@Xandrya Ohh a Psychologist, adding serious suppressed PTS to my character...

Okay, so still working on the 20 inhabited systems of the USF, but I did add details to Tau Ceti, Epsilon Indi, and Epsilon Eridani if anyone would like to add on to them.

Small edit: I've just been a bit slow due to some personal issues, work, and my health, so I apologize.

Can I add a little lore to the Kore Soteira? I feel like the one I wrote before isn't detail enough.

Can I add a little lore to the Kore Soteira? I feel like the one I wrote before isn't detail enough.

Add lore about life and culture [+]

Life and custom in Soteira:
Since the first landing in 2158, people here have been contending with the extreme environment of this planet. The first settlers would rely heavily on life support technology and live only in the highly closed off base. Over time, they would slowly adapt to the planet’s gravity and temperature, and once the new generation was born they know something special happens. The newly born of Kore Soteira has significantly denser bone structure than the regular earth born one. So as harsh as it may sound, the plan to slowly reduce life support operations on Kore Soteira slowly began. The primary reason is to cut the cost of planet’s upkeep even lower, but the second and more secretive reason is an attempt from the USF to study the change in human biology under another planet’s influence, with the hope of making subspecies of human that would be suitable for each and other planet in the future.

Kore Soteira is a recent settlement. For most of its time, it has had a very sparse population consisting mostly of the USF officers, quantum computer managers and engineers, and careers in support of the USF base operation. Just less than ten years ago others such as biogenetic experts, tourists, and the second generation started adding to the pool of citizens, changing it to a true nation with its own culture rather than just another government’s base of operation.

Most cities still had a population in the unit of thousands, which revolved around the USF base as a center. The further you go from the base center, the less like earth it will become, with more harsh temperature and gravity. Visitors can only live in the base, requiring rigid training and endurance tests before they can be allowed to wander outside of the safe zone. The bases themselves are located under a thick layer of ice that melts only in summertime, transforming to the underwater base. It is said that within a hundred years, the population of Kore Soteira might change enough to be able to swim in the ocean without a life supporting suit.

The most important time of the year for people living here is, of course, the summer. It is when the ice melts into water and most crops can grow without relying on too much expensive technology. Their most important festivals include ‘The Last Snow Festival’ which celebrates the coming of summertime, and ‘The Lost Month’ which is the time when Soteira orbits outside the heat zone, thus making it too cold for most people to work, it is also their planetary holiday month.

Alright, should be fine now to edit yourself now. Don't use Google Docs as much, so for some reason, thought you'd be able to edit regardless lol

@Penny add away! I'll be looking forward to future sessions.

@Xandrya

Dr Sorens: And how does that make you feel?
Kashvi: Don't say kill them all
Dr Sorens: Do you realise you said that out loud?
Kashvi: ... I had not.

@Xandrya

Dr Sorens: And how does that make you feel?
Kashvi: Don't say kill them all
Dr Sorens: Do you realise you said that out loud?
Kashvi: ... I had not.

Martin's Session meanwhile

Martin: I'm sorry for wasting your time, Dr. Sorens, but there is nothing for us to talk about.

Dr. Sorens: *Has the official documentation of the raider attack of his family's fleet that left him an only survivor* Oh really, Dr. Schrier

Added Anna to the roster with some misc additions. :)

Also decided to go through with making her the Chief Medical Officer. She may not like it, but her pragmatism saves lives... probably.

<Snipped quote by Redking0380>

Okay, but as it stands, you not serious CS does not work with the rp. I can be okay with comedic characters as long as they make sense for the rp. Which yours does not, so my decision stands.

<Snipped quote by Xandrya>

Accepted

Well, how about after I edited it?

Well, how about after I edited it?

Okay, better and after thinking about it. Accepted.

Aaand... Edited Anna back to her preferred, non-managing role. :P

<Snipped quote by Penny>

Martin's Session meanwhile

Martin: I'm sorry for wasting your time, Dr. Sorens, but there is nothing for us to talk about.

Dr. Sorens: *Has the official documentation of the raider attack of his family's fleet that left him an only survivor* Oh really, Dr. Schrier

Turns out everyone's some kind of messed up because the Pathfinders are considered so risky it might as well be a suicide mission and no one wanted to risk the good personnel.

<Snipped quote by Redking0380>

Okay, better and after thinking about it. Accepted.

Yippee!

So my character's CS is done so I will now start working on the IC.

Finally free to get to writing up.

Douglas Hobbs - Chief Engineer [+]

Douglas 'Hobby' Hobbs

Gender

Male

Age

61

Appearance

Hobbs is built like a fireplug, short, stout and pugnacious. Heavy set and heavily muscled he sports an unkempt beard and mustache that are way outside regulation. His body is covered with thick callouses from a lifetime of rubbing raw against vac suits. Burns and scars cover his thick set body from years spent working in hostile conditions and ignoring OHSA regulations. His red hair is speckled with gray and has begun to thin. He compensates for this by keeping it closely cropped and by sporting a bristling beard and mustache that are way outside navy regulations. He has piercing blue eyes and smile lines which crinkle his face.

Personality

Salt of the Earth is the most common description of Hobbs’ personality, which is kind of annoying as he has never been to Earth nor spent much time on planets of any kind. He is cheerful and jolly almost to a fault and possesses a can-do attitude which causes his crews to despair as he will cheerfully volunteer for them to work triple shifts to get the job done, the only consolation being that he will be there himself, leading the effort. Possessed of a sharp wit, a salty vocabulary, and a plethora of old spacer stories, Hobbs unrelenting optimism tends to rub off. On the flip side Hobbs has little respect for formal hierarchies and can be quite scathing when people intrude into his area of expertise, he has developed a colorful vocabulary in nearly sixty years of kicking around the galaxy and will deploy it liberally at need.

Role

As Chief Engineer Hobbs is responsible for the mechanical operation of the ship, conducting maintenance, damage control, and emergency repairs. He is also expected to be called upon to fabricate new equipment to meet any need in the field.

Skills

Maintenance and operation of ships systems
Improvisation. One of the key reasons Hobbs was assigned was for his ability to make do with improvised solutions and jury rigs.
Engineering. Hobbs has both a practical and a theoretical grasp of most technology used on USF ships and space installations.
Zero-G Miner. Hobbs grew up working in the mining fleets and is an expert at asteroid mining, stellar geology, and working in low and zero-g environments.
Strong. Grampa be jacked.
Pugalist. While the Marquis of Queensbury would object, it cannot be denied that Hobbs can handle himself in a fist fight.

Personal Belongings/Equipment

Utility Armor - A suit of powered armor designed for damage control, mining, and other hazardous tasks. Included a built in fusion cutter.
Algae Tattoos - A legacy from his mining days, Hobbs has tattoos which change color in response to various air contaminants and low oxygen conditions.
Tool kit - Issued, looted, stolen, or fabricated, Hobbs has the tool for the job… if he can find it.

Background

Hobbs is space born, the son of miners in the resource rich belts of Epsilon Eridani. Epsilon Eridani lacks terrestrial planets although the system's sole gas giant does have several small moons similar to those of Jupiter. Most of the system's inhabitants, including the Hobbs family, are involved in resource extraction from the vast asteroid belts and stellar dust clouds. Douglas grew up on shifts and in asteroid mining rigs, learning the trade on the job with a minimum of formal education. He showed an early aptitude for mechanical tasks and thrived in an environment where keeping a drill running another month, or retrofitting a mass driver could mean the difference between success and ruin.

The mining life was rough and violence, drugs, and hard drinking were common. During his early twenties Douglas was involved in a drunken fight that seriously injured several miners and partially depressurized a mining rig. Rather than face retribution from his fellows he signed on a merchant ship as an engine wiper and spent the next several years on a succession of freighters crisscrossing human space. A quick learner, he rapidly became an expert on propulsion systems. He was a popular crewmate, always quick with a joke, and always willing to jump in during a crisis. A succession of chief engineers encouraged him to pursue a formal education, something that long space voyages provided ample time for. Although it took some convincing to get him to move from the engine room to the classroom he eventually completed enough coursework to earn his master engineers ticket and was subsequently granted a naval reserve commission.

During the Barnard Emergency Hobbs was called up to serve as Engineer on the USF Phoencian. The Phoenican was inbound to Barnard when the mutiny occurred and suffered several railgun hits which gutted the light cruiser. Tumbling ballistic towards the star in a shroud of her own gasses the mutineers left the ship for dead. With the bridge and most of the forward sections vaporized, Hobbs found himself in command of the survivors of his engine room crew and the handful of other specialists who survived. Working from the few airtight compartments that remained, they worked around the clock, racing to restore propulsion before the ship fell too deeply into the gravity well to escape. Half cannibalizing what was left of the ship, the surviving crew were able to jury rig the engines just long enough to avert destruction, turning a terminal plunge into a long eclectic orbit. Fighting the void, failing systems, and complete exhaustion, they managed to hang on against all odds until a USF relief flotilla arrived to take them off the wreck.

In the aftermath of the disaster the Phoenican became something of a cause celeb, the tale of survival one of the few bright spots that the brass could point to in order to distract attention from the other issues at Barnard’s Star. Hobbs, lacking the polish of a career officer, was something of a PR disaster, being far too blunt and outspoken for holo-news. It was felt that a posting to the Pathfinder Initiative would be a boon to all parties, giving the Arcadian an engineer experienced in making bricks without straw, and removing the ugly irascible little man from the public eye.

Miscellaneous

It is a semi public secret that Hobbs runs a still in engineering, on the theory that spacers will always find booze and at least this way he knows about it.
The accent of Epsilon Eridani bears some similarities to the Scottish Highlands of Earth.

Accepted

So in case anyone is wondering and haven't checked the Google Docs, here is a compiled list of the inhabited systems. I am willing to accept ideas for inhabited colonies in any of these systems.

1) Sol System (obviously)
2) Alpha Centauri, a triple star system. All three stars will have at least one inhabited colony. I created a planed called Eden that orbits Alpha Centauri A. Proxima B is likely inhabitable IRL, so will likely include it.
3) Gliese 514. Unsure about including Gliese 514b due to its eccentric orbit that brings it in and out of the habitable zone, but will still keep it as an inhabited system. Might create a new planet here.
4) Barnard's Star. Currently, IRL, none of its four planets are in the habitable zone. They are too close, but the system will still be claimed.
5) Wolf 1061. There are three confirmed planets IRL, with a super-Earth is located near the inner edge of habitable zone.
6) Sirius. A binary system with two white star orbiting a distance of 20 AU. Sirius A is a main sequence, while Sirius B is a white dwarf. Will likely come up with a handful of planets, as there are not planets discovered IRL.
7) Tau Ceti. An inhabited planet will be here. It is a desert planet that was once inhabited by a reptilian species. Evidence does show this reptilian species' civilization. Archaeology is underway as to what happened to them due to them being extinct. The planet is the second closest planet and its year is about half as long as Earth's year.
8) Epsilon Indi. Another desert planet with a similar history to Tau Ceti. However, this civilization is separate from the reptilians of Tau Ceti.
9) Epsilon Eridani. This system is relatively new compared to many other systems, but has the potential for habitable Earth-like bodies.
10) Ross 128. IRL, currently only has one planet with reduced chances of habitability and is also tidally locked.
11) Gliese 667 is a triple star system. All three a smaller than the Sun. AB orbit each other, with the greatest distance at 20 AU and the closest at 5 AU. C orbits the pair at about 230 AU. IRL, C is the only star in this system with confirmed planets, with two being confirmed Super-Earths
12) 47 Ursae Majoris. Three confirmed planets IRL. The first is a gas giant 2.53 times the mass of Jupiter and takes about 3 years to orbit 47UMa; the second takes 6.55 years; and the third takes 38.33 years. IRL, any terrestrial planets may have been disrupted during their development due to 47 UMab. Thus, any habitable planets/moons could be desert/arid worlds unless they are terraformed.
13) Gamma Cephei is a binary system. Gamma A is named Errai and is a K1 giant/subgiant star. Gamma B is a red dwarf. An exoplanet named Tadmor is confirmed IRL. It is potentially in the habitable zone.
14) Xi Bootis is a binary system with a G-type star that is 88% mass and 82% radius of our sun, and a K-type that is 66% of our sun's mass and 61% of its radius. No confirmed planets IRL.
15) Sigma Draconis is a main sequence dwarf. No confirmed planets IRL.
16) Gliese 876 is a red dwarf with about 35% of our sun's mass. Four confirmed planets: G876 d, the innermost with a of 6.7 times that of Earth; G876 c, 0.74 times the mass of Jupiter and is in the habitable zone and takes about 30 days; G876 B, about twice the mass of Jupiter and takes about 61 days; and G876 e is the size of Uranus and is the furthest, taking 124 days to make a complete orbit.
17) 82 Eridani is a main sequence star and hosts three confirmed planets and a dust disk IRL. It is slightly smaller than our sun. The planets are super Earths, but their orbits last 90 days or less.
18) Delta Pavonis is slightly larger in mass, radius, and brightness than our sun, but has less temperature and is expected to start the process of becoming a red giant. No confirmed planets IRL.
19) Kepler-22. The furthest system colonized by humanity. The colony is called Swanhilde.
20) Lalande 21185 is the brightest red dwarf in Earth's northern hemisphere. Two confirmed planers, one unconfirmed IRL, with all three outside the habitable zone.

So in case anyone is wondering and haven't checked the Google Docs, here is a compiled list of the inhabited systems. I am willing to accept ideas for inhabited colonies in any of these systems.

1) Sol System (obviously)
2) Alpha Centauri, a triple star system. All three stars will have at least one inhabited colony. I created a planed called Eden that orbits Alpha Centauri A. Proxima B is likely inhabitable IRL, so will likely include it.
3) Gliese 514. Unsure about including Gliese 514b due to its eccentric orbit that brings it in and out of the habitable zone, but will still keep it as an inhabited system. Might create a new planet here.
4) Barnard's Star. Currently, IRL, none of its four planets are in the habitable zone. They are too close, but the system will still be claimed.
5) Wolf 1061. There are three confirmed planets IRL, with a super-Earth is located near the inner edge of habitable zone.
6) Sirius. A binary system with two white star orbiting a distance of 20 AU. Sirius A is a main sequence, while Sirius B is a white dwarf. Will likely come up with a handful of planets, as there are not planets discovered IRL.
7) Tau Ceti. An inhabited planet will be here. It is a desert planet that was once inhabited by a reptilian species. Evidence does show this reptilian species' civilization. Archaeology is underway as to what happened to them due to them being extinct. The planet is the second closest planet and its year is about half as long as Earth's year.
8) Epsilon Indi. Another desert planet with a similar history to Tau Ceti. However, this civilization is separate from the reptilians of Tau Ceti.
9) Epsilon Eridani. This system is relatively new compared to many other systems, but has the potential for habitable Earth-like bodies.
10) Ross 128. IRL, currently only has one planet with reduced chances of habitability and is also tidally locked.
11) Gliese 667 is a triple star system. All three a smaller than the Sun. AB orbit each other, with the greatest distance at 20 AU and the closest at 5 AU. C orbits the pair at about 230 AU. IRL, C is the only star in this system with confirmed planets, with two being confirmed Super-Earths
12) 47 Ursae Majoris. Three confirmed planets IRL. The first is a gas giant 2.53 times the mass of Jupiter and takes about 3 years to orbit 47UMa; the second takes 6.55 years; and the third takes 38.33 years. IRL, any terrestrial planets may have been disrupted during their development due to 47 UMab. Thus, any habitable planets/moons could be desert/arid worlds unless they are terraformed.
13) Gamma Cephei is a binary system. Gamma A is named Errai and is a K1 giant/subgiant star. Gamma B is a red dwarf. An exoplanet named Tadmor is confirmed IRL. It is potentially in the habitable zone.
14) Xi Bootis is a binary system with a G-type star that is 88% mass and 82% radius of our sun, and a K-type that is 66% of our sun's mass and 61% of its radius. No confirmed planets IRL.
15) Sigma Draconis is a main sequence dwarf. No confirmed planets IRL.
16) Gliese 876 is a red dwarf with about 35% of our sun's mass. Four confirmed planets: G876 d, the innermost with a of 6.7 times that of Earth; G876 c, 0.74 times the mass of Jupiter and is in the habitable zone and takes about 30 days; G876 B, about twice the mass of Jupiter and takes about 61 days; and G876 e is the size of Uranus and is the furthest, taking 124 days to make a complete orbit.
17) 82 Eridani is a main sequence star and hosts three confirmed planets and a dust disk IRL. It is slightly smaller than our sun. The planets are super Earths, but their orbits last 90 days or less.
18) Delta Pavonis is slightly larger in mass, radius, and brightness than our sun, but has less temperature and is expected to start the process of becoming a red giant. No confirmed planets IRL.
19) Kepler-22. The furthest system colonized by humanity. The colony is called Swanhilde.
20) Lalande 21185 is the brightest red dwarf in Earth's northern hemisphere. Two confirmed planers, one unconfirmed IRL, with all three outside the habitable zone.

*rubs hands* As you can see from Swanhilde, I definitely am not opposed to some worldbuilding.

We should keep Gliese 514 b as we do have @Cmmelody's Kore Soteria already developed to be an AI/Computer Tech leading planet with very unique seasons. Perhaps there could discussions there about how exactly that works out with the planet.

Then also don't forget @Starlance's Pomona being on Wolf 1061c as our main mining and manufacturing colony with most inhabitants having a dwarven existence.

As for ideas for the other colonies, obviously there should be major archeological settlements where there are signs of aliens civilizations, likely with black market activities around them as well as illicit treasure hunters seek to make a fortune from selling what they steal from the sites to wealthy collectors or seek to find remnants of alien tech and weaponry to be reverse-engineered by pirates. Then also there will probably be some rich idiots visiting dig sites just to sight see actual alien ruins, and those guys along with the archeologists will also draw traders who'll come set up shop in order to supply the archeologists and any other travelers with anything they can't otherwise get. Those traders though will likely be heavily restricted though in how they set up as of course, the USF and the archeologists won't want any traces of the aliens accidently erased. But from those traders, especially those that find an oasis of some sort or find someone to develop a reliable way to find water, settlements could rise around them and start to flourish. It could especially be fun to have some of those settlements, especially major cities, be mostly if not completely underground to stay out of the sun's rays or if some settlements have switched to being mostly active at night so that they can rest during the heat.

As for other places, I would propose some of the smaller outer rim ice planets like Pluto or similar moons of gas giants could be used as relay points. With how the USF is spreading out, having a line of communication is key. And if computers are involved in anyway, the ice planets would be good for contrasting the computer's heat. Otherwise, they could just end up being a good place to set up space stations that service ships and refuel them.

Gamma Cephei's Tadmor could have potential to be another good farming planet, one that's more farm focused rather than Swanhilde's sea focused. Given the population sizes we're talking about and all the potential for trouble, having at least three planets that can reliably grow food would be a huge boon for the USF (though they'd certainly want more if they could get them as while there's a lot of metals and other resources out there, there's not a lot of food so far). And since the USF would be working hard to make sure their second major source of food is protected (as Swanhilde is just too far out to really focus resources on), Tadmor would be the 'idyllic but safe' planet where most inhabitants' focus are on growing crops and selling them, but would also be a place where artists would start to flourish as they'd be within enough abundance so that there are people that can focus on art. The binary star system aspect could also add interesting dilemmas to the farming aspect, especially in how it affects the seasons for growing crops. But also be a great muse for the artists looking up at the sky. There could also be possibly be some land dedicated to 'safaris' where wild animals and plants are let loose to act as a secondary preservation of Earth's various organisms in case something should go wrong there.

But if you don't like that idea for Tadmor, it could be adapted for another system or two. I do vote that the USF needs at least one more farming-oriented planet in order to help subsidize those planets that can't grow their own food along with the mining operations on asteroids and the like. And that there should be some planets that can get terraformed enough to where they can at self-reliant in a pinch if everything should collapse tomorrow.

I would also suggest that one if not more of the not quite habitable planets could be made into an experimental testing grounds for weaponry, spaceships, and other such tech for the USF and/or other corporations. This way, such testing wouldn't have any chance of going wrong on an actually populated planet and it could be tightly monitored for secrecy.

There are also definitely pirate hideouts within some of the asteroid belts and using un-colonized worlds that are survivable with a space suit. But of course, they prefer to be able to breath and so Swanhilde and other colonized planets with areas that aren't very inhabited are their preferred hiding spots.

Now I'm interested in making my second character someone who grew up among the archeological digs of Tau Ceti, only reluctantly left in order to become an official archeologist like her parents, then joins the Arcadian for the chance that the ship meets descendants of those aliens or a new alien species entirely...Hmm...

Edit:
Thought for sure we had a xeno-archeology division under the civilian roles given that we do have alien ruins and the USF might expect more to be out there. Perhaps geology could work for her main job, or she could become a signals officer...

Also, I just noticed the astrogeography position. I'm presuming that those are the guys actually charting the star systems as they go? If no one applies for that role, could Martin also take up that position? That would suit him very well.