Blackhawks are heavily modified to optimise their performance both in terms of swallow range and combat effectiveness. This comes at the cost of increased size and decreased longevity. Blackhawks come in a much greater range of forms. The classic Blackhawk is a flattened onion shape or teardrop. They have dorsal fins and tail protrusions making them asymetric to some degree or other.

The Blackhawk swallow range is between eighteen and twenty two light years, enough to easily outjump their voidhawk cousins. They can however make fewer sequencial jumps before needing to rest and recharge their patterning cells.

Blackhawk captains are not joined at birth with their ship, instead they have neuron symbionts implanted when the Blackhawk is germinated. The captains relationship with their ship begins at a much later strage of their life giving the relationship a less sibling like quality, though the mature blackhawk’s personality is still strongly influenced by the captain’s.

Unlike Voidhawks, The crew habitat is not seperated from the cargo and ancillary systems. The crew quarters, cargo and systems deck are all located on a module which is attached by grapples to the Blackhawks top upper surface.

Blackhawks are considered by some to be more spirited and independent than their Voidhawk cousins. They traditionally use the Independent (none Edenist) Habitats as their homes. Their eggs are much sought, surplus ones are auctioned to the highest bidder, fetching millions of fuseo-dollars for a respected breed.

The life expectancy of a Blackhawk is about seventy-five years, just over half that of a voidhalk.

While the exact number of Blackhawks is unknown, the Confederation Starship registry lists 10,196.. A relatively tiny number when compared to the million Adamist Starships