The Terran Hegemony, surrounded as it is by five often-belligerent neighbors, has an ongoing interest in its neighbors' affairs. Thus, the Hegemony Armed Forces places a high priority on the creation of surveillance vessels.The HAF is willing to invest considerably in vessels able to gather information in foreign star systems and escape without the world's defenders being the wiser. The Hegemony's sophisticated technology has created a whole family of surveillance vessels whose abilities far surpass anything the other realms have been able to produce. The Bug-Eye is one of the most successful of these vessels.
               In 2524, when it became obvious that the aging Nightwing and Tracker surveillance vessels were too outmoded for refitting with new electronics, the Hegemony put out a call for a new ship class. Twelve shipyards submitted design proposals, with Bowie Industries of Wasat winning the contract. Construction of the first Bug-Eye vessel was completed easily, despite the ship's small size for the amount of equipment it was to carry. After long and distinguished service with the HAF, the first Bug-Eye surveillance vessel entered service with the Star League Navy in 2620. It was commissioned the SLS Mata Hari.

           The Bug-Eye's outward appearance is intended to mimic the Buccaneer, Sylvester, and other commonly sighted classes of merchant vessels, but beneath its drab exterior are some of the most sophisticated sensing devices and computers developed to date. Probes, dishes, even the hull of the vessel can pick up communications from either ships or planetary surfaces.
               This equipment is so sensitive that enemy vessel captains have been known to forbid their bridge personnel to speak, for fear that a Bug-Eye would overhear. This caution may have a solid basis, as late-model Bug-Eyes are reported able to hack into some vessels' computer systems and listen in on a ship's interior communications.
               The famed Tokina Imaging Company of Terra has provided a collection of optical and electronic equipment that the Bug-Eye uses to collect such detailed information that crew members can read material held by a person thousands of kilometers below.
               Electronics and configuration give the ship its ability to escape detection. When stimulated by low-level electricity, special materials used in both the hull and paint activate radar-absorbing properties that make the ship disappear from an enemy's screens. The ship also has the ability to mimic a wide variety of merchant vessel call signs, making it that much more difficult to identify.
               If detected and forced to run, the Bug-Eye's two massive engines have far greater thrust than any civilian engines of comparable class, giving the ship deceptive speed and agility. Its jump drive, one of the most compact in any ship, requires very little power, dispensing with the typical large sail for a smaller, internally stored sail to absorb the needed energy.
               As the Star League has no qualms about spying on either friend or foe, the SLDF uses Bug-Eye surveillance vessels widely. People all over the Star League assume that a Bug-Eye will be paying them a visit at least once a year, if not more frequently. Many find this idea offensive, while others find comfort in the League's diligence.