02-04-2009, 09:22 AM
The Machiavelli is one of the spaceborne marvels of the Junker Congress. A prime example of the masterful tinkering and ingenuity characteristic of the Junkers, she has undergone constant re-engineering since her launch and is a sight to behold. While still bearing the classic frame and functions of the Salvage Frigate ship class, a considerable investment of time and resources drawn from years of war profiteering on behalf of her enterprising captain have turned her into a new generation of transport.
Armor plating of a class rating rivaling house cruisers and a heavily reinforced chassis is the most apparent modification. Iridium-alloy support struts, layers of ceramite and titanium plating and triple-reinforced bulkheads are only the beginning of her features. Inside, the original systems have been replaced with top-end navigational electronics with interlaced redundancies for added insurance in her tough profession. These systems have been personallly outfitted by Congress Chief Arbiter Bishop, and outfitted for bio-neural interface to be run by his cybernetic systems. The central crew knows her inside and out, having been her caretakers since her maiden voyage. Secondary crew positions are filled by Junkers hitching a ride to other bases, or who are simply looking for a quick payday and a new challenge.
Her mission is not only to exploit alternative markets, but to create and maintain them. She supports space-salvage equipment as a means of upholding the scrap-dealing origins of the flag she flies under, but this serves a double purpose: her weapons are liable to create the scrap she salvages, and her cavernous bay serves to cart off the evidence.
Her crew:
Captain, Owner, Emergency Nerve Centre for the Machiavelli: - Chief Arbiter Hannibal Bishop
Not so much a man as a biomechanical construct. The end result of a failed super-soldier project in a corporate Liberty lab, he was a prototype designed to directly interface with ship systems and provide armored infantry support. How he found his way into the Junkers, how he rose to the highest office of the Congress, and why the organization that created him has never come for him has always been an issue of quiet debate among the Junkers. Augmented with aging cybernetic technologies prone to malfunction and in need of constant repair, he only interfaces with ship systems as necessary and instead uses his onboard neural cybernetics to administrate the Congress and engineer the path of humanity.
Navigator, Second Engineer: Cyclops Sid
A retired Liberty Navy pilot, he earned his discharge upon losing an eye in a drunken brawl at Fort Bush. He has acquainted well with the heavy chassis and powerful thrust of the modified vessel, a cybernetic implant hooked to his unused optic nerve serving as his true eye when at the helm. One of Bishop's trusted aides, he is one of few who Bishop trusts with the tasks of maintaining his aged robotic exoskeleton.
Chief Gunner: Lola Sweetheart
Little is known about the cigar-chomping Lola, being a product of the disappearance act Junkers are known for before they become Junkers. Seated in her bubble, all onboard weapons are slaved to her console. A small-time cargo laundry ring recently cracked aboard Freeport 4 paints her as a person of interest, but the IMG have neither the resources nor the will to take her in for questioning.
First Engineer: Little Red
A master tinkerer, Red is as impulsive and hot-tempered as he is small. Allegedly wanted for a string of violent crimes by the RFP, he too has managed to elude pursuit and found his calling aboard the Machiavelli in one masterful stroke. Bishop has him under close watch, keeping him stable with a steady diet of mood-elevating drugs and giving him a workshop where he churns out inventions and makes intricate bladed weaponry in his spare time. He is also tasked with crafting replacement parts and designing upgrades for Hannibal's internal systems.
Onboard Security: Marc the Knife
A product of the LPI Huntsville, Marc is a lumbering giant of a man and the yin to Little Reds yang. With powered armor and high-powered anti-personnel weaponry, he is Bishops insurance policy when making business deals off-ship. On-ship, he is also chief interrogator, chief jailer and the one who makes use of Little Reds deadly creations.
Medic: Chop-Shop Charlie
Rumored to be the man who monitors Bishop's biological system. A former doctor stripped of his license due to unorthodox practices, he is a master of attending to combat wounds and knows Bishop's unique structure like no one else. Is rumored to be heading up a black market organ-trade ring, but nothing is proven.
Other crew positions filled by Junkers in transit.
Armor plating of a class rating rivaling house cruisers and a heavily reinforced chassis is the most apparent modification. Iridium-alloy support struts, layers of ceramite and titanium plating and triple-reinforced bulkheads are only the beginning of her features. Inside, the original systems have been replaced with top-end navigational electronics with interlaced redundancies for added insurance in her tough profession. These systems have been personallly outfitted by Congress Chief Arbiter Bishop, and outfitted for bio-neural interface to be run by his cybernetic systems. The central crew knows her inside and out, having been her caretakers since her maiden voyage. Secondary crew positions are filled by Junkers hitching a ride to other bases, or who are simply looking for a quick payday and a new challenge.
Her mission is not only to exploit alternative markets, but to create and maintain them. She supports space-salvage equipment as a means of upholding the scrap-dealing origins of the flag she flies under, but this serves a double purpose: her weapons are liable to create the scrap she salvages, and her cavernous bay serves to cart off the evidence.
Her crew:
Captain, Owner, Emergency Nerve Centre for the Machiavelli: - Chief Arbiter Hannibal Bishop
Not so much a man as a biomechanical construct. The end result of a failed super-soldier project in a corporate Liberty lab, he was a prototype designed to directly interface with ship systems and provide armored infantry support. How he found his way into the Junkers, how he rose to the highest office of the Congress, and why the organization that created him has never come for him has always been an issue of quiet debate among the Junkers. Augmented with aging cybernetic technologies prone to malfunction and in need of constant repair, he only interfaces with ship systems as necessary and instead uses his onboard neural cybernetics to administrate the Congress and engineer the path of humanity.
Navigator, Second Engineer: Cyclops Sid
A retired Liberty Navy pilot, he earned his discharge upon losing an eye in a drunken brawl at Fort Bush. He has acquainted well with the heavy chassis and powerful thrust of the modified vessel, a cybernetic implant hooked to his unused optic nerve serving as his true eye when at the helm. One of Bishop's trusted aides, he is one of few who Bishop trusts with the tasks of maintaining his aged robotic exoskeleton.
Chief Gunner: Lola Sweetheart
Little is known about the cigar-chomping Lola, being a product of the disappearance act Junkers are known for before they become Junkers. Seated in her bubble, all onboard weapons are slaved to her console. A small-time cargo laundry ring recently cracked aboard Freeport 4 paints her as a person of interest, but the IMG have neither the resources nor the will to take her in for questioning.
First Engineer: Little Red
A master tinkerer, Red is as impulsive and hot-tempered as he is small. Allegedly wanted for a string of violent crimes by the RFP, he too has managed to elude pursuit and found his calling aboard the Machiavelli in one masterful stroke. Bishop has him under close watch, keeping him stable with a steady diet of mood-elevating drugs and giving him a workshop where he churns out inventions and makes intricate bladed weaponry in his spare time. He is also tasked with crafting replacement parts and designing upgrades for Hannibal's internal systems.
Onboard Security: Marc the Knife
A product of the LPI Huntsville, Marc is a lumbering giant of a man and the yin to Little Reds yang. With powered armor and high-powered anti-personnel weaponry, he is Bishops insurance policy when making business deals off-ship. On-ship, he is also chief interrogator, chief jailer and the one who makes use of Little Reds deadly creations.
Medic: Chop-Shop Charlie
Rumored to be the man who monitors Bishop's biological system. A former doctor stripped of his license due to unorthodox practices, he is a master of attending to combat wounds and knows Bishop's unique structure like no one else. Is rumored to be heading up a black market organ-trade ring, but nothing is proven.
Other crew positions filled by Junkers in transit.