I am still making the finishing touches on the system I'm planning on using for stats and such, but it will be a relatively simple system using a number of d6 equal to the character's skill/ability rating, with modifiers for gear and such. For now, I'll post some background information on the mission, the ships and crew to hopefully get people's creative ideas growing.
I am making a lot of this up as I go, so please bear with me.
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ECS-213 Maria DeSoto
Class: Short-Range Scout
Length: 100 m
Crew: 55
Max Acceleration: 6.5 G
Defense Rating: Light
Special Equipment: Scanner, ECCM, 2 drop shuttles
Weapons: 2 Point-Defense Laser
Named after a famous starship captain from the very early years of FTL travel who completed two successful missions in extra-solar space before being lost in a miss-jump. She was widely remembered for her honesty and dedication. The ship's emblem is a blue diamond.
The DeSoto was commissioned as part of the new Terran/Loroi strategy, it lacks many of the features and amenities of the larger Bennet class, which is nearly twice as large. As a result the DeSoto is significantly less self-sufficient and must stay closer to its refueling tanker, however this is consistent with the current strategy. She has a pair of point defense lasers which should theoretically be effective against some Umaik torpedos, however their main purpose is utility; i.e. vaporizing space debris. Without any truly effective weapons in the Terran arsenal, it was decided more efficient to simply go without. A stout drop shuttle (think lunar lander with a fusion engine) can allow a survey team of four to land and blast off from a planet of up to 2.5Gs, and the ship carries a series of automated probes that are primarily used to confirm important mineral deposits.
The DeSoto's crew consists of 54 humans and one Loroi liaison officer (Mizol Sanzet). The TCA has struggled to find experienced officers for the command crew and most of the crew is fresh out of the academy.
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Captain Frederick MacRae
Nationality: British
Career History: Bachelors in Chemistry, Masters in Organic Chemistry, 3 years as civilian consultant on deep space survey mission, commissioned by TCA for command training, served 7 years aboard ECS-099 Pacific.
Captain MacRae tries to present himself as being approachable, often soliciting advice from the bridge staff during meetings. However, he is careful to follow his orders and expects his subordinates to do the same regardless. On two occasions, he has been heard arguing with the Loroi liaison, though only due to the thin walls of his office.
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Bridge Crew - There 18 members divided into 3 shifts. (including the captain)
Crew Jobs
Command (goes by chain of command)
Tactical
Sensors
Communications
Flight Officer
Flight Engineer
Navigator
Pilot
Damage Control
Engineer
Environmental Systems
Reactor Systems
Computer Tech
Mission Specialist (sensor analysis)
Payload Specialist (probe handler)
EVA Worker
Medical
Security
Crew Services (food and such)
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Mission Briefing (Terran)
Ladies and gentlemen, we find ourselves in a precarious situation. We must prove to our new allies that we are worth keeping alive, and to do that we're going to have to take some risks. The Loroi are watching us carefully so we've got to make a good impression.
Your mission is to explore and survey the star systems between the Terran Colonies and Umiak controlled space, and if possible, identify any routes through which an attack force could travel.
A small detachment of Loroi strike craft will join several of our own warships in defending our supply vessels and dealing with any targets of opportunity that may arise. This is a time critical mission, so we will be limiting our search pattern to high priority systems only. Scout teams will travel in groups of two and report back to the command fleet in within no more than 144 hours. Once all scout teams have returned, we will determine the optimal destination and move the entire fleet forward.
Scout teams: Your mission is to survey your assigned systems, locate any indications of alien civilization -hostile or otherwise, identify candidates for military outposts and take accurate readings of potential jump lanes.
Mission specifics attached.
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Innalinzil (pure wind)
Class: Retrofit Scout
Length: 120 m
Crew: 30
Max Acceleration: 17 G (Half her original rating)
Defense Rating: Class I
Specials: 2 "Arrow" light interceptors
Weapons: 2 Laser Autocannon, 1 Anti-missile launcher
Formerly a frigate, the Innalinzil was heavily damaged in combat and was in the process of being tugged away to be scrapped when the order came in to divert to Terran space. She went along with several other crippled vessels (minus the sensitive parts of course) as part of a "grand gift" to the Loroi's new but technologically backwards ally. Using a little bit of Terran ingenuity, a couple of the larger wrecks were disassembled and used in repairs and for study. In this way, the Innalinzil was reborn a completely different ship. To the Terrans, she is a testament to their ingenuity, but to many of the Loroi crew, it is a shameful bastardization. Just outside the command center hangs the tattered remains of a tapestry who's image is almost entirely obscured.
Much of the Innalinzil's original weaponry is no longer intact, however, her standard shuttles have been replaced by a pair of Poii class light interceptors for defense. Because her engines were repaired with Terran technology, they are only able to operate at half power without risk of melting the internal components. Still at 17 Gs, she could fly circles around even the fastest Terran vessel.
With the exception of a few added specialists -mostly diplomatic-, her crew is comprised of the same crew that was aboard when she was on the front lines. All of the original crew come from one of two childhood bands, the leader of one is the Captain, the leader of the second is second in command. Every one of the original crew knows the others very well by now. The Innalinzil originally had a crew complement of 85, so it goes without saying that she is operating with a skeleton crew now.
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Soroin Torret - Ronzas Perrzir (Red Salt)
Redsalt was once a proud and daring captain who was know by her band mates for her fearlessness. Defeat has been a burden she has not carried well. She clearly resents her current assigned duties and feels that her crew and the spirits of those who died under her command in addition to herself are being denied the opportunity to absolve their shame. She carries a bitterness in her sanzai that; if it gets on your nerves, has done so long ago. She has final authority over the Innalinzil and the DeSoto, though she tends to leave the Terrans to their own devices, she is known to be unresponsive to suggestions from Captain MacRae.
Redsalt hasn't bothered to discuss the specifics of her mission with anyone but the Mizol operatives on board. The most she has said is that they are to assist the Terrans in exploring possible avenues of attack and make sure they don't try to make an alliance the the Umiak or anything.
Crew Jobs
Command
Junior Officer
Navigator
Ship Pilot
Wing Leader
Interceptor Pilot
Fire Control
Helmsman
Observer
Medical
Marine
Subsystems Support
) Stacking money he would soon buy an old used shuttle. Not space worthy he would use that shuttle as an airplane for planetary commerce.