Mthavat-Class Strike Cruiser

The Mthavat (en, "Aquilla") Class Strike Cruiser was the main ship of the line for the Thü Ascendancy before the Great Migration.
The Mthavat is a product of the years following the Kunar Rebellion. After the war, the need for heavy vessels to combat Starliners had declined, as the Ascendancy's main enemy had become space pirates. Thus cheaper, more numerous patrol vessels, that could easily deal with lighter craft were needed.
The vessel is designed to blitz enemy formations, deal heavy damage, and retreat. A next-generation N-Way Fusion reactor feeds directly into its hyperplates and weapons, allowing it to boast considerable speed, manouverability, and firepower. Its armament is also fairly flexible, with a customizable hardpoint system on its underside to allow the vessel to be tailored towards different roles.
The vessel was not without its downsides however. Its deflector shields were rather thin, designed for deflecting the fire of vessels not much larger than itself. Many of systems, particularly those on the underslung hardpoints, were left vulnerable to attack. The vessel had noticeably less survivability than its predecessors, and intentional choice by the Thü aristocracy, to instill superintendency on a fundamental level. Furthermore, the layout of the ship is judged inefficient by many seasoned captains, and seems to have been designed largely to suit the artistic whims of the aristocracy.
While these drawbacks were of little concern when fighting piracy and patrolling the Ascendancy's space, they became a significant liability when fighting the Evergrowth. While able to contend with smaller forms, the Mthavat's vulnerabilities made them easily dealt with by the invasive species.
While many were taken by the Thü on the Great Migration, due to its poor track record against the Evergrowth, it was the most common combat vessel left behind.

Power Generation

The vessel runs on twin N-Way Fusion reactors. These reactors of the highest calibre for Thü production. Using a hybrid of traditional methods and Holzmaan Effect fields to fuse large quantities of hyperium simultaneously.

Propulsion

For both manourvering and main thrust, the Mthavat relies on Hyperplates. Effectively, when energy is run through these plates, they produce a minor-space fold effect. For subluminal travel, it represents a reactionless drive system. Needing little maintenance, the problem with these plates comes more in the form of the processes and elements needed to construct them. Right now, even the Thü are only able to produce it using an ancient machine in the Rüth system. They themselves are not entirely sure how it works.
Unlike its predecessors, the vessel has no other means of propulsion outside of its manoeuvring thrusters.

Weapons & Armament

• 2x Type-42 Hyperium Plasma Lance: Doubling as the vessels bussard collectors, these weapons  can channel intense streams of high-energy plasma at its targets. Used primarily for destroying pirate ships and hideouts.
• 10x Neutron Torpedo Launcher: Mounted on the spinal structure, these launchers are able to deploy deadly warheads. The torpedoes themselves are self-propelled, with the launcher doing little but getting them away from the ship. These weapons were normally reserved for intimidation, but against the Evergrowth, they found new purpose.
• 30x Type-7 Scatter Laser Turret: Mounted across the hull, these ball turrets posses a unique liquid-Mercurite lens, which allows beams to split off or formed together as need be. The spherical nature of the turret allows it to fire in almost all directions simultaneously. This makes it highly effective at countering enemies missiles, and limiting the manoeuvring options of fighter craft.

Armor and defense

• Nanolaminate Armor: Despite their galactic presence, the Thü seem to have been cursed to lack local deposits of most reliable forms of armor materials. That said, nanolaminate armor, carefully constructed nano-layers of materials, is utilized to make up for this bit of galactic bad luck.
• Kinetic Barrier: Utilizing the ‘three-dimensional’ expression of the Holzmaan effect, these ‘deflector shields’ are able to project defensive screens against enemy fire. The ‘three-dimensional’ effect can also operate as a sort of anti-grav system and utilized with the vessel's hyperplates, allow it to perform turns that shouldn't normally be possible with conventional thrusters. The Mthavat's are somewhat weaker, both due to overall design, but also their attenuation towards manoeuvrability.

Manufacturer

Thü Ascendancy

Owning Organization

Thü Ascendancy

Beam

554m

Length

847m

Height

48m