TABLE 2: COMBAT VALUES BY SHIP'S CLASS
Emerald's Fleet
Fleet Stealth Value 8
Fleet Morale 9
Cruisers
Ordnance Value 14
Stealth Value 8
Melee Value 7
Large ships with a heavy weight of guns.
Destroyers
Ordnance Value 7
Stealth Value 7
Melee Value 6
Versatile ships with lighter guns, mainly employ torps/ missiles in combat. The true workhorses of the USJ navy.
Escorts/Corvettes
Ordnance Value 7
Stealth Value 9
Melee Value 6
Primarily gun platforms with some limits on ammunition and supplies often act independently on convoy duty. Often need to be resupplied after a major engagement. Crowded and uncomfortable on long voyages.
Birds/Long-Range Assault Fighters
(sometimes called "chicks")
Ordnance Value 7
Stealth Value 9
Melee Value -
Crewed by two men, these fighters are severely restricted to the amount of ammunition and fuel they carry. Being not much more than guns and engine they are extremely unpleasant on voyages lasting more than a few days. They depend almost entirely on speed and maneuverability for defense, something less than a perfect shield in an age of computer-targeted smart missiles. These are the smallest USJ military craft capable of sustained interplanetary flight.
Minesweeper
Ordnance Value 7
Stealth Value 8
Melee Value 5
A workhorse three times the size of a destroyer, but with about the same armament. This class boasts specially mounted Gatlings, which fire shrapnel mixed with magnetic discs and short-burst, wide-spectrum radio "announcers" into suspected mine fields, detonating virtually all types of space mines.
Tugs
Ordnance Value 0
Stealth Value 8
Melee Value 0
Civilian ships converted for naval use, they carry up to three drones, but are themselves unarmed.
Drones
Ordnance Value 21
Stealth Value N/A
Melee Value N/A
This type of combat craft is relatively new to the USJ navy. Drones are massive missiles; on their noses are mounted a number of small cannon. They also contain 40 to 48 short-range homing missiles, designed to overwhelm the enemy's defenses, A drone is capable of extremely rapid motion, but due to limited fuel (everything is packed with guns and missiles) can sustain combat speed for less than three minutes.
These unmanned craft are designed to be carried to battle in a Hiroshima-class battleship, or larger, from which they are controlled. Occasionally a tug can be used for transport. When this is done, they are controlled from the formation's flagship.