The following material is an adaptation of the starship design from MACROSS FLASHBACK 2012, an OAV sequel to the original Japanese MACROSS TV series (which became Robotech here in the U.S.) and the Macross Movie (1984). Please feel free to use, copy, and distribute it as you see fit. All I ask is that you give proper credit to me and do not claim that it is your own work. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

THE MEGAROAD COLONY SHIPS

RPG Stats by DAVE DEITRICH (deitrich@mcs.net)
Background info provided by the MACROSS ONLINE COMPENDIUM

Launch of the SDF-2 Megaroad-01 in September, 2012

BACKGROUND

Space War One taught mankind one extremely painful and humbling lesson; the human race was not immortal. Humanity came terrifyingly close to becoming extinct, with only several hundred thousand men, women, and children surviving the Zentraedi's final assault on the planet Earth. Determined to make sure that the human race never came that close to destruction again, the new Unity Government publicly announced the Emigration of Humankind plan in September of 2011 (most of the plan had already been finalized and put into production in early 2010, unknown to Earth's surviving population). Protoculture cloning technology would be used to quickly rebuild Earth's population, and long-range colonization missions would be sent forth to find and settle on habitable worlds around the galaxy to ensure that humankind would never again be limited to one planet. The UN Spacy began sending forth calls for civilian volunteers who would be willing to take part in these historic journeys, and were quickly overwhelmed by requests from people who were ready to risk all to escape the recovering Earth.

The SDF-2 Megaroad-01 was the first Terran colony ship to be completed. Construction of the vessel had begun in June 2010, utilizing the half-completed hull of Earth's second battle fortress, which had been abandoned on the moon during the final battle of Space War One. The Megaroad-01 was completed in September 2012 and launched during a planet-wide celebration. Commanded by war hero Misa Hayase Ichijyo, the ship departed the Solar System with an escort fleet of Zentraedi warships, headed towards the center of the galaxy. Simultaneously with the launch of the Megaroad-01 the UN Spacy began construction of the Megaroad-02 and Megaroad-03, both based on the Megaroad-01's design. Both ships were completed and launched 2014. Thereafter mass-production of Megaroad-class colony ships began and soon long-range colony fleets were routinely being launched from the Solar System at a rate of 1-2 per year.

The Megaroad-class colony vessels are immense ships, over 30% longer than Zentraedi Nupetiet-Vernitzs command cruiser and with much greater internal volume. The front part of the spacecraft is hollow and contains an entire city that is much larger and more spacious than the one constructed by the Macross citizens trapped aboard the SDF-1. The colony-city can hold up to 80,000 colonists in relative comfort, with citizens enjoying a fairly high (if not luxurious) quality of living. The rear portion of the Megaroad vessels house the command tower, variable fighter landing bays, power systems, and engines of the spacecraft, as well as living quarters for the military pilots and crew. Megaroad-class vessels are not designed to engage in direct ship-to-ship combat with enemy forces, as this would greatly endanger the civilian colonists aboard. Therefore the armament of the colony ships is fairly light, instead relying upon their fighter wings and escort vessels to protect them from harm. The Megaroad ships still serve as flagships for the colony fleets however, and contain an impressive array of sensors and communications gear to help them command and coordinate battles. Captains of Megaroad-class vessels are sworn to do everything they possibly can to protect the civilian lives aboard their vessels, and will not place their ships in danger if they can at all avoid it.

Megaroad colony ships served as the UN Spacy's primary exploration and colonization vessels from 2012 until 2030, and during that time 30 colony fleets were launched from Earth and the older human colonies. Unfortunately not all these colonization missions have met with success, and several Megaroad fleets have vanished without a trace in various parts of the galaxy. The most famous of these "missing fleets" is the original SDF-2 Megaroad-01 and escorts, which abruptly ceased all transmissions while exploring near the center of the galaxy in 2016 (though this fact was not revealed to the general public until many years later). Another notable lost vessel was the Megaroad-13, which discovered and colonized a new Earth-like planet that they named Varuta several dozen light years coreward of the Solar System in 2025. The colony prospered for almost two decades but then went silent in 2043. It was later revealed that the Megaroad-13 crew had been taken over by the Protodeviln, a race of incredibly powerful beings that had been imprisoned on an ice world in the Varuta system. This led to the emergence of the Varuta Empire and subsequently the UN Spacy/Varuta War of 2045. These disappearances along with several others prompted the UN Spacy to re-evaluate their colony ships design, resulting in the development of the New Macross-class colony ships in 2030. Although Megaroad-class vessels are no longer constructed, those who have not yet discovered Earth-like planets to settle are still exploring the far reaches of the galaxy, and will undoubtedly remain in service for many years to come.

RPG STATS

Vehicle Class: Megaroad-class Colony Ships
Type: Multi-generation Long-range Colony Vessel
Government: New Unity Government (Earth)
Manufacturer: ORTEC Company/UN Spacy
Crew:
Command Tower: 110
Ship Crew: 5,830
VF Pilots: 324 + 192 reserve
Troops: 1,240
Civilian Colonists: 80,000

Notable Ships of Class:

MDC BY LOCATION: 

(1) Forward 2/3 of Ship (Colony)                              60,000
(2) Rear 1/3 or Ship (Command Section, Main Engines)         175,000
    Left Wing (Crew Quarters, Landing Bays)                  100,000
    Right Wing (Crew Quarters, Landing Bays)                 100,000
    Main Laser Cannons (2, front)                              2,000 each
(3) Command Tower                                             10,000
(3) Sensor Array (Top of Command Tower)                        1,000
(4) Main Thrusters (4)                                        20,000 each
(4) Secondary Thrusters (4)                                    2,500 each
    Guidance Thrusters (30)                                      300 each
    Airlocks/Access Hatches (150)                                200 each
    Semi-transparent outer hull per 40ft area (forward 2/3)      100
    Armored outer hull per 40ft area (rear 1/3, wings)           250
    Interior walls (per 20ft area)                                20
(5) Pin Point Barriers (8)                                     5,000 each

NOTES:

  1. Depleting the MDC of the front 2/3 section of the Megaroad ship will essentially destroy the city-colony contained within the ship. (2D4x10) percent of the colonists inside the city will be killed instantly due to explosive decompression, and all internal structures and facilities will be destroyed. The ship can still function and is maneuverable (for what it's worth) but its use as a colony ship will be lost. If the forward section is destroyed the main laser cannons will also be rendered inoperable.
  2. Depleting the MDC of the rear 1/3 section of the Megaroad ship will destroy the ship, due to loss of the power systems and main engines. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The Megaroad itself will be unsalvageable, and any surviving colonists must be rescued quickly or they will die as the heat and atmosphere of the city-colony drains into space.
  3. Destroying the command tower will instantly kill the command staff and deprive the ship of all forms of long range communications, radar and targeting. The range and targeting capabilities of the secondary systems are equal to that of a VF-4 Lightning III. The ship can still operate, but is at -3 on initiative, -3 to strike, and number of attacks per melee of the weapon systems are reduced by half. Destroying the main sensory array on top of the command tower will have the same effect, but the command staff will not be killed instantly.
  4. Depleting the MDC of the main engines will force the ship to rely on its secondary engines. Depleting the MDC of the main engines AND secondary engines will leave the ship adrift in space. In an atmosphere, the Megaroad will still be able to land using antigravity engines (provide the rear 1/3 of the spacecraft is intact) but will not be able to take off again.
  5. The Pinpoint Barriers regenerate at a rate of 1,250 MD per second (2,500 MD per melee round). If destroyed, a barrier will completely regenerate within four seconds (2 melee rounds). See the Pinpoint Barrier System entry for details.

SPEEDS:

Speed(sublight): 0.16 speed of light (25,600 miles per second)
Speed(Auxiliary Drives): Mach 2.5
Space Fold: Range Unlimited (1 light year every 6 minutes)
Planet bound:
Can land and take off if necessary but not designed to maneuver in an atmosphere for extended periods of time.
Maximum Range: Unlimited (estimated 30 year life span)

STATISTICAL DATA:

Length: 17,160 ft (5,200 m)
Length (command tower only): 792 ft (240 m)
Weight: 285,000,000 tons (empty) / 351,000,000 tons (standard)

Fold System:
ORTEC Heavy Duty Fold System Cluster
Sublight Drive:
ORTEC/Rolls Royce/Shinnakasu Impulse Drive Cluster
Gravity Control System: Internal
Auxiliary Engine:
ORTEC Rocket Motor Cluster
Radar System: Stealth Aegis Pod

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

  1. HEAVY LASER CANNONS (2): Although not intended to engage directly in ship-to-ship combat, Megaroad-class vessels carry two heavy lasers on the front of the hull that can do impressive damage if necessary. These cannons are modelled after the main laser cannons used on most Zentraedi warships. The cannons are fixed forward and can only fire at targets directly in front of the ship.

  2. RETRACTABLE LASER TURRETS (126): The Megaroad colony ships have retractable laser turrets mounted at various strategic places along the hull. These short-range lasers are intended primarily for anti-aircraft and anti-mecha defense, but can do moderate damage against enemy spacecraft if they get too close. When not in use gun turrets are concealed within the hull underneath a sliding hatch. At most 21 lasers can be brought to bear on a single target.

  3. HEAVY MISSILE LAUNCHERS (12): Megaroad-class vessels contain twelve missile launcher tubes for launching ICBM-like missiles during combat. Resembling torpedo launchers, six are mounted on each wing of the ship recessed into the hull and fire forward only. Like the heavy laser cannons, the missile launchers are intended to be used in defense against enemy warships.

  4. PINPOINT BARRIER DEFENSE SYSTEM: Originally developed by researchers onboard the SDF-01 Macross during Space War One, the Pinpoint Barrier System became a standard defense system on board all UN Spacy starships, starting with the Megaroad colony 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 four seconds (2 melee rounds). 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 Megaroad vessels carry two PPB systems as opposed to a single system on most UN Spacy vessels. If one group of four is disabled or destroyed (e.g. by deflecting a heavy particle beam) the other will continue to function.

    The barriers are controlled by operators in the command tower of the ship. These operators are instructed to defend (1) the command tower, bridge, and sensor array, (2) any breaks or weaknesses in the front 2/3 of the ship around the city-colony, (3) main engines, and (4) hangar bays and weapon systems, in that order. The operators primarily concentrate on defending the ship against larger spacecraft and leave defense against mecha attacking the carrier to the VF pilots and laser turrets.

SYSTEMS OF NOTE:

MECHA COMPLEMENT (STANDARD):

NOTE: The landing bays of the Megaroad vessels have enough room to hold an additional 6 squadrons (72 fighters) if necessary, though the bays would be extremely cramped at that point.

REFERENCES USED IN THIS DESIGN