Exocarrier Resolute III Ship Type: Long Distance Variable Fighter Command Carrier Class: Titan Class Exocarrier Name: Resolute III Manufacturer: Exofleet Research and Development Length: 14,850 ft (4,500 m) Weight: 7,500,000 tons (empty), 9,300,000 tons (standard compliment) Crew: 6,189 Total - Command Tower: 168 - Main Ship: 3,900 - VF Pilots: 1,050 with 150 reserve - Jumptroopers: 585 - Mecha pilots: 336 Main Ship Components: - Command Tower - Primary Sensor Array (behind Command Tower) - Foredeck - Flight Decks (2) - Main Warp Engines (2) - Secondary Ion-Thrust Engines (2) - Small Guidance Thrusters (36) - Small Airlocks/Access Hatches (300) - Large Airlocks (60) Weapon Systems: Main Anti-Warship Fusion Torpedo Launchers (18)     Titan Class Exocarriers are not specifically designed for heavy ship-to-ship combat, instead relying more on their fighter wings for protection and attack. However the carriers are armed with eighteen fusion torpedo launcher tubes should a direct assault be required. These are mounted on the front of the ship facing forward. The launchers are usually used only during assaults and heavy combat. PRIMARY PURPOSE: Heavy Assault SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-Warship RANGE: 3,000 miles (4824 km) SPEED: Mach 2+ (1340 mph/2140 kmph) in an atmosphere. BLAST RADIUS: 3,000 feet (915 m) RATE OF FIRE: Each launcher tube holds one fusion torpedo and must be reloaded after firing. Reloading a launcher tube takes 1 minute. If loaded, all tubes can fire at once for a volley of 18 torpedo missiles. PAYLOAD: A typical titan class exocarrier carries 90 torpedo in storage that can be readied for firing in about 30 minutes. These torpedos CANNOT be used by VF fighters. Each missile is approximately the same size as a VF-11 Thunderbolt. Medium Range Missile Launchers (36)     In addition to the fusion torpedo launchers, exocarriers are armed with thirty-six medium missile launchers which are primarily intended for anti-aircraft defense. Each launcher contains 8 missile tubes allowing volleys of up to 8 missiles to be fired at a single target per launcher. Once depleted, the missile launchers are reloaded by an automated loading system that takes 15 seconds to reload all 8 missiles. Armor-piercing smart missiles are usually used to avoid chances of friendly fighters being accidently shot down. PRIMARY PURPOSE: Anti-Aircraft SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-Warship RANGE: Varies, typically 60 miles (80.4 km). SPEED: Varies, typically 1600mph (2571kmph). BLAST RADIUS: Varies, typically 15 feet. RATE OF FIRE: Volleys of 2, 4, 6, or 8 missiles per launcher. PAYLOAD: Each launcher holds 8 missiles. Once the missiles are expended the launcher is reloaded within 15 seconds via an automated system. The reload system holds 40 missiles per launcher. Retractable Laser Turrets (72)     The last line of defense for a titan class exocarrier is 72 automated laser turrets that retract into the ship's hull when not in use. These short-range lasers are intended primarily for anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense, but can do moderate damage against smaller enemy spacecraft if they get too close. The lasers are located at key points along the spacecraft's hull. At most 4 lasers can be directed against a single target at any time. The lasers can be set on automatic during combat, but may also be operated manually. Due to their advanced tracking systems the turrets tend to be quite accurate but will always target incoming missiles first and attacking mecha/aircraft second. PRIMARY PURPOSE: Anti-Missile SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-Aircraft RANGE: 30 miles (48.2 km) in an atmosphere. Double in space. RATE OF FIRE: Fully automatic (120 shots per minute) PAYLOAD: Unlimited. Mecha     At times, the exocarrier's compliment of mecha can be deployed on the hull of the carrier. This is particularly common practice with the Phalanx and Defender models, accounting for why carriers tend to have more of these onboard. Speeds: Sublight (secondary engines, space): Normal cruising speed is about 32,000 miles per second or .20 times the speed of light. Sublight (secondary engines, atmosphere): Maximum speed of about Mach 6. Faster than light (main warp engines): 1 light year every 6 minutes. Primary Systems: Force Shield Defense System     Originally developed by the Eltorian Military to protect their Baseships from attack, the force shield defense system was adapted for use on terran ships shortly after the end of the Elionite Crisis. By the time the Titan class ships were being designed the defense system had become an Exofleet standard. The system itself consists of a series of conduits and generators that are embedded within the hull of the ship. Once activated, the system creates a high grade energy barrier around the exocarrier that can withstand most conventional forms of attack. Being powered by the exocarrier's main generator gives the system a nearly inexhaustible supply of power. However, this does not mean the barrier cannot be breached. If a repeated assault of sufficient yield were delivered to same area of the ship it could overload the local barrier conduits contained within the ships hull. This would cause a localized failure of the barrier in that specific area. Barrier integrity could therefore not be restored until the damaged conduits were repaired. Antigravity Propulsion System     Titan-class exocarriers are equipped with an anti-gravity propulsion system used for planetary landings and liftoffs. The system is good for vertical ascent/descent only and can lift the ship at speeds of up to 1,320 feet (or 400 meters) per minute. The system will function so long as the main engines can supply energy to it. Hyperspace Communications     Based on the same technology that provides warp engines, the hyperspace communications relay allows faster-than-light communication between ships, other vessels, or planetary bases. Hyperspace communications can be instantaneous, provided the sender and receiver are within a certain distance from each other. For example, communications from anywhere within the Sol system to any other part of the system would be instantaneous. Communications between a carrier in Earth orbit to another carrier in orbit around Eltoria (about three solar systems removed from Sol) would experience a 30 to 60 second delay. Messages communicated over vast distances - such as galaxy to galaxy - would take days, weeks, or months to arrive. The communications array of the escort carrier can communicate with up to 1,000 craft simultaneously. Life Support Systems     Titan-class exocarriers have sufficient life support to provide breathable air and comfortable temperatures for 6,600 people for up to 30 years (air is recycled). In an emergency the life support system can support up to 12,000 people at one time, though living conditions onboard would get extremely cramped at that point. The carrier also holds sufficient food and water to support 6,600 people for up to 6 months. Long Range Radar     The radar array of an exocarrier track and identify up to 2,000 craft simultaneously. The radar system has a 2,000 mile/3,200 km range. Main Warp Engines     For FTL propulsion, a Titan-class exocarrier is equipped with two massive warp engines capable of propelling the carrier through hyperspace at speeds up to 3.28x1010 mps (5.25x1010 kmps), or 1 light year per 6 minutes. The range of the engines is theoretically unlimited except by the life expectancy of the exocarrier. When used, warp engines tend to leave a distortion wave, or energy wake, in their path of travel. This can be quite dangerous to any smaller craft or stations within the exocarrier's vicinity. It is for this reason that warp engines are not used within heavily populated regions of space. Secondary Ion-Thrust Engines     As a backup to the Main Warp Engines, an exocarrier is equipped with secondary ion-thrust engines that can propel the craft at speeds up to 0.20 speed of light (32,000 miles per second) in space. Ion-thrust engines are not as efficient in propulsion as the warp engines, nor can they achieve similar speeds. However they do allow a much greater degree of maneuverability which is why they are used most commonly on VF-fighters. It is for this reason that these engines are mainly intended for movement inside a crowded planetary system and are not suited for long voyages within or between star systems. In a planetary atmosphere the carrier is limited to a maximum speed of Mach 6 due to hull stress. Subspace Mass Sensors     Exocarriers are equipped with subspace sensors, which are based on the same principles as the hyperspace communications array. These sensors can essentially instantly detect mass readings and movement of objects up to 93 million miles away from the carrier. Readings are used both for early warning and for navigation when traveling at both light and sublight speeds. However, readings taken with the subspace sensors are not very detailed and cannot detect objects of less than 60,000 kg (this includes most variable fighters). Standard Exoframe Complement: 1,536 units total Variable Fighters (1,200 units, 150 Squads): VA-3 Invader: 100 units VF-4 Lightning III: 179 units VF-14 Hunter: 175 units VF-11 Thunderbolt: 340 units VF-11 Thunderbolt Full Armor Variant: 90 units VF-11D Jamming Bird: 216 units VF-17 Stealth Nightmare: 25 units VF-19 Excalibur: 75 units Mecha (336 units): Defender: 103 units Phalanx: 118 units Spartan: 50 units Tomahawk: 65 units History:     The Resolute II served as the flagship of the Exofleet from the time of the Neosapian War up until the year 2035. At that time the ship was decommissioned as per the orders of Exofleet command. The reasons for the ship's retirement where threefold. One, the Resolute II had seen a tremendous amount of action and it showed in the ships degenerating superstructure. Two, with newer VF fighters becoming the mainstay of the fleet the older Resolute simply lacked the needed technology and space to maintain and carry the advanced spacecraft. And third, a cost analysis showed that upgrading and expanding the ship was not a financially viable option.     After the decommissioning of the Resolute II, the newly completed Crystania became the Exofleet's flagship. Being a Europa class carrier, the Crystania was far larger and much more advanced than the Resolute had been. Operating under the command of Admiral Westphal, the Crystania would remain the flagship of the Exofleet for the next thirteen years. At that time Exofleet R & D presented Fleet Command with an ambitious new carrier design. Several times larger than the Resolute II or the Crystania had ever been, the new Titan class exocarrier was everything Fleet Command could ask for and more.     The titan class exocarrier was readily approved because it solved a fundamental problem Exofleet had been having with the recent boon in colonization. With humanity spread farther out among the stars than it ever had before, it was a necessity that Exofleet could maintain order not only within the Sol system but outside as well. The key was in having a vessel large enough to serve as a mobile command center that could not only travel planet to planet but system to system as well. The proposed titan class carrier would serve that purpose and could remain in space without resupply far longer than any previous carrier could. It was for these reasons that the first of the new class of ship would become the new flagship of the Exofleet.     The first titan class exocarrier was completed in 2048 and placed under the direct command of Admiral Takagi, commander-in-chief of all Exofleet forces. When asked by fleet command to name the new vessel Admiral Takagi was rumored to reply, "There is only one name that has ever truly befitted a flagship of the fleet. And if you people have to ask me what it is, then clearly you have not been witness to our recent history." Although the Admiral never actually suggested a name with his statement, there was never a question in anyone's mind that the new ship would be the third in line of steadfast vessels.