kermit

Reporting Personnel: Rosenwyn Edevane Job Title of Reporting Personnel: Captain Game ID: clF-do5H Personnel Involved: - Rosenwyn Edevane (Captain): Witness: Issued the order to have the Grauwolf and Longbow loaded. Carried out a hasty and interrupted investigation into the matter. - Keala Nalika (Hangar Technician): Offender/Witness/Unclear: Allegedly refused to carry out the order - claimed harrassment within the department prevented them from doing so. - Konstantyn Lovad (Shaft Miner/Interim Operations Manager): Offender/Witness/Unclear: Appointed interim OM to regain control of Operations - allegedly involved in bullying Keala Nalika. Claimed Keala Nalika instead has a large history of neglecting their duties. - Joe Volonte (Hangar Technician): Offender/Witness/Unclear: Allegedly involed in bullying Keala Nalika. Secondary Witnesses: - Naoki Kato (Bridge Crewman): Witness: Stationed at the targetting console and reported the delay in loading the weapons. Can confirm the weapons were unloaded after orders were given, if needed. - Kriszta Meszaros (Head of Security): - Witness: Received reports earlier in the shift and previous shifts about an ongoing dispute between Keela Nalika and Konstantyn Lovad. Can potentially provide further input on Konstantyn Lovad and Keala Nalika's relationship if relevant. - Lyric Valana (Bartender) - Witness: Reported an incident where Joe Volonte had threatened Keala Nalika with a knife. Time of Incident: 23:45±20mins, 01/01/2465 Real Time: 23:45±20mins, 01/01/2023 Location of Incident: Operations Nature of Incident: [ ] - Workplace Hazard [ ] - Accident/Injury [ ] - Destruction of Property [X] - Neglect of Duty [X] - Harassment [ ] - Assault [ ] - Misconduct [ ] - Other _____ Overview of the Incident: The incident concerns a large amount of either neglect of duty or harassment within the Operations department during a particularly rough patch of sea where the potential for conflict with another vessel were present. The SCCV Horizon were cruising through a sector where there were some SFA activity that were observed – notably a patrol craft harassing an IAC response vessel, which demanded some intervention from the SCCV Horizon. The order were given to the hangar technicians listed above to have the Longbow and Grauwolf loaded ahead of potential conflict as a precautionary measure. However, Naoki Kato noted that both weapons remained unloaded, despite Joe Volonte having said he had loaded the weapons. The order were given out a second time, with both hangar technicians unresponsive – Konstantin Lovad had to be appointed Interim Operations Manager to handle loading the Grauwolf and Longbow with the assistance of a machinist (not listed) and ensure the hangar technicians were doing their job. Upon being appointed interim, Konstantin reported that Keala Nalika had refused to carry out the order to load the Grauwolf and Longbow, stating they had "better things to do". The order were put out by myself to have Keala Nalika detained for Neglect of Duty, though instead the order were dropped in favour of a hasty investigation which were carried out by myself. Keala Nalika insisted that either Konstantin Lovad or Joe Volonte had told them to not load the weapons given they could not be trusted – they claimed they were being harassed by Konstantin throughout the shift, and this stemmed from that – and also claimed to not have heard their name being called when being reminded to load the weapons. With a bluespace jump imminent and no time to fully investigate the matter – one's word against the other – an incident report was decided to be the best action to take. It's unclear whether Keala Nalika were bullied away from loading the weapons and the individuals responsible for the harassing needs to be dealt with, or if the harassment were overblown or non-existent and Kelea Nalika were making excuses to avoid the neglect of duty charge. Other claims made in defense of Keala Nalika related to the harassment that could not be investigated in the shift included: - Joe Volonte threatened to stab Keala Nalika with a knife. - Konstantyn Volvalaad pulled Keala Nalika to the side and threatened bodily harm, saying, 'No one will find your body here [in the warehouse].' Other claims made against Keala Nalika related to neglect of duty that could not be investigated in the shift included: - Numerous other orders throughout the shift had been ignored by Keala Nalika, of which Konstantyn Lovad was witness to. Submitted Evidence: None. Would you like to be personally interviewed?: [X] - Yes [ ] - No Did you report it to a Head of Staff or a superior? If so, who? If not, why?: Yes: Captain/HoS, listed above as (secondary) witnesses. Actions taken: Command began to investigate the matter, though due to it largely being hearsay and due to the imminent bluespace jump, a proper investigation could not be conducted and no one was charged. Earlier on in the shift, Kriszta Meszaros ordered Konstantin Lovad and Keala Nalika to not interact with one another - this may need to be formalised by H-R in a more permanent injunction, though the aggressor in this relationship is unknown. Additional Notes: The incident where Joe Volonte allegedly threatened to stab Keala Nalika can be separated from this incident report and included in it's own one if needed, though it seems at least somewhat relevant.

Lately, Briar's always an easy pick for Interim CE if I've noticed them in-round while I'm playing captain. Datru's very reliable when it comes to engineering, and whenever I've had Briar as an Interim – only a handful of times, but each round was pretty busy Command-wise – they've been great to have. Fair amount of presence when it came to decision making, good at coordinating with others on the Command channel when the opportunity presented itself, and being able to go along with an antagonist to entertain whatever they have in store. I'm glad you decided to apply. +1

I'm reserving most of my thoughs for the official feedback thread, though with the lore team's approach to feedback and criticism mentioned as well as lore direction, I'd like to speak on that more generally. A large criticism of the last Dreary Futures arc was that many felt it exclusive if they were playing non-Command, non-Security characters. This second Dreary Futures arc has predominantly been ship combat focused, and therefore has excluded all of Security and half of Command in addition to all departments previously excluded, so has wholly achieved the opposite of what people were hoping to address in the last feedback thread. A large criticism of the last arc was that they did not feel the setting was being utilised. We moved from a stationary setting to a mobile one so we could be toured through the lore that lots of people have poured their hearts into writing. Instead, we got locked out of Elyra, one of the more vibrant planets under Human Lore. Now in the Badlands, one of the more interesting regions of the Orion Spur with it's exotic fauna and flora and daring adventurers... we're hunting pirates instead of sight-seeing and potentially uncovering phoron-rich exoplanets with anomalous fauna or large jungles which could be explored by science teams over several shifts with phoron relics contained within. Events don't need to be centred around conflict to be fun, new conflicts between groups don't need to underpin every arc from hereon – there is a bounty of lore in our setting that's thusfar been unused due to our setting formerly being confined to the Romanovich Cloud. Again, the concerns people raised were ignored for the second Dreary Futures arc. Another large criticism of the last arc was railroading, though some said the mutiny round made up for it. Yet this morning there was an announcement, out of anyones control, that the Horizon's being drafted to take part in a space battle. Choices afforded to players and their characters are: play, don't play; resign, 'this wasn't what I signed up for' or stay for the battle. Looking back at the King of the World Arc, people praised the lack of conflict and instead the consequences of conflict occuring elsewhere in the Spur. The Aurora performed a function which made sense – TCFL resupplies, harboring displaced refugees. There was a good use of setting, everything felt natural, and the universe created felt alive. The feedback is there, what people would like and have liked from arcs isn't hard to decipher. It feels like there is a colossal disconnect between the lore team leading the direction of events and the playerbase, and it feels like the community's feedback and expectations for the direction of lore are not listened to when it's presented. Lucaken mentions finding a new way to engage with the playerbase and I'm optimistic about that, but with much of the criticism raised following the previous arc not being worked upon, how do we know the lore team'll work on it this time around? Why was the feedback from the last arc not acted upon – was this second Dreary Futures arc written before the feedback thread or something? We should be valuing collective storytelling where everyone gets a say in the direction of the lore and gets to chip in with what their expectations of lore are. I think Nienna outlines what the playerbases' general expections were fairly well, and is a sentiment I've seen expressed in previous feedback threads, in the discords and on the gameserver, and with the direction events are going in right now, it does feel like the NBT and the shift from a stationary setting to a mobile setting has been an overall detrimental thing for the lore. I think these expectations should be catered to and that arcs should be written for the playerbase not at the playerbase. Given the overwhelming dislike and pessimism expressed – on the relay, on the game server in both OOC and IC channels, on the forums here – towards this upcoming event, at what point does the lore team weigh the benefits over any sunk costs and decide whether the best course of action may actually be to not go ahead with an event and to instead review and compare the playerbases' expectations with the lore teams' expectations?

A recorded voiceline for raising to Code Whatever/'GC' contrasts all the other code change sound effects; it doesn't really fit. Action stations, battle stations, general quarters: I don't mind, but it should preferably be in the body of the announcement, and not in the sound effect or title - this is so it's consistent with all the other code changes.

Scars were added as a consequence for repeatedly getting severely injured, so officers getting hospitalised by antags can't just return at full-power again so I disagree with what this suggestion aims to resolve. Personally, I'd like it if even chemically-healed organs resulted in scarring, it would level the playing field between surgery and pharmacy and make the consequences of being grievously injured more common, instead of isolated to post-surgery. I'm also opposed to organ regeneratives being available in a cabinet at roundstart, when those drugs make up a third of the workload of a typical pharmacist. The rest of the proposed flow, if I've understood it right, rests on those regeneratives though, so without a pharmacist you're now unable to heal the damage up to the point it then requires surgery - not great. I personally think scars are a good thing for gameplay, and that they shouldn't be a treatable thing as they are a consequence for receiving treatment.

The only thing I'd personally want out of this is a different alert level – ideally I think it should be named after a colour so it's consistent with all the other usual alert levels – and the red lighting to go with it. The 'general quarters, general quarters' stuff can just be part of the announcement's main body instead of its title. That said, and as Faye mentioned, an announcement for everyone to get to battle stations doesn't really fit – 3 bridge crewmans, a hangar tech or two. and the Captain/XO/OM are the only people with battle stations. The Horizon's a civilian vessel, so it'd have to fit that. I don't think a recorded voice effect thing should be played. What you've got in the videos right now is really jarring and sharp on the ears, nor does it fit any of the other alarm sound effects. The Code Red alarm or what you've got for the Brace alarm would fit fine. The Announce buttons as an alternative to Command/BCs manually announcing over Common/consoles is a neat idea though.

Archiving.

Unwhitelisted players joining as the low-ranking species ghostroles -- definitely not all of them, there are people with good understanding just not the whtielist who jump in -- already flagrantly disregard basic lore concepts that would probably see an ordinary whitelisted player lose their species whitelist. At least with these ghostroles the spotlight isn't on them and the majority of the time they don't make it to the Horizon. I personally don't even like the idea of there being unwhitelisted species ghostroles. There's also already a lot on the mind of people antagging. If someone now has to be a dedicated species mentor, that's going to absolutely shatter their patience, especially if there's someone who's both new to a species and new to off-station antagging and thus yet to click with a HRP environment, who then needs to be babysat throughout the round (which isn't uncommon). You then have to consider that some off-station antags take until 00:45 to even step foot on the Horizon, accounting for explaining lore, this'll easily and regularly push set-up up to and past the 1 hour mark. Sure, this idea increases the variety of gimmicks, but there's going to be a marked lack of quality to a lot of them which makes this wholly unworth it.

This complaint took a little while to slog through -- there was a lot to break down and process. Mel and I repeatedly came to the same conclusion which was that the original staff complaint was quite overblown by a series of inflammatory remarks on Cybs' end which only served to foster a hostile environment. Calling other players within the community 'paranoid' is unacceptable, this shouldn't have to be said. As a result of the tone that was set, a large back-and-fourth went on that wholly deviated from the aim of the complaint which was centred around a Deadchat interaction. Mel and I approached you both in DMs about this and the appropriate action was taken. This covers the first point outlined above. Regarding the second point, we're not going to make assumptions about whether or whether not there was malice in Cybs bringing up friendships. Neither me or Mel believe Cybs was setting out to villify you, though it can be argued that friendships didn't need to be mentioned at all in the staff complaint as it deviated from what the original complaint was about. Regarding point three outlined above, there isn't anything inherently wrong about Cybs' saying they have other witnesses/whatever to bring into the complaint. All that's left to say is, when opening complaints, is to leave any frustration at the door and and stick to the subject of the complaint. Digging into past, unreported issues often leads to rocky complaints; issues should be reported as they come up and isolated from other complaints instead of being held in-reserve, ideally. We'll keep this open for 24 hours more, then it'll be archived.

Reporting Personnel: Rosenwyn Edevane Job Title of Reporting Personnel: Captain Game ID: cko-dmPp (Extended) Personnel Involved: Rosenwyn Edevane (Captain) - Reporting Personnel Sigmund Goldberg (Investigator) - Offender Hossl Suazra (Security Officer) - Witness Rrhuyala Rrhakaslav’Karimi (Warden) - Witness Time of Incident: Unknown, 14/10/2464 Real Time: Sometime around 00:45 BST, 15/10/22 Location of Incident: Investigator’s Office, Investigations Division Hallway Nature of Incident: [ ] - Workplace Hazard [ ] - Accident/Injury [ ] - Destruction of Property [ ] - Neglect of Duty [ ] - Harassment [ ] - Assault [X] - Misconduct [ ] - Other Overview of the Incident: The offending crewmember, upon discovering a security officer ailed by SSD, in the Investigations Division Hallway, cried over the Security – and, accidentally, the Common channel – reporting a downed officer. ‘Officer down. Repeat, officer down.’ This ronkled the Common channel a mighty amount, resulting in emergency responses from Medical and Security. Fortunately, the stirred crew were quelled by Command. The ship intelligence then, as a hologram, hailed and were met by the betwattled offending crewmember who squalled ‘GHOST!’ a few times over the Common channel. He then discharged his disruptor into the hologram, disregarding any sense of safety or conduct. Afterwards, a warrant was writ for his arrest. Upon the warrant being effected, the offending crew member fled. He were later re-approached by the arresting officer and I and the new charges were presented. Once again, the crewmember fled, saying ‘I fucking quit!’, this time down the living quarters lift where he were unreachable and processing was unable to go ahead. He showed up the next shift. Submitted Evidence: A transcript covering a small period when the offending crewmember were approached for arrest the second time. Would you like to be personally interviewed?: [X] - Yes [ ] - No Did you report it to a Head of Staff or a superior? If so, who? If not, why?: No - I were the captain. Actions taken: An injunction were filed to have the offending crewmember seen by the on-duty or next-available psychiatric team, though this were never effected. i221 Gross Negligence and i202 Resisting Arrest and/or Sparking a Manhunt charges were presented to the offending crewmember who were then made aware of the impending shift suspension. Alas, they fled down the living quarters lift and were unable to be properly processed.

Diggey is one of players - whether they're playing an antagonist, ghostrole, Horizon character, whatever - that I know will deliver great roleplay. Their characters are often well thought out, interact widely and have a lot of presence. Many of them aren't flashy characters, relying on a wow-factor to be considered interesting, instead Diggey's attention to small details in the most mundane elements of lore brings up their characters. They turn what may have been a fairly plain character into one that can genuinely be interesting. I don't think anyone can fault their ability to come up with believable and engaging characters, besides maybe Sneed's name and not much more. Being someone who plays captain a lot, I can speak on Diggey's command abilities as OM lately. Again, I think they're good at it. Diggey comes up with interesting ideas for slow rounds - rubbish collection, 5cr (or whatever it was) for every piece of rubbish brought to the Ops Desk - which just provide another thing to do, they have a lot of presence over the Command channel during code blue/red, actively contributing ideas as to what Command can do to resolve an issue, instead of slinking off and going forgotten, and they engage with the members of their department instead of being an absent or reactive head of staff. I enjoy having them around when I play captain, so I would say they're doing a good job of their trial so far. As for the claims above regarding behaviour, I haven't noticed any off behaviour in the past 5 months since they were warned/lost a command application to it. It was a concern of mine last time they applied, but I don't think it's relevant anymore as they seem to have improved. I'm personally glad to see you applying again, good luck. +1

1) Naalp is certainly aware they're approaching the end of their life. They probably estimate they've got 30-40 years left, given that, while still in the Jargon Federation with a promising career, they'd have benefited from some of the Federation's healthcare advancements, but, given their ever-so-slightly above average social credit score, they wouldn't have benefited from all of it - no longer being in the Federation also means they no longer continuously receive such treatments for ageing, as you mentioned, and health concerns that otherwise would be treatable may begin to crop up. However, their position has always been precarious, and so they're well acquainted with the idea of being close to death. They, of course, fear it and will be preparing, to a degree - whereas before they could observe decisions they made over the course of decades, they realise that they may have to make more short-term decisions, which they are unused to. Naalp is content with what they have achieved, and is likely at the stage where they're putting all their experiences to writing in their journal which they can neatly tie a ribbon onto ahead of their death, or sharing their experiences with others who may be interested. Joining the crew compliment of the Horizon will likely be the last major decision they make, and exploring space will be the last memories they'll write of in their journal - Naalp sees that as a fitting end. 2) Naalp admires dionaea as a whole - they're venerable, highly individualistic, inclined towards pacifism, and their experiences shape their outwards appearance and behaviour; these all align with Naalp's Kir'gul beliefs. However, the dionaea within the Federation are likely from Xrim and were seeded by Glorsh, and so Naalp is quite wary of them, but will judge each dionae hailing from Xrim as they come. Dionaea who are pacified by the Federation and instilled with their values - through education or adoption by a family loyal to the Federation - are pitied by Naalp; dionaea who support Glorsh are, of course, abhorred by Naalp. Dionaea who have no affiliation with Xrim or the Federation are more likely to be admired by Naalp, unless they hail from, say, the Viscera Belt, or a similar violent cluster. Naalp dislikes vaurcae, seeing them as a fusion of flesh and machine, mass-produced in broods with their plan in life pre-determined, they're devoted to their queens, and they're dependent on their hive with little free will. Of course, as a vaurca ages and experiences life outside of VR, their personality is shaped and they express themselves more uniquely, however Naalp likely only has experience with younger Unbounds or Bound workers given their career in freighting, and is too ignorant to get to know a more developed Unbound. Naalp draws similarities between vaurca and Federation culture - the admiration and urge to copy Idols and Xakat’kl’atan, especially - and dislikes them for similar reasons. 3) Naalp definitely distrusts synthetics and is always wary of another potential synthetic uprising in the future, however they've had the time to get acquainted with synthetics in human space and aren't fearful of them to a debilitating degree. The largest source of Naalp's discomfort towards synthetics will likely originate from shells, as they can't fathom the appeal behind unmarked synthetics designed to seamlessly fit in with an organic populace - Naalp prefers synthetics to remain overt and clearly marked. This is the most comfortable Naalp can get with synthetics, and there's little chance of them ever - in their 30-40 years remaining - befriending or being comfortable around a shell. It's already taken a large degree of effort for them to get this far. Most rounds, this'll likely manifest itself as a couple emotes directed towards shell or a remark or two intended for the AI - stationbounds and non-Shell IPCs will likely be spared from any distrust. However, during elevated alert levels, this distrust will gradually expand to all synthetics, with the AI and shells being the most affected - having an organic crewmember do something of importance which, otherwise, could've been rectified by the AI, etc.; nothing that'll sabotage gimmicks focused around synthetics though, and so any distrust will have to be carefully reigned in.

BYOND Key: Sadkermit Character Names: Loukas Tzannetakis, Captain Hugh Oswald, Chief Medical Officer Szuiaks Ezsruk, Head of Security, Jory Meryasek, Research Director, Faith Windsor, Pharmacist Guusje van Willigen, Pharmacist Ka’Akaix’Lyrk C’thur, Scientist Marjolein Heuvelt, Assistant + a bunch of other retired characters. Species you are applying to play: Skrell What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Light blue. Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes Why do you wish to play this specific race: Much of the historical and political lore behind the skrell interests me and, as you’ll see below, is something I’ll enjoy working into character backstories. Social influence is a field I’ve always had a passing interest in, and skrell lore has been written with that in mind. Psionics being tied into this - listeners and receivers - and their dispositions towards conformity and obedience is a cool bonus. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: I think the most important and universal aspect which makes roleplaying a skrell different to a human is the difference in expression. Skrell body language and social dynamics are all pretty unique and interesting. Emotes will focus less on facial expressions, and more the subtle or obvious movement of a head-tail, and feelings are conveyed more vocally and in a plain manner. Nailing that when roleplaying skrell is pretty important, in my eyes. Character Name: Naalp Riqaij’aal Please provide a short backstory for this character Naalp Riqaij’aal was born on Aweiji in 2157 to an immigrant Axiori family not yet sterilised by the genophage that originally hailed from Aliose during Glorsh-Omega’s reign. Pried from the embraces of their Quya, they were largely nurtured by a single Glorsh-sympathetic skrell who fulfilled the role of Ukutanii and a handful of robotic caretakers who handled Riqaij’aal’s physical needs, vaccinations, gene-tailoring and effecting of X’Lu’oa until they were capable of entering slave labour, beginning at the meagre age of 22. Having been separated from such an early age, they never got to know the members of their Quya, and were only showered with the crafted affection of their Ukutanii who psionically exaggerated the feelings they had for Riqaij’aal, and who preached the vision Glorsh had for the skrell race. Upon reaching the age of 22, now stripped even from their Ukutanii, Riqaij’aal began working under the cold and direct supervision of their overlords. They worked in a factory which disassembled high-tech. apparatus of the previous era so that the products may be exported to XY-558, then to the heart of the Jargon Federation. While their upbringing initially erred them towards being a supporter of Glorsh, they struggled to conform with what they had been taught - due to their dive into the world outside of their Ukutanii’s embrace and into the harsh labour of slavery and due to thembeing a Listener. However, they made no attempt to resist, crossing their head-tails to those who spoke ill of Glorsh and dedicating themselves towards servitude. Despite this, they were eventually picked up by a synthetic supervisor who detained Riqaij’aal, citing Glorsh’s sagely algorithms which predicted criminality and recent evaluations which categorised Riqaij’aal as a Listener. They were ferried over to a Kai’q encampment on Aweiji, not aware of any crimes they had or may have intended to commit, not even aware of even one time they criticised Glorsh aloud to a coworker. At the Kai’q, they received further genetic intervention ensuring their X’Lu’oa was in full effect, providing zero chance of their criminal-inclined genes being passed on, and were also subject to chemical and hormone treatments which aimed to - rather hopelessly - uncover a method of converting a Listener into a Receiver. Here they spent a large portion of their early life, subdued and resigned to the will of Glorsh - but they lived, where many other Listeners did not. After the disappearance of Glorsh, the encampment Riqaij’aal was confined within was liberated by military forces, and Riqaij’aal witnessed the rebuilding of Aweiji and the ushering of the Supernova Age. Riqaij’aal volunteered to partake in their civil duties to rebuild skrell civilisation on the planet, and aided in the reconstruction of vital infrastructure as a Manual Spacecraft Operator, having to teach themself and figure out how to fly such vehicles, given few skrell around had experience operating such vehicles when, previously, they relied on AI to do so. After some time, Aweiji was reunited with the Jargon Federation following the Tresja Agreement - somewhat to Riqaij’aal’s dismay. By now, Riqaij’aal had completed a course at an Uyi’vesi to pursue a career as a civilian pilot, working primarily in the inter-continental freighting field first as a Third Officer up to First Officer and then as a Captain. Following the reintegration into the Federation, however, Riqaij’aal shifted into the inter-planetary freighting field, presiding on the deck of large cargo-haulers operating between the Elemental and Core Systems. Riqaij’aal’s career flourished, but only for a short while. Now under the parental eye of the Federation, Riqaij’aal was scooped up yet again by Nlomkala officers acting on the intel of Sromkala investigators - they had given themselves away in Srom. The state has identified Riqaij’aal as a Listener as well as a religious and political non-conformist who may or may not have malign intent to spark dissidence within the Federation. Riqaij’aal had never particularly fancied the idea of the Jargon Federation, disagreeing with foundations such as the Grand Council, Idol culture with Skrell society and, instead of following a state-sponsored faith, abided by the Kir’gul doctrine - Ya’Qu - but they certainly weren’t planning on consorting with anti-Federation groups or spreading dissent. Riqaij’aal watched their social credit score plummet from a low 6 to a high 3 and, once again, they were carted off, this time to a re-education facility within Tresja, the Federation citing Riqaij’aal’s nonconformist beliefs and the possibility of spreading dissidence or associating with anti-Federation groups. They passed the time by keeping a journal - two journals: one kept secret from the re-education facility’s officials; one less so - where thoughts were transcribed and experiences recollected and written. Eventually, social credit score reset to 5, Riqaij’aal was discharged from the re-education facility. After retracing their steps through their career as a pilot, Riqaij’aal was, once again, faced with a stint in a re-education facility. Not wanting to repeat this for a third time, they migrated from the Federation to the Sol Alliance, landing in Callisto where their career began one last time alongside Hephaestus Industries. Through hard work and recognition within Hephaestus as a particularly adept and seemingly loyal vessel captain, Riqaij’aal was selected for a transfer to be part of the Executive Officer line-up of an upcoming SCC research vessel - the SCV Horizon - where they’d man the Bridge and pilot the vessel through space unknown and known. What do you like about this character? They fall far from the Federation’s idealised view of a skrell and thus have been victim to a fair amount of adversity. Working this into a backstory has been fun, and how I’ll roleplay it in-game will be something I’ll enjoy doing. The way the character will interact with skrell who were born following Glorsh's reign or those who advocate for the Jargon Federation will also be something I'll like about playing the character. How would you rate your role-playing ability? I improve where I can, it's difficult to rate my own ability. Notes: In hindsight, applying with an Executive Officer ahead of the test-merge before they have official requirements listed may have been a silly idea. Worst case scenario, they'll be played as a Captain instead. 22/01 Edit: Age reduced by 40 years from 346 to 306. 346 is pretty old for a skrell with an average SC score and who left the Federation, considering natural life expectancy is ~200. They've still benefited a significant amount - 100 years - from age treatment in the Federation, but not as much as those who have higher SC scores and who still live in the Federation present time. This doesn't affect my answers below, they are still close to death having left the Federation, and reckon they have 30-40 years left to go.

Sounds good, then. I'll be sure to take all of this into consideration going further on in my trial and keep it in mind during similar situations to avoid making the same mistakes.

Sure thing, I'll break down my side of things in a neat-ish way so it's easy to pick out any parts where I've gone wrong. The issues I had with this were: The fact no meaningful talk was held when the antagonist tried to begin some kind of verbal confrontation, granted Faye's CMO did agree to this meeting in the first place. Faye had two opportunities to run after the antagonist began shooting them. First was darting left and out of Medical, or sprinting down into an OR. When the antagonist broke line of sight to exit the Exam Room, opening a window for Faye's CMO to run into an Operating Room that they were stood right besides (this being the most obvious) The antagonist was far better equipped than Faye's CMO - they had complete ballistic plate and a lethal/stun weapon. Generally, one's response unless they have absolutely no other option when faced with odds like this is to run - Faye did not run and instead waited for the antagonist to approach (all while being shot by stuns) and then lunged forwards with the hypospray. I opened the ticket to: Remind them to take into consideration that their character shouldn't be standing off against an antagonist far better equipped than them. Instead, they should have considered running, given they had the opportunities to do so. Not let their frustration/dislike of an antag's gimmick excuse them from engaging with antagonists as Command. You cannot pick and choose which gimmicks you engage with. During the ticket: Faye insisted that under no other circumstance would she have stood off against the antagonist. The circumstances outlined by her in the ticket appeared to be that the antagonist was playing to win, so in response she'd do the same. This was an OOC issue that was handled by myself, and shouldn't have justified IC action. Not when there is room to engage with an antagonist and aid them in driving the story the antagonist was hoping to achieve. Despite the antagonist failing to engage with the crew in the previous 1 hour 30/40, the meeting they wanted was to make amends for this. Ultimately, their attempt to drive a story was waived off and discarded. Command have an obligation to engage with antagonists, just as much as antagonists have an obligation to engage with crew. Disliking where an antagonist has taken the round doesn't excuse anyone from this, and efforts should always be made to give antagonists a chance to drive a story. Nor when there are opportunities to run, of which there were two; one being very explicit and kind of hard to ignore (the antagonist walked away at one point to leave a room they were in before continuing shooting). Had there have been no way to run (i.e. cornered in a dead end, no access to the doors around you), had the antagonist not been actively shooting Faye's CMO and therefore self-preservation wasn't something to keep in mind, then it would have been acceptable. I don't really think it was acceptable in this case. Before and throughout my trial, it has been established to me that running is usually the best option to take when faced with an antagonist when not equally matched.

Hey there. After reviewing my initial decision, I do think a note would’ve been better suited than a warning. I’ll be fine having the warning downgraded to a note, if you're happy with that.

Server Moderator Application Basic Information: BYOND Account: Sadkermit Character Name(s): Loukas Tzannetakis, Captain Hugh Oswald, Chief Medical Officer Guusje van Willigen, Pharmacist Faith Windsor, Pharmacist Ka’Akaix’Lyrk C’thur, Scientist Za'Akaix'Vitzk Zo'ra, Security Cadet New-Found Courage, Security Officer Shkiezik Esoksre, Anomalist Szuiaks Ezsruk, Warden + a bunch of retired characters. AI Name(s): Augur Discord Username + Tag: kermit#4941 Age: 19 Timezone: GMT+1 When are you on Aurora?: I usually have Aurora opened up in the background throughout the day just keeping an eye on deadpop and looking out for when people find enough spirit to try and boost the in-game player count up by 3 characters or something. I tend to play one of the medium-pop rounds in the evening, then am able to observe - sometimes join - the high-pop round which usually occurs in the late-evening/midnight for me. Experience: How long have you played SS13?: Since 29th/30th April of 2019. How long have you played on Aurora: Since 29th/30th April of 2019. How much do you know about SS13 (Baystation build) game mechanics?: Regarding departments, Medical and Command are my strong points, with Supply being my weakest point. I spent my first year and half playing Medical, so I’ve probably introduced a great many people into the Medical fold - for better or worse. I do have a firm grasp on all departments though, and have played each one for a decent amount of time, can provide information on the essentials for all of them, and have made sure that I’ve played each department to put anything I do know to the test. Other mechanics such as species and AI mechanics I understand enough to inform someone. The majority of questions regarding game mechanics I may be posed while moderator I believe I can handle, and in any case where I may be unsure about game mechanics, I’ve got my own fork & VSC to skim through or boot up and test stuff quickly, as well as people I can ask questions. Do you have any experience moderating for an SS13 server?: Not for an SS13 community, no. Have you read through the criteria thread - [link] - and believe that you mark off all the criteria?: I believe so. Have you ever been banned, and if so, how long and why?: No bans. Personality: Why do you play SS13?: I originally began playing SS13 after a friend asked me to find a game we could play together. Naturally, we jumped onto an LRP or MRP server and mucked around. However, I then noticed HRP servers existed, thought I’d give it a shot, and then discovered it scratched my itch for a serious roleplaying game which I could see myself enjoying; I tended to play Garry’s Mod roleplaying servers, which are pretty lame in comparison. Why do you play on Aurora?: Story-telling. I’ve always been attracted to roleplaying games and really enjoy being able to create characters, interact with other people’s characters, form stories with the characters in front of me, etc. The addition of antagonists and the very occasional event to steer a round or drive a lore-arc makes it all the more entertaining for me. What keeps bringing me back are the faces I’ve met and the stories I’ve told and would like to continue to tell with people - it’s a friendly community, there’s a lot of nice people who I enjoy talking to out-of-game as much as in-game via our characters. What do moderators do?: Moderators ensure the flow of the round carries on undisturbed. If someone unaware, unwise or mean-spirited disturbs the flow, moderators are there to correct it and redirect the current so that the round may carry on normally. Moderators are also expected to provide help to those who ask, so if someone’s round is disrupted as they’re unaware of mechanics that would allow them to proceed with their round, then, should the individual ahelp, moderators can lend a hand and put them back on-course. What does it mean to be a moderator for our server?: To fulfil and be trusted enough to fulfil the above duties, as well as to represent the community on a small-scale to new folk who may be ahelping to say this is their first time playing on the Aurora. While anyone can choose to help a new player or scold someone for doing something unwise, moderators are trusted and empowered to do this. Trust is the keyword, and if you’re trusted enough by the administrative team to moderate, then others may hopefully trust you too. Why do you want to be a moderator?: I’ve been asked to apply on a few occasions, though I never felt I knew enough about mechanics nor felt I could really be bothered to interact with the community on a larger scale than just the odd GitHub contribution. Lately though, I’ve reconsidered applying for either a CCIAA or Moderator position, and settled upon Moderator after a short discussion with a member of the staff team, as I believe I have a far more firm grasp on game mechanics and believe I’d be more willing to interact with the community and those within it than before. Besides this, I also tend to observe many rounds just because I find it entertaining watching how antagonist rounds unfold. I’d feel less like I’m wasting my time by observing if I had the ability to answer ahelp questions or settle a dispute between players which may occur. What qualities do you possess that would make you a good moderator?: A general sense of imperturbability; very little is able to drive me towards an ill-considered response, and I can maintain a well-collected exterior when everything’s been set loose on me. I’d also consider myself quite kind and very willing to help and mentor - I’ve always approached or been approached by players on Discord, either new to roleplay or new to, say, chemistry, and then took them under my wing and taught them all I know. How well do you handle stress, anger, or insults?: Re: Sense of imperturbability. I rarely act on impulse or come to quick conclusions, and, even in really difficult situations, am patient enough to stop and think and consider my next actions thoughtfully. I definitely acknowledge the role of moderating is pretty stressful and moderators are susceptible to burn out, however, without experiencing it first-hand, I can’t judge whether it’s something I can handle or not. Judging entirely by how I cope with other stressful things, I’m not sure anything that will be thrown at me while I’m a moderator will really be able to immediately perturb me - it certainly won’t affect my performance as a moderator while online. Anything Else You Want to Add: 13/10: Edits after proof reading 24/10: New characters, more exact dates

BYOND Key: Sadkermit Discord Name/ID: kermit#4941 Borg/AI Names: None that I've played in the past 2 years. Current name for an AI is Augur, though I may change it on a whim. Have you read the Aurora wiki page about the AI?: Numerous times, yes. Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?: The role of AI has always seemed interesting to me, though I never had the chance to give it a go before the need for a whitelist was imposed on the role, mostly because I lacked confidence in my skill set at the time. Since then, I've now been able to branch out and play each department for a considerable amount of time now to understand how they function, and so I'm more confident in my abilities to play an artificial intelligence as I'm a more seasoned player - I no longer have so many gaps in departmental knowledge. Regarding the stress of the role, which was also a concern I had before and one which is always worth acknowledging, main'ing Captain in medium-sized bursts really hardened my shell and expanded what I can tolerate, so I don't believe that's so much of an issue anymore. Observing certain AI mains in the past also made me realise the potential for roleplay the role of an AI had beyond some detached and omni-present entity, especially through the use of the holo-pads. I'd quite like to be able to see what I can do with the tools given, and whether I can play an AI which both functions well, acts as a bastion of knowledge, but can also raise the spirits of a department when everything's quiet. More so now that my time-zone falls into dead-pop, making it difficult to interact with the other 2 or 3 people on-station who are busy in their department. I also enjoy being able to craft stories with antagonists and, just like Captain, the AI is another frequent target, so, by playing AI, I hope I get more opportunities to work alongside antagonists to help develop any stories they wish to tell during their round, then, as I become more confident in my AI play, perhaps expanding upon a framework they give me to create my own twist or development to their story with the aim to involve more of the players in-round, if possible. Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they?: I haven't received any bans or warnings. I may have a few notes, though any I do have are likely not serious. Certainly nothing in the past year. Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action? Of course. Notes: N/A

BYOND Key: Sadkermit Character Names: Loukas Tzannetakis, Captain Hugh Oswald, Chief Medical Officer Guusje van Willigen, Pharmacist Faith Windsor, Pharmacist Ka’Akaix’Lyrk C’thur, Scientist + a bunch of retired characters. Species you are applying to play: Unathi What color do you plan on making your first alien character: A grey, sandy-ish colour. Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: I have. Why do you wish to play this specific race: Mostly because I’ve observed other unathi players lately, and started to become interested in why those characters may behave as they are, and what differences may arise. Having read the lore in its entirety and more in-depth than I have before, there’s a few characters I had in mind that may be fun to play on the station. Brutal, post-apocalyptic wastelands where everyone is at each other’s throats is also a setting I quite enjoy, not to say that the Untouched Lands don’t interest me either though, as they do. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Unathi are far more traditional and spiritual than humans. Honour and religion plays a far larger role in an unathi’s than in a human’s life, where traditional values such as honour and gender roles have been discarded, and where religion doesn’t have such an effect on one’s life. This affects what a character will value, which then affects how they behave and are roleplayed. Being in Tau Ceti where they’re exposed to a far more progressed society, and where unathi are a fairly recently enlightened species, this clash of values leads to a lot of roleplay that shouldn’t be ignored when playing an unathi. The majority of unathi also have a far different upbringing to most humans. The Contact War has had a significant impact on those that are alive, having completely changed the environment of Moghes. This has led to a generational trauma within unathi society, with many lives changed and affected, and so roleplay as an unathi will usually account for this. Character Name: Aorza Istar’ruzk Please provide a short backstory for this character. Born in 2418, Aorza Zruxksa experienced life on Moghes before the Contact War and before First Contact with the Orion Spur as we know it. Hailing from a small village not too far from Sahltyr, the Zruxksa’s hunted for a living, and weren’t fortunate enough to benefit from much of the technology available to those living in the cities, their area being rather against the industrialisation of unathi society who feared for the loss of the traditional way of life. The closest radio was that of the nearby villages, where young children - sometimes Aorza himself - would listen in to the news, then run house-to-house and to the various farms - only a few having moved on from hand ploughs - scattered around the countryside to disperse the news. Life was easy though, in comparison to what would come: basking in the sun after a day of hard work, hunting alongside his father during Versakh, receiving a simple schooling in a class of six friends - all formed many fond memories that Aorza would struggle to cling to. Dedicated to helping his father hunt to make a living, selling meat and hides to a local guild in exchange for a small cut - which is then halved again to pay their dues to their lord - Aorza was unable to pursue his childish dream of becoming a warrior and fighting honourably in combat, adhering to the old warrior codes. The thrill of the hunt wasn’t enough, and Aorza wanted more of a challenge. This ambition was never followed through, and Aorza hunted alongside his father throughout his childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. 2433 came, and the children ran through the village screaming news from the village radio. Aorza heard the news from his mother: aliens, life on other planets - sapient life. No one believed it at first, and life carried on, but it all turned out to be true, and stirred up a lot of tension. Every day, the children flocked around the radio, and every day they’d bring more news of the alien benefactors; news of new technology, space travel, warm blooded mammalian aliens and magical amphibians. Gradually the news turned from excitement to disappointment, as these technologies, this capability for space travel, and these mammalian and amphibian aliens would never step foot in the kingdom Aorza resides in. All would be hoarded by the Izweski. Tensions continued to rise. The lord petitioned more men to join the levy, offering greater incentives, and spouting the usual ‘fight to bring honour to your name’. With the incentives now great enough and trouble on the horizon, Aorza, aged 18, departed from his village with a fond farewell to his parents, and walked an hours journey to Sahltyr to join the lord’s city guard. After a year of training, after seeing the failure that was the first ISP space launch to Ouerea, and after seeing how the Izweski were leaving the rest of Moghes behind in it’s technological slipstream, the Contact War broke out. Fortunately for Aorza, though to his dismay, he was withheld from the brunt of the fighting, and remained on watch in Sahltyr. When the nuclear exchange began, the city was one of the targets on the Izweski’s list. Dragged from his patrol on the street, shoved into a building, and thrust into the basement, all Aorza could do was tremble with the earth, and scream with the wind. Alongside 4 others in the basement, Aorza sat for several days, unsure what to do. Those that said ‘leave’ were unable to open the basement hatch - something above was pinning it down. Those that said ‘stay’ began to feel the crippling effects of starvation and insanity begin to take their choke-hold. One day, a rapping at the hatch alerted them, and it swung open. Aorza and only 2 others left the basement. Baptised by the radiation, deafened by the wailing of those grieving, and terrified by the fallout that had begun to cascade upon the city, he wrapped an undershirt around his face and immediately began to run to his village. He ran faster and further than he had ever ran before, rushing to meet his parents. Neither of them could be found. A small stack of rocks splashed with a drop of blood was made to signify their passing - a dwarf when compared against the blood-soaked rubble of buildings in the cities that have fallen - and he spoke some words, begging them to not be angered by the fact he could not find their bodies to prepare them for the spirit world. After invoking the names of every ancestor of his he could remember for several days straight, a group passed through his village. Remnants of the Azarak Kingdom - already of old - who called themselves Gawgaryns, they all vowed to save those that survived the nuclear war - upon their honour, they swore, their ancestors be their witness. Aorza Gawgaryn walked with them through the waste, leaving his insignificant pile of rocks behind. A week later, they pillaged a homestead in the wasteland which refused to give them food to eat, the men butchered and the women and children left to starve. Resorting to banditry, the Gawgaryns made their presence known in the wastelands, and Aorza beside them - barely a warrior, just a cook and a field medic, humiliated by those who he relied upon for safety. Years passed, and the Gawgaryn killed and saved, a balancing act of good and evil, honour and disgrace - a balancing act as he performed the mental gymnastics needed to see himself as a hero among heroes in the wasteland. He trudged through the heat with 23 others, brothers and sisters in-arms, gender roles cast aside, weapons kept close. His bandit cell rarely stopped, constantly on the move to avoid patrols of those loyal to the Izweski or simply protecting themselves from the Punished. In the thick of battle, Aorza would charge in, Dorviza medical supplies in his bag, a Queendom weapon in-hand, and armour dug up by Reclaimers donned. He'd raid many settlements with his group, ferry many unknowing and knowing unathi off-world. It would take Aorza 4 years to finally come to grips with the wasteland, 2 years more before he acknowledged how far he had fallen, and a further 4 years to accept it. Eventually, he had finally had enough. His cell of 23, now whittled down to 14 over the many many years, was scouting around the various Oasis Clan territories, looking to spot a small caravan or lone wanderer. Instead, a giant sea of people was spotted - more than the eye could see. A writhing, twisting snake slithering through the sands of the wasteland. Aorza and the kin of his who shared his view abandoned the Gawgaryns and ran for the entourage of people, hands held high, weapons left behind. Enveloped into the mass of unathi and pushed to the front, Aorza approached a shambling old man - a walking stick in one hand, a book in the other. Juzida Si'akh stood before him. Aorza - a nervous wreck - knelt before him and told him of his dishonour and disgrace, told him of who he was and who he wished to be, how he spat on the spirits for cursing those who survived, how he'd do anything to make amends. Juzida reminded him he could still redeem himself in the eyes of the spirits who damned his soul to eternally fester on Moghes. He slept that night and, had he been a Sk’akh before, he may have woken a Si’akh Heretic, but the idea of the Great Spirit was unfathomable to him, and he remained stubborn in his Th'akh beliefs. He remained with the entourage for a long while, offering his services as a warrior, and providing first-aid treatment to those who were wounded by Maraziite Order patrols. After waiting for several weeks to have another meeting with Juzida, he was pushed to the front and gave his farewell notice, he told the prophet of his plan to apologise to those he did harm to. With the spirits' blessings, he broke off from the entourage and made way towards the Oasis Clans. Entering through the gates, he had hoped to see a lord who he could beg for forgiveness, instead he was chased out of the gates, his head demanded upon the chopping block. Redemption already seemed like a short-lived and still-born dream. Not knowing which sands the entourage crawled through now, Aorza Gawgaryn began trudging in the direction he believed they were heading: past Mudki and towards Yu'kal to preach. It took him several weeks - alone, blending in with the sand to avoid being spotted - to reach Queendom territory, and entering through the gate with an alias, he refreshed himself in a tavern. Aorza found no Si'akh entourage that day, only the cunning smiles of the criminal underground who offered passage off-world to wastelanders in exchange for a dangerous mission. Intrigued, and with no honour to lose, Aorza took the offer - he was to raid one last Reclaimer crawler and drop the scavenged riches off just outside of Res'karum, where transport was arranged for him to be taken off world. The deadline was his shuttle take-off time, should he miss it, he'd find no other way off world. Aorza and a group of 9 others followed the Reclaimer crawler to the salvage site, waited for them to disembark, and ambushed them. It was just another ambush for Aorza, though he deliberately lagged behind to avoid the combat, refusing to draw his blade, and only aiding those of his team who received injuries. They loaded what they could into the back of a van and sped off towards Res'karum. The job done, Aorza sat in a new bar. Another sly smile entertained him, and led him towards the shuttle port. Thrown into the back of a cargo shuttle with several other to-be-immigrants, he was smuggled off of Moghes. Claiming asylum on the grounds of religious persecution, Aorza was granted stay on Biesel. Discarded into District 11, he only found more coy smiles. The ignorant smiles of aliens who had set Moghes ablaze, the friendly smiles of gangs looking for muscle, the promising smiles of factory owners looking for cheap labour. With another shot at redemption, Aorza chanced his luck with the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion who offered him an education, a chance to protect those who could not protect themselves, and, ultimately, citizenship. He was taught Ceti Basic, and how to act as a Combat Medic. He served for 3 years, beginning in 2459 and leaving in 2462 aged 45. He signed his citizenship papers under the name Aorza Istar'ruzk, refusing to associate with his previous names, hoping this new name marks a better chapter of his life. It took a while to begin to acclimatise to human space - he still hasn't - and now he's landed a job interview at NanoTrasen Corporation, a promising position aboard the NSS Aurora as a First Responder where personal development awaits. His interview is today, who knows what they'll think of him. What do you like about this character? I like the idea of a character whose entire vision of himself and morals in life have become twisted and contorted into something monstrous and undesirable, and how the immense guilt he feels drives him towards a fanatical devotion to redeeming himself: to make amends, and to appease the spirits who he has disgraced himself before. Whether he ever gets a chance to reforge himself into someone more honourable and respectable, or whether those around him constantly remind him of the wasteland creature he once was is yet to be known, and will be enjoyable to play. In the end, he's a symbol of how the Contact War has devastated Moghes and it's people. Aorza is also an old unathi, who's spent most of his life in a wasteland. I'm sure he's also got plenty of small stories he can tell those in Medical while they all ogle the crew monitor, which'll be fun to come up with. That, as well as stories of his upbringing on Pre-Contact War Moghes, before everything hit the fan. How would you rate your role-playing ability? Since I started playing again this month after a fairly long break, I've only stuck with the characters and created new characters I feel like I can consistently play well - Lyrk and Tzannetakis being where I'm best, I'd say - and have benched those where my roleplay was more inconsistent or just not good in the first place. Because of that, my roleplay this month has already eclipsed where I was a year ago, and I even feel that since I began playing Lyrk, my roleplay has already improved beyond the point before my vaurca whitelist. I've definitely improved a significant amount and will always continue improving, as I always try to get feedback whenever and wherever possible, as ultimately this isn't a question for me to answer. It always feels weird putting a number on a scale, as I don't feel there is an upper limit to one's roleplaying ability, and people, including myself, tend to rate themselves too high because it's often times hard to believe you can improve at all beyond a certain point, and that you've finally hit your limit, when you haven't and can still always improve. Notes: The backstory is long, I know. If it's a problem, I can try squish it up a bit more or format it nicely with dropdown chapters - just say. Have a malted milk biscuit in the meantime for making it this far. 15/09/2021: Proof reading edits. Touched up the part about the pile of rocks dedicated to his lost parents by making some more explicit references to Th'akh lore.

I don't normally leave comments on Command applications, but Equairio's a friend of mine and has approached me a fair bit for questions regarding playing Command, etc., so I feel like I can contribute more than just a 'Hey, they're super duper cool, +1'. After this application went up, I've answered a lot of questions for her, explained situations she was unsure about, and just tried to give any advice I wish I had known when I began playing Command. She's taken a lot from it and, when I've observed/been in rounds with her as an Interim Chief Medical Officer (and Senior Physician, in that one round where a CMO arrived just after she was made iCMO, and Command struck an unusual compromise), she's been able to handle the department pretty well on her own. I've also been able to play alongside a fair few of Equairio's characters, so I can attest for their ability to roleplay well within Medical and for their understanding of the department as a whole. She has my +1, and I'd look forwards to seeing her as a CMO during a trial so they can get a better feel for Command.

Thanks for the questions, both of you - I've done my best to answer them in great enough detail. I can focus on more specific details if I missed the point of any of your questions. Lyrk will be quite reclusive at first, keeping their head down as they work on whatever project they’re working on in Science. Their background in District 9 pushes them to be somewhat fearful and paranoid of non-vaurcae around them, believing that non-vaurcae have an inherent disgust towards vaurcae. However, as they work aboard the Aurora and as they meet more and more people who are amiable to themselves, then Lyrk will open up more and be more social and friendly. Being very young and with no experience working in any non-vaurcae facility, Lyrk has a significant amount to learn, not so much that they’ll act dim-witted and childish, as they've certainly been taught the fundamentals. After getting beyond their fear of non-vaurcae, they may be more inquisitive and curious, asking questions - appropriate or inappropriate - to learn more. They’ll gradually progress from little experience dealing with non-vaurcae to having acquired the tact C’thur are known for, and is something I'd quite enjoy playing with. Being scientifically inclined, this tact may be for better or worse. Lyrk also hails from Mouv’s brood, who is quite close to Einstein Engines, and the C’thur hive overall, who are close to the Federation. Both Einstein Engines and the Federation have been cast as antagonists on the stage of the Orion Spur currently or at some point, and so Lyrk will have a crisis of allegiance: skrell versus human, the Conglomerate versus Einstein. Their opinion on this is entirely influenced by Mouv’s opinion and instruction on the matter, as skrell, humans, the SGC, EE, are all bodies that Lyrk knows little about and isn’t part of. While they’re still new to human space and unfamiliar with how everything proceeds, Lyrk will likely be grateful for the Federation’s treatment and hospitality towards their High Queen, believing them to be valuable allies. Influencing this view may also be Lyrk’s belief that a High Queen is far too powerful or influential to be held captive or to have allowed themselves to be held captive, and so it’d be laughable for anyone to say that the High Queen is a hostage. Vaurcae honour also dictates it to be abhorrent to dictate unbound vaurcae, and more-so Lesser or High Queens, so Lyrk may, for some reason, believe the Federation and other players on the Orion Spur’s stage would respect these same values, until it becomes evident through interaction with non-vaurcae and observing events in the Orion Spur that they do not. As Lyrk begins to figure out the landscape of the world they’re living in, and they begin to witness just how powerful and sly corporations and nations can be, they’ll wisen-up and realise that vaurcae aren’t the big players on the stage in the Orion Spur. It only suits the Federation quite well to have the High Queen held in life-support with all her subordinates vying to serve and please the Federation so as to ensure their continued aid of the Queen - if that’s even their goal. Having spent a month in District 9 where tensions between different alien groups is high, and soon to be employed on a station where vaurcae are a very small minority, Lyrk will likely overlook hive differences at first and instead value the experience all three hives share as a widely discriminated group in Tau Ceti. Conflict between hives is tame and regulated compared to conflict between vaurcae and humans and vaurcae and tajara in Tau Ceti. The interactions Lyrk has with vaurcae hailing from other hives will likely influence this view further. Though, having only really been exposed to the C’thur hive and originating from this hive themselves, they’ll be biased towards their own hive if ever a discussion about inter-hive relations or actions was raised. Outside of that, they’ve yet to form a concrete opinion about either Zo’ra or K’lax - interactions on-station have yet to shape them. Being in the C’thur hive and exposed to other vaurcae of the C'thur, they’ve probably already formed opinions on the virtual reality set-ups of the other C’thur Queens. The realms of C’thur and Vytel would both be admired by Lyrk, as they encapsulate regions of Sedantis I. As someone scientifically inclined, this preservation of Sedantis I in these two Queens realms is something admirable. However, from this description alone of these two realms, Lyrk may feel that these realms are clinging to the past, and that vaurcae need to find a better foundation in the Orion Spur. For that reason, they would point towards Mouv’s virtual reality as somewhat superior, as Mouv’s realm is an endless source of information with relevant data that can be applied in the material world. Regarding Xetl’s realm, Lyrk would view the experimentation which goes on within as a good use of virtual reality, and the Newts which are discarded as being necessary sacrifices. If Lyrk was to bump into a Newt, they would likely have many questions, which would then inform their opinion of Xetl’s realm further. Lyrk isn’t aware of the structure of virtual reality in the Zo’ra and K’lax hives, and so any opinions formed on the set-up of their virtual reality would be a result of interactions with vaurcae from those hives. Looking ahead though, should Lyrk ever have a discussion regarding the Vetju's or Leto's realms, they'd admire these two realms for knowledge they contain and the ability to prepare Klax's vaurcae for their role and life in the material world. Scay's realm would also be admired by Lyrk, again for the knowledge it contains and it's ability to prepare vaurcae for their role in the material role, but also because it fuses the history of Sedantis I - at least creatures which inhabited the moon - into the learning environment of the virtual reality. Lyrk doesn’t adhere to any religion, yet - like all things, this’ll be influenced by interactions they have on-board with other vaurcae. Being scientifically inclined, Lyrk observes the flaws each of the religions has. For example, the Hive Panthenon venerates the Queens and depicts virtual reality as a heaven, however this is inconsistent as Queens haven’t always had virtual reality and also doesn’t fit other species into the equation. Now exposed to the religions of other species, this may dissuade Lyrk either further from adhering to any faith, as faiths always tend to put the species where the faith originates on the pedestal: the Eternal places dionaea on a pedestal, the Panthenon and Preimminence places vaurcae on a pedestal, etc. Overall, religion seems too curated for Lyrk to believe in any particular one.

BYOND Key: Sadkermit Character Names: Loukas Tzannetakis, Captain Hugh Oswald, Chief Medical Officer Guusje van Willigen, Pharmacist Faith Windsor, Pharmacist + a bunch of retired characters. Species you are applying to play: Vaurca What color do you plan on making your first alien character: RGB: 150, 180, 255 Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: I have. Why do you wish to play this specific race: I’ve been interested in playing vaurcae characters for a long while, mostly after observing and being involved in the performances of a few particular vaurcae characters that were enjoyable to roleplay with and who had cool stories. Recently, I became more interested after discussing possible vaurcae character concepts with a friend who then encouraged me to apply, so here I stand. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a human: The most notable difference is their loyalty and subservience to their hive and brood. A large aspect of a vaurca’s life is determined by their brood, with traits and quirks being decided by and a representation of their lesser queen, who vaurcae show unwavering loyalty towards. This is a result of lesser queens each having their own VR with its own carefully curated space, which unbound vaurcae are raised in to develop their personalities and teach them the skills required to aid their hive. Though, in the case of bound vaurcae, indoctrination, pheromones and immature brains ensure their unwavering loyalty. This subservience to a brood and hive and the impact of VR on a vaurca’s development impacts role playing and creating characters a fair amount. The foreign nature of vaurcae as a whole also marks a difference between them and humans. While all non-human species are alien, vaurcae originate from beyond the Orion Spur - the sheer distance makes vaurcae more alien - they are nowhere near home, they do not belong in the Orion Spur. This, in addition to their insectoid biology and the fact they experience no organic life development and are thrust into a human world with little experience of what it is to be human, results in the treatment they receive from other species in the Orion Spur, which should be taken into account when roleplaying as and also with a vaurcae player. Both of these aspects intrigue me the most about vaurcae, which could also be included as an answer to the previous question, and would be what I focus on the most when designing characters. Character Name: Ka’Akaix’Lyrk C’thur Please provide a short backstory for this character. An endless ocean of white, only a shade apart from their own carapace. Lyrk was fixed on walking in one direction, tugged along by an invisible force which beckoned them along - no attempt to resist was conceivable. As they walked, with nothing to identify the passing of time, they observed giant waves which rose and shimmered with scenes of another world, scenes which they learned from and drew information from. Further on, a wave carried a swathe of other vaurcae who bobbed into the path of Lyrk and lectured them on this other world, providing insight into other lesser species found there, and then some more insight about the virtual reality, the Aether, they stood in. Now understanding this journey was to prepare them for a greater journey into this more material world, Lyrk began to more actively find this insight they needed. Diving into the ocean, they swam unhindered by any force pushing against them, and only encouraged by that invisible force which directed them further and further in. Currents of information, like schools of fish, whizzed and zipped by, composed of orbs, and Lyrk reached out and grabbed any which came close. The orbs flashed lines of translated code which were absorbed by their eyes, providing more and more insight into the material world and their to-be role in it. They swam close to the surface, fishing any orbs within reach, though avoided glancing down at the depths beneath them, where the strongest currents thrashed at any who got close, occasionally sucking in those unlucky where they blended in with the current, vanishing. Time progressed, unbeknownst to Lyrk, who, after obtaining a sufficient enough of training for their role as a scientist for Mouv’s brood, suddenly felt the force which had been directing them reverse. Wrenched from the ocean and into the sky faster than they could process it, the endless ocean began to vanish from beneath them, fading from view, as they were disconnected from virtual reality. White turned to black, and their eyes opened for the first time. Having awakened in the material world, Lyrk was assigned to the C’thur research laboratory in Qamlok, where day and night they utilised the skills learnt in virtual reality to aid more senior C’thur researchers. More practical skills were learnt, and under the supervision of other vaurcae, they flourished and were seen as an aspiring professional in the field of biomechanical engineering, specialising in implant technology and small-scale augmentation, mostly those that could be applied to vaurcae, though occasionally Lyrk would be assigned to a project where more alien anatomy was involved. They occupied this position for one year, observing their first Freedom Day where they was permitted to leave Qamlok and venture into the nearby city of Oqraxo where many C’thur vaurcae were celebrating. That day, Lyrk met several skrell and the occasional human for the first time, as well as the alien infrastructure of a skrell city when compared to the subterranean environment of Qamlok - this was quite the shock for them, who’ll likely never forget this experience. After obtaining enough experience, first in virtual reality, and now in the material world in Qamlock, a transfer was made for Lyrk. They, alongside a cohort of other young vaurcae, were transferred to human space. Some were assigned to Einstein Engines to work on warp drive technology, some were assigned to the Eridani Federation and consigned to corporate hell, though Lyrk was assigned to NanoTrasen Corporation where they would continue their work on augmentation and implant technology. Arriving at the beginning of August of 2463 and thrown into District 9 of Mendell City, Lyrk has had a month to acclimatise to human space. Never venturing out of District 9, the only experience they had of other species is that of violence directed towards themselves and other vaurcae - the occasional riot, the occasional slur - and the Hivenet going wild, whispering of those beyond District 9 who wish to cause harm to the hives. With their fresh ID and uniform having just arrived alongside the documents confirming their Lab Assistant position at the NSS Aurora - only briefly seen and immediately given to the local breeder administrator for their hive - Lyrk is unsure what to expect on their first day, and is nervous to say the least. What do you like about this character? Besides the backstory and besides how much more different it will be to play a vaurcae compared to a human, one of the things I’ll enjoy playing this character the most is their naïveté and how foreign humans/tajara/unathi/etc, are to them, and how equally foreign Lyrk is to those other species. While they may be somewhat acquainted with skrell, and slightly less so humans, other species are totally unfamiliar to them, and so their first interactions with characters of those species will be interesting and could cultivate Lyrk’s views of other characters of that demographic. Regarding their naïveté, it’ll be interesting developing their social intelligence from pretty low, where they’re only competent at socialising with other vaurcae and perhaps the occasional human, to being more socially intelligent and socialising more freely, having properly acclimatised to human space. How would you rate your role-playing ability? Last time I applied for a species whitelist, I placed by role playing ability between 7 and 8. This was over a year ago, and I think I’ve developed a significant amount since then, especially having stuck with characters that I role play better and more consistently than those which dragged me down and were role played less consistently. I’d place myself at an 8 now. Notes: None 04/09: Edits made after proof reading.

Sorry for the god-awful response time which you'll have to excuse me for, I've not been active so much lately and only seem to pop by every now and then. I've got a PR up that should fix this issue entirely which I'll link below. Instead of increasing the amount of adrenaline needed to fast-track to an OD to 10 units, I opted to go another route with making hyperzine less dangerous during combat. Instead of any amount of hyperzine plus 5 units of adrenaline resuting in the fast-track to OD, I've altered it such that having 5 units of adrenaline in your system reduces the overdose threshold of hyperzine from 15 units to 10 units, meaning you can still use hyperzine below doses of 10u during combat. This makes hyperzine in combat less about avoiding getting high adrenaline levels - which is kind of impossible to manage - and more about making sure you're managing your hyperzine levels and keeping it below 10 units. Regarding the chemistry guide lacking details on hyperzine's overdose and contraindication with adrenaline, I'll take a look and make sure all the details are there. Thanks for pointing all this out. https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora.3/pull/10897

It is effective, however you need to use doses larger than 30u, as it's a 2% chance every tick over a 30u dose to treat arterial bleeding. If you inject exactly 30u, you're only rolling the dice once for arterial bleeding; if you inject more, you increase your chances. Adding bicaridine to sleepers or to the cabinet will remove a very large need for surgeons, as anyone can treat arterial bleeding just by using a sleeper or digging into the medicine cabinet.

Putting bicaridine into the sleepers isn't really a viable option as bicaridine can be overdosed to treat arterial bleeding. Bicaridine's healing properties have also barely been touched, and has always been a kelotane-equivalent to treating brute damage. One option considered is to put butazoline (which doesn't heal AB) into the medical cabinet besides the dermaline pills which, once I find the time, I will likely do. Would that solve the issue or there being no brute medication available despite there being burn medications available?