Surprise
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| Surprise | |
|---|---|
| Vessel Profile | |
| Type | WarShip |
| Class | Kimagure |
History
The Surprise was a Kimagure-class pursuit cruiser[1] that served with the Star League Defense Force as the SLS Surprise. The Surprise would be extensively modified during her service life as a result of the development of the Soyal-class heavy cruiser by Delhi WarShips and the Capellan Confederation. The Soyal was the first WarShip to mount a Mass Driver - in the case of the Soyal, a Medium Mass Driver - and the resulting ill-informed public outcry at the fielding of such a potentially powerful weapon without an SLDF equivalent led to the SLDF being pressured into testing Mass Drivers for themselves.[2]
Selected as the test WarShip, the SLS Surprise[2] was refitted to mount a Mass Driver and extensive trials were then conducted during the 2750s at the uninhabited Periphery system of EC3057-J83A. The trials were disappointing, with the Mass Driver proving to offer a minor increase in damage over existing naval weapons at the time, while also being subject to a considerably more restricted firing arc. As a consequence General Aleksandr Kerensky cancelled the programme in the 2770s, and work on Mass Drivers would be abandoned until the Word of Blake rediscovered the test facilities in the thirty-first century.[1]