Prison Break

[Niil Spaar]

Niil's toying with another idea, but I wanted to know if it was feasible with the game mechanics before voicing it.  Regarding trashing the navigation system of the prison ship and replacing it:  Yeah, as the major said, it would probably take too long, but is it possible to link our shuttle's navigation system directly to the prison ships navicomp (ie. once we're docked) and override it?  If so, would that do the trick?

[GM Craig]

It's possible. You can use any navicomputer, really. But it's the system integration that will take the time. You can enter hyperspace without a navicomputer. It's linking the navicomputer to the hyperdrive that's the tricky part. The navicomputer makes numerous small changes to how the hyperdrive operates that steers you clear of danger. Ripping one out and plugging in a new one takes time - there's a lot of connections to sort out. There's no convenient wiring harness that allows you to unplug one and plug in another.

[Trax]

Looks like Trax will be bringing along his assault rifle for this one.  Going to need that 6D damage for the droids and automated defenses.

Craig, I'm guessing an assault rifle is a modified blaster rifle?  I'm basing that on the fact it does more damage but can only take 25 shots per power pack vs 100.

[GM Craig]

Correct. It's also shorter range if memory serves.

[Trax]

That's what what my notes show too.  Too bad I can't modify my heavy blaster pistols to use the same power packs.  By the time I've got them modified enough to do 6D damage I'll be down to 10 shots per pack.

[Trax]

This is a Lictor-class dungeon ship holds up to 9000 prisoners in eight bays, with 3000 guards and guard droids and a flight crew of 100...

Is that '3000 guards' right or a typo?  I'm going to need to tap the ships power systems directly into my blasters.

[Collan]

That's what what my notes show too.  Too bad I can't modify my heavy blaster pistols to use the same power packs.  By the time I've got them modified enough to do 6D damage I'll be down to 10 shots per pack.

One might say Trax is trying to compensate for...something...

[Trax]

He is. He's trying to compensate for his opponents armor 

[GM Craig]

Ok, revisions. I was writing about the Lictor-class dungeon ship from memory as I haven't been able to find my sourcebook that had it. I've since found the stats. I need to make a few revisions to the capabilities. Note these are preliminary edits only - I will make final edits tonight after I get home and cross-check my references one more time. The only things I am not yet clear on is the hyperdrive activation after the bridge separates, how it works, and what it does. I'll correct those parts tonight if they are wrong, but what appears below is my best guess on how it works. Everything else is solid.

• The bridge can separate from the prisoner section, but it is not hyperdrive-capable. When the bridge separates, the ship comes under control of an automated flight control system, which will transition the ship to hyperspace, where it will stay for up to a year. This is to thwart hijacking. Imperial procedure requires an Interdictor-class ship to force the prisoner section from hyperspace by projecting a mass-shadow. It will take twenty minutes for the hyperdrive to charge to make this transition.
• There are nine main prisoner bays, each holding a thousand prisoners. The bays are further compartmentalized into sections of 100 prisoners each. Each compartment has separate controls - shock plates on the deck and bulkheads, environmental controls for gasses etc, and life support controls, all to facilitate control of prisoners. Compartments can be sealed with physical doors and bulkheads as well as energy shields, so a breakout in one compartment can be controlled.
• Crew sections, guard sections and prisoner sections are not isolated, and it is technically possible to move from one to the other through security doors and the like, though there are many controls in place to stop that from happening.
• You won't be taking over a Lambda-class shuttle, but a Concealer-class prisoner transport.
• There are only 400 wardens, plus support droids.

Craft: Rendili StarDrive's Lictor-class
Type: Mandalorian Dungeon Ship
Scale: Capital
Length: 764 meters
Skill: Capital ship piloting: Lictor-class
Crew: 860, gunners: 46, skeleton: 370:/+15
Crew Skill: Astrogation 2D, capital ship gunnery 4D+1, capital ship piloting 4D, capital ship shields 4D, sensors 3D
Passengers: 400 (security wardens), 8,000 (prisoners in standard cells), 1,000 (prisoners in special holding cells)
Cargo Capacity: 1,500 metric tons
Consumables: 2 months
Cost: 7.8 million credits
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x2
Nav Computer: Limited to two jumps
Space: 3
Maneuverability: 3D
Hull: 5D
Shields: 1D+2
Sensors: 40/0D; 75/1D; 150/3D; 4/4D+2
Weapons:
10 Quad Turbolaser Batteries
    Fire Arc: 2 front, 4 left, 4 right
    Crew: 3
    Scale: Capital
    Skill: Capital ship gunnery
    Fire Control: 2D
    Space Range: 1-15/35/75
    Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150KM
    Damage: 4D
2 Tractor Beam Projectors
    Fire Arc: 1 front/left, 1 rear/right (May be used on only one fire arc per round)
    Crew: 8
    Scale: Capital
   Skill: Capital ship gunnery: gravity well projector
    Fire Control: 2D
    Space Range: 1-15/15/35
    Atmosphere Range: 2-10/30/60KM
    Damage: 4D
Starfighters: none (6 shuttles - typically Concealer-class Prison Ships)

Concealer Prison Ship
Craft: Sienar Fleet Systems Concealer-class Prison Ship
Type: Prison transport ship
Scale: Starfighter
Length: 50 meters
Skill: Space transports: Concealer prison ship
Crew: 3, gunners: 4
Crew Skill: Astrogation 3D, sensors 3D, space transports 4D, starship gunnery 4D, starship shields 4D
Passengers: 15 (guards), 60 (prisoners)
Cargo Capacity: 25 metric tons
Consumables: 2 months
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x2
Hyperdrive Backup: x15
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 3
Atmosphere: 260; 750 kmh
Hull: 4D+2
Shields: 3D
Sensors:
Passive: 20/0D
Scan: 40/1D
Search: 75/2D
Focus: 3/2D+2
Weapons:
6 Laser Turrets
  Fire Arc: Turret
  Skill: Starship gunnery
  Fire Control: 2D
  Space Range: 1-3/12/25
  Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 km
  Damage: 4D

The skeleton crew requirement is 370 people, but you could possibly keep it running for no more than 4 hours with a crew of 50. That would give you only main engines, hyperdrive, some basic manoeuvring, enough sensors to not fly into a planet, and running the power core without breaching. If the bridge is jettisoned, bypassing the flight control lockdown would be difficult.

If the bridge separates, Imperial Policy is for all remaining personnel to use the escape pods as it means the ship is no longer under control. It is possible to force the bridge to separate by breaking bridge control and using a manual override.

You could make use of the transfer shuttles to make your escape. They are rated for only 80 people, but you could stuff them with 160 at need - still far less than the thousands of prisoners you expect to find on the ship.

The ship is much too large for me to generate deck plans, sorry.

You can take with you people that will fit inside the prisoner transfer shuttle, so that's a maximum of 82 people, possibly overloaded to 164, but that gets risky if there is much manoeuvring.

Major Tibbero is prepared to throw out High Command's plan entirely, and has their support to do so if you guys come up with a better one. Your goal is to free prisoners, in the hope that they will join the KDF's fight against the Empire as allies. You may not be able to get all the prisoners, but some is better than none. The rebel cells in the asteroid base are prepared to receive and care for 9000 prisoners, but you don't really know how many are on board the ship. If you can make it to the asteroid field and avoid detection for an hour, the cells there will deal with the prisoners.

It is possible to commandeer the ship and jump it somewhere other than it's intended destination. This would require you to have pre-calculated coordinates prior to your operation. You could feed them into the hyperdrive. The downside to this would be that you would need to proceed to a specific exit point in order to be able to exit safely.

[Trax]

Just posting these while I think of them.  No need to respond until you've double checked your info.

1. It looks like we need to get to the engine room first.  Would a hijacking or prisoner revolt be enough to trigger the bridge to separate?
2. Do we have the means to tow the ship?
3. If we're able to use the six transports on board we could transfer about 900 prisoners at a time.  How far is the asteroid base?
4. If the ship needed to be recovered by the Imperials, that means they must have codes for disabling the automated defenses.  What are the odds we'd be able to get our hands on these?

[Niil Spaar]

Cool, a Concealer class would make more sense than a Lambda shuttle.

So here's what I was thinking:  Plan for both outcomes.  A)  Grab as many prisoners as we can, load them into the Concealer and scoot.  B)  Take the pre-calculated hyperjump plans with us in case we end up with a good chance of taking the Lictor intact, and hustle the ship to the asteroid field.  I think that both possible plans hinge on taking the command module intact, though.  That will have to be our first target.

Are there any small arms we can take with us?  It might be useful to arm some freed prisoners in case we get caught up in a firefight.

[GM Craig]

If it looks like they are in danger of loosing the ship, the bridge will separate. That's Imperial policy.

You don't have a tug, no. A ship this size will need some fairly heavy duty tractor beams to pull it anywhere.

You could use the transports, though you would need pilots and crew for them. It's not feasible to make repeated trips in that way - Imperial fighters would be all over you fairly quickly. You'd at best get one trip out, and make it back before you were swarmed.

Slicing the security protocols will not be easy. The Imperials designed this ship to make sure prisoners did not escape. Recovering them was secondary.

Note that the rift between the Moff and the Governor will work in your favour - Imperial navy will likely not take action unless the Governor calls for it. COMPNOR has ships on the planet, but none in orbit, which gives you a bit of a window to make your escape to the asteroid field (or jump out if that's what you want to try).

[Trax]

In light of these changes will the original mission parameters be changing, or at least the expected numbers that we're looking to free?  To get close to 1000 we'd have to use all the shuttles, but we'll have a major riot on our hands if we're going from module to module trying to pick out any individuals command specifically wants.

The only way I can think of to get the bulk of them now is to capture the ship with the bridge still connected which means getting to the command module and fighting our way to the bridge without raising any alarm.  Then flying it somewhere so that we have time to deal with the guards (or fake a separation so they flee to the escape pods and we're left with the droids).

[Niil Spaar]

If we want to get to the bridge with the least amount of fuss, we'll have to have a few people posing as COMPNOR personnel.  Which will involve one hell of a sell story.  Some kind of story which might convince the bridge crew to let us come up and refrain from contacting COMPNOR on Karvis.  That's the only way I can think of getting the bridge intact.

To that end, I still like the idea of having one of us being brought on board as a prisoner, and convincing the COMPNOR bridge crew that their best interest would be to keep it hush-hush in case the Imperial navy or Imperial intel is listening.  That's working on the premise that COMPNOR would keep it quiet so they could reap the rewards of bringing in such a valuable prisoner, though.

But yeah, I also agree with Trax about the riot.  If the prisoners find out that we're only taking a fraction of them with us, they might go bananas and make matters worse.

[GM Craig]

OK, I was completely wrong about the hyperdrive thing. My mind confused the Lictor-class ship with a specific type of Imperial probe.

So, no random hyperdrive engagement. And you can still access the hyperdrive without the bridge intact. But without a nav computer, you'll have a devil of a time flying the thing. Also, the only part that detaches is the bridge. Engine room, hyperdrive, etc. all are one piece. But if the bridge detaches, you'll loose the nav computer.

Control the bridge and you have full access to the ship, though engineering can isolate you. Best odds of success is to attack the bridge and engine room at the same time. Fortunately, both are close to the docking bay. You should be able to take both simultaneously before the rest of the ship becomes aware. If you can take the bridge intact, you'll have the nav computer, and secure engineering and they can't sabotage you.

If you can make it to the miners with at least a 5 minute head start, you should be golden to save everyone. That would give you about twenty minutes or so to secure the ship.

Sorry for the confusion. Does that make sense to everyone?

Remember, you need 50 people to be able to run the ship (barely) for no more than 4 hours.

Any questions?