GTVA Colossus

http://www.freespace2.com/images/ship_colossus/smpic.jpg

The largest space-faring warship ever constructed by Terrans or Vasudans, the GTVA Colossus was the result of twenty years of joint effort from dozens of contractors from across the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance. Logging in with a length of six-kilometres, this behemoth was equipped with over eighty weapon turrets, in addition to over 240 combat spacecraft.

With the offensive power that exceeded most GTVA battlegroups, the Colossus was designed to combat the Shivans upon their return to Allied territory. The prospective target was one or more Lucifer-class super-destroyers, and it was deemed that the Colossus would not only have the firepower not only to destroy such a foe, but also to survive multiple hits from a Lucifer's primary weapon system.

The first combat use of the Colossus was against the Neo-Terran Front. NTF forces proved to be no match for the Colossus and her battlegroup, and the rebels made every effort to avoid direct combat with the juggernaut. It can be truthfully said that it was the Colossus that was the ultimate factor in the NTF's collapse. With his fleet shattered, and the remnants being actively pursued and destroyed by the Colossus, Admiral Aken Bosch gave the order to flee GTVA space to the relative safety of the nebula beyond Gamma Draconis.

With the NTF defeated, the Colossus was finally to fulfil the role her designers had envisioned for her: the defeat of a Shivan incursion. However, as it turned out, the challenge was not to be Lucifer-class super-destroyers, but rather a Sathanas-class juggernaut. Twenty-years of constant struggle finally culminated with the Colossus' destruction of the SJ Sathanas, all at the cost of moderate damage to the Colossus.

All would have been well was it not for the Shivans possessing multiple juggernauts. In the closing stages of the Battle of Capella, the Colossus was deployed to interdict Shivan traffic at the Gamma Draconis jump node in Capella to divert enemy forces and attention away from the GTD Bastion, which was en route to collapse the jump corridor to Epsilon Pegasi. The ploy succeeded, as the Shivans first deployed an SD Ravana, then a Sathanas to engage the Colossus. In her weakened state, it was obvious that the Colossus would not survive an engagement with another Sathanas-class juggernaut, and Allied Command ordered the Colossus to withdraw.

However, with the success of the Bastion's critical mission in doubt, the Colossus disobeyed the direct order from Allied Command, and refused to disengage. Subsequently, the Colossus was destroyed with the loss of all hands. The thirty-thousand officers and crew of the Colossus willingly sacrificed themselves to ensure the continued survival of the billions of individuals making up the Terran and Vasudan species, and ultimately, the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance. They shall never be forgotten.