Serena class Light Cruiser:

The term “Light Cruiser” is a relative term with this vessel, being both heavier and larger than a Consortium Warshield class cruiser. It is however a fair amount smaller than the Talisman class heavy cruiser. Otherwise, the design concepts employed in the design are similar to the Talisman class. In many ways, it should be considered the smaller cousin of the larger cruiser. Some have suggested that the Talisman class should be considered a Battle Cruiser while the Serena should be considered a heavy cruiser.

In common with the Talisman class, this design also looks like a ship which might be built by the United Worlds Warlock and the design does not incorporate any techno-wizardry in the design of these vessels. These ships are constructed in the same yards as the Talisman class. These yards are primarily civilian yards so these cruiser designs are even more significant. So far, only four of these light cruisers have been constructed although plans are to built these ships in much large numbers if there is strong interest.

Unlike ship designs of most military forces, these designs use civilian components as a significant part of the light cruiser. In addition, these cruisers rely on salvaged and refurbished military components whenever possible including the cruisers weapon systems in large part. This makes the ship quite affordable compared to many designs with two of these ships likely costing less than a single Warshield class cruiser if the end up being popular and produced in large numbers.

While the Talisman class mounts triple 18 cm particle beams, the Serena mounts the same 18 cm particle beams in twin turrets. This still makes the Serena more or less a “Gun” cruiser. The turrets are in similar location to the Talisman class with a total of five turrets for a total of ten particle beams. Three are on the upper side of the ship while two are on the lower side of the ship. Usually both guns in a turret will link together to fire at a single target. The ship can slew to one side and fire all ten barrels at a single target as a broadside.

As with the Talisman class, these weapon systems are stripped from either retired ships or from ships that had their particle beams replaced by lasers. Before being fitted on the light cruiser, they are fully reconditioned and tested. As one might expect, these older particle beams mounts are far cheaper than new heavy laser weaponry.

There are no medium level energy weapons such as the 12 cm lasers mounted on the Consortium Warshield class. Many crews prefer this all heavy particle beam battery over a more mixed battery. Still, the ship mounts a number of other weapon systems. Both point defense weaponry and missile weaponry augment the main energy battery. As with the main energy battery, most of these weapon systems are also recycled. In most cases, they come from either Human Alliance or Wolfen vessels.

A total of six capital missile launchers are mounted with four firing forward and two firing aft. These launchers are identical to those carried on the Wolfen Hunter class destroyer and fire more rapidly than the launchers carried on the Warshield although each only fires a single missile at a time while the Warshield can fire sixty four capital missiles as a single volley. The Serena does however use special software so that multiple firings of the launcher can be combined into a single volley. With a good crew, a linked volley of forty-eight capital missiles can be fired at a single target. While it has the same number of launchers as the heavier Talisman class, payload is reduced with fifty missiles per launcher.

While the light cruiser does not mount any long range missile batteries, the Serena class does mount six medium range missile batteries. This is reduced from the eight batteries carried on the Talisman class. These batteries are also of a Wolfen design and are generally salvaged from retired Hunter class destroyers. Unlike the capital missile launchers, the payload of medium range missiles per battery on the Serena is not reduced compared to the Talisman class. A total of one hundred and sixty missiles per medium range battery are carried for a total payload of just under a thousand missiles.

For inner point defense, the light cruiser carries sixteen mounts. Half of these are point defense lasers while half are point defense electromagnetic rail guns. Instead of the mounts being above and below each other in two rows, these mounts alternate with each other in a single row. Two row of four are mounted on each side with one in the upper half and the other on the lower half of the hull. The weapon systems are generally recycled from Human Alliance vessels. A major advantage of the electromagnetic rail guns is that they are far easier to maintain than gravity rail guns while the performance of the older mounts is still comparable.

As with the Talisman, the Serena design is available with optional heavy rail guns. A maximum of four can be carried with two on either side. These are designed to deal with heavy targets which are impervious to energy weapons. Multiple Consortium ships carry these rail guns including the Scimitar class patrol ship. Unlike the other weapon systems, these generally are not salvaged from ships either being scrapped or upgraded. Payload is cut from the Talisman class with a total of twelve thousand rounds per mount, enough for one hundred and fifty standard bursts each mount.

As with the Talisman class, the Serena class is built to military standards even though built in civilian yards. Materials used in the hull and structure include both salvaged military grade materials and high end civilian armor alloys. These cruisers are still a fair amount larger than Warshield class cruisers and can withstand slightly greater damage than the Consortium standard cruiser. The Serena class however mounts a semi-military variable force field design also carried on the Talisman. Designed for military support ships, they are slightly weaker than those carried on the Warshield.

Like the shields, the drive systems are Civilian in origin. These are from fast merchant ship designs and can propel the light cruiser at up to four and a half light years per hour. Acceleration is slightly greater than the Talisman class due to the smaller mass of the Serena class cruiser. The advanced civilian drives are easier to maintain than older military designs would be while giving similar performance. Unlike many designs based on Civilian systems, these ships are powered by an anti-matter plant. For the energy output based on mass, an antimatter plant is far more efficient than a fusion plant even though harder to maintain. The main power plan is backed up by fusion emergency systems.

With a crew of over three hundred, these ships do require a larger crew than a Warshield class. Even so, they do have advanced automation or the crew compliment would be quite a bit larger. Troop compliment is cut compared to the Talisman class with the standard compliment a dozen power armors and forty marines in standard armor. The troops are mainly used for shipboard defense. While they can be used for boarding actions, that would stretch the troop compliment greatly. Only a single squadron of fighters are embarked. Of the ships that have been built, they have embarked either the old Vixen fighter, the Hyena, or Super Hyena class fighters.

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: LCR-08

Vehicle Type: “Light” Gun Cruiser

Crew: 340 (ship can be run by 120 crew) - 30 Officers and 310 enlisted.

Troops: 40 marines (typically stay on board for ship defense), 12 fighter pilots, and 12 power armor pilots.

Vehicle, Robots, and Power Armors:

Power Armors:

Light Power Armors

Fighter Compliment:

Light Starfighters (Commonly the Vixen and Hyena Star Fighters)

M.D.C. By Location:

	18 cm Secondary Particle Beam Batteries (10, 2 each turret):	1,200 each
	Twin 18 cm Particle Beam Turrets (5, 4 forward / 1 aft)	2,500 each
	8 cm G-cannon Turrets (4, optional):	800 each
	Point Defense Electromagnetic Rail Gun Turrets (8):	150 each
	Double Barrel Point Defense Laser Turrets (8):	150 each
	Cruise Missile Launcher (6, 4 forward / 2 aft):	1,000 each
	Medium Range Missile Batteries (8):	450 each
	Outer Hull (40 ft/ 12.2 m Area):	150
	Inner Hull (40 ft/ 12.2 m Area):	100
	[1] Bridge:	12,000
	[1] Auxiliary Bridge:	12,000
	Hanger Bay:	5,000
	[2] Main Engines (2):	20,000 each
	[3] Main Body:	50,000
	[4] Variable Force Field:	4,000 a side (24,000 Total)

Notes:

[1] 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 also has an auxiliary bridge. Even if both bridges are taken out, 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 sublight speed is reduced by half.

[3] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will put the cruiser 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% (1,200 M.D.C.) per melee round.

Speed:

Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.

Water Surface: 45 knots (83.4 kph / 51.8 mph)

Underwater: 30 knots (55.6 kph / 34.54 mph)

Sublight: Has military class shielding and can reach 60 percent of the speed of light. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 0.85 percent of light per melee.

Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum speed is 400 mph (643.7 kph), can enter an atmosphere and can leave but is not designed for atmospheric flight.

Stardrive: Uses a Gravitonic Drive system that allows the ship to reach a maximum of 4.5 light years per hour.

Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by either drive system. Carries about two and a half years worth of supplies on board.

Statistical Data:

Length: 828.74 feet (252.6 meters).

Height: 332.68 feet (101.4 meters).

Width: 266.40 feet (81.2 meters).

Weight/Mass: 248,020 Tons (225,000 tons)

Power System: Anti-Matter with a 40 year life span. The ship normally only goes 10 years between refueling and refitting.

Cargo: Cargo holds are scattered about the ship that allows for carrying up to 4,000 tons (3,628.7 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. Most of the ship’s spaces are taken up by extra ammunition, armor, troops, weapons, engine, and other equipment.

Market Cost: Ship would cost about 2.6 billion credits to manufacture at present time in the Three Galaxies (2.8 billion with heavy rail guns.) When available, these ships sell for 3.5 to 5.5 billion credits. Cost does not include embarked craft.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

Five (5) Turrets with 18 cm Particle Beam Mounts (10 total): These cruisers mount a total of five turrets with two particle beams each. Four turrets are mounted forward with two turrets on top and two on the bottom of the ship. One turret is mounted aft above the ship. Turrets can rotate 270 degrees and barrels have a 45 degree arc of fire. All turrets can fire to either side as a broadside. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at faster than light velocities.

Maximum Effective Range: 70,000 miles (112,650 km)in space and 70 miles (112.7 km) in an atmosphere.

Mega Damage: 3D6x100 M.D.C. each (Both mounts in a turret can be linked for 6D6x100 M.D.C.)

Rate of Fire: Maximum of three (3) times per melee per particle beam.

Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
Four (4) 8 cm Heavy Gravity Rail Guns: Optional weapon system. Mounted around the “waist” of the heavy cruiser. Used as one of the ship’s secondary batteries. They are used against targets that are impervious to energy as well. System can be operated by a gunner or a gunner program (+2 to strike, 3 Attacks per melee) and can rotate 180 degrees. Rail gun projectile speed at a significant fraction of the speed of light. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at faster than light velocities.

Maximum Effective Range: 10,000 miles (16,100 km) in space, range is 10 miles (16.1 km) in an atmosphere.

Mega Damage: 1D4x100 M.D.C. per 80 round burst each.

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

Payload: 12,000 rounds each (150 bursts)
Eight (8) Point Defense 15 mm Electromagnetic Rail Guns: Mounted together with the laser batteries in the central area of the vessel. Four are mounted on each side alternating with the laser mounts. Unlike most of the rail guns used on Phase World / Three Galaxies starships, these are standard electromagnetic rail guns. They are used as an anti-starfighter and missile weapon and against targets that are impervious to energy. Each rail gun is in a turret that can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire. When used in space, projectiles are fired from rail guns at a significant fraction of the speed of light. Rail guns use 15 mm depleted uranium projectiles. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at faster than light velocities.

Maximum Effective Range: 16 miles (26 km) through atmosphere and 800 miles (1,290 km) in space.

Mega-Damage: Rail gun inflicts 3D6x10 M.D.C. for an 80 round burst.

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

Payload: 16,000 Rounds (200 Bursts) each cannon.
Eight (8) Point Defense 2 cm Lasers in Double Mounts: Mounted together with the rail guns in the central area of the vessel. Four are mounted on each side alternating with the rail gun mounts. Used as an anti-starfighter and missile weapon. 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.
Six (6) Cruise Missile Launchers (4 Forward / 2 Aft): Missiles have a top speed of Mach 25 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 10% of light per turn (far faster than any starship.) Whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launcher, and missile. When drive goes dead, missile will continue to travel in a straight line unless set to self destruct but has very low odds of hitting star ships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missile, when unpowered, is at -25% to be detected.) Cruise missiles have penalties to hit small targets but are all considered smart missiles. While missiles are only launched at the rate of one at a time per launcher, the ship’s computer has special software that allows all the missiles to hit a target at the same time for the purpose to make point defense of a target more easily overwhelmed. This is done by slowing down the acceleration of missiles and by setting some for delayed activation and target must be at least 30 seconds away. Missiles are then considered to only have an acceleration of 5% of light for the first turn.

Maximum Effective Range: Cruise Missile range is 8,000 miles (12,875 km) in an atmosphere and 4,000,000 miles (6,437,376 km/ 21.5 light seconds) in space.

Mega-Damage & Properties: See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details (Anti-Matter multi-warheads inflict 5D6x100 M.D.C. each.)

Rate of Fire: One cruise missile per melee attack (special software allows 4 to 8 missile to be launched as one volley depending on gunners hand to hand attacks) per launcher. This allows total volleys of 24 to 48 cruise missiles to be launched in one melee.

Payload: 50 cruise missiles each for 300 total.
Six (6) Medium Range Missile Batteries: Weapon system is used for hitting enemy robots, fighters, and against incoming cruise missiles. Like other Phase world systems, weapon system range and speed has been greatly increased compared to Rifts Earth systems. 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 two (2), four (4), or eight (8) missiles per battery.

Payload: 160 per launcher for a total of 960 medium range missiles.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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