What is a Frigate? - Excerpt

The following is a section from a novel I'm slowing writing (very slowly). I was motivated to finish
this bit after a discussion on the FFG Armada Forums about ship classifications, and publish it here
for comments and responses. The formatting is a bit strained for some reason.

The story so far - Master Akimo is a blue alien, who is guest on the Glorious Warning, an MC30c.
The master is not a Jedi, but has some force abilities that are explained elsewhere. Whatever.

Akimo is helping repair the ship, which was badly damaged in a battle some years earlier before being abandoned.

Galto is a human crew-member, a veteran of the clone wars navy, etc. We are very early in the days of the Rebel Alliance.

***

“What is a Frigate?”

Galto looked up from the various wires before his eyes.
Master Akimo was working beside him, checking couplings and circuits with a steady efficiency.
“Huh?” Galto aked.

“I have heard the term since arriving aboard the vessel - the conveyance.” Akimo replied.
“It is called a Torpedo Frigate.”

“Well, that is what she is - a torpedo frigate.” she turned back to her work. 

Akimo was not satisfied with simple answers.
“Leaving aside its gender- which I also have questions about being a hermaphrodite -
what does it mean: Frigate?”

“That refers to the class of ship - heavier than a corvette, lighter than a cruiser.”

“Then it is a reference to mass?” Akimo mused.

Galto shook her head. “Not specifically - more a reference to her role in combat.”

Akimo briefly lifted a hand, then returned to the circuits.
“I do not understand - how does mass relate to role?”

Galto paused a moment before replying.
“Well, lighter ships typically accelerate more quickly are more lightly armed.
They serve as scouts and flank guards. So Corvettes skirmish and flank,
whereas Frigates dash into the heat of battle and out again before being destroyed,
while Cruisers do most of the heavy fighting.”

“Frigates cannot fight cruisers then?”

Galto coughed. “Well, of course. In numbers frigates can destroy cruisers.
With enough numbers Corvettes can destroy battle-cruisers. But in large fleet actions Corvettes and
Frigates tend to find their place on the outer edges, not in the thick of things.”

There was a few moment’s pause as Akimo shut one wall section and moved to another.
“Battle cruisers?” 

Galto finished closing a circuit before responding. “Heavy cruisers. Real warships - like the new
Imperial class Star Destroyers. Technically a cruiser but fast and heavily gunned and shielded.
We live in a new age of space combat. Many things are changing- some of our old terms are
out of date.”

“So Star Destroyers are battlecruisers?” Akimo had stopped work to look at Galto.

She turned to the alien and crossed her arms. “I call them that. The new Imperials are anyway.
The mainline Victory class are more traditional cruisers. Slower - but vicious in numbers.
They serve as the line of battle. The Victory class will be the bulk of the Imperial fleet for a fair time -
particularly out here.”

Akimo tapped a finger to chest. “So your Frigate is not equal to a cruiser? You cannot hope to defeat a
Star Destroyer?”

Galto shrugged. “Well, that’s a question and no doubt . There are different kinds of Star Destroyers.
Against an Imperial class - the battle cruiser - I’d say clearly no. It would take three Frigates like this
to take down an Imperial - and you’d likely lose two of them. But against a Gladiator class star
destroyer, which is really a Frigate itself , I’d put good odds on a Torpedo Frigate like ourselves
coming out on top in a one on one -better shields, better weapons mix.”

Akimo stepped forward, eyes searching. “And against a Victory? A Cruiser?”

She held her hands out, palms up. “Well, there you’ve got me. In a face to face conflict the Victory has
the edge - but any Frigate Captain worth his salt knows how to kill a Victory.”

“Salt?” Akimo asked, held tilted to the left.

“An idiom. One who knows his business. Our Frigate can fly rings around a Victory cruiser. Get in his
flanks or behind him and smash him to bits. Just don’t get caught in his front. A squadron or two of
fighters to keep the Ties off our back and we’ll give them what for.” Galto turned back to the circuits.

Akimo’s head shook. “You have a strange manner of speech.”

Galto laughed.

The blue master turned back to the circuits and wires. But another question came. “If a Frigate fan
outfly a Cruiser, surely a corvette fan outfly a Frigate?”

Glato sparked a wire and gave a little grunt. “Well, perhaps. The Imperials have Corvettes that fun turn
pretty fast but can’t outrun us. These mon cal frigates have a nice turn of speed. Corellian Corvettes
are slightly faster again with the right engines. I’ve seen them bully Victories very nicely.”

“And these hammerheads I have heard about? The Captain used to command one of them. Would they
pose a threat to a Frigate like this?”

Galto took off her glove and sucked a tingling finger. “I should say not. The hammerheads are an old
corvette and not much use anymore. They make up most system defence forces but are mostly useless
now - slow - under gunned under shielded. I would not want to serve on one in a serious fight.”

“Ah. They are weak. Flimsy.” Akimo coupled some wires and shut the compartment.

“Well, no.” Galto responded.  “Not flimsy. In truth a hammerhead has better armour then this thing.
If a Hammerhead rammed the Glorious Warning we’d crumple. But that’s these non cal ships -
all shields, no hull. There are parts of this boat where you can’t lean on the wall for fear of putting a
hole in it. But she’s shielded like a Cruiser, flies like a Corvette and hits like a hammer. And the
commander knows his business. If we can get the hyperdrive running reliably we’ll be a danger to any
Imperial ship short of a battlecruiser. We’ll need some friends to take down an Imperial. But anything
else? No worries.” Galto chopped the air with her tingling hand.

“None at all?” Akimo was opening another compartment.

“What?”

“No worries at all? That easy?” 

She shook her head. “Idiom. Nothing is too easy. Although Gozanti Cruisers shouldn’t be of concern.”

“Cruisers?” The blue master lifted an eyebrow.

Galto sighed. “A stupid name. They call them Cruisers but they are really support ships. Freighters.
Transports.”

Akimo frowned. “Then why call them Cruisers?”

Galto slammed the compartment and moved to the next. “It’s all Palaptines fault. We had a perfectly
good system before he came along - Transports, Corvettes, Frigates, Cruisers. Then his majesty comes
along and now it’s cruisers, destroyers, destroyers, and bigger destroyers. The man is mad I tell you.”

“Undoubtedly so. Whereas your system is superior - this Frigate is faster than a corvette with a thinner
hull and more weapons than a cruiser.” Akimo gave his odd chuckle, like a duggi drowning in mud.

“Ah but you see - that’s because this is a mon cal design - aliens see? Non-humans don’t really
understand space - not really - at least not in the proper way.” Galto leaned further into her compartment,
reaching for a stray line.

Akimo snorted. “I certainly don’t understand it at all.”

“Well exactly,” Galto countered quietly. “Blue skinned hermaphrodite pacifists can’t be expected to
understand the nuances of fleet operations the way humans do - we are bred for it.”

The little blue alien seemed to get the joke. With a gentle smile Akimo responded:
“But Palpatine is human isn’t he?”

Galto laughed. “Yes.” She climbed out of the compartment and waved a ray-cutter at the master.
“But as I said before - he’s mad. All that power has gone to his head. Mad as a barking nun.”

***