Portfolio: Casse Aerospace

This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 5.3.
While Casse Aerospace bears the name of an engineering legend, the company itself has faded from memory for all but the most dedicated ship enthusiasts. Or at least that was the case for over a century until Anvil Aerospace resurrected one of Casse’s designs and alongside it, interest in the man himself and the ships he built.

An Edleson Design Institute Hall of Fame inductee in 2902, Leonard Casse has earned a place in the annals of history as one of the top spacecraft visionaries of the Messer Era. While the general populace may wind up considering his creation of the Hurricane fighter the most enduring part of his legacy, his effect on the industry overall is not limited to that one design. Cited by ship design luminaries such as J. Harris Arnold, Silas Koerner, and Jules Parliegh as a prime source of inspiration, Casse’s influence can be seen in many spacecraft being flown today. From the humble RSI Aurora to the mighty Anvil Hornet, several of the Empire’s most popular vehicles can trace their lineage to Casse’s unique vision.

Taking Off
Hired fresh out of university, Casse began his career as a junior aerospace engineer for RSI in 2587, securing himself a position on the Starbright transport team. This simple and functional ship, often referred to as the Aurora’s spiritual predecessor, had been redesigned for the 2590 model year release and was about to go into full production. Assigned to review the machining specs for the ventral hull piece before the manufacturing run began, Casse noticed that the updated nozzle placement, while adding fuel efficiency, was going to cause potentially dangerous additional stresses to the ship’s frame. He promptly reported his findings to the Starbright’s lead designer, only to be told that the effect was negligible and that he should trust the more experienced members of the team.

Unsatisfied with that result, Casse took his report directly to the head of the company, CEO Thessaly Vanowen. Impressed with the young engineer, Vanowen ordered a separate independent team to audit the Starbright’s testing results. Two weeks later, the project was completely halted for a total rework of the internal struts. The 2590 Starbright would now be released as the 2591, with Casse promoted to a full engineer on the team.

His rise after that was rapid. In 2595 Casse was named lead designer for the 2600 Starbright. RSI saw the new century as the perfect time to relaunch the Starbright and was hoping that Casse would be the ideal candidate to revitalize the aging ship line. He did not disappoint. Rebuilt from the ground up, the 2600 Starbright was praised for its innovative entry system and all-new custom IFCS that integrated flawlessly with the ship’s thrusters for unmatched responsiveness. What was previously thought of as “just another transport” became elevated to “a flying experience that everyone should have the pleasure of enjoying.” Even today, centuries later, collectors still covet the 2600 Starbright for their personal fleets. Perhaps what makes it so valued though, even beyond its quality, is that it would be the only ship Casse designed for RSI.

A New Way to Fly
As soon as the assembly line began rolling out the ship he had labored on for close to four years, Casse announced at the beginning of 2599 that he would be leaving to start his own company. According to later biographers, Casse described his time at RSI as a constant struggle. From that first instance when his suggestions were passed over due to his junior status, he felt that good design was too often sacrificed in order to placate a hierarchical organization trying to justify its own worth. “As soon as you have a ship manufacturing company where almost half the people who work there have nothing to do with manufacturing ships, you’re going to have problems,” he would state in a later interview. He swore that the company he was building, Casse Aerospace, would be different. He would only hire a small team of people whom he could trust to do quality work at the standards he demanded, and then he would leave them to do it. Everyone’s opinion would have equal weight, with all final decisions left to himself. It was unorthodox for ship manufacturing, but under the strong vision and guidance of Casse, the flat organization style worked.

It was 2604 when Casse Aerospace released its first ship, the limited-run Cosmo Sloop. A leisure craft with a focus on ease of use, the hull premiered the open circle signet and curved wings that Casse would use on all his future designs. The reviews of this cutting-edge craft were universally positive, but unfortunately the timing of the ship’s release would prove to be its undoing.

The Second Tevarin War had begun the year prior and with enemy forces pushing their way through Humanity’s defenses, the personal leisure craft market bottomed out. With all their fortunes riding on sales of the Cosmo, Casse Aerospace found themselves struggling to keep their fledgling company afloat and decided that the best course of action was to join the war effort.

Calm Before the Storm
The Tevarin fleet had undergone significant tech upgrades during their exodus, and the UEE Naval forces were having a difficult time overcoming the new phalanx shields. In 2605, Navy officials called upon the Empire’s ship manufacturers for a solution. Though he had never worked on a combat ship before, Casse knew that the credits such a lucrative contract would bring could save his company, and so he set about designing the solution to Humanity’s current problems.

Analyzing battle footage of Naval forces engaging the Tevarin led Casse to the conclusion that trying to overwhelm the Phalanx shields was a losing proposition. The bulk of damage that the Navy was able to inflict occurred when a Tevarin was caught off guard. The goal of his design would be to increase the frequency with which those opportunities would occur and maximize the damage inflicted during them. To help his ship achieve this goal, he borrowed a page from the enemy’s playbook. If the Tevarin were operating in teams of two, one pilot and one shield operator, his ship could also be manned by a team, a pilot and a turret gunner. The design he submitted to the Navy stood in sharp contrast to those submitted by industry leaders like Aegis, and it surprised many when the Navy granted a contract to the unusual contender. Casse Aerospace immediately began work on what would become the Hurricane.

Launched late in 2607, the Casse Hurricane suffered some setbacks during the testing phase. Though pilots liked the power-to-weight ratio and the extra punch its quad-turret offered, the high degree of coordination needed between the pilot and gunner had a very steep learning curve. Because of this, the Hurricane didn’t enter active combat until 2609. While they were used to devastating effect in a few instrumental actions, the war ended shortly after their deployment in 2610.

Trying to capitalize on the success of the Hurricane, Casse Aerospace used the goodwill they had garnered to win a contract designing a long-range patrol ship suited to guard the growing Xi’an front. However, before that ship could be finished, Leonard Casse tragically passed away in 2615 after being involved in a deadly in-atmosphere collision. Reeling from the loss of their founder and leader, Casse Aerospace attempted to finish the project, but without Casse’s personal involvement, military officials lost confidence and pulled the plug.

Surviving off continuing Hurricane sales, Casse Aerospace attempted to return to their roots and release an updated Cosmo but again, without Casse behind the project, it was not a commercial success. Things were looking dire for the company, and when the Navy announced the Hurricane would be retired from active duty, it signaled the end. The market was soon flush with surplus Hurricanes and any remaining new sales dried up. With little options remaining, the board sold the company to an investment firm. From there it passed hands several times before falling into receivership and becoming nothing more than a footnote of history for the next century.

The Next Generation
When J. Harris Arnold was in school, he was obsessed with the works of Leonard Casse. To him, the mostly forgotten engineer represented everything he loved about ship design. When he eventually started his own ship manufacturing company, Arnold drew heavy inspiration from Casse’s business model and ships for his own designs, utilizing such signature elements as the curved wings and open circle signet. The similarities were such that Arnold and his fledgling company, Anvil Aerospace, was sued by the holding firm who had bought the rights to Casse’s designs. Arnold decided to settle the case by purchasing all of Casse Aerospace’s portfolio himself. Now the owner of Casse’s legacy, Arnold sought an opportunity to put the company’s original designs to use, but one didn’t present itself for close to seventy years.

The UEE was suffering as Vanduul attacks in Caliban grew in frequency in a manner similar to the ones that led to the fall of Virgil and Tiber. Eager to turn their efforts around, the Navy brass were looking for a new ship that would enable their pilots to cut engagement times down. Their theory was that the faster a Vanduul fighter could be taken out, the less opportunity it would have to cause Human casualties. Anvil provided the solution in the form of a resurrected Hurricane. The updated design still bore all the hallmarks of Casse’s original, but with the addition of Anvil’s proven conflict expertise. The result was a game changer for the war effort, and in 2878 a new generation of Navy pilots began to use the Hurricane to devastating effect.

Today, Casse and the company he built have finally taken their proper place in history books, thanks to the efforts of Arnold and others who sought to keep their memory alive. While he may have only designed three ships in his lifetime, Leonard Casse’s contributions extend well beyond what he left behind in the shipyard, as he has inspired countless numbers to see the universe a little bit differently. The plaque honoring him in the Edleson Design Institute Hall of Fame cites a fitting Casse quotation, “Good design solves a problem, bad design creates new ones.”

Dieses Portfolio erschien ursprünglich in Jump Point 5.3.
Während Casse Aerospace den Namen einer Ingenieurlegende trägt, ist das Unternehmen selbst für alle außer den engagiertesten Schiffsenthusiasten aus dem Gedächtnis verschwunden. Oder zumindest war das über ein Jahrhundert lang der Fall, bis Anvil Aerospace einen von Casses Entwürfen wiederbelebt hat und damit das Interesse an dem Mann selbst und den von ihm gebauten Schiffen.

Leonard Casse, der 2902 in die Hall of Fame des Edleson Design Institute aufgenommen wurde, hat sich einen Platz in der Geschichte als einer der führenden Visionäre der Messer-Ära verdient. Während die breite Öffentlichkeit seine Entwicklung des Hurrikan-Kampfjets als den nachhaltigsten Teil seines Erbes betrachten mag, ist sein Einfluss auf die Branche insgesamt nicht auf dieses eine Design beschränkt. Casses Einfluss wird von Schiffsdesign-Leute wie J. Harris Arnold, Silas Koerner und Jules Parliegh als eine der wichtigsten Inspirationsquellen genannt und zeigt sich in vielen Raumfahrzeugen, die heute geflogen werden. Vom bescheidenen RSI Aurora bis zur mächtigen Anvil Hornet können einige der beliebtesten Fahrzeuge des Imperiums ihre Herkunft auf Casses einzigartige Vision zurückführen.

Abheben
Casse wurde frisch von der Universität eingestellt und begann seine Karriere 2587 als Junior Aerospace Engineer für RSI und sicherte sich damit eine Position im Starbright Transportteam. Dieses einfache und funktionale Schiff, das oft als spiritueller Vorgänger der Aurora bezeichnet wird, war für die Veröffentlichung im Modelljahr 2590 neu konzipiert worden und stand kurz davor, in die Vollproduktion zu gehen. Casse wurde beauftragt, die Bearbeitungsspezifikationen für das ventrale Rumpfteil vor Beginn des Fertigungslaufs zu überprüfen und bemerkte, dass die aktualisierte Düsenplatzierung, während sie die Kraftstoffeffizienz steigerte, zu potenziell gefährlichen zusätzlichen Spannungen im Schiffsrahmen führen würde. Er berichtete seine Ergebnisse umgehend an den Lead-Designer von Starbright, nur um zu erfahren, dass der Effekt vernachlässigbar war und dass er den erfahreneren Mitgliedern des Teams vertrauen sollte.

Unzufrieden mit diesem Ergebnis brachte Casse seinen Bericht direkt an den Chef des Unternehmens, CEO Thessaly Vanowen. Beeindruckt von dem jungen Ingenieur beauftragte Vanowen ein separates unabhängiges Team, um die Testergebnisse der Starbright zu überprüfen. Zwei Wochen später wurde das Projekt komplett gestoppt, um eine komplette Überarbeitung der Innenstreben durchzuführen. Die 2590 Starbright würde nun als die 2591 veröffentlicht, wobei Casse zu einem vollständigen Ingenieur im Team befördert wurde.

Sein Aufstieg danach war schnell. Im Jahr 2595 wurde Casse zum Lead Designer für den 2600 Starbright ernannt. RSI sah das neue Jahrhundert als den perfekten Zeitpunkt für den Relaunch der Starbright und hoffte, dass Casse der ideale Kandidat für die Revitalisierung der alternden Schiffslinie sein würde. Er hat nicht enttäuscht. Die 2600 Starbright, die von Grund auf neu aufgebaut wurde, wurde für ihr innovatives Einstiegssystem und ihr völlig neues kundenspezifisches IFCS gelobt, das sich perfekt in die Triebwerke des Schiffes integrierte und eine unübertroffene Reaktionsfähigkeit bot. Was früher als "nur ein weiterer Transport" galt, wurde zu einem "Flugerlebnis, das jeder genießen sollte". Auch heute, Jahrhunderte später, begehren Sammler die 2600 Starbright noch immer für ihre persönlichen Flotten. Vielleicht ist es aber auch über seine Qualität hinaus so wertvoll, dass es das einzige Schiff wäre, das Casse für RSI entwickelt hat.

Eine neue Art zu fliegen
Sobald die Montagelinie begann, das Schiff, an dem er fast vier Jahre lang gearbeitet hatte, in Betrieb zu nehmen, kündigte Casse Anfang 2599 an, dass er gehen würde, um sein eigenes Unternehmen zu gründen. Laut späteren Biographen beschrieb Casse seine Zeit am RSI als einen ständigen Kampf. Von der ersten Instanz an, als seine Vorschläge aufgrund seines Junior-Status übergangen wurden, fühlte er, dass gutes Design zu oft geopfert wurde, um eine hierarchische Organisation zu besänftigen, die versucht, ihren eigenen Wert zu rechtfertigen. "Sobald man eine Schiffsfabrik hat, in der fast die Hälfte der Menschen, die dort arbeiten, nichts mit der Herstellung von Schiffen zu tun haben, wird man Probleme haben", würde er in einem späteren Interview sagen. Er schwor, dass die Firma, die er gründete, Casse Aerospace, anders sein würde. Er würde nur ein kleines Team von Leuten einstellen, denen er vertrauen konnte, um Qualitätsarbeit nach den von ihm geforderten Standards zu leisten, und dann würde er es ihnen überlassen. Die Meinung aller Beteiligten hätte das gleiche Gewicht, wobei alle endgültigen Entscheidungen sich selbst überlassen blieben. Es war unorthodox für den Schiffbau, aber unter der starken Vision und Führung von Casse funktionierte der flache Organisationsstil.

Es war 2604, als Casse Aerospace sein erstes Schiff, die limitierte Cosmo Sloop, freigab. Als Freizeitschiff mit dem Schwerpunkt auf Benutzerfreundlichkeit präsentierte der Rumpf das Siegel des offenen Kreises und die geschwungenen Flügel, die Casse für alle seine zukünftigen Entwürfe verwenden würde. Die Bewertungen dieses hochmodernen Schiffes waren durchweg positiv, aber leider würde sich der Zeitpunkt der Freigabe des Schiffes als sein Untergang erweisen.

Der Zweite Tevarin-Krieg hatte im Jahr zuvor begonnen, und als sich feindliche Kräfte durch die Verteidigung der Menschheit drängten, erreichte der Markt für persönliche Freizeitschiffe die Talsohle. Mit all ihrem Vermögen, das auf dem Verkauf der Cosmo beruhte, hatte Casse Aerospace Schwierigkeiten, ihr junges Unternehmen über Wasser zu halten, und entschied, dass die beste Vorgehensweise darin bestand, sich den Kriegsanstrengungen anzuschließen.

Ruhe vor dem Sturm
Die Tevarin-Flotte hatte während ihres Exodus bedeutende technische Verbesserungen erfahren, und die UEE-Marine hatte es schwer, die neuen Phalanxschilde zu überwinden. Im Jahr 2605 forderten die Offiziellen der Marine die Schiffshersteller des Imperiums zu einer Lösung auf. Obwohl er noch nie zuvor auf einem Kampfschiff gearbeitet hatte, wusste Casse, dass die Kredite, die ein so lukrativer Vertrag bringen würde, seine Firma retten könnten, und so machte er sich daran, die Lösung für die aktuellen Probleme der Menschheit zu entwickeln.

Die Analyse von Kampfmaterial der Seestreitkräfte, die die Tevarin bekämpfen, führte Casse zu dem Schluss, dass der Versuch, die Phalanx-Schilde zu überwältigen, ein Verlustvorschlag war. Der größte Teil des Schadens, den die Marine verursachen konnte, entstand, als ein Tevarin unvorbereitet erwischt wurde. Das Ziel seines Entwurfs wäre es, die Häufigkeit, mit der diese Möglichkeiten auftreten würden, zu erhöhen und den dabei verursachten Schaden zu maximieren. Um seinem Schiff zu helfen, dieses Ziel zu erreichen, lieh er sich eine Seite aus dem Spielbuch des Feindes. Wenn die Tevarin in Teams von zwei, einem Piloten und einem Schildbetreiber operieren würden, könnte sein Schiff auch mit einem Team, einem Piloten und einem Turmschützen besetzt sein. Der Entwurf, den er der Marine vorlegte, stand in scharfem Gegensatz zu dem von Branchenführern wie Aegis, und es überraschte viele, als die Marine dem ungewöhnlichen Konkurrenten einen Auftrag erteilte. Casse Aerospace begann sofort mit den Arbeiten an dem, was der Hurrikan werden sollte.

Der Casse Hurricane wurde Ende 2607 gestartet und erlitt während der Testphase einige Rückschläge. Obwohl den Piloten das Leistungsgewicht und der zusätzliche Schlag seines Quad-Turms gefiel, hatte der hohe Koordinationsaufwand zwischen Pilot und Schütze eine sehr steile Lernkurve. Aus diesem Grund trat der Hurrikan erst 2609 in den aktiven Kampf ein. Während sie in einigen wenigen Instrumentalaktionen mit verheerenden Auswirkungen verbunden waren, endete der Krieg kurz nach ihrem Einsatz im Jahr 2610.

Casse Aerospace versuchte, vom Erfolg des Hurrikans zu profitieren und nutzte den guten Willen, den sie gesammelt hatten, um einen Auftrag zu erhalten, der ein Langstrecken-Patrouillenschiff entwarf, das geeignet war, die wachsende Xi'an-Front zu schützen. Bevor dieses Schiff jedoch fertig gestellt werden konnte, starb Leonard Casse 2615 tragischerweise, nachdem er an einer tödlichen Kollision in der Atmosphäre beteiligt war. Nach dem Verlust ihres Gründers und Führers versuchte Casse Aerospace, das Projekt zu beenden, aber ohne Casses persönliche Beteiligung verloren die Militärbeamten das Vertrauen und zogen den Stecker.

Casse Aerospace überlebte die anhaltenden Hurrikanverkäufe und versuchte, zu ihren Wurzeln zurückzukehren und einen aktualisierten Cosmo zu veröffentlichen, aber wieder, ohne Casse hinter dem Projekt, war es kein kommerzieller Erfolg. Die Dinge waren auf der Suche nach dem Unternehmen, und als die Marine ankündigte, dass der Hurrikan aus dem aktiven Dienst ausgemustert werden würde, signalisierte sie das Ende. Der Markt war bald von überschüssigen Hurrikanen überschwemmt und alle verbleibenden neuen Verkäufe trockneten aus. Da nur noch wenige Optionen zur Verfügung standen, verkaufte der Vorstand das Unternehmen an eine Investmentgesellschaft. Von dort aus ging es mehrmals an den Händen, bevor es in die Zwangsverwaltung fiel und nichts anderes als eine Fußnote der Geschichte für das nächste Jahrhundert wurde.

Die nächste Generation
Als J. Harris Arnold in der Schule war, war er von den Werken von Leonard Casse besessen. Für ihn repräsentierte der meist vergessene Ingenieur alles, was er am Schiffsdesign liebte. Als er schließlich seine eigene Schiffsfirma gründete, ließ sich Arnold stark von Casses Geschäftsmodell und Schiffen für seine eigenen Entwürfe inspirieren und verwendete dabei charakteristische Elemente wie die gebogenen Flügel und das Siegel des offenen Kreises. Die Ähnlichkeiten waren so groß, dass Arnold und seine noch junge Firma Anvil Aerospace von der Holdinggesellschaft verklagt wurden, die die Rechte an den Entwürfen von Casse erworben hatte. Arnold beschloss, den Fall zu lösen, indem er das gesamte Portfolio von Casse Aerospace selbst kaufte. Arnold, der nun der Besitzer von Casses Vermächtnis ist, suchte nach einer Möglichkeit, die ursprünglichen Entwürfe des Unternehmens zu nutzen, aber man präsentierte sich fast siebzig Jahre lang nicht.

Die UEE litt, als Vanduul-Angriffe in Kaliban an Häufigkeit zunahmen, ähnlich denen, die zum Sturz von Virgil und Tiber führten. Die Navy-Messings suchten nach einem neuen Schiff, das es ihren Piloten ermöglichen würde, die Einsatzzeiten zu verkürzen. Ihre Theorie war, dass je schneller ein Vanduul-Kämpfer ausgeschaltet werden konnte, desto weniger Gelegenheit hätte er, menschliche Verluste zu verursachen. Anvil lieferte die Lösung in Form eines wiederauferstandenen Hurrikans. Das aktualisierte Design trug noch immer alle Merkmale von Casses Original, aber mit der Ergänzung durch Anvils bewährte Konfliktkompetenz. Das Ergebnis war ein Wendepunkt für die Kriegsanstrengungen, und 2878 begann eine neue Generation von Marinepiloten, den Hurrikan mit verheerender Wirkung zu nutzen.

Heute haben Casse und die von ihm gegründete Firma dank der Bemühungen von Arnold und anderen, die ihr Gedächtnis am Leben erhalten wollten, endlich ihren Platz in den Geschichtsbüchern eingenommen. Obwohl er in seinem Leben vielleicht nur drei Schiffe entworfen hat, gehen Leonard Casses Beiträge weit über das hinaus, was er in der Werft hinterlassen hat, denn er hat unzählige Zahlen inspiriert, das Universum ein wenig anders zu sehen. Die Plakette, die ihn in der Edleson Design Institute Hall of Fame ehrt, zitiert ein passendes Casse-Zitat: "Gutes Design löst ein Problem, schlechtes Design schafft neue."

This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 5.3.
While Casse Aerospace bears the name of an engineering legend, the company itself has faded from memory for all but the most dedicated ship enthusiasts. Or at least that was the case for over a century until Anvil Aerospace resurrected one of Casse’s designs and alongside it, interest in the man himself and the ships he built.

An Edleson Design Institute Hall of Fame inductee in 2902, Leonard Casse has earned a place in the annals of history as one of the top spacecraft visionaries of the Messer Era. While the general populace may wind up considering his creation of the Hurricane fighter the most enduring part of his legacy, his effect on the industry overall is not limited to that one design. Cited by ship design luminaries such as J. Harris Arnold, Silas Koerner, and Jules Parliegh as a prime source of inspiration, Casse’s influence can be seen in many spacecraft being flown today. From the humble RSI Aurora to the mighty Anvil Hornet, several of the Empire’s most popular vehicles can trace their lineage to Casse’s unique vision.

Taking Off
Hired fresh out of university, Casse began his career as a junior aerospace engineer for RSI in 2587, securing himself a position on the Starbright transport team. This simple and functional ship, often referred to as the Aurora’s spiritual predecessor, had been redesigned for the 2590 model year release and was about to go into full production. Assigned to review the machining specs for the ventral hull piece before the manufacturing run began, Casse noticed that the updated nozzle placement, while adding fuel efficiency, was going to cause potentially dangerous additional stresses to the ship’s frame. He promptly reported his findings to the Starbright’s lead designer, only to be told that the effect was negligible and that he should trust the more experienced members of the team.

Unsatisfied with that result, Casse took his report directly to the head of the company, CEO Thessaly Vanowen. Impressed with the young engineer, Vanowen ordered a separate independent team to audit the Starbright’s testing results. Two weeks later, the project was completely halted for a total rework of the internal struts. The 2590 Starbright would now be released as the 2591, with Casse promoted to a full engineer on the team.

His rise after that was rapid. In 2595 Casse was named lead designer for the 2600 Starbright. RSI saw the new century as the perfect time to relaunch the Starbright and was hoping that Casse would be the ideal candidate to revitalize the aging ship line. He did not disappoint. Rebuilt from the ground up, the 2600 Starbright was praised for its innovative entry system and all-new custom IFCS that integrated flawlessly with the ship’s thrusters for unmatched responsiveness. What was previously thought of as “just another transport” became elevated to “a flying experience that everyone should have the pleasure of enjoying.” Even today, centuries later, collectors still covet the 2600 Starbright for their personal fleets. Perhaps what makes it so valued though, even beyond its quality, is that it would be the only ship Casse designed for RSI.

A New Way to Fly
As soon as the assembly line began rolling out the ship he had labored on for close to four years, Casse announced at the beginning of 2599 that he would be leaving to start his own company. According to later biographers, Casse described his time at RSI as a constant struggle. From that first instance when his suggestions were passed over due to his junior status, he felt that good design was too often sacrificed in order to placate a hierarchical organization trying to justify its own worth. “As soon as you have a ship manufacturing company where almost half the people who work there have nothing to do with manufacturing ships, you’re going to have problems,” he would state in a later interview. He swore that the company he was building, Casse Aerospace, would be different. He would only hire a small team of people whom he could trust to do quality work at the standards he demanded, and then he would leave them to do it. Everyone’s opinion would have equal weight, with all final decisions left to himself. It was unorthodox for ship manufacturing, but under the strong vision and guidance of Casse, the flat organization style worked.

It was 2604 when Casse Aerospace released its first ship, the limited-run Cosmo Sloop. A leisure craft with a focus on ease of use, the hull premiered the open circle signet and curved wings that Casse would use on all his future designs. The reviews of this cutting-edge craft were universally positive, but unfortunately the timing of the ship’s release would prove to be its undoing.

The Second Tevarin War had begun the year prior and with enemy forces pushing their way through Humanity’s defenses, the personal leisure craft market bottomed out. With all their fortunes riding on sales of the Cosmo, Casse Aerospace found themselves struggling to keep their fledgling company afloat and decided that the best course of action was to join the war effort.

Calm Before the Storm
The Tevarin fleet had undergone significant tech upgrades during their exodus, and the UEE Naval forces were having a difficult time overcoming the new phalanx shields. In 2605, Navy officials called upon the Empire’s ship manufacturers for a solution. Though he had never worked on a combat ship before, Casse knew that the credits such a lucrative contract would bring could save his company, and so he set about designing the solution to Humanity’s current problems.

Analyzing battle footage of Naval forces engaging the Tevarin led Casse to the conclusion that trying to overwhelm the Phalanx shields was a losing proposition. The bulk of damage that the Navy was able to inflict occurred when a Tevarin was caught off guard. The goal of his design would be to increase the frequency with which those opportunities would occur and maximize the damage inflicted during them. To help his ship achieve this goal, he borrowed a page from the enemy’s playbook. If the Tevarin were operating in teams of two, one pilot and one shield operator, his ship could also be manned by a team, a pilot and a turret gunner. The design he submitted to the Navy stood in sharp contrast to those submitted by industry leaders like Aegis, and it surprised many when the Navy granted a contract to the unusual contender. Casse Aerospace immediately began work on what would become the Hurricane.

Launched late in 2607, the Casse Hurricane suffered some setbacks during the testing phase. Though pilots liked the power-to-weight ratio and the extra punch its quad-turret offered, the high degree of coordination needed between the pilot and gunner had a very steep learning curve. Because of this, the Hurricane didn’t enter active combat until 2609. While they were used to devastating effect in a few instrumental actions, the war ended shortly after their deployment in 2610.

Trying to capitalize on the success of the Hurricane, Casse Aerospace used the goodwill they had garnered to win a contract designing a long-range patrol ship suited to guard the growing Xi’an front. However, before that ship could be finished, Leonard Casse tragically passed away in 2615 after being involved in a deadly in-atmosphere collision. Reeling from the loss of their founder and leader, Casse Aerospace attempted to finish the project, but without Casse’s personal involvement, military officials lost confidence and pulled the plug.

Surviving off continuing Hurricane sales, Casse Aerospace attempted to return to their roots and release an updated Cosmo but again, without Casse behind the project, it was not a commercial success. Things were looking dire for the company, and when the Navy announced the Hurricane would be retired from active duty, it signaled the end. The market was soon flush with surplus Hurricanes and any remaining new sales dried up. With little options remaining, the board sold the company to an investment firm. From there it passed hands several times before falling into receivership and becoming nothing more than a footnote of history for the next century.

The Next Generation
When J. Harris Arnold was in school, he was obsessed with the works of Leonard Casse. To him, the mostly forgotten engineer represented everything he loved about ship design. When he eventually started his own ship manufacturing company, Arnold drew heavy inspiration from Casse’s business model and ships for his own designs, utilizing such signature elements as the curved wings and open circle signet. The similarities were such that Arnold and his fledgling company, Anvil Aerospace, was sued by the holding firm who had bought the rights to Casse’s designs. Arnold decided to settle the case by purchasing all of Casse Aerospace’s portfolio himself. Now the owner of Casse’s legacy, Arnold sought an opportunity to put the company’s original designs to use, but one didn’t present itself for close to seventy years.

The UEE was suffering as Vanduul attacks in Caliban grew in frequency in a manner similar to the ones that led to the fall of Virgil and Tiber. Eager to turn their efforts around, the Navy brass were looking for a new ship that would enable their pilots to cut engagement times down. Their theory was that the faster a Vanduul fighter could be taken out, the less opportunity it would have to cause Human casualties. Anvil provided the solution in the form of a resurrected Hurricane. The updated design still bore all the hallmarks of Casse’s original, but with the addition of Anvil’s proven conflict expertise. The result was a game changer for the war effort, and in 2878 a new generation of Navy pilots began to use the Hurricane to devastating effect.

Today, Casse and the company he built have finally taken their proper place in history books, thanks to the efforts of Arnold and others who sought to keep their memory alive. While he may have only designed three ships in his lifetime, Leonard Casse’s contributions extend well beyond what he left behind in the shipyard, as he has inspired countless numbers to see the universe a little bit differently. The plaque honoring him in the Edleson Design Institute Hall of Fame cites a fitting Casse quotation, “Good design solves a problem, bad design creates new ones.”