Icaria Runa class Light Cargo Ship:


A wealthy star system positioned along several important trade routes and trade is the true life blood of their system, the Icaria system is known for its shipbuilding industries. While people often look closely at their warship designs, far larger numbers of merchant vessels are constructed than warships. They produce almost all class of merchant designs from fast courier to massive heavy cargo vessels.


While medium sized cargo vessels can carry much greater cargo and heavy cargo vessels simply dwarf light cargo ships, there are a great many ports which simply do not attract enough interest for the larger vessels. In addition, larger cargo vessels often have trouble landing on planetary surfaces. As a result, light cargo ships are an extremely important element of the trade of the Three Galaxies.


The Runa class light cargo ship is one of the most common designs produced by the Icaria system shipyards. It is generally considered an excellent design although there are a number of more advanced cargo vessels in operation including the Star Cloud class clipper. Even so, the Runa class continues to sell quite well. There are several extremely similar designs also produced.


With regard to cargo capacity, the Runa is able to carry up to five thousand metric tons of cargo, slightly more than most vessels of the same size class. Generally these ships carry bulk cargo types not containers. Some have specialized cargo holds which are designed to refrigerate perishable cargos and others are designed to maintain cargos at specific pressures.


As with most civilian designs, power is provided by a fusion plant instead of by anti-matter. Even though anti-matter plants produce far greater power for their mass, fusion plants are considered much safer. The Runa class is considered relatively fast for a merchant design with a top speed in faster than light space of three and a half light years per hour.


Even more than warships, merchant vessels are designed to operate with small crews through advanced automation. With a crew of twenty-five, the Runa class is designed with a reduced crew compared to most merchant designs of a similar size. Crews do make a significant operating cost of operating such a vessel so it makes sense to reduce the crew as much as possible.


One of the sales pitches for the Runa design is that the merchant vessels carries more cargo, faster, with a smaller crew than competing merchant designs. Even though one might consider the Icaria light cargo ship to be only marginally superior in each category, combined they make the vessel significantly more effective than most similar class vessels.


One thing these ships are not are warships. They carry standard non variable force fields although they are considered marginally more powerful than those on most light cargo ships. For weaponry, these vessels mount four medium range missile batteries with four point defense laser batteries backing up the missile batteries. Unarmed versions are available but are uncommon with there always the threat of attack. 


Under development is an upgraded version of the Runa class light cargo vessel. Some features are that the ship will mount a more compact and powerful fusion plant as well as more powerful drive systems. Planned contra grav speed is four and a half or even five light years per hour. One concern has been the more advanced drives requiring a larger crew. Also under discussion is to slightly upgrade the merchant vessel’s weaponry.


This starship design uses modified starship speed and weapon range rules. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World / Three Galaxies for more details.


Model Type: INF-LM-108.

Vehicle Type: Light Merchant Vessel.

Crew: 26 (4 Officers and 22 Ordinary Crew).

Passengers: Can carry 12 passengers.


Vehicles:

 

4

Mini-Tugs (Provision for cargo transport, not always carried)


M.D.C. By Location:

 

Point Defense Laser Cannon Mounts (4):

250 each.

 

Medium Range Missile Batteries (4):

300 each.

 

Outer Hull (40 x 40 ft/ 12.2 m x 12.2 Area):

100.

 

Inner Hull (40 x 20 ft/ 12.2 m x 12.2 Area):

75.

 

[1] Bridge:

1,200.

 

[2] Main Engines (2):

2,200 each.

 

[3] Main Body:

5,500.

 

[4] Force Field (Regular):

1,500.


Notes:

[1] In reality this is how much damage needs to be done for a weapon to hit the bridge through the ship’s hull. This ship does not have an auxiliary bridge. Even if the bridge is destroyed, the ship can still be piloted from engineering but ship is -3 to dodge and all weapon systems will be at local control. Weapon hits near the bridge that do not penetrate the ships integrity can injure crew members on or near the bridge.

[2] Destroying the main engines means that the ship’s faster than light systems are destroyed and maximum sub light speed is reduced by half.

[3] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will put the merchant out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.

[4] Shields are not variable. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (75 M.D.C.) per melee round.


Speed:

Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.

Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship to travel up to 20 percent of the speed of light and most do not have military class particle shielding. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 0.75 percent of light per melee.

Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum speed is 300 mph ( 482 kph), can enter an atmosphere because flight system is by contra grav.

Stardrive: Uses a Gravitonic Drive system that allows the ship to reach a maximum of 3.5 light years per hour.

Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by either drive system. Carries about six months worth of supplies on board (Can be stretched to nine months in an emergency).


Statistical Data:

Length:                608.60 feet (185.5 meters).

Height:                73.82 feet (22.5 meters).

Width:                 92.52 feet (28.2 meters).

Mass/ Weight:     10,803 tons (9,800 metric tons).

Power System: Fusion with a 25 year life span. The ship normally only goes 5 years between refueling and refitting.

Cargo: Cargo holds are scattered about the ship that allows for carrying up to 5,511 tons (5,000 metric tons) of cargo in addition to standard compliment of supplies and ammunition. Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal items and uniforms. Ship’s officers have more space for personal items.

Market Cost: 150 million credits (Military versions about 200 million and non armed version about 100 million.)


WEAPON SYSTEMS (Optional):

  1. Four (4) Point Defense 2 cm Lasers in Double Mounts: Used as an anti-starfighter and missile weapon system. Each laser turret can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at faster than light velocities.

    Maximum Effective Range: 2.5 miles (4 km) miles through atmosphere and 250 miles (402.3 km) in space.

    Mega-Damage: 2D6x10 M.D.

    Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (usually 4 or 5).

    Payload: Effectively Unlimited.

  2. Four (4) Medium Range Missile Batteries: Missile has a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 6% of light per turn. Normally used for anti-fighter and point defense. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time.

    Maximum Effective Range: Medium Range Missile range is 160 miles (257.5 km) in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles (128,750 km/0.43 light seconds) in space.

    Mega-Damage: Varies with medium range missile type (Multi-warhead heavy warheads inflict 5D6x10 M.D.C. each - See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details.)

    Rate of Fire: Can fire medium range missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), four (4), or eight (8) medium range missiles per battery.

    Payload: Twenty-four (24) missiles per battery for a total of ninety-six (96) medium range missiles.



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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).


Copyright © 2015, Kitsune. All rights reserved.



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