HMJ Relentless

Considerable Firepower in a Modest Package

"I want you to take the Relentless."
Shane's face sparked interest. "Not the Inevitable. You expecting more trouble at Baden? Think you'll need the higher firepower?"
Javon shook her head. "The Inevitable is about making a show of strength and power. The Relentless is about hiding them both behind an agile and nonthreatening exterior."

— Book 2: Spirits of the Relentless

Originally owned by the Sparnell Armed Forces, the captured HMJ Relentless serves as a compact yet powerful Destroyer within the Turncoat Armada of the Mordena. Commanded by Fleet Captain Haveid, the ship has retained its focus on Special Operations, including a full compliment of Special Forces Battle Mages well versed in a variety of skills and ready to deploy at a moment's notice.
The ship's smaller size serves to hide its robust construction and impressive firepower, seeking to present a less threatening outward appearance all while allowing for more efficient use of space and resources.

Propulsion

Maneuverability

As with most ships of Sparnell Confederation manufacture, the Relentless relies upon Telekinetic Engines to control his position and momentum in space. These are controlled by the Maneuverability Afterlife Intelligence, with the support of auxiliary Telekinetic Mages for maintenance, augmenation, and repair. Maneuverability also controls the internal gravity of the ship.

Navigations

"Hyperjump protocols engaged. Jumping in five, four, three, two, one..."
The familiar darkness of the Void wrapped around his soul, temporarily claiming the ship and his occupants before allowing them to emerge from the Veil at their intended destination.

— Book 2: Spirits of the Relentless

Due to the instability of Telekinesis during Portal Travel capital ships of Sparnelli manufacture such as the Relentless instead rely upon the Hyperjump spell to temporarily elevate the ship and its crew into the higher planes of the Afterlife, bending the mortal planes to emerge at the intended destination. Successful use of the spell requires intense concentration and years of training, as each crew member and cargo item must also be added to the spell to bring them with the ship. Generally crewmembers will strap themselves into jump seats or jump harnesses, with cargo items also tied down and stowed, to reduce strain on their Void Necromancer.
On the Relentless, Navigations is led by the Navigations AI and supported by a living auxiliary Void Necromancer. Its compact size and smaller crew requirements allow a skilled Void Necromancer to jump twice with a similar Imperium expenditure as required to jump a larger ship such as the HMJ Inevitable once.

Weapons & Armament

Ship Weaponry

The Relentless was designed with the intention of providing an impressive array of armaments within a compact and efficient layout. As a result the ship boasts a surprising collection of offensive and defensive weaponry for its size, controlled by a Weapons AI and supported by several experienced Special Forces teams of Battle Mages.

Special Forces

"You could have just called for backup from the Relentless, Sir, instead of trying to distract them all by yourself," the Lieutenant chided.
"Now where's the fun in that?" Haveid laughed, carefully prying their ankle free. Probably should have, they admitted to themself, but then I'd have to share.

— Book 2: Spirits of the Relentless

The Relentless was constructed to operate either within an armada or solo, with an assortment of Special Forces teams of varying talents. The Mordena have chosen to maintain this usage, assisted in part by the Relentless' Captain, Senior Captain Haveid, and their prior experience as a Battle Mage within the Sparnell Armed Forces. The ship is well equipped to serve either to covertly deliver their troops to the ground and then jump away to safety, or remain in orbit to provide additional firepower.

Armor and defense

Reinforced Hull

While small for his role, the Relentless nonetheless utilizes a triple-reinforced hull, with an additional fourth layer at the prow, unlike the simpler single or double layering utilized by most capital ships. This allows the Relentless to take a beating even if the Shielding fails, dissipating much of the force by distributing the impact throughout the ship via clever positioning of the reinforcement struts. This makes the Relentless quite formidable should he be required to ram another spacecraft, and would even allow the ship to survive a planetary crash with minimal internal damage provided the nose is kept at the proper angle during the full descent.

Shielding

As with most ships Shielding Magic provides the primary defense for the ship and his crew. Shielding on the Relentless is led by a Shielding AI, although as with all critical systems live mages are available to assist in any means necessary.

Stealth Technology

The Relentless possesses a unique upgrade in the form of stealthing technology, allowing a Void Mage well versed in Illusion Magic to temporarily conceal the ship from view. Due to the vast amounts of Imperium required to hide the ship on all spectrums including magical, mundane, and the higher planes of the Afterlife this option is only available for a short duration, long enough for a skilled Special Forces team to portal into a target.
Effective use of this feature also adds strain to the ship's Void Necromancer, who must maintain their awareness of the entire ship and any crew remaining on board after jumping into location, to permit an immediate hyperjump away to safety. The Relentless' smaller crew and more compact size assist to reduce some of this effort.

Communication Tools & Systems

Short-Range Teleconn

For internal or short range communications the Relentless utilizes a Teleconn, the on-duty Telepath connecting calls with their intended recipient. A Communications AI manages the system, with auxiliary Telepaths available to assist as needed.

Long-Range Calling

For simple communications the Relentless utilizes Soul Call with assistance from Navigations. A secure telepathic line to Janikk is also available via a Telepathy spell wound into the Communication AI's Soul Oath to the Mordena, specifically to circumvent the standard range limitations of Telepathy by sending the spell through the higher dimensions of the Afterlife. As with most Oaths sworn by the Mordena, the spell was cast to place the Relentless' Communications AI in the role of both caster and Oathbound, allowing the AI full control over the duration and terms of the Oath.

Sensors

Standard Sensors

The Relentless carries the standard array of sensors for use in navigation and battle, allowing the ship's Telemetry AI to provide spacial maps via hologram or Telepathy. Internal sensors monitor the ship's needs to assist both Maintenance and Navigations.

Survey Sensors

"What news from Janikk?"
Verifying his assistant had everything she needed, Jeb moved to the console and tapped several buttons with quick efficiency. A holographic globe projected itself before them.
"As you can see, the scans are underway now. It'll be at least an hour before we have anything useful for you. And two hours before daylight at the landing site, if our current information holds true."
"Good." Shane nodded at the update, watching the mesmerizing patterns of color grow and shift across the focus point of the globe. Not that I could ever guess what they mean. "Let me know when you have something for me."

— Book 2: Spirits of the Relentless

Well equipped for assault and survey missions, the Relentless also possessed a full array of mapping sensors to check for life signs, geography, and even the exact power and positioning of any magical fields within or around the target. These scans can be projected holographically or telepathically depending upon need. More in-depth scans require hours or even days depending upon the size of the target to be mapped, with additional sensors available to alert the ship of any drastic changes when compared to the most recent data.

Additional & auxiliary systems

Portal Transit System

The portal transit system, a fixture in Sparnell Confederation capital ships, allows for ease of travel throughout the vessel. Crew members enter a set of codes tied to their level of access and their intended destination, linking the installed transit frames with a portal spell. In this way larger ships can be traversed quickly, particularly when maintenance is required.

Hydroponics

The hydroponics bay serves a critical role in spacefaring ships, providing not only a small quantity of fresh fruit and vegetables to the crew but also the Nature Magic fields necessary to power the Curative Magic of the medlab.
The Relentless has been modified to include two hydroponics bays, in the fore and toward the aft of the ship. The forward bay utilizes the space between the third and fourth layer of hull and is only accessible via portal, while the aft bay resides at its original location on the port side approximately two thirds of the way back from the nose. Together they create a set of Nature Magic fields to encompass a large portion of the ship, allowing for the casting of more powerful Nature Magic within its range.
The hydroponics bays are maintained by several agrokinetically talented biologists which see to the health and needs of the plants.

Life Support

Critical to the health and safety of all living crew members, the Life Support systems of the Relentless include Anemancy-enhanced airflow with Runework carbon dioxide scrubbers to guarantee a sufficient oxygen supply.
The system is maintained by a Maintenance AI, well-versed in Anemancy and Shielding Magic, and supported by an assortment of live crew members with similar magical training. In case of failure the AI is able to take over the functions of the ship's systems, while Hydroponics is authorized to stimulate rapid growth within their bays using Agrokinesis to assist. If the hull is breached the AI will reroute the airflow, their team and other crew members temporarily patching the leak with Shielding Magic until a more permanent corrected is implemented.

Hangars & docked vessels

The Relentless contains a small hanger, modified to snugly house a two-squadron Wing of Blades led by Commander Max Coilin. The famed Budokkit "Doubtful" Squadron, blending together the remains of the Yinit Squadron and the converted Hydell Order Dauntless Squadron who destroyed them makes their home within the Relentless.

Captain
Senior Captain Haveid

Class

Ravager Class Destroyer

Designation

HMJ (current), SCS (former)

Manufacturer

Sparnell Armed Forces

Owner

Shane Lawrence

Crew

• Cal Barthik
• Captain Jarkin Alifaxo
• Captain Mentehal Vance
• Chief Coral Coleman
• Commander Dillan Karr
• Commander Kane Tammi
• Lieutenant Gavin Archer
• Max Coilin
• Petty Officer Tarvick Nalonni
• Relentless Communications
• Senior Captain Haveid
• Senior Mate Patrick Horne
• Senior Mate Tamm Vorlynn
• Sub-Lieutenant Xalis Cass

Owning Organization

Mordena

Fleet
Turncoat Armada, of the Grand Armada

Factual Tidbits

Ship Pronouns

Mordena ships are typically referred to by the pronoun of their primary Afterlife Intelligence. As the Relentless relies upon the Hyperjump spell for long distance transit this leaves the Navigations AI as the primary AI. The Relentless' Navigations AI identifies as male, and so the ship itself is therefore referred to as "he".

HMJ Designation

The ship designation HMJ stands for "Hekknertoy Morjakkael ijik Jannadael," a Morjakk phrase which roughly translates as "Influential Communication from the Mordena". The Mordena, of course, enjoy pranking outsiders, and so most believe it to mean "Her Majesty Janikk" as a concession to the spirit haunting their homeworld.

Further Reading