Derran Tyler
Inactive Member
Version 1.5 - Saturday, December 30, 2006
1. Background Information:
The Byakko class strike carriers are the backbone of the Nerimian Defense Initiative's Interstellar Navy, combining the survivability and attack power of a medium cruiser with the force projection abilities of a full-sized fleet carrier. Designed as the functional replacement of the obsolete Whirlwind carriers, the abilities of the Byakko made it the effective replacement of four of the Spacy's cruiser designs – the Lightning, Kirishima, Memphis, and Prometheus.
The Byakko is not, however, a very large vessel with massive crew requirements. A high degree of automation via the advanced DEIMOS quantum computer system allows the Byakko to operate with a mere fraction of the crew necessitated for previous designs. Measuring just less than 1,200 kilometers in total length, the Byakko maximizes usage of internal space for the storage of its starfighters, bombers, and Spacy Marine complement.
One of the primary features of its design is eight ready fighter launch bays that utilize magnetic launch rails to rapidly accelerate the 72 ready fighters into combat in 90 seconds. These ready-launch bays are one-way only. Larger craft such as the XB-32 Uriko are launched from the force-field guarded launch bays.
Offensively, the Byakko wields twenty-eight heavy turrets along with sixty mobile multi-weapon turrets that provide secondary anti-ship firepower. In addition to its guns, the Byakko has sixteen anti-warship missile launch tubes – four that fire straight-forward and twelve that launch vertically.
From top to bottom, the Byakko is considered a jack-of-all-trades vessel, but not necessarily a master of none. While clearly not as formidable as a capital ship such as the Alpha-Hotel battleship, the Byakko can hold its own against nearly any opponent.
2. Historical Information:
The outbreak of the Second Draconian War on December 11, 2780 shattered the paradigm the Admiralty of the NDI Spacy had spent twenty years developing. The outmoded focus on large, largely defenseless carriers and under gunned escorts such as the Kyushu destroyer and the Tatsumaki frigate caused atrocious losses at the hands of the Jaaq'tah in the first weeks of the war. Newer designs such as the Otomo and Alpha-Hotel proved to be very capable against the Jaaq'tah war machine, but at the onset of the war, these units comprised a meager twelve percent of the Spacy's fleet composition.
The new fifth generation NDI Spacy vessels were sleek, stealthy, and bristling with the kind of firepower that would make the mighty Jaaq'tah fleets cower in their presence. With the near total destruction of the Spacy's Whirlwind carrier fleet, a new, more robust carrier design was pushed to the forefront by the scientists at the Confederation Technological Research Administration (CONTRA). Dubbed Project Sharp Feather, the new carrier design was truly a medium cruiser, wielding an offensive gun armament that made it a threat to other warships without even factoring in its starfighter compliment.
The first prototype, the Byakko ("White Tigerâ€