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NSN 'Megalodon' Command Ship

The NSN Megalodon is a Gen5 Command and Control ship commissioned by the NSN and built by Allied Industrial Technologies (AIT) to replace its aging Gen3 Command Ship, the 'Mastodon' (see link below)

CONCEPT

The NSN was surprisingly pleased with the performance of the Mastodon command ship, but even though it was a huge investment, it was very clear that technology was moving rapidly, and the Mastodon will soon be outclassed by opponent warships. To this effect, the NSN commissioned AIT to keep a constant design study team on board the Mastodon for the duration of its military service. This teams sole job was to improve on the design and begin preliminary design work for the Mastodons replacement. By the time the Megalodon was taking shape in the shipyards, it was already far superior to anything the Mastodon could have been. During this time, the Mastodon had it's first contact with the Bloody Thorns, an infamous pirate fleet led by the former NSN Admiral tuned pirate Marcus Thorne. During this engagement, the Mastodon engaged the 'Devils Reach', Marcus Thornes flagship (see links below). Using its own heavy weapons, as well as the newly arrived 'Tiburon' gunships, the Mastodon was able to drive away the Bloody Thorns for the first time. This only emboldened the NSN to invest more heavily in the design of the Megalodon.

DESIGN

The entire ship is designed around its most prominent feature, its massive main flight corridor. While the Megalodon is still, in its essence, a command and control vessel, it is a massive, mobile space platform capable of fielding a huge amount of combat vessels. The hangar bays are split into three areas, the massive main flight corridor, flanked by the civilian hangars bays on the port side, and the military wing on the starboard, with each topped by an artillery balcony fed by ramp to the vessels main vehicle pool. Beyond the hangar bays lies the commerce rotunda.

HANGAR DECKS

The main flight corridor is flanked by the military wings and private, civilian docking bays. The flight corridor itself is large enough to dock a Polaris class capital ship, but is usually littered with smaller craft. Beneath the flight corridor is the main sub-deck, which leads to the engineering bay, and is also the only part of the Megalodon with direct ground access. The sub-deck can be accessed via ladder hatch at the the front, or the cargo ramps near the rear, and can load vehicles through a forward door and loading ramp.

The Military wing has a single, large bay running the length of the flight corridor on the starboard side, and also has a loft docking pad reserved for command and VIP shuttles. The Military wing is large enough to dock a single 'Zephyr' class assault transport, designed for use specifically on the Megalodon for its internal Marine detachment. The rear of the military bay leads to the cargo bay, and an elevator leading up to the command centers of the vehicle bay, squadron command, and the bridge. Military and other authorized personnel only are permitted in these areas, civilian access is forbidden.

The Civilian docking bay run the length of the flight corridor on the port side and is separated into 3 individual bays, with their own private access. Running beneath the civilian docking bays are central intake and registry, as well as temporary lodging (up to 7 days maximum).

COMMERCE ROTUNDA

One aspect of the Mastodon serving as the command vessel for the NSN during deep space insurgencies was the increase in civilian and trader traffic coming and going from the vessel. The NSN quickly learned that while it could use its military assets to keep the fleet supplied, it didn't need to, as the ship turned into a mobile trading hub for all sorts of people out in deep space. The Megalodon embraced this, and added a large commerce rotunda to the read of the main flight corridor. With more than 5,000 crew, military personnel, and rotating civilian traffic, the need for recreation and commerce to give the people a 'get away' was very necessary. The commerce rotunda has a park and picnic area, and includes several vendors and shops, including a merchants guild, several restaurants and bars, as well as supply vendors and ore merchants. The Megalodon is under military jurisdiction, and all vendors in the rotunda are registered with the military.

The entire rotunda itself is actually very modular in its design, and if necessary, the buildings can be collapsed and folded into the walls, and the lower park area filled in to create additional hangar and cargo space should the military deem it necessary.

VEHICLE POOL AND ARTILLERY BALCONIES

Unlike the Mastodon, which had a modest vehicle garage mostly used for loading and unloading cargo, the Megalodon is capable of fielding an entire platoon of heavy artillery, tanks, support vehicles as well as mining and industrial machinery. While the vehicle pool is not accessible directly to and from the ground, it has two loading ramps that lead to the Main Artillery decks and staging areas located above the port and starboard hanger bays. From here vehicles are loaded onto transports and moved planet side. Artillery can also park on these balconies to convert the Megalodon into a giant siege weapon.

WEAPONRY

Like the Mastodon, the Megalodon is too large to properly defend itself using turrets alone. To this effect, the weapon systems on the Megalodon are situated to maximize offensive potential. The main punch comes from its forward facing, 4x torpedo tubes and 6x heavy plasma cannons, as well as the two long range artillery turrets on its dorsal side. Beyond that, the vessel has a mix of laser, projectile, and missile turrets grouped into clusters on the bow and stern of the ship.

Also like the Mastodon, the Megalodon relies mostly on ships launched from its massive hangar bays to provide the bulk of its offensive and defensive potential.

The Megalodon is currently undergoing combat trials at Ludd station, and is set to replace the Mastodon in deep space within two years.

RESOURCE LINKS

NSN 'Mastodon' Command Ship
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=890912781

NSN 'Wolf Den' and the incident at Ludd Station
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=812655055

'Devils Reach' - Flagship the 'Bloody Thorns'
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1408419169

FB-5 'Tiburon' Gunship
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1624118738