Bes'uliik

"The kind [of surprise] that makes you look up and run for a bomb shelter. With a MandalMotors logo on the fuselage."

- Goran Beviin

''Bes'uliik'

The Bes'uliik was a cutting-edge starfighter created by MandalMotors after the Yuuzhan Vong War, the first prototypes of which entered service with the Mandalorians in 40 ABY, during the Second Corellian Insurrection.

Characteristics
"Now tell me it's not gorgeous"

- Jir Yomaget

A Bes'uliik was originally designed for a crew of three, or two with an increased weapons/fuel loadout, although the earliest production prototypes were flown by single pilots. The fighter was designed to be versatile, capable of being everything from a planetary-attack bomber to a long-range "hunter-killer".

The spaceframe measured fifteen meters long, with a wingspan of a little over half its length. The hull was a plain, clean-lined vee-shape with a squared-off tail, with a dark gray finish and high-tech baffled exhausts to enhance its stealth capabilities. The cockpit hatch hinged at the top for entry, and the bottom edges for ejection, but there were also side hatches, and on the prototype, these bore the mythosaur logo stencilled in a lighter gray colour.

The fighter was also able to tilt vertically on its tail section, to land and take off in a tiny area, approximately eight-by-four square meters.

Late in the design process, the design was modified to add a protective layer of beskar armour, the legendary "Mandalorian iron". The designers considered applying this as either as an outer skin or part of a laminated composite spaceframe. The initial prototype was completed with an ultra-thin bes'kar outer skin, but there was also some discussion of a heavier layer of solid hull armour. Although this would render the fighter heavier, there were also hopes that a new alliance with the Verpine engineers of the Roche Asteroid Belt would extend to a technology exchange, enabling the designers to lighten the underlying spaceframe structure to compensate,

History
"Shab, a Mando-Verpine assault fighter. That'll cause some sleeples nights on Coruscant"

- Medrit Vasur

The Bes'uliik was originally designed as the Kyr'galaar, a name which seems to have meant "Death-hawk" It was concieved after the Yuuzhan Vong War, as a single development prototype combining all the new ideas being produced by MandalMotors designers&mdash;a necessarily economizing approach, as their energies were focused on reestablishing commercial production of existing designs.

In 40 ABY, when a lode of beskar was found 100km north of Enceri,, it was realised that the powerful armour could also be applied to the new fighter. This was originally hinted to Mand'alor Boba Fett by his lieutenant Goran Beviin soon after the discovery,, and formally suggested by Jir Yomaget of MandalMotors when he showed Fett the new design shortly afterwards. It seems to have been at around this time that the name was changed to Bes'uliik, or "iron beast", in honour of the the ancient Basilisk war droids of the Mandalorians' warrior past.

It was agreed between Fett and Yomaget that for export versions, the fighter's armour and capabilites would be significantly reduced, but half of the production run would be retained with the full capabilities of the prototype for "defense" of Mandalore and Mandalore Sector, and possibly with even heavier armour.

The first Bes'ulik was quickly completed and put into testing, and very soon after, four spaceworthy (and even combat-ready) prototypes were complete. At this point, these fighters were deployed as a combat flight, led by Fett in person, to destroy facories on Murkhana in a punitive raid on behalf of their Verpine allies&mdash;and also to display the new fighter's capabilities to potential buyers. The extent of Mandalorian confidence in the new fighter's abilities can be gauged by the fact that Fett gave Murkhana advance warning of exactly what they were going to target.

Appearances

 * Sacrifice