Ashin Varanin
Professional Enabler
Image Credit: http://mcgovernarts.deviantart.com/art/EVE-Online-Cruiser-179895743
Intent: A command ship for the Levantine Sanctum
Development Thread: Sith Empire research facility raid
Manufacturer: Silk Holdings/Eshan Drive Yards
Model: MC220 Bel Iblis-class Star Cruiser
Affiliation: Levantine Sanctum, Silk Holdings
Modularity: Hangar facilities can be swapped out partially or wholly to carry medical casevac and relief assets.
Production: Limited
Material: Durasteel hull, glasteel viewports
Description:
The Bel Iblis-class was commissioned by the free worlds of the Levantine Sanctum, and funded primarily by the Kyrikal and Laekia systems. Other vessels of its type were produced for the use of Silk Holdings, for defensive purposes. Until such time as the Levantine Sanctum completes a faction development thread, all LS-owned MC220s will be PC-captained.
Heavily influenced by Silk/EDY's many Mon Calamari engineers, the MC220 is internally somewhat artistic and fluid at the cost of increased repair complexity. Its structure emphasizes durability, in the Mon Cal mode, and it boasts the standard Mon Cal redundant shielding. Its defensive gun loadout is evenly split between four types, allowing for a multilayered, flexible defense against both warheads and bombers at a variety of ranges. Attack craft face a sustained gauntlet of attrition rather than a solid wall of flak or point defense.
In keeping with a vessel designed for a remote government with finite resources -- resources already stretched by the manufacturing quality of this ship -- the design emphasizes intruder missiles and powerful ion cannons. The former, while useless against hulls, are very good at dropping shields quickly or creating momentary gaps when fired en masse. The latter are engineered to match standard turbolasers for anti-shield power, but disable rather than damage once shields are down. Long-range ion weaponry and a heavy-duty hypervelocity gun allow the Bel Iblis-class to tackle specific targets from far away in some situations. The long-range ion battery has a firing rate equivalent to a standard ion battery; the hypervelocity gun fires once per minute, or once per thirty seconds if its commander allocates energy from shields and/or engines (thirty seconds' reduction in shield recharge rate by 25-50%, thirty seconds' reduction in speed to class 8.5 or 9, depending on if that's an 'and' or an 'or').
This weapons loadout allows the Bel Iblis-class to maximize vessel capture rather than destruction. However, it does not carry dedicated boarding craft, nor mount especially powerful tractor beams, complicating capture operations. The wise commander would not use the Bel Iblis-class to finalize a capture operation while still in combat, making the vessel a far better strategic choice for defense than offense.
The Bel Iblis-class eschews the fastmount guns of the Ackbar-class, its common escort. While in the company of a pair of Ackbar-class vessels, the Bel Iblis-class is sufficiently protected against attack craft that its capital guns can focus on ships of the line. This role reflects its design priorities. For example, its streamlined, straightforward construction allows a full eighty percent of its capital guns to be brought to bear against a forward target at range, each gun firing over the figurative shoulder of the next. Likewise, a full thirty-five percent of its capital guns can be brought to bear against a rear target at range.
A staggering one hundred twenty-eight cap drain modules are required to give the Bel Iblis-class a mild to moderate degree of protection against ion/EMP damage. Concerted and sustained ion fire from other ships of the line, presuming the shields are down, will disable the vessel as expected.
Variegated life support systems allow relatively comfortable housing for crews from a variety of species. The crew makeup is primarily Krevaaki and Mon Calamari, with a minority of the galactic standard species milieu as well as an Ithorian contingent.
The ship includes a Monitor-X sensor suite, obtained by Silk's founder during a raid on the classified Sith Empire research facility at Styx, as part of a stash of high-security technology. The Monitor-X is the same model as was installed on the minor-production Monitor-class corvette. It includes full-spectrum radiation, hyperwave, and gravitic sensors.
A CIC-style bridge inside the ship, drawing from holographic technology, prevents the bridge from being a priority boarding target. There is, however, a fake bridge arrayed with various traps, including stun traps and enclision grids, and a holographic crew.
Four small EDY/MandalMotors construction vehicles aid the Bel Iblis-class in field construction, salvage, and occasionally Search and Rescue. For this purpose, Jo'Henry-class rare materials mining vessels may also be carried.
Classification: Command Ship (Balanced)
Role: Command Ship
Height: 300m
Width: 800m
Length: 1,750m
Power Core Generator/Reactor: Hypermatter
Hyperdrive Rating: 2
Minimum Crew: 5,500
Optimal Crew: 11,000
Armaments:
- 1 Heavy Long-Range Quad Ion Cannon Battery (2x5x4=40 Batteries)
- 1 Spinal Heavy Long-Range Hypervelocity Gun (2x5x10=25 Batteries)
- 40 Heavy Dual Turbolaser Batteries (80 Batteries)
- 15 Heavy Dual Ion Cannon Batteries (30 Batteries)
- 25 Intruder Missile Launchers
- 30 Quad Lasers
- 30 Point-Defense Emplacements
- 30 Flak Cannons
- 30 Antimissile Octets
- 60 Cutter-class Interceptors
- 24 Terminus-class Starfighters
- 16 Santhe/Sienar Pandorum-class Gunships OR 12 Winter Eagle Patrol Cutters
- 26 MC15 Niathal-class Shuttles OR 20 Laekia-class Freighters OR 6 Jo'henry-class Rare Materials Mining Vessels
- 4 KKT-74 "Cricket" Miniature Construction Vehicles
- Communications Array
- Encryption Network
- Escape Pods
- CIC-style Bridge with False Bridge
- Holonet Transceiver
- Redundant Deflector Shield Generator
- Standard Detention Cells
- Standard Life Support Systems
- Standard Navigational Systems
- Monitor-X Sensor Suite
- Advanced Targeting Systems
- Medical Facilities
- Tractor Beams
- QQ-543N/53R Cap Drain Module (128)
Passenger Capacity: 800 (650 marines, 100 medical, 50 assorted)
Cargo Capacity: 15,000 tons
Consumables: 2 years
Sublight Speed and Maneuverability: 8
