It’s been a little while since the last Galaxy Ascendant lore post, so I figured I ought to get back to this, even as I make great headway in the writing of book 5 in the series. Still no concept art, unfortunately, but I am working on that. Stay tuned for more, and enjoy this post!
Marauder-class Destroyer
Ship Type: Destroyer
Manufacturer: Trevalat Shipyards
Operator: Imperial Revittan Navy
First Deployment: 2 ATA (After Tyrannodon Arrival)
Length: 550 meters
Width: 100 meters
Height: 160 meters
Crew: 320
Armament: Three kinetic accelerator cannons that run the length of the ship, 18 energy dissipation rays, 24 light plasma cannons,
Complement: Two shuttles
History & Technical/Development Notes
The Marauder-class destroyer is an advanced Imperial ship; a fairly new design, which did not appear at the Battle of the Hollow World. The Marauder-class, and its sister ship class, the Lancer, were designed primarily as utility vessels, but following their successful first combat tests, there are many advocating for additional resources to be devoted to the construction of more, with the thought being to eventually replace the Imperial Navy’s current destroyers and cruisers, both older designs, with these new ships.
The initial impetus for the construction of the Marauder class was, more than anything else, the development of new weapons, which, while deemed theoretically very effective in combat, were markedly different from the Empire’s standard munitions, and difficult to integrate into currently operational ship classes. (Although, there are those who suspect that the coming war was already anticipated by the Empire’s leadership, and sought to develop new weapons for the conflict to come.) The first weapon type, magnetically accelerated kinetic energy weapons, were appraised as capable of doing incredible damage to unshielded targets, but required the ship to be built completely around the cannons as its primary, fixed-position weapons. The second new weapon, energy draining devices that are particularly good at stripping ships of their shields, were similarly tough to integrate, given their intense power requirement.
Thus, the Marauder was designed, almost purely as a weapons platform. Shielding and armor were scarified to allow for the largest possible kinetic accelerator cannons on the smaller ship, with the only other weapons systems being a dozen of the energy draining rays, and a handful of point defense cannons. The Marauder itself is essentially a glass cannon, relying on its speed, small profile, and its unique combination of weapons to rapidly and effectively destroy enemy capital ships.
As a way to mitigate the Marauder’s weaknesses, a sister class of ship, the Lancer, was developed, to both serve as an alternative, more durable platform for the new weapons, and to also fight alongside the Marauders.
Given its extremely successful combat debut, it is extremely likely that the future will see more of these unusual, but dangerous ships in the Imperial arsenal.
Hope you enjoyed, and don’t forget, Galaxy Ascendant 3: A Shifting Alliance, is now available on Amazon! And for anyone who has yet to make a voyage to the Galaxy Ascendant, book 1 in the series, A Greater Duty, is now only $0.99! Come join us; you won’t regret it!
Writing, Ascendant 
“Killer, but she can’t take a hit.”
“Dead men don’t hit back, though.”