The Lilaea is a high-performance military starship first manufactured in late YE 30 by the Elysian Celestial Navy. Like the El-B1-1a Crataeis-class Command Ship, the Lilaea is a single living organism, and it borrows liberally from the design of the command ship. It was first introduced to Amyna Fleet and Peripolo Fleet, where it replaced the badly outdated Thunderbolt Fast Attack Frigate. Plans exist to integrate it into the other fleets as well.
The El-S1-1 was designed and introduced to fill in a void in Elysia's naval forces with a high-speed, heavy-hitting attack vessel to complement the more defensively oriented El-B1-1a Crataeis-class Command Ship, the fast but lightly armed El-E1-1a Concordia-class Scout, and the powerful but somewhat sluggish El-D2-1a Thantros-class Destroyer.
The El-S1-1 features exceptional propulsion in both STL and FTL coupled with a heavy complement of powerful weapons, most notably the Aether Flechette. It is complemented by a wide range of sensory systems as well as some stealth. It lacks notably, however, in defensive staying power - largely a cost-cutting measure.
The Lilaea, being very impressive in its capabilities, can handle a number of missions. It is best suited to scouting, seek and destroy, and fleet warfare due to the heavy armaments, high speed, sensors, and stealth. As it lacks in defensive capabilities and has limited cargo space, the Lilaea is poorly suited to command, escort missions, logistics/transportation, and diplomacy.
From above, the Lilaea looks remarkably like an eagle ray. Tapering wings extend from either side of a cylindrical body, with an auxiliary engine pylon extending from the stern of the vessel. From beneath, though the shape is the same, the resemblance to a ray is less marked, as the underside of the wings contain triangular armor bays extending from the body. The outer hull of the ship is glossy silver-white in color, covered in Elysian scaled armor.
The El-S1-1 project is a rather special case among Elysian starships as a bulk of the designing and prototype testing was done by Plebeians, headed by a brilliant engineer named Haladriel Naravon. Haladriel, who had served onboard a Thunderbolt Fast Attack Frigate during the Heavenly Wars, was impressed by Elysia's recent push forward in starship technology, but saw that there was no suitable replacement for the fast-attack vessel he had served on. As the Thunderbolt, though still serviceable, was badly outdated he set to work on the design in early YE 29. His efforts caught the eye of The Elysian Senate, and a great deal of funding and aid was provided to speed the project along. The alliance with Yamatai in YE 30 provided a great deal of interesting technological options for the designers, though other than the upgraded CFS, little was actually integrated into the nearly-complete design of the Lilaea.
The Lilaea debuted in late-YE 30.
Since YE 34, all remaining ships of the class have been mothballed at the Elysian Naval Arsenal.
Class: El-S1-1 Type: Gunship Designers: Haladriel Naravon,Elysian Celestial Navy Manufacturer: Elysia Veritas Shipyards Production: Limited test production. Full production expected to begin in YE 31. Despite the cost-cutting measures implemented in the initial design, the Lilaea is quite expensive, and was not properly mass-produced until YE 32 at the earliest. Fielded by: Elysian Celestial Navy
Crew: Four operators are recommended, but only one is required. Maximum Capacity: There are accommodations for 16 people in crew quarters and 2 in officer quarters.
About 50 people can fit aboard in an emergency, but the ship would be extremely cramped.
Length: 160 meters (524.93 feet) Width: 240 meters (787.40 feet) (from the tips of the 'wings') Height: 18 meters (59.05 feet) Decks: 3 (4 meters each)
CFS/CDD:
Hyperspace Fold Drive: 0.75 ly/m Sublight Engines: 0.425c (can boost to 0.99c for up to 60 seconds, to 0.85c for 120 seconds, or to 0.65c for 180 seconds) Lifespan: Estimated 10 years, currently uncertain. The vessel is still ultimately untested. Refit Cycle: Occasional (every 2 to 4 years).
See Damage Rating (Version 3) for an explanation of the damage system.
Lacking artistic ability, I can't lay this out all pretty like Wes does. Well, I could, but it would look like a monkey that's past its prime. So instead I have an itemized description of each deck!
The armory, located on Deck 1 near the bow, is a restricted area that is inaccessible to the crew without the permission of the captain or acting commander. It is sealed by a heavy blast door, the interior however is the same off-white marbled Fullerite as the rest of the ship. Personnel and power armor weapons are kept separate, but remain in the same vault. A second vault exists behind the first one, available only with the captain's direct permission, contains spare munitions for the Aether Flechette. The armory typically contains 24 Atromos Particle Beam Rifle, 24 Sersis Variable Pistol, 12 Aioron Grenade Launcher, 12 Dresde Under-Slung Grenade Launcher, 6 Ingtris Flamethrower, 6 Pelphrys Particle Pulse Autocannon, 24 Aspis Infantry Shield, 12 Xiphos Infantry Blades of each variety, 12 Phaelaes War Spear, 12 ‘Skoul’ Burrowing Bomb, and 30 Sperion Mini-Grenade of each variety, in addition to the weapons necessary for the power armors. The armory may optionally contain seeds for Sfantos.
The armory also contains six encapsulated seraph (any variety of seraph may be kept, though S17 and S19 are most common.
The bridge, located at the bow on Deck 1, is a restricted area that is accessible to bridge crew (command, helm, sensors, communications, tactical). Others require permission from the captain or acting commander to enter the bridge. The floor and walls are organic, essentially the 'flesh' of Lilaea, colored off-white to appear like marble. The captain has a fixed swivel chair at the center of the bridge, raised on a dais about ten inches above the main floor. The captain's place is behind the other four stations, each of which has a similar (but somewhat less grand) chair than the captain's place. Every station on the bridge includes control panels relevant to the position (the captain's console can remotely control any of the other four), as well as a small desk area.
The officer's quarters, located towards the center of Deck 1, are a pair of well-furnished rooms devoted to the captain and second officer (often, though not always, the tactical adviser). They are 'carpeted' with an internal organ of the Lilaea , which is huggably soft, and absorbs accumulated dirt and filth (which is then broken down and digested). Each room contains a bed, walk-in closet, private toilet and shower facilities, a bookshelf, a wooden desk, and a padded reclining chair. The officer's quarters are very comfortable, but only slightly larger than crew quarters.
There are two cargo storage areas, both at the stern of the vessel, one on Deck 2 and one on Deck 3. Each cargo bay has a usable cargo space of 4m x 12m x 12m. Needless to say, the Lilaea is not intended for transporting cargo, but it can store a handful of SSCCs. The Deck 2 cargo bay is typically used for spare supplies, whilst the Deck 3 cargo bay is left empty in case the Lilaea needs to take on cargo on mission. The ceiling of each cargo bay sports a system of robotic arms for moving boxes and/or SSCCs.
Crew quarters, located at the stern of Deck 1, consist of 8 modestly furnished rooms. Each room is 4m x 4m x 4m, and features a bunked bed, two lockers, toilet and shower facilities, one desk and one chair. The floor is 'carpeted' like the officer's quarters. Clearly, aside from sleeping and hygiene, the crew quarters are not intended for crew to spend a great deal of time in. The crew recreation facilities are far more ideal.
The crew recreation facilities are located on Deck 2, near the stern of the ship. The room is twelve meters by twelve meters, and is floored with a thick carpet depicting the Elysian flag surrounded with various images from legends, each in a one meter by one meter depiction in great detail. The recreation area is furnished with four well-stocked bookshelves, twelve reclining chairs, and two sofas. All furniture in the recreation area, as in the rest of the Lilaea, is actually organically composed and can be absorbed into the ship (or recreated) as needed. provide a SQUID/Telepathic link with the organic computer, allowing for images and other stimuli to be transferred directly in to the seated Elysian’s mind. This allows for the Elysian to effectively watch movies and so forth simply by sitting in the seat. It also allows for the creation of incredibly vivid illusions, almost indiscernible from reality. What happens in this reality is up to the seated, although he can interact with other seated people through a complex telepathic network. The area in the center of the room is left clear for room activities.
The Lilaea has a chapel, as is necessary for any Elysian ship, though it is not so grand or glorious an affair as on the Crataeis. The Lilaea's chapel is small but vibrant, with the organic furniture providing seating for twenty. There is a pulpit on a raised dais, services are usually conducted by the captain unless there is a greater religious authority on board for advisory purposes. The walls of the chapel take a form appearing as stained glass, depicting famous moments in Elysian history. It uses specially designed music and pheromones to create a numinous sensation. The walls can reabsorb or reshape the 'glass' if it becomes necessary.
Engineering, located on Deck 3 at the bow of the ship, is largely self-regulating. As most of the Lilaea's systems are actual internal organs of a larger life-form, it does not require very much maintenance. However, as the Lilaea's organic functions - and many of its weapons - are primarily powered by Generator, there is a need for engineering. The generator is housed here, and from the engineering room an engineer can access the maintenance conduits. An engineer on the Lilaea has a job that can be either stunningly easy or incredibly difficult - the Lilaea is largely self-regulating and self-maintaining, but if something goes wrong, an engineer needs to be a capable mechanic, biologist, chemist, and medic to put everything working right again. Part mechanic, part biologist, part chemist… all awesome!
Maintenance conduits lead throughout the interior of the Lilaea, granting access to most of the major organs of the ship/creature. Thus, in the case of something going severely wrong, the engineer-doctor-chemist-mobile has access to an organ that may be ailing. As the Lilaea is, itself, engineered to be virtually immune to diseases and poisons, this is an unlikely event - but it is recommended that those in charge of maintenance check the vital functions of the ship on a tight schedule regardless. These corridors also lead to the more mechanical components - such as the weapons systems and the components to the Combined Field System.
As befits an Elysian ship, the Medical Bay is both an advanced room of healing, and a laboratory. The bay consists of two rooms each 10 metres by 10 metres, and lying on opposite sides of the hall. It is located on Deck 2 at the bow of the ship.
In the portside bay the walls are lined by nine large capsules on each of the walls (seven on the wall containing the door), for a total of thirty-four capsules that look like a combination between glass, metal and a living organism, a transparent container filled with pale-green thick liquid. These pods serve several purposes, the most significant being that of healing whoever is placed inside. The medium is a generalized healing substance, but after completely scanning the occupants DNA stem-cells are created for that person, not normal-stem cells but engineered stem-cells designed to work far faster than normal stem-cells and repair almost any wound. The capsule can heal almost any wound which is not loss of limb or organ within five to ten minutes. The regeneration of limbs and organs may take several hours. To get in the capsule you simply step in, the panel which is normally as hard as glass offering no resistance, once inside the liquid causes the occupant to float in the center of the tube and induces unconsciousness unless ordered no to. The liquid creates a constant bubble of oxygen in front of the occupants mouth and lungs to allow breathing. The Capsules also have Soul Transfer system designed incorporated in them, and in normal procedure automatically scans the occupants mind, saving it in multiple locations around the ship for extra security. The capsules can completely create a new body based on scanned DNA, or genetic data given to the computer, and can create a completely new body in around half an hour. This is actually often a faster way of being fully healed, since growing a new body is quicker than healing a very serious wound. These capsules can also be used for the creation of Seraph’s if required, with the production of one lasting around ten minutes (a Seraph’s own regenerating and healing properties speed up the production greatly). Taking up the center of the room are four comfortable three person couches (designed for when someone emerges from the capsule and may need to sit down for a bit), and five medical beds each with its own medical equipment attached. The capsules can be used as a brig if required, not only will the occupant be sedated, but the outside of the capsule can be hardened to the same strength as steel, and the ship can project a force field around it if requiring further protection.
Across the corridor lies the room used for more general medical studies and treatment. This room contains a number of medical beds, each of which is a rather large piece of equipment filled with complex sensor equipment. A panel of ceiling can descend from the ceiling, containing both a variety of medical equipment and a forcefield projector designed to restrain the occupant while allowing the doctor to operate. Around the side of the rooms are cupboards filled with medical equipment, all of which is in fact composed of the ship, but which can take on the properties of nearly anything required. If required the ship can erect walls which can allow for privacy.
The corridors and passageways of the Lilaea do not appear organic, rather looking like a glossy silver-white metal. The ship can have a display panel, or a console grow out of the wall when required. The Corridor’s are also equipped with a complex set of Volumetric display projectors, which can create sophisticated three dimensional and extremely convincing illusions inside the ship. The actual purpose of this is not one for defense, although it can be utilized as such, but to fight off any sense of claustrophobia the Elysians might have. The Lilaea has organs that can project fprce fields within the corridors for defensive purposes, or to enhance the illusions it creates. Though zero-gravity is not used, the Lilaea does preserve energy by keeping gravity at a low 0.2 G. For the purposes of climbing up corridors the ship actually quickly ‘grows’ handles when they are needed.
Located on Deck 3, the Power Armor bays are nothing exceptionally special. They are large, triangular rooms extending from the 'body' of the ship which contain the Lilaea's complement of power armors, as well as facilities for repair and maintenance, decontamination facilities, and four showers. Each power armor bay has an airlock maintainable either by heavy blast doors or force field, in combat force fields are typically used to allow for quicker deployment and recovery of the armors.
The shuttle bays, located on Deck 1 directly above the power armor bays, contain the Lilaea's complement of shuttles. In appearance, they are both very much like the Power Armor bays. Each shuttle bay typically holds a single Velcior Shuttle.
The wardroom and galley are located on Deck 1, near the stern of the vessel. The wardroom is an aesthetically pleasing but very simple affair, with the organic ship taking the form of a long, tasteful hardwood table and eighteen comfortable chairs. The walls and floor are dull off-white, meant to appear as marble, and quite pleasant in appearance. The ambient lighting is soft and slightly blue. Dishes and cutlery are made of ceramic and stainless steel, though everything else in the wardroom is quite organic. The galley, located to the left of the wardroom, is a small but well-stocked affair with everything a prospective cook would need to turn Psomi into meals that aren't boring! This includes psomi, spices, cooking utensils and dishes, psomi, more psomi, and a scullery that (upon launching) is typically stocked with fresh fruits, sweets, and other tasty things. If such stocking is infeasible due to location or price, yet more psomi can easily be substituted!
The Lilaea utilizes the Light Armored Hull and Hull Integrated Systems.
The Lilaea takes advantage of the newer Organic Nature building styles.
The Lilaea makes use of Mnemosyne, the same organic computer system used on the Crataeis.
The ECN Combined Sensors Array, included with the Mnemosyne system, is used on the Lilaea.
The escape pods on the Lilaea take the form of small organic craft, which consists of a small enclosed area filled with what seem to be horizontal cocoons. Each escape pod has 12 of these cocoons, which are only a little larger than a lying down Elysian. There are three levels of cocoons, two rows on each side. The occupants of the Escape pod lie in these cocoons and their bodies are put in to a form of stasis, where they require almost no nutrients. Only the captain, or next highest officer remains in a form of half-stasis, where there body requires very little nutrients, but their minds are active and capable of interacting with the organic computer of the escape pod. The escape pods are removed from the ship by the hull parting away from them (this significantly weakens that area of the hull for a while), and after it leaves the Escape Pod can rely on its shields (of moderate strength), and CDD to keep it safe as it flees the area. The escape pods of the Lilaea are small ellipsoids in form, 6 meters long by 2 meters wide. There are four Escape Pods on the Lilaea, two on Deck 1 near the shuttle pays and two on Deck 3 near the power armor bays.
The Lilaea utilizes the same Elysian Life Support systems as all of the newest designs.
The Lilaea makes use of combined field technology. It can produce an Anti-FTL Field with a 2 AU radius. The Lilaea's CFS is designed to minimize the ship's impact on the space around it! Plus it has a silent running mode, useful for stealth and the like… 3)
The Lilaea makes use of three forms of propulsion - auxiliary sublight engines, Combined Field technology acquired in a gift from the Yamatai Star Empire, and a hyperspace fold drive.
Located in the 'tail' of the ship, the auxiliary engines can propel the lightly-armored Lilaea at speeds of up to .425c, and faster while boosting (though this can cause great stress to the engine).
The Lilaea makes use of Combined Field technology acquired from Yamatai - very advanced Combined Field technology similar to that used in the Plumeria-class (2D) Medium Gunship.4) The top speed is largely secret, though as the system was provided to the Elysian Celestial Navy by the YSE, the Star Army of Yamatai is quite aware of its limitations.
The Lilaea has a fairly standard hyperspace fold drive capable of repositioning the ship through space at a relative speed of 0.75 lightyears for every minute elapsed. The fold generator takes time to charge relative to the intended distance traveled: roughly 3 seconds for every lightyear jumped, with a maximum effective range of 25 lightyears.
See: Hyperspace Travel
The typical vehicle complement of the Lilaea is as follows: