STARLIGHT'S GRASP

The first of what would ultimately be many secretive ship design projects undertaken by the United Nations Space Command's Office of Naval Intelligence; Project: STARLIGHT'S GRASP would develop the first generation of starships equipped with the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine (SFTE), as well as a handful of modernised older designs to serve as Humanity's first foray into travelling out of the Sol System and into the great expanse of space. ￼

## Project History

### The Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine

After the Interplanetary War, the UNSC hesitated or over-militarising the Sol System, resulting in a relatively few new classes of ships entering service between 2175 and 2310. This doctrine of naval restraint came into question in 2291, when Professors Tobias Fleming Shaw and Wallace Fujikawa discovered slipspace and designed the first SFTE, a device capable of tearing open a portal into what they called 'slipspace' and using it to cross vast distances of space in relatively short times. This new discovery finally brought interstellar travel out of the realm of science-fiction and provided the quickly overpopulating Sol System to relieve some of the pressure of so many decades of relative peace. ￼

### Formation of Project: STARLIGHT'S GRASP and the Core Development Unit

While the development of the SFTE in 2291 was initially hidden from public knowledge, the UNSC and the UEG knew that this discovery was the next step in Humanity's development, and as such quickly got to work in capitalising the new technology. The team behind the SFTE, a handful of carefully chosen engineers from Martial Metals Shipyards, and ONI Section III's finest scientists & ship designers were brought together to form the Core Development Unit (CDU), the predecessor of the modern Watershed Division.

The CDU immediately got to work in deciding the basic design principles of Humanity's first interstellar travellers; ultimately the team decided to keep to the lessons learnt from the Interplanetary War, focusing on safety and defense over speed and flexibility. This first generation of ships would be marked with slow sublight speeds, and few armaments compared to the vessels of the early 26th century; their sturdy designs kept them in service for a great many years however, some of the larger vessels surviving in storage well into the future, many even being retrofitted to serve during the final years of the Human-Covenant War. ￼

## New Ship Designs

### Carriers

Valorous-class heavy carrier (2315) -

Good Fortune-class light carrier (2312) -

### Cruisers

Adventure-class heavy cruiser (2313) -

Deference-class light cruiser (2312) -

Spirited-class colonial cruiser (2318) -

Brother's Keeper-class operations cruiser (2329) -

### Destroyers

Come Here-class heavy destroyer (2311) -

Right of Way-class missile destroyer (2313) -

### Frigates

Arnold Leaman-class light frigate (2314) -

Rin Lijuan-class operations frigate (2322) -

### Corvettes

Dogfish-class heavy corvette (2310) -

Kitefin-class light corvette (2310) -

### Prowlers

Silent Watch-class strike prowler (2340) -

Last Notice-class light prowler (2342) -

### Auxiliary Vessels

Onwards-class colony ship (2322) -

Never Forgotten-class hospital ship (2317) -

## Modernised Designs

### Carriers

Ketos-class supercarrier (2173) -

Frenzy-class assault carrier (2242) -

### Frigates

Artyom Chyornyj-class heavy frigate (2278) -

### Auxiliary Vessels

Akashi-class repair ship (2225) -

Redundant-class replenishment ship (2168) -