"Message to Spacers" is a new regular column that brings you new starships and space stations from throughout the Star Wars universe. Each article provides new statistics and descriptions to make it easy to use a particular ship or station in your game immediately.

XQ2 Space Platform

Bengel Shipbuilders XQ2 Platform

CL 16

Colossal (station) space station
Init –10; Senses Perception +5

* Apply a –20 penalty on attacks against targets smaller than Colossal in size.

Turbolaser battery (5 gunners)
Atk +2 (–18 against targets smaller than Colossal); Dmg 4d10 x 5

Point-defense laser cannon battery (3 gunners)
Atk +2; Dmg 3d10 x 2

The XQ2 Platform is a basic space station designed to act as a waypoint for travelers visiting highly populated planets. Designed for deployment just at the edge of the atmosphere of planets with heavy space traffic, the XQ2 Platform helps alleviate take off and landing traffic jams by regulating the flow of ships into and out of a star system. Many Core Worlds, such as Brentaal, have dozens of similar space platforms in low orbit, using them as cargo transit facilities and travel waypoints to keep traffic flowing smoothly.

Space platforms such as the XQ2 have relatively small crews and very few permanent residents; most of the people aboard a platform are there only temporarily. Some interstellar passenger lines use XQ2 Platforms as staging areas for their journeys, allowing passengers to take shuttles up to the platform before boarding larger liners that cannot enter a planet's atmosphere with ease. An XQ2 Platform is quite modular and can be adapted to suit passengers as well as large amounts of cargo.

The XQ2 Space Platform, as depicted in the Star Wars: X-wing Alliance computer game.

The XQ2 Platform features a large, cylindrical central structure flanked on three sides by landing platforms and docking bays. The upper section of the central area features an octagonal structure that houses the majority of the platform's living and passenger areas. Several decks in these areas have large windows that look out on the space surrounding the station, usually affording an excellent view of the planet below. Atop the livable area is a landing platform where larger ships can dock, connecting to the station via sealed conduits. A single large docking bay rests on the ventral side of the station, though in most cases it is used only if the three hangar bays are completely full.

At the core of its design, the XQ2 Platform has the capability to support a large number of passenger vessels and cargo haulers simultaneously. The three primary hangars face outward at angles that allow multiple ships to approach the station at once. Each hangar also features an external landing dock where smaller ships (such as starfighters and personal shuttles) can land and wait for clearance to enter the hangar bay, moving on repulsors to conserve fuel.

Each hangar bay can hold up to 20 ships of Colossal size or smaller. Additionally, a bay could accommodate a ship as large as a Corellian CR90 Corvette if space were cleared, though no other ships could comfortably dock in that hangar for the duration of the larger ship's stay. Each docked ship is afforded its own landing space, complete with refueling stations and cargo loaders at its disposal.

Station security monitors each docking bay closely from a central control tower, located one deck above the hangar bays. Unlike most control towers, the tower in the XQ2 Platform does not actually look out over the hangars, instead relying on electronic surveillance to keep tabs on each docking bay.

For a space station, the XQ2 is lightly defended, mostly because it serves more as a waypoint than as a strategic locale. The station has three turbolaser batteries to fend off capital ships, such as those used by pirates and mercenaries, and two point-defense laser batteries to protect against smaller vessels.

However, the station's primary defenses are its three starfighter squadrons. Though not every XQ2 has three full squadrons (some owners of the platform might not be able to afford that many fighters and pilots), the platform can support up to 36 defensive starfighters, in addition to any fighters that might be docked in the commercial bays. The fighter squadrons defending an XQ2 Platform usually reside in the ventral docking bay, launching from the bottom of the station at the first sign of trouble.

History

The XQ2 Platform is the successor to the popular XQ1 series and began production shortly after the start of the Galactic Civil War. Since businesses and organizations bought the XQ1 Platform in large numbers, engineers at Bengel Shipbuilders turned their attention to refining the design concepts and upgrading them with the company's newfound wealth. The result was the XQ2, which provides more cargo space, more living space, and more amenities than its predecessor.

The XQ1 Space Platform, as depicted in the Star Wars: X-wing Alliance computer game.

When production of the XQ2 was announced, orders came in at a rate so high that Bengel Shipyards had to cut off new orders to meet the existing demand. The XQ2 Platform's increased stability and comfort level also encouraged some wealthy businesses to replace their XQ1 models (which, at the time, were less than five years old).

Unfortunately, Bengel Shipbuilders fell victim to its own success. Unable to keep up with the demands of their customers, the company leased shipbuilding facilities from other shipyards, such as Kuat Drive Yards and the Corellian Engineering Corporation. After a time, it was so indebted to these other shipyards that it collapsed financially.

With the company bankrupt and production of the XQ2 grinding to a halt, two other companies swooped in to obtain the rights to the platform's design. The Tenloss Corporation purchased Bengel Shipbuilders outright and transferred all of its engineers to Tenloss holdings. However, the owners of Bengel Shipbuilders sold the design for the XQ3 Platform (the follow-up to the XQ2) to Xizor Transport System, a move that left the Tenloss Corporation none too pleased. However, the XQ Platform series continued under the Tenloss Corporation, with future models designed by the platforms' original engineering team.

Bengel Shipbuilders

Bengel Shipbuilders rose to galactic prominence with the introduction of its XQ1 Space Platform. Based out of the Dynali Sector, Bengel Shipbuilders produced the first of the famous XQ series for their home planet's use, hoping to alleviate some of the space traffic above the tectonically active world of Ord Thoden. The original versions of the XQ1 Platform were quite small and intended for use only by space transports.

However, when Corporate Sector Authority scouts visited Ord Thoden and saw how efficiently the XQ1 served as a stopover point for travelers, they contacted their government and transmitted data on the platforms. Within weeks, Bengel Shipbuilders began producing XQ1 Platforms for planets throughout the Corporate Sector, and at the request of its customers, expanded the dimensions of the XQ1 to accommodate small capital ships.

XQ2 Space Platforms in the Galaxy

XQ2 Platforms can be found everywhere from the Core to the Outer Rim. The Corporate Sector purchased a large number of XQ2 Platforms from Bengel Shipbuilders before the Tenloss Corporation bought them out, and most of the working XQ2s can be found in planets throughout the sector. Additionally, some Core planets use the XQ2 to regulate the large amounts of traffic through their star systems, and these platforms (such as Sel Zonn Station, above the world of Brentaal) act as gatekeepers to Imperial planets.

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