The Riverak Rarak integrated technology obtained from the Belegygen Gygens into new vessels. Separate yet parallel to the Tortogs to the east, the Rarak chose to build a large, strong, reliable FTL and maneuvering chassis on which a variety of different ships could be assembled.
The Rarak Colonial Chassis had thinner armor and fewer engines than the Tortog CC. Unlike the Tortog CC, the Rarak CC lacked internal access to the maneuvering engines and any repairs to them required EVA. It also had fewer radiator surfaces, and only two tail Light NCGs which were mounted on wingtip turrets rather than embedded in the hull.
However, the Rarak Colonial Chassis was not exclusively inferior to the Tortog Colonial Chassis. Though fewer in number, the engines on the Rarak CC were colossal and produced far more thrust than the Tortogs' did. The Rarak FTL engine was also capable of far longer jumps than any Tortog engines of the time. The Rarak CC lacked stamina and was difficult to repair, but this often didn't matter when they could simply jump across a gap that Tortogs couldn't.
Compared over all, the Tortog CC was better for head-to-head combat and for operating independently from a base or fleet. The Rarak CC was better at getting where it wanted to be before those things mattered.
The Tortogs CC was modular and could be fitted with a variety of hulls. The Rarak CC took this much further and had stackable hull modules with slots that could be combined for a multitude of different missions.
Pictured is a Rarak Colonial Chassis with a typical Marak Rarak colonization outfit. At the front is a Defender-Head featuring a spinal SuperHeavy NCG (Naval Coilgun), and eight turreted Medium NCGs. Behind that is a stack of four hulls, each carrying two Ocean-Lander shuttles, and each armed with four turreted Light NCGs. Two of these hulls would carry cargo, and two would have habitation centrifuges. A typical habitation centrifuge could house 8 comfortable Rarak passengers, or 40 Rarak passengers. At the back is the Colonial Chassis with the FTL engine.
The Rarak Colonial Chassis has had a similarly long lifespan to the Tortog CC, and because the Rarak have never been conquered like the Colonial Tortogs were, no power has been there to limit their numbers or usage. The Rarak CC can still be encountered frequently all over Rarak territory, and well into neighboring areas. The Imperial Armada uses them in auxiliary roles all over the Rarak Empire. The Empire employs the most storied ones for defense, policing, and cruising in low-risk places such as Rarakra (Homeworld) where they double as parade and museum ships. The less impressive RCCs are used or sold as surplus and can be found hauling cargo, ores, salvage, or passengers anywhere Raraks are, anywhere Raraks have been, and sometimes in places with no connection to the Raraks at all.
Rarak Colonial Chassis Modules:
1 Ocean-Lander Shuttle Mount+ Light NCGs
4 Enhanced Coverage Light NCG Battery
5* Turreted Cation/Positron Gun
7 Heavy Ocean-Lander Shuttle Mount
9 Heavy NCG (mostly used for bombardment)
11 Heavy Manipulator Arm + EVA Airlock
12 Recon-Attack Boat Mount
13 Orbital Ground Observation Telescope
15* Turreted SuperHeavy Laser
16 Door for Unpressurized Cargo Hull
17* Exterior Tanker Cell (Stackable to 4 deep)
18* Exterior Passenger Centrifuge Connector
19* Exterior Passenger Centrifuge
*(Not to scale with the other modules. The hexagon at the base of these big exterior modules is the size of the whole hexagon of the other modules.)
20 Four Engine Tailcone (RCCs filling defensive roles in settled systems did not require FTL, and could have their Tailcone serve other functions)
22 Triple Light NCG Tailcone
27 Forward Detection Sensors
During the first centuries of the Rarak Colonial Chassis's usage, it predominantly used four types of shuttle. It started with the standard Ocean-Lander Shuttle, an updated 12 engined version of the Ocean-Lander Shuttle used on the Rarak Exploration Ship. This was later joined by the sluggish but voluminous Heavy Ocean-Lander Shuttle, which had 17 engines and could carry six times the cargo of its predecessor. These were the most common shuttles used in the Marak colonization of Hoop.
In the latter half of the Marak colonization of Hoop, the Recon-Attack Boat would be developed to find and attack Tortog Raider Shuttles, and the AT-Lander VTOL Shuttle would be used to support inland operations such as the Marak colonists' wars against the native Earwigs.
