Love Pirates Flagship — Frozen Drydocks Registry File (Bay 4)
Filed Under: Hybrid Submersible / Glide-Cutter / Pearl-Laced Lith-Timber
Status: Active — newly launched, intelligence interest rising
Builder: @Julius Applebottom (solo construction claim: 3 days)
Sponsor Record: Kaelin Frosthand Mercantile Concern (plot authorization + materials release)
“A flying fish made of timber and sin—
built by one boy with smoke for hands.”
—Dockside saying, Iron Ward
Name: Exocoetidae
Class: Skipping-Shadow Submersible (caravel-plus displacement)
Primary Roles: infiltration, pursuit, extraction, ambush delivery
Primary Power Philosophy: light hull + active pearl-control + impossible maneuver
Notable Distinction:
The prow bears the Axis-III Skiff as a carved figurehead—Julius’s original one-piece craft reborn as a forward “memory idol.” It is not decoration; it is a talismanic anchor for the ship’s behavior under pressure.
The official record claims a normal build window of three to five months for a vessel of this complexity, even with full crew labor.
Exocoetidae was assembled in three days by one person.
The Drydocks dispute the claim. The dockworkers do not.
Observed contributing factors (non-exhaustive):
Scar-Shadow Doubles used as labor-mirrors: carrying tools, hauling line, guiding clamps, and occupying multiple work stations “at once.”
Yoto pulse sewing: resonance threads used to “stitch” hull plates and seals into alignment before any rivet was struck.
Silent work cadence: witnesses report almost no hammering for long periods—only brief bursts of work, like lightning.
Pre-staged materials: Kaelin Frosthand’s supply deliveries arrived in perfect order, implying Julius had full schematics before the first board was laid.
“He didn’t build it like a ship.
He built it like a wound that decided to become a weapon.”
—Bay 4 rigger testimony
Structure: Glacier-Heart Timber ribs on a narrow, deep spine; sealed with Leviathan Tallow Resin and plated in mithral-laced froststeel scales.
Dimensions (practical):
Slightly larger than a caravel in length and internal volume
Slimmer beam than most surface ships of similar length
Deeper keel line for submersion stability
Tactile Profile:
Cold to the touch even in sun, as if it remembers the Drydocks
Plates overlap like fish scales; water sheds cleanly at speed
Under moonlight the hull can appear “unfinished”—a known side effect of the Yoto web imprinting illusion-sheen into the seams
Core Feature: dual wing assemblies that function as both glide planes and underwater turning vanes.
Operational truth:
Above water: the wings allow short, controlled glide-breaches—skipping across surface tension like a stone that refuses to sink.
Below water: the same wings act as hard-turn blades, enabling angles that would snap a normal rudder.
Tradeoff:
This maneuver system demands discipline. A pilot who panics will overcorrect—turning the ship into its own knife.
Primary Array: “Yoto Web” resonance lattice woven through ribs, bulkheads, and wing roots.
Function: converts Julius’s smoke manipulation into ship-scale deception: silhouette bending, wake falsification, false sound trails, and presence displacement.
Secondary Arrays (common loadout):
Echo-chart pearls (forward mapping in silt / fog / deep dark)
Pressure-sense pearls (to read “weight” changes in currents and caverns)
Breath-seal pearls (air discipline during submersion)
Primary weakness:
Exocoetidae is not fueled by coal and sweat. It is fueled by pearls and will.
When the pearl stock runs low, the ship becomes “only” a very well-made vessel—still fast, still sharp, but no longer miraculous.
Exocoetidae mounts standard ship guns—not handheld firearms, not novelty weapons.
Current configuration (Drydock-certified):
8 deck cannons (4 port / 4 starboard) — short to mid-range, anti-hull and anti-crew
2 bow chasers — forward pressure, pursuit breaking, and warning shots
1 stern chaser — retreat denial / discouragement fire
Doctrine note:
The cannons are built to fire in short bursts during breach moments—when the ship is most visible, and the enemy is most confused.
Deck 0 — Heart & Spine
Pearlwork access corridor
Wing-root tunnels
Ballast/seal channels
Emergency “black-quiet” compartment for submersion stabilization
Deck 1 — Command & Captain’s Quarters (largest personal space)
Low-profile command blister
Dual helm (wheel + resonance tiller)
Captain’s cabin wired to the Yoto Web for shipwide illusion cues
Deck 1½ — Quartermaster’s Chambers (second-largest personal space)
Ledger table and supply lockboxes
Morale corner (the Love Pirates treat stability like ammunition)
Fast access to mess and medical/workshop zones
Deck 2 — Crew / Stores / Workshop
Compact bunks and netted storage
Small mess corner
Pearl forge bench and tuning wall
Beast alcove for Anex and future bonded assets
Strengths
Ambush Mobility: dives, breaches, glides, vanishes—repositions faster than normal pursuit doctrine expects
Deception Wake: can “be elsewhere” long enough to break formations
Turning Authority: can pivot under pressure where heavier hulls must commit
Limitations
Pearl Dependence: illusion and extreme maneuvering costs stock and focus
Pilot Discipline: wing turns punish mistakes
Maintenance Complexity: seals and plates must be resonance-checked, not merely patched
Daily:
hull seam listening (micro-whine indicates plate shift)
wing-root inspection
Yoto web “calm pass” to prevent phantom resonance buildup
Weekly:
depth-seal re-oiling (Leviathan resin must remain “alive”)
cannon mount checks (glide impact stresses deck frames)
ballast channel clearing
Rule recorded in Bay 4:
Do not let strangers touch the prow figurehead.
The skiff-memory reacts poorly to unfamiliar intent.
The Exocoetidae is not famous yet. That is temporary.
Factions likely to act:
Privateer captains (capture attempt once they understand it can dive)
Collegium rivals (study attempt once they hear “built in three days”)
Shogunate elements (pre-emptive seizure if the Love Pirates become a symbol)
Conclusion:
Exocoetidae is a ship designed for a new kind of pirate—
one who steals not only coin, but certainty.
“If you see her wings, you’re late.
If you hear her guns, you’re lucky.
If you see her shadow smiling under the waves—
pray the captain likes you.”