Spek Zhio
Freelance Spacefarer
⫷ THE NORTHERN STAR ⫸
Credits: Star Citizen -- Polaris -- original RSI logo
STANDARD FEATURES
- Length : 166m
- Width : 82m
- Height : 35 m
- Decks : 2
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INTERIOR LAYOUT
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Technical Deck
Bow to Stern:- Torpedo Room
- Crew Elevator
- Cargo Room
- Main Cargo Ramp Access & Cargo Elevator
- Engineering Bay
- Mezzanine & Upper Deck Elevator
- Torpedo Room
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Operational & Habitation Deck
Bow to Stern, Starboard to Port:- Bridge
- Primary Escape Pods
- Habitation Holds
- Crew Elevator
- Armory
- Captain's Room
- Commanding Officer's Room
- Fore Turret Accesses
- Bathroom
- Crew Quarters
- Mess Hall
- Hangar
- Docking Ramp
- Main Port & Starboard Turret Accesses
- Cargo Elevator
- Secondary Escape Pods
- Brig
- Medical
- Topside Turret Access
- Mezzanine & Lower Deck Elevator
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Starship Deck Schematics -- Floor Plans
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Engineering Mezzanine Cross Section Conceptual Advertisement
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Mess Hall/Lounge/Recreation Room Conceptual Advertisement
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Other Deck Features:
- Operational Deck -- Wide high-visibility Bridge with multiple (5) command stations. The navigation station, though otherwise functional, lacks a navicomputer.
- Habitation Deck -- Fully equipped living and recreation quarters with many amenities. Food cabinets, cold storage, personal lockers, showers, multiple screens, games, etc.
- Engineering Bay/Mezzanine -- The many facilities and computer systems on the Corvette require a larger than normal Engineering bay to function. The maintenance access is facilitated by the wide berth of the corridors and mezzanine, further adding to the space it takes on the ship.
- Cargo Bay -- Of a decent size but made smaller than possible due to the large torpedo and engineering rooms.
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Ship Hangar -- Fully equipped for the maintenance and refueling of a small spacecraft. The floor elevates to serve as landing or launching platform. Not compatible with land vehicles due to the hangar doors being topside. Due to size constraints caused by the spacious habitation and engineering decks, the hangar can only house one small craft:
- Hangar Space : Base
- Hangar Allocations : N/A
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Single Craft Hangar : Yes
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Hangar Detail & Small Spacecraft Launch Operation
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Technical Deck
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STARSHIP SYSTEMS
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Starship Schematics
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Early Prototype Info Sheet
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- Turrets x6
- Automated x1
- Nose Turret -- Single M.I. Model 102 Light Railgun [automated, controlled via Logistics/Flight/Captain station]
- Ammunition fed by M.I. Universal Ammunition Feed {housed in Torpedo Room)
- Electromagnetic acceleration for mass driver provided by self-contained independent energy loop
- Ordnance -- ST2 concussion missile
- Nose Turret -- Single M.I. Model 102 Light Railgun [automated, controlled via Logistics/Flight/Captain station]
- Manned x5
- Fore -- M.I. Model 52 Light Turbolaser Cannons x2/ea [turret configuration, alternating operation]
- Draws power from nearby habitations, shutting them down.
- Main [Port & Starboard] -- M.I. Model 68 Automatic Ordnance Launcher
- Ammunition fed by M.I. Universal Ammunition Feed {housed in Hangar Bay)
- Draws power from Hangar Bay, rendering it inoperable while in use
- Ordnance -- Advanced Concussion Missiles OR Mag-Pulse Warheads OR Antimissile Warhead Countermeasures
- Topside -- M.I. Model 62 Light Ordnance Launchers x2 [turret configuration, tandem operation]
- Ammunition fed by M.I. Universal Ammunition Feed {housed in Engineering Mezzanine)
- Draws power from Engine bay, potentially affecting the ship's power cycling with prolonged use.
- Ordnance -- Antimissile Warhead Countermeasures
- Fore -- M.I. Model 52 Light Turbolaser Cannons x2/ea [turret configuration, alternating operation]
- Automated x1
- Missile Pod x2
- Houses 2 factory form AA/SL Proton Torpedo Launchers, each loaded with 3 Proton Torpedoes
- Loaded torpedoes can be fired from the Bridge [remote activation, controlled via Logistics/Flight/Captain station]
- The loading of additional torpedoes requires the Torpedo Room to be manned, one person per launcher for full effectiveness
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Open Missile Pods Schematics
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- Turrets x6
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- Hull -- Impervium & Durasteel
- Shielding -- M.I. Cyclic Shield Generator
- Countermeasures [all standard, except where otherwise noted, either manually deployed or toggled to automatic deployment]
- Chaff
- Flare
- ECM [Ship's Computer]
- ECCM [Ship's Computer]
- GPO-12 "Ironmaze" Threat-Prevention Suite OR Aegis SH13LD [Ship's Computer -- Advanced System]
- Bio-hexacrypt [Ship's Computer -- Advanced System]
- Socketguard [Ship's Computer -- Advanced System]
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- Sublight -- 6+
- Main Thrusters -- 2x Sol-Mk. VI Ion Engine
- Auxiliary Thrusters -- 4x GI/80.b Overthruster Ion Engine
- Ancillary/Maneuvering -- 31x
- P-w702 Ion Maneuvering Jet -- 3x VTOL Thrusters
- x41 maneuvering thruster -- 10x Retrorockets
- N2-f microthruster -- 18x Thrust Vector Maneuvering
- Hyperdrive -- H1.5 -- Class 1.0
- Sublight -- 6+
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- Standard Systems -- aside from those on the Advance Systems section
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RUNDOWNS
ADVANCED SYSTEMS
- M.I. Fire Suppression System
- M.I. "Hunter-Seeker" Fire Control System
- M.I. Rotating Communications System
- M.I. Scan-Jam Package
- HPI - ECSAI-class "Sérhannaðar" Artificial Intelligence [Lux Ursa] -- and it's defenses
- T.A.L.O.N. Starboard Docking System
STRENGTHS
[+] Collector's Item : the ship was overhauled with modern systems, and the vessel is the only one of its kind that is known to have rolled off the factory floor.
[+] Performance : The Northern Star has above-par firepower and overall defenses, without sacrificing speed or maneuverability.
[+] Mobile Home : The corvette's upper deck contains many amenities that make it suitable for a mobile space home. Its flight bridge is also very spacious.
[+] Proprietary Hangar Design : The Hangar doubles as landing/launching platform for a single small air or spacecraft.
[+] Cargo Bay Size & Access : The decently-sized cargo bay can be accessed via a large port door that lowers, acting as (un)loading ramp. This allows for land vehicles to be easily stored and transported. As well as being used to haul cargo to and from the ship.
[+] Solo Flight : The presence of an advanced AI on board the ship, assists Zhio in piloting and managing it. Which would otherwise be impossible with a crew of one.
WEAKNESSES
[-] Collector's Item : The ship is an old and discontinued model. Spek already invested a large sum of credits to make it spaceworthy. Further modifications are unthinkably expensive, as getting the right parts are nigh-impossible. After the initial and extensive overhaul, the ship has no hope of future modularity.
[-] Performance : For all of its modern system and combat capabilities, the Corvette is more suited as base of operations than strike spacecraft. It lacks stealth capabilities or the veritable firepower that many heavier Corvettes possess.
[-] Mobile Home : Space that is being taken by the habitation and recreational facilities, could have been made less luxurious in order to optimize hold space for cargo or hangar.
[-] Proprietary Hangar Design : The Corvette's hangar only has room for one single small craft, not even a small squadron of fighters will fit.
[-] Cargo Bay Size & Access : Even with the small hangar, due to it's many advanced systems, which require a dedicated and large engineering bay - unusual for a ship this size - the cargo hold is not relatively big.
[-] Solo Flight : While most of the life support, logistic, and avionics can be controlled by the ship's AI or via the bridge main terminal, adequate operation of the ship requires that several stations be manned. Therefore, and despite the advanced systems retrofitted into the Northern Star, at the end of the day the Corvette is Spek's ship and he almost always flies solo. Rarely taking full advantage of all its stations - including the majority of the weaponry which require manual operation.
[-] It's Spek Zhio's Ship : So it lacks a navicomputer, according to the preference of a certain Zeltron astrogater.
DESCRIPTION
Spek Zhio's home on the sea of stars, the Northern Star is an overhauled P.O.L.A.R.I.S. Prototype from the short-lived Raxan Space Industries - RSI. The model's name stood as an initialism for its purposed features: Patrolling Operational Logistic And Relief Itinerant Station. The sole prototype was built to showcase the roles it could fulfill on any space navy. Roles it never managed to carry out as the vessel never saw active duty, and mass production was cancelled when RSI filed for bankruptcy.
Among the very last and few designs to ever be manufactured by the Outer Rim company, the P.O.L.A.R.I.S was an auspicious and well balanced vessel, strong for its class, and therefore quite expensive. Primarily intended as a patrol vessel, capable of asserting space superiority before maneuvering to safety, the ship's hangar was also capable of housing a single small support craft or serve as repair and refueling station for a vessel of that size. The cargo hold could serve primarily to store fuel and supplies, providing ample space for both. Furthermore, the upper deck of the corvette contained a fully equipped habitation area, comprised of quarters and a recreational room that doubled as mess hall. All of this made the prototype fully capable for long stays in space, where it could serve not only as patrol but relief vessel as well. Or as a veritable mobile command center for vanguard operations. Its spacious high visibility bridge, which allowed for increased situational awareness, was well-suited for such task.
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A Panoramic of the Corvette's Bridge
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When Spek first saw the rundown P.O.L.A.R.I.S., he knew he had found something special. Even though his starship, the Azure Alcyone, was spacious for a light freighter of small dimensions, with her cargo hold content routinely overflowing into the other sections of the ship, he had been looking for a larger vessel to call home for quite some time. With a hangar with just enough berth to land the Alcyone, he did not have to rely on the docking port to keep both ships together - which would severely hinder the performance of the P.O.L.A.R.I.S. Also, with the Alcyone remaining his main transport and scouting vessel, Zhio could make use of the added cargo space of the corvette to store his other vehicles and free room on the cluttered cargo hold of his hauler. Also, the existence of a wide hangar door and ramp just next to the cargo hold, make it an ideal parking garage for land vehicles such as land speeders. Nevertheless, Spek had a T.A.L.O.N. docking system installed on the starboard docking ring of the P.O.L.A.R.I.S., in order to couple the Azure or a snubfighter there, if needed.
The original prototype from RSI was a heavy-duty ship. With impressive firepower and defenses, well above its class. Probably, being this one of the main reasons for the design never seeing production, due to its elevated cost in construction and maintenance. Preferring a more agile vessel and, seeing that all those armaments were either severely outdated, requiring a crew of multiple people to operate, or simply non-functional, Spek had them replaced with modern aftermarket alternatives, that were more lightweight even if weaker. Furthermore, despite the modern weaponry being capable of fully remote operation, the older interface of the Corvette made the systems incompatible. Restricting most of the turrets to manual operation, while still retaining aim assistance - as those systems are built into the weapons themselves.
This made the Northern Star - Spek's name for his new vessel - a less powerful starship than the original prototype, but a more faster and maneuverable one. He also had much of the heavier plating removed - later repurposing it for his other vessels and vehicles - so that the ship could be faster than most others of its class, while still retaining above-average space superiority.
The Northern Star is therefore a slightly weaker ship to kinetic projectiles than energy weapons. A weakness he hopes to be able to balance out with the powerful shields and modern countermeasures, which do not affect speed and maneuverability to the extent that a denser hull does.
With the smuggler having acquired a hefty sum of credits, Zhio spent all on refitting the ship - becoming once more poor, in the process - replacing most of the ship's weaponry and defenses with new models from Maji Ironworks, as aforementioned. He also installed a new and advanced AI from the HPI as ship's computer, called Lux Ursa. This was done in order to facilitate the normal operation of the spacecraft by himself. When docked, the heuristic brain of the Azure Alcyone has been known to engage in conversation with Lux, and often they coordinate their efforts to assist Spek with logistical matters regarding operating and maintaining the Northern Star.
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The Northern Star releasing its payload during a dogfight
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To help pay for the cost of installing and overhauling the Northern Star, Spek Zhio sold the ship's navicomputer, along with the entirety of data banks containing astral charts. Being used to instinctively astrogate through the cosmos thanks to the Force, it would feel weird for him to now use a navigation computer, anyway.
⫷ ❅ ⫸
Out Of Character Info
Intent:
Provide a mobile home for Spek Zhio that is larger than his current light freighter.
Image Source(s):
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pledge/ships/polaris/Polaris
Canon Link:
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Corvette
Technical Information
Affiliation:
Spek Zhio
Model:
P.O.L.A.R.I.S. [Prototype]
Starship Class:
Corvette (50-200m)
Starship Role:
Patrol
Modular:
No
Material:
Impervium, Duranium, Durasteel, Alusteel, Transparisteel, TItanium, Chromium, Plasteel, Plastoid, Electrum, Laminanium
Armaments:
1x Automated Turret, 5x Manned Turrets, 2x Missile Pods (semi-auto/manned) [view full description]
Defense Rating:
High
Speed Rating:
Very High
Maneuverability Rating::
High
Energy Resist:
High
Kinetic Resist:
Average
Radiation Resist:
Low
Minimum Crew:
1
Optimal Crew:
13
Passenger Capacity:
11
Cargo Capacity:
Average
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