Reposting here in case it was missed.

Ship:

Name: [i]Sova[/i]
Origin: Novolazarevskaya Cosmodrome
Description:

[i]"Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt." [/i]
- Sun Tzu

The [i]Sova[/i] was built with a single consideration in mind: stealth. According to the United Front's registration on the vessel, the [i]Sova[/i] is a corvette-class vessel, but it bears only limited resemblance to the standard corvette - or any other starship. The [i]Sova'[/i]s exterior is composed of an anti-ablative composite; a space-age material with a crystalline structure that scatters and absorbs low-energy EM radiation that passes through it. Its geometric, angular surfaces also serve to deflect incoming energy. The [i]Sova[/i] is therefore very difficult to detect without knowing precisely where to look. Gimbal-controlling flaps on the two main thruster pods and lift thrusters also serve as EM-dampeners. These high-output engines make the [i]Sova[/i] as fast as it is stealthy.

The high stealth and speed come at a cost, however. Its low mass makes for a nimble starship, but denies it powerful weaponry. The [i]Sova[/i] is only lightly armed with 20 Atlatl torpedo missiles, of which five can carry nuclear warheads. A nuclear missile may seem like a potent weapon in space combat to the layman, but such weapons are easily intercepted at long range and are obviously unsuitable for close range combat. The [i]Sova[/i] must carefully select its targets and destroy them quickly with expert precision because it will not survive the retaliatory blow. While this makes the [i]Sova[/i] entirely unsuitable to participate in starship-to-starship duels or set-piece naval engagements, such missions do not fall within the purview of the [i]Sova's[/i] role.

The [i]Sova[/i] is primarily a spy ship, and its missions are typically oriented to furnishing sensitive information for the United Front government on Earth. While the majority of its missions are low-key affairs, the [i]Sova[/i] has the capacity to conduct covert military operations. It is capable of atmospheric flight in pressures as high as 3.4 atm, and it can carry a single stealth dropship within its hold. Hypothetically, the [i]Sova[/i] would serve as an ideal platform for deploying personnel to hostile territory. When a smuggling outfit operating from a pirate base in the asteroid fields around Inne's Star was massacred from within several months ago, suspicion arose that the United Federation had used a vessel not unlike the [i]Sova[/i] to conduct an interdiction. However, according to documents provided by the United Front, the [i]Sova[/i] has been mothballed many years ago as were the majority of corvette-class vessels; invalidating the possibility of United Front involvement in the incident.

[hider=Sketch of the Sova][img]http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i4/Gorgenmast/Sova.jpg[/img][/hider]