Revision 64385125 of "Kiith Somtaaw" on enwiki

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 [[Kushan (Homeworld)|Kushan]] race. Originally a major religious kiith, the '''Somtaaw''' made their living mining metal.

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 use the [[Kushan Mothership|Mothership]]s facilities for a limited period of time, they built 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), preferring the honest work of mining rather than the blood and violence of war. 

After the latest incursion by Imperial [[Taiidan]]i forces, they were dispatched to rescue a Kiith Manaan destroyer that was stranded outside the Hiigaran System. In the process, they discovered an artifact. Analysis yielded that the device was built by no known Galactic races and as such probably held great, unknown technology. The ruling Somtaaw council decreed that this would give them great leverage in the new Hiigaran government, and ordered that the [[Kuun-Lan]] keep this a secret within Somtaaw. The Kuun-Lan then met up with the Clee-San, and they opened the device up for analysis.  However, the artifact contained part of the organism known as [[the Beast (Homeworld)|the Beast]]. The infection rapidly spread, forcing the ship to jettison its entire lower section.

In [[Homeworld: Cataclysm]], Kiith Somtaaw played the role of the protagonist fighting the Beast threat.

==Ship overview==
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. It should be noted that this is 15 years after the events of the original ''Homeworld'' and 85 years prior to [[Homeworld 2]].

==Light ships==
:''Main article: [[Ships of Homeworld#Kiith Somtaaw]]
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 minuscule in comparison to their larger brethren; while the lightest [[mass production|mass-produced]] 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 unmanned. 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 at speeds of up to 180 km/h, welding and repairing damaged sections.

*[[Somtaaw Recon]]
*[[Somtaaw Mimic]]
*[[Somtaaw Sentinel]]
*[[Somtaaw Acolyte]]
*[[Somtaaw Leech]]

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

===Worker===
The 5200-ton Worker is the workhouse of the Somtaaw fleet. While the larger fleets have opted to require several ships performing a singular function each, Somtaaw engineers have incorporated all those features into one vessel. The Worker is capable of harvesting, with repair and salvage capabilities installable through upgrades. It can move at speeds of up to 1530 km/h.

===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 30 seconds, as such the Minion must disengage after that period. Concordantly however, it does not take long for the system to cool down, and is able to allow ramming to resume after 10 seconds of normal operation.

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.

Under normal conditions, the ship travels at a slow 1432.8 km/h, but rapidly accelerates well past this when the secondary system is engaged.

===Hive===
The 9900-ton 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. It is capable of speeds up to 1404 km/h.

===Dervish===
The 10'500-ton Dervish multi-beam frigate uses a new ion generation system in conjunction with a splitter device to allow a single ion-beam 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. It can move at speeds of up to 1332 km/h.

The Somtaaw multi-beam frigate, despite it's name, is in no way related to the Kadeshi version of the multi-beam frigate, which is purely an anti-capital frigate.

===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. Built by the original Mothership itself, the Clee San's crew comprises of the some of the brightest minds Somtaaw has to offer. Its measly weight of 400 tons can be attributed to the fact that it has absolutely no weapons and merely a modicum of armour. It can move at up to 1008 km/h.

==Heavy ships==
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 (science fiction)|hyperspace]] core, given the incredible power requirements of having such an item onboard.

*[[Somtaaw Processor]]
*[[Somtaaw Destroyer]]
*[[Somtaaw Carrier]]
*[[Somtaaw Dreadnought]]

==Motherships==
Also Mothership-class, or Command Ship 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. Both are of the '''Explorer''' class, which has a default mass of 613,000 tons, maximum scanning range of 12km and a top speed of 504 km/h. The six heavy gun turrets have a maximum reach of 6km each, but the actual effective range is significantly shorter. Designed by the best Somtaaw engineers to be able to last a Hiigaran year or more on its own plying the mining routes in search of raw materials, and holding a crew in excess of several thousand people, the ships pushed the automated construction facilities of the Mothership to its limits.

*[[Kuun-Lan]]
*[[Kuun-Lan#Ship overview|Fal-Corum]]

{{Homeworld}}