Lent23

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.

BYOND Key: Lent23 Character Names: (Most relevant would be Alsina Tau'ha'nor) Species you are applying to play: IPC What color do you plan on making your first alien character: N/A 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: Simply put? Robots are interesting. The idea for my first IPC is that they are a younger bot, still experiencing the world from a very naïve point of view. Being able to learn about other cultures and other characters is generally the most enjoyable part of roleplay for me. Being able to simply question things and grow as a "person" would simply be very fun in my opinion. I also find the idea of a robot building other robots in the machine shop very fun(ny). Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Lore-wise? They are robots. They are generally much younger than humans, and have a much different point-of-view through their upbringing as non-organic beings. The experience that encompasses their life is much different from that of an organic - While they may be physically more resilient in a lot of ways than humans, their positronic cores can only last for so long - much less than even a human life. Mechanically? They are robots. They are vulnerable to NPCs and heat/lasers and more resistant to bludgeoning. They can't eat or drink and are not affected by chemicals and have no pain mechanics. Character Name: HI.RU-M.023 (Hephaestus Industries Repair Unit, Designation: Moghes, Serial #023) Please provide a short backstory for this character HI.RU-M.023 was deployed to Moghes in the middle of 2464, when the Hephaestus branch was constructed and established on Moghes. This particular bot was part of a program that saw just under thirty G1 models programmed with repair-focused software. The idea behind this program was to ensure that Hephaestus IPCs in the area would be more autonomous and less-reliant on direct Hephaestus oversight. Its deployment to the Skamander peninsula on Moghes saw the bot doing more-or-less basic work on G1 as well as G2 models that would come back for repairs from various things - a falling rock crushing the arm of a G2 miner, a G1 with its legs torn off by anti-corporate sinta - HI-RU.M.023 saw many situations, but all of them were the same to it: Get them back in working shape and send them back out. Occasionally, it would work on repairing some mech suits - it was, for all intents and purposes, an assembly line-style machine that repaired other machines, and it did not need much else. With the advent of the Moghean guilds being subsidized by Hephaestus, a lot of company labor was shifted between locations. The Repair Unit program was ultimately a successful one in the eyes of the company, but with so many new hires - all with no desire for prosthetics - Hephaestus decided to repurpose most of the RU models, with 023 specifically being moved to the Horizon, for its efficiency in machining work. Prior to its reassignment, it was given a notable upgrade - a small personality program to compensate for its new main clientele, who are now mostly organic. Shipped to the Horizon with a newly added sense of self and being, HI.RU-M.023 has to wrangle his newly felt.. consciousness? - with that of his simple programing desire: Fix. Create. What do you like about this character?: A young, naïve corporate dog of a cheap G1 is simply a fun concept to me. With the recent additions to Hephaestus/Moghes lore, I was inspired to create something like a Moghean IPC, especially with how contentious Hephaestus can be at this time. Being a naïve Hephaestus-bot that really doesn't understand the repercussions of his actions or statements, only having known heavily corporate opinions will be fun roleplay. Notes: I'm 50/50 on the upgrade to his personality program - I think it would be more fitting with him being around more organic beings, but playing a 100% objective, logic-based IPC could also be fun. Either way, it would start off slow and be a progression to understanding human/organic life, as he has very limited experience with any organics - the few overseers on Moghes left him to more-or-less operate independently with other IPCs during their experiment.

I like to consider myself one of the more active players in the past couple months - I try to get on for at least one round a day if I can help it, though I would say I more often than not average 2-3 games per day over the past 2-3 months. I have played mostly the same character over this time, with a week or so where I played a lot of off-ship with a few friends. Over this time, my character secured her promotion from a bridge crewman to an executive officer. There is nothing that feels more rewarding than when you join a shift and have people who recognize not only your character, but the fact that your character has grown. This progression has driven the majority of my desire to play. NM makes a great point here. In my couple weeks as an executive officer, I find that my personal roleplay has suffered a lot. Despite being a roleplay-heavy role normally, the round-influential position absorbs most of my attention and having to be a facilitator of others' roleplay takes a lot of energy. I'm not a stranger to this sort of roleplay - I'm usually the designated DM in D&D games - but it does take a lot of out of the desire to play what has arguably become my main character, which feels really bad. Ask any perpetual DM how they feel about playing as a player in any D&D game and they'll tell you something similar. All this to say, the progression - at least for me - is what makes the game feel worthwhile. Watching relationships form with people organically has been one of the most rewarding parts about my character. I found myself hoping to see certain people on when I booted up the server. Hearing, "Hey ___!" whenever I join in as my character just feels good because it shows that there has been growth. I am a perpetual command player, so my characters are usually careerists - This is not the same for everyone. Having some form of growth, some consistency and progression that can be referenced is vital in my case. The fact that the round-to-round day-to-day feels almost entirely separated from anything that's going on in the universe is the biggest travesty. The recent Hephaestus buyout of the guilds has sparked some roleplay, but nothing more than a five-minute conversation about how Hephaestus is bad for Moghes with two or three people - and I am big into Unathi lore, I try to bring it up as much as I can. I think something that's missing is relevant lore. Things that are going on right now. The impact of things across the universe are certainly good for small interactions, of course, but if you ask any of the crew what the Horizon is actually doing in the Weeping Stars? Nobody has any idea. "Searching for Phoron..?" is the only answer I've seen - but it's always a question. On a shift today, my character witnessed the entirety of command staff wondering about what the actual mission was. When the command players don't know what's going on, how can we expect anybody to? At the very least, I think that the command forum should be utilized as an effective communication between the lore team and people who are allegedly in charge of the Orion Spur's Grand Experiment. Command as it is right now feels less like The Leadership and more like low-level supervisors. Overall, I think at the ground level, command can be used to help actually direct things. We have a forum for it, and it's woefully unused. There should, in my opinion, be a standard that we're held to, so that we can try to help lower the turnover of characters. Specifically on this point, I think we need more low-stakes events more often. Just some sort of progression. The Weeping Stars is a big place, and it never really feels like we're on an actual mission. Hell, I spent the last two months literally piloting the ship and I still hardly have an idea past the general "Somewhere in the East." I would love to see a canon event that's simple - We go onto a grove planet, there are some new planetary colonists there, and some people get to interact with them. What happens with the colonists? Are they hostile to the crew? Are they marooned? Who cares how it goes. What's important is that something happened that people can actually talk about. Are we headed for Konyang? Are we going to Burzsia? Literally who knows. There are two things people care about: The overall picture, and the day-to-day. Give them an overall idea of what we're doing - let command talk to people. Keep them occupied on the way. But right now, we don't really seem to have either of those things. I have a lot of opinions on this as well, but this post is already getting a bit long and I don't want to drown out the turnover retention with that. tl;dr more low-stakes shit, keep command informed & held to a higher standard

Reporting Personnel: Alsina Tau'ha'nor Job Title of Reporting Personnel: Executive Officer Game ID: cpj-dbas Personnel Involved: Reh'viis Kyvaanii - Investigation intern (Offender) Matejo Mrrakinov - Off-duty Scientist (Victim) Secondary Witnesses: Castor Jensen - Investigator Time of Incident: Multiple times over the past few days. Real Time: Time of report - roughly 5:00 PM 08/15/2023 Location of Incident: SCCV Horizon (Various departments over time) Nature of Incident: [ ] - Workplace Hazard [ ] - Accident/Injury [ ] - Destruction of Property [ ] - Neglect of Duty [X] - Harassment [ ] - Assault [ ] - Misconduct [ ] - Other _____ (Place an x in the box that applies. If other, replace line and specify.) Overview of the Incident: Matejo Mrrakinov came to my office this shift to report to me that he has been facing multiple casual incidents of racism from Reh'viis Kyvaanii stemming from the racial and political differences present in tajara. Mrrakinov informed me that he, a njarir tajara from the New Kingdom of Adhomai, experiences multiple incidents per day of verbal abuse regarding his race and political alignment from Reh'viis Kyvaanii, a M'saii tajara. Comments have been noted to have intentionally been made to inflame and enrage Mrrakinov and incur violence, so that Kyvaanii can incite violence between the two of them, taking the upper hand and using his position as an investigator to arrest Mrrakinov. Mrrakinov has noted that he has brought this issue up multiple times during multiple shifts in the past with a few heads of security, but has been brushed aside and given the proverbial "run-around" with his concerns, and has seen no action thus far - on the contrary, he feels as if Kyvaanii has been rewarded for his actions thus far. In addition to his concerns, he has noted that Castor Jensen of investigations has also experienced similar remarks from Kyvaanii, and Castos is the one who informed Mrrakinov of the extent of harassment involving his race, as Kyvaanii has been open about his distaste of njarir tajara as well as the New Kingdom of Adhomai. Mrrakinov has come to me, and I have decided to take action on behalf of Mr. Mrrakinov. Submitted Evidence: Would you like to be personally interviewed?: [ ] - Yes [X] - No, unless requested Did you report it to a Head of Staff or a superior? If so, who? If not, why?: I am the head of staff that was informed Actions taken: Captain Joliba Kasongo and I spoke with the affected parties, presented Kyvaani with an injunction form - no political engagements of any nature under risk of suspension between Kyvaanii and Mrrakinov. Additional Notes:

My biggest gripe with changelings is absolutely the ceaseless respawning that every single ling seems to do. The round is almost always nothing going on until either: a) A body is found drained of all its fluids in the cargo bay b) A corporate reporter busts out an arm blade in front of the bar After this, you see a standoff with security, more arm blades are drawn, and one side gets absolutely bodied. a) The changeling gets bodied, gets brought to the morgue, comes back to life, start back at step 1. b) Security gets bodied, and the crew armory is opened so the changeling can body more inexperienced people. If the changeling has been bodied twice, throw it out the mass driver or cut its head off. This cycle usually doesn't include more than security and medical, it doesn't include any storyline for the rest of the crew, and the progression system of the changeling itself is literally taking people out of the round - I can count the ling blobs on one hand that I've seen stay in the past month. Not to mention the amount of people that cryo when the first "It's got arm blades!" comes out on the common radio channel. When you see something every day, the cinematic value is cheapened by a lot. Changeling could be a really cool concept, it's just too oversaturated right now - a good portion of the rounds are changeling rounds. I think @SilverSZ said it best with this:

Genuinely can't think of many people I enjoy RPing with more than @LordPwner, and having actually written your whole app for you seeing how much work you put into your app, I can't think of many people who should play lizzer more. This is an absolute +1 from me.

Now let's talk about the OOC perspective: A goofy gimmick, sure, but let's hear it out. Do most people think that Solarians and the Skrell would combine into a super-government and own the entire spur? Probably not, but let's work to verify it. The captain's job is to protect the crew, the ship and company assets from any potential threat. It is her job to ensure that this opposing force is dealt with, first through efforts of de-escalation, then by force if necessary. Our attempts to confine the boarders were exclusively after tensions and weapons were raised, and a direct threat to the life of the crew happened. It's worth noting that the gunfight was started by the boarders shooting at the captain, not by security. This situation lasted more than half the round, from the entrance of the mercenaries to the gunfight they started. I wouldn't say it was cut short early by any means. You demanded access to the ship, and then came aboard with a heavily armed and armoured team of solarian marines. I don't know if the Captain was the one being hostile. Our compromise was to go to the nearest port, to which you said No. You did not let up on your side of the deal, saying only that "The ship will turn around and go to Jargon space" and that "All synths will be locked up. "We're only going to lock up your crew [in one place to make them easier to kill] rather than hunt them down one by one" isn't exactly ceded ground. The plan from the beginning was to move to a nearby port, disarm the mercenaries and get confirmation from outside of the sector. As stated above. I wanted to integrate more roleplay into your round rather than just ending it. I said you couldn't leave the room to hunt down synths, then you started blasting. I was still open to conversation. They called us, we asked out of convenience, then accepted the fact that, for the gimmick's sake, the whole system was brought in. This is also my main problem with the escalation. I was open to conversation after this point, but was not given the chance. I was hoping for some sort of admin intervention on this part, as it would clear up where we wanted to go with the gimmick from our side. I would have absolutely conceded to either response. I'll also say: due to the commander being the person that spoke to them the most, @Fluffy's perspective on this situation is fairly important and mostly accurate from what I can see, especially from the IC perspective. In addition to this, the main OOC reason I felt the hostility would be welcome was because a divided command makes for a more compelling story. With the Head of Security and the Representative pushing for hard compliance with the solarians and Marcus and Sophia pushing against it, it added another layer of contention that would be much more interesting than all of command rolling over and letting the group of mercenaries do whatever they want with the ship. The alternatives given to me in the conference room were: "End your synth players' rounds by killing them" or "end your synth players' rounds by jailing them until the end of the round." Neither of these are good solutions for everyone. At this point, my IC concern was a firefight breaking out in the halls and innocent people getting hurt because of it. The OOC idea was to get them to at least partially disarm and then let them loose on crew to talk about the situation in the bar or around the ship, and allow people to ask questions about situation - what happened to their families, what happened during the war, etc. Unfortunately, after I ghosted, I was there witnessing Ublicto talking about how peace gimmicks never work, and how "bar rp is boring" and that "antags should use all of their equipment if they can" To which I assume they meant weapons and armor. These thoughts weren't in my head during the round itself, but I realized afterwards that no matter what, peace was not an option from the mercenaries' perspective, which makes this feel like a somewhat frivolous player complaint, if I'm honest.

Alright, so here we go: At the beginning of the round, the bridge crewman and I were sitting and chatting when we got a communication that the Horizon was suddenly shifted 100 years into the future. The immediate result was a mixture of radio panic at everyone losing their loved ones and being forced into the future and complete skepticism. About fifteen seconds later, we were set upon by a cruiser coming to dock with the ship. The captain's first instinct in this situation must be to protect her crew and preserve the peace. It was around this time that Marcus Zhao showed up on shift, and the captain called both Marcus and the commander to the bridge to discuss the situation at hand. It was right about the time that they arrived on the bridge that we started to get hails from the boarding ship, entirely in sol common. Sophia does not speak Sol common, so Marcus and the commander were translating for her. What was told to her was that the people on the inbound ship were "Going to board." with emphasis placed on the going, as if there was no choice in the matter. At this point, it's the captain's primary concern is to meet with them on at the very least an equal field. When people tell you that they are going to board you, you can assume with relative certainty that they are armed enough to back up their claim. Captain Cynthai orders the commander to "Arm up your forces." This is because it's much easier to debate with someone when you're on an even level - much harder when one side has weapons to point at you. At this point, the bridge has witnessed the boarders on the camera. Just as she expected, they are touting what appears to be solarian hardsuits as well as multiple long-arms (with what appears to be some of them carrying two long arms). A captain of a ship that has had two solarian incursions in the past is not going to take well to heavily armed solarian boarders. Adding onto the fact that everyone she knows off-ship may be completely gone at this point, she is extremely stressed out and believed the situation was best left to the commander to deal with - their de-escalation skills are going to be much better than hers at the moment. It was about this time that rangers contacted the ship to see if we needed any assistance with anything. The bridge asked them if they detected any temporal disturbances, to which they told us they had not, and that we were still as of their knowledge in the year 2465. Relaying this information, I believe the commander supplied the alternative that perhaps their sensors weren't able to identify any shift, as their ship would be far less advanced than theirs. The captain was willing to accept this explanation, and the Rangers were sent on their way. After the rangers left, the solarians requested a meeting with the captain herself. While still upset, she knew that she had to do this for the crew, so she agreed to come outside and meet them. Marcus came with her to translate, as she expressed concern that they were only speaking in sol common. Upon meeting with them, they demanded that we speak somewhere "more private." We moved to the conference room, and started discussing what they wanted. Their demands were that we start moving the ship to skrell federation space. Captain Cynthai's response to this was that we would move to the closest port. At this point, the lead marine told her that the closest port was Burzsia, a completely-military planet that would "Fire this ship out of the sky on approach." Cynthai considered it her due diligence to get a reading from the nearest port - If the current system had been warped into the future, as the presence of the rangers would imply, then the closest port being 3 days away would likely be in the future timeline, so she could get an actual answer. She spent this time in the conference room with the boarders trying to get them to lower their weapons, as half of their team had weapons in-hand, almost as if readying their trigger fingers. The idea was to get the boarders to lower their guard and create an easier time to get to the port. Drinks were on the proverbial table, and they would be able to chat while they moved to the port. The boarders declined this concession. Pickle is let in by the bridge crew. Weapons are aimed, and sol common is shouted. Tensions are high at this moment, and Pickle rushes out. Now, the boarder is no longer speaking to the Captain, he is speaking to the commander through the glass. His demand is that all synths are locked away in the brig, and their life is put into question. "Do synths play a vital role in the operation of this ship?" Yes. They do. We are not going to lock up our crewmembers. The boarders get angry, and weapons are raised. "You're not leaving this room right now." Shooting commences, started by the boarders. Captain runs out after taking a couple bullets, security runs in. I didn't get to witness much, but I did see the boarder leader calling for a ceasefire. Shooting was still commencing at that point, from what appeared to be both sides, though most seemed to have stopped as the commander also called for a ceasefire. Due to a couple members still shooting, it evolved into an all-out explosive fight, with security taking the eventual victory with one lost officer. At this point, I had to deal with explaining the entire round to Melariara, so I was mostly checked out of IC affairs and ghosted shortly after being informed that this would likely result in a player complaint, all my desire to play the round promptly sapped.

Gilt always puts a lot of effort into her characters, and I would absolutely love to see her play a sinta. +1 for sure.

I think if we had other animals, it would be a matter of flavor (literally!). I think it would be interesting to be able to order and slaughter a schlorrgo if you prefer, or if someone orders one. Alternatively, just add different kinds of meat

Kuhn, my beloved. I have never wanted to +1 something more than this post - Commander Kuhn is peak gaming, and I need it in my life.

It was mostly her parents' wishes to have her trained, and I imagine she would have been given to more relatively low-ranking Zhan soldiers/civilians in order to try to facilitate something, but never really getting too far! I'm always down to simply retcon it away completely, but as it stands it's more of a point-of-view type of thing for her - she feels as though she was given a good, leadership opportunity. This would only increase her apparent sense of entitlement with the continued perceived mistreatment of Zhan aboard SCCV ships, as they're still to this day not allowed to do anything that many consider the "successful" parts of departments - the leadership. I'm partial to Volodymirra, personally! She could then accept "Volod" "Mirr" or "Mirra" as nicknames. To a human, she goes between describing herself as "non-religious" or "non-practicing," but to another tajara she would describe herself as having been "raised Ma'ta'ke by her parents." She does not actively worship anymore, but her parents' view of Mata'ke as a Zhan is something she holds pretty close to her heart, as she believes it's a sign that Zhan aren't meant to just be low-caste laborers. She is looking to pursue a job in a basic field like operations or security. She believes that operations may be an easier position for her, as she believes her small criminal past may have a higher chance of coming out when subject to the scrutiny of a security position background check. She was raised by parents who were avid followers of Nated, and her father today finds himself as a Follower of Nated, She does not hold the same love for Nated, and finds the party itself ironic, holding the idea that Nated himself does not want to be in command, and that he wants diplomatic oversight. Volod considers herself a a moderate of the Free Tajaran People's Party, as she believes that Adhomai should be united under a singular strong government, but she also believes that cooperation with aliens is inevitable, as they cannot truly live isolated. She is not inherently against corporations, as she is supportive of tajaran businesses, but cautious what the un-regulated greed might bring. She has found herself considering the National Adhomai Worker's Party, as they are a much more people-based party, but finds that her overall goal to see Adhomai united under the DPRA is too great to justify switching parties. Overall, she would like to see a united Adhomai under the DPRA that then transitions into a more civilian-based government. As her exposure to ideas surrounding the NKA/PRA has historically been through extremist soldiers including her parents, she sees the NKA as little more than a step backwards for adhomai, as the world has truly moved past the need for nobility and kingdoms. From what she has heard about the PRA, they are just fascist overseers who want nothing more than to keep their power at any cost - The one thing that is unforgivable that the PRA has done so far has been giving tajaran jobs away to corporations and what amounts in her head to selling "slave labor" from the adhomian population to large alien corporations. As a moderate, she does not inherently hate aliens, but she would like to see tajaran society as a whole be much more united and strengthened, and she sees the bickering between the three factions as an overall weakness, allowing aliens to take advantage of all sides.

Ska'zaszhk Guwan is genuinely the funniest chef I've ever seen on the station, the absolute amount of work that goes into small things like the menu that Sk'zaszhk uses? 10/10 absolutely charming. Is hard workand the ability transferrable to different species? I mean, probably! You decide

BYOND Key: Lent23 Character Names: Sophia Cynthai, Kresshi Tau’ha’nor, Alsina Tau’ha’nor Species you are applying to play: Tajara What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Dark Gray #1e1e1e Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes Why do you wish to play this specific race: I found my way onto the wiki one day and ended up reading about the Tajara lore. The thing that caught my eye the most was the triple-faction Adhomai, as the tensions between the three stark ideologies could lead to some interesting roleplay. I also happened to be playing Contraband Police recently, and the communist themes made me really interested in the one-party system of the PRA and how it contrasts to the DPRA’s eventual goal for a civilian government, as well as the NKA’s goal of royalist rule over Adhomai. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Generally, Tajara are looked down upon as a more primitive, war-driven and idiotic race by the more populous space-borne races. This is mostly due to their lack of up-to-date technology and their lower overall number outside of Tajara-controlled space (primarily Adhomai) being a lot lower than most of the other sapient races. This is exacerbated by the fact that their capital planet is not only currently divided, but actively has a set of large, tumultuous, brink-of-war factions and a volatile state of mostly-peace. Mechanically, they have claws, their own languages (Siik’Maas, Siik’Tajr, Ya’ssa, Nal’rasan, and Delvahhi), they take higher brute and burn damage, move faster, are less susceptible to cold, have special suit/glove/boot settings than humans, and have a certain form of darkvision. Character Name: Volodymirr Morozovich Please provide a short backstory for this character: A relatively young Tajara at 19 years old, Volodymirr “Volod” Morozovich was a crew member on a small smuggling freighter vessel who dreamed of a better life for herself. Ever since she had turned sixteen, she had searched for a way off Adhomai, as Rou’tul was no longer a viable home after the fire bombing of 2458. She struck a lucky break when she turned eighteen, as a charismatic freighter captain named Savva Ibn’Nasir caught her stealing from a storefront while he was docked for some “trading,” and offered her a job on his ship - he could always use muscle, and a tall Zhan-Khazan like her would make a perfect bruiser. Having travelled for about a year on a freighter, she is still relatively new to space, but she spent her time learning Ceti Basic in order to understand what was going on better in their trade deals, and picked it up quickly. One day, she ended up injured and was brought to an SCC ship, and upon seeing so many advanced areas - from the bar to medical to science - she was inspired to join up. Though she is not necessarily the biggest fan of corporations - having seen what their intervention has brought to Adhomai - she sees this as a short-term solution to her freedom. Working off Adhomai and pursuing a more secure, arguably less-dangerous job than a junk contraband-trader would surely keep her safer for longer.. Right? Prior to joining up with Ibn'Nasir on his frigate, Volod grew up in a loving home with her parents. In their private life, her parents were always very vocally against the people's republic for their increased contact with aliens, As Volod grew older, she learned of her parents' hatred for the ease the republic had with selling their land and citizens to large corporations, watching NanoTrasen quickly take the tajara workforce away from Adhomai, where much work was still needed. When she was about five years old, her parents both joined up with the Adhomai Liberation Army, as they believed that Nated'Hakhan was their only hope for a free Adhomai. During their time in the ALA, Volod's parents sought to groom her for a position in the new Adhomai by preaching the ideals of the movement in every moment they spent with her, bringing her on every tour they could get in order to give her a martial education between themselves and the officers. Around the age of twelve-to-thirteen, the word of the civilian government forming into the DPRA gave her parents an idea - combining her martial education with a diplomatic education could create a strong leader within the movement, so they passed Volod around between various diplomacy-minded individuals in the DPRA's new civilian government. At about 15 years old, Volod faced her first true tragedy: her mother was killed when advancing forces of the S'rand'marr Coalition sought to retake a position she was holding. Her father had always claimed that she fought valiantly and secured an escape for many of the other soldiers, but Volod could not help but think that perhaps the rest of them were traitorous cowards for allowing her mother to die. The death of her mother created a stark rift in her relationship with her father as well, as his duty to the ALA only strengthened - a duty that had always taken his entire heart, leaving her feeling abandoned and left behind. To this day, Volod has a very mixed relationship with the warring Adhomian factions - though she feels a duty to the DPRA and her parents' legacy, the war has brought nothing but pain and a twisted sense of duty to the tajara people. She has wondered at some point if her feelings on the PRA and the NKA have been nothing more than propaganda spouted by her parents, but she feels validated in the grand scale actions that they have taken since she was young. More often than not, she has found their frigate on Gaka'zaal, and has still rubbed elbows with many DPRA affiliates, leading her to have at least a few contacts who are willing to help her. Plus, some of them would be interested in having a woman on the inside of the corporations.. What do you like about this character? Being born a Zhan-Khazan groomed for leadership in a galaxy of people who will not allow them to lead is a true curse. The fact that she is essentially the ideal DPRA member, her cynicism not allowing her to fully commit to the party will also be an interesting factor into her roleplay. How would you rate your role-playing ability?: 7.5/10

Yeah, I feel like every expedition I've been on has run out of time. Definitely agree with more prep being put onto the intrepid by default. Like rock said, Binocs, tape, rods, jetpack/fuel. Ideally it should be as streamlined as possible - We ARE in an exploration ship funded by a super-megacorporation pact, you'd think the Intrepid would be fully stocked for these sorts of things.

Maybe we can set up some expedition standardization or at the very least guidelines for preparedness and SOP?