#engies

[tf2-ludwig]

Well let me run down the residents.

Theres the Engies, Zindel, Christian, and Jane. There is a snake spy that can be found sometimes.

Ah, so I am not the only one! That is good to know! I will enjoy getting to know them!

[redhoodrises]

I am the worst Engie imaginable. 

I am a Medic who just picked up a dead Engie’s stuff and I’m just trying to put it all together but I have no idea how any of it works. 

I have a renewed respect for any Engie players out there.

[thecatmun]

Greater Autonima

Greater Autonima is the largest known Engie haven, as well as the most populated - and the only one to have a defined power structure, with its entire number led by a host of "promoted" members, known among their own as Conductors, who are themselves governed by the only publicly known High Engie.

The haven is present on a small and tightly-packed island cluster - as many as twenty very small ones, all circled around a much larger one in the center in a way that seems artificially arranged. The thick metal bracing that keeps each smaller island firmly bolted into its place beside its parent supports this theory, said arrangement and bracing being a subject of particular pride for the entire haven due to its difficulty of execution, and the methods used to perform it kept firmly secret. Each small island plays host to a single communal dwelling, which supports a population of 8 on average, and is owned by a single Conductor who constitutes the 9th. This dwelling is near the host island's "centermost" edge - the side of its host that sits closest to the larger parent island - with the rest of it reserved as workspace or for recreation, depending on the Conductor's whim. These Conductors are for all intents and purposes utterly sovereign over their own island, and answer only to the High.

The High Engie in question, Agnus Vahramod, is possibly the only Engie whose name is publicly known, and resides in the center of the parent island in an expansive underground accomodation, where he lives and performs his duties when not personally observing goings on or abroad. The island surface above is frequently used as a field test site for the developments of the Conductors, their charges, and the High himself, so an aboveground locale would be dangerously impractical. Agnus is one of the few Engies who makes frequent public appearance among the other races, he and his crew being responsible for supplying the kin he lords over at Autonima with the materials and equipment they need to continue their work.

Theories abound that the reason the islands of Greater Autonima have been arranged and shaped so uniformly is to obscure the production of a grand construction which the islands themselves act as the veil for. Some wonder if the smaller islands that encircle the primary are natural at all. Naturally, Agnus and his charges refuse to comment.

It stands to reason that Agnus would know the identities if not locations of multiple other High Engies, but if so it's a secret he'll take to his grave. Thanks to these other Highs, Agnus is, currently, the one in possession of the original Engine.

[thecatmun]

Force Engine

While the Engies have no known leaders, they do have a societal heirarchy of sorts, with certain members of their lot held in higher regard than others, be it for their achievements, their lifetime, or their stature. One of the things these "High Engies" hold dominion over, as well as hold most dear and guarded, is the Force Engine. The Force Engine(FE) is an Engie development, with a design based on an unknown technology recovered by their kind in one of their havens. The design and the recovered hardware responsible for it are closely guarded by their people, and experimentation with it is limited to only the highest known of their "order," as they're the only ones trusted to use it in a way that will keep the design to their own.

The Force Engine design used in the recovered equipment was confusing, but over time a higher Engie discovered the fundamental purpose. Force Engines use a very powerful energy source to draw in gases nearby - typically the air, though it can accept any - and then somehow drive it out the rear end of the Engine with great force, the resulting reaction force pushing the Engine - and whatever's attached to it - forward. Naturally, standing in one's "line of fire" is extraordinarily dangerous. To a theoretical Earth observer, the function similarities to a jet engine are obvious.

The hardware used in the recovered equipment has thus far proven impossible to replicate, but vague facsimiles and "make-dos" have been formed, allowing operational, if underpowered, Force Engines to be created and tested. One on its own can allow a light craft to fly if both are constructed properly, but the fuel requirements for even one are staggering. Steam can only power one if fuel is applied persistently, and any more would outright require the energy of a fallen star or other magic source to reliably operate. As a result, Force Engines are rare and only used for testing purposes, and never for actual vehicles, where existing technology far outmatches an FE in power-to-fuel ratio.

Once the original was made operational again, it naturally proved to outmatch the facsimiles, being considerably more efficient and powerful. Its use even for testing is restricted only to the accepted highest of Engie society, and even then experimentation is restricted - with it being the only one of its kind, absolute care must be taken. As for where it came from, even Engies are unsure. Some believe it came from below, somehow, while others think it came from the stars as some manner of gift - given how stars are needed to run any more than one FE at a time, this seems the most viable theory.

[fleetkiller]

Fatal Fun Fact #3

When you drop an autonomous charging/repair station, try not to hang around too close: they might get blown up by incoming coil mortar fire. 

[fleetkiller]

[rainstickdays]

One of the saxxys that didn't get nominated. I honestly don't know why -

it is delightfully creepy :D