Jovian Despair

[UristMcRandom]

OOC Thread

Earth successfully colonized the Moon, established a complicated network of asteroid mining facilities, and had begun colonization efforts on Mars. But then the Martian colonists won their independence, so when it became possible to survive the radiation around Jupiter, the government officials on Earth vowed that none of their colonies would ever be self-sufficient again.

Then, the plague struck Earth.

The governments have fallen, and refugees are fleeing to the stars. The last supply freighter that will ever be sent to the Jovian colonies will be arriving in six months. Survive.

March 1st, 2115, 01:00 Jupiter Time (1st Shift)
Your ship, the SS Bounty, is currently located in orbit above Io, docked with Srumroz Station. The first mate has a meeting with the colony's leader in about 10 minutes, until then you're all on shore leave.

You're all in a dark grey corridor on the second deck of Srumroz Station. Behind you lies the airlock where the SS Bounty is docked, to your left is a monitor displaying a map of the station, and to your right is an access tunnel leading to the other decks. Up ahead is the station's core, where the sound of various crew members can be heard. Handrails run along the walls to allow ease of navigation in the station's microgravity.

[AngryCyc]

First Mate Robert Wheeker takes a second to center himself. The future was beginning to look more and more bleak, and there was little power or control to be had over the situation. What control he could find, though, he would take.

"Alright crew, you're on shore leave here but I expect proper discipline at all times none the less. Things aren't going to be the same as they were before. Diplomatic ties are going to start getting more and more strained. I expect each and every one of you to not make things any worse. Be careful, be prompt, and always consider the effect of your words and actions on the ship and on others." he says sharply.

He then starts eyeing the map for a minute or so to familiarize himself with the layout before heading in towards where the colony leader can be found.

[Space Lawyer]

Felix merely rolls his eyes and twirls his mustache. Everyone always seemed to be all about doom and gloom these days, ever since the last transmission from Earth had come in, the one saying that no more supplies were coming. Felix though, he saw it differently. Humanity still had Mars, and it was still possible to make life work out here, no matter what the power-hoarding imbeciles on Earth had intended. Always walking around so tense and acting like any moment could be the doom of humanity in the Jovian system was a surer way to create problems than any.

Still, Wheeker was technically in charge at the moment, so Felix makes sure all of his tools are safely stowed away in his jumpsuit, and glides along the corridor to the station core. It was always smart to have set of tools handy; one never knew when a properly tightened nut could be the difference between success and failure. Plus, fixing things made for easy friends.

[Julian84]

Jun Wu listened attentively to the first mate, military structure and discipline rigorously beaten into her over her years in basic training, flight school, and other programs not easily forgotten, no matter her dishonorable flight from the Zheng He Expedition. It had not been an easy decision to make… No, it had been one over several months, after hearing transmissions from the homeworld about the collapse of the imperium into anarchy, the uncertainty of the future for humanity. Despair and claustrophobia clung to her mind night and day until she had finally had enough, stealing a shuttle to rendezvous with a passing cargo freighter…

The only sign she gave of her inner turmoil was how she toyed with the coin hanging from her neck, a simple copper disc embossed with a dragon, the symbol of the Imperium’s might, now dissolving into nothing but bitter memories. Once dismissed by the first mate, she looked around hesitantly, unsure of who might be willing to accompany her to Srumoz station. Making friends wasn’t exactly her greatest skill.

[UristMcRandom]

Robert ducked into the access shaft and climbed up the ladder to Deck 1, a ring-shaped deck lined with offices and sleeping quarters. He'd eventually find his way to a small waiting room, empty except for a window where a female secretary sat, a shelf of magazines, and a couple chairs with seatbelts, "The commander'll just be a couple minutes, there was a problem down in one of the fields," the secretary said.

The station's core was as busy as it had sounded from a distance, with crates and barrels of fruits, vegetables, seeds, and fertilizer being moved from place to place by crew members. Felix would notice soon after entering the presence of Ezra Fisher, captain of the SS Terra Firma, a rival freighter. He was accompanied by two members of his crew, Dunn O'Reilly, an Engineer, and one who was presumably a new hire, since Felix didn't recognize her from the last time they had encountered the Terra Firma. Ezra nodded to his crew, then drifted to an access hatch and pulled himself inside.

[Bayar]

Ah Srumroz Station, one of the better ones to visit. Full of freshly grown produce, a welcome change to the dehydrated foodstuffs normally consumed while on a run. Lefty decides to browse for some vegetables and some salted mutton, and maybe see if there are any job openings. While being a deckhand was pretty good, flying around and seeing the moons, it wouldn't hurt to check for something better.

[AngryCyc]

Robert nods, and stands at ease, waiting for the leader. He scans the room with his eyes, taking in as much information as he can. In his mind, he knows this is just a friendly meeting, but with the current state of affairs he can't help but look at everything now from a military-tactical perspective. He eyes the furniture, judging it's sturdiness and wondering if he could take cover in a firefight or just any of it to block or barricade, he judges the entrances, he tries to remember the exact layout of the map showing what would be down which area and how far. All of this his brain rattles off to him subconsciously. Upon realizing he is doing it, he smirks slightly to himself and instead grabs a magazine off a shelf to relax with. This was, afterall, his own shore leave too.

[thebothan]

Biagio walked slowly around the room, everyone was drifting off.. but he felt aimless on this place. When he joined this ship to find new frontiers and find new things, he didn't imagine himself ending up on an agricultural colony. He was a researcher, not a bloody dockhand! What was he supposed to do with ship-leave here? He stares hopelessly at the map trying to find a science bay or a research facility, he had been without either for the duration of the trip, and he couldn't simply sit by.. Plauges ravaging earth, and no more supplies, his work was needed more than ever, yet no resources to be found.

Eventually, he simply wanders off to the left, grasping the handrails; if you want to find anything, he reasons, better to look for it in person.

[Space Lawyer]

Felix Diwara
01:00 1-Mar-15
Srumoz Station, Core

Felix smiles and waves as he floats into the core. "Hoi, Terra Firma. That is some fine looking produce you have there. Planning on making a stop at Guru? I know some people over there that would appreciate anything you have of the more tropical variety." He was speaking of his own family back at the colony, but anybody at Guru would appreciate some fresh food. The station's systems kept the workers well-stocked in nutrient bars, that provided perfect nutrition based on an individual's biochemistry and were immensely filling, but nobody enjoyed eating those things day after day. They were bland as could be, and didn't even come foil-wrapped anymore so they could easily be carried around in pocket. The station had to save all the raw materials for the machines, after all. The mining bots and asteroid wranglers could only produce new product so fast.

[UristMcRandom]

Spoiler: OOC

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Sorry guys, trying to make an actual map of the station, but I'm failing terribly. Just know that the first and third decks are ring-shaped, with crew quarters and offices on the first, and agricultural and science bays on the third, and that the second deck is cross-shaped, connecting the two at each of the four ends of the cross. There are docking ports on the four ends of deck 2, and on the top and bottom of the station core, and eight large cargo modules attached to the corridors on deck 2 (two per corridor).

If that makes zero sense, I completely understand.

Lefty wouldn't find any job offers for a person with his skill-set, or indeed many job offers at all. Srumroz wasn't exactly a social hot-spot, so most of what was available consisted of one-off jobs helping to load and unload crates.

The magazine was about six months outdated, and had a couple of interesting articles about military technology, but before he could read much Robert would be interrupted by the entrance of the Station Commander. A tired-looking man of about 47, he was balding, with a comb-over haircut. A dark-green pair of overalls with the mission patch of Srumroz Station sewn on the shoulder completed the look. He signaled for you to follow him. His office wasn't much to look at, consisting of a couple of chairs and a desk, and a shelving unit fastened to the back wall held more than one man's fair share of paperwork that looked like it needed filing. The Commander sat in the larger of the two chairs, and indicated for you to take a seat as well, "I trust you were able to get the supplies for our hydroponics system from Guru safely?"

The map would indicate the presence of a couple science stations on Deck 3, and Biagio would pretty quickly find his way there. The experiments were nothing too over-the-top, mostly cross-breeding plants for better nutritional value, but it was better than nothing. One thing caught his eye, an intern's theory about reproducing Earth's radiation drugs using a genetically-modified plant.

O'Reilly chuckled, "If only. We're supposed to be loadin' up these crates and a passenger, and then headin' out to Galaria. Captain's got a meeting with the Commander before we go, seems like it's real important."

[AngryCyc]

The first mate follows the man respectfully and takes a seat. "Safely?" he replies. "Yes, there was definitely no problem with the safety of the matter. But there was a minor delay from politics I believe. I think it's important to inform you that, in my opinion, now don't take this as fact... but it would seem to me that the Guruns are a little more hesitant than normal to want to send well-machined supplies this way without a more solid reassurance that they will be used to keep ALL the colonies healthy and well-fed. And not just Srumoz itself. There were some mutterings about 'self-sufficiency' and wanting to build up their own hydroponics (somehow... who knows). I fear that trade between the colonies has passed it's golden age, but I greatly desire to keep hold on the peace we've shared for all this time. Be frank with me now, do you share my concern for ALL of the colonies? It would sooth my worries some to know that I'm helping trade between two political powers that have everyone's best interest in mind..."

Robert speaks in a clam and collected, though slightly forceful manner. He sits rigid and stares the commander straight in the eye as he speaks.

[thebothan]

After hastily walking around the lab, taking it all in, Biagio draws his grey longcoat around him with a sigh. He found this plant based work, though perhaps a little dull, at least a change of pace from the normal nothing he has been working on.
Walking to the head researcher he extends a hand in greeting, Hello Sir, my name is Biagio Vars, from the vessel currently docked here. I wonder if there is anything around here you could use my assistance on? If nothing else, I would love to look over your literature, and perhaps my knowledge of parts manufacturing might prove useful in some way here. I may not know much about your work, but I assure you I am a fast worker, and I have 11 hours to spend here before the ship will need me back.

[UristMcRandom]

The Commander sat and listened, though his face briefly betrayed deep concern when Rob mentioned the comments supposedly made on Guru "I assure you, we have no intentions against any of the colonies.... back to business, however. My crew will be down soon to offload the parts from your ship, so you'll want to notify your staff if you want anyone to be there to oversee the movement. I've also got a job offer for your ship. We're got some supplies that are due for delivery to Zheng He in exchange for an extra radiation shielding unit. If you're interested in making the run, I'm sure we can negotiate your pay fairly quickly."

The head scientist looked Biagio over, "Sure, we could use the help. Know anything about medicine?"

[thebothan]

Not really sir, but I am a fast learner and I have more than enough training in investigation of a problem, and the creation of tools to solve those problems, I am sure you have a project that could benefit from some cross-discipline scrutiny.

[Bayar]

"More menial labor...nah. I'll just look around some more." Trying to find a place to purchase some fresh supplies, he'll pay attention to anyone doing maintenance work. Even if they won't desire assistance that might enjoy a bit of small talk while working.

[AngryCyc]

"Yes, hmm. That all sounds to be good. I do think we would be interested in such a job. I actually have been meaning to head out there myself. Are there any extra details of import that I should know first?" he says, his nerves calmed by the commander's answer.

[UristMcRandom]

"Alright then, I'm assigning you to work with Ferguson. He's attempting to make a plant that can be used to manufacture the radiation-proof drugs from Earth, I think," the chief scientist said, gesturing to the intern.

Bayar found an Engineer working on repairing a short in the station's power grid that was causing lighting issues in Engineering, and some deckhands preparing to unload the hydroponics supplies from the Bounty.


"Nothing big," the Commander said, "You'll want to stop off at New Haven for refueling, but I can cover the cost as part of your pay."

Spoiler: IMPORTANT

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I'm going to go ahead and try this now, since the core rules don't cover it. The form of Currency we'll be using is Credits, which will be approximately equivalent to the US Dollar. Change is made in tenths and hundredths of a Credit, so the full cost of an item will be listed as, for instance, 25.97C. Sound fair?

TL;DR, it's a Dollar, but I'm calling it a Credit.

[thebothan]

Of course, more than happy to help. I respectfully take my leave of the chief researcher and make my way over to Ferguson Hello, I am Biagio Vars, I was just speaking with the chief researcher and I understand you are trying to make a drug to deal with radiation, what kind of help do you need? My experience in manufacturing and engineering lie at your disposal.

Spoiler: RE: IMPORTANT

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Credit works for me

[AngryCyc]

"Then yes, I think that is quite acceptable and that we will indeed agree to this job. Thank you."

Spoiler

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Not sure how involved this meeting is supposed to be. Is that the crux of it? Do you want more negotiating on my end? Is it just "here's you thing, go do it, kthnxbai"?

[Bayar]

"Greetings. Can I lend you a hand there, chum ?"

[UristMcRandom]

Spoiler: AngryCyc

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That's about the jist of it, really. You do need to work with the Commander to figure out your pay, unless you want to make this cargo run and only get a free refueling in return.

"Glad to have your help, but I'm afraid you're not going to be able to do much. I'm probably going to cancel this project anyway," the intern said.

"Alright then, shake on it?" the Commander extended his hand as he spoke, rising slightly from his chair.

The Engineer looks Lefty over, then she signals for him to sit, "Sure, I'm always glad to have help." Once he's seated, Lefty could see a tangled mess of wiring within the wall panel.

Spoiler: Bayar

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Make a Challenging Engineerng skill test (4d6) to assist the Engineer in finding and fixing the short out. There are no negative consequences if you fail, you just simply won't provide any notable help when I roll for the Engineer.

[thebothan]

Vars gasps at the interns words, Cancel the project, why say the saddest words to a researcher's ear! Why would you ever cancel such a clear and obviously useful body of work as this? Perhaps I can help you overcome whatever difficulty you are encountering, or if not perhaps when my ship leaves I could locate someone who could. With your expressed permission and full documentation of your current discoveries of course.

[AngryCyc]

"Well let's come to an agreement on payment first. Things are getting dangerous out there afterall. I do have my own crew to look out for, and these runs are starting to expose us to more and more radiation that we're not going to have the meds to deal with soon enough. I think that earns an extra 25% more for this sort of run than it used to be."

Spoiler

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So. Like. Pizza delivery service? $20? $2,000? I have no idea how much this sort of thing goes for!

[Bayar]

"Oh what a tangled web we weave, let's have a look see here." The wiring was a mess of cables, it was a wonder how someone could make sense of it at first. But someone who usually worked on panels such as these might just read them with little trouble. Not Lefty though. He settled to searching for shorts instead of trying to make sense. "Do ya get shorts often around here ?" he asked, trying to start a conversation.

Spoiler

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Engineering: (4d6)[1][3][1][3](8)

[UristMcRandom]

"It comes down to one issue, really. Srumroz Station, nice as it is, doesn't really have the facilities for this sort of research," Ferguson said, "But hey, maybe you and I can work something out with what we've got. Care to take a look?" he gestures to a tablet that's displaying a document reader on the nearby desk.

The Commander retracts his hand, running his fingers across his scalp and sighing heavily, "Of course. I'm not sure where my head's been these last days. 25% more on a c3,000 job, that'd be... c3,750? Not sure I can afford that. Would you be willing to take c3,400?"

The woman chuckled as she and Lefty got to work, "Occasionally, but not as often as you'd think. The systems on this station are old, but not that old," she paused for a moment on a particularly nasty snag, "So, where're you from?"

Spoiler: Engineering

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[roll]1d6[/roll]

[thebothan]

Biagio Vars eagerly looks over the tablet, But of course, you won't believe how difficult it is to just sit on board a vessel without anything to occupy my time.. lets see what we can do here.

Spoiler: OOC

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I don't know if a skill roll is needed here, so I will just roll 4d6 and if need be we can subtract dice from the end.
(1d6)[2], (1d6)[5], (1d6)[2], (1d6)[2]