Ares-class

Click for full size

The most powerful Earth Fleet vessel, this class was designed to enter a system and control it almost without assistance, but in practice was usually accompanied by large task forces of escort and transport ships. At 7 miles long and 3 miles wide, it was even bigger than the Coral Sea class that preceded it. It has a complement of 16000 crew, and carries 4 small battle stations and 4 Gryphon-class TI Assault Vessels in a large hangar at the rear, as well as 384 fighters and 288 shuttles and pinnaces in side-mounted launch and landing bays connected through central hangar bays.

The main armaments include massive numbers of Lance Torpedoes, some of the largest Mass Drivers ever mounted on a starship, and sixteen powerful grav lasers, but its heaviest weapon is the Gravitic Ram, a larger and more powerful version of the one tested on the Alexander-class Battle Dreadnoughts. This immense weapon system takes up much of the forward third of the starship. Secondary armament includes large numbers of Fusion Cannons and 1-meter chemlaser turrets, and point defense coverage is provided by almost 200 Particle Phalanx systems.

Such massive vessels can only be built in the construction yards over Avalon and Phoenix. Its massively powerful second-generation Gravity Drive not only provides it with an almost impenetrable defensive shield, but allows it to travel at a higher rate of acceleration than most smaller vessels, as well as create jump points large enough for itself and dozens of escort vessels to enter or leave hyperspace together.

Known Vessels

• EFS Ares SC-19 (Destroyed as Fleet Admiral Jamison's flagship at Battle of Avalon, 2243)
• EFS Mars SC-20
  
• EFS Hathor SC-21
  
• EFS Horus SC-22
  
• EFS Marduk SC-23
  
• EFS Ahura-Mazda SC-24
  
• EFS Kali SC-25
  
• EFS Vishnu SC-26 (Flagship of Task Force 23 at Battle of New Madrid, 2243)
  
• EFS Zeus SC-27 (Destroyed fighting the resistance over Earth, 2244)
  
• EFS Hachiman SC-28 (Badly damaged as Karl Von Shrakenberg's flagship at Battle of Mars, 2243, Destroyed fighting the Caal, 2264)
  
• EFS Queztalcoatl SC-29
  
• EFS Yahweh SC-30
  
• EFS Jehovah SC-31
  
• EFS Allah SC-32
• EFS Ares SC-33 (Captured by the Caal at Chapman's Folly, used as flagship of their invasion of the Federation, September 2264)

Behind the Scenes

Class designed by Martin Hohner. Named after War Gods and other belligerent deities. Rarely actually seen in stories.