Valiant-class super-heavy cruiser (EXverse)

Essentially an hybrid cruiser-battleship class, the Valiant-class super-heavy cruiser - hull classification symbol CB or CBC - is the heaviest cruiser class in service with UNSC Navy. During Insurrection and early Human-Covenant War one of the most powerful ship ever commissioned by the Navy, Valiants had a troublesome development and many issues around its engines, endangering an untimely scrapping; however, the escalation of Insurrection prevent the class to be scrapped and, after an extensive refit - including the installation of two massive MACs - they were recommissioned, becoming the leading ship of many UNSC's naval task forces.
Outgunning every rebel ships, the first real threat emerged in 2525, alias the Covenant. One of the class' ship, the UNSC Everest, became the flagship of Vice Admiral Cole and it led many winning battles, before being presumably destroyed around the gas giant of Viperidae. Aside from the Everest, any ship of the class performed very well against medium and heavy tonnage Covenant ship, thanks to its very powerful MAC guns, but the scarce number built hadn't much effect on the tide of the war.
Only three cruisers survived the war. These are still in service, despite the introduction of the newer, more advance and more powerful Autumn-class heavy cruiser.
== History ==
=== First draft ===
Ideas for a cruiser flagship trace its roots back to mid-25th, when UNSC fleet had two cruiser classes in service, but none of them where suit for command-and-control duties, as their bridges were too small. However, feasibility studies showed that many of Navy's requests were impractical, as human shipyards involved in the project weren't able to meet objectives without rising costs. Also, designs didn't impress naval officer, so much so that naval architects redesign the prototype at least five times.
Something changed in early 2490s, when Aerofabrique SA proposed a prototype, later commissioned as UNSC Valiant, which featured next-generation fusion drives and an aggressive profile; this prototype was huge, if compared to cruisers already in service, and had an enormous bridge, capable of housing both command ship crew and fleet commander's staff without the two could be bump in another one. Besides this, the ship would be more heavily armed than contemporary cruiser, allowing flag officers to stay on the frontline well protected. Its design and its role, in reality, meant that it would have been half a cruiser and half a battleship.
Despite initial tests looked good, delays in incorporating those engines and increasing costs meant that only seven cruisers were built between 2493 and 2495, before UNSC Navy decided to scrap all commissioned ships and stopping production. To this decision contributed also the idea that a small naval officer circle promoted, based on the fact that a ship of that size and power was useless and the lacking of practical consequences. An idea that it previous influenced the heavy frigate project.
=== The escalation of the Insurrection ===
During the latter decade of the 25th century the Insurrection knew an harsh escalation, which reached its peak during the 2497. In this year UNSC discovered that many rebel sympathizers were infiltrated among the ranks of the CMA, so it decided to take the reins of the situation and it began a massive rearmament, helped also by a budget such high more than ever. In this contest Naval Command choose to rebuild Valiant-class paying no mind to expenses. Finally, the ultimate design was disclosed in September, of which Aerofabrique SA was the designer and producer.
UNSC Valiant was commissioned again with new engines and improved armament, other than a complete command suite and an incredible amount of sensors, among the most advanced ever created since then. However, resources drained by Insurrection meant that only 33 ships out of first batch's forty-six planned would be built, a number that was more than enough for rebels, but not for Covenant.
Valiants proof soon their worth, leading many task forces during Operation: TREBUCHET, where flag officers found easy leading fleets thanks to massive data provided by sensors. Weapons systems, however, were never used much, because of the barely armed rebel vessels, for which using also one the two MAC's was always seen a wastefulness, even though Navy hadn't lack of resources.
=== Human-Covenant War ===
After Covenant attacked and destroyed the colony of Harvest in 2525, Cole was tasked to form a fleet and retaking the system. He choose exactly a Valiant ship, the UNSC Everest, thanks to its advanced sensors with which he could study this alien coalition. Everest took part to every major battle before the admiral's last stand at Psi Serpentis eighteen years later, well-permorming in every occasion.
Admiral Cole made, since the beginning of the war, many modifications onto his flagship, led by data acquired in every battle he fought. Aerofabrique, so, was awarded by the Navy, inspired by Cole himself, to build twenty more cruisers and refitting those in service. As such, by 2529, all Valiants were upgraded to Flight III-specs, which improved their capabilities and get them in step with the times.
Before Psi Serpentis Cole modified his flagship again, giving the ultimate model; these specs inspiring the fourth flight, ordered by the Navy in 2543 and carried out by Valiant's design owner. This flight improved considerably its performance against , as shown during the Siege of Atlas Moons and the Battle of Meridian.
=== Post-War ===
Despite the introduction of the newer , FLEETCOM decided to not scrapped existing Valiants, as troublesome post-war years needed that all available ships would be online.
== Specifications ==
=== Hull ===
Being 1,518 meters long, 373 meters wide and 524 meters tall, it is the largest UNSC cruiser in the arsenal, despite the introduction of Autumn-class. Initially protected by 2.57 metres of Titanium-A1 armor, after third flight 2.7 meters of Titanium-A2 were fitted, which improved capabilities against plasma fire. Some captains, as Cole did, layered the armor with some heat-resistant materials, such as tungsten or tantalum, further ehnancing protection.
Internal layout was divided into 51 distinct decks: 20 levels, 30 subdecks, and the hangar deck that divided the two. They were numbered according to their proximity to the hangar deck, which was labeled level zero, as on every UNSC vessel. Although most decks could be reached via a simple touchpad on an elevator, Levels 13 through to 20 required a biometric fingerprint scan in order to gain access to them: this was due to the importance of the Valiant-class in the Navy. Level 19 was the Flag Deck, where admirals coordinated the actions of their entire fleet.
=== Powerplant ===
=== Crew and complement ===
=== Armament ===
The armament of the Valiant-class varies between each batch built. Generally, being a battleship for a half, it sports more coilgun batteries than missiles.
The first batch's primary weapon system was made up of 120 M61 Ares long-range guided missile cells, each cell containing one single missile; 20 Mark 29 Spitfire naval coilgun batteries formed secondary weapon system, allowing cruisers to engage close-range targets; 34 M810 Helix point defense guns are gatling-type fifty millimeters anti-air weapons, capable of shot down every type of starfighter, while three VE-3 nuclear missiles are fitted in case of emergency situations.
After reintroduction in 2498, Valiants underwent major refitting, aside from a large command suite and an extensive sensor array. As such, it was armed with two Mark IV, Heavy Coil - 32C8S2 MAC, 90 M58 Archer pods, each of which contained thirty missiles, 24 Mark 29 Spitfires, 38 M66 Sentry autocannons, 34 M810 Helix guns and five VE-3 nuclear missiles. As the class was conceived as half a cruiser and half a battleship, its armament was comprehensive of many coilgun batteries instead of large quantities of missiles.
As above-mentioned, secondary armament was made up of 2,700 missiles, an impressive number. Archers are general-purpose long-range guided missiles able to be fitted with various warhead options, thus allowing Archers to be used in various situation, ranging from anti-ship warfare to orbital support, but high-explosive warhead are standard.
Alongside Archers were implemented dual-barreled Spitfire coilgun batteries: capable of firing 3-tons slugs at ten kilometers per seconds, they were enough accurate and powerful to destroy a CRS-class light cruiser in a matter of seconds, also thanks to a five seconds rate of fire.
Sentries were instead implemented to give the class an intermediate weapon to counter large dropships and starfighters; alongside fifty millimeters gatling-type Helix, they represented an incredible mix of anti-air and anti-missiles system.
32C8S2 MACs were, instead, the primary weapon system. A massive system, reaching nearly nine hundred meters in length, it was capable of firing a 1,400 thousand tons slug at fifty kilometers; thanks to advanced reactors recharge time was around one minute, forty seconds when all energy was directed to the coils. Coils were the largest ever built in a MAC aside from that of Super MACs, thus allowing cruisers to fired larger shells. These MACs made Valiant-class one of the most powerful UNSC's class in the entire Navy, as it could destroy any Covenant frigate-sized ship and severly damage Covenant destroyers with shields up; however, the system was already surpassed, in terms of power, before the start of the war by newer versions. Valiants, nonetheless, could fired also lighter shells: 1,200 tons, 800 tons and 300 tons, each one having a charging time inferior to previous, heavier projectiles. 300 tons, for example, had a recharge time of only twenty seconds with all energy directed to the coils.
==== Flight III upgrade ====
During Human-Covenant War, Vice Admiral Cole made several modifications to UNSC Everest, including weapon systems. Thus, Aerofabrique was awarded by the Navy to upgrade all Valiants still operational.
While the number of MACs remained the same, a new variant was installed, named Mark IV, Heavy Coil - 41F6R9 MAC; this variant, currently in use, has lighter coils compared to 32C8S2's version and it reaches 950 meters in lenght. It can be also charged in less time: this choice was made as timing concerns was studied since the dawn of the war, and was found that this factor was one of the main problem in a space battle against a more powerful enemy. 41F6R9 can fired four type of shells, by weight, and all type of rounds, by role; so it can be fire 1,400, 1,200, 800 and 500 tons slugs, and shield-piercing rounds, super-dense ferric-tungsten rounds and various other specialized packages.
1,400 tons slug is the heaviest, and most powerful, rounds available. Two shots, in combinations with shield-piercing rounds, can destroy a , but it requires at least sixty seconds to be fully charged, and forty seconds with all energy dedicated; this combination can also severely damage an ORS-class cruisers. The rest of the rounds are enough to destroy, with two shots, a CCS cruiser or a CPV-class destroyer, apart from 500 tons which needs more than four shots. But the lightest shell is always ready in ten seconds, granting more tactical solutions to captains. Finally, this MAC version fires all shells at seventy kilometers, granting the more power than the MACs installed aboard Marathons.
Other than MACs, the amount of Archer pods was reduced to eighty; empty space left was covered by additional Sentry and Helix systems. Besides, Helix were updated to the newer M803 model, which grants more accuracy and a faster rate of fire.
Finally, the number of Spitfire naval coilgun batteries are the same, but Mark 29 were replaced by the Mark 33, a model introduced during early war which has improved accuracy and targeting matrix, other than a higher reliability.
== Ships of the line ==