Taorl Riftliner and Hleakakhea SDB

Riftliners operated by Tyeyo Fteahrao Yolr (Tyeyo Dustspice Importers) stage in high orbit above Auhahkei (Riftspan Reaches 3039 A86768B-C). The corporation is controlled by females of the Ikhtealyo clan.

A recent thread on Reddit called for examples of Aslan megafreighters that could cross the Great Rift. Across all editions there really aren’t many published freighters in that size class, much less Aslan freighters.

But the discussion prompted me to take another look at a compelling ship design that seems to have fallen by the wayside: the Taorl Riftliner from GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 2.

The Taorl might not be a superfreighter or megafreighter, but in some ways it’s far more useful than either ship for an Aslan clan: a versatile jump tender that can ferry smaller ships and cargo between star systems or even across the Great Rift itself. A Taorl is built to make Jump-3 while carrying over 10,000 tons of payload.

Note that although early drafts of Traveller⁵ included a striking Jesse DeGraff illustration described as a “Taorl Exploratory Merchant (RL-KS13),” this would be a much smaller (1,000 ton) ship than the Riftliner. I think this T5 picture is more likely to be a misidentified Khtukhao Clan Transport (R-FB22). (See the deckplan on page 62 of Alien Races 2.)

I broke out my copy of the High Guard 2022 Update to work up a MgT conversion of the Taorl. I really had to tinker around to get this ship right: the GURPS design includes a spacedock for all the secondary craft. A spacedock is an airlock hangar bay that “can be totally evacuated or filled with air” (GURPS Traveller: Starships 64). This is basically equivalent to an MgT full hangar (High Guard 66). However, converting the Taorl with a full hanger requires a 30,000-ton hull to hold all the secondary craft. And more importantly, the use of a single monster hangar doesn’t really match the GURPS description of the ship acting as a tender.

I then tried converting the Taorl as a 20,000-ton ship with docking spaces, which seemed closer to the mark. Then finally I landed on a 10,000-ton design with external docking clamps, allowing the ship to carry over 10,000 tons of secondary craft externally and still make Jump-3, which seems to live up best to the jump tender concept.

While working on the Taorl conversion it occurred to me that I hadn’t come across a design for an Aslan system defense boat, even though such craft are reportedly common inside the Hierate—as would be expected for such a territorial people. While the Aslan often utilize Imperial and Solomani designs (and vice versa), they also adapt them for their own purposes, as seen in the Hleakakhea, an SDB commonly carried by riftliners.

Taorl Riftliner

The Taorl Riftliner is a general-purpose clan vessel, manufactured throughout the Hierate in a number of variants by many different clans, but is especially common along the edge of the Great Rift. A Taorl (which roughly translates as “aesthetic fortune; honor, responsibility”) primarily functions as a jump tender, carrying secondary craft and other payloads attached to the exterior of its hull. A standard loadout for a Taorl consists of eight 95-ton shuttles and 24 separate 400-ton payloads. A loaded riftliner is ovoid in shape and is often said to resemble a Terran conifer cone, with payload pods and shuttles arranged like overlapping scales around a central axis.

Specialized Taorl pods are produced for different payloads. All such pods displace 400 tons and have 120 hull points. A Fuel Pod holds 400 tons of fuel and costs MCr18. A Cargo Pod is equipped with a small TL12 power plant to provide gravity and environmental controls, holds 394 tons of cargo, and costs MCr22.5. A Low Pod holds 650 low berths, has a small TL12 power plant and medical bay, and requires 1 engineer and 5 medics. A low pod costs MCr93.870. A Passenger Pod has 70 staterooms for passengers, a small TL12 power plant and medical bay, and requires 1 steward and 1 medic. A passenger pod costs MCr62.64.

An unloaded Taorl carries enough fuel to make two consecutive 3-parsec jumps, and even a fully loaded Taorl outfitted with 10 fuel pods can make a single Jump-3 and another Jump-2, enough to traverse the Great Rift.

When encountered, the riftliner will be carrying a mixture of up to two dozen 400-ton payloads; these may be any type of pod, Hleakakhea system defense boats, Eakhau traders, or Hkiyrerao research ships, depending on its mission. Any of the 24 Class IV docking clamps could be adapted to carry even larger secondary craft of up to 2,000 tons.

The Purchase Cost of the Taorl reflects a discount for standard design, but does not include the cost for any 400-ton payloads.

Hull Points 4,000

Crew Captain/Pilot, Executive Officer/Purser, Officers x4, Astrogator, Sensor Operator, Engineers x70, Maintenance x10, Smallcraft Crew x8, Administrators x5, Medics x2

Maintenance Cost Cr468,707 per month

Purchase Cost MCr5,507.096

Taorl Riftliner

TL12		Tons	Cost (MCr)
Hull	10,000 tons, Standard	–	500
M-Drive	Thrust 1	203	406
J-Drive	Jump-3	1,532	2,298
Power Plant	Fusion (TL12), Power 10,351	690	690
Fuel Tanks	J3, 4 weeks of operation	6,258	–
Bridge	Standard	60	50
Computer	Computer/20	–	5
Sensors	Civilian Grade	1	3
Craft	Docking Clamps (Type IV) x24	480	1,920
	Pods x24	–	–
	Docking Clamps (Type II) x8	40	40
	Shuttles x8	–	117.4
Systems	Shrine to Heroes	4	0.5
	Fuel Processor (1,000 tons per day)	50	2.5
	Medical Bays x4	16	8
Staterooms	Standard x120	480	60
	Low Berths x126	63	6.3
Software	Library	–	–
	Maneuver/0	–	–
	Jump Control/3	–	0.3
Common Areas		120	12
Cargo		3	–

Hleakakhea System Defense Boat

The venerable Hleakakhea is a lower tech adaption of the TL12 Guardian-class SDB, and is as ubiquitous in the Hierate as the Guardian is in the Imperium. A Hleakakhea is named for an air-breathing aquatic animal native to Kusyu that lives in warm coastal estuaries across the planet. Hleakakhea are ambush predators protected by tough, bony armor and can grow to nearly 4 meters in length, and hunting them was formerly a popular sport before overharvesting drove the species to the brink of extinction. Remains of prehistoric Hleakakhea have been found over 6 meters in length, though that particular subspecies is believed to have died out during Kusyu’s last ice age.

The Taorl Riftliner was originally designed to carry four hryo of Hleakakhea battleriders before clans realized the possibilities of other payloads. In wartime, unarmed riftliners will carry Hleakakhea or larger battleriders for self-defense—the “conquer or die” tactics forced on battleriders and their tenders are well-suited to the Aslan psyche.

Many of the larger and wealthier clans have replaced the Hleakakhea with TL13 designs based off the Dragon class, while the leading Tlaukhu clans field improved TL14 Dragons imported directly from the Imperium. These Dragons are reported to be faster, protected with bonded superdense armor, and utilize advanced stealth tech.

Hull Points 176

Crew Captain, Purser/Executive Officer, Officer, Pilots x3, Engineer, Gunners x6

Maintenance Cost MCr0.013176 per month

Purchase Cost MCr158.121

Hleakakhea SDB

TL11		Tons	Costs (MCr)
Hull	400 tons, Streamlined	-	24
	Reinforced	-	12
Armor	Crystaliron, Armor:11	66	13.2
	Radiation Shielding	-	10
M-Drive	Thrust 4	16	32
Power Plant	Fusion (TL8), Power 256	25	12.5
Fuel Tanks	16 weeks operation	20	-
Bridge		20	2
Computer	Core 15/fib	-	3
Sensors	Military Grade	2	4.1
	Improved Signal Processing	1	4
Weapons	Small Bays (particle beam) x2	100	40
	Missile Barbettes x2	10	8
Ammunition	Missile Storage (480 missiles)	40	-
Armored Bulkheads	Bridge	2	0.4
	Power Plant	2.5	0.5
	Maneuver Drive	1.6	0.32
	Fuel Tanks	1.6	0.32
Systems	Fuel Processor (20 tons/day)	1	0.05
	Medical Bay	4	2
	Shrine to Heroes	4	0.5
Staterooms	Standard x8	32	4
Software	Maneuver/0	-	-
	Evade/2	-	2
	Library	-	-
Common Areas		8	0.8
Cargo		43	-

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