1 Blackhole Containment Unit (BHCU) A blackhole the
1 size of an atom is captured within a magnetic-grav
1 bottle. Tremendous amounts of energy are quantum-
1 mechanically radiated from a blackhole this size.
1 So much so that the ship cannot use all of it except
1 in combat.  The excess energy is redirected back
1 into the singularity to maintain it's size.
1 To generate the power needed to warp a ship needs
1 one of these units. A ship containing a BHCU is
1 refered to as a powership. Should this containment
1 unit ever rupture the energy released is so great
1+that it would tear the ship apart.
2 Shields: Immensely powerful eletro-magnetic fields
2 hold a cloud of ionized particles in a shockfront
2 cloud to the front and to the sides of a powership.
2 (Not unlike Earth's Van Allen Belts or the bow wave
2 in front of Jupiter.)  Attacks by high energy beams
2 or other weapons are deflected or pre-detonated by
2 the ionized buffer. Ionized particles generated by
2 the ship's engines are used to replace those that
2 are bled or blown away. The display will show a
2+blue background for all ships with active shields.
3 Hulls:  Basic ship structural integrity represented
3 as a factor.  The larger the ship the larger the
3 hull factor. Once this figure reaches zero the ship
3+will break apart.
4 Armor:  The hulls of armored ships are clad in what
4 is known as field armor.  This is the strongest
4 composite-metal armor plate imbedded by hyper-
4 strength force fields that align and maintain
4 molecular formations.  The field strengths and the
4 intrinsic thickness contribute to factors that make
4 up the armor value.  Armor can resist hits like no
4 other feature of a ship.  If the armor of a ship is
4 penetrated there can be great damage done to all
4+sections of that ship.
5 Section: There are many specialized ship sections
5 that must be maintained in order for the ship to
5 function.  The engines manuever the ship in line and
5 recharge the shields.  The fire controls target and
5 fire onboard weapons.  Crew sections represent 10-15
5 non-combat techinical personal that run the ship's
5 vital systems. The crew sections are needed if any
5 of the other functions are to work. When all crew
5 on a ship have been eliminated along with the fire
5 control and engines the tactical display will show
5+this ship as colored grey.
6 Bays and Hangers:  Bays are areas supported by their
6 own lifesupport and service systems and can
6 accomodate more than three squads (30-40) of the
6 heaviest armed troops.  Hangers are launch and
6 support areas for tactical fighter and interceptor
6 craft.  Each hanger can hold 6 such craft.
6 Freighters can hold containerized tac-craft, but
6+none can be launched from them.
7 Security troops are assigned to the security
7 sections.  There are usually two security squads
7 per section.  Security troops are for defense only
7 and do not have the capacity to make boarding
7+attacks on enemy ships.
8 The screen will show the enemy's ship disposition.
8 The B row represents the main battle line.  From
8 here a ship may fire any weapons it has the Ops
8 command for.  The C line is the reserve line. Ships
8 in this area may not fire nor be hit by direct
8 attack if screened by a ship in the B row.  They may
8 still launch fighter attacks and may launch probes.
8 The A line is the picket line and is mainly for
8 interceptors and minefields.
8 The whole arrangement is highly abstract and is
8 meant to represent 3D space.  Since it is not
8 possible to screen in more than one dimension per
8 ship, there a feature that will not allow too many
8+ships to be screened by too few screeners.
9 Note- Tonage does not include the weight of the BHCU
9 which with the BH weights .5 to 1.5 million mt.
9
9 Generally, there are two types of fleets.   The huge
9 strategic fleets sent to face an enemy strategic
9 fleet.  Or small task force fleets meant to stem an
9 infiltration action.  Most battles during the period
9 covered here where small actions involving less than
9+a dozen capital ships per side.
