The Atorians.	Atorian-Class Dropship.		The Atorians.
Description After 400 years of living on the run, the Atorians chose some out of the way place to begin manufacturing a new version of the Empire Era egg-shaped COLOSSUS-Class DropShip. These ancient ships were designed specifically to ferry Atorian-Class Dropship. Manufacturer: Unknown/Varioius. Use: Assault DropShip and Mixed Force Carrier. Introduced: 2492 Technical Specifications: Mass 22,047 ton Length: 410 ft, 01.25 in Beam: 442 ft, 11 in. Diameter: 1,391 ft, 06.3 in. Endurance: 203.8 days. Armament 5 Laser Cannons; 16 T'sentraedi Laser Turrets; 2 Rail Launchers; 1 LRM. Crew: 9 officers; 37 enlisted/non-rated; 9 gunners; 984 bay personnel. Skeleton Crew: 2 officers (OOD/Capt/Pilot) and EO; 14 enlisted/non-rated (3 engineers and the rest gunners); 4 missileers. Regimental Combat Teams (RCT) to the furthest periphery of the mighty empire before the annexation by the Tiresian Empire, and remained in service until the fall of Ferha herself; In fact, the only REF Warships lost in the battle of Fehra were COLOSSUS-Class ships used as ramships (it would take three successful hits by such ships to disable any given REF warship; 21 REF warships were so damaged, 2 more destroyed: Over 200 COLOSSUS-Class were launched at the REF with skeleton crews). The COLOSSUS-Class DroipShips were a bold design in their time, massing 41,000 tons and the largest assault DropShip at the time. Considering the lack of known facilities to build such a construct, the Atorian-Class DropShip is actually BOLDER, massing 22,047 tons but exactly the same dimensions (empty weight). This was accomplished by newer materials and better arrangement of the internal spaces, which substantially increased combat load potential. The Atorian was designed from the start to fulfill the needs of Ator raiders on highly contested targets; They are equipped with the most advanced armor, electronics, and weapons tech available, and most critically to be easily repaired. The components are remarkably robust, adding to its reliability. The fact of these ship's construction has proven that the Atorians are receiving some sort of mat'eri'el support form parties unknown; Amongst other suspects are Tiresian Malcontents, one or more Syhith faction (including the very powerful Palpatine Order), and anti-UGC business interests. At this point, attempts to stamp out the factories are clearly beyond the realm of realistic possibility, and the UGC is hoping instead to develop an effective counterpart. Armament The Atorian carries an array of weaponry, both to protect itself and provide fire support for its troops. Located in the nose of the ship is LRM, which can only be used when the ship is grounded. Joining them are two rail launchers, 5 Laser Cannons, and 16 T'sentraedi Laser Turrets. This is in addition to the robots and power armor that make up their primary weapons system. Cargo The Atorian is equipped with five bays. The first bay is a dedicated vehicle bay and serviced by two doors. The second bay carries 72 robots able to enter and exit through four doors. The third bay is dedicated to 24 power armor platoons with four access doors. The last bay is reserved for general supplies, with a capacity of 726 tons. The fifth bay is sued for Revenge Fighters and spare parts for the campaign. Employment Typically, an Attack Shuttle will enter an atmosphere under fighter escort, drop her load of dropships, then push off back into orbit. The fighters then shift to covering the DropShips which land and disgorge their own fighters, robots, and power armors. Once the fighting is completed, the force is loaded back up, then the DropShips launch back into orbit. They link up with their shuttle or directly to their SLAVE MASTER-Class Command Ship. Critical Analysis The advent of the Atorian-Class DropShip deeply worries the UGC's brass; The presence of this degree of sophistication requires an extensive support network, and the number noted to date (over 5,000) require an equally extensive logistical network. Worse, a full Fehran-Class Attack Shuttle would (at least in theory) have enough combined robots and power armor to threaten many RDF's, which would potentially take the REF a week or more to shore up. During this time, the RDF could be wiped away and unrestricted looting could befall the unwary or unprepared colony.