DARKSTAR CAMPAIGN UPDATE: DUCHESS ANNABEL’S WAR IS OVER

The Foch class light cruisers of the New Roman Alliance are some of the most modern warships currently in operation.  With a next-generation power plant, they also mount advanced sensors, targeting electronics, and CIC comnav, all while being among the fastest cruisers in Known Space, able to keep pace with most classes of destroyers.

For armament, the Foch class carries eight 7-gigawatt rail guns (probably the “oldest style” tech aboard).  These are arrayed in a typical pattern of double turrets, backed up by a formidable pair of 12 MgKv laser emitters that look like they belong on a battleship.  Manufactured my Matra Aerospace Dynamics, they can burn through almost any known armor at optimum range, and cleave through a destroyer at ranges exceeding 4500 kilometers.  The Dassault-Thales manufactured CIC suite also ensures that the Foch can hit targets at this range, while the immense quad-array of engines gives the ship the thrust to escape whatever it can’t kill.

Although part of the New Roman Alliance, all Foch class light cruisers are named for French commanders and battles of the First and Second World Wars, and are almost exclusively crewed by men and women of French or French Canadian descent, who take such a pride in their heritage that they have almost formed a “navy within a navy.”  Since the class carries no torpedoes and has extensive cargo carrying capacity, it is expected that these ships will also serve as flagships for small battle groups in the Third Band of Space or even beyond, expanding the dominion of the New Roman Alliance ever deeper into the stars.

The ships also have greatly expanded passenger bays, and their plush accommodations go a long way in furthering the New Roman Alliance’s reputation for elite decadence.  Indeed, one Russian prisoner wisecracked that when he was brought aboard the NRS Leclerc during the Olympian Path War, he thought he’d been brought aboard a luxury liner.  While these accommodations certainly don’t do much for the Foch’s combat effectiveness, it can’t be denied that whenever Roman nobles,  dignitaries, or ambassadors have to make an protected voyage, they request a Foch class light cruiser.

Indeed, the class became so popular that the Spanish began building their own line, known as the Hispaniola class, and an Italian line is rumored to be in the making.

Metrics:
Mass: 93,799 tons
Complement: 490 officers and men
Marines: 40
Passengers: 60
Sublight thrust:64
Darkstar Wave: 10th (x300 c)
Aerospace: (2) scouts, (1) 1,200-ton cutter, (1) 4,000 ton yacht
Bridge / CIC: +2 Next Gen
Powerplant: Enhanced Next Gen (3640 power)

ECM & Gravitic Shielding:
• Bow: 4
• P Bow: 4
• S Bow: 4
• P Quarter: 4
• S Quarter: 4
• Stern: 4

Armament:
• Turret – x2 7-gigawatt rail guns (bow)
• Turret – x2 7-gigawatt rail guns (bow)
• Turret – x2 7-gigawatt rail guns (stern)
• Turret – x2 7-gigawatt rail guns (stern)
• Turret – x2 12-megakelvin lasers (bow)
• Turret – x2 12-megakelvin lasers (stern)
• Turret – x4 35mm mass driver point defense array (bow)
• Turret – x4 35mm mass driver point defense array (p bow)
• Turret – x4 35mm mass driver point defense array (s bow)
• Turret – x6 35mm mass driver point defense array (p quarter)
• Turret – x6 35mm mass driver point defense array (s quarter)
• Turret – x4 35mm mass driver point defense array (stern)

Ships in Class:
• CL307 – NRS Foch – 2507, Nuovo Sardinia Shipyards, Earth
• CL308 – NRS Joffre – 2508, Littorio Colony, Capella Lambda
• CL309 – NRS Petain – 2509, Gallileo Station, Ganymede
• CL310 – NRS Marne – 2510, Nuovo Sardinia Shipyards, Earth
• CL311 – NRS Verdun – 2510, Littorio Colony, Capella Lambda
• CL312 – NRS Reims – 2511, Gallileo Station, Ganymede
• CL313 – NRS Versailles – 2512, Nuovo Sardinia Shipyards, Earth
• CL314 – NRS Somme – 2512, Nuovo Sardinia Shipyards, Earth
• CL315 – NRS Leclerc – 2513, Littorio Colony, Capella Lambda
• CL316 – NRS Bir Hacheim – 2514, Gallileo Station, Ganymede

Parallel Production (Spanish Hispaniola Class)
• CL341 – NRS Hispaniola – 2506, Gallileo Station, Ganymede
• CL342 – NRS Cadiz – 2507, Nuovo Sardinia Shipyards, Earth
• CL343 – NRS Córdoba – 2508, Littorio Colony, Capella Lambda
• CL344 – NRS Granada – 2509, Gallileo Station, Ganymede
• CL345 – NRS Alicante – 2510, Nuovo Sardinia Shipyards, Earth
• CL346 – NRS Cartegena – 2510, Littorio Colony, Capella Lambda
• CL347 – NRS Barcelona – 2511, Gallileo Station, Ganymede
• CL348 – NRS Zaragoza – 2512, Nuovo Sardinia Shipyards, Earth