Solar-class Supercharger

The Solar-class is a truly ancient starship design dating back to the Age of Technology, and is one of the oldest designs of Voidship in service. Though intended for a civilian mission as a type of highly specialized freighter, Solars are nonetheless relatively heavily armed for self-defense and can be a threat to even true ships of the line if pressured. In normal circumstances though, it is a Supercharger, or a rare type of vessel designed to carry not bulk goods or ores, but raw energy in truly titanic quantities, and the Solar's sheer enormous mass is a match for that purpose.

## History

The Solar-class Superchargers were created at the height of the Golden Age of Technology in the Corusco Cluster. In those days, the Cluster numbered no less than four colossal Dyson nets capturing the energy radiated out by whole stars, the Prism stations. These stellar-scale solar collectors harvested almost limitless amounts of energy, which could then be used to power entire worlds with a clean energy that would last for hundreds of thousands of years. At that time, the Solars were built in large numbers and were a somewhat common sight in the Cluster. Through this network of Dyson nets and Supercharger ships, it seemed as if energy itself had become a post-scarcity resource.

Then came the Cybernetic Revolts. When the Men of Iron conducted their uprising, all but one of the Dyson nets were destroyed, as were countless of Solar-class vessels. Many were destroyed as targets of opportunity by roaming mechaniforms, but an equal number were also pressed into service when it was realized that their immense energy reserves could be used to supercharge other warship and increase the output of their energy-based weapons such as Lances and plasma batteries. This is what earned them their modern monicker of 'Superchargers'.

The raging warp storms of the Age of Strife forced these ships into mothball as any form of multi-planetary systems were broken down entirely, and they set at anchor for millenia, as old relics of a time of dreams gone by, and kilometers-long reminders of what had been lost. The Mechanicum Rationalis however managed to start braving the storms by the end of the Age of Strife, and the last remaining Dyson Net, Prism-Alpha, was reactivated, alongside a small complement of Solar-Class.

At least two Solar-Class Superchargers were involved in the colossal naval battle between the Mechanicum Rationalis and the nascent Imperium of Man in the early Compliance Era, where they allowed entire flottilas of Novaean cruisers to unleash barrages of plasma fire and entropic lances that utterly baffled Imperial admirals and their Martian allies. Though both were destroyed in cataclysmic explosions during the battle, in the period of peace that saw an uneasy but lasting cooperation between the two former enemies, many more Solars were reactivated or built, and they once again began a common sight in the Corusco Cluster, though never again as widespread as they had once been.

By the 41st Millenium, Solar-class Superchargers remain mostly confined to the Corusco Cluster where they can easily recharge at Prism-Alpha, but it has occasionally happened that one or two would be requisitioned to take part in a Crusade Fleet, or to participate in rescue operation of crippled Battleships viewed as priceless by the Imperial Navy.

## Specifications

* **Hull** - Approximately 9.2 kilometres long, 1.2 kilometres abeam at fins.
* **Mass** - Approximately 52 megatonnes.
* **Crew** - Approximately 22,000 crew.
* **Acceleration** - 1.5 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration.

## Design

Solar-class Superchargers are gargantuan ships, not that much smaller than the freight leviathans known as Mass Conveyers. Most of this enormous volume is taken up by high-density capacitor banks of such a staggering size that the towering constructs are practically the size of an entire escort ship each. Nothing of a lesser magnitude could have been enough to store the awesome amounts of power produced by a Dyson net. The secret behind their work is one that has endured since the Age of Technology and which is jealously guarded by the Mechanicum Rationalis. A single Solar-class Supercharger, if fully charged, is capable of sustaining the regular energy needs of a Hive city in the tens of billions, or multiple smaller ones, for up to 5 years,

Though they maneuver very poorly, Solars are capable of good speed and acceleration for ships of their size thanks to their ancient technology and 'Starblazer'-pattern engines, though they are still too slow to manage to keep up with lines of warships moving at flank speed. Their armor is very thin, due to the impracticality of armoring something of such a size, so Solars are largely dependent on their Void Shields to keep them alive when assailed. Thankfully, their large size and nearly unlimited amounts of available power allow them to mount powerful 'Tempest'-pattern Novaean Void Shields fit for a Grand Cruiser or Battleship.

Life on a Solar-class Supercharger is relatively good. The ancient design has no need for huge armies of serfs and so the crew is considerably smaller than other transports of this size, with many menial tasks automated. Quarters are adequate and relatively spacious by Imperial navy standards, while the presence of a large Arboretum provides both fresh food and relaxation for the crew. A large medica deck is also present, allowing Solars to pull double duty as medical ships that can investigate and deal with planetary plagues, with the right specialists on board. Navigators are extraneous, as the Solars were designed back when they did not yet exist, and they now make use of automates 'Tsiokolvsky' warp drives.

Despite being nominally civilian ships, the Solars' strategic value was too great to leave them unarmed. They lacked the space to field large broadsides of macro-cannons along their broadsides, as most of it was taken up by the enormous capacitors, but they had an over-abundance of available power. Due to these circumstances, the back of each Solar is nestled with three pairs of Sunhammer Lances, which grant the 'civilian' ships frightening firepower, as they can punch through and cripple fully-shielded cruiser-sized targets in one salvo. Not even Battleships are safe from such an array of Lances, but the very soft armor and the large unmaneuvrable target make any form of head on confrontation foolhardy at best.