User:Delta Team Curt/Southern Cross-class Light Carrier

The Southern Cross-class Light Carrier was a UNSC cruiser-carrier type vessel created from hulls of both Marathon-class Cruisers and Atlas-class Carriers. Originally the class was created during the Human-Covenant War, but continued to be built even into the Second Human Civil War.

History
The UNSCS Southern Cross is a light carrier pulled together from the hulls of several vessels too damaged to continue in active duty. With resources and shipyards at a premium, UNSC Command looked to reuse the many vessels that had been lost in battle since the start of the Human-Covenant War.

Many vessels were created in this way, and as time wore on it was rapidly realized that there simply weren’t enough cruisers and carriers to patrol worlds still in dispute. So, the idea of the Light Carrier was born, to create a ship that combined the combat power of a cruiser with the single ship and troop capacity of a carrier; both vessels which were rather rare in the fleet.

What was eventually created was a ship that was a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. The CVL Southern Cross-class, colloquially known as a Cruiser-Carrier, while all being slightly unique in their individual appearance, were fairly effective in ship-to-ship combat without being overly powerful, and could hold their own in a carrier fighter duel. However, the Light Carrier would be outclassed if it came up against either a cruiser or a dedicated carrier in a one-on-one situation.

Each Light Carrier looks slightly aesthetically different, mainly due to the different sections of vessels they are built with, but all are built around a Marathon-class hull and equipment, with the hangar bays from carriers fused to the flanks and the ventral and dorsal surfaces, creating a more blocky-looking Marathon in the basic essence.

Their electronics, weapons, propulsion, life support and other ship systems are, where possible, recycled from hulks, but some sections have to be manufactured new regardless, in particular the powerplant and other vital systems that can’t be chanced on second hand equipment. Due to the use of second hand equipment, almost all systems have second and even third redundant systems, allowing for multiple failures and heavy battle damage.

While this would seem to make the Southern Cross-class prone to breakdowns, they actually have less than some new vessels in the fleet, thanks mainly to the expert shipwright crews who put the vessels together and fine-tuned the second hand equipment; along with the top-notch engineering crews posted to the Light Carriers to them to keep them functioning. All of which makes them rather reliable vessels.

That said; the use of some battle-damaged and outdated components has been frowned upon by several in the fleet as it is only a matter of time before something major happens. But with the scarcity of functioning starships, any space-worthy vessel is an addition to the fleet, particularly one that frees up a rarely seen cruiser and carrier to more important missions than merely patrolling worlds on the edge of disputed space.

More Southern Cross-class vessels are being created as salvageable hulks are pulled into dock, and most are assigned as the flagships of small strike groups for patrolling the edge of disputed space.

Engines

 * 2 Dual Ion Engines
 * Dual Auxiliary Engines

Armament

 * 20 Archer Chemical Missile Pods
 * 20 M40 Cluster Laser Emitters
 * 2 Standard Magnetic Accelerator Cannons
 * 1 Shiva Nuclear Missile Tube

Complement

 * 48 C709 Longsword Interceptors
 * 50 D77H-TCI Pelican Dropships
 * 10 M808 Scorpion MBTs
 * 10 M85 Buffalo CEVs
 * 50 M12 Warthog LRVs