[Other FULL] Return From Exile OOC [M]

[Stingray]

Return From Exile: Journey of the Ark​

"Our past is a lie, our present is gone, we are being hunted, and our home is 47,000 light years away." - Unknown

Kharak, the planet we have called home since recorded history had begun. Kharak is a hostile desert world with minimal resources and vicious wildlife. Life on this planet is only for the strong as the strong are the ones who control the few resources that are required to survive. Due to this the human Clans are stuck in an eternal war for survival, but that all changed with the discovery of the ruins of a vast space faring vessel deep within the harshest of deserts: Death's Wasteland. Inside we not only uncovered technology well beyond our own, but also a map with a word more ancient than the oldest of Clans: Terra... our true home. In the first time in history all of humanity united under a single goal to return to the birthplace of our race.

In the last 347 years humanity has put all its effort and focus into the creation of a massive mothership they named the Ark and restoring the ancient vessel's advanced Quantum Jump Core and integrating it into the Ark. Many risks and sacrifices were made to complete this ship and prepare it for the journey ahead. The most known sacrifice was that of Dr. Sondra Brenner, who merged her mind with the rebuild ancient AI to serve as the heart of the Ark and our guide in the stars. The human and AI hybrid became known as Fleet Command, and she would be the key to finding our way home among the countless stars of space.

The Ark is nearing completion as the first test of her Jump Drive is commenced. The Ark's test jump took it into the outer reaches of explored space, where the support vessel Endeavor was waiting. It took the Endeavor 34 years to travel to its current location from Kharak, and the Ark was able to get there in a matter of seconds. The jump was successful and the Ark ended up only 124 meters off course. With the help of the Endeavor's research team the Ark's jump navigation system was refined so she could return to Kharak with pinpoint accuracy.

However two new issues appeared. First the jump drive was interfering with the Ark's primary engines so that the engines were completely offline after the jump and the head engineers estimated it would be an hour after each jump before they could get the engines to function fully. Secondly was the more predicted issue of the jump drive needing time to recharge after every attempt to jump. These combined together mean the Ark would be completely immobile after every jump. However these would be repaired when they returned the Kharak. Loading up the crew of the Endeavor, and salvaging all the useful parts from the ship the Ark prepared to return to Kharak and to the scaffold for the final refits and completion of the mothership. However when the Ark returned to the Kharak they discovered nothing but ruins…

Fleet Command slightly mechanical female voice filled the Ark, "This is Fleet Command, coordinates for Kharak locked in… all personnel prepare for jump in 3… 2… 1…"

A Mass Vortex opens around the Ark and a second later it instantly relocates in the Kharak system.

Once again Fleet Command announced the arrival," Jump comple…" However she cuts off mid thought and all the lights in the Ark dim as Fleet Command stared at the horror outside the Ark.

A second later a horrified and sorrow filled Fleet Command voice almost whispered in disbelief, "by the gods... what happened!? The scaffold, the fleet, everything has been destroyed. Kharak is burning… initial readings of the planet show over 50% of the surface is consumed in a massive firestorm. Surface temperatures reaching over 900 degrees… there are no life form readings coming from the planet…"

There is a heavy silence throughout the ship as every crew member tried to wrap their heads around what Fleet Command has told them. Some begin to break down, others ran to a view port to see outside where they see the ruins of their race.

​

Kharak is burning...​

Fleet Command broke the silence with her alarmed voice, "Detecting energy spikes…. Unknown vessels have just jumped into the system and are closing on the Ark. All personnel to battle stations! Launch all Corvettes and Strike Craft! Protect the Ark! Buy us time to recharge our jump drive!"

The RP:​

You are the member of the Ark's crew as she tries to find her way to Terra. With Kharak destroyed and the remains of humanity aboard your ship there is no where left to go. Every member is vital and it will take everyone working together to allow humanity to survive and return home... If you fail humanity will become extinct.

Currently the Ark is sitting without the ability to move or jump in the middle of the ruins of Kharak. An unknown group of vessels looking to be three Frigate class ships just jumped in system and are closing in on the Ark quickly...

Alliance of the Clans Military Ranks:​

Jarl: Overall commander of all forces considered equal to Fleet Command. There is only one and that Jarl is a NPC currently.

Grand Master of War: In command of an entire fleet or warzone. They answer only to Fleet Command or the Jarl.

Grand Master of Arms: Even higher level leader often in command of several vessels/detachment of vessels. (Highest rank a player can start at)

Master of Arms: Higher level leader, Cruiser and above captains tend to be this rank.

Thane: Both good leaders and experts at their job. Corvette/Frigate captains must be this rank or higher.

Champion: Experts at their job starting into leadership positions.

Warrior: Basic warrior, skilled in their job.

Apprentice: Has their basic skills down and are now assigned to a Warrior or Champion to learn the finer arts of their power.

Trainee: Still in Training in their job.

SU format:​

Full Name and Rank:

Gender:

Race: (Human for now, but Tardiins and Badreth will be opened up soon. If you're interested in possibly RPing as a non human race PM me and I can give you information on these races, but your background options will be more limited if you start with one. However I will work with you.)

Clan: There are 12 Human Clans... players can choose the name, colors, emblem, and history of your Clan or PM me and I can make it for you. Two players can have the same Clan just coordinate with each other to make these details. There is also the option to be a Nomad or Clan less, but there is a stigmata against them since many Nomads are from failed Clans or descends of criminals. However not all Nomads come from such backgrounds... Nomads have no emblem or set colors.

Profession:

Age: 16-45 (Age must make sense with character's skill and experience. 16 to 17 MUST be a Trainee, 18 must be an Apprentice)

Appearance: How your character looks physically as well as how they tend to dress. Different Clans tend to wear different variations of uniforms. Instead of forcing uniformity the Alliance, it was decided that each clan can keep their own identity. If your character is a part of the same Clan as another character you will wear the same uniform but off duty clothes can be different. A picture is worth a thousand words so your welcome to use a picture to show your character.

Personality: How your character acts and reacts to situations, your character's mental state, views, and other such factors. You do need to be mentally stable as a member of the Ark's crew.

Brief History: Detail the history of your character and how they became who they are and how/why they serve on the Ark. If you want to be secretive you can PM me your character's history with a reason why you want to keep it a secret.

Goal(s): What does your character aspire to be.

Enhancements: (Human only, these can be replacing your eyes with mechanical versions that offer better vision types, integration technology so you can sync with vehicles better, enhanced muscle systems. Do take in consideration most Enhancements leave scars or visible signs they have been added.)
Other: Anything else you would like to add.

*If you don't want to have a human character you can PM me and we can discuss other races. However if you go this route you will not start RPing until later in the main thread.

Rules:​

1: What GM says goes, however if you want to discuss something you can PM a GM about it.
2: Don't god mode or bunny without permission (and it has to be the person being bunnied telling a GM that someone can bunny their character). However if I need to I will bunny characters (after a warning) if it is needed to keep the story going.
3: Be respectful of others, plain and simple.
4: Your allowed to have personal character arcs but don't hijack the RP.
5: Be active once a week is preferred if you can't post for a bit let me or someone else (so they can let me know). I have a real life too and it often gets in the way and I understand that. If your inactive for more than two weeks I will try to contact you if I get no response by week three you are officially out of the RP if you didn't contact me to let me know why you can't/couldn't post.
6. This is mature for violence and if players desire possible romance…. Note the rating is MATURE not X rated and it will stay that way, period. So kissing and hugging is as far as you can go in a post.

Characters:​

1. Thane Varik Kushan (StingrayP226)
2. Open
3. Champion Jeshal Kifus (Garet)
4. Master of Arms Geralt Zenar (Manska)
5. Thane Talia Arventis (STARDU5T)
6. Open
7. Open

Technology:​

Spoiler:

Humanity uses variations of four types of weapons:

Rail Guns: These weapons magnetically accelerate solid slugs at supersonic speeds. The kinetic force these slugs hit a target with is incredible. They smash thick armor plating like a bullet through wet paper. However the power required using even the smallest rail guns is massive, and this limits their use to Corvettes and above.

Coil Guns: Smaller but less powerful version of a rail gun. Coil Guns use a series of smaller less powerful magnets to accelerate their slugs so run under the same principle as a Rail Gun, just weaker. These can be made for infantry as heavy weapons or fighter craft. They have a low rate of power, but pack a heavy punch.

Autocannons: Think cannons like on a modern day battleship, but fire as fast as a machine gun… that is an autocannon. They can be loaded with different kinds of ammunition such as flak or high explosive making them versatile for anti ship or anti attack craft. The smallest of these are the standard issue battle rifle unlike modern day weapons these pack more of a punch since their ammunition is explosive or incendiary.

Missiles/Torpedoes: Self guided projectiles fill with high explosives. Torpedoes are the larger scale anti-capital ship versions that are a good deal slower.

Ships Classes (known)​

The pictured vessels are Alliance configurations​

Spoiler:

Mothership Class

The Ark is the only Mothership in existence. It took us over 300 years and countless sacrifices to complete the Ark. The Ark is massive and can easily fit an entire region within its vast hull. Built with extremely heavy armor, a fully functional factory able to build ships up to a Cruiser class, a raw material processing center, a vast research facility, enough living space for an entire region's population, a vast bay for cryo frozen passengers, and the new quantum jump drive. Finally in the heart of the Ark is Fleet Command: a vast AI computer that was fused with the mind of Dr Sondra Julian, the last sacrifice made to complete the Ark. One issue with the Ark is that she has minimum weapons and requires a devoted escort fleet to protect her.

Cruiser Class:

Cruisers are the backbone of the fleet with their heavy armor, good weaponry, and decent speed. The Alliance has two primary types of Cruisers: rail gun and Standard. Rail gun cruisers wield an extremely powerful rail gun so it can destroy the heaviest of targets, however it can't deal with small vessels well since the rail gun is aimed by the whole ship's facing. Standard Cruisers use a smaller rail gun, but also mount several large turrets armed with Coil Guns or Autocannons.

Frigate Class:

Smaller than Cruisers, Frigates have less armor, and weapons than Cruisers. They do have more speed allowing them to outmaneuver larger ships and take them down. They come in two variants much like Cruisers: rail gun and standard.

Corvette Class:

Corvettes are fast vessels that are either armed with a light rail gun or two small turrets. They use powerful reactors so they do not need fuel. This makes them much better at scouting and long range quick strike missions than attack craft.

Attack Craft:

One or two piloted craft that tend to work in squadrons to overcome their lower firepower. They lack the armor of large vessels, but have very high maneuverability which mixed with their small size to make them hard to hit.

Bombers:

These two crew anti-warship attack craft are built to engage Frigate sized ships and above with anti-warship torpedoes. They are the slowest of the four types of attack craft, but they have the heaviest armor to protect themselves with.

Assault Shuttles:

While Assault Shuttles lack any sort of weaponry they are built to be Marine delivery systems for space to ground or boarding operations. They are the rarest of the three types.

Fighters:

Fighters are the all around attack craft compared to interceptors and bombers. They have the firepower to do damage to Frigates and corvettes, but the speed to dogfight as well.

Interceptors:

These quick and nimble vessels are built to engage and destroy opposing attack craft. They have lighter weapons, and armor than any other ship but their small profiles and high speed makes them extremely difficult to hit.

Support Craft:

Mining Vessels:
These large support vessels are equipped with mining equipment to quickly extract raw materials from asteroids or other forms of space junk.

Salvage Vessels:
Built to tow damaged/destroyed ships to a base or ark to be repaired or stripped for materials. Salvage vessels often carry marines for boarding enemy ships so they can be disabled so the Salvage vessel can tow them back to a base and ark.

Alien Races:

Spoiler:

None have been encountered but some previews of some of the Aliens that will be encountered (if you want to RP one let me know)

Tardiin:
Playable: Yes
Appearance:

Spoiler:

They stand between 3.5 to just below 6 feet tall. The Tardiin are an incredibly diverse race appear wise, their skin, hair, and eyes (which matches their hair color) vary between hundreds of different colors. Random off colored spots appear on their faces, shoulders, hands, and feet and are perfectly symmetrical when comparing the left and right sides. Clothing wise they work in skin tight suits to insure maximum mobility and no issues with clothes catching on objects. Socially the more higher classes wear very elaborate robes that are deceivingly revealing depending on how they move. Lower classes and slaves usually only have their work clothing to wear.

Society: Feudalistic society that is ruled by a ruthless and paranoid Emperor. Each planet under their control is ruled by a royal family who enjoy all the comforts of the Tardiin Empire's greatness, but they also fear the paranoid gaze of their degrading Emperor. The whispering of rebellion has begun, but this has increased the Emperor's paranoid lashing out. Any planet seen as unloyal is ruthlessly dealt with.

Society wise most Tardiin are part of the lower caste, a hard working caste that never leaves the world they live on unless they are assigned to the military. The lower caste are all servants to the lords of their world and can not leave the world unless allowed so by the ruler of the world. Despite this lack of freedom and the fact much of their life is decided by someone often in a far away capital, lower caste Tardiin tend to live well as the Lords duty is to care for their people.

Ba'Vesh:
Playable: Yes
Appearance:
WARNING picture of this race is gory proceed with caution!

Spoiler:

Ba'Vesh are among the most diverse looking of all races with some having additional arms instead of wings, eyes ranging in number from 1 to 10, hundreds of different skin tones, some with tails some without. However their slender long form always stays about the same and their height is pretty standardized with a minimal variance between 7 feet and 7 feet and 2 inches.

Clothing is completely random for them and is up to the individual, but almost all Ba'Vesh wear some sort of trophies from past accomplishments. Many of these trophies are rather unsettling

Society: Unknown

Varisss'kar
Playable: Maybe (I have not decided)
Appearance:

Spoiler:

Varisss'kar really don't vary much in appearance instead individuals are identified by a specific "marking" a mix of pheromones and mental wavelengths they emit. To a human they all look the same.

Society:

 

[<Challenger>]

Looks very interesting. I might make a sign up soon. A possible reservation is in order.

Full Name and Rank: Professor Iscarot Sordus: Ranked Grand Master of Arms

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Clan:

Spoiler:

Clan Narrak
Symbol: A pair of metal wings held together by a wrench in the middle, with a single star below the head of the wrench.
Colors: White and Maroon

History before the Discovery of the Ancient Vessel:

Clan Narrak is one of the smallest, but is one of the more powerful Clans found on Kharak. Clan Narrak is always looking to improve or invent technology and many of their inventions have made life on Kharak more tolerable for them and the Clans they have sold/traded their technology to. They lack a true military but their countless treaties and trade agreements with the other Clans means no one would dare attack them. They do however keep a small group of "Black Operatives" who sole job is to insure the Clan's technological dominance by stealing/sabotage of other Clan's inventions that could threaten the Narrak's technological advantage.

After the Discovery of the Ancient Vessel:

Clan Narrak was on the fore front of unlocking the ancient vessel's secrets to the point they relocated their entire clan to the inhospitable deserts where the wreck was discovered. This would cost the Clan greatly as their already small size was further reduced by the hostile environment, however to the Clan this would be a sacrifice worth taking as they allowed Humanity to quickly begin work on the Ark. Much of the technology rediscovered or invented on the Ark has the mark of the Narrak on it.

Culture:
The Clan is lead by who they believe is their premier scientist or inventor at the time. With a focus on technology above all else the Narrak are extremely well educated and their education system is infamous for it's extremely difficultly. To fail in their education system is to be a worker whose sole job to build what others have invented; ironically their failures tend to be more intelligent than many of the other Clan's intellectuals. To pass is to be one of the best educated on Kharak.

Profession: The leading scientist aboard the Ark. Iscarot has highest level security clearance a scientist can be granted, seeing as he does all of the major work. He personally monitors the ship's reactors and such, and does important research on anything brought to him, medical or scientific.

Age: 34

Appearance:

Spoiler:

Iscarot wears the Clan Narrak's uniform at all times

Spoiler:

Personality:

"Have to do it. Must be me. Someone else might get it wrong."​

Iscarot's personality is different than the average Narrak's. He's genius, even by Narrak standards, giving him an elevated position in their society. He is very hyperactive, as in he puts a hamster to shame, and tends to talk quickly in choppy sentences such as, "Reactor unstable. Must stabilize with flux capitulators." His high amount of knowledge has led to others questioning his sanity, seeing as the more intelligent in Clan Narrak have less mental stability, but he is in fact saner than most. Sordus has a love of science that is rivaled only by his love of humanity, and his need to see the race home. He's prepared to do anything to accomplish his goal, confirming himself as a consequentalist, that the end justifies the means. Iscarot wants to make his clan happy, but his conscience will drive him crazy if what he has done is what he considers immoral or villainous.

Normally one would expect the greatest mind in Narrak society to be imperialistic and high-and-mighty, but Iscarot does not follow this path. He generally wants to help humanity, believing greatly in the fact that he is the key to bring the Ark to Terra. He is quite friendly if talked to on a frequent basis, going so far as to make short quips or elaborate, scientific jokes. Quite the opposite of awkward, his brain processes information far faster than normal people, further allowing his social capabilites to increase. Sordus can come up with a topic so far off of the previous discussion, yet make it so relevant that it seems completely normal.

Despite his love for factual information, he has a love for art, and is actually quite good at singing, usually in a show-tuney rhythm similar to Gilbert and Sullivan.

Brief History: Little is known about the professor's childhood, other than the fact that he exceeded in all academic classes in the Clan Narrak's regiment. Around age sixteen, he was invited to join the lead scientists in the clan's most clandestine research lab, but he turned them down, wishing to gain full benefit from school. Iscarot did very, very well, leading to him developing new forms of enhancements, cures to diseases, and even the production of new type of food pill, capable of feeding a man for an entire week. This food pill was removed from markets, however, due to it being controlled by gangs in need of power.

Around the age of twenty-five, Iscarot joined the Clan Narrak's infamous Black Ops, known to the rest of the world as Virus or Cipher. The majority of his work was highly classified as he was put in one of the more elite groups, known as Narrak Company. He mainly destroyed many other clan's life-saving technology that surpassed his own clan's, often leading to the death of thousands of people. He believed that in the end, Clan Narrak would make up for all the harm he had inflicted upon the world and bring humanity back to Terra, but the hope became bleaker and bleaker by the day. After five or so years, Sordus had come to terms with the fact that if anything was to change, he would have to do it himself.

Iscarot was sent to work on the Ark almost immediately when he turned thirty-one. Excited by the prospect of going home, he performed his work as best as he could. After three years and many long hours spent tweaking reactor systems, stabilizing engine thrusters, and healing patients in the infirmary, the Ark was complete. He was granted permission to "retire" from the Black Ops, and was put in charge of the Ark's systems by his clan. Believing that he had to do this himself, he accepted the burden with open arms. He quickly made friends with his fellow scientists, most from other clans, and the captain with hopes that they'll perform better for those they know and trust. After the malfunction in the engines, he immediately made his way to the core room to begin repairs himself.

Goal(s): Iscarot's current goal, other than to see humanity to the homeworld, is to help fix the wrongs he has done through his work as a black op.

Enhancements: Has mechanical fingers on his right hands due to an incident in a lab. However these fingers move far faster than a normal human's, and have three times the strength of said normal human. His only other enhancement are in his eyes. They see twice as well as a normal person's, and can see in the dark.

Other: Anything else you would like to add.

 

[Stingray]

heretostay123 you are reserved and here is my character's SU:

Also made a few minor chances to the SU sheet (added Profession and said you're allowed to use pictures in the appearance section to help you out).


Name: Thane Varik Kushan
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Profession: Corvette Commanding Officer
Age: 29
Clan: Clanless, He is a Nomad, but specifically one from a small group called the Wanderers.
Appearance:

Spoiler:

Varik's "normal" day to day wear is a set of loose brown robes used by Wanderers back on Kharak. He also tends to wear several trinkets and relics that relate to his beliefs and Wanderer customs. His dutyuniform (partly pictured) is also plain brown and he tends to avoid wearing metals and rank . For this reason he often looks like a civilian compared to all the other warriors. The one thing Varik is always wearing is a pair of katana like swords. These swords are ritualistic to Wanderers as part of their passage into adulthood, but also have some other significance to the Wanderers.

Personality:

Varik Kushan is a focused individual and this leads to his workaholic ways. Ever since entering Ship Command School he has been obsessive about training, learning about the weapon systems he commands, and trying to read on the art of space warfare. This level of devotion to his job has led him to being a great commander. However it does mean he is not a well rounded individual since what little free time he has left he usually sends it alone.

The times Varik isn't focusing on being the best at his job he tends to keep to himself as he meditates, practices with his ritual blades, or reading about/practicing the beliefs of the Wanderers. Varik's deep spirituality is a huge part in his life, but he never tries pushing his beliefs on others and he avoids debates on belief systems. He does refer to his beliefs quite often so you will likely hear about them if you are around Varik.

Varik's biggest flaw is that he speaks his mind and is honest to a fault. This has gotten him in plenty of trouble in the past. This is one reason he tends to not be overly social as he often gets himself in trouble due to his opinions straight forward honesty. His views on alcohol being a needless poison people insist on drinking hasn't made him many friends at a parties or gatherings for example. Despite speaking his mind and being brutally honest, Varik keeps his feelings to himself unless inquired about them. Even then he will just say how he feels plainly, but he will keep his emotions in check while answering. Thus he seems to be distant or disengaged when discussing emotional subjects.

Outside the work enviroment he lacks any sort of respect, but his abilities on the command deck of a ship cannot be ignored. Varik is always calm and collected no matter what the circumstance when he takes command and he expects everyone under him to do their best. He doesn't give or accept excuses from himself or others. To Varik one's actions define them and their words and appearance do not define the person. This thought pattern is easier said than done seems be a mentality Varik is working on as he is sometimes judges others too quickly and he has to take a step back to try in see the real picture. His willingness to do this has led him to accepting some members of his crew, who have bad reputations.

Another aggravating aspect for Varik's superiors is Varik's independent thinking, and the fact he does what he feels is the best course of action to complete the mission. This often has him going against normal procedures to achieve his objections. The only reason Varik hasn't been stripped of his command however is despite his deviations, is that he gets results. This does however also lead to many officers under him requesting transfers because they don't want Varik's creative tactics to ruin their careers or worse: get them killed.

History:

Varik's small tribe of Wanderers has been devoted to helping the process of returning to the human's homeworld by being workers on the construction of the Ark. However when Varik became an adult, he felt he needed to take a different path than the rest of his family. He applied for flight school first but he was rejected. Not to be discouraged he was applied and was accepted by the Ship Command Academy two months later.

In command school Varik was the odd ball out being the only Clanless in his class. Clanless are often regarded as lower than those who are born in a Clan, and this would be the cause of much of Varik's trouble while in training. Due to this Varik was forced to work harder than his peers in order to scrape through. However this just reinforced Varik's focus and work effect as he had to be better in order to graduate the school and prove he belonged despite his past.

Despite his hard work, Varik was placed in command of a Salvage rig instead of a combat ship. Varik would not be discouraged and he got his chance to prove himself later. During a combat exercise his convoy was attacked by several corvettes, with his escorts outgunned Varik abandoned his cargo and took the Salvage rig on the offensive and afforded to somehow grab a hold of a Rail Gun armed Corvette, whose crew was completely taken off guard by the attacking salvage vessel. He then pretended to smash the Corvette into an asteroid getting the first ever "kill" with a weaponless salvage ship. This event would actually lead to Salvage craft being used for capturing enemy vessels.

Getting the attention of his superiors Varik was reassigned to the Corvette Blade of Kharak as the commanding officer. His Corvette has been assigned as part of the Ark's fleet for this test, and he looks forward to being a part of this historic moment.

Goal: Varik shares the goal of all Wanderers to help humanity find its way back to its forgotten homeland. This is based off a long held prophecy about one day Humanity would find a way to return to the long forgotten homeland. However Varik personally wants to step on Terran, and wants to see the true birthplace of humanity with his own eyes.

Enhancements: None, as the Wanderer's beliefs do not agree with them.

Other: Varik is in command of the Blade of Kharak a rail gun configuration Corvette wielding a single light Rail Gun.

 

[Garet]

Hello, there. Looks interesting, I'll likely put up an SU soon.

Full Name and Rank: Champion Jeshal Kifius

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Clan: Clan Caedmon

Spoiler:

Colors: Red, Black, and Silver

Clan Caedmon is one of the larger Human Clans on Kharak, and perhaps the most militaristic. Caedmon has insured its continued existence by keeping a standing army, even in times of relative peace. Land forces, naval, air, stealth...you name it, Caedmon has it. Among agreements it has with other Clans are contracts for hiring out mercenaries and security; one thing that Caedmons emphasize is the importance of completing all promises and contracts they make. Coupled with that is what could be called ruthlessness when it comes to getting the job done by any means necessary.

A good number of Caedmons make it a point of pride that their ancestors were among those who first discovered the Ancient Vessel. All the same, Clan Caedmon was not hesitant to apply the newly discovered technology to their militaristic ways, going so far as to hire out as many willing test subjects as were needed for research and development. Despite all the advances in the last 347 years, Caedmons stick to the belief that humans should refrain from enhancements as much as possible, usually getting them only as a necessity, not as an extra.

Profession: Pilot, Interceptor Squadron Leader

Age: 26

Appearance: A height of 5'6" and a relatively light frame mean that by Caedmon standards, Jeshal is half a foot below the average. Jeshal's red hair is never more than two inches long; anyone looking for them would find two small metal ports in the back of his head for his neuro implant. He has blue eyes and usually wears a pair of sunglasses with red frames. Jeshal's on-duty uniform is mainly black with gray highlights and a red panther on both shoulders. Caedmon uniforms normally have straps and such for various weapons and tools. Off-duty, Jeshal likes to wear a Caedmon jacket over a plain blue shirt and brown trousers.

Personality: There is little that can truly dampen Jeshal's optimism. He looks for the positive side of pretty much every situation he finds himself in. It's kind of hard to do in the middle of a dogfight in space, but Jeshal knows how to keep optimism in balance with reality. The way he sees it, life is only miserable because of miserable attitudes. Plus, being optimistic meant that people don't avoid Jeshal so much.

Despite that, Jeshal isn't one to talk to people half the time. It's not that he tries to avoid or push away other people; it's that he doesn't have much to say when it isn't required to speak. Either Jeshal isn't sure what to say, or he can't think of a good joke on the spot, or just doesn't want to make small talk. Knowing the people he's with doesn't make it much more likely for Jeshal to come out. He could be called a social butterfly's cocoon who does a fair bit of talking inside his head. A potential upside is that Jeshal will listen to anyone that needs to rant, granted that the ranter doesn't expect a reply from him.

Aside from all that, Jeshal has a sharp mind and reflexes suited more to piloting than anything else. He was considered one of the best Caedmon pilots in his age group even before he got his neuro implant. Jeshal figured that he'd be better prepared if he had both integration tech for his Interceptor and the training to fly one without the implant. Personally, Jeshal didn't really want to become a squadron leader in the first place, but he felt it was better than certain other pilots being promoted to the position. Besides, he's probably the person in his squad with the least reason to dig himself into pointless arguments.

Brief History: It was probably for the best that Jeshal was born the third son in one of the lower-ranking families of Clan Caedmon's elite. Having a famous general or someone for a father would have been more pressure than he'd have liked. As it was, the Kifius line was generally known most for its tendency to turn out top-of-the-class pilots, which meant that Jeshal was already lined up for entering flight school when he came of age. That didn't bother him so much, really; this way, he wouldn't have to worry about having nothing to do but stand around and talk. Theoretically.

From the start, Jeshal Kifius excelled in piloting one- or two-man craft, while larger ships like a Corvette were too cumbersome for him. He also went through Clan Caedmon's program for hand-to-hand combat training, which Jeshal wasn't bad at for his size. His talent and skills allowed him to move up through the flight school when his grades in other fields of study were mediocre at worst. If it wasn't for that, Jeshal would very likely have been nudged out of the military one way or another - Clan Caedmon likes its troops to be some of the biggest among the Clans. Being quiet outside of the cockpit didn't earn Jeshal many friends, but that was no problem to him.

Jeshal went from flight school graduation to Caedmon's aerial and space branch of the military. There wasn't much opportunity for him to show off his skill until a 16-month war with some Clanless tribes that were attempting to conquer territory along the outer Caedmon borders. By that time, Jeshal was assigned to the 107th Interceptor Squadron, nicknamed the Falcons. Several months of the war passed before some of his superiors recognized the ineptitude of Jeshal's squadron leader. It took several more weeks and a few changes in leadership before the officers decided to promote Jeshal to the position of the 107th's squadron leader. After that, the Falcons made a much bigger contribution to Clan Caedmon's victory over the tribes.

Toward the end of the war, Jeshal's Interceptor was shot down in an aerial battle, leaving him alive but with a broken arm, broken legs, and a few other broken bones. His injuries would heal over time, but it initially looked like Jeshal would be down and out for the remainder of the war. After a long discussion that involved Jeshal and some of his comrades in the Falcons, his superiors approved the funding for installing a neuro implant in Jeshal's head for syncing with an Interceptor. That allowed him to fly an attack craft without the use of his limbs, toward the final stages of their healing.

It was also how Jeshal met his future wife, Rita Zavala. She was one of the technicians that helped install the neuro implant, and the one assigned to further supervise Jeshal while he learned to sync with his Interceptor. They began spending a lot of time together outside of their jobs, eventually getting married about a year later. When his recovery was complete, Jeshal split his training between flying while in sync, and without the sync. There was no reason to let either set of skills stagnate.

Later, during a combat exercise that included members from different Clans and some Clanless, the convoy that Jeshal and several attack craft were escorting was attacked by several Corvettes. Jeshal was able to avoid the bigger ships' weapons, but Interceptors weren't really made to attack Corvettes. Jeshal's Falcons provided some of the cover fire that allowed the Salvage rig, commanded by Varik Kushan, to capture an opposing Corvette.

When the Ark's crew and fleet were being assembled, both Jeshal and his wife were assigned to the test run, with Rita as one of the technicians maintaining the engines and core room. During the test run, Jeshal was never far from the Interceptors' docking bay.

Goal(s): Somewhere along the line, Jeshal got the idea into his head that the new homeworld, Terra, would be the perfect place for him and Rita to raise a family. He also secretly wants to find a way for humans to operate spacecraft and machinery even better without any artificial modifications to the human body.

Enhancements: Jeshal's only enhancement is a neuro implant for syncing with one-man attack craft, specifically his Interceptor. One can tell he has it by the two small metal ports in the back of his head.

Other: Jeshal carves figurines out of wood as a hobby and carries a carving knife whenever he can. Of course, being in the Ark's fleet means he has a limited supply.

 

[Manska]

Seems interesting, can I grab a reserve?

 

[Stingray]

Garet and Manska you are reserved

 

[<Challenger>]

I'm heavily basing my character off of Mordin Solus, of Mass Effect, if that's okay with you.

 

[Stingray]

@heretostay123 that is fine with me, Mordin was a great character. Having a human version of him should be interesting.

Random knowledge: Terra is Latin for Earth. So this is not some Sci Fi Planet they are returning it is Earth!

Also I've been debating skipping the Prologue and jumping straight into Mission 1 (Missions instead of Chapters). This would jump the story ahead a little and have a little less easing in but makes things more intense right off the bat. What does everyone think?

 

[Garet]

I think skipping the Prologue would be better. Whether something went wrong during the Jump Drive's test run, I think there's more room for conflict to drive the roleplay to begin with when we actually move on to the first Mission. To me, the Prologue kinda feels like something that could be cut out without affecting the overall roleplay much.

 

[Stingray]

I think skipping the Prologue would be better. Whether something went wrong during the Jump Drive's test run, I think there's more room for conflict to drive the roleplay to begin with when we actually move on to the first Mission. To me, the Prologue kinda feels like something that could be cut out without affecting the overall roleplay much.

That was my feeling too... so I fast forwarded the story a little. Hopefully that will make things more interesting.

 

[<Challenger>]

I've finished. Perhaps you could review my SU?

 

[Garet]

I'm going to be on a trip for the next two or three days. I may be able to access the Internet while I'm gone; whether I can or not, I'll work on my SU in the meantime.

 

[Stingray]

That is fine Garet thanks for the heads up... looks like its going to be a select few of us at first anyway

@Heretostay123 I posted on your wall

I'm not going to wait forever to fill all the slots more people can join later. I've had very fun RPs where it was just me and one other person.

 

[<Challenger>]

Finished up the changes on my SU, and I think I'm done. Evaluation time, here I come!

 

[Stingray]

@ Heretostay123 You are accepted HOWEVER your character will be a Grandmaster of Arms in rank (at all times) due to his importance aboard the Ark. That reactor is the heart of the ship (and the fact the Jump Core itself is irreplaceable as the Humans have no idea how it was created or how to create another one.. they simply got it back online and did some minor but much needed repairs) and being the head Scientist/Engineer.

 

[<Challenger>]

Ah. I see. I've been promoted! But most excellent. I'll change that in my SU immediately.

 

[Stingray]

Added some appearance information on three alien races that will appear in the RP.

 

[Manska]

Here's my SU :D

Full Name and Rank: Master of Arms Geralt Zenar

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Clan: Clan Averna

Spoiler:

Symbol:

Worn on the left breast. Often augmented with a family symbol, or a ship symbol for naval crews. Geralt and his crew augment theirs with the symbol of their ship, a pair of burning wings done in white metal and attached just below the centre of the badge.

Colours: Brass and Dark Blue.

History:
Clan Averna has, for most of Kharrak's history, been one of the largest clans. They claim a sizeable portion of land on the southern side of the planet and defend it viciously. Their numbers allowed the Avernans to build several cities and industrial complexes, leaving them one of the more industrious of the clans. Their technology isn't quite the most advanced but they are able to make it widely available to their large population and have a sizeable fleet of ships that guard their land.

Despite their large fleet and army Clan Averna rarely got involved in conflicts beyond defending their territory or reprisal attacks against those who threatened them. An isolationist attitude from much of their population and unstable internal politics lead to any leaders with military ambitions being repeatedly unable to push the Clan wholeheartedly into a war; the average Avernan would much rather be left to their own devices than get involved with pointless wars and it was always easier for political rivals to usurp a leader who made himself unpopular by starting trouble.

Instead the clan focused on development of technology, with a particular focus towards body enhancements and vehicle integration. The quality of life started to improve in many ways for the Avernan citizens, but trouble came from another direction. As the Avernans started to develop new methods and techniques for human modification they drew the attention of Clan Narrak - a rival clan that held fiercely onto their position of technological superiority over the other Clans - and their "Black Ops" teams. What happened between the two Clans couldn't quite be described as a war; Black Ops teams from Narrak infiltrated Averna and staged several waves of sabotage attacks on military, research and industrial targets.

Despite the constant attacks Averna used its sheer size to continue research at a slower pace and after the entire nation got incensed enough that Averna almost entered full-out war for the first time in hundreds of years, the attacks slowly started to slow down.

Today Averna is as paranoid as ever, if not even more so than before the "Shadow War" as some call it. With research and production facilities bunched together in tightly defended complexes they continued their research into body modification.

Culture:
Being a large Clan, Clan Averna has several internal factions that often get involved in power struggles. While never quite progression to actual conflict it's not unusual for the clan to be caught up in arguments and bureaucratic blockades that only ease up when an external threat presents itself.

In general Clan Averna tends to be extremely isolationist and xenophobic. They are happy with the, rather generous, lands they have and are disinterested with dealing with outsiders except for important matters. There is a heavy culture of industrialism and body modification among them and in recent years a clear majority of the population - almost two thirds - have some form of modification to their body.

Profession: Retired frontline Commander, current Captain/Pilot of the Corvette "Icarus"

Age: 35

Appearance:
Geralt is a tall, wiry man with olive skin and light grey hair. He has spent a lot of time in combat and his body shows it with a multitude of scars, the worst of which is a heavy burn mark across the right side of his torso where an explosion damaged much of his body.

That explosion also destroyed his right arm and leg, which have been replaced completely with robotic limbs. While leaving the metal bare these limbs are sleek looking with plated of a dark, polished brass covering up most of the inner workings. His eyes are also augmented heavily, with uniform dark blue iris and an ice blue ring instead of a pupil. The rings glow slightly when Geralt uses a form of augmented sight and shifts as his telescopic sight changes magnification.

His head is mostly shaved bald to allow for the advanced integration system he has. This takes the form of a strip of metal running up the exact centre of his head from the base of his skull to the crown of it. A bulge of metal shaped like a regular integration system is present at the appropriate place but there are several other ports arrayed along the metal strip.

The Averna uniform is fairly simple; plain, neat but loose dark blue clothing consisting of a tight blue t-shirt, neat jacket, baggy trousers with large external pockets and boots. The only decorations are strips of metal holding rank symbols running across the shoulders and the clan badge that everyone wears on their left breast. All the metal used in the uniform such as buckles, belts and the decorations is coloured brass. When in combat situations the uniform is augmented by combat armour, all of which is coloured black with some brass highlighting. This includes a flexible vest, rigid plating going over the forearms, shins and thighs, armoured gloves, kneepads and a helmet.

As an old habit Geralt is armed most of the time with a machine-pistol strapped into a thigh holster and a combat knife at the small of his back. Both items are small enough to not get in the way on a ship and coloured the black and brass of Averna military equipment; the knife with its brass coloured blade was a gift from Geralt's father and is treasured.

On and off duty Geralt tends to wear a brass coloured military beret when he isn't using his integration systems.
Off duty Geralt doesn't change his appearance that much; he still wears the trousers and boots he does on duty but simply removes his duty jacket and wears the t-shirt, or he will replace it with a brown leather jacket if the temperature calls for it. Geralt does own a pair of jeans, several white shirts and other civilian clothing but he rarely wears them; his mind too entrenched in the military to be comfortable in them.

Personality:
Geralt is a rather private person when it comes to his emotions; he tends to but on a strict and grim facade most of the time and appears to by your typical gruff, no-nonsense military man. When he is with those he trusts and likes - at the time of him embarking on the Ark mostly the crew of his Corvette and a few engineers - he lets himself unwind a bit.

He's still fairly serious but will joke about with his friends and amuse himself with some of his sillier whims if he feels he doesn't have an audience of outsiders. Like many Avernans, Geralt is more than a touch xenophobic - in this case xeno referring to the other clans though Geralt doubts he'll be rushing to make friends with any actual aliens they meet - but since he has ordered his crew to try and integrate with the others working in the Ark to make things go smoother he has been making an effort to be more accepting of those who he considers outsiders.

Despite his attitudes towards others Geralt is actually extremely excited about getting the chance to explore the universe and be one of the ones to rediscover Terra. The stars have always held an allure for him and while he squashed his desires to travel and explore down when he went into military service they have been rekindled now.

Geralt has an extremely good memory and prides himself on his ability to know his small crew. From the second in command to each engineer Geralt knows the man's name and what's going on in his life. This skill is vital to Geralt's sucess as a captain and helps him keep order on the ship through a strong sense of camaraderie. Carrying over from his infantry days Geralt often leads by example and tends to make himself extremely busy around his ship and has picked up a wide range of engineering skills throughout his life that he makes regular use of. As well as keeping their own ship in good condition he and the Icarus' other engineers are all active around the Ark.
As a leader Geralt is exceptional. He has a good mind for small squad tactics on the ground and an excellent understanding of 3-D manoeuvring in space. His body means that Geralt can't take part in most ground operations but he is often involved in planning and coordinating with them.

Due to the limitations of his damaged physical body and the advanced mind linking techniques he makes use of to run his ship Geralt has developed a mental issue known informally as a wandering mind. In short he sometimes suffers a disconnect between his mind and his body when he spends a long time in control of the Icarus. Because of his private tendencies most people don't know Geralt deals with this; it doesn't affect him doing his job and he doesn't feel it's most peoples business.

One thing this does bring about is a fierce protectiveness towards his ship. Geralt views the Icarus as closer to a second body than a piece of metal floating through space and he takes any insult towards it or damage dealt to it extremely personally and often reacts with anger.

Brief History:
Geralt was born into a military family and it was pretty much inevitable that he would go into the life himself. His mother was a weapons officer on board a Cruiser protecting the capital and his father was second in command of a base nearby. Geralt spent most of his childhood in either his father's army base or the naval base his mother was based out of. It was never a question of if he would go into the military but whether he would choose the navy or the army.

He ended up choosing to go into the Army as an officer. Geralt's army service began at the start of an unusually violent period of Avernan history. Several smaller tribes of nomads, pushed out of their own territories by a drought, started harassing one of the most distant and poorly defended sections of Avernan territory. Troops from the internal Averna territories, including the newly graduated Geralt, were gathered together and sent out to meet this threat.

The guerrilla nature of the attacking tribes made the fighting long and difficult despite the numerical advantage of the Avernans and the fighting on this border lasted for nearly five years as the Avernan military slowly pushed the nomads out of the contested territory. Geralt proved himself to be a natural at leading men and a fierce fighter. He rose quickly through the ranks and by the end of the war he was a highly decorated battlefield commander. When the Shadow War began and Clan Narrak began attacking Clan Averna Geralt was one of the commanders tasked with defending vital research projects from attack.

Geralt was assigned to a mountainous city that was doing research into experimental space ship designs and had been coming under heavy attack. After multiple raids managed to slip past his efforts Geralt eventually managed to lay a trap and trick the Black Ops team plaguing him into attacking a false objective. During the raids he ended up confronting the leader of the team personally, only to be severely injured when an explosion caused by the attackers hit him and he was unable to stop them escaping.

Geralt's life was saved but the explosion had done it's damage. His right arm and leg were damaged beyond use and amputated in favour of robotic limb while many of his internal organs needed similar treatment. Geralt was still able to live his life, but he could no longer serve in the army; his robotic limbs made him too clumsy for combat without years of adjustment and his artificial lung left him out of breath if he ran for too long.

Depressed, Geralt retreated to his home city and spent several months in deep depression until a unique offer was made to him. The experimental spaceships that he had helped defend were nearing completion, a revolutionary new design that replaced many of the roles typically requiring the most crew with an extremely advanced integration system. The director of the project was grateful enough to Geralt that he offered him a position as captain of one of them.

Eager to get back into the military Geralt completed the naval academy captain course in record time and when the first generation of Transcendence class space ships launched, he was right there piloting a Corvette he had named the Icarus. Geralt and the Icarus served in the navy for several years and when it was revealed to the world that the Ark was finally ready to make its monumentous journey, Geralt and the Icarus were sent up onto the ship as part of the fleet to help defend it.

Goals:
To bring honour to Clan Averna and to explore and experience the universe.

Enhancements:
Geralt is heavily enhanced, some due to choice and some due to necessity.

His right arm and leg are both completely mechanical. The limbs are strong and fast but not properly coordinated with the rest of his body.

His right lung and his intestines are artificial, again due to necessity from injury. He has several minor implants around his body to increase memory retention and reaction times.

Geralt has an advanced Integration system that is used for his ship. The system will work with regular vehicles but no better than a regular Integration system; the enhanced functions only work on his ship.

Geralt's eyes are both enhanced with telescopic sight, toggle-able thermal vision and the ability to link his eyes directly into the scope of a weapon.
Other: Geralt is the Captain and Pilot of the Transcendence class Corvette, Icarus.

Spoiler:

Transcendence class Corvettes are experimental craft produced by Clan Averna. They are slightly bigger and more heavily armoured than typical Corvettes, sacrificing some speed and maneuverability to do so. They also use an advanced form of Integration system to let them run at high performance with a reduced crew, though a special form of Integration port is needed to pilot them like this. The Icarus is capable of being piloted like a normal craft but it's reduced crew means that it would be much less effective that with an integrated pilot.

The Icarus is armed with two turret mounted Coil Guns and two missile launch systems to the aft and fore of the ship.

 

[Garet]

Hey, been back for close to a day. I'm still working on my SU.

 

[Stingray]

@Manska While clans might preform shadow operations during this time none of them would directly attack another one. The discovery of the ancient vessel and the efforts to create the Ark and explore their local system has mostly united them. However some of the Criminal or more desperate Nomad tribes would be up for attacking a Clan while much of their resources are committed elsewhere.

Also the rank of Captain does not exist... the Clans have their own unique rank structure listed above.

Just some minor changes and your accepted.

@Garet NP just let me know when you're done.