The Rebel Faction

Messiah ACSS

Craft: Messiah-class Advanced Combat Support Ship

Combat Abbreviation: MACSS

Mission Profile: Heavy Support Vessel/Command Ship

Designer/Manufacturer: Imperial R&D Department

Retail Price: Not available for sale. Produced exclusively for the New Order.

Consumables: 6 years

Cargo Capacity: 95 000 Metric Tonnes

Length Over All: 4500 meters

Sublight Speed (Cruising): 6 MGLT

Sublight Speed (Flank): 8 MGLT

Sublight Speed (Emergency Full): 12 MGLT

Hyperdrive Motivator (Main): x1

Hyperdrive Motivator (Backup): x8

Shield Integrity: 26 000 SBD

Hull Integrity: 20 000 RU

Weapons:
<ul><li> 120 Heavy Turbolaser Batteries
<li> 125 Heavy Turbolasers
<li> 40 Heavy Ion Cannon Batteries
<li> 80 Quad Laser Cannons on FastReflex Mounts
<font size=1>(anti-starfighter)</font>
<li> 4 High-Output Gravity Well Projectors
<li> 150 Phalanx Anti-Missile Gatling Cannons</ul>

Hanger Capacity:
<ul><li> 50 Sqaudrons Starfury Assault Starfighters
OR
<li> 10 Sqaudrons TIE Series Starfighters
<li> 12 Lambda Shuttles
<li> 18 Landing Craft</ul>

Troop Capacity:
<ul><li> 18 000 Stormtroopers
<font size=1>(including two full mechanicalized divisions and six prefabricated garrison bases)</font>
<li> 2600 Fleet Troopers for Shipboard Defence</ul>

Additional Equipment:
<ul><li> Matrix Anti-Interdictor Pulse Generator
<li> Ion/EMP Protection System
<li> Cold Plasma Armour
<li> Reactive Shielding
<li> Multi Track Shielding
<li> Gauntlet Interior Defence Network
<li> Starfury Pilot Station Network</ul>


Explanations

High Output Gravity Well Projectors

Working on the same basic principal of the Immobilizer 418 Heavy Cruiser, the High Output Gravity Well Projectors generate a sphere of gravitational energy that prevents enemy vessels from making the jump to hyperspace. These generators have been developed to produce larger fields of gravitational energy, thus causing entire planetary systems (one world) to be blanketed by the effects of the weapon.


Phalanx Anti-Missile Point Defence Gatling Laser Network

The Phalanx, is made up of a network of small, turreted light blaster cannons. These weapons are very able to pick out missiles and destroy them from long range. The Phalanx System reduces the percentage of successful short-range missile strikes to less than 20%, and long-range attacks to under 5%.


Matrix Anti-Interdictor Pulse Generator

The Matrix is a device designed to counteract the effects of artificial gracity wells. With the use of such vessels as the Immobilizer 418 Cruisers and other ships equipped with Interdiction devices, the Imperial Engineering Corps. set about developing a method to counteract these weapons.

Working on the same basis as the gravity well generators themselves, the Matrix scans for and detects these artificial mass shadows. They then produce a wave, or pulse, of gravity in a stronger varient.

When the Matrix produces its pulse of gravity, it directly affects the gravity well projectors. It's something like putting a magnet beside a compass - the conflicting gravity waves create a sort of neutral gravity zone.

When the Interdictors attempt to stabalize the gravity well (an automatic function), they overload and short out. The device's range is equivilent to that of an Interdictor's own gravity wells, allowing to effect any ships whose wells it is trapped in. Recalibration of the Interdictor Generator is required to re-establish the feild.

Obviously, the ships' gravity wells must be shut down in order to utilize this weapon. However, the neccessary shunting of power to the Matrix creates an inperceptable energy spike that easily reads on enemy sensors.

<font color=red size=1>Note: The Matrix device is also a recognized R&D in its own right, and therefor should be listed seperately from the Messiah ACSS.</font>

Ion/EMP Protection System

State-of-the art ion and EMP dispersing technology. Imperial engineers became aware that ion cannons and EMP weapons could be devestating against Imperial ships, and set about correcting it.

The solution was to line the inner hull with special ulithium plating, which effectively reduces the damage done by an ion and/or EMP barrage.


Cold Plasma Armour

Cold Plasma Armour uses, as the name implies, cold plasma to protect a ship. Waste emissions from the vessel’s engines are routed to output areas in the hull, microscopic holes that release the plasma into space. Upon encountering the vacuum, the plasma freezes across the hull, creating a resilient layer of amour. Energy weapons burn through this in seconds, but it does serve as an additional deterrent to projectile weapons systems.


Reactive Shielding

Reactive shielding is a system designed to protect the Messiah from energy weapons. When the vessel’s shields are raised, a special battery bank is charged along with them. Then, when computers detect a substantial bombardment against any section of the vessel, the shield is immediately recharged with stored energy from this bank.


Multi Track Shielding

Multi Track Shielding uses a dedicated targeting computer imbedded in the shielding system to track approaching enemies and calculate approximate damage. The system automatically them distributes shields for maximum damage resistance. Combined with reactive shielding, this system gives the Messiah an unprecedented edge in battle.


Gauntlet Interior Defence Network

The Gauntlet is a complex system of internal safety to protect the Messiah from would-be boarders. Drop down repeating blasters are located in every corridor, along with gravity traps, nerve gas capsules, and decompression systems.


Starfury Pilot Station Network

A system developed by the Galactic Defence Initiative that has now found its way into the hands of the Empire, the SPSN is a system designed to allow remote controlled piloting of fighters.

This system works only with the Starfury Class of fighters, and utilizes fighter pilots working from inside simulator modules to remote control ships.

Due to the sheer number of fighters carried (due to their small size), launch and recovery time is slightly longer than that of other capital ships.


Background Information

After the Wrath epidemic and the fall of the New Empire, Imperial designers began to recognize the need for an intermediate capital combat ship that was larger than the Reign and Imperator Star Destroyers that formed the core of the Imperial Navy, yet still less expensive than the massive Venerator Command Destroyers.

Multiple designs were drawn up, but a suitable candidate for the role was not found until the Empire crushed the Holy Demosthesian Empire and seized that faction’s databanks. Contained therein were designs for the Holy Empire’s intermediate warship, the four and a half kilometre Messiah.

The design was scorned by many Imperial Engineers initially, but following production of a prototype vessel the plans were put into final drafting and the vessel is scheduled to enter full production within a year.

The Messiah Advanced Combat Support Ship has two lateral landing bays for deployment of the vessel’s starfighters, set just behind the ‘wings’, and a large ventral bay for the deployment of ground troops and equipment. There are also three smaller bays for personal ships, special forces vessels, and captured vehicles, located just behind the ventral landing bay.

The Messiah makes use of the former Galactic Defence Initiative’s Starfury program, a starship design intended to be operated remotely from ‘mother-ship’ vessels like the Messiah. These tiny fighters provide the ACSS with several times the number of starfighters than equivalent or larger enemy vessels can carry, althought the landing bays can be set to accommodate ten squadrons of regular starfighters if necessary.

Following the design of the Messiah, several new systems were redrawn and will be adapted to the Empire’s Reign Star Destroyers and Venerator Star Destroyers when the second generation of those capital ships are released.