The shift in Moff Nabiki Tendo's attitude hardly went unnoticed. Her ambition was well known, though it had always been tempered by an awareness of her own limitations. Of course, she also possessed the nigh-universal tackiness endemic to the noveaux-riche.
Now, however, she had apparently matured, and gained a sense of taste, and of perspective, in the process. She was no less ambitious, but now those ambitions had gained a solid foundation which any of the sundry noble houses could respect.
The reason for her transformation was quite obvious, though somewhat surprising in its completeness. Once her father, Admiral Soun Tendo, had become aware of her pregnancy, knowledge of such had soon become public knowledge. As became the anonymity of the father.
Admiral Tendo himself was quite convinced that some utterly despicable and scurriless pirate had ravished his beloved child, and had set out to roust out the boorish rogue. Likely one associated with the group which had wiped out the Gungans. Moff Tendo herself merely smiled indulgently, while quietly moving to take advantage of the chaos to expand her own criminal operations. And in the process assure that those Imperial officials who would tend to oppose such disruptions were well mollified.
A career naval officer drawing upon generations of experience, Admiral Tendo was a
brilliant tactician and widely considered to be a sure candidate for the lofty rank of Grand
Admiral some day. He also had an unfortunate tendency to leap to premature conclusions based
on insufficient data, then finding evidence which could support those conclusions. His
prospective reactions to finding out that someone was salvaging Trade Federation droid forces
are painfully obvious to anyone who would profile him.
Nabiki's acquisition of Kuat Systems Engineering had made her the number six shipbuilder in the Empire. Much attention was therefore being paid to her perceive whether Tendo Engineering Corporation would manage to gain the success that had eluded KSE over the years since it had been spun off from Kuat Drive Yards. As such, even as KSE's various and sundry assets were being shipped to the Nerima Sector, Nabiki and Kasumi were going through their complete design portfolio.
The specific design which caught their attention was the Firespray-class assault and patrol ship. A rather unusual engines-down design which had languished ever since all the prototypes save one had been destroyed on the very eve of the Clone Wars. The design had notable flaws, of course. The most obvious being the lack of internal space. Still, its potential was obvious.
A redesign greatly expanded the ships capacity, pushing its endurance and capacities to the very limits, while giving it the strongest hull and sublight engines possible. The resulting vessel looked very much like a 50m diameter sphere complete with its own base stand. Still, it came standard with the smallest crew requirement and the largest passenger, cargo, and weapons capacity possible. Shields and hyperdrives, among other items, were completely optional and could be installed without any need for modifications beyond the standard construction times.
Well, as long as you limited yourself to civilian specifications. Anything more than 60 shield points or a class 2 hyperdrive would overload the power supply and distribution system. Unless you took it into one of the black market stardocks secretly possessed by Nabiki for upgrading.
The Firespray II quickly gained the market success which eluded it in the canon universe, allowing Nabiki to build specialized mass production facilities that could turn them out many times as fast wirh only half the cost to her. One of Kasumi's suggestions, which had been long used for smaller vehicles but never for starships, which tended to be built in universal-purpose stardocks. Like the 1200 TEC had gained from KSE alone.
TEC soon came out with two smaller, but otherwise identical, designs to the Firespray II. The 20m diameter Phoenix Hawk II light pinnace and the 5m diameter Ember shuttlecraft were quite successful among those who wanted didn't require the Firespray II's impressive capabilities. Admittedly though, many Embers actually ended up being deployed from the Firespray II, which could carry a full squadron of them while still having room for a Phoenix Hawk II within its internal hanger.
A 10m diameter design was considered and assessed, but dropped when it was
determined that its production and market cost would be comparable to the larger Phoenix Hawk,
but without significant improvement over the smaller Ember.
Of course Nabiki had bigger reasons than the purely economic for her acquisition of KSE and subsequent formation of the TEC. She was well aware of the fact that Ranma was acquiring and retrofitting obsolete military ships in order to outfit his own burgeoning forces. She was also well aware that most of these ships would be capital-class vessels. Smaller vessels tend to stay in active service or get scrapped, rather than merely being mynock-pasted. As such, he would likely be rather lacking in useful snubfighter designs.
His most plentiful starfighter, in all likelihood, would be the Koensahr Y-Wing starfighter, which had originally deployed on the old Victory-class Republic Star Destroyers. While the Y-Wing had served nicely to compensate for the Victory's lacking in ship-to-ship combat, the later TIE fighters, designed for the much larger Imperator-class Imperial Star Destroyers, had been developed to neutralize enemy starfighters and ship the emphasis in such combat back to capital ships.
Incidentally, it should be noted her that larger military vessels, like the current Imperator-class and upcoming Executor-class Star Destroyers actually cost less to build and operate than a fleet of smaller Victory-class Star Destroyers. Unfortunately, they also can't be in as many places at once and are thus significantly less effective from both a strategic and a logistical point of view. Administrators and accountants, obviously, tend to therefore favour the larger, more powerful ships, while experienced military officers prefer to actually have ships present to deal with the trouble.
Incom's X-Wing starfighter, which had actually been designed in competition with Sienar Fleet System's TIE fighter for deployment in the Imperial Navy, only to have vanished with the design crew when they were accused of possessing anti-Imperial sympathies, would have been an excellent starfighter for Ranma's forces, but their location was unknown and they were obviously unaware of Ranma's faction.
Actually, it was believed most likely that they had fallen in with Senator Mon Mothma's populist rebel faction.
Nabiki, therefore, chose to focus herself on these smaller vessels. Her rather vaguely named Light, Medium, and Heavy Starfighters were well-equipped with an effective balance of beam, ion, and missile weaponry, along with the strongest commercial hyperdrives and most potent beam and ion shielding possible without resorting to multiple generators, not to mention class 4 sensor masks and stygian-triprismatic polymer coating to evade detection, were at least as effective as they were expensive.
Unsurprisingly, Nabiki covertly established a military academy to produce Starship Ace's, Elite Trooper's, and the like, to man these ships.
The Light Starfighter was Nabiki's primary snubfighter, being mainly deployed from the Heavy Starfighter, each of which carried a full squadron, or two flights, of them. Along with a full platoon of marines, plus supernumeraries, who could be deployed as passengers on the Light Starfighters.
The Medium Starfighter, which was additionally equipped with a medium-range tractor beam, was used more as a shuttlecraft and tended to have somewhat lesser pilots. Relatively speaking, of course.
Nabiki did have one secret weapon however. One which could quite nullify the advantage of the Empire's Star Destroyers and which she was quite determined to keep a secret until the time came to unveil her true alliegances. It was childishlessly simple in concept, though one which would never have even reached the preliminary design stage with Palpatine's obsession with conspicuous power. The Assault Proton Torpedo was to a Proton Torpedo as an Assault Concussion Missile was to a Concussion Missile. The APT dealt a destructive force equal to that of a station-mounted Heavy Turbolaser, but was compact enough to be mounted on a space transport. One of Nabiki's Heavy Starfighters could easily blast an Imperial Star Destroyer to smithereens in thrice.
Of course, each APT had a cost to match its effectiveness. One reason Nabiki dedicated
an entire weapons factory to proton weaponry. Which had the incidental side effect of dropping
the baseline cost of a standard Heavy Proton Torpedo to a mere 1200 credits.
And that was hardly the breadth nor the depth of Nabiki's plotting.
Please note that the following descriptions are based on the current RPG produced by
Wizards of the Coast. However, they have not been entirely updated to the current edition.
TEC Ember Shuttlecraft
Class: Starfighter; Cost: 140,000; Size: Fine (5m, 4T); Initiative: +10 (+8 size, +2 crew); Crew: 1 (Typical +2); Life Support: 4; Cargo: 110kg; Consumables: 3d; Hyperdrive: Optional [Up to x1]; Max Speed: Ramming; Maneuver: +14 (+8 size, +2 crew, +4 engine quality); Defense: 28 (+8 size, +10 armour); Shield Points: Optional [Up to 60 (Regenerates at Double the Normal Rate)]; Hull Points: 120; DR: 5.
Weapons: 18 Emplacement Points (Forward Only); Attack Bonus +14 (+8 size, +0 crew,
+2 fire control, +4 equipment bonus).
TEC Phoenix II Light Pinnace
Class: Starfighter; Cost: 155,000; Size: Tiny (20m, 49T); Initiative: +4 (+2 size, +2 crew); Crew: 1 (Typical +2); Life Support: 32; Cargo: 50T; Consumables: 2wk; Hyperdrive: Optional [Up to x1 (Backup x4)]; Max Speed: Ramming; Maneuver: +7 (+2 size, +2 crew, +3 engine quality); Defense: 22 (+2 size, +10 armour); Shield Points: Optional [Up to 90 (Regenerates at Double the Normal Rate)]; Hull Points: 150; DR: 5.
Weapons: 32 Emplacement Points (Forward Only); Attack Bonus +7 (+2 size, +0 crew,
+2 fire control, +3 equipment bonus).
TEC Firespray II Attack and Patrol Ship
Class: Space Transport; Cost: 195,000; Size: Small (50m, 199T); Initiative: +3 (+1 size, +2 crew); Crew: 1 (Typical +2); Life Support: 120; Cargo: 200T; Consumables: 6mo; Hyperdrive: Optional [Up to x1 (Backup x4)]; Max Speed: Ramming; Maneuver: +3 (+1 size, +2 crew); Defense: 21 (+1 size, +10 armour); Shield Points: Optional [Up to 120 (Regenerates at Double the Normal Rate)]; Hull Points: 180; DR: 10.
Weapons: 46 Emplacement Points (Forward Only); Attack Bonus +3 (+1 size, +0 crew,
+2 fire control).
Light Starfighter
Class: Starfighter; Cost: 650,000; Size: Fine (5m, 4T); Initiative: +20 (+8 size, +12 crew); Crew: 1 (Ace +12); Life Support: 4; Cargo: 110lb; Consumables: 3d; Hyperdrive: x1; Max Speed: Ramming; Maneuver: +25 (+8 size, +12 crew, +4 engine quality, +1 inertial compensator); Defense: 28 (+8 size, +10 armour); Shield Points: 60 (Regenerates at Double the Normal Rate); Hull Points: 120; DR: 5; Secondary Equipment: Hypertranceiver, Slave Circuit.
Weapon: Twin Medium Ion Cannons; Fire Arc: Forward; Attack Bonus: +29/+24 (+8 size, +8/+3 crew, +8 fire control, +4 equipment bonus, +1 inertial compensator); Damage: -3 Penalty for 2 Rounds, or -2 Penalty for 2 Rounds in Multifire mode; Range Modifiers: PB 0, S -2, M -4, L n/a.
Weapon: Quad Light Laser Cannons; Fire Arc: Forward; Attack Bonus: +29/+24 (+8 size, +8/+3 crew, +8 fire control, +4 equipment bonus, +1 inertial compensator); Damage: 5d10x2, 4d10x2 in Multifire mode, or 3d10x2 in Autofire mode; Range Modifiers: PB 0, S -2, M/L n/a.
Weapon: Small Proton Torpedo Launcher (4 Heavy Torpedoes); Fire Arc: Forward; Attack Bonus: +29/+24 (+8 size, +8/+3 crew, +8 fire control, +4 equipment bonus, +1 inertial compensator); Damage: 10d10x2; Range Modifiers: PB 0, S/M/L n/a.
Weapon: Sensor Mask & Stygian-Triprismatic Polymer coating; Fire Arc: n/a; Attack Bonus: n/a; Damage: Special (Impossible to Detect at Extreme Range, Base DC 31 on all Computer Use checks to find ship with sensors, Base DC 23 on all Spot checks to find ship visually, one-half concealment against dark backgrounds for 20% chance to miss); Range Modifiers: PB -4, S +0, M +2, L +4, E n/a.
* The special modifications which allow the starship to use the same targetting computer for all of its weapon systems qualifies as a minor system. It costs 5,000 credits and takes 1 construction point.
** The special modifications which allow the starship's fire-linked weapons to fire in standard, multifire, and autofire modes qualifies as a minor system. It costs 5,000 credits and takes 1 construction point.
*** The starship's Stygian-Triprismatic Polymer coating qualifies as a major system. It
costs 15,000 credits and takes 3 construction points
Medium Starfighter
Class: Starfighter; Cost: 1,200,000; Size: Tiny (20m, 49T); Initiative: +10 (+2 size, +8 crew); Crew: 1 (Expert +8); Life Support: 32; Cargo: 50T; Consumables: 2wk; Hyperdrive: x1 (Backup x4); Max Speed: Ramming; Maneuver: +14 (+2 size, +8 crew, +3 engine quality, +1 inertial compensator); Defense: 22 (+2 size, +10 armour); Shield Points: 90 (Regenerates at Double the Normal Rate); Hull Points: 150; DR: 5; Secondary Equipment: Hypertranceiver, Slave Circuit.
Weapon: Twin Medium Ion Cannon; Fire Arc: Forward; Attack Bonus: +18 (+2 size, +4 crew, +8 fire control, +3 equipment bonus, +1 inertial compensator); Damage: -3 Penalty for 2 Rounds, or -2 Penalty for 2 Rounds in Multifire mode; Range Modifiers: PB 0, S -2, M -4, L n/a.
Weapon: Quad Light Laser Cannon; Fire Arc: Forward; Attack Bonus: +18 (+2 size, +4 crew, +8 fire control, +3 equipment bonus, +1 inertial compensator); Damage: 5d10x2, 4d10x2 in Multifire mode, or 3d10x2 in Autofire mode; Range Modifiers: PB 0, S -2, M/L n/a.
Weapon: Proton Torpedo Launcher (16 Heavy Torpedoes); Fire Arc: Forward; Attack Bonus: +18 (+2 size, +4 crew, +8 fire control, +3 equipment bonus, +1 inertial compensator); Damage: 10d10x2; Range Modifiers: PB 0, S/M/L n/a.
Weapon: Tractor Beam Projector (medium-range); Fire Arc: Turret; Attack Bonus: +18 (+2 size, +4 crew, +8 fire control, +3 equipment bonus, +1 inertial compensator); Damage: Special; Range Modifiers: PB 0, S -2, M -4, L n/a.
Weapon: Sensor Mask & Stygian-Triprismatic Polymer coating; Fire Arc: n/a; Attack Bonus: n/a; Damage: Special (Impossible to Detect at Extreme Range, Base DC 25 on all Computer Use checks to find ship with sensors, Base DC 17 on all Spot checks to find ship visually, one-half concealment against dark backgrounds for 20% chance to miss); Range Modifiers: PB -4, S +0, M +2, L +4, E n/a.
* The special modifications which allow the starship to use the same targetting computer for all of its weapon systems qualifies as a minor system. It costs 15,000 credits and takes 3 construction points.
** The special modifications which allow the starship's fire-linked weapons to fire in standard, multifire, and autofire modes qualifies as a minor system. It costs 15,000 credits and takes 3 construction points.
*** The starship's Stygian-Triprismatic Polymer coating qualifies as a major system. It
costs 45,000 credits and takes 9 construction points
Heavy Starfighter
Class: Space Transport; Cost: 1,700,000; Size: Small (50m, 199T); Initiative: +13 (+1 size, +12 crew); Crew: 1 (Ace +12); Life Support: 120; Cargo: 199.75T; Consumables: 6mo; Hyperdrive: x1 (backup x4); Max Speed: Ramming; Maneuver: +16 (+1 size, +12 crew, +3 maneuvering system); Defense: 21 (+1 size, +10 armour); Shield Points: 120 (Regenerates at Double the Normal Rate); Hull Points: 180; DR: 10; Secondary Equipment: HoloNet Tranceiver, Hypertranceiver, Slave Circuit.
Weapon: Heavy Ion Cannon; Fire Arc: Forward; Attack Bonus: +21/+16 (+1 size, +8/+3 crew, +8 fire control, +3 maneuvering system, +1 inertial compensator); Damage: -2 Penalty for 2 Rounds; Range Modifiers: PB 0, S -2, M -4, L -6.
Weapon: Twin Turbolasers; Fire Arc: Forward; Attack Bonus: +21/+16 (+1 size, +8/+3 crew, +8 fire control, +3 maneuvering system, +1 inertial compensator); Damage: 8d10x5, or 7d10x5 in Multifire mode; Range Modifiers: PB 0, S -2, M -4, L -6.
Weapon: Twin Assault Proton Torpedo Tubes (60 Torpedoes); Fire Arc: Forward; Attack Bonus: +21/+16 (+1 size, +8/+3 crew, +8 fire control, +3 maneuvering system, +1 inertial compensator); Damage: 10d10x5; Range Modifiers: PB 0, S -2, M -4, L n/a.
Weapon: Sensor Mask & Stygian-Triprismatic Polymer coating; Fire Arc: n/a; Attack Bonus: n/a; Damage: Special (Impossible to Detect at Extreme Range, Base DC 24 on all Computer Use checks to find ship with sensors, Base DC 16 on all Spot checks to find ship visually, one-half concealment against dark backgrounds for 20% chance to miss); Range Modifiers: PB -4, S +0, M +2, L +4, E n/a.
* The special modifications which allow the starship to use the same targetting computer for all of its weapon systems qualifies as a minor system. It costs 20,000 credits and takes 4 construction points.
** The special modifications which allow the starship's fire-linked weapons to fire in standard, multifire, and autofire modes qualifies as a minor system. It costs 20,000 credits and takes 4 construction points.
*** The starship's Stygian-Triprismatic Polymer coating qualifies as a major system. It
costs 60,000 credits and takes 12 construction points
Assault Proton Torpedo Tube
Class: Space Transport; Cost: 9,600; Emplacement Points: 10.
Assault Proton Torpedo
Damage: 10d10x5; Range: Medium; Cost: 3,200.
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(Posted Wed, 02 Jun 2004 00:37)
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