The Rebel Faction

TNO - Articus class Command Carrier

Name: Articus class Long Range Stand off Carrier

Designation: ASC-LR

Mission Profile: Multi-Role Deep Space Command Carrier

Producer: TNO

Dimensions:
Length: 275 meters
Width: 75 meters
Height: 75 meters

Crew:
Gunners: 50
Sailors: 25
Engineers: 25
Others: 100
Total: 200

Consumables: 6 months

Cargo Capacity: 250 metric tonnes

Armament:
6 Long-Range Heavy Turbolaser Cannons
12 Delayed Action General Purpose Warhead Launchers
5 Dual Laser Cannons
2 Tractor Beam Projectors

Hangar Capacity:
1xSquadron (12) of starfighters
6xshuttles

Troop/Passenger Capacity:
1 company (100) of troops or passengers

Communications Array:
Holonet Station
Long-Range Intra-System multi-pule channel communications set
Advanced High-powered jamming/anti-jamming set.

Sensors Array:
Deep Space sonar array
multi-directional high powered doppler radar arrays

Propulsion:
4 KDY medium ion drive engines
Standard military hyperdrive motivator
Sublight Speed: 40 MGLT
Hyperdrive Rating: 2.0 Past Lightspeed

Protection:
Novaldex Shield Generator/Projector
Titanium woven reinforced Durasteel hull armour
Shield Rating: 750 SBD
Hull Rating: 250 RU

Special Systems:
Naval Anti-Instrusion System

Description:

The Articus class Carrier is designed as a multi-role combat support ship, with a variety of functions that any Imperial commander will find useful. The ship is designed roughly similar in shape to an Escort carrier, only smaller. The ship is built around a hangar bay, with the entrance to the bay in the bow of the ship. Working backwards from there, in the middle is located the crew quarters, and hangar storage areas. In the after section are located the engines, while the topside has a bridge structre.

The first noticeable thing about the carrier is it's unique array of armament. Since this ship is designed as a carrier and command ship, the only suitable weapons to be fitted to it would be long range or short range weapons, and this vessel mounts both. Six long range heavy turbolaser cannons are mounted on the forward section of the ship, two on the bow above and below the hangar entrance, and two on each side, mounted side-by-side in a slight hull extension packet. These turbolaser cannons can fire extremley long distances before they start to lose their effective punch, but the trade off comes in their rate of fire. In order to generate a charge sufficent to throw such energy a long distance, the cannons are only able to fire once every three minutes. Generally, for the best amount of damage achievable, these cannons are fired in volley mode.

In addition to the turbolaser cannons, the ship also mounts twelve general purpose warhead launchers. These launchers are unique in that the tube is extended backwards in order to accomodate a magnetic spring-coil launcher. The torpedo, rocket, or missile in question is propelled out of the tube with a delayed activation time, already targeted on said capital ship or station, and when the warhead is propelled to within five kilometers of it's target, it activates and proceeds on it's merry way. Again, in order to maximize damage, a volley fire method is usually used. Each tube has a magazine of up to ten or fourteen warheads, depending on the type carried.

Finally, for self defense, the Articus has five twin laser cannons mounted on fast-reflex mounts, designed for use against starfighters and enemy warheads. There are four mounted amidships, with any three able to fire in a single direction, and a fifth one, mounted on the after part of the ship. In additon to the weapons, a complex fire control direction is incorporated into the ship, which taking advantage of the long range advanced sensors built into the ship, is able to coordinate the firing of the heavy turbolasers and the long range warhead launchers in order to cause as much maximum damage as possible.

The sensors and communications arrays built onto the Articus are complex and advanced compared to standard military sets. The communications array is packed with a one hundred channel set, complete with holonet stations and long-range inter-system communiques, everything a command staff needs in order to run a battle. In addition to this, a powerful jamming station is also present, with the ability to find and jam 95% of enemy transmissions within a planetery radius and also has the reverse capability to block enemy jamming signals, thus relieving the pressure on friendly communications channels. The jamming relay works as a normal jammer would, finding enemy channels and then inserting into them a loud and constant burst of static. What makes this system so effective is that it can block upwards of twenty five channels at once. The anti-jamming device is a machine that detects a source of enemy jamming signals, then fires compact, powerful waves of radio signals at the source to overwhelm the frequency and volume of the enemy jammer, rendering it useless as long as the anti-jammer is activating. Note that the jammer and anti-jammer cannot be activated at the same time. The sensor suite is mainly designed to detect cloaked threats near or approaching the command vessel, with a DEPADS (DEep sPace Anamoly Detector System, that has a sonar effect, but for deep space) and doppler array provided, mounted on the bottom side of the carrier. The DEPADs array sends out a constant series of pulses throughout the system, energy waves that bounce off of any solid object and direct back to the carrier. Doing this may or may not detect the cloaked ship, as some ships have hulls designed to absorb or dissipate sonar-effect signals. The doppler radar is a modified form of the DEPADs, sending out a series of low powered pulses in a smaller area. While Doppler may be a short range device only, the higher frequency of waves means that a better fix will be able to be provided on a cloaked or stealth vessel. Note also that because of their lower power, Doppler waves are also harder to absorb than the normal high powered sonar-effect pulses.

With a command role in mind, the hangar bay of the Articus is designed mainly to accomodate shuttles of the commanders that are either aboard her or that could meet with the ship at anytime. The carrier, in addition to the starfighter squadron used for defence of the ship, can carry at one time up to six lambda type or similar sized shuttles. Just behind the hangar bay is located the main crew quarters, which include sleeping and refresher cabins, a mess hall, and an entertainment room which includes holo game tables and a dual purpose movie hall/conference room. Additional cabins allows for up to one hundred passengers or troops to be embarked, and would allow commanders visiting the ship to stay overnight without any problems. Abaft of these sections are the main ship storage, which can accomodate supplies that can sustain the crew and ship for six month sorties, and a cargo hold that can contain up to five hundred metric tonnes of containerized goods.

Behind the crew and storage quarters is located the main drive reactor for the vessel. The reactor is powerful for a ship this size, but isn't powerful enough to allow all of the ship's functions to activate at the same time. For reasons of common sense therefore, with said systems interfereing with one another's performance, the sensors and heavy weapon systems cannot be active at the same time as the propulsion systems, although the former or latter can be held at stand-by status in case of the need to switch to the other in a hurry. The bridge of the vessel is mounted topsides, and functions as said bridge and war room at the same time. There is a 360 degree view of space around the war room, and in addition to the normal crew stations there is a large open area in the middle of room where several screen stations, holotables, and a large holo-projector table is located, in order to give commanders a full in-system account of the battle and other areas of interest. Torwards the rear of the bridge is located the communications array.

The propulsion for the ship is present in the form of four ion engines, each one mounted on the top, bottom, port, or starboard side of the ship, the idea in this arrangement being to cut down on turn times and to allow the ship to perform a wide-array of manuevers and evasions. The engines allow the ship to travel at a moderate rate of speed, although the use of the sublight propulsion means the ship can't fire her heavy weapons or use her long range sensors equipment. In addition, a standard hyperdrive motivator in installed which allows the ship to travel in lightspeed, and it may seem slow compared to contemporary warships, but this ship isn't meant to arrive at the same time and distance as a battlefleet.

Finally, the ship is protected by durasteel armour that has fine titanium fibers melted in with it, providing a strong layer of hull armour that will resist most weapons fired against it. In addition, a Novaldex shield generator, internally located behind the drive core, with external projectors, provides a layer of shielding that is capable of triplicate shield layering to defend against particle cannons and heavy penetration warheads. These defensive measures aren't meant to protect the ship from external threats while engaged in combat, rather they are meant to keep the ship alive while it manuevers and flees from the threats that are put against it.

The way the carrier is designed, is to a point where it can stand off at the edge of a planet's gravity well, and commence long range supporting fire to a present battlefleet, it's weapons suited to engaging capital ships, stations, or bombarding planetery shields or ground installations, while at the same time allowing a command staff to run their fleets and maintain their communications. For this reason, the Articus would also serve well as a fallback vessel, using it's weaponry to discourage pursuit while the command staff coordinated the retreat of their fleet. Finally, in case all is lost, the Articus is equipped with a self-destruct device, voice activated from the bridge, that would destroy the ship using the energy from the reactor core and turbolaser cannons, along with any remaining warheads in storage. In order to facilitate the escape of the valuable command crew, the bridge is detachable from the vessel, and should this fail, the rear section of the bridge as well as various places throughout the ship contain a total of ten 20-man crew escape pods. It should also be mentioned that, where a large command vessel is not able to get to, or where it is not needed in a small campaign or naval engagement, the Articus will be able to fill the role.