RE102 Tiriech Escort Frigate (4)

Royal Elven Kingdoms

Tiriech Escort Frigate

      The Kindred Escort Frigate was the last purely elven starship design to be produced. It entered service in 2335, as part of the frantic refit efforts following the disastrous Dathedi incursion. The Kindred was intended to supplement the elven fleet point-defence vessels, aimed particularly for cruisers and larger vessels. The Kindred was centred on a large-scale ECM system. This was backed up with the same array of point-defence lazers as the Shrike, in a more compact hull and mobile hull. Its sublight drive characteristics allowed it to keep pace with all larger elven starships save the Kestrel. Other weaponry was limited, only providing a single torpedo tube with 24 torpedoes of 230TXq yield; this allowed it some sniping shots are range, but little else.


      Nevertheless, the Kindred saw rapid deployment (partly to replace Shrike losses). It in fact first served the REN in an engagement with the Japanese Empire, where its ECM system were used offensively to mitigate JE cloaking systems and won the day for the elves.


      An upgraded version was thus a logical choice for the third joint elven and saiyvalyss project. The Kindred was more heavily redesigned from scratch and became the Tiriech (guarding spear).


      The Tiriech masses slightly less than the Kindred (by about 4%). One of the primary reasons was the removal of the torpedo launcher, regulating the Tiriech to a pure support role. The drive characteristics remain the same: 16mc and 182 MEUs, identical to the Kindred’s, though the Tiriech uses saiyvalyss drives that mass half as much. Like the other joint projects, the Tiriech uses the more advanced saiyvalyss hyperdrive, increasing its FTL transit speed by 16.67%.


      As with its forebear, the Tiriech echoes its contemporary Shrike’s energy point-defence armament – in this case, the 2348 Shrike’s blaster and syvri armament, which gives the Tiriech the same output (4470TXq). The ECM system remains much the same, with only a few upgrades in areas where the saiyvalyss had some advantages.


      The Tiriech uses some of the mass reductions to mount slightly sturdier shields. It still has no armour, but its shields are rated to 795TXq, a third again as much as the Kindred.


      The resulting trade-offs make the Tiriech a much better vessel at its job, but while leaving some room left for the numerous Kindreds to not be completely overshadowed; indeed there is an a good argument for the Kindreds being freed up to take more of an offensive roll, and there is talk of a refit to remove the Kindred’s less mass-efficient long range lazer batteries for full capital lazers or possibly even missile racks.