Mr. Russ's Holoship Collection 01 - ESN Château d'If (Patreon)

It is the privilege of the master of a vessel to decorate their office (or ready room, or any of their other spaces) in the manner of their choosing. However, it is also the duty of a captain to do this in a way that represents the ship, its crew, and its traditions to best advantage.

To that end I have compiled a collection of holo-ships from throughout history and space to place on rotating display during my first full captaincy, however long or short it may end up being.

ESN-184446 Château d'If

Type: Prison Hulk

Origin: Earth, Sol System

MR. RUSS’S NOTES:

The Château d'If was named for an island detention center that once existed on the human home world. The prison possessed a dark reputation for holding inmates who were arrested in secret and allowed to languish there until they died.

The orbital hulk is believed to have served a similar function, although exact records either have not survived or were never made in the first place. It remains a matter of speculation whether its ship prefix originally stood for “European Space Navy” or the later “Earth Space Navy.” Its numerical designation does not conform to the conventions of either institution.

Rather than a purpose-built space station or vessel, the hulk was pieced together from myriad Terran craft, all which had been rendered unsuitable for other uses in Earth’s earliest interplanetary colony wars. Lacking any conventional propulsion systems, this amalgamation was crewed only by its inmates. Its position stranded in high orbit made any escape attempt both impractical and unsafe.

Because of this position in orbit of Earth, the Château d'If was a target of the planet’s first large-scale alien invasion. Communications satellites, listening posts, and automated defenses were all destroyed simultaneously with no warning. This was achieved by an overwhelming fleet belonging to several of the combative Replica Princes of the Infinite Dynasty.

However, Earth was still able to observe and communicate as the enemy flagship docked with the Château d'If. The Infinite Dynasty claimed the hulk as their staging ground for a full-scale planetary invasion, demanding unconditional surrender by humanity as a whole.

This proved to be a mistake. The inmates of the ESN Château d'If, attempting to either protect their birth world or escape (likely both), fought back. Within one Earth day, the enemy flagship was seized by the prisoners. It turned about and executed a hyperjump away from Earth, with the Château d'If still attached.

The absence of the flagship led the rest of the invasion fleet to scatter, and Earth was spared a war with the much more advanced Infinite Dynasty (a misnamed entity, since it has since been extinguished). A free humanity survived to explore and colonize space, interacting with interstellar civilizations and paving the way for modern history (and the founding of the Prime Galactic Regency).

The names and number of the inmates on the Château d'If are unrecorded. Its fate remains completely unknown. All we can say for certain is that they once lived and what they once achieved.

This holo-model is my own small commemoration of their deed and its profound historical impact.