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- May 22, 2011
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(image used with permission; property of AdamKop, deviantart.com)
Ownership: N/A
Intent: A secret development project, these warships will fill a role akin to ground based artillery pieces, which are often stationary and very vulnerable to direct attack, but highly effective at range. The biggest difference, of course, is that this is a starship serving as a platform for a non-lethal weapon system and it will require a direct line of sight to fire effectively. Its primary purpose is to facilitate boarding operations by other vessels, much like the Censor and Arrestor, both of which are utilized for a similar purpose.
Model: Decimator-class Ion Frigate
Dimensions: 400 m, 150 m, 120 m
Class: Frigate
Crew: 850+100 (full crew complement+passengers), 375 (minimum)
Complement: Starfighters (12; one squadron, racked), Shuttles (4)
Composition: Alusteel (armor plating), Duraplast (hull, hangar blast doors, viewport shutters), Duralloy (frame), Transparisteel (viewports)
Armament: Ion Pulse Cannons (4; fixed), Mass Driver Cannons (3; twin-barrel, turreted), Point Defense Laser Cannons (6; quad barrel, turreted)
Equipment: Military Grade Sensor Arrays (ultra long range w/ crystal gravfield trap module), Military Grade Targeting Computer (advanced), Military Grade Navigation Module, HoloNet Transceiver, Military Grade Electronic & Cyber Warfare Suite (advanced), Standard Life Support Module, Military Grade Shield Generators (2; ultra light), Upgraded Internal Security System (security cameras, reinforced blast doors, anti-tamper locks, & auto-turrets at all major corridor intersections and access points), Self-Destruct Mechanism (anti-tamper, activation by code cylinder and biometrics scan), Backup Generator & Life Support System (for CIC), Escape Pods, Armed Life Pods
Speed: 35 MGLT (reduced to 11 MGLT when charging a pulse cannon)
Hyperdrive Rating: Class I (with Class V backup; unable to initiate drives while charging pulse cannons)
Maneuverability: It is relatively quick to rotate itself into new firing positions when idle. However, it is extremely slow to accelerate and handles abysmally at higher speeds, making point to point maneuvers the only viable method of travel.
Description:
The Decimator-class Ion Frigate utilizes its primary armament at extreme range to quickly deplete a target starship's shields or to temporarily disable unshielded vessels for boarding or quick destruction by supporting strike craft. Other than its powerful ion pulse cannons, it is very lightly armed and shielded and is exceptionally slow to maneuver at speed. It cannot withstand concentrated or sustained fire. Because of this, it relies quite heavily on escorts for protection and can't be relied upon to hold its own against anything more than a light corvette, a small gunship, or a few small starfighters.
Its pulse cannons take considerable time and energy to charge and recharge, leaving the vessel even more vulnerable, but the weapons have considerable range and can be configured to fire large, rapidly expanding ion blasts, concentrated bolts, and even slow-moving ion clouds that wreak havoc over a much wider area of space, disrupting sensors, communications, and other sensitive electronics without causing significant or permanent damage.
Two cannons can be fired in unison, giving the Decimator an incredibly devastating broadside capability, though charging two of the massive cannons at once takes significantly longer and requires the shield generators, laser cannons, and sublight drives to be deactivated. Jumping to hyperspace with fully charged capacitors is considered an extremely risky and foolhardy maneuver (because shields are usually down in the first few moments after reversion, making a fully charged Decimator a truly volatile target), but it is possible. Standard procedure requires that ship engineers shunt power from a fully charged capacitor and distribute it equally between the other three capacitors just prior to a jump.
The compact, dorsal hangar bay is protected by two heavy blast doors and ray shielded. A combat information center at the heart of the starship takes the place of a traditional bridge. It can be sealed off from the rest of the vessel in the event of a hostile boarding action and is protected within a thick, duraplast shell which also contains an emergency generator and life support system.
It can also fill the role of a dedicated electronic and cyber warfare vessel, jamming, tracking, or decrypting transmisssions, hacking networks wirelessly, and uploading or combating viruses.
The standard loadout for the mass drivers is high-explosive fragmentation, more commonly referred to as flak-burst rounds. Ineffective against heavily armored targets, these rounds can do significant damage to lightly shielded and armored starfighters. Because Decimators are never purposefully left on their own, they rarely carry armor piercing ammunition unless they are specially outfitted prior to an operation in which such rounds might be warranted and even then, only as a precautionary measure.
@Clayton @Dmitri
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