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The Crai [Race Background]

Started by Ravager, August 11, 2011, 08:17:55 AM

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Ravager Zero

The Crai

The Great Wyrm
As a society, the Crai see themselves as something like the dragons of old
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Quote from: Kane
...and whipped cream, a bottle of baileys, seven pairs of non-matching shoes, a combine harvester, a box of matches, and three indie rock bands drunk off their skull is technically acceptable on private property.

Ravager Zero

Technology & Timegates
All Crai technology is highly modular, anything from weapons and engines to starships and entire orbital stations. The primary reason for this is that the Crai think that large constructs should be made of many smaller ones working together, much as they themselves are. In the early days of construction there no standardised systems of construction, and so most Wyrms and nations had their own version of how everything should link together. This was the cause of massive problems at the start of the Crai's space age, requiring the assistance of dozens of Mika to create a universal standard that all groups could agree upon.

Now modular Crai technology has reached its apex, with smaller modules being almost perfectly refined in purpose, and capable of linking with almost any other module. In this way the Crai have created vehicles and other machines that are simple to maintain and easy to expand upon. If one part of the machine breaks down, they need only replace the broken part. If the machine needs to do more, they add the requisite modules and know it will work instantly.

This is nowhere more apparent than their spaceship construction. A ship can be created from a range of modules and installations in a matter of days. The problem is not normally the speed of construction, but the rate at which the various module stocks are replenished. Before a ship is created the Crai will normally ensure a surplus of modules remain in storage should the blueprints change or other modules be found defective. This is also of great help in combat, as Crai vessels are highly compartmentalized, and having their critical systems distributed through multiple areas makes them much more survivable than their ramshackle appearance would suggest.

On the surface of Kerizan there is a wealth of industry and technology, the greatest of which is the Main Grid. This is a series of geothermal and magnetometric power stations linked to each other, and spreading vast webs of underground cables. Current is constantly looped through these cables and between stations, the Crai and Strahle above them absorbing the electromagnetic radiation as a sort of restive sleep. There is also a darker purpose to these structures, as those who have tried to attack the Crai homeworld found to their detriment.

As well as feeding from it, Crai and Strahle can feed energy into the Main Grid. A station then properly reconfigured with the use of Skyhammer modules can unleash massive bolts of lightning at invading vessels, capable of overloading all onboard systems and even melting clean through the armour of a battleship. On the ground a Skyhammer station can unleash a massive electrical shockwave the propagates as a storm front of thunder and lightning traveling in an ever expanding radius. While less powerful than the orbital bolts, the energy unleashed is still enough to decimate an entire tank regiment, or overload the systems of aircraft traveling kilometres above.

Crai also utilise a lot of this power for welding, smelting, and forging various metals. They can absorb a massive charge for a short period before unleashing it as a single concentrated bolt of lightning. This can melt most metals and, due to the unique atmosphere of Kerizan, can create a plasma torch, allowing almost any material to be cut or welded. Most Crai metalworking tools are similar to human counterparts, although the grips are often odd, notched or filled with tiny holes. This is because the only useful manipulators and holders the Crai have are the mouthparts of the Strahle that make them.

It was with these skills and power that the Crai created their first timegate, not knowing at the time exactly what it was for. The structure was a perfect ring, approximately eight metres in diameter, with a thickness of one metre, and a depth of one and a half metres. There were three tracks and moving parts that ran around the edges. A track made of an iridium-osmium alloy ran around the very inside of the ring, while around the faces of the structure ran a series of neodymium core plates. Rotating in the opposite direction lay a series of tungsten carbide plates, angled inwards towards the iridium based track.

When power was first fed to the device, all it did was cause the three tracks to rotate slowly out of phase, and cause a slight skip in the time displayed on the system clock of the computer controlling it. Several variations of power level, source, and input type were tried, with typically no result
Rav's Awesome Card Counter: +2

Quote from: Kane
...and whipped cream, a bottle of baileys, seven pairs of non-matching shoes, a combine harvester, a box of matches, and three indie rock bands drunk off their skull is technically acceptable on private property.