Bident-class Combat Pinnace

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- Bident-class Combat Pinnace -

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATIONS REPRESENT A MODERNIZED EXAMPLE OF THIS TYPE.

MANUFACTURER/AFFILIATION -
Originally produced by the ancient Ossein, considered obsolete antiques today, but available to Ossein characters or starship collectors.

MODEL -
Bident-class combat pinnace.

CLASS -
Pinnace.

ROLE -
Heavy starfighter/light transport.

COMPOSITION -
Protosteel hull and fittings with chromium finish, ceraglass cockpit canopies.

DIMENSIONS -
Length - 20 meters.
Width - 10 meters.

HANGAR CAPACITY -
N/A.

CREW -
1x pilot.

PASSENGER CAPACITY -
1x passenger/copilot.

CARGO CAPACITY -
4 standard tons.

CONSUMABLES -
1 standard month.

SPEED/MANEUVERABILITY -
Bident-class combat pinnaces are typically not as fast as modern starfighters - usually topping out at 75 MGLT acceleration - but have similar maneuverability. An experienced pilot can coax a Bident into impressive turns, equal to modern machines, a testament to the type's ancient Ossein designers. Many observers are put in mind of the Aggressor-class attack craft.

ARMAMENT -
- 5x heavy blaster cannon.
- 1x proton torpedo launcher, magazine fed, 8x torpedo/magazine.

EQUIPMENT -
- Class 10 hyperdrive.
- Standard navicomputer.
- Standard targeting computer.
- Standard communication suite.
- Standard sensor suite.
- Standard deflector screen generator.
- Pilot and passenger/copilot ejector seats.

CLASS -
Pinnace.

ROLE -
Heavy starfighter/light transport.

COMPOSITION -
Protosteel hull and fittings with chromium finish, ceraglass cockpit canopies.

DIMENSIONS -
Length - 20 meters.
Width - 10 meters.

HANGAR CAPACITY -
N/A.

CREW -
1x pilot.

PASSENGER CAPACITY -
1x passenger/copilot.

CARGO CAPACITY -
4 standard tons.

CONSUMABLES -
1 standard month.

SPEED/MANEUVERABILITY -
Ancient Bident-class combat pinnaces are typically not as fast as modern starfighters - usually topping out at 55 MGLT acceleration - but are surprisingly maneuverable for such old machines.

ARMAMENT -
- 5x heavy pulse-blaster cannon (archaic blaster).
- 1x guided pressure bomb launcher, magazine fed, 8x bomb/magazine.

EQUIPMENT -
- Class 15 hyperdrive.
- Standard datapunch reader.
- Obsolete targeting computer.
- Obsolete communication suite.
- Obsolete sensor suite.
- Pilot and passenger/copilot ejector seats.

- INTENT -
To create a type of vessel which is semi-exclusive to the Ossein culture, and which is representative of the way they live and fight their battles. Such vessels would be used almost exclusively by Ossein characters, or could be used by characters who might have justification for owning one, such as a person who collects antique starships, or who discovered one on some ancient battlefield and repaired it.
A vessel of this type is also intended to feature heavily in the latter parts of my character's "Triter Zonne and the Fate of Yesugen" story arc, initially in its "stock" configuration, and later in its modernized form.


- DESCRIPTION -
The Bident-class combat pinnace, popularly known as the Ossein Pinnace or Command Pinnace, is a type of ancient combat spacecraft originally built by the Ossein culture many thousands of years ago.
Although the Ossein a rightly known for their ubiquitous snubfighter design, the Bi-Vane, which was copied and became the basis of many later starfighters, it was far from the only combat spacecraft they developed. Indeed, the Ossein were greatly enamored with the concept of the pinnace, a light, hyperspace-capable vessel at once able to haul passengers and freight, and to engage in strike missions and nekfighting with other spacecraft. It allowed for more utility both in and out of combat, and the idea was widely explored by various militaries in the pre and early eras of the Republic.
Ossein Jazaq - warrior pilots - flew many different types of pinnace-type spacecraft, many of them unique, hand built by Ossein starshipwrights. It was the Bident, however, that proved to be the most popular and widely produced pattern, and the style remains iconic to this day.

The Bident is a simple design, consisting of two conjoined, cigar-shaped hulls linked by a short span. Each hull has its own engine, originally the ancient fission cycle engines of the period, but in updated examples these are usually replaced by more contemporary ion turbines. In addition to the two main engines, the middle span usually incorporates a pair of smaller thrusters for a little extra power.
This middle span is also often where most of the ship's armament is located. Ancient examples mounted primitive pulse-blast cannons, although modernized Bidents typically carry up to five modern heavy blaster cannons. Secondary armament is usually located in one of the two fuselages, and originally consisted of a launcher with a payload of up to eight guided anti-ship pressure bombs, although the obsolescence and consequent scarcity these weapons means that modernized vessels are usually equipped with more contemporary proton torpedoes in their place. Ancient Bidents were also unshielded, relying on their chromium-finished protosteel armor for limited protection against the comparatively feeble weapons of the day; this has been rectified on upgraded examples with a standard deflector screen generator.
Bidents are vaguely asymmetrical, with one fuselage containing the ship's two cockpits, sensor equipment and hyperdrive, while the other contains the secondary weapon, cargo space and consumable stores. The ship's twin cockpits - really a flight deck and a passenger/copilot compartment - are linked by a short connecting passage, with the secondary cockpit recessed into the hull, and with only a small flush canopy for the ejection seat to exit through in an emergency. Flying the ship from this secondary cockpit is possible, though not advised, and it usually functions as a relief pilot station or a position for a dedicated sensor operator.
Crews usually enter the ship through the lower cockpit, which has an access hatch in the side of the fuselage.
The upper cockpit - the de facto flight deck - is enclosed by a ceraglass canopy, which while offset rather than centrally mounted in the twin-hulled fighter, provides an excellent field of vision for the pilot. While comprehensive sensor, communication and computer readouts are located in the secondary cockpit, optionally allowing the copilot to focus on these systems and the pilot to focus on flying the ship, all of these systems are comprehensively mirrored for the pilot to access if they wish, allowing the ship to be flown by a single being.
Both the upper and lower cockpits of the Bident are exceptionally roomy and versatile, allowing the pilot and copilot to stretch out and get comfortable on long flights. Many examples are equipped with pilot seats that can be folded down into beds, limited food preparation equipment, entertainment devices and even compact refreshers.
With all crew activity in one hull, the counterbalancing fuselage is mostly taken up by consumables, the ship's torpedo armament and a relatively large cargo bay for a small craft. Able to carry up to four standard tons of freight, it is equipped with life support, but is not generally rated for passengers. The cargo bay is accessed through a large loading hatch on the side of the vessel.
In flight, the two hulls are isolated from one-another, with the crew unable to access the cargo space without extravehicular activity.
Pinnaces were often used in the communication role, ferrying data and passengers between ships, to and from planets, or between fleets in different systems. They were among the earliest truly small craft to be equipped with hyperdrives, although they were not often equipped with fully functional navicomputers. Bidents, for their part, typically relied on the existing networks of fixed hyperspace beacons laid along hyperlanes, although many Ossein vessels - Bidents included - were also equipped with limited computer system which could load similar data from a datapunch. Multi-jump routes would usually require a full "deck" of datapunches to complete. This system, naturally, is usually replaced by a standard navicomputer in modernized examples.

Although ancient, un-modernized examples of the Bident are considered woefully obsolete by contemporary standards, updated vessels of this kind are still relatively formidable, if a bit "retro" in appearance. Very few are still in active service, with most of them being heirlooms passed down through Ossein families since the glory days of their culture. The rest reside in museums and private collections, and are seldom flown, let alone used in their original role.
 
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