Consadine class
Escort
In class: 3
In service: Late 2582
Mass: 470,000 tons
Sail Integrity: 4
Thrust: 5 / 8
Fuel: 6,000 tons
Structural Integrity: 50
Armor: 469 ton, Standard (N: 38, FL/R: 38, AL/R: 35, A: 34)
Docking Collars: 0
Fighters: 108
Small Craft: 16
Crew: 166 minimum (28 Officers, 138 Enlisted)
Marines: 63 (1 Company of Jump Infantry)
Lifeboats: 0
Escape Pods: 30
Grav Decks: 3 150 meters
Cargo: 47,641 tons
Bay 1: Fighters (108) / Small Craft (16) 8 doors
Bay 2: Marines (3 platoons) 2 doors
Bay 3: Cargo (47,641 tons) 5 doors
Weapons: (Heat Sinks: 1,600)
Forward
4 Naval Laser-45s
5 LRM 20s
6 PPCs
Fore
Left/Fore Right
4 Naval Laser-45s
5 LRM 20s
3 PPCs
Left
Broadside/Right Broadside
2 Naval Laser-45s
5 LRM 20s
3 PPCs
Aft
Left/Aft Right
5 LRM 20s
3 PPCs
Aft
5 LRM 20s
Ammo:
1200 rounds of LRM ammo
Overview:
Despite being founded by a
former Davion naval officer the Outworlds Alliance never built any of it’s own
warships. This was primarily due to the fact that the Alliance had a very
limited industrial base with absolutely no shipbuilding capacity. Even
Dropships were not a common sight in this young periphery realm. This didn’t
bother the peaceful people of the Outworlds who relied heavily on Aerospace
Fighters for their survival. Aerojocks won a special place in the hearts of
Outworlders early in the Alliance’s history. Not only did these aerial
volunteers combat pirates but they also helped carry vital goods between new
colonies and the nation’s few jumpships. With the dawn of the Star League it
became apparent to President Avellar that this rag tag aerospace force could
not stand up to this new massive threat. To combat the League’s aggression
Avellar sent Amanda Sigur Consadine to negotiate an agreement with the House
Davion. In exchange for a dozen agricultural Outworld planets the Federated
Suns agreed to supply overt and covert aid to the Alliance in order to hamper
League operations. As part of this agreement Davion would build the only
Alliance warship design ever. The ship named the Consadine, after the Outworlds
envoy that negotiated the deal, was based largely on early design plans for
House Davion’s Furious class. About the size of a destroyer the ship was classified
as an escort because of it’s massive fighter complement.
Capabilities:
The Consadine was a relatively simplistic warship using proven components from nearly all Davion combat vessels. The result was a highly reliable design with excellent survivability. The original Davion Furious class Escort called only for an aerospace complement of fifty four fighters. The newly organized Outworld Aerospace Arm called for AeroWings of 108 fighters, so the complement was doubled. Besides this impressive fighter complement the Escort itself was only lightly armed. Sixteen Naval Laser 45s made up the vessel’s main armament which was supported by twenty four standard PPCs. These weapons were mounted forward in the Consadine taking advantage of the designs excellent speed. The engine, which was a specially modified variant of the Iron Duke class, could achieve an unmatched acceleration of 4 Gs at maximum thrust. To destroy enemy fighters the Escort mounted forty large long range missile racks. The ship mounted almost 470 tons of armor for protection a little below average for the time. No docking collars were included in the design to lower the craft’s emergence signature and overall cost. To make up for the loss of integral dropship support the Consadine carried sixteen small craft. A company of marines provided security aboard ship. The vessel also had a large fuel supply and ample cargo space for long term missions away from support (Davion bases). Three huge grav decks provided ample recreation space for the ship’s crew on these missions.
Deployment:
The three vessels that made up
the class were assembled quickly during the Reunification War. Construction
time for each vessel took three to four months. Volunteers from the House
Davion made up the officer core of these ships while Outworlders made up the
rest of the crew. The only Outworld warships performed exceptionally well and
saw plenty of action during the conflict with the InnerSphere.
The first ship of the class, the Consadine, was “captured” at war’s end by House Davion troops. In reality this “seizure” merely covered the return of all surviving naval volunteers from the Federated Suns. The ship went onto finish it’s operations with the AFFS who used the Consadine as a test bed design for the Furious class Attack Carrier. Mothballed after the Edict of 2650, the design was reactivated following the Davion War of Succession. During the opening phases of the 1st Succession War the ship was assigned to the Capellan front were it saw heavy combat. Near the conflicts end the Consadine hit a mine and was disabled. Rather than hand the ship to the House Liao the crew scuttled her and most of the Consadine’s aerospace complement escaped.
The Santiago, named for the massacre that began the Reunification War, was launched just four months after the Consadine. During the battle of Tellman IV, called the Day of Vengeance in the Outworlds Alliance, all three Consadine class warships helped carry the day. The Santiago was destroyed while performing rear guard actions against naval reinforcements from the Star League. The intact remnants of the ship drifted through space for the past 500 years untouched by human hands until recently. President Mitchell Avellar personally financed an exploratory expedition to the site. Although it was in very poor shape the expedition did report that the vessel could be salvaged. However, the amount of restoration work that would need to be performed (like installation of a new compact KF core for starters) is almost too cost prohibitive for a Successor State. So it is believed that the Outworlds may be looking to turn the ship into a memorial of sorts.
The Cerberus was turned over to the SLDF as part of the peace treaty that ended the Reunification War. The Star League used the ship to further the peace with Outworlds Alliance never stationing it anywhere but it’s native land. Defending the people from pirate attacks, helping ships in distress, and performing other good will missions the ship became a symbol of unity between the Star League and the Outworlds Alliance. During the opening phases of the Periphery rebellion many within the SLDF High Command feared the ship would defect. Incredibly the crew (some of who were Outworlders) answered the First Lord’s call to defend the League. The Cerberus proved instrumental in helping pacify the Outworlds which was really just a side theater during the rebellion. The ship never left the Alliance during the Amaris Coup and only departed the Outworlds when Kerensky called for the Exodus. The Cerberus was mothballed after the SLDF arrived at the Pentagon worlds and survived the Exodus Civil War. The ship was claimed by Clan Mongoose and when onto see action against Clan Star Adder and Clan Smoke Jaguar. Damaged during the Mongoose Absorption the ship was placed into the Jaguar Cache Fleet where it remained until Operation Bulldog. Following the Jaguar’s destruction by the SLDF, Clan Steel Viper claimed the Cerberus.
The vessel probably will remain in the Viper’s cache fleet despite the efforts of Star Captain Kelvin Schmitt of Clan Blood Spirit. The new ristar had heard from his friend the Spirit ilChi to Clan Snow Raven that they were interested in acquiring the Cerberus. Star Captain Schmitt won the right from his skeptical Khans to mediate the negotiations between the Vipers and Ravens. Schmitt hoped to open talks with Clan Steel Viper for the purposes of establishing an alliance. Both Clans had a common enemy in the Star Adder / Cloud Cobra coalition and a distant history of working together successfully. Negotiating an agreement between these Clans for the Cerberus is not an easy task as both of these Clans hate each other. Star Captain Schmitt is proving to be a persuasive negotiator however finally getting both sides to agree on a trade. The Vipers would receive both Defender class AA Cruisers fully renovated while the Ravens got the Cerberus and a valuable future favor from the Viper Khans. The outlook maybe promising for a future Viper-Spirit alliance due in large part to the efforts of Star Captain Schmitt. It remains to be seen if a deal can be reached for the Cerberus and the Spirit Khans may not agree to go along with their upstart Star Captain’s new initiative.