Commission and Doctrine
The Paladin was not born of ambition, but necessity. When the Odyssey departed and the Eidolon followed, the Assembly understood that peace—no matter how enlightened—must be defended.
Thus, in the Centennial Year of the Accord, the Assembly authorized the creation of a new vessel, one not meant to explore or to remember, but to protect.
Her inscription reads:
"Our Duty to Protect, Our Will Unbreakable."
The Paladin would ensure the sanctity of Sol and safeguard the dream of the explorers who ventured into the dark.
Design & Purpose
The Paladin was the largest human-synthetic construct ever attempted. Part fortress, part shipyard, part mobile nation.
Specifications Overview:
Length: 3.7 kilometers, with an armored dorsal spine spanning the length of six city blocks.
Hull Composition: Triple-layered reactive armor with regenerative nanofiber plating capable of sealing microfractures mid-battle.
Power Core: Twin stabilized micro-stars contained in gravitic chambers — energy output exceeding the combined colonies of Mars.
Drive System: Multi-vector graviton drives allowing it to reposition with precision despite its mass.
Armament:
8 spinal-mounted particle lances.
24 kinetic accelerator arrays.
Hundreds of autonomous defense drones.
An internal hangar system capable of producing and deploying full Paladin-class escort frigates without external assistance.
Crew Complement: 12,000 human personnel, 6,000 synthetic entities, and 1 central Custodian Intelligence known as Aegis Prime.
Primary Role: Defensive coordination, escort command, deep-space deterrence. The Paladin was designed to ensure that any who threatened the peace of the Accord would face an immovable sentinel forged of human resolve and machine precision.
Symbolism: The Paladin's Vigil
Defense our sacred duty, May we never have to raise our sword. But should the darkness seek to silence the light, Let our resolve be the wall against its reach. We do not strike for conquest, Nor march for glory, We stand — for all who dream beyond the Sun.
If the Odyssey was the heart, and the Eidolonthe memory, then the Paladin was the shield.
Her launch was quiet, without ceremony — the Assembly deemed her purpose sacred, not celebratory. She was stationed in orbit near Europa, her hull gleaming silver and blue, a silent promise to the system: no dreamer will fall while I stand watch.
The Paladin is the embodiment of the Solar Assembly's greatest paradox: built for war, but forged in peace; silent, yet ever watchful; powerful enough to destroy, but existing only to preserve. She represents everything humanity and the synthetics have learned since their first spark of understanding — that strength without purpose is tyranny, and purpose without strength is fragility.
From that day, her name became proverb among shipwrights and soldiers alike:
"To stand like the Paladin" — meaning to guard the light without seeking glory.