Lost in Exploration [RP]

[Narric]

++++Trans Galactic Library++++
+++Opening anecdotal record of Human FTL mission+++
++Processing++
++Displaying++

Earth has passed through a dark age of regression and scientific stagnation brought about by political and corporate war over decades. Various nations and countries have risen and fallen, and its climate wrecked. In this new age brought about by rebelion and the usurption of callous dictators, new world powers have arisen to take control of what is left.

The Blue Union controls a majority of what was once Europe, Russia, Asia, and the Africas, while the Great Republic of the West (GRW) controls all of of the western continent from alaska down to Brazil. Scientific Utopian colonies defend and maintain many regions in the sourthern hemisphere and the luna colonies (SHLC), and owe no alliegence to the Union, or the GRW. Tension caused by differing ideaologies between the Union and the GRW mean earth finds itself in an uneasy peace.

The Blue Union are the ones funding the mission, and hope that in being the first to expand humanity beyond its terrestrial homeworld, it can spark renewal of its peoples, but the GRW have other plans in motion.


--Location: BU secret launch base, geographic location classified--

"Alright Commander, you have your briefing." A stout military officer sat behind an impressive mahogany desk, a synthesised view of what used to be Tahiti could be seen through venetian blinds behind him. "It is about lunchtime, so they will likely be in the mess hall. May be a good time to get the mission team together and get acquainted. Use their pagers to gather them if need be. You are dismissed. I'll page you if there are any developments."

"Sir!" Jonathan Bradford, now Commander of his first mission, stood from his chair and saluted the officer and turned sharply to the office door. He sighed out and relaxed his shoulders after closing the door and began walking the concrete corridors towards the mess hall a two levels below.


Father Micheal Quinlan was seated on the front pew of the interfaith chapel one level up from the mess hall. listening to the interfaith minister at the lectern as she read aloud her semi-inspiring piece about unity and diversity.


Dr Pieter Hale had found himself in the company of the Security officer Jason Terwich, both taking keen interest in ensuring the vessel was suitable stocked with medical supplies and armoury respectively. The vessel's starboard underside could be seen, with it tilted upwards for the launch ramp, special micro-gravity rails and cranes loading the supplies the two men had either requested or had signed off for.


Dr August Murray Had just collected his lunch in the mess hall, and was deciding where best to sit down.

Elicia was sitting with three laptops in front of her, a selection of files being synchronised between them. She idly swilled around a cold cup of tea with one hand, staring at a screen but looking into the blind eternities. Noah Miller was eating his own lunch in solitude, a small collection of technical documents semi-organised in front of him.

[Mabbz]

Once he had finished counting the number of crates and compared them to his requisition requests, Jason pulled out a small scanning device and began checking them all for hidden devices or triggers that might detonate his explosive stockpiles. Finding nothing, he wandered over to the other man in the hangar and began scanning his cargo.

"You're to be the ships doctor, correct? Doctor Hale?" Jason asked, his practiced eye searching for any weapons on the medic. He had read the profiles of all his crewmates, as well as doing the mandatory background checks. While nothing had seemed out of place for the doctor, Jason had still been wary of him due to his origins outside of the BU.

[Scout Sergeant Mkoll]

On his way down to the mess hall Bradford stopped by the chapel, he was not a religious man, but given the scale of the undertaking and his first command, it couldn't hurt to as from a little help from on high in case there was any to be had.

As he sat in quiet contemplation for a few moments he recognised Father Murray who had been allocated to the mission. He briefly considered introducing himself, but thought better of it as the minister was still mid-speech. His prayers uttered, such as they were, he took his leave as quietly as possible and made his way to the mess hall where he collected a simple meal and took a seat with the best view of the ship.

As he was now a full commander he knew he was entitled to better fare than the men, but he'd been eating simple meals for a while to prepare for the mission and knew that a fancy meal would only make the in-flight food seem almost inedible by comparison.

While he ate Bradford considered what he'd say to his crew before departure, he hadn't written anything as he wanted confirmation first. Still, no rush. He decided to let the crew get prepped and say goodbye to their families before any big speeches.

[Cammerz]

As inter-faith sermons went this wasn't a bad one and Father Michael enjoyed those rare occasions where he got to sit on the other side of the lectern. At least he'd get some fresh material for the Sunday Masses back in his parish when all this was over.

The sound of movement behind him drew his attention from the minister and he spotted a man who looked very much like his new mission commander leaving through the door at the back. He supposed it was probably about time to get the measure of the man and, with a silent nod to the minister, he followed Bradford down to the mess.

A quick scan of the hall and Father Michael spotted the man gazing towards the experimental ship. He'd been aboard briefly to get his bearings around the controls (everything seemed to be in the right place compared to his previous, admittedly smaller ships). He wandered over and took a seat opposite Bradford.

"Are you 'right there?"

[Scout Sergeant Mkoll]

The Father taking his seat broke Bradford from his musings "Oh, yes, sorry. I'm fine Father. Just admiring the ship and wondering what lies in store for our trip. Should be quite the adventure Have you had a chance to look around the 'Hammond' at all?" he asked.


OOC: I can't see a name for the ship anywhere, if there's one already designated feel free to let me know.

[Cammerz]

"I've had a look around the bridge, the set-up's very similar to everything else I've flown but all the science lads here still insist on the full lecture, it's as if they were wary about someone flying their expensive new toy."

[Scout Sergeant Mkoll]

"It's their pride and joy, I'm sure if they could they'd keep if safe and sound in a warehouse somewhere insisting it's all 'hypothetical' just so they can stare at it all day" Bradford laughed. "Still, if it gets us where we need to go, they can fuss over it all they like. How was the service?"

[Cammerz]

"It wasn't too bad actually, it's nice to hear it from the other side for a change. It has occured to me that I'll need to knock the old communion on the head for a while, probably better for everyone if the blood of Christ stays earthbound while we go for our little trip round the stars."

[Scout Sergeant Mkoll]

"Given the diversity of the crew you may find a couple for your flock yet" Bradshaw replied.

"Ah, I can't wait to get back up there" he sighed as he gazed at the ship. "No better feeling than flying on a mission, either in atmo or among the stars. But then, you already know that, don't you?"

[Cammerz]

"You've done your research then, it's true though, even a routine trip to the moon and back gets the heart racing like nothing on Earth. You can take a man out of space but God help me there'll always be that calling to go back."

"As for the crew," Father Michael's gaze swept the mess hall, "I've not had the pleasure of meeting the others just yet, I presume we've got a few dotted around in here".

[Scout Sergeant Mkoll]

"What kind of commander would I be if I didn't know my crew, at least on paper?" Bradford smiled. "Umm..just one in here at the minute" he added, looking around the room. "The tall blonde man in the labcoat, that's Dr Murray, our FTL specialist. How he stays in shape I don't know, from what I can gather with the amount he knows it seems like he reads 12 hours a day."

[Wargamer]

The ship was impressive, but Pieter was far more interested in his paperwork. He was stood by a selection of medical crates, many of which bore large, stark warning stickers such as "DO NOT OPEN OUTSIDE OF SEALED ENVIRONMENTS!" or "DISPOSE OF VIA INCINERATION!" This was actually quite routine, as he had often had to inform those unfamiliar with medical technology; there was a certain paranoia among the medical fields that some careless practitioner might cause an outbreak on a ship or station. Not all the rules had to be followed, though you never told anyone else that.

So engrossed was he in his itinerary that he almost didn't register the security officer. "Hmm? What? Oh, yes. Doctor Hale at your service," he said with a warm grin. "I was just reviewing the medical manifest. I must say, our requisitions staff have done their bast to cover all the bases. If I didn't know better, I'd think we were being shipped off to some crisis zone! Once everything is on board and in place, I should be able to handle any medical emergency, large or small. Let's hope it's all small though, eh?"

[Humanatee]

After finding a quieter corner of the mess to sit, Gus continued listening to the audio lecture he'd been reviewing since the morning. Being a specialist on xenobiology and exo-planetary environments, rather than quantum physics, Dr. Murray hadn't been the first pick for science lead on the mission. The esteemed scientist and inventor of the FTL drive was born with severely crippling bone deficiencies and simply couldn't make the mission. Fortunately Dr. August Murray had dabbled in the science himself and was an incredibly quick learner.

He was piping in the data stream directly to his tech-glasses and earbuds, only pulling his attention from the immersive experience to take a bite of his meal. The science behind the device was incredible, but highly theoretical. While he knew that there had been successful trials in a laboratory environment, Gus had always been a practically minded man. The more he had learned about the device and the science behind it, the more he realized that once underway, there would be very little he or his chief engineer could do should anything go wrong.

That is of course the risk you run to become a modern pioneer.

[Waaaghpower]

Noah read the documents in front of him slowly, turning one page to the next in a methodical fashion. He had a sandwich in his other hand, nothing particularly fancy, and he chewed each bite absently as he read each document.
It wasn't that the information was new or critical, it was the finalized ship schematics that he'd had a copy of for months, but he wanted to be certain that there were no critical oversights that he'd made, and so he read each page with as much care as if he'd never seen the document before. The job had to be done, after all, so he was going to do it right, no matter what it took.

[Mabbz]

Jason gave a tight-lipped smile to the doctor as he finished his scans. "Indeed. Well, if all your equipment is in order, it might be a good idea to get it loaded and your medical bay set up. I'm going to be setting up the security section next door; for your own safety, do not try to open my door without my permission."

Walking up a ramp into the ship's loading area, Jason flashed his ID and found a large crate on a trolley. After a quick scan (which revealed a high explosive content), he pushed the crate to the security section, locked the doors and began unloading his equipment and planning how best to secure the perimeter.