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Vindictive Heavy Cruiser (Modified Talisman class Heavy Cruiser):

The Vindictive was originally part of the system self defense forces of the Sun-Yet system. At that time, the heavy cruiser had been flagged the Paragon and was the flagship of the fleet. Otherwise, the system forces were smaller vessels, mostly Hunter class destroyers but there was also a pair of Stalker class fast escort carriers. Generally, the system defense forces were considered fairly good.

The system itself had been settled by a variety of different sentient groups, mainly from the Consortium of Civilized Worlds. While the system maintained ties with the Consortium, it was not a member world. The population included Humans, Noro, Wolfen, Catyr, and a handful of others. Otherwise, the main life supporting planet was one of the more attractive planets in the Three Galaxies and needed minimal terraforming. It had in short time grown to a population of several hundred thousand, actually approaching one million colonists.

However, the system was attacked in mass, apparently by a fleet of pirated. Pirates will rarely attack a system with as powerful a self defense forces as Sun-Yet had. The force was a mixture of different designs including a number of older Trans-Galactic Empire vessels. Overwhelmed, the self defense forces fought valiantly but they were soon devastated.

All of the Hunter class destroyers were destroyed, the escort carriers were forced to flee after the carriers had their fighters virtually annihilated, and the Paragon was badly damaged. The heavy cruiser managed to pick up a handful of surviving fighters but continuing fighting would have resulted in the destruction of the heavy cruiser as well. At the time, the captain though that it would be best to wait out the raid and come to the aid of the people after the pirates departed.

The pirates did send down raiding parties and took virtually everything that was portable in any shape or fashion. This included kidnaping quite a few members of the population, especially the most skilled among them. Even then it might have been possible to rebuild but the next step though was completely unprecedented. Instead of departing the system, the raiders began smashing city after city, town after town, with close range orbital bombardment. As a result of the particle beams and lasers raining from space, massive fires broke out all over the surface of the planet, blackening the sky.

When the pirates departed and the cruiser and two escort carriers returned, there was only a handful of the population left alive. The crews did their best but many of the few survivors died while the rescue was being attempted. One of those whom they were able to rescue was a young Catyr girl who went by the name of Petra. Even though her family lived in an isolated area, the rest of her family had been killed. Because the cities were destroyed, there were no surviving records on her and no way to know who her family was.

Most of the survivors were brought to the nearest Consortium world and the Consortium, to their credit, sent out a massive rescue force. There was little left to rescue however. By that time, the planet had entered an almost planet wide winter killing most of the remaining plants and animals. It would be centuries without a second terraforming for the planet to be truly hospitable again.

The captain of the cruiser, Acke Radboud, decided he wanted to find out who the pirates actually were and see if he could track down them down. As previous mentioned, pirates almost never attack a well defended star system. Some of the pirate groups were able to be identified. Various rumors began to come to his attention. Rumors of powerful backing. These included that the Trans-Galactic Empire being directly involved and there were also rumors of the population which had been taken being sold on the slave markets in the Splugorth dominated systems.        Renaming his ship the “Vindictive,” the captain swore revenge on any and all of those responsible for the destruction of his world. Many of the pirates had broken up soon after they had attacked the planet and they could be hunted down individually. He also swore revenge on both the Trans-Galactic Empire and the Splugorth dominated worlds. Fighting the Trans-Galactic Empire has put him in contact with the Free Worlds Council and his ship has often fought alongside their forces. Working with them has also both allowed him to get his ship repaired and his ship was given a letter of privateering by the Free Worlds Council.

While most of the survivors had settled around the Consortium, a handful joined the crew of the vessels of the former defense forces. This included the young Catyr girl, whom was adopted by the crew of the Vindictive. In fact, she was virtually raised by the captain even though he was a human. Not a conventional upbringing, she quickly learned the skill of a starship crew. As she grew up, the ship continued to enter combat. Even though young, she had a natural gift for tactics.

When a ship enters battle, crew will get killed no matter what. Even something as well armored as a heavy cruiser is not immune to this. By the time that Petra was around twenty-five, she was already acting as the ship’s executive officer. Five years later however an energy spear in the form of a heavy laser penetrated deep into the hull and hit the bridge. The captain was killed instantly. Inherently, Petra would likely have survive the hit because of her heritage.

After a long discussion, the crew decided to make Petra captain of the Vindictive even though she was actually one of the younger members of the crew. Since then, she has continued her adopted father’s mission against pirates, the Trans-Galactic Empire, and against the Splugorth held worlds.

Most believe that this ship has some powerful financial backers but whomever this was has been kept a closely guarded secret. There are various rumors of course from Consortium Intelligence, the Icaria star system, merchant lines, and others. Might even be several supporters. In some cases, the ship is able to offset its own expenses by raiding from pirates and other enemies but it is far from enough to support the vessel. There are also in some cases bounties against some pirates. Whatever the case, the ship seems to always be able to support itself.

While the Vindictive started its life as a standard Talisman class heavy cruiser, the Vindictive has been upgraded a number of times over the years. Often these upgrades have been when the ship needed extensive repairs. The two most common yards used for major upgrades have been in Free Worlds Council and the Tri-Galactic Military Service systems.

While the electronics have been upgraded, there have been a number of more visible upgrades. Most visible are the capital missile launchers. Originally there were four forward firing capital missile launchers and these were replaced with eight capital missile batteries. However, due to magazine restriction, there are limited missiles in the forward magazines. This is partially addressed by using the magazines for the heavy gravity rail guns for additional capital missiles. Only when operating with the Free Worlds Council does the heavy cruiser usually carry anti-matter or X-Ray laser warheads.

Software upgrades allow capital missiles to be fired in large volleys than they could originally. In addition, the heavy cruiser has been modified so it can operate up to twenty-four Pepperbox launchers. Tri-Galactic Military Service models are carried for an additional one hundred and twenty capital missiles. Between the internal launchers and the Pepperbox launchers, the ship can fire upwards of two hundred capital missiles as an initial volley.

The other major upgrade is in terms of defensive weaponry with the original point defense laser batteries replaced by variable focus particle beams. Originally developed for the Consortium Assault Shuttle, the variable focus particle beams are far more powerful and also are considered far more effective against missile volleys. However, the conventional electromagnetic point defense rail guns were retained along with the medium range missile batteries.

Over the years, the fighter compliment has been replaced many times. In some cases, the pilots have been able to be rescued but casualties have been extremely high. Recently, the captain has been able to get a full squadron of Icaria SF-109 Stríngla light fighters, a greatly upgraded version of the Human Alliance Vixen class fighter. This is one of the reason why some wonder if the Icaria star system is helping to support the vessel. Supplementing the Stríngla light fighters is a squadron of Ross Aerospace “I.C.E. Hyena” light fighters.

For power armors, the heavy cruiser embarks eighty troops all equipped with Kittani K-Universal power armors which were captured from the Splugorth. They have been upgraded with Naruni force fields and Naruni micro-missile launchers. These troops are both used for boarding and to protect the vessel itself from boarding.

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: ACR-05 (Modified).

Vehicle Type: Heavy Gun Cruiser.

Crew: 400 (ship can be run by 120 crew) - 30 Officers and 370 enlisted.

Troops: 24 fighter pilots and 80 power armor pilots. 

Vehicle, Robots, and Power Armors:

Power Armors:

Fighter Compliment:

Special:

M.D.C. By Location:

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 0.8 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:                992.45 feet (302.5 meters).

Height:                410.76 feet (125.2 meters).

Width:                 309.38 feet (94.3 meters).

Weight/Mass:      380,300 Tons (345,000 tons).

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

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: A standard Talisman class cruiser costs between 3.4 and 3.6 billion credits to manufacture and often sells 5.0 to 7.5 billion credits. With upgrades, the Vindictive would likely cost 5.5 to 8.0 billion credits. Cost does not include embarked craft.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. Five (5) Turrets with 18 cm Particle Beam Mounts (15 total): These cruisers mount a total of five turrets with three 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. In addition, the weapons have the standard penalties for capital scale weaponry to strike small targets such as fighters and other such small targets.

   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 (All three mounts in a turret can be linked for 9D6x100 M.D.C..)

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

   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.

2. Two (2) 8 cm Heavy Gravity Rail Guns: Originally six were mounted but replaced by the magazines for the capital missile batteries. 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. Heavy rail gun projectiles come out of the heavy rail guns at a significant fraction of the speed of light when fired in space. When fired in an atmosphere, projectile velocities are slower to prevent them from burning up but still are at hypersonic speeds.The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at faster than light velocities. In addition, the weapons have the standard penalties for capital scale weaponry to strike small targets such as fighters and other such small targets.

   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: 16,000 rounds each (200 bursts).

3. Twelve (12) Point Defense 15 mm Electromagnetic Rail Guns: Mounted together with the particle beam batteries in the central area of the vessel. A row of three laser batteries and three rail guns are mounted together. 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 gun at a significant fraction of the speed of light. When used in an atmosphere, projectile velocities are slower to prevent them from burning up but still are at hypersonic speeds. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at faster than light velocities. These rail guns use 15 mm depleted uranium projectiles.

   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.

4. Twelve (12) Variable Focus Particle Beam Mounts: Replace the original laser batteries and mounted together with the rail guns in the central area of the vessel. These particle beams are copied from those carried on the CAF Assault Shuttle and will fire a very powerful narrow beam and can fire a scatter effect that is less powerful but is capable of striking multiple targets. The weapon system is quite useful against missiles although the cone is not as wide as Tachyon cannon sprays are (Gives +2 bonus vs fast moving targets such as missiles.) Weapons are mounted in turrets that can rotate 360 and have a 180 arc of fire. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at faster than light velocities. Each mount can be operated by a gunner or a gunner program (+2 to strike, 3 Attacks per melee).

   Maximum Effective Range: 300 miles (480 km) in space and 3 miles (4.8 km) in an atmosphere.

   Mega Damage: Single Target: 4D6x10 per blast. Wide Beam: 5D6 to all targets within a 5,000 foot (1,524 meter) diameter area. When fired as a wide beam, the cannon cannot be used on targets closer than 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) away.

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

   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.

5. Ten (10) Cruise Missile Launchers (8 Forward / 2 Aft): Missiles have a top speed of Mach 25 in an atmosphere and have an acceleration of 10% of light per turn (far faster than any starship) in space. Whether missiles can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launching starship, and missiles. When drive goes dead, missiles will continue to travel in a straight line unless set to self destruct or receives a destruct code, but have very low odds of hitting star ships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missiles, when unpowered, are at -25% to be detected.) Cruise missiles have penalties to hit small targets but almost always smart missiles. While missiles are only launched at the rate of one at a time, the ship’s computer has special software that allows all the missiles to hit a target at the same time for the purpose of making the point defense of a target more easily overwhelmed. This is done by slowing down the initial acceleration of missiles and by setting some for delayed activation although the target must be at least 30 seconds away (2 melee rounds) with regard to flight time. Missiles are then considered to only have an acceleration of 5% of light for the first turn. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time although rarely are.

   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 and Fusion multi-warheads inflict 3D6x100 M.D.C. each.)

   Rate of Fire: One cruise missile per melee attack (special software allows 4 to 8 cruise missile to be launched as one volley depending on gunner’s hand to hand attacks) per launcher. This allows total volleys of 40 to 80 cruise missiles to be launched in one melee.

   Payload: Main Forward Magazine: 50 cruise missiles each for 400 cruise missiles total. Secondary Forward Magazine: 400 cruise missiles (requires 10 minutes to reload main forward magazine.) After Magazine: 100 cruise missiles each for 200 total. Note that the ship also usually carries 24 “Pepperbox” launchers externally for 120 additional cruise missiles.

6. Eight (8) Medium Range Missile Batteries: Weapon system is used for hitting enemy robots, fighters, and missiles (both cruise and long range missiles.) Missiles have a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and have an acceleration of 6% of light per turn in space. Weapon system can be used on multiple targets simultaneously.

   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 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: 160 per launcher for a total of 1,280 medium range missiles.

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Image drawn and copyrighted by "Artraccoon".

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

Copyright © 2015 & 2016, Kitsune. All rights reserved.

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