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	:''(Note that since a WarShip cannot land, the ''Manassas'' itself would have remained in orbit or elsewhere within the system. Only the four ''[[Confederate]]''-class [[DropShip]]s which the ''Manassas'' carried on its last mission<ref>''Living Legends'', p. 37</ref> could have touched down on the planet. Also, it is unclear if the planet was actually habitable, or if it was only used to benefit from its gravity for crew comfort or repair work on the surface).''		:''(Note that since a WarShip cannot land, the ''Manassas'' itself would have remained in orbit or elsewhere within the system. Only the four ''[[Confederate]]''-class [[DropShip]]s which the ''Manassas'' carried on its last mission<ref>''Living Legends'', p. 37</ref> could have touched down on the planet. Also, it is unclear if the planet was actually habitable, or if it was only used to benefit from its gravity for crew comfort or repair work on the surface).''
−	With the provisionally repaired jump drive, the ''Manassas'' and her four DropShips made a second attempt to jump to Schwartz. Because of a technical flaw, the K-F drive controller did not detect in time that the jump would be a misjump, and did not abort the jump. As a result, the ''Manassas'' misjumped again. This time, they arrived at their intended destination, but the ship did not rematerialize at the destination until the year [[3058]], after nearly three centuries in jump stasis, a fact of which the crew, who did not sense a delay, was initially unaware.	+	With the provisionally repaired jump drive, the ''Manassas'' and her four DropShips made a second attempt to jump to Schwartz. Because of a technical flaw, the K-F drive controller did not detect in time that the jump would be a misjump, and did not abort the jump. As a result, the ''Manassas'' misjumped again. This time, they arrived at their intended destination, but the ship did not rematerialize at the destination until the year [[3058]], after nearly three centuries in jump stasis, a fact of which the crew, who did not sense a delay, was initially unawares.
	In the Schwartz system, the ''Manassas'' encountered and hailed the ''[[Lioness]]'', a ''[[York (WarShip class)|York]]''-class destroyer from the [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] Naval Reserve. Puzzled by the [[SLDF]] vessel's appearance and considering James Cromwell a war criminal according to Clan historical records, the ''Lioness'' ordered the ''Manassas'' to stand by and later prepared to board her.		In the Schwartz system, the ''Manassas'' encountered and hailed the ''[[Lioness]]'', a ''[[York (WarShip class)|York]]''-class destroyer from the [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] Naval Reserve. Puzzled by the [[SLDF]] vessel's appearance and considering James Cromwell a war criminal according to Clan historical records, the ''Lioness'' ordered the ''Manassas'' to stand by and later prepared to board her.

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{{otheruses|the modified Aegis-class WarShip|the planetary system|Manassas}} {{infoBoxIndividualSpacecraft | image = SLSManassas.jpg | vesselname = Manassas | prevname = | type = [[WarShip]] | class = Manassas Heavy Cruiser<ref name="MUL">''[http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/4578/manassas-heavy-cruiser-standard Manassas Heavy Cruiser]''</ref> | prevclass = [[Aegis (WarShip class)|Aegis]] | servicesince = [[2780]]<ref name="MUL"/> | serviceuntil = destroyed in or shortly after 3058; see text }} Equipped with an advanced experimental [[jump drive]], the '''[[SLS]] ''Manassas''''' is at the center of the [[MechWarrior (RPG)]] adventure ''[[Living Legends]]'' which is set in [[3058]]. The ''Manassas'' is invariably destroyed during or shortly after the conclusion of the adventure. Originally an ''[[Aegis (WarShip class)|Aegis]]''-class heavy cruiser that was modified into a one-of-a-kind vessel, the ''Manassas'' is recognized as a distinct ship class unto its own<ref name="MUL"/> even though only one single such ship ever existed. This article thus covers both the individual ship and the ''Manassas Heavy Cruiser'' ship class as a whole. Despite its prominent status, the vessel itself, its capabilities and its spectacular history—a [[misjump]] that held the ship in jump stasis for 274 years until it rematerialized—remain largely unknown within the [[BattleTech]] universe, in part due to a deliberate cover-up. ==Description== Originally a first-generation ("block I") ''Aegis''-class heavy cruiser, after its upgrade the ''Manassas'' did not quite look like any [[Clan]] or [[Star League]] WarShip class [[ComStar]] had on record as of [[3058]].<ref>''Living Legends'', p. 18</ref> It "vaguely" resembled an ''Aegis''-class vessel as depicted in ''[[Technical Readout: 2750]]'', with a noticeable bulge in the mid-ships section and modified radiator vanes.<ref name="LL53">''Living Legends'', p. 53</ref> Internally, the arrangement of the ship's corridors and decks was modified, hinting at a larger than normal K-F drive core.<ref>''Living Legends'', p. 21 ("Observations Table")</ref> Although the hull was described as "old,"<ref name="LL20">''Living Legends'', p. 20 ("Questioning Rabe Table")</ref> the ''Manassas'' had been upgraded with top-of-the-line facilities with the latest technologies (as of [[2784]]), including the recreation areas and the jump drive; it is noted to be designed for long, isolated flights.<ref name="LL20"/> Most importantly, the ''Manassas'' was fitted with the prototype of an advanced jump drive that allowed the vessel jumps of up to 40 lightyears, 10 more than the usual 30 lightyears range limit of jump drives. This was achieved through a special booster system strengthening the K-F field before it reached the drive core.<ref name="LL53"/> A detailed description of the ''Manassas'', including deck plans, is featured on pp. 58–64 of the ''Living Legends'' adventure module. ==History== One of the [[WarShip]]s to join [[Aleksandr Kerensky]]'s [[Operation Exodus]] in 2784, the ''Manassas'' was assigned to rear-guard duty under the command of [[Captain]] [[James Cromwell]] to scout for pursuers of the Exodus fleet. Upon jumping to its prearranged rendezvous point in the [[Schwartz]] system after determining that no pursuit was forthcoming, the ''Manassas'' suffered a [[misjump]] stranding it in an unspecified system some 35 lightyears off-target where they spent six months planetside, jury-rigging repairs to the K-F drive to the best of their abilities. :''(Note that since a WarShip cannot land, the ''Manassas'' itself would have remained in orbit or elsewhere within the system. Only the four ''[[Confederate]]''-class [[DropShip]]s which the ''Manassas'' carried on its last mission<ref>''Living Legends'', p. 37</ref> could have touched down on the planet. Also, it is unclear if the planet was actually habitable, or if it was only used to benefit from its gravity for crew comfort or repair work on the surface).'' With the provisionally repaired jump drive, the ''Manassas'' and her four DropShips made a second attempt to jump to Schwartz. Because of a technical flaw, the K-F drive controller did not detect in time that the jump would be a misjump, and did not abort the jump. As a result, the ''Manassas'' misjumped again. This time, they arrived at their intended destination, but the ship did not rematerialize at the destination until the year [[3058]], after nearly three centuries in jump stasis, a fact of which the crew, who did not sense a delay, was initially unawares. In the Schwartz system, the ''Manassas'' encountered and hailed the ''[[Lioness]]'', a ''[[York (WarShip class)|York]]''-class destroyer from the [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] Naval Reserve. Puzzled by the [[SLDF]] vessel's appearance and considering James Cromwell a war criminal according to Clan historical records, the ''Lioness'' ordered the ''Manassas'' to stand by and later prepared to board her. This was witnessed by a team of [[ComStar]] [[Explorer Corps (ComStar)|Explorer Corps]] operatives working in conjunction with the [[JumpShip]] ''[[Persephone (Individual Magellan-class JumpShip)|Persephone]]'', who had been on an intelligence gathering mission to Schwartz and had been monitoring the radio traffic. They warned the ''Manassas'' and directed her to a rendezvous in the nearby [[Roxborough]] system. There, James Cromwell, upon learning of the situation, decided to return to Schwartz, fight the ''Lioness'' and claim the planet to rule over it. However, it turned out he had underestimated the power of the ''Lioness''. By the time a shuttle from the ''Persephone'' arrived at the battle site, the ''Manassas'' seemed to have no operating guns left and her hull was marred by laser scorch marks, with most of her [[aerospace fighter]] screen destroyed. [[Elemental]]s from Clan Smoke Jaguar boarded the ship and seized it. In this situation, the ComStar team—by now aware of the experimental jump drive—decided they had no chance to reclaim the ship, but could not allow its potentially revolutionary technology to fall into Clan Smoke Jaguar's hands either. They attempted to sabotage the vessel, with the help of some of the ''Manassas''' officers. :''It is unclear if or to what extent the sabotage mission succeeded. The ''Manassas'' did not survive intact in any case: The adventure module establishes that even if the sabotage attempt fails, the ship's ramshackle, jury-rigged drive will explode eventually because of its poor condition "when a Clan technician [does] something wrong to it."<ref name="LL43">''Living Legends'', p. 43</ref> This implicitly rules out the previously mentioned possibility that the experimental jump drive could theoretically be reverse engineered.<ref>Implied in the "Drive Damage Table" on p. 38 showing possible results for the sabotage attempt</ref> The module also explains that because of the precarious political situation in the [[Inner Sphere]] at the time and the sensitive nature of the experimental drive, only few (deeply buried) records were kept during its development in the [[Star League era]] and these may even have been erased due to the mistaken belief that the ''Manassas'' was lost in a misjump, marking the technology unsafe.''<ref>''Living Legends'', p. 27</ref> The crew of the ''Manassas'' was sent to Schwartz as "surplus laborers" (effectively slaves) by Clan Smoke Jaguar, with the suggestion that the ComStar team might attempt to rescue them. Captain Cromwell was detained to be tried as a war criminal. Some officers from the ''Manassas'' may have escaped with the ComStar team, but if that was the case, it is indicated ComStar would have taken them into "protective custody" and kept them in a gilded cage forthwith.<ref name="LL43"/> Overall, their fate (including that of Captain Cromwell) is unknown, and nothing was ever heard from them again. The entire affair was apparently covered up successfully. ==Notes== * According to comments by [[Mike "Cray" Miller|Mike Miller]] and [[CGL]] freelancer Kit deSummersville in [http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=9493.0 this thread] on the [[BattleTech Forum]], it was planned to revisit the ''Manassas'' storyline in passing in ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: 3072]]''. A sidebar would have mentioned one of the crew members doing a book tour. However, this was changed for Dr. [[Deirdre Nakamura]] (of [[BattleTech: The Animated Series]] fame) in the eventual publication, found in a sidebar on p. 113. ==References== <references /> ==Bibliography== * ''[[Living Legends]]'' [[Category: Individual WarShips]] [[Category: Individual Heavy Cruisers]] [[Category: Individual Aegis-class WarShips]] [[Category:WarShip classes]] [[Category:Cruiser classes]] [[Category:Heavy Cruiser classes]] [[Category:Large WarShips]]

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