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Imperial Battlefleet sandbox ---

Battlefleet Europa is the primary naval fighting force of the Europan Planetary Federation, with its main base at the Torus orbital ring station, that circumvents the capital planet, Europa Prime. Their task is to patrol the borders of the Federation, guards its' holds and all it stands for. Most of the vessels are Imperial designs, usually retrofitted and upgraded with new, better weapons, protective measures, and support systems. Reason for this is the combined industrial output of the whole Federation that, despite being able to raise and supply ground armies with no major issue, is still not sufficient enough to produce warp-capable warships at a viable rate. Thus, every single vessel is upgraded, modernized and automated to maximalize its' fighting potential.

History
Since the solar system was colonized and intended as a rear naval resupply and maintenance base and a future gateway into the sector, naval assets always had a strong presence. Ships were pouring in and out for resupply or repairs and the Torus ring station was built by the collective effort by a vast legion of workers and servitors.

Things weren't always so bright, however. A big push into the nebula was planned and fleets were mustering. Soon the order to set sail was given and most vessels departed, leaving behind only a small defense fleet and ships that were too damaged to function effectively. Things fell silent for some time. The Torus ring station was still under construction with only the circumventing superstructure finished along with several sections that worked mostly as repair docks and cargo hubs. Here and there a supply convoy appeared, unloaded their cargo and departed, but reinforcements, ships returning for resupply or even no astropathic communications appeared. Months and years passed, but one day, space-time fluctuations were registered, as unknown vessel just breached the Materium and emerged from the Warp. Defense fleet was immediately mobilized, but it turned out it was for nothing, as the unknown vessel sent a hail in High Ghotic that followed all communication protocols and call signs. It was the Spear of Orion, along with several cruisers and escort ships it gathered along the way. The whole situation was quickly explained. After a few initial successes, the crusading fleets were ambushed or overwhelmed by the forces of Chaos, a general retreat was ordered and Imperial forces hastily left the area, leaving everything behind to its fate.

Feeling betrayed and forgotten by the Imperium, the Europan Planetary Federation was formed and all the ships present in the system became part of the Battlefleet Europa, a force dedicated primarily to defending the only known human enclave inside this hostile part of the galaxy.

Organization
Battlefleet Europa is commanded from the Central Naval Command (CNC) located on the Europa Prime, with their main dock being the Torus ring station.

Deployments
Space Hulk - zničení space hulk, bitva s Orky

Battle of the Foehn Station - Foehn, automatizované drony

Battle of the Pirate's Den - zničení pirátů

Siege of Ipheus IV - chaos obléhá Ipheus

Spear of Orion Flagship
An old, Oberon-class battleship that once was the leading vessel of one of the many crusading fleets. It had nearly flawless service record, participating in dozens of battles, most of which were victorious and never suffering any significant damage. This changed just before the call for the general retreat, as the ship was attacked by several Chaos cruisers, receiving crippling damage, but it was still able to fend off the attackers (with a little help) before it engaged its warp drive.

When the mighty battleship returned, it was immediately scheduled for repairs, but the repair works were soon halted and suspended indefinitely, as no more supply convoys were arriving and the industrial output of the planet below was severely insufficient, at least for now. The vessel was then left in the docks with only the most necessary systems running and with the absolute minimum of the crew aboard. Repair works were started anew about 2 centuries later and the entire ship got rebuilt and retrofitted with more advanced systems, along with extensive automatization in order to decrease the crew needed to operate the ship, eventually lowering the number by 40%.

Macro cannons were replaced by new, turret mounted Lance batteries, additional weapons turrets were installed, ranging from anti-capital ship Lances, through twin-linked rapid fire railgun turret to hundreds of Point-Defence emplacements. Forward-facing Macro laser cannons were installed on the flanks, along with two thermonuclear missile launchers and a Nova cannon.

Thunderstrike
This Armageddon-class Battlecruiser was one of the ships that returned back to Europa Prime along with Spear of Orion. The ship was relatively undamaged, with all critical systems running but there was a scorch-mark or an impact crater on her hull here and there. It was specifically this vessel, whose captain disobeyed the Grand Admiral's orders to retreat and instead issued 'Full speed ahead', rushing to help the dying battleship, that already had several decks on fire and was being clawed on by the Chaos cruisers like a cornered and gravely wounded beast. Flanked by her' two wingman ships, the Protector and Lincoln Osiris, the Thunderstrike arrived just in time and all three ships greeted the enemy with devastating Lance and torpedo salvos, sending one of the already damaged Chaos cruisers down in flames. A fierce battle followed, in which two more enemy Cruisers were taken down but also Lincoln Osiris took a penetrating hit and suffered critical reactor breach, resulting in a ship-wide inferno. Captain had her evacuated and the empty, burned out carcass was left in the void.

After arrival, Thunderstrike was kept in active service, patrolling the immediate vicinity of the solar system, but when freshly repaired and modified ships were launched, she was taken into the docks as well, gutted and rebuilt from inside out. Macro cannons replaced with Lance turrets, along with newly installed plasma batteries, thermonuclear missile launchers, and a Nova cannon were added as well, increasing the overall firepower.

Britannica
Not much is known about the history of this brightly-colored Dictator class cruiser. Service logs show she had been launched in the mid M39, then there is an empty gap (presumably erased as hints show it may have been in service of the Inquisition) for about 600 years and the following entry speaks about general maintenance in preparation for the crusade. During the crusade, the ship saw some action, mostly against marauding pirates and Chaos raiders, but spent most of the time stationed at the Torus ring station as a part of the defense fleet.

After the change of command, Britannica was the very first ship to be rebuilt, as the changes were relatively easy to perform. The bow Macro cannon battery was removed and replaced by yet even more flight decks and hangars, making this vessel a dedicated carrier. Additional weapons were installed, namely two Lance turrets and two additional forward-facing Lance cannons, along with, new, more powerful Augur scanners and Vox antennas. Also, partially automated fighter and bomber assembly forge was set up down below the waterline, able to replace at least some combat losses while out in the void.

Dawnlight
This Gothic-class cruiser was severely damaged during one of the battles with the Archenemy, suffering multiple hull breaches, disastrous engine damage, and many critical support system failures, the lifeless wreck was brought back to Europa Prime and left sitting in the orbital dry docks, awaiting either her final demise in the smelters, or return to glory if the Tech-priests deem her worthy of salvaging. Since there were more pressing matters to deal with, the ship was more or less ignored for decades and centuries, until one of the Naval officers got an idea, to use the Aurora Heliobeam Network (system-wide focused sunlight distribution array) as a weapon and the Dawnlight could carry a mobile Heliobeam relay. And so the Dawnlight's return to glory began.

The vessel was rebuilt over several decades, but the bow of the ship was modified to carry the array of mirrors and lenses, along with powerful cogitators and support mechanisms required for smooth and precise operation. The hull was fitted with light dispersers, additional thermal insulation, and maneuvering thrusters to prevent damage of the hull, while the main weapon is in use. The Heliobeam relay directs and further focuses the sunlight it receives from the routing stations around the system. Despite the fact, that the weapon uses only a tiny fraction of the sun's energy output, it is still able to melt, burn and vaporize almost anything from a distance most common weapons are still ineffective. A significant drawback is the dependence on the routing stations, immense computing power required to calculate trajectories, dispersions, and reflection arcs in real-time, along with the need for extensive cooperation between the routing stations and accurate predictions that only grows with distance, making the weapon not suitable for fast, long-range, maneuver combat or for use against fast targets. It is more of a long-range anti-capital ship or anti-everything short range weapon.

Pride of Europa
Pride of Europa was the very first warship built at the Torus ring station's shipyards, so her service record began mere two centuries ago. The ship was built from salvaged parts taken from other vessels that were beyond repair and marked for scrap, making her a unique mix of multiple classes and patterns. Some parts had to be forged anew, such as the bridge, engines and combat decks. Those were built with the planned modifications in mind, so the automatization went smoothly with no major redesigns.

Pride of Europa serves as a close-range warship, utilizing her turreted Lance turret, powerful broadside Macro laser batteries or even taking her powered battering ram to bear if necessary. She was fitted with additional small thrusters, Void shield capacitors, and ablative armour plating to give her an advantage in the war of attrition she was built for.

Protector
This formidable vessel has a long service history, dating from early M41 to this very day. Most of the time she spent sailing as a loyal companion on the flank (along with another vessel and often a destroyer squadron as well) of the Thunderstrike battlecruiser, forming a deadly wolf-pack, daring to assault any but the most powerful of the enemy's ship and sending them down in flames. Their biggest catch was lone Chaos Desolator-class battleship Merciless Blade, hiding in a planetary ring to ambush an Imperial supply convoy, but the ambusher himself got ambushed by the wolf-pack. Despite being outnumbered, the trio of cruisers wouldn't stand a chance head-on, but with masterful coordination, the battleship was lured out by a premise of easy prey of a lone cruiser. The rest of the wolf-pack then attacked, tackled into the desired position and after damaging her engines, planets' gravity caught the now uncontrollable battleship and she met her demise in the planet's atmosphere, with the final killing blow being the impact against the planets' surface.

Protector is outfitted in a very similar way as the Pride of Europa, serving as a close-range warship, built to take as much punishment as possible while returning the same pleasure to the enemy. In fact, the armament of these two ships is nearly identical. Turreted Macro lasers, Plasma cannon batteries, powered battering ram, along with hundreds of point-defense emplacements, and electronic warfare equipment.

Barisan
Formerly a ship of the Basilikon Astra, taking part in several Explorator fleets that venture beyond the known space, searching for new knowledge. Considering the Mechanicus' nature, the ship has been rebuilt and retrofitted many times in the past, changing her armament to suit the needs of the Marchmagii she served under.

Barisan arrived at Europa Prime along with the rest of the colonization fleet and served as a mobile command center for all orbital construction projects that were happening at the time, namely the superstructure of the Torus ring station and later the individual section, often helping to move the parts with her E-Mag tether. Once the EPF was formed, the Adeptus Mechanicus representatives accepted the offer of a becoming part of the governmental structure and that the Barisan will remain under the command of the Adeptus Mechanicus, but in case of emergency, she will join and cooperate with the rest of the fleet.

This Adeptus Mechanicus was rebuilt countless times throughout her existence, but, surprisingly, she did not undergo any major reconstructions. It already had a quad of Macro cannon turrets, a Lance turret, and a forward-facing Hellgrace-pattern Neutron laser, a weapon devastating against both shields and armor alike. The thing that was added, however, are four, forward large-caliber Straxos-pattern accelerator Macro cannon. It is basically a bastard child of a Nova cannon and a regular Macro cannon. It electromagnetically accelerates a projectile to a couple of thousandths of the speed of light, exactly as a Nova cannon, but the projectile lacks the plasma warhead of a Nova cannon but instead has regular, explosive warhead. The weapon is hard to aim as the entire ship has to be steered, but the sheer force of the projectile puts against the shields and hulls is devastating.

Angel of Astraea
This ancient Hellfire-class heavy cruiser with her service log counting hundreds of battles and dozen campaigns across the whole Imperium, such as the 12th Black Crusade, Sabbat World crusade, Battle for Macragge in the 1st Tyrannic war, Battle of Betalis III, The Promethium War and The Third War for Armageddon. At the time 'The Promethium War' happened, the ship was already sailing under the flag of the Ecclesiarchy and renamed to her current name, Angel of Astraea, after an ancient goddess of justice and purity.

Later the ship found itself on an Imperial frontier world known as Vakaria, where a new Sororitas order was being found to guard the local chapel, only to find itself in war months later when a Chaos fleet invaded the system and made a planetfall. The Angel of Astraea, the only Imperial ship in the vicinity, meanwhile lied in wait, using her Reflex shield to remain hidden and undetected. Later she helped with the hastily organized evacuation of the order and everyone who happened to be around off the planet. The ship took several hits, having it's warp-drive damaged, but still managed to escape the system, with the course plotted to nearest known Imperial space, Europa Prime.

Upon the arrival, the Angel of Astraea became a part of the battlefleet and was scheduled for necessary repairs and some modifications, aimed primarily at the well-known drawback of the Hellfire class, that being the cramped interior, lack of Void shields and low maneuverability. Macro cannon turrets were replaced with new, Ostrakan-pattern Plasma cannons and the already installed Missile launchers and the ancient Incaladion-pattern Rotary Lance batteries went through general maintenance check. Further automatization helped to further widen the crew compartment, making the ship much more comfortable to serve on. Auxillary Void shields and capacitor arrays were installed and maneuvering thrusters tweaked, solving most of the previously mentioned problems.

Vanguard Squadron
The Vanguard Squadron is one of several squadrons in the battlefleet, but this one is considered an elite squadron, reserved only for the best of the best destroyer captains and crews the whole federation has to offer. Being a part of the squadron grants not only the privilege to wear the red, winged skull with a sword patch, but also the honour of flying one of the finest and deadliest escort-class vessels available. Despite that, cruiser crews tend to look down upon them, as they seem them more as gung-ho cowboys and show-offs than elite pilots and crews, but on the other hand, the Vanguard Squadron will gladly show their skill in simulated combat and not once they managed to take down a cruiser without suffering a single casualty.

All ships are fitted with additional thrusters as the Vanguard Squadron specializes in coordinated, high-speed maneuver combat and hit & run tactics. Additionally, each of the ships is equipped with advanced electronic warfare equipment, both with defensive and offensive capabilities to further increase their combat effectiveness. There were experiments with Reflex shielding and Teleporters, but the cost and the technological requirement were far too high to be used on a destroyer.

Current Vanguard Squadron composition by flights, with only ship names listed, and no. 1 always being the flight leader. Commonly used armament variants of the Cobra-class destroyer
 * 1st Flight
 * Moonlight - Missile Boat
 * Trenchant - Lance Gunboat
 * Taurus - Lance Gunboat
 * 2nd Flight
 * Lady Moon - Missile Boat
 * Bandit - Attack Boat
 * Dragon's Rage - Attack Boat
 * 3rd Flight
 * ??? - Missile Boat
 * ??? - Attack Boat
 * ??? - Attack Boat
 * 4th Flight
 * ??? - Missile Boat
 * ??? - Torpedo Boat
 * ??? - Torpedo Boat