Okay...so we are comapring this thing to the Prefect as a way of arguing the point.
First point goes to the Prefect with the front arc vs beam on the laser. Sorry, LDD this is a big deal. It is not just CAF. It is no All Stop, less use of CBD, no APtE...anything that reduces/removes your ability to turn can stop you from using a B weapon.
Second point goes to Chronus of course...five AD vs three. Five is just tad much on a ship that is this survivable and well armed.
Third point goes to the Prefect, survivability. The Chronus does have hull 6/interceptors 3 but it has less than half the crew of the Prefect and close to half the damage. Given the only difference in defense is the interceptors I would say the Prefect will survive more often than not.
Fourth point, usability of the weapons. Prefect does have shorter range and more restricted arcs on the secondaries, but the front arc is virtually identical in the 'sweet spot'. The turreted rail gun is a big bonus, but so is the extra seven inches of range on the beam. Even up in my book.
Fifth point, traits...jump point for the Prefect. Not a huge thing, but definately a big deal as in many battles a Raid ship might be your only jump point.
Sixth and final, manuever. Chronus wins this one despite the B restrictions on SAs. It is the two turns that just make it better. Sure one is usually going to be used to bring the bore to bear, but being able to come about more than 90 degrees can be a big deal.
All in all these ships are fairly close. The Chronus does have an advantage over the Prefect in that one bore shot it takes at range eighteen, but given it cannot use all stop/apte to get that shot you can almost certainly finesse the range to get an extra shot against it given you also have seven inches more range.
Now I am not in favor of either ship myself. But they do compare fairly closely in capability. I think this Chronus is overgunned by the Turreted railgun. That gun should be reduced to 4 AD, stolen right off an old Olympus. Reduce the beam by one die as well. Now you have a beam chronus that is not just better than a regular one, but fills a different role. You lose a fair number of pulse dice (2 to 4 per side), reduce your signiture railgun by a third and in return you get a B laser that is better but more difficult to use. It does the same role as the old hyperion in a fleet instead of the artemis/olympus.
Ripple