Khage

Khage
Type	Cruiser
Affiliation	Stahl Arms
Armament	Petrusite cannon Missile launchers Anti-aircraft batteries Leech Pods
Appears in	Killzone 3

The Khage was a powerful prototype Helghast Cruiser created by Stahl Arms. It was commanded by Jorhan Stahl's second-in-command, the Commodore. It only appears in Killzone 3.

Specifications

Perhaps the most powerful warship ever seen, the "Stahl Arms Prototype Cruiser", built as Jorhan Stahl's personal flagship, is indeed awe-inspiring. Built using technology developed by Stahl Arms, which was kept a secret from the Helghast military, the ship possessed both impressive energy shielding and a powerful petrusite cannon capable of destroying a pair of Helghast Cruisers in a single shot.

This made the prototype cruiser much more technologically advanced than other Helghast naval vessels and indeed the ISA's own cruisers. The Khage is capable of deploying Strike Fighters from underneath the armor plating that runs along its dorsal spine. After its completion Stahl had planned to use the irradiated petrusite weapons built into his cruiser to strike Earth directly and thus wiping out the UCN leadership and everyone on the planet, and ensuring Helghan's victory in the Second Extrasolar War.

Operational History

The Khage was in orbit of Helghan and preparing to lead Stahl's fleet in the attack on Earth. When Admiral Orlock demanded Stahl to turn over his fleet, including the Khage, to the Helghast military, Stahl quickly turned on Orlock and ordered the Khage to open fire on Orlock's ships. The Khage demonstrated its powerful capabilities in withstanding and overwhelming Orlock's fleet.

After Stahl killed Orlock, he prepared the Khage to warp directly to Earth. However, the flagship came under attack by hijacked Strike Fighters piloted by ISA soldiers Tomas Sevchenko, Rico Velasquez, and Jammer. Sevchenko destroyed the ship's warp coil, causing it to lose power and to fall into Helghan’s atmosphere. Stahl remained on the ship as his Commodore and crew abandons and desperately tries to keep the ship from crashing. He was able to briefly stabilize the Khage just before impacting the planet’s surface, but only for Sevchenko to fire a nuclear petrusite warhead into the ship's main core and completely destroying the vessel. The explosion released the Khage's petrusite arsenal and causing a chain reaction that in turn destroys the orbital elevator and space station, and engulfing the entire surface of Helghan, creating a planet-wide catastrophe known as the Terracide.

Gallery

Concept art.

The Khage launches Strike Fighters.

Khage's petrusite cannon.

The Khage destroys two Helghast ships.

The Khage's shields protect it from missiles.

The Khage's warp drive engine.

The Khage prepares for warp.

The Khage is severely damaged over Helghan.

The Khage is about to be hit by a Petrusite warhead.

Trivia

• The Khage's name is first given in the Killzone 3 novelization Killzone: Ascendancy and is named after Stahl's father. In the game, it is only referred to as “The Chairman’s Cruiser” or “Stahl’s Cruiser” by both Helghast and ISA soldiers.
• The ship is classified as a cruiser in the game; however, given its firepower and significant mass over other Helghast Cruisers it would seem to more appropriately fit the Battleship classification (the classification used in the novelization), or a Battle-Carrier due to its ability to transport space fighters.