Editing Kai-pattern Seraph

{{Title|''Kai''-pattern Seraph}}
{{Status|Canon}}
{{Disambig header|the Seraph seen in [[Halo 2]] and [[Halo 3]]|Seraph model seen in [[Halo: Reach]], [[Halo 4]] and several other sources|Morsam-pattern Seraph}}
{{Vehicle infobox
|name=''Kai''-pattern Heavy Strike Fighter
|image=[[File:Enc22 KaiSeraph.png|300px]]
|manufacturer=[[Tertiary Assembly Forges]]{{Ref/Book|Id=warfleet|HWF|Page=58-59}}
|line=[[Seraph]]
|model=
|cost=
|length={{Convert|78.4|ft|m|disp=flip|sp=us}}{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22|Enc22|Page=288}}
|width={{Convert|52.3|ft|m|disp=flip|sp=us}}{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
|height={{Convert|5.35|ft|m|disp=flip|sp=us}}{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
|mass={{Convert|50|MT}}{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
|max speed=
|engine=[[Impulse drive]]{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
|hull=[[Nanolaminate hull plating]]
*Equipped with auto repair{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
*[[Energy shielding|Multiphase energy shielding]]{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}
|armament=
'''Standard loadout'''{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
*4 ''Tevaas Mu''-pattern [[heavy plasma cannon]]s{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
*2 ''Novox''-pattern [[fuel rod cannon]]s{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
|crew=1 [[Obedientiary]] [[pilot]]{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
|complement=
|consumables=
|othersystems=
|firstuse=
|service=*[[Human-Covenant War]]
*[[Great Schism]]
|role=Combat [[space fighter]]
|affiliation=[[Covenant]]
}}
The '''Kai-pattern Heavy Strike Fighter''' is one of the premiere fighters in the '''[[Seraph]]''' line of [[space fighter]], utilised by the [[Covenant]] for centuries. Beginning in the 25th century, the ''Kai'' began to be replaced with the newer {{Pattern|Morsam|Seraph|}} fighters, though the ''Kai'' continued to serve in the Covenant's fleets up until the empire's collapse in [[2552]].{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}

==Overview==
===Design details===
The ''Kai''-pattern Seraph features a piscine, teardrop-like shape, fitting with the overall design elegance the [[Covenant]] is known for. Seraph fighters are mostly stored in the [[hangar bay]]s of Covenant ships or stations when they are not in battle or escorting a ship. The Kai-pattern is equipped with a multiphase energy shield, although this does not seem to always be the case.{{Ref/Film|Id=package|HLeg|Episode=The Package (animated short)}} The shields also reinforce the craft's inertial compensators, absorbing energy from impacts that would rip other craft apart.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}} Seraph hull plating self-repairs when damaged, adjusting to compensate for lost aerodynamic features during combat.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}} The tail assembly acts as a thrust vectoring system, increasing its maneuverability by redirecting the impulse drive exhaust. However, the tail of a Kai-pattern Seraph isn't physically articulate in the way that the Morsam-pattern is. Power can be temporarily diverted from other systems in order to give the fighter an acceleration boost.

Though not specifically intended for atmospheric use, Seraphs still are significantly faster than Banshees while flying at low altitudes. They have even been shown to fly in the hurricane-force winds of the gas giant [[Threshold]].{{Ref/Level|Id=oracle|H2|The Oracle}} The Seraph's control pod offers reinforced, armored protection for the pilot, containing the multi-port connectors to fit the pilot's [[combat harness]].{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}} Seraphs are controlled via a direct neural interface with their flight harness, using minimal safety cutouts and filters. While the pilot's body is rendered immobile to reduce the risk of injury, they control the ship with their thought, in much the same way as a UNSC pilot's neural interface.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}} Unlike UNSC systems, however, this method induces significant pain called interface burn in the pilot. Elites enter a meditative state before they complete an uplink to control the pain, while Brute pilots embrace the pain to trigger their own focus.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}

[[Sangheili]] pilots considered piloting a Seraph merely a means to attain enough glory to be reassigned to a ground combat position, valuing their fighters only as tools to accomplish this. Despite their extensive training, their honor code gave them a tendency to peel off from their squadrons to engage in one-on-one dogfights, making them vulnerable in combat. On the other hand, [[Jiralhanae]] pilots were excluded from such training, but their pack mentality and rigid social hierarchy made them far more effective teams. Human pilots soon learned to fear Brute-piloted Seraphs, identified by clan markings and Forerunner symbols carved on their hulls, more than Elite-piloted Seraphs.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}

===Armaments===
The ''Kai''-Pattern Seraph can be found in a number of specialist variants with varying armaments.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}} However, the standard-issue design wields four ''Tevaas Mu''-pattern [[heavy plasma cannon]]s and two ''Novox''-pattern [[Fuel rod cannon]]s.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}} These plasma cannons are fired in twin-linked pairs which are offset at angles in order to maximise the starfighter's peripheral coverage. Gravitic mirrors installed around each of the cannons provide aiming and focus for each volley.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}

==Operational history==
The ''Kai'' is a long-lived [[design pattern]], having served in the [[Covenant]] for centuries prior to the empire's fall into [[Great Schism|civil war]]. As such, their ubiquitous nature meant that they became the standard by which all other forms of air superiority were measured in the [[Covenant fleet]]. Beginning in the 2400s, the ''Kai'' was reinterpreted by the [[Assembly Forges]] of [[High Charity]] in a sleeker form as the {{Pattern|Morsam|Seraph}} - a variation which began to circulate throughout the fleet. Both were still heavily used by the 2500s, and both saw service in the [[Human-Covenant War]].{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}

During the war, Seraph starfighters provided excellent fire support to all Covenant forces in space and groundside. Seraphs were organised into [[talon]]s of eight or more craft, which would split into hunting pairs when on a mission.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}} They were prominently used by the [[Third Fleet of Glorious Consequence]] during [[Operation: WARM BLANKET]],{{Ref/Reuse|package}} and again by the [[Fleet of Sacred Consecration]] during the [[Battle for Earth]].{{Ref/Level|H2|Cairo Station}}

During the [[Battle of Installation 04]], an artifact hunting (later-turned [[Sesa 'Refumee's heretic faction|heretic]]) group led by [[Sesa 'Refumee]] was dispatched to investigate a [[Forerunner]] [[Threshold gas mine|gas mine]] within the atmosphere of [[Threshold]]. The team had at least one ''Kai''-pattern in their posession, which was intended by 'Refumee as an escape option in the event of [[Raid on the Threshold gas mine|an attack]] by the Covenant. Though 'Refumee reached the fighter, he was intercepted in the hanger by [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]]ee and before the heretic leader could make his escape. The Seraph was abandoned in the gas mine and destroyed shortly thereafter with it.{{Ref/Reuse|oracle}}

During the [[Battle of Installation 00]], the Prophet of Truth's fleet deployed numerous Seraphs against the UNSC/Sangheili [[Covenant separatists|separatist]] fleet in an effort to stop them from landing ground forces on the Ark. The Seraphs shot down a few [[Pelican]]s, but could not stop the others from breaking through.{{Ref/Level|H3|The Ark (level)|The Ark}}

==Production notes==
[[File:PXH Seraph Back.png|The back view of this Seraph.|thumb|250px|The ''Combat Evolved''-era Seraph, then a Covenant tank.]]
{{Main|Cut Halo: Combat Evolved vehicles#Covenant tank}}
{{Quote|That, my friend, is a Seraph fighter. [...] But, the funny thing is that the Seraph fighter is actually the old, old, old, old Halo Covenant tank, right, that Shi-Kai built. That ship that you just saw, that sort of, round, almost... What do you call it? Cuttlefish. Used to be a Covenant tank, back in the day. And maybe again.|[[Joseph Staten]] discussing the Covenant tank's evolution into the Seraph fighter.{{Ref/Generic|[[Halo 3 Legendary Edition]]|Halo 2 Developer Commentary}}}}
During the [[Development of Halo: Combat Evolved|development]] of ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', what would become the ''Kai''-pattern Seraph was originally developed by [[Shi Kai Wang]] as a Covenant [[tank]] unit in [[1998]].{{Ref/Twitter|Dr_Abominable|464351948297089024|Paul Russel|Quote=The Seraph was actually, verbatim, a design (also built) for a covenant tank dating back to 1998.|D=30|M=10|Y=2020}} The Seraph, fully modelled and textured, was present in the [[2000]]-era builds of ''Combat Evolved'' when the game was still a third-person game. The model seen in this early build featured "wings", though was ultimately one of the [[Cut Halo: Combat Evolved vehicles|many vehicles]] cut from the game as development progressed. The model was later reused in the ''Halo 2'' levels [[The Arbiter]] and [[The Oracle]], featured as a starfighter in the Threshold gas mines - though without the wings present in the original design. Despite this, the model found in ''Halo 2'' uses the exact same textures as the original.{{Ref/Twitter|RejectedShotgun|1413410766145822727|RejectedShotgun|My attempt at the c_ground_transport vehicle @game_fabricator showed off earlier. I'll probably mod it into CE tomorrow. Thanks to @Tempest_Sean for pointing out the textures from the 2000 build are still in Halo 2.|D=11|M=7|Y=2021}}

==Trivia==
*In the ''Halo Legends'' episode ''[[The Package (animated short)|The Package]]'', when [[Kelly-087]] yells ''"Seraph formation!"'', the subtitles mistakenly say, ''"Syrup formation!"''
*The Kai-pattern is a reference to art director Shi Kai Wang

==Gallery==
{{Linkbox|gallery=yes}}
===Development images===
<gallery>
File:HCE CovenantTank Concept 1.png|Early concept art for ''Halo: Combat Evolved''{{'}}s Covenant tank.
File:HCE CovenantTank Concept 2.png|Concept art for the Covenant tank, further resembling the final design.
File:PXH SeraphShadow.png|The Covenant tank-era Seraph (foreground) alongside the "ground transport" - itself an early predecessor to ''Halo 2''{{'}}s [[Ruwaa-pattern Shadow|Shadow]].
</gallery>

===Screenshots===
<gallery>
File:H2 - Seraph Overview.png|An overview of the ''Halo 2'' ''Kai''-pattern Seraph.
File:H2-Heretic-T31SeraphXMF-Overview.png|An alternate in-game overview of the Seraph from ''Halo 2''.
File:H2-CovenantSeraph-Overview.png|Views of the Seraph in ''Halo 2''.
File:Heretic Seraph.png|A Seraph docked inside the [[Threshold gas mine]].
File:H3-T31SeraphXMF-Overview.png|Overview of the Seraph in ''[[Halo 3]]''.
File:H3-T31SeraphXMF-FrontRender.png|A render of the ''Kai''-pattern Seraph in ''Halo 3''.
File:H2A - Seraph model.jpg|A render of a Seraph for ''Halo 2: Anniversary''.
File:OpeningShot1-large-crop.jpg|Separatist Seraph fighters engaging loyalist Seraph fighters over [[Installation 00]].
File:H2ACampaign TheHereticSeraph.png|The Seraph fighter docked within the Threshold gas mine, as seen in ''Halo 2 Anniversary''.
File:H2ACampaign TheHereticSeraph2.png|A frontal view of the Seraph fighter aboard the gas mine.
File:HM SpaceBattle ColourAdjusted Small.jpg|Kai-pattern Seraphs in active combat in ''[[Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo]]''.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo 2]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Uprising]]''
*''[[Halo 3]]''
*''[[Halo Legends]]''
**''[[The Package (animated short)|The Package]]''
*''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''
**''[[Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian]]'' {{C|Motion comic only}}
*''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]''
**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Invasion|Invasion]]''
*''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''
**''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo]]''
*''[[Halo: Rise of Atriox]]''

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Covenant Atmospheric/Exoatmospheric Vehicles}}

[[Category:Space fighter classes]]
[[Category:Covenant ship classes]]