Q-Ship Variants Note: All ships on this page were suggested by Steve "Kizarvexis" Austin. Civilian Q-Ship (Bolter) A variant of the venerable Q-ship mostly from Belt Alliance and other civilian factions operating antispinward and coreward of Earth Alliance space. Medium Bolters bought from the Llort retrofitted where Heavy Plasma Cannons are used on Q-ships in EA space. This refit sacrifices short range heavy hitting power for a more long-ranged, faster firing attack. Also a hit from a Medium Bolter is guaranteed to take out any raider fighter it hits. BA Q-Ship (Bolter, Uncommon) Civilian Q-Ship (Bolter/Antifighter) A variant of the venerable Q-ship from Belt Alliance and other civilian factions operating antispinward and coreward of Earth Alliance space. Medium Bolters bought from the Llort retrofitted where Heavy Plasma Cannons are used on Q-ships in EA space. This refit sacrifices short range heavy hitting power for a more long-ranged, faster firing attack. Also a hit from a Medium Bolter is guaranteed to take out any raider fighter it hits. Replacing the S-Racks with Standard Particle Beams increases the antifighter capability at the reduction of long range antiship firepower. BA Q-Ship (Anti-Fighter, Uncommon) Civilian Q-Ship (Pulse) A variant of the Q-ship equipped with Medium Pulse Cannons over Heavy Plasma Cannons and Standard Particle Beams over S-Racks to provide a better defense vs fighters. A direct response to the growing number of fighters used by raiders since the inception of the Raider Battlewagon and Strikecarrier, this ship is uncommon in civilian fleets due to the high cost of using Medium Pulse Cannons. BA Q-SHip (Pulse, Uncommon) Civilian Q-Carrier A quick response to the increased raider fighter presence provided by the Strikecarrier and Battlewagon, the Q-Carrier brings full sqaudron of Delta-V fighters to battle. The large number of Standard Particle Beams provide wide anti-fighter coverage and can be used vs ships in an emergency. This converted tanker has the tank pods permanently attached with all but the forward and aft Standard Particle Beams hidden by panels. BA Q-Carrier EA Q-wagon The Q-Wagons were built by the EA in an attempt to place a bear in wolf's clothing. Immediately following the EM War, raider and pirate activity spiked within the EA. Ships were being built to partol space, but they couldn't be built fast enough. A few frustrated minds in EA Intelligence noticed that the Raiders had begun modifying ore carriers into makeshift warships for use in raiding shipping lines. Going on the assumption that Raiders didn't know every Raider in existance, the EA built two Battlewagons of their own in order to infiltrate and disrupt Raider operations. Both ships were heavily modified from the normal Battlewagon spec, with most of their weaponary hidden beneath doors on the outer hull. The two ships were initally very successful in their anti-Raider operations, though their usefullness would soon end. Both ships had a distinct power signature to their jump drives that could never be corrected. This allowed them to be easily identified by more advanced sensors available on the civilian market. In the incident that convinced the EA their time was at an end, three Raider Battlewagons ambushed both Q-wagons before their crews were prepared. Both suffered heavy casualities and extreme damage. The ships were half-repaired when the decision was made to mothball them both. There was brief talk of giving the ships to the MarsGuard, but they were in such a state of disrepair that their donation might be looked on as an insult rather than a gesture of good will. EA Q-Wagon