The Space Opera Working Thread

I was thinking more of a resources issue.

Though if I were going to attempt to blow up a planet, I'd likely start by... uhm... and then I'd... I don't know, but it's got something to do with magnetism. Boy, this science stuff is hard.

Is the idea that each role tells the story from their own perspective while leaving the general plot up to masqua?

I would not mind either way...

*Special Ops member Whisper reporting for duty on the alien ship*



PS - why am I wearing this red shirt?

[edit on 3/16/2009 by Whisper67]

What a great idea!

I'll join in too. I'd like to be the human sex therapist...I mean doctor.

What kind of technology would be at my disposal?

Is the role of the human captain filled yet?

If not, I would like to volunteer my services.

Looks like we have 5 aliens and 3 humans up to now. This is going to work. Thanks for joining guys

So far, the crews look like this:

Starship Penelope


• Captain - mf_luder
  
• Engineer - TravellerintheDark (Trav)
  
• Chief Medical Officer - DJMessiah
  
  Starship Yddryl
  
  
• Captain - Cadbury
  
• Navigation Officer - Skyfloating
  
• Empath - antar
  
• Special Ops - Whisper67
  

Have I missed anyone?

On the story and how it all begins:

Each crew has a mission at the start and what that is will be of your choosing. If the Penelope is tasked with removing the threat of PlanetX, then it may carry out that mission. Your story needs a starting point.

The Penelope and the Yddryl both have Faster Than Light capability, are able to make jumps in wormholes and have formidable weaponry and defensive capabilities. They will meet on their initial mission and the Space Opera will be the story of that meeting.

NATURE (me) will only be there to change the parameters of what happens. As far as both crews are concerned, I'm the rapidly expanding field of Gamma radiation from a nearby supernova that will cause you to move away from the area as fast as you can... through a wormhole.



Upon opening my U2U's this morning, I found no less than 4 requests from members who want to join in the fun. Unfortunately, none have the required 'writer status'.

To become a writer is not all that difficult. Usually, one gets the qualification by posting on ATS for a length of time, proving the capability to stay within the Terms and Conditions OR entering a piece of written work into a Short Story contest.

These members are:

nenothu
SeekerOfAUTMN
Sir Marcupa
fooks
visible_villain


To be fair, it is only right that members who already have writer status be given first picks. IF, on the other hand, we wind up short on crew members, then I will pick from the list above based on the U2U you've sent.

Lets give it another 24 hours before we actually start the Role Playing.



[edit on 16/3/09 by masqua]

Welcome aboard mf_luder and DJMessiah!

Availability for all Crew positions close @ 0900hrs EST March 17

Starship Penelope scheduled for release from Lagrange1 Docking Facility @ 1100 hrs EST March17

Starship Yddryl of the Rigellian Expeditionary Force scheduled for release from the Forward Base / Orion Nebula @ 1130 hrs EST March 17

The crew of the starship Yddryl is instructed to NOT, repeat, NOT take a detour to Betelgeuse again. Diplomatic relations are still in turmoil from the last unscheduled detour and the Supreme Commander remains upset.

Note:

In the event that either starship's crew positions are not adaquately filled by 0900 hrs, March 17, Command has authorized the installation of fresh volunteers.

The list, so far, includes:

nenothtu
SeekerOfAUTMN
Sir Marcupa
fooks
visible_villain


[edit on 16/3/09 by masqua]

reply to post by masqua


Awesome. This should prove to be an interesting story.

The recruiters have been very busy and it looks like the crew lists will soon be filled with an interesting assortment of adventurers.

Stay tuned.



I'm writing the opening post for the new thread now and it will be up at exactly 1100hrs tomorrow. If a crew wants to include a pic of their spaceship for that OP, then put it on here so that I can include it.

Give your significant others a kiss/claw clasp goodbye, because this opera is about to blast off in the best tradition of Slim Pickens riding that rocket in Dr. Strangelove.

Yeeeeeee Haw....

Any writing rules....?

[edit on 16-3-2009 by Skyfloating]

Doesn't every human crew need a former mercenary who was stranded several years on a jungle planet, which may or may not have had a deleterious effect on his sanity?

I'd be ever so grateful if you'd pick me up off of this chunk of green hell, so much so that I'd volunteer for whatever post you'd care to put me on.

Be forewarned that it could make for an interesting party, due to the possible sanity issue... " I dunno, Cap. He LOOKS sane enough, but IF he IS a loon, well, ya just never know how a loon is gonna react to a situation..."

This is a picture of the planet I was stranded on:

Khalamzadar 4 Image

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/24d9bded9198.jpg[/atsimg]

This is Khalamzadar 4 with the Jupiter 2 from lost in space thrown in (couldn't resist the space opera angle - I'll restrain myself in the future):

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/0d6ed3bf0a75.jpg[/atsimg]

This is a picture in the direction of Sol from Rigel.you can't see the sun, because it's too far away

Sol from Rigel image

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/75992e505e2e.jpg[/atsimg]

Us mercenary types try to keep a working knowledge of mapreading. Fat lot of good that did me on Khalamzadar!

Weapons Ossifer nenothtu reporting for duty on the Starship Penelope. ouch my head! I shoulda skipped the launch party...

looks like I should have resized the pictures. Right click on the image and "save as" to get the full effect, until I get figured out what size they need to be to fit. Pictures done in "Celestia", Khalamzadar surface by me...

nenothtu out

edited to resize pictures
[edit on 2009/3/16 by nenothtu]

[edit on 2009/3/16 by nenothtu]

Has anyone else noticed that those cats have a "Supreme Commander" AND a habit of going off the mission, upsetting "diplomatic relations" with others?

This could get ungood... 'scuse me while I go take a couple aspirins and sit sharpening a knife for a few hours. It's the ONLY sane thing to do when one's nerves are in need of calming....

naw, I ain't got bad nerves.... REALLY! I don't....

nenothtu out

Spending the final day with my family and friends before leaving for command center, while testing an embedding for ats media...
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/7c43f265d31e.jpg[/atsimg]
Humm, picture came out way too small with a black line around it??? Ideas?







[edit on 16-3-2009 by antar]

reply to post by Cadbury


Small vessel Captains frequently ARE the same as the pilot.

With dolphins descendants as "pets" on the bridge, that would imply a visit by your species to the earth at some time in the dim past, (or in the dim future, via a timwarped wormhole, to pick up the pets as is?) in order to have acquired the ancestor stock.. do I smell a tendril of a subplot? Perhaps "tendril" is a bad choice of words? After all, I've not actually seen your species...

AN EMPATH? You have AN EMPATH? I don't much cotton to the notion of havin' some alien poking around in my brain... but then again, it's kinda dark and scary in there, might scare ya away... This coming from a fellow who once was told he had "distinguished" himself in action, and replied "Distinguished? Hell, I weren't EVER on fire, not even once, in the whole action!"

nenothtu out

edit to add possibility of timewarped wormhole

[edit on 2009/3/16 by nenothtu]

Originally posted by antar
Spending the final day with my family and friends before leaving for command center, while testing an embedding for ats media...
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/7c43f265d31e.jpg[/atsimg]
Humm, picture came out way too small with a black line around it??? Ideas?





[edit on 16-3-2009 by antar]

I've found that a picture width of around 600 pixels fits nicely in the post. I havent tested for a maximum height, though.


nenothtu out

reply to post by nenothtu


You're more than welcome to assume the role of Chief Security officer on the Penelope if you have experience as a mercenary, we could use someone with that type of background to ensure the safety of the ship and crew.

I'm still not clear on the exact dimensions of our vessel, whether it be a small few person rig or a ship of the line size 500-1000 person vessel. At any rate, welcome aboard.

You are right that the role of Captain can be attributed to the pilot as well - but I'd prefer to have a dedicated Navigation officer on board if at all possible.


FOR OP:

Some questions I have:

Above All: What are my bounds as Commander?

1) What are the specifications of the Penelope? To be specific: weaponry, shields, armor, life support, engines, crew capacity, storage, etc. (I would prefer this information in a U2U for security reasons.)
2) We are currently Earth based preparing for launch, is it possible I can grab some more crew?

I would like to requisition the following crew:

1) First Officer
2) Science Officer
3) Navigation/Pilot
4) Weapons Control
5) Fighter Commander
6) If the ship's size supports it, I would like to have a contingent of space fighter craft to use for protection - 6-12, if available. The pilots obviously can be controlled by OP - I know we won't get that many role players, but it would be nice!
7) Marine Commander
8) If the ship's size supports it, I would like a contingent of marines or other space-troops to keep on board for use as landing parties, internal security and even boarding parties if needed.
9) Chef. Good food is important.
10) Morale Officer
11) Communications Officer (We can all talk.... duh. But it would be good to have someone around to fix the stuff if it breaks. lol)
12) Supply Officer

* lol I guess it's apparent I'm hoping for a carrier sized ship here and not a small 8 man ship.

3) Are we currently aware that the "aliens" exist? Or do our governments know of each other? If so - what is the current status of relations with each other? Should we consider them hostile or consider them friendlies on first sight? Normal protocols suggest caution, but just wondering.
4) Are we using a "universal translator" style method for communications?
5) Is the USS Penelope part of a fleet of vessels or is it a single Earth ship? Can I call it the USS Penelope? lol.
6) If we are part of a fleet, what is the dispersal of the fleet and can I communicate with our sister vessels and/or call for their help if needed?
7) What kind of supplies are available, food, water, air, weapons, ammo, etc. Fuel? Medical supplies? How do we get resupply and what is the requisition method?

Sorry for the slew of questions but two things: 1) I've run DnD games for nearly 8 years as a DM and 2) I'm a science fiction writer working on a three book length story. Look forward to seeing your answers.


[edit on 16-3-2009 by mf_luder]

[edit on 16-3-2009 by mf_luder]

reply to post by mf_luder


For my crew. I would like you guys to contact me through U2U when you get a chance so we can all talk and get to know each other.

Look forward to working with you.

CPT mf_luder
USS Penelope, Commanding

reply to post by mf_luder


I accept the post of Chief Security Officer. Can't pass up the opportunity to be "Chief" of anything. If it turns out to be a small vessel, or a "private" venture, I can handle the position of Weapons Control as well, in that capacity, and under the same heading. Besides, I kinda like watching "stuff" blow up (he says with glowing eyes).

nenothtu out

[edit on 2009/3/16 by nenothtu]