FRN Heavy Cruiser
Heavy Assault/Support
| Armor: | 120000 HP |
| Build cost: | 4000 RU |
| Build time: | 500 sec |
| Maximum speed: | 60 m/s |
| Turning rate: | 8.0 deg/s |
| Squadron firepower: | 761.26 HP/s |
| weapon type | count | RPM | damage | individual firepower | total firepower |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| frn_CAH_Turret_top | 4 | 12.5 | 48 | 10 | 39.6 |
| frn_CAH_Turret_bot | 4 | 2.34 | 48 | 2 | 7.4 |
| frn_CAH_Turret_bot | 4 | 2.34 | 48 | 2 | 7.4 |
| frn_CAH_Turret_right | 8 | 12.5 | 48 | 10 | 79.2 |
| frn_CAH_Turret_left | 8 | 12.5 | 48 | 10 | 79.2 |
| frn_CAH_IonCannon | 3 | 9.23 | 758 | 117 | 349.6 |
| frn_CAH_HeavyTorpedo | 2 | 1.67 | 2500 | 69 | 138.9 |
| frn_CAH_Defensegun | 8 | 150.0 | 3 | 8 | 60.0 |
The Tyrant A8 is the most commonly fielded cruiser-class vessel in the Aggregate. Mass produced even today in a run that has swelled to over four hundred hulls despite the emergence of a more modern A9 variant, this vessel is a powerful warship and serves in dual roles as a battlegroup flag vessel and a heavy assault and defense unit.
The Tyrant class is one of the old breed of Aggregate warships stretching back to before the beginning of their centuries-long struggle with the Taiidani. Of the original Tyrant (reclassified A1), one vessel still remains in service currently under the command of a Templar Frerrn named Reski. Like its commanding officer and the Aggregate as whole, this lone surviving vessel of nearly half a millennium of interstellar warfare has acquired a reputation for survival no matter the circumstances. One functional and one decommissioned Tyrant A2 exist in naval museums, while several A3 and A4 Tyrants are trainers. Dozens of A6 and A7 Tyrants are in mothballs deep behind the front lines under heavy guard along with many other older Frerrn units as a last-ditch strategic reserve in the event that all other ships are engaged and the Frerrn populations are threatened.
Like all Frerrn vessels, the Tyrant was conceived in an era where technology was rapidly changing around the development of hyperdrive and contact with other species. The Frerrn engineering talent tends towards practicality and future-proofing, and like in all their warships they applied both heavily to the Tyrant. Its interior spaces and structural members are highly modular and their computer systems and sensor packages were overengineered at their creation with an eye towards accommodating more advanced and complicated equipment. Armor plating had a fascinating interlocking design that allowed entire layers to be replaced quickly and simply, and the ship's power and control systems were distributed with an eye towards accommodating active defenses.
There have thusly been few differences between improved earlier Tyrant variants and modern Tyrant variants. The A8 variant has as its primary armament three fixed-forward heavy ion beam weapons clustered on the nose. To strike at more maneuverable targets or targets attacking from unexpected vectors, it features two forward-mounted long range torpedo tubes and six quad rapid-fire railgun turrets. For individual defense it has four point-defense turrets aimed at destroying attack bombers that venture too close, and extraordinarily heavy armor above and beyond most other Heavy Cruisers. It also features the ability to recover a small number of fighter-class strike craft. The Aggregate regularly deploys its Tyrants in pairs, both with their bays half-full so that in the event that one cruiser is lost the other can still recover its escort and depart.
While it is a formidable foe to assault and a powerful warship in formation, it is vulnerable to weapons that outrange it as all the weapons and armor slow down even the robust Frerrn power plants tremendously. The fixed ions also render it vulnerable to close-quarters attack by ships with turreted beam weapons like Destroyers or Cruisers. It is less vulnerable to a bomber strike unsupported, but Tyrants that stray from their escorts. A calm and organized strike is required to exploit its weaknesses - guided missiles or strike craft to neutralize its escorts and suppress its defensive turrets so that bombers may approach, and capital ships to draw fire from its turreted railguns.
