The Confederacy of Independent Systems has been known for its larger-than-life personalities, from the likes of Count Dooku and General Grievous during the time of the Clone Wars, to the famed Exarchs and Vicelord that reign in the current era. Above all, there is one individual that has embodied the simple phrase 'speak softly and carry a big stick', the Dread Queen herself, Srina Talon. It is from this thought and from the individual herself that the Srina-class was christened and designed, to provide the Confederacy of Independent Systems with a Battlecruiser that is also capable of serving as a Command Ship for larger fleet formations.
The central focal point of the Srina-class Battlecruiser is its main gun, a singular w-165 Planetary Turbolaser - often considered to be the most powerful planetary turbolaser when it was first introduced, the Srina-class was built around the w-165, incorporating its massive power core within the vessel itself along its longitudinal axis. While this design was done, as mentioned, to incorporate the full size of the weapon, it has its own drawback in terms of the weapons operational function; being that the vessel itself must be maneuvered and aimed at a target prior to firing the weapon - a daunting task given the vessel's low rate of speed and its lackluster maneuverability. While the w-165 is a powerful weapon to unleash against stationary targets, such as a planetary target or slower-moving vessels, it is otherwise next to useless if attempting to strike faster-moving targets or smaller vessels that may easily maneuver or dodge the blast. This is also coupled with the simple fact that the w-165 itself is a slow-firing weapon compared to some of the more rapid-firing weapons installed on the vessel.
Each vessel, having been designed around its main gun, also incorporates an impressive array of armaments, as well as defenses - likewise - incorporating the Megamasers, a weapon of Chiss design which is also installed onboard the Fantail-class Destroyer. Much like the Fantail-class, these weapons utilize a combination of Kinetic and Laser energy to damage a target and provide an additional boost to the impressive array of weaponry outfitted on the vessel. However, as noted, the Megamasers are a somewhat foreign and exotic weapon design that has provided their own problems and challenges in incorporating the weapon systems within the Srina-class Battlecruiser. This can be seen in the firing cycle of the Megamasers, which can be described best as unreliable - often requiring a cool-down period to recharge and cycle before being fired again to prevent a potential overload in the system in the weapon itself. As a means to ensure that the crew is freed up to oversee a myriad of systems, including the operational functionality of the w-165 and Megamaser weapon systems, much of the Srina-class is highly automated. This automation controls primary, secondary, and even tertiary systems to lighten the burden on the crew; also meaning that fewer crewmembers are needed to keep the vessel operational. However, these automated systems are still highly vulnerable to Ion-based weaponry, and as such, in the event that these systems are disabled or destroyed by such weaponry, a greater burden would fall upon the crew to keep the vessel fully operational in that instance.
As previously mentioned, the Srina-class also maintains an equally impressive defensive capability, which includes electronic-countermeasure suites and signal jamming devices; as well as a series of CL-3 Anti-Starfighter Cluster Bombs located in key positions along the vessel. These devices though are just as equally dangerous to enemy Starfighters as they are to friendlies, with the CL-3 lacking any kind of detection device that would allow it to differentiate between an ally or foe. While the Srina-class is capable of fielding a small handful of Starfighter Squadrons as well as Support Craft Squadrons, it is otherwise fully dependent upon dedicated carries to provide additional Starfighter Squadrons - such as being paired with a Metus-class Battle Carrier. Additionally, many of the vessel's primary weapon systems and capabilities are geared more towards slugging it out with Battlecruisers and Star Destroyers in large, prolonged fleet engagements; this design focus has caused the Srina-class to have difficulty when it comes to dealing with fast-attack craft or faster moving vessels, further causing it to rely upon dedicated battle groups or Frigate and Corvette screens to deal with these threats.
With a primary focus on providing a heavy hitter to fill in the roles of Command Vessels, the Srina-class Battlecruiser is fully intended to act in a Command Ship capacity, nestled at the center of a larger fleet detachment or battle group. Often paired with the Metus-class Battle Carrier for additional Starfighter support or a dedicated Carrier Group, the Srina-class is more than suitable to act in a similar capacity as the older Providence-class vessels fielded by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. However, as always, the Srina-class is not intended to replace any specific vessel in its entirety, rather, the vessel works best when carefully deployed alongside these other vessels so that they may utilize their strengths and weaknesses to support one another and provide a more effective fighting force for the Confederacy of Independent Systems. |
Srina Talon
