Stalker Class (Frontlines)

Though technically called the Stalker class probe, this device is almost universally referred to by it's nickname, the Miss Muffet, or just Muffet. The Muffet is a reconnaissance probe, designed to be released en-masse in a newly invaded system, or to serve in other intelligence gathering roles. It gets its nickname from two sources. Firstly, the position of the scanning apparatus perched on top of the large, bulbous reactor and subspace drive (the most compact and advanced model ever designed by the GTA) recalls the position of the nursery rhyme character perched on her tuffet, but more significantly it is the behaviour of the probe which recalls the nursery rhyme. Any activity within a certain proximity of the probe without the proper clearance codes being transmitted will cause the probe to automatically engage its subspace drive and jump to a pre-programmed location, in a sense "frightening Miss Muffet away".

The subspace drive is only capable of a certain number of jumps before it requires recalibration, and so retrieval of these probes is considered a high priority. However, the risks of unmanned subspace jumping means that very few ever make it back to the GTA for redeployment. The intel these devices provide, however, more than makes up for the expense of producing them.