The Nova-class battle cruiser was a capital ship that formed a large portion of the Hapan fleet. The Hapes Consortium had several different warships at their disposal. The backbone of their fleet was the distinctive Battle Dragon, but Nova-class battle cruisers were regularly used to supplement the Dragons. It is used by the Alliance of Nations and the Coalition. It should not be confused with the ship class of the same name used by Starfleet
They were frequently deployed to the border, where they performed interception missions against the pirates and smugglers (Han Solo, for example) who sought to penetrate to the fabulously wealthy inner worlds of the Hapes Cluster. They were designed primarily as large-scale support ships, intended to respond to threats rather than undertake extended missions.