Vigiles-class Patrol Cruiser
| Class Overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Vigiles-class |
| Builders: | ??? |
| Operators: | Terran Alliance Navy |
| Cost: | ??? |
| Built: | 2019-Present |
| In Commission: | 2020-Present |
| Planned: | ??? |
| Completed: | ??? |
| Active: | ??? |
| Retired: | ??? |
| Lost: | 2 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Type: | Cruiser |
| Mass: | {{{mass}}} |
| Length: | {{{length}}} |
| Beam: | {{{beam}}} |
| Draft: | {{{draft}}} |
| Propulsion: | 4x Rostech Heavy Aerospace Model 27 SKK Drives
TBD Higgs Drive |
| Speed [Atmospheric]: | {{{speedAtmo}}} |
| Speed [Sublight]: | 0.5c peak velocity (86% time dilation) |
| Speed [FTL]: | Class 2 (Primary)
Class 8 (Backup) |
| Operational Duration: | {{{activeTime}}} |
| Complement: | 7 Senior Officers, 11 Junior Officers, 179 Enlisted Crew |
| Sensors and Processing Systems: | {{{sensors}}} |
| Electronic Warfare & Decoys: | {{{ewar}}} |
| Armament: | {{{armament}}} |
| Armor: | 1m composite plating |
| Auxiliary Craft | {{{auxCraft}}} |
Mass: {{{mass}}} Length: {{{length}}} Beam: {{{beam}}} Draft: {{{draft}}} Propulsion: {{{propulsion}}} Speed [Atmospheric]: {{{speedAtmo}}} Operational Duration: {{{activeTime}}} Sensors and Processing Systems: {{{sensors}}} Electronic Warfare & Decoys: {{{ewar}}} Armament: {{{armament}}} Auxiliary Craft {{{auxCraft}}}
Designed during the early days of the Alliance, the Vigiles class was a derivative of a design fielded by the Russian Federation during World War III and the Resource Wars before it. Designed for interplanetary travel to secure lucrative trade routes with Mars and the early forays in asteroid mining, the Russian vessel proved easy to adapt to the proposed design requirements of the Higgs Drive, much like the Iwo Jima design proved easy to adapt. Built around a quartet aft-mounted Rostech Heavy Aerospace Stover-Kwan-Konstantinov Higgs Field-Assisted Fusion-Torch Particle Impulse Engines, the Vigiles class can cross the Sol system in about 28 hours when at maximum speed, however this sort of speed is only ever utilized in emergency circumstances since when traveling at that velocity the ship’s internal time passes at 86% of that outside the ship.
The Vigiles-class serves primarily as a patrol and interdiction vessel for the Terran Alliance. The majority of them function as patrol vessels on important trade routes inside the Sol system, with the extrasolar trade routes usually being protected by dedicated battle groups. When on patrol duty the ship operates with three crews which rotate out every fourth months. Vigiles vessels assigned to interdiction duty operate like patrol vessels, however they maintain one crew and tend to roam around the Sol system tracking down smugglers, inspection-dodgers, and criminals at the request of the Terran Alliance Judicial Bureau. Furthermore, interdiction-type Vigiles crews are classified as peacekeeping forces while remaining under the jurisdiction of the Terran Alliance Armed Forces, allowing them to participate in Terran Alliance and United Nations peacekeeping operations as needed.
Primary power comes from a pair of Exalink Technology GmbH 500MW Aneutronic Fusion Reactors, while secondary power comes from four TYT Technology 50MW [Solid Oxide Fuel Cells]. Primary offensive armament is a spinally-mounted Turov-Barker Corporation 64-Megajoule Triangulanum-type railgun. Supplemental anti-ship capability is provided by two Boeing Space Systems 80-centimeter missile launch systems and two Boeing Space Systems 40-centimeter missile launch systems. For dealing with small craft, making precision strikes on targets, and deploying small sensor probes the cruiser is also outfitted with an extensive array of standard 15-centimeter launch systems as well, totaling 2,000 tubes scattered over the hull to provide all-around coverage.
Defense is provided by 1-meter thick plating of a variety of materials, with active defense provided by several systems. Two discrete Pandyne Integration 1-megawatt pulse laser systems controlled by Class VI AI combined with four TAAF standard gatling turret arrays provide interception capabilities, while WMT Development Class III magnetic shielding protects the crew against solar flares and other radiation sources.
As a peacekeeping vessel that is too large to land outside of specialized cradles found only in areas with low gravity, the Vigiles class maintains a relatively high array of secondary craft for its size. Standard embarked auxiliary craft include a four TAAF Standard Attack Craft plus a TAAF Standard Bomber chassis which can be converted to passenger transport if needed. Further transport capability is available with a ''Striker''-class Marine Assault Craft which can transport the majority of the ship’s embarked Marine Platoon, plus a standard medivac for medical support. Extra hangar space is built in by design, to be filled as needed. Additional ground vehicles, orbital deployment pods for marines, and light air vehicles can also be carried however these are considered cargo and vary heavily from ship to ship.
Crew on a Vigiles consists of 7 senior officers, including a unique position, the Chief of Enforcement. Unique to the Vigiles-class, the Chief of Enforcement is actually a member of the Terran Alliance Judicial Bureau assigned to the ship, they are responsible for law enforcement actions undertaken by the vessel and have the final say on anything law enforcement related. 11 Junior Officers round out the officer crew, though it is not uncommon for these positions to be filled by Warrant Officers. Enlisted crew consists of 179 personnel of various ranks and duties - it is not uncommon for there to be low-ranking officers still in their in-the-field portion of their training in this category as well, and the ship has berths for two more squads of marines or comparable troops.
To aide in its law enforcement duties, the ship has a dedicated brig with 5 cells, though any of its 5 5-person bunk spaces reserved for specialist squads, SDA personnel, and passengers can be converted into additional brig space with minimal effort. 2,500 tons of cargo capacity also gives the Vigiles-class extensive space to store seized illegal goods, humanitarian supplies, and even function as a light cargo freighter to assist with TAAF logistics. Furthermore, interdiction vessels are equipped with a launcher system capable of deploying munitions which can compromise and disable a vessel’s propulsion systems through brute-force hacking attempts, override codes, and outright electronic overloads.