Little Duckling
The Little Duckling is the flagship of the The Red Flag Fleet captained by Hsing Jenlee. She had it commissioned and built in an out of the way port village somewhere near Sashiminto not long after she took control of the fleet. On a whim, she ironically named her new flagship "The Little Duckling," thinking that the sight of a huge pirate ship so named would be either confusing or terrifying. Also, the name amused her. It is a huge five-masted, junk-rigged ship constructed of teak. Its sail panels are woven of thick red silk, and red flags with the symbols in black of the Red Flag Fleet and Hsing Jenlee fly from its masts.
The Little Duckling is not a fast sailing ship; it is primarily a siege and cargo ship. Other ships of the Red Flag fleet are usually employed to chase down and stop ships on the high seas until the Little Duckling arrives to finish off defenses, if necessary, and then to collect pirated cargo and treasure.
Propulsion
The Little Duckling is primarily wind powered, but it also has oar stations for up to 100 rowers for situations where the wind is unfavorable or undependable. The rowers are able to provide a burst of speed for short distances when capturing another ship, to escape danger, or to gain a tactical advantage over another ship.
Weapons & Armament
The Little Duckling carries a large mangonel (traction trebuchet) able to launch 20 lb (10 kg) stone projectiles up to 350 feet (107 meters) or lighter flaming projectiles even further. The large stone projectiles crashing down on the decks of other ships are able to kill and maim sailors, destroy masts and rigging, and even sink other ships. The mangonel is used sparingly against other ships, however, as the pirates of the Red Flag Fleet aim to capture other ships, rather than destroy them. It is used frequently against the fortifications of towns and villages raided by the pirates.
The ship is constructed with high prow and stern decks, from which archers and crossbowmen can shoot down onto the decks of other ships. Along its sides, it carries long ropes equipped with iron grappling hooks and boarding bridges equipped with iron hooks used for capturing and boarding other ships. The crew carries crossbows, bows, and cutlasses for ranged and hand-to-hand combat.
Armor and defense
The Little Duckling has no armor or defenses, other than the thick and stout teak hull.
Hangars & docked vessels
The Little Duckling carries four rowboats of about 20 feet (6 meters) in length used to transport crew and goods to shore at locations where there are no suitable docks. It also carries two smaller rowboats when deploying the larger boats is inconvenient or their capacity is not needed.
The Little Duckling with the Red Flag Fleet by Mike Boss
Motto
"TRUTH"
Creation Date
Construction started in 9150 and was completed in 9152.
Owner
Owning Organization
Current location
Rarity
Unique
Width
82 feet (25 meters)
Length
230 feet (70 meters)
Height
180 feet (55 meters)
Weight
3000 tons (2700 metric tonnes) displacement
Speed
2.5 knots (2.9 mph, 4.6 kph)
Complement / Crew
400
Cargo & Passenger Capacity
1400 tons (2.8 million pounds, 1.3 million kg, 1270 metric tonnes)
So of course I have to comment on the name. Adorable. But what I really love about this ship is the fact that it is slow. It lets the other ships hunt down the pirates and then it comes in to finish them off. Aside from historical military examples, there are a lot of hunting dogs that follow the same tactics of of fast ones going in to cripple for a different larger hound to come in and finish. This article puts the vessel inside a structure with an aspect of the job it can't do and that is great.
Thanks for the nice comment! I appreciate the encouragement and feedback.