Centurion Class

A refit of the failed Garuda Class Battlecruiser, the Centurion Class was the first Romulan design to carry a pair of the new Type M Plasma Torpedo Tubes. This gives her unprecedented firepower for a ship of her size. Acting essentially as a Cruiser-sized "Bird of Prey", the Centurion embodies Romulan hit and fade tactics, striking from the shadows then rapidly cloaking to recharge her torpedoes. She also mounts Electronic Countermeasures (ECM), which further assist her in evading enemy fire.

## Development

In 2267, whilst KR Series vessels imported from the Klingon Empire were useful additions to the Romulan Star Navy, there was concern in the Senate that the Star Empire was becoming dependent on Klingon military materiel and neglecting the development of native technology as a result. A new technological programme was launched to provide new, entirely Romulan warships for the RSN. This design programme became known as the Ornith Series, and one of the first designs to be approved was that of a Frigate. This late 2260s design had a number of flaws however, namely that she still relied on fusion power, and lacked any weapon more formidable than the increasingly obsolescent Cohesive Fused Deuterium Irradiation Cannon. Production of the new design was put on hold until a number of concurrent programmes in the fields of weaponry and propulsion could bear fruit.

In 2275 Romulan engineers produced a working, reliable M/AM powered warp drive. Priority was given initially to refitting the Cricket Class Destroyer, resulting in the War Bird Class of 2278. Once this programme neared completion, all effort ways turned to introducing new, powerful, M/AM powered designs. The first of these designs was a revived and updated version of the 2269 Frigate design. An unexpected side effect of M/AM research was that the technology designed for plasma flow to warp nacelles could also be employed to refine and perfect a lighter, less power hungry version of the Plasma Torpedo. Previously, plasma flow had been too inefficient to make a reduced power version viable, but now a torpedo with approximately 1/3rd the yield and power requirements of the standard Plasma Torpedo and capable of being charged in just over half the time. Whilst less efficient overall than the existing Plasma Torpedo, this new Light Plasma Torpedo did allow a weapon of significant power to be fitted to smaller and lighter vessels. In this role, the new Type L Plasma Torpedo Tube came to replace the old CFDIC as the weapon of choice on light Romulan designs.

The Gladius Class Frigate entered service shortly after, albeit with a single Type L Plasma Torpedo Tube and a CFDIC as a back-up weapon. Limited peace-time weapons range experience proved the Light Plasma Torpedo was a reliable and efficient weapon. Using a scaled up Gladius Class hull, and designed with a pair of Type L Plasma Torpedo Tubes as her main offensive weapons, a design for a new Light Cruiser took shape, soon named the Legion Class. The Legion was designed to complement a larger, Battlecruiser-sized design that became known as the Garuda Class. Again using a scaled up Gladius Class hull planform, the Garuda was essentially a much larger "Bird of Prey", much like the older Capsize Class. She was built around a single Type H Plasma Torpedo Tube, the same as the lighter War Bird Class, but she was intended to carry a much heavier Primary Weapons array along with considerably stronger shields and hull armour.

The Garuda entered service in 2282, just in time to serve in the 4th Gorn-Romulan War. Immediately though, combat experience showed there were considerable problems with her design. The single Type H Plasma Torpedo Tube simply wasn't heavy enough armament for a Battlecruiser. Whilst her primary array of five Disruptor Cannons was formidable, extended use of these weapons was counter to the Alpha Strike, hit and fade tactics employed by the Romulan Star Navy, and she simply didn't have the shield strength or armour to slug it out with heavy Gorn warships. Production was halted, and the few ships in service used as command ships and kept away from heavy combat.

The whole debacle left the RSN with an embarrassing problem. The largest and most powerful ships under their command were of Klingon origin; Romulan Capital Ships of a similar size were hopelessly out of date, and although the 4th Gorn-Romulan War had been a stalemate and white peace, the Star Navy was starting to look increasingly obsolete. Two new designs (eventually to become the Imperium Class Heavy Battlecruiser and the War Eagle Class Battleship/Dreadnought) were on the table, but these were not expected to enter service before 2290. Galactic tensions were rising and the Star Empire could no longer remain isolated. War was coming.

In the short term, the RSN was saved by the unexpectedly good performance and versatility of both the Legion Class Light Cruiser and the newest iteration of the Stormbird Class Heavy Cruiser. These designs, along with the Condor Class, kept the Star Navy competitive during the renewed hostilities of the 5th Gorn-Romulan War of 2284. This war also led to an unexpected development. A Gorn research centre was captured, and this led to a breakthrough in the understanding of Plasma generation. The Gorns also employed Plasma Torpedoes, but their method of generating and stabilising a charge was considerably different to Romulan techniques. This new understanding led to the development of the Medium Plasma Torpedo, or Type M. This type took slightly longer to recharge than the Type L, but had twice the yield of the lighter weapon, and required only 25% more power. This made the Type M the perfect weapon for Romulan Cruisers.

The Garuda Class was granted a reprieve by the new weapon. Existing examples were taken into drydock for refitting, and emerged as the first of the new Centurion Class. The single Type H Plasma Torpedo Tube was gone, replaced by a pair of the new Type Ms. Her Primary Weapons array was reduced down to a pair of Disruptor Cannons as a result, but the power freed up also gave her a higher turn of speed at impulse and allowed her to operate Electronic Countermeasures, which further reduced the ability of her adversaries to land a hit.

## Operational History

The bloodying of the Centurion came during the Organian Conflict. Fighting in her own, stealthy Cruiser Squadrons, the Centurion proved extremely adept at raids on Federation installations and convoys, with her counterpart the Stormbird Class being better suited at traditional fleet combat. This led to a division of duties which proved both a strength and weakness for the Romulan Star Navy.

During the War of Pacification, Centurion Squadrons hit at the exposed flanks of advancing ISC forces. Concordium starships proved formidable however and once the element of surprise had been lost, losses mounted.

Several Centurions were rumoured to have been part of a support fleet allied to Melkor during the Klingon Ormong of 2291, and she saw limited service during the General War, although she was beginning to be replaced in service by the more capable Senator Class by that point.

## Apocrypha

After her involvement in the Praxis Incident of 2293 was revealed, the Romulan Star Empire began to once again withdraw behind her borders, withdrawing from galactic affairs again all together in the aftermath of the Tomed Incident in 2311. Even before this time, Romulan tactics had begun to turn away from fleet engagements and back to single "lone wolf" warships, now of a gargantuan size dwarfing the Crickets and Capsize Classes of old. The Centurion was at her heart, an obsolete design, and despite her reprieve in 2288, she was at best a stopgap until better warships could be introduced. The downsizing and reformation of the RSN in the 2300s saw her quickly withdrawn.

## Specifications

* **Class:** Heavy Cruiser
* **Hull Type Designation:** RCA
* **Length:** 168m
* **Crew:** 295
* **Warp Nacelles:** 2

* **Maximum Sublight Speed:** 3300 k/s (33 Mk/s)
* **Cruise** **Warp Factor Speed:** wf 7.8
* **Safe** **Maximum Warp Factor Speed:** wf 9.4
* **Hull Rating:** 270 HSF
* **Shield Rating:** 282 FSP

* **Sensor Rating:** 1000 SRU

* **Armament and Equipment:**
	+ Primary
		- 2 × Disruptor Cannon
	+ Secondary
		- 2 × Type M Plasma Torpedo Tube
	+ Heavy
		- None
	+ Advanced
		- None
	+ Equipment
		- Tractor Beam Emitter
		- Romulan-Type Cloaking Device
		- Electronic Countermeasures (ECM)
		- Tal Shiar Transporter Pad
		- Probes

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