Project: Akhetaten - Phase Two

[Akhetaten]

With the blueprints of the ship complete, it was time for construction to begin. The initial blueprints, once thought to be final, have been re-analysed and re-evaluated many times over the past few months by the many engineers involved in the ship's construction. A number of adjustments have been made to the ship's components, as deemed appropriate by both the engineering and production leadership, in order to further enhance the model's effectiveness in its intended roles.

The transfer of Project Akhetaten from the Fifth Fleet to the Forty-Sixth Fleet inevitably slowed down the construction process, but the delay meant that the people working on the ship had even more time to perfect the designs and iron out any mistakes before final construction.

A general redesign of the ship was one of the first steps taken by the engineering crew, once the commanding officer had given the go-ahead. While the appearance of the final product would remain largely unchanged from the outside, the internal structure would undergo major changes. The new chassis would allow for even further improvements to the Akhetaten-class;

• While the primary power core itself remained the same, several new power relays were introduced to the ship, while older, pre-existing relays were redesigned to meet newer and more advanced requirements. For example, the redesigned Akhetaten-class warship's power generation and regeneration systems have been modified to accommodate the latest weapons in Liberty's possession - weapons that were previously incompatible with the ship's electrical systems now complement them.
  
• With the Akhetaten class's electrical systems and power output reworked, it was deemed possible to further enhance the ship's CMS (Combat Maneuvering System) effectiveness by adding two low-duration, high-thrust acceleration units to the ship's bow. These units, known as 'thrusters', are located in the 'skids' that complement the ship's bow and draw power directly from the secondary capacitor. With the newly designed, state-of-the-art thrusters, the Akhetaten-class is expected to achieve top speeds previously thought impossible for a ship of it's size and firepower.
  
• Higher power output means more energy is available not only for propulsion and firepower, but also for the ship's defensive capabilities. With this in mind, the staff working on the prototype introduced a redesigned shield generator for specific use on this ship. Located deep within the ship's armory, the shield generator draws enormous amounts of power directly from the primary capacitor. The power drawn is then redirected to create a powerful energy barrier capable of withstanding tremendous damage compared to similar generators currently installed on ships of the same weight class.
  
• Cooling vents and feeds have been installed at key points around the ship's hull to accommodate the huge increase in power output and demand resulting from the above upgrades. These units will need to be monitored at all times by the ship's maintenance crews to ensure proper operating conditions and avoid overheating of vital components of the ship.

With the introduction of a multitude of changes to the ship's design and plans, it was decided by the project's chief engineer, Howard Stone, in conjunction with the project's commanding officer, Maria Uhmen, that the Akhetaten-class would no longer be able to fulfill the role of a battleship when completed. After a series of meetings and many hours of discussion, it was concluded that the Akhetaten-class warship, with it's planned defensive and offensive capabilities, will be a highly effective complement to the Interdictor-class assault battlecruiser; while the Interdictor-class is agile, it is also lightly armored and lacks heavy firepower - the Akhetaten-class is theorized to fill this gap, more than making up for it's lack of agility with it's astonishing firepower.

Over the past few months, the engineering crews at Juneau and Norfolk shipyards have been hard at work constructing the various sections and compartments of the Akhetaten class. At the same time, and to speed up the process, Baltimore Shipyard has been constructing plans for various non-military sections such as cargo and crew areas. The completed parts, both military and non-military, were shipped to Juneau to await final assembly. During the construction phase of the various sections, a new specifications document was prepared with the commanding officer overseeing the process.

"Akhetaten"-class Prototype Battlecruiser Ship Specifications

With the document completed and the project progressing smoothly, the ship's final assembly awaited no more than Fleet Admiral Martin Kemp-Smith's approval.