I am working on a mostly Dwarven crew for games of Stargrave, that will most likely be used in playthroughs for Five Parsecs from Home as well. Read on to learn about their humble starship and its crew of cashiered former soldiers and other misfits.
FORGE FATHERS BRUNHILD-CLASS PATROL BOAT
The BRUNHILD-class patrol boat was designed to rapidly convey a squad of soldiers for small-scale interplanetary incursions. Ships of this class are named after shield maidens of Dwarven folklore. BRUNHILD-class ships are designed (as Dwarven starships tend to be) for the most efficient use of space and with a need for minimal support crew. While in transit, the combat squad routinely carried out day-to-day tasks such as maintenance, but due to the prevalence of automated support systems, the ship can be operated by a crew of two (pilot and engineer) without loss of effectiveness. This in fact was the typical mode of operation while a squad was deployed to the surface or otherwise disembarked. The ship is capable of atmospheric operation and planetary landing and is modestly armored to survive deployment and recovery of its troops. It is normally armed with a chin turret and a pair of missile pods, usually employed for clearance of landing zones or during boarding actions . Fuel and supplies allow for a two-week mission profile (up to a month in emergencies) and the ship is capable of short-range interstellar travel before refueling is required.
The ship can accommodate ten personnel, normally consisting of a pilot, co-pilot/gunner, and engineer, as well as a squad of seven armored soldiers (two fireteams of three soldiers each and a sergeant). Soldiers are berthed in two compartments, housing four soldiers each - one compartment for Fire Team A and the Sergeant, the other for Fire Team B and the Gunner. Each compartment has its own head (including freshers) that can accommodate two soldiers at a time. Often, soldiers would "hot-bunk" allowing one of the double bunks to be removed for greater cabin space.
The pilot and engineer shared a smaller private cabin with its own head, though the Engineer often bunked in a small section of the Engineering Bay in order to more closely monitor operation of ship systems and provide emergency repairs and damage control at a moment's notice if necessary.
In addition to a small cargo bay used for storage and transportation of ship consumables and equipment, a separate cargo bay was used for storage and maintenance of the squad's armored suits. An adjacent armory was used for storage of weaponry and ordnance. Each of these bays possesses its own cargo lock, allowing operations to be carried out without compromising the rest of the vessel.
The ship also features a ward room that can accommodate six crewman at a time for mess or recreational activity, a small exercise room for four, a sick bay with automated systems to treat two soldiers simultaneously (or up to four at a time in emergencies) as well as a vehicle bay large enough for a four-person vehicle, usually a gravitic sled with limited atmospheric capacity that can be used for transporting a fire team or cargo. Some vessels were known to carry a half-track instead of the skiff.
Many vessels of this class have been decommissioned due to doctrinal changes in deployment and mission parameters, and more advanced craft are filling the roles once served by this venerable ship.
ABOUT THE FFS BOHICA
The vessel officially commissioned and registered as the Forge Fathers Ship BOUDICA was recently decommissioned and is a private starship owned and operated by Jarl Ingulf Krestursson. His First Mate and Engineer is his cousin (and Huscarl) Ogan Helkkare. The BOUDICA is, in fact, the very same ship that Ingulf first served on as a squad leader, and then commanded later in his career. He and the ship were retired at the same time due to reductions in force.
Ingulf used his military pension and small personal fortune to purchase the decommissioned vessel, though its military equipment was of course removed. More modest defensive weaponry has been installed and the armor bay has been refitted as a second cargo bay to allow the vessel to function as a small trader. The vehicle bay now houses an all-terrain wheeled ground vehicle.
Ingulf now enjoys sole use of the Officers' Cabin as his cousin prefers to bunk in the Engineering Bay. Ogan prefers the company of the machinery over that of his shipmates and is content with the rather spartan accommodations afforded by a hammock and a work table. Though the Officers' Cabin is by no means spacious, even by the standards of many military starships, Ingulf nonetheless is able to enjoy a cabin originally designed for two.
Ingulf's other long-time companion is his robotic dog P.A.D.D. - formally the Prosperity Technologies Advanced Tactical Defensive Drone, but more commonly known in military parlance as the ProTech ATAC Dog Droid. The remainder of his crew is composed primarily of those who served under him throughout his career, and his goal is to locate others with whom he previously served that may be willing to join him. In typical Dwarven fashion, those not serving in a military vocation tend to be craftsmen, traders, or engaged in other entrepreneurial pursuits so Ingulf is sure at least some of his former battle brothers might be interested in his offer.
In the meantime, the remainder of his crew is a motley assortment of individuals, including a Human computer specialist unable to obtain more traditional employment due to allegations of embezzlement and corporate espionage; a Vargr reconnaissance expert who is the youngest scion of a minor noble family; and an uplifted Chimpanzee acrobat who serves as the ship's messenger and company clerk.
While the ship retains its official designation for the purposes of registry and transponder identification, it is almost never referred to by its commissioned name. Somewhat embittered by the premature end of his otherwise distinguished military career, Ingulf has modified the "nose art" and re-christened the ship with a cynical appellation familiar to soldiers everywhere. These are the adventures of the FFS BOHICA...
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