Captain

The HUD displays the CPT (Common Tactical Picture) shared from the Operator’s station. However, the Pilot utilizes a headset only and does not wear a Head-Mounted Display (HMD). The station can be switched to “Ship Control Mode” as needed.

Operator

The HUD interface surrounding the Operator projects the CPT (Common Tactical Picture), allowing for a comprehensive overview of the fleet’s movement and formation, much like spreading out a tactical chart. The Operator can simultaneously command multiple vessels or focus on and directly control a specific ship of their choice.

Serving as the core component of the “Restricted Autonomous Air Defense System” (colloquially known as the “Unmanned Fleet”), this vessel bears the official designation “Planetary Global Aerospace Defense Integrated Autonomous System, Airspace Security Command Ship Gladiator” (Identification Number: GAD-1M). It functions as a mothership, commanding and controlling a fleet of small, unmanned interceptor vessels known as Ajax.

Commissioned by the “Air Force” branch of the Earth Defense Force, this vessel was constructed by Nanbu Heavy Industries. Due to a historical context in which the Air Force harbored an aversion to the “ocean-ship-style” space battleships, a design pioneered by the “Space Navy” and its predecessor, the Martian Independent Government (which had spearheaded the Inner Planetary War), Gladiator was designed based on operational philosophies predating the establishment of the United Nations Space Navy. Consequently, its primary focus lies in “hit-and-run” tactics akin to those employed by fighter aircraft. As a result, the vessel boasts exceptionally high levels of mobility and maneuverability that surpass those of standard Space Navy vessels.

Although Gladiator itself is a manned vessel, it incorporates the accumulated technological expertise derived from previous unmanned ship designs, enabling it to be operated by a minimal crew complement. Given the Air Force’s long-standing lack of operational experience with space battleships, the core operational roles were entrusted to members of the former 65th Escort Squadron, personnel seconded from the Space Navy: Captain Daisuke Shima, Pilot Shigeru Hayashi, and Chief Engineer Tasuke Tokugawa.

The bridge features neither windows nor the large-format screens typical of Space Navy vessels. Instead, it adopts a sealed structural design wherein all bridge functions have been fully integrated into the CIC (Combat Information Center). During combat operations, a Head-Up Display (HUD) deploys around each crew member, projecting real-time tactical situational data. Working with AI assistance, four operators simultaneously control the Ajax interceptors, managing 12 to 13 units each via Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs).

To protect the crew from the intense G-forces generated by the ship’s high-mobility maneuvers, personnel wear specialized “G-suits.” These suits combine anti-G capabilities, equal to or exceeding those of fighter pilots, with integrated ballistic protection and life-support functions. (The Captain wears a flight jacket over their commander-spec suit.) Furthermore, the bridge section is designed as a modular unit; in emergencies, such as taking a direct hit, the surrounding walls and ceiling can be jettisoned, allowing the crew to eject and escape while still seated, thereby ensuring a high probability of survival.

The propulsion system is specialized for the rapid longitudinal acceleration and deceleration essential to “hit-and-run” combat tactics. It features small braking thrusters located on the forward flanks and stern, as well as large thrusters on both port and starboard sides for emergency braking maneuvers.

In terms of armament, and in contrast to the standard Space Navy doctrine, this vessel employs a Bow Wave-Motion Gun as its primary weapon system. The specific variant installed on this ship, the Split-Muzzle Wave-Motion Gun, features a serial-configuration firing chamber similar to that of the Dreadnought-class vessels. By utilizing a beam splitter, the weapon is capable of switching between concentrated-fire and dispersed-fire modes. Moreover, the dual-muzzle configuration allows the Wave-Motion Gun’s firing angle (specifically, the vector of its extra-dimensional energy projection) to be directed off-axis.

Under the mandate of Operation DAD, launched in response to the Dezarium invasion of 2207, Gladiator took up a defensive position in Earth orbit to intercept the Grand Reverse, commanding a fleet of 49 unmanned Ajax-class vessels. However, during the operation, the ship suffered a critical system failure, causing the entire unmanned fleet under its command to go offline. Subsequently, Gladiator sustained catastrophic damage during an attack by the Dezarium fleet immediately following their warp-out. The surviving crew members successfully evacuated the vessel. (The Dezarium forces deemed the surviving, now-uncontrollable Ajax vessels, along with the heavily damaged Gladiator itself, to be of no further tactical value, and consequently abandoned them in Earth orbit.)

Return to previous article