Paladin Class Cruiser

Propulsion

The Paladin Class, compared to the majority of other vessels not just in the Commonwealth Naval Command but also Orion as a whole, has two major methods of interplanetary flight.
Firstly, the Paladin Class is propelled in normal space by 3 Himmel-bach Driveworks Böe class fusion torches. These drives are surprisingly weak for the Paladin's dry-mass - they are some of the weakest used by the CNC, including on non-combat vessels - giving the spacecraft an unfavourable thrust to mass ratio in normal space. However, this decision is much better understood when corroborated with its second form of flight; an EdenCorp 6th Generation Glide Drive. These systems are intended to work in tandem - The fusion torches are sufficient whilst also not requiring as much power as conventional military grade drives, whilst the Glide Drive does not need high levels of normal space thrust to function both efficiently and correctly.
This has left the Paladin Class in an unusual place. Much like the massive Cone-ships traditionally utilised with fast response Battlefleets, the Paladin isn't well equipped for fast maneuvres and agile tactics, but by virtue of being much less massive than a Cone-ship, its fits neatly into the role of an independent response craft.

Weapons & Armament

Paladin Class vessels are built primarily as fast responders, and as such are equipped to be independent in their arsenal. This means that Paladin Class crusiers are some of the heaviest armed spacecraft in Orion; the class is built to accomodate over 150 Sidewinder conventional warheads and, if their mission loadout requires it, 8 Viper tactical nuclear warheads. In addition to this, the Paladin is equipped with 3 Shiva Class Railgun turrets mounted on raised platforms that allow near 360 degree coverage on the vessels spaceframe. The largest weapon in a Paladin's arsenal, however, is the Annapurna Spinal-Mounted railgun, which is infamous for its significant strength during Orbital Bombardment.

Armor and defense

The Paladin class makes use of 6 Kusanagi Class Point-Defence Cannons, which flank each of the Shiva class Railguns on either side, whilst an additional 3 specially designed Kusanagi-B Class PDCs are located on the same plane as the Vessel's 3 drive cones. This is to ensure that as much of the ship is covered by the PDC grid as possible.

Used by

• CNS Paladin

Nickname

Palys

Manufacturer

The Commonwealth

Owning Organization

The Commonwealth

Rarity

Rare

Length

221 metres

Speed

12 Gs Standard Acceleration, 0.06c Subliminal Acceleration

Complement / Crew

8-25 Officers, 750 Enlisted Personnel (incl. Armed Security), 100 Astral Warfare Marines

Cargo & Passenger Capacity

Variable dependent on Mission