Poniatowski-class Battleship

> ***"If Legacy is a testament to these new ships, we can go to hell and back and return stronger."***
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> **-Michael Drackovich, captain of CSV Legacy, second ship of the Poniatowski-class capital vessels-**
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## **Overview**

After the Commonwealth had experimented and tested, fiddling with designs such as the renowned Archon-class in the field of battle itself after it faced numerous foes, the admiralty and naval commanders had reached much of the same conclusion; they needed more hulking monsters, ones striking just as hard as the previous generations, but significantly more capable and being fielded in larger numbers throughout the fleets. By that time and age, a moment in history where the nation needed to cover ground and expand both at the same time, the Commonwealth lacked many elements of a navy that could be proven offensive enough for a war in foreign territory, without the crippling disadvantage of being cut off and outgunned by overwhelming enemy defenses. After years of extensive planning and in-depth designing, naval engineers had finally come up with a vessel capable of remedying such requirements and in many cases exceeding them: the **Poniatowski Class of interstellar Battleships**.

The Poniatowski-class is perhaps the first design of its kind that can be actually truly called a battleship designed exclusively for Task Force Manticore and the Galactic Commonwealth as a whole. Its intents and purposes matched much of the ones aimed for Archon, although at a much more fleet-directed approach to battle than its previously fortress-busting predecessor. It comes as a force capable of facing warships of its size, yet also powerful enough to withstand the same treatment once rushing the enemy’s armoured lines; To most a ship that can be seen as one lacking the external support needed to conduct such maneuvers, but for the most skilled, a vessel capable of accomplishing all daring tasks, all by itself, if need be. At last, by the end of the 23rd. Century, the Commonwealth would be shifting its naval doctrines from lighter and quicker strike forces in favour of heavier, more deadly, singular craft individuality to better manage the impending threats all around its massing fleet of attack. Said change involved the completion of newer designs, and so came to be the class, in 2296, around the same time that the 2nd Entente-Yaanari war became a concern for the Commonwealth as a whole.

## **Victors of the Nation, At the Darkest of Hours**

Despite the elevated costs, the Commonwealth still managed to commission more than half a dozen vessels from the Poniatowski class, and acquire four others through more *scientific means*. Said ships came to be constructed in two bunches, the pre-Unbidden frame and the post-Unbidden one, the latter following many redesigning choices along with weapons retrofits, with the Unbidden crisis being at full swing at the time. The only two directly built from the pre-Unbidden frame were **CSV Poniatowski** (Flagship of the Class) and **CSV Legacy**, **Spitfire** and  **Zot Ritr X**, all of which were recorded lost during the battle against the extradimensional forces at Mezaca System, in 2317, one of several initial losses of the Commonwealth against the new arriving foe. Their performance nevertheless gave a clear message to those who returned alive from the battle or watched it from afar; the Battleships were, at that time, the warships that had made the biggest dent against the Unbidden “vessels” during the confrontation itself, fomenting a trend of heavier, stronger ships that could fend for themselves instead of a smaller more flexible force susceptible to less concentrated firepower against the enemy in a plain battle.

With the thought of newer ships being built to remedy the Unbidden problem, and the drive to acquire the methods to produce extradimensional components, so came the other remaining vessels of the Poniatowski class, along with the newer reformulated version of it, the Ortus-class of Commonwealth Battleships, years later. **CSV Kuo**, **Nike**, **Behemoth** and **Triumphant** were all commissioned in a span of few years, but nevertheless took part in numbers of battles that were key to drive away the Unbidden enemy from core territory of the Commonwealth. These vessels, built after the appearance of the unconventional foe, powered newer more sophisticated systems and shielding devices, that although proved powerful enough to contain many of the Unbidden weaponry and attacks, were still deemed insufficient to brawl directly against the more numerous ships of the conventional enemies facing against the Eastern nation; the Imperial Sovereign Armada alone brought a whole new challenge to the tables, ones far greater than the class could contain by itself and with aid of other capital elements of Manticore.

After the campaign aimed for the heart of the Imperial territory of New Earth came to a bloody close for both sides involved, none of the Poniatowski-class ships ever returned to Commonwealth space hosting victory colours. Even the infamous “Legacy Fleet”, composed of CSV Legacy and four copies of itself and its crew (**CSV Legacy of Justice**, **Legacy of Honour**, **Legacy of Bravery** and **Legacy of Resilience**, all commanded by Captain Michael Drackovich and his four versions), never themselves managed to be retrieved from orbit of the old western human capital, much to the dismay of scientists and enthusiasts of the stories they carried. The history behind each vessel of the class, however, has shown the importance of these ships towards the fight against overwhelming opposers of humanity one way or another. They have been remarked as flexible and enduring, not allowing the enemy to catch a single break under their watches, yet always providing support for the remainder of the fleet in the direst of times. Battered throughout their careers, the Poniatowski-class have served righteously across decades following sacrifice after sacrifice, all at the cost of ultimate victory for the flag they served under.

## **Ship Characteristics**

Poniatowski-class ships were designed with the thought of accomplishing many of the tasks CSV Archon had excelled, although finding themselves at a much more sustainable price that the hulking mass that the Heavy Dreadnought came to be. Nevertheless, these vessels still managed to stand out with their capabilities to escort larger Carrier Strike Force units - Something almost impossible for a significantly slower warship like Archon - and carry out fleet maneuvers all by themselves when need be once a battle would swing in favour 8r against the spirit of Manticore. Having strong defenses and more than a capable arsenal at its disposal, Poniatowskis are able to withstand several barrages of large directed fire against them, whilst retaliating with as powerful (If not stronger) weaponry as the enemies have aimed for the ship during battle. Presenting, at time of its launch, a very large silhouette, it is a marvel that engineers managed to keep a vessel like such so agile and resilient, whilst following a set budget considerably lower than most other designs further on the history of the Commonwealth.

* **Length:** 3 Kilometres
* **Height:** 624 Metres
* **Width:** 1.4 Kilometres

In technical terms, the quantity of armour of the ship is traded by quality of the resources applied towards the most critical points of the hull. Aiding the lack of consistent armour in the class, the design also houses a single variant of the shielding previously installed on CSV Archon; a **Wilada Jadida Mk.III-class** defense system aimed for defending the least armoured of the layers, but also applied to the core regions of the vessel at an elevated power cost when activated amongst the other shielding devices. In terms of primary armour, the thickness can reach up to 6,7 Meters at the main hull of the vessel, but other regions tend to lack the much needed structural defenses in case of a direct strike, something that, as the class became accustomed to combat, showed to commonly rip off parts of the ship's secondary structures once the craft was strained into the chaotic brawl of space battles. The flexibility added to the class means most times the battleships can provide support for the Carriers at far distances and draw out fire from said allies, or delve deep into enemy formations and cause mayhem across a battleline, providing fire and support for other smaller warships to come closer and finish off their targets with far less casualties than without the actions of a Poniatowski-class Battleship serving alongside them.

### **Crew**

* **1030** Deckers, Sailors and Shipwrights.
* **70** Cadets, Officers and High-ranking figures.
* **150** CMC Triggers, specialists of maintenance and critical repair undertakings across the vessel.
* **990** Utility automated systems and robots.
* **350** Manticore Marines, main defensive contingent present in the warship.

### **Propulsion**

* **2x Mk.VI 'Sajar' Plasma Engines.**
* **2x Mk. IV 'Shanghai' Second-rate Plasma Engines.**
* **12x Lumeria-class Auxiliary Engines & Thrusters.**
* **1x P-L Wormhole FTL Modulator Engine.** The system that allows for Faster than Light traversing throughout systems. Still naturally experimental and unsafe when damaged, it also leaves many questions when utilized in emergency jumps before total cooldown, being one of many quirks present within space locomotion and jumping. This particular model - Fitted in mind for capital ships at first - was remarked for being even more unstable than its predecessors, with ships like CSV Legacy clearly showing the results of what emergency jumps could cause to an already damaged vessel and her crew. Such a FTL model was never utilized in any other class apart from the Poniatowski before being outlawed and scrapped completely.
* **2x 8-Core ‘Ancalagon’ Antimatter Reactor.** Though intended to be cost-effective once during peacetime operations, the two reactors powering the ships’ systems and shields can elevate the cost of maintenance of the vessel at around 60% at the very least. Well armoured and secured, it is the heart of the craft, buried deep into the hull. If breached, it can be easily assumed that the vessel would be long gone before that could even come to happen in an all-out combat situation.

### **Additional Support Systems & Equipment**

For a craft of such size and shape, many of the crew onboard the ship carry surprisingly decent living spaces and recreational sections, given the reduced amount of personnel in favour of more automated systems all across the warship. Such conditions, however, come lacking in the locations housing medical centers and logistical storage areas, meaning that the Poniatowski-class depends much on the activities of support vessels nearby and can be considered lacking in case of troop evacuations needing to be carried out from down in planetary orbits. Even then, it is no doubt that the group composing the crew of the battleship are trained, experienced and in some cases even battle-hardened from previous engagements whilst posting on other vessels. Over the years, captains of the Poniatowskis' have gained a reputation for being aggressive and bold once tasked with an offensive objective, always set to getting it done one way or another, no matter the hardships.

* 1x Main Artificial Gravity Generator.
* 2x Fire Control Sensors (Each located in one “Wing” of the vessel).
* 6x 22\*18 Metres Medical Bay (Spread across sections and levels of the ship).
* 1630 Crew Quarters.
* 9\*7 Metres Captain’s Quarter.
* 92\*50 Metres Command Bridge.
* 2x 110\*70 Metres Storage Space.
* 300 AL-58 Laser Rifles (Spread by crew, amongst defensive forces within the warship).
* 150 AL-60 Laser Rifles (Exclusive for Manticore Marine forces).

60 Months worth of food and other maintenance supplies.

### **Weaponry**

Poniatowski-class vessels, much similarly to their previous capital ship design, present several heavy-hitting guns, functioning in cooperation with one another to cripple targets and allow for other crafts to take the advantage in the battleground. The weaponry of a single vessel shows how flexible one can be, housing enough firepower to brawl against a Battleship of its size, or an accurate enough cannon to completely disable an incoming Corvette in matters of seconds. In combination with fighter support provided by Manticore’s carriers, these ships carry out strike orders with protection of smatter escorts, and fend off against enemy offensives at their own liking. If an enemy is focused on breaking Manticore’s carrier line, they’d have to pass through these metallic monsters first to achieve their main objectives.

* **3x 260cm Twin 'Ural' Rapid-fire Railgun H.E. Cannons -** These kinetic weapons have the capacity to open enormous breaches at Battlecruisers and downwards, with ships like battleships and such having to cope with the secondary explosion found inside the projectile’s timed-on-impact High Explosive warhead, proving oftentimes to be a crippling blow capable of disabling entire sections of a warship, if not worse.
* **8x 205cm Twin ‘Yudar’ Secondary Laser Turrets -** Usually the main armaments of Osiris-class Battlecruisers, these guns oftentimes find themselves aimed at the incoming screening ships within medium to long range distance of fire from the vessel, and are enough to disable or destroy such ships with only two well placed salvos.
* **4x 190cm Sachsen-2-type Antimatter Missile Launcher Battery -** Installed as a countermeasure against incoming small to medium-sized warships, the Antimatter missiles installed within the sides of the structure acts mostly as a barrage weapon, also possessing the longest range when in contact with enemies of the vessel. The Sachsen-type Launcher has also functionalities for ground support and limited Point Defense uses, though lacks the actual targeting usage for effective bombardment down in the ground.
* **22x 150cm to 80cm Kalea-3-type Ion Disruptor Batteries -** Varied sized weaponry directed specifically at ignoring the shielded opponents of the class. They are usually the first to be utilized, and act as a primary source for disabling hostile ships before other weaponry can take advantage of the already poorly shielded targets in question.
* **38x 75cm Shenyang-11-type Scattering Railgun Triple Turrets -** Another new addition to Manticore’s arsenal, these guns act more like a huge wall of projectiles crippling any incoming target nearby the Battleships themselves. Curiously similar to grape-shot styled ammunition, from Old Earth’s cannons of the 18th. Century, the weapon serves much like an anti-fighter defense, as well as an anti-missile projectile Point-Defense system, but also has its uses when facing smaller vessels such as Corvettes or poorly armoured Destroyers.