Korako Kosakami
Korako Kosakami, also known as "The Rabbit" is the leader and co-founder of the Guristas pirates along with Jirai "Fatal" Laitanen.
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| Name | Korako Kosakami
The Rabbit | |
| Race |
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| Bloodline |  | |
| Role |  Guristas | |
| Born | YC 65 | |
| Died | ||
Biography
Early Life
Kosakami was born in YC 65 on a New Caldari orbital, son of dockworker Genreko Kosakami. His mother, Ierja, died in childbirth. His father, labouring on a job that paid very little, and struggling to raise a child on his own, still did his best to care for his son. Korako would reportedly watch his father work on the spaceships in the hangar while he dreamed of flying them through space.
From an early age, Korako scored exceptionally high in science and engineering on corporate aptitude tests. His father, desperate to see Korako escape poverty, indebted himself to see his son attend corporate schooling. When a work injury left him unable to pay his son's tuition, Genreko took a loan from a local gang.
In a dispute over payment of his debt, Genreko Kosakami was shot and killed. Korako, made an orphan at age 16, was forced to choose between a dead-end job like his father's or joining the military. The military found that Kosakami was compatible with capsuleer implants, and agreed to pay for his education in exchange for an extended term of military service.
Education
Attending the State War Academy on a military grant, Kosakami was thrust into accelerated classes and gruelling tests to prepare him for becoming a capsuleer. Kosakami excelled in the academic environment, and proved especially adept at applied physics and spaceship engineering.
Military Career
Upon completing his capsuleer training, Kosakami received an expedited graduation from the State War Academy and was quickly attached to the Caldari Navy 37th Squadron[1]. Kosakami joined the squadron's several other capsuleers, and among them he became fast friends with Jirai "Fatal" Laitanen.[1]
Due to his stutter and a general jittery nature likely brought on by a mix of anxiety and unrestrained mechanical inventiveness, Kosakami received the nickname "Rabbit".
Desertion
In early YC 86, one of the other capsuleers in the 37th Squadron died in a ship collision.[1] For a capsuleer, the incident should not have been significant, but the pilot's transneural scanner failed, preventing him from cloning. Due mostly to circumstantial evidence, Kosakami was blamed[1] for the equipment failure and death of his squadmate, and was suspended while awaiting a court martial.
In the very same week, Jirai Laitanen was passed over for promotion[1], bringing a long-standing dissatisfaction with the military to a head. Laitanen and Kosakami decided to desert the Caldari Navy, and fled to pirate-infested space in a pair of stolen Condor frigates.[1]
The Guristas
Early days
It did not take long for Laitanen and Kosakami to establish themselves in the pirate underworld of Venal. As capsuleers, they were in high demand for space actions. They quickly made a name for themselves as fearsome pirates willing to take on the most dangerous jobs, and started attracting a following.
It wasn't long before Laitanen and Kosakami, now known almost exclusively by their nicknames Fatal and the Rabbit, outgrew the small pirate groups they worked for. With their personal following and significant assets, they founded the Guristas and established a permanent presence in the fringe region of Venal.
Rise to infamy
Through a series of daring heists and extravagant stunts, the Guristas were a constant feature on news channel across the cluster for several years. Laitanen - charismatic, ruthless, and driven - settled into the role of public face for the gang, while Kosakami managed the day-to-day running of the constantly growing organization.
Laitanen and Kosakami presented themselves as anarchic heroes of the people, and offered an alternative to the "suffocating way of life" of the Caldari State. A focus on attracting outcasts and unemployed Caldari, while also making public mockery of the State at every turn, saw masses of recruits flock to their banner.
Rileau kidnapping
Perhaps the most notable of early Guristas stunts, the kidnapping of Gallente ambassador Lucin Rileau[1] turned the Guristas from nuisance to public enemy. The ambassador was caught in a trap where Kosakami set up sleeping gas charges on the docking ramp of a ship which Laitanen then lost to Rileau in a card game. The ambassador was then knocked out with the gas when he went to inspect his winnings.[1]
The safe return of the ambassador was bought by his wealthy family for a huge ransom of uncut diamonds. This was one of the first Guristas stunts that gave them recognition outside of the State, and garnered them significant enemies in the Gallente Federation.[1]
Fall of Fatal
During a raid on the Crielere research station, Laitanen covered Kosakami's escape with two of the project's top scientists. In the escape, Laitanen's pod was destroyed. Due to a low-grade clone, Laitanen was left with significant memory loss and reduced motor functions. [2]
Soon thereafter, he faded from public view, leaving the Guristas completely in Kosakami's hands. His whereabouts and status, including whether he is even still alive, are unknown.
Kosakami in charge
Adjusting to being the focus of attention meant a major change for Kosakami. For their entire time together, Laitanen had always been the lightning rod to draw eyes away from the introverted Kosakami. Without that protection, The Rabbit stood exposed, and had to change the way he went about his work. Shouldering his new responsibilities, Kosakami trained away the last vestiges of his speech impediment, and set about restructuring the Guristas.
Kosakami's Legacy
Evident already under Fatal's leadership, Kosakami's passion for science and spaceship development had long been a focus of Guristas endeavours. This focus was renewed when Kosakami took the helm of the organization, taking precedence over publicity stunts and major heists.
Kosakami's restructuring of the Guristas made the entire organization more centralized but distributed much of Fatal's one-man-rule into separate specialized stakeholders. In many ways, the Guristas now operate more like a corporation than a criminal gang. In recent times they have pushed further into areas of secretive research mainly concerned with high-speed motion of large objects. Whether this is meant for the heedless Guristas to fly even faster into danger, or for some other purpose, is as of yet unknown.
