erikaG

Extragalactic Exploration Expedition: Survey Team II

Keep in mind my second to last post Sep.

EDIT: Whew: Took about 3 hours to get a suitable template up. I've done all I can handle for the evening. I will be sure to include some more details tomorrow, including ship design and other things that my mind is blanking on at the moment.

EDIT!: One being length of the journey.

Extragalactic Exploration Expedition: Survey Team II

Alright, the GM post happens today. If you have unfinished business, either take care of it today, in your next post, or move along.

There were only two responses from the crew on what planet we should choose: Sep highlighted the first system, Foster the last. My character ignored the message, Kessa's was told to have Ellri's send an analysis, Ellri's did an analysis but gave no comment as to which of the four were preferred. So: unless this changes, I'll flip a coin.

The next GM post will consist of details of the system to which we jump and some details about the interior of the ship. The extra-star system scan will come in towards the end of our excursion into the next system and will serve more or less as a warning that we will be moving on to the next phase.

Travel between star systems will never be more than 18-ish hours, but that detail will also be included with the initial system GM post for the sake of clarity.

Extragalactic Exploration Expedition: Survey Team II

Ah, keep forgetting to address the drone, thanks for reminding me. The way the star systems are laid out will, for the most part, be like a spider's web. Spread in several directions. "Dropping a drone in a star system" will be impossible unless we travel through that system. And if we travel there, any drone would be pointless to drop because we'd already be in the system and the sensor suite would be able to give the ship. Drones that our ship would be capable of producing would not be able to cross the gap of star systems to star system. We have only one shot at each group of systems we pass by. There is a marginal probability that some systems from the previous report will still be in range of a system-to-system jump (think FTL and it's web-like design of traveling through a sector). I forget who posted about the drone but it should be edited appropriately.

3 was spawned preemptively. I don't want anyone making assumptions. And a lot of it has to do with my style of GMing these kinds of things. I prefer to be laid back and only address things when necessary, as opposed to regulating every action characters take. I would prefer action to be seamless and idiomatic to characterization rather than me having to die roll (though you folks are more than welcome to die roll your actions on your own if you feel that to be appropriate).

As for your meal: eh, give or take. Jason could always have snuck food out of the galley, or snuck it aboard the ship on his own, for that matter. I'll leave it up to you.

Extragalactic Exploration Expedition: Survey Team II

No worries Ink Blood, no IC posts yet so we won't have to do any workarounds. Thanks for letting us know.

EDIT: Everyone else, get your posts in. By the end of next week I'll jump us ahead to the next system. Consider this to essentially be a time skip. This will happen every time we are to move on to the next system. It'll help to keep things moving and the dialogue a little more fresh.

A couple of things I've decided since we've started:

1. Food can only be obtained from the galley. It might be recycled, it might be hydroponic, but it must be obtained and eaten there.

2. There will always be a human presence on the bridge of the ship. Considering the pilot/captain can only be awake and at his post for a limited amount of hours per day, this means that rotating shifts will have to occur. Could be anyone, and will likely happen specifically at down times when no piloting decisions need to be made (so kind of like an over-glorified desk-job).

3. Everyone aboard the ship is talented in some way, and likely crafty, each in their own way. DO NOT assume that just because you intend for something to happen does not mean that the desired outcome will occur. Because this scenario is based almost solely off of the interactions of the crew, if an action is taken, a response is required, no exceptions. Think instead how your character will appropriately react and act to their own accord.

In the next "GM" post I will come up with a geographic description of the inside of the ship. I would prefer to do this as an image as opposed to simply describing it because there are always things lost in translation or interpreted incorrectly. However, I have very poor image editing skills, could someone help me out with this? Or is there a great tool out there for ship design anyone know of?

Extragalactic Exploration Expedition: Survey Team II

Semantics.

We want something that we can easily relate to and comprehend as writers.

Extragalactic Exploration Expedition: Survey Team II

If it would help you to write your IC post in tandem with expanding your cs, that's fine. It doesn't have to be back story heavy, mostly personality.

Extragalactic Exploration Expedition: Survey Team II

Ink Blood: Looks good so far. Just be careful going forward that you aren't light in detail. I don't mind brief cs's (we all did them too), but aside from a few quirks, it's kind of difficult to get a good sense of the character. Of course, I purposefully want time to be spent on IC not extraneous details, but as long as everyone else can infer what they need to from your guy, then we'll be good. And, of course, I designed this rp for character building, not so much for the plot, so getting a greater understanding of your character is integral to how everything will function.

Sep/Kessa: I agree mostly with Kessa. Psychologists who see to the needs of superior officers or those who hold high positions in any government are always given top security clearances to be able to better relate with their patients. On top of that, if the concern is that the two characters are cross-faction, I highly doubt that any faction would approve for a being of an opposing faction to be placed aboard the ship without having said person's full specs. While that info might not be privy to everyone in the crew (and honestly I doubt any of the other characters aboard the ship would even care), it certainly would be for the psychologist. And while the specifics of missions might be censored, mission reports aren't likely to be relevant information to psychologists anyway. Joard instead likely has access to previous psych evals and basic details that he would need to form his own ongoing evaluations. So as far as "classified" information, I doubt very highly that Joard wouldn't have access to that information.

I do, however, believe that it is possible that a faction would secretly omit portions of such a spec sheet from being seen by members of other factions. Miscommunication and the withholding of information between governments (specifically without the opposing governments knowing that information was withheld) happens quite frequently, and wouldn't surprise me in the least for anyone who boarded these ships.

If you want to take that route, Sep, I don't have a problem with it. But, keep in mind: this guy is trained as a psychologist, and while he wouldn't have mission specs, if anything was omitted from a psych eval, I would imagine the guy to be savvy enough to figure it out for himself (especially considering the guy is OCD). Additionally, I would have to question what information would be so important as to warrant such an omission.

So, in short, it's possible, but run it by me first.

Extragalactic Exploration Expedition: Survey Team II

I would be ok with a crazy psychiatrist. Just... there wouldn't necessarily be meds available. It would be more of a psychologist.

Extragalactic Exploration Expedition: Survey Team II

There isn't really much need for internal security. The crew is small and even if they fought amongst each other, the corporations in charge of putting together the crews would only use that as more fuel to the reality-tv fire they're stoking back in the Milky Way, almost to the point of encouraging squabbles (possibly even to the point of placing specific members of intergalactic teams against each other). As far as external security goes, it's a scout ship. Even if they were to come across a hostile species, they would be stupid to engage in any form or fashion, and the number of actual "away party" type missions are likely to be few and far between.

It is a typical role that is, in some ways, missing from what we have, but I don't think the scope really justifies having a more military-minded character.

Extragalactic Exploration Expedition: Survey Team II

You absolutely need a "job." This isn't a cruise with a buffet line. Everyone has ulterior motives for why they are aboard the ship but they also serve general and specific roles aboard the vessel. If your character doesn't have a role (and I would prefer something about that role to be specific regardless of whatever other general things of which they are capable), then they serve no purpose being on the ship.