Tall Ship
Here we see a historical reconstruction of one of the twenty-nine 44-launcher 'super-frigates' constructed by the fledgling Penterian Interstellar Republic from 233-248 PF during a period of intense isolationist backlash following the disastrous Second Expedition. Deliberately constructed without the redux drive assemblies and capacitors necessary to hop the light-speed barrier, the ships were intended purely as system monitors to cover those systems closest to the nebulous volume of space apparently under the control of hostile aliens. Federal appropriations were provided to the three oldest colony worlds as well as the homeworld for construction of the ships. Eight each were constructed in the Shaeraur, Alsat, and Tira systems, while only five were completed in the Polla system before another change in government doomed the program.
The ships were armed with novel missile launchers, featuring a revolving ready magazine of six shots per launcher. Unfortunately, missile technology of the era remained crude, being still nearly a century shy of the breakthroughs that would lead to sufficiently compact redux drives. The missiles were therefore still chemical fueled, measuring 60cm diameter and 500cm length. With a straight burn, their range was limited to a paltry 3,000 or so kilometers, which necessitated a two-stage design with a ballistic flight phase. Range remained severely limited by a missile's ability to generate delta-v for intercept after coasting. Secondary armament consisted of eight double turreted 410mm mass accelerators.
At 120 meters in length with a crew of 601, these early warships were extremely cramped by the standards of the modern Navy. Junior enlisted were packed 4 to a 25 cubic meter cabin, and even the captain rated only a bit more than 40 cubic meters of personal space. Other crew areas were equally cramped. However, since the ships rarely left the orbits of their homeworlds, let alone took on extended patrol cruises, the on-board accommodations were not the issue they might otherwise have been.
None of the ships' weapons were ever fired in anger. The last was decommissioned and scrapped in December of 273.