The Interceptor is a surprisingly high tech light fighter that is heavily deployed by pirates on the frontier. Ripper guns are short range high fire rate weapons that allow the Interceptor to take down fighters or escorts that might protect valuable merchant convoys. The Interceptor has good straight away speed but is not as agile as other light fighters. It can hold its own in a dogfight against enemy light and even heavy fighters.
The Interceptor fits perfectly with the design philosophy of most ships that make up the pirate fleet - it's fast and does damage. The Interceptor is capable of outputting significantly more damage than either the Federation Sabre or the civilian Explorer light fighter designs. It sports a bare bones shield system and the sleek design and sudden bursts of speed can make them very difficult to target. They won't win a race against the other light fighters, but can easily outpace civilian convoy and escort ships that they seek to ambush.
Lore:
It is unknown who produces the Interceptor for the Pirate fleets. What can be said for sure is that the design has only started to appear recently, and that it is very technologically advanced if not quite military grade. Unlike most light fighters that are primarily designed to scout and escape engagements, the Interceptor is clearly designed instead to be a combat machine.
A light fighter is a strange choice to be used as a combat craft as traditional wisdom is that such a chassis is too small to pose a serious threat. The only weapon system installed is a set of Ripper Guns. Ripper technology was developed on the Core Worlds, and is generally the highest tech weapon available to craft that don't have access to military grade lasers. Ripper guns are short range, high damage weapons that fire charged ammunition. They are very power efficient and do not suffer from the limitations of heavy ammo or jamming that can plague older autocannons.
The Interceptor was designed to make maximum use of its Rippers. This starts with the engine system that uses an incredible six engines on such a small craft, where as most other light fighters use only two or three. The engine feeds into the weapon system are extensive, ensuring that the guns are always charged and available to fire, even while the ship is engaged in high speed maneuvers that would tax most engines. This allows the pilot to both operate at full speed while continually firing all weapons with no loss to either system. The downside of this prioritization of the weapon power supply is that the Interceptor cannot maintain its high speed for as long as other light fighters, and instead it must rely on shorter bursts of speed.
The Interceptor also managed to install a targeting computer system. This makes the already deadly weaponry even more accurate in short bursts, and allows the Interceptor to reliably hit enemy light fighters. It is a marvel of engineering managing to craft a targeting computer system in a ship that is so small, and no doubt the technology alone justifies the cost of the chassis.
The rest of the design is clearly focused on survivability. The sleek wing construction gives the fighter a very flat profile, making it extremely hard to hit. The ship itself is covered in a dark sensor resistant coating which helps to hide the fighter from both visual and automated scanning systems. While not as capable of agile turns, the quirky, irregular speed boosts preferred by most pilots make the Interceptor very difficult to hit. The base design also comes with a very limited shield system, making the ship considerably more survivable than the Explorer class light fighters. This shield system is not as sophisticated as the military versions used by the Federation, but is still considered a welcome addition by pilots that use it.
The engine and weapon systems take up a lot of space on such a small, sleek vessel and so the Interceptor does not have a lot of armor. The ship is not designed to take hits, but is instead designed to kill its target quickly while dodging the few stray shots that come its way as it closes.
Interceptors are most likely seen in packs, often with many squadrons working together. They are very cheap to field as their fuel consumption is surprisingly good considering the heavy reliance on engines. The typical tactic is for all of the squads to overdrive their engines, gaining a terrifying burst of speed as they close on softer targets with their short range guns, and then shredding the opponent in a streaking blaze of ripper fire. The Interceptor understandably excels in these sorts of hit and run strikes, and Interceptors deal the highest damage of any light fighter found across the Frontier. The pilots of these craft generally are renowned for their daring and bravery as Interceptor squads don't hold up for long against dedicated anti-fighter weapons.
Variation:
The Interceptor is generally too new of a design to have seen much variation. That said an enterprising pirate or bounty hunter is always making slight tweaks to their gear. Interceptors have been seen with modifications to the shield system to make it more powerful. Others have disabled the safety restrictions on the engine systems, allowing for even more speed and agility. Some have been known to install additional targeting systems to increase the accuracy even further, making them especially deadly to other light fighters. A few have even been known to mount a dumbfire torpedo, although the extra weight and cost of this armament means that this is very rare.
Steel Shadows:
The Interceptor is one of the first units available to purchase. The Interceptor has three equipment slots and a single pilot slot allowing you to make further small customizations to fit your playstyle.