SPA Revenue Cutter
SPA Revenue Cutter and Short Range Interceptor
If ‘Trade’ is the life-blood of the Imperium, then the primary duty of the SPA is to make sure that the Emperor gets his cut. The Imperial Navy is equipped to handle the big problems like invasions of enemy fleets and worlds in open rebellion, but the responsibility for collecting starport fees, fuel taxes, trade tariffs and broker fees falls to the SPA. Since some people are reluctant to pay these fees, the SPA maintains a constant vigil against rampant smuggling. The SPA Revenue Cutter is the ship that gives the local SPA ‘teeth’ to enforce Imperial law within its jurisdiction.
Cutter captains answer to and receive their orders directly from the Senior SPA Official at the port to which they are assigned. All crew pay, requests for supplies, arrangements for repairs, and mission-specific tasks come directly from the SPA starport. Standing orders for individual cutters are stated in general terms, allowing captains to exercise discretion and judgement to the fullest. Captains also have far reaching authority to seize vessels and goods in the cases in which they are liable to seizure for breaches of Imperial laws, to send inspection parties aboard vessels already in port, and to ensure that cargo intended for export does not violate Imperial laws. This authority is tempered by their oath to “endeavor to overcome all difficulties by a cool and temperate perseverance in their duty, with address and moderation rather than by vehemence or violence."
In time of war, Revenue Cutters are placed under the command of the Imperial Navy and often called into direct military action. One story in particular captures the spirit of the men who serve aboard the SPA Revenue Cutters:
"An SPA Revenue Cutter pressed into wartime active duty attacked a much larger enemy Close Escort (that had captured an Imperial merchant ship). The Cutter was badly outgunned by the Escort and quickly suffered the complete loss of her Computer and Power Plant. Unwilling to admit defeat, the crew of the Revenue Cutter used brute force to manually aim the missile turret and emergency-rigged laser power packs to arm and launch missiles at the Escort. When the turret ran out of missiles, the crew still refused to surrender and manually dragged missiles from the damaged Interceptor in the small craft hanger to the Cutter turret in zero-G so they could continue firing. Only after the last missile had been fired and the last small arms ran out of ammo was the surviving crew of the broken Cutter finally captured. The Merchant ship escaped during the fighting.”
The SPA Revenue Cutter itself is a flattened sphere fitted with an airframe capable of 6-G acceleration and speeds of up to 5900 kph in standard atmosphere – allowing it to easily intercept any ‘streamlined’ starship as it lands or takes off. Her sensor/communication suite is weak by military standards, but better than most merchant/smugglers she might encounter.
The primary armament of the Cutter is its missiles which give it a good reach, and her pulse laser for a solid offensive/defensive punch up close. Since the Revenue Cutter is a Warship, it has access to both Nuclear and X-ray missiles as well as the standard High Explosive variety – an unpleasant surprise for any smuggler/pirate that decides to shoot his way past the encounter.
Ten small craft cabins and a shared refresher allow each crewmember to enjoy some privacy, but accommodations are clearly not up to civilian commercial standards. The ship can function with a crew as small as two (one pilot/gunner for the Cutter and another for the SRI) but a more typical crew is between 5 and 10 members depending on the port and general duties she is expected to encounter. A more common crew mix would be Pilot, Engineer, Gunner, Medic, Ship’s Boat Pilot, and up to 5 additional ‘Inspectors’ or ‘Security’ personnel. Crewmen with mixed skills/duties (like Security/Medic) are common and command structure is typically less formal than the Navy/Marines.
A specially designed internal small craft hanger in the belly of the Cutter houses a matching SPA Short Range Interceptor. For most inspection it is the SRI and her crew of three that makes contact with the ships and performs the actual inspections while the Cutter watches on to ensure complete cooperation. In busy starports, this allows the SRI to shuttle multiple SPA representatives to inspect several ships at once while the Cutter maintains order from a central location.
The Short Range Interceptor (SRI) is also a flattened sphere fitted with an airframe capable of 6-G acceleration and speeds of up to 5900 kph in standard atmosphere – designed to match the performance of the Cutter – but the SRI is also capable of Agility 6, allowing it to hold its own against virtually any spaceship, small craft or atmospheric vehicle. Its primary armament consists of a pair of fixed missile launchers (otherwise identical to those on the cutter) and an Autocannon mounted in a chin turret (useless against spacecraft, but effective against vehicles and people on the ground, where a missile would be dangerous overkill). The SRI will accommodate a crew of three (Ship’s Boatman, Gunner/Security and Inspector) for up to 24 hours, although it would almost never operate that long without returning to the Cutter, and one to two hours would be a more typical mission.
The primary duties of the SPA Revenue Cutter and her crew include:
- Revenue Protection: Their primary mission is to protect the revenue of the Imperium by deterring smuggling. That means patrolling from the port to which they are assigned and intercepting vessels before they can land. It is here, far from the starport that smugglers unload their cargoes into small craft a short distance from the surface, or land in a remote area on the surface to avoid customs duties. The SPA collectors usually have launches that can check vessels as they approach the highport. Therefore Revenue Cutters are designed to operate independently for up to two weeks at a time, survive hostile encounters without assistance, and accelerate quickly to overtake most merchant vessels.
- Board incoming and outgoing vessels to check the Ship’s papers (ownership, registration, measurement, manifests, etc.).
- Ensuring that all cargoes are properly documented.
- Sealing the cargo holds of incoming vessels.
- Seizing vessels in violation of the law.
Some additional duties which may be assigned by the local SPA starport include:
- Enforcing quarantine restrictions established by the Imperial or local governments.
- Charting the local hazards (debris, derelicts, asteroids, etc.)
- Enforcing the neutrality and embargo acts (Red and Amber Zones)
- Carrying official (and unofficial) passengers.
- Carrying supplies to SPA outposts (like secondary spaceports in the system)
- Other duties as assigned by the collector.
With a price tag of only 49MCr for both the SPA Revenue Cutter and its Short Range Interceptor, it’s a lot of ship for a little price.
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SPA Revenue Cutter
TL15 Design Specifications Size Cost(MCr) EP Notes
SL flattened sphere hull + 100 8 - -
Airframe - 5 0.8 - -
Bridge Controls - 20 0.5 - -
Model/3 Computer - 2.6 15.3 - 1 Model/3
Flight Avionics (0.8) (1.8) - Model/2
Medium Range Sensors (0.9) (1.8) - Model/3
Medium Range Communications (0.6) (1.5) - Model/3
6-G Acceleration - 17 8.5 - 6 -
TL15 Fusion Power Plant - 4 12 + 8 -
Fuel (2 weeks) - 2 - - -
10 points of Armor (TL 15) - 10 1.3 - -
1 HP with a Triple Turret - 1 1.1 - -
(2) Missile Racks (TL 15) USP2 (0.66) 1.5 0 2att@USP2
(1) Pulse Laser (TL 15) (0.66) 0.5 - 1 1att@USP2
10 Small Cabins - 20 2.5 - -
Fresher - 0.5 0.002 - -
Small Craft Hanger - 10 0.02 - (SRI not incl.)
Cargo - 7.9 0 - -
Totals MCr 52.022
(MCr 41.6 with 20% discount)
SPA Short Range Interceptor (SRI)
TL15 Design Specifications Size Cost(MCr) EP Notes
SL flattened sphere hull + 10 0.8 - -
Airframe - 0.5 0.08 - -
Small Craft Bridge - 4 0.1 - -
Model/1bis Computer - 1.4 2.9 0 Model/1bis
Flight Avionics (0.8) (1.8) - Model/2
Close Range Sensors (0.3) (0.6) - Model/1
Close Range Communications (0.2) (0.5) - Model/1
6-G Acceleration - 1.7 0.85 - 0.6 -
TL15 Fusion Power Plant - 0.6 1.8 + 1.2 -
Fuel (24 hours) - 0.02 - - -
10 points of Armor (TL 15) - 1.0 0.13 - -
1 Hardpoint with Fixed Mount - 0 1.1 - Triple equiv.
(2) Missile Racks (TL 15) USP2 (0.66) 1.5 0 2att@USP2
(1) Autocannon (sm. turret) (0.33) 0.01 0 (Persnl Wpn)
1 Small Craft Couch - 0.5 0.025 - -
Cargo - 0.28 0 - -
Totals MCr 9.295
(MCr 7.4 with 20% discount)
Both the SPA Revenue Cutter and the Short Range Interceptor for MCr 49.
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