This article details a starship for one of the less glamorous, yet important, jobs, that of courier/short-haul transport.  It would make for an interesting setting for a short term campaign, or as a first ship for your players.  My thanks to Clare for granting permission for me to host it on my web site.  Additional thanks go to Jeff Dee for allowing the inclusion of his accompanying artwork.- Kevin Clark - Jul. 13th, 1998.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Construction History
• Vessels
• Special Dispositions
• Basic Statistics
• Technical Notes
• Cargo modules
• Standard Game Data
• Internal Descriptions
• Special Locations

INTRODUCTION

The Thorez is a French space plane designed primarily for short interplanetary courier duty among worlds in frontier star systems.  The vessel masses 387 tons unloaded and is capable of transporting up to 863 cubic meters of cargo, with accommodations for a total of 13 crewmembers plus seven additional persons.  The vessel is equipped with a fully streamlined hull for making atmospheric landings.  Its aerodynamic body measures 48 meters in length, 13 meters in width, and 4.5 meters in height at the center.  A pair of outwardly canted vertical stabilizers are mounted at the aft end of the hull, and a pair of stubby delta wings are located roughly amidships.

While these provide stability for atmospheric flight, they provide very limited control and lift at lower velocities.  To handle short landings and takeoffs, the ship is constructed with a set of thrusters capable of very high acceleration, and a special aerobraking system which uses aerodynamic drag as well as a set of nose-mounted braking thrusters for quick deceleration.  These allow the ship to travel at a fairly high approach speed with no loss in flight control.  When the vessel touches down, the braking systems allow the ship to quickly come to a stop with almost no time spent in dangerous low velocity or low control flight.

The short runway requirement makes this vessel ideal for landings on frontier worlds which do not normally possess facilities for handling starship landings.  Additionally, the ship was designed with specially reinforced landing gear which is well suited for landing on unimproved surfaces.

Carrying only enough fuel for about one week of normal operation, the Thorez is difficult to use for anything other than just interplanetary travel.  However, with an additional fuel tankage in the cargo bay or in magnetically slung external tanks, it can easily be adapted for travel between star systems.  Even without the extra fuel, many Thorez space planes commonly make short interstellar hops throughout the French Arm.  Aboard ships which make such journeys, the passenger accommodations are often converted into extra living space for the crew.

The Thorez receives its power from a single, one-megawatt Ariell-7041 MHD turbine.  This unit is one of the smallest power plants in LeBlanc-DeSalle's successful Ariell-7000 series, and it is well known for its durability and simple maintenance requirements.  During normal flight operations, nearly all of the power plant's output is channeled directly to the AEW MkIV stutterwarp drive system.

The AEW drives, manufactured by Bourveaux, are dual units which are tied together through a central controlling computer system.  At full one-megawatt operation, the drive can propel the vessel at a warp efficiency of 1.99.  When the vessel is fully loaded, however, the drive efficiency drops to only 1.11.  With the two drive units so closely linked to one another, neither can operate independently of the other.  If either unit is damaged or shut down, the other unit must also be shut down.  Even though each unit is very dependable, because of the close matching requirement of the drives, the system as a whole is of average reliability.

The Thorez is an unarmed vessel, possessing no special armor, shielding, or hull masking.  The ship, being a courier, has little need for special detection gear, so the only sensors carried aboard are simple navigational scanners.  These navigational sensors are capable of picking up objects in the vessel's path, but cannot provide enough data to identify them.

One of the most popular features of the ship is its cargo bay configuration.  The vessel's cargo bay can hold up to 863 cubic meters of cargo with a mass of up to 2589 tons.  The bay is roughly rectangular, measuring 19 meters long by 11 meters wide, with a ceiling height of about four meters.  A pair of large doors on the ceiling are opened for most loading/unloading operations and can accept an object up to nine meters wide and 12 meters long.  For cargo transfer on worlds with simpler spaceport facilities, an underside-mounted ramp is built into the floor of the cargo bay.  The ramp measures three meters wide and can support up to 10 tons of cargo at one time.

Recently, LeBlanc-DeSalle has made available a series of special-purpose modules designed to fit inside the ship's cargo bay.  Normally taking up a limited amount of space, the modules available include a weapons module, a passenger module, a multifunctional module with movable interior partitions, a lab module, and a fuel tankage module.  Most of these are designed to be easily added or removed with the assistance of a crane.  For further information on these modules, see the "Technical Notes" section later in this article.
 

Construction History

The basic design was completed by naval architects on March 20, 2267, and sent to NTI for design review.  After much discussion concerning the ship's limited range and cramped accommodations, the design was finally approved with a few alterations, and the final plans were put into effect in August of 2268.

The first vessel of the class, now christened Thorez, was laid down on January 19th of the following year at the LeBlanc-Desalle shipbuilding facility at the French L-5 colony.  Two months later, construction began on the second ship of the class, Daphne.  Operations went smoothly until shortly before Martinet, vessel number three of the class, was to be laid down.  In May, only four months after construction had begun on Thorez, a contractual dispute between LeBlanc-DeSalle and NTI brought the project to a sudden halt.  NTI was having severe financial troubles with little sign of possible recovery.  Rather than attempting to finance the project on its own, LeBlanc-DeSalle put the barely formed fleet into storage indefinitely.

Fortunately, five months later, the French government took a direct interest in the aborted project.  Ships with capabilities like those of Thorez were still needed, and the French government decided to make sure that they would be available.  After a very short negotiating period, construction began once again.  On March 20, 2271, the Thorez, first of her class, was completed.  Daphne was completed three months later and the two were purchased by the government for use as mail carriers and administrative transports between frontier colonies.  Over the course of the year, a total of three of these ships were sold to the government, and four more were sold to private firms.

The only significant event to affect the vessel's production was an accident which occurred in 2276.  This led to the replacement of a faulty component in the vessel's braking system.  In the meantime, the 20 or so vessels already constructed were refitted with new components.  The modified vessels were then classed as MkIIs.

Production of the Thorez continued at an average rate of four new vessels per year until the early 2280s, and by 2291 production had fallen to just under two per year.  While construction continues today at this rate, the demand for a more modern vessel has prompted a push within L-D to either drop production of the Thorez, or to replace it with a newer design.  However, the design's success has left L-D reluctant to discontinue it.  The company did commission a development team to create a set of plans to modernize the vessel.  No decision has been made as of yet, and the ship will likely be available in its current configuration for at least another decade or more.

One development that has guaranteed the 30-year-old design greater flexibility and renewed interest is the availability of special purpose pods which are designed to fit inside the vessel's cargo bay: These include the combat pod, fuel tankage pod, environmental cargo pod, and special purpose survey pod.
 

Vessels

Hull                Completion
Number Name         Date
C1570  Thorez       March 20, 2271
C1571  Daphne       June 11, 2271
C1572  Martinet     December 9, 2271
C1573               March 23, 2272
C1574               June 17, 2272
C1575               August 24, 2272
C1578  Heron        March 21, 2273
C1579               July 7, 2273
C1581               December 15, 2273
C1588  Antoniadi    September 4, 2275
C1589               February 12, 2276
C1590  Travailleur  June 29, 2276
C1591  Cormier      November 12, 2276
C1603  Merlin       August 13, 2279
C1605  Cygna        February 9, 2280
C1612  Elan         January 29, 2282
C1623  Capella      November 8, 2284

Special Dispositions

Antoniadi, C1588: This ship was the first vessel of the class to be purchased and modified for use as a survey vessel.  A large portion of the ship's cargo bay was given up for the addition of an extensive set of labs and research libraries.  Also, the ship was fitted with an advanced set of life sensors and cartographic scanners.  Much of the remaining portion of the cargo bay is taken up by additional fuel tankage, which the vessel requires for conducting extended operations.  The ship is operated by Circe Industrie, a biotechnology firm working with the close assistance of Pentapod scientists.  The ship is commonly found on frontier worlds, gathering and studying local plant and animal life.

Cormier, C1591: This vessel is one of several civilian transports that disappeared during the period of the Central Asian War nearly 20 years ago.  To this day, there is still no evidence indicating the fate of the Cormier.  Some speculate that the ship was mistaken as a military vessel and destroyed, while others claim that the ship was the victim of piracy.  However, most authorities agree that if either situation had occurred, something should have surfaced about it by now.  Still, nothing has ever been heard about the vessel since its disappearance.

Elan, C1612: Elan was purchased by the French Ministry of Commerce for use in antipiracy actions.  The ship is the first to be equipped with a special combat pod.  In fact, the design for the combat pod stemmed from the government contract for such a system aboard a Thorez-class courier.  In order to accommodate the additional sensing equipment, power generating systems, and weapons, the ship had to undergo several modifications.  These included the replacement of both cargo doors, the addition of sensor arrays on the ship's hull, and the rerouting of various fuel lines and power conduits.  The vessel went into service in March of 2282, making routine patrols along the worlds at the base of the French Arm during the Central Asian War.  Though it has seen a moderate amount of action over the years, the ship is still in good shape and is currently operating along the base of the French Arm to fill in the gap left as military ships are moved closer to frontier areas near the Kafer war zone.

Merlin, C1603: This vessel vanished in 2298 during the early months of the Kafer War.  The ship was last reported in the Eta Bootis system at the time of the Kafer Invasion.  After the Kafers were driven from the system in 2298, a search was implemented for the vessel.  However, no signs were ever found on any planet or anywhere in the system.  As it is difficult to find such a small object in such a vast area, it is quite possible that the ship or its remains are somewhere in the Eta Bootis system.  However, active searches for the vessel have been called off long ago.  The Merlin was not believed to have been carrying any passengers or cargo of particular importance or value, and it is generally believed that the vessel was captured by the Kafers.  They may have also captured the crew alive as well, though no one has any explanation as to why the Kafers would want the ship and crew.  While this is all pure speculation, it is the commonly held view among most authorities.
 

Basic Statistics: Thorez MkI and MkII

Dimensions
Length: 48 meters
Width: 26 meters overall, 13 meters maximum hull width
Height: 11.5 meters overall with landing gear extended, 4.5-meter median hull height
Tonnage: 387 metric tons unloaded, 2976 metric tons loaded

Armament
None

Electronics
Thomson/GSD Alpha II Navigational Sensors

Detection Characteristics
Radial Area: 74.6 square meters
Lateral Area: 219.5 square meters
Radiation Emissions: 1.13 MSU

Engineering Systems
Power Plant: Ariell-7041, one-megawatt MHD turbine
Fuel: 165 cubic meters, primary fuel; 93.2 meters, thruster fuel
Drive: AEW MkIV Jerome Drive system
 

TECHNICAL NOTES

The hull itself is constructed from a special low profile synthetic material produced by CIBA-Geigy for LeBlanc-DeSalle; the material, Velleron-C, is very similar in properties to one produced in America by DuPont Corporation which is commonly used in modern ship production today.  Velleron-C has a density of approximately 2.98 g/cm3 -- less than metallics and basic synthetics, though not as light as advanced synthetics and composites.  One advantage of this material is its high energy-absorption characteristics, which tend to make the vessel less visible to active sensor searches.

Internally, the ship is divided up into three major sections: the forward or passenger section, the cargo section, and the aft section.  The forward section is almost completely contained in the wedge-shaped nose of the vessel.  The upper deck of this section contains the bridge and the breaking thruster system.  The deck below is the passenger deck, but it also contains the forward landing gear well and the navigational sensor system.  The cargo bay section begins just behind the nose and makes up about half the length of the ship.  This section contains little more than the bay.  The aft section runs from the aft end of the cargo bay to the stern of the ship.  This section can be further divided into a crew section and an engineering section.  The crew section is a two-level area containing accommodations for the ship's regular crew of 13.  This area is almost completely surrounded by the ship's engineering section, which contains the power plant, stutterwarp drives, thrusters, fuel tankage, aft landing gear wells, and so on.

The utilization of the hull's interior volume is shown below.
 

VOLUME UTILIZATION TABLE

Thorez MkI & MkII
Component                    Volume
Sensors, Navigational           5
Power Plant, 1 MW              20
Thrusters                       3
Stutterwarp Drive              10
Work Stations, Bridge          40   (5 WS)
Work Stations, Engineering     14   (2 WS)
Accommodations, Crew          325   (13 x 25m3)
Accommodations, Passengers    175   (7 x 25m3)
Life Support (6 weeks)          4.2
Fuel, Primary (1 week)        165
Fuel, Thruster                 93.2
Cargo                         863.3
Cargo Bay Bracing               8.7
Hull (L.P.  Synthetic)         18
Streamlining Waste            160
Total Volume                 1924.4

Crew

STANDARD REQUIREMENTS

Personnel                Work Stations
Captain, First Officer   Con-Bridge
2 Navigators             Nav-Bridge
2 Helmsmen               Helm-Bridge
2 Comm Operators         Comm-Bridge
2 Computer/Comm          Computer/Comm-Bridge Operators
2 Engineers              Engineering/A-Engineering
1 Engineer               Engineering/B-Engineering

Accommodations for the ship's passengers and crew are extremely cramped making life rough.  To compound the uncomfortable lifestyle, the ship's lack of spin habitats leaves the crew to live and work in zero-G for their entire time in space.  Each person aboard the vessel has only 25 cubic meters of standard living space, including recreational space and extra work space.  This doesn't affect the crew to a great extent except when the ship is in space for extended periods of time.  On many ships, the passenger facilities are used by the crew to provide extra recreational and living space, thus making life considerably more bearable.  The ship's design as a space plane is probably its major saving grace.  Because the ship is capable of landing on planets with atmosphere, the ship and its crew spend much time in the comfort of gravity.
 

Engineering

DRIVE EFFICIENCY CHART

Power to   Total Cargo Tonnage
Drives     None   100 tons   2589 tons
0.1 MW     0.92   0.86       0.38
0.2 MW     1.16   1.08       0.60
0.3 MW     1.33   1.23       0.67
0.7 MW     1.77   1.64       0.90
1.0 MW     1.99   1.84       1.11

FUEL CONSUMPTION TABLE

Power Plant
Time   1 MW
Minute  10   kilograms
Hour   600   kilograms
Day     14.4 tons
Week   100   tons

Cargo Modules

The module provides the ship with a passive sensor system, a single Guiscard LL-98 laser mounted in a masked turret, and two missile bays, each capable of carrying a single Ritage-1 missile.  Weaponry and sensors are monitored and controlled from the Tactical Action Center, also located within the combat module.  To meet the added power requirements of the weapon and sensor systems, the module is equipped with a two-megawatt MHD turbine.  Additional fuel tankage is also provided, keeping the ship's normal operating time at one full week.

Unlike most of the modules which followed it, the addition of the combat module is a semi-permanent matter, requiring the complete replacement of both cargo doors with a single six-meter-wide by 12-meter-long door.  Other modifications include cutting a hole in the cargo bay ceiling to accommodate the addition of a single masked turret.  Also, control cabling, fuel lines, and power conduits are rerouted so as to allow direct hookup to the connectors on the module.  Finally, a series of sensor elements are added to the surface of the ship's hull.

The added systems have been designed in such a way that it is nearly impossible to tell that the ship is combat equipped.  This is achieved through a system of advanced masking of the second power plant and through the use of a low cross-sectional passive sensing array.  Only close visual scrutiny will reveal the ship's masked turret and passive detection gear.  The total cost of this package is Lv l,392,000, which includes a low-signature passive sensor array and a masked turret.  A module with a standard passive sensor array and an external weapons mount costs approximately Lv 225,000 less.  In either case, modifications that cost about Lv l00,000 must be made to the vessel.

Basic Fuel Tankage Module: This module is the most common of the special-purpose modules found for the Thorez today.  This module is the smallest, measuring roughly four meters long by 5.2 meters wide by four meters high, and it can carry up to 82.5 cubic meters of hydrogen fuel or most other bulk liquid substances.  The total mass of a fully loaded fuel tankage module is 54 tons.  Located at one end of the rectangular module is a special connector for refueling of the module and for transferring fuel from it to the ship's main fuel tankage.  However, the Thorez-class courier is not constructed with a fuel system connector in the cargo bay so one must be added if fuel transfer is to take place during flight operations.  This procedure requires a minor construction or repair facility and costs somewhere in the neighborhood of Lv 5000.

General Purpose Cargo Accommodations Module: This unit is the second most commonly produced module for the Thorez.  The GPCAM is essentially a single airtight shell measuring roughly eight meters wide and four meters high.  The interior is a single large room which is custom-partitioned to the buyer's requirements at the time of purchase.  In most cases, the module is divided into an upper and lower deck, with each deck further divided into two or more rooms.  Access between decks is through a hatchway located near the main entrance.

The module takes up 216 cubic meters of volume and masses 32.2 tons, configured.  Internal space available is 213.84 cubic meters.  The basic cost of this module is Lv75,600.  The basic configuration fee is Lv7560 Any special features that are installed in the module cost an additional Lv3780 each.  Such features might include the construction of an airtight compartment, the addition of heavy-duty elevators or large cargo doors, and so on.
 

STANDARD GAME DATA

Ship Annex Data

Thorez MkI & II w/Combat Module: Warp Efficiency: 1.99 ( 1.11 loaded); Power Plant: 1MW MHD Turbine and 2MW MHD turbine; Fuel: 100 tons, sufficient for one week of operations; Range: 7.7; Mass: 750.2 tons ( 2976 tons loaded); Cargo Capacity: 432 m3; Comfort: -2; Total Life Support: 22; Price: Lv5,442,000
 

INTERNAL DETAILS

The following section outlines internal descriptions.

Internal Descriptions

1.  Avionics and Communications: This equipment occupies the most forward section of the ship's tapered nose.  Here the vessel's minimal electronics gear is located.  Access to these is through external panels located on the topside of the nose or through the use of access panels located in the passengers' galley.
2.  Passengers Galley: This one-meter-deep service area contains an oven, refrigerator, water dispenser, dish washer, garbage disposal, and storage space for food and additional cooking utensils.  This section is partitioned off from the passengers' lounge by a set of sliding wall panels.
3.  Passengers' Lounge: This five-meter-square room is centrally located in the vessel's passenger section at the front of the ship.  The lounge serves as both a recreation center and a dining commons for the ship's small number of passengers.  This room is equipped with a full set of foldaway furniture which can be easily stowed to make room for other furniture or activities which require the full room.  At the forward end of the room is a set of sliding panels, behind which is the passengers' galley.
4.  Main Airlock/Boarding Passage: There are two of these airlocks located near the bow of the ship on both the port and starboard sides.  These airlocks serve as the main passenger and crew boarding pathways.  This room is further detailed in the "Detailed Locations" section later in this article.
5.  Forward Landing Gear: This closed-off section of the hull contains the forward landing gear and machinery.  The access into this compartment is normally through the main doors on the underside of the ship.  In an emergency, entry can be made through an airtight access panel in the aft end of the compartment.
6.  Double Occupancy Staterooms: These rooms possess very plain accommodations which include two fold-down sleeping berths, a fold-down desk and foldaway chair, a number of cabinets for the storage of personal belongings, and a single, shared fresher.  Accommodations are further detailed in the "Special Locations" section.
7.  Single Occupancy Staterooms: These rooms possess all of the features of the double occupancy rooms, except of course that they are built for only one person.  Even so, the rooms give their occupants a bit more private space and room for personal belongings.
8.  Thruster Machinery: These two compartments house the ship's main thruster equipment.  The thrusters are used to provide maneuvering capabilities for entering and leaving orbit and to provide power during atmospheric flight.  The compartments are completely seated off from the rest of the ship except for fuel and control lines.  Any work done on the thrusters must be done from outside the craft.
9.  Aft Landing Gear: The aft landing gear is located in two compartments near the tail end of the ship.  The aft landing gear is slightly larger than the forward landing gear, but is in all other respects identical to it.  Access panels near the crew's lounge allow entry into the aft gear wells, though normal entry is through the gear doors on the underside of the ship.
10.  Cargo Bay: This large room makes up almost one-half of the ship's total internal volume.  The bay measures 11 meters across and 19 meters long with a ceiling height of about tour meters.  At the aft end of the bay is a one-meter-deep recessed section which measures seven meters across and reaches from floor to ceiling.  Near each of the two corners of this recess is a door.  Each of these lead into airlocks, which then lead into the crew's lounge.  The main cargo doors are located in the bay's ceiling.  These doors swing outward to the sides, creating an opening nine meters wide and 12 meters long.  Controls for these doors are located at the captain's station on the bridge.

In the center of the forward end of the cargo bay is a loading/unloading ramp.  This ramp is six meters long and three meters wide and can support loads of up to 10 tons.  When open, the ramp slopes down toward the bow of the ship and has a vertical clearance of about two meters.  The ramp is operated by a set of controls mounted at the bottom starboard corner of the ramp.  While this controls the ramp's operation, it cannot be used to pressurize or depressurize the cargo bay.  The only controls for doing this are located on the bridge at the captain's station, which also possesses the ramp override controls as well as the topside cargo door controls.
11.  Crew Lounge: This multi-purpose room is centrally located within the crew section in the aft section of the ship.  The room is commonly used as a library, gymnasium, general purpose lounge, game room, and conference room.  All furniture located in the lounge is designed to easily told away into special wall compartments when not in use.
12.  Crew's Mess: This room is roughly equivalent in size to the crew lounge located on the lower deck.  At the forward end of the room is a small auto-preparation galley which is slightly more sophisticated than the popular Vend-A-Meal food dispensers found in many commercial places.  The galley unit can dispense a total of 144 meals before it must be refilled.

In the center of the room is a table which folds away flush with the floor.  Two recessed handles allow the table to be easily lifted and locked into place.  Two benches are similarly designed and are located at the sides of the table.  At the aft end of the room are cabinets used for general storage.
13.  Bridge: This is the control center for the ship's flight operation.  This dimly lit room is located near the bow on the upper level.  Details about the bridge can be found in the "Special Locations" section.
14.  Breaking Thrusters: These compartments contain the ship's primary breaking thrusters used to quickly slow the vessel for landing on short runways.  The compartments contain the thrusters, fuel, and control equipment, and they can only be accessed through heavy panels on the exterior of the hull.
15.  Secondary Access Passage: This is one of the corridors which runs along the sides of the ship's cargo bay connecting the aft section to the bow section.  The secondary passage is more accurately referred to as the passenger deck access, as it runs directly between the crew's mess to a hatch over the passenger deck.
16.  Primary Access Passage: This is the second of the corridors which connect the aft section of the ship to the bow section.  This passage leads directly from the crew section to the bridge.  A hatchway on the bridge provides access to the passenger deck, but the most commonly used method of reaching the passenger deck is through the secondary access passage on the port side of the ship.
17.  General Storage Rack: This rack is located next to the main crew section hatchway on the upper deck.  The rack is used for general purpose equipment storage.  On many ships it is used to store spacesuits and other related equipment.  Other ships use it to store general cleaning and maintenance equipment, weapons, and other common equipment.
18.  Life Support System: This is the central unit which provides the ship with heating and cooling.  Special chemical scrubbers draw toxins out of the air and maintain proper oxygen levels.  The system is equipped with an emergency backup power unit which will keep the system operating at minimum levels for up to 24 hours.  The unit is automatic and keeps the backup power unit charged off the ship's main power supply.
19.  Laundry Facilities: This closet-sized area contains the ship's laundry equipment.  The unit includes a heavy-duty washer and
dryer combination which is specially designed to work in zero gravity as well as normal gravity.  The unit is kept behind a sliding door panel.
20.  Bridge Relay Access Tunnel: This one-meter-wide, one-meter-high tunnel provides access from the bridge to the primary control lines which are all channeled through this tunnel.  The inside is unlit except for a set of dime reference lights along the forward wall.  Also located on the forward wall are numerous control circuit panels.  These panels are protected from accidental damage by clear high-impact plastic covers.

On the aft wall of the passage is an access panel which leads into the cargo bay.  This panel is normally locked, and a key is kept by the ship's captain, first officer, and chief engineer.
21.  Engineering Control Room: This room, commonly referred to as simply "engineering" is the monitoring and control room for the ship's power plant and drive systems.  Details for this room can be found in the "Special Locations" section.
22.  Lower Engineering Bay: This room is actually part of a larger room which houses the ship's one-megawatt MHD turbine and stutterwarp drive units.  The lower bay is simply the area located below the access catwalk.  From here, engineers can conduct normal inspection, maintenance, and general repair of engineering systems.
23.  Engineering Access Airlock: This tiny room serves as the access passage between the engineering control room and the upper engineering bay.  The room contains a ladder leading up to a hatch in the ceiling.  This hatch leads directly onto the catwalk in the upper bay.  The room also functions as an airlock, providing passage not only to the engineering bay, but also to the outside of the ship through a hatch in the floor.  All airlock and hatch controls are located inside the room, with a duplicate set of controls on a panel in engineering control.  However because of the circuitry design of this system, the controls in the airlock have priority over those in Engineering Control.
24.  Upper Engineering Bay: This area is the upper-half of the large bay which provides access to the upper portions of the engineering systems.  The catwalk is surrounded by a meter of high removable railing.  Beyond this is a two-meter drop to the floor of the lower bay.  Access into the upper bay is through a hatch in the floor of the lower bay.  Access into the upper bay is through a hatch in the floor of the forward end of the room, which opens into the engineering access airlock below.
25.  Cargo Bay Airlock 2: This airlock is one of two connecting airlocks which allow passage between the cargo bay and the crew section.  Additionally, a hatch in the floor of this airlock leads directly outside the ship.  Airlock controls are located outside the door on the crew lounge side.  However, an override control is located inside the airlock and will prevent all doors from opening and depressurization from occurring.
26.  Cargo Bay Airlock 1: This is the main airlock used to access the cargo bay.  This airlock is identical in size to cargo bay airlock 2 but does not have a hatch leading outside the ship.  The controls for this airlock are located inside, next to the cargo bay entrance.  Similar controls are located outside both doors, but these are secondary controls which the main controls inside can override.
27.  Access Rooms: These two rooms are no more than simple accessways which lead from the upper deck to the lower deck of the passenger section.  These access rooms are normally locked on the passenger section side, so no one can enter without the proper electronic key.  All crewmembers normally carry such a key.
 

Special Locations

Bridge: The bridge is a small, dimly lit, six-meter-long compartment which is located on the upper level near the bow of the ship.  From here, all flight, navigation, and communication operations are controlled.  There is a total of five work stations located here which include the command, helm, navigation, communications, and computer station.  Each of these stations is manned 24 hours a day.  The following paragraphs contain detailed descriptions of each of the work stations located on the bridge:

Helm: The helm station is located at the right side of the flight operations panel at the front of the bridge.  From here the helmsman, more commonly referred to as the pilot, can control all stutterwarp flight as well as thruster-powered atmospheric flight.  While this panel does not have control over the ship's MHD turbine power plants, it does have instrument readouts indicating its operational status.

Command: This position is located at the left side of the flight operations panel at the front of the bridge and is manned at all times by either the captain or the first officer From here the watch officer can maintain command over all operations of the ship.  This station is equipped with several displays which can tie into any readout on the bridge and can also show the status of any system monitored by the ship's computer.  Additionally, this station has a minimal set of helm controls that take over in case the helm panel becomes damaged.  Aboard most vessels of this type, the captain and first officer are both pilot-trained.

Navigation: This station is located directly behind the command station on the bridge.  From here the navigator has all the necessary control instruments to program the ship's stutterwarp control computer for interstellar and long duration interplanetary flight.  The ship's navigational sensors are also controlled from this station.  Also, the work station has a built-in computer data bank which keeps basic information on all nearby star systems and their planets.  This databank is also available through the computer/comm station.

Comm Station: This station is located at the back of the bridge on the starboard side.  The station is equipped with multi-frequency transmission and reception equipment capable of operating on up to six frequencies simultaneously.  Additionally, the communication Systems can be set to monitor any range of frequencies at regular intervals.  For the transmission of secure messages, the station is equipped with a tight-beam comm laser system.  This device can lock onto a laser receiver and transmit secure messages without the threat of being
jammed or intercepted.

Computer/Comm: The single computer station is located at the back of the bridge on the port side opposite the main comm station.  This station is normally configured as a second communications panel, but it is completely capable of serving as a backup for any other station on the bridge.  Also, the station has complete access into the ship's information bands and monitoring systems.  This station is normally manned by communications personnel who are also cross-trained in computer operation.

Crew Quarters: Primary crew quarters aboard the ship are cramped, double occupancy rooms.  Space is a precious commodity aboard Thorez-class ships.  To conserve this rare resource, much of the furniture throughout the ship, especially in the crew quarters, is designed to neatly and completely fold out of the way.  Each person's quarters include a sleeping berth, a foldaway desk and chair, storage cabinets, and a small, shared fresher.

The fresher is the space vessel's version of the bathroom.  Each fresher is equipped with a zero/normal gravity toilet and an enclosed zero/normal gravity shower.  Each fresher also has a limited amount of space for personal gear.

A few single occupancy staterooms are set aside for the crew, but these are generally reserved for the ship's senior officers.

Main Airlock/Boarding Passages: These two rooms are tiny, measuring about one meter wide by two meters long, and serve as both airlocks and as main entranceways.  At the outboard side of each of these rooms is a small closet which is used for spacesuit and tool storage.  These closets are not airtight, although they will hold a breathable atmosphere for several minutes at a time.  On most ships, the closet contains two general purpose spacesuits.  A connecting fitting on the wall is used for the purpose of filling the suits' oxygen tanks and also for recharging any power supplies which happen to be built into the suits.  On the forward wall of the airlock is located a panel which controls both pressurization and depressurization Of the airlock, and also controls operation of the retractable ladder.

Engineering Control Room: Called "engineering," this room is located forward of the engineering bay which houses the power plant and stutterwarp drives.  From this room, the ship's single, one-megawatt MHD turbine power plant can be monitored and controlled.  The room contains two engineering work stations which are manned at irregular hours when the engineers test and adjust fuel feeding Systems, cooling systems, and safety monitoring systems.  Automated monitoring systems can sound alarms if anything unusual occurs.
-Clare W. Hess

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