Kimagure Type: Pursuit Cruiser Producer: Krester's Ship Constructrion In class: 30 at its height In service: 2558 Mass: 780,000 Sail Integrity: 4 Thrust: 4/6 Fuel: 6000 tons Structural Integrity: 70 Armor: 1092 tons of ferro-aluminium armor (150+7 fwd, 127+7 fore sides, 87+7 aft sides, 77+7 aft) Docking Collars: 2 Fighters: 0 Small Craft: 10 Crew: 250 Marines: 280 Lifeboats: 20 Escape Pods: 20 Grav Decks: 2, 65 and 85 meter Cargo: 15,423 Bay 1: Small Craft (10) 5 doors Bay 2: Marines (280) 2 doors Bay 3: Cargo (15,473) 2 doors Weapons: Heatsinks: 10,820 (enough) Forward 4 Light Naval PPCs 4 Medium Naval PPCs 10 Heavy Naval PPCs Fore Left/Fore Right 5 Heavy Naval PPCs 8 Naval Laser 45s 4 Naval Laser 55s Left Broadside/Right Broadside 4 Light Naval PPCs 4 Medium Naval PPCs Aft Left/Aft Right 1 White Shark Launcher 4 Naval Laser 45s 4 Naval Laser 55s Aft 2 White Shark Launchers 4 Naval Laser 55s Ammo 40 White Shark Refit Notes: The refit is capable of 5/8 thrust and has a cargo capacity of 16,023. The weapons load for the refit is as follows Heatsinks: 7470 Forward 4 Light Naval PPCs 10 Heavy Naval PPCs 2 White Shark Fore Left/Fore Right 4 Heavy Naval PPCs 3 Naval Laser 45s 2 Naval Laser 55s Left Broadside/Right Broadside 4 Medium Naval PPCs Aft Left/Aft Right 3 Naval Laser 45s 2 Naval Laser 55s Aft 2 White Shark Launchers 4 Naval Laser 55s Overview: The Kimagure was designed in the mid 26th century to counter a growing problem faced by the Terran Hegemony Fleet. In a number of engagements between Hegemony warships and those of the other houses, the Hegemony vessels would frequently send their foe running, only to prove too slow to pursue. This was best signified by a number of highly successful hit and run attacks by the renegade Davion destroyer Icarus, which conducted a fierce raidng campaign against the Hegemony through all of 2548 while at the same time successfully evading the pursuit of several warships, both Hegemony and Davion, that had been sent after it. In one notable encounter, the Icarus was ambushed by a trio of Monsoon class battleships, only to escape the trap and swiftly outpace the ponderous warships, escaping the system with hardly a scratch. Though the Icarus eventually fled into the periphery and her raiding campaign ceased, the Hegemony decided it still had a need for a large warship capable of running down more mobile enemies. To this end they contracted Krester's ship construction in 2554 to build them just such a ship. Capabilities: When it was first launched in 2558, the Kimagure was a marvel of technology. Its most spectacular feature was its acceleration capabilites, which (at the time) were greater than any battleship, cruiser, or frigate in service, and batter than about seventy five percent of the existing destroyer fleet. The only warship that outpaced it was the long retired Vigilant class corvette. Of course, this unprecedented acceleration capability at the same time required an unprecedented complexity in the drive system of the Kimagure, and the ship's engines required frequent, extensive maintenance to keep running in top form. There is no mistaking the Kimagure's role as a pursuit cruiser. The ship's armor and weaponry is very much oriented towards the front, some claim excessively so. Though it can both give and take a terrific punch from the front, should a ship get behind the Kimagure, the pursuit cruiser will find itself in dire straits. The eight naval ppcs mounted in each broadside arc are likewise considered something of a design flaw, and though they provide some cover fire against passing ships, many believe they should have been mounted either aft or in the aft quarters, which would increase the ship's ability to cover its vunerable rear. The Kimagure was intentionally built with limited anti-fighter defenses. The Kimagure was built for extended runs at high thrust, an environment for which fighter craft are ill suited, as a consequence any threat from fighters was considered minimal. The designers included a novel feature in the Kimagure in the form of barracks for a battalion of marines and launch bays for ten assault transports. This allows the Kimagure to conduct boarding operations against the enemy, and many Kimagure skippers practiced the tactic known as the Run and Dump, in which a Kimagure would use its superior acceleration to get ahead of an enemy and drop assault transports in his path. This manuever exposed the Kimagure's vunerable aft quarter, which was generally an irresistable target for most enemies. However it also drew fire away from the assault transports, which could (in theory) quickly dock with the enemy ship and capture it. Of course this tactic was incredibly risky, and as often as not a Kimagure would suffer severe damage or worse while attempting it. In 2615, the SLDF high command formally forbade the tactic, a ban that did little good, as the Kimagure class tended to draw more agressive captains to it than most other ships. Deployment: Though the Kimagure was an impressive ship, its role was fairly narrow. As a consequence, only thirty ships were built by Krester's Ship Construction before work was halted. The formation of the Star League and the end of the Reunification war likewise had a serious impact on the Kimagure. With very few hostile warships left for the Kimagure to hunt, and with their low cargo capacity ill suited for long convoy escorts, the ships were soon adapted to the role of anti-smuggling vessels and customs ships, proving to be a terrifying sight to even the most experienced smuggler. In the meanwhile, engine technology marched on. During the mid 28th century in particular, the sudden proliferation of warships even faster than the Kimagure, like the SLDF's Milwaukee (another product of Krester's ship construction) and Sovremenyy and House Davion's Davion II, convinced the SLDF that it was time to retire their aging and now not so fast Kimagures. This imediately created something of an uproar among Kimagure captains. Though they freely admitted that the Sovremenyy and Milwaukee were fine ships, it was pointed out that there were far too few of either type right now to fill the Kimagure's role, and there wouldn't be enough for some time. Seeing their point, General Kerensky issued something of a stay of execution for the Kimagure, authorizing an upgrade to the existing fleet to allow it to continue to serve until enough Milwaukees and Sovremenyys were available. Krester's ship construction began an extensive refit program, focussing on upgrading the Kimagure's acceleration capabilities. Though they were able to squeeze even more thrust out of the ship, it was at the expense of weaponry, which especially weakened the already thin aft armament. Despite that problem, the refit was approved and work was begun on modifying the existing Kimagures. Only a handful of the class was refitted, however, before the Amaris Coup brought everything crashing down. Like most of the fleet, very few Kimagures survived the long battle with Amaris. Of the thirty ships in the fleet, only three, all of them unmodified ships, the Marblehead, Slava, and Boise, survived to accompany the exodus, and all of them were in such poor shape that they were mothballed upon arrival at the Pentagon cluster. The Snow Ravens have since completely refitted the Slava and Boise, stripping the old ships down to a virtually bare hull and rebuilding them as Conqueror class carriers. Though the Marblehead was destined for a similar fate, a trial of possession launched by the Steel Vipers resulted in the loss of the hulk. As the raid was meant to annoy the Ravens more than anything else, there are no plans by the Vipers to bring the Marblehead back into service.