Defender-class cruiser

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For other uses, see Defender-class.

"They took out an entire security detail and scuttled one of our new starships."
―Hera Syndulla[4]

The Defender-class cruiser was a type of cruiser manufactured by Mon Calamari Shipyards in the years after the Galactic Civil War in the New Republic Era by 9 ABY. At that time, the cruiser was considered new and was deployed in numbers by the New Republic Defense Fleet in several roles, including patrol, prisoner transport, and combat. Multiple ships comprised the New Republic fleet led by General Hera Syndulla, while others were stationed above Corellia.

One ship, the Vesper, was attacked by mercenaries loyal to Imperial Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth, setting off a chain of events that brought the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn from a far galaxy. Another ship of the class, the Dawnbringer, led two other Defender-class cruisers to detain Syndulla during an incident on Seatos.

Characteristics

The Defender-class cruiser[1] was a model of cruiser manufactured by Mon Calamari Shipyards. The ship had a long off-white hull with blue trim and the Sigil of the New Republic on the port and starboard. Past the midsection of the ship, the hull slenderized before expanding at the aft section, which hosted the ship's cluster of eleven sublight engines, including three large units at the center. This aft section hosted a dorsal tower with antenna and protected by four turbolaser turrets. The aft section's ventral side held a fin.[4]

Aft view of a Defender-class cruiser

Aft view of a Defender-class cruiser

The bridge was located on the prow of the cruiser beneath a canopy. The bridge had multiple windows to provide a wide field of vision and was equipped with multiple control stations, with the commanding officer situated on a rotating command chair with a central console. The bridge was equipped with communication and navigation stations, with the door located at the rear of the bridge that led to a turbolift. The prow section had a mid-ridge that horizontally traversed the sides of the ship until reaching the craft's four hangars, two on each side. The hangars hosted a variety of maintenance equipment and had a capacity for at least several starfighters. The cruiser had multiple white hallways leading to various parts of the ship, including the detention level which had several holding cells. When a security alert was triggered, an alarm rang out with flashing red lights.[4]

Role

The Defender-class cruiser was a warship that could be used as a high-level prisoner transport,[4] and performed patrols and other missions.[1]

History

The Dawnbringer and other cruisers arriving above Seatos.

The Dawnbringer and other cruisers arriving above Seatos.

The Defender-class cruiser was built at the start of the New Republic as part of a new fleet built for defense.[7] One ship, the Vesper, was considered new by the time it was attacked by two dark side Force users, Baylan Skoll and his apprentice Shin Hati. The Vesper, commanded by Captain Hayle, was transporting Morgan Elsbeth, an Imperial warlord, to face New Republic justice. While en route to rendezvous with MC80A Home One Type Heavy Star Cruiser Home One in Sector G-38, the Vesper instead encountered Baylan and Shin's Eta-class shuttle and allowed it to dock in one of its four hangars.[4]

Although Captain Hayle called Skoll's bluff that they were Jedi and deduced that they were Imperial sympathizers, Skoll and his apprentice Hati attacked the New Republic security detail, killing Hayle, neutralizing the bridge, and rescuing Elsbeth. The Vesper was subsequently scuttled and destroyed, though a number of survivors were rescued by Home One when it arrived. The former Jedi Ahsoka Tano travelled to meet with General Hera Syndulla aboard Home One to discuss the attack and continue their search for Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn.[4]

The purrgil depart Seatos and travel past the Defender-class cruisers sent to detain Syndulla.

The purrgil depart Seatos and travel past the Defender-class cruisers sent to detain Syndulla.

As part of the search and investigation, Syndulla and Tano rendezvoused on Corellia, which at the time of their arrival had at least eight New Republic Cruisers in orbit, with some docked with an orbital space station.[8] While Tano, the droid Huyang, and Tano's apprentice, the Mandalorian Sabine Wren tracked an Imperial transport from Corellia to the Denab system, Home One had joined with a fleet consisting of at least five New Republic Cruisers, four EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigates, seven CR90 corvettes, and seven Sphyrna-class Hammerhead corvettes.[9]

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A fleet comprising of three Defender-class cruisers, including the Dawnbringer, under the command of Captain Girard were sent to Seatos to bring back Syndulla, Captain Carson Teva and their squadron back to Coruscant where the Senate Oversight Committee would determine whether or not Syndulla's command be permanently suspended.[5]

Behind the scenes

The cruiser is almost physically identical to the Rebel Cruiser concept art drawn by Joe Johnston.

The cruiser is almost physically identical to the Rebel Cruiser concept art drawn by Joe Johnston.

The cruiser appeared in the live-action web-TV series Star Wars: Ahsoka in 2023. It was first seen in the teaser trailer for the series that was released during Celebration Europe 2023,[10] and was described as a transport in the audio description of the trailer on Disney+ when it was available.[11] The starship was identified as the Defender-class cruiser in Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy, a reference book released in 2024.[1]

Benjamin Last revealed concept art and name for the craft, the New Republic Cruiser, on his social media on August 29, 2023, which was previously previewed at ComicCon 2023, and received design direction by Doug Chiang.[12] Last confirmed that the basis of the design was based off of[13] the MC30C frigate,[14] and that when they always look to the aesthetic foundations laid by Joe Johnston, Ralph McQuarrie, and Doug Chiang.[13]

Concept art for the New Republic cruiser designed by Benjamin Last.

Concept art for the New Republic cruiser designed by Benjamin Last.

The design of the cruiser is similar in physical appearance to the "Rebel Cruiser" concept art drawn by Joe Johnston for Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi,[15] which itself is similar to the design that eventually became the basis for the MC30c frigate.[16]

Appearances

Sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Star Wars Starships & Vehicles: Vesper History of the Ship: Vesper
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles second edition
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 AhsokaTitle-Template Star Wars: Ahsoka — "Part One: Master and Apprentice"
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 AhsokaTitle-Template Star Wars: Ahsoka — "Part Five: Shadow Warrior"
  6. ↑ SWInsider "A Certain Point of View" — Star Wars Insider 228 dates the events of "Part Seven: Dreams and Madness" to nine years after Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, which corresponds to 9 ABY per Star Wars: Timelines. Preceding episodes, also take place in that year, since they take place after Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett, which is dated to 9 ABY according to Timelines. As "Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord" takes place shortly after Part Seven, the events of Ahsoka as a whole must all take place within the same year.
  7. ↑ StarWars-DatabankII The Dawnbringer in the Databank (backup link)
  8. ↑ AhsokaTitle-Template Star Wars: Ahsoka — "Part Two: Toil and Trouble"
  9. ↑ AhsokaTitle-Template Star Wars: Ahsoka — "Part Three: Time to Fly"
  10. ↑ SWYT-Logo Ahsoka | Teaser Trailer | Disney+ on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Posted on StarWars.com)
  11. ↑ Per the audio description for the Star Wars: Ahsoka teaser trailer on Disney+, which is no longer available.
  12. ↑ TwitterLogo Benjamin Last (@BenjaminJLast) on Twitter (post): "New Republic Cruiser I designed for Star Wars: Ahsoka. Had a blast designing for this show with an amazing team at @Lucasfilm. This design sketch was previewed at ComicCon. Design Direction Doug Chiang #StarWars #Ahsoka" (backup link)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 TwitterLogo Benjamin Last (@BenjaminJLast) on Twitter (post): "Thanks! and yes - when designing for Star Wars, we look to the aesthetic foundations setup by Ralph Mcquarrie, Joe Johnston and Doug Chiang. This helps maintain a visual design amongst ships - most notably in the Imperial / First order ships." (backup link)
  14. ↑ TwitterLogo Matthew Hankin (@TalkingMink) on Twitter (post): "It's a beauty and it certainly feels like something the NR would be churning out as it doesn't look too complex or specialised. I have to ask was there inspiration from the MC-30? And for my own peace of mind how long is it?" (backup link)
  15. ↑ Return of the Jedi Sketchbook
  16. ↑ The Art of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi