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NOVA-X CLASS BATTLECURISER
Prior to the debut of the Omega class Destroyer the Nova class Dreadnought served as the Earth Alliance’s primary heavy warship. Built by Rocketdyne, the Nova class Dreadnought is believed to have entered service prior to and during the Dilgar War, sometime in the 2220s.* By the 2230s however, another starship made its debut in the Earthforce Star Navy, Karmatech’s Hyperion class Heavy Cruiser.* Between the 2230s and 2240s Rocketdyne and Karmatech competed for lucrative design contracts from Earthforce. While Rocketdyne had a long-time history with the Earthforce Navy, Karmatech’s smaller Hyperion seemed more economical than the massive Novas. A debate on military theory ensued, not unlike what happened between Battleship and the Aircraft Carrier back in the early 20th century, with one camp supporting large mobile weapons platforms with huge fighter support, the other favoring lighter, faster warships with more advanced technology.* Ultimately, the Earth Alliance chose to supercede the Nova with the newer, lighter, and cheaper Hyperion class Heavy Cruiser and plans were set in motion to phase out the Nova class Dreadnought. Not to be outdone, Rocketdyne Executives were able to convince several influential members of Earthforce and the Earth Alliance Senate to invest in a new, long-range patrol ship capable of deploying a large contingent of forces, in the hopes of winning back her military contracts from Karmatech. In the early 2250s Rocketdyne began Projects Omega* to, “Build the last warship Earth would ever need.” To save on production costs and to facilitate the huge industry Rocketdyne had built up providing spare parts and support equipment for the existing fleet of Novas, Rocketdyne decided to modify several Novas and building upon their space frames to create a larger, more powerful and mission flexible craft. Rocketdyne’s plan to modify existing Nova class Dreadnoughts was a plan not without precedent. During the 20th century, the U.S. Navy had enacted a similar plan, when it chose to build upon the World War Two Aircraft Carrier USS Midway (CV-41). The Midway, a ship comprised of antiquated technology, was retrofitted with state-of-the-art equipment and design features (like an angled flight deck and steam catapults). By testing these new features and equipment, the U.S. Navy lowered the cost of research and development and constructed a ship that would become the forerunner to the next breed of carriers, the Forestal class Carriers.* Rocketdyne decided to follow in suit. In late 2244, Rocketdyne presented to the Earthforce Navy five new starships, the like the Earth Alliance had not seen before… the Nova-X class Battlecruiser. While obviously build upon the original Nova class Dreadnoughts, the new Nova-X starships had several distinct design differences that set them apart. First, and most important, Rocketdyne had succeeded in overcoming a huge design challenge and produced a warship with a rotating section, providing simulated gravity for the crew. This design feature was very important, as it would allow crews to conduct deep range patrols without the need of rotating crews in order to stave off the detrimental effects of zero gravity tours. In addition to the rotating center section, Rocketdyne pulled a page out of Karmatech’s playbook and fitted the Nova-X Battlecruisers with smaller, lighter weapons, rather than the massive plasma cannons found on the original Novas. While the old plasma cannons had been intimidating, they had an extended recharge time and took too much power away from critical systems during combat. The new pulse cannons, on the other hand, were nearly as powerful, able to fire faster and with little delay for weapon recharge, and effectively provided fire coverage upon multiple, overlapping angles of attack. Earthforce R&D and members of the Senate’s military oversight committee were impressed and decided to begin testing the Nova-X Battlecrusier’s combat effectiveness in July of 2245, at the Earthforce proving grounds near the Vega colony. Rocketdyne was poised to push Karmatech out of the limelight and, so confident were they in the Nova-X that they christened their new Starfury the Nova class Starfury.** Unfortunately, the universe was conspiring against both Rocketdyne and the Earth Alliance. No sooner had the Nova-X fleet arrived in Vega, did word go out that an Earthforce exploratory mission lead by the Hyperion class Heavy Cruiser EAS Prometheus, had engaged in battle with the enigmatic Minbari. Less than a week after this first meeting, the Minbari struck, attacking the Vega colony.** The Minbari forces were overwhelming, in both technology and sheer numbers. Assembling a fleet to combat the Minbari, the Nova-X Battlecruisers were drafted into service, combat ready or not. Within the first five second of the “Battle of Vega Colony”, four of the five Nova-X class Battlecruiser and an entire fleet division were annihilated, the last Nova-X striking Earthforce’s first and final blow of the battle when she rammed into a Minbari Cruiser, destroying both ships (click here for visual evidence).** And so began the Earth/Minbari war. Upon the conclusion of the war, Earthforce’s brief love affair with Karmatech’s Hyperion class Heavy Cruiser was over. The public and military brass were convinced that a larger and more powerful warship was needed, and so Earthforce turned to Rocketdyne Industries to build the next breed of warship. Rocketdyne, having never abandoned the Omega Project, were ready to mass-produce new Omega class Destroyer in a few short months, beginning with the EAS Achilles in late 2248.** While the Omega class Destroyer now dominates the Earthforce Navy, the ships and the crews that peoples these flying cities in space, owe their existence and prosperity to the Nova-X Battlecruisers and the sacrifice they made in defense of all mankind. [*Speculation
based on the Dilgar War and the aged of the Nova, as stated
in the RPGs. Last Updated 12-22-02 |
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