Hai Qu, at your service

Resident crack shot of Ex Tempestas splinter team White Sands. Praise the Fool. Tachyon enthusiast. Fuel rods are ammunition. "Jackboots" DNI, fuck the house of sand. Still hate HA The apocalypse rail wishes it was my rifle. (ooc: run by the same Gal as @styx-class-nhp)

[aim-hai-strike-true]

Hai Qu, Callsign Inkwell, at your service.

Chief engineer under @belladonna-from-the-abyss

I pilot my beloved Tagetes, "With Glassy Eyes", and specialise in surgical strikes, elimination of high priority targets, long distance targets and elevated combat.

My pronouns are precisely whatever, vaguely tending towards they/them? But I'm definitely feminine presenting? I dunno, gender's a bitch.

Tempestas tried to kill me and my partner Radha Lynn (she/her). Oh, we aren't setting foot in karrakin space for a whiiiiiiile.

[herpsandbirds]

Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), family Nymphalidae, Hungary

This widely distributed butterfly is found across much of northern Eurasia and North America.

photograph by Tamás Bekő

[aim-hai-strike-true]

As a defector from Karrakis without a nation to call mine, a message to union:

Unity, as in the mutually beneficial co-operation between separate entities

Not unity, as in the absorption of them all into one entity

Is a distinction many could do with learning.

Hai are you politics posting while in the walls?

Yes

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- Still not found him ?

- drat, guess I better hurry up with the cutting.

[northstar-galactic-command]

Friendly reminder for all ships venturing into potentially unfriendly space: remember to tune up your bulkhead proximity sensors (or install some if you don't have any) and regularly run slicer drills.

Pirates are always looking for the most cost-effective way to disable their victims, and slipping a PIPECLEANER or three onto the hull of a hapless freighter as it resupplies is much easier than chasing it down with mechs.

If you don't have the means to quickly detect infiltrators in your hull and dig them out before they relocate or cause damage, you could quickly end up powerless, drifting, and breathing your own coolant.

Stay safe out there, and remember: when in doubt, you can always rely on your Northstar.

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- Are... are you really using pirate chatter as an advertising plaform ?

- @aim-hai-strike-true get a load of this one

[aim-hai-strike-true]

Oh they're fucked lmao

Wonder if they'd give us discounts on the blackbeard

[aim-hai-strike-true]

As a defector from Karrakis without a nation to call mine, a message to union:

Unity, as in the mutually beneficial co-operation between separate entities

Not unity, as in the absorption of them all into one entity

Is a distinction many could do with learning.

Hai are you politics posting while in the walls?

Yes

[aim-hai-strike-true]

>> Hey Hai?

>> Its Yarrow.

>> Im.... stuck in the walls.

>> Judging by the sound, im somewhere near the engine room, maybe?

>> But there's a weird set of voices in the walls. Almost musical.

>> Anyways. Can you come get me?

// Yarrow \\

Ok, first of all, how, I go In there regularly without even getting my long ass hair stuck.

Second of all, yeah. It's gonna be a mission since I'm pretty sure Clad would fire the Banshee, parry it, and ricochet it directly Into my cranium if I took plasma cutter to his handiwork.

Voices are new. Engine's haunted ig? Keep comms open.

[theironjanissary]

>> Yeah, uh. You might be able to get to me via the access panel at 117-5-S, assuming it didnt get welded shut after the last boarding attempt.

>> The wiring here is a mess. I dont know if it was like that before I got here, but Im stuck in a rainbow web of sparky bits.

>> ...is that.... singing?

//Yarrow\\

[aim-hai-strike-true]

@belladonna-from-the-abyss Captaiiiin, are the engines supposed to be haunted as well as the bridge?

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- …

- The bridge is haunted ?

- More importantly, what’s going and why is my first mate in the walls ?

- @theironjanissary, patch me into your feed ? Preference for both audio and visual if possible.

[theironjanissary]

>> So, I dont know about hauntings.

>> But I do know im not touching IPS-N caffiene pills again. They're why im in the walls.

>> [ Begin transmission feed ]

( Yarrow's helmet cam shows a tangled mess of wires, braces, zip ties, and manic scribbling, all barely illuminated by his headlamp )

" So uh, yeah. Im a little stuck"

( Faintly, over the thrum of the Leviathan's engines, a set of inexplicable voices sing through, faint yet perfectly distant. Equal parts harmonic attunement and vivid debate, somehow being both in agreement and opposed in the same breath )

"No clue what that is. Doesn't sound like crew, or boarders, or really, anything else I know."

( Sparks fly as Yarrow adjusts himself and he touches two uninsulated wires together )

"FRACK!. Please send help. This isnt comfortable...."

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- I’m not even going to ask about the coffee

- Hai, Radha, much experience with unmounted combat drills ? I want you two down in the engine room in case we do have stowaways.

- I’ll go find my old breaching kit, rondevous as close to First Mate’s position as possible once you’ve cleared your sweep

- And Yarrow… try and stay still ?

[aim-hai-strike-true]

We've had a lot of training but no actual exp-

I am fluent in four million forms of kicking ass

I stand corrected

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- Oh this is going to be interesting.

- I’ve got the cutter, Janissary, I need you to trust me, and stay *exceptionally* still

- And if ‘Clad could make his way down with whatever he considers ghost hunting equipment. I hate to say it, but if it’s a byte ghoul, I assure you we’ll want the first mate in pieces rather than haunting us

[theironjanissary]

>> Yeah. Sure. Still. Yeah I can--

[ Wires spark ]

>> RIGHT. Still.

>> Heading your way. Sensors to maximum.

>> I have never fought a "byte ghoul". I assume thay is some type of HORUS weapon system.

>> Regardless, none unwanted shall remain in this ship intact.

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- Ah right.

[some kind of Power tool can be heard charging]

- Byte ghoul - old type of memetic weapon, imagine an angry virus with a hardlight projected body.

[she sounds, distracted, half with the tool, half somewhere Else]

- Designed to take over the body, and [grunts of effort], use it while trapping the mind

- But I doubt it’s one of those. They were… hunted.

- And I’m sure [something akin to a small jet engine roars to life] our dear Yarrow is a victim of caffine, not a horrifying relic

- Do stay still dear, we dont want to lose any of you

[She begins to lower the antiquated cutting torch to the plating]

- Oh ! How’s your heat tolerance ?

[theironjanissary]

>> Heat tolerance? You aren't actually....

>> She is. Stay still and quiet.

( Clad stalks the halls near the engine bay, sensors blasting every measurable data stream from radar to seismic to x-ray, yet come back confoundingly blank. )

>> Captain, this may have been a technical error on the part of Yarrow's equipment. I cannot detect any--

( He pauses, a voice, no , at least three come trickling into his sensors. Directional microphones swivel to trace, but seem to pick it up from no particular direction at once. )

>> Correction, contact confirmed. May be paracausal in nature. Standard equipment unable to gain bearing. Continuing sweep.

[aim-hai-strike-true]

[Sounds of wires sparking]

Good and bad news.

I found a rat. Like an actual earth rat. Might be why the wires are acting up.

But am also stuck in the walls.

(Distantly)

YOURE COMING FROM EVERY DIRECTION BUT THERE ARE ONLY SO MAMY OF THOSE, IM GOING TO FIIIIIIND YOU~

[aim-hai-strike-true]

>> Hey Hai?

>> Its Yarrow.

>> Im.... stuck in the walls.

>> Judging by the sound, im somewhere near the engine room, maybe?

>> But there's a weird set of voices in the walls. Almost musical.

>> Anyways. Can you come get me?

// Yarrow \\

Ok, first of all, how, I go In there regularly without even getting my long ass hair stuck.

Second of all, yeah. It's gonna be a mission since I'm pretty sure Clad would fire the Banshee, parry it, and ricochet it directly Into my cranium if I took plasma cutter to his handiwork.

Voices are new. Engine's haunted ig? Keep comms open.

[theironjanissary]

>> Yeah, uh. You might be able to get to me via the access panel at 117-5-S, assuming it didnt get welded shut after the last boarding attempt.

>> The wiring here is a mess. I dont know if it was like that before I got here, but Im stuck in a rainbow web of sparky bits.

>> ...is that.... singing?

//Yarrow\\

[aim-hai-strike-true]

@belladonna-from-the-abyss Captaiiiin, are the engines supposed to be haunted as well as the bridge?

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- …

- The bridge is haunted ?

- More importantly, what’s going and why is my first mate in the walls ?

- @theironjanissary, patch me into your feed ? Preference for both audio and visual if possible.

[theironjanissary]

>> So, I dont know about hauntings.

>> But I do know im not touching IPS-N caffiene pills again. They're why im in the walls.

>> [ Begin transmission feed ]

( Yarrow's helmet cam shows a tangled mess of wires, braces, zip ties, and manic scribbling, all barely illuminated by his headlamp )

" So uh, yeah. Im a little stuck"

( Faintly, over the thrum of the Leviathan's engines, a set of inexplicable voices sing through, faint yet perfectly distant. Equal parts harmonic attunement and vivid debate, somehow being both in agreement and opposed in the same breath )

"No clue what that is. Doesn't sound like crew, or boarders, or really, anything else I know."

( Sparks fly as Yarrow adjusts himself and he touches two uninsulated wires together )

"FRACK!. Please send help. This isnt comfortable...."

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- I’m not even going to ask about the coffee

- Hai, Radha, much experience with unmounted combat drills ? I want you two down in the engine room in case we do have stowaways.

- I’ll go find my old breaching kit, rondevous as close to First Mate’s position as possible once you’ve cleared your sweep

- And Yarrow… try and stay still ?

[aim-hai-strike-true]

We've had a lot of training but no actual exp-

I am fluent in four million forms of kicking ass

I stand corrected

[aim-hai-strike-true]

>> Hey Hai?

>> Its Yarrow.

>> Im.... stuck in the walls.

>> Judging by the sound, im somewhere near the engine room, maybe?

>> But there's a weird set of voices in the walls. Almost musical.

>> Anyways. Can you come get me?

// Yarrow \\

Ok, first of all, how, I go In there regularly without even getting my long ass hair stuck.

Second of all, yeah. It's gonna be a mission since I'm pretty sure Clad would fire the Banshee, parry it, and ricochet it directly Into my cranium if I took plasma cutter to his handiwork.

Voices are new. Engine's haunted ig? Keep comms open.

[theironjanissary]

>> Yeah, uh. You might be able to get to me via the access panel at 117-5-S, assuming it didnt get welded shut after the last boarding attempt.

>> The wiring here is a mess. I dont know if it was like that before I got here, but Im stuck in a rainbow web of sparky bits.

>> ...is that.... singing?

//Yarrow\\

[aim-hai-strike-true]

@belladonna-from-the-abyss Captaiiiin, are the engines supposed to be haunted as well as the bridge?

[aim-hai-strike-true]

>> Hey Hai?

>> Its Yarrow.

>> Im.... stuck in the walls.

>> Judging by the sound, im somewhere near the engine room, maybe?

>> But there's a weird set of voices in the walls. Almost musical.

>> Anyways. Can you come get me?

// Yarrow \\

Ok, first of all, how, I go In there regularly without even getting my long ass hair stuck.

Second of all, yeah. It's gonna be a mission since I'm pretty sure Clad would fire the Banshee, parry it, and ricochet it directly Into my cranium if I took plasma cutter to his handiwork.

Voices are new. Engine's haunted ig? Keep comms open.

[aim-hai-strike-true]

Yknow the funny thing is my partner keeps joking about taking a shot at karrakis. While the Banshee rifle is unique, it's still far too low scale to outperform actual capital ship weapons. Just auxiliary gun batteries.

What causes this to be a recurring bit is that the Banshee is much, much more precise, and thus can fit through... say... a four meter by three meter blind spot in throne karrakis's planetary defence network that we discovered by accident.

For legal reasons I shall clarify that I doubt even Hai is capable of hitting a target that small on a moving planet lightyears away. Most likely.

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- Why did I give them access to the shipboard guns…

[aim-hai-strike-true]

...ticking up most likely to "if anyone could do it it would be them but there's no way that's humanly possible riiiiight?"

[aim-hai-strike-true]

Yknow the funny thing is my partner keeps joking about taking a shot at karrakis. While the Banshee rifle is unique, it's still far too low scale to outperform actual capital ship weapons. Just auxiliary gun batteries.

What causes this to be a recurring bit is that the Banshee is much, much more precise, and thus can fit through... say... a four meter by three meter blind spot in throne karrakis's planetary defence network that we discovered by accident.

For legal reasons I shall clarify that I doubt even Hai is capable of hitting a target that small on a moving planet lightyears away. Most likely.

[storymonger]

my homunc is a bitch

[aim-hai-strike-true]

Have u tried cogent minds?

[aim-hai-strike-true]

[establishing connection]

[connection secured]

- You two !

- Got a uhhh…. Request

- Asking as a friend, not your captain, either of you know how refresh a wardrobe ?

- Forge

I literally only wear my hardsuit and several copies of the same tracksuit.

Uuuuuh lessee here... I mean. Not particularly, but I could introduce you to Tilimsan Chic? I've heard its popular elsewhere.

[normalpilot038]

Some of you act like you've never even lost a limb or any teeth before...

[styx-class-nhp]

I've been partially dismembered several times and lemme tell you it is not fun

[theironjanissary]

>> Does having memories of violent trauma just before prior deaths count?

>> Cause I could probably tell an interesting story or 4 if that's allowed.

// Narrow \\

[styx-class-nhp]

Ah yes, the key member of *checks notes* literally the only privateer crew I've met who didn't deserve instant pilebunker,

Narrow

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- Do... do we have a fake on the crew ? - Should I start keeping a register ?

[theironjanissary]

>> Please ignore this irregularity.

>> Yarrow is in a highly caffienated state and mistakenly accessed his IFF and omni tags.

>> I have corrected the latter of the issues.

>> Unfortunately I cannot catch up with him to solve the former.

>> Who gave him IPS-N caffeine rations?

][ In Anger Clad ][

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- Crew chase !

- gods below its been an age since we've had one of these

- Double loot allocations for the first crewmate to catch the first mate !

- don't hurt him, but non-lethals are cleared if he's on IPS-N stuff

[aim-hai-strike-true]

[Distinct sounds of someone falling onto a sheet of metal]

BET

[onehellofavulture]

{//Song//}

>// Which Pre-Fall Song would you use to describe yourself

>// This totally isn’t an excuse to get more pre-fall music without going through 100 different archives

>// Personally, the song I chose is ‘No Culture’ By Mother Mother

>// And not just because one of the lyrics is ‘I am A Vulture’ lol

Callsign:VULTURE

[quixote-ngc]

I've never really understood why so many people are obsessed with Pre-Fall media? We have 10,000 years of media from hundreds of cultures and planets. At this point we basically have more history Post-Fall than we ever did Pre-Fall...but let's ignore all that and focus on stuff from back when we thought killing each other for planet-poisoning fossil fuels was a good idea.

It almost feels anthrochauvinistic, like some SecComm plot to glorify our shared origins as an excuse to annex everyone and put Cradle at the center of the universe. I know that wasn't the intent of this post, but... I dunno. Feels weird.

-

And it's Ballroom Blitz, by Sweet.

[vexwerewolf]

[she-who-paints-with-fire]

Some say its actually a subaltern chauffeur. And that its existence is a violation of the First Contact Accords. All we know is, its called the Stig!

|| KARATEKA ||

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- Some say it’s Ra’s left hand, and that it once won an arm wrestle with Harrison the second

- Some say its an entire HORUS polycule in one subaltern, and that they once acted as the getaway driver for a blacksite heist

- All We know is, its not the Stig ! But it is the Stig’s Ungrateful cousin !

[she-who-paints-with-fire]

Some say that its real name is Tyrannocleave. And that it sleeps with half its brain awake, like a dolphin.

|| KARATEKA ||

[belladonna-from-the-abyss]

- Others say it once drifted a freighter around saturn, and that its frame is still a manual

[she-who-paints-with-fire]

Some say that it's a product of SSC's genetic editing to resurrect the wooly mammoth. And that, much like Merlin, its growing younger as it ages.

|| KARATEKA ||

[she-who-paints-with-fire]

Some say that it's a card carrying member of Interplanetary Teamsters. And that its existence unsolved the Yemanova Problem.

|| KARATEKA ||

[she-who-paints-with-fire]

Some say that its the only member of Constellar Daylight. And that it's wanted in Purview space for two thousand manna of parking tickets.

|| KARATEKA ||

[samples-georg]

Some say that it's the inventor of purple-tac, and that the legal battle between it and the think tank for credit is ongoing to this day

[she-who-paints-with-fire]

Some say that it's real name is Jane Creighton Harrison. And that the last time it was on Spar, it was mistaken for a Vast.

|| KARATEKA ||

[aim-hai-strike-true]

Some say that it once drank a whole river, and that it's favourite colour is olo

[aim-hai-strike-true]

It's coarse, it's rough, it gets everywhere

Sand?

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