Abilities/div>
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Deep Space Navigation
Member of the Nine
One in Every Port
Cybernetic Hand:
Her hand pinned beneath the crushing force of the blast door, she couldn't reach for her saber which was but centimeters from her grasp. The ax hummed with malicious energy as the Ack'alian Captain raised it on high, preparing to finish our Captain with a single killing stroke. I could barely look, but as I began to turn my eyes askance, knowing us all doomed, I saw that Cat had not yet given up. Rolling back onto her shoulders she brought both legs up and delivered a solid kick to the side of the weapon as it sung towards her neck. Sparks erupted from steel as the ax's cruel kiss skimmed across the door's surface and then sliced through her wrist before embedding itself in the deck-plating. With teeth grit she rolled free and was soon on her feet once more, saber in hand, her eyes burning with revenge. ~Meriwether, Lucian Sir. Over a Barrel from The Candid Capers of Captain Cat: An Anthology, P. 60[2]
Loss of an appendage is a big deal, depending on the world you live on, or what species you happen to be. For those lacking frog DNA, it really just comes down to having access to the right technology. In Cat's case, she was fortunate enough to be able to get to a sector of space where she could be fitted with a highly function prosthetic. Though her first cybernetic replacement was rather crude, she's acquired several over the years that serve a variety of purposes.
- Claw: Not a literal claw or hook, this replacement hand is however quite obviously prosthetic in nature, as the metal framework that composes its fingers is quite visible, with no manner of synthetic skin overlay. Each finger is tipped with claw like tips that contain high-frequency emitters which can make them capable of slicing through steel when needed. In addition to this, the hand is able of detaching from its wrist mount on its own, in which case the sympathetic link with the user is still maintained and it can be controlled within a 2 mile radius; this doesn't really do the user a great deal of good unless they happen to be using an optical device sharing the link. The hand can also be fired from its wrist mount, deploying a liquid cable that will keep the two connected, giving it the ability to reel in an object or sometimes even a person if needed.
- Mimic: This hand for all extents and purposes, is completely indistinguishable from a normal hand without extremely close observation. The mechanical components are kept hidden beneath synthetic skin which has fully functional touch receptors that transmit that information back to the brain. The manual dexterity of this hand is right on par with a completely organic one, though unlike its more obvious counterpart it lacks any real offensive capabilities other than being able to deliver a much fiercer slap than a normal hand.
Graviton-Saber:
The air around the blade practically sang with fury as she lunged at her opponent. A wound by any blade is a nasty thing, but gravitonic weapons are a horror all their own, for the ease with which they pierce their quarry cares not if armor nor bone try and impede its path. Krel'awk's beady black eyes widened in terrible realization as the Captain's blade thrust through his chest and the gravity field tore his heart in twain. ~IBID, 61[3]
Optical Overlay:
Progenitor Compass:
The source of so much trouble. There are times when I'm tempted to throw the blasted thing out the nearest airlock, but the thought of it tumbling into the clutches of some less deserving, and much less prepared waister is simply too much for me to bear. No, I must bear this burden alone, figuratively, that is; still have [my crew] and soon my fleet to help with some of the heavy lifting after all. ~Cat, IBID[4]
The Progenitor Compass is a curious device that somehow found its way to earth at least over four-hundred years ago. Captain James Prowler originally came into possession of the device after winning at high-stake cards with a rival. Given the choice of taking the man's ship, Captain Prowler chose to greatly wound the man's psyche instead, claiming the good luck charm that his rival swore as the reason for his success instead. The rival Captain Greenwater succumbed to a case of hungover and hit by a runaway manure cart the very next day, his luck finally catching up with him.
The Compass is not a good luck charm, despite the late Greenwater's claims, but instead a device created by an ancient star-faring Progenitor race, and the reason, unbeknownst to Prowler that the Crobian collector drones singled him out as a purpose of interest and whisked the privateer away from Earth. The Compass has a function that is especially unique, in that its able to locate and direct the one bearing it towards ancient Progenitor sites; why it functions this way is unknown, but it has made the Compass an item of incredible interest, as the wealth and power contained in some of these hidden and dangerous sites is worthy of legend. It was such a find that allowed Captain Prowler senior to save the Cephleen home-world from annhilation, protecting both their interests and those of the Nine in that sector. Cat who inherited the Compass always keeps it close at hand, the device having gotten both she and her crew into and out of a number of particularly precarious situations.
Revitalizing Nano-Treatment:
Xindaryn Phase Slug Pistol:
That pistol belongs in a museum, not in the hands of the likes of you!
The Xind were once an advanced and powerful force on the rim of the Milky Way Galaxy, that was until the end of the Great Crog War that happened hundreds of years ago. Some, albeit few, still remember the attempts of the Xindaryn fleets to police their sector of the galaxy and bring order to otherwise lawless rim-worlds. It was the power of this militant galactic police force that eventually drew the attention of the Crog, during the reign of Crog'Zok the Red, a powerful warlord who successfully normally divided Crog under his banner of conquest. The conflict could have ended when the Crog successfully drove the Xind off numerous worlds and proved their superiority, but the stubborn and almost zealous drive of the Xind demanded that they reclaim these sovereign, holy territories. Faced with this mighty enemy they were forced to develop new weapons to better deal with the resilient Crog. It was in this arms race that the Phase Slug Pistol was developed.
Unlike most firearms, the breach-loading PSP was only capable of loading one slug (or two smaller ones) at a time. This was in part due to much of the pistol's internals being taken up by phase-shift mass acceleration rings, which would propel the slug utilizing sub-light acceleration technology similar to that used by a number of starships. Firing a slug at this velocity produces a tremendous amount of heat, almost too much for the Reactive Megatonium alloy that composes the barrel, making it impossible for this type of weapon to be produced (at the time of its crafting at least) with any form of semi-automatic firing.
Despite the somewhat primitive capacity and loading style, the pistol earned a fearsome reputation during the Crog War, primarily for the reason that no Crog shields (and most energy based shields today) were capable of having any noticeable affect on stopping or even slowing the slug. The rounds themselves were specialized for very specific purposes. The Phase Slug Pistol is one of the only sidearms ever to earn the reputation as a reliable one-shot Crog killer. Unfortunately (or fortunately for some), the Crog won the war and the Xindaryn home world was completely decimated, the Xind people forced into a nomadic state; the remainder of which died off in a terrible viral outbreak upon attempting to settle on a new world. Xindaryn technology is largely non-existant, and the remaining Phase Slug Pistols are believed the possibly only number in the hundred, those that have been found often snatched up by collectors or museums. Though once common, the Crog saw to the destruction of these and other specialized Crog killing weapons with extreme prejudice, as many of these devices were seen as taking the 'sport' and 'spirit' out of proper warfare. The sight of such a weapon nowadays is enough to give nearly any Crog cause for pause, and that, is saying something.
Phase Mass Accelerator Rounds
Xindaryn Phase Slug Pistols are capable of utilizing a number of highly specialized rounds, almost all of which were developed during The Great Crog War. Not quite as rare as the pistols themselves, caches of the ammunition, which are incapable of being fired by any other type of firearm, have been known to occasionally surface. These fetch a rather lucrative price with collectors that actually possess one of the weapons, and many of the round have also been donated to a number of interstellar museums. In the case of Cat, the majority of her ammunition has been 'liberated' from such caches and in several cases, collectors. The Master Gunner on The Captain's Daughter has been able to craft a few special rounds of his own design for the pistol as well.
- AURAL (Acoustics Utilized for Rapid Abolishing of Listeners) aka Breakers:
'Under no circumstance are you to ever, ever let me fire that again!' 'WHAT?' ~Cat to Klayne
Breaker rounds are what many consider excessively cruel, albeit rather effective against numerous species. This special slug is the Xind attempt at creating a non-lethal battlefield disruption weapon, similar to a flash bang, just with much more bang and a lot less flash. It functions by greatly magnifying the 'boom' produced by a near light-speed round tearing through the air; the result is a horribly deafening shockwave of sound propelled outwards from the barrel, following the projectile; bleeding from the ears and sometimes permanent deafness are a common side effect. The Xind, a race that lacked ears, was quite fine with this development, and found it to be extremely useful for disrupting gatherings of other less fortunate races; This type of round is solely responsible for the tendency of auditory implants to be the very first cybernetic enhancement that young Crog spring for.
- DEVASTATORS (Dangerously Excessive Vibrating Accelerated Slug Tailored to Actively Tear Open Repugnant Species):
'Well, that really was excessive.'
The actual name, while even more pedantic, when translated to galactic standard happens to spell out devastator, which is a strikingly appropriate name for this rather gruesome round. The original purpose of it is not exactly known, but is theorized to have been crafted either for the hunting of gargantuan wild game, possibly war-beasts employed by the Crog during the war, a weapon of terror, or the design of a sick Xind scientist with far too much time on his hands. DEVASTATORS exist for only one purpose, causing as big of a mess as absolutely possible. The slug itself looks like some manner of cruelly fashioned drill, which when fired, spins as to bore its way through in most cases, multiple targets, those being anything unfortunate enough to get in its way. If it simply drilled through those it hit, that would be enough, but its crafted to produce a unique vibrating shock wave that follows in its wake, the shock wave amplifying at the center of each point of impact, to vibrate the target apart in a messy and rather horrifying fashion. Possession of a DEVASTATOR round and Slug Pistol together, is highly illegal, and grounds for incarceration on numerous worlds. Luckily, not many of these were produced.
- LOST (Low-Orbit Signal Tracer):
'The only downside is, everyone now knows where we are.'
Low-Orbit Signal Tracers are a special type of round used for signaling a ship or sometimes even fleets in cases where jamming may make other forms of communication or precision tracking impossible. Once fired, the slug is propelled forward stopping when it achieves Low-Orbit of the planetary body it is fired from, at which point it is then deployed. The shot produces a unique drive-trial (similar to that of starships) for that particular pistol, no two signatures are exactly alike. The round itself functions as a locator beacon with high visibility, allowing for visual tracking back to the firing point, as well as producing a direct signal link to the location for firing solutions or an emergency pick-up.
Personality
Appearance
Klayne: Mandaarian
Doc: Crog
Devax: Com Officer
"
[The] Fasaii youth, Devax, a recent and certainly eager recruit that Cat had picked up several ports ago. She had a tendency to scoop up the pretty ones, though they never lasted long. Devax reached up to grip the Captains’ gloved hand and she yanked him up, the Fasaii giving the shorter woman a nod and determined bloody grin. Maybe this one was made of sterner stuff." Meriwether, Lucian Sir.
Over a Barrel from
The Candid Capers of Captain Cat: An Anthology, p. 5.
[5]
Sir Lucian Meriwether: The Romance Novelist
"
Let it be said that when I first encountered Sir Meriwether, I did not consider him a man of any particular worth. He was not physically impressive, if anything he was a lanky skeleton of a man whose patched beard, greasy black hair, and shredded filth stained clothes made him look more like a homeless disease ridden vagabond than the seasoned diseased ridden roustabout he professed to be." ~Prowler, Cat. IBID
[6]
Exile (The Ex):
The Engineer:
The Cook: Ack'alian
Quartermaster:
Boatswain:
Master Gunner:
Navigator:
Meta & Hooks
- Romance Genre Heroine: Captain Cat is based off The Crusader archetype of romance heroines.
- Some other influences for Cat are Captain Jack Sparrow and Isabella from Dragon Age 2
- The technology of the Captain's Daughter and many other pirate vessels in Cat's background is partially inspired by the ships in David Weber's Honor Harrington series.
- Cat's name is a series of puns. Cat being another form of her given name, Kitty (Kitty Cat). Being the daughter of Captain James Prowler she would be considered The Captains' Daughter (the name of her ship) which is nautical slang for a Cat of Nine Tails (Cat of the Nine being a reference to this, obviously) a tool of corporal punishment on seagoing vessels. Her last name Prowler is a pun as well, concerning her rather predatory nature in all things; the Captain could often be said to be 'on the prowl'.
- Doc is based off the Naturalist from Master and Commander.
- First Mate, Klayne is based off of Spock from Star Trek.
- Captain James Prowler is roughly based off of William Kid.
