Earth Alliance Tethys Class Variants Tethys LPA Cutter (Xi model, Rare) After the Earth Alliance joined the Interstellar Alliance, Earthforce R&D received technology that increased the reliability and performance of systems used aboard ship. Earthforce was keen to incorporate the technology received into the latest generation of EA warships. One of the systems that showed great promise was the Laser/Pulse array used on the Nova and Warlock dreadnoughts. The LPA is a highly maintenance intensive weapon, for all it's flexibility, and Earthforce wanted to increase its use on EA warships. The Tethys Xi model was introduce to try and iron out the maintenance problems on a ship that would still be near facilities due to its patrol duties. Unfortunately, the complexity of the weapon meant that the maintenance intensive nature of the LPA could never be completely erased. The LPA cutter, while flexible enough for anti-ship and/or anti-fighter duties, had enough maintenance problems that it was never produced in numbers and is regulated to patrol support duties where anti-shipping and anti-fighters threats are both high. Tethys LPA Cutter (Xi Model) Tethys Rail Cutter (Lambda model, Rare) The EA experimented with virtually every type of medium weapon on the Tethys hull. The Railgun was another weapon mounted on the venerable hull. Tethys Rail Cutter (Lambda Model)