##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@node "story_newships"
##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In increasing order of size the new ship types are:

Nuclear Missile:  (Camouflaged Scoutship)
----------------
This scoutship is masqueraded as a nuclear missile and is fully identical
with such when it comes to outward appearance and measurable mass. It has
an internal spacewarp, however, which allows a human to survive inside,
with a sufficient amount of space for some equipment and cargo. The empire
invented these ships to allow exploration of remote star clusters, which
has now led to successful colonization of many of those.
(Normal ships will need wormhole techniques to reach those colonies.)

Ship cost:     612,000 Credits
Ship mass:       1 t    (like missile)          Crew:   1 (The Commander)
Load mass:      50 t    (like Viper)            Drive:  Class 1 Hyperdrive
Main thrust:    60.0 G  Retro thrust:   60.0 G  Hyper-range:    200.00 ly
Gun mounts:      1      Scoop mounts:    1      Missile Pylons: 1

    It is believed that Imperial scientists gained the knowledge needed to
    construct the spacewarp by studying ancient alien ships, whose drives
    were similarly warped.  Unfortunately they could not copy the method
    of warping a drive that way, and in fact could only do it for a static
    (in the hyper-reactional sense) mass of exactly 50 tons.  For this
    reason, their first scoutship was actually a converted Viper from the
    local police forces of Facece.

NB: While it is possible to use scoutships in battle, this is considered to
    be very dangerous, as their extremely low three-dimensional mass makes
    them overly sensitive to missiles.  On the other hand, the same thing
    does make them very hard to hit with laser beams, so some people do take
    this risk, relying on shields and/or ECM systems to protect them from
    missile attacks.  


Lynx Bulk Carrier.
------------------
These have long been in use, mainly for moving cargo to and from orbital
stations, so long range traders can avoid the loss of time and fuel that
is involved in landing on a planet. The empire has now decided to release
these ships on the open market, for private enterpreneurs. Note that these
ships are so heavy that few interstellar jumps can be made by normal means,
as the range is very short.  You need to use wormholes for efficient trade.
You will need heavy shielding too, as these ships are forbidden to carry
any offensive weapons, by intragalactic treaties.  This is to allow them
to be ignored by warships of all signatory nations, to avoid starvation
of civilians in war.  Pirates, however, naturally ignore these treaties.

Ship cost:      7,228,000 Credits
Ship mass:      7,200 t                         Crew:   25 (With Commander)
Load mass:      6,000 t                         Drive:  Class 8 Hyperdrive
Main thrust:    4.0 G   Retro thrust:   2.0 G   Hyper-range:   2.25 ly
Gun mounts:     0       Scoop mounts:   1       Missile Pylons: 0

NB: Even in pirate-infested areas this ship will manage quite well, when it
    is equipped with a sufficiency of shields. No weapons are really needed
    then, as normal pirates can not harm any ship sufficiently shielded, but
    such shielding will take up a lot of the space in the ship, as each 100
    shields weigh 400 tons, and I recommend at least 200 shields for safety
    (not quite safe against an Imperial Cruiser with 20MW laser) and even
    more is preferable.


Long-range Cruiser.
-------------------
These too have existed for quite a while, mainly used as local planetary
police forces.  That is in peacetime of course, as they naturally serve
as battleships in wartime. These are the most powerful ships known to man,
and other regimes consider the empire to be insanely greedy in selling them
on the open market.  Fortunately normal pirates can't afford them...
Due to their extreme mass, skillful use of wormholes is essential for any
interstellar activities using ships of this type.

Ship cost:      16,110,000 Credits
Ship mass:      16,000 t                        Crew:   100 (With Commander)
Load mass:      15,000 t                        Drive:  Class 8 Hyperdrive
Main thrust:     4.0G   Retro thrust:   2.0G    Hyper-range:    1.01 ly
Gun mounts:      2      Scoop mounts:   1       Missile Pylons: 8

NB: While the ship itself is identical to those used by the police, you can
1:  not use it to launch fighters.  This is because these are normally kept
    in a local spaceport, and the 'Fighter Launch Device' is then used as
    a mere signalling device to alert the crews.  This device is now also
    for sale in a few places, but police do not take orders from civilians,
    so it is doubtful if it will ever be useful to private entrepreneurs.

NB: While rare, some pirates do exist that have aquired Long-range cruisers,
2:  and that makes them extremely dangerous of course.  If you meet one of
    these, and can't cope with it, our best advice is that you flee.  Their
    4 G acceleration capacity can not keep up with the higher acceleration
    of most smaller ships, so you should be able to get away from them.

NB: Due to their extremely high mass and relatively weak thrustors, both
3:  the Lynx and the LRC ships are unsuitable for landing on heavy planets.
    They may not be able to take off again, or at least not by launching in
    a normal fashion.  The same also applies to entry and exit from orbital
    satellites.  Pilots using these ships will need to develop new skills
    and techniques to avoid fatal accidents, and while each may have their
    own preferences, adequate shielding will be essential to all of them.

##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@endnode "story_newships"
##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
