Independent Flight (Aquarius Ascendant) (15 page)

The most common planetary calendar is
“After Landing” (“Anno Humanis” on many human-colonized planets), which is almost always calculated to the planetary year, not the standard year. 1 AL on Terra was 2120 CE, and the present year on Terra is 402 AH.

(
Adapted from http://artemisflightbooks.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/galactic-timekeeping/)

Appendix: Spacecraft

F12F Tomcat Corvette
(From IAS
Fighting Ships of the Galaxy
, 341-2 edition)

The F12F-1
Tomcat
corvette
was the first Alliance corvette built as a heavy fighter rather than as a light warship. It has roughly one-fourth both the mass and crew complement of previous corvettes, but maintains substantially the same fighting capability as the preceding
Perseus
-class corvette.

Corvettes in the Interstellar Navy are not given official names; their hull numbers are supplemented by crew-nominated names subject to censorship for appropriateness; it is not unheard-of for corvettes in separate commands to possess the same name.

F12F-1
Tomcat
Role:
Heavy Space Superiority
Dimensions:
62x20x8 meters (40 meters wingspan)
Mass:
260 tons
Crew:
5 (2 officers, 3 enlisted)
Military Acceleration:
1,500
g
Protection:
Twin hull with full interpenetrated deflector shield
Armament:
2 250mm lasers, 4 2x25mm laser + 30mm auto cannon point defense cluster, 40 round cylinder missile launcher

I16A Wasp Interceptor
(From IAS
Galactic Aerospace
, 341-2 edition)

The I16A-4
Wasp
Interceptor
is a light, fast, highly maneuverable point-defense spacecraft with the primary purpose of attacking enemy fighters and corvettes before they punch through a carrier or base’s final approach vectors. The Wasp’s primary weapon is four twelve-round swarm missile launchers, these are backed up by a single axial laser cannon. The Wasp’s primary missile, the AIM-159 Stinger, uses a relativistic kill warhead rather than thermonuclear; this is deemed acceptable under operational doctrine in order to maximize salvo density on a small craft. The AIM-159 is superficially similar to the RIM-180 point defense starship missile, but has a drive lens tuned to interact with the lower-powered drives of fighters.

I16A-4 Wasp
Role:
Bomber Interceptor
Dimensions:
35x10x5 meters
Mass:
87 tons
Crew:
2
Military Acceleration:
2,250
g
Protection:
Single hull with projected deflector shield
Armament:
1 150mm laser, 4 “swarm” missile launchers containing 12 AIM-159 Stinger relativistic kill missiles each.

D-42 Douglas Medium Haul
Freighter
(From IAS
Ships of the Galaxy
, 341-2 edition)

             
The D-42 Douglas
, produced between 228 and 240 with a production run of over 1,000,000 ships including the military
McConnell
-class fleet resupply ship. It is one of the most common medium-haulers in the Orion Arm, with four cargo bay directly under the skin for ease of access.

             
The D-42 design is easily modified, and with a more modern engine than its relatively weak stock Babcock 400X, it can easily pull twice the design’s base acceleration. Additionally, in many regions of the galaxy owners arm them with after-market weapon systems to defend themselves against piracy (or to engage in illegal trade of their own).

Interstellar Horizons D-42 Douglas
Role:
Medium Freighter
Dimensions:
140 x 70 x 70 meters
Mass:
50,300 tons
Crew:
25
Standard Acceleration:
300
g
Protection:
Twin hull with navigational deflector shield
Armament:
None stock