Calderon Class Battleship (BtH)

==Overview==
The Calderon-Class Battleship is a Periphery built Warship, which was produced in the By the Horns AU and designed by player master arminas originally in 2013, which is use in his Fan Alternate Universe. 
Built prior to the onslaught of the Reunification War, the Calderons were premier capital ship in service of the Taurian Concordat. The class was first introduced in the AU's universe year of 2572. 
==Summary of the Known Ship Class History==
Taurian Concordat was in heyday, had the first class navy, field wide range of warships. The Calderons were it's hammer and it's leading vessels, where they would server in course of the 20 year war to retain the Concordat's independence from newly emerged Star League. The ships of the class would end up fighting till they were loss in battle. In the last days of the War, that of the Calderons was had gone missing with its flotilla.
----
===Extended History of the Class===
On November 6, 2570, the hull for the first battleship ever produced by the
Taurian Concordat was laid down in a ceremony full of fanfare at the Chandler
Shipwrights Prometheus Shipyard orbiting New Columbia, deep in the interior of
the Hyades Cluster. Protector Caterina Calderon attended, and in a 43-minute
speech broadcast throughout the Cluster (eventually reaching every world in
the Concordat and beyond; it was in fact viewed with concern on Terra itself
sometime later) marked the event with words that would ring across the
Periphery.
"It is in hope that through peace will events guide us here in the Concordat.
But hope is, by itself, nothing more than a flimsy, unsteady bulwark against
the aggression of others; who blinded by ambition seek dominion over all free
men and women. I tell you, follow citizens, that this ship, and her sister
ships to come, and others like them that even now lie upon the drawing boards
of great companies such as this one, across the width and breadth of our
Concordat, will serve as our shield, an adamant shield, so that our hope may
flourish in peace and prosperity. And should our efforts at peace be for
naught, then we take as our motto the ancient words, 'Give Me Liberty or Give
Me Death'."
"For more than three centuries have we dwelt here, in this home that we,
through our labors and our joys and our sorrows, have carved out from pristine
wilderness never before touched by human hands. We left behind the wars and
the corruption that has plagued the Inner Sphere since its very beginnings,
from the dark tyranny of the Terran Alliance to the feudalistic warlords that
govern it today. And yet, even to this day, they pursue us, seeking our
allegiance to their way of life, to their form of government. Director General
Ian Cameron has told us of his grand vision for a Star League that encompasses
all humanity within its grasp; to this we say no. We left you behind us and
seek to have nothing more to do with you. GO! Leave these worlds in peace, we
have said to the Camerons and the Davions and the Liaos, and yet, still they
persist."
"Still, they seek to bring a free people underneath their heel, trod down
under their boot. And when honeyed words fail to assuage us of their
self-righteous truth, instead they turn to threats and warnings of
consequences dire and unfortunate. They threaten us all with war. They
threaten us all with becoming their slaves should we not kneel before their
altar of One Humanity United."
"And this shall our answer be, to the men and women who seek dominion over us.
We shall chart our own course, here in the deepness of space, where we see the
light shed by Old Earth's sun more than seven centuries ago, as if it were
newly lit. NO. This far shall you go and no further. We will not submit
meekly; we will not surrender our liberty; we will not go silent into the
night at your command. We offer this unto you, the men and women of the Old
Worlds of the Hegemony who still have conscience; we are not your enemies. We
are your brothers and your sisters, yet we will not give up our independence
to share with you your yoke. Leave us in peace, and peace shall you also have.
We shall go our way, and you yours, and in the fullness of time our children
and our children's children will see who was right."
"But if men of conscience and with the understanding of the fire of liberty
that has been kindled in this far place cannot avert what is to come, then
know this all who would be our conquerors. We shall fight for each inch of our
sacred soil. We shall demand a price greater than any you have yet paid. We
shall not submit, nor shall we yield; and you shall have your war until you
can stomach it no further."
"On January 23rd, 2253, Samantha Calderon set foot on Taurus. She had braved
the many dangers of not only space, but of the evil, vile men whose
territories she had to lead her people through to freedom. She founded our
colony here, among the glowing cocoon of our Nebula. And that first colony
gave birth to ten, and then fifty, and now nearly one hundred worlds that
follow her path. She showed us the way, and she protected us in our infancy
from those who would have stolen your freedom that she gave so much to ensure
would be our gift."
"There is no more fitting name for this mighty ship that will serve as our
symbol of independence, our own Protector in deed as well as in name. None
that could stand as a greater beacon to our determination and our conviction.
Therefore, I, Caterina Calderon, Protector by the Grace of God of the Taurian
Homeworlds, and the Taurian Concordat, do hereby christen thee the Taurian
Concordat Ship Samantha Calderon! Long may this Samantha serve and protect us
as ably as did her namesake. And let her stand as a warning to those who seek
to bring threat of death and destruction unto her people; we are neither
helpless nor do we need your protection, threaten us at your own peril."
However, this effort, the first (public) attempt by any periphery power to
build a true battleship was plagued by problems throughout the construction of
the Calderon class. None of the Concordat's shipbuilders had any experience
with such a large vessel, and none had ever even attempted to design a compact
Kearny-Fuchida Drive Core massing nearly half a million tons. Four separate
redesigns of the drive derailed the original construction schedule until
finally a stable core was achieved. Gremlins seemed to infest the shipyards,
delaying the project time and again, but finally, on December 7, 2574, ten
months after her original scheduled completion date, TCS Samantha Calderon was
launched and commissioned into service. The follow-on vessels were no less
complicated to construct, and over the next twenty-two years, until the
surrender in 2596, only eleven more ships of this class were completed.
Many officers and men of the TCN, as superstitious an organization as any that
existed, fully expected that the Calderon-class ships would prove themselves
unworkable and a waste of money and effort. Yet from the moment that TCS
Samantha Calderon left the shipyards under her own power, she showed no sign
of her difficult and complicated birth. During the long years of the War, the
Saucy Sam (a nickname bestowed on the ship by her crew) became regarded as a
good luck charm. Participating in ten major naval engagements, plus the
grinding and bloody five year campaign of attrition in Flannagan's Nebula,
this ship was often damaged, sometimes severely, but she was never lost. The
repair docks made good her damage and sent her back into battle no less than
seven times over the course of her short, but illustrious career, but she soon
gained a reputation for having the lowest crew casualties of any ship in the
Taurian Fleet. She became infamous among the Star League and Davion Navies as
well, as she was often forced to retire, but never before destroying more than
four times her own tonnage.
When word of the surrender arrived at the dry dock housing Saucy Sam (for the
eighth time!) on September 22, 2596, the station commander (Admiral Erik
Crane) directed that rather than be seized as a Star League prize, the Taurian
flagship, along with all of the other incomplete and damage ships in dock
would instead be scuttled with nuclear demolition charges, depriving the Star
League of their claim upon her.
The Samatha Calderon was thought destroyed until, 3025.
===Battle History:===
[EDITOR'S NOTE: THE PASSAGE BELOW HAS NEVER BEEN CONFIRMED, ALTHOUGH SURVIVING
STAR LEAGUE RECORDS DO CONFIRM THAT 68 SLDF SHIPS WERE DISPATCHED TO THE
HYADES IN 2648 AND REMAINED THERE FOR 57 MONTHS. OUR OWN RECORDS, BLESSED BE
BLAKE IN THAT HE INSTRUCTED US TO RETAIN ALL KNOWLEDGE, SUGGEST THAT THE
LEGEND DESCRIBED BELOW IS, IN POINT OF FACT, A HOAX. HOWEVER, SHOULD IT EVER
PROVE TO BE TRUE, THEN COMSTAR MUST CONSIDER EITHER REMOVING THE SHIPS TO A
SAFER LOCATION OR DESTROYING THEM. BOTH ACTIONS ARE NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE
TAURIAN PEOPLE FROM THE CONFLICTS THAT WOULD ARISE SHOULD THE GREAT HOUSES
LEARN OF THE EXISTENCE OF THESE GHOST SHIPS.]
The story of TCS Samantha Calderon does not end on September 22, 2596,
however. The history books show that on July 23, 2648, a very sick, very old
man named Pieter Durant was admitted to the Taurus Veterans Hospital. His
physician of record was Dr. Abigail Larson, an SLDF doctor on liaison duty in
the Concordat. Mr. Durant was diagnosed with Stage IV terminal cancer and
admitted later that afternoon. While making her evening rounds, Dr. Larson
spoke with Durant at length. No recording of that conversation has ever
publically surfaced, although Dr. Larson claims the interview was taped.
Durant told the SLDF doctor that in the final months of 2596, he had served
aboard Prometheus Station orbiting New Columbia. When word of the surrender
arrived, Admiral Crane, the station commander had, according to history,
scuttled all damaged and incomplete ships in the yard. But Durant told her
that was a lie. Instead of destroying the ships, Crane ordered any vessel
capable of making a jump to stand 5 kilometers off the station and then fired
a salvo of nuclear weapons into the remaining vessels docked there. One of
these ships still capable of operations was TCS Samantha Calderon.
Along with the Saucy Sam, there were three more Calderon class battleships,
two Winchesters Crusiers, a Wagon Wheel, three Concordats Frigates, three Resolutions, two
Wildcats, and a fleet tender, plus a civilian JumpShip. All sixteen ships then
withdrew to a hidden jump point deep within the Wall of Flannagan's Nebula, a
jump point known only to senior officers of the TCN. Known as 'back-door',
this jump point was the only means of entering or leaving the Nebula other
than Gateway. And the Star League did not know of its existence. At this
hidden location, Crane instructed the crews and yard workers to shut down all
systems and secure the vessels for long-term vacuum storage. This took six
days to accomplish. With the task finished, Crane and his men, including
Durant, boarded the civilian vessel and returned to New Columbia. To ensure
that the civilians would not talk, Crane left one of Saucy Sams last remaining
nuclear warheads hidden aboard; there were no survivors. The TCN personnel
were sworn to secrecy and disbanded among the civilian population of the
planet below, and none save Crane knew of the coordinates of the hidden depot.
Dr. Larson stayed with Durant throughout the night; he died at 0317 on July
24. The following day, she reported to the Ambassador the entire conversation,
and immediately action began to be taken. While there are no surviving records
of the report, what is known is that within a month 68 SLDF WarShips and
survey vessels arrived in the Hyades, against the vehement protests of the
Concordat government. Under the command of Vice Admiral Helen Kincaid, these
ships spent the better part of the next five years surveying the Nebula. Along
with the ships, more than nine hundred investigators from the Ministry of
Justice arrived to pursue the rumor on the streets of Taurus, Samantha,
Jamestown, and New Columbia. Crew members from Prometheus and the listed ships
were searched for, but the passage of time had ensured that nearly all were
already dead. Only two were located; one was senile, and the second asserted
his right to remain silent, and the Taurian government prevented the man from
being questioned. While waiting for authorization from the First Lord, the man
died of natural causes, having never answered one of their many questions.
At the Naval Archives on Taurus, the investigators hit a stone wall, when they
were told that all records of the conflict had been shredded and disposed of
fifty-two years previously.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS WAS A LIE. THE RECORDS HAD BEEN REMOVED AND HIDDEN,
ALTHOUGH CERTAINLY SOME OF THE MORE SENSITIVE WERE DESTROYED. AFTER THE AMARIS
COUP, THE REPOSITORY WAS RETURNED TO THE NAVAL ARCHIVES AND RESTORED TO THE
BEST EXTENT THAT THE TAURIANS WERE CAPABLE. COMSTAR AGENTS STILL HAVE NOT
OBTAINED A COMPLETE COPY OF ALL DOCUMENTS STORED THERE.]
Admiral Crane was never located, although his identity was confirmed through
microfilm records of public media documents. No record of his death, obituary,
or grave marker was ever discovered.
Three years after the investigation began, a frustrated Star League bureaucrat
inadvertently leaked exactly what the Star League was investigating to an
undercover investigative Taurian journalist. His statement about the hunt for
a fleet of 'ghost ships' apparently crewed by the 'spirits of men that we
can't confirm ever lived' made the papers across Taurus by the next morning,
the cluster by the end of the week, and Terra within a month.
The Taurians were ecstatic, believing that one of their own had out-smarted
and hoodwinked the League, who were now wearing themselves and their ships to
the breaking point trying to search the Nebula. And the idea that a loyal
officer had saved not just a portion of their old Fleet, but the gallant old
Saucy Sam herself boosted Taurian morale to dizzying heights.
Finally, after fifty-four months of exhaustive searches, Vice Admiral Kincaid
sent a dispatch to Terra, reading, in part, ". . . .and so in conclusion, my
Lord, there has been no evidence whatsoever to the veracity of the statements
of this man Durant. We cannot even confirm if he was a serving member of the
Taurian Navy at the time of the Surrender. Task Force 47 and Task Force 73
have searched the Nebula for the better part of four and a half years; we
could search for another century and still find nothing. The Nebula is
immense, even with the sixty-eight ships you have assigned for this mission,
and having worked at this task for the past fifty-four months, we have only
surveyed 4.2% of the entire Nebula's volume. My official recommendation, my
Lord, is that the entire thing is a hoax, a deliberate hoax designed to wear
our ships and crews to the bone searching for something that does not exist."
Three months later, all of Kincaid's ships and the investigators were
recalled. The search was over. Ever since, stories and rumors have passed
around the Concordat about the ghost ships. These stories have all eventually
been proven false, so far at least.
===Notable Vessels & Crews:===
*TCS Samantha Calderon (SBB-01) - Lead ship of the class. Commanded by Admiral Helena Vickers, the served as the flagship of Taurian Concordat's navy during the Reunification War. Commissioned: March 7, 2578 Notable Engagements: Flintoft (April 13-17, 2581), Robsart (May 28-30, 2581), 1st Diefenbaker (September 3-4, 2581), Horsham (July 2-4, 2582), Pierce (February 20-30, 2583), Warren (August 10-21, 2584), Caldwell (November 16-17, 2584), 2nd Diefenbaker (February 17-23, 2585), 3rd Diefenbaker (May 5-8, 2585), Montour (September 8, 2587), Flannagan's Nebula(March 4, 2591-September 22, 2596) Disposition: scuttled, September 22, 2596, Prometheus Station, New Columbia (Falsified Report) 
*TCS Victor Taurens (SBB-02) Commissioned: April 3, 2580 Notable Engagements: Flintoft (April 13-17, 2581), Robsart (May 28-29, 2581) Disposition: lost in action, Robsart, May 29, 2581 
*TCS Patrick Flannagan (SBB-03) Commissioned: January 3, 2582 Notable Engagements: Horsham (July 2-4, 2582), Pierce (February 20-30, 2583), Warren (August 10-19, 2584) Disposition: lost in action, Warren, August 19, 2584
*TCS Tracy Ashton Pendleton (SBB-04) Commissioned: November 18, 2583 Notable Engagements: Warren (August 10-21, 2584), Caldwell (November 16-17, 2584), 2nd Diefenbaker (February 17-23, 2585), 3rd Diefenbaker (May 5-8, 2585), Montour (September 8, 2587), Flannagan's Nebula (March 4, 2591-September 22, 2596) Disposition: scuttled, September 22, 2596, Prometheus Station, New Columbia
*TCS Sigur Fonn (SBB-05) Commissioned: December 23, 2585 Notable Engagements: Montour (September 8, 2587) Disposition: lost in action, Montour, September 8, 2587
*TCS Robert St. John (SBB-06) Commissioned: June 2, 2587 Notable Engagements: Montour (September 8, 2587) Disposition: lost in action, Montour, September 8, 2587
*TCS Thomas Kincaid (SBB-07) Commissioned: May 22, 2590 Notable Engagements: Flannagan's Nebula (March 4, 2591-July 22, 2594) Disposition: lost in action, Flannagan's Nebula, July 22, 2594
*TCS Olivia Santiago (SBB-08) Commissioned: April 1, 2592 Notable Engagements: Flannagan's Nebula (May 4, 2592) Disposition: lost in action, Flannagan's Nebula, May 4, 2592
*TCS Heather Scott (SBB-09) Commissioned: March 17, 2594 Notable Engagements: Flannagan's Nebula (April 14, 2594- September 22, 2596) Disposition: scuttled, September 22, 2596, Prometheus Station, New Columbia
*TCS Leslie Ann Styles (SBB-10) Commissioned: February 20, 2596 Notable Engagements: Flannagan's Nebula (April 14, 2596-August 17, 2596) Disposition: lost in action, Flannagan's Nebula, August 17, 2596
*TCS Ian MacLeod (SBB-11) Commissioned: incomplete on date of surrender Disposition: scuttled, September 22, 2596, Prometheus Station, New Columbia
*TCS Frank Norman (SBB-12) Commissioned: incomplete on date of surrender Disposition: scuttled, September 22, 2596, Prometheus Station, New Columbia
*TCS Henri Montour (SBB-13) Commissioned: incomplete on date of surrender Disposition: scuttled, September 22, 2596, Prometheus Station, New Columbia
*TCS Geraldine Richter (SBB-14) Commissioned: incomplete on date of surrender Disposition: scuttled, September 22, 2596, Prometheus Station, New Columbia
*TCS Althea O'Conner (SBB-15) Commissioned: incomplete on date of surrender Disposition: scuttled, September 22, 2596, Prometheus Station, New Columbia
*TCS Erik Braddock (SBB-16) Commissioned: incomplete on date of surrender Disposition: scuttled, September 22, 2596, Prometheus Station, New Columbia
==Armament and Equipment==
These battleships were designed to tangle with it's neighbors / rivals own Battleships. The Calderons were fitted with 1,978.00 tons of Improved Ferro-aluminum armor plate, giving them reasonable armor protection and staying power during the course of a naval encounter. It's GE-Westinghouse KVC-198 Standard built fusion powerplant helps to power and propelling the ships of the class to reasonable speed factor of 5. No only is it burgeoning with array of standard and capital weaponry, the additionally has compliment of 32 fighters split in two fighter bays giving it ample protection from enemy Aerospace Fighter craft.
===Weapon Placement===
*;NOSE - : 2 x Naval PPC (Medium), 2 x Class-25 Naval Autocannons (100 rounds), 2 x Class 45 & 1 Class 55 Naval Laser, 2 LRM-15 Launchers (120 rounds), 2 LRM-15 Launchers (120 rounds), 2 Class 10 Autocannons (120 rounds), 2 Class 10 Autocannons (120 rounds), 3 x Medium lasers, 3 x Medium lasers
*;Front Right & Left (side) (per each firing arc) - : 1 x Barracuda Capital Missile Launcher (30 rounds), 1 x White Shark Capital Missile Launcher (30 rounds), 1 x Killer Whale Capital Missile Launcher (30 rounds), 2 x Class 45 & 1 Class 55 Naval Laser, 2 x Class-25 Naval Autocannons (100 rounds), 2 x Class-25 Naval Autocannons (100 rounds), 2 LRM-15 Launchers (120 rounds), 2 LRM-15 Launchers (120 rounds), 2 Class 10 Autocannons (120 rounds), 2 Class 10 Autocannons (120 rounds), 3 x Medium lasers, 3 x Medium lasers
*;BROADSIDE (side) Right & Left (per each firing arc) - : 2 x Naval PPC (Medium), 2 x Class 45 & 1 Class 55 Naval Laser, 2 x Class-25 Naval Autocannons (100 rounds), 2 x Class-25 Naval Autocannons (100 rounds), 2 LRM-15 Launchers (120 rounds), 2 LRM-15 Launchers (120 rounds), 2 Class 10 Autocannons (120 rounds), 2 Class 10 Autocannons (120 rounds), 3 x Medium lasers, 3 x Medium lasers
*;AFT Right & Left (per each per firing arc) - : 1 x Barracuda Capital Missile Launcher (30 rounds), 1 x White Shark Capital Missile Launcher (30 rounds), 1 x Killer Whale Capital Missile Launcher (30 rounds), 2 x Class 45 & 1 Class 55 Naval Laser, 2 x Class-25 Naval Autocannons (100 rounds), 2 x Class-25 Naval Autocannons (100 rounds), 2 LRM-15 Launchers (120 rounds), 2 LRM-15 Launchers (120 rounds), 2 Class 10 Autocannons (120 rounds), 2 Class 10 Autocannons (120 rounds), 3 x Medium lasers, 3 x Medium lasers
*;AFT - : 2 x Naval PPC (Medium), 2 x Class 45 & 1 Class 55 Naval Laser, 1 x Class-10 Naval Autocannons (50 rounds), 2 LRM-15 Launchers (120 rounds), 2 LRM-15 Launchers (120 rounds), 2 Class 10 Autocannons (120 rounds), 2 Class 10 Autocannons (120 rounds), 3 x Medium lasers, 3 x Medium lasers
==Additional Equipment==
*Flag Bridge
*Spare Parts (55,000 tons)
==Cargo==
*Bay 1: Fighters (16) / Small Craft (2) with 4 doors                               
*Bay 2: Fighters (16) / Small Craft (2) with 4 doors                               
*Bay 3: Cargo (55,000.00 Cargo Capacity) with 2 door                                  
*Note: This ship was designed using Heavy Metal Aero (HMA) [Aerospace2 Rules / Old Equipment - Level 2], which was the official BattleTech record sheet design program. However, this has been obsoleted since then. As part of the original program's methods and rules, it would allow the combination of Shuttle & Fighter Bays using the same door. It is unclear this correct for current rules.
==Technical Information==
*Total Cost:        6,088,501,024 C-Bills
*Battle Value:      228,803
==Notes==
*Missing Information - Since the use of the HMA was missing information. Battle Value was not included in the original posting of the ship.
==Bibliography==
* By the Horns (AU)
==References==
Calderon Class Battleship
Calderon Class Battleship
Calderon Class Battleship
Calderon Class Battleship