Edge of the Empire Book

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.