TEXT: StarCluster - Smilin’ Jack’s Used Spaceships
  Page 1
  
  StarCluster - Smilin’ Jack’s Used Spaceships
  Page 2
  StarCluster 2
  Smilin’ Jack’s
  Used Spaceships
  by clash bowley
  copyright 2005 Flying Mice LLC
  The Greeting
  Howdy there! Welcome to Smilin’ Jack’s! You folks see anything you like on the way in? Ah! The Sunray! Ya got good taste there, 
  folks! That is one fine vessel! Sleek as a greased flisker! Yep! The feller who bought that honey got quite a bargain! What? Is that 
  “Fer Sale” sticker still on her? Nah, she’s sold! Went in a heartbeat! She’s just waitin’ for the feller to come pick her up. Sorry 
  ‘bout that! But hey, so long as you’re here ya might as well look around some! C’mon out to the back now! You look to be the sort 
  of folks who appreciate a good bargain! All our interesting craft is out there!
  Out Back
  Right this way folks! Watch yer step there! Y’almost stepped on an impeller pump! My name’s Jack, by the way. Yep! Smilin’ 
  Jack! Though what I’m smilin’ about I couldn’t tell ya! Jes’ between you an me, things ain’t so rosy here. We took on a load of 
  beauteous craft over the last couple o’ months, and I’m sorry to say they ain’t exactly flyin’ out the doors. Now I’m tellin’ you this 
  in all honesty, we may have to close our doors if we don’t make the rent this month, and it ain’t lookin’ so good. But hey! That 
  ain’t your worry! 
  Here we are! Jes’ step inta the pod and set yer selfs down. I’ll take yas out fer a little look see at what we got in stock. Mind the 
  grease there, ma’am! Why dontcha use that there seat? Jes’ ferried out a repair crew ta look over a trade-in. Yessir, we does all our 
  own repair work right here! We got a crackerjack crew, in fact! I jes’ hope we can hold onto ‘em through this here rough spot we’re 
  in! I’d hate ta let such talented fellas go! Alright! Here we go. 
  
  StarCluster - Smilin’ Jack’s Used Spaceships
  Page 3
  The Split Hare
  This little honey is the trade-in I was tellin’ ya about. Fella brought this in lookin’ for a bigger ship. Seems he jes’ got married into 
  a wealthy line and this here gal was a mite too small. Nice lines, eh, bud? Classic saucer, and she’s got active plasteel lift surfaces. 
  Handles like a dream in atmosphere. Yeah, I know she looks a bit small on the outside, but she’s got more room than ya think 
  inside. She was designed by Willard McHenry over ta Fiske, third in her class. Up top is the observatory, state of the art EM detec-
  tors. She’s only 39 years old, passed down from the original owner to her son, practically brand new! The color? Ma’am, she’s all 
  active color. Tell her ya want her striped like a snath, and she’ll be all brown an’ green lickety split! Y’all come on in an’ take a 
  look round!
  Looky here! Five cubbys, each one with a sleep plate. You just float in the air. Ain’t nothin’ more relaxin’ than that! This here’s a 
  mini-galley - a stasis box for food. No need to cook if you don’t want. Of course there’s a galley upstairs if you do. There’s a mini 
  bar over there, and a full trivox set up. Over here, that’s a full WC. Yeah - sorry about that! You need to watch your head. The ceil-
  ing’s a bit low here on account of them squeezin’ all this goodness inside. Let’s go take a look in back. 
  
  StarCluster - Smilin’ Jack’s Used Spaceships
  Page 4
  Here’s the Jump Drive. Nothin’ special, all pretty much in workin’ order. Oh! Did I say pretty much? It’s workin’ fine. Now over 
  there is the door to the laser pod bay, an’ that’s the door to the missile pod bay - for servicin’ y’know. Sure the Jump Drive’s wor-
  kin’ fine, now. It’s been repaired, jus’ like new. Jim-Bob did a fine job on her. Hardly have to mess with her at all, now. Let’s go on 
  up the lift tube now. 
  Nice little lift, eh? All A-Grav - no movin’ parts. Goes all the way through the bottom plate in a pop-out cage. O’ course we’re 
  goin’ up, not down now.Ah! This here’s the Lounge. Well I don’t rightly know why she’s got two lounges. The original owner 
  weren’t in no shape t’ say after the accident. Well, like I said, it was handed down, in a will, like. Got a cozy breakfast nook here, 
  an’ back there’s a comfy sofa for watchin’ trivox together. Sweet, eh?
  The galley’s over here. Full food prep area, cold storage, an’ a lil’ breakfast bar with stools. Back there’s another full WC - right 
  acrost from the ‘mergency airlock. That’s all been cleaned out now, slicker’n a shaved weasel. Nosiree! Nothin’ mechanical wrong 
  a-tall. Jus’ got a mite messy what with ‘em all crowded in there at the end. Now forward here’s the Bridge. Three combo stations 
  an a brang new Nav station. Well o’ course we put in a new one. The old one weren’t worth nothin’ what with the burns an’ all.
  Now let’s mosey on back thisaways an’ you can see the main drives. Ain’t they sweet? Three matched Iverson mini-Gs, in excel-
  lent shape. You’d hardly know they was pulled outa that crash site. Totally rebuilt an’ hummin’ like honeybees. Now let’s get on 
  back to the tube. Up we go! Ah! This here’s the Observatory. This here’s all original equipment. We jus’ polished it up a mite.
  Well, don’t make a decision right yet. We got a lot more ships t’ take a gander at.
  Split Hare Specs
  Mass:
  85 Tons
  Acceleration: 
  3 G nominal
  Crew:
  3 plus NAV
  Rated accommodations: 
  5
  Fuel AntiMatter:
  Anti-Methane 
  1.7 Tons
  400 Hours @ 3G
  Fuel Matter:
  Water
  5.1 Tons
  1200 Hours @ 3 G
  Shields: 
  Factor 3
  Hull: 
  Oval Saucer with Lift surfaces
  Armament: 1 Laser Pod, winged. 1 Missile Pod, Winged.
  Cargo: 0.425 Tons (425 kg) passenger luggage
  Notes:
  Foul smell in side Emergency airlock penetrates Lounge and galley after 10 hours of flight.
  Nav Station may burn out in Jump. Use as dramatically necessary.
  Jump Drive fails one in 10 jumps. Roll 1d10 with failure on 10.
  Mini-G Drives salvaged and repaired, occasionally going out of phase and vibrating violently. 
  Cost New: 
  37,500 cr
  Smilin’ Jack Wants: 
  15,000 cr
  Smilin’ Jack will settle for
  10,000 CR
  
  StarCluster - Smilin’ Jack’s Used Spaceships
  Page 5
  The Mohegan
  Alright. Y’all said you were interested in somethin’ that might pay its own way. This here is a commercial vessel, an Oneida Class 
  cruise craft. She’s set for takin’ 12 passengers an’ a bit o’ cargo in a fair amount o’ comfort. Yep! Oneida’s are fairly popular here 
  abouts. They’re small, but y’all can make a pretty penny with the right runs. Most folks run ‘em as charters, but some got a regular 
  run they follow. This one here was run as a charter. Y’all can still see the livery. We can paint on a new livery for you folks, or 
  whatever you want. Let’s go on inside. 
  First stop’s the bridge. That’s the bulge on top. Nothin’ special here, but she’d got a nice layout. Don’t mind the dark stains. We’ll 
  have ‘em out soon enough. Been busy with other projects, y’know? Let’s go down another floor. Y’all gotta face right, now. Here 
  we are! This door here leads to the Lounge an’ Galley, an’ that there door heads back into cargo. Oh! Y’wanna see the cargo area? 
  OK. Let’s take a look. Nossir, there ain’t no exterior cargo door. Y’all gotta get it through the lift. Sure it limits you a bit, but this 
  here’s a cruise craft, not a cargo hauler. Passengers bring in the big money. That Grav-sled goes with the ship. Helps a lot in hand-
  lin’ cargo. Like I said, it ain’t a big area, but y’all don’t need one.
  
  StarCluster - Smilin’ Jack’s Used Spaceships
  Page 6
  Let’s mosey across t’the Lounge. This here area is shared by passengers an’ crew. Over to the right is a mini-bar. There’s a robo-
  tender, but y’all can mix your own if you have a mind to. There’s the trivox with a big ol’ couch an’ a chair for viewin’ or partici-
  patin’. Over here is a little conversation nook, for chattin’ or card games or whatever. This here door goes into the Observatory. 
  Y’all don’t wanna look in there. Like I said, we ain’t had enough time to clean up. If y’all find any bits an’ pieces, don’t worry - 
  we’ve irradiated the whole thing. Jes’ pop ‘em in the disposer. Y’all ain’t superstitious, are you? Then you won’t be bothered by 
  ghosts. In here’s the galley. Them stools is for eatin’ at the counter. There’s a robochef, but if you’d rather make your own, there’s 
  all the tools you’d need. Freezer, cooler, oven, cooking surface, microwave, sterilizer, stasis box, textured protein dispenser - this 
  one does ham, that one does turkey, an’ over here is beef. 
  OK, back into the lift. Face the cargo door, ‘cause the lift door for that floor is that way. Alright, we’re down. This here’s the 
  Sleepin’ floor. The corridor runs in a ring ‘round this floor. Let’s go across here. In here is the Jump Drive, and to the left an’ right 
  is the lil’ G-Drives. They ain’t very big, but a cruise craft don’t need to go too fast. Y’all can access them through these panels. 
  This whole drive section can be pulled out jes’ like a sore tooth an’ replaced. Foller me back to the corridor.
  Take a left here, an we’ll go round the ring. To the right, on the inside, is a crew cubby. Two bunks, with storage areas underneath. 
  Nothin’ fancy, mind, but crew ain’t payin’ the way. There’s another one like it on the other side of the lift. C’mon an’ I’ll show you 
  a stateroom. No! Not that one! We ain’t got to it yet, an’ there’s things y’all might not wanna see strewn about. Here we go. This’n 
  were empty. That’s a wardrobe an’ storage chest, an’ over here’s a workstation. Passengers ain’t got full access to the ship‘s net o’ 
  course. That could be dangerous. In behind this partition is the sleepin’ area, with a big ol’ sleep plate for two. Gravity’s all vari-
  able with this here lil’ knob. Over here is a small WC. Jus’ right for a couple. All the staterooms‘re set up like this, but some are 
  mirrored.
  Up front here is the luxury suite. There’s a lil’ dinin’ table for two, all romantic like. There’s a nice Trivox set up over here, with a 
  big couch. Here’s a mini-bar, with food prep, a mini-galley, an’ three stools. Through that door is the bedroom. Wardrobe an’ stor-
  age, an’ a king size sleep plate. Over t’other side is a full WC. Your passenger might never wanna come out. ‘Course the last one 
  did come out, with them knives there from the bar, an’ that didn’t end well at all, no sir! Don’t make up your minds jes’ yet, folks. 
  Y’all’ll wanna see the rest of out inventory ‘fore you decide.
  Mohegan Specs
  Mass:
  100 Tons
  Acceleration: 
  1 G nominal
  Crew:
  3 plus NAV
  Rated accommodations: 
  12
  Fuel AntiMatter:
  Anti-Methane 
  2 Tons
  200 Hours @ 1 G
  Fuel Matter:
  Water
  6Tons
  600 Hours @ 1 G
  Shields: 
  Factor 2
  Hull: 
  circular Saucer
  Armament: None
  Cargo: 10 Tons 
  Notes:
  The ship was the site of a spectacular and particularly gruesome murder in which all of the crew 
  and passengers save one were hunted down, killed, and dismembered. The surviving crewmember 
  killed the murderer, and brought the ship in safely, but the ship is now infamous as being cursed. 
  Repair has been slow because the repair crew claim it’s haunted.
  Cost New: 
  30,715 cr
  Smilin’ Jack Wants: 
  12,000 cr
  Smilin’ Jack will settle for
  8,000 CR - 7,000 if the purchasers finish the cleanup
  
  StarCluster - Smilin’ Jack’s Used Spaceships
  Page 7
  The Dorylina
  This here’s a pretty little thing. A courier called the Dorylina. That’s the airlock we’re aimin’ for - jus’ between the drives there. 
  Ah! Here we are! C’mon in, folks! Right on through. These here airlock walls are false. Let me jes’ pop this out... then a turn... and 
  there ya go! Two lil’ cargo stashes, one on each side. Well, no - ain’t much cargo can fit in there. Y’all ain’t gonna be haulin’ ore in 
  this thing. Keep to the more expensive an’ small items, an you’ll do better. Well, yeah - haulin’ small lots o’ pharmas an’ such stuff 
  can be illegal on most worlds, but you’d be fulfillin’ a might big need. Notice I ain’t sayin’ y’all would be smugglers, but lots o’ 
  folk with ships like this end up that way if you catch my drift.
  Lemme put this panel on back... There. If you didn’t know it was there, y’d never see that latch. C’mon in. Let’s get into the ship. 
  Left an’ right here we got accesses to the Jump Drive. Looks nice, eh? All cleaned up an’ tuned to a T! Further up here is the fuel 
  tanks - Water an’ anti-methane. Y’all know you can use anti-hydrogen if ya need to, but these here tanks only hold a ninth as much 
  anti-hydrogen. The G-Drives? Well, they’re on either side of’ the Jump Drive, but y’all can’t access ‘em ‘sept from outside. Have 
  t’ use the lil’ teleoperated bots for that. 
  
  StarCluster - Smilin’ Jack’s Used Spaceships
  Page 8
  Here’s the Lounge. Trivox, two couches an’ a chair, an’ a conversation nook over here. Yep - that’s a real plant there. Haven’t a 
  clue where it’s from. That there’s the ladder up to the observatory, right in the center. WC’s here, fresher through there, shelves for 
  towels, and the sink an’ loo tucked in behind. Next door is one o’ the cabins. Take a look here. The back o’ the closet has another 
  o’ them toggle things, and... lifts... there! Lifts right out. More space t’ tuck bits an’  bobs o’ cargo. That’s a mattress bed. No lift 
  plates here! Dorylina’s an old ship - nearin’ on 60 years, though she’s got a lot a mileage left. All three cabins are like this’n, false 
  closets an’ everything. 
  Let’s on t’the bridge - through this door. There ya go, three crew combos an’ a Nav station. Nice fore-an’-aft layout, pilot in 
  front.Nice view, ain’t it? All transparent plasteel, all ‘round. You can see right through the floor. Them two sticks with balls at the 
  end? They’re Laselets, lil’ lasers mounted so the pilot can fire ‘em. Oh yeah - she’s armed, folks. These two laselets here, an’ up 
  top’s a launcher with 8 M/AM missiles. Well, y’know a ship like this might get into trouble, ummmm... pirates an’ all. Yep! 
  Pirates! Yeah, she’s small, an’ old, but she’s still sound. Now it y’all wait a sec, we can go on to the last ship. If small don’t float 
  your boat, maybe she will do the trick!
  Dorylina Specs
  Mass:
  50 Tons
  Acceleration: 
  2 G nominal
  Crew:
  3 plus NAV
  Rated accommodations: 
  3
  Fuel AntiMatter:
  Anti-Methane 
  0.5 Tons
  200 Hours @ 1 G
  Fuel Matter:
  Water
  1.5 Tons
  600 Hours @ 1 G
  Shields: 
  Factor 1
  Hull: 
  Winged
  Armament: 2 Laselets, one M/AM Missile Launcher
  Cargo: 4.25 Tons 
  Notes:
  The Dorylina is sound, but old. Equipment will malfunction - once a day, roll 1d100. On an 80 or 
  more, a random bit of equipment will cut out, usually without warning, requiring a repair roll. You 
  can instead decide if and what malfunctions based on dramatic needs.
  Cost New: 
  19,478 cr
  Smilin’ Jack Wants: 
  8,000 cr
  Smilin’ Jack will settle for 
  5,500 CR 
  
  StarCluster - Smilin’ Jack’s Used Spaceships
  Page 9
  The Felicia Miller
  Now this is a cargo ship! Y’all ain’t gonna pop into atmo with this baby! she’s all strung out in modules along that big strut there. 
  We’ll be mating with the Docking spur in a sec. Here we go! This tower here, the docking spur, allows her to mate right in with a 
  station’s docks. Most bigger ships have ‘em. The lift is right inside. Careful! Down changes direction here! Place your foot there 
  and jes’ walk up on the wall, like this. That’s the way! Down we go. 
  Now we’re in that spar thing, which runs front to back through the ship. That way’s aft, and that way’s foreward. Up the foreward 
  stairs is the bridge, up the aft stairs is the living quarters. Let’s walk this way. This door opens up into the Hydroponics section. 
  Here we have plants, plants, an’ more plants - most of ‘em engineered food producing things. Up there’s guinea pigs for a real taste 
  treat - real meat! Lemme tell ya, the synthetic’s good, but guinea pig is real toothsome. Synthetic dispensers are over here.
  A lil’ further up front is the Lounge right through this corridor. Not much to write home about, compared to the others, but you 
  have a mini-bar an’ a trivox, an’ what else does a crew need, eh? Up here’s the galley. Yeah - the table an’ chairs are a nice touch, 
  an’ the galley’s got all you could want. Chicken, pork, an’ beef on tap, fresh veggies from the hydroponics, an’ a bit o’ fresh meat 
  every now an’ then. Let’s go upstairs to the bridge,
  
  StarCluster - Smilin’ Jack’s Used Spaceships
  Page 10
  To the left is the captain’s cabin, to the right is the Bridge WC. The Felicia’s got a lot more room than the other craft we got, an’ 
  this bridge shows it. No combo stations - everything’s got it’s own station. That means a bigger crew, bit they don’t have to be so 
  good ‘cause the stations can do more of the work. C’mon back, an’ we’ll look into the cabins. Back down the stairs, aft to the other 
  stairs, an up. Behind this here bulkhead is 15 tons o’ water. Behind that’s the anti-methane containment. Then there’s four big ol’ 
  Hauptmann drives, big enough to push this heap o’ plasteel at three gees. C’mon.
  This corridor leads to the main crew cabins. Eight cabins here, one off the corridor to the lounge, an’ the captain’s cabin off the 
  bridge - an’ a crew o’ five. The rest is for an alterday crew, mind, if you carry one. This ain’t a passenger vessel ‘cept in emergen-
  cies. Here’s a cabin - they’re all alike. One bunk, storage underneath, an’ a big ol’ closet. Plenty o’ room, and plenty o’ privacy. 
  Down the end o’ the’ corridor is this here WC, ‘cause when you wake up an ya gotta go, best if it’s just down the hall. Foller me 
  back down stairs an’ into the lift.
  Down we go. HEY! Hear that echo? This is what I call a cargo compartment, folks! You can haul up to 72 tons of cargo in this 
  compartment. Tiedowns, overhead three-axis travelling crane, cold can plugs, you can haul anything on this baby. An’ up front, 
  through these big ol’ cargo airlock doors, is your contact with the surface. This is a 50 ton Minerva-Jaeger lighter, with a crew o’ 
  three, dual Rockland G-Drives capable o’ 3 Gs, an’ foldin’ wings for atmospheric maneuverin’. That’s the same size as the whole 
  Dorylina. You can land on planet, pack up t’ 34 tons o’ goods in there, an’ lift ‘em up to orbit.Y’all can carry 72 tons back there, 
  an’ another 34 in the lighter. 
  Down the lift, on the belly o’ the ship, is the observatory. Y’all jes’ reach over an’ tweak the instruments from the lift. Back this 
  way is stairs up to the Jump Drive. All in workin’ order. So. What do y’all think?
  Felicia Miller Specs
  Mass:
  250Tons
  Acceleration: 
  3 G nominal
  Crew:
  5 plus NAV
  Rated accommodations: 
  10
  Fuel AntiMatter:
  Anti-Methane 
  5 Tons
  400 Hours @ 3G
  Fuel Matter:
  Water
  15 Tons
  1200 Hours @ 3 G
  Shields: 
  Factor 1
  Hull: 
  Connected
  Armament: None.
  Cargo: 72 tons
  Notes:
  The Felicia is a well built but old freighter. Modern freighters of her size generally land on planet, 
  and only the bigger ones stay in space. Though there is nothing wrong with her, fashions have 
  passed, and Jack is desperate to get rid of what he considers a white elephant. Luckily, financing 
  should be easy to find for a freighter.
  Cost New: 
  102,500 cr
  Smilin’ Jack Wants: 
  30,000 cr
  Smilin’ Jack will settle for
  20,000 CR
  Lighter Specs
  Mass:
  50Tons
  Acceleration: 
  3 G nominal
  Crew:
  2 or 3
  Rated accommodations: 
  none
  Fuel AntiMatter:
  Anti-Methane 
  1 Ton
  400 Hours @ 3G
  Fuel Matter:
  Water
  3 Tons
  1200 Hours @ 3 G
  Shields: 
  None
  Hull: 
  Winged
  Armament: None.
  Cargo: 34 in Lighter
  
  StarCluster - Smilin’ Jack’s Used Spaceships
  Page 11
  Financing
  Financing should be used as a device to get PCs into ships they want, rather than bogging things down with a lot of calculations. 
  For financing a vessel, the PCs must first put down at least 10% of the purchase price. The balance is financed over the next x 
  years by the PCs paying off x% of the price each year. Don’t sweat the details. The PCs can assume they can make the payments 
  by scrimping and saving, so money will always be a bit short. If the amount is small, pay it off over a shorter time. if it is large, 
  spread it over a longer time. The important thing is getting the ship into the hands of the PCs at a price they can (barely) afford. 
  The actual money part isn’t at all important. Tell them up front that this is a device. It’s not like you get any cash out of the deal! 
  Adjust the financing to the feel you want. If you want a tight money, gritty feel, say “For the next few years, money will be very 
  tight. Assume your income and outgo will be about the same, and any bug successes will be balanced by big losses.” For a looser 
  feel, tell them “For the next few years, you won’t have a lot of excess cash. Assume that a lot of your big gains will be frittered 
  away with small losses.” For a completely open game, give them a ship, and tell them they won it in a poker game, or a rich aunt 
  died and left it to them, but forget about financing things. 
  Using financing as a device also brings in a lot more plot ideas. Tell the PCs that the impellers are shot in drive 3, and going 
  quickly on drive 4. Now they have to get the proper part for as llittle as they can. Tell them the paymrnt is due next month and they 
  are short. Now they have to find some money fast. Tell them they are defaulting on their loan and see what happens when the men 
  come to reposess it.
  Lastly, if the PCs do come up with the cash to buy out the contract, let it go. It’s a triumph for them and they deserve it.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Starcluster/Starcluster 2 Smilin Jack's Used Spaceships.pdf