[AlexanderHowl]

I believe that spinal batteries wereeffectively an early attempt to represent what would eventually become the larger systems rule. A more elegant solution would be using a +1 SM front section main weapon battery. For example, a classic science fiction SM+9 gunboat may have a SM+10 main battery in the front section, a SM+10 fusion reactor in the center section, and a SM+10 reactionless drive in the rear section. The remainder of the systems may be a control room, an engine room, a fusion reactor, a habitat, a hanger bay, a tactical sensor/comm array, two main weapon battery turrets, and three armors, all at SM+9.

The crew would consist of twenty people: six bridge, six engineers/technicians, three gunners, three support staff, and two fighter crew. The hanger bay would consists of two SM+5 fighters and four SM+4 shuttles (each capable of holding ten people). The habitat would consist of one establishment, one sickbay, one minifac, four steerage cargo, four single-occupancy cabins, and eight double-occupancy cabins. With 20 tons of supplies (10 tons of provision), it would have a 250 day mission endurance.