Scout (Vaygr)

The Scout is a fighter that is fast, maneuverable, and sported long range sensors equivalent to those used by probes and came in squadrons of three ships.

Background
The advantages they had over unmanned probes is that the fleet commander could order them to move as needed (for retreat and repositioning) saving resources and time. They also had a small gun for defense, but due to their weak armor and weaponry they should never be allowed to remain in a firefight for very long against targets tougher than a squad of strike craft. Their main uses were for reconnaissance, probe hunting, and decoys.

One special ability of the upgraded scouts is the [] burst, which can disable enemy ships for a short period of time. While []s and larger ships will need to be hit by three or more scout squadrons worth of EMPs to be disabled, fighters and corvettes can be disabled with a single shot, allowing allied fighters and turrets to destroy the enemy at will. The effect of EMP bursts are cumulative, so the more bursts fired against a target, the longer they will remain inactive. It has been recorded in several engagements that a small gathering of scouts can continuously EMP a large force of fighters allowing a minuscule group of interceptors and []s to destroy what would normally be an overwhelming fighter wing.

In most respects, the Vaygr and [(Hiigaran)|Hiigaran Scout]s are identical, but for two exceptions. Since engine upgrades for Vaygr ships are universal for a class of ship, all fighters, including scouts, will receive a boost to maximum speed with fighter drive upgrades. The Vaygr scout starts off slower than its counterpart, but will become significantly faster once fully upgraded, giving it the best known speed of any combat ship by conventional drives. This however, comes at a price; the Vaygr Scout, for whatever reason, has no upgrades allowing it to use a Ping sensor like its Hiigaran counterpart.