FT-Shiva option/starfire designs

I have just finished reading the shiva option for the third time (only
got
it on friday, after all), and was thinking of ways to replicate some of
the
systems/weapons used in said book in FT ship designs. I was specifically
reading the book about the "E" class suicide ships, and how to represent
their high dammage potential and ablity to destroy attacking fighters,
when
I realised we already had a mechanic for such in the game system in the
shape of the PH plasma bolts. Instead of firing the plasma bolts, we
have a
system mounted onboard the ship, that when activated, destroys the ship
mounting it, and causes 1D6 dammage to any object within 6MU. This would
not
be able to be intercepted by PDS (unlike the PH PBL`s), due to it being
a
one shot only suicide device. I would also make it that the area of
effect
is 6MU, even using vector rules (to ensure destruction of fighters). If
you
do wish to reduce the area of effect, we can say that it will destroy
fighters within 6MU, and dammage other ships/objects only within 3MU (to
represent the fragility of fighters). Also, I would make this system
detonate if dammaged by enemy fire or needle beams. And there is nothing
to
say you couldn`t mount more than one on each ship. Mass/Cost?, unsure,
but I
would make it the same as a PH PBL at 4 mass and 20 cost. Before someone
says it`s too powerful, remember it`s a one shot only suicide weapon,
requiring said ship to get very close to it`s target. As such, a firecon
would not be required (after all, the crew would be able to see from the
sensors when to trigger it). As for why a mass of 4 I decided upon, it
was
because it would fit in my WARPHAWK pods very nicely (mass of 8, 1
firecon,
1 hull, 1 drive, 1 FTL, and a weapons payload of either 1 SMR, or 2 MT
missiles, or 1 suicide charge, and a thrust of only 3). And fitting said
weapons to a pod like I just descibed would also make a good AMBAMP
(Anti
Mine Balistic Antimatter Missile Pod), because it would destroy any mine
within 6MU of said pod (same as fighters).

The other thing I`ve been thinking about is the datalink systems. For
standard datalink, the ADFC works okey, but the command datalink would
need
something different. Heres my first thoughts on such a system. Command
datalink would consist of a master computer/communication system abord
one
ship (or fort/spacestation), and a slave system aboard 5 other ships
within
6MU of it. This would tie together all the 6 ships (one squadren, for me
anyway) together as on for PDS fire, and allow the PDS to intercept ANY
incoming targets as one target. This would replicate the function of
ADFC,
but also allow any wasted PDS rolls to be used against another threat
(EG-3PDS roll 7 kills agaist a fighter squad, the extra kill could be
used
against either another fighter squad or incoming SM`s or MT missiles).
Remember this is over the entire squadren of ships. But the ships must
be
within 6MU of each other to do this (for the entire squadren, not within
6MU
of the next ship). As a advantage, I would also allow this system to
allow a
ship to use the firecons of any ship within the datalink groups to fire
it`s
own weapons, even if it`s firecons were destroyed. These would only last
as
long as the datalink was operational. If a slave system was destroyed,
that
ship is on it`s own, and the rest of the squadren cannot use it`s PDS,
and
if the master system was destroyed, the entire system would be
destroyed.
Due to the delicate/complicated nature of the computer systems involved,
these systems could not be repaired by DCP`s if destroyed by needle
beams or
threshold dammage. To plug another ship (commad or slave) into a net
would
require said ship to roll a 6 on a D6, with a +1 for every turn it
attempts
to do so (6 on the first turn, 5 on the second, and so on. Meaning that
restoration of the net is guarateed after 6 turns). Mass/Cost? Unsure,
but
thinking of 3 MAss for slave system, and 6 for the master, with a cost
of x6
mass (these are very high tech/expensive computer systems, after all).

Comments/critisisms/ideas anyone?

BIF
(thinking up ways to scare his players with some very nasty alien "bugs"
out
of the novels <G>).