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The Mu'hari Zephyr is a Polaris ship in Escape Velocity Nova.

"The Zephyr was originally designed specifically for use with the cloaking organ. Naturally, such a design meshed well with the requirements of the Mu'hari to interact and fly amongst the peoples of other nations, so they added design specifications until the final version of the Zephyr was born. It is a versatile little craft, falling somewhere between the categories of fighter, freighter and gunboat without falling short in any way." ― Buying a Zephyr

"The black-jumpsuited Mu'kimas of this innocuous looking vessel welcomes you warmly aboard her ship. Over the next half an hour, you come to realize that there is much more to these little ships than meets the eye, it looks both capable and somewhat deadly.
"Now, how can I be of service?" asks the young Mu'hari with amazing humility. You cannot help but marvel at how every Mu'hari you have ever come across behaves as if they are somehow less important than anyone else, while all members of the other castes seem to hold them in very high regard.
" ― Hiring a Zephyr

The Zephyr is a Polaris starship explicitly designed to work with the Cloaking Organ. The Zephyr is a multirole vessel akin to the Starbridge: a cross between a heavy fighter, a light freighter, and a long-range reconaissance craft. It does not fall short in any of these roles. Such a design naturally fell within the responsibilities of the Mu'hari, so the Ver'ash and P'aedt designers consulted them until the final version of this versatile craft was completed.

These ships are obviously different to other Polaran craft, bearing a metallic chassis rather than the biomaterial that is normally used in Polaran ship building. This helps it to blend when operating among the other races, which the Mu'hari are often called upon to do. Nevertheless it is still a formidable craft, bearing all the weapons and armour expected of a Polaran craft. 

Gameplay Analysis[]

"The next step up from the Striker, the Zephyr is another capable ship. Once armed with the Cloaking Organ, the Zephyr will phase in and out of sight when it is getting beat, thus prolonging it's life as an escort or creating an even bigger thorn in your side." ― EVula Survival Guide

You must have Polaris approval to purchase this vessel.

The Zephyr can be considered the Polaris counterpart to the Starbridge; it can fulfill almost any role required of it, and is far more flexible than any of its brethren. While most players may not recognize it, the Zephyr is a very capable, albeit unusual craft. It's light shielding may seem like a weakness, but don't be fooled. The Zephyr has the most effective armor of any ship in the game, Kestrel novelty ships aside. Its reactivity(recharge rate) is twice that of polaris warships such as the Scarab or Raven, thus giving it surprising edge in combat against any other vessel it may ecounter. Since large amounts of armor are available like the Spun Diamond or Matrix Steel outfits, you can beef up your Zephyr to the level of an Auroran Cruiser with expending just 3 tons of outfitting space, if you have access to Polaris tech.

In terms of combat, the Zephyr relies almost exclusively on the cloaking device. The best strategy when facing one or more large and potentially deadly foes is to cloak before its weapons hit you, uncloak behind it, hammer it with your lasers and wraithii for a few seconds, fly away to recloak and let your armor repair any signifigant damage, and repeat the process until finish your foe(s). This may seem time-consuming, but when done properly, it's so effective that it makes the Zephyr one of the few ships that can dominate a planet without spending huge amounts of credits on a fleet or fighters.

Sometimes you will come across a Polaris Zephyr named Shade of Blue. He was the beta tester who named the ship he flies. He has extra weapons that the normal Zephyr doesn't have, such as a 200mm Railgun, and a nasty surprise in the form of Polaris station defense torpedos (will destroy most medium and small ships in 1 hit, so be wary). If you capture him, he will stay blue. You can then fly around and impress your friends with your blue Zephyr.

Nova Polaris
Castes: Kel'ariyMu'hariNil'kemoryaP'aedtTre'piraVer'ash
Polaris Ships: Manta (v) (i) 250k, Sprite (v) (i) 500k, Striker (v) (i) 1M, Dragon (v) (i) 1.1M, Zephyr (v) (i) 2M, Arachnid (v) (i) 2M, Cambrian (v) (i) 2.5M, Scarab (v) (i) 7M, Raven (v) (i) 10M
Polaris Storyline (PreambleMain StoryDiplomacy BranchTechnology Branch)
Polaris OutfitsPolaris Weapons
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