Upon hearing my request for a ship the Federation stated that either of the ships was beyond the accepted limits possible for a reward for succeeding in Pushing the Limit.
When I asked if it would be possible to receive a combat capable battle-cruiser if I pushed the limits of Federation space by exploring past our current borders in search of much needed resources for Federation space while bearing a Letter of Marque, they quickly changed their tune.
A civilian who had succeeded in meeting the requirements to pass a test of Merit was asking for a military vessel and a semi-formal position not directly in the military chain of command not for himself but to help push the boundaries of their territory. As a meritocratic nation, no matter how depraved it was, they respected the initiative and drive to ask for something like this.
As such, a reward was necessary, but at the same time they wanted to make sure others would be willing to follow this young man in exploring the unknowns of space, therefore the reward must be such that they would be willing to take the risk.
In olden times, someone who took great risks on the battlefield was knighted, why could they not do that here? A sovereign territory, where within limits they could have their own laws, this would cause a great many to attempt this to receive the benefits that came along with such a title. As the first he should be rewarded beyond the others that follow was the line of thought they followed, as such he would be granted a complete Sovereignty, one of which he was the sole ruler with rights and responsibilities of a ruler.
The right to wage war, write laws that were within the bounds of reason, the right to treat and make alliances with other forces, the right to levy taxes and have a standing military separate from the Federation's Armed Forces. The responsibility of being a just ruler, the responsibility to take care of those within his borders, to continuously work for the betterment of his people and lead them to future full of promise instead of despair.
As such, a fair sized artificial island that was 42 miles in circumference, capable of bearing crops, had sound infrastructure, an amount of diverse wildlife, facilities capable of supporting both a small space fleet as well as a moderate modern Army, Airforce and Navy that had been planned as a training ground for the military was then granted to me.
The island was about 200 miles in distance, or outside of the former territorial waters of the United States, a now defunct nation with the rise of Federation rule.
This was the location picked for the first Sovereignty to be awarded to those, who if they succeed in passing any Merit Lottery or Test of Merit and seek to push the borders of the Federation in way shape, or form. Be it through pushing the limits of science, medicine, technology, the physical borders of the Federation, depending on the level and type of contribution, you would receive a title, territory or monetary reward. The bestowment of a sovereign territory that was not strictly bound by Federation laws and the right to be it's sole ruler belongs only to me as of this time.
When they asked what I wanted the Sovereignty to be called, I was reminded of a very old set of movies that I had seen as a child. The Chronicles of Riddick. I believe there could be no finer omaje to something that had helped shape me into the person I am today, then to bring about the creation of nation that bears the name of Furia.
Whether or not Furia will become a nation that is more than a small island on the home planet of a another interstellar nation, whether it will become an Empire known far and wide or whether it becomes just a footnote in the annals of history, depends on me and me alone at this point in time.
As the ruler of a sovereign nation capable of waging war on it's own, it is slightly odd to be the bearer of a Letter of Marque of another nation. If I attack someone out in the depths of space or if I am attacked by someone else I must bear in mind that while I am the ruler of my own admittedly small nation, I am also the representative of another, currently more powerful, nation as well.
As such I sought for people to bring aboard the F.R.N. Flag of Furia, a fairly modern battle-cruiser now adorned with the flag of the Sovereignty of Furia. She measures 520 meters in length, 90 meters wide, and has 20 decks 3 meters in height. She is powered by 3 Konigs class fusion reactors outputting 420gw of energy each, one reactor is responsible for one major and multiple smaller parts of the ship each. One reactor for weapons, one for shields, as well as one for engines.
Considering that this was the first ship to publically leave Federation space on a trip to expand our borders, the Flag of Furia while a slightly older Halcyon Class Battle-Cruiser, was outfitted with the latest and greatest powersources, weapons and engines currently available.
Bearing broadsides of 80 Mk. 20 A.P.H.E. Talon missile launchers in groupings of four for support fire and Aegis anti-missile anti-fighter point defense systems to shoot down incoming fire, these didn't take from the majesty of 64 sets of tri-mounted Cerberus Alpha Type A guns, these turrets were mounted 6 top-fore 6 draft-fore, 6 top-stern 6 draft-stern, and 20 a side, specifically 10 top-side 10 draft-side, which allowed 44 turrets to be brought to bear in a single broadside.
Cerberus Alpha Type A mounted weapons are a piece of work, bearing a mass driver with a 100mm central gun supported by 2 laser cannons designed to let the lasers soften or disable enemy shielding while the mass driver would then send armor piercing rounds with high-explosive payloads into the hull of the enemy vessels.
For the more brutal captains that prefer a more direct approach the Cerberus Beta Type A tri-mounts offer a central laser supported by two rapid fire mass drivers with 80mm bore. Considering the Flag of Furia had 64 sets of Cerberus Alpha Type A's mounted and the multiple point defense systems not to mention tracking and radar, a single Konigs fusion reactor providing 420 gw of energy immediately had 290 gw of energy pulled to maintain combat readiness. In case of sustained combat, the power draw from these weapons could easily reach 380 to 390 gws. These weapons were powerful, but that power came with a cost, a cost in energy that needed to be supplied.
The Flag of Furia was powered by 1 Envoy type A and 2 Envoy type C engines. The Type A engine could allow the Flag of Furia to move at a comfortable 60 kps2 as her cruising speed, alone the Type A engine took 200gw of energy. When engaging in combat maneuvers or in the gravity well of a planet the Type C engines were brought online bringing the Flag of Furia up 95 kps2 speeds. At full combat speed and while engaging in maneuvers the power draw of the Type A engine reached 240 gws and the Type C engines reached 70 gws each, leaving 40 gw in case of need for emergency power.
The Citadel Class A shields mounted on the Flag of Furia were supported by 4 Type B Gate shieldbanks storing 5 charges of 20 gws of energy in case the shields were either depleted or needed an extra boost to weather incoming fire. At full strength and with full charges a Citadel Type A could weather a close quarters engagement facing full broadsides of Cerberus Beta Type A's for nearly an hour before the hull would start taking severe damage. In the case of facing a close quarters engagement with Cerberus Alpha Type A's that time would drop to just over 20 minutes due the massed laser fire quickly depleting the shields energy.
Should the shields fail, the Flag of Furia was outfitted with honeycombed titanium ablative armor. It could weather a decent amount of Cerberus Beta Type A fire and get you out of there. Designed to cushion, redirect, and compartmentalize incoming damage, that is the purpose of the Kage Type A armor. It takes damage to the point that standard Fortress Type A armor would be rendered useless and keeps you and your crew in one piece.
Bearing a full complement of crew the Flag of Furia should have a total of 4000 souls aboard. 400 command crew of various ranks, 600 engineering crew of various ranks, 1000 marines for landing and boarding purposes, 300 pilots and techs for landing craft and the 40 Valkyrie Type A multirole fighters, 1300 sailors of various ranks and last but not least 700 crew for manning the guns and point defense.
The Flag of Furia is currently one the finest and most heavily armed ships in Federation space, however it is not a Federation vessel and as such will have an escort from the Federation Navy until such time as we leave Federation space. Now, what I need to do is find and vet a crew that will hopefully become the first citizens of the Sovereignty of Furia and the first members of the Furian Armed Forces.
That's all for now, I'll see you in a couple days.
Edited- Changed the length of the Flag of Furia to 520 meters and her beam to 90 meters after realizing that a 220 meter length and 60 meter beam made her smaller than a Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier. The Flag of Furia is meant to be a battle-cruiser that while not a newest gen vessel is a ship of the line meant to go toe to toe with enemy vessels in space.
Edit 2- Realized that 8 Batteries was far too few for a 520 meter warship. The Flag of Furia is meant to be an E-Class Halcyon Battle-Cruiser, or Exploration vessel, so she's larger but more lightly armed then the H-Class or Heavy Class Halcyons. I also adjusted the crew numbers, from 1500 to 4000.