In the Three Galaxies, courier ships are far more common than most individuals might expect. Many individuals and companies do not want their documents have the risks of being de-scrambled by others which is a risk when messages are sent on FTL communications in code and do not want them sent by a slow merchant ship either. As well, people often want to send small packages fairly quickly. Another way is to consider that couriers in Phase World are the equivalent of Twentieth Century Air Mail. In most cases modified Runner Ships are used as couriers. This is because they are much faster than most cargo ships and are fairly heavily armed. Since most runners are ships that have been rebuilt to be much faster than they were originally, many are prone to breakdowns. The Proctor class heavy fighter is also very popular as a courier because it is still fast but is constructed initially that way but the Proctor is very expensive because it is actually military hardware. Because of these reasons, there has always been some desire for a fast courier but it was not until the Phoenix class courier was constructed that there was a good alternative. The Phoenix has become very popular and is being used heavily as couriers but some have been converted to be used as scouts and as personal yachts. A few smaller militaries and mercenary companies have even been using these ships as combat vessels and the ship is becoming popular with shipping companies as escorts. As is inevitable, some of these fine ships have wound up in the hands of pirates.

The best way to describe the ship is that it is constructed to military standards but is sold for civilian prices. The hull is very strong and the ship carries shields that are the same strength as the Proctor class heavy fighter. The weapon systems are similar in power level to those on a standard runner. The ship has two long range missile batteries that are useful against fighters, missiles, and smaller capital ships. The ship has in that way of direct fire weaponry two laser cannon turrets on the top of the ships, one heavy rail gun forward, and two particle beam cannons turrets copied from those carried on a CAF shuttle. One particle beam is mounted on the top and the other is mounted on the bottom of the ship. The engines are quite powerful and in normal space, the Phoenix can outrun most larger ships and even some fighters. In FTL, these ship are some of the fastest ships in the Three Galaxies. The ships come standard with Civilian quality sensors but the electronic array is designed so that it can be upgraded to military standards easily. As well, a special stealth system can be added to the courier that does not allow the ship to be detected until the ship is within 5,000,000 miles (8,000,000 km.) Range is modified from 5000 miles because Phase World speeds and weapon ranges have been increased and is the same system carried on most runners. The ship was designed so it can use a smaller crew than a standard runner. Recommended crew of the ship is five but can be run by one or two. The reason for this is because the ship has two automated repair drones and has fire control packages for the guns that allow the ships computer to operate the guns. As the last feature, the pilot system is designed so that unlike a runner, it can be piloted like a starfighter and is more maneuverable than a standard runner. All these great features do have a price. While the ship is a fair amount larger than a standard runner, the ship actually has less cargo space than a standard runner.

The ship has four cabins and a combination dining room / ships lounge. These rooms are fairly utilitarian but for the ships owner with a little more money, they can be modified for more comfort. As well, there is a standard package that converts the cargo space into four more cabins which leaves only a very small cargo. All of these items are chosen when you have a ship designed for you.

This Starship design uses modified starship speed and ranges. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World for more details.

(Note: The power system is fusion not anti-matter because the author's opinion is that anti-matter is to dangerous to be used in vehicles that may be used in an atmosphere. If a starship powered by anti-matter was to detonate in an atmosphere it would cause huge planetary damage. At GM option, this can also be applied to all starfighters or this fighter can be changed to anti-matter.)

Model Type: LCR-1000
Vehicle Type: Fast Courier / Scout.
Crew: Five (Can be run by one or two)

M.D.C By Location:

	[1] Main Body:	2,500
	Cockpit / Bridge:	500
	GR-1000 Large Rail Gun:	350
	Laser cannon Turrets (2, top)	250 each
	Particle Beam Turrets (2, top and bottom):	100 each
	Long Range Missile Batteries:	300 each
	[2] Variable Force Field:	400 per side (2,400 total)

Notes:
[1] Depleting the MDC of the main body will put the starship out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.
[2] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (120 MDC) per melee

Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship to travel up to 50 percent of the speed of light. The ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 1.2 percent of light per melee. Starship has military class radiation and particle shields.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum speed is Mach 5 (3,350 mph / 5,400 kph), can enter an atmosphere because flight system is by contra grav.
Stardrive: Uses a Gravitonic Drive system that allows the ship to reach a maximum of 6.5 lightyears per hour.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by drive system but only has supplies for a crew of five for four months.

Statistical Data:
Length: 125 feet (38.1 meters)
Height: 35 feet (10.6 meters)
Width: 45 feet (13.7 meter)
Weight/Mass: 450 Tons (408.2 metric tons)
Power System: Nuclear with a average life span of 25 years.
Cargo: Can carry up to 60 tons in addition to crews supplies.
Market Cost: 85 million without military sensors or stealth systems. Each system (sensors or stealth) costs 20 million extra each. Luxury quarters cost an additional 10 million.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. One (1) GR1000 Large Rail Gun: It is mounted in the front bottom of the nose of the starship but unlike the other weapon systems it can only fire forward and has only a little bit of movement for targeting purposes. The weapons is designed for dogfighting against fighters. The cannon fires a 30 mm projectile and the round is fired at hypervelocity speeds so is useful against fast moving targets as well as slow moving targets. The weapons is normally controlled by the ships pilot. The weapon cannot be used while the ship is traveling at FTL speeds.
   Range: 16 miles (26 km) through atmosphere and 1,600 miles (2,575 km) in space.
   Mega-Damage: 40 round burst inflicts 4D6x10 M.D.
   Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the Pilot or the Gunner (usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: 10,000 Rounds (500 Bursts).
2. Two (2) Point Defense Laser Cannon Turrets: Moderately powerful weapons systems mounted on the top of the fighters and are used for anti-missile, anti-power armor, and anti-star fighter defense and are mounted in turrets that can rotate 360 and have a 180 arc of fire. Each mount can be operated by a gunner or a gunner program (+2 to strike, 3 Attacks per melee). The weapon cannot be used while the ship is traveling at FTL speeds.
   Range: 200 miles (322 km) in space and 4 miles (6.4 km) in an atmosphere.
   Mega Damage: 2D6x10 MDC each.
   Rate of fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the Gunner (usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
3. Two (2) Particle Beam Mounts: These particle beams are copied from those carried on the CAF Assault Shuttle and will fire a very powerful narrow beam and can fire a scatter effect that is less powerful but is capable of striking multiple targets. The weapon system is quite useful against missiles although the cone is not as wide as Tachyon cannon sprays are. One mount is on the top of the ship and the other is on the bottom and are mounted in turrets that can rotate 360 and have a 180 arc of fire. Each mount can be operated by a gunner or a gunner program (+2 to strike, 3 Attacks per melee). The weapon cannot be used while the ship is traveling at FTL speeds.
   Range: 300 miles (480 km) in space and 3 miles (4.8 km) in an atmosphere.
   Mega Damage: Single Target: 4D6x10 Wide Beam: 5D6 to all targets within a 5,000 foot (1,524 meter) diameter area. When fired as a wide beam, the cannon cannot be used on targets closer than 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) away.
   Rate of fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the Gunner (usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
4. Two (2) Long Range Missile Batteries: Missile has a top speed of Mach 20 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 8% of light per turn (faster than any starship). Since star ships will no longer engage at rock throwing distances, whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launcher, and missile. When drive goes dead, missile will still cruise unless set to self destruct but has very low odds of hitting star ships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missile when dead at -25% to detect.) Long range missiles do not have minuses to hit small targets unlike cruise missiles and are all considered smart missiles. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each.
   Range: Missile range is 3400 miles (5470 km) in an atmosphere and 1,800,000 miles (2,89700 km/9.7 light seconds) in space.
   Mega-Damage & Properties: See Phase World Missiles (Fusion does 2D4x100 MDC).
   Rate of fire: One at a time or in volleys of 2, 4, or 8 missile per melee attack.
   Payload: 48 total, 24 long range missiles per launcher. Extra missiles can be carried in the ships cargo hold.

COMBAT BONUSES: The Phoenix Courier is fairly maneuverable and accurate. Use the Phase World Starfighter combat (Elite or Basic) skill with no additional vehicle bonuses (Pilots skills and statistics still add. to bonuses)

Image created and copyrighted by Ørjan Klo (oklo@online.no).
More Ørjan Klo artwork at The homepage of Ørjan Klo

By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune ).

Copyright © 1999, Kitsune. All rights reserved.