Ke-S3-R4000 Rikugun Plumeria Deck Package

The Ke-S3-R4000 Rikugun Plumeria Deck Package, or the “Rikugun Package”, is the Plumeria Deck Package used to make the Plumeria 2E/R Medium Gunship configuration. Its purpose is to allow the ship to transport, deploy, and support a Star Army Century along with all of its equipment and vehicles. It was designed by Kage Yaichiro in YE 40 and produced by Ketsurui Fleet Yards for the Star Army of Yamatai.

Deck Plan for Rikugun Plumeria Deck Package

The Rikugun Package, installed on Deck 5 of a Plumeria-class (2E) Medium Gunship, is dedicated to the transport of a full Star Army Century along with its power armor, vehicles, cargo, and equipment. This allows the Plumeria to stand in for the Kagai-Class Assault Ship which is built explicitly for this purpose. It should be noted that though the more cramped nature of the smaller ship could lead to a slower deployment of vehicles and cargo than the Kagai, the Plumeria has a higher FTL speed than the Kagai in both CFS and Hyperspace metrics – allowing for a theoretically faster initial response time. The Ke-S3-M4000 Plumeria Bay Pod is often paired with this Package to more efficiently deploy the Century's combat forces.

While not intended as a replacement to the Kagai as much as a supplemental option, and not meant to carry a Star Army Century indefinitely, it represents an additional way for the Uchugun and the Rikugun to collaborate and cooperate should the need arise and often includes the Plumeria's own Uchugun Power Armor teams and equipment in addition to that of the Century. It is also a less costly or time-consuming option to load this package into a Plumeria than to produce a new Kagai, which may prove to be of import as war continues into the long term.

In YE 39, Kage Yaichiro sought to heavily upgrade the Plumeria, focusing on making the craft both more powerful and more versatile. This included optimizing its frame and internal layout to a notable degree, to the point where the craft could have an entire deck vacated. Between this and the inclusion of the Integrated CFS Array, which simplified the modification of the hull as a consequence of its panel-based design, it was then possible to develop internal layouts which could be readily swapped without a full-blown refit.

This module was thus designed for the Plumeria-class (2E) Medium Gunship in YE 40, and was first employed on the YSS Sakura II.

As a result of the nature of the Package, it is possible for it to augment the existing specifications of the Plumeria-class. The passenger compliment and escape pod capacity are altered due to the inclusion of this Package.

• Nomenclature: Ke-S3-R4000
• Type: Deck Replacement Package for Plumeria-class (2E) Medium Gunship
• Designer: Kage Yaichiro
• Manufacturer: Ketsurui Fleet Yards
• Fielded by: Star Army of Yamatai

Maximum Capacity: As opposed to the typical 213 maximum people in the base Plumeria, 381 people can live aboard the vessel when every bed is filled in this configuration. The ship's ability to sustain that many people long term would be tested. Fourteen more escape pods are added to the vessel for a total of 71. Combined, these typically accommodate 355 (five per pod) or an absolute maximum of 497 (seven per pod). Other occupancy attributes have not changed from the base Plumeria 2E.

¹The Expanded Crew scenario is considered a typical operating compliment when a Star Army Century is aboard.

²Additional people can fit in various configurations with the use the Star Army Nekovalkyrja Nest/Life Raft, Type 40 instead of a bed or the use of the Star Army Bunk Bed, Type 40 either 1, 2, or 3 bunks high. This, however, is not considered normal compliment.

With the addition of this module, the ship gains assorted rooms and systems. These include an Armory, two Barracks, a Cargo Bay (Lower), a Chief Cabin, 14 more Escape Pods, a Laundry Room, a Lounge, a Medbay, Showers, Toilets, a Vehicle Bay (Lower), and a Volumetrics Room. The hull should be noted for having all the typical systems and defenses present on the Plumeria, including connections to the Sensor Pods and Modular Pods, as well as the vertical passageways connecting to other decks.

Deck Plan for Rikugun Plumeria Deck Package

All rooms have phones and firefighting stations. They also all have at least 33cm of bulkhead in place for walls and some are able to be sealed by Zesuaium Blast Shutters.

The Armory is a Zesuaium-armored, static-free vault with an independent environmental system and no access to the nodal system. It can be used as a panic room or emergency shelter and can only be accessed by those to whom the ship's captain has granted access. It serves personnel living on the Deck Package such as those in a Star Army Century, and serves all equipment in the Vehicle Bay and optional Ke-S3-M4000 Plumeria Bay Pod.

Running along the sides of the middle of the Deck Package, the two sets of Star Army Half-Century Barracks (Plumeria Type) are able to sleep a typical 52 people each and are intended as temporary housing for people who are on the ship on a temporary basis. This can be for missions such as scientific, combat, evacuation, or to house refugees in unexpected circumstances. They are intended to each be able to accommodate half of a Star Army Century, hence their name. They each have 26 Standard Star Army Barracks Segment, Type 40 that have Star Army Bunk Bed, Type 40 (sometimes used for Century-wide combat simulations), storage, and other basic necessities. In a pinch, it is possible to have three bunks per bed instead of two, bringing the total occupancy of the combined Barracks from the typical 104 to a maximum of 156.

Located on Decks 4 and 5, the Cargo Bay is 10.25 meters tall. The bottom of this corresponding with Deck 5 is part of the Rikugun Plumeria Deck Package.

It has the same white padded walls, white and red interior lights, and metal floor with tie-down points and strips of rollers. It also has the same power hookups, Scalable Graviton Beam Projector Array, and dual large robotic arms. It is completely unaltered from the base Plumeria Cargo Bay.

The Chief Cabin is a room which is a special 8m x 4m x 2.75m Star Army Large Crew Cabin, Type 40 with only one Star Army Bunk Bed, Type 40 and additional bureaus and computer terminals. It is typically occupied by two people: one who commands or oversees those living in the Barracks, and one who acts as the liaison between that command structure and the command staff of the ship. As such, they are considered to have the “Barracks Chief” and “Liaison” roles. In cases where a Star Army Century is the unit occupying the Barracks, the Centurion and the Intelligence Officer of the Century both sleep here and hold these duties respectively. In some cases, the Clerk may instead claim one of these roles if needed or serve as the Liaison during the night shift.

Bringing the total number of escape pods to 71, 14 of the space-efficient Star Army Escape Pod, Type 35 "Seizonsha" have been added to the 4 already in the Subdeck for the bridge crew and miscellaneous personnel. These launch vertically from the Package in Deck 5 in two sets of 9. As these 71 Escape Pods can hold up to 355 people in normal operation, or 497 in an emergency, there are more than enough Escape Pods for the ship's entire compliment. In fact, the 18 Escape Pods in the Package are usually able to accommodate the bridge crew and the entire Star Army Century if necessary under expanded operation. This means that the rest of the ship's escape pods are not overtaxed.

These Escape Pod launching sites, like the others on the base Plumeria, also launch hundreds of inflatable 'dummy' pods which are designed to overwhelm an enemy with targets which fly out in all directions while also providing false sensor readings. These dummy pods appear both in Escape Pod and SS Pod variants.

Stored and launched from an Escape Pod area of the captain's choosing, including potentially from the Package, the ship's Soul Savior Pod can be launched by itself or while inside a Star Army Escape Pod, Type 35 "Seizonsha" if that is the preference of the CO. While the use of an Escape Pod for this task risks easier detection by an enemy, it does allow the Soul Savior Pod to be transported at faster-than-light speed away from the vessel if launched while in interstellar space. It should be noted that since the maximum occupancy of the vessel is still under 500 with the Star Army Century present, an additional Soul Savior Pod is not necessary to compensate for the increase in crew.

This Rikugun Package includes a Standard Star Army Laundry Room of double capacity, with 10 washers and 10 dryers. Occupants of the Package are permitted to come to other decks if necessary and to use other Laundry Rooms as well.

The Rikugun Package has a supplemental Lounge, which are home to the traditional Dare Lottery Party. However, Rikugun forces are also encouraged to join the main crew in Deck 2's Lounge to mingle and socialize. The smaller Rikugun Lounge is present, however, to allow that group to maintain solidarity and a place of their own while on their assignment.

It has Volumetric Windows for the walls and ceiling which can change color (typically red) and a floor that is thickly carpeted in a shaggy red carpet with the design of the Star Army Hinomaru in the center. The Lounge also has a bunch of bolted-down furniture like soft leather couches and Coffee tables running around the edges of the room. Lamps on some of the tables and in a circle around the ceiling provide soft, white lighting, focusing on the open area in the middle corresponding with the Hinomaru. A small nook located off to the side contains a Coffee maker, icemaker, microwave, mini-fridge, and a small drink bar. Note that the Lounge is not a dining area. The mini-fridge is used for drinks and small snacks only, and is labeled as such.

A standard Sakura-type Medical Laboratory is included in the Rikugun Package, and all beds have both force field and physical restraints that can be used if necessary. It should be noted that the base Plumeria has a Brig, so the specimen containment rooms can be used for their intended purposes or as recovery rooms to free up beds for new patients. It is intended to serve guests or the Star Army Century, and can be staffed by either the ship's or the Century's own medics.

A room with four rows of five Standard Star Army Crew Showers, for a total of 20, serves as the Rikugun Package's Communal Showers. These do not have panels separating them, nor are they gender specific. Every row has a clearly marked locker where one can place their laundry while they strip, bathe, and re-clothe themselves. As the base Plumeria's Deck 4 Showers are a greater number than typically required, those residing in the Package sometimes come and use Deck 4's Showers. Of course, there is nothing stopping anyone from joining the rest of the crew in Deck 2's bathing area.

The Rikugun Package is equipped with Communal Toilets that consist of 10 private toilet stalls, a row of 5 sinks, and a large mirror along one wall. They are not gender-specific. It is common and accepted for people who are waiting on these toilets to relieve themselves on Deck 4 of the Plumeria if necessary.

The Vehicle Bay is unaltered from the standard Vehicle Bay on the base Plumeria, though the ceiling panels are brought down into the Deck 4 floor grooves to make two single-deck vehicle bays. It has white padded walls, a metal floor with tie-down points and roller strips, white and red interior lights, power hookups, a Scalable Graviton Beam Projector Array, and a large robotic arm on the ceiling for moving crates. It can extend a dedicated deployment ramp intended for the lower Vehicle Bay, and uses a crane or a Scalable Graviton Beam Projector Array to lower vehicles from the upper bay to the lower for deployment. Unfortunately, this can create a bottleneck if the Rikugun and Uchugun vehicles are not organized carefully. With a Century present, the compliment is typically:

• 8 of some combination of Type 30 Light Utility Truck and Type 30 Tankette
• 2 Type 30 Surface Terrain Vehicle or variants
• 3 Type 31B “Troll” Tanks or variant
• 4 Yusou Type 33 Grav-APC

The Volumetrics Room is intended for recreation, training, and briefings. It is an evolution of the Recreation Area of the Yui 7-class Scout, with all surfaces coated with anti-scuff coatings and able to be concealed by volumetric projections. Force fields have been added to provide tactile feedback to simulations as well as to slide people back imperceptibly when they try to walk too close to a wall or change elevation. In this way, simulations larger than the room would normally permit are possible and can be safely employed. Simulations can also make people appear and sound further away than they are and nudge them away from collisions with each other if necessary to further add to the illusion.

This force field sliding can be disabled easily if desired; but small markers will appear to show the walls, floor, and ceiling boundaries while the door to the room becomes visible as a safety measure. All people will be shown in their actual locations as well. It should also be noted that the Volumetrics Room cannot be used during Star Army Readiness Conditions 1 or 2 unless permitted by the CO for specific uses such as briefings.

Uses of the Volumetric Room include consuming media en masse, holding briefings with visual aids, relaying briefings from alternate locations (such as the Wardroom or Meeting Room), training, running combat simulations, showing simulations of home or other relaxing venues, large scale communications, as a pre-mission staging area, or even for making crew members run laps as punishment. It is also sometimes still used to prank new crew with the old “walking out into open space” trick first employed on the Yui 7.

In addition to the areas which are accessible in compartments, the Package has a number of other features and capabilities which are noteworthy.

The armor and basic frame of the Package is the same as the base Plumeria and is unmodified from it, save for the internal 33cm bulkheads between rooms with yarvex sheeting surrounding the added passageways and rooms. The hull is 50cm thick Yamataium with armor plates made of Xiulurium-coated Zesuaium and Yamataium. Its frame is still Zesuaium. There are no actual windows, volumetric windows being heavily employed.

The Package can employ the same Integrated CFS Array panels as the ship and thus does not weaken the ship's overall CFS capabilities or stealth in any way.

The Package contains all Star Army Standard Starship Emergency Systems appropriate for its contents.

Blast shutters are located all across the Package, and can be noted in the form of red lines in the deck plan.

In the Rikugun Package, damage control stations are located in:

• Cargo Bay (4)
• Medbay (1)
• Vehicle Bay (4)
• Walls of Zero Gravity Passageways (2, 1 per passageway per deck)

See the earlier references to the ship's Escape Pods regarding the Module's 14 Star Army Escape Pod, Type 35 "Seizonsha"s and its compatibility with the Soul Savior Pod.

Atmospheric systems are divided into two separate habitat zones consisting of the Armory and everything outside of the Armory. The two vertical passageways that go through the deck also retain the hardware for their own habitat zones governed by the Plumeria. The Armory is equipped with its own atmospheric recycling system. The specifications are the same as those of the base Plumeria, and includes the use of Psionic Signal Controllers.

Inspired by the equivalent system on the Fuji-class Expeditionary Gunship, the Phasing Defense System is an additional system which is included not only in the hull of the vessel but also in the bulkheads, floors, and ceilings. It is based on one of the many fields normally integrated into the CFS or ICFS Array that already combats phasing, but is additional and isolated so that phasing is not possible even when the ICFS is deactivated or disabled. It is typically always on, and does not project beyond the hull of the vessel. It does not compromise the stealth capability of the ship.

Though there is no seperate power source in the Rikugun Package, alternate generators and fuel tanks can be hooked up in the Cargo Bay, Vehicle Bay. It has the same extremely robust power distribution system as the Plumeria, which is built to withstand and control tremendous surges (such as those caused by electrogravitic and electromagnetic pulses and anti-matter ion weaponry).

• Cargo Bay: 12 to 18 Type 33 Prefab Modules/Collapsible Rapid Deployment Modules, OR 16 to 22 SSCC-XL, OR 2 to 4 SSCC-Huge (with Vehicle Bay space)

While only the Escape Pods and Vehicle Bay are in any way related to the Rikugun Module, the vehicle deployments for the entire Plumeria are modified to reflect the altered role of the ship when transporting a Star Army Century. As such, the Power Armor Bay and Shuttle Bay of the Plumeria are also listed in their altered configurations.

• Room for 71 Star Army Escape Pod, Type 35 "Seizonsha" and 11 Soul Savior Pods (only 1 employed) in various locations
• In Power Armor Bay:
  • Room for 120 suits of power armor (Typically Mindy 2 and Daisy M6), or 20-90 larger variants (Kirie or Keiko)
  • Sometimes room for 2 Ke-V6-2A "Hayabusa II" Starfighters or 1 Raccoon T7 Shuttle if PA Bay is in 26 PA configuration
• In Shuttle Bay:
  • 4 CAMIE M11 Construction Mecha
  • 5 Raccoon T7 shuttles (2-3 on ceiling)
  • 4 Kuma T8 shuttles
  • 3 Ke-V6-2A "Hayabusa II" Starfighters
• In Vehicle Bay:
  • 8 of some combination of Type 30 Light Utility Truck and Type 30 Tankette
  • 2 Type 30 Surface Terrain Vehicle or variants
  • 3 Type 31B “Troll” Tanks or variant
  • 4 Yusou Type 33 Grav-APC

Toshiro created this article on 2018/10/20 01:09. It was FM approved by Wes on 10/24/18 and NTSE Approved by Ametheliana on 11/11/18 here.