To be glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars.
— Henry Van Dyke, 1909
Welcome aboard the space station Liberation III, the largest station of its time, and the precursor to contemporary space stations like the ISS and Mir. It is the first modular space station built by the ISF, and the pinnacle of the technology 1967* has to offer. Liberation III is about to become one of the greatest successes or tragedies in the ISF, all depending on the actions of its six person crew.
The station:
While it is only a stepping stone to greater stations still, Liberation III is a marvel in its own right. Its x-ray telescope, and the various science equipment aboard the science module are unraveling the mysteries of the universe before the eyes of humankind.
The station is very similar to Salyut 7, comprised of two airtight modules, arranged end to end (a cone on a cylinder), and currently has two small spacecraft (the low-orbit maneuvering vehicles, or LOMV) attached to it, one along its primary axis opposite the science module, and one dorsally above the primary command station (where the middle array of solar panels was on Salyut 7).
The heart of the station is the primary module, which provides command and control, habitation, and houses the x-ray telescope along with some other experiments. Attached to this is the science module, which houses more experiments, provides cargo storage, and has the most powerful thrusters on the station.
More information on Salyut 7 (the inspiration for Liberation III) can be found here. If you have a question about the station, there's a good chance the answer's in there. If not, feel free to ask on the OOC.
The crew:
The station currently has six astronauts aboard: three from a the first month-long mission, who are departing in about a day, and three to act as the new station crew, who arrived a little over six hours ago, and are now getting acquainted with the station, following the official handover ceremony upon their arrival.
The following are the main roles of the crew:
- Mission 1 Commander - Mewsland (Oran Nielah)
- Mission 1 Pilot - Western Weyard (Charlotte Wegener)
- Mission 1 Station Specialist - Merni (Nemone Skero)
- Mission 2 Commander - Congreveopia (Jacob L. Perry)
- Mission 2 Pilot - Blorbs (Jedsey Kerman)
- Mission 2 Scientific Specialist - Sovreignry (Gregor Biermann)
- Code: Select all
[box][b]Name:[/b] (with titles, if any)
[b]Role:[/b] (pick from the above six)
[b]Secondary qualification:[/b] (list of examples below)
[b]Appearance:[/b] (optional)
[b]Personality/traits:[/b] (optional)
[b]Biography:[/b] (optional)
[b]Other:[/b] (optional)[/box]
A lot of the app is optional. People have different ways of creating characters. Some can't stand finding photos for an appearance, some feel it spoils the surprise to list out a character's personality matter-of-fact-ly. Just put what you want to put down, and try to make an interesting character. If you're at a loss, write down a defining strength, defining flaw, and a quirk, then go from there. An example app of mine is below.
Here's some examples of what a secondary qualification could be:
- Medical training
- Backup LOMV pilot (the commanders and the pilots are both already qualified to fly the LOMV)
- Electrical engineer
- Computer expert
- Plumbing engineer
- Radio expert
- Engines expert
- etc.
The rules:
1) No godmodding, follow site rules, etc.
2) Avoid one-liners. You can make short posts if the occasion demands, but in general, try to make sure most of your posts are a decent length.
3) As always, realism is good. If someone (including me) did something impossible, let them know. Just be polite and constructive when you do so.
4) If you're not sure how something space-related works, just ask on the OOC,and we'll help you. There's no call for embarrassment here, we all want to learn about space and have fun together.
5) As always, I am the OP and my word is the word of God. I will be selecting a few co-ops for bishops if this grows, TG me if you know me and would like the job.
The incident:
During the handover of the station, the oxygen reclamation system, which is designed for three-person crew, cannot keep up with the six people aboard. This is planned for, and so lithium-perchlorate canisters are "burned" instead, creating the oxygen needed for the expanded crew. Unfortunately, the second canister is defective, and when activated will burst into flames, spewing sparks and molten metal across the cabin and filling the station with choking smoke.
Then things will seriously go wrong.
But that's for the opening post to elaborate on. There will be a detailed description of the start of the fire in the opening post, in which I will control all of your characters briefly to set up what I believe is the ideal scenario for drama. Then it's up to all of us to work together in order to survive.
*The ISF is about ten years ahead of real-world space agencies.
