SOUL HUNTER SCOUT

	class:	Gatherer
	type:	Scout
	length:	26 meters
	mass:	166 metric tons
	power:	Quantum Gravitic Reactor
	duration:	Unknown
	accel.:	2 km/s/s
	crew:	1 Pilot
	agility:	Class B
	weapon:	8 Anti-Proton Cannons 1 Inferno Shield
	defense:	1.6 meter armored hull Gravitic Defense Grid

Little is known about the reclusive, often feared and hated race of the Soul Hunters.  One of the few old races, like the Minbari, records of the Soul Hunters being space capable go back some 40,000 years with some races speculating that the Soul Hunters have, indeed, been amongst the stars from nearly a thousand centuries.

Soul Hunters spend their lives, which can be as long as ten thousand years according to Minbari files, scouring the Galaxy looking for souls to collect.  Attracted to the time of death, the Soul Hunters do not believe in an after life and believe it is their duty to find and preserve the noblest of Souls in the cosmos.

According to Minbari records, the Technological growth of the Soul Hunters has been nil, with no apparent changes or advances in the eons the Minbari have been keeping records on the dreaded hunters.  Despite this, Soul Hunter ships are still more advanced than those used by most races and, like the Minbari, us Quantum and Gravitic technology.

Ships used by the Soul Hunters are single person craft, approximately fifty meters in length and armed with weapons equal to those used by the Minbari.  Hull composition has proved resistant to scans, but appears to be some sort of poly-crystalline mesh.  Some indicators also suggest that some of the ship's features are possibly bio-organic in nature.

Minbari files indicate that the ships of Soul Hunters have a very unique way of boarding a target vessel.  Called an "Inferno Shield", the Soul Hunter craft creates some kind of energy barrier around their vessels which allows their ships to burn through the hull of any ship.  Hull breaches also do not appear to be a problem, as the Soul Hunter craft can also some how knit the burn passage back together as they move further into a target vessel.  Temperatures produced by the Inferno Shield are estimated at more than 2,000 to 6,000 Kelvin.

The only recorded incident where this attack proved ineffective was shortly after Humanities first disastrous encounter with the Minbari.  Three Soul Hunter craft arrived to take the soul of Dukat, the Minbari leader who had been slain in the battle.  The Minbari succeeded in destroying two of the vessels but the third succeeded in penetrating the damaged War Cruiser's defenses.

The Minbari, creating a human wall to protect the body and soul of Dukat, prevented the Soul Hunter from sizing his desired prize.  This was, according to records, the first time anyone succeeded in stopping a Soul Hunter from accomplishing his task.

While the Soul Hunters can be dangerous and have a very unsavory reputation, they do believe that they are doing what is best.  They are not truly malevolent or evil, simply misguided.  In most cases the Soul Hunters go out of their way to be understanding and kind to other races, doing their best to avoid engaging in any hostile acts, save those times when it is absolutely necessary.  Soul Hunters are however powerful, dangerous and are to be avoided if one has the choice.