ATTENTION
-----
This is an auxiliary volume meant to be an easily accessible reference for refreshment on what exactly it is a certain type of ship is for. This is not required reading for the story, and I would suggest you not read this chapter until you have legitimate questions about a certain general class of ship down the line.
In the future, I plan on making a more in-depth guide on specific ships in a way similar to a catalogue of naval ships of the current era. I do not yet have the time, resources, or subject matter to embark on such a project.
-----
Deployable Craft are the smallest ships, too small to truly receive the classification of ship. They are usually taken into combat by a Carrier or deployed by the hangars on a station, they rarely ever exceeded a length of 35 meters. Their smaller size is their weapon, able to remain mobile enough to avoid the larger and more deadly weaponry. This does mean they are countered by the smaller and nimbler point defense systems as well as guided munitions to a degree, but staying at range, adding armor, and deploying interference countermeasures are often enough to provide protection from such systems.
Deployable Craft are further split into the following categories.
Recon Craft - Small and fast, perfect for scouting ahead of the fleet and gathering information on an enemy fleet.
Interceptors - Small and nimble, with only the bare minimum of firepower required to neutralize torpedoes and interrupt enemy ships' attack run.
Supremacy Fighters - A little larger and slower than the Interceptor, but better suited for combat thanks to its better armor and weapons. It's purpose is to clear an area of enemy craft and escort strike craft to their targets.
Missile Strike Craft - Bigger, slower, but with more armor. Carrying either a single torpedo or many smaller missiles, they are meant to lash out at more delicate portions of larger ships like sensor arrays and weapon mounts with their precision ordinance.
Heavy Fighters - Despite the name fighter, they are actually meant to be a strike craft focused on lightly armored escorts such as Pickets and Corvettes. They have armaments far more powerful than Supremacy Fighters with armor to match, all at the cost of speed and maneuverability.
Bomber Strike Craft - Big and heavily armored, this type of ship forgoes offensive weaponry in order to carry a larger rocket propelled warhead. If it has any defensive weapons, it will be in the form of a turret. In spite of their size, these tend to be among the fastest ships in a straight line as they need to impart as much kinetic energy onto their payload as possible before release.
Transport Craft - Bigger and slower than the Bombers. This ship is less of a combat craft and more dedicated to support and interference. It is capable of carrying something like a jammer or scanner to where one might be needed. If need arises, these ships may also be equipped with an extremely high payload thermonuclear weapon that can be 'lobbed' at an enemy fleet.
Multirole Craft - The bastard child of the Deployable classification. Capable of doing almost any job except the transport craft's, it is fairly awful in turn. This is almost entirely thanks to the fact that the equipment for these roles takes up a lot of space in a hangar. The required equipment stockpile for one wing of these often take up the same amount of space as two of any other. The only reason they remain in service is to have a guaranteed source of replacement for combat losses in vital roles.
The next biggest classification are the Escorts. Usually larger than fifty meters and meant to fly in space unassisted by a larger craft, their purpose is to perform roles such as escort and patrol duty. In combat, they are focused more on taking out smaller deployable craft, neutralizing missile threats, and performing counter sensor warfare. Some are outfitted with specializations in taking out vessels larger than themselves, though this is usually considered suicidal.
Corvettes - One of the two smallest classes in this category, the other being the Picket, is focused more around offense than utility. Missile corvettes, as the name implies, are focused entirely around missiles. Other such categories exist, with the only notable exception to the combat focus of the class being the Point Corvette, which devotes its existence to clearing the surrounding space of mines and explosive munitions.
Pickets - Pickets share the title for the smallest Escorts with Corvettes. Unlike their more offensively minded brothers, they are focused entirely around support roles. Electronic warfare, point defense screening, formation alignment, scouting, you name it. If there is a job that a larger ship needs help doing, there is probably a picket for it.
Frigates - Frigates occupy the happy medium between Corvettes and Pickets but at a larger scale. Where their smaller brothers are only capable of focusing on one thing owing to their size, Frigates enjoy the privilege of being able to do more than one job. This usually takes the form of a counter force to Deployable craft, but many are also focused on missile warfare both offensively and defensively.
Destroyers - Despite the name, they hardly ever go about destroying things. Sitting at just the right size to fit a full suite of high quality scanners on board, they are often tasked with providing target data to surrounding ships so that they may use that space saved by not having comprehensive sensors for more important equipment. They are not to be made light of however, this focus on their sensors makes them extremely precise with their own gunnery, and they are the first class fitted with the variable acceleration railguns.
The next largest class are called 'Main Line' ships. The smallest are 400 meters in length, a size where even the loss of a single ship becomes a hit that can't be ignored.
Light Cruisers - Light Cruisers are the smallest of this category, and are equipped with a variety of tools that make them a risk to every other class of ship under the right circumstances. This is also the point where the class role is standardized, there is very little variation in armament between designs.
Light cruisers have a terrifying point defense suite suited for protecting themselves and nearby capital ships from missiles and deployable craft. They are fitted with a veritable forest of variable acceleration railguns, a threat to destroyers and cruisers alike. Most Light cruisers are also fitted with a pair of Capital Class railguns mounted spinally as a last resort to drive off an approaching threat.
In spite of all this, they are also at extreme danger whenever there is combat. being so active offensively invites attention, and they simply don't have the armor to hold against sustained fire.
Escort Cruisers - Escort cruisers are larger than Light cruisers, but only slightly. While these often find themselves in combat, they are not inherently combat craft. Their role is more akin to a mobile shipyard, with internal facilities dedicated towards repairing damage that smaller and less durable Escort craft sustain. In spite of their lack of offensive armaments, these are often the core of a formation. Most fleets are focused on protecting these ships as without them their smaller ships will be rendered inoperable in time, leaving them vulnerable to harassment from enemy escorts.
Heavy Cruisers - Heavy Cruisers perform multiple roles. They screen for the Capital Ships, provide physical cover for Escorts, and chase off medium sized threats like Light Cruisers and other Heavy Cruisers. Their primary armament is the Heavy Railgun, extremely efficient at dealing with larger ships, but incapable of tracking agile targets as efficiently.
More often than not, Heavy Cruisers are also host to a large number of long range guided munitions, much like Missile Corvettes. This is to cover for their vulnerability to larger classes, their Heavy Railguns being completely unable to penetrate the armor of larger classes.
Light Carriers - On the whole, Light Carriers share many of the same characteristics as Heavy Cruisers. Many are even based off of identical hull forms. The defining difference is that all space for weapons has been repurposed for Deployable craft.
They are generally used to ferry Deployable craft to the front to replace combat losses, but they are perfect as the core of patrol flotillas and quick strike forces. They are cheaper than Carriers, but they have less armor and capacity in turn. They are disposable in a way.
The biggest classification of vessels is the Capital class. They vary in size greatly, the smallest Large Cruisers being a little over a kilometer and the largest Dreadnoughts coming close to 4 kilometers.
Large Cruisers - Large Cruisers are really just bigger Heavy Cruisers, focused more on increased firepower and armor but not to the point of making it as expensive as a Battleship. They fill the role of a command post in any operations that cannot be spared a larger ship.
While they are equipped a few of the lauded Capital Class of railgun, the largest, but they are usually only fitted with eight of these, four to a broadside. The rest of their weaponry are either Heavy or Variable Acceleration railguns. Missiles are foregone to remove weaknesses in the hull.
Battleships - Battleships are the first class of ship that employ Capital Class railguns as the main battery. They compose the majority of the battle line, raining long range fire on enemy positions. They have thick armor, and often act as shields to more vulnerable ships.
Dreadnoughts - Dreadnoughts are the largest of all ships, with most models being extended or expanded Battleship designs. With incredible amounts of both armor and weaponry they are the focus of any large engagement.
There are a few special designs of Dreadnought that are purpose built to pair with Carriers. Their dimensions are optimized to act as an object against enemy fire.
Carriers - Carriers do as the name suggests, carry. They stay hidden from the line of fire and launch their craft to deal damage. They are the preferred flagships of admirals as they are rarely ever hit, and there tends to be more than enough space to set up a command post in the upper deck.