Consortium Destroyer Darak-Ti

CSN Darak-Ti [DDK-12]
Ship Class	Cruiser
Built by	Consortium
Technical information
Guns/Turrets	0 / 12 turrets, configured for general purpose suppression of hostile warships.
Hull strength	295,000 (not counting structural re-inforcement)
Cargo space	700 units
Nanobots/Batteries	750/750
Max. impulse speed	80 m/s
Max. thrust speed	140 m/s
Power output	1,800,000 (unknown whether this is affected by reactor re-engineering) u
Power recharge	110000 (unknown whether this is affected by reactor re-engineering) u/s (100%)

This is a ship flown by Consortium pilots

The Consortium Destroyer Darak-Ti is a Type-332 Interceptor Destroyer (re-built RM-2A Storta) configured as a multi-role, rapid reaction ship currently configured primarily for anti-warship interdiction and space security operations. The vessel, as well as most other Outcast ships in Consortium service has been heavily re-built from it's original configuration to fit Consortium specifications, and can be considered a separate class entirely.

History

Prior to 817 A.S. the main strategic combatants in the Consortium fleet were Talarca class Light Cruisers. While effective as general support ships, they were woefully inadequate for anti-warship interdiction. As well, the extensive modification necessary for Consortium use created a number of issues with underpowered engines, electrical system faults (with the ship's wiring unable to handle the reactors' output, and being impractical to replace entirely), and a minimal capacity for growth. Issues with Frame Cracks finally forced the Consortium to retire the ships from active service (though, the hulls remained in reserve, converted to remote controlled missile ships, and saw service as recently as the Battle of Phoenix Shipyards).

With the need for a more reliable replacement to the Talarca class, the Consortium looked to the recently introduced RM-2A destroyer, developed by the Outcasts early that same year. The basic layout of the hull was suitable, pending extensive re-building. The Consortium purchased three hulls initially (several more would follow), stripped of most of their systems. The hulls were towed to Takeda shipyards in Tau-65, where they were re-built to the Consortium's specifications.

Designated 'Type-332' class in Consortium parlance, the original three vessels, Darak-Ti, Hoshinokatana, and Tiishalon, were each built for a specific purpose. The former was primarily a tactical skirmisher, the latter two being the mount chassis for a Consortium AI system and a mobile scientific research facility respectively. The ships entered service immediately after their initial refit.

The Darak-Ti was among the ships participating in Operation Cataphoria against The Wild, the flagship of DESRON-20, and lead most of the patrols in that sector. During the operation, it was heavily damaged by a Nomad Cruiser, and sidelined for the remainder of the operation. Following the battle, the Darak-Ti underwent significant refit. With a replacement of it's reactors and the addition of additional external strikecraft maintenance hardware.

Subsequently, the Darak-Ti has participated in numerous actions against vessels of the Kusari Naval Forces, as well as several engagements with the Necrosis. After being damaged during a sortie against a Kusari DESRON, the Darak-Ti went in for refit again. This time, it's defensive armament designed to intercept strike craft was replaced with heavier guns to take down capital warships (it was decided that escort strikecraft would be the main defensive mechanism against bombers, as the Consortium CIWS guns were only moderately effective).

The Consortium focus remains on strike craft and wolfpacks of smaller Gunboat class vessels, given the tactical flexibility and lower cost of replacement of these vessels. Following it's upgrades and refit, the Darak-Ti was mainly placed in Hokkaido for sector defense, occasionally launching sorties against enemy warships or the odd intercept operation. More recently, the Darak-Ti was involved in an engagement with several Coalition vessels, and participated in the Battle of Phoenix Shipyards alongside a Consortium reserve fleet, wherein it took minor damage.

Features and Capabilities

Because of it's near complete rebuild, only superficially resembling the original Storta hull, the Darak-Ti and it's sister ships have a number of modifications and abilities beyond those of a normal Storta of stock configuration.

Nearly all of the ship's major subsystems, including but not limited to powerplant, power distribution, computer systems, drives, sensors, fire control, weapons, shields, reactive armor, life support, stealth systems, and internal hardware have been replaced with those of Consortium design. Several notable external features differentiate the ship from others of it's class, most notably the re-engineered bow (which serves both as frontal armor and houses some of the ship's stealth systems), sensor arrays on the dorsal superstructure, and the ventral strikecraft dock.

Due to size limitations, Consortium destroyers are unable to fully bring a fighter inside of them, but have external mounts including reconfigurable umbilical lines, robotic arms, and fuel systems to allow most Consortium fighters to dock and be serviced aboard, as well as for pilots and crew to disembark. All the while, docked strikecraft are protected by the Destroyer's shield.

The massive investment that is Consortium warships has forced a number of additional safety devices and modifications to preserve these valuable assets. These include structural re-inforcement, redundant hardware, and most impressively, a Hyperspace Drive. While the Consortium can manufacture Hyperdrives and components relatively simply, they are extremely limited in their use. The Quantum wavefront generated by a Hyperspace Entry or Exit registers massively on any ship's sensors in the area, providing an exact location of a ship's jump point. As well, Hyperdrive jumps require large amounts of exotic materials as fuel, thus precluding their tactical use except as a means of emergency recall of a critically damaged ship.

As a result of all of this hardware, manual crew interface and control of all of these systems would be impossible. Most of the ship's functions, however, are highly automated via onboard VI systems. The Consortium destroyer can run on a skeleton crew. Exact crew requirements are unknown, but the normal contingent consists mostly of technical overseers and security personnel. With less then a dozen needed to actually operate the ship. As well, the Darak-Ti acts as a Tetranode for the Consortium's Fleetwide Coordinator AI.