Traveller: Incident Zero

Fourier

The Imperial agent enters the debriefing room and sits across from the Model 320. The poor thing had enter a state similar to a cybernetic form of PTSD. They'd remade the room to look more similar to some tool shed on the colony, give it something familiar to focus on.

"Alright, so, we'll leave the unpleasant details out, we'll just focus on something simple this time. The freighter, do you remember its name?"

The cyborg opens its eyes slowly, gender prior to augmentation is difficult to determine and not recorded on the file they received. Large implants cover the right side of the face to improve its work on the mines, neural suppressants removing boredom from the equation.

"The freighter, yes....the Estrella Gris, it had shipped out from a refueling station four jumps away, funny passengers, unlucky too. They had no idea."

"Can you tell me more about them?"

The cyborg emits its first human sigh in a decade.

"Yes, so..."

Three weeks earlier, aboard the Estrella Gris:
Lena Jaarg, Mufasta'r Hoasoslow, Kei Nijima and Nathan Cole lie in their low berth pods. The ship was subsidised by the Catalonian colony that had shipped them out, so the low berths were as gentle as conventional sleep.

The first thing they hear as they wake in their individual rooms is the captain's intercom.

"Passengers, just want to speak to you briefly on the bridge. Our next stop is for supplies and a bit of shore leave for my crew, just a few hours and maybe some of you want to stretch your legs as well."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFBjfzsOtx0

Evade

Kei gets dressed and almost on autopilot heads out for the bridge.

Banjo

Lena crawls out of her berth and groans. Just another, bigger tin can. She runs through a brief series of calisthenics to work out the sleep-kinks, dresses and slaps the remaining closed berths - "rise and shine, princesses! The captain talk, you pussies walk, let's go let's go!"
She heads bridgeward.

Nebelwerfer

Mufasta'r lets loose a growl as he lifts himself out of the pod and makes his way to the bridge.

Nimroth

Nathan wakes up, slightly annoyed by yet another interruption of his much needed rest cycle.
Why in the 19 galaxies would the captain of this vessel think he'd even be mildy interested in the needs of the crew? As a passenger he'd hoped for some uninterurpted time to ponder about the latest scientific papers that are still displayed on the datapad next to his berth.
Oh well, this obviously can't be helped now and, if he's honest with himself, "stretching legs" as the captain put it, doesn't sound too bad. Hopefully it's not just another deep space supply station but an actual planet. It's been a while since he's seen a real sky.

He freshens up, gets dressed and leaves his quarters for the bridge.

Fourier

Arriving on the bridge the four are greeted by the captain and his crew of twelve. For the most part baseline humans, though the captain is obviously from genetical altered stock, his short compact frame suggests a high gravity homeworld.

"Okay at 26:41 ship time we'll be entering the Guvustal 20 system. There's a medium sized mining colony, population 300,000 or so. Planet's formed around a dead Neutron Star, the twin of the system's primary, so the core is rich in rare metals, meaning the colony is ultra-rich in cash, so expect some plush entertainment. We're there to refuel and restock, so you have got fourteen standard hours (OOC: same as normal hours) to enjoy yourself.

Any questions?"

Evade

"I could use a good drink. Do they have a local speeder racing scene?"



OOC: Roughly how much is a credit worth and how do I draw down my pension?

Banjo

Lena clacks her heels and barks "sir, yes I have a question sir! This planet have an atmosphere or is this a velvet kettle, sir?"

Nimroth

"dead neutron star"...the captain's words echo in Nathan's mind. This might be interesting after all...
Nathan shakes his head utters "no questions", finishes the sentence in his head with "...that you could sufficiently answer" and starts a query on his personal data assistant to give him the scientific breakdown of the Guvustal 20 system as well as any medical anomalies occuring in the last 5 years.
If you're going for shore leave, better know what kind of environment you will get yourself into. No one would want to see a repeat of the Salisian fever disaster just a few months back, but then again..how likely is it that the miners entertain a habit of sniffing Salisian rock dust?

Nebelwerfer

Mustafa'r leans onto the nearest wall. "Any persons of interest on this colony?"

He starts snarling, almost resembling a smile of sorts "I'd like to look into acquiring goods, of a more, Exotic variety...".

"Anything you have on the locals would be... much obliged...".

He raises his hand and gives the captain and his crew a thumbs up, as he knows for the meatsticks, this is a sign of mutual understanding.

Fourier

Evade wrote: »

"I could use a good drink. Do they have a local speeder racing scene?"

OOC: Roughly how much is a credit worth and how do I draw down my pension?

"I believe so, should be a good betting scene as well. They race out in the canyons near the colony."

OOC: Food is often in the 1-20 Cr range, equipment ~200 Cr, weapons are more expensive relatively in Traveller than D&D and occupy a wide range. Typical decent weapon is 500-1000Cr, though some Weapons sit in the 20,000 Cr range.
Robots and Ship parts are very expensive, millions of Credits.

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

Lena clacks her heels and barks "sir, yes I have a question sir! This planet have an atmosphere or is this a velvet kettle, sir?"

"Atmosphere is breathable outside the sealed environment of the colony, but it has lower oxygen, terraforming isn't complete yet, so you'll tire fast."

Fourier

Nimroth wrote: »

"dead neutron star"...the captain's words echo in Nathan's mind. This might be interesting after all...
Nathan shakes his head utters "no questions", finishes the sentence in his head with "...that you could sufficiently answer" and starts a query on his personal data assistant to give him the scientific breakdown of the Guvustal 20 system as well as any medical anomalies occuring in the last 5 years.
If you're going for shore leave, better know what kind of environment you will get yourself into. No one would want to see a repeat of the Salisian fever disaster just a few months back, but then again..how likely is it that the miners entertain a habit of sniffing Salisian rock dust?

The data assistant connects to the copy of the Imperial data bank on the ship. The Guvustal 20 data was updated at their last stop, though is probably two updates out of sync with the Imperial network, and a month or more behind actual events on the planet itself, depending on how frequently they submit updates.

Guvustal 20 is currently a single star system with eight planets. The only settled two are Guardian and Sargon, the latter being the colony. Guardian has only a population of 200 or so and is the systems defensive post.

Sargon as mentioned accreted about the remains of a neutron star and is closest to the star.

The outer planets are gas dwarfs. The rocky inner planets are heavily cratered, due to the lack of a gas giant. Sargon itself shows signs of having been geologically active two billion years ago.

Little medical issues to speak of among the populace, aside from the weakened immune systems typical of people who live in the sterile environments of early stage colonies. Only incident in recent months was three miners diagnosed with a similar set of headaches, attributed to prolonged outside activity.

Fourier

Nebelwerfer wrote: »

Mustafa'r leans onto the nearest wall. "Any persons of interest on this colony?"

He starts snarling, almost resembling a smile of sorts "I'd like to look into acquiring goods, of a more, Exotic variety...".

"Anything you have on the locals would be... much obliged...".

He raises his hand and gives the captain and his crew a thumbs up, as he knows for the meatsticks, this is a sign of mutual understanding.

The freighter's crew give Mustafa'r a good deal of personal space, considering he towers over them and looks able to break them in two. His feral Aslan features are new to most of the crew, his kind rarely seen in this region, but he confirms the stereotype of a lion on two legs.

"Persons of interest? Well, I think if you go to the Telaran district on the colony, you might find what you want"

He gives a thumbs up back.

"That all?"

Nebelwerfer

Mustafa'r grins at the captain, bearing his teeth, again resembling somewhat of a smile.

"Thank you captain, this will suffice for now".

Mustafa'r removes himself from the bridge and away from the freighter crew, making his way across the 'Estrella Gris', to stretch his legs further in preparation for their arrival at the colony.

Banjo

Fourier wrote: »

"Atmosphere is breathable outside the sealed environment of the colony, but it has lower oxygen, terraforming isn't complete yet, so you'll tire fast."

She salutes
"Marines don't tire - our lungs make do, SIR!"
Nevertheless she heads down to the locker to look for respiration gear before disembarking.

Evade

Kei catches the jarhead in a corridor "Marine eh?" Kei gestures to herself "Navy"

Banjo

Lena salutes, the snap pulling her cuff back from her wrist revealing a tattoo of a small anthropomorphic cat-like creature holding an assault rifle.
"Force Commander Lena Jaarg, 151st out of Cumber, Retired, SIR!"
She relaxes slightly.
"Pleasure to meet a Spacer! My old CO always said, no point having a Grinder 'less you got a sack full of beans to feed it. Where were you stationed? What brings you all the way out here?"

OOC : I have no idea where 'here' is since Guvustal 20 isn't on the map - I'm assuming it's remote?
Also, in case this is all new to you - because it is to me! - to save you a wikisurf 'the Grinder' is the Marines recruitment and selection process

Fourier

OOC: Guvustal 20 is in the Foreven Sector, the only area of Traveller space not mapped out by canon:
https://travellermap.com

Evade

Kei stretches out a hand for a handshake "Former lieutenant Kei Nijima, call me Hotdog. I flew Lancers* in the third fleet, mostly off the Torion Spiral." Kei smiles for a split second then returns to her usual resting bitch face "Just starting over. You?"



OOC:*a type of starfighter

Banjo

"When I enlisted, they said I'd need to be prepared to die for the Empire. Instead they asked me to live behind a desk. So I suppose I'm starting over too. Lancers though."
She whistles.
"Got to see them in action when we put down the Mikkelheim rebellion - the Gators outta Flammarion supported us when we shock-locked 'em at Narsil, blew the Tokamaks. ****ing Swordsies, eh? Would not want to be on the business end of a Lancer strike though. This crate must be a hell of a comedown for you, huh?"

Evade

"I was TAD as a supply officer on a troop transport for a few months while I was recovering from an injury, I almost went insane. I couldn't imagine a career as a desk jockey." Kei taps the bulkhead "This old thing isn't so bad though, big ships are pretty much all the same on the inside. As long as I don't have to fly it"

Nebelwerfer

Mufasta'r moves along the ship, anxiously awaiting their arrival, makes his way to the engineering deck.

Mufasta'r finds his restlessness generally subsides if surrounded by drive engines and power generators. Something about the low humming noise he finds soothing.

"14 Hours is a long time... Just shopping for some items" he thinks to himself.

"Curious to see whether this is a maintenance stop as well..."

Banjo

Evade wrote: »

"I was TAD as a supply officer on a troop transport for a few months while I was recovering from an injury, I almost went insane. I couldn't imagine a career as a desk jockey." Kei taps the bulkhead "This old thing isn't so bad though, big ships are pretty much all the same on the inside. As long as I don't have to fly it"

"You don't fly something like this, you politely suggest it move along an axis and hope it listens. That ain't flying. It's parenting. And don't get me started on the big KaTies, you touch a button on one of those behemoths you have time to hunt your lunch and cook it before anything happens.

So what's your read on the big cat, Navy?"

Evade

Banjo wrote: »

"You don't fly something like this, you politely suggest it move along an axis and hope it listens. That ain't flying. It's parenting. And don't get me started on the big KaTies, you touch a button on one of those behemoths you have time to hunt your lunch and cook it before anything happens.

"Exactly"

Banjo wrote: »

So what's your read on the big cat, Navy?"

"Probably good to have next to you in a fight, but don't turn your back on him. What about the twitchy guy?"

Nimroth

Fourier wrote: »

The data assistant connects to the copy of the Imperial data bank on the ship. The Guvustal 20 data was updated at their last stop, though is probably two updates out of sync with the Imperial network, and a month or more behind actual events on the planet itself, depending on how frequently they submit updates.

Guvustal 20 is currently a single star system with eight planets. The only settled two are Guardian and Sargon, the latter being the colony. Guardian has only a population of 200 or so and is the systems defensive post.

Sargon as mentioned accreted about the remains of a neutron star and is closest to the star.

The outer planets are gas dwarfs. The rocky inner planets are heavily cratered, due to the lack of a gas giant. Sargon itself shows signs of having been geologically active two billion years ago.

Little medical issues to speak of among the populace, aside from the weakened immune systems typical of people who live in the sterile environments of early stage colonies. Only incident in recent months was three miners diagnosed with a similar set of headaches, attributed to prolonged outside activity.

Nathan studies the data. Nothing out of the ordinary but a month out of sync... that's rather disappointing. He looks up to the captain and opens his mouth to start a small lecture about appropriate log synchronization cycles and the necessity to have access to current reports when he notices that he seems to be the last of the passengers left on the bridge. He closes his mouth and looks around slightly irritated. He hates when this happens...

He nods to the captain turns and leaves back for his quarters.
While walking down the corridor his head turns back to his datapad just raising it long enough to give a nod and a forced smile to the two soldier type passengers standing on the side engaged in a conversation.

His focus goes back to the reports on rare materials found in the system as he walks on.

Banjo

Evade wrote: »

"Probably good to have next to you in a fight, but don't turn your back on him. What about the twitchy guy?"

"I dunno, we had an Aslan instructor in basic, there was a this vilani draftee, she turned her back on him plenty. Talk about your dishonourable discharge!"

Nimroth wrote: »

While walking down the corridor his head turns back to his datapad just raising it long enough to give a nod and a forced smile to the two soldier type passengers standing on the side engaged in a conversation.

Lena waits for him to pass before muttering "that guy? He's a thinker. Thinkers get you killed.

Well, best get prepped for planetfall."

She takes her leave.

Evade

Kei heads back to her pod to organise her things before planetfall.


OOC: do I have the weapon on my character sheet already?

Fourier

Evade wrote: »

Kei heads back to her pod to organise her things before planetfall.


OOC: do I have the weapon on my character sheet already?

OOC: Yes, it'd be in a locker next to the low berth pods

Fourier

Nebelwerfer wrote: »

Mufasta'r moves along the ship, anxiously awaiting their arrival, makes his way to the engineering deck.

Mufasta'r finds his restlessness generally subsides if surrounded by drive engines and power generators. Something about the low humming noise he finds soothing.

"14 Hours is a long time... Just shopping for some items" he thinks to himself.

"Curious to see whether this is a maintenance stop as well..."

One crew member enters the bridge. A human, though Mufasta'r cannot tell the gender, the humans look near identical. Most likely a female if in engineering.

"Hello...Mufasta'r was it?" she pronounces his name with no articulation on the palette like all humans.

"Just checking on the baby universe we're in at the moment..." she types commands into the console on the jump drive.

"...okay, it'll collapse in fifteen minutes and we'll be reinserted into the primary universe safely enough. Could you check the power stability for me?"

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

She takes her leave.

Arriving in the supply room, there is a single Vacc Suit helmet that with a bit of rejigging could function as a very decent respirator.

Fourier

Nimroth wrote: »

His focus goes back to the reports on rare materials found in the system as he walks on.

The neutronium core of the planet is both valuable in and of itself, the mining of neutronium being far cheaper than its production in the moon spanning particle accelerators of the Imperium core sectors. However in addition, the core is covered by a thin layer of crystal iron, used for starship armour. A naturally occurring source of that phase of iron is one of the rarest things in known space.

There is more data on the outlying rock formations near the colony, but it is blocked, Imperial Scout clearance required.

Nebelwerfer

Fourier wrote: »

"Hello...Mufasta'r was it?" she pronounces his name with no articulation on the palette like all humans.

"Just checking on the baby universe we're in at the moment..." she types commands into the console on the jump drive.

"...okay, it'll collapse in fifteen minutes and we'll be reinserted into the primary universe safely enough. Could you check the power stability for me?"

Instinctively Mufasta'r heads to the station controls and brings up the HUD to monitor the power cores.

He grunts in acknowledgment at the human.

"Pleasure... to make your acquaintance..." He utters at the engineer.

"May I ask for your given name?" he says as he keeps busy on the station controls.

Fourier

Nebelwerfer wrote: »

Instinctively Mufasta'r heads to the station controls and brings up the HUD to monitor the power cores.

He grunts in acknowledgment at the human.

"Pleasure... to make your acquaintance..." He utters at the engineer.

"May I ask for your given name?" he says as he keeps busy on the station controls.

"Golpspirot" the human says.

"Alright we should be entering now keep an eye on the power couplings."

Right outside half of the ship's windows a massive yellow star suddenly bursts into view and the familiar universe full of stars.

Intercom comes on again.

"Three hours till we reach Sargon at sublight. Ship is not capable of landing as you know, so anybody on shore leave head to the ship's boat for descent to the surface."

Banjo

Fourier wrote: »

Arriving in the supply room, there is a single Vacc Suit helmet that with a bit of rejigging could function as a very decent respirator.

A ship this size and no PRAMs? Civilians! She tries to remember her training (Red pipe blue pipe... choke pipe spew pipe?) and makes the adjustments

Fourier

Given her experience in Vacc Suits, Lena makes the adjustments effortlessly.

Nimroth

Fourier wrote: »

The neutronium core of the planet is both valuable in and of itself, the mining of neutronium being far cheaper than its production in the moon spanning particle accelerators of the Imperium core sectors. However in addition, the core is covered by a thin layer of crystal iron, used for starship armour. A naturally occurring source of that phase of iron is one of the rarest things in known space.

There is more data on the outlying rock formations near the colony, but it is blocked, Imperial Scout clearance required.

Nathan freezes in his steps just a few paces away from his room. His eyes are focused on two words on his data pad. Crystal Iron...Maybe this initially unwanted interruption of their journey isn't that much of a bother after all.
This surely means the mining colony has an acceptable standard of scientific facilities to study such a rare phenomenon. And even better, there's a good chance they have the scientists that go along with it. What an unexpected opportunity to have an educated conversation with someone able to study these conditions. He queries the Imperial data bank for a list of facilities and scientists and sends a message ahead requesting a meeting.

He walks on and enters his quarters.

Fourier wrote:

"Three hours till we reach Sargon at sublight. Ship is not capable of landing as you know, so anybody on shore leave head to the ship's boat for descent to the surface."

Clicking on the data pads custom timer widget shows 7 days, 2 hours, 19 minutes. He could make time...it's only a day, maybe two. He'd still make it to their destination well before the event.

After a quick sonic shower he puts on a fresh set of clothes, grabs his data pad and is ready to go.
What could he possibly need beyond this and his cred-implant...
As there's still some time before planetfall he heads for the rec area of the ship passing time, reading.

OOC: What level of expertise does the value of a science skill represent? When would you be considered an expert over a passionate enthusiast?

Nebelwerfer

Fourier wrote: »

"Golpspirot" the human says.

"Alright we should be entering now keep an eye on the power couplings."

Right outside half of the ship's windows a massive yellow star suddenly bursts into view and the familiar universe full of stars.

Intercom comes on again.

"Three hours till we reach Sargon at sublight. Ship is not capable of landing as you know, so anybody on shore leave head to the ship's boat for descent to the surface."

Mufasta'r lets out a curious growl, "Golpspirot... curious name, for a human...".

He continues to keep a close eye on the power couplings as they enter the sector.

"Will engineers, be out for shore leave as well?"

"Or will the ship require maintenance... during its standstill?"

Mufasta'r looks inspects the state of the engineering bay and technology used aboard the ship.

Fourier

Nimroth wrote: »

OOC: What level of expertise does the value of a science skill represent? When would you be considered an expert over a passionate enthusiast?

OOC: Roughly speaking, 0 means educated in but little "real world" experience. 1 has a few years worth of experience. 2-3 is a skilled professional. 4-5 is well known in field (4 roughly known across a world, 5 across a subsector, ~30 worlds).

Medic 0 -> Medical Degree
Medic 1 -> Paramedic
Medic 2 -> Doctor
Medic 3 -> Senior Doctor
Medic 4 -> Expert Doctor with particular specialised knowledge.
Medic 5 -> May be called off world for special cases and known to Imperial Government.

Higher levels reflect Sector level (>3,000 worlds) or singular ability individuals.

Fourier

Nebelwerfer wrote: »

Mufasta'r lets out a curious growl, "Golpspirot... curious name, for a human...".

He continues to keep a close eye on the power couplings as they enter the sector.

"Will engineers, be out for shore leave as well?"

"Or will the ship require maintenance... during its standstill?"

Mufasta'r looks inspects the state of the engineering bay and technology used aboard the ship.

"Oh I'll be here..."

Mufasta'r sees that the power is stable, nothing to worry about.

"...to tell the truth I wouldn't be able to stop worrying about this poor ship if I left."

The ship is two centuries behind current Aslan standards, not surprising given the remoteness of this subsector. An old, inefficient jump drive and the fusion engine probably wouldn't hold up in a fight. Not something an Aslan raiding party would bother with.

Banjo

Her gear prepped for landing, Lena wanders the common area looking for a convenient bar for chin ups and showy upside down sit-ups. Oorah!

Nebelwerfer

Fourier wrote: »

"Oh I'll be here..."

Mufasta'r sees that the power is stable, nothing to worry about.

"...to tell the truth I wouldn't be able to stop worrying about this poor ship if I left."

The ship is two centuries behind current Aslan standards, not surprising given the remoteness of this subsector. An old, inefficient jump drive and the fusion engine probably wouldn't hold up in a fight. Not something an Aslan raiding party would bother with.

Mufasta'r snarls at the mention of the human's worry for the ship.

"If it has not fallen apart already... It probably wont..."

"Have you traveled... To this sector before? Anything... of Interest?" he asks Golpspirot.

Evade

OOC: What are the gun laws like? Can you walk around with a visible weapon and no one bats an eye or should you attempt to hid it?

Fourier

Evade wrote: »

OOC: What are the gun laws like? Can you walk around with a visible weapon and no one bats an eye or should you attempt to hid it?

OOC: Depends on the planet. Going from fusion cannons being legal, to knives being illegal. Average would be roughly concealed pistols being legal.

Sargon will be all weapons ye have being legal except one of Banjo's.

Evade

Kei throws on a light jacket and pats it down to make sure he wallet is still there and puts on her pistol belt and adjusts it until it's comfortable. Then she takes her weapon from her locker and does the same checks she's done thousands of times before to make sure it's still in top condition and holsters it.


"I hope the gravity here is a few points below Imperial Standard. Always liked that extra spring in your step." she thinks to herself as she heads out to the airlock(?) and waits for planetfall.

Banjo

OOC : Since my character would understand the legal situation, does that mean that I have to leave the Lumberjack on the ship, or can it be stowed on the raft?

"999.......one....thou...SAND!" Lena dismounts from the bar, towels off and heads for the raft bay, rifle slung on her back and a suspiciously large holdall in her hand.

Fourier

Nebelwerfer wrote: »

Mufasta'r snarls at the mention of the human's worry for the ship.

"If it has not fallen apart already... It probably wont..."

"Have you traveled... To this sector before? Anything... of Interest?" he asks Golpspirot.

"No never, we're here on a long haul into the Zhodani Consulate. The place is full of ancient worlds seeded by generation ships from Old Terra. Even some early jump ships like..."

She pauses.

"...never mind. Outside of the human worlds, I know the sector has a stable black hole that's meant to be beautiful."

Fourier

Three hours pass until the announcement from the captain.

"Okay, we're in orbit people, enter the boat at you leisure."

The airlock that Kei waits beside suddenly has its locks spring open and the iris retracts. A sandy haired man walks past her and sits down in the cockpit.

"All aboard!"

OOC: Ship's boat looks roughly like a small plane

Nebelwerfer

Fourier wrote: »

"No never, we're here on a long haul into the Zhodani Consulate. The place is full of ancient worlds seeded by generation ships from Old Terra. Even some early jump ships like..."

She pauses.

"...never mind. Outside of the human worlds, I know the sector has a stable black hole that's meant to be beautiful."

Mufasta'r gets a grin on his face. "You should not worry, to not offend..."

"Some were later... to the party, than others". He moves away from the control station and now faces Golpspirot.

"You should try to get out... once in a while".

Mufasta'r smacks his hands together and rubs them, with a face of delight on him.

"Time to go planet side..." he turns around and makes a waving gesture to the engineer.

Mufasta'r makes his way to the commuter plane.

Evade

OOC: Is there an empty co-pilot seat?

Nimroth

Nathan looks up from his data pad and leaves for the docking bay.
On his way he syncs his data pad with the local network so he can review any interesting updates in the last month.
He checks for new messages.