Eyrecae Alzari
Dark Star
Twilight Spear Missile Corvette
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a raiding corvette capable of launching very powerful missile and torpedo attacks which can be a danger even to large ships.
- Image Source: Here.
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: Shadow Knights and subs created by Elpsis Kerrigan's writer provided with permission.
- Primary Source: Corvette, based on a previous ship using stolen plans.
- Manufacturer: Shadow Knights, their faction.
- Affiliation: Shadow Knights.
- Market Status: Closed market.
- Model: Twilight Spear Mk1
- Production: Limited
- Material: Standard ship components.
- Classification: Ambush Missile Corvette
- Length: 130 metres.
- Width: 42 metres.
- Height: 18 metres.
- Armament: Very high.
- 5 x Baradium missile launchers (4 x fore, 1 aft). 20 missiles total.
- 1 x dual heavy turbolaser
- 4 x quad lasers
- Defenses: Average
- Standard durasteel armour and shields.
- Hangar Space: None
- Hangar Allocations: N/A
- Single Craft Hangar: Yes
- Manoeuvrability Rating: Low.
- Speed Rating: High.
- Hyperdrive: 1.0
- All standard features.
- Escape pods.
- Shielded Baradium missiles with homing warheads.
- Advanced emission & sensor reduction gear to limit detection.
- Small cargo bay for salvage.
- Gravity Mine layer.
- Spirit Gem interface (if required).
- Torpedoes Away. The Baradium missiles used by the Twilight Spear are extremely powerful warheads. Against their intended targets of merchant craft and smaller capital ships they can be utterly devastating. A single missile is often all that's needed to detonate a freighter, corvette or frigate.
- Sneaky. Though not full stealth, the Twilight Spear has means of trying to hide its presence with emission dampers etc, allowing it to launch ambush attacks quickly. It does also have a rear missile launcher to give pursuing larger ships a nasty surprise.
- Raider. The Twilight Spear is designed to be used singly, in groups, or as part of a larger fleet operation. It has supplies for long journeys and for operating independently. For this reason, its engines are enhanced to above average levels.
- Delicate. The Twilight Spear is not designed to take on large capital ships head on, rather to fire and disengage. It has no special defences, and against a ship of frigate size or larger it will lose quickly unless it can get its missiles in.
- Visible. Though it is somewhat hidden, the ship does not have full stealth gear such as Stygium cloaking. It is still visible and can be detected with the right equipment and vigilance.
- Escorts. The Twilight Spear has limited protection against fighters and bombers, having only 4 quad lasers. Thus is needs protection against attack craft or it might be easily overcome.
The Shadow Knights are a group of exiles mostly coming from Tygara and Kaeshana who travel in a nomadic fleet. With no permanent terrestrial home of their own, ships are the lifeblood of their society. However, production of new ships is hampered by limited shipyards and a lack of resources, so salvage is the usual order of business.
However, ships which are created are invariably smaller warships to further the goals of the fleet. The Shadow Knights are now in a great war with Firemane, seeing them as an oppressive, corrupt and racist corpo-state which oppresses their sisters and brothers. Now that open war has begun, raids on merchant ships, outposts and lone ships became a priority and the Twilight Spear was born.
Of course, the Shadow Knights love a good dramatic name, and so the full name was Twilight Spear of the Endless Void, mercifully shortened. Using stolen designs from Firemane's now mostly defunct Fulminatus class, this design was reshaped to fit a more ambush and raiding profile.
Baradium missiles are relatively hard to manufacture, but the components were available enough from several mining operations and trade links to produce the warheads. However, captains of these ships are taught not to waste their missiles as reserve stocks are often low.
The standard operation profile of this ship is to exit from hyperspace some distance from a trade lane, outpost or frontier world and move in with normal engines as stealthily as possible. They then wait concealed until a likely target appears, or they have seeded gravity mines to pull ships from hyperspace. They then unleash their missiles and flee before reinforcements can arrive.
Three episodes are indicative of experience with this ship.
In the first, TS-14 stumbled upon a convoy of fuel freighters protected by Firemane corvettes. The Captain of TS-14, Lakara Jai Vadal, moved to engage, even though she was heavily outnumbered. Moving into a position below the horizontal plane and waiting she was able to fire torpedoes up as the freighters passed above. Four missiles were fired at the same number of freighters. The first freighter was hit in the fuel tanks and detonated in a massive fireball. Unfortunately, this damaged the second missile so it either missed or misfired. However, the third and fourth missiles found their mark, destroying another freighter and crippling the other. TS-14 was then able to escape before the escorts could do more than fire parting shots. On her return Captain Jai Vadal and her crew was awarded medals for their gallantry.
In a second encounter, TS-8 commanded by Captain Yarikas, moved to engage a troop convoy. However, the escorts were more prepared on this occasion and despite their best efforts they were detected by picket ships. As the convoy ships scattered and the escorts moved in, TS-8 fired all its fore missile tubes, but scored no hits as it turned away. A Firemane frigate gave chase, firing on the corvette and chipping at the shields. Unable to get into hyperspace due to the presence of asteroids, the TS-8 was in danger. However, Captain Yarikas ordered the ship's engines to be cut. As the Firemane frigate came forward, still firing, the rear missile tube launched at close range. This missile hit the frigate's bridge more by luck than design and utterly destroyed it, allowing the TS-8 to accelerate to a safe distance and escape.
Finally, the TS-47 commanded by Captain Ariane Valione, performed the most celebrated mission yet by a Twilight Spear. Launched later than many others, the TS-47's crew were eager to gain glory. They were selected by the Archon herself for an assignment which both her and the Captain knew was likely a suicide mission. Information had come in about one of the Firemane fleet's anchorages at Scrapper's Flow, a naval installation built around a remote moon and further augmented by mines, automatic defences and of course the warships themselves. However, a defector had provided maps of the defences judged to be accurate.
TS-47 set out, with the crew not being told about their destination until they arrived in system. Information had determined that there was a gap in the minefield above the moon, caused by a rogue asteroid setting off mines which had not been replaced. The ship therefore approached carefully through the gap, most of the time not even using engines but allowing momentum to ease them through. On the way in, the Captain deployed an inactive gravity mine, and they began their descent. With limited sensors they were able to discern several star destroyers and cruisers, and chose the outermost as their target. This ship, the Eternal Wroshyr, was undergoing repairs at the time. Knowing they had only seconds until being detected, TS-47 fired all four forward missiles into the engines of the star destroyer. As the ship was powered on, but had no shields or other defences, the four missiles hit home right in the engines and set off a devastating chain reaction. The ship's reactor overloaded and only the valiant efforts of the crew prevented the entire ship going nova, but the Eternal Wroshyr was still wrecked and had to essentially be rebuilt from scratch.
TS-47 moved to escape, pursued by escorts and attack craft. Passing through the mine field would surely be suicidal, but the gravity mine was proximity triggered, dragging all the nearby mines together so a reloaded missile could detonate them and clear an exit path. The TS-47 escaped with minor damage and returned eventually to a hero's welcome.
All of these instances show the power of the Twilight Spear along with its downsides. In the right situations it can do great damage…but many have been lost because circumstances have not quite worked as they should. Today it is the bogeyman of the Firemane fleet and merchants, causing much anxiety and paranoia as to when it will strike next.
