Freelance Traveller

designed by Ken Pick

Classic Traveller (as per The Traveller Book, c.1982) has a broad selection of standard small craft: the 10-ton fighter, the 20-ton Launch, the 30-ton Ship's Boat and Slow Boat, the 40-ton Pinnace and Slow Pinnace, the 50-ton Modular Cutter, and the 95-ton Shuttle.

Of these, the Ship's Boat, Pinnace, and Cutter appear to use the same engines, i.e. Maneuver Drive-A/Power Plant-A. This engine combination, smallest in the "Book 2" design system, moves the 100-ton Type S Scout at 2-G, translating into 200 Trav tons of thrust. This 200-ton thrust engine would also move a 50-ton craft at 4-G, or a 40-ton craft at 5-G, or a 30-ton craft at 6-G (rounding down).

The Slow Boat and Slow Pinnace have half the performance of the Ship's Boat and Pinnace; from this we can postulate the existence of a "1/2 A" Maneuver Drive/Power Plant combination with 100 Trav tons of thrust -- enough to move a 40-ton craft at 2-G or a 30-ton craft at 3-G (again, rounding down).

(The fighter (presumably the later "Rampart" from Azhanti High Lightning), launch, and shuttle do not follow this progression, and probably use custom-sized engines.)

By adding or subtracting hullmetal, we can extend the family of small craft using the "A" or "1/2 A" engine modules:

Gig: Using a 20-ton hull and "1/2 A" engines, the gig is capable of 5-G acceleration, carries 1 ton of fuel tankage, and has a crew of two. A gig may mount one laser; remaining weapons must be missile racks and sandcasters. The maximum computer for the gig is the Model/3; if the computer is Model/3, lasers may not be mounted. The craft has 10 tons of excess space available, and costs MCr 14.

The gig is a high-performance launch, created by subtracting 10 tons from the Slow Boat. Armed versions can be used as makeshift fighters as well as small fast shuttlecraft; some free traders and other small merchies have been known to pack armed gigs and/or older fighters for "pirate insurance".

Modular Pinnace: A scaled-down Modular Cutter, the Modular Pinnace is identical to the Pinnace except the 22.4 tons of excess space is replaced by 2.4 tons excess space and a 20-ton detachable module. It is otherwise identical to the stock (non-modular) pinnace.

Modular Slow Pinnace: A similar variant of the Slow Pinnace, the Modular Slow Pinnace has two main variants:

1. 11.6 tons excess space plus a 20-ton detachable pinnace module. This configuration is usually fitted with passenger couches or small-craft
   staterooms in the main hull.
2.  1.6 tons excess space plus a 30-ton detachable cutter module.

Pinnace Modules: These are similar to the standard cutter modules, but are shorter, with a 20-ton capacity instead of 30.

1. Fuel module; MCr .7.
2. Open module; MCr 1.3.

Slow Cutter: Using a 50-ton hull and "1/2 A" engines, the slow cutter is capable of 2-G acceleration, carries 1 ton of fuel tankage, and has a crew of two. The craft may mount one laser; remaining weapons must be missile racks and sandcasters. The maximum computer for the slow cutter is the Model/3; if the computer is Model/3, lasers may not be mounted. The craft has 41.6 tons of excess space available in three major configurations, and costs MCr 24.

Basically a stretched pinnace, the slow cutter comes in three configurations:

1. Non-modular -- all 41.6 tons of excess space are in a monobloc hull.
2. Modular -- the craft has 11.6 tons of excess space in the main hull, plus 30 tons committed to standard Modular Cutter detachable modules. This configuration is usually fitted with passenger couches or small-craft staterooms in the main hull.
3. Stretch Modular -- the craft has 1.6 tons of excess space in the main hull, plus 40 tons committed to pinnace or stretched cutter modules. Two pinnace modules or one stretch cutter module may be carried. Because of the small amount of excess space, this configuration is normally not customized.

Stretched Cutter: Using a 60-ton hull and "A" engines, the stretched cutter is capable of 3-G acceleration, carries 2 tons of fuel tankage, and has a crew of two. The craft may mount two lasers; any remaining weapons must be missile racks and sandcasters. The maximum computer for the stretched cutter is the Model/4. If a Model/3 is installed, only one laser may be mounted; if a Model/4, lasers may not be mounted. The craft has 42.5 tons of excess space available in three major configurations similar to the slow cutter, and costs MCr 30.

The stretched cutter has the same configurations as the slow cutter:

1. Non-modular -- all 42.5 tons of excess space are in a monobloc hull.
2. Modular -- the craft has 12.5 tons of excess space in the main hull, plus 30 tons committed to standard Modular Cutter detachable modules. This configuration is usually fitted with passenger couches or small-craft staterooms in the main hull.
3. Stretch Modular -- the craft has 2.5 tons of excess space in the main hull, plus 40 tons committed to pinnace or stretched cutter modules. Two pinnace modules or one stretch cutter module may be carried.

Stretched Cutter Modules: These are similar to the standard cutter modules, but are stretched to a 40-ton capacity instead of 30.

1. Vehicular (ATV) module; can land and retrieve two ATV-sized vehicles instead of one. MCr 2.4.
2. Fuel module; MCr 1.4.
3. Open module; MCr 2.7.

Stretched Cutter "Mini-starship": A TL 12 non-modular stretched cutter with Jump Drive-A added, the "mini-starship" is the only jump-capable small craft. This rare craft is usually used as a special courier ship. Using a 60-ton stretched cutter hull, the craft is capable of jump-3 and 3-G, and has a crew of two. Fuel tankage of 20 tons supports the power plant and one jump-3. Adjacent to the small craft bridge is a computer Model/3. The craft may mount one laser; remaining weapons must be missile racks and sandcasters. The craft has two small craft staterooms and 7.5 tons of excess space, and costs MCr 58 at Tech Level 12.

Three more small craft variants are 15-, 20-, and 25-ton two-seat fighters, relegating the 10-ton single-seat Rampart to the status of "Light Fighter":

Medium Fighter: Using a 15-ton hull and "1/2 A" engines, the medium fighter is capable of 7-G acceleration, carries one ton of fuel, and has a crew of two (pilot and gunner). It mounts a computer Model/2bis, one beam laser, and two missile racks (with six rounds), plus 2 tons of excess space, and costs MCr 34.

The medium fighter is based on a slow boat, but with a hull only half the size; the Model/2bis follows a standard fighter fit established by the "Foible Federation" campaign of 1977. The two-man crew allows both piloting and gunnery without handicap. The two tons of excess space are intended to house a pair of heavy missiles (one ton each, damage 1D x 1D) for ship-busting as a "torpedo-bomber".

Heavy Fighter: Using a 20-ton hull and "A" engines, the heavy fighter is capable of 9-G acceleration, carries two tons of fuel, and has a crew of two (pilot and gunner). It mounts a computer Model/2bis, two beam lasers, and one missile rack (with three rounds), plus .5 ton of excess space, and costs MCr 36.

The heavy fighter is based on the gig, but with full ship's boat's engines. The half ton of excess space can be used for missile magazines (doubles missile capacity to six rounds) or for a third crewman (ECM officer, adding his skill level to the ECM capability). Four heavy missiles may be carried externally, raising the size to 24 tons and reducing the performance to 8-Gs while breaking streamlining.

Heavy Fighter: Using a 25-ton hull and "A" engines, the heavy fighter is capable of 8-G acceleration, carries two tons of fuel, and has a crew of two (pilot and gunner). It mounts a computer Model/2bis, two beam lasers, and one missile rack (with three rounds), plus 4.5 tons of excess space, and costs MCr 37.

The 25-ton heavy fighter is based on the 20-tonner, but with additional tonnage for ordnance. The excess space can be used for missile magazines (doubles missile capacity to six rounds) or for a third crewman (ECM officer, adding his skill level to the ECM capability) plus four heavy missiles (one ton each, damage 1D x 1D) for ship-busting as a "torpedo-bomber".

And finally, a unique unmanned small craft dating back to the Foible Federation campaign of 1977-78, the ISBM:

Interstellar Ballistic Missile: A jump-capable, usually nuclear missile intended for planetary bombardment, the ISBM is an unmanned, non-modular cutter fitted with jump drive-A, computer Model/4, and various types of warhead (high-yield thermonuclear, multiple-warhead nuclear, and/or kinetic-kill solid shot) replacing the crew compartment. Launched anywhere within four parsecs of the target system, the ISBM jumps in, finds its target (usually a site on a planet), and bores in at4-G. The four-parsec range keeps the launch platforms immune to counterattack.

Note that the ISBM is not an unstoppable weapon. After leaving Jump, it can be shot down like any other small craft (count cabin hits as either computer or weapon hits; weapon hits either disable the warhead or cause it to explode prematurely). At 100 diameters emergence distance, the ISBM will take anywhere from 50 minutes (size 1 world) to two hours (size 9 world) to reach its target.

ISBM (TL13): Using a 50-ton non-modular cutter hull, the ISBM is capable of Jump-4 and 4-G acceleration, carries 22 tons of fuel, and no crew. A computer Model/4 acts as a guidance system and provides ECCM. The bridge and crew compartments are replaced with a warhead or warheads; single nuclear and kinetic-kill (solid ram) heads do 1D x 1D x 1D x 1D damage in ship combat; multiple warheads are treated as normal turret or bay missiles. The ISBM costs MCr 70 at Tech Level 13.