(RP) PATHFINDER Independent Fleet
Background
After legendary Captain Ronin Kociero succumbed to the Angel Nebularic Virus shortly after the dawn of the 46th Century, his C-AI brother, CoRE, kept his remains in Cryo Stasis aboard the legendary warship Pathfinder. CoRE would make immense sacrifices to restore his brother's conscious mind, even if that meant aligning with former enemies. However, the Pathfinder, under CoRE's command, maintained a high level of autonomy in and around Aquarius during the 46th Century.
Much like the original warship's legend, the Pathfinder was something of a mystery to most of the rank and file Aquarian Navy, often appearing out of nowhere with the highest level of clearance to conduct surgical operations that require that certain discreet capabilities.
Officialy, under the Aquarian Imperial Navy, Pathfinder and her attendant fleet are an 'Independent Task Force' operating outside the standard chain of command, answering directly, and only, to the Directorship.
Operations
Due to that high level of autonomy, the Pathfinder Independent Fleet often deploys on operations of little to no concern to the Aquarian State. As with the other legends, the Director exhibits a high level of trust regarding their alignment, though its long-term ability to manipulate the fates of those that it works with remains clear.
CoRE maintains full authority and command over the fleet, inherited after his brother's death and subsequent entrance into permanent cryo-stasis, pending future developments. To that end, the Fleet conducts myriad operations to CoRE's personal requirements, often aligning with shedding light on his brother's mysterious past.
As far as the Aquarian State is concerned, what happens outside its borders, as long as it doesn't directly oppose the State, is CoRE's business only. This arrangement benefits the Fleet significantly, as officially, the Pathfinder has direct ties, and access, to the Imperial Navy logistics and support system, but with a full level of independent autonomy outside its borders.
Equipment
Due to its independent nature, the Fleet has access to a wide variety of non-Aquarian-standard equipment. The majority of the non-Aquarian standard equipment is sourced from or directly derrived from TSRC-based designs recovered from various derelict installations in and around the Angel Nebula. The Fleet possesses the basic capabilities to manufacture, maintain and install its own subsystems, giving it high flexibility and independence from Aquarian Shipyards.
Despite this, the Aquarian Imperial Navy provides a basic inventory of standardised ship systems, including weapons, sensors, reactors and shielding systems, as part of the Director's agreement with CoRE. This allows the Fleet to utilise tried-and-trusted workhorse modules that are reliable and readily available from AIN shipyards, but also experiment with bleeding-edge and often unstable technology.
Fleet Hierarchy
The Fleet consists of the legendary cruiser Pathfinder and a handful of vessels that followed her out of the EFPF's last stand over Bastion that changed the course of their history. At the present time, the fleet consists of;
PATHFINDER (PITF-01)
The legendary warship herself. Technically, the original Pathfinder hull was classified by the TSRC as an 'Armoured Cruiser', but during the Old Federal Era, the design was updated to closely align with the then-state-of-the-art Endeavour-class Battlecruisers. Under current Imperial Navy classification, PATHFINDER is a Fleet Cruiser, not a Battlecruiser, due to the signficant changes made to the Aquarian Navy structure during the New Federal Era and Transition to the Imperial Era. During the integration into the Imperial Fleet, PATHFINDER was retrofitted under the same program that produced the Imperial Navy's ED-X Class Experimental Battlecruiser, which resulted in two vessels; the PATHFINDER herself and the Spirit of Eridonia, which was ultimately dismantled and the class design terminated after the Battle at Bastion, leaving PATHFINDER as the only ship of her class in existence.
This means PATHFINDER Is a sub-capital, heavy cruiser-class warship. Appropriate given her speed, though PATHFINDER's unique design gives her significantly more firepower and protection than the Imperial Navy's equavilant Revolution-class, but at the expense of significantly more mass, meaning a more direct comparison could made to the newer VE-II-class Heavy Cruisers. Ultimately, PATHFINDER is a highly unique warship.
IMERIVM (PITF-02)
A huge mobile fleet-support vessel originally based on the UAF's ARK-AX-class Fleet Support Cruisers. While she bares a strong resemblence to the AIN's ARK-class, she is actually much older; a precursor of the short-lived New Federal Era and represents the original design that most of the current Imperial ARK-class vessels are based on. She has seen extensive upgrades in EFPF's service and successfully fled Bastion with minimal damage with the Patfhinder after the attack, becoming the backbone of the new Fleet's support framework.
Due to the similarities to the AIN's incumbent ARK-class, Imerivm enjoys myriad upgraded systems provided by CoRE's working relationship with the Directorship, and has more or less, been converted to current ARK Pattern 2 Standard by the 46th century. Like the ARK-class, she has facilities on board for fleet supply; including resource acquisition and processing, munitions and module synthesis and in-field direct repair via her capability as a mobile cruiser-size wet-dock. In the Independent Fleet, she acts as the 'home away from home'.
WINTER BLOSSOM II (PITF-03)
A heavily modified, ex-EFPF Farlease-class Light Patrol Cruiser. Winter Blossom II is named in homage of the original Winter Blossom, which was lost during a planetary crash over Helia-1, during the height of the Aquarian Civil War. She was originally part of the EFPF's Quick Response Force protecting the Bastion system and surrounding areas of the Angel's Hook Nebula, but during the Attack on Bastion, she managed to flee with the Pathfinder undamaged. She is, herself, based on an old, ex-Old-Federal Navy Farlease Pattern-4 Light Cruiser; one of the more advanced variants in service at the time of the Fall of the UTN in 4040 A.D.
She has recieved significant upgrades during her adoption into the Independent Fleet, specifically in the areas of Auxilary Systems capabilities such as expanded sensor arrays and special-purpose subsystems. In the fleet, her high speed and excellent sensor suite along with flexibility means she serves as the primary fleet recon and escort vessel.
HAULER-1(PITF-01/1)
A modified Mule-class Old-Federal Navy Armoured Transport Corvette. HAULER-1, like all of the ships in the Fleet, is an ex EFPF vessel. Her namesake reflects her original purpose; a fleet logistics vessel serving in Bastion. She fled with Pathfinder during the attack and the name stuck. The primary modifications to HAULER-1's superstructure include shortened engine nacelle standoffs to allow the vessel to be fully internally berthed in the PATHFINDER's dorsal hangar.
Just like the Mule-class ATCV she is based on, HAULER-1 is not a warship. She serves as the fleet's primary short-range transport and shuttle craft, able to facilitate the transfer of materials and operatives between PATHFINDER and external objectives. Additional upgrades include new multi-purpose subsystem hardpoints that allow her to perform specific support roles.
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