LNC Oculus

The Oculus-Class is a Schism-era (3rd Generation) rear-line shock attack cruiser. Built primarily to counter the threat of Empire Battlestations and serve as a companion ship to the LNBs Claymore. Block I Oculus cruisers have a complement of 2500 personnel onboard, while the Block II Oculus cruisers have a complement of 3200 personnel, an additional 700 personnel required to support the hangar bay.

The Oculus-Class boasts one of the strongest opening salvos amongst Luminarian ships, beating out the LNBs Claymore. Normally employed in the shock jump attack role, Oculus cruisers are rarely seen operating alone, usually with a LNFg Bellerophon team to support its shock jump capabilities and anti-strikecraft screen or in conjunction with a LNBs Claymore for hardened targets.

The Oculus-Class was designed and mass produced during the Schism. Since then, Oculus cruisers would see integration within all 3 major BattleFleets as a potent strategic deterrent. Recent upgrades from the post-1st Norsus era Naval Modernization Program, and post-2nd Norsus era Quantum Strategic Integration Refit have continued to increase the lethality and survivability of these ships.

Origin
With the threat of the Empire's Battlestations looming over the rebellion after the massacre at Aphu Prime, Rebellion leaders scrambled to adapt to the changing situations. An entire philosophy of warship design was buried alongside the 80000 men and women at Aphu Prime, forcing the Luminarian Navy to create crash-response program as a result of the battlestation threat glimpsed at Aphu, setting out a series of short and long-term goals for the rebellion’s military survival.

It would take something new to challenge the Empire’s Battlestations. And here was where the rebellion had disagreements. Some factions pushed for an end to the battleship class, instead fully moving to a doctrine of light carrier battlegroups. Others wanted Super-Monitors, massive flying cannons with limited defensive capability, designed to pound battlestations from far away.

The end result was the creation of 2 new capital ships, the LNC Oculus and the LNBs Claymore. While the Claymore was designed as an all around combat ship that could duel battlestations and contribute to general offensive actions, the Oculus was designed as a massive beam platform, capable of destroying ships in a single salvo.

Project BACK BREAKER
Oculus development would be undertaken by the newly created Luminarian Naval Design Bureau under the codename BACK BREAKER. The first attempt attempted to merge the cancelled Fury supercarrier concept and the ill-fated Prominence super-monitor design. However, due to the huge power spikes overloading the ship's power grid each time it attempted to fire the main beams the project was put on hold.

A 2nd attempt would begin with advancements with the LNBs Claymore's design. Major changes to the ship's power grid involved improvements to the ship's surge protectors, allowing it to sustain firing its main beams. Additionally, reactor improvements featured in the Claymore would make its way over to the Oculus, increasing the lethality and range of its spinal beams. However, the plan for a hangar bay was scrapped due to insufficient space and would only be added back in its Block II upgrade.

Finalized Prototype
The Oculus OPEVAL tests would be primarily conducted against Empire capital ships. Initial tests proved promising, with the opening salvo being able to incapacitate or outright destroy them. Testing against the empire's battlestation also proved promising, with the Battle at Akkada-2 being the deciding factor in begining mass production.

The Oculus main armament is 3 Radiance Heavy Beams, providing the ship with its devastating frontal salvo and making it a strategic deterrant. Secondary armaments would be in the form of heavy railguns, backed up with flak and CIWS point defense combination to deter hostile strikecraft. 8 torpedo batteries provide the Oculus with 360 degree long range striking capabilites.

However, unlike many Luminarian ships of its generation, the Oculus does not have as strong shielding as its counterparts, relying on thick armor to protect it against hostile forces.

Production
Mass production of the Oculus would be undertaken by Sirdariim shipyards. All BattleFleets utilize the Oculus heavily as a potent shock jump attack vessel as well as a strategic deterrent, limiting enemy deployment of their heavy capitals or risk losing them to an Oculus strike.

To this day, Oculus-Class cruisers are still in demand by the navy and have gone through numerous upgrades to keep them modernized and capable in the current post-2nd Norsus era.

Block II Upgrade
As part of the lessons learnt during the Zaretian Campaign, Admirals Cyrillus and Aslai would oversee the Block II upgrade of the Oculus. Notable changes include overhauling the old Flak and CIWS point defense systems in favor of the new plasma based systems. The now unused ammunition storages were converted into a hangar bay, allowing the Oculus to maintain 60 strikecraft for its defense. Reactor and power grids were also enhanced, improving the Oculus's shielding and allowing the installation of 4 Talon AAA Beams, to assist in strikecraft suppression.

The most notable addition was the inclusion of the intrasystem subspace drive utilized by the LNFg Vigilant. In conjunction with the FORESIGHT strategic communications and sensor fusion and the experimental PRAECIS combat management systems, allow the Block II Oculus to conduct pinpoint subspace jumps without the need of a dedicated AWACS craft.