Brawler-class

The Vergesso Driveyards (later PlazWorks) FFG-2 Brawler-class is a very old class of combat frigate, originally built by Vergesso Driveyards for the Trident Foundries military and can now be found amongst many factions' defence forces.

Description
The Brawler-class is the oldest vessel still in service with the Trident Star Navy, albeit in a limited capacity. Its extensive use of heavy titanium-cobalt alloy armour plating has allowed it to weather attacks from even the strongest of modern weapons, and is the primary reason it is still in service as of GY 2430.

Exterior
The Brawler is an exceptionally long vessel for its size.

The long front section rapidly terminates at a narrow midsection housing critical systems. This then flares outwards before terminating for the engines; the wider points house the twin turret mountings and the ramscoops. Dark metal armour plates cover the vessel in a style reminiscent of the later Gen2 armouring style.

Interior
The Brawler-class has a cramped bridge module that seats nine crew in relative discomfort. Despite the extensive refits, no effort was made to reduce the crew count or make them more comfortable.

Systems
The Brawler-class Mk.1 was originally equipped with four rapid plasma cannons and a central artillery kinetic cannon of approximately 400mm caliber when the class was initially commissioned. These weapons worked well up until around GY 2390 when more factions began equipping advanced shield technologies to block kinetic rounds. The Mk.1(a) was developed in GY 2381, replacing the fusion reactor and power capacitors with improved ones derived from Project Solaris. The Mk.II was developed in GY 2387, and incorporated plasma cannon turrets for increased energy damage. Most vessels were modernised to the Mk.II standard by 2390.

When the First Odium War broke out at the end of GY 2412, the Brawler-class was hurriedly refit with modern weapon and shield technologies. The central cannon was replaced with a huge plasma coilgun and given its own independent targeting scanners, and the secondary plasma cannons were removed in favour of turret mounted weapons. New triple-barrel turrets featuring heavy plasma cannon weaponry were retrofitted, along with a more potent point-defence grid. These refitted Brawler-class vessels (Mk.III, Corsair-subclass) were field trialed in late GY 2414, but the war ended before they could be proven in battle.

Early history
In early GY 2358, the shipyards realized that their interests needed protecting from malicious forces, and they each began design efforts for their own frigates to defend themselves. It wasn't until early 2359 that the Brawler-class was designed and its prototype was completed. Due to the Brawler-class reaching production first, other classes such as the Vergesso-class and initial design of the Eris-class never reached production, as they all chose to license-produce the superior Brawler instead. (One of the scrapped frigate concepts was eventually revisited by PlazWorks and led to the Strider-class corvette in GY 2399.) Several vessels of the class were used in the Insurrection Wars of GY 2370, on the side of the Trident loyalists.

Demand for the vessel began to wane when the larger Eris-class Destroyer was designed and produced from mid-2378, however orders from central government remained strong well into the 2390s.

All Brawler-class vessels underwent a minor refit in 2381, receiving an enhanced fusion reactor and capacitors derived from the Solaris project. The Hawker Crisis mandated that every combat capable Trident vessel be available to deal with rogue Hawker-class vessels, and after their refit, many Brawler-class vessels could be seen along the trade lanes, patrolling for the rogue ships while the larger Eris dealt with known swarms.

The Brawler-class was effectively replaced in the assault role by the Resurgent-class Frigate, introduced in GY 2399. Most Brawler-class vessels went into storage around this time.

GY 2400-2412
With the rapid technological development of Trident, the Brawler-class was quickly made obsolete, as kinetic cannons were replaced in the artillery role by massive plasma coilgun and plasma beam assemblies, and standard plasma cannons were made more powerful and more economical to make and use. Even the tiny Strider-class patrol corvette, introduced in late GY 2399, was equipped with superior plasma beam weaponry. Any Brawler-class vessels that were spared from storage were used only in secondary roles up until around GY 2412.

Blueprints of the Mk.1(a) and Mk.2 Brawler-class vessels were released onto the open market by Vergesso Driveyards in GY 2411, allowing other factions and shipyards to build the vessels at a price.

In late GY 2412, war with the Odium Empire broke out, and Trident Foundries suddenly found itself surrounded by a hostile, technologically advanced empire that fielded many more modern warships than them.

Corsair Refit
Due to the ongoing war effort, in late GY 2412, the decision was made to modernise all of the Brawler-class vessels that remained in Trident's inventory and all stored vessels. The refit was trialed on a Mk.2 Brawler-class vessel, TRV Corsair CV-55.

The central kinetic cannon was torn out and replaced with a huge plasma coilgun, and given its own independent targeting scanners. Many of the old kinetic weapons were retrofit into planetary defence turrets. The secondary plasma cannons were removed in favour of turret based weapons. New triple-barrel turrets featuring heavy plasma cannon weaponry were also retrofitted, along with a more potent point-defence grid to keep enemy munitions away from the ship.

These modified vessels were all completed by late-GY 2414 and were sent to the front for field trials, but no meaningful data was gathered due to the end of the war months later. Only Corsair herself managed to serve at the front, and was attached to the 3rd Vergesso Defence Fleet led by the TRV Independent. She acquitted herself well in battle, having fired the plasma coilgun several times at Cyclops-class frigates with devastating effects.

Service in the Second Odium War
The refitted Brawler-class vessels found themselves in combat once again when the Odium Empire began combat operations again in early GY 2416, sparking a second war. This time, over three quarters of the class was ready for combat, and vessels of the class were found distributed in almost every battle fleet.

Later service
Original and refitted examples of Brawler-class vessels were highly sought after by the various rebel cells during the Trident Revolutionary War. The Vergesso Revolutionaries operated twenty such vessels, four of which were original unrefitted models, at their peak in mid-2424.

Until the recovery of TRV Independent, Jake Lancia himself operated the refitted vessel TRV Boxer CV-11 in raids on loyalist forces.

Vessels of the class were spotted in Trident fleets and patrols as late as GY 2430, over seventy years after they were first commissioned.

Notable Vessels

 * TRV Brawler CV-10
 * TRV Boxer CV-11
 * TRV Corsair CV-55