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[Fighter Blueprint] Eskion 'Zarzuela' Combat Drone Formation

As Xsotan incursions have spread to the outer regions of the galaxy, the relatively small carrier fleet of the Eskion Collective has been spread thin in recent years. The 'Libretto' class has perhaps been pushed the hardest, as it is unable to replenish its own fighter wings like the larger 'Maestro' or 'Impresario' supercarriers. Now facing an enemy that can drop out of hyperspace anywhere with little or no warning, the Eskion are asking their light carriers to go on longer missions, often without any resupply - a task that they were not initially designed to do.

Engineers went to the drawing board to come up with a quick solution, and the 'Zarzuela' combat drone is what they came up with. By necessity, the drones had to be compact - extra hangar space on a fully-stocked 'Libretto' is limited. They also had to be fast enough to keep up with existing Eskion fighters. These two design constraints, unfortunately, eliminated the possibility of using a vector lance as the drone's primary weapon - each drone carries only a single plasma pulse cannon.

However, what the 'Zarzuela' lacks in firepower it makes up for with numbers. When deployed alongside an injured fighter wing, 'Zarzuela' squadrons provide light covering fire and confuse enemy anti-fighter systems, drawing attention away from the more valuable manned craft. Eskion pilots have quickly come to hold the drones in high regard, as they know that every Xsotan seeker missile that annihilates a 'Zarzuela' is one that didn't hit one of their own fighters.

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This little three-unit formation of Eskion 'Zarzuela' combat drones is 199 blocks (each drone is 66 + 1 tiny, invisible block to hold the formation together). I'm kind of on a miniature fighter formation kick at the moment, so I had some fun building this one.

Screenshots (besides the auto-generated preview image) show fighters at true scale - when you use this blueprint to produce fighters, that's the level of detail you can expect from the final product.

This ship is intended for use as a fighter blueprint, as it lacks the critical ship components necessary for player control.

Recommended weapon: Pulse cannon