Starship: Togetherness - Lost in Space <FT|OoC|Open|SignUps>

[Mewsland]

It is the year 3530.

After the First Conference of Interspecies Cooperation in 3525, Tali'Zorican president Mew Mæow XVI set to work penning resolutions in both his nation and on the international stage to help accomplish the goals laid out by the Conference, which the President deeply supported, in a reasonable timeframe. However, in addition, he helped set in motion one of the greatest experiments in known history - crewing a starship with beings from across the universe. It would be the ultimate in interspecies cooperation.

Commissioning the design of a starship in 3527, it was extraordinarily difficult to consider the challenges of the design - functionality for multiple types of lifeform, habitability, structure, technology. It was determined that, not only would the ship be a pioneer in interspecies relations, but it would also take a leading role in technology, flying with a revolutionary 'negative-mass' warp drive, which functioned on the same basic principle as the warp drive whilst also giving the ship negative mass, allowing it to reach intergalactic speeds of more than one light year per second.

Christened and launched on May 18, 3530, the Starship Yorktown <NCX-1717> - affectionately known as the Starship Togetherness - launched under the command of Captain Karisa Aveyo from Kardon IV to much fanfare. When Yorktown finally cleared the Kardon sector, however, that fanfare turned to sorrow.

The Kaliem Galaxy is often in a state of spatial flux. Unstable zones in the fabric of space-time can cause unpredictable errors on board a starship. The Yorktown warped right into one of these zones, and the unthinkable happened.

The warp drive of the starship greatly intensified the instability, which in turn caused an exponentially stronger space warp. In mere seconds, the Yorktown was thrown three billion light years across the universe. Even if Yorktown were to somehow slave the engine into running at its maximum cruising speed 24/7, to say nothing of fuel, it would take ninety-five years for the ship to return home...

So, why don't I get right down to business and explain what's up?

This RP is adapted from a F7 Star Trek concept I created earlier this month, and have largely decided to scrap, given that it is facing a lack of interest.

To put things simply, Starship: Togetherness is a concept I've created as a companion series to my current interspecies cooperation RP, Bridging the Species Divide. It details the story of the Tali'Zorican Starship Yorktown <NCX-1717>, a great experiment literally and figuratively, in that it is not only a pioneer in international and interspecies relations, it is also a pioneer in much of its technology.

Lost in Space, the first chapter of this series, details what happens when not all of the variables are taken into consideration - and, with the 'unstable zones' described in the backstory a major variable (they're created by an unknown source somewhere near the center of my nation's galaxy, and can spring up anywhere at anytime), it was too good of a story opportunity to pass up.

So, here's all the details.

The Starship Yorktown <NCX-1717>

The Starship Yorktown <NCX-1717> is the first Tali'Zorican starship ever meant to be designed for interspecies operation - that is to say that it can be fitted and retrofitted for a crew consisting of beings from all over the universe. At 382 meters long, 177 meters wide, and 59 meters in height, the 18-deck starship can sustain a crew of 412.

The Yorktown is a revolution in Tali'Zorican starship design - most notably her bridge being totally revamped from the "captain's chair and stations facing main viewscreen" motif.

(A Deck is at the top of the ship. The engineering section begins on G Deck, and the saucer section ends in the 'bump' of H and I Decks - on the bottom of the saucer.)

Primary (Saucer) Section

A Deck Main bridge, captain's ready room, main conference room
B Deck Science labs, Ship Resources' office
C Deck Environmental control, science labs
D Deck Senior officers' quarters, VIP docking port, emergency batteries
E Deck Senior officers' lounge, senior officer's mess, junior officers' quarters, cargo storage, upper phaser bank controls
F Deck Crew quarters, crew mess rooms, crew's lounge, personnel airlocks, gangway hatch, turbolift maintenance, impulse engineering, impulse deflection crystal, fusion reactors
G Deck Transporter rooms, briefing room, armory, rec deck, bowling alley and racquet ball facilities, cargo storage, life support, water tanks, battery systems, waste recovery, saucer section landing struts, main brig, gymnasium, lower phaser bank controls, main sickbay, chapel. Commonly considered the center of activity of the ship, at least for the crew.
H Deck Planetfall ramp, auxiliary fire control, laundry
I Deck Science labs

Secondary (Engineering) Section

G Deck Battle bridge (auxiliary control)
H Deck Saucer-engineering section latches for separation, main docking ports, fabrication facility
I Deck Viewing lounges, specialized passenger cabins
J Deck Primary circuit breaker room, specialized passenger cabins
K Deck Main sensor array monitoring station, specialized passenger cabins
L Deck Photon torpedo storage, torpedo exhaust system, photon torpedo room, torpedo tubes, docking ports, auxiliary torpedo fire control
M Deck Engineering computer monitoring room and bay, Inertial dampening system, observation deck, deuterium storage, Warp drive reaction upper core injectors
N Deck Main power transformers, sensor subsystems, horizontal intermix chamber, dilithium reactor room, landing bay control room
O Deck Main Engineering, shuttlebay, navigational deflector, long range sensors, secondary hull main battery room, chief engineer's office, secondary briefing room, primary maintenance, turbolift repair, landing bay observation galleries, landing bay tractor beam
P Deck Emergency transporters, circuit breaker room, cargo storage inspection balcony, docking ports, landing bay, botanical section, shuttlecraft maintenance
Q Deck Environmental systems, auxiliary brig, antimatter storage pod, regulation pool sun deck, main tractor beam housing
R Deck Main tractor beam, waste recovery, water tanks, swimming pool

Engine Nacelle Corridors (Alpha Deck roughly corresponds with D Deck. Beta Deck is roughly between E and F Decks. Gamma Deck roughly corresponds with G Deck.)

Alpha Deck Upper warp drive field coil access, upper catwalk
Beta Deck Primary plasma manifolds, warp drive distribution node, Bussard collector control, catwalk
Gamma Deck Lower warp drive field coil access, lower catwalk

Turboshaft Service
The turbolifts (elevators) service the following decks (there are multiple turbolifts for each turboshaft group:

Turboshaft 1 A Deck to I Deck
Turboshaft 2 A Deck to I Deck
Turboshaft 3 C Deck to G Deck
Turboshaft 4 B Deck to G Deck
Turboshaft 5 D Deck to M Deck
Turboshaft 6 G Deck to P Deck
Turboshaft 7H Deck to O Deck
Turboshaft 8L Deck to R Deck
Turboshaft 9M Deck to R Deck
Turboshaft 10 (Express) A Deck, G Deck, and O Deck

Like all Tali'Zorican bridge modules, the Yorktown's main bridge design has three main components: the main control room, conference room, and ready room.

The main room does not have a main viewscreen in the traditional sense. Instead, the captain sits (or stands) in the center of the room, and all primary stations - of which there are seven - face her. The captain, first officer, tactical officer, and up to three additional advisers are seated around the conn table, whose surface allows the captain to confer with her officers, view the current contents of any other bridge console, and set down a cup of coffee. The captain can also turn around to face the other central display system, the sphere - a large holographic field which normally shows the ship, its internal component status (much like the MSD), and other ships and objects in its vicinity - or any other station on the bridge. The sphere takes up most of the open floorspace between the conn table and the Helm station; the captain can stand and interact with it somatically, instead of having to calculate courses and positions in her head.

The single port (Ship Resources) and single starboard (Operations) stations are inside raised and hooded alcoves (OoC: a nod to Tuvok and Kim's stations on Voyager from Star trek). In addition, all five of the bridge's main entrances - two from the corridors, one from an access tunnel, and two from turbolifts - are placed in the back of five additional alcoves, which shields the command area from the distraction of routine comings and goings (and offers an extra security buffer). The alcoves also allow officers to have semi-private discussions and concentrate on delicate tasks, while still having a good vantage point over the entire room.

In contrast, the two fore (Helm and Tactical) and one aft (Contact) stations are sunken a few steps, which allows the captain to see over their heads. The far walls at these ends are occupied by two wide viewscreens. These screens are configurable for any purpose, and often show images from the ship's exterior cameras. However, they also have two unique features. First, they are semi-transparent (OoC: like the "windshield" viewers from the 2009 Star Trek movie), allowing an unobstructed view between space, the conference room, and the bridge. They can, of course, be blanked out in one or both directions. Second, each screen may be divided into as many as six modular workstations, which augment the abilities of the five main stations.

The bridge is designed to be expandable - in addition to the extra stations described above, all five main stations have just enough room to seat a second assistant or relief officer. Thus, the same facility which runs with only seven core officers can accommodate a crew of twenty-eight (albeit a little cramped). This allows the standard bridge module to scale to a wide range of operational complexities.

The ready room is pretty self-explanatory. It's designed to serve as auxiliary quarters for the captain, should she need to be available at a moment's notice. The transparent displays allow her to keep an eye on the bridge from any part of the room. She's also just one door away from the bridge, a turbolift, or the corridor.

The conference room is actually a small suite of utilities which serve the bridge crew. The meeting area itself is flanked by two small hallways, separated by glass walls and open doorways, which provide access to the turbolift, head, and storage lockers for emergency defense, medical and survival supplies. The area does not have direct access to the rest of the ship; instead, it is separated by a security checkpoint, which is the entrance normally used by civilians, visitors, and low-ranking enlisted men who lack the necessary clearance. The center area is dominated by the conference table, which seats ten people, and features touch consoles and a holo-projector similar to the one on the bridge. On one side, it has two modular consoles and the viewscreen which it shares with the bridge; on the other, it has a raised observation window, which looks out into space past the stern of the ship.

The Yorktown’s bridge design is based on the following concepts:

Command dais

The captain sits or stands at the exact center of an open dais, which sits at the vertical and lateral center of the bridge - which itself is the command center of the entire ship. Thus, the captain is the ship’s nucleus, in no uncertain terms. The captain sits equidistant from the five stations of the bridge. All five face the center, enabling eye contact and communication with the captain, and with each other. In addition to her officers, the captain is also adjacent to the two central information consoles: the conn table, and the situation sphere.

Conn table

The commander, executive officer, and tactical officer are seated with direct access to the conn table. Aside from being a convenient surface for charts, tablet computers or a cup of coffee, the entire table is a touch computer interface through which the commander can observe a fully-functional duplicate of any workstation on the bridge (minus analog instruments). Duty officers may “ping” the conn table, which prompts the commander to view their station and track the movements of their hands. This system allows the commander to interact with any station without needing to physically move to that station.

Situation sphere

A large portion of open floorspace on the command dais is reserved for the main situation display: a holographic projection, which typically consists of the ship, its internal component status, and the positions of other vessels and objects in the ship’s immediate area. Clearly visible from any point on the bridge, the display is of particular use to the commander and the Helm officer, making it easy and intuitive to visualize the ship’s position and make rapid decisions in combat. During normal operations, the situation display is only used when needed; however, during a heightened state of alert, the display’s default view activates automatically, and the bridge lights change to the appropriate illumination to maximize its visibility.

Alcoves

All of the normal entrances to the bridge - from the outside corridors, stairs to upper and lower decks, and lifts - are located behind the port and starboard stations, which are raised and hooded. This shields the command dais from the distraction of routine comings and goings (and offers an extra security buffer). The alcoves also provide a semi-secluded area for the commander to confer with an officer, manage sensitive procedures, or conduct simultaneous tasks without overlap, while still maintaining a good vantage point of the entire bridge.

Modulars

The entire fore and aft walls of the bridge are occupied by wide display screens. The Helm and Tactical consoles are recessed to ensure a clear line of sight to these displays. Like the sphere, their contents can be chosen from Tactical or the conn table; they often show visual vantage points from the ship’s exterior cameras. More importantly, each one can be converted into as many as six modular workstations, which can access any ship function through the central computer under a variety of configurable templates - science, navigation, EVA mission control, etc. (Standard procedure is to leave as much uninterrupted width as possible for the common displays.) The fore and aft areas also provide access to the conference room, commander’s office, and a manual access ladder.

In addition to the twelve modular consoles, all five core stations are wide enough to seat an assistant or relief officer, and the conn table has room for up to three more advisers, flag officers or visitors. Thus, by minimizing analog instruments and concealing extra seating beneath consoles, a facility which is normally staffed by seven officers can accommodate a crew of twenty-eight.

Crew

Tactical

Tactical’s purpose is to track the states, positions and headings of the ship and every object in its vicinity. He is responsible for using the ship’s sensor suite to identify and analyze specific targets and fields, and for defeating enemy countermeasures in order to produce an accurate picture of the ship’s surroundings.

He does so by manipulating the tactical grid: a central dynamic database, essentially a map, by which all ship assets understand their relative position in space. Course headings, rally points and target objectives are all defined as nav points - coordinates within a virtual space - which are instantly available not only to every tactical system on the ship, but to the ship’s flight group, which consists of all units under the umbrella of the ship’s command. This system allows information to travel up and down the chain of command almost without interruption. Every other element of the bridge makes some use of it.

Tactical declares new contacts; oversees the designation of enemy and friendly targets for the Contact and Operations officers, to be relayed to the ship’s fighter wings and gun batteries, respectively; and verifies gravitational and electromagnetic fields for the Helm officer during long-range and FTL or temporal slipstream flight operations, all through the tactical grid. While these tasks are largely automated, a human officer is necessary to organize the cacophony of information available to the ship’s sensors, and to guard against computer error and enemy misdirection.

The Tactical officer is probably the most vital member of the Yorktown bridge crew. To reflect his position as a central pillar of ship functions, his station is adjacent to the conn table, and his console is the default view of the main situation display. When neither the commander nor the executive officer are present on the bridge, the Tactical officer usually serves as Officer of the Watch.

The Tactical officer may be assisted by an electronic counter-warfare (ECW) specialist, an expert in spotting and compensating for advanced forms of sensory deception and concealment.

Contact

Contact’s purpose is to oversee all communications to and from the ship. She controls all remote connections to the ship’s computer network, and is further tasked with adding and releasing units from the flight group, by way of granting or revoking access to the tactical grid.

Above all, her chief responsibility is to coordinate the status and activities of the ship’s flight group, ensuring that all of the ship’s far-flung elements work together as a unit. Despite the name, the “flight group” includes not only fighters and other dependent spacecraft, but EVA crews, ground missions, satellites and probes. Contact authorizes landings and takeoffs from the ship’s hangar, and relays supplemental commands by voice or text between CIC and squadron leaders. During combat, she coordinates the group’s objectives, attack patterns and firing solutions, much as Operations does for the ship’s internal gun crews.

Contact is trusted to transmit messages on the commander’s behalf. She authenticates the ship’s identity to other flight groups, and receives authentication from them in turn, working with Tactical to corroborate their identities. She uses information from other crafts’ sensors and verbal reports to update the tactical grid, creating and revising nav points - ubiquitous among general communiques, mission plans and rendezvous orders - with final approval by Tactical himself. She also downloads regular updates to the grid database from the fleet-wide navigation network, which Tactical uses to synchronize the ship’s absolute position and validate nav points already in the grid.

Finally, Contact is also responsible for maintaining and modulating the encryption algorithms which are mandatory for all wireless communications to and from the ship. She may be called upon to intercept and interpret enemy signals and supply corresponding disinformation. For these tasks, in addition to the ship’s basic communications array, Contact has access to programs for integrating the ship’s sensors and other modular assets into her signal patterns, with permission from Tactical and Operations, respectively. She can also, with cooperation from her counterparts on other ships, send and receive from any comm array in the flight group.

Contact may be assisted by a number of flight operators to oversee mission-specific subdivisions of the ship’s flight group, freeing her to manage the common channels. Beyond merely relaying information; flight operators monitor the status of both personnel and equipment, and direct medical, repair and resupply assets to where they are needed. A flight-op may also be used to provide one-on-one assistance to a craft with mechanical difficulties; if the pilot is unresponsive, it may take some degree of direct control over the craft. In addition, like Tactical, Contact may be joined by an ECW specialist to assist with encryption, decryption and interception.

Helm

Helm’s purpose is to plan and control the movement of the ship. Unlike Contact and Operations, whose jobs often consist of relaying orders to subordinate crews, the Helm commands direct control over the ship’s impulse and maneuvering engines. When possible, the Helm officer merely executes pre-calculated flight patterns, but must always be prepared to exercise manual control over the ship’s roll, pitch and yaw, in one of the rare uses of analog instruments affixed to the console on the bridge.

At all times, Helm relies heavily on the accuracy of nav points on the tactical grid, which provide not only the positions and headings of ships and objects, but electromagnetic and gravimetric data crucial for plotting and maintaining course on long-distance journeys. In turn, his own flight pattern is written to the grid, where it can be referenced by other stations: Contact requires close cooperation with Helm during landing and docking procedures, and he must account for the objectives of Operations’ weapons and defense crews, which are often constrained by the orientation of the ship.

Helm’s most challenging duties are to orchestrate a faster-than-light (FTL) operation. These delicate processes requires the participation of the entire bridge. The Tactical officer acts as coordinator, using the ship’s sensors to maximize the accuracy of the ship’s positional data; Contact supplements him with live updates from the navigation network and sensor reports from other ships in the flight group. Meanwhile, Ship Resources and Operations coordinate to ensure that the ship’s internal assets are stable and gravimetrically neutral, and that the ship's FTL drive is functioning properly. Only after all five officers report their readiness does the captain order the jump - the actual execution of which is entrusted to Helm’s calibrations.

Helm may be assisted by a navigator to set, adjust and report flight paths, and communicate with other stations, while he is occupied with manual maneuvering.

Operations

Operations’ purpose is to coordinate the ship’s discrete internal assets, much as Contact does with its external assets. With a few exceptions, discrete systems are installed as independent modules, requiring only power and computer connections to integrate with the ship’s core systems; this connection is made by and through Operations. As a result, the functional role of Ops systems may change drastically depending on the class and configuration of the ship.

Systems under the purview of Operations include the ship’s weapons, shields, point defenses, countermeasures, stealth systems, mooring, tractor and repulsor devices, engine configuration, and particle deflectors. While the Ops officer may take direct control of most systems, it is often more efficient, especially in combat, to relay orders to local crews. The tactical grid keeps the entire crew informed of the ship’s position, flight path and objective targets, which affords Ops a relatively passive role during combat.

That said, the Ops officer bears all of Contact’s analogous responsibilities: he must monitor each system’s physical status, including its material and energy consumption, and conduct unified firing patterns with the participation of numerous gun batteries. These include not only precision barrages against enemy targets, but continuous bursts to suppress and constrain small craft; these bursts must be carefully modulated to prevent the emergence of gaps.

Ops may be assisted by a number of dedicated weapons control stations, as well as science stations, which allow a department specialist to manage system modules specific to his field.

Ship Resources

Ship Resources’ purpose is to oversee ship assets which are not bound to any specific location or system. Security, medical, maintenance and repair teams are directed by the Ship Resources officer. She monitors and controls power consumption, hull and infrastructure strength, air quality, radiation, pathogens, and compression on all decks. She also manages the engine systems on board the ship, keeping them in tip-top shape for the repeated strain of FTL and temporal slipstream. She is responsible for opening and sealing airlocks, hangars and docking ports. Alongside Contact, she administers connections on the internal side of the computer network.

In combat, Ship Resources’ major responsibilities are damage control and power flow. During a heightened state of alert, dedicated DC teams take up positions in emergency response nodes located throughout the ship. In addition to containing a range of tools to manage fire, decompression and airborne toxins, the stations are physically self-contained, and can be sealed off from the surrounding deck, providing shelter from hazardous elements. Nodes are connected by a series of manual access passages which are isolated from regular corridors, stairways and lift shafts, ensuring access to most of the ship even in the event of a compounded hull breach.

Finally, Ship Resources is in control of a set of functions which constitutes blackout: the last line of defense against a catastrophic breakdown of ship cohesion. The Ship Resources officer may disconnect any part of the ship, by system or location, from the ship’s energy grid and computer network. In so doing, she can sever Contact from the ship’s communications equipment (or leave her helpless in a landlocked router); Helm from the engines; Tactical from the sensors; Ops from the weapons and shields. He can lock and depressurize any airlock, docking port, or hangar; and he can do the same for any equipment or department modules attached to the ship, or even eject it into space. Most “blackout” functions require the authorization of the commander and a majority of senior officers.

Ship Resources may be assisted by security, medical and damage control operators when multiple emergency situations exist.

<warning: LONG!>

[Mewsland]

The Yorktown Crew

<image> Karisa Aveyo as a lieutenant commander in 3516.

Captain Karisa Aveyo, the CO of the Yorktown, is a Kardonian female, born on Kardon IV on April 23, 3484. Having joined the Tali'Zorican Starfleet Academy right out of high school in 3502, Aveyo was assigned to the ill-fated Starship North Star <NCC-1713> upon graduating from the Academy in 3506, which suffered a catastrophic EPS overload, flooding the bridge with deadly amounts of radiation and killing all of the senior staff, bar the First Officer (though he was severely burned from his brief exposure, and left out of the loop for months) and the chief engineer. A junior helm officer at the time, Aveyo piloted the limping North Star back to a starbase, where the ship was declared a total loss due to critical EPS system damage. Aveyo was commended for going above and beyond the call of duty, and was named the First Officer of the second Starship North Star <NCC-1713-A> in 3509. The North Star fell under Commander Aveyo's lead in 3520 when Captain Renee Ruhalter was killed at the Battle of Ardougne IX, where nearly half of the North Star's task force was destroyed by a pirate attack. Holding command of the North Star until she was forced to scuttle the ship in 3527 by Starfleet Command after the vessel was severely damaged in another pirate assault, Aveyo was offered the prestigious Yorktown command in 3528, and accepted so that she could "assist in the Federal Union's mission of peace and prosperity for all.". Aveyo is 46, as of the Yorktown's launch on May 18, 3530.

The Starship Karisa Aveyo (NCX-1730) and the resulting Karisa Aveyo class of starships was named after the captain following the Yorktown's disappearance.

Age: 34,000
Race and/or Species: Flood Pure Form
Nationality: The Flood Empire
Sex: none
Sexuality: none
Medical needs, if applicable: none
Faith: none
Appearance, picture if possible: http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9 ... z6n9INvv3K
Personality: smart, mildly angry, kind to allies
A short bio (3 paragraphs, maximum, please): "Richy" was one of the thousands of flood that decided to partake as he wanted to see the universe past his hive and this was his opportunity. He does not expect contacts to treat him nicely but he believes he will be a good part of the team, he personally things a Slipspace drive should be activated but that's just him.

Age: 42
Species: Wraith
Nationality: The Rogue Hives of Mitchelle
Sex: Queen
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Medical needs, if applicable: Wraith evolved in their home galaxy to feed specifically on human life energy. Requires dosages of a special yeast strain created with human DNA for nourishment.
Faith: None in anything or anybody but herself.
Appearance: Large Image
Personality: Like most Wraith, she is quiet and highly intelligent, preferring to listen much more than speak. She is excellent at problem-solving and prefers to be left alone to work things out. She never looses her temper, although she has a rather low regard for others she will do her best for the efficiency and "greater good" of the mission.
A Short Bio:
This Wraith Queen was chosen to participate as the Wraith representative in the "Togetherness" project. As female Wraith are extremely rare and form only 8% of all young, she was always treated as a VIP, perhaps lending to her arrogance. Although Wraith, with this one no exception, often dislike the company of other species they tend not to show it and instead remain only slightly aloof.

She has proven herself an excellent commander of her own hiveship and it is with torn feelings she is separated with her hive to board the Yorktown. She is known for her inventive and inquisitive nature and has been thus recommended for the mission by Mitchelle, Queen of the Rogue Wraith Hives.

At 34 years old, Lieutenant Commander Bradley Torgersen is one of the youngest chief medical officers in Tali'Zorican Starfleet history. Born on Kardon VI of Laurentian descent, Torgersen joined the Academy in 3514 and, after receiving his medical and command officer certifications, was assigned to the second starship North Star in 3519. There, Torgersen met a 35-year old upstart Commander Karisa Aveyo and, though Torgersen was required to dress down the Commander in front of four Starfleet admirals for her conduct as Tactical and Executive Officer of the North Star in the battle that killed Captain Ruhalter, the two shared a friendship that nobody could doubt. When the North Star's chief medical officer retired in 3525, then-Lieutenant Torgersen was Captain Karisa's first choice for the CMO slot. Taking his position with a renewed sense of duty and confidence in his captain and friend, he and Captain Karisa continued to give counsel to each other whenever one requested such.

Lieutenant Commander Torgersen was Captain Karisa's first (and only) choice for CMO of the Yorktown, allowing the pair to maintain their strong friendship and continue to work together as colleagues at the same time.

Age: 58
Race and/or Species: Human
Nationality: Colonial
Sex: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Medical needs, if applicable: None
Faith: None
Appearance, picture if possible:
Personality: Loyal, strict and discipline, though a good friend that will stick with you to death. Enjoys a drink every now and then.
A short bio (3 paragraphs, maximum, please): Born to a mining family, Samuel always aspired for something more then the mundane day to day existance of the mining outpost where he lived. Once he was 17, he got his chance to sign up with the Colonial Fleet. He never aspired to be an officer, but as the years went by he was promoted again and again, until he reached the rank of Colonel. After that, he was assigned to a dead end position after a feud developed between him and a higher ranking offcier who seemed to have it out for him.

He started drinking, though not heavily, and when a chance to get away from his dead end assignment came up, he took it and was sent to serve on the Yorktown.

Name: Wesley Underwood
Age: 30
Race and/or Species: Human Clone
Nationality: The Community of Nexus-7
Sex: Male
Medical needs, if applicable: None
Faith: Undying devotion to Father, the AI ruler of the Nexus-7 complex.
Appearance, picture if possible: http://IceQueenOfWinter.deviantart.com/art/Mercutio-Myles-In-The-Flesh-109939409
Personality: Underwood is a distant man who takes business seriously and sees it through with maximum efficiency. He dislikes most others, given that he rarely works with Nexus-7 personnel. However, he is more than willing to cooperate with others, albeit frostily, in order to serve the purposes of a given mission.
A short bio (3 paragraphs, maximum, please): Grown in the vast cloning facilities of Nexus-7, Underwood showed early promise in adopting the rather questionable tenets of the Nexus-7 Community. At the recommendation of the facility’s educators, he was drafted into the Community’s small but capable fleet. He worked his way up through the ranks through quiet, uncompromising determination. He distinguished himself as a communications officer in the fleet, with an uncanny knack for asset organisation, as well as encryption and decryption. Thus, when the opportunity arose for Nexus-7 to send a capable and loyal officer for the Togetherness program, Father itself selected Underwood from the wide pool available.

Age: 27
Race and/or Species: Owl Harpy (Harpiya Tyto)
Nationality: Karlslandic
Sex: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Medical needs, if applicable: None
Faith: Deist
Appearance, picture if possible: Roughly 5'11", rather tall for a harpy. Grey hair with mottled grey feathers. Dark yellow eyes, eyestreaks are fairly long.
A pair of female owl harpies for reference.
Personality: Intelligent, curious, relaxed
A short bio (3 paragraphs, maximum, please): Despite the fact that all harpies come from Usea, he was actually born on Mars while his parents were on a business trip there. Since his family always traveled, he wanted to do so as well. At 18, he signed up with the Imperial Navy, where he served on the corvette the Kobra for four years. Since his time in the Service, he's been flying about the galaxy in his personal starcraft (Which used to be a beater, and a horrible one at that). Signed up for the Yorktown because hey, exploring the galaxy.

Name: Hesperashi Masami
Serial Number: 0002 3FCE 5FB1 FFC2
Age: 184,213 hours of operation (21 Earth years)
Race and/or Species: 10192, Clank. Model: X-24
Nationality: Imperial (Empire of Starkindler)
Sex: Female
Sexuality: Pansexual
Medical needs, if applicable: Is mechanic, if damaged, requires Engineering attention. Capable of self-repair if sustained damage is comparably small, in a planetary atmosphere, and main reactor functioning.
Faith: Atheism
Image On her prom.
Image With her "Angel"
Personality: Always having a smile on, and hopelessly optimistic, Masami will be the last to lose hope in all situations. Although she prefers to be alone with her machines, and can often be found singing, while alone. That's her way of communicating with machines to quickly identify problems. She is also honest, obedient, and often takes responsibility even for things out of her control. She is concerned by others first, and herself the last, in a suicidal mission, she will be the first to go.
A short bio (3 paragraphs, maximum, please):
Manufactured by Heterodynamic Industries in the Empire as a testbed project of a larger leap forward, her internal functions had been completely redesigned. Instead of a normal quantum-optronic Clank brain, she received a new type of Brain, an analog duotronic one, which in certain situations may surpass the conventional brain, by providing a compact solution, not requiring quantum-optronic hair on the Clank. It also has the ability to process the Clank's emotions, giving her a by far extended range of feelings, only comparable to humans, however, these modifications had an unknown effect on the Clank system, as no standard operating system might run on her, and she would be unable to use a standard Wand, also, she would not tolerate the Collective, and she would be emotional, compared to the Ice Queens of the Imperial collective. The lack of a Wand made a new provision, the integrated replicator, and to ease debugging of the new platform, she had been built with a short-range subspace transceiver, and an integrated holoemitter.

A machine herself, she was quick to develop a fondness of technology, and even at a young age, without formal education, she showed an extreme talent in engineering, especially in error diagnosis. After being sent to the Heterodynamic Industries for debugging, and to find the cause of her talent, she was found to be "singing" in frequencies of standard Clank programming, communicating with machines. For which machines it was unsuccessful, she used her voice as a complex ultrasound diagnostic tool, and a resonance analyzer. Her programming skills are also unheard of, writing programs close to the hardware, more efficient to run than any Clank before, and shown to be adapting themselves in case the hardware breaks down, making tiny, semi-intelligent software.

It was here they had find out about a feature only appearing in a minuscule amount of Clanks, an "angel". Subsequent diagnostic routines examined, that the angel only helped the Clank concentrate, and is essential to use her engineering and programming skills, along with the built-in replicator, or the holoemitter's short-range force field generator (range maximum of 5 meters, force maximum of 1kN's. (able to hold a human against Earth gravity)). The angel was found to have no powers above the Clank's, and can communicate with the Clank, using an internal pathway of unknown origin. The angel alone could produce singing voices, by her program creating an arc through the atmosphere, and acting as a singing arc, but it's proven that it's unable to understand the communication of any other beings than the Clank controlling it. It's also completely obedient to its master. Although the angel was tested for any positive properties in battle, it wasn't shown any. When they tried to download and re-use the angel program, it was shown that they are both interdependent of each other, and none can function without the other, making the Clank's Emotional Engine a critical vulnerability of her.

She was chosen to represent the Clank species on the Togetherness Program to give the program the most competent engineers ever in Imperial history, or as a competent Contacts Officer, to attempt to change the views of organic species about the nature of mechanic species. However, at Starfleet training she was found to be shy, and lagging behind in combat, commanding and physical training, while excelling in holoprogramming, subspace engineering, mathematics and fields requiring study.

Feel free to request junior officer (for each of the five bridge officers) or other positions (engineers, doctors, security personnel, damage control teams, etc. etc. etc.) All senior officers will RP crew under their command, except for any player-created characters.

Signing Up:

To sign up for a crew spot...

Name:
Age:
Race and/or Species:
Nationality:
Sex:
Sexuality:
Medical needs, if applicable:
Faith:
Appearance, picture if possible:
Personality:
Position:
Rank (maximum of Lt. Commander):
A short bio (3 paragraphs, maximum, please):

In order to create one of the many alien races, groups, and individuals that the ship will encounter along its long way home...

Name (select one: individual, species or group):
Species, if individual or group:
Biology, if unique or new species:
Reaction to Yorktown's entry into their territory (whether that be space or sensor range):
A short history (4 paragraphs, maximum, please):
Important individuals (please be detailed, but no more than a paragraph or two describing each, ignore this if your alien is an individual):

[Michael Kenmore]

Name: (N/A, Wraith don't have names, I usually allow and encourage the other characters to name them)
Age: 42
Species: Wraith
Nationality: The Rogue Hives of Mitchelle
Sex: Queen
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Medical needs, if applicable: Wraith evolved in their home galaxy to feed specifically on human life energy. Requires dosages of a special yeast strain created with human DNA for nourishment.
Faith: None in anything or anybody but herself.
Appearance: Large Image
Personality: Like most Wraith, she is quiet and highly intelligent, preferring to listen much more than speak. She is excellent at problem-solving and prefers to be left alone to work things out. She never looses her temper, although she has a rather low regard for others she will do her best for the efficiency and "greater good" of the mission.
Position: Chief Tactical Officer
Rank: Commander
A Short Bio:
This Wraith Queen was chosen to participate as the Wraith representative in the "Togetherness" project. As female Wraith are extremely rare and form only 8% of all young, she was always treated as a VIP, perhaps lending to her arrogance. Although Wraith, with this one no exception, often dislike the company of other species they tend not to show it and instead remain only slightly aloof.

She has proven herself an excellent commander of her own hiveship and it is with torn feelings she is separated with her hive to board the Yorktown. She is known for her inventive and inquisitive nature and has been thus recommended for the mission by Mitchelle, Queen of the Rogue Wraith Hives.

Lots of Wraith physiology in my WIP Factbook in my sig.

[Mewsland]

Accepted.

[The UEG-Space Command]

Name: "Richy"
Age: 34,000
Race and/or Species: Flood Pure Form
Nationality: The Flood Empire
Sex: none
Sexuality: none
Medical needs, if applicable: none
Faith: none
Appearance, picture if possible: http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9 ... z6n9INvv3K
Personality: smart, mildly angry, kind to allies
Position: Executive Officer
Rank (maximum of Commander): Commander
A short bio (3 paragraphs, maximum, please): "Richy" was one of the thousands of flood that decided to partake as he wanted to see the universe past his hive and this was his opportunity. He does not expect contacts to treat him nicely but he believes he will be a good part of the team, he personally things a Slipspace drive should be activated but thats just him.

[Mewsland]

Accepted.

[Mewsland]

I have no idea what the rules for bumping are on this forum, but either way, bump. If I'm too early, then mods, feel free to zap this post.

[Michael Kenmore]

I have no idea what the rules for bumping are on this forum, but either way, bump. If I'm too early, then mods, feel free to zap this post.

I think it's "bump to heart's content until some voracious mod thinks it looks like spam".

Your first two crewmembers are hive critters... interesting...
What are the uniforms like, by the way? Voyager or got something different?

[Strykla]

Name: Strykla
Species, if individual or group: Abstergi, in Google Docs
EDIT: His scales are reddish and struck with green-grey streaks.
Biology, if unique or new species: See Above
Reaction to Yorktown's entry into their territory: Hostile
A short history: Abstergi are a deeply militaristic state, akin to ancient Earth's Lacedaemonia. In ancient times, they ruled over their world with an iron fist; their primary competitors are a human-like species called Astyrans, whom they have always hated and been hated from. Astyrans sought a peaceful world in which they could rule over the Abstergi so as to not create more destruction, but Abstergi were such social darwinists that they committed to total war against the Astyrans, who lost due to their inability to do the same.
When the Gunpowder Age was reached, the Stryklans were the first to utilise it against a war with the Nok'lahvu, a terrorist organization that broke from the Stryklans. Advancing to riflery when humans would still have been using the gladius, they only got more powerful. The largest war came in the Age of Sail equivalent, when the Astyrans made a resurgence and, for nearly three hundred years, a war of attrition was fought. The Astyrans lost again, but this time Strykla was horribly hurt by the war; in the late stages, nuclear weapons were invented and terribly misused. A nuclear winter ensued, wiping out half of the species on the planet. Abstergi were more adapting then Astyrans due to their far hardier nature but they were hit hard nonetheless; Strykla was permanently scarred and the planet would never be the same.
An age of rebuilding took up most of the 21st century, punctuated by brief but fierce border wars. By the end of the rebuilding process, space travel was being perfected, though FTL travel wouldn't be found for another three hundred years. They were limited to traveling to a fairly large section of space, thanks to their long lifespans, but it still took a great deal out of their lives and not many were willing to commit to it.
Then, in 3230, the FTL engine was created and perfected. Their equivalent to the Alcubierre warp drive, it allowed them to visit the entirety of their galaxy and conquer small species just making their start. The Astyrans also spread and became a potent force; though Abstergi were far superior on land combat, in space, the ship mattered more. Another war of attrition began. One individual*, a member of the Regal Marines, is separated from his ship contingent on a mission to one of the satellite galaxies from theirs'. Now lost, he has only one hope: The Starship Togtherness. Don't expect him to admit it, though, because its very nickname goes against much of what he believes.
Important individuals:
*=Xek'les, a member of the Regal Marine detachment. I don't really have any good pictures, but here's the armor used by him.

I hope this RP is good. I haven't been in a good one for a while.

[Colonial Forces]

Name: Samuel Smith
Age: 58
Race and/or Species: Human
Nationality: Colonial
Sex: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Medical needs, if applicable: None
Faith: None
Appearance, picture if possible:
Personality: Loyal, strict and discipline, though a good friend that will stick with you to death. Enjoys a drink every now and then.
Position: Chief Operations Officer
Rank (maximum of Commander): Commander
A short bio (3 paragraphs, maximum, please):Born to a mining family, Samuel always aspired for something more then the mundane day to day existance of the mining outpost where he lived. Once he was 17, he got his chance to sign up with the Colonial Fleet. He never aspired to be an officer, but as the years went by he was promoted again and again, until he reached the rank of Colonel. After that, he was assigned to a dead end position after a feud developed between him and a higher ranking offcier who seemed to have it out for him.

He started drinking, though not heavily, and when a chance to get away from his dead end assignment came up, he took it and was sent to serve on the Yorktown.

[Mewsland]

I have no idea what the rules for bumping are on this forum, but either way, bump. If I'm too early, then mods, feel free to zap this post.

I think it's "bump to heart's content until some voracious mod thinks it looks like spam".

Your first two crewmembers are hive critters... interesting...
What are the uniforms like, by the way? Voyager or got something different?

Indeed. I hated the uniforms they used on DS9 and the latter three TNG movies. We'll use Voyager-style uniforms.

All apps accepted. However, at this point, I'm saying 'no more commanders'. We already have three (which I almost think is one too many).

[Colonial Forces]

I can change my characters rank, as having that many commanders is rather uncommon.

And we should use Battlestar Galactica uniforms. Just kidding, though I do like them.

[The UEG-Space Command]

I am going to RP under my puppet - UEG-The Flood - so can you make that small change to the list of people?

[Mewsland]

Done.

[Strykla]

I can change my characters rank, as having that many commanders is rather uncommon.

And we should use Battlestar Galactica uniforms. Just kidding, though I do like them.

Then we'd have to use BSG ships. And I'd totally use a Warstar.

[Michael Kenmore]

I can change my characters rank, as having that many commanders is rather uncommon.

And we should use Battlestar Galactica uniforms. Just kidding, though I do like them.

Then we'd have to use BSG ships. And I'd totally use a Warstar.

I was drawing a Wraith Queen in a Starfleet uniform just to get the image.

It's not... it's not... right. Wraith are supposed to wear heavy leather with belt buckles and metal studs and black tattoos. And they ought to suck the life out of people. And cater to the Stargate universe.

[Strykla]

Then we'd have to use BSG ships. And I'd totally use a Warstar.

I was drawing a Wraith Queen in a Starfleet uniform just to get the image.

It's not... it's not... right. Wraith are supposed to wear heavy leather with belt buckles and metal studs and black tattoos. And they ought to suck the life out of people. And cater to the Stargate universe.

i no know stargate

[Mewsland]

<snippet.>
I was drawing a Wraith Queen in a Starfleet uniform just to get the image.

It's not... it's not... right. Wraith are supposed to wear heavy leather with belt buckles and metal studs and black tattoos. And they ought to suck the life out of people. And cater to the Stargate universe.

Lol. You don't have to wear the uniform. *points out Counselor Troi and Seven of Nine*

As for the other stuff... I can't say much there, lol.

[Mewsland]

Bump.

[Strykla]

Just start the IC and keep this open.

[Mewsland]

Okay. I'll get the IC up here momentarily.

[The UEG-Space Command]

Name (select one: individual, species or group): Weirnchiest
Species, if individual or group: Delpan
Biology, if unique or new species: none thing really, just a reptile.
Reaction to Yorktown's entry into their territory (whether that be space or sensor range): Be on high alert and ask what is, they are trapped in a ship that was lost from the rest of the fleet and for some reason it just shut it's engines and long range comms down.
A short history (4 paragraphs, maximum, please): WIP
Important individuals (please be detailed, but no more than a paragraph or two describing each, ignore this if your alien is an individual): Commander Madara WIP

[Mewsland]

I seem to have confused you. The (select one: individual, race, or group) tag is meant literally: you need to select one of those tags. It helps with the application. Otherwise, accepted.

[Rupudska]

Tag. Will have an app later.

/harpy mode ACTIVATE

[Starkindler]

Name: Hesperashi Masami
Serial Number: 0002 3FCE 5FB1 FFC2
Age: 184,213 hours of operation (21 Earth years)
Race and/or Species: 10192, Clank. Model: X-24
Nationality: Imperial (Empire of Starkindler)
Sex: Female
Sexuality: Pansexual
Medical needs, if applicable: Is mechanic, if damaged, requires Engineering attention. Capable of self-repair if sustained damage is comparably small, in a planetary atmosphere, and main reactor functioning.
Faith: Atheism

On her prom.
With her "Angel"

Personality: Always having a smile on, and hopelessly optimistic, Masami will be the last to lose hope in all situations. Although she prefers to be alone with her machines, and can often be found singing, while alone. That's her way of communicating with machines to quickly identify problems. She is also honest, obedient, and often takes responsibility even for things out of her control. She is concerned by others first, and herself the last, in a suicidal mission, she will be the first to go.
Position: Lead Engineer (if not possible, Contact Officer)
Rank: Lieutenant
A short bio (3 paragraphs, maximum, please):
Manufactured by Heterodynamic Industries in the Empire as a testbed project of a larger leap forward, her internal functions had been completely redesigned. Instead of a normal quantum-optronic Clank brain, she received a new type of Brain, an analog duotronic one, which in certain situations may surpass the conventional brain, by providing a compact solution, not requiring quantum-optronic hair on the Clank. It also has the ability to process the Clank's emotions, giving her a by far extended range of feelings, only comparable to humans, however, these modifications had an unknown effect on the Clank system, as no standard operating system might run on her, and she would be unable to use a standard Wand, also, she would not tolerate the Collective, and she would be emotional, compared to the Ice Queens of the Imperial collective. The lack of a Wand made a new provision, the integrated replicator, and to ease debugging of the new platform, she had been built with a short-range subspace transceiver, and an integrated holoemitter.

A machine herself, she was quick to develop a fondness of technology, and even at a young age, without formal education, she showed an extreme talent in engineering, especially in error diagnosis. After being sent to the Heterodynamic Industries for debugging, and to find the cause of her talent, she was found to be "singing" in frequencies of standard Clank programming, communicating with machines. For which machines it was unsuccessful, she used her voice as a complex ultrasound diagnostic tool, and a resonance analyzer. Her programming skills are also unheard of, writing programs close to the hardware, more efficient to run than any Clank before, and shown to be adapting themselves in case the hardware breaks down, making tiny, semi-intelligent software.

It was here they had find out about a feature only appearing in a minuscule amount of Clanks, an "angel". Subsequent diagnostic routines examined, that the angel only helped the Clank concentrate, and is essential to use her engineering and programming skills, along with the built-in replicator, or the holoemitter's short-range force field generator (range maximum of 5 meters, force maximum of 1kN's. (able to hold a human against Earth gravity)). The angel was found to have no powers above the Clank's, and can communicate with the Clank, using an internal pathway of unknown origin. The angel alone could produce singing voices, by her program creating an arc through the atmosphere, and acting as a singing arc, but it's proven that it's unable to understand the communication of any other beings than the Clank controlling it. It's also completely obedient to its master. Although the angel was tested for any positive properties in battle, it wasn't shown any. When they tried to download and re-use the angel program, it was shown that they are both interdependent of each other, and none can function without the other, making the Clank's Emotional Engine a critical vulnerability of her.

She was chosen to represent the Clank species on the Togetherness Program to give the program the most competent engineers ever in Imperial history, or as a competent Contacts Officer, to attempt to change the views of organic species about the nature of mechanic species. However, at Starfleet training she was found to be shy, and lagging behind in combat, commanding and physical training, while excelling in holoprogramming, subspace engineering, mathematics and fields requiring study.