Across the Sea of Stars [Mature] OOC
And so they sought their fortunes, to wrest it from the frigid depths of space. Whether driven by greed, revenge, or even just a thirst for adventure, the crew of the Gilded Arrow began their perilous journey across the sea of stars.
Spoiler: Prologue, in case you missed it
In the Demeter system, in orbit around the icy planet Demeter VII
No matter what time of day, The Traveler's Den bustled with activity. Orbital taverns were always a popular watering hole for vagrants, mercenaries, and even those of less reputable professions. The Union police largely avoided these locations unless strictly necessary, as both the employees and the patrons themselves at these rest stops were heavily armed and had little issue policing themselves, at least most of the time.
Hundreds of patrons laughed and drank and sang in the bar area itself, which only made up a portion of the complex. The 'Den', like many similar stations, included drydocks for maintenance and repairs, a small shopping area for supplies and other basic goods, motel rooms, and several other basic amenities.
However, when the doors opened and a human woman stepped through, almost the entire bar quickly fell to silence. A draziri man slowly stood from his seat, his clothing and rings all bearing the same iconography.
"Melina Areleous!"
The fish-man bellowed, silencing anyone who wasn't already paying attention. A handful of other patrons stood up, many of them human, and flocked behind the one already speaking. Each one also wore black clothing with skulls on them. Many held blunt objects, a few had firearms, and the rest had switchblades and daggers. The lone human's hand drifted towards the sidearm holstered at her hip, but she didn't move for it just yet.
"We've warned you before not to cross us," the one who seemed to be the leader cracked his knuckles, his numerous razor-sharp teeth bared each time his mouth opened. "Your crew's dead. Once we're done with you, Pelagios would like to have a word," his scowl twisted into a predatory grin, seeing Melina as a minnow dropped into a tank of sharks.
"Sorry Uzan," the human shrugged, resting her right hand on the magnum's grip, "the pay was good. Besides, Argyra can come get me herself if she wants me that badly."
The Unionite gripped her sidearm.
"Does she think I'm an amateur?"
Areleous let the question hang for merely a moment before quick-drawing her pistol and opening fire.
Two shots thundered into the chest cavities of the two thugs on both of Uzan's flanks, to immediately take out the biggest threats. The massive .60 caliber round blew a sizable hole in either torso, killing them both almost instantly. She immediately pivoted on one foot and scrambled out of the bar, followed by her pursuers. She fired several more times back at them, each deafening shot burying itself in the flesh of an attacker and subsequently bursting back out of their body. The rest of her ammo was blindly fired backwards as she ran, at the very least slowing their pursuit and buying her more time.
The chase continued through the metal hallways as the now-lone captain sprinted to the drydock that held her ship. As the door to the dock opened for her, a single dockworker was exiting.
"Open the dock, now!"Melina panted, still moving towards the boarding ramp.
"What about the bill? You still need to p-"
"Put it on my tab!" She shouted back, the dockworked sighed and hurried into a separated room, and punched in an access code to open the airlock.
The ship's ramp retracted and the doors all closed as its captain threw herself into the pilot's seat.
"Get us out of here!" Areleous barked into the voice command microphone. A smooth, friendly yet still robotic voice chimed back,
"Please provide a location."
"Anywhere. Get me far away from here, as fast as possible."
"Affirmative. Choosing random charted location. Location found. Commencing auto-pilot."
By now the airlock had finally opened, and the ship wasted no time in leaving the port and powering its FTL drive. Once at the required distance from the dock, the ship jumped, vanishing into the cold void of space.
Spoiler: Our setting, the Interstellar Trade Union
This story will take place primarily in the territory of the Interstellar Trade Union as a whole, a bustling corpocracy in all of its profit-driven glory. From factory worlds toiling endlessly to build goods for its customers, to orbital taverns serving exotic food and drink, to entire planets built solely to house citizens or mega-malls spanning hundreds of square miles.
The Union is a veritable playground for the entrepreneur, industrialists, and wealthy elite. Even then, it welcomes any and every foreigner that agrees to follow the rules. After all, they'll become one more paycheck for the CEOs.
The current year is 2358 Union Standard, the calendar scale used by Amasis and its territories. This is by no means the same calendar that is used in the rest of the galaxy, often far from it.
Spoiler: Fact-sheetInterstellar Trade UnionGOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
"Bring us the poor and the sick and the damned, we will put them to work."
OFFICIAL NAME
The Interstellar Trade Union
OTHER NAMES/NICKNAMES
The Union
NATIONAL COLORS
Light blue/cyan and silver
Flag
NATIONAL SLOGAN (Unofficial)
"For profit."
Government type: Corporate Oligarchy
KEY MEMBERS OF GOVERNMENT
Democratic |------------|--------| Authoritarian
Political Left |---------|----------| Political Right
Social Left |------------|---------| Social Right
Open Society |----------|-----------| Closed Society
Hawk Lobby |-----------|---------| Dove Lobby
Interventionism |------|--------------| Isolationism
Nationalist |---|------------------| Pacifist
Modern |-|--------------------| Obsolete
CEO- The Chief Executive Officer is the head of the company. He or she can make decisions for the company, and they also function as the social figurehead, and each CEO becomes a pop culture icon in their own way.
The Board of Directors: The Board of Directors do most of the decision making, until the CEO steps in. While the CEO can veto decisions the Directors make, they lose that power if the board gets at least 75% majority vote.
HOMEWORLD
Amasis, the original home, capital planet, and jewel of the Interstellar Trade Union. Nearly eighty percent of this planet's inhabitable land is developed, paved or build upon in one way or another, large swathes of nature can sometimes be found, but they are either public parks or the personal property of a wealthy aristocrat or entrepreneur. From the shopping hyper-districts spanning hundreds of miles of the finest boutiques and chains the Union has to offer to the towering headquarters buildings and the seat of power found at The Hall of the Council in the capitol district Amasis Prime, the entire planet is an urban paradise for those fortunate enough to be born there, or at least wealthy enough to visit.
POPULATION BREAKDOWN
The Union accepts almost any race that follows their laws, so the variety of species found is extremely diverse. The species within include (but are not limited to):
Amasian: A human analogue which is draws its lineage from several distinct species including Homo sapiens.The planet of Amasis cultivated several ethnicities, which include but are not limited to:
- Voriks - Hailing from the old Vorikos Republic which eventually became United Arms, the Voriks are often historically considered either greedy or innovative depending on the point of view, as they started the chain reaction of extraterritoriality and founded the first megacorporation.
- Levachians - Originating in the Kingdom of Levachia, the last true monarchy of Amasis, the Levachians rose to power with their industry giant, Montagne Heavy Logistics.
Draziri- A fearsome race of aquatic creatures. This warlike species evolved humanoid characteristics in order to be able to venture onto land, causing them to practically become an invasive species on their own planet. They quickly dominated their planet with their new found intelligence (similar to that of humans), wicked claws and teeth, and aggressive predatory instinct. After a failed invasion, they were brought into the fold of Amasian society, albeit with great social stigma and oppression. Their proclivity for violence and culture that respects warriors has lead to many Draziri to join the military. They stand around eight feet tall due to a tendency for poor posture, when standing straight they reach about ten feet.
"The Scorn": A mysterious (and often considered horrfying) race that appeared from seemingly nowhere within Union space. Scorn often vary in certain ways, but they all are large orb-shaped creatures whose physiology is dominated by a single eye (some scorn's entire body is an eye) with a myriad of tentacles that are used as graspers. They tend to be extremely reclusive and xenophobic, but some live completely adequately with others, albeit they are often regarded with fear or disgust. All Scorn are psionic to some degree, as this seems to be the way that they move their orb-like bodies around. They can live in vacuums and are very hardy against the extreme temperatures and radiation found in space.
(More to come!)
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
A special trade language is used, which itself is a pigdin of the various languages and cultures that outsiders have brought into the company. Most creatures that can speak languages can understand at least small parts of the trade language, due to its very fluid and adapting nature.
RELIGIONS PRACTICED
Society is largely secular, as many believe that organized religion gets in the way of productivity. Those of faith are encouraged to express their beliefs, but to keep out of the workplace.
RESEARCH
Energy-based Weapons
Robotic Proxies
MILITARY
(got another pad for this)
ECONOMICS
CURRENCY
Union Ducat
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT
A recent report placed ITU's gross product at approximately 3.549x10^27 Ducats, or 3 just over Septillion (~3,548,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)
ECONOMY TYPE
Heavily controlled Free Market
ECONOMIC TENDENCIES:
Closed Market |--------------------|-| Open MarketMAJOR IMPORTS
Command Economy |---------------|------| Free Economy
Sustenance |-----------------|----| Competition
Automated Production |-----|----------------| Manual Production
Modern Agriculture |---|------------------| Simple Husbandry
Exotic foodstuffs, Pets, Art, Luxury Goods, miscellaneous raw materials
MAJOR EXPORTS
Weapons, Robotics, Energy Production, Manufactured goods
UNIQUE MANUFACTURING
Rentable and buyable Proxies, Mercenaries
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
Hostile Cold Cool Neutral Warm Friendly Allied
The Imperial Supremacy, SARDAS in particular
The Interstellar Coalition of Organized Nations
HISTORY
coming soon
LAWS AND POLITICAL STANCES
Legal drinking age- 18
Driving age- 18, must earn a permit
Age of consent/adulthood- 18
Military Enlistment- 18
Voting age- 18
Reproduction laws- Unrestricted
Drugs, what's legal and when- 18, must have a permit or perscription for recreational drugs.
Firearms, any restrictions given go here- Must obtain a permit
Death Penalty- Certain crimes are considered worthy of the death penalty
Speed Limits?- Read posted signs when relevant
Religious restrictions and taxes, if any- Religion is encouraged, but it is frowned upon to impose or express beliefs in the workplace.
Pornography restriction if any- Allowed, as long as the content does not depict other laws being broken.
Prostitution- Allowed but carefully monitored, a permit is required and prostitution groups are regularly audited
Polygamy- Allowed, as long as all spouses involved have agreed
Homosexuality- Allowed
Gay marriage- Allowed
Stem Cell Research- Allowed
Cloning- Allowed, but largely avoided, due to superstition and countless failed attempts at doing so.
Slavery- Illegal. However, indentured servitude is possible for certain convicts and debtors that cannot pay their debts, but even then it is agreed upon by both parties.
Hunting- Legal on most planets, but in some cases entire planets are considered wildlife sanctuaries. Violation of said regulations can range from fines to even death, depending on the rarity of the hunted specimen.
Consumption of Meat- Legal, as long as the meat was collected and prepared legally. Consumers of illegal meat products are punished only if they were aware of the food's illegal nature.
Litter- Illegal unless posted otherwise, results in a fine.
Suicide- Legal but those attempting suicide, if caught, are brought to a mental health specialist immediately.
Abortion- Legal
Pedophilia- Illegal, punished by either life imprisonment or death.
Bestiality- Taken on a case by case basis, due to the blurred lines between animals and aliens in such a day and age.
Xenophilia- Legal
Rape- Illegal, punishable by long term to life imprisonment or death.
Obscenity- Legal in most places unless posted otherwise.
Taxation- As it is a corporate entity, taxes are extremely low. The only "taxes" that exist are imposed by transactions where the Trade Union is the "middle-man", but that tariff is only 1% of the sale value.
Citizenship requirements- Born to a citizen, legally own property in Union territory, or via application. The application is quite simple, and the only difficult step of the process is, if one is from another sovereign nation, proving that they are not wanted for activities that are criminal to the Union.
Immigration- Legal, but requires minimal documentation or some sort of identification. Undocumented immigrants are deported if discovered, but are free to appeal to a corporate court if they are under extenuating circumstances.
Censorship- Content that can be subject to censoring (media, advertisements, etc) often have warnings or notices that they may say something inappropriate or somehow indecent, so consumers can manually censor what they see or hear.
Spoiler: The Gilded Arrow
Until I get a smaller image that will fit on the page, here's a link to it.
The Gilded Arrow is a one-of-a-kind frigate (read: formerly obsolete ship upgraded and retrofitted to absurd levels) that performs very well for its class. While larger than a personal craft and smaller than a freighter, the ship was originally designed for transporting goods. Now it functions both as a small-scale freight transporter and as a mobile home for its crew, primarily the latter.
The Gilded Arrow features several primary rooms and areas:
- Captain's Quarters- This is where Melina, the captain, lives and keeps her personal belongings. As Laissez-faire as the captain tends to be, it is largely forbidden to enter there unless invited or asked, though that sentiment is largely the same for pretty much everyone's rooms. It features a bed, several closets, a desk, a table and chairs for dining, and more.
- Bunkrooms- Where the rest of the crew will live. Each bunkroom can support up to three occupants, with two beds and one couch as feasible sleeping spaces. Two desks and some storage space are available for each crew member. Due to the loss of a rather large crew, the new deckhands can have an entire bunkroom to themselves unless they specifically request to stay in one room, the latter often resulting from relatives, close friends, or lovers living on the same ship.
Spoiler: Bunkroom 3d model, made by our very own Enigma
Overhead view
Spoiler: Quarters 101
Bed Section
Spoiler: Quarters 102
Secretary and Wardrobe area, opposite couch
Spoiler: Quarters 103
- Bridge- The primary space in which the crew of the Arrow will meet and work.
- Common Room- Attached to the bridge, the common room is connected to the kitchen and used largely for recreation or less official meetings. It comes equipped with many tables and chairs, several televisions and computers, and the ship's store of alcohol is in close reach. The common room is a public space however, and privacy will be the last thing one can find there.
- Cargo Hold- Pretty self-explanitory. A notable section of the ship is dedicated to a rather hefty cargo hold. Melina's career as both a mercenary -and at one time a smuggler- required such an amenity on her craft.
- Hangar- The Hangar is a very small portion of the cargo hold that was at one time cordoned off from the rest, and converted into a staging area and hangar for up to two medium-sized strike craft, or three small ones. The hangars can also be converted to accommodate land vehicles, as they have needed to do so before.
- Engine room- This cramped and hot room allows access to the engines of the Arrow, and its fuel systems. The Engineers of the ship will become very familiar with the place.
- Weapons' stations- located in several places around the vessel, these allow for more manual control of the ship's weapon systems, and the ability to repair or modify them.
- Engineering Quarters- A cross between storage and a toolshed, the engineering quarters is where most of the tools and spare parts will be kept. Conveniently enough, it also often became a place for the engineering folk to gather away from the rest of the crew when such a thing was needed.
The ship itself is well armed, with multiple laser batteries and around a dozen small missile silos, and a heavy beam turret beneath the ship that emerges when out of atmosphere. The ship's extremely large engines make up much of its size, making it extremely fast for its size, especially in-atmosphere, something that its peers often lack. It carries rather run-of-the-mill shield systems and EW measures, and its hull is appreciably thick but not unusually so. At maximum capacity the ship can hold around 50 occupants, a little more than half as crew and the rest as passengers or military personnel, though it is by no means comfortable in such a state.
Spoiler: The Crew of the Gilded Arrow
Characters will be put here as they are accepted.
Melina Areleous, Captain of the Gilded Arrow, played by glmstr
Thalgan Vash, Bounty Hunter, played by Calcos
Kostya Bahvalova, Exiled Pilot, played by Enigma
Daniel 'the Kid' Mochida, Augmented Engineer, played by DCeptionM.I.A
Aeia Ida, Dancer in the Sky, played by Biophysicist
Allen 'Sweets' McGregor, Space Cowboy, played by Ottoman
Eloa Earth, Crystalline Empath, played by Minkasha
Merle 'Flash' Gordon, Firestarter, played by DerKrieger
Aledia 'Che' Guevara, Rebellious Spirit, played by BumblingBee
El'kayhna Shepard, Spirit Walker, played by The Ronin
Spoiler: Ra'Ne Vid'aan, Stellar Pilgrim, played by Savathûn“Venture forth, and expand the mind.”
General Information
Full Name: Ra’ne Vid’aan
Title: Shamaness of the Guul’Saju Tribe.
Monikers: Ra
Birthdate: 33rd Cycle of the Harvest Season
Age: 31
Gender: Female
Bloodline: Aan lineage of the Vid’Saju Dynasty
Species: Sitaare (Si-tar-ay)
Occupation: Spiritual leader, scientist, and scholar.
Social Class: low nobility, formerly high-nobility.
Orientation: Apathetically Pansexual
“My people cherish our regalia. The past, the present, and the future are all embodied in its design, how it is made, and the way it is worn. It does not hide our souls so much as frame it for others to appreciate.”
Physical Information
Apparent Age: 28
Voice: Contralto
Overall Attractiveness: Mysteriously Alluring.
Eye Color: Reddish-Orange Iris, Yellow Pupils
Glasses or Contacts: no
Hair Color: Jet black
Hairstyle: A singular braid running from the top of her forehead towards the back, coming to just shy of her shoulders
Weight: 130lb
Height: 5’10
Skin Tone: Pale Red
Dominant Feature: Her two horns, and the golden triangle centered on her face.
Psychic: Lightly telekinetic and telepathic.
“Please, ‘let’s not and say we did’ is just lazy.”
Persona
Favorites:
Color: Golden Yellow
Music: Has’oran spiritual music.
Literature: The religious and scientific texts of her world.
Expression: Angular, and aloof.
Curse: Sobak!
Mode of Transportation: No preference.
Habits:
Drinking: Occasionally
Smoking: Occasionally
Mannerisms:
Optimist or Pessimist? Optimist
Introvert or Extrovert? Introvert
Logical or Emotional? Logical
Business or Pleasure? Business, with the occasional guilty pleasure.
Confident? Yes
Animal Lover? Yes
Greatest Strength: Her drive to understand the universe around her, and with it the wisdom and knowledge that brings.
Greatest Weakness: Her focus on her pursuits, and the lack of such for anything else.
Priority: Traveling the galaxy and investigating its mysteries, primarily the source of her people’s upliftment.
Philosophy: Tribal spiritualism and brutalism mixed with a scientific curiosity.
Pressure Point: Her family’s loss of prestige among her people’s hierarchy.
Is this obvious? Sometimes, but more often than not no.
Most comfortable when Engrossed in tomes, files, and displays.
Least comfortable when Doing manual labor.
Religion: D’hany Sitaare
Political Affiliation: The Vid’aan
“We Sitaare were not unlike these ‘primitives’ three generations ago. It is unfair to look down upon those who’ve yet to be blessed by the stars yet.”
Background
Familial Relations:
Mother: Ha’Sa Vid’aan
Relations with: Loving
Father: Fa’Yi Vid’aan
Relations with: Distant, but loving
Brother(s): Ge’Ta Vid’aan
Relations with: Good
Sister(s): At’li Vid’Nai
Relations with: Strained
Homeworld: Ghar’Vishv
Type of childhood: Well off
First Memory: Painting her first shapes on the family mural.
Education: Her life has been dedicated to learning, though she spent her time in the temples and academies learning.
Biography: Ra’Ne Vid’aan was born on the three hundredth anniversary of her people’s uplifting, a sign among her family that she was perhaps destined to great things. Her noble blooded parents saw to it that they would do everything to ensure she would fulfil that destiny.
Ra’Ne’s childhood was an easy one dedicated to the preparation of entering the priesthood. Days were spent among the riverside temples, and vacations at the monasteries that dotted the mountain ranges near by. And Ra’Ne loved it. While she did enjoy the time spent with her friends, she felt truly at home among the records of her people and the tomes of the knowledge handed down to them.
She continued her studies well into her early twenties until a political whirlwind swept the kingdom of Saju as their ruler was deposed by his brother, and those who were loyal found themselves further down the rungs of nobility or stripped of their power altogether. Due to her mother’s position among the Shamans and Priests of the D’hany and her father’s political neutrality the Vid’aan were able to escape the worst of the political turmoil intact, losing only portions of their holdings and being stripped of titles rather than exiled or worse.
It was at this point that Ra’Ne had the revelation that her planet would offer no more in her quest for understanding, and would only be her detriment if she stayed. With a small portion of her family’s remaining fortune, and the commission of the D’hany priesthood to seek out the source of their uplifting, she set out into the galaxy at large as a pilgrim, a shamaness, and scholar.]
Spoiler: Baehvor, Silent Follower, played by Caer Jester
Physical Information:
Alias: Baehvor
Race of Origin: Unknown (to others)
Planet of Origin: Uknown (to others)
Age: 107
Height: 2.37 meters
Weight: 129.4 kg
BMI: 24.5
Shoulder Width: 84.4cm
Max Overhead Lift: 301 kg
400 Meter Dash Time: 61.729 seconds
Eye Sight: 6 / 1.5 meters (20/5)
Equipment
K.M.T.J.B.M.K. Scout Class Armor
- Weight of 54.4 kg
- Height of 2.4 Meters
- Full optical, visual, and audio control.
- Limited Kinetic Energy Negation Field
- Composite Hexagonal plate-mesh, similar to titanium augmented Kevlar
-Tungsten-Titanium Absorption Plated Mail
Sunrise Scatter-Lance (SSL Rapid Assualt "Shotgun")
-Plasma battery
-Fires in a + formation
-99 cm long / 5.8 kilos heavy
-Effective Range = Point Blank to 9 meters
-Ineffective Range (but still deadly) up to 20 meters
Eclipsed King's Glaive (EKG Four Round Burst Rifle)
-Rail Tech
-4 Round Burst, Initially One Round
-107 cm long / 13 kilos heavy
-Effective Range = 625 meters
-Max Range = 1.5 kilometers
Personality and Story Thus Far:
Not much is known about the crews seemingly most isolationist member. It is tall. It has not been seen without it's helmet. It refers to itself as an explorer, a cataloger, and map-maker. It rarely, if ever, leaves its quarters unless their is need for it. Rarely speaks, and if asked about it, it never seems to have any other response than that there isn't much to say. Never leaves its cabin without one of its two firearms, minimum. Always seems to be observing, or studying, the others, as if gathering notes. Its social setting always appears to be set to distant, but not cold. Calculating, but never malevolent. Overly logical, but far from robotic.
Spoiler: Character Submission
Either write out the character sheet here in the OOC, PM it to me, or link the google doc through one of the previous two methods. Telling me what "role" the character will occupy is strongly recommended, both for my sake and so that we don't get four people all wanting to do the same thing.
This is a good character sheet to work with if you need one. While it isn't required, it is something I'm familiar with and makes my job easier if it's used.
This post is extremely under construction and will be updated as time goes on.
*As you may have noticed I make frequent use of spoiler boxes, because it makes the page small and easy to navigate even once it contains loads of information.
and heres a link to the IC thread
Originally Posted by Minkasha to Clyde
Bookmarks