Kai-pattern Seraph

The Kai-pattern Seraph was one of the main design patterns of the Covenant's Seraph space fighters, alongside the Morsam-pattern.

Design details
The 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 bays of Covenant ships or stations when they are not in battle or escorting a ship. The Kai-pattern has a shield although this does not seem to always be the case. They also reinforce the craft's inertial compensators, allowing the craft to take hits that would rip other craft apart. Seraph hull plating self-repairs when damaged, adjusting to compensate for lost aerodynamic features during combat.

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. 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, much the same way as a UNSC pilot's neural interface. 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.

Armaments

 * 4× Tevaas Mu-pattern heavy plasma cannons
 * 2× Novox-pattern Fuel rod cannons

Operational history
Kai-pattern Seraphs saw operational use throughout the Human-Covenant War. These starfighters provided excellent fire support to all Covenant forces in space and on the groundside. Elite 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. Brute 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.

Kai-patern Seraphs were prominently used during Operation: WARM BLANKET, the Battle for Earth.

During the Battle of the Threshold gas mine, Sesa 'Refumee tried to escape on a Seraph after Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee severed the cable holding the gas mine suspended in Threshold's atmosphere. Though 'Refumee reached the fighter, the Arbiter intercepted him in the hanger and killed 'Refumee before the Heretic Leader could make good his escape. The Seraph was abandoned in the gas mine and destroyed shortly thereafter with it.

During the Battle of Installation 00, the Prophet of Truth's fleet deployed numerous Seraphs against the UNSC/Sangheili fleet in an effort to stop them from landing ground forces on the Ark. The Seraphs shot down a few Pelicans, but could not stop the others from breaking through. The Seraphs were presumably destroyed along with the rest of the Covenant fleet.

Trivia

 * The Seraph is actually an old model of a Covenant tank that Shi Kai Wang created.
 * In the Halo Legends episode The Package, when Kelly-087 yells "Seraph formation!", the subtitles mistakenly say, "Syrup formation!"

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo 3
 * Halo Legends
 * The Package
 * ''Halo: Fall of Reach
 * Invasion
 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Terminals
 * Halo Mythos