personnel transfers, as well as the option of refueling
directly while in space. Above the airlock, in a dorsal
dome above the upper deck, is the Starwell's main
communications node. This onmi-directional unit is
protected from debris by its dome and also houses the
ship's long-range sensors.
The aft of the CL-3 houses the main cargo tanks
and the ship's engine. The three cargo tanks are
mounted at the port, starboard, and dorsal of the ship
and the engine is mounted in the center between them.
The tanks are armored in a single large housing that is
covered with radiators that not only service the engine,
but help control the temperature of the tanks
themselves. This allows the Starwell to haul unstable,
toxic, or radioactive cargoes, such as the liquid metal
fuels used by high-performance military craft. Each tank
is fully independent of the others, meaning that the CL-3
can carry up to three different kinds of liquid cargo. It
is this versatility that helps make the Starwell Tanker a
mainstay of galactic shipping.
As noted above, the Starwell design is not without
its flaws. The single engine, while reliable and easy to
repair, is nearly impossible to reach while in flight. Also,
because of the engine is a single, central unit, the CL-3's
have notoriously low maneuverability. The vessel's
sensor platforms are adequate for the job, but not well
placed; the Starwell Tanker has a blind spot on its aft
quarter, making the forward oriented sensors useless
unless the craft changes direction.
The CL-3 is not normally sold on the open market
with any armament. That being said, the Starwell is
originally a military design. There is an integrated hard
point in the vessel's “chin”, just under the auxiliary
control room, allowing this compartment to double as a
gun well. In addition, one or both of the docking rings
amidships can be fitted with additional gunnery spaces,
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DESCRIPTION
The CL-3 Starwell is not the most elegant of craft.
It is a product of the mass-production design ethic and
most closely resembles the collection of tubes that make
up its spaceframe. The forward nacelle of the Starwell is
a steamlined, two-level cylinder with control rooms in the
bow and the engine, airlock and main communications
equipment in the rear, near the vessel's mid-point. The
nose of the craft has additional sensors, as well as
viewports on both decks that allow the cockpit and the
auxiliary control room excellent visibility. Just aft of the
control rooms are a pair of boarding hatches on the
lower hull of the nacelle. Between these and the airlock
spaces further aft are a pair of landing gear housings
that are mounted flush with the hull. The airlocks
themselves are also located on the lower deck, and have
universal docking collars installed that allow cargo and
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though this severely limits the Starwell's ability to
perform EVA missions and to launch escape pods.
Occasionally, budget-conscious militaries will refit a
Starwell as a long-range scout by fitting the airlocks with
more sensor gear and modifying the engine to accept
fuel directly from the cargo tanks. This type of craft has
phenomenal range but must sacrifice much of its utility
in other roles to achieve it.
ABOUT THE MAP
The following entries describe the various
compartments aboard the CL-3 Starwell:
1. Airlock: This area is the largest compartment on the
ship. This wide chamber is dominated by a central, floormounted hatch three meters in diameter. While this can
be used as a temporary staging area, it must be kept
clear as it is the emergency jettison hatch for the
reactors above in Engineering. To the left and right of
the central hatch are the two docking collars. These fit
the majority of the galaxy's many boarding hatches and
allow the Starwell to dock with virtually any craft in
space. In addition, the Docking collars can be extended
out from the hull up to four meters, enough to clear the
cargo tanks aft.
The crew's escape pods are located in this area as
well. These one-being pods can be magnetically
clamped out of the way to the floor, walls or ceiling.
Unlocking the pods and maneuvering them into launch
position (either through one of the docking collars, or
through the central hatch) requires a Difficult (DC 30)
Strength/Grappling Check. To avoid this check, the
escape pods can be positioned near the docking collars
for ease of launch (shown). There are also a set of six
lockers mounted on the forward wall of the Airlock area
that contain rescue suits, EVA gear, and other
emergency equipment.
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2. FTL Drives: The Starwell's two pairs of FTL drives
are located amidships, just central of the landing gear
fairings. These units are shielded and not normally
designed to be serviced in space; doing so is a Very
Difficult (DC 35) task. The units are easily replaced and
usually only one pair is needed to allow the ship to travel
faster than light, so most Starwell owners don't bother
trying field repairs on such a sensitive piece of
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equipment.
3. Cargo Bays: While the CL-3 is designed to transport
liquid cargoes only, the vessels do have four smallish
cargo bays on the lower deck for general stores, luggage
and other goods. Each bay can hold up to six tons of
cargo and they are equipped with electronic locks. These
locks can be opened by the flight computer; disabling
this function and jamming the lock requires a Difficult
(DC30) Use Computer Check.
4. Life Support: This pair of compartments contain the
habitat's breathable atmosphere and the air scrubbers
and water filters needed to support the crew. Damage to
this area results in the loss of 1D (1d6) crew days of
consumables for every damage level (critical hit) taken
by this system.
5. Entry Alcove: This area is between the two boarding
hatches near the ship's bow. The stairways up to the
second deck are also located here. These stairs can fold
down into ramps for ease of use by any robots that use
wheeled locomotion. Because of its location, the Entry
Alcove offers maintenance access to the the life support
gear aft and the inertial compensators and sensors
forward.
6. Auxiliary Station: This is the lower control station
of the Starwell spacecraft. This cramped compartment
only has a single console and flight seat installed. The
chin viewport is in this compartment and covers from
the ceiling to a full meter of the floor in front of the
console. The console has repeater displays and controls
for all of the stations on the cockpit above and can
indeed be used in place of that control room. The
Auxiliary Station is commonly used to control the craft
only during tricky landings because while it features a
superior view of the ship's belly, the small repeater
displays are less accurate than the main stations above.
When controlling the craft from the Auxiliary Station,
the Pilot takes a -1D (-4) penalty to all Skill checks. The
exception to this Weaponry Skills; the Auxiliary Station
is designed to double as a gun well for any chin mounted
armament.
7. Engineering: The entire aft section of the Starwell's
upper deck is taken up by this compartment.
Dominating the center of Engineering is a sealed
chamber containing the ship's four fusion reactors.
Coolant pipes, power conduits and other machinery fill
the chamber, and it is accessible by a pair of doors
forward. Flanking the reactor chamber are a pair of
diagnostic computers. These consoles are equipped
with Universal Interfaces and these stations can be used
by robots and organics with datapads. One of these
stations is often used by port or customs inspectors to
access the central computer's files. The station can be
set up with a Trojan system of false files to fool
inspectors, but it requires a Very Difficult (DC 35)
Computer Use check to do so.
There are also two tool lockers in Engineering that
store spare parts. In the forward walls of Engineering
are two robot recharge stations that can fully charge a
standard robot in about an hour.
8. Lounge: This is the area that the crew uses to relax
between watches. It features a curved bench with
seating for four, a small holographic table, and a minimal
galley. This galley unit can be used to warm preserved
rations, basic cooking, and handles all food storage from
room temperature to freezing. Alcohol is not permitted
on the flight deck while a ship is underway, so the Galley
lacks a bar. The holo-table is programed to display both
entertainments and a variety of games. The Lounge
seating isn't designed for use during hard maneuvers, as
it lacks restraints.
9. Cabins: There are two small, spartan cabins for use
by the regular flight crew. Both cabins are equipped
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