Character Sketches

for

Brew Trek:
The Next Degeneration

= Star: a charcter not to be killed off from the story without the author's consent

= Pawn: a character ultimately at the mercy of any author's whim

Arnold Schwartz

Peki Su Boormasheiv

Bryna

Jacko Jocular

Maurice

Festus (aka RC)

Schaup-Stix

Kidrin Rrau

Kidrin Rrau is a 14-year-old nenrau -- a sentient native of the planet Mirraur (nenrau is used the way a sentient native of Earth is known as a human, though she may be called "Mirraurian", as we may be called "Earthlings"). Developmentally, she is about 22 Earth years old, and well-educated, from a good home with loving parents. However, she is temporarily exiled from her planet in the tradition of Ghir'rauk, when adolescent nenrau are cast off from their homes to distant lands to prove their worth to society, simply by surviving long enough to return home alive. It seems a cruel fate to many, but it is a tradition -- no, a way of life -- passed down from before the ancestral nenrau gained sentience, when they were still social predatory hunters. It is part of what defines her people, and she will defend the practice should you criticize it to her face.

Speaking of which, "her" is not entirely accurate for Kidrin. She is actually a third gender, neither the gender analogous to "male" or "female" in the nenrau species, but a sort of intermediate gender, just as vital as the other two for reproduction. Still, as the universe is predominantly made up of species with only two sexes, she has been pressured to align with one of the standards (female), for ease of communication. It's a messy subject, but occasionally it comes up.

Physically, she is a 5-foot tall, lithe feline-looking humanoid biped, though in times of great stress she will crouch on all fours, much as humans will assume a fetal position. She is covered in very short, soft, platinum (actually, somewhere between silver and blonde) fur, with slight tufts on her ears and ever-so-slightly darker rings on her tail, which is over two feet long. Her tail provides balance, but is neither prehensile (though she can use it to swat things) nor muscular enough to rest back on (the way a kangaroo might). She tends to keep it close to her body and out of the way. Don't step on it. She has retractable claws, and knows how to use them.

She does wear clothing (comfortable, but utilitarian: a pair of simple loose pants, a loose shirt/blouse, a vest with many pockets, all in solid, fairly neutral colors) but like most Mirraurians, Kidrin is not body-shy. Her use of clothing is standard -- to keep her warm, as her ship, and many spaceports, tend to be on the cold side of comfortable, and to carry small items around with her. She walks on her toes, which, along with the rest of her long feet, are generally wrapped in unassuming suede-like boots.

She has a cybernetic translating device implanted in her skull, with an outlet by her right ear, where she can patch in a small cartridge containing language cards or data crystals. These are basically very snazzy, ultra-miniaturized CD-ROMs that allow her to carry on a conversation in a language not covered by the original implant (which has 34 standard galactic languages available). The implant, upon identifying the language needed, uses a database of vocabulary, grammar, etc., to "reprogram" the nerve impulses coming from the ears, as well as those sent toward the areas which produce speech. The person with the implant thus "hears" the foreign tongue in his own native tongue, and when moving to answer in his native tongue actually speaks in words he does not understand. The sensation takes a while to get used to, but once it works smoothly, it is one of the most tolerable ways to carry on conversations with people with whom you have absolutely no language in common. Kidrin tries to make sure she has the all the languages she'll need on CTC (cybernetic translating card/crystal), because the unit will not respond to a language it does not recognize, and thus is not a "universal translator". It can also be deactivated at will, so foreign phrases like "c'est la vie" can be thrown in without having them translated, or so you can honestly ignore, say, an annoying shopkeeping with the semi-universal hand-gestured excuse for, "I'm sorry, I don't speak your language".

Kidrin is honest (but not foolishly so) and reasonably outgoing, but like all nenrau, she can handle being alone -- as she has been, mostly, for the last 28 Mirraurian months (about 2 Earth years). Her job as a dealer in rare and exotic foodstuffs has gained her many contacts at various interstellar ports along the way, and her charisma and up-front mannerisms have helped her earn a solidly decent reputation among those in the business. Otherwise, she is no one famous. She has a tendency to wander mentally sometimes, and to free-associate without even realizing it, but she is mentally keen. Her aspirations for the future are undecided -- she has talents enough to keep a great deal of options open.

And her favorite food? You guessed it: Farlonian beef-rats!
Shaken, not stirred.

The Silver Claw

The Silver Claw is Kidrin Rrau's personal spaceship. Since she is the only child of three parents, her craft is of higher quality than most Ghir'rauk-exiled nenrau. Indeed, it is one tough little ship. A marvel of miniaturization with tyryllian (Fe-Li-Ni-Be-Au-Ti alloy) armor and a magna-pulse cannon ready to defend its sole occupant, the Claw packs quite a punch for its diminutive size -- only 9 meters long. It comes fully equipped with a fusion reactor, space-warp-drive, multiple Spitfire thrusters, all sorts of scanners, two searchlights, and even a mechanical, grappling arm. Seen from the outside, the craft has a fairly distinctive (if difficult to describe) silhouette, is silvery, has two windows near its nose, and has the words "The Silver Claw" etched in Mirraurian script along its port side. It also has a rather complex computer system capable of controlling all of its functions (see below).

The Silver Claw is fast and tough, but it is not an attack ship. Its small size and great maneuverability make it a defensive dream, however. This should be kept in mind when deciding how to best utilize the Claw's capabilities.

The Silver Claw's Computer

Lieutenant Crantran of the Desultory

Lieutenant Crantran is a non-descript male humanoid with a fairly boring, anal personality. He is devoted to his job and is at least partially versed in the reason for the Black Fleet's existence. He is young, and trying a bit too hard to prove his worth, with the hopes of advancing through the ranks of whatever force/service/etc. in which he ultimately ends up. He is a little too self-confident, though he does have a fair bit of smarts, and is generally perceptive. His overall manner annoys Captain F'shalla (see below).

F'shalla, Captain of the Desultory

Captain F'shalla is yet another fairly non-descript male humanoid. He is the commanding officer of the Desultory, part of the Black Fleet. He is a veteran pilot/commander, and is committed to the mission of the Black Fleet, but is in a hurry to get the unpleasantries over with. He is tiring of the bickering among the High Command and is starting to take out his frustration on the more annoying of his crew.

His manner is only formal as it needs to be in any given situation -- no more. When not so stressed, he is actually quite personable, though he leans heavily toward the cynical and sarcastic in his worldview. His job is important to him, and he feels he deserves the command of a ship, but he is not the kind to back-stab for personal gain (climbing in rank, say).

The Black Fleet (taken as a whole; individual ships are expendable)

The Black Fleet is cloaked in secrecy. "The Black Fleet" may not even be its real name. We do know that it consists of approximately 1,077 ships, grouped into different "wings", and all equipped with some sort of surficial cloaking device (the equivalent of perfectly flat (non-reflective) black paint) on their outer hulls. The surficial masking effect of this device, whatever it is, emits small amounts of low-energy X-rays (because of shielding, this effect does not harm the crew inside) when in use. Most, if not all, of the ships also have MFIGs (pronounced EM-figs) -- magnetic-flux impulse generators -- fitted to them, though we know this was a last second addition to some, if not many or all, of them. They do not appear to have standardized weaponry, either. The ships vary in size, but are all typically much larger than The Silver Claw -- ranging from just under 50 meters to over 1 kilometer in length. They look familiar to Kidrin, in some way as yet unspoken.

There are dozens of "wings" (subgroups) of the fleet, and within each wing are about a score of ships. The names of the ships are "consistent", in some way, within each wing. For example, the High Command wing ships are all intimidating-sounding nouns: the Fury, the Vengeance, the Stratagem, and the Reaper are known examples. Thus, the Firestorm would be an acceptable name to use for a High Command ship, but the Redeemable would have to belong to a different wing. As far as we know, all the ships have one-word names. There may, however, be some wings where all the ships have two- or three-word names.

The Black Fleet was last seen (by an outsider) around a gas giant planet in an unnamed, and largely unimportant, star system. Its destination (and purpose) may have been overheard by Kidrin Rrau.

Cowboy (aka Mike)

Gina

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