Stock Ships:
The Missing Vessels

An Official Supplement
for West End's Shatterzone

Lockheed-Mikoyan's Guardian Class Patrol Craft

By Dave Pilurs
All Material © 1995 West End Games

The Guardian was apparently conceived in direct response to competitor Northrop-Prime's introduction of the Dictator, but it's more than a direct copy. On the surface, the two ships may seem quite similar, but they're remarkably different. Where the Dictator is equipped for the pursuit and capture of pirates, the Guardian's first mission is system defense. Where the Dictator is built to its maximum capacity, the Guardian has an enormous reserve capacity in its computers ' power plants, and hull. It's almost as if the Guardian was designed in anticipation of a war to be waged with 600-ton battleships.

In fact, L-M's CEO petitioned the Admiralty for and received authorization to specify nuclear-tipped Q-missiles on the Guardian's build sheet. L,M also equipped the ship with a Skipjump Drive. The politics behind this particular equipment package and Fleet's acquisition of the ship are unclear. A 600- ton ship armed with nuclear Q,missiles could annihilate Fleet dreadnoughts from 100 SUs away and escape without ever registering on a scanner. Obviously, Fleet would never let L-M sell this ship to anyone but Fleet, but that's not the whole story.

No one in Fleet would ever discuss it publicly, but it's pretty well known that the most hostile fringers use fission reactors to make nuclear warheads. It's less known that quite a few HE,warheaded Slayers are missing from NetWorld's inventory. Knowing that, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the very subversives Fleet wishes to keep the Guardian away from already have nuclear Q-missiles. All they need 'is a means for delivery. Is there any doubt that they could steal a Guardian-class ship and arm it themselves? Is there any doubt they couldn't copy or steal the technology and arm their Scythes with nukes? Would a ship like the Guardian (or any ship) be effective in stopping nuclear-armed terrorists should they decide to hold a planet for ransom or simply attack Fleet ships on the Frontier?

Time will tell, but this much is certain:

The Guardian is destined for duty in the Consortium's roughest sectors. It will serve as a system defense ship for colony worlds and strategic outposts plagued by pirates and bolters. It will serve in systems too remote to merit expensive battlecruisers, systems where a fleet of small, high-powered ships would have more impact than a battlecruiser.

Deployment of the Guardian marks a fundamental change in Fleet thinking away from the ever larger, ever more advanced carriers and dreadnoughts.

It also turns the Guardian into a flagship of sorts for a new breed of warships. These are smaller and, ton for ton, far more destruc, tive than anything else serving in Fleet today. Any space- faring adventurer would love to acquire one of these, but these are vessels Of war, not commerce.

Total Tonnage: 564
Available Tonnage: 86
Mass Value: 29
Cost: 3,342,000 Cr (L-M product)
Stealth: 10 (+3 vs. Radar)
Crew: 5 + 3 Security Troops.
Maintenance Cost: 3,000 Cr every 12 MOS.

Cargo Capacity
Ammo Bays: 18 tons allocated to store missiles
Segmented Bays: 8 tons allocated for computer bays. 22 tons allocated for drive bays. 5 tons allocated for equipment bays. 5 tons allocated for equipment lockers. 15 tons allocated for reactor bays. 10 tons allocated for sensor bays. 20 tons allocated for weapon bays. I ton allocated for weapon lockers.

Sensors
Diagnostics: (8 units)
Visual Scanners: (8 units)
Passive: Scanner (0- 3/10/20/40/100): Scanner front
Radar, Type B (0-2/6/10120/40): Scanners back, left, right, up, down
Radar, Type C (0- 3/10/20/40/100): Scanners front
Visual (0-3/10/20/40/100): Scanners front, back, left, right, up, down

Weapons
Assault Laser (1-15/25/35/45; dam: 41): 6 mounted in 2 triple turrets. Turret I mounted left; covers front, back, left, up, down. Turret 2 mounted right; covers front, back, right, Up, down
Missile Launcher (5-25/50/100/200): 2 mounted front
Slayer HE: 40 Slayer NUC: 41

Hull Toughness: 27
Max Wounds: 10
Facings: 7
Armor: +10/37
Armor Points: 70
Shields: DIF +5/42
Shield Configuration Points: 35
Reaction Drive: Value 34;Boosters: 6 units
Propulsion Points: 7 PP; +3/10 PP w/boosters
Maneuver Rating: 3; +1/4 w/M/R software; -1/ Booster in use
Quantum Drive Rating: 30
Skipjump Drive Rating: 10
Energy Plant: 2 Value 13 Fusion Reactors
Total Energy Points: 400 w/1 Reactor running @ 100% Efficiency.
Energy Point Breakdown: *Life support: 26 *Cargo Life Support: 4 *Cargo: 10 Assault Laser Turret(2): 81(162) Missile Launchers(2): IM *Shields: 35 *Diagnos- tics: 8 Internal Visuals: 8 *Passive -Sensors: 2 *Radar B Units(5): 3(15) *Radar C Unit: 5 *Visual Sensor: 5 Boarding Tube: 5 Comm Scramblers(2): 10(20) *Reaction Drive: 48 Boosters(3): 505) Q-Drive: 50 Skipjump Drive: 100 *Computers: 12

Vital Energy Points: 170
Available Energy Points: 230
Energy Points Required to Power All Systems: 376
Reserve Energy Generation Capability: 24 EPs + 400 from Aux Reactor.

Computer Point Value: 500 from 2 Value 12 Computers.
Computer Point Breakdown: *Life Support: 26 *Cargo Life Support: 4 *Cargo: 10 Assault Laser Turret(2): 8(16) Missile Launcher(2): 3(6) *Shields: 14 *Diagnostics: 8 Internal Visuals: 8 *Passive Sensor: 2 *Radar B Units(5): 2(10) *Radar C Unit: 3 *Visual Sensor: 10 Boarding Tubes: 3 Comm Scramblers(2): 10(20) TSync Disrupter: 8 T-Syncer: 3 *Reaction Drive: 48 Q-Drive: 21 Skipjump Drive: 42 *Energy Plant: 26 AutoGunner 14(3): 8(24) AutoPilot 14: 18 AutoScan 14: 12 *Gee Comp 10: 10 Mnvr/Rx +1: 4 Navigation, Learn: 3 Navigation, Q-Drive:5 Probe, Ship- to-Ship: 12 React 13: 6 Seeker +4: 5 Shield Boost +4: 8 Shunt 16: 8 Targeting +6(3): 3(9) T-Sync: 1/shp

Vital Computer Points: 171
Available Computer Points: 329
Computer Points Required to Drive All Systems: 347 + 1/shp
Reserve Computer Points: 150 CPs

Notes:

Ammo Bays contain 5 Slayer HE missiles for Launcher 1 and 5 Slayer NUC missiles for launcher 2.

Ship's computers contain 2 complete sets of the software shown above.

Equipment Bays contain a 5-man Boarding Tube and 2 EVMS Units

Equipment Lockers contain 3 Mark IV Brodie armor suits, 5 ENVI suits, and 5 Mag Clamp sets

Hull coated with polychromatic stealth paint (+3 stealth vs.radar). Hull is streamlined Sloped (+3 Stealth) and equipped with wings for transatmospheric operations.

Weapon Lockers contain 3 Brodie LX4 Military Blaster Rifles, 5 Furtherman F20 Military Laser Rifles, 9 Brodie magazines, and 20 Furtherman magazines.

Ship carries 2 Comm Scramblers, 10 Decoy Pods, 2 Distress Beacons, 2 IFF Transponders, Shield Blinds (cancels +3 Bonus on Scan vs. Shields), a T-Sync Disrupter, and a T-Syncer.

Ship equipped with a 5-man Airlock, a 3-man Bridge, 2 gunner stations, an 8-man Deluxe Lounge, 8 Coldsleep modules, eight 1-Man Rooms, and a 4-prisoner Brig.

External Damage Chart

    1-2: Shield Blinds
    3-4: Reaction Drive
    5-6: Shields
    7: Weapons
      1-8 Assault Laser Turret (1-2)
      9-10 Missile Launcher Turret (1-2)

    8: Maneuver Rating
    9: Sensors
      1-2 Passive Scanners (1-6)
      3-5 Radar Type B (1-6)
      6-8 Radar Type C (1-6)
      9 -10 Visual

    10: Airlock

Stock Ships: The Missing Vessels An Official Supplement for West End's Shatterzone

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