History

In 2299, with the defeat of USSF combat forces in the Arcturus system American high command woke up to the serious nature of the Kafer threat. A review of US defences showed several critical weaknesses in her forces, many of which were already being worked on. However, this was not enough, and it was decided that the USSF Reserve should be activated for the duration of this crisis.

The USSF-R consists of a number of US merchant and commercial vessels which are liable to mobilisation in wartime. Starships are extremely expensive, and the cost of buying one outright is more than all but the largest corporations can bear, so the US government subsidises the purchase of starships for smaller companies, and in turn demands that these ships service US transport needs and are liable to wartime callup. The actual size of the USSF-R is 47 ships, mostly smaller freighters and most of these ships would only undergo basic crew training and be returned to their regular jobs until needed. However, it was decided that 12 of these vessels would be converted in Auxiliary Warships to fulfil courier, transport and minelaying duties. Of the 3 vessels converted to minelayers, one was the ACS Tombstone.

The Tombstone was a standard MidTech “Pony Express” class Freighter, with a deadweight (cargo capacity) of 2,000 cubic meters. What attracted high command was the fact that she was equipped with spin and could easily be converted into a frigate. The refit took place at the US military yards on Phobos in Martian space, taking 8 months. The Turbine powerplant was refit and generates 150% greater power than the original. Military sensors were mounted and 2 EA-122 lasers were mounted with a modern integrated fire control system. New cabling and computing systems were laid down, and a new TAC installed.

Commissioned USS Boorda of the 23^rd (Reserve) Division on 21^st August, 2300 she retained much of her original crew. However, the civilian ships master is now the Executive Officer, a USSF Line Commander, Christine Kirk being assigned command. The TAC staff of 4 are all USSF regulars, as is the Chief Engineer and the munitions crew. The remainder were part of the ships civilian crew, who now all hold reserve commissions in the USSF.

The Ship

USS Boorda is 33.3 meters long, and the main body is 12 meters in diameter. Half way down the hull is the spin section, 18 meters across, which accommodates the 30 man crew. The staterooms are 30 cubic meters each, with 5x3 floorspace, 2 meters high. Also in the spin section is the medical and communal facilities.

The forward section of the hull contains the cargo bay, and the munitions areas. Working in this area is the 6 man minelaying team. 3 of the men are involved in actually placing the mines. This is accomplished by doning vacuum suits and boosting the mine on a rocket scooter. The other 3 men are the mine assembly team (see below). At the very front of the vessel is the large airlock for the mineteams. Behind this is the mine storage area, 40 mine bodies are stored in this area. To the aft of this is the warhead locker, and aft of this is the cargo bay. Immediately behind this is the bridge and TAC, along with the primary computing cores, feeds from the front mounted sensor clusters and gun turrets.

The spin decoupler is next. Behind the decoupler are the engineering parts of the ship. Engineering is cramped, the outer parts of the hull lined by the fuel tanks. In the central core is the heavy machinery, a 5MW MHD Turbine and a 2MW Stutterwarp Engine.

Mines

The main mine used by US (and Australian) forces is the Mk93 “Sentinel”. In essence this is a nuclear X-ray laser warhead, a sensor and communications array, a small computer, battery pack and 6 small solid fuel rockets for attitude control. It functions by continuously scanning the local area for ships, interrogating them with it’s IFF. If the IFF scan is negative, the communications system will squirt this data to a pre-arranged set of co-ordinates and the nuclear device will arm and engage the enemy as is comes within range. Most Sentinels are laid close to large bodies such as planets in an effort to deny their use as discharge points to the enemy, and more importantly as surveillance devices, given the relative inefficiency of long range sensors in locating enemy shipping.

The mines are stored as separate bodies and warheads, and the warheads are stored disassembled. The body is a 4.2 meter long, 2 meter diameter cylinder. Most of this is taken up with the folding passive array, in the centre are the laser rod bundles. There are 60 rod bundles which focus the X-Rays produced by the fusion warhead in the fraction of the second before their destruction.

The warhead bodies are spherical, 50 centimeters across. The warhead was 4 main working components, the first of which, the deuterium is stored inside the warhead. The other 3 detonation components are stored separately. The tritium is stored in a small cylinder which is screwed into the body. Tritium is radioactive, and so breaks down quickly is not dampened, the tube contains carbon-boron rods which absorb the radiation. The second missing component is the neutron initiator, a boron-polonium explosive device which creates the initial fusion spark. Finally, the compression system consists of 20 conventional plasma explosive devices.

When fully assembled, upon arming, the tritium will mix with the deuterium to create the fusion mixture. The plasma devices will fire, compressing the mixture tens of thousands of times for a fraction of a second, when the neutron initiator will fire, sparking the fusion reaction. This reaction will produce vast amounts of X-Rays, which the rod bundles will focus at ten pre-selected areas, a fraction of a second later, the device will be consumed in a nuclear fireball.

Player Characters on the USS Boorda

The Boorda offers a way for American non-military spacer types to get involved in the Kafer war. She will spend most of her time in the front lines, laying mines in friendly and enemy held systems. She may also be called upon to carry out special operations, laying listening posts, carrying special forces teams and the like.

PC’s may be either USSF or reservsists. All space crew of the USSF hold a commission and are officers, a system that goes back to the earliest days of US spaceflight, however, there is a separation of “line officers” and “crewmen”. USSF ground crew include enlisted men, who are required to salute all spacers.

Statistics

US Boorda class Auxiliary Frigate (Minelayer) (Converted Pony Express class Freighter)

Design Date: 2299 (Conversion)
First Example Laid Down: 2299
First Example Completed: 2300
Fleets in Service: America
Number in Service: 3

Performance
Warp efficiency: 1.51 (standard load) (1.74 unloaded)
Power Plant: 5 MW MHD Turbine
Fuel: 1,000 tons
Range: 7.7 light years
Endurance: up to 10 weeks
Mass: 2,379 tons (standard load, 1,572 unloaded)
Cargo Capacity: 679 cubic meters plus 40 Mk93 “Sentinel” Mines
Crew: 30 (10 Bridge, 4 TAC, 6 Engineering, 6 Mine Crew, 3 Stewards, 1 Medical); Passengers: none
Comfort: 0;
Emergency Power: 48 hours
Total Life Support: 30 for 180 days
Cost: MLv25.35 without ordnance

Ship Status Sheet
Move: 3
Screens: 0
Radiated Signature: 4
Radial Reflected: 5
Lateral Reflected: 6
Target Computers: +2;
Radial Profile: -1
Lateral Profile: 0
Armour: 0
Hull hits: 7 (or 28)
Power Plant Hits: 14
Active: 5
Passive: 5
Manoeuvrability: 1
Other: 2,000 square meter folding solar array (2MW in life zone)

Weapons
2 x1+1 lasers in masked turrets with UTES (1678, 2345)

Ordnance Load
40 Mk93 “Sentinel” Mines, launched manually.

Sensors and Electronics:
Phased Active-5
Spherical Passive-5
Navigation Radar
DSS
Gravitational

Crew Hits:
Bridge: Captain, Navigator, Helm, Communications, Computer
TAC: 2 Fire Control, Phased Active Operator, Spherical Passive Operator

Damage Control: 3

Mk93 “Sentinel” Mine

Combat Performance Data

Movement: 0

Radiated Signature: 0

Radial Reflected Signature: 1

Lateral Reflected Signature: 1

Radial Target Profile: -4

Lateral Target Profile: -4

Hull Hits: 1/1/1

Power Plant Hits: 1/1

Armament: one 10x2 detonation laser, -3 targeting penalty

Active Sensors: none

Passive Sensors: 3 (General Search)

Design Characteristics

Warp Efficiency: 0

Power Plant: Batteries

Fuel: N/A

Mass: 3.2 tons

Length: 4.22 meters

Diameter: 2 meters

Price: MLv2.52

Bay Volume/Mass: 16.6 cubic meters

Sources

Invasion (stats for Space Mines)

Naval Mine Warfare in 2300AD by Scott Ash; http://www.oocities.org/TimesSquare/Arcade/2303/usa/mines.htm
Kie-Yuma: America's Door to the French Arm by Scott Ash; http://www.oocities.org/TimesSquare/Arcade/2303/usa/kieyuma.htm
Tirania: New Hope for an Old Colony by Scott Ash; http://www.oocities.org/TimesSquare/Arcade/2303/usa/tirania.htm
Ellis: America's Colonial Heartland by Scott Ash; http://www.oocities.org/TimesSquare/Arcade/2303/usa/ellis.htm