Blackhawk

As bitek starships, blackhawks are a variation of the Edenist voidhawk which were created by reverse-engineering the voidhawk genome and modifying it. The aim was to produce a vessel with a greater combat capability. The original voidhawk genome was purchased and reverse-engeneered by the Edenist serpent Rubra, along with the genome to create Edenist habitats. From this genetic base he germinated Valisk as a base for his company Magellanic Itg and as a place for blackhawks to feed and embark on their mating flights around Opuntia.

The maximum hyperspace-jump (“swallow”) distance for a blackhawk is around 22 light-years. Blackhawks are frequently used for smuggling and mercenary operations since they and their captains do not often have the same ethical grounding that their Edenist equivalents have. As a result they tend to have a somewhat unsavoury reputation.

Typical blackhawk lifespan is 75 years. Blackhawks and voidhawks can interbreed. The blackhawk and his captain share the same neural symbionts thus enabling them to use affinity. As the symbionts are unique, its captain’s affinity is limited to the communication with its blackhawk alone; affinity-based communication with an Edenist is possible only for the blackhawk.

Hellhawks are possessed blackhawks.