Tour of Duty (Science Fiction Freeform RPG) [EX for Mature Situations]

[GloomCookie]

All images copyright madeinjapan1988

After the discovery of counter mass drive technology and the slipstream terminuses leading into the Persius Expanse, rapid expansion of the human race to dozens of new worlds created a social and political vacuum among worlds. For nearly a century, earth and the other human colonies operated independently of each other – with limited to no trade between earth and the other, developing system-states.

In 2242, the developing system-state of Loridin was hit by a plague that ravaged the two habitable planets and its population. Loridin’s two worlds had survived mainly as low population farm worlds and lacked the medical facilities to respond to the crisis. Seeking emergency aide, Loridin petitioned the parliamentary council of the United Nations government on Earth for assistance. Because the United Nations government did not have the authority to command the UN navy to assist an extra-solar entity, it was impossible to deliver aide. Consequently, UN politicians drafted the Intersystem Alliance treaty – granting worlds outside of sol sector admission to the UN. In 2243, Loridin joined the parliamentary council on Earth.

Over the next fifty years, the Intersystem Alliance treaty allowed the admission of another five worlds to the UN council. However, growing concerns of favoritism and biased to earth’s needs prompted Loridin and the other extra-solar governments to push for equal representation of their worlds’ population. By this point, Earth, Mars, and Europa had all become dependent on the other world’s economies and the former independent UN government had limited options. On January 1st, 2300 – the UN parliamentary council and UN government was dissolved and the Intersystem Alliance Government was founded.

The Trafalgar-Class Heavy Cruiser is the newest design produced at any of the Alliance Navy Shipyards and is the premier warship in Alliance Space. With a Missile payload that rivals the 10 year young Renown-Class Battlecruiser, the Trafalgar has the firepower to engage the largest lance ships in any navy and can even tango with a battlecruiser if need be. However, armament is not what really makes the Trafalgar stand out. Instead, her true prowess is in a whole new series of electronic counter-warfare technologies, A.I. technologies, and a new missile launching system.

Trafalgar-Class is the first ship to be fitted with the GML-59A “Dual Lance” Missile Racks (essentially a modified GML-58B) which can fire the latest (and slightly larger) Type 68 ADAP. The Type 68 ADCAP is the latest in munitions technology for the Alliance Navy. Having the exact same yield of the previous design, the Type 68 doesn’t improve on the Type 58’s already impressive destructive power. Instead, the Type 68 uses the addition space to include a new level of Electronic Counter Warfare (ECW) Systems. In fact, initial testing showed that the Type 68 was over 20% more effective at penetrating a target’s own ECW defenses and at least 10% more effective at scrambling the target’s defenses.

However, Trafalgar’s technological edge does not end there. The ship’s own internal ECW system is nearly 30% larger than the ECW system carried on Trafalgar’s predecessor, the Birmingham-Class. Furthermore, the Trafalgar’s bridge module is significantly larger than on previous. This provides a larger mounting surface for the ECW screens and improves the command, control and communication space on the Trafalgar. This means that the Trafalgar can effectively take over anti-missile control from larger ship’s of the line, allowing the larger capital ships to focus computer power to their own ECW and tracking systems.

Currently, only twenty Trafalgar-Class ships have been constructed and are going through initial trials, with the first ten ships already commissioned into service and deployed on operations missions. Furthermore, numerous technologies classified by the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Bureau of Weapons are currently in development to utilize the computer control and A.I. capabilities of the Trafalgar which, pending results from post-commissioning trials, looks to be a common sight in Alliance and Verge space.

The game takes place aboard CA-9714 ANS Saratoga, fourteenth vessel of the Trafalgar-Class of heavy cruisers.  Her primary mission is to patrol the vast reaches of ISA territory, providing assistance to ISA members and ensuring law and order are maintained.  Each crewmember will be asked to provide a brief bio and explain why they want the position they have chosen.

Character Sheets:
Image
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Brief Bio:
Position Wanted: (provide reason for wanting)

Currently there will be only the following positions:

Commanding Officer Lord and Master of the vessel, the CO's job is to ensure that the ship completes its mission, regardless of circumstances.  His hours are long and the decisions are hard, but when the chips are down, all eyes turn to the man in the command chair, awaiting his next order.

Executive Officer Second only to the CO, the Executive Officer keeps the ship running smoothly, letting the CO focus on the important issues.  Discipline and order are maintained by the XO, and the hard decision of who can and cannot advance further ultimately lies upon his shoulders.

Weapons Officer Often known simply as 'guns', the Weapons Officer holds the entire arsenal of the vessel at his fingertips.  With a simple command, he can send enough destruction to wipe all life from planets if he so desired.

Propulsion Officer With the power of several suns under his thumb, the propulsion officer is responsible for taking the vessel wherever the CO might wish, from a simple orbit to several million lightyears.  Moving from point A to B requires the skills of a maestro.

Communications Officer Space is mostly empty, but near important planets, space can quickly fill and become a tangled mess.  The Comms Officer is responsible for sorting through the tangled mess and identifying important targets, as well as translating the myriad of languages being spoken.

Medical Officer Humans grow old and die.  But in space, they can also be exposed to vacuum, radiation, weapons fire, disease, and numerous other ways to end a promising young career.  The Medical Officer has to keep on his toes to keep his crew alive and healthy.

Engineering Officer Maintenance aboard a vessel over 1 kilometer in length isn't easy, and it falls to the Engineering Officer and his team of wizards to keep the ship up and running, so that when the CO gives the order, the ship can perform.

Survey Officer Strange phenomena exist in space, from strange organisms to bizarre gravitational singularities.  Charting them and making sure other ships are aware of these dangers falls to the Survey Officer, trying to map out ever more of what humans claim to be theirs.

Marine Commandant Not all battles happen in space, and when they must occur on another vessel or on a station or on a planet's surface, the Marines will be there to ensure the ISA triumphs, and making sure the Marines keep doing their duties is the Marine Commandant.