Leviathan, Awake

LEVIATHAN-CLASS DREADNOUGHT

Operated by: Empire of the Star
Type: Dreadnought, General Operations
Construction: Palaxias Fleet Yards

Length: 3 km
Beam (avg.): 0.8 km
Z-Beam (avg.): 0.6 km

Dry mass: 2,500,000 tons

Gravity-well capable: No.
Atmosphere-capable: No.

Personnel: 6,736

• 4,968 crewers
• 1,768 espatiers
• Thinker-class AI

Drives:

• Imperial Navy 4×2 “Neutrino Dawn” antimatter pion drive
• Nucleodyne Thrust Applications 4×4 “Nova Pulse” fusion torch

Propellant:

• Deuterium slush/metallic antideuterium
• Deuterium/helium-3 slush blend

Cruising (sustainable) thrust: 7.2 standard gravities (6.7 Earth G)
Peak (unsustainable) thrust: 8.4 standard gravities (7.8 Earth G)
Maximum velocity: 0.3 c (rated, based on particle shielding)

Drones:

• 144 x AKVs (loadout varies by mission, typically Daggerfan-class)
• 144 x add-on thrust packs for AKVs
• 72 x “Buckler VI” point-defense supplementary drones, Artifice Armaments, ICC
• 72 x “Rook” tactical observation platforms, Sy Astronautic Engineering Collective (with supplementary IN hardware)
• 72 x general-duty modular drones

Sensors:

• 3 x independent standard navigational sensor suite, Cilmínar Spaceworks
• 18 x [classified] enhanced active/passive tactical sensory suite, Sy Astronautic Engineering Collective
• Imperial Navy tactically-enhanced longscan

Weapons (Primary):

• 4800/2400 mm custom axial heavy mass driver, Artifice Armaments, ICC

Weapons (Secondary):

• 4 x 4800/2400 mm custom heavy mass drivers, Artifice Armaments, ICC
• 4 x “Black Lightning” axial grasers, Artifice Armaments, ICC

Weapons (Tertiary):

• 64 x 2400/1200 mm turreted mass drivers (32 capable of broadside use), Artifice Armaments, ICC
• 8 x 2400/1200 mm turreted mass drivers (rear-firing for kilt defense), Artifice Armaments, ICC
• 32 x “Flashburn” turreted heavy lasers, Artifice Armaments, ICC
• Artifice Armaments, ICC “Popcorn” point defense/CQB laser grid

Other systems:

• 3 x Artifice Armaments, ICC cyclic kinetic barrier system
• Biogenesis Technologies, ICC Mark VII regenerative life support (multiple independent systems)
• 3 x Bright Shadow, ICC custom-build megaframe data system, plus multiple EC-1140 information furnaces for sectoral control
• Class IV starship repair facilities
• 8 x Extropa Energy, ICC “Calviata” second-phase fusion reactors
• Flag bridge
• 4 x Imperial Navy command communications/tactical networking suite
• 4 x Imperial Navy DN-class vector-control core and associated technologies
• 3 x Metric Engineering, ICC “Gloaming” ray shielding system
• 3 x Nanodynamics, ICC “Phage-a-Phage” immunity
• 32 x modular swapout regions (large)
• Systemic Integrated Technologies, ICC high-capacity thermal sinks and dual-mode radiative striping

Small craft:

• 8 x Reaver-class starfighters, with own AKVs
• 8 x Nelyn-class modular cutters
• 4 x Ékalaman-class pinnace/shuttle (atmosphere capable)
• 16 x Élyn-class microcutter
• 16 x Traest Sargas-class troop transport
• 32 x Adhaïc-class workpod
• 32 x Marlinspike-class boarding torpedo
• 32 x Sledgehammer-class drop shuttle

From without, the Leviathan-class dreadnought resembles a slender wedge, a dagger-blade without a hilt. It is, of course, rather larger than virtually all equivalent dreadnought classes and even some superdreadnought classes seen elsewhere, in keeping with the Empire’s naval construction policy of “shock and awesome”.

This should come as no surprise to anyone, since the realities of armoring such a vessel mandate such a glacis, and as such virtually all ships of the plane, of whatever origin, share this common feature. The Leviathan mixes this up slightly, having a change in ratio along its length that gives the hull a subtle curve and the ship entire a forward-leaning, sleek and hungry look.

(Although those who serve aboard Leviathans, especially back in the maneuvering sector, tend to describe their workplace as the ship’s “fat ass”.)

As is also usual, the apparent outer hull of the vessel is entirely composed of armor plating, which in the case of the Leviathan is a little over 30m thick, comprised of multiple layers of heavy plate, Whipple foam, radiation-absorbent material, thermal superconductors, dilatant shock gel, flexible spreader trusses, and other necessities for survivability in the modern high-energy battlespace, many of which remain classified.

(The important thing to remember about this armor plating is that it is not there to protect against a direct hit from an opposing capital ship. No practicable material will do that. It’s there to protect against the spallation debris left behind after your point-defense grid sweeps the sky like the hand of an angry laser-spewing god.)

This armor serves as a backup to the triple-layered cyclic kinetic barrier system with which the Leviathan is equipped, along with the likewise triple-layered ray shielding to protect against photonic attack.

The majority of the space within this outer hull is unpressurized volume, occupied by machinery space, bunkerage, stores (tanks and unpressurized cargo holds), accessways, robot hotels, and magazines. The habitable volume is represented by a relatively small (roughly equivalent to a 232-storey building, laid out tail-lander style) cylinder buried deep within this, above the axial passage for the primary mass driver, with two attendant counter-rotating gravity rings providing space for gravity-requiring special facilities. Below and to port and starboard of this passage can be found the eight fusion reactors providing non-thrust power to the Leviathan.

In addition to the primary (axial) heavy mass driver, the Leviathan mounts four secondary heavy mass drivers of only slightly lower power along its dorsal-ventral centerline, spread out at 15 and 30 degrees off-axis (although with off-bore firing capability), along with four heavy grasers clustered around, and aligned to, the axial primary.

Tertiary weapons systems consist of 64 turreted mass drivers and 32 turreted heavy lasers, of which half can slew far enough to be capable of broadside firing. An additional eight turreted mass drivers are mounted on the stern for kilt defense, should the prospect of attacking through, or at best in close proximity to, the emissions plume of the Leviathan‘s 24 torch drives not be sufficient deterrent. Finally, the Leviathan is equipped with the Artifice Armaments “Popcorn” laser grid for point-defense and CQB purposes, ensuring that anyone foolish enough to close to point-defense range will have mere microseconds to contemplate their folly before vaporizing in one of the most spectacular coruscations known to sophontkind.

Also pressurized are portions of the “docks and locks” sections to port and starboard, 500 meters for’ard of the drives, which house the Leviathan‘s small craft complement. These are buried beneath the starship’s outer hull armor, which is designed to retract under non-combat conditions to provide ingress. In light of this, the multiple AKV wings and drones are launched via dog-leg tubes through the dorsal and ventral armor, and recovered – if this is necessary during an engagement – when circumstances permit turning broadside to the enemy and recovering through the far-side landing bay.

As a dreadnought, the Leviathan is equipped with a flag bridge and communications/tactical mesh suite for task force command; with the capability to effect repairs on smaller vessels of its task force; with the ability to deploy starfighters for patrol or remote operations missions; and with a substantial espatier force and the means to deploy them, whether in boarding operations or for groundside raids.