Profile: Ulrik Svensgaard

Background: Captain Ulrik Svensgaard was born of a fisherman father and barkeep mother in Glousester, Massachusetts. He spent his early 20s following in his father's footsteps before he suddenly joined the Navy in 2042, causing a rift with his family that was never repaired. He served with distinction in the various Pax Decay wars, earning himself a berth at OCS and an eventual appointment as navigator with the William Jefferson Clinton battle group. During the disastrous 2053 Battle of Baffin Bay, he single-handedly rescued the flag admiral and three other senior officers trapped below decks when the Clinton's magazine exploded, costing Svensgaard the use of his left eye. For his heroics, he was offered his choice of assignments; he chose the fledgling Unity project, thereby bringing a lifetime of seamanship to the stars.
Psych Profile: Svensgaard has the rugged determination and self-reliance of a man who has repeatedly conquered the elements on their own terms. He can be sensitive to his lowly origins, and seems to take pleasure in humbling those who believe they possess more impressive pedigrees or credentials. Svensgaard ascribes to no known ideological beliefs, distrusting inflexible dogma and rhetoric, but instead chooses to wield his influence and power in the service of his own advancement and those who choose to follow him. He prefers to remain connected to the ocean when he can, despising the soft life led by 'landlubbers'. Although not truly malicious, Svensgaard will remove those individuals who stand in his way without a second thought. Anyone venturing into the ocean would do well to avoid or befriend this unique human.

	The Nautilus Pirates roam the oceans of Planet, eeking out an existence where they prosper undisturbed by the constant warfare on land. They live for exploration of the far reaches of the map, searching for the Unity pods left alone by the other factions who ignore the potential of the sea. Since they have virtually unlimited room to expand on the map, the Pirates often end up the strongest of the 'builder' factions, with an unrivaled navy to boot. The Pirates' chief advantage lies in a +1 mineral bonus when working ocean shelf squares. This bonus enables them to make a good living with water bases. The Pirates also receive a free Naval Yard after the discovery of Doctrine: Initiative. Furthermore, each ship built after the discovery of Adaptive Doctine possesses the equivalent of the Marine Detachment special ability, which permits them to board ships defeated in battle and take them over. However, the Pirates lack a domestic sensibility, which gives them limited growth ability, and their freewheeling ways result in an efficiency penalty as well. This faction makes Planetfall with knowledge of Doctrine: Mobility and Doctrine: Flexibility. Fortunately for them, they do not have a limitation on their possible social choices.