The Ark Angel

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The Ark Angel Starship data created by Facebook user Jeffrey Mueller.

An unorthodox vessel for a rogue archaeologist, The Ark Angel serves as the personal Starship of Doctor Aphra. Its space frame is based on a Clone Wars-era Bellicose-Class Heavy Lifter from Hoersch-Kessel; though the craft was originally designed to deploy Assault Droids from orbit, its powerful engines now lift entire vaults from the depths of ancient ruins, allowing Aphra to safely plunder their contents elsewhere.

Aphra's misadventures have earned her several enemies, from criminals and Rebels to the Empire itself. Several close calls have heavily damaged The Ark Angel, necessitating the replacement of major systems and entire sections. The original hull is nearly unrecognizable, rebuilt with a chimeric mix of components from Kuat Systems Engineering, MandalMotors, and the exotic Hapes Consortium. This makes The Ark Angel a truly unique Starship.

In addition, Aphra has customized The Ark Angel to serve as her mobile workshop and archaeology lab. Most of the ship's internal space is dedicated to these purposes. Precision tools and several original texts "borrowed" from prestigious universities help Aphra reactivate ancient technology. Hoersch-Kessel computer systems, already designed to interface with a variety of Droids, furnish the processing power needed to safely reprogram sophisticated Droids.

An eternal pessimist, Aphra has also upgraded the defensive systems. While the most visible upgrades are the refurbished Mandalorian Crusader-era laser turrets, Aphra has reinforced the lifter's shields and armor as well. The ship's Bellicose-Class power plant supplies all the energy needed by these enhanced systems.

Using The Ark Angel[]

The Ark Angel is primarily a highly capable armed transport. Despite its weapons, its crew rarely have anything to gain in a protracted fight. They usually flee combat at the ship's best speed, which, despite unwieldy handling, is surprising fast.

Aphra's continual exploits mean The Ark Angel can serve as a literal delivery mechanism for introducing all manner of adventures and calamities. The Ark Angel hosts the Assassin Droids 0-0-0 and BT-1, as well as the bounty hunter Black Krrsantan. The ship has also transported many well-known individuals, from Darth Vader to the heroes of the Rebellion and various scoundrels in between.

The crude but effective lifting power of this heavy lifter provides for surprising possibilities. Heroes mere hours behind Aphra on the hunt for ancient artifacts may arrive to see an entire structure hauled off under The Ark Angel.

Archaeologically inclined heroes encounter Doctor Aphra standing over several dead "partners" while exploring ancient ruins. Aphra notes the heroes' knowledge and skill before inviting them to join the crew of The Ark Angel, suggesting they combine efforts to track down a lost Holocron. Aphra has no intention of sharing the loot, however, and plans to betray the group at the last minute.
The heroes learn of a sizeable bounty on the crew of a ship matching The Ark Angel's description. The posting fails to inform them that their quarry is the rogue archaeologist and her deadly crew. Or is this a case of mistaken identity?