TheMadAsshatter

The Nomad, a sci-fi epic.

So, quick question regarding ship technology. How is long-distance transportation accomplished? Do all ships use a warp/jump drive, or are only larger ships capable of jumping between systems, with smaller ships being restricted to using jump gates or something?

The Nomad, a sci-fi epic.

@Catharyn Alright alright alright, let's get this shit going.

The Nomad, a sci-fi epic.

I've made the desired modifications and posted my character in the CS tab.

The Nomad, a sci-fi epic.

LT Natalia "Lynx" Aprilia

Full Name:
Natalia Jade Aprilia

AKA:
Nat / "The Lynx"

Callsign:
Lynx

Species:
Human

Gender:
Female

Height:
168cm (5'6")

Weight:
58kg (128lbs)

Hair:
Blond (dyed with black streaks)

Eyes:
Green

Age:
27

Vocation:
Pilot (Freelance/Nova Odessa Knights)

History:
Natalia was born and raised on a world called Nova Odessa, the second planet of five in the Rostov system (formerly known as Gliese-180). She enjoyed the benefits of living on a planet with a strong trade economy, and lived very comfortably with her parents for most of her early childhood. Unlike many of the residents of Nova Odessa, she lived in a small community some distance from the capital. Even so, it wasn't uncommon to see ships flying towards the somewhat closer spaceport, and Natalia was always captivated and enthralled by the sight of a ship or aerospace fighter. She decided at an early stage in life that she needed to fly one of these craft.

Of course, news of the Nomad had reached her parents not long after she was born. They tried their best to keep such information from her, but it was only a matter of time until a sizeable colony was destroyed hundreds of light years away, and by then it was impossible not to know about it.

As she progressed through secondary school, the death toll grew exponentially as the Nomad proceeded through colonized space. Natalia became angry and determined to help stop it. Shortly before she turned 16, she reached out to the New Odessa Knights to express her desire to join the militia. As expected, they were more than willing to accept whomever they could get. She voiced an interest in being a pilot and was given preparatory classes to take throughout what remained of her secondary education, and began talking with a Navy fighter pilot. He saw great potential in Natalia, and trained her as best as he could before she finished school and entered the Knights Naval Piloting Program and began working to earn her commission.

Three years later, she emerged near the top of her class. She was a natural pilot and was given her choice of light vessels to fly. She opted to fly fighters, and volunteered to serve at the front lines of the war with the Nomad. She was a very confident flyer and proved herself in the next few months. Her confidence was contagious, and she earned a reputation among fighter jockeys everywhere, even UWSC pilots. She soon found herself at the head of fighter elements on a regular basis, leading other Knights along with UWSC forces against the Nomad's slaves and AIs. Throughout these years, she'd lose many friends and subordinates, but despite this she still found herself gaining a growing group of loyal followers, all members of the Knights. She became a quite famous ace pilot in the next few years. The name Lynx became one that every pilot had heard, and her very presence was enough to inspire confidence in her flightmates.

Of course, by this point the Nomad had made it deep into Human space, and was closing on Natalia's home system fast. Each battle she grew more anxious, erratic, and desperate. It came to a head when the Nomad's fleet arrived in the region, just days from Nova Odessa. Natalia had returned to her home planet some time beforehand to help train newer pilots in what to expect when facing the Nomad's forces. Though they weren't unprepared from a training and preparation perspective, there's still nothing that prepares one who is facing a seemingly unstoppable enemy who is about to destroy their entire planet. Natalia was temporarily promoted to Lieutenant Commander, with the understanding that the rank and position would only last for the duration of the battle, and was given command of the entire 76th Knights Aggressor Squadron. They had gone over their plans repeatedly in preparation, and were poised to defend the system at a moment's notice for over a week. Around that same time, Nova Odessa began a full scale evacuation of all civilians and nonessential military personnel.

Roughly a week after the evacuation began, the Nomad arrived. The evacuation was still underway, and another squadron was tasked with defending any vessels trying to escape. Even still, even knowing well in advance that the Nomad would soon reach them, Natalia couldn't help but fear for those still being evacuated, and knowing, after years of losing battles, she was all but certain this would be no different. As expected, losses occurred ceaselessly. Still, Natalia came out alive when so many others didn't. The battle lasted for four hours before Nova Odessa was slagged by one of the massive world destroyers. Only 80% of the civilian population was successfully evacuated, and Natalia had lost nearly everyone in the 76th Knights Aggressors. Not long after the planet was completely burned, what remained of the Knights and UWSC forces were ordered to disengage and fall back. Natalia discovered soon after that both of her parents hadn't been evacuated yet.

Natalia became distant, quiet, and distracted after the battle of Rostov. On top of her parents, Natalia had lost every other pilot whom she considered close to her, with the exception of one, and he became just as sullen after the battle. Them and a handful of others were all that remained of the New Odessa Knights. Even still, she had become a symbol of what the Knights were capable of. People were begging her to keep fighting, but after losing everything she had, she didn't know if she still had it in her. She kept flying, but her confidence was shot. What was left of her chain of command recognized this and sidelined her, along with many of the other Knights. They were sent to Earth to train until the final battle.

Natalia was thrown into the fray once more when the Nomad's forces finally arrived, and Natalia was placed in command of what was left of the Knights. All 17 of them. All still fiercely loyal to Natalia. In the moments leading up to the battle, Natalia found herself inspired by her comrades' continued trust in her, and was able to bring herself to focus on the fight one more time. They all fought with everything they had in the battle, despite the insurmountable odds and the inevitable destruction of humanity's home, or maybe because of it. They left everything they had in that battle, but just when it seemed the Nomad's forces were preparing to glass Earth, they just stopped.

In the aftermath it turned out that Natalia didn't lose a single Knight, and immediately after it was confirmed that the entire Nomad fleet was disabled, Natalia took her ship and, along with the rest of the Knights, mounted a search and rescue mission for anyone who may have been left stranded in the Rostov system.

After reporting back that they didn't find anything but some leftover infrastructure on Petrovsk, they were awarded the highest honors by the remnants of Nova Odessa's government and high-ranking military members, as well as given several commendations by the UWSC for their actions, and were given the option to be honorably discharged on the spot. Several stayed, but Natalia and a handful of the remaining 17 Knights split off to find work elsewhere. They were all given their own ships by the New Odessa government, and many struck out on their own to help other colonies get back on their feet.

Valued possessions:
Nat wears a ring with her dogtags as a reminder of her home.

Miscellaneous:
Natalia speaks with a slight Ukrainian accent, and is a good singer.

IF-39B Interceptor "Northwind Tempest" (Natalia's Interceptor)

Natalia's Armor/flight suit

Nova Odessa

Nova Odessa was a terrestrial world, somewhat smaller than Earth and with a gravitational pull 85% that of Earth, along with an atmosphere about 77% as dense as Earth's, but with a very similar composition. Though quite a bit colder than Earth, with the average temperature being approximately 13 degrees centigrade colder, it was quite comfortable within 35 degrees latitude of the equator, and with an axial tilt of only 15 degrees as opposed to 23, the difference in seasons was far more subtle outside of the tropics. Everything above 56 degrees latitude was almost constantly covered in ice and snow, and as such was virtually inhospitable. There was also far less surface water; only about 48% of the surface was water (both in solid and liquid form), and as such the majority of the landmass was a massive continent wrapping around the planet.

Nova Odessa, and the Rostov system in general, was an important center of trade and commerce for the region, being a central hub for roughly 30 neighboring systems. As such, economic activity was high, and most who lived in the system enjoyed a steady living and good living conditions, regardless of what their occupation was. The capital of Nova Odessa, Svoboda, was by far the largest city on the planet, and home to roughly 50% of the system's inhabitants, with another 30% living in the outlying communities on Nova Odessa. The remaining 20% lived on orbital stations and mining settlements on other planets in the system.

The government of Rostov consisted of at least one elected official from both Nova Odessa and Petrovsk, the third planet in the system, and second most populous, along with three additional officials from either planet. Once the council is filled, a vote is conducted to determine the president and the vice-president. This council served as the government, though they were very restricted in what they could do. Common law is the only law; all the council does is serve as the final word in things such as economic concerns, civil disputes, and military control. That being said, Rostov maintained a strong and well-trained militia within the system, known as the New Odessa Knights, or simply the Knights, who served as a peacekeeping force, as well as a vanguard in the unlikely case that a neighboring system attempted to invade. This was separate from, but in the same interests as the UWG military, and it wasn't uncommon for units within the Knights to be sent to augment UWG forces in minor conflicts, and military participation spiked with the appearance of the Nomad.

Unfortunately, Nova Odessa was destroyed in the war, approximately 7 months before the Nomad was defeated. 80% of the inhabitants were evacuated, but the planet was rendered completely uninhabitable as a result, though the system is in the process of rebuilding some infrastructure on Petrovsk, as well as constructing a large station in orbit around the planet. The hull of a destroyed warship in orbit over Nova Odessa was repurposed to act as a memorial, with the names of everyone killed when Rostov was invaded, civilians and military alike.

The Nomad, a sci-fi epic.

Warning: The History section is quite a mouthful.

LT Natalia "Lynx" Aprilia

Full Name:
Natalia Jade Aprilia

AKA:
Nat / "The Lynx"

Callsign:
Lynx

Species:
Human

Gender:
Female

Age:
27

Vocation:
Pilot (Freelance/Nova Odessa Knights)

History:
Natalia was born and raised on a world called Nova Odessa, the second planet of five in the Rostov system (formerly known as Gliese-180). She enjoyed the benefits of living on a planet with a strong trade economy, and lived very comfortably with her parents for most of her early childhood. Unlike many of the residents of Nova Odessa, she lived in a small community some distance from the capital. Even so, it wasn't uncommon to see ships flying towards the somewhat closer spaceport, and Natalia was always captivated and enthralled by the sight of a ship or aerospace fighter. She decided at an early stage in life that she needed to fly one of these craft.

Of course, news of the Nomad had reached her parents not long after she was born. They tried their best to keep such information from her, but it was only a matter of time until a sizeable colony was destroyed hundreds of light years away, and by then it was impossible not to know about it.

As she progressed through secondary school, the death toll grew exponentially as the Nomad proceeded through colonized space. Natalia became angry and determined to help stop it. Shortly before she turned 16, she reached out to the New Odessa Knights to express her desire to join the militia. As expected, they were more than willing to accept whomever they could get. She voiced an interest in being a pilot and was given preparatory classes to take throughout what remained of her secondary education, and began talking with a Navy fighter pilot. He saw great potential in Natalia, and trained her as best as he could before she finished school and entered the Knights Naval Piloting Program and began working to earn her commission.

Three years later, she emerged near the top of her class. She was a natural pilot and was given her choice of light vessels to fly. She opted to fly fighters, and volunteered to serve at the front lines of the war with the Nomad. She was a very confident flyer and proved herself in the next few months. Her confidence was contagious, and she earned a reputation among fighter jockeys everywhere, even UWSC pilots. She soon found herself at the head of fighter elements on a regular basis, leading other Knights along with UWSC forces against the Nomad's slaves and AIs. Throughout these years, she'd lose many friends and subordinates, but despite this she still found herself gaining a growing group of loyal followers, all members of the Knights. She became a quite famous ace pilot in the next few years. The name Lynx became one that every pilot had heard, and her very presence was enough to inspire confidence in her flightmates.

Of course, by this point the Nomad had made it deep into Human space, and was closing on Natalia's home system fast. Each battle she grew more anxious, erratic, and desperate. It came to a head when the Nomad's fleet arrived in the region, just days from Nova Odessa. Natalia had returned to her home planet some time beforehand to help train newer pilots in what to expect when facing the Nomad's forces. Though they weren't unprepared from a training and preparation perspective, there's still nothing that prepares one who is facing a seemingly unstoppable enemy who is about to destroy their entire planet. Natalia was temporarily promoted to Lieutenant Commander, with the understanding that the rank and position would only last for the duration of the battle, and was given command of the entire 76th Knights Aggressor Squadron. They had gone over their plans repeatedly in preparation, and were poised to defend the system at a moment's notice for over a week. Around that same time, Nova Odessa began a full scale evacuation of all civilians and nonessential military personnel.

Roughly a week after the evacuation began, the Nomad arrived. The evacuation was still underway, and another squadron was tasked with defending any vessels trying to escape. Even still, even knowing well in advance that the Nomad would soon reach them, Natalia couldn't help but fear for those still being evacuated, and knowing, after years of losing battles, she was all but certain this would be no different. As expected, losses occurred ceaselessly. Still, Natalia came out alive when so many others didn't. The battle lasted for four hours before Nova Odessa was slagged by one of the massive world destroyers. Only 80% of the civilian population was successfully evacuated, and Natalia had lost nearly everyone in the 76th Knights Aggressors. Not long after the planet was completely burned, what remained of the Knights and UWSC forces were ordered to disengage and fall back. Natalia discovered soon after that both of her parents hadn't been evacuated yet.

Natalia became distant, quiet, and distracted after the battle of Rostov. On top of her parents, Natalia had lost every other pilot whom she considered close to her, with the exception of one, and he became just as sullen after the battle. Them and a handful of others were all that remained of the New Odessa Knights. Even still, she had become a symbol of what the Knights were capable of. People were begging her to keep fighting, but after losing everything she had, she didn't know if she still had it in her. She kept flying, but her confidence was shot. What was left of her chain of command recognized this and sidelined her, along with many of the other Knights. They were sent to Earth to train until the final battle.

Natalia was thrown into the fray once more when the Nomad's forces finally arrived, and Natalia was placed in command of what was left of the Knights. All 17 of them. All still fiercely loyal to Natalia. In the moments leading up to the battle, Natalia found herself inspired by her comrades' continued trust in her, and was able to bring herself to focus on the fight one more time. They all fought with everything they had in the battle, despite the insurmountable odds and the inevitable destruction of humanity's home, or maybe because of it. They left everything they had in that battle, but just when it seemed the Nomad's forces were preparing to glass Earth, they just stopped.

In the aftermath it turned out that Natalia didn't lose a single Knight, and immediately after it was confirmed that the entire Nomad fleet was disabled, Natalia took her ship and, along with the rest of the Knights, mounted a search and rescue mission for anyone who may have been left stranded in the Rostov system.

After reporting back that they didn't find anything but some leftover infrastructure on Petrovsk, they were awarded the highest honors by the remnants of Nova Odessa's government and high-ranking military members, as well as given several commendations by the UWSC for their actions, and were given the option to be honorably discharged on the spot. Several stayed, but Natalia and a handful of the remaining 17 Knights split off to find work elsewhere. They were all given their own ships by the New Odessa government, and many struck out on their own to help other colonies get back on their feet.

Valued possessions:
Nat wears a ring with her dogtags as a reminder of her home.

Miscellaneous:
Natalia speaks with a slight Ukrainian accent, and is a good singer.

Nova Odessa

Nova Odessa was a terrestrial world, somewhat smaller than Earth and with a gravitational pull 85% that of Earth, along with an atmosphere about 77% as dense as Earth's, but with a very similar composition. Though quite a bit colder than Earth, with the average temperature being approximately 13 degrees centigrade colder, it was quite comfortable within 35 degrees latitude of the equator, and with an axial tilt of only 15 degrees as opposed to 23, the difference in seasons was far more subtle outside of the tropics. Everything above 56 degrees latitude was almost constantly covered in ice and snow, and as such was virtually inhospitable. There was also far less surface water; only about 48% of the surface was water (both in solid and liquid form), and as such the majority of the landmass was a massive continent wrapping around the planet.

Nova Odessa, and the Rostov system in general, was an important center of trade and commerce for the region, being a central hub for roughly 30 neighboring systems. As such, economic activity was high, and most who lived in the system enjoyed a steady living and good living conditions, regardless of what their occupation was. The capital of Nova Odessa, Svoboda, was by far the largest city on the planet, and home to roughly 50% of the system's inhabitants, with another 30% living in the outlying communities on Nova Odessa. The remaining 20% lived on orbital stations and mining settlements on other planets in the system.

The government of Rostov consisted of at least one elected official from both Nova Odessa and Petrovsk, the third planet in the system, and second most populous, along with three additional officials from either planet. Once the council is filled, a vote is conducted to determine the president and the vice-president. This council served as the government, though they were very restricted in what they could do. Common law is the only law; all the council does is serve as the final word in things such as economic concerns, civil disputes, and military control. That being said, Rostov maintained a strong and well-trained militia within the system, known as the New Odessa Knights, or simply the Knights, who served as a peacekeeping force, as well as a vanguard in the unlikely case that a neighboring system attempted to invade. This was separate from, but in the same interests as the UWG military, and it wasn't uncommon for units within the Knights to be sent to augment UWG forces in minor conflicts, and military participation spiked with the appearance of the Nomad.

Unfortunately, Nova Odessa was destroyed in the war, approximately 7 months before the Nomad was defeated. 80% of the inhabitants were evacuated, but the planet was rendered completely uninhabitable as a result, though the system is in the process of rebuilding some infrastructure on Petrovsk, as well as constructing a large station in orbit around the planet. The hull of a destroyed warship in orbit over Nova Odessa was repurposed to act as a memorial, with the names of everyone killed when Rostov was invaded, civilians and military alike.

The Nomad, a sci-fi epic.

@Ozymandias Ahh, yeah. I was only judging off of what I saw in the OOC, not the CS section.

The Nomad, a sci-fi epic.

There's definitely no shortage of female characters. I might have to re-write mine.

The Nomad, a sci-fi epic.

@Elevation I'm in the Air Force. AKA easy street. :p

@Catharyn Well, as with what @Ozymandias said, evidently it is not based on the US military. (Sorry for trying to hijack that, I didn't realize warrant officers are NCOs in the British military.)

Still working on a CS, and got work to go to, so I'll try to get it up by the end of the day.

The Nomad, a sci-fi epic.

Lololol, only 5 enlisted ranks in the Army? I love how you include basically all 9 enlisted ranks for the Navy, but not the Army. I understand this isn't meant to conform to modern military structure, but I'd at least throw in Sergeant (before SSgt), Master Sergeant, and Sergeant Major. Also, if you're going to have a Lieutenant Colonel but not a Colonel, then I would suggest it just be replaced with Colonel.

Also, if it helps any, modern Air Force ranks are as follows:

Enlisted:
-Airman Basic (AB)
-Airman (AMN)
-Airman First Class (A1C)
-Senior Airman (SRA)
-Staff Sergeant (SSGT)
-Technical Sergeant (TSGT)
-Master Sergeant (MSGT)
-Senior Master Sergeant (SMSGT)
-Chief Master Sergeant (CMSGT)

Officer:
-Second Lieutenant (2LT)
-First Lieutenant (1LT)
-Captain (CAPT)
-Major (MAJ)
-Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL)
-Colonel (COL)
-Brigadier General (BGEN)
-Major General (MGEN)
-Lieutenant General (LGEN)
-General (GEN)

Sorry to get picky about semantics. Being in the military, I can't help but nitpick that shit. Otherwise, I am quite interested in this RP, and I am also more than happy to further advise on military information.

Music Appreciation Thread

Wow, that music video was a trip. As depressing as it was creepy, like, what the fuck?

The song itself was pretty interesting. Some of the changes in the progression felt a bit weird, but really, the whole song is weird, so I'll give that a pass. 6.7/10