the shape of things to come

laser-guided targeting system. All of this is tied into a fi re control
computer, which utilizes the main computer’s sensor array,
allowing it to extend its tracking capability hundreds of
kilometers away even while the ship is traveling at astonishing
speeds.
Depending on the amount of weapons on a ship, the weapons
station might be a single person with several viewing panels
to be able to watch from every angle—sometimes even
the pilot, who already has the system built into his station—to
many more personnel either on the bridge or in the weapon
blisters, each with a pair of screens to view their primary zone
of fi re and any adjacent ones. While the DropShip’s computer
does the calculating and actual aiming with a constant stream
of optimal target suggestions, the crew uses the sensor-enhanced
viewscreens to select targets and fi re the weapons.
Each DropShip gunnery station also provides the gunner
with vital information, like recharge and reload times remaining
per weapon, the weapons’ heat burden and damage
profi les for all targets—friend and foe. These profi les are
thumb-nailed on sidebar screens for at-a-glance viewing.
Though the computers can be manually overridden from the
bridge stations or the bay itself, the calculations needed to
take into account the massive distances and high speeds typical
of aerospace combat are so diffi cult that no one short of a
mathematical genius—and I know none of you here qualifi es
for that label—could make them correctly and fast enough
to be of any use. Manual override is thus only for last resort,
when your ship is running on emergency power, the main
computer is shut down and you have a shuttle of marines
bearing down on you getting ready to dock.
MARINES
Speaking of which, if there’s another combat system most
people overlook in space warfare—but which we certainly
don’t—it’s marines. When you want to take any ship of worth
intact, you need marines for the job. Equipped and trained to
fi ght inside spacecraft at various gravity levels in a multitude
of directions, these steel-balled individuals have my utmost
respect. While on the off ensive, these guys will load into
extremely vulnerable shuttles, brave enemy fi re in the void,
dock under often high-velocity situations, and systematically
elude a hostile crew’s traps to defeat the on-board security
teams and take the ship intact.
Did I say steel-balled? Try tungsten.
Marines and security teams are often spread throughout
a ship’s key locations. You’ll generally fi nd one or two of
them at each airlock and cargo bay, with the rest guarding
the bridge, engineering decks and other key control systems.
Every marine squad is trained in operating a Dropper’s critical
systems, and most likely two of every man can operate a station,
in case of casualties. So you bridge bunnies be careful
when you’re being boarded by a group of enemy marines; in
a pinch, you are quite expendable.
Most marine units are equipped with special airtight suits for
fi ghting in a vacuum, laser rifl es and other recoilless weaponry.
The best ones use needlers, as they can shred fl esh with minimal
recoil and won’t risk damage to vital internal systems and
power lines. The downside is that needlers are almost worthless
against armor, so we only issue them if we suspect we won’t
come up against well-equipped defenders. If anyone’s using
battlesuits, you may see gyrojet weapons come into play, but
the risks are huge the minute folks start hurling explosive shells
that can penetrate walls and set off a passing fuel line.
CARGO
As the glorifi ed delivery craft they are, every Dropper carries
passengers or—more importantly—cargo of various
sorts. Depending on the type of DropShip, cargo will either
be a few dozen tons of food and medical supplies, or a mass
of goodies up to three quarters of the ship’s total weight.
That’s a lot of crap to haul.
If it’s a military ship, most of the time the cargo bays are
designed to carry—you guessed it—military cargo. While
BattleMechs, vehicles and fi ghters can all be safely stored inside
normal cargo bays, each requires specially designed bays
to take advantage of a DropShip’s ability to launch and recover
manned units quickly in a wide variety of environments.
BattleMech cubicles are the most complex bays in existence.
In addition to the normal latches and straps to keep
those oversized, articulated dolls safe and upright during
transit and combat maneuvers, each cubicle has at least one,
normally two, adjustable platforms for technicians to perform
maintenance and repairs on each machine. This allows crews
to make sure the BattleMech inside is combat-ready, and
even features an air-locking system and a retractable drop cocoon
nearby to encase and release these machines for combat
drops. The launch mechanism allows a Dropper to release
’Mechs during atmospheric fl ight or even from low orbit.
Some designers also set aside a certain amount of tonnage
per BattleMech cubicle to create a larger central bay,
equipped for more extensive repairs and refi ts, and—in our
case—modifi cations. Resourceful crews often store additional
’Mechs inside this central bay, strapped down at special anchor
points, but from there they cannot be launched during a
drop situation. Our own crews like to load up as many ’Mechs
in the bay as possible and hot drop the ones inside the cubicles
to establish a safe landing zone. Once there, the rest of
our machines unload via the heavy-duty ramps that come out
from each ’Mech bay and then load back up, arms fi lled with
swag. These, of course, are options the House militaries generally
don’t rely on. Instead, they use the extra bay space for
bare-bones quarters the MechWarriors and their “pit crews”
can use during transit. Now, if we had time for luxury like that,
we’d be mercs, not pirates. Remember that distinction.
Fighter bays are only slightly less complicated and extensive.
Though they include integral refueling and repair
faculties, they lack the huge central bay BattleMechs have
available to them. Each cubicle does, however, include a catapult
and arresting mechanisms for launching and recovery
operations in deep space, similar to that of BattleMechs, but
with no need for ablative cocoons and fancy restraints. Yes,
it is possible to carry fi ghters in normal cargo bays, just as it’s
possible to carry BattleMechs—if you’re not too attached to
their paint jobs and small parts. But if we did that, then we
couldn’t launch our fi ghters very safely, and would typically
have to wait until landfall to unload the things on the ground.
Nobody has craft to spare for such a deployment.
Now, even though most Droppers can launch and recover
fi ghters, they do have limits. It’s generally unsafe to launch or
recover inside atmosphere, as weather, wind and drag condi-
INTRODUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
BASICS
BATTLEMECH
CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRIALMECH
CONSTRUCTION
PROTOMECH
CONSTRUCTION
COMBAT VEHICLE
CONSTRUCTION
SUPPORT VEHICLE
CONSTRUCTION
CONV. INFANTRY
CONSTRUCTION
BATTLE ARMOR
CONSTRUCTION
AEROSPACE UNIT
CONSTRUCTION
WEAPONS AND
HEAVY EQUIPMENT
INFANTRY WEAPONS
AND EQUIPMENT
COSTS AND
AVAILABILITY
BATTLE VALUE
INDEX
RECORD SHEETS
177