HMT, RRLSS

The HMT system, or High Maneuverability Thruster system, was first introduced with the Falcon-class frigate.

The HMT System is not especially complicated-- it is what the name implies, a series of thrusters strategically placed on a vessel to provide above-average maneuverability. Though all ships have maneuvering thrusters and repulsors, the HMT thrusters are significantly larger, and allow for quick flips, strafing, and many other maneuvers that comparable ships would find impossible. The additional and unusual forces created by these maneuvers require extra power diverted to the ship's inertial compensators, so a series of particularly high-speed movements would result in a drain on shield strength or weapon power.

The RRLSS, or Rapid-Regeneration Light Shield System, like the HMT System, was first included on the Falcon-class frigate.

The RRLSS is nothing revolutionary, either. It involves primarily a series of small, linked shield generators, with relatively little shield strength but a high rate of regeneration. They are able to completely recover from high damage in as little as fifteen seconds, though they can be easily overpowered again. The idea behind the RRLSS is to provide a sort of backup shield to the primary shields, such as the FS-337 on the Falcon-class frigate. While the FS-337 takes the majority of the fire, the RRLSS can be expanded slightly in anticipation of a particularly heavy attack, after which it will recycle to prepare for the next attack. If the primary shields fail at any time, the unused power can be diverted to overfiring the RRLSS while only extending the regeneration time to 30 seconds, for a last line of defense while the ship escapes.

Note for further clarification of the HMT System:

The HMT System was later defined as "a ion-pulse thruster that, combined with a gyroscopic core in the ship, allowed for quick, powerful flips and turns." When the question of ordinary, small impulse engines was brought up, Admiral Daragon replied, "I figured a gyroscopic counter-inertia core would make the burst-fire thrusters more efficient-- that way, I only have to fire the LEFT thruster to spin clockwise, whereas if I used pure impulse engines I would have to counterfire the RIGHT thrusters as well, to compensate for the drift and make a tighter spin. Though the counterfire technique would make for a faster, tighter roll for less thrust from each engine, I would rather expend extra energy firing one engine, and less overall."