Pilot
Name: Dren Falon
Race: Nekan
Age: 21
Appearance:
Dren wears red cargo pants and open toed shoes to allow for his long claws. A bell tied to the end of his tail was the only thing he had left of his departed sister, something he never parts with. Over a tight, form fitting shirt, he wears a standard issue translator orb, tied around his neck. A pair of fingerless, work gloves cover his large, wide hands, his fingers tipped with razor sharp claws. His body is covered in fur as is the rest of his species, his blue tiger stripes a mark of his family carried on from his parents.
History:
Dren is a member of the Nekan Space Force, an accomplished Engineer, Mechanic, and Mech pilot. He had only one sister who died from sickness, and since receiving his upgraded AI for his mech, named it after her in memory. Over time, the AI followed him from frame to frame as he was promoted and given better models, soon learning from him all about his sister. As a result, the AI began to become more and more like his sister, making him feel like she was alive again.
The Nekan race had expanded to nearly fill their small corner of the galaxy, thus the want for expansion brought new ideas for space travel. Dren was selected for the very first trial of the new wormhole generator, but he knew deep in his heart that this was a one way trip. With no generator on the other side, he would never get back. They couldn’t even tell where he would end up, but projections estimated he would emerge on the other side of the known galaxy. He was to take a beacon so they could track him, something a drone could do, yet he was selected to man the mission, so that their kind would be known to whatever else was out there, and perhaps find a way back if he was lucky.
With nothing keeping him where he was, he welcomed the assignment, hoping at the very least he would die for the sake of his people, and meet his real sister in the afterlife.
Personality:
Dren is very reserved, but often willing to lend a hand to further expand his social interactions, in the end making friends and gaining trust of the people around him. He considers his Charisma to be above average for most Nekans, but his temper often offsets his intentions. He can get easily over enthusiastic with things he is interested in, like getting the repairs of a mech ‘just perfect’ or completing an Engineering project as soon as he can.
Mech
Advanced Dual Mode Stryker (Designated: Paladin)
AI Designation: Yuri
Weight: 140 tonnes
Depth: 5 meters standing, 25 in Beast mode
Height : 30 meters standing, 10 meters Beast mode
Maximum Speed : 80 km/h on land while standing, 200 km in beast mode running. 400 km/h in vacuum for both modes. 320 km/h flying in atmosphere. The Paladin was expected to do long range scouting after the wormhole jump, so it was also outfitted with a Hyperdrive.
Weapons: Broadsword and shield in standing mode, with plasma rifle. Beast mode enables energy claws and laser whip tail. Plasma turrets also enabled on back and belly area. Medium energy shields and light armor allow high maneuverability, yet Shield is heavily armored and equipped with energy shield generator for added protection.
Power source: Ether Generator
Ether was a power source found only recently by the Nekans, an energy source found in subspace that could be pulled into normal space just to power machines. It was a clean and reliable power source, with only minor incidents recorded since discovery. The Paladin was the first mech in the NSF to be equipped with the Ether Drive, with a revised version ready to go into production a month from his launch.
Appearance: The Paladin is a new model that allows both standing mode and Beast mode. Standing mode appears humanoid standing upright with tail behind, sword and shield stored on the back (Sword stored vertically), Plasma rifle stored horizontally on waist at rear. Mech is painted white with blue stripes as its pilot. With a long tail and dorsal plates on the head, the Mech is made in the Nekan image.
In Beast mode, the mech reconfigures the arms and legs to look and act more like an animal, making the mech stand on all fours. The head also reconfigures to stretch the neck out and take an overall shape of a feline. In this form, the sword and rifle are not used, the shield is able to be used but remains affixed to the back in a stationary position. In this mode, the claws in both the arms and legs extend to resemble a tiger, and become coated in a thin layer of plasma, being constructed with a special, high heat resistant material only found in the region of space occupied by the Nekans.
Other notes:
Since his home System consisted of many different Families of Nekans, all having their own language or dialect, Translator orbs were often worn by everyone who traveled frequently. The orb would glow a specific color when a certain language was spoken, translating anything spoken into the wearer’s language, and anything spoken by the wearer, into the language of the recipient. The orb would have to be programmed with the language beforehand, but also has a built in program to integrate new languages into itself easily.
NSF Pilots are also required to wear pressurized suits, mostly made from the same metal as the mechs, resembling mechs themselves. These suits are normally equipped with a extended length battery that charges when the pilot is inside the mech. The suits are normally equipped with a small laser blasters in the wrists and small thrusters should the pilot find himself separated from his mech. The suits are constructed from the same metal as the armor of the mech's, mostly consisting of a helmet, arm guards, leg guards, boots and chest plate. while the rest of the body is covered in a sort of smart, liquid metal that is excreted by the main body parts of the suit, and later re-absorbed when the suit is to be removed.