WEST POINT CLASS
MACRO-TRAINING SHIP

RPG Stats by DANIEL HENWOOD (dhenwood@hotmail.com)
Background text by DAVE DEITRICH (deitrich@mcs.net)
Background info provided by the MACROSS ONLINE COMPENDIUM

BACKGROUND

West Point ships are complete self-contained military academies. The central hull of the vessels contain dormitories, classrooms, lecture halls and simulators while the "wings" of the ships contain four enclosed biospheres simulating different types of terrain, from a parade grounds and athletic fields to dense jungles and forests. A typical military cadet's career begins with a rigorous 6-week basic training course, followed by specialization courses that can take anywhere from 6 months to 4 years depending on the cadet's position. In wartime the time it takes to train new recruits can be reduced up to 50%, though such accelerated courses are much more stressful on the cadets than the standard ones. West Point vessels can train recruits for any UN Spacy military profession, from foot soldier to VF pilot. The academies also conduct refresher courses for most branches of the military. Every military officer on a UN Spacy colony mission is required to spend at least 2 weeks per year aboard a West Point vessel, where they are educated in the latest advances and tactics from UN Spacy Headquarters on Earth.

In an emergency, the West Point vessels are also capable of acting as the command and control center for a colony fleet if the fleet's Megaroad or New Macross command vessel is lost. West Point ships are equipped with advanced sensor suites equivalent to those found on New Macross and Uraga carriers. The center of the ship contains a large multi-level situation room that is constantly staffed and maintained during wartime in case of an emergency. West Point vessels also contain powerful communication suites with military-grade encryption and ECCM capabilities, providing a constant communications link between the colony ships as well as secure communications back to UN Spacy headquarters.

Like most other colony ships the West Point vessels are unarmed and must rely on an Uraga escort battle carrier docked at the front of the ship for protection. However due to the sensitive military nature of the vessels they are almost always assigned an escort fleet of 6 to 12 Bolognese or Guantanamo class ships for protection. In addition the large hangar bays onboard the West Point ships can carry up to 8 squadrons of VFs (96 fighters). Although primarily used for training, these squadrons can be fully equipped for battle with only a few hours of warning.

West Point ships have proven very successful in the field and produce over 30% of the UN Spacy's new cadets every year. They are crucial to the UN Spacy's overall colonization strategy, as well as ensuring the safety of terran citizens out on the fringes of known space. Every UN Spacy colony mission in service today has 1-3 West Point vessels assigned to it (depending on fleet size), and there are no plans to replace or retire these vessels any time in the near future.

RPG STATS

Crew (not including Escort Carrier): 50,000 total

Military Crew: 3,500

Civilian Crew: 500

Instructors/Staff: 2,000

Recruits/Trainees: 40,000 (average)

Military Police: 1,000

Permanent Civilian Populace: 3,000

MDC BY LOCATION:

(1) Main Body                                        67,500
(2) Upper Habitat Section                            35,000
(3) Main Communications Cluster                       1,500
    Wings (2)                                        18,000 each
    Biospheres (2 per wing, 4 total)                  1,750 each
    Connection Joint to Escort Carrier                1,250
    Engineering Sections (3, lower rear)              6,500 each

(4) Main Engines/Power Plant (4)                     15,000 each
(4) Auxiliary Engine (1)                              5,000 each

    Small Airlocks/Access Hatches (200)                 250 each
    Main Hangar Bay Door (1)                          1,000
    Outer Hull (per 40ft area)                          120
    Interior walls (per 20ft)                            40

(5) Pin Point Barriers (4)                            5,000 each

NOTES:

1. Depleting the MDC of the main body will essentially destroy the vessel. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck, and any surviving colonists must be rescued quickly or will die from asphyxiation as the remaining atmosphere drains into space.
2. The upper habitat section contains most of the dormitories and training facilities, as well as the habitation areas. Destroying this area will result in the deaths of 90% of the trainees and civilian populace. In addition, the damage to the main vessel will be so great that all systems will fail within 2D6 minutes. The main communications cluster will also be lost.
3. Depleting the MDC of the communications cluster will deprive the ship of long range/hyperspace communications, radar and subspace sensors. Backup sensors and communications will give the ship detection and communication capabilities equivalent to a Northampton frigate. Note: the command center for the West Point ships is built deep within the hull of the vessels. It can only be destroyed by depleting the MDC of the main body of the vessel.
4. Depleting the MDC of the main engines will force the ship to rely on its auxiliary engine. Depleting the MDC of the main engines AND auxiliary engines will leave the vessel adrift in space. If in an atmosphere, the ship will crash (destruction of the main engines will render the antigravity system useless due to loss of power).
5. If destroyed, a pin point barrier will completely regenerate within fifteen seconds (1 melee round). See the Pinpoint Barrier System entry for details.

SPEEDS:

STATISTICAL DATA:

Power System:

ORTEC/General Galaxy Main Reactor

Fold System:

ORTEC/Shinnakasu/General Galaxy Advanced Fold System Cluster

Sublight Drive:

ORTEC/Centinel Impulse Drive Cluster

Gravity Control System: Internal
Auxiliary Engines:

Shinnakasu/Shinsei Industries/Agar Nuclear Pulse Rocket Motor Clusters

Sensors: Standard plus Subspace Mass Detector

DEFENSE SYSTEMS:

1. PINPOINT BARRIER DEFENSE SYSTEM: Originally developed by researchers onboard the SDF-01 Macross during Space War One, the Pinpoint Barrier System is a standard defense system on board all UN Spacy starships and colony vessels, including the West Point ships. The system generates four small disc-shaped force fields that can be positioned anywhere along the ship to deflect missiles, energy beams or projectiles. Each pinpoint barrier is about 200 ft (61 m) in length and can absorb up to 5,000 MD in damage, which then regenerates within fifteen seconds (1 melee round). The barriers can also be layered on top of each other to generate a field which provides 20,000 MDC and can even deflect heavy particle beams (usually).

   The four barriers are controlled by operators in the center of the vessel. These operators are instructed to defend (1) any breaks or weaknesses in the main hull, (2) the main and auxiliary engines, (3) the engineering section/stealth frigate docking section and (4) any starships under construction, in that order. The operators primarily concentrate on defending the ship against larger spacecraft and leave defense against attacking mecha to the VF pilots from the stealth frigate.

   • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Defense (the pinpoint barrier system cannot be used as a weapon)
   • RANGE: Up to 300 feet (91.5 m) from the surface of the vessel.
   • DAMAGE CAPACITY: Can sustain up to 5,000 MD per round. If destroyed, the barrier will regenerate to full capacity in one melee round.
   • RADIUS: 200 ft (61 m)
   • DEFENSIVE MOVEMENT: Can move from one end of the vessel to the other in less than a single round. Trained operators can attempt to block attacks up to 8 times per melee (counts as a parry) and are at +7 to block. Untrained characters can parry up to their number of hand-to-hand attacks with their normal parry bonuses only.
   • PAYLOAD: Nearly inexhaustible. Will work as long as system is functional (see below) and engines are intact. If main engines are destroyed, the barrier will loose power and not function.
   • NOTE: If all four barriers are grouped in a single spot they can deflect a heavy particle beam attack, such as the one generated by the Macross Cannon, Zentraedi/Varuta command warships, and some Protodeviln. However, the beam will completely destroy all four barriers and put incredible strain on the pinpoint barrier system, to the point where it may short out. After deflecting an energy beam, roll percentile dice on the table below to determine additional effects/damage.
     • 01-15: Lucked out, system will be operational in 1D6 hours.
     • 16-30: Minor damage, system will require 4D6 hours to repair.
     • 31-45: Major damage, system will require 2D6x10 hours to repair (yes, DAYS of work).
     • 46-60: Completely destroyed! System can be rebuilt, but will require new parts and 2D6 DAYS of work to replace.
     • 61-75: Major damage, system will require 2D6x10 hours to repair.
     • 76-90: Minor damage, system will require 4D6 hours to repair.
     • 91-95: Lucked out, system will be operational in 1D6 hours.
     • 96-00: It's a miracle! Trivial damage only, system will be operational again in only 4D6 melee rounds!

SYSTEMS OF NOTE:

• ANTIGRAVITY PROPULSION SYSTEM: West Point vessels are equipped with an anti-gravity propulsion system used for planetary landings and liftoffs. The system is good for vertical ascent/descent only and can lift the ship at speeds of up to 1,320 feet (400 m) per minute. The system will function so long as the main engines can supply energy to it.
• HYPERSPACE COMMUNICATIONS: Based on the same technology as the space fold system, the hyperspace communications relay allows faster-than-light communication between the Riviera ships and other vessels or planetary bases. Hyperspace communications are still not instantaneous, however. Audio/video communication travels through hyperspace at a rate of about 1 second per 4000 light years, so messages communicated over vast distances can still take several seconds or minutes to arrive.
• LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS: West Point ships have sufficient life support to provide breathable air and comfortable temperatures for 50,000 people for up to 30 years. In an emergency the life support system can support up to 70,000 people for a short time.
• LONG-RANGE LASER/SATELLITE RELAY COMMUNICATIONS: West Point vessels have impressive communications facilities that can communicate with and coordinate up to 1,000 craft simultaneously at ranges of up to 900 miles (1,440 km). This range can be boosted indefinitely by using satellites or other spacecraft as to relay communications.
• LONG-RANGE RADAR: The radar array of the West Point is equally impressive for a colony ship. The system can track and identify up to 2,000 craft simultaneously, and has a 2,000 mile/3,200 km range.
• SPACE FOLD SYSTEM: For FTL propulsion, the vessel is equipped with an ORTEC/Shinnakasu/General Galaxy Advanced Fold System Cluster, capable of propelling the carrier through hyperspace at speeds up to 3.28x10^10 mps (5.25x10^10 kmps), or 1 light year per 6 minutes. The range of the fold drive is theoretically unlimited except by the life expectancy of the spacecraft. The fold drive is powerful enough to propel both the West Point and the attached Ark Royal escort carrier through hyperspace when they are connected.
• SUBLIGHT ENGINES: As a backup to the Fold System, the vessel is equipped with ORTEC/Centinel Impulse Drive Cluster engines that can propel the craft at speeds up to 0.16 speed of light (25,600 miles per second) in space. Note that these engines are mainly intended for rapid movement inside a planetary system and are not suited for long voyages between star systems. In a planetary atmosphere the carrier is limited to speeds of Mach 1 maximum due to hull stress. As with the fold drives, the engines are powerful enough to propel the craft when the escort carrier is attached.
• SUBSPACE MASS SENSORS: Like the most colony vessels, West Point ships are equipped with subspace sensors for early warning of approaching objects and navigation at sublight speeds. These sensors can almost instantly detect mass readings and movement of objects up to 1 AU (93 million miles) distant from the carrier which are above 60,000 kg in mass (which means that the sensors usually cannot detect objects as small as variable fighters). Readings taken with the subspace sensors are not very detailed (-25% penalty when trying to identify a detected object) and are usually used for tracking purposes only.

MECHA COMPLEMENT (STANDARD):

60 VF-11C Thunderbolts (5 squadrons) are stationed onboard for training purposes. One of these squadrons may be outfitted with Heavy Armour for heavy combat training when necessary. The training Thunderbolts are normally armed with paint bullets and other non-lethal exercise weapons, but can be re-armed with standard weaponry in 1D6 hours. The landing bays of West Point vessels can also house an additional 36 VFs (3 squadrons) if necessary.

REFERENCES USED IN THIS DESIGN

• "Doe's All The Worlds' Starship Guide: West Point Mobile Training Facility"
• "Doe's All The Worlds' Starship Guide: Ark Royal Escort Battle Carrier Entry"
• Macross 7 TV episodes