TNO: Universal-class Corvette
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Name:
Universal-class Corvette

Designation:
Anti-Starfighter Corvette

Manufacturer:
Sienar Fleet Systems

Operational Function:
Point Defense Anti-Starfighter Corvette

Length:
200 meters

Width:
200 meters

Height:
75 meters

Crew:
200

Troops:
50 Marines for on-board defense

Hyperdrive: x3.5

Speed:
25 MGLT

Emergency Speed: 35 MGLT (with weapons powered down)

Hull: 800 RU

Shields: 1,000 SBD, Multi-track shields

Weapons:
30 Phoenix Gun Batteries
16 Long-range laser cannons
4 Electromagnetic Accelerators tailored for anti-starfighter use
9 Multi-purpose warhead launchers
40 Quad Laser cannons

Special Systems:
Light Sensors
CGT
Efflux Detectors
Molecularly Bonded Armor

Description and Development History:
With the rise of the Galactic Coalition, and specifically the Kashan Confederacy, stealthed fighters were coming into their own. The devestation wrought by guerilla warfare over Metalorn prompted Sienar into developing the Universal-class Corvette, a dedicated starfighter, and specifically stealthed starfighter, killer.

A unique design, the Universal abandons the traditional shape of starships in favor of a spherical command center encircled by a doughnut-shaped weapons platform. Four tubes in an X shape connect the command center to the weapons systems. Through these tubes run electronic systems and communication systems, as well as providing a walkway for gunners to move back and forth.

The command module, 75 meters in diameter, is a perfectly rounded sphere. The bottom and top decks both have five quad cannons to compensate for any blind spots in the weapons platform. The second deck down contains the bridge and the communications array. The third and fourth deck contain the quarters for officers as well as the mess hall and recreational rooms. Decks five and six contain crew quarters. The middle decks (seven and eight) contain the four engines, shield generator, CGT, sensor arrays, and the main reactor core.

The engines are mounted in an interesting and efficient fashion, with each engine being mounted at the ends of the walking tubes. With one major engine pointing every direction, the ship can change direction extremely quickly along a horizontal plane. This allows a hasty retreat by simply switching power from one set of engines to another.

Decks nine through eleven contain crew quarters as well as crew recreational rooms and a secondary mess hall. Decks twelve through fourteen are set aside for munitions and provision storage.

The outer ring contains weapons emplacements. The Phoenix gun batteries and the quad cannons are interspaced, all facing outward. However, each battery is set in a individually rotating section so it has a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vertical field of fire, leaving no blind spots on the ship. The warhead launchers and long-range laser cannons are also interspaced around the ring with 360-degree vertical rotation. The electromagnetic accelerators are placed with one in between each set of tubes, commanding the horizontal approach from every direction.

Description of Special Systems:
Phoenix Gun Batteries - The Phoenix Gun Battery is in actual fact three guns mounted to one fast tracking mount. The main piece of this weapon is an electromagnetically charged rail gun, capable of firing small slugs at high speed. This weapon is coupled with a flechette launcher, designed to intercept enemy missiles and destroy them. It fires flechette at high speed, allowing it to cut through enemy missiles, even armoured ones, with relative ease. It is also effective at close range against unshielded enemy starfighters.
The second element of this weapon is a pair of rapid fire blaster canons. These weapons are suited for use against starfighters.
Equipped with fast-tracking targetting systems and mounts, these emplacements are designed to quickly and efficiently kill enemy starfighters. While no replacement for a dedicated antistarfighter frigate, they are extremely effective in point defence.

Electromagnetic Accelerator - A projectile weapon designed to inflict heavy damage from long range, the Electromagnetic Accelerator fires metallic "slugs" at enemy ships. The weapon is comprised of a long barrel wrapped in superconductive wiring, turning the entire barrel into a massive electromagnet. Once charged, this magnet hurles a slug at near-lightspeed toward a distant target. The longer the barrel, the faster the slug moves and thus, the greater the damage inflicted. Neccessarily, the Electromagnetic Accelerator draws a substantial ammount of power, and its application is limited. These accelerators are tailored specifically for anti-starfighter fire. These slugs are fired into clusters of enemy starfighters. Once the slug gets within a few hundred meters of the targets the slug explodes, coating an area of space roughly 500 meters squared with superheated shrapnel. Because of the speed of this explosion, these weapons are unaffected by starfighter shields and literally cut enemy ships to pieces.

Light Sensors - These sensors operate by emitting rays of utraviolet light in all directions. Rather than expecting these rays to return, however, the sensor operator observes where they vanish (as they do when they strike an object). Because all stealth ships still have a physical presence in space, their location will be revealed by these sensors.
The working of this sensor can best be described as picking up a ship's "shadow" in space.
Because this sensor relies on light being blocked, and light travels in a straight line, they are unable to detect ships if they are being screened by another vessel. As well, they are incapable of producing a definate enough image to secure a confirmed classification, and targetting relies upon the skill of individual gunners.

Efflux Detector - These sensors are highly sensitive to heat. Because space is an absolute vacuum and temperatures are below freezing, any sort of heat shows up on these sensors. While they cannot acheive a targetting lock on stealth engines, they can detect that stealth ships might be present and provide a general idea of where they are on the battlefield.

Molecularly Bonded Armor - Molecularly Bonded Armour "is created by bonding metals at the subatomic level. Texture-molding tractor fields hold the metal in place while it is just barely surface-liquefied. The hot metal surface is then bombarded with charged particles that increase its bonding strength and resiliency" (CUSWE).
In terms of ship construction, this eliminates panel gaps between armour plating, essentially meaning the ship is structurally one piece. This increases structural rigidity substantially, as well as strengthening the hull overall. Because armour is bonded at the subatomic level, it does not flake off as traditional armour is prone to do, and instead must be melted away or punched directly through.

Multi-track Shields - Multi-track shields, which take data from the ship's central computer to predict approach angles and attack patterns, instantly angle to better deflect, rather than absorb, energy and warheads. Multi-track shields allow for instantaneous changes in shield dispersement around the vessel.

Long-range Laser Cannons - These weapons are normal laser cannons with reinforced barrels. The difference between these and normal laser cannons is that they use the same energy as a turbolaser. But instead of being a heavy bolt, the extra energy is turned into speed and range, allowing the cannon to fire at targets up to 2 km away, nearly four times the range of a normal laser cannon. Since the shots are not as powerful, they can fire faster than a turbolaser as well, though not as fast as a short-range cannon. The downside is that using these weapons significantly slows the ship's speed, since power has to be channeled from the engines.

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Created By
Wes Vos
Created On
Nov 28 2006 3:51am
Last Updated
Nov 28 2006 3:51am
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