TEXT: Cover
  Rocketship Empires 1936™
  Starship and Pilot’s Compendium No. 1
  Edward M Kann
  artwork by Mike Doscher and Chris Pickrell
  with tubepunk tale:
  Not in New Kansas Anymore
  
  On Roleplaying Games
   
  Rocketship Empires 1936 is a campaign setting for a 
  pulp - space opera.  It is meant to be used with your favorite table 
  top roleplaying game system.  Admittedly some games will sup-
  port the Rocketship Empires setting with less fuss than others.  In 
  particular, games written for the science ﬁction genre which al-
  ready include a starship combat system and a means for handling 
  psionics and alien technology will require less work on the part of 
  the game director and players.
   
  With that in mind, everything presented in the Rock-
  etship Empires books is meant for use in a table top roleplay-
  ing game and not in a war game.  This is to say that the ideas 
  presented for starship construction are merely an aid for directors 
  whose table top rules do not include a starship combat and star-
  ship building system which can be easily tweaked into the WWII 
  pulp style starﬁghters and ships featured in RE.
   
   
  If your rules already include a starship combat system 
  and ship construction guide, simply review what is presented here 
  and dump the unnecessary structure so you can convert the ships 
  into the system you intend to use.
   
  The bottom line is that in a roleplaying game the struc-
  ture should serve the fun of the game and not restrict it.  
   
  When I create starships (like those featured here) I start 
  with the ship construction guide in the back of the core book and 
  then I go wild, writing in broad strokes to achieve the ship I wish 
  to create.  I usually base the ships on a historical craft but not 
  always.  I do not allow myself to be hemmed in by the location 
  requirements or basic concepts and neither should you.
   
  There is only one wrong way to create ships in Rocket-
  ship Empires and that is abandoning the setting.  Starships in RE 
  have a certain look and they are meant to function in a certain 
  WWII era meets pulp meets space opera style.  My hope is that 
  with the ships presented in the core book, the Gunslinger Betty 
  book and now this starship compendium, that readers will have 
  a solid grasp of what ﬁts into the RE setting and what strays into 
  the realms of other genres.
   
  Even abandoning the setting should not be looked at as 
  “wrong” although I would argue that abandoning the look and 
  style of the starships, the technology present, abandoning the 
  campaign maps and history leaves you with something that is not 
  Rocketship Empires.
   
  The ships presented within these pages are meant to 
  speed along your own starship designs and to provide some ad-
  ditional background, equipment and (of course) illustrations to 
  share around the game table.
   
  There is no one right way to approach building starships 
  for Rocketship Empires, just as there is no speciﬁc RPG system 
  that must be used with the game.  Rocketship Empires hands 
  the game director and players a rich campaign ready for their 
  adventures and does not ham string them by locking them into a 
  particular rules set.  Run with your favorites.  Take the setting and 
  breathe your own life into it.
   
  The single most important element required within the 
  Rocketship Empires universe...,is you.
  e.m kann
  March, 2008
  Book Reviews
   
  The most difﬁcult hurdle to overcome
  as a new author is getting the word out.
  The book you have in hand required
  a signiﬁcant number of hours to produce.
   
  If you feel that the campaign and the
  materials presented here were well worth your
  seven or fourteen dollar investment please help
  us get the word out by posting a review on one
  of the fantastic websites listed below:
  RPGnow
  ENworld
  RPGnet
  TheRPGsite
  TheForge
  FreeRoleplay.org
  Dragonsfoot
  PenandPaper
   
  Thanks for your support!
   
   
  The RE Team
  Join the HQ
  If you are looking for a rapidly growing
  community where you can air your ideas
  comment on this or future books,
  watch the rise of hundreds of Rocketship
  Empires campaigns around the globe
  and download our free monthly newsletter
  and other cool stuff...
  join our forums at
  www.rocketshipempires.com
  Proof Readers and Editors
  A huge thank you goes out to our new and growing collection of 
  volunteer proof readers and  editors!
  Valerie (Rocket Girl) Eakes-Kann
  Rob (I eat your brains) Perez
  Dan (The Jedi Man) Kramer
  Steve (I’ll read this in China) Holmes
  Christopher (Red Pen Packin) Islaub
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  3
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  Starship Compendium No. 1
  by
  Edward M Kann
  Artists
  Mike Doscher and Chris Pickrell
  Table of Contents
  Introduction 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  04
  Rocketship Rubber Science: Part One 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  05
  Bf 109 A-E and V-2 (Viktor) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  06
  Rocketship Rubber Science: Part Two 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  12
  Polikarpov I-16 Type 10 (Mosca/Rata) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  14
  The Fiat CR 23 (Stilleto)  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  16
  Rocketship Rubber Science: Part Three  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  18
  Martin M 130 Clipper 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  20
  Nieuport-Delange NiD 52  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  22
  Breguet Br XIX  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  24
  Rocketship Rubber Science: Part Four 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  26
  Junkers JU 87  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  28
  Topolev (Maxim Gorky)  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  30
  Mitsubishi G4M (Betty)  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  32
  Heinkel He III 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  34
  Destroyers 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  36
  Soviet FAST Transports (Mule)  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  37
  Supply Ships (Confed. Blockade Runner)  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  38
  The Battleship Espana 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  40
  Not in New Kansas Any More (Short Story) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  43
  Table of Contents
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  4
  Welcome Aboard...
   
  Welcome to the Rocketship Empires 1936 starship com-
  pendium.  This is the ﬁrst in a line of similar books aimed at ex-
  panding the ships available for building Rocketship Empires ad-
  ventures.
   
  All of the ships featured in this book are common to the 
  space lanes and skies of the Kingdom of Spain.  The book dove-
  tails nicely with In Fury Triumphant, our ﬁrst region book. This 
  book also includes an overview of the author’s ideas behind space 
  travel and the Rocketship Empires universe.  After the ship book a 
  short story piece set in the RE 1936 universe is included as well.
   
  Without further delay, lets hop right in -shall we?
  What do you need to use this book?
   
  You will need the Rocketship Empires 1936 core cam-
  paign book to make full use of all of the starship stats and sheets 
  presented within these pages.  Rocketship is a systemless cam-
  paign which describes an alternative 1930’s where mankind has 
  reached the stars.  You will also need your favorite RPG system 
  with which to run your Rocketship campaign.  If you purchased 
  this book as a stand alone resource, the ships contained here can 
  still be incorporated and converted into any pulp or alternative 
  WWII era campaign.
  Alternate History
   
  Many source books, internet sources and a few ﬁrst hand 
  accounts were used in researching this book.  Too many sources to 
  be listed in anything like a decent bibliography without taking up 
  more pages and reader printer ink than seems reasonable.  Many 
  students of history will immediately notice the glaring changes 
  made in inception and construction dates, ship performance and 
  descriptions, these were intentional alterations for the setting.
  Legal
   
  All of the ships, locations and characters within the 
  Rocketship Empires 1936 world, even those loosely based around 
  historic personages, are entirely ﬁctional.  Rocketship Empires 
  1936 was written to be used as a fun, pulp-space opera setting for 
  table top roleplaying games.  It is not meant to be a political work 
  in any way shape or form.  All of the artwork contained within the 
  pages of this book are used with the permission of the artist or are 
  drawn from sources within the public domain.  Rocketship Em-
  pires 1936 and its related Rocketship Empires setting, alternative 
  history, characters, maps and merchandise remain the intellectual 
  property of StoryART and Edward M Kann.  ©2004-2008 by Ed-
  ward M Kann, all rights reserved. 
  Rubber Science  - Part One
   
  Many readers on our forums appreciated the rubber sci-
  ence behind the technology in Rocketship Empires.  The enthusi-
  astic reception by forum members (www.rocketshipempires.com) 
  inspired me to include a much more detailed break down of the 
  material in this book.
   
  A considerable amount of game play, imagination and 
  brain racking has gone into the pseudo science and spurious logic 
  behind the RE 1936 setting.  Directors should ﬁnd the informa-
  tion helpful in explaining space travel and starship operations to 
  their players.  The setting material related to Temporal Space and 
  space travel also has a heavy inﬂuence on Psi powers as they are 
  explained in the setting and in later books.  
  Human Understanding of Time and Space in 1936...
   
  Human notions about space, our galaxy and the sur-
  rounding universe in 1936 remain somewhat off the mark from 
  the true nature of reality.  Slowly revealing the nature of Temporal 
  Space, Time, Space Travel and how this all interconnects with 
  Psi can add an additional layer of immersion and fun for both the 
  players and the game Director.
   
  Human understanding of both space and time is curtailed 
  at the start of the campaign by the loss of both Albert Einstein and 
  Niels Bohr from public life. Einstein and Bohr were numbered 
  among many of the best and the brightest of mankind’s science 
  and engineering community which volunteered for and were ac-
  cepted into the Martian arcology based in the Arctic in 1920.  Not 
  even Einstein’s historic work on quantum mechanics reaches the 
  light of day in the Rocketship Empires universe.  Instead, both 
  Einstein and Bohr labor with other scientists on the design and de-
  velopment of hybrid starship engines and ship designs to forward 
  to manufacturing centers scattered across planet Earth and later 
  throughout human occupied space.
  Introduction
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  5
   
  Einstein’s papers on quantum mechanics (somewhat 
  modiﬁed and advanced because of his direct exposure to Hege-
  mony technology) are circulated around his circle of associates but 
  fail altogether to reach wider distribution.  Likewise, the writings 
  of Bohr are limited to back and forth “shop talk” between scien-
  tists hard at work within the Santa’s Workshop environment of the 
  Martian arcology.
   
  The average human and even many scientists living and 
  working in the world outside of the Martian arcology have never 
  heard of Einstein or Bohr and have no knowledge of, nor exposure 
  to, concepts regarding relativity.
  Temporal Space
   
  At the heart of Rocketship Empires space ﬂight is the 
  concept of time and space both existing as entwined parts of a 
  greater whole.  Time does not move in a linear fashion as humans 
  perceive it.  It exists universally, with all points in the past, present 
  and alternative futures existing regardless of the observer’s ability 
  to experience these points from their relative vantage point in the 
  here and now.
   
  To understand how this works, it is ﬁrst helpful to look at 
  time and space as they exist as parts of a greater whole; known to 
  the Hegemony and other alien races as Temporal Space.
   
  Temporal Space can be illustrated using the same sim-
  ple model used to illustrate three dimensional space, however it 
  should be noted that this model illustrates space as it exists in inﬁ-
  nite dimension.  In this model the x axis equals time.  Our current 
  location in time might be indicated on this line in the usual fashion 
  one imagines, however time does not cease to exist as we pass 
  through it.  All previous points in time and points in the future 
  continue to exist.  We experience the points we observe as we are 
  pushed through Temporal Space by what the Hegemony deﬁnes as 
  Shawanak Tah’ri, which translates loosely to the original creative 
  energy of the universe.  Einstein and Bohr would describe this en-
  ergy as the cosmic pulse, created at the moment of the big bang or 
  the origin of the universe.  Instructors within the halls of the Order 
  of the Golden Dawn would refer to the energy as Cosmic Force or 
  The Weave.
   
  The y axis represents our present location within three 
  dimension space.  So any point within the plane of the y axis could 
  be said to exist as a correlation of three relative points.  Take a slice 
  of the Temporal Space model which includes the x and the y axis 
  and you have a model showing our own universe.  All points with-
  in our galaxy both now and in the past and future can be mapped 
  in this fashion. (See example below.)
   
   
   
    
  The z axis relates to probability.  It contains all of the alternate di-
  mensions where you zigged when you might have zagged, where 
  you married your ﬁrst boyfriend or girlfriend instead of waiting 
  until later.  All of these possible alternative dimensions also exist, 
  whether the observer experiences them directly or not. Possible 
  potential realities with small alterations from our own (the door is 
  unlocked instead of locked, the dice rolls a six intead of a one) ex-
  ist close to our own along the z-axis of probability, while extreme 
  variations exist further away.  This is not to say that there is an 
  alternate you or an alternate me a mere side step up the z axis.  All 
  of the closest layers of potential probability contain only possible 
  alternate realities.  There is no other you existing at the same time 
  in these nearby realms, only the lingering spectre of what might 
  have been.  In fact it is likely that you are the only you in the entire 
  Temporal Universe.  On the other hand, the possibility of other 
  human civilizations present far aﬁeld within Temporal Space (a 
  human stellar empire which was never defeated, for example) is 
  not only probable.  It is likely.
   
  It is critical that you, as a reader, understand that the He-
  gemony perspective on the nature of the universe is not limited to 
  the little gray pie slice of reality with which humans are familiar. 
  The Martian view encompasses the vastness of Temporal Space 
  as one uniﬁed whole.  Jump space travel does not merely carry 
  humans across the gulf between star systems by traveling along 
  the y axis of space; this violates certain laws of physics regarding 
  the speed of light and mass.  Jump space travel instead, and this 
  is incredibly important, moves starships up and through the Z axis 
  of probability and alternate dimension.  In effect, starships which 
  enter jump space take advantage of the warp ﬁelds created by large 
  gravity bodies both within our own reality and in neighboring re-
  alities to transit from point A to point B while effectively slipping 
  sideways through what we normally consider  part of the equation 
  of physical distance altogether.
  Rubber Science: Part One
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  6
   
  This implies that Martian temporal navigators and astro-
  gators have a direct knowledge of star systems existing outside 
  of the galactic reality of our own planet Earth, and that would be 
  absolutely correct.  A map of the Hegemony therefore can only be 
  accurately portrayed in the x,y,z axis model of Temporal Space. 
  Routine jump routes shoot starships up and down the z-axis of 
  probability space, linking stars in different alternate dimensions 
  into one great super galactic / extra-dimensional empire.  Does this 
  mean that human pilots, when they emerge out of jump, emerge in 
  a star system in a different dimension?  The answer is yes!  What 
  does it matter, from the Martian perspective, if the habitable planet 
  in the Alpha Centauri star system exists in an alternate dimension 
  along the z axis of Temporal Space? The inhabitants are still sepa-
  rated by a distance of vast light years and without a direct means 
  of communication between star systems, who is going to be the 
  wiser?  After a certain distance it hardly matters that the Alpha 
  Centauri in our own galactic reality is an unoccupied and uninhab-
  ited pile of space debris.
  Bf 109 A-E and V
   
   
  The Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) began serious in-
  vestigations into a complete redesign of German starﬁghter tech-
  nology as early as 1933.  The laboratory advances produced by 
  Willy Messerschmitt while working in the Hegemony propulsion 
  laboratory in Antarctica, gained signiﬁcant attention by both his 
  peers and his sponsoring government. In 1934 the Germans man-
  aged to recall him from his placement after signiﬁcant feather ruf-
  ﬂing of Sept diplomatic contacts.  Messerschmitt was ofﬁcially 
  called back to Germany for reasons related to his Father’s declin-
  ing health but within six months he was off world with orders 
  to apply ﬁrst hand input on upgrades to manufacturing and ship 
  building practices throughout Reich space.
   
  Both the Heinkel 112 (not featured in this book) and the 
  Bf 109 A model went straight into production after RLM testing in 
  November of 1934, with only forty of the 109 A types being built 
  Bf 109 A-E and V-2
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  7
  before a redesign to the 109 B model early in 1935.  Fully 304 of 
  the 109 B model starﬁghters were built over the course of 1935. 
  The type B or Bruno model featured an additional reserve of am-
  munition for the twin MG 17 guns mounted in the nose, however 
  combat experience in Spain early in 1936 would prove that these 
  starﬁghters were not sufﬁciently armed to score the kill ratios the 
  RLM demanded of the otherwise frighteningly effective starﬁght-
  er.
  Campaign Time Line
   
  This brings into question the roll out of the Bf 109 series 
  over the course of the director’s campaign.  Prior to 1936 only a 
  handful of Bf 109 A (Anton) types exist along with a main force of 
  Bf 109 B (Bruno) types.  At the start of the war, the Legion Con-
  dore bring one hundred and twenty ﬁve of the Brunos into action 
  with great success.  The Bruno starﬁghters show such advantages 
  in speed, climb and agility that despite their short range and ten-
  dency to blow through fuel the Brunos experience surprisingly few 
  combat defeats.  Unfortunately the twin MG 17 guns in the nose, 
  not so affectionately nicknamed potato guns by pilots, did not re-
  sult in the massive record of combat victories or kills that the RLM 
  had expected.
   
  By March of 1936 the RLM was moving forward with 
  production on what would be a short lived run of Bf 109 C (“Cae-
  sar”) starﬁghters with two additional MG 17’s, one in each wing 
  for a total of four.  The Caesar also featured the latest Jumo 210 
  series drive (for greater power), unfortunately the redesign also 
  included an increased capacity to guzzle fuel and the Caesar did 
  nothing to expand the fuel tank capacity of the ﬁghter.  Pilots of 
  the Caesar series complained loudly to the RLM that the three hour 
  window for combat ﬂight operations in the model was woefully 
  insufﬁcient for organizing effective combat patrols in space.  As a 
  result, the Caesar series was limited to in-atmo air combat opera-
  tions with brief sorties into orbital patrol but was useless in sup-
  Bf 109 A-E and V-2
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  8
  porting ﬂeet operations in the Legion Condore blockade.
   
  As a stop gap measure the ﬁrst experimental Bf 109 V 
  series was introduced in October of 1936.  The V series introduced 
  short runs of experimental models for the combat testing of a wide 
  variety of Bf 109 designs.  Perhaps the most common and success-
  ful experiments were in the arena of redesigns of the starﬁghter’s 
  wing to increase fuel storage and improve wing located weapon 
  mounts.
   
  Experiments were also conducted in the application of a 
  nose mounted weapon both in a third MG 17 and a 20 mm cannon 
  which ran down the interior of the nose.  Insufﬁcient structural 
  strength in the nose to support weapon recoil for the nose mounted 
  cannon produced problems with the weapon jumping out of its 
  bracket.  This rendered the weapon useless at inconvenient mo-
  ments during combat trials.  This problem was not overcome until 
  the upgrade from Astrosteel to the heavier and more durable Rock-
  etanium alloy in Bf 109 frame construction in January of 1937. 
  The change over from Astrosteel to Rocketanium alloys increased 
  the cost of  Bf 109 construction to some degree but more impor-
  tantly increased the weight of the ﬁghter each time more Rock-
  etanium was introduced.  Experiments in strengthening the wing 
  weapon mounts using Rocketanium met good success in 1937 but 
  again, increased the mass of the starﬁghter, increasing drag and 
  reducing the 109’s agile performance and legendary combat speed 
  even further.
   
  The most successful Bf 109 V series was the Bf 109 V2 
  placed into limited production in November of 1936.  Between 
  November of 1936 and February of 1937 a surprising forty eight 
  of these quirky experimental starﬁghters were produced while the 
  RLM debated whether the new direction it introduced should be 
  adopted into main production channels.
   
  The Bf 109 V2 series (shown below), introduced a twin 
  cockpit design that very nearly doubled the weight and size of the 
  starﬁghter.  This increase in tonnage allowed the installation of a 
  high performance, fully operational Daimler Benz type B gravity 
  drive.  The Bf 109 V2 series was the only Bf 109 prior to the Emil 
  capable of independent jump travel.  The larger engine insured 
  excellent speeds in atmo combat and the twin fuselage, quirky as it 
  appeared, created an agile and sturdy starﬁghter.
   
  The V2 (nicknamed the Viktor by its crews) also sported 
  the longest operational range of any Bf 109 starﬁghter.  During the 
  course of the war, four squadrons with twelve ﬁghters each were 
  formed although for various mechanical reasons only six to eight 
  Bf 109 A-E and V-2
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  9
  Viktors or three to four wing pairs would operate in patrols.
   
  The Viktor is the most aggressive weapons platform of 
  any Bf 109 to see action in the Legion Condore.  With its impres-
  sive two nose mounted 20 mm cannon and four nose mounted MG 
  17’s the ﬁghter is heavily armed and its pilot teams earn some of 
  the best kill records in the civil war.
   
  The Viktor’s most radical element remains the introduc-
  tion of a two crew, pilot and co-pilot arrangement with redundant 
  controls in both cockpits, the sensor package in the right cockpit 
  (facing the craft from the front) and the ship’s jammer and long 
  range radio package in the left cockpit.  The two crew approach 
  makes the Viktor a superior combat trainner. Inexperienced pilots 
  can gain valuable ﬁrst hand experience with an old hand who can 
  readily take the controls should a rookie get themselves in over 
  their heads.
   
  Ultimately the nails that seal the cofﬁn of the Viktor se-
  ries from achieving more than experimental status is their cost and 
  the desire by the RLM to see pilot crews occupying as many indi-
  vidual starﬁghters in the air as possible.
   
  After 1937, the V2 was temporarily abandoned until its 
  reintroduction in 1939, when it was again placed into short runs 
  for evaluation by the RLM.  Over the course of WWII limited runs 
  will keep a half dozen Viktor squadrons in supply but this amazing 
  and innovative design will never see mainstream RLM produc-
  tion.
   
  In Spain and later, the Viktor squadrons are largely as-
  signed to patrol duties associated with the blockade however, 
  German air command in the planetary combat zone soon adopts 
  a policy of cycling in one squadron of these tough ﬁghters planet 
  side to add an added punch to planetary military operations and 
  CAP.
   
  The Bf 109 D or Dora arrives on the scene in June of 1937 
  and becomes the replacement conﬁguration of the Bf 109 B for the 
  remainder of Legion Condore actions in Spain, right through to 
  the end of the war.  The Bf 109 D-1 still features the Jumo stripped 
  type B drive and a limited patrol range.  It possesses a modest 
  armor improvement, better protection for the pilot in the cockpit 
  and sports an MG 17 in each wing and two in the nose.  The Bf 
  109 D-2 is an experimental version which attempts to mount the 
  larger Daimler Benz Type B gravity drive on the ﬁghter but engine 
  mounts and heat sink technology remain inadequate and this de-
  sign fails before it is brought into combat testing.  The D-3 series 
  replaces the MG 17 mounts in the wing with a pair of 20 mm 
  cannon and becomes the ﬁghter of choice for many pilots right 
  through to the end of the war.  Additional Rocketanium incorpo-
  rated into the D-3 wing mounts again pushes agility down a notch 
  from previous designs at a trade off of speed and agility for raw 
  ﬁrepower.
   
  In all, more than six hundred of the Dora are produced 
  prior to the end of 1939.  Many of these are limited to planetary 
  and orbital combat operations while the main ﬁghter of the RLM 
  is switched over rapidly to the Bf 109 E or Emil.  At the start of 
  WWII the Dora is restricted to night ﬁghter operations.
   
  The Bf 109 E or Emil enters action in the Legion Condore 
  late in the Spanish civil war.  Only ﬁfty of these ﬁghters, which 
  represent a vast technical leap forward in human starﬁgher design, 
  are dispatched to Spain for use in the Legion Condore.
   
  The Emil solves many of the problems dogging early in-
  carnations of the 109.  It has a solid operational range.  Problems 
  with mounts and heat are overcome and the Daimler Benz type B 
  gravity drive is successfully incorporated into the ﬁghter.  The ear-
  ly Emils feature four MG 17 guns, two in the nose and two in the 
  wings with a 20 mm cannon with limited ammunition successfully 
  mounted in a reinforced nose compartment.  With the successful 
  incorporation of the new drive, the Emil is not only blazing fast it 
  is also a sturdy jump capable starﬁghter capable of independent 
  strikes on neighboring star systems (and the return trip home); ex-
  actly the design the RLM was looking to produce.
   
  Early in 1938 the Emil is slated to be the number one 
  starﬁghter in production in the Reich.  While only a limited num-
  ber see action in Spain, the Emil is produced in large numbers for 
  distribution to naval and military bases throughout Reich space. 
  The RLM push is so assertive on the adoption of the Emil that 
  Daimler Benz drives slated for other starships become difﬁcult to 
  obtain, to the point where some ships, like the Do-17 face a signiﬁ-
  cant redesign and the incorporation of a less suitable engine so that 
  these projects do not die on the production ﬂoor for lack of parts.
  Starship Sheets
   
  I will outline only the Bf 109 B (Bruno) here along with 
  the Bf 109 V-2 (Viktor) as these two types of 109 are operational in 
  Spain during the ﬁrst three months of the war through the ﬁrst year. 
  A game director could certainly introduce the Viktor type earlier if 
  they felt the need to mix up the types of ﬁghters encountered early 
  in the campaign.
  The Bf 109 B (Bruno) Starﬁghter
  Starﬁghter Class / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit   
  5 slots
  Nose Hardpoint 4 slots
  Left Wing 
  3 slots
  Right Wing 
  3 slots
  Fuselage  
  5 slots
  Bf 109 B / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit  
  1 slot 
  FuG 7 Hybrid Radio
   
   
  1 slot 
  FuG 125 Hermine beacon receiver
   
   
  1 slot 
  Pilot Ejection System
   
   
  1 slot 
  Seetakt II Active Sensor
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
  Bf 109 A-E and V-2
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  10
  Nose Hardpoint  
  1 slot 
  MG 17
   
   
   
  1 slot 
  MG 17
   
   
   
  1 slot 
  Expanded Ammo Reserve
   
   
   
  1 slot 
  Available for Expansion
  Left Wing 
   
  1 slot 
  MG 17
   
   
   
  2 slots Rocket Rack
   
   
   
   
  R-3 Lion Tamer
  Right Wing 
   
  1 slot 
  MG 17
   
   
   
  2 slots Rocket Rack
   
   
   
   
  R-3 Lion Tamer
  Fuselage  
   
  1 slot 
  1000 Liters of Fuel
   
   
   
  1 slot 
  Ship swamping equipment
   
   
   
  1 slot 
  Light - Rolled Plate Armor
   
   
   
  2 slot 
  Type B Jumo 210D
   
   
   
   
  (Stripped)
  Additional 
   
  8mm Armored Plate
   
   
   
  Armored Rings / Engine Cowling
   
   
   
  20mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
   
  Light
  Engine Performance 
  Jump Travel = NA
   
   
   
  System Travel = 20 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = Blazing
  Fuel Performance  
  Jump Travel = NA
   
   
   
  System Speed = 50 Liters per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 100 Liters per Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  15 Tons
   
   
   
  Manufacturing Notes:   
  Messerschmitt
  Hull 
   
   
  Good
  Engines  
   
  Exceptional
  Weapons 
   
  Good
  Armor  
   
  Average
  Systems  
   
  Good
  Price 
   
   
  High (military only)
   
  The Bruno’s single Type B Jumo 210 D engine while 
  technically a “stripped” engine, meaning it does not include a 
  gravity drive and is only capable of system and tactical travel, was 
  manufactured in this design rather than having the component re-
  moved.  The engine is of exceptional quality and this bonus raises 
  the vessels tactical combat speed from a Fast two ratings to Blaz-
  ing.
   
  In order to compensate for modiﬁcations in the engine to 
  increase thrust, the design is a tremendous fuel hog.  Fuel is con-
  sumed at an incredible 50 Liters per hour when traveling using the 
  system drive and 100 Liters per hour using the tactical drive.  The 
  massive boost in tactical fuel consumption results in a two step 
  increase in ship speed from merely Fast to Blazing.
   
  Fuel and range are such a problem that any Brunos arriv-
  ing in Spain are outﬁtted with a scaled down starship swamping 
  set-up, allowing the pilot and ground crew to refuel the ﬁghter 
  even when available stores are running low.
   
  The Bf 109 historically suffered from a narrow wheel base 
  on its landing gear causing the ship to tilt or tip over in the hands 
  of a novice pilot.  The hybrid Bruno faces none of these challenges 
  as it settles onto a cushion similar to that generated by a hover 
  vehicle.  Upon landing the Bf 109 cushion is active and allows 
  the ﬁghter to ﬂoat effortlessly approximately two feet above the 
  surfaces of the ground.  The ﬁghter bobs a bit when a pilot climbs 
  in or out of her but otherwise remains stable in this position until 
  take off.  The hover feature on these starﬁghters is nearly silent and 
  is set into idle mode when the vessel is parked.  If the ship requires 
  service or its power system is deactivated the starﬁghter can settle 
  onto the ground.  With the hover feature active the vessel is very 
  easy to push around by a technician.  The starship can literally be 
  pushed or moved by hand on its repulser ﬁeld making service on 
  these craft signiﬁcantly easier than on most other starﬁghters.
   
  The most common type of Bruno listed here is armed 
  with four MG 17s and a rack for attaching rockets under either 
  wing.  Later versions trade out the rocket rack for the 20mm FF/M 
  Minny cannon on either wing.  Guns on the wings have sufﬁcient 
  ammunition for ten pulls of the trigger or bursts.  Guns in the nose 
  have an additional ammo reserve which allows for twenty pulls of 
  the trigger or bursts.  The nose and wing guns can be ﬁred together 
  or independently although most pilots prefer to enter combat with 
  all four guns linked for faster kills.
   
  The FuG 7 short range hybrid radio system installed in 
  the cockpit has an effective range of .5 AU.  The Bruno is also 
  outﬁtted with a FuG 125 beacon receiver with a range of 250 kilo-
  meters.  This beacon receiver can pick up radio transponder signals 
  from spotters on the ground.  It can also be used to detect active 
  sensors within a range of .25 AU but at a disadvantage to the detec-
  tion roll of -2.
   
  The Bruno is one of the ﬁrst starﬁghters to feature the 
  new and expensive rolled plate armor application.  This provides 
  an additional bonus to the armor value of the ﬁghter.  Where most 
  other starﬁghters in the air in Spain use older armor techniques, 
  providing a bonus to critical hits against them, the Bruno has no 
  such vulnerability and indeed has an armor bonus above and be-
  yond standard.
  The Bf 109 V-2 (Viktor) Starﬁghter
  Heavy Fighter Class / (24) Slots and Locations
  Cockpit   
  6 slots
  Nose Hardpoint 8 slots
  Left Wing 
  2 slots
  Right Wing 
  2 slots
  Fuselage  
  6 slots
  Bf 109 V-2 / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit  
  1 slot 
  FuG 7 Hybrid Radio
  Bf 109 A-E and V-2
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  11
  Bf 109 A-E and V-2
   
   
  1 slot 
  FuG 125 Hermine beacon receiver
   
   
  2 slots Pilot Ejection System x2
   
   
  1 slot 
  Seetakt II Active Sensor
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
  Nose Hardpoint 2 slot 
  MG 17 x 2
   
   
  2 slot 
  MG 17 x 2
   
   
  2 slot 
  20 mm MG FF/M Minny  
   
   
   
  2 slot 
  20 mm MG FF/M Minny
  Left Wing 
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters of Fuel 
   
   
   
   
  1 slot 
  Solid Rocket Booster
  Right Wing 
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters of Fuel
   
   
  1 slot 
  Solid Rocket Booster
   
   
   
   
  Fuselage  
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters of Fuel
   
   
  1 slot 
  Ship swamping equipment
   
   
  1 slot 
  Light - Rolled Plate Armor
   
   
  2 slots Daimler Benz Type B 
   
   
   
  Gravity drive
   
   
  1 slot 
  Medium Airframe
  Additional 
   
  10mm Armored Plate
   
   
   
  Armored Rings / Engine Cowling
   
   
   
  20mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
   
  Medium
  Engine Performance 
  Jump Travel = 24 hours per LY 
   
   
   
   
  System Travel = 22 hours per 1 AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = Fast (Fast +)
  Fuel Performance  
  Jump Activation = 200 Liters
   
   
   
  System Transit = 10 Liters per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 10 Liters per Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  10.5 Tons
   
   
   
  Manufacturing Notes:   
  Messerschmitt
  Hull 
   
   
  Good
  Engines  
   
  Manufactured by Dornier (Good)
  Weapons 
   
  Good
  Armor  
   
  Average
  Systems  
   
  Good
  Price 
   
   
  High (military only)
   
  The Viktor is equipped with two pod style solid rocket 
  boosters mounted under each wing.  These provide the ship with 
  short bursts of additional speed for up to 1d6+2 combat rounds be-
  fore sputtering empty.  Once emptied these disposable pods must 
  be replaced.  The Viktor can be vulnerable to a direct hit on one 
  of the rocket boosters while it is ﬁring.  In certain instances an 
  activated booster hit with enemy weapons ﬁre has been known to 
  explode (as though a small but effective bomb had been placed on 
  the wing of the starﬁghter).  
   
  The Daimler Benz Type B gravity drive installed in the 
  Viktor is manufactured by the Dornier company.  These engines 
  possess a good quality rating.  While the Jumo engines manufac-
  tured by Messerschmidt possess a quality rating of excellent they 
  are only manufactured at the present time in the type A variety.
   
  The Viktor is a heavy ﬁghter class starship with a mass of 
  10.5 tons.  Placed side by side with the Bruno, the Viktor is slightly 
  more than twice its size.
   
  While the weapons mounted in the nose of this heavy 
  ﬁghter are extremely formidable they can not be used together to 
  effectively target a small and agile craft like an enemy snubﬁghter 
  or starﬁghter.  Only the piloting character has the ability to line 
  up their guns for a shot.  It is possible for both pilots to ﬁre at 
  larger targets.  Capital vessels, star bases and large ground targets 
  can easily be engaged by both pilots in the Viktor simultaneously. 
  The ability to unleash both 20mm cannons and four MG 17s into 
  a freighter or military vessel makes the Viktor a dangerous and a 
  favored ship for space combat.  The Viktor performs well both as 
  a patrolling vessel and as a commerce raider.
   
  As a jump capable ﬁghter with an exceptional range the 
  Viktor is a natural choice as a fast courier vessel or transport for 
  commanding ofﬁcers in need of a quick and well armed lift to or 
  from the front.  The Viktor makes a handy platform in other roles 
  as well.  The design is so ﬂexible that Messerschmidt tries several 
  times to push it through the RLM into main stream construction 
  but this is defeated by political rivals, time and time again.
   
  Only in the Hegemony war does the Viktor achieve the 
  status of a front line heavy ﬁghter. Fully three hundred Viktors are 
  produced for International squadrons ﬁghting on the Hegemony 
  battle front from 1938 until late in 1940, most are destroyed.
   
  Remember that the radio set, receiver and ﬁre control sys-
  tem are located in one cockpit and the active sensor is located in 
  the other cockpit.  Both cockpits are equipped with pilot ejection 
  systems which launch the pilot, seat and a parachute out of the 
  craft for a safe bailout in atmosphere.  In space, the system cannot 
  be activated unless the crew member is wearing their life support 
  suit.  Both cockpits have an emergency toggle for the emergency 
  eject of the other pilot’s seat.  This can only be activated by going 
  through a routine of hitting four widely separated controls located 
  in different parts of the control panel.  It is impossible to “acci-
  dently” eject a partner into space with this system.  It is meant to 
  be used when a partner wounded and unable to eject themselves.
   
  The largest drawback to the Viktor, among its many im-
  pressive advantages is its limited ammunition supply.  The guns 
  can be ﬁred either as a linked pair of MG 17s, or the cannon or all 
  three together.  There is only sufﬁcient ammunition for ten trigger 
  pulls or ten bursts of weapons ﬁre.
   
   The Viktor’s guns can not be reloaded in ﬂight.  It does 
  not possess any signiﬁcant cargo space.  At best there is sufﬁcient 
  space for small military style pack behind each seat. The cargo 
  spot does not have room for ﬁtting anything of signiﬁcant size.  A 
  riﬂe will not ﬁt behind the seat.  A stubby SMG or machine pistol 
  would ﬁt nicely or a service pistol and holster. The Viktor uses the 
  same repulser ﬁeld as the Bruno and can manage a smooth VTOL 
  take off or landing.
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  12
  Rubber Science - Part Two
   
  In part two of rocketship rubber science we will take a 
  look at the gravity drive, different varieties of alien starship drive 
  systems and how they function and the Hegemony outlook on the 
  navigation of Temporal Space.
   
  First.  We should focus in on the properties of Time as 
  they relate to the Rocketship Empires setting so as to eliminate 
  confusion about what direction this is all going.
  Time
   
  It would seem with all this talk about time and space, that 
  logically, the setting would present opportunities for time travel.  
  While this remains a viable part of any pulp science ﬁction story 
  the ability to travel through time is absent from the Rocketship 
  Empires universe.
   
  In the context of Temporal Space the past, present and 
  future exist independently from the experience of the individual.  
  Usually we think of time as passing us, not the reverse.  We dis-
  cuss how time has ﬂown by or how time is dragging.  From our 
  perspective it is time and not we who are moving when in fact this 
  is absolutely the reverse of the truth.
   
  In Temporal Space, time is geography.  It is a landscape 
  made up of physical location, individual point of view and choice, 
  or in our model, probability.  We are pushed through this geogra-
  phy as we ride a wave of energy that the Martians consider to be 
  linked to the origin of the Universe.
   
  At the beginning of everything, or at least in the begin-
  ning of Temporal Space, a vast cosmic force sparked our current 
  universe out of the void that existed prior to that.  This moment of 
  creation or explosion of energy echoes through Temporal Space 
  and, like any form of energy, can be modeled as an energy wave.
   
   
  This wave form pulses through Temporal Space carry-
  ing experience and observation forward through the geography of 
  time.  Humans and other life forms have no real control over the 
  rate that this massive energy pulse pushes us forward through time, 
  nor can we change the direction which we are being carried.  In a 
  way, humans and all life forms and the galaxy in general are car-
  ried forward on this great wave, or wall of energy through time; 
  like boats riding the forward edge of a great ocean tidal wave.
   
  We can sail back and forth across this moving wall of en-
  ergy and determine our course by walking through physical loca-
  tions (we drive to work, walk to school) on the y axis and through 
  our decisions, choices and sheer luck (we guess correctly on our 
  latest lottery ticket) navigate our way up and down the z axis of 
  probability.  In a sense, every human being is a navigator mak-
  ing their way through the vastness of Temporal Space. We are all 
  riding one of many great pulses of energy sent through Temporal 
  Space.  We surf the echoes of the big bang as creation appears to 
  pass us by when, in fact -it is we who are passing through it.
   
  With that explained it should now be more apparent that 
  time travel in the sense of hurtling forward beyond the pulse car-
  rying us through time or somehow overcoming the energy ﬁeld 
  which is carrying us along, is well beyond the scope of any known 
  technology or supernatural power, at least within the grasp of the 
  science of the Hegemony.  This situation does however present an 
  interesting opportunity to the character with psi talent and that is 
  in slipping sideways along the face of the cosmic wave.
  Jump Travel and Temporal Space 
   
   
  In Temporal Space a starship preps for its stardive in the 
  origin star system; a.  It uses its navigational computer and sensors 
  to vector a dive towards the destination star system; b.  Generally 
  the initial target to achieve a lock is the star present in the same y 
  axis or dimension of space.  Diving into the star slingshots the ship 
  around the origin star and when the ship is positioned correctly, the 
  gravity drive activates, introducing a powerful anti-gravity ﬁeld to 
  hurtle the ship down the lines of gravitational force of the gravity 
  well (c) between the origin and destination star.  The effect is not 
  unlike a bullet ﬁred down the barrel of a gun. 
   
   
  What makes up the gravity well is the lines of gravitation-
  al force that not only link the two distant stars but also cross the 
  z axis and link stars located up and down the z axis of probability 
  space.  This tunnel of intersecting lines of gravity form the tunnel 
  or worm hole which exists between every star in the surrounding 
  galaxy.  Not only that, these same corridors merge together where 
  the lines of gravity cross over the z axis at a location within the 
  worm hole called the probability horizon.  It is at the probability 
  horizon that a starship can plot a course to a range of alternate 
  dimensions.
   
  Human ships receive Hegemony navigational computers 
  with pre-programmed courses of travel through the probability ho-
  rizon.  Entering the probability horizon brieﬂy exposes a Martian 
  ship and other more advanced alien craft to the possibility of hur-
  tling up and down the z-axis ecliptic, opening the pandora’s box of 
  exploring Temporal Space more completely. 
  Rubber Science Part 2
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  13
  Psi
   
  Psi is in some respects an individual’s extra sensitivity 
  and awareness of their forward movement through time.  In some 
  respects it is like closing one’s eyes and knowing whether one is 
  riding down the road in a smooth riding automobile or not.  Not 
  everyone is aware of the feeling of movement in a vehicle.  Cer-
  tainly there can be distractions and other inputs which cause us to 
  ignore the sensation of movement, of being carried along at terriﬁc 
  speeds over the asphalt down our local super highway.
   
  In this same way some people are more prone to noticing 
  the background energy pushing us through time and to which ev-
  ery living thing and object is connected.  They might be described 
  as that friend prone to car sickness in our journey through Tempo-
  ral Space.
   
  One of the earliest techniques a psion is introduced to is 
  the practice of visualizing the model presented here, their current 
  place within the realm of potential, the presence of other possi-
  bilities up and down the Z axis and making attempts to slide into 
  them.
   
  Imagine a Psi as someone with a very quick and agile 
  vessel compared to the average person, navigating back and forth 
  on the energy wave. The pilot of that vessel is trained to spot a des-
  tination further up or further down along the wave and zip them-
  selves into that spot by grabbing hold of the fabric of Temporal 
  Space with their mind, and having it carry them across the face of 
  the wave to their intended destination.
   
  The basic point being that the Psi individual is merely 
  more sensitive and practiced than other humans in reaching out 
  and grabbing a hold of a vast energy which is always present.  This 
  explains how a Psi can detect the presence of another Psi by ex-
  periencing that someone else nearby is “tapped in” to the ambient 
  energy of the surrounding area.  It explains how a Psi can heal 
  a wound or disease rapidly by shifting either themselves or their 
  patient (or both) into an alternate state where the wound is greatly 
  reduced or never occurred in the ﬁrst place.  The Psi is not  literally 
  healing the subject’s body.  They are shifting themselves through 
  the Z axis of Temporal space through the range of probable reali-
  ties to one where the wounded person was not shot but was missed 
  by their opponent.  From the perspective of the injured party it cer-
  tainly feels very much like they were healed and repaired perfectly. 
  It feels as though the gunshot never happened...because it never 
  did.
   
  This opens up questions about the ramiﬁcations of using 
  psi to skip back and forth between nearby alternate realities.  How 
  much control does the psi character have?  Even a minor change in 
  the surroundings of the psi might result in an otherwise excellent 
  friendship turning sour or a potential windfall in the character’s fu-
  ture never being experienced, because they happened to be stand-
  ing in a different reality just a few marks off of where they began 
  when the windfall would have otherwise occurred.
   
  A normal person alters their course through the z axis of 
  probability and alternate dimension merely by deciding whether 
  they get out of bed in the morning or not.  The psi is simply more 
  aware of their choices and more willing to be responsible for expe-
  riencing the outcome.
   
  Does this mean that a psi character immediately vanishes 
  from our reality and appears in another whenever they use their 
  ability?  No it does not.  Reality has a way of reinforcing itself and 
  the layers of probability space above and below our own are only 
  very slightly and almost imperceptibly different.  We all move up 
  and down through them as we are pushed through the experience 
  of time routinely and none of us vanish in a puff of smoke for 
  choosing to go to the store or open a can of beer.  The same is 
  true of the psychic, although they still may manifest an unwanted 
  outcome.  Such an outcome is usually the result of a botched or 
  critically failed psi ability roll and catches up with the character in 
  the not too distant future where they experience something quite 
  different than what they would logically have expected in their day 
  to day relationships, career or experiences.
   
  A psi may also apply the cosmic power available to them 
  in a less elegant sense.  Instead of reaching out to take a hold of it 
  to travel, they may grasp a piece of it and hurl it.
   
  The ability to grasp a hold of the energy wave underlying 
  our ride through the realm of Temporal Space is at the core of the 
  power available to the psychic become Warlock.  The Warlock’s 
  use of this power can manifest as telekinetic power, the focus of 
  gravitational forces in the surrounding area or their temporary re-
  duction, the throwing of manifestations of super heated cosmic 
  plasma and other fearful abilities.  Like the slightly more subtle 
  Psi Witch, the Warlock faces the repercussions of seizing hold of 
  this power and critically failing or botching their attempt.
   
  In the case of the Warlock they may release the energy in 
  an unbalanced or premature fashion and cause damage to them-
  selves or unintended targets surrounding them.  Worse still they 
  may expose themselves directly to raw cosmic energy and become 
  physically mutated.  Over time the unlucky among the ranks of 
  the Warlocks face a twisted utterly inhuman metamorphosis which 
  ends with pain, terror and insanity.
   
  Rubber Science Part 2
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  14
  Polikarpov I-16 Type 10 (Rata)
   
  In 1928 Nikolai Polikarpov was one of a dozen Soviet 
  aircraft designers turned starship experts tasked with the develop-
  ment of the ﬁrst high speed, long range and fully jump capable 
  starﬁghter for the Soviet navy.  The design called for a ﬁghter 
  which was both sturdy, well armed and capable of extended inde-
  pendent operations away from the support of the Soviet navy.
   
  Even with the existing Hegemony technology to draw 
  upon the project (ill conceived for 1928) was doomed to failure.  
  Human experts at the time were barely capable of building what 
  passed for the standard starﬁghter and medium class starships at 
  the time.  The entire project was a wash out and in 1929 when it 
  fell apart, Polikarpov and his team mates were placed under arrest 
  and sent to a Soviet labor farm to await their execution.
   
  After two years awaiting execution, Polikarpov was trans-
  ferred to the asteroid mining colony on Butyrka and sentenced to 
  ten years of forced labor working in the top secret Special Design 
  Bureau naval laboratory.  Fortunately Polikarpov was successful in 
  kit bashing together a ground breaking new starﬁghter design with 
  retractable landing gear, the use of the powerful Wright Cyclone 
  type B engine allowing for both speed and jump capability, and a 
  sort of modiﬁed engine cowling designed to force air through the 
  tactical drive to cool the engine during in-atmo ﬂight operations.
   
  One accidental discovery of Polikarpov’s new cowling 
  was that the force of air through the front mounted narcele of the 
  drive reduced drag on the body of the starﬁghter during ﬂight by 
  as much as sixty percent.
   
  Early designs of the Rata were dispatched to the arena 
  of the civil war almost immediately in 1936.  Several Republi-
  can ﬁghter wings outﬁtted with Rata were fully supplied before 
  the Nationalist blockade came full effect in March of 1936.  The 
  Republicans wisely keep the bases of their Rata ﬁghter squadrons 
  carefully concealed, launching them in pouncing surprise attacks 
  whenever possible and then fading back to their concealed bases.
   
  Early in 1936 the seizure of a Spanish shipment of gold 
  meant for the King in the Valencia system provides the Republi-
  cans with some cold hard currency.  A portion of this gold is sent 
  to the Soviet Union and later in 1936 the Soviets perform a major 
  surprise break-out through the blockade.  Several Italian vessels 
  are totally destroyed along with a Reich destroyer.  The Soviets 
  also lose several vessels, among them a transport carrying half of 
  the new Rata purchased with the seized Kingdom gold.
   
  Even so, a shipment of one hundred additional Rata in 
  three surviving cargo vessels make it to the Republicans.  This 
  is the one and only major reinforcement of the Republican naval 
  force throughout the course of the war.  The arrival of the new 
  Polikarpov I-16 Type 10 (Rata)
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  15
  Rata may have well turned the tide of the war altogether if the 
  Republicans had managed to train sufﬁcient numbers of pilots to 
  ﬂy them.
   
  Instead the resupply is metered out in dribs and drabs. 
  The Republicans manage to ﬁeld four squadrons of Rata at the 
  height of the power of their naval forces.  This is insufﬁcient and 
  the presence of the squadrons of experimental Viktors in the area 
  more than counter balance the Republican starﬁghters.
   
  From January of 1936 through June of 1936 the Rata has 
  a signiﬁcant edge against the majority of the older bi-plane style 
  ﬁghters ﬂown by the Royalists and by the Italians.  The arrival of 
  Reich troops in March outﬁtted with the ﬁrst Bf 109 Bruno al-
  lows the Legion to slowly turn this advantage around, however the 
  Soviet built Rata remains at least an equal threat in the air to the 
  109 A and B models through to the end of June, when the uneven 
  numbers in starﬁghters between the two sides begins to tell. 
   
  An even greater domination by the Rata in starﬁghter 
  combat is sidetracked by the tendency of the ﬁghter’s ShKas ma-
  chine guns to jam, the result of whole runs of them being installed 
  upside down in order to ﬁt them into their wing brackets at the fac-
  tory.  This problem is eventually worked out but not until August 
  of 1936 when reinforcements of new Rata and pilots trained to ﬂy 
  them is reduced to the equivalent of a single replacement squadron 
  once every six to eight weeks.
   
  It should be pointed out that the botched installation of 
  Rata guns is one in a long line of such blunders stemming out of 
  the “make your production quota or be shot” policy dominating 
  factories throughout Soviet space.
   
  The Polikarpov was nicknamed the Rata or rat by the Na-
  tionalists due to its stubby design.  The Republicans refer to the 
  starﬁghter as the Mosca or Fly.  Later designs of the ﬁghter include 
  additional guns mounted below the engine.  The four gun version 
  of the Mosca earns the nickname Super Mosca or merely as the 
  “Super” (super ﬂy).  Nationalist pilots grudgingly call the heavy 
  gun version of the Super Mosca the Mighty Mouse.
   
  In the national press the British and American media scoff 
  at the Polikarpov as a hopeless design by the Soviets whom they 
  portray as somehow deﬁcient in building anything effective either 
  as a starship or vehicle of any sort.  Articles betray an open, almost 
  politically based racism against the Russians, describing them as 
  hopelessly backwards.  It is interesting to note that until the Bf 
  109 Bravo and the Viktor arrives on the scene that this same deﬁ-
  cient Russian Rata ﬁghter is dominating in almost every dogﬁght 
  against Western build starﬁghters from every nation.
   
  The Rata remains a stable snubﬁghter of the Soviet navy 
  well into 1944 although it experiences a number of modiﬁcations 
  and rebuilds.  Thousands of these starﬁghters are built between 
  1935 and their retirement in 1944.  They remain a major item of 
  export for the Soviets to favored trade allies and puppet regimes 
  well beyond that period.
  The Polikarpov I-16 Type 10 (Rata) Snubﬁghter
  Snubﬁghter Class / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit   
  5 slots
  Nose Hardpoint 4 slots
  Left Wing 
  2 slots
  Right Wing 
  2 slots
  Fuselage  
  2 slots
  Polikarpov I-16 slots and locations
  Cockpit  
  2 slots October Victory Sensor
   
   
  1 slot 
  60 mhz standard radio (human)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Life Support Cartridge
   
   
  1 slot 
  Ammunition Reserve
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
  Nose Hardpoint 2 slot 
  SHKAS
   
   
  2 slot 
  Type B Wright Cyclone
   
   
   
   
  Gravity Drive
  Left Wing 
  2 slot 
  SHKAS
  Right Wing 
  2 slot 
  SHKAS
  Fuselage  
  1 slot 
  Light / Joint Welded Armor
   
   
  2 slots 2,0000 Liter Fuel
  Additional 
  8mm Armored Plate
   
   
  Armored Rings / Engine Cowling
   
   
  20mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
  Light
  Engine Performance 
  Jump Transit = 24 hours per LY
   
   
   
  System Transit = 24 hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = Fast
   
   
   
  with boosters ﬁred = Blazing (-)
  Fuel Performance  
  Jump Transit = 150 Liters
   
   
   
  System Transit = 10 Liters per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 5 Liters per Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  5 Tons
   
   
   
  Manufacturing Notes:   
  Soviet
  Hull 
   
   
  Poor
  Engines  
   
  Average
  Weapons 
   
  Good
  Armor  
   
  Excellent
  Systems  
   
  Good
  Price 
   
   
  Average (Available for Purchase)
   
  The Rata is equipped with a standard (human gear) short 
  range radio.  The radio has an effective range of ﬁfty kilometers 
  in good weather.  The radio can receive transmissions from more 
  powerful hybrid units set to send to its frequency, but it is quickly 
  beyond the range where it can reply.  The radio is usually restricted 
  to chatter among pilots ﬂying together in formation.
   
  The Rata, while space worthy, has a minimal life support 
  unit.  This protects the pilot from the effects of g-forces and radia-
  tion but has reduced ability to recycle oxygen.  A pilot can count 
  on their life support normally for about ten days before it begins to 
  run out.  Recharge requires a cartridge replacement.
  Polikarpov I-16 Type 10 (Rata)
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  16
  The Fiat CR 23 (Stilleto)
   
  The Fiat CR 23 is an Italian manufactured ﬁght-
  er built along the bi-plane style evident in most human 
  ﬁghter models built between 1922 and 1930.
   
  The Stilleto was designed by Celestino Ro-
  satelli for the Regia Aeronautica in 1926.  The uneven 
  wing design with a longer upper wing and shorter lower 
  wing was noted as somewhat unconventional.  Rosatel-
  li incorporated a Warren style strut that eliminated the 
  need to place further supports between the wings.  This 
  feature was incorporated into several different Ital-
  ian designs and greatly aided in eliminating the visual 
  obstacles presented by multiple supports.  In addition 
  Rosatelli moved the wing mounted engines to the tail 
  which further improved pilot visibility to the front and 
  sides of the craft.
   
  Unfortunately the twin engine placement and 
  double ﬁn tail design blocked pilot visibility into the 
  starﬁghter’s critical six o’clock position.  A pilot caught 
  unaware could be approached from below and behind 
  by a stealthy and patient foe and pounced upon before 
  the pilot even became aware that they were in trouble.
   
  The Stilleto is armed with two Breda SOFAT 
  light guns in the nose and one in either wing.  The very 
  short range of these guns and the lack of any sort of 
  sophisticated targeting equipment beyond a simple iron 
  site makes the successful application of the Stilleto in 
  combat restricted to eyes on combat at extreme close 
  range in space and dogﬁghting in atmosphere.
   
  One could easily argue that the Stiletto’s stripped 
  type B engines are meant only to allow the ship to travel 
  from one planetary combat zone to another and that the 
  starﬁghter was never conceived for combat in the black 
  of space.
   
  This is true of many of the starﬁghters built 
  between 1922 and 1928, whose designers could not 
  imagine a ship intercepting and engaging an enemy in 
  the vastness of open space.  Combat was thought to be 
  something that would largely be restricted to in-atmo 
  engagements or encounters in high orbit.  The idea of 
  unrestricted warfare developing between nations in 
  space was still somewhat shocking to designers on the 
  Fiat CR 23 Stilleto
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  17
  heels of the Great War and ran contrary to the spirit 
  of cooperation evoked in the early days of space ex-
  ploration.  In fact, many starﬁghters were designed to 
  be merchant escorts whose primary mission was the 
  protection of civilian freighters and colonial transports 
  from pirates.  Few of the starﬁghters build prior to 1927 
  were conceived as full blown military craft.
   
  Fiat began experiments with design changes to 
  the standard Type B drives in 1924 with the earlier Fiat 
  CR 20.  Most of the testing on these engines was per-
  formed at the Fiat plant on the island of Sardinia.  Few, 
  if any trials were conducted away from Earth or in cli-
  mates varied from that found in the pleasant Mediter-
  ranean.  In addition the engines were never tested with 
  changes in the quality and composition of fuels avail-
  able in the colonies.
   
  The result of this is a reputation among mechan-
  ics that the engines of the Fiat line are troublesome and 
  require frequent cleaning and adjustment.  Actual me-
  chanical replacements and failures do not seem to occur 
  signiﬁcantly above those encountered in other engines 
  but without regular attention the engines can loose per-
  formance, shake and spew out a contrail of black soot 
  that can scar the sky for miles.
   
  Of course most of these problems stem from the 
  use of sub-standard fuel, which is common in the colo-
  nies and more widely used the further one travels from 
  Earth.  With the proper fuel and a reasonable schedule 
  of mechanical attention the Fiat engine operates in a 
  very reliable fashion.
   
  With its engines running correctly, the Fiat can 
  punch through the atmosphere at Blazing (-) speeds. 
  Unfortunately, this is almost never the case.  On most 
  days the engines will be pushing Fast to Fast (+) speeds. 
  The Fiat has sufﬁcient fuel to patrol a wide area.  It is 
  equipped with a basic communication jammer in the 
  nose.  The jammer has a range of 10 kilometers.
   
  Despite its shortcomings, the Fiat CR 23 is one 
  of the better 1920’s era bi-wing starﬁghters in space. 
  Its greatest drawback continues to be the short range of 
  its guns and strictly eyes on targeting.  This makes an 
  otherwise decent starﬁghter a poor match for the sensor 
  enhanced gunnery of ships like the Viktor and the Bf 
  109 Bruno.   The Italians have sold Fiat CR 23’s to a 
  wide variety of buyers over the years.  They are ﬂown 
  by pilots on both sides of the civil war, by mercenaries, 
  escort pilots and pirates.  Despite their higher than aver-
  age price they remain popular with a devoted following 
  of ﬂyers in 1936.
  The Fiat CR 23 (Stilleto)
  Snubﬁghter Class / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit   
  5 slots
  Nose Hardpoint 4 slots
  Left Wing 
  1 slots
  Right Wing 
  1 slots
  Fuselage  
  4 slots
  The Fiat CR 23 (Stilleto) / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit  
  1 slot 
  Hybrid Radio
   
   
  1 slot 
  FuG 125 Hermine beacon receiver
   
   
  1 slot 
  Pilot Ejection System
   
   
  1 slot 
  Seetakt II Active Sensor
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
  Nose Hardpoint 1 slot 
  Breda SOFAT
   
   
  1 slot 
  Breda SOFAT
   
   
  1 slot 
  Expanded Ammo Reserve
   
   
  1 slot 
  Communication Jammer
  Left Wing 
  1 slot 
  Breda SOFAT
   
   
   
  Right Wing 
  1 slot 
  Breda SOFAT
   
   
   
  Fuselage  
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters of Fuel
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fiat CR 20 (stripped Type B) 
   
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fiat CR 20 (stripped Type B)
   
   
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters of Fuel
  Additional 
  8mm Armored Plate
   
   
  Armored Rings / Engine Cowling
   
   
  20mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Engine Performance: 
  Jump Transit = NA
   
   
   
  System Transit = 19 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = Blazing (-)
  Fuel Performance: 
  Jump Transit = NA
   
   
   
  System Transit = 20 Liters Per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 10 Liters Per Hour
  Airframe 
  Light
  Tonnage  
  4 Tons
   
   
   
  Manufacturing Notes:   
  Fiat
  Hull 
   
   
  Good
  Engines  
   
  Good (Average)
  Weapons 
   
  Average
  Armor  
   
  Average
  Systems  
   
  Average
  Price 
   
   
  High
  Fiat CR 23 Stilleto
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  18
  Rocketship Rubber Science: Part 3
  Gravity Wells and Space Travel
   
  The force of gravity is one key to understanding the de-
  tails of space travel in the Temporal universe.  In Rocketship Em-
  pires, the force of gravity is measured not only in g-force but also 
  in valstroms.
   
  A valstrom is a unit of force applied by one body in space 
  towards another.  A single valstrom is a very small but present 
  force considered to be one hundredth of the pull of a single g.  The 
  measurement of gravity in valstroms is important because this is 
  how gravitational energy ﬁelds between two stars in different di-
  mensions, inﬂuence one another.
   
  Two stars occupying the same dimension on the z axis 
  will tend to exert a higher pull of valstroms on one another than 
  two stars in different dimensions.  One might measure two stars in 
  the same dimension exerting a ﬁve valstrom pull upon one another 
  while the same two stars, one in our own dimension and the other 
  star in a nearby dimension may only exert .25 valstroms upon one 
  another.  The important point being that the connection still exists 
  despite their being in different dimensions.
   
  These weak lines of gravity between stars in different re-
  gions of Temporal Space are known to the Hegemony as threads 
  or more accurately as “Thread” and it is thread which the Martian 
  navigation computer sorts through and uses for plotting a course 
  through Temporal Space.
  Jump Routes and Drives
   
  Gravity drives follow speciﬁc routes or hops from star 
  system to neighboring star system instead of vanishing into jump 
  space and simply appearing on the far side of the galaxy.  This is 
  because of the interference that gravity wells from other stars or 
  objects can have upon a ship traveling in jump space.  When the 
  valstrom (gravity) inﬂuence of a star is too high a vessel traveling 
  in jump  space will be pulled into that star’s gravity well instead of 
  its intended destination.  Ships traveling in jump space rely strictly 
  on inertia and the velocity gained from surﬁng the edge of the cos-
  mic wave of time.  Jump engines play no signiﬁcant role once a 
  vessel enters jump space other than making subtle course adjust-
  ments when following thread. Imagine a ship as a skateboard rid-
  ing the surface of the cosmic skateboard park.  A gravity well of a 
  star is a bit like a steep embankment, a big dip in the park.  If the 
  velstrom inﬂuence is low enough a ship can slip through.  If the 
  grade of the gravity well is too steep (a high enough valstrom pull) 
  the ship will complete its jump in that gravity well no matter how 
  advanced the starship engine.
   
  A starship can jump directly from the origin star to a des-
  tination star so long as no other stars and their surrounding gravity 
  well intersect the jump.  Jumps always run along the thread of 
  gravity connecting two stars and for the most part this means that 
  jump travel runs in a straight line (even if that line angles up the 
  z axis of probability space to a system in an alternate reality).  If 
  the ship’s course is crossed by the gravity well of a nearby star at 
  a high enough rating of valstroms the ship’s course will be skewed 
  and it will be pulled into the star system of the intervening body. 
  The disruption of jump travel by nearby star systems requires that 
  vessels travel in a leap frog fashion from one star system to another 
  throughout space.
   
  Even the most advanced starship drive is bound by these 
  laws of starship travel in the Rocketship Empires universe.  A more 
  advanced version of the gravity drive provided to humans is the 
  stutter drive.  A stutter drive is faster than a human gravity drive. 
  By faster I mean that the vessel moves through jump space from 
  one star system to the next at greater speeds.  A jump travel route 
  that takes three days for a standard gravity drive might only re-
  quire two or three hours with a stutter drive.  When the stutter drive 
  vessel emerges from jump space at the immersion point in the des-
  tination system, it immediately vectors a dive towards the next star 
  system along its route.  In this fashion the stutter drive jumps in 
  a stuttering fashion from star system to star system.  A three day 
  trip aboard a stutter drive vessel may ﬁnd it dozens of jumps away 
  from its origin. A standard gravity drive will have made the trip to 
  one or perhaps two star systems in the same amount of time.  The 
  route a ship with a stutter drive must take does not change from 
  the route traveled by the standard gravity drive.  The ship merely 
  covers the distance between each star along the route in a much 
  shorter period of time.
  Gravity Drive Evolution
   
  In this section I will list the evolution of the gravity drive 
  so Directors can have a handy reference for determining the tech-
  nology level and ship drive technology of the alien races they de-
  sign for Rocketship Empires 1936.  Those aliens which have al-
  ready been introduced in the Spanish region book have their drive 
  drives discussed here as well.
  Rubber Science: Part 3
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  19
  Experimental
   
  A race with an experimental gravity drive has likely de-
  veloped it on their own.  If they dwell within the Hegemony it is 
  likely that the Martians have not considered them worthy trading 
  partners.  The main reason for this would be a lack of valuable 
  trade goods or no real potential in the eyes of the Hegemony as a 
  race worth exploiting either for labor or military purposes.  Typi-
  cally an experimental gravity drive can perform a single jump. 
  Travel time for that single jump usually ranges into a period of 
  weeks and mandates that a humanoid crew enter cold sleep to sur-
  vive the journey.
  Standard (Mark I)
   
  This is the gravity drive usually traded for by the Hege-
  mony in exchange for natural resources, labor or mercenary ser-
  vices.  Humans are not the ﬁrst race the Martians have developed a 
  trade relationship with, they are merely the last on a list of poten-
  tial warrior races chosen to ﬁght on behalf of the Empire.
   
  Because the alien races receiving this drive did not de-
  velop a gravity drive technology on their own, most are not swift 
  to push past this level of technology.  An example of an alien race 
  which still operates with the standard gravity driveis the alien race 
  known as the Vreed.  Out of the two dozen or so alien races scat-
  tered within the borders of Hegemony space perhaps a half dozen 
  of them use the same gravity drive technology as mankind.
  Mark II
   
  The Mark II gravity drive shows a marked increase in 
  jump speed and a signiﬁcant reduction in fuel use.  The Mark II 
  gravity drive will reduce transit times between star systems by half 
  that of standard drives.  Fuel use will be reduced by twenty ﬁve 
  percent.
   
  The Purvyans are an example of an alien race that utilizes 
  the Mark II gravity drive.  Purvyan transits between star systems 
  still take several days to accomplish and they are still prone to ex-
  tended stop overs after each jump to rest and refuel.  The Mark II 
  gravity drive is the drive technology currently in the hands of ten 
  of the two dozen alien races dwelling within the Hegemony bor-
  ders and it is likely the most common gravity drive used by alien 
  cultures in surrounding Temporal Space.
  Mark III
   
  The Mark III gravity drive further reduces the speed of 
  the jump transit.  This is an entry level stutter drive.  A transit 
  between star systems is likely to take a day or two.  The trip is 
  short enough to allow for a second jump as a routine part of ship 
  operations.  Four of the alien races within the Hegemony possess 
  the Mark III gravity drive, leaving three other alien races and the 
  Martians themselves to discuss.
  Stutter Drive
   
  The full ﬂedged Stutter Drive transits a light year in a 
  matter of hours.  Most single jumps from star system to star system 
  require eight to ten hours.  The Stutter Drive allows a ship to rou-
  tinely perform three, four or even ﬁve jumps before the crew will 
  desire rest, refueling and a bit of time before the next stretch of the 
  journey.
   
  As discussed previously, stutter drive ships use the same 
  routes, jump and immersion points as other ships.  They merely 
  move along these routes at a faster rate of speed.  When a stut-
  ter drive ship hops into a system their drive still requires an hour 
  to recycle and prep before entering stardive.  During this period 
  neither the vessels system drives or jump drive is operational and 
  the ship can only move at combat speed.  This makes even stutter 
  drive vessels vulnerable to confrontation and combat during this 
  period to hostile ships guarding a system’s immersion point.
  The Abyssal Drive
   
  The abyssal drive improves the navigation technology 
  and warp bubble technology to the point where a gravity drive can 
  activate using the much smaller gravity drive of a nearby planet.
   
  The abyssal drive allows a ship to vanish while leaving 
  orbit, emerge at a lesser immersion point at the system’s star within 
  minutes and after the usual hour prep time follow the stutter drive 
  routes.  The Abyssal Drive is incredibly fast and can easily follow 
  lesser gravity threads in jump space.  It is the drive technology 
  necessary for mapping signiﬁcant regions of Temporal Space. The 
  abbysal drive and knowledge regarding thread and how to explore 
  using it are the holy grails of Temporal Space travel.
   
  The Hegemony has the abyssal drive system but only in 
  a limited number of its ships.  The stutter drive is a much more 
  economical drive system to produce and the Martians are not keen 
  to see the abyssal drive falling into the hands of any of the alien 
  races currently under their thumb.
   
  Only two other alien races outside of the Hegemony are 
  known to possess the Abyssal Drive.  It is said that the abyssal 
  drive technology was originally in the hands of the humans and 
  was one of a number of high tech items seized from them after 
  their defeat.  The Martians got their hands on the technology af-
  ter they managed to defeat the aliens responsible for the human 
  exile many thousands of years ago.  The Hegemony is not at all 
  interested in this small detail falling into the hands of their human 
  allies.
   
  The Abyssal Drive can cross a light year in a matter of 
  minutes, allowing a crew to perform dozens of jumps before re-
  quiring a rest and refueling.  The largest sink is waiting for the 
  drive to recycle and navigation to prep for the next jump.  This 
  can make an abyssal drive vessel vulnerable to attack, just like 
  any other ship.  Hegemony abyssal drive vessels tend to be com-
  mand vessels, usually carriers with a large crew and hundreds of 
  Hegemony snub and starﬁghters on board for protection.  They 
  are heavily armed and their shields are so powerful as to make a 
  direct attack by anything short of a human battleship a complete 
  joke.  A 16” gun might be able to exceed the shield strength and 
  therefore throw a solid shot through the shield into a Hegemony 
  carrier.  Whether a human battleship could withstand the pounding 
  it would receive is another question altogether.
  Rubber Science: Part 3
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  20
  Martin M 130 Clipper
   
  The Martin M-130 Clipper was conceived as a civilian 
  courier whose purpose was the carrying of mail and recorded 
  broadcasts of news and sports programs from Earth out into the 
  colonies.  The ﬁrst Martin M-130 was built in 1930 by a team 
  of private engineers under a ﬁrm that would later become Martin 
  Spacecraft Industries.
   
  The M-130 incorporated a design allowing both airﬁeld 
  and water landings, making it one of the most versatile fast trans-
  port craft available.  The ships clean lines, solid construction and 
  comfortable crew compartment soon made her a favorite among 
  small merchants and sales of the bird soared from 1930 through 
  1936.  The design has changed little in the past six years.
   
  In addition to building the Martin for sale both to govern-
  ments and to private buyers MSI has pursued its goal of providing 
  fast and reliable news and courier services up and down the major 
  transportation routes within human occupied space. 
   
  Individual clippers have become a familiar site at star-
  ports and were dubbed with names like the China Clipper, the Yan-
  kee Clipper, the Madrid Clipper, the Paris Clipper and so forth. 
  Private owners tend to apply more creative names to their birds 
  like Lucky Gambler, Vixen, The Last Word and Yangtze Blues.
   
  In 1934 the Martin began to gain notoriety as a solid 
  choice as a search and rescue craft.  Over the last six years the ves-
  sel has been seen in a variety of  roles although it has rarely been 
  adopted for anything like an offensive military vessel.
   
  The Martin is powered by three Pratt and Whitney Wasp 
  Type A gravity drives.  Only the drive in the rear is fully opera-
  tional.  The other two drives are lighter versions (stripped) meant 
  to provide speed during system and tactical ﬂight.
   
  The interior of the ship is wide and spacious compared to 
  other fast transport vessels.  The ship can be left with a cargo bay 
  or have the interior changed over for passenger suites, troop trans-
  port style bunks and even several labs.  The interior arrangement 
  of the ship all depends on her role and the goals of her Captain.
   
  The vessel is designed with two decks.  The lower deck 
  can be left as a cargo hold even if the upper rear area is turned into 
  quarters to allow for some cargo hauling capacity.  In many Mar-
  tin’s the forward cargo compartment beneath the cockpit is turned 
  into a modest galley where meals are prepared and the crew can 
  gather for meetings or rest in a comfortable environment.
  Martin M-130 Clipper
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  21
   
  The Madrid Clipper featured here is equipped with a hy-
  brid radio system and pilot ejection seats for all three posts in her 
  main cabin (pilot, co-pilot and navigator).  The cockpit is protected 
  by a 20mm armored bathtub in addition to its 8mm armored Astro-
  steel plate in the rear and 20mm glass steel windows.
   
  In the nose she is ﬁtted with a CXAM sensor allowing the 
  operators (sensor and radio operator in the lab) to scan for enemy 
  vessels out to a range of 1 AU.  The nose is also equipped with 
  swamping gear for the vessel, a communication’s jammer and a 
  single FAST drone.  The drone is usually reserved as an emergency 
  beacon in the event the ship is damaged, engines fail or is other-
  wise stranded.
   
  The single Pratt & Whitney Wasp in the rear allows the 
  vessel to travel at moderate speeds through jump space.  The two 
  additional stripped wing engines boost system and tactical speeds 
  up to fast when she is unloaded and fast (-) when her cargo is ﬁlled 
  by ﬁfty percent or more.
   
  The ship featured in the illustration to the left has a 360 
  degree rotating dorsal turret and is armed with a French built 20mm 
  S-9 Cannon.  The cannon only has sufﬁcient rounds for ten bursts. 
  It takes two full combat turns to reload.  Additional ammunition is 
  usually stored in a nearby arms locker.  
   
  Fuel is carried in her belly.  In the front of the lower deck 
  is the common crew area and galley and a steerage quarters area 
  with lockers and hammock space for four crew.  The remainder of 
  the lower deck is made up of cargo space and cargo nets.
   
  The upper deck is made up of the cockpit, two ﬁrst class 
  cabins large enough to accommodate four passengers or senior 
  crew members, the CXAM sensor lab and radio room, a small 
  locker and shower area where the ship’s head is located and ﬁnally 
  the ship’s small medical bay.
   
  The Clipper is designed to take-off and land in all but the 
  roughest oceans.  Her double wing design front to back provides 
  good stability in bad weather conditions and allows her to remain 
  aloft even when ﬂying at dog slow speeds.  Her near hovering 
  capability makes her a fantastic search and rescue craft.  All this 
  additional stability has an impact on combat maneuvering.  She is 
  something of a cow when it comes to trying to bob and weave in a 
  dogﬁght.  Pilots experience at least a -1 initiative penalty and a -1 
  penalty to their defense or dodge ability to avoid being hit during 
  combat. (It is up to the Director to interpret the appropriate modi-
  ﬁers based upon their game system of choice.)
   
  As far as civilian small transports are concerned she is 
  decently fast but she is no ﬁghter.  She will not be able to outrun 
  the majority of the starﬁghters that she encounters and this makes 
  her somewhat vulnerable to attack.  The 20mm cannon provides at 
  least some discouragement to potential raiders.  The rest depends 
  on the sheer moxy and creativity of her Captain and crew.
  The Martin M-130 (Madrid Clipper)
  Fast Transport Class / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit   
   
  4 slots
  Nose Hardpoint  
  7 slots
  Tail Hardpoint 
   
  2 slots
  Dorsal Hardpoint  
  3 slots
  Ventral Hardpoint 
  2 slots
  Left Wing 
   
  2 slots
  Right Wing 
   
  2 slots
  Fuselage  
   
  7 slots
  The Martin M-130 Clipper / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit  
  1 slot 
  Hybrid Radio
   
   
  1 slot 
  Pilot Ejection System
   
   
  1 slot 
  20 mm Armored Bathtub
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
  Nose Hardpoint 3 slots CXAM Sensor (1 AU)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Ship Swamping Gear
   
   
  1 slot 
  Communication Jammer
   
   
  2 slots FAST drone
  Tail Hardpoint 
  2 slots Pratt & Whitney “Wasp”
   
   
   
  Type A Gravity Drive
  Dorsal Hardpoint 1 slot 
  Dorsal Turret (360)
   
   
  2 slots 20 mm S-9 Cannon
  Ventral  
  2 slots 2,000 Liters of Fuel 
  Left Wing 
  2 slots Pratt & Whitney “Wasp”
   
   
   
  (stripped)
   
   
   
  Right Wing 
  2 slots Pratt & Whitney “Wasp”
   
   
   
  (stripped)
   
   
   
  Fuselage  
  1 slots Steerage Crew Quarters (4) (Lower)
   
   
  2 slots First Class Cabins (4) (Upper Deck)
   
   
  1 slot 
  CXAM Sensor Lab (Upper Deck)  
   
   
  2 slots Medical Bay (Upper Deck)
   
   
  1 slot 
  100 Ton Cargo Hold (Lower Deck)
  Additional 
   
  8mm Armored Plate
   
   
   
  Armored Rings / Engine Cowling
   
   
   
  20mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
   
  Medium
  Engine Performance 
  Jump Transit = 42 Hours per LY
   
   
   
  System Transit = 19 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = Fast / Fast (-)
  Fuel Performance  
  Jump Activation = 150 Liters
   
   
   
  System Transit = 26 Liters per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 10 Liters per Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  150 Tons
   
   
   
  Martin M-130 Clipper
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  Nieuport-Delage NiD 52
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  23
  Nieuport-Delage NiD 52
   
  The original Nieuport bi-plane fairly dominated the allied 
  ﬁghter industry during the Great War.  The ﬁrst pilot to ﬁre a shot 
  at an enemy pilot did so from the cockpit of a Nieuport bi-plane.  
  The highest scoring French ace of the war ﬂew a Nieuport.
   
  At the end of the war and with the arrival of the Martians 
  the Nieuport factory worked to make the transition from standard 
  aircraft over to starﬁghters.  The famous name of the company 
  attracted sufﬁcient investment capital to make the transition and 
  even to expand production to some degree.
   
  From 1923 until 1929 the Nieuport company built a wide 
  range of starﬁghter craft all built around the same principles of the 
  bi-plane ﬁghters with which it had experienced such success dur-
  ing the Great War.
   
  The Nieuport-Delage NiD 52 is the last in a long produc-
  tion run of different Nieuport designs.  During the 1920’s almost 
  every government in space had ﬁghter squadrons equipped with 
  Nieuport starﬁghters.  By 1930 much of the edge the company had 
  was vanishing.  Fighters were more modern and innovative.  By 
  1932 company had experienced a number of ﬁnancial setbacks and 
  had failed to adopt most of the signiﬁcant advances in snub and 
  starﬁghter design.
   
  By 1935 the Nieuport-Delage NiD 52 was simply out-
  matched by most starﬁghters built after 1930.  The French Star 
  Republic equipped several of its ﬁghter wings with the NiD 52 
  in 1931 and 1932 but by 1933 had moved on to other starﬁghter 
  designs.  After ﬂying the more modern starﬁghters, French pilots 
  simply did not like the way the NiD 52 handled.  Despite her ini-
  tial speed advantage in a ﬂat, straight run when was released in 
  1931, the ﬁghter did not handle very well in the sort of tight turn-
  ing dogﬁght for which she was designed.  By 1935 almost every 
  other starﬁghter in production was faster and the poorly armed, 
  poorly armored 1920’s era ﬁghter, the last hurrah of the Nieuport 
  Starﬁghter company had lost even that advantage.
   
  The NiD 52 starﬁghter might not have been of signiﬁcant 
  note at all except that the Spanish government had ordered one 
  hundred and ﬁfty of the ﬁghters in July of 1935, just months before 
  the outbreak of the civil war.  Perhaps sixty of the ﬁghters were 
  seized by the Republicans during the initial revolt while the re-
  mainder were kept secure at Royalist airﬁelds scattered throughout 
  Spain.  During the ﬁrst year of the war the NiD 52 would be one 
  of the main starﬁghters put into the air by the Royalists. It was no 
  match for the Rata of the Republicans or the Bf 109 of the Legion 
  Condore.
   
  Despite regular losses the Royalists carefully protect their 
  ﬁghter squadrons as much as possible.  It is likely that there will be 
  a few squadrons of NiD 52’s ﬂying right through to the end of the 
  civil war.
   
  The Nieuport-Delage NiD 52 was never designed to 
  perform as a jump capable ﬁghter (except in a few personal vari-
  ants).  It retains its human built French R1/537 Radio which has 
  a range of 50 kilometers in good weather.  A hybrid morris code 
  sender was added in 1929 and allows morris code signal messages 
  to ships in orbit and out to half an AU.  Engine nacelles providing 
  thrust from the Hispano Suiza Type A drive are located on either 
  wing.  The ship is equipped with a small coach cabin for a pilot 
  and passenger or relief pilot and a small cargo space in the tail.  
  The tail cargo compartment can hold up to three tons of equipment 
  if packed carefully.  Plenty of room for personal clothing, gear, 
  emergency food supplies and even a small personal vehicle like 
  a BMW motorcycle.  Large items can be lowered or raised using 
  a hydraulic lift inside of the compartment through a door in the 
  under side of the tail.
  The Nieuport Delage NiD 52
  Starﬁghter Class / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit   
  5 slots
  Nose Hardpoint 4 slots
  Tail Hardpoint 
  1 slots
  Left Wing 
  1 slots
  Right Wing 
  1 slots
  Fuselage  
  2 slots
  The Nieuport Delage NiD 52 / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit  
  1 slot 
  French R1/537 VHF Radio (50 Km)
   
   
   
  with Hybrid Receiver (.5 AU)
   
   
  1 slot 
  French Hybrid Morris Sender (.5 AU)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Pilot Ejection System (Added 1930)
   
   
  2 slots Rapier Sensor (50 Kilometers)
   
  Nose Hardpoint 1 slot 
  Darne Light (Medium -)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Darne Light (Medium -)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Expanded Ammo Reserve
   
   
  1 slot 
  Hispano Suiza Type A Drive
   
   
   
  (stripped)
  Tail Hardpoint 
  1 slot 
  3 Ton Cargo Space
   
   
  Left Wing 
  1 slot 
  Engine Nacelle
   
   
   
  Right Wing 
  1 slot 
  Engine Nacelle
   
   
   
  Fuselage  
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters of Fuel
   
   
  1 slot 
  Cramped Quarters
   
   
   
  2 Hammocks / writing area / lockers
   
   
   
  shelves for clothing or personal items. 
   
   
  Additional 
   
  8mm Armored Plate
   
   
   
  10mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
   
  Light
  Engine Performance 
  Not Jump Capable
   
   
   
  24 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical = Fast (-)
  Fuel 
   
   
  System Flight 
  5 Liters / Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Flight 
  1 Liter / Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  7 Tons
  Nieuport-Delage NiD 52
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  24
  Breguet Br XIX
   
  The French built Breguet Br XIX is one in a line-up of 
  successful bi-plane style starships developed by the Breguet Space 
  Corporation between 1924 and 1936.  Breguet designs are well 
  known for their quality and durability.  They were perhaps some 
  of the most rigorously tested starﬁghters and fast transports devel-
  oped by a human starship manufacturer between 1922 to 1929.
   
  The Breguet Br XIX model is known for its capabilities 
  as a distance runner.  Its engine modiﬁcations play more towards 
  an even distribution of fuel efﬁciency, speed and mechanical reli-
  ability than all out combat power.  While this makes the craft more 
  of a middle performer in combat the low maintenance and range of 
  this starﬁghter make it a favorite with both its air and ground crews 
  and the Br-19 has found its way into the ﬂeets of most of the major 
  human governments operating in space.
   
  Ofﬁcially the Breguet Br XIX was designated as a light 
  bomber / transport and recon vessel.  It has a larger fuselage than 
  what is typically found in a starﬁghter and a greater tonnage.  This 
  places the ship somewhere between a ﬁghter and a fast transport / 
  assault vessel.  For our purposes the Breguet Br XIX is designated 
  as a variant on the heavy starﬁghter.
   
  The larger fuselage comes both with a great fuel capacity 
  for extended range and a conﬁned area where up to six passengers 
  or crew can be carried.  The compartment is hardly comfortable 
  but functional.  For short hops within a single star system the Breg-
  uet is ﬁne for service as an armed commercial shuttle.  For jumps 
  between star systems the quarters are a bit too cramped to attract 
  all but the most determined passengers and so the ship is usually 
  conﬁned to carrying an extended crew of six off on whatever mis-
  sions they might have at hand.
   
  Explorers, small survey teams, recon patrols and small 
  bounty hunter outﬁts ﬁnd the Breguet 19 suits their needs very 
  well.  At team of four or ﬁve can travel in her in some measure 
  of comfort and still retain sufﬁcient room for hauling one or two 
  passengers (or prisoners) if the crew does not mind sharing their 
  quarters with said individuals.
   
  The craft is designed with a pair of Renault Type A grav-
  ity drives.  These are fully functioning drives which work in tan-
  dem to make for decent speeds both in jump, in system transit and 
  combat.  The twin Renault’s are tuned for optimum fuel efﬁciency 
  and the Breguet Br XIX enjoys a 20% bonus to range when run-
  ning on quality fuel and a 10% bonus to range when running on 
  swamped fuel.
   
  The ship is designed around an operational crew of two. 
  One pilot and one observer who doubles as sensor operator and 
  turret gunner.  During space operations only the dorsal turret is 
  operational.  It can manage a 270 degree arc of ﬁre covering the 
  rear and sides of the ship.  The gun can be raised to traverse nearly 
  straight up.  During atmospheric operations under sufﬁciently de-
  cent conditions a hatch in the ﬂoor can be popped open and a belly 
  gun can be deployed.  The ship’s belly gun is a standard, human 
  technology Vicker’s machine gun.  It is useful in discouraging at-
  tacks my human aircraft and for targeting vehicles and targets on 
  the ground.  The belly gun can cover nearly a 360 degree arc with 
  only the immediate direction of the nose outside of its ﬁring area.  
  While the ship is on the ground it can be used effectively to help 
  cover the ship from ground assault.  In a pinch the Vickers gun 
  can be removed from its swivel bracket and carried as a bi-pod 
  mounted, portable machine gun by a crew member.
   
  Because of its reputation for reliability and its range the 
  Breguet is a favorite among entry level crews seeking to make 
  their fortune.  She is also a decent ship as a replacement should a 
  crew experience the loss of a more expensive vessel.
   
  The Breguet is one of the most heavily tested vessels in 
  its class.  It is extremely stable and pilots enjoy a one point bonus 
  when ﬂying it through rough atmospheric conditions.  The sup-
  ports in the belly have been reinforced, allowing the vessel to resist 
  damage very well when forced to make a belly landing.  Owners of 
  this vessel beneﬁt from the fact that it is so widely used.  Replace-
  ment parts for a Breguet can be found at nearly any starport or 
  airﬁeld of decent size.
  Br XIX - hover
   
  This craft incorporates the repulser drive found in hover 
  autos.  It allows the ship to ﬂoat on a cushion generated by the 
  ship’s repulser ﬁeld between two and three feet off the ground. 
  Breguet Br XIX
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  25
  The repulser ﬁeld can remain active even when the ship is parked, 
  so long as there is at least a small bit of fuel to keep the ship’s drive 
  generating power.
   
  The down side of the Br 19 hover is the price.  The added 
  repulser engine ads an additional $1,000 US to the sticker price 
  which may take an affordable vessel out of the wallet range of 
  many buyers.
  Br XIX - hydro
   
  The Br 19 hydro incorporates a pair of pontoons to the 
  craft making it capable of both landings at paved airﬁelds and wa-
  ter landings.  The added pontoons make a rough landing on a dirt 
  ﬁeld a difﬁcult proposition, one likely to tear a large hole in one of 
  the expensive pontoons.  Even so, there is almost always a river, 
  lake or body of water to be found on a habitable colony world, 
  even when a paved airﬁeld is absent.
   
  The addition of the pontoons and water craft capability 
  adds $250.00 US to the purchase price of this starship.
  The Breguet Br XIX and Spain
   
  The Spanish Royal Navy purchased a license to produce 
  the Br XIX directly at their ﬂeet facility on New Madrid in 1928. 
  Some one hundred and seventy of these starﬁghters were produced 
  locally by the Spanish Navy under British technical supervision 
  between 1928 and the start of the war in 1936.  Fifty of these were 
  produced with a single Hispano Suiza engine instead of the stan-
  dard imported Renault engines.  Br-19s have been seized by all 
  sides in the conﬂict.  They are ﬂown by Royalist, Republican and 
  Nationalist pilots.
  Plot Point
   
  A mixture of the heavy ﬁghter Breguet Br XIX’s in two 
  full squadrons and two squadrons of the light NiD 52’s with sev-
  eral in reserve make up the ﬁghter force available to the starbase at 
  Puerto Angeles.
   
  These craft face a challenge when put up against the more 
  modern Rata and 109 starﬁghters.  Commander Navaro is careful 
  to keep her aged squadrons under the protection of her station’s 
  formidable guns unless a juicy opportunity presents itself.  She 
  seems to have a sixth sense regarding ambushes and is not suck-
  ered into them easily.  There may be some truth to the rumors that 
  Commander Navaro is either psi active herself or may have the aid 
  of a psi talent among her station staff ofﬁcers which accounts for 
  her ability to sniff out a trap.
  The Breguet BR XIX
  Heavy Fighter Class / (21)
  Cockpit   
  5 slots
  Nose Hardpoint 5 slots
  Tail Hardpoint 
  1 slot
  Dorsal Hardpoint 2 slots
  Left Wing 
  1 slots
  Right Wing 
  1 slots
  Fuselage  
  6 slots
  The Breguet BR XIX / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit  
  1 slot 
  French R1/537 VHF Radio (50 Km)
   
   
   
  with Hybrid Receiver (.5 AU)
   
   
  1 slot 
  French Hybrid Morris Sender (.5 AU)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Pilot Ejection System 
   
   
  2 slots Rapier Sensor (50 Kilometers)
  Nose Hardpoint 1 slot 
  Fire Control System
   
   
  1 slot 
  MAC 1934 (Medium)
   
   
  1 slot 
  MAC 1934 (Medium)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Expanded Ammunition Reserve
  Tail Hardpoint 
  1 slot 
  5 tons cargo in tail compartment
  Dorsal  
  1 slot 
  Dorsal Turret (270 Degree)
   
   
  1 slot 
  7.5 MAC 1934 (Medium +)
  Left Wing 
  1 slot 
  500 Liters of Fuel
  Right Wing 
  1 slot 
  500 Liters of Fuel
  Fuselage  
  2 slots Crew Quarters (6)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Nose / Lab Area
   
   
  1 slot 
  5 tons cargo below deck
   
   
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters of Fuel
   
   
  1 slot 
  Light Armor / Bolted
  Additional 
   
  8mm Armored Plate
   
   
   
  Armored Rings / Engine Cowling
   
   
   
  20mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
   
  Light
  Engine Performance 
  43 Hours per LY
   
   
   
  19 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical = Fast 
  Fuel 
   
   
  Jump Activation 200 Liters
   
   
   
  System Flight 
  10 Liters / Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Flight 
  2 Liters / Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  8.5 Tons
  Manufacturing Notes:   
  Breguet Spacecraft
  Hull 
   
   
  Excellent
  Engines  
   
  Good 
  Weapons 
   
  Average
  Armor  
   
  Average
  Systems  
   
  Average
  Price 
   
   
  Average (Common)
  Breguet Br XIX 
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  26
  Rubber Science: Part 4
  Rubber Science: Part 4
  The Golden Dawn
   
  “Don’t forget to breathe Phoebe, or your next out of body 
  experience in this exercise will be your passing out cold.”
   
   
  I would like to see you knocked out cold, Lewis -Phoebe 
  thought to herself.  The second hour into her tenth session standing 
  in front of the tall dressing mirror in her chambers at Whiteforth 
  Hall was beginning to wear on her.
   
  She took a careful breathe slowly and focused on the in 
  and out of air for a moment.  After a time she was able to concen-
  trate on her pale, mousy reﬂection in the room’s single piece of 
  furniture, the antique mirror.
   
  She was attempting to ﬂip.
   
  Not physically ﬂip,  metaphysically.  Part of this involved 
  visualization.  The mirror was meant to help with that.  She also 
  had a small hand mirror.  If she held up the hand mirror it would 
  reﬂect her petite frame back at her dozens upon dozens of times.  
  Some students found this added illusion helpful, or so Lewis had 
  explained to her before locking her in.
   
  Phoebe felt the extra mirror to be a bit much.  The single 
  image of herself was sufﬁcient to wrap her mind around the notion 
  of another her, a potential her gazing back.  She noted that the po-
  tential her looked even more grumpy, exhausted and unhappy with 
  each new attempt.
   
   
  Her goal was to effect a switch.  The trick was that for 
  the switch to count she had to ﬁnd her mirror self whose door in 
  Whiteforth was unlocked.  Effecting the ﬂip would ﬁnd her in the 
  room with the unlocked door while almost everything else about 
  her and associated with her in that new place remained stable.
   
  It was tricky.  The act of isolating the potential lock and 
  ﬂipping without accidently shifting something else required a sort 
  of detached super concentration which was slowly wearing her 
  down.  Of course the odds of her impacting something signiﬁcant-
  ly greater than the lock was almost nil.  It was all she could manage 
  to effect a ﬂip in one small thing, let alone ﬂip to a major change.
   
  The exercise would seem to be an impossible task to 
  someone who was not psi.  For Phoebe it was merely, nearly im-
  possible.  She had spent the last four days locked in her room at 
  the Order of the Golden Dawn’s mansion at Whiteforth.  Food and 
  drink were passed to her through a small space installed beneath 
  the door.
   
  Technically she was not a prisoner and had embarked on 
  this training of her own free will.  Still, she knew there was no 
  being released unless she failed or gave up.  She could call out to 
  Lewis that she was quitting at any time.
   
  Quitting meant leaving the Order forever.  Giving up on 
  her psi talent, never developing it and remaining always odd Phoe-
  be, the strange girl who got impressions about things from time to 
  time but to whom nothing extraordinary was likely to occur for the 
  rest of her natural life.
   
  She had no intention of failing.
   
  Phoebe knitted her eyebrows as her eyes stared holes into 
  her image in the mirror.  This was getting her nowhere.
   
  “Breathe.  You’re trying too hard.  Remember, Lewis said 
  it would seem easy once I ﬁnally managed to do it once,” she said 
  this out loud to her reﬂection and closed her eyes.  She opened 
  them again only after she was ready to work at it while she medi-
  tated. After a few minutes of relaxing her reﬂected features began 
  to shift and wobble.  Eventually she found herself staring into the 
  face of Lewis Trewsbridge, a student senior to her and her proctor 
  in the exercise.
   
  Lewis raised an eyebrow and frowned.
   
  “Everyone knows what a gifted seer you are Phoebe, that 
  isn’t what this training is about.  You have to try and focus a bit 
  more otherwise you’ll keep slipping into what comes naturally to 
  you,” he said.
   
  Lewis’ voice ﬂoated to Phoebe over the intercom installed 
  in the room.  No one used direct telepathic contact in Whiteforth if 
  they could avoid it.  Telepathy was always intrusive and somehow 
  intimate.  Use of it even at the school was considered to be rather 
  rude, even for those to whom it came easily.
   
  She was tired and impatient and sick of being locked in-
  doors.  She was also aware that she was missing something.  Some 
  little nagging detail lurked at the back of her thoughts, her intuition 
  told her the answer was skirting artfully past the tips of her ﬁn-
  gers.
   
  She considered an attempt at cheating and unlocking 
  the door telekinetically but grasping a handful of the cosmos and 
  wielding it like a Warlock had never been among her talents.  If it 
  had, she suspected her tests would have been rather different.
   
  She closed her eyes and cleared her mind once again 
  opening them to ﬁnd the pale, exhausted gaze of her other self 
  gazing back at her.  The other Phoebe yawned and gave her a dirty, 
  -well, get on with it look.
   
  What if she’d only imagined that she’d checked the han-
  dle on the door and found it locked, Phoebe thought.  What if she’d 
  fooled herself into never even trying the door and Lewis had for-
  gotten to lock it in the ﬁrst place.
   
  That was it.  What if the door had never been locked.  Part 
  of the trick involved making herself believe that she was mistaken 
  about trying the lock earlier.  Clearly, she reasoned, she had just 
  imagined she had. She made this her inner mantra, working to con-
  vince herself of this truth.  She had to feel the latch as unlocked in 
  her own mind’s eye before she could manage to ﬁnd it outside of 
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  27
  Rubber Science: Part 4
  herself.  
   
  Phoebe smiled.  She imagined the other self sitting in her 
  room, foolishly having failed to even try the door handle, which 
  would be altogether like her.  She could just make out the door and 
  the handle in the background of the mirror.
   
  Phoebe imagined a tunnel connecting the center of herself 
  and the center of her mirror self.  Two polarized parts of a great-
  er whole.  Both her and one outside of herself.  Into this tunnel 
  connecting Phoebe to her double she imagined a vastly powerful 
  force.  She grasped a hold of the surging power she could feel just 
  behind the passage of the moments, pushing everything forward 
  and imagined a powerful magnet, positive and negative between 
  herself and the other Phoebe.  
   
  Phoebe gazed into the eyes of the other her.  She had the 
  vision solidly in her mind now.  She reached out pale ﬁngers and 
  grasped a hold of the weave.  In her very center she ﬂipped over 
  the imagined magnet and felt a sudden but distinct momentary ver-
  tigo.
   
  Phoebe knew immediately that she had ﬂipped.
   
  Opening her eyes she realized she was a bit tired and 
  drained like, the way she sometimes felt after a successful bit of 
  seer work where all of the energy she’d sent out seeking answers 
  had come tumbling back in.  She pushed 
   
  The house was quiet.
   
  Phoebe rose and walked over to the door.  She felt the 
  cool metal of the oval knob under her ﬁngertips and then turned it. 
  The door handle twisted in her ﬁngers and the door popped open 
  with a soft click.  Phoebe stood and stared at the open doorway for 
  a long moment.
   
  Slowly the cold realization sank into her that she was no 
  longer standing in the same Whiteforth where she’d been just a 
  few moments before.  Technically she was but the potential was 
  there that other things had changed besides the lock.  Somehow 
  Phoebe knew that something else was out of place.  She wondered 
  if she could leave the door open and go back.  The House seemed 
  somehow just slightly strange, like walking on the surface of the 
  moon.
   
  “You can never go back Phoebe.”
   
  It was Lewis.  He was standing at the end of the hallway. 
  She’d been so distracted in her thoughts that she’d not even no-
  ticed his steps carrying him up the carpeted stairway leading to the 
  second ﬂoor.  He looked tired.  Very likely he had not slept much 
  over the course of the last four days.  The bookish middle aged 
  writer, journalist and fellow student stopped just a few paces down 
  the hall and pulled his round wire rim glasses off of his hook of a 
  nose, ﬁshing a handkerchief out of one pocket to clean them.
   
  “Why can’t I?”  Phoebe leaned against the door and closed 
  it behind herself with a click, standing in the hall facing Lewis.
   
  “The past is the past.  You can’t go back to it any more 
  than you can take back opening up that door,”  Lewis pushed his 
  glasses back onto his nose.  He had the common sense not to labor 
  on and on about the experience or its meaning.  Phoebe would be 
  left to seek out her own answers.  Answers which were meaningful 
  to her on the road she could sense already opening up before her.
   
  “Every moment is a combination of location, time and..”
   
  “..decision”  Phoebe ﬁnished the phrase for Lewis.  She 
  had heard it spoken before in her lessons, but now the lesson 
  seemed somehow more poignant.  “The manner of reaching the 
  next moment is not only a conscious decision of location and time 
  it can also be a conscious decision of location and decision...or...”
   
  “Probability.”  Lewis ﬁnished the phrase for her in return. 
  He pushed the hankerchef back into his pocket.  
   
  Phoebe smiled.  She liked Lewis.  She might like him 
  quite a bit if he was not so many years older.  Despite his bookish 
  appearance and lack of hair, Phoebe felt that he was one of the few 
  truly genuine people she had met.
   
  Lewis stuffed his hands into his vest pockets looking 
  muddled and after a moment ﬁshed out his pocket watch.  “Well 
  then, its high time you had a few days to yourself.  I’ve lessons of 
  my own to attend to,” he said. “Just remember...”
   
  “Be back by Monday for class, keep my wits about me 
  and my talent to myself.”  Phoebe recited.
   
  “...and if you sense another psi in the area...,” Lewis 
  asked?
   
  “Leave immediately and come back to the school straight 
  away,”  Phoebe answered. Lewis smiled and left Phoebe stand-
  ing alone in the hall with a nod.  She listened as his familiar steps 
  carried him back down the stairs and through the hall towards the 
  senior student’s rooms.  
   
  I forgot to ask him if he’d neglected to lock the door, she 
  thought to herself.  Somehow she suspected that he would not have 
  a clear answer for her which was altogether normal for White-
  forth.
   
  What was important was that Phoebe knew that she could 
  accomplish it she set her mind to it.
   
  As Lewis watched young Phoebe leave the school, trium-
  phant in her new found life and future in the Order of the Golden 
  Dawn he plucked up the brass telephone next to him and dialed.
   
  “Herr Director, yes.  I apologize for disturbing you at 
  this late hour but I have another one to add to the disposal list. 
  Yes.  Just this evening.”  He unconsciously traced his ﬁngers over 
  his bicep where the red and black shield and all seeing eye tatoo 
  showing his membership within the secret cabal of the Barvarian 
  Illuminati was concealed.
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  28
  Junkers JU 87
   
  Dive bombing as an approach to precision attacks against 
  tanks, structures, mecha and other ground targets crossed onto the 
  radar of the RLM as early as the 1920’s.  During the early days the 
  Junkers Starship Company manufactured an early variant desig-
  nated the K-47.  The K-47 was tested extensively as a dive bomb-
  ing starship / starﬁghter combination craft until 1934.
   
  Unfortunately the early K-47 model handled poorly and 
  too often experienced sluggish control features resulting in inac-
  curate placement of munitions.  In addition the K-47 starﬁghter / 
  bomber was both slow and lightly armed.  The craft was experi-
  mental more than practical although a hundred or so reached pro-
  duction and were sold off to the naval forces of Japan, China and 
  Kingdom of Holland after the design was abandoned as worth-
  less.
   
  In 1935 manufacture began in earnest on the JU 87-A. 
  Prototypes of this model were distributed throughout the forward 
  naval bases of the Reich.  The type A still experienced sluggish 
  response and early in 1936 was scheduled for replacement by the 
  JU 87-B.
   
  In 1936 the RLM saw in the civil war in Spain an oppor-
  tunity to experiment with the JU 87 in both the type A and type B 
  varieties in combat operations.
   
  In February of 1936 two squadrons of JU 87 A ﬁghter / 
  bombers were dispatched with Legion Condore forces to Spain. 
  One additional squadron was sent to the front in June of 1936.  Fi-
  nally early in 1937 two squadrons of JU 87 B starﬁghter / bombers 
  were sent to the front.
   
  The JU 87 is powered by an experimental Jumo 110 type 
  A drive that is constructed from the ground up minus the attach-
  ment of a jump drive. The core of this drive is installed in the fuse-
  lage of the starﬁghter with a trio of exhaust ports providing thrust, 
  one under each wing and one in the tail.
   
  The JU 87 A is equipped with a bomb carriage designed 
  to carry a 250 pound bomb.  Keep in mind that this is a hybrid 
  ordinance and designed for busting hybrid ships and installations.  
  Versus a normal human installation or ground vehicle the bomb 
  gains a x5 bonus for scale between ship and vehicle damage. 
   
  The ship has an automated recovery system which pulls 
  the JU 87 out of its dive and into straight and level ﬂight, in the 
  event the pilot is wounded and can not recover the ship after a 
  bombing run.  Pilot blackouts in dive bombers are a thing of the 
  past with the artiﬁcial gravity aboard all ships.  Even small vessels 
  like the snub and starﬁghter class vessels are protected from the 
  effects of g-forces by their Hegemony supplied life support and 
  artiﬁcial gravity systems.
  The Junkers JU 87 A (Stuka)
  Starﬁghter Class / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit   
  5 slots
  Nose Hardpoint 4 slots
  Tail Hardpoint 
  2 slots
  Left Wing 
  1 slots
  Right Wing 
  1 slots
  Fuselage  
  6 slots
  The Junkers JU 87 A / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit  
  1 slot 
  Hybrid Radio
   
   
  1 slot 
  FuG 125 Hermine beacon receiver
   
   
  1 slot 
  Pilot Ejection System
   
   
  1 slot 
  Seetakt II Active Sensor
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
  Nose Hardpoint 1 slot 
  MG 17 (Medium)
   
   
  1 slot 
  MG 131 Lightning (Heavy -)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Expanded Ammo Reserve (nose)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Auto Pilot / Dive Recovery
  Tail Hardpoint 
  1 slot 
  MG 81 (Medium +)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Expanded Ammo Reserve (tailgun)
  Left Wing 
  1 slot 
  Engine Nacelle
   
   
   
  Right Wing 
  1 slot 
  Engine Nacelle
   
   
   
  Fuselage  
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters of Fuel
   
   
  1 slot 
  Jumo 110 Type A (stripped) 
   
   
   
  3 slots 250 lb bomb rack
   
   
  1 slot 
  Light Armor / Cast
   
   
  Additional 
  8mm Armored Plate
   
   
  Armored Rings / Engine Cowling
   
   
  20mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
   
  Light
  Engine Performance 
  Not Jump Capable
   
   
   
  24 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical = Fast (-) 
  Fuel 
   
   
  Jump Activation 100 Liters
   
   
   
  System Flight 
  5 Liters / Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Flight 
  1 Liters / Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  5.5 Tons
   
   
   
  Manufacturing Notes:   
  Junkers
  Hull 
   
   
  Average
  Engines  
   
  Average
  Weapons 
   
  Average
  Armor  
   
  Good
  Systems  
   
  Good
  Price 
   
   
  Average
  Junkers JU 87
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  29
  Junkers JU 87
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  30
  Tupolov ANT-20 (Maxim Gorky)
   
  The Tupolov ANT-20 was the largest aircraft inspired, 
  atmosphere capable starship built during the 1920’s and 1930’s. 
  Only a limited number of these vessels were ever built within 
  Soviet space. The exact number remains a well guarded mystery. 
  Largely an instrument of propoganda, the Maxim Gorky was dis-
  patched successfully on a half dozen occasions as part of the heav-
  ily guarded raids designed to punch through the Reich’s blockade.  
  Filled with troops, munitions and medical supplies the Republi-
  cans could not ask for a larger, more heavily armed or more fa-
  mous symbol of sheer Soviet power than the ANT-20.
   
  The ANT-20 is so large that it carries its own under car-
  riage mounted ﬁghter catapults.  The wings are so tremendous that 
  the interiors are ﬁtted with bunk beds.
   
  The Maxim Gorky is ﬁtted with one of the most impres-
  sive public broadcast systems ever devised in order to play revolu-
  tionary music and inspirational speeches by Stalin and other revo-
  lutionary leaders as the vessel passes overhead.
   
  The ships were designed with an eye for scoring as many 
  ﬁrsts as possible on behalf of mother Russia.  The ANT-20 is the 
  ﬁrst vessel to incorporate a small printing press for the produc-
  tion of communist literature.  The vessel can pour out a seemingly 
  never ending number of communist leaﬂets as she circles the globe 
  on account of the fact that she manufactures these on board.  When 
  she is not ﬁtted for combat duty she features a salon, a public tele-
  phone service (wireless), a small movie theatre and a recreation 
  room.
   
  Obviously the ANT-20 was not built for dogﬁghting.  In 
  good weather she can navigate reasonably well, but pilots avoid 
  taking her down into an atmosphere when a storm is present as 
  much as possible; crashing a symbol of Soviet prosperity and pow-
  er not being a very excellent means for advancing one’s career in 
  the Soviet navy.
   
  Outside of the civil war, the Maxim Gorky(s) stage them-
  selves like enormous carrion birds, poised to pick at the bones of 
  the faltering Kingdom of Spain .  Accompanying them are squads 
  of hand picked troops, Soviet ﬁghter and military escort vessels 
  and Soviet commisars and political experts.  It is clearly no ac-
  cident that incidents of communist inspired partisan revolts have 
  sprung up all up and down the Madrid Run, stretching from the 
  border of the Kingdom of Spain back through League Space and 
  up into Soviet territory.
   
  So far local troops and police have managed to contain 
  these problems but not without the French, British and Italian gov-
  ernments voicing their frustrations over them on the ﬂoor of the 
  League of nations.
  Tupolov ANT-20
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  31
  Tupolov ANT-20 (Maxim Gorky)
  Atmo-Capable / Slots and Locations 
  Cockpit/Bridge  
  6 slots
  Nose Hardpoint  
  6 slots
  Tail Hardpoint 
   
  2 slots
  Dorsal Hardpoint  
  3 slots
  Ventral Hardpoint 
  4 slots
  Left Wing 
   
  9 slots
  Right Wing 
   
  9 slots
  Fuselage  
   
  9 slots
  Tupolov ANT-20 Maxim Gorky / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit  
  1 slot 
  Hybrid Radio
   
   
  4 slot 
  Martian Hybrid Cockpit Escape Pod
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
  Nose Hardpoint 2 slots Type 282 Sensor (1 AU)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Ship Swamping Gear
   
   
  1 slot 
  Nose Turret (270 degree)
   
   
  2 slots ShKAS (Medium ++)
  Tail Hardpoint 
  2 slots Mikulin AM-34 - Quad Nacelle
   
   
   
  Type B Gravity Drive
  Dorsal Hardpoint 1 slot 
  Laboratory: Printing Press (2 Crew)
   
   
  2 slots Quarters: Comrade Theatre (12)
   
   
   
  *doubles as storage or troop quarters
  Ventral  
  2 slots 2,000 Liters of Fuel
   
   
  2 slots x 2 Fighter racks 
  Left Wing 
  2 slots Mikulin AM-34 - Quad Nacelle
   
   
   
  Type B Gravity Drive
   
   
  2 slots x 2 Turrets (360 degree)
   
   
  4 slots x 2 ShKAS (Medium ++)
   
   
  1 slots Quarters / Steerage (4)
   
   
   
  Right Wing 
  2 slots Mikulin AM-34 - Quad Nacelle
   
   
   
  Type B Gravity Drive
   
   
  2 slots x 2 Turrets (360 degree)
   
   
  4 slots x 2 ShKAS (Medium ++)
   
   
  1 slots Quarters / Steerage (4)
   
   
   
  Fuselage  
  1 slots Steerage Crew Quarters (4)  
   
   
   
  2 slots First Class Cabins (4) 
   
   
  1 slot 
  Sensor Lab (2 Crew) 
   
   
   
   
  2 slots Medical Bay 
   
   
  1 slot 
  150 Ton Cargo Hold (Lower Deck)
   
   
  2 slots Heavy Airframe
  Additional 
  8mm Armored Plate
   
   
  20mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
  Heavy
  Engine Performance 
  Jump Transit = 14 Hours per LY
   
   
   
  System Transit = 14 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = Moderate / Mod. (-)
  Fuel Performance  
  Jump Activation = 450 Liters
   
   
   
  System Transit = 30 Liters per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 6 Liters per Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  1100 Tons
   
  The Gorky is not built to be a primary combatant.  It re-
  lies heavily on its ﬁghter cover and the presence of other ships 
  along with its own guns, to discourage attacks from enemy ships. 
  Much of the tonnage available for the installation of critical com-
  bat components (like armor) were sacriﬁced for the propoganda 
  aspects of the vessel.
   
  The ship’s guns, while impressive, do not provide suf-
  ﬁcient coverage of the craft from all lines of attack.  The Gorky is 
  especially vulnerable to attacks from below and to the rear where 
  she is completely unarmed.
   
  The ship’s 1100 tons pushes the Mikulin AM-34 Quad 
  Nacelle engines beyond their performance ratings, resulting in a 
  slower ship speed (particularly slow when loaded) during tactical 
  ﬂight.  When she is fully loaded pilots face a -2 to their control 
  rolls for special manuevers as though the craft were loaded beyond 
  its weight rating.  (Because it is.)
   
  The ship’s draw on fuel limits it operationally to single 
  jumps and destinations which are within 1 AU of the system’s star. 
  In some instances one of the Gorky’s tender ships or ﬁghters can 
  be dispatched for additional fuel so that it might reach ports of call 
  just beyond its range.
   
  Outside of these limitations the Gorky is an amazing ves-
  sel.  These ships are not seen outside of the Soviet navy during 
  1936 but begin to show up in the hands of private parties with good 
  connections with the Soviet government early in 1937.  Stripped of 
  some of their guns or with the ﬁghter platforms or tonnage for the 
  printing press removed, these vessel can handle the installation of 
  suitable armor.  Post manufacture armor installations are usually 
  limited to bolted or joint welded armor applications on a ship of 
  this size.
   
  The mounts for the Mikulin AM-34 Quads are so unusual 
  as to mandate any engine replacement as a similar engine or at 
  least one of Soviet manufacture.  Other engines simply do not 
  mount correctly onto the vessel and will cause such a disruption in 
  the atmo-capabilities of the vessel as to render it no longer capable 
  of making a safe ﬂight in atmosphere.
   
  The ship’s medical bay is located in the nose of the fuse-
  lage in the forward deck and features a wide observation port.  The 
  observation window is constructed of 20mm hybrid glass steel.
   
  During landings the Gorky’s ﬁghters will launch and fol-
  low the vessel in.  The brackets for the ﬁghters retract ﬂush with 
  the wing and the ship’s landing gear can descend into position.
  Tupolov ANT-20
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  32
  Mitsubishi G4M (Betty)
   
  The Mitsubishi G4M is the most common armed mer-
  chantman in operation on behalf of Imperial Japan.  Since 1932 the 
  Empire of Japan has adopted an interesting new direction in their 
  quest to build an effective and expansive merchant trade capable 
  of competition with the British, Dutch and others.  Private Japa-
  nese ﬁrms apply for shipping contracts directly from the Japanese 
  Ministry of the Interior which in return supplies the ships neces-
  sary for import and export.  A signiﬁcant portion of the export or 
  import taxes paid by private Japanese manufacturing ﬁrms are fun-
  neled directly into the expansion of the IJN.
   
  Successful applicants to the Ministry of the Interior do 
  not need to build and support their own network of merchant ves-
  sels.  The IJN (Imperial Japanese Navy) provides this service for 
  them.  Japanese merchants are therefore primarily military vessels 
  ﬂying the colors of Imperial Japan.  They travel in military style 
  convoys with ﬁghter escorts and IJN marines on board to insure 
  the protection of goods, as well as the crews both in space and on 
  the ground.
   
  This also means that Japanese merchantmen are hard nuts 
  to crack.  They are heavily armed and armored.  Direct attacks 
  upon them are considered attacks against the IJN.  Over the last 
  four years Japanese commerce lost to pirate attacks and problems 
  with privateers (some suspected to be hired by the Dutch East In-
  dia Company) have fallen to nothing.
   
  As the war continues to progress in Spain the Japanese 
  have an interest in turning a proﬁt transporting “non war” materi-
  als to the Nationalists.  Manifests list food and medical supplies as 
  the primary components ﬁlling their cargo holds.
   
  The only major faction known to gleefully target IJN 
  merchant ﬂeets are the Cossacks.  They humerously dub the Mit-
  subishi G4M “the pocket lighter” because of the vulnerability of 
  its wing fuel storage tanks and their tendancy to explode into spec-
  tacular ﬂame when they receive a direct hit.  Despite this vulner-
  ability one should not consider the G4M an easy target.  The ship 
  is bristling with heavy weapons and the 20 mm cannon mounted in 
  the tail and both independent wing turrets makes it one of the most 
  heavily armed Fast Transports in space.  Attack approaches from 
  the rear of the vessel are spectacularly dangerous and IJN vessels 
  ﬂying in convoy provide covering ﬁre for one another.
   
  The early versions of the G4M depend on sheer ﬁrepow-
  er as a deterent to attacks over armor.  By 1938 this approach is 
  viewed as a mistake and half of the guns are dumped in exchange 
  for a heavier airframe and signiﬁcant layers of armor.
  Mitsubishi G4M
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  33
  The Mitsubishi G4M (Betty)
  Fast Transport Class / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit   
   
  4 slots
  Nose Hardpoint  
  6 slots
  Tail Hardpoint 
   
  4 slots
  Dorsal Hardpoint  
  2 slots
  Ventral Hardpoint 
  2 slots
  Left Wing 
   
  3 slots
  Right Wing 
   
  3 slots
  Fuselage  
   
  6 slots
  The Mitsubishi G4M / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit  
  1 slot 
  Hybrid Radio
   
   
  1 slot 
  Pilot Ejection System
   
   
  1 slot 
  20 mm Armored Bathtub
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
  Nose Hardpoint 4 slots Type 13 Sensor (2 AU)
   
   
  2 slots Ho 103 Typhoon (Heavy)
  Tail Hardpoint 
  2 slots Mitsubishi Kasei Model 21
   
   
   
  Type B Gravity Drive
   
   
  2 slots Ho 103 Typhoon (Heavy)
  Dorsal Hardpoint 1 slot 
  Dorsal Turret (360)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Type 89 (Medium)
  Ventral  
  2 slots 2,000 Liters of Fuel 
  Left Wing 
  2 slots Mitsubishi Kasei Model 15
   
   
   
  Type B Gravity Drive
   
   
   
  (stripped)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Type 89 (Medium)
   
   
   
  Right Wing 
  2 slots Mitsubishi Kasei Model 15
   
   
   
  Type B Gravity Drive 
   
   
   
   
   
  (stripped)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Type 89 (Medium)
   
   
   
  Fuselage  
  2 slots Steerage Crew Quarters (6) 
   
   
  1 slot 
  Laboratory: Sensor and Radio Room
   
   
  1 slots 100 Ton Cargo Hold (Lower Deck)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Type 89 (Medium)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Medium Airframe / Amphibian 
   
   
   
  Additional 
  8mm Armored Plate
   
   
  Armored Rings / Engine Cowling
   
   
  20mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
  Medium
  Engine Performance 
  Jump Transit = 24 Hours per LY
   
   
   
  System Transit = 18 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = Fast / Fast (-)
  Fuel Performance  
  Jump Activation = 150 Liters
   
   
   
  System Transit = 30 Liters per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 12 Liters per Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  175 Tons
   
  Like many of the engines modiﬁed during the manufac-
  turing process, the IJN’s engines perform slightly better in a few 
  areas and suffer in several others.  Perhaps the most glaring and 
  fairly normal result of human tinkering with Hegemony technol-
  ogy is a loss in fuel efﬁciency.  
   
  The G4M is equipped with the newest IJN sensor system, 
  the Type 13, with a range of 2 AU’s and a greatly improved ability 
  to detect human and hybrid vessels and even a major improvement 
  in the ability to detect Hegemony ships.
   
  None of the ship’s guns are ﬁtted with an expanded ammo 
  capacity.  Additional rounds are carried in the ship’s lockers and 
  require at least two to three combat rounds to retrieve and load.
   
  All IJN spacecraft are required to be engineered with the 
  ability to land in water and operate as surface vessels.  The G4M is 
  no exception to this and its ﬁns are set up to provide the ship with 
  stability in a water environment.  The G4M can remain aﬂoat in 
  moderate seas but must take off in heavy weather to avoid being 
  swamped or capsized.  The G4M is not designed for underwater 
  operations.  While its engines can ﬁre even while submerged they 
  do not withstand the positive water pressure the ship experiences 
  as it sinks.  Seams and joints will pop beyond a certain depth and 
  the ship will ﬁll with water.  If the ship becomes ﬁlled with water it 
  will not be able to lift off or manuever.  Any G4M that sinks below 
  a depth of 150 feet should be considered lost.
   
  The amphibean nature of the G4M makes it a great sup-
  ply vessel for remote colonies.  The IJN is particularly adroit at the 
  operation of small isolated outposts and these they have quietly 
  scattered in a surprising number of locations throughout League 
  space and the Nationalized corridors.
   
  The Type 89 gun mounted in the Fuselage can be de-
  ployed on either the starboard or port ﬁxed gun mounts located on 
  either side of the vessel.  These are usually positioned based on the 
  ship’s location within the larger convoy and the fuselage gunner 
  is tasked with covering a neighboring ship against starﬁghter at-
  tacks.
   
  The G4M is designed to operate with a crew of eight, two 
  of which rotate in and out of the six available bunks during the 
  off shift.  During combat all eight crew members are available to 
  ﬁll the vital duties for the vessel.  The sensor and radio operator’s 
  position is usually manned by a single person during combat.
   
  With its well designed one hundred ton cargo hold and 
  hydraulic pallet lift the G4M is an excellent and quick cargo haul-
  er.  Operating in a ﬂight of ﬁve the G4M convoy can carry 500 tons 
  of supplies and equipment to customers or one of the IJN outposts 
  scattered throughout space.  
  Mitsubishi G4M
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  34
  Heinkel He III
   
  The Heinkel He III was ﬁrst developed through civilian 
  investment as a passenger and cargo craft.  It was converted into a 
  military transport, bomber and torpedo bomber by the RLM start-
  ing in 1932.
   
  The He III is the primary troop transport utilized by the 
  Legion Condore to support its activities in Spain.  Sixty of the craft 
  function in the capacity of a troop and supply transport with two 
  squadrons of fourteen each outﬁtted as strategic bombers.  While 
  the He III is armed and armored it is not designed like the Do-17 
  to operate as a front line assault transport.  The He III is intended 
  to carry troops and supplies to a protected airﬁeld in the rear of a 
  combat zone.  The slow He III travels in a ﬂight of similar trans-
  ports where turret guns can provide a curtain of cover ﬁre and with 
  ﬁghter escort whenever possible.
   
  One ﬂight of He III transports in Spain have had their 
  dorsal turret removed to make room for additional troops.  These 
  craft possess a sliding airlock door in the side and are used to de-
  ploy experimental paratroopers and rocket pack assault teams.
   
  The He III is powered by two Jumo 210 type A gravity 
  drives.  This makes the Heinkel a jump capable but fairly slow 
  transport for star system to star system travel.  In 1936 the He III is 
  covered in a layer of light, joint welded armor.  The starship does 
  not receive an armor upgrade until 1939.  By 1940 the Heinkel He 
  III has aged to the point of being abandoned but pressures from the 
  wartime economy forces the Reich to retain the design as a front 
  line bomber and transport right through to the end of the war.
   
  Tactically the Heinkel never receives only limited up-
  grades in the weapons installed in its turrets.  Heavier weapons 
  are reserved for ships with a primary combat role and the RLM 
  continues to postulate that the He III is fast enough to out distance 
  ﬁghters.  As early as 1938 this position is a serious error on the 
  part of the RLM, but that does not change the position of German 
  High Command which approves almost no upgrades in the craft’s 
  design right through to 1944.
   
  The He III is protected by a nose gun operated by the 
  ship’s navigator and bombardier, a dorsal turret capable of cover-
  ing the rear and sides of the craft and a ventral, ﬁxed gun posi-
  tioned to cover the rear and below of the craft.
   
  All three of the ship’s guns are MG 17s.  A few variants 
  between 1938 and 1942 introduce a 20 mm cannon in the nose and 
  heavier MGs in other positions but no gun is ever placed in the tail 
  or in the wings.  Starting in 1940 the twin engine design is replaced 
  with the ﬁnal four engine model.
   
  The He-III is a slow turner with solid dive and climb capa-
  bilities.  It is not designed to participate in the bobbing and weav-
  ing maneuvers of a dogﬁght and is not armored heavily enough to 
  withstand a pounding for long.
   
  In 1942 the He III is further impacted by the replacement 
  of its twin Jumo 210 type A gravity drives with a less powerful 
  Jumo 90.  The replacement in engine types is mandated to allow 
  the RLM to have sufﬁcient numbers of Jumo 210’s for front line 
  heavy ﬁghters and assault transport spacecraft.  The introduction 
  of the lighter Jumo 90 slows the speed of the He III even further, 
  making its usefulness anywhere near to the combat zone extremely 
  limited.
   
  By 1943 the He III is almost completely restricted to use 
  as a cargo and troop transport deep inside of Reich controlled re-
  gions of space.
  Exports
   
  From 1937 through 1944 the He III is exported both to 
  Roma and to Imperial Japan.  Within the Roma navy the He III 
  ﬁlls a similar role although the Italians never have enough of the 
  transports and therefore push the ones that they do have, stufﬁng 
  troops into them like sardines.  Only a hundred of the He III’s 
  are exported to Japan.  From the beginning these are limited to 
  cargo transport and two squadrons of space, torpedo bombers.  The 
  IJN’s torpedo bomber variant carries a single torpedo weapon in a 
  launcher positioned under the ship’s fuselage.
  Heinkel He III
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  35
  The Heinkel He III (Bomber)
  Fast Transport Class / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit   
   
  5 slots
  Nose Hardpoint  
  4 slots
  Tail Hardpoint 
   
  2 slots
  Dorsal Hardpoint  
  2 slots
  Ventral Hardpoint 
  2 slots
  Left Wing 
   
  3 slots
  Right Wing 
   
  3 slots
  Fuselage  
   
  10 slots
  The Heinkel He III / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit  
  1 slot 
  Hybrid Radio
   
   
  1 slot 
  FuG 125 Hermine beacon receiver
   
   
  1 slot 
  Pilot Ejection System
   
   
  1 slot 
  Seetakt II Active Sensor
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
  Nose Hardpoint 1 slot 
  Laboratory: Bombardier / Navigator
   
   
  1 slot 
  MG 17 (Medium)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Communications Jammer
   
   
  1 slot 
  Crew Ejection System
  Tail Hardpoint 
  1 slot 
  10 Ton Crew Cargo Pod
   
   
  1 slot 
  Quarters / Steerage (3 Crew)
  Dorsal Hardpoint 1 slot 
  Dorsal Turret (360)
   
   
  1 slot 
  MG 17 (Medium)
  Ventral  
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters of Fuel
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fixed Rear MG 17 (Medium) 
  Left Wing 
  2 slots Jumo 210 Type A Gravity Drive
   
   
  1 slot 
  500 Liters of Fuel (Advanced)
   
   
   
  Right Wing 
  2 slots Jumo 210 Type A Gravity Drive
   
   
  1 slot 
  500 Liters of Fuel (Advanced)
   
   
   
  Fuselage  
  1 slot 
  Forward steerage Crew Quarters (3) 
   
   
  1 slot 
  Laboratory: Sensor and Radio Room
   
   
  5 slots 2,000 pound bomb capacity*
   
   
  2 slots Medium Airframe
   
   
  1 slot 
  Light Armor / Joint Welded 
   
   
   
  Additional 
  8mm Armored Plate
   
   
  30mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
  Medium
  Engine Performance 
  Jump Transit = 43 Hours per LY
   
   
   
  System Transit = 19 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed=Medium/Medium(-)
  Fuel Performance  
  Jump Activation = 200 Liters
   
   
   
  System Transit = 15 Liters per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 10 Liters per Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  150 Tons
  *Bombers require a greater capacity for bombs over ﬁghters.
  The Heinkel He III (Paratroop Transport)
  Fast Transport Class / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit   
   
  5 slots
  Nose Hardpoint  
  4 slots
  Tail Hardpoint 
   
  2 slots
  Ventral Hardpoint 
  2 slots
  Left Wing 
   
  3 slots
  Right Wing 
   
  3 slots
  Fuselage  
   
  10 slots
  The Heinkel He III / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit  
  1 slot 
  Hybrid Radio
   
   
  1 slot 
  FuG 125 Hermine beacon receiver
   
   
  1 slot 
  Pilot Ejection System
   
   
  1 slot 
  Seetakt II Active Sensor
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
  Nose Hardpoint 1 slot 
  Laboratory: Bombardier / Navigator
   
   
  1 slot 
  MG 17 (Medium)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Communications Jammer
   
   
  1 slot 
  Crew Ejection System
  Tail Hardpoint 
  1 slot 
  10 Ton Crew Cargo Pod
   
   
  1 slot 
  Quarters / Steerage (3 Crew)
  Ventral  
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters of Fuel
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fixed Rear MG 17 (Medium) 
  Left Wing 
  2 slots Jumo 210 Type A Gravity Drive
   
   
  1 slot 
  500 Liters of Fuel (Advanced)
   
   
   
  Right Wing 
  2 slots Jumo 210 Type A Gravity Drive
   
   
  1 slot 
  500 Liters of Fuel (Advanced)
   
   
   
  Fuselage  
  1 slot 
  Forward steerage Crew Quarters (3) 
   
   
  1 slot 
  Laboratory: Sensor and Radio Room
   
   
  5 slots Troop Births (24 Troops)
   
   
  2 slots Medium Airframe
   
   
  1 slot 
  Light Armor / Joint Welded 
   
   
   
  Additional 
  8mm Armored Plate
   
   
  30mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
  Medium
  Engine Performance 
  Jump Transit = 43 Hours per LY
   
   
   
  System Transit = 19 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed=Medium/Medium(-)
  Fuel Performance  
  Jump Activation = 200 Liters
   
   
   
  System Transit = 15 Liters per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 10 Liters per Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  150 Tons
   
  The Paratroop version of the He III has the dorsal turret 
  stripped to make more room in the troop birth compartment.  The 
  paratroop version retains its ﬁxed ventral gun.  It relies heavily on 
  starﬁghter protection.
  Heinkel He III
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  36
  Destroyer Escort Class Vessels
   
  The Destroyer Escort class vessel was introduced in 1928. 
  By 1928 it wa clear that commerce raiding by independent groups 
  with no respect for International Law (speciﬁcally the Qin Shadow 
  Empire and the Cossacks) would remain a clear and present danger 
  to civilian shipping everywhere.
   
  The Destroyer Escort is a lightly armed, lightly armored 
  military vessel which need only be faster than the slow moving 
  convoys of civilian haulers and transport ships she is dispatched to 
  protect.  These vessels were never intended to confront or engage 
  in battle against a full ﬂedged Cruiser or Battleship Class ship of 
  war.
   
  Destroyer Escorts built between 1928 through 1935 were 
  speciﬁcally designed to counter attacks made by agile snubﬁghter 
  and starﬁghters and the occasional fast transport class assault ves-
  sel. (The usual types of vessels used by pirates in striking against a 
  civilian convoy.)
   
  In surface ship terms think of the early Destroyer Escorts 
  as a sort of heavy duty anti-aircraft platform bristling with small 
  but effective anti-aircraft guns and a few larger cannon to handle 
  anything up to an including vessels of the same size.  It is not until 
  1936 that the British, Americans, French and to a lesser extent the 
  Dutch and Japanese begin to construct a new generation of De-
  stroyer Escorts speciﬁcally designed to detect, isolate and destroy 
  the German S-Boat.
   
  These new Destroyer Escorts do not see production in 
  signiﬁcant numbers until 1939.  Prior to that perhaps one in every 
  ten of the standard Destroy Escorts leaving naval yards is equipped 
  with a heavier load of sensor gear and fewer but more powerful 
  and longer range weapons including various types of torpedo or 
  missile weapons.
   
  Starting in 1936 the British develop a counter S-Boat tac-
  tic that involves a Destroyer Escort as a listening post for detec-
  tion and a squadron of space capable British mecha armed with 
  racks of magnetic space mines as a counter.  The Destroy Escort / 
  Mecha concept provided that the Destroyer detect the location of 
  the S-Boat and dispatch its mecha to the location where they fast 
  deploy a hundred or so magnetic mines into the immediate area. 
  This implies pin point targeting capabilities on the part of the RN 
  for detecting the wormhole signature of a Reich S-Boat, which is 
  skirts the practicle edge of their sensor capabilities until at least 
  1941.
  Destroyer Escorts
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  37
  Destroyer Escort Classes by Nation
   
  Because the situation facing the space born navies of all 
  nations is radically different between 1924 and 1936 (and beyond) 
  when compared to that of the historic surface ﬂeets on Earth, al-
  most every major government in space has at least one DE Class 
  vessel in its ﬂeet.  The designs vary from class to class and from 
  nation to nation and there is not sufﬁcient room in a single forty 
  page book to present them all (nor would I care to try).  Here is 
  a reference list for game directors to use when designing the De-
  stroyer Escorts in their own ﬂeets.
  British Star Empire
  The Captain Class
  Destroyer Escorts in the RN are named after Captains who fought 
  during the Napoleanic Wars.
  French Star Republic
  The Colony Class
  Colony Class Destroyer Escorts are named after French colonies 
  in space.
  The Kingdom of Spain
  The Hound Class (British built Captain Class / Converted)
  Only four exist.  Two fall into the hands of the Republicans during 
  the rebellion.  One is seized by the Nationalists.  One remains in 
  the hands of the Alphonsine Royalists and remains as a part of the 
  main Kingdom ﬂeet along with the Battleship Espana.
  The Kingdom of Holland
  The Tiger Class
  Dutch Tiger Class Destroyer Escorts receive the names of large 
  hunting cats from Earth and the colonies.  “Sabretooth, Leopard, 
  Bengal and so forth.”
  The United States
  Evarts Class
  Buckley Class
  Roma and The Reich
  In the Roma ﬂeet the task of the Destroyer Escort falls to the some-
  what larger and never numerous Italian Frigate Class warship. The 
  Reich never develops a Destroyer Escort.
  Imperial Japan
  Fubuki Class Destroyer Escorts
  Destroyer Escort (HMS Bellingham)
  Atmo-Capable (Water Landing) / Slots and Locations (68 Slots)
  Cockpit/Bridge  
  05 slots
  Nose Hardpoint  
  13 slots
  Tail Hardpoint 
   
  12 slots
  Dorsal Hardpoint  
  08 slots
  Ventral Hardpoint 
  09 slots
  Left Wing 
   
  04 slots
  Right Wing 
   
  04 slots
  Fuselage  
   
  13 slots
  Bridge  
  1 slot 
  Hybrid Radio
   
   
  4 slot 
  Martian Hybrid Bridge Escape Pod
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
  Nose Hardpoint 2 slots Type 282 Sensor (1 AU)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Ship Swamping Gear
   
   
  1 slot 
  Nose Turret (270 degree)
   
   
  4 slots 5” Naval Gun (Heavy)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Nose Turret (270 degree)
   
   
  4 slots 5” Naval Gun (Heavy)
  Tail Hardpoint 
  8 slots x2 Type C RN Naval Drives (Mains)
   
   
   
  Type C Gravity Drives
   
   
  4 slots x2 Type C RN Naval Drives (Second)
   
   
   
  (Stripped) Type C Gravity Drives
  Dorsal Hardpoint 6 slot 
  Browning .303 in ﬁxed turrets
   
   
   
  3 starboard / 3 port
   
   
  2 slots Quarters: Steerage (8)
   
   
   
  Upper Deck Crew Quarters
  Ventral  
  3 slots HVAR Yankee Rocket Launcher
   
   
  1 slot 
  Internal Tube Launch Bay (Lab)
   
   
   
  (Heavy Damage / Medium Range)
   
   
  2 slots x 2 Fighter racks
   
   
  1 slot 
  Internal Launch Bay (Lab) 
   
   
  2 slots Light Armor / Joint Welded (2of9)
  Left Wing 
  2 slots 2,000 Liters Fuel (Advanced)
   
   
  2 slots Light Armor / Joint Welded (2of9)
  Right Wing 
  2 slots 2,000 Liters Fuel (Advanced)
   
   
  2 slots Light Armor / Joint Welded (2of9)
  Fuselage  
  2 slots Steerage Crew Quarters (8)  
   
   
   
  2 slots First Class Cabins (4) 
   
   
  1 slot 
  Sensor Lab (2 Crew) 
   
   
   
   
  2 slots Medical Bay 
   
   
  1 slot 
  150 Ton Cargo Hold (Lower Deck)
   
   
  2 slots Heavy Airframe
   
   
  3 slots Light Armor / Joint Welded (3of9)
   
   
  Additional 
  10mm Armored Plate
   
   
  30mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
  Heavy
  Engine Performance 
  Jump Transit = 09 Hours per LY
   
   
   
  System Transit = 09 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = Moderate 
  Fuel Performance  
  Jump Activation = 400 Liters
   
   
   
  System Transit = 54 Liters per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 10 Liters per Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  2250 Tons
  Destroyer Escorts
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  38
  Soviet FAST Transport (Mule)
   
  The Soviet FAST Transport or “Mule” is a super scale 
  version of the standard unmanned FAST Transport.  It is designed 
  to perform long range jumps via stand-off vessels carrying weap-
  ons and supplies to communist insurgencies throughout space.
   
  The Mule is straight forward, if not simple in design.  It 
  is small.  Approximately the size of a heavy ﬁghter.  By stripping 
  off normal essentials like most weapons, ammunition, life sup-
  port and armor, the engines on the Mule can be small and present 
  a weak signature for sensor detection while performing with suf-
  ﬁcient speed.
   
  A Mule is designed for one purpose.  Getting from point 
  A to point B in one piece. Once it arrives at its destination it 
  moves into orbit and homes in on a beacon placed on the surface 
  of the planet.  When the proper beacon signal is detected the mule 
  drops its cargo which is contained in an atmospheric re-entry pod 
  equipped with a parachute.
   
  If undamaged the pod is designed to ﬁre solid fuel 
  thrusters to adjust its ﬂight to reach the target location.
   
  Of course all of this in 1936 is rather experimental.
   
  In reality, while the mules are fairly successful in reach-
  ing orbit, their pods can only be expected to drop within 25 to 
  100 kilometers of the drop zone.  After losing a number of drops 
  the Soviets installed a 72 hour radio beacon in the pod.  This 
  transmits a location beacon which can be used by insurgents to 
  zero in on the pod, so long as they manage to reach it before the 
  battery wears out.
   
  Once the mule has dropped its load it activates a single 
  proximity mine attached to its engine and then shuts down all of 
  its systems.  The mule drifts in orbit as a somewhat bulky space 
  mine and will explode if any ship moves close enough to activate 
  the mine.
   
  The mines rarely encounter ships.  Space is big.  Most 
  likely the mines will function as a self destruct feature or booby 
  trap for anyone looking to board Soviet mules searching for unre-
  leased pods.
   
  Did we mention the unreleased pods?  Perhaps one pod 
  in ﬁve jams in the release rack and fails to deploy.  This is espe-
  cially true of mules which are damaged by impacts with micro 
  meteors or a near miss by an enemy ship.
   
  Every once in a while the Soviets will equip a mule with 
  a radio broadcasting unit capable of broadcasting a radio signal 
  from orbit.  These mules will operate like a Soviet propaganda 
  satelight repeating a twenty four hour program of music, news 
  and the wonders of the communist life day after day until they are 
  located and destroyed.
  Soviet FAST Transport [Mule]
  FAST Drone Class / Slots and Locations
  Cockpit   
  3 slots
  Fuselage  
  9 slots
  Soviet FAST Drone / slots and locations (12)
  Cockpit  
  1 slots October Victory Sensor
   
   
   
  (stripped / guidance only)
   
   
  1 slot 
  60 mhz standard radio (human)
   
   
   
  (beacon and locator with recorded
   
   
   
  Soviet propaganda transmission)
   
   
  1 slot 
  R-1 Soviet Proximity Mine (V. Heavy)
   
   
   
  (Explosion and +2 chance to Criticals)
   
  Fuselage  
  2 slots Type A Gravity Drive
   
   
  1 slot 
  1,0000 Liter Fuel
   
   
  3 slots Deployable Cargo Bay
   
   
  3 slots 30 Ton “soft landing” cargo bay with
   
   
   
  shielding, thrusters and parachute.
  Airframe 
   
  Capital Vessel / Non-Atmo
  Engine Performance 
  Jump Transit = 48 hours per LY
   
   
   
  System Transit = 24 hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = Fast (-)
  Fuel Performance  
  Jump Transit = 150 Liters
   
   
   
  System Transit = 5 Liters per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 1 Liters per Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  35 Tons
   
   
   
  5 Ton Vehicle
   
   
   
  30 Ton Deployable Bay
  Cost Per Drone: $5,000 US + Payload ($2,100.00 Refurbished)
   
  The major cost involved in a mule is the type A gravity 
  drive.  New, the drive has a cost of $3,500.00 US.  The Soviets are 
  fond of cannibalizing drives from wrecked starﬁghters and repair-
  ing them sufﬁciently to provide a disposable drive for a mule.  A 
  refurbished drive of that nature has a dollar value more in the range 
  of $900.00 US.
  Soviet FAST Transport: Mule
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  39
  Supply Vessels (Overview)
   
  Despite the blockade, Spanish space is surprisingly 
  active with transport.  Dozens of supply ships arrive to support 
  troops from Roma, troops from the Reich and Nationalist troops 
  under the support of both the Roma and the Reich.
   
  In addition there are Republican blockade runners.  Fast 
  ships which rely on speed and an ability to disappear running 
  weapons and supplies to the rebels.
   
  The Qin Shadow Empire and other syndicate vessels op-
  erate in the region for reasons completely removed from the civil 
  war.  A fair number of these bribe their way past the blockade or 
  have intelligence agents in the destination system reporting the 
  most likely spot to slip past Legion ships.
   
  Then there are the Soviet blockade runners.  These 
  are more rare and usually employ an organized attack to punch 
  through the blockade in force, causing as much havoc and 
  damage as possible during a delivery of supplies.  Sometimes a 
  Soviet move into the region is massive.  It may involve strikes by 
  multiple ﬂights of ﬁghters, attacks by assault transports and larger 
  vessels to cover the supply vessels carrying troops, tanks and 
  gear.
   
  Finally you have independent merchants arriving in the 
  area.  These ﬂy any number of national ﬂags and hope to carry 
  non war materials to the civilian markets in Spain.  Dozens of 
  these come and go in the systems of Spain despite the blockade.
   
  At any given time there are between ﬁfty and seventy 
  fast transport and supply vessels operating in the main systems of 
  the Kingdom of Spain.  With the Legion Condore already spread 
  thin, the chances of them intercepting even half of these vessels is 
  very small.
   
  Below is a simple table showing shipping activity in the 
  New Madrid system and the total percentage of ships intercepted 
  and destroyed over the course of 1936.
  Blockade Activity - New Madrid System 1936
  Date
  Arriving
  Departing
  Intercepted
  Destroyed
  January
  67
  135
  0
  23
  February
  119
  64
  5
  31
  March
  56
  44
  25
  9
  April
  62
  56
  34
  7
  May
  68
  52
  38
  5
  June
  55
  41
  31
  8
  July
  79
  47
  39
  11
  August
  88
  61
  41
  17
  September
  58
  36
  30
  6
  October
  82
  51
  34
  12
  November
  45
  27
  31
  5
  December
  44
  24
  35
  8
  Supply Vessels [Confederate Blockade Runner]
  Atmo-Capable / Slots and Locations 
  Cockpit/Bridge  
  06 slots
  Nose Hardpoint  
  06 slots
  Tail Hardpoint 
   
  06 slots
  Dorsal Hardpoint  
  03 slots
  Ventral Hardpoint 
  04 slots
  Left Wing 
   
  06 slots
  Right Wing 
   
  06 slots
  Fuselage  
   
  20 slots
  The Texas Star (Freighter) / Slots and Locations
  Bridge  
  1 slot 
  Hybrid Radio
   
   
  4 slot 
  Martian Hybrid Cockpit Escape Pod
   
   
  1 slot 
  Emergency Hatch System
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
  Nose Hardpoint 2 slots Type 282 Sensor (1 AU)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Ship Swamping Gear
   
   
  1 slot 
  Nose Turret (360 degree)
   
   
  2 slots ShKAS (Medium ++)
  Tail Hardpoint 
  4 slots Mark I Mercury
   
   
   
  Type C Gravity Drive
   
   
  2 slots Engine Room / Lab (4 Crew)
  Dorsal Hardpoint 1 slot 
  Lab (Forward Crane)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Lab (Aft Crane)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Lab (Wardroom)
  Ventral  
  1 slots 1,000 Liters of Fuel (Advanced)
   
   
  3 slots Confederation Marauder Bay 
  Left Wing 
  2 slots VTOL Stabilizers
   
   
  1 slot 
  500 Liters of Fuel (Advanced)
   
   
  3 slots Light Armor / Bolted (3of12)
  Right Wing 
  2 slots VTOL Stabilizers
   
   
  1 slot 
  500 Liters of Fuel (Advanced)
   
   
  3 slots Light Armor / Bolted (3of12) 
   
  Fuselage  
  2 slots Steerage Crew Quarters (8)  
   
   
   
  2 slots First Class Cabins (4) 
   
   
  1 slot 
  Sensor Lab (2 Crew) 
   
   
   
   
  3 slot 
  300 Ton Cargo Hold
   
   
  4 slots x2 Type A Renault Drives in concealed
   
   
   
  ports.  (stripped) *Overclocked
   
   
  6 slots Light Armor / Bolted (6of12)
   
   
  2 slots Heavy Airframe
  Additional 
  8mm Armored Plate (Bridge)
   
   
  20mm Armored Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
  Heavy
  Engine Performance 
  Jump Transit = 24 Hours per LY
   
   
   
  System Transit = 40 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = Dogslow / Moderate
  Fuel Performance  
  Jump Activation = 200 Liters
   
   
   
  System Transit = 15 Liters per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 10 Liters per Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  3000 Tons
  *Capable of powerful bursts using its concealed engines.  Risks 
  burnout of an overclocked engine at Director’s option.
  Supply Vessel: Confederate Blockade Runner
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  40
  National Flagship and Battleship
  The Espana
   
  The Espana is an example of a battleship built during the 
  mid-1920’s era.  The design of the Espana was inﬂuenced heavily 
  by the surface going battleships of the terrestrial navies of the early 
  20th century.
   
  As his majesty’s ﬂagship for the Kingdom of Spain, the 
  Espana is both beautifully appointed and heavily armed and ar-
  mored.  While its guns and bolted armor make it vulnerable versus 
  any battleship produced after 1930 it remains a signiﬁcant force 
  versus lighter vessels.
   
  Her 10” gun provides a long reach compared to most 
  other vessels operating in Spain.  Her batteries of 5” guns provide 
  broadside coverage out to medium range.  A broadside from the 
  Espana at medium range will maul most destroyers and turn them 
  into drifting hulks, while her heavy armor will bounce the damage 
  from the typical destroyer’s 5” guns in most instances.
   
  Her bridge is ﬁtted with polished mahogany, silver and 
  polished brass.  The ofﬁcer’s seats are upholstered in cheetah hide. 
  Even the interior passages are not the drafty metal tunnels aboard 
  most other military vessels.  The rows of pipes and electrical wir-
  ing are hidden behind removable panels of polished oak.
   
  All of this extra luxury makes the Espana a proud vessel. 
  It also makes her more vulnerable than most to internal damage 
  and ﬁres.  The Espana was designed to be a symbol of rising Span-
  ish power in space.  It was meant to be a place where the King 
  might receive the ambassadors of other nations, even the represen-
  tatives of alien cultures.
   
  Now that Spain is engulfed in a civil war, the Espana 
  serves as the backbone of the surviving Alphonsine ﬂeet.  The 
  King is not interested in risking her or the rest of his vessels in 
  extended combat against the rebels.  He hopes to achieve a num-
  ber of strategic victories on the ground and have the war swaying 
  in his favor before applying the hammer of the Espana to rout the 
  ships of the enemy from Spanish space.  Only with a victory on the 
  ground and in space can the King be certain that he will not have 
  to risk the Espana and his other ships in a second major battle. 
  The King has no delusions of the Espana coming through a direct 
  encounter with the ships of the Reich and Roma ﬂeet unscathed.  
  He is of the opinion that forcing the Espana to face a second major 
  naval action after she is damaged and several of her current sup-
  porting vessels are lost would seal the vessel’s fate.
   
  During any major naval action involving the Espana the 
  King plans to be aboard her.  She serves as his second base and her 
  ofﬁcers and crew are completely loyal.  The King holds the Espana 
  near and dear to his own heart.  To him she is a vision of the might 
  of the Kingdom that should have been.  If the vessel faces her fate 
  in the face of battle against the rebels or the Nationalists, he would 
  prefer to be aboard and make her fate, his own.
  Battleship: The Espana
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  41
  National Flagship: Battleship (The Espana)
  Battleship / Slots and Locations (200-250 Slots)
  Cockpit/Bridge  
  14 slots
  Nose Hardpoint  
  17 slots
  Tail Hardpoint 
   
  34 slots
  Dorsal Hardpoint  
  31 slots
  Ventral Hardpoint 
  41 slots
  Left Wing 
   
  07 slots
  Right Wing 
   
  07 slots
  Fuselage  
   
  80 slots
  Bridge  
  1 slot 
  Hybrid Radio
   
   
  4 slot 
  Martian Hybrid Bridge Escape Pod
   
   
  1 slot 
  Fire Control System
   
   
  3 slots Type 281 Sensor (1 AU)
   
   
  5 slots Heavy Armor / Bolted (5of60)
  Nose Hardpoint 3 slots Starboard Ship’s Launch Tube
   
   
  3 slots Port Ship’s Launch Tube
   
   
  5 slots Forward 10” Gun
   
   
  1 slot 
  Forward Turret (270 degree)
   
   
  5 slots Heavy Armor / Bolted (5of60)
  Tail Hardpoint 
  24 slots x4 Type D RN Naval Drives (Mains)
   
   
   
  Type D Gravity Drives
   
   
  10 slots Heavy Armor / Bolted (10of60)
  Dorsal Hardpoint 4 slot 
  x2 Cargo Cranes
   
   
  4 slots Quarters: Steerage (16)
   
   
   
  Upper Deck Crew Quarters
   
   
  2 slots x2 Turrets (180 degree)
   
   
  8 slots Twin 5” Starboard Guns
   
   
  8 slots Twin 5” Port Guns
   
   
  5 slots Heavy Armor / Bolted (5of60)
   
  Ventral  
  2 slots x2 Turrets (180 degree)
   
   
  8 slots Twin 5” Starboard Guns
   
   
  8 slots Twin 5” Port Guns
   
   
  1 slot 
  Internal Launch Bay (Lab) 
   
   
   
  loader for Nose ship’s launch tubes
   
   
  2 slots Expanded Munitions Magazines
   
   
  3 slots Galley Area and Small Cafeteria
   
   
  4 slots Exercise Room / Gym
   
   
  4 slots Swimming Pool and Lockers
   
   
  2 slots Ofﬁcer’s Dining Area
   
   
  2 slots 300 Ton Cargo Bay (Ship Supplies)
   
   
  5 slots Heavy Armor / Bolted (5of60)
  Left Wing 
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters Fuel (Advanced) in Fin
   
   
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters Fuel (Advanced) in Fin
   
   
  5 slots Heavy Armor / Bolted (5of60)
  Right Wing 
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters Fuel (Advanced) in Fin
   
   
  1 slot 
  1,000 Liters Fuel (Advanced) in Fin
   
   
  5 slots Heavy Armor / Bolted (5of60)
  Fuselage  
  9 slots Steerage Crew Quarters (36)
   
   
  9 slots Steerage Crew Quarters (36) 
   
   
  4 slots Flak Turrets (180 degrees)
   
   
  6 slots x2 20mm twin guns (port)
   
   
  6 slots x2 20mm twin guns (starboard) 
   
   
   
  8 slots First Class Cabins (16) 
   
   
  1 slot 
  Sensor Lab (2 Crew)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Metal Shop (Lab)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Electronics Shop (Lab)
   
   
  1 slot 
  Science Lab (Lab)
   
   
  3 slots Starﬁghter and Launch Repair Bay
   
   
  4 slots Medical Bay (Expanded)
   
   
  2 slots 300 Ton Cargo Hold (Lower Deck)
   
   
  5 slots 5,000 liters of fuel in main tank
   
   
  20 slots Heavy Armor / Bolted (20of60)
   
   
  Additional 
   
  10mm Armored Plate
   
   
   
  30mm Windscreen (Hybrid)
  Airframe 
   
  Capital Vessel / Non-Atmo
  Armor  
   
  Heavy Armor / Bolted
  Engine Performance 
  Jump Transit = 33 Hours per LY
   
   
   
  System Transit = 33 Hours per AU
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = Slow (+) 
  Fuel Performance  
  Jump Activation = 4000 Liters
   
   
   
  System Transit = 120 Liters per Hour
   
   
   
  Tactical Speed = 32 Liters per Hour
  Tonnage  
   
  5000 Tons
  Captain’s Tour
   
  The Espana is a fairly large and complex vessel.  What 
  follows is a bow to stern and top to bottom tour.
  The Bridge
   
  The Bridge of the Espana is ﬁtted as a Martian escape 
  vessel.  In the event that the ship is being destroyed the entire 
  bridge can separate from the ship and make a run for safety.  In 
  1932 the bridge received an upgrade with its type 281 british 
  sensor system.  The sensor is linked into all of the guns aboard 
  the Espana and provides excellent ﬁring solutions for targets 
  in space.  The sensor tends to run bright and makes it easier to 
  detect when in operation.
  Nose
   
  The Espana is equipped with a pair of launch tubes 
  which eject starﬁghters or ship’s cutters out of the front of the 
  vessel.  Both tubes connect to a loading crane in the interior of 
  the ship which is further connected to the ﬁghter hanger portion 
  of the ship’s cargo bay.  150 tons out of 300 tons of the fuselage 
  cargo area is dedicated to starﬁghter and a ship’s boat hanger 
  area.  Adjoining the hanger deck is a six man starﬁghter repair 
  bay.  The Espana is not a carrier.  It does not have a functional 
  ﬂight deck and can not receive landing craft quickly.  Incom-
  ing ﬁghters must stage near a crane and have a crane hook onto 
  them and then load them into the large airlock located behind the 
  bridge.
  Battleship: The Espana
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  42
   
  Given sufﬁcient time the Espana can deploy two wings 
  of ﬁve starﬁghter’s each.  With ﬁghters deployed she retains one 
  passenger and one cargo cutter on board to assist in getting crew 
  members to safety should the ship need to utilize these as escape 
  boats.
   
  The nose is also the location of the Espana’s 10” gun tur-
  ret.  This formidable weapon can ﬁre for shred damage at long 
  range.  Should the weapon score a hit it is likely to inﬂict tremen-
  dous damage on any target from a destroyer on down.  Provided 
  that the Spanish gunners aboard her can score hits, the Espana 
  might easily disable a destroyer before it comes close enough to 
  ﬁre its own guns.  Considering that the crew aboard her should be 
  highly rated, hand picked experts from the Spanish ﬂeet, her gun 
  crews are not likely to miss.
  Plot Point
   
  The destruction of the Espana is not a foregone conclu-
  sion.  If the player characters side with the King this magniﬁcient 
  ship, along with the bulk of the Royalist ﬂeet may follow the King 
  into exile.  If the player’s become key members in the royal house-
  hold they may well have their personal quarters aboard the Espana 
  and use her as a base between adventures.
  Wings / Fins
   
  The Espana does not have wings.  She does have several 
  ﬁns which both serve as additional fuel storage and simple solar 
  collectors used for heating water and providing limited electrical 
  back-up power when the ship is operating in-system.  The solar 
  system is a Martian addition introduced for a variety of the larger 
  class vessels, even those built as early as the Espana.
  Interior
   
  The Espana is built to maintain a healthy crew and ofﬁcer 
  staff during extended operations in space.  She has an expanded 
  medical bay, a large exercise room, a locker area, a full equipped 
  galley with a private cafeteria area for both the enlisted men and 
  ofﬁcers.  She even has a swimming pool with a glass steel ceiling 
  that allows a view of the stars or nearby planet overhead.  During 
  ofﬁcial visits the exercise room can be modiﬁed to serve as a small 
  ball room.
  Quarters
   
  Conditions aboard the Espana are excellent for both the 
  Ofﬁcers and the crew.  This stands out in stark contrast to condi-
  tions aboard much of the rest of the navy which has been purposely 
  neglected over the years by commanders and nobles loyal to the 
  Carlists who hope to forment unrest.
   
  Quarters for rank and ﬁle sailors are small but well ap-
  pointed with wood panelling over the walls, wood coverings over 
  the ﬂoors, brass lanterns, plenty of cabinet space for personal ef-
  fects and uniforms.  Four crew share the same space but they do 
  so in shifts, with no more than two off duty and in occupation of a 
  cabin at any given point in time.
  Ofﬁcer Quarters
   
  Three quarters of the ﬁrst class cabins aboard the Espana 
  are devoted to the ship’s senior ofﬁcers.  They enjoy a larger cabin 
  space shared only between two members of the ofﬁcer staff.  In-
  deed, as with the crew, most of the time an ofﬁcer can enjoy the 
  privacy of their quarters while their counterpart is on duty.
   
  Crew members work in ten hour shifts while the ship is 
  deployed.  Ofﬁcers work in twelve hour rotations.  The rigors of 
  ship operations demand the ofﬁcers and crew enjoy occasions of 
  shore leave where the ship is only partially manned. 
   
  Ofﬁcer quarters include superior wood furniture, a full 
  writing desk and rooms which are somewhat sound proofed against 
  the day to day operations of the ship.
  Royal Quarters
   
  One quarter of the ﬁrst class cabins are reserved for use 
  by the King and his guests.  Any members of the royal family or 
  agents of the King arrive on board with an additional squad of 
  marines, advisors and personal servants.
   
  While they are occupied, the royal cabins are secured be-
  hind a locked pressure door under twenty four hour armed guard 
  (on both sides of the hatch).  In addition the occupied chambers 
  are placed under guard.  The King’s personal chambers have two 
  guards on the outer door and two in his chamber or attached to 
  his person at all times.  The royal quarters are quite large.  They 
  enjoy a large window view of the stars or nearby planet through a 
  curtained green house of heavily reinforced glass steel.
  Servants
   
  The Espana comes with its own ship board laundry.  Low-
  er ranking crew provide the labor for the laundry on a rotation.  Of-
  ﬁcers also enjoy having their uniforms cleaned and pressed and all 
  of their boots and leather gear polished.  Crew members are well 
  supplied with new uniforms although the shine and polish aboard 
  the Espana will slowly wane over the course of the war.
  Combat Bunkers
   
  During combat, certain areas of the ship are secured with 
  pressurized hatches.  These areas are not depressurized but they are 
  emptied of crew.  In particular the recreation area, locker rooms, 
  pool area and certain access passageways between decks are not 
  occupied during combat.  These areas are located immediately be-
  low the ship’s big guns.  During a full broadside and especially 
  in the pool room just below the 10” gun, crew in these areas may 
  experience serious hearing damage and even shell shock from the 
  overhead explosions of their own guns.  Sound may not carry in 
  space but it most certainly travels between the decks of the ship.
  Battleship: The Espana
  
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  43
  Starﬁghters
   
  Both starﬁghter wings aboard the Espana are equipped 
  with the Nieuport Delage starﬁghter.  The King is well aware that 
  these ﬁghters are somewhat aged and outmatched by both the Rata 
  and the Bf 109.  He hopes to protect these assets by keeping them 
  within medium range of the Espana where the ship’s guns can pro-
  vide them with additional cover.
   
  Surrounded with its full compliment of ten covering 
  starﬁghters, destroyer escort, two cruisers and a dozen fast trans-
  ports and additional ﬁghters, the Espana and the Royalist ﬂeet re-
  mains a force to be reckoned with.  Likely the greatest threat to the 
  Espana is a torpedo attack.
   
  In her stationary orbit she depends on the patrol of her 
  Destroyer Escort and ﬁghters to discourage an attempt on her by 
  an S-Boat.  In addition the King has cleverly arranged to surround 
  the ship with several mine ﬁelds.  These provide an anti-torpedo 
  curtain around the ship.  As long as the torpedo can be detected 
  a mine ﬁeld can be detonated remotely when the torpedo passes 
  through it in the hopes that the explosions will either destroy the 
  torpedo or send it off course.  (A clever defense which is likely to 
  work at least against one or two initial torpedo attacks.)
   
  Finally the ship’s guns can attempt to provide counter 
  battery ﬁre to attempt to destroy incoming torpedos or rockets be-
  fore the hit.
   
  By June of 1936 the King will require that two starﬁght-
  ers armed with under wing rockets remain in close patrol around 
  the Espana to provide one last line of defense against torpedo at-
  tacks.  The pilots are instructed to target and destroy incoming 
  torpedoes using their rockets.
  Range
   
  The ship’s drives provide sufﬁcient punch to carry this 
  tremendous battleship through jump space at a reasonable speed. 
  Still, each jump drains 4,000 liters of fuel from her storage.  This 
  limits the Espana to a single jump in most cases before requiring 
  some attention to her fuel stores.
   
  The ship’s cargo launch can be employed to retrieve 
  needed solid fuel stores if the Espana is not meant to put into orbit 
  or dock at an orbital station.  She has just enough fuel to usually ef-
  fect an emergency jump back out the way she came should she run 
  into real trouble in a destination system.  She will not have much in 
  the way of fuel remaining after two jumps and must refuel before 
  jumping again or even operating for an extended period of time.  In 
  system ﬂight and combat the Espana is a slow moving vessel as are 
  all ships of her size and nature.  Battleships built after 1930 tend 
  to be somewhat faster with more improvements to speed, armor 
  and the range and power of guns on the horizon for battleships 
  produced after 1936.
  Crew
   
  The Espana accomodates a crew of between 140 and 
  175 depending on her operational status.  Higher ﬁgures reﬂect 
  the presence of the King or a key member of the royal family on 
  board.  The Espana has a small number of marines on board at all 
  times (a single squad) with an additional squad arriving on board 
  with the King or any royal personage.  Additional crew members 
  reﬂect the arrival of servants, translators, a personal physician and 
  advisors which travel with a royal family member at all times.
   
  The marines are hand picked from the Spanish Legion.  
  Some of these individuals may remain loyal to General Franco 
  rather than the King although this will likely be a minority.  There 
  is always the possibility that Franco might arrange for a saboteur 
  aboard the Espana but this is also fairly unlikely as Franco would 
  rather see the proud vessel survive the war intact.
  Plot Point
   
  Franco’s ﬁrst motive is the survival of Spain free of a 
  communist government.  A close second to that is his own future 
  in the government to come.  Even so, Franco remains a supporter 
  of the King on a certain level and would rather see his old friend 
  and commander step down from power rather than be harmed.  
  Franco takes extreme umbrage at actions which destroy symbols 
  of proud Spanish might in space or attacks against buildings such 
  as churches which were imported from Earth brick by brick.
   
  While he is no innocent, the General retains a strong 
  sense of personal honor and is unlikely to stoop to acts of sabotage 
  or double dealing unless he is backed into a corner.
   
  The King is not unaware of the potential for Franco’s 
  abandoning his cause and taking a good portion of the Legion with 
  him.  Should Franco join the Nationalists, the King will have those 
  soldiers known to be loyal to him sent via transport into New Ma-
  drid to join their commander.  He will not attempt to imprison or 
  punish them for mutiny.  Such an act will only serve to strengthen 
  the iron clad loyalty of those already determined to remain at the 
  King’s side.
  Psi Agents
   
  The King secretly retains several independent Psi talents 
  on his Ofﬁcer staff.  One remains aboard the Espana at all times.  
  This member of the security team is tasked with snifﬁng out plots, 
  dangers to the ship and potential attacks.
   
  In addition the King maintains both a Witch and a talent-
  ed Warlock on his personal staff.  When the King is present he may 
  well have both of these with him, surrounding the King with two 
  sensitives capable of detecting dangers and one individual capable 
  of tearing apart enemy boarding parties with direct psionic attack.
  Battleship: The Espana
  
  Coming in early April - 2008
  Get ready, for the ﬁrst adventure series in the 
  Rocketship Empires 1936 universe.
  EXPLORE - The Jungle Colony of Trinidad.
  ADVENTURE - Through the streets of Casablanca
  Starport and its surrounding villages and
  settlements.  This is NOT another line adventure.
  Cut your players loose.  The region is highly
  detailed and immersive.
  HUNT - Alien Creatures, Dinosaurs and lost
  Treasures from Forgotten Civilizations.
  SURVIVE - The Horror Unleashed on a Colony in the 
  throws of Revolution.
  Everything you need for running three heavily 
  detailed and immersive introductory adventures in 
  the Rocketship Empires universe.
  Get Ready for the Ride of your Life
  SPRING and SUMMER 2008 Schedule!
   
  Coming in PDF format and Hard Copy...
  Starship Feature Book No. 2: Tramp Freighters 
   
  APRIL
  REGION BOOK No. 2:  Roma and The Kingdom of Holland 
  MAY
  Adventure Book No. 2: For King and Country 
   
  MAY
  REGION BOOK No. 3:  League Space  
   
   
  JUNE
  Ship Compendium No. 2: 10 Ships for RE 1936 
   
  JULY
  REGION BOOK No. 4:  Earth and the Core 
   
   
  JULY
  THE HEGEMONY (100 Pages) 
   
   
   
  AUG
   
  Everything you ever wanted to know about the
   
  Martian Septs, their politics, plots, abilities and
   
  technology.
   
  In addition, the Hegemony book includes a look at
   
  ﬁve of the major alien races under the dominion
   
  of the Martian Empire.
   
  Look for the Hegemony book at the Rocketship
   
  Empires booth at Gen Con Indie!  See you there!
  Join us at the HQ
  www.rocketshipempires.com
  Rocketship Empires 1936
  Adventure Module No. 1
  The Madrid Run
  The Galactic Geographic
  Newsletter
  The Galactic Geographic Newsletter is now available 
  monthly for FREE at the HQ.  Visit our website at
  www.rocketshipempires.com and watch for the next 
  edition.  Newsletters will be posted between the 15th 
  and 20th of each month.
  Note
  This serves as the back cover for the starship 
  compendium.  You may stop printing here 
  to create your starship compendium.  Begin 
  printing on page 45 if you choose to print a 
  copy of -just- the short story.
  
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  A Tubepunk Tale
  by
  Edward M Kann
  
  46
  Disclaimer
  All of the characters presented in this work are ﬁctional.  Any 
  similiarity between them and any real person or event is purely 
  coincidental.
  This work of short ﬁction includes references to race
  and slang terms.  
  This is not intended to support or encourage the use of
  such terms.  Far from it.
  The very worst slang and racist banter common in the literature 
  of the 1930’s has been removed.  That said, the struggle for 
  equality and understanding between humans from all walks of life 
  was a major part of the unfolding history and experience of the 
  20th century.  Excluding it would be as wrong as ignoring the 
  evils of the holocaust or claims that those horrible events of 
  the period did not occur.
  The struggle for understanding
  and a world free of ignorance, hate
  and violence between our human brothers
  continues to this day.
  e.m. kann
  
  47
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  Not in New Kansas Anymore
  by e.m. kann
  Chapter One
   
  “So, he’s gone.”  Roy Garvey, Mayor of Drakensburg contemplated the 
  worn edge of his once stunning black bowler hat.  He leaned his long lanky 
  form against the wooden podium of the South Veldt one room school house; 
  white shirt sleeves rolled up past his narrow elbows, conservative gray 
  jacket folded over the shaker chair behind him.
   
  To the eyes of Floyd Specktor, his old friend and crony, Garvey made 
  an impression that was almost presidential.  Roy certainly looked the part 
  of an Abe Lincoln with his homespun sensibilities and easy going good na-
  ture, at least on the surface.  It was no wonder that the colonists kept 
  electing him.
   
  “That’s right.  Heeled and toed it last night on the outbound shuttle 
  to Orvieto.”  Herman Schott, Drakensburg’s one and only law enforcement of-
  ﬁcer spat a thick black stain of chewing tobacco onto the school room ﬂoor.
   
  “God damn it, Herman.  The kids have still got to come to school to-
  morrow.”  Roy glared and watched as the thickly built policeman stuffed his 
  hands into his heavy cowhide jacket and scuffed the stain mostly away with 
  one of his boots.
   
  “Not without a teacher they don’t,” muttered Herman.
   
  Floyd put down the little globe, a model of planet Earth meant to 
  teach the kids the names and places of countries and cities they might nev-
  er see.  As a kid he’d always loved things like globes and maps.  It seemed 
  utterly foreign and strange that none of the kids in attendance at the 
  South Veldt school house could point to a spot on the globe and say that 
  this spot, this little colored square of bumpy land is where I live.  In 
  fact none of the kids on the League charter colony of New Kansas could say 
  
  48
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  that.  Earth was more than thirty light years away.  The whole notion was 
  mind boggling to Floyd who was thirty years old when the aliens arrived in 
  1919.  Now that he was pushing past ﬁfty he was counted as one of the se-
  nior voices on the colony.  It helped that he ran the only newspaper on the 
  planet.
   
  “That would be the third teacher we’ve lost this year.”  Floyd spun 
  the globe with his ﬁngertips.  “Kind of makes you wonder, why it is we 
  can’t seem to keep one around.”
   
  “I just raised the pay on this last one by ﬁfty cents a day,” comment-
  ed Roy.  He placed one polished wingtip on the rail at the bottom of the 
  podium and leaned on his elbows, ﬂipping his bowler in his ﬁngers.  “Colony 
  can’t afford to pay any more than that.  Hell we pay more for teachers than 
  they do in Kingsland and classroom’s here have maybe half the kids, maybe a 
  quarter.”
   
  “School teachers ain’t the only ones to leave in a hurry,” said Her-
  man.  “Nothing much to do around here besides farm and ﬁght the grass, may-
  be run a little shop or a little local newspaper like yours Floyd.  I mean, 
  what the hell does a young guy like this last teacher…, what was his name 
  again?”
   
  “Warren something,” offered Floyd.
   
  “Warren Peach,” corrected Roy.
   
  “What’s a young guy like this Warren Peach fellow have to look for-
  ward to around here?”  Herman crossed the ﬂoor, his big boots thumping over 
  the boards.  He pushed open one of the windows and spat into the curtain of 
  blue grass pressed against the window from outside.
   
  Roy stopped ﬁddling with his hat and looked around the room at the 
  men.  “That isn’t why he left and we all know it.”
   
  The room was silent for a moment.
   
  “Damn it Roy,” Herman began.  “You make it sound down right sinister.”
   
  “Isn’t it?”  Roy stared down Herman until he had to break eye contact 
  
  49
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  and pretend to study something out the window.
   
  “Kids go missing on every colony world Roy,” Floyd said.  He sat at 
  one of the under sized desks, working his legs around to save his knees 
  from being bruised.  “Kids go missing and people get sick or hurt.  It hap-
  pens in any frontier community like this.  It happened like that on the 
  frontier back home in the old days.”
   
  “This isn’t home,” said Roy.  “Home didn’t have the grass.”
   
  “God damn grass is part of the problem, at least with the missing 
  kids,” offered Herman.  “Not only will it drive a feller crazy not being 
  able to see more than two god damn feet past his front porch, kids don’t 
  listen and run off into that shit and if they go far enough, never ﬁnd 
  their way back.  Besides there might not be many critters living out there 
  that can do a person any real harm but there are a few.  One of them grass 
  cats could go after a kid and drag him off if he was alone.”
   
  Roy sat his hat on the table next to him and straightened up to his 
  full six and a half feet.  “When was the last time you was feeling poorly 
  Herman?”
   
  His pale blue eyes scanned the room.  “When was the last time any one 
  of us felt as much as a snifﬂe since we left Earth?  Five years?  Eight?”
   
  “You all are just pissing into the wind on account of your not wanting 
  to admit how god damn scared you all are.”  Roy pulled a box of cigarettes 
  out of his pocket and lit one, taking a long drag.  “Tell me again Floyd 
  what you found out the last time we checked up on death records at other 
  operations like ours.”
   
  Floyd frowned.  Roy was right and this was the one subject he hated to 
  discuss.  “Our adult death rates are about the same and almost all from ac-
  cidents, only a few from disease.  Not many adults going missing.  Not many 
  more than any other colony in this region of space.”
   
  “What about the kids?” Herman frowned, looking every bit the bull dog. 
  This was all news to him.
  
  50
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
   
  “We have about three times the missing rate for children of the next 
  highest colony anywhere in space, at least according to what’s been record-
  ed.”
   
  “Shit.”  Herman looked from Roy to Floyd.  It was easy to see he was 
  steamed and more than a little appalled at the news.
   
  “I knew it was pretty bad...but not that bad,” Herman said.
   
  “Remember, you are new around here too Herman,” offered Roy.  “School 
  teachers, like you said, aren’t the only people that get the hell out of 
  here on a regular basis.”
   
  Roy gathered up his coat and hat.  “I’ll be on the horn to our illus-
  trious League Governor today to discuss our needs regarding a new school 
  teacher.”  He paused for a moment and added, “Herman, what about that black 
  kid whose Daddy was spraying the Blue for the Quakers from that Spad of 
  his?  You think you can look in on him?”
   
  Herman gave a shrug.  “Plenty of white kids need the law to watch out 
  for them around here and that little colored is way out on the West edge of 
  the Veldt.”
   
  “He’s twelve years old Herman, for Christ’s sake have a little Chris-
  tian charity, god damn it.  At least those white kids have parents to keep 
  an eye on them. That poor kid hasn’t a soul in the world.  I think he’s 
  probably the only black we have on the whole damn planet.”
   
  “Alright, alright,” Herman waved his hands in surrender.  “I’ll do 
  right by him.  Damn shame about his Dad.  I hear he was one of the ﬁrst 
  colonists to settle here.”
   
  Roy answered with a nod.  As the men pushed their way out of the 
  school house into the hard slap of the wind, Floyd had the slightest in-
  kling that more than the usual afternoon thunderstorm was lurking beyond 
  the horizon.
  
  51
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  Chapter Two
   
  “Coffee makes me feel like I’m not a zillion miles away from Yankee 
  Stadium.”
   
  This was the sort of line my father would share aloud with the kitchen 
  some mornings. Surprised, -it always surprised me when Dad would suddenly 
  offer his inner monologue by way of commentary, like the announcer at one 
  of the baseball games I’d never seen; I would sit up in my seat and watch 
  him.
   
  He’d stand sipping from a cup of his morning ritual, steam curling 
  in the cold which shouldered its way into our shotgun house of a morn-
  ing. While I poked at my breakfast he would be standing right there, where 
  dappled sunlight formed a cross on the ﬂoor, wearing nothing but his old 
  ﬂannel long johns -squinting out through the slam of the screen door.  His 
  deep brown eyes would carry him out over the little strip of the Veldt 
  whose miles and miles of golden rippling waves; all of it Earth import-
  ed wheat came to an abrupt halt at the end of our property. There it gave 
  way to a vastly greater ocean of shoulder tall azure blades which quickly 
  climbed up and up; tall as houses, the elephant grass native to New Kansas.
   
  The grass was synonymous with the planet and any hardship we expe-
  rienced there.  Each stalk grew as wide as a man’s thigh and rose to a 
  tufted point seven to nine feet tall.  I imagined the stalks of blue to be 
  ﬁngers, ﬁve spread skyward from the palm where the root was located, and 
  each root ran deep, deep below the surface.  The grass was tough, difﬁ-
  cult to hack down even with a new machete.  The edge of a blade of it could 
  slice through your palm as surely as a razor if you caught a hold of it and 
  pulled.
   
  Residents of New Kansas described daily life in terms of the never 
  ending battle against the scourge of the planet’s major life form.  The 
  colonists chopped it, poisoned it, plowed it under, but mostly they burned 
  
  52
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  it.  Once a ﬁeld was cleared, only spraying once a month with the chemi-
  cal called Blue kept it from springing right back.  Blue was one of a dozen 
  such fertilizers supplied to us by our Martian benefactors.  It kept human 
  crops from being strangled to death by the malignancy of the grass and had 
  the additional beneﬁt of increasing crop yields.  Still, there was a lim-
  ited supply of the stuff.  Enough to keep the ﬁelds clear, -barely.  That 
  left the towns and homesteads away from the productive ﬁelds to attempt to 
  wage war against the ever encroaching invader, with whatever tools were 
  readily at hand.
   
  My father favored a ﬂame thrower from the Great War.  Dozens like it 
  were employed for this purpose around the colony.  Backpack ﬂamers had been 
  the means for clearing the grass going back to the earliest days of the 
  colony.
   
  One might imagine this would create a problem with raging brush ﬁres, 
  yet this was never a problem on New Kansas.  The grass retained a signiﬁ-
  cant amount of moisture and only those stalks kissed directly by the ﬂames 
  of a thrower shriveled and died.  A variety of different means for encour-
  aging a large scale prairie ﬁre had been employed during the lifetime of 
  the colony.  All had failed.  Pumping cheap fuel oil into ﬁelds of grass 
  using hoses and hand pumps worked reasonably well but was cost prohibitive 
  for regular use.  
   
  Blue was the best solution we had for the plant.  After burning down a 
  ﬁeld spraying down a layer of Blue from a crop duster like my Father’s spad 
  or with a tractor kept the grass at bay for weeks, possibly as long as a 
  month during the dry season.
   
  Of course, after a few years of spraying Blue using the Spad, the shed 
  and our yard had absorbed so much of the residue that the grass no longer 
  made the attempt to climb the low hill up to our house.
   
  Elsewhere it could reclaim an entire acre within seventy two hours, 
  pressing in against windows and doors to such an extent that a house could 
  
  53
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  vanish into it all together if left undefended or unoccupied for longer 
  than a few days.
   
  Father had one rule about the grass, never go into it without him.
   
  Not, never go into it alone or never go into it without an adult, but 
  very clearly, -very speciﬁcally, never go into the grass without my him.    
   
  To demonstrate how serious he was, my Dad wasted no time in tanning my 
  hide the ﬁrst time I set foot in it without him.  We had, of course, heard 
  the news a neighbor would go missing at one of the farms nearby.
   
  Dad would sit me down and explain.  “Now son, I can’t tell you the ex-
  act reason why, because I don’t know the answer myself, -but going off into 
  that grass for anyone and most especially a youngster is damn dangerous.”
   
  “What do you think is out there Dad,” I’d ask.
   
  He would quiet down and stare out the window at that nine foot tall 
  wall of blue stalks running behind our house and answer quietly.  “I can’t 
  really say, son.  I’m not sure what is out there.”
   
  That, was the last I would get out of him on the topic.
   
  My father and I lived like a pair of bachelors. The garden occupying 
  our front lawn was a tangled yet glorious grove of engine parts, gears, 
  and burned out diesel generators.  These were all pieces and parts of much 
  larger machines my dad and I had repaired through their exorcism.   
   
   
  I considered myself to be big -meaning nearly twenty ﬁve at the age of 
  twelve, and passing tools to my Father’s disembodied hand when he thrust it 
  out from where he lay; stretched out beneath his work, -somehow seemed like 
  I’d had an equal share in a dead engine’s glorious resurrection.
   
  Our patients were typical for a contract mechanic living well off the 
  artery of the large systems. One of the neighbor’s tractors, the occasional 
  truck and a few times a year something big and grand from the space port.  
  These wonders crawled their way down the dust choked road from Drakensburg 
  behind Uncle Vic’s beloved 1930 Studebaker Cab-Forward.  
   
  The rusting amputated remains of all of these projects were arranged 
  
  54
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  in a sort of chaotic monument which I imagined to be castle battlements or 
  the vaults of Ming the Merciless.  They encircled in a maze of rusted heaps 
  the corrugate steel workshop where Father stored his most prized material 
  possessions, these being in turn his tools and Lucy.  
   
  Lucy was my Father’s Spad, a relic from the Great War from which he’d 
  returned both decorated and changed, at least according to my Uncle.  Uncle 
  Vic once conﬁded that Dad was quieter after the war -much more serious and 
  all business.  To me that summed my Father up in a nutshell; all business.
  Lucy was named after my Mother.  Dad said that my Mother had been taken to 
  heaven by Jesus just about a year after I was born. This was while my Fa-
  ther was off ﬂying in the war.  What Jesus had to do with the fever in 1918 
  that passed through Missouri laying whole towns low along with my Mother; 
  whose sole image I only recognized from the picture placed on my bed table, 
  was lost on me.
   
  Father’s hand in the Great War was also something of an enigma. In the 
  one photograph I’d seen of Father in his ﬂyer’s uniform, I recognized it as 
  that of a Frenchy.  Uncle Vic said Dad was a decorated ace.  Why Dad be-
  came an ace ﬁghting for the French and not the Americans -clearly the good 
  guys in the conﬂict, was a tremendous disappointment.  Somehow this one 
  detail swept the glamour out of it all for me.  Dad did not ﬂy in over the 
  hill, bugles blaring like the cavalry to the rescue as I’d imagined.  He 
  was about as talkative as a clam about anything to do with the war and most 
  of what passed for life on Earth.  Asking always introduced me to a new ar-
  ray of imaginative chores which kept me working until the second sun ﬁnally 
  slipped below the horizon.
   
  By the time I was ten I stopped asking.
   
  The nearest neighbors were the Tanvyords whose silos were just visible 
  east of our property.  Reﬂections blinking off the weathered steel of the 
  Tanvyord’s grain silo could be spied from the vantage point of our tar and 
  shingle roof, a choice spot which I had thoroughly explored by that time.  
  
  55
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  Father called the silos Kansas Mountains, a funny sort of reference that 
  passed over my head until I’d the opportunity to see a real mountain off 
  planet.  To my eyes growing up as I had amidst the Mennonite colony on New 
  Kansas they looked more like Buck Rogers rocket ships, something glorious-
  ly displayed in the nickel comic books I’d spy once in a blue moon on the 
  back shelf of the general store in Drakensberg.  Of course the silos looked 
  nothing like a real live starship, -those passed over our place, thrust out 
  on the West end of the Veldt, one or two in a week. The roar of their grav-
  ity drives made our windows rattle as they lumbered overhead on their slow 
  approach into Drakensberg like cattle.  Starships were common enough in my 
  young world that while they interested me as much as anything with engines, 
  the bullet shaped rockets of Buck Rogers and Ming the Merciless seemed far 
  more compelling.
     
  The word, Veldt; whose border our property straddled had a distinctive 
  Afrikaner quality when pronounced correctly which was perfectly reasonable 
  considering that the earliest settlers to arrive on New Kansas were Boers.   
  The self same Boers whose farms and lands in the regions of Transvaal and 
  the Orange Free State of South Africa had been lost a few decades prior 
  during the Second Boar War.
     
  The Veldt comprised a region now one hundred and seventy odd miles on 
  a side and grew at the pace of about twelve miles a year.  It was now just 
  visible from space, or so I had heard -on days when the sky was clear and 
  blue as a robin’s egg.  A single tiny spot of gold on a landscape quilted 
  in dark blues and exotic purples.
   
  The Afrikaners or the Afri-Oldtimers, as my father called them were 
  few in number, never establishing much beyond the meager town of Drakens-
  berg which they surrounded with a fortiﬁcation of widely separated ranches 
  and farms.  Their dream of creating a purely Afrikaner colony never quite 
  ﬂowered.  It was instead consumed by the second wave of space colonization 
  arriving in 1927 when the United States Federal Territories got a strangle 
  
  56
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  hold on the League charter for the planet.  A more numerous landing party 
  of thousands rather than hundreds, primarily comprised of Stauffer Menno-
  nites arrived to settle in and around Drakensberg, much to the chagrin of 
  the Afrikaners.  The Mennonites arrived with an entire community.  They had 
  chosen to pack up their families, their 19th century tools, black horse and 
  buggy carriages and one entire church taken apart board, nail and bell; to 
  migrate together to a new world far from the modern indulgences of radio 
  and automobile which now plagued them even in the most remote corner of ru-
  ral Pennsylvania.
   
  Thankfully the Mennonites had no interest in edging anyone off of 
  lands. Despite living in an almost closed community and their oddly 18th 
  century outlook on the world the Mennonites were friendly, kind and accept-
  ing of everyone.  After a few years of initial grumbling the two communi-
  ties reached a sort of truce of convenience, existing as separate but occa-
  sionally cordial neighbors which otherwise ignored one another.
   
  I liked them.  I liked them far more than the ranchers who traveled 
  everywhere with a riﬂe or shotgun slung under one arm.  Uncle Vic, who was 
  not literally my Uncle once explained the “social geography” to me.  This 
  came to pass of an afternoon while we were both sitting on the front steps 
  drinking tall glasses of warm lemonade from a pitcher while my Father was 
  off on a work run in the Spad.
   
  “Why does Dad call you Uncle Vic?”  I asked.  I held up my hand next 
  to his to silently show the evidence to the contrary.  He was clearly a 
  white man like everyone else on New Kansas and my Father and I were black.
   
  Uncle Vic laughed and almost choked on his lemonade.  “Ja I was won-
  dering when you would ask me.”  He set his lemonade down in the tall weeds 
  next to the step and put a grandfatherly hand on my shoulder.
   
  “Its because I am a Jew.”  Uncle Vic said.  He gazed into the middle 
  distance for a moment.  “Any friends you have are the Quaker kids, the farm 
  kinder, yes?”
  
  57
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
   
  “Sure.”  I said.  
   
  “The farmers here, the Mennonites -are wonderful people.  Very accept-
  ing of everyone.”
   
  “Meaning...they don’t care if Dad and I are black or you are a Jew...”
   
  “Exactly correct.”  Uncle Vic rufﬂed my hair.  I leaned my head 
  against his shoulder and smiled.  I loved Uncle Vic.  Dad and Victor had a 
  connection going back to Earth, maybe even the war.  Victor was a part of 
  my family for as long as I could remember.
   
  “What about the Ranchers, what about the people in Drakensburg or on 
  other planets,” I asked.
   
  Uncle Vic was quiet for a moment and reﬁlled our glasses from the 
  pitcher.  He raised his and waggled between large ﬁngers.  I grinned and 
  clinked mine carefully against his, just like he and Dad did sometimes over 
  dinner.
   
  “To them and most everyone else we might as well be Uncle Victor and 
  Nephew Franklin.  To them we are all trouble makers and villains of the 
  worst possible sort,” Uncle Vic scowled at me, making a face.  I laughed 
  and giggled, favoring him with my brightest smile.  He always had the means 
  of making serious topics a bit easier to stomach.
   
  Our discussion was hardly my ﬁrst exposure to the subject of race.  
  The colony on New Kansas was small and despite the liberal beliefs of our 
  neighbors, who held to the creed that all men were blessed creations of 
  God, no matter the color of their skin, I’d already witnessed Father’s oc-
  casional encounter with some of the white people living in town.
   
  “Franklin, those people in town that speak out of their ignorance are 
  more of an example of what human planets are like away from New Kansas.  
  You get old enough and leave this place behind you, you’ll ﬁnd out there 
  are some planets where talking back to a white man can get you a beating, 
  or worse.  There are some places out there where a black man has to worry 
  about being killed if he speaks his mind or stands up for himself.  Even in 
  
  58
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  places where they brag about the freedoms and equality enjoyed by everyone 
  else.”
   
  “By everyone else, you mean just the white folks.”
   
  “Yes Franklin, that’s right.”
   
  To my mind those other places didn’t sound half as nice as New Kansas.  
  As long as it was Dad, Uncle Victor and me together, I ﬁgured I’d stay 
  there forever.
   
  I hadn’t counted on my Dad having a heart attack a few months after 
  we’d had our talk about race and white folk and worlds beyond our home. The 
  doctor said he passed in his sleep.  
   
  My life was turned upside down.  Just how dramatic a change I reckon I 
  could never have guessed. 
  Chapter Three
   
  Herman jostled down the dirt lane leading West out of Drakensburg.  
  Riding out from town meant driving into acres temporarily reclaimed by the 
  grass.  Despite the road, which was twice weekly sprayed down with cheap 
  fuel oil and burned, and the occasional productive ﬁeld, the road was 
  nearly engulfed.  There was never enough Blue to keep it cleared, despite 
  promises by the League Governor, a regional puppet who preferred to live 
  at the Italian space station at Orvieto.  The League government was in the 
  New Kansas star system, but off planet.  You had to radio the aged Italian 
  space station to reach anyone in the League.  The Governor might as well 
  live on Mars, Herman thought to himself.
   
  Sections of the road twisted into a series of tunnels where the stalks 
  reaching overhead scuffed and slapped the side of his police cruiser no 
  matter how careful he tried to be.  Herman drove a Nash Ambassador Six, one 
  provided to him as a perk of his position as the only law on the planet.  
  With eight out of ten colonists living like Quakers the Federal authority 
  decided that a single Marshal would be sufﬁcient for the task at hand.  So 
  
  59
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  far this certainly seemed to be true.  Herman had served in the capacity of 
  Marshal for the better part of a year now and while he’d had a few calls 
  and duties to perform he had not had to effect a single arrest.
   
  It might be a job out of a dream if it had not been for the dullness 
  of the colony and the grass.  The stalks were wearing him down little by 
  little, like the paint they scoured off of his black patrol car. Herman 
  frowned as he noticed for the hundredth time that the Nash had been pol-
  ished and scratched right down to the metal in several spots.
   
  Herman had developed a deep and abiding hate / hate relationship with 
  the grass within weeks of arriving at the colony.  New Kansas was an alien 
  planet after all.  Who knew what crawled, stalked or slithered here.  Her-
  man kept his Colt semi-auto on his hip at all times.  He practically slept 
  with it in his hand.  While he’d never seen anything bigger than a grass 
  cat, and growing as large as a wild boar they were certainly big enough, he 
  was not about to grow complacent.  It was like the missing children.  None 
  of them ever showed up hurt or dead.  Herman would almost prefer ﬁnding 
  some remains gnawed on by an animal, just to remove some of the mystery.  
  The stalks were just too impenetrable, even an alien could be sneaking 
  around out there.  One could be standing so close it was breathing right in 
  your face and you’d never see it.  
   
  Not that Herman had ever seen an alien.  Not in ten years of working 
  colonies and shifting from job to job.  That didn’t mean they weren’t out 
  there, -watching.  
   
  Herman scowled out through the scuffed window of the Nash.  “I know 
  your out there you green bastards,” he muttered.  At least the temperature 
  in the car wasn’t too bad today.  Herman had learned to drive with the win-
  dows up, after a blade of the plants had sliced off his pinky ﬁnger.  This 
  disaster had happened while he was driving like a fool with all the win-
  dows rolled down and his arm in the window.  Damn stuff is like living on a 
  planet covered with carving knives, he thought to himself.
  
  60
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
   
  “God damn forest of carving knives,” he echoed to himself.
   
  Up ahead Herman spied the back of a ﬂatbed truck blocking the road.  
  The driver, a Jew that ran one of the groceries in town, Victor somebody, 
  was messing around with a gasoline hand ﬂamer.  The road was blocked ahead 
  where stalks tangled together forming a sort of natural road block.  Herman 
  rolled to a stop behind the truck.  “Leave it to a white man to get the god 
  damn road cleared,” he muttered.  “I better get out there before you blow 
  yourself up.”
  Chapter Four
   
  “Hello!” Victor waved and pushed himself up, straightening out cramps 
  in his legs and lower back as the city constable pulled up.  An encoun-
  ter with someone like Herman was never exactly cordial but the road would 
  be cleared faster with the two of them working at it.  He mopped his brow, 
  thinking.  As he recalled this would be his ﬁrst encounter with the new 
  lawman alone, far from the town, far from any friendly person.
   
  “You can put that old hand unit back in your truck, I’ve got a mili-
  tary thrower in the trunk,” Herman called to him and strode around to the 
  back of his Chevy, straightening the seams of his trousers and side step-
  ping a puddle of mud to keep his cowboy boots from getting nasty.  He 
  pulled a packet of chew from his pocket and stuffed a few pinches deep into 
  his mouth.
   
  “The work will go faster if we both work together,” Victor offered and 
  hefted his hand ﬂamer.  He set about trying to clear the ignition port with 
  his pocket knife.
   
  “What?”  Herman hefted the military ﬂame thrower out of his trunk with 
  one of the dull gray straps over one shoulder, a German surplus model.  His 
  voice and the gaze he settled on Victor communicated annoyance and a little 
  disbelief.
  
  61
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
   
  “We might work together...,” Victor began, his voice trailing off.
   
  “Just get back in your truck and try not to kill yourself with that 
  antique,” Herman snapped.  
   
  Why is he angry?  Victor thought to himself and Herman pushed past 
  him, shouldering the straps of the heavy army unit and securing it in place 
  before pulling a pair of battered glass-blackened goggles out of a side 
  pocket and settling these over his head.
   
  Victor considered lending a hand anyway.  He knew what he was doing 
  with the hand ﬂamer.  He’d been living on New Kansas for six years where 
  the constable had been here only one.
   
  “...damn Jew...”
   
  Victor caught the muttered sentiment.  While not exactly surprised he 
  was annoyed and his temper was simmering.  He was on his way out to check 
  on Franklin and try to convince the boy to move into town with him.  The 
  Tanvyords had promised to look after the boy while Victor settled Frank-
  lin’s estate for him in town, secured the deed for his property and his Fa-
  ther’s other assets.
   
  “What was that? You say you want some help over there?”  Victor called 
  out to Herman.
   
  Fwooosh.
   
  The military ﬂame thrower kicked out a six foot fountain of ﬂame.  The 
  air was ﬁlled with the sharp chemical stink of gasoline and burning grass.
   
  “Nothing and no,” Herman yelled back over the hiss of the ﬂame throw-
  er.
   
  Victor returned to his truck and worked at securing the hand ﬂamer 
  back into the tool kit behind the seat.  The constable would be busy burn-
  ing out the over growth for a good thirty minutes.  Then the road would be 
  clear and with any luck Victor would be rid of the unpleasant man.
   
  An American, Victor thought as he studied the other man.  With a name 
  like Herman he was probably German, maybe one, maybe two generations re-
  
  62
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  moved from the old country.
   
  Let the constable indulge his need to kill things on the grass for 
  an hour.  White men were always more amiable after they’d spent some time 
  killing something.  At least in Victor’s experience.
  Chapter Five
   
  My Dad’s funeral was attended by more people than I could remember 
  seeing at any time in my young life.  Most of the farmers from the sur-
  rounding area and their families came.  The Mennonite elders offered to 
  bury him in their little church graveyard, and after giving it some thought 
  I agreed.  Someone even contributed a few handfuls of soil from Earth, so 
  Dad could go into the ground touching a little piece of home, his real 
  home.
   
  I was a lost through the funeral and the wake afterwards.  Uncle Vic-
  tor was there of course, lending me his strength and deep running comfort.  
  When I cried hot tears, blind with grief, it was Victor who held me close 
  and made me feel like I had, in him, what I discovered to be the most im-
  portant single thing I’d taken for granted my entire life.
   
  Someone to love me and call me family.
   
  When it was over, I learned that the Tanvyords were more than willing 
  to take me into their home and add me to their family. I preferred to stick 
  close to my Uncle Vic.
   
  There was a great deal of discussion the night after the funeral as to 
  where I should stay.  Uncle Victor had to drive back into Drakensburg to 
  ﬁle some papers about our land and make sure Dad’s property deed was ﬁled 
  in my name.  He asked me to come along but the last thing I wanted was to 
  sleep in some strange bed.  While I knew that everything had changed and 
  that the days living in our house were numbered, I just wanted a few more 
  days surrounded by the familiar.
  
  63
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
   
  I wanted nothing more than to pull my Dad’s jacket out of his trunk, 
  the leather one that smelled so much like him, his photograph, the blankets 
  off of his bed and just pile them on my own to feel close to him.  To try 
  to ingrain into my mind that Dad smell that only my own Father had.  Forge 
  it into my soul before everything was packed away for who knows how long 
  and our place, my only real home, was given back to the grass until I was 
  old enough to reclaim it.
   
  Finally it was agreed that so long as I stuck close to the house and 
  promised not to wander off that it would be alright for me to spend the 
  two days there that it would take Uncle Victor to take care of business in 
  town.
   
  I stood on the front porch, hands thrust into the pockets of my denim 
  coveralls and watched the dust settle after Uncle Victor disappeared on his 
  way to town. I was alone.  With my Dad gone the house, the yard; it might 
  as well be the surface of the moon.  Nothing felt familiar.
     
  By night fall I had added my Father’s bolt action Springﬁeld riﬂe to 
  the list of things to pile into my room.
   
  I made a point of checking every door and window three times.  I even 
  pushed a few heavy piece of furniture in the way of the back door.  It was 
  dark outside, so very dark.  I had no intention of risking a glance out a 
  window.  Thankfully the night sounds were all the normal sort.  I indulged 
  myself in my sadness for a few hours and eventually, exhausted to the very 
  bones, collapsed in sleep.
   
  I woke the next morning to the sharp fresh coolness that follows a 
  night’s rain.  A cool even blue gray of sky was visible through my drift-
  ing curtains which were made from old khaki surplus canvas.  I listened to 
  the quiet until the morning cold kicked me out of the army cot that served 
  as my bed.  For a few moments I played pretend that I had dreamed the whole 
  horrible scenerio.  Dad was just sleeping in.  It was a pointless fantasy 
  that only made me feel miserable again.
  
  64
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
      I pulled a clean enough tan muslin shirt over my head, pulled up work 
  overalls by suspenders, wool socks, work boots were wrestled on and laces 
  tied twice for good measure.  I hopped, half skipping from toe to toe as 
  quietly as a thirteen year old in work boots might (which is to say not 
  very) out the back door of our house.   From there I jumped off the slant-
  ed wooden porch in the back and ran clumsily over the gravel to the wash 
  house.
   
  Over my head ranged a broad painted sky with rain laden clouds, gold 
  and rich purple on the tops and gray down the sides all steaming Westward 
  over the towering grass like an armada of battleships.  Blades of the end-
  less plain rustled, it made an enormous sound, stroked by the sharp breathe 
  of the morning wind and rose and fell around the little island of our yard 
  -wave after violet wave of it like the surface of an alien sea.
   
  Day bats road the morning currents small and quick as starlings, 
  greeting the rousing morning with their odd mixture of nearly inaudible 
  warbles and the occasional whoop.  Father said their clamor reminded him of 
  monkeys in the jungles of the Amazon, another reference I understood only 
  by way of cast off issues of the Galactic Geographic Magazine.   The noise 
  they made in that open plain made home sometimes feel a little more exotic 
  and interesting.
   
  Jeeves made static noises at me as I pelted towards the wash house.  
  The broken old bakelight Radiobot was one of my Dad’s permanent projects.  
  Jeeves was a ﬁrst generation robot. He was meant to function as a worker or 
  servant whose bakelite black case was cracked here and there. Dad kept him 
  under the awning of the work shed to keep the rain off of him with other 
  valuable parts or bits and pieces.
   
  I gave him a wave and heard the clank of his one stump of an arm as he 
  return it.  All of his limbs, with the exception of that stump were missing 
  when Uncle Vic brought him to us.  “Found him in the dump, probably tossed 
  there by someone passing through,” he’d said.
  
  65
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
   
  Dad had said, “...never heard of anyone throwing out a robot before.  
  They’re damned expensive, or used to be -although this one probably bring 
  only a hundred dollars as old as it is.  That is if it even works.”
   
  The bakelite Radiobot helped.  Its presence made me feel a little less 
  alone.  I decided that I would haul him down and lug him around with me for 
  the rest of the day for company after I cleaned up.
   
  The door of the wash house had the habit of banging like a riﬂe shot.  
  Today I made the extra effort to close it quietly behind me.  Inside the 
  wood framed walls were covered with layer upon layer of magazine articles 
  and advertisements.  The best of the best, placed there by both of us.  A 
  stack of catalogs and newspapers served double duty as reading material and 
  bathroom paper which was a luxury only found in three and four star hotels.  
  Nobody we knew or ever had known would waste good money and perfectly good 
  paper on bathroom utility when so much scrap was readily available even in 
  a place as remote as New Kansas.
   
  The walls rustled with scraps of little papers tacked into place with 
  hundreds of ﬁnishing nails.  They surrounded me with the voices of life far 
  from New Kansas or Drakensberg.
   
  “We arrived in Chicago at midnight...and the Lincoln-Zephyr air car 
  knows all about trafﬁc.”
   
  “Gary Cooper in the Adventures of MARCO POLO.”
   
  “INVINCIBLE work shirts, BETTER and here’s why.  Only eighty four 
  cents for the closed front style.”
   
  “On the ground or in space, he’ll want this new rocket grade fuel, 
  TEXACO Sky Chief...for those who want the best!”
   
  A galaxy of movie stars and color pictures covered the inside of the 
  wash house.  Father kept his sports sections out here, carefully preserved 
  inside an old ammo can to keep the water off.  I kept my favorite scraps of 
  reading in the container as well.  These were mostly black, white and red 
  advertisements for elusive treasures like the Mead Ranger Bike or the new 
  
  66
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  Pilot “Ace” BB Riﬂe, or Lionel Electric Trains.  Toys with no real utility 
  in the colonies and which I had admittedly outgrown, but refused to abandon 
  the wishing for.  Travel articles had begun to take their place and news 
  clippings. These were mostly snippets from books or adventure ﬁlms I would 
  probably never see but which I might imagine throughout the course of the 
  day.
   
  It was at that moment, when young boys feel the most exposed, caught 
  with my pants down when I heard the noise.
   
  It was a sort of scufﬁng step, step sound in the gravel of our back 
  yard.  Someone or something was out there.  I froze and thought a string of 
  curses about leaving the riﬂe inside the house.  Reaching out I hooked the 
  latch to lock the ﬂimsy wooden door and busied myself with getting clean 
  and dressed.  I was ﬁnished in what must have been record time, all of this 
  accomplished so quietly that I was quite certain I had not made any real 
  noise to give myself away.
   
  That is to say, if whatever was out there didn’t already know I was in 
  the out house.
   
  Step, step, step.  Whoever it was paced the length of our back yard.  
  Then, step, step, step, crossed it again headed back in the direction of 
  the grass.  I took a slow and cautious breath.  If it was just a stray dog 
  I’d kick myself.  I mustered up my courage and snuck a peek out through the 
  slats of the wall.
   
  I spied through the crack just in time to catch a glimpse of the back 
  of someone or something about the right height and shape for a man pushing 
  back into the grass at the edge of our property.  It struck me that whatev-
  er I’d just seen roaming the back yard was human shaped but was -not a man.
   
  I waited for a few minutes too scared to do much else.  After enough 
  time passed I decided it was probably best if I got myself back into the 
  semi-security of the house.  I did not want to be locked inside alone.  If 
  I could just grab Jeeves on the way inside.  At least he would provide, in 
  
  67
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  some odd fashion, a sort of company until Uncle Victor returned.
   
  I grabbed one of my Buck Rogers cut out pictures off the wall, one of 
  my favorites and stuffed it into my coverall pockets for good luck.  Opened 
  the door as quietly as a mouse I waited, counting to three before bolt-
  ing out over the yard.  I don’t think my feet hit the ground more than a 
  dozen times between leaving the out house, hefting up Jeeves into my arms 
  and high tailing it up the back steps and into the house, locking the door 
  behind me.
   
  Nothing chased me.  Nothing came bursting out of the grass as I’d ex-
  pected attempting to gobble me up.  Of that I was absolutely thankful and 
  muttered a little thank you prayer to Jesus and anyone else out there will-
  ing to lend an ear.
   
  More furniture was pushed in front of doors, all entrances were double 
  locked and I closed the metal shutters Dad had built inside the house over 
  all the windows.  Now home was as fortiﬁed as it was likely to become.  I 
  had plenty of food, and some water.  I would be ok, provided that I took it 
  easy.
   
  Remembering Jeeves, I sat him down in a kitchen chair across the table 
  from me.  His unadorned black bakelight head swiveled in my direction.  He 
  had no eyes or nose.  Nothing to mark the features of a face other than the 
  stamp of the company that had manufactured him.  The word “radiobot” was 
  displayed where his mouth would be.
   
  “Did you see that thing in our back yard?” I asked him.
   
  Jeeves nodded its head in the afﬁrmative.
   
  I silently wished my father had taken the time and money to ﬁx the ro-
  bot’s broken speech center.
   
  “Are we in bad trouble?” I asked.
   
  Jeeves swiveled his head in the direction of the grass with the soft 
  grinding of servos and then back towards me.
   
  The robot gave what seemed to be a small and somewhat non commit-
  
  68
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  tal nod.  I interpreted this as it not being sure what to make of what the 
  creature was either.
   
  The rest of the day crept by at a snail’s pace.  Ultimately whatever 
  had wandered into the yard did not return.  I stayed up until late the next 
  morning when, half falling over and nodding off I heard the familiar rumble 
  of Uncle Victor’s truck and the drone of another but unfamiliar sounding 
  automobile rolling up our drive.
  Chapter Six
   
  It turned out that the grocer was headed out to visit the very same 
  kid which Herman had been instructed to check on.  Herman considered aban-
  doning the visit all together but realized that this would never be accept-
  able in the eyes of the Mayor.
   
  So he followed him.  His named turned out to be Victor Melburg and 
  Herman supposed he wasn’t all that bad, possibly he would even be tolerable 
  so long as he kept his mouth shut and followed Herman’s instructions.
   
  Herman was the law here, appointed by the Federal authority.  Victor 
  was smart enough to understand the implication.  So it was that the two 
  of them rolled up the drive and into the front lot of the deceased colony 
  mechanic’s homestead.
   
  Herman stretched and cleared his mouth of its tasteless lump of to-
  bacco.  He spat far out into the yard, wiped his lips with the back of his 
  yellow stained ﬁngers and had a look around.
   
  As Victor climbed down from the cab of his Studebaker, the front door 
  of the house squeaked open.  Herman wondered why the little colored looked 
  so worried.  He was probably nervous because of Herman, which was ﬁne as 
  far as he was concerned.  It meant the kid would be less likely to engage 
  in any funny business.
   
  Herman was a little surprised at how close the pair seemed to be.  In 
  
  69
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  fact it made him feel a little, a tiny almost immeasurable  bit ashamed of 
  how little he thought of coming out here to check on the kid.  He was very 
  clearly a good kid.  Thinking too much on it made Herman feel uncomfortable 
  and so he pushed it out of his mind.  Herman stepped forward, hands on his 
  hips trying to look ofﬁcial.
   
  “Ah yes, Franklin this is constable...,” Victor began.
   
  “Marshal, not constable.  Marshal will do.”  Herman was about to say 
  more but the Jew was too busy listening to the boy whisper to him rapid 
  ﬁre.  
   
  “Look, I just came out here to make sure the kid was alright.  I can 
  give him ride into town or over to a...I don’t suppose you have any rela-
  tives around these parts, do you boy?” said Herman.
   
  “Are you sure you saw something?” Victor was gazing in the direction 
  of the grass and only paying half attention to Herman.
   
  The boy said, “Jeeves saw it too.”  He raised what Herman had assumed 
  was a broken toy in his hands.  He now he realized it was the torso and 
  head of a Radiobot. Herman had only seen one or two over the years, always 
  in the company of a high roller.  He wondered where the boy had got his 
  hands on it.
   
  Herman glowered.  He hated being ignored.  He would make it a point to 
  explain this to the Jew later.
   
  Victor turned and addressed him.  “Franklin saw someone snooping 
  around the house yesterday.”
   
  “Snooping?”  Herman scratched the back of his head.
   
  “They came out of the grass and walked around and then went back into 
  the grass,” said Franklin.
   
  “Probably gone now,” Herman offered.
   
  “The robot doesn’t seem to think so,” said Victor and pointed at the 
  broken manikin.  Herman observed that its attention was focused in the di-
  rection of the grass and it kept pointing its one remaining limb in the 
  
  70
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  same direction.
   
  “Probably just an animal of some kind, you want me to have a look?”  
  Herman gazed in the direction of the grass eyes following the line indicat-
  ed by the robot’s arm.  He sighed and walked in the direction of the grass.  
  “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have a little look around.”
   
  “If you would,” said Victor and followed along behind Herman with one 
  arm around the boy’s shoulders.  Franklin hefted Jeeves to his chest and 
  kept in step with his Uncle.
   
  Herman stopped at the line of the grass.  He wished he’d had the pres-
  ence of mind to haul along the ﬂame thrower.  “Well, I don’t see anything,” 
  he drummed his ﬁngers reﬂexively on the pommel of the .45 auto.
   
  “Maybe there are tracks further in?” offered Victor.
   
  “I’m not going in -there,” countered Herman, annoyed. How stupid does 
  the Jew think I am, Herman thought to himself.
   
  “I’ll look,” said Victor and he carefully stepped around Herman and 
  before Herman could stop him pushed his way carefully into the grass, van-
  ishing from immediate view.  It was easy to hear that he was right in front 
  of them.  
   
  “Uncle Vic, be careful,” said the boy.
   
  “I plan to be,” answered Victor.  The grass rustled and shifted as he 
  pushed his way through.  Franklin stepped up and touched the curtain of 
  grass with his hand, wishing he’d stuck next to his Uncle instead of being 
  stuck out in the yard with the Marshal.
   
  As soon as he touched the grass, Franklin realized something was very 
  wrong.  Somehow he was everywhere and nowhere for a moment.  He had the 
  clear perception that a half dozen beings were standing just beyond Uncle 
  Victor in the grass, in a semi circle facing the trio.
   
  “Uncle Vic, there are men in there with you,” said Franklin all in a 
  rush.
   
  The sound of Victor’s passage through the grass stopped.    
   
  
  71
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  “What? What do you mean Franklin?” asked Victor.
   
  “There are men in there with you, get out now,” said Franklin, pulling 
  his hand back to his chest as if the grass had shocked him.  He glanced up 
  at the Marshal and realized that the white man was giving him a very hard, 
  very angry look and his face was turning a shade of angry red that made 
  Franklin ﬂinch.
  Chapter Seven
   
  Suddenly Franklin was staring up at the sky and the bulldog white man 
  was shouting down at him.  Franklin could barely see, his eyes watered so 
  badly and a sharp, sharp pain radiated out from the back of his skull.  
  Black formed at the edge of his vision but he refused to pass out.  Frank-
  lin was reasonably sure his head was bleeding.
   
  “...boy you try to scare me again and I’ll nail your hide to a barn 
  door!” Herman screamed, hands balled into ﬁsts.  It slowly dawned on Frank-
  lin that the big lawman had hit him.
   
  Uncle Victor emerged out of the grass, looked down at Franklin for a 
  moment and then ﬂew at the Marshal punches ﬂying.
   
  Both men went down in a tangle of limbs.  As Franklin staggered to his 
  feet, wobbling and still clutching the robot to his chest he heard Victor 
  call out to him.
   
  “Get out of here, go get help!” called out Victor.
   
  The ﬁrst people to pop into Franklin’s head were the Tanvyords.  He 
  aimed in the general direction of their silo and without thinking, disap-
  peared into the grass.
   
  Running, holding Jeeves up to ward off the worst cuts from the stalks, 
  Franklin high tailed it in the direction of the neighbors.  After a few mo-
  ments he heard the crashing of the Marshal chasing him down.
   
  “Now you just stop right where you are boy!” Herman shouted from be-
  hind him.  “Don’t make this worse than it already is!”
  
  72
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
   
  Franklin pelted through the grass.  Arms and legs pumping so hard the 
  blue blades passed to either side of him like quicksilver.  His head hurt.  
  He wondered how badly he was bleeding.  He felt sick and wobbly and wasn’t 
  at all sure he was running straight.  As the sounds of Herman began to 
  close the distance behind him, Franklin stooped low, pitched to the side 
  and slipped into the largest tangle that he could spot to hide and catch 
  his breath.
   
  As he knelt in the stalks he whispered softly to Jeeves,  “quiet now.” 
  The grass formed a perfect hiding place and Franklin kept still, trying to 
  breathe without giving himself away.
   
  Herman pulled up after passing him by a few dozen yards.  “Boy!” he 
  shouted.  “Boy, I know you are close!”  Herman circled the area slowly.  
  He was standing now within a few feet.  Franklin could make out the dull 
  chrome gleam of the colt in the big man’s hand and see his trousers and 
  cowboy boots from beneath the stalks.
   
  That was when Uncle Victor stumbled.  He’d been working his way in be-
  hind the Marshal silently after very nearly being knocked senseless.
   
  Hearing the noise, Herman turned and leveled his pistol at the sound.
   
  Both men stopped moving.  They seemed to be frozen in the midst of ac-
  tion.  Franklin stood up and blinked with eyes round as plates.  He slowly 
  emerging from the brush and still neither man moved.  He could barely be-
  lieve it.  
   
  That was when he saw the Martian.
   
  The green skinned humanoid was watching Franklin with a level gaze 
  from the grass beyond Uncle Vic and the Marshal.  The alien slowly extended 
  its hands and spoke in an odd sing song sound that Franklin did not recog-
  nize, but for some strange reason, he felt that he could understand.
   
  “Your Uncle is about to be shot by this man,” he said.
   
  “Can you help me?  Will you help?” Franklin set the Radiobot at his 
  feet, eyes traveling to his frozen Uncle and the red faced Marshal.
  
  73
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
   
  “Yes.” answered the alien.  “I am sent to collect you, to collect 
  children like you.”
   
  Franklin could only stare with is mouth open.
   
  “If you agree to come with me.  I will keep your Uncle safe from this 
  other human.”
   
  Franklin clumped his mouth shut.  His mind raced furiously.  He some-
  how doubted that he would have two chances to make this turn out right.
   
  “Can we take Uncle Vic with us?” he asked.
   
  The Martian stepped out of the brush and walked slowly around Herman.  
  He turned to study Franklin for a long moment.
   
  “Under the circumstances that is an acceptable request.” the Martian 
  touched something on his belt and Uncle Victor startled out of his trance.  
  He blinked and looked from the gun in Herman’s out stretched hand to the 
  Martian, to Franklin and back.  After a moment Uncle Victor stepped next to 
  Franklin, putting a protective arm around his shoulders.
   
  “What’s going on?” Victor asked slowly.
   
  “I am here to collect the child,” answered the Martian. “The unfolding 
  situation demanded that I intervene before he was damaged.”
   
  “I certainly appreciate the rescue,” commented Victor, pulling out a 
  handkerchief and mopping at his brow.  “Franklin stays with me.  I’m not 
  about to let you just take him.”
   
  “It is acceptable that you accompany him,” answered the Martian.  “Un-
  der the circumstances leaving with me would be the wisest course of ac-
  tion.”
   
  Uncle Victor gave a slow nod as he contemplated the end of Herman’s 
  pistol.  “I believe you may be right...”
   
  An hour later Herman blinked and shook himself as his awareness re-
  turned.
   
  Something was very wrong.  The Jew was gone.  The kid was gone.  Van-
  
  74
  Not in New Kansas Anymore...
  ished into thin air.
   
  Herman did not like it.  He did not like it one bit.
   
  An ofﬁcial investigation would have to be made.  Reports sent up the 
  chain of command all the way back to Earth.  It would be weeks, maybe 
  months before Herman heard something back but he was not about to let this 
  mystery slip through his ﬁngers.  He’d ﬁnd them all right.  Herman would 
  ﬁnd them and haul all this bullshit out into the light of day.
   
  Not even the grass could stand in his way.
   
  more to come... 
    
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Rocketship Empires 1936/Rocketship Empires 1936 Starship and Pilots Compendium I.pdf