Probably the most advanced civilian star ship ever built, the Pulsar multipurpose commercial cruiser is a staple among interstellar corporations, institutes and the Clans. The ship, larger than most military cruisers in actual volume, allows for shipping of large, finished goods, as well as sporting impressive scientific capabilities and the creature comforts that most nonmilitary civilians expect.
The only downsides, if there are any, are its lack of weapons and that the cruiser is so expensive that only those organizations with a huge amount of capital can afford them.
Despite the cost (1 billion credits per ship), Pulsars are a fairly common sight along the commercial spaceways. Most are bought on credit and with payment plans, or with company shares, or traded for with commodities and other goods. Orion Arm Industries, the manufacturer, has gained shipyards, influential power in several businesses, and even a small moon in trade for its vessels.
The ship is worth the money for those who can afford it. It carries a massive amount of cargo, and comes standard with a docking bay that can hold 12 fighter-sized ships (or
One interesting feature on the Pulsar is that it has a “wheel house” design. The forward window indicative of a bridge is actually only helm control and navigation, with the ship’s other functions commanded from deeper within the forward command module. Akin to old naval vessels, the room containing the helm control is referred to as the wheel house. Since the Pulsar isn’t intended to do combat maneuvering, the Captain often calls up orders to the wheel house from a command center more focused on communications and internal ship management.
The price has had a beneficial effect that the corporations and the governments of the Terran Protectorate and Free Colonies consider a bonus: it is outside of the price range of even some of the more extravagant private buyers. To date, only one Pulsar is known to be used for pirating, and that one was stolen from its rightful owner. Most mercenary companies would rather buy a more heavily armed, and much older Venture, and that generally goes for pirates as well. The Pulsar only comes standard with a laser battery really only rated as effective against “small navigational hazards” though with proper investment, the Pulsar could be turned into a full-fledged warship. However, by the time you finished paying for the conversion, you could have bought a real warship for less cost.
Still, it is believed that some of the Clans, especially the Ares-Draconis Brotherhood and the Yoarashi, have small fleets of these ships converted to full combat capabilities…just in case.
Model: CC-3 Pulsar Multipurpose Cruiser
Crew: A crew of 40 is all that’s needed when operating in a purely cargo capacity, but more complex operations, like exploration, generally call for crews of 150 to 300.
Auxiliary Craft: Can accommodate 12 small craft, such as fighters or Hoppers, or three light transport-sized vehicles, or a mix.
M.D.C. by Location
Dorsal docking observation stations (2) – 700 each
External cargo cylinders (4) – 2,200 each
External cargo cylinder loading ports (8) – 400 each
Forward docking collars (2) – 400 each
Laser turret – 500
Main engines (2) – 4,500 each
Docking bay – 4,000
Ventral observation room -- 500
*Forward command module – 2,000
*Wheelhouse – 600
**Main body – 35,000
*Depleting the M.D.C. of the forward command module destroys the central control room, the wheel house and the laser turret. The ship loses all primary control functions, sensors and long-range communications. It can still be controlled from the engine room, but would automatically lose all initiative rolls and the ability to dodge. Destroying the wheel house destroys primary helm control and navigation. There are sufficient secondary controls in the command center so that the ship can be maneuvered with little loss of functionality.
**Depleting the main body of the vessel leaves it a floating wreck, activating a powerful emergency beacon and unlocking the escape pods (there are enough 4-man escape pods for a crew of 260). Reducing the main body to -4,000 causes the vessel to explode, doing 2D4x100 M.D. to everything within a 1,000-foot radius.
Speed
Maximum Sublight Speed: .15 C (15% of the speed of light)
Maximum Acceleration/Deceleration: 5Gs per melee round
FTL Speed: Cx365. The Pulsar has military-grade FTL capabilities, though they are designated as Corporate Class officially.
Statistical Data
Height: 244.5 feet
Width: 394.5 feet
Length: 716 feet
Cargo: The four cargo cylinders can carry 2,000 tons each, and the central hold can carry another 6,000 tons, for a whopping 14,000 tons. The docking bay can be converted for another 1,000 tons, increasing the total to 15,000 tons (that’s 30 million pounds).
Range: Standard consumables and fuel give it a 100 light-year range. But by using the cargo holds as storage, it is possible to extend the range to a thousand light years or more.
Power Plant: Dual anti-matter reactors
Cost: One billion credits new, 600 million used. Availability: If you’ve got the money, Orion Arms Industries guarantees there’ll be one available.
Weapon Systems
1. Laser Turret: This is a simple double-barreled solid state laser turret with firepower comparable to that of a frigate’s main weapon. It is mounted on a turret with its own control room. It has 180 degrees of rotation (can face all the way to port or starboard) and 45 degrees of negative elevation (can point 45 degrees “down”). The only thing really going for it is range.
Primary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: 2D4x100
Rate of fire: Twice per melee round
Payload: Effectively unlimited
Sensors: The Pulsar has excellent sensors for a civilian vessel, and is often used as a surveyor of uncharted systems. Mass and electromagnetic sensors have a range of one A.U., but are about half as sensitive as military ships (can detect nothing smaller than 500 feet in diameter at those ranges, unless it’s a ship with an electromagnetic signature, in which case a medium transport should be the limit). Short-range sensors have a range of 300,000 miles.
Amenities: The Pulsar has a number of amenities and luxuries that make traveling and working in the ship a pleasure. It has two large recreation rooms, a galley capable of handling 5-star restaurant quality meal preparations, six luxury suites and 20 “elite” suites, four laboratory bays that can be turned into state-of-the art laboratories, a ventral observation ball room with faux-marble flooring and a state-of-the-art sound system, a 3-D zero-gravity stellar cartography room with 360-degree real-time external star projection capabilities (be sure to take your motion sickness pills, it gives the sensation of floating in space in real time), a small holo-theater, and two docking observation towers allowing excellent coordination and supervision of multiple cargo loading operations at once. Most corporate models come with a quantum-band link back to their home port or corporate headquarters. It’s believed that ships owned by the Clans have quantum links to their seats of power in the core worlds.
Speed
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