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work in the Kharak system, Somtaaw engineers began to design the kind of deep space mining vessel they knew would be able to spend a year or more on the circuit, harvesting, refining and trading while supporting a crew of nearly a thousand engineers, miners and flight crew.
A ship of this size and power exceeded even the construction capabilities of the Imperator class
Carrier, and so Somtaaw petitioned for access to the shipyard facilities of the orbiting Mothership herself.
Through many political trials, (see History of Kiith Somtaaw) the New Daiamiid finally granted Somtaaw access to the Mothership for a mere 45 days. The Explorer Class design was finished within days when
Somtaaw Engineers gained control of the Mothership's PDA, and construction began immediately; all parties involved knew full well that this was probably the only time Somtaaw would have access to the massive construction facility. Accordingly, no expense was spared!
The first Explorer was dubbed the Faal-Corum and launched on day 20, to the rousing cheers of thousands of Somtaaw watching from monitors planetside. Even before the Faal-Corum cleared the docks, engineers were modifying the design of the second Mining ship to incorporate the lessons learned in constructing the first. The
Kuun-Lan launched on day 35 with more powerful engines, an extra layer of armor, and a 30% greater module capacity.
It is these modules that are the core of the Explorer class design philosophy. Knowing that this was the only chance they had to create a near-Mothership class vessel, Somtaaw engineers designed the Explorer to adapt to almost any situation through the use of modules that could be constructed by the Explorer herself while still in deep space. The hard lessons of the Homeworld War were also not forgotten, and, though intended for exploration and mining, the Explorer carries a full compliment of heavy and medium turrets for self protection, and is capable of constructing both the Seeker class reconnaissance fighter and the Acolyte heavy fighter. Pirate corvettes expecting an easy prize have often realized their error too late as an Explorer's heavy rail guns come on-line; Worker class resourcers will always retreat to the protection of the Command ship's guns at the first sign of trouble. Both the
Faal-Corum and the Kuun-Lan require a crew of 1150, and during long missions they carry an additional
2000 crew members in cold sleep, to help man the ship in 3-month shifts. Currently the Faal-Corum is on a deep space survey mission, while the Kuun-Lan is on the second leg of a 9-month mission to mine the star systems surrounding Hiigara.
Required Tech - NONE
Upgrade Tech - ENERGY CANNONS
CRYSTAL HARVESTING ABILITY
REPAIR BOTS
SIEGE CANNON WEAPON
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
ARMOUR LEVEL 2

"Seeker"
Class Reconnaissance fighter
Mass: 41 tons
Firepower: 40
Armor: 25
Coverage: 4%
Maneuverability: very high
Max. Velocity: 1050 m/s
Special Action: None
The Seeker class of deep reconnaissance and survey vessels was one of the first original designs produced by the Kiith Somtaaw Engineering families. The first priority of the Somtaaw mining fleet was to find and process the rarest and most valuable resources to be found in deep space, especially exotic volatiles and super-stable elements. To this end, Somtaaw purchased the manufacturing rights to the Heavy Neutrino scanning array from Kiith S'jet. While the unusual size of the scanning array means it is usually placed on research platforms or Frigate-sized explorers, Somtaaw needed the array to rapidly search entire systems at relatively close range. To that end, Somtaaw Engineers have basically wrapped a simple cockpit and maneuver drive around the array. While the shakedown period for this design was extensive, due to the unorthodox approach, the result is a high speed recon platform that has the attributes of a standard light fighter and the sensor abilities of a ship 20 or 30 times the size and expense.
While the initial prototype was unarmed, repeated encounters with Turanic raiders convinced Somtaaw Fleet
Command that the Seeker needed to carry some sort of weapons system. In the end, a light mass driver was jury-rigged on a belly mount, which gives the Seeker a limited self-defense capability that can usually deter raiders until the recon ship can use its superior speed to escape. While the main function of the Seeker's array is to scan for minerals and radiation signatures, it is quickly reconfigured to track vessels.
As a result of the fact that most recon patrols require spending long periods of time in a small cockpit, many
Seekers pilots are young, single women of smaller stature. This has led to deep recon missions being referred to as "Heartbreak Patrols"...but whether this is more to do with the stress they put on fledgling relationships or the disruptions caused by these pilots making up for lost time upon their return is not known.
Required Tech - NONE
Upgrade Tech - ADVANCED SENSORS
ADVANCED FIGHTER DRIVE
ENERGY CANNON
ARMOUR LEVEL 2

"Acolyte"
Class heavy fighter
Mass: 90 tons
Firepower: 85
Armor: 70
Coverage: 6%
Maneuverability: very high
Max. Velocity: 825 m/s
Special Action: Link
The Acolyte class of heavy fighter/interceptor is unique to Kiith Somtaaw. While other Kiith have worked to advance the traditional Blade series of interceptors, Somtaaw found itself unable to afford the various patents and maintenance licenses being charged by the martial Kiithid to participate in the upgrade program. Instead,
Somtaaw struck a deal with the enigmatic Bentusi. The Bentusi trade-ships are some of the most powerful vessels in the Galaxy, but there are some conditions that even they are unable or unwilling to take their ships into. In return for the services of the mining vessel Faal-Corum in retrieving certain artifacts from very compact asteroid belt, the Bentusi "handed down" an advanced fighter and drive system, which eventually was back-engineered into the Acolyte fighter. While the relatively pacifistic Bentusi would not transfer any weapons technology along with the Acolyte design, they seem to have no long-term objections to the
Somtaaw arming the Acolyte with duel rapid-fire mass-drivers.
With the inherent advantages of an being based on adaptive Bentusi technology, the Acolyte lends itself easily to modification, and Somtaaw engineers are still working on expanding the full potential of this fighter design. The ultra-efficient fusion drive allows the Acolyte to function without refueling, and this technology has been integrated into other Somtaaw strike craft.
While Kiith Somtaaw is a mining Kiith by trade, it does require protection against Raiders and Imperialist patrols, as its two Command ships, the Kuun-Lan and the Faal-Corum, range far from the protection of Hiigaran space in their exploration and resourcing missions. Acolyte wings are manned by a relatively small group of hardened combat veterans that began their careers during the Homeworld War. These pilots are not easily surprised after 15 years in the cockpit, and are the equals of any fighter pilots found in the martial Kiithid...as many a pirate scout has discovered to his regret.
Required Tech - FIGHTER DRIVE
Upgrade Tech - ENERGY CANNON
MISSILE TECH
LINKING TECH
ADVANCED FIGHTER DRIVE
ARMOUR LEVEL 2

"Worker"
Class resource collector
Mass: 5200 tons
Firepower: -
Armor: 1500
Coverage: -
Maneuverability: medium
Max. Velocity: 425 m/s
Special Action: Harvest, Repair, Salvage
While most Kiith still use the primary resource collector design created nearly 50 years ago during the
Mothership's construction, Kiith Somtaaw has been forced by circumstance to radically redesign the entire resourcer concept. Somtaaw fleets often work deep inside dense asteroid fields, where the massive resource collector cannot maneuver fast enough to avoid disastrous collisions, and so a completely different vessels design was needed, in order to function in more complex environments.
While various hi-maneuver resourcer/frigate hybrids were attempted, none of the prototypes survived actual field-testing as the turn-rate was disastrously compromised by the full loads a resourcer is expected to carry.
Then, deep in the Mothership's main databanks, a Somtaaw engineer came across a hull design for a heavy cargo re-entry vehicle. It had been used 120 years earlier on Kharak to haul crews and raw components to and from low orbit during the construction of the Mothership Scaffolding. While the original purpose of the ship was no longer relevant, the shaped, blunt-projectile hull shape that had been crucial to re-entry was now ideal for providing a compact center of gravity. When refitted with modern engines and control systems, this new resourcer design can haul almost as much as the old one, but can rotate quickly on its center of gravity and easily avoid collision, even in the most congested flight spaces.
The first production model is just now being accepted by Somtaaw mining teams, though there is some resentment to the ship's class name, the "Worker"... as it seems to make an already mundane task seem even less glamorous than it was before. Engineers argue that as they devise new applications for the ship, such as repair or possibly salvaging, the multi-purpose nature of the word "worker" will become readily apparent.
Required Tech - NONE
Upgrade Tech - INFECTION VACCINE
REPAIR SYSTEMS
SALVAGING ABILITY
REPAIR BOTS
ARMOUR LEVEL 2

"Minion"
Class Heavy Tug
[Ramming Frigate]
Mass: 12900 tons
Firepower: 2500
Armor: 4700
Coverage: 6%
Maneuverability: medium
Max. Velocity: 398 m/s
Special Action: Ram
The Minion class of heavy tugs is another pre-landfall design, which has been resurrected and adapted to the unique needs of Kiith Somtaaw. The original Minion design was used for moving massive modular sections of the scaffold and Mothership into position for final lockdown. For the Somtaaw, this frigate class hull with a massive bow section, a heavy engine module and built-in grapple capabilities was exactly what they needed in an asteroid tug. With extensive modifications to the high-output fusion drive and a redesign of the armor layering, the newly christened Minion was ideal for pushing very large asteroids out of dense, dangerous belts of debris for fast processing close to the command ship. In circumstances where a larger mass needs to be broken down in order for Workers to harvest it, The Minion employs a short-range fusion torch to carve up the target rock.
Since the Minion is a relatively simple vessel to fly, the 5-man crew is usually composed of non-combat flight officers fresh from training, in order to give them experience in the field. While this "on the job training" is highly efficient, and frees experienced personnel up for more complex vessels and tasks, it does lead to some unusual interpretations of the Minion mission profile. Recently, the mining fleet headed by the command-ship
Kuun-lan was under attack by a Turanic Raider fleet, backed up by a Chieftain Class carrier. Standard Somtaaw procedure has all non-combat vessels, including Workers and Minions, retreating to the command ship at the first sign of battle, but two Minion crews took it upon themselves to ignore this command. Realizing that the pirate Carrier would eventually overwhelm the Somtaaw Acolytes and Seekers, forcing a retreat from a highly valuable belt of radioactives, the Minions drove straight into battle and rammed the Chieftain broadside. After grappling on and giving maximum power to their fusion drives, the Minions were able to push the Pirate Carrier deep into a fast-moving pack of asteroids, where the larger ship was battered and finally destroyed by rock impacts. From this event on, Minion pilots have jokingly referred to their ships as "Ramming Frigates" and have begun painting kill markers on their crash helmets.
Required Tech - AFTERBURNER
Upgrade Tech - ADVANCED ION CANNON
REPAIR BOTS
INFECTION VACCINE
ARMOUR LEVEL 2

The Beast Mothership
Mass: 565,000 tons
Firepower: 4600
Armor: 94,000
Coverage: 80%
Maneuverability: very low
Max. Velocity: 110 m/s
Special Action: Infect
Based on parts of a Somtaaw Explorer Class Mining ship, the Beast Mothership is more mutation than starship.
How the Beast can warp plasteel and plasma conduits across nearly a kilometer of hull isn't truly understood, but the results are obvious. High-speed deep scan passes by Seeker class fighters have revealed the outer hull to be some kind of organic armor, laced with depleted uranium and superconductor fiber. This duplicates the best anti-kinetic armor we have and combines it with enough energy dissipation capability to seriously downgrade the damage of ion beams and plasma-based weaponry.
Analysis of combat behavior seems to indicate that the Beast Mothership behaves like a living thing, concentrating its strength in certain areas for a limited time before "exhausting" itself. So, like an athlete pushing himself hard, the Beast Mothership seems capable of shunting power to its maneuver drives and other systems: it can build ships faster, research faster, or even fire faster, for a limited period of time. During this time the hull appears to degrade slowly, as if the Beast is weakening somehow from the strain of shunting power to these subsystems.
The Beast Mothership is a full-fledged construction class vessel. It is capable of simultaneously building over a dozen different types of strike craft and frigates, along with being able to build super capital ship hulls externally. Current intelligence indicates the Beast Mothership can build its own variants of the Taiidani
Qwaar-Jet Heavy Cruiser and the dreaded Saarkin-Cho Carrier. When the Beast takes over a new kind of vessel, encountering technology It has never seen before, It brings the ship in to dock and basically absorbs it, seemingly to learn the new design or technology. From that point on, It can incorporate those technologies into new designs-or even order Its ships in the field to grow the new parts themselves.
Offensively, the Beast Mothership has 6 heavy turrets in excellent coverage positions. The heaviest fire can be directed below and to the sides of the Mothership, while strike craft will have the highest chance of surviving a pass from head-on and slightly above. Of course, should an allied ship survive the defensive turret fire, an even deadlier fate awaits any ship closing in past 10 kloms; this is the estimated maximum range of the Beast Mothership's infection beam. The Beast seems to be able to fire this beam approximately once every
90 seconds, and can use the beam to infect a mass equivalent to two frigate hulls. Given that the charged beam can leap from ship to ship across hard vacuum, an entire flight of fighters can be taken over in one shot.
This attack is so devastating that many allied pilots have equipped their strike craft with deadman switches that cause the drives to overload and detonate before the beast virus can tear the pilot apart. The Beast Heavy Cruiser and Carrier also carry Infection beams, though they seem to be lesser versions with shorter ranges and longer recharge time.
With all this power at its disposal, there is no question that the Beast Mothership is currently the most dangerous vessel in the Galaxy. It is not just a starship. It is a plague come for us all.
Required Tech - NONE
Upgrade Tech - BEAST INFECT WEAPON
CRYSTAL HARVESTING ABILITY
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
ARMOUR LEVEL 3 (upgrade/captured)

Beast Cruise Missile
Firepower:-
Coverage: -
Maneuverability: HIGH
Armor: 68
Max. Velocity: 650 m/s
Mass: 490 TONS
Special Action: None
The Beast cruise Missile was first seen in Seera Tel system, when a Kiith Manaan frigate squadron sent a frantic message that it was under attack by unknown drone craft. When no further word was received, Manaan Fleet
Command sent in a full carrier group to investigate, but initially all that was found was the wreckage of one assault frigate; the remaining four ion beam frigates were nowhere to be found. Eventually a lone escape pod was found with one alive but nearly insane Manaani bridge officer aboard. When an psi-tech was finally able to piece her psyche back together again, the mystery was finally solved. It seems that soon after issuing the report, the incoming drones closed at ramming speed too fast for the ion beam frigates to track. As the drones impacted, it became obvious they were huge missiles carrying a warhead of Beast plasma; the missiles blew through the frigate's hull, the plasma warhead burst, and the infection spread through the ship in seconds, subverting the ship and dissolving her crew. The battle took less than 2 minutes, as the three infected ion frigates turned on the one assault frigate that had managed to destroy the cruise missile targeted on it before impact. The lone surviving officer had been shoved into an escape pod by her Captain, along with the battle telemetry; she was ejected moments before the last frigate was cut to pieces.
The Beast cruise missile is nearly the size of a corvette, and packs a high thrust drive capable of pushing the missile to near fighter speeds. While not a threat by itself, the Beast tends to use these missiles in massed attacks, either forming multiple vectors or one vector which is likely to be missed in the middle of a massive