Re: The Dividing Line
Awesome. I'd been waiting for this. =)
Well, looks like Kars is up again. I'm ever so glad I had this saved, since it's really long. First up is info on Kars race, the scavenging wanderers, the Kopak.
(Edit - Damn, this is an old version. I lost my polishing up edit and some extra background I added. Ah well, I'll see if I can add some of it again.
The Kopak.
Physically 3 to 4 foot tall, of an average build for their size. Quick to learn new things, and with varied personalitys, their psychology isn't to different to a Human frame of mind. Hairless, with skin tones ranging from a grey tan to brown. Their shallow head curves back round, possibly very loosely similar to a "bean" shape. Small dark eyes, and shapeless ears and nose hidden underneath their jaw.
Little is known about the Kopak or their origins. Seldom paid much attention as they wander through space in their small clusters of ships. Sometime long ago their culture was destroyed or somehow broke apart. Now only small number remain, seemingly not too bothered by the state of their race. If asked about their past, the normal answer is that they don't know, or "forgot".
They migrate through the stars, trading and scavenging, sometimes taking odd jobs or mercenary work if it suits. They tend to be fairly adept as engineers and pilots, purely because of their typical lifestyle. Clusters of Kopak are as likely split into two as they are to join others. They have gained the nickname of "Ranchers" due to the large space dwelling whale like creatures, called Emancipets, that they very frequently keep and farm as they travel. It's unknown how they lure and keep the Emancipets with their fleets. They use these as a source of food and income, though it's also not uncommon for Kopak to actually try to steal Emancipets from another Kopak fleet.
Their technology is generally whatever they can find, although they do actually build their own ships from scratch, with some technologies and components apparently unique. Hand crafted Kopak ships are the most valuable thing to a cluster, and perhaps the most likely thing to unify some of them, since none of them want to leave the ship they helped build to another.
Kars
The Kopak Space Devil
Name: Kars Rebek Tiivon Aetol Cete Guhnar Sard
Gender: Male
Race: Kopak
Age: 29
Height: 3'5
Eyes: Black
Description: Of average height for his race, with dark greyish brown skin. With their small blacked out eyes and alien faces it can be hard to tell where a Kopak is looking or what their expression is meant to mean. Kars spends most of his time with an unnerving grin on his face, numerous sharp pointed front teeth showing. Though generally no one sees it due to the space suit he wears near constantly. His suit is a common Kopak design, white with a wide blacked out visor over the front and top of the helmet. A jetpac for zero-g manuveres, with a few hours oxygen supply or the option of filters for use in atmosphere. Tough but non bulky, designed to not be restrictive on board or planetside. Kars personal suit is modified with extra helmet sensors, a cardio regulator, a souped up jetpac, micro flamer, and an arm mounted grapple tether.
His other personal equipment includes two pistols always holstered securely at his thighs, a stolen Terra Prime rail-long-rifle with advanced electric scope, some grenades (His collection including, high explosive, incendiary, fragmentation, smoke, oxygen sapping, and disorientation), and his pride and joy Kopak design "Personal Plasma Cannon". This hugely oversized plasma cannon is intended for use in vacuum either while magnetically tethered to a ship or with a jetpac. Though it can also deploy a tripod from beneath it for clumsy surface use, or be mounted upon certain ship weapon mounts.
Background: Kars has switched affiliation with various Kopak clusters an excessive number of times. Loose even for a Kopak. His name, in normal Kopak fashion, is a collection of the names of all the different clusters he has travelled with. Like a clan name. Only he has too many. At his age it would be a sign of being generally untrustworthy. Mistrust well placed. After spending just a year and a half with his last cluster, the Sard, he decided he was fed up again and through an elaborately thought out plan, which went to hell, he stole the Sard's prized star fighter the "Hell Strafer" and made for the depths of space.
An able mechanic, Kars had been spending a great deal of attention on the Strafer before hand, making a great deal of revolutionary enhancements to it. He moved from cluster to cluster following the craft, working on it at every stage. The Sards thought they had acquired an excellent new crew member, right up to the point where he blew out their hanger. His other skills include the use of firearms, explosives, piloting, dogfighting, and creativity and unpredictability. His mood ranges from deadly lazy, to dangerous enthusiasm. He has built a mixed reputation among certain spacers and freelancers, dubbed by some a "space devil" that can't be killed, or just "that short bastard" by others.
Kars is a prime example of why the Kopak race is slowly fading away. While most still keep to themselves and try to lead a respectable life among the stars. Kars couldn't care less about his past or future, and would rather burn a path for himself as the solar winds take him, living off the success of the more ambitious races.
Crew members (if any): Kars currently travels alone. There is one tight passenger/co-pilot slot available in his ship, space enough for one other Kopak or creature roughly the size of a Human child. Though this slot has no life support (Like the main cockpit, suit needed), and is often filled with guns, tools and miscellaneous loot.
SHIP
Name: The Hell Strafer
Length: 6/10 meters
Description: Probably the smallest (effective) multi purpose, long range fighter craft in existence. The Hell Strafer is small even for a fighter craft. Hand made, from scratch, by the finest Kopak hands as it was stolen from one cluster to another, each improving it in their own way before it finally came into the undeserving hands of Kars. It is a true masterpiece of unintended Kopak collaboration. With the best parts of borrowed technology from a multitude of sources.
The Hell Strafer has two main parts, the front which carries the cockpit and all combat capability's. And a detachable rear section, housing storage, ammunition, fuel, life support replenishment for the pilots suit, an engine extension, and an amazingly compact hyper drive core. With the rear section attached it can make long distance journeys not normally possible for a fighter, and achieve a slightly greater top speed, at the cost of a very significant amount of mobility, acceleration, and posing a larger target. The cockpit and co-pilot slots follow the space saving design ethic. In that there is no seat or typical control panel as such, more just a space for limbs to slip into and a snug morphable area to accommodate the pilot. The heads up display and other information is transmitted straight into the pilots helmet. Also, there is no built in life support. This is handled entirely by the pilots suit, which is fed from ship reserves whenever the rear section is attached.
The Strafers typical combat configuration is with the tail end detached, where upon it achieves some of the best manoeuvrability of any fighter craft seen. It is capable of flying sideways, up or down, at almost top speed. Keeping its four already turreted guns locked onto targets with ease. Even capable of flying backwards to a degree, or pivoting on the spot to face pursuers without losing the ability to evade. Making it an excellent dogfighter and very difficult to train weapons on. It is capable of effective planetary flight, at a slight loss of agility and an increased fuel consumption.
It's shielding is of an average standard, outclassed by some fighters, but more than enough in the hands of a pilot capable of making the most of it's mobility. It's shields are of a unique design though, running along the body of the craft rather than forming a field around it. This causes a little more strain on the shield generator leading it to fail a little sooner than it would otherwise, but makes the Hell Strafer an even smaller target still. And also has the misleading property of causing typical and automatic scan methods to show the craft as having no shields or them powered down.
The top of the craft has a magnetic foot used for landing and latching onto larger vessels. It can launch a grappling tether to grab onto ships hulls and pull itself in quickly. Allowing it to hitch hike on faster craft with bigger hyperdrive cores. The only disadvantage of this, being that the Strafer must land upside down should it touch down on a planet. Easy for its drive system, but less convenient for the pilot.
Weaponry: The Hell Strafer's weaponry consists of four turreted weapon mounts which extend a short way of the main body on retractable arms. Each can be assigned separate tracking, though this requires the pilot to distract himself for a crucial second while inputting the commands. A magazine fed rocket pod sits atop of the craft, capable of firing up to six unguided or drunken rockets at a time, with a total magazine capacity of 24. And a fixed weapon mount on the underside, which Kars tends to mount his Personal Plasma Cannon on. The four arm mounts currently house four identical chainguns, feeding from a unique ammo system that can feed the guns from two different reserves. One (currently) holding high explosive rounds for maximum shield depletion and extreme damage to soft targets. And one (currently) holding high velocity pyroforic depleted uranium rounds, for maximum penetration of hardened ship hulls. Ammunition can be eaten up rapidly if all guns are fired simultaneously. The Tail part stores enough spare rounds to restock the reserves twice, which it does automatically upon re-docking, if it is at all possible to do so. The Kopak Plasma Cannon is a powerful close to mid range weapon, capable of punching through smaller crafts shields and causing damage to even the most hardened armour. But, only carries a very limited amount of ammunition before it must be manually reloaded, via exiting the ship and doing so by hand.
Unique Technology: Everyone else's tech, put together with Kopak ingenuity, along with a tiny bit of their own. Special drive systems. Special shielding systems. The Strafers final and most advanced trick, is a twin set of devices of unknown origin, which allows it to manipulate it's appearance to sensors. Kars doesn't know the correct name, so dubbed it the "Deception Device" or DD. Depending on the effect desired, other ship systems and functions may need to be disabled or powered down, or risk breaking the deception. The magnitude of the effect will also determine power drain. A few possible uses include jamming, by making it's readings a mess of conflicting signals making it impossible to accurately pinpoint or scan. Masking itself as a collection of minerals, so to appear to be an asteroid without closer inspection. Seem to be venting a large amount of energy which doesn't exist. Or simply be invisible to passive sensor sweeps. Each part of the Strafer has it's own DD, enabling them to operate seperately when detached. A signature trick of Kars is to fake taking a hit and using the DD to imitate an explosion, or damage he hasn't sustained, followed by a temporary system shutdown. Opposing pilots have had to endure what seems like an endlessly self resurrecting foe that refuses to stay dead. In reality, they never landed a hit.
