Dauntless-class cruiser

Dauntless-class cruiser

TSC Dauntless
Class overview
Name:	Dauntless-class Heavy Cruiser
Builders:	Transatlasia State Space Industries
Operators:	Transatlasia
Active:	2
General characteristics
Type:	Capital ship, space battleship
Length:	600m
Width:	150m
Height:	166m
Installed power:	Plasma fusion drive
Propulsion:	6 ion pulse engines 12 lateral ion thrusters
Speed:	1000 km/h (atmospheric)
Hyperdrive:	Class 1.0
Crew:	approx. 12,000
Strike craft carried:	50 Firesprite interceptors OR 75 F-18 fighters

Dauntless-class cruisers are a line of heavy space cruisers that serve as the capital ships of the Transatlasian space navy. There are currently two Dauntless-class cruisers in active service: TSC Dauntless (CA-7500) and TSC Fearless (CA-7501). Additional cruisers of this line might be in production, however. The prefix "TSC" stands for "Transatlasian Space Cruiser", and is the standard designation for warships in the Transatlasian space fleet.

Armament

Two large ship-to-ship heavy laser turrets are located at the fore of the ship just beneath the bridge, with two even larger ones on the dorsal spine of the ship. Sixteen smaller laser turrets of various size and power are located along the dorsal and lateral sections of the ship, particularly around the lateral hangars. It can carry any of a variety of missiles tipped with warheads, nuclear or conventional, or occasionally "planet-buster" ion missiles, the vehicle for these being a large missile array on the protrusion beneath the bridge. The class also carries one large railgun cannon within a small hangar on its underside, every firing of which has the output of (to use the BBC's infallible terminology) approximately seven Hiroshima bombs. To the best of anyone's knowledge, the weapon has never been tested, but no one has heard from the Chinese colony on the Saturnian moon of Dione for a while.

Complement

TSC Dauntless with two Firesprites in Earth orbit - Western Europe and North Africa visible.

A Dauntless-class possesses a large hangar bay through the ship's midsection which can host up to fifty starfighters, or seventy-five atmospheric fighter planes during planetary operations. The preferred atmospheric fighter of the Transatlasian armed forces is the F-18 Hornet, appropriated from various sources since the fall of the United States. The mainline starfighter of the Transatlasian space fleet is the Firesprite-class interceptor, which was designed with the Dauntless-class in mind specifically. They commonly serve as escorts for the Dauntless and Fearless and saw limited action at Wetickra.

Service

The Dauntless class was designed and manufactured by the Union-controlled monopoly Transatlasia State Space Industries, TSC Dauntless leaving drydock at an unknown time in the last decade, and its sister ship, TSC Fearless, soon after. The Dauntless has mostly served orbital defense functions since its inception, the most notable including its efforts to intercept and capture Gruekiller during his flight to Avalon when his path into orbit from Ethiopia crossed Transatlasian air space. TSC Fearless took part in the Battle of Wetickra soon after, as part of Bowie's efforts to bolster The Hacker's forces during the events of DYOS 11. The commanding officer on the Fearless at the time was an Admiral Tiago.