(93) Beefheart-class Machine Socialist Escort
Hull: 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: 6 5 4 3 2
Shields: 3 3 2 2 1
Weapons:
1:2X 2:2X 3:2X 4:2X 5:2X 6:X
X: “Little Brother”Brilliant Missiles: 5/10/15, 1/3+/1/1
[AC][AC][AC][BD][BD][BD][A][B][G]
Special: Fire Control
The classic Beefheart. Designed to operate 9-10 hexes from its enemy, where the inherent inaccuracy of the Shiva's particle lance weapon system complemented the accurate (albeit light) long-range fire of the Little Brother missile batteries.
The Beef was mostly unsuited for work against the heavier vessels of the New Magahdan fleet -- its light guns were no match for anything bigger than a Shiva. All but one of this variant were destroyed in combat. The final surviving Beefheart, the Harkleroad, is now a pleasure vessel that conducts Vacation Lottery winners on tours of the New Magahda debris field.
The Little Brothers have distinguished themselves in peacetime as well as war: one of the Harkleroad's unexploded Little Brother missiles was recovered after the final battle of the war, and, as a surviving veteran, was honorably upgraded to a 0.83 sentience rating. This missile wound up writing the definitive memoir of the New Magadha war and is a popular guest aboard its old vessel!
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(97) Beefheart-β-class Machine Socialist Escort
Hull: 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: 6 5 4 3 2 1
Shields: 3 3 2 2 1 1
Weapons:
1:2X 2:XY 3:X 4:X 5:X 6:X
X: “Little Brother”Brilliant Missiles: 5/10/15, 1/3+/1/1
[A][A][A][B][B][B][G]
Y: War Virus: 6/12/18, 1/3+/1/2
Area Effect
[G]
Special: Fire Control
After their first few encounters with the Machine Socialists, the New Magahdans learned that Shivas could not operate in isolation. They began massing their Shivas in close formation with more powerful fleet units, forcing the Beefhearts to confront heavier fire than they could withstand. The Beefheart-β was the Design Establishment's response. They reinforced the hull and subtracted several Little Brother batteries, replacing them with the area-effect War Virus software munition.
Each War Virus unit attempts to exploit nearly a million attack vectors, the most devastating being its ability to randomize the throttles of its targets' FTL drives. The priciple has been known to Design Establishment staff for centuries, but they have been reluctant to weaponize it, fearing their enemies might try to copy it. The New Magadha war forced their hand, though, and with good effect, as the War Virus proved decisive in the final battle of that war.
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(35) Van Zandt-class Machine Socialist Picket
Hull: 3 2 1
Engines: 5 4 2
Shields: 2 2 1
Weapons:
1:XY 2:XY 3:2Y 4:2Y 5:Y 6:Y
X: Gatling Hyper-Vee Cannon: 2/4/6, 5/5+/1/1
Piercing
[AB]
Y: Hyper-Vee Cannon: 2/4/6, 1/5+/1/1
Piercing
[AB][AB][AB][G]
Special: None
Too slow to make effective use of its short-ranged weapons, especially agains the fast, stealthy Shivas, the Van Zandt is widely regarded as a mistake and suitable only for absorbing fire on behalf of its betters in the fleet. The chief designer has had its backup privileges revoked.
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(342) Sun Ra-class Machine Socialist Melee Cruiser
Hull: 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1
Shields: 5 5 4 4 3 2 2 1
Weapons:
1:X 2:X 3:X 4:X 5:X 6:
X: "Family Picnic" Scatter Pack: 4/8/12, 1/4+/2/1
Range-Based ROF; Variable ROF
[A][A][B][B][C][D]
Special: Carrier (88).
1 x Super-Zappa striker: 88, 8/9/3+/0, ROF-2, Continuing Damage, Double Damage
The backbone of the Machine Socialist fleet, the Sun Ra suffers from the same design flaw as the Van Zandt: it is too slow to make effective use of its weapons.
Twice, Sun Ra class ships fought duels against the New Magadhan's swift Lord Ram-class battlecruisers. In the first, the Lord Ram closed aggressively on the lumbering Sun Ra and was efficiently destroyed by volleys from the latter's "Family Picnic" scatter pack. In the second, the canny human admiral held her Machine counterpart at range. She defeated three Sun Ras, relying mostly on long-range wave disruptor fire from her Lord Ram and its escorting battlegroup.
(Fortunately, this admiral was located after the fall of New Magadha and processed into a sentience-0.7 savant cyborg for use in the Simulators. Waste not, want not!)
There is continued enthusiasm for the Picnic-type scatter pack in the Design Establishment, and it seems likely that weapon will reappear on future, faster Machine Socialist designs.
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(196) Link Wray-class Machine Socialist Auxilliary Carrier
Hull: 6 5 4 3 2 1
Engines: 10 9 7 5 4 2
Shields: 2 2 2 1 1 1
Special: Carrier (156)
2 x Leadbelly Melee Fighters:78, 6/8/5+/4
A Design Establishment flight of fancy, the Link Wray was intended to deliver fighters and strikers directly to their attack positions, and then rely on its speed and extensive library of evasive maneuvers to get safely away.
Fighters would no longer need to run a lengthy, strength-sapping gauntlet to attack position, and would be vastly more effective.
This tactic was never successfully demonstrated, though a small minority continues to champion it within the Design Establishment. It has been suggested that a craft with heavier firepower than the Leadbelly-type fighter should be mated to the Link Wray -- perhaps a smaller variant of the SuperZappa striker, which enjoyed considerable success when mated to the Sun Ra.