I've redone my idea for the NCRU. This is the current story on how the ships came to be and their purpose. I'm hoping to make this into a faction that would operate around the Alaska system for the next patch or development. Currently me and my team are working on ship models/emblems/etc. for this faction. I will get you all the information I can about these when they are done. Please comment on weather this is a viable idea and what must be done to make it acceptable if it isn't already.
Thank you for your time and enjoy the story!
History: The Nomad Containment and Research Unit (NCRU) was a Liberty funded program aimed at monitoring, controlling and researching the nomad threat to Liberty. Founded in 802 AS after Liberty officials realized that Nomads were a real threat to the security of Liberty, the NCRU operated deep in the Alaska and Ellesmere systems. Due to the extremely dangerous operations and the importance of keeping the NCRU secret the vessels involved in the program were extremely powerful and be able to go without support for extended periods of time. The first ships commissioned into the NCRU were Liberty Siege Cruiser number 903, Liberty Gunboat number 410 and Liberty Gunboat number 413. At first these ships struggled at keeping the Nomad problem at bay and were only able to operate short distances for short periods of time. Research then began in an attempt to upgrade the ships to withstand the punishment given from the Nomads whilst being able to defect forces larger than their own.
The first upgrade came in 804 AS and was know a Neural Brainwave Frequency Containment Field Generator (NBFCFG). This device was capable of preventing the Nomads communicating with the crew. It also provided a cheaper, safer and more efficient way of storing the Nomad brains.
In 807 AS the next upgrade for the NCRU became available. The upgrade was only to the command ship Liberty Siege Cruiser number 903 (called Cruiser 903 by the crew) but greatly boosted the offensive power of the ship. The Cruiser Main Cannon Mk III (CMC Mk III) was the most powerful weapon in possession of the NCRU. Capable of collecting and firing dark matter as well as the standard energy ball the CMC Mk III allowed Cruiser 903 to destroy even the largest Nomad ships in only a few hits but due to power restrictions the CMC Mk III could not be used to its full potential.
In 814 AS another upgrade was installed into Cruiser_903 but this was arguably the most powerful device ever to come out of Liberty. The device was known as the Advanced Vessel Intelligence and Operating System (AVIOS). This replaced the old software running Cruiser 903 with something that could run the entire NCRU as well as the captain of Cruiser 903. AVIOS was a super computer that was also unbelievably human like. Being based on the female mind AVIOS had the ability to have emotions and a personality. With this AVIOS quickly became a valued part of the crew aboard Cruiser 903 and the NCRU.
The last upgrade to the NCRU ships was the installation of a Shadow Generator late in 815 AS. This device was an experimental clocking device but it was only capable of masking the signals generated by ship it was installed in. It gave the NCRU a great advantage within the Alaska and Ellesmere systems due to low visibility allowing the NCRU ships to sneak up on the Nomad ships.
Soon after the installation of the Shadow Generators the NCRU ships was surrounded by a large number of unknown Nomad ships. These ships were able to dodge the fire of the NCRU ships and soon had NCRU retreating back to Baltimore Shipyard. Through persistent attacks these new Nomad vessels were able to pick off the NCRU ships one by on starting with the gunboats. These Nomad ships seemed to have one purpose, to destroy the NCRU ships. After support arrived from Baltimore Shipyard the Nomad ships continued to press their fire on the NCRU ships even though they were taking heavy damage from the fighters dispatched from Baltimore. Of all these ships Cruiser 903 was the only ship to make it back to Baltimore Shipyard. Initial surveys of the ship indicated that if Cruiser 903 had taken 15 more hits it would have been highly likely that it would have joined the fate of the gunboats. These new Nomad ships were dubbed assassins after the way they focused on the NCRU ships and almost assassinated them all.
With Cruiser 903 requiring a complete overhaul, Liberty officials made the most of this by drastically changing the ships design. The first was to the engine section. Instead of having a single power core run the entire ship it was replaced with 4 power cores of approximately half the size and output. This doubled the power capacity of the ship and quadrupled the reliability of the engines.
Next was to the crew of the ship. With the opportunity to test AVIOS to her full potential all but 16 of the crew members were removed with their jobs permanently taken over by AVIOS. This huge reduction of crew members meant that all crew facilities were able to be dramatically reduced which made more than enough space for the 4 massive engines now installed in Cruiser 903.
Next a state-of-the-art research lab was installed into the ship just in front of the engines. This allowed Cruiser 903 to perform research on the Nomad brains captured in battle before the ship had even returned and offloaded the brains.
With the remaining space 2 storage and maintenance bays were added to the hold of the ship. These were to allow Cruiser 903 to transport either 2 fighters or bombers or 1 of each. This greatly boosted the scouting and anti-fighter components of the NCRU.
The final upgrade was to the main cannon. In order to support the now fully operational CMC Mk III four additional gravity stabilisation rings had to be added with the fourth also acting as a spacer at the end of the barrel. Two horizontal supports also had to be added to stabilise the massively long cannon. These supports also acted as storage areas to the large capacitors which allowed the ship to fire the CMC Mk III. To top it all off the CMC Mk III itself received an upgrade which gave it a third firing option. This was an anti-shield mode which was able to disable even the largest shield known to Liberty in a single hit.
As of early 817 AS Cruiser 903 returned to service without any support. Soon the Nomad assassins attempted to destroy the ship but failed due to the upgrades and AVIOS controlling the turrets. Cruiser 903 is now patrolling the deepest parts of Alaska and Ellesmere and performing its task to perfection.
