Starlight Raider
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| Starlight Raider | |
|---|---|
| Vessel Profile | |
| Type | WarShip |
| Class | Congress-D |
History
The Starlight Raider was a Congress-D-class frigate in service with the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns during the First Succession War as the FSS Starlight Raider. In March 2814 the Starlight Raider was the lead ship of a three-ship WarShip escort for the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns task force assigned to recapture Dahar IV, the former administrative capital of the Dahar Combat Region and one of many systems in the Draconis March to have been captured during the early years of a massive invasion of the Federated Suns mounted by the Draconis Combine.[1]
The commanding officer of the Starlight Raider was Admiral Mateo Arrian, a veteran of the Battle of Cholame, and assigned as escorts to the Starlight Raider were a pair of Davion II-class destroyers, the FSS Duke Alexander and the FSS Sarah Davion. Shortly before the attack was due to be launched, Arrian received intelligence indicating that there were a pair of Draconis Combine Admiralty WarShips on station in the Dahar system: the Samarkand II-class fighter carrier DCS New Samarkand, the former flagship of the Second Fleet and one of the most experienced carrier crews to be found in the DCA at this point in the War, and the Narukami II-class destroyer DCS Shōwakusei.[1]
Arrian chose to press ahead with the attack, but switched three of his DropShips over from carrying aerospace fighters to carrying Land Air Mechs. When Arrian's forces attacked, the Duke Alexander and Sarah Davion engaged the Shōwakusei, while the various fighter groups from the WarShips and accompanying DropShips battled each other. All five WarShips were in fighting trim, but half of the New Samarkand's fighter complement were guarding key sites on the planet, and were unavailable for the battle. As the Starlight Raider engaged the New Samarkand, the three DropShips carrying LAMs emerged from concealment behind the AFFS WarShips and drove for the New Samarkand. When they were within range, the DropShips disgorged their squadrons of LAMs, which engaged the New Samarkand directly, before transforming into the BattleMech configuration and blasting their way into the inside of the New Samarkand through her flight bays. Once inside the New Samarkand, the 'Mechs caused havoc, inflicting enough damage to cause the carrier to tumble out of control. Only three LAMs managed to escape from the burning hulk of the New Samarkand, but the Starlight Raider took only moderate damage during the attack. Arrian's forces also destroyed the Shōwakusei during the battle, but not before the Sarah Davion was crippled.[1]