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00:48, 2nd May 2024 (GMT+0)

Laughing Belle


The Laughing Belle



The Humpback was developed within the first year of the war in an attempt to improve upon the already dated Firefly class transport ship.  The military designed the Humpback with every advantage it could conceive of, including more cargo capacity, passenger dorms, and a central bomb-bay floor that could lower on hydraulic pistons to deliver a combat vessel or group of troops into a combat zone without having to expose the rest of the cargo interior to enemy assault.  This is also where the two short-range scout ships are launched from within.  Within one year the vision was brought to full production by Alliance funded corporations eager to earn a profit.

Some, might say too eager.


SPECIFICATIONS:
Source: Inspired by Fireflycrews an online forum

Tonnage: 2400 tons
Speed Class: 5 cruise / 7 hard-burn
Crew: 5-6
Crew Quarters: 3-single 2-double.
Passenger Quarters: Eight single.
Cargo Capacity: 480 tons
Maximum Deck Load: 460 tons
Fuel Capacity: 80 tons (800 hours)
Price: 78,500 new
Maintenance Cost: 4,900 per year
Dimensions (LxBxH): 208 x 188 x 58
Gear:


    CREW QUARTERS:
  1. CAPTAIN (none)

  3. SUPPORT(Dexter & Caine)
  4. GUNMAN (none)
  5. PILOT (none)


    PASSENGER QUARTERS:








  8.  


      COMPANION QUARTERS:

  2. Burne Catweazle



HANDLING:
The extra number of engines don't just provide the greater lift needed for a vertical takeoff, but the forward mounting combined with a rear thrust system gives the Humpback the options of fast paced VSTOLs (Vertical Short Take Offs and Landings).  To this end, the ship has the massive rolling solid tires of it's horizontal-only capable cousins.  The crews of a humpback have often been noted for these reckless airplane landings and takeoffs.

SHIP-CLASS HISTORY:
Military's rarely need an excuse to spend money, and when they do decide to spend it, there are plenty of corporations with open hands.  When a war hits, and the purse-strings are loosened, amazing innovations can happen.  This is the main reason the Humpback came into existence.   It shoe-horned every new flight design and purpose into it's design, whereas the Firefly boasted moderate flexibility, and solid predictability.  The idea was to create more capacity, with greater handling, and maintain the already excellent maneuverability characteristics of the Firefly class.

The prototypes had similar engines to their cousin, but these were quickly deemed insufficient to the task.  While a few of these early prototypes still exist, the design was heavily modified to protect crew and passengers.   Instead of one large engines on each side, the second generation Humback was changed to include three slightly smaller engines in an attempt to increase aerial maneuverability.  Two of the three worked in tandem, operating as directional thrusters, while the third, inner one was for vertical takeoffs and landings only.   In addition to these six engines, the Humpback is equipped with heavy thrusters on both sides at the rear of the ship to increase the speed.  It was an impressive concept ship.  To compensate for the extra thruster weight, a more compact main power-plant was used that would spin slower but give more torque, and rely on the rear thrusters for speed.  The design principals looked great, and she was destined for success.

Unfortunately the plan didn't match the reality.  The finalized concept was rushed into production before final adjustments were made to tweak the model.  Innovative part selections were now taxed to work in extreme situations in an untried design.  This required a lot of finagling to make work, and the Humpback became known for it's intricate engineering and handling.   The Humpback is as wide as she is filled with problems.  Most ships require one or two mechanics at all times to keep her adjusted and flight worthy.

Humpbacks, when handled properly, can be nimble craft with the ability to get off the ground in a hurry, and while they can carry a goodly amount, they managed this weight by not being outfitted with armor.  This, combined with problematic design flaws made their use in combat zones less than optimal.  Some Humpbacks achieved their destiny, ferrying both troops and transports into battle, but most of them ended up being used to ferry officers and some supplies between carriers and safe zones.

Humpbacks found their optimal use at the close of the war, when amnesty was granted to so many.  These ships were designed as transport vessels, built to carry passengers and cargo alike.  After the war, they continued these duties by bringing prisoners of war back home again to family and loved ones.

One of the earliest design modifications was to remove the Individual Evacuation Ramps due to their impracticality, and faulty design.  Even though there were only a half dozen of these ships that ever had them installed, the knowledge of their existence fueled disgruntled losers of the war.

Rumors hold to this day about Independents being "spaced" from the IER's of these ships while they were still sleeping rather than being taken all the way to their destinations.  These rumors are naturally vicious lies perpetrated by disgruntled Independent sympathizers who wish to paint the noble United Alliance of Planets in a false light.  The Alliance never had many prisoners to return, as the Independents rarely surrendered to them.

At least that is the official story...




LAUGHING BELLE BIO:
Built in 2508, the Laughing Belle is one of the earliest of her kind.  She was originally christened Hell's Belle.  The Belle was run with great success, and has a notable military and civilian history, for her somewhat short career to date.

The Hell's Belle had already been contracted by the time the combat flaws were discovered in the Humpback class.   This new awareness didn't have much impact on the Belle, since she was spec'd and outfitted as a prisoner transport.  She wasn't anticipated to participate in active combat zones.  The flaws of the Humpack class meant she was unlikely to pick up prisoners from active combat zones as intended, but instead would move the Independent scum between field commands and secure outposts where more intensive interrogations could be conducted.

You won't find it mentioned in any books, but the Hell's Belle outline and name are clearly visible in Cortex images from the end of the war.  She was the ship sent as the official transport of the Independent Commanders who were brought in to sign the new peace and unification treaties.  The insult -sending a prison ship to escort defeated Generals and Dignitaries to a peace ceremony- was not missed by the passengers.  The Alliance had sent a private and very subtle reminder that the Independents were not just defeated, they were now at the mercy of the Alliance.

From the outside, the viewers were oblivious.  There was nothing to show that the Belle was anything more than countless other Humpback transports that ferried officers on a regular basis.  But those in the highest echelon, that had specifically picked the Belle, knew why she was sent.  They also knew that the Independent leaders would never say a word.  If they did so, it would stir up trouble amongst their sympathizers, and war would rage once more, with battles like Serenity Valley being just the start.

All the "invited" dignitaries exited the Belle with cool aplomb.  No one would ever know by the looks on their faces that they had been suffered an indignity on the journey, sleeping in prisoner cells.  This was when her name, Hell's Belle, was first twisted into the mocking, "Laughing Belle," by those that sent her and those that flew her.

After the peace was signed, the Belle logged countless more trips bringing former enemies of the Alliance to designated drop-off points far away from the core planets.  She was just one of many vessels doing this job, but escorting prisoners homeward could not last for long, and military's don't mothball gear that is marked as superfluous; they sell it off.  A prisoner transport this large would rarely be needed, and one that is as persnickety as a Humpback made her an even less desirable ship to hold onto.

The Belle was in for repairs when the decision was made to streamline the Alliance fleet.  It was a polite way of saying that many of these non-essential craft would be sold off for scrap.  The Belle was destined to become parts, or meltdown to make girders for a building in a new city.  Before being sent out, the Alliance repair engineers had one last dig at their old enemy by unofficially christening the ship with her war name.  The mechanics painted over Hell's Belle and scrawled in large purple letters the nickname she had become known by to a few, the "Laughing Belle".

The Laughing Belle was purchased for scrap, but changed hands multiple times via payments of debts, bets, and one salesman with a less than forthright manner.  She was living up to her name as the "Laughing Belle."  She was becoming a joke as she transferred owners often, but never served her real purpose of earning money.  She was becoming a hanger queen, a ship that never actually flew.  As a result, it would be years before she became the property of Identity-One, an ambitious firm dealing in lucrative transport of personnel and property.

The Belle was repaired, outfitted, and registered under the name scrawled on her hull, "The Laughing Belle."  The Belle remains fitted for the prisoner transport she was designed to be, making her an excellent vehicle for a bounty hunting crew, slave-ship, high speed smuggler, portable fight club, or even -as a last resort- the cargo transport she was first designed to be.  Her most recent modifications were made by identity one to give the ship class and hopefully bring in high-end business.  The infirmary was changed into companion quarters and part of the private lounge into a bodyguard bedroom.  The original hatches and access guaranteed a companion privacy.  Plans were made to possibly turn the cargo area into a floating wild-west saloon with gambling and whores that could then use the passenger dorms to bring in cash.  This has not yet come to fruition though.

Her Official Ships Registry still holds that she is a prisoner transport for moving of individuals securely between planets, space-stations, and star systems.   If she does any other jobs along the way, they aren't listed on any official form with her name on it.



PRISONER TRANSPORT MODIFICATIONS: