OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To update Rick's most famous and successful product, the Essex-class starfighter killer
- Image Source: Star Sphere, some other sci-fi website
- Canon Link: N/A
- Primary Source: The Star Sphere site on the ship
- Manufacturer: Outer Rim Military Engineering
- Model: Essex-II class anti-starfighter corvette
- Affiliation: Open-Market
- Production: Minor
- Material:
Interior
Iron floors, walls & ceiling - Titanium-lined blast doors
[*]Exterior
- Trimantium frame
- Transparisteel windows
- OR-SAP, Variant I
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
- Classification: Anti-Starfighter Corvette
- Length: 120 meters
- Width: 26 meters
- Height: 38 meters
- Armament: Moderate
20 light missile tubes (10 on either side of the top of the ship)
- Defenses: Average
OR-SAP, Variant Ihttp://starwarsrp.net/topic/137896-or-sap/http://starwarsrp.net/topic/137896-or-sap/ - Basic deflector shields
- Hangar: None
- Maneuverability Rating: Average
- Speed Rating: Moderate
- Hyperdrive Class: Average (1)
N/A
Strengths:
- Starfighter Bane - The Essex's key ability and selling factor is taking out starfighters and bombers that larger ships would have trouble with. With the addition of a sixteenth anti-aircraft turret, the new iteration of the Essex starfighter killer is more efficient at eliminating small craft than ever before.
- Warhead Modularity - The Starfighter Killer's missile armament can be changed very easily due to its all-purpose missile tubes. From basic unguided missiles to advanced homing projectiles, almost any small armament can be fitted into each of twenty missile tubes.
- Reliable - Despite the relatively low cost of making an Essex-II, one can last for decades before it begins to have its faults. There are very few leaks or malfunctions that ever occur in an Essex, remaining true with the Essex-II.
- Teleporter - A feature unique to the Essex-II over its predecessor, the corvette has a highly efficient hyperdrive that can get it at lightspeed in under ten seconds in optimal conditions. Even in the middle of a heated engagement, the hyperdrive can still be charged up and activated without too much of a gap in the performance of other systems.
- Starfighters Only - Due to almost all of its armament being meant for light spacecraft, the Essex-II is very vulnerable to larger command ships. Anything with more than ten turbolasers has a high chance of destroying it. Additionally, the Essex-II's armament is severely nullified when fighting capital ships, while their armaments can tear through the Essex's armor without much trouble. It is also not immune to its own prey, starfighters. Sustained cannon fire or multiple proton torpedoes placed in the right spots can destroy an Essex, turning the hunter into the hunted.
- Dependent - Essex starfighter killers have a minimalist design, with priority going to weapons and subsystems. Therefore, there is little focus around living quality within the corvette. Its fuel and food stores only last for a few months, and cargo space is very limited.
At the twenty-year anniversary of the Essex-class starfighter killer, a surprising announcement was made. A second, refined model was entering production shortly.
While the second model nearly exactly replicates the original in size, shape, and function, there are a few notable differences.First off, the Essex-II's optimal crew count has halved that of its predecessor, going down from the 80s to 40. The crew reduction was in a large part due to the automation of secondary systems. Additionally, a sixteenth AA gun has been added to the Essex, and now two guns reside on the front prongs of the Essex. All the AA guns on the Essex have been repositioned in the Essex-II to cover a wider radius. The formerly faulty hyperdrive system was given a complete rework, increasing its speed and reducing its charge time greatly.
Overall, the new model was received very well, and follows the tradition of its predecessor of being the only open-marketed vessel Outer Rim Military Engineering produces. As with the previous Essex model, ORME has enough trust in the market for the Essex to blindly distribute them to any needy buyer.
