RWI Zheng-He

The **RWI *Zheng-He*** is the sixth Daedalus-class Battleship built by Red Wood Industries (RWI) and was commanded first by Captain Gideon. Unlike other ships of the class, the *Zheng-He* was retrofitted with Atlas Superlasers, which were reverse-engineered by RWI engineers from technology gathered from the evil Green Drone Armada (GDA). It was built during the Green Drone War and was a great asset to RWI's forces in the war, especially during the final few battles. It was critically damaged during the Battle of the Black Hole at the end of the war, during which Gideon was killed and Commander Sam Reed took temporary command. However, the *Zheng-He* was taken back to Icarus, RWI's capital world, and was repaired. One year after the war's end, the *Zheng-He* was completely repaired and was put under the command of Admiral Kieron Hask.

## History

### Green Drone War

#### Construction and Retrofit

Shortly after the Battle of Icarus, RWI's orbital shipyards began construction of the *Zheng-He* to help bolster RWI's fleet. As the third active Daedalus-class Battleship at the time, it gave RWI a great fighting chance in their upcoming battle plans. To help with its specialized functionality, two Atlas Superlasers were retrofitted on to the on the bow in place of the main Mk1 Telion Cannon Batteries.

#### Salvaging the DRF Hive

Following the Skirmish at the DRF Hive, the RWI *Zheng-He*, along with support ships, was dispatched by Grand Admiral Adam Williams, head of RWI, to salvage what was left of the Drone Reactionary Force (DRF)'s Hive and fleet. Near the end of the operation, Williams contacted Captain Gideon and ordered him to finish up and return the salvaged drones and material to Icarus for storage and research in the RWI Black Vault Research and Development Facility.

#### Battle of P3-X2

The *Zheng-He* first saw battle at the Invasion of P3-X2, in which it used its dual Atlas Lasers to repel a Green Drone Armada counterattack by striking the Commander’s Dreadnought. It stayed in orbit during the ground assault and drove off any GDA Destroyers still in the system and covering the ground forces. During the escape of the GDA Super-Dreadnought, the *Zheng-He* fought by the side of the RWI *Apollo*, Williams' flagship, and suffered heavy damage, but was later repaired at Icarus after RWI and its allies withdrew from the planet after losing the Artifact and the Green Drones' leader, the Controller.

#### Battle of the Black Hole

At the final battle of the war, the *Zheng-He* was critically damaged by the GDA Dreadnought’s four Atlas Lasers. The blow killed Captain Gideon and the whole command crew on the bridge, leaving Commander Sam Reed in charge, as he was the highest-ranking officer left alive. After some quick repairs of the bridge, Reed kept the *Zheng-He* operational through the rest of the battle until the GDA Super-Dreadnaught was disabled and pulled into a nearby black hole, along with the Artifact and the Controller, ending the conflict. The *Zheng-He* was taken back to Icarus for repairs shortly after the battle.

### Joint Expedition Task Force Mission

Sometime in the year following the Green Drone War, the *Zheng-He* was fully repaired and placed under the command of Admiral Kieron Hask. After the RWI *Prometheus*, flagship of the Joint Expedition Task Force (JETF), which consisted of RWI, CNL, and RCSP, was destroyed by both forces of the faction called the Remnant and through the premature activation of Project X-12's RWI experimental drone forces, which went rogue, Admiral Hask and the *Zheng-He* led a small fleet to the Chrome System to reinforce them. The *Zheng-He* remained in orbit with the fleet to defend against potential Remnant space forces.

## Crew

Commanding Officers:

* Captain Gideon (KIA)
* Commander Reed (temporary)
* Admiral Kieron Hask

## Trivia

* The RWI *Zheng-He* is likely named after the Chinese explorer and admiral, Zheng He. It's also likely named after the USS *Zheng-He* from 'Star Trek Picard', which acting-Captain William T. Riker commanded.