Midnight-class cruiser

The Midnight-class cruiser is the first capital ship designed, developed and built by the Commonwealth of New South Wales. Utilised and first commissioned after the Created Crisis and the expansion of most of the Commonwealth's dockyards, a design committee led by shipbuilder Federation Industries offered what was then known as Design 44 to the Commonwealth Naval Forces (CNF). Satisfied with the cost and specifications, production was authorised in 2560 and the first Midnight would be in service with the CNF by 2562. Often utilised in conjunction with the CNF's collection of older Marathon-class heavy cruisers, the two both fill a role of fleet coordination and spatial domination that is very necessary in the post-Created Orion Arm. The Midnight-class is a perfect balance of speed, firepower and armour that a cruiser needs to have to perform effectively and efficiently in combat.
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==Operational History==
The need for modern, durable capital ships has been a long sought-after goal of the Commonwealth. The creation of the Commonwealth Naval Forces out of the UNSCN brought with it several ships, the largest of which being the Valiant-class large cruiser ex-UNSC Kosciusko. As the 2550s went on, the CNF purchased several Marathon-class heavy cruisers from the UEG to supplement its growing fleet, and to give its fleets a potent flagship. As such it would buy the Sydney, Determination and Vulture Street, all of which would undergo several months of refit above the moon Barton before entering service with the CNF. However, in 2558, the Created Crisis began, and Cortana's sharp rise and fall halted any sort of major fleet expansion by the Commonwealth, as priority went to planetary defence and the refurbishment of existing equipment within the Commonwealth Defence Force. 
In 2560, Cortana's reign ended, and so a new phase in the war for dominance in the Orion Arm began. The Commonwealth finally felt comfortable enough to start manufacturing a new type of ship, designed in the interlude of Created control. The first ever cruiser design put forward by a New South Wales company, the original specifications featured three lightweight MACs, 50 M58 Archer pods, and enough hangar space for three full squadrons of GA-TL1 Longswords, along with docking hardpoints to sling a prowler on the underside of the ship. This design had been further refined, with the three light MACs replaced with two 52F9A3 heavy MACs, the first designed in New South Wales by Sentinel Systems. More Archer pods were added, hangar space was downgraded to a single squadron of Longswords, and troop assembly areas had been added to give the ship some form of offensive ground capability. In addition, the prowler docking points were removed, more point defence guns were added, and provisions for a primitive shield generator were added.
The final design was approved in late 2559, and in January the first ship of the newly-christened Midnight-class was laid down at the Federation Industries shipyard over Tasmania. Four more were approved by the new government of the Commonwealth, who were fearful of potential Banished incursions. Due to the fact that the UEG had retracted mostly to the Inner Colonies after Cortana's rampage, the Commonwealth would have to find allies elsewhere, or become entirely self-reliant in its defence against the Covenant remnants. To fill the gap in capability that would not be filled until the Midnights would be completed, a further three Marathon-class heavy cruisers would be purchased from UNSC reserve yards.
CNFS Midnight would be welcomed into the fleet in August 2562, where it would join Battlegroup Delta in ensuring the naval corridor to New Zanzibar would remain open, allowing for reinforcements and supplies to keep flowing to the Commonwealth forces on the planet. The next ship, the CNFS Endeavour would then be sent on a daring raid to the NCA planet of Polinas, to evacuate the 452 remaining soldiers of the 1st Battalion, Z Special Unit. The soldiers had been on Polinas for a miraculous two years, with evacuation constantly postponed as the NCA had a large fleet surrounding the planet. The Endeavour would showcase the capability that a Midnight-class had, by destroying most of the NCA fleet (with the help of several Redgum-class frigates and the CNFS Chimera). The battalion would be evacuated successfully, and the Endeavour given a Unit Commendation for its actions.
In 2567, as the cold war between the Glasslands Defence Initiative and the Free Systems Pact began to heat up, a second flight of six ships would be ordered to build up the cruiser fleet of the CNF, and build from the losses taken throughout the 2560s. Featuring a number of sensor and weapons upgrades, they are yet to begin construction, as priority is focused on building up the escort fleet of the CNF, and finishing the line of Monash-class light cruisers. 
==Role & Usage==
The Midnight-class is a successor to the popular Marathon-class, taking its influence from the design of the famous heavy cruiser. The purpose of the Midnight in many ways is simply an extension of the Marathon's original doctrine: a ship that can do everything confidently, and fight other capital ships in one-on-one engagements and come off victorious. As such, armour and firepower were major considerations in the original design. The lessons learnt from the Naval Battle of Barton taught ship designers that alpha strike capability was crucial in winning an engagement, hence why the Midnight has quite a heavy, front-weighted arsenal which can destroy enemy capital ships within the first few salvoes.
Despite this emphasis on capital ship slugging matches, this is not to say that the Midnight is incapable of dealing with escort ships, such as corvettes and frigates. The copious amounts of Archer missile pods and light coilguns allow it to wreak havoc on light enemy forces without needing to use its MAC installation. Its small complement of Longsword fighter-bombers also gives it some single-ship capability, although most of the time they are kept back for fleet defence against the more numerous, if less capable rebel fighters. 
The Midnights also have some ground warfare capability. The company's worth of Commonwealth marines, and another company of elite Commonwealth Guard troopers can be used in offensive operations, although most of the time only the Commonwealth Guard are deployed for shock-and-awe operations, in conjunction with other SOF units. The squadron of Pelicans also provide some heavy-lift capacity for the heavier vehicles in a Midnight's ground forces martialing area, such as M12 Warthogs, M3 Crocodiles, and M808 Scorpions.
==Specifications==
===Armament===
The armament of the Midnights is an even split between domestic designs, and UNSC equipment. The main armament of the ship is two 52F9A3 Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, laid vertically in the ship to decrease the ship's overall width. The actual design of the MAC is mostly based off of the highly-successful 38G1S2 MAC that is used on the Artemis-class battlecruiser, except scaled down to a size that could fit on a cruiser. As such it loses some of the standard 38G1S2's power and shell mass, however retains its impressive fire rate. These MACs differ from their UNSC counterparts, however, in that some of the magnetic coils are lithium-lined, allowing for MAC rounds to be propelled out of the barrel at a faster velocity, giving the round 'that extra oomph', as one crewman put it. 
Its secondary armament originally consisted of 42 pods of M58 Archer missiles, 10 domestically-produced 40A3R6 Dingo naval coilguns in five twin mounts, and 24 M870 Rampart point defence guns. The Archer pods all had configurations for different types of warheads, such as the M127 'Firedrake' incendiary, the M134 'Shuriken' flechette, the M101 'Firefly' EMP, and the M140 'Dumbbell' APFSDS. These warheads are all creations of the Commonwealth's Federation Industries, to give the ships of the CNF variety when dealing with certain situations. The Dingo naval coilguns are also a Federation Industries invention, operating in much the same manner as the UNSC's Viper coilguns. However, the main change between the two is an increased rate of fire due to using a better-quality yet more-expensive set of magnetic coils for each weapon. The M870 Ramparts are a UNSC mainstay, with no introduction needed. They are positioned all across the Midnight's hull, in batteries of three. 
However, circumstances demanded that this layout be modified somewhat. In an engagement above the planet Hrungnir in 2563, the Midnight-class cruisers CNFS Endeavour and Midnight were able to destroy a Banished DOS-class supercruiser in a fierce twenty-minute battle. This engagement highlighted the advantage that the increased reload rate of the 52F9A3 MAC, however displayed that the secondary armaments of the Midnight restricted its ability to engage from a long range. As such, in 2564 a refit was scheduled for the Midnights, which aimed to significantly increase its range with some of its secondary armament, and give it a heftier punch when fighting smaller vessels.
===Armour & Layout===
===Complement===
===Countermeasures===
==Ships of the Line==
Name 	Hull Classification Symbol	Commissioned 	Status 	Notes
Block I
The first block of the Midnight-class heavy cruisers, commissioned between 2562 and 2564. Assigned hull codes CA-7-CA-9.	Block I
The first block of the Midnight-class heavy cruisers, commissioned between 2562 and 2564. Assigned hull codes CA-7-CA-9.	Block I
The first block of the Midnight-class heavy cruisers, commissioned between 2562 and 2564. Assigned hull codes CA-7-CA-9.	Block I
The first block of the Midnight-class heavy cruisers, commissioned between 2562 and 2564. Assigned hull codes CA-7-CA-9.	Block I
The first block of the Midnight-class heavy cruisers, commissioned between 2562 and 2564. Assigned hull codes CA-7-CA-9.
Midnight 	CA-7 	August 5th 2562 	Active 	In service with the CNF Home Fleet.
Endeavour 	CA-8 	November 24th 2562	Active 	In service with CNF Battlegroup Delta.
Vulture Street II	CA-9 	February 13th 2563	Active 	In service with CNF Battlegroup Charlie.
Block II
The second block of the Midnight-class heavy cruisers, currently under construction. Assigned hull codes CA-10-CA-15.	Block II
The second block of the Midnight-class heavy cruisers, currently under construction. Assigned hull codes CA-10-CA-15.	Block II
The second block of the Midnight-class heavy cruisers, currently under construction. Assigned hull codes CA-10-CA-15.	Block II
The second block of the Midnight-class heavy cruisers, currently under construction. Assigned hull codes CA-10-CA-15.	Block II
The second block of the Midnight-class heavy cruisers, currently under construction. Assigned hull codes CA-10-CA-15.
Unbroken 	CA-10 	Estimated 2573 	Ordered	Under construction at Federation Industries' Barton Complex.
Hephaestus 	CA-11 	Estimated 2573 	Ordered	Under construction at Federation Industries' Barton Complex.
Diesel And Dust 	CA-12 	Estimated 2574 	Ordered	Under construction at Sentinel Systems' Darwin Complex.
Golden Rule 	CA-13 	Estimated 2574 	Ordered	Under construction at Cockatoo Dockyards' Barton Complex.
Burn Your Name 	CA-14 	Estimated 2575 	Ordered	Under construction at Federation Industries' Tasmania Complex.
The Best Thing 	CA-15 	Estimated 2575 	Ordered	Under construction at Sentinel Systems' Darwin Complex.