CSX-class Banshee

{|style="width:100%; color:#FFF;"

"They are no more hated now then back during the war, but the various additions made by our weaponmasters have given them some measure of respect - as distasteful as it is to make the most of these Wraggaili."

- Skymaster Brit 'Warhur

The CSS-class banshee, classified by the as the Type-27 exoatmospheric multirole fighter and colloquially known as the Space Banshee, is an incredibly agile  manufactured in the millions by the. The smallest manned space-superiority fighter used by either side during the, the CSS banshee is designed to adapt the hull of the basic to be more suitable in space combat. Armed with two and a thin hull dominated by micropolymar plating, these fighters are generally regarded as inferior to nearly every other model of spacecraft utilised during the war. This saw them only instill fear when deployed in overwhelming numbers.

Designed in response to the dangers bomber craft represented during their. Despite being a common sight during the war, CSS-class banshees would see little use throughout the centuries after, as their dedicated design was only useful during times of war - a distasteful reminder for the politicians of the Covenant. Used only by money-stricken security forces and merchant groups, the space banshee would only return to prominence during the Human-Covenant War to supplement their. They would become the primary fighter used by the Covenant military, using their speed, firepower and overwhelming numbers to achieve orbital superiority over the various human colonies. So many were constructed that they are still a common sight within ex-Covenant factions, who begrudgingly use them in their effort to exterminate each other.

Avionics
Unsurprisingly, the control systems on the CSS-class banshee are a hybridisation of the standard dual manual control system seen on the Farrital-pattern banshee and the neural-interface link seen on the Covenant's many dropships and fighters. The left yolk controls the pitch of the banshee, with the right one controlling it's roll. Both sticks have the relevant inputs to activate either the weapons or countermeasures. Three holographic displays, fed imaging from nanocamera sensor clusters on the upper aerodynamic shell, provide the pilot with forward and peripheral vision. Only the central screen displays information onto a heads-up-display, providing targeting data, heading and the readiness of the weapons. The pilot can switch to various other angles from below, behind, and even a trailing third-person view from a near-invisible sensor module. All the input controls are linked to a basic fly-by-light surface control system, with the controlling computer sacrificing safety in favour of total high-sensitivity control for the pilot.

As on other fighters such as the Seraph, the pilot is connected up to a basic neural link which is only designed to interface with the. After undergoing a brief synchronisation session which best optimises the on-board to the mind of the user, the banshee will induce a paralysis from the neck-down, with only their head and forearms freely moving to the pilot's will. It will also share raw supplementary information on every system, no matter how minor, with the biological pilot. While some of the data influx is restricted with crude filters to avoid killing the pilot, the pain and ever-maddening chatter from the AI is still enough to make many individuals go insane after their first flight. To put this at ease, Sangheili pilots are given extensive training in battle mediation techniques to allow them to raise their pain resistance and learn how to carefully sift through the available information. Nevertheless, continued use with the same craft eventually teaches the AI the limits and quirks of it's pilot. As a result, while the hostility shown by it never falters, it does change up how and when it presents the information reports, when to automate certain systems and when to limit it's interactions with the pilot.

With the exception of the Lodam-pattern interceptor, the CCS-class banshee has little in the way of life-support systems. There are no air-recycling intakes, no nutrition and water drips to keep the pilot fed and hydrated, and only minimal thermal protection to keep the cockpit from reaching below-freezing. Indeed, it's reactor only has enough fuel for three days of use. Only it's gravitic gyroscope helps to keep the user healthy by mimicking the gravitational pull of a 2G environment, preventing muscle and bone atrophy. However, since it's also partially built into the wings to vary the gravitation pull in an effort to speed up the banshee's turn rate, it's clear it is not installed for biological health. The only thing it replaces these with is an adrenaline-rich solution which further reduces the pilot's reaction times during combat operations.

Armament
Despite their small size, the CSS-class banshee is still armed with frighteningly lethal weapon systems that have claimed the lives of millions of pilots. These armaments are specialised towards dogfighting, and for the most part can do little against anything thicker then a dozen centimetres of armour plating.

The banshee's main weapons are two heavy plasma cannons, much more powerful then those on similiar-sized atmospheric craft. Identified by their long magnetic shaping vanes, these are far more lethal then those of their atmospheric counterparts. The plasma bursts discharged by these weapons have a muzzle velocity of 870 metres per second and have a maximum range of up to one hundred kilometres before dissipating away - by comparison, most planetside plasma beams can only remain intact within five kilometres. However, because of the unique qualities of plasma, lethality declines the further away the target is from the user. Because of this, most pilots do not use these weapons until they come within a dozen kilometres of their prey, with overzealous personnel flying waiting until they enter less then a kilometre away to deliver maximum damage. At this range, only four shots are needed to inflict enough damage on a Longsword's  engines to cripple it.

Because it is likely to tangle with superior fighters and even light warships on occasion, the CSS-class comes with a.

Lodam-pattern interceptor
In the aftermath of the Human-Covenant War, many factories and shipyards were finally freed from the draconian hold the held over their innovation. Driven by the freedom and desperation from the various Covenant successor-states, engineers within the were able to revise many traditional designs that were formally considered sufficient for the Covenant's needs. Their tinkering resulted in their indigenous Lodam-pattern interceptor, a significant deviation from the basic Navarl-pattern fighter that would quickly find itself in the hands of dozens of, with a deliberate exception to those dominated by the.

Unlike most modern craft, the Lodam-pattern interceptor did not forgo the original aesthetics of it's predecessor in favour of traditional themes, though it is more notably streamlined. Rather, most of the differences lie beneath the hood. Slower and less maneuverable than Covenant-built banshees, these craft are poor dogfighters. This is in spite of two arrays fitted onto the wings in place of the secondary boosted gravity drives. Rather, these strikecraft are equipped with light to allow them to eliminate superior aircraft such as Seraphs several dozen kilometres away. These are so accurate that the banshee can act as mobile point-defence platforms to shield their fleets against human missiles - an important consideration during the period after the Great War. From this viewpoint, it becomes reasonable that the light shields are there only to keep the aircraft from breaking apart in-atmosphere, rather then offering any real protection. To further increase the banshee's usefulness, the edges of the wings are lined with highly-attuned detectors, which can identify, assess and break down incoming silhouettes faster then any other model of aircraft. This allows the banshee to act as a basic detection measure when more specialised stealth corvettes are unavailable. Somewhat surprisingly, these interceptors do not have stealth systems, though their small size does make it difficult for most sensors to detect them before they strike.

Other minor improvements enhances it's usefulness to Sangheili at the cost of other species. For instance, the interior of the base model is specifically engineered with accommodating a Sangheili in mind, using controls and padding perfectly suited to their shape. This prevents stolen banshees from being flown by Jiralhanae, and even species allied to the Sangheili are rarely permitted a version built for their physiology.

Xyrk-pattern interceptor
The Xyrk-interceptor is a model of spacefighter that's manufactured exclusively for the Wartorn  by  Alakav Forges.