TCS Cerberus
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The Hades-class Quick Strike Cruiser is a fictional starship in the Wing Commander universe. The first operational ship of this class, TCS Cerberus was commissioned in 2681. TCS Hades was apparently only used as a testbed for various designs. They were 777 meters long.
In terms of doctrine, the Hades was intended to operate behind enemy lines, much like the Bengal-class Strike Carriers. These cruisers were quite fast and well-armed, with ten dual tachyon turrets, four single laser turrets and two image recognition missile turrets installed for defensive purposes. A heavy plasma cannon and six torpedo tubes were available for offensive work. Finally, they could carry 30 fighters.
TCS Cerberus, the only known example of the class, operated behind enemy lines in the Proxima campaign against the Nephilim. With the help of local defense forces and a half-squadron of crack aces from the TCS Midway, including 1st Lieutenant Lance Casey, she was able to contain several system incursions and, eventually, defeated the forces massing at Proxima and captured the alien wormhole opened there.
Though fast and well-armed, the Cerberus often found herself pushed to the defensive in this campaign, during which the cruiser's various strengths turned to disadvantages. The tiny flight wing was often overwhelmed by Nephilim incursions (in one memorable action at Krieger Starbase, Casey's six-pilot wing engaged a total of forty-four strike craft), and on several occasions Cerberus escaped destruction by only the narrowest of margins. Too, as the campaign wore on and material attrition inevitably piled up, the carrier's limited supply of spaceplanes, munitions, fuel and even food water & oxygen became pressing concerns. Finally, the cruiser's plasma cannon, while impressive on paper, was often a disastrous navigational hazard for near-space defenders; on more than one occasion, unwary or unlucky Confed pilots flew through the cannon's trajectory and were struck by plasma blasts, with results of a destroyed craft and an ejected pilot.