Earth Alliance Pegasus Class Patrol Cruiser Pegasus Class History Following the EA civil war, Earthforce found itself stretched dangerously thin. Increasing tensions along the once stable Centauri border, along with aggressive raider activities and other threats forced more of the Alliances further from its core worlds. Though the Omega-class had been designed with long patrol cruises in mind, Alliance commanders did not want their main-line warships patrolling the frontier if trouble occurred close to home. This meant that the task of long range patrol was often left to obsolete and less effective ships such as the Hyperion-class. As naval shipbuilding shifted from the crash construction program of the post EM-war period, which had led to an Omega dominated fleet, planners looked at the possibility of a purpose built light patrol cruiser. They felt design would have to be as simple and inexpensive as possible for funding and logistics reasons. On the other hand, such a ship would have to be capable enough to handle itself without a supporting force. By 2266 the basic design criteria had taken shape and prototype plans were completed. The design was a simple one, using as much off the shelf technology as possible, while incorporating newer tech such as artificial gravity and advanced armor to enhance the overall usefulness of the ship. Dubbed the Pegasus-class patrol cruiser, the Senate approved a single ship of the class for trials in 2269. The Pegasus should be ready for trials in late 2271/early 2272, and should perform up to expectations, should reach production status by 2274. Design Notes: The Pegasus-class patrol cruiser is the result of necessary compromises. She has an overall profile similar to the new Tempest-class heavy cruisers, though a bit slimmer. In all the Pegasus is just slightly smaller than the old Hyperion-class. Observers will note that the Pegasus uses the main thruster assembly of the Omega-class. Being a much lighter ship, this gives the Pegasus better flat out speed than any other EA capital ship, though turning capability is still less than spectacular. The main armament of the Pegasus class is comprised or a pair of heavy laser cannons in narrow fore arcs and a pair of heavy pulse cannons in port/starboard turrets with decent arcs. Secondary armament in comprised of a pair of aft firing medium pulse cannons, and a quartet of standard particle beams with excellent coverage. Defensive capability is enhanced with a pair of interceptor MK II forward and another pair aft, also with good coverage arcs. In addition to fixed armaments, the Pegasus class carries 12 fighters in two hangers. The Pegasus can carry Thunderbolts, though it is likely that the class will be assigned Auroras as standard. Interestingly, the initial trials will be conducted with a squadron of Badgers in the reconnaissance role. Also, the Pegasus carries a single flight of breaching pods/shuttles and a marine component to conduct boarding operations of vessels (especially raiders). A Beta model has been produced that removes the HPC's, and replaces them with two HLC's. The number of HLC's in the forward section is reduced to one and two MPC's are installed to give the ship some pulse firepower. It is unknown which version will see more use. (Note: This design was thought up by "Edplancer") Pegasus Class SCS (Alpha Model) Pegasus Class SCS (Beta Model)