Member
[Ship Information]
Name of Ship: Nebula-5 "Starlight Lance"
Home Universe: Homeworld
Role: Front-line Supercarrier, Major Kadeshi population center
Physical Size: 2.57 Kilometers
Armament: Kadeshi Multi-Barrel Point Defense Turret (16), Kadeshi Pulse Turret (4), Super Polymerization Cannon (1, Spinal Mount)
Hangar Compliment: 450 Swarmers, 54 Lance Swarmers, 10 Salvage Craft
Support Vessels:
[Frigate-class] - 6 Fuel Pods, 4 Multi-beam Frigates, 2 Armed Infiltration Pods
Miscellaneous Craft - These vessels lack any notable features aside from very simple functions and designs.
-Deep Space Probe: A very speedy recon device with a large sensor range.
-Repair Craft: A variant of the Salvage Craft that instead focuses on repairs.
History of the Ship: The Starlight Lance, officially designated "Nebula-5" is the fifth Nebula-class Mothership constructed by the Kadeshi, the protectors of The Garden. Constructed by Kiith Nevaar into the far reaches of the Garden, yet still shrouded by the nebula, it would serve as that clan's primary, mobile base, and the home of their people. As such, it comes equipped to support hundreds of people, and being a military vessel, to support masses of Swarmers. It contains a minor industrial power within, able to replace lost Swarmers and build new frigates, though their greater strength is in processing salvage and synthesizing fuel.
Major Faction Onboard: Kiith Nevaar
-The term "Kiith" is equivalent to "clan" in English. Kiith Nevaar is an industrious faction within the Nebula. They're tasked with manufacturing, processing, and salvaging material from destroyed ships or derelicts. They also handle mining, whenever an area of the holy Garden of Kadesh is deemed eligible for harvest.
Unique Technology:
Polymerization Gun - Lance Swarmers utilize this weapon on a small scale, but the Nebula-class Mothership takes it up a notch, bringing hull-melting firepower onto a massive scale.
Kadeshi Multi-Barrel Point Defense Turret
- Sophisticated CIWS with multiple barrels capable of filling the nearby space around the Mothership with blue laser bolts. The Kadeshi never surrender space superiority.
Location: Main hull
Kadeshi Pulse Turret
- Anti-corvette beam weapons which, as the name implies, fire pulses of intense energy to melt through the hulls of corvette-class vessels. Their unwieldiness against smaller targets makes use against fighters impractical.
Location: Bow Rim
Kadeshi Hyperspace Module
-This is the Kadeshi-designed version of the exotic Hyperspace technology found throughout the Homeworld universe. Hyperspace is a dimension in which ships enter to achieve FTL travel. The exact speed if you were to jump from one end of the galaxy to another is uncertain, though from "short jumps" between stars, we're able to determine that they allow just enough time to brief personnel on the latest operation about to commence.
-Hyperspace Modules automatically disengage within a gravity field. This is exploited in warfare by simulating gravity fields with specialized "Hyperspace Inhibitors", found either on capital ships or specialized frigates.
-Tactical Jumps are valid maneuvers during battles. Though the sequence leaves the ship temporarily inoperable for a few moments as it enters Hyperspace or disengages from it, it's quite advantageous to teleport to an unexpected angle of attack. Like behind you. However, no Hyperspace Module or even the Three Cores sends the ship in and out of Hyperspace fast enough to make it a primary attack strategy. Tactical Jumps are used as tools to position the ships just as a battle starts, like say a Battlecruiser ambush upon an exposed weak point. Whenever available, they're also widely used as methods of retreat, though considering the length of the initiation sequence, it's quite a gamble if you activate it too late, and again it is easily stopped by Hyperspace Inhibitors.
Fun Facts: A ship entering and leaving Hyperspace in the Homeworld Universe appears to fly through a window, or if they're stationary, said window of energy passes through them. As the hull passes through, it gradually vanishes from sight until completely absorbed, the window closing shortly afterwards. Exiting Hyperspace displays a similar effect, though the ship is emerging from the window rather than going through it. The different races have different colors of Hyperspace, but the color has no effect on performance.
Crew Size: 504 Swarmer Pilots (90 more reserves), 200 hangar personnel, 3200 civilians (adult population), 2000 military personnel (total), 1 Unbound Matriarch.
Class: Nebula Mothership
Faction: Kadesh, Kiith(clan) Nevaar
Operator: Tesline Nevaar
Although I recommend reading the entire post to really absorb the important (or not important) details, here are the Motherships' pros, cons, traits, etc. summarized in the convenient form of a bulleted list!
- The Nebula-class Mothership is simultaneously a combat vessel and city ship, supporting a large civilian population of 3200 and a slightly smaller force of 2000 military personnel. The rather small crew for a 2.57 kilometer vessel is due to the fact that the Mothership is controlled by a Matriarch directly fused to the ship's systems, though that's not to say it will be easy to board a massive ship with 2000 officially designated military crew and 3200 more ordinary people.
- She also supports a minor industrial power, but she's more specialized towards processing salvage and synthesizing fresh fuel.
- Her main purpose as a combat vessel is to serve as a frontline supercarrier for 504 strikecraft, supported by several frigates. The Kadeshi fleet lacks capital ships aside from carriers and motherships, but to counter such vessels, the Mothership herself is armed with a gigantic yet unwieldy beam weapon. More detail can be found above.
-With her role in mind, she comes equipped with superb point defense weapons, dissuading all but the largest strikecraft-based attacks, if they would like to get past the combined might of her CIWS and her Swarmers.
- Her main compliment consists of Swarmers, so-called "Micro-vessels" which are, as the name implies, small yet mighty strikecraft. They rely heavily on nearby carriers to be effective, as they only have capacity for 1 minute of fuel in combat.
- Lacking heavy gun turrets, she's vulnerable to capital ship attacks from anywhere but the front, though even if the foe is in front of her, she must expose her interior to fire her greatest weapon.
- With her weapons and compliment considered, she will secure strikecraft superiority for her fleet, though even with bombers assaulting the big fish, her weakest point is direct ship-to-ship combat. Even a single battleship would be quite punishing if it manages to slip past her allies and her fighter screen.
- All things considered, the Nebula-class Mothership is an excellent support ship with a, as they say, "BFG". If you protect her, she'll reward you with some of the best strikecraft options out there, and even though that BFG is unpractical in heated combat, it might prove useful one day if a critical target fails to notice her preparations of unleashing her full might upon them.
But, if you fail to defend her, despite her Mothership-grade armor, she will fall quickly to a serious attack and be nothing but a debris field drifting across the void, though her Fuel Pods and whatever Swarmers survive may continue to be useful as the journey continues.
Image Gallery (High-Res Images. I've put them all in hiders for easier viewing.)
A Nebula-class alongside a much smaller Nagual Protector
Nebula Overview
Nebula Hyperspace
The Super Polymerization Cannon
Salvage Craft
Swarmer Fighter/Bomber
Lance Swarmer
A particularly large squadron of both...
Last but not least, the Frigates. The Fuel Pod is to the left, Infiltration Pod top, and Multi-Beam at the bottom.
Name of Ship: Nebula-5 "Starlight Lance"
Home Universe: Homeworld
Role: Front-line Supercarrier, Major Kadeshi population center
Physical Size: 2.57 Kilometers
Armament: Kadeshi Multi-Barrel Point Defense Turret (16), Kadeshi Pulse Turret (4), Super Polymerization Cannon (1, Spinal Mount)
Hangar Compliment: 450 Swarmers, 54 Lance Swarmers, 10 Salvage Craft
Swarmers are the staple strikecraft of the Kadeshi. Feared by all who know the tale of the Garden, these fighters are small yet mighty, each piloted by zealous, often fanatical pilots, and as their name implies, they come in great masses. Their engines require great masses of fuel, having only one minute of fuel in heated combat before being forced to return to rearm. With this consideration in mind, as to keep the Mothership herself away from combat zones, Fuel Pods are sent near the front to serve the many fuel-hungry Swarmers, total defeat a very possible outcome if these support ships are destroyed.
+Inexpensive
+Very High Acceleration
+Small mass allows very quick changes in velocity
+Strong Weapons in combination with...
+Very large squadrons of 9 Micro-vessels each
+Can be refitted with Plasma Bomb Launchers
-Fuel Hungry, only 1 minute of fuel at maximum combat speeds
-Fragile
-Fresh waves are made out of inexperienced yet still zealous pilots. Veterans never last long.
-Extremely reliant on nearby carriers or fuel pods, or the Mothership herself. If refuel is not possible, they are quickly left drifting helplessly in space.
Lance Swarmer Mini-Assessment
+/-Simply an anti-corvette variant of the Swarmer. They are twice as large with a Polymerization Gun as their primary weapon. With its larger size, it's slightly more armored but also noticeably slower.
+Inexpensive
+Very High Acceleration
+Small mass allows very quick changes in velocity
+Strong Weapons in combination with...
+Very large squadrons of 9 Micro-vessels each
+Can be refitted with Plasma Bomb Launchers
-Fuel Hungry, only 1 minute of fuel at maximum combat speeds
-Fragile
-Fresh waves are made out of inexperienced yet still zealous pilots. Veterans never last long.
-Extremely reliant on nearby carriers or fuel pods, or the Mothership herself. If refuel is not possible, they are quickly left drifting helplessly in space.
Lance Swarmer Mini-Assessment
+/-Simply an anti-corvette variant of the Swarmer. They are twice as large with a Polymerization Gun as their primary weapon. With its larger size, it's slightly more armored but also noticeably slower.
Salvage Craft are the staple utility vessels of the Kadeshi. Small in size and maneuverable, they're adept at weaving through through debris fields and cutting away useful material to carry them back to the nearest carrier or Mothership for processing. Their cutting lasers can easily be turned on asteroids whenever they're available, though considering their purpose, they're much more suited to cutting wrecks apart.
+Efficient Engines. Unlike Swarmers, these ships do not consume fuel like there's no tomorrow, but as a result, they do not accelerate as quickly.
+Cutting Laser able to slice up debris and asteroids, while still being strong enough to cut through military ship armor, even though these workers would much rather be away from combat zones.
-Unarmed (As in, no real weapons onboard.)
-Civilian-grade armor
+Efficient Engines. Unlike Swarmers, these ships do not consume fuel like there's no tomorrow, but as a result, they do not accelerate as quickly.
+Cutting Laser able to slice up debris and asteroids, while still being strong enough to cut through military ship armor, even though these workers would much rather be away from combat zones.
-Unarmed (As in, no real weapons onboard.)
-Civilian-grade armor
Support Vessels:
[Frigate-class] - 6 Fuel Pods, 4 Multi-beam Frigates, 2 Armed Infiltration Pods
Fuel Pods are the primary support craft of the Kadeshi, used to tend to their numerous strikecraft. With their role in mind, they are often found near conflict zones, but never directly within them. These ships can refuel 6 Swarmers at once.
+Military-grade armor
+Decent acceleration for a frigate-class vessel
-Volatile fuel. Despite their armor, it is still not good for them to be shot at.
-No guns.
+Military-grade armor
+Decent acceleration for a frigate-class vessel
-Volatile fuel. Despite their armor, it is still not good for them to be shot at.
-No guns.
Dangerous frigate-class vessels, these ships are not armed with one ion cannon like most conventional frigates of the same purpose, but four. Going into a deadly spin as they fire, these ships are serious threats never to be ignored.
+Military-grade armor
+Good acceleration
+Quadruple the firepower compared to other Ion Cannon Frigates
-No other weapons aside from Ion Cannons. This makes them useless against nimble strikecraft, and even corvettes.
+/-Small compared to most frigates. Double-edged sword. While they are more agile, they're also much more vulnerable to sustained fire due to the lack of space for thick armor.
+Military-grade armor
+Good acceleration
+Quadruple the firepower compared to other Ion Cannon Frigates
-No other weapons aside from Ion Cannons. This makes them useless against nimble strikecraft, and even corvettes.
+/-Small compared to most frigates. Double-edged sword. While they are more agile, they're also much more vulnerable to sustained fire due to the lack of space for thick armor.
These ships are made purely for the purposes of inserting Kadeshi soldiers into the hull of an enemy starship through brute force; slamming boarding pods into the hull and drilling through.
+Military-grade armor
+Decent acceleration
+Trained boarding parties
-No guns
+Military-grade armor
+Decent acceleration
+Trained boarding parties
-No guns
Nebula Engines - Conventional Drive Systems optimized for use within a Nebula, yet still just as efficient in open space. These devices are quite powerful compared to those on other Mothership-class vessels, we are known for having the fastest-accelerating Mothership in the galaxy, though our Mothership is among the smallest in bulk.
Armor - With the rarity of shield technology, and therefore their expensive cost, we rely purely on thick armor and nimble vessels.
Massive Hangar Bay - Says on the tin. We're able to launch all 96 Swarmers and 6 Fuel Pods in one speedy deployment.
Nebula Sensors Array - Optimized for use in a Nebula, outside of the Garden, we are afforded a vast sphere of intelligence.
Internal Bridge - The ship's bridge is located deep within the hull, in the direct center of the ship (the center decided by a question of "At what point of the ship would the enemy have to go through the most armor from any direction to get to?"). The crew within rely on direct feeds from cameras mounted across the hull for visuals, wired as to not be vulnerable to most electronic attacks. However, the more important aspects can still be hacked, those aspects being the ability to see the battlespace with the detail of a 3D hologram based on sensor data, and the ability to send commands to the fleet.
Mothership Hyperspace Module - Allows FTL Travel
Armor - With the rarity of shield technology, and therefore their expensive cost, we rely purely on thick armor and nimble vessels.
Massive Hangar Bay - Says on the tin. We're able to launch all 96 Swarmers and 6 Fuel Pods in one speedy deployment.
Nebula Sensors Array - Optimized for use in a Nebula, outside of the Garden, we are afforded a vast sphere of intelligence.
Internal Bridge - The ship's bridge is located deep within the hull, in the direct center of the ship (the center decided by a question of "At what point of the ship would the enemy have to go through the most armor from any direction to get to?"). The crew within rely on direct feeds from cameras mounted across the hull for visuals, wired as to not be vulnerable to most electronic attacks. However, the more important aspects can still be hacked, those aspects being the ability to see the battlespace with the detail of a 3D hologram based on sensor data, and the ability to send commands to the fleet.
Mothership Hyperspace Module - Allows FTL Travel
Miscellaneous Craft - These vessels lack any notable features aside from very simple functions and designs.
-Deep Space Probe: A very speedy recon device with a large sensor range.
-Repair Craft: A variant of the Salvage Craft that instead focuses on repairs.
History of the Ship: The Starlight Lance, officially designated "Nebula-5" is the fifth Nebula-class Mothership constructed by the Kadeshi, the protectors of The Garden. Constructed by Kiith Nevaar into the far reaches of the Garden, yet still shrouded by the nebula, it would serve as that clan's primary, mobile base, and the home of their people. As such, it comes equipped to support hundreds of people, and being a military vessel, to support masses of Swarmers. It contains a minor industrial power within, able to replace lost Swarmers and build new frigates, though their greater strength is in processing salvage and synthesizing fuel.
Name: Tesline Nevaar
Role: Matriarch, Mothership Core
Description: Tesline Nevaar was a gifted individual, harboring the intellect necessary to command an entire ship through a direct neural link to its systems. The moment she was secured inside the Core, she and the Starlight Lance become one. Calling upon the Nebula-5 is calling upon Tesline, who is able to manipulate the ship as if it were her own body, and in truth, it is her body.
Name: "Fleet Command"
Role: Second in Command
Description: A faceless figure (for now), Fleet Command is the one responsible for all secondary functions that would simply be too tedious for Tesline to manage. He is the head of the bridge crew, and their efforts allow Tesline to focus on the big picture rather than the little details.
Name: "The Ambassador"
Role: Diplomacy
Description: A member of the civilian population, the Ambassador is responsible for most, if not all interactions with other races, ships, factions, etc. of a more benign nature. Military communications are left to Fleet Command and Tesline.
Role: Matriarch, Mothership Core
Description: Tesline Nevaar was a gifted individual, harboring the intellect necessary to command an entire ship through a direct neural link to its systems. The moment she was secured inside the Core, she and the Starlight Lance become one. Calling upon the Nebula-5 is calling upon Tesline, who is able to manipulate the ship as if it were her own body, and in truth, it is her body.
Name: "Fleet Command"
Role: Second in Command
Description: A faceless figure (for now), Fleet Command is the one responsible for all secondary functions that would simply be too tedious for Tesline to manage. He is the head of the bridge crew, and their efforts allow Tesline to focus on the big picture rather than the little details.
Name: "The Ambassador"
Role: Diplomacy
Description: A member of the civilian population, the Ambassador is responsible for most, if not all interactions with other races, ships, factions, etc. of a more benign nature. Military communications are left to Fleet Command and Tesline.
Major Faction Onboard: Kiith Nevaar
-The term "Kiith" is equivalent to "clan" in English. Kiith Nevaar is an industrious faction within the Nebula. They're tasked with manufacturing, processing, and salvaging material from destroyed ships or derelicts. They also handle mining, whenever an area of the holy Garden of Kadesh is deemed eligible for harvest.
Unique Technology:
Polymerization Gun - Lance Swarmers utilize this weapon on a small scale, but the Nebula-class Mothership takes it up a notch, bringing hull-melting firepower onto a massive scale.
+Melts through the hulls of capital-class vessels like a super hot space knife through xenobutter.
-When the weapon is active, the ship's internal systems related to the operation of the weapon are exposed to enemy fire, while maneuverability is limited by the diversion of power.
-Although the Cannon has a small arc of fire in which it can turn to face targets, this radius is far too small to track large movements, forcing the entire Mothership to turn in order to keep her main weapon zeroed in. The loss of acceleration makes this process all the more troublesome.
-When the weapon is active, the ship's internal systems related to the operation of the weapon are exposed to enemy fire, while maneuverability is limited by the diversion of power.
Takes exactly one minute to prepare to fire. In this minute, the very front of the bow opens up to reveal the cannon, two more sections behind it sliding backwards to expose several energy conduits channeling into the weapon. Behind the "bulb" of the Nebula-class, 4 rows of gigantic gas vents flip open to provide cooling once the cannon finally fires, while 4 more sections of hull push outwards again for the purposes of cooling the system. The diverting of power to merely maintain the weapon's energy reserves to "keep it warm" (as to not further extend the firing process with an unnecessary wait) draws energy away from engine systems, slowing acceleration greatly.
-Although the Cannon has a small arc of fire in which it can turn to face targets, this radius is far too small to track large movements, forcing the entire Mothership to turn in order to keep her main weapon zeroed in. The loss of acceleration makes this process all the more troublesome.
Kadeshi Multi-Barrel Point Defense Turret
- Sophisticated CIWS with multiple barrels capable of filling the nearby space around the Mothership with blue laser bolts. The Kadeshi never surrender space superiority.
Location: Main hull
Kadeshi Pulse Turret
- Anti-corvette beam weapons which, as the name implies, fire pulses of intense energy to melt through the hulls of corvette-class vessels. Their unwieldiness against smaller targets makes use against fighters impractical.
Location: Bow Rim
Kadeshi Hyperspace Module
-This is the Kadeshi-designed version of the exotic Hyperspace technology found throughout the Homeworld universe. Hyperspace is a dimension in which ships enter to achieve FTL travel. The exact speed if you were to jump from one end of the galaxy to another is uncertain, though from "short jumps" between stars, we're able to determine that they allow just enough time to brief personnel on the latest operation about to commence.
-Hyperspace Modules automatically disengage within a gravity field. This is exploited in warfare by simulating gravity fields with specialized "Hyperspace Inhibitors", found either on capital ships or specialized frigates.
-Tactical Jumps are valid maneuvers during battles. Though the sequence leaves the ship temporarily inoperable for a few moments as it enters Hyperspace or disengages from it, it's quite advantageous to teleport to an unexpected angle of attack. Like behind you. However, no Hyperspace Module or even the Three Cores sends the ship in and out of Hyperspace fast enough to make it a primary attack strategy. Tactical Jumps are used as tools to position the ships just as a battle starts, like say a Battlecruiser ambush upon an exposed weak point. Whenever available, they're also widely used as methods of retreat, though considering the length of the initiation sequence, it's quite a gamble if you activate it too late, and again it is easily stopped by Hyperspace Inhibitors.
Fun Facts: A ship entering and leaving Hyperspace in the Homeworld Universe appears to fly through a window, or if they're stationary, said window of energy passes through them. As the hull passes through, it gradually vanishes from sight until completely absorbed, the window closing shortly afterwards. Exiting Hyperspace displays a similar effect, though the ship is emerging from the window rather than going through it. The different races have different colors of Hyperspace, but the color has no effect on performance.
Crew Size: 504 Swarmer Pilots (90 more reserves), 200 hangar personnel, 3200 civilians (adult population), 2000 military personnel (total), 1 Unbound Matriarch.
Class: Nebula Mothership
Faction: Kadesh, Kiith(clan) Nevaar
Operator: Tesline Nevaar
Last meal served: Care to ask each and every family on board rather than the Ambassador himself? Ahem, as for the military, they have recently feasted upon a shipment of foodstuffs stolen from a Turanic Carrier and her escorts. Well, it's not stealing if they're pirates.
Last mechanical failure: A Salvage Craft's engine refused to start for several minutes. The classic application of force solved the issue.
Fuel reserves (roughly): Enough to support Tesline's fleet and her many Swarmers. More fuel is constantly synthesized from material found in stray nebulae, asteroids and ship wrecks.
Motto: Kiith Nevaar never surrenders space superiority.
Weird error? that's always just unimportant enough to never fix: Occasionally, Tesline refuses to open the pod bay doors. We are unsure of what amuses her so much during such occasions.
Last Shore Leave Incident: Someone forgot where they parked their ship. The Hangar Bay is a very big place.
Last two crewmembers romantically involved: It is encouraged for Swarmer pilots and the civilians to maintain the reserve personnel population. In other words... It is more than two. Not more than two in the same ritual, mind you.
Last two crewmembers to get in a fight: Two Swarmer pilots in a minor dispute over docking ports.
Alcohol reserves (or local equivalent): Classified.
Major religion: The Garden of Kadesh. It is the center of our existence, providing life and protection for all those who live within it.
Last incident of racial tension: None. All are welcome in the Garden. Unless if you intend on leaving, that is.
Power behind the Captain: Tesline Nevaar is Unbound, as the Bentusi say. More specifically, she is linked to the Starlight directly. She and the Mothership are one.
Captain's rival: None.
Snark reserves (roughly): 0.
History concerning the existence of AI: It is a common device used for many tedious processes.
Culture regarding the existence of aliens: "We have been protecting the Garden from the unclean for... 13 generations." "If you do not join us, then die. There is no withdrawal from the Garden."
Last horror movie trope experienced: None.
Crew jumpiness from 1-10, with 1 being a beach vacation and 10 being any part of the movie Alien right before it attacks:
1 in the safety of the Garden of Kadesh
4 in combat outside the Garden
Last mechanical failure: A Salvage Craft's engine refused to start for several minutes. The classic application of force solved the issue.
Fuel reserves (roughly): Enough to support Tesline's fleet and her many Swarmers. More fuel is constantly synthesized from material found in stray nebulae, asteroids and ship wrecks.
Motto: Kiith Nevaar never surrenders space superiority.
Weird error? that's always just unimportant enough to never fix: Occasionally, Tesline refuses to open the pod bay doors. We are unsure of what amuses her so much during such occasions.
Last Shore Leave Incident: Someone forgot where they parked their ship. The Hangar Bay is a very big place.
Last two crewmembers romantically involved: It is encouraged for Swarmer pilots and the civilians to maintain the reserve personnel population. In other words... It is more than two. Not more than two in the same ritual, mind you.
Last two crewmembers to get in a fight: Two Swarmer pilots in a minor dispute over docking ports.
Alcohol reserves (or local equivalent): Classified.
Major religion: The Garden of Kadesh. It is the center of our existence, providing life and protection for all those who live within it.
Last incident of racial tension: None. All are welcome in the Garden. Unless if you intend on leaving, that is.
Power behind the Captain: Tesline Nevaar is Unbound, as the Bentusi say. More specifically, she is linked to the Starlight directly. She and the Mothership are one.
Captain's rival: None.
Snark reserves (roughly): 0.
History concerning the existence of AI: It is a common device used for many tedious processes.
Culture regarding the existence of aliens: "We have been protecting the Garden from the unclean for... 13 generations." "If you do not join us, then die. There is no withdrawal from the Garden."
Last horror movie trope experienced: None.
Crew jumpiness from 1-10, with 1 being a beach vacation and 10 being any part of the movie Alien right before it attacks:
1 in the safety of the Garden of Kadesh
4 in combat outside the Garden
Although I recommend reading the entire post to really absorb the important (or not important) details, here are the Motherships' pros, cons, traits, etc. summarized in the convenient form of a bulleted list!
- The Nebula-class Mothership is simultaneously a combat vessel and city ship, supporting a large civilian population of 3200 and a slightly smaller force of 2000 military personnel. The rather small crew for a 2.57 kilometer vessel is due to the fact that the Mothership is controlled by a Matriarch directly fused to the ship's systems, though that's not to say it will be easy to board a massive ship with 2000 officially designated military crew and 3200 more ordinary people.
- She also supports a minor industrial power, but she's more specialized towards processing salvage and synthesizing fresh fuel.
- Her main purpose as a combat vessel is to serve as a frontline supercarrier for 504 strikecraft, supported by several frigates. The Kadeshi fleet lacks capital ships aside from carriers and motherships, but to counter such vessels, the Mothership herself is armed with a gigantic yet unwieldy beam weapon. More detail can be found above.
-With her role in mind, she comes equipped with superb point defense weapons, dissuading all but the largest strikecraft-based attacks, if they would like to get past the combined might of her CIWS and her Swarmers.
- Her main compliment consists of Swarmers, so-called "Micro-vessels" which are, as the name implies, small yet mighty strikecraft. They rely heavily on nearby carriers to be effective, as they only have capacity for 1 minute of fuel in combat.
- Lacking heavy gun turrets, she's vulnerable to capital ship attacks from anywhere but the front, though even if the foe is in front of her, she must expose her interior to fire her greatest weapon.
- With her weapons and compliment considered, she will secure strikecraft superiority for her fleet, though even with bombers assaulting the big fish, her weakest point is direct ship-to-ship combat. Even a single battleship would be quite punishing if it manages to slip past her allies and her fighter screen.
- All things considered, the Nebula-class Mothership is an excellent support ship with a, as they say, "BFG". If you protect her, she'll reward you with some of the best strikecraft options out there, and even though that BFG is unpractical in heated combat, it might prove useful one day if a critical target fails to notice her preparations of unleashing her full might upon them.
But, if you fail to defend her, despite her Mothership-grade armor, she will fall quickly to a serious attack and be nothing but a debris field drifting across the void, though her Fuel Pods and whatever Swarmers survive may continue to be useful as the journey continues.
Image Gallery (High-Res Images. I've put them all in hiders for easier viewing.)
A Nebula-class alongside a much smaller Nagual Protector
Nebula Overview
Nebula Hyperspace
The Super Polymerization Cannon
Salvage Craft
Swarmer Fighter/Bomber
Lance Swarmer
A particularly large squadron of both...
Last but not least, the Frigates. The Fuel Pod is to the left, Infiltration Pod top, and Multi-Beam at the bottom.