Technologies of the Whai: Difference between revisions

[[Category:Tahora Whai]]

While classically scavengers and raiders, the [[Tahora Whai]] are also have a knack for creating their own gadgets. [[Dynae|Dynaean]] technologies (and thus many Whai technologies influenced by them) by-and-large are bespoke, custom made, artisan and heirloom products. Mass-production is rare unless there is ready access to automation and abundant materials. The bones and other body parts of Tahora are typically integrated into tools, armor, and vehicles for their unique properties or to evoke the power and spirit of the great beasts. Whale bone is commonly used in spacecraft as it requires less refining and is often superior to conventional metals for use in the void. Whai tech is, however, often not made from scratch. Instead equipment is often salvaged, reclaimed, raided, stolen, and sometimes traded. A jury-rigged and scavenged ethos derived from a time of necessity pervades almost all that is found among the Whai.

 

Whai equipment and tools are highly personalized things. They are as often adorned and illustrated as the bodies of the Whai themselves. Personalization may include the adding and use of charms, scrimshaw, ink, paint, carvings, inlay, gemstones, knotwork, patinas, plating, etching, engraving, and embroidery. Some have commented that this practice of decoration is a way of masking its previous owner, but to the Whai it is adding a new chapter to the piece’s story and allowing its provenance to shine through rather than hide it. A highly decorated, but used and maintained, tool or device is regarded as a prized possession.

===Cybernetics===

 

The nature of these cybernetics varies from species to species, and from user to user, but generally consists of some Tahora blood (or synthetic analog) and electrical components. Some alien species cybernetics are fully bio-mechanical while others are only wires and silicon. Before the Vāk, the planet Dynae was one of the sector’s preeminent cybernetics hubs. Military, industrial, and civilian cybernetic augmentations and enhancements designed for ranges of sentient bodies were widely produced on the planet. What knowledge and facilities that survived the ''Great Cataclysm'' have continued production and development with the Tahora Whai.

* Concealed Weapons

* Other cybernetics

===Tattoos===

Visible on all Whai bodies are the characteristic tattoos of the west.

The practice of scrapping and salvages is visible in the ships and fleets of the Tahora Whai. Repurposing and retrofitting old vessels for new uses is common, with many sector standard hulls looking nigh unrecognizable after a Whai mechanic has done their repairs and ‘improvements’. Not simply bodging disparate parts together, some technicians will incorporate biological components--typically bones and organs collected from Tahora--to augment and enhance a ship’s capabilities. Much like the tattoos of the Whai, no two crew’s ships are alike; the form and function of a Whai vessel will reflect the nature of its occupants. Nevertheless, many of the tools for pirate ships and whalers are similar enough to serve dual purposes in a pinch. The shared utility of harpoons, tethers, signature reduction (aka cloaking) devices, nets, and other munitions make discerning the intent of a Whai ship merely on sight a fraught encounter. Ship styles vary considerably from salvaged commonwealth freighters, to bespoke Tahora inspired bio-framed frigates, to jury-rigged scrap ships that can just about keep their atmosphere. Many of these vessels were built, retrofitted, assembled, or simply passed through the large dock-yards of Ulfbert Magnus over Dynae.

====Starship Styles====

====Planetary Vehicles====

Atmospheric requirements and power sources are all constraints unique to each planet. However, much of the same ethos of the Dynaean scavenger is used in other Whai worlds.

 

====Ship Weapons and Equipment====

*Lasers Batteries, Plasma Beams, Particle Cannon

*Harpoons, Torpedoes, Railguns, Flak Emitters

*Mines

*Nets and Tractor Beams

*Signal Jammers, Emissions Dampeners,

*Fighters, Scouts, Boarding ships, Tenders, Lifeboats

*Astronavigation, VI assisted links (The Gam), Sub-system management

*[See more below in Virtual Intelligences]

===Stations and Settlements===

Much like their ship counterparts, space stations are equally cobbled together and jury-rigged enterprises. While often built around a stable core or foundation, many stations experienced rapid expansion to counter overcrowding. Cargocontainers, ships, and all manner of space debris can be found fuzed to the core, forming a sprawling station. As a result, most stations in the Rangi have limited artificial gravity and decentralized infrastructure.

 

 

Notable Stations:

 

 

===Virtual Intelligences===

Uses:

* Translation and Speech Synthesis. Common to communication across species and cultures.

* Facilitating group decision making via The Gam

* Starfinding and Navigation, aka Astronavigation