Restricted Ship Killik Shardship

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KILLIK SHARDSHIP

AFFILIATION
Killik Hives.

MANUFACTURER
Killik Hives

CLASS
Battlecruiser.

ROLE
Capital ship.

COMPOSITION

• Resin-reinforced asteroid material.
• Glass.

DIMENSIONS
Length - ~5 kilometers.CREW
50,000-250,000.

PASSENGER CAPACITY
750,000.

CARGO CAPACITY
300 kilotons.

HANGAR CAPACITY

• 500x Dartship.
• 50x shuttle/light freighter.

CONSUMABLES
5 standard years.

SPEED/MANEUVERABILITY
Killik Shardships have a top speed of 40 MGLT and have sluggish maneuvering characteristics.

ARMAMENT

• ~60x quad heavy turbolaser casemate.
• ~50x dual medium turbolaser casemate.
• ~40x dual medium laser turret.
• ~30x chrysalis projector.
• ~20x tractor beam projector.

EQUIPMENT

• 1x class 4 hyperdrive.
• 1x navicomputer.
• 1x long-range sensor suite.
• Many x docking ring with integrated docking tube.

DESCRIPTION​

Killik Shardships are the Killik Hives' equivalent of heavy capital warships, roughly analogues in scale and firepower to a battlecruiser under the Anaxes War College classification system. Size and weaponry are really the only two categories that are directly equivalent to conventional warships, however; like most Killik creations, they are not built or operated in the same way as their counterparts.

Shardships, unlike conventional capital ships, are not so much built as sculpted. Rather than having a keel laid down and a hull built up around it, Shardships typically start life as nickel-heavy asteroids, first mined out by the Killiks as a source of natural resources, and later repurposed for conversion into a ship. This process involves the fitting of various shipboard systems, including a hyperdrive, as well as large methane-fired rocket engines to move the ship through realspace. Armament is scattered across the outer "hull" of the asteroid, and includes dozens of turbolasers and medium lasers. Also present are 5 launch racks of 100 Killik Dartships each, the species' starfighter equivalent, which serve both as defensive and offensive assets, their suicide attack charges turning them into some of the Galaxy's best guided anti-ship munitions.

Of note, Shardships are armed with "chrysalis projectors" as part of their main armament. Each projector is capable of firing a reinforced resin boarding chrysalis at high velocity, punching through the hull of unshielded vessels and facilities. Having penetrated, the survivors of the 6 Killiks stuffed inside the projectile cut their way out and begin prowling the ship, forcibly inducting any crewbeings they can catch into the Killik hive-mind. This is meant to sow confusion within the enemy fleet, and if done well can result in entire ships being taken over and changing sides during the middle of a battle.

Inside, Killik Shardships do not so much resemble spacecraft as the tunnels dug by massive burrowing insects, which is not far off. Host to something like a million Killiks and Joiners, Shardships are indeed more like mobile Hives, with carefully constructed layers of galleries, store rooms and other spaces dug into the solid rock. These cavities, reinforced with durasteel-hard Killik resin and shaped for maximum strength, act as much as additional layers of armor as crew spaces; this, coupled with the naturally durable and also resin-reinforced nickel shell of the asteroid, meant that Shardship "hulls" are stupendously resistant to damage, shrugging off all but the heaviest torpedoes and turbolaser hits. Shardships do not carry deflector screen emitters, their stony hides being seen as protection enough from anything that might threaten the ship.

Notably, Shardships carry little in the way of the long-range communications gear common to many capital ships. Most ship-to-ship and ship-to-surface communication is carried out via the Killik hive-mind, with some basic audio-visual transmission capabilities for speaking with other sentients not yet integrated with the Kind provided purely as a matter of necessity. Unlike most modern vessels, Shardships have very little in the way of automation onboard, meaning that their million-strong crew and passenger compliment is almost a necessity.

Like nearly all Killik ships, Shardships can and are used in combat tactics that many other species would consider reckless, if not unthinkable. Although studded with heavy weapons, the most powerful munition carried by a Shardship is its own hull; though not typically fitted with explosive charges like the much smaller Dartships, Shardships the massive size allows it to cause massive damage with simple ramming attacks. Although the type is fairly slow and lumbering on average - top speed is around 40 MGLT - a hive-mind coordinated formation of Shardships can be fairly hard to dodge. Moreover, a Shardship is likely to come out of such an attack with only superficial damage to itself.

For all their menace, Shardships do have some weaknesses, and can be killed if the endeavor is approached with care. The simplest way, of course, is massive, sustained turbolaser and torpedo bombardment, on the order of 1 or 2 star destroyers in terms of firepower; this can take time, however, and ties up capital ships fighting a single target. Somewhat more practical are attacks by starfighters, bombers and gunships on the Shardship's drive systems; being unshielded, a Shardship cannot directly protect the exhaust bells of its massive rocket engines from attack. Other potential weak-points include thermal exhaust vents; Killik Shardships are powered by old-style fission reactors, which require periodic cooling. Though normally covered by armored shutters, the thermal exhaust vents - which resemble metallic gills as much as anything - will periodically open to vent super-heated exhaust gasses. These are difficult targets to hit by a capital ship except at very close range, although surface-skimming starships might manage; there are large numbers of vents, and they are small targets, but destroying at least 70% of them will cause a Shardship's reactors to shut down, or - more rarely - enter meltdown. Finally, though powerful, Shardships - though they are capable of operating independently - will typically swarm with others of their kind. While in formation, it is highly unlikely for any single Shardship to take initiative over the will of the group, making them relatively predictable.

This is not to say there are no defenses for attackers to contend with; the hull of the Shardship has numerous medium laser turrets specifically for dealing with small craft, and a detail of Dartships is typically deployed to perform point defense interception duties. Overall, Shardships, like all Killik vessels, are dangerous opponents, and should never be underestimated.

LEGALITY​

Restricted. Even if one were able to get a Shardship away from the Killiks, they are still technically classified as capital ships under Galactic law, and possess heavy weapons. As such, civilian owners would require extra licensing to operate one legally, and would receive increased scrutiny by authorities. Even then, they are ridiculously expensive to operate; only a relatively large faction or particularly wealthy government would be able to afford it without swiftly bankrupting themselves. An individual would stand no chance. But, as Shardships are typically not captured intact, let alone sold on the open market, this is a moot point.

INTENT​

To bring a ship from Legends canon into our site's fanon, and to create a standard capital ship for the Killik Hives.

RESTRICTIONS​

Killik Shardships are available only to Killiks and to groups affiliated with the Killik Hives. They are also only to be used as part of Event threads.