Penetrator

Starship Databank Entry

The Syreen Penetrator is lightly crewed and not terribly powerful in terms of offensive weaponry, but it is able to use "wiles" strengthen itself while weakening enemy ships. With the Mycon Podship and the Pkunk Fury, the Penetrator is one of the few ships able to come out of battle stronger than they went in.

Navigation

The Penetrator has a good turn-rate and a fair speed but suffers from a somewhat lacking acceleration. Its shape, center of gravity and turn-rate can be masterfully combined into a orbiting maneuver, during which the Penetrator circles a planet until it found the direction it wants to use a Gravity-whip maneuver.

Armament

Primary

The Penetrator's primary weapon is a weak, forward-firing weapon with a fair range and acceptable firing rate. Normally it is used for nothing but finishing off a Psi-resistant captain. This weapon is more commonly known as a "Particle Beam Stilleto," or alternatively as a "light Electron Dagger."

Secondary

To compensate for its lack of offensive power, the Penetrator captain employs the "Syreen Song", a short-range hypnosis field designed to lure enemy crew from their ships via the airlocks. The effectiveness of the Syreen Song decreases with distance. When the ships are right next to eachother, eight crew members may desert, but a ship will never be abandoned altogether. If the Penetrator picks up the crew, they will willingly serve alongside the Syreen as members of the Penetrator's crew; if the enemy ship reclaims their crew, they are able to counteract the effects of the hypnosis field -- at least for a while. During the war, crews on board Syreen ships became a surreal pastiche of alien races, with Ilwrath, VUX, Spathi and others working dutifully side by side with human volunteers under the command of beautiful Syreen officers.

The "Syreen Song" has no effect on non-sentient beings like the Slylandro Probe.

Tactical Overview

Against most ships, the tactic is pretty straightforward -- close in quickly, evade incoming fire, and use the "Syreen Song" to bolster your ranks and weaken the enemy's. Once you have made the enemy's crew your own, finish them off with a few quick shots. Slow ships are the prefereable targets for Penetrator captains. Ships with good turn rates and/or good firing rates are what Syreen captains fear most.

Strong Against: Mycon Podship - The Penetrator can outrun a plasmoid but only if already at its best speed. If the Mycon try to regenerate lost crew, the Penetrator should hold patiently and let the Mycon send more crewmen - or Crew-Fungi - prey for the Syreen Song. The Ilwrath Avenger is also easy prey for the Penetrator, as the Syreen Song is effective even when the Avenger is cloaked, and the Penetrator's engines can easily keep the ship out of the Avenger's attack range. Chenjesu Broodhome ships are quite pained, trying to keep the Penetrator off their back. Earthling Cruisers may have a good turning rate but once the initial Dual missile barrage is off, the dismal recharge-rate usually forces the Cruiser captain into a "Scorched Earth" tactic - Point-defense Lasering his own crew rather than seeing them onboard the penetrator. The slick penetrator easily dodges the cumbersome nukes. After mastering the art of evading the Kohr-Ah spinning blades, Penetrators can launch a nasty surprise for the over-confident Marauder captain. Umgah Drones are a nice source of crew. Just go in front of it (so that you are not touched by the Anti-Matter cone) and use the Syreen Song to lure all its crew out, and fly around the ship to catch them. The Drone often accidentally kills the crew, flying towards you firing all the time. If the Drone rams at you with the backward going device, you'll be flying fast. When the Drone has only 1 crew left, wait for it to use the backwards going device and then fire.

Weak Against: Ships like the Shofixti Scout with its glory device or fast-turning, quick firing ships such as the X-form in Laser mode, the Utwig Jugger and the Yehat Terminator. It is also easy prey for the Slylandro Probe, with the Probe's superior maneuverability and invulnerability to the Song.