Republic-class light carrier

Republic-class light carrier

Designed by Stephen Huda - stephenhuda.deviantart.com

The Peloran revolutionized spacefaring technology when they made Contact with us in 2205.  Our top-of-the-line spacecraft of the era used brute force rocket technology that Einstein and Armstrong would have recognized, while the Peloran built kilometer-long spires moved by twisting gravity itself to their whims.  And all of their other technologies were well beyond anything we could build.  Had they wanted to conquer us we would have been unable to resist them.  Instead they taught us how to control gravity as they did, and that changed everything for us.

We assembled our best engineers to design and build new ships built to command gravity and they became our first great leap to the stars.  Entire nations and alliances worked towards the dream of easy space travel and powerful warships. The Republic of California’s greatest contribution to this first generation of gravtech vessels was the Republic-class light carrier.  It was a multi-role vessel designed to leapfrog California into the forefront of the modern naval age.

The primary characteristic of the first generation gravtech vessels was their limited use of the very expensive gravtech.  Only limited factories could produce it out of limited resources in small lots.  That required the various navies to be very frugal in gravtech use until mass production levels were achieved in the 2250s.  The most common gravtech in that first generation of vessels was the improved hyperdrives the Peloran gave us, and basic deflection grids that made those vessels very difficult to damage.  Gravity was universally generated either through acceleration which consumed fuel at an alarming rate or the use of rotating gravity decks.

The Republic took these technologies and grafted them into a long cylindrical hull with two massive fighter pods on either side.  Four primary engines arrayed around her rear gave the Republic impressive acceleration for her size, and the two large bays on either side could carry a total of sixty-four of the new Blackhawk gravtech fighters into battle.  The designers also built four forward-firing anti-ship laser cannons into the design that gave her amazing ability to burn down enemy ships when engaging in close combat.  Finally, twenty-four new modular missile turrets filled out her offensive capability.  Able to fire the newest gravtech missiles or older chemical rockets, Republics were easily capable of filling space with death in a matter of moments.

The Republics quickly became the Californias’ primary naval combatant and one of the primary light warships of United States Navy.  They served throughout Terran space for half a century, until the second-generation gravtech vessels began to supplant them.  The Republics soon found themselves sold to planetary militias or corporate security forces, and later to boneyards as they fell further and further behind the advancing technological fronts.

The War’s demand for new or gently used hulls to fight the Shang and the Peloran fabricators gave the Republics a new lease on life.  They were completely rebuilt with state-of-the-art gravtech from stem to stern.  Gravplating lined their decks for the health of the crew and a heavy anti-ship gravitic cannon gave many enemy units very unwelcome surprises.  New deflection grids made them more durable and better mass reduction technologies allowed for faster acceleration and improved fuel efficiency.  They were a credible threat to any and all enemies of the Western Alliance.

The United States Navy retired the Republics again after War’s End, and smaller governments and corporate interests quickly acquired them.  There is even enough demand for the “classic first-generation gravtech beauty” that the original factory continues to make a profit by building new Republics for interests throughout Terran space.  Some are even built to the original specifications, though most often the ships are designed with modern gravtech with the ability to go to “classic mode” at the flip of one of the true-to-life switches, buttons, or knobs that are used on their control surfaces.  This has made the Republic a favorite of War reenactors and earlier conflicts and more civilians have ridden in such a reenactment than on all other ship classes combined.