Rak'Gol - Rak'Gol War Vessels: It is unclear if the Rak'Gol have recently discovered Warp travel by scavenging starships from other star-faring races or if they might be the survivors of an advanced and dying species. As their vessels are best characterised by haphazard repairs and an uneven appearance,both opinions seem justified. In either case, their vessels share common core architecture. The cylindrical core, balanced upon a crude fission-powered reaction drive, extends the length of the ship. Asymmetric extensions run fore and aft of the core, in line with it. Short fins extend irregularly from the hull. These vesselsare extensively decorated with crude symbols, randomly placed armour plates, and a broad range of defensive turrets.Fortunately for their potential victims, the fission-drives that they use are unshielded. This likely subjects the crews to unimaginable levels of radiation but offers a tremendous benefit for targeted ships. These engines glow brightly on any Auspex. Word has spread that the best defence against a Rak'Gol attack may be to flee at the first sign of an engine signature. Analyses of ships that have fallen prey to the Rak'Gol are remarkably consistent. The remains of these ships are seldom more than scavenged hulks. Any salvageable equipment is missing, andthe bodies of the crew are either completely missing or so badly damaged as to be unidentifiable. Radiation scars  that may take centuries to fade mar the ship's hull and damaged components.Recent reports indicate that some Rak'Gol boarders take prisoners. The reasons for this remain unclear, as does the survivability of those prisoners under the harsh radiation from the fission engines. Until one of these craft is closely examined, it is unlikely that any conclusions can be drawn. Anecdotal reports identify larger Rak'Gol vessels, equipped with large atomic beam weapons. A few of these reports suggest that these vessels may be accompanied by squadrons of smaller vessels. Woe to the lone Imperial craft that encounters such a squadron.The war vessels of the Rak'Gol are seemingly primitive compared to those of the Imperium of Man -- crude amalgamations of armour plating and other systems resembling fins or the barbs of horned insects. All are covered with numerous weapon spines clustered around a central, elongated core containing propulsionand navigation systems. One of the most unique features of Rak'Gol vessels are their propulsion systems; they use fission-pulse drives powered by unshielded nuclear fission atomic piles. The radiation produced by such abominable devices is extremely intense and it is unknown if the Rak'Gol are naturally resistant to the radiationoutput, or if they are simply unconcerned with the increased mortality that comes from exposure to such heavy doses of ionising radiation.Like the race itself, Rak'Gol ship weaponry is similarly both brutal and primitive. They tend to favour the short-ranged, rapid-fire macro-weapons, compensating for smaller warheads with increased rates of fire. This fits in with their favoured tactic of closing in with and crippling their opponents before boarding them in savage assaults. Their vessels also bristle with many short-ranged defensive turrets, designed to fill the space around the ship with clouds of high-velocity slugs. Needless to say, this can be highly devastating to smaller craft, and launching Attack Craft against Rak'Gol warships seems suicidal at best. A few larger Rak’Gol ships are equipped with massive beam weapons that appear to run the entire length of the ship's spine. Though powerful, they are thankfully relatively rare.