When the Lagos-class Battlecruiser’s existence suddenly was no longer secret, the Terran Alliance had a problem – its covert defense force for colonies was no longer…covert. When approval was given to construct a full run of the Lagos-class, the ‘black’ budget that had previously been allocated for those ships suddenly was freed up, and then immediately re-purposed to do exactly what it was supposed to do in the first place. The Conqueror-class is constructed practically identically to the Lagos-class – the ship profiles are identical, the weapons load-out is the same, and 90% of the components are cross-compatible. However, the most obvious difference is that while the Lagos-class vessels are primarily painted in TAAF Standard Luna Gray (RGB #7B7E79 / PANTONE 18-4105 TPX) the official color shade of the Terran Alliance, Conqueror-class vessels are instead black, except that might not be the right word to use, since it is darker than ‘black,’ and best compared to the substance Vantablack only a bit more efficient (absorbing 99.999% of visible light). This remarkable light absorption gives the Conqueror-class unparalleled optical stealth when combined with the Korovin-Arakaki Active Optical Camouflage System (KAAOCS – “Kay-Ox”) which uses display efficient vacuum-tolerant display technology embedded in the hull coating to project an image of what would be seen if the ship was not there. However, this technology loses its effectiveness when the ship is silhouetted against a bright object – the Kay-Ox system has difficulty projecting that much image data so the ship is far more noticeable than when viewed against the blackness of space.
While armed identically to the Lagos-class, the Conqueror-class has a lower crew complement for three reasons – it has fewer ‘command standard’ embarked auxiliary craft, its pulse lasers are fully AI-controlled, and it has fewer dedicated support personnel since more of its personnel are cross-trained. This gives it a crew complement of 7 command officers, 27 junior officers (the excess of 1 over the Lagos-class is for the Chief of Countermeasures who oversees all stealth systems), and 308 enlisted personnel. Consequently, its accommodations are somewhat better than military-standard – quarters are larger, the consumables stores last longer, and there is just more overall free space. In general, a Conqueror-class vessel is seen as a far more desirable posting than a Lagos-class, even if they are held to higher performance standards.
Weapons loadout comprises 12 torpedo tubes (4 fore, 4 aft, 2 port, 2 starboard), 60 missile tubes mounted in distributed batteries for broad coverage, 8 Turov-Barker Corporation Andromeda-type 128-megajoule railgun turrets, 40 Pandyne Integration 1-megawatt Class VI AI-controlled pulse laser systems divided equally between turret mounts and flush emplacements, one light gas gun battery comprising two Northtech-Microstellar 400mm methane combustion light gas guns, and one spinally-mounted Artemis-class bombardment laser. Embarked auxiliary vehicles include two flight of fighters (7 per wing, ‘command standard’ of one wing of attack craft and one wing comprising 3 interceptors and 4 bombers) and one flight of swift assault craft (‘command standard’ of two Incursion-class assault craft, two Octopus-class close-in weapons system vessels, and one Striker-class marine assault craft). Additional hangar space exists for one Ferry-class Swift Cargo Vessel, two general purpose transport shuttles, one vehicle of up to the size of a Hecate-class runabout, and a dedicated hangar bay designed for Hermes-class couriers – however the hangar space for these vehicles is not considered to be on combat alert and requires more time to prep a vehicle for launch.
A new run of Conqueror-class battlecruisers is currently being constructed, designated the Conqueror-Revised. Changes between the base model and the revised are classified for the moment, but believed to include a more advanced version of the Kay-Ox system, improved pulse laser AI, increased accommodations for special operations forces, and increased consumables stores. Additionally, the Conqueror-Revised is confirmed as having a Proximan-made auxiliary power system installed for the sole purpose of powering a similarly Proximan-made Flux Space Portal Generator and Flux Space Drive. The addition of these two systems increases the size of the vessel by approximately 10% and increases the crew complement by 1 junior/warrant officer, 10 enlisted crewmembers, and 1 Proximan liaison officer, all of whom are responsible for monitoring and maintaining these new systems.
Of the five currently Conqueror-class Battlecruisers commissioned, two are flagships of battle groups, one is assigned to a combined fleet, one is awaiting the deployment of another combined fleet, and the fifth’s operations are classified.
Conqueror-class Stealth Battlecruisers
CB00: Conqueror (NVY-175) – Destroyed defending the New Geneva Colony in 2029
CB01: Zhengnan (NVY-176) – Currently assigned to Battle Group 05 (“Prime Guardians”), the Zhengnan was formerly assigned to the defense of Earth and now serves as the flagship for Fleet Captain Jin Han.
CB02: Cerberus (NVY-177) – Currently assigned to Battle Group 01 (“The Crimson Shield”), the Cerberus was formerly assigned to the defense of the Jovian Colonies and now serves as the flagship for Fleet Captain Hedwyn Reece.
CB03: Mushashi (NVY-300) – Currently assigned to the Feng-Huang Combined Fleet, the Mushashi was formerly assigned to the defense of the Alpha Prime colony.
CB04: Heisenberg (NVY-301) – Currently awaiting deployment of the Bennu Combined Fleet, the Heisenberg was formerly assigned to the defense of Mars.
CBR05: Krung Thep (NVY-699)– The only Conqueror-Revised vessel to roll out of the Yang Enterprises Neptune Astroconstruction Facility so far, the activities and whereabouts of the Krung Thep are classified. The rumor mill runs rampant with talk of extended-range scouting missions, assignments to the frontier, and spy missions inside the Sol system.
CBR06: Star of Moscow – Under Construction
CBR07: Typhon – Under Construction
CBR08: Spirit of Geneva – Under Construction