Rana

Rana
Vessel Profile
TypeJumpShip
ClassMerchant

The Rana was a Merchant-class JumpShip with some customized features. Its forward cargo hold had been turned into a passenger section with fifteen cabins and two mess rooms.[1] The bridge had a nonstandard layout, with its three stations (Captain, navigator and pilot) spaced evenly along the round wall, 120° from each other.[2]

It is implied, though not outright stated, that the Rana was operated by "Milkway Travels."[3]

Canonicity[edit]

The Rana only features in the German novel Gier which, being a German-language publication that was not translated into English so far, does not meet the current criteria for canonical BattleTech products and must thus be considered apocryphal. As a consequence, the Rana and all information about it are apocryphal as well.

History[edit]

Richard Humphreys traveled to Canopus aboard the Rana. Although he apparently arrived at the JumpShip with the Monarch-class passenger DropShip Baroness he then booked a cabin aboard the JumpShip to escape attention to his person during the voyage. Another cabin was taken by Madame Carous, a singer who would perform at the party where Richard first met Emma Centrella.[4]

The Rana, under captain Guerro, jumped to the Canopus system's nadir jump point on 13 September 3029 with the Baroness and an unnamed Buccaneer-class DropShip. Upon materializing, it immediately collided with another JumpShip, the Invader-class Diver. Although both JumpShips were fused together and (at least) three techs were killed, Richard Humphreys saved the day by taking command together with the ship's navigator when the captain and the pilot panicked. Captain Guerro wanted to use the ship's weak anti-meteorite lasers to cut it loose from the Diver, but Humphreys suggested using the Baroness' attitude thrusters instead to impart thrust on the stricken Rana and counter the drift that threatened to break both JumpShips apart.[5]

The Buccaneer had undocked (without permission) under its own power after the collision, causing more damage.[6] This was in violation of the spaceflight regulations, and was thought to incur a hefty penalty fee.[7]

It was later mentioned that Humphreys had saved invaluable technology, suggesting that the ship's Kearny-Fuchida Drive had not been damaged in the accident; both the Rana and the Diver were thought to require only a few weeks of repairs in dock, exchanging a cargo section and the jump sail storage, respectively.[8]

References[edit]

  1. Gier, p. 8
  2. Gier, p. 11
  3. Gier, p. 7: The epigraph to the first chapter (where the collision between the Rana and the Diver occurs) features an ad by Milkway Travels claiming that traveling on their JumpShips would be safer than walking across a street.
  4. Gier, pp. 8–9
  5. Gier, pp. 7–17
  6. Gier, p. 14
  7. Gier, p. 23
  8. Gier, p. 22

Bibliography[edit]