Ship details

The Orville began as a multi-mission starship intended for long-range missions including exploration several thousand light years out of the bubble, rescue assistance of other pilots, cargo transport, and peacekeeping operations against hostile ships.

However many problems were discovered that led to a massive refit and a more limited role. First the cooling systems couldn't keep up with a star's heat while filling the massive fuel tank, so it was cut down. Hostile ships also became much better armed and shielded as they gained nearby bases to supply from with local factions looking the other way for a bribe, and the ship didn't have the defenses to adequately deal with more and more powerful hostile forces when stripped down for exploration.

As such the Orville was reluctantly turned into a warship, with imperial made long-range advanced plasma accelerators to cut through tough defenses, powerful shields, heavy armor, and a medium fighter bay with fixed beam GU-97 fighters to compensate for the vessel's low agility. However after entering service the Yorktown proved far superior in the role of a hard-hitting heavy combat vessel due to it's higher agility, and carried a pair of even more powerful class 4 plasma accelerators and shield breaking rail guns.

The Orville was refit again to a heavily shielded littoral patrol vessel with laser turrets that while weaker, were more effective killing swarms of faster pirate ships that are difficult to efficiently engage with heavy weapons, and tasked with pirate patrol, recovering salvage from wreckage, and performing rescues in and around Denton space. This returned the vessel in part to it's original multi-mission role, exploration aside.