The SunGem belonged to Master Arca, who used the ship as his base of operations. On board, he would be able to train his many Jedi students, which allowed him to act as a representative of the Jedi in galactic affairs without abandoning his students.
A Hoersch-Kessel Delaya-Class courier ship, the SunGem was very distinct, and well as being extremely aerodynamic. Multiple retractable airfoils and manoeuvring vanes were scattered over its surface. These were all linked to a central computer that would make sure each one was angled for optimum manoeuvrability. Twenty-one Hoersch-Kessel ion cannons, grouped in threes, gave the ship amazing sublight speeds, and it could also match most speeders and fighters in atmosphere, with a top speed of around 950 kilometres per hour.
Arca had always preferred stealth and cunning to outright force, which was why the SunGem was lightly armed for a craft of its size. Thanks to the fact that the laser actuator and power cells fed directly into a pair of rotating laser cannons placed on the outside of the two main airfoils, the SunGem was able to fire in opposite directions at the same time. Apart from these laser cannons, Arca’s ship had a forward proton-torpedo launcher, located directly in front of the cockpit. This fired high-yield torpedoes, that carried a lot more destructive power than normal laser cannons, although their range was fairly limited. The ship could hold twelve high-yield torpedoes, or twenty-four standard ones.
The SunGem had good protection from enemy fire. Extendable hull plating sections could be slid into place by a dedicated defence station. In order to optimise the defence of the ship, the panel operator worked in conjunction with the shield operator, thus giving the SunGem layered defences. If the panel operator was not around, the pilot was able to control the positions of the hull plates. The pilot could also take control of the entire ship if need be, thanks to advanced piloting computers.
As the Jedi training areas took up so much space, there was practically no cargo space. Somehow Arca had managed to squeeze a scouting speeder in, but that was about all. The ship had bunks for eight beings in its central living quarters, with the rest of the ship given to Jedi training. The forward cockpit had space for the pilot and gunners. Arca had set out to build a mobile Jedi academy, and he had succeeded. There were meditation chambers, lightsabre training rooms complete with remotes, and a room whose atmosphere and gravity could be changed to simulate hostile planet conditions. Out of all of these, Arca was most proud of his Jedi library. He had managed to put together an extensive computer library of many Jedi texts, some dating back thousands of years.
One of the most distinctive Jedi ships in the galaxy, Arca adorned the SunGem with his personal Jedi sigil. This marked his ship as belonging to the Jedi, showing to the galaxy what can be done with a little effort, and a lot of dedication.