boarding actions

Some extra comments:

How to take a civilian ship:

Figure that a cruise ship will have little external 
ordinance, maybe a PDS or class-1. OTOH, 
figure that it _will_ have a state of the art 
antipiracy system. It will have some security 
people (armed, but maybe not heavily 
armoured) and it will have the gizmos like grav 
field control, internal weaponry to protect key 
areas, etc. These are the kind of ships people 
insure for lots of money and some level of 
appropriate internal defence is a good idea. 

Explorers on the rim might have a high 
percentage of their crew armed (the ones who 
go on away missions may be very used to 
firearms use). 

Now, bulk tankers and bulk freighters may be a 
little easier, but even they would have some 
weapons aboard. 

If you want to avoid damaging the ship you are 
capturing, you take:

1) shotguns or conventional weapons firing 
Glaser ammo (Beth: Glaser is conventional 
round containing shot suspended in Teflon - 
very short range, very high Kinetic Energy to 
target, not much overshoot - developed for use 
by Counter-Terrorist forces taking hostage 
loaded planes)

2) Tasers, laser-based strobing Tasers, 9V stun 
guns

3) grenades... but not conventional ones. Sleep 
Gas grenades (skin absorbtive so a mask is no 
defence), fragmentation grenades using plastic 
fragments (deadly to anyone unarmoured, but 
safe for armoured people and equipment), or 
stun grenades, also if you think you have better 
vision kit, obscurant grenades (blind the 
enemy). From the non-lethal in-development 
arsenal: Sticky Web grenades (spider gunk), 
expanding hardening foam grenades, Slippery 
Gunk grenades (can't stand up... keystone 
cops). 

4) take non lethal weapons like dart guns with 
tranq rounds, blinding lasers (ouch), 
conventional weapons with rubber or wax 
bullets, shotguns with beanbag rounds, GL's 
loaded with rubber battons (a 40mm baton can 
really ruin your day....), and of course a good 
supply of 1" thick oak sticks about 2.5' long. 
(Nothing beats a good stick). 

Your attack (assuming internal assistance) 
would focus on disabling the anti-piracy system 
to let your external guys aboard. Without that, 
you have to come in facing the anti-piracy 
system and crew. You'd make a lot of use of 
your superior armour and heavy firepower - 
use LOTS of stun grenades. They won't bother 
your armoured guys, but they'll beat up 
unarmoured people and guys in civilian vacc 
suits. 

PS - Derek, John A. had one thing right.... the 
infantry do become real respectful of engineers 
when there is a minefield in the way. I mean, at 
a press, we (R031 Infanteer) could just herd 
the engineers in one at a time to clear a path....

"Boom"
Infantry: "Next Engineer!"

 ... and then get on with the _real_ work! ;) 

(But this delves into yet another religious war 
which is the military MOS war - the equivalent of 
the computer OS wars, or the gaming system 
arguments..... and equally unlikely to go 
anywhere.....)

Tomb. 
---------------------------------------------
Thomas Barclay
Co-Creator of http://www.stargrunt.ca 
Stargrunt II and Dirtside II game site
"In God We Trust... on Cold Steel We Depend."