Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To provide the Silver Jedi with a Minelaying warship
Image Source: Aquan Escorts originally found here, modified by yours truly
Canon Link: N/A
Restricted Missions: N/A
Primary Source: N/A
Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
Model: Whirlpool-class Minelayer
Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi
Production: Limited
Material: Ajax Tier III Laminate Spaced Armor Plating, Ferrocarbon-Trimantium laminated frame, transparisteel, quadanium steel, starship components
Classification: Corvette Minelayer
Length: 150 meters
Width: 90 meters
Height: 40 meters
Armament: Low
2 Rhongomyniad-class Mass Driver Cannons
5 Minelayers
4 Trudo-class Defense Turrets
4 Rainburst-class Flak Cannons
8 Sentinel-class Point Defense Emplacements
Defenses: Average
Hangar: 0 Squadrons
Maneuverability Rating: Average
Speed Rating: High
Hyperdrive Class: x1
SPECIAL FEATURES
Aspis-class Shield System
Biolux Organoform Circuitry
Calor series Bio-computers
Encryption Network with Mithril Security Software
Escape Pods (x8)
Nimble-5 Ion Engines
Oracle-class Communications System
Standard Life Support Systems
Standard Navigational Systems
Standard Sensor Array
Standard Targeting Systems
Torrential-class Hyperdrive Booster
Wavefront Active Tractor Beam Projectors (x2)
Can Enter Atmosphere and Land
Cargo Capacity: 500 metric tons (9000 metric tons without mines)
Passenger Count: up to 40
Strengths:
Celerity: The Whirlpool is an exceptionally fast starship at both sublight and superluminal speeds, the result of melding a powerful bank of Nimble-5 Ion Engines and an experimental Sith Empire hyperdrive booster.
High Payload: The Whirlpool dedicates an exceptionally large portion of its internal space to an armored cargo hold that directly feeds the minelayers, allowing a Whirlpool to deploy large amounts of mines.
Weak Direct Fire: Whirlpools are very lightly armed in terms of conventional weaponry, and most other warships can usually outgun it in a direct firefight.
Large Target: Whirlpools have exceptionally large profiles when viewed from the top or bottom, which can make them easier to hit than many of its other contemporaries.
Technical Explanations
Crew: The Whirlpool only needs a relatively small crew of forty to operate at max efficiency. In actuality, Whirlpools are not always fully staffed to their full complement, as they only need a pair of two section skeleton crews to run daily operations on the vessel. Most of the vessel's operations are run from a small CIC-style bridge located in the center of the ship that incorporates Merlin Holographic Displays that provide an expansive view of the space around it.
Engine Systems: The Whirlpool is primarily pushed through sublight speeds by a cluster of Nimble-5 Ion Engines located at the rear of the ship. There are several smaller ion engines located on the ventral sides of the "wings", which while they provide little overall thrust to the ship, aid greatly in its ability to maneuver. For hyperspace travel, the Whirlpool uses a corellian-inspired x1 hyperdrive which is rigged up to hyperdrive booster technology acquired by Lucerne Labs in the Stygian Caldera. Because of the intense maintenance and occasional mishap that occurs in using this technology, it is almost never used during times of peace, and is primarily included to allow the ship to rapidly respond to emergencies or make quick strategic transits.
Shielding Systems: The Whirlpool uses Lucerne Labs's Aspis-class Shielding System, which provides an average amount of protection for a ship of its size. It is not uncommon to see Whirlpools layer their shields around the minelayer openings in order to better protect the craft in case of premature mine detonation.
Hull: The Whirlpool uses a modified version a mon calamari intrasystem ferry which has been revamped for its new role as a minelayer. It starts with a frame of durable ferrocarbon which is then entirely laminated with a thin of layer of trimantium to better withstand the stresses of high-speed maneuvers. This frame is then covered with Ajax Tier III armor. Modular blisters made of latticed orange transparisteel and quadanium steel dot this external hull. Each blister contains weapons, communication devices, and other devices which must be carried externally to the main hull.
Weapons: The Whirlpool's direct-fire weapons are designed primary to protect it from other small corvettes, and generally do not pose much of a threat to other ships except when Whirlpools gather in numbers. Most of these weapons also see secondary use in clearing minefields. The Whirlpool carries a smattering of capital grade guns in blisters on the front of the clamshell-shaped bow, while the rear of this same wedge houses the minelayers. This allows the Whirlpool to spread mines out over a wide area as it plows through space. Each minelayer is directly connected to a large, self-contained, armored mine magazine that spreads from the central hull out through one of the wings. Each minelayer can be configured a wide variety of space mines, though each individual minelayer system can only support type of mine at a time. But what it lacks in variety is made up for by the sheer depth of stock in each magazine. This minelayers can also be easily repurposed to launch similarly sized satellites, and it's not uncommon to see them used to deploy communications satellites, hyperspace beacons, probots, and other similar technologies into space.
Carrying Capacity: Whirlpools only carry a small number of marines for security purposes and the occasional boarding action. Since the Whirlpool does not have any support craft, it usually has to physically dock with the other vessel or land to deploy these troops. Most of the Whirlpool's internal holds are dedicated to carrying mines, leaving only several small rooms to carry cargo. However, Whirlpools are sometimes pressed into service as cargo vessels by using the spacious mine magazines to hold normal cargo instead of munitions.
