Spinward Flow
SOC-14 1K
During the Third Frontier War (979 - 986), deep penetration strikes by Zhodani cruiser squadrons to disrupt shipping through harassment and interdiction of civilian interstellar shipping in the Spinward Marches sector had the knock on effect of dispersing naval forces during the war. These circumstances then created numerous opportunities for more "entrepreneurial" privateers and corsairs to take advantage of the situation to also prey upon merchant shipping across much of the sector. Zhodani pirates, Sword Worlds pirates, Vargr pirates, Imperial pirates, Non-aligned states pirates… everyone who was inclined to do so was cashing in on the chance to turn pirate while naval forces were scattered chasing down rumors and feints, along with some very real predation on commerce. At times, the fog of war became very thick during those years.
The Five Sisters subsector was not spared the depredations of pirate attacks during the war, particularly those made by the more "adventurous" cartels operating out of bases in the neighboring District 268 and (of course) Sword Worlds subsectors. There was a very real fear that the communications and supply lines (both civilian and military) used by the Five Sisters subsector could be severed by marauding bands of corsairs and stepped up pirate activities. Without interstellar trade and supplies, some worlds would have to be evacuated and abandoned if they were unable to domestically support their populations while effectively interdicted by piracy.
One response to these stressful conditions during the Third Frontier War years that has survived into more modern times was the development of what came to be known as the Five Sisters Clipper, a new class of Fast Trader designed to counter the pirate threat plaguing the region so as to ensure the shipping and communications lines remained open. The first prototype to be tested was constructed at Karin / Five Sisters and was based upon the earlier LSP Clipper 3, albeit with some important modifications incorporated into the final design. A high priority was placed upon to align the performance more towards the needs of merchant ships at the extreme edge of Imperial controlled space during wartime when the navy presence could not be everywhere it was needed under conditions of relatively austere technological support.
Five Sisters Clipper (Type AT): Constructed using the same custom winged airframe 400 ton hull as the Lurushaar Kilaalum class Corvette, the Type-T Patrol Cruiser and its follow on Patrol, Response and Pursuit Corvettes which in turn inspired the LSP Clipper 3, the primary modification over previous iterations was the use of all-H TL=10 standard drives, producing jump-4 and 4G acceleration with a power plant-4 peformance profile in a "clean" configuration unencumbered by external loads. Fuel tankage is 185 tons, sufficient for either one jump-3 during 6.5 weeks endurance or one jump-4 and during 2.5 weeks endurance (HEPlaR reaction maneuvering consumes fuel faster). Fuel scoops are integrated into the hull and an onboard fuel purification plant allows the refining of fuel skimmed from gas giants or water oceans. The custom detachable bridge has an adjacent model/4 computer (without a fiber optic backup) along with a civilian sensor suite. The ship is well protected with two triple beam laser turrets organized into a single battery for offense while two triple sandcaster turrets organized as a single battery provide a relatively robust defense option.
The ship also has an internal hangar berth for an armored Five Sisters Fighter used for both organic escort duties as well as maneuver tug services for the up to 20x Modular Cutter Modules that can be docked externally to the ship during both interplanetary and interstellar transport operations. There is also an additional internal hangar berth for a 30 ton Modular Cutter Module which operators can customize with a cargo hold, passenger accommodations and/or a Mail Vault for mail deliveries to Postal Unions under contract (with or without subsidies).
Accommodations aboard are 8 single occupancy crew staterooms and no low berths. The crew consists of a starship pilot, a small craft pilot, a navigator, a skilled chief engineer and a subordinate engineer, a skilled steward and skilled medic who both coordinate to assist with maintenance of the regenerative life support biome systems aboard, as well as a single skilled gunner for the two weapon batteries. Quality of life aboard is typically higher than minimum commercial standards thanks to the Environmental Control Type V-c regenerative life support systems, making the recruiting and retention of skilled crew less of an issue over time for ships of the class.
Five Sisters Clippers cost MCr277.446 in single production, or MCr221.9568 per copy in volume production, not including architect's fees.
Five Sisters Fighters cost MCr30.1002 in single production, or MCr24.08016 per copy in volume production, not including architect's fees.
Both designs have been in production long enough that architect's fees are not required at either the Karin or Iderati shipyards where the class remains in volume production by 1105. Following the Fourth Frontier War (1082 - 1084) the shipyards at Jewell and Vilis were granted permission to produce the class under license, reaching volume production levels that have been sustained through 1105 by modest yet sustained demand from ambitious merchants wanting to upgrade their fleets in those subsectors.
Both craft were also reverse engineered by shipyards at Gram and Sacnoth for use by the Sworld Worlds Confederation as a localized technological clone variant, which they have styled as the Twin Brothers Clipper (Klippari Tvíburabræðra in the Sagamaal language) to differentiate it from the original Imperial design, which also remains in volume production by 1105. Rumors that cloned copies of the class are in service with the Ku Su'ikh corporation for use in the Great Rift by Aslan clans have yet to be corroborated and confirmed.
