Template:Ship (individual)
History
The ship was constructed in 26 ABY by Bothawui Shipyards and immediately commissioned as the BAC ‘’’Renaissance’’’. It was sent to serve alongside the ‘’’Ralroost’’’. After the Battle of Ithor, she was dispatched Coruscant and served as a part of Fleet Group Two during the First Battle of Coruscant. The ship escaped with superficial damage, but was still relegated to rear defense for the rest of the war. Even during the Second Battle of Coruscant, the ship saw little combat.
Following the war, the ‘’’Renaissance’’’ remained at Coruscant and served in the defense of the planet, though she was mostly relegated to patrol and occasional escort duty. She was fully repaired and in 35 ABY was dispatched as part of a cautionary defense fleet to Ord Pardron, in case the Geonosians took to the defense of the Killiks during the Swarm War.
Characteristics
Built to fill the role of the aging Victory-class Star Destroyer, the Bothan assault cruiser was an intimidating design. Armed with twenty four heavy dual turbolaser cannons, ten ion cannons, twenty turbolaser cannons, twenty proton torpedo launchers with sixteen missile magazines, and four tractor beam projectors, it was a capable and versatile offensive ship.
The two hangars on the ship were capable of carrying four squadrons of fighters. Dorsal and ventral hangars were located amidships and were fitted with launch apertures for flexible deployment and recovery. They also contained rear meditation cabins, equipped with transparisteel arches for the viewing of space. Their sublight engines could match a Victory-class destroyer while their Class 1 hyperdrive allowed for rapid hyperspace transport.
Defensively it was better-equipped than the Destroyer it was meant to replace, with its armor being 150 percent heavier than the other craft. That said, it was primarily an offensive vessel, with most of its power siphoned toward the weaponry systems. This left it vulnerable to heavy attack.
Role
The two Bothan Assault Cruisers utilized by Plagueis form the flagships of the Hellfire and Corsair Raiding Fleets. This makes their typical use akin to a central hub, launching fighter squadrons and cooridinating the smaller frigates. They will use their size and offensive capabilities to circle the battlefield, shepherding ships away from retreat vectors and crippling critical systems while the smaller vessels fly in to board their prey.
In a larger battle, they take up the role of medium picket ships, keeping the frigates and corvettes off of the fighters and drawing heavier ships away from the frigates. They very much occupy a medium role, making it difficult for large and small ships to strike properly and allowing the other vessels of the Ascendant Fleet to succeed. In this way they are like the medium fighters of any fleet, maintaining the less glorious but far more important aspects of the engagement.