A great surprise of the Trans-Newtonian age was been the advent of piracy. While many pre-TN economists have argued that interstellar piracy is unprofitable, regular encounters with swarms of "raiders" and "slavers" have belied such claims.
One particularly effective response to such attacks was pioneered by the colonists of Lalande 21185. There, the settlers repurposed a basic naval yard to build a small craft capable of harassing the harassers.
Laserstar class Gunship 1,000 tons 22 Crew 225.7 BP TCS 20 TH 146 EM 30
7285 km/s Armour 3-8 Shields 1-300 HTK 8 Sensors 2/2/0/0 DCR 0 PPV 5
Maint Life 12.40 Years MSP 450 AFR 16% IFR 0.2% 1YR 5 5YR 81 Max Repair 72.8 MSP
Lieutenant Commander Control Rating 1
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months Morale Check Required
Kabede & Keya Magneto-plasma Drive EP145.60 (1) Power 145.6 Fuel Use 161.22% Signature 145.6 Explosion 13%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 5.6 billion km (8 days at full power)
Brehane Defence Industries Gamma S1 / R300 Shields (1) Recharge Time 300 seconds (0 per second)
Veloso Ordnance 22.50cm C1 Far Ultraviolet Laser (1) Range 320,000km TS: 7,285 km/s Power 13-1 RM 50,000 km ROF 65
Chovan Electronics Industries Beam Fire Control R320-TS5000 (SW) (1) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 5,000 km/s 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Lass-Hatchett Tokamak Fusion Reactor R1-PB40 (1) Total Power Output 1 Exp 20%
Chovan Electronics Industries Active Search Sensor AS10-R10 (1) GPS 56 Range 10.8m km Resolution 10
Treptow-Vivanco EM Sensor EM0.2-2.2 (1) Sensitivity 2.2 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 11.7m km
Treptow-Vivanco Thermal Sensor TH0.2-2.2 (1) Sensitivity 2.2 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 11.7m km
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a FAC for auto-assignment purposes
The "Laserstar" has proven to be remarkably effective: over the course of the year 2083, a squad of 7 gunships led by LCDR Sita Sasanapuri was able to kite, cripple, and destroy over 200,000 tons of pirate warships while sustaining only minor armour damage.
Despite this performance, there exist some controversies with this design that have prevented wider adoption across the Colonies:
- The admiralty's auditors have questioned the utility of shield generators on such a small ship. Representatives from Brehane Defence Industries have countered that their shields have saved numerous lives that would have otherwise been lost due to "pilot error".
- Lobbyists from Zereyacob Weapon Systems have argued that a particle beam projector would be more effective for kiting. In response, Veloso Ordnance released a holo pointing out that compact lasers are far more effective than particle beams at piercing armour. ZWS then replied with an advertisement for their new "particle lance" technology.
- Chovan Electronics is currently under investigation due to repeated "manufacturing defects" in their fire controls' tracking systems.