Atrum Pars

General Vessel Information

The Strike-class medium cruiser was a medium cruiser designed by the Loronar Corporation during the Galactic Civil War for the Imperial Navy as a general-purpose vessel capable of modular modifications to allow it to fit many mission profiles, yet cheap enough to be produced in large quantities.

A departure from the Navy's trend towards increasingly large warships, the Strike-class cruiser was an admission to diminished ability to defend space superiority against the Rebel Alliance and other forces as the conflict wore on.

Ironically, the one big disadvantage of the Strike-class cruiser was a side effect of its biggest advantage. Due to the modular design of the ship, a single, well-placed hit could shut down entire systems or weapon batteries if the densely arrayed power connectors between two sections of the ship were damaged. If the ship suffered too many critical hits by large-impact weapons (such as proton torpedoes or heavy turbolasers) it was also possible that it might simply break apart, losing large portions of its structure. By the time the ship was introduced into full naval service this was only considered to be a minor flaw, as the Empire had enough resources to replenish damaged or lost components that were considered "disposable" at that time.

However, as the war raged on and large starships started to become a rare sight, the Imperial Remnant felt the need to make this otherwise reliable, versatile and thus tactically important class of cruisers more durable, which resulted in reinforcing the connections between the cruiser's basic integral structure and the attached modules in order to prevent easy decouplings. Nevertheless, these spots remained the most vulnerable parts of the Strike-class, and pilots and commanders alike on both sides of the Galactic Civil War adapted their tactics to deal with this knowledge.

History

Construction of Penitence began mere weeks before the Battle of Endor. The chaos of the Empire’s collapse disrupted its completion by nearly a standard year, and ensured that its first foray into combat was defending its own shipyard. It found its way into one of the smaller Imperial factions for several years, where the crew saw little actual combat and was faced with mounting supply and payroll issues. After a short courtship by the Brotherhood’s diplomats her Captain agreed to defect, and the ship was presented to the fledgling Clan Exar Kun.

Due to Clan Kun’s small naval size at its inception, and the desire of the Dark Council to keep it afloat, the ship was permitted an extensive weapons upgrade to include additional shield generators, 10 heavy turbolaser batteries, 10 quad laser cannons, 2 dual turbolaser cannons, 4 missile launchers, and 6 tractor beam emplacements. In keeping with the standard specifications for this ship type, the Pars also carried a single squadron of starfighters.

Upon the merger with Satal Keto the ship was renamed Atrum Pars. It served under the command of the Proconsul during times of hostility, but primarily found itself in a defensive role over Morroth.

The Pars later participated in the Battle of Antei, falling tragically to the final thrust against Plagueis as it made its fighting retreat. With the Vong spreading out to locate the Brotherhood fleets fleeing the Anteian Shroud, it was no surprise that smaller and more mobile units were most likely to make contact. As Plagueis entered a relatively clear patch of space on the far side of the nebula it picked up one such group to its rear. At this point the Clan’s leaders prepared to conclude a council of war aboard Vengeance and return to their respective command ships. For nearly half an hour the pursuers did little to harass their prey, and the enemy’s reduced number and apparent reluctance to attack gave the majority of the weary Plagueian survivors cause for optimism. The leaders remained on alert, but decided to finish their meeting. Perhaps they would simply slip away into hyperspace without further losses.

The Vong resumed their rampage suddenly, using their ten or so coralskippers to preoccupy the Dark Jedi starfighters while their Ro’ik chuun m’arh frigate edged into range to establish a firing solution on the nearest warship. The wounded Atrum Pars withstood only a few volleys before its engineering section was pierced by one of the molten projectiles. Twenty seconds after this initial hit, by all appearances minor, Plagueis’ most powerful warship was engulfed in a massive explosion. It is unlikely that anyone aboard even recognized the deathblow to their reactor, though there was no time to escape even if they had. The entire crew was killed, excluding a handful of command staff, who were knocked unconscious aboard their returning shuttle. Believed dead by friend and foe alike, the survivors spent several tense hours in the debris field on minimal power before hazarding to make their limping escape.

[CEK’s choice in the Capital Gains competition, additional upgrades due to high placement]

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