When the Caramelles Kingdom was first settled, they settled from the Human Alliance and they had several Boadicea class cruisers as part of their fledgling navy. A couple of them are retained as training vessels. It can be expected that the ship formed the basis for their initial cruiser class. The result was the Baroness Victoria class cruiser. Capital ships, cruisers and larger, are all named after nobles and female names predominate.

While the Caramelles Kingdom was settled from the Human Alliance, they are no longer on good terms with the larger power and the Consortium which the Alliance is part of. The founders of the Kingdom split from the Alliance in the first place because their did not like the idea of alien influence. The few non humans within the Kingdom are at best treated as second class citizens.

The human population itself is not all that well treated as it is. The six inhabited systems are ruled by a powerful psychic nobility who possess most of the wealth. Most other governments with noble are "constitutional monarchies" with a strong representative system. All officers within the Kingdom military are nobles and higher officers must be from higher noble families. A secondary effect of the society is that the best and brightest in the sciences and engineering tend to avoid the Caramelles Kingdom.

Technology exchange, especially in military technology, is virtually non existent. Surprisingly, the technology of the Caramelles Kingdom is reasonable advanced although below that of the Consortium. They are more advanced that the majority of small star nations. There has been a fair amount of espionage to steal advanced Consortium technology with mixed results. Recently, the Caramelles Kingdom has been trying to get a technology exchange with the Free Worlds Council. It is questionable how likely this is due to the Council receiving clandestine aid from elements within the Consortium and there is concern that this could dry up.

As a result of being unable to purchase ships except for the oldest of designs, the Caramelles Kingdom had build a massive military industry. Only a few minor powers have a large military industry. In addition to building military hardware for their own forces, they also will export their designs to virtually anybody including those that nobody else will sell military hardware to. Even pirates, if they have the resources, can purchase ships and other military hardware from the kingdom. Few questions are asked.

There is also rumor that the Kingdom is eying many of the systems nearby for possible takeover. The Kingdom's major neighbor is the Consortium so they appear to be moving cautiously. Still, it appears to be another reason for their massive military programs. The Trans-Galactic Empire is not positioned such that it is a major danger to the Kingdom so the nobility is not too concerned with keeping the Consortium happy.

A total of sixty-eight of the Baroness Victoria class cruiser have been built. Thirty-Six have been build for the Kingdom navy and sixteen more have been exported. Four of these ships are currently under construction, two for the Kingdom's forces and two more for other governments. As far as warships, the only ships build in larger numbers are destroyers.

Ships built by the Caramelles Kingdom tend to be blocky and the Baroness Victoria class are no exception. They are surprisingly tough and are protected by strong variable shields. These shields are not quite as tough as those on a Warshield class cruiser but the Baroness Victoria is a bit smaller, only a little larger than a Kreeghor Smasher class cruiser.

Capital ships of the Kingdom are designed to be able to combine tactically and strategically and share the same basic acceleration and faster than light speed. These ships are only slightly slower than a Warshield in acceleration and have a faster than light speed of four light years per hour. The Caramelles Kingdom has mastered anti-matter power plants which give far more energy per mass than a fusion plant. Many smaller powers prefer fusion plants.

While armed with a decent energy weapon battery, these ships are primarily designed to engage in missile combat. They mount a pair of capital batteries and four long range missile batteries. These can fire less missiles simultaneously than a comparable Consortium launcher although are a bit smaller, allowing the ship to be built slightly smaller than the Boadicea class which it is partially based on. A total of almost four hundred capital missiles and about a thousand long range missiles are carried. Fusion and anti-matter warheads are within the technology of the Kingdom including multi-warhead anti-matter warheads. What they don't have is any of the advanced warhead such as the super heavy anti-matter warheads or X-Ray laser warheads. One of the hopes with negotiating with the Free Worlds Council is to acquire X-Ray laser warheads.

For energy weapons, the cruiser does mount a pair of 28 cm particle beams along with four 12 cm laser cannons. These are not altered greatly from the original weaponry carried on the Boadicea class and are more massive than modern Consortium units would be. The cruiser mounts a total of twenty point defense batteries, each combining a direct fire weapon with a mini-missile launcher. The mini-missile launchers each have forty-eight missiles ready to fire. Ten of the mounts carry a triple particle beam and ten have a 40 mm heavy point defense rail gun. While an electromagnetic rail gun, the weapon is quite powerful and effective. It has double the range of the particle beams.

The cruiser class only has a very small fighter compliment. A total of twelve medium fighters are carried. While Caramelles Kingdom's fighter technology lag further behind the cutting edge of the Three Galaxies that they do in other areas, the Torero medium fighter is a far better design than the Avispa light fighter. As a result, there is not much temptation to replace the medium fighter with eighteen light fighters. If the Kingdom adopts a new light fighter, such as the Ross ICE Hyena, this might change. The Kingdom is presently looking towards various replacements for their fighters. Ships not operated by the Kingdom operate a vast number of different fighters although rarely the Torero or Avispa fighters. Thirty marines are also usually embarked aboard with twenty of them equipped usually with light power armors.

Even though smaller, these ships require a larger crew than the Consortium Warshield class cruiser. Lacking advanced automation, these ships have a crew of just over three hundred. They also lack a secondary bridge. They are right around the limit where ships will have a secondary bridge while others do not. This does enable greater armor around the bridge. Like most ships of the Caramelles Kingdom, quarters for officers, who are also nobles, are quite luxurious. Quarters for the crew are not as comfortable. This does not mean that they are actually bad but they do lag behind the Consortium. Ships operated by the kingdom have large officer compliments. On vessels not operated by the kingdom, the number of officers can likely be halved.

Ship design uses modified starship speeds and weapon ranges. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World for more details.

Model Type: Baroness Victoria class cruiser
Vehicle Type: Light Cruiser
Crew: 306 (50 Officers, 256 enlisted)
Troops: 30 marines (20 equipped with power armors) and 24 fighter pilots

Vehicle, Robots, and Power Armors:
Fighter compliment can vary with 18 Light Starfighters replacing 12 Medium Starfighters.
Power Armors:

20

Light Power Armors

Fighter Compliment:

12

Medium Starfighters (Commonly the Torero Medium Starfighters in Kingdom service)

M.D.C. By Location:

	Main 28 cm Particle Beam Batteries (2):	1,200 each
	Secondary 12 cm Heavy Laser Cannons (4):	750 each
	Electromagnetic Rail Cannons/Mini-Missile Batteries (10):	200 each
	Triple Particle Beam Cannons/Mini-Missile Batteries (10):	200 each
	Cruise Missile Batteries (2):	800 each
	Long Range Missile Batteries (4):	600 each
	Outer Hull (40 ft/ 12.2 m Area):	150
	Inner Hull (40 ft/ 12.2 m Area):	100
	[1] Bridge:	8,000
	Hanger Bay:	6,000
	[2] Main Engines (2):	9,000 each
	[3] Main Body:	30,000
	[4] Variable Force Field:	3,000 a side (18,000 Total)

Notes:
[1] In reality this is how much damage needs to be done for a weapon to hit the bridge through the ships armor. This ship does not have an auxiliary bridge. Even if the bridge is destroyed, the ship can still be piloted from engineering but ship is -3 to dodge and all weapon systems will be at local control. Weapon hits near the bridge that do not penetrate the ships integrity can injure crew members on or near the bridge.
[2] Destroying the main engines means that ship Faster than Light systems are destroyed and maximum sublight speed is reduced by half.
[3] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will put the cruiser out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.
[4] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (900 M.D.C.) per melee round.

Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine and military shielding that allows the ship to travel up to 60 percent of the speed of light. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 0.8 percent of light per melee.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum speed is 250 mph (402 kph), can enter an atmosphere and can leave due to propulsion being Gravitic but is not designed primarily for atmospheric flight
Stardrive: Uses a Gravitonic Drive system that allows the ship to reach a maximum of 4 light years per hour.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by either drive system. Carries about one year worth of supplies on board.

Statistical Data:
Length: 545.5 feet (166.27 meters)
Height: 125.2 feet (38.16 meters)
Width: 235.4 feet (71.75 meters)
Weight/Mass: 85,000 tons (77,110 metric tons)
Power System: Anti-Matter with a 30 year life span. The ship normally only goes 10 years between refueling and refitting.
Cargo: Cargo holds are scattered about the ship that allows for carrying up to 2,500 tons (2,270 metric tons) of cargo in addition to standard compliment of supplies and ammunition. Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal items and uniforms. Ships officers have more space for personal items. Most of the ships spaces are taken up by extra ammunition, armor, troops, weapons, engine, and other equipment.
Market Cost: 1.8 billion credits to construct and sells for around 3.5 billion credits normally (Does not include standard fighter and power armor compliment - Caramelles Kingdom fighter compliment [Avispa and Torero Fighters] cost approximately 300 million and troop compliment 56 million.)

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. Two (2) Main 28 cm Particle Beam Batteries: In the front of the ship are two 28 cm particle beam cannons. Weapon has standard minuses to hit fighters and small targets. These can be fired forward and can be angled up to 120 degrees aft (can only fire one cannon at a target at that angle but can spin to be able to bring both batteries to bear) and can fire at a 30 degree angle up or down. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at FTL velocities.
   Maximum Effective Range: 70,000 miles (112,650 km)in space and 70 miles (112.7 km) in an atmosphere.
   Mega Damage: 1D4x1000 MDC each (Both can be linked for 2D4x1000 MDC for both)
   Rate of Fire: Maximum of three (3) times per melee per particle beam.
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
2. Four (4) 12 cm Heavy Laser cannons: Laser cannons are used against frigates and against heavily reinforced targets. Two are located on either side of ship. Weapon has standard minuses to hit fighters and small targets. The barrels can be can be rotated 180 degrees in all directions. Only two cannons can be fired as one volley. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at FTL velocities.
   Maximum Effective Range: 16 miles (25.8 km) through atmosphere and 16,000 miles (25,800 km) in space.
   Mega Damage: 2D6x100 MDC each or 4D6x100 for two.
   Rate of Fire: Maximum of Two (2) times per melee each laser cannon.
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
3. Two (2) Cruise Missile Batteries: Missile has a top speed of Mach 25 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 10% of light per turn (far faster than any starship). Whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launching starship, and missile. When drive goes dead, missile will still cruise unless preset to self destruct or receives a destruct code but has very low odds of hitting star ships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missile when dead at -25% to detect.) See Modified starship rules for more details, Cruise missiles have minuses to hit small targets but are all considered smart missiles. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time. Batteries have a lower number of actual launchers than the modern CAF long range missile batteries although the actual battery is slightly smaller.
   Maximum Effective Range: Cruise Missile range is 8,000 miles (12,875 km) in an atmosphere and 4,000,000 miles (6,437,376 km/ 21.5 light seconds) in space
   Mega-Damage & Properties: See Phase World Missile Chart (Anti-Matter inflicts 4D6x100 MDC).
   Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of 2, 8, 16, or 24 per battery, per melee round, for a maximum of 48 missiles per melee. Launchers are reloaded on the same melee and can be fired again on the next.
   Payload: 48 total, 24 cruise missiles per battery. Ship has 8 reload of missiles (384 cruise missiles reloads total)
4. Four (4) Long Range Missile Batteries: Missile has a top speed of Mach 20 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 8% of light per turn (faster than any starship). Whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launcher, and missile. When drive goes dead, missile will still cruise unless set to self destruct but has very low odds of hitting star ships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missile when dead at -25% to detect.) Long range missiles do not have minuses to hit small targets unlike cruise missiles and are all considered smart missiles. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time. Batteries have a lower number of actual launchers than the modern CAF long range missile batteries although the actual battery is slightly smaller.
   Maximum Effective Range: Long Range Missile range is 3,400 miles (5470 km) in an atmosphere and 1,800,000 miles (2,897,000 km/9.7 light seconds) in space.
   Mega-Damage & Properties: See Phase World Missile Chart (Fusion inflicts 2D4x100 MDC).
   Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of 2, 8, 16, or 24 per battery, per melee attack.
   Payload: 960 total, 240 long range missiles per battery.
5. Ten (10) 40 mm Electromagnetic Rail Gun/Mini Missile Batteries: Unlike most of the rail guns used on Phase World Starships, these are standard electromagnetic rail guns. Comparatively heavy weapons, the rail guns fire a heavy 40 mm high density projectile and have excellent range. Each turret can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire. Weapons are mounted around the ship for point defense. The rail gun still fires projectiles at incredible velocities compared to rail guns on Rifts Earth and projectiles come out of launchers at a significant fraction of the speed of light. Missile has a top speed of Mach 10 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 2% of light per turn (slightly faster than any starship except if it is exceeding it maximum safe acceleration). Missile launchers can launch on multiple targets each at the same time.
   Maximum Effective Range Mini-Missile range is 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere and 100 miles (161 km) in space. Rail guns have a range of 16 miles (26 km) through atmosphere and 800 miles (1,290 km) in space.
   Mega-Damage: Rail Cannon inflicts 3D6x10 M.D for a 10 round burst. Mini-Missiles vary by mini-missile type (See Phase World Missile Chart.)
   Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the Gunner (usually 4 or 5). Mini-Missiles are fire one at a time or in volleys of two (2) or four (4) mini-missiles.
   Payload: Rail Cannon has 2,000 Rounds (200 Bursts) each cannon, has 48 mini-missiles at each launcher (480 total, can carry potentially several times more in storage holds).
6. Ten (10) Triple Particle Beam/Mini Missile Batteries: These mounts are similar to the rail gun mounts with the rail gun replaced by a triple particle beam. While damage is similar, range is less that the rail gun mounts. Each turret can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire. Weapons are mounted around the ship for point defense. Missile has a top speed of Mach 10 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 2% of light per turn (slightly faster than any starship except if it is exceeding it maximum safe acceleration). Missile launchers can launch on multiple targets each at the same time.
   Maximum Effective Range Mini-Missile range is 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere and 100 miles (161 km) in space. Particle beams have a range of 8 miles (13 km) through atmosphere and 400 miles (640 km) in space.
   Mega-Damage: Triple particle beam inflicts 3D6x10 M.D per burst. Mini-Missiles vary by mini-missile type (See Phase World Missile Chart.)
   Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the Gunner (usually 4 or 5). Mini-Missiles are fire one at a time or in volleys of two (2) or four (4) mini-missiles.
   Payload: Effective unlimited for the particle beam mounts, has 48 mini-missiles at each launcher (480 total, can carry potentially several times more in storage holds).

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By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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