The Dragoon Class of Heavy Patrol and Exploration Vessels (a public-friendly euphemism for "cruiser") was produced for the United Space Force by modifying Ajelistayeen fast transports in order to fill the critical need for long range reconnaissance of nearby interstellar space. While Earth and the Refugee Fleet had been guaranteed freedom from direct interference by the local Galactic-Level Entities thanks to the agreement brokered by the GLE calling itself Lucifer, the agreement did not include actions initiated by lower-level intelligences. "You don't have to worry about gods," Lucifer had informed the UN General Assembly, "but their followers are a different matter." Eight Ajelistayeen ships were modified by expanding their small craft bay to handle larger shuttles and landers, adding a large dorsal "hump" for expanded cargo and weapons systems, reconfiguring the crew facilities to human needs and for long term occupation and recreation, installing missile launchers and, most prominently, adding a pair of p-grav projectors under the nose of the ships. Commonly referred to the crew as "cannons", the projectors use the same p-grav force that moves the ship and allows faster-than-light travel as a weapon by focusing the two beams on to a target creating a pseudo-gravity version of a singularity that will rip the target apart via tidal forces. Due to the decay of pseudo-gravity fields in normal space the range of the cannons is limited to an effective range of 2.5 light-seconds, while the size of the installation required limits the weapons to fire along the longitudinal axis of the ship. In order to compensate for both the limited field of fire of the main weapons and to allow greater flexibility in response (as a p-grav cannon generally has only two settings: off and "shred target into fragments"), an extensive battery of missiles were fitted, launched from 6 forward "chase" tubes and 40 broadside tubes (20 each port and starboard). A standard missile complement includes kinetic, chemical explosive, and nuclear explosive warheads; electronic warfare and reconnaissance payloads; and various satellite platforms for orbital observation. As part of their mission to both patrol and explore nearby space, extensive sensor suites and scientific facilities were installed for the use of mission specialists, mostly civilian, and a full independent life support and hydroponics/bioengineered food system. As long as the ship can access basic elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and carbon, its mission endurance is limited only by the power system (reactor life 8-10 years between rechargings), spare parts that cannot be fabricated on board and, most importantly, by the crew's ability to undergo long-duration missions. ============================================== Just for giggles sake, in the lower image that little white speck parked off the side of Valkyrie's stern is the Vanguard (available at DAZ) to scale. This is a relatively crude model of the outside, just enough to settle in my mind what it looked like. I'm gradually working my way along on the inside and will soon have the bridge completed.