Matriarch-Class Star Dreadnought

The **Matriarch-Class Star Dreadnought** was the flagship of the High Kingdom of Formia.

## Technical and Development History

These leviathan vessels are the flagships of the Formian Navy. Each one was constructed millennia ago in an era largely unknown to most species of the galaxy. They have been refitted countless times to meet with technological advancement and to suit their era of deployment.

The current Matriarch-class boasts an impressive arsenal of Tachyon weapons, able to obliterate enemies from extreme ranges. Against more advancement opponents, the vessel turns more into a spear, charging in negating attacks with its Subspace Deflector, sapping their shields with its Null Void Beam, and hammering them with the power of shorter-range Tachyon blasts.

## Equipment and Design Features

* *Regenerative Hull Tissue:* An artificially created life form that both coats the hull and lives in multiple layers of armor. It is capable of converting itself into neutronium to repair damage to the ship's hull.
* *Subspace Deflector Array:* Using warp fields, the vessel can deflect attacks that hit it an angle by rapidly accelerating them on a path that runs parallel with the vessel. Highly effective shield system from certain angles of attack, but has no effect on attacks that come at the flat faces of the vessel such as the bottom, top, or rear.
* *Graviton Deflector Shields:* The vessel's primary shield system. Deflector shields operate by creating a layers of energetic distortion containing a high concentration of gravitons around the vessel.
* *10x* *Utility Drone Launcher:* Used to deploy a variety of specialized drones.
	+ *Slipspace Sensor Drone:* Deployed in Slipspace, the drone can safely be sent long-distances to seek out and detect enemies in either Slipspace or Realspace.
	+ *Shield Projector Drone:* A remote drone that contains an energy battery that is capable of generating a powerful energy shield for a brief time. Works as an emergency deterrent against enemy fire.
	+ *Decoy Drone:* Can be used to create illusionary vessels with exceptional detail.
* *2x Gravity Well Generator:* A multi-function device. Its most common function is to interfere with FTL transit by creating regions of intense, unstable gravity fields. It can also be used to capture nearby ships, or arrest the movement of nearby ships.
* *2x Tractor Beam Emitters:* Effectively a ranged version of the Gravity Well Generator's secondary functions, allows the ship to capture and pull smaller vessels at range.
* *50x Transporter Bay:* Transfers the quantum information of individuals and equipment either to or from the transporter room, effectively teleporting them. 10 of the bays are large enough to be used to deploy the vessel's star fighter compliment. The other 40 are used to efficiently move personnel around the vessel.

## Armaments

* *20x Tachyon Cannon:* Tachyons are particles that defy Special Relativity, possessing the ability to travel faster than the speed of light. Tachyon weaponry actually applies drag to ambient Tachyons, generating vast amounts of energy. While capable of impressive ranges, the weapon possesses escalating power the more one limits the effective range of the weapon by slowing the particles. The cannons are turret-mounted and each feature four barrels which typically fire in succession.
* *12x Tachyon Lance:* Larger, more powerful version of the Tachyon Cannon. Features a single, far larger firing mechanism able to apply drag to far larger amounts Tachyons. While having smaller firing angles than the cannon turrets, they are devastating weapons.
* *6x Null Void Beam:* Utility weapon that creates a zone of inert space. Used to neutralize most forms of energy shielding. Due to the relatively shorter range of the weapon compared to its other weapon systems, the vessel really only needs to get in close to use these.
* *125x Hardlight Point-Defense Gun:* Designed as a CIWS, unlike most users of hardlight weaponry, these weapons do not use 'hardlight jacketing' to increase the mass of the luminal projectile. Rather the weapon's primary application is taking out fighters and projectiles, making the relatively low power of the the weapon a fair trade off for near-perfect accuracy at even mid to long ranges.
* *10x Proton Torpedo Launcher Bay:* 12-tube missile launcher that fires guided proton missiles. Features great maneuverability and guidance systems with an accuracy of prediction second only to perhaps the Nisser network. While some Formian vessels feature more robust versions of these projectiles, the Matriarch relies on spraying large numbers of simple projectiles created using large industrial replicators built into the launchers. As such, the Matriarch can unleash a steady, unrelenting barrage of proton torpedoes without ever running out of ammunition.
* *40x Anti-Matter Torpedo Launcher:* Recently refit in the light of the Nisser threat. Earlier versions of the vessel included larger Anti-Matter Torpedos with the ability to destroy a planet or even a sun. Eventual regulations of these horrific weapons (and an unfortunate event with a Matriach being obliterated by its own payload) lead to this launcher being empty for millennia. The refit uses smaller, albeit still quite potent torpedoes.