Faith (D19)

Faith is the personal Viper Mk II of Commander Robert "Indefatigable" Sharpe of the Battlestar Dauntless in the upcoming series Counter Attack.

Standard Specs.
FUEL CAPACITY: 600 Litres Tyilium (Fuel Tank is MK VII Viper type)

As well as the standard Viper Mark II configuration, this one off version is also fitted with a cannon reclaimed from the Battlestar Busby. This is mounted under the belly of the craft, and is fed by a drop-load system from where the cargo area would be located on a standard Mark II. This makes it more heavily armed then a standard Mark II Viper.

To counter extra weight, this Viper has had its top engine removed and replaced by an engine from a Raptor which was scrapped. While in flight, the pilot has a choice of running on the two standard Viper engines, or to run on the Raptor engine alone – allowing it to out run any known fighter. Alternately, it can also use this ability to reach any craft under attack quicker than the current frontline Mark VII Vipers now in service. Flight tests have proven that it is possible to run with all three engines powered, but is not recommended except in extreme emergencies.

This Viper is assigned to Commander R Sharpe of the Battlestar Dauntless. It does not make up part of the Battlestar’s fighter compliment, but is the Commanding Officer’s personal Viper. This is the only Mark II in service with the Colonial Fleet.

Technical Notes
The Flak cannon is mounted under the nose and belly of the Viper, and is fed via an auntomated loading system with rounds stored in the area where the small cargo compartment or pilot's personal effects would have been kept. Sharpe tends to keep the rounds as high explosive rounds, but has been known to switch them to smaller anti aircraft shells.

The Raptor engine is capable of propelling the entire craft on its own, and in an emergency can be used in tandem with the two standard engines to produce an incredible amount of speed. Because of the extra fuel drain, Faith has been fitted with the fuel tank of a MK VII in addition to her normal MK II tank.

History
Commander Sharpe, then a Major, found the Viper in a salvage yard on Sagitaron in the process of being dismantled. He purchased it from the Colonial Fleet and has repaired it from parts he salvaged over the years when parts became available. Whenever Sharpe was on leave, he would work on the ship at his home on Caprica. He decided to not just return her to flight status, but to add to her original armanant and armour by giving the ship new parts. Apart from weapons and armour, the Raptor engine was recovered from a wreck that impacted on Sharpe's home. Due to an obscure Caprican law from before the Colonial Government was formed, Sharpe was able to claim the engine for himself, and also recieved a small sum which he spent on various parts for Faith.

Colonial Fleet allowed the restored and upgraded craft to be tested at their flight range and testing facility near Virgon. When tested for speed against a MK VII, Faith outsped its opponant by a factor of 5%. Weapons testing also proved it be at least equeal if not better then the frontline MK VII's currantly in service. Given the gleaming career of Sharpe, Fleet has allowed Faith to opperate out of whichever Battlestar he is assigned to. However, because it is not assigned to said Battlestars, Sharpe may only use the Tripple R (Repair, Re-fuel, Re-arm) system at the discresation of the Battlestar's CO and CAG. Given the fact that Sharpe served ten years on various ships as CAG, then he had only to ask the relevent Commanding Officer who would always agree in return for a turn at the stick every now and again.

Currant Location
Faith is currantly located on the Battlestar Dauntless BSG 56.

Note
Faith was created by Anthony Wilkins, author of the Battlestar Hermes.

The tail code is a homeage to one of the Enterprises from Star Trek