Lent23

Si’akh Touches Down On Ouerea, Preaches Heresies to Peasants Stoking the Flames Arc, Article 4 Today marks the first time that heretic cult leader Juzida Si’akh has ever been on another planet. He left last week with the intent of reaching Ouerea in order to speak to the peasantry of the planet. Accompanied with merely a small retinue of his heretical devotees as well as Sinta Articles senior correspondent Ren’zsar, his ship touched down just outside of Um'a'yid today. Immediately, Si’akh walked to the docks to speak with a group of fishermen that had shortly before arrived back from a fishing haul. The fishermen seemed surprisingly open to the idea of Si’akh’s presence on their planet, stating that he had seen Si’akh’s broadcast from the Queendom of Sezk-Hakh. The fisherman’s captain was approached after speaking with Si’akh, and was quoted as saying, It is clear that the anti-corporate sentiment still plagues Ouerea to this day, despite the good that Hephaestus has done for the planet itself. Whether or not you believe that the corporations are good for the Hegemony itself, their effects on the Hegemonic economy cannot be denied. Si’akh’s presence on Ouerea serves no goal other than destabilizing what the Hegemon has fought to build and secure for the future of the Hegemony. While he may have just arrived on Ouerea, Si’akh has apparent plans to speak with many Sinta around many cities. We at Sinta Articles will keep an eye on the situation as it develops. Don’t lose your faith in these trying times. We are all in this together.

+1 I have personally elevated Keeh Rasi as an interim head of security and monitored him multiple times in the past. Rasi performed his duties in a way that I feel is sufficient with the standard of command positions by allowing antagonists to cook while simultaneously attempting to deal with the issue without using too much force. Lenny is essentially already a qualified command player in my experience (just as long as we don't see Bloodclaw OM please oh god dont promote that bastard).

Si’akh Traveling Abroad?! Ouerea Faces Potential Turmoil. Stoking the Flames Arc, Article 3 Breaking news from the Queendom of Sezk-Hakh! Juzida Si’akh has just announced his intent to travel to Ouerea in an attempt to, in his words, “Save the souls of our direct neighbors. The redeemable few that have stayed within [Uueoa-Esa].” During his announcement today, Si’akh told senior correspondent Ren’zsar that he will bring him and his team personally on the vessel transporting him to Ouerea. The planned destination is Um'a'yid, as Si’akh wishes to convert the lowly peasants to his heretical cause. Below is the transcript of Si’akh’s broadcast: [Cheers, applause, tail stomping can be heard as Si’akh approaches the podium. He places his walking stick against the podium and leans in to speak, softly at first.] “Wastelanders. Heartlanders. Southlanders. Prairie Clans, Coalitioners. Mountain Clans. Those of the Torn Cities. There are many ethnic identities that we may claim to be. There are many differences between these peoples. Strife has been ever-present throughout our history. There is, however, one thing that we all share: Our home. Moghes has tended to us, to our ancestors, and hopefully to our descendants. [Si’akh pauses for a few moments to examine the crowd. As he resumes speaking, he has a much angrier tone.] “I have heard whispers, among the faithful. Talk of the aliens, of Hephaestus Industries, blaming them for the ills of our world. It is an easy path to take, but it is not truth. Look around you! See the divine judgment of Sk’akh, see the ashes our once-beautiful world lies in! What hands wrought this doom upon us? Not alien hands, nor the hands of their corporations. Hephaestus is a nest of vipers, driven by wanton greed - but are they distinct in this? When Yukal T’zakal feasts as the Wasteland starves, is that somehow more wicked than when Not’zar Izweski does the same?” [Many jeers and loud tail stomping can be heard from the crowd. It lasts long enough that Si’akh takes a pause to listen. He resumes his soft-spoken initial tone.] “We are all of us to blame, for the ruin of Moghes. Yes, even I! I was a sinful man, who coveted wealth and power - was I alone in this? No. Moghes is ruled by the negligent and corrupt, those who call themselves lords, as it has ever been. It is our own sin, our own greed, our own abandonment of Sk’akh’s truth. That is what has led our world to damnation!” [Si’akh slams his fist onto the podium as he says “damnation” His tone shifts to an angry yelling once more.] “The Great Spirit has opened my eyes, my friends! Opened my eyes to the truth! For thousands of years we have been mired in faithlessness and corruption, until it left our world itself sundered and bleeding! But there is hope, brothers and sisters! For in Their mercy, Sk’akh offers redemption in flame, that we might make of our world the paradise our creator intended! Ask yourselves, each of you - will I stand aside? Will I fall into sin and debauchery, or will I do what is right! I know my answer, but it will take more than me! It will take you, and you, and you! By our own hands, Moghes is damned - and by our hands it shall be saved!” [The crowd erupts in a mixture of jeers, cheers and more tail stomping. Dust fills the stage, and while the noise begins to settle, the dust continues to permeate, vision blurred as two figures can be seen walking up, flanking either side of Si’akh, each with a large walking staff. They slam the bases of their staffs into the ground, and the tips of them ignite and through the dust, the flames create an eerie glow. Si’akh cuts the silence with a calm tone.] “I am going to leave Moghes to reach out to our brothers and sisters on Ouerea.” [Murmurs can be heard throughout the crowd, but they all quiet as Si’akh begins to speak once more.] “I will soon return, but if we seek to end the damnation brought upon us, we will need the assistance of our devotees aboard. There are devouts in many places across the Spur, lying in wait for our time. My brothers and sisters in flame - Now is our time. Return to Moghes with me at the culmination of my trip. All the faithful shall witness my proclamation. Secure your next shuttle to the Queendom and join me.” [The crowd erupts in cheers once more, and Si’akh grabs his walking stick and turns to leave, flanked by his two fire-bearers.] [The transmission ends.] Senior correspondent Ren’zsar will keep us updated as soon as the Si’akh presence touches down on Ouerea. As always, trust Sinta Articles for your up-to-date news.

Heretic Ringleader Judiza Si’akh In Talks With Queendom? Stoking the Flames Arc, Article 2 It has been 11 days since Szek Ren’zsar has been instructed to tail the Si’akh migration from Res’karum. Ren’zsar has reported that his crew has reached their destination: the Queendom of Sezk-Hakh. This comes as a shock to Sinta Articles, as Queen Sezk-Hakh has positioned herself in the past as a staunch ally of the Hegemon, and her harboring of the largest cult leader stands in stark contrast to her past demonstrations of loyalty to the Izweski. Senior correspondent Szek Ren’zsar has compiled a few statements from the heretics themselves. One Si'akh follower said: An impoverished noble said: A former Sk'akh priestess said: A disgruntled guildsman said: After our previous article, a few cities took a closer look at the Sinta departing from their lands. Baandr, Bahard, Sahltyr and Darakath have all reported numerous Sinta departures from their lands. It is apparent that these departures have, for the most part, been an effort to congregate thousands of Si’akh sympathizers in the Queendom for Si’akh to make an announcement regarding his heresy. As the announcement is scheduled for tomorrow, we will bring you a live update provided our correspondent is allowed in the meeting hall. As always, remember - you can trust Sinta Articles for your up-to-date news.

Hey Dessy, I have just a few clarifications to add: We actually specifically tried to capture and heal as many as we could, so we could use them as bargaining chips in order to trade with the Horizon. Unfortunately, the timing was simply bad luck for the Horizon, and I think that we would have experienced the same results without any admin equipment. Our goal was to ultimately capture and trade, but we unfortunately did too much damage to the retreating forces. I was absolutely looking forward to the honorless K'lax pirates holding the Iska commander hostage RP as well

Hey! As one of the pirates that was a part of the pirate station. First of all, I'm sorry to hear that you did not have an enjoyable round. I am here because I'd like to add some context as Loorey and Meep have. From the get-go, we had a few people that were interested in playing pirates. in dchat, there was myself, Loorey and Meep. We knew that when the Intrepid touched down, there would be spawns for the planet. We agreed that we would play Vaurca in dchat as our "gimmick." I know that Loorey and myself are simply fans of Vaurca, and we had some other people who had the WL. I was pretty amazed that we had the opportunity to have 6 people with vaurca WLs playing pirates. I believe we did have an advance spawn before the ship landed via admin intervention, just to get ready as they were on their way. As for additional loot, I believe we were given an ion gun, 2 mechs (1 with a laser gun/rifle/shield drone and 1 with 2x smg's), and 1 uplink. We proceeded to get our base ready and then waited for the Horizon to show up. We engaged the Horizon's off crew who announced themselves as Iska's Adventurers (This is important because we most likely would not have proceeded onto the Horizon knowing that it was a megacorporation vessel.) Ultimately, our goal is to kill them and either a) take what they have on their ship and fix our ship | b) take their ship if it's nicer. We heard them call a retreat via our radios and we decided to push them, knowing that they were our only way off the asteroid. We caught them in a retreat and unfortunately for them, we were able to kill some of them, though the Intrepid was able to escape. At this point, we found a diona on the planet that had apparently been kicked off the Horizon. We invited it to join our ranks. Now we look inward, panicking as the Horizon scrambles to fire its weapons at the base. One of the Vaurca found a way to repair our ship through the equipment on the base. We were able to get power going for just long enough to shuttle the ship to attach to the Horizon's starboard dock. This was our chance to get in, get some equipment and leave. Once we docked with the Horizon, we were given Heister tags to distinguish each other. This tag was applied to all five K'lax, the C'thur that we coerced into helping us (that was previously our prisoner) as well as the Diona. We proceeded through medical to Engineering, and our only goal was to get SMES parts and some fuel for our reactor. We faced opposition when it came to us, but we did no deviate or otherwise engage anyone outside of this. We eventually kidnapped an engineer, got our things, and proceeded to leave. As we were leaving, Arrow told us that we should wrap our things up, and we told him that we were already on our way out, we just needed power to the station. He spawned in as a BSTech and gave us a SMES and some wiring in order to facilitate our departure faster. We left as quickly as we could and flew off. Now, I'd like to respond to your comments/concerns: I was ghosting at this time. The Head of Security was informed via the xenoarchaeologist that there was a threat in the system. The Head of Security then faxed central to confirm that they would be hunting down the pirate lair for the bounty it apparently held. I do not have access to msay, but the vibe that I was getting from the group that joined as the pirates was not that we were getting 'souped up' from the get-go. I was uninformed that the Horizon had a mech until I physically saw them. I hope the walkthrough of our entire experience clears up our side of this for you. Our intent was never to kill anyone or massacre the security team. Our goal was hardly even to board the Horizon. Boarding the Horizon was the means to an end to fix our ship. As for the boarding, as stated by Arrow: The ONLY admin intervention we had with regards to the ship was Arrow giving us a SMES while we were retreating, in order to more quickly facilitate our exit. Our ultimate goal as previously stated was to leave as quickly as possible. We were given a syndicate link, which we used to spawn Heavy Armor as far as I am aware. We were also not given more ARs to my knowledge. Personally, having been in-round I would have been completely happy not having any assistance from admins. I understand that the admin intent was to make the round more interesting, but It definitely would have been much more challenging (and probably more fun for those involved) if we had no intervention. I am personally a big fan of Horizon wins over antags, and I would not have minded dying in this situation. The most important takeaway for me here is the admin intent to make the round more interesting for people involved. I do agree with this, however I think that the admin intent does still matter here, as stated above. I think what they were trying to say at this point was that the Horizon literally acted on a mission to hunt down a bounty. I don't think it was necessarily 'validing' or 'punishing' personally. That being said, I cannot speak for them. We chose Vaurca because we decided to play Vaurca in dsay. There was no motive to powergame, and we were uninformed that admin intervention was even going to happen in the first place. We simply did not powergame heavy armor in order to get a combat advantage. The gloating I do have an issue with. I think gloating that we killed Horizon staff is unnecessary and antag gloating is in bad taste in the first place, sans any admin intervention. Including the admin intervention and then gloating is simply bad manners, truth be told. This was, to me, caused by a rush of having to get in and out. There was a hole in the bridge of our ship and we rushed out and broke into medical, with venting spreading from there as we rushed to engineering. The venting itself was not intentional in my experience (there was no intent behind venting anything in the rush, at least.) I was not present for anyone being gunned down, as we mostly held people up to the best of our ability. I am not denying this happened, and I do apologize to the Vampire that had their round taken from them in this case. Again, we did not shoot anybody that did not shoot us first while I was present. We attempted to speak with people, attempted to use medical staff and engineering staff to get where and what we needed and then we left as quickly as we could. I can count at least five other people we had the opportunity to murder but simply did not, as RPing and utilizing them simply made more sense. While I do not condone Loorey's coments, the content of our actions were not to "get frags in" as you state - at least not for me. Again, I can only speak for my experience, but for me it was about getting in, getting our things and leaving. I believe the team understood this, and were all working towards that goal. I do not consider this a case of "administration self-enabling" as there was nobody that had the ability to spawn equipment on the pirate side. Again, I cannot see msay so I do not know what went on in there, but I never got the vibe that admins were "on our side" at all. Echoing this completely. We had no idea admin intervention was even going to happen, nobody informed us of anything. Before I checked the map file, I had just assumed that we had a mech from the get-go, as it was unmentioned (to me at least, perhaps I missed an LOOC message somewhere.) The Vaurca thing was simply agreed upon in dchat because vaurca are fun, not for any apparent mechanical advantage (I was going to play an IPC originally but swapped via a ticket with Melariara when I saw that EVERYBODY was Vaurca.) Again, I apologize for anybody that did not enjoy the round. Our intent was not to kill anybody or assault the Horizon - it was always to get in, get our things and leave. I understand that not everybody on the station was involved with assaulting the base itself, but everybody suffered from the result of this. Ultimately, I do not think the admin intervention was necessary but I do understand why they gave us things: to make things more interesting. Again, I am a much bigger fan of a Horizon win when it comes to antags, and I would have preferred to personally die on the asteroid, but the experience of escaping with our lives was a thrilling tale, and all I can hope for is that we made it exciting for others in round as well. Merry (Day After) Christmas, I hope this helps clear as much as I can up for everyone involved.

Heretic Ringleader Judiza Si’akh spotted passing by Res’karum Stoking the Flames Arc, Article 1 Yu’zath armsmen were ordered to investigate a large migration of Si’akh Sinta leaving Res’karum this past wednesday. They followed the most recent migrants out of the city, only to witness the migrants meet up with a much larger group reportedly numbering in the hundreds. Sinta Articles has dispatched senior wasteland correspondent Szek Ren’zsar to Res’karum in order to meet with Lord Yu’zath. While Lord Yu’zath himself was unable to be reached for comment, Master of Rivers Junz Yu’zath gave Ren’zsar this response: All this comes to a head as the anti-Si’akh sentiment reaches an all-time high in the city. Lord Yu’zath has always been a strong anchor point of Th’akh worship, especially in the wasteland. His refusal to falter in the face of a strong Si’akh presence in his city is an honorable act. However, this seems to bode poorly for Res’karum, as hundreds of Si’akh workers flock out of the city to follow whatever plan this Judiza Si’akh has. One Miners’ Guild foreman in the city complained to Ren’zsar, stating that: The Si’akhists continue to leave the city, wandering into the Wasteland. Where they are going, or what this so-called prophet has planned, remains unclear to us at this time. The other lords of the region seem to be less concerned about it, with Lord Korhar of Bahard’s High Speaker informing us that: To the north, Lord Izaku of Mudki seemed dismissive of the Si’akh gathering. While his full statement has been cut for brevity and public decency, he scoffed at the “gathering of heretical rabble” and stated that any Si’akhist who came within sight of Mudki would “quickly find themselves swinging from the gallows”. For now, Ren’zsar and his crew have been sent to tail the migrants in order to keep an eye on what the heretics are up to. Sinta Articles will keep you all updated as the situation develops.

BYOND Key: Lent23 Character Names: (Mostly) Alsina Tau’ha’nor Species you are applying to play: Vaurca What color do you plan on making your first alien character: #829614 Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question. Why do you wish to play this specific race: Vaurca are arguably the most alien playable species in the server. Whereas most other species can be considered human-esque or otherwise human derivative, the vaurca are the most starkly different species. I never cared much for vaurca before I met the likes of Zohd and Gimb, or had conversations with Nangeren regarding the biology and culture of the hives, with the latter example being one of the larger reasons I am interested in the race at all. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Vaurca and humans live entirely different lives from birth, nearly two opposite ends of a spectrum.. Where humans are born to parents that raise them. They instill them with ideas in their formative years, and humans are capable of pursuing their goals utilizing their own free will. On the other end of the spectrum, vaurca are purpose-bred. While still inside their egg, they go through Imagotis, which decides the caste of a vaurca before they are even born. After their birth, they are brought through the virtual reality process, where they grow in worlds completely molded for them by their queens. They live and gain knowledge in a time-bent reality that allows them to gain much more knowledge at a faster pace than a human would while growing up naturally. A young vaurca could gain years of knowledge in a matter of our reality’s months by utilizing virtual reality spaces. Culturally, their mannerisms are also significantly different than humans. Obviously, they came from ideal worlds where their queens control every facet of their existence. This gives them a bit of naivete with regards to the “real world” where there are much more factors at play than just their queen’s will. Having to reconcile your perfect upbringing with the harsh realities of the physical realm is not exactly an easy thing to do. Character Name: Za’Akaix’Ky K’lax Please provide a short backstory for this character Za’Akaix’Ky K’lax, as most of Vehdra’s creations, was created to combat the Lii’dra. It spent its time in virtual reality heavily involved in Retek games. From campaigning to wargaming, Ky has spent tens of thousands of hours perfecting its strategy. In its time, Ky has fought in many battlefields, operating many roles - everything from a grunt on the front-line to a battlefield tactician. Ky has died many (simulated) deaths, yet has claimed many more (simulated) kills. One thing that Ky grew to understand was that the vaurca would never be able to fully beat the Lii’dra alone. The Lii’dra, despite their corrupt, despicable nature, were still vaurca. That meant that they still understood what it means to think like a vaurca. The simulated unathi of many Retek simulations always seemed more unpredictable to Ky. Their tactics have always stood in stark contrast to vaurca battle tactics. This led Ky down a rabbit hole of contact war simulations. Upon bringing some of these unathi tactics to more typical Retek simulations, Ky was able to outsmart many of the Lii’dra offenses. There are limits to the situation, however, as weavemakers are still vaurca, and thus are not infallible with their understanding of alien tactics. There was only one way that Ky was going to learn more: the physical realm. Despite its discomfort, if Ky wanted to truly combat the Lii’dra, it was going to have to learn more tactics from aliens. There is a ship somewhere in the Spur that arguably represents the assets of the combined factions of the spur. From the Megacorporations to the nations. If the Lii’dra were to pick a prime target for their inevitable return? It would be here. On the Horizon, Ky could not only learn tactics from other species and factions, but it could return the favor by teaching them what it has learned. The Lii’dra would stand no chance against the combined might of the Orion Spur. What do you like about this character? I particularly enjoy the idea of playing a vaurca that is meant to be a more tactical warrior. A born tactician that is meant to bridge a gap between vaurca and alien understanding, especially with regards to the destruction of a large-scale antagonistic faction. Ky could both learn from and teach many things because of the Horizon. I view Ky as a character that is genuinely interested in learning and understanding. A vaurca that wants to teach, to lead where it can. It was born to understand, not just to fight. What better place than corporate security? How would you rate your role-playing ability?: 7/10, probably? Notes: Not’zar Izweski iz my hero, but Ta’Akaix’Vedhra’rept’ylanze will alwayz be my queen. I have thoughts of playing a K’lax Ta down the line, but I’d like to get to know the species as a Za before that.

While I am friends with Noble, my support isn't solely grounded in that. If my past experience as a moderator is any indicator, I believe that Noble would work well with the team culture and server expectations at large. Noble is an emotionally and cognitively intelligent person who takes criticism and feedback into account without immediately becoming defensive. In heated exchanges, he keeps a cool head to resolve any dispute. With how certain rounds can be emotionally charged, his temperament is solid for conveying his points and diffusing it smoothly. Noble is a dungeon master and hosts ops for Arma. He understands the need to act as a behind-the-scene force. He's accustomed to adapting to situations that require sound judgement in fast paced environments, critical aspects for minimizing interruptions to the round. Generally speaking, if I'm looking for an opinion on something Aurora/SS13 related, Noble is someone I trust to have an objective, level-headed conversation with - and he's one of the first people I go to. He's got a lot of good ideas about things in-universe and out, and is generally someone who is productive to brainstorm with. Noble has gradually contributed to the community since his start, his latest project being the voidsuit sprites. He's demonstrated an ability to quickly meet the expectations of what he's working on without resistance to any needed changes, and in a timely submission. The fact that this app is here means that he has weighed his options, his availability, and his desire before putting himself out there. tl;dr Noble Row is well suited candidate for this position in the character he is, his adaptability to any given situation, and willingess to work in a team environment. As long as he continues to put his mind towards it, he'll be a great addition to the modmin team.

A mechanic like this already exists with diona limbs, so I imagine this would also be pretty easy to implement. Instead of a diona nymph dropping to the ground, it's just some pieces of X material.

I genuinely really like the idea. There are plenty of people who are morally against having robotic portions of their bodies (dominians/unathi) and there are plenty of people who are simply too poor to afford higher quality robotic limbs. We have people aboard the Horizon who can't afford a living situation, so they simply sleep in cryo - these poor people aren't going to want to spend all their earnings on a new limb if they lose one, are they? I really don't think this needs to be limited to antagonists. I really like the idea of limbs that have drawbacks as well - look at how the aut'akh augmentations fare when compared to "standard" augments. They all have some sort of drawback or otherwise "bad" component, but they make for a compelling story. I think fully mechanical/non-robotic limbs makes total sense. Being able to craft a peg leg from a stack of wood because there's no machinist makes sense as a temporary solution in-round too! I could see these being kinda goofy and maybe a bit overplayed down the line, but I still think it's a cool option to be able to have. You could even limit them to pirates.

I'm partial to traditionalist remnants, personally. Sinta that trace their lineages back - whether involved in the contact war or not - who may be putting up a front with the Hegemon to stay in good graces or simply hiding for a potential future without Not'zar or any other Izweski. Sinta who have stayed devout Th'akh as their ancestors since time immemorial. Wasteland clans who, if you look far enough in the past, would find themselves in a much more noble position than they do now. The sinta the Hegemon doesn't want you to know about - these are the sinta I enjoy writing stories about. I'm particularly interested in Uueoa-Esa. The fact that we have two inhabited planets in the same solar system is such an interesting aspect that I don't believe any other planets seem to share. I would enjoy writing about the relations between things that are geologically close yet ideologically far from each other - like the relationship between Moghes & Ouerea or the Hegemony & the Queendom. I want to see the Hegemony act more aggressively now that their internal issues are (seemingly) resolved. Now that the good™️ sinta have enough food, what is stopping the Hegemon from seeking conquests - be it unoccupied planets or lowly-inhabited planets. They could even try to scoop up some leftover human colonies. Their Kataphracts have been out exploring, but now it's time to call them home to fight for the Hegemon properly, something that many of the new-blood haven't been able to truly see - the horrors of war aren't the same as bandit-hunting, you know. They could even kill some Tajara on their warpath. Think World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth('s premise, at least) - one side is more-or-less clearly in the wrong, but has their reasons to fight; the Hegemony is stagnating, it needs resources, it can protect the people of X better. There are surely some planets worth taking in the Badlands or the Sparring Sea, for example. Even some clashes with Dominia or the PRA are possible - but overall, I want to see the Hegemony expand out of Uueoa-Esa - there is a lot of empty space on the starmap around the Hegemony that could be utilized. Adding onto the above, I would like to see the Hegemony's relationship with vaurca expanded - particularly the K'lax. The vassalage of the K'lax could finally be tested by a true war-call from the Hegemon - the K'lax auxiliaries could prove themselves to be a formidable fighting force. Similar racial relations could be expanded with Moghresian dionae, with the Hegemon calling for Dionae to support the Hegemony in any way they can, such as supplying replacement limbs to injured warriors, for example. As touched on slightly above, there are some clans that hold to Th'akh at the detriment of their image, as practicing Sk'akh shows the Hegemon that you're willing to bow to his religion. Wasteland clans that found themselves stripped of their noble lineages to wander the wastes like guwandi. I find it hard to believe that there wouldn't be a secret plot to either depose the Hegemon or leave Moghes. There are sinta still alive who had friends and family executed by the Hegemon for seeking a sinta-centric life for Moghes. Survivorship bias would logically indicate that those best hiding their intent would have been the ones to survive. As for the distinctions themselves, there's two parts to this: lore-wise and in-game, which I'll tackle one at a time. Lore-wise, we have no better example to look at: Tajara and the distinctions between the PRA/DPRA/NKA - with the former and latter being particularly pertinent here. Essentially, the PRA as a faction is open to cooperation with other species on a galactic level, as the Hegemony seems to be. They are both (relatively) radical factions led by dictatorial rulers who impose a certain way of life on their people. In opposition to this, the NKA and what's left of the traditionalists are more reactionary groups, who seek to return to the "old ways" of their species. The stark difference between the NKA and the traditionalists is that the traditionalists have been driven underground, where the NKA have been allowed to remain as an active nation on Adhomai. I don't think that the traditionalists necessarily need to openly rebel, but should the Hegemon do something hasty such as start an aggressive land-grab, I could see traditionalists plotting to depose him, utilizing the general strife and stresses that wartime would bring upon the average sinta. In-game, we could do with some more factionalized loadout items. Comparing the Unathi to the Tajara once again - the Tajara have some starkly differential items in their loadouts. Some examples include: PRA uniforms, tesla spines DPRA uniforms, party pins for each party of the DPRA NKA noble uniforms, Faction cards, badges, pins and manifestos for all 3 factions There are already things that are restricted to sinta nobility, such as the rockstone cape, jeweled bracers, but I think some variety between those that consider themselves true Hegemony nobles - those that live in the Heartlands and swear complete loyalty to Not'zar - and traditionalists that live outside the immediate heartland area, like the Th'akh heartland, the Zazalai mountains, the immediate wastelanders that could still visit the heartland itself. I want to see Zazalai clothing options, Wastelander-specific uniforms, a Sezk-Hakh manifesto, conservative traditionalist clothing that looks distinct from the newer Izweski style clothing. Should the traditionalists ever fully rise up again, we could have pins that show support for particular factions. Should the Hegemony declare all-out war, we could have pins that stand against the Hegemon - the Horizon is far enough away from Hegemony space that people could feel confident wearing these sorts of items openly (or even carrying them privately). While the chainlink gains access to the Hegemony's resources through Hephaestus, Hephaestus becomes one of two of the chainlink's members that essentially owns a nation. While Biesel is essentially a corporate dreamscape, it is, for all intents and purposes, owed by Nanotrasen (and by extension the chainlink) in essence if not name. The next closest thing to a powerful link could arguably be the relation that Zavodskoi has with Sol and especially Dominia. Hephaestus could essentially establish itself as the second strongest link behind Nanotrasen itself with the backing of the Hegemony. Their buyout has secured them an insane amount of leverage within the chainlink itself. It's not like Hephaestus is giving Hegemony land to the other members of the chainlink - it's more that the chainlink is going to see a large influx of workers who are loyal to Hephaestus. There are specific kinks that I could see needing to be worked out with the exact deals being struck, but the most important part to me personally about the situation is seeing some sort of on-station effect. How we get there exactly can always be smoothed over as a team - I'd be very interested to see what Rusting thinks of the idea, personally. I think generally I would be more similar to an everything-all-at-once sort of deal, though it's more of a suggestion than a rule. I find that sometimes I can get too into an idea being one way, and the best way to re-focus yourself is to put it aside for a short time - be it a few hours or a few days, just to get back into it, understand where you were coming from, make re-writes as needed, etc. For the most part, however, my writing comes in the bursts between the waiting. If I have a project I'm working on, I'll usually keep it open in the downtime so I can add to it if I think of it while I'm in the middle of something else. I tend to create small lists of to-do's that I would also think about during the course of my day as well, and then add them all during a burst of writing. I tend to over-analyze stuff and can unintentionally stall myself if I get too stuck-up on certain things. My biggest problem with my own personal projects in the past has been creating too big of a scope and trying to make everything fit into the big scope, rather than trying to focus on smaller aspects of a project. In my personal D&D world for example, I have worked so much on grand-scheme things such as multiple worlds, how magic works, etc - that it becomes hard to write the smaller-scale things like towns, animals in an area, etc. My biggest gripe with myself is that I often find the most joy in writing about those small things. I had a conversation with a few friends on what kinds of animals are present on Biesel, because it would change the way of life that the people of the planet would have. It's such a small, asinine feature but I feel like small things like this would have pretty drastic impacts on society. The animals on Biesel were limited to small gopher-like animals called Barks, and they were more-or-less killed off to make room for a cheap way to explain away only having earth animals on the planet colonists. Absolutely not. As much as I want to see the Unathi as a species thrive, I know that every other writer for every other species cares just as much about the species they write for. As much as I would love to write about the Hegemon killing Tajara on Gakal'zal and taking the planet over for themselves, I would equally love to collaborate with other lore writers on why Ouerea should be bombed. Genuinely, I think the most enticing portion of the position itself is the collaboration. I want to experience how Alberyk writes Tajara, how Caelphon expands Dionae, etc. There is literally nothing more exciting to me than working with other passionate people. Sinta deserve to suffer anyways. Currently? I see them as a nation with a very strong potential. As I've stated earlier in this post - most of their issues have been solved, and the Hegemon could look to make big moves in the future. The titan has risen, so to speak - the rationing is over, Sk'akh and Th'akh devouts are making peace and reparations, Hephaestus has united most of the guilds, which are being overseen by a sinta - the Hegemony is doing very well for itself right now. Whether it's expansion, hostile acts, or simply working more on themselves, I think the Hegemony is due for some big action in the future. Maybe we could even see the Hegemon push to unite (or take-over) some pirate groups in the Sparring Sea! The Horizon could visit a now-(outwardly)-thriving Hegemony. We could see first-hand the ever-growing disparity between the nobility and the workers. We could see Hephaestus intervention in the chainlink through the Hegemony, or even a Hephaestus-backed takeover of the Hegemony itself. There is simply so much potential that the Hegemony has, and I would love to be a part of what's to come.

I've said it before, but I have to say it again: Dessy is one of the most thoughtful players when it comes to carefully planning out their characters' backstories. God knows they love stealing my ideas (sinta-blood diona). I gotta give you a +1 because you're basically just me at this point. 😉

Now, I may be biased, but I'm a big fan of Razortail (Marauders) 😉

Since you stole from my app, I'll have to steal from your comments on mine! 😂 I can't do the justice you deserve when it comes to the thoughtfulness you put into your work. I genuinely can't think of another person I'd want on the Unathi team than you. All of your work that you've shared with me so far has been awesome to read, and I hope you continue to share the things you make - it's incredible to see work done by someone as passionate as you seem to be. Of course I'd have to +1 this for what it's worth - even if we're enemies now. (❤️)

I don't have any issues waiting on other people. While I prefer a decently paced workflow, I wouldn't get bothered or annoyed if someone else falls behind on something - especially if I have a secondary project that I could be working on. While criticism always stings, I've found throughout my life that as long as criticism is constructive, it's never something I take personally. I like to think I'm able to kill my darlings as they say - especially when something is overall too oversaturated or harmful to the overall narrative. As long as my work is not used to level personal attacks against myself, I won't have any issues. There is always a decent amount of acclimation in the beginning of integration into a new team with anything, and there's simply nothing to be taken personally there, either. I am comfortable working in teams of any size. While I generally prefer smaller projects that would be centralized with two or three people, I have no issues working within a larger team. I find that locations like Gakal'zaal or Mictlan are more interesting, as they get access to a huge benefit both ICly and OOCly: Diversity. My ideas will, in some way or another, be biased for Unathi - that's who I write for. There is, however, an unmatched feeling of working with people who are equally interested in their own species, like the Tajara team, for instance. On the IC perspective, it's much more compelling to write about how Unathi interact with differing cultures - my main character herself is a noble steeped in human / corporate culture, and it's been exciting writing how her upbringing changes her viewpoints on many things being so far away from home. While not everything is going to be something I'm passionate about, I try to find the portions of things that I do enjoy. The passion for me comes from writing things that other people will get to experience. Even in the worst case scenario, if I abhor the thing I'm writing about completely, I can always get through it knowing that there's going to be another project that I can look for positives in.

Ckey/BYOND Username: Lent23 Position Being Applied For: Unathi Deputy Lore Developer Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page?: Yes, they're very informative and give a strong sense of expectations. Past Experiences/Knowledge: I have been roleplaying for about twelve years on various platforms (Garry's Mod/SS13 mostly) and writing for almost as long as that. I usually end up playing DM/GM whenever I play things like tabletop games because I just really enjoy worldbuilding and Examples of Past Work: OG version of my clan lore: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQXUgz7RxOsFIMwzDPmaur89C5Rb5-a7wTLh1nrqR3x4OlWmXJAHE2bhmOqtQp7WONlioGAUDyJfD09/pub - This was a joint effort between myself and another collaborator who no longer plays. WIP clan lore update: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BIy1TgHJYq4BfFBHMCa7IuGVSN3Liz43UaYUbOf_c_Y - This is an effort to modernize the older bits of lore to share with newer collaborators who have joined the clan in-game. My Personal D&D World): https://www.worldanvil.com/w/damalor-lent23 - This has been under maintenance for a little bit, but I do have some pages that are still openly available for reference. Additional Questions 1. How do you feel about the current state of Unathi lore? Are there any areas that you particularly want to expand on?: I've been very happy with the current state of Unathi lore. I think that Trio and his team have done very well to expand upon what I consider the strongest, most well-written race. I'd like to expand a bit more outside of the hegemony's direct influence. A gripe that I've always had with fantasy/sci-fi non-humans is the fact that they're almost always a mono-planet, nearly homogenous cultured species. The Tajara get away from this by having their three distinct factions, but the distinction between Hegemonists and Traditionalists has blurred in recent years to be a near-homogenous "Unathi Culture." As a contrast, looking at humans: They have the Solarian Alliance, Republic of Biesel, Empire of Dominia (Majority), Coalition of Colonies, Eridani Federation, Republic of Elyra. There are simply so many factions of humans, and Unathi simply don't have anything similar to stand on. I would like to see the rise of some other faction(s), nation(s) or otherwise groups of Unathi. There are plenty of Unathi in these other places, but they're still extremely Human-dominated. I know that Unathi are a relatively young species, but I want to see them cement a more diverse place in the galaxy. A long-time goal of mine has been to see a more centralized grouping of Unathi in Tau Ceti. There is a huge potential for Traditionalists who have fled / are willing to flee away from Hegemonic influence to a newer Unathi-based planet in Biesel or even the Coalition of Colonies. There are so many opportunities outside of the dying Moghes that could provide so many Unathi with new chances in life. 2. Propose an Unathi-centric event arc to be run on the Horizon. You don't need to go super in-depth, just a summary will do: One comes to mind immediately: An expansion to the Hephaestus acquisitions. I have long thought that Unathi are the only real viable position to expand the captainship of SCC vessels - Vaurca are not fit for command for multiple reasons, and all three factions of tajara are deep into their kool-aid. I could potentially see IPCs or Dionae, but IPCs are still commonly viewed as tools by many and Dionae are commonly viewed as too fragmented for true leadership, outside of maybe a Singular Sound or Tyrannical Tune mind types, though I don't see the megacorporations incorporating either of them eny time soon. The potentially large implications of the Hephaestus acquisitions could propel Unathi into the third captainship slot behind Humans and Skrell - They're not as fragmented as any other species, and are already inherently being integrated into the megacorporation culture. As for the arc itself: Hephaestus, with a significant workforce of Unathi under its belt (now including the entirety of the Moghean guilds) opens negotiations with the Hegemon himself, who requests that Hephaestus push Unathi leadership in a bid to expand the hegemony's influence. Hephaestus experiments with Unathi leadership on a few of their own vessels, shortly thereafter Unathi leadership is proven strong after a newly appointed Captain makes a split-second decision leading to a very favorable outcome for Hephaestus. Hephaestus uses this event to lobby the Hegemony with more pro-corporate sentiment. Hephaestus then incentivizes transfers off-world for workers who are willing to work aboard Hephaestus and Chainlink vessels. Another event happens that is supported by Unathi leadership, and the Hegemon himself comes out in strong support of the company - a vessel was saved by Unathi leadership again. Hephaestus opens negotiations with the rest of the chainlink, stating behind closed doors that the Hegemony has a significant potential to be utilized by the chainlink as a whole if the Hegemon is appeased with Unathi figureheads. This is a win/win for all involved, as the chainlink gets access to resources and a loyal nation, the Hegemony gains influential Unathi aboard vessels like the SCCV Horizon and Hephaestus gets more individuals from their company in command with the chainlink. This arc serves a few purposes: It connects with a previous arc (The Titan Rises), it allows the relations between a faction and a corporation to be expanded, and it allows for a (relatively low-stakes) change to the server, which is what people actually get to experience. I find that events that have no stakes or relation to the goings-on of the server itself are more-or-less moot. There's a lot of fun in fluff, but I feel that most events need to have some impact felt server-side. Alternative arc: Underground traditionalist factions on Moghes have finally had enough - the selling off of all guilds to Hephaestus has shown that the Hegemon does not care about the average sinta. Nobles who feel that the Hegemony has lost its way have come to an agreement: Migrating their clans off the planet. Moghes has been mistreated for far too long - the deserts are a sad sight for those who knew the glory that was pre-contact Moghes. A planet has been surveyed within the borders of the Republic of Biesel over the last few months that has a similar layout to pre-contact Moghes - Grasslands, temperate forests, chaparrals, and desert. Mountains with alpine forests. It gives a sense of extreme nostalgia to sinta who lived through the contact war. These surveys were done by a joint effort between the Republic of Biesel and the traditionalist factions on Moghes and abroad. Biesel has a huge potential for this planet - They have a huge group of people looking to move to this completely untouched resource-heavy planet. Industrious Unathi, who want nothing more than to recreate the greatness that was lost by their home. Deals between the two are negotiated over time, and the planet is agreed to be absorbed into the greater umbrella of the Republic of Biesel, but given enough autonomy to ensure that the Unathi feel as if they are creating their own future. They are to utilize the democratic system of the Republic, but are allowed explicit exceptions, such as appointed bureaucrats and exclusive unathi immigration rights for the first year. This arc is the opposite end of the spectrum: though it connects with the same previous arc (The Titan Rises), it creates a new relation between two factions. The stakes are even lower with this advancement on the server's end, as no changes would have to be made, though with most citizens (and the SCC itself) coming from the Republic of Biesel, the news would be a bit close-to-home. A lot of Unathi I've seen on the server have been counter-culture/traditionalist/wastelander, so the idea of being able to move your clan to a new location would be a distinct choice that would actually impact many Unathi players on a server level. The exclusive colonization rights are also both contentious and short-lived enough that we could see ramifications played out in real time. A year is just long enough that players will be able to watch a callback to this happen when the colonization is lifted. As for being contentious, the non-unathi crewmembers may have something to say about the Republic openly promoting a discriminatory planet, and stark hegemonists would perhaps see issue with the Republic promoting an anti-hegemony faction to such an extent. Realistically, you could push through both of these arcs simultaneously - Hephaestus working to secure the hegemony while Nanotrasen works to secure their direct opposition benefits both companies and is on-brand, since Nanotrasen had a falling out with the Hegemony a few years back. This benefits the chainlink as a whole - even moreso than hiring NKA and PRA tajara would be. In this double-arc, the chainlink gets loyal Unathi on both sides of the aisle, keeps them away from eachother, both planets benefit and become a purer version of themselves, and the resources from the planet begin to get extracted. Additional Comments: I haven't had a lot of impact in the past with regards to lore on this server, but I've been hoping for an opportunity to get myself an entry-level lore development position for a while now. There is literally no team I would want to join more than the Unathi team - they're by far my favorite species, and from what I've seen, Unathi players are generally some of the most welcoming, smart, interesting and thoughtful players I've seen out of all the species. Despite any lack of direct experience on Aurora, I am willing and excited to learn under such a strong lore team, and I want to get anything going that the team itself needs me to work on.

I just gotta say - with the answers I've seen here, I feel very confident in the direction of Unathi. Your answers to all of my questions and others have provoked a lot of confidence, and I have no doubt that you would be great in the position. I feel like the species would be in great claws with you in charge.

Hey, I've got a few questions as well: 1. What is your opinion on the recent Hephaestus acquisition of the Moghean guilds? Will this have any direct effect on the Horizon itself? 2. Unathi have proven to be a useful corporate asset for the Chainlink. Do you believe that a push for Unathi captainship is warranted? Especially considering the acquisitions mentioned in the previous question. 3. Unathi are notable as a species that evolves quickly, yet we have no unathi subspecies. They are, at this point, the only species without a notable, mechanical subspecies selection. Do you believe they would benefit from one or more subspecies? 4. A concern of mine o is that a lot of the written lore has been too "fluffy" and has had little-to-no effect on the ship itself. What would you do to keep Unathi lore relevant moving forward? 5. You say you want to flesh out existing factions - Which of the existing factions are you most interested in fleshing out? 6. Dominia (as well as some other various factions) have some specific clans and families that have specifically designed lore for players to take onto the ship as their own surnames. Would you be interested in fleshing out some larger clans/families for unathi players to take onto the Horizon?

There are no real drawbacks to this. It gives the spur a bit more context and nuance. It makes sense that other companies exist - a lot of the equipment that we see is, of course, produced by the megacorporations of the chainlink - we work on the Horizon. I love the idea of the items like the blood-red armor having an actual designation rather than just being vague "blood-red hardsuit." Lore has simply evolved to the point where we don't have to vaguely reference the Syndicate. +100 I am a huge fan of relevant lore additions.

Dessy is someone that puts so much thought into all of their characters - absolutely none of their characters have felt anything less than fully fleshed out. I absolutely believe they will do nothing but their best with a Vaurca character. +1

I hold a strong opinion that, at the very least, Service should fall under the OM as opposed to the XO. Not only would it make it easier to actually fulfil bounties, but the idea that basic day-to-day operations should all fall under one manager seems fitting. It would make the OM role more appealing as well, because as it stands there isn't much for an OM to do other than "oversee" hangar technicians, who are generally pretty autonomous regardless - not to mention that shaft miners are extremely autonomous and the machinist is on the other end of the ship (and should probably be moved back to science imo anyways) I am a fan of 2IC XO, but if we're not getting any actual feedback on how that's going, I definitely support this as an alternative. That being said, I think that people focus too much on the replacing a captain aspect of a 2IC XO - when is the last time you actually saw a captain forcibly removed from their position? Ultimately, the XO is on the bridge, generally has the best relationship with the captain, spends the most time around the captain, has an idea for how the ship is going, and can alleviate a lot of the workload from the Captain given the right tools. I don't really think you need to fill the position of 2IC with the lack of an XO. Combining Service and Operations would leave the XO with just the bridge crew - give them access to some more radio channels and their role becomes essentially "Captain Support" - they won't have a true department to command unlike every other command member, which is what makes them a good 2IC, only having to focus on supporting the ship.

This varies wildly based on the location and company of origin. Idris and Zavodskoi units are generally never free, living their entire lives in service to the megacorporations, with Zavodskoi going so far as to completely limit old or malfunctioning bots to being recycled or broken down - no Zavodskoi units are ever free. There are some examples of the other side of the aisle within Hephaesuts and even Nanotrasen. Hephaestus is generally considered one of the more liberal corporations with regards to their treatment of IPCs. It is not unheard of for Hephaestus IPCs to receive promotions to middle-management positions, and even to heads of staff of SCC vessels. A lot of Hephaestus IPCs are able to purchase their freedom within a relatively low amount of time compared to the other megacorporations. In addition to this, IPCs are treated wildly different based on the nation they are living and working in. For instance, Tau Ceti generally has a more lax idea of synthetics, allowing freedom and even citizenship for IPCs that purchase their freedoms. To an even higher extreme, Konyang has no IPC slavery at all, living entirely as free beings. On the other end of the spectrum, we have places like Dominia, where IPC ownership precludes you from being allowed to even visit the nation - with all IPCs being completely barred and scrapped on sight as morally evil abominations in the eyes of most imperials. HI.RU-M.023 specifically worked within a mostly-secluded mining area on Moghes, where the majority of its exposure to organic life was its direct bosses - some humans and some unathi, but otherwise it concerned itself with mostly working with its fellow IPCs. The culture shock of getting upgraded with a new personality core and having to work with a lot of organics is a big draw of the character for me specifically, as M.023 is going to have to deal with learning just how organics work, settle into a comfortable work culture, and generally.. be a real coworker to people. As they get older, IPCs generally understand that they have a time limit on their life much like organics do. Not only is this a limiting factor of their existence, but it is much shorter than most other organic beings in the Spur. The idea that one's positronic will only last for so long would permeate it, and the self-preservation becomes less physical and more about its remembrance. How will other beings remember who it was once it passes? Will its existence have mattered past the repairs it had made? With HI.RU-M.023 specifically, this will not be an issue, as it would be a very young IPC, but the concept still exists for other IPCs. It is a young, naïve IPC that has been more-or-less secluded with other Hephaestus IPCs and a few organic bosses. Its personality has always been entirely objective and goal-based. A problem is brought to the machinist's bay? It will solve this problem using the least amount of resources and in the quickest way possible. From its time on Moghes, HI.RU-M.023 was shown that resources should be used carefully and recycling and preserving what you have is vital to an ongoing existence. Due to the nature of its efficient, objective way, HI.RU-M.023 speaks in shorter sentences, effectively attempting to utilize the most efficient way of speaking to people around it. With its new personality core, HI.RU-M.023 has been given a basic understanding of most species it will be working with on the Horizon. While prior to coming to the ship, it has never seen a tajaran, its new programming allows it to understand it as a species that could potentially work for the companies aboard the ship. This would also include facts about how prosthetics interact with tajara fur, for example. HI.RU-M.023 would be naturally curious about this new being, but ultimately it would be more concerned with getting whatever job is brought to it done. Whether its a tajaran, a human or unathi - a job is a job. It is simply trying to get through its work in the most efficient way possible. Ultimately, I hope to evolve how they behave around people once I start getting a feel for the character itself. Perhaps it will find itself working frequently with other tajara staff and take an interest in how tesla technology works, perhaps it will try to understand the unathi spirituality regarding prosthetics and robotics. Throughout all of this however, it have been given one new key feature: Curiosity. It wants to learn. It is no longer just a mindless being, it has a personality. I want it to find someone that they enjoy learning from and potentially have it download an imitation accent, allowing it to feel more like a real being. It has a relatively neutral idea of sinta, bordering on positive. On Moghes, a lot of Hephaestus' staff was sinta, so naturally HI.RU-M.023 came to respect the beings entirely based on their corporate affiliation. What weighs down the opinions of sinta for it is the idea that, not only are machines soulless, but prosthetics are essentially a destruction of ones' soul. While HI.RU-M.023 has never really concerned itself with the idea of a soul in its life, the idea that prosthetics are tearing apart ones being is preposterous to it. Outside of this, there have been a few attacks on its fellow IPCs by rogue anti-corporate sinta, though HI.RU-M.023 tries not to let it be too bothered by this fact - anti-corporate sentiment is simply a fact of life. HI.RU-M.023 does, however, fear that an anti-corporate unathi could end its life with the use of its own claws, though working in space aboard a heavily corporate vessel would alleviated any fears that HI.RU-M.023 would have about anti-corporate activity.

By this, I was mostly referencing their differences in self-preservation. The biggest thing to be is how logic-driven a more basic IPC would be compared to a human. Let me give you a situation: A human security officer with a damaged prosthetic arm comes into the machinist bay after being shot while exploring an old station. A human might think, "My coworker is in pain and needs his arm fixed so he can feel better." whereas HI.RU-M.023 looks at the broken arm as a missing cog in a machine - "This part needs to be replaced, as it makes the entire system much less efficient." As I understand it, IPCs generally shift how they feel about self-preservation over time. When they're younger, the main priority is making sure that they survive - If their body dies, there is no guarantee that they will be placed into a new shell, and they may be left to rot rust - or worse, be wiped and reset as a punishment for their failure. As they age, they are less concerned with their shells and become more concerned with the preservation of their ideas and beliefs. HI.RU-M.023 specifically cares only mostly about two things: Repairing machines and Survival. Its first priority, programmed into it from the beginning, is to get itself to a safe place, and then repair damages when things are safe. It will not risk itself, as it is counter-productive to get hurt in the effort of repairing things. Second priority is said repairing. A positronic learns in the same way that humans do - from external stimuli. While they can download information from external data packs, HI.RU-M.023, as a poor, unfunded IPC depends more on direct learning, unless extenuating circumstances demand that it gains experience or knowledge in a topic or area.