Name: S3 Series Starship
Operators: Magnetic Assembly (MA)
Manufacturer: Magnetic Assembly (MA)

Length: 460 Meters
Diameter (Main Body): 100 Meters
Width (Main Body): 24 Meters

Crew: 0

Propulsion: x8 Magnetic Assembly Aneutronic Fusion Torch
Max Acceleration: 0.6g

Range: ~3 months before requiring resupply

Sensors:

Armament:

Payload:
x144 Containerized Component Modules

Support Craft:
x4 Gleesman Class Shuttles

The success of the S1 series of starships and modular components in 2309-2310 led to continued research into methods of reducing starship build cost. One of those initiatives explored building large warships out of asteroids by fitting them with containerized weapon systems and drives. Problems arose in making good use of all of the available space, with keeping the asteroid together when acceleration was required, and with getting the asteroid up to a high enough speed using small engines. The majority of these problems were addressed by reducing the asteroid to Iron and shaving it down into a single, massive, armored wedge that a slim starship could fit behind. The resulting design was dubbed the S3 and a single testbed of the class was laid-down in 2312 and finished in 2314.

The resulting design had limited Delta-V, and could only just make the trip between planets before requiring a refueling. The heavy weight also meant it was not very capable of maneuvering once in combat, requiring its nose to be pointed towards the enemy to avoid exposing the engines and radiators which limited its use in local area defense or patrol missions. The resulting design was optimized for large scale defensive operations against forces approaching from long distance which wasn't a very likely scenario in 2314-2319.

Research into laser systems in 2317 also led to the first large scale Cold-Particle-Beam-Coupled-Laser system's development. These systems were too large to containerize at the time, though since the S3 used more conventional laser turrets it would become the perfect testbed for continued development of such systems. The original large-scale laser optics would be replaced with CPBCLs in that year, and additioanl space in the armored wedge carved out to make room for the particle beam generators.

The lack of need for ship's of this design changed in 2320 with the New Years Revolution on Hawking. The Amicus Curiae, originally so named for its law enforcement role, would be renamed the MAS Amicus Curiae and used in the defense of the Hawking System against the American Union. It would first be used to defend Rotislav against possible AU Attack in Januarary-Febuary of that year, and then be retasked to the defense of Azathoth shortly after. Additional ships of the class were commissioned, and an effort was made to come up with a new more 'revolutionary' naming schema for the ships.

• The Amicus Curiae

Making up the majority of the length of the ship is the ship's radiator. This long, often glowing hot, fin is hidden entirely behind the frontal armored wedge when viewed head on with the goal of keeping the massive head dissipating system protected during a fight. The ships' reaction mass is circulated through this radiator and the weapon system to dissipate heat as much as possible and can also be used in the ship's engines to directly vent the heat out of the ship.

Burried inside of the armored wedge are the particle accelerators and laser generators needed to operate the ship's primary weapon system: A Cold Particle Beam Coupled Laser that can be generated from any of the eight emitters positioned around the ship. This weapon system is still highly experimental, and its usefulness has been called into question due to the battle of Azathoth, but it holds the promise of creating a laser weapon with even greater range and power than the conventional arrays used on Magnetic Assembly ships of the time.