As the captain of a down-on-your-luck tramp freighter, make your way across the solar system chasing the neigh mythical 'one good run'
Across the Solar System
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Tithed_Verse
Vainglorious
- Location
- Iowa
- Pronouns
- They/Them
You're the captain of a starship freighter. It's a prestigious position: spaceships, even small tramp ones like your own, cost more than a good landside house.
Unfortunately it's not a very profitable position: Once upon a time the majority of spaceship captains were private owners who had one, maybe two, spaceships. But between rising conglomeration, monopolization, and falling cost-of-manufacture, small starship owners are being driven out of the market by fleets owned by a handful of larger companies.
You're one of the few owners of a small freight starship.
[][Ship]Write in a name
[][Ship]Eurydice
[][Ship]Vajra
[][Ship]Detroit
[][Ship]Sterling
[][Ship]Goose
She's got 20 cargo slots (25 if you're willing to unbalance her by strapping stuff to her hull), enough bunks for 2 passengers and 5 crew, a small captain's suite, and enough life support capacity to keep 11 people going for several months, or 8 people for a few years.
You make enough to keep the lights on, but not enough to grow, to expand, to make your life better.
Every tramp has a story they tell themselves as why they're not successful. What's yours?
[][Story]It's just luck
Ever since you won this ship in a game of cards, Lady Luck has turned against you. Not everything goes wrong, but when things go wrong it feels like they go wrong in a more catastrophic way, with worse timing, than could be explained by anything but the supernatural. Lady Luck blessed you with this ship by mistake, and now she's trying damn hard to take it away from you.
[][Story]Bad at business
You didn't get a law degree. You don't have a business background. You worked hard to get where you are now, starting out as a maintenance technician and spacewalk specialist on a tramp freighter much like this one… though back then they were better off and more common. You scrimped, saved, and go your crew to pitch in as shareholders to help you buy your ship.
Unfortunately, while you're good at the skills necessary to maintain a ship, and you've got the skills you need to lead a crew, your buisness sense is lacking. You're paying off a mortgage at a ruinous rate you never should have accepted, and you struggle with being underbidded by confident morons who don't understand how much it actually costs to maintain their ship, and greedy bastards who underpay their crews.
[][Story]Failchild
To be honest: You have no goddamn idea what you're doing. You're the fifth child of an incredibly wealthy family, and they bought you this ship to get you out of their hair. If the venture fails that'll have been your last chance. They're going to put you on a reduced allowance and hide you away from the rest of the world where you can't embarrass them. Maybe marry you off to some loathsome individual to consolidate an inter-family alliance.
The problem is that there's only so much a person can learn through desperate cramming and VR classes, and that's where you're at. You've got busuness contacts and friends in high places. You need to get a working understanding of the systems on this ship and the respect and loyalty of your crew.
Whatever you're trying, though, it's not helping. Your profits stay the same even as the cost of living raises. But you can turn it around. You can buy a bigger ship, or you can invest in stocks, or you can patent a more efficient cent… something. All you need to make your life better is a big score. All you need is one 'good' run.
And one has fallen into your lap.
[][Run]Mars to Venus
This is the shortest of the run. Unfortunately, that also means that speed is a factor. You've been contracted to carry medical supplies developed on Mars to the colony suspended in Venus' upper atmosphere. You don't know what you're carrying exactly, it's confidential, but you've been told that a lot of people will die if you don't get it to Venus fast enough. Whatever it is, the run is being financed by Genodyne, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. You're currently in Lunar Orbit, so you may be able to pull a smaller side load from Luna to Mars.
Mars and Venus are on opposite sides of the sun right now, so after that you'll be able to fall towards the sun and slingshot past it to Venus. Simple, fast, fuel efficent, but physically long. Earth and Mars are the same side of the sun, but are not aligned. You'll have to plot a rapid and efficient intercept with Mars.
They're demanding that you carry two service technicians with you on this run. One will board on Luna, but that one is a trained Medical Doctor and can take the Medic slot in your crew. The other will board with the load on Venus. The load will take five cargo units.
[][Run]Earth to Titan
This is a very long run. For the most part, humans don't tend to go much further than the asteroid belt, and Jupiter's moons are the furthest out that you'll find 'normies'. Past that travel time stops being counted in months and starts being counted in years. It would be a *long* way back, and you'd want to find a load to bring back at your destination. Right now Jupiter and Saturn are in alignment, so you'd be able to stop by the trading hubs and bustling habitats of Jupiter's moons to resupply on your way out.
Mars and Jupiter are not in alignment, so it would take extra time if you wanted to stop at mars, or Venus, on your way out. That being said, on a trip that's at least a year and a half out (Assuming you're willing to redline, closer to 3 years if you're not), extra time is not a problem.
This is the smallest load, requiring only one cargo slot. It's scientific equipment for the colony on Titan. Funny thing, though, the company that made it? Hessler Fabrication? They primarily make weapons. A single minder whose only instructions seem to be 'don't let the crew open the box' is assigned to travel with you.The minder will take up life support capacity, but not a bunk: The minder insists on sleeping next to the package.
At least you're not expected to bring the minder back home.
[][Run]The Grand Tour
It's very rare that so many of the planets are in alignment. All the way from Jupiter to Neptune will be in alignment. This is an incredibly, unbelievably, long voyage, taking ten years out if you're not willing to redline and it's unlikely that there will be a return delivery worth the fuel if you plan to redline. The package is scientific equipment. Lovingly and carefully handcrafted by the University of Iowa's space-manufacturing lab the massive load would initially require 20 cargo slots, though with each stop you'd be able to free up some space as sensors are deployed and left in place, possibly for centuries.
The load travels with a professor, two technicians, and an adjunct… a fancy word for 'gofer' from what you can gather. You're supposed to take them all back at the end of this trip too. You might be able to talk them out of bringing the adjunct. Maybe.
Unfortunately it's not a very profitable position: Once upon a time the majority of spaceship captains were private owners who had one, maybe two, spaceships. But between rising conglomeration, monopolization, and falling cost-of-manufacture, small starship owners are being driven out of the market by fleets owned by a handful of larger companies.
You're one of the few owners of a small freight starship.
[][Ship]Write in a name
[][Ship]Eurydice
[][Ship]Vajra
[][Ship]Detroit
[][Ship]Sterling
[][Ship]Goose
She's got 20 cargo slots (25 if you're willing to unbalance her by strapping stuff to her hull), enough bunks for 2 passengers and 5 crew, a small captain's suite, and enough life support capacity to keep 11 people going for several months, or 8 people for a few years.
You make enough to keep the lights on, but not enough to grow, to expand, to make your life better.
Every tramp has a story they tell themselves as why they're not successful. What's yours?
[][Story]It's just luck
Ever since you won this ship in a game of cards, Lady Luck has turned against you. Not everything goes wrong, but when things go wrong it feels like they go wrong in a more catastrophic way, with worse timing, than could be explained by anything but the supernatural. Lady Luck blessed you with this ship by mistake, and now she's trying damn hard to take it away from you.
[][Story]Bad at business
You didn't get a law degree. You don't have a business background. You worked hard to get where you are now, starting out as a maintenance technician and spacewalk specialist on a tramp freighter much like this one… though back then they were better off and more common. You scrimped, saved, and go your crew to pitch in as shareholders to help you buy your ship.
Unfortunately, while you're good at the skills necessary to maintain a ship, and you've got the skills you need to lead a crew, your buisness sense is lacking. You're paying off a mortgage at a ruinous rate you never should have accepted, and you struggle with being underbidded by confident morons who don't understand how much it actually costs to maintain their ship, and greedy bastards who underpay their crews.
[][Story]Failchild
To be honest: You have no goddamn idea what you're doing. You're the fifth child of an incredibly wealthy family, and they bought you this ship to get you out of their hair. If the venture fails that'll have been your last chance. They're going to put you on a reduced allowance and hide you away from the rest of the world where you can't embarrass them. Maybe marry you off to some loathsome individual to consolidate an inter-family alliance.
The problem is that there's only so much a person can learn through desperate cramming and VR classes, and that's where you're at. You've got busuness contacts and friends in high places. You need to get a working understanding of the systems on this ship and the respect and loyalty of your crew.
Whatever you're trying, though, it's not helping. Your profits stay the same even as the cost of living raises. But you can turn it around. You can buy a bigger ship, or you can invest in stocks, or you can patent a more efficient cent… something. All you need to make your life better is a big score. All you need is one 'good' run.
And one has fallen into your lap.
[][Run]Mars to Venus
This is the shortest of the run. Unfortunately, that also means that speed is a factor. You've been contracted to carry medical supplies developed on Mars to the colony suspended in Venus' upper atmosphere. You don't know what you're carrying exactly, it's confidential, but you've been told that a lot of people will die if you don't get it to Venus fast enough. Whatever it is, the run is being financed by Genodyne, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. You're currently in Lunar Orbit, so you may be able to pull a smaller side load from Luna to Mars.
Mars and Venus are on opposite sides of the sun right now, so after that you'll be able to fall towards the sun and slingshot past it to Venus. Simple, fast, fuel efficent, but physically long. Earth and Mars are the same side of the sun, but are not aligned. You'll have to plot a rapid and efficient intercept with Mars.
They're demanding that you carry two service technicians with you on this run. One will board on Luna, but that one is a trained Medical Doctor and can take the Medic slot in your crew. The other will board with the load on Venus. The load will take five cargo units.
[][Run]Earth to Titan
This is a very long run. For the most part, humans don't tend to go much further than the asteroid belt, and Jupiter's moons are the furthest out that you'll find 'normies'. Past that travel time stops being counted in months and starts being counted in years. It would be a *long* way back, and you'd want to find a load to bring back at your destination. Right now Jupiter and Saturn are in alignment, so you'd be able to stop by the trading hubs and bustling habitats of Jupiter's moons to resupply on your way out.
Mars and Jupiter are not in alignment, so it would take extra time if you wanted to stop at mars, or Venus, on your way out. That being said, on a trip that's at least a year and a half out (Assuming you're willing to redline, closer to 3 years if you're not), extra time is not a problem.
This is the smallest load, requiring only one cargo slot. It's scientific equipment for the colony on Titan. Funny thing, though, the company that made it? Hessler Fabrication? They primarily make weapons. A single minder whose only instructions seem to be 'don't let the crew open the box' is assigned to travel with you.The minder will take up life support capacity, but not a bunk: The minder insists on sleeping next to the package.
At least you're not expected to bring the minder back home.
[][Run]The Grand Tour
It's very rare that so many of the planets are in alignment. All the way from Jupiter to Neptune will be in alignment. This is an incredibly, unbelievably, long voyage, taking ten years out if you're not willing to redline and it's unlikely that there will be a return delivery worth the fuel if you plan to redline. The package is scientific equipment. Lovingly and carefully handcrafted by the University of Iowa's space-manufacturing lab the massive load would initially require 20 cargo slots, though with each stop you'd be able to free up some space as sensors are deployed and left in place, possibly for centuries.
The load travels with a professor, two technicians, and an adjunct… a fancy word for 'gofer' from what you can gather. You're supposed to take them all back at the end of this trip too. You might be able to talk them out of bringing the adjunct. Maybe.
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Tithed_Verse
Vainglorious
- Location
- Iowa
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Usually I get a vote by now?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'm vaguely interested. Do we vote by plan?
Tithed_Verse
Vainglorious
- Location
- Iowa
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Yes, that's usually how I prefer things be handled: by plan. 👍
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X]Plan Wacky Roadtrip Shenanigans
-[X][Ship]Wellerman Blues
-[X][Story]Bad at business
-[X][Run]The Grand Tour
In absentia of other voters, my vote for a roadtrip comedy.
-[X][Ship]Wellerman Blues
-[X][Story]Bad at business
-[X][Run]The Grand Tour
In absentia of other voters, my vote for a roadtrip comedy.
Dragonmaster150
Firstborn of Dragonkind
- Location
- Dragendolan: Land of the Dragon Kings
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Here's my definitely not a star wars reference plan:
[X] Plan: Not Solo
-[X][Ship]Eternity's Eagle
-[X][Story]It's just luck
-[X][Run]Earth to Titan
[X] Plan: Definitely Not Solo
-[X][Ship]Eternity's Eagle
-[X][Story]It's just luck
-[X][Run]The Grand Tour
[X] Plan: Not Solo
-[X][Ship]Eternity's Eagle
-[X][Story]It's just luck
-[X][Run]Earth to Titan
[X] Plan: Definitely Not Solo
-[X][Ship]Eternity's Eagle
-[X][Story]It's just luck
-[X][Run]The Grand Tour
This took 2 days to write
Tithed_Verse
Vainglorious
- Location
- Iowa
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Intense vote so far.
Winner: Wacky Roadtrip Shenanigans
it's with some trepidation that you accept the contract from the University of Iowa. The pay is, well, good but… they're very much going to make you work for it. This is going to be 20 years of your life spent on this, that's not an insignificant portion of it. This is less 'one good run' and more 'One final hurrah'. You'll potentially be in no shape to be a captain when you return. Unless you're willing to redline, which, over the distances involved, will be very expensive, costing a great deal of delta v.
Your crew is are mostly equal shareholders in the ship. But who exactly are they?
You've got 4 passengers, and only 2 passenger bunks, so you're either going to have to not fill some of your five crew bunks, or the passengers are going to be sleeping somewhat uncomfortably, though you *might* be able to talk down the number of people coming. Especially if you've got a technician to replace one of the load technicians.
You've got enough time to refit your ship, but you only have enough time for one refit
[][Refit]Improved life support capacity
This refit includes extra life support for 2 people long term and 2 extra bunks, neatly solving any issues you have with passenger and crew capacity.
[][Refit]Improved cargo capacity
This refit adds 10 extra interior cargo slots. This is important if you want to carry side loads, because right now all 20 of your interior cargo slots are filled
[][Refit]Mixed usage
This refit adds life support for 1 extra person and an extra bunk, as well as 5 extra interior cargo slots, by shrinking overall space available within the ship
[][Refit]Improved thrust
This refit improved your thrust, reducing the duration of your trip from 10 years out to 8 years out… a significant reduction!
[][Refit]No refit
If you don't refit your ship, your score at the end will be higher as you'll have collected more money.
Given the distance you're going you've only enough room for 8 people on the life support, unless you're willing to hook up a supplemental life support system, which could cost you a pretty penny. 5 of those 8 are already accounted for, unless you talk the University into sending fewer people. If you're willing to drop some people off on Mars, you can carry 12 so long as you're in the inner planets… something to keep in mind if you want to bring side-cargos of people.
You're legally required to have a Medic, an Engineer, and a Pilot, but there's no law that says they can't all be the same person. Technically, you already have an Engineer. Yourself.
Choose however many you want, within the limitations of your life support. By plan only. The fewer crew you select, the higher your final score because more money.
Crew
[][Crew]Medic Veronica Waldress
Veronica Waldress uses pot, recreationally. She also grows her own pot in botanical and horticultural equipment that she brings along with her. She's about the same age as you, and has a generally calm and centered personality. Her plants can help stretch the life support of a ship in an emergency situation. That being said: she uses pot recreationally, and while she's never high during working hours, if an off hours emergency happens… she's going to be high.
[][Crew]Medic George Tian
George is a younger man. He's fresh out of training, and has little experience. He used leftover money from his student loan to buy a share into your ship. He's young, energetic, and fresh faced. For him, 20 years is long enough to get seasoned, not the end of his career. His hobby is role playing games.
[][Crew]Medic/Pilot Babur Mohammed
Babur is an old friend of yours, but he has a history of being a drug addict. Hard drugs. A lot of people become so due to the stresses of space travel. He's promised you he's clean again, but as a medic (with cross training as a pilot) he has access to his own supply. If you take him with you on this journey, you'll have to watch him carefully in case he relapses. His hobby is shooter type video games.
[][Crew]Engineer Tidir Idowu
Tidir is a competent engineer with a particular talent for fabrication. She works well with you, and compliments your own specialty of spacewalking and installation. She produces miniatures for her free time, occasionally wasting resources in the process. She is a diabetic, and requires a supply of insulin, but as this is a known problem it is not a big problem. Ships with diabetics usually carry a yeast that produces insulin. Unless the yeast is contaminated by a disaster, there's no risks.
[][Crew]Technician/Engineer Molly Surge
Molly has a nasty attitude and a poor personality. She's quite good at both science and engineering, but she's a truly terrible coworker with a nasty habit of picking fights and arguments with people for fun. Her hobby is card games.
[][Crew]Technician/Medic Shahrir Hassan
Shahrir is an older gentleman, very experienced. Being in his late 50s it's entirely possible he'll die during the 10 year voyage back from the edge of the solar system. That being, he's received cross training that allows him to qualify as both a technician in the handling of scientific equipment and as a medic. His hobby is reading fantasy novels.
[][Crew]Technician/Pilot Pavel Sobol
Pasha is a scientific load specialist who also has some piloting chops. There's a bit of a problem though. He's intensely agoraphobic and cannot do spacewalks. This is not the end of the world, as a pilot is typically not expected to leave a vessel in flight, but as a scientific load specialist, this could be a problem. His hobby is smutty visual novels.
[][Crew]Pilot James McCormick
James prefers to pilot by feel. He's a very loose sort of pilot. Relaxed about everything and generally unflappable, he's well known for his ability to get along with even the most difficult of personalities. Unfortunately, his sloppy, relaxed, nature does mean he tends to use more fuel than a more precise pilot. He's a poet in his free time.
[][Crew]Pilot Nolene Jørgensen
Nolene is a really good pilot. You've known her for years, and she's a 'by the books' type of pilot whose precision can be compared favorably to a computer. That being said, she has a ton of dangerous allergies, ranging from a penicillin allergy to an allergy to the most common form of algae used for atmospheric reprocessing and biomatter reclamation. As you're aware of these issues you can plan ahead, but in an emergency situation you may find yourself without the supplies to care for her. She listens to classical music in her free time, and reads the Vedas.
[][Crew]Chef FNU Thando
Hiring a chef improves morale. Thando is trained in west African cuisine, a flavorful pallet with many spices. He's also trained in cooking for medical needs, and can help passengers avoid allergies or food sensitivities. Thando is a very gentle man, who works well with others. His hobby is his job: Cooking.
[][Crew]Communications and Sensor Specialist Harland Rose
A communications and sensor specialist can handle communications in space and read sensor results to better determine the conditions in space, such as detecting oncoming solar flares. She prefers to be called Rose. She's particularly good at video-editing and wants to make a documentary about the journey, and for a hobby she makes mixtapes from the sounds picked up by various sensor systems. She has a hormonal disorder and requires regular injections of estrogen, which, like insulin, is generally produced by a yeast kept aboard the ship.
[][Crew]Security Nanako Hino
Piracy in deep space isn't a thing: When it happens it's near colonized planets or large stations… places where the near do wells can run away and get lost. A security person works to prevent this from happening. They also mediate disputes among the crew. Nanako Is a strict woman with a stern bearing. She's a very good shot with a pistol, though she prefers not to need to use it. Her hobby is embroidery and crochet.
[][Crew]Oddjobsfellow Murphy NoLastName
Oddjobsfellows fill in for crew members who are sick and injured. They typically receive training from most of the crew during the trip as they learn their duties. Murphy prefers they/them pronouns. They are a diligent worker, though they are young and inexperienced. Murphy's hobby is dancing. Breakdancing
[][Crew]Second in command Anselem De Graff
You've known Anselem most of your career. He's just as hard working as you, though he didn't come up as engineering track. He'd been middle management for as long as you've known him and has the people, budgeting, and accounting skills to match. His time management is great, though his personality is a bit standoffish and persnickety. His hobby is calligraphy.
Of course it may be necessary to reduce the size of the passenger compliment, and you have a few possible strategies for that:
Reduction
[][Reduction]Try to reduce the number of technicians
Requires having your own technician capable of handling scientific equipment.
[][Reduction]Talk the professor out of bringing the adjunct
Could have unfortunate side effects: the adjunct seems more familiar with the load than the professor.
[][Reduction]Attempt to talk the professor out of coming due to his age
You've only got one shot, and if you fail it could have a negative effect on your relationship with the passengers. Also the professor is an astrophysicist and can predict solar weather for you relatively accurately.
[][Reduction]Any combination of the above.
[][Reduction]You'll take the full manifest
Increase your score due to bigger payout.
Winner: Wacky Roadtrip Shenanigans
it's with some trepidation that you accept the contract from the University of Iowa. The pay is, well, good but… they're very much going to make you work for it. This is going to be 20 years of your life spent on this, that's not an insignificant portion of it. This is less 'one good run' and more 'One final hurrah'. You'll potentially be in no shape to be a captain when you return. Unless you're willing to redline, which, over the distances involved, will be very expensive, costing a great deal of delta v.
Your crew is are mostly equal shareholders in the ship. But who exactly are they?
You've got 4 passengers, and only 2 passenger bunks, so you're either going to have to not fill some of your five crew bunks, or the passengers are going to be sleeping somewhat uncomfortably, though you *might* be able to talk down the number of people coming. Especially if you've got a technician to replace one of the load technicians.
You've got enough time to refit your ship, but you only have enough time for one refit
[][Refit]Improved life support capacity
This refit includes extra life support for 2 people long term and 2 extra bunks, neatly solving any issues you have with passenger and crew capacity.
[][Refit]Improved cargo capacity
This refit adds 10 extra interior cargo slots. This is important if you want to carry side loads, because right now all 20 of your interior cargo slots are filled
[][Refit]Mixed usage
This refit adds life support for 1 extra person and an extra bunk, as well as 5 extra interior cargo slots, by shrinking overall space available within the ship
[][Refit]Improved thrust
This refit improved your thrust, reducing the duration of your trip from 10 years out to 8 years out… a significant reduction!
[][Refit]No refit
If you don't refit your ship, your score at the end will be higher as you'll have collected more money.
Given the distance you're going you've only enough room for 8 people on the life support, unless you're willing to hook up a supplemental life support system, which could cost you a pretty penny. 5 of those 8 are already accounted for, unless you talk the University into sending fewer people. If you're willing to drop some people off on Mars, you can carry 12 so long as you're in the inner planets… something to keep in mind if you want to bring side-cargos of people.
You're legally required to have a Medic, an Engineer, and a Pilot, but there's no law that says they can't all be the same person. Technically, you already have an Engineer. Yourself.
Choose however many you want, within the limitations of your life support. By plan only. The fewer crew you select, the higher your final score because more money.
Crew
[][Crew]Medic Veronica Waldress
Veronica Waldress uses pot, recreationally. She also grows her own pot in botanical and horticultural equipment that she brings along with her. She's about the same age as you, and has a generally calm and centered personality. Her plants can help stretch the life support of a ship in an emergency situation. That being said: she uses pot recreationally, and while she's never high during working hours, if an off hours emergency happens… she's going to be high.
[][Crew]Medic George Tian
George is a younger man. He's fresh out of training, and has little experience. He used leftover money from his student loan to buy a share into your ship. He's young, energetic, and fresh faced. For him, 20 years is long enough to get seasoned, not the end of his career. His hobby is role playing games.
[][Crew]Medic/Pilot Babur Mohammed
Babur is an old friend of yours, but he has a history of being a drug addict. Hard drugs. A lot of people become so due to the stresses of space travel. He's promised you he's clean again, but as a medic (with cross training as a pilot) he has access to his own supply. If you take him with you on this journey, you'll have to watch him carefully in case he relapses. His hobby is shooter type video games.
[][Crew]Engineer Tidir Idowu
Tidir is a competent engineer with a particular talent for fabrication. She works well with you, and compliments your own specialty of spacewalking and installation. She produces miniatures for her free time, occasionally wasting resources in the process. She is a diabetic, and requires a supply of insulin, but as this is a known problem it is not a big problem. Ships with diabetics usually carry a yeast that produces insulin. Unless the yeast is contaminated by a disaster, there's no risks.
[][Crew]Technician/Engineer Molly Surge
Molly has a nasty attitude and a poor personality. She's quite good at both science and engineering, but she's a truly terrible coworker with a nasty habit of picking fights and arguments with people for fun. Her hobby is card games.
[][Crew]Technician/Medic Shahrir Hassan
Shahrir is an older gentleman, very experienced. Being in his late 50s it's entirely possible he'll die during the 10 year voyage back from the edge of the solar system. That being, he's received cross training that allows him to qualify as both a technician in the handling of scientific equipment and as a medic. His hobby is reading fantasy novels.
[][Crew]Technician/Pilot Pavel Sobol
Pasha is a scientific load specialist who also has some piloting chops. There's a bit of a problem though. He's intensely agoraphobic and cannot do spacewalks. This is not the end of the world, as a pilot is typically not expected to leave a vessel in flight, but as a scientific load specialist, this could be a problem. His hobby is smutty visual novels.
[][Crew]Pilot James McCormick
James prefers to pilot by feel. He's a very loose sort of pilot. Relaxed about everything and generally unflappable, he's well known for his ability to get along with even the most difficult of personalities. Unfortunately, his sloppy, relaxed, nature does mean he tends to use more fuel than a more precise pilot. He's a poet in his free time.
[][Crew]Pilot Nolene Jørgensen
Nolene is a really good pilot. You've known her for years, and she's a 'by the books' type of pilot whose precision can be compared favorably to a computer. That being said, she has a ton of dangerous allergies, ranging from a penicillin allergy to an allergy to the most common form of algae used for atmospheric reprocessing and biomatter reclamation. As you're aware of these issues you can plan ahead, but in an emergency situation you may find yourself without the supplies to care for her. She listens to classical music in her free time, and reads the Vedas.
[][Crew]Chef FNU Thando
Hiring a chef improves morale. Thando is trained in west African cuisine, a flavorful pallet with many spices. He's also trained in cooking for medical needs, and can help passengers avoid allergies or food sensitivities. Thando is a very gentle man, who works well with others. His hobby is his job: Cooking.
[][Crew]Communications and Sensor Specialist Harland Rose
A communications and sensor specialist can handle communications in space and read sensor results to better determine the conditions in space, such as detecting oncoming solar flares. She prefers to be called Rose. She's particularly good at video-editing and wants to make a documentary about the journey, and for a hobby she makes mixtapes from the sounds picked up by various sensor systems. She has a hormonal disorder and requires regular injections of estrogen, which, like insulin, is generally produced by a yeast kept aboard the ship.
[][Crew]Security Nanako Hino
Piracy in deep space isn't a thing: When it happens it's near colonized planets or large stations… places where the near do wells can run away and get lost. A security person works to prevent this from happening. They also mediate disputes among the crew. Nanako Is a strict woman with a stern bearing. She's a very good shot with a pistol, though she prefers not to need to use it. Her hobby is embroidery and crochet.
[][Crew]Oddjobsfellow Murphy NoLastName
Oddjobsfellows fill in for crew members who are sick and injured. They typically receive training from most of the crew during the trip as they learn their duties. Murphy prefers they/them pronouns. They are a diligent worker, though they are young and inexperienced. Murphy's hobby is dancing. Breakdancing
[][Crew]Second in command Anselem De Graff
You've known Anselem most of your career. He's just as hard working as you, though he didn't come up as engineering track. He'd been middle management for as long as you've known him and has the people, budgeting, and accounting skills to match. His time management is great, though his personality is a bit standoffish and persnickety. His hobby is calligraphy.
Of course it may be necessary to reduce the size of the passenger compliment, and you have a few possible strategies for that:
Reduction
[][Reduction]Try to reduce the number of technicians
Requires having your own technician capable of handling scientific equipment.
[][Reduction]Talk the professor out of bringing the adjunct
Could have unfortunate side effects: the adjunct seems more familiar with the load than the professor.
[][Reduction]Attempt to talk the professor out of coming due to his age
You've only got one shot, and if you fail it could have a negative effect on your relationship with the passengers. Also the professor is an astrophysicist and can predict solar weather for you relatively accurately.
[][Reduction]Any combination of the above.
[][Reduction]You'll take the full manifest
Increase your score due to bigger payout.
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[X] Plan: Even Split, competent crew.
- [X] [Refit]Mixed
- [X] [Crew]Medic George Tian
- [X] [Crew]Engineer Tidir Idowu
- [X] [Crew]Technician/Pilot Pavel Sobol
- [X] [Crew]Chef FNU Thando
- [X] [Crew]Second in command Anselem De Graff
- [X] [Reduction]Try to reduce the number of technicians
- [X] [Refit]Mixed
- [X] [Crew]Medic George Tian
- [X] [Crew]Engineer Tidir Idowu
- [X] [Crew]Technician/Pilot Pavel Sobol
- [X] [Crew]Chef FNU Thando
- [X] [Crew]Second in command Anselem De Graff
- [X] [Reduction]Try to reduce the number of technicians
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Are we sure we want to put a pilot with a crippling fear of spacewalks into a situation where he might have to spacewalk to deploy the payload?
Tithed_Verse
Vainglorious
- Location
- Iowa
- Pronouns
- They/Them
These are the sorts of difficult questions I want my players to ask themselves, yes.
Tithed_Verse
Vainglorious
- Location
- Iowa
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Prolly about 24 hours till I close the vote, just so people are aware.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X]Plan Cross Training Good
-[X][Refit]Mixed usage
-[X][Crew]Medic/Pilot Babur Mohammed
-[X][Crew]Technician/Medic Shahrir Hassan
-[X][Crew]Engineer Tidir Idowu
-[X][Crew]Oddjobsfellow Murphy NoLastName
-[X][Reduction]You'll take the full manifest
I'm aiming for as much redundancy as I can in four slots, while avoiding any difficult personalities in what is going to be an extended stay in tight quarters. We have two people for every required specialty, and Murphy can be cross-trained on the way, which should hopefully cover for the inevitable 'Shahrir suffers a heart attack and someone has to keep Babur off his meds.'
-[X][Refit]Mixed usage
-[X][Crew]Medic/Pilot Babur Mohammed
-[X][Crew]Technician/Medic Shahrir Hassan
-[X][Crew]Engineer Tidir Idowu
-[X][Crew]Oddjobsfellow Murphy NoLastName
-[X][Reduction]You'll take the full manifest
I'm aiming for as much redundancy as I can in four slots, while avoiding any difficult personalities in what is going to be an extended stay in tight quarters. We have two people for every required specialty, and Murphy can be cross-trained on the way, which should hopefully cover for the inevitable 'Shahrir suffers a heart attack and someone has to keep Babur off his meds.'
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Tithed_Verse
Vainglorious
- Location
- Iowa
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Vote closed. It will likely take two days to write the next part again.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
And of course I have to realize now that I didn't bring an alternate for the pilot.
Murphy's getting a crash course in piloting multi-ton interplanetary spacecraft. What can go wrong?
Murphy's getting a crash course in piloting multi-ton interplanetary spacecraft. What can go wrong?
Tithed_Verse
Vainglorious
- Location
- Iowa
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I was gonna say something, but then I remembered that I have a reputation as being a kinda tough gm.
If you want to make a change to your plan, you have about two hours before I start writing for real instead of just plotting. I'll let you make a change just this once.
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
The problem here being that the one change I can do without completely invalidating the plan is to swap Murphy for an actual pilot.
Which...I'm honestly reluctant to do. Murphy sounds like a fun character with room for growth, and he provides a third layer of redundancy to the other two required specialties.
I think I'll stick with it if that's alright with everyone.
Tithed_Verse
Vainglorious
- Location
- Iowa
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I mean, if you wanted to you could swap the engineer out for a pilot. You are, after all, an engineer yourself.
Of course, that means that the captain is doubling as an engineer… 🤣
Another option is you could go with the passenger refit instead of the mixed refit, or asking for the University team to drop one of their two technicians, as you have a technician they can use.
You honestly don't need 3 technicians. 2 should be enough for there to be redundancy, especially with Murphy on the crew.
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