The Frigates of EVE Online, page 17
While the Slasher’s main chassis is of average dimensions and mass, its four colossal XR-95 LADAR sensorfoils give it the largest beam of any frigate in active service across New Eden with the extended foils making the ship wider than most destroyer-class vessels are long. Despite this, because of the light composition of the foils and the low profile of its sleek hull, the Slasher maintains a tiny electronic signature radius, reducing its vulnerability and making it an incredibly difficult frigate to track with heavier caliber weapons.
Initially designed with the capability to store and launch three light scout drones, the Slasher was stripped of its drone bay in favor of more cargo space for ordnance before it was approved for flight and accepted into the lineup of Republic Military vessels. This gives the vessel longer range and more flight time between required downtime for rearming, allowing it to stay deployed in military service for almost three times the duration of the Firetail, and twice the duration of the Rifter.
With its onboard systems tuned toward providing maximum velocity and optimum energy efficiency when utilizing targeted propulsion jamming equipment, the Slasher is one of the most efficient interdiction ships in the cluster for long-term deployment, often operating deep into Thukker and Angel Cartel territory for the Republic Fleet and Republic Security Services.
TYPICAL USAGE
Since its latest technology review two decades ago, which resulted in it being redeployed as a long-range interdiction vessel for the Republic Fleet, the Slasher has become a mainstay frigate of high-risk patrols into hostile areas of space and has once again proven itself as an asset to the Republic Military.
Originally designed with much smaller sensorfoils, the Slasher encountered a unique issue after its technology review that no other frigate on record has ever had to overcome. During its flight trials, the second-generation vessel had issues docking in several locations in the Republic due to its colossal beam, which rivals the length of some destroyer-class hulls.
In the end, its initial flight trials were abandoned and the vessel was reengineered so that the foils could be folded back when the vessel entered gravdock, allowing it to take a frigate berth and use frigate-sized facilities. This functionality was extended to retract the foils when the ship enters warp, to reduce fatigue on the foil membranes and their supporting subframes.
Used by the Republic Fleet and Republic Security Services in high-risk engagements, the Slasher excels in adverse conditions. Typically flown in pairs, these nimble little hulls have earned the nickname “Dabuur” among pilots of the Imperial Armed Forces, the name for a particularly vicious breed of hornet found on Amarr Prime, since they tend to arrive in swarms and can prove fatal in packs.
As an interdiction platform, the Slasher is typically seen holding down larger vessels until reinforcements can arrive, but in the hands of a skilled pilot it can also be effective as antifrigate and destroyer support when used in numbers.
Given its high maximum velocity, cheap manufacturing costs, and low overhead costs for rearming and maintenance, away from the Republic Military the Slasher is widely revered and heavily utilized by smugglers, pirates, and independent security contractors.
Seen in roles as a scout, blockade runner, high value cargo transport, and sometimes an antidrone platform, the Slasher is as versatile as it is widely produced and due to this success, it has been developed into a pair of more advanced and focused hulls, the Claw and the Stiletto.
VARIATIONS
Claw
Developed by Boundless Creation under contract for the Republic Security Services, the Claw possesses limited offensive missile capabilities over the standard Slasher and upgraded sensorfoils that increase its scan resolution and effectiveness at fast target acquisition.
Building in the Slasher’s already fast and light frame, the Claw uses advanced titanium woven polymer shielding to reduce its infrared and electronic signature when utilizing microwarp drive systems and carries additional hardware, plus two auxiliary capacitor banks that are dedicated to significantly improving the vessel’s capacitor management and energy use when utilizing propulsion jamming equipment.
Additional shielding around the propulsion system which is sandwiched between the existing armor and a second layer of 200 mm fernite carbide armor renders the Claw immune to weaker, nonfocused propulsion jamming interference, and an extra pair of power-enhanced generators increases the Claw’s maximum pursuit velocity considerably.
Stiletto
Based on the Claw, and developed by Core Complexion in a partnership with Boundless Creation, the Stiletto is a highly strung interdiction platform that focuses less on applying damage and more on locking down potential targets.
Stripping one turret hardpoint away and repurposing part of the bandwidth allocated to the collection of astrometric data by the vessel’s massive sensorfoils, the Stiletto drops a sizable amount of mass, despite becoming even more focused in its role as a fast, light interceptor. To provide adequate protection with less armor than the Claw, the Stiletto shunts more power to its shield emitters, giving it a near 25 percent increase in base charge capacity over the Claw.
While more expensive to produce than the Claw and Slasher, the Stiletto has highly strung electronics that make it worth the purchase, and worth the risk to pilot in combat for any pilot who wishes to excel at target interception and interdiction.
“I was certain that the Slasher was no longer needed in service of the Republic, but with these new revisions, it might prove viable as a long-range interdiction platform if we deploy it out to the border regions.
Take a squadron of them out to Heaven, and let’s see how the Cartel reacts to them. I’m intrigued to see how the hull will perform against the Dramiel, given the pain in the ass it’s been to us since it was introduced. I expect full analysis in thirty days.”
Kasorata Fogneko
Valklear Admiral & Executive CO,
Republic Fleet
MINMATAR REPUBLIC
PROPULSION
Boundless Creation “Tri-Lancer” Plasma Propulsion System
– Boundless Creation Series 12 “Lancer” FTL Assembly
– Triple Boundless Creation “Vosaka” Propulsion Jets
ENGINEERING
– Twin Republic Fleet “Ahara” Series 9 Fusion Reactors
– 12× Eifyr & Co. RT-100 Ladder Linked Electrolytic Capacitor Banks
– Twin Core Complexion Second Generation DD200 Nanomechanical Control Mainframes
– 2× Core Complexion “Draikas” LADAR Panels
DEFENSE
– Single Layer 200 mm Fernite Carbide Composite Armor Skin
– Twin Thukker “Kalash” Deflection Shield Emitters
OFFENSE
– 2× Thukker Tribe “Renaska” 605-R Launcher Hardpoint Pairs
– 2× Core Complexion Second Generation “Butler” Missile Autoloaders
VIGIL
A step away from the usual Matari doctrine of shoot, shoot a little more, pump a few more rounds into a target, then ascertain whether the pile of wreckage that remains was a genuine threat, the Vigil is a frigate designed for combat support rather than direct engagement.
Serving both as a long-range scout as well as an electronic warfare platform, the Vigil is fast and agile, allowing it to keep the distance needed to avoid enemy fire while making use of its electronic warfare subsystems, with a focus on supporting laser target designation (LTD or target painting) hardware.
While it contradicts quite a few of the base principles of Matari starship design, the Vigil is a highly effective combat support hull, and can be seen providing laser target designation support for everything from destroyer and assault frigate-class vessels, up to battleship- and dreadnought-class hulls. The Vigil is also versatile and hardy enough to be deployed among packs of fighters from a supercarrier-class vessel, painting targets for them to improve combat efficiency and ordnance delivery accuracy.
Built on a light, fast, vertically orientated chassis, the Vigil has fixed onboard subsystems that are arranged to use the nimble little vessel’s superstructure as an additional heat sink, or in the case of its LADAR acquisition panels, additional surface area for telemetry bounce back and acquisition.
First introduced into service half a century ago, the Vigil was designed as a support vessel to even the playing field between Imperial and Republic battleship strike groups. With the Republic Fleet unable to meet the required costs for an upgrade to tracking subsystems across its entire line of Tempest class battleships, the cheaper alternative was to produce a frigate or corvette sized vessel that could carry a laser target designation package.
Thus, the Vigil was born and screamed into battle, undercutting the tracking of Imperial battleships and providing the Republic’s battleship-class vessels with a larger electronic signature to lock down and engage, improving their ability to track targets.
When the Republic Fleet realized that this technology could be beneficial to its smaller class hulls such as the Rupture and Cyclone, the Vigil was deployed as a standard part of every Republic Fleet strike group to maximize weapon efficiency and improve combat performance.
TYPICAL USAGE
Built from the ground up to be hard to track, even more difficult to pin down, and to engage at standoff range, the Vigil tends to be a vessel that maintains transversal velocity on the edge of the sphere of engagement and provides long range electronic warfare support while minimizing the risk of being interdicted.
Relatively flimsy in comparison to other frigates of Matari design, but also small enough to be able to dodge heavy caliber weapons fire, the Vigil excels in this role, often using a combination of sensor dampening to keep itself safe and target painting to laser target designate vessels providing more accurate delivery of ordnance.
While usually deployed alongside the heavier guns of the Republic Fleet, the Vigil has more recently been used to great effect alongside the Vagabond class heavy assault cruiser and its Republic Fleet sibling, the Stabber Fleet Issue. These fast, offensively oriented cruisers that utilize rapid firing autocannons form a key part of the Republic Fleet and Republic Customs and Border Control’s strategy in combating unauthorized border breaches and illegal trafficking of weapons, munitions, and people.
Deployed in trios in a similar manner to the Firetail, the Vigil has limited offensive capability of its own, packing just two light launcher hardpoints and a limited array of ordnance handling equipment that give it both limited weapons range and a narrow breadth of options for engagement. Typically, these systems are used in a defensive manner, allowing a competent Vigil pilot to distract a hostile pilot long enough to fall back to a safer range.
In the private sector the Vigil is available in abundance and is used in the same manner, supporting everything from Republic loyalist fleets with the Tribal Liberation Force, to the capital fleets of enormous independent nullsec alliances and coalitions.
VARIATIONS
Hyena
Developed by Core Complexion under contract from the Republic Security Services, the Hyena is the last word in frigate-sized laser target designation combat support.
With its slightly heavier chassis due to an additional second 75 mm skin of fernite carbide armor as well as the inclusion of two pairs of turret hardpoints, the Hyena’s maximum velocity is reduced marginally. However, its reactor power output, shield, and capacitor charge capacity are all increased significantly due to fine tuning carried out by Core Complexion engineers.
In addition to its advanced support for target painting hardware, the Hyena is also optimized to more efficiently utilize stasis webification hardware, applying its onboard systems more effectively to project an entanglement field at greater ranges than the standard Vigil class frigate.
Vigil Fleet Issue
A distinctive twist on the standard Vigil, the Fleet Issue took lessons learned from the Hyena and applied them a little differently, turning the Vigil into a frighteningly agile and competent all out combat frigate.
With its target painting role completely thrown out of the window, the Republic Fleet set to work on producing a viable rocket platform from the Vigil’s hull, which resulted in a blisteringly fast close range frigate that pulverizes targets with a flurry of ordnance the second it engages.
In addition to its highly strung rocket ordnance handling systems, the Vigil Fleet Issue also has subsystems tuned to effectively utilize stasis webification hardware in a similar manner to the Hyena, allowing it to slow and pin targets before decimating them with rapid rocket fire.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. Carnage. Absolute fucking carnage. All I can remember is the side of an Apocalypse going up like golden confetti. The blast carried its armor out like feathers from a burst pillow. Sixteen hundred millimeter plates thrown around like paper.
I don’t think that’s a sight that I’ll ever forget. That, and the tiny red pinprick that bounced off the side of that golden armor before the strike force hit it with a full broadside. I recommend deploying the Vigil with every strike force in the fleet. It would be a crime not to.”
Heder Elislar
Valklear General, Pator Command,
Republic Fleet
APPENDIX:
SPACEFARING TECHNOLOGY
PASSAGE OF KNOWLEDGE
PROLOGUE: A NEW CROP
Amarr III (Amarr Prime)
House Singularity Island Estate
Pontiff’s Residence
He was dreaming, in that late-morning state of light sleep that all people, capsuleer or otherwise, detested. He fought awakening, his mind enjoying a vivid dream, the smooth skin of his cloned hands brushing across ears of wheat as he strolled through the fields of his former estate. Those were much simpler days, far more so than these tumultuous times.
While capsuleers could survive on as little as an hour of sleep in a standard interstellar day cycle of twenty-four hours, and were only mandated by CONCORD to take fifteen minutes of REM sleep per day cycle, many chose to rest for longer as an escape from the rigors of capsuleer flight.
Just as he had dreaded, Max Singularity awoke to the sound of soft music drifting from the speakers of an antique alarm clock. The device stood on the nightstand at his side, flanked by a holograph of his late wife, Amayya.
On cue, a pair of priests wearing the robes of House Singularity rose from their seats at a small, ornate table at the foot of his bed. Max yawned, easing himself into a seated position with a warm smile.
“Good morning, gentlemen. What will be on my agenda today?” Max asked his two attendants, who had taken position at the side of his bed, their robed heads bowed slightly, hands clasped before them, almost as if in prayer.
The senior of the two priests cleared his throat, an aging and experienced voice giving reply. “Good morning, Your Holiness. Today you are scheduled to visit Amarr Navy Headquarters in Safizon as a guest speaker on power-enhanced physics. The shuttle is already prepared to take you to the Emperor Family Academy, where your vessel awaits your departure.”
Max raised an eyebrow, a slight smile creasing his weathered features. “I do love guest lectures. Navy students are incredibly attentive. Very bright pupils, and always so many questions.”
“Well, if I may speak freely, Your Grace, in my experience these up-and-coming pilots who are close to becoming capsuleers can be quite rude, and very sure of themselves,” the elder of the two priests replied. The comment drew a coarse chuckle from Max as he made his way to his private bathroom to prepare for the day.
After morning coffee, assistance from his two companions to change into the ornate robes of the Pontiff of the Sixth Empire, and the obligatory security briefing from his close-protection entourage, Max was immediately out of the robes again and immersed for the short flight from Amarr Prime to the Emperor Family Academy in orbit of Oris.
A short while later his Abaddon class battleship departed for Safizon, flanked by a strike group of six Dragoon class destroyers, all bearing the colors of House Singularity.
A VISITING INSTRUCTOR
Safizon II, Moon 1—Amarr Navy Headquarters
Habitation Deck 19, Sector A
Undergraduate Housing
Julius had passed selection and training from the Imperial Academy, and had been forwarded to the Amarr Navy for capsuleer training after being found to be genetically compatible with the technology required for capsuleer flight. With his certification for basic physics complete, he’d taken a weeklong break before returning to his studies, now ready for his first lecture with a guest expert.
A voice boomed out from the kitchen of his small but well-appointed living quarters as his father teased, “So, are you a rocket scientist now, son?”
The young cadet gathered his datapad, comms device, and holopad into his backpack before meeting his father in the kitchen, his retort bordering on a growl as he tried to hide the fact his father’s snide comments had managed to slip beneath his skin again. “Well, technically, I am certified to fly civilian craft, and from surface to space. But that’s not why we’re here. I’m going to be a capsuleer.”
“Why don’t you give up this capsuleer thing and just stay a civilian pilot? It’s hard to become an egger. Do you know how slim your chances are? Understanding basic physics is one thing, but subspace physics is just witchcraft. Tell me, son. How does a space anchor work? Do you know?”
Julius felt his jaw tense before he spoke, knowing full well his father was teasing him again. “I don’t know how it works. Just that it’s based on old technology that was reverse engineered centuries ago. Leave me alone!” he growled. “And don’t call them that! They’re capsuleers!”
