Valkyrie Heavy Fighter

BARD PAPER: SARA0005

Valkyrie Heavy Fighter

The Valkyrie was a very high-tech interceptor design which was being developed by the Third Imperium in the early 1100s. Unlike the lighter 9-ton Iramda, Dragonfly, and Rampart fighters commonly seen in Imperial service, the Valkyrie was based on the 50-ton "heavy fighter" model. Heavy fighters trade stealth for the ability to carry additional equipment, usually heavier weapons and more armor. In the Valkyrie, much of the additional available space was put into a high-performance maneuver drive. The primary mission of these craft was to intercept enemy vessels and occupy them until reinforcements had a chance to arrive.

The 12G maneuver drive installed in the fighter can make a squadron on maneuvers perform maneuvers which can only be performed by missiles, and the fighter has many more G-hours available than a standard missile does. Imperial G-compensation technology was stretched to its' limits in order to allow the crew to withstand so much acceleration for even a short time. Ensconced in their G-tanks and with the 7G compensators operating at full capacity, the crew can function continuously at accelerations of up to 10G, or 9G of evasion, with no ill effect. Above these levels, all tasks are one difficulty level more difficult per additional G-turn applied. Most crews are therefore equipped with neural links so that they can regain a difficulty level under extreme maneuvers. Even so, accelerations above 10G are used only for brief periods and under very specific circumstances. Unfortunately, Virus-infected craft are not bound by this restriction, as they need carry no organic crew. Fortunately, such craft are quite rare.

The Valkyrie design is very tight. The original prototype had fiber optic computers installed, but these were removed in later models on the grounds that they were too expensive, and the space filled with a small cargo bay and additional fuel. A compact tech-16 144 MJ laser was installed which replicated the performance of the tech-15 laser lance of the same power. The fighter can carry two fully-independent missiles. Both crew members are somewhat overworked, one with flying and fighting the craft, the other with baby-sitting the gigantic propulsion system. Since the vehicle has no airlock, but only an access hatch, the vehicle must be depressurized in order to perform an EVA, but this is typical in fighter designs. Facilities are provided to allow the Valkyrie to make extended patrols or sweeps of an area, a traditional heavy fighter role.

While performing well in tests by the Massilia Fleet and Deneb Fleet, two flaws exist in this vehicle. First, she is somewhat under-armed for her size, and second, she is a bigger sensor target than the typical 9-ton fighter. Additional missile grapples might be installed, but at the cost of a G of performance; a slightly larger HEPlaR thruster to help address this problem was proposed for the next variant. Some experiments with robotic assistance to lighten crew workload were also performed.

Combat advice: Note that if you aren't going to be using all twelve gees of acceleration, you can overpower the laser x10 and pick up the -2 bonus.

Valkyrie Class Fighter

General Data

Displacement: 50 tons	Hull Armor: 120
Length: 22.4 meters	Volume: 700 m³
Price: 53.5 MCr	Target Size: VS
Configuration: AF Cylinder	Tech Level: 16
Mass (Loaded/Unloaded): 882.4/854.6

Engineering Data

Power Plant: 558 MW Fusion (558 MW/hit), 1 month duration

Jump Performance: Nil

Jump Fuel: 0 m³

G-Rating: 12G (44 MW/G), CG Lifters (5 MW)

G-Turns: 70, 5.52 cubic meters ea.

Maint: 8

Electronics

Computer: 2 x TL16St (0.6 MW ea.)

Commo: 1000 AU maser (infinite, 0.6 MW)

Avionics: TL10+ Avionics, TL16 Terrain Following Avionics

Sensors: PEMS fixed array 90 Mm (3 hex, 0.04 MW)
AEMS 360 Mm (12 hex, 11 MW)

ECM/ECCM: EM Masking (0.7 MW)

Controls: 2 x workstation/crew G-tanks

Armament

Offensive 1 x TL16 144 MJ laser lance (Loc. 1; Arc 1; 4 MW; no crew)
10:(1/10)-30 20:(1/10)-30 40:(1/4)-15 80:(1/2)-7
2 x AF grapples for standard missiles

Defensive: None

Master Fire Directors: None

Accommodations

Life Support: Extended (0.14 MW)

Grav Compensation: 7G (3.5 MW)

Crew: 2 : 1 x Maneuver/Gunner, 1 x Engineer.

Crew Accommodations: 1 x Sm Stateroom (0.0005 MW)

Passenger Accomadation: None

Other Facilities: None

Cargo: 0.408 m³

Small Craft and Launch Facilities: None

Air Locks: 1

Notes

Fuel scoops refuel in 40.6 minutes. No purification.

Damage Tables

SYSTEMS
  LS 5H; ELS 2H; LT 1H; MD 1H; PP 1H; SSR (2h); AG (2h); CG (2h); 
  Others (1h)
  
DAMAGE TABLES:
  AREA (1d20)  SURFACE       INT. EXPLOSION
  1            1: Ant.       1-14: Laser; 15-20: Electronics
               2: EMMR
  2-3                        1-7: Electronics; 8-20: Fuel
  4-5                        1-2: Weapon; 3-9: Elec.; 10-20: Fuel
  6-7          1: Hatch      1-16: Quarters; 17-20: Fuel
  8-9                        Fuel
  10,12-13                   1-5: Quarters; 6-20: Fuel
  11,14-15                   Fuel
  16-19                      1-16: Engineering; 17-20: Fuel
  20                         Engineering