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Old 04-01-2016, 08:45 AM   #211
Frost
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Shropshire, uk
Default Re: [Game] Generate a Space Trader Setting

More on Question 109. I probably should have asked b) what will Yellow Song send after the PC's?

Answering my own question, Yellow Song will use a two tiered approach to finding the data their first method of attack will be Elin Shane a human skip tracer with a history of working for the company. Ms Shane will already be on Vather by the time the PC's have been commissioned and has successfully anticipated Jim's general strategy. As of the opening of the mission her support team (see below) will be tracking Jim's aids and attempting to monitor likely freelance couriers.

If Ms Shane fails to destroy or doctor the data the next step is to call in the big boys, in this case Ship Father (Captain) Zah Men Ri of the pirate hunter Destroying Light who will attempt to intercept the PC's ship and forcibly erase the data. In order to maintain the pretence of legality Father Zah will if necessary produce (very well faked) arrest and search warrants issued by the government on Long Wall to justify his actions.

Elin Shane

Elin Shane is a native of Union, a relatively old and wildly unsuccessful mixed species colony. The daughter and granddaughter of police officers she served for the better part of fifteen (standard) years in the paramilitary division of the planetary constabulary achieving rapid promotion during the ethnic and species unrest of the 3080's before being forcibly retired in the early 90's after which she relocated to Long Wall.

Initially working for the Customs Division of the Martials Service she quickly reinvented herself as a private security contractor. Her company Feather Foot Asset Protection has a reputation for discrete if sometimes heavy handed resolution of a variety of problems and has ties to a number of the sponsoring corporations dating back to Elin's days in the Customs Division.

She doesn't really stand out much in a crowd, she is a plain, dark skinned woman with an athletic build and of no particular height. Casual observers would peg her age at about forty, although in fact Elin is a (borderline) diverger and closer to sixty. The retarded aging is a side effect of various medical symbionts which also grant her resistance (if not immunity) to a variety of drugs and poisons.

Elin never works alone, typically leading a crew of six to eight composed of a variety of technical, sentient intelligence and combat specialists and despite keeping muscle on hand tends to avoid violence. When recovering a ship or embarked cargo she prefers to work by stealth and deception typically boarding under a disguise while the ship is docked and then subverting internal control systems. Should her target initiate violence her people will respond in kind but will attempt to disengage rather than involving themselves in a prolonged fight. Under no circumstances will she leave her people behind.

Zah Men Ri

Ship Father Zah, is a veteran corporate security man with a notable history of paramilitary operations as a senior officer in the company's small fleet of armed vessels.

Zah was born on Long Wall, into the Ri Soi Kir (more or less Brotherhood of Beautiful Song) the group marriage that serves as the inner circle of Yellow Song Trading (in Mar Kan, Ta Soi Kir). Zah studied for the priesthood as a juvenile before entering the family business as an apprentice navigating officer and he still lives under clerical discipline (this is not actually that uncommon amongst Mar Kan).

Early in his career the liner he was serving on was taken by pirates working a capture and ransom operation, although the ship and its passengers and crew were released unharmed, Zah considered the experience to be a personal humiliation and upon his return home petitioned for a billet with the security division. Although the brotherhood was initially reluctant he was finally assigned a position on a patrol vessel and has built his career from there.

Now in his early nineties he is coming to the end of his working life and considering retirement to a spiritual retreat. Even a brief acquaintance will show he is beginning to feel his age, his dark pelt (Mar Kan do not go grey regardless of age) has begun to soften and become somewhat matted and his voice has become increasingly 'nasal' as his internal membranes have thinned. Despite this he remains as intelligent and single minded as ever. Zah can be readily distinguished from other Mar Kan on his crew in part by his age and uncommon dark pelt and in part by his broad green sash (a common badge of rank) and a gold filigree Scapular (resembling the human devotional form) worn as a badge of his religious status.

Like all Ri Soi Kir, and most other Long Wall Mar Kan, Zah is 'pantropic' adapted to live in higher pressure environments without experiencing distress.

Last edited by Frost; 04-12-2016 at 05:56 AM.
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Old 04-01-2016, 10:09 AM   #212
Frost
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Shropshire, uk
Default Re: [Game] Generate a Space Trader Setting

More on the Mar Kan sorry that it is all a bit random.

Clothing

Mar Kan typically go naked and barefoot. The 'Alpha in the street' will normally content himself with a belt or arm purse for small personal effects and one or two decorative items. Torcs worn as either about the neck or as an armband or decorated combs are popular favourites. Scapulae are not uncommon but amongst Alphas are confined to priests and dedicated religious devotees. Some clothing may be added in poor weather or extreme temperatures although this is typically limited to boots, gloves and a short cape. Mar Kan don't really have any concept of either formal clothing or uniforms. Formality just translates as more decorations, while the nearest they come to uniform is wearing the same emblem and possibly some form of rank markings.

In some frontier societies it is normal to carry some sort of side arm either as a practical consideration or a display of status. This is usually either a knife in an arm or thigh sheath or a pistol in a similarly constructed holster.

Juveniles and members of the 'lesser sexes' tend to be turned out similarly to adult Alphas. Sexual distinctions vary substantially from place to place but are typically confined to the style of decorative objects worn. One major exception amongst groups that let the 'lesser sexes' out unescorted is the use of a heavy necklace or a scapular (similar to those used by priests) known as a 'wandering collar' containing details of the Beta or Female's Alpha guardian and or home address in the same sort of fashion as a dog tag, in fact in many places this is a legal requirement for them to be allowed out unescorted. Many wandering collars contain electronic devices often including locators, simplified comm units or basic AR systems designed to help locate strayed family members and or facilitate the performance of simple errands.

Given there discomfort with the subject of clothing it should not come as a surprise that the Mar Kan have a somewhat minimalist attitude to protective gear full armour is almost unknown although partial suits built around a protective vest resembling a stiffened weather cape and a reinforced mask are all but standard amongst police and soldiers. Where heavier gear is needed robots are strongly preferred, either teleopperated or run by AI under supervision from a nearby vehicle. Environmental protection follows the same scheme, the Mar Kan simply do not produce pressure suits, EVA is the domain of either robots or work pods and emergency protection is provided by rescue bubbles.

Given the dependence upon rescue bubbles, workstations on warships and flight critical workstations on many merchantmen take the form of 'protected stations' featuring detachable couches with fairly extensive integrated controls (where are not tied into a personal network anyway) and a rescue bubble with an armoured outer covering. As a result of these systems Mar Kan bridge, engine room and gunnery systems tend to cost slightly more than those built for other species.

Food

There is a common misconception that the Mar Kan are strictly carnivores. While this is incorrect, it is fairly understandable Mar Kan require a far higher proportion of animal protein in their diets than is typical for omnivores and are unable to function on a strictly vegetarian diet for any meaningful length of time. The misconception is further reinforced by the ubiquity of Gao in the Mar Kan diet.

Gao is a generic term for a variety of pseudo-arthropods consumed in various forms including ground and fried, salted, smoked or served as a broth in many respects Gao serves a role similar to pasta, rice or potatoes in human diets being served as an accompaniment to other foods as well as being consumed as a dish in its own right.

Gao doesn't go over well with other species, like most Mar Kan Ti lifeforms it contains a relatively high volume of near indigestible proteins associated with anaphylaxis in susceptible members of a wide variety of species (in humans this runs to about fifty percent of the population). If it doesn't cause a potentially fatal reaction the open minded gourmet will then find themselves confronted with the taste and smell which at least one brave experimenter has described as appalling.

Other than Gao, the Mar Kan diet incorporates a variety of meats and fruit deriving from not only Mar Kan Ti but a number of other worlds. Upper class Mar Kan can be very adventurous particularly when a potential food item ether moved at some point or is full of sugars. The one thing their diets rarely feature is alcohol, although Mar Kan are able to metabolise ethanol in small quantities, drunkenness is a particularly distressing experience and is generally avoided. Many of the social functions occupied by alcoholic beverages in many Human or CyKoi cultures tend to be filled by fruit or herbal teas or the inevitable Gao broth this is particularly true in political or commercial negotiations where the ritual consumption of a small amount of a beverage supplied by each of the parties involved is used at the start of discussion as a sign of trust and willingness to cooperate.

Social Organisation

Mar Kan social organisation is largely unremarkable, despite their unusual biology. Mar Kan normally live in family groups typically containing an Alpha one or more Betas and one or more Females plus various Juveniles and occasionaly adult descendents, 'polygamy' (in this case one alpha with multiple betas and females) was historically practiced and although it was suppressed during the Brotherhood of the Origin's rule has made something of a resurgence over the past few centuries as display of status amongst some cultures.

Given the disparities in intelegence and social functionality only Alphas normaly live alone commonly leaving to form their own households upon reaching adulthood. Those Alphas that remain in the parental home inevitably leave once they aquire partners. Partners are usualy acquired either by purchase or as a gift, the Mar Kan consider the idea of marrage by mutual consent or based upon mutual love to be fundamentaly impractical given the capabilities of females and beta's a situation they often liken this the treatment of pets by other species. Divorce is uncommon but generally permissible, the form varies from place to place but retains the commercial character of most partnerships often with the divorced female or beta being sold on the open market.

The major exception to the apparent normality of Mar Kan social institutions are the Ri (brotherhoods). Often mistakenly refered to as monastic orders Ri are group marrages composed of a group of Alphas engaged in a common task or trade keeping property and a harem in common. Few Ri are in fact religious most are commercial or military in character in fact a large number of Mar Kan corporations have a Ri as their primary stock holder. Amongst the most famous are Ri Soi Kir (the brotherhood of beautiful song) the primary shareholders of Yellow Song Trading (the root Kir literaly yellow also serves as a synonym for beauty) and Ri Yen Ti (brotherhood who revere the origin) the former oligarchic government of Arielieus.

Language

Unity of language was one of the primary goals of the Brotherhood of the Origin and ultimately one of its more successful endeavours. Even centuries after the brotherhood was overthrown most Mar Kan still speak a recognisable variant of the brotherhoods lingua franca.

This language is Oligosynthetic i.e. much of its vocabulary is built up as compound phrases using a relatively small set of root words. Many roots have several meanings determined by context for example Mar which can mean Person or (alpha) Male or Sentient and Ti meaning Origin, First or (to come) Before. Anybody looking for a full translation of the species name will hit a slight snag in that Kan is an obsolete root with no clear meaning, most sources suggest that its nearest equivalent should be either Kas meaning All or 13* meaning Greater or Higher.

*Parts of Mar Kan speech are rendered in infrasound, conventional transcriptions as derived by Mar Kan scholars during the contact period assign these numbers based upon vocal characteristics.

Last edited by Frost; 04-11-2016 at 05:36 AM.
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