Daedalus-class

The Daedalus-class Battleship was a class of Battle-cruiser/carrier built by Red Wood Industries as they lacked the need of a dedicated carrier. Although all ships were the same class, they all had differences. For example, the first of the class lacked the launch tubes in favor of dual Mk-3 Battle-cannons on each side.

The Colony War
It is rumoured that the RWI Phantom was destroyed around this time, as it’s status as RWI’s flagship was given to the RWI Apollo, although not much is know about the battle that took place since it has not appeared on-screen in the Colony Universe. The original RWI Daedalus also has not appeared, so its status is totally unknown.

The Green Drone War
Four Daedalus-class Battleships were utilized at various points in the Green Drone War. The last Mk.I Daedalus, the RWI Osiris, was mainly used as the command ship of the RWI Home Fleet, which was charged with defending Icarus and other key worlds. It was commanded by Admiral Isaac Sheppard. The RWI Apollo, flagship of RWI, fought throughout the entire war on the front lines. It was commanded by Grand Admiral Adam Williams and his second-in-command, Commander Edwards, and was present for many crucial battles of the war.

Six months before the Green Drone War, the RWI Valiant, commanded by Captain Jonathan Hunter, was constructed and commanded a fleet during the campaign at an unidentified Earth-like planet, where many ships were lost. However, after rescuing the team led by former RWI Captain Jack Roberts, the Valiant aided Roberts’ crew for the Battle of Ravcor and the Battle of Demus, where it crashed on Demus and was destroyed.

Shortly after the Battle of Icarus, the RWI Zheng-He was built as a higher-tech Mk.II Daedalus - namely, it was retrofitted with two Atlas Superlasers on the bow in place of the ten Battlecannons. It was commanded first by Captain Gideon, but during the Battle of the Black Hole, the Zheng-He was critically damaged and Gideon was killed; command fell to Commander Sam Reed. Despite extensive damage, the ship managed to survive and was taken back to Icarus for repairs. By the time of the Joint Expedition Task Force (JETF) mission one year after the war’s end, it was being captained by Admiral Kieron Hask, head of RWI Intelligence

Joint Expedition Task Force Mission
The RWI Zheng-He was the lead ship in the RWI Prometheus's escort fleet under the command of Admiral Hask, alongside the new RWI helicarrier RWI Olympus and a few Defender-class Frigates. The Zheng-He led the group to the Chrome System to reinforce the heavily depleted JETF forces.

Mk.I
The Mk.I ships were more heavily armed than later models, with the lack of flight pods, Mk.3 Battlecannons had been fitted, along with broadsides being Mk.2 Battlecannons.

Mk.II
With the Mk.II ships having been fitted with forward-facing flight pods on the port and starboard sides, the Mk.3 cannons had been removed, along with the broadsides being replaced with lighter 2x300mm canons.

Mk.III
The RWI Zheng-He was the only of the Mk.III Daedalus-class constructed, however it was originally planned to be completed as a Mk.II, however Jack Roberts team had recovered Atlas laser tech from a GDA Destroyer, which was reverse engineered into her Mk.1 Battery housing, after the GDA war, she underwent a refit which replaced her Mk.3 cannon with an X-3 Battery.

Power
The Mk.I ships were outfitted with nuclear reactors only, as the Deuterium reactors of the Mk.II models were not available to RWI at the time. However, they were implemented into the Mk.II design, although some nuclear reactors were kept as an alternative power source. Both models also included batteries for minor power.

Shields
Similarly to power systems, the Mk.I Daedalus-class’s technology was limited compared to the Mk.II in terms of shielding. All the Mk.II starships had bubble shield generators outfitted on the dorsal hull, and control tables were within the engine room. Sometime around the start of the Green Drone War, the Osiris was outfitted with shields to better fight the GDA.

Thrusters
The Mk.I vessels were only outfitted with hydrogen thrusters. However, since hydrogen fuel could be expended or destroyed in battle, a few large ion engines were added to the Mk.IIs as backup thrust.

Mk.I

 * RWI Daedalus
 * RWI Phantom
 * RWI Osiris

Mk.II

 * RWI Apollo
 * RWI Valiant

Mk.III

 * RWI Zheng-He

Continuity
The RWI Pegasus, seen in the later episodes of Colony Wars, was the name of the Daedalus-class ship commanded by Admiral Markus. However, due to continuity issues with the overall Daedalus timeline, the ship’s name was retconned and removed from the lore. While the ship itself is still technically canon, the name is not, as it contradicts other lore regarding the RWI Phantom.