Class: S18 Series Starship
Operators: The Magnetic Assembly
Manufacturer: The Magnetic Assembly
Introduced: 2326

Length: 580m
Diameter: 460m

Crew Compartment:
1x Series 1 PCM (42 people)

Propulsion:
1x Bishop Fusion Systems 'DeJohnette' Fusion Drive
1x Bishop Fusion Systems 'Coryell' Beam Core System
2x MADS-110
32x Fusion Engine Container

Maximum Acceleration: 4.3g

Range: ~1 year before resupply

Avionics:
4x MACS-2 Containerized Computer Cores
8x MACS-3 Containerized Stability System

Communications:
4x Containerized Short Range Communication System
4x MACS-5 Containerized Interplanetary Communication System

Sensors:
10x Magnetic Assembly Electro-Optical Sensor
10x Magnetic Assembly Thermal Optics
6x Magnetic Assembly Mark 1 Long Range Radar System

Armament:
1x MAWS-11 Close in Weapon System
1x Bishop Fusion Systems 'Coryell' Beam Core System
256x Containerized Anti-ship Missile Launch Systems

Protection:
3x Rotislav Megastructures Laser Catch
112x Rotislav Megastructures Areogel-Ceramic anti-laser block
6x Rotislav Megastructures Ship Based Halbach Array

Cargo Capacity:
2x Launch Bays

Support Craft:
Gato Class Lander
Gleesman Class Shuttle

The S18 is comes from the continued development of the S16, which itself is part of the program to replace the long ranged American Union Statesmen with Magnetic Assembly developed warships.

By 2324, the primary concern for the Magnetic Assembly and their Provisional Fleet was simply being able to deal with the vast distances involved in interstellar travel, and the increasing number of locations they would need to police. The identified solution was to become more efficient in ship construction, build better engine systems, and further reduce weight.

In pursuit of this, additional orders were placed with Bishop Fusion Systems for more engines and more reactors, as well as starting to arrange for production of their drive systems under license by Rotislav Megastructures. This signaled a slowdown to ship based SuperLuminal Engine design directly by the Assembly, and a steep rise in share price for Bishop that was now clearly the only group in town capable of continuing to develop their designs.

The Magnetic Assembly is also no stranger to having champions of more niche technologies. A 'wave motion style' particle accelerator running the length of the spine of the ship has been in development for decades without ever really reaching a mature technology that could be placed in a ship. Forces within the Provisional Fleet, and Exemplars of the Magnetic Assembly would make the successful case that Fusion Engine design couldn't be made much more efficient, and that a particle accelerator type design was finally required to be able to complete the long term missions that were being asked of the Fleet. The mid-section of the S18 had to be re-designed to make room for this core section, which freed up a space along the center of the ship for this equipment, the usual fuel transfer system of this type of ship, and enough space to add in other spinal-type technologies like active supports.

The push for being efficient resulted in the removal of the turreted particle beam systems of the S16.

This resulted in two factions forming, those pushing for the slightly less powerful but easier to aim turreted beam assemblies along with the factories on Rotislav that produce that equipment, and those that have argued for the longer ranged spinal beam systems with highly limited arcs of fire.

By 2326, the first S18, the MAS Guntroll, would deploy and after a short shakedown would be sent to the Kawami system to support the MAS Teller in responding to the unfolding disastrous arrival of Aliyums. While many of the ship's systems were taken directly from previous ship designs and had already been well tested, the brand new beam core and active support technology was simply left unused during the start of the operation in hopes of avoiding any problems.

The second S18, the MAS Spaceangel was already nearly completed by the time the Guntroll left on its first operation, but it was already clear that the expensive and hard to produce SuperLuminal Engines were the major bottleneck for ship production. It was here that the push for producing starships without fusion drives really started while the Assembly waited to see how their new technological strategies would play out.

• MAS Guntroll
• MAS Spaceangel
• MAS Niz
• MAS QuTsang

The S18 uses a conventional stack layout.

Much like its predecessor, the bottom is the ship's engine and reactor assembly. Stacked on top of that are the fuel/reaction mass tanks. The central mass of the ship is stacked on top of this section and houses the ship's crew module, surrounded by launch bays, container storage, weapon systems, and additional living space modules that will experience the most gravity when the ship is under spin. Above that is another stack of reaction mass tanks, and the ship's laser-catch armor section.

The armor of the ship is heaviest at the front. The laser-catch protects the main stack of the ship, and is designed to dissipate laser strikes by absorbing increasingly more of a laser as it passes through the increasingly opaque materials. The shaping and mass of this section also provides considerable protection against fast moving impacts, radiation, and other threats.

one side of the ship is covered in heat resistant carbon-areogel that is optimized to stop laser strikes. This relatively light weight armor is intended mostly to protect against enemy long range laser weapons being used at long range where the S16 is intended to be operating during combat. The remaining sides of the ship are covered in radiator panels that provide some protection against radiation and small impacts, but are generally not rated to survive weapons fire.

Various thrusters are also positioned around the internal sections of the ship.