Jaeven wrote:I'm guessing the Diplomatic Cruiser will be involved in your Rebels Campaign? Wonder who the Empire would let have a ship of that size with that armament.
My tale of the Princess Star Class Diplomatic Heavy Cruiser
Two thousand years before the Clone Wars and the fall of the Republic, the Galactic Senate ordered the construction of a starship, which could host the entire assembly outside the planet Coruscant. The project involved the construction of a disc-shaped vessel, called "The Round Table"; it was a spaceship protected by powerful shields, but completely disarmed, able to move quickly along the known hyperspace routes. Despite the good defensive characteristics of the "Round Table", it soon became clear that it was weak in dealing with territorial disputes.
The commission charged by the Senate voted for the replacement of the "Round Table" with a vessel of different conception, able to face extreme diplomatic situations, including self-defense and counterattack.
The task of designing and building two prototypes of the new vessel was entrusted to the mysterious and elegant Diathim people. The same shield and propulsion technology as the "Round Table" was used for the construction, but powerful turbolasers and defensive ion guns were added.
Princess Irene, the first ship built by the Diathim, was the diplomatic ship par excellence: the Senate could send it on mission in the most dangerous areas of the galaxy. This vessel was the transport of the Jedi, assisted by the most influential political personalities. Princess Irene was often used as the site of important galactic summits, where the fate of the conflict was discussed.
A thousand years before the Clone Wars, Princess Irene disappeared on a mission. The ship's research lasted for decades, but without results.
Shortly before the Clone Wars, during the invasion of the Naboo planet by the Federation of Commerce, the Gungan settlements searching led to the discovery of the Princess Irene, buried under the dense vegetation of the planet. At the end of the crisis, the government of Naboo commissioned the restoration of the interior of the ship. This citadel surrounded by nature, became the headquarters of the renewed diplomatic and cultural meetings between the Naboo and the Gungan people, and a museum dedicated to the coexistence of all the different species.
When Palpatine proclaimed himself Emperor, Princess Irene was taken off by a group of Jedi, who left the planet to take refuge in the Romin territories.
The second of the two ships, called Princess Aurora, was based at Coruscant two thousand years before the Clone Wars. It was an emergency vessel, berthed in the vicinity of the Senate, and used in case of planetary evacuation. In fifteen centuries the Princess Aurora, always modernized with the latest technologies available, sailed twenty-two times, always succeeding in bringing the Senators to safety, to guarantee the continuity of government to the galaxy, even in the most difficult moments.
In the last centuries of the Republic, Princess Aurora was increasingly used as the personal ship of the Chancellor. In the absence of an army, Princess Aurora could guarantee safe transport, even without the help of the Jedi. After the founding of Clones army, Princess Aurora lost this role, remaining confined to Coruscant, without taking part in the battles against the Separatist army.
After the proclamation of the Empire, Palpatine ordered the destruction of the vessel, considered a symbol of a decadent era. Unexpectedly, the Senate managed to save it, proclaiming it the symbol of the independence of the Galaxy from the Jedi order. Palpatine was forced to accept the will of the Senate, assigning to the Princess Aurora miserable consular assignaments. In fact, the vessel remained unused for years on the surface of the planet, misjudged by the ranks of the Imperial Navy and secretly hated by the Emperor himself. Some senators wanted to keep it always efficient, in case there was the opportunity to undertake a diplomatic mission not appreciated by the Emperor.