One episode showed PSICORPS Furies and a mother ship. I got the impression
that the "mother ship" was commercial rather than military in origin. The
point being that the PSICORPS Furies were probably ferried into "range" of B5
and then Mr.Bester and escorts flew on to B5. If I remember correctly the
furies were
carried externally on the tender/mother ship. I may have this episode
taped if so I will try to find it this weekend and post about it Monday. Also
my B5 minis finally showed up!!! Going to pick 'em up tomorrow.
Semper Fi
Jon
The Bester deal is unclear as to where his origins came in that ep. I always
believed he was dropped off by a transport ship of some sort. Earth is kinda
a long ways off - 2 or 3 days in hyperspace if I remember right (this
using
White Stars). I don't have the role-playing game with me right now, but
there is a hyperspace travel map that details the distance 'tween Earth and
B5/Epsilon 3. I'll have to try and remember to look it up when I get
home.
Mk
> Mike Wikan drummed up some FT rules to use for piggybacking fighters
<snip>
Darn. Just when the Narns thought they had a military secret
left..;-)
Here goes:
Parasite Fighter Rack
[^]: symbol for Ex-rack squadron
30: Cost 1:Space
A ship may mount 1 squadron of Parasite Racked fighters per 30 Mass of Carrier
ship.Since this squadron is carried externally, any damage caused to the
Carrier vessel will destroy the Parasite Racks. If the
Racks are hit with fighters still embarked, roll a D6-1 and that many
fighters manage to disengage from the racks and launch. Parasite racks MAY be
used on civilian transports. This was what they were developed for in order to
provide escorts for merchants in high risk areas. A parasite rack may launch
at any time IN ADDITION to any normal fighter bay launches. They must be
recovered within the normal constraints of fighter recovery. Only Standard,
Superiority or Heavy fighters may be Parasite Racked as the racks do not
provide support for specialized weapon systems.
Any Criticisms are welcome as always!! We used them for a Convoy
ambush against pirates..Lots of fun! ;-)
> Jon Holloway wrote:
> One episode showed PSICORPS Furies and a mother ship. I got the
IMHO the host ship was secificly designed or at least hevily modified to allow
it be act as a tender for the Omega Squadron.
The tender is a very good idea, as while a star furie can and does travel
great distances, it must use a lot of consumables (hydorgan and oxygen for
life support).
I do remember eps where power became a serious issue in a starfurie (episode
anyone).
I agree the tender looked like it was purpose built, did not appear to be a
"warship" but in B5 universe who knows? I like the idea of fighter tenders
myself. May not be cost effective for "front-line" units but for
long-range/standing patrols , raider/privateer/pirate interdiction,
ferrying fighters to CVs or stations it seems to be just the ticket.
Semper Fi
Jon
______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: Re: FTL capable fighters <<B5 Spoiler Alert, if you haven
Author: FTGZG-L@bolton.ac.uk at MEMCPSMTP
Date: 7/11/97 5:08 AM
> Jon Holloway wrote:
> One episode showed PSICORPS Furies and a mother ship. I got the
> then Mr.
IMHO the host ship was secificly designed or at least hevily modified to
allow it be act as a tender for the Omega Squadron.
The tender is a very good idea, as while a star furie can and does travel
great distances, it must use a lot of consumables (hydorgan and oxygen for
life support).
I do remember eps where power became a serious issue in a starfurie (episode
anyone).
Darryl
(warning: for those who haven't seen season 3 or 4 of B5, some minor spoilers
below)
> The Bester deal is unclear as to where his origins came in that ep.
I always
> believed he was dropped off by a transport ship of some sort. Earth is
These are two different eps you're remembering here. The Bester deal I was
referring to is from 'Ship of Tears', season 3. The 'mother ship' you mention
is from 'Epiphanies' (season 4), and was used to transport an Omega squadron
of 'Furies to a transfer station. They were set up as piggyback, not
long-term
shuttling back and forth like a small carrier (a one-way, disposable
carrier, maybe?). They weren't even picked up by the sentry sensors as being
on the side ('bottom') of the transport.
Also, Bester was not among that group, nor did he have escorts in that episode
(he came in to B5 on a commercial liner alone).
As for 'Ship of Tears', Bester's ship just 'appears' out of nowhere, far off
from B5. A jump-capable ship came into the system, dropped him off, and
left (since B5 would know about anyone coming through the jump gate they are
near, and (this always seemed strange to me) the next nearest jumpgate is some
2 or more light months away (what the *hell* is a jump gate doing out there,
anyways?!?).
> Also my B5 minis
:-)
Enjoy 'em!
Mk
> I agree the tender looked like it was purpose built, did not appear to
It looked like a freighter or transport type ship similar to what we've seen
before. Compare it to some background shots of other ships (gonna
have to watch a *lot* of B5 to do that, though ;-). Warships on B5 have
been pretty obvious for the most part (well, to me, imo, anyway:)
> I like the idea of fighter tenders
Mike Wikan drummed up some FT rules to use for piggybacking fighters on ships
(like external grapples or something). You can prolly find them in the
archives, maybe on Mark Seifert's FT page, or convince
Mike to post 'em again! ;-)
Mk
In a message dated 97-07-12 00:11:13 EDT, you write:
<< the next nearest jumpgate is some 2 or more light months away (what the
*hell* is a jump gate doing out there,
anyways?!?).
> [quoted text omitted]
My memory is that this is where B1,2, and 3 were located.
> << the next nearest jumpgate is some 2 or
Hmmmm. That was never clear to me (the location of the first three
B-stations),
but...works for me!
Mk
----------
.
MK said....
> As for 'Ship of Tears', Bester's ship just 'appears' out of nowhere,
The new Kathryn Drennan B5 book seems to indicate that a large number of
Jump gates were built thousends of years ago by First Ones. Lucky younger
races like the Centauri and the Minbari found gates like these either in or
near their home system. After long research they discovered the access codes
for these gates and were able to use them. They then aquired the technology to
build them for themselves.
Its possible that this 2 Light Months distant gate was one of the originals
now incorporated into the Jump gate network. Why the First Ones should put a
gate there?, only they know.