DARKSTAR CAMPAIGN UPDATE: DUCHESS ANNABEL’S WAR IS OVER

Good afternoon, Beasts of War / OTT!

As I have stated below, I have been so happily surprised by the outpouring of support that people have donated to the ongoing project of an official written and published rules set for Darkstar.

If you are so inclined (I thank you very much in advance), just hit the link below and contribute in whatever amount you feel comfortable.

>Darkstar Optional Donation Pool<<

Meanwhile, here is the list of Darkstar supporters to whom I already owe a fantastic debt of gratitude.

In this vein, I’m happy to roll out the first few ships that people have already “commissioned” to be built or named after them.  These are included below.  I hope you like them!

Thanks so much again,

Jim “Oriskany” Johnson

The Trafalgar class heavy cruiser represents a radical break from the typical design philosophy and operational doctrine of the Royal Navy.  Originally the brainchild of Vice-Admiral Sir Damon Brentnall (battlecruiser squadron commander during the Psi Serpentis War of 2512-14), the Trafalgar design turns its back on the large-caliber rail gun, staple of British naval design for at least the last 70 years.  Instead the Trafalgar looks to the relatively new electron particle cannon, perhaps influenced by designs like the American Gettysburg class, Japanese Katana class, and Russian Kutusov class.

In many ways, the Trafalgar is simplicity itself.  Packing the newest Harland and Wolff “Quasar Sigma” series reactors and engines (the same type mounted in the successful Iron Duke class), she’s able to generate an enormous power-to-weight ratio for her size, allowing her to keep pace with most light cruiser classes in Known Space. She also carries the same advanced Hawkinge Electronics 01A fire control system, giving her weapons a deadly-accurate reach.

There, however, the similarities end.  Whereas Royal Navy heavy cruisers like the Iron Duke or Titan classes are built for firepower, the Trafalgar is built for speed.  She sacrifices a fair amount of shielding for this speed, and also carries no torpedoes of any kind.  Her secondary battery is also something of a down-step, trading in the British Aerospace Systems 8 MgKv lasers of the Iron Duke for the older, smaller 6 MgKv emitters carried on the Titan class.  She also carries smaller 25mm Hispano mass driver arrays, although many more of them.

Notably, the Trafalgar class also carries additional cargo and 54 Royal Marines, which, in addition to her carrying no torpedopes, makes her ideal for longer-ranged, extended war cruises deeper into Second Band conflict zones.

Still, the Trafalgar class packs an enormous punch.  Thundering towards the enemy in a high-speed run, these cruisers are designed to unleash a withering EPC broadside, punching deeper through ruined armor and exposed hull compartments with her follow-up laser emitters.

Accordingly, Trafalgar captains are chosen for their aggression and expected to follow Nelson’s mandate of seven hundred years ago; “No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy.”  In the officers’ mess on each Trafalgar there is a painting of Nelson, beneath which is the inscription;

“Our country will, I believe, sooner forgive an officer for attacking an enemy than for letting it alone.”

Of course, the Trafalgar class is still very new.  Only a few of the ships have traded fire in anger, and there isn’t nearly enough real-combat data to determine whether this design doctrine portends a new outlook for the Royal Navy into the 2520s, or an “evolutionary dead end.”

Ships in Class

C 181 – HMS Trafalgar – 2510, New Londonium Shipyards, Saturn – On Duty
C 182 – HMS Temeraire – 2512, Scapa Flow Orbital, Earth – On Duty
C 183 – HMS Bellerophon – 2513, New Londonium Shipyards, Saturn – On Duty
C 184 – HMS Neptune – 2514, Hypsibius Installation, Omicron Eridani – On Duty
C 185 – HMS Orion – 2516, Scapa Flow Orbital, Earth – On Duty
C 186 – HMS Mars – 2517, Hypsibius Installation, Omicron Eridani – On Duty
C 187 – HMS Thunderer – 2518, New Londonium Shipyards, Saturn – On Duty
C 188 – HMS Ajax – 2519, Hypsibius Installation, Omicron Eridani –  Undergoing Trials
C 189 HMS Colossus ???, Scapa Flow Orbital, Earth – Under Construction
C 190 HMS Agamemnon ???, Hypsibius Installation, Omicron Eridani Planned

The Maecenas class is definitely one of the most unusual warships in the Royal Navy, not only in the time of Darkstar but perhaps all of British history.  Technically designed off of the basic hull of a Relentless class light cruiser, they are officially classified as “expedition ships,” combining a curious blend of mission profiles.  Part gun cruiser, part aerospace carrier, and part planetary assault ship, these are true “jacks of all trades” –  multirole platforms of nearly unlimited flexibility.

The name of the class is also unusual, honoring Gaius Maecenas, ancient Roman patron of arts and poetry in the time of Caesar Augustus.  While the Royal Navy has often borrowed from Classical Rome for the names of its warships, Maecenas may seems an odd choice until one considers the unusual history of this class.

In the wake of the brutal Psi Serpentis War of 2512-2514, a consortium of British industrialists (brothers Warren and Lloyd Johnston, together with Justin McAuley of Johnston-McAuley Aerospace) in the New Glasgow star system (Psi Serpentis E), were appalled by the war’s violence and collateral damage.  They petitioned the Royal Navy to build a new class of multirole “expedition” ships to help protect their industrial facilities, safeguard their shipping lanes, and expand into new colonies for further industrial and economic development.  The request was denied, so JMA simply bought the derelict wreck of a Relentless class light cruiser lost in the Psi Serpentis War (HMS Ruthless – C 238 – cost undisclosed, but rumored to be in excess of £2 billion) and rebuilt it into what would become HMS Maecenas.  Rather than name the ship after themselves, the executives of JMA named the ship after a famous patron of Classical Rome, as they were also well-known patrons and benefactors of British arts, literature, and science throughout Known Space.

Building a warship on this scale is one thing, but operating and maintaining it for years, with a flotilla of escort ships, is something else.  So JMA “donated” the ship (as the famous patrons they were) to the Royal Navy, again petitioning for a class of warships to be designed on this model.  Beset with such a gift (along with undisclosed contributions to several key members of Parliament), the Royal Navy this time agreed and the Maecenas class expedition ship was born.

The Maecenas class are truly remarkable warships.  A battery of six BAE Systems “Warhammer” class 8-gigawatt rail guns is arrayed in three double turrets, in classic British “Atlantic Pattern” layout.  These are comparable in caliber to other light cruisers like the Prussian Hipper class and larger than the 7-gigawatt guns of the Russian Konstantin class and American Sacramento class, but fewer in number.  The secondary battery is made up of two double turrets of Harland and Wolff “Nebula” 8-megakelvin laser emitters.  A Hawkinge Electronics 01B fire control system is also mounted (a downscaled variant of the model carried on the Iron Duke and Trafalgar heavy cruisers), giving the Maecenas enhanced gunnery accuracy, especially at longer ranges.  This also augments the guidance systems of two bays of Model 41 (British standard class IV) gravitic torpedoes, mounted in an “assault configuration” in the port and starboard bow.

For defense, Maecenas class mounts an array of Hispano-Vickers 25mm chain gun mass drivers, and an ECM / gravitic shielding suite comparable to other light cruisers currently in service across Known Space.

But its in the greatly expanded hangar bays that the Maecenas class really stands out.  Each cruiser carries eight Supermarine Starfire class aerospace superiority fighters and four Hawker Typhoon class strike bombers, as well as two De Havilland Buccaneer scouts.  This is the same complement as carried by the Royal Navy’s Osprey class light carrier.  The aft bays carry four Griffon Hoverwork Conqueror class assault boats.  The usual mission load out for these assault boats is for one to carry a pair of Excelsior battle tanks, one to carry three Rapier class APCs, and two to carry 48 Royal Marine infantry.

The extra power needed to support such a diverse load of facilities is provided by the very advanced Johnston-McAuley deuterium-tritium reactors and power plant.  These are among the most advanced power plants in Known Space, and absolutely critical to the  Maecenas multirole platform capability.

The Maecenas class is still very new, and critics are still unconvinced that this unusual design will prove effective.  After all, “jack of all trades” also means “master of none.”  She can’t stand up to a gunnery duel against other full-design light cruisers like an American San Antonio, Prussian Hipper, Russian Kutusov or Japanese Taihō class.  She can’t compete with the aerospace capability of British Valiant class light fleet carriers, or the American Endeavors, Japanese Kagoshimas or Russian Gagarins.  She can’t hit a planet nearly as hard as similar-weight dedicated planetary assault ships like the American Saipan class or Prussian Valkyrie class.

But whereas these ships are all built specifically for one role, the Maecenas can perform them all to a remarkable (if partial) extent.  This makes them incredibly flexible, operationally perhaps one of the most well-rounded designs in Known Space.  They can Darkstar Wave into a new system, establish a colony, and then defend that colony.  If resistance is moderate, she can probably eliminate enemy defenses and take an existing colony.  While she might have trouble against other cruisers in pitched battle, anything destroyer-sized or smaller would do well to approach a Maecenas with no small amount of caution.

In the end, however, only time will tell whether these innovative “expedition” ships will find a role, and widespread success in Royal Navy service.

** The ships of the Maecenas class are actually named for OTT/BoW community members who have donated to the writing of the Darkstar Rules Set v 1.0 or contributed materially  in some way to the success of the project.

** Note that the ship design tables include double the extra available power conferred by the “advanced powerplant” feature.  All the additional power this confers is invested in the assault boat / ground troops package, which isn’t used in the vast majority of games.  If the Maecenas class is being used in a planetary assault scenario, or if the assault boats are removed for more fighters and bombers, the scenario cost of the ship increases to 107 points.

Ships in Class
C 261 – HMS Maecenas – 2514, JMA Shipyards, Psi Serpentis E – On Duty
C 262 – HMS Quin – 2516, Scapa Flow Orbital, Earth – On Duty
C 263 – HMS Wood – 2516, Hypsibius Installation, Omicron Eridani – On Duty
C 264 – HMS Lea – 2517, Scapa Flow Orbital, Earth – On Duty
C 265 – HMS Shaw – 2518, New Londonium Shipyards, Saturn – On Duty
C 266 – HMS Petersen – 2519, Scapa Flow Orbital, Earth – On Duty
C 267 – HMS Oberst – 2520, Hypsibius Installation, Omicron Eridani – Undergoing Trials
C 268 – HMS Hawes – 2521, New Londonium Shipyards, Saturn – Under Construction
C 269 – HMS ??? – ??? Scapa Flow Orbital, Earth – Planned