SKT-9 Bumblebee: Difference between revisions

The SKT-9 Bumblebee is a medium-endurance (Class 3) vehicle;{{Ref/Reuse|enc22}} it is well armored, though [[Jacob Keyes]] considered that a [[12.7x40mm]] round may penetrate the relatively thin hull.{{Ref/Novel|Id=tf1|TF|Chapter=1}} They are typically found on UNSC [[cruiser]]s,{{Ref/Reuse|library}} which carry several sets of them, stationed at designated [[airlock]]s. Several SKT-9 Bumblebees were carried aboard [[Cairo Station (station)|Cairo Station]].{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}} The docking ports for Bumblebees are comparable in size to the {{Pattern|Brhi Xur|Leech}} boarding craft used by the [[Covenant]], allowing the Covenant to use the airlocks to conduct [[boarding]] actions on UNSC spacecraft.{{Ref/Reuse|poa}}

The SKT-9 can hold up to nine people (including the pilot), and it has enough supplies to support 126-person-days of life support.{{Ref/Reuse|enc22}} It has one pilot seat as well as eight side-facing crash seats. The seats have harnesses to keep people from injury when crash-landing.{{Ref/Reuse|enc09}}{{Ref/Reuse|enc11}} Though they are noted as being one of the safer methods of UNSC ship evacuation,{{Ref/Reuse|library}} the effectiveness of the safety features on this Bumblebee vary greatly, as can their reliability. During the [[Battle of Installation 04]], some of these Bumblebees landed without any injuries to their passengers, while others suffered catastrophic failures while in mid-air, resulting in the deaths of most or all aboard upon impact.{{Ref/Reuse|halo}}

SKT-9 Bumblebees feature thrusters and air-brakes to slow down during descent.{{Ref/Reuse|library}} Although it has a pilot control station,{{Ref/Reuse|enc22}}{{Ref/Twitter|Id=fictionfriday|Halo|1195356027878699008|Halo|Quote=The SKT-9 Bumblebee is a heavy lifeboat that can hold up to eight passengers and has a pilot control station, though by default it uses a simple escape-and-evasion autopilot routine after boosting away from its host vessel. #FictionFriday}} the Bumblebee has little in the way of maneuverability, as it is not intended for extended atmospheric use, nor are its thrusters powerful enough to escape a planet's atmosphere;{{Ref/Reuse|enc09}}{{Ref/Reuse|enc11}} Jacob Keyes noted that a Bumblebee lifeboat "flew like a rock".{{Ref/Reuse|tf2}} Instead, the lifeboat using a simple escape-and-evasion autopilot routine after boosting away from its host vessel.{{Ref/Reuse|enc22}}{{Ref/Reuse|fictionfriday}} Once it enters atmosphere, the Bumblebee makes a controlled crash landing with aerobraking panels and drogue chutes.{{Ref/Reuse|enc22}} Thus, after a landing, the lifeboat can never be used again, as the air brakes disengage upon descent; the lifeboat would have likely suffered a great amount of damage as well.{{Ref/Reuse|enc09}}{{Ref/Reuse|enc11}}

File:HCE SKT-9 Bumblebee Air Brakes.jpg|A Bumblebee deploying its air brakes and forward thrusters during atmospheric descent.

File:Lifeboatcrash.JPG|A crashed Bumblebee, its reverse thrusters smoking from recent discharge. The lifeboat cut a sliding trench into the ground on impact.

File:AutumnDamagedCEA.png|Bumblebee ''[[Lima Foxtrot Alpha 43]]'' escapes the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} at the onset of the [[Battle of Installation 04]].

File:1207190798 Lp-airbrakes1.jpg|A Bumblebee deploying its air brakes and forward thrusters during atmospheric descent.