Montana

[Slimalou]

"Montana" Arbiter Class Battleship

Ship Details

⧫ Ship Name: Montana
⧫ Ship Class: Insurgent "Arbiter" Dreadnought
⧫ Manufacturer: Insurgent Navy
⧫ Place of Construction: Leniex Shipyard, Vespucci
⧫ Launched: 828 A.S., August 8, Leniex Shipyard, Vespucci
⧫ Status: MISSING IN ACTION

Command Staff

⧫ Captain: Marrok Cross
⧫ Commander: James Carr
⧫ Security Officer: Sam Raynor
⧫ Radio Officer: Sarah Mires
⧫ Gunnery Officer: Lana Brook
⧫ Chief Engineer: Jace "JJ" Jones

Equipment

⧫Main Batteries : 2x Razors 2x lighting EMP missiles
⧫ Secondary Batteries: 4x Battleship Sludges
⧫ AS Batteries: 12x Liberty anti-snub batteries
⧫ Jump Drive: Class IV
⧫ Hangers: 2x Basic Hanger
⧫ Notable systems: Deck Promenade,
Long-Range Communication Hub, Clocking System,
hydroponics labs, Garden.

Overview

The Montana is the last Arbiter class battleship to be produced from Leniex Shipyard in Vespucci before the Liberty Navy's last push into the system. Unlike other Arbiter battleship the Montana received a massive design overhaul during its construction. The Montana would be receive a new layout along with new systems, making the Insurgent Battleship more capable of being a mobile station capable of supporting a fleet on the move. The Montana had much of is cargo space converted into living quarters for the projected increase in onboard personal and civilians, a deck wide Promenade, Long-communications HUB, hydroponics labs, and a few gardens. The Montana was also designed to be modular allowing the Arbiter to maintain itself for longer then other Arbiter before it needing to be serviced at a Shipyard.

The Montana would flee into the Omicrons with has many peroneal and as it could carry. The Corsairs would be the only faction willing to provide aid to The Montana and other fellow Insurgent vessels. Yet as tensions between Corsair factions began to arise the Montana was forced out of Corsair territory. Left to itself with little aid from its new Deterrence patrons. The Captain of the Montana began to explore other options. Thankfully a growing cognization of covert Freelancers where willing to lend the aid the Montana so desperately needed. Further more oprations in the Omicrons landed the ship the attention of the mysterious Order Overwatch.

Escape From Vespucci

By the time the Montana was complete and ready for deployment, Liberty forces where already making significant pushes into Vespucci. Lone Capital ships were prime targets for cloak bomber squadrons. Because of this many captains refused the captaining position for the Montana. With the collapse of the Insurgent command structure, the position of Captain was given to an unexperienced officer gunboat Captain named Marrok Cross. The rest of the crew was filled out from other ships that were lost in action. With its mismatched crew the Montana began its first deployment.

A few weeks later Captain Cross would began preparations to get the Montana out of Vespucci and into the Omicrons. He would broadcast a message to the Omicrons for aid in which only the Corsair faction of Deterrence (DTR) would resound. After a bit of negotiating DTR would promises aid and a place among Corsairs if the Arbiter class battleship could make it into the Omicrons. A few days later following another battle between Insurgent and Liberty Navy forces the Montana would make a run for the exit. With the Navy's forces too tried from the battle the Montana was able to slip past the blocked thanks to a fainting attack from the INS Helena. The Montana would fly into Tau space and around the edges of Bratonia space before arriving at a Corsair base in the Omegas.

The Corsairs

After arriving at Casablanca Base in Omega-48, Captain Cross and his XO James would be flown out to the Corsair capital world of Crete. The Montana itself would be escorted to Crete by a later arriving DTR fleet. Once on Crete and the summit with the other Insurgent captains began Captain Cross would began to have reservations about joining the Corsairs and DTR faction. Yet he would stifle these feelings for the goal of protecting his people. These feelings would reemerge on the third day of the summit as a Corsair fleet along with members of the Brotherhood would approach the DTR and Insurgent fleet demanding the exposition of the Insurgent fleet. A stand off would ensue but with the arrival of more DTR warships the Corsair and Brotherhood fleet would back off.

Captain Cross would once again ignored his better judgement and sign the contract that would transfer the Montana into a DTR control battlegroup known as Battlegroup Halberd. The Montana and is fellow Battlegroup halberd members would begin refits on its ship, yet as the Montana's refit was getting underway pressure from other corsair factions would see rushed deployment of the battlegroup out of Corsair territory. DTR's to quickly deploy the fleet to avoid a civil war would leave the Montana and its crew in a precarious situation, without a shipyard to finish refit or a basic station to make repairs. The Montana was left alone in an unfamiliar sector.

Alone in the Omicrons

With little aid from DTR and an expectation to began turning a "profit" for DTR, the Montana would fly to Omicron Nu where it would began deploying fighters try and gain supplies from passing Liberty transports. Yet as luck would have the Montana found little success in ambushing the heavily guarded Liberty transports. The increase in activity saw more warships deployed to Nu forcing the Montana into hiding as the ship could not risk heavy damage without a place to make repairs. Onboard dissention between the new corsair crew and the standing Interactionist crew began to grow as the two groups found themselves incompatible with each other.

However, the crew of the Montana would find help in the local phoenix owned station of Rarotonga Dock. The station provided a place for the Montana to make repairs and for the crew to get away from the ship for a little while. Even with the Zoner station giving the Montana a place to make minor repairs it still had yet to hear anything from other members of the battlegroup. Therefore unable to push into Liberty without risk of being swamped by bombers. Effectively leaving the Montana unable to do anything to pay back its DTR patrons. Yet the Montana would not be alone for much longer as the ships sensors would detect a INS warship approaching. Moments later the ship would identify itself as the INS Helena, the battlecruiser had escaped Vespucci and had come to join the Montana in the Omicrons. After a short meeting between Captain Cross and Captain Simmons, the captain of the Helena, the two ships would departs ways as the Helena went deeper into the Omicrons to follow up on a offer by a growing freelancer faction.

The Eye of The Overwatch

During a routine patrol Montana would come across an Order heavy fighter being attacked by two Nomad gunboats. The fighter reported the action back to the Montana, Captain Cross would ultimately order the Montana to aid the Order pilot. With the massive warship fast approaching the two Nomads would pull out before the Montana could close weapon rage. The Order pilot would thank the Montana for the aid and would later accept the officer to have his ship repaired on bard the Montana. The Order pilot would meet with the Captain Cross and the two would discuss how the Montana came to be in the Omicrons. It was here that the Order pilot would give Captain Cross the codes for him to contact the Overwatch and possible gain a place in the Omicrons.

With continuing tensions onboard the Montana increasing and the ever growing need of a shipyard, Captain Cross send a message to the Order Overwatch informing the secretive group of Montana's willingness to join the Order. After a few days the Order Overwatch would reply expressing an interest in adding the Montana's to the Overwatch's fleet number. Yet as Captain Cross would come learn by a message from a DTR commissar onboard the Montana, The Montana's communications where open to the commissar and that the captain should rethink his current course of action. However, this time Captain Cross was not about to his ship and home fall into anymore disrepair because of Corsair politics. Thus captain would declare his intentions and his griefs with the corsairs and his intentions to leave the battlegroup and transfer the ship to the Order.

Captain Cross however would not want to leave DTR on poor terms and began negotiating to DTR to allow the Montana go without objection, as DTR and the Overwatch where on good terms with each other. DTR demanded that the Montana proved them with enough supplies to offset the amount of resources they put into the Montana. After more negotiating the terns of the deal, Captain Cross would enlist his mysterious freelancer contacts to procure the resources DTR demanded. Meanwhile the Order negotiating the use of the Zoner ship yard of Livadia to allow the Montana to finish repairing itself from its uncompleted refit while also giving a place for the ship and crew to lay low while the Order arranged its transfer to Order controlled space.

Zoner Assistances

After the Order and Phoenix finished the negotiating for the use for the Zoner's drydock, Captain Cross quickly ordered the Montana make its way to Omicron Kappa to get the Montana's servicing started as soon as possible. Upon arrival Livadia shipyard's tragic control tower directed the Montana to one of the cleared Dreadnought ports. Once the ship was in position Zoner and Montana engineers quickly got to work with the long overdue servicing. The Montana would spend the next five months undergoing repair form the lack of proper maintenance that it had been force to operate under. During this time, the Montana mounted its Cloaking device and Jump Drive it had bought and transported by courtesy of T.H.E.

The sight of the Insurgent dreadnought in a Zoner shipyard drew the eye of many and rumors began to spread, yet for some reason those rumors never reached liberty space nor the enemies of the Order. As the sight of the Montana started to become the norm the rumors began to die down and fade away. Two years and nine months had passed and The Montana was pressed into service by helping the Zoners relocate their Drydock from the growing unstable Omicron Kappa to Omega-48. Five months later, the Order had contacted Captain Cross explaining that they had come to an agreement with DTR concerning the ship.

New Flags to Fly

A few days later a escort fleet of Order ships arrived in Omega-48 at the new sight of Livadia shipyards. With the Montana in toe the Order fleet may its way to Omicron Gamma to complete the terms of the deal made with DTR. Upon arrival in the Omicron Gamma system the fleet was met with only a few fighter patrols, once the ships were identified they were allowed to pass. The fleet would stop at the Corsair Shipyard of Rhodes where the Montana offloaded its Corsair crew and had its systems purged of all DTR and Corsair data. The Montana also took on a good number of dissatisfied Insurgency refugees before departing again with the Order fleet. The fleet would make its way to the Order controlled system of Omicron Mu where the Montana docked at Carthage shipyards to begin its refit to an Order vessel.

Deployment Goals

1. The continued survival of the Insurgent people

2. Build a new future for the onboard Insurgent people.

3. The destruction of any and all hostile factions