Database and Lore

The Yu’il Mark 2 Class Gun Battleship

*Spoilers if you haven’t read Gabatrix: Relics* "How do you take a good vessel and make it better? Ask the Shal’rein.” Tolan’dra, Greater Adjunct.            The Yu’il Mark 1 formed the core of the Shal’rein clan during the last ten years of the Itrean Civil War. However, it was only inevitable that the clan would introduce an improvement over the 1st designs. What came out was a potentially devastating vessel that only serves to make the Shal’rein clan an ever-present threat to the UWA.  Design            The Yu’il Mark 1 Battleship has served as the staple of the Shal’rein war fleets. Its ability to serve as a multi-role gunship allowed it to take on roles by itself or as an escort vessel for the larger Shal’rein warships. With the advent of newer and improved warships introduced by the other Itrean clans, the Shal’rein had to advance in better ships of their own. By 2350, with the threat established by the UWA/T’rintar clan alliance, the Shal’rein decided to upgrade their battleships.            Much as typical Itrean ingenuity, the Mark 2 is very similar in design to the Mark 1. With the exception of minor improvements in the interior, the Mark 2’s purpose was to improve the anti-ship capabilities of the original Mark 1. It consisted of two changes that revolved around one idea.            The concept of the rotary railgun or Gatling railgun has been something that has been used in the Itreans’ past. Indeed, the recent T’rintar Italq Mark 3 incorporates two light rotary railguns. Shal’rein clan warships had used their own versions on older large dreadnoughts. This would allow the cannons to maintain a high rate of fire while pouring an onslaught of hypervelocity shells upon the target. The results were effective, but they came with a price both in resources and high- power requirements. Only the more recent Equix class and Hotalckix super dreadnoughts had managed to achieve a high caliber rotary-style railgun system, but only because their powerplants were capable of supplying the energy needed to use them. In Itrean history, light small bore rotary railguns could often be used if they had enough power. However, even then, larger bore railguns could still effectively do enough damage to a target without an array of smaller light railgun bores that could fire at a much faster rate. For the most part, Rotary railguns often resulted in diminishing returns for the Itrean clans. While devastating, they weren’t always practical when compared to simpler single-shot larger-bore turrets. Most railguns could fire shrapnel rounds that would tear through the hulls of ships, which worked just as well as a rapid-fire light turret. However, by 2340 to the current date, the Itreans have begun to expand into the realm of quality vs quantity. With fewer population to crew ships, priority was placed on warships that would more likely survive a fight while being more effective in battle, even if they were more expensive. The Shal’rein were well aware that the Yu’il needed an upgrade. Sometime in 2350, the Shal’rein clan began to revisit the rotary railgun system, but in a compact enough frame to fit onto a battleship. The goal of the Yu’il Mark 2 was to have four medium-heavy railgun barrels on each turret. This would allow the battleship to achieve maximum firepower for its size. Three super direct fusion drive networks would be incorporated to power the units. From early intelligence reports, the Shal’rein were apparently successful, and construction began in early 2350. History            There isn’t much history of the Yu’il Mark 2 since its more recent introduction. Only one battle has been recorded by late 2350 of a Shal’rein battleship that managed to wipe out three Aksren Siv scouts that utilized a rapid-fire railgun system without taking any damage in return. The sad reality is that with the Shal’rein more devoted to building larger ships, the Yu’il Mark 2’s potentially devastating career is somewhat dulled. The fact remains that the Shal’rein have a new enhanced powerful battleship available, one that severely threatens the tides of battle. It will most likely form the core of the Shal’rein battlefleets to come…