Dominion-class Battlecruiser

## **Overview**

Serving from 2291, to 2329, the **Dominion-class Battlecruiser** is an armoured capital warship commissioned for Her Majesty's Sovereign Armada of the Eternal Empire. Its design is slim and unique, especially for Imperial style of bulky, all-or-nothing strategy of warfare. The vessels categorised under the Dominion-class were present in several engagements, counting, from their introduction, in the end of the 23rd. Century, all the way towards the Battle of New Earth, in July of 2329.

Old and trusted, the Dominion-class may be the most alien looking warship designed for the Royal Navy of the Eternal Empire. The need for a newer battlecruiser, after presented weakness against Dyss suicidal attacks, became as a much heavier and impenetrable anti-aircraft defensive structure, along with a tougher projectile armour scheme to withstand heavier missile strikes. There were 7 vessels commissioned for the Dominion-class of Battlecruisers; **HMS Dominion**, **HMS Empire**, **HMS Kingdom**, **HMS Royal Sovereign**, **HMS Princess Royal** and **HMS Prince of New Wales**.

The most well known warship (And also the last to be concluded, in 2298) of the class became HMS Prince of New Wales, which was commanded, in the latter half of its career, by Admiral Enos Mackleburry, being destroyed during the Battle of the Black Storm, by the infamous Light of Nidira, in Advatir system. Other two famous vessels were HMS Dominion and HMS Kingdom, which endured through the Battle of Aasha and later acted as manned ramming ships against larger Commonwealth Battleships, in the Battle of New Earth.

By the end of the Ancestral war, all commissioned Battlecruisers of the class were either destroyed, or deactivated by heavy damage, sustained in savage combats across the Galaxy.

## **Ship Characteristics**

The Dominion-class composed Battlecruisers capable of support, escort and even lone patrol operations, being commonly utilised in defensive roles, increasing its survivability ratios considerably in the Imperial Royal Navy. The Dominions present a variety of weapons, but falter in comparison of other, heavier, capital ships.

* Length: 1.7 Kilometres
* Height: 202 Meters
* Width: 90 Meters

Although presenting an unique silhouette, the class composes defensive measures very common for Imperial warships. They utilised, when initially designed, a **11th. Class De Havilland shield generator**, equipped for external escort support and electrical EMP defenses. The armour is thinner than usual, but sturdy enough to hold against Dyss suicidal strikes. 2 metres separate the interior of the vessel from the void of space, except for the four additional engine sections, were the armour can reach up to 6 meters. Its speed is considerable, as it can keep up with all classes of Aircraft Carriers amongst the Imperial Armadas.

### **Crew**

* **1584** Deckers, sailors and shipwrights.

* **800** Utility Automated systems and robots.

* **68** Royal Marines. Most utilized for defence or expeditions outside of the vessel, they are specialized in combat and represent the standard defensive unit inside the vessel.

* **18** Pilots and Repairmen. Most know to operate and maintain the Scouting Squadrons within the ship.

### **Propulsion**

* **1 38th. Generation Merlin Sublight Engine**. Somewhat larger than the older 27th. Generation, mounted in the Retribution-class Multirole Battleships. Sturdier but less powerful, it is commonly attributed to withstand even the heaviest of attacks and still be operational for emergency FTL jumps.

* **4 Mk. I SSEA Secondary Engine Afterburners**.

* **1 FTL Jump Engine**.

* **2 'Camel' Dark Matter Rechargeable Reactor**. One located for engine duties, whilst the other powering weapons, supercomputers and common utility electronic systems. Experimental design, somewhat prone for breaking due to poor autonomy.

### **Additional Support Systems & Equipment**

Living in a Dominion-class Battlecruiser usually reminds many of classical escort destroyers, designed for patrol, escort and other usual support duties. The chain of command in these vessels are functionally equivalent of the rest of the Royal Navy, presenting **Section Officers** for two main parts of the ship; the **South Section** and the **North Section**, each commanded by one officer, they are the highest ranking official operating outside of the Command Bridge.

* 2 Artificial Gravity Generators (For each section, leaving the additional 4 engines without proper gravity to traverse).

* 18\*35 Meters Medical Bay (One between North and South Section).

* 800 Crew Quarters (Fitting one for each section).

* 4\*5 Meters Captain's Quarter.

* 29\*73 Meters Command Bridge.

* 35\*200 Meters Storage Space.

* 300 Scarlet Rifles (Counting Royal Marines, otherwise utilised by common Crew for desperate defenses).

42 Months worth of food and other maintenance supplies.

### **Weaponry & Aircraft**

Cannons, plasma throwers and Anti-aircraft defensive measures all encompass the main structure of the Dominion-class warships. The hundreds of turrets are mainly equipment for defensive capabilities, especially for smaller Cruisers, Destroyers and Corvettes, those of which approach close enough to main columns of Capital ship groups. It lacks, however, enough firepower to detain larger vessels than the Dominion-class itself, making itself useless against Battleships or Dreadnoughts that it could face. The class also compels two small groups of Scout crafts, that also equip nothing more than light weapons in its fuselage.

* **8x 50' Inch Primary Laser Cannons** - Bulk of the offensive armament composed in the Battlecruiser. It alone can penetrate armour and shielding of even the most advanced Cruisers and screening vessels. These armoured turrets require 60 sailors to be fully operated.

* **48x 16' Inch Secondary Laser Auto-Cannons** - First-rate defensive capability, usually designed for shore bombardment and ground troop support whilst in the atmosphere, but it also proves itself as a decent high caliber PD laser against missiles and small-crafts alike.

* **12x Broadsiding Plasma Throwers** - Usually utilised to destroy masses of solid targets. It falters in comparison to energy shielding capabilities, but it also show effectiveness against ground targets.

* **124x 11' Inch Anti-fighter Mounted Guns** - Dedicated weapons to fend off fighter aircraft and bomber aircraft. Laser powerful enough to destroy large aircraft and even armoured ground troops, like many mechanised units. It is heavily automated, but can also accommodate 3 to 4 sailors for use.

* **6x Commandeer Scout Aircraft**