Two for Flinching

Mekong-class Missile Frigate FFM-0402 USS TWO FOR FLINCHING
“Once bitten, twice shy.”

-Two for Flinching- is one of the remaining vessels from before the Flight. While the Nomad Fleet comprises tens of thousands of ships of many classes and makes, there was a time where it was barely a few hundred scraped together vessels. Colony ships, miners, what few combat vessels were left, were what remained of the United Systems of America after the Empire had struck. Two for Flinching is –the- last vessel that was actually witness to Earth’s glassing by the Empire, with its first captain Commander Jim Raymond Kelly having orchestrated the ship’s and other fleeing vessels escape from the clutches of the Empire’s fleets.

Obsolete in its construction even before the Empire’s arrival, Two for Flinching was pressed into service for the next hundred years as a warship for what would become the Nomad Fleet in the Reunification Wars, before finally being retired and being permanently docked to the Civilian Capital Ship 04 – USS City of Athens.

Nearly six hundred years later, the Nomad Fleet has reactivated Two for Flinching and other older vessels for service as a reaction to increased Imperial activity across the Outer Arm of the Milky Way, of which the Nomad Fleet currently resides in. Though minor galactic powers remain relatively independent from the Empire and its slowly decaying hold over the far reaches of the Galaxy, none of them are willing to render aid to the Nomad Fleet for fear of reprisal from the Empire. As a result, even Two for Flinching has to be reactivated for service, despite it being six hundred years older than the next oldest vessel in the new group.

DESCRIPTION
LENGTH: 630 Meters
WIDTH: 208 Meters
HEIGHT: 180 Meters

The Mekong-class Missile Frigates were designed as a response to increasing space piracy across the early US territories before the Flight. The primary design element was the active protection of larger cargo craft across Warpspace without collateral damage. To this end, the Mekong was the first Missile Frigate class to incorporate an overabundance of missiles, all of which can track targets independently, form a protective screen around the ship or any protectorates to intercept projectiles, or even form a forward scanning element. The initial Orcrist II missiles which were its primary armament were only effective with AI control, and as point defense measures developed, only in large numbers (a notable incident on 6.19.2107 happened in which two Mekongs, FFM-0103 USS Diamonds of Rarity and FFM-0097 Intruder Alert expended 200 missiles between them to sink one pirate cruiser with a very well-developed point defense network, only six struck the craft, and Intruder Alert was so severely damaged in the engagement that it was scrapped).

Despite the weakness of the armament, Mekongs could cover large distances quickly, and were fairly fast for their day (but never as fast as any of the Imperial ships). During initial skirmishes with pirates and later the Rintarian Collective, Mekongs generally formed both scouting and vanguard groups ahead of the US combat fleets. Over 500 were built over the course of 30 years before construction of an ordered 200 more and its planned replacement came to a premature end with the Flight.

Before Two for Flinching’s reactivation, it also received a modernization refit (rare for ships to receive these as the resources spent tend to go towards keeping the Civilian Capital Ships afloat.)

CONSTRUCTION: Class Six Hull Metals. Up to three feet of armor across the hull. The space-gun shape of the Mekong-class is owing to its hull originally being meant for a mass driver cannon platform (later to be built under the Yukon-class) [Also superficially resembling the incestuous cross between the Starship Troopers Rodger Young, a Paris-class Heavy Frigate from Halo, and the USS Sulaco).

Notably, the Mekong also features a bridge that is not centered inside of the ship like later acquired and built ships of the Nomad Fleet, instead the bridge is built atop the main deck, with the primary viewing screens protected by up to two feet of chemically strengthened and reinforced glass. As it is noted weak point, armored shutters are also available in case of a breach along with a secondary CIC built in the center of the ship (where the main mess used to be located before refits).

Four thruster banks are attached to the ship by large struts in the form of an X shape, with maneuvering thrusters dotted all about the ship for precise movement through space. Structural armor plates attached spaced away from the main hull towards the rear of the ship near the engine core’s location form additional spaced armor protection against impacts. At the stern, there is a rear cargo door for sending cargo up through the rear. There is an additional loading ramp below the bow for loading the magazine.

The ship itself has a uniformly metallic gray appearance, with only large blue bars going from stern to bow to break up the appearance. These bars represent the namesake rivers for which the Frigate classes derive their names.

ARMAMENT: Eight missile launcher tubes mounted flush in the hull pointed forward, with two reverse mounted in the stern pointed rearwards. Magazine carries up to 200 Missiles (primarily the new GLAMDRING-V Smart Missile). These missiles are linked by disintegrating magnetic belt, allowing multiple missiles to be fired within seconds. These missiles and their guidance paths are directed by the Weapons Officer and two of the four Class-III AIs aboard, with control also being given to the Executive AI when necessary.

- Additionally, twenty point defense energy pulse laser turrets are mounted along the main hull, ten top, ten bottom. Two more are mounted forward to the front on either side of the bow sensor array. These laser turrets can also act as secondary armament should the Frigate come within two hundred meters of target.
- Additionally, five NARSIL-I Nuclear warheads are carried aboard which can act as either remote mines, or replace the GLAMDRING-V’s standard warhead (which requires some prep time and manual replacement).
- For the crew, three hundred Pulse rifles, one pistol for each crewman, six SOLARIS-C Laser Cannons, sixty concussion grenades.

ENGINE: Unlike most ships of the galaxy which carry both an independent engine for the ship and a Warp drive, human ship engines function as both (both because research stalled around the time of the Reunification Wars and practically speaking very little resources to work with).

The Ultramatter Displacement Drive is the long range option for the Nomad Fleet, allowing it to travel through warp between different systems faster than the old FTL drives of the Colonization years. Bearing resemblance to a giant V8 engine, the Two for Flinching’s UDD is as old as the ship itself, with eight large power capacitors and an even large central core, the UDD is large enough that it and the magazine are the primary space takers aboard the Mekong, with little room left for the crew. Fuel for the UDD powering the four thruster banks is provided through ultramatter reaction, which is provided by the ship itself so long as the Ultramatter block is intact or can be delivered to the ship through fuel tenders, with an emergency reserve tank stored in the stern.

CREW:
- 12 Officers (including Executive AI and Synthetic Assistant), 206 crewmen, 20 robotic crewman, 20 service drones, 4 Class-III AI.
	- Captain Gilda Friday Spruance
	- XO: Commander Curt Kouzmanoff
	- Class-I “Thinker” AI – “Gregor”
	- Third Officer: Lieutenant Commander Adrian Gecevski
	- Navigation: Lieutenant Commander Bogdan “Bogs” Pankovski
	- Chief Engineer: Lieutenant Commander Evan Murphy
		- 2IC: Lieutenant Andrei Chuchkov
	- Communications: Lieutenant John Power Slattery
		- 2IC: Ensign Fina Arsova
	- Weapons: Lieutenant Ariadne Spunkmeyer
		- 2IC: Ensign Frank Garnett Tibbs
	- Medical: Lieutenant Doctor Pawn (Synthetic Assistant)