LOGISTICAL UNITS
Deep-Space Probe
The MkI Aegis-class destroyer is a marvel of Terran efficiency. With the tonnage of a light warship it is never-the-less rated as a medium capital: good speed, heavy hull plating and shields, full weapons spread and a significant cargo hold for fighter bays, ground troops and drop-ships. All engineered around a light hull design that is efficient and cheap to produce.
The only real drawback to the class is that it is a victim of its own success: warlords, mercenary squadrons, pirates and corporate security all favour the Terran destroyer, frequently driving up the cost on the open market.
For Terran empires the class gets even better. The MkI design permits extensive retrofits of the hull for upgrade to the more powerful MkII Aegis-class battlecruiser. In turn the battlecruiser can be retrofitted into the mighty MkIII dreadnaught, one of the most powerful interstellar capital ships in the galaxy. The secrets of retrofitting the MkII and MkIII are only known to Terran empires, though systems with production facilities already in place can be conquered and enslaved by other empires.
- Rated equally for atmospheric or zero-G combat.
- Ultra-fast interstellar speed.
- Heavy hull plating and shields.
- Zero cargo capacity.
- Above average weapons.
Firepower >> 21.6 AT# >> 20 Accuracy >> 70% Collateral Damage >> 0 Defence >> 97 Speed >> 100 LYW (light-years/week) Lift >> 120
Upgrade from Aegis-Class MkI Terran Destroyer: Retrofit Rig Bandwidth >> 450 fabrication modules Retrofit Rig Max Queue >> 5 Production Facility Cost >> 400 Unobtanium Base Price >> 100
Deep-Space Interferometry Array
A masterpiece of sensitivity, the Deep-Space Interferometer is able to parse exquisite details of fleets, star systems and the civilizations around them from hundreds of light years away.
Due to the fine-scanning resolution of the daily passive sensor sweep there is less than a 99.94% chance that an approaching CBDR warp bubble will escape detection, functionally eliminating the chance of a surprise attack from even the fastest or longest range fleets.
Similarly, the intelligence gathered and detected by this unit effectively extends the horizon of the empire outwards by 450 lightyears in all directions.
- Extreme Sensor Range.
- Non-Combatant.
- Zero Speed.
Cargo Bulk: 300
BANDWIDTH: 300
PF START-UP: 300
BASE PRICE: 200
MAX QUEUE: 10
sensor range: 450
Fabrication Module
The fourth and final model in the line of mechas produced by the Trans-Imperial Xeon Corporation, the MkIV is the ultimate pinacle of mobile warfare in the galaxy.
…almost twice as fast as the MkI, making it the fastest true capital in the galaxy. Rated as a medium capital, the MkII mounts heavy armour plating and formidable weaponry on an agile, long range strike platform.
capable of folding a staggering 180 light-years in a single Standard Cycle, the MkII suit is ideal for deep strike missions or mobile reserve on empire defence. The unit is so fast it has difficulty working in larger fleet formations. MkII pilots are infamous for leaving picket and support units behind, finding themselves cut off and over-extended deep in enemy territory.
- Rated equally for atmospheric or zero-G combat.
- Ultra-fast interstellar speed.
- Heavy hull plating and shields.
- Zero cargo capacity.
- Above average weapons.
Firepower >> 36.47
#AT >> 2038
Accuracy >> 70%
Collateral Damage >> 0
Defence >> 98
Speed >> 90 LYW (light-years/week)
Lift >> 0
Upgrade from Aegis-Class MkII Terran Battlecruiser:
Retrofit Rig Bandwidth >> 1000 fabrication module weeks
Retrofit Rig Max Queue >> 5
Production Facility Start-up Cost >> 1000 Unobtanium
Base Price >> 75
Mid-Range Sensor Suite
The fourth and final model in the line of mechas produced by the Trans-Imperial Xeon Corporation, the MkIV is the ultimate pinacle of mobile warfare in the galaxy.
…almost twice as fast as the MkI, making it the fastest true capital in the galaxy. Rated as a medium capital, the MkII mounts heavy armour plating and formidable weaponry on an agile, long range strike platform.
capable of folding a staggering 180 light-years in a single Standard Cycle, the MkII suit is ideal for deep strike missions or mobile reserve on empire defence. The unit is so fast it has difficulty working in larger fleet formations. MkII pilots are infamous for leaving picket and support units behind, finding themselves cut off and over-extended deep in enemy territory.
- Rated equally for atmospheric or zero-G combat.
- Ultra-fast interstellar speed.
- Heavy hull plating and shields.
- Zero cargo capacity.
- Above average weapons.
Firepower >> 36.47
#AT >> 2038
Accuracy >> 70%
Collateral Damage >> 0
Defence >> 98
Speed >> 90 LYW (light-years/week)
Lift >> 0
Upgrade from Aegis-Class MkII Terran Battlecruiser:
Retrofit Rig Bandwidth >> 1000 fabrication module weeks
Retrofit Rig Max Queue >> 5
Production Facility Start-up Cost >> 1000 Unobtanium
Base Price >> 75
Retrofit Kit
Many units start their existence as one thing and go through retrofit upgrades to something else. For the ease of consistency all upgradeable units receive a Mark designation, abreviated with “Mk” followed by the rank in Roman Numerals (ie. MkII, pronounced “mark two.”)
If a unit lacks a Mk designation then it can be built from scratch. Only base MkI units with a Mk designation may be built from scratch. Units with a Mk rank higher than MkI may ONLY be upgrade using the process described here.
To build a higher rank unit you must build a retrofit kit for that rank and apply it to an existing unit one rank lower. Thus, to create the MkIII version of a unit one must first have a MkII version of the unit, then build a MkIII Retrofit Kit. To create a MkIV unit requires building the base MkI, then three successive upgrades.
When a Retrofit Kit is present in the same friendly system defence fleet with a unit of the matching lower rank the two will automatically combine during the Upgrade phase of the turn cycle. The lower-ranking unit and the retrofit kit will both be replaced by the upgraded unit matching the rank of the retrofit kit.
If a MkI unit is built at a system where a matching MkII Retrofit Kit is already present in the defence fleet then the MkI unit will automatically upgrade the same turn it is built. A base MkI unit and the matching MkII Retrofit Kit can both be built the same turn at the same production queue, in which case the unit will automatically enter existence as the upgraded MkII version.
Each unit may only apply one retrofit kit each Upgrade phase, thus a MkIV unit must spend at least 3 turns in production, although those turns do not need to be successive. A unit can start life as a MkII, go fight some battles for awhile, then upgrade later at an entirely different star system.
Retrofit kits may be built as a stand-alone logistical unit. Such units are non-combatant, have a Cargo Bulk rating allowing them to be moved by a fleet with sufficient Lift capacity, and can not be destroyed (except when applied during the upgrade process), thus allowing them to be captured.
Unobtanium
Acting as both the galaxy’s universal currency and ultimate resource, Unobtanium is the suspended substance of physical reality.
The frozen wave/form duality of the Higgs Field, like Schrodinger’s Cat it is simultaneously matter and energy, awaiting the observer to unleash its transformation from potential to actual.
As the perfectly efficient distillation of space-time substance, a sufficient quantity of unobtanium can become any physical object the architect desires, when sculpted and channeled correctly. Or unleashed the other way, a thimble-full can power the reactor of a battlecruiser for a decade.
As the only resource that matters in a post-scarcity galaxy, the value of a system is largely determined by the rate of unobtanium that can be harvested from the corona of the stars in the system. Each star has a set rate of unobtanium that can be harvested as a function of its position on the Main Sequence, once the necessary containment vessels are in place.
Stars with high unobtanium output make attractive systems for colonization, and tend to spawn the development of prosperous intergalactic empires. Such systems also tend to attract the covetous attention of neighbours….