Alternating Perspective

The Alternating Perspective, formally known as Da Chukee Killa. Currently House Highdown's most massive capital ship. Sports plasma and melta broadsides plus a Mars nova cannon. Heavily armoured but capable of speed that belies its apparent ponderousness.

History
Tyrant Class Cruiser hull, originally constructed for Battlefleet Lithesh in mid M40 as a joint project between Lithex Dominus and Optimus, with the former producing the hull and electronics, the latter engineering the high quality plasma weaponry and reactor. Though produced after the golden age of the Tyrant Class, the turbo-boosted plasma cannons of Lithex Optimus compensated for many of the range problems experienced by other Battlefleets and, as such, the Tyrant Class continues to be a favourite among the admiralty of Lithesh. Christened Regia Mortis and distinguished itself during the Damocles Crusade. Its last Naval assignment was to support a pirate-hunting taskforce.

The vessel was seized by the fearsome pirate known as the Pink Ork, who renamed it Da Chunkee Killa. It was under his control for some time, until the pirate fleet encountered House Highdown and the naval skills of Niko & Kol. Severely damaged in the Battle of Drakon V - the massive orky prow jettisoned and the ship took a lot of fire from the Allure.

Reconstructed by the Zdrakov shipyard drydock in the Ludd V orbital space. Replacement prow fitted, nova cannon installed, long-range Hecutor plasma batteries replaced with medium-range melta macrocannons, highly optimised for long-duration combat patrols.

Description
Vast cyclopean armour slabs, manufactured on Ludd, cover the hull of the Alternating Perspective and allow it to shrug off most macrocannon broadsides with barely a scratch. Such heavy plating drastically reduces the cruiser's nominal sublight speed but, thanks to its energistic conversion matrix, the Alternating Perspective is capable of surprising bursts of speed. This trick enables it to rush into the centre of a firefight and deliver twin broadsides, then weather the return fire thanks to his armour and priceless archaeotech voidshields. The long range of its nova cannon allows the vessel to stand back and take heavy hitting shots from outside the foe's threat radius, forcing them to close in; once the enemy is able to fire at the Perspective, it accelerates towards them unexpectedly and delivers a devastating short-range plasma barrage while deploying its defensive countermeasures.

The bridge tower features several decks dedicated to providing luxurious accommodations for valued trading partners and paying customers. With the crusade developing, strong demand for secure transport to dangerous locations can be expected, and there are few transports more secure than a Tyrant class Cruiser. These decks are opulent in the extreme, offering luxury befitting high officials and great trade barons. Large quantities of materials local to the Ludd system have been used - gemstones and precious metals mined from the system's most dangerous astral bodies, engraved hardwoods from the moon of Ludd III, and the ivory of strange creatures living on the moons of Ludd V. The highest of the decks is surrounded in vast armourglass panels, affording a commanding view along the length of the ship and into the void beyond. The observation deck features a fine entertainment boulevard, affording the rich and powerful a bespoke shopping and relaxation experience under the gaze of the stars.

Due to its time spent infused with orky psychic energy the ship maintains an aura of aggression, which can make the crew hard to command. It is not without benefit, however, as the crew are all the more aggressive during boarding actions. A resolution arena provides an outlet for the ratings' violent tendencies, and offers excellent entertainment for visiting dignitaries.

Outside of the well-secured guest areas, the ship is clean and spartan. Much of the time, with the gunnery crews and other non-essential personnel in cold storage, the labyrinthine passageways and corridors are eerily quiet with no human sounds to intrude on the soft thrum of the engines and shuffling of maintenance servitors. When battle is joined, however, the decks erupt into action with ratings rushing around in an animalistic fervour, eager to wash their enemies in righteous fire.

The vessel's crew requirements are low when not in combat and many of the roles typically filled by ratings employ servitors instead. A substantial portion of the human crew are kept in cryo stasis deep inside the bowels of the ship, only to be roused in times of conflict. The cryo facility consists of vast stacks of what are, essentially, munitorum standard shipping containers fitted with temperature control systems. Each container has rows of coffin pods with crew members inside, all pumped full of preservation chemicals, and is connected to pipes that circulate low temperature gasses. When crew are needed, servitor controlled cranes pluck out the desired container and dip the entire thing in a vat of warm alchemical gel that gradually warms the bodies and provides a pharmaceutical jolt to their systems. Waking up in this manner is not a pleasant experience, but the procedure is efficient and has a respectably high success rate.

Plans
When its next refit comes due, it should be up-gunned into a battlecruiser. Remove murder servitors, add a modified drive and a set of bombardment cannons (turbo, best - str and range) in dorsal mount. Should have some trade-off, e.g. the Chalice Class's Plasma Conduits rule (without the bonus) to represent the bodged-in ammo transportation systems throughout the vessel.