Velocitor re-working.

The Judge-Class velocitor was the culmination of over a century of development of the Velocitor design. After the true velocitors had been developed among the various powers, the Calidar, then relatively weak compared to the Morrallin, Morrivore and Worril, had concentrated more on engine development than the others. Lasers had been seen as a wasteful area to pump R&D into, and the Calidar's main enemies were the laser-armed Worril and Morrivore in their occasional spats. The far-away Morrallin, with their excellent logistics train and highly developed guided-shell weaponry was not enough of a threat to warrant constant development of infinite-ammo lasers.

Nonetheless, while engine developments continued, particularly in the field of propellant, the Calidar bought off-the-shelf copies of Worril laser technology and applied it to their own designs. When the mid-century economic crash signaled the beginning of Morrivore decline, the Calidar were well placed to fill the gap. Accordingly R&D improved, and war budgets allowed thicker, more powerful velocitors. Gradually empty space between superstructures was filled, more emergency propellant could be pooled around the reactor, supplementing the shadow shield, and development of home-grown laser designs accelerated. Over the half-century, velocitor designs would become tougher and more notable in battle against the Worril (and increasingly the Morrallin), carving a place among the stars for the Calidar, and more importantly a reputation. 

It was the end of the century that saw the development of the quad-laser tower, a small armoured protrudence crammed with miniaturized components and providing room for more living space and supplies inside the main hull. Furthermore, better propellant improved the amount of mass that could be lifted. A larger hanger could now be installed, that could carry shuttlecraft or bombardment weaponry for planetary assault. Additional K-rods could be attached to the quad-towers.

However, the greatest innovation was the development of the propellant ring. Multiple rings could be stacked according to the mission, and each individual stage could be dropped, without the need for multiple drop tanks (and the working parts they came with) or losing an engine with each 'step-stage'. Such innovations resulted in the Judge class becoming the premier velocitor design, copied in many a design bureau.

There were numerous flaws with the design as with any. The hanger was still too small for many shuttlecraft, and the rear firing arc of the quad-towers was blocked completely by the propellant ring. This in itself was not  problem due to the ability of the velocitor to turn and meet threats well in time- partly thanks to the compact propellant rings. The inefficient space allocation in the 'corners' of the craft was more of a worry, but little could be done about it. The lack of a spinal mount continued to frustrate Calidar, Worril and other commanders, but technical reasons would prevent the development of such weapons until seventy years later. 

For all these flaws, the Velocitor was to continue to prove a superlative craft for decades to come, the work horse of Calidar space power.