Wolfen Cohort class Assault Shuttle:

Properly used, capital ships can be used to suppress practically any ground force but in order for a military to truly hold ground, proper assault forces must be used. As well, unless the military is willing to completely devastate the ground forces which they are trying to suppress, sometimes assaults have to be made to heavily defended locations. This is where the assault shuttle comes in. The Wolfen Cohort class assault shuttle is a classic example of this kind of ship. It is designed around being able to attack heavily defended locations, both well armored and heavily armed.

The Cohort class is an older design, dating from before the Wolfen joined the Consortium of Civilized Worlds. It has served in wars as well as in police actions. The shuttle was used by the Consortium as well along side the Human Alliance AS-4 and AS-6 Assault Shuttle but never in the same numbers as the Human Alliance design. The Consortium has since retired all of their Human Alliance and Wolfen assault shuttles, replacing them with the SAS-12 Assault Shuttle design. Some were sold back to the Wolfen military while others were sold to independent militaries, mercenary companies, and even civilian purchases. Most shuttles sold to civilian interests were disarmed and ply their trade as cargo shuttles.

The Human Alliance is slowly replace their AS-4 and AS-6 Assault Shuttles with the Consortium SAS-12 and SAS-12-D models although a large percentage of the older shuttles are still in service. The Wolfen military is taking a different approach, deciding to retain the older design instead of replacing it with more advanced shuttles. To squeeze as much life out of these shuttles as possible, the Wolfen military has come up with a series of upgrades for their shuttles. The military plans to upgrade approximately one quarter of their shuttles, leaving the others in their original configuration. None of these upgraded shuttles are new construction but are instead rebuilt older shuttles. The shuttle is no longer manufactured with many thousands in mothball yards.

The idea for the upgrade is that the upgraded version of the shuttle will leave the first wave of the assaults and the shuttles which have not be upgraded being used in later runs. Several independent militaries and mercenary companies have come up with similar upgrades to their assault shuttles as the Wolfen upgraded version. This can be explained easily as the upgrades are designed to be as simple and inexpensive as possible. The Wolfen military have to prioritize production and there is no budget for either a new shuttle design or a more comprehensive upgrade.

The design of the Cohort follows basic Wolfen design principles. It is faster than the Human Alliance AS-4 assault shuttle and while well armored, carries less armor than the Human Alliance assault shuttle design. It is a blocky design and still has a fairly limited atmospheric speed. The Wolfen assault shuttle has less cargo hold space compared to the AS-4 assault shuttle. It can carry approximately a half a dozen tanks or up to around four hundred metric tons of cargo. It is designed around being to carry up to two-hundred and fifty troops instead of cargo. The shuttle is designed to operate with a crew of eight like the human alliance shuttle.

Weapon systems are also heavier than the AS-4 assault shuttle and include both forward firing weapon mounts and defensive turrets. The shuttle has two particle beams and two rail guns which fire forward. These weapons are normally controlled by either the pilot or co-pilot. The shuttle also is protected by four particle beam turrets with each carrying twin mounts. Both the particle beams and rail guns are older model mounts. While the Human Alliance shuttle mounts mini-missile launchers, the Cohort carries standard missiles hard points. These hard points can carry a wide variety of ordnance loads although medium range missiles are the most commonly carried weapon systems. The shuttle has a total of six missile hard points and twenty-four medium range missiles can be carried.

On upgraded versions of the shuttle, the engines and hull are not modified. Most of the weapon systems carried are not upgraded although an additional pair of hard points are added. New particle beam mounts and rail guns are available but would increase the cost of the vessel greatly. The main upgrade is the addition of a shield generator. The generator is similar to what is carried on large fighters. This greatly increases the ability of the shuttle to survive under heavy fire.

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

Model: ASA-01
Vehicle Type: Heavy Assault Shuttle
Crew: Eight (Pilot, Copilot, Communication/Sensor Operator, and five Gunners).

Troops / Vehicles: Up to 440 tons (400 metric tons). This only lists two common troop loads, there are many other possible combinations.
Vehicle & Troops:

	6	Tanks or APCs (up to 50 ft long)
	80	Troops in Body Armor (60 if in Power Armor)

Troops Only:

250

Troops in Body Armor (188 if in Power Armor)

M.D.C. By Location:

	Nose Particle Beam Cannons (2):	20 each
	Nose Rail Guns (2):	25 each
	Twin Particle Beam Turrets (4):	50 each
	Missile Pylons (6 original / 8 upgrade, Underside):	8 each
	Reinforced Pilot’s Compartment:	120
	Rear Door Ramp:	250
	Landing Gear (3):	50 each
	[1] Main Body:	1,200
	[2] Variable Force Field (Upgrade Model):	400 per side (2,400 total)

Notes:
[1] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will put the 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 if in space and will crash to the planet if within the atmosphere.
[2] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (120 M.D.C.) per melee. Carried only on upgrade versions of the shuttle.

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 0.65 percent of light per melee.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum cruise speed is 450 mph (724.2 kph), can enter and leave an atmosphere because flight system is using contra grav.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by Drive system but only has supplies for crew members and troops for about two months (Emergency rations).

Statistical Data:
Length: 245 feet (74.68 meters).
Height: 48.5 feet (14.78 meters).
Width: 76.5 feet (23.32 meters)
Weight: 1400 tons (1,270 metric tons)
Power System: Advanced Fusion with 20 year life span.
Cargo: Large cargo hold that can carry up to 440 ton (400 metric tons) of cargo in place of troops or vehicles but not including standard compliment of supplies and ammunition. The cargo hold is 30 x 40 x 100 feet in dimensions (9.1 x 12.2 x 30.4 meters). The shuttle also has storage for equipment and weapons for troops.
Market Cost: 80 million credits for a fully armed standard model Cohort Assault Shuttle and 120 million credits for an upgraded version of the Cohort Assault Shuttle (Disarmed / Civilian versions of the shuttle cost around 40 to 50 million credits) Shuttle is no longer being produced.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

Nose Light Particle Beam Cannons (2): These guns are mounted on the sides of the shuttle. While not as powerful as most new fighter weapons system, The weapon is still powerful and effective. The weapons are fairly short ranges but may be combined with the fighters rail guns when a target is close enough that both weapon systems are within range. The particle beam cannons are controlled by the fighters pilot.
Maximum Effective Range: 4 miles (6.4 km) through atmosphere and 200 miles (321.8 km) in space.
Mega-Damage: 1D4x10+10 per single blast or 2D4x10+20 per double blast (3D6x10+20 when the particle beams and the rail guns are combined together).
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the Pilot (usually 4 or 5).
Payload: Effectively Unlimited
Standard Rail Guns (2): These guns are mounted on the middle front of the shuttle and are electromagnetic rail guns instead of being gravity rail guns. They are less powerful than many modern rail gun systems but are still quite respectable. The rail guns do have a longer range than the particle beam cannons. The rail guns are controlled by the fighters pilot and can be combined with the particle beams or inflicting greater damage.
Maximum Effective Range: 6 miles (9.7 km) through atmosphere and 600 miles (966 km) in space.
Mega-Damage: 2D6x10 for a 30 round burst from both cannons (1D6x10 if one is destroyed) and 3D6x10+20 when the particle beams and the rail guns are combined together
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the Pilot (usually 4 or 5).
Payload: 7,500 rounds (125 burst total)
Twin Mount Particle Beam Turrets (4): Mounted on the corners of the shuttle, each mount carries twin particle beams identical to those carried as the assault shuttle's main battery. Each is controlled by an individual gunner. Each Particle beam turret has the ability to rotate 360 degrees and have a 90 degree arc of fire.
Maximum Effective Range: 4 miles (6.4 km) through atmosphere and 200 miles (321.8 km) in space.
Mega-Damage: 1D4x10+10 per single blast or 2D4x10+20 per double blast.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the Gunner's combined hand to hand (usually 4 or 5).
Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
Missile Pylons (6 or 8): On the underbelly of the assault shuttle are six missile racks that allows the shuttle to carry one cruise missile, two long range missiles, or four medium range missiles each. Upgraded models have eight missile racks. Individual pylons must carry all the same type ordnance but each pylon may carry different types of ordnance. Cruise missile are normally carried when on an anti-capital ship role and long and medium range missiles when fighting other starfighters. Cruise Missiles has 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.) Long Range Missiles have a top speed of Mach 20 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 8% of light per turn (faster than any starship.) Medium Range Missiles have a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 6% of light per turn. 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 starships (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. Missiles can be launched on multiple targets simultaneously.
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, Long Range Missile range is 3,400 miles (5,470 km) in an atmosphere and 1,800,000 miles (2,897,000 km/9.7 light seconds) in space, and 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 & Properties: See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details (Cruise Anti-Matter multi-warheads inflict 5D6x100 M.D.C. each and Long Range Fusion warheads inflict 2D4x100 M.D.C. each.)
Rate of Fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), three (3), or four (4) missiles.
Payload: One (1) cruise missile, two (2) long range missiles, or four (4) medium range missiles per pylon.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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