Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:00 pm Posts: 494
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The Good, the Bad, and the Feronia
The year is 2317, and most of the Solar System has been colonized. This is a system still in its infancy, where small colonies are more like the small towns of the wild American west in the 1800s. Governments in these colonies are weak or non-existent, lawmen are corrupt, and outlaws, pirates, and gangs are rampant.
These are the adventures of Callum Dereev, his ship the Feronia, and the crew of misfits that help man it. They grab jobs wherever they can find them, whether it’s scavenging, smuggling, or even working as hired guns. They do anything they can to keep from starving, and to keep their ship flying.
Inspired by (but not taking place within) Firefly, this is a story of space-cowboys with holograms, spaceships, robots, action, romance, and really bad one-liners. If you want to join up, please let me know, I’ll always be glad to fit in someone new.
Looking for Crew
Looking for Crew
My name is Callum Dereeve, but you can call me Captain. I’m looking for a crew for my spacecraft vessel, the Feronia. It is a modified Martian U-Kalanda Class 1 gunner-cargo ship, repurposed for civilian use.
I’m looking for mechanics, doctors, chefs, mercenaries, or even just people with two hands (real or cyber) who are willing to do some hard work for fair pay. Being able to handle a gun, or a weapon, is a plus. If you’re a criminal or an ex-convict, I don’t judge. We all have our sins, and shady pasts. Heck I may even use your record as a resume. We will be getting into hairy situations, and I’ll need people that can handle their own.
The pay isn’t great, and the job may suck at times, but you’ll have a place to bunk on my ship, food to eat, and a crew to make small talk with- if that’s your thing. We’ll be travelling all around Sol taking whatever jobs come to us, and at times we may be skirting the line of the law. However for the most part this will be a fair ship. We will have rules, which I will enforce, and all pay from jobs is split equally amongst the crew (even me). Of course a percentage of the pay will go towards the ship, as we will have fuel, food, and repairs to do along the way.
If you’re interested, then meet me on Ceres at the Water Hole bar in the core district, and we’ll talk.
So, who’s up for an adventure?
The Technology
Spacecraft Vessels
Owning a spacecraft, while expensive, is more commonplace in this era. It’s not like how everyone owns a car, but a boat. It is a rarity, but not unheard of. Everyone knows a guy who owns a spacecraft. It’s rare enough that owning one can make you some good credits.
All spacecraft have gravity plates.
Guns
Lots of old bullet guns are still commonplace. As they say, ‘why fix something that isn’t broken?’ However many guns, even those modelled after old ones, now use KRG (kinetic rail gun) technology to fire their bullets, rather than gunpowder. It hits with a lot of stopping power. In larger calibers it can tear a limb off a person.
Newer expensive weapons use plasma pulses, which can be used to paralyze a person on low settings, or burn a hole right through them at higher settings.
Robots
On earth, Venus, Mercury, and parts of Mars, robot workers are commonplace. They are smart, usually made of metal or plastics, and stand bipedal. They’ve replaced most of the blue-collar workers doing the mundane and simple jobs.
On outer worlds, however, using robots is deemed illegal. This is because the populations of the outer-worlds are made up of those who’ve lost their jobs to robots. There is a hate for robots in the outer world.
Robots, usually bipedal and human like, can be repurposed for many things. Some are made more human like and can be used as pleasure robots. Some are armored and used for military uses. Most of them are used as servants and workers.
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is also commonplace. A lot of outer-worlders make use of cybernetics, which is hypocritical, seeing as most of them are anti-robot. It’s expensive, but it pays off in the end. Some say they do this to show humans can be just as, if not better than robots. Others mock the hypocrisy.
Brain cybernetics (the kind that make you smarter and faster) is only for the rich and powerful, as the surgery required for it is extremely expensive. However you can get anyone on the street to cut off your arm and replace it with a new cybernetic one.
Artificial Intelligence
AIs are very advanced, and most robots have some form of it. They can be very basic, or they can have behavioral and personality enhancements. It is also common for a lot of vehicles, especially spacecraft, to have one to help run daily tasks.
Holograms
While a lot of video screens are still used, holograms are also a common way to view maps, schematics, AI avatars, and to communicate with.
Gates
Man has not made it beyond the Solar System, as FTL technology does not exist yet. Instead, warp gates have been constructed in orbit of each planet or place of interest in the System. This allows everyone the ability to jump from place to place in a matter of a few hours, and at most, days. Of course, these warp gates are controlled and regulated by governments, and sometimes outlaws. Sometimes second and third warp gates are constructed to ease up traffic, but not all locations have more than one warp gate.
The Feronia
Owner
Callum Dereev
Name
The Feronia - The goddess of fertility and abundance, but more importantly she was the goddess of freedom to slaves and freedmen. This is why Callum chose the name.
Origin
A modified Martian U-Kalanda Class 1 gunner-cargo ship from the System War, 100 years ago. The ship was designed for cargo and transport, but was designed with defensive combat in mind. Many of its weapons were removed so sell it on the consumer market, but Callum has been working hard to add weapons to the ship. How Callum got his hands on the ship is a mystery which he tells no one.
Weapons
Many of its weapons were removed, but a lot of the turret control stations remained. They were holographic viewports linked in with several turrets placed around the ship. Callum made it his focus to get the turrets back, and has since installed 5 turrets. There are no missiles, rail guns, or plasma guns.
Defence
There are no force fields as it’s an older ship. There are also no automatic missile defense turrets. It has a lot of armor plating, but it is worn out and degraded. It is best to not get into combat.
Engine
It has a standard Helium-3 engine with stabilizers and hover thrusters.
Size
133 meters (436.4 feet) long, and 44 meters (144 feet) high, with a total of 6 decks.
Decks
Deck 6 – Recreation, Kitchen, and Observation deck. It has windows 360 degrees, which close down with blast doors automatically when in combat.
Deck 5 – Bunks. It can hold up to 50 people, however it is designed like a submarine. So the crew generally breakdown the walls of 2-4 rooms (which normally have 4 bunk beds each), and turn it into one comfortable personal room.
Deck 4 – Meeting room, Captain’s quarters, consoles (which go unmanned) and front bridge
Deck 3 – Turret control room and Medical Bay
Deck 2 – Engine room and computer mainframe
Deck 1 – Landing thruster’s room, target practice, and cargo hold (three times the height of the other decks).
Crew size
It is rated at holding 50 people, but can easily be run by a crew of only 20 people. Currently, only about 6-8 people run it, and because of that an AI becomes a necessity.
Artificial Intelligence
The Artificial Intelligence installed into the ship was due to necessity. To run things properly, and to maintain the ship with a small crew, the AI helps do various tasks, such as maintenance, diagnostics, co-piloting, gun controls, and navigation (i.e. turn left here). She has a female voice, and is referred to by the ships name, Feronia. She also has a few upgrades, like a personality and behaviour subroutine. She is described as being sassy, flirtatious, and at times temperamental.
We need some guns for hire, a cook (or everyone takes turns), a deckhand (or everyone takes turns), and anything in between. You can be a fresh young kid that knows nothing, a skilled fighter, a hacker, or anything else. This crew needs a good mix of people, but people who work hard, and seek adventure and a life of freedom in the stars.
The Solar System (a.k.a. Sol) and Brief History of "The Great System War"
Man has colonized most of the solar system, and Terraformed a few of these worlds.
Inner regions, due to their control of Helium-3, are much richer than the poor once-mining colonies of the outer system. The asteroid belt (a.k.a. the rocks) paints an imaginary line between the two regions, the rich from the poor.
The main resources for trade amongst the worlds are: Food, Water, Manufactured Items, Deuterium (a bit of an older fuel from the outer worlds like Neptune or Uranus), and Helium-3 (more abundant in the inner worlds, like Mercury).
This separation of Rich and Poor has caused many conflicts over the years. In the year 2208, what many describe as the "Great System War" broke out. It began with Earth, and it's ally Venus, trying to take back control of the old, once-corporate-owned, mining colonies in the outer worlds. It also tried to make a claim that they had control over Mars, which was a bit of an independent planet to begin with.
A famous speech by Earth's council president, Brian Peal, once said "The four siblings (referring to Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) need to unite, and to civilize the outer worlds. They are savages, outlaws, and live by their own rules. They will surely kill themselves one day. We four siblings need to save the outer worlds, as past generations have had to save the poor children of Africa." Needless to say Mars didn't take kindly to this speech, and often refers to it as the main reason for breaking from the imaginary alliance that once existed.
Mars decided to take sides, and instead of going with it's inner world brethren, it chose to protect the outer worlds from control of Earth and Venus. It was then deemed "the black sheep" because of the famous speech. Mars was not as prosperous as it is in present day, so its small Army fought dirty, and used espionage, cyberwarfare, and pin-point strikes to fight the war. Earth decided to step up it's forces, and occupied Mars for a short time, causing it's bloodiest and most frightening period of the War. Rebel groups, suicide bombings, and assassinations were common. Needless to say, no side won, and a peace treaty was created in 2214 and Earth pulled back it's troops. Though the outer worlds see this as a win, Earth claims it was a tie.
With the war long gone, a cold war always lingers. Mars, while it is technically an inner world, is considered an outer world by most because of its support. Now most of the outer colonies import product from Mars rather than the inner worlds, which has made it's industry boom and it is now a much richer planet. It still helps support the outer worlds, and often gives them exporting deals.
Terraforming – Mercury has not been Terraformed. Despite it’s strong magnetic field, it is too close to the sun for an effective atmosphere, and it would not maintain proper temperature levels.
Colonies – While not the most appealing of planets, there are many Colonies because of mining. However they mostly exist underground, with a few surface buildings to get to the surface where they mine. All colonies and buildings are heavily shielded against extreme temperatures.
Resources – Mercury is the largest supplier of Helium-3 in Sol, which has been saturated into the surface by the sun. Venus and Earth corporations mostly own the colonies on Mercury.
Surface – The surface is rocky and covered in craters. It’s size and look is very much like earth’s moon.
Mercury Day – A mercury day last about 59 earth days, so it rotates very slowly.
Surface Temperature – 430 degrees Celsius (day) to -180 degree Celsius (night)
Terraforming – Venus is in the process of being terraformed, but it has been proven difficult. With a heavy atmosphere of carbon dioxide, converting it to oxygen is not a problem. However the sulfuric acid clouds are constantly causing issues. The air is a bit hard to breath, and you need to wear protective clothing outside. Most people bring out a breathing mask to prevent CO2 poisoning.
Weather – The atmosphere has wind, and sulfuric acid clouds. It will rain sulfuric acid constantly. Being indoors, or wearing protective clothing is a must.
Colonies – Venus, for a time, was left untouched. It suffers from an extreme greenhouse effect, and is the hottest planet in Sol. Even if it weren’t hotter than an oven, the air pressure would kill anyone setting foot on it.
However high in the atmosphere, where the pressure is closer to that of earth, so are the temperatures. Except for the carbon dioxide air, and sulfuric acid clouds, it is quite nice. You don’t need a pressure suit, and early explorers have described it as a stunning, but frightening planet. “Cloud” colonies, with pontoons filled with nothing more than oxygen, have become the new hotspot of the galaxy (no pun intended). The view is spectacular, and these luxurious colonies cater to the rich of Earth, like living on a cruise ship with a violent but beautiful view.
Resources – There are no worthwhile resources on Venus to export. It is a luxury planet. They are always importing.
Surface – Rocky, boiling hot, extreme pressures, with active volcanoes.
Venus Day – A Venus day lasts 234 earth days – so the floating colonies travel slowly in the atmosphere, always trying to find the ideal temperature spot.
Terraforming – Earth is already habitable. The pollution has been cleaned and reversed.
Weather – With a lively atmosphere, it has active weather, such as rain, snow, tornadoes, and hurricanes.
Colonies – Earth is the birthplace of humans, and with early over-population, the decision was first made to build up towards the sky. Skyscrapers and raised platforms were built to house the over-developed planet. It is cities upon cities. Eventually the decision was made to spread out into the solar system.
Earth has become inundated with robotic workers taking over the mundane and ‘lesser’ jobs. Earth, as a whole, has become gentrified, and the poor have migrated to mining colonies, and Mars. So earth is a very beautiful and technologically advanced planet.
Resources – Mining, organic, food, and its biggest export is water.
Surface – Cold, hot, water, solid ground, everything and anything in between.
Gravity – 1 G
Earth Day – 24 hours
Surface Temperature – from -80 Degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius
Terraforming – There is no atmosphere on the moon. It has not been Terraformed.
Weather – No weather.
Colonies – There are small colonies living in bio-domes. While mostly only robots mine the surface, some humans live on the moon from the early mining days, and get other jobs to support the colonies. Although with the main jobs being taken by robots, these colonies are dwindling.
Resources – Helium-3 is the main and only resource.
Surface – Dusty with craters everywhere.
Moon Day – 29 earth days to complete its full phase orbit around the earth.
Surface Temperature – from -233 Celsius at night, to 123 Celsius during the day
Terraforming – One of the first worlds to be terraformed. The pressure, atmosphere and temperatures are very similar to earth’s (though some describe the air as being a bit thin). While there is a lot of ‘red desert’ still left over, much of it has been taken over by vegetation. Most of the vegetation are crops for food or algae, but some attempts at growing forests are proving successful. Though these forest are scattered and small, and so the surface is mostly still desert.
They are slowly introducing a lot of earth’s animals to the planet.
A lot of the polar caps have also melted, creating rivers, lakebeds, and oceans.
Weather – Similar to earth’s weather, although there are still many dust storms and dirt devils.
Colonies – Some describe Mars as Earth 2.0. In the early days it was an attempt to restart civilization on another planet, and to not make the same mistakes. So many people moved over to the planet. There are many sprawling cities, but there are still a lot of empty regions, and small towns. Many describe these ‘uncivilized’ regions as being very similar to the Wild West of Earth.
Regions have formed in place of countries. Different earth countries claimed some of these regions and small cities. While many have very mixed cultures, some of the old cultures and traditions still remained out of a need for preservation.
Mars is technically an inner world (using the asteroid belt as an imaginary line), however due to their past and present support of the outer worlds (mainly during the great system war 100 years ago against Earth and Venus), it is often described as being an outer world.
Resources – Food, water, and manufactured items are big exports, especially to the outer worlds.
Surface – It is Red and dusty with some vegetation, and a lot of bodies of water.
Mars Day – It is almost exactly one earth day (1d and 40 mins).
Surface Temperature – Between -60 and 40 degrees Celsius.
Phobos (Mars Moon) a.k.a. ‘the big potato in the sky’ or ‘the big potato’ (click for more info)
Terraforming – Too small to terraform
Weather – No weather
Colonies – A colony was created on Phobos, but not Deimos, due to its larger size, even though it is much smaller than the moon of earth. Phobos holds a few biodomes and underground colonies, mainly acting as a fueling station and port for ships. Some Helium-3 is also mined.
Resources – Helium-3
Surface – Dusty and cratered
Phobos Day – 8 hours
Surface Temperature – Between -112 and -4 degrees Celsius
Asteroid Belt (a.k.a. The Rocks)
The asteroid belts are common for their mining of various metals, minerals, and some Helium-3. The asteroids are usually spaced far apart, but mining companies bring a lot of them together into asteroid fields, or as some playfully call them, ‘rock herds.’
With every ‘rock herd’ there is usually a hollowed out asteroid acting as a station for the miners to live in. Most minerals are brought to Ceres for transport through the gates.
Terraforming – Ceres was one of the first worlds to be terraformed using the field technology. Force fields are used to encompass an atmosphere on smaller worlds that don’t have enough gravity to hold it on its own. The force fields open up for ships that have proper clearance, but it also protects the world from impacts of meteorites.
There is air to breath, but there is no vegetation except in biodomes designed for farming.
Because of the atmosphere, and the colder weather, snow covers the surface.
Weather – Snowstorms and extreme winds are common.
Colonies – Many small towns exist on the surface, yet many live in the old mining tunnels in the mantle. These tunnels and rooms are made of ice.
Resources – Water is the primary export, as Ceres holds more fresh water than even Earth.
Surface – Snow covers the rocky and cratered surface.
Ceres Day – 9 hours
Surface Temperature – The surface temperature is -50 to -10 degrees Celsius.
Colonies – Pallas is the largest ‘asteroid stations’ in the asteroid belt. The inside has been mined for its minerals, and the remaining shell is used as a station. It’s a great place for miners to put up their feet, and make a home. There are no gates around Pallas, and for this reason it is a hotspot for criminal activity.
Resources – Pallas is the main HQ for a lot of asteroid mining, and so many asteroids have been ‘herded’ around it, creating an asteroid field. Minerals and water are the main exports.
Surface – cratered and dusty – the inside however is layers of steel and metals, forming buildings, tunnels, and city centers. Gravity plates are everywhere.
Pallas Day – 7 hours
Surface Temperature – from -100 to -8 degrees Celsius – the inside is about 14 degrees Celsius (chilly for some).
Rules
We will post one after another, in the order outlined by the first posts. As this is the Alpha forum I’ll assume we’re all mature enough to understand that there’s no God Modding, Mary Sues, or any of the other stuff that makes threads frustrating.
Inactivity
If you become inactive or cannot post you must inform us via the OOC thread, or to me via PM. We all understand because life is crazy like that. When informing us, let us know an estimated time frame until your next post. If it is a significant amount of time let us know if we can skip you and if we can control your character (depending on what is happening in the story). If you want to drop the thread, please also inform us.
Basically, life is crazy and we get it, but try to not leave us in the dark.
If, however, you do NOT inform us, the following steps will be taken:
- After 10 days (1 ½ weeks) of not posting I will contact you via PM to figure out what’s going on. After 4 more days (2 weeks total) if you don’t get back to us, then we will skip your post. We will control your character only IF NEEDED TO MOVE THE STORY FORWARD, and only minimally (without going against what your character might do). After we have skipped you once, I will inform you that we have done so.
- If you still haven’t gotten back to us, anytime after that, if it is your turn to post you will have 5 days to contact us or else we will skip your post again. I will only PM you to let you know we have skipped you.
- After 2 months of no contact, we will drop your character from the story by sending them off the ship. If we find out later that the no contact was for a good reason, we can discuss bringing your character back onto the ship.
Coming soon: - Solar System Worlds - Rules
So feel free to create your characters with whatever template you want, and post them here for approval. It's always great to include a photograph. Also don't make any mary sues, and be sure to have plenty of flaws. Your characters can be ex-cons, criminals, someone hiding from a bounty, or the complete opposite (someone just looking for adventure). We want a good mix.
If it's important for your character, PM if you need to figure out a birthplanet for your character. Keep in mind the following (more details to come):
-outer worlds (mars and beyond) are for the poor, and inner worlds are for the rich and robot workers -Mercury is a Helium-3 mining planet, and not terraformed (but mostly inhabited by robot workers) -Venus is a planet with cloud cities for the rich, and robots to serve them -Earth is now pollution free and with mega hyper cities (where robots have replaced many of the workers) -the moon has bio-domes and helium-3 mining (with robots doing the mundane jobs) -Mars is terraformed with a mix of big cities, and small town colonies (some robot workers, except in smaller backwater towns) -and I still have to figure out the outer worlds (like Ceres, Europa, and a few other moons and space stations).
Your character can come from any of these places, but there's more chance they lived in the outer worlds (mars and beyond) unless they come from a privileged or middle class family. However feel free to stretch things a bit for creative purposes, and I'll adapt.
If you have any suggestions or ideas, feel free to post them as well.
I will be adding and fixing up this OOC this upcoming week. Things have been busy.
_________________ I cut open my heart, bleed words onto the page, and see what happens...
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:00 pm Posts: 494
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(appearance and picture coming soon)
Name: Callum Dereev
Age: 39
Appearance:
Background: Callum was born an only child on Earth. His father was a politician, but he never knew the man. His father left when he was born. His mother, a teacher, raised him alone.
When she lost her job to an Artificial Intelligence, they moved to Mars, where Callum grew up most of his life. However she lost her job when he was a teenager, and they moved again to Enceladus. There was nothing to do on the moon, and he started vandalizing with his friends. As he got older, they stayed together and formed a gang, where they stole and caused havoc just for fun.
Eventually they got a ship, and they started to commit piracy. When some of the piracy led to some deaths, Callum really felt uneasy about the whole thing. He wanted to get out, but it was hard to do so. After a job gone wrong, he was captured by some lawmen, and placed into prison for three years.
Eventually he was let out, and ever since he decided to live a clean life. However a clean life wasn’t easy, and quickly fell in with his old gang again. He eventually left, acquired his own ship (which he never says how he got), and decided he would try and make a more honest living this way.
The ship he bought he named the Feronia, the goddess of freemen, something he felt more like with the ship. He repaired the ship and installed turrets over 2 years, and now he’s ready to hire a crew, and bring it out for it’s first job.
Personality: He’s probably the most stubborn son-of-a-gun you’ll ever meet. When he’s decided on his ways, he won’t deviate from it. The last thing he wants as a leader is to second-guess himself. Plus, he likes things to be a certain way.
He is, however, a very humble man. He doesn’t like people who boast about abilities, as he believes there is always someone better out there. He knows his limitations, and when he’ll need help to do a job.
He values crew and family the most. If you’re part of the crew, you’re family, no matter how much you argue. Family helps family, and if you have your own agenda, he doesn’t take too kindly to it.
Skills: He’s fairly decent with a pistol, but he’s not an amazing marksmen. He can hold himself in a bar fight, and fights dirty, but he’s no Jackie Chan. He’s a good general jack-of-all-trades, able to fix and pilot his ship, while doing simple computer repairs. However, he’s a master of nothing and he knows this.
Although, he is the best chef he knows, and loves great food.
Gear/Clothing: He likes to wear simple jeans, with a buttoned up shirt, and cowboy boots. Many question why he wears cowboy boots since there aren’t horses…. or cows in space, but he says they’re comfortable and likes the look. As if to complete the set, he has a large trench coat with gloves, and a long brim hat, which he takes out when the weather permits. Its material is designed even to protect from the harsh sulfuric rains of Venus.
He carries a large caliber KRG Colt Sizzler. It’s a take on the old Colt guns of the Wild West, but has a large caliber sizzle round, and can fire up to 60 shots before needing to be reloaded. As a Kinetic Rail Gun, the bullet, while smaller than conventional bullet guns, travels much faster and can blast a hole clean through a person.
_________________ I cut open my heart, bleed words onto the page, and see what happens...
Appearance: Ettin is a portly man, thick, round belly disguising the solid muscle of his chest and gut. His arms are as thick around as a normal man's thighs, and a bushy beard covers his deep tan face, and welder's goggles generally conceal his tired, brown eyes. His arms are covered in burns from working with engines, and his bald head gleams in the light, when not hidden under a wide-brimmed brown leather hat. Ettin is missing several teeth, whether from bar fights or engineering mishaps, and has clearly had his nose broken a time or two. He typically wears either tan or forest-green cargo pants, the pockets always full of tools and spare parts, and a t-shirt carrying the brand of one company or another under a tan vest - also covered in tool-filled pockets. At all times Ettin wears the thick-soled leather boots his father's father was issued in the System War, and when working wears a pair of thick, insulating gloves. Ettin's deep-set, piercing eyes belie his jovial manner, giving something of a stern, fatherly look to him, despite the gap-toothed, goofy smile below. Whenever he works, however, all of that is thrown out the door. His eyes squint, his face loses emotion, and he generally won't speak or leave until whatever job it is is done. In his personal belongings - mostly just what he would have around his bunk - are, more abundantly than anything else, his gizmos. He can be found playing with any number of devices, from small, personal, low-yield explosives to entirely new slug-thrower guns, to custom engine parts.
History: Ettin was born to the poor son of a soldier on the losing side of a war, on the icy plains of the Uranian moon Miranda. Well, more accurately, the bio-regulated family domicile dropped from orbit onto the icy plains of Miranda. As such, from an early age he was taught how to maintain the generator and heater necessary to live there. Living on a mostly-uninhibited planet granted him many opportunities for difficulty, including never receiving a formal education. He learned to speak, and the culture of his family, from his father. The former was mostly an after-thought, out of necessity. He was taught of his ancestors hundreds of years ago, in the deserts of Earth, from the cradle of Human civilization. Of course, this always made him somewhat overconfident, but Ettin was also taught to temper his pride with kindness and humility. It wasn't long, however, before the Mirandan wastes truly got to him. Against all wishes of his family, he saved enough cash to hop aboard a freighter for Mars. From there, he would ply his skills as an engineer's apprentice for five years, and branching out on his own for another three, on a small colony on Phobos. This settled life, however, bored Ettin eventually as well. It was at this time that Ettin heard an ad from a man named Callum, on Ceres. Ettin had never given a whole lot of thought to living on a ship permanently, but it would certainly be better than wasting away on Mars' moons. With that, Ettin sold all the tools and creations he couldn't carry, and boarded the next transport to Ceres, where he would find this Water Hole.
Personality: Ettin has calmed down significantly from his younger years, when he would leap at the chance to prove his worth and might at a late-night bar, or even just walking from spaceport to hostel. In his middling years he has become patient and soft, spending more of his time trying to solve mechanical problems than interpersonal. While he has cooled his temperament over the years, Ettin still has something of a fire inside, burning especially bright when his friends or, even more so, his work is threatened. He has been known, just within the past few years, to beat a man over the head with his wrench, or even clear out a whole bar with either a horrible-smelling smoke bomb he's developed, or with simple muscle. He is certainly not above breaking the law; several slug-throwers he's created are specifically against local - or even system-wide law.
_________________ Follow the wind in your sails, and the rhythm of your oars.
Last edited by KaptainSigil on Tue Jun 10, 2014 5:01 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:00 pm Posts: 494
Blog:View Blog (1)
Let's start from the beginning. My captain has just received the ship, done some reparations, added some turrets, and maybe he's run a few jobs by himself with the ship's AI to help. However he realizes he needs a crew, and hires them. We'll start at Ceres, where the Feronia is docked, and everyone has been hired, and you all see the ship and meet the crew for the first time.
I like your character! But before I approve it, the only thing is I'll want is for you to change the Neptune thing. I'd like to keep things a bit realistic (I'm a space nerd), and since Neptune is a gas planet there aren't really any icy plains to live on it. One of Neptune's moons, a space station, or some sort out 'cloud' city floating in the gases of Neptune could work. I figure most people will be living on the moons of the gas planets in the outer worlds. Is that cool?
If you could also space the paragraphs a bit for easier reading, it would be appreciated. You don't have to, but photographs for the characters are welcome and encouraged.
_________________ I cut open my heart, bleed words onto the page, and see what happens...
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2013 3:47 pm Posts: 219
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Oh, I must have been confusing Neptune with some other cosmic body. I'll get to work on that. EDIT: A little better? I think I got all the "Neptunes." If there is any specific moon you'd prefer, it doesn't really matter.
_________________ Follow the wind in your sails, and the rhythm of your oars.
So I was wondering with my cabin boy char, would you prefer he stows away or he was already on the ship? I like the idea of him having lives in it before the captain got it, but I think that's up to you.
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_________________ Art is the Science of Inspiration on Demand!
Appearance: Isabelle is a very solid woman. She stands at 5’6” and weights close to 125lbs, with light muscle tone and strong features. Her hair is about shoulder-length, but usually kept in a bun so it doesn’t get in the way.
Her clothes are, for the most part, casual. On a typical day she will be seen in just a regular t-shirt and pants that aren’t really anything too fancy. She doesn’t like to stand out. In her line of work, she really has no need to.
Personality: Cool-headed yet rash, steadfast, dislkes feeling confined in any sense of the word. Meticulous, caring, yet a bit cold; she prefers to be a ‘tough’ love kind of person. Doesn’t hesitate to voice her opinion.
Restless, seems to always be worried about something, though not paranoid per say. She gets nervous easily, especially in an unfamiliar situation.
Background: Isabelle was born into a strict, very motivated family hell bent on dedicating their lives to serve others. Her older brother served in the police force, her father works on the moon, and her mother is a retired soldier, working on the moon as well. At first she had not liked the idea of working for the military when her father brought it up, and had it not been for the ‘gentle’ encouragement her family had given her she probably would not have joined up.
Unfortunately, her time in the military had not lasted long. She t liked the thrill of a mission bwas sick and tired of taking orders and being forced to put up with politics. This was a life that her family had wanted her to live and not one that she had carved out herself. So she had decided to take a stand, take control of her life. She wanted to do something she knew she would want to spend the rest of her life doing.
Well, she got what she wanted in the end. Sadly, it had not gone the way she had wanted it to: peacefully.
On the day she was going to turn in her resignation, she discovered that her brother had been caught up in some shady business (more about this to be revealed IC) She was dragged into it inadvertently, and it caused all sorts of problems which then resulted in an argument breaking out between Isabelle and her brother. Neither are speaking to each other currently.
Isabelle decided to work as a hired gun shortly after, free of restraint. When she got word a captain was looking for a crew, she didn’t hesitate to take up that opportunity to earn some extra pocket change.
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:00 pm Posts: 494
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KaptainSigil wrote:
Oh, I must have been confusing Neptune with some other cosmic body. I'll get to work on that. EDIT: A little better? I think I got all the "Neptunes." If there is any specific moon you'd prefer, it doesn't really matter.
It doesn't matter the moon. That one works. Thanks!
It's better. I would prefer a more fleshed out character, but I'll approve it. I believe in getting to know your character through writing with them.
Jessie Shadowhold wrote:
So I was wondering with my cabin boy char, would you prefer he stows away or he was already on the ship? I like the idea of him having lives in it before the captain got it, but I think that's up to you.
I like the idea of him stowing away before my character got the ship. It's big enough that he could hide easily and steal some food. However, the only problem with this idea is that there is an on board AI that would have seen you. She doesn't have fancy bio sensors like in star trek, but at the very least she would see you on a video feed.
So what if your char was a young guy who's good with computers? He would have hacked the system to recognize you as crew, but she would never talk to you or mention you. He's able to hack into systems, and learns to know the inside and out of the ships AI. This would give my char a reason to keep him on board. Of course he'd primarily be scrubbing floors as a 'punishment', but it's always good to have him just in case.
What do you think?
Sounds_of_Silence wrote:
Will edit this post with a character within the next few days or so.
I'm still looking to just be a mercenary.
Looking forward to it!
_________________ I cut open my heart, bleed words onto the page, and see what happens...
I like the good with computers thing, although if the AI has personality, the other option is he hacked/charmed his way into getting the AI to like him, or have pity on him. Again, it's your ship, so your choice. If we're going the whole "I was here first" track though, it might be good for you to PM me any details I need to know about how your char got the ship.
Sent from Castle Shadow-hold using Tapatalk
_________________ Art is the Science of Inspiration on Demand!
"The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug." -- Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist
Name: Albert Perez "Al" Age: 35 (born: 15 August 2281) Gender: Male Appearance: Al Perez is of Mexican-American descent and grew up in the Martian province known as Nuevas Chiapas (NC). He stands 5' 10" tall and weighs 178 Lbs. He has very short (high and tight) black hair and brown eyes. He has a black goatee that he keeps trimmed. A scar on the left side of his jawline would prevent a beard from filling in. The scar was a leftover from a deployment to Ratheon, a remote Martian province.
Al wears loose fitting cotton rip stop cargo pants or stressed denim utility trousers, a dark colored T-shirt, zippered sweatshirt, tan colored combat boots and olive green herringbone flat cap. His load carrying equipment, worn during combat assignments is crafted of a mix of leather and nylon weave and contains pouches for water, first aid kit, ammunition and a small ration of food and survival gear.
Personality: Albert, Alberto or familiarly, just "Al" is an easy going laid back man. After serving in a combat zone on Mars, he is of the ilk to feel comfortable in chaotic, near death experiences. Even when he leaves the military, he is still drawn to the chaos; feeling out of sorts in the quiet mundane world of civilians. One may say he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress, but he has never been diagnosed and functions normally. When things are quiet and what civilians would call normal, Al can become irritable, grouchy or just in a bad mood.
Background: Al Perez grew up in Pueblo Cazador (Hunter Village) a suburban city of 38,000 near the New Chiapan capital, La Ciudad de Estrellas (The City of the Stars). His mother served as an administrator for the public school system in Cazador insuring the educational robots performed according to their assigned perameters. Al's father worked in city administration for Las Ciudad de Estrellas as the Clerk of Public Record.
Al's childhood is best described as quiet. He played sports in school and even dabbled in some recreational drugs, but never got into trouble over this. Al was more interested in the girls and playing football than studying. He achieved average scores in school and had no interest in continuing his education.
When Al graduated from Gilberto Jimenez High School in Pueblo Cazador, he spent the summer of '99 partying and having fun. At the end of that summer, Al found himself at the Martian training base at Camp Smith. After spending 14 weeks in Infantry Basic Combat and Advanced Individual Training, Al went on to receive training in Parachute Operations, Orbital insertions and finally Commando School. Once his training was complete, Albert was assigned to the 4th Motorized Infantry Division (The Iron Legion). Within the Iron Legion, Al served as a Rifleman in the 2nd Battalion 30th Infantry (Motorized).
After three years in the Martian Army, Albert was promoted to Sergeant and transferred to the 4th Battalion 2nd Infantry (Lucky Deuces) in the 21st Light Infantry Division (Blackjack Division). While with the Blackjacks, Alberto Perez was deployed to Ratheon, a remote province in the southern hemisphere.
A Leftist group, known as the Krasny Oktyabr Brigade (Red October Brigade) had turned their peaceful protests into a shooting war. A history of terrorism and overt raids on Ratheon governmental buildings fomented over the previous five years. Tensions between the Ratheon government and the rebellious faction forced the Martian government to act.
In 2302, the Martian Government stepped in and sent the 1st Motorized Rifle Division (Fortunate Ones) and the 21st Light Infantry Division, the Blackjacks to help pacify the region. About a year into the deployment soldiers from the 1st Infantry beheaded seven Red October soldiers in front of villagers whom they suspected as providing aid to the enemy. Their brutal warning caused three repercussions. First, the event incited Krasny Oktyabr to increase attacks, taking no prisoners from the Martian Army; second, more dissidents in the Ratheon region flocked to Krasny Oktyabr in hopes of killing Martian soldiers; and third, the Martian government lost face immediately after the fall-out from this incident. A formal hearing did take place indicting the twelve Blackjack soldiers responsible for the heinous crime including one Second Lieutenant Dimitri Paulovsky who had only been commissioned four months prior to the incident.
In 2303 during a firefight with the rebels, Sergeant Albert Perez lost both legs and his right eye from an Explosion. He was evacuated back to Fort Labelle and Henderson Army Medical Center. The surgeons were able to provide Albert Perez with two cybernetic limbs and a cybernetic eye with enhanced applications connected to his brain.
The recovery and rehabilitation from the surgery lasted twenty-four months. Initially, his body rejected the foreign implants, but with time and therapy, adapted and grew stronger. Al found the legs improved his strength by at least twice what his original legs could do, making him run faster than he'd ever run before; faster than any normal human. The eye applications provide him with the ability to see at seven times normal acuity eliminating the need for binoculars.
The drawback from the leg implants is that they need maintenance. Once a month, the hydraulic fluid is checked and every six months, the power pack must be replaced. The legs must be removed for personal hygiene and can short out in wet climates. Albert Perez cannot take his new legs into a body of water, like a swimming pool or lake. If he does, the systems can short out and he might lose power to operate them. His cybernetic eye causes infrequent headaches and the need to take an occasional pain reliever.
In late 2305, Al was cleared to return to duty (RTD). Before leaving the hospital, he was promoted to Staff Sergeant and assigned as a Section Leader in 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry (Golden Dragons) of the 5th Hover Infantry Division (The Blue Devils). The 5th division uses a hover craft rather than the wheeled or tracked vehicles traditional units use. It is a silent hover system employing magnetic generators rather than intensive air propulsion.
After five years with the Blue Devils, Sergeant First Class Al Perez decided to leave the Army. He had accumulated eleven years time in service and felt that it was time to make his mark on society; to find his true calling. Although he enjoyed his time in the Army and was proud of his service, he wanted something more. He wasn't sure what it was.
His first stop was back to Pueblo Cazador and his parents. His father recently retired and mom still taking care of the robot educators at school. He considered a vocation in Law Enforcement, but for whatever reason, he never followed up on the opportunity. He considered several mundane, trivial jobs but nothing seemed to match his skill set or appease his attitude which was quickly deteriorating. The headaches from the eye implant lead him to take up excessive drinking. He found that he could handle the headaches easier when his brain was soaked in alcohol.
Finally, in 2316 something inside him changed. He got a job working at a local newspaper, checked into alcoholic rehab, started working out and even running. He found a local martial arts school that trained in the same form he practiced as a soldier in the Martian Army. Everything was just starting to look up for Alberto Perez when he found the advertisement to join a Capt. Callum Dereeve, commanding a privateerl he called the Feronia, a repurposed U-Kalanda Class 1 gunner-cargo ship. Alberto was familiar with the ship, but had never actually spent any time aboard one. Most of his orbital drops were from the older Manyar Class II transports. The prospect of adventure, excitement and the possibility of getting back "into the ****" intrigues Al.
Skills: - intimate with both plasma pulse and personal KRGs. - training and experience in small unit tactics and operations (squad and platoon). - training in Krav Maga with Muay Thai strike sets, a Self Defense/Martial Art form (Currently, a 2nd degree black belt) - training and experience in using the Orbital Drop system - training and experience in Airborne Operations. - familiar with the use of high tech surveillance and security systems. - As a pastime, Al enjoys cooking various Mexican recipes including chili con carne, chicken enchiladas, pasta salad, fajitas, burritos, tacos and quesadillas. He can also prepare a mean omelet.
Equipment: Clothing: 4 pr black or gray cotton rip stop cargo pants, 4 pair black stressed denim utility trousers, 12 dark colored T-shirts, 5 zippered "hoodie" sweatshirts, 2 pair tan colored combat boots, 1 pair running shoes and olive green herringbone flat cap. Combat Gear: Leather/Nylon load carrying equipment, color black/OD Green, 2x 1-quart canteens, canteen cup, 2x canteen pouches, first aid kit, 4x ammunition pouches (holds 3 magazines per pouch), Butt pack, Bayonet, Utility knife, Multi-purpose tool, boot knife and kevlar ballistic helmet. Weapons: FN SCAR H (KRG) /w 13 Magazines. Each Magazine holds 50 rounds. .357 Revolver KRG Cooking: 10" and 12" Cast Iron skillets, 2-quart saucepan with lid, 4-quart saucepan with lid, 5-quart saute pan with lid, 16 oz serving bowl, 2x 24 oz serving bowl and 32 oz serving bowl. 3x spatulas, 3x wooden cooking spoons, 1x ladle, 1x whisk, 2x serving tongs, 16 pc cutlery set and 3x collanders. Miscellaneous: 12 books on fiction, Datapad with various writing, reading and gaming applications. flashlight, deck of playing cards, polyhedral dice.
Relationships with other Crew members: - Captain - Callum Dereeve (Corrin) - Pilot - Uratan - Engineer - Ettin Yokfur (KaptainSigil): Al is curious about Ettin Yokfur. He seems to be a likeable man, but Albert is not sure yet. The fact that he comes from an outer world means Al has a good chance of liking him. - Doctor - Eferhilda - Deckhand - Jessie Shadowhold - Mercenary - Isabelle Lawrence (Sounds of Silence): As soon as Al finds out she is from Earth, or at least the moon, Al will have a bad feeling about Izzy. Maybe it's the perceived class struggle between the people of earth and of Mars or maybe it is a lasting resentment of the outcome of the System War, but most Martians don't really care for people from Earth. "The moon is just an extension of the Earth, right?" We'll see how this relationship goes. For now, he sees her as a quiet soldier, which in his mind is a good thing. But can she do her job?
_________________
I am playing no game. I am writing a story that maybe a few of you will enjoy. I am in Eastern Standard Time zone (GMT -5)
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes. " ~ Charles Swindoll
Last edited by Gunther on Thu Jun 12, 2014 10:41 pm, edited 7 times in total.
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:00 pm Posts: 494
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Jessie, honestly, I could see the charming thing work. If your character is young, she could take pity on him. I see the AI as a bit of a motherly figure, seeing her crew as her children. So she would get protective of him, and help him hide.
Well I haven't figured out all of the details of how he got the ship just yet, and I wanted it to remain a bit of a mystery to everyone else. However PM me and we can discuss it a bit.
Great to have you on board Gunther!
I've added the original 'job posting', and more will come soon.
_________________ I cut open my heart, bleed words onto the page, and see what happens...
EDIT: The bottom portion of my Character Sheet contains Alberto's perception of his fellow crew members. As you all post CSes, I will read them over and make notes about how Al would perceive his co-workers. This will dictate his attitude in dealing with each of your characters.
I have no problem doubling as the Ship's cook, if your characters don't mind Mexican food.
_________________
I am playing no game. I am writing a story that maybe a few of you will enjoy. I am in Eastern Standard Time zone (GMT -5)
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes. " ~ Charles Swindoll
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:00 pm Posts: 494
Blog:View Blog (1)
Perfect! Your character is approved. I like the detailed history. I'll have to look over it again, as my character is most likely from Mars as well.
Mexican food sounds great! Hopefully you won't give our characters any... digestion problems.
Alright, so tomorrow my focus will be on getting the OOC finished up, and getting my character done. I'll also be doing a CS for the ships A.I., as she's a bit of a handful. :)
_________________ I cut open my heart, bleed words onto the page, and see what happens...
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes. " ~ Charles Swindoll
Appearance: His face is thin and sharp, having lost all of his baby fat, but non of his childlike appearance. With scraggy, black hair that sticks up in odd places, and built thinner then a dead tree branch, he looks a lot like an overused paintbrush. He's only about five feet tall or so, and hasn't measured himself to be sure. As of now he is wearing oil and grease stained canvas pants that were at one point brown, and a ratty white shirt similarly stained. His right arm is cybernetic, and contains a keyboard and 'sharp jack' for hacking into computers. Said 'sharp jack' will be explained in the skills section.
Personality: As outspoken as he is eccentric, he isn't exactly the easiest person to get along with at times. He does, however, have a generally bright personality, so he is more often then not liked then disliked. His natural curiosity and quick witted tung often get him in deeper trouble then he can manage. In these cases, he's left with only one option: run. He is getting a little too good at that.
He dislikes robots, more out of family tradition then anything else.
Background: One of the many people who were displaced by the advent of robots, Nail's grandfather and father were both displaced from their moon base jobs and eventually forced to move farther out. They eventually found a job repairing ships on Pallas in the astroid belt. This is where Nails was born.
He grew up learning everything and anything he could. His family trade was in ship repair, but as ships became more and more complex, requiring more and more AI systems, Nails became more and more interested in them. In this way, instead of learning the more mechanical side of ships (which he did pick up some) he was tasked with the programming of them. At the age of six he could do all the necessities for fixing ships, such as turning on and off functions for safe working conditions, and electronically testing new pieces. By the age of ten he could fix programming bugs in ship software, and by the age of twelve he could write and re-write anything that ran on ones and zeros.
His life was fine like this, living amongst the rocks and men of space, but only a month or two ago his father's debts caught up with him. A local loan shark hired a few mercenaries to enforce an owed payment. The altercation went a bit farther south then anyone every intended. By the time Nails came home from a day of vacation, his families little apartment no longer smelled of motor oil and his mother's lavender soap. It smelled only of fire and death.
Nails, having no where to go, hid away on a ship that had been stationed in the hanger for a few months already for repairs and modifications. He learned quickly to steal food from the workers and even quicker how to hack into the ships systems to make it appear as if he didn't exist. From his little hole in between the walls of the engine room and the computer mainframe room, he has tweaked, and even influenced the creation of the ships AI, with whom he has become great friends. She helps him hide. Her name is Feronia.
Only recently has the ship finally been let out of port, with Nails still hiding inside. He has no idea where his new home and friend are going, but he will defend both until his dying breath.
As a side note, he lost his right arm at the age of eleven, but cybernetics are easy enough to come by, and he's been able to replace it and improve on it himself.
Skills: He has a few rudimentary skills. His mother taught him to cook her families italian food and sew some, his father taught him to work hard and to keep his eccentric tendencies to his own space, but what he's really good at is computers.
He has a knowledge of operating systems, coding and advanced AI systems that most people take a lifetime to accomplish (to which he says it's taken his entire lifetime to learn as well). While he specializes in ships, he can usually figure out operating systems of most anything. One time he was asked to fix the operating system of a robot, which he did grudgingly. However, that particular robot will begin twearking if it ever hears the words "You little ****!" The man who owned it cursed like a sailer.
To compliment this, his cyber-arm is outfitted for hacking, complete with keyboard and a sharp jack ion his forearm. A sharp jack is somewhere between a USB and a knife, allowing the user to simply stab into whatever computer is giving them trouble and re-arrange the coding. The computer in question will have to be repaired of course, but it is useful for emergency re-programming, or figuring out a computer that doesn't happen to have a compatible jack with your equipment. It can double as a knife, but Nails has no skills at knife fighting. He is, however, scrappy, and may or may not ambush a threat.
Finally, he can learn quickly. His ability to simply absorb knowledge, memorizing little facts instantly, is what makes him most valuable. He has a real thirst for knowledge and isn't shy about asking how things are done.
So there that is. Let me know if I over stepped my bounds any, I know we PM'd about most of this stuff, but I just would like to make sure.
_________________ Art is the Science of Inspiration on Demand!
Last edited by Jessie Shadowhold on Sun Jun 15, 2014 6:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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