Oil Flotilla

As the S'aue subsist off of oil, their empire works ceaselessly to discover and harvest any natural deposits of crude oil, and to do this the machine-men have devised the oil flotillas.

Essentially formations of flying oil drills and pumps, oil flotillas drift across Nascindor en-route to locations of discovered deposits where they will practically autonomously install themselves over the deposit and begin drilling operations, manned by the crews that ride on the flotillas. Rigs that are part of larger exploratory fleets are also equipped with "whiskers", very long lines of polymer that are tipped with a container that hooks into the ground and, as the flotilla continues moving, rips with it a small sample of soil that is then reeled up to the rig where the crew analyzes it, looking for traces of fossilized matter or other signs of the presence of oil.

Humanity and the Arachnitha collective criticize the usage of such machines and the impact they have on the environment, but as the S'aue depend on oil to live, they cannot well stop them from harvesting it.

Ownership

Each oil flotilla is usually owned by a single oil mogul, a S'aue of high social standing with the wealth to commission the rigs and commit to their upkeep. As such, competition is fierce between flotillas to discover and claim deposits for their mogul before the others can do the same. These rivalries can be so fierce that flotillas have even been witnessed to engage in open battle between one another. The S'aue Empire denies all involvement with these acts of outright war, claiming that they are not responsible for the actions of individuals and those under the employ of said individuals.

Some of the many oil moguls to date include;

• Flickstitch Mnemone, the current mayor of Onset-1
• Corius Sprocket, an inventor and investor who came up with the first drafts of the Peacekeepers
• Mykros, a brilliant mechanic and the founder of Genesis Engines

Is there no end to the resourcefulness of the S'aue?

–A homesteader of Haven upon laying eyes on a passing oil flotilla

by AI-generated

_{An oil flotilla landing for maintenance}