Valkyrie

Valkyrie
Production information
Class:	Modified Strike Cruiser (UNIQUE) (M/STRKC)
Technical specifications
Length:	450 Meters
Max speed (space):	18 mglt
Max speed (atmosphere):	Can not enter atmosphere.
Hyperdrive rating:	Class 2
Shielding:	2,450 SBD
Hull:	752 RU
Armament:	5 Heavy Turbolaser Batteries 6 Dual Turbolaser Batteries 2 Ion Cannons 6 Tractor Beam Emplacements
Complement:	1 Fighter Squadron
Crew:	2,112 800
Cargo capacity:	6,000 Metric Tons
Usage
Role(s):	Scholae Palatinae vessel
[ Source ]

Vessel Info

The Loronar Strike-Class Cruiser was supposed to be a revolution in warship design towards the end of the Galactic Civil War. In many ways it was, and to this day it continues to be an interesting ship class that can be an immense threat if the right resources are handy. The ship class has been designed from the ground up to be a multi-purpose ship, depending on the modules that are loaded on the ship. This modular construction gives the ship enormous strategic flexibility, assuming that the resources for performing this change are available. With the recent short supply of shipyards that are accessible to the Brotherhood as a whole, this is rather difficult to accomplish.

History

The Valkyrie is an addition to the Clan’s Order of Battle that dates back to the days after the split of the Emperor's Hammer and the Brotherhood. During those days, a warrior species lived in the cluster that the Brotherhood had claimed as its' own, and they were forcibly removed from it by the Brotherhood. Since this species had quite a large fleet, not to mention quite a few pirates living in the area, the Dark Council decided to remove this threat once and for all. It gave the green light to all of the Clans to capture as many ships as it could from these rouge pirates. The Valkyrie was part of a fair-sized pirate fleet at the time, and after the identification of it by our Clans’ recon elements, a hasty capture operation was mounted. It was surrounded by and captured along with a Gallofree Medium Transport by the Excidium and Victory, along with the help of the Clans’ gunboats. It was then taken to the Brotherhoods’ shipyards, themselves recently captured by the members of the Dark Council, and because of the effectiveness and loyalty of the Clan to the Council the Clan was awarded their choice of parts to upgrade the newly captured ships. After some debate with the senior members of the Clan, the suggested updates were then placed. Due to the modular nature of the ship, the Clan was easily able to add in a pair of gravity well projectors, as well as complete overhaul of the shields and systems. It was one of the first ships to emerge completely repaired from the shipyards, and was quickly placed into service.

Concerning the history of the Valkyrie before its’ capture, nothing much was discovered, as the capture operation as well as the acts of the pirates crewing her wiped out most of the ship’s log before the Clan was able to capture her. Still, some has been recovered. The origins of the ship are rather hard to find, as no one can as yet seem to find a serial number that has not been erased, but odds are that it was a system patrol ship that was captured by a group of pirates. Due to markings found in various parts of the ship, it seems to have changed hands no less than three times, and remarkably enough it seems to be in general good shape for such a checkered history.

It's most interesting part of history occurred during the last stages of the Fifth Great Jedi War. The Clan was in deep trouble, as a sudden Taldryan-Arcona invasion fleet arrived above Antenora. While trying to relieve the blockade until the rest of the Clan fleet could jump in, the Valkyrie, under the temporary command of then Quaestor Phoenix Olkyssagh Palpatine, forced the Lancer-class Bloodfang to withdraw from the battle. It managed to defend itself admirably against the first wave of attacks from the other ships, but then was mauled by the Modified Dreadnaught-class Dark Seraphim. Losing its’ engine power, it crashed into Antenora. Although most of the armor and weapons, as well as the engines had to be replaced, the structural skeleton of the ship mostly remained intact, allowing the Clan to revive and repair the ship back up to fighting trim, although at hideous cost.

The Yuuzhan Vong Disaster

The Valkyrie was not present during the initial attack wave from the Yuuzhan Vong Incursion (Eighth Great Jedi War), but it was present during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of Caina in the Clans' home in the Cocytus System. The heavy shielding of the ship came in very handy during the engagement, as it was able to absorb punishment and strike back. The Valkyrie was single-handedly responsible for the destruction of two of their frigate-analog ships, a commendable effort by the green crew. The sheer fury of her assault was noted as a primary factor in the retreat of the Yuuzhan Vong fleet, giving the other ships of the Clan fleet a chance to catch their breath, all of them badly damaged. Interestingly enough, the Valkyrie used its' gravity well projectors to trap both frigate analogs in the gravity well of Caina, in an interesting repeat of the events at Ithor.

Operation: Reclamation

The Valkyrie was on patrol with some of the other ships of the Clan fleet when then-Consul Braecen Kaeth took off with the Excidium and a few other Clan ships. Staying, as ordered, on patrol, Captain Rubro was surprised to see the Excidium jump back soon thereafter, obviously much worse for the wear. Even more sickening, the other ships that had jumped out with it had not returned.

Then a communication from Captain Ail'en Sommetra informed them that they had taken serious casualties, and to prepare for an incoming enemy force. The words had barely been said when enemy ships entered the system. The Valkyrie, due to its position in the system, was the first to engage the enemy cruiser-analog, but in its' battered shields did not hold, and was destroyed when enemy fire broke her spine. A good portion of the crew managed to escape, but there were some heavy losses.

Deployment

The only Captain of the Valkyrie was Captain Devhe Rubro, a member of Dorimad Sol that showed an aptitude towards the command of a capital ship. After extensive training by Commander Ail’en Sommetra and then Quaestor Timbal, she had been placed in command of the ship, but was still under the orders of Commander Sommetra or any senior member of the Clan or House Summits. This was mainly due to the Green rating that the ships' crew had. Since the ship rarely participated directly in combat, this had not changed much, despite the efforts of Captain Rubro. After initial shipboard training on the Victory, new recruits usually then served first on the Valkyrie.

Rarely operating alone, the Valkyrie was usually found operating with the Clan flagship, the Excidium. Occasionally, as the mission requires, it was also used in interdiction missions, but always with the support of another Clan warship. Learning from the mistakes of the Fifth Great Jedi War, standard Clan battle doctrine called for the ship to be placed out of harms' way, hoping to ensure that the ship remained safe. In Clan fleet operations, it was always closely escorted by another warship. If the escort was somehow neutralized, the ships' standing orders was to jump out of the system if it could, only fighting as a last resort, which was the case in its' last battle.

The surviving crew were transferred as a whole to help crew the new Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Warspite, a whole lot more experienced and eager to bring the fight back to the Yuuzhan Vong if the opportunity comes up.