The hundred or so warships that had jumped into the Lion's Den system ahead of the main force were indeed all small and medium-sized vessels, mostly light, high-speed cruisers, accompanied by ten assault carriers and ten arsenal ships... Well, in the Marauders' "terminology," they were probably called flamethrower ships.
Unlike most of the nations in the spiral arms beyond the galactic core, the Marauders' Sea of Stars within the core had no need to protect trade routes, crack down on crime, or maintain public order. On top of that, living conditions in that godforsaken place were truly harsh, so their fleets basically had no small vessels like assault ships or destroyers. Their fleets also lacked the standardized ship classifications used by the nations.
To make looting easier, nearly every ship they had—even the lightest cruisers—carried hangars for assault landing craft and berthing spaces for marines.
Their large combat vessels came in only two types: carriers, which held more looting thugs and plunder, and flamethrower ships, which carried more guns.
Of course, they also had even larger warships. The Marauders, especially after acquiring the remnants and technological legacy of the Ero Empire, had mastered the technology to build dreadnoughts. But their models still fell into the same two categories, and some even served as settlements.
After all, they were "nomads." This simple yet not simplistic combination of ship types was probably better suited to their way of fighting.
Larger still were immigrant ships and various specialized vessels. The agricultural ship where Dr. Xie had once served, for example, was one such vessel.
According to the information currently available to the nations, there were almost no habitable planets in this vast region of the galactic core where people could settle down, thrive, and raise families. So, like the nomadic peoples of ancient