To the stars, the slow way. (Could use some more ladies?)

[Chrystal]

Greetings, Sexy sci-fi fans...

This is an idea based loosely on author C.J. Cherryh's "Downbelow" universe.

Before the discovery of Faster-Than-Light (FTL) travel, mankind headed for the stars the slow way.

The crew of a slower-than-light space craft, destined to spend the rest of their lives together. What relationships will form? What tensions will appear? Will they be able to work together as a crew or will internal bickering result in disaster? RP is to go in NC Human Freeform small groups. (And maybe I can get my first RP in big groups?)

This story assumes that certain advances in science have occurred but that we have not yet discovered FTL. Space ships travel through normal space and take years to get to their destinations. However due to something called "time dilation", the crew don't take that long to get there...

Physics lesson under the cut

If you're reading this you're either a scientist, a serious nerd (like me), or you are really interested in the RP. (Possibly all three?) If you're the former and you spot a glaring error in what follows, please PM me and we can discuss it!

So. A ship accelerates at 10 m/s² - which is as near one Earth-normal gravity as makes no odds.

The speed of light in a vacuum (c) is 299,792,458 m/s. So to reach that speed will take 29,979,246 seconds. That is 499,654 minutes. Which is 8,327 hours. That's 346 days, which is just under a year.

So, the ship takes a year to reach c. Due to E=Mc² (As an object nears the speed of light, as it's energy increases, so it's mass also increases, thus requiring more energy to keep it accelerating...) the ship can never actually reach the speed of light, but it can get close. As soon as the ship reaches optimum velocity (i.e. the point at which the fuel burned to increase the velocity is no longer worth the velocity gained), it would shut the engines off to save fuel and coast.

When it gets to a pre-calculated distance from it's destination, the ship would "roll over" - turn so it is flying backwards - and decelerate at the same rate. This deceleration should take exactly the same time as the acceleration.

Now, there is definitely a formula for calculating how far the ship will have travelled while accelerating, but it involves integral calculus and I can't remember how to do it, so I'm going to oversimplify it and say that in the year it is accelerating smoothly to c it has travelled half a light year, and it travels the same distance while decelerating. So, a journey of (say) 4 ly to Alpha Centauri would take just over five years. (A light year being the distance light travels in a year).

However, Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity states that the faster you travel, the slower time seems to go. As you approach c, so the passage of time approaches zero. Thus for the crew of the spaceship the three years spent almost at the speed of light would pass in an instant - possibly hours at most. The acceleration and deceleration would seem to take longer, but (again, using the same over-simplification) we can say that the year spent accelerating would pass in approximately six months, and the same for the year spent decelerating.

So, although the return journey takes ten years for everyone at home waiting, for the crew, it takes two years.

Interestingly, the same is true no matter the length of the journey. Regardless of whether it is two light years or a hundred light years, the crew perceive it as taking the same amount of time, because the time spent at near c does not pass for them.

That concludes the science bit...

To summarise all that for those not interested in the science behind it: whatever the distance between the start and end of the journey is in light years, the ship takes that many years plus one to get there, but the crew think it only took a year, regardless of how long it is!

Now to the plot:

We are not the first. There are a number of space stations in orbit around various stars. No planets have yet been discovered. And there is a flourishing interstellar trade in goods and services between the various colonies. The number of colonies is actually growing, and more ships are required to maintain the trade routes.

We are the crew of one of those new ships. The trade has been going for about a hundred and fifty years now. Long enough for ships to get to and from places fifty light years distant. So we know what to expect. We are leaving behind everyone we knew. By the time we get back, they will be old, or possibly dead, and we will be a few years older.

The ship is, (boringly enough) a merchant ship. Sure it has weapons, but they are minimal. The crew is civilian.

This RP will cover the first few days of the journey, as the ship accelerates out of the solar system I would love to think it was able to cover the whole year, but I'm more realistic that that....

People starting after the game starts will be assumed to have just come from somewhere else on the ship where they were alone - possibly their cabins. People leaving the game (hopefully there won't be any, but again, I'm realistic) will be NPCed until they can be removed from the "action" and replaced.

Crew list:

Role	player name	character name
Captain (GM)	Chrystal	Captain Amanda Richardson
First Officer (Assistant GM)	Amazon	Kim Langdon
Chief Engineer	Question Mark	Noel Carro
Navigator	bigwad73	Thomas Jackson, Ph.D.
Purser	Available
Cargo Officer	grovercjuk	Mark Newman
Master At Arms	BrokenCollar	Jack 'Ripper' Larkin
First Pilot	Napanee	Elina Netrebko
Chief Radio Operator	Marilyn Carry	Kikuchi Makoto
Chief Cook	TheHangedMan	Harold "Harry" Valeth
Cheif Medic	Angel Fire	Adrienne McCauley
Chief Steward	Available
Second Pilot	RedEve	Missy Molineux
Engineer's mate	Available
Assistant Steward	Available
Medical Assistant	Available
Cargo hand 1	Available
Cargo hand 2	Available
Passenger (Up to five)	Available

Character Sheet

Player Name:
Character Name:
Gender:
Age (Actual):
Age (Subjective): if character has previous experience aboard a star ship - not required!
Position wanted:
Personality:
History:
Appearance: Please replace the URL of the generic face with the URL of your character's image.

Code Select Expand


[b]Player Name:[/b]
[b]Character Name:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Age (Actual):[/b]
[b]Age (Subjective):[/b] if character has previous experience aboard a star ship - not required!
[b]Position wanted:[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]History:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[img height=300]http://www.ganache.ca/katrina/images/thesis/after_f.gif[/img]


A note on pictures:

This game is NOT Star Trek The tech level would be closer to that of FireFly. (It is NOT FireFly, though). I'm not going to dictate people's characters, but I would prefer a slightly seedier sci-fi. If you want to be crisp and clean, that's up to you, but expect your crisp clean clothes to very quickly get covered in oil!

PLEASE PM character sheets to me for approval.

[bigwad73]

Count me in.  I'll work on a navigator/astrophysicist character.   ;D

[Caela]

This sounds like fun. Will work up a character sheet for you in the next day or so.

[Chrystal]

Sweet. I look forward to getting both character sheets :)

[grovercjuk]

I can remember reading books about this type of travel probably the ones you mentioned. One scene struck me, during the trade negotiations the planetary trader introduced his ten year old son. Then when the ship returned that way the trader was long dead and   the son was an old man and yet to the crew only a few years had gone by.  The idea of that struck me at the time as being really weird, the star ship crew must become so detached.

Anyhow enough of the drivel, I will drop you a character if I may in the next day or two.

[Chrystal]

Wonderful... :) The more the merrier!

[TheHangedOne]

U;m interested. Will work on a character in a bit. Slightly confused by what Age (subjective) is supposed to be.

Edit: Addendum:
Player Name: THM
Character Name:  Harold "Harry" Valeth
Gender: Male
Age (Actual): 24
Age (Subjective): 24
Position wanted: Cook
Personality: Generally a nice guy, but can be aloof and, occasionally, surly. Still, he often means well.  Eccentric.
History: Harold has always had two interests in his life: The stars, those celestial bodies that are mere dots of light in the night sky, and cooking.  He could have been an astronomer, or an astrophysicist, or something big and fancy like that...but honestly, his fascination with the stars was left as a mere hobby. The creation of meals was a strong calling to him, and their was pressure besides, as his father was a professional caterer.

As time went on, he grew curious about the other colonies out there. What recipes did they have? What ingredients did they use? How did they do things? Eventually, he couldn't stand it any longer. He simply had to know.

The problem, of course, was funding. Money. He was creative though, and he found a work around...why pay to go on a ship when he could get paid to provide a service, and get to where he wanted to be?
Appearance:

[Chrystal]

Character is approved...

I guess I should explain:

Subjective Age vv Objective Age

This has to do with the concept of Time Dilation, explained in the "Science bit" in my first post.

Simply put, if you travel for ten years at near the speed of light, when you arrive you are only two years older than when you left.

Your "Objective age" is the current year minus the year you were born, so if it is 2263 (say), and you were born in 2201, your objective age is 62.

However, if you spent forty of those years in two twenty light-year journeys, your "Subjective age" - the age you look and feel is 26.

Does that make sense?

[TheHangedOne]

Yup. Pretty sure I get it, then. Since he's never been on a ship before, that means subjective age, at least for my character, will be equal to his actual age, correct?

[Chrystal]

That is correct, yes.

[grovercjuk]

Right here we go hope this is OK and i have no idea why the picture will not show.
Player Name: Grovercjuk
Character Name: mark Newman
Gender: Male
Age (Actual):25
Age (Subjective): 25
Position wanted: Cargo Officer
Personality: Mark is friendly and easy going, some would say too easy going for his own good.

History: It was a fairly easy job being cargo officer on the Space Station Nova 12 orbiting Jupiter. Ships came from the stars and loaded/unloaded, ships came form the inner planets and did the same. Not the hardest of jobs or particularly the best paid but Mark was content enough.
           But then his friend Bob came to him with this easy score. A criminal gang where shipping illegal goods through the station. Bob knew the cargo pod barcode so all Mark had to do was swap it with an innocent cargo pod. The criminals did not get what they expected and him and Bob could sell the illegal themselves. Bob finally wore him down and Mark did it, only Bob was not at the meeting place and the pod was gone as it turned with Bob.
                 So Bob had shafted him and done a runner, eventually the criminals would work out what happened and Mark would be floating off the station.
But then again if he shipped out it would 20-40 years before he would be back and everything would be long forgotten. Suddenly finding a berth on a departing ship was a matter of urgency.


Appearance: Around six foot, slim with blue eyes and high brownish hair.

[Chrystal]

Right here we go hope this is OK and i have no idea why the picture will not show.
Player Name: Grovercjuk
Character Name: mark Newman
Gender: Male
Age (Actual):25
Age (Subjective): 25
Position wanted: Cargo Officer
Personality: Mark is friendly and easy going, some would say too easy going for his own good.

History: It was a fairly easy job being cargo officer on the Space Station Nova 12 orbiting Jupiter. Ships came from the stars and loaded/unloaded, ships came form the inner planets and did the same. Not the hardest of jobs or particularly the best paid but Mark was content enough.
           But then his friend Bob came to him with this easy score. A criminal gang where shipping illegal goods through the station. Bob knew the cargo pod barcode so all Mark had to do was swap it with an innocent cargo pod. The criminals did not get what they expected and him and Bob could sell the illegal themselves. Bob finally wore him down and Mark did it, only Bob was not at the meeting place and the pod was gone as it turned with Bob.
                 So Bob had shafted him and done a runner, eventually the criminals would work out what happened and Mark would be floating off the station.
But then again if he shipped out it would 20-40 years before he would be back and everything would be long forgotten. Suddenly finding a berth on a departing ship was a matter of urgency.


Appearance: Around six foot, slim with blue eyes and high brownish hair.

Character is approved. The photo won't show here because you loaded it on Flickr, as copyrighted. E is public domain. Try uploading it to Eliwiki.

And I love his reason for wanting a berth on the ship although I expect he would not have mentioned that at the interview!

[bigwad73]

Player Name:  bigwad73
Character Name:  Thomas Jackson, Ph.D.
Gender:  Male
Age (Actual):  36
Age (Subjective):  36
Position wanted:  Navigator
Personality:  Academic, a bit stiff, but has an odd sense of humor
History:  Dr. Jackson was at the top of his career game.  Armed with a doctorate from Caltech in Astrophysics, he'd just gained a tenured position at a major university, a university that had long ago entered a partnership with several other universities around the world to build and operate the Lunar Farside Observatory, a huge complex of multi-wavelength telescopes on the back-side of the Moon, near it's equator.  He'd only been there for three years when a competitor charged him with plagurism, a charge that seemed to stem from a set of files that were found on his computer that belonged to the competitor.  Claiming no knowledge of how they got there didn't alleviate the situation, and he was censured by the board of the Observatory, essentially cutting him off from research opportunities. 

Thomas left the Observatory and signed on with a science vessel that was working on surveying Mars.  At least he was using his knowledge to further science.  And, it turned out, he was a pretty darn good astronavigator too.  He'd filled in when the main nav had come down with some sort of intestinal bug, getting the ship to their next objective, a path through the belt to do a remote survey of the larger moons of Jupiter.  After that, he and the nav had checked each other's work, and Thomas had become skilled at different navigation tasks, using the computer systems that aided navigators, and even picked up some of the lingo that navigators use.

Now, he's in between jobs, looking for some way to use his science background and his navigational abilities.  A freighter bound outsystem might be the perfect opportunity.  But... what if he discovers something interesting at a destination, something that he needs to stay to investigate?

Appearance:  Tall, thin-framed, fair complexion, blond hair and green eyes.  No soul patch and his hair is actually combed, however.

[Chrystal]

Bigwad, just a couple of things...

The Navigator of the ship is more than likely to have done at least one trip already as an apprentice. It's not essential, this is a new crew being put together after all, but you might want to think about giving him some interstellar travel time?

Second:

We are not the first. There are a number of space stations in orbit around various stars. No planets have yet been discovered. And there is a flourishing interstellar trade in goods and services between the various colonies. The number of colonies is actually growing, and more ships are required to maintain the trade routes.

Now, That highlighted statement is not necessarily in conflict with Dr Jackson's history. After all, discovery using telescopes and discovery by actually going there are two different things. I just want to be sure we are singing from the same song sheet.



Well as everyone is posting their character sheets here rather than PMing them, I guess I will do mine...

Player Name: Chrystal
Character Name: Captain Amanda Richardson
Gender: Female
Age (Actual): 73
Age (Subjective): 41
Position wanted: Captain
Personality: Overconfident, brusque and with a tendency to overreact, this hides a deep-seated fear of failure and a need to prove herself.
History:Amanda started out as a cargo hand on the Fresh Start II ploughing the Alpha Centaurii run. On the journey, she studied hard and when the pilot signed off to take ship going further out, Amanda had willingly accepted promotion, and flown the ship back. Her second run to the stars had been the six light year trip to Barnard's Star, aboard the Three Fates, this time as cargo officer. Again she took a different role on the return journey, as navigator. She stayed with the Three Fates for her third trip, now promoted to First Officer.

On returning to Sol, Amanda saw that new ships were being built again and reluctantly said goodbye to her friends and loves on the Fates, knowing she would likely never see them again.  But the opportunity for her own command was too good to pass up. With her record and the glowing reference given to her by the captain of the Fates, she was pretty much guaranteed command of one of the newer, faster, higher capacity vessels being built for the longer runs direct from Earth to the newly opened stations further into the beyond.

Appearance:

[grovercjuk]

When you say no planets have been discovered, do you mean none at all or no human habitable ones?
After all if there where no planets what would the outer stations have to trade?

[Chrystal]

Good point...

I think the general idea is that every star system has an accretion disc - the stuff of which planets are made.

Different stars have different absorption spectra. This we know. This means that they have different elements in differing quantities.

There may even be some totally undiscovered elements out there.

And Earth is running out. The Solar system is running out, too, as we use up the resources of the belt.

Plus, space exploration will attract the brightest and best to the new frontier. When geniuses breed the result is often more geniuses, and so inventions will (hopefully) abound. New ways of doing things, new technologies, new elements.

And yes, uninhabitable planets would be present. Smaller, moon-less gas giants, airless rock worlds, or worlds with atmospheres so caustic they would eat through an environment suit in minutes.

No alien life at all.... (yet).

[TheHangedOne]

Their could be means of extracting gasses, syphoning them off really, from gas giants. Robotic mining squads on more solid but unlivable planets, research stations doing highly advanced things that are extremely dangerous...and all of these places are likely to need to trade for essentials. Air to breathe (frozen blocks of oxygen are traded, maybe? Or just canisters...or plants or other things that can help offset oxygen use in an environment that doesn't have it), water to drink (Or maybe hydrating drugs though that's more SCIENCE! than science; I'm just throwing out some half baked ideas and seeing if anything's good), food to eat (whether that's some sort of nutritious mush ala Shadowrun's nutrisoy, or actual food, or just components for one of those food replicator things on Star Trek).

[Chrystal]

Right, that's a fifty dollar fine, Hanged... You said the "ST" words!

Just kidding... But as I said, this isn't Star Trek.

Food (frozen and dried). patented products like Coca Cola® that the manufacturers will not release the formula to. Livestock (in deep sleep). Specialist machine parts - again where the plans for construction are kept guarded by the manufacturer.

All these things can be exported from Earth.

Things earth imports could be rare and exotic minerals, new inventions, specialist parts that the manufacturers have shifted production of to places where they don't have to pay so much for the raw materials...

However, the actual content of the ship's cargo bay is not really important. Suffice to say there will be plenty of produce going in both directions. My hope is that we get to a point in the story where we get to off load what is in the holds. But my expectation is that we will get about two weeks out from Sol Station in the first 6 months of role play! (Anyone who thinks otherwise is far too ambitious and has never taken part in a play-by-post group game. Usually 1 week of real time = a couple of hours of game time).

Equally, there will be trade between the colony systems, of things one colony has and another needs. Also, remember that it is the ultimate goal of any colony to be free of its colonial rulers. Thus the colonies might be manufacturing ships of their own, and weapons. If anyone has read the books by Cherryh, they will know that the war that starts between Earth and "Union" is begun over trade tariffs, and Union wins by using cloning techniques that are illegal on earth, and also rejuvenation drugs that are equally illegal.

So, all this sort of black market trade is going on. Plus there are scientists working hard on trying to break the light barrier...

Anyway. Still hoping for a few more players...

[blackknight1239]

I want to post some interest, but I'm still work on my character idea. Either a passenger, or another cook (but with a low amount of players, that wouldn't be the best idea).

[Chrystal]

Hi Blackknight.

Passenger would be good. Remember this is primarily a cargo vessel and passengers would basically share surplus crew accommodation. Passengers would be allowed onto the bridge provided they didn't touch anything (or anyone!).

I'm working on a design for the ship.

One important point I need to make in that regard. There is no such thing in this game as artificial gravity. (Again, this is not Star-Trek). HOWEVER, because the ship is accelerating constantly at 10m/s², this gives the illusion of normal gravity. However, UP is FORWARD and DOWN is BACK.

If the engines go off for any reason, we have an instant return to zero gravity, with things floating around.

I don't realistically see this getting as far as the roll-over point, but if it does, there will be a few hours spent at zero gravity, while the crew set up the burns to change the ship's direction, then a few minutes of sea-sickness as the ship turns end-for-end, then a few more hours of zero gravity while they travel at near-light-speed to the deceleration point. At which point, DOWN becomes FORWARD and UP becomes BACK.

If you don't get that and want to play a character that has travelled before, PM me. If you are playing a character who is on their first trip to the stars, don't worry too much about it. I'll have the Captain explain as we go...

[bigwad73]

Okay, how about this.  The Lunar Farside telescopes have found worlds that -might- be Earthlike, but no robotic probes have reached them yet to report back.  Most of them are at least 15 to 20 LY away to start with, and that's just two or three.

Stations are in orbit of nearby red dwarf stars, like Wolf 359 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_359, extracting ores, gasses, and other rare commodities from the planets and asteroids and other debris around the stars. 

And, I wouldn't say that there are undiscovered elements, to be a picky science-y person.  Rather, there are undiscovered compounds, forming under odd and possibly unique envioronmental conditions (radiation, high temperature or low, high pressure or low, or due to the presence of other unusual compounds as catalysts.  ("Normally, carbon forms into hex-shaped rings, but in the presence of high pressure, say near the core of this 5 Jupiter-mass gas giant, and high radiation, it forms into squares, which form much tighter bonds, and remain stable once they are out of the condition they form in.  That's what we're mining here at Valhalla, Captain.  Square carbon molecules, for eventual use as a kind of outer hull coating." 

Still thinking about my character...

Oh, and what about target number one and two on any search for nearby Earthlikes?  I'm speaking of Alpha Centauri A and B, by the way, the two closest stars after red dwarf Proxima Centauri (Alpha Cent. C)--stars which are, respectively, very Sun-like, and about 80% of the mass of the Sun and still pretty Sun-like?  They orbit fairly close to each other, but there may be a stable zone around each that would include at least a part of the Goldilocks Zone for each star.

Oh, and take that!  *smacks down a wiki page*  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nearest_stars

[bigwad73]

Feel free to ignore my blathering above.  It's pointless with regards to the RP we want to do...  :)

[grovercjuk]

So how many players do we have and are there any unfilled positions on the ship?

[Chrystal]

So far I have three and a half character sheets including my own... I have had interest expressed by four other players - two here, one by PM and one by IM, but so far none of them have submitted a character sheet and I don't count a player as being in the game until I have a character sheet that I have approved.

As for vacancies... I'm going to say that a maximum number of players I can cope with would be 15. There are 13 actual roles listed, but I don't really expect to fill them all, and several of them are open to more than one player character... Passengers and cargo hands, for example.

Players are, if they wish, allowed to create more that one character...

[BrokenCollar]

Very interested.

Just a couple of things. What is a 'purser'?

I was also wondering if there would be some kind of on board security? Mabye just one officer?

If not then mabye some kind of trading official, assigned to the ship to uphold new interstellar regulations?

[Chrystal]

Hi, and welcome, BokenCollar

The ship's Purser is the one with the keys to the safe (other than the captain). (S)He is responsible for making sure the ships accounts are balanced, that the crew get paid, that any passenger's valuables are kept under lock and key. Basically (s)he's the ships banker and/or accountant.

And "Eep". You are quite right, there should indeed be a Master At Arms aboard the ship.(S)He would be the one with the key to the weapons locker (besides the Captain). The Master At Arms would be responsible for security aboard the ship. would probably be skilled at unarmed combat, and would also be the weapons officer on the bridge, again having the second key to the weapons control console.

Note: two types of weapons: small-arms in the weapons locker would fire low velocity flechet rounds, designed to cause maximum damage to human tissue while not penetrating the ship's hull. There would also be stun guns available. Ships Weaponry would be hull mounted, probably a single missile turret with a magazine holding 4 to 6 conventionally tipped radar guided missiles.

So, yeah, I will add Master at arms to the list, and thanks for the reminder!

[BrokenCollar]

Then without further adue....

Player Name:BrokenCollar
Character Name:Jack 'Ripper' Larkin
Gender:Male
Age (Actual):72
Age (Subjective): 28
Position wanted: Master at Arms
Personality: Hard. Not necessarily by the book but the job gets done. Keeps to himself. Bitter and sarcastic. deliberate about driving people away. Always on time. Ever dutiful.
History: Born Glasgow, Scotland. Former Commander in the ISSTF (Inter-Stellar Special Task Force). Spend much of his life in space. Due to travelling in the currently fastest ships in space, those in the ISSTF fleet, as had a great age dilation effect. After 4o years of dedicated service, joining at 16, he was dishonourably discharged after a fire fight with the notorious Beta Station Butcher went wrong. Highly trained in all kinds of combat as well as basic skills in piloting, usually atmospheric craft or 4 man interception shuttles, and field aid. Worked briefly as a bounty hunter before signing on board for this crew.
Appearance:
http://images.wikia.com/memoryalpha/en/images/c/cc/J._Hayes.jpg

[Chrystal]

Love it! Character is approved.

Of course, navy ships would accelerate harder than one gravity, probably pulling anything up to two or three g for a sustained period, and would also be more manoeuvrable, being capable of 10g turns without braking up... Of course, 10g for more that a second or two would kill the crew!

Something no-one has pulled me up on *looks at Bigwad with a grin* is the fact that I said the new ships are faster that the old ones...

If you've read the science bit, you'll know that there is a maximum speed and that is the speed of light, and no matter how hard you try you can never quite get to it... and all the civilian ships accelerate at a constant 1 gravity.

But of course, if you load the ship heavier, it takes more power to maintain that acceleration. Once operating at maximum power, if you then add more cargo, the acceleration will drop.

So, by "faster", I mean able to haul a greater mass at the same acceleration. Of course, unladen, the ship would be able to accelerate much harder, but that would prove unsustainable for a civilian crew, not to mention passengers and/or light cargo.

[bigwad73]

Newer ships can boost harder, sure, but it's the same old people.  Maybe there are some drugs or something that could be given to high-G crews to negate some of the detrimental effects of higher than normal gravity/acceleration, but everyone's going to want to live the 1G life, since there's no artificial gravity.

But, overall, newer stuff will be more reliable, have better Isp (use fuel more efficiently), and boost longer.  So, eventually newer stuff will outpace the older. 

But on the other hand, who cares?  *does his Ruby Rhod impersonation*    ;D

[BrokenCollar]

As a note to my character -will be added to my sheet in a later edit-, higher than normal gravity would provide greater muscle growth, easpecially over such a long period, resulting in a permanant muscular figure.

[Chrystal]

As a note to my character -will be added to my sheet in a later edit-, higher than normal gravity would provide greater muscle growth, easpecially over such a long period, resulting in a permanant muscular figure.

This is true.

Of course the whole issue about faster ships may well be academic by the time we get where we're going. We spend eleven years objective travelling time getting out to Epsilon Eridani, only to discover when we get there that a ship that left Earth five years after us got there four years ago objective time, having done the 10 light year journey in a little under six months objective time, and about two weeks subjective!

But so far as we're aware, FTL is still a good fifty to a hundred years away from being discovered!

Oh, and Bigwad, thanks for that list of stars. I'm bookmarking it for future reference! :D

[bigwad73]

This is true.

Of course the whole issue about faster ships may well be academic by the time we get where we're going. We spend eleven years objective travelling time getting out to Epsilon Eridani, only to discover when we get there that a ship that left Earth five years after us got there four years ago objective time, having done the 10 light year journey in a little under six months objective time, and about two weeks subjective!

But so far as we're aware, FTL is still a good fifty to a hundred years away from being discovered!

Oh, and Bigwad, thanks for that list of stars. I'm bookmarking it for future reference! :D

There's a really good story--"Far Centaurus"--about a -slow- sublight ship that is overtaken by FTL technology development elsewhere.  A. E. van Vogt is the author, I think.  *shows off his literary SF knowledge*

Google "SolStation"--it's done by a fan of the Merchanter Universe, and has a good list of the nearby stars, focusing on Sun-like ones.  That should keep you busy all day, Chrystal.  :)

I'm going to fix my character's bio, but it will be in the same place--just editing it.

[Chrystal]

Trying to avoid double post here... sure, it's GM's privileged to double post, but I still try not to...

The ship:

I've tried to draw her but I'm just not that good an artist. So I will offer here a description and anyone who wants to try and draw her is welcome to try.

Hmm... I've had a look on google and this is probably the closest image I can find to what the ship should look like:



Ignore the shuttle. Wouldn't be there. The habitat ring at the "front" of the ship would actually be concealed behind the ram-scoop field generator and an ablation shield.

The cargo holds would also be "Above" the habitat ring. Below the ring would be fuel storage tanks. These feed into a massive reactor chamber. The reactor is a fusion reactor - a miniature star, contained within magnetic containment fields and tons of shielding. This reactor powers everything on the ship, and the carbon created by the fusion of helium atoms is ejected out of the back as reaction mass,  or something like that.... I'm not going to get bogged down in the details of an interstellar fusion drive.

The habitat ring is basically three decks. The top deck is where the bridge is and the bulk of the crews quarters, also the galley. Deck 2 would be extra living accommodation, stores, and valuable cargo. Deck three is the machine shop, engineering, hydroponics, science lab, medical bay, brig (just in case), gymnasium and anything else the ship might need that I've forgotten about.

Every crew member has their own cabin. The officers have a state-room consisting of an outer office and an inner cabin. Captains is closest to the bridge on one side, the galley is on the opposite side from the bridge, then the mess hall and off duty lounge.. Each room on the ship is wedge shaped, with the corridor running around the inside of the ring. Each crewman's cabin is about half the size of the officer's cabin, that is a quarter the size of the state room.

Each crew cabin contains a bed, a work station with computer terminal (and entertainment centre), a private shower room with toilet, and enough storage to put everything away.

Officers cabins will usually have an easy chair and small coffee table, in place of the work station, and a double bed instead of a single. The outer office of the stateroom would have a desk (with built in work-station), several chairs, and in the Captain's cabin, the alcohol cabinet.

All furniture is bolted to the floor and moves on tracks if it needs to move. Everything has a place to be put away where it can be secured. (If you don't know the reason for this and want to, or think your character ought to, please PM me)

Oh, directly underneath the habitat ring is the ship's mainframe computer.

Every human function on the ship is assisted by the computer. Everything from plotting the course, to physically moving the cargo, is computer assisted.

(And yes, I mean every human function with the possible exception of sex - even going to the bathroom. All waste products are analysed and either used as nutrients in the hydroponics bays or fuel for the reactors. All water is extracted and purified for re-use!

Anything I've forgotten, please tell me!

[Angel Fire]

It looks very sweet!

I may have a medic if anyone really wants to be cured of any ailments or have any other needs.

I'll get something up after I get home from work this evening. *Smiles*

[Chrystal]

Looking forward to it...

I'm still waiting on characters from a couple of folks, but I think I may actually have enough players to start.

I'll open an OOC thread in the next day or two, but right now I'm going to update the "cast list" with whom is who...

[BrokenCollar]

Just thought about maby an amroury/ shooting range next to the gymnaseum?

I was also wondering what posts were actually officers?

You said everything had a place, so how much place is allocated to personal items? Are there certain standard items in every crew quarter?

Are their lifts between the floors or stairs? Is there any kind of secondary transit systen round the ship? In Start Trek terms, jeffrys tubes?

If we do start will their only be PC(player characters) or NPCs as well?

[Chrystal]

Good questions all, and a $5 fine... *winks*

Just thought about maby an amroury/ shooting range next to the gymnaseum?

Good idea. The armoury would be on deck 3, and as mentioned, the Captain and the MaA have the only two keys. A shooting range would be a good idea, and it would be available to all crew members and passengers. However, most users would be restricted to firing low-powered laser rifles, that would probably not do you much good if fired into your eye but otherwise are completely harmless. The computer would run simulations in much the same way as a present day video game.

I was also wondering what posts were actually officers?

This is the merchant marine. The distinction between officer and enlisted is therefore blurred, and there is no such thing as a non-commissioned officer.

The officers are, in order of seniority:

Captain
First Officer
Chief Engineer    
Navigator
Purser    
Cargo Officer
Master At Arms

You said everything had a place, so how much place is allocated to personal items? Are there certain standard items in every crew quarter?

Every crew member has what is called a "Dunnage Allowance". (Dunnage refers to packing materials used to keep freight from shifting in transit, but it can also refer to excess items brought onto a ship by a crew member.) The exact dunnage allowance is the maximum laden mass of the ship, less the actual mass of ship, fuel, stores and cargo, divided by the number of personnel on board, and then subtract the mass of the individual...

However, for the purpose of the role-play, use common sense. Two medium sized bags of clothes or one large one, a small number of personal items such as musical instruments of SENSIBLE size... if you can carry it in one hand and fit it through a turnstile then it's allowed, if in doubt, please ask.

WEAPONS ARE STRICTLY INTERDICTED. If you want to smuggle one on board, please PM me and I will let you know if you get away with it!

Standard items... Yes. I already mentioned a work station with computer console and entertainment centre - it can show movies, play games, play music, basically anything your PC can do, plus it is linked to the ship's systems and will permit crew to access their duty roster, and in some cases perform certain functions without leaving their cabin. In the "head" (shower room) there would be a soap dispenser. The bed would have a set of sheets already there, but would need to be made up for crew. Passengers would have their bed made for them. Each bed is equipped with straps to hold the occupant in place for zero g.

Are their lifts between the floors or stairs? Is there any kind of secondary transit systen round the ship? In Start Trek terms, jeffrys tubes?

Lifts and stairs. Stairs are in case the power goes out. The ship itself is a little over a kilometre long, and there are access tubes to all parts of the ship, yes. Not all of them are pressurised, however. Within the habitat ring, there is no real need for a secondary system. The ring is about 50m in diameter, and the inner corridor is 45m in diameter. It is therefore 141m around.

There is a long lift running up and down the main core of the ship, and a spiral staircase runs around it. Note that a kilometre is a long way to fall!

If we do start will their only be PC(player characters) or NPCs as well?

IF? IF? Heh... If I was a more sensitive soul I'd be hurt by that...! (kidding)

Any crew positions not filled will be NPCs. I would expect that we will fill most of the officer positions, but few of the crewman positions. Officer positions unfilled will simply be ignored until such time as either someone joins the RP and takes them or they are required for a vital part of the plot (when they will be NPCed).

OH and I have another room to add to deck 3: The laundry.

Crew do their own laundry. Officers and Passengers have it done for them by the stewards.

[BrokenCollar]

Thanks for the answers.

One thing I forgot, I'm guessing that as a merchant ship there wouldn't be a uniform? at least not a strict one like a militay ship...

Just wear something appropriate?

Now to the juicy questions, what form of contraception is onboard?

Are relationships on board permitted?

[Chrystal]

Nope, no uniform. Dress code is Smart Casual at all times if passengers are on board, or when on duty if there are no passengers. Nudity is not permitted in public areas of the ship, and if you are caught running naked around the deck 3 corridor you will be punished, unless you have a VERY good reason.

OH I suppose the gym should probably have a sauna and steam room...

Contraception? Whatever you brought on board with you, I would imagine... other than that I suggest you ask the doc... *giggles* Um yeah, probably a substantial supply of condoms, pills and the like.

And do I really need to answer that question?

Well yeah, actually, I do...

Officially, the answer is no, they aren't. Company policy is that crew are transferable between ships at any time. However, a lot of the older ships not only have couples, but children on board. Children who have never set foot off the ship. In fact the very oldest ships are beginning a second generation, the grandchildren of the original crew.

So, while officially, ship-board relationships are frowned upon, unofficially, they are not just allowed, but encouraged. It is totally unrealistic to put a group of adults in a tin can for two subjective years and expect them to remain celibate.

(And just out of interest, how many of you would have dropped out if I'd said relationships were categorically NOT permitted under any circumstances? *chuckles*)

[Chrystal]

(GM's double-post privilege)

Smuggling items on board also applies to anything else that might be illegal.

If you have a desire to try, PM me.

[Question Mark]

What's this?  Hard science fiction in MY Elliquiy?  (it's more likely than I thought, apparently)

Sign me up, put me down, log me in, and so on and so forth.  I'm on this like fleas on a dog.  I'll be sending you a PM ASAP with some questions, suggestions, and a character profile.

WOOHOO, THIS IS AWESOME!

[Question Mark]

Sorry for the double post, but I appear to be Deverified.  Don't even know what that is.  But, w/e it is, it's not letting me edit, check my PMs, or do much of anything really.  So my PM won't be arriving ASAP, unless I get this all figured out of course.  Just an FYI

[Angel Fire]

Hi Question Mark,

Please see this post regarding deverification and how to get out of that.  Look forward to RPing with you soon!

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=63450.0

Anyhew, I'll see what I can come up with in my next post for our sweet Medic!

[Angel Fire]

Player Name: Angel Fire
Character Name: Adrienne McCauley
Gender: Female
Age (Actual): 28
Position wanted: Medic
Personality: Very curious about things, especially around people and helpful at times.  Wants to learn more about her own field and the field that she is working on board the ship
History: This voyage is the first space bound experience in her life.  A Psychologist by trade, Adrienne wants to be on board a star ship and see the galaxies, but she just did not want to be a passenger.  With her basic medical knowledge from her time in Medical school, she is trying to come on board as a Medic.  She hopes that with her time on board, she can not only help people from getting any space sicknesses of insanity but also to be able to help with any medical emergencies if she is ever called for them
Appearance:

[BrokenCollar]

Just a quick question,

How advanced is the technology on board? Do we use scanners in the medical bay or still just like modern day?

What would the gym be like? Just treadmills and weights or some kind floating orb for shooting practice?

Mabye play frisbee with low level laser pistols?

Are holograms about yet?

Are there advances in technology that may apply to the bedroom? Some kind of ultra-violte light that acts as a vibrator?

Are there any new kinds of restraints? 

So mabye not so short....

[Chrystal]

Classic! Character is definitely approved.

Welcome aboard, Angel Fire.

Question Mark, you get deverified when you haven't said or done anything for ages, and the email they sent to you bounced back. To get re-verified you just email one of the staff. It's all in that link Angel Fire sent.

Just a quick question,

How advanced is the technology on board? Do we use scanners in the medical bay or still just like modern day?

Well, as we currently have medical scanners, I think the answer to that question is "Yes". But they are a lot smaller. (The first person to use the word 'tricorder' is going out the nearest airlock!) I think the level of medical technology is something that Angel and I need to discuss... Cybernetic implants and replacement parts, limb regrowth, wound healing in about a third the time it normally takes, and yet we stall can't stop people getting a common cold!

What would the gym be like? Just treadmills and weights or some kind floating orb for shooting practice?

Light-sabres and all.... Use the force, Luke!  ......   Er, no. No artificial gravity, remember? No artificial gravity means no anti-gravity, which means no floating balls.

I can't see gym equipment changing much over the centuries. It will be computer controlled. You put your ID card in and the computer accesses your medical records and your personality profile and comes up with the ideal routine for you... It automatically selects the level of resistance and time or reps for each machine.

Mabye play frisbee with low level laser pistols?

You have the firing range for that.

Are holograms about yet?

Yes. There is one on your credit card, right now... Or do you mean three-dimensional projected images? Yes, they have been around since the 1970s... In our game, you won't need green/red lens spectacles to see them in 3D.

If you mean hard-light three dimensional images that you can interact with as if they were human, as per the Rodenberry Universe, no they aren't!

Are there advances in technology that may apply to the bedroom? Some kind of ultra-violte light that acts as a vibrator?

Bionic enhancements, perhaps? *giggles* I would imagine that advances in genetics would mean that enhancements such as a one foot tall piano player (Very old joke), gallon jugs, etc, would be easy to achieve and much more natural than at present. But they would be expensive. Other than that, we've been doing it the same way for millions of years, what's to improve on?

One thing I could see, would be nanotech contraceptives and sexual enhancers. Basically, microscopic robots that live inside the woman's sex and make sure she can't get pregnant, and also act as a lubricant and internal stimulator.

Are there any new kinds of restraints? 

Well, again, I can't see any real improvement being made on plastic cable ties...

So mabye not so short....

But sweet, none the less...

[Chrystal]

MAJOR ANOUNCMENT

The OOC thread is open.

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=108794.0

First post is basically a conglomeration of all my technical posts in answer to people's technical questions so far.


Second post is a list of threads...

Please post in the OOC thread to let me know you are still in?

[Question Mark]

Player Name: Question Mark

Character Name: Noel Carro

Gender: Male

Age (Actual): 79

Age (Subjective): 45

Position wanted: Chief Engineer

Personality: Surprisingly down-to-earth for someone who spends such little time with dirt under his boots.  He takes each day with a fresh perspective, each problem with a knowing chuckle.  He likes to think of himself as an eternal optimist.  Socially, he's an introvert, preferring to spend time around the solid and predictable world of physics and engineering.  He can talk a good talk, though, but feels out of his element around people.  He has a couple of minor eccentricities as well.

History: Noel grew up in Connecticut, USA, and attended a college for astrogation engineering, knowing from the beginning that he wanted to help run one of the ramjets braving the depths of space.  He apprenticed onboard the Iabara Crusier, a typical ferry between Alpha Centauri and Earth, earning a spot as a paid crewmember after two trips.  He spent the majority of his career onboard the Cruiser before it was decommissioned.  His crew scattered - some quitting, others wanting to continue "short" trips to nearby systems - and Noel found himself signing up for one of the newer transports, the kind designed to travel to the farthest outposts.

Appearance:

[Chrystal]

Character is approved on the condition that you get yourself re-verified...

I'm sure you have done so and are just waiting for them to re-instate you.

[MarilynCarry]

Player Name: Marilyn Carry

Character Name: Kikuchi Makoto

Gender: Female

Age (Actual):  19

Age (Subjective): NA

Position wanted:  Chief Radio Operator

Personality: Makoto acts very tomboyish...and in fact...sounds like a teenage boy to many people.  She is energetic lively and a real go-getter.  She's generally more interested in running around and stuff, but at night she can become a bit more seductive, if she's in need of a girl for the night.  However, to all, she will be friendly.  She may be easy to annoy, and tiff off, but she's also quick to forgive and move on.  The only thing she doesn't like is macho men and being called a tomboy.   She doesn't - ironically - mind being asked to wear very feminine clothes at time.

History:  Kikuchi Makoto spent most of her life considered to be a "tomboy", not surprising due to being raised as boy-like by her father who always wanted a son, but never had one.  So..he made one out of Makoto.  Makoto became such a tomboy that she became very popular with her fellow students at the all-girls school she attended, being good at sports and proving the imposed stereotype of her being a tomboy. This just excelled the girl fans of her, who saw Makoto as the Prince of their dreams, able to be the man of their lives without having the risks of a man.

Needless to say, she never had problems...well...getting lucky...including with her own teachers.  However, Makoto wanted to do more than just be a sports girl and a romancer, she wanted to see the stars.  So she studed hard to be an engineer and operator....and managed to graduate from the technical college with top grades, and shortly there after got her position aboard the ship.

She remains a lesbian, but she dreams of finding a girl who wants to stay with Makoto for more than just a one night stand.

Appearance:

[Chrystal]

Character is approved, Ku-ko, dear.

[MarilynCarry]

Thankee :D

[RedEve]

Hello.

This seems very interesting. I'm a big fan of sci-fi in general and Firefly in particular so this is right up my alley.

I see no one has claimed the pilot slot, I would like to call dibs on it. I will submit a character sheet as soon as I finish it.

[RedEve]

Player Name: RedEve
Character Name: Missy Molineux
Gender: Female
Age (Actual): 53
Age (Subjective): 25
Position wanted: Pilot
Personality: Quirky, territorial about her cockpit, sarcastic sense of humor, wears her heart on her sleeve
History: Missy has a long history of serving on cargo ships. Most of her career was spent on the USG Tsukahara, one of the largest freight haulers in the Nipsun fleet. She ended up quitting her job there because the challenge had gone missing. She purposefully looked for a job on a brand-new ship. The obstacles she and the newly assembled crew would no doubt face would give her the excitement her previous place of employment had left her craving.
Appearance:

[Chrystal]

Ahhh..... Someone already PMed me asking for the First Pilot.

I'm really sorry.

I can let you have Second Pilot. However....

I'm not sure about the "most shoddy looking ship" bit, as the ship is brand new! Nor too happy with the variety of insults to your crew-mates... Talk about how to win friends and influence people...!

I'm willing to approve the character as she stands on two conditions: 1) You take the 2nd pilot slot, and 2) t6he reason for this is your character's attitude, which did not impress the captain one little bit, but good pilots are hard to come by.

[RedEve]

Well I can amend the profile to fit in with the brand new ship part.  :P

I missed the fact that someone else had requested to be the first pilot. Not sure if I want to be the second pilot, will there be much if anything to do for her in that role?

[Question Mark]

I missed the fact that someone else had requested to be the first pilot. Not sure if I want to be the second pilot, will there be much if anything to do for her in that role?

Sit around enjoying the Flight until the First Pilot keels over from one too many space cheeseburgers, then take over his duties!  Otherwise, it'd be a lot of "Hey, Pilota Segunda, go push that button over there for Ol' Cappy."

+10 points for obscure reference get

[RedEve]

Sit around enjoying the Flight until the First Pilot keels over from one too many space cheeseburgers, then take over his duties!  Otherwise, it'd be a lot of "Hey, Pilota Segunda, go push that button over there for Ol' Cappy."

+10 points for obscure reference get

Just my luck then...

[Chrystal]

*chuckles*

Probably not much other than sitting watch on the bridge... But then hopefully the Chief Medic isn't going to have a lot to do, either. As for the cargo officer, his job is totally superfluous while in flight. He gets to do his thing at either end, with the loading and unloading. Security officer is probably not going to have very much to do, for that matter.

And once the ship is heading out of the solar system, nor is 1st Pilot.

2nd Pilot sits in the right hand seat, next to the pilot, mirrors her moves on the controls, and takes over when she goes off duty.

However, the general appeal of this RP isn't in the technical aspects of flying a space ship - it's actually more than capable of flying itself! The appeal should be in the relationships between the characters... A couple of dozen people (including NPCs) crammed into a tin can that is hurtling through space at an idiotic velocity with absolutely no guarantee of reaching the other end in one piece... 

Sorry, but unless anyone doesn't show, all the good roles get grabbed early.

Oh and congrats on your reverification, QM!

[Chrystal]

Okay, RedEve, Napanee has agreed to swap roles with you if you want, however he suggested it would make for some entertaining RP scenes if your character thought she ought to have got the 1st chair and was determined to get it by whatever means...

What do you think?

[RedEve]

Okay, RedEve, Napanee has agreed to swap roles with you if you want, however he suggested it would make for some entertaining RP scenes if your character thought she ought to have got the 1st chair and was determined to get it by whatever means...

What do you think?

That could make for some fun drama.

Sign me up as the 2nd pilot then!

[Napanee]

Super !

[RedEve]

So has the character sheet for the 1st pilot been posted? If it has, I must have missed it...

[Chrystal]

It has been posted, I just haven't gotten around to updating the links yet.

Your Character is approved, Eve.

We are at T-minus 24 and counting. Cargo is being loaded. Early warning for crew not on cargo handling duty to report aboard within the next 16 hours.

WOULD ANY PLAYERS WHO HAVE NOT DONE SO, PLEASE POST IN THE OOC THREAD TO STATE YOUR CONTINUED INTEREST.

Any players who have expressed an interest, are still interested, but have not sent me a character profile, please do so immediately.

Ship departure is scheduled for 20:00hrs Zulu, 2211/06/04, bound for Epsilon Eridani.

[Prakkie]

*shyly puts up hand*

So uhmm... I've been following this thread for a bit. Definitely interested but having a busy week so haven't had time to compose a char sheet. Would monday be too late to send one in?

[Chrystal]

Monday would be fine, as long as you don't want to be bridge crew, but the bridge crew slots are now all taken anyway.

If you want to be in engineering, you might need to get involved a little sooner...

However, passengers and all other crew posts would be restricted to their cabins until the ship gets under way, and passengers would be advised to strap themselves to their bunks and take the motion-sickness medicine provided...

[Prakkie]

Oh no... All the technology/science scares the crap out of me! I'll have my char be either service staff (purser and steward are still free right?) or some kind of passenger I think.

[grovercjuk]

There might be some stuff for the Cargo Officer to do, presumably the ship transports frozen/Stasis items etc?

[Chrystal]

*giggles* Grover, look at it this way. Your card key is one of only three that will open the cargo holds... Mine and Amazon's being the other two. So you can happily lock yourself in there with as many of the ladies as you can persuade...!

The ship transports whatever is required. Deep frozen cargo would be transported in the coldest deep freeze available. No air=no heat!

I already mentioned that livestock might be among the cargo, and that they would be in stasis. Of course it's far more likely that frozen embryos or DNA would be transported than live animals, as they take up far less room.

During manoeuvres, the cargo officer is responsible for seeing that the cargo remains stable.

[Chrystal]

Oh no... All the technology/science scares the crap out of me! I'll have my char be either service staff (purser and steward are still free right?) or some kind of passenger I think.

Yep, both those are still up for grabs

[RedEve]

Do we have an IC thread yet?

[Chrystal]

Not yet. There is an OOC thread open, and I'd appreciate a post from everyone who's playing, to confirm that you are.

Basically my first post in that thread is a summary of all technical posts I've made so far in this one.

All future technical posts will go in the OOC thread.

The second post in there is the list of threads, most of which are not open yet.

And my latest post there includes some important rules regarding how I GM. None of them are onerous or draconian, I hope, but if anyone has a problem with any of them, I am willing to discuss it!

[TheHangedOne]

Everything is kosher with me, Chrystal.  :-)