How/Where did you get your first Ship?

[Yabusama]

Assuming that you didn't end up with a ship as part of your character generation, how did your team get their first ship? Was it an old rust bucket, salvaged from an asteroid belt or a pristine Ancient deathstar?

I ask as acquiring a ship should not be an easy task but a memorable adventure.

 

[mbrinkhues]

Hired one from Locaboat, Ireland.

Oh, you mean Traveller Starship

+ During a long range scouting mission style campaign the group simply got one assigned when they needed it

+ The "Scum of the Empire" got one borrowed from their collective parents (Who retain ownership and pay the crew) to use as long as they don't return before Strephons 75s coronation jubilee

+ The "Traders" got to choose a ship within a certain price range and from the stores of "Honest Han's used starships". The money was just the 20 percent down payment and in exchange they gained a duty to their patron (ImperialIntelligence)

 

[Pickles]

Well, my first ship was assigned to me, being a scout. But that wasn't mine, it was the ISS's. Until, that is, I sold it cheap (5MCr!) to a shady character on Sting/1525/Sword Worlds/Spinward Marches, back in 1105.

A couple of nights later, my "other" co-pilot got us into the hangar, I let off the sandcaster to distract security, and away we went.

That's when I got my first ship.

 

[Plankowner]

Struck it rich on a Trade Exploration Mission (found a diamond mine...) and bought a Type A2 Far Trader.

We had lots of Scouts flying about in their IISS ships, but you said that didn't count...

 

[Arthur Denger]

As in the Bromgrev's case, when I first went on Detached Duty and filed the usual requisition app for personal starship use (IS Form 83), mine was somehow (!) approved by the Office of the Director. It was right after the Fifth Frontier War, and as it turned out there were plenty of Scout vessels being decommissioned at that time. I'll admit I was not a little disappointed when the resulting Type-S turned out to be an aging Sulieman-class, though, (no, their air recycling systems do not improve over time); however short legs are better than no legs. The rest, as they say, is history. Even now, years later, I still remain grateful to the anonymous clerk who stamped my request 'Approved'.

 

[Straybow]

Only played a couple campaigns, and managed to have one PC in the group with a Scout both times.

 

[jappel]

While aboard a blockade runner carrying troops, equipment, and a pair of fighters to a planetary guerilla organization, we were intercepted by a corvette of the planet's government. In the course of the ensuing battle (which involved launching my character in one of the fighters out of the cargo bay) we wound up boarding and capturing the navy vessel. It was somewhat worse for the wear, but we had a functional 300-ton ship.

Getting it fixed up and re-registered was interesting.

 

[Darkhstarr]

Other than my scout & my noble characters which don't count because they were benefits, my other characters hooked with players who had ships. My wife, on the other hand well.... Her Imperial IBIS agent stole two 200 tonne traders, took a 100 scout (being used for smuggling) by whacking the crew & taking it(later modified with a PAW barbute). Her corsair captain started by breaking out of the brig, & deserted with her 400 tonne patrol cruiser. Once she acquired her Trinity class corsair she left the patrol cruiser in a parking orbit around a scout base with a message thanking the navy for use of the ship.

 

[boomslang]

Originally posted by Yabusama:
I ask as acquiring a ship should not be an easy task but a memorable adventure.

It was a well-worn old loaner (a Type A2 modified as per the "Foodrunner" scenario in JTAS back in the day) which our ambitious patron gave us the use of in order take care of a few things for him.

After a long, successful campaign by us which resulted in a business and political windfall for him, he wrote the old clunker off and into our hands as a bonus payout.

We then set off on a second campaign of independent adventures, and only abandoned the dear girl after a nasty tangle with some corsairs. After getting our revenge upon the corsairs, we then upgraded to one of their other prizes, and that's where we left off...

 

[deadlock]

Greetings and salutations,

Inherited from the original owner after he got killed by pirates looking for a ship of their own while we were on a speculative trade with a 200-ton Far Trader. My character was ex-Army and quite good at protecting the ship, crew, and cargo as well as making sure there were credits for ship maintenance, docking, crew needs, cargo purchases, fuel, and the occasional little extras that kept the crew happy. It really sucked when the captain got killed.

 

[pendragonman]

Well, let's see. I booked passage on this A2 that had some available low births for the long trip out to the Marches to seek my fortune. I don't have to tell you how poorly us ground pounders got paid. Well, while I was "sleeping" in low we got pirated for the Imperial mails that the ship was carrying. They killed all of the crew and left the ship adrift. The low birth opened when the old and boarding combat damaged computer shorted. I count myself very lucky to have survived.

After somehow getting the tub to Regina, I applied for the salvage rights. After greasing the correct wheels I managed to get my day in the Maritime Prize courts and was awarded the ship.

 

[pendragonman]

Well, let's see. I booked passage on this A2 that had some available low births for the long trip out to the Marches to seek my fortune. I don't have to tell you how poorly us ground pounders got paid. Well, while I was "sleeping" in low we got pirated for the Imperial mails that the ship was carrying. They killed all of the crew and left the ship adrift. The low birth opened when the old and boarding combat damaged computer shorted. I count myself very lucky to have survived.

After somehow getting the tub to Regina, I applied for the salvage rights. After greasing the correct wheels I managed to get my day in the Maritime Prize courts and was awarded the ship.

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

Much like Sam Starfall, Captain of the Savage Chicken, and Mal Reynolds, Captain of the Serenity, my friends and I "found" our ship (Type-S Scout/Courier) at a salvage yard. It was stripped of most of its control systems, fittings, and life support.

Re-fitting the computer, sensors, and life-support to the best we could afford kept us in the dark about some of the more traditional problems associated with a Type-S, but it was ours!

Of course, some of the systems we installed weren't exactly paid for, and the re-registration required some social engineering, but she was flight-ready in less than a year.

We just never got around to returning to that particular system

 

[Yabusama]

Originally posted by Chucky the Hammer:
Well, let's see. I booked passage on this A2 that had some available low births for the long trip out to the Marches to seek my fortune. I don't have to tell you how poorly us ground pounders got paid. Well, while I was "sleeping" in low we got pirated for the Imperial mails that the ship was carrying. They killed all of the crew and left the ship adrift. The low birth opened when the old and boarding combat damaged computer shorted. I count myself very lucky to have survived.

After somehow getting the tub to Regina, I applied for the salvage rights. After greasing the correct wheels I managed to get my day in the Maritime Prize courts and was awarded the ship.

This is my fave so far, something about your character waking up on an abandoned ship deep in space

of course that is if he was...

 

[Icosahedron]

This was a long time ago, back at college, but...

Our marine unit had been busted - dishonourable discharges for something that wasn't our fault, so we decided to turn mercenary (like you do).

Anyway, the lieutenant had met up with this guy in Logistics over a few beers (I think the guy's name was Crapgame, or something like that) and found he'd written off a 300dT Fiery class Close Escort just to see if it could be done, and now he didn't know what to do with it. The greatest scam of his life was haunting him daily.

The poor guy had made it disappear on paper, but there wasn't much he could do to melt away four thousand metric tons of hull metal, and he was sh***ing himself every time someone knocked on his office door, in case it was the MPs with some questions about this 'extra' ship that didn't appear on the manifests.

When the Lieutenant persuaded him we could make the thing disappear for good, and give him a share in the first year's profits too, he figured Christmas had come early, so we factored a full tank into the deal as well.

As soon as we were drummed out, we took possession of the ship and headed out-system at full speed. The rest was history.

 

[vegascat]

My group was taking a passage on a Free Trader and was attacked by a pirate Far Trader. The Far Trader damaged the drives and punctured the fuel tanks so it could not escape. When the pirates boarded, the group went out the far side airlock and boarded the Far Trader. We hit the airlock destroying the boarding tube and hit the bridge at the same time. Almost all of the pirates were on the Free Trader except for a guy in the engine room and the guy on the bridge.
The interesting part was explaining to the local customs patrol that we were not the pirates that attacked the Free Trader, but some guys that relieved the pirates of their transportation. The local judge allowed us to keep the ship because we helped with the recapture of the Free Trader. We got the ship, but had to turn over the entire cargo and ships treasury to the judge. I made a good bribe roll for the judge.

 

[Straybow]

...he'd written off a 300dT Fiery class Close Escort just to see if it could be done, and now he didn't know what to do with it. The greatest scam of his life was haunting him daily.

Now that is an interesting story.

 

[Tantavalist]

I was inspired by Freefall as well when I came to run a Traveller game, so I had the players find the wreck of an Empress Marava-Class Far Trader in the first session and then go scrounging for parts and personnel to get it flying again.

The ship had been shot in the Fifth Frontier War, and was on Imperial-Occupied Hofud (GURPS Traveller version Spinward Marches). The players had to dodge Imperial authorities and Sword Worlds paramilitary groups to salvage the ship, get hold of the parts to fix it, and bribe an official to certify it as spaceworthy then fly off to seek their fortunes- or at least enough money to get the ship working properly again.

As the captain said- "A mortgage might be harder to pay off in the long run, but it doesn't give you that feeling of impending doom every time you engage the Jump Drive."

 

[Commander Drax]

Stole mine (an A2 Far Trader) when it was being de-commisioned as an old debt heavy rust bucket, it was due for demolition anyway, so all I did was give the old girl some more life (and a new transponder).

 

[savage]

Gryphon

Well... leaving the navy the character ended up married on his honeymoon on a cruise ship headed for a capital. Defending the cruise ship from pirates ended this commander with a new commission from the king to a 300t pirate killer....those we're the days.