Guild Cruiser: The Bounty Hunters Guild
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The newest and final capital-scale starship designed and constructed by the Bounty Hunters Guild, the new Mandalore II-class stealth starship will replace all existing starships in use save for the Mandalore (now referred to as Mandalore I) and Concord Dawn class starships. [/INDENT]
Ships Biography
When the Guild found itself without a planet to call home, and during a period of reconstruction, the fleet found itself with an excess of starships compared to the personnel needed to crew the same vessels. Further more, they had begun to show their age. Without regular maintenance they would have quickly fallen into disrepair. With the sizable Concord-Dawn super carrier still in operation, and only a handful of Mandalore-I stealth ships to defend it with it became apparent that a solution would need to be found.
When the Guild acquired StarForge station part of the answer presented itself in the shape of the stations long unused shipyard. Two issues had yet to be addressed; material and labor. The success of New Underground provided the material needed where the old starships could be broken down and recycled. Last but not least, the Guild managed to open negotiations with Port No Port to hire thousands of Hasheeni workers to fill the bill. All of these factors addressed, the Guild began construction of the first Mandalore II stealth cruiser.
Each of the new Guild Cruisers would be named after notable Bounty Hunters who had, in some way, been influential forces in the galaxy, names who helped to shape the industry with the inaugural vessel dedicated as a monument to the most famous line of hunters ever to live; Legacy Fett.
Current plans call for the construction of four Mandalore-II class cruisers to replace the aging Guild-class cruisers and corvettes though some of those ships will remain in active duty.
In a time when the Guild is undergoing many changes, the Mandalore II will be the perfect icon for a new age and new evolution of the Bounty Hunters Guild.
Design Analysis
The Mandalore II is, in every way, an improvement on the already impressive Mandalore-class stealth cruiser.
These new Mandalore II starships are designed to engage inferior merchant and private craft with victory assured. They mount a wide array of active and passive stealth technologies as well as a highly effective cloaking device which enable the vessel to completely invisible. Heavy armaments of ship-to-ship weapons make the Mandalore II a competent combat ship as well.
Given the needs of the Guild, however; this new, much larger, starship has a number of features that were never considered in the preceding vessel such as a considerable cargo capacity and prisoner transport facility. These facilities are not, size wise, comparable with dedicated freight or transport craft but they are sufficiently lucrative. For the most part these features are also highly modular, easily adapted to meet changing mission requirements.
The Mandalore II will operate in tandem with the Mandalore I class ships still in service as well as the Concord Dawn flagship and any successive carriers that may be constructed. They are built to maintain extended operations within the Guilds area of influence and maintain functionality for periods that can span months. To that end the crew, though small, has to be able to endure the isolated atmosphere.
In reality the Mandalore II will serve as a multi-role starship while retaining a specialized ability in the area of covert operations. The classification Cruiser is misleading, given the armament and tactical orientation of the ship, but considering that each Mandalore II will be called upon in a variety of service capacities and, more over, that these will soon become the most common of capital craft within the Bounty Hunters Guild, it was decided that “Cruiser” would best fit the actual nature of the ship.
[INDENT]Features[/INDENT]
Mandalore I Package – The Mandalore II incorporates all previous technologies as employed by its predecessor, the Mandalore-class stealth starship. Some of those systems have since been improved upon, hence; their inclusion in the above tech-by-tech break down. Information on these systems can be found here.
Engine Mask Stacks – Two long ion diffusion stacks, responsible for cooling engine exhaust and dispersing it across a wide area. Most importantly, however; when compared against the extensive cloak and stealth measures already in place, these two fins look very cool. They make the ship look really, very cool. Aside from the coolness of these awesome stacks, the total engine related stealth efficiency it notably increased by their presence.
Decoy Pods – Located on either side of the forward hull are four bulbous pods which can be detached and fired into hyperspace, set along a sublight path or a combination of both. They have energy signatures that exactly match the cruiser upon which they are installed and ion wakes comparable to the cruiser itself. Once activated, these pods will go about their pre-programmed flight plan. They can also be set with explosive charges that, when detonated, cause a cascade reaction in their miniaturized reactor cores which can simulate the explosion of a starship.
Triple Barrel Heavy Ion Cannon – With the Mandalore I it was observed that the older ships were lacking for turret based weapons causing the warships to rely too heavily on their fixed weapons in combat with capital class starships. To compensate for this shortcoming the Guild purchased a number of ultra-heavy, triple barrel ion turrets to arms their new starships with. Extremely effective against capital scale craft, these massive guns have little or no quick fire ability making them useless against Starfighter type craft. In fire exchange with ships of similar size, these cannons have successfully disabled targets with two or three volleys. Unfortunately, however; the guns do have considerable draw backs such as their slow rotation speed and exhaustive reload times.
Single Turret Heavy Turbo-Lasers – To supplement the damage capacity of the large triple gun turret the Mandalore II features two fast firing, fast aiming turret based ion cannons designed to engage sub-capital class starships. Slightly underpowered, their incredible rate of fire makes up for any short coming. These weapons are only slightly below military grade.
Starfighter Squadron – Unlike the Mandalore I, the new cruiser carries a mixed starfighter squadron composed of twelve various combat craft. These squadrons are typically composed of four bomber type, four interceptor type and, four standard starfighters.
Axial Ion Canons – Powerful “one punch” ion cannons are located along the axis of the Mandalore II with set forward firing trajectories. These massive weapons require the starship to be bow forward, facing their target. They have been moderately improved upon in various areas. The total effective range has been increased and now matches military grade ion cannons. Reload and cool-down times have seen improved ratings thanks to the experienced garnered by gunners aboard the Mandalore I. Perhaps the most significant improvement has been in tactical communications between gunnery officers and the bridge which has seen the ships manage much faster target acquisition ratings as well.
TRU Torpedo Tubes – The original Total Ratification Utility torpedo system has been moderately improved for use aboard the Mandalore II. Weapons payload has been increased, as has maneuverability and versatility which has been accomplished by developing larger torpedoes. These new, second generation weapons are typically twice as long as the first generation warheads. They incorporate advanced thrust engines, tactical computers and fuel payloads. More over, the adaptability of the weapon has also been greatly improved. A new magazine system has also been developed to speed the reloading process.
Side-Firing Ship-to-Ship Missile Launchers – These are cluster missile racks located on the port and starboard sides of the starship, three to a surface. They fire a dense cluster anti-torpedo and anti-starship missiles; six to a tube. Each concussion missile features a potent warhead, solid-fuel rocket, and rudimentary tracking computer.
Side-Firing Particle Cannons – For broadside barrage attacks, the Mandalore II mounts six heavy rail guns, three to port and three to starboard. These cannons fire a solid, depleted radio-active material at near-light speeds. The projectiles are half meter spheres that do not have any guidance or explosive ordinance installed. The shot is designed to maintain its cohesion until it collides with the solid structure of a starship hull at which point it shatters into thousands of deadly shards that are designed to tumble through the body of a starship punching holes through deck after deck and preventing the enemy from maintaining a stable atmosphere. These high-tech “black canons” are highly advanced versions of a similar technology employed by true naval based fleets are totally ineffective against starfighters.
Modular Stowage Crates – Located just forward of the prison facility are a series of externally mounted cargo brackets into which can be slotted cargo crates that fit seamlessly with the dorsal hull of the starship. These units can be detached at a moments notice.
Prisoner Transport Facility – To facilitate contract delivery the Mandalore II starships have a limited prison facility which can safely contain up to fifty various entities. In situations when passenger capacity becomes more important then prisoner containment these cells can be adapted for passenger use. They are mainly used as cells however and, even under the best conditions, not comfortable accommodations for the traveling elite. Located along the dorsal surface just aft of the stowage units, the cells are directly linked to purging systems which can quickly disengage and detach the prisoner deck.
Statistical Summary
Name: Mandalore II
Type: Stealth Cruiser
Keel: 850 Meters
Crew: 324 Souls
Passenger Capacity: 180 Souls
Assigned: 2 Combat Squads (50 persons)
Cargo Stowage: 20,000 Metric Tons
Embarked Craft: 1 Starfighter Squadron
Armament
1 Triple-Barrel Heavy Ion Cannon
2 Turret-Based Ion Cannons
6 Cluster Missile Launchers
6 Particle Canons
5 TRU Torpedo Tubes
2 Axial Ion Canons