Independence Class Battle Carrier (Consortium):

Even though the CAF adopted the Wolfen Packmaster carrier as their standard carrier design, the ship had a huge amount of protest against it because it is a combination fleet carrier and assault landing carrier and many admirals felt at the time that a carrier than does both jobs does neither very well. Many had pushed for the Human Alliance Intrepid class fleet carrier to be adopted instead. Adding to this argument, the Intrepid class fleet carrier which were reactivated during the war against performed extremely well in the war against the Kreeghor.

Fleet officers have never really stopped arguing for a new fleet carrier design which is a dedicated space fighter platform with any real ground assault capabilities. Recently, two Packmaster class carriers were crippled in two separate engagements with frigates and fighters before they could launch their own fighters. Officially, the attackers were pirates although pirates rarely will attack warships. Because of this, the identity of the attackers is disputed with the Kreeghor being a likely candidate. The two carriers had to be "scuttled" or they would have been captured by the pirates.

These two incidents finally pushed the Consortium leadership into authorizing a new fleet carrier class. It was decided that the next class of carrier would need both heavy armor and shields to increase its survivability. Various names were kicked around but the term "Battle Carrier" was finally chosen because the carrier would mount the armor and shields of a battleship. As one might expect, fleet officers still prefer to keep carriers out of the main combat and launch fighters from a long distance but due to confused nature of many combat situations, in practical terms, it is best to be able to survive direct combat.

The first of the class is the Independence with only four having been completed. The next three which have been commissioned are the Freedom, Liberty, and Victorious. Another four are authorized. Originally it was planned that all Packmaster class carriers would be replaced but due to cost, the Consortium government is balking at the cost. The Battle Carriers are estimated at fifty percent more than a Packmaster. One option being considered is an austere version of the Independence class although the Admirals are still pushing for more Battle Carriers. Because the Independence class carrier does not carry any ground assault troops and vehicles, several Packmaster carriers have been converted to ground assault roles.

As with the Packmaster carrier, the Independence class Battle Carrier is built around its hanger bays. The carrier is large and blocky but like the Intrepid class carrier, the ship has a quite different profile than the Packmaster. In size, the Independence Battle Carrier is also slightly smaller than the Packmaster class carrier.

The Independence class carries as heavy shields as could be mounted in the design and they are capable of taking the abuse from a battleship for a short period of time. In fact the actual shield generators are the same design as are used in the Protector class battleship. Likewise, the carrier has very heavy armor and is designed around the ability to be able to survive in the middle of combat. This armor is almost as extensive as the armor carried on the Proctor class battleship.

In order to counter the speeds of the newest capital ships, the Battle Carrier's acceleration has been increased greatly over that of the Packmaster. While the carrier cannot outrun fighters and most frigates, the Independence is design to be able to accelerate as fast as most cruisers. Strategically, the carrier also has high performance faster than light engines so that the ship can respond to a combat situation more rapidly. It is designed to travel at six light years per hour, identical to the Protector class battleship. Of conventional units, only the Champion class heavy cruiser is actually faster.

It was decided to arm the Battle Carrier to fight against frigates and destroyers, not against larger vessels even though the protection of the Independence is designed around such threats. For purely anti-ship weaponry, the ship has eight mounts of 15 cm of Grasers. Grasers, or Gamma Radiation Lasers, were chosen because they do more damage and have a greater range on a mount by mount basis when compared to laser cannons. The carrier also mounts eight long range missile batteries, the same long range missile battery as a Protector class battleship. While primarily designed for defense against massed fighters and missiles, the long range missiles are also effective against other warships. Around 2,500 long range missiles are carried.

The rest of the Battle Carrier's weaponry are primarily dedicated to close range point defense. The Independence class mounts a total of sixteen point defense gravity rail gun mounts, sixteen point defense particle beams, and sixteen mini missile launchers for this purpose. This gives the Independence class Battle Carrier forty-eight point defense batteries compared to thirty-two point defense batteries for the Packmaster class Carrier. Combined with the eight long range missile launchers, the Battle Carrier is far better able to defend itself against large fighters and missile strikes.

Nothing is without cost and the huge amount of armor and the more powerful shield generators have significantly decreased the carrier's potential ability to carry fighters. Even though the Independence class does not embark an assault force in addition to the fighter compliment, the fighter compliment of the Battle Carrier is about the same as the Packmaster. While the carrier does embark a marine compliment, it is actually a smaller compliment than that of the old Human Alliance Intrepid class fleet carrier. The hangers on the Intrepid are set apart with an armored bulkhead between them so if one is damaged or destroyed, the other hanger bays can continue to operate.

This starship design uses modified starship speed and weapon range rules. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World / Three Galaxies for more details.

Model Type: CVA-95
Vehicle Type: Fleet Carrier
Crew: 1,350 (125 officers and 1225 enlisted)
Troops: 600 marines (400 in power armor) and 1,100 fighter pilots

Vehicles:
Power Armors & Robots:

	400	SH-CCW100 Silverhawk Attack ExoSkeleton
	10	BR-CCW2000 Battleram Robots

Fighter Compliment:

	200	SF-69 Scorpion Star Interceptor
	120	BIF-67 Katana Star fighters
	120	SF-101 Black Eagle Star fighters
	40	SG-1 Star Ghost Starfighters
	15	LRF-25 Proctor Long Range Star Fighters

M.D.C. By Location:

	15 cm Graser Cannons (8, top and bottom):	1,000 each
	Point Defense Gravity Rail Gun Turrets (16):	200 each
	Point Defense Particle Beam Turrets (16):	150 each
	Long Range Missile Batteries (4):	500 each
	Mini-Missile Launchers (16):	100 each
	Outer Hull (40 ft/ 12.2 m Area):	200
	Inner Hull (40 ft/ 12.2 m Area):	150
	[1] Bridge:	50,000
	[1] Auxiliary Bridge:	50,000
	Hanger Bays (4):	40,000 each
	[2] Main Engines (4):	25,000 each
	[3] Main Body:	200,000
	[4] Variable Force Field:	15,000 a side (90,000 Total)

Notes:
[1] In reality this is how much damage needs to be done for a weapon to hit the bridge through the ship’s armor. This ship also has an auxiliary bridge. Even if both bridges are taken out, the ship can still be piloted from engineering but ship is -3 to dodge and all weapon systems will be at local control. Weapon hits near the bridge that do not penetrate the ships integrity can injure crew members on or near the bridge.
[2] Destroying the main engines means that the ship’s faster than light systems are destroyed and maximum sublight speed is reduced by half.
[3] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will put the carrier out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.
[4] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (4,500 M.D.C.) per melee round.

Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship to travel up to 60 percent of the speed of light. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 0.9 percent of light per melee.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum speed is 200 mph (322 kph), can enter an atmosphere and can leave but is not designed for atmospheric flight
Stardrive: Uses a Gravitonic Drive system that allows the ship to reach a maximum of 6 light years per hour.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by either drive system. Carries about four years worth of supplies on board.

Statistical Data:
Length: 5,000 feet (1,524 meters)
Height: 800 feet (244 meters)
Width: 900 feet (274 meters)
Weight: 44.1 Million Tons (40 million metric tons)
Power System: Anti-Matter with a 50 year life span. The ship normally only goes 10 years between refueling and refitting.
Cargo: Cargo holds are scattered about the ship that allows for carrying up to 3 million tons (2.72 metric tons) of cargo in addition to standard compliment of supplies and ammunition. Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal items and uniforms. Ship’s officers have more space for personal items. Most of the ship’s spaces are taken up by extra ammunition, armor, troops, weapons, engine, and other equipment.
Market Cost: 30 billion to construct. No ships of this design have ever been put on sale on the market by the CAF. Cost does not include embarked craft.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

Eight (8) 15 cm Graser Cannons: Graser cannons use focused gamma radiation and are very powerful. The weapon mounts have about a 25% increase in both range and damage over standard laser cannons of the same size. These cannons are the support battery of the ship and while quite powerful, they do not have the incredible firepower of the main battery of the heavy cruisers except when fired together. Four cannons are mounted on the top of the ship and four cannons are mounted on the bottom of the ship. Batteries can be fired up to 180 degrees toward the rear on either side and can fire at a 90 degree angle up or down. Weapon has standard penalties to hit fighters and small targets for large starship weaponry. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at faster than light velocities.
Maximum Effective Range: 20,000 miles (32,200 km) in space and 20 miles (32.2 km) in an atmosphere.
Mega Damage: 3D6x100 M.D.C. each, two can be combined for a total of 6D6x100, three may be combined for a total of 9D6x100, and four may be combined for 12D6x100.
Rate of Fire: Maximum of two (2) times per melee per cannon.
Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
Sixteen (16) 20 mm Point Defense Gravity Rail Guns: Used as an anti-starfighter and missile weapon and against targets that are impervious to energy. Each rail gun is in a turret that can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire. When used in space, projectiles are fired from rail guns at a significant fraction of the speed of light. Cannon uses a 20 mm projectile. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at faster than light velocities.
Maximum Effective Range: 2 miles (3.2 km) through atmosphere and 200 miles (320 km) in space.
Mega-Damage: Rail guns inflict 2D4x10 M.D.C. for a 20 round burst.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (usually 4 or 5).
Payload: 10,000 Rounds (500 Bursts) each cannon.
Sixteen (16) 25 mm Point Defense Particle Beams: These weapons are used for anti-missile, anti-power armor, and anti-star fighter defense. Each particle beam is in a turret that can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at faster than light velocities.
Maximum Effective Range: 600 miles (960 km) in space and range is 6 miles (9.6 km) in atmosphere.
Mega Damage: 3D6x10 M.D.C. each.
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (usually 4 or 5).
Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
Eight (8) Long Range Missile Batteries: Missile has a top speed of Mach 20 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 8% of light per turn (faster than any starship.) Whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launcher, and missile. When drive goes dead, missile will continue to travel in a straight line unless set to self destruct but has very low odds of hitting star ships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missile, when unpowered, is at -25% to be detected.) Long range missiles do not have penalties to hit small targets unlike cruise missiles and are all considered smart missiles. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time.
Maximum Effective Range: Long Range Missile range is 3,400 miles (5,470 km) in an atmosphere and 1,800,000 miles (2,897,000 km/9.7 light seconds) in space.
Mega-Damage & Properties: See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details (Fusion warheads inflict 2D4x100 M.D.C. each.)
Rate of Fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), eight (8), sixteen (16), or thirty-two (32) missiles per launcher, per melee attack.
Payload: 2560 total, 320 long range missiles per battery.
Sixteen (16) Mini-Missile Launchers: These are missile turrets used for point defense against enemy fighters and missiles. Missile has a top speed of Mach 10 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 2% of light per turn (slightly faster than any starship except if it is exceeding it maximum safe acceleration.) Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time.
Maximum Effective Range: Mini Missile range is 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere and 100 miles (161 km) in space.
Mega-Damage: Varies with mini-missile type (See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details.)
Rate of Fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of four (4) or eight (8) missiles.
Payload: 128 per launcher for a total of 2,048 mini-missiles. Cargo hold has an additional 3,072 mini-missile. Reloading launchers from cargo hold takes 1D6 minutes.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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