by Edwin Cintron
The Space clans are a group of families that separated from the colonists of Minotaur when the leaders of the original colony fleet decided to scrap their ships in the founding of the colony. The families of the Space Clans were compose mostly of crew members, and they stole several of the utility ships during the off loading, fleeing to the local asteroid belt. Eventually they migrated to Dixon's Star to avoid conflicts with the Minotaur government.
In their present location in the Asteroid Belt of Dixon's Star, the clans live in a collection of doughnut-shaped ice ships and mine the asteroid belt. Each family has its own ship that can support over a thousand individuals. While there have been several major conflicts with the inhabitant of Dixon's Star, which the clans refer to as flatlanders, the inhabitants of Dixon's Star have grown dependent on the agricultural output of the Clans' ships that supplement the food imports from Timeon.
Mining products from the Space Clans are also a required by the industries on Laco, and the clans are a major source of Federanium. Due to its density, any planet’ s Federanuim has usually sunk to the core of planet, leaving the only source to be found in the core of asteroids that can be exrtacted by mining. Federanium is a byproduct of hypernovas and is usually found to be infused with mirror matter, a form of dark matter which is used in the production of thrust amplifiers for atomic and ion engines. Mirror matter is also used in the heat radiators of space craft, as excess heat is radiated off in the form of mirrors photons.
The Space Clans are a meritocracy, each clan (generally a collection of closely related families), is led by a clan chief who is chosen by a series of trials and personal combats. The losers of the struggle are exiled to other clans, but a few of these contests have resulted in the death of the loser which the Clans consider to be a justified end result of the struggle.
The Clans are extremely reclusive, not welcoming visitors to their Homeships or asteroid facilities. They manufacture their own space ships, copies of those found throughout the Frontier. It is believed that they have a hidden ship yard in the asteroid belt of the Timeon system run by two clans that have remain in the system after the migration from Timeon which occurred after the First Common Muster. The ship yard is said to be equal to a class 1 construction center which have led to attempts of the UPF to have the Clans open this facility to the general public.
There are constant rumors that Space Clans are pirates or support the activities of pirates, but the Clans hate pirates with a passion. During the First Common Muster, the Clans took massive losses in the battle with Hatzck Naar's fleet. A few renegade Clan members have found places with pirate groups and said to be great asset due to intimate knowledge of hiding places in the asteroid fields of systems throughout the Frontier.
Resembling mobile space stations, these ring shape craft are made of ice infused with plant fibers encased in an insulated skein covering. The ice plant fiber mixture, when frozen to around −80°C, forms a substance as tough as concrete that provides not only protection from micro meteors but from cosmic radiation and solar rays.
Ship Names: Home ships
Owner: various Clans
Hull Size: 14
ADF: 3
MR: 3
Engines: 4 ion engines
DCR: 52
Hull points: 70
Passengers: 501 to 1000
Due to long term exposure to zero or micro G environments, the clan have developed a garment that is their trademark. Skin suits are body tight garments that are embedded with an array of ultrasonic transducers. The high frequency vibrations produced by the transducers have the ability to strengthen bones and trick the muscles into thinking they are active so they become stronger helping prevent bone loss during extended exposure to zero gravity.
Because of the suit's ultrasonic transducers, skin suits act as sonic screens and can be worn under skeinsuits. They have an internal battery that holds a 10 SEU charge that provides extremely short duration defense against sonic attack and can also be used without interfering with any defensive screens.
General they cannot be brought on the open market. The few that become available fetch prices of over 10,000 credits.
The Clans maintain their own militia of privateer crafts. Called the Neon Fleet, it consists of over 10 privateer class vessels. Lacking in sheer fire power, they are highly skilled and have fought not only in the First and Second Common Musters, but in the closing battles of the corporate war in the Dixon's Star System and the Second Sathar War.
Presently both Star Law and the UPF navy have detached officers serving aboard several ships of the Neon Fleet as liaisons and to keep a close eye on their activities by the request of the planetary governments of both tne Dixon's Star and Timeon systems.
Among the Space Clans, a popular cult is the Truth Seekers. These individuals have dedicated their existence to insuring justice and that the truth is always known. They will not tell even the whitest of lies and vow that no crime goes unpunished. They can be identified by a tattoo of a set of balance scales on their right cheek.
Recent enlistments into Star Law has found many recruits from the Space Clans that are members of this cult, and this has caused some discussion among the higher brass of Star Laws on how it may affect future operations.
Links
[1] https://frontierexplorer.org/file/claniceships-300wpng