SDS Self-Destruct System

The SDS Self-Destruct System was essentially a giant Booby Trap added to SDS Drones after a tragic accident in 2694 where three civilian JumpShips and their attached DropShips were destroyed by a squadron of M-2 Drones that did not respond to control attempts. (Documents declassified by ComStar later challenged this assumption; in reality Jonathan Cameron was terrified of the idea of SDS technology falling into the hands of the Star League Member States.)

If the ship was disabled, the destruct system would activate and scuttle the ship. This prevented the technology from falling into the wrong hands. When critically damaged the SDS drone was programmed to ram enemy combatants. Combining this order with the SDS Self-Destruct System essentially turned the vessel into a giant bomb.[1]

Game Rules[edit]

The SDS Self-Destruct System is Experimental Technology. It can only be mounted in a DropShip or WarShip. It functions identically to the Booby Trap but uses the following changes:

  • If a Caspar equipped with a Self-Destruct System rams another target, the Self-Destruct is triggered automatically and inflicts damage to the rammed unit's Structural Integrity equal to the Drone's Safe Thrust MP multiplied by its tonnage, to a maximum of 500 standard points.
  • SDS Self-Destruct System can be accidentally triggered when the equipped ship is hit from the Aft. On any critical hit to the Aft perform the normal checks for critical hits. Then roll another 2D6; On a 12+ the SDS Self-Destruct activates, destroying the engine and applying the damage from the Self-Destruct to the drone's structural integrity.[1]

An SDS Self-Destruct System will activate if any of these trigger conditions occur:

  • All Engine criticals are destroyed
  • 98% of all structural integrity (rounded up) are destroyed
  • Drone loses "control" in a boarding action
  • Drone receives a command from a friendly human controlled ATAC system[1]

SDS Self-Destruct System follows the Booby Trap construction rules but have a maximum tonnage of 10,000 tons.[2]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Historical: Liberation of Terra, Vol. 1, p. 162
  2. Historical: Liberation of Terra, Vol. 1, p. 163

Bibliography[edit]