Battlestar Archeron

Battlestar Archeron was a Jupiter-class battlestar in service with the Colonial Fleet, during the First Cylon War. While attached to the Ghost Fleet, she was destroyed in Cylon ambush during the last years of the war.
==History==
During the First Cylon War, Battlestar Acheron participated in a Colonial offensive Operation Clean Sweep. During the engagements, Archeron and its accompanying battlestar group came under heavy assault from Cylon forces, forcing the admiralty to redeploy Battlestar Group 75 for immediate support. Under heavy fire, and ignoring orders from Galactica, the Archeron jumped away to Sector 12, to join the Ghost Fleet.
Shortly after its redeployment, the Archeron was ordered to pick up Dr. Becca Kelly from Raptor 909 dispatched by Galactica. Shortly after, the Archeron was destroyed in a Cylon ambush.
==Design==
=== Armament ===
The Jupiter-class was armed with kinetic energy weapons scattered throughout the ship, primarily located on its dorsal and ventral hull (2 groups of 4 on each side), each capable of firing large shells at any given target; usually enemy vessels. 40 batteries made the Jupiter's one of, if not the heaviest hitters of the Colonial Fleet. Only during the interwar period, the newer and larger battlestars of Mercury-class began to outshine Jupiter's in their offensive role. 
Twelve missile tubes, armed with both conventional and nuclear-tipped weapons give Jupiter's the capability to level entire cities within minutes. Unlike Valkyrie-type, which uses its main batteries to fire missiles, the Jupiter carries its missile on top of its middle section, in separate missile tubes hidden beneath the ships armor platingBattlestar Galactica 2004, episode: "The Eye of Jupiter"..
=== Defenses ===
582 CIWS point-defense weapons scattered throughout the ship to defend against the incoming ordinance, as well as enemy fighters. As virtually every other Colonial vessel, this is only half of the ship's defensive potential. Two-layered armor plating provides effective defense against both conventional and nuclear weapons. Similar to Galactica, by the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, virtually all Jupiter's had their armor partially stripped, exposing the inner hull layer and ships "ribs". 
=== Fighter Complement ===
Large flight decks support a sizable complement of fighters, multi-purpose crafts, and shuttles. During the Fall, the Jupiter-class carried an assorted complement of Vipers Mk. II and III, alongside Raptors and Colonial shuttles. While the precise numbers are not known, possessing 40 launch tubes would indicate that the standard loadout of Jupiter-class consists at least of 80 Vipers.
The port and starboard flight pods were designed to be retractable. While Vipers were launched via special tubes on the side of the flight pods, all craft needed to land on the flight deck, which would be extended when needed. As this required the port and starboard flight decks to be exposed to vacuum conditions, the deck was magnetized to simulate gravity conditions when extended.
=== Computer Systems ===
Due to the serious threat of Cylon hacking imposed on the Colonial Fleet, Jupiter-class were designed to rely on primitive computers without networking, and so were less advanced than older ships in the fleet. These computers, whether in the original design or a later refit, were capable of being networked, when necessary, but per standard procedure were not. Calculations for faster-than-light jumps were also limited as a result of this, and by the 0 ACHs Galactica's computers were considerably slower at computing jumps than modern civilian ships if not networked.
Considering that Galactica was unique, the last ship of her class in service, it can be presumed that post-war build Jupiters were networked very much like the newer Mercury-class and therefore susceptible to Cylon infiltration. At least one Jupiter-class was actively deployed by the Colonial Fleet in defense of CapricaBattlestar Galactica 2004, episode: "Miniseries, Night I"., and therefore likely succumbed to the Command Navigation Program infiltration. 
=== Propulsion ===
Ships of this class have 4 main rearward-facing sublight engines mounted on their outer hull, two on the dorsal and ventral surfaces each. Smaller maneuvering thrusters are also scattered throughout the ship to allow it to maneuver quickly in combat scenarios while two synced FTL drives are installed aboard to allow for faster-than-light travel. Unlike the Valkyrie-type, the Jupiter-class is large enough to house its FTL engines internally, mitigating the weakens exposed FTL engines pose. 
While state-of-the-art for the Colonials, even by the time of introduction, the FTL engines of Jupiter-class were sub-part to contemporary Cylon designBattlestar Galactica 2004, video game: "Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock".. By the time of the Fall however, this weakness was largely elevated, as even relatively un-upgraded Battlestar Galactica was able to jump ever couple of minutes. 
==Gallery==
Blood & Chrome - Archeron nameplate.png|Wreckage of Archerons landing bay
==Sources==
Category:Colonial Fleet_Battlestars
Category:Colonial Fleet_Ships