If you were to describe your MegaTraveller Universe
- Thread starter kafka47
- Start date
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Perchance the series with Mutineer's Moon by David Weber? Its not really about a decaying empire, but the decaying (or dead, in one sense) empire is there.
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Perchance the series with Mutineer's Moon by David Weber? Its not really about a decaying empire, but the decaying (or dead, in one sense) empire is there.
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Perchance the series with Mutineer's Moon by David Weber? Its not really about a decaying empire, but the decaying (or dead, in one sense) empire is there.
has anyone ever read andre nortons books?
most notibly "the last planet" she has
what i consider a scout service trying
to fend off the empires end...alot of her
sci-fi books have a scout flavor to them...
also her time-traveller themes have a scout
feel too..
well in fact i think they are called scouts if
i remember correctly...
some others that kinda give an solamani flavor
(read xenophobic):
paradise by m. resnick
uller uprising by h.b piper
and imperium scout flavor
dinosaur planet
an neat survival story(adventure modable)
tunnel in the sky by heinlien
excellent example of technology clashing
janisaries series j.pournelle/niven
and of course firefly is very close to traveller
the closest i've seen IMHO...
most notibly "the last planet" she has
what i consider a scout service trying
to fend off the empires end...alot of her
sci-fi books have a scout flavor to them...
also her time-traveller themes have a scout
feel too..
well in fact i think they are called scouts if
i remember correctly...
some others that kinda give an solamani flavor
(read xenophobic):
paradise by m. resnick
uller uprising by h.b piper
and imperium scout flavor
dinosaur planet
an neat survival story(adventure modable)
tunnel in the sky by heinlien
excellent example of technology clashing
janisaries series j.pournelle/niven
and of course firefly is very close to traveller
the closest i've seen IMHO...
has anyone ever read andre nortons books?
most notibly "the last planet" she has
what i consider a scout service trying
to fend off the empires end...alot of her
sci-fi books have a scout flavor to them...
also her time-traveller themes have a scout
feel too..
well in fact i think they are called scouts if
i remember correctly...
some others that kinda give an solamani flavor
(read xenophobic):
paradise by m. resnick
uller uprising by h.b piper
and imperium scout flavor
dinosaur planet
an neat survival story(adventure modable)
tunnel in the sky by heinlien
excellent example of technology clashing
janisaries series j.pournelle/niven
and of course firefly is very close to traveller
the closest i've seen IMHO...
most notibly "the last planet" she has
what i consider a scout service trying
to fend off the empires end...alot of her
sci-fi books have a scout flavor to them...
also her time-traveller themes have a scout
feel too..
well in fact i think they are called scouts if
i remember correctly...
some others that kinda give an solamani flavor
(read xenophobic):
paradise by m. resnick
uller uprising by h.b piper
and imperium scout flavor
dinosaur planet
an neat survival story(adventure modable)
tunnel in the sky by heinlien
excellent example of technology clashing
janisaries series j.pournelle/niven
and of course firefly is very close to traveller
the closest i've seen IMHO...
has anyone ever read andre nortons books?
most notibly "the last planet" she has
what i consider a scout service trying
to fend off the empires end...alot of her
sci-fi books have a scout flavor to them...
also her time-traveller themes have a scout
feel too..
well in fact i think they are called scouts if
i remember correctly...
some others that kinda give an solamani flavor
(read xenophobic):
paradise by m. resnick
uller uprising by h.b piper
and imperium scout flavor
dinosaur planet
an neat survival story(adventure modable)
tunnel in the sky by heinlien
excellent example of technology clashing
janisaries series j.pournelle/niven
and of course firefly is very close to traveller
the closest i've seen IMHO...
most notibly "the last planet" she has
what i consider a scout service trying
to fend off the empires end...alot of her
sci-fi books have a scout flavor to them...
also her time-traveller themes have a scout
feel too..
well in fact i think they are called scouts if
i remember correctly...
some others that kinda give an solamani flavor
(read xenophobic):
paradise by m. resnick
uller uprising by h.b piper
and imperium scout flavor
dinosaur planet
an neat survival story(adventure modable)
tunnel in the sky by heinlien
excellent example of technology clashing
janisaries series j.pournelle/niven
and of course firefly is very close to traveller
the closest i've seen IMHO...
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Actually, my first (and favorite) Traveller character was named for two folks in Dinosaur Planet and Dinosaur Planet Survivors. His Psi abilities were predicated on the training some of the folks received in those books, too....
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Actually, my first (and favorite) Traveller character was named for two folks in Dinosaur Planet and Dinosaur Planet Survivors. His Psi abilities were predicated on the training some of the folks received in those books, too....
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Actually, my first (and favorite) Traveller character was named for two folks in Dinosaur Planet and Dinosaur Planet Survivors. His Psi abilities were predicated on the training some of the folks received in those books, too....
Imagine a time in the Milky Way Galaxy, in the far future.
The year is 5440.
Long ago, the Terran Empire ruled the galaxy, but there are no records left of those days.
In the period of history known today as "The Annihilation," interstellar war ravaged the area of space around the Terran Homeworld, then known as Earth.
Many battles occurred long ago in the Sector known as the Terran Defense Zone, and in another Sector of space known today only as "The Wastes."
Very little is left of the Terran Empire today, except shattered, overgrown ruins on devastated worlds.
Occasionally, derelict Terran warships are sometimes sighted.
These abandoned hulks drift endlessly in the void, their once-powerful guns now silent, and their Tauspace drives crushed beyond all hope of repair.
Survey Scout ships on deep-space exploration missions occasionally find long lost sites of Ancient Terran Technology.
Or, they find other interesting (and dangerous) things:
"Exploring the Worlds of the Far Reaches"
The Orion Arm and space in general is a lot of emptiness, sprinkled with the occasional system. But we must remember that each world is alien, NOT like Earth.
In fact, these places are SO unlike earth, that is why Explorers are highly trained before going there. Absolutely anything could be out there.
The worlds of the Orion Arm are dark, foreboding places, where one mistake could mean the end of an Explorer, or a whole Explorer team.
The level of challenge defines the excitement of the story, and this setting is no exception. Colonists don't land until the world is practically tame already.
But first, it has to be charted, mapped, catalogued, and explored.
Weird, unusual, or outright deadly aliens, hostile animals, or the lost ruins of the Terran Empire are just a few examples of the possible discoveries to be made.
An unexplored world starts as a bunch of unanswered question marks, and explorers answer those questions, and then move on.
Initially, there is little or no information, the team must ask questions, and use all the skills at their disposal to survive, and report back with their findings.
Since the area of the Far Reaches Sector is so remote, there's no one to go ask for help, the explorer team is it.
This means that problems must be anticipated, and prepared for in advance, as much as possible, because once a situation becomes critical, it is too late to prevent it, there's only damage control.
Successful explorers gain recognition, and profit, and tales of their adventures way out, "...beyond space, beyond anything."
Unsuccessful explorers are never heard from again.
When alien races and creatures are encountered, there's no way to predict what they will do, until they are observed, and interacted with for some time. While the situation is being evaluated, the team is potentially in constant jeopardy: Other greedy teams may try to eliminate the heroes, and steal the world for themselves, or rival corporations (if they are corporate explorers) might do a bit of industrial espionage or sabotage, up to and including blowing up their ship, perhaps suggesting a stray meteor as a cover story, or not saying anything, because lots of explorers never report back.
Government paranoia might cause an investigation, once the team is very successful, figuring that some back room dealing is going on somehow.
But the payoffs are great, when a new source of trade goods, potential mining site, or Terran Ruins is discovered.
This potential for high risk/high reward makes for a very exciting campaign.
There's a lot of freedom, too, as there's no communication with overfed and under-exercised types from headquarters to call the shots. That means that the team must exercise responsibility, and leadership, especially from the team commander.
This leads to critical decision making, with little or no time (and great role-play along the way).
INTERVIEW WITH AN EXPLORER - Transcript
Explorer Commander Lori Blair
Commanding Officer, ESS Surveyor
On Patrol, Somewhere in the Far Reaches
...This is the way I see it...all those troopers out there on the front lines near The Nebula and the Rift, they're heroes.
No doubt in my military mind, I'll give 'em that.
They're out there, fighting and dying, buying time for Explorers like US to do our job.
Trading their lives for time, for us to find more sources of metals, especially radioactives, to feed the supply lines. Occasionally, we might make the greatest discovery of all, a new race!
It seems strange, but Explorer ships have encountered over 50 new races, all told.
The galaxy is full of life, and all of it is Alien. I don't just mean four legs, and six arms, I mean giant hydrogen-filled balloons that float through the upper layers of Gas Giant cloud tops.
Or, alien like the Flying Cave Snarks of Tau Ceti, they'll rip a person to shreds, lifting them up into the air when they swarm, until there's nothing left but bones to fall to the ground, minutes later.
The Ship? Yeah, The Surveyor, she's a fine ship, she makes a few Tauspace skips a month, and as soon as we find something...interesting...we drop for the surface.
We discovered the World-Ocean Rays of Ross 42, on a drop.
Drops, yeah. That's when the REAL challenge starts.
Every time we go in, we have almost nothing to go on, except guts, and our training...and Luck.
Sure, we got all the latest sensor packages, scanning gear, and our own smaller scale missiles, of course.
But EVERY mission is a new recon into hostile territory, and we don't know what we'll find...
Every encounter could kill any or all of us, if we make one mistake.
The Star Marines got a tough job, but they also have access to battlefield hospitals, surgical teams, and supplies.
But the Explorers, now, we're so far out here, the stars don't even have real NAMES, just Numbers, like "DM + 31, 924."
Our Astrogator plotting our skips isn't even human, because the 5th dimensional Tensor-TauSpace Topology calculations are so complex, our primate brains can barely grasp it, even with the ultra-speed cybercomps we have now.
At first, it was really difficult to deal with our Astrogator, Quarlon. He's really horrifying, even from a distance, but you get used to it. That glowing effect still freaks me out when we go dark, just before a skip, though...
We've met so many things out here, on EVERY mission, that people back home wouldn't believe the stories we have to tell.
The crew of the Surveyor is personally responsible for classifying over 4 dozen worlds, and contacting seven new races, just in the last year! We're pretty sure that's a record, but we haven't been near civilization long enough to tell anyone. Most of the time, it's a Class M star, cold, lots of iceworlds, and we move on.
But those other times, when we drop, well, let's just say, "Things get...interesting."
* * * *
To most of the current inhabitants of the galaxy, the events of long ago hold no importance in their daily struggle for survival, against the horrific K'Klak invaders from The Galactic Rim, who threaten the security and safety of all the member worlds of thend Orion Republic, and the stability of the Outworlds Alliance Treaty.
In the centuries since "The Annihilation," Humanity has recovered some elements of the old technology, and branched out toward the stars again.
Terra was left behind long ago, and its location has been lost in the dim past, but it is reputed to be located somewhere in the Terran Defense Zone Sector, though this has never been proven.
Many historians have searched for the Human homeworld (Earth), but none have ever found more than the slimmest clues as to its location, or status.
Most researchers believe that Terra was destroyed long ago, in "The Annihilation," by a catastrophic weapon of incredible power, that caused enough damage to Terra that it was finally abandoned.
Centuries ago, the ravagers of earth departed. Where they went is uncertain. Now, the dreaded enemy, the insectoid K'Klak, have returned in force.
Here is a recent speech on the situation by the Primus of the 2nd Orion Republic:
"I realize that the outcome of this war is still in doubt, but it does not look promising for our forces.
At the battle of the Plurid Rift, we have been dealt a terrible blow. The Battle for The Rift could have been very different - and very nearly was. But that doesn't matter much, does it?
Much will be said and written about The Orion Wars in the future, as further intelligence becomes available, and survivors of the Orion Campaign come forward to tell their stories.
But there are still unanswered questions, and critical battles yet to be fought, before our survival as a species will be assured.
I seek answers to some very important questions: How did we get involved in the war, and why?
What steps could we have taken to prevent the The loss of Jerax Colony, and why didn't we take them?
It is my goal to turn the tide of the war so that we are fighting our enemy out there, where we first met them, in the area of space known as 'Battlefield: Orion.' "
- 9th Primus H. N. Bayne, Chardis Metroplex, 5440
* * * *
AN AGE OF WAR AND DESPERATE SURVIVAL
The individual hero can make a difference, and they are on the front lines, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. They must rise to the challenge, or perish.
A transcript of a Soldier's vidletter from the Front tells the story:
ESMC LCpl. Michael Frost, 1st MarDiv, DZ Epsilon
Planet Fomalhaut III, November, 5439
Dear Dad,
We're in a rest area, in reserve formation, 20 Ks behind the front lines.
This morning, a hoverlift supply convoy managed to get through the daily orbital bombardment by the Spinners, and we got water, fresh vegetables, milk, and a couple cases of ammo each for our MG's, and even some spare birds for the Missile Tracks.
Pretty good for us, considering the hell that we've been through.
We just now got the shipment the LT. ordered two weeks ago, when we went up to the front.
It was pretty quiet in our area, so the supply puke who got to stay in the rear with the gear had ordered rations and ammo for a full company of 15 hovertanks.
On the last day at the front, the K'Klak opened up on our position at the Fomalhaut Colony Complex with Tactical Missiles, and half the company got nuked, deployed in the rubble. I got out okay, don't worry. But after the flashes came, everything was on fire, or melting. We tried to run for cover, lifting the hovertanks to tree-top level for rapid flight, but there must have been a laser spotter in the rubble somewhere, tagging us while we zigged and zagged through what was left of the colony.
They enemy was using smart missiles, got all of five hovertanks of our 'A' platoon, and three more hovertanks from 'B', before we got to the outskirts, where we could fan out into escape formation, running over solid bedrock.
Last night, we re-formed, and settled down to get a good night's sleep for once.
At the Colony Site, in the still glowing rubble, on the line, we've had little to none, and two weeks is too long to go without regular sleep. After that long, the no-doze tabs start to make you crazy, jumpy as hell.
We know we'll figure out a way to beat them.
We all agree, it's time to stop running...It's time for some payback.
Well, don't worry, Dad, we'll make it back. Gotta go, we're moving again. - Mike
* * * *
That's what My MegaTraveller is like.
- Merxiless
The year is 5440.
Long ago, the Terran Empire ruled the galaxy, but there are no records left of those days.
In the period of history known today as "The Annihilation," interstellar war ravaged the area of space around the Terran Homeworld, then known as Earth.
Many battles occurred long ago in the Sector known as the Terran Defense Zone, and in another Sector of space known today only as "The Wastes."
Very little is left of the Terran Empire today, except shattered, overgrown ruins on devastated worlds.
Occasionally, derelict Terran warships are sometimes sighted.
These abandoned hulks drift endlessly in the void, their once-powerful guns now silent, and their Tauspace drives crushed beyond all hope of repair.
Survey Scout ships on deep-space exploration missions occasionally find long lost sites of Ancient Terran Technology.
Or, they find other interesting (and dangerous) things:
"Exploring the Worlds of the Far Reaches"
The Orion Arm and space in general is a lot of emptiness, sprinkled with the occasional system. But we must remember that each world is alien, NOT like Earth.
In fact, these places are SO unlike earth, that is why Explorers are highly trained before going there. Absolutely anything could be out there.
The worlds of the Orion Arm are dark, foreboding places, where one mistake could mean the end of an Explorer, or a whole Explorer team.
The level of challenge defines the excitement of the story, and this setting is no exception. Colonists don't land until the world is practically tame already.
But first, it has to be charted, mapped, catalogued, and explored.
Weird, unusual, or outright deadly aliens, hostile animals, or the lost ruins of the Terran Empire are just a few examples of the possible discoveries to be made.
An unexplored world starts as a bunch of unanswered question marks, and explorers answer those questions, and then move on.
Initially, there is little or no information, the team must ask questions, and use all the skills at their disposal to survive, and report back with their findings.
Since the area of the Far Reaches Sector is so remote, there's no one to go ask for help, the explorer team is it.
This means that problems must be anticipated, and prepared for in advance, as much as possible, because once a situation becomes critical, it is too late to prevent it, there's only damage control.
Successful explorers gain recognition, and profit, and tales of their adventures way out, "...beyond space, beyond anything."
Unsuccessful explorers are never heard from again.
When alien races and creatures are encountered, there's no way to predict what they will do, until they are observed, and interacted with for some time. While the situation is being evaluated, the team is potentially in constant jeopardy: Other greedy teams may try to eliminate the heroes, and steal the world for themselves, or rival corporations (if they are corporate explorers) might do a bit of industrial espionage or sabotage, up to and including blowing up their ship, perhaps suggesting a stray meteor as a cover story, or not saying anything, because lots of explorers never report back.
Government paranoia might cause an investigation, once the team is very successful, figuring that some back room dealing is going on somehow.
But the payoffs are great, when a new source of trade goods, potential mining site, or Terran Ruins is discovered.
This potential for high risk/high reward makes for a very exciting campaign.
There's a lot of freedom, too, as there's no communication with overfed and under-exercised types from headquarters to call the shots. That means that the team must exercise responsibility, and leadership, especially from the team commander.
This leads to critical decision making, with little or no time (and great role-play along the way).
INTERVIEW WITH AN EXPLORER - Transcript
Explorer Commander Lori Blair
Commanding Officer, ESS Surveyor
On Patrol, Somewhere in the Far Reaches
...This is the way I see it...all those troopers out there on the front lines near The Nebula and the Rift, they're heroes.
No doubt in my military mind, I'll give 'em that.
They're out there, fighting and dying, buying time for Explorers like US to do our job.
Trading their lives for time, for us to find more sources of metals, especially radioactives, to feed the supply lines. Occasionally, we might make the greatest discovery of all, a new race!
It seems strange, but Explorer ships have encountered over 50 new races, all told.
The galaxy is full of life, and all of it is Alien. I don't just mean four legs, and six arms, I mean giant hydrogen-filled balloons that float through the upper layers of Gas Giant cloud tops.
Or, alien like the Flying Cave Snarks of Tau Ceti, they'll rip a person to shreds, lifting them up into the air when they swarm, until there's nothing left but bones to fall to the ground, minutes later.
The Ship? Yeah, The Surveyor, she's a fine ship, she makes a few Tauspace skips a month, and as soon as we find something...interesting...we drop for the surface.
We discovered the World-Ocean Rays of Ross 42, on a drop.
Drops, yeah. That's when the REAL challenge starts.
Every time we go in, we have almost nothing to go on, except guts, and our training...and Luck.
Sure, we got all the latest sensor packages, scanning gear, and our own smaller scale missiles, of course.
But EVERY mission is a new recon into hostile territory, and we don't know what we'll find...
Every encounter could kill any or all of us, if we make one mistake.
The Star Marines got a tough job, but they also have access to battlefield hospitals, surgical teams, and supplies.
But the Explorers, now, we're so far out here, the stars don't even have real NAMES, just Numbers, like "DM + 31, 924."
Our Astrogator plotting our skips isn't even human, because the 5th dimensional Tensor-TauSpace Topology calculations are so complex, our primate brains can barely grasp it, even with the ultra-speed cybercomps we have now.
At first, it was really difficult to deal with our Astrogator, Quarlon. He's really horrifying, even from a distance, but you get used to it. That glowing effect still freaks me out when we go dark, just before a skip, though...
We've met so many things out here, on EVERY mission, that people back home wouldn't believe the stories we have to tell.
The crew of the Surveyor is personally responsible for classifying over 4 dozen worlds, and contacting seven new races, just in the last year! We're pretty sure that's a record, but we haven't been near civilization long enough to tell anyone. Most of the time, it's a Class M star, cold, lots of iceworlds, and we move on.
But those other times, when we drop, well, let's just say, "Things get...interesting."
* * * *
To most of the current inhabitants of the galaxy, the events of long ago hold no importance in their daily struggle for survival, against the horrific K'Klak invaders from The Galactic Rim, who threaten the security and safety of all the member worlds of thend Orion Republic, and the stability of the Outworlds Alliance Treaty.
In the centuries since "The Annihilation," Humanity has recovered some elements of the old technology, and branched out toward the stars again.
Terra was left behind long ago, and its location has been lost in the dim past, but it is reputed to be located somewhere in the Terran Defense Zone Sector, though this has never been proven.
Many historians have searched for the Human homeworld (Earth), but none have ever found more than the slimmest clues as to its location, or status.
Most researchers believe that Terra was destroyed long ago, in "The Annihilation," by a catastrophic weapon of incredible power, that caused enough damage to Terra that it was finally abandoned.
Centuries ago, the ravagers of earth departed. Where they went is uncertain. Now, the dreaded enemy, the insectoid K'Klak, have returned in force.
Here is a recent speech on the situation by the Primus of the 2nd Orion Republic:
"I realize that the outcome of this war is still in doubt, but it does not look promising for our forces.
At the battle of the Plurid Rift, we have been dealt a terrible blow. The Battle for The Rift could have been very different - and very nearly was. But that doesn't matter much, does it?
Much will be said and written about The Orion Wars in the future, as further intelligence becomes available, and survivors of the Orion Campaign come forward to tell their stories.
But there are still unanswered questions, and critical battles yet to be fought, before our survival as a species will be assured.
I seek answers to some very important questions: How did we get involved in the war, and why?
What steps could we have taken to prevent the The loss of Jerax Colony, and why didn't we take them?
It is my goal to turn the tide of the war so that we are fighting our enemy out there, where we first met them, in the area of space known as 'Battlefield: Orion.' "
- 9th Primus H. N. Bayne, Chardis Metroplex, 5440
* * * *
AN AGE OF WAR AND DESPERATE SURVIVAL
The individual hero can make a difference, and they are on the front lines, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. They must rise to the challenge, or perish.
A transcript of a Soldier's vidletter from the Front tells the story:
ESMC LCpl. Michael Frost, 1st MarDiv, DZ Epsilon
Planet Fomalhaut III, November, 5439
Dear Dad,
We're in a rest area, in reserve formation, 20 Ks behind the front lines.
This morning, a hoverlift supply convoy managed to get through the daily orbital bombardment by the Spinners, and we got water, fresh vegetables, milk, and a couple cases of ammo each for our MG's, and even some spare birds for the Missile Tracks.
Pretty good for us, considering the hell that we've been through.
We just now got the shipment the LT. ordered two weeks ago, when we went up to the front.
It was pretty quiet in our area, so the supply puke who got to stay in the rear with the gear had ordered rations and ammo for a full company of 15 hovertanks.
On the last day at the front, the K'Klak opened up on our position at the Fomalhaut Colony Complex with Tactical Missiles, and half the company got nuked, deployed in the rubble. I got out okay, don't worry. But after the flashes came, everything was on fire, or melting. We tried to run for cover, lifting the hovertanks to tree-top level for rapid flight, but there must have been a laser spotter in the rubble somewhere, tagging us while we zigged and zagged through what was left of the colony.
They enemy was using smart missiles, got all of five hovertanks of our 'A' platoon, and three more hovertanks from 'B', before we got to the outskirts, where we could fan out into escape formation, running over solid bedrock.
Last night, we re-formed, and settled down to get a good night's sleep for once.
At the Colony Site, in the still glowing rubble, on the line, we've had little to none, and two weeks is too long to go without regular sleep. After that long, the no-doze tabs start to make you crazy, jumpy as hell.
We know we'll figure out a way to beat them.
We all agree, it's time to stop running...It's time for some payback.
Well, don't worry, Dad, we'll make it back. Gotta go, we're moving again. - Mike
* * * *
That's what My MegaTraveller is like.
- Merxiless
Imagine a time in the Milky Way Galaxy, in the far future.
The year is 5440.
Long ago, the Terran Empire ruled the galaxy, but there are no records left of those days.
In the period of history known today as "The Annihilation," interstellar war ravaged the area of space around the Terran Homeworld, then known as Earth.
Many battles occurred long ago in the Sector known as the Terran Defense Zone, and in another Sector of space known today only as "The Wastes."
Very little is left of the Terran Empire today, except shattered, overgrown ruins on devastated worlds.
Occasionally, derelict Terran warships are sometimes sighted.
These abandoned hulks drift endlessly in the void, their once-powerful guns now silent, and their Tauspace drives crushed beyond all hope of repair.
Survey Scout ships on deep-space exploration missions occasionally find long lost sites of Ancient Terran Technology.
Or, they find other interesting (and dangerous) things:
"Exploring the Worlds of the Far Reaches"
The Orion Arm and space in general is a lot of emptiness, sprinkled with the occasional system. But we must remember that each world is alien, NOT like Earth.
In fact, these places are SO unlike earth, that is why Explorers are highly trained before going there. Absolutely anything could be out there.
The worlds of the Orion Arm are dark, foreboding places, where one mistake could mean the end of an Explorer, or a whole Explorer team.
The level of challenge defines the excitement of the story, and this setting is no exception. Colonists don't land until the world is practically tame already.
But first, it has to be charted, mapped, catalogued, and explored.
Weird, unusual, or outright deadly aliens, hostile animals, or the lost ruins of the Terran Empire are just a few examples of the possible discoveries to be made.
An unexplored world starts as a bunch of unanswered question marks, and explorers answer those questions, and then move on.
Initially, there is little or no information, the team must ask questions, and use all the skills at their disposal to survive, and report back with their findings.
Since the area of the Far Reaches Sector is so remote, there's no one to go ask for help, the explorer team is it.
This means that problems must be anticipated, and prepared for in advance, as much as possible, because once a situation becomes critical, it is too late to prevent it, there's only damage control.
Successful explorers gain recognition, and profit, and tales of their adventures way out, "...beyond space, beyond anything."
Unsuccessful explorers are never heard from again.
When alien races and creatures are encountered, there's no way to predict what they will do, until they are observed, and interacted with for some time. While the situation is being evaluated, the team is potentially in constant jeopardy: Other greedy teams may try to eliminate the heroes, and steal the world for themselves, or rival corporations (if they are corporate explorers) might do a bit of industrial espionage or sabotage, up to and including blowing up their ship, perhaps suggesting a stray meteor as a cover story, or not saying anything, because lots of explorers never report back.
Government paranoia might cause an investigation, once the team is very successful, figuring that some back room dealing is going on somehow.
But the payoffs are great, when a new source of trade goods, potential mining site, or Terran Ruins is discovered.
This potential for high risk/high reward makes for a very exciting campaign.
There's a lot of freedom, too, as there's no communication with overfed and under-exercised types from headquarters to call the shots. That means that the team must exercise responsibility, and leadership, especially from the team commander.
This leads to critical decision making, with little or no time (and great role-play along the way).
INTERVIEW WITH AN EXPLORER - Transcript
Explorer Commander Lori Blair
Commanding Officer, ESS Surveyor
On Patrol, Somewhere in the Far Reaches
...This is the way I see it...all those troopers out there on the front lines near The Nebula and the Rift, they're heroes.
No doubt in my military mind, I'll give 'em that.
They're out there, fighting and dying, buying time for Explorers like US to do our job.
Trading their lives for time, for us to find more sources of metals, especially radioactives, to feed the supply lines. Occasionally, we might make the greatest discovery of all, a new race!
It seems strange, but Explorer ships have encountered over 50 new races, all told.
The galaxy is full of life, and all of it is Alien. I don't just mean four legs, and six arms, I mean giant hydrogen-filled balloons that float through the upper layers of Gas Giant cloud tops.
Or, alien like the Flying Cave Snarks of Tau Ceti, they'll rip a person to shreds, lifting them up into the air when they swarm, until there's nothing left but bones to fall to the ground, minutes later.
The Ship? Yeah, The Surveyor, she's a fine ship, she makes a few Tauspace skips a month, and as soon as we find something...interesting...we drop for the surface.
We discovered the World-Ocean Rays of Ross 42, on a drop.
Drops, yeah. That's when the REAL challenge starts.
Every time we go in, we have almost nothing to go on, except guts, and our training...and Luck.
Sure, we got all the latest sensor packages, scanning gear, and our own smaller scale missiles, of course.
But EVERY mission is a new recon into hostile territory, and we don't know what we'll find...
Every encounter could kill any or all of us, if we make one mistake.
The Star Marines got a tough job, but they also have access to battlefield hospitals, surgical teams, and supplies.
But the Explorers, now, we're so far out here, the stars don't even have real NAMES, just Numbers, like "DM + 31, 924."
Our Astrogator plotting our skips isn't even human, because the 5th dimensional Tensor-TauSpace Topology calculations are so complex, our primate brains can barely grasp it, even with the ultra-speed cybercomps we have now.
At first, it was really difficult to deal with our Astrogator, Quarlon. He's really horrifying, even from a distance, but you get used to it. That glowing effect still freaks me out when we go dark, just before a skip, though...
We've met so many things out here, on EVERY mission, that people back home wouldn't believe the stories we have to tell.
The crew of the Surveyor is personally responsible for classifying over 4 dozen worlds, and contacting seven new races, just in the last year! We're pretty sure that's a record, but we haven't been near civilization long enough to tell anyone. Most of the time, it's a Class M star, cold, lots of iceworlds, and we move on.
But those other times, when we drop, well, let's just say, "Things get...interesting."
* * * *
To most of the current inhabitants of the galaxy, the events of long ago hold no importance in their daily struggle for survival, against the horrific K'Klak invaders from The Galactic Rim, who threaten the security and safety of all the member worlds of thend Orion Republic, and the stability of the Outworlds Alliance Treaty.
In the centuries since "The Annihilation," Humanity has recovered some elements of the old technology, and branched out toward the stars again.
Terra was left behind long ago, and its location has been lost in the dim past, but it is reputed to be located somewhere in the Terran Defense Zone Sector, though this has never been proven.
Many historians have searched for the Human homeworld (Earth), but none have ever found more than the slimmest clues as to its location, or status.
Most researchers believe that Terra was destroyed long ago, in "The Annihilation," by a catastrophic weapon of incredible power, that caused enough damage to Terra that it was finally abandoned.
Centuries ago, the ravagers of earth departed. Where they went is uncertain. Now, the dreaded enemy, the insectoid K'Klak, have returned in force.
Here is a recent speech on the situation by the Primus of the 2nd Orion Republic:
"I realize that the outcome of this war is still in doubt, but it does not look promising for our forces.
At the battle of the Plurid Rift, we have been dealt a terrible blow. The Battle for The Rift could have been very different - and very nearly was. But that doesn't matter much, does it?
Much will be said and written about The Orion Wars in the future, as further intelligence becomes available, and survivors of the Orion Campaign come forward to tell their stories.
But there are still unanswered questions, and critical battles yet to be fought, before our survival as a species will be assured.
I seek answers to some very important questions: How did we get involved in the war, and why?
What steps could we have taken to prevent the The loss of Jerax Colony, and why didn't we take them?
It is my goal to turn the tide of the war so that we are fighting our enemy out there, where we first met them, in the area of space known as 'Battlefield: Orion.' "
- 9th Primus H. N. Bayne, Chardis Metroplex, 5440
* * * *
AN AGE OF WAR AND DESPERATE SURVIVAL
The individual hero can make a difference, and they are on the front lines, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. They must rise to the challenge, or perish.
A transcript of a Soldier's vidletter from the Front tells the story:
ESMC LCpl. Michael Frost, 1st MarDiv, DZ Epsilon
Planet Fomalhaut III, November, 5439
Dear Dad,
We're in a rest area, in reserve formation, 20 Ks behind the front lines.
This morning, a hoverlift supply convoy managed to get through the daily orbital bombardment by the Spinners, and we got water, fresh vegetables, milk, and a couple cases of ammo each for our MG's, and even some spare birds for the Missile Tracks.
Pretty good for us, considering the hell that we've been through.
We just now got the shipment the LT. ordered two weeks ago, when we went up to the front.
It was pretty quiet in our area, so the supply puke who got to stay in the rear with the gear had ordered rations and ammo for a full company of 15 hovertanks.
On the last day at the front, the K'Klak opened up on our position at the Fomalhaut Colony Complex with Tactical Missiles, and half the company got nuked, deployed in the rubble. I got out okay, don't worry. But after the flashes came, everything was on fire, or melting. We tried to run for cover, lifting the hovertanks to tree-top level for rapid flight, but there must have been a laser spotter in the rubble somewhere, tagging us while we zigged and zagged through what was left of the colony.
They enemy was using smart missiles, got all of five hovertanks of our 'A' platoon, and three more hovertanks from 'B', before we got to the outskirts, where we could fan out into escape formation, running over solid bedrock.
Last night, we re-formed, and settled down to get a good night's sleep for once.
At the Colony Site, in the still glowing rubble, on the line, we've had little to none, and two weeks is too long to go without regular sleep. After that long, the no-doze tabs start to make you crazy, jumpy as hell.
We know we'll figure out a way to beat them.
We all agree, it's time to stop running...It's time for some payback.
Well, don't worry, Dad, we'll make it back. Gotta go, we're moving again. - Mike
* * * *
That's what My MegaTraveller is like.
- Merxiless
The year is 5440.
Long ago, the Terran Empire ruled the galaxy, but there are no records left of those days.
In the period of history known today as "The Annihilation," interstellar war ravaged the area of space around the Terran Homeworld, then known as Earth.
Many battles occurred long ago in the Sector known as the Terran Defense Zone, and in another Sector of space known today only as "The Wastes."
Very little is left of the Terran Empire today, except shattered, overgrown ruins on devastated worlds.
Occasionally, derelict Terran warships are sometimes sighted.
These abandoned hulks drift endlessly in the void, their once-powerful guns now silent, and their Tauspace drives crushed beyond all hope of repair.
Survey Scout ships on deep-space exploration missions occasionally find long lost sites of Ancient Terran Technology.
Or, they find other interesting (and dangerous) things:
"Exploring the Worlds of the Far Reaches"
The Orion Arm and space in general is a lot of emptiness, sprinkled with the occasional system. But we must remember that each world is alien, NOT like Earth.
In fact, these places are SO unlike earth, that is why Explorers are highly trained before going there. Absolutely anything could be out there.
The worlds of the Orion Arm are dark, foreboding places, where one mistake could mean the end of an Explorer, or a whole Explorer team.
The level of challenge defines the excitement of the story, and this setting is no exception. Colonists don't land until the world is practically tame already.
But first, it has to be charted, mapped, catalogued, and explored.
Weird, unusual, or outright deadly aliens, hostile animals, or the lost ruins of the Terran Empire are just a few examples of the possible discoveries to be made.
An unexplored world starts as a bunch of unanswered question marks, and explorers answer those questions, and then move on.
Initially, there is little or no information, the team must ask questions, and use all the skills at their disposal to survive, and report back with their findings.
Since the area of the Far Reaches Sector is so remote, there's no one to go ask for help, the explorer team is it.
This means that problems must be anticipated, and prepared for in advance, as much as possible, because once a situation becomes critical, it is too late to prevent it, there's only damage control.
Successful explorers gain recognition, and profit, and tales of their adventures way out, "...beyond space, beyond anything."
Unsuccessful explorers are never heard from again.
When alien races and creatures are encountered, there's no way to predict what they will do, until they are observed, and interacted with for some time. While the situation is being evaluated, the team is potentially in constant jeopardy: Other greedy teams may try to eliminate the heroes, and steal the world for themselves, or rival corporations (if they are corporate explorers) might do a bit of industrial espionage or sabotage, up to and including blowing up their ship, perhaps suggesting a stray meteor as a cover story, or not saying anything, because lots of explorers never report back.
Government paranoia might cause an investigation, once the team is very successful, figuring that some back room dealing is going on somehow.
But the payoffs are great, when a new source of trade goods, potential mining site, or Terran Ruins is discovered.
This potential for high risk/high reward makes for a very exciting campaign.
There's a lot of freedom, too, as there's no communication with overfed and under-exercised types from headquarters to call the shots. That means that the team must exercise responsibility, and leadership, especially from the team commander.
This leads to critical decision making, with little or no time (and great role-play along the way).
INTERVIEW WITH AN EXPLORER - Transcript
Explorer Commander Lori Blair
Commanding Officer, ESS Surveyor
On Patrol, Somewhere in the Far Reaches
...This is the way I see it...all those troopers out there on the front lines near The Nebula and the Rift, they're heroes.
No doubt in my military mind, I'll give 'em that.
They're out there, fighting and dying, buying time for Explorers like US to do our job.
Trading their lives for time, for us to find more sources of metals, especially radioactives, to feed the supply lines. Occasionally, we might make the greatest discovery of all, a new race!
It seems strange, but Explorer ships have encountered over 50 new races, all told.
The galaxy is full of life, and all of it is Alien. I don't just mean four legs, and six arms, I mean giant hydrogen-filled balloons that float through the upper layers of Gas Giant cloud tops.
Or, alien like the Flying Cave Snarks of Tau Ceti, they'll rip a person to shreds, lifting them up into the air when they swarm, until there's nothing left but bones to fall to the ground, minutes later.
The Ship? Yeah, The Surveyor, she's a fine ship, she makes a few Tauspace skips a month, and as soon as we find something...interesting...we drop for the surface.
We discovered the World-Ocean Rays of Ross 42, on a drop.
Drops, yeah. That's when the REAL challenge starts.
Every time we go in, we have almost nothing to go on, except guts, and our training...and Luck.
Sure, we got all the latest sensor packages, scanning gear, and our own smaller scale missiles, of course.
But EVERY mission is a new recon into hostile territory, and we don't know what we'll find...
Every encounter could kill any or all of us, if we make one mistake.
The Star Marines got a tough job, but they also have access to battlefield hospitals, surgical teams, and supplies.
But the Explorers, now, we're so far out here, the stars don't even have real NAMES, just Numbers, like "DM + 31, 924."
Our Astrogator plotting our skips isn't even human, because the 5th dimensional Tensor-TauSpace Topology calculations are so complex, our primate brains can barely grasp it, even with the ultra-speed cybercomps we have now.
At first, it was really difficult to deal with our Astrogator, Quarlon. He's really horrifying, even from a distance, but you get used to it. That glowing effect still freaks me out when we go dark, just before a skip, though...
We've met so many things out here, on EVERY mission, that people back home wouldn't believe the stories we have to tell.
The crew of the Surveyor is personally responsible for classifying over 4 dozen worlds, and contacting seven new races, just in the last year! We're pretty sure that's a record, but we haven't been near civilization long enough to tell anyone. Most of the time, it's a Class M star, cold, lots of iceworlds, and we move on.
But those other times, when we drop, well, let's just say, "Things get...interesting."
* * * *
To most of the current inhabitants of the galaxy, the events of long ago hold no importance in their daily struggle for survival, against the horrific K'Klak invaders from The Galactic Rim, who threaten the security and safety of all the member worlds of thend Orion Republic, and the stability of the Outworlds Alliance Treaty.
In the centuries since "The Annihilation," Humanity has recovered some elements of the old technology, and branched out toward the stars again.
Terra was left behind long ago, and its location has been lost in the dim past, but it is reputed to be located somewhere in the Terran Defense Zone Sector, though this has never been proven.
Many historians have searched for the Human homeworld (Earth), but none have ever found more than the slimmest clues as to its location, or status.
Most researchers believe that Terra was destroyed long ago, in "The Annihilation," by a catastrophic weapon of incredible power, that caused enough damage to Terra that it was finally abandoned.
Centuries ago, the ravagers of earth departed. Where they went is uncertain. Now, the dreaded enemy, the insectoid K'Klak, have returned in force.
Here is a recent speech on the situation by the Primus of the 2nd Orion Republic:
"I realize that the outcome of this war is still in doubt, but it does not look promising for our forces.
At the battle of the Plurid Rift, we have been dealt a terrible blow. The Battle for The Rift could have been very different - and very nearly was. But that doesn't matter much, does it?
Much will be said and written about The Orion Wars in the future, as further intelligence becomes available, and survivors of the Orion Campaign come forward to tell their stories.
But there are still unanswered questions, and critical battles yet to be fought, before our survival as a species will be assured.
I seek answers to some very important questions: How did we get involved in the war, and why?
What steps could we have taken to prevent the The loss of Jerax Colony, and why didn't we take them?
It is my goal to turn the tide of the war so that we are fighting our enemy out there, where we first met them, in the area of space known as 'Battlefield: Orion.' "
- 9th Primus H. N. Bayne, Chardis Metroplex, 5440
* * * *
AN AGE OF WAR AND DESPERATE SURVIVAL
The individual hero can make a difference, and they are on the front lines, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. They must rise to the challenge, or perish.
A transcript of a Soldier's vidletter from the Front tells the story:
ESMC LCpl. Michael Frost, 1st MarDiv, DZ Epsilon
Planet Fomalhaut III, November, 5439
Dear Dad,
We're in a rest area, in reserve formation, 20 Ks behind the front lines.
This morning, a hoverlift supply convoy managed to get through the daily orbital bombardment by the Spinners, and we got water, fresh vegetables, milk, and a couple cases of ammo each for our MG's, and even some spare birds for the Missile Tracks.
Pretty good for us, considering the hell that we've been through.
We just now got the shipment the LT. ordered two weeks ago, when we went up to the front.
It was pretty quiet in our area, so the supply puke who got to stay in the rear with the gear had ordered rations and ammo for a full company of 15 hovertanks.
On the last day at the front, the K'Klak opened up on our position at the Fomalhaut Colony Complex with Tactical Missiles, and half the company got nuked, deployed in the rubble. I got out okay, don't worry. But after the flashes came, everything was on fire, or melting. We tried to run for cover, lifting the hovertanks to tree-top level for rapid flight, but there must have been a laser spotter in the rubble somewhere, tagging us while we zigged and zagged through what was left of the colony.
They enemy was using smart missiles, got all of five hovertanks of our 'A' platoon, and three more hovertanks from 'B', before we got to the outskirts, where we could fan out into escape formation, running over solid bedrock.
Last night, we re-formed, and settled down to get a good night's sleep for once.
At the Colony Site, in the still glowing rubble, on the line, we've had little to none, and two weeks is too long to go without regular sleep. After that long, the no-doze tabs start to make you crazy, jumpy as hell.
We know we'll figure out a way to beat them.
We all agree, it's time to stop running...It's time for some payback.
Well, don't worry, Dad, we'll make it back. Gotta go, we're moving again. - Mike
* * * *
That's what My MegaTraveller is like.
- Merxiless
Imagine a time in the Milky Way Galaxy, in the far future.
The year is 5440.
Long ago, the Terran Empire ruled the galaxy, but there are no records left of those days.
In the period of history known today as "The Annihilation," interstellar war ravaged the area of space around the Terran Homeworld, then known as Earth.
Many battles occurred long ago in the Sector known as the Terran Defense Zone, and in another Sector of space known today only as "The Wastes."
Very little is left of the Terran Empire today, except shattered, overgrown ruins on devastated worlds.
Occasionally, derelict Terran warships are sometimes sighted.
These abandoned hulks drift endlessly in the void, their once-powerful guns now silent, and their Tauspace drives crushed beyond all hope of repair.
Survey Scout ships on deep-space exploration missions occasionally find long lost sites of Ancient Terran Technology.
Or, they find other interesting (and dangerous) things:
"Exploring the Worlds of the Far Reaches"
The Orion Arm and space in general is a lot of emptiness, sprinkled with the occasional system. But we must remember that each world is alien, NOT like Earth.
In fact, these places are SO unlike earth, that is why Explorers are highly trained before going there. Absolutely anything could be out there.
The worlds of the Orion Arm are dark, foreboding places, where one mistake could mean the end of an Explorer, or a whole Explorer team.
The level of challenge defines the excitement of the story, and this setting is no exception. Colonists don't land until the world is practically tame already.
But first, it has to be charted, mapped, catalogued, and explored.
Weird, unusual, or outright deadly aliens, hostile animals, or the lost ruins of the Terran Empire are just a few examples of the possible discoveries to be made.
An unexplored world starts as a bunch of unanswered question marks, and explorers answer those questions, and then move on.
Initially, there is little or no information, the team must ask questions, and use all the skills at their disposal to survive, and report back with their findings.
Since the area of the Far Reaches Sector is so remote, there's no one to go ask for help, the explorer team is it.
This means that problems must be anticipated, and prepared for in advance, as much as possible, because once a situation becomes critical, it is too late to prevent it, there's only damage control.
Successful explorers gain recognition, and profit, and tales of their adventures way out, "...beyond space, beyond anything."
Unsuccessful explorers are never heard from again.
When alien races and creatures are encountered, there's no way to predict what they will do, until they are observed, and interacted with for some time. While the situation is being evaluated, the team is potentially in constant jeopardy: Other greedy teams may try to eliminate the heroes, and steal the world for themselves, or rival corporations (if they are corporate explorers) might do a bit of industrial espionage or sabotage, up to and including blowing up their ship, perhaps suggesting a stray meteor as a cover story, or not saying anything, because lots of explorers never report back.
Government paranoia might cause an investigation, once the team is very successful, figuring that some back room dealing is going on somehow.
But the payoffs are great, when a new source of trade goods, potential mining site, or Terran Ruins is discovered.
This potential for high risk/high reward makes for a very exciting campaign.
There's a lot of freedom, too, as there's no communication with overfed and under-exercised types from headquarters to call the shots. That means that the team must exercise responsibility, and leadership, especially from the team commander.
This leads to critical decision making, with little or no time (and great role-play along the way).
INTERVIEW WITH AN EXPLORER - Transcript
Explorer Commander Lori Blair
Commanding Officer, ESS Surveyor
On Patrol, Somewhere in the Far Reaches
...This is the way I see it...all those troopers out there on the front lines near The Nebula and the Rift, they're heroes.
No doubt in my military mind, I'll give 'em that.
They're out there, fighting and dying, buying time for Explorers like US to do our job.
Trading their lives for time, for us to find more sources of metals, especially radioactives, to feed the supply lines. Occasionally, we might make the greatest discovery of all, a new race!
It seems strange, but Explorer ships have encountered over 50 new races, all told.
The galaxy is full of life, and all of it is Alien. I don't just mean four legs, and six arms, I mean giant hydrogen-filled balloons that float through the upper layers of Gas Giant cloud tops.
Or, alien like the Flying Cave Snarks of Tau Ceti, they'll rip a person to shreds, lifting them up into the air when they swarm, until there's nothing left but bones to fall to the ground, minutes later.
The Ship? Yeah, The Surveyor, she's a fine ship, she makes a few Tauspace skips a month, and as soon as we find something...interesting...we drop for the surface.
We discovered the World-Ocean Rays of Ross 42, on a drop.
Drops, yeah. That's when the REAL challenge starts.
Every time we go in, we have almost nothing to go on, except guts, and our training...and Luck.
Sure, we got all the latest sensor packages, scanning gear, and our own smaller scale missiles, of course.
But EVERY mission is a new recon into hostile territory, and we don't know what we'll find...
Every encounter could kill any or all of us, if we make one mistake.
The Star Marines got a tough job, but they also have access to battlefield hospitals, surgical teams, and supplies.
But the Explorers, now, we're so far out here, the stars don't even have real NAMES, just Numbers, like "DM + 31, 924."
Our Astrogator plotting our skips isn't even human, because the 5th dimensional Tensor-TauSpace Topology calculations are so complex, our primate brains can barely grasp it, even with the ultra-speed cybercomps we have now.
At first, it was really difficult to deal with our Astrogator, Quarlon. He's really horrifying, even from a distance, but you get used to it. That glowing effect still freaks me out when we go dark, just before a skip, though...
We've met so many things out here, on EVERY mission, that people back home wouldn't believe the stories we have to tell.
The crew of the Surveyor is personally responsible for classifying over 4 dozen worlds, and contacting seven new races, just in the last year! We're pretty sure that's a record, but we haven't been near civilization long enough to tell anyone. Most of the time, it's a Class M star, cold, lots of iceworlds, and we move on.
But those other times, when we drop, well, let's just say, "Things get...interesting."
* * * *
To most of the current inhabitants of the galaxy, the events of long ago hold no importance in their daily struggle for survival, against the horrific K'Klak invaders from The Galactic Rim, who threaten the security and safety of all the member worlds of thend Orion Republic, and the stability of the Outworlds Alliance Treaty.
In the centuries since "The Annihilation," Humanity has recovered some elements of the old technology, and branched out toward the stars again.
Terra was left behind long ago, and its location has been lost in the dim past, but it is reputed to be located somewhere in the Terran Defense Zone Sector, though this has never been proven.
Many historians have searched for the Human homeworld (Earth), but none have ever found more than the slimmest clues as to its location, or status.
Most researchers believe that Terra was destroyed long ago, in "The Annihilation," by a catastrophic weapon of incredible power, that caused enough damage to Terra that it was finally abandoned.
Centuries ago, the ravagers of earth departed. Where they went is uncertain. Now, the dreaded enemy, the insectoid K'Klak, have returned in force.
Here is a recent speech on the situation by the Primus of the 2nd Orion Republic:
"I realize that the outcome of this war is still in doubt, but it does not look promising for our forces.
At the battle of the Plurid Rift, we have been dealt a terrible blow. The Battle for The Rift could have been very different - and very nearly was. But that doesn't matter much, does it?
Much will be said and written about The Orion Wars in the future, as further intelligence becomes available, and survivors of the Orion Campaign come forward to tell their stories.
But there are still unanswered questions, and critical battles yet to be fought, before our survival as a species will be assured.
I seek answers to some very important questions: How did we get involved in the war, and why?
What steps could we have taken to prevent the The loss of Jerax Colony, and why didn't we take them?
It is my goal to turn the tide of the war so that we are fighting our enemy out there, where we first met them, in the area of space known as 'Battlefield: Orion.' "
- 9th Primus H. N. Bayne, Chardis Metroplex, 5440
* * * *
AN AGE OF WAR AND DESPERATE SURVIVAL
The individual hero can make a difference, and they are on the front lines, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. They must rise to the challenge, or perish.
A transcript of a Soldier's vidletter from the Front tells the story:
ESMC LCpl. Michael Frost, 1st MarDiv, DZ Epsilon
Planet Fomalhaut III, November, 5439
Dear Dad,
We're in a rest area, in reserve formation, 20 Ks behind the front lines.
This morning, a hoverlift supply convoy managed to get through the daily orbital bombardment by the Spinners, and we got water, fresh vegetables, milk, and a couple cases of ammo each for our MG's, and even some spare birds for the Missile Tracks.
Pretty good for us, considering the hell that we've been through.
We just now got the shipment the LT. ordered two weeks ago, when we went up to the front.
It was pretty quiet in our area, so the supply puke who got to stay in the rear with the gear had ordered rations and ammo for a full company of 15 hovertanks.
On the last day at the front, the K'Klak opened up on our position at the Fomalhaut Colony Complex with Tactical Missiles, and half the company got nuked, deployed in the rubble. I got out okay, don't worry. But after the flashes came, everything was on fire, or melting. We tried to run for cover, lifting the hovertanks to tree-top level for rapid flight, but there must have been a laser spotter in the rubble somewhere, tagging us while we zigged and zagged through what was left of the colony.
They enemy was using smart missiles, got all of five hovertanks of our 'A' platoon, and three more hovertanks from 'B', before we got to the outskirts, where we could fan out into escape formation, running over solid bedrock.
Last night, we re-formed, and settled down to get a good night's sleep for once.
At the Colony Site, in the still glowing rubble, on the line, we've had little to none, and two weeks is too long to go without regular sleep. After that long, the no-doze tabs start to make you crazy, jumpy as hell.
We know we'll figure out a way to beat them.
We all agree, it's time to stop running...It's time for some payback.
Well, don't worry, Dad, we'll make it back. Gotta go, we're moving again. - Mike
* * * *
That's what My MegaTraveller is like.
- Merxiless
The year is 5440.
Long ago, the Terran Empire ruled the galaxy, but there are no records left of those days.
In the period of history known today as "The Annihilation," interstellar war ravaged the area of space around the Terran Homeworld, then known as Earth.
Many battles occurred long ago in the Sector known as the Terran Defense Zone, and in another Sector of space known today only as "The Wastes."
Very little is left of the Terran Empire today, except shattered, overgrown ruins on devastated worlds.
Occasionally, derelict Terran warships are sometimes sighted.
These abandoned hulks drift endlessly in the void, their once-powerful guns now silent, and their Tauspace drives crushed beyond all hope of repair.
Survey Scout ships on deep-space exploration missions occasionally find long lost sites of Ancient Terran Technology.
Or, they find other interesting (and dangerous) things:
"Exploring the Worlds of the Far Reaches"
The Orion Arm and space in general is a lot of emptiness, sprinkled with the occasional system. But we must remember that each world is alien, NOT like Earth.
In fact, these places are SO unlike earth, that is why Explorers are highly trained before going there. Absolutely anything could be out there.
The worlds of the Orion Arm are dark, foreboding places, where one mistake could mean the end of an Explorer, or a whole Explorer team.
The level of challenge defines the excitement of the story, and this setting is no exception. Colonists don't land until the world is practically tame already.
But first, it has to be charted, mapped, catalogued, and explored.
Weird, unusual, or outright deadly aliens, hostile animals, or the lost ruins of the Terran Empire are just a few examples of the possible discoveries to be made.
An unexplored world starts as a bunch of unanswered question marks, and explorers answer those questions, and then move on.
Initially, there is little or no information, the team must ask questions, and use all the skills at their disposal to survive, and report back with their findings.
Since the area of the Far Reaches Sector is so remote, there's no one to go ask for help, the explorer team is it.
This means that problems must be anticipated, and prepared for in advance, as much as possible, because once a situation becomes critical, it is too late to prevent it, there's only damage control.
Successful explorers gain recognition, and profit, and tales of their adventures way out, "...beyond space, beyond anything."
Unsuccessful explorers are never heard from again.
When alien races and creatures are encountered, there's no way to predict what they will do, until they are observed, and interacted with for some time. While the situation is being evaluated, the team is potentially in constant jeopardy: Other greedy teams may try to eliminate the heroes, and steal the world for themselves, or rival corporations (if they are corporate explorers) might do a bit of industrial espionage or sabotage, up to and including blowing up their ship, perhaps suggesting a stray meteor as a cover story, or not saying anything, because lots of explorers never report back.
Government paranoia might cause an investigation, once the team is very successful, figuring that some back room dealing is going on somehow.
But the payoffs are great, when a new source of trade goods, potential mining site, or Terran Ruins is discovered.
This potential for high risk/high reward makes for a very exciting campaign.
There's a lot of freedom, too, as there's no communication with overfed and under-exercised types from headquarters to call the shots. That means that the team must exercise responsibility, and leadership, especially from the team commander.
This leads to critical decision making, with little or no time (and great role-play along the way).
INTERVIEW WITH AN EXPLORER - Transcript
Explorer Commander Lori Blair
Commanding Officer, ESS Surveyor
On Patrol, Somewhere in the Far Reaches
...This is the way I see it...all those troopers out there on the front lines near The Nebula and the Rift, they're heroes.
No doubt in my military mind, I'll give 'em that.
They're out there, fighting and dying, buying time for Explorers like US to do our job.
Trading their lives for time, for us to find more sources of metals, especially radioactives, to feed the supply lines. Occasionally, we might make the greatest discovery of all, a new race!
It seems strange, but Explorer ships have encountered over 50 new races, all told.
The galaxy is full of life, and all of it is Alien. I don't just mean four legs, and six arms, I mean giant hydrogen-filled balloons that float through the upper layers of Gas Giant cloud tops.
Or, alien like the Flying Cave Snarks of Tau Ceti, they'll rip a person to shreds, lifting them up into the air when they swarm, until there's nothing left but bones to fall to the ground, minutes later.
The Ship? Yeah, The Surveyor, she's a fine ship, she makes a few Tauspace skips a month, and as soon as we find something...interesting...we drop for the surface.
We discovered the World-Ocean Rays of Ross 42, on a drop.
Drops, yeah. That's when the REAL challenge starts.
Every time we go in, we have almost nothing to go on, except guts, and our training...and Luck.
Sure, we got all the latest sensor packages, scanning gear, and our own smaller scale missiles, of course.
But EVERY mission is a new recon into hostile territory, and we don't know what we'll find...
Every encounter could kill any or all of us, if we make one mistake.
The Star Marines got a tough job, but they also have access to battlefield hospitals, surgical teams, and supplies.
But the Explorers, now, we're so far out here, the stars don't even have real NAMES, just Numbers, like "DM + 31, 924."
Our Astrogator plotting our skips isn't even human, because the 5th dimensional Tensor-TauSpace Topology calculations are so complex, our primate brains can barely grasp it, even with the ultra-speed cybercomps we have now.
At first, it was really difficult to deal with our Astrogator, Quarlon. He's really horrifying, even from a distance, but you get used to it. That glowing effect still freaks me out when we go dark, just before a skip, though...
We've met so many things out here, on EVERY mission, that people back home wouldn't believe the stories we have to tell.
The crew of the Surveyor is personally responsible for classifying over 4 dozen worlds, and contacting seven new races, just in the last year! We're pretty sure that's a record, but we haven't been near civilization long enough to tell anyone. Most of the time, it's a Class M star, cold, lots of iceworlds, and we move on.
But those other times, when we drop, well, let's just say, "Things get...interesting."
* * * *
To most of the current inhabitants of the galaxy, the events of long ago hold no importance in their daily struggle for survival, against the horrific K'Klak invaders from The Galactic Rim, who threaten the security and safety of all the member worlds of thend Orion Republic, and the stability of the Outworlds Alliance Treaty.
In the centuries since "The Annihilation," Humanity has recovered some elements of the old technology, and branched out toward the stars again.
Terra was left behind long ago, and its location has been lost in the dim past, but it is reputed to be located somewhere in the Terran Defense Zone Sector, though this has never been proven.
Many historians have searched for the Human homeworld (Earth), but none have ever found more than the slimmest clues as to its location, or status.
Most researchers believe that Terra was destroyed long ago, in "The Annihilation," by a catastrophic weapon of incredible power, that caused enough damage to Terra that it was finally abandoned.
Centuries ago, the ravagers of earth departed. Where they went is uncertain. Now, the dreaded enemy, the insectoid K'Klak, have returned in force.
Here is a recent speech on the situation by the Primus of the 2nd Orion Republic:
"I realize that the outcome of this war is still in doubt, but it does not look promising for our forces.
At the battle of the Plurid Rift, we have been dealt a terrible blow. The Battle for The Rift could have been very different - and very nearly was. But that doesn't matter much, does it?
Much will be said and written about The Orion Wars in the future, as further intelligence becomes available, and survivors of the Orion Campaign come forward to tell their stories.
But there are still unanswered questions, and critical battles yet to be fought, before our survival as a species will be assured.
I seek answers to some very important questions: How did we get involved in the war, and why?
What steps could we have taken to prevent the The loss of Jerax Colony, and why didn't we take them?
It is my goal to turn the tide of the war so that we are fighting our enemy out there, where we first met them, in the area of space known as 'Battlefield: Orion.' "
- 9th Primus H. N. Bayne, Chardis Metroplex, 5440
* * * *
AN AGE OF WAR AND DESPERATE SURVIVAL
The individual hero can make a difference, and they are on the front lines, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. They must rise to the challenge, or perish.
A transcript of a Soldier's vidletter from the Front tells the story:
ESMC LCpl. Michael Frost, 1st MarDiv, DZ Epsilon
Planet Fomalhaut III, November, 5439
Dear Dad,
We're in a rest area, in reserve formation, 20 Ks behind the front lines.
This morning, a hoverlift supply convoy managed to get through the daily orbital bombardment by the Spinners, and we got water, fresh vegetables, milk, and a couple cases of ammo each for our MG's, and even some spare birds for the Missile Tracks.
Pretty good for us, considering the hell that we've been through.
We just now got the shipment the LT. ordered two weeks ago, when we went up to the front.
It was pretty quiet in our area, so the supply puke who got to stay in the rear with the gear had ordered rations and ammo for a full company of 15 hovertanks.
On the last day at the front, the K'Klak opened up on our position at the Fomalhaut Colony Complex with Tactical Missiles, and half the company got nuked, deployed in the rubble. I got out okay, don't worry. But after the flashes came, everything was on fire, or melting. We tried to run for cover, lifting the hovertanks to tree-top level for rapid flight, but there must have been a laser spotter in the rubble somewhere, tagging us while we zigged and zagged through what was left of the colony.
They enemy was using smart missiles, got all of five hovertanks of our 'A' platoon, and three more hovertanks from 'B', before we got to the outskirts, where we could fan out into escape formation, running over solid bedrock.
Last night, we re-formed, and settled down to get a good night's sleep for once.
At the Colony Site, in the still glowing rubble, on the line, we've had little to none, and two weeks is too long to go without regular sleep. After that long, the no-doze tabs start to make you crazy, jumpy as hell.
We know we'll figure out a way to beat them.
We all agree, it's time to stop running...It's time for some payback.
Well, don't worry, Dad, we'll make it back. Gotta go, we're moving again. - Mike
* * * *
That's what My MegaTraveller is like.
- Merxiless