Defender-class light corvette

Defender-class light corvette "Welcome aboard this Corellian Defender-class Light Corvette. It was custom-built to offer a Jedi both first-rate combat performance and meditation amenities."

- C2-N2

The Defender-class light corvette was produced by the Rendili Vehicle Corporation for the Jedi Order during the Great Galactic War between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. Manufactured on Corellia, the Defender-class light corvette was modeled after a similar consumer corvette that was inspired by the Republic Military's Thranta-class corvette, but the Defender was modified specifically for use by Jedi as a mobile operations base and a capable starfighter in its own right. The Defender saw use by the Jedi throughout the Cold War and the renewed war with the Empire, and several of the Order's greatest heroes flew Defender-class corvettes on their adventures across the galaxy.

Physical appearance
The Defender-class light corvette was specifically designed by the Rendili Vehicle Corporation for use by the Jedi Order, as the Jedi Council believed that traditional vessels of the Republic Military were unsuited to use by Jedi on many of their missions. The Order imagined the new vessel to be a mobile base of operations that was fast, maneuverable, and well-armed. Rendili based the Defender's exterior design on a consumer model corvette, which itself was based on the Republic Navy's Thranta-class corvette, but the ship underwent considerable upgrades and retrofits that distanced itself from the civilian model. Rendili specifically designed the vessel's color scheme of red and white to create a vessel that would inspire fear in the Republic's enemies and instantly announce the presence of a Jedi on battlefields across the galaxy.

Measuring seventy-nine meters wide and ninety-four meters long, the Defender was twenty-nine meters tall when resting on its four landing gear. The frontal hull of the corvette was curved at an angle that deflected enemy laser fire easily, and two sets of twin laser cannons were situated at either end of the bow, while the corvette's bridge was located in the center between the ship's main running lights. The main body of the ship was roughly in the shape of an hourglass, with the rear of the ship sporting two access hatches on either side and the corvette's twin thrusters situated at the end of the vessel. The access hatches were situated on either side of the main conference room, with the Defender's sensor array and communications dish located on the exterior of the vessel above the conference room. The primary boarding ramp was located in the center of the corvette's lower hull and opened out beneath the ship's bridge. The Defender-class corvette was equipped with high-powered deflector shields for defense, while the ship's missile launchers allowed it to take on enemy vessels of far greater size and strength.

Features
Intended as a mobile operations center for the members of the Jedi Order, the Defender-class corvette's interior was laid out in two decks. The upper level contained the ship's bridge, the primary conference room, a smaller secondary conference room, and living accommodations for the ship's crew as well as an escape pod. The bridge could be manned by a maximum of five crew members or a minimum of one, and the ship's holographic navicomputer was situated in the center of the bridge for easy access and visibility. The smaller conference room and the living chambers were located on either side of the bridge, and the central chamber provided access to the lower level, escape pod, and the other rooms of the upper level. The conference room itself was equipped with the ship's primary holocomm system, the centerpiece of the spacious room. The second level was laid out in four rooms: a medical bay, a cargo hold, engine room, and a central access chamber. Each Defender-class corvette also featured a C2-N2 factotum droid, which served as the vessel's steward and ensured that the ship remained in good condition.

The Jedi Padawan Jaesa Willsaam flew a model of corvette similar to the Defender-class, though her ship was twice as large and featured a far more simplified layout.

Role
The Defender-class light corvette was intended to serve as a base of operations for Jedi on assignment throughout the galaxy, and as such the vessel could fill a variety of roles. The starship's amenities and conference rooms allowed Jedi to carry out important diplomatic negotiations between parties on neutral ground, and the Defender's powerful weapons and defense systems allowed it to serve as a starfighter, in which skilled pilots could take on far larger capital ships.

History
"I already have one of our best starships waiting for you at the spaceport. Your astromech droid is prepping it for takeoff."

- General Suthra

The Defender-class corvette was first developed by the Rendili Vehicle Corporation at the Jedi Order's request during the Great Galactic War, a conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. The prototype, the Vanguard, was entering flight-test stage around 3,660 BBY on the planet Corellia, and a Human Jedi pilot was sent to Rendili's corporate facility to test the vessel when the ship was stolen by the Mirialan smuggler Hylo Visz. Visz's ship, the Crimson Fleece, had just been stolen by her traitorous crew, and the Mirialan managed to sneak aboard the Vanguard and knock out the Jedi pilot before the Human noticed her presence. Visz escaped with the vessel and continued to use it throughout the rest of the Great Galactic War, leading a contingent of smugglers to break the Imperial-sponsored Mandalorian blockade of the Hydian Way trade route at the helm of the Vanguard. Despite that setback, the Defender-class corvettes went into production on Corellia by the time of the Cold War, which followed the Great Galactic War.

In 3,643 BBY, Republic General Var Suthra arranged for a Defender-class corvette to be delivered to Docking Bay 74 of the Coruscant Spaceport on the Republic's capital of Coruscant. The ship was a gift to a Jedi Knight, the former apprentice of Jedi Master Orgus Din, to use during the military crisis that had arisen when the Sith Lord Darth Angral declared war on the Republic using stolen superweapons in order to avenge his son, Tarnis's, death at the hands of that Jedi Knight. The Knight and the astromech droid T7-O1, accompanied by the Jedi's new Padawan, Kira Carsen, utilized the vessel to travel the galaxy and foil Angral's plans, and the trio continued to use the ship as war broke out again with the Sith Empire&mdash;by which time the Knight was known as the Hero of Tython.

Around the same time, Jedi Master Syo Bakarn requested another Defender, which he gave to a Jedi Consular, the former student of Master Yuon Par, so that the Consular could investigate the recent string of Force-induced plagues of madness that had been afflicting Jedi Masters across the galaxy. After the resolution of that crisis, the Consular was made a Jedi Master and given the title of Barsen'thor, or Warden of the Order. A Jedi Master piloted a Defender-class corvette while leading a Republic border patrol during the Cold War, but the patrol was lured to the remote Mugaar system and destroyed there.

The Barsen'thor's vessel later became the host of the head representatives of the Rift Alliance, a splinter government that the Supreme Chancellor was attempting to convince to rejoin the Republic. The Barsen'thor played host to the Rift Alliance's representatives while aiding their planets as the war with the Empire began anew, and later utilized it during a hunt for the mysterious agents of the Sith Emperor known as the Children of the Emperor. At the same time, the Hero of Tython and crew utilized their Defender-class corvette on their mission to capture the Emperor, though the group's mission later changed to preventing the Emperor's agents from beginning a dark side ritual that would consume all life in the galaxy.

A little over 2,000 years after the Cold War, the Jedi training cruiser was modeled after the Defender-class light corvette. The training cruiser retained most of the earlier corvette's design, though the rear of the ship was replaced by six elongated engine modules, and the cruiser was tan in color.

Behind the scenes
"It just didn't feel like something you would want to fly around space and shoot stuff up with. So we put a lot of muscle on it. Now it feels a lot bigger than the other ones, even though it's not; but it has some real presence."

- Ryan Dening

A starship similar to the Defender-class light corvette first appeared in Timeline 6: Onslaught of the Sith Empire, the January 2010 sixth entry in the Galactic Timeline series of in-universe history videos hosted on the Star Wars: The Old Republic video game's official website, in which two such vessels are shown at the Battle of Korriban in 3,681 BBY. However, the short storyThe Old Republic: Smuggler's Vanguard, released in March 2010, established that the Defender-class was not developed until approximately 3,660 BBY. The ship's entry in the Holonet division of the Star Wars: The Old Republic website resolved this by establishing that the Defender was modeled after a consumer corvette of similar design. The 2012 reference guide Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia gave additional information on the vessel's features and origins.

The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic explained the history behind the ship's development, with concept artist Diego Almazan providing early designs for the Defender that were loosely based on the Consular-class cruiser seen in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Senior concept artist Ryan Dening expanded on these designs, incorporating details from the CR90 corvette, which appeared in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and the Ebon Hawk, the player's vessel in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, The Sith Lords. As the ship was intended for the Jedi Consular class, the designer's first concepts portrayed a more innocuous and diplomatic vessel, but these were quickly abandoned in favor of bulking up the ship into a more powerful vessel that was clearly able to hold its own in battle. An initial proposal had the Defender-class corvette painted in white with blue markings, though this was eventually exchanged for a predominantly red color scheme.

The corvette was originally announced as the Vanguard-class in videos on the official site and in Smuggler's Vanguard, but the name was changed to the Defender-class in its Holonet entry. The Old Republic Encyclopedia later resolved this contradiction by establishing the name of the Defender prototype that Visz stole as the Vanguard. Three Defender-class light corvettes appear in Star Wars: The Old Republic: the ships of the Jedi Knight and Consular classes, and a ship belonging to a Jedi Master during an Imperial space combat mission. Jaesa Willsaam, a character in the Sith Warrior storyline, flies a ship that is visually identical to the Defender-class, but the vessel is far larger than the standard corvette and features a radically different floor plan. On November 10, 2012, the trivia guide for the episode "A Test of Strength" from the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series revealed that the Jedi training cruiser Crucible, which appeared in the episode, was modeled after the Defender-class corvette from Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Appearances

 * The Old Republic: Smuggler's Vanguard
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel