Knight Errant

undefined During the war, the Viper Class Courier lived up to its name when the Independents outfitted it with fangs in the form of multiple torpedo launchers. The speed and advanced targeting systems of the Viper were employed to devastating effect against alliance capital ships, armor, and fortifications. Until the introduction of the Shinigami, the Alliance had little to counter ordinance delivered at such speed, and the arrival of a wing of Vipers often spelled victory for a Gunboat Strike Force beset by an alliance cruiser.

After surviving the early days of the war, and then the reign of death the Shinigami brought upon the mu xu bing armor of the Vipers, the Viper Zeus's Lighting was one of the few Independent ships to survive the Battle of Sturges. Zeus's Lightning was captured late in the Battle of Sturges after exhausting its munitions and losing over half its crew to explosive decompression of the hull. Disarmed and sold to the Highgate Surveying Corporation, it subsequently disappeared from the company's asset logs.

Whispered rumors tell that the Zeus's Lightning still haunts the black, its inoperative torpedo tubes springing back to life without warning. Striking against the choicest targets, it remains unnoticed by its victims until their ship suddenly goes silent, as if the vessel itself were an animal frozen in fear at the presence of a snake in its midst. These unfortunate travelers universally discover that the inevitable boarding party relieves them of their most valued and valuable treasures, and although resistance is met with deadly force, no additional blood is shed, and no hostages are taken. When the stricken transport at last begins to breath with life once more, no sign remains of that specter of the void.

There are reports that a Viper matching the description of the Zeus's Lighting has been registered under the name Knight Errant. However, captain Alexander Asimov comes with such solid credentials as to remove any possible concerns of the Inter-System Trade Bureau. Moreover, the Knight Errant has encountered Alliance and Corporate Security on many occasions, on each of which the crew has met the highest standards of conduct and citizenship. It has been frequently noted how well taken care of and up to date the ship is, especially in light of its long service history.