User:Caine Silversabre

Description
Caine is a grey cat whose tail and paws are tipped in white. He sports a black vanDyke beard. He stands about five feet nine inches tall and usually dresses in dark trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, and a leather duster.

Background
Caine Silversabre was born in one of the mines of Shriebeck, his mother not permitted to leave, even to give birth. As a boy, Caine was mistreated by the guards and by other miners as he ran water and supplies down into the mine to the workers. He quickly developed a thick skin.

Stowing aboard a cargo ship, Caine escaped his unfortunate lot on Shriebeck and spent the next few years living by his wits and learning to fend for himself. He was caught breaking into a house owned by a member of the Order of Gisela on Tehras, but was offered sanctuary instead of punishment. He lived there for two months before leaving with the Order member's son, who was joining Flight School.

(Skyrates 2.4)
After the Darkling crashed on Shriebeck during the storm, Caine was found and nursed back to health by a family who lived near the crash site. He was seen at the Rotor and Prop tavern a few times in a wheelchair or on crutches before making his full recovery.

Once healed, Caine set about accomplishing his ultimate goal: becoming governor of Shriebeck. "Those people got no one to look out for them," he growled in Olga's general direction one night aboard his Avenger. "The Armada just uses 'em ... means to an end. Place to train troops, build weapons, whatever.  I'm gonna see to it they get the respect they deserve."

As governor, Caine found many problems he thought would be trivial weren't so lightly dismissed. Attempts to improve working conditions in the mines by purchasing more advanced mining machinery resulted in some miners losing their jobs - they just weren't needed anymore. Caine worked with the Uurwerkians to set up a training program for repair technicians on Shriebeck, thus saving at least some of those jobs.

Even when life kept him busy, Caine still made time to fly out and defend his people from threats from the skies, stop round the Rotor and Prop from time to time, and argue -- er, debate -- with Olga, still his staunch, if irritating, companion.

Stories
Lending aid during the Storm

End of Days

Blood Angel v. Avenger

Tuning in to Ellingon Radio

"Hunger"


Caine climbed the plane tiers all the way to the top, finally purchasing a Thunderbolt on Valvia. He found the craft handled a bit more like a performance plane than he liked for his style of combat, but its heavy armour made it virtually indestructible. "Hunger" helped Caine to be a terror in the skies over Shriebeck and the surrounding area.

"Darkling"
Bidding farewell to his loyal Blood Angel, Caine traded her in for the luxurious Hades bomber. "Flyin' a plane like this," he was heard to remark, "means a man's made his place in the world."

Caine continued hunting pirates in the Darkling, and also extended his activities to include the occasional questionable deal. He met with a shady character, who offered him a substantial sum of money to appropriate some plants from a location on Grottopolis and deliver them elsewhere. That this necessitated some physical conflict didn't phase the cat in the least. His crew never asked any questions about the extra cargo crate Caine stowed in the Darkling's hold, but Olga had a wary eye on him after its appearance and disappearance.

Caine flew the Darkling during the Great Storm, running relief supplies to the people of Shriebeck. "What the Armada's set aside for 'em ain't enough," he complained. "Shriebeck gets the short end of the stick all the time. It's time somebody stuck up for 'em." At their request, he dropped off Olga and his diplomat, Joo-Chan Cha, so they could be with family during the crisis. His navigator remained aboard. Ultimately the storm proved too much for Caine and the Darkling, and the craft crashed on Shriebeck. ("End of Days")

"Blood Angel"
As much as Caine loved the Phantom, he loved his Seahawk even more. When he first purchased the plane, he dubbed it the "Angel" and had it painted navy blue with yellow trim. After an incident wherein the Angel received substantial damage, Caine left the plane with the mechanics to overhaul and refit it, with instructions to paint it in his choice of colors. When he returned to pick it up, he discovered it had been painted in the stock red and white. While Caine railed at the repair crew for ignoring his wishes, Olga, the armadillo mechanic he had just hired, made an observation. "Is like angel, yes, pure and white, but not afraid to get into fight." Caine stared at her as if she were insane, then looked the plane over again. "She's sure had some battle scars," he reflected. He renamed the plane on the spot, calling it the "Blood Angel".

Caine spent most of his first year and a half of time in the skies in the Blood Angel. He has had it modified several times and overhauled it completely twice: once for combat capabilities and once for trading. He lamented the lack of engine modification the Seahawk sports, and looked forward to trading up to a Hades with outward eagerness and guarded reluctance. He wouldn't want anyone to know how attached he'd gotten to the old Angel. After all, it's only a plane, right? Blood Angel v. Avenger

Phantom
Caine spent barely more time in his Phantom than he did in the CR-4P he was given in Flight School. He enjoyed the plane, but traded it in for a Seahawk in order to reach Fuseli and join the Red Faction.

CR-4P
Like many Skyrates, Caine learned to fly in a CR-4P, usually known as a Junker. He learned the basics at Flight School and earned his way to a more advanced craft in only a few months' time.

Mechanic
Olga Nureyev is a cranky, opinionated pain in the tail, according to her boss. But she's good at her job. With a penchant for shouting emphatically in Uurwerkian and for complaining about Caine's flying ability, Olga would try the patience of a saint. And Caine's no saint. There's an equilibrium between their personalities that allows them to work together without actually killing each other. Olga, a nineteen-year-old armadillo originally from Uurwerk, usually wears a dirty grey tank top, cargo pants, a belt full of tools, and an unimpresed scowl. Inexplicably, she wears her dyed red hair in a mohawk, and takes almost as much care in its maintenance as she does in the Blood Angel's. Olga is generally happy to remain in the ship on those occasions when Caine makes a stop for a break, such as when he visits his run-down apartment on Cidade or the Rotor and Prop tavern, though she occasionally accompanies him into the tavern to restock her supply of Uurwerkian Blue, the only alcohol she's known to drink.