ICS Vanguard (and ICS Valiance)
 Orion IV-class Command Superdreadnought Mass: 22,780,000 metric tonnes Dimensions: 3200m x 600m x 500m Fusion Drive Maximum Speed: 150 km/sec Gravitic Drive Maximum Speed: 0.4c FTL Maximum Speed: 200,000c Armament: 16x8 Heavy Missile Battery; 24x4 150mm Plasma Grav Cannon; 4x120mm Particle Beam; 16x90mm Particle Beam; 100 meter Nova Beam Shield Integrity: 2211.84mt Shield Regen: 36.864mt/sec Armor: 552.96mt Starfighter Compliment: 96 --- Intrepid-class Fleet Courier Mass: 35,700 tonnes Dimensions: 95m x 23.7m x 8.5m Fusion Drive Maximum Speed: 350 km/sec Gravitic Drive Maximum Speed: 0.6c FTL Maximum Speed: 500,000c Armament: 4x2 15mm Plasma Grav Cannon; 4 25mm Plasma Grav Cannon; 1 15mm Particle Beam Shield Integrity: 4.32mt Shield Regen: 72kt/sec Armor: 2.16mt ICS Vanguard and ICS Valiance have only a handful of things in common, yet somehow people still manage to get their names mixed up from time to time. Amongst their shared traits are their owner (one Admiral J. Starluck), their home universe, and the fact that both ships are completely AI-controlled. That's about where it ends. Vanguard is an Orion-class command superdreadnought (although they are frequently referred to as "starcruisers" back home). While she is approximately the same size as other FLEET vessels of the same class, she is built from a drastically weaker tech-base. Her shields, while incredibly powerful by her own standards, barely exceed those of a FLEET frigate. Her weaponry is not only weaker, but also has a maximum range orders of magnitude lower than her peers. But even with her shortfallings, she is still more than a match than anything the Adversary could throw at her. And while she may lack in some regards, she excels in others. Her gravitic drives, while they cannot function in close proximity to planets and stars, can maintain a deep-space velocity that even FLEET battlecruisers would envy. Her long-range sensors are nothing to be ashamed of, and she is one of the few ships in-system that was designed explicitly for a command role. Vanguard arrived in-system with no actual crew (she has since taken on damage-control teams and other FLEET personnel to ease operational stresses). Almost all of her functions are controlled by her AI, named Kaisera. The more menial aspects of running the 23 million ton starship are essentially instinct for Kaisera, and she is capable of multi-tasking to the point that she is just as effective in combat as a human crew. While designed primarily as a combat ship, Vanguard also has limited refinery and factory capabilities; provided with the right raw materials, she can produce her own spare parts, ammunition and fuel. Prior to her meeting FLEET, this allowed her to operate independent of any bases or support ships, but these days it just means she takes up very little of the budget. At present, her massive size means she is stationed out at Titan Base as the local flagship. Valiance, on the other hand, is a speedy little courier, designed to relay information in a home galaxy without FTL comms. Her combat capabilities are even less impressive than Vanguard's, but like her larger cousin she is still capable of taking the fight to the enemy with gusto. She is particularly adept at operating in proximity to non-Board/FLEET sensors, as her shields have a stealth mode that render her invisible to all but the most sensitive EM sensors (i.e. modern radar). Given her decent passenger capacity, she can serve as a fast dropship in a pinch, and provide fire support once the troops are on the ground. Aside from that, her other assets are her speed. Her slower-than-light gravdrives are on-par with FLEET standards, but her hyperstatic drives are capable of some of the fastest speeds in the fleet. As such, Greystar (her AI) finds himself occasionally assigned to messenger duty, dashing back and forth between the Sol system and any of FLEET's many and varied homeworlds. |