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In the fictional universe of the [[Homeworld]] series of [[computer games]], '''Kiith Somtaaw''' is one of many kiithid or extended family-clans that belong to the [[The Kushan|Kushan]] race. Originally a major religious kiith the '''Somtaaw''' made their living mining metal for another one of the kiithid, Kiith Soban, an ally of theirs during the terrible Heresy Wars.

After the events of [[Homeworld]] however the '''Somtaaw''' were left with a substantially smaller portion of their kiith, most having been destroyed in the Kharak Genocide. After fighting against their own government to achieve rights to the [[Kushan_Mothership|Mothership]] facilities they managed to build three ships, two of command ship class and one science vessel.

They continued to use mining as their trade (though now it was asteroid resources they mined for, not iron) but were dispatched to rescue a Kiith Manaan destroyer that was stranded outside the Hiigaran System. When they got there they discovered an artifact that contained a tiny portion of [[the Beast (Homeworld)|the Beast]] and unleashed it on the galaxy.

In [[Homeworld: Cataclysm]] they were forced to deal with this plague and destroy it and played the protagonist role throughout the entire single player campaign.
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==Ships and Technology==
The Somtaaw are a resourceful people, and to this end their technology is based on designs created using any sources they can find, be it purchased from the [[Bentusi]], adapted from old designs collecting dust in their engineering libraries, reverse-engineered from salvaged derelicts or even all three in conjunction.

To this end they possess technology that even the far-more advanced Kiith do not have, such as automatic self-repair capability for their ships, force-field generators, the unique electromagnetically-based Repulsor defensive system, microships and splitter-technology for [[ion cannon]]s. 

===Light===
Ships in this category are small, with crews no bigger than a maximum of two, and usually just one. Microships, vessels that are extraordinarily small even compared to fighter craft, are also under this category. Their tonnage is also miniscule in comparison to their larger brethren; while the lightest medium-class vessel is easily several thousand tons, the heaviest light-craft is only 190 tons (The Acolyte Composite Vessel). With the exception of the Repair Drones, all light-vessels use Bentusi-designed [[fusion rocket]] fighter drives that are so efficient they render traditional Kiith-derived designs as badly outdated.

====Repair Drones====
Repair drones are the smallest machines that operate in the vacuum of space, and are not manned. Rather, they rely on an expert [[artificial intelligence]] system that interfaces directly with the parent ship's sensor grid to seek out and repair external damage. They are seen as tiny particles hovering about the external surface of a ship, welding and repairing damaged sections.

====Leech====
The only unmanned microship that can operate a significant distance away from any vessels in the fleet, the Leech communicates by shunting part of the signal through hyperspace in such a way as to prevent detection by standard sensor suites. Leeches present too small a profile to be identified by standard sensory apparatus, and as such are capable of going well within an enemy fleet if it avoids the ships that are equipped to detect it.

Because of their miniscule size, the onboard drive is capable of great top speeds and acceleration, exceeding that of even the Seeker. Leeches are equipped with a small resource pod, grappling locks, advanced AI computer and a complement of high-strength [[acid]]. When a suitable vessel is found, the Leech lands on top of a [[plasma]] conduit line, and uses the acid to burn open a sizeable hole in it and allow the plasma to bleed back into and damage the ship. The Leech helps this process by shunting burnt material out into space though alternatively, the Leech may opt to shunt the material into the resource pod for processing back at home fleet. Meanwhile, the onboard AI interfaces with the vessel's native computer network and disables warning and repair routines. Only when the onboard personnel manually note that something is wrong can the Leech's presence usually be discovered.

====Sentinel====
The Sentinel is a small, one-man vessel that incorporates a compact version of the normal fighter drive, a force-field generator, a small single weapon, and an advanced sensor suite. At a mere 21 tons, it is the lightest manned vessel in the Somtaaw, and possibly entire Hiigaran, fleet. Due to the design, only pilots of small build can operate one. 

====Acolyte/Avenger====
A heavy fighter craft. A unique mainstay of the Somtaaw fleet; unique in that the design is Bentusi. Another sense which it is unique in, is that it is capable of merging with another Acolyte vessel to form a ship which classes as a corvette. This linking technology is only shared by the Mimic vessel.

The Composite Vehicle form (Avenger) of this vessel reduces speed and maneuverability somewhat, but enables it to engineer a deliberate, repeatable [[EMP]].

====Mimic/Martyr====
The Mimic is yet another vessel utilizing exotic technology not possessed by the other Kiith. It incorporates an advanced [[hologram]] projector and stealth system that is competent enough to fool standard sensor suites, reverse-engineered from technology taken from Turanic Raider derelict vessels. Mimics serve as deep-insertion scouts and suicide craft, their pilots always those who have lost all their loved ones during the events of the first [[Homeworld]] game. Instead of weapons, Mimics carry a compact impact-triggered [[high explosive]] bomb instead.

The Composite Vehicle form (Martyr) of this vessel reduces speed and maneuverability as well, but the two ships can interface directly into each other's projector grids and work coherently to produce holograms that can allow itself to pass off as larger frigate-class vessels.

===Medium===
Frigate-class or sized vessels are under this category. With the exception of the Worker, all vessels in here use an adapted Minion ship drive. Crew sizes are still relatively small, in the region of five personnel. Medium is the largest class that vessels of the Carrier designation can construct and field.

====Minion====
An exceptionally-old design that was original used to push large sections of scaffolding around in space, it has since been updated for use in the modern age. In its official capacity, the Minion is a mining tug, designed to push large asteroids closer to the processing facility to streamline mining efforts. If the asteroid is far too large, the Minion is equipped with a fusion torch to cut through the material. In recent times however, the Minion has been used in combat as a means to ram heavier ships, disrupting enemy formations.

Propulsion comprises of a normal frigate drive with a complementary [[afterburner]] system that activates two additional high-thrust rockets and pushes the main drive to work at maximum capacity. The three drives working in tandem generate enough force to allow the Minion to push even heavy-class vessels with impunity. However, the system quickly becomes unstable if operated for more than a few seconds, as such the Minion must disengage after a period of time. Concordantly however, it does not take long for the system to cool down and allow ramming to resume.

The bow of the vessel is a heavily-reinforced "[[hammerhead shark]]" design that is equipped to grapple onto targets and sustain heavy strain without damage. It also seems to be cushioned by a large shock-absorbing system, as the bow seems to extend during its ramming operation. While rare, light-class vessels that are unlucky enough to be a Minion's target, or are simply in the way, are smashed into oblivion against its bow as the 12'900-ton ship rapidly accelerates to ramming speed.  

====Hive====
The Hive advanced drone frigate is an evolution of the original Kiith Puppeteer design, opting to use six AI-driven microships that can be replaced on-the-fly inside the Hive as its primary means of engagement, though the frigate itself is equipped with a pair of guns. The Hive houses all the necessary devices to rebuild and control the six drones, along with bays for holding them in storage.

====Dervish====
The Dervish uses a compact ion generation system in conjunction with a splitter device to allow a single generator to simultaneously feed five beams at once, though at the cost of weaker strength due to the splitting. A revolutionary electromagnetic control system at each nozzle is capable of diverting the beam within a large range-of-motion, granting the Dervish the effective ability to cover several flanks at once with ion beams.

====Clee San====
The Clee San is a one-of-a-kind research frigate that has no armaments whatsoever, but carries state-of-the-art equipment to conduct research of virtually any sort while out in the field.

===Heavy===
Vessels in this class are of massive size and can only be produced by [[Mothership]]-designation spacecraft. Somtaaw heavy ships use drives derived from their old and reliable Chieftain design. They field large crews, often of a few dozen people, and are also often able to house smaller ships within themselves. This is also the smallest designation available that can house a working [[hyperspace]] core, given the incredible power requirements of having such an item onboard.

====Chieftain====
The Chieftain Mk. III is the current one in use. The existing design is a heavily-armored lumbering behemoth that houses four high-speed ore transfer bays, a complete ore processing and storage system, four gun turrets and four automated repair pods, two on each side of the craft. The original design, Mk. I, had no weapons and no repair pods. The Mk. II design carried weapons but no repair pods. The Mk. III design obviously includes them. The Chieftain is the only ship known that has never seen a combat officer onboard.

====Deacon====
The destroyer of the fleet, the Deacon is a rapidly thrown-together design, with the original intent of it being a heavy transport vessel. It was expeditiously retrofitted for war by using the original designated empty storage space to house the necessary machinery for the onboard weapons and missile system. Thus the blocky look of the design.

====Shaman====
The carrier of the Somtaaw fleet. The Shaman is equipped with four bays, two open ones for light-class ships and two blast-door shielded ones meant for medium-class vessels. The Shaman is equipped with the necessary equipment to house, maintain, repair and if necessary, build vessels up to medium-class. Two topside and two underside gun turrets form the ship's sole defensive capability, which is more than adequate to handle the occasional fighter swarm or lone frigate.

====Archangel====
A dreadnought. The Archangel is designed using Bentusi ship-design principles, but with compromises to allow for stability with the relatively low-tech available to Hiigarans. The ship houses four heavy-class gun turrets, two high-strength traditional ion-cannon turrets, twin large-capacity missile banks, and the Taiidani-designed Repulsor system. The ship houses the means necessary to rapidly refurnish the missile bays, and in conjunction with its other weapons, the Archangel can hold its ground against most things thrown at it.

===Super-heavy===
Also Mothership-class, for all intents and purposes. These vessels are of such immense size that only large dedicated shipyards or the original Mothership itself are capable of building them. The two in possession by Somtaaw were built by the Mothership. 

====Fal-Corum====
The first Somtaaw vessel to leave the Mothership, the Fal-Corum would serve as the testbed for the technologies that would make the Kuun-Lan the superior of the two. Regardless, it is still a competent vessel.

====Kuun-Lan====
The Kuun-Lan, over the course of Cataclysm, turns from a huge mining vessel to an immense fully-fledged warship. Removing much of its original structure, the Kuun-Lan used the new space to house research facilities and the innumerable banks of storage and processor systems needed to keep a warfaring fleet in operation. In addition, the vessel boasts a feature no other Mothership-class spacecraft in the entire Hiigaran Navy can claim; a massive nuclear-based cannon. In addition, the vessel carries a complement of heavy gun turrets more than adequate for smashing frigates to bits.⏎
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[[Category:Homeworld series]]