The Lucid-class Frigate, designed and built by the megacorporation Halcyon Industries for use in the Threshold's primary space force, the Federal Navy. It was designed for the primary purpose of being able to go toe-to-toe with the lighter ships of the more technologically advanced superpowers. Heavy for its class, the Lucid sports heavy, long-range turrets and packs a heavy punch with its 1000mm axial cannon.
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Development History
The Federal Navy decided early on that it needed a contender to fight against the potentially larger navies, by which they were originally plagued at the inception period of Threshold's history. While they knew that they could not outgun every enemy they came across or flee from their potentially faster ships, they could follow defensive "turtling" strategies and pick their own battles.
The Lucid was born from this concept, a frigate with the armament of a light destroyer, such as the Lodestar. While still being fielded in frigate roles, it acts a "frigate-hunter," made to outrange enemy frigates and lure the enemy - knowingly faster - towards allied ships while harrying them at distance, knowing that while they can't outrun them, they can withstand their fire until help arrives.
Design
As with many ships its size that sport an axial weapon, much of the frigate is "built around the gun." Unlike with some ships, though, the Lucid is not "a cannon with a ship strapped to it," rather, it is very much its own design with its own purpose. Much of the ship is heavily armored; while the main bridge is exposed, it does sport a sliding battle plate that, at a moment's notice, can completely envelop the bridge. These plates, each at least a meter thick, are meant to deflect any incoming rounds and dissipate energy weapons, shielding the otherwise exposed bridge crew.
Contrary to common practice, the frigate does not use the same weaponry as smaller ships, instead, it has its own weapons designed specifically for it to maximize range over rate-of-fire.
Operational History
The Lucid, as one of the older ships in the Federal Navy, has seen a few battles; most of these were with pirate factions, in which the Lucid earned a reputation as a king of the small battlefield; those few rogues who could field a cruiserweight ship soon found it gutted by the heavy axial cannon of the frigate.
Apart from patrolling dangerous star systems, the Lucid is the largest ship to be regularly used for "policing" work, usually responding to situations discovered by smaller cutters and corvettes, like the Syzygy or Destiny. In these roles, the frigate often finds itself more a deterrent force, rather than an active one; few pirates would dare major heists or visible operations with one in the vicinity.
Operational ships:
Federal Navy: 1385
Commonwealth Guard: 220
Expeditionary Corps: 275
Halcyon Industries: 42
Intersystem Alliance: 230