Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Bird of Prey

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The Bird of Prey are Corona's interceptors that uses claws instead of a standard loadout what interceptors had. Planned to be voiced by Suzie Yeung.

Tactical analysis

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History
"They are tearing their way into the command deck! Get us out of here! "

-Recorded Log of a Kirov Captain, recovered from crash site

From the earliest records of any known civilization, it has been a well-documented dream for mankind to take to the sky and soar. To see the evidence of these desires one only has to look back at history and one can find countless documents ranging from poems, fables and paintings to painstakingly detailed designs. Now, mankind has finally fulfilled its dreams. From the sleek and stealthy F-22 fighters to the slow and ponderous Kirov airships. Not only has mankind conquered the skies, but they've also taken their oldest tradition, warfare, to it.

When the Celestial Viceroyalty rose from the ashes of the Civil War, the need for a dedicated aerial superiority fighter was apparent. The Empire might not have a strong air force, but even the few aircraft they could muster were better than the Viceroyalty nonexistent air force, and the officers of the Royal Guard knew that it would be suicidal to go against a power like the Alliance, which possessed a massive and powerful air force, without even a proper fighter to keep the skies above Corona forces safe.

This was one of the Tian Jiang Aerial Engineering facility's first tasks. The facility was required to design an effective fighter that the Atmospheric Divisions could adopt as their own. After a month, the facility finally unveiled its prototype; a strange and diminutive ornithopter that had a compact cockpit and soft folded wings. Despite initial criticism, the new "Bird of Prey" silenced all opposition during its initial test flight.

The chassis is built out of lightweight titanium and then further protected with ion-treated armor. The wings are made from carbon fiber weaving: while soft and flexible these fibers will tighten and become as hard as steel when struck. The Bird of Prey also contains a teleport beacon within its belly, which is remotely linked to the emergency teleport recall engine at a Celestial Depot. When the beacon is triggered, the depot's teleporter detects the signal and is activated, transporting the Bird of Prey back to the safety of its base.

The biggest surprise, however, comes in how the Bird of Prey attacked; once within range, it extends a pair of large diamond-tipped claws from its abdomen, sets its engine to full thrust, and dives at its target, literally ripping out chunks of the enemy on collision. It was later explained that the miniature fusion reactor inside the Bird of Prey generates heat that is strong enough to kill but doesn't do so quickly enough for it to be weaponizable. Plus, this heat also affects most unshielded electronics. Since the bird's tiny internal compartment is already filled with shielding against the generator's radiation and the complex flight locomotor, it is simply not possible to mount any ranged weapons along with ammunition while shielding it against the fusion reactor's radiation without a large reduction in speed.