Naruni Industries S-4 "Goliath" class Heavy Drop Shuttle:

President for Life Anita Jung looked out from the window of her presidential palace. A few years before she had been a rebel general who was running for her life with scattered forces. Now, she was "President for Life" of the Peoples Republic of Lebornia. She had purchased on credits massive amounts of military arms from Naruni Industries. Just a few months ago, just after her victory, representatives of Naruni had come to her demanding how she was going to may for their support. She had told them to leave and had told them that they could stick any repayment. Life was good. After all, Naruni had provided her with incredible system defense sensors and weaponry. They would lose hundreds if not thousands of ships going through their own defenses.

She suddenly saw in the distance a flash of light. 'Damn rebels' she though, never even thinking about the fact that she had been a rebel just a few years prior. Hypocrisy at its best. It had been only the first flash. Soon, the sky was filled with flashes she could see hundreds of flashes. She pressed the intercom button on her desk and tried to get her defense secretary. There was no response. She pressed her security button which would bring her body guards up. Like most "presidents" who owed their station to their own military forces, she felt naked without small arms. While not obvious, she was a partial conversion cyborg herself and her favorite weapon was a Naruni plasma pistol. She pulled her own pistol out.

Out the window, she could see star fighters passing by her windows. Magnifying one of the fighters using her optics, she could see that it was a Naruni fighter. Strange, she had no thought the rebels had been able to acquire any fighters. Maybe they had payed off one of the base commanders to steal the fighters. Heads would roll once she got a grip of what was happening.

Finally her body guards entered her office. They were heavily armed and ready for battle. Still, she could see what almost appeared to be panic with their movement. The leader of her security detail stated, "Madam President, all satellite communication is down and there appears to be heavy scrambling as well. We don't know how but all land line communication is down as well. One of the technicians thinks the computers controlling them have crashed. It should not have happened with the recent upgrade with Naruni computers.

She could also hear an extremely loud rumbling although she could not tell where it was coming from. Suddenly, she saw it. Like many shuttles it was blocky. It was the largest shuttle which she had ever seen. It was still little more than a dot but it was descending rapidly. The shuttle was easy to recognize as it came closer. It was a Naruni Goliath drop shuttle. How had it gotten through her defenses without even setting off an alarm. As she watched out the window of her Presidential palace, she saw several more shuttles dropping quickly. It was an invasion.

President for Life Anita Jung knew at that moment that she had lost her gamble with the Naruni. She had heard the stories, she just hadn't believed them. Now she did.

Few designs inspire the fear which the Naruni "Goliath" class drop shuttle does. The reason for this is simple. While Naruni sells this shuttle design to interested parties, it is rare outside of Naruni Industries hands and most people see it as a symbol of Naruni itself. It is seen as the “Iron Fist” which they seize territory with. Suddenly, the planet of a government defaulting on Naruni will have hundreds of these shuttles landing. Hundred of troops and dozens of combat vehicles will pour from a single drop shuttle. In many cases, these shuttles are the first signs that Naruni is seizing a planet or a mining colony. In many cases, Naruni industries will put a back door in the security system when they sell it and the attack will come as a complete surprise.

Most shuttles within the Three Galaxies are pure sub-light craft which are embarked in larger starships. The Naruni Goliath heavy shuttle is one of the biggest exceptions to this. The name Goliath fits quite well and the shuttle is truly huge, comparable in size to many destroyers, and few starships can carry them. Even though huge, it is designed to make conventional landings on a planet. Troop compliment is huge as well as being one of the few shuttle designs which can carry a large number of Naruni Juggernaut heavy hover tank . Because of it's huge size, the Goliath is fitted with contra-grav faster than light engines. The Goliath can carry about six times what a Consortium military assault shuttle can and one of the Consortium shuttles can almost be fit in the cargo bay of the Naruni heavy drop shuttle. As might be expected, Naruni produces other shuttle designs including much smaller shuttles which can be embarked on transports and assault carriers. The shuttle is designed to support the crew for longer periods of time than most assault shuttles although troop spaces are extremely cramped. Often Repo-Bots are carried and their "comfort' is not particularly important. The heavy drop shuttle is extremely expensive and is comparable in price to a destroyer in cost and often even more expensive.

One of the most common destroyers in the Three Galaxies is the Hunter class. The Goliath class heavy drop shuttle is actually larger than the Wolfen destroyer at 8,200 tons when the shuttle is fully loaded. Because of the huge size of the shuttle and reactions from unfriendly targets, the shuttle is extremely well armored. Many fighters in the Three Galaxies do not carry defense shields. Most of the shuttles which mount shields use fighter scale shields. The Goliath mounts destroyer class shields. Combined, the shield and armor makes the shuttle an incredibly tough target to kill.

As might be expected, the drop shuttle is heavily armed as well. It lacks true destroyer scale weaponry but carries a large number of light weapon mounts. The shuttle has four forward firing laser cannons. These are often used to clear a landing area for the heavy shuttle and can destroyer even a tank in just a few burst. In addition, the heavy shuttle carries eight point defense mounts. These mounts combine a pair of plasma cartridge guns with a mini-missile launcher. Each launcher has forty-eight mini-missile ready to fire. The point defense mounts are on the top and sides of the shuttle with half able to fire downwards. High density projectiles are sometimes substituted for the plasma cartridges although damage is reduced. The shuttle does not have any external missile hard points but carries four medium range missile launchers. While most often used for protection against attacking fighters and against missiles, they are also quite useful for ground bombardment prior to landing. All of the weapons carried on the shuttle are adapted from various Naruni fighters.

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

(Note: The power system is fusion not anti-matter because the author’s opinion is that anti-matter is to dangerous to be used in vehicles that may be used in an atmosphere. If a starship powered by anti-matter was to detonate in an atmosphere it would cause huge planetary damage. At GM option, this can also be applied to all starfighters and shuttles or this shuttle can be changed to anti-matter.)

Model: N.I. S-4
Vehicle Type: Heavy Assault Shuttle
Crew: Fourteen (Pilot, Copilot, two Communication/Sensor Operator, and ten Gunners).

Troops / Vehicles: Up to 3,000 tons (2,721 metric tons). This only lists two common troop loads, there are many other possible combinations.
Vehicle & Troops:

	32	Tanks or APCs (12 Juggernaut Heavy Hover Tanks)
	600	Troops in Body Armor (450 if in Power Armor)

Troops Only:

1,800

Troops in Body Armor (1,400 if in Power Armor)

M.D.C. By Location:

	2 cm Forward Lasers (4, Front):	250 each
	Combination Plasma Cartridge / Mini-Missile Turrets (8):	225 each
	Medium Missile Launchers (4, Main body):	250 each
	Rear Door Ramp:	1,200
	Landing Gear (3):	500 each
	[1] Main Engines (2)	1,000 each
	[2] Bridge:	1,800
	[3] Main Body:	4,800
	[4] Variable Force Field:	1,000 per side (6,000 total)

Notes:
[1] Destroying the main engines means that the ship’s faster than light propulsion systems are destroyed and maximum sublight speed is reduced by half.
[2] In reality this is how much damage needs to be done for a weapon to hit the bridge through the ship’s armor. 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.
[3] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will put the heavy shuttle 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 positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (300 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 40 percent of the speed of light. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 0.45 percent of light per melee
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum cruise speed is 400 mph (640 kph), can enter and leave an atmosphere because flight system is using 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 one year worth of supplies for crew members and troops on board for about four months (Emergency rations).

Statistical Data:
Length: 460 feet (140.2 meters).
Height: 70 feet (21.3 meters).
Width: 120 feet (36.5 meters)
Weight: 8,200 tons (7,440 metric tons)
Power System: Advanced Fusion with 25 year life span.
Cargo: The Large troop compartment can carry 3,000 tons (2,721 metric tons) when not carrying vehicles or troops. The troop compartment cargo hold is 50 x 80 x 200 feet in dimensions (15.2 x 24.4 x 61.0 meters). The shuttle also has storage for equipment and weapons for troops.
Market Cost: 750 million credits for a fully armed Goliath Assault Shuttle.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

2 Cm Laser Cannons (4): These cannons are mounted on the nose of the shuttle and are mainly used for clearing landing zones although can be used against attacking fighters as well. Weapons are extremely effective when fired together although not as powerful as most heavy weapon systems on destroyers. Weapons are controlled by pilot or co-pilot.
Maximum Effective Range: 1,000 miles (1,609 km) in space and 10 miles (16 km) in an atmosphere.
Mega Damage: 8D6x10 M.D.C. per four cannon blast. If one is destroyed, damage is reduced by 2D6x10 M.D.C. Per cannon destroyed.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot or gunner (usually 4 or 5).
Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
Combination Plasma Cartridge Auto-Cannons / Mini-Missile Launchers (8): Each mount has a pair of plasma cartridge cannons and a pair of mini-missile launchers. The ship carries a total of eight mounts which are on the top and sides of the shuttle with the side mounts able to fire downwards. Weapons are mounted in turrets that can rotate 360 and have a 180 arc of fire.
Plasma Cartridge Auto-Cannons (2 each mount):
Mini-Missile Launchers (2 each mount):
Medium Range Missile Launchers (4): Mounted on the sides of the shuttle, these weapon system is used for hitting enemy robots and fighters. Weapon system is also very effective as an anti-cruise missile and as ground bombardment. Each pair of two launchers is controlled by a separate weapon operator although sensor officers can also take control. Missile has a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 6% of light per turn. 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 (See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details.)
Rate of Fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of 2 or 4 per launcher (up to 16 missiles can be simultaneously by all launchers).
Payload: 20 per launcher for a total of 80 medium range missiles.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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