The Grand Leviathans

The Grand Leviathan was a variant of the Leviathan Class Fleetship, designed to be the flagship of the Imperial Fleet and commanded by the Emperor himself. Three ships of this type would be constructed between 851-853 MY, and of the three, only Imperator would ultimately survive, but would in many ways inspire the Republic class command ships of the Mykentian Republic.      

Origins

In authorizing the Leviathan class fleetship, Emperor Claudius II ordered the design of an even larger, grander command ship for himself. The design process for this would languish as the Emperor constantly changed his mind about what he wanted, until he witnessed the return of Leviathan-1C from its reconstruction. Favoring the cleaner, sleeker lines of the reconstructed variant to the designs he had so far been presented with, he would decide to build three flagships.      

Imperium

The first to be completed was Imperium, built from the frame of L-32. As part of the Emperor's idea for different ships for different purposes, Imperium was intended for state visits to either foreign powers, or to areas within the Imperium when the presence of the Emperor was required. Capable of carrying the entire Imperial Court, as well as a large part of the administration, Imperium was intended to allow the Emperor to travel the Imperium and rule on the spot.   Claudius II would visit Solaria following its annexation in 851 aboard Imperium, where he and the Queen of Solaria signed the formal papers incorprating the kingdom into the Imperium.   Imperium would be the fleet command ship during the coup of Lord High Admiral Hollister from January 30-February 16, 860. The ship would be heavily damaged in the Battle of Saturn, and would be used as an orbital point defense battery during the Battle of Terra. Emperor Rauschning would quietly have the battered remains of the ship scrapped in 861, though some elements of its decorations, especially the throne room, would be incorporated in the new command ship Galaxia.      

Imperator

Designed as a fleet command and control ship, Imperator was in many ways the predecessor of the Super Leviathan. Built from the frame of L-46, Imperator would come into service a few weeks after Imperium. As a dual use command ship, the majority of the weapons were kept below armored panels so the ship would appear more impressive in holovids. To make the ship stand out, the hull was painted white, with golden double headed eagles on the sides that were nearly the size of cruisers. All other edges and ports were trimmed in silver.   Instead of a central mass driver, Imperium carried sixteen Imperial Pattern railcannon in internal mounts forward, each capable of firing a 20cm projectile at speeds up to 10,000 km/s. These could also be switched to fire particle beams or lasers, and also serve as plasma cannon. The internal sponson mounts, while requiring a vast amount of space, did allow a limited degree of aiming without having to turn the entire ship.   Fitted with four hundred multiple missile arrays in a strip running along the dorsal side, Imperator could lay down more saturation missile fire than any other ship in the Imperial fleet. The vast internal space also eliminated the consistent Imperial design flaw of small missile magazines, allowing Imperator to maintain a consistent rate of fire far longer than other ships. A refit carried out in 855 saw the installation of the Devastator fire control system, increasing the effectiveness of the missile systems.   To serve as a command ship, Imperator was fitted with a Fleet Command and Control Center, capable of coordinating the fleet across the entire Imperium. At one hundred meters wide, the holographic projection would be the largest such projection space ever constructed. With this, and the communications complex located below, Imperator actually had greater command and control capabilities than Fleet Command at Sasebo.   At the outbreak of the Monsos War, Imperator was at Antoska with Prince Regent Constantius, who was inspecting a new regional fleet command center. He immediately began to return as the first, confused reports came in, though moving very slowly because Fleet Command assured him it was merely a communications malfunction. It would take eighteen days before the Prince Regent was actually informed of what was happening, and this briefing came not from Fleet Command, but from Galatian Ambassador Mark Thomason. Emperor Theodosius would die four days later, and Constantius would be named Emperor aboard Imperator.   In the Battle of Terra, Constantius would place Imperator in the center of the Imperial formation, ultimately driving Imperator into the center of the Monsos fleet, causing them to break in disorder.   Following the Monsos War and the coup of Admiral Rauschning, the new Emperor would avoid the Imperial Palace and would instead use Imperator as his flagship and official seat of power. Imperator would receive a second refit in 863, receiving shields, energy refracting armor, as well as the master systems for Fire Control and Point Defense Datalink.   Imperator would be retired in 870 with the commissioning of the new command ship Galaxia, and be donated to the Imperial Fleet Museum. A contingency refit would be carried out in 890 to modernize the ship in the event Galaxia was severely damaged. Largely done behind the scenes, the public would be unaware the refit had been carried out. Imperator would later be reactivated by the Terran Republic during the Siege of Terra to use as their Fleet Command under the temporary name Terra. The ship would return to the museum unaltered following the surrender of Imperial forces in 920.   As Enmalex forces approached Terra, Fleet Admiral Hastings ordered the evacuation of the Fleet Museum. Imperator would jump to deep space and spend most of the First Enmalex War in hiding, carrying a number of Imperial relics from the Imperial Palace to safety. Hilt Mark Thomason would use Imperator as a fleet command center for the planning of Operation Stalnaya Stena and Plan Manstein at the end of the war. Postwar upgrades were secretly made to the Fleet Command and Control Center for holding large briefings in a discrete location.   Imperator remains in orbit of Terra, alongside L-217 "Bismarck" and L-666 "Lucifer" as part of the Imperial Fleet Museum, though Lucifer remains on reserve status.      

Imperious

Completed in 853, Imperious was the largest pleasure yacht ever built. Using the frame of L-63, the interior spaces were opened up to create a vast internal parkland, complete with small villas and palaces. The space was so large that it was found that clouds would form in the upper levels, requiring the addition of specialized life support equipment to stabilize the environment. Emperor Claudius II would be arrested after returning from Imperious, his frequent absences from the palace allowing the coup to form and take hold.   Theodosius IV would largely ignore Imperious, choosing to place it in orbit of Neptune in case something ever happened to either Imperium or Imperator. Rumors would circulate that the real reason for this was to keep the Imperial Harem that Claudius II was known to have aboard the ship a secret, and that the Emperor and Empress often visited. Interestingly, Prince Regent Constantius was never accused of having visited Imperious, even after he was deposed as Emperor.   During the Monsos War, Emperor Constantius suggested filling Imperious with warheads and ramming it into the Monsos flagship. This plan was never seriously considered, as there was already a shortage of munitions. Surviving fleet records do show that using Imperious as a gigantic, unarmed kamikaze was still considered, but its horrible lack of manueverability made it impractical. Imperious would still be brought back to Terran orbit for the Battle of Terra, orbiting alongside the damaged Imperium as a point defense platform.   Imperious became infamous following the ascension of Emperor Rauschning, with the new Emperor giving an interview from on board where he pointed out all the features with a clear distaste. With an Imperial edict, Rauschning had Imperious renamed Hulk of Depravity, and had the ship opened up to the public with tours that emphasized the obscene opulence of the ship. Despite the fact that it was Claudius II that had the ship constructed, every Emperor of the previous dynasties was tied to these tours in some way (with the again curious exception of Constantius).   The public tours ended with the completion of Galaxia in April of 870, when in a grand spectacle broadcast across the galaxy, Rauschning had the new command ship use Imperious for target practice. What little that remained was directed into the Terran atmosphere to burn up over the Imperial Palace as part of a public festival.