Pinnacle-class Star Dreadnought

== Overview ==
The Merculan Pinnacle-class Star Dreadnoughts are one of the largest and most powerful ships ever constructed, and the largest vessels to ever serve the Imperial Merculan Starfleet. Ten ships in total were constructed, from years 2024 to 2027. All ships of the class are listed below in order by completion.
# Pinnacle
# Resurgence
# Executioner
# Malevolence
# Grievance
# Retribution
# Vindicator 
# Ravager
# Vengeance 
# Retaliator 
== Design and Construction ==
The Pinnacle project was stared in late 2022, with the need for a new star dreadnought for the Merculan Starfleet increasing as galactic powers grew in size, notably Hyberia and Auroria Prime. Mercular had fallen significantly behind on the race to larger Star Dreadnoughts, primarily focusing on building up its fleet of A-Type Battleships. The Pinnacle-class Dreadnoughts would feature a long, wide rectangular hull, and heavy focus on armor and shield protection, featuring Type XII shield generators forming a massive limitless layer of constantly adaptive shielding, making Pinnacle the most well protected ships in the galaxy at the time. Pinnacle's main firepower was more uniform, with several hundred superheavy magnetic accelerator cannons (MACs) as primary armament, and several thousand more heavy MACs scattered around its hull. Secondary armament consisted of several thousand heavy plasma torpedo silos and countless point defense mounts. 
Pinnacle was first started in 2024, and was finished in 2026, entering service the same year. The rest of the class was completed throughout 2026-2027. Most of the ships were completed at the Imperion Shipyards in the Merculan industrial system Imperion. 
== Service Career ==
The Pinnacle-class Star Dreadnoughts had somewhat eventful careers. They were split into four task groups:
* Task Force 53, containing Pinnacle, Resurgence and Executioner 
* Task Force 70, containing Retribution, Grievance and Vindicator
* Task Force 81, containing Ravager and Malevolence
* Task Force 140, containing Retaliator and Vengeance
Just after the completion of the ships, the NCMD and Auroria Prime launched a surprise attack against the Merculan Capital World of Orion Prime. All ten Pinnacle-class ships were warped to aid the defense of the planet, lasting several days, with most ships taking light to moderate damage with the exception of the Vindicator, which stayed in dock for a year being repaired. 
Task Force 53 was the most famous of the fleets, containing the Merculan Emperor's Personal Flagship, the Pinnacle. Task Force 53 saw action in 2028 supporting the Merculan invasions of Earth, providing heavy orbital support. In 2029 the fleet returned to Mercular, occasionally traveling to Earth and back "...requesting large shipments of Space Doritos..." and was used as a symbol of Mercular's supremacy in the stars. Task Force 53 took part in the First Hyberian War, but saw little action as the fleet was stationed to protect Edulian IV after the Hyberian surprise attack. Just months later, the Second Hyberian War began with Task Force 53 leading a Merculan assault, joined by the NJR's Callisto Class Super Star Dreadnoughts. The IAAH crushed the Hyberian Empire, reducing the once advanced civilization to a disorganized mess of small groups of people struggling to survive. After the war, Task Force 53 returned to Merculan space, where they continue to patrol. 
Task Force 70 was a patrol battlegroup that patrolled the Outer Rim of Merculan Space, enforcing Merculan rule. They were recalled to Earth in 2028 to help support Merculan ground forces attacking Italy, but saw little action and soon returned to patrolling the Outer Rim, suppressing the spread of The Brood into the galaxy. In 2033, Task Force 70 saw the most action in the First Hyberian War, leading Merculan forces into Hyberian space. After the First Hyberian War, they returned home and stayed until 2035. 
Task Force 81 consisted of Grand Admiral Alcazar's personal flagship, the Ravager. The task force patroled Merculan space until the First Hyberian War, where the fleet led several attacks following the ships of Task Force 70. 
Task Force 140 patrolled the Merculan Capital Worlds, establishing the might of the Merculan Starfleet. This task force supported Task Force 70 in the attack on Hyberia during the First Hyberian War.
== Notable Details ==
Every ship in the Pinnacle class has slight differences in design, most notably the Ravager, after she was refitted with experimental fusion cores and molecular shattering cannons. Each ship featured a large hangar space to store fighters and frigates, but notably the Pinnacle's fighter compliment was significantly smaller than the rest in favor of a battleship hangar to store C-Type Battleships for a more powerful escort fleet. Pinnacle's hull was also painted a deep red, signifying that it was the flagship of the Emperor. Retribution featured extended starfighter hangars, and Retaliator was outfitted with the warp drive MKV at the time of her finishing, removing the 'tail' at the back of the ship due to extreme heat issues in the interior causing the crew in the area to "not feel so good". This reduced her overall length by a few hundred meters.
Category:Vehicles
Category:Spaceships
Category:Ships of the line
Category:Space military
Category:Mercular