Labyrinth - D-EX923
A medium combat vessel originally designed to fill breakthrough and raiding roles in small wolfpacks, operating at medium-long strategic ranges and relying on large torpedo complements to overwhelm and cripple larger vessels or installations.
Labyrinth has been refit into a long-range survey and exploration ship and operates alone, providing Lwyd Rift Probing capabilities for ftl transit and extensive laboratory facilities at the cost of some of her crew and fully half of her heavy missile batteries. System-survey scanners, xenobiological research facilities and extended engineering workshop space are also installed.
Strengths and weaknesses:
--Powerful anti-shipping armament but with finite ammuniton reserves
--Agrav based manoeuvring offers relatively poor thrust/weight ratio, but is reactionless and offers unmatched vectoring of 'thrust' for evasion
--Point defence systems are relatively long ranged, numerous and capable of servicing a large number of incoming contacts
--Protection against particle weapons is notably lacking, and shields fare poorly against plasma weapons
--Full sensor and scanning equipment onboard, typical of a long-range science vessel
--Powerful anti-shipping armament but with finite ammuniton reserves
--Agrav based manoeuvring offers relatively poor thrust/weight ratio, but is reactionless and offers unmatched vectoring of 'thrust' for evasion
--Point defence systems are relatively long ranged, numerous and capable of servicing a large number of incoming contacts
--Protection against particle weapons is notably lacking, and shields fare poorly against plasma weapons
--Full sensor and scanning equipment onboard, typical of a long-range science vessel
Power Generation
4 x Muon-initialised gravithermal fusion reactors with integrated capacitor banks and reserve power storage
Propulsion
4 x Primary gravimetric motive units, mounted outboard in 120/100 m cantilever pylons (abreast and dorsal/ventral)
4 x Manoeuvring gravitmetric motive units, mounted outboard in 100 m cantilever pylons (abreast)
1 x Pioneer-class Lwyd Rift drive, with 2 x small-scale backup drives in storage
4 x Manoeuvring gravitmetric motive units, mounted outboard in 100 m cantilever pylons (abreast)
1 x Pioneer-class Lwyd Rift drive, with 2 x small-scale backup drives in storage
Weapons & Armament
1x2 x 90cm rail missile launchers (coilgun-assisted missile projectors in turreted twin mounts, medium-long range and carrying kinetic, canister or bomb-pumped laser (BPL) warheads)
131 x Dual-purpose light laser turrets (short-med range, pulsed fire, variable wavelength energy weapons)
12 x independent fire director turrets (dedicated sensor systems mounted alongside laser turret batteries for acquisition and monitoring, not armed)
12 x 512cm heavy rail missile launchers in detachable launchers, with jettisonable magazine.
131 x Dual-purpose light laser turrets (short-med range, pulsed fire, variable wavelength energy weapons)
12 x independent fire director turrets (dedicated sensor systems mounted alongside laser turret batteries for acquisition and monitoring, not armed)
12 x 512cm heavy rail missile launchers in detachable launchers, with jettisonable magazine.
Armor and defense
131 x Dual-purpose light laser turrets (as described above)
5 x 'Hardlight' holographic energy shield projectors (spends photonic energy to absorb lasers or disintegrate particles)
Gravimetric Lattice Plating armour with expanded primary belt (heat-resistant ceramic armour containing particles of gravity-altering cavorite, excellent vs kinetics but is depleted by energy weapons)
5 x 'Hardlight' holographic energy shield projectors (spends photonic energy to absorb lasers or disintegrate particles)
Gravimetric Lattice Plating armour with expanded primary belt (heat-resistant ceramic armour containing particles of gravity-altering cavorite, excellent vs kinetics but is depleted by energy weapons)
Sensors
Standard sensors - Passive and active broad-field EMdar optimised for infrared, microwave and radio wavelengths
Active sensors - 2 x Graviresistometric samplers (monitors gravity wells and mass shadow distortions with considerable accuracy, but with nearly no field of view)
Strategic sensors - Lwyd Rift probes capable of detecting unidentified FTL lanes via Riftspace assay and mass shadow alignment, typical range of 15 LY.
Active sensors - 2 x Graviresistometric samplers (monitors gravity wells and mass shadow distortions with considerable accuracy, but with nearly no field of view)
Strategic sensors - Lwyd Rift probes capable of detecting unidentified FTL lanes via Riftspace assay and mass shadow alignment, typical range of 15 LY.
Additional & auxiliary systems
34 x Outboad docking points amidships for Rupeean shipping crates.
2 x Shuttle landing bays and cargo-handling for general goods (mounted ventral forward and dorsal aft).
Full internal oxygen garden and near-completely self-sufficient life support systems
2 x Shuttle landing bays and cargo-handling for general goods (mounted ventral forward and dorsal aft).
Full internal oxygen garden and near-completely self-sufficient life support systems
Other Notes
Missiles
The upwards-angled missile bays are set at a 30-degree offset to give the base destroyer the option of high-volume torpedo volleys without breaking up the mostly flush belt or build out too far from the Keel Brace. The destroyer can fire torpedoes with long-burn acceleration on any bearing, or can overclock the bay launchers to full coilgun state for a fast-burn surprise attack at closer range. Launching the full salvo fast-burn can be devestating and is intended to criple almost any capital ship, but requires aligning the fixed launchers with the target which may telegraph the destroyer's intentions. More cautious or mind-games oriented Rubywine destroyer captains will often feint a short-burn attack by aiming missiles mid-roll, in order to force their prey to overreact predictably.Missile Safety
The Rubywine's midships area is entirely an ammunition holding and handling facility for the missiles, except for armoured and reinforced access routes between the bow (rail missile turret, crew spaces, sensor arrays, no2 cargo bay) and stern (engineering, crew spaces, bridge, secondary sensor arrays, no1 cargo bay). If the vessel suffered a breach of missile magazine or loading spaces while under sustained fire, an unlucky shot could cause a cascade of fusion reactor breaches in the ammunition stocks and literally cut the vessel in two. Therefore the missile bays (which are based on the disposable missile blocks of the Borderer scout frigate (see Beacon - FGP714 ) can in emergencies can be jettisoned and controlled remotely as a recoverable launch system. This is also useful because it lets the heavy anti-capital missiles be launched from unexpected directions, but is also a risk because dooing so renders that entire hardpoint useless until recovery or refit. The ventral midships section features a large, heavily armoured magazine bay, and can be jettisoned for safety or for 'hot-swap' rearming procedures. Rubywine crews near-universally call this a box magazine or clip, and near-universally still think theyre being funny.Refit
The Labyrinth's survey refit involved gutting half of the missile launchers and their automated handling spaces, and turning it all into labs and additional scanning facilities. 2 of the pods are permanently fixed in place to form dedicated laboratories, while 2 are equipped to operate as self-sufficient research stations for a short time and can be jettisoned to perform independent study for a week or so. The base life support for the jettisoned labs could last much longer than a week, but food storage and crew morale are both limiting factors and the detachable labs are quietly considered a punishment detail by the crew. No matter how much time or Req was spent on the refit, those two labs still feel cramped, spartan and foreign to be in.
by Victoria
Nickname
Rubywine-class missile destroyer (Survey refit)
Designation
HIMS
Manufacturer
Length
496 m
Complement / Crew
290 (naval crew), 43 (survey specialists)
Comments