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Naval Briefing: Admiral SirFozzie
Ok then. Destroyers are now a thing, Red Lasers are now a thing, and it's time for a big moment in the admiral's career. The last really big force decision was made way back in 2200 when the choice was made to split between Interceptor and Striker-role corvettes. Hence the Dorsal and Sschlurga classes were born, and various changes have been made since but that was really the foundation.
Now it is time to make somewhat more complicated, and probably more important decisions. This may well be the biggest moment of your so-far distinguished career as the Collective's only fleet admiral, thus far undefeated in several engagements. As previously mentioned, we can be both thankful and possibly intimidated by the fact that destroyers are not merely bigger corvettes.
With the not-particularly-necessary blather out of the way, let's look at the destroyer in more detail. There are two cores in a destroyer instead of the one for a corvette.
Breaker Core
This is basically the front half of the ship.
** Hope is the anti-flotilla option, good for fighting corvettes or other small foes. 3 small weapon hardpoints, support for 2 small and 2 medium-sized utility components.
** Fortune is the middle-of-the road choice. 2 small and 1 medium weapon hardpoints, and also 2 small and 1 medium for utilities.
** Faith puts all of it's eggs in one basket. A big basket. One large weapon hardpoint for dealing with larger foes. 2 small, 1 medium on the utilities again.
Bulwark Core
The second module, or back half of a destroyer.
** Flash is the option for anti-flotilla duty. 2 small weapons, 2 small and 2 medium for utilities.
** Shine packs only a single medium weapon for bigger targets. 2 small and 2 medium utilities again.
It's time to envision the next-generation space navy. There are a few aspects to put forward your thoughts on.
** Destoyers vs. Corvettes -- We can go all in on the destroyers and not build any more corvettes, go with a standard mix of two corvettes to each destroyer, keep building corvettes, or do something completely different. Got a feeling you want the new 'toys', as you put it, but hey, everything's on the table.
** Destroyer Core Combinations -- You could be a real pain in the gills and go for one of each ... there are six possible combinations ... but that seems a bit silly. An 'escort destroyer' made for anti-flotilla duty would probably be best featuring the Hope + Flash cores, with five small weapons mounted. Faith + Shine would be the 'strike destroyer' option for attacking the big targets with 1 large, 1 medium weapon on it. Fortune + Shine would give 2 medium and 2 small for a more standard, balanced configuration, or perhaps you might want something a little different. As mentioned, there are a lot of options here. The spaceports need to know what you want to build assuming you are going the destroyer route: what kind of designs do you want, and do you want a balanced amount of each or some more than others?
** Weapon Systems -- The mining drone lasers are better than the red ones, so it's pretty much that and the coilguns. If we go for any big designs, the mining drone lasers can't be built in the large size, making the coilguns really the only choice there for the moment.
** Utilities -- This one's still pretty basic. However many reactors are needed to power the weapons and as many deflectors as can be added to supplement them. There's really no other sensible choice here since it's just the two components for the utility slots.
** Combat Computers -- It's assumed we are staying with Defensive software unless you instruct otherwhise.
Admiral SirFozzie, you are now on the clock. Take some time if you need to, ask questions if you wish. At 51, you still have a lot of time ahead of you but are no spring chicken anymore. Quite possibly the next major redesign of the navy will be the responsibility of your successor. Even if not, this choice will guide the expansion of our fleet for the coming decades. Choose well.
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