The Aces Full is a remarkably unique ship, with a remarkably unique "coming to be" story. Thusly, the stories of the Ship's Origination and Crew must be kept seperate. As the details of both are sometimes complex and confusing...
The Ship
The Aces Full has been around for quite some time. But not as a ship--as an idea. The history of this vessel extends far beyond its extremely delayed construction. The costs of building a Destroyer for a Navy, such as the overpopulated Liberty Navy, may be negligible; but assembling the funds for a Rogue vessel of such size are not lost upon pirates. It's expensive, and was not easy to do. So the Aces Full was born of an idea... well, more like a problem. As stated earlier, the population of Liberty Naval vessels is much like that of rats--annoying, and terribly too many. While the skill of Rogue pilots is typically unquestioned, a Barghest can only take on so many Gunboats and Cruisers before the sheer volume of fire is overwhelming of any skill. The not-so-beautiful Rogue Gunboat, while extremely effective, falls to the same failing. Pilots of the highest skill are overwhelmed in four and five to one situations. However it is not a question of brute force: pirates can not, and do not, attempt to outpower the House Navies, because such resources simply are not available. Thus a new idea must be born. And this idea was a return to the most basic of tactics, guerrilla warfare.
The strategy of the Liberty Navy is repetitive, and relatively simple. A single or duo of pilots encounter our Rogue forces, and generally hold off engagement, or engage and attempt to simply "stay alive", and wait for reinforcements to arrive. Battles that run more than ten or fifteen minutes in duration are often lost to us, because it allows time for Naval Gunboats, and infrequently, Cruisers or larger ships, to join in the fight. They have the numbers, and often an endless supply of reinforcements. Thus, the way to win battles is to do it decisively, quickly, or to be able to counter the first wave of Gunboat/Cruiser reinforcements. Thus the Aces Full was born. The Aces would forego the heaviest of Armor Upgrades to allow for a special package. A Hacker designed and assembled system that would allow for extended Deep Space Communications and Detection. This specialized radar and transmission unit would, in theory, allow the Aces Full to quickly receive reports from other Rogues of conflicts popping up, and could arrive to counter reinforcements. It's detection unit would help quickly determine the size and strength of any inbound reinforcements, making sure that a couple gunboats and bombers will no longer suddenly find themselves surprised, in the sights of a hostile Cruiser or Battleship.
Another, secret technological advance would be put into play. (//this obviously isn't an actual in game thing, it is simply part of the rp) The room leftover from the smaller armor upgrade that was not used by the ARTS (Advanced Radar/Transmission System) was replaced with a small Nuclear Powerplant. It was not usable for boosting the weapons powerplant, however it allowed the engines to be overcharged, entering a Cruise Speed in far excess of regular movement. This would allow the Aces Full to be able to quickly respond to and arrive at "hotspots"
The design plan was perfect.....
....the funding plan was not
The ship, with its advanced ARTS system and powerplant, would be even more expensive than a regular Scylla. However the need for the ship was apparent, and if successful, it could lead to a whole new class of vessel. Thus, officers at Buffalo and Alcatraz determined that 4% of the incoming credits at both stations would be set aside to fund this new vessel. A joint operation between the two bases to help create a ship that, it was determined, would operate primarily in the area between California and New York.
However such a loosely structured funding plan for an already cash strapped faction had little chance of success, and two months into the ship's production, with funding slowing and not having yet reached 50% of the necessary credits, construction was slowed to a crawl. And a month later, when it was discovered that the leadership at Alcatraz had been donating less than 1.5% of their actual funds to the project, it was cancelled in a rage by the Buffalo officers. Hangar 6 of Terre Haute, the birthplace of the Aces High, appeared that it would also become its grave..
However, the promising new ship would be saved by an unlikely source
The Crew
Downloading Profile:Commanding Officer-Anthony Moore
Enter Anthony "Aces" Moore.
He would eventually captain the Aces Full, but in this moment, he crewed a Salvager. In fact he wasn't even a Rogue, or a captain for that matter, he was the XO and pilot. Anthony showed promise, great promise in fact. He was unrivaled as a pilot of his large, somewhat unwieldy ship, and privately many Junkers were disappointed that he was not captaining his own vessel. He had more than once proven an apt pilot, maneuvering out of a sticky situation that his less than decisive commanding officer had a knack for putting his ship in. The Jeremiah, the name of this Salvager, was decorated in scorch marks and dings from rogue asteroids. Anthony, however, at age 22, was immensely proud of his ship and its scars. Proof of the dangerous they had faced and survived. He had all of the skills, poise, and abilities of a leader.. however he lacked one thing--credits. He dreamed of piloting his own vessel, commanding a great warbird, but privately he knew it could never be...
...but it would be. Fate would have him the opportunity, and being the ambitious young man he was, opportunity need not show much of itself before he dove at it. Death in the family, while saddening, would create the greatest opportunity of all.
If there was one redeeming quality of the captain of the Jeremiah, it was his diplomatic skills. He was greatly respected by the officers of Buffalo, as well as Rochester and his fellow Junkers. In fact more often than not, he found himself a moderator of sorts, helping Rogues and Junkers of New York and Texas come to agreements. He would probably be the only man who could have given Anthony the opportunity he was given, the timing and place was perfect.
The death in Anthony's family was a grandfather, whom Anthony didn't even know. He was a wealthy resident of Manhattan, who in all honesty, absolutely hated Anthony, and Anthony returned the same feelings towards him. The grandfather was a distant descendant of Bretonian Royalty, who thought himself much better than those who surrounded him. When he passed he left his wealth to Anthony's uncle, all of it. Not a dime to another member of the family, as Anthony's uncle James was the only man he trusted. Interestingly enough, James shared Anthony's dream of commanding a great warbird.
Downloading Profile: XO-James Moore
James Moore grew up on Liberty. Detached from his rich family due to a feud between his father, and his cousins/uncles of Bretonian Royalty, he grew up poor. However, he was secretly loved and adored by his rich uncle, and would one day inherit nearly limitless wealth. He shared Anthony's love of warbirds and himself joined the Liberty Navy.
Unfortunately James struggled with illness. He was not suited to the rugged life, policies, and regulations of the Liberty Navy. He required some special attention and circumstances, which of course did not sit well with the Navy. He was brilliant, passionate, and intelligent. As it would turn out, he would complement perfectly Anthony, being the cool reason to Anthony's sometimes brash decision making, however this potential was never realized in the Navy, because the opportunity was never there. Within 18 months of joining the Liberty Navy he was discharged; basically due to "excessive needs". With this black mark on his record, he was unable to get a well-paying job with Interspace or any other Liberty Corporation, and he ended up, through a long though boring set of events, doing smuggling jobs for Rogues out of Buffalo. The grandfather and James never stopped staying in contact, James' work was clandestine, and he could still freely visit the grandfather on Manhattan. Thus when he died, James was there to acquire the many riches, stocks, and credits of the family.
Immediately upon inheriting all of this, he liquidated the families funds, putting all of the credits into his neural net system, and started trying to find an opportunity to live out his dream.
There are of course, other men and women of the [i]Aces Full, but they are but secondary players, and there stories may come to light when needed. Understanding the history of the ship and its two leaders will give a proper understanding of the ship's orders and actions...[/i]
James had his bird, and had his credits. Now he just needed a crew, and a solid convincing of the officers of Buffalo.
It is amazing the deals that can be struck when factions find themselves poor, or sitting on a massive "scrap heap"...
The first thing he did was contact Anthony. Of course the offer of an opportunity to help command a Rogue Destroyer, and possibly be its leading pilot, was too much to pass up. Anthony asked his Captain to bring the Jeremiah through Buffalo, and the captain abided. Anthony shared with him the details of the plan, and the captain offered his diplomatic aid. Being someone who knew well the Rogue officers of Buffalo, and having some say, the captain admitted that while he thought the plan unlikely, he would try to help in whatever way possible.
All three met at Buffalo, and within the week met with the leadership of Buffalo, along with a couple of engineers who had been leading the construction at Terre Haute. The discussion took well over a half day. The Rogue's Leadership were at first completely skeptical. While the engineers insisted that completion of the ship would still be a simple matter, simply requiring funding, the Officers stated that it would be impossible to acquire the ARTS system from the Hackers. The order had been cancelled long ago, and the offer was no longer available. However the engineers, upon some further reaching into details, found that the ARTS system was one of the first things purchased, and in fact had to be built into the core of the modified Scylla vessel. It was one of the few things that was operable and completed.
With that barrier smashed, the Officers then obstinately stated that while James was respected for his work, he was certainly not material to simply assume leadership of a Destroyer. The captain of the Jeremiah vouched for Anthony's abilities, however the Rogues new little of him or the trials of the ship he had piloted so excellently, and the word counted for little at first. A compromise was reached, not only would the ship by crewed entirely, besides a few specialists, by Rogues-a Rogue Commanding Officer would be assigned to the ship and would be in command until he saw fit otherwise. While James and Anthony might be allowed to command the ship, the Rogue XO would have the final say until he deemed the two competent enough to captain the vessel.
Now it was onto price. The Rogues demanded a number in far excess of the actual production cost. While initially frustrated, James thought to himself "this is exactly what I want, and what more will I really need?" James agreed to open up his checkbook, and a deal was worked out that would include not only an initial buying cost, but dictated that the Moore's would be responsible for 20% of the ships upkeep costs. James agreed, and it was on to the minor details.
The sale was agreed upon, and four months later the ship was complete. During that time, James and Anthony were continually drilled and trained in Rogue protocol. Undergoing combat training, tactical simulations, and everything else the Rogues deemed necessary. 14 hour days of hard training were the norm, and while it was extreme in its difficulty, it was made much easier by the blueprints of the ship that littered their living quarters, reminding them of the prize ahead.
Two weeks after the construction was completed, the Aces Full began its maiden voyage
Not much was actually documented of the three voyages that the Aces Full made before Buffalo relinquished command to the Moore's. However it is known that they engaged in four sorties, all of which were resounding victories. And the interim Command Officer assigned to the ship was so impressed by the piloting of Anthony that he attempted to have him transferred to his own vessel. However James wouldn't have it, and the officers of Buffalo decided against breaking up the pair. Command of the vessel now lies in the hands of James and Anthony, with Anthony often being in Command with James offering advice, calm, and reason.
The ship was surprising in that it was relatively inexpensive to maintain. Costs of keeping the ARTS system functional was assumed to be extremely high, but it turned out to be an extremely well built system. The spare Nuclear Powerplant was somewhat finnicky, but those were much easier to service, and not as original as the ARTS system. The final details of the ship were this:
Primary Zone of Operations
California (Base of Operation, Alcatraz Depot)
New York (Base of Operation, Buffalo Base)
Also Operating In (Upon call for reinforcement)
Magellan/Cortez
Texas
Colorado
Rules of Operation and Engagement
Only engage targets within Primary Zones of Operation
Only engage targets in self-defense
Only engage targets when called for backup
Only engage targets in situations were Rogues, Hackers, or Junkers may be at high-risk