Sic transit gloria mundi
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Sub a shield ship.
Image Source: Here.
Canon Link: N/A.
Primary Source: Mantle Class Shield Frigate. This is essentially a Firemane version of that ship. Used with permission of the submitter, [member="Valiens Nantaris"].
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Manufacturer: Firemane Industries & Technology.
Affiliation: Firemane Industries & Technology, Closed-Market
Model: FM-S1a.
Production: Minor
Material: Standard ship components, shielding matrix.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Classification: Shield Ship.
Length: 350m.
Width: 400m
Height: 400m.
Armament: Low
- Few turbolasers
- Many quad lasers
- Few point defence lasers
- Huge shield frame protecting the Scutum and any ships behind it.
- Triple redundant shield generators.
- Heavy armour plating.
- Ion Shielding
- Cap Drain
- Anti-Missile Octet
Hangar Allocations:
Starfighters: 0 squadrons
Support Craft: 0 squadrons
Maneuverability Rating: Low
Speed Rating: High
Hyperdrive Class: Average: 2
STANDARD FEATURES
- All standard features.
- Spreads a large shield in front of the ship blocking all enemy fire from in front of it. This shield is extremely strong and powered by additional generators. This framework can fold up into two ‘wings’.
- This shield is much stronger than it seems, but if penetrated the framework is fragile and vulnerable to damage.
- The shield protectors extend the protection out to a square 600m x 600m.
- Its weapons cannot fire in front of the ship, but can fire to the sides and rear of it.
- It is a shield ship. It can absorb incoming fire by being placed in front of an allied fleet. This also applies if it is placed ahead of a larger ship. It can take the brunt of enemy fire and shield allies.
- The ship has strong defences. This applies in particular against attack craft. Should fighters or bombers get behind the shield, they will come under heavy fire.
- Speed. The ship is fast, allowing it to reach allies that need protection quickly or reposition itself if need be.
- Though it is strong, the shield can and will eventually fail if hit by enough firepower. The shield framework, once the energy shield is gone, is vulnerable to damage because the whole structure is quite flimsy. Damaging this will prevent the shield coming back online.
- If a ship can manage to behind the shield itself and can fire into the weaker backside of it, the ship is much more vulnerable to damage.
- While it protects ships behind, it also prevents them firing forward as well.
- Lacking in capital armaments. Its weapons are for defence only.
- The ship is rather cumbersome for a frigate, meaning it is not very manoeuvrable.
The Scutum Class Shield Ship is based on the Mantle Class Shield Frigate. This was one of the vessels built by the Contingency, a Shard incursion that sought to cleanse the Galaxy of organic life in retaliation for Emperor Palpatine's purge. Unfortunately for the Contingency, their machinations were thwarted at the Battle of Tartarus. Failure in command contributed to this, as exposure to the ring world and its secrets had driven their leader Onyx and several of his lieutenants to madness. As a result, their campaign was a lot less impressive than anticipated.
However, while the Contingency failed and many of its warships did not survive when the ring world was destroyed, many aspects of its technology were worth salvaging. Firemane had been a participant in the battle. Their operatives had been part of the strike team that slew Onyx and prevented his doomsday machine from being activated. In the aftermath, Firemane dispatched teams to salvage Contingency tech.
Among other things, they were able to seize a Mantle frigate that was adrift in space. Kar'zun researchers and Varosh the Hutt studied the vessel. Inspired by the design, Firemane decided to commission its own shield ship, drawing inspiration from the Contingency model. It was called the Scutum Class Shield Ship. Like the Mantle, the new ship ship would be protective in nature. It would activate a huge framework, covered in countless complex shield generators and emitters, in order to create a potent defence in form of an enormous barrier. In a fleet battle, the ship would be deployed in advance of allied warships to absorb incoming fire.
It withdraws once its shield is down or combat has been engaged. While it protects allied warships from attacks, it also keeps them from firing at the enemy, so it must be out of the way for an allied battleship to engage the enemy. Once combat starts, the shield ship is usually positioned behind a large capital ship to provide protection. The shield ship is lacking in capital armaments. Its weapons are positioned behind the shield framework and are defensive in nature. This keeps enemy attack craft from getting behind the framework and wrecking it piece by piece.
Compared to the Mantle, the Scutum is faster. The Contingency was isolated from the rest of the Galaxy for almost a millennia, and tech has moved on since then, allowing the Scutum to have improved engines. It also has a higher production run. The Contingency was banking on its huge armada acting as bait for the great and minor powers of the Galaxy. Once the battle was in full swing, the Shards intended to use their doomsday machine to annihilate their foes.
While Firemane's fleet is not as big as that of a galactic government, it is quite large and broadly dispersed since it has commercial and political interests to protect. As a result, it was in the corporation's interests to have several shield ships at its disposal. This would also allow the corporation to sell it to clients. However, the Scutum is less manoeuvrable than its parent model. For a ship of its size and class it is quite cumbersome.
