COBRA Garter class Frigate

With the detection of Warp Signatures passing within 3 lightyears of Cobra Prime plans for Starship (and in particular warships) construction were accelerated. In doing so there was not much time for radical redesigns. The Garter class Frigate (the first starship made entirely in Cobra Prime) was a product of that. In practice the Garter class Frigate was a modified version of the Squamate, making use of many of the same parts and components. Even so it boasted a number of improvements and modifications using experience with the previous. It was enlarged to 120 meters long which allowed for extra room for weapons power system for six laser cannons (with recharged 25% faster). It weighed in at 11,500 tonnes, thanks in part to a reinforced hull. It was outfitted with a set of impulse engines which were a considerable improvement in acceleration while freeing up space for a small shuttlebay in the enlarged aft of the craft. It's crew was enlarged to 42 spacers, but also included a complement of 24 Battle Android Troopers (generally kept in storage) on the off. In it's initial configuration the Garter's top speed was still 6c, though it could achieve that while consuming less energy than her older counterpart.

The first Garter class was completed in 2092. After performing within expected parameters in it's shakedown cruise six additional ships were ordered that were delivered over the next 14 years. Their real test came in 2109 when COBRA had it's first contact with another spacefaring culture, specifically a group of Nausicaan raiders. In their first raid one pirate vessel attacked an asteroid mining operation, making off with an impulse equiped mining ship before COBRA's fleet could respond. Seven months latter (and after the sensor network was improve) another such raid was attempted by was fought off by the Squamate, Stonefish and Ferret. While the Ferret and the Squamate did take significant damage, the raider was forced into retreat. Even so, they launched their third and most serious attack in 2112 when four raider ships launched an attack against Coatl Station's shipyards. In that battle they went up against Cobra Prime's orbital defense stations, six Garter class ships, the Squamate, a dozen mining ships carrying lasers and four squadrons of Mark-1 Stiletto and Star-Rattler fightercraft. Two orbital defense stations, five mining ships, 9 fighters, the Stonefish and the Anguilla were destroyed while the Garter and Ferret were damaged. Even so the casualties on the pirate side were much higher. Three raider ships were destroyed outright while the forth was crippled and captured.

After a review of the captured Naussicaan ship's databanks and the interrogation of the it's surviving crew it was soon deduced that this raid represented the entirety of their assets. More importantly the raider was soon gutted and examined. Naussicaan technology was for the most part a kitbash of systems that were stolen from those they preyed upon and crude copies there-of, but was still decades ahead of COBRA. Numerous systems which were only theoretical to COBRA engineers such as the use of antimatter as a power source were shown in practical form, as were improved warp coil designs and hull polarization systems. Over the next decade these mechanisms would be examined, tested, dissected and ultimately replicated. Even so, the need for an enlarged fleet persisted and so five more Garter class frigates would be built between 2114 and 2121. As these ships incorporated some of the new technology into their designs (and the older vessels were gradually refit with the new technology), these latter vessels are generally called Garter Block-1 Refits. They had a maximum speed of 18 c (Warp 2.5) and considerably improved durability. A three ship squadron of these ships led by the Garter did the first interstellar survey of the three nearest star systems around COBRA prime in 2122 to 2123