Harbinger FSV
<center>[size=4]The Harbinger Fleet Support Vessel[/size]</center>
Craft: Harbinger class Fleed Support Vessel
Combat Abbreviation: HFSV
Mission Profile: Fleet Support
Designer/Manufacturer: Imperial R&D Department
Retail Price: Not available for sale. Produced exclusively for the New Order.
Consumables: 6 months
Cargo Capacity: 1500 metric tonnes
Length Over All: 600 meters
Sublight Speed (Cruising): 10 MGLT
Sublight Speed (Flank): 14 MGLT
Sublight Speed (Emergency Full): 20 MGLT
Hyperdrive Motivator (Main): x1
Hyperdrive Motivator (Backup): x4
Shield Integrity: 1400 SBD
Hull Integrity: 1100 RU
Weapons:
- 02 Super Ion Cannons
- 10 Ion Cannon Batteries
- 02 Proton Torpedo Clusters (fitted for ion torpedoes)
- 04 Boarding hooks
- 12 Quad Laser Gattling Cannons (anti-starfighter)
- None
- 1000 Spartan-II soldiers (boarders)
- Phalanx Anti-missile network
- Reactive Shielding
- Multi Track Shielding
Super Ion Cannon
Mounted in tandem, these great guns are capable of dealing a near-fatal blow to any mid-size capital ship in their long range. Designed to disable capital ships, these weapons are fearsome, but take a long period of time to recharge. General tactics call for the guns to be fired in tandem at a single target to fully disable it in preperation for boarding. These cannons are powerful enough to literally fry circuits in more delicate machines, and have been known to cause damage that required full replacement of systems.
Boarding Hooks
Boarding hooks have been in use in various forms for centuries, but never before has an Imperial ship of the line mounted them. These hooks are designed to pierce the hull of an enemy vessel and do one of several things and allow it to be reeled in to come alongside the larger vessel. The hooks have an advantadge over tractor beams in that to release them the tethers must be cut (a difficult task for a fully active vessel) or the hull of the ship must be cut away from the hook has embedded itself. From there, the hook is designed to stun the crew in the area through use of flash/bang weapons and/or posion gasses, in preperation for boarding.
Phalanx Anti-Missile Point Defence Gatling Laser Network
The Phalanx, is made up of a network of small, turreted light blaster cannons. These weapons are very able to pick out missiles and destroy them from long range. The Phalanx System reduces the percentage of successful short-range missile strikes to less than 20%, and long-range attacks to under 5%.
Reactive Shielding
Reactive shielding is a system designed to protect the Messiah from energy weapons. When the vessel’s shields are raised, a special battery bank is charged along with them. Then, when computers detect a substantial bombardment against any section of the vessel, the shield is immediately recharged with stored energy from this bank.
Multi Track Shielding
Multi Track Shielding uses a dedicated targeting computer imbedded in the shielding system to track approaching enemies and calculate approximate damage. The system automatically them distributes shields for maximum damage resistance. Combined with reactive shielding, this system gives the Messiah an unprecedented edge in battle.
Background Information
Designed alongside a number of other vessels, the Harbinger is a replacement for the aging Immobilizer 1227 frigate. Larger and more heavily armed and armoured, the Harbinger is classified as a ship of the line.
Equipped with Super Heavy Ion cannons as well as a number of regular cannons and ion torpedo launchers, the Harbinger's role is to disable an enemy vessel and, if the situation permits, bring it alongside for boarding. The vessel carries a large compliment of the Empire's elite Spartan-II soldiers in place of fighter support for these operations. Spartan-II 'Marines' are specially equipped with zero-g equipment, oxygen filters and tanks, magnetic boots, and all manner of ranged and melee weapons. They are trained in shipboard offence and are the Empire's most skilled agents at boarding. Too, they are linked to the main computer of the Harbinger, which allows them real-time downloads of floorplans for thousands of common vessels.
The Harbinger is designed to deliver its soldiers directly to an enemy ship, as opposed to launching shuttles: it pulls a vessel in and cuts through the hull, allowing soldiers to literally walk aboard. Of course, these cut through points are tightly defended against the slight chance an enemy is able to reach them.
The Harbinger is intended to begin production as a light-delployment craft to suppliment fleets.
Comments
#23 2:12am 28/09/05
Yeah, generally the boarding hooks aren't deployed until the target has been disabled. No physical reason why they couldn't be (assuming shields were down), but tactically, it would be foolish to do otherwise.
As for the enemy knowing... as I say, the hooks and cables are all but invisible to sensors on account of their size and lack of heat generation. So a ship that was being moved would likely believe themsleves to be in the grip of a tractor beam.
Dolash: obviously, yeah, relative masses come into play. If the Harvinger targetted an SSD, the smaller ship would move, not the larger. The net result is the same, though: the two ships are brought alongside, allowing boarders to move in.
#22 12:02am 26/09/05
If they knew that things were sticking in the hull - they would have the first - obvious - thought that they are in a tractor-beams grip.
#21 7:31pm 25/09/05
Also, a good note might be their engine strength - if this little ship tried to cling on to a ship three times it's size blazing away, there might be a certain amount of difficulty. Plus, wouldn't the enemy be able to figure out where the cables were once they realize the enemy is pulling towards them along things stuck in the hull?
#20 7:20pm 25/09/05
A sound point repsak. One that I would listen to, Drayson, as surely these 'hooks' would not be able to do anything, unless of course you had deactivated their shields first.
Right?
Since you probably wouldn't want your enemy firing upon you in point blank range, remember if you can do it , so can they.
#19 1:18pm 25/09/05
Excuse me but you do not fire the Boarding hooks before you have disabled the opponent, with the ion cannons.
#18 5:33am 25/09/05
That's all I need to hear.
#17 5:30am 25/09/05
I was talking about the cables once they're deployed... I didn't realize you weren't. Yeah, you could in theory destroy the missile itself in flight. But again, as it lacks a propellent trail (which is what makes missiles so easy to spot), it's hard to see. It's also short range (ish), so hitting in the short time it takes to reach its target is unlikely.
Certainly not impossible, though.
#16 5:24am 25/09/05
How do they get to other ships if they don't move?
I'm not saying your cables should be easy to target and destroy, just that it's possible. If you don't disagree with it being a possibilty, then we're cool.
#15 5:20am 25/09/05
*shrug*
If you say so. Recall, though, that Scorpions are moving and are powered (I assume). Cables are neither... they're just cables. Certainly you CAN detect/see them, it's simply highly improbable than anyone would be looking for them, let alone looking closely enough to see them.
Targetting would be rather difficult, too.
I'm not trying to create an ubership, just pointing these things out.
#14 5:15am 25/09/05
Sorry Drayson, if my 14 cm scorpions are EASILY DETECTABLE, then your boarding cables are POSSIBLY detectable.
#13 5:07am 25/09/05
It's infinitely improbable, then. :D
#12 4:57am 25/09/05
Nothing is impossible, improbable maybe, but never impossible.
;)
#11 4:39am 25/09/05
Um... they're invisible? Seriously. They're extremely thin, and for obvious reasons would not show up on any sort of targetting computer. You'd have not only know they where there, but EXACTLY where they where, and then be precise enough with a laser to hit them. i.e. - impossible.
#10 3:59am 25/09/05
It's like shooting womprats back in Beggar's Canyon ;)
#9 3:04am 25/09/05
Not much - however they would bhave to train on a target that is the size of one-half a TIE'ln's ball-cockpit
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