Rec Runners
Overview
Section titled “Overview”Over the centuries, derelict ships, debris, pieces of long-forgotten battles, lost containers, and other space-trash has littered the system. These bits and pieces are often long forgotten, some old hulls still have treasure in them, others have valuable parts. An entire ship costs millions or even billions of credits and they’re expensive to maintain, used parts might sell cheap - but they’re free from a wreckage. That’s where the RecRunners come in.
They’re small, unified group of Space Salvagers. Their teams locate wreckages either for the ships’ owners (and a nice fee) or wreckages to salvage for themselves. Those bits and pieces are sold to dealers, pirates, and even the engineers on the Parthenon; they’ve come to know and expect that whatever they find, there’s always gotta be a buyer somewhere. They are not above salvaging from planetside either, but as many of them are spacers proper, they cannot remain on the surface of a planet for long.
Internally, their ideals are simple: if you salvage it, it is yours. This extends both to the scrap they find amongst the asteroid belts and crashed ships, as well as the occasional people they come across; as such, it is not unusual for a runaway, outlaw, or orphan to find themselves on the ship as long as they’re vouched for. This ideal is law, and anyone found breaking or stealing from RecRunners, even from those outside of them, are subject to the full force of their might.
While one would expect a degree of selfishness to overtake the RecRunners with such an ideal, the founders’ actions over the years has created the second unspoken ideal that keeps the ship running: contribute what you can to the benefit of all. Food, funds, parts, and even emotional care are shared both between members as well as between their ships. While breaking this ideal doesn’t bring punishment, an overly greedy RecRunner may find themselves scorned and isolated by other members.
Membership
Section titled “Membership”Care to Join?
Contact Mei to join the team! They're open to new members!
RecRunners are a small alliance of castaways from planet-side society, and as such, have an extremely diverse populace. As long as at least one RecRunner vouches for you, you may be permitted to ‘fly their flag’; however, one that breaks or endangers the collective is, of course, dealt with swiftly.
To outsiders, they often resemble a group of dangerous scrappers, willing to attack whoever treads upon their territory, but within, though it differs from ship to ship, the atmosphere is much more amicable and friendly; many stratified found family structures have formed within their hulls.
Of course, despite their eclectic membership, three members stick out: the Founders. Though they are considered the ‘commanders’ of the RecRunners, they attempt to keep their organization loose enough that it could exist without them.
Captain Rian Galewood was formerly in charge of a settlement ship bringing humans into New Athens; serious but amicable, he is often seen within bars across The Parthenon. He is an unmodified, pure human in his early 60’s.
Edward O’Brien is in charge of engineering, often doubling as the researcher for technologically complex salvages, reverse engineering parts and sharing his findings upon the RecNet. Having lost an arm serving for a repair-ship, he’s since replaced both with mechanical ones, allowing him to make micro adjustments to things as fine as microchips. He tends to be very private and focused on his research…aside from posting on RecNet.
Chief of Security Cathide Sutherland is a jovial murderer of men packed into a large and stout badger body. Having spliced her genetics as a teenager into what had been one of her favorite animals from old Earth’s encyclopedia of life, a series of brash and violent stunts wound up with her imprisonment…including a murder she didn’t commit during a robbery gone wrong. As such, working on her anger, she remains a friend to all RecRunners, and an unstoppable, deadly juggernaut to all of its enemies.
Property
Section titled “Property”The RecRunners currently consist of 11 ships scattered across New Athens, of varying size. Three of its most important crafts are:
The original ship often occupied by the three major founders. A gunship of above-moderate size defended by drones of O’Brien’s own making. Very little actual salvaging is done by this ship, though it is frequently a place for allies of the RecRunners to visit when making deals and arrangements.
THE offensive ship of the RecRunners, a sleek weapons-ready craft with impressive stealth technology. It is said that if you have wronged the RecRunners, the Hormiga is the last thing your ship ever scans.
The main salvaging ship of the RecRunners. Containing approximately 50 salvagers at any given time, it is said that they can strip a battleship in under a day if needed. Cathide can also frequently be found on this ship to protect the salvagers herself, as she is also the unofficial ‘ship mom’.
A genuine starfighter, the Screaming Phoenix is a small and lightweight ship, fast as hell, incredibly manueverable, and armed with primarily a rail-gun for taking out the enemy. It's made of scrap and salvage, but it's the best salvage in the system. All handpicked by a genius engineer.
Members
Section titled “Members”A bright light snuffed out by broken promises, lies, and the general BS of life. He fled his home for a new life. It hasn't panned out yet, but it might.
A robot, a security guard, and your companion on a long-haul journey, Ashe is friendly, warm, and yet absolutely terrifying when you hurt her friends. She's short, but don't count her out in a fight.
Your encounter with Cathide heavily depends on whether you’re a friend or foe. A friend or even passing acquaintance will find themselves with a constantly, toothily-grinning badger woman that stands a couple heads taller than the average human. An enemy will quickly see another side. The fierce redness her eyes take on as she locks onto you.
Rian has seen more of New Athens than most, though he keeps his experiences close to the chest. He is a strict, but confident and cordial figure, often bored of long, recreational conversations and much more focused on the survival of his now 500-person-strong organization of the RecRunners.
A mad scientist, a genetic experiment, and a tiny scrungly creature. Xee is like no other being in the system and that is perhaps unlikely to change. The experimentation that made her was at the edge even for a mad scientist.