Here is the finished concept art for the new Valbaran Navy, with artwork by our good friend SickJoe, who you can go visit over here: https://www.deviantart.com/sickjoe
After the near-disastrous battle of Valbara, the Valbaran Navy realized that they needed to update their ship designs and technology to keep up with the rest of the Coalition. Due to their lack of tethers and orbital shipyards, they retained the modular design of their craft, but implemented modern weapons and technologies obtained from the UNN. There is a secondary purpose to these ships – the retaking of the lost colony of Kerguela – which will be their first real combat trial.
The new Teth’rak class modular platform can be configured to fill various battlefield roles, from fighter carriers to railgun frigates to cargo haulers. With the improved range granted by their fusion reactors and their updated jump drives, they have increased Valbaran power projection dramatically, giving the Navy true interstellar capabilities. Rather than having the crew live in a microgravity environment, the ships are now fully equipped with AG field generators, and their primarily laser-based weaponry has largely been replaced with railgun and missile systems. The hulls are painted in the traditional ocean camo of the Valbaran Navy.
The modules include the following:
-Bridge modules equipped with observation decks and sensory equipment. Frontline ships can also be equipped with a prow-mounted ion cannon powered by the fusion reactor which can accelerate high-energy electrons to near the speed of light with devastating effect.
-Cargo modules for storing goods and supplies.
-Fusion reactor modules that power the vessel’s systems.
-Cylindrical habitation modules that give the crew more living space, which come equipped with single-occupant lifeboats.
-Hangar modules where dropships and fighters can dock to the vessel.
-Weapon modules with retractable mounting systems that can be equipped with traditional CIWS guns, torpedo launchers, laser point defense systems, railgun turrets, and missile pods.
Competition:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/valbaran-ship-46369157
The ship modules are all arranged in a sheet with a transparent background, which means that you can assemble your own custom Valbaran ships. If you want to join in, share your creations via Discord, the Community tab, or by emailing them to Snekguy@outlook.com. My top picks will be included in the upcoming story The Autumn War.
There are some rules to follow. Your ship cannot be more than eight modules long, and it must include bridge, reactor, and engine modules. Weapons and sensors can be equipped on any hardpoint, including on those other than dedicated weapons modules. For those of you who are more skilled in Photoshop-fu, feel free to go further with your modifications if you wish! These ships were built for the express purpose of retaking Kerguela, so things like custom paint jobs and modules are allowed.
Naming conventions include cities, which are named after geological cratons (eg: Yilgarn, Aldan, Anabar, Karelia, Volgo, Pilbara, Tarim) Valbaran animals (eg: Teth’rak, Do’patli, Gue-tra), and themes (eg: Guardian, Vengeance, Conqueror).
I look forward to seeing what you guys come up with!