Shadows Fighter Class

Craft: Shadows Fighter
Type: Heavy Fighter
Scale: starfighter
Length: 15.3 meters
Skill: starfighter pilot
Crew: 1
Crew Skill: Astrogation: 10D+1; Communications: 10D+1; Sensors: 10D+1; Starfighter Pilot: 10D+1; Starship Gunnery: 8D; Planetary Systems: 10D+1; Tactics: 10D+1
Passengers: 0
Cargo Capacity: none
Consumables: 1 month
Hyperdrive: x0.5
Nav Computer: yes
Maneuverability: 18D
Space: 12
Atmosphere: 450; 1,300 kmh
Hull: 5D+2
Stealth: 5D+1
Sensors

Passive: 100/3D+1
Scan: 200/4D+1
Search: 300/5D+1
Focus: 10/6D+1

Weapons

Polarity Cannon

Fire Arc: fore
Crew: 1
Scale: capital (targeted as starfighter scale)
Skill: star ship gunnery
Fire Control: 3D
Space Range: 1-15/35/75
Atmosphere Range: 10-15,000/35,000/75,000m
Damage: 8D+1

Notes

Adaptive Armor: Found only on the most advanced spacecraft that use bio-technology, adaptive armor is a layer on the hull that can intelligently and automatically react to any incoming fire. By moderating its surface, conductive properties and introducing reflective enhancements within a fraction of a second, the energy of any attack may be dissipated, leaving just the actual force of the blast to strike the hull. Adaptive armor will automatically quarter the Total Offence of any barrage that hits it.
Shadow Pilots: The skill of a Shadow ship is partly dependent on the abilities of the living pilot bound inside, although the Shadow’s advanced technologies and augmentations mean that almost anyone can be turned into the brain of a lethal killing machine. Its skills are similarly equal to 3D+1 + the skill of the pilot. For most ships, this works out as an average of 7D+1 for skill checks.
Shadow Jump: The Shadows’ understanding of hyperspace is unrivaled even by the Vorlons. Their craft may phase in and out of hyperspace seemingly at will, without creating a visible jump vortex.
Shadow Scream: A Shadow ship emits a partially psychic screech when it wishes to do so, unsettling nearly anyone who ‘hears’ it. When a Shadow ship ‘screams’ anyone within Close range of it must immediately make a Willpower check, difficulty 15 or suffer a –2D penalty to all rolls in the next round. A ship’s crew can only be affected once per encounter in this way.
Self-Repairing: A rare trait normally only found on living ships or White Stars, this craft is able to heal any damage at a vastly accelerated rate. Every successfully repair check repairs two points of damage rather than one. In addition, it will automatically heal one point of damage per hour.

Description: Shadow fighters are darting, thistle-shaped craft that almost appear to be more like creatures than spaceships. As relentless and unforgiving as their parent ships, Shadow fighters can rip apart any fighter set against them with their powerful weapon.

Fast and agile, swarms of these fighters launched en masse by a Shadow cruiser have been known to overwhelm even capital vessels. Shadow fighters are usually only considered necessary in larger battles, unleashed by the cruisers to augment their mastery over the battlefield. They are remarkably stealthy and deft, occasionally used as scouts or patrol craft, guarding important systems and space lanes from prying eyes while their masters build their plans of chaos.

The strange polarity cannon making up the nose of the fighter is incredibly powerful, its pulses easily able to punch through the armor of the largest capital ship to leave gaping holes where others can target later. Other fighter craft having to deal with them up close must rely on their own agility to evade these devastating blasts or suffer horribly under their onslaught. It is better to disengage as quickly as possible, leaving the destruction of Shadow fighters to the anti-fighter capabilities of larger capital ships – if any have survived the rest of the Shadow assault. Like all other Shadow vessels, the fighters can phase in and out of hyperspace at will, an enormous advantage for so small a craft to possess. One never knows when they will be vomited forth from a larger craft, or simply appear to wreak havoc upon their foes.

Source: Babylon 5: Ships of the Galaxy (pages 84-86); thedemonapostle