CSS Dawnbreaker

The **CSS *Dawnbreaker*** is a destroyer built by the Colonist Survivors (CSS) during the Colony War. Its first iteration was only meant to operate in planetary atmospheres, but after a lengthy refit, the *Dawnbreaker* was could operate in space. It was primarily designed by Captain Jack Roberts and Commander Venom.

## History

### The Colony War

#### Construction

In an effort to combat the forces of the Drone Reactionary Force (DRF), the Colonist Survivors led by Captain Jack Roberts, a former captain of Red Wood Industries (RWI), and his friend from the Royal Coalition of Spatial Protection (RCSP), Commander Venom, to develop a heavily armed destroyer-class ship. After they came up with a small model, they laid the framework, and over time, more of the ship's interior and profile were developed and constructed by the crew. The crew also decided to name the ship *Dawnbreaker*, keeping in theme with their former starship, the *Dawn*, which crash-landed at the start of the Colony War.

The *Dawnbreaker*'s construction continued slowly until a few days before the climactic Battle of the Colony Planet, in which the forces of the CSS and the DRF clashed at the Colonists' former base. The *Dawnbreaker* was commanded in the battle by Captain Roberts and was escorted by five gunboats designed by Commander Craz from Crazy North Logistics (CNL), Roberts' second-in-command. The initial engagement with the DRF fleet left the *Dawnbreaker* as the sole surviving ship in the CSS fleet. And, once the Colonists' New Dawn Base was destroyed by the DRF in a sneak attack, Roberts, along with crew members Horza and Ler, piloted the *Dawnbreaker* to the DRF's Hive Base on the planet, planning to deal as much damage to the DRF's forces as they could in a last-ditch effort. However, while en route, the destroyer was pursued and dealt heavy damage by three DRF Spitfire-class Frigates, and soon crash-landed outside the Hive Base. Roberts and the others managed to escape as the *Dawnbreaker*'s remains were pummeled with fire by the DRF ships. However, the sacrifice of the *Dawnbreaker* ultimately brought about the destruction of the Hive Base by providing a distraction for an infiltration team to set explosives inside the base, taking out the DRF's fleet as well. Both the Colonists and the DRF team departed the planet after the battle.

#### Rebirth

Some time later, after the Colonists had established a base in an asteroid cluster above the desert planet P3-X2 using their old space station, Watchtower Station, Roberts and the crew decided to rebuild the *Dawnbreaker* and use it again, although its role as the CSS's flagship was given to the CSS *Vengeance*, a heavy dreadnought built by Roberts. They set up a blueprint projector in a large cavern in the main asteroid and began reconstruction. However, because the *Dawnbreaker* was not designed for space travel, it had to undergo a lengthy and complicated refit, in which ion and hydrogen thrusters were used in place of atmospheric thrusters, several compartments were made airtight, and weapons were upgraded. The retrofit, along with a limited number of crewmen working on the ship at a time, slowed construction substantially, but the MK.II *Dawnbreaker* was completed just before the Battle of the Colonies. Roberts, Craz, and Castle used the vessel to escape the Destruction of Watchtower when the Green Drone Armada (GDA), a shadowy third faction, attacked the base and took it over.

The *Dawnbreaker* then rendezvoused with the rest of the CSS space fleet and prepared to commit to a final battle against the DRF. It was piloted by Ler during the battle. Since it was not designed for space, the ship accidentally drifted into a friendly ship, the CSS *Farragut*, at one point during the beginning of the battle when the CSS fleet was in a tight formation. Nevertheless, the ship continued to fight until it was eventually destroyed, although Ler managed to somehow survive and escape. The wreckage of the ship remained in P3-X2's orbit throughout the Green Drone War; the GDA did not bother to salvage the ship, nor any other ship remains left behind after the battle.

## Description

### Armament

The planetary version of the *Dawnbreaker* was primarily armed with 300mm Autocannons (in models of one, two, and three barrels), as well as M-61 Vulcan PDC turrets and 40mm Bofor Turrets. Two massive 900mm double-barrel cannons were situated on the underside of the ship to bombard targets from high altitudes. The *Dawnbreaker* also contained a number of interior turrets to defend the ship from boarding parties; some were located in the bridge, CIC, and both airlocks.

As the Colonists' access to new weaponry grew later in the war, that meant they were able to outfit the new space version of the *Dawnbreaker* with better weaponry. Some Vulcan PDCs were kept, but the rest of the other weapons were swapped out for newer, higher-tech Mk.I and Mk.II Battleship cannons, Heavy Defense Turrets, and Telion Flak and Anti-Fighter Turrets. A Mk.III Battleship cannon was put in place of one of the 900mm Autocannons on the underside; the other was swapped out for thruster placement. Most of the existing interior turrets were kept as well. At the bow were a series of forward-facing Telion Dual Cannons to deal heavy damage to targets in front of the ship.

### Layout

Much of the *Dawnbreaker*'s main interior was a series of catwalks winding around the various thrusters, cargo containers, reactors, and other internal systems, allowing for easy access and repair by the crew. Although the *Dawnbreaker* had a functional bridge at the top of the ship, it was still fairly exposed and an easy target; thus, a CIC (combat information center) was built below the deck, encased in a thick wall of heavy armor, protecting the pilot and other crew members during battle. Behind the bridge was also a small shuttle docking port, but it was never used. There were also cryo bays, a medical bay, and a small engine room in compartments around the CIC, and an airlock on the port and starboard sides.

Externally, the *Dawnbreaker*'s design was derived from a mixture of RWI and RCSP starships, since it was designed by former members of those factions who both had a hand in designing their respective faction's ships. For example, the bridge design is slightly reminiscent of the RCSP Langley-class Carrier, and the side thruster nacelles are similar to that of an RWI Defender-class Frigate. The *Dawnbreaker* was comprised of mostly heavy armor, making it a heavy and difficult ship to fly in atmosphere, despite a large amount of downwards-facing atmospheric thrusters. The ship could also land using landing gears mounted on the engine nacelles. It was also painted the standard light gray armor color, with hints of red and dark gray scattered around. This color scheme was later used on the CSS *Vengeance*, as was the idea for a primary CIC.