ARMAMENT:
5 Twin Mounted, 88mm Mass Drivers.
9 Turrets of Twin 145 mm (Approx. 6 Inch) Stabilized Cannons
Unknown Capital Ship to Ship Thermonuclear Missiles
10 Snub Fighters in Dorsal Bays.
48 Combat A.P.U.s
COMPLIMENT:
Up to 300 Crew and Passengers(198 officers and gunnery personnel operating in 3 shifts), or 475 on later models of the ship..
The Nebulon Drive Yards Republic class frigate is really more of an Up-gunned Star Liner than proper capital ship. The Crew and Passenger compartments are really more akin to plush state rooms, with the interior halls having more the feel of a cruise ship than a military vessel. The hallways are many of the earlier production runs of these vessels are often well carpeted and paneled with ambient mood lighting to give a relaxing setting - sometimes even with wall mounted plant holders and fish tanks. They were the hallmark of corporate luxury as well as the sign of corporate private military might. On the more prominent upper decks, each stateroom had it's own shower and lavatory facilities, and some even had there own kitchenette. Each upper deck had a small, dedicated kitchen for room service and private meals, with a grand master dining room on the primary deck. A few of the Suites on the executive deck went so far as to have hot tubs. The recreational deck sported a fully equipped gymnasium, pool, weight room, several small cinemas, and other entertainment venues that often varied from ship to ship and were often rented space to various merchant or shopping consortiums. There were, of course, lower, less plushly accommodated decks for crew, hired hands, and staff, with rooms laid out like dormitory blocks with Crew are assigned two in a state room, in bunked billets, with a number of rooms in each block sharing a public restroom and showers. Each block has it's own small kitchenette for the preparation of small meals and snacks, with a larger cafeteria on each deck to serve the entire deck. The Republic class also maintained Flight Decks and hanger capabilities for it's own assigned group of Snub Fighters, as well as Shuttle craft, Launches, and Combat A.P.U.s close quarters, ship to ship combat and boarding operations, as well as maintenance and cargo A.P.U.s. Typically the Republic hosts 2 shuttles and 6 ten man launches, as well as 10 snub fighters. The Hanger and flight decks are often the most cramped part of the vessel, but are serviceable.
HISTORY:
The Republic Frigate formed the backbone of the Corporate fleets, before and during the corporate insurrections. Even the largest of corporations rarely had more than a handful of capital ships of cruiser class or above, and only a handful of true destroyers and full military vessels. The Republic was meant to be the symbol of corporate power and wealth, when an executive presence was needed, and they often commanded flotillas of gunships, corvettes, and escort carriers when larger engagements occurred. They were an imposing sight, almost as large as Heavy Cruisers in terms of size, but were comparatively lightly armed and armored - meant more to make a statement against raiders and pirates than a true military opponent. Their 6 inch massdrivers were a significant threat to up-armed civilian and commercial ships often used by pirates, scavengers, and junkers, but were of only limited use against armored cruisers and capital ships. One of the most unique features of the Republic class are it's dorsal and ventral fins. The foreward fin houses a powerful sensory and electronics bay for extended range and hyper-pulse communication and detection, making the Republic an ideal command and control vehicle for battlegroups, while the ventral and dorsal rear fins house a vast array of heat exchangers and auxiliary reactors to bolster power. This results in the bulk of the Republic's heat signature being in the fins, and often is a perfect secondary defense for thermal targeting arrays resulting in drawing fire from the central crew and control portions of the vessel. It is not entirely clear if this was an intentional design element or the result of coincidence.
After the outbreak of the corporate insurrections, losses to the corporate fleets were heavy as a result of their lighter armor, and the numerical advantage was quickly lost. The corporations needed to press ships into service at a much more rapid and cost effective pace. Second and third generation Republic class frigates often had a lot of corners cut to meet deadlines, and started to resemble proper warships inside - losing the plushly carpeted and decorated hallways and living suites, and often times not even having completely paneled over walls or conduits. As a result, this makes the few surviving first generation Republics a historic find, though often those that survive bear the stains and scars of battle on their once plush interiors.
The Republic series was produced in far to vast numbers to adequately track or report all of it's variants or offspring. Not only did it serve as the backbone of numerous corporate fleets before and during the corporate insurrections, many were sold at significant markup to planetary militias, independent nations, and freelancers. Productions of the Republic and knock offs of the design have continued even to date. These ships have become a common sight in the black.
CREDITS: Davorama (a.k.a Davo, Beyondbent, Powerfusion3D, PoserFusion3D), All the great Kitbashers who have posted images of assemblies with Davo's sets that inspired me.
