RWI Gauntlet

The RWI Gauntlet, or, as it was later known, the CSS Gauntlet or the CSS Defender, was a Defender-class Frigate Mk1 in service to Red Wood Industries (RWI) just prior to the start of the Green Drone War.

History
The RWI Gauntlet was part of a small fleet under Admiral Markus of RWI, which was tasked with two objects: locating and apprehending ex-RWI Captain Jack Roberts and his crew of Colonist Survivors (CSS), and investigating a mysterious "green-eyed" threat lurking in the P3-X2 System. The Gauntlet and another Defender, the RWI Stalwart, were tracking two INIC corvettes in the orbit of P3-X2 when they were ambushed by two Destroyers belonging to the deadly Green Drone Armada (GDA), who destroyed the Stalwart and the two INIC corvettes with their Atlas Superlasers. The captain of the Gauntlet ordered the ship's black box to being broadcasting as the ship was subsequently crippled, killing almost all crew members on board except for two, Lieutenant Chris and his friend Jerrai, who managed to take cover in cryo pods as the ship took more and more damage.

The wreckage of the RWI and INIC ships were soon located by Captain Jack Roberts and his crew, who investigated the wreckage of the Gauntlet and found Chris and Jerrai. Roberts offered the two men a place in his crew, to which they obliged, as an RWI rescue would likely come too late. Then, using a CNL Cruiser and their planetary landing vessel, the Pioneer, the Colonists towed the mostly-intact hull of the Gauntlet back to their shipyard base, Watchtower Station. A few hours later, Roberts and his XO, Commander Craz from Crazy North Logistics (CNL), tried to connect with the computer systems on board the Gauntlet, but they were too damaged.

The Gauntlet remained in the Watchtower's drydock facility for a long time. Over that period, the Colonists slowly repaired the ship's internal systems, which had been mostly gutted by the GDA's lasers, and modified it with better weaponry to utilize in their fight against the Drone Reactionary Force (DRF). The Colonists also resorted to simply calling the ship "Defender," as that was the class of the ship and easier to remember than "Gauntlet."

After retreating from Watchtower Station when the GDA attacked the base and took it over, Roberts and the crew prepared the Gauntlet and the rest of their ragtag fleet for one last fight against the DRF. Jerrai was put in command of the vessel, as he knew it well; he was also the only crew member on board for the duration of the battle. The Gauntlet was ultimately destroyed in the Battle of the Colonies, and Jerrai perished with it, since Commander Craz could not raise him nor the ship on the comms of their flagship, the CSS Vengeance.

The wreckage of the Gauntlet remained in P3-X2's orbit for the duration of the war. It was explored by Roberts and his new crew many months later when they returned to the site of the battle, now reinstated as official RWI personnel, to scout for GDA activity in preparation for RWI's impending invasion of P3-X2.