BARD PAPER: SARA9029

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Morpheus Utility Ship

design by Peter Grey

Overview: In the aftermath of the Rape of Trin, the Regency was forced to put as many ships into frontline Naval or Quarantine service as it could spare. It became clear, however, that the emphasis upon frontier defense would denude other service branches of badly needed ships at a time when shipyards will still in the process of getting up to wartime mobilisation. The solution hit upon by several companies and contractors were cheap conversions of existing hulls, most notably TL 13-14 hulls rendered superfluous by the demanding requirements of the Virus War.

Adamantium LRC happened to possess several hundred surplus Gazelles as part of an earlier remanufacturing program that converted these ships into newer Praetorian sloops. But in the wake of the RoT, the meson guns required for the conversion became scarce because of changing priorities. So the company turned lemons into lemonade, taking the stripped hulls, and installing a plug that expanded to 55 meters length, and converting them into modular designs.

The Morpheus is intended for a variety of yeomen roles, utilising modular construction as a logistic and support "force multiplier." Easy conversion into different roles will enable one Morpheus to free up two or three other ships for patrol duty. While technically a rear echelon vessel, several of its modules are equipped to turn it into a heavy patrol design on short notice, enabling rapid reinforcement of threatened regions without the limitations of lengthy communication lags. Another plus of this design is its obvious use as a Q-ship or a merchant cruiser in frontier areas, as the indistinguishable nature of its modules make identification difficult, so that even the lightly armed cargo loadout can be percieved as a threat, and act as a deterrent to raids.

The class utilizes mixed construction: TL-15 powerplants, jump drives and electronics mated to TL-14 weapons. Most of the original ships were still fitted with their original armaments. These weapons are usually fired remotely, though local control is provided in case of protracted military operations. The ships modular layout is unusual: while intended for a variety of 25, 50 and 100 ton modules, space limitations dictate that module A is always a 50 ton module, leaving the remaining 100 tons according to the discretion of the owner/operator when not in line service. Module A is usually a General Operations module that combines cargo and passenger operations, and when not in RQS service the other modules are usually for cargo or fuel as well. In service these modules are either mated with other armed units, or replaced alltogether.

Morpheus Utility Ship

Test

General Data

Engineering Data

Power Plant: 3079.507 tons/2828.49 tons (Minus Modules)

Jump Performance: 3 at 250/300 tons displacement (186.66 m3 per parsec, 560 m3 for J-3), 2 at 400 tons displacement (280 m3 per parsec, 560 m3 for J-2)

Jump Fuel: 840 m³

G-Rating: 4G Heplar(150 MW/G) at 250/300 tons, 3G Heplar (200 mw/G) at 400 tons.

G-Turns: 60 at 250/300 tons (15.625 m3 each), 50 at 400 tons (18.75 m3 each)

Maint: 129

Electronics

Computer: 3 TL-15 Fb (1.1 MW each)

Commo: 2 1000 AU Masers (0.6 MW), 300,000 km Radio (Range: 10, 10 MW)

Avionics: Inertial/Grav Positioning, 190 kmh NOE, Imaging EMS

Sensors: PEMS 150,000 km Fixed (Range: 5, 0.15 MW), AEMS 300,000 km (Range:10, 15 MW)

ECM/ECCM: EMM (3.5 MW)

Controls: Bridge with 6 plus 4 normal

Armament

Offensive 2 TL-14 150 MJ Laser Turrets (Loc:16,17 Arcs: All, 4.2 MW, 0 Crew), 2 TL-14 300 MJ Laser Barbettes (Loc: 1,10 Arcs: 1,2,3, 8.3 MW, 0 Crew)

Defensive: None

Master Fire Directors: 2 TL-15 300,000 km DF MFDs (Range:10, 0.06 MW, 1 Crew each)

 MD: 1H          EMM: 1H
 JD: 4H         EMMR: (4h)
 PP: 3H         PEMS: 2h
 CG: 1H          MFD: 2h
FPP: 2H           LB: 2H
 LS: 4H           LT: 1H
ELS: 2H        Grple: 5H
 AG: 1H
SSR: 2h

Hit Location Table

Location         External          Internal

1                1-12:Ant          1-6:LB, 7-20:Elec
2-3                                1-8:Qtrs, 9-20:Hold
4-5                                1-3:Elec, 4-20:Hold
6-7                                Hold
8-9              1-10:Module A     Module A
10                                 1-6:LB, 7-20:Hold
11               1-10:Mod A, CG    1-10:Module A,
                                   11-20: Hold
12-13                              1-10:Grapple,
11-15:
                                   Eng, 16-20:Hold
14-15            1-15:Module B     Module B
16-17            1-10:Module B     1-15:Module B,
                                   11-13:LT, 14-20:Eng
18-19            1-10:Module B     1-15:Module B,
                                   16-20:Eng
20               EMMR              1-10:Grapple,
11-20:
                                   Eng