Cardinal Sin

The Merciless

The Merciless is a veteran warship, bearing several battle scars from its service in numerous petty galactic conflicts. It has been modified and upgraded numerous times to augment it's weapon capacity and fire power. One owner also added upgraded armor, particularly around the bridge and armory, giving the Leviathan a tough, tank-like appearance and increased combat staying power.

Early Life

The Merciless began it's existence as shop number 785701 in the production line of Yawer Corporation, a secretive shadowy manufacturing agency. Taken into the fleet of the shadowy secretive dark side order Tsis Tvarka as the Aura of Vengeance the ship spent a year as a patrol cruiser in deep space, awaiting the time when the Tsis Tvarka would rise. However, the shadowy order was beset with infighting and incompetence. When the it crumbled, the Captain of the Aura, an ambitious Arcona named Haveris Alvera, saw an opportunity. Taking in an additional crew of mercenaries as marines, he turned the Aura into a mercenary for hire vessel. It was he who made the first upgrades to the weapon systems of the ship.

Mercenaries For Hire

With Captain Alvera at the helm, the Aura, rechristened as the Leviathan, took part in numerous small scale wars. Her first conflict was over Lorpfan, where remnants of the Tsis Tvarka were trying to gain power to reestablish the order. A coalition of freedom fighters scraped together enough credits to hire the Merciless and her crew. Despite the awkwardness of fighting against former comrades, the Leviathan singlehandedly battered its way through the Tsis blockade of the planet. Then, after shattering the blockade, the Merciless dropped into atmosphere and pounded Tsis ground forces with relentless bombardment until an armistice was reached.

After Lorpfan, the Merciless went through several more conflicts until Captain Alvera retired. His successor, a fiery, impetuous Iktochi named Mhewas Hagan continued the mercenary path. He upgraded the weapon systems further and added the increased armor plating. After a dozen successful conflicts, the Merciless was hired by a resistance group on Barab I, attempting to establish an independent state in the mountains of the planet. Since much of the work would be done at atmospheric level, Captain Hagan had the ship repainted with a camouflage scheme and rechristened her The Merciless to match her new coat of paint.

Barab I

The mission on Barab I would be the most memorable one of The Merciless's career. Unknown to the crew or the separatists, the extremely powerful Quest government of the planet had brought most of their fleet to put down this revolt. The Merciless attempted to even the odds a bit by fighting at atmospheric level, where most capital ships cannot go. However, swarmed by fighters and frigates, and pounded by anti-air from the surface, The Merciless gave a murderous account of herself. After action reports from Quest pilots marvel at the incredible ferocity with which the battered Veltraa continued the fight, even when its main banks of guns were disabled and it's shields shattered. The fiery Captain Hagan refused to leave the bridge, even though horrifically wounded by shrapnel. He continued piloting the battered vessel, even after all hope of successful resistance was at an end. In a desperate effort to save what was left of the ship and his crew, Hagan engaged the hyper drive in the planetary atmosphere. The risky move was both a success and failure. The ship managed to squeak into hyper, but the drive was so badly damaged by jumping from atmosphere that the hyper drive died in deep space. Unable to navigate, the crew abandoned ship, leaving The Merciless a floating hulk in deep space, bearing the bodies of many of its gallant crew, including the captain.

Rediscovery

It was several years before the floating hulk of The Merciless was discovered drifting through deep space. Initially salvaged for parts, a ship collector named Cordelia Skittles claimed the wreck and painstakingly restored it to flying and fighting shape. She even kept the name painted on the badly battered hulk. For a while, The Merciless was Cordelia's flagship. However, after some time, she upgraded to a more modern vessel and had no further use for The Merciless. She sold it to Darin Byrch who currently possesses it. He has made some upgrades to it's weapon systems, modernizing them for galactic combat. He has also added meditation room filled with Champala water, for his personal growth and learning.