Mon Calamari Star Cruiser

Mon Calamari Star Cruisers were the main cruisers in the Rebel Alliance/New Republic fleet for a significant portion of the Galactic Civil War. They were the first large capital ship available to the Rebel Alliance Fleet, giving it for the first time the ability to face the larger Star Destroyers of the Imperial Navy.

The Mon Calamari cruisers were originally built for civilian purposes, serving in numerous peaceful roles like passenger ships and deep space exploration vessels by the Mon Calamari of Dac. Yet, when the Galactic Empire invaded and conquered their home system and enslaved their people, the Mon Calamari converted their ships to capital ships. Admiral Ackbar convinced his people to join the Rebellion. They in turn donated their fleet of cruisers to the Rebel Alliance, while many Mon Calamari joined to serve in the Rebel Fleet.

While they were exceedingly durable starships, they were also notoriously difficult to repair, in part because of their individualized design. Rebellion-era Mon Calamari ships had very powerful shields for ships of their size, in part because their civilian-spec hull structure was somewhat weaker than a true military starship. The hallmark of the design was typically very strong shielding with a respectable battery of turbolasers and ion cannons. Another distinguishing feature of Mon Calamari cruisers is the redundancy of weaker shield generators contributing to the shielding system. Mon Calamari cruisers carried three times the usual amount of generators for ships of their size. Although each generator was weaker than the Imperial standard unit, the quantity of shield generators allowed for faster energy replenishment. Fighter squadrons were carried onboard in a series of hangar bays.

By the time of the New Republic, the Mon Calamari had begun to produce military-optimized designs that were no longer modified civilian designs. The individualization that marked the Rebellion-era designs all but disappeared in an effort to simplify the New Republic's logistics.

Variants

The MC-90

The MC90 Star Cruiser was a warship class designed by the Mon Calamari for the New Republic.

The MC90 represented a number of firsts that highlight the shifting military strategy of the New Republic that would eventually culminate in the New Class program:

• The vessel was the first Mon Calamari Star Cruiser designed specifically as a warship.
• Its focus on heavy weapons and large hangars showed a realistic assessment of the firepower required to challenge Imperator-class Star Destroyers.
• MC90 Star Cruisers were produced beyond Mon Calamari, including the yards of Sluis Van and the Hast Shipyards.
• Controls and displays were designed for compatibility with most major species, allowing for officers other than Mon Calamari to pilot the vessels.

The first MC90, Defiance, slid out of Dac shipyards in short order. The MC90 became one of the most powerful warships in the arsenal of the New Republic Defense Fleet, often serving as flagships for fleets and task forces.

The MC-85 / Home One

A blue-gray plated, wingless variety of Mon Calamari Star Cruiser, Home One was a vaguely tapered conical 3,800 meter cylinder with a bulbous stern covered with ten huge sublight thrusters.

Designed to serve as a command ship, carrier and battleship, Home One was heavily armed and protected by thick hull plating and advanced, redundant deflector shields. Weapons included twenty-nine heavy turbolaser emplacements, thirty-six ion cannons and six tractor beam projectors. While no two converted Mon Calamari cruisers were the same, the "standard" Alliance armament upgrade for an MC80a was 48 turbolasers, twenty ion batteries and six tractor beam projectors. It seems likely that Home One's weapon systems were reduced to make room for its large starfighter compliment. Home One carried ten squadrons of Alliance starfighters in twenty hangars that fed into three flank bays.

As with all early Mon Calamari cruisers, most ship bridge controls could not be modified for use by human hands, so the command crews were almost exclusively Mon Calamari. The remaining several-thousand crew members and gunners were a mix of all Rebel species. The interior corridors, bridges and bulkheads of Home One were pristine white.

As with most Alliance-era Mon Calamari warships, Home One began as a civilian vessel built at the shipyards of Dac. When the Mon Calamari began to support the Alliance in earnest, the ship became the flagship of the recently freed Ackbar. Home One became particularly important after the Alliance's defeat at the Battle of Hoth forced Alliance High Command to use it as a mobile base of operations. As the flagship of Admiral Ackbar, who was Supreme Commander of the Rebel Fleet, the vessel was considered one of the most important assets to the Rebellion.

Home One was one of the largest ships in the Alliance fleet at the Battle of Endor. Ackbar commanded the Alliance fleet from Home One's bridge.

The MC-80

MC-80a

Of the militarization refits applied to the starliners of the Mon Calamari, the MC-80a ("A" for "armed", "assault", or "advanced") was the most well-known of the line, and saw the most widespread use. These, too, were approximately 1200 meters in length, and were armed with 48 turbolaser batteries and 20 ion cannon batteries (plus or minus a few, depending on the specific ship). Their real strength lay in their triple-layered shields, for while they could not match a Star Destroyer shot for shot, they could definitely outlast them.

They were typically cigar-shaped, with a cluster of drive engines aft, and dotted with hundreds of gun, generator, and sensor blisters. They were also extensively outfitted to support 72 starfighters and nearly a dozen shuttles and transports.

MC-80m

A shortened, "lightened" variant of the MC-80 line expressly for use as a task force carrier. This type of cruiser could field the typical 36 starfighters, but required less crew and was more "nimble". With armor reduced to the bare essentials, and less offensive weaponry, the ship relied upon its redoubtable Calamari shielding and a "tightly wound" hyperdrive motivator to evade trouble. To reduce collateral loss, MC-80m's ("M" for "mobile") often operated alone, or with a pair of small, fast escorts (such as Corellian Corvettes or Gunships) that acted as "rovers" — if they became separated in a jump, they would operate under the assumption that they would once again rendezvous at a pre-determined location later.

Starfighters were the word on these cruisers, and pilot life was brackishly cavalier. The few MC-80m's that the Alliance possessed operated nearly autonomously – they were relayed a series of possible second-rate objectives, and ordered to "make do and make waste" of Imperial resources. Examples of this deployment were the cruisers Turismo and Viterbo.

The MC-80B

An interim design, the MC80B was an improvement over the original MC80. The MC80B had a much more heavily reinforced hull, and featured multiple backup shield generators. Built for durability, these ships were able to withstand heavy damage while blasting through the more limited shielding of Imperial ships.

Like the MC80, the MC80B was armed with forty-eight turbolasers and twenty ion cannons. These weapons were linked in banks of twelve and five respectively, allowing the MC80B to easily concentrate its fire upon a single target. The MC80B cruiser carried four starfighter squadrons. Later ships in this line were refitted to hold up to eight squadrons.

Like the MC80, and unlike the MC90 Star Cruisers that would come nearly four years later, the MC80B was not designed to accommodate different species. Holographic displays and monitors were optimized for Mon Calamari vision, and some controls required movements that were nearly impossible for Humans to perform.

The MC-40a

The MC40 light cruiser was a Mon Calamari Star Cruiser design made some time prior to the Battle of Hoth. It had a large, portside hangar for the rapid deployment of one fighter squadron, along with debarkation barges and transports. Like its larger siblings, it was also equipped with powerful shields. The 500 meter long ship found itself matching up against Strike-class cruisers, and performing similar roles to the MC-80m.

The MC-30c

The MC30c combat frigate was considered one of the most powerful mid-level ships used in the Galactic Civil War. MC30c frigates utilized proton torpedoes to bombard larger enemy starships in combat. In addition to this, it was also one of the fastest ships of its class.

The largest weakness of the ship was that it had very light armor. The weapons it carried were strong enough to take out most capital ships, but if heavy fire was concentrated on the frigate, it would likely be destroyed.

It was also apparently common for these vessels to utilize spread-shot flak cannons that would damage enemy targets around the frigate. The cannons were intended as a last defense against fighters and bombers. They were very effective in taking out large groups of them, though once these were depleted, the MC30c frigate was virtually defenseless against enemy bombers.

Whether this was part of the ship's original weapon complement, as most Mon Calamari ships were originally made for civilian purposes, or something introduced to fight the Galactic Empire, is unknown.

Specifications

The statistics provided here are to be regarded as a generic approximation, and may be adjusted as Admin deem necessary to reflect the uniqueness of a particular Star Cruiser on a variant by variant basis.

Craft ........ Mon Calamari MC80 Star Cruiser
Type ......... Star Cruiser          Cargo Capacity ........ 20000 metric tons
Scale ........ Capital               Consumables ........... 2 years
Length ....... 1,200 meters          Hyperdrive Multiplier . x1
Pilot Skill .. Capital Ship Piloting Hyperdrive Backup ..... x9
Crew ......... 5402 (1230 Skeleton)  Nav Computer .......... Yes
Passengers ... 1,200 (Troops)        Maneuverability ....... 2D
Hull ......... 1446                  Space Movement ........ 60
Shields ...... 243                   Hangar Space .......... 750
Can Land? .... No
 
Sensors ...... Normal:  1600,  Focus:  50,  Passive:  400
         
Weapon Skill ...... Starship Gunnery
Weapon Slots ...... 124 total (76 filled)
 
Stock Weapons:
  Fifty Turbolaser Batteries (fire separately):
     Weapon Rating .. Type 2               Damage ........ 4D
     Fire Arc ....... 13FR, 12L, 12R, 13B  Fire Control .. 2D
     Space Range .... 3-15/35/75           Atmo Range .... 6-30/70/150km    
  Twenty Ion Cannon Batteries (fire separately):
     Weapon Rating .. Type 2A              Damage ........ 3D
     Fire Arc ....... 8FR, 4L, 4R, 4B      Fire Control .. 3D
     Space Range .... 1-10/25/50           Atmo Range .... 2-20km/50km/100km
  Six Tractor Beam Projectors (fire separately):
     Weapon Rating .. Class 1              Damage ........ 4D
     Fire Arc ....... 4FR, 1L, 1R          Fire Control .. 2D+2
     Space Range .... 1-5/15/30            Atmo Range .... 2-10km/30km/60km 
         
BASE COST NEW: 6000000 cr            BASE COST USED: 1680000 cr            
SUGGESTED DOWNPAYMENT: 3600000 (new), 1008000 (used)

West End Games - Star Wars D6

Craft ........ Mon Calamari MC80 Star Cruiser
Type ......... Star Cruiser          Cargo Capacity ........ 20000 metric tons
Scale ........ Capital               Consumables ........... 2 years
Length ....... 1,200 meters          Hyperdrive Multiplier . x1
Pilot Skill .. Capital Ship Piloting Hyperdrive Backup ..... x9
Crew ......... 5402 (1230 Skeleton)  Nav Computer .......... Yes
Passengers ... 1,200 (Troops)        Maneuverability ....... 2D
Hull ......... 6D                    Space Movement ........ 60
Shields ...... 3D*                   Hangar Space .......... 750
Can Land? .... No
 
 *Further 6D of 'Back-up' Shields: Whenever the MC80 has its shield dice reduced, make an Easy Shield Operations check. If successful, move Dice from backup to main shields to restore them to 3D.

Sensors ...... Normal:  1600,  Focus:  50,  Passive:  400
         
Weapon Skill ...... Starship Gunnery
Weapon Slots ...... 124 total (74 filled)
 
Stock Weapons:
  Forty Eight Turbolaser Batteries (fire separately):
     Weapon Rating .. Type 2               Damage ........ 4D
     Fire Arc ....... 12FR, 12L, 12R, 12B  Fire Control .. 2D
     Space Range .... 3-15/35/75           Atmo Range .... 6-30/70/150km    
  Twenty Ion Cannon Batteries (fire separately):
     Weapon Rating .. Type 2A              Damage ........ 3D
     Fire Arc ....... 8FR, 4L, 4R, 4B      Fire Control .. 3D
     Space Range .... 1-10/25/50           Atmo Range .... 2-20km/50km/100km
  Six Tractor Beam Projectors (fire separately):
     Weapon Rating .. Class 1              Damage ........ 4D
     Fire Arc ....... 4FR, 1L, 1R          Fire Control .. 2D+2
     Space Range .... 1-5/15/30            Atmo Range .... 2-10km/30km/60km