Mistral’s Daughter

A type-Y Yacht for Classic Traveller

The Mistral’s Daughter is a Yacht owned by the Countess of Kerrend, a noblewoman active in the Rhylanor-area social and diplomatic circuits. While she will as often as not travel by luxury starliner, she likes to have her Yacht kept crewed and ready for use. The crew of the Mistral’s Daughter will often find themselves directed to meet the Countess or her guests at certain worlds, and the ship is seldom idle for long.

Ship Description

The Mistral’s Daughter conforms to the usual displacement and performance parameters of the type Y; 200 tons, unstreamlined, Jump-1, 1G acceleration, with enough fuel for the power plant and two consecutive Jump-1’s. The ship has a Model/1 computer and a single hardpoint, currently equipped with a Sandcaster and a Pulse Laser in a dual turret. Ship’s vehicles consist of an Air/Raft, an ATV and a 30-ton Ship’s Boat fitted to transport the ATV to planetary surfaces and back.

The ship has 14 staterooms (2 of which have been converted into the Countess’ suite), no low berths and an 11-ton cargo bay. While a type-Y requires a crew of four (Pilot, Engineer, Medic and Steward), the Countess has added a Navigator, a Gunner, an Aide and her Bodyguard to the crew roster. There are sufficient extra staterooms to allow up to four guests to accompany the Countess on her voyages; note that no-one uses the Countess’ quarters except for the Countess, whether or not she is on board.

Interior Details

Upper Deck – note that the amidships portion of this deck is domed; the fuel tanks extend into this upper area, above the staterooms on this deck.

Air/Raft Garage – An enclosed Air/Raft is housed here. The garage door can be opened from the bridge, from within the garage or by a coded signal from the Air/Raft. The crew will often launch the Ship’s Boat, and then have the Air/Raft fly from the garage to the Boat’s cargo bay, thus avoiding a long Air/Raft flight to a planet’s surface. The enclosed Air/Raft’s finish is mirror-like silver, with the windows indistinguishable from the craft’s body.
Access Corridor – the alcoves to either side of this location house controls for the ship’s life support and gravitics systems. There is an emergency access trunk behind a panel in the portside alcove; this trunk allows crew to get to any deck of the ship. The starboard alcove has a standard iris valve that leads to the corridor on the deck below.
Staterooms – four staterooms open off from the corridor here. Clockwise from aft portside, they are occupied by the ship’s Steward, the Navigator, no one (that is, a guest of the Countess) and the ship’s Medic.
Upper Lounge – this balcony is part of the ship’s lounge, a two-deck living area that takes up most of the bow area. A wet bar, lounging couch and several planters are present, and there is thick, beige carpeting on the floor. The view from here through the large forward viewports is often spectacular. A metal spiral staircase provides access to the lower deck of the lounge.

Main Deck – drives and vehicle bays take up much of this deck.

Hangar Bay – the Ship’s Boat docks here, behind folding bay doors. The doors can be opened from the Bridge or by a coded signal from the Boat. When the Boat is docked, cargo hatches on both sides and a passenger-loading hatch mate up with it allowing easy access.
Port Drive Bay – about half of the ship’s Jump, Maneuver and Power Plant drives are here. The deck is a maze of pipes and conduits, overlaid with easily removable gratings for maintenance access. An iris valve in the deck leads to the Workshop below.
ATV Garage – an ATV is housed here. When it is to be used on a planet surface, it is loaded into the Ship’s Boat sideways with a carry cradle built into the garage bulkheads. On some voyages, the Countess has been known to replace the ATV with a G-Carrier, luxury ground car or other special vehicle from her estate’s collection.
Portside Corridor – this corridor is usually the first part of the ship guests see, as most guests arrive on the Ship’s Boat. Fine wood paneling beautifies the equipment lockers here, and three comfortable guest staterooms open off of the corridor. Note the emergency access trunk immediately aft of this corridor; the access panel to it is hidden behind a painting of the Countess’ grandfather, in the uniform of an Imperial Admiral, standing on the bridge of a dreadnaught.
Ship’s Boat – this is a standard Ship’s Boat, fitted to carry six passengers and an ATV or ten tons of cargo. It is unarmed. An airlock and small fresher are just aft of the two-seat bridge. The Boat’s cargo hold sports a movable floor on an extensor arm, capable of deploying or retrieving an ATV sideways while on a planet surface.
Starboard Drive Bay – the rest of the ship’s drives are located here, as is the main engineering station. The ship’s engineer monitors and controls the drives from here, especially during Jump operations. An iris valve in the deck leads to the workshop on the deck below.
Cargo Bay – this cargo bay can carry about eleven displacement tons of cargo. Much of the bay is usually taken up by the Countess’ luggage, foodstuffs, clothing, recreational equipment and other gear, leaving little room for anything but her guests’ modest baggage. The portside bulkhead of this bay opens into the Hangar Bay, and mates with the cargo hold of the Ship’s Boat when it is present.
Starboard Corridor – wood-framed, glass-fronted cabinets line this corridor, holding the Countess’ collection of books and animal figurines. An iris valve in the decks above and below lead respectively to the upper deck (near area 2.) and the lower deck (near area 16.). The Countess’ Aide occupies the smaller stateroom that opens from the aft end of this corridor, while the Countess’ Suite (area 13.) opens off the corridor further forward.
Countess’ Suite – this large room is decorated in crystal and dark-hued, patterned animal fur. A 1-meter storage island divides the room, with some help from a sheet of crystalline sculpture (depicting a semi-abstract whorl of dancing human-like figures) that extends from the island to the deck above. The forward area is the Countess’ office, where she writes and does whatever work her estates require. Aft is her sleeping area, behind a curtain of crystalline beads. Above her bed is a large viewport, extending from above almost down to the sleeping surface. The rest of the surface above her bed is covered by a sculpture of metal and illuminated crystal rods.
Lounge – this is the main gathering place for the Countess and her guest. Area (a) is a compact but very functional galley, area (b) is a storage closet, and area (c) is the ship’s main airlock (seldom used, even for docking, as the Countess prefers to use the Ship’s Boat). The space is decorated with wood paneling, worked metal fittings, and dark-patterned animal furs. A fountain, decorated with sculptures of mythological creatures, fills the room on demand with the soothing sound of falling waters. A music keyboard and sound system for recordings is available as well. A large, comfortable couch is up against the aft bulkhead of this space, beneath the balcony of the upper lounge, with a long planter of colorful flowers above and behind it. The table in front of the couch is used for meals, games, or other activities; additional chairs are brought in as needed. The deck here is covered with a floral-patterned carpet, and above is the large forward viewports. A metal spiral staircase provides access to the balcony above.

Lower Deck – spaces for the ship’s crew, as well as the bridge.

Workshop – tools, equipment lockers, workbenches, all available to repair minor drive components and other things on the ship that need fixing. An airlock aft allows access to the exterior of the ship’s drives, while irises valves port and starboard allow access to the Drive Bays on the Main Deck.
Crew Commons – mess hall and recreation area for the crew of the Mistral’s Daughter. Most crew meals are prepared in the galley on the Main Deck and brought down to the Commons, but there is a beverage dispenser and some snack foods on hand. To port is the common fresher for the crew; note the access panel within that connects to the Emergency Access Trunk. To starboard, past some small storage lockers, is an iris valve above that leads to the Main Deck.
Access Corridor – leads from the Crew Commons to the Bridge. An iris valve beside the Bridge leads down to the Gunnery Deck. Crew staterooms, somewhat smaller and more simply appointed than the staterooms elsewhere on the ship, open off of this corridor. Clockwise from aft portside, they are assigned to the Ship’s Gunner, the Pilot, the Countess’ Bodyguard, and the Engineer.
Bridge – all ship functions are controlled from this location. The ship’s Computer is in a small compartment to port, and avionics bays extend aft along the hull of the ship.

Gunnery Deck – a small extension on the keel of the ship.

19. Hardpoint – fire control for the ship’s weapons. The iris valve aft leads up to the corridor just aft of the Bridge.

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