‘Homeworld’: Kuun-Lan — The Deep Space Mining Vessel That Saved a People
After the great Exodus, Kushaan found their Homeworld. What awaited then was a cataclysm staved off by a single mining ship, the Kuun-Lan.
One wouldn’t expect a deep space mining vessel to be the backbone of an entire people. Especially not a people under threat from the dying remnants of a galactic empire, or worse yet, by a great beast that would try and devour the galaxy. And yet, that’s exactly what the Kuun-Lan was and did. The Explorer-class vessel Kuun-Lan was the Mothership of Homeworld Cataclysm, and for a mining vessel, it sure had a lot going for it.
Over the course of the events of Cataclysm, better known as The Beast War, the Kuun-Lan went from mining ship to warship. A big part of its triumph was its modular design. This meant the Explorer-class vessel could rapidly adapt to any situation. Because of this, a minor faction became vital to the survival of the Kushaan.
Let’s take a look at the Kuun-Lan.
Kuun-Lan Design and Capabilities
The Kuun-Lan was an Explorer-class Deep Space Mining Vessel designed by the engineers of Kiith Somtaaw. It was the second such vessel manufactured by the Somtaaw, and while its older sibling had the best personnel, the Kuun-Lan had the benefit of lessons learned in the construction of the older model. Which meant it had more technological advancements. The vessel was 613,000 tons, and had a length of 1215.5 metres, and was outfitted with a short jump hyperdrive allowing it to travel between stars though only relatively short distances.
It was outfitted with six large mass driver turrets, as well as resource extracting equipment. But the ship’s biggest strengths were its various modules.
The Kuun-Lan could be outfitted with a number of different modules—specialized sections that gave the ship different functions. The Hangar Module, for instance, allowed the ship to construct basic Strike Craft for its defense. The Hangar would allow the Kuun-Lan to serve as a Mothership during the Beast War.
There were four Research Modules: Engineering, Armor, Weapons, and Advanced Engineering Modules, and each of these unlocked different advancements for the ship, like repair bots, or a quantum explosive charge. These also unlocked the ultimate weapon of the Somtaaw fleet: the Siege Cannon. This weapon was an ancient device dating back to before the Kushaan were exiled. Incorporating Bentusi designs, he ship could fire fusion charges that it would then detonate, vaporizing any vessel smaller than a full mothership.
Retrofits like these made the Kuun-Lan a ship capable of leading a war.
The Beast War
The Beast War was a cataclysmic war that threatened the galaxy. But for such a devastating conflict, it all began innocuously enough. Kiith Somtaaw lent their aid to an Imperialist attack on the Homeworld of Hiigara. But while helping to rescue a mining ship in distrss, the Kuun-Lan uncovered a derelict beacon pod not matching any known technology. Brining the pod aboard and starting to research it, the ship unleashed a strange nanotechnology virus that started to overtake the ship.
Jettisoning the affected section of the ship, a saving grace allowed by the Kuun-Lan’s modular design, the crew of the Kuun-Lan watched in horror as the infected section began to take on a life of its own. The science ship Clee-San investigated, also becoming infected by the virus, which infected a group of Turanic Raiders, who had been working with the Imperialist forces.
The Kuun-Lan fled, and in flight discovered that the derelict beacon pod was contaminated with techno-organic nanobots that could subvert both machinery and organic tissue. Kiith Somtaaw named it “the Beast.”
Tracing the origins of the Beast to an ancient vessel with origins outside of the galaxy, the people of Kith Somtaaw discovered that the Beast was an ancient organism that originated in hyperspace. Its drive would lead it to infect all matter in the galaxy if given the chance.
The Imperialist Taiidani allied themselves with the Beast, hoping to use it as a weapon, little realizing that the Beast would consume them as well. As the Beast War spread, the Kuun-Lan discovered more ancient secrets, making contact with the Bentusi, who had developed a weapon to combat the Beast years ago.
After successfully making contact with the Bentusi, the Kiith were able to defeat the main mass of the Beast, destroying its Mothership as well as most of its fleet maintaining capabilities. After the Beast was destroyed, the Kuun-Lan, and Kiith Somtaaw, were awarded the title Beastslayer.
Of course, more is happening around the Homeworld of the Kushan these days…
