Características jurídicas

Although the largest of the External fighters are able to carry stardrives and might be considered starships, most reserve that designation for somewhat larger craft. The smallest of these craft are generally classed as cutters or scouts. This description covers a wide range of small craft, including the landing craft and other shuttles used to transport troops and supplies to the surface of an em- battled world. The Verge Alliance recognizes three differ - ent types of ship in this class, each of which has a crew of up to a dozen.

Pato: The Pato is a small craft used primarily as a transport. Some of these might be used to carry troops while others are outfitted to haul ground vehicles or oth- er cargo. In any case, however, these armed transports have a combat strength of 10. The typical Pato-class transport can carry a platoon (or groush) and its support gear.

Augila: These craft are lightly armed vessels equipped for extended duration missions and scientific investigations. They are seldom encountered in battle, al-

though they are more heavily armed than the Pato trans- ports. The average Augila class ship has a combat strength of 20.

Halcon: When these craft are outfitted for battle, they sometimes serve as fleet escorts or light gunboats. While they can be useful for suppression of piracy or as com- merce raiders themselves, they seldom play an impor- tant role in any real fleet action. The light armaments of these craft give them a combat strength of 30.

Destroyers

With crews numbering a few dozen, these craft often serve to bolster the strength of a small fleet. Their supe- rior firepower allows them to operate independently in some cases, patrolling trade lanes, policing ports, or the like. There are two general types of small ships in the External fleet.

Riddare: These craft are designed to serve as part of a larger squadron, relying on the presence of other ships to compensate for their own lesser firepower. They are often encountered as commerce raiders, operating in packs of between three and nine ships. The typical Rid-

dare-class ship has a combat strength of 50.

Soldat: Heavier than their counterparts, these craft are sometimes given independent assignments at the fringes of explored space. While they certainly lack the firepower to move against any fortified position, they can be used to blockade civilian positions and otherwise ex- ert pressure on the enemy. The typical Soldat-class ves- sel has a combat strength of 75.

Escorts

The primary role of the escort is to flesh out the ranks of a large fleet and support the actions of cruisers or other craft. They generally have crews of several dozen and are designed to fill a specific role and can be defined by the types of weaponry they mount. The Verge Alliance recognizes three types of escorts in the service of the I’krl Theocracy.

Ray: These light escort craft are outfitted with power- ful energy weapons, making them deadly opponents. They are by far the most commonly encountered exam- ples of this type of ship, filling out many small battle fleets. When engaging in combat, their strength is 100.

Skate: Opting for a balanced mixture of energy weapons and projectiles, the Skate is a deadly craft that can serve equally well when attacking other ships or bombarding forces on the ground. It has a combat strength of 125.

Shark: The Shark-class vessel is designed along op- posite lines from the Ray. Instead of being based around energy weapons, it employs missiles and other projectile

armaments. All in all, it is somewhat more powerful (having a combat strength of 150) but is less commonly encountered.

Cruisers

The heart of most battle fleets is the cruiser. These mas- sive ships have crews of several hundred and mount weapons heavy enough to pulverize smaller craft. Even the lightest of them is a truly formidable vessel. If called upon to deploy its ship’s troops as a ground force, a cruiser can field a force equal to that of a regular seven- ty-five-man groush.

Intruder: These light cruisers are often employed as escorts for larger craft like battleships or carriers. They are seldom encountered on their own and are often ac- companied by two or three smaller craft (usually de- stroyers). Ships of the Intruder-class have a combat strength of 250.

Violator: These craft are heavily armored and mount a wide assortment of weapons and defenses. Because they retain much of the maneuverability of the light cruiser, they are perhaps the most versatile craft in the External fleet. Although they’re powerful enough to oper- ate on their own, these craft are most often part of a larger fleet or in the company of a dreadnought or fortress ship. The average ship of this class has a com- bat strength of 375.

Invader: The heaviest of the alien cruisers, these craft mount enough firepower to reduce whole cities to rubble in short order. Although their greater bulk costs them something in terms of maneuverability, this is more than compensated for their increased arms and armor.

Invaders often act on their own, serving as the main ele-

ment of small fleets or task forces. Invaders have a com- bat strength of 500, making them a deadly menace.

Carriers

In order to carry their complement of fighters, carriers are forced to give up a great deal of weaponry and ar- mor. Despite this, however, the powerful armaments of the 26th century make even these craft deadly warships. The Verge Alliance classes carriers by the number of fighters they carry on them. In addition to their own crew, of course, these ships must carry pilots, techni- cians, and the like. All told, they can carry a crew of well over a thousand.

Saeta: The lightest of the External carriers, these ships carry a complement of forty fighters and their ac- companying support teams. If forced to battle without its protective squadrons, the Saeta-class light carrier has a combat strength of 200.

Lanza: The most commonly encountered carrier in

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the External fleet, the Lanza-class is able to carry up to eighty fighters. In addition, it mounts a wide assortment of weapons, giving it a combat strength of 250 even af- ter all of its fighters have been lost.

Bala: The Bala-class carrier is a true juggernaut, ca- pable of supporting no fewer than 100 fighter craft. Al- though not noted for its speed or maneuverability, the

Bala carries enough weaponry to give it a combat

strength of 300, making it a deadly vessel even when caught before it can deploy its fighter screen.

Battleships

Battleships are the focal point of most major assault fleets. Huge and heavily armed, they make up for their lack of speed and maneuverability with heavy armor and shielding. To date, the Verge Alliance has cataloged two general types of battleship in the External fleet, both of which have crews numbering in the thousands. Battle- ships often carry a landing force as well, allowing them to insert an entire ahmk of 150 soldiers and their sup- porting equipment.

Dictator: The lighter or “pocket” battleship is best ex- emplified by the Dictator-class. Lacking the firepower of its heavier sisters, this craft is very well designed and can soak up an incredible amount of damage. Dictator- class ships are often deployed in groups of three so that their lighter weaponry is more than compensated for by the pooling of their resources. A typical Dictator has a combat rating of 1,000.

Tyrant: An excellent example of the full-fledged bat- tleship is the Tyrant. A true behemoth, this massive bat- tleship packs a tremendous offensive punch and can withstand incredible damage itself. While not especially swift or agile, it is still more maneuverable than most would expect. The Dictator has a combat strength of 1,500, making it one of the most deadly craft in the war.

Dreadnoughts

There are only a handful of true dreadnoughts on either side of the External War. The alien Behemoth is the best example of this class of ship. Massive and heavily armed, these craft have the firepower to go toe-to-toe with an orbital fortress all by themselves. Whole fleets have broken themselves against a lone dreadnought, which is reflected in their combat strength of 2500.

The typical External dreadnought also acts as a carri- er, able to deploy a screen of some thirty fighters to pro- tect herself and act as advanced scouts. In addition, it carries two 150-man ahmks of ship’s troops and the

Pato landing craft needed to deploy them rapidly to a

planet’s surface.