Valkyrie class Destroyer
In class: 250
In service: 2558
Mass: 580,000
Sail Integrity: 4
Thrust: 3/5
Fuel: 600 tons
Structural Integrity: 75
Armor: 866 ton, Improved Ferro Aluminum (N: 94, FL/R: 95, AL/R: 95, A: 94)
Docking Collars: 3
Fighters: 18
Small Craft: 6
Crew: 261 minimum (46 Officers, 215 Enlisted)
Marines: 63 (Company of Jump
Infantry)
Lifeboats: 35
Escape Pods: 35
Grav Decks: 3 90 meters
Cargo: 36,321 tons
Bay 1: Fighters (18) 6 doors
Bay 2: Marines (63) 1 doors
Bay 3: Small Craft (6) 2 doors / Cargo (36,321 tons) 1 door
Weapons: (Heat Sinks: 6,600)
Forward
2 Medium NPPCs
6 NL/45s
3 White
Shark Missile Launchers
Fore Left/Fore Right
3 NAC 20s
2 Medium
NPPCs
6 NL/45s
3 White
Shark Missile Launchers
Left Broadside/Right Broadside
2 Medium NPPCs
6 NL/45s
3 White
Shark Missile Launchers
Aft Left/Aft Right
3 NAC 20s
2 Medium
NPPCs
6 NL/45s
3 White
Shark Missile Launchers
Aft
2 Medium NPPCs
6 NL/45s
3 White
Shark Missile Launchers
Ammo:
600 rounds of Naval Autocannon
ammunition
240 White Shark Missiles
Overview:
Despite the Lyran Navy’s
obsession with large warships (in particular Heavy Cruisers and Battleships)
the work horse of the fleet throughout the Reunification War, the Star League,
and the Succession Wars was the Valkyrie class Destroyer. The warship was
designed in conjunction with the Terran Hegemony as part of the negotiations
that eventually led to the Commonwealth’s entry into the Star League.
Director-General Ian Cameron knew that Archon Craig Steiner had his doubts
about joining the new League. So during the negotiations of what would
eventually become the Tharkan Accords, as a show of good faith, Cameron offered
his realm‘s services in helping to construct a new Lyran Destroyer. With no
strings attached the Archon happily accepted the Hegemony’s generous offer
which gradually helped give birth to the Star League. While this offer had it’s
intended effect within the Commonwealth it also sent a not so subtle message to
the Draconis Combine about the strength of any possible new alliance. Sadly
Archon Craig Steiner would not live to see the Commonwealth’s entry into the
League as he died three years before the Tharkan Accords. In his honor the
first Valkyrie class Destroyer, launched just after the signing of the Accords,
was named the Craig Steiner.
Capabilities:
An impressive combination of
Lyran naval design philosophy and Terran technical skill the Valkyrie class
Destroyer featured some impressive capabilities. Chief amongst them was
superior armor protection which included, for the first time on a Commonwealth
ship, Improved Ferro Aluminum. The vessels armament was composed of twelve
Naval Autocannon 20s, sixteen Medium Naval Particle Projection Cannons, forty
eight Naval Laser 45s, and twenty four White Shark Missile Launchers. For
fighter support the designers included an aerospace wing. A company of Marines
was also included for vessel security and boarding actions. Three docking
collars enabled the Valkyrie to carry an entire BattleMech regiment with the
help of some Dictator dropships, which became a frequent site during the
Reunification War. The Valkyrie was such a capable vessel that the Lyran Navy
never saw a need to replace it with another warship design. In fact, when the
Commonwealth was upgrading it’s fleet just prior to the Succession Wars the
Navy immediately passed over the idea of a new destroyer. It was considering a
refit of the vessel’s engines enabling the Valkyrie to reach a maximum speed of
3Gs. Plans for this refit were forestalled evermore when the Succession Wars
occurred.
Deployment:
All Valkyrie class Destroyers
were named in honor for the Commonwealth’s Einherjar, or Lyran heroic dead.
Though any Lyran citizen who died in the service of the Commonwealth was
eligible for such a high honor, Archons and naval commanders were typically
favored. The crew of these ships quite bizarrely and regularly took on some
form of the personality of the honoree. These ships serving the Lyran nation
well for over two hundred years until their Ragnarok came in the form of the
Succession Wars. The final three Valkyries (the LCS Angela Franks, the LCS
Alistair Marsden, and the LCS Snow Fire) were destroyed during the horrors of
the 2nd Succession War. The new Lyran Naval Renovation Committee is
currently looking over several Valkyrie derelicts and maybe ready to recommend
the renovation of several of these vessels to the Archon.
Notable Ships:
The LCS Tracial Steiner is perhaps the last of the Valkyries, commissioned shortly after the death of the Archon and former first Chief Justice of the Lyran Supreme Court in 2750. The ship complete trails just in time for service in the upcoming Reunification War. Like Tracial, the crew soon displayed an independent streak. This first became apparent during Operation Mailed Fist when an incompetent Lyran Social General became enraged when Republican forces thwarted several Lyran drives. In reprisal he attempted to take out his frustrations on innocent Rim World civilians. The crew under the command of Kaptain Albert Foster arrested the General for his war crimes and successfully stopped what would have surely been a great atrocity. This “mutiny” was not popular with the Lyran Navy who reassigned the crew and “promoted” the Kaptain for his actions. It soon became apparent that the ship’s spirit had not been broken. Assigned garrison duty in orbit of Tharkad the crew received a shocking order from Archon Viola Steiner-Dinesen. Destroy the Duke of Tamar and Skye who had kidnapped her son. Once again the crew refused the order that seemed irrational, it did however impose a blockade on the system allowing no ships to leave system. The crew of the Tracial was once again proven right when the Dukes were both cleared of involvement. Again and again no matter how much the Navy would try to break their willful spirit the crew of the Tracial would do whatever it thought was best for the Commonwealth. When the Amaris Coup occurred and the Archon declared he would not help the SLDF defeat the Usurper. Kommodore Simon Taylor, in collaboration with the ship’s captain, boarded the Tracial and left to join the SLDF above the planet of Circinus. Since the Tracial was one the largest warships of the Loyalist Fleet it became the flagship serving throughout the Amaris Coup. Declared destroyed by the SLDF at conflicts end the Tracial, like the LCS Alexander, is now believed to have survived. Intelligence analyst indicate the ship is part of Clan Cloud Cobra’s Cache Fleet and may even be brought up to active service soon.