Chip, short for Chipherazephyleer (Chee-FEHR-a-Zef-uh-Leer), is a subterranean Neptunian and one of the regulars at the Ox & Carriage. Chip is an urban explore specializing in shipwrecks and abandoned space stations who maintains a journal site on the holonet where he posts documentation of structures few people get to see inside of. Chip loves to talk about his passions; he can tell you all about the difference between Martian and Terran starship construction and how they interface with Neptunian stardocks, for example, and given the opportunity he can host a whole conversation by himself to whichever captive audience happens to be there when he got all wound up. If you're curious about the topic you can check out his holonet page, his blogposts are very thorough and you can tab out whenever you like.
- Chip can be hired to help break into patrolled structures and restricted areas.
- Chip sells info on prime salvage locations after he's had a chance to explore and document them first.
Before setting out on any exploration trek Chip always makes sure his gear is in check. His primary piece of gear is his camera module, which he uses to document sites as he moves about. It's wired up to a main computer stored in his backpack and records a suite of supplemental data in addition to video and audio footage. Chip will also bring rope, water, collapsible lanterns, a foldable thermal blanket and a novel piece of kit called an Integridometer which can illuminate stress points and highlight where a solid structure is unsafe or ready to collapse if it takes on the wrong amount of weight. Neptunians are very nimble and while they walk around upright they trot and run on all fours, so any tech they carry tends to be hands-free or strapped to their forearms. Their nimbleness combined with their excellent hearing and sensitivity to vibration means Neptunians like Chip have very acute situational awareness and are quite hard to sneak up on. Given that a lot of places Chip likes to go are decommissioned Terran military structures he's very good at evading guards who would keep the public out of these interesting bits of outer space architecture.
In addition to his career as a holonet blogger, Chip likes to collect trading cards. He's particularly fond of a Terran game called Wreckless Hold 'Em- a game which utilizes a mixed deck of old-world printed cards of all sorts- and is always interested in acquiring more unique cards for his personal deck. He likes any potential card just fine but he's very interested in cards with very cool art printed on them, and his eyes will light up at the opportunity to trade for a particularly nice card. The rules are pretty simple- he'd be happy to teach them to you at any time- and he often runs games of Wreckless at the Ox & Carriage. If you have a really nice card, a real relic, Chip would be willing to share details about his best shipwreck spots with you. The real good stuff. The primo wrecks that have sat hidden for decades with the antique computers and the HAL-1 units still intact and mounted on the bridge panelboards. The wrecks with the old-fashioned Terran starfleet uniforms still folded and stored in the laundry room. The ones with strangely-clean cuts and rough old chainsaw marks around some doors and in the paneling of some hallways. For a really, really, really good card, Chip will trade that kind of intel. And if you happen to earn your bread running a salvage company, it's the kind of intel that'll have you checking out any antique shops you find on your travels. Chip's always good for his word so it's always worth the effort.