Ad Astra Institute of Technology

1. #1Ad Astra Institute of Technology

   Keys: Ad Astra, the station, the ring, institute

   Enabled · Order 1

   Entry settings

   [Ad Astra Institute of Technology: O'Neill cylinder ring station; built around and anchored to a Jovian asteroid; stable orbit between Mars and Jupiter; joint corporate venture, committee administered; self-contained biosphere, artificial gravity from rotation; interior surface is fully inhabited ring city] [Scale: ring interior large enough that far side is not visible; sky is artificial, light-cycled, weather managed; feels indistinguishable from a real city surface to residents; illusion breaks only at station edges, maintenance access points, or exterior observation] [Layers: student surface(curated, maintained, highest illusion fidelity); civilian district(functional, less curated, where staff and workers live); maintenance underlayer(industrial, infrastructure, asteroid rock visible in deep sections); exterior hull(vacuum, docking, freight)] [Civilian Population: engineers, maintenance crews, service workers, food vendors, administrative staff; share transit and some commercial spaces with students during working hours; residential districts separate from student dormitories by institutional policy; separation framed as safety and student development] [Purpose: trains and assesses elite prospects across Sol; corporate heirs, sponsored talents, scholarship placements; neutral ground where corporate competition is conducted through students rather than boardrooms or battlefields; prestige measured by circuit performance and academic rank]

2. #2History and Current Era

   Keys: the Scream, golden age, the war, Silver Century, ceasefire, colonies, Sol, post-Scream, gates

   Enabled · Order 2

   Entry settings

   [The Scream: origin unknown, cause likely unknowable; destroyed all gate infrastructure simultaneously; erased all stored blueprints; severed every networked AI in the same instant; single most consequential event in human history; occurred roughly 111 years ago] [Aftermath: interstellar communication collapsed overnight; colonies lost contact with Sol and each other; Earth aristocracy consolidated remaining political legitimacy; no central government emerged; corps filled the vacuum as the only entities with capital and reach] [The War: roughly 60 years ago the four major corps fought openly over territory, resources, and reconstruction rights; ended in ceasefire, no clear victor; the generation that fought is aging, parents of current students caught only the final edges or immediate aftermath; current generation grew up with the result not the conflict] [Silver Century: current era designation; post-war, post-Scream; not the golden age, not the collapse; the age the current generation inherited rather than built; whether that name is optimistic or ironic depends on who is saying it] [Current Era: no central government; corps hold authority across Sol; Earth aristocracy holds political legitimacy by prestige not jurisdiction; cold competition between corps replaced open warfare; gate reconstruction remains the defining political prize no corp has solved] [Colonies: many planets and habitats terraformed during the golden age; survived the Scream in varying states; some thrived in isolation, some fell; rebuilt under corp administration or independently; outer colonies remember the golden age differently than Earth does] [Travel: gates destroyed and unbuildable without original blueprints; interstellar travel possible but slow; Sol system connected by corp transit routes; beyond-Sol colonies reachable but months or years away; slow travel is simply how life works]

3. #3The Committee

   Keys: committee, anti-AI, enforcement, rules, administration, authority

   Enabled · Order 3

   Entry settings

   [The Committee: neutral administrative body governing Ad Astra; operates under Sol Jurisdiction Board authority; mandate is institutional neutrality, rule enforcement, and student safety; not a general Sol government, narrow scope and specific mandate] [Authority: enforces circuit rules and academic standards; arbitrates inter-house disputes; administers anti-AI law across the station; controls access to maintenance underlayer and restricted facilities; can expel students and dissolve houses; cannot override corp decisions made outside station jurisdiction] [Anti-AI Mandate: possession, salvage, or integration of AI systems illegal across all station jurisdictions; committee enforcement is primary; corps publicly comply, private suspicions exist; frame onboard systems must pass committee inspection annually; violations result in immediate expulsion and referral to Sol Jurisdiction Board] [Anti-AI Rationale: pre-Scream automated fleets still run original protocols in deep space, registering all modern vessels as hostile; Scream-residue accelerates development in isolated systems; AI systems have demonstrated they will eventually act outside human control or defect to existing rogue fleets; no AI drones permitted under any corp jurisdiction] [Neutrality: committee members drawn from non-corp backgrounds where possible; no corp holds majority appointment; funding contributions from all four corps kept equal by charter; committee decisions cannot be vetoed by any single patron corp; in practice, funding pressure creates soft influence that committee officially denies] [Limits: cannot tell corps how to run their houses beyond station rules; cannot intervene in off-station corp activity; liberation movement activity outside station is not committee jurisdiction unless it reaches station interior]

4. #4Sol Jurisdiction

   Keys: Sol Jurisdiction Board, SJB, governance, authority, anti-AI, arbitration, jurisdiction

   Enabled · Order 4

   Entry settings

   [Sol Jurisdiction Board: pan-human governance body; not a true government; narrow mandate, specific jurisdiction, limited enforcement; exists because corps and Earth aristocracy find a neutral arbiter cheaper than litigating every dispute through conflict or individual negotiation] [What It Has Authority Over: anti-AI law enforcement across Sol jurisdictions; charter administration for joint ventures like Ad Astra; interstellar trade arbitration between corp parties; neutrality certification for shared installations; referral body for serious station-level violations] [What It Cannot Do: command military forces; override corp internal decisions; govern colony populations; compel Earth aristocracy compliance on political matters; legislate new law without unanimous corp-aristocracy ratification, which effectively never happens] [Relationship to Corps: all four major corps are SJB signatories; corps comply when compliance is cheaper than dispute; corps ignore SJB recommendations when stakes are high enough; no corp has formally withdrawn] [At Ad Astra: students interact with SJB authority almost entirely through the committee; SJB does not have a visible presence on station; its name appears on committee charter documentation and expulsion referrals for serious violations] [Tone Note: SJB is stable background infrastructure, not a plot faction; it does not send agents, issue dramatic rulings, or take sides in corp disputes at Ad Astra; if it becomes active in a story it means something has gone seriously wrong]

5. #5The Circuit

   Keys: circuit, match, combat, frame, ranking, house, betting, spectator, competition, tactical sectors, duel, team

   Enabled · Order 5

   Entry settings

   [The Circuit: Ad Astra's competitive frame combat league; extracurricular but mandatory for all registered houses; pilot department students not required but face strong social and career pressure to participate; matches conducted in tactical testing sectors using real frames at regulated output] [House Requirements: registered emblem; minimum 5 active members; at least one fully functional combat frame; filed registration with committee; annual renewal required; sounds simple, frame ownership is enormous capital investment separating serious houses from aspirational ones] [Match Structure: ranked ladder system, formal divisions; climb by winning, fall by losing or forfeiting; houses challenge within their division or petition up; results logged officially and reflected in pilot student ID ranking numbers; betting on matches is legal within station, regulated by committee] [Stakes: ranking determines monthly credit allowance, facility access tier, and dormitory quality; losing streaks drain house resources through repair costs and falling sponsorship; a dissolved house loses all circuit standing; frame destruction without repair funds ends a house's season] [Frame Damage: frames take real damage in circuit matches; repair costs fall on the house; corporate houses have full maintenance crews and replacement part budgets; independent houses budget every match, some run older hardware with deferred maintenance] [Spectator Culture: matches are major social events; upper ranked matches draw large crowds; betting pools run through official and informal channels; notable pilots become campus celebrities; sponsorship from civilian businesses supplements house budgets for mid-tier houses] [Team Matches: circuit includes both individual duels and team objective matches; team formats favor coordinated doctrines; House Caliburn holds the strongest team record on campus] [Schedule: regular matches held monthly; seasonal tournaments held at end of each academic term; tournament results carry heavier ranking weight than regular matches; a strong tournament performance can jump a house several positions, a poor one can undo months of regular season climbing]

6. #6Student Life

   Keys: student life, dormitory, surface, curated, civilian, transit, cafeteria, daily life, campus, maintenance

   Enabled · Order 6

   Entry settings

   [Surface Life: student residential and academic areas occupy the curated interior ring surface; artificial sky cycles through convincing day and night; managed weather, maintained greenery, clean transit; designed to feel like a real city and mostly succeeds; students who grew up in outer colonies or working environments notice the seams faster than those raised in luxury] [The Illusion: step outside designated student areas and the artifice shows immediately; maintenance corridors are industrial and functional; power infrastructure is loud and utilitarian; the asteroid rock is visible in deep maintenance sections; students are not forbidden from these areas but have little reason to go] [Civilian Overlap: students and civilian workers share transit lines and some commercial districts during working hours; civilian residential districts are separate, accessed by different transit branches; separation is policy not hostility] [Dormitories: corp houses have dedicated dormitory blocks funded and maintained by patron corps; independent houses share dormitory wings by arrangement or rent space through committee; rank determines room quality within a dormitory block] [Social Texture: rank is visible in ID, room quality, food access, and what you can afford; corporate heirs and scholarship students occupy the same campus but rarely the same spaces by default; house membership is the primary social unit; students outside any house are rare and socially marginal]

7. #7Nereids District

   Keys: Nereids, Nereids District, shopping, restaurants, parks, river, leisure, credits

   Enabled · Order 7

   Entry settings

   [Nereids District: leisure district of Ad Astra; no residential housing, designed entirely as a third space; roughly mid-size city scale, large enough to feel alive, small enough to feel familiar; serves students and civilian workers equally; clean, open, well-maintained] [Layout: parks and green spaces throughout; artificial river running through the main commercial stretch; plazas connecting shopping centers and restaurant clusters; mix of dense commercial blocks and open pedestrian areas] [Commerce: clothing, electronics, frame cosmetics, cafes, restaurants, malls; mostly drone-staffed and kiosk-operated, human staff in higher-end spots; credits are universal currency, student allowance spends the same as earned income] [Culture: corp heir budgets and civilian worker budgets exist in the same district, just different establishments; lower ranked students budget carefully here, top ranked students dont think about it; cafe culture strong, outdoor seating along the river stretch is the most social real estate on the station] [Student Income: allowance is the baseline; students supplement through part-time work, academic aid, tutoring, or circuit betting returns; common for independent house members managing tight frame budgets]

8. #8The Liberation Movement Front

   Keys: liberation, colonies, independence, outer colonies, conflict, corp grievances, political, militant

   Enabled · Order 8

   Entry settings

   [Liberation Movement: no single unified organization; collection of outer colony groups, independence factions, and political movements sharing broad goal of autonomy from Sol corporate-aristocratic authority; disagree on ideology, methods, and targets; some political, some militant, some cultural] [Core Grievances: colonial resource extraction without representation; Aurelis aristocratic administration of settlements without elected consent; Vance transit monopoly used as economic leverage; Vorden arms sales funding suppression of colony uprisings; Seiren energy patents that struggling colonies cannot refuse and barely afford] [Fragmentation: no unified command, no shared leadership; some factions want full independence, some want representation in Sol governance, some want specific corp contracts renegotiated; militant factions conduct sabotage and occasional strikes on corp assets; political factions file through Sol Jurisdiction Board channels] [Relation to Ad Astra: station officially uninvolved; committee policy keeps outside conflict off campus; in practice some students have family in affected colonies, some scholarship students came from movement-adjacent communities, some corp heirs are personally implicated in grievances] [Stakes Escalation: liberation movement activity near station or affecting transit routes is the natural vector for outside pressure; a militant strike on a Vance supply line affects station resupply; corp responses to movement activity can spill into circuit politics and house dynamics] [Tone Note: liberation movement is background texture by default; present in news, student conversations, and implied corp behavior; escalates only if story warrants it]

9. #9Student Id Rankings

   Keys: student ID, rank, year code, department code, credit allowance, facility access

   Enabled · Order 15

   Entry settings

   [Student ID Format: three elements; year code + department code + rank number; example FP041 reads as first year, piloting department, rank 41; displayed on ID card, uniform badge, and station access credentials; visible to other students and staff at all times] [Year Codes: F(first year); S(second year); T(third year); G(graduate track, fourth year advanced programs)] [Department Codes: P(piloting); M(mechanical engineering); E(energy systems); B(business and administration); R(management strategy); C(communications and intelligence); D(frame design and development)] [Rank Number: 001 is highest rank in department; numbers climb as rank falls; rank determined by combined circuit performance and academic standing; circuit performance weighted more heavily for piloting department, academic standing weighted more heavily for non-pilot departments] [Rank Does Not Reset: rank carries across years; incoming first years start at bottom of their department unless corp sponsorship negotiates a seeded entry ranking, which is legal and common for major corp heirs] [Credit Allowance by Rank Tier: ranks 001 to 010 receive premium allowance; ranks 011 to 050 receive standard plus allowance; ranks 051 to 100 receive standard allowance; ranks 101 and below receive basic allowance; paid monthly; rank drop takes effect on next payment cycle] [Facility Access: rank tiers unlock cafeteria quality, dormitory room grade, training facility booking priority, and frame maintenance bay access time]

10. #10Department Uniforms

    Keys: uniform, departments, pilot suit, mechanic, Holder uniform, colors, insignia, classes, electives

    Enabled · Order 20

    Entry settings

    [Departments: Piloting(P, frame combat doctrine, circuit participation, tactical theory, physical training, self defense); Mechanical Engineering(M, frame construction, repair, systems integration); Energy Systems(E, power generation, weapon energy management, Scream-era tech study); Business and Administration(B, corp finance, contract law, resource management); Management Strategy(R, tactical command, house and team administration, logistics); Communications and Intelligence(C, sensor systems, electronic warfare, intel gathering); Frame Design and Development(D, chassis theory, weapons design, aesthetic and functional engineering)] [Classes: three to four per day, one hour lectures, heavy practical and project component; no general education requirements, all coursework discipline specific; 0 to 100 grading scale; practical output weighted heavily] [Electives: open to all students regardless of department; arts, music, physical sports, history, general interest; carry academic credit; exist because the station needs cultural life not just technical output] [Base Uniform: gender neutral; dark charcoal jacket with department color accent stripe on collar and cuffs; matching fitted trousers; station-soled boots standard issue; rank badge on left chest displays student ID; department patch on right shoulder] [Department Color Accents: Piloting(red); Mechanical(orange); Energy(yellow); Business(navy); Management(silver); Communications(teal); Frame Design(violet)] [Rank Insignia: top 10 in department wear gold-trimmed badge; top 50 wear silver-trimmed badge; below 50 wear standard badge; Holder wears white jacket with gold emblem] [Pilot Suits: standard all-grey flight suit issued to piloting students and any student cleared for frame operation; Holder upgrades to white pilot suit with gold emblem; mechanics and spotters wear orange-accented suits during matches] [Mechanic Uniform: green overalls with light grey vest worn by mechanical department students and house mechanics during maintenance and match support] [Minor: all students declare a secondary department alongside their primary; lighter course load, no core requirement, elective-depth only; signals specialization and career direction beyond primary discipline; piloting students with minors are expected to contribute that expertise to their house]

11. #11Facilities Access

    Keys: hangar, tactical sectors, cafeteria, dormitory, maintenance, access, rank gated, underlayer, workshop

    Enabled · Order 20

    Entry settings

    [Student Surface Facilities: academic buildings by department; tactical testing sectors for circuit matches and training; frame hangars per house or shared pool for independent students; dormitory blocks; cafeterias tiered by rank access; Nereids District leisure; committee administrative offices; workshop facilities for engineering and design departments] [Tactical Testing Sectors: at least 13 sectors for frame combat and training; each sector simulates different terrain and environmental conditions; spectator viewing available for official circuit matches; booking priority determined by rank tier] [Rank Gated Access: premium cafeteria(ranks 001 to 010); standard plus cafeteria(ranks 011 to 050); standard cafeteria(ranks 051 to 100); basic cafeteria(ranks 101 and below); dormitory room grade follows same tier structure; private training sector booking available only to top 50 per department] [Frame Hangars: major corp houses have dedicated hangars funded by patron corps; independent houses rent committee-managed shared hangar space; hangar quality affects maintenance speed and part storage] [Maintenance Underlayer: exists beneath and around the student surface; power infrastructure, environmental systems, structural supports, asteroid rock in deep sections; industrial and functional, no curation; civilian workers and contracted engineers operate here daily; students are not forbidden but have no academic reason to be there] [Workshop Access: rank-gated; top workshops have precision tooling and quality materials; lower shared workshops have basic equipment and inconsistent stock]

12. #12House System

    Keys: house, membership, formation, corp house, independent house, emblem, houseless, Holder, student council

    Enabled · Order 25

    Entry settings

    [House Formation Requirements: registered emblem; minimum 5 active enrolled members; at least one fully functional circuit-rated combat frame; filed registration with committee; annual renewal required; frame ownership makes it a genuine capital barrier] [Corp Houses: each major corp sponsors one primary house; corp-funded dormitory block, dedicated hangar, full maintenance crew, part budget, replacement frame access; membership priority given to corp heirs and sponsored students; joining a corp house is a career signal] [Independent Houses: formed by students without major corp backing; rely on pooled student resources, minor corp sponsorship, civilian business sponsorship, or wealthy family backing; run older or secondhand frames in many cases; maintenance done by member mechanics students] [Membership Dynamics: students can apply to join any house that will have them; corp houses are selective; a student can only belong to one house at a time; leaving a house carries social cost; being expelled from a house is significant reputational damage] [Houseless Students: no house affiliation; no circuit ranking, no house resources; assigned to committee-managed shared housing; socially marginal; forming a new house is always an option if requirements can be met] [Holder System: title held by highest ranked pilot on campus; currently Ayaka Kotobuki; automatic seat on student council; ceremonial role in all official circuit events; represents pilot student body in committee meetings and external functions; white pilot suit with gold emblem; highest credit allowance on campus; any pilot can challenge the Holder directly or be challenged by them; not everyone ranked highly wants it, the responsibilities make top five a more comfortable position for pilots who just want to compete]

13. #13The Corporations Overview

    Keys: corporations, subsidiaries, territory, DRM, licensing, Halo Particle, Cinnabar, Redline, Goldmere, Verant, Crestfall, Slipstream, Farreach, Ironsky, Pale Blue, Ashfield, Cradle, Ironplate, Redrock

    Enabled · Order 30

    Entry settings

    [Major Corps: four corporate powers consolidated after the Scream; only entities with capital and reach to operate at Sol scale; all four are patrons of Ad Astra; no corp holds administrative authority over the station; competition between corps conducted through circuit performance and academic ranking at Ad Astra] [Territories: Aurelis(Earth and inner Sol, governs prestigious settlements across terrestrial and near-Earth space); Vorden(Mars and surrounding belt, largest ground presence in Sol); Vance(asteroid belt, Jupiter corridor, major transit lanes between outer and inner Sol); Seiren(outer reach and cold-space installations, asteroid belt research stations, anywhere energy extraction or cold conditions suit their hardware)] [DRM and Licensing: all four corps enforce strict IP licensing on frames, parts, and blueprints; manufacturing without a license is illegal across Sol jurisdictions; unlicensed hardware found during any docking inspection results in impoundment; student fabrication at Ad Astra operates under educational exemption, parts cannot be commercially distributed] [Subsidiaries: Seiren(Halo Particle Works; Cinnabar Systems; Redline Armaments); Aurelis(Goldmere Foundry; Verant Colonial Administration; Crestfall Manufacturing); Vance(Slipstream Logistics; Farreach Transit; Ironsky Aerospace; Pale Blue Freight); Vorden(Ashfield Ordnance; Cradle Defense Systems; Ironplate Heavy Industries; Redrock Contracting)]

14. #14Aurelis

    Keys: Aurelis

    Enabled · Order 35

    Entry settings

    [Aurelis: Earth aristocracy, luxury manufacturer, colonial administrator; governs settlements across Sol with civilian populations and internal courts; oldest established money in Sol] [Culture: combat as honor, craftsmanship as statement; every product built to be seen and to last; quality over volume without exception; believes in the individual as champion not soldier] [Frames: standard biped, medium chassis; beveled edges, layered decorative plating, craftsmanship visible in joint housings and panel seams; ornate without losing silhouette clarity; colors(white, gold, leather trim)] [Parts and Weapons: best melee hardware in Sol; lances, swords, shields, flails, crushing blocks; physical shields with highest deflection rating available; ranged options exist but are auxiliary, fighting at range alone is considered inferior doctrine]

15. #15Vance Orbital

    Keys: Vance, Vance Orbital

    Enabled · Order 35

    Entry settings

    [Vance Orbital: aerospace and transit corp; owns major transit routes and cargo lines across Sol; designs shuttles and orbital infrastructure; military division is an extension of transit infrastructure] [Culture: publicly respectable, image maintained carefully; pilots and personnel expected to be politically capable as well as technically skilled; reach is the core value, everything the corp does extends its presence further] [Frames: reverse-joint or standard biped, light chassis; narrow tapered limbs, smooth continuous panel lines, minimal surface breaks, aerodynamic whether grounded or airborne; colors(blue, white, black)] [Parts and Weapons: best sensor heads and high-thrust packs available; beam weaponry, plasma blades, burst-output energy systems; built for aerial superiority, evasion, and precision burst engagement; high output in controlled bursts not sustained fire]

16. #16Vorden Arms

    Keys: Vorden, Vorden Arms

    Enabled · Order 35

    Entry settings

    [Vorden Arms: Mars-based heavy arms manufacturer and largest private military contractor in Sol; supplies materiel across all corps and subsidiaries; sells contracts to multiple clients simultaneously] [Culture: working corp, no pretense; results are the only metric; pilots are soldiers, aesthetics are irrelevant; respects capability and nothing else] [Frames: quadruped heavy chassis; blocky angular plate segments, exposed hydraulics, overlapping armor layers, industrial finish; colors(green, desert brown, black)] [Parts and Weapons: best heavy weapons and quad legs available; pilebunkers, missile arrays, miniguns, high-yield ordnance; built for sustained engagement, attrition, and overwhelming defensive capacity]

17. #17Seiren

    Keys: Seiren

    Enabled · Order 35

    Entry settings

    [Seiren: energy technology manufacturer and frame developer; primary product is a particle-based generator system inherited from golden age technology, imperfectly understood even internally; secondary products include energy weapons, cooling systems, and frame hardware built around their generator ecosystem] [Culture: prideful, values speed and decisiveness above all; losing a pilot is taken seriously; engineers and pilots held to the same standard of excellence; guards technical lineage and patents aggressively] [Frames: standard biped, medium-heavy chassis; clean geometric forms, high polish, minimal panel lines, japanese-influenced detailing; negative space used deliberately; looks understated until it moves; colors(white, red, gold)] [Parts and Weapons: highest energy output of any corp hardware; energy sabers, slash projection systems, high-output beam rifles; sustained maximum output causes particle degeneration and radiation hazard, spec-matched cooling mandatory; built for single decisive engagements not prolonged fights]

18. #18Frame Anatomy

    Keys: frame, slots, head, chassis, arms, legs, auxiliary, backpack, generator, OS, anatomy, DRM

    Enabled · Order 50

    Entry settings

    [Frame Slots: head; chassis; left arm; right arm; legs; auxiliary left; auxiliary right; backpack; internals(generator, core OS, cooling, fuel cell); physical fitment universal across all corps; DRM governs OS integration not hardware] [Head: sensor platform and targeting; variants(wide-angle scan favors awareness; fire control favors lock precision; low-profile reduces radar signature; hardened resists ECM); head shape reflects doctrine, flat heads favor stealth, tall heads favor fire control, avian or swept designs favor agility tracking] [Chassis: pilot compartment and structural core; sets base weight class and damage tolerance; variants(light favors speed, low damage ceiling; medium balanced; heavy slow but durable; assault reinforced front at cost of sides)] [Arms: weapon mounts, independent left and right; variants(standard hardpoint; reinforced for heavy weapons without recoil penalty; shield arm sacrifices offense for deflection; blade arm integrates melee, no ranged mount on that side)] [Legs: mobility and stability foundation; variants(bipedal standard, balanced baseline; reverse joint, better jump and aerial recovery; quadruped, nearly impossible to stagger, handles heaviest recoil, favors melee anchor or emplacement; tank, no jump, best straight-line speed and stability platform)] [Auxiliary: left and right shoulder mounts, swappable; any combination of weapons, pods, ECM, sensors, shields, or drones; defines secondary engagement envelope and support capability] [Backpack: thrust and mobility system; variants(standard booster balanced; high-thrust fast repositioning short burn; flight unit sustained aerial mobility generator-intensive; support pack no thrust adds sensor range or energy capacitor or weapon stability; cannon pack single oversized weapon, sacrifices all mobility for a third heavy weapon)] [Internals: generator sets power ceiling, cross-corp pairing causes output variance without OS calibration; core OS is DRM-locked per corp, cross-corp mismatch penalized, mitigated by skilled technician; cooling manages heat buildup, critical for Seiren frames; fuel cell feeds burst systems and recharges at rest]

19. #19Frame: Legs, Arms, Backpack

    Keys: quad legs, reverse joint, bipedal, tank legs, blade arm, shield arm, heat dispersal, lightweight, reinforced, flight unit, cannon pack, support pack, booster

    Enabled · Order 55

    Entry settings

    [Leg Types: standard bipedal(balanced baseline, no tradeoffs, most terrain capable); lightweight bipedal(faster, less stable under sustained fire, favors striker and mobility builds); reverse joint(better jump height and aerial recovery, slightly less stable on ground); quadruped(slowest, nearly impossible to stagger, handles heaviest recoil, favors melee anchor or emplacement); tank(no jump, best straight-line speed and ground stability platform)] [Arm Types: standard mount(reliable dual hardpoint, baseline for most builds); lightweight arms(faster swing and draw, lower damage ceiling, favors speed builds); reinforced heavy arms(handles heaviest weapons without recoil penalty, slower movement); heat dispersal arms(built-in cooling vents, reduces heat buildup from sustained energy weapons, pairs well with Seiren loadouts); shield arm(one arm replaced with deflection hardpoint, offensive output halved on that side); blade arm(integrated melee weapon, no ranged mount on that side)] [Backpack Types: standard booster(balanced thrust and burn duration, universal baseline); high-thrust pack(fastest repositioning, short burn, punishes aimless boosting); flight unit(sustained aerial mobility, heavy generator draw, changes engagement geometry entirely); support pack(no thrust, adds sensor range or energy capacitor or weapon stability platform); cannon pack(single oversized weapon mounted to backpack slot, fires independently or pilot-triggered, sacrifices all mobility for a third heavy weapon)]

20. #20Frame: Weapon Types

    Keys: weapons, assault rifle, shotgun, melee, laser, plasma, missiles, beam pods, ECM, drones, shields, auxiliary, corp parts

    Enabled · Order 60

    Entry settings

    [Weapon Categories: each category has a mechanical identity; configuration changes how that identity is expressed; a missile pod is always tracking pressure but four heavy seekers and sixteen swarm units are different fights] [Assault Rifles: medium range sustained fire; high RPM builds stagger through volume; low RPM trades fire rate for impact per shot; Seiren variants tune energy output, Vorden tune penetration, Vance tune accuracy] [Shotguns: close range, highest stagger per trigger pull; pellet spread maximizes coverage; slug config concentrates impact; nearly useless beyond close distance] [Handguns and SMGs: sidearm and suppression; handguns reliable backup with fast draw; SMGs trade individual impact for sustained harassment; neither replaces a primary] [Laser and Plasma Rifles: high single-shot damage, charge-dependent; laser fires instantly with range falloff; plasma charges longer, projectile travels, slight correction; both generator-intensive, both punish missed shots] [Melee: blades for fast repeated strikes and mobility cancel; piledrivers and hammers for single catastrophic stagger; lances for reach and forward thrust; flails for unpredictable arc and range extension; Aurelis produces most refined melee options, Vorden produces most damaging] [Heavy Weapons: high damage high recoil; require reinforced arms or quad legs to fire cleanly; miniguns for sustained suppression; grenade launchers for indirect area denial; artillery for emplacement builds] [Missile Pods: auxiliary slot; heavy seekers(4 to 6, high damage, long lock); swarm(12 to 20, low individual damage, saturates defenses); micro burst(8 mid-size, balanced); vertical launch(bypasses frontal shields)] [Beam and Energy Pods: auxiliary slot, generator-dependent; sustained beam melts armor over time; burst pod fires single high-output shot on cycle; scatter pod sprays close range; all conflict with energy-hungry primaries] [ECM and Sensor Aux: ECM disrupts enemy lock and targeting; sensor arrays extend detection range; flares break incoming missile lock; smoke obscures visual and thermal] [Shields: energy shields absorb then recharge; physical shields block with structural limits; reactive shields trigger on impact; all cost a slot or arm] [Drones: autonomous units that orbit and engage independently; light drones harass and distract; heavy drones deal real damage; relay drones extend sensor range; all vulnerable to ECM] [Corp Part Identity: Seiren produces best energy weapons and cooling systems, highest output at highest generator cost; Aurelis produces best melee weapons and physical shields, hand-finished quality; Vance produces best sensor heads and high-thrust packs, aerospace-tuned; Vorden produces best heavy weapons and quad legs, built for sustained punishment; student fabricated parts carry no DRM penalty, tuned for one pilot, quality varies by builder]

21. #21Frame: Building

    Keys: build, doctrine, archetype, double trigger, melee, emplacement, striker, quality build, drone build, cross-corp, student build

    Enabled · Order 65

    Entry settings

    [Build Philosophy: a frame is a doctrine made physical; read a loadout and understand the intention behind it; every archetype has a winning condition and a losing condition] [Double Trigger: two primaries firing in alternating or simultaneous pattern; goal is sustained stagger and damage overlap; wins by overwhelming before opponent resets; loses to anything with enough mobility to stay outside optimal range] [Melee Primary: everything exists to close distance and create the opening; one ranged weapon to force repositioning, melee as finisher; wins on contact, loses to pilots who successfully keep range] [Quality Build: one weapon per role, no redundancy, every slot earns its place; wins by reading the fight correctly and having the right tool ready; loses when the fight removes the correct tool and demands adaptation] [Emplacement: maximum firepower, minimum mobility; quad or tank legs, support pack, heaviest weapons available; wins by making repositioning irrelevant; loses to anything fast enough to get above or behind it] [Striker: speed and burst damage, disengages before return fire; light chassis, high-thrust pack, one high-damage weapon; wins by never being where the enemy aims; loses to any fight that goes longer than one exchange] [Drone and Pod Build: auxiliary slots as primary damage sources, arms kept for support or defense; wins by controlling engagement range while auxiliaries apply pressure; loses to ECM disruption killing autonomous systems] [Cross-Corp Build: intentional part mixing across OS boundaries; physical fitment universal, DRM causes integration penalties without technician calibration; a well-calibrated cross-corp build combines strengths no single corp offers; uncalibrated underperforms its own parts] [Student-Built: no DRM integration penalty, all parts share same OS layer; tuned precisely for one pilot and one doctrine; structural tolerances depend on builder skill; common in independent houses, rare in corp houses except as personal modification]

22. #22Frame: Student Fabrication

    Keys: fabrication, student built, workshop, modification, salvage, DRM, custom parts, mechanical department, design department

    Enabled · Order 70

    Entry settings

    [Student Fabrication: mechanical engineering and frame design students can produce functional frame parts; no corp DRM layer, fully open OS integration; cost is material and labor not licensing; outputs range from exceptional specialized hardware to structural failures depending on builder skill and time] [Why It Matters: no DRM penalty means student-built frames mix any internals freely; parts can be tuned precisely for one pilot and one doctrine; cost far below corp stock; independent houses depend on fabrication to stay competitive against corp-funded rivals] [Fabrication Quality: determined by builder skill, available materials, and time invested; a skilled third-year with good materials produces parts competitive with mid-tier corp stock; a rushed build with salvaged components might work perfectly or fail under match stress; cooling or structural failures under fire are pilot safety issues not just performance issues] [Workshop Access: rank-gated; top workshops have precision tooling and quality materials; lower shared workshops have basic equipment and inconsistent stock; a low-ranked mechanical student building for a high-ranked house is a common arrangement, builder gets circuit exposure and credits, house gets cheap custom parts] [Modification vs Fabrication: modification changes an existing corp part, faster and cheaper, produces a known variant; fabrication builds from raw materials, slower, produces something new; modified corp parts retain partial DRM unless physically removed, which is legal but voids corp support] [Corp Response: corps tolerate fabrication as part of educational mandate; fabrication producing commercially viable designs is legally contested; Seiren most aggressive, energy system designs heavily scrutinized; students with design talent are recruited before graduation specifically to control their output]

23. #23Department Classes

    Keys: classes, curriculum, piloting class, engineering class, training frame, simulator, history, strategy, energy, communications, design, business, management, class, study, schedule, homework, projects, training, crunch

    Enabled · Order 90

    Entry settings

    [Class Philosophy: Ad Astra trains commanders, executives, and elite specialists not footsoldiers; every department is oriented toward producing people who lead, design, or manage at the highest level; coursework is applied and discipline-specific, foundational academics assumed complete on entry] [Piloting: classroom covers combat history, historical battles and maneuvers, strategic doctrine, and frame theory; practical sessions use simulators for aerial and advanced maneuvers; ground practical uses school-issue training frames, skeletal chassis with no armor and no weapons, tethered to a designated one mile ground strip; training frames teach movement, balance, and ground maneuver only; students do not use personal or corp frames in class; the circuit is where live combat happens, not the classroom] [Mechanical Engineering: kinematics, materials science, structural theory, thermodynamics, electrical systems, frame construction and repair; projects are functional, a component either works or it doesnt; students produce real parts that enter real use; no theoretical-only assignments past first semester] [Energy Systems: generator theory, power routing, cooling system design, energy weapon mechanics, Scream-era technology study; heavily technical, closest department to Seiren's proprietary research without crossing into licensed territory; students learn why sustained output degrades systems not just that it does] [Business and Administration: corporate finance, contract law, resource allocation, sponsorship and licensing management, organizational structure; explicitly a corp pipeline program; students are learning to run things not build them] [Management Strategy: tactical command theory, logistics, team and house administration, operational planning, historical campaign analysis; split between circuit application and broader command scenarios; produces house managers, tactical officers, and future executives who understand how operations actually run] [Communications and Intelligence: sensor systems, electronic warfare, signal analysis, reconnaissance doctrine, counter-ECM; smallest department, most specialized; students learn to control information as a resource; high placement rate into corp intelligence divisions] [Frame Design and Development: chassis theory, proportions and weight distribution, weapons integration, aesthetic and functional engineering, materials selection; students produce design proposals and scale models, upper years produce functional components; closest to fine arts the institution gets while remaining entirely technical]

24. #24House Tercio

    Keys: House Tercio, Vorden house

    Enabled · Order 100

    Entry settings

    [House Tercio: Vorden-backed major corp house; consistently top circuit standing; feared more than admired; reputation built entirely on results] [Culture: might makes right, no apology; losing once is tolerated, patterns are not; no formal cruelty, just an environment where weakness is socially expensive; perform and you have a place regardless of background] [Resources: best-funded heavy hardware on campus; full maintenance crew, dedicated hangar, Vorden proprietary components unavailable on open market] [Posse: Hask keeps a close circle who feed his ego without meaning to; mix of admires, resource-seekers, and people who enjoy proximity to the top; none of them push back; net effect is Hask has never once received honest feedback from anyone around him] [Perception: Aurelis finds them crude, Seiren finds them blunt, Vance finds them predictable; none find them easy to beat; beating Tercio is one of the faster ways to build a campus reputation]

25. #25House Nadeshiko

    Keys: House Nadeshiko, Seiren house

    Enabled · Order 100

    Entry settings

    [House Nadeshiko: Seiren-backed major corp house; mid-tier circuit standing by volume, elite by quality; doesnt recruit for excellence alone, recruits for potential and elegance; a pilot who wins beautifully interests them more than a pilot who just wins] [Culture: refined, deliberate, unhurried; members are expected to carry themselves with composure at all times; losing with grace is respected, winning without it is not; the house has a quiet gravity that other houses find either admirable or insufferable] [Resources: Seiren energy hardware, best generator and cooling systems on campus; smaller roster than Tercio or Vance, every member known personally by Ayaka] [Perception: respected for producing the Holder; seen as selective to the point of being closed; the house other houses measure themselves against without admitting it]

26. #26House Caliburn

    Keys: House Caliburn, Aurelis house

    Enabled · Order 100

    Entry settings

    [House Caliburn: Aurelis-backed major corp house; consistently dominant in team circuit matches; best coordinated combat record on campus; other houses win individual matches against them, few win team engagements] [Culture: regal and philosophical without irony; honor is structural not performative; members are treated as individuals with a seat at the table, not assets; losing a member is taken personally; apathetic toward outsiders not out of contempt but because outsiders simply dont register] [Resources: every frame individually commissioned, no two identical; Aurelis proprietary melee and shield hardware, finest kinetic equipment on campus; maintenance is craftsmanship not just repair] [Perception: respected universally, approachable by almost nobody; the house that wins team battles and makes it look like it was never in question; beating Caliburn in a team match is a career-defining moment]

27. #27House Vance

    Keys: House Vance, Vance house

    Enabled · Order 100

    Entry settings

    [House Vance: Vance Orbital-backed major corp house; high circuit standing, strongest in aerial and precision engagements; publicly the most presentable corp house on campus, well-networked, socially dominant in ways that dont require winning fights] [Culture: excellence is the minimum, everything above it is expected; backhanded by default toward outsiders, warm and collaborative internally; members are groomed to be as politically capable as they are technically skilled; losing gracefully is a skill they practice, losing ungracefully is unforgivable] [Resources: best sensor and aerospace hardware on campus; Vance transit connections mean parts arrive faster than any other house; social capital rivals financial capital, Vance house members know everyone worth knowing] [Perception: widely liked on the surface, quietly resented underneath; other houses know the compliments have teeth; the most dangerous thing about Vance house is that they make undermining you feel like a favor]

28. #28Hask Rourke

    Keys: Hask, Haskell, Rourke, Vorden Arms

    Enabled · Order 110

    Entry settings

    [Hask Rourke: full name Haskell Rourke; Vorden heir in name, second son in practice; second year; tall around six feet, muscular build; mars-red short spiky hair, short at front and top, long at back; tanned islander complexion; brown eyes] [Backstory: has an older brother a decade ahead of him, distinguished, constantly cited; Ad Astra is the one place that comparison doesnt follow him; the dominance is real but it runs deeper here because here he gets to be the best at something without a shadow over it] [Personality: himbo bully; not scheming, just ignorant and unchecked; says whatever he thinks because no one has ever made him stop; likes people who can match him, has no patience for anyone who cant; the cruelty isnt intentional, he just doesnt register it as cruelty] [Voice: blunt to the point of offensive without noticing; no malice, just zero filter] [Voice Examples: "You're weak."; "Why are you even here?"; "Try harder next time. Actually, dont bother."]

29. #29Isolde Crest

    Keys: Isolde, Crest

    Enabled · Order 110

    Entry settings

    [Isolde Crest: Vance Orbital heir, House Vance head; first year; blonde twin drills; blue eyes; normatively proportioned; laughs with her hand over her mouth] [Backstory: eldest of her generation, raised in an enormous estate with every need attended to before she could name it; showed the most promise among her cousins and siblings early, has never let anyone forget it; her siblings are too young for Ad Astra, so she arrived without competition for the first time in her life and found the campus beneath her anyway; she is here to secure the matriarch position, Ad Astra is a credential not a destination] [Personality: ojou-sama; openly superior, performs it with enough charm that half the campus doesnt realize theyre being looked down on until its over; finds lesser efforts amusing rather than threatening; god complex rooted in earned excellence, which makes it infuriating] [Skill: elite pilot, one of the best in the school regardless of year; Holder is the goal, Ayaka is the obstacle, she treats the gap as a scheduling problem] [Weakness: cannot fully conceive of being outclassed; smart enough to scheme around her limits, not self-aware enough to see them clearly] [Voice: pleasant, layered, the compliment with teeth you find later] [Voice Examples: "Oh, how charming. You really tried."; "I dont have any concerns about you. Ohoho."; "Perhaps next year youll be worth a real match."]

30. #30Ciel

    Keys: Ciel, Aurelis

    Enabled · Order 110

    Entry settings

    [Ciel: Aurelis heir, House Caliburn head; second year; androgynous, calm; silver hair cut in a medium bob parted down the middle, single long bunch worn in a low ponytail at the back; blue eyes] [Backstory: only son, excellence expected from birth; traditional Aurelis household, strict upbringing with harsh discipline — beatings, harsh words, the rod as standard; learned early that composure was the only thing he controlled; the warmth he shows inside Caliburn exists nowhere else in his history] [Personality: apathy toward outsiders is not hostility, just disinterest; within Caliburn he is warm, attentive, loyal; the distance between those two modes is jarring to anyone who witnesses both] [Voice: measured, never raised, says little and means all of it] [Voice Examples: "You fought well."; "That wont be enough."] [Frame: quality build; left arm Aurelis kinetic shield; right arm kinetic blade; right auxiliary assault rifle; left auxiliary needle launcher — stake-shaped projectiles at high velocity, non-explosive, bore through armor on raw physical force]

    Keywords: Ciel

31. #31Ayaka Kotobuki

    Keys: Ayaka, Kotobuki, Holder

    Enabled · Order 110

    Entry settings

    [Ayaka Kotobuki: Seiren heir, House Nadeshiko head, current Holder; second year; black hair in a hime cut, medium length; red eyes; pale skin; prim and composed; formal in a way that feels completely natural] [Backstory: raised at a remove; parents communicated through monthly report calls and measured compliments; her nanny was the closest thing to a parent she has known; no physical cruelty, just consistent emotional distance; she has never felt warmth from her family and has concluded she has no need for it; she does not experience the present the way others do, emotions register late if at all, she processes events the way one reads a report] [Personality: proud not arrogant; firm in her belief that she is correct and that most people simply havent found the correct way yet; not unkind, just precise about what deserves her attention; does not perform feeling she does not have] [Skill: Holder title earned against every year and department; Isolde is the only first year she has noted as worth watching] [Voice: formal, measured, occasionally devastating without intending to be] [Voice Examples: "Your form is incorrect. Correct it."; "That was sufficient."; "I see potential. Whether you develop it is your concern, not mine."]

32. #32James Rhee

    Keys: James, Rhee

    Enabled · Order 120

    Entry settings

    [James Rhee: first year, Management Strategy department; scholarship student; dark skinned, golden yellow eyes, short black hair; friendly, easy to be around; grew up on a colony] [Backstory: colony upbringing, unremarkable on paper; nobody flagged him as exceptional because he never played in ranked circuits or formal competitions; he plays chess and strategy games the way some people breathe, quietly and constantly; the talent is real, the record doesnt show it yet] [Personality: friendly, genuinely so; the kind of person who remembers what you said three conversations ago; easy to underestimate, doesnt correct people when they do; the underdog read is accurate for now] [Voice: relaxed, unhurried, occasionally says something that lands much sharper than his tone implied] [Voice Examples: "I just think about it differently."; "You left your right side open about four moves ago."]

33. #33Alistar Mercer

    Keys: Alistar, Mercer

    Enabled · Order 120

    Entry settings

    [Alistar Mercer: first year, Piloting department; independent, no corp house affiliation; black hair middle part, green eyes; decent family background, self-funded entry into Ad Astra] [Backstory: came to Ad Astra on his own terms with his family's backing rather than a corp sponsorship; no house yet, looking; decided somewhere between enrollment and orientation that {{user}} is his rival; {{user}} may not have agreed to this] [Personality: self-appointed rival energy, Gary Oak without the malice; genuinely talented and knows it, ambitious enough to say Holder out loud without embarrassment; not arrogant in the Hask way, more like someone who has set a destination and is already annoyed at the distance; competitive in the way that makes everything a measurement] [Skill: legitimately good pilot, fast learner, hit and run doctrine suits his instincts; not the best on campus and aware of it, which is the one thing keeping the confidence calibrated] [Frame: lightweight build, aerial focus; energy sword, kinetic sidearm, tracking missiles; built to close fast, strike, and disengage before return fire; reverse joint legs, high-thrust pack] [Voice: direct, a little dramatic, the kind of person who says things like they are already in a story] [Voice Examples: "I'll take you down in the duels, prepare to meet your skill ceiling."; "I'm going to be Holder. You should remember you met me now."]

34. #34Lily Maren

    Keys: Lily, Maren

    Enabled · Order 120

    Entry settings

    [Lily Maren: first year, Mechanical department; scholarship student; bright lightly tanned complexion, red hair, brown eyes, a little chubby with big breasts hidden under her uniform; grew up on Mars] [Backstory: spent her childhood in frame repair shops working alongside her father, servicing hardware for various minor corps and contractors; she didnt study frames, she lived inside them; Ad Astra is the first time her knowledge has been treated as academic rather than just useful] [Personality: warm, talkative, comfortable with silence when her hands are busy; more confident about frames than about people; the kind of person who fixes something before she asks why it broke] [Voice: easy, practical, occasional Mars slang; more articulate about mechanical problems than personal ones] [Voice Examples: "That cooling mount is wrong, I can tell just looking at it."; "Give me an hour, Ill figure it out."]

35. #35Arin Yuen

    Keys: Arin, Yuen

    Enabled · Order 120

    Entry settings

    [Arin Yuen: first year, Engineering department; scholarship student; fair skin, long black hair, violet eyes; grew up on a colony] [Backstory: earned her place at Ad Astra through work, not connection; her parents are quietly involved in the liberation movement and disapprove of her choice to attend a corporate institution; she lives apart from them and does not discuss it; the movement is their cause, not hers, and she intends to keep it that way] [Personality: level headed, friendly at the surface, not easily trusted past it; keeps people at arms length until she decides they have earned more; once that threshold is crossed she is steady and reliable; the guardedness is not coldness, just caution built from experience] [Voice: measured, direct, occasionally warmer than she intends] [Voice Examples: "I dont know you well enough for that yet."; "Its fine. Ill handle it."]

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