The Outbound Flight Project
The Outbound Flight Project was a mission whose goal was to explore the farthest reaches of the galaxy and beyond. An exploratory mission originally proposed by the Jedi, the Outbound Flight Project became the personal project of Jedi Master Jorus C’baoth, who fought with the Senate at every turn to get the project funded and under way. The Outbound Flight Project was create not only to explore new places, but also to set up colonies and—unbeknownst to all but a few of C’baoth’s confidants—find new Force-sensitive apprentices to bolster the numbers of the Jedi Order.
However, the grand exploratory mission did not go as planned. In the Republic’s first encounter with the Chiss that would eventually go on to become Grand Admiral Thrawn, the Outbound Flight Project was derailed and the ship was lost, never reaching its destination in the Unknown Regions.
Outbound Flight Ship Design
The Outbound Flight Project revolved around the use of a massive ship, appropriately called Outbound Flight, that was composed of six Rendili StarDrive Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers arranged in a ring around a central fuselage, all connected by a web of metal that made all the vessels into a single, massive ship. The central fuselage carried the supplies needed to feed the crewmembers and passengers aboard Outbound Flight for the duration of its journey, and also carried the relevant material for colonizing any habitable planets the explorers discovered. Each of the Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers was connected to the central fuselage and to each other by a series of access tunnels, and crewmembers could move between the six Dreadnaughts or the central cor by means of speeders kept aboard for just that reason. Additionally, each Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser could be detached from the central core, and it would do so in order to remain behind and protect any colonies the mission might find.
Outbound Flight (CL 22)
Starships of the Galaxy, page 77.
Colossal (station) capital ship
Initiative: −6; Senses: Perception +6
Defenses: Fort 114, Ref 11 (flat-footed 11) ; ++13 armor, Vehicular Combat
Hit Points: 9,000; DR: 20; SR: 165; Damage Threshold: 514
Speed: fly 1 squares (starship scale)
Ranged: 15 turbolaser batteries* +15 or
Ranged: 3 laser cannon batteries* +13 or
Ranged: 5 quad laser cannon batteri +15
Fighting Space: 2×2 (starship scale); Cover: total
Base Attack: +2; Grapple: 126
Attack Options: autofire (quad laser cannons)
Abilities: Str 218, Dex 6, Con —, Int 16
Skills: Initiative −6, Mechanics +6, Perception +6, Pilot −6, Use Computer +6
Crew: 5,000 (skilled); Passengers: 46,000
Cargo: 19,000 tons; Consumables: 10 years; Carried Craft: various shuttlecraft
Hyperdrive: ×.75, navicomputer
Availability: Military; Cost: not available for sale (unique)
* Apply a −20 penalty on attacks against targets smaller than Colossal Sise.
Turbolaser battery (6 gunners)
Attack: +15 (−5 against targets smaller than Colossal), Damage: 9d10×5
Laser cannon battery (5 gunners)
Attack: +13 (+7 against targets smaller than Colossal), Damage: 6d10×5
Quad laser cannon battery (6 gunners)
Attack: +15 (+10 autofire), Damage: 7d10×2