The Koraal
gravity generator vessel was designed by the
pro-capital-ship faction of Taiidani Fleet Command, who felt
that having to train endless pilots to fight in
fragile-but-expensive strike craft for the protection of
other small, fragile ships was wasteful of both life and
resources. When high-speed turrets failed to be the final
answer in point defense, Taiidani field-effect scientists
went to work trying to end the strike-craft threat once and
for all.
Their
solution was to construct a Frigate-class vessel around a
massive gravitic field generator, which was capable a
generating a field strong enough to seize any strike craft
within range and hold it still in space until it could be
targeted by heavy turrets and destroyed. Their initial
success was impressive, and soon they were able to launch a
prototype vessel that could generate an artificial gravity
well strong enough to overwhelm the thrust of anything
smaller than a frigate engine.
Unfortunately
this technology arrived just as the Homeworld War began, and
there was no time or resources left to perfect the
technology; the prototype went into full production as the
Koraal-class Gravwell Frigate. The energy demands of the
graviton generator are still so high that the fusion drives
soon overload from the power drain, rendering the ship
useless. It takes nearly three work cycles to tow the Koraal
back into a Carrier or base, strip out and replace the
drive, and then recondition the graviton unit. The extreme
stress of the grav field also makes it impossible for
turrets or any kind of weapon to function on the Koraal's
outer hull.
Despite
this, the Koraal is a deadly surprise for any wing of strike
craft, and Imperialist fleets often use them to ambush
Republican and Hiigaran resourcing fleets. This tactic
resulted in a near 100% success rate until the Imperialists
encountered a Kiith Somtaaw mining fleet containing
Minion-class heavy tugs. As the grav field built up and
locked up the acolyte escort wing, a fast thinking Minion
crew rammed the Koraal and pushed it out of effective range.
The repeated impacts eventually destroyed the graviton
generator.
I
guess you could say it "corrals" the enemy
fighters, eh? Sorry,
couldn't resist.
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