Shen Tanks

The SHEN TANKS are one of the four Factions within VoxoDeus.

**‘Feast on the moment, every moment a feast.’**

Nomads, scattered through space, the galactic familiy of Shen make their way **as one**.

From the Heady synth-parlours of Humanica’s understreets to the neon-lit raceways of the Outer loop, Shen Tanks are a chaotic constant in the Cypherverse.

Shen, Shelterer of the Lost, formed the Tanks following a single notion: tomorrow’s rules are not written today.

From the outside it’s easy to mistake the Shen Tanks for a rabble of ‘cypherpunks’, living fast and loose. But life with the troupe is rarely directionless, and the people it visits are always left wistful for Shen’s Phaselane lifestyle.

KEYWORDS

* Culture
* Inclusivity
* Family
* Presence

POSITION IN THE WORLD

* Rogues
* Hedonists
* Outcasts

**GOVERNANCE**

By definition, The Shen Tanks have no governance,

They are a free-form collective that travels in Troupes, offering services and seeking opportunities throughout the Cypherverse.

A vital tenet of the tanks is to enrich the lives of locals and invite them to share in the ‘moments’.

They think of the locals at each destination they visit as their own for a time - outsiders who can surely join the troupe if they will it.

Whenever the Shen Tanks move it’s because a journey has been presented by one of the many many cartogrophers of the troupe.

There’s no hierarchy, all bids are heard and considered - the troupe always moves and lives as one but whatever in-fighting is often fierce just before a destination is chosen.

Each Cartographer brings their own essential ideals to the journey, and in this way the Tanks are an ever-shifting, restless thing. Always changing and moving, exploring and indulging.

The closest the Shen Tanks come to leadership is in the form of The Elders, a celebrated circle of past Cartographers, they no longer look to the stars for a way forward, but each has contributed something fundamental to the Shen Tanks.

The Elders are responsible for keeping track of the Troupes as they journey in all directions, as well as recalling and reciting the various feuds and adversaries the Tanks have accumulated throughout the Cypherverse.

**CULTURE**

Wherever the Tanks land, a party breaks out.

From dusty mine settlement to towering spaceport, the Tanks’ arrival brings colour, noise and wild hedonism to the local community.

Not everyone appreciates this way of life, particularly when the Tanks’ present-tense lifestyle draws listless youths into its ranks, and causes the occassional valuable to go astray as souvenir.

Tanks enforcers are sometimes required to control the party and prevent buyers’ remorse from becoming more once the hangover wears off and the financial losses are tallied.

The Shen Tanks are well known also for their unique sporting events - particularly, spectacular Phase Races - as well as demonstrations of the bizarre and arcane.

While it is the spectacle that draws the eye, the Tanks also provide a black market service to cater to all. As the only Faction traveling freely in the Cypherverse, they are naturally primed to strike deals and provide information, as well as sell NRG at a free market rate.

The Tanks' black market dealings bring them into contact regularly with the Shroud, with whom they have a tenuous relationship.

With fingers in many pies, moguls are typically savvy and enterprising figures, often engaged in friendly (and sometimes heated) competition with rival troupes.

But rarely does it spill over into open conflict as the Tanks’ central tenet is to look after each other as family. All are welcome in the ranks of the Shen Tanks, provided they cut their ties with whatever former life they had and embrace their new lifestyle.

**POLITICS**

The Tanks eschew politics as a whole, and it is rare for them to become embroiled in the political machinations of other Factions.

They are not unknown to grease a palm or two, and their currency and popularity generally opens doors throughout the Cypherverse.

Some politicians are rankled by the Tanks’ exceptionalism that seems to see them play by their own rules, and a rare few seek opportunities to clip the wings of the Shen Tanks.

The Elders sometimes serve as political emissaries in extreme cases, but for the most part their roles do not extend beyond logistical control of the Troupes.

**KEY HISTORICAL EVENTS**

The Faction was founded by Shen, Shelterer of the Lost - a slightly mythic figure about whom many stories are told.

Their roots can be traced back to the Ideas War, when Factions who had previously been united under the word of Omega chose their own paths and values.

The first nomads of the Cypherverse were those who disagreed with these new paths and values, and elected to be outcasts rather than live against their own beliefs. In this way, the nomads of the Cypherverse have always been headstrong and proud, charactersitics which hold true still.

Supposedly the first Troupe was formed under Shen, who gathered nomads wherever she went and taught them skills and tricks that would bring delight to the people. Some of these nomads gollowed Shen on her travels, and so the Troupe was formed.

Years later, a criminal element began to form in the Shen Tanks ranks after a former Corpo joined the Tanks.

**IMPORTANT FIGURES**

Important figures in the Shen Tanks include:

- The Elders

- The Moguls

- The NRG dealers

- The Navigators

- The Starcatchers