TRV Independent CV-101

The TRV Independent (registry number CV-101) is the first ship of the Independent-class, a class of battleships built by the PlazWorks shipyard and operated by Trident Foundries, Lancia's Rebels, and the New Trident State. It is currently commanded by Captain Jake Lancia.

The huge vessel was refit extensively twice in it's early life, once in 2418, only two years after its commissioning, and once in 2428, both refits installing the most advanced new technological developments of the time.

Description
The TRV Independent functions as a command-and-control starship, commanding and directing large fleets of manned and unmanned vessels, and also serves as a large mobile resupply base, though it is seldom used in this capacity.

Exterior
Externally, the TRV Independent shares many similarities to the significantly older Solaris-class Explorer, and the Crusader-class Light Cruiser that shares the vertical twin prong design, but the features are scaled up on the larger Independent. It also shares the V-Plate cooling system with those ships, as the system was designed by the PlazWorks Shipyard and Construction Company specifically for larger vessels.

A later 2418 refit to the design added a Sterling-class utility vessel in a purpose built hangar opposite the top missile batteries, as well as two Mako-class corvettes docked on two additional docking tubes flanking the central section.

Interior
Independent has a fairly large seven-seater bridge module providing clear views of space in front of and around the ship. There is a large CIC directly behind the bridge, where an Admiral can command an entire fleet. There is an officers' mess and bar on Deck 2, just below the bridge, with their quarters on Deck 3 close to the Captain's quarters. Deck 4 houses the medical wing, with the main sickbay, intensive care and medical supply storage.

The Independent has a large primary hangar deck, able to store eight heavy fighters of the Archer-class, sixteen light fighters of the Swift-class, and four standard Krunkel-class shuttles of both major variants comfortably. There is also a small secondary hangar on Deck 2, just behind the bridge module, that houses two additional Mersu-class shuttlepods and a small workshop.

Systems
At the time of its eventual commissioning in GY 2416, the Independent 's overall technology was already considered obsolete, however the vessel was still commissioned anyway, with the provision of further refits to update the vessel's specifications.

The Independent features three primary PlazWorks HCT-IND01 and four secondary PlazWorks HCT-IND02 Hyperflux Coil Thrusters which are sufficient to propel the ship forwards at a sublight speed of 142m/s, significantly slower than almost any other Trident vessel. The Independent is also fitted with a huge array of reaction thrusters (RCS) on all parts of the ship, which is necessary to move the massive bulk of the ship in any direction other than straight forwards. Two huge internal Phase Coils propel the ship at high Phase speeds, though they limit it's manuverability in Phase space.

A huge spherical tokamak-type fusion reactor is located at the rear of the ship, providing the majority of the vessel's power. Two backup vertically-aligned accelerator-type reactors flank the main reactor. At around GY 2418, Captain Jake Lancia had his engineering crew install a prototype of a compact Zero-Point Reactor alongside the main fusion reactor, to attempt to increase the maximum Phase Drive speed.

Weaponry
The Independent is one of only three vessels in the Trident fleet, as of GY 2430, that can match the firepower of Odium Intruder-class battlecruisers. (After 2432, the Exodus-class Battleships began to appear.) The Independent was equipped with a huge Plasma Beam emitter at the central front section of the vessel, the largest mobile Plasma Beam assembly built by PlazWorks. It was designed as a siege weapon to smash enemy shields and quickly melt enemy armour. This was changed to a Zero-Point Catalyst Beam during the 2418 modernisation; the old Plasma Beam was repurposed by PlazWorks.

The ship is also equipped with a number of conventional weapon systems, including six fixed-position Plasma repeater cannons, multiple vertical and horizontal Fusion Missile ports, several anti-ship Plasma cannon turrets, and 24 twin-bank Plasma Beam turrets for point defence.

Construction
The TRV Independent was first designed around GY 2412. PlazWorks engineers recognised the need for a large fleet command vessel to inspire the fleets and carry support vessels of its own, however the design effort had to be paused due to the breakout of war later that year. Only in mid-2415 was the design effort resumed, however the vessel's specifications were not updated to reflect technological developments, leaving the vessel increasingly obsolete and close to the chopping block. Last minute interventions from Vergesso civil government saved the project and allowed it to continue on a new schedule, with a new target completion date of January in 2416. However it was still using older technology, in an effort to keep the construction time down.

2416
The TRV Independent was commissioned to much fanfare in January 2416, with the ship initially given to seasoned captain Oleg Popovic. In June, the Independent was involved in the disastrous Operation Pincer, planned by the Union of Interstellar States leadership, which aimed to retake the planet Rotterdam from the Odium Empire. Of the 64 ships sent in by the UIS, only the Independent and the Ronin-class vessel TRV Avenger survived the battle, with both ships severely damaged; Independent had lost a Phase Coil, and with only one remaining coil, it was limited to low Phase speeds. During the battle, Odium forces boarded the Independent as it was a priority target for the defending ships, and managed to fight their way to the bridge, where they immediately shot Popovic and his first officer Chris Macdonald. They were repelled, and a lieutenant in the bridge ordered a full retreat from the world to attempt to save what was left of the fleet. Only Avenger was able to respond.

The two vessels were then shadowed by two Formidan Wolfgang-class vessels for some time, until they revealed themselves, and surprisingly offered to escort the vessels back to the Union border world Alexandria.

After the vessels docked at Alexandria Station, the Avenger was found to be too severely damaged to repair, and was slated to be scrapped. Captain Jake Lancia of the Avenger was made captain of the Independent in August, as there were no other officers available to replace Popovic. Unit P1-az was temporarily assigned to the Independent as well, to supervise a minor upgrade on the primary beam driver.

2417
In March, the Independent was dispatched with a small Strider escort to a border colony of the UIS, which was interested in joining the alliance. Jake Lancia and P1-az were requested on the surface and began negotiations quickly. After a 13-hour firefight with Odium forces on the surface, Lancia and P1-az returned to the Independent, where an Odium strike force consisting of Cyclops-class frigates laid in wait. The Indep quickly destroyed two of the attacking vessels, forcing the remaining ships to withdraw. A small boarding party was quickly beaten back.

In August, the Independent was ordered to join a UIS mixed battlefleet on its way to retake Rotterdam, led by Alek Lancia himself. The battle fleet of 135 ships of mixed ranges, including the Nova Fleet titan NFD McKinley, arrived at Rotterdam and secured the outer system belt as a base of operations. Thirty days of non-stop fighting ensued, in which the Indep 's resupply abilities were put to the test, and eventually Odium forces established a minefield to halt further attacks. The Indep was ordered to withdraw to Vergesso for a refit, and the fleet continued without it.

2418
The Indep stayed in drydock for over 150 days, having upgrades to the weapons, shields, sensors, fire control, crew accommodations, reactor and the hangar. The central Plasma Beam was given its own independent targeting sensor array. In addition, a lower hangar was retrofitted to fit one of the brand-new Sterling-class Utility ships and several ground vehicles inside, and two side docks added to facilitate two state-of-the-art Mako-class gunships.

As soon as the refit was completed in late January, the Independent was recalled to Rotterdam, where the battle lines had hardly changed since the Indep first left. Jake Lancia came up with a daring plan to defeat the Odium forces at Rotterdam by being captured and disabling the minefield behind enemy lines, using P1-az for assistance. Alek Lancia onboard NFD McKinley opposed the operation and refused to carry out the plan.

Jake Lancia and P1-az decided to ignore his father's orders and planned his own volunteer-only mission with P1-az to disable the defence grid around Rotterdam. The entire crew of the Independent volunteered for a daring mission where the Independent would be captured and imprisoned on the planet. Jake would store P1-az secretly in his ocular implants and upload him into the Rotterdam network on the surface where P1 would hopefully disable the minefield and additional ground defences.

The crew of the Independent enacted their daring plan, and a 3 week long conflict of ship-to-ship combat, boarding firefights, and eventual incarceration set all the gears in motion. Unknown to the Odium forces, P1-az infiltrated the defence network around Rotterdam and turned their own defences against the Odium forces to soften up the fleet, also freeing the Independent to join the fleet combat above. Alek Lancia began the fleet combat and attacked from 3 major evacuation jump points from Rotterdam, forcing the remaining forces into UIS territory to be rounded up and captured. During the battle, an Intruder-class vessel collided with the McKinley with Alek in command, killing all onboard the ship, but not before detonating its core and causing a massive explosion that cracked Rotterdam’s moon to the core. This final act also disabled virtually all of the Odium ships remaining in-system and several Union vessels close to the epicenter, allowing Union marines on the still-operational vessels to seize multiple examples of current Odium warships and many prisoners.

After the battle, the Independent was ordered to provide resupply and support to the citizens on the surface, who had suffered through months of conflict. After several days, two WARSPiTE-class vessels from the newly discovered RedEagle Confederacy relieved the Independent, freeing up the vessel to pursue normal duties.

E

2419
E

The Independent was made the flagship of the fleet by the new President; Lancia retained command despite being promoted to Commander-in-chief of the Trident military. During this time, the Independent was dispatched to "show the flag" around Trident and UIS territories.

After President Tusk signed the historic peace accord with the Odium Empire, the Independent was stood down and was ordered to drydock for a major defensive systems refit, which lasted several months.

2420
In early 2420, the Independent was released from drydock early to shadow a group of Formidan vessels that were straying close to the Trident core systems. The Formidan vessels proceeded without incident, and no shots were fired.

As Trident leadership grew increasingly unstable and paranoid, President Tusk sent Lancia and the Independent out on increasingly long-distance and pointless "exploration cruises", in reality a smokescreen to have Lancia out of the way as Tusk attempted to consolidate his hold on the Trident leadership.

2421
In mid-2421, the Independent was recalled to Vergesso in response to the sabotage of Vergesso Driveyards facilities while a Formidan battlegroup was in orbit, and the death of over 3000 civilians; an incident in which Formidan involvement was heavily suspected. President Tusk ordered Lancia to prepare the military for war with the Formidans, but instead Lancia ordered a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Driveyards bombing. Lancia used Independent as a base from which he conducted his investigation, allowing only trusted personnel to assist his efforts. Lancia uncovered evidence of a terrorist cell within Trident that was responsible for the bombings, as well as evidence linking the terrorists to someone in the highest echelons of Trident leadership, though it was unknown who exactly.

Not long after Lancia had gathered the evidence, President Tusk declared martial law, and recalled all military vessels and personnel to Vergesso to be stood down, so Lancia was unable to act on the evidence. Lancia was eventually forced to take the Independent into drydock himself, and the ship given to one of Tusk's aides, Commodore Thren, for "safekeeping".

The Independent was then towed into Vergesso Driveyards Facility 47, Bay 21, pending further orders.

2423
The Independent sat in Bay 21, completely unused and under heavy guard, until mid-2423. Lancia had incited a rebellion against Boris Tusk's government, and led the charge to Vergesso Driveyards Facility 47, where the Independent and a large number of other ships sat uncrewed. Lancia correctly recognised that the Independent, being one of only three of the largest vessels ever built by Trident, was a rallying symbol for the Trident military, and whoever controlled it effectively controlled the fleet. He failed to recognise that Tusk had already effectively brainwashed large numbers of military personnel against him, and that the symbolism of the Independent was not going to be as effective as he hoped.

Rebel troops boarded Facility 47 and immediately secured the control center. Lancia then ordered a crack team to head to Independent, secure it, and bring primary systems online. He also delegated further teams to secure other ships in the yard for a total of 43 ships secured by his rebels. Lancia secured Independent several hours later after a fierce firefight through the corridors and hangar deck, and had the ship depart Facility 47 as soon as he was in the bridge, destroying the yards behind them in the process. Lancia's new fleet retreated to the main rebel staging area just outside Vergesso's outer asteroid belt to resupply and refuel all of the ships, covering their tracks to ensure they were not followed.

Lancia and his followers were declared a Terrorist cell by President Boris Tusk himself the following day, and particular emphasis was placed on the recovery of the Independent by Tusk's forces.

E

Captains

 * Oleg Popovic (Jan-July 2416)
 * Jake Lancia (August 2416-late 2421, mid 2423-present)
 * Thy'kir Thren (Late 2421-mid 2423)

First Officers

 * Chris Macdonald (Jan-July 2416)
 * P1-az (August 2416-late 2421, mid 2423-present)

Chief Engineers

 * E

Helm Officers

 * E

Science Officers

 * E

Embarked Craft
The Independent houses a large amount of embarked craft.

The ship maintains two full squadrons of Swift-class light fighters, and a squadron of Archer-class heavy fighters, as attack units. In addition, the Independent, like other ships of the class, is able to deploy two Mako Escorts and a Sterling utility craft to aid it in battle, added during a refit in GY 2418.

The Independent also houses four Krunkel-class shuttles and two Mersu-class shuttlepods for personnel transfer and planetary excursions. It also retains a capability to store many other types of shuttlecraft used by other UIS members.

Behind the Scenes
The TRV Independent was the first "titan"-sized vessel created by Plaz and Jake_Lancia, and a lot of effort was put into it's exterior appearance and interior planning, bringing it to an almost cinematic quality.