UOSF HemmoCruiser III
Class: HemmoCruiser III class (Unique)
Type: Custom heavy colonyship
Propulsion: 4 x Muon Drive MKII, 3 x Muon Drive MKIII
FTL drive: Baasegnar Drive
Shields: Ollapukkitian Engineering Energy Shield, Type 3 Riletian Energy Shield, custom heavy military shield
Weapons: 32 x Heavy Plasma Pulse Cannons
The UOSF HemmoCruiser III was the largest vessel ever constructed by the former United Orcs, at around 20 kilometers long. Built one section at a time on the surface and in orbit of "The Refuge", a former mining outpost where the survivors of the UO government had escaped during the First Bacterian War, its purpose was to hide in deep space far away from Orcish colonies now under Bacterian control, transporting its crew beyond the main galactic plane where they could star their life anew.
Background
In 3,0025, the First Bacterian War had reached its apocalyptic final stage. One by one, colonies of the United Orcs were bombed into oblivion from orbit by the Bacterian Empire's Purification Fleets or infected with deadly biological weapons with startling efficiency. Fearful of facing extinction, the UO government prepared a desperate last measure.
The remaining UO officials along with colonist refugees regrouped on one of the most distant UO mining colonies, nicknamed "The Refuge", selected due to its distant location, mineral resources, and industrial capacity. The plan was to construct a gigantic sleeper colony vessel called the United Orcs Starfleet HemmoCruiser III, equipped with enough cryogenic storage space to carry tens of thousands of colonists beyond the Galactic Rim in deep hibernation to ensure the survival of the Hemmoian, Orcish and Ollapukkitian species.
Design
The starship was made out of anything that could be turned into construction material: junk, other starships, and metals mined from the colony, processed through a molecular furnace into standard hull sections. The vessel's design was very crude, rudimentary at best; it was composed of a superstructure linking 4 sections of 8 modular cylinders which were built separately and launched into orbit, then arranged around the prototype Baasegnar Drive.
Each of these 6.5 kilometer long cylinders, numbering 32 in total, were filled with cryo-units to hold hundreds of thousands of people, so that maximum amount of lives could be saved from the horrendous Bacterian menace. Together they formed an enormous tube around 20 kilometers long with numerous heavy plasma pulse cannons sticking out of the sides, with the prototype intergalactic FTL drive in the heart of the assembly.
The vessel had three separate shielding systems all salvaged from other starships - an Ollapukkitian energy shield, a Type 3 Riletian Energy Shield from the UOV Starbuilder One, and a customized military shield system that came from UOSF Peredel Vanguard, a heavy assault carrier. Sub-light propulsion was handled by seven muon engines: 4 Muon Drive MKIIs and 3 Muon Drive MKIIIs.
The HemmoCruiser III also had eight fighter bays, but only 25 HD Wing class Starfighters were aboard. They were launched to engage the Bacterian assault fleet which jumped into the Refuge system just as the starship was about to leave. None of them made it back, but had bought just enough time for the HC-III to escape. This engagement is known as the Battle of the Refuge.
Crew
As the ship was designed to travel very long distances with most of its passengers in hibernation, an emphasis was put on automation. To this end, a special computer protocol was hastily designed by chief engineer Törmö of Parsek that allowed various types of robots to communicate with each other and perform everyday ship functions such as repair and maintenance. Ordinary household droids, maintbots, construction drones, etc. were reprogrammed with directives that made them into a kind of a "secondary crew" for the vessel. A conscious decision was made to not allow a central computer to run the fleet of robots; the possibility of computer failure could not be allowed to cripple the entire vessel.
This unique design aspect never had the chance to demonstrate its functionality as the vessel was destroyed before the great voyage could even begin. Some scientists argued the secondary crew represented a problem for the starship that might've caused the mission to inevitably fail; the hastily implemented protocols were simply not mature enough to take care of a vessel so complicated. Others believed it was a brilliant innovation born out of necessity. The debate is occasionally raised again by contemporary historians in "What If?" scenarios.
During the starship's brief maiden voyage, its acting captain was Zernok Ïesne-Teeler from Rilet 2, with Jeermel Sollak as the executive officer. The designated science officer was Arnasuk Baasegnar himself, while astrogation was handled by Inu Ven Let.
The HemmoCruiser Incident
- Main article: HemmoCruiser Incident
As the giant vessel headed for outer rim territories, its communications with the population transport UOSF Letav were picked up by a hitherto unknown alien civilization - the Gigerdians. Initially they thought the ship was a threat to them and later intercepted it, launching an attack.
The vessel was badly damaged, but its crew was able to initiate a dialogue with the mysterious attackers and convince them to stop. As the vessel had dropped out of jumpspace, however, its Bacterian pursuers caught up with it and resumed their own attack. An enormous battle ensued, with the Gigerdians a new unlikely ally of the United Orcs against the Bacterians.
Eventually the sequence of events resulted in a cease fire treaty under unclear circumstances; the HemmoCruiser III had been critically damaged and its drive systems detonated, but the Gigerdians were able to save the crew.
