Paradox Class Battlecruiser
Very big ship. Lots of guns.
Plans
- Normal
- Aquatic-enabled. (I think I said somewhere how many of these there were in relation to the normal types, in Who is Willing, I should look that up.) (If it's in Who is Willing I haven't found it? All I've found is that few ships in the Fleet have water environments. - Badger)
Complement
The Captain of the vessel is considered the head of the Tactical department, and the First Commander the head of Logistics.
| Department | Total | Ensigns | Lieutenants | Lt. Commanders | Commanders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | 100 | 75 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| Tactical | 100 | 75 | 8 | 1 | * |
| Science | 120 | 110 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| Security | 30 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Logistics | 35 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Medical | 35 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| ALL TOTAL | 400 | 350 | 35 | 9 | 5 |
Layout
Bridge
The battlecruiser is the first ship type in the Fleet line-up to have a two-story bridge. (Smaller ships have a single compartment.) The lower compartment has the various departmental stations, with room for training officers and oversight; the upper compartment is a "loft" that overlooks the lower and has stations for the First and Second Commanders, plus two spares. The captain sits in the middle. The bridge's main display is a holographic projection that fills the entire wall from the floor of the bottom compartment to the ceiling of the loft.
Auxiliary Control
- There is a navigation board on the Auxiliary Bridge; it has a sidebar to information from the water environments on battlecruisers with aquatics. The sidebar can display running text translation of comments from the Naysha and optional viseo or solidigraphic displays for direct signing.[1]
Armory
There are several.
Engineering
Contains the Well drive housing and capsule. Well Drives apparently have a bleed-off system.
- Well drive
- sensor arrays
- halo emitters
- some hydroponic things and gardens
- shuttle bays
- shuttles to put in the bays
- a bridge
- observation deck
Medplex
A battlecruiser is the first ship type in the Fleet to have a sickbay large enough to be called a Medplex. (Smaller ship types have clinics.)
Personal Quarters and Bunks
- Ensigns bunk somewhere between four[2] and eight to a room.[3]
- Lieutenants are implied to have at least one roommate under normal circumstances.[3]
- The alien liaison's quarters on ships with water environments seems very large for an individual lieutenant, but it is in fact shared: the Flitzbe clod has a floor pillow with a bank of adjustable lamps, and there is a floor-to-ceiling window through which the Naysha and Platies can see the liaison (and vice versa).[3]
Water Environments
Not all battlecruisers have water environments, but those that do are designed around the accommodations for the aquatics. Where other battlecruisers have plants, those with aquatic environments have windows into the water environment, allowing vistas of both the aquatic inhabitants and fish.[4]
Water Environment Areas
- Bridging Chamber: leads into the aquatic environment through a pool with a ramp. The ingress underwater has a mechanical closure. If the water starts pushing toward it, it shuts. Entrances into it are logged. The water is dense and soupy, reminiscent of that on the Platy homeworld. There are multiple areas where the water environment intersects with the dry.[3]
- Machine Room: The machine room houses the machinery that pumps water into and through the water environment and over sees the filtration and maintenance of currents. This room used to be submerged so it could be serviced by aquatic aliens, but it is now kept dry. Because it can be flooded for use by aquatics, both the doors leading into the water environment and into the rest of the ship are airlocks.[5]
- Currentlock: The navigation chamber has current strong enough to be dangerous to non-Platies; as a security feature, there is a currentlock (analogous to an airlock) between the main water environment and the high-current area.[6] The currentlock has emergency harnesses that can hold non-Platies in place if the lock is opened while they're present. These consist of harnesses into which crew members can be manually buckled.[7]
- Navigation chamber: Occupied by the mature male Platy navigator on the ship. The currents are strong enough to be deadly to drylanders (and thus off-limits), unless the chamber in it are in maintenance mode. The currentlock connects the navigation chamber to the main water environment.[3] The navigation chamber's current is strong enough to smash a non-Platy against the back of the chamber, or shred them through the vents.[1]
- Pumps and Vacuums: These circulate and evacuate the water in the water environment, during normal operation and when the ship is undergoing refits or the water supply is being flushed and refreshed.[5]
- Rooms for sleeping, recreation, and meeting space. They are "wound through with colored ropes from which floated banners and hammock-like pouches. There were computer displays projected along one wall, currently dim, and hand-holds were built into the bulkheads with emergency equipment lockers."[3]
Battlecruisers with Water Environments
Known Battlecruisers
Gallery
Gallery Notice: Image "File:Illo-currentlock.jpg|Alysha and Sar at the currentlock" not found or API unavailable.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Who is Willing, chapter 2
- ↑ Second, chapter 1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Who is Willing, chapter 1
- ↑ Who is Willing, chapter 1
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Who is Willing, chapter 3
- ↑ Who is Willing, chapter 2
- ↑ Who is Willing, chapter 3