Ian S. Bott
Writer and artist
Imperial heavy cruiser Merciless
Merciless is an Implacable-class heavy cruiser. The Implacables are the workhorses of the Imperial navy. All ships of the class follow the same basic body plan, with some variations in detail.
General arrangements
All Implacables feature a main armament of four 150PW particle beams arranged in back-to-back pairs, one pair forward, and one aft. Each pair shares a common power source running through the height of the hull, economizing on weight. Additional armament varies from ship to ship, with a forward assault battery usually comprising either a plasma cannon or a torpedo launch bay. Merciless is armed with a 650PW plasma cannon. Two spacious hangar bays between them hold up to eleven ground attack craft, each able to land a full platoon of marines.
The main storage and engineering spaces are enclosed by twin lateral keels, with the main living accommodation situated in one deck lying over the top. A large dorsal pod houses the primary hopper drive, with communications and sensor arrays in a ventral pod. Twin lateral pods hold the secondary reaction drive.
The main storage and engineering spaces are enclosed by twin lateral keels, with the main living accommodation situated in one deck lying over the top. A large dorsal pod houses the primary hopper drive, with communications and sensor arrays in a ventral pod. Twin lateral pods hold the secondary reaction drive.
History
Merciless's keel was laid down on Derrin in 5620 Dynastic Calendar. She was commissioned in 5625, which makes her nearly two and a half thousand years old in Shayla's time. During a major refit in 6833, Merciless was equipped as a fleet flagship, a role she performed until superseded three hundred years later by the first of the new Sword-class super-battleships.
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