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SkyBlind Craft: Loronar SkyBlind Recon Ship Type: Reconnaissance scoutship Scale: Starfighter Length: 21 meters Skill: Space transports: SkyBlind Crew: 1 Passengers: 7 Cargo Capacity: 50 metric tons; 20 cubic meters Consumables: 6 months Cost: 1,120,038 cr (new), 560,019 cr (used) Hyperdrive Multiplier: x3 Hyperdrive Backup: x20 Nav Computer: Yes Maneuverability: OD Space: 2 Atmosphere: 225; 650 kmh Hull: 6D Shields: 3D (shields apply to defense against sensors as well) Sensors: Passive: 50/2D Scan: 30/1D Search: 50/2D Focus: 3/3D Weapons: One Proton Torpedo Launcher Scale: Starfighter Fire Arc: All Crew: Pilot Skill: Starship gunnery Fire control OD Space range: 1/ 3 / 7 Atmosphere rng: 50-100 m / 300 m / 700 m Damage: 7D |
Capsule: Reconnaissance is one of the most important tasks for a scout. When dealing with a strange and potentially hostile world, stealth is the best policy. To meet the needs of concealed exploration of planetary systems Loronar has designed the SkyBlind. The SkyBlind has been used successfully for both military and civilian operations. The secret to the SkyBlind is the round profile it presents to all viewing angles. The SkyBlind uses sensor masks to block active and passive sensors, electromagnetic shields to further deflect sensors and optical shields to distort visual observation. To a ground observer, the SkyBlind will appear as a discoloration in the atmosphere or a shimmering patch, easily confused with natural phenomena. The small cargo space is enhanced by the inclusion of a small Landing Sphere. The Landing Sphere is powered by repulsorlift technology and is air- and watertight, but cannot travel far from a source of gravity such as a planet. If the Landing Sphere is not carried, the cargo space is doubled. GM Notes: Purchase costs (new or used) for the SkyBlind were never listed by West End Games in "Galaxy Guide 8", so I calculated costs for the Loronar SkyBlind based on the new purchase prices of other scout vessels made by imperial corporations. As always, the new purchase price for the SkyBlind has been provided for the benefit of repair cost rules. This ship is only avalable in used condition. GM Warning: Stealth is a powerful tool not to be taken lightly. This ship does not have a cloaking device. It has a sensor mask. The difference is that a cloaking device prevents all sensor readings and visual scans from going in or out, a sensor mask reduces the chances to detect the ship. Replacement parts on this ship should be hard to find and expensive (parts and labor). Modifications are also difficult on this ship because the power demands of the shields leave very little surplus room for modification. Do not make it easy for this ship to sneak around the galaxy discovering all your guarded campaign secrets. Owning a masked ship should be an adventure in and of itself. The mask is best defeated by swarming the ship with 4 or more fighters that can surround the ship reducing the effects of its masking shields by forcing the SkyBlind pilot to spread them thin over 4 shield arcs. |
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DECK 1: Headroom on this deck is up to 80" (2.1m). Accessed by the ship's central turbolift, this deck consists of 8 sealed compartments that radiate around the central turbolift. Housed here are the ship's main repulsors (Controllers, Generators, and Emitters), and the 4 landing gear assemblies. When landed, the turbolift can extend below this deck to allow entrance and or exit to the ship. |
DECK 2: Headroom on this deck is up to 8' (2.5m). Accessed by the ship's central turbolift, this deck consists of 4 large sealed rooms that radiate around the central turbolift. Housed here is the ship's proton torpedo launcher. To decrease the ships energy signature, and to conserve energy for the masking shields, this is the only weapon the SkyBlind comes with from the factory. The launcher magazine holds 26 warheads and cost 725 credits each to replace. This deck also houses some of the ship's fuel and consumables around its perimeter and around the turbolift. Extra consumables can stored here in the wide curved passages. The upper mounting joints of the 4 landing gear assemblies extend up to this deck and are housed in 8 sealed compartments. Half of ship's sensors are mounted here around the perimeter of the lower sensor trench. |
DECK 3: Headroom on this deck is up to 8' (2.5m). Accessed by the ship's central turbolift, this deck consists of eight compartments that radiate around the central ring corridor. This deck consists of two huge airlocks (port and Starboard), one forward atmosphere storage compartment, one large aft compartment, and four small compartments. These rooms are described below. Forward Atmosphere Storage: Located at the very front of this deck, right below the Landing Sphere dock on DECK 4. This room can be accessed from either airlock, but not from the ring corridor. The ceiling of this compartment is curved due to the dock above it and has decreasing headroom as you approach the center of the compartment. Housed here are some, but not all of the SkyBlind's atmospheric storage cells, life support systems, and water storage. Airlocks (port and Starboard): Housed here are two large loading cranes (1 in each compartment) that are mounted on the ceiling. Possessing a telescopic mechanism, the cranes can extend out of the loading doors to lift freight from the ground into the airlocks. Rated at 10 metric tons each, the cranes can lift most cargo that can fit thru the port and starboard hatches. Empty Compartments: The rest of this deck is empty, and bare to serve as cargo holds or to be configured for the specific mission requirements of the owner. |
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DECK 4: Headroom on this deck is up to 8' (2.5m). Accessed by the ship's central turbolift, this deck consists of the Landing Sphere docking mechanism, and five other compartments that radiate around the central ring corridor. Radiating clockwise from the docking mechanism are: the starboard Forward mechanical room, starboard engine room, central engine room, port engine room, and port Forward mechanical room. These rooms are described below. Landing Sphere Dock: Easily the largest structure on the ship, sitting dead center on the ships bow, and taking up almost 3 decks of the ship's height. The dock houses, refuels, and resupplies the detachable Landing Sphere. The holding clamps that retract and eject the Landing Sphere also have slave circuits for the purpose of controlling the SkyBlind from the dock. The opening of the dock is sealed via a massive magnetic shield that works in concert with the ship's masking shields. This compartment can also be used for rescuing ejected pilots, or recovering large space debris, provided the Landing Sphere is ejected. Port and Starboard Forward Mechanical Rooms: Housed here in these two mirrored compartments are the SkyBlind's maneuvering jets, shield generators, and shield controllers. These controllers regulate both deflector and masking functions on the ship. A well-placed laser cannon shot at one of the maneuvering thrusters could easily damage the shield controller and unmask the ship. Stored amongst the maneuvering thrusters are some of the SkyBlind's many fuel cells. Port, Central, and Starboard Engine Rooms: These 3 compartments, that take up the aft half of DECK 4, are almost identically equipped. The main reason is to improve stealth by spreading out vital ship systems that produce large sensor readings. Most radiation producing equipment in these rooms are also surrounded with fuel cells and backup batteries to further mask their signature from sensor sweeps. Each compartment has its own hyperdrive power core, and two ion thrusters. An added advantage is the redundant systems make it much harder to cripple a SkyBlind. GAME NOTES: The SkyBlind's hull rating of 6D goes beyond just armor; the engine rooms also take into account layout and design survivability as well. If one hyperdrive is damaged, the ship's hyperdrive speed is x11, if two are damaged, it moves at its backup speed of x20. |
MID-SAGITTAL SECTION: This section was designed to show how the main decks relate to one another. You can also see the workings of the turbolift as it passes through the entire ship. The lift is capable of emerging on the bottom to load or eject crew and passengers. The lift can also extend out of the top of the ship to allow space walks by crew and/or droids to repair the ship. To either side of the turbolift are a series of pull down ladders for use in the event the lift has failed or is in use on another deck. The Landing Sphere dock can also be seen and what decks it occupies. |
ALTERNATE EXTERIOR VIEW: An alternate front view has been provided to better understand how the Landing Sphere docks with the host ship. The loading cranes can also be seen deployed from DECK 3 in this front view. The port loading crane is raised and ready to be retracted back into the DECK 3 port airlock. The starboard loading crane is lowered and ready to receive freight or offload cargo. The loading cranes are rated at 10 metric tons each. |
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DECK 5: Headroom on this deck is up to 8' (2.5m). This deck is accessed by the ship's central turbolift. This deck also houses some of the ship's fuel cells around its perimeter. Seven rooms radiate around the central ring corridor of this deck. These rooms are described below. Forward Atmosphere Storage: Located at the very front of this deck, right above the landing sphere dock on DECK 4. This room can be accessed from either the galley (kitchen), or head (bathroom), but not from the ring corridor. The floor of this compartment is curved due to the dock beneath it and has decreasing headroom as you approach the center of the compartment. Housed here are some of the ships atmospheric storage cells. Head (Bathroom): Located starboard of the forward atmosphere storage, this room contains four toilets, four showers, four sinks and a storage cabinet. Habitation pods: Radiating around the aft section of the ring corridor, and taking up most of the rear half of DECK 5 are four habitation pods. Each pod contains a common area with two desks and chairs. Connected to each common room are two bedrooms. Each bedroom is designed to accommodate one passenger or crew member, and contains a bed, dresser and chair. Galley (Kitchen): Located port of the forward atmosphere storage, this room contains a food processor, 2 large pantry cabinets, a large table with 8 chairs, and a small corner storage cabinet. |
DECK 6: Headroom on this deck is up to 8' (2.5m). This deck is accessed by the ship's central turbolift. This deck also houses some of the ship's fuel cells around its perimeter. Nine compartments radiate around the central ring corridor of this deck. These rooms are described below. Bridge: Located at the very front of the deck is the ship's main bridge. From this room, a lone pilot can control the entire ship. View screens give the pilot a panoramic view of his surroundings. This is achieved by using the ship's cloaking sensors that allow a full 360 degrees of visual data. The SkyBlind does not employ transparasteel view screens. Looking outside with the naked eye can be done from the Landing Sphere. Any damage to the ship will reduce the visibility granted by the view screens on the bridge. The ship can also be controlled from the Landing Sphere. Port and Starboard Computer rooms: Placed to either side of the bridge these rooms house the myriad of electronics, and back up systems that allow this vessel to operate. Many systems are redundant and can control multiple units of the same system on board. These rooms cannot be accessed from the bridge but from the adjacent compartments. Empty Compartments: The rest of this deck is empty, and bare to serve as cargo holds or to be configured for the specific mission requirements of the owner. |
DECK 7: Headroom on this deck is up to 80" (2.1m). This deck is accessed by the ship's central turbolift. Housed here are the remainder of the ship's fuel cells around its perimeter. Eight escape pod launch tubes are housed here in this single large open compartment. The escape pods launch upward, and each expels, via explosive charges, a separate section of the ship's outer hull to exit. The remainder of the deck is crammed with the remainder of the ship's consumables. The turbolift can travel above this deck for the purpose of space walks by crew and/or droids to repair exterior of the ship. |
