The Saviour Of the Federation...

Sombreroman

THE KESTREL CRUISER (FTL)
image https://i.imgur.com/zBb5utm.png
Mass: 713.9 Tonnes
Crew: 60 Humans
Scrap Cost: 379,300 Scrap

(Built in a 1 Block = 2X2 Blocks scale)

Courier of The Blueprints for the Rebel flagship, The Kestrel has made it's mark across the Galaxy. Originally Decommissioned a few years back, One was repaired and Fitted with new tech. The legendary ship boasts with it's beautiful Twin Laser Cannon and Artemis Missile System. She doesn't fight well in the Cosmoteer universe, but in her own game she's always a Good choice for going the Distance. You will never find a better ship for getting the job done and saving the day... Except for the Modern Federation Cruiser and the Stealth Cruiser, I Guess...

(If it looks off do remember I can't create the Depth Or detail FTL does using the Painting system. If you have your own design, feel free to show it off.)

(Also, I'm going to make a Kestrel that can actually do Cosmoteer Combat!)

Sombreroman

Sombreroman The Next Generation of the Kestrel...
THE HARPY CRUISER
image https://i.imgur.com/ACqazFn.png
Mass: 568.8 Tonnes
Crew: 108 Members
Value: 520,500 Scrap

20 Years after the events of FTL...
The Old Federation Captain looked out their window.
"It's been a whole twenty years. None of this would be here if it weren't for me..."
Outside, a Beautiful Galaxy shined. The Milky Way retains it's Admirable Beauty.
"It's all Pristine, Clear, and Beautiful... Yet..."
Almost perfectly timed, Several Harpies jumped nearby, In the View of the Captain.
"Sometimes, I wonder..."
Following this Initial Group, A Massive Fleet Jumps out of FTL beside them. It almost Blots out the Milky way.
"Did I do the wrong thing? Rebellions begin because of a Commanding Body having too much power, after all..."
Cutting him off, An Allied Crewmember Of a Hybrid Race tapped his back.
"Captain? The Fleet's moving out."
"Tell The others to prepare the drive for me. I'm still reflecting."
For the Minute before the jump, The Captain wondered many things. What new Adventures await? What new foes must they fight? Suddenly, The Kestrel let out a low growl, Ten seconds until the Jump. He Responded to the ship as if it was a person.
"Don't worry... I have a Good feeling about this."

And Then... Ignition.

The Harpy possesses Huge firepower in the Eyes of the Federation. Swapping out Modular weapons for Connected, Smaller and more powerful ones, The Ship would probably destroy an enemy from 20 Years ago within a Volley or two. Pair that with great maneuverability and Shielding, and It's already Recognisable that this ship Is a Fighter of a Cruiser. In a Good way. The ship is also Internally Connected, So it's generally a lot more effective. One big sacrifice, though, was losing it's Airlocks. So now, The Crew has to rely on (Longer Ranged) Fire Extinguishers.

The Ship Even Possesses Advanced Scanners, capable of Fully Visualizing Enemy ships from Afar. You might say slugs are obsolete now, But due to "The Accident", they Can now do this too.

Perhaps the Deadliest weapon on this ship is The Artillery/Glaive Cannon. This Devastating weapon forms a Solid beam. Inside It fires bullets through the Beam, Which accelerates them and causes them to Deal more damage. As for the Glaive part of the Beam, This Is Alternated to last longer and Consume less power. This Laser is Embedded where the Control Room used to be, Almost looking like Jaws that shoot Lasers!

As for the Colouration, the Ship is Tinted with blue Because of The Crystal Race and The Lainus race Using their Superior Technology for the Plating. Well, In the Case of the Lainus, Also before "The Accident". And the brown Details are Supposed to Represent the Wings of a Harpy- The Strongest Bird in nature.

And yet, It could mean something... Darker.

Sombreroman

Sombreroman And finally, Topping it off...
THE KESTREL CRUSIER (FUTURE)
image https://i.imgur.com/Q5svRE6.png
Mass: 669.9 Tonnes
Crew: Still 60 (Or in FTL terms, 6 I guess)
Value: 385,300 Scrap (In MATERIAL value)

During the Last Stand, The Kestrel Took one Heckuva Beating. After the battle, The ship was repaired by The Federation. Although It doesn't have any more holes, Any glance from even the outside makes it obvious that it has "History" in that location. Really, all the Federation Did was "Put Tape Over the Holes"... Even after all of the Effort the Crew of Her went through to get here! But, I guess It can't be helped. The Federation was restoring themselves after the Civil war, expanding, Negotiating, and Producing. Producing, Being, a Massive fleet to make sure A Rebel Domination happens again.

Yet, The Captain felt empty about the Decision. While crew Celebrated, The Captain Thought more deeply about this. Why did the Rebellion even start? Because the Federation was at a Vantage point. An absolute high after the Mantis war. The Rebels Probably thought the Mantis had too much mercy, but they were suppressed their rights to make their points less aggressively.

Thinking now, Rebellions don't just begin like this particularly. Another could begin when The Gap of power between Civilian and Captain Grows Too Large. Surely, even at another golden age, There would probably be a new Rebellion. The Captain Took a Deep breath... And Prayed that he would not have to Fight A Huge war where the other Federation ships match the enemy. Because, The Kestrel almost as weak as any other Ship in it's days. Even a modern small ship is now more than a match for her. Just imagine fighting a Modern Rebel Flagship...

Then, They looked beside Them. The FTL would be a while, as the Galaxy they were headed to was far away. VERY Far away. They looked at an old friend of theirs.
"If only you were here now. It's much more prosperous. So, I'll not fail on my promise, as to even things out."
The Picture was of a Slug Crew member, one not like the others. One that wasn't selfish. Then, the Captain looked behind them. It was the Same Crew member from earlier.
"You're looking at the Picture again?"
"It's been Twenty years. He made a honourable sacrifice to Make sure the Federation could live another day."
The Captain Continued.
"In the meantime, The Event definitely changed you. You definitely were a fighter, even from the start..."

The Event did claim the Lives of many of it's willing Test Subjects, Both young and old. Only three of them survived, And only one was an adult. As for the Hybrid, They were one of the Two Children.
"He would have been very proud of you. Out of all the survivors, You are the one that's truly Special... Even if you could be called a Freak of nature."
The Hybrid shook her head slowly, and then went back to the back of the ship. There was a party going on. Even if most of the Crew members are at least 40 by now, none can forget they are heroes of the Federation, and their names will live on.

Except, For The Slug that never made it back.

Only the Captain and The Adult Survivor Know their name. The True hero the Federation forgot. The One that Sacrificed himself to Deal the finishing blow to the Rebel Flagship.

In the meantime, It was going to be a long day anyway. There's a whole new Galaxy to Discover... No, Galaxies, To discover. And although The Kestrel was in no fighting condition, The Captain couldn't wait to fight once again nonetheless. The Captain Was going to join the party, but first, They looked back again at the picture.

"I will see you again in time, Old friend."

THE END, FOR NOW

Sombreroman

Sombreroman
VERSION TWO
image https://i.imgur.com/psMM4Ky.png
Mass: 547.1 Tonnes
Crew: 116 Members
Value: 546,600 Credits

This Update Cuts Weight and Negates the Ship's ability to CUT ITSELF IN HALF. It also has Slightly more PD than usual, and the Reactors have been Re-Arranged. Now, When a Factory Explodes, I say "Eh, Just a Flesh Wound". It ALSO has Stronger Shields in the Front. Lore wise...

Seven Weeks after the Jump...

The Federation ships were getting Massacred. The Enemy Ship had an Unimaginable Fire rate, And It was At Least 2.5X as Large as The Harpies. Although that is small for the Federation Dreadnaughts, It was The Rebel Flagship all over again: Small, But All-Powerful and Fast. It's hull was literally lined with guns on one side, And From behind Came an Unrelenting Barrage of Missiles. Five Harpies were fighting at once and give the enemy mere Minor Abrasions. Our Dreadnaughts Couldn't Return fire as the Jump Somehow Disabled it's weapons for some time.

The Battle initially Appeared Futile but Then Two Harpies got the Enemies' Flank- It's Backside, Completely Devoid of anything other than armour and Point Defenses. Another Harpy joined in, But It disrupted another one's attacks. As the Battle Progressed It was Easily noticed that the Harpies' Frontward weapons were out of power. The Captain Remarked that they should turn off their Unnecessary systems to let their weapons recover. They were clearly Amateurs. Perhaps more Ironically, This terrifying enemy was doing the Same thing. They were on equal Ground... Each were Very bad at Doing basic combat strategies the Captain is Too familiar with.

"To think these people actually Graduated Piloting Class..." Muttered the Captain, Annoyed both because of the Rookies and Because he Was commanded to Not engage the Enemy. He muttered further. "What have I become? A Morale summoner? My Crew literally Destroyed a Flagship in One-on-One combat!" The Hybrid Then Added, from across the ship. "Technically Two!" "The One In progress Didn't count!"

As the Battle furthered, A Harpy Finally lost Control. The Ship, now Battered and Half it's size, Flew aimlessly as It lost it's control room. Following Shortly was Another one. Only now, The Enemy is actually Taking Easily Visible damage. But, It had to swivel around, and Protect It's Vulnerable flank. The Remaining Harpies were being Crumpled like Paper. The Captain was having enough of these... Fools, Getting Juggled By this ship. He requested Permission to Engage. "Admiral! Let The Kestrel engage this ship!"

The Admiral Looked a Little Dodgy to the Request, knowing how much morale was coming from the Kestrel. "TULLY! I DON'T WANT THOSE PILOTS TO DIE! PLEASE GRANT ME PERMISSION!" The Admiral finally made eye contact. She Looked Right and Growled. "...Fine."

The Kestrel Quickly Dispatched the Enemy, Using Precision fire on the Greatly Exposed Lower Half of the Ship. In one attack run, the Enemy went from a dominating beast to a Pile of Scrap.
image https://i.imgur.com/7PEn5hN.jpg
It was clear that Good piloting can outmatch any enemy at this point. The ships then continued patrolling the Sector.

After the Engagement, The Kestrel was surprisingly Scratchless. It survived just fine in the field. "See? I think your pilots need to take better lessons!" The Captain Then Laughed. As a response, the Admiral Rolled her eyes. For the Other Bridge members on the Admiral's Dreadnaught, It was Clear that Their Admiral and The Captain had a Weird Relationship of sorts. But, In the meanwhile, At least their Comrades were alive.

Sombreroman

Sombreroman Except, For The Slug that never made it back.

Only the Captain and The Adult Survivor Know their name. The True hero the Federation forgot. The One that Sacrificed himself to Deal the finishing blow to the Rebel Flagship.

(This is actually a Reference to What happens if a crew member remains on the Flagship when it's destroyed. Their names aren't displayed and the Game basically "Forgets" about them entirely.)

Sombreroman

...I now realize this'd Be better under lore or something, as it's also sort of a Fanfiction...