Needle-class stealth corvette

The Needle-class stealth corvette was originally a makeshift spacecraft designed, by poverty ridden civilians (labeled Lunar Rats) of the Pioneer System on the 2B moon tile, to escape from the ongoing conflict of the Civilian Defense Force and Rhodor's Riders. The Needle would go on to reappear under multiple different flags such as The Khan's Enclave, The 1st Fleet, The Phoenix Initiative, and Task Force Deliverance. Despite changing hands several times, there remained only one Needle-class and only one design, keeping the unique features added at conception.

## Design details

The Needle is designed with features unique to its class such as its exceptional forward thrust and bridge protection. As a fully independent and functional ship with refineries and assemblers, the Needle is capable of operating free of any support craft and is able to operate in space without assistance for far longer than the average corvette.

### Hull and propulsion

The Needle has unusually strong hull armor on its bridge and a forward thrust package that even militaries such as the Riders or Civilian Defense Force were not capable of equipping at the time. By the advent of Outlands Season 3 this thrust package became significantly less impressive with the development of better thruster technologies in the Pioneer System.

### Crew and complement

The Needle is capable of maintaining a crew of 5 but must operate with at least 1 crew member. There are also basic ports and locking pads for small-craft along the hull.

### Armaments

The Needle is armed with a standard stealth corvette armament of 5x 43mm auto cannons.

## Operational history

The Needle-class was originally constructed at the beginning of Outlands in season 1 in a Civilian Defense Force - Rhodor's Rider 24/7 moon survival. Designed by poverty stricken 'Lunar Rats' caught in a conflict between Riders and CDF, the Needle was deployed from 'The Orb' to be as a means to escape. The Needle was used to escape from the 2B moon following the defeat of the Riders.

The Needle would not be seen again until the Khan's Enclave attack on CDF and Rider peace negotiations. How it ended up in Khan's Enclave hands is unknown but its purpose to quietly deliver Khan marines to the delegation was ultimately successful. After the Needle accomplished its mission, it was not deployed again. During the Needle's time under the Enclave it was painted Khan colors.

Again, the Needle would be absent, this time for the entirety of The Belt War. Its next appearance would be under the 1st Fleet, once again acquired through unknown means, on the Phoenix Initiative tile 2Z. Under the 1st Fleet, it functioned as a fully fledged stealth corvette and was used as a recon vessel before suffering a catastrophic crash during a mission on the errant 2Z moon. After the crash the Needle was quickly recovered by PHX engineers, causing the Needle to change hands once again. During the Needle's time under the Fleet it was painted 1st Fleet colors and given more view ports for recon operations.

## Trivia

* The Needle's construction took several hours and was built entirely by hand in survival by 2 builders. It required non-stop construction due to the dangers of the 24/7 nature of the server. It was launched at 4AM EST.

## List of appearances

*"Needle" First appearance:*

* "Outlands, Moon Survival (Part 3)"

"Needle" Other appearances:

* Outlands, Season 1, Ep.21 "Epilogue Peace & War