Razor-class frigate

Razor-class frigate
Production information
Model	Razor-class frigate
Class	Frigate
Technical specifications
Engine unit(s)	Sublight engines
Shielding	Deflector shield generator domes (2)
Armament	Dual laser cannons (3)
Communication systems	Communications tower
Usage
Affiliation	Galactic Empire Imperial Navy

"Unknown fighter, this is the Kreuge's Revenge. This is a restricted system. Shut down all flight systems and prepare for inspection."

―Lieutenant Pyparr

The Razor-class frigate was a class of frigate used by the Imperial Navy during the Galactic Civil War. In 0 ABY, Lieutenant Pyparr commanded the Razor-class vessel Kreuge's Revenge, which the rebel pilot Luke Skywalker encountered, along with three TIE fighters, in the remote Tertiary Usaita system. Skywalker barely escaped in his starfighter, Y 4, although he was pursued by the Imperials.

Characteristics

"I'm amazed he's lasted this long. He's an excellent pilot, whoever he is. Wouldn't you agree, Lieutenant Pyparr?"
"I didn't ask for an assessment of the scoundrel's abilities, Ensign. I asked for him to be destroyed!"

―An Imperial ensign and Lieutenant Pyparr

The bridge of a Razor-class frigate

The Razor-class frigate was a capital ship reminiscent of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer but with a blockier structure. It featured a hexagonal command tower, which contained the ship's bridge. In turn, the bridge featured a sunken pit for crewmen and multiple trapezoidal viewports with controls beneath. On top of the tower sat a communications tower, with two deflector shield generator domes flanking it. The ship was armed with three dual laser cannons, which were located below the bow, and propelled by sublight engines.

History

"Find that ship! Now!"
"He's badly damaged, Ensign. He'll be crawling for the nearest spaceport, no doubt. We shall meet him again soon enough…"

―An Imperial ensign and Lieutenant Pyparr

The Kreuge's Revenge's guns fire on Luke Skywalker.

In 0 ABY, over a month after the Battle of Yavin, which marked the Rebel Alliance's first major victory against the Galactic Empire, the Razor-class frigate was in use by the Imperial Navy. At this time in the Galactic Civil War, the rebel pilot Luke Skywalker was assigned to recover Imperial communication logs. After traveling to the remote Tertiary Usaita system in his BTL-S3 Y-wing Starfighter, Y 4, Skywalker was ambushed by the Razor-class frigate Kreuge's Revenge, which was commanded by Lieutenant Pyparr and backed by three TIE/ln space superiority starfighters.

Pyparr contacted Skywalker, informing him that the system was restricted and that his fighter should prepare for inspection. However, the rebel chose to fight for the minute it would take for his droid, R2-D2, to calculate a hyperspace route. Skywalker managed to evade the fighters, even destroying one of them, but then his Y-wing was hit, killing his deflector shields. The frigate itself then started firing on the trespassing starfighter, allowing the TIEs to hit Skywalker's starboard engine.

Just before the rebel vessel would be destroyed, R2-D2 engaged the fighter's hyperdrive, bound for Devaron. On the Kreuge's Revenge's bridge, an Imperial ensign desperately ordered other officers to find the escaped craft. However, Pyparr reminded the ensign that the rebel ship had been badly damaged, accurately predicting that Skywalker would be going to the nearest spaceport. The lieutenant then ambushed Skywalker on Devaron, only to be defeated.

Behind the scenes

Notable appearances

The Razor-class frigate first appeared in Jason Fry's 2015 junior novel The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure. It was first pictured in "The Weapon of a Jedi, Part 1," the first instalment of the novel's comic-book adaptation, which was written by Alec Worley and illustrated by Ruairí Coleman. The comic was included in the German magazine Star Wars - Magazine 19, which was released by Panini Verlag on March 29, 2017.

Design origins

"I kinda had free reign for the design of this Imperial frigate: there was no design specified in the original book or script. Alec explained that it was maybe 1/5 the size of a Star Destroyer but that was it. The main factor I was considering when designing the ship was that it's only really seen a couple of times within a few pages of the comic so it had to be instantly recognisable as an Imperial vessel, hence I based it on the Star Destroyer. That way people will see it and know instantly that this is an Imperial ship, and a formidable one. The top is clearly based on the Star Destroyer, for the underneath I'm not sure what I was thinking! It looks more like a freighter than a frigate! If I had a chance to do it again I think I would go with something sleeker and put far more weaponry on it."

―Ruairí Coleman, on designing the Razor-class frigate

Since neither the novel nor the comic script specified a design for the Razor-class, illustrator Ruairí Coleman had free reign in creating the vessel's look, although writer Alec Worley did tell him the frigate was around one-fifth the size of a regular Star Destroyer. Considering that the ship would only appear in a few panels, Coleman sought to make it instantly recognizable as an Imperial craft, which is why he gave it a characteristic command tower. The artist admitted on Twitter that the bottom part of the ship looks more like a freighter than a frigate, and that if given the chance to do it again, he would give the vessel a sleeker design with far more weapons emplacements.

Appearances

• The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure (First appearance, simultaneous with The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure audiobook)
• The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure audiobook
• "The Weapon of a Jedi, Part 1"—Star Wars - Magazine 19 (First pictured)
• Star Wars Adventures: The Weapon of a Jedi 1

Notes and references

In other languages

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