One of the newest ships on the commercial market, the Siena Ray is a fast, well-armed and armored merchantman designed to deliver cargo into potentially hazardous areas. She is sleek, sturdy, and requires a minimal crew, with good cargo capacity. It is one of the most popular ships ever put on the market, and only the price and the weapons permit requirements keep it from dominating the medium transport market.
The Siena Ray was originally designed for military use as a Merchantman that would free up ships that would otherwise be needed as escorts. The Siena Ray would be able to operate reasonably safely free of escort ships, which could be employed elsewhere. However, the Terran Protectorate gave its new transport contract to the Titan Heavy Lift Vehicle, which is not as well armed, but as well armored, with longer range and greater payload capacity. The Titan could move multiple combat vehicles and had temporary barracks and large numbers of sleeper pods for the moving of ground troops. The Siena Ray's cargo hold was very basic in comparison.
Undeterred, Kugler-Vaughn Industries powered down the weapon systems and downgraded the sensor package and repackaged the design as a commercial high-speed armored transport, for use in areas of high piracy and perilous environmental hazards. Generally too pricey for the average independent spacer, the Siena Ray was aimed at the small company, private contractor sector. She quickly became a favorite for small, well-paid shipping companies that just couldn't justify buying a bulk cargo ship, and whose cargo was too valuable to risk placing on a cargo carrier or container ship.
But, above all, the Siena Ray has become a favorite of mercenaries. Mercs have bought more of these ships than any other sector. They are perfect for moving small military units quickly into dangerous places, are easily upgradable, and make fantastic picket ships, light patrol vessels and blockade runners. This has also made them a favorite target for pirates and raiders as well. Not only is it likely that a Siena Ray has cargo worth stealing, but if a pirate can capture the ship intact, they've got a fine new vessel ideal for piracy. Of course, actually taking a Siena Ray from a trained crew is not easy, and most pirates look for prey that puts up less of a fight.
Model: SR-81 High Speed Armored Transport
Class: Merchantman
Crew: Standard crew of 12. Maximum crew space for 20. With the installation of an A.I., the ship can be run by a minimum of three people.
Auxiliary Vehicles: Docking bay can house one fighter, a small shuttle or a couple land vehicles.
M.D.C. by Location
Wings (4) 600 each
Ion turrets (2) 200 each
Laser cannons (2) 350 each
Secondary thrusters (8) 450 each
Primary thruster 1,000
Thruster pods (2) 3,000 each
Command module (front 1/3) 2,500
Short-range sensors and forward spotlights (2) 200 each
Personnel airlocks (2) 120 each
Dorsal sensor fin 250
Long-range communications antenna 50
Bridge 600
Cargo bay door 900
*Main body 6,500
*Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will disable the vessel, leaving it a floating wreck and activating the life pods. There are enough for a crew of 20. Reducing the M.D.C. to -1,000 will cause the vessel to explode, doing 1D6x100 M.D. damage to everything within a 500-foot radius.
Speed
Maximum Sublight
Speed: .22 C, or 22% of the speed of
light.
Maximum
Acceleration/Deceleration Rate: 8 Gs.
Maximum FTL Speed: One light-year per day.
Top Atmospheric Speed: Mach 6+, capable of achieving escape velocity with minimal loss of maneuverability (remember, these were originally designed to perform combat drops).
Statistical Data
Height: 130 feet (39.6 m)
Length: 400 feet (122 m)
Width: 343 feet (104.5 m)
Cargo: 1,500 tons
Power Plant: Helium-3 Fusion Reactor
Range: 120 light years, with six months of consumables for a standard crew. Range could be tripled by using most of the cargo bay (80%) for food, water, spare oxygen scrubbers and Helium-3.
Market Cost: 10 million credits new, 6.5 million used.
Weapon Systems
1. Laser Cannons (2): A pair of medium-range laser cannons are mounted on either
side of the command module, and are commonly referred to as the cheek guns.
These have moderate stopping power and medium range. They are good weapons for
a civilian vessel, but do not rival anything on a military vessel of comparable
size. Each pair of cannons can rotate up or down 90 degrees. They are
controlled from the bridges weapon station. These are often upgraded illegally
by mercs, doubling their power, or rate of fire.
Primary Purpose: Defense
Mega-Damage: 6D6x10 M.D. for a blast from each cannon. Twin blasts from both cannons do 1D6x100 M.D., and only use up one attack per melee.
Rate of Fire: Each cannon can fire three times per melee round.
Payload: Effectively unlimited.
2. Ion turrets (2): The Siena Ray has a pair of manned ion turrets on the dorsal and ventral main hull for point defense. These turrets are used to engage enemy fighters and missiles. They are operated by a single gunner from inside the turret. They have a 360-degree rotation, autoguard features that prevent the gunner from shooting the wings, and 45 degrees of elevation.
Primary Purpose: Anti-starfighter and anti-missile.
Mega-Damage: 3D6x10 M.D. per dual blast.
Rate of Fire: Equal to hand-to-hand attacks of the gunner.
Bonus: +2 to strike due to advanced targeting computer.
Payload: Effectively unlimited.
Sensors: Long-range mass detection and electromagnetic sensors have 1.25 million mile range. Short-range sensors have a range of 100,000 miles.
Bonuses: The Siena Ray was designed so that, in case of a combat emergency, trained infantry techs could perform at least basic repairs. This gives techs a +10% chance to repair the vessel, but this bonus does not apply to upgrades.
