Celestra

Celestra is a Colonial capital ship in .

Background
The Celestra class support was originally a self-sustaining civilian research ship that was co-opted by Colonial Fleet. This support uses remote drones to apply adaptive armour plating. A resupply depot has been retrofitted into the hangar, allowing Raptor crews to make supply runs mid-mission to fleet cruisers and battlestars.

Weapons layout and performance
The ship has a 20% base damage reduction and 100% base subsystem repair rate. Its firewall regenerates at a rate of 100/s.

Special abilities
Restock Munitions, Deploy Plating.

In Single Player mode, a single Celestra may be added to the player's fleet without adding to the overall fleet points. However, any additional Celestras added will cost 550 fleet points.

Strategy
The Celestra is unique among the capital ships in the Colonial Fleet in that it has no offensive or defensive capabilities whatsoever: it is a true support-only capital ship. The primary virtue of the Celestra is that it can reinforce and resupply other units, allowing them to fight longer and harder against superior Cylon fleets.

While it is lightly armored, it cannot take a standard barrage from Cylon munitions or firepower for long. As such, players will need to consider a defensive posture with the Celestra at all times, either by placing it nearby other capital ships, such as a Heracles or Battlestar for flak coverage, or with squadron defense by Vipers or Assault Raptors.

Because the Celestra's special abilities can re-arm munitions and repair damaged armor, the ship can share a symbiotic relationship with Minerva-class Battlestars in particular, as they are lower in armor than their counterparts in the Artemis and Jupiter/Jupiter Mk II classes and have more munitions slots. Players attempting this strategy will need to adjust regular Minerva tactics to compensate, as the Celestra requires two turns to repair and re-arm the vessel, which is difficult if the Minerva is at the center of the fray.

More cautious players should consider pairing it with the Jupiter and Jupiter Mk II battlestars, as they have extra fighter support and slower speeds. Given their overall cost, the Celestra may be able to support these units with critical armor or firepower from the rear of the formation.

Aggressive players can still use the Celestra on the front lines with the Ranger or Janus and resupply/repair the crafts as they move into range; however, it is advisable to provide plenty of protection or to rotate these ships away from Cylon barrages during resupply.