House Highdown Navy Corps

Core of the incipient Battlefleet Gaiana.

# Overview of #fleetgoals

Note: Assessment of vessel performance is relative to the average of its class. "Heavyweight Capital Ships" includes grand cruisers and battleships; "Cruisers" includes light, regular, and battle- cruisers; "Escorts" includes frigates, corvettes, raiders, and destroyers.

## Heavyweight Capital Ships

### [ Name TBD - to acquire]

Emperor Class Command Battleship) - Highdown's ultimate flagship. Command carrier with long-range capital ship killing firepower. Operates as nexus of the Gaianan Crusade, with representatives of all major stakeholders on board and a command centre for directing other ships and the waves of attack craft. Capable of coordinating large fleet battles and serious force projection, though lacking in the sheer weight of firepower necessary to defend against massed enemy vessels, necessitating adequate escort backup.

#### Armament

* Dorsal lance and long-range plasma batteries (lance from the AI research base and macrobattery from the Pink Ork - very long range and super deadly)
* Port+starboard lance batteries (long range, moderate damage - effective at punching through armour once
* Fucktons of launch bays

#### Performance

* Low mobility
* Very high toughness
* Very fast warp travel

#### Special abilities

* Troop and support carrying capacity with medicae deck

* Diplomatic facilities
* Sensors, jamming, and other detection/electronic warfare capabilities
* Long patrol duration (1 year, plus ability to recycle crew into servitors)

## Cruisers

### *Allure of the Void*

Ambition Class Fast Cruiser

Highly flexible, with extensive archaeo- and xenotech. Largely under the command of Niko and his skaven buddies. Faster than many escorts and bristling with attack craft and souped-up short-to-intermediate-range weaponry. Serves as the main exploration vessel and vanguard.

#### Armament (current)

* Port+starboard las batteries (high weight of fire, long range, low damage, medium crit threat)
* Port+starboard landing bays w/ fighters, bombers, boarding craft, and dropships
* Port Skaven lance (high weight of fire, extreme range, medium ramage, medium crit threat)

#### Performance (current)

* High mobility
* Medium-low toughness
* Fast warp travel

#### Special abilities (current)

* Cargo capacity
* Stealth systems
* Laboratorium
* Teleportarium
* Murder servitors
* Long patrol duration (1 year)

#### Armament (post-refit)

* Port+starboard las batteries (high weight of fire, long range, low damage, medium crit threat)
* Port+starboard landing bays w/ fighters, torpedo bombers, boarding craft, and dropships
* Port Skaven lance (high weight of fire, extreme range, medium damage, medium crit threat)
* Prow special lance (high weight of fire, short range, extreme damage, medium crit threat)

#### Performance (post-refit)

* Extreme mobility
* Medium-high toughness
* Extremely fast warp travel

#### Special abilities (post-refit)

* Stealth systems
* Laboratorium
* Teleportarium
* Murder servitors
* Barracks
* Long patrol duration (1 year)

### *Alternating Perspective*

Tyrant Class Armoured Cruiser

Heavy linebreaker. Long range nova cannon to break apart enemy formations, with the speed to close the gap and the survivability to weather return fire at knife-fight distances. Medium-range broadside macrobatteries tear apart smaller vessels. Notably, capable of operating without resupply for up to four years at a time.

#### Armament

* Prow mars nova cannon (high weight of fire, extreme range, high damage, medium-high crit threat)
* Port and starboard melta + plasma batteries (high weight of fire, medium range, high damage, very high crit threat)

#### Performance

* High mobility
* Extreme toughness
* Fast warp travel

#### Special abilities

* Fancy noble carrying decks

* Extremely long maximum patrol duration (4 years+ - cryo chambers, food production, massive supply vaults, and ability to recycle crew into servitors)
* Murder servitors

### *Alchemist's Heart*

Endeavour Class Light Torpedo Cruiser

Under command of Kol Sorna of House Dakkar. Heavy torpedo boat optimised for flexibility and anonymity. Good at battlefield control thanks to its eight torpedo tubes, with intermediate-range las broadsides that perform well against escort scale vessels. Easily disguised as any of the scores of similar vessels in the sector.

#### Armament (current)

* 2x prow torpedo tube systems, total of 8 tubes
* Port+starboard las batteries (high weight of fire, long range, low damage, medium crit threat)

#### Performance (current)

* High mobility
* Medium-low toughness
* Normal warp travel

#### Special abilities (current)

* Cargo capacity
* Hidden components

#### Armament (post-refit)

* 2x prow torpedo tube systems
* Port+starboard las batteries (high weight of fire, long range, low damage, medium crit threat)

#### Performance (post-refit)

* High mobility
* Medium-low toughness
* Fast warp travel

#### Special abilities (post-refit)

* Stealth systems - empyrean mantle and any three components are impossible to detect on augur
* Long duration patrol duration (1 year) thanks to Arboretum
* Barracks
* Mimic engine disguises the ship on sensors, while variable figurehead and chameleon hull disguise it visually

### [To acquire]

Secutor Class Planetary Assault Cruiser

Orbital strike vessel. Weapon loadout optimised for planetary attack with lots of troops to back up threats, but capable of holding its own against ships of comparable tonnage and fast enough to get away if it bites off more than it can chew.

To be controlled by Niko(?)

#### Armament

* Dorsal bombardment cannons
* Prow lance battery
* Port + starboard escort launch bays with lots of atmospheric dropships and ground support craft

#### Performance

* High mobility
* Medium toughness
* Normal warp travel

#### Special abilities

* Excellent at planetary bombardment

## Escorts

### *Allocution of Silence*

Symphalia Class Warp Runner

Fast stealth vessel of Horus Heresy vintage. Controlled by Cornelius, who has made it into an Inquisitorial Black Ship. Decent plasma battery and potent torpedo tubes, though its main value is in its very quiet operation and excellent sensor array. Premier scout/covert ops craft in the fleet, but also a capable escort squadron leader.

#### Armament

* Dorsal plasma battery (high weight of fire, medium range, very high damage, high crit threat)
* Prow torpedo tubes (high weight of fire, extreme range, variable damage and crit threat)

#### Performance

* Extreme mobility
* Medium-low toughness
* Very fast warp travel

#### Special abilities

* Carries specialist intelligence teams and equipment

* Extremely good sensors
* Absurdly stealthy

### [To acquire]

Meritech Class Shrike Raiders - Fast torpedo boats with short-range plasma batteries. Home-built in the Zdrakov dockyards and designed for leading squadrons of the less well armed Iconoclasts, providing a rapid and safe shipping service as well as escorting the capital ships.

### *Sprint Clipper Squadron*

Six Iconoclast Class Destroyer-transports

Simple ships produced by some heretek shipyard in the Gaianan Stretch. Each has two basic macrocannon batteries and very fast engines, making them serviceable escorts when used in squadrons, though they lack the firepower and armour to stand up to serious engagements without support. Possess respectable cargo space, making them efficient fast trade ships that are able to avoid predation by slower vessels.

#### Armament

* 2x Dorsal Mars Macrocannons (medium range, low damage, weak crit)

#### Performance

* Very high mobility
* Low toughness
* Medium-fast warp travel

## Crews

* Due to the demands of its machine spirit, relatively low crew requirements, and prestige position as Dakkar vessel; the *Alchemist's Heart* is to receive the best crew (elite [60]).
* Given its role as flagship, the Emperor Class Battleship is to be afforded the finest senior officers of the fleet, though the required volume of NCOs and ratings means they can't all be the very best (veteran [50]).
* The *Allure of the Void*, though important, can be staffed with crew of dependable but middling skill (crack [40]) - its mission requirements to date have sometimes necessitated purging everyone on board, and it would be a shame to get rid of tens of thousands of our best. Also, the presence of Niko and key NPC officers (pilot, gunner) should offset most limitations of the rank-and-file crew.
* The *Alternating Perspective* can receive standard good-quality crew (crack [40]), seeing how they're mostly going to be kept on ice until needed, though an experienced NPC gunner and tech officer wouldn't go amiss.
* The Dauntless invasion light cruiser has a sufficiently niche role that it doesn't need the most capable crew (crack [40]). A highly skilled officer (probably Angus) should be given command of the vessel, however, as its effectiveness depends on proper deployment.
* The two Shrike Raiders, with their low crew requirements and pivotal role as escorts, get hardened ratings and officers accustomed to operating in cramped environments (veteran [50])
* The six Iconoclast Destroyers, having a decidedly rear-echelon role, get basic (crack [40]) or even green (competent [30]) complements.

## Long-term fleet goals

Once our core fleet is established, we start producing high volumes of vessels for Battlefleet Lithesh, covering some of the operation costs.

The idea is to churn out vast quantities of reliable and (relatively) affordable ships in a limited number of patterns These ships take frontline combat roles in the coming crusade across the Cicatrix Maledictum, bearing the brunt of enemy attack and drawing fire from more ancient vessels, and freeing up better quality ships for specialised roles.

#### Basic Battleships

Manufactured in Drakon V orbit, supported by whichever Lithex worlds will tolerate the approach, with much of the materials provided from Ludd.

Retribution Class Battleship with mars macrocannon and bombardment cannon broadsides, dorsal lance battery, and prow torpedo tubes. Basic upgrades, few advanced components. Modified pattern taking hints from the Lunar and other simple, cookie-cutter ships, manufactured using a true assembly line

Rather than providing dedicated capital ship killing, command & control, carrier, or linebreaker capacity, the Drakon Retribution Class functions as more of a superheavy cruiser instead of a traditional battleship. As fast as a Lunar but far tougher and more heavily armed, the Retribution fills a similar role to its smaller cousin, only bigger and better.

Part of the appeal to Highdown strategic analysts is in the morale benefit to deploying battleships en mass, even if they are rough around the edges, but several other factors are at play. Given the extended supply lines expected in the Gaianan Crusade, let alone crossing the rift corridor, the overall smaller crew required by one battleship vs two cruisers is beneficial. Additionally, the bombardment cannon broadsides provide far more effective planetary strikes than most Navy cruisers are capable of.

#### Carrier cruisers

Jupiter Class cruisers built from scratch. Four launch bays and prow nova cannon. Heavy void armour including vast armoured prows - reduced speed but resilient to enemy fire. Useless at defending itself, except by deploying attack craft. Usually serve as battlegroup flagship.

#### Heavy Escorts

Turbulent Class Heavy Frigates made using the above design philosophy, with turbo-enhanced plasma batteries courtesy of Lithex Optimus. Faster than light cruiser escorts but more firepower than most frigates, several are assigned to each Retribution to serve as jack-of-all-trades capital ship escort.

#### Torpedo Destroyers

Cobra Class Destroyers with longer-range las batteries and torpedoes.

# House Highdown Naval Doctrine

Fast and Flexible are watchwords of the House Highdown navy. Officers are trained to act on their initiative and exhibit unpredictability, with a focus on either overwhelming their opponent with speed and firepower, or outrunning them and calling for backup.

Enhanced power management systems facilitate components such as retro-thrusters and energistic conversion matrices, which allow ships to be optimised to the situation at hand on the fly. The voidcraft of Battlegroup Gaiana are mostly outfitted for speed and maneuverability that surpasses a typical vessel of their class.
Support on major expeditions is to be provided by the Stardock, Allotment of Caring, and Allusion of Grandeur; but each combat voidship of the navy is designed to be able to hold its own in a fight and support itself for extended periods of isolation if necessary.

In most of the craft, heavy naval style defences are secondary to multi-role capabilities. Escorts in particular blur the line between warships and trading vessels, with ample cargo capacity to assist in emergency shipping operations when needed, or to carry trade goods during regular security patrols of the Gaianan Stretch. Vessels often feature ancillary components to enhance their flexibility and endurance. Arboretums consisting of vast racks of egg protein incubation vats are commonplace, providing massive quantities of nutritionally complete artificially flavoured slurry to feed hungry voidsmen. Manufactorums keep the fleet supplied for long voyages, enabling the fleet elements to act without resupply even after multiple engagements.

Consistent with the drive for flexibility, the vessels of House Highdown feature a panoply of different weapon systems, enabling engagement at a variety of ranges and against almost any conceivable foe. The strongest running theme is the preference for small craft and aeronautica, which allow the vessels to project force effectively at extreme ranges and down to planetary surfaces.

# Vessels currently in the fleet

## Support Voidships

*Allotment of Caring* - Goliath class factory ship set up for fleet maintenance and resupply. Vast cargo stores and spare component vaults keep the warships functioning, with a manufactorum and pharmacia to produce components and medicae supplies as needed. Notably, it features a plasma refinery system that can gather fuel from stars and thus maintain the fleet's requirements.

*Allusion of Grandeur* - Pilgrim class vessel converted for mining and salvage. Good cargo capacity with salvage reclamation facilities and extraction/processing gear for mining asteroids and comets. Able to assist the fleet by providing raw materials and water, and bootstrap construction projects by ripping apart astral bodies.

# Friendly Vessels

*Golden Resolution* - Rosalind's trade ship - up-gunned and armoured transport ship. Unremarkable cargo space and not nearly as powerful as a true warship, but capable as a smuggling vessel.

Celestial Lions' Nova Class Rapid Strike Frigate - fast frigate with a potent laser battery and highly optimised lance, enabling it to both engage capital ships and deliver planetary lance strikes in support of the demicompany of Marines that it's capable of carrying. Small landing bay is inadequate to launch full-scale ship-to-ship attacks, but carries sufficient Thunderhawks to deliver the demicompany where it's needed.

# Planned Vessels

(to be named) hull bashed together from Defiant and Endeavour light cruiser wrecks - the Canem Belli and Hand of Absolution. Planned as a testbed for warpstone derived technology under the auspices of Niko.

(to be named) Dauntless Light Cruiser - planned as a specialised invasion vessel, able to carry and deliver large quantities of troops as well as providing void cover using its bombardment cannons and lance weapon.

(to be named) Meritech Shrike Raider or Cobra Destroyer - squadron leader for the Iconoclasts

Acquire the *Stars Alight* - vast Universe Class mass conveyor equivalent. Serves as a mobile starport capable of transporting many megatonnes of cargo, hundreds of thousands of troops, and legions of economic and diplomatic adepts.

Acquire and refit the Highdown Flagship - Emperor Class Battleship, which serves as the flagship for the Gaianan Crusade with extensive command and control systems that act as a force multiplier. An advanced plasma array and a trio of lance batteries make it a capable capital ship killer with formidable range, though its true strength lies in the four vast hangar bays that run along a substantial portion of its flanks.