The Aves were developed and produced for the Odyssey Project by CloudBuster Avian, the Sapphirean Aerospace company. They were based on the M1 shuttlecraft used by the Sapphirean Military for transit between the Sapphire and Republic systems at high sub-light. They were enhanced specifically for the Odyssey Mission:
- The Addition of Shrieks (Accipiters) for long-range defense, surveillance, and reconnaissance
- Enhanced shields and weapons systems
- Triple Redundancy on key systems.
- All Environment capability for operations in space, atmosphere, underwater, and a wide range of other environments
- Engine and fusion reactor upgrades.
- Additional speed and agility for tactical operations.
A Pathfinder Ship Carries a standard complement of 178 Aves.
- 84 are maintained on Active Duty, divided into four Flight Groups
- 32 are maintained in Reserve, ready for duty on short notice
- 62 are held in cargo bays in a disassembled state, ready to replace ship's lost in the course of duty. These can also be used as a source of spare parts, although standard procedure requires all usable parts to be salvaged when an Aves is damaged beyond the point that it can be returned to flight capability.
Size and Scale
The drawing below compares a standard Mark I Aves with a Jumbo Jet from Earth's 21st Century.
