Eternal Sea (Space Pirates RP/OOC/Reboot)

[Imperialisium]

A short TL;DR,
So this is the third iteration of this roleplay. It was ran last year around the same time and had an initially good, high quality, start. But died due to the abrupt abandonment, later found out for personal reasons, by one of the Operator Team members and the usual NS curse of 75% of applicants just not posting or ghosting after a few weeks. Which is a shame given the quality of the writing and lore people had put into it prior. As such you may notice some rather strict entrance qualifications to join this roleplay. Do no take them personally. They are simply to try and mitigate common NS Roleplay issues. In the hopes that people who apply will be around long term and be able to enjoy at least a complete story arc. Pretty sure everyone reading this loves a complete story arc and wouldn't leave a book they enjoy half-read on purpose. As a result there has been some additions to the Rules unlike the previous iterations going over posting and communication expectations. There will be a Discord since collaborative lore creation is encouraged though it is not mandatory. Just helpful for you to do so and invites will be extended to applicants individually via your NS Telegrams. The Operator team will be checking the OOC regularly for any discussions occurring there. Additionally, background lore is not mandatory in regards to contributions from players. But it is encouraged. With that, enjoy.

1. Respect the Operator Team (Segmentia and Imperialisium)
2. Respect each other.
3. All NS forum and site rules apply. As such if ever a Moderator comes in please abide by their words.
4. Rules are subject to change.
5. Lore creation is collaborative, please be receptive of positive and negative responses. Goal here is to build together, a 'My Way or the High Way' attitude will just yield to you being kicked onto the high way.
6. Posts are expected to be at least three (3) complete paragraphs comprising a minimum of twelve (12) complete sentences. More the merrier.
7. Posting is expected to be twice a week minimum. If for some reason you cannot make this requirement please specify as to why and how often you plan to post.
8. If for some reason you have to go on hiatus then please let either Segmentia or I know via OOC, NS Telegram, or Discord. Along with how long you plan to be on hiatus for. So we can accommodate things accordingly.
9. Ghosting the RP will yield a permanent ban from re-entry and demotion of your character to plot device (and so quite possibly they die). This is done to allow newcomers to fill your post.

It is the Sixth Millennium!

The year is 5786 of the Common Era and for more than thirty centuries Mankind has broken past the cradle of it's Solar System. Spreading out among the stars in the greatest diaspora imaginable. Colonizing tens of thousands of planets and forming dozens of Spacer dominions. Mankind's spread brought bountiful resources, prosperity, and security to a species long believing itself to be alone in an empty universe. This was quickly discovered as not the case. For Humanity over the centuries has discovered many thousands of Xenos species both sentient and not. Friendly and hostile. Trading and warring across the far flung planets of Mankind's grasp. For Humanity is tenacious and has swiftly taken up a position of supremacy over many regions of the Galaxy. Forming their own vast empires and territories. Indeed, while some welcome Xenos into their societies, there are as many dominions that have and do wage xenocidal pogroms for a myriad of reasons. For it is a Galaxy a flame with the ambitions and dreams of billions...

Enter, The Midnight Sorrow, for this is a Galaxy of opportunity and wealth--but only for those that have the will to take it! To hold it in their grasp by nothing but their indomitable will! As many worlds that are peaceful and secure there are many more that are wild and borderline lawless. A dog eat dog cosmos out there and you're but one of uncounted sentient beings living in it. It is a universe of law men and outlaws. However, for one reason or another you find yourself among the latter. Yes, you happen to have become one of the crew for arguably one of the most infamous brigands this side of the Galactic Disc!

The Midnight Sorrow or quite simply, The Sorrow, is a ship like no other! A Celestial Pearl-Class warship, one of a kind, forged from forgotten technology borne during Mankind's now shrouded past. Brimming with archeo-tech heralding from Lost Solaria and in the spirit of Forgotten Terra. Stolen, from the shipyards of the Orion Royal Navy by none other than her very Captain. Zamyra "Bloodmoon" Drakazha. The Scourge of the Sagittarius Arm and among the Galaxy's Most Wanted. Merely being a member of her crew bears a life sentence on a thousand worlds. That is of course unless said planet carries out death sentences. At which point that long eternity of a jail cell will be swiftly commuted to the here after.

History of Mankind

What begins here is a summarized history of events from the 21st Century to the current era in the 6th Millennium. As Humanity burst from it's cradle amid danger of extinction to strike out among the stars in a diaspora of adventure and progress. But as always Humans are fickle, greedy, violent beings that soon began to fill their newfound interstellar dominions with war, intrigue, genocide, and all manner of internecine conflict, which Humanity has honed oh so well. Please note that the first five sections are merely conjecture as Earth and many older worlds initially colonized by Mankind have been lost.

Era of Old Earth
Prehistory-2200CE
Spanning from Pre-History to the 22nd Century AD the Era of Old Earth was a time when humanity was confined to the Sol System and the only habitable planet of Earth. By the Mid-21st Century Earth was plagued with resource wars, famine, and all manner of conflict. It was this desperation that launched the first automated mining stations and research facilities on Luna, Mars, and the Asteroid belt. Progressing to permanent habitats on the Moon and Mars by 2080. By 2100 Humanity was choking Earth as overpopulation reached critical levels and the first generation ship left Earth for the Alpha Centauri system. Many more would follow for other neighboring stars. But by 2175 Humanity had discovered a very primitive form of FTL using an Alcubierre drive. Allowing ships to reach systems up to 5 Light years away in a single calculated jump. Some of these new ships arrived in systems before the surviving generation ships arrived and the local group of stars was colonized.

The United Federation Era
2200-2347CE
The constraints of early Human FTL and navigation limited Mankind to the local bubble of stellar systems. However, even then great leaps in colonization where forming. Along with this came the first colonial wars as more developed worlds began to show signs of increasing planetary consciousness to themselves as separate from Earth. Eventually culminating into the damaging Great Colonial Schism which was a series of wars from 2314-2347AD between Terra (Old Earth) and Mars. Bringing an end to the United Federation and formally dissolving the United Nations and their parliamentary system. A system which had gradually replaced many of the old nations that once dominated Terra. In exchange establishing the United Earth Directorate. A corporate conglomerate driven by profiteering and predatory forms of capitalism run amok. Yet, the silver lining in this was the drive to delve even further into space to search for more resources to feed the once more booming populations of inhabited Human space.

The Corporate Era
2347-2402CE
The rise of megacorporations taking control of entire worlds replaced the former nations of Earth as the leaders of humanity. Great economic gains where made at the cost of social and civil liberties. But the corporations ruled with an iron fist as they are what funded the Earth military which won the Great Colonial Schism. It was not until the Martian Revolt of 2399 and the subsequent struggle that the corporations lost political and military power. Being replaced by the Terran Republic which returned to the ideals of democracy. Primitive Terraforming technology was introduced during this time to remake Mars and many other worlds into fully hospitable planets.

Terran Republic.
2402-2463CE
The Terran Republic saw a restoration of the democratic ideals of the of democracy. However this too ended when a coup led by the victorious Admiral Julian Apostaric, victor of the Frontier Wars against the rebellious human settles of the Sirius Star system during the Sirian Insurgency. Founding the short lived Terran Hegemony that only lasted till 2477 with the murder of Apostaric and his entire family by Vilhelm von Ravenstar. Founding the Terran Empire with a constitution granting social and economic freedoms along with technological advances via the introduction of the Cherenkov Translight Engine.

The Cherenkov Translight Engine was the first non-Alcubierre type FTL drive to be built by Humanity. Allowing ships to make far longer jumps without massive spikes in power requirements. Hastening the spread of Humanity throughout the Orion Arm and beyond in the succeeding centuries.

Diaspora and Empire
2477-2955CE
The Diaspora and Empire go hand in hand as the Imperial fronted Cherenkov Translight Engine allowed humans to make calculated jumps that where cost effective at distances of up to 55 light years before needing refueling. Along with increasingly advanced navigational computers allowing humanity to colonize much of the Orion Arm. The Ravenstar monarchs, good or bad, reigned over a momentous time in human history. The drawback was that the Empire was being outpaced by the rate of exploration and colonization with hundreds of worlds settled. The introduction of more advanced terraforming techniques hastened the amount of time it took to transform a world and also make it more Earth-like than ever before. A process that previously took generations and full of limitations could now be done in a single Human lifetime of 30-80 years. It was in the beginning of this era that the Original Twenty, referencing the original Twenty worlds that managed to be founded without Imperial control took place. Forming nascent states far out of the reach of the Empire. Ultimately, this led to the Great War when the Empire learned and sought to conquer the Original Twenty. The result was the nuclear bombardment of Terra and the destruction of seven of the Original Twenty along with widespread damage to the Empire. Fragmenting humanity and Terra (Old Earth) began to be lost to obscurity.

Warring Systems Era
2955-3600CE
The dozens of warring systems of various governments and ideologies can best be analyzed as a stellar dark age for humanity. Much knowledge was lost during this lengthy period as the Old Terran Empire fragmented and the Thirteen Spacer Colonies, the surviving worlds of the Original Twenty, became the dominant bastions of humanity during this chaotic time. Ironically, the worlds which led to the downfall of the Empire becoming the preservers of Mankind's Imperialistic ambitions as most of the Thirteen spread out to create their own interstellar hegemonic domains. It was these fierce competitions over territory and resources that Humanity began to leave the Orion Arm. Colonizing neighboring arms after the invention of the Casimir Superluminal Drive and its gradual spread to the desperate worlds of mankind. Allowing ships to make jumps up to 325 light years in length in a single activation.

Spacer Era & Galactic Empires
3600-Current Year of 5786CE

By 3600 of the Common Era many of the warring states in the Orion Arm had been absorbed by the Star Kingdom of Orion (British Empire in space) centered on Procyon Primaris. The other three major Galactic dominions arising from the newly colonized arms of the Galaxy being the Sagittarius Star Empire (modeled on the German Empire/Prussia), Cygnus Interstellar Hegemony (Asian themed), and the Perseus United Systems (Western Democracy themed). Further advances like the Kerensky-Positron Matrix to create true artificial intelligence, various FTL drives allowing anything from a few dozen light years to thousands in a matter of hours, and all manner of biological enhancements. Cybernetics, bio-enhancements, and the official recognition of various Human subspecies arising from many worlds long inhabited by Humans that have developed their own genetic make-ups. AN era where progress and anarchy go hand in hand.

A Brief Overview of the Midnight Sorrow

The Midnight Sorrow was an Celestial Pearl-Class Warship of the Orion Royal Navy and one of the most advanced ship-of-the-line to be put to space. A one of a kind vessel incorporating or possibly even taken from Lost Solaria before that fabled world's fall. Aside it being the only ship of its class to have been built. At 6.4 km long and 987 meters at it's widest it was also one of the largest ships for its time. Built to be able to house a sizable crew of 25,000 while also capable of automation due to its A.I. matrix forged into the ship itself. The latter being necessary given the proportionally skeleton crew of circa 5,000 that the Sorrow possesses. The ship itself has a brain via what the Orion Navy classified as a Solaire-Positron Intelligence Matrix (S-PIM) that assists the Captain and crew in the running of the vessel along with storing data in the archives. That tag itself being a bit shrouded in mystery since no other A.I. is listed by that make or model and indeed looking it up in Orion databases merely pulls up nothing or a wall of redacted data.

The ship, now more than a century old since it was taken by Captain Zamyra, has been modified extensively by it's menagerie of a crew. Despite this, the crew boasts all the accouterments needing to possess for survival in extended voyages among the vacuum of space. Leisure facilities and mess halls are among R&R decks and even a fully computer controlled pool room. The ship also boasts botanical facilities via its hydroponic bay and fully self-sufficient recycle facilities. Yet, many people as one might imagine do not like the idea of drinking recycled water over and over again. As such, the day to day foodstuff of the crew is met by its extensive warehouse space. Supplies gathered through illicit or legal trade one could only guess and to be honest a straight answer is likely not forthcoming.

Aesthetically the ship externally is very sleek and bearing an architectural style totally at odds with other Human space craft. Its polished mirror like silver hull interspersed with pitch black support ribs and bearing an almost alien appearance to its overall external design. From its split prong bow to its glowing blue running lights that give it an almost ethereal and alive appearance of a space borne predator. Internally, the ship bears a striking baroque-rococo layout. According to the ship this fanciful decoration was not present in the original construction of the shop and added by the Orion Navy to boast their might as the intended flagship of their Navy. As such the interior of the vessel has a very palatial, possibly even basilica, like appearance.

Name:
Nickname/Alias:
Age:
Birth Date:
Position or Role on ship:
Gender:
Relationship Status: (For those wanting character relationship in the romantic, intimate, or family sphere)
Height:
Current Appearance: (Face Claim. No Anime pictures)
Any Cybernetic or Synthetic Enhancements: (Don't go overboard here...remember you're a pirate not Tony Stark in space)

Background Info: (Basically be as extensive as you want on where your character is from, who they are personally, what they like and dislike. Be creative with your character, so have at it, and no fewer than a complete 5-6 sentence paragraph please.

Skills: ( Any skills you wish to highlight or showcase in more detail).

Five Roleplay References (5):

Name: Zamyra Drakazha (pronounced like Zah-mir-ah Drah-ka-sha)
Nickname/Alias: "Bloodmoon" and "The Scourge of the Sagittarius Arm."
Age: Unknown, appears to be in mid-twenties to early thirties
Birth Date: A lot of the crew hypothesize about this as a running lottery game aboard the ship
Position on Ship: Captain
Gender: Female
Relationship Status: Single
Height: 180cm
Current Appearance: Zamyra looks to be in her mid to late twenties due to alleged rejuvenate treatments she managed to procure. Her only major facial characteristic aside from a faded scar on her right cheek is her mismatched eyes. One is sea-gray while the other is a deep violet. Often at times holding a faint golden glow around the irises when focused. She is athletic and lithe with what many men argue as a pleasing or 'shapely' frame of build.
Face Claim:


Background Information

Zamyra's birth world is largely conjecture and full of conflicting evidence. Her Orion military records briefly had the slum world of Athanae XII. But a look through logs would reveal several data changes, redaction, and additions to the record. Varying from Procyon Primaris itself to a backwater abandoned world known as Oracleas' Hope. This is equally as confounding as her age and how she came about to stealing a ship like the Midnight Sorrow. Ostensibly, an act that she did herself. For the crew came after and quite selectively with Zamyra herself overseeing many of the earliest arrivals, many of whom are long dead and buried. Those that failed her initial selections is largely up to who you ask among the crew. Some suspect that failed initial recruits were killed. Others state that they were left on random worlds. The more esoteric among the crew believe that the Captain does not choose but the ship itself.

For, to many of the crew, the ship is believed to be very much alive. Something that Zamyra herself does not speak against nor promote. Zamyra's Captaincy is long and storied. Separating fact from fiction is nigh impossible unless one managed to get a word out of her about a particular event in the ships chronology. That is of course if you believe her? Indeed, Zamyra's aloofness about the ships origins and history extends beyond that to her command. Enigmatic and detached, Zamyra's presence can be described as a mixture of alluring meets forebode, instead the Captain of the Sorrow seems to prefer working through her various officers and letting her subordinates work out the details of their duties. Only micro-managing on plans of import to the survival of the ship and crew.

Zamyra's personality is one of quiet and coldness not unlike the vacuum of space itself. This is sharply contrasted by a quick wit for humour and a knack for truly inquisitive conversation. Many a crew member blurting out some part of their past to a simple question asked by the Captain.

What is known, is that for just over a century, Zamyra is the Captain of the Sorrow.

Skills: Naval Officer (military education and experience), Chess, and an adept hands at cards.

This Does have a Discord. Invitation will be extended to applicants.

[Segmentia]

Name: Jenestra Meos
Nickname/Alias: Jene
Age: 78
Birth Date: 5708
Position or Role on ship: Quartermaster/Paymaster/First mate
Gender: Female
Relationship Status: (For those wanting character relationship in the romantic, intimate, or family sphere)
Height: 8'6
Current Appearance: Jenestra Meos
Any Cybernetic or Synthetic Enhancements: None

Background Info: Born into a powerful family in the alien star-empire of Skythikea, of the Maeotian species, Jenestra was born into an early life of privilage among some of the most powerful families in the empire. Thus she was well educated by the time her family started to fall on hard times, brought about by rival families finally maneuvering to a point where they could inflict real damage upon the Meos family. It started with cut-throat dealings in business, both the legitimate and illegitimate ones, and soon broke out into assassinations and all out war between the mob-like families. By the time she was a young adult the surviving members of the Meos family were forced to flee from the empire, settling into the Perseus United Systems but never staying in one place for very long, and each place being less grand then the last as the favors, money, and other valuables were being used up.

Jenestra held various jobs during these times, putting her education and natural talents to work in trying to stem to tide of the funds lost, but she could never hold a job down for long, as her families enemies always found them eventually, forcing the family to flee once again. It was during one such incident that Jenestra sighed on with the Sorrow, when she was 40 years old. Cut off from being able to flee the world her family had settled on, and with hit-men closing in on her, she had little choice but to sign up with pirates simply to escape the planet. Initially she had just figured she'd sign on, get a few systems, maybe a sector or two, away then make her excuses and bail. But her sharp mind quickly saw Jenestra taken under the wing of the Sorrows quartermaster at the time, and once she was familiar with the system she began to form a plan.

The years went by and Jenestra worked diligently under what she supposed she would call a mentor. If the idea of pirates had intimated before she became less so very quickly, as her mentor put it 'Only the truly deranged mess with the people counting their money. And you also look like you could smash your way through a bulkhead, so that helps too I guess.'. After about ten years of working up her seniority and building up trust with many of her fellow pirates, her mentor announced he was going to retire after a close-call on a spur of the moment boarding action he had undertaken with the usual boarding crew. This was obviously going to leave a very important on the Sorrow open, and the crew held a usual 'election' for who they wanted to take the role. Jenestra won by a land-slide, being seen as trust-worthy, for a pirate, and also having a reputation for fair but ruthless dealings.

Since then Jenestra has been running the Sorrow's 'loot department', ensuring the crew gets its pay, and also ensuring the Sorrow has a nice reserve of cash, credit, and valuables that can be used at the captains discretion. She has also been building up her own fortune rather nicely, with the eventual goal of returning to Skythikea to return her family, and more precisely herself, back to its former glory while reaping a terrible vengeance on her enemies.
Skills: Skilled with numbers and quite charismatic

[Ralnis]

Am I allowed in the RP?

[Imperialisium]

Am I allowed in the RP?

Yes? Is there a particular reason why you shouldn't be?

[Ralnis]

Am I allowed in the RP?

Yes? Is there a particular reason why you shouldn't be?

Sorry, that wasn't for this RP. Or even this site in particular.

[Segmentia]

What?

[Ralnis]

What?

I accidentally post something and Imperial wanted to know why I would be allowed to RP here. I said that it wasn't supposed to post that and not even on this site cause I'm roleplaying somewhere else where I had uninteinally caused beef with someone. Either way, is the cook or gunner position opened? Maybe a badass janitor?

[Imperialisium]

What?

I accidentally post something and Imperial wanted to know why I would be allowed to RP here. I said that it wasn't supposed to post that and not even on this site cause I'm roleplaying somewhere else where I had uninteinally caused beef with someone. Either way, is the cook or gunner position opened? Maybe a badass janitor?

Ah ok

A cook position would be preferable to the three you listed

[Imperialisium]

Name: Jenestra Meos
Nickname/Alias: Jene
Age: 78
Birth Date: 5708
Position or Role on ship: Quartermaster/Paymaster/First mate
Gender: Female
Relationship Status: (For those wanting character relationship in the romantic, intimate, or family sphere)
Height: 8'6
Current Appearance: Jenestra Meos
Any Cybernetic or Synthetic Enhancements: None

Background Info: Born into a powerful family in the alien star-empire of Skythikea, of the Maeotian species, Jenestra was born into an early life of privilage among some of the most powerful families in the empire. Thus she was well educated by the time her family started to fall on hard times, brought about by rival families finally maneuvering to a point where they could inflict real damage upon the Meos family. It started with cut-throat dealings in business, both the legitimate and illegitimate ones, and soon broke out into assassinations and all out war between the mob-like families. By the time she was a young adult the surviving members of the Meos family were forced to flee from the empire, settling into the Perseus United Systems but never staying in one place for very long, and each place being less grand then the last as the favors, money, and other valuables were being used up.

Jenestra held various jobs during these times, putting her education and natural talents to work in trying to stem to tide of the funds lost, but she could never hold a job down for long, as her families enemies always found them eventually, forcing the family to flee once again. It was during one such incident that Jenestra sighed on with the Sorrow, when she was 40 years old. Cut off from being able to flee the world her family had settled on, and with hit-men closing in on her, she had little choice but to sign up with pirates simply to escape the planet. Initially she had just figured she'd sign on, get a few systems, maybe a sector or two, away then make her excuses and bail. But her sharp mind quickly saw Jenestra taken under the wing of the Sorrows quartermaster at the time, and once she was familiar with the system she began to form a plan.

The years went by and Jenestra worked diligently under what she supposed she would call a mentor. If the idea of pirates had intimated before she became less so very quickly, as her mentor put it 'Only the truly deranged mess with the people counting their money. And you also look like you could smash your way through a bulkhead, so that helps too I guess.'. After about ten years of working up her seniority and building up trust with many of her fellow pirates, her mentor announced he was going to retire after a close-call on a spur of the moment boarding action he had undertaken with the usual boarding crew. This was obviously going to leave a very important on the Sorrow open, and the crew held a usual 'election' for who they wanted to take the role. Jenestra won by a land-slide, being seen as trust-worthy, for a pirate, and also having a reputation for fair but ruthless dealings.

Since then Jenestra has been running the Sorrow's 'loot department', ensuring the crew gets its pay, and also ensuring the Sorrow has a nice reserve of cash, credit, and valuables that can be used at the captains discretion. She has also been building up her own fortune rather nicely, with the eventual goal of returning to Skythikea to return her family, and more precisely herself, back to its former glory while reaping a terrible vengeance on her enemies.
Skills: Skilled with numbers and quite charismatic

Accepted