HOME | DD

Description
Top view: www.deviantart.com/iyr-vosp/ar…

“Freedom’s not the first word one associates with being cooped up in a tin box,

but I wouldn’t call this by any other name.”

Kasvin Selos, pilot and first officer of the Sabre-class independent escort Skygazer

Developed by Meridiani Drive Works in the latter years of the 25th century and first flown four years later, the Sabre-class fast attack craft is a member of the latest generation of combat spacecraft to enter service within the historically renowned navy of the Meridiani Parlimentary Republic. At a length of 72.8 meters, every element of the vessel’s narrow and angular spaceframe - including its six large primary heat radiator panels - was carefully designed to present the lowest possible aspect from all angles. The core of the Sabre is its reactor and drive assembly, a MDW Series 8090 Griffon Mk. XXVII water-afterburning D/He-3 magneto-inertial fusion torch. As with all modern military-grade drive units of human design, the Griffon’s drive cone terminates in a series of second-stage electromagnetic coils that accelerate the drive’s fusion exhaust to near-relativistic velocities, dramatically increasing effective thrust and efficiency. This extremely powerful engine far outstrips the Sabre’s relatively small spaceframe, and is easily capable of accelerating a craft five times its loaded mass to combat speeds.

Fully loaded with fuel and munitions, a Sabre-class’s maximum sustainable acceleration is 32 gravities, with up to 45 gravities possible for short periods under emergency power. Such forces would be instantly fatal to the vessel’s crew, without a key subsystem included in its design. A product of the field of applied gravitics, the non-kinematic acceleration envelope is a lynchpin of modern naval doctrine. This system insulates the flight deck of a fast-attack craft from the effects of extreme acceleration via generating artificial acceleration of equal strength, oriented in the opposite direction. While effective, use of acceleration envelopes is limited to ships with relatively small crew complements, as increasingly large or closely staggered field volumes are rendered prohibitively difficult to generate by the Holsenn limit.

Although not true fusion drives, the Sabre’s distinctive eight gimballed reaction control thrusters operate at substantially higher outputs than most systems of a similar role and type. Using power provided by the craft’s main reactor, propellant is rapidly heated into conductive plasma, which is then vectored and further accelerated via magnetic coils as thrust. These thrusters grant the Sabre exceptional maneuverability, an ability it is able to fully exploit thanks to its acceleration envelope.
Secondary conventional vernier resistojets at the bow and stern provide a means of low-powered adjustments, and backup reaction control in the event of damage.

In accordance with modern fast attack doctrine, the Sabre-class is chiefly intended to perform rapid hit-and-fade attacks - darting into the line of battle to deliver a vicious first strike before burning away just as quickly. To this end, its primary armament consists of eight fusion propelled Broadhead long-range antiship torpedoes. These munitions are stored within two semi-conformal weapon bays mounted above and below the Sabre’s large propellant section, and each torpedo is tipped with a shaped thermonuclear warhead capable of inflicting damage even if initiated at significant distance from their target. For missile defense and close-range engagements, the craft also features sixteen vertically oriented magnetic launch cells, each fed by a magazine containing two AM-284 interceptor missiles. While not fusion propelled, these missiles are fueled by liquid high-temperature superconductors capable of high-density magnetic energy storage. This advanced propellant provides thrust generation at the very limits of chemical energy storage, and is more than suitable for the missiles’ intended role. Finally, a centerline mounted Zunil-Hamilton rapid action repeating coilgun provides an effective second close-in option. Although a kinetic weapon, this cannon is designed to fire very small projectiles at extreme velocities in short, but incredibly rapid bursts. While this configuration is effective at striking maneuvering targets with a great difference in relative velocity and distance at least once, it is also almost completely ineffective at penetrating planetary atmospheres of any density or even particularly dense regions of spaceborne gas and dust. As with the other weapons systems of the Sabre, the coilgun can be fired by both its pilot and WSO, although terminal fine attitude adjustments are performed by computer. The gun’s mount is also capable of minor gimballed correction, of approximately two degrees in any direction.

While an advanced and deadly combatant in the right hands, the Sabre is not without its flaws. The craft’s spaceframe is dominated by its power-propulsion block and propellant section, and even the forward command module’s volume is largely occupied by weaponry and the extensive suite of sensors, electronic countermeasures, and optical disruption equipment. As a result, crew accommodations are spartan even by military standards, and the Sabre is restricted from long-term independent assignments that its prodigious delta-v would otherwise allow. The craft also lacks any form of landing gear or ascent thrusters, relying entirely on parasite semi-autonomous vertical takeoff and landing sleds for operation off planetary surfaces. Lastly, the Sabre eschews almost all of its predecessors’ versatility in the long-term patrol and fleet screening roles for a focus on pure fast attack and strike capability, as the vessel’s reliance on a relatively small reserve of missile weaponry for both offense and defense greatly limits its combat endurance.
Combined with the type’s unusually high unit cost, many Meridiani squadrons have
elected to retain their slightly older Gladius- and Acinaces-class corvettes in favor of the Sabre.

Easily the most prolific example of a Sabre is the independent escort Skygazer. Formerly the MPRN Tanto, the craft was assigned to a Meridiani diplomatic expo with the Kassarin, a younger alien polity and long-term allies of the MPR. Intended as a demonstrator for a future line of export-variant Sabres (although not one itself)
it was docked to the hauler Acidalia, also carrying examples of nonlinear transit unit technology as payment for extraction rights in Kassarin space. After convening with the Kassarin polis-ship Wayfarer’s Rest, the expo was cut short when the hauler suddenly fell under attack by its own human escorts. Believed to be the work of human supremacists who opposed the technology transfer, the Acidalia’s habitation module was severed from its hull by a kinetic missile impact. The Tanto’s crew was instantly killed outside their ship, although the craft itself survived unscathed docked on the opposite freeboard. A visiting Kassarin crew from one of the Wayfarer’s defensive gunboats was also present aboard the Acidalia, and their vessel was heavily damaged by debris. Commandeering the Tanto with the help of a civilian human engineer, this crew successfully assisted the two remaining loyal Meridiani escorts in destroying or disabling each of the rogue craft. At the conclusion of this engagement, the last remaining aggressor fired an indiscriminate volley of torpedoes at the crippled Acidalia just before its own reactor fatally overloaded. Although the hauler’s severed cargo bay contained hardware with the potential to advance their civilization’s technological base by decades, the Kassarin crew’s choice to sacrifice their payment and expend all remaining munitions to defend survivors in the hab module cemented relations between the two powers for years to come.

Rechristened Skygazer by her new crew, ownership of the Tanto was officially transferred to the Wayfarer’s Rest as partial compensation. Now an element of the polises’ small exploration flotilla, only time will tell what the future holds in store for this ship’s career.

Description
Top view: www.deviantart.com/iyr-vosp/ar…

“Freedom’s not the first word one associates with being cooped up in a tin box,

but I wouldn’t call this by any other name.”

Kasvin Selos, pilot and first officer of the Sabre-class independent escort Skygazer

Developed by Meridiani Drive Works in the latter years of the 25th century and first flown four years later, the Sabre-class fast attack craft is a member of the latest generation of combat spacecraft to enter service within the historically renowned navy of the Meridiani Parlimentary Republic. At a length of 72.8 meters, every element of the vessel’s narrow and angular spaceframe - including its six large primary heat radiator panels - was carefully designed to present the lowest possible aspect from all angles. The core of the Sabre is its reactor and drive assembly, a MDW Series 8090 Griffon Mk. XXVII water-afterburning D/He-3 magneto-inertial fusion torch. As with all modern military-grade drive units of human design, the Griffon’s drive cone terminates in a series of second-stage electromagnetic coils that accelerate the drive’s fusion exhaust to near-relativistic velocities, dramatically increasing effective thrust and efficiency. This extremely powerful engine far outstrips the Sabre’s relatively small spaceframe, and is easily capable of accelerating a craft five times its loaded mass to combat speeds.

Fully loaded with fuel and munitions, a Sabre-class’s maximum sustainable acceleration is 32 gravities, with up to 45 gravities possible for short periods under emergency power. Such forces would be instantly fatal to the vessel’s crew, without a key subsystem included in its design. A product of the field of applied gravitics, the non-kinematic acceleration envelope is a lynchpin of modern naval doctrine. This system insulates the flight deck of a fast-attack craft from the effects of extreme acceleration via generating artificial acceleration of equal strength, oriented in the opposite direction. While effective, use of acceleration envelopes is limited to ships with relatively small crew complements, as increasingly large or closely staggered field volumes are rendered prohibitively difficult to generate by the Holsenn limit.

Although not true fusion drives, the Sabre’s distinctive eight gimballed reaction control thrusters operate at substantially higher outputs than most systems of a similar role and type. Using power provided by the craft’s main reactor, propellant is rapidly heated into conductive plasma, which is then vectored and further accelerated via magnetic coils as thrust. These thrusters grant the Sabre exceptional maneuverability, an ability it is able to fully exploit thanks to its acceleration envelope.
Secondary conventional vernier resistojets at the bow and stern provide a means of low-powered adjustments, and backup reaction control in the event of damage.

In accordance with modern fast attack doctrine, the Sabre-class is chiefly intended to perform rapid hit-and-fade attacks - darting into the line of battle to deliver a vicious first strike before burning away just as quickly. To this end, its primary armament consists of eight fusion propelled Broadhead long-range antiship torpedoes. These munitions are stored within two semi-conformal weapon bays mounted above and below the Sabre’s large propellant section, and each torpedo is tipped with a shaped thermonuclear warhead capable of inflicting damage even if initiated at significant distance from their target. For missile defense and close-range engagements, the craft also features sixteen vertically oriented magnetic launch cells, each fed by a magazine containing two AM-284 interceptor missiles. While not fusion propelled, these missiles are fueled by liquid high-temperature superconductors capable of high-density magnetic energy storage. This advanced propellant provides thrust generation at the very limits of chemical energy storage, and is more than suitable for the missiles’ intended role. Finally, a centerline mounted Zunil-Hamilton rapid action repeating coilgun provides an effective second close-in option. Although a kinetic weapon, this cannon is designed to fire very small projectiles at extreme velocities in short, but incredibly rapid bursts. While this configuration is effective at striking maneuvering targets with a great difference in relative velocity and distance at least once, it is also almost completely ineffective at penetrating planetary atmospheres of any density or even particularly dense regions of spaceborne gas and dust. As with the other weapons systems of the Sabre, the coilgun can be fired by both its pilot and WSO, although terminal fine attitude adjustments are performed by computer. The gun’s mount is also capable of minor gimballed correction, of approximately two degrees in any direction.

While an advanced and deadly combatant in the right hands, the Sabre is not without its flaws. The craft’s spaceframe is dominated by its power-propulsion block and propellant section, and even the forward command module’s volume is largely occupied by weaponry and the extensive suite of sensors, electronic countermeasures, and optical disruption equipment. As a result, crew accommodations are spartan even by military standards, and the Sabre is restricted from long-term independent assignments that its prodigious delta-v would otherwise allow. The craft also lacks any form of landing gear or ascent thrusters, relying entirely on parasite semi-autonomous vertical takeoff and landing sleds for operation off planetary surfaces. Lastly, the Sabre eschews almost all of its predecessors’ versatility in the long-term patrol and fleet screening roles for a focus on pure fast attack and strike capability, as the vessel’s reliance on a relatively small reserve of missile weaponry for both offense and defense greatly limits its combat endurance.
Combined with the type’s unusually high unit cost, many Meridiani squadrons have
elected to retain their slightly older Gladius- and Acinaces-class corvettes in favor of the Sabre.

Easily the most prolific example of a Sabre is the independent escort Skygazer. Formerly the MPRN Tanto, the craft was assigned to a Meridiani diplomatic expo with the Kassarin, a younger alien polity and long-term allies of the MPR. Intended as a demonstrator for a future line of export-variant Sabres (although not one itself)
it was docked to the hauler Acidalia, also carrying examples of nonlinear transit unit technology as payment for extraction rights in Kassarin space. After convening with the Kassarin polis-ship Wayfarer’s Rest, the expo was cut short when the hauler suddenly fell under attack by its own human escorts. Believed to be the work of human supremacists who opposed the technology transfer, the Acidalia’s habitation module was severed from its hull by a kinetic missile impact. The Tanto’s crew was instantly killed outside their ship, although the craft itself survived unscathed docked on the opposite freeboard. A visiting Kassarin crew from one of the Wayfarer’s defensive gunboats was also present aboard the Acidalia, and their vessel was heavily damaged by debris. Commandeering the Tanto with the help of a civilian human engineer, this crew successfully assisted the two remaining loyal Meridiani escorts in destroying or disabling each of the rogue craft. At the conclusion of this engagement, the last remaining aggressor fired an indiscriminate volley of torpedoes at the crippled Acidalia just before its own reactor fatally overloaded. Although the hauler’s severed cargo bay contained hardware with the potential to advance their civilization’s technological base by decades, the Kassarin crew’s choice to sacrifice their payment and expend all remaining munitions to defend survivors in the hab module cemented relations between the two powers for years to come.

Rechristened Skygazer by her new crew, ownership of the Tanto was officially transferred to the Wayfarer’s Rest as partial compensation. Now an element of the polises’ small exploration flotilla, only time will tell what the future holds in store for this ship’s career.