The Omega-class Destroyer was the workhorse of the EA fleet in the years following the Earth-Minbari War. Despite the advent of the Warlock-class Destroyer, which has artificial gravity, this ship class will stay in service for years to come.
Characteristics
The Omega-class takes on many features of its older cousin, the Nova-class Dreadnaught. The front end is virtually the same, as is the back end. Much of the midsection is identical, but its main difference (besides being longer than the Nova) is the fact that it has a rotating section to simulate Earth gravity. This makes work easier on the crew, as they do not have to be shifted out to stave off the effects of zero gravity (bones and muscles deteriorate in prolonged zero-g).
Omegas are still heavily armed, but due to the power consumption of the rotating area, they have far fewer guns than the Nova. Also unlike the Nova, its guns are geared towards the front and back, not the sides. While it still can deliver a serious frontal barrage, it would probably be outmatched by its older cousin in a one-on-one engagement.
Omegas have two sets of primary weapons, four 52mm plasma pulse cannons that almost match the power of the Nova's guns, and four heavy particle beam cannons. These primary weapons are split evenly towards the front and back, with two of each facing either way. Light secondary weapons defend the ship mainly from fighters, consisting of eight 40mm pulse cannons in two batteries of four guns each. Each battery is on the dorsal side of the hull, with one in front of the rotating section and one behind it.
The Nova would also outmatch the Omega in speed, since having a rotating section greatly reduces a ship's speed in combat. However, despite its rather bad differences, having simulated gravity apparently outweighed these by a huge margin.
The Omega has the same Starfury complement as the Nova, totaling 36 fighters in all.
History
Omega prototypes were developed during the final stages of the Earth-Minbari War, with four being destroyed and a fifth ramming a Minbari cruiser.
Omegas are the current backbone of the EA fleet, while Novas that survived the conflict being pushed to the sidelines, decommissioned to be used as practice targets, and other unfortunate ends for a ship class that helped Earth survive the Dilgar War.
One Omega, the EAS Lurker was stolen by the rebellious ship captain Ckasaron during the beginning stages of a long, drawn out conflict called the Ckasaron War.
Ckasaron then began to steal small groups of EA ships to add to his loyal followers. Not suprisingly, most of the captains he assigned to the new vessels were telepaths that went through the same oppression he did.
Many of the stolen ships were Omegas, but he also stole almost every surviving Nova, recognizing the advantages it had over its successor. Eventually the original Omega began to lose popularity with Ckasaron's forces to an upgraded Nova and several modified variants of the original ship. It still plays a major role in Ckasaron's fleet, though, often serving as infiltrators to gather intelligence from a hidden network of spies in positions of considerable power in the EA.
Many variants of the original Omega evolved as time passed, since Ckasaron's government was more of a military dictatorship with an added house of representatives than an Earth-style corrupt democracy. Thus, since the military was the final say, Ckasaron could begin producing new ships at a much faster rate than the EA. Most of the new designs are made from stolen plans now locked in old warehouses or underground vaults in the EA territory.
The modified designs of the Omega are as follows:
- Athena-class Destroyer- an attempt to take some of the Nova's weaponry and transplant it to an Omega.
- Chelone-class Destroyer- a modification that removes the rotating section and transplants the Warlock's missile launchers and railguns to a modified Omega body.
- Essex-class Carrier- a version of the Omega that expands the front section of the hull to carry twelve additional Starfuries. Weaponry is essentially the same, except for some additional secondary weapons to defend the longer ship.
- Normandy-class Assault Ship- a heavily modified Omega with a much wider front end, a larger rotating section to support additonal troops, Breaching Pods, Remora-class Assault Shuttles, and Thunderbolt Starfuries. Its own weapons are limited to defense, but its payload can do most of the fighting for it anyway.
- Poseidon-class Super Carrier- another modification of the Omega that widens the front reduces weapons to essential only, and widens the midsection ahead of the rotating section. Holds 96 Starfuries, which do most of the fighting for it.
- Poseidon II-class Destroyer- combines the carrying capacity of the original with added weaponry from the Nova, allowing it to defend itself directly or even lead assaults, yet still carry 48 Starfuries.
- Omega-X Advanced Destroyer- This version of the Omega has a semi-organic hull that is far more resistant to damage. Much more powerful weapons allow it to challenge even Minbari Ships. A single hit from one of its guns can blow away a White Star (Actual canon fact).
- Mercy-class Hospital Ship- This is simply a virtually unarmed, repainted version of the Omega to serve as a mobile hospital, and to replace the converted civillian liners that now fill this role. Only a handful are used by Astragon, as no sane government would ever target such an obviously harmless ship.
And that pretty much sums up all the variants of the Omega.