Legionary class Corvette

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Legionary class Corvette
Type: GC Construction Vessel
Category ACS
Size 100 Tons
Hull Configuration Needle Hull
Streamlining Streamlined Hull
Tech Level TL–12
Engineering
Computer Model/6
Jump J-2
Maneuver 6 G
Fuel Treatment Scoops, Purifier
Armaments
Hardpoints 1
Offensive Pulse laser turret
Defensive Armored
Accommodations
Staterooms 2
Personnel
Crew 4
High/Mid Passengers 0
Payload
Cargo 4 Tons
Fuel tank 21 Tons
Special features Construction Deck
Construction
Origin Kingdom of Drinax
Year Operational 621
Price
Cost MCr91.83
Maintenance cost Cr7,653
Statistics
Quick Ship Profile GC-AL62
Universal Ship Profile GC-C1826S-D
Images
Blueprint Yes
Illustration No
Source
Canon Unpublished, fan design
Designer Adrian Tymes
Design System Mongoose 2nd
Era 1105
Reference Fan: Adrian Tymes

The Legionary class Corvette is an TL–12 engineering ship optimized to construct drones.

Description[edit]

The Legionary was originally classified as a corvette because planners of the Imperial Navy at the time did not not have a code for "combat engineering in space". This was one of several items contributing to the post-First Civil War refactoring of Ship Mission Codes.

At first glance, a Legionary is a Sulieman class Scout/Courier with a turret. Closer inspection reveals the large panels behind the turret, providing access to the internal construction bay. The upgraded maneuver drive may give away the difference first, if the pilot is not limiting thrust to 2 Gs so as to pretend to be a Sulieman. A Legionary that has been operating in an area for some time may be swarmed by the 10 ton smallcraft it is designed to create, such as the System Defense Brick class Defense Drone.

Named after a romanticized version of the Roman footsoldiers of ancient Terra, the Legionary is a ship of minor polities (which can not afford more specialized ships) that travels where needed, projecting both military and economic force. On the commercial side it prospects planetoids, builds them into drones to make material and fuel caches, and generally introduces off-world industry to systems that lack it. When it must fight, its primary role is to prepare the battlefield where possible (such as by clearing or collecting debris to prevent or allow ambushes, or building system defense drones if given some weeks' lead time), then point defense when the battle eventually comes.

In combat, Legionaries are best used at a distance, and have the thrust to stay there against most warships. While they are individually only a threat to unarmed ships, they are dangerous in swarms, much like oversized fighters that can attack from a very long range. A legion of Legionaries, were someone to assemble 1,000 such ships, would be more than a threat to any capital ship, especially one caught without its escorts. The primary and backup computers are taxed to the limit during combat, the primary running fire control while the backup runs either evade if the Legionary is being shot at, point defense if it is not, or if the battle seems lost, jump control.

General Description & Deck Plans[edit]

  1. Deck Plans for this vessel.
    1 legionary deckplans.png

Basic Ship Characteristics[edit]

Following the Imperial Navy and IISS Universal Ship Profile and data, additional information is presented in the format shown here. [1]

Basic Ship Characteristics [2]
No. Category Remarks
1. Tonnage / Hull Tonnage: 100 tons (standard). 1400 cubic meters. Lifting Body Wedge Hull.
  • Dimensions: Maximum — 37.5 m by 24 m by 7.5 m.
2. Crew Crew: 1 each Pilot, Astrogator, Engineer, and Gunner. Usually filled by 2 crew with double roles: a Pilot/Astrogator and an Engineer/Gunner.
3. Performance Acceleration: 6-G maneuver drive installed.
  • Jump: 2.
4. Electronics Model/6 with a Model/5 as backup.
5. Hardpoints 1 hardpoint.
6. Armament 1 triple-mount pulse laser turret. Anything it constructs is classified as an escorting fleet, rather than the ship's own weapons.
7. Defenses Officially none. Anything it constructs is classified as an escorting fleet, rather than the ship's own defenses.
8. Craft None. Vacc suits required for EVA (extra-vehicle activity). Rescue Balls for crew escape not normally carried, as the entire crew is assumed to have ready access to vacc suits at all times.
9. Fuel Treatment It is equipped with a fuel purification plant and fuel scoops.
10. Cost MCr91.83 standard. MCr82.647 in quantity. (The architect's fees were amortized long ago.) This assumes construction as new; substantial savings can be had by gutting and refurbishing a Type S class Scout/Courier hull, or another ship using the same hull, the exact amount depending on its condition; deducting the market value of the ship being converted gives a useful approximation, and is standard practice when quoting a price in many shipyards which offer this conversion.
11. Construction Time 9 months standard, 6 in quantity, if constructing new. The more typical method - converting existing Type S class Scout/Courier or similar hulls - is much faster: 3 months standard, 2 in quantity, not including time to obtain the hulls and assuming mostly functioning ships.
12. Remarks A construction ship designed to kickstart and seed industry, set up defenses and otherwise engineer a battle space, and carry out the interstellar business of a pocket empire.

History & Background (Dossier)[edit]

The Legionary class was architected in the Kingdom of Drinax, in a drive to expand its diplomatic and economic power by upgrading the industries of its worlds and its neighbors. The effort was largely rebuffed by interests preferring home-grown solutions - which King Glaco IX the Vengeful cited, some decades later, as one of the reasons he began bombing worlds objecting to his rule. If one includes that consequence, this qualifies the Legionary class as the opposite of successful in its original aims.

However, the prospect of kickstarting industry was attractive enough that the designs were distributed across Charted Space, although reports of actual use are few and far between. In particular, of the major polities, significant reports of use have only come from the Vargr Extents (which is economically a series of pocket empires anyway) and the Hive Federation (combat engineering being close enough to their beloved manipulations to make the ship class appealing). The rest have more specialized designs to handle each of the Legionary's functions.

Which is not to say that it has seen no use within the Third Imperium. Although designing as a conversion of the Type S class Scout/Courier was intended as a cost saving measure, a few retired scouts, upon mustering out from the IISS with use of a Scout ship, have opted to convert it into a Legionary (with the IISS's approval), often to "patch up" holes in the interstellar economy that they have encountered.

Class Naming Practice/s & Peculiarities[edit]

Ship Interior Details: The construction hangar can depressurize and open its ceiling, to deploy drones or receive materials (such as a planetoid to convert into a drone). When no construction is underway, it can carry an additional 10 tons of raw materials (with which to build) or general cargo. While the workstations in the turret and bridge can participate in construction, the workstation just in front of the construction hangar's upper level is specialized for this role, with holographic models of the hangar's contents intended to be interacted with, and transparent panels providing an unobstructed view of the top half of the work area (so long as no one is standing in the interdeck access between the workstation and the panels). A Legionary can construct ships and other objects up to 10 tons, to a maximum TL 12. (It is possible to refit the construction hangar to be able to construct higher TL ships. This costs 5 MCr, takes 1 day, and must be done at a shipyard of at least the desired TL, or is automatic and free up to the shipyard's TL if the Legionary was originally constructed at a high TL shipyard.)

The ship class is designed to be retrofitted into spare Scout or Seeker hulls, preferably cheap hulks if those are available, although some Legionaries are built in this configuration from scratch. Like other ships with this hull configuration, the landing pads are large enough that they dig into the crew space; the Legionary takes advantage of this by allowing passage through the rear landing pads to bypass the construction hangar when it is in use, though this is only recommended while in flight with the gears up, as this space is exposed to the outside atmosphere (or vacuum) while the gears are down. Further, a number of nonessential electronics that are part of the bridge on many ship classes, are part of the landing bay compartments on the Legionary. Unlike most ships of this class, the primary entrance is in the rear, specifically through an oversized airlock on the bottom deck that is also the primary cargo storage (in case the Legionary must haul dangerous and/or secret cargo, that is best handled by the crew as minimally as possible). Despite its potential military role, a Legionary's expected crew is on strictly civilian lines, and it is common for there to be a crew of just two: one pilot/astrogator and one engineer/gunner. Double occupancy can accommodate the maximum crew of four.

Naming practices vary by polity. The original Legionaries were just given serial numbers, to reinforce their image as soldiers of a polity's army.

Selected Variant Types & Classes[edit]

0 Representative Construction Vessel (GC) Classes[edit]

§ == ( Please refer to the following AAB Library Data for more information: ) == §

References[edit]

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Mongoose New Traveller This ship was designed using Mongoose 2nd ship design rules.
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