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"Triikor"-Class Heavy Interceptor
Mass: 60 tons
Firepower: 75
Armor: 72
Coverage: 6%
Maneuverability: very high
Max. Velocity: 775 m/s

The Taiidani heavy Interceptor, code-named "Triikor" after the Kharakian predator cat, is one of the most feared silhouettes throughout the Galaxy's Spinward sectors. The Triikor was the natural evolution of the Fiirkan scout, but whereas the Fiirkan sacrifices firepower for speed, the Triikor is almost as fast, achieving a level of threat matched only by the relatively recent development of the Hiigaran Blade Fighter.

Taiidani Fleet commanders asked for a next generation fighter built around an ultra-high-velocity rail gun. Initial designs placed this large weapon in a spinal mount, but the resulting fighter was slow and easily damaged, with most of its crucial function placed in a thin layer around the weapon. In an innovative move, a rarity among engineers who labored under Imperial tyranny during the pre-Republic era, the designers of the Triikor decided to create a pure maneuvering fighter and then place the weapon on a lateral mount. The result is a unique looking fighter that is tricky to fly but deadly in the hands of a skilled pilot.

The laterally mounted rail gun gives the Triikor a center of gravity shifted a full meter from the cockpit/engine line, and this gives the fighter some very interesting handling characteristics while rolling or turning. Novice pilots are given a wide berth when flying formation, as this arrangement causes the fighter to swing wildly under high-G maneuvers until the pilot is intimate with this unusual center of gravity. But in the hands of an experienced pilot, this initial disadvantage becomes a dogfighter's dream, as the right touch can make the Triikor wheel around nearly twice as fast as standard fighter designs. A wide barrel roll maneuver unique to this fighter is known as "rolling the gun," and is used by Triikor aces to roll out of the gunsights of a pursuer while braking to end up just behind and below them. Many a Hiigaran pilot's last words have been a surprised curse as a Triikor rolls out of her sights and tears the bottom of her ship to shreds a moment later.