et 11
Backu p Syst ems lab s.curity 1
'ill'"
2x Cat apuh (4SO/manl mlsl Ui. Support Full ."II!.
Cargo Bay 25,000 m3 Reinforced CIWW 3
Dffficultto Modff y A"
Eject ion System
HEP: Rae!
HEP: Vac
4
Pod s for 30 P.-op'-
•
~
High Towing Capacit y.

Offenelve e n d Defensive Syst;eme :

Daub "
~
Qt y
Dffenelve end D efe n s i v e S y ete m e :
Nam e A" OM BR ACC ROF Amm o Sp ecia l MS WC AC
II
Cty N. "", A" DM BR A" ROF Ammo Speci al MS WC AC

II

~ Section : 24x Pressurized Cergo Module ~ Section: •

•
II
~
I TV,
Meln Det;e:
3500 I Off. TV, o I Del. rv 400 Mise . TV: 10000 I Cost : 1.6M I ''''''.IomonDko,3
~

I W
Meln Dete:
- I oa.rv · I DeI.W · I MiK .TV : · I Cos t : · I Ind v lemon dice ;·
II
I C...., o I Actions: o I Sensors : NtA Comm : NJA I Fire Control' ·5 I Typo' MassProd I Crew: - I Actions: · I Sensors; I Comm.: I Fire Control : - I Typo '
I Hull Size: 16 I Def ault Size : 15 NrTlOf: 20 light: 20 I Heavy: 40 I Owrkill: 60 I Hull Size : Oefauh Size ' - I Bn.Armor: · I Ligh., I Heavy : · I o-kl ' ·

~ Movement; Dat;e : ~ Movement; Det;e :

I Mod. Towed I Combat : - I Top· Rang e : 5,000 hn I ReMan : . I I Mod., . I Combat: · I Top ' Maneuver : - I Rang . : R•. Mass :

~ Perks & Flaws: ~ Perks & Flews:

Name Rating Game Effect Namo RJlting GameEHect N.... RJlting G~eEffK1 Nam e Rating Game Effect
Cargo Bay 6,000 m3
HEP: Rad 3
HEP: Vae
lif e Support Full
No Sen sOfs
No Communication

~ Offensive end Defensive Syet;ems : ~ Offensive end Defensive Syst;ems:

Nomo BR ROF Ammo MS WC AC Qty N. me DM BR ACC ROF Ammo Special MS WC AC
Cty
"" OM
"" Special lVe

0087
~ - ---
• ~ PART IV: RISING STAR
•.... O n the ha pt ic d isplay insta ll ed in his
com ma nd chair, Tag ga rt fe lt Katayama
shaking his head in am use me nt. "This
is ho w t he fat e s wo rk, 1 s uppose ,"
•
Kat ayama was saying . Tagga rt nodded
in agreement. He had not been nea rly
so chee rful when he fo und t ha t he
wou ld be long gon e from Venus by th e
II t ime Katayama's ship arrived.
" It sounds like t hey really want you to
earn all t hat back pay you 've accu mu-
(I lated, " Kataya ma quipped . "I hope
four wee ks of medi ca l le ave was suffi-
cient rest time fo r you ."
II
Tagga rt wishe d he co uld te ll Katayama
II about his new assign ment. Practica lly
the moment he 'd been give n his medi-
ca l rele ase, he had rece ived o rde rs to
act as an inte ll ige nce advisor ab oard a prototyp e ship d ub bed
the Huang-Ti class . The who le project was a complete secret; it
seeme d that the CVNA was sat isfied with Tagg a rt's ab ility to keep
his mo uth shut. The ship's mission le ngth was indeter minate , and
he wo uld be ou t of contact fo r th e duratio n. Tag gart hoped t hat
Kataya ma woul d not view his silence as an insult .
" I know you may be unable to contact me ," the transmission
went o n, as if read ing his tho ug hts, "but don 't worry. At thi s
point, th ere 's a ll the time in the unive rse fo r us to me et. I'm ve ry
patient."
The tra nsmission e nd ed , and Taggart shut the dis play down.
You and me bo th, Mischa-san, he tho ug ht. A few mo re months
won 't matter.
I ---- --- -
* * *
It 's taken two long ye ars, Tagga rt th ought triumphantly, but it's
worth it.
All a round him, he could hear his an alysts qu iet ly passi ng info r-
mation between one anothe r, fill ing the Hua ng-Ti's analysis room
I with a low hum. Running his hand s over his co mman d chair's ha lf-
dozen haptic d isplays, Taggart felt t he cle ar image of a Ham mer-
I he ad-class dread noug ht drifting along se re ne ly less t han te n ki-
lom ete rs away. The exo-armo rs were in pos ition, and the bridg e
was wa iting fo r his sign al to beg in.
The Hua ng-Ti had pe rformed beautifully fo r e ig hte e n months,
hid ing o ut all ove r the so lar syste m, using its act ive ste alth sys-
te ms to e lude a ll man ner of d ete ct ion . The y had gathe red vast
am ou nts of da ta th at wou ld be used to finish the sp ecs for the
production mod el of the stealthed observation ship. It hadn 't taken
much effort to pe rsuad e t he captain to let the sh ip's missio n end
o n a hig h note, especia lly once he explained the natu re of the ir
targ et. They'd sp e nt a few months spying and gath er ing data ,
I and anothe r few weeks picking out ve cto rs and gett ing in posi -
t io n. Now, it was all about to payoff.
Tag g art gestured toward one of his ana lysts , a nd imme diate ly,
the dire ct ives began flowing throug h the ship. Reports began to
p o p up in rap id- fire succession under Tagga rt's fingers. The
Hamm e rhe ad's comms were be ing jammed , its se nsor s blinded ,
an d its inte rnal me ssaging syst em ove rridden by the Huan g-Ti's
electronics suite . After a mo men t, a fami liar face a p peared o n
Tag gart 's d isplay, acco mpanie d by so und s of confusion and te r-
ror.
; " He llo ag ain, Nakama," Tagg art pu rre d . "Miss me?"
Tag gart fe lt Nakama's eyes widen , and he smiled .
"Tag ga rt?" th e trait or breathed . "Where-"
0088
 SATRAP TRANSPORT
--- - - CARRIER
I
" Right here, yo u bast ard ," Taggart grow led . A rou nd him , the ana-
lysts let out an appreciative cheer.
Precisely on ti me, Tag g art heard t he Huang-Ti's main batteries
open fire, and on his d ispla y, felt t he Hammerhead's pr ima ry d rive
chamber vanish in a clo ud of vap or.
"Tag ga rt, wait ," Nakama be g an, his eyes fli cking back and fo rth.
" I can make a deal. I can mak e you rich ."
Taggart had to laugh . Na kama's g all , espe cially in t he face of to-
ta l d efeat , was unbelievabl e.
" An eye fo r an eye, Nakama ," Taggart declared . " It 's t hat simp le. "
O n one of his displ ays, Tag gart felt two STRI KE exo -arm or s exit-
ing the Ham merhead, only t o seem ingly self-d est ruct wh ile still
on th eir launch rail s. Tag g art 's sm ile g rew w id er. Behin d Na kama,
mo re alarms were bl aring , and o n anot her hapt ic ta ct ical di s-
pla y, Tagg art co uld feel t he shap es of two Korikaze exo-armo rs
t hat had see m ing ly ap pea red out of nowh ere, rig ht next to t he
Hamm erhea d . Nakama op ened his mo uth aga in, b ut no sound
cam e out. The di spl ay coul d n't show it , b ut Tag gart knew t hat
Nakama was, for the first t im e he'd ever known, sweat ing . Sweat-
ing , and afraid.
"N o need for int errog at ion th is t ime, Nakama," Tag ga rt wound
up, savori ng th e momen t . "H ere are t he research projects you
want ed to know so much about . Take a good lo ok. O h," he ad d ed ,
" and just so I d on 't seem im p olit e t his t ime," he paused to wave
at t he viewscreen, " g oo d bye , Na kama."
Nakama di dn't g et a chance to rep ly, b ut Tag g art really wasn't
interest ed in anyt hing he had to say, anyway.
* * *
W hen t he Leo n Marten showe d up to esco rt th e Huang -Ti on the
final leg back home, Tag g art coul dn't help b ut be imp ressed .
0089
-~-
•
A nt onova 's ship had undergone a comp lete refit , and was no w
sleek, smoot h and d eadl y, a sign of it s capt ain's ascend ant rep u-
•
tat ion .
Wh en Yvette called over, asking to sp eak to Taggart, he was al-
•
ready wa it ing .
...... .
,
" Hello, A ntonova -kanjo," he said cheerfully. " Did you get the
p ackage I sent?" Yvette laughed , shaking her head . •
" It arrived five mo nth s aft er yo u st arte d your assignment ," she
said between chuckles. " I d on't know what to say. VenusBank execs
have t roub le afford ing some of t hat st uff ." Tag g art shrugged .
" It's my mo ney," he said , serious. " I' ll do wha t I want wit h it , and
I wa nted, in som e minuscule way, to t hank yo u fo r yo ur help ."
"You' re more t han we lcome," Yvette acknowl edged , bowing her
head very low.
" A nyway," Taggart said , sud de nly smiling again, "I ' ll make it all •
b ack aft er I get ho me. Aft er all, t his ship just elim inat ed a tr ait o r
and seized a CEGA warship, without a singl e scratch . We' ll all get
com men d at ion s, pro bab ly p romot ion s, t o o. It's a great ship, and
a g reat crew. I'm almos t sorry to leave."
"What about you r next assignment? " Yvette asked , a hint of her
old hero-wor ship show ing through .
" A b solut ely nothing ," Tag gart anno unced happily. " It's been two
years since I've set foot outside t his very exp ensive and very com -
fortab le t ub , and I'v e got som e major leave com ing to me . I thi nk
it 's about ti me I we nt and fi nally met som eb od y."
An tonova's face sud de nly hard ened .
" If you 're talking abo ut who I th ink you're talking abo ut ," she said,
" I'm afraid you' re not goi ng to like what I'm go ing to tell you."
•
11
TSAR HEAVY CRUISER

Notable Ships

•.-. Na me:

Launche d:
Stat us:
CVNA Ga lim Meshenak
December 12, 2207 ; re-launched Se ptember 28,221 3
Mart ian Pat rol

The Galim Meshenak is, to d at e, the only Tsar class ship to have made use of its
orbital bombardme nt capabilities. In a Republic-Federatio n borde r skirmish, sev-
Ii er al t ouring Venus ian vehicles were caug ht in t he crossfire . Whe n th e orbiting
Meshenak was alerte d to t he situ at ion, its crew de livered a precise pattern of warn-

•
II
ing shots in less tha n th ree minutes, halting both forces in their tracks and allowing
t he Venusian cit ize ns to move t o safe g round . Once t he Venusians we re safe, t he
skirmish was allowed to proceed uninterrupted .

Na me: CVNA Dexter Siobot nik

•
Launched: J anuary 2, 221 3
Status: H ome D efense

II The Dexter Siobotnik is th e first non-refit Tsar-class ship to be completed . As such,

it has experienced a number of minor bugs and quir ks not present in t he Tsars t hat

•
are conversions, a result of supposedly updat ed manuf acturing and assembly tech-
niq ues. Untilt he Siobotnik is running at acceptab le leve ls, it is being kept close t o
Venus for testing and troubleshooting. Re sults of th e tests are expected to smooth
t rials for lat er Tsars. The ship's status is quite pleasing to its namesake, who is
using th e opportunity to broadly advertise his financial manageme nt firm.

Na me: CVNA Mat hilde Antonescu

Launched : N/A
Stat us: Commissioned

Expect ed to be the last Tsar-class ship to be built for some t ime, the Antonescu is
name d aft er a young girl who, in lat e 22 13, led he r t hree yo unger siblings o ut of
t he Chile an wilderness after a plane crash. Anto nescu kept he r charges safe , fen d-
ing off wildlife, pro curing food and exh ibit ing supe rhuman determination and in-
te lligen ce. The facts that Anto nescu's flight was bot h unlist ed and unautho rized ,
and th at no names of any of t he cras h's victims have been released, have be en
large ly ove rloo ked .

009 0
 '[600

•
II
II

..

•
II

•
 R HEAVY CRUISER

~ 6.1 OVERVIEW

.-.
Unt il recent ly, Venu sian wa rships we re loyal o nly to their ho me
co rp o rat ion, operating wi t ho ut any know ledge of t he activities of
ot her Ven usian nava l ships that m ight be in t he area. W it h th e
fo rm at io n of t he CVNA, however, the variou s g ro ups of Venus-
b uilt warships were gath ered t og et her and united into a singl e
Ii fo rce . The Cooperative Venusia n Naval Admi nist rat ion is funded
b y all th e maj o r Venusian corporati ons, and makes up 99% of

II Venus' wa rship fl eet. The only wars hips no t und er CVNA co ntrol
are t he pri vat e t ransp o rt s of co rpo rate head s, and even these are
req uired t o be und er close observation .
II

•
Since 2200 , th e larg est wa rships in servi ce wi t h t he Venusian cor-
p o rat ions were t he Gao-Tzu-c1 ass cruise rs. The nine known ships
of thi s class served as co rp o rate fl ag ships and co mm and ce nt ers,

II b ut were in t rut h q uit e unrem arkab le in comparison t o most Jo-

via n or CEGA wars hips of t he t ime . With th e fo rmat io n of th e
CVNA , all th e co rp o rat io ns t urn ed ove r th eir Gao-Tzu-class shi ps
(along w it h t he rest of t heir p rivat e navies) and im p lement ed a
jo int p roj ect to t horoug hly upg rade th e vesse ls using th e m assive
t echnolog ical st rid es Venus had ma de ove r t he past decade.

O ne group of engineers, upon hearing t hat th e CVNA would likely

be in ne ed of vessels capa b le of perfo rm ing or bi t al bo m bard-
me nt duties, po inted outthat th e Gao-Tzu was an excell ent cho ice
fo r such a ship . App rov al to p rocee d fo llowed q uickly o n the heels
of an exte nsive com p uter-p rot ot yp ing t est , and o n June 20,22 13,
the first of a new class of warship s left t he Cart hag e o rb it al ship -
yards fo r a shaked ow n cru ise .

The new class, des ig nat ed Tsar, rep laces o ne of t he Gao-Tzu's

t hree id en t ical hulls w it h a lo ng er, narro wer co nstruct of identical
ma ss. W here as t he rema ining twin hu lls co nt ain vehicle hangars ,
lasers and m issile bays, t he new hull's int e rnal space is almost
co m plet ely taken up by t hree m assive railgu ns and th ei r asso ci-
at ed t arg et ing eq uip ment . The enti re ship's o uter ap pe arance has
also been sub t ly alt ered to mo re resem ble Venusian civilian ships.

0092
 TSAR HEAVY CRUISER
... 6 .1 .1 Capabilities
The Tsar was co nceived by eng inee rs from the Wa ldsen-Nishiyama
corpo rat ion in 22 13, amid con cerns t hat Venus ' military role in
t he So lar System m ight eventuall y require o rb it al bombard ment
of selected ene my asset s. Realizing t hat most weapons t hat ex-
celled in space combat had , at best, medioc re pe rforman ce when
fired through an atmosphe re, t he CVNA felt it had little choice
but to create a warsh ip spec ially armed fo r p lanetary bombard-
ment. Using techno logy acquired f rom the Jovians and CEGA,
W-NTC subm itted an extensive modificat ion p ackag e fo rthe ou t -
dated Gao -Tzu- c1a ss cruisers.
The Tsar's t hree heavy railg un s are cap ab le of stri king a five-me t er-
d iamete r t arg et zone fro m o rbit wit h met al slugs of varying size.
Col latera l damage can t hus deva stat e a sq uare kilom eter, or be
limit ed t o th e point t hat bystanders with in a few me ters of ground
zero are pr actic ally unaff ect ed. The railg uns are also very effec-
tiv e in space , des p ite t heir high po wer req uirem ent s and poo r
firing arcs. Alth o ug h th e Tsar carries an ab und ance of am muni-
t ion for t he railg uns, th e wea p on s t hemselves have a limited nu m-
be r of uses; aft er several d ozen f irings, t he we ap ons t end to lose
both accuracy and reliab ilit y. Unlike the massive massd rivers used
on the surface of Earth's Moon, the Tsar's railguns d o not have t he
abi lity to co rrect th eir align men t . The heavy and b ulky eq uipm ent
req uired for such calib rat io ns are found only at major space docks;
t he need for conti nued secrecy furt her restri cts the possible loca-
tions fo r th is equ ipm ent to a handfu l of stat ions in Venu s' o rb it .
The Tsar's t wo rem ainin g ma in hu lls con t ain it s remaining arma -
me nt . Each one mounts a pair of powerful and accurate laser bat-
t eries mo unte d in ret ractab le t urret s, an assort m ent of mis sile
launche rs, and t wo vehicle bays . Th e vehicle bays are ext rem ely
cramped , b ut do have suffi cient spa ce to allow exo-su its and work
p od s t o move in and o ut t hrough t he hang ar doors even whe n
exo-ar mor s or fig ht ers are und er rep air. Stor age space is at a pre-
m ium ab oard t he Tsar; since th e vessel kee ps wit h t he Venu sian
hab it of maximizing crew co mfo rt at t he p rice of taki ng space
0093
•
away from ship syst ems, t here is barely enou gh room fo r t he ship's
stand ard ma rine compleme nt and EVA crew, m eaning that no extra
•
•-
exo -arm ors or fi g ht ers can be squeezed into the bays .
Crew qu arte rs are sp read o ut over all three hull s, and are qu it e
co mforta b le by w arship stand ards. Large nu mbers of robots and
aut om ated systems red uce th e necessary crew size, allowi ng fo r
a larg er living space for each human crewmember. The main b ridge
can be locat ed in either of th e main hu lls; t he railg un hull con-
tai ns a co nt ro l cent er used specifica lly for t arg et ing th e railguns.
Th e hull co nta ining th e b rid ge is referred to as th e co mm and
hu ll, while t he other main hull has ext ra recre at ion al and storag e
facili t ies and is refer red t o as t he habi t at hull.
.
II
II
Sever al Gao -Tzu-c1ass ships rem ain in service. These have been
up g rad ed wit h new t echno logy and the now-typical Venusian ci-
vilian camo uf lage, and wi ll continu e to fi ll t he role of med ium
ships-of-the -line in t he CVNA. The up g rad ed Gao -Tzu class ships
•.
have, inste ad of th e railg un hull, a t hird ma in hull, g iving them
increased vehicle cap acity and con vent iona l f ire powe r. II
... 6 .1.2 Operational Role
A lt houg h th e Tsar's p rim ary purpo se is t o p roje ct Ven usian mili-
t ary p ower on a p lanet wit ho ut requiri ng th e ne ed for g ro und
d ep loyment, th e actual im p lem ent at ion of th is rol e is somewhat
problematical. Plane tary orbits are usually quite crowded , mak-
ing it d ifficu lt for an art illery vessel to open fi re wit hou t b eing
noti ced . Given that one of t he CVN A's major adva ntages is t he
fact th at it s exi stence is unknown t o the ot he r so lar nati ons, t he
use of Tsars for th e duty at which t hey excel m ost m ust necessar-
ily be kept to an ab solute min im um. This has led t o crit icisms th at
the Tsar is a very expensive t oy th at cannot be p layed wit h, m ak-
in g it no be tter th an the ship from whic h it was m odified .
Only four Tsar-class ships were approved for co nst ructi on; t hree
of thes e are now in servi ce. CVNA analyst s p redict t hat t he re
should be littl e need for mo re such vesse ls.
•
II
TSAR HEAVY CRUISER

~ 6.2 SHIP SCHE

•-
.,.
o Side Vie w

1q} \ ~

II
II
II _~l-~

11
II

• 4)

3)
I

I
I = I

IOm : i i I i I i
25 50 100 150 200 250 300

~ Legend

1 Forw ard Weapons Bay 11 Railg un Target ing System 21 Forw ard RCS Cluste r
2 Hangar Bay Doo r 12 Railg un Bay 22 Comm Antennae (ret racted)
3 Rear Hull Vid-Membrane 13 Fake Acc ess Bay
4 Doc king Hard point 14 Short Range Sensor s
5 Drive Fin 15 Eng inee ring Ai rlock
6 Drive Fin Mount 16 Sensor Cluster
7 Eng ine Mo unt 17 Maintenance Bot Exit Port
8 Drive Sect ion Attachment Ring 18 Inst rument Clust er (extended)
9 Hull Supp ort Brace 19 Lidar/Rangef inder Emitter
10 Emergency Elevat or Acc ess 20 Op tical Sensors

009 4
 TSAR HEAVY CRUISER

6.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS [CONT.] ....

•
II
Yb hro'0~lol ?~('--------"'( 4
3)

Specifications
Front View

T
()

•.-.
Name:
Origin:
Manufacturer:
Type :
Control System:
Cooperat ive Venusian Nav al Adm inistrat ion

_
Various Venusian Shipyard s
Tsar

Heavy Cruiser
Brid ge w!a strohom ical di splay
•
II
Leng th:
Width :
270 m overa ll
230 m ove rall
II
Empty Weight:
Loaded Weight:
3,580 Tons
5,800 Tons
II
Main Drive: 2x43MW
Secondary Powerplant: z x sooo KW II
Main Thrusters: 2 x 29,000,000 kg
Apogee Motors: 75 II
Acceleration: 1.0 g
On board Sensors: Fire Cont ro l Radar, Infrared!
Ult raviolet , Lidar, Low-light ,
Magnetometer, M icrowave s,
Motion Detectors,
IOm 25
1
50
I
100
!
150 210 Radcounte r, Search Radar,
Telescope
Fixed Armament: PDS, 4x Laser Array, Rail Gun, 6x
T Legend
T CMM, 2x Missile Bay
1 Sensor Cluster Additional Armament: Carried Vessels
2 Docking Sensor
Defensive Systems : Mag Screen
3 Auxiliary Antenna Array (ret ract ed)
4 Railgun Target ing System Equ ipment: Escape Pods, Laboratory, Vehicle Bay

I
I
J

0095
• I
TSAR

~ 6.2 SHIP S C H . ~ ----

A\ --~I~
--_. --

(J Tap View
I t
'"":""'" 1

"1"--' - -!"- ...

2
!
• t· _.+. ..• ......
~

·1 .. ,
.+ ... "~_..

i
!
i
!.
1
, (V i ..-.;
II r "I II. '===! .'\ ' t

Om 25 ,250 300

1 Drive Fin S Railgun Housing' 9 Comm Antej,-na'(E,ctE!nded)

2 Drive Housing .6 Drive Fin-1-,--Mo unt .+- 10
., Forw~r~_~e~pons ~y
:3 g
Railgun:Target iri System , 1'7
. "-1" "
Engine Section
"-,,--,,,

11 Engineering Airlock
4 Railgun Cover Hinges -" 8 Hull Support St rut 12 Hangar Bay Door

0096
 TSAR HEAVY CRUISER
..... ... .... ...... .. ....... ... .r
I 6.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS (CONT.) ~
•B
Cutaway View ()

•-...
Ii
T Legend
T II
1 Laser Turret (retr acte d)
2
3
Missile Bay
Missile Storage II
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Bridge
Hangar
Equipment/Exo-Suit Bay
Stor age Bay
Heat Exchangers
Superconducting Batteries
Crew Quarters
•
II
11
12
Plasma Combustion Chambers
Reaction Mass Tanks II
13 Backup Capacitors
14 Gas Storage
15 Elevator Shaft
16 Target ing Center
17 Storage Bay
18 Storage Heat Exchangers
19 Supe rconducti ng Batteries
20 Crew Quarte rs
21 Railgun Radi ator Fins (ret ract ed)
22 Railg un Barrels
23 Acce lerat or Column
24 Railg un Moun t
25 Railg un Capacitors
26 Bulk Storage
27 Sensor Pod Access Tunnel
28 Sensor Mon it or ing Room
29Primary Optical Sensor Cluste r (ret. )
30 Engin e Monitoring Room

0097
•
II
TSAR HEAVY CRUISER
~ 6.3 HISTORY
•.-. The Tsar is a recent d evelo p m ent of on e of th e olde r Venusian
space craft d esig ns, t he Ga o-Tzu de fen se cruiser. The or ig inal ves-
sel used a lot of secondha nd t echno log y b ecaus e the Venusians
had, at t he t im e, neither t he desi re nor ab ility to build a stat e-of-
t he- art naval fo rce. The Gao-Tzu was used as a lo cal pa trol vesse l,
II
II
. performing d uties th at were gradually taken over by t he Imp erator-
class ships . How ever, since the new ships made use of t he new
Venus ian doct rine of disguising warships, t he Ga o-Tzu rem ained
(and stil l rem ains to this day) the pr imary face of the Venusian
navy to the rest of the so lar system .
Each of the ship 's t hree hulls housed a large veh icle bay in t heir
.
IJ fo rward half fo r shuttles and fig hters; norma lly, t he Gao-Tzu could
support four fi gh t ers as we ll as a transport shuttle in each bay .
The full complement of twelve fighters was impressive fo r any
warshi p of the per iod , but the lacklust er qua lity of the p revious
generation of Venus ian fighters redu ced the potential th reat posed
II by the dozen-strong squad ron .
Th e Gao-Tzu used an ag ing m ilitary sensor cluste r t hat function ed
po orly at long rang es. Th e clus ter's computer ban ks oft en had
trouble processing t he enormous amou nt of data com ing from
th e ship'S large hull senso ry elem ents, and th is degraded perfor-
m an ce as larg e r and larg er vo lu mes of space need ed to be
scanned and ana lyzed . In t he f ie ld , t he Gao-Tzu often ended up
relying o n sma ller scou t ships like t he Ch iefta in to sp ot en emy
movements and provide it with st rat eg ic info rma t ion .
In 2210, the Boa rd gave the go-ahead to an upgrade program
that wo uld recycle t he agi ng Gao- Tzu into a mo re ag g ressive class
of ship . The Tsar proje ct includ ed a co m p rehensive refit of all t he
G ao-Tzus, duri ng w hic h m o st of th e ir m ission -criti cal syste m s
would b e exchang ed for mo re modern and better-p erfo rm ing
mod el s. The o ld senso r array was rep laced w it h a new, m ore co m-
pact system wi t h top -of-th e- line capabilities, th e weapo ns b ays
were moved fo rward and t he fro nt of each hull was slim med d ow n.
00 98
The sp ace left behind b y t he d isp lacem ent of t he missile b ay was
used for a new, smaller hang ar de sig ned to suppo rt exo -ar mors
rat her t han fig hters. Au tom ati on allow ed fo r a smaller crew, in-
creasing th e size of crew q uart ers without req uiring more roo m .
The main differen ce betw een the new Tsar class and the o lde r
Gao-Tzu wou ld come from an une xpected p lace, however. In 22 11,
ag ents working fo r Venusian Aerospace Corp 01AC) m anage d to
covertly acqu ire advanced railgun t ech no log y from b ot h CEGA
and Jovian sources . VAC the n offered t he "new" technology as
part of its contributio n to the project, sign ificantly im p roving its
position on t he Boa rd of directors and indi rect ly p lacin g it on a
seq uence of event s that wou ld increase it s power even more in
mi d-22 12.
The data subm itted by VAC was used to d esig n a new, large railgun
mode l known on ly as t he Type 21 . This weapon and it s support
equipment was too larg e to inco rpo rat e in the centra l hul l, but
also proved impossible to effectively miniaturize. In t he end, most
of o ne of t he Tsar's three hu lls was nearly emptied of all its eq uip-
ment to ma ke room fo r t he gun, whose barrel still j utted out of
the fro nt of th e hull . In keep ing with Venus ian shipbuild ing policy,
t he weap on was concea led with in a retractable hou sing. The shape
of the railgu n hu ll wa s alte red t o b e sim ilar to t hat of th e new
"pius-size" cargo pods being used on som e Venusi an frei g ht er s,
t hus keeping up t he illusion of inn oc en ce. Desp it e t he ir d ispa rate
ap pea rances , all three hulls w ere carefull y d esign ed to be ba l-
ance d w it h one another, allowing th e ship t o be sp un aro und its
axis t o create a gravity gra dient.
To ma intain appearances, many of t he o lder Gao -Tzus are still in
service, and some have eve n bee n cosm eti cally ba ck-eng ineered
to lo o k like th ey used to (with fake gun t urret s and othe r equ ip-
ment). The rest have been " scrap p ed" and re-Iaunched as " new"
ships wi t h new reg istr ies. Seve ral of t hese st ill m ake use of o ld
t echno logy, and are t hus safe fo r visit o rs and fo reig n offi cials to
b oard and inspect.
 TSAR HEAVY CRUISER

~
•
11

..
sel. 2206·221 1 f)
II
IOm IftI
25

B
m

•.
II
" Legend
~

1 Third Primary Hull

2 Civilian-grad e Sensors
3 CEGA-surplus Laser Turrets
4 Large Vehicle Bay
3 4

Gao-Tzu Defense Cruiser: As a local de fense ship, the original ship was lightly arme d,
using surplus laser tur rets from CEGA Hachiman-c1ass dest roye rs and stand ard missile
bays. The Gao-Tzu was used as alocal patrol vessel, pe rforming dut ies that were gra du-
ally take n over by t he impe rator-c1ass ships. It is t o the CVNA's gre at amusement th at
publications on military powe r rate t he Gao-Tzu class (and hence t he enti re Venu sian
navy) as "oversized borde r cutters with delusions of gran deur. "

Each of t he ship's t hree hulls housed a large ve hicle bay in thei r forward half for shutt les
and fighte rs; normally, t he Gao-Tzu could support four fighters as well as a t ranspo rt
shuttle in each bay. Because, of t he amount of volume taken up by t he bays and th eir
ass'Ociated support eq uipment, t he rest of t he ship was very cramped, requiring fre-
t_._q uent : ,:w rotatio ns. . _
.
0099
•• TSA R HEAVY
.-..-.-.~ ~ .U. I.r~ - 1 .
u ~ 6.4 SHIP SYSTEMS

•II I
I
I
()

~
Propulsion snd W e a p o n s

---j--

....-~ .....
..... .j

1""
The large Type 2.1 r'iiilgun oc cupie s mosfof the
int e rnal volume of t he gu nnery out rigger hull.The
gu n b'arre l Is -o nly 'abo ut fYid :third of t he lerigth;

II t ho ugh it extends by about 20% once deployed.

Huge' servome ch'iinisms' sjJlinlie 'hull t o expose
th e gun fo r firini;j;"re d ud ng-It svulner ability du ro

II I "• ingCt rans port. Heavyd~tX powe r co~du its snake

t he ir way -doWh th e pyl on' t o' con ne ct the g un di-

•
(I
I~~
. ..
. ·6· i'
.~ ~
reStly;to the ship :s ";l.a;n p0 w.e rplants .
. I.
The plasma d rives ma ke up one full th ird of the
central hull: Part of t hat spac e is occupied by the
react io n mass tankage and t he various powe r co n-
've-rt ers re q'uire d rfor t tle wiiapon syst ems. The
powe r grid supp lies en ergy to th e co nce aled g un

II f
t urrElt; arid laser"pbS 'a rtilY which are ho used in
th ,: o ut rigg er hulls. '

II ,.- ,,':1

• Weapon Sys10ems
...
'10) I ' • 1 Main Powe r Co nd uit s
2 CMM Cluste r
3 Railgu ri Ca pacito rs
..... 4 • Ra;lguns
5 Laser Turrets
6 ,Laser Capacito rs
7 Missile Bay
8 Forward PDS Emitter
• Propulsion Sys1o .
I
'r
...
9 .. Mane~vering Je ts
10 Fo~~rd RCS Cluster
l-
11 +. Re~ction Mas s Tanks
I
..... 12 Plasma Combust io n Chamber
13 8;ha-;;-st Cc;lIimat o r Coils
l~ EMf'owe r Ge ne ration System
15 Radiat or Pane ls
.+.-.....;.--... ..j. •. .1 6 . , . ....... ... Backup'.C. apacitors
~~~--~-~- ~-'--~_'" --' -' .........
00100
 ,-
T S A R HEAVY CRUISER

6.4 S H IP SYSTEMS [CDNT.J ~

••
I

Crew quarters are spread out over all thre~ hulls;

and are quit e comfortable by warship standards.
As" with all Venusian warships, large numb1ers of +-
Seneors e nd Life Support: ()

•..
robot s and automat ed syst ems reduce the neces-
sary crew size, allowing for a larger living space II
fo r each human crewrnernbe r,

The main brid ge can be located in eit her of the II

•
main hulls; t he railgun hull conta ins a cont rol cen-
te r used specifically for t arget ing t he railguns.The
hull cont aining the brid ge is referred to as the ...'. . "

\
i. '.\ ~ :_':_>
~ '~

command hull; while the other mai~ hull ha; extr a

//

recreat ional and storage facilit ies and is referred

t o as the' habitat hull. >
... ~ _. _. -
11
1V I~
II
II

'"

1
Sensor Syst:en1s

.Primary Radar Systems

.. ! ~

.-! l;: ,Sr

,

0.:/
• (3

J3: _ '~ , mm~

..._Y"
2 Laser Ranging and L1DAR Emitters
3 Primary Op tica l Sensor Clust er (6
4 Act ive Sensor Emitter A nte nnae
5 Secondary Radar Syste m
6 r- Sensor Cluster
7 Docking Sensors
8 Planetary Observat ion Sense>¥

'" Life S u p p o r t: Syst:.

9 Heat Exchanger
10~ Superconducting Batteries
11 Gas Storage
12 Life Supp ort No des
7
.+ L +..L .j
13 Screen Generators
1
_ _....0..-, _ -.
_'_. ~Il...-.J

00101
•
II
I
TSAR HEAVY CRUISER

T 6.4.1 Engine Monitoring Roo.,., T 6.4.2 Crew Buerters

____I

I The re are few crew -accessib le areas wi t hin th e ship 's central hull; Venusians like to cram most of t heir ship systems into really t iny

-
II t he Engin e M o nito ring Roo m is o ne of t hem. A lso known as " M ain
Eng ine er in g " (a co mm o n bu t inaccurate t erm, sin ce not all en g i-
nee ring funct io ns are sup e rv ised f rom here), t hi s cha m b e r is
w her e t he act ivity of t he p lasma co m b ust io n cham b ers th at pro-
p e l t he vesse l is car efully m o nit ored and adjust ed . This roo m is
Ii use d as a p revent ive m easure for react o r mai nte nance; lots of
d at a f ro m t he e ngines p asses t hroug h he re, alo ng wi th oth er
II info rma ti o n concerning t hr ust levels, fuel con sum pt ion and ot her
spa ces t o make mo re roo m fo r t he crew. A s a result, a crew man 's
q uart ers o n a Tsar-cl ass vessel are so mew hat roomier tha n t he
crew qu arters o n a CEGA o r Jovian w arship , th o ug h not b y m uc h.
The roo m p ictured at right show a spacehand 's cab in, w hich ho uses
t wo lower ranking t echn icians. Hig her-ranking crew generally rat e
a sim ilar cab in all to t he mse lves; on e of t he b unks is removed to
ma ke roo m fo r eit her a larg er hyg ienic faci lity o r a sma ll d esk.

• drive co nd itions.
The Eng ine M on it ori ng Room is loc at ed near t he m id d le of t he
ce ntra l sect ion of t he ship . It is small, with two chairs in front of
11 larg e co nventi on al monit o rs and co nt ro l bo ard s. Th ere are ex its
on t he left and rig ht sid es of t he room , and the re is eno ug h sp ace
iii b ehin d t he ch airs for pe o p le to easily m ove th ro ugh th e roo m
from on e d oor t o t he other. Both exit s are eq ui pped wi t h b last
II d o o rs th at can be lowered as need ed . Escap e pods are locat ed
in sid e co rridors j ust o ut side .
There is room t o both sit up and stretch o ut (the entire roo m
measures ab o ut 3x2x2 m et ers). The cei ling is still a b it low, bu t
t here is room t o unfold a t able and cha ir and sit d ow n fo r a m eal
o r to d o som e w o rk. Personal items are store d in a wall locker at
t he ba ck of t he roo m , o p p o sit e t he d oorwa y. Th e re are two
vidscreens, on e of w hich is large and can function as a w indow o r
video-mirror.

Because of it s locatio n, the roo m is also one of t he ship 's ma in

dam age con t ro l nexu s. Th e w all behi nd th e chairs is t aken up by
seve ral d am ag e con trol lockers (ot her DC loc ke rs are scatte red
aro und t he ship). Sever al ma in power relays also p ass close t o t he
mon ito ring roo m, making th is roo m a cruci al co m po nen t of th e
ship 's co nt inued safe operat io n .

In battle, t his stat io n is always m anned and can p rov id e th e b ridge

w it h much mo re com pr ehensive (and relevant) d at a t han t he co m-
pu t er-d isti lled repo rt s t hat ap p ear on m on it o rs. There is lit t le t hat
peop le in t his room can do if som et hing g oe s horrib ly w ro ng ,
however; t he m on itoring room is as isol ate d and shielde d f rom
t he pla sma co m b ust ion cham b ers as any ot her inha b it ed area of
t he ship. The m o nitoring ro o m is act ually o ne of th e m ost d an-
g erous p lace s t o b e d uring a battle, as are most central-huill oca -
tions in Venusian w arshi ps.
- - ' - - ' - - -~~-"---~

001 02
 TSAR HEAVY CRUISER

In t he image, a small fe rn in a seal ed zero-gee g lob ula r pot is

att ached to one w all, b rin g ing a tou ch of green and life to th e
••
ro o m . Such " eco syst ems in a b ub b le" are marketed unde r vari-
o us t rad em arks b y all t he major Ven usian corpora t ions, and are
ext rem ely p opu lar among ship crews. Each ecosyste m con t ains a
num b er of p lants (and occas iona lly, sma ll an ima ls like insect s or
•-
•
fish) along with enough nutrients and organic recycling bacteria
to keep the globe's oc cupants alive for up to a year. Ecosystems
come in vario us sizes and shapes; all are completely enclosed in
shatterproof, flexible plastic casings and require only light (or
occasi onally sm all batteries) to function .
II
... 6.4.3 Targating Cantar II
The ship's awesome main weapon is control led from th is tiny room
locat ed wi t hin the railgun hul l. The Targeting Center's occupants
are responsible for util izing the data from the sensor stations
around the ship and integrating th em into co he rent targeting in-
•.
formation . Th is is especially im portant in bom bard ment sit uat io ns,
w he re the target zon e may b e only a fe w met ers in dia mete r. II
The overall shape of the roo m is a ro ug h hem isphere facing t o-
ward th e bow of th e vessel. There are screens on the d om e, show-
ing the ent ire fro nt half of the space around t he ship. Th e rear
view is not d isp layed since the gun cannot be br ought to bear
there . Wha t mos t common ly serves as the floor of t he room has
an entry hatch and three seat s arranged so tha t th eir occupants
can look comfortably at the dome, particularly the t o p part wh ich
shows where the ship's railguns are currently point ing.

Targeting d ata is d ispl ayed d irect ly on t he dome's screen s, over-

laid and incorporated o n the view of th e o uts id e world . Individua l
data screens fo r each chair bring more specia lized informat io n to
t he attention of each gun servant.

0010 3
 I
•
II
TSAR HEAVY CRUISER

~
,

6.5 SHIP PERSONNEL ...

_ _ _ _ _----'1

B.5 .... Interview with e Gunnery Commander

..-
Th e Tsar has fou r d epartments, wit h its d esign p utti ng a lot of Name: Nomadlozi Moyo
II p ressure on th e We apons O fficer and his Gu nnery Departme nt . Rank: Chu-sa
Two of both t he EM E Specialists and Co mput er Spe cia lists are Current Assignment: CVNAGalim
assig ned to th e G unnery Department to create a co herent bo m- Meshenak
b ard ment firin g t eam . The First Officer co mm and s the Opera-

It tion s Depart ment and the Flight O pera tions Officer runs Fligh t
O pe rat ions. The two squ ad s of Ma rines, th o ug h commande d by
"They call us t he 'Hand s of God' up on
t he b rid g e. I th ink it's a sick j oke. Just
a Lieutenant , fall into t he Flight Operations Departme nt. The Chief
II
I Eng inee r comman ds the Engi neeri ng Depart me nt .
be cause I'm respon sib le for th e target -
ing and f iring of th e ship's art illery bat-
tery doesn't mea n th at I'm in it to b low
II OJ Crew Organization Chert th ing s up . This j ob is not abo ut hitting

•
II
Captain
First Office r ..................................................................... ...... ............... .................. 1
Supply Officer ........ ....................................................................... ......................... 1
Supply Clerk .............................. .................................................................. 2
targets . It's ab ou t miss ing everyt hing
except your t arg et . That's an impo rtant
d ist inct ion wh en you 're using a weapon
t hat can, from orbi t, ob literate everything
within a t wo-hund red -met er rad ius.
Ae st het ics Speci alist .......... ............ ........................... .... ,........ ................................ 1

II Mora le Offi cer ............................................................_.................................,......... 1

ME Specialist ..................................................................................... .................... 6
He lmsm an/N avigator ...... .... ...... ........ ............. .... ..... ........................... ..... .............. 4
Weapons Office r ........................... ..... .................................................................... 1
Gunn er ..... ......................... .......................... ............. ................................. 12
Com p ut e r Sp ecialist ............................... ........................ ....................................... 2
Chief Engine er ...... ......................................................... ............ ................ ...... ..... 1
Mast e r Engineer ........................................................................... ....... ...... 3
Engineer .................. .................................................................................. 16
Electronics Spe cialist ............................. .................... ... ............................... 6
Exo Eng inee r ............................. ....... ...... ..... ................................................ 8
Secu rity Officer ...................................................... .................................... ........... 1
Security Speci alist ........................................ .. ............................................ 8
Fligh t Op e rat ions Officer ...... .................................... ....................................... ...... 1
De ck Officer ........................................................................................... .... 1
Catapu lt Specialist s ............. ............. ...................... .................................. 4
Ord nan ce Specialists .................................................. ... ............. .... ...... .. 8
Exo/F ight er Pilots ...................... ..... ...... ............ ..... ........ ............ ..... ......... 4
Mar ines ... ............................................................... .. ............................... 10
" In t he Targeting Center, I can see everything withi n a ninety
degrees of t he railguns' muzz les , allowing me to be f ull y aw are
of any objects t hat m ight get in t he way o r observers t hat mig ht
noti ce us. Base d on t hat inf o rm at io n, coup led with mu ltip le
close-up visua ls of the ta rge t zo ne , I ma ke th e decisio n as to
w hat size of slug to lo ad , how many shots to f ire, and when to
f ire them .
" The cap ta in of the ship has nothing to do wit h this process; once
he says 'fire at wi ll: I can hit the button imm ed iately, or wait unt il
I've decided the moment is right. The captain can t ell me to st and
down, but he can't give t he order to fir e. If I decide that t he shot's
not safe, t hen all he can d o is log t he incide nt and keep on mo v-
ing . I've got t hree such logs on my record . Each time, I've been
commended for making t he rig ht decision. My capta in's not happy
about it , but it's not my j ob to make him happy."

0010 4
T 6.5.2 Interview with e Psychologist
TSAR HEAVY CRUISER
Name: Shifang Zhang
Rank: Tai-sa
Current Assignment : CVNA Dexter
Siobotnik
" I serve as th e ship 's co unselor, t alking
t o the crew about t he t hing s t hey can't
d iscuss w ith each other o r t he capt ain.
For th at m atter, I eve n talk to the cap-
t ain ab o ut th e things he can't d iscuss
w it h the crew. No matter ho w hard th e
mora le offi cer works , there w ill always be
p ro b lems ab oar d a vessel of war, and it's
my job to ma ke sure t ho se p ro b lems
don't ball oo n int o inst ab ilit ies t hat w ill
g et us all killed . I'm o ne of the fe w p eople ab oard a ship (alon g
wit h th e ch ief me dical officer and t he fir st off icer) who has the
p ow er t o reli eve a capt ain of du ty on t he g ro unds of med ical
unf it ness.
" Because of my rol e as a safety valve for th e crew, I am g iven
so me very unusual j o b sp ecif icat ion s, co nside ring who my em-
p loyers are . I am und er no cir cum sta nce s ever t o d iscuss anyt hin g
I he ar in t he co urse of th ese sessio ns w it h anyo ne. I'm not t o
make reco rd ing s, and if I d o , th ey're no t ad m issible as any kind of
evidence. I cannot be ord ered to d ivulge any informat ion g ive n
t o m e in co nfi de nce by any m ember of t he crew; any attempt t o
do so is an offen se p unishab le by immed iat e d ism issal.
" Th e laws govern ing ship psych olog ists are actua lly int ern ati on al
co nvent ions t hat just happen to make a lot of sense . There are
exce ptio ns, of co urse, such as inf o rmati o n involving mu rder or
t reason , bu t even t hen , my rights as a p ractic ing medical officer
are we ll-protected by Ven usian law ."
00105
T 6.5.3 Interview with en Exo-Suit Pilot
•
II
......
Name: Daisuke Asai
Rank: Jun-i II
Current Assignment : CVNAGalim
Meshenak
"The re are o nly ten marines aboard t his Ii
ship, so w e wo n't be board ing any larg e
ships anyt im e soo n. However, that's not
ou r jo b . O ur p rima ry assign me nt is to
II
ma ke sure this ship d oesn 't g et boarded.
If we we re an off ensive g roup , t hey pr ob- II
ably wo uld have g iven us Kitsunes, whic h
are the be st sab ot eur 'suits ever m ade .
Inst ead , w e all g et issued Tan ukis, w hich
are essent ially ro ad bl ocks wi t h g uns.
•
II
" In t he event th at the shi p is_b oarded, w e sp lit up and ta ke up
positi on s in each of t he shi p'~aj or co rrid ors. A Tanuki is so b ig II
that it fill s t he corridor fro m top t o bottom , total ly b lo cking pas-
sage. W he n b o arde rs start comi ng in, we o p en f ire and hope t hat
t he ship ma nage s t o shoot dow n any reinfo rce me nts . It m ig ht
seem stupid to use yourself t o b loc k a co rrid or, b ut it's th e b est
way t o keep t he enemy away from th e vita l sections of t he ship .
A nyway, if we get b oard ed , we're alread y in deep tr ou bl e any -
way, so it's eit her us o r t he w hole shi p .
"The Tan uk is are st ored in th e main hang ar of eac h hull, and it's
ou r respo nsibil it y t o make sure t hey stay in working o rde r. We can
ge t help from th e techs, but o nly if th ey're no t too bu sy with t he
exos and fi ghte rs. I g uess I can see t he logic, since if t he exos do
t heir j o bs at fu ll eff ecti veness, we'l l never ge t boarded in t he fi rst
place, bu t it still m akes me and t he boys fee l like second-c1a ssers
o n t his t ub."
•
IJ
~

."

."
TV,
Crew :
Saction: Main Hull wlo Bridga

MaIn Data:

Hull Size :
.3000
28
36

Move men t Data:

I
I
I
00. N
Actions:
Default Size :
.8000
6
35
1 Del . N
I
I
Sensors:
Armor : 1
10000
-212km
00
Misc . TV:
Comm : -2110 km
Light ;
30000

100
I
I
I
Cost :
Fire Control:
Heavy:
41 .8M
+1
200
I

I
Ind\I.lemon Dtce : 2
1 Type,
Overkill :
lim.Prod
300

•-
Mode: Towed I Combat : - I Top, Rang e: 3,000 hrs I R&Mass : . I
." Per k e & Flaws :
Name Rat ing Gam . Effect Nam e Rating Gam e Effect

~ Tsar Haavy Cruiser Backup Systems Pass enger Accom 4,5OOm3

Cargo Bay ro.ooo ee Re inforced Crew 3
2x Catapult (600/man) mls2 St e alth 2 Add to Concealment

"
I
Overell Data :
Threat Valuq:327100 1 Off . TV: . I Det. TV, . I Mise. TV: . I Cost : 175.5M I Ind v.Iemon Diat : 3
Difficult to Modify All

Ii Movement Data:
Ejection Systems
HEP: Rad 4
Pods for 30 People

" Mod., Space Combat :S MP (0.5 g) Top : 10 MP (1.0 g ) M aneuve r : -3 Range: 2000 hrs ReMMs: 2000 BPs HEP; Vac

II "
I Ix
Sactlons:
Main Hull wlBridge I 1lC M .in Hull w/Rail G....., I 1)( Centr al Hull ."
Ufe Support

Offen.lva and Defensive Syatems :

Full

I Ix Main Hull w/o Bridge I I aty Name A.-< DM SR A<' ROF Ammo Spec ial M' WC AC

II I 1 I 2
3
Laser Array
CMM
F
T
x20
xl.
7
2
0
·1
1
+.
lnf .
644a
A02 , Cone. (Inst .), HEAT
Co nc .(lnst antl, Missile 9"
12213
3106
nla
2.7
." Off & Oef S yeteme 1 Missile Bay T x30 s -2 5 40 Cone . (Inst ,), Heat ., Missile
• 2644 2.3

rt I Ix
I 'x
Point DefQn,. System
laser Array
I 3x
6x
RailGun
CMM
I 2)( M issil. Bay

I I I

iii
~ Main Hull wlBridga ~ Section: Main Hull wlRail Gun

II ." MaIn Data. ." Main Dat a :

I TV, 46000 I 00. TV- 9 3000 1 Del . TV- 10000 Misc . TV: 35000 I Cost : 92M I Indv .Jemon OiC8:2 N 2 3000 I 00. N 46000 I Det. N 5600 I Misc . TV: 19000 I Cost : 32 .2M I Indv.1emon Ok . : 2
I (Jew , 36 I Actions ' 7 I Sensors: ·2J2 km Comm : ·2/ 10 km I Fir. Control: +1 I Type : Urn.Prod Cre w: 16 I Actions: 6 I Sensors: OI2km I Comm: 0/ 10 km I Fire Contro l: +1 I TYF" " Urn.Prod
I Hull Size : 36 o.fault Size: 36 I A.-~ , 100 Ught : 100 I Heavy: 200 I Overitill : 300 HuUS i~: 40 I Oftfauh: Size : 2. I A.-~ , 75 l>9 ht , 75 I Heavy: 150 Overkill : 225

." Movement Data: ." Movement OatH:

I Modo, Tow ed I Com bat: - I Top' RlJn~: 3,000 Iv s I ReMass : Mode , Tow ed I Co mbat: . I Top , - I Rang&: 3,000 m I R.Mass: . I

." Perka & Flaw." ." Perks & Flaws:

Na"", Rat ing Game Effect Nam e Rating Game Effect Name Rat ing Gam e Effect Nam. Rating Game Effect
Autopilot Lvf 1 Pilot HEP:Va<; Backup Systems Problem Prone 1 extra lemon Die
Backup Systems life Support Fun Difficu lt to Modify All Reinforced Crew 3
Cargo Bay 10,000 m3 Pass eng er Accom 4,000m3 Ejection Systems Pod s for 20 P&op l& Ste alth 2
2x Cataputt (600/mass) mls2 Reinforced Crew 3 HEP: Rad 4
Computer 3 eRE 0 KNO 0 PP3 Stealth 2 Add to Conc ealment HEP; Vac
Difficuh to Mod ify All Lab Navigation Space 1 + 1 to Nev Space Ro lls
Ejection Systems Pod s for 40 Pe op le li fe Support Full
HEP: R-d a Passenger Acco m 2,000m3

." Offen.lve a n d Oefenslva Sy.tems: ." Offenslvs and DefensIve S yatems:

aty Nam. A.-' DM BR A<, ROF Ammo Sp-cial M' wc AC aty Nam. A.-, DM S" A<' ROF Ammo Special M' WC AC
2 Laser Array F xlO 7 0 +' Inf. AD2, Cone . (Inst. ), HEAT 12214 nl a 3 Rail Gun FF x70 7 0 +1 soo.. Concealed (1rn d>, PH6 53 10 9
1 PDS (rang.dl T xl0 1 +1 +6 Inf. AM, Cone. (Inst .), HEAT
"
16 867 nl a
"
POS {shi&id> FF x30 M.I.. +' +. Inf. Cone. (1nst.),Def,E-Shld.,H. 16 1444 nla
3 e MM T xlB 2 ·1 +. 644a Conc.{Instant) , Missile 9 3'06 2.7
1 Missile Bay T x30 s -2 -s '0 Cone. (lost.), HEAT;Missile
• 2644 2.3

0 010 6
~

,.
I
I

,.
TV,
Cr~:
HuUSize:
S e c t io n : C e n t r e l H u ll
Main Da"'",
8100
10
34
I os. rv
I Action s:

M ovam a n t Data :
Def aulT: Size: 20
o I
5 I
Dol. TV, 3400
Sen 5Ol'"S: +214 km
Ar rnot": 7S
Mi sc. TV: 21000
Comm : +1/ 15 km
Ught : 75
I
I
I
Cost :
Fir. Control:
Heavy:
9.SM I
o I
150 I
Ir"Idv.lemon Dice : 2

Typo'
Ov8'fkilt:
lim. Prod
22 S
~

,.
I -w.
I
I

"
I
Crew:
Sectio n: •
Meln Date.

Hull Size :
· I Off. -w.
· I
· I

Movamant Data.
· I
Act ion s:
Defaul t Size :
· I Oof. -w.
· I Senson:
· I Ba M Arm or :

- I
Mise. TV:
Com m .:

Ugh"
· I eo."
· I Fire Con trol:
· I H• .".,

· I
- I
· I
- I

· I
Indv Iomon d ice: -
Typo'
o -kill,
•
RI

•
Mod . , Co mb at : Top , Man euv er : Rang e : Re. M lIss:
I
,.
Mode, Sp ace Com~ t :26 (2.6 9) To p : 53 15.39) Maneuver:-) Range : ~ , OOO tv-sReMass : lo,OOCI BPs
,. Parks & Flaws.
P a r k a & Flaws. N. me R~ ing Ga me Effect Name Rat ing Gam e Effect
N. me Rat ing G ame Effect Nome Rating Game Effect
Badup Systems Stealt h 2
Cargo eay 20,000 m3
Diff icult 10 M od ify An
Eject ion System Pod s for 12 Peop le
HEP: Roid 4
HEP: Vac
life Support Full

,.
Re inforced Crew 3
,. Dffanslva and Dafanslva Systams. II
Offensive a n d Dafanslve Systama. 01y Name Arc OM BR ACC ROF Ammo Speci al MS WC AC
01, N.me A" OM 8R A« RO F Ammo Sp eci al MS WC AC

11

,.
I TV,
Section: •
Main DDt...
- I os.rv . I Dof. -w. - I Mis e. TV: - I COst : Indv lemon dice: •
~

,.
W
Section: •
MDl n DDta :
· I oarv · I Dol. W I Misc . TV: - I Co st : · I Indv lemon d ice : •
,•
(I
I c,.,,, · I Action s' I s.nsors: - I Com m .: · I Fire Con tr ol: · I Typo, Cre w: · I Act ion l : · I Sensor s: . I Com m ., · I Fire Con t ro l: - I Typo'
I H ull Size: · I Default Size: I Ba se Armor : - I Ugh" · I Heavy : · I OY8rkill: I Hull Size : · I Default Size : · I Base AtmOf: . I light, - I He avy: · I 0,"",,",
,. Movamant DDta. ,. Movamant Deta.
I Mod " · I Com bo<' I Top' - I Maneuver: · I R. ng O' · I Re . Mass : Mod e : · I Co mb at : · I Top' I Maneuv er: - I Rang e : · I Re . Mllu :

,. Parka & FIDws, ,. Perks & Flews.

Nom. Rat ing Game Eff ect Nom. Rating Game eff ect Name Rat ing Game Effect Name Rating G a m.Eff~

,. Dffanalve Dnd Dafansl va S yatama . ,. OffenslvB a nd Defens ive Sylltems :

01y Name Arc OM "R ACC ROF Ammo Special MS WC AC 01y Name Arc OM "R ACC ROF Ammo Sp ec i..l MS WC AC

00107
•
•
TSAR HEAVY CRUISER

~ PART V: A FATHER'S LEGACY

i

be lls, teeth gritted and jaw se t, unt il his o utst retche d fing e rs
p ushed up ag ainst a hum an-s ize d door.
...

•- As mysterious ly as they ha d o pe ned ,

the hangar bay doors shut t he mse lve s
as Tag g art la nded his shu tt le in t he
cave rnous chamber. He could hea r fans
The door slid o pen, and Tagga rt stepped thro ug h. The echoes
tol d Taggart that the room was quite la rge , perhaps a state roo m
or rec bay.

•
blowing o utside , and within minutes,
t he b ay was fully pressu rized. Ca u- "Who the he ll are you?" A vo ice rasped ou t at him from a co rne r.
t io us ly, he pop ped t he hatch a nd Tag ga rt jumpe d.
step ped out into an echoing silenc e .
II "Mischa-s an?" he aske d , unce rta in. The voice so und ed nothing
The Satrap-class ship had been float- like the one he re mem be red . It was weak, t ired , and it sou nd ed
ing dead in space, mill ions of kilome - ve ry young , no mo re than sixteen yea rs o ld.
te rs above the p lane of th e ecl iptic. It
"N o, " th e vo ice sno rte d . " I'm Kinya. My fat he r's not he re."
IJ had n't been easy to find . Antonova-san
and the rest of the CVNA be lieved that "Can yo u p lease te ll me where he is?" Tag gart asked , brea thless.
Katayam a had rene ged on his wo rd, He had so ma ny q uestions, but on ly one of the m really mattered
and had already writte n him off as a at th e moment. " I'm Tagg art al-Raschid , and I've be en loo king
mistake, blac klisting his e nt ire family.
• A searc h for Katayama 's son , Kinya, had
fo r him for a lo ng t ime. "

tu rne d up nothing ; the boy had d isap-
peared from Ve nus.
It was on ly afte r carefullyreviewing a llof Katayama's o ld tra nsmis-
sion s that Tagga rt finallyspotte d a patt e rn, reve a ling a numbe r of
possible trajectories . It had take n him a few weeks to buy a t rans-
port ship and mod ify it for his use , and a few mo nths to tra ve l to
t he first likely se arch po int . He had virtually no mo ney left, and he
wo uld be AWO L long before he co uld poss ibly get ba ck to Ve-
nus , but he d id n't care. He had waited a long t ime to meet the
arc hite ct of his rescue .
Tag ga rt wasn't given a chan ce to get lost . When eve r he walked,
q uiet be lls would sou nd , po int ing th e way. He was dist inct ly un-
ne rve d , but he was dete rmined to fo rge o nwa rd. He tr ied not to
think abo ut all the th ings t hat co uld possibly be arou nd him, si-
lently wat ching, laug hing at his blind nes s. He just followed t he
The boy la ug he d miser ably.
"You 're too damned late, Tag ga rt," Kinya sa id . "My fath e r's be en
dead fo r two ye ars. "
* * *
A sm all se rvice robot zip ped up next to Tag ga rt and deposited a
ste aming plate of so meth ing t hat smelled like oatmeal next to
him. Tag ga rt sat in du ll shoc k. Kinya had apo log ized fo r his rude-
ness, and led Tag g a rt to a se at, but Tag ga rt was st illtrying to sh ift
mental gea rs.
" How," he fina lly ma nag ed to wh isper.
"The re was an accident just before your rescue," Ki nya said, see m-
ing to ga in animation with t he p rese nce of a huma n liste ne r. "The
ship trie d to ke e p him alive, but there were n't e no ug h medica l
supplies left ."

00108
 TSAR HEAVY CRUISER
" The ship ?" Taggart asked lamel y. His f ing er swi rled ab sent ly in
th e oat mea l.
" Yeah," Kinya affirm ed . "Yo u knew he was an Executor tec h from
his record, right? Yo u saw his crim inal reco rd , too? Good. " The
boy to ok a dee p b reat h, as if p repa ring to gi ve a lon g-rehearsed
speech .
"See, aft er my mot her died, I got sent to schoo l off p lanet . My
fath er pa id for eve ryt hing th ro ugh his job , until he lost it d ue t o
"perpet ual dist racti on " or somet hing . He joined th e com pany's
naval unit, but he d idn 't really fit in t here, eith er. Want ed all sorts
of research eq uip ment th ey d id n't see a need for. Finally, t hey
g ot sick of it all and ju st asked him t o leave.
" He t ried t o take some ofthe eq uip me nt with him . They caught
him, and gave him a p riso n sentence. You know ho w it is. After-
ward , he couldn 't find anyone who wo uld even liste n to him , much
less hire him .
"Turns out th e stu ff he need ed was mate rial to upgrade t he ho bby
Executo r he'd bee n b uildin g since I was b orn . The Executor was
suppose d t o shut down t he alarm system s by hacking in, bu t it
bo t ched th e job . Nob ody found out about it , tho ug h. Aft er he
go t out of p rison, my fat he r fo und som e alt ernate mat erials and
st art ed work on th e t hing again . Event ually, he ran out of money,
and still nobody woul d t alk t o hi m . He kind of lost hope . I t hink he
was go ing t o get t he Executor to he lp him make his suicide look
like m urd er, so I could g et g overnment benefits. I gu ess t hat 's
when he sent a letter t o you , asking for help ." Kinya p aused .
Tag g art no dde d , finally beg inning t o und erst and .
"One hun d red and twent y years ago," he said slow ly, "your an-
cest or gave almost everyt hing he owned so tha t my fam ily could
survive. Aft er th e Birt hing, th e al-Raschid s and Katayamas bec ame
eq uals. We remem b ered t he d eb t , b ut never had a chance t o p ay
it . W hen I g ot yo ur fat her's letter, t here was no q uest ion that I
would he lp him." Tag gart fe ll silent , and Kiny a resumed his verbal
00109
catharsis.
•
•
"Th e Exe cut or was still with him when he fo und out t hat yo u were
capt ured . W hen he made it take over t his ship, it used t he entire
ship's comp uter system , alon g with most of th e med ical suppl ies,
to up g rade itself. He used it to crack all t hose comput ers, t o ge t
your ransom. It's scarily smart . It 's still growing, too . I th ink it migh t
..
II
IiiI
even b e self-aware , t hou gh it might j ust b e faking ."
II
" So I never even really sp oke to hi m," Taggart said . Kinya audi-
b ly shrugged . II
" You were t alking t o th e ship . It was d esigned t o sou nd like him,
and it learn s really fast . It was starting t o sound too muc h like him ,
II
•
so I to ld it to shut up . It hasn't said anyt hing for a yea r or so now.
I fo und t he ship same way yo u did, after my father d idn't show up
at Venus. Been here ever since. I can't leave . The ship can hack,
b ut it's a lo usy nav igator. Ran out of fuel. If I sen d a dist ress call , II
SolaPo l wi ll p rob ab ly be t he first t o fi nd me, and th is ship is th e
b iggest Edict violati on I can t hink of, not t o me nt ion one of t he II
CVN A's o h-so -secret wa rship s. We 're st uck ou t he re ." Kinya
seem ed t o suddenly lose energy. He slum ped over, cont inuing to
mutter qu iet ly.
"The stupid robot s br ing me fo od and clot hes and anyt hing else
I need, but t hey can't get me out of here. We 'r e de ad, " he re-
peat ed .
Taggart fingered his sculpt-clasp t houg htfull y. "Not if I can he lp
it ," he mused . " I'll f igu re some t hin g out . I have t o. It 's d uty."
•
11
S HAN-YU -
BAT
-
TL E

Notable S h ip s
CRUIS ER
I

•.. Name :
Launche d :
Status:
CVNA Takizawa Toshiyuki

The nam esake of t he mig ht ie st warship in th e CVNA is a schoo lteache r. Formerly a

N/ A
Build ing

VenusBank exo-pilot, Takizawa-se nsei resign ed from his post after an exe mplary
Ii care er. He invest ed his earnings wise ly, wrot e a number of well-receive d plays and
self-he lp manuals, and settled back into his home arcology to do exa ct ly what he
wanted to do since he was ten years old. Some what t o his irrit at ion , he has also
II be come t he Venusian Bank's public-re lat ions poster figure , an ideal e xamp le of th e
sort of peaceful and yet fulfilling life the Ve nusian society offers . The first of t he
Shan -Yu battlecruisers was named without Takizawa-sense i's permission, and he
01 has no stated plans t o make any particularly not ewort hy use of his award.

•
II
N ame:

Laun che d :
Status:
CVNA Kadokawa Na mi

The se cond of t he new ships to be laid down, t he Kadokawa is alre ady proving t o
N/A
Buildi ng

II be a t roublesome project. Many of th e standardize d proced ure s t hat have worked

flawlessly on th e Takizawa proje ct have been dis mal failures wit h t he Kado kawa ,
e it her be cause of logist ical diffe re nces in the const ruction site s or inadequate per -
sonne l efficiency. As a res ult, th e Kado kaw a is more t han two wee ks be hind sched-
ule, much t o t he chagrin of t he real Kadokawa, who occu pie s a powe rful and se n-
sit ive position just be low t he Ve nusian Bank's top ec helo ns.

"If you dest roy a foe, t hen you have destroyed doubly; th e foe 's ab ility t o serve
yo u has bee n dest roye d, and you have de stroyed yourself in t he proce ss of build-
ing sufficient force to dest roy t he e nemy. Thus, the most dangerous of t imes is
when one 's power is at its peak , because if one cannot persuade the foe t o give up
withou t a fight, even if th e batt le is won, one 's decline and death are ce rta in."

- Tze n Ming-Shang, Rising and Reborn, 2100

0 0110
 '['['[00

..
II

11
II
II

.-.
• C:l3SlnC:l8 3--'..!-..!-'\18 nA-N'\1HS
 SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER
---

B ~ 7.1 OVERVIEW

•-
I1iI
Th e VenusBank-man ufactured Shan-Yu-c1ass battlecr uiser will be
th e largest m ilitary vessel in serv ice with th e CVNA, being at the
up per lim it of size fo r a ship th at m ust be di sg uised as a reason -
ab ly co mmonp lace civilian ship. Two of these co lossal vesse ls are
currently und er co nst ructio n in secret shipyards near Ven us, and
&I wi ll, whe n co m p let ed , perfect ly resemb le the larg est class of ci-
vili an cargo haulers used by the Venusians. Th e ma ssive ex pen se
invo lved in co nstructin g th ese vesse ls (as we ll as quest ion s relat -
in g to Venus' need fo r such ships) wi ll probably limit Shan-Yu co n-
stru cti o n to these two ve ssels unl ess th e polit ical situation in th e
so lar syste m sig nificant ly d et er iorat es.

A lt ho ug h it is smaller t han th e battleships and fl eet carriers of

other nat io ns, t he Shan-Yu is mo re tha n a matc h for any of t hese

II ship s. Its vast arr ay of f irepow er, co up le d w it h a respe ct ab le

complement of exo s and fi g hte rs, m ake the Shan-Yu th e closest
t hing to a o ne- ship fle et in th e Solar System . Th e Shan-Yu is also
II d esig ned fo r com fo rt ; it s crew areas are mo re sp acio us and luxu-
rious than passeng er q uart ers o n ma ny int erp lanet ary transport
lines. It is expected that th e Shan-Yu w ill be the preeminent war-
ship in the so lar system for man y years to co m e, and t he Venusian
Bank is well awa re of the iro ny in the fact t hat no othe r so lar na-
t io n w ill have any id ea th at t he ships exist at all.

,. 7. 1 • 1 Capabilities

Th e Shan-Yu is be ing d esig ned as a self- suff icient batt leship ab le

to laun ch lo ng -range attacks, p rovid e sup p ort and co o rdi nati on
for ot her warships and , most im p o rt ant ly, w in any ship -t o-shi p
en g ag ement it ente rs. To this end, nearly all the usab le spac e in
th e ship 's vast supe rst ruct ure has been p acked so lid w ith elec-
t ronics , weapo ns and backup systems . Given the Venusian te n-
den cy t o m iniat urize eq uipm ent and cram it into the small est
possi b le space, th e result is a ship t hat wi ll trul y be able t o per-
fo rm all t he tasks t hat it is de sig ned to do .

0 0112
 SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER
In add ition to a heavy armament of lasers and missiles, t he Shan-
Yu also mounts a p air of heavy parti cle accelerat ors, huge weap-
o ns large r t han any ot her naval pa rt icle weapon ever d evised .
On e of t hese skyscrap er-sized wea p ons is mounted in each of t he
Shan-Yu's second ary hulls, and is cap ab le of co ring a battleship
with a sinq le shot . The cann o n make use of ext ensive Venusian
research int o large -scale p arti cle- beam ge nerat ion and t arget ing ,
and are more advanced tha n th e heavy spi nal lasers current ly in
use by t he Jovi an Navy.
The Shan-Yu has two hangar bays, each one ab le to sup port three
comb at vehicles. Each hangar is equ ipped with several catapu lts
that d ep loy from hidd en sheat hs in th e hull. The cata pults are of a
dual-p urp ose des ign t hat allows t hem to serve as torpedo launch
rails as we ll as normal vehi cle catap ults. The Shan-Yu can, as a re-
sult, launch any type of Drone, and t he contents of its two cavern -
ous Drone storage bays reflect th is abil ity. When used for torped o
launching , the catapu lt rails can be detached from t heir mounts
and swiveled like turrets; thi s cannot be done for exo launches,
beca use of t he much g reater stre ss involv ed in t hose operations.
In ord er t o fulfill a p ote nt ial role as a f leet command cent er, th e
Shan-Yu wi ll have a larg e st rategic op erations cente r, f rom which
a f lag officer can inte gr at e and act up on information coll ect ed
from an ent ire fleet 's sensors and communication s arrays. How-
ever, since there is at the moment little need fo r such a facility in
the CVNA, it is likely that the first two Shan-Yu-c1ass ships will be
laun ched and put into serv ice with incomplete operatio ns cen-
t ers. At later d ate s (likely aft er a yea r or so), the fi nal inst allat ion of
the operations computers and systems w ill be comp let ed .
The Shan-Yu is built for long voy ag es; large sections of its vast
int ernal space are given over to stora ge of water, food , gas and
other supplies nece ssary fo r long-term human surviva l. The ship
also has several large carg o ba ys that can be fitted out to serve as
addit ional living space o r hydroponics bays, further extend ing
the crew 's endurance. Despite this heavy load of material, t he
00113
Shan-Yu w ill st ill be capa b le of more accelerat ion th an Jov ian and
CEGA battleships. It is hoped th at th is " city in sp ace " arrange -
•
ment will allow t he Shan-Yu-c1a ss ships t o sp end as little t ime re-
fueling and re-equi pping as possib le, t hus keep ing t hem out of •
p ubli c sight at all ti mes.
..........
... 7.'1.2 Operational Rola
.:
The Shan-Yu-c1 ass vessels will be ab le t o b e assigned t o a variety
of d ut ies, f ro m leading task forces to performin g lon e lo ng -range
patrols. For th e time b eing , it is exp ect ed tha t t hey will spend
most of th eir time traversing th e inner so lar system, work ing out
b ugs and undergoi ng surre pt it io us field tri als. Th ese ships wil l be
t he he ig ht of Venusian wa rship construction, and will probably
on ly ever be fully pu t t o t he test in th e event of all-o ut war. The
project has, in fact , b een p lagued with co m p laints that such ships
•
II
are of no use to Venus unless t he worst of all poss ible situations
co mes to pass; they cannot be revea led in p eacet ime, b ecause
II
to do so wo uld remove the elem ent of surprise that so much of
the Venusian lon g-term strategy rides upon. The common re-
•
spo nse to such critici sms is t hat Venus should always be pre pared
fo r the wo rst, and tha t t o trust in the goodwi ll of the ot her solar
nat ions is a foll y clearly demonstrated by recent event s in th e
solar system .
The Venusian Bank is cu rrent ly assign ing crew t o t he new ships.
Alth oug h both captains will be emp loyees of th e Bank, other ship -
bo ard d ep art ment heads will likely be drawn from t he ranks of
other co m p anies. A lthough t he CVNA is supposed to be a un i-
f ied force th at is free of corporate d ist inct io ns, th e truth of the
matter is th at in this case, th e Venusian Bank is unwilli ng to pu t its
most expensive new toy in the hands of another co rp orati on, and
is apparently exercising as much of its remaini ng clou t as it can to
retain effective contro l of the Shan-Yu class. The oth er corpora-
t ions are awar e of VenusBank's int enti ons, bu t are relatively un-
concern ed, since the ship s' crew s will co nsist of an even mix of
pers onnel from all the Venusian co rporate factions.
•
11
SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER

~ 7.2 S HIP SCHEMATICS

•..
1111
«:> Side View

.,

1
Legend
...
Drive Fin
7 8 9
Ii 2
3
Drive Fin Mount
Dr ive Housing
4 React ion Mass Access Bay

II S
6
Missile Bay
'Weapon Turret (ret ract ed)
7 Part icle Beam Housing
8 Weapon Bay Act uat or Block
9 Main Hull Laser Housing

•
II
10
11
12
13
14
Main Hull Vid·Membrane
Comm Ante nna (ext ended)
Second ary Hull Laser Housing
Secondary Hull Supp ort Strut
~ Hangar Bay Doo r
15Rear Inst rument Cluste r (Retracted)

II

I M
- - -- - - -- - -@

Om 25 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

00 1 1 4
 SHAN-YU BATTLE C RUIS ER

7. 2 SHIP SCHEMATICS [CONT. ) ...

•
-+ - .. . ... Legend
F r ont V ie w
-
!.
-
...
()

1
I.
'I
J

I
•..
II
1 RCS Clust e r
2
3 .,
Enhance d Instrument Clust e r
-.. Forward RCS CIU;t e r .
I
I &I
4 lr:5t rument Clust e r (Ret ract'ed i
5
(; + ;- -t
Se archlig ht s
I I• II
Fake Access Hat ch
I I
II
I
•
•

[.

..;...

j I· ....•

I
I- I :• i , , , , I i. i 4l~ ...l

I ...~ -..+-..-. . L. ..· +......•.......1_.

00115
••
SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER

~ 7.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS [CONT.]

.-.
• () Tap View

.... . Legend
...
I

1 .,. laser Housing

• 2.
·3
Main Hull Vid-Membrane
·'Hangar Bay Door
4 Rear Inst rument Cluster (Retracted )
4

5 Docking Sensor 5) I 'c::lll =-111 1 ''', 1

(, Support Brace Reinforcem ent
7
8
Main Hull Suppo rt Brace
Reaction Mass Access Bay 6) bb = ~ ~ (
9 Drive Fin Mo unt

•
10 Drive Fin
11 Drive Housing
12 Modular Armor Panel
13 Emergency Elevator Access Bay
14 Personnel Airlock
15 Particle Beam Housing
16 Laser Housing
• 17
18
Missile Bay
Enhanced Inst rument Cluster
19 "RCS Cluster
20 Optical Sensor Cluster
21 Lidar/Rangefinder Emitter
22 Weapo n Bay Actuator Block
23 Catap ult (Retracted)

, I I I I I I I I
Om 25 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

00 1 1 6
SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER

7.2 SHIP SCHEMATICS [CDNT.) ~

•
11

.-.
•
Cutaway Vlaw ()

Om 25

Ii
T Lagend II

••
T
1 Laser Turret Elevato r
2 Laser Turret
3 Laser Capacitors
4 Recreation Ar ea
5 Officers' Quarters
6 Gas St orage
7
8
Superconducting Batt erie s
'VIP Quarters/Rec Area II
9 Workshops
10
11
Superconducting Batteries
Cargo Bay
•
12 Bulk St orage
13 Drone Bay
14 Hangar
15 St ruct ural Reinforcement
16 Plasma Combustion Chamber
17 Reaction Mass Tanks
18 Primary Elevat or Shaft
"19 Strategic Operations Center
20 Missile Storage
21 Missile Tubes
22 Particle Cannon Capacit ors
23 Laser Turret
24 Laser Capacitors
25 Particle Cannon Firing Port
26 Heavy Particle Beam Cannon
27 " 1 Cat apult
28 Security Office
29 Gunnery Bay
~ ~d~

00117
 SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER
-----

II
I
I
~ 7.3 HISTORY Th e Shan-Yu is based off of t hese ships be cause t here are no
larg er civilian ships in Venusian service asid e f rom t he Satr ap and
Ven usian b ulk fr eig ht ers are almost t he size of t he new Jovian

.-.
t he imm en se long-t ransit carg o barge s. They will likel y also com e
11 battl eship s, so bi g t hat t here is really no stand ard ized configura- in a numbe r of d iff erent co nfi gu rat ion s, b ut most of t he d iffe r-
I ti on fo r th em. The Shan-Yu-style hull shape is very comm on, b ut it enc es w ill b e cosm et ic, invo lvin g fake carg o doors, tr ees and hull
is mod ular and ma ss produced, so som e of t he freigh t ers o nly ad d -o ris t o m ake t he smaller hulls look like the larg er hulls. Unlike
use o ne (wit h carg o tr ees or small hulls in t he othe r t hree " arms" ), most b ulk freig ht ers, t he Shan-Yu is d esig ned t o be capab le of
II and ot he rs use fo ur. hand ling t he stresses of spinning such vast bu lk, thu s all owing its
crew to forg o t he ti me-co nsum ing and uncomfo rtab le req uire-
Th e en gi nes are civili an-grade, wh ich makes t he bu lk freigh t ers
m ents of spend ing an ent ire voyage in zero- gee. This is esp e-
ext remely sluggish. The ships are meant to carry hug e amo unts
ciall y im portant fo r th e Shan-Yu, g ive n th at its mission s are ex-
of carg o from on e poi nt t o ano t her, wit h no stops in b etw een .
p ect ed t o last for many month s wit ho ut any ext erna l conta ct . It is
Th ese ships sit at t he up pe r lim it of p ract ical size fo r carg o ships;
hop ed t hat crews w ill fi nd t he Shan-Yu at least as livab le as t he
past this poi nt , it is often mo re econom ica l t o hire M ercurian
mu ch-loved Sat rap-cl ass ships.
I( m agsail or so lar-sail b arg es t o carry one's carg o .
The Shan-Yu's eng ines will be comp lete ly d ifferent from t he o nes
The M ercurian Mercha nt Guild is not hap py about t he fact t hat
used on t he b ulk freig ht ers. Com pa ct yet p owerful , th e d rives are
Ven us has t hese ship s, b ecause t hey take b usiness away fro m the
cluste red to get he r in the ship 's two oddly t iny d rive sectio ns, which
Gui ld . However, th e M ercurians have also pu rchased som e ofthese
• ships from t he Venusians t o supp lement t he Guild fle et . The larger
are attached t o th e centr al hu ll by a set of fragi le-loo king st ruc-
t ural sup ports. A lt hough thi s en g ine arrang em ent is accept able
M art ian co mp anies, lik e M art ian Me t als, also own a few b ul k
fo r t he b ulk freight ers, it pos es so me seriou s p rob lems fo r a w ar-
freig ht ers fo r use in ferryi ng larg e loads of m aterial un d er short
ship who se eng ines mu st wit hst and combat d amage as well as
not ice. Bot h th e Jovians and C EGA also use bu lk-frei g ht er-c1 ass
gen erat e unco mm only larg e amo unts of thrust. The p rote ct ion
ship s, bu t bot h of t he sup erpowers are capa b le of co nstruct ing
and reinforcem ent of th e d rive sup ports wa s one of th e m aj or
thei r own such ve sse ls; t he Jo vians, in part icular, have m any large
de sign challeng es in creati ng t he Shan-Yu. Al t ho ug h t he result is
vessels wit h p ressurized ho ld s, most of th e b ased off the JAF's
certainly aesthet ically p leasing , only th e ship 'Sfield tr ials will sho w
Gag arin and Lenn ox-class ships.
wh et her t he effo rt was a success.
Some b ulk freig ht e rs are openly arm ed , bu t t his is rare and re-
The first of t he Shan-Yus will launch in late 2214. It will have the
ally d oe s littl e g oo d aga inst m o d ern attacke rs. St ill, a coup le of
config urat ion d escribed in t he rest of th is chapt er, with two larg e
KKCs on exte rna l t urr ets can help to w ard off w eake r attacke rs.
hulls contain ing crew q uarters, sup p lies and hang ars, and two
Th e w eapo ns are m o du lar and are attached to hard po int s as
small hulls cont aining reacti o n m ass and t he ship's p rim ary arma -
needed; control syst em s are plu gged into exist ing ship systems
m ent . Fut ure Shan -Yu-c1ass vessels, if b uilt , will likely inco rpo rat e
and are ge nerally of ext remely p oor q uality. M o st bu lk f reig ht ers
various upgrades; fo r ships of t his size and un iqu eness, every ex-
d o carry a few f ig ht e rs fo r d efense; t hese are usuall y co rp orat e-
ample is me rely the lates t in a series of prototypes.
owne d security vehicles m anned by ret ired or wa shed -up mi li-
t ary p ilots.

1l1l11 8
 I
SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER

CVNA DTA MARUI ....

• I
. . . . , . . 'I '
I
11
()
11
' /1'/1'/1'/1'
/ , / , / , / , / ,I'
, I

. 1iIiIl
Om 25
..
II

.
,.
.

• I

I
II
I
II

•
II
I

j.

3) I ~ , I / 1'
~ I
/'1' /1'/1' ,I'
If
r >; / ' 1/ ' » <: r>;

T Legend

1- .__. Civilian-grade Drives

2 Large Cargo Doors
3 -1';- -, ..., Cargo Tree s
4 I Add itional Large Cargo Hull
5 +." ._- -+ " M'od u l a~ Arma ment
I . I
CVNAOra Marui; Blllkf reight ers such as t he Ot a Marui drag ca rgo trees behind the m.
They ha~e large loading doors t hat lead direct ly into th'eit end osed holds, 'which are '
Inany stories tall 'and can cont ain e nough eq uipmentand parts t o build a small space
I st ation. The freighters are capableof spinning to gen erat e gravitY along their extremi:
tles, but rare seldom at liberty to do so because of the .Ioose cargo-storage arrange-
I ~ents a~d th~ flimsiness of the eXterio; cargo set up: 'As a result, freighter crews must
exe rcise for much of their spare time, and must also mainta in strict diet ary requirements.
.•' +. t ~.~ ..... f.. -; .'.... "._ ~ .. +. ...• .~ ..~ .
L __
0. ••• •

- 00119
 SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER
•. I. • . . . • . . . . . . . •

• ~ 7.4 SHIP SYSTEMS

..-
)I

.:
3
() Propulsion and Waapona

The Shan-Y~ aoes not ~ppear very dangerous at

first giance ; eve n its powerfu l point def ense laser
array do ' not seem v~ry threatening. This all
changes, however, when t he ship depl oys its mul-
tiple hidde n t urret s and begins firing.Heavy laser
turrets are housed in the forward section of the

II outrigger hulls, while the rest of the heavy arma-

ment is found in the gunnery hulls located on ei-
ther side of the cent ral sect ion.

The latter is fairly small when compared to the

rest of the ship,- se rving primarily as the main an-

t
4 chor point between the four hull pylons and the
main propulsion blocks. Strong nano-built spars
from t he core structure, making it extremely rigid
and st urdy.

• (13:

II

'Y W a apon S y s t;a m s

1 Primary Laser Turret

•
2 Primary Laser Capacitors
3 Forward PDSArray
4 Heavy Particle Beam Cannon
S Particle Beam Capacitor s
6 Secondary Lase r Turret
7 Secondary Laser Capacitors
8 Main Power Cond uit
'Y Propulsion Syst; .

9 RCSThrusters
•
10 Reaction Mass Tanks
11 Plasma Combustion Chamber
12 Exhaust Collimator Coils
13 EM Power Generation System
14 Radiator Fin

00120
 SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER

7.4 SHIP SYSTEMS [CONT.] ....

••
-
Sensors end Life Support ()
B
The ship 's main instrument cluster is locat ed at
th e f orward end of th e cent ral hull. Though it s fiel d I iiI

-
of vision is severaly restricted by t he bu lk of th e
rest of th e ship, its prima ry funct ion is to scan .:
ahead fo r t argets and potential dangers . The sides
and rear of t he ship are covered by a large num-
ber of smaller detection eleme nts which are all
networked th roug h the main battle computer.

All of the ship 's life·support equipment is locat ed

in t he two main hulls. The gunnery hulls have only II
limit ed life support capabi lity, since t hey are only
manned for maintenance or combat (the latter
requiring the use of pressure suits anyway). Since B
the ship is so large and the crew sections are far
from the main engines, only a compa ratively small
screen gene rat or is used. II
(I

'" Sensor Systems

...
1 Optical Sensor Cluste rs
2
3
Lidar/ Rangef inder Emitters
Main Instrument Clust er
'*-. (4
4 Enhanced Instrument Clusters
SRear Instr ument Cluster s (Ret racted)
6 Docking Sensors
7 Microwa ve Pulse-Ranging Antennae

T Life Support Byat.

8 Heat Exchangers '"

9 Gas Storage
10 Supercond ucting Batteries
11 Local Life Support Systems
12 Hangar Life Support Systems
13 Screen Generators

00 12 1
• SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER

••
I
T 7.4.1 SCracegic Operaciana Cencer T 7.4.2 Bridge

....
Th e St rat eg ic Operat ions Center is a ro o m tha t w ill be p rese nt o n
eve ry Shan-Yo. It oc cup ies a larg e spherical vo lum e in th e center
of o ne of t he main hull s, exact ly in the same lo cat io n as t he br id ge
bu t w it hin th e oppo sit e hull. The O perat ions Cent er's prima ry fu nc-
tion is to coord inat e fle et act iviti es, but it can also serve as a bac kup
The b ridge of th e Shan-Yu battl ecruiser is a sph e rical ch amber
which t akes up the same vo lum e as the St rat eg ic Operati o ns Cen-
t er. Just like th e latter, th e ent ire roo m can be rot at ed so t hat its
over all g ravit y g rad ient is aligned w it h t he ship 's axis (w hen under
acceleration) or t he o ut sid e of the hull (w hen the shi p is under

.
II b ridge if necessary. A t all ti mes, operato rs mo ve b etween sta-
ti o ns, co m piling intellige nce and battle rep o rt s w it h t he help of
t he o nbo ard co mputers to p resent up-to-d at e tactical advice to
th e off icer s in charge . A nu mbe r of he avy-d uty walkw ays and lift-
rotat io n). Entry and exit are acco m p lished via several large hat ches
t hat line up w ith the shi p 's co rridors; in t he event of a rotati on
m alfunct io n, em erge ncy cuttin g t ool s sto red in a lo cker o n o ne
w all all ow t he bri d g e crew t o cut t heir way ou t of t he bridge .

••
I lines crisscross t he room t o hand le foot traffi c, which is m uch in-
creased in t his roo m com p ared to t he b rid g e.
The ma in level is pl aced at t he "eq uat or" of t he roo m . Com pu t er
termin als and m onito rs line t he w all , alo ng w it h co m p act and
space- saving seat ing fo r a larg e num be r of operatives. The wall
II m on ito rs are set to show ext erna l views of t he ship or ot her im-
The Shan-Yu's bridge has t he sam e general layo ut as th e b rid g es
of most m odern m ilitary spacecraft . It has few er st at io ns tha n the
SOC, and a mu ch mo re del icate-see m ing fra mework aroun d t he
seat s (t he eq uip ment is just as st ruct urally so und as t he o nes used
by oth er nat io ns, b ut is m o re aesthe t ically pleasing). The captain
sit s rig ht in t he middle of t he roo m in a g im baled seat that can

• p o rtant d at a. Two ext ra floor t iers, co m mo nly called t he " Tro p ic

of Cancer" and th e " Tro p ic of Cap rico rn ," are located mi dw ay
furt her up and d ow n alo ng the wall. Th ese pa rti al floo rs are ac-
cessib le via lad d ers o r zero-g ee flo at ing, and co nsist p rimarily of
w alkways aroun d t he rim and several ext ra wor kst at io ns and mo ni-
swi vel to face any di rect io n in t he ro om and it s wall m o nit o rs.

t orin g panels.

A larg e chair sit s o n a raised da is at t he back of t he ro o m . It is

meant for use by the Strate g ic Oper at io ns Co o rd inator, w ho is
usually a fla g offi ce r. This seat, unlike th e captai n's chair on t he
bri d g e, is d esig ned no t fo r maxim um view b ut rath e r fo r easy
access t o human reso urces; th ere is an end less st ream of peo p le
co mi ng up t o the dai s to p rovid e upd at es, expl anat ion s and ad -
vi ce. Th e Coo rd in ato r's chai r is surro und ed by t he maj o rity of the
ro o m 's fl oo r sp ace, w hich is fitted wi t h clips fo r fo ld -down chairs
and a sm all ta b le/threat b oard fo r im prom pt u conferences. Fro m
t his seat , a Venusian ad m iral can guide t he moveme nts and ac-
t ivities of d ozens of warships, making use of t he Shan -Yu's ext en-
sive co mm unicat ions array t o assign new o rd ers and ta cti cs.

00 122
 I
S HAN - Y U

Th e rest of th e crew st at ions are scatte red aroun d , ab ove and

be low t he capt ain's seat, and are all linked t o a walkway and lad -
B A T ': T L E e R U I S E R

-
•
R
I
'j '

I
I
-t .. I
d ers t hat ring t he brid g e. Each crew station is surrounde d by
mon itors , facing b oth inwa rd and outwa rd , t hat compleme nt th e II
"bi g pi cture " pr esent ed on the m ain spherical view screen. W hen I
full y act ive, t he b rid g e is a rio t of multimed ia d isp lays tha t a good
..
II
capta in must be ab le to int erpre t and analyze at a gl ance.

~ 7.4.3 Drone Storege

Ii
I

The Shan-yu has t wo of these ch ambers, one in each of t he larg e II

•
ma in hulls. Each Dron e st o rag e bay is a spacious room wit h row .'!' ...i-
,I
upon row of st o red Dron es in shoc k-resistant polym er cocoo ns,

•
all of th em color and p attern-coded de pe nd ing on t heir typ e.
I-
I
Airlocks and clean roo m s must be crossed t o access this sect io n;
I .•..
th is operation req uires secu rity cle arance co des known on ly to a I
select fe w off icers. N ot onl y are th e Drones t hemselves cutting -
ed ge wo nd ers arme d w it h powerful and compact weap ons, but .J.
II
the Executor brains used t o p ilot th em are Ed ict-restrict ed , ex-
I
t remely advanced and hig hly p rized on th e b lack ma rket . Should 11
a Drone b e st o len, t he ent ire ship's crew wo uld come und er in-
vest ig at ion by Venusian aut horities, and th e secrecy of the enti re
CVNA wo uld be end ang ered .
I
.1
Th e inn er ch amb er is not d esig ned for casual hu man access, and
th ere is little ro om to mo ve insid e be cause of all the m achine ry. A
rob oti c conveyer similar in design t o the on es used on t he Huan g-
Ti-class ships pic ks Drones of t he ty pe req uested by t he f ire con -
t rol di rect o r fro m indi vid ual racks. Afte r a br ief aut om at ed d iag -
nost ic, t he conveyor crosses a se ries of airl ocks before putti ng
th e Dron e insid e a tr ansp ort tube t hat wi ll carry it to th e ma in
hang ar where t he Drone will launch alongsid e exo-armors and
f ight ers. A lterna t ively, t he conveyer can also carry th e Dro ne t o
th e hu ll's rep air bay, where it can be serviced alongsid e exo- ar-
m ors and fi g ht ers. Since t he Shan-Yu's Drones lack the d elicat e
st ealt h covering s of t he Dro nes used by t he Huan g-Ti , a c1 ean- +..+
ro om service facil ity is g ene rally not req uired . .;. ...... ._j -i , ..,..

00123
•
IJ
SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER

~
r---

7.5 SHIP PERSONNEL 'Y 7.5.1 Interview with a Ceptaln

•.-. The Shan-Yu-c1ass has f ive departmen t s. Operations is co m-

mand ed by t he First O ff icer, Gunnery by t he Weapons Off icer,
and Engineering by th e Ch ief Eng ineer, while Flig ht Operations
belo ng s t o t he Flig ht Operations Off icer. A n additiona l depa rt-
ment is not liste d on t he crew roster. Fleet Operations is com-
Name:
Rank:
Current Assignment:
Darquisa Tamilar
Sho- Sho
CVNA Takizawa
Tos hiyuk i

II mand ed by t he Inte llige nce Officer. Though the Fleet Officer is

almost always of higher rank t han the Ship's Captain , the Ship's
"I worked hard fo r th is position. I didn 't
get it just because I'm a Bank employee .
Cap tai n is in charge of t he ship and retains overa ll authority.
II I've been working around spacesh ips
since I was nine . I got my f irst command

•• CD Crew Organization Chart

Ca pt ain
First Officer ................................................................................ ................... ....... 1
Med ical Officer (Dr.) ..... .................................... .......................... ........................... 1
at sevente en, and my record on that ship
got me everything that came afterwa rd .
I' m forty-fi ve yea rs o ld now, and I've
spe nt maybe a grand tota l of e ig ht
EMT ............................................................................................................. 2
months of t hat life on th e surface of Ve-
II Nurse ........................................ ............. ................. ............ ......................... 2 nus it self.

•
Supp ly Officer ..................................... ................................................................... 1
Sup ply Cler k .......... ............................................................... ....................... 4 Prep aring t o tak e co mmand of t he Takizawa has result ed in t he
Aesthetics Specia list .......... ....................................................................... ............. 1 long est stay I've ever had in one part of the solar system . Do ing
Mo rale Officer ..... ........................................................ ..... ..................... ................. 2 this job isn't ab out being abl e t o spout comp any lines o r be t he
EME Specialist s ...... ....................................................... ............ ............... 8 stereotypica l go od Venusian. The CVNA needs someone who can
Helm sman/ N avig at or ................................................... .............................. . 4
operat e on her own, but who also wo n't let power go to her head .
We apon s Officer ................................•..................................................... ............. 1
After all, out in the b ig b lack, t he capt ain is t he Venusian Bank.
Gunner ......... ................................................................................................ 4
I'm ju st immodest enoug h t o say t hat I' m de f initely th e right pe r-
Chief Eng ineer ........................ ..................... ............. ............................... .............. 1
M aster Eng ineer ..................... ...... ........ ......................... .................. ............ 3
son for t he job.
Eng ine ers .......... ......................................................................................... 20
Electronics Sp ecialist ..................................................................... ............ 10 "My qu arters are go ing to be hug e, almo st as larg e as t he ad mi-
Exo Engineer ............................................................................................... 8

Security Officer .....,......... .........................................................•.............. .............. 1

Se curit y Spe cialists ........... ....... .................................. .................... ... ..... 13
Flight O pe rat io ns Office r ............ .......................................... ........ ............... ....... 1
Deck Officer ........................................................... ....................... ...................... ... 1
Cat ap ult Specialist s .... ............ ............... .................................................. .... 6
Ordna nce Specialists .............. ................................................................... 12
Exo/ Fight e r Pilots ................ .................. .... ................ ................. ...................... ..... 6
Mar ines ................................................ .................•............................................... 10
ralN IP q uarters' in the ot her main hull. Som eon e high er up ob vi-
ously t ho ugh t I'd be spendin g a lot of time go ofing off . Ridi cu-
lo us. I expect I won't b e g etti ng much sleep for t he fi rst few
mo nt hs. No new ship is free of bugs and gre m lins, and th is is
probably t he mo st complex vessel eve r b uilt . I'll have to both
command from t he br id ge and d o hand s-on work down in the
eng ineering tun nels. It's a wo rt hwhi le challe nge, th ough . Once I
ge t t his ship running at full eff icienc y, it will tru ly b e mine ."

00124
~
SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER
7 .6.2 I nter vi e w with e Security Officer
N ame: Iman Dhaliwal
Rank: Tai-i
Current Assignment: CVNA Kadokawa
N ami
"Th is ship 's go ing to be a nightm are t o
manage. The crew is huge. M ore t han
one hundred people tryi ng t o work and
live in an encl osed sp ace, you g otta ex-
pect some seriou s pro b lems. I know how
ro om y t he ship is. I've st ud ied the sche-
matics. It sti ll doesn't matter. The y'll get
claustroph ob ic soo n enough . It'sjust the
way humans work . We ad apt to our avail-
ab le space and t hen want more.
" We Venusi ans, being better t han the no rmal crowd, have pro -
p ort ionally greater abi lity to both adapt and wa nt more stuff. So
what happens if som eone decides to st eal som et hing from stores,
or g et s vio lent because his significant other decided to visit riche r
turf? Well , the good t hing is t hat I've g ot a pretty well -staffe d
se,furity depa rtment on t he ship, so it's not as if I have to d o ev-
erything myse lf . Unless I'm overidden by the captai n, I can de-
cide whet her someone just needs to be co nfine d to the ir qu ar-
t ers t o co ol down fo r a while, or whet he r th ey need to be re-
strained and dropped in t he brig .
" Because thi s ship is so much larger than , say, an Imperat or, t he
on b oa rd cult ure is a lo t d ifferent. I can't use a lot of fo rce, b e-
cause th e crew won 't resp ect that as much as someone who exer-
cises rest raint and discretion . It's d iffe rent in battl e. If the ship is
board ed , I have to manage the int ernal defense. But that's much
easier tha n my day-to-day w ork, because during a board ing ac-
ti on, I g et to shoot fi rst ."
00125
~ 7.5.3 I n t e r v ie w with an Engineer
•
II
..
N ame: M ikiko Nakadai
Rank: Sho-i II
Current Assignment : CVNA Kadokawa
Nami IiII
" Well, it's go ing to look nice wh en it's Ii
d one, b ut I'm not happy about som e of
t he comp rom ises they made in order to
get th is big boy to look like a cargo
II
hauler. Most of th e bi g cargo hau lers
accelerate and decelerate once per tri p, II
so they don't ne ed much remass. N ot
onl y will the Shan-Yu have to maneuver 11
regularly, b ut it s en gin es are a who le lot
more po werful t han normal civvie drives,
and so t hey suck up a lot more rem ass. The end result is t hat
t hose litt le tanks in t he d rive sect ion aren't nearly enough to last
t he Shan-Yu th roug h a military operation.
•
II
"T he answer? Well, they pu t all t he extra remass in the weapon
hulls, right be hin d t he particle acce lerators, qu adru p lin g t he t ota l
capacity. The problem lies in t he p lumb ing that runs between the
tanks and the d rive sect io n. It's long , convoluted and overly com-
plex. The desig ners assure me t hat it's all going to wo rk f ine, but
I' m not so sure. On e little kink in the works, and the who le ship
wi ll be dea d in space. O f course , I hope it doesn't hap p en, since
I'm the one who ' ll have to fi nd a fix, b ut I just have a bad feel ing
about it .
"Oh, I guess there're other th ings to worry about , too, like the power
feed s for t hose overcompensating particle cannon, or the heat gen -
erat ion from the strategic ops center, but if I let myse lf worry about
everything at once , then I might as well be a naviga tor."
•
II
~

.,
I
I
I
.,
TV,
c-...,
Section: Main Hull wI Fleet Bridge

M ain Date'

Hull Size :
41000
42
42

Movament Oet:a:
1 Off. TV,
I
I
Actions:
Default Size :
80000
7
36
I
I
I
o.f. TV,
SenSOl"S:

A"" o<"
toooo
·212km
00
MiK . TV:
Comm: ·2110 km
Ught:
52000

' 00
1
I
Co", 8O.6M
Fire Con trol :
He avy:
+1
200
I
I
Indv.lemon Di<»: 2
Typot:
O verkill :
Um .Prod
300

I Modo, Towed I Com bat : . I Top ' Rang e : 3,000 tv s ReM ass :

-...
11 ., Parks & Flaws:
Name Rating Gam e Effect Nam. Rat ing Gam e Effect

~ Shan·Vu Backu p S)" tem s lab Tact ics , + 1 t o Tact ics ro lls
Lab Leadershi p + 1 to Lead ersh ip roll,
., Overall Oete:
CArg o Bay
3.1( Ca tapult
15,000 m 3
C600lmass l m1s2 Lif. Support
1
Full
Com put... eRE 0 KNO 0 PP3 Passenger Accom S,5OOm3
I Thre at Value: 144000 Off . TV; Dei . TV: Mise. TV: Co st : 331M Ind....Ie mon Dice : 3 3

II ., Mov e m e n t Oete:
Oifficuh: to Mod ify
EjtKt ioo Syst em s Pod s fOf' SOPeo ple
All ReinfOf"atd Crew
St e ald,
3
2

1 Mod . , Spac e I Comb at :S MP (0.5 gll Top:10 MP (1.0 gJ I Ma M UY8f': -4 I Rang e : 2000 hI'S I R.Mn s:2500 BPs HEP: Rad •
II ., Bectlons:
.,
HEP: Vac

I I Offensive and Oefansive Bystsms:

I" Main Hull wlBridge 2x Weapon Hull 1 II: Centraf Hull
I Ory Nam. Ar e OM 6R Ac e ROF Am~ Sp ac ial M5 WC AC
I
., ,.
I"
..
M ain Hu ll wlFlHt 8f'idge
F ,.zo 0 Inf. AD2. Cone . (Ins.l, HEAT 122 14 nl a
1
.,
1 1 2
l
LaHf' Array
CMM T , 16
7
2 ., 644 a Conc .(lnstan tJ. H., Missit.
• 3106 2.7

•
O ff & O s f Byst ems
I" Po int Defen se S)'It e«l I 6x CMM I 2, Missil. Say
1 ., unr Array I 2x P.IM ams I
I 1 I

II
~ Sact i o n : Main Hull w lBri d g e ~ Section: Main Hull wlRaii Gun

II ., Main Oat:a: ., Main O ..t:a:

TV, ' 5000 1 Off. TV 84000 0.# . TV: 1 0‫סס‬oo I Misc. TV: - Cost : 77 .1M I lndv.lemon Dice: 2 TV 23000 Off . TV: 46000 I o. f. TV, S600 Misc . TV: , ‫סס‬OO 1 Co", 32.2 M 1 Indv.1emon [);co, 2
(Jew . 42 I Action s: 7 I 5en SOl""s: -212km I Comm: ·2110 km I Fir. Con trol: ., 1 Type ' Urn .Prod I Crew : 16 I Act ion s: 6 I Sensor s: onkm I Com m : 0/ 10 km I Fi,.. Con tro l: +1 I Type : lim.Prod
Hull Size: 42 I De fault Size : 36 I ATmo" 100 I Ught, 100 I H.~: 200 I Ove rkill: 300 I Hull Size: 40 I Default Size : 26 I Anno" 75 u gh t , 75 I He avy: 150 I Ove rkill: 22 5

., M ovement D a te : ., Movemant Date:

Modo, Towod I Combat, . I Top , . I Rang e: 3.<XXIhl'l I ReMu s: . 1 Moo.: Tow ed I Com b at : . I Top ' . I Rang e : 3,000 hrs I ReM ass: . I
., P ark. & F laws: ., Perk. & Flaws:
Name Rat ing Game Effect NamilJ Rating Gamv Effect Nam e Rating Game Effect Name Rating Game Effect
Backup Syst &ms Lif. Support Full Back up Syst~ Prob lem Prone 1 ext ra Lemon Die
Ctr go Bay 15,000 m3 Passen ger Accom 5.5OOm3 Difficu lt to Modify All Re infOfced Cre-w 3
3XClltllpu lt (6OOIm ass) mls2 Reinfor ced Crew 3 Eject ion SY1tems Pod s fOf'20 People Ste alth 2
Com put er
Difficult to Modi fy
3 eR E 0 KNO 0 PP3
All
Ste alth 2 HEP: Rae!
HEP: Vac
•
Eject iOfl Syst e ms Pod s fo r SO Peop le Lab Nav igation Spac e 1 + 1 t o Nav Sp KII Rolls
HEP: Rad
HEP: Vac
• Life Sup port
Passe ng .... Acco m 2.000m 3
Full

., Offanslve and Oafaneiva Bystams: ., Offensive and Defensive Bystams:

OM we
Or y
z
Na me
laser Anay
IV<
F
OM
,.zo
BR
7
Ace
0
ROF
.,
Amm o
Inf
Special
A02, Con e. (Ins t .), HEAT ,.
M5 WC
122 14
AC
nla
Ory
3
Name
Rail Gun
IV<
FF , 70
SR
7
Ace
0
ROF
.,
Ammo
500 ..
Speci al
Conc ealed (1m d l, PH6
M5
,. 53 10
AC
9
, .,
.... ,....
1 POS (rangftd ) T ,10 .6 Inf. AM, Conc. (Inst .). HEAT 16 86 7 nla
POS (sh ield) FF , 30 Mel.. ., Inf. Cone. (Inst.),Def.E-SNd.,H. 16
3 CMM T ,1. 2 ., 644a Cone .(lnst .). HEAT, Mis.
• 3 106 2.7

00126
~

l'
I lY

I
l'
Crew :
Hull Size:
Section:

Main Data.
33000
18
30
I
I
I
Mov a m e n t D a 1:8 .
0/1. rv
Actions:
ex

o.tauh: Size :
Weepon Hull

26000
6
32
I
I
I
Do! . rv
Sen sors: -212 km
An""',
2500

SO
MisG.lV:
Comm: ·2/ 10 !em
Light :
13000

50
I
I
I
Cost : 181 .6M
Fite Contr ol:
He avy: 100
I
., I
Indv.Iemon Dice: 2
Typo '
l Over-kin:
Lim.Pro d

' SO
~

l'

l'
TV
Crew ;
Section: •

Main Data.

Hull Size :

Mode:
- I
· I
· I
Movamant Da1:8.
- I
0/1 . TV
Act ions :
Dvt'ault Size :

Combat ,
- I Dof.lY
· I Sen sor s :
· I Base AfmOl :

- I Top '
· I
· I
· I

- I
Misc:. TV:
Com m .:
li ght :

Mal"l8UY«:
- I
· I
· I

- I
Cost :
Fire Cont rol :
He ..lIY:

Range,
- I
- I
- I

- I
IndY lemon dic e : •
Typo,
o -k;ll,

Re . MaS$.:
•
•
I M od e: Towed I Com ba t : - I Top ' . I Rilln ge : 3,000 hrs I ReM .ss: - I

-
•
l' Perk. & Flew••
l' Perka & Flawe. Nom. Rat ing Gam e Effect N, ,,,,, Rating G ame Effect
Nome Ratin g Gam_ Effect Na"'" Rating Game Eff ect
Backup Syst i&ffiS Ste alth 2
Cargo Bay l ,OOOm 3
Diff icuh to Modify All

,
EjKtion Syst 8iTl Pod s f o r 20 piK) pl e
H EP:

HEP: Vac
Rae! 4
II
PaS5eng er Accom l, 5OOm3
Reinforc ed Crew 3
l' Offen.lva and Datanelve By.tem••
O ffensi v e a n d Daten. lve Byete.....:

•
l'
, LaM'f Arr ay F ><20 7 0 ., In!. AD2. Cone . (lnst .), HEAT 12213 nI,
01, Na"", Aro OM SR ACC ROF Amm o SpKial MS WC AC

, P. Beam FF .35 7 -2 . 4 SO .A03.Conc.{lmdl Hwr.H.;-H4 "

• 2 559 51
, MissikiBay T . 30 5 -2 .S 40 Cone..(lrlSO , HEAT. Miu ile 8 2644 2 .3

II
I

~ Section: Centrel Hull ~ Section: •

II
l' Main Da1:8. l' Main Da1:8. M
I lY ' 9000 0/1. rv 0 Def.lV: '900 Mise-. lV: S6000 I Cost, - I lndv.lernon Dke: 2 l TV - I 0/1 . TV - I oef.lY Misc . 1V: - I Co", Indv lemon dice : •

I Crew : 24 I Act ion s: 6 I s.nsors: +2/ 4 !em Comm: + 1115!em I Fire Cont rol : o I Typo , Lim.Prod I C_ , · I Act ions : - I SensO<" Com m .: · I Fire Cont ro l; - I Typo '
I Hull Size: 32 I Def au lt Size: 27 I An"o" 7S Ugh" 7S I Heavy. '50 I Over kiU: 22S I Hull Size : · I De fauh Size : · I Base Arm Ol: li ght : - I H.""" - I o -kill,

l' Movement Da1:8. l' Movemant Da1:8 .

I Mod . , s"..,. I Combat,37 MP IHgI I To p,75 MP (7.5 g) Marwuv er : .... I R. ng e : 3.000 tvs I ReM .: 2O,OXl BPs I Mod., - I Combat, - I Top ' M ~rwtuvet: - I R, "9'" . I Re . M ~ss :

l' Perke & Flawe. l' Perke & Flewe.

N ~m. Rat ing Game Effecl Na me Rat ing G~me Effect Nome R~t ing Game Effecl Na",. R ~ting Game EffiKt
BKkup Syst ems Sat ~ lit e Uphnk
Carg o Bay 25 ,000 m3 Sid Bay 4 Four patients
Diff icult to Mod ify All Stea h h 2 Add 10 C~all'T'l8nl
Eject ion Syste m Pod s for 28 Pe~e
HEP: R.d
HEP: v ee
•
lif e Sup port Full
Re inforc ed Crew 3

l' Offenelve end Defenelve By.teme. l' Offenelve and Defenelve Bya t e m e.
01, Na"'" Aro DM SR Aco ROF Ammo Special MS WC AC O1y Na"'" Aro DM BR ACC ROF Amm o Sp.aal MS wc AC

00127
 SHAN -YU BATTLE CRUIS ER

II ~ PART VI: ..JOURNEY OF THE CORPSE * * *

There had been ba rely eno ugh reac-
II t io n mass in Tagg art's t ransport to fill
even one of the Sat rap 's dozens of
......
"'1Ii'
tanks . Still, it would have to be enough .
Kinya watched Taggart, acco mpan ied
II by a gagg le or service b ots , d rift in
th roug h the main airlo ck.
" So wh at hap pens now?" he asked .
" We 're almost ho me, Mischa, " Tag g art said to a wall camera. As
he had every day since his rescue, he ran his fing ers lig ht ly over
the scul pt-cl asp at his t hroat.
"I know," came the rep ly, every wall resonating with sound . "The
journ ey is almost over."
It had taken fou r years, a period dou bl e t he du rat ion of his im-
p risonm ent by Nakama. This t ime, t hough , there had be en no
pa in, no de sire to escape . The voic e had spo ken to him t he in-

II Tag g art rem ov ed his hel me t befo re

answering.
stant Kinya had left the ship , and Tagga rt had not yet seen a need
t o ask it t o b e silent. There had been tens e mo ments, du ring

•
II
" I'll pilot t his one home. It' ll need hu-
man gu id anc e, I ima g ine. " Taggart
beg an to t ick off points on his fing ers.
"You st ay with the t ransport, and send
eq uipm ent fail ures o r close flybys, but Mi scha had always b een
t here, guid ing Tag gart throug h th e dese rted co rridors, his robotic
servants seeing to his every need .

II the distress call when I'm far enough
away. SolaPol wi ll show up, search the
ship , find nothi ng out of the ord inary,
and t ow yo u back home. Stay coo l, decline t o answer any qu es-
tions, and th ey'll have no choice but to d rop you off at Venu s and
maybe seize t he ship, jf th ey're fee ling really cranky. Either way,
you 're in t he clea r. I'l l take a ro und about route, making sure no-
body sees me, and use the remass to get home. I'll sign al you
when we get close. If all goes well , t his shi p will be back in Venu -
sian hand s, wit h SolaPo l none the wiser. " He 'd th oug ht up t he
p lan wh ile rigg ing th e fue l t ransfer. It had be en th e best th ing he
could come up wit h.
" There's not m uch remass there, for a ship t his size," Kinya said .
" It cou ld take years. Wi ll you be okay?"
"I t hink so," Tagga rt said . He pause d , t urning his head sid e t o
side, sweeping the room with his ears. "I have a lot of ta lking to
do wit h a dead man ."
A long t he way, Tag gart had bee n allo wed to ent er th e Executor's
cent ral node, a free zing room pac ked solid with data storage drives
and del icate filig rees of neurona l stalks. The entire system must
have massed at least two tons. Buried deep in t he midd le of t he
ma ss was the o rig inal Execut or M ischa had b uilt on his hob by
t able, barely four cent imet ers long.
"You must have been an amazing man in life, Mischa, " Tagg art
said, leaning ag ainst a wa ll in Kinya 's o ld stat ero om .
" Tha nk yo u, Tag gart-san, " t he voice repl ied . " In life, I tried my
best. O nly in death did 1act ually succeed in accom plish ing any-
th ing, t ho ug h."
"Do yo u regret th at? Dying to save my life?"
"I d o n't t hink I wou ld ," came t he serene rep ly. "I thi nk I was al-
ways to o focused on what need ed to be d one to bo t he r t hinking
about what ough t to have be en done."
Taggart nodded . It was th e best answer he could expect.

00 1 2 8
 SHAN-YU BATTLE CRUISER
" The ship s of t he CVNA will be here soon," he murm ured . " Wh at
will you do?"
"These rou tin es are abou t to be de leted ," the voi ce said immedi-
ately. " I di dn 't care muc h about the Ed icts, b ut I did thi nk th at
onc e I'd fi nished my d uty, I should n't leave anyt hing of myself st ill
in the world ."
Tag g art was silent fo r some t ime .
" Suicide at last?" he asked qu iet ly.
" N o, Taggart, not suicid e," t he vo ice correct ed g entl y. " It's nice
of you t o t hink of me as alive, b ut I died in an accide nt six years
ag o . No w it's j ust ti me t o turn off the answer ing mac hin e."
"You've gr own out of t hat," Tagga rt argued . "In time, you mig ht
beco me t ruly self-aware . You might already b e."
"M aybe," M ischa admitted . "But ifthat were t rue, then I wo uldn 't
be able to do t his."
W it h th at, t he wal ls went silen t fo r t he last time. Tag gart waited,
stunned, b ut t he who le ship had gone q uiet . The comm channels
beg an to hiss with the sound of approaching CVNA escorts . Barely
hesrinq t hem, Tag g art al-Raschid sank to th e floor and wept for a
dead fri end .
* * *
Few Venusians merited coffin space in t he ground of an arcology.
It was a terrible waste of space . The CVNA obviously fe lt that it
owed Katayama more th an a simp le cremation .
Most of t he CVNA b rass we re in att end ance, Taggart noted. It
was only fitting . Even thou g h t he computer was "dead ," the files
and routines t hat were left in th e centra l node would keep the
CVNA's researchers occupied for years. Al ready, Taggart was read -
ing reports of how Katayama 's work wou ld give new insight on
00129
min iat urizing and enhancing Exec uto rs. The most amazing th ing
was t hat mu ch of Kat ayam a's work had bee n accomp lished , and
•
iii
-•
recorded, whil e he was wo rking in t he naval b ranch a d ecad e
ago; no bo dy had bothered t o ta ke his wr itin gs serio usly, and th e II
fi les were only ju st now b eing d red ged up and reo pened . At th e
head of th e coffin, t he chaplain was saying as much.
"We greatly m isjudg ed Katayama-san in his life," t he off ice r
droned . " But , in d o ing so, we allowed him to become an ex-
amp le t o all of us, a t eacher of a lesson many of us have fo rg ot-
t en. In d ying for t he sake of loy alty, he has inspired ot hers to give II
t hemse lves similarly t o a hig her cause. Let us p ray t hat we may all
learn f rom Misc ha Katayama, and rem em be r what it me ans t o b e II
a Venusian."
It to ok ho urs for the funera l p rocession to wend it s way down t o
11
the art ificia l river and b ack up. Whe n t he cere monies were all
over, Tag gart and Kinya st ood side by sid e, gent ly touching t he II
ornate ebony marker.
•
" It's a new ship ," Tag gart was saying . "A Shan-Yu. It need s an
intell igence officer. I'm no t flag rank. I' m not eve n close. They
gave it to me anywa y." He sho ok his head, am used. "I t's a long
assig nment . I' ll p robably get back every coup le of yea rs. If yo u
nee d me, you know how t o reach me."
Kinya nod d ed without loo king up from his fat her's gr ave.
" They're g iving me my father's o ld job, " he m used by way of
rep ly. "Probati onary, b ut it 's a he ll of a start . I'll be here. Lo ok me
up . You, or anyone else in your family."
There was nothi ng left t o say.
Bot h me n bowed deeply before Misc ha Katayama's ceno taph .
When they stra ightened, t hey wa lked off in separate directions;
remain ing between them was the memory of a man neithe r one
had eve r tru ly met.
•
&I
OPERATIONS

~ B.1 LIVING AND WORKING

AND ENGINEERING

fo r actively offensive beha vior aga inst o ne's pe ers. Crim es are easy
to t rack d own on a sm all ship . Lega l issues asid e, a rep utat io n for
Th e CVNA ad heres t o t he t radi t ion al twent y-four-hou r day cycle

-
II used on Eart h and in t he Jov ian Confederation . Smaller CVNA
ships use a t hree-shift schedu le fo r t he crew, w hich sp lit s t he crew
int o t hird s and alte rnates them b etween work-rest-s leep shift s.
Th is st ruct ure is de signed t o al low the crew ample t im e to work
t reach ery can be as d ead ly t o o ne's career as any crim inal co nvic-
tion; t his basic log ic keep s most of th e o ne-up m anship aboa rd
CVNA vessels to a fairly safe mi nim um .
It is said in t he CVNA tra ining scho o ls t hat t he re is no such t hing

.
II on any ot her respo nsib ilit ies they may have, or simply relax. Larg er
ships, whi ch have more roo m and larg er crews, use a fo ur-shift
sch edu le t hat red uce s crew wo rkload. The four-shift str uct ure also
allows some crewmembe rs to wo rk double shifts . This is an o p-
as a bo red Venusian crew member. Unlike Jovian o r C EGA ves-
sels, a crewmember's free ti m e is seld om used fo r entert ainm ent .
In additi on t o p hysical workouts and t rainin g to adv ance on e's
skills and knowledge, a good dea l of int ernal polit ickin g occ upies

•
11
tion oft en chose n by officers near promotio n o r crewmem bers
wan ting add itio nal t rain ing.

Th e at mos phe re aboa rd a Venusian ship is very m uch one of co m-

p et iti ve teamwo rk. A lt ho ug h th e str ict chain of co m mand req uired
fo r any m ilita ry to functi o n smooth ly is pres ent in t he CV NA , it is
II also an unspoken und erstand ing t hat everyone on th e ship has
much of t he average Ven usian crew m em b er's t im e. Req uests to
senio r offi cers fo r train ing or tu toring , t aking on of ext ra p roj ect s
o r shift s and act ive p ursuit of friend shi ps in ot her ship d ep art -
m ent s are all no rm al and healt hy m eth ods for Ven usian naval crew
to bot h survive and th rive in t he CVNA.
A lt ho ugh CVN A pe rso nnel are supposed t o be free of lin g ering

• loy alt ies asid e fro m the CVNA. This does cause som e issue s when
crew be lo ngs to corporations th at are at odds w it h one another.

Venu sian int raship politics are essent ially a mi crocosm of t he swirl
of corp ora te co mpet it io n and backstabbing that exists back o n
Ven us. Indi vid uals w it h high rank must co nstantl y b ew are of syco -
ph ants and exces sive ambiti o n, wh ile sim ultaneo usly enco urag-
ing growth and innovat io n with in t he crew. Enlist ed crew work
closely t o com p let e projects and ea rn merit , b ut are also always
on t he loo ko ut fo r o p portunities to leave their co mra des b ehi nd
in t he race for promot ions. In such an env iron ment, inform at io n is
pow er. Security officer ranks are int ent ionall y low, t hus b alanc ing
t he m assive am o unt s of p erso nal dat a t hey have access t o with
an increased vulne rability t o ret rib ut io n from ab ove if m isco ndu ct
sho uld occur. Crew m em b ers w ith hig hly p laced co rporate co n-
t act s o r other sou rces of favo r are bot h resp ect ed and loat hed .
corp o rat e loyalt ies, t he CVNA as a w ho le is sti ll to o you ng an
o rg anizat io n to be able to t ruly expect such easy change from a
cu lture b uilt o n a ce ntury of int erco rp o rat e sq uabbling. Po litica l
p ressure and favor-trading results in ship s with crews divided along
lines of co mpany loyalt ies. One example is t he CVNA Karl Krupp,
w hose command crew is mostly d raw n f rom th e Venusia n Bank . A
recent crew t urnover resu lted in th e f ligh t, en g ine ering and han-
ga r crew s all be ing ex-em p loyees of t he Ven usian Aero space
Co rpo rat io n. Venus ian psych ana lyst s have noted t hat, w it h each
succeed ing mont h, th e stat us rep o rts from d epartment heads have
been increasing ly blam e-or ient ed and accusatory ; t he ship 's ov erall
eff icie ncy has d ro p p ed twelve pe rcent. Such ext rem e sit uatio ns
are rare, and are q uickly rem ed ied by act io ns fro m t he CVNA
high co m m and. How ever, th e chan ce for lif e-th reatening human
erro rs rema ins hig he r o n CVNA ship s th an on w arships bel o ng ing
t o other navies.

A lt ho ug h it wo uld seem impro bab le t hat a wa rship cou ld func - ,

t ion w it h all of t his subterfuge going o n, th e p ract ical reality is
t hat th e harsh req uirem ents fo r surviving in space leave little t im e

001 30

...
OPERATIONS
B. '1. '1 Crew Selection
G ive n the sec rec y sur round in g th e CVN A and its ships, t he
org anization's crewm em bers are sup posed to be selecte d fo r t hei r
lo yalty t o bot h Venus and the ir co rp orat ion. Strings are pu lled ,
favo rs are called in and d ebt s are rep aid to g et a position abo ard
one of th e new ships .
Crewmembers are attract ed to th e smaller ship s, like t he Ch ief-
t ain and Imp erator. The am o unt of p resti ge and status tha t can
be earned is greater t han on a larg er ship , whe re t he p resti g e is
sp read t hinly amongst t he crew. The advantag e of a larg e ship is
t hat a crew member is mo re like ly t o survive an engagement, since
t he larger CVNA vesse ls have yet to ent er com b at wit h any vesse l
t hey d id not overwhe lming ly out m atch . A lso, t he larger ships usu-
ally have more recreat io n areas, larger living areas and a sho rte r
w ork cycle .
O ft en, in a con voy of ship s, a CVNA vessel m ost not on ly hid e its
p resence from ships of t he ot her sol ar nations, b ut also f rom t he
ot her Venu sian ships in th e con voy. This pla ces varyi ng d egr ees
of stress upon t he handl ing of any social eve nt t hat m ight occ ur
betwee n th e convoy and t he CVNA. M ost CVN A capt ains have a
prep ared list of excuses, p rob lems and ot her incid ent s th at will
keep t he other ships fr om f ind ing o ut its t rue nat ure.
... B . '1.2 Sound the Alerm
CVNA ship s use a num ber of alert co nd it ions to qu ickly infor m
the crew as t o th e ship's cu rrent st atu s. A ship 's co ndi t io n is d is-
p layed on both wa ll monitors and on each crewmember's pe r-
sonal data d isp lay. In the event of combat alerts, alarms wi ll also
sou nd .
00131
I
I
AND
o
ENGINEERING
CVNA Alert Conditions
••
..-
Condition AA : Thi s rare con d it ion is used t o de note a state of near complet e cessa-
ti on of ship f unctions. Used when a ship is wait ing in d ock for cargo loading or in
ot her cases when th e ship is large ly shut down. Condit ion AA cancels t he no rmal IJ
shift schedule for t he ent ire crew, with t he except ion of th e com mand staff and a few
eng inee rs, who stay on du ty t o monitor life support stat us and oth er vital syst ems.
The crew is unabl e t o leave t he ship, but may relax wit hin t he b ounds of CVNA
regul at ions. Cond it ion AA , when declared , seldom last s for mor e t han tw elve hours.
Condition A: This co ndi ti on rep resent s an all-cle ar statu s. No rmal shift sched ule is II
maint ained, and crew recreat ion acti viti es are permitt ed . The ship 's aesthetics of-
ficer is free to make use of t he hull's vid-membranes, as well as make br oad cast
tr ansmissions for ad vert ising purposes. II
Conditio n C: Under cond it ion C, t he normal shift sched ule is maintained, but with
somewhat t igh ter security. Crew recreat ion is limited in scop e, and the hull vid- II
•
membranes are most like ly shut down. Crew offe nses co mm itt ed when t he ship is
under cond ition C are punished more severe ly that offenses comm itted under co n-
d it ion A. This con d iti on is used when the ship is not in any apparent danger, but t he
captain has reasons to believe there may be tr oub le approach ing.
Conditi on L: Cond it ion L is a co mb at -read y stat us. Used when app roachin g b attle II
or encounte ring unknown and potent ially da ngerou s sit uatio ns (such as dist ress calls).
t his condit ion req uires all hangar and EVA-t rained pe rsonne l to report fo r immed i-
ate duty. Ship weapo ns are not act ive, so gunnery crews and t he engi nee ring de- II
p artm ent ad here to the no rm al shift sched ule. Under t his cond ition, veh icle s and
EVA crews can be launc hed to either engage in combat or p erform rescue op era-
ti ons.
Condit ion R: Cond it ion R is similar to cond iti on L, excep t th at t he entire crew must
b e ready t o report t o b att le stat ions. A ll recreat ional act ivit ies are cancele d , and the
entire crew is exp ected t o be ab le to be at cond it ion X or S read iness in less th an
five seconds.
Condition X : When condition X is declared , t he ship 's crew is t o move to b att le
stati ons im med iately. Combat maneuvers are imm inent , and it is likely t hat t he ship 's
wea p ons will be act ivated . A ny p ersonnel who wou ld no rm ally be off d uty are as-
signed t o d amage cont rol te ams. The ship is comp lete ly de p ressurized , and th e
g ravity wheel, if pre sent, is imme d iately de -spinned and locked .
Condition S: Condit ion 5 also req uires all crewme mb ers to be ready fo r d uty, re-
gardl ess of t he shift sched ule . Cond it ion 5 is used whe n t he ship is t rying to avoi d
de te ct ion, and is virtually ident ical in execut ion t o cond it ion X. The d ifferen ce is t hat
under cond it ion 5, th e crew must be alert and ext remel y caref ul to minimize any
activity th at mi ght reveal th e ship's po siti on . This sta t us is also used when hid ing
amongst ot her ships. In th at case, t he vid-membrane is sti ll act ive and emis sions are
kept t o a level common for th e ship t hat it is hid ing as.
•
R
OPERATIONS AND
~ B.2 DEPLOYMENT
•.-. The CVNA com prise s about one hu ndred ships, a fract ion of the
fleet power pos sessed by t he Jovians or CEGA. Even though t he
individ ual ships are far m ore powerful and effect ive t han t hei r
fore ign equ ivalen t s, the CVNA is still , in sum, the weakest of the
t hree maj or space navies. It wi ll t hus be t o Venus' b en efi t to co n-
&I t inue hid ing t heir fle et and allowing t he rest of t he so lar syste m to
believe that t here are o nly two maj or space navies in exi ste nce.
II A few incid ents have o ccurred over t he course of t he p ast decad e
that have end ang ered t he secret of th e Venu sian fleet 's existence,
II but carefu l analyses have reassured the Planet ary Advisory Board
that t he dam age was localized and slig ht. In one case, a d ocking
11 tug near Pyrea Stat io n accidenta lly ramm ed a Satrap-class cru iser,
expo sing p art of its armored hu ll to view. The mo dificat ion was
quickly exp lained as a p erfect ly sensib le customization fo r a dip-
II lomat ic t ranspo rt , an exc use th at was apparent ly accepted at face
value . At t he m oment , Venusian intellig ence sources report t hat
II th e genera l perception of the other sola r nat io ns is that Venus
possesses a few ships wit h un ique mod ificat ion s, b ut no t rue st an-
dardized navy.
CVNA warships are repaired and serviced by aut horized perso n-
nel at a number of secure spacedocks in stati ons scattered across
the inner solar syste m and t he Belt . Fo r security, most of t he se
facilit ies only have standard civil ian-g rad e rep lacem ent parts, so
a ship in need of rep airs to its m ilit ary equ ip ment will have to
ret urn to Venus for servicing . Th is is an obvious logi stical we ak-
ness th at has yet t o cause any problem s; no CVNA ship s that
have been forced to enter com bat have sustai ned da mage tha t
p reve nted t he m fro m either finishing their duties or retu rnin g t o
Venus for full repairs. A few Venusian ship s have been lost in ap-
par ent b attle, b ut t he evaluations of t he se cases show t hat t he
ships were d est royed wit hou t eve r havi ng the opportunity to try
t o reach a repair sit e.
0 0132
ENGINEERING
Th e CVNA's goal in main ta ining such levels of secrecy is so t hat it
can serv e Venus' pri mary inte rest , which is to affect solar politics
in such a way as to weaken both the Jovian s and CEGA and allow
Venus to tak e supremacy. W it h an openly visible navy, Ven us would
only become part of the arms race, eff ect ively forcin g the ot her
solar nat ions to t ry to m atc h it s techno logy. Venus wou ld also no
long er be perceived as a peaceful wo rld , which wo uld open it up
t o p ote nti al milita ry aggression. Since t he ot he r so lar nat io ns do
not know of th e CVNA's existence, th ey will con t inue to assume
that the ir warships, exo -ar mors and f ig ht ers rep resent t he p in-
nacl e of hum an t echnical ach ievement .
With th is assumpti o n firm ly ent renched in t he mind s of bot h t he
Jovians and CEGA , t he CVNA is rel at ively free to act with cau-
t ion , using gui le, stea lt h and misd irection to furt her inflam e the
en m ity between th e two superpowers, while reinfo rcing the pe r-
cept ion of Venus as a co ncerned ally of both nat ions . Chiefta in-
class ship s eliminate p irate s in t he Belt, freeing up Jov ian resources
to move furt her insyst em . At th e same ti m e, other CVNA ships
are roo t ing out STRIKE faci lities inside t he o rbit of Mars , allowing
C EGA t o fo cus more of its attent io n t owa rd Jup ite r. W hen t he
Huang-Ti ships are fu lly tested, th ey will beg in a ser ies of opera-
tions to selectively leak classified info rm ati on fro m one superp ower
t o the other, as we ll as t aking othe r covert act io ns t o increase
distrust between t he supe rpowe rs.
Curre nt ly, t he CVNA's d ep loym ents are g eared toward observing
the acti ons of the superpowers and stre ss-testing the effective-
ness of t he warships' disgu ises. As a result, th e maj or ity of the
CVNA is kep t nea r Venus, so th at if a ship req uires assistance,
help wil l be clo se by. A few Chieftai ns and Im perato rs are as-
sign ed to du t ies around Mars and in t he Belt , but even t hese are
t o b e rota ted b ack to Venu s regu larly. The Sat raps and Tsars t end
to t ravel betw een Eart h and Venus, maki ng simulate d carg o and
p assenger runs.
T
OPERATIONS
8.2 .1 Ship St:at:us Dascript:ions
Ho m e Defense: The ship p erforms pat rol and police duties ne ar
Venus. Lo cal Venus space is ext rem ely bu sy and crow d ed ; b oth
accid ent s and incid ent s are common . The ship shou ld not act i-
vat e it s m ain wea po ns, b ut can, if nece ssary, launch vehi cles.
Local Pat ro l: The ship perfor m s pat rol and po lice duties in t he
inner sol ar syst em (not including Mars). The ship respo nd s to ge n-
eral calls for aid , and ot herw ise keeps a low p rofile and makes
obse rvati ons. Main weapons are to be act ivat ed on ly in cases of
extreme d ang er or need .
M art ian Pat rol: The ship is assigned to g uard Venusian int erest s in
th e Ma rti an syst em . The curre nt at mosphere in th is section of t he
so lar system makes th is duty fairly hig h-risk. Bot h t he Fed erat ion
and t he Free Rep ublic have been known to " accidental ly" str ike
Venusian assets, and piracy is rampa nt. The area's hig h visi b ility
restricts main we apon usag e t o cases of ext reme dan ger or need.
Convoy Esco rt : The ship is made pa rt of a ship p ing convoy of
civilian vessels, and is resp onsible for t he ir protection. The ship
may also t ravel alo ne, posi ng as a civilian ship in order to lure
att ackers. The use of mai n weapons is approved if the ship is
t raveling alon e. If the ship is part of a non-securi ty -c1eared con-
voy, actions shou ld be limit ed t o vehicle launc hes unless on e of
t he convoy vessels is in im m ed iate danger.
Diplomatic Service: Th e ship is assig ned as a dip lomat ic tr ans-
port. It can be used to ferry passengers between Venus and t he
oth er solar nations, or assig ned as a cou rier ship for data and
d o cume nt s. In rare cases, t he ship m ay sim p ly b e used in Venus-
local space for d isplay or parad e pu rp oses. The cap tai n is autho-
rized t o use forc e to prote ct t he ship 's passenge rs and cargo.
Covert Assignment : The ship is given a sp ecific task t o pe rform .
These are, for t he most p art, observation missions involving stealt h
and surveillan ce. Sometim es, however, ord e rs are given to p lant
00133
AND ENGINEERING
ev id enc e, sab otag e a facility, or q uietl y elim inat e a targe t vessel.
These missio ns are alw ays hig h-risk. A ut horizat io n for w eap ons
••
use varies accordi ng t o t he nat ure of the mission.
Belt Pat ro l: The ship is assigned to pat ro l the Belt , prot ecti ng
Venusian int erest s and keeping watch ove r th e variou s Nomad
fact ions. The Belt is home t o many cla nd est ine elem ents; th e ship
•.-.
is also t asked wit h repo rting any en counters w it h such group s.
We apons usag e is st rong ly di scourag ed ; t he Belt is nom inall y al-
1.1
lied wit h th e Jovian Confederation . Ho w ever, if th e ship is in d an-
ge r, th e capta in m ay use his or her di scret ion t o t ake approp riat e II
act io n in ke ep ing wit h Venusian int erest s.
•
Spec ial Assignment : A special assig nment is any d uty no t cov-
ered by t he above categories. Th ese will almo st always be secret
missions o rd ered by t he PA B, with very few (or no) physical record s
ma int ained . The lack of acco unta b ility makes th ese missions ex-
t reme ly risky. A larg e p roport ion of spe cial assignments is rel at ed II
t o Ed ict-vio lat ing project s.
II
Fitting Out: Th e ship's hull is co mplete , and the interio r sect ions
are being p repared for human hab itat io n. W he n th is step is com -
p let e, t he ship is crewed and launched .
Build ing: Th e ship's b asic frame has be en laid down in a spaced oc k,
and th e cons tr uction process has begu n. After the ship 's hull and
primary systems are in pl ace, t he ship is m oved to a fitting slip .
Commissioned: Financial allocat ion s for the ship have been mad e,
and p lans are either in th e works or on file . When th e pla ns are
ready and shipyard facilities b ecome available, actual const ruc-
ti on will begin.
Refi t : Th e ship has ret urned to p ort aft er bei ng in service, and has
be en p laced in spacedock fo r repl acement of ba sic ship syste m s.
Th is p ro cess is more lengthy t han a no rm al m aint enance check,
and often requ ires seve ral mont hs t o co mplet e. During t his t im e,
the crew is reassig ned t o shore du ties.
• OPERATIONS AND
• ~ B.3 WAR FOOTING
.-.
When t he CVNA wa s formed , it was understoo d th at part of its
II pu rpose w as t o p rep are Venus fo r th e po ssib ilit y of open war w it h
I either the Jovian Co nfe d erat ion , C EGA o r, in th e w o rst case, bo t h
of t he so lar superpo wers at o nce . Thus, all of t he CVNA's act ivi-
ties to date have had the dua l purpose of m ainta ining t he illusio n
II of Venusian weakness as we ll as p lanning fo r the eventual need
t o fig ht a full-scale war.
II It is t he CVNA's m ost sinc ere hope t hat war wi ll no t be necessary.
•
Any co nfl ict w o uld be extreme ly da mag ing to th e Ve nus ian
economy (there are t ho se who argue , in the wake of t he Shan-Yu
•
financial allocat io n, t hat the war effort has alread y damaged t he
Venus ian eco no my) . War wo uld also sig nify th at Venus had failed
in its p rimary g oa l of g aining th e w illing and open fri end ship of
th e other sol ar nat io ns, whi ch wou ld m ean t hat decades of hard
II work and financial m aneuv ering had proven worthless. The b low
t o Venus ian mora le w oul d be seve re.
II
Th e re is every sig n th at b oth t he Jo vi ans and CEGA are contem -
p lat ing armed co nfli ct w it h Venus. N eit her nat io n has been suc-
cessful in m at ch ing Venus' econom ic succe sses. The Jov ians are
st ill incensed regard ing Oper at io n M et huselah, and m any el e-
me nt s in t he C EGA cou nc il are beg inn ing to reg ard Venu sian
adv ice as a takeov er attempt. Even th o ug h the Jovians and CEGA
are currently at odd s wi t h o ne ano th er, th ere is a chance, espe-
cially if the cease-fire con t inues, th at on e or bot h of t he super-
powers w ill attem pt to remove t he pe rce ived t hreat of Venus.
It is understood by the CVNA t hat t here w o uld be little ho p e of
f ig hti ng an offensive battle ag ainst eithe r CEGA or the Co nfed-
eration. The m aj o rity of th e fl eet w o uld fall back t o Venus, w here
it wo uld organize into tas k fo rces, each o ne led by a Shan-Yu-
class ship. The task fo rces wo uld stay close to Venus, w here th ey
wo uld benefit from the support of the or bital defense batteries.
The Tsar-class ships, how ever, wo uld b e kept in the reserves, bot h
in the event of an enemy g ro und invasio n and for use lat er o n.
001 34
ENGINEERING
Th e first battle wou ld be carefully chosen to b e as p otentially
da magi ng t o th e ene my as po ssib le, since at t his po int , t he CVNA
wo uld st ill have t he elem ent of surp rise . The id ea wo uld b e to
lure as m any ships into sup p osed ly undefend ed Venusian space,
and t hen p o unce on them w it h a sign if icant po rt io n of th e CVNA's
com p lement , eith er w ip ing o ut t he enemy fl eet o r capturing them.
After th is first battle, t he CVNA's exist ence wo uld be op enly known,
and t he civilian d isg uises wo uld no lon g er be eff ective. The CVNA
tas k fo rces w o uld t hen t ake on fortress-d efense rol es and p re-
pare fo r a lo ng sieg e.
Meanwhile, t he Huan g- Ti-c1 ass ship s wou ld pe rfo rm se lect ive
strikes against enemy facilit ies, weakenin g t he enemy's war effo rt
and lowering mora le. It is ho p ed t hat , should w ar co m e t o p ass,
Venus wi ll have m o re t han t hre e Huan g-Ti-c1a ss ships in service,
such t hat it wo uld be ab le to inf lict noticeab le damage o n eit her
superpower 's assets . Ho pefully, allies wou ld co m e to Venus' aid,
relieving t he siege and allo w ing Ven us to tak e t he offe nsive. The
enemy fl eets wou ld be t rap ped b et ween th e all ied fo rces and
wiped o ut. At t hat po int , t he task forces would b e ta sked wi t h
p rot ect ing the Tsar-class ship s. The forces would t ravel t o t he
enemy nat io n and p roceed to force a surrender. Ai ded by it s al-
lies, Venus wo uld survive the war wi th acc ept ab le d am ag e to b oth
it s navy and its or b it al faci lit ies.
A littl e- know n fact abo ut t he CVNA's war p lans is t hat with o ut
excepti o n, all of th ei r p roject ion s t hat inv olv e o pen war wi t h one
of th e superpowe rs req uire t he overt aid of th e oth er sup erp ow er
in ord er to p rod uce any ch ance of victory. The m ost optim isti c
p red ict io ns st ate th at , witho ut suppo rt , Ven us wo uld be overrun
by eith er CEGA or th e Confed erati on in about six years. If, fo r
some reaso n, the en emy d ecid ed t o forgo a siege and sim p ly
attack Venus wi t h full force , th e projectio ns d ro p t he likely sur-
vival ti m e to less th an th ree years. Know ing thi s, t he CVNA and
th e Planetary A dviso ry Bo ard are focus ing all the ir p ow er to ward
keep ing th e two sup erpowers at odds w it h one another w hile
im p roving Venusian relati o ns w it h t he rest of th e solar system.
...
OPERATIONS

8.4.1 Career Path: Navy Pilot

. . . . .. . . . .I
AND

o
ENGINEERING

Primary Duties
•
&1
Fo r the fi rst several years o f t he ir d uti es, Venusian p ilots d o not
even see t he vehicles th ey wi ll event ually p ilot. O nly after a p ilot
has proven his skill and tru st w ort hiness in mod ified CEGA and
Jovian surp lus f ig ht ers and exos can he g et a chance at p rom o-
t ion into th e ranks of the " real" pi lots who are assign ed t o th e
In addition to pi lot ing t heir assig ned ve hicle on pat ro ls and com -
b at mi ssio ns, CVNA p ilo ts are also resp onsib le for t he up kee p of
th eir veh icle . CVNA proced ure dictates t hat when workin g on a
gi ven vehicle, a t echnician is under t he direct com m and of th at
ve hicle's p ilot . If somet hing is d one incor rectl y, it is t hus t he p ilot' s
•..
IiiI
Ven usians' t op-of-th e-line mach ine s like th e Ryu and Siegf ried .
Thi s is nece ssary because of t he secrecy of t he Venusia n mili tary .
O nce a p ilo t is assig ned t o a Venus ian-bui lt machine , he w ill have
fe w opportunities to fly no n-sim ulat or missions, so it is vital t hat
all such p ilots are already consumm ate ly skilled in t he ir prim ary
du t ies.
own fault . This encourag es p ilots t o be aware of t he inner wo rk-
ings of their mach ine and also improve s their m anag erial skills.
Up on ret irem ent, pi lots usually receive lucrat ive and prestig iou s
positi ons as d esign consult ants and inst ructors. M ost p ilot s also
retu rn to t he p ilot schoo ls to serve as m entor s t o ind ivid ual p ilot s,
gu id ing new p ilo ts t hrough th e int ricacie s of sp ace com bat.
.
Ii

II
() Aptitudes

CVN A p ilot s are exp ect ed to m aint ain both co mbat and ad minis-
t rat ive skills. M ot or skills and mu lt it asking abi lit ies are essenti al;
rn Sample Career Chronology

Year 1: Nava l enro llment. Basic t rai ning . Pilot Aptit ude
Exam .
•
II
all Venusia n-built exos and f ig ht ers use linear-frame cont rol sys-
t ems, which req uire superio r b alance and p hysical awareness t o
use effe ct ive ly. The init ial Pilot Aptitu d e Exam t ests little m o re
t han raw talent ; if t his is p resen t in suffi cie nt q uant it y, t hen lack of
experience can be rem ed ied w ith int ensive t raini ng .
Year 2:

Year 3:

Year 4:
Flig ht Training Scho ol

M entored t raining pe riod

Assignm ent to Venus-loca l post

•
Flig ht Training School tends t o co ver basic skills req uired by all Year 5: Ass ignm ent t o lo cal patrol
pi lots, bu t can be t ailored t o cover an ind ivid ual's personal weak -
nesses (t his usually invo lves ext ra classes and study) . The ment ored Year 6: Advan ced mentored tra ini ng in Venusian vehicles
tr aining that fo llows th e School is essent ially a one- on -one ap-
Year 7: A ssignment to war ship flig ht g ro up
p rent iceship period wit h an psycho logic ally-matched experienced
Venu sian pil ot; in this p ort io n of his t raining , the fled g ling pi lot 's Year 9: Promo t ion to Flight Leade r
remain ing weakne sses are rooted o ut and rem edied , pro d ucin g
(in t heory) a sup erio r offi cer and p ilot .

lJlJ135
•• OPERATIONS

,. 8.4.2 Career Path: Naval Officer

AND ENGINEERING

The eve ntu al goal of mo st officers is t o ach ieve comm and rank
and be given a ship captaincy. From th at poi nt , a CVNA officer

•-
111I
A ll CVNA pe rson nel are vo lunt eers. Th e ag e rang e fo r new re-
cruits runs from eigh teen to t hi rty years of ag e, alt ho ug h age d oe s
pl aya part in on e's traini ng and eventu al potent ial d uty assign -
me nts . To be con sid ered fo r an officer po sition (i.e. the head of a
dep artment ab oard a ship), a cand idate mu st eith e r have join ed
can eit her wo rk o n g etting fla g rank o r event ually leave t he CVNA
in search of a co rpo rate executi ve posi t io n.

ill Sample Carear Chronology

t he se rvice at a you ng age or po ssess extensive p rior experience

II in comm ercial ship pi ng, th e HD F or som e ot her associated o rga- Year 1: Nava l en rollment . Basic train ing . De claration of of-
nizati o n . CVNA off ice rs m ust, regard less of b ack ground , g o ficer candidacy.
II t hroug h ba sic crew t raining and serve as crew men for severa l t ours Year 2: Assig nme nt t o o rb it al d ock , various du ties .

• in orde r to gai n the expe rience need ed to com m and an enti re

department and, eve nt ually, an entire ship . Year 3: O pe rations Schoo l

•
II
o Aptitudes

The p rim ary req uiremen t for a depart men t head abo ard a war-
ship is th at he b e int im ate ly fam iliar with every sing le aspe ct of
Year 4:

Year 5:

Year 6:
A ssignme nt to local patro l ship as eng ineering hand

Reassig nment as navigato r

Mento red p ilot ing and t acti cs train ing

t he du t ies of his subordi nat es. A g unne ry officer mu st be ab le to
II operate and service every w eapo n on th e ship . A chief en gi neer
mu st be aware of every q uirk and undocu m ente d modification
Year 7: Assign ment to warsh ip, var ious crew d ut ies

Year 9: Comma nd School

p resent in the ship's systems. Only aft er ga ining experience in
performing t he d ut ies of seve ral posit ions will a crewm em ber be Year 10: Assignment to wars hip as hel msman
reco mm end ed by his o r her captain for a promotion int erview.
Year 12: One-year tour as t raining inst ructor
Cand id at es who fa il th eir p romoti o n interview may b e recom-
men de d ag ain im m ed iat ely by another capta in, or by t he same Year 13: Assignment to wars hip as gun nery chief
capta in aft er t he passage of one year.
Year 14: Prom otio n to Executive Officer
o Primary Dutias

Naval officers act as mid d lemen b etween t he captain and the

crew. They must possess suffic ient co mm and skills t o properly
d eleg at e tasks within their own depart ment, b ut must also ma in-
tai n a camara derie w it h t hei r subord inates in ord er to keep up
good working relat ionship s. Unl ike the captai n, who is p rim arily
an organ izer and centra l processing node fo r t he crew, t he de -
part men t heads must still do all th e hands-on work that their sub-
ordinates do.

00 136
'Y
OPERATIONS

8.4.3 Career path: Exo Enginear

AND ENGINEERING

t o . Exo eng ineers part icip ate in most pi lot and d eck meetin g s,
and are also in charge of the ship 's machine shop (if p resent). In
•
iii

..-
Venusian exo-armors are the most complex co mbat machines ever
de sig ned, making th o se b uilt by CEGA and t he Jovians seem like
manneq uins by compa rison. The men and wome n who work o n
ad d it ion t o t heir shipboard duties, mo st exo -enqineers also wo rk
on research project s assig ned by CVNA's engineering boa rd . The m
p ub lished work s t hat result from t hese projects can form th e ba-
t hese machin es are vo lunteers drawn fro m Venus' many engineer-
sis of an eng ineer's fut ure in both the CVNA and corporate life ,
ing and technic al acad emies. Genera lly unint erest ed in achiev ing
making such p ub lications ext remely important entries on the typ i-
high military rank, t hese recru its mo st ly wan t t o g ain f ield experi-
enc e worki ng under seni o r engineers, as we ll as face t he chal-
cal exo-engi nee r's t imetable . II
leng e of prac tic ing the ir cho sen trade ab oard a vessel designed
rn
t o be shot at . Success as a naval exo eng ineer usually results in
Ban1ple Career Chronology
II
lucrat ive advisory or t eaching posi t io ns back ho me. Most aspi r-
ing exo eng ineers, however, d o not make it q uit e so far and end Year 1: Vo lunteer for the CVNA, Basic Train ing , Exo-Eng i-
neer Apt itude Exam
II

•
up eit her retu rni ng t o corporate life or attem pt ing t o gai n rank by
t ransferring over t o ship 's engineer duties. Year 2: Basic Mech anics and Mat erial Handling, Proper
Too l Use Training
<> Aptitudes
Year 3: Assignment to a Depot Repair Facility, Basic Elec- II
A n exo-engineer should be ab le to co mp let ely b uild an exo -ar- tronics and Energy Systems Training
mo r o r fig hter f rom it s base parts. Repairing pa rts or fabricat ing
Year 4: Assignment t o an Elect ronic Dep ot Rep air Facility,
II
new p arts are ad d it ional skills an exo-engi neer shou ld have. To
Advanced Energy Systems Traini ng
gain this hig h leve l of mec hanica l and electronic aptitud e, ext en-
sive t raining and on-the-job work is an abso lut e necessity. Not Year 5: A ssignme nt as a Catapult Sp ecialist
only must th is work b e ma d e t o incred ible to lerances, but this
work could be und er battlef ield con di ti ons; th e exo eng ineer m ust Year 6: Advanced Schoo ling on Exo-Armaments, Fire Co n-
be abl e to keep his coo l and concentrat e on his wo rk at hand . tr ol and Gui dan ce
Selection for naval d uty is b ased more on cons istency tha n b ril- Year 7: Assignment as an Ordn ance Sp ecialist
liance; to t he CVNA, a reliab ly me d iocre engineer is of far gre ate r
use th an a brilliant eng ineer who only manages to cor rect ly rep air Year 8: Advanced School ing on Exo-A rmor Desig n, Repair
somet hing t en p ercent of the time . and Up keep

Year 9: Assig nmen t as an Exo-Eng ineer

<> Prin1ary Duties
Year 10: Assignment as an Exo Desig ner, Instructor fo r Ba-
Exo eng ineers are pr imarily respons ibl e for maint aining and re- sic and Adva nced Training Cou rses
p airing the ir ship's comp lement of exo-ar mors and f ighters. The y
mu st work alongside t he veh icles' pi lots, who are usually less in-
te rest ed in new inn ovations or theoret ical d esign s t han they are
in simp ly making sure t heir machine wo rks t he way they want it

00137
•
II
I
OPERATIONS

~ B.5 DRONES
AND ENGINEERING

• B.S.'I Class I S h lp k llla r D r a n e

.-.
A D rone is an un m anned vehi cle that is able to p ilot itself with
11 little or no g uid ance from a hum an o p erat o r. Drones are useful
for perform ing tas ks too d ang ero us fo r hu m ans. Several Venusian
ship s are equ ip p ed wi t h D ro nes that either deploy from sp ecial-
ized b ays o r fro m t he m ain hanga r.
Ii M ode rn D ron es are co ntrolle d by rud iment ary cyb ern et ic o rg an-
ism s known as Executors . Con sist in g of d ata sto rag e device s and
II co m p uter processors linked to an o rga nic neura l net, Exec ut ors
The Ship killer is a Drone with a death wi sh. The onboa rd Execu-
tor has survival prog ram mi ng t hat enables it to dodge incomin g
fire w it h great facility, b ut o nce it nea rs its ta rget, a hardw ired
" d um b " computer trigge rs the Drone's de tonation seq ue nce . The
warhead is mad e up of hund red s of sub m unit ions th at are launched
wh e n the D ro n e is a f ew k i lo m et e rs f rom its t arget . The
subm unit io ns are p ro pelled by t he Dro ne's detonation to ext rem ely
hig h ve locity, and are capab le of shredd ing a ship if th ey hit.

•
are leg al und er the Edicts, but only w it h certa in lim it at io ns. For Cl ass I D ro nes are unable t o use standard hangar faci lit ies fo r
inst ance, although Execut o rs are t heo retically capable of ext en- launch and require specia l links t o t he ship 's syst ems to down load
ta rget info rmat ion . Becau se t he y te nd to carry very little spare

•
sive growth (and hence, inte lli ge nce) when supplied with special-
ized nutrien ts and hardware upgrades, the Ed ict s requ ire t hat react ion mass, Class I Drones also need to be launched from rai ls
Dro nes of a certain age be "starved" o r destroyed. Although some in the genera l d irec t ion oftheir target . As a result, few ships, exo -
concerned groups have equated this law to leg alized murder of armors or fighters are equipped to handle Class I Drones.
II chi ldren, the usefu lness of Drones for industrial, research and mili -
tary applications has prevented any changes in their legal status .
TV: 200 I os, 180 I DS: 410 I MS: 4

II Crew: 0 (Act.: +0)

Production Type:
I
Mass
Size:

I
4 I
Indv. Lemon Dice:
Default Size: 6
3 I
I
Cost :
Armor: 316/9
$lS0.000
Class I Drones are simpleminded mach ines designed to find a
t arg et , get close and blow up. The smart ant i-ship m issiles used MOVEMENTMODE:

by t he Jovian Jave lin and the CEGA Uller mi ssile cruise rs are ex- Space 20 (2.0 G) I 40 (4.0 G) I Maneuver: 0

amples of Cla ss I Drones . These Dro nes require launch rails and Deployment Range: SO hrs I React ion Mass: 100 BP

specia lized targ eti ng systems for proper use, restricting t he m t o

Se nso rs: 0 / 2 km I Ccrn m .: 0/10 km I Fire Cont rol: 0
PERKS & FLAWS:
ships t hat are equ ip p ed to han d le th em .
Autopilot Acts as Levell pilot
Computer 2 (CRE 0, KNO 0, PP2. Flexible )
Class" Drone s are usually surve illance and non-offensive D ro nes.
HEP: Rad 3 Protects against up to 1000 rads
They are not qu it e as single-m inded as Cl ass I D ro nes, but are
HEP: Vac
st ill q uite d evoted . Cl ass II Dro nes are usually g ive n a sing le, spe-
Stea lth 2 Add to Concealment
cific instruct io n, w hich t hey wi ll d o th eir b est to o b ey.
Brittle Arm or Double Armo r loss after damage
Difficult to Modify ·2 to modify or repair all systems
Class III Drones con tain so me of t he most ad vanc ed Execut o rs in
Exposed AUX systems AUX hits are one lev el worse
com mo n use . Th ese Dron es are capab le of und erst and ing co m-
Vulnerable to Haywire Haywire attacks cause three da mage rolls
plex sets of instructions and p rio riti zing ta sks base d o n t heir own
WEAPONS:
judgment. In b attle, suc h D ro nes are usually arm ed wi th exo-ar-
Warhead (FF, BR 2, ACC 0, ROF 0, DM x3S, HEAT, SD, WC~180 . MS-4)
rno r w eapo nry and assign ed to combat d uty. The use of Class III
D ro nes is clos ely monit o red by Ed ict s enforcem ent off ices.

00138
 OPERATIONS AND ENGINEERING

•
y 8.5.2 Class I Exokiller Drone Y 8.5.3 Class II Sentry Drone

•
Exo killer Dro nes are almo st exactl y like ship killer Drones . The only
d iffe rence betwee n t he t w o lies in th e warhead ; whereas t he
shipkiller is de sig ned t o attack larg e, slow-m oving targe ts, t he
exokiller's w arhead deton ates in a sp heri cal pattern in o rd er to b e
O ne of t he fe w arm ed Class II Drones, sent ries are used to g uard
sp ecific lo cat ions in sp ace from select ed enem ies. The onb o ard
Executor is capa bl e of memor izing th ous and s of vehicle con fig u-
rat ion s. However, it is easily confused if t oo ma ny pa ram et ers are
•.-.
•
an effect ive we ap on ag ainst sma ll and fast exo -arm or s and fig ht- added to it s o rd ers, so t hese Drones are usually simpl y to ld t o
ers. Cons ide ring th e effe ctiven ess of exo-armor s ag ainst ships, it atta ck any unit wit h an invalid IFF sig natu re, reg ard less of its ot her
is not surp risin g th at ma ny Drone -cap ab le vessels are begin ning charact erist ics. Sent ries have extr eme ly small reacti on mass re-
t o carry larg e comp lem ent s of exoki llers. serve s; asid e from p erformin g stati on keep ing d ut ies, t hese Drones
are not me ant t o move once d epl oyed. II
Class I Drones are wid e ly used by CEGA and t he Jovians be cause
t hey are re lat ively inexp ensive and are q uit e effect ive . The only
Venusian war ship s t o use Class I Drones are th e Shan-Yu-c1 ass
M ost sent ries are arme d wit h a sing le, inexp ensive weap on tha t
is des ign ed for use aga inst exo-arm ors and fig ht ers. M issile clus-
II
b attlecr uisers, which are st ill und er constr ucti on. Ot her Dron e-
carrying Ven usian ship s have neit her th e ro om nor the speci al
launchin g equ ip m ent . Th e Venusians consid er Class I Dron es t o
be som ewhat br ut ish weapons, lacking fine sse.
ters are p opul ar choices, since the y are by nat ure dis posab le. Som e
sent ries are arm ed wit h lasers fro m exo -armors, howeve r, and a
few very larg e and exp ensive sentr ies use kinet ic kill cannon t o
en g age larg e tar g ets such as warships.
•
II
TV: 340
Crew: 0 (Act.: +0)
I
I
os.
Size :
600
4
I
I
os. 410
Default Size : 7
I
I
MS:
Arm or:
4
3/6/9
TV: 1000
Crew : 0 (Act.: +0)
I
I
OS:
Size :
310 0
4
I
I
OS:
Default Size : 10
7 I
I
MS:
A rmor:
10
3/6/9
II
Production Type: Mass I Indv. Lemon Dice: 3 I Cost : 5300,000 Prod uct ion Type: Mass I Indv. Lemon Dice: 3 I Cost: 51,2S0,OOO
MOVEMENT MODE: MOVEMENT MODE:
Space 20 (2.0 G) / 40 (4.0 G) I Maneuver; 0 Space 1 (.1 G) / 2 (.2 G) I Maneuver: -1
Deployment Range : SO hrs I React ion Mass : 100 BP Dep loyme nt Range : 100 hrs I Reactio n Mass : 10 BP
Sensors: 0/2 km I Camm: 0 /1 0 km I Fire Control: +1 Sensors: +2/ 2 km I Ca mm .: 0/ 10 km I Fire Co nt ro l: +1
PERKS & FLAWS: PERKS & FLAWS:
Auto pilot Acts as Leve l l pilot Autopilo t Acts as Le ve l 1 pilot
Com puter 2 (CRE 0, KNO 0, PP2, Flexible) Computer 3 (CRE 0, KNO+1, PP3, Flexib le)
HEP: Rad 3 Prote cts against up t o 1000 rads HEP: Rad 3 Prot ects against up to 100 0 rads
HEP: Vac HEP: Vac -
St ealth 2 Ad d t o Co nce alme nt Stealt h 3 Add to Co nceal me nt
Brittle Armor Dou ble Ar mor 1055 after dam ag e Brittle Armor Do ub le Ar mor 10 5s after da mage

Difficult to Mod ify -2 to mo d ify or repa ir all system s Difficult to Modify -2 to modify or re pair all systems
Exposed AUX systems A UX hits are one level worse Exposed AUX systems AUX hits are on e level worse
Vulner ab le to Haywire Haywire attacks cause three damage rolls Vulnerable to Haywire Haywi re atta cks cause three dama ge rolls

WEAPONS: WEAPONS:
Warhead (F, BR 1, ACC +2, RO F 0, OM x20, HEAT, SO, WC 300, MS-4) Q Aut o Missile CT, BR4, ACC -1, ROF4 , OM x18, Ammo 16, HEAT,Missile, Stealth , WC-849,
AC-1, MS-3)

00139
•
&I
OPERATIONS

,.. 8.5.4 Class II Elactronic Warfara Orona

AND ENGINEERING

,.. 8.5.5 Class II Obsarvar Orona

The EW Dro ne is equipped with a powerful ECM pod capable of Observer Dro nes are used by pi cket ships and scou t vessels, and
11 jamm ing com munications and sensor systems . W hen d ep loyed , the less expensive models of th is Drone are qu ite common . An

...
JJ!I
it is usually instructed to act ivate its ECM and then evade enemy
retaliation for as long as possible . Since ECM t ransmiss ion s are
easily traced b ack to their source , EW Drones have a ve ry short
exp ected b attl efield lifespa n, and are t hus best used as decoys
observer Drone is equipped with an extensive sensor suite, and is
designed to enter a combat zone and transmit valuable informa-
tion back t o it s home base. Wh en operating in groups, observer
Drones can creat e extremely detailed intelligen ce images of ta r-
II or dis t racti ons. gets by linking their sensor units together.

II There are no Dro nes equipped with ECCM system s; t he Executo r Th e Huang-Ti-c1ass observer ship carries about two dozen ob-
brains are too unre liable to be given control of such syst ems o n server Drones, along wit h an assortment of othe r Class II Drones.

II t he b attlefi eld . It is far easier for huma n ope rato rs t o ma ke th e

judg me nt calls needed t o prope rly m ake use of ECCM . Some
The Huang-Ti's Drones are custom -m o d ified t o be st ealthy and
hav e great er en d urance, ma king t hem more usef ul in covert op-

•
II
EC M Drones are eq uipped w ith sm all d ecoy system s in an effort
to increase their survivabi lity, b ut t his is seld om effe cti ve. Even
th e m ost adv ance d EW Dron es, which are heavily stea lt hed , are
invisib le only as lo ng as t hey d o not act ivat e t heir ECM p od s.
erati ons (the Huang- Ti's Class II Dro ne s have 200 BP and Stea lt h
6, and are Size 5). The increased size ofthe modif ied Drones means
t hat each of t he Huang-Ti's tw o Dro ne b ays can carry a maxim um
of twenty -four Drones.

• TV: Z60
c....w: 0 (Act .: +0)
Production Typ e:
MOVEMENT MODE:
I
I
Mass
os.
Size:

I
0
4
I
I
os. 160
Default Size:
Indv . Le mon D ice: 3 I
6
Cost:
I
I
MS:
Ar mor:
6Z0
316/ 9
$195 ,000
TV: 180
Crew: 0 (Act.: +0)
Produ ct ion Type :
MOVEMENT MODE:
I
I
Mass
OS:
Size :

I
0
4
I
I
OS: 410
Def.ult Size: 6
Indv. l emo n Dice : 3 I
I
I
Cost :
MS:
Armor:
l Z0
3/6/9
$135,000

Spa ce 15 (1.5 G) 130 (3.0 G) I Maneuver -1 Sp.ce ZO(Z.OG) 1 40 (4.0 G) I Maneuver: 0

Dep loyme nt Range: 100 hrs I React ion Mass: ZOO BP Deployment R.n ge: 100 hrs I Reaction Mass: 100 BP
Se nso rs: +l/ Z km I Co mm .: +1/10km I Fire Co nt rol: -5 Sensors: +Z/Z km I Co mm.: +Z / 10km I Fire Control: -5
PERKS & FLAWS: PERKS & FLAWS:
Autopilot Acts as Levell pilot Autopilot Acts as Levell pilot
Computer 3 (CRE 0, KNO+l , PP3, Flexib le) Computer 3 (CRE0, KNO+l , PP3, Flexible)
ECM 4 Offensive Electronic Wa rfare Equipment HEP: R.d 3 Protects .g.inst up to 1000 rads
HEP: R.d 3 Protects .g.inst up to 1000 rads HEP: V. c
HEP: V.c Stea lth Z Add to Concealment
St e. lt h 3 Add to Concealment Brittl e Armor Dou ble Armor loss after damage
Brittle Armor Double A rm or 1055 afte r da mag e Difficult to Modify -2 to modify or repa ir .11systems
Difficult to Mod ify -Z to mo dify or repair all systems Expose d AUX systems AUX hits are one level worse

Exposed AUX systems AUX hits are one level worse Vulner.ble to H.ywi.... Haywire attacks cause three damage rolls

Vulner.ble to H.ywire Haywire attacks cause th ree damage rolls Weapons: None

Weapons: None

00140
 OPERATIONS AND ENGINEERING

•
T B.5.6 Cless III Hunter-Killer Drane T B.6.7 Cless III Hunter-Ripper Drane

The most co mpl ex of D ro nes, the Hunter-Killers co nt ain t he most
ad vanced Executors p ermissible under t he Edicts . These Execu-
tors have a basic sense of se lf-wo rt h, and are capable of exhib it-
ing be hav ioral t raits likened to ma lice or ang er. Requ iring ma ny
••
....
Hunter-Ri ppers are var iants on t he Hunter-Ki ller d esig n. Inst ead
of lo ng -rang e targeting equi p ment and beam weapons, Hunter-
Rippers are equ ipped with m ult ip le stereoscopic senso rs and ex-
tra maneuvering jets fo r pre cise close-q uart ers maneuvering. Most

mo nt hs of carefu l nurt uring, th ese Executors are extreme ly ex-
pensive and are not considered expendable on the battlef ield .
A lthoug h hum an lives st ill take p rio rit y in emergencies, m ost cap-
t ains w ill make effo rt s to recover all Class III Drones.
The de cision -making p rocesses of Class III Dro nes are ad vanc ed
eno ugh such t hat they can be trust ed w ith weapons and t he dis-
•
of t hem are equipped wi t h sim ple arms and claws that allow them
to latc h onto a target or g rapp le with an opponen t . Th e Execu-
tors used for Hu nter-Ri ppers are less met ho d ical and more ran-
dom t han t hose used in Hunt er-Killers. This makes t hem more
effect ive close co mbatant s. More advanced Executors have been II
t est ed (ille g ally) as Dron e brai ns, beyond a cert ain po int , the Ex-
ecu t o rs' sense of self de velo p ed into ap parent fe ar, making th em II

•.
cret io n to use t hem o n t he b attlefield . Hunt er-Killer D ron es are useless as reliab le weap ons of war. The current ge nerat io n of Class
usually arm ed w it h exo-arm o r-class weaponry, such as lasers o r III Dro ne b rains ap p ears to be th e upper lim it fo r a non -sentient
pa rt icle beam weapons. T hei r t arg eti ng systems are of hig h q ual- artificially int elligent so ld ier.
it y, and they have exce llent fue l reserves . O n t he ba t t lefie ld ,
Hunte r-Kill ers are skilled dogf ig hters, if so m ewh at pre d ictable. TV: 1800 I OS: 2600 I DS: 420 I MS: 2400
Crew : 0 (Act.: +0) I Size : 4 I Default Size: 12 I Ar mo r: 4/8/12
TV: 1100 I
I
os. 940 I DS: 420 I MS: 2000 Production Type: Mass I Indv. Lemon Dice : 3 I Cost: $2,700,000 II
Crew: 0 (Act.: +0) Size: 4 I Default Size: 10 I Armor: 4/8/12 MOVEMENT MODE:
Pro d uct io n Type : Mass I Indv. Lemon Dice: 3 I Cost: $1,37S,OOO Space 20 (2.0 G) 1 40 (4.0 G) I Maneuver: 0
MOVEMENT MODE: Deployment Range : 50 hrs I Reaction Mass: 100 BP
Space 20 (2.0 G) 1 40 (4.0 G) I Maneuver: 0 Se nsors: +1/2 km I Camm.: +1/10km I Fire Control: +1
Deployment Range: SO hrs I Reaction Mass: 100 BP PERKS8< FLAWS:
Sensors : +1/2 km I Comm.: +1/10km I Fire Control: +1 Autopilot Acts as Level 1 pilot
PERKS 8< FLAWS: Computer 4 (CRE +1, KNO +1, PP4, Flexi ble)
Autopilot Acts as Level 1 pilot HEP: Rad 3 Protects against up to 1000 rads
Computer 4 (CRE +1, KNO +1, PP4, Flexible) HEP: Vac
HEP:Ra d 3 Protects against up to 1000 rads Manipulator Arm S Can Punch
HEP: Vac Stealth 2 Add to Concealment
Stealth 2 Add to Concealment Tool Arm S Holds Plasma Lance
Brittle Armor Double Armor loss after damage Brittle Armor Double Armor loss after damage
Difficult to Modify -2 to modify or repair all systems Difficult to Modify -2 to modify or repair all systems
Exposed AUX systems AUX hits are one leve l worse Exposed AUX systems AUX hits are one level worse
Vulnerable to Haywire Haywi re attacks cause three damage rolls Vulnerable to Haywire Haywire attacks cause three damage rolls
WEAPONS: WEAPONS:
Laser (FF, BR 3, ACC +1, ROF 0, DM x17, LU6, AD1, HEAT, Stealth, WC-468, MS- 4) Plasma Lance (F, Melee, ACC +1, ROF 0, DM x17 , LU6, HEAT, WC~ 1300, MS~4)

00141
•
R
. .
I
OPERATIONS AND ENGINEERING

... 8.6.1 Kitsune Commendo Exo-Buit

Similar in funct ion and size to th e Jo vian Decker, th e Kit sune is an

R ext reme ly small and ag ile exo- suit d esig ned t o o perate stealt hily
in enclose d spaces. Desig ned b y t he Venusian A ero space Co rpo-
..
II rat ion , t he Kit sune is an expen sive and relat ively rare unit assign ed
most ly to cove rt-o p eratio ns vessels. Th e new Huang -Ti-c1ass O b-
servers w ill each be assigned tw o squa ds of t hese exo-suits, whi ch
Ii w ill be p iloted by elite co m mand o t roo ps. The Kitsune has no p ro-
visio n fo r arm-m ounted weapo ns, b ut its nim b le hand s are capab le
II of using any stand ard infant ry we apo ns. It is also very ag ile in clo se
co m bat, and can perform rolls, leaps and kicks wi t h g race almos t
II eq uivalent to an unarmo red hum an. Due to its lig ht armo r and

•
weaponry, Kitsunes make poor ship boa rd defenders. However, th ey
are uneq ualed wh en used as inf ilt rat io n o r sabotage units.

I TV: 360 I os. 860 DS: 91 I MS: 130

II Crew:l (Act .: +2) I Size : 2 Default Size: 7 I Armor: 6/ 12/ 18

Prod uct io n Type: Mass I Indv. Lemon Dice: 3 I Co st : $630,000

II MOVEMENT MODE:
Walker 4 (24 kp h) / 8 (48 kph) M aneuver: +1
Space S (.S G) /1 0 (1.0 G) Man euver: 0
Deployment Range: 250 hrs Reaction Mass: 50 BP
Se nso rs: +1 / 2 km I Comm.: 0 / 10 km I Fire Control: +1
PERKS & FLAWS:
Backup Life Sup po rt Absorbs first LS hit
Comput er 1 (CRE 0, KNO 0, PP1, Flexible)
HEP: Rad 3 Protects agains t up to 1000 rad s
HEP: Vac
Ufe Support Umit ed
Lo udspeakers
2x Manipu lato r Arm 2 Can Punch
Difficult to Modify -2 to mod ify or repair all systems
WEAPONS:
Assau lt Rifle (F, BR 2, ACC 0, ROF 3, DM x4, Ammo 80, AI, WC-17, AC=O.Ol , MS=2)
VibroB lade (F, Melee , ACC +1, ROF 0, DM x6, Inf. Ammo, WC-1 01 . MS-2l
2x Umpe t Mine (F, Melee, ACC -2, ROF 0, DM x20, AEO, HEAT, SD, TD, WC=1 S0,
MS=2)

001 42
 OPERATIONS AND ENGI N EERING

•
••
I
T B. S .2 T a nukl H aavy Exa-Sult

The Tanuki ap pe ars at first to be an unusuall y large exo-suit, and I

-
is in fact classified as such for maintenance and deployment pur-
p oses. From a t echnical stan dpoint , ho wever, t he Tanuki is act u- I
ally a t iny exo-arm or, its mech anized b ody controll ed from a co m-
111I
pact cockpit eq uip ped with a specially-designed linearframe . The
desig n is expe nsive bu t popular, and is th e p rimary exo -suit used
aboard CVNA ships. Despite its size, th e Tanuki is dead ly in board- Ii
ing acti ons, both on d efen se and offense. The suit 's leg s can fol d
up into a com pact wheeled co nfig urat ion, allow ing it t o q uick ly II
scuttle alo ng cramp ed ship co rridors . W hen defendi ng a ship ,
t he Tanuki's size enables it to serve as a massively armored road - II
block that can p hysically block enemy prog ress even if d isab led.
The Tanuki can block escape routes, quickly eliminating resistance .
B
TV: 830 I os. 2 100 os. 220 I MS: 180
Crew :1 (Act.: +2) I Size: 7 Default Size: 9 I Armor: 14 /28/42
Production Type: Mass I Indv. lemon Dice: 3 I Cost: 5530,000
MOVEMENT MODE:
Walker 2 (12 kph) 1 4 (24 kph) Maneuver: 0
II
Ground 4 (24 kph) 1 8 (48 kph) Maneuver: 0
Space S (O.S G) 110 (1.0 G) Maneuver: -1
Dep loyment Range : 2S0 hrs React ion Mass: 100 BP
Se nsors : 0/2km I Com m.: 0/1 0 km I Fire Control: 0
PERKS & FLAWS :
Backup Life Supp o rt Abs o rbs first LS hit
Com pute r 1 (CRE 0, KNO 0, PP1, Flexible)
HEP: Rad 3 Protects against up to 1000 rads
HEP: Vac
Lif e Support Limited
2x Ma nipula to r Ar m 7 Can Punch
I
Difficult to Modify -2 to mod ify or repa ir all systems I
I
WEAPON S:
2x Grena de Launche rs (F, BR1, ACC 0, RO F 1, OM x15, Ammo 20 (e ach), HEAT, Missile,
WC-297, AC-0.93 , MS-4)
I
I

Aut ocannon (F, BR 3, ACC 0, ROF 4, OM x10 , Ammo 250, Clip, WC-176, AC-0.S1, I
MS- 4)
L-..-.... , ....... + 1
2x Plasma Lances (F, Melee , ACC +1, ROF 0, OM x15, LU5, AC, HEAT, WC-S90, MS-5) .~
_.~_._.

00143
I
~ APPENDIX
r

• " A
A larm Conditions, CVNA . . 131
Front View, Tsar .. 94 " D
O perations . .... 130

..
J Anatomy of a Spaceship 6
" G

II " C
Game Stats, Chieft ain
Game Stats, Huang -Ti .. ..
.. 66
46
" p
Planetary Advi sory Board .... ... 132
Chie ftain Escort Cruise r . . 50 Gam e Stats, Imp erator ... .. 26
" S
Civilian Craft, Venusian . ...... 8 Game Stats, Satrap .. .. . 86 Satrap Transport/Carrier 70
Cl uster Muni tion Missile s see CMM s Game Sla ts, Shan-Yu 126 Service De sign ations 133

II CMMs.
Cooperative Venusian N aval Ad min istration
. 8 Game Stats, Tsar
Gao- Tzu-closs Escort Ship s ..
106
98
Shan-Yu Batt le Cruiser .
Shift Sched ule
.. , 10
130
see CVN A Gravity Grad ient . 6 Sid e View, Chieft ain . .54
II Crew Select ion
Cutaway View, Chieftain . .
130
57
" H
Sid e V iew , Huang-Ti . .. 34

Huanq- ti Observer . 30 Sid e View, Imperator ..... ..... 14

Cutaway View, Huang -Ti 37
Sid e View, Satrap .. ..... 74
Cutaway View , Impe rato r . .......... 17
"
•
Sid e View, Shan-Yu .. 114
Cutaway Vie w, Satrap . .. ..... 77 Impe rato r Patro l Cru iser , 10
Side View, Tsar . .. 94
Cutaway View , Shan-Yu . ..... 114 Interview wit h a Ca ptain _, _, . 124
Spacedocks . ...... 132
Cutaway View , Tsar . .... 94 Interview wit h a Cargo O fficer . .. 85
STRIKE . . 132

II CVNA . ....... .. 4 Interview wit h a Cloa k Co ntrol Officer

Interview with a Deck Officer
44
8S " T
" D Interview with a Drone Technician 4S Tanuki Exo -Suit .. ............... .. 143

• Dep loyment
Design Principles, Venusian
132
8
Int erview with a Exo-Suit Pilot 105 To p View, Chieft ain .
Top View , Huanq -Ti .....
.
... .. .. ..... ~
~

Interview with a Fig hter Pilot 65

Drone, r:w Type II 140
Top View , Impe rato r .. ............ 16
Interview with a G unne ry Com m and er 104
Drone, Exo-kill er Type I 139
Interview with a H elm sman 64 Top View, Satrap . . ..........M
Drone, Hunter-Killer Type III ... 141
Interview with a Mor ale Off ice r .. _ 6S Top View, Shan-Yu .. 114
Drone, Hunter-Ripp er Type III 14 1
Interview wit h a N avigato r. . " .. 2S Top View, Tsar .. .94
Drone, Observer Type II 140
Inte rview with a Pilot _ 24 Training . 1~
Dron e, Sent ry Type II 139
Interview wit h a Psycho log ist .. 105 Tsar Heavy Cruiser ... ~
Drone , Ship killer Type I .. 138
Interview with a Security O ffice r 12 5
Drones 138 " V
Interview with a Security Office r 2S Ve nusian D esign Principles _ 8
" E Inte rview wit h a Sensors/ Intel lig ence Off ic.45 Vid -memb ranes , 8
Edict s, the 138 Inte rview with an Aesthetics O ffice r 84
Executor '" . . . 138 Inte rview with an Eng ineer 125 " W
W ar Footing ........... ..... 134
Exo Eng ineer, Career Path .. 137 Intraship Politics 130

F
"
Front View, Ch ieft ain .. .. 55
" K
Kitsune Exo-Suit 142
Front View, Huang -Ti 35
Front Vie w, Impe rato r 15
" N
Naval Off icer, Career Path ... .. 136
Front View, Satrap . .. 75
Navy Pilot, Career Path ... ... 135
Front View, Shan-Yu 114

0 01 4 4
I
A .:JOVIAN € HRO N ICLES PROJECT J
-------------------
•
I
SHWS.Of Tt-iE .F.Lr=~T Vo.L~M~ fOWR

VENUS FLEET
.

E1 I I
I
E1 I I
I I
I I

; I
I
IJ I
• C00perativ~ -Venusian IN
I I I I I I I I I I
- ures'anO·deployment.
I-+--+- H
I
I
I
I
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