Selkie

The Selkie is a purpose-built amphibious assault craft, one of the few in the Covenant arsenal. The Selkie is one of a number of Covenant vehicles not to see widespread adoption in the expeditionary ministerial fleets due to its fairly narrow usage niche. It was fielded only in a handful of campaigns during Human-Covenant War and is recorded by ONI as the Type-39 Amphibious Assault Vehicle. "Selkie" is a human name; the Covenant simply refer to the Selkies as "attack skimmers", with variants designated by design pattern.

Design details
The gravity cushions of most Covenant vehicle patterns do not provide adequate buoyancy to float on water, and those that do lack the stabilization needed to stay upright. The Selkie uses double-knit generators for its boosted-gravity propulsion, and its low, flat design lends it exceptional stability even in rough waters. An impulse drive mounted in the back makes the Selkie one of the few vehicles that can compete with a Ghost for top speed on flat ground, and the ventral energy fin projectors provide for incredible high-speed handling over water.

Crew size is three, a driver with two gunners seated behind him. Each gunner controls a heavy plasma turret with 170 degrees of traverse, though models with a single anti-aircraft needler cannon have been fielded.

The Selkie is a fast raider and fills a narrow niche in the Covenant war machine. In the hands of a capable crew, it is a right terror on the battlefield. The platform is not without its weak points, however. In spite of the fact that it outweighs a Wraith, the Selkie has the armament and crew protection of a lighter vehicle like a Spectre or Revenant. Likewise, the articulated impulse engine (Which appears to have been directly copied from a spacecraft) is vulnerable to small arms fire and salt corrosion.

Like Ghosts, Selkies are excellent scouts and are second to none at catching fortified enemies off-guard, but against armor or air support, they must hit and fade or die in vain.

Ruhuk Thek-pattern
The Ruhuk Thek-pattern attack skimmer is the oldest variant of the Selkie still in service. Still common to the Forges of Karsakri, it is most visibly characterized by its open plasma cannon mounts. Other design patterns have, in the recent ages, begun to prefer turrets remote-operated from seats within the fuselage, but older models can still be found in great numbers both in storage and in service; additionally, some legions' warrior traditions favor direct weapon operation over remote control due to the superior field of view and the spiritually important personal connection with the weapon.

Risphal-pattern
The Risphal-pattern Selkie is one of the more modern varieties of the vehicle, featuring remote-operated plasma turrets with the gunners seated inside the armored hull along with a number of other improvements over the older Ruhuk Thek.

Prifor-pattern
The Prifor-pattern is a specialized Selkie variant equipped with a single heavy needle cannon utilized primarily for anti-air applications.

Criax-pattern
Manufactured by the Kilkaran Fabricary Consortium, the Criax-pattern is a modification on the Prifor-pattern featuring a single heavy fuel rod cannon for anti-air and anti-surface applications. The Criax-pattern is relatively recent and not widely adopted outside the Thyros Expanse.

History
Before the Covenant's fragmentation, the ocean-moon of Resounding Contentment was responsible for the storage of tens of thousands of Selkies, with the intention that they would be transported to off-world battlegrounds during times of need. Following the Great Schism, they formed the majority of the armed forces deployed by the population when they were invaded by the Yzen Bulwark, and were instrumental in protecting their world.