Behemoth Battlecruiser

The Behemoth-class battlecruiser was a short-lived design by Aero-Tech Space
Division - a small time starship constuction company with minor ties to the
Old Republic. The Behemoth was Aero-Tech's attempt to create an affordable yet
effective capital combat starship.

The Old Republic was required to purchase at least five of the vessels under
the terms of their contract with Aero-Tech. The five Behemoths purchased by
the Old Republic sat in space dock for several months before they were finally
deployed to convoy escort duties as the Old Republic command didn't believe
they possessed the combat abilities for front line service.

Frustrated with their failure in the Behemoth's design in the eyes of the Old
Republic, Aero-Tech began producing the Behemoth in limited numbers and sold it
on the open market as a "heavy corvette." It became a cult classic of sorts
among the pirates of that era and sales remained at a satisfying level for
nearly three years.

The Behemoth appealed to pirates for several reasons although the main one was
the ease at which a stock version could be modified and upgraded. The stock
weapons were designed so that they could be easily be replaced with larger, more
powerful, weapons. In addition to the weaponry options the Behemoth provided it
also featured a controversial "snap-fit" armor plating system, allowing for
custom armor plates to snap on over the existing hull plates for added protection.
curiously enough, Aero-Tech made sure that they were the only providers of the
armor plates. These armor plates are hard to come by in the days of the Rebellion
due to the fact that Aero-Tech went out of business around the time the Empire
rose to power.

The downfalls to the Behemoth were critical design mistakes made by Aero-Tech. In
their attempt to make the Behemoth as affordable as possible the designers had
opted to go with heavy armor and not include shield generators. The installation
of shield generators is very expensive and time consuming as there is no space for
the generators. The best solution that many owners have found is sacrificing half
of their cargo space to install the generators. The other major downfall to the
Behemoth is its engines. They were extremely inefficient and upgrades just weren't
worth the cost.

In all, six hundred Behemoths were produced and many of those can still be found
in private ownership today.

Model: Aero-Tech Space Division's "Behemoth" Battlecruiser
Type: Light battlecruiser
Scale: Capital
Length: 428 meters
Skill: Capital ship piloting: Behemoth battlecruiser
Crew: 7, gunners: 3, skeleton: 1/+15
Crew Skill: Varies widely
Passengers: 10 (troops)
Cargo Capacity: 2,000 metric tons
Consumables: 1 year
Cost: 1.9 million credits (used)
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x3
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 4
Atmosphere: 280; 800 kmh
Hull: 4D (4D+2 with extra armor plates)
Sensors:
        Passive: 15/0D
        Scan: 30/1D
        Search: 50/2D
        Focus: 2/3D
Weapons:
Heavy Charge Cannon
        Fire Arc: Front
        Crew: 1
        Skill: Capital ship gunnery
        Fire Control: 1D
        Space Range: 1-2/5/15
        Atmosphere Range: 2-4/10/30 km
        Damage: 1D - 9D (see below)
        Game Notes: The charge cannon, like the name implies, requires a
                    charging prior to use. The cannon charges at a rate of
                    1D per round and can charge up to 9D. Use of the charge
                    cannon prohibits the use of the turbolaser.
Heavy Turbolaser
        Fire Arc: Front
        Crew: 1
        Skill: Capital ship gunnery
        Fire Control: 3D
        Space Range: 3-15/35/75
        Atmosphere Range: 6-30/70/150 km
        Damage: 6D
2 Burst Laser Cannons
        Fire Arc: 1 ventral turret, 1 dorsal turret
        Crew: 1
        Skill: Starship gunnery
        Fire Control: 2D
        Space Range: 1-3/12/25
        Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 km
        Damage: 3D