In the future, there are those who openly flaunt the law. Killers, outlaws, fighters, mercenaries. Those who will do anything to make a buck, no matter who it hurts. They'll take any assignment, if the pay is high enough. Military campaigns, assassinations, smuggling, spying, finding, killing. They often have different goals: money, fame, power, fun. Some look within themselves, others look only for cash. For them, there are no rules, even ones to be broken. They feed on battles and death. What others fear, they seek out as a way of life. They have been called many names: Battle Hounds, Blood Hawks, Guns for Hire, Killers for Rent. But for those who feast on the carnage of battle, who are drawn to wars like flies to a midden, one name stands out above all others.

Raven Guns.

Aboard a ship, five of these gather. Each one has a past, and each one is searching for something. Will they find what they are looking for? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Does it matter? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But for now, they live, they fight, and they kill.

Will you join these five lost travelers on their journey?

Characters

Devin Age: 32	"Whenever I think about my past, I can't help but wonder if there are some memories that are better left buried."
Past:	Now a mercenary with a heart of badly tarnished silver, Devin used to be an up-and-coming enforcer for one of the megacorps. Four years ago, he was recalled to headquarters for a "new assignment," which usually means a big promotion. However, Devin is suffering from amnesia, and the next three years of his memory are blank. The next thing he remembers is waking up inside his mech surrounded by debris. He occasionally gets "memory flashes:" little pieces of memories that come to the surface spontaneously, usually when he's somewhat distracted.
Personality:	Devin is quite bitter, and generally given to a gun-ho, shoot first, ask questions later mentality. He detests politics and the manipulations that are part of them, but not individual politicians like Seth. It's been suspected that his aversion is more because of personal talent than any moral qualms, which isn't entirely true. The real reason is that he just prefers to shoot people rather than run them around in circles.
Abilities:	Devin is an ace gunman and (as Teresa puts it) "a brawler with little technique, but a lot of strength." He pilots a Seraph mech, but all his training was done during the period his amnesia blocks out. His unconscious knowledge and skills, however, still make him a force to be reckoned with. As an added bonus, his mech comes equiped with two extra toys: a plasma torch and the Kelleher Battle Enhancement System.
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Seth Age: 35	"People sometimes say that life is like a game. They're wrong. Games are like life. For centuries, humans have tried to simulate the game of life, to break it down into easily understandable rules. Of course, they failed. You can't write down life's rules; that's what makes it so much fun."
Past:	The son of a powerful megacorp official, Seth ran away from his home three years ago. While his reasons are unknown, he has admitted that he and his father never got along very well. He bought Teresa two years ago "for protection," he says, but the other crew members doubt that it was his only reason. Seth isn't very good at combat, and often seems somewhat useless. However, he is the one who finds most of their missions, and his negotiating skills have saved them many times.
Personality:	Like Devin, Seth is sarcastic and bitter, but his comments tend to be a lot more subtle than his gunslinger friend. While he usually acts friendly, the only person Seth really cares about is Teresa, and he should not be trusted to always work for the best interests of the other crew members.
Abilities:	Seth's skill with guns is somewhat lacking. That's okay, though, because his weapon of choice isn't physical, but mental. A very good negotiator, Seth uses words to get what he wants. He has many contacts, and is usually the one to find missions for the crew. His ability to read people is invaluable.
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Teresa Age: 27	"Despite everything that's happened to me, I have it pretty good. I'm glad I didn't give up."
Past:	Teresa is the only daughter of a fourth-generation military family. She was a mech pilot for several years, and would probably have been drafted into a Seraph training program if her nation hadn't been attacked and taken over by a megacorp. She was made a POW, and was later sold to Seth.
Personality:	Teresa tries to stay above the her crewmates' bickering, but usually doesn't succeed. She rarely starts any arguments, but despite her attempts at serenity, she can be goaded into a fight surprisingly quickly. Interestingly, she is the only one whose general outlook on life is hopeful and positive.
Abilities:	Even though her Draco mech is technically inferior to Devin's Seraph, Teresa has had extensive training and experience in it, while Devin is working almost completely on instinct. This makes Teresa the better mech pilot, at least until the KBES is factored in. Teresa is also a master of hand-to-hand combat, and carries a stealth sword in her arm.
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Brandon Age: 26	"Most hackers aren't just computer nerds. We're artists, writers, directors, and creators. We collect, read, and watch. Together, we have the amassed creative output of hundreds of years."
Past:	Brandon is the hacker who owns the ship, although his claim is of questionable legality. Most hackers rarely travel, so why Brandon chose to become a mercenary is a mystery. Devin found him one year ago in hopes of using Brandon's computer skills to learn something about his past. While Brandon couldn't find anything, he did suggest that they become mercenaries. The two met up with Teresa and Seth while readying their ship, and a partnership was formed.
Personality:	Because everyone gets along with him, Brandon is the glue that holds the crew together. He's the most vaugely good of the crew, and tends to be overly optimistic. When he's at his alcove, he's confident, compitent, relaxed, and completely in control. However, when he's away from his computers, he becomes indecisive, somewhat cowardly, and somewhat of a mess. (NOTE: This dichotomy is due to Brandon's feeling of security. Walking around the ship is fine, talking to friends is fine, and he's fine anywhere if Abylin is with him, but when he's put in a situation with strangers (even friendly ones), he starts to lose it)
Abilities:	Brandon's a hacker, and a good one, too. Very few systems can keep him out for long. He also excells at logic and strategy games of all kinds, but real life politics are somewhat above his grasp.
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Christina Age: 33	"I have a bad habit, one I've never been able to shake. It's called duty. I wish I could become more evil... more selfish... content to take what I want for myself."
Past:	She claims to be a cook, travelling the galaxy in search of true love. However, she's keeping her real past close to her chest. Seth is convinced that she used to be a politician, but he has no actual proof. The only thing known for sure is that she has some sort of tie to a mercenary known as "The Jackel King." Also, her name seems to be an alias.
Personality:	Christina is usually cheerful, outgoing, and slightly mischevous. She has a "live for the moment" mentality, and rarely worries (even when worry would be useful). Despite appearences, she is actually somewhat depressed and bitter, although she shows it very rarely. She has a strangely strong belief in duty... perhaps too strong. For the most part, she lives in the present, a mercenary with smile, spatula, and high caliber automatic. But every once in a while, her dark side seeps through.
Abilities:	Christina doesn't pilot a mech like Devin and Teresa. She uses an explosive shotgun (it fires energy similar to that of the plasma sword/torch) and a powerful machine gun (it can pierce all personel armor and light vehicle armor, but mechs are out of its league). She also has a taste for explosives, which she mixes herself. In particular, impact grenades seem to be a favorite of hers. She has a limited knowledge of medicine, and a surprisingly wide range of powders, drugs, and pills with both medicinal and... not quite medicinal uses.

Technology

"Seraph" series mechs: The most advanced and complicated attack mech, a Seraph series mech has four customizable weapon stalks and four independently moving engine stalks, making for a total of eight controllable "arms." Although the stalks can be grouped and ungrouped on the fly for ease, the complexity is still far beyond what most people are capable of controlling. Only the best are chosen for the extensive training a Seraph requires, but even the best pilots can't bring out the full power of a Seraph. It was this problem that led to the creation of the Kelleher Battle Enhancement System.

Kelleher Battle Enhancement System: The KBES (pronounced Kay-Bess) was originally created by a research team under Dr. Kelleher to surmount the control difficulties inherent in the Seraph design. When activated, it injects a cocktail of drugs into the user's brain and bloodstream, heightening the user's reaction time and mental activity. Unfortunately, it is more difficult to control than the Seraph itself. The effects vary from person to person, but anyone who uses the KBES must constantly fight a battle against it to remain sane. The KBES has six levels: minimal risk (1), notable risk (2), significant risk (3), dangerous risk (4), deadly risk (5), and maximum risk (6). These six levels have gained the KBES a number of nicknames, including K6, Kelleher 6, and Killer 6. The KBES is considered so dangerous that almost every government has it on the "illegal contraband" list. Because the KBES is amazingly expensive to produce and incredibly desired, it sells on the black market for enough to put a dent in the budget of almost any government.

Plasma Sword: One of three main mech weapons, a plasma sword is a long metal spike. When activated, charged plasma coats the "blade," held in place by a powerful magnetic field inside the spike. The plasma sword is used, rather obviously, for cutting things; it's the only weapon on most mechs capable of doing significant damage to capital ships. However, talented pilots can (and do) use it for mech-to-mech combat, although such "duels" are often very shortlived.

Plasma Torch: One of the biggest problems in the design of the plasma sword was stopping the plasma from simply flying out into space. The plasma torch, instead of working around that problem, works with it. Unlike the p-sword, the p-torch simply expells high-pressure plasma directly out of a small hole. The effect is about twice as powerful as the p-sword, but only last for 15 seconds. After that, the plasma cartridge must be replaced before the weapon will work again. While the damage it deals to capital ships is phenomenal, it's time limitation and constant upkeep stopped it from being widely used.

Society

The Galaxy: The galaxy has been colonized in a large egg shape. Terra is located towards the wide base, and the (somewhat) pointed end points towards the center of the galaxy. This distribution is because there has always been greater reward for colonizing towards the galaxy's center. The closer to the center you get, the less space there is between stars, so controling the same amount of spacial area gives a much better return.

Colonies: Very few planets are actually habited. Instead, most people live in orbital colonies that float above worlds. Many workers "commute" to the planet surface and live in domes for weeks, months, or years at a time in order to mine the natural resources located there.

POWs: When one nation is conqured by another, many people are deemed "unacceptable risks;" people who, for one reason or another, are too loyal to their defeated country to live in the new regime. Many years ago, these kinds of people were either allowed to live and (almost universally) join resistance organizations, or were executed on the spot. Now, these people are given a choice: either give up most of their rights, put on a shock collar, and live as virtual slaves, or die. Those that choose the collar become prisoners of war (POWs). There have been many outcries against this practice, but considering the alternative, none of them have been able gather much support. Almost all governments have lists of POW rights, and virtually all POWs are treated no differently from normal workers. Time off, recreation, and marriages are all permited. Housing and food is paid for. It's not that different from a normal life, except you can't leave and if you try to launch a rebellion they know where you are and can zap you on the spot.