Ships of Foreven
Skiltaire Craft
Claw
Class Defense Fighter 20tons, TL 13
The
Claw Class is rapidly replacing the older Rip and Scratch class defense fighters
in Kunitsa's arsenal. Like many of the modern naval ships of Kunitsa, the Claw
is constructed at the top of the space tree with the world's current cutting
edge technology. Certain electronics and weapons technology, in this case, missile
launchers, are imported from the Zhodani Consulate. Concern related to the level
of dependence Kunitsa has on the Consulate for space defense has led to extensive
R&D and the uplifting of several scientific fields with regards to communication,
energy systems, and spacecraft manufacture. Current KUITS projections are that
the Claw will be entirely manufactured locally by the end of the next decade
when the planet's industries will most likely achieve a solid Tech 13 base.
Though the Claw's history
is still in its infancy, the Skiltaire of 1st Leaf Wing, a Space Tree Security
Forces naval attachment equipped with 20 of these craft, have been recently
blooded in anti-piracy operations (1098 Imperial).
Silverbite
Captained by a Skiltaire named Skittles, the Silverbite was the lead craft of
the 1st Leaf Wing during its assault on a secret pirate base on the inner system
world of Zianch. Skittles, though a lengthy investigation of stolen goods reappearing
at Shizapooma and Dedei managed to discover the identity of the pirates and
the extent of their organization, as well as the location of their base, hidden
in a series of naturally occurring caves on Zianch. Skittles organized the wing
and led the sneak attack that caught the pirate's own defense fighters still
grounded. After the initial devastating attack the surviving pirates offered
surrender via radio and Skittles cautiously accepted. Humorous news articles
featuring holos and 2D pictures of the 6' 10" pirate captain Kieth Dimien
being handcuffed by the 4' 3" tall Skittles, are still rippling outward
from Kunitsa at the speed of jump.
Crayfish
Class Merchant 300 tons, TL12 Deck
Plans
A relatively new design
for the Skiltaire, Crayfish are part of the new KUITS trading fleet, either
laid down by private Skiltaire tribal businesses or entrusted to exemplary Skiltaire
by the government of Kunitsa as trade scouts. While less than fifty of these
vessels have been built to date, they can be found ranging the star lanes from
Deneb to Trojan Reaches to Fulani sectors, as their captains and crew fearlessly
(some say foolishly) push back the boundaries of Skiltaire knowledge and experience.
Notable examples of the
class include:
Skipping Stone
Upgraded computer, sensor and communication suites (TL14), EM masking at the
cost of a slightly smaller cargo bay and larger power plant. Currently functioning
as a societal recon vessel, probing the possibility of intergovernmental trade
relations between Kunitsa and its neighbors.
Sand Dollar
Owned by the 'Fractal Branch' tribe of Kunitsa and captained by Black-striped-nose
(Teasel to humans), the Sand Dollar is one of the few ships that regularly runs
the trade routes of the Spinward Main, though the ship still returns home once
every two years with profits, novelty goods, and stories.
Rising Moon
Owned by the 'Red Bay' tribe of Kunitsa and captained by Freelady Sapphire throat
(The captain likes to read Imperial romance novels), the Rising Moon is one
of the few Skiltaire ships to brave the Vargr Extents on a regular basis, and
has had extensive modifications, refittings and quasi-legal 'improvements' added
to her at the captain's desire over the years. Rising Moon only gets home about
once every 5 years.
Other Craft
Dogged
Class Bootstrap Trader 100tons, TL 9
The Dogged is a design ubiquitous
to the corward human worlds of Foreven, bult from the bare minimum technologies
capable of housing each of its primary components, while remaining as efficient
as possible under the circumstances, allowing for everything but the jump drive
to be serviced in systems sometimes as low as tech level 5 or 6, and is often
built at tech 9-11 starports for sale to lower tech worlds interested in interstellar
trade.
A 'common domain' design,
the Dogged's origins are long forgotten, and many systems assume the ship emerged
somewhen before even the Long Night, though very few of these ships have been
known operating further to trailing than Deneb and the 'center of usage' seems
to cluster around Foreven, Beyond, and Trojan Reach sectors.
Variants abound, though
the most common, and oldest variants include pre-reactionless thruster drive
systems for insystem travel, using fusion reaction drives, or, much more rarely,
Magnetoplasmadynamic drives (burning hydrogen plasma to create thrust). Many
more have been converted, once the jump drives become too tempermental to use
without risking misjump, to insystem lighters well past the ship's usual expected
operational lifespan. The oldest known example in the Foreven sector is the
Ilia Dora, serving as an insystem cargo runner in Maginum Belt, with papers
dating its initial voyage circa 624, and its original home system is listed
as Avalar.
Hellcat
Class Destroyer Escort 2000tons, TL 11 Parameters
and Artwork
An ancient class that originated
in the early 3rd Imperium, or perhaps at even earlier, as the oldest known records
in the Spinward Marches related to the Hellcat date back to 203 Imperial. Though
the Skiltaire never built the craft, they are fairly familiar with it, as mercenaries,
pirates and sometimes even traders and rival navies have used the Hellcat within
Kunitsa's sphere of influence. KUITS even has one which is used for naval training.
Notable examples of the
class include:
Veridian Panther
Owned and captained by Klaus Breckinridge, the 'Panther is based out of Fessor
(2814 Foreven), and is the flagship of the Black Sky Mercenary Company, which
has seen extensive use in Fessor subsector both as anti-pirate forces and as
trade escort for Tukera ventures deeper into the sector. While somewhat distrusted
by the KUITS (as are most 'guns for hire' outfits), the Panther does resupply
and overhaul occasionally at Kunitsa, and the Black Sky company's men rather
enjoy shore leave there. Breckinridge is currently trying to gain contacts and
make friends on the Space Tree, hoping to convince an adventurous Skiltaire
into joining up. While he and his men distrust the Zhodani and everything to
do with them, Breckinridge is still eager to have the benefits of a fully trained
psi at his disposal and thinks a less 'threatening' race would be better accepted
in this position. Note: Black Sky also owns 2 Fiery class gunned escorts,
an armed Far Trader, and a 100 ton Zhodani look-alike Chtanoql class scout ship.
Rakshasa
Known pirate vessel operating out of the Malefolge cluster in Fessor subsector.
While this is fairly distant (11 parsecs) from Kunitsa, rumors of an unknown
pirate Hellcat spotted in the Bava Cluster have led to suspicions that the Rakshasa
has either moved home base, or is part of a larger network of pirates operating
in the area. Currently the crew makeup and origins of the Rakshasa are a mystery,
though the captain doesn't risk engagement with any potential military craft
over 400 tons or flights of more than 3 vessels total. The few survivors of
Rakshasa attacks owe their lives to timely intervention by craft large enough
to 'spook' the Rakshasa into running. Even so, many captains avoid the Malefolge
cluster entirely despite the lure of Fessor markets nearby, and Zhodani and
Skiltaire markets further on.
Ridralla
Class Trader 500tons, TL 13
The Ridralla has been Tlebria's
most commonly built hull for the last half century and is based on the older
Ridiruzh Trader, a TL 12 craft instrumental in Tlebria's original colonization.
Though not as not as heavily armored and armed as its predecessor, the Ridralla
makes up for it with much more efficient, state of the art TL 13 controls and
materials, shaving many millions off the cost per-vessel.
Strangely, instead of arming
Ridrallas when piracy or long range operations seem likely, a purpose built
armed variant of the Ridralla, the Krisatletz Class, is sent along as escort.
Very often, these 'escorts' carry tradegoods as well, though its payload was
designed primarily to supply troops and armored ground vehicles to a dropzone.
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