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TTA Handbook - Spacecraft 2100 To 2200AD
TTA Handbook - Spacecraft 2100 To 2200AD
S PACECRAFT
2100 to 2200 AD
TERRAN TRADE AUTHORITY HANDBOOK
Spacecraft
2100 to 2200 AD
© 2006 Morrigan Press Inc. All rights reserved.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR TTA concept and material originally published
K. Scott Agnew as Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD © 1990 Stew-
art Cowley and licensed to Morrigan Press Inc.
WRITERS Used with permission.
K. Scott Agnew & Jeff Lilly with
Stewart Cowley
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This book is based largely upon the book
3D ILLUSTRATION Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD, originally pub-
Adrian Mann lished in 1978. That book used illustrations
supplied by up-and-coming young sci-fi artists.
Today these artists are well-respected veterans
EDITORS in their field. In keeping with the original con-
Alison Ménard cept of the book, Spacecraft 2100 to 2200 AD
K. Scott Agnew honors these artists by using a new, young sci-fi
artist to recreate the look and feel of the original
illustrations using 3D technologies unavailable
LAYOUT & DESIGN in 1978.
K. Scott Agnew
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to the author and art-
ists of the original Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD
book: Stewart Cowley,
Angus McKie, Bob
Layzell, Jim Burns, Co-
lin Hay, Tony Roberts
& Peter Goodfellow
PRELUDE TO WAR 12
THE PROXIMA WAR 19
SPACECRAFT OF THE PROXIMA WAR 28
Terran /Military 28
Alphan / Military 48
Proximan / Military 57
Terran / Commercial 68
Alphan / Commercial 86
Proximan / Commercial 90
INDEX 96
FOREWORD
I first received a copy of Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD as a Christmas gift in 1978. I was 10 years old at the time
and I credit this book with instilling in me a lifelong love of science fiction. Friends and I poured over the pages in
that book as our imaginations put us in the cockpits of Hornets and Partisans, battling the enemy Proximans in man’s
first interstellar war.
It wasn’t until many years later, after the dawning of the internet and the exchange of knowledge that it allowed,
that I realized I was not alone. The TTA books had, in fact, inspired an entire generation of Sci-fi fans and sold over
800,000 copies worldwide. With this revelation I decided it was long overdue to bring this incredible book to a new
generation with this updated and revised edition. To that end I recruited fellow TTA fans Jeff Lilly and Adrian Mann
to assist in this project and would like to thank them immensely for their hard work and creativity. It is my sincerest
hope that this edition will bring back fond memories for old timers like myself and also serve to inspire a love of Sci-fi
in an entirely new generation. A special thanks also to Mr. Stewart Cowley who wrote the original TTA books. Thank
you for the years of imagination and fun.
- K. Scott Agnew
What is it about the TTA that makes it so fascinating? I think it’s the feeling that humanity has only scratched the
surface of the mysteries “out there”, and so far has found more questions than answers. Like exploring our own world
in the age of sail, we do so with courage and hope, but we are not the masters of the new element. There are many per-
ils to face; spacewrecks, uncharted territory… and here, indeed, there be monsters (or at least aliens, some friendly and
some not…). Space takes its toll, but onward we sail… into warfare, into fabulous new worlds, into mysteries barely
imagined and even less understood. Plucky and resolute, we acknowledge the peril, but we do not shy away from it.
I owe my lifelong fascination with SF to the Terran Trade Authority and its greatest commander, Stewart Cowley.
It was he with the vision, audacity, and sparkling creativity to do what he did; take a bunch of unrelated space art and
weave it into a future history that is not only compelling and entertaining, but has a wonderful sheen of authenticity;
the weight and heft of true events. He stood on the deck of his ship of dreams and showed us the way. Having the
opportunity to write in his universe and expand the canon has been a true honor.
3
- Jeff Lilly
From the ancient astronomers and astrolo- difficulties of sustaining enthusiasm led to a
gers of Egypt and Greece to the early science renewal of effort, for it was soon realized that
of Galileo through to Einstein and Hawking in real progress could only be made by a shar-
the 20th century, humanity has always looked ing of objectives and the means by which they
to the stars. Even today, modern stellar explor- could be achieved.
ers like Gibson, Madden and Tsang continue to
delve into the cosmos. These names along with True Spaceflight began midway through
that of Henri DeVass are household names, tes- the 20th century. On October 4th, 1957, the
tament to humanity’s fascination with the stars USSR (a federation of states then under com-
and what lays beyond known space. munist rule and dominated by Russia) launched
the first object to be put into orbit around the
The twenty-second century will be remem- Earth. The 83 kg Sputnik satellite sparked a
bered as one of the most significant periods of “space race” with the USSR’s greatest rival of
human history. Those qualities of direction, the day, the United States of America.
purpose and unity which are the essential in-
gredients for real progress had gradually been This period of fierce competition between
dissipated in a fragmented world. Humanity the USA and USSR saw great leaps in tech-
had become preoccupied with the minutiae of nology and science and ran from the Sputnik
daily living and men of broader vision were launch in 1957 until roughly 1975. Important to
finding themselves an unheeded minority. Man both nations for both military and propaganda
needed a quest to fire his imagination and ex- reasons, the governments of the day invested
tend his abilities. For a while he found one in huge sums of money in their space programs
his early attempts to explore the vastness of attempting to one-up their rival.
space, but the exhilaration was soon replaced
by a growing resentment of the massive costs On April 12, 1961, the Russians once again
and minimal returns. Instead of being a spring- beat their American rivals, this time being the
board to escape a shrinking world, space be- first to send a human being to reach orbit.
came another weapon in mankind’s civil war. Twenty-three days later the Americans fol-
lowed suit, sending astronaut Alan Shepherd
Paradoxically, the strain of meeting the into space aboard the Freedom 7 missions. As-
demands imposed by space programs and the tronaut John Glenn became the first American
4
10
11
12
The first
questions asked,
of course, sought
to determine what
had happened
to the first ship.
The Proximans
claimed that it had
crashed, offered
their condolences,
and explained that
it had been very
helpful in creat-
ing their own first
fleet. Requests
to see the craft
were rebuffed,
however, and the
Alphans soon sus-
pected that they
were not being
told the whole
truth.
Meanwhile, a
wild card was in
play. Within the
Proximan delega-
tion was a care-
fully planted spy
Proxima. They had also secretly worked on a
for Omnooře, Tanaaikol’s main rival nation.
military space presence, designed for the day
She gave a full report to her government about
the aliens came back…
the situation, and Omnooře decided that this
was their best opportunity to weaken the iron
The Alphans, however, were ready. The
grip that Tanaaikol held on their world. While
Proximans were astounded to find themselves
realizing that their actions may cause a panic,
being addressed in their own language. After
they also saw an opportunity to carve a new
several hours of tense negotiation, the Alphans
niche in the resulting chaos.
agreed to send a team of four to the surface in
one of the landing craft. Having made plan-
Omnooře contacted the Alphan carrier
etfall, the Alphans found themselves hustled
ship, still in orbit, and advised them that Ta-
away to meet with a series of Proximan lead-
naaikol was manipulating them for their own
15
What happened next was the beginning of The unrest that the Omnooře government
the tragedy that would culminate a over cen- had hoped for did indeed materialize, fanned
tury later in the nuclear destruction of Alphan by the Alphans’ own miscalculated attempts at
cities, a twenty-year war and finally the razing education. Riots broke out not only in Tanaai-
of the Proximan homeworld. While the Proxi- kol, but in other nations that also had Iŵegeq
mans technically “started” the war, it was the followers. Iŵegeq leaders called for the expul-
Alphan reaction to their Proximan brethren and sion of the aliens. Some of the more radical
their planet that many historians point to as the elements even put prices on their heads. Over
true seed of the conflict. the next few days, the ranks of protestors grew,
the calls grew more strident, and the response
The Alphans were now taken around open- more hysterical, until the Alphan contact team
ly, and saw much of the Proximan culture first- had to be taken into protective custody.
hand. In doing so, they found themselves con-
fronted with ideological opposites, socially and What the Omnooře government had not
religiously benighted, with bodies that seemed counted on was the fact that the unrest might
to be stunted parodies of their own. When they not serve to cripple Tanaaikol, but to unite
discovered that the Proximans were dominated Proxima. Tanaaikol, in a surprise move, re-
by one sex which held sway over the other, and vealed the existence of their space fleet, and
that their society was arranged in strata by sub- said that they had been building it for years in
jective worth, some of the members allowed a heroic attempt to prepare for the coming war
these differences to offend their egalitarian against the threat from the skies. The other
ideals. In addition, the higher gravity wearied Proximan nations, inflamed by propagandis-
them, the low light levels depressed them, the tic loops of the most insulting Alphan com-
strange foods they were offered sickened them, ments being continually broadcast, pressed by
not to mention that they found the Proximans the hysterical voices of the Iŵegeq believers,
to be unbearably ugly. They were also frustrat- rushed to join in alliance with Tanaaikol.
ed by their fruitless requests to see the remains
of the first ship or the bodies of the crew. The Alphan ship, monitoring all of this,
sent a demand to return their crew. The Proxi-
man fleet, in response, closed ranks around the
16
19
In June of 2155, Allied intelligence indi- Meanwhile, the Terran fleet was in a dog-
cated a Proximan build-up for a fresh assault. fight with the main Proximan force. The Proxi-
It was suspected that the target would be the man fleet managed to cut through the Terran
Alphan homeworld. While the Terran and Al- line and set course back toward Alpha I, only
phan fleets were certainly healthier than they to be met head-on by the Alphan defense craft
had been two years ago, the Proximan fleet was that had just finished off the missile carriers.
sure to be larger and perhaps better-equipped. Soon, the Proximans tried to give up the fight
Using the newly-discovered weakness in the and headed for deep space, only to be met by
Proximan scanners, a group of gutted hulks another detachment of Alphan interceptors
were towed into an elliptical orbit around Al- launched from carriers sent from the bases
pha I and fitted with remotely-controlled en- around Alpha II, which had been quietly po-
gines and devices that would, to the Proximan sitioning themselves to cut off any escape.
scanners, indicate a large and well-equipped Pressed on all sides and now facing a numeri-
fleet. Meanwhile, bogus Allied orders indicat- cal disadvantage, the Proximans fought hard
ing that the suspected target was the Sol system but were ultimately destroyed almost to the
were allowed to fall into Proximan hands. The last ship. This resounding victory is widely re-
stage was set, and the Allies could only hope garded by historians to be the real turning point
that their guesses were correct. of the war.
They were. A massive Proximan attack The Allies pressed their advantage, en-
fleet warped in and headed for Alpha I. Detect- gaging Proximan fleets in neutral space and
ing the bogus Allied “fleet” and believing they winning additional victories. The Proximans,
had caught the enemy off-guard, the Proximan however, turned two of these defeats into vic-
commanders split their forces in two, sending tories in March of 2156. The remnants of two
a majority of the heavy ships to intercept the Proximan fleets, engaged and defeated by Al-
“fleet”, keeping it away from the planet while lied forces, converged in Alphan space and
the missile carriers and ground attack craft made a surprise attack on Alpha III, destroying
went to make short work of the apparently un- the newly-rebuilt bases and industrial facilities.
defended homeworld. However, during this battle an Alphan missile
struck the Proximan command vessel, killing
Too late, the Proximans realized their mis- their top admiral, which was a major blow to
take. As their commanders uncovered the ruse, Proximan morale and battle planning. While
the Alphan defense forces rose from their cam- they had destroyed their target, the Proximans
24
26
Often described as ‘the last of the Dread- Whatever their shortcomings in operational
noughts’, the CAM 117 dates from the pre-war pe- range their armament was powerful even by to-
riod and was very quickly overtaken by the rapid day’s standards. The main weapon carried was a
advance of military technology. In common with massive particle accelerator which accounted for
most warships of this vintage, it was designed as a almost a third of the ship’s mass. Secondary arma-
purely defensive craft and its range was thus very ment was fitted in the form of various laser projec-
limited. tors and nuclear missile launchers.
28
29
3D Artwork based on an original work by Angus McKie.
30
3D Artwork based on an original work by Bob Layzell.
SSF21D CUTLASS
Possibly the best remembered ship of the war, The payload compartments originally intended
the Cutlass won its laurels during the fiercely to store rescue and emergency repair equipment
fought Battle for Mars in 2152 when the Proxima were adapted as nuclear weapon bays and as hous-
battle fleet broke through the Sentinel Line. Al- ings for the OPA-8 Particle Accelerator and laser-
though of fairly simple construction it proved itself lances.
to be efficient and robust, with a legendary ability
to absorb punishment. Major Sven Erikson, a Defence Force Com-
mander, earned himself and his Cutlass a place in
The first Cutlass was built as long ago as 2123, the history tapes during the Battle for Mars. The il-
being intended as a United States Space Command lustration here depicts his best known exploit. His
patrol cruiser, and continued in production, virtu- fuelling bay was hit by a Proxima warhead and he
ally unchanged, up to 2148. The outbreak of war launched under maximum drive before refuelling
interrupted their manufacture for over a year, until was completed, destroying two enemy ships and
the newly formed Terran Defence Authority elect- allowing the rest of the squadron to get into space
ed to employ an up-rated version as the basis for to repel the attack. His Cutlass, R2, is shown with
the Defence Force. the markings of the 3rd Mars Interceptors, with
whom he was serving in Syrtis Major.
The production facilities were already in exis-
tence and the comparatively uncomplicated design Since the end of the war the Cutlass has con-
enabled a high manufacturing speed which made tinued in service although no more have been com-
the Cutlass a natural choice for a stop-gap fighter. missioned, and it is a testimony to their durability
In fact the massive demand for interstellar war- that several hundred Cutlass’ that saw action in the
ships and the impressive way in which the Cutlass Battle for Mars are still fully operational. Some
acquitted itself in the Battle for Mars resulted in it of these have been leased to the Federal Law En-
remaining in production for the greater part of the forcement Authority (FLEA) as local patrol ships
war, and certainly until Proxima had lost its long- and can frequently be seen on patrol around the
range fighting potential. Solar System.
Whereas the early US models were fitted with It is interesting to note that in the current vogue
two nuclear powered solid-fuel engines and one for unusual private spacecraft, a number of repli-
liquid-hydrogen cruise unit, the military variant cas of the Cutlass have been produced from the
was up-rated with two Avery high-thrust hydro- original plans, though fitted with modern commer-
gen drives and an Ion Ultradrive low-thrust engine cial and civil equipment.
for long-range cruising. An interesting feature of
the Avery high-thrust units was the variable choke
venturi tubes, which contracted and expanded with
great rapidity to produce a pulsed jet of extremely
high velocity by creating an intermittent back pres-
sure. Although very effective, this could only be
employed for brief periods as the tubes burned out
quickly and had to be replaced.
31
Military / Terran
AAF212 HORNET
By the time the TDA 107 Partisan
was finding itself outclassed by the SPECIFICATION - AAF212 HORNET
new generation of enemy interceptors Nationality Terran
such as the Shark, Avery Astronautics Manufacturer Avery Astronautics
were already testing a prototype for a
Classification Long Range Interceptor
replacement. Although they had not
been asked to tender for such a con- Main Drive DeVass Warp Generator Class VII
tract they had seen the need coming Avery Javelin Fission Drive - 2.1 million lbs. thrust
and had decided to initiate a devel- Personnel 2 Crew
opment programme as early as 2155. Pilot / Astrogation
Terran Defence Authority representa- Weapons Officer
tives were invited to a display a year Armament 4 Hardbeam Laserlances
later and within a week the first order Assorted Nuclear Missiles
was placed, the Avery Hornet going Armor High Density Platisteel Armor
into full production. - 18cm Thick in Articulated Platelets
WCRC Type MM 26D Defense Shield
The first squadron went into ac-
tion in mid-2157 against a strong
Proxima seek-and-destroy patrol and Extremely popular with the frontline flight crews,
was an instant success, destroying four enemy ships the Hornets did much to boost morale at a time when
against the loss of one Hornet. The Hornet was fast and the enemy seemed to be gaining in technological supe-
highly maneuverable and, unlike the Partisan, carried riority. The introduction by the Proximans of the new
a hard-hitting weapon pack. Additionally, the Hornet’s Shark interceptor had dramatically increased their de-
armor was not only of a higher quality than that of its fensive and offensive capability and the appearance of
predecessors, but also borrowed from the enemy’s K4 the Hornet came as an unpleasant surprise. Although
Interceptor, the idea of articulated platelets to give flex- the enemy ship was certainly the faster of the two, the
ibility to the hull. Hornet’s superior armament earned the ship among the
enemy crews the nickname ‘Sklathill’, which roughly
translates as dangerous fish or water creature.
32
3D Artwork based on an original work by Tony Roberts.
33
34
AAF225 COBRA
The Proxima War lasted longer than even the maintenance soon trumped any complaints about
most conservative projections had forseen. Ulti- aesthetics, and “leftovers” became a term of en-
mately, however, the war entered its final stages dearment.
and the action shifted from space to the Proxi-
man homeworld. Avery Astronautics foresaw the The Cobra carried both a conventional nuclear/
need for a surface strike craft able to operate in hydrogen engine as well as a ramjet system. The
environments ranging from total vacuum to dense nuclear turbine was used for operations in air-
atmospheres, and embryonic Cobra designs were less environments, with the ramjet being utilized
leaving Avery’s drawing boards as early as 2155. within an atmosphere for high-speed cruising, or
However, military officials were confident that combined with the turbine for bursts of speed over
the Proximans would surrender once pressed back targets. The Cobra was equipped with a sophis-
into their own system, before a ground war became ticated terrain mapping system that allowed it to
necessary. The Proximans, however, withstood the skim very close to the ground on its attack runs.
orbital bombardments and became adept at disguis- Its speed and low approach angle made it difficult
ing their installations to make any further efforts in for ground-based gunners to track. The Cobra
that vein next to useless. When it became clear was also heavily armored, especially around the
that mopping up on the ground was an inevitable cockpit, and could survive multiple hits from light
scenario, dedicated surface attack craft suddenly weapons and still keep flying.
became high priority. However, the Allies had dif-
ficulty adapting their existing atmospheric attack Weapons packs containing a variety of muni-
craft to Proximan surface conditions, and while tions could be attached and detached from hard-
they had some success altering certain spacecraft points under the wings in a matter of minutes with
for a ground attack role, these were not ideally minimal ground crew support, allowing the ship to
suited to the job. be customized on short notice to deal with evolv-
ing situations. The upper gun blisters also mount-
Avery came to the rescue of the cash-strapped ed weapon modules that were simply dropped in
government, modifying their design to utilize “left- and plugged into the ship’s power couplings. Even
over” components from other ship systems. They the body modules and wing assemblies could be
also pointed out that the ground war provided a swapped with little equipment. In one incident,
perfect proving ground at no additional cost. The a Terran forward base was successfully struck by
scattered and weakened Proximan forces meant that Proximan raiders, disabling all six of the Cobras
there was opportunity to test new designs without stationed there. Within three hours the base com-
significant risk. As a result, Cobra prototypes were mander had taken six damaged Cobras and reas-
shipped directly to the front lines, where they were sembled them into three operational Cobras, using
first deployed in 2167 and became an instant suc- them to launch a surprise counterstrike against the
cess. Captured Proximan orbital shipyards were Proximans forces, annihilating them.
soon turned over to the production of Cobras on-
site. While the Proxima War has officially ended,
the Cobra continues to play an important role in
Early on, the Cobra at first drew some derisive winning the peace. As various rogue units of the
comments for its asymmetrical design, and its low- Proximan military and guerilla forces continue
cost design philosophy earned it the nickname of their resistance, the Cobra has been important for
“leftovers”. However, its performance and ease of its ability to make quick, pinpoint strikes at small
targets.
35
Military / Terran
CAM216 VULCAN
The Vulcan was originally developed as an at- tions. Thus, the Vulcan did not make the transition
mospheric / low orbit interceptor designed to op- to space warfare nearly as well as, for example, the
erate from Earth’s surface. Initial designs were Cutlass, which was of the same vintage but one
on the boards as early as 2120. Prototypes, des- of the first designed strictly for space operations.
ignated X-215, were flying by 2123, and regular Experiments with refitting the Vulcan with more
production began the following year. The early powerful and longer-range drive systems met with
model 215 Vulcan bears only partial resemblance limited success, as structural issues kept cropping
to the much more famous version that fought in the up.
Battle for Mars and is depicted here.
By the time of the Battle for Mars, the Vulcan
As Mars was chosen as the main headquarters had long been considered a second-tier defense
for the local defense squadrons, various ships were craft, and seeing its performance against more ad-
modified to better take advantage of Martian con- vanced Proximan ships confirmed this assessment.
ditions. The Vulcan had its wings lengthened and During this desperate fight, the Vulcan found itself
widened to allow better maneuverability in the thin in one-on-one combat with Proximan Piranhas.
Martian atmosphere, and the engines and other While the Vulcan had much heavier armament,
systems were similarly modified. The model 216 it had trouble bringing its weapons to bear on its
Vulcan first flew in early 2133. quicker opponents. Its saving grace was that it was
a much more robust craft than the flimsy Piranhas,
However, the shape of warfare was already and so could absorb a fair amount of punishment.
leaving the Vulcan behind. While not a flawed de- Still, combat with the Piranhas for the most part
sign per se, it was conceived in and for an earlier kept the Vulcan from accomplishing its main job,
era. With warfare moving deeper and deeper into which was to be attacking the approaching enemy
space, the Vulcan found itself hampered by its lim- missile ships and troop carriers.
ited capabilities. While still a formidable oppe-
nent, it was not a nimble as either true atmospheric While the necessities of the war kept the Vul-
fighters or newer atmosphere-capable spacecraft, can in service until the end of hostilities, produc-
and while able to operate in space, it was designedtion was halted immediately after the Battle for
for quick surface-to-orbit strikes and had very Mars. After the war ended the remaining Vulcans
limited maneuverability and range in these condi- were quickly pulled from service and replaced by
more modern craft. Some attempt
SPECIFICATION - CAM216 VULCAN was made after the war by civilian
Nationality Terran
parties to buy surplus models and
modify them as low-orbit cargo
Manufacturer Consolidated Aerospace
carriers, but the relatively high
Classification Short Range Duel Environment Interceptor cost of operations limited these ap-
Main Drive CA80 Nuclear/Hydrogen Drive plications.
125,000 lbs. thrust
Personnel 2 Crew A victim of timing rather than
Armament 4 Nuclear Pellet Launchers flawed design, the Vulcan unfortu-
4 Assorted Laser Canons or nately found itself straddling two
2 OPA-8 Particle Accelerators eras, neither of which it comfort-
Armor 2cm Plastisteel Armor ably fit into. There are several
complete examples currently on
36 display at the War Museum.
37
SENTINEL MAJOR
Within eighteen months of the start of the would be a serious threat to craft emerging from
Proxima War, it became obvious that the Proxima a warp jump. They were designed to home in on
hostilities were going to be considerably more than mass of the order of a warp generator and would
a brief trial of strength between neighboring solar take advantage of the short period that any such
systems. vessel required to replenish its power banks after
a warp jump.
Although Proxima Centauri had no equivalent
to our warp drive or the Alphan Potential Mass The second line of defence was provided by
Drive it was recognized that it would be only a the Sentinels. The best known of these craft are
matter of time before they either developed a simi- undoubtedly the Sentinel Majors, whose massive,
lar system or duplicated one of ours. The defence squat shape and huge main venturi tube are unmis-
of our own solar system had therefore to be con- takable.
sidered, and this raised a major question, as it had
been agreed that the greatest allocation of resourc- Only one in five of these ships was manned,
es had to be made to the development and supply the others being no more than powered weapon
of offensive craft. The enormous cost of producing packs fitted with sophisticated detection and re-
a single warship meant that building and maintain- sponse gear. The fifth vessel of each flight was the
ing an effective battle fleet would leave very little manned command centre, which co-ordinated the
over for home defence, itself requiring massive in- operations of the weapon carriers.
vestment.
The Sentinel was fitted with a very large con-
The solution finally agreed was a three tiered ventional nuclear propulsion system based on liq-
defensive system. The Perimeter from Pluto’s or- uid hydrogen and oxygen, producing about 5 mil-
bit outwards was seeded with static nuclear mines lion lbs potential thrust. This facility allowed it a
which were cheaply and easily manufactured and high degree of tactical mobility, but its drawback
was rapid fuel consumption, al-
SPECIFICATION - SENTINEL MAJOR most I ton per second. Against
Nationality
this it was reasoned that the arma-
Terran
ment would be effective enough
Manufacturer Various (TTA Licensees)
to ensure that combat would be
Classification Short Range Defense Spacecraft
resolved speedily and would pro-
Main Drive Consolidated Aerospace Nuclear/Chemical Unit tect the ship when mobility was
CA 7M 5 Million lbs. Thrust Potential
reduced.
Secondary Drive 24 Fixed Vector CA 17T Hydrogen Jets
1700 lbs. Thrust
Personnel Command Ship Only
7 Technical Officers
Armament 8 General Purpose Nuclear Rockets
4 “Scatterpack” Nuclear Rockets
4 OPA-8 Particle Accelerators
8 Laserlances
2 Avery Sonic Accelerators
Armor WCRC Type MM 26A Defense Shield
39
Military / Terran
CAM130 CYCLOPS
The combat history of this obsolete ship was the chance of survival was slim. Another drawback
brief by any standard and was eclipsed early in the was that as the ship was little more than a piloted
War by the increasingly sophisticated detection rocket it was severely limited in maneuverability
systems employed by both sides. when passing through an atmosphere, which it
would do when launching its payload. This also
The design was approved in 2133 after early in- happened to be the point at which it was likely
dications that intelligent life existed in Alpha Cen- to be subjected to fire from both the surface and
tauri and within reach of our Solar System. At that other spacecraft. It is not therefore surprising that
time it was not known what attitude the peoples of personnel allocated to these ships were less than
Alpha Centauri would adopt towards us, and the enthusiastic.
Cyclops was introduced as a precautionary mea-
sure. We had no long-range ships capable of deliv- Despite their early obsolescence they did see
ering maximum-effect nuclear weapons to surface action for two brief periods of the war. The first
targets, and it was this gap which the Cyclops was was in the desperate Battle for Mars when every
intended to fill. Little more than a mobile launch available craft was thrown into the fight. The war-
platform for the powerful Vulcan’s Hammer nucle- head of the missile usually carried was replaced
ar missile, the Cyclops was not popular with flight by an improvised scatterpack which on detonation
crews, being considered by them something of a released a barrage of small nuclear rockets. Primi-
sitting duck. tive but effective, this device helped to halt the
Proxima onslaught, but at the cost of twenty three
The ship’s warp generator was situated in a ships destroyed.
housing which encased the main hull and was vul-
nerable to any damage. A hit sustained from even The second period was during the closing
low-power secondary armament could therefore months of the war, when Cyclops were used in the
prevent the unfortunate crew from jumping clear final offensive against the Proxima Homeworld.
of the battle zone, and as the ship’s main drive was By this time the enemy’s capacity for retaliation
less efficient than that of most current interceptors was very limited and although two or three of these
ships ended their days there none
were lost in action.
SPECIFICATION - CAM130 CYCLOPS
Nationality Terran Outdated before the war had
Manufacturer Consolidated Aerospace even begun, the Cyclops was with-
Classification Long Range Missile Carrier drawn immediately as peace was
Main Drive Consolidated Aerospace CACE 43 Skymaster declared and was not even placed
1 Million lbs. Thrust Potential on the reserve list.
Personnel 4 Crew
Pilot
Astrogation
2 Weapons Officers
Armament Vulcan’s Hammer Space to Surface Missile
Armor 14mm Plastisteel Armor
WCRC Type 18A Defense Shield
40
41
3D Artwork based on an original work by Colin Hay.
The first examples were built in the Martian When the fighting reached the home planets of
yards but the production lines were moved to an Proxima Centauri the Partisan again came into its
orbiting manufacturing complex off Jupiter when own in the battles for the aquatic world of Proxima
another major Proxima offensive seemed immi- IV, as it was able to move easily in the dense atmo-
nent in 2057. sphere to strike at secondary targets.
Initially there were many problems with the Today, there are few Partisans left. Only two
Parrtisans’ detection gear, which repeatedly be- are still operating as military vessels, the remainder
came disorientated immediately after a warp jump having been sold to commercial concerns, where
had been made, and several ships were thus lost to they are used mainly as survey ships by some of
the targets they were attacking, but once over the smaller prospecting agencies. There are, how-
ever, two good examples in the Mars War Museum
although one of these lacks its DeVass generator.
42
43
3D Artwork based on an original work by Angus McKie.
AAF171 PANTHER
One of the first spacecraft designed for an of- defence. Even so, it became apparent that when
fensive role, the Panther was widely acknowledged pitted against craft such as Proxima’s Piranha in-
as the most capable ship of its day. During early terceptor, it was underpowered, lightly armed and
testing, it was found to have structural problems, easily disabled. Entire squadrons were wiped out
which resulted in the loss of 2 prototypes before in increasingly desperate attacks to stem the Proxi-
the problem was identified in the manufacturing man assault and the tide was eventually turned, but
process of engine supports and wing spars. Due at a terrible cost for both sides.
to the anticipated high workload a crew of 4 was
deemed necessary, and comprised of pilot, weap- Immediately after the crisis had passed, the
ons officer, engineer and comm/navigation. remaining Panthers were retired from front line
service. Many have since transferred to the FLEA
Although primarily a spacecraft, it had limited (Federation Law Enforcement Authority), and are
capability when operating in a planetary atmo- used for training duties and even target practice.
sphere, and could be employed for surface attack.
As better weapons and systems became available Some were disposed of to private individuals
the Panthers were upgraded, leading to a huge after they had been stripped of armament and mili-
variety of variants. The first early versions of the tary equipment, but even so, the Panther is becom-
now standard Hardbeam Laserlance was originally ing and less and less common. The flight of Pan-
tested on the Panther E, though it never became thers shown here bear the black and red markings
standard equipment. of the 8th Martian Defence Wing
45
Military/Commercial / Terran
47
49
Military / Alphan
50
51
3D Artwork based on an original work by Bob Layzell.
53
Military / Alphan
54
55
3D Artwork based on an original work by Colin Hay.
C89F “WHALE”
The Whale, as depicted here under attack from ity craft with a very long range potential and was
a flight of Alpha Stingrays, was Proxima’s most fitted out in a variety of ways.
widely used freighter and was introduced about
midway through the war. It was a medium capac- The largest number were freight carriers and were
almost identical to those operated commercially
by Proxima today. Others were em-
SPECIFICATION - C89F “WHALE” ployed as fuellers, troopships or even
Nationality Proximan sensor stations and appeared in most
Manufacturer Kuel’la Aerospace theatres of operation. The distinctive
Classification Long Range Freighter globe was a free hydrogen collec-
Main Drive Nuclear/Hydrogen Ion Drive
tor/synthesizer which was added to
Later Models have Proximan FTL Drive the later ships as a means of extend-
Personnel 46 Crew
ing their range and appeared only on
those non-warp ships intended for
Armaments 3 Laser Canons (one fore and 2 aft) local operation.
Armor Proximan SynthSteel Armor 30 cm Thick
57
Military / Proximan
K4 “Toad”
The K4 Interceptor was popularly known as sels or for attacks on Alpha Centauri, operating in
the Toad with good reason. Although a squat, brut- packs of twenty.
ish vessel with a multitude of bulges befitting its
nickname, it proved a dangerous adversary for the In the first offensive against Proxima consider-
first half of the War. able losses were inflicted on our forces long before
they had approached within what was thought to
During these years the Toad was Proxima’s be combat range. It was some time before it was
primary interceptor ship and was produced in high realized how far the patrol and supply network of
volume. Although less maneuverable than most of these ships extended, as Proxima had established
our ships of the same class and even than many deep space penetration before either of us was
larger types, its inferior mobility and speed were aware of the other’s existence.
compensated for by powerful weaponry and mas-
sive protective armor. Apart from its defensive capacity the role orig-
inally intended for the K4 was to spearhead any
This was a formula much favoured by the Prox- offensive against Alpha Centauri. As the War pro-
ima General Staff and it was the design basis of a gressed it was often used as a ground attack craft
variety of craft produced during the war. Particu- but it proved unstable in the thinner atmosphere of
lar features of the Toad’s armor were its flexibility the Alpha worlds and many were lost.
and the density of the material used. There were
several reports of ‘Toads’ surviving close-proxim- The ‘Toads’ were one of the few craft to have
ity nuclear blasts, being hurled out into space in- fought on both sides in any number, as nearly 200
tact and eventually rejoining the action apparently were captured after the deep space patrols were
little the worse for wear. cut off and their supply depots destroyed. Most
of these were subsequently handed over to the
They were designed well before the Proxima Alpha Centaurans who had suffered the greatest
research teams succeeded in producing warp gen- losses at the outbreak of War and urgently needed
erators and could not be adapted to carry them. As ships to contain Proxima until replacements could
a result they were used primarily as defence ves- be manufactured. Although the Alphas continued
to use them they were far from ideal due to the
anatomical differences between the
SPECIFICATION - K4 “TOAD” two species and interior adaptation
Nationality Alphan was never really effective: As our joint
Manufacturer Various (under Proximan Government License) offensives took the pressure off their
home defence, the captured ships were
Classification Local Defense Interceptor
gradually withdrawn and dismantled.
Main Drive Liquid Hydrogen Nuclear Drive
The principal components such as
1 Million lbs. Thrust Potential
drive units and weapon systems were
Personnel 6 Crew
then incorporated into new Alpha hulls
Armaments Assorted Nuclear Missiles and many of the early Stingrays were
Sonic Accelerator for Ground Attack equipped in this way.
Various Laser Canons or Nuclear Pellet
Guns
Proxima’s security forces still em-
ploy downrated K4s for local patrol
work.
58
59
3D Artwork based on an original work by Bob Layzell.
60
3D Artwork based on an original work by Angus McKie.
K13 “SHARK”
This extraordinary warship came as a complete Although the system of accelerating hydrogen
surprise to both the Alphan and Terran military au- plasma through an electro magnetic field was not
thorities and demonstrated that Proximan technol- unusual, the Proximans had obviously found a way
ogy had reached an unexpectedly advanced level. of generating considerably more thrust than was
thought to be possible with this type of propul-
The first appearance of these ships was their sion.
interception of a patrol of our Partisans heading
off a convoy of enemy supply ships. The follow- The ship itself was extremely light, armor be-
ing extract from a flight recorder salvaged later ing minimized in favour of performance, which at
gives a vivid impression of our first contact with least made them easy to destroy if they could be
the Shark. hit. The first Sharks (models K10 through K12)
suffered from lack of range as their fuel capacity
[BEGIN Communications log] was limited, but this was improved in later ver-
Navigator: There are low-mass objects on sions by the addition of two hydrogen collectors
the screen, sir, vector beta 229 to 230 ap-
extending backwards from their wings. Although
proaching very fast.
these devices could not replace the gas at the same
Captain: Ships?
Navigator: Closing too fast. They’re hot rate as it was consumed, they were able to extend
though (emitting radiation). their range by about 30%.
Inter-ship Communicator: Flight dis-
perse, let them through. The armament carried was effective against our
Navigator: Bit big for that mass rating. Partisan, but later proved to be inadequate once the
They could... Hornet had reached our battle squadrons.
Inter-ship Communicator: Stand by to
evade unidentified objects vector 228 and The K13’s curious array of fins and projec-
9. tions gave rise to their codename (the Proximan
Captain: There they are. That’s odd.
name being Shesh’laan) and formed part of one
Navigator: What?
of the most sophisticated navigation and direction
Captain: (Shout) Max shield! I think...
[END Communications log] systems of the Proxima War. Invariably, the Shark
was able to take the initiative before being spotted
by our crews and it was not until we were able to
One crew survived that action but their report establish a chain of front-line surveillance stations
did not contain enough information to identify the that this situation was reversed.
nature of the attacking ship. All that was obvious
was that the Proximans had suddenly acquired a
very fast and maneuverable weapon.
61
Military / Proximan
K7 “PIRANHA”
The smallest combat craft of the Proxima War was, ed bases. The greatest advantage of this type of craft
without doubt, the one-man atmospheric fighter dubbed was the fact that it could be produced in great numbers
the Piranha. Fast and highly maneuverable, it proved an at a fraction of the cost of more conventionally sized
extremely difficult target, the only compensation being warships. As even the most advanced defense shield is
that it carried very limited armament. limited in the amount of energy it can absorb at any one
time, the survival of a warship depends very much on
Although conceived as a ground attack weapon, it its ability to avoid contact, either through evasive ac-
was later deployed in a variety of roles, being first en- tion or by destroying its attacker.
countered during the Battle for Mars in 2152. Its small
size enabled it to be transported by warp-equipped The Piranha made both courses of action difficult.
freighters to the area of operations. There it would op- Though unable to withstand much damage and limited
erate from the mother ship, but was vulnerable to at- in firepower, it was no easier a target than any other
tack from better equipped deep-space interceptors until type and could attack in sufficient numbers for its cor-
it had reached atmospheric levels. Once there, it was porate volume of fire seriously to damage the target.
far more effective, and during the Battle for Mars, Pi-
ranhas succeeded in tying up a considerable number of Piranhas continued to be a threat throughout the
our Vulcans which should have been concentrating on conquest of Proxima as after the successful campaign
the enemy troopships and nuclear weap carriers. to destroy their main bases they were able to operate
in small packs from easily concealed field depots scat-
While their extremely small ize gave them some tered throughout the battle zones.
advantages, it also m at they were unable to oper-
ate for lo g be eding to refuel. To do so they once After the war, hundreds of them, stripped of their
a un the gauntlet of our deep-space intercep- military hardware, were shipped back and made avail-
to reach their mother ships, which were themselves able to the public. In spite of their short operational
extremely vulnerable. A great number of Piranhas were range and limited capacity they provide a fairly cheap
captured intact because their supply bases had been de- form of private transport until manufacturers can fully
stroyed and they had simply run dry. re-equip for civil development and production. Many
are still in use but they are rapidly becoming collector’s
Once the war had reached the Proxima Homeworld items as good examples are increasingly difficult to
itself, it was a different matter, as they were operating find.
continually in atmosphere from permanent and protect-
SPECIFICATION - K7 “PIRANHA”
Nationality Proximan
Manufacturer Proximan Military
Classification Atmospheric Interceptor
Main Drive Nuclear/Hydrogen Drive
90,000 lbs. Potential Thrust
Personnel 1 Crew
Armament 1 Laser canon, Nuclear Pellet Gun or Par-
ticle Accelerator
Armor 17cm Plastic Armor
62
K34a “TARANTULA”
During the final stages of the Proxima War, threat. They devised a method of projecting elec-
the Allied forces suffered greater losses than at tronic ghost images simulating attacking ground
any other time during the conflict. In space there forces which would trigger the Tarantula’s recep-
had been room for maneuver but on the surface tors. Once the craft had ejected from its lair and
of Proxima I, the last enemy stronghold, this wax was trying to identify its target it was vulnerable
not the case. In the bitter, localized ground fight- and could be dealt with by conventional medium-
ing which characterized this stage of the war our range weapons.
forces had to contend with a number of defensive
weapons previously unknown, one of the most As the War drew to a close, the Tarantula ap-
fearsome being the Tarantula. peared in a variety of forms, although the basic
construction remained unchanged. Whereas the
Virtually undetectable in their screened silos, early model was fully armored and carried a crew,
these sinister scarlet painted craft would wait un- later models became progressively less sophis-
til overrun by our advancing ground forces before ticated and eventually were constructed as little
blowing off their camouflages covers and erupting more than an unarmored frame containing the con-
from beneath the surface with the shriek of jet- trol module, propulsion units and the oscillators.
stream They were heavily armored and carried the These models were unmanned and were guided by
most frightening and indiscriminate weapon of the automatic systems activated either externally or
War. Housed in each of the legs were multiple sub- independently through the machines’ own sensors.
atomic particle oscillators (SAPO) able to project Many casualties are still being reported, 3 years af-
an omni-directional field which disrupted the rela- ter the War, as a result of the accidental triggering
tionships between atomic components. of forgotten machines.
K9 “GOBLIN”
The war started for Alpha Centauri in late 2048 was only slightly larger than the one carried by our
when the night of Alpha One suddenly erupted in Cyclops, but possessed a much more sophisticated
a fury of light and heat. Whole cities disappeared guidance system, while its own generated defence
in seconds with nothing but black and lethal col- field made it difficult to neutralize.
umns of gas to mark their passing. The attacking
force had been detected some hours earlier but Al- It was carried by one of Proxima Centauri’s
pha, though realizing the significance of the fleet most sophisticated fighting machines, a long range
of ships, could not mobilize enough ships in time planetary strike ship with a performance match-
to even slow it down. Surface defences reacted ing many contemporary interceptors. It was justi-
quickly, managing to destroy a number of the en- fiably the pride of the Proximan fleet and fought
emy ships, but the evacuation of strategic targets in all theatres of the war in a variety of roles. As
had begun too late. Within hours of the first sight- many of the enemy’s ships were not equipped with
ing the missiles hit. warp drive due to its late adoption, many Goblins
were adapted to mount an interceptor in place of
Four years later the Proximans attempted the the usual missile. When the Goblin emerged from
same exercise, but this time the target was Mars. warp at its jump target the interceptor was released
In a lightning dash, a massive battle fleet struck to give support to the missile ships. Although this
through the outer defences of our solar system in- made it even more difficult for the Allies to seek
tent on destroying the great manufacturing plants and destroy the Medusa carriers, it at least meant
supplying our forces. This time, however, it was a one less missile to neutralize.
different story because, unlike our unfortunate al-
lies, we were already in a state of war. Our Sentinel The Goblin was also one of the first warships
Majors and local defence interceptors were armed to utilize the properties of the warp generator by
and in readiness for just this eventuality. creating a distortion of light reflected from the hull
surface to form a ghost image of the ship slightly
Nevertheless, it was a furious and close run behind the real craft. This often fooled an attacker’s
struggle. The Proxima ships were, for the most gunnery computer long enough for the approach to
part, more modern and better equipped than the fail.
Status Two ships we retained for local defence.
It was only the courage and determination of the After the war, all the Goblins were impounded
crews and backup teams that prevented a repeti- by the Allies and served with the peacekeeping
tion of Alpha’s disaster. Although our losses were forces for some years.
high, enough time was bought for our frontline
squadrons to counterattack. Inevitably, some of
the enemy’s missiles got through and there are still
areas of Mars which will be unapproachable for a
considerable time.
67
3D Artwork based on an original work by Angus McKie.
AA010 PATHFINDER
The famous Pathfinder series of exploration propulsion systems. Electromagnetic survey ships
and survey craft have a special place in the his- deployed large arrays of booms and antennae,
tory of spaceflight, as they were the first to travel much like the later Astrolabs.
to other stars, and carried the first humans to make
contact with other space-faring beings. It fell to Pathfinder III and its crew to make the
first journey to Alpha Centauri in 2036, where the
Although built to a basic design, each ship was now famous ‘First Contact’ took place. A total of
customized to suit its intended destination and car- 15 Pathfinder missions were launched to the near-
ried a wide variety of probes, sensors, communica- est stars, such as Barnards star, Lalande 21185 and
tions equipment and life support systems. The first Tau Ceti, but it is the fate of Pathfinder IX that is
ships, Pathfinders I and II, were never intended for usually remembered. While surveying the Proxima
interstellar travel and served only to test the vari- Centauri system in 2045, it was destroyed in an
ous new systems that would be needed when oper- unprovoked attack that ultimately led to the dark
ating so far from the solar system. The decision to days of the Proxima War.
use the first generation of DeVass warp generator,
together with the ion ultradrive defined the design Eventually the Pathfinder programme came to
of the craft. Pathfinder II was lost in mysterious an end as technology advanced, leading to newer
circumstances while on an extended mission al- generations of both manned and unmanned explor-
most 1/4 light year from Earth, and this led to a ers. Most of the ships eventually returned home,
substantial delay in the programme until it was de- including Pathfinder III which is now on perma-
termined that the design was sound, and that noth- nent display in the Mars museum of spaceflight.
ing in the design or systems were at fault.
TTA Update: A recent survey of the mysterious
The illustration shows Pathfinder VI, in what ‘Spaceship Graveyard’ of Beta Pavonis has found
was the basic configuration, comprising a com- Pathfinder 2. The craft was found completely intact
mand module, life support, accommodation and and in working order, but without power. However,
laboratory modules, a module for the stowage and of the crew there was no sign, and how this ship
launching of planetary probes, the DeVass warp came to Beta Pavonis remains a mystery.
generator and associated power and con-
trol systems, and the ion and nuclear/
chemical propulsion. The large vertical SPECIFICATION - AA010 PATHFINDER
arrays were radiators to dissipate the Nationality Terran
excess heat from the warp generator - Manufacturer Avery Astronautics
a problem with the first generation that Classification Exploration & Survey Spacecraft
was subsequently solved in later ver- Main Drive McKinley Ion Drive
sions. Once the ship had arrived at its Secondary Drive 2 Avery Nuclear/Chemical Drive Units
destination, a detailed survey sometimes Personnel 6 Crew
lasting 6 months or longer was undertak- Pilot
en, using a variety of unmanned probes, Astrogation
optical, electromagnetic and gravimet- 4 Science officers
ric sensors. Later Pathfinders had larger Auxiliary Craft Type 14 Landing Craft / Shuttle
crews and therefore more accommoda- Armor WCRC type 2D Meterorite Deflector Shield
tion and laboratory modules, and uprated
69
Civil & Commercial / Terran
73
Civil & Commercial / Terran
AA C14 TRANSPORTER
This primitive looking craft was once the Crews became very competitive and would try
mainstay of Terran logistics transportation. De- to outdo each other in the amount of cargo carried
signed around a modular format, the centre section and time taken on routes. Over the years the ships
could be configured to transport gases and liquids, became extensively customized, to the extent that
dry goods, ores and metals, equipment or person- only their own crews could service them.
nel, with standard propulsion, equipment and crew
units at either end. For years, convoys of these craft However, by the start of the Proxima wars, the
traveled the solar system, and played an important C14 was obsolete and could not be upgraded with
role in the colonization of the Moon, Mars and the better armor or defence shields, and many were lost
moons of Jupiter and Saturn. In it’s military role, it to enemy action before being withdrawn to serve
supplied the front line Skybase network with fuels, out their final days in the rear. No serviceable ex-
equipment and ammunition. It is a testament to the amples are known to exist, having either been lost
flexibility of the original design that it remained in in combat, broken up or cannibalized for spares,
service for many years beyond it’s designed life although several derelict hulks still orbit the outer
expectancy. Ultimately they were replaced by the worlds.
far larger and more capable ‘Colonial’ series.
74
75
ASTROLAB
The Astrolabs, of which there were nearly thir- The illustration shows one of the more usual
ty, are often mistaken by the casual observer for units working in the rings of Saturn. This type can
fuelling stations. This is an understandable error occasionally be seen by travellers within our Solar
as they were an adaptation of the fuel supply ships System.
developed during the war and which are still to be
found along the spacelanes. Motive power is provided by one of three nu-
clear piles coupled to fairly small ion drive engines
Large numbers of these supply ships were for extended cruising potential rather than rapid
manufactured to service the huge battle fleets of acceleration. Only five of the Research Council’s
the Proxima Wars, their job being to collect free twenty-eight Astrolabs have been equipped with
hydrogen and other gases from space, process warp generators for interstellar research, including
them, and store them until required. the three radio emission labs.
77
Civil & Commercial / Terran
AVERY-FROST ORION
Space racing became popular towards the end In subsequent years the nature of the races
of the century once the economy had recovered gradually changed as personalities and privately
sufficiently from the war effort for private own- entered craft became more significant than the
ership of spacecraft to be possible. The first race manufacturers’ teams. Increasingly the craft be-
held was sponsored by the Confederation of Ship- came more competitive, and machines built spe-
builders with a view to stimulating public demand cifically as racers began to dominate the field. The
for such craft. The entrants were teams represent- famous exception to this trend was the AveryFrost
ing most of the important manufacturers and the Orion which, although basically a production craft,
ships themselves were all prototypes of potential in racing trim was a consistent winner for a num-
production models. The race was intended as a ber of years.
showcase for all the makers but as the market at
the time was extremely limited the spirit of com- Without doubt one of the most popular pri-
petition was fierce. vate craft even today, the Orion was designed by
René Lenain of R. Frost Engineering and produced
The course was designed to show off the per- by Avery Astronautics in the old North African
formance of the ships in both space and atmo- Yards.
spheric conditions and ran from Miami Spaceport,
round the moon and back to Earth. Public holovid The main difference between the racing and
screens were set up in centres all round the World production versions was in the method of propul-
and Mars and the whole course was covered by sion, the former being fitted with a liquid bipropel-
camera ships. The race was rather unspectacular lent system using oxygen and hydrogen to generate
in comparison with later ones as the ships were about 240,000 lbs thrust. Range was drastically cut
all built to production specifications, but after the in favour of maximum speed, and this configuration
Austerity it was a welcome relief and generated a was obviously unsuitable for private use as the op-
great deal of excitement. erating costs were prohibitively high. A purchaser
of an Orion had a wide range of thrustpack options
The winner was the Keeble-Springer Dart, to choose from, the most popular being the dual
which as a result was one of the four craft to go system specified here, which represented a good
into production. compromise between performance and range.
78
79
3D Artwork based on an original work by Bob Layzell.
BE28 SKYMASTER
Badger Engineering has earned itself a fine rep- ond to evacuate the staff. The operation succeeded
utation as one of the most inventive and industri- but twenty-two of the thirty ships were destroyed.
ous of the many small outfits catering for the ship-
building trade. Based in England, Earth, Badger
started by manufacturing electronic packs which Badger Engineering renovated and completely
were modular units designed as plug-in replace- refitted the hulls, with up-dated engines and their
ments for damaged or obsolete circuitry. Before own electronic packs. The interior fittings were
long they were providing complete kits to update then made to the individual customer’s specifica-
or modify existing craft, and had started to under- tions, and the Skymaster 28 was an instant success
take the repair and renovation of the hulls them- - so much so that Badger received enough orders to
selves. As interest in out-of production ships grew, justify manufacturing completely new ships from
they found themselves increasingly involved in the the original plans.
restoration of obsolete or rare models and this now
accounts for over half their business. Although eighteen were produced in this way
the license fee paid to Consolidated for the manu-
With their considerable experience in this field facturing rights made the Skymaster an expensive
and the obvious demand for unusual private ships, craft, and Badger began to look elsewhere for a
the next step for them was to produce and market successor. They found it in the SSF 21ll Cutlass,
their own. Their close associations with the Ter- one of the best-known of the early days of the war,
ran Trade Authority, a major client, resulted in the and the manufacturing rights were bought outright
opportunity to purchase the last twenty of Consol- from the Defense Authority. Five replicas of this
idated’s SCF 28 freighters, which were due to be famous ship have been produced and the order
replaced. books are full, but it is a different machine from
the Skymaster 28. The latter is slower and more
As a freighter the SCF 28 had been overtaken sedate but is still in demand because of its low run-
by new techniques in transport and shipping, but ning costs and large cabin area.
was economical to run and had ample hull-space
for Badger’s purpose. In addition it possessed one
other valuable attribute in that it was a
famous ship.
SPECIFICATION - BE28 SKYMASTER
During the invasion of Proxima the Nationality Terran
Terran Defense Force had used SCF 28s Manufacturer Badger Engineering (under CA license)
as personnel carriers and the sturdy little Classification Private Cruiser
ships became a familiar sight as they Main Drive Avery StarDriver PNH VII Nuclear/Hy-
scurried to and fro ferrying supplies and drogen Drive
reinforcements in and wounded men out, 150,000 lbs. Potential Thrust
often under heavy fire. Their moment Secondary Drive McKinley MegaCruise Ion Drive
of glory came when a strong Proximan
100,000 lbs. Potential Thrust
counterattack cut off our forward com-
Capacity Pilot + 1 to 12 Passengers
mand base in the battle for Kelorth, the
Proximan capital. Two groups of SCFs Defense TTA CNIL AM6Y Defense Shield
went in, the first as a decoy and the sec-
81
Civil & Commercial / Terran
82
83
3D Artwork based on an original work by Bob Layzell.
ACC1 STARBLADE
The newest and to many people most beauti- Although its passenger accommodation of-
ful spacecraft to enter commercial service is Alpha fered an extremely high degree of comfort there
Centauri’s passenger liner, Starblade. This strik- was nothing revolutionary about it. The real inno-
ing and original design represents the first step in vations were not visible to the casual spectator and
Alpha’s drive to expand her interests in the travel lay in the ship’s warp guidance system. Until now,
industry. Until recent years the passenger trans- a ship emerging from a jump could never be sure
portation market has been dominated by Terran of its exact position, and to be safe Jumps were
ships such as the ubiquitous Interstellar Queen. always calculated within acceptable margins. This
The rapid growth in the volume of tourist traffic to meant that re-entries always left an appreciable
the exotic Alpha Centuri planets has always been amount of space to be crossed under conventional
encouraged by the Alphans as a means of supple- power. The journey time was also increased by the
menting their limited industrial export revenue. need for vessels to recharge their power banks af-
ter the enormous drainage that resulted from such a
In the past their investment program has been jump. The Starblade possessed a warp monitoring
geared towards providing suitable facilities and at- system sophisticated enough to let the ship emerge
tractions within their system to stimulate the de- from a jump so close to the destination that the
velopment of the tourist industry. Once the pattern minimum of charge time was required to provide
of growth appeared to be firmly established, they enough energy to reach the target point.
directed their attention to the possibility of provid-
ing the means by which the tourist travelled to and Once there, of course, there was sufficient time
from their planets. to complete the recharging necessary for the re-
turn journey. This reduces travel time by almost
Considerable funds were allocated to the de- sixty per cent and the saving in conventional fuels
sign and development of a craft suitable for this means that the Starblade can undertake more voy-
purpose and the result wait the Starblade. The en- ages in a given time with lower running costs than
tire program had been cloaked in utmost secrecy any of her competitors.
and even the prototypes’ test flights were conduct-
ed under maximum security.
86
87
3D Artwork based on an original work by Colin Hay.
90
91
3D Artwork based on an original work by Bob Layzell.
K34 BEE
Roughly the equivalent of our own Mule, the themselves have used Bees in most situations sim-
K 34 is a general-purpose service vehicle which ply by employing enough of them to work in re-
can be found operating in a wide variety of roles lays, but this is becoming rarer. We have been sup-
and situations. In terms of usual applications the plying the Proximans with an increasing number
Mule is generally considered to be the superior of Mules for these jobs as the latter are cheaper to
piece of equipment, but the Bee does have certain manufacture than the more complex Bees. In re-
individual advantages. It is larger than its Terran turn we have been purchasing their equipment for
equivalent and is equipped with an extremely so- use in a number of areas such as the orbiting in-
phisticated computerized control system which al- dustrial regions round Jupiter where the high level
lows a fine degree of remote guidance. This suits of radiation makes conditions difficult for manned
it for use in environments which are too hostile for working ships.
organic life-forms such as those with excessive
temperature ranges or high radiation levels. The The Alphans also operate a larger number of
Proximans are somewhat more advanced in terms these machines, particularly in their mining op-
of electrical engineering than we are, and the K 34 erations near Barnards Star, and they can often be
is representative of their proficiency in this field. seen working in conjunction with the Alpha’s Stag
Apart from providing energy for the craft’s equip- Beetle processors.
ment, the highly efficient solar collector /transduc-
ers in the distinctive dish-like receptors are able to Although prototypes were being tested as ear-
generate an arc of sufficient strength for a low-out- ly as 2042, Proxima’s military shipbuilding pro-
put plasma drive engine. This enables the Bee to gramme was given priority in the years immedi-
operate almost indefinitely, having to return only ately preceding the war and no production line was
for the servicing and replacement of its mechanical established until after hostilities had ceased. Clear-
components. ance was given to manufacture almost immediately
as part of the Proximans’ recovery programme, and
There are, of course, deficiencies. In the case of the Bee made a significant contribution in terms of
the Bee one major weakness is the limit of the pow- both export earnings and the redevelopment of do-
er that can be developed by this means. Although mestic industries.
adequate in terms of its mechanical functioning,
the thrust potential of its drive system sometimes
proves to be insufficient for many tasks. As a result
there are occasions when three or four craft have
to be used where one conventionally
powered ship would suffice.
SPECIFICATION - K34 BEE
This method of power generation Nationality Proximan
also automatically excludes them from Manufacturer
working for any useful period of time Classification General Purpose Service Craft
in `dark’ environments such as the blind Main Drive Photoelectric Plasma Drive
side of planets or satellites. But this is 150,000 lbs. thrust
only the case if there is no light source Personnel 1-2 or None (computer controlled)
within easy reach as recharging time Defense Radiation Shielding Only
is remarkably swift. The Proximans
93
Unidentified Alien
Includes all new TTA information including the first ever images of both the Alphans and Proximans.
Also included are complete character generation rules, information on the various corporate entities
of the TTA universe and statistics of all the spacecraft found in Spacecraft 2100 to 2200 AD along with
many more.
www.morriganrpg.com
96