AB-1 LNS Benedict.

[Bazza]

Official Identification: AB-1.LNS-Benedict

Class: AB-1 Crane Ship

Laid Down: 30 June 807 A.S

Launched: 24 March 808 A.S

Spatial Flight Capability: FULL
V.T.O.L. Capability: LIMITED
Gravitational Flight Capability: LIMITED
Atmospheric Self-Propulsion Capability: LIMITED
Atmospheric Winged Flight Capability: NONE
Unassisted Atmospheric Entry/Exit Capability: NONE

The LNS Benedict, or "Eggs Benny" as she has been affectionately titled, is a non-combatant and unarmed auxiliary crane ship serving the Liberty Navy within the transport and logistics network. She, alongside her sister ships within the auxiliaries, play key roles in keeping Liberty's war machine fuelled and supplied.

First laid down in mid 807 A.S and officially launched just under nine months later during a time of relative calm she served light, mundane duties during her early life. Typical tasks included the loading and unloading of cumbersome transports and capital craft as well as serving as a tugboat when required.

Her crew has varied greatly over the years - many considering the "almost civilian" nature of the vessel and her purposing a disgrace to their names - rumours suggesting some of her crew being placed aboard as punishment for stepping out of line elsewhere.

Nonetheless, her current day operators stand proud as the crux supporting Liberty's massive war efforts against threats both internal and external.

LNS Benedicts' present-time personnel numbers four dedicated operatives, all trained in the specialist skills required to both pilot the bulky, cumbersome vessel and to operate her exclusive machinery. The commander, a long-serving and previously highly decorated Commodore, took up the task of flying Eggs Benny after reaching the decision that "the front lines were no place for an old man such as himself". Underneath him serve three young men, each as varied as the last.

For these young souls, however, the AB-1 is little more than either a proving ground or a naughty corner, a small bump in their, to-be-one-day, proud and accomplished naval careers. Every so often one of the men is promoted, removed from provision, or simply moves on to another post. Only the captain remains the same.

Eggs Benny features only the most basic of armaments and defence measures, having never been intended as a combat vessel. Her hull has proven durable on one occasion in late 814 A.S., however, when the convoy she was a part of came under siege from an assortment of terroristic pirates in Texas - the enemy forces singling her out as an easy target.

In spite of her civilian nature the Benedict managed to absorb the fire drawn to her, the utilitarian hull proving unexpectedly rigid - protecting the fragile internal components from failure which would render her dead in space. She limped to safety intact and alive, yet not unharmed - many of her external features damaged or destroyed.

After an extensive repair and refit LNS Benedict was relaunched in early 815 A.S to, as expected, the silence of empty space. She returned to service under very little fanfare, an unloved and unappreciated servant of the Navy - a sad fate set to befall all of the vessels operating within the Auxiliaries.

Although many would now consider him a rusty old fart, Benedict's current captain treats her with utmost respect - the kind normally only reserved for the glorious, prideful flagships of the capital fleet. She boasts a clean, well maintained hull gleaming with the attention bestowed on her, hallways and passageways clear of rubbish and every component operating exactly as intended - something of a rarity amongst the often hodgepodge assortment of utility ships.

To this day Eggs Benny flies for the Auxiliaries of the Liberty Navy, carrying with her not just the pride of the Navy but all of its' stuff as well.

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