The Kenderson as presented in the Legionnaire rulebook.
The Kenderson´s image in the Renegade Legions Fighter Briefing.
Kenderson 3d fanart model by Chris Hauser.
The Kenderson is a medium Commonwealth and Renegade Legion fighter based on the older Penetrator. With its laser-based weapons loadout it is designed to complement its predecessor, which is armed with low-penetration particle cannon. The two fighters work well in conjunction and are often grouped together in mixed squadrons.
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Etymology[]
The Kenderson is named for Sesutra Kenderson, the CAF general who led the spirited defense of Saguntum III in 6815 that slowed the TOG invasion of Shannedam County and threw the Empire´s plans of conquest off kilter.
Deployment[]
When the Kenderson was first issued to units in 6827, it took TOG military intelligence only three months to acquire an intact fighter by blackmailing Donald Recman, one of the pilots. A refugee from Wuj, Recman had had to leave his family behind; the Lictor managed to capture them and force Recman to defect to TOG with his fighter. Two months later, Recman and his family died in a tragic fire in their home, which was blamed on Renegade arsonists.
TOG analysts were very interested in the Kenderson´s new avionics and fire control systems, which were duplicated and are used now in TOG´s CWTP fighter.
Design Philosophy and Tactical Role[]
The Kenderson´s top, front and side (cutaway and wing) view. Picture is fanart.
The Kenderson´s predecessor, the Penetrator medium fighter, was introduced at a time where particle weapons were new and innovative. It mounted both Electron and Neutron particle cannon, which made it effective at both short and long range. Only after several years of deployment, the Penetrator´s weapons loadout revealed its drawbacks, namely that the weapons lacked the ability to pierce armour deeply enough to wound an enemy fighter early in the battle. It was realized that a mix of lasers and particle weapons was the optimal combination to undercut large pieces of armour on enemy craft.
Rather than redesign the fighter from scratch, which was already in wide distribution, the Joint Commonwealth and Renegade Fighter Operation Board (JCRFOB) simply went to commission a medium fighter able to support and complement the Penetrator. The result was the Kenderson, based largely on the Penetrator´s frame, with the characteristic heat dissipation grids of the parent model offset at an angle to put more space between the cockpit and the weapons. (An interim model, the Retaliator, went into limited production but was largely superseded by the Kenderson.[1])
The Kenderson carries four powerful laser cannon, two of which have a longer crystal for greater focus and longer range. This was done to let the Kenderson open fire at the same range as the Penetrator´s Neutron cannon. A light mass driver and two hardpoints complement the weapons loadout; those were added to give the Kenderson the limited ability to undercut armour even when operating without its partner model. The fighter´s main intention is to score a few deep hits on enemy craft, which then can be exploited as an opening to underscore armour with the accompanying Penetrator´s particle cannon.
While the engines are largely the same as those on the Penetrator, they had to be equipped with a radiation damper and their output reduced to avoid interference with the laser crystals. Because of this, the Kenderson is a tad slower at 6g. It can usually keep up with its counterpart´s deployment speed. For hit-and-run strike situations, it usually carries transponder-guided missiles to throw off enemy pursuers, guarding the Penetrators´ retreat.
The Penetrator and Kenderson share many basic systems and components with each other (and the Retaliator[1]), greatly facilitating maintenance and supply for mixed squadrons. Similar size and mass mean that they can share fighter docking facilities with ease even aboard cramped vessels like the Solstice patrol carrier, with only minimal reconfiguration of the bays.
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Legionnaire RPG Values: Kenderson Standard Variant[]
| Hit Location | Sub-Location | Damage Boxes / Damage |
|---|---|---|
| [1] Structure | - | [][][][][] [][][][][] [][][][][] |
| [2] FTL Drive | - | None |
| [3] Shields | - | [][][][][] |
| [4] Engines / Thrust | - | [][][][][] [] ::: Thrust 6 g |
| [5] Armour | - | [][][][][] [][] |
| [6] Crew | Pilot | [][][][][] |
| [7] Weapon Computers | - | [][][][] |
| [8] Sensors | - | [][][] |
| [9] Life Support | - | [][][] |
| [10] Weapons | [1] 5/4 Laser | Damage 4 |
| - | [2] 5/4 Laser | Damage 4 |
| - | [3] 3/5 Laser | Damage 4 |
| - | [4] 3/5 Laser | Damage 4 |
| - | [5] MDC-8 | Damage 5 |
| - | [6] Hardpoint | * |
| - | [7] Hardpoint | * |
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Leviathan Values: Kenderson Standard Variant[]
Unlike the Penetrator, the Kenderson is pretty much at home in a close-in slugfest between capital ships and fighter groups. Its complementary deployment with the Penetrator means that it is often found on raiding missions and strikes as well, entering a system on a carrier and making a quick snipe at an installation.
| Group (72 Fighters) | Armour | Missile Attack Value | CRA | LRA | Thrust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armour Row 6 | [][][][][][] [][][][][][] [][]---- - | 100 | 130 | 101 | 6 |
| Armour Row 5 | [][][][][][] [][][][][]- ---- | - | 108 | 84 | - |
| Armour Row 4 | [][][][][][] [][]---- - | - | 86 | 67 | - |
| Armour Row 3 | [][][][][][] ---- | - | 65 | 50 | - |
| Armour Row 2 | [][][][]-- -- | - | 43 | 34 | - |
| Armour Row 1 | [][]---- | - | 22 | 17 | - |
| Flight (24 Fighters) | Armour | Missile Attack Value | CRA | LRA | Thrust |
| Armour Row 3 | [][][][][][] []--- | 25 | 43 | 34 | 8 |
| Armour Row 2 | [][][][][]- -- | - | 29 | 22 | - |
| Armour Row 1 | [][][]--- | - | 14 | 11 | - |
| Squadron (6 Fighters) | Armour | Missile Attack Value | CRA | LRA | Thrust |
| Armour Row 1 | [][][][]-- | 10 | 11 | 8 | 10 |
| Single Fighter Values | Armour | Missile Hardpoints | CRA | LRA | Thrust |
| Kenderson | 63 | 2 | 36 | 28 | 6 |
Mixed flights of Penetrators, Kendersons and the near-obsolete Defenders are a common sight; the three classes share parts and internal features, and are often deployed together.
Annotations[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Retaliator is a fan-made fighter craft and in no way canon.