Xingyun Lore

Who are They?

Xīngyún Engineering Corps is a rising star in the SolGov engineering scene with headquarters in Tiandi. They are propelled by their work with the remnants of OneStar technologies that they have reclaimed and reverse-engineered. Generally quite highly skilled at operating and maintaining strange and obscure technologies, their most recent known procural was the pocket pulsar engine. It was after the reveal of this technological “rediscovery” that Nanotrasen procured the company as a subsidiary with the permission of Tiandi, and subsequently merged it with the company that had previously been known as Nanotrasen Engineering.

What do They Want?

Operating under a fusion of traditional Neo-Ruist values and Nanotrasen corporate culture, Xīngyún Engineering Corps operates under the following three overarching principles:

• Nothing may be allowed to harm the interests of Tiandi.
• Employees shall work to the benefit of Nanotrasen except where it may harm the interests of Tiandi.
• Employees shall obey the orders and directives of higher authorities except where they contravene the above principles.

To fulfill these principles, Xīngyún employees aboard the Northern Light are expected to keep the methods of operating OneStar and Tiandi-related machinery and technology confidential from other factions, and to keep the Northern Light functional and running at all costs - for it is, for a reason unknown to them, greatly important to the Board.

How Does One Join?

Xīngyún Engineering Corps, prior its takeover by Nanotrasen, required its employees both to have had an education or experience in an engineering or mechanics-related field, as well as a Neo-Ruist confession and practice. As a subsidiary of Nanotrasen, Xīngyún Engineering no longer requires that all of its employees confess or practice the Neo-Ruist ideology. Xīngyún Engineering instead does its best to specifically select qualified individuals expected to be highly loyal either to Nanotrasen, Tiandi, or local authority figures - and preferably all three. Nevertheless, subscription to Neo-Ruist ideology remains highly encouraged, and Xīngyún Engineering generally continues to favour employees which practice or confess it. The highest level of Xīngyún is composed of Tiandi-based Neo-Ruists, with the exception of a trio of representatives from Nanotrasen pre-approved by the TIAN and Di.

Why are They on the Northern Light?

To keep the ship running and functional, and prevent it from falling apart while the other departments - particularly Lazarus researchers - do their work.

How do They Feel About the Other Big Players?

Free Trade Union: Scamming, opportunistic conniving thieves with silver tongues and tough muscles. They will charge you an arm and a leg just for materials you need to actually make sure they get to the next dock for the restocks they need, instead of the ship floating aimlessly in space while they all starve.

Lazarus: They’re the ones doing the second-most important work on the ship - the research, the reason why we’re apparently out here. Help them out when they need it, but be wary, they are not one of us.

Mekhane: Neo-Ruist offshoots, little more than a heresy. Should not be trusted anywhere near Engineering - they’re probably going to try and steal our tech.

Aegis: Fellow NT subsidiary, not that they ever cut Xīngyún any slack. They don’t even offer discounts for their services!

Nanotrasen: The parent company, the one we always have to show proper respect and deference to. As long as they don’t go against the wishes of TIAN and the Di, the higher-ups are willing to provide them as much labour and power as they can provide.

SolGov: We’re wary of them. Tiandi is part of SolGov, but is under no illusions that loyalties may shift at any time - let alone our parent company’s reservations about the interstellar government.

Tiandi: The nation of our home. This is where our first and greatest loyalties lie - or at least, where the bigwigs’ loyalties lie. Anyone in Xīngyún who goes against this nation’s directives always seems to end up INSIDE our machines, and not in a good way.

How Do the Big Players Feel About Them?

Free Trade Union: They’re keeping the ship from becoming even more than a deathtrap than it currently is. Unfortunately, they do one hell of a bad job at it.

Lazarus: We don’t need to think about them much, but that OneStar tech might be valuable to our research efforts… They might not notice if something small goes missing.

Mekhane: Disbelievers who believe that our religion somehow grew out of their Neo-Ruism.

Aegis: Fellow NT subsidiary, should probably take special care of them, especially since they’re keeping the ship functional and livable.

Nanotrasen: The newest major subsidiary, and a quite promising one. Unfortunately, their loyalties are not solely to us, or even primarily to us. Still, Tiandi is pretty cooperative for a SolGov nation state, and working together with them is mutually beneficial.

SolGov: We’re wary of them - or rather, wary of Nanotrasen, who has been trying to avoid SolGov influence for some time. At least their home nation still has some hooks sunk into this particular subsidiary.

Tiandi: They are no longer fully loyal solely to us, which may prove to be a problem in the future. However, for reasons which will go undisclosed to the general public, this arrangement has become beneficial for us, and we will continue to offer our technology and support. But we will be carefully watching Nanotrasen’s every move - if they move to renege, we will know even before they do.