Defender-class

## Defender-class Frigate

* 4 Additional V-203 Interceptors (externally docked) (MK.II Serenity Subtype only)
* Eitri-class Construction Vessels
* Valkyrie-class Dropships
* VH-121 Vulture-class Attack Helicopters

## Usage

### Role(s)

* Frontline Combat Ship
* Escort Frigate
* Carrier
* Command Ship
* Black-Ops Ship (RWI Tigris)

### Affiliation

* Red Wood Industries
* Colonist Survivors (salvaged)

## Out of universe information

### Appearances

* Colony Wars
* Colony Lost
* Survivors
* Colony Salvage
* Starship Lost
* Colony Alliances

The **Defender-class Frigate** is one of the most recognizable ships in the Red Wood Industries (RWI) fleet. The design philosophy behind the defender was, as the name suggests, to defend RWI installations and worlds, but by the time of the Green Drone War they were typically thrown into any role from an escort frigate to a starfighter command vessel to a front line warship. There were two versions of the class made, the MK.I and the MK.II, and there was also a sub-class of the MK.II RWI *Tigris*, which featured 4 extra docking ports for V-203 Interceptors. This feature was later implemented into all MK.II Defenders, one of many upgrades introduced to the ship class sometime during the year after the Green Drone War.

## History

The Defender-class was introduced to be the backbone of the RWI Navy. It was well-tested and versatile, being able to take on a number of challenges. They were commonly deployed in groups to ensure maximum effectiveness during assignments. These frigates are usually utilized in defending points of interest of RWI, hence the class name "Defender".

### The Colony War

A few weeks before the outbreak of the Green Drone War, a small RWI task force was in the P3-X2 system with the objectives of finding ex-RWI Captain Jack Roberts and investigating rumors of a "green eyed" threat lurking in the area. In the task force were at least five Defender-class Frigates - the RWI *Vision*, RWI *Gauntlet*, RWI *Stalwart*, RWI *Talon*, and RWI *Karnack*. The *Vision* never saw combat during the mission, and was primarily used to observe and scout their objectives. The *Gauntlet* and the *Stalwart* were tracking two INIC corvettes when they were both attacked by two Destroyers belonging to the Green Drone Armada. All the RWI and INIC ships were destroyed, although the Colonists led by Captain Jack Roberts discovered the debris and recovered the *Gauntlet*, which they repaired and used for themselves in their conflict against the Drone Reactionary Force (DRF). It was later destroyed for good in the Battle of the Colonies by the DRF. The *Talon* and the *Karnack* were also destroyed by GDA forces in the P3-X2 System.

### The Green Drone War

#### The War Begins

When the Green Drone War began, the Defender-class Frigate was the backbone of the RWI Navy. As such, the ships were deployed all over the galaxy to defend territory and counter the GDA advances. However, due to their lack of shielding technology, the Defender-class MK.I was outmatched by the GDA Destroyers, which were all outfitted with an Atlas Superlaser - an energy weapon capable of destroying most starships in one shot.

On Monus III, the GDA was able to trap many Defenders serving under the RWI *Valiant* and its fleet. Many ships were shot down in the Battle of Monus III, including the RWI *Malta* and RWI *Amazon*. RWI Marines Owen, Morslupus, and Ler were sent down from the *Malta* before its destruction to find survivors of the starship graveyard on the ground below, and joined up with Jack Roberts' crew, who also were trapped on the planet after their battle with the DRF. Lieutenant Evan Connolly and a few other crewmen survived the *Malta*'s crash and managed to survive for a few days before being killed defending a hijacked outpost. At some point, the RWI *Athens* was destroyed during a battle in the Orion System.

A few Defenders managed to survive the initial GDA ambush and escaped to high orbit of the planet. One such ship was the RWI *Intrepid*, an upgraded MK.I Defender (though it still lacked shields, it had the upgraded thrusters and weaponry), captained by Commander Sam Reed. He received a distress call from Jack Roberts and his crew, and moved the *Intrepid* down to the planet to assist them, using the *Intrepid*'s main gun to chase off a GDA Scourge-class Carrier and the attached V-203 fighter squadron, Green Squadron, to engage the enemy fighters. The *Intrepid* then set out to set up a forward operating base, and the RWI forces later joined Roberts' crew to attack the GDA base on the planet, where the *Intrepid* was shot down by GDA Destroyers, though Reed survived.

#### Battle of Ravcor

Though no Defenders actually took part in the Battle of Ravcor itself, the RWI *Exeter* was sent by Captain Jonathan Hunter of the *Valiant* to resupply Captain Roberts' team on the lava planet Ravcor. Commander Reed was sent down via a Valkyrie-class Dropship, and the *Exeter* withdrew from the system.

After obtaining the Artifact, the symbol of the GDA's power, from Ravcor, the remaining RWI ships retreated to a nebula in the Amre system to repair. They salvaged components from the wreckage of an unnamed Defender that was destroyed in the area at some point.

#### Battle of the Demus Shipyards

The RWI *Tigris* and the RWI *Fortune*, some of the first fully-outfitted MK.IIs, were sent along with the flagship of RWI, the *Apollo*, to attack the GDA shipyard facility above the ice planet Demus in the Amre system. Due to Roberts' personal starship, the RWI *Eclipse*, being under maintenance, Roberts and his crew were stationed aboard the *Tigris*, which would later fall under the command of Captain Hunter, due to the *Valiant* being destroyed and crashing on Demus. After the shipyards were secured, the *Fortune* remained behind to finish securing intel and a damaged Defender-class frigate captured by the GDA in the shipyard. The *Tigris* journeyed back to Icarus, the RWI capital world, to prevent the GDA invasion fleet from taking the planet and stealing back the Artifact.

#### Battle of Icarus

The RWI Home Fleet, which defended Icarus and other crucial locations, was comprised of many Defender-class Frigates of both MK.I and MK.II types. Several frigates were lost when the GDA fleet attacked and took the Home Fleet by surprise. When the *Tigris* and the *Apollo* arrived at Icarus with reinforcements, the *Tigris* was crewed by a few of Jack Roberts' team and had a few weapons malfunctions during the battle, although it managed to help destroy multiple GDA ships.

During the final moments of the battle, two Defenders, the RWI *Bishop* and RWI *Goddard* were deployed to stop the GDA Dreadnaught from escaping the planet with the Artifact. Both vessels were destroyed by the Dreadnaught's quadruple Atlas Laser fire. After the battle, scores of Defenders rendezvoused at Icarus in preparation of a counterattack on the GDA capital world.

#### Invasion of P3-X2

When the time came for the invasion, most of the Defenders amassed at Icarus had been fully upgraded with MK.II standards. Among the gathered Defenders were the RWI *Calypso*, the RWI *Odi*, the RWI *Rascal*, and the RWI *Tigris*. The *Tigris* in particular was retrofitted with exterior docking mounts for four additional V-203 Fighters, allowing it to more effectively carry air support into combat. This design would be one of the first changes considered for the MK.III design. Its command also fell into the hands of Captain Hunter.

When the RWI invasion fleet arrived at P3-X2, they engaged the GDA defense fleet head-on. The *Tigris* was sent to the rear of the battlefield to deploy fighters for Captain Roberts' team to use. After the ground invasion began, the *Tigris* and two other Defenders, the RWI *Calypso* and RWI *Odi* helped land ground troops and clear out GDA Destroyers in the skies above the landing zone. As the battle progressed, small engagements sprung up all over the area of the GDA Headquarters. One such skirmish involved two Defenders attacking a GDA Destroyer and several fighters above a GDA storage and supply dock in a crater connected to the HQ.

The RWI fleet eventually withdrew all forces back into space in an effort to stop the GDA Super-Dreadnaught from fleeing with the Artifact and the leadership of the GDA. The *Tigris* was among them, although it had taken some damage. Along with the other ships that left P3-X2 after the battle, the *Tigris* was repaired and eventually returned to Icarus.

#### Battle of the Black Hole

During the last battle of the war, several Defenders were deployed along with RWI's, CNL's, and RCSP's key battleships. The *Tigris* was confirmed to be among them. Other ships noted to be present were the RWI *Solar*, *Jaeger*, and *Serenity.* The *Serenity* was confirmed to be a Defender-class, but it is unknown whether the *Solar* and the *Jaeger* were Defenders or not. Nevertheless, these ships contributed to the end of the war and the destruction of the Artifact and the Green Drones as a whole.

### Operation: Condor

On October 5, 2733, the RWI *Serenity*, a Defender-class MK.II with additional heavy armor hardpoints on the port and starboard nacelles, was dispatched on a diplomatic mission to Sobovis V, where then-Admiral Jack Roberts was planning to meet with the IMBER Corporation to discuss reconstruction efforts following the war. However, the *Serenity* was attacked and eventually captured by a faction with the tag IGC. Most of its crew was killed upon being boarded, including Captain Tobias Wells, and the few survivors were taken prisoner. The *Serenity* was towed to the surface of Sobovis V and held in an IGC base's drydock for a few weeks. However, Admiral Roberts and two other crewmen, the helm officer Lieutenant Hamish Lovegrove, and Lieutenant Nathan, were able to find the *Serenity* intact at the base. They rescued the sole surviving crewman, Ensign Timedoctor, and used the *Serenity* to escape.

### Mission to Monus III

#### Rescuing Admiral Roberts

Approximately four months after the war, Admiral Roberts and a small RWI crew embarked on a mission to Monus III to resurrect the CSS *Vengeance* and help Dawnstar Salvage Corporation resist GDA remnant forces on the planet. The crew salvaged the remains of the RWI *Malta* in the process. With the strange disappearance of the RWI *Osiris* a short time after the mission's launch, contact was lost between Roberts and the rest of RWI. Eventually, Admiral Jones and his Phoenix-class Frigate, the RWI *Bristol*, led Battlegroup Omega to locate and rescue the RWI-DSC forces, who had repaired the *Vengeance* and attempted to flee the planet, only to be intercepted by GDA ships. The Battlegroup was comprised of the *Bristol* and also three MK.II Defender-class Frigates, the RWI *Exeter*, RWI *Torbay*, and RWI *Plymouth*. The Defenders assisted the *Bristol* in destroying the last of the GDA ships, and escorted Roberts and his crew back to RWI space, while the *Vengeance* was given to DSC by Roberts.

### Operation: Chrysaor

In order to quickly and easily locate the missing black-ops starship, the RWI *Pegasus*, the RWI *Tigris* was modified with even more MK.III additions, such as new weaponry which included new assault cannons, torpedo launchers, and a new version of the Atlas Superlaser concealed behind moving hull panels on the pointed bow. A dedicated medical room was also installed on the level below the bridge, as well as port and starboard airlock doors to allow easy access to the ship. Magnetic landing plates were also implemented on the bottom of the hangar bay, allowing the ship to easily land on a planet's surface. These modifications served the *Tigris* and its crew very well in the mission, and many of them would become standard-issue on future MK.III Defenders, along with the carrier refit.

### Joint Expedition Task Force Mission

One year after the end of the Green Drone War, the RWI *Prometheus*, a prototype expedition flagship for the Joint Expedition Task Force (JETF), was launched to investigate a mysterious signal broadcasting from the edge of known space. Since the *Prometheus* was an exploration ship, not a combat vessel, it had a small support fleet for defense, which included a few Defenders upgraded with new MK.III advancements. However, the support fleet was absent during its ambush over the planet Chrome II, leaving the JETF stranded and completely cut off from support once the *Prometheus* crashed.

A few weeks later, the JETF sent a distress call to which RWI responded to. Accompanying the RWI *Zheng-He* and a new RWI heli-carrier, the *Olympus*, were three MK.III Defenders - the RWI *Neutron*, RWI *Tenacity*, and RWI *Tyrant*, which secured the orbit of the planet. The three ships were also ready to deploy into the atmosphere of Chrome II at the word of Admiral Kieron Hask to assist RWI in facing the mutiny of CNL's forces.

## Characteristics

### Armament

#### Mark 1

The Defender-class MK.I Frigate's armament was lighter than that of most ships its size. It was armed with primarily eight 40mm Bofors Turrets and two M-61 Vulcan Turrets for point defense on the dorsal hull, as well as a few others of each turret on the engine pods. It also boasted two dual-barrel 300mm Autocannons, one on each side of the bow. The frigate's main weapon was the massive triple-barreled MK.3 Battleship cannon on the ventral hull, which could deal serious damage to most unshielded enemy ships.

#### Mark 2

Though the MK.II Defender changed and upgraded many aspects of the vessel, the basic armaments were kept the same. The MK.II still included the ventral MK.3 Battleship Cannon and the two side 300mm cannons (the RWI *Intrepid* featured a single-barrel MK.1 Battleship cannon on the port and starboard sides rather than the 300mm cannons), and its weaponry still included multiple Vulcans and Bofors on the dorsal hull and engine pods. In addition, two flak cannons were added on the dorsal hull to cover friendly small ships, and two Heavy Defense Turrets were added to each engine pod for more broadside firepower. The amount of Bofors on the dorsal hull was also reduced from eight to four.

#### Mark 3

The MK.III had the most modern and high-tech weapons of all Defender variants. Rather than flak turrets and heavy defense turrets, dual-barrel Assault Cannons were added to deal decent damage to ships. The RWI *Tigris* also featured a variant of the Atlas Superlaser hidden in the hull behind movable armor panels in the bow and two M-8 Torpedo Launchers just below the laser, although it is not currently known if those weapons are standard-issue on all Defender MK.IIIs.

### Thrusters

All models of the Defender relied on hydrogen thrusters for movement. There were four forward thrusters, four backwards thrusters, two left thrusters (to strafe right), two right thrusters (to strafe left), four upwards thrusters (to strafe down), and twelve downwards thrusters (to strafe up and to stay aloft in gravity). On the MK.II and MK.III variants, four of the downwards thrusters were swapped out for Tier Four Atmospheric Thrusters, which were extremely powerful and enabled the ship to hover indefinitely in atmospheric conditions.

### Power and Shielding

The MK.I Defender featured only nuclear reactors and had no shields, making them easy targets for GDA Destroyers' Atlas Superlasers. Because of this disadvantage, the MK.II Defender was outfitted with bubble shield technology and given upgraded Deuterium reactors for better power output. This, combined with the new armaments, gave the MK.II Defenders a better chance at beating GDA ships in combat. The MK.II upgrades also carried over to the MK.III.

## Ships in class

### Defender-class MK.I Model

* RWI *Gauntlet*
* RWI *Stalwart*
* RWI *Vision*
* RWI *Talon*
* RWI *Karnack*
* RWI *Malta*
* RWI *Amazon*
* RWI *Athens*

### Defender-class MK.II Model

* RWI *Intrepid*
* RWI *Exeter*
* RWI *Fortune*
* RWI *Bishop*
* RWI *Goddard*
* RWI *Rascal*
* RWI *Calypso*
* RWI *Odi*

### Defender-class MK.III Model

* RWI *Tigris*
* RWI *Serenity*
* RWI *Tenacity*
* RWI *Tyrant*
* RWI *Neutron*