| This is the article on the ship used by the Kushan and Taiidan. For the ship used by the Turanic Raiders, see Interceptor. For other uses, see Interceptor |
The Interceptor was the basic combat fighter used by the Kushan and Taiidan Empire in Homeworld.
Overview[]
Interceptors are a more combat-ready fighter than scouts, trading a some speed for higher firepower and durability. Since they become available in the first mission of the campaign after researching Fighter Chassis, they are overall much more useful than scouts for destroying strike craft, but still struggle to do much damage to non-Strike Craft vessels due to their relatively weak firepower. While they are slower than scouts, they are still among the most agile ships in the game, and are ideal for reaching different parts of the battlefield rapidly. They make up for their weak firepower by being small to hit and thus a great ship to use as a distraction while waiting for larger, more powerful, craft to get on the scene.
Lore[]
Kushan[]
Interceptors were originally designed by Kushan engineers and scientists belonging to the "Blade Project", and despite its extreme usefulness by the time of the Beast War, the original Blades (Marks 1 through 4) were extremely dangerous and unreliable.
The Blade Project's original goals were to merely design an upgraded and refitted version of the Scout in the form of a new, more powerful "Heavy Interceptor". As time went on and old models of the Blade were scrapped the Heavy Interceptor simply became the Interceptor and was eventually simplified to excel at its single task: fighter-to-fighter combat. Versions 1 and 2, which followed the example of the Arrow were eventually scrapped for not being sufficiently worth the extra expenses needed to build them.
Marks 3 and 4 on the other hand were further upgraded so that they could also endure atmospheric flight and travel at speeds greater even than the Arrow. However, all these systems combined to build up heating in the plasma vents which hence gave the pilots of these test flights the nickname "Bomb Jockey" as their prototype designs would often explode in flight.
Eventually, Fleet Intelligence was about to give up the project entirely and cut funds based on the failures of the first four models. Instead, a single engineer and a test pilot together refitted the Blade by cutting away the wings and using their hull to form thermal insulation. In addition they pulled away the extra speed of the Blade and finished with a fighter that while slower than the Arrow carried more firepower and, more significantly, it ceased to be a guided fireball.
The Mk. 5 employed a large twin rotary cannon inside the nose armor plates that provided the extra firepower that the Arrow lacked. In addition this armor provided not only cooling and a larger chassis but also better protection against enemy firepower. Even so, much of the Blade's troubled past still was tied to it and pilots were still known as "Bomb Jockeys" even in the days of the Beast War, when the upgraded Mk. 6 provided the base for much of the carrier fleets commanded by the various Kushan Kiithid.
Taiidan[]
Triikor wings were deadly arsenals of speed and firepower that surpassed the Scout, able to take a heavy beating before being destroyed. Commonly known as interceptors, the Triikor silhouette was a chilling image of the Taiidan Empire's power until the Homeworld War.
The Triikor, unlike traditional fighters, does not have a centred weight of gravity. The Triikor uses two small mass drivers, which concentrate the mass of the fighter to one side. Ironically, this is quite similar to the style of design used in Kushan fighters of the Homeworld War, who often used an off-set cockpit (instead of an off-set centre of gravity). Though there are advantages in such a cockpit (the said added amount of firepower and the ability to change directions with less exchange of brutal centrifugal force) the difficulty in flying such a vehicle means that Taiidan pilots as well as Kushan pilots need special training to adapt to the odd design. However, pilots that are able to master the Triikor are highly feared and respected both on and off the battlefield.
Legacy[]
Interceptors were still heavily in use by the time of the Beast War, being a mainstay of all fleets, although some kiith decided not to use them in favour of technology purchased from the Bentusi. In fact, their simplicity and maneuverability had led them to still be a common fighter by the time of the Vaygr War, operating in squadrons of five to deal good damage against their Vaygr counterparts during the war.
Trivia[]
- In the Homeworld: Cataclysm manual, the Kushan ship is codenamed Blade and the Taiidan ship is codenamed Triikor.[1]
Appearance[]
References[]
- ↑ Homeworld: Cataclysm manual