Fourth Republic Naval Command FOR
General distribution to naval personnel
FIGHTING SPACECRAFT OF THE LAST EMPIRE.

While some may question the inclusion of this material in the Fourth Earth Republic's combat database, the inclusion of such data remains entirely relevant for two reasons.  The first is that the basis for much of our spacecraft is built on the hulls and infrastructure left behind by the previous Earth government. The second is that a number of ships from this era of Earth's history have ended up in the hands of pirates and other undesirables, as well as Imperial loyalists and revivalists. As the possibility of combat with such vessels is a worry of the present, the inclusion of such information continues to be justified for both now and the forseeable future.

Overview:

The Second Human Imperium, more commonly known as the "Last Empire", was a centralized government that took political and military control of all human space, having grown in response to an powerful threat facing humanity in the earlier centuries of the millennium (for further details reference "History of post-hyperdrive Sol government" by Warner, J. Halstead, and "A study on Autonomous Machine Organisms" by Indra, K. Robert). However, unlike the Cincinnatus that the new government was posing as, it turned out they had no desire to return power. It was not long until the Sol Alliance was officially usurped by the new government, and the military that had swollen greatly now turned into Sol's personal enforcers for the use of coercion and extortion, as well as bringing independent systems and non-Sol based interstellar governments to heel. At some points, small planetary populations even evacuated to beg asylum from Earth's alien neighbors, with varying degrees of success involved. However, the new government was not willing to go to war with its neighbors until it had fully ordered the House of Man.

Once this was eventually accomplished, however, it became eventually clear that the Last Imperium was far more effective at waging war against its own people rather than against any neighbors that could fight it on any sort of parity. While the Imperial intelligence network was ruthlessly effective at rooting out dissidents and potential rebels,this came at the expense of foreign intelligence, which was either corrupted or cowed into making only the most ludicrously demeaning reports on the strengths of extraterrestrial nations to assuage the egos of later emperors. Two wars were thought to contribute the most to the unraveling of the Last Empire. While the war to push the Kelixian Swarm a more comfortable distance of Earth was technically a success, the Empire took appalling losses in spite of the strategic and material advantages it was supposed to have. The Imperial Xenopsychologists assumed that the Kelixians, due to their insectoid natures, would use numerous small, flimsy, but aggressive attack ships (when this has never been the case in all of Kelixian history). In fact, they were met by heavy battlegroups with large combat vessels that put up fanatic resistance against Imperial forces. The hard fighting cost the lives of a number of the Emperor's many sons, the most dramatic instance when one of them was killed on board his battlecruiser when both it and its escort group were annihilated by the Kelixian super-dreadnought whose name roughly translates to "God Save the Queen."

The second war was an attempt to destroy the Tirolians as a galactic power, but they lunched a characteristically daring surprise attack on the first wave while the Emperor was giving a speech to all involved forces the day before the attack was supposed to start. The Tirolians plunged through numerous systems, handily defeating the surprised and confused defenders, and the next decade turned into a fight for systems Earth was already supposed to control. Eventually, the military forces involved in the fighting negotiated a separate peace with the Tirolians, and turned their guns on Sol, first taking time to win the loyalty of various sector governors and other fleet commanders before making their attack on the Emperor and his bodyguard. The regular fleet prevailed. With all of the potential heirs to the Emperor either dead or missing, the rebels set up a new government in its place, working closely with sector governors to assess the needs of those still under the governance of Earth- by this time, a number of human systems had broken away or re-formed old, pre-Imperial governments.

Guns of the Fleet:

Towards the end of its lifespan, the Empire relied on a relatively small number of standardized ship models to fulfill all of its duties- as such, what is being listed are only the major space combatants utilized by the Imperial Forces. The ubiquitous symbol of imperial power was the Callius-class cruiser, which served as both line warship and a form of rapid-response troop-transport  for use in crushing the Empire's enemies, both foreign and domestic. They did maintain a number of large combatants for use in major engagements, which it would proudly shuttle to especially troublesome systems as opportunity or necessity demanded. While famous, the Goliath-class is only included as a curiosity, as all have been accounted for either as destroyed in battle, scuttled, or mothballed due to the expense of maintaining such enormous warships.

Spear-class gunship.

The Spear-class is the smallest known interstellar warship used in the last years of the Empire, and it was one of the most prolific ship types as well- one couldn't travel to the farthest reaches without spotting them, to reassure the citizens that the Emperor was keeping his eye on the citizens at all times, for good or ill but most likely the latter.

While the Quad Laser batteries famously employed by Imperial vessels are quite present on this vessel, it also carries an Anti-matter missile launcher. While it was originally included to give punch against larger vessels, it was more frequently used for other purposes by Imperial orders, such as the destruction of a colony cylinder in Sirius due to a suspected secession movement.

(107) Spear-class Last Empire Gunship
0
Hull: 5 4 3 2 1                   
Engines: 7 6 5 3 2                   
Shields: 3 3 2 2 1                   
Weapons:
1:X 2:X 3:Y 4:Y 5:Y 6:

X: Mk. 22 AM Missile: 4/8/12, 1/4+/1/4
[G]

Y: Mk.31 Laser battery: 3/6/9, 4/4+/1/1
[ACE][BDF]

Special: Hyperdrive; Anti-Fighter Batteries (4)

Legion-class Destroyer

The Legion-class was intended as an armored support craft for fleet operations, and its original design specifications fit that aspect to the letter, being equipped with a number of quad-laser batteries, standoff weapons, and even mines to assist in securing areas while heavier defensive assets were brought in via military hauler. However, due to the mandated insistence of the emperor that all ships have some manner of powerful 'knockout' weapon, some aspects of the design had to be compromised under the pain of accusations of treason.

As such, the number of laser batteries and other planned defensive measures had to be reduced to accommodate the supergun that the Emperor demanded be attached to the ship. The weapon that was a massive Anti-proton particle cannon with its own separate, dedicated reactor. The fact that it was based on charged particles limited its effective range, but it was capable of dealing incredible damage to any vessel struck by the resulting beam. While the Legion's performance was spotty over its service record, it was forever justified in the Emperor's eyes when it destroyed an enemy fleet carrier in a single shot.

(337) Legion-class Last Empire Destroyer

Hull: 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1                 
Engines: 5 5 4 4 3 2 2 1                 
Shields: 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1                 
Weapons:
1:X 2:Y 3:Y 4:Y 5: 6:

X: AM Reaction cannon: 4/8/12, 1/4+/1/4
Catastrophic; Piercing +1
[G]

Y: Laser battery: 3/6/9, 4/4+/1/1
[AB][BD][AC]

Special: Hyperdrive; Armor Plating; Mines (10); Anti-Fighter Batteries (6); Carrier (80)

(366) Legion-class Last Empire Destroyer (original)

Hull: 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1                 
Engines: 5 5 4 4 3 2 2 1                 
Shields: 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1                 
Weapons:
1:X 2:X 3:X 4:X 5: 6:

X: Laser battery: 3/6/9, 4/4+/1/1
[AB][BD][BD][AC][AC]

Special: Hyperdrive; Armor Plating; Mines (10); Anti-Fighter Batteries (5); Carrier (80); Countermeasures

Shield-class Monitor

The boxy, inelegant Shield-class monitor vessel was one of the few successes of Imperial strategic management- a vessel that was simple enough to be built and maintained locally, and could be easily broken up and transported into other, less secure systems via military hauler. Such vessels provided command, coordination, and firepower for the Empire's system defense needs against raiders and other interstellar brigands. It did not use the more sophisticated weaponry available to Imperial vessels, instead relying on Laser batteries and missile launchers capable of firing off a variety of ordnance that allowed it defense against most kinds of spacecraft. In addition, it also carried four wings of Wasp fighters, allowing it some degree of standoff capability.

(483) Shield-class Last Empire Monitor
0
Hull: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1               
Engines: 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 1               
Shields: 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 1               
Weapons:
1:X 2:X 3:X 4:Y 5:Y 6:

X: Laser battery: 3/6/9, 4/4+/1/1
[AC][AC][BD][BD]

Y: Multi-warhead launcher: 4/8/12, 2/4+/2/2
[AC][BD][AB]

Special: Anti-Fighter Batteries (8); Carrier (200); Marines (20)

Callius-class Cruiser

The Callius-class is the most enduring symbol of Imperial might. Armed to the teeth and capable of performing roughly any duty the Emperor commanded, it saw a lengthy term of service in which it distinguished itself by keeping order in human space. It even managed to acquit itself relatively well during the disastrous wars that destroyed Imperial authority as the primary warship of the Imperial forces.

The laser batteries and powerful neutron guns of the vessel were supplemented by a pair of salvo torpedo launchers that were capable of playing merry havoc with the shields of enemy vessels, and the swift launch of numerous warheads was compensation enough for the time it took to fully load a new munitions rack into position for a second volley. In addition to its own weapons, it carried its own small craft support, consisting of a wing of fighters and bombers. It was also capable of quickly suppressing local dissent due to its own transport capacity.

(444) Callius-class Last Empire Cruiser
0
Hull: 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1             
Engines: 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1             
Shields: 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1             
Weapons:
1:X 2:X 3:Y 4:Y 5:Y 6:Z

X: Lance Mk-2 Neutron cannon: 5/10/15, 1/4+/2/2
Double Damage
[AB][AB][BD][AC]

Y: Laser battery: 3/6/9, 4/4+/1/1
[AC][AC][AC][BD][BD][BD]

Z: Torpedo launcher: 3/6/9, 2/4+/2/2
Piercing +2; Slow-Firing
[AC][BD]

Special: Hyperdrive; Anti-Fighter Batteries (5); Carrier (120); Transport (100)

Fury-class  Attack Carrier

The Fury was the closest the Empire came to fielding a dedicated carrier vessel, constrained by the Imperial need for all of their interstellar combat vessels to deliver heavy firepower to the field. Originally based on the hull of the Callius, the fighter bays were greatly expanded, with not a huge amount of thought given to the structural problems this would cause to the already taxed design. While the vessel does play host to four wings of fighters and four wings of bombers, the vessel only carries two neutron cannons.

More of note, however, is how the reconfiguration affected the vessel's laser batteries- due to the new arrangement, parts of the vessel's power grid became prone to violent malfunctions which caused non-trivial internal damage to the ship, causing technicians to lower the rate of fire of the laser cannons, or, in some cases, simply decouple one of the four laser cannons from the finicky power grid.

(775) Fury-class Last Empire Strike carrier

Hull: 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1             
Engines: 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1             
Shields: 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1             
Weapons:
1:V 2:V 3:V 4:W 5: 6:

V: Laser battery: 3/6/9, 3/4+/1/1
[AC][AC][BD][BD][EF]

W: Lance Neutron cannons: 5/10/15, 1/4+/2/2
Double Damage
[AC][BD]

Special: Hyperdrive; Anti-Fighter Batteries (10); Carrier (480)

Sledgehammer-class Battlecruiser

The Sledgehammer-class appeared to be a vessel that was kept on the roster largely out of tradition rather than effectiveness- numerous proposals to repurpose the hull for other means, such as a dedicated fleet carrier were rejected, and means were constantly contrived to refit it  with the most modern weapons it could handle. The last iteration in Imperial service has a primary armament that was a technological triumph, and not simply because they got it to work with the ship's older frame. The 'phase cannon' has a built in sensor system that can minutely examine the shlieds of enemy vessels and adjust the beam's phase on the fly to bypass much of the target's shield strength, making it the ideal vessel for hunting smaller ships.

It mounts a curious secondary armament, however, consisting of a truly staggering number of laser batteries, making the vessel seem more like  an oversized escort vessel than the capital ship it appears to be. This enormous secondary armament proved nearly useless, however when the Gibraltar was attacked and sunk sunk by the superheavy weapons of the Kelixian warship, the God Save the Queen, taking the life of one of the emperor's sons.

(465) Sledgehammer-class Last Empire Battlecruiser

Hull: 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1         
Engines: 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1         
Shields: 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1         
Weapons:
1:X 2:X 3:Y 4:Y 5:Y 6:Y

X: Trebuchet Phase cannon: 5/10/15, 1/4+/3/2
Piercing +2
[AC][AC][BD][BD]

Y: laser battery: 3/6/9, 4/4+/1/1
[AC][AC][AC][BD][BD][BD][C][D]

Special: Hyperdrive; Anti-Fighter Batteries (10); Overthrusters

Devastator-class Battleship

The Devastator-class was the largest heavy combatant in regular use by the Imperial forces, and its design goals were not muddled by competing objectives. This was a vessel designed for the pure and ultimate purpose of destroying the enemy's military structure, whether in space or on the ground. No compromises were made for other roles of the vessel- it was built to be a killer, pure and simple. As such, it was one of the more successful Imperial designs in its field, however, it did have a couple of weaknesses and curiosities.

The first was its relatively weak secondary armament, consisting of merely two quad-laser batteries for close defense against smaller enemy craft. While its main guns were powerful, it still ended up with a marked vulnerability to fighters and small torpedo craft. The second was its battery of five anti-matter missile launchers. While certainly effective in space combat, the placement seemed odd until one of these vessels destroyed all surface life on a Tirolian frontier planet on a mission ordered by the Emperor. The resulting retaliation, however, became one of the worst military disasters in the history of mankind's history of interstellar warfare.

(966) Devastator -class Last Empire Battleship

Hull: 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1     
Engines: 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1     
Shields: 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1     
Weapons:
1:X 2:X 3:Y 4:Z 5:Z 6:

X: "Ram" Meganeutron cannon: 6/12/18, 1/4+/2/3
Piercing +1; Double Damage
[AC][AC][BD][BD]

Y: Laser battery: 3/6/9, 4/4+/1/1
[ACE][BDF]

Z: AM Missile: 4/8/12, 1/4+/1/4
[AB][AB][AB][AB][AB]

Special: Hyperdrive; Armor Plating; Anti-Fighter Batteries (10)

Goliath-class command dreadnought.

While designed ostensibly as mobile command bases for the Imperial fleet, the Goliath-class was largely a prestige project meant to intimidate the Empire's closest neighbors. it is one of the largest known warships ever built- only the God Save the Queen is confirmed to be larger, and it is also larger than the Tirolian clanships serve as both the command vessels and part of the estates of Tirolian warrior-nobility. Due to the expense of maintaining these vessels in the field, even the Empire did not build especially many of these vessels, and a good number were ultimately destroyed during the revolution that toppled the Empire.

The Goliath is still an immensely powerful warship, absolutely bristling with powerful weaponry. The standard laser batteries and Anti-matter missiles exist in abundance, and its primary guns are one of the best-kept secrets of the Empire- loyalists destroyed their primary production facilities in Sol to keep them from falling into the hands of revolutionary forces during the uprising. However, their observed capabilities- particularly their ability to defeat shields- have provided the basis for much of current Republic energy armament. In addition, the vessel carried three wings of Fighters and Bombers each.

(1555) Goliath-class Last Empire Command Dreadnought
0
Hull: 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 
Engines: 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
Shields: 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 
Weapons:
1:XZ 2:X 3:X 4:Y 5:Y 6:Z

X: Laser Battery: 3/6/9, 4/4+/1/1
[AC][AC][CE][CE][BD][BD][DF][DF]

Y: AM Missiles: 4/8/12, 1/4+/1/4
[ACE][ACE][BDF][BDF]

Z: "Helios" Beam cannon: 6/12/18, 1/4+/2/4
Halves Shields; No Range Modifiers
[AC][AC][BD][BD]

Special: Anti-Fighter Batteries (5); Armor Plating; Carrier (360); Hyperdrive

Small craft and standoff weapons:

Lancea-D4 IFF missile. 5/9/4+/0, 20 capacity Striker.

These missiles were the standoff weapons carried by Imperial defense platforms and the Legion-class destroyer. While not spectacular, they are capable missiles, designed to be launched in salvoes of five. They also do not have any notable or disastrous flaws, unlike its temperamental predecessor, the Xyston-E7.

Wasp-2I Fighter, 5/9/4+/0, 50 capacity fighter.

The Wasp-2I was an aging fighter pressed into service as the primary interceptor of the Imperial fleet, and launches had to be staggered as the primary bomber of the late imperial era was actually faster. While originally capable, it soon fell behind and suffered terrible losses to more advanced or just hardy Tirolian and Kelixian craft.

Storm-B1 Bomber, 4/10/4+/0, Increased Impact 3, 70 Capacity fighter.

The Storm-B1 was a powerful attack fighter created to defeat the passive defenses of even the hardiest capital ships, and it performed well in this regard- the fighter-carried torpedoes were effectively smaller versions of the ones mounted as standard armament on the Callius-class cruiser, giving the Storm-B1 strong hitting power for a small craft.</r>