Eliza Daniels, Senior Correspondent, RNN
EAU CLAIRE FLEET YARDS, Orbiting Belle Terre (26 July 2503): A new breed of ship has been unleashed at Eau Claire Fleet Yards, to replace the aging Inquisitor class battlecruisers.
Chancellor Joshua Underwood addressed the Twelve Systems from the bridge of the Reydovan battlecruiser Stryker as it departed Belle Terre. "The ancient designs of the Empire have served us well," he said. "Now, I give you the new era of Reydovan military technology, a powerful combination of speed, stealth and firepower. Soon, our entire military will reflect the new era, and our Republic will prosper again."
The Stryker is the first modern Reydovan battlecruiser in nearly a century and a half, ever since Emperor Kiran Joshmaul I unveiled the Inquisitor-class battlecruiser in 2360. The Inquisitor herself entered service under the command of Admiral James R. "Jimmy" Anderson in 2373 and participated, along with General Jeremiah Neill's Atrus, in the Dominion War. The Atrus went on to join Underwood's fleet in the assault of Reydovan Prime on June 17, 2501, and was commanded by Underwood after Neill's death in 2502. The Atrus was the carrier of Underwood's fighter squadron, which crippled the hijacked science ship Severnaya over Reydovan Prime, and assisted in doing the same to the Auriga, the flagship of Emperor Daniel Longstreet I, over L'nhraei.
The Stryker has been built with speed and stealth in mind, with better sensor-masking technology and sublight engines than the Inquisitor-class ships. Her offensive capabilities are unknown, but in recent wargames with the Atrus, the firepower of the Stryker proved to be 86% more effective. The shields are actually slightly weaker than the Inquisitor class, which gave the Atrus a slight advantage in the wargame. Work is being done to strengthen them for more trial runs.
Sources have confirmed that the Atrus will be placed in the Reydovan Aerospace Museum on Reydovan Prime, and Underwood's flag will move to the Stryker when it finishes its trials.
