Edge of the Empire Book

(Joyce) #1
SHIPYARD STANDARD SYSTEMS

The number and variety of starships at large in the gal-
axy is staggering. Despite this, nearly every starship
in the galaxy shares a number of common components
required to travel safely among the stars. Ground ve-
hicles also share some of these systems, primarily
comms and sensors.


Sublight Engines: Sublight engines drive star-
ships through realspace at speeds approaching that
of light. They provide both transatmospheric and intra-
system capabilities to ships of all sizes, from the tini-
est starfighter to the massive, kilometer-long Imperial
Star Destroyers. The most common sublight engine is
the ion drive, a tried-and-tested technology that uses
fusion reactors with hypermatter cores to produce
highly charged ions for thrust.
Hyperdrive: Hyperdrives were the key technology that
allowed the foundation of galactic society as it exists today.
These delicate drives allow a ship to enter hyperspace,
an alternate state of reality that allows travel at speeds
many times that of light. Hyperdrives are rated by a class
that reflects the relative superluminal speed of a drive on
a descending scale, with lower numbers denoting faster
drives. Civilian hyperdrives are typically between class 3
and 4, although faster drives can be obtained. Most ships
are equipped with a backup hyperdrive for use should the
primary hyperdrive fail. These are typically exceedingly
slow and are only really useful for short-range trips.

IMavicomputer: Ranging from the sophisticated
and powerful computer arrays used aboard military
capital ships to the astrogation buffer in an R2 as-
tromech droid, navicomputers are primarily used to
generate the incredibly complex calculations needed to
make a safe jump through hyperspace.

Escape Pods/Ejection Systems: All ships, and
many airspeeders, are equipped with emergency escape
systems that allow a ship's crew to evacuate the ship
in case of catastrophic damage. Most airspeeders and
starships up to silhouette 3 are equipped with ejection
seats that blast the pilot and any crew free of the dis-
integrating ship. Ejection seats are equipped with tiny
maneuvering thrusters and a small repulsorlift engine
designed to bring a pilot safely back to land in the case of
ejection. Use of ejection seats is common in atmosphere,
and many flight suits are designed to offer limited vacuum
protection. Ships of silhouette 4 or larger are equipped
with enough escape pods to evacuate the ship's crew and

any passengers. These escape pods are pressurized and
have enough consumables to keep their occupants—typi-
cally four to six sentients—alive for five standard days.
Sensors: Sensors grant a vehicle's crew a constantly
updated, 360-degree view of their immediate surround-
ings. Sensors operate at different range bands depending
on their ship and relative strength, and although powerful,
can be fooled or jammed altogether by numerous technol-
ogies. Sensors operate in two modes: passive and active.
Sensors operating in passive mode operate at low power,
and see everything around the ship up to their maximum
range band. Using sensors in passive mode requires no
skill check, as they are largely automatic and are relay-
ing the minimum amount of data their programming pro-
vides. Sensors operating in active mode are more power-
ful and focused, however. When operating in active mode,
sensors can see one range band farther than their listed
maximum range, but can only see in one of the ship's
fire arcs (forward, aft, port, or starboard). Using sensors
in active mode requires an Easy [()) Surveillance
check modified by any ambient radiation, atmospheric
disturbances, terrain such as forests or mountains (or
asteroids or nebula in space), or active jamming on the
part of whatever is being scanned.

Comms: Comms are shorthand for a ship or vehicle's
means of communication. Standard comms are sub-
space transceivers with a range equal to that of the
vehicle's sensors. If a ship has short-range sensors,
for example, it also has short-range comms. Comms
are typically unencrypted, easily intercepted, and easily
jammed, although numerous modifications can be made
to a ship's comm systems to make any signals transmit-
ted or received more secure.

Transponder: Every space-going vessel possesses
a subspace transponder The subspace transponder
broadcasts the vessel's registry, hull number, owner-
ship, and other pertinent information on a special fre-
quency that can be picked up by any vessel or subspace
comm array at close range. The transponder also oper-
ates as a distress beacon in the event that a ship suf-
fers some kind of critical emergency. It is considered a
serious crime in the Empire to tamper with a transpon-
der in any way, and evidence of an altered transponder
is probable cause enough for a ship to be stopped and
boarded by Imperial officers. This doesn't stop those
who value their anonymity from doing so, however.
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