Thr35Fingers
Salvation-Class Worldship
"That's no moon, that's a spaceship!"
- Capt. A. Guinness, UNS Falcon, on first sighting the High Prosperity, 2255
No intellect-built object in the known galaxy is as large as a Salvation Worldship. Not even the largest category 5 Arthonid nest can rival the sheer mass of these gargantuan constructs. First sighted in 2255 by a Sol Expeditionary Fleet, the exact age of the Salvations is unknown but believed to be at least several centuries based on long range laser carbon-dating.
Populated by the Vaxtrans, a reclusive and secretive alien race, Worldships are entirely self-sufficient, able to produce their own substenance, fuel, atmosphere and industry. From what little information is available, it appears Worldships were built a long time ago to escape the Enemy, who had destroyed (or overtaken, depending on the translation) the Vaxtran homeworld. Since that time, the Vaxtrans have wandered space on their great ships, trading precious metals in exchange for technology.
While Worldships, whose exact number is unknown, are vast, they are also very crude. Metal-penetrating radar imaging has revealed that Worldships are built from the center out, their size increasing as more and more components are added to them over the years. Newer modules are simply welded over older ones, scrap metal stripped and fused in haphazard ways to various sections to augment armour. Generally speaking, the front of a Worldship is a giant mass of armour, behind which is storage, followed by industrial and recreational areas. Behind these are the living quarters for the ships' population, often numbering in the millions, followed by the multiple power cores and ending with the engines.
This crude building technique is indicative of the Vaxtrans' lack of sophisticated technology. They have no shields powerful enough to cover an entire Worldship, so only critical areas are given coverage. Their space-fold FTL drives, while incredibly fast, take weeks of dedicated charging to power, and are inherently dangerous. The Plentiful Bounty was torn apart by the forces of a space-fold in 2317. True to form, two other Worldships, the High Prosperity and the Infinite Unity salvaged and repurposed the pieces.
While armed with many low-yield plasma cannons and large-bore coilguns, the sheer size of a Salvation Worldship reduces the effective concentration of these weapons, leaving Worldships vulnerable to attack.
While many nations will defend Worldships, as the Sol Union Navy did during the New Paris War, many others see Worldships as juicy targets. The Vaxtrans appear to be a doomed race, cursed to wander the stars, their only hope of salvation a planetary presence which their collective trauma and tradition will never allow.
Salvation-Class Worldship
"That's no moon, that's a spaceship!"
- Capt. A. Guinness, UNS Falcon, on first sighting the High Prosperity, 2255
No intellect-built object in the known galaxy is as large as a Salvation Worldship. Not even the largest category 5 Arthonid nest can rival the sheer mass of these gargantuan constructs. First sighted in 2255 by a Sol Expeditionary Fleet, the exact age of the Salvations is unknown but believed to be at least several centuries based on long range laser carbon-dating.
Populated by the Vaxtrans, a reclusive and secretive alien race, Worldships are entirely self-sufficient, able to produce their own substenance, fuel, atmosphere and industry. From what little information is available, it appears Worldships were built a long time ago to escape the Enemy, who had destroyed (or overtaken, depending on the translation) the Vaxtran homeworld. Since that time, the Vaxtrans have wandered space on their great ships, trading precious metals in exchange for technology.
While Worldships, whose exact number is unknown, are vast, they are also very crude. Metal-penetrating radar imaging has revealed that Worldships are built from the center out, their size increasing as more and more components are added to them over the years. Newer modules are simply welded over older ones, scrap metal stripped and fused in haphazard ways to various sections to augment armour. Generally speaking, the front of a Worldship is a giant mass of armour, behind which is storage, followed by industrial and recreational areas. Behind these are the living quarters for the ships' population, often numbering in the millions, followed by the multiple power cores and ending with the engines.
This crude building technique is indicative of the Vaxtrans' lack of sophisticated technology. They have no shields powerful enough to cover an entire Worldship, so only critical areas are given coverage. Their space-fold FTL drives, while incredibly fast, take weeks of dedicated charging to power, and are inherently dangerous. The Plentiful Bounty was torn apart by the forces of a space-fold in 2317. True to form, two other Worldships, the High Prosperity and the Infinite Unity salvaged and repurposed the pieces.
While armed with many low-yield plasma cannons and large-bore coilguns, the sheer size of a Salvation Worldship reduces the effective concentration of these weapons, leaving Worldships vulnerable to attack.
While many nations will defend Worldships, as the Sol Union Navy did during the New Paris War, many others see Worldships as juicy targets. The Vaxtrans appear to be a doomed race, cursed to wander the stars, their only hope of salvation a planetary presence which their collective trauma and tradition will never allow.