Co-OPed by Bingellia and Arengin Union
Welcome to Andromeda Burning, a character RP set in a galaxy close to our own. In this RP you will have the option of playing a human or one of a variety of aliens who have signed up for the crew of the first human-helmed interstellar warship, the Defiance. There are a variety of factions vying for power in the Andromeda and Milky Way Galaxies; the Defiance is an independent ship, but you could belong to one of them or you might just be an adventurer along for the ride. The choice is yours.
Of course, no alien galaxy would be complete without lots of aliens! We have a few pre-made races below, but there is plenty of room in the galaxy for others. There are very few guidelines for creating your own race so, for the most part, be as creative as you like!
This is not going to be a spaceship RP in the sense of big space battles, this is an RP about the people on the ship and will mostly be set on a variety of strange alien planets... although there is scope for missions on the ship.
This RP is open to latecomers. Between missions the ship will return to 'Beachhead Station' and will, definitely be looking for more crew. If you join the RP after the IC is up and running we will manufacture a reason to bring your character into the plot as quickly as possible.
Finally, if you want to join and are looking for inspiration, feel free to join the Discord. This thread is a sequel to 'Voyages in Andromeda', the tremendously successful RP that we have been running for the last year. There is a strong, friendly, community that has built up around the Andromeda RPs and there are plenty of people who will be willing to help you create a character... or just have a chat!
Prologue: Once Upon a Time in the Milky Way...
Click here for some Theme Music
The Bridge of the Defiance, docked at Breachhead Station
The small kiel with the blue tinted hair stood on the bridge, her arms folded behind her back, staring out the from view screen of the Defiance. Thanica ignored her for the most part as she went about the business of maintaining the deck. She had unscrewed the face plate and right checking for any rust or damage underneath. The Defiance was an old ship and, if she was being completely honest with herself, whoever had slapped the vessel together had cut a lot of corners in construction. Having the ship docked for an extended period of time while they sorted out a deal to allow them to travel back through the Wormhole was an opportunity to do some routine maintenance and make sure they weren't sitting on any potential timb bombs, like that dodgy wiring Rabaech had replaced behind the oxygen scrubbers.
"It was a mistake of the Gollar to allow the humans to maintain their independence," Aethienn, the kiel staring out the window said, suddenly breaking the silence.
"Mmhm?" Thanica had a screw driver gripped between her teeth and it was about all she could muster as she scrambled out from under the console, removing the tool and setting it aside. She was a pretty young thing with dark hair and bright blue eyes, ostensibly human, though in actuality one of the rare Andromeda galaxy species known as 'dhasaths'.
"They are like children, they believe they are powerful and demand to be heard, but they have no real power to show for it," Aethienn explained, "Sooner or later they are going to do something like try to tax vessels going through the wormhole, or demand it be closed and then what are the Gollar going to do? I doubt it will be ‘comply’ now that they have found a friendly power full of bodies they can use to crew their ships."
Thanica pulled herself up onto the pilots chair with an 'oomph', "No, it probably won't be, but we can hope they won't be so stupid."
That drew a wry laugh from Aethienn, "And yet one of their Generals tried to trick you into handing yourself over to their scientists."
"We don't know they meant any harm," Thanica replied defensively, though without much heart behind the statement.
Aethienn seized on that, spinning on her heel to face the dhasath, "No, Thanica, you and I both know men like that General of theirs. He doesn't see creatures like us-" she motioned at the two of them, "-as having any value. We are not people to him, we are animals, things he can take apart. You happen to be more vulnerable, being neither a citizen of the Confederacy nor Command, and they want to figure out how your species work. It must have seemed like a golden opportunity without Carter around to stop you walking into their traps. Yet, what they do not realise, and this goes back to the childishness of the species, is that now that the Commodore has ordered cooperation with the Gollar and your crew, any harm that befell you would have met with reprisals. They are not powerful enough and not necessary enough that meddling with Kiellar Command interests, even in a minor way, could be allowed to go unpunished.”
Thanica was still getting used to the idea of Aethienn being on their side, even if it was temporary. The kiel's sense of morality was... odd, and mostly revolved around following orders and a rigid code of honour. Thanica understood it though, by the Maker, she hoped Carter was capable of it when he got back. This could be a rather interesting voyage if not. Aethienn continued, "Your paramour isn't much better, swanning off on some Gollar vessel without a thought for his duty to his crew or the vulnerable position he is putting some of you in, particularly the Ragons on the crew."
"That's enough Aethienn," Thanica replied sternly, "Everything has been just fine in Carter's absence," but secretly she wasn't too happy about his decision either. Keeping all of the crew's personalities in check was difficult at the best of times and now they were on a station with multiple factions vying for power, factions who, at best, saw the crew of the Defiance as pawns. She needed people to be cautious and restrained, which not all of the crew were… in fact, now she thought about it, very few of the crew were. Managing all the personalities was complicated and while the crew might have liked Thanica, not all of them respected her in the same way they respected Carter. It would be so much easier when they were back out there in space...
Her thoughts were interrupted this time by a slightly nervous cleared voice from the door to the main deck and the sound of shuffling feet, "Rabaech," she said, recognising the Engineer's tone before she had twisted in the seat to look back at him.
He looked startled, adjusting his glasses as if he hadn't been expecting to find Thanica there, "Commander," he paused, eyeing Aethienn nervously for a moment before saying, "I've been through the crew quarters and we have places for all the new crew members who have signed on. They even have functioning lighting and the plumbing works in the bathroom facilities... I have also adapted one of the facilities for Ragons."
"Good thinking, the last thing anyone wants to find is a humanoid skull lodged in the pipes," Thanica remarked wryly. She was only half joking.
"Quite," Rabaech agreed, "With your permission, I would like to bring them aboard and get them settled into their on-ship accommodation. It will save time on loading up later and reduce the pressure on the station's living quarters."
Thanica nooded. It made sense, "I suppose I should go and meet them."
"I will contact traffic control and ask them to make a station-wide announcement," Rabaech confirmed.
"And I'll see you in the gym later," Aethienn put in, her attention still fixed on the Commander.
"Try not to hit me too hard this time," Thanica replied, rubbing her side where she was Aethienn had left quite a bruise in their last sparring session.
"I will not hold back," she replied primly, "This is how you will learn to survive. Besides," she added, "If the day comes that we have to fight one another again I would prefer to kill a worthy adversary."
“Ah… thanks?” Thanica replied. Definitely odd.
All across the Station
The Station was fitted with a PA system that fired into activity at least once an hour, announcing the arrival of a ship or the departure of another. It was audible from all corners of the Station except, mercifully, in the living quarters (unless someone engaged the emergency override). This time though the message was of particular relevance to anyone who had recently signed on with the Defiance;
“All new crew of the gunship Defiance, please report to Hangar Bay Four immediately for allocation of lodgings. I repeat, all new crew of the gunship Defiance, please report to Hangar Bay Four immediately for allocation of lodgings.”
Back in the Bay, Commander Thanica Vari had made her way to the cargo bay ramp, in expectation of meeting some newcomers. She wore a black tank top and cargo pants, which was, for anyone who had met her before, what she wore 90 percent of the time. Her dark hair was tied back in a ponytail, while a pistol-blaster hung at her hip. Without a discernible uniform she looked an awful lot like a pirate, which, coincidentally was how a lot of the galaxy saw the crew of the Defiance…
Beachhead Station: The Milky Way Galaxy
Co-written by Arengin Union and Dyelli Beybi
Space, endless and alone. For centuries Humanity had wondered what lay beyond those unreachable stars, if it was alone in the universe. What else was out there had remained a mystery for the thousands of years of human history, all until a single ship, representative of the whole of humanity, ventured towards the stars and never returned. Until recently. Those once though lost to the sea of the cosmos came back with the answer. Now humanity no longer asks itself if it is alone, but whether it truly wants to not be.
The vessel bearing the symbols and colours of the Confederacy soared past the wormhole. For a brief moment it shone with a myriad of enigmatic and indescribably beautiful colours as the ship made its way towards one of the hangar bays of the station. The pilots within make their arrival known to the Gollar administration as they made their way through the gateway, "Confederate Frigate 32001 reporting for immediate docking at 4D. SA please confirm."
A few seconds passed, chatter coming from the comms as the ship moved pass several other docks. Ships of varying designs, shapes and statehood lay within this large hangar, the crews busy with repairs, security, or simply chatting.
It was a sight unlikely any other when considering there was a few (borrowed) ships bearing the logo of the United Nations, the blue flag carried the shape of Earth and it was something that no Earthling would've imagined just a few years ago, "Affirmative 32001, front 4 dash Dep clear for insertion. Welcome to Beachhead, over."
With those words the ship made its way towards the platform, hastily landing. A hissing noise echoed from the opening doors and a slight smokescreen emanated from the once pressurized cabin as several foot steps exited out of the ship. There, amongst the smoke was Captain Nathaniel T. Carter, the Captain of the human crew who had gone to Andromeda and returned. As he walked down the ramp several soldiers of the Confederacy followed suit behind, all of them wearing crimson-bronze coloured Gollar. Carter, for his part wore a different set of armor, one that showed his independent status from the Confederacy though he did have an insignia on his shoulder with the Gollar flag, along with those of the United States and the United Nations for good measure.
"So it's every year?" A Gollar soldier asked with curiosity as he followed behind the Captain.
"Yep, and being honest with you the commercials are as part of the experience as the game is!" The human replied with slight jest, carrying a bag over his shoulder while stepping onto the platform.
Shaking his head in bewilderment one Gollar asks, "Commercials?" With a smile Carter nodded his head, "Yeah, movies, shows, or just basic stuff like bathroom cleaners..."
Laughing, the Gollar find the notions amusing, one of them even patting the Human on the shoulder. "You Humans are quite the strange brood, perhaps one day you could show us one of these... Supah Bolls.”
"I'll keep you in mind for next season!" Carter responds with a casual gesture.
Suddenly a voice called over the station's PA system, interrupting the moment of slight camaraderie and cultural exchange between the two different species. "Captain Nathan T. Carter, you are expected at the Gollar Consulate."
"I gotta get going fellas, you stay safe..." With that, the Human didn't wait for any kind of response as he made his way out of the platform, passing by various other Gollar naval crew, merchant vessels, and some from the Federation as well. The hangar itself was large, with different platforms housing separate ships and a large glassed in control area at the very deep end of the bay.
Carter walked swiftly, leaving the entire hangar bay to enter the main station hub. In the short time that Beachhead had gone active it had already become a hustling centre of intercultural exchange, for better or worse one could not exactly tell.
Several makeshift stores had taken over once dilapidated rooms and some prominent galactic storefronts had already settled into the more pristine establishments. Aliens of all types walked around, buying, selling, talking and heading over to the various consulates found around the station. Nevertheless, the station itself was still noticeably run down; parts of it were in noticeable disrepair, but that had stopped no one from taking advantage of the free space and lucrative business opportunities. Seems like this place keeps getting busier and busier every day, Carter thought as he kept walking through the crowds of traders, guards, and immigrants.
Carter moved through the plaza, the Vendors District was the officially unofficial name, as merchants, traders, and all kinds of conmen would try to sell you just about anything. Some of these goods were of decent quality, and some were just garbage from other planets sold as exotic consumer goods at inflated prices. "Take your Bolian Eel here, fresh out of the seas!" An Odeiri chanted as he carried several of the Eel's. If it comes all the way from Bolia I doubt its fresh... Carter thought.
As he kept moving the District, Carter spotted another vendor, a Qaz'in brandishing what seemed to be smartphones from Earth. "Advanced Pads from Earth, the best in quality from the prominent Apla Corporation, you sir you want one, a smart dhasath like yourself I'll give you a good price of 800 Credits!" the vendor called onto Carter, the human simply shrugging off the offer. I got an actual utility pad for less than that...
Having to go through the masses of beings was a shore in itself, with not kind of fast access to any of the other wings and with large crowds inundating everything walking was the only practical way to get from place to place most of the time and Carter hated it. It reminded him of times he preferred not to recall, the screaming, pushing and walking on one another polluted his mind like an annoying mosquito buzzing by his ear or like the times of war. I just want to get out of here... Carter began to push his way out of this, whether it be traders or servicemen he didn't care, he had to get to the consulate quickly. It was almost as if he had to wrestle his way out of the crowds, out of this busy market hub that brought all things of all planets together, the good, the bad and the ugly and it made him feel trapped.
The diplomatic wing was close now, all consulates were stationed there. One would say all of them being in the same area was a means to assure no kind of backstabbing would take place, especially from Kiellar Command. Carter finally approached the entrance and found a nicely organized line that awaited anyone that wished to but Carter knew he wasn't just "anyone", at least to the Gollar who guarded the line. Approaching the front and casually passing by the people waiting Carter was stopped by a guard. The people on the line seemed rather annoyed that this Human would just waltz by like he owned the place and expected him to be sent to the back.
"You were expected 10 minutes ago!" The Guard then said as he opened up the gate, letting Carter in.
Walking through Carter shrugged, "Traffic kept me up!" "Sure," The guard said as once more the gates were closed up much to the outrage of the line waiters.
The Gollar Consulate was the largest of the four on the station, not because they were the most powerful group, they were a small chihuahua yapping at the heels of the likes of Kiellar Command the the Federation, but because this was their station, and there had to be some benefits to that. As Carter passed through the public checkpoint, and into the offices, escorted by a fully armoured Gollar trooper, he would see a small, but significant number of Federation bureaucrats mingling with their Gollar counterparts. That was new, but not entirely unexpected. The Federation might have seemed shambolic to outsiders, but they had an admirable ability to pull together when they needed to. Right now they were looking down the barrel of an existential threat from the Andromeda galaxy and while Command were the stronger ally, the Federation had a lot more in common with the Gollar Confederacy.
The guard stopped by a metal door, with the words 'Ambassador to Earth' emblazoned across it in Gollar script. There was sounds of laughter from within, which quickly subsided as whomever was on the far side put their sensible faces on, then the doors slid open.
Dana Chrichton, the petite Scottish scientist from the Destiny mission was standing behind a large crescent shaped desk. She wore a grey gollar uniform with a stiff upturned collar. It suited her. While it hadn't been obvious the last time Carter had been here, Dana was unmistakably pregnant now, which went a long way to explaining her decision not to return to serving with him on the Defiance. To her right, casually perched on the edge of her desk was a Federation officer of some description.
The Federation wore a white uniform with gold piping on the double-breasted jacket and tall black boots. This particular officer was one of the green ones, female, which most of the green ones tended to be. Unusually, her eyes were different colours, one dark and one blue, "Carter," Chrichton greeted, waving in the direction of a chair as she pressed the button under her desk for the door to shut again, "Welcome back. I hope you haven't had too much fun while you were away. The UN were... unhappy that you chose to go flying Gollar frigates when you could have been answering their questions."
"Well someone had to retrieve that ZPG, the local Chalads didn't take a liking to our presence but we managed," Carter answered to Dana as he walked into the room, walking over to the chair that the ambassador had pointed at Carter glanced over to the Federation officer sitting right besides him, the green skinned lady seemed rather acquainted with Dana. "As for the UN, I already told them all that matters, I thought I'd made that clear last time..."
"They wanted to study your dhasath crew member to try to build a scanner to detect infiltrators. She told the General who asked to 'go frell yourself'. She literally said that. It was really hard not to laugh," the Fed replied. The only way of describing her manner of speaking was 'mellow'. She wore an expression of calm satisfaction with the world and there was every reason to think that rarely waved, "Though I don't think the General found it funny so, I dunno, you might want to do something to keep him happy? I don't know what you humans do for that."
Carter sat on the chair, setting his bad down in front of Dana's desk. He chuckled at the Berdikon's summary of events, that did sound just like Thanica, as feisty as she was lovely. The human then began to question who this lady exactly was and what she was doing here, seemingly making friends with Crichton. Looking at Dana, Carter simply raised his eyebrows in a casual display while shrugging his arms, "I'll have a talk with them later, but I can't force her or anyone in my crew to be the UN's guinea pig."
While Thanica, the dhasath on the crew, was generally kind and patient, she had a bit of a phobia when it came to medical professionals and scientists. The suggestion of studying her would been a red rag to a bull... "This is Captain Tava Gebeth," Crichton introduced, turning towards her green-skinned companion, "The Federation would like to send someone with your ship to take a look at the Andromeda galaxy. Personally, I think it's a great opportunity for everyone involved."
"If you're cool with me coming along I'll ditch any rank or whatever, so just Tava is fine," Tava added.
Carter had no qualms about a Fed joining in on the crew, as long as she knew how to follow orders and from who. Though he himself wasn't very trusty of the Federation he didn't exactly think of them as with ill intent, they were better than the Command and the Empire and that was for certain. "You can keep your rank," Carter said to Tava, "But its me and Vari who you answer to on the ship, that clear?"
"Sure, whatever works for you," Tava shrugged, looking a little confused as to why any of that would be unclear, "That is pretty much what I was just offering."
With that Carter once more looked over to Dana, this time with a more serious face as he leaned forward onto the desk. "What has the Confederacy found on Mihal and Aarla?"
"Yes," Dana replied as she sat herself back down. Tava didn't move from her place on the side of the desk, "We have information on a potential location. I've sent it over to the ship, though I wouldn't get your hopes up too much; sometimes this ends up being a false lead," she held up a hand as she finished her statement on Mihal and Aarla, "But don't go running off yet, I have other news you need to hear."
Carter raised an eyebrow, he was under the impression that Tava being assigned to the crew was the business at hand, perhaps it was something else. He remained sit, this time leaning himself back and attentive to whatever Dana had to say now. "What is it?"
"We'll start with the bit you won't like. Do you remember that kiel with the energy swords? She's on your ship as well now. I know what you're going to say, but it's the only way the KC are going to let you go through the wormhole. So unless you want the Defiance to stay permanently docked here, their Lieutenant is non-negotiable," Dana replied, cutting straight to the chase. She looked across at Tava for moral support before adding, "I've had the opportunity to chat with her; she is a professional and might even make a useful asset if you can handle her."
Carter struggled to comprehend what he had just heard, trying to process everything before reacting as his mind raced through several varying emotions and thoughts. That Lieutenant, the very same who had threatened to torture him, had shot directly at him, that one that had hurt his crew would join it now. It all played like a joke, and of very poor taste. "You can't be serious..." Carter had a visible smile, one of disbelief rather that genuine content of any type, "Out of all people, her?" It felt redundant to even point out who it was. "You know she threatened to torture me, you and Krys, right?"
Dana sighed, leaning back in her chair, "Yes," she confirmed, "And I wouldn't doubt for a moment that she would have. It wasn't personal though, she was following orders and believed that anything she did was to protect the galaxy. Neither of us are squeaky clean either," there was, allegiance aside, more than a little in common between Dana and Aethienn, the KC Lieutenant, "As for why her; the Commodore trusts her."
"Well I don't..." Carter raised himself from his seat, setting his hands onto her desk Carter remained stern as he and Dana looked at each other with a mix of uncertainty and animosity for a few seconds, "As far as I'm concerned she's a threat to not only me but the entire crew..." Carter wasn't wrong and it was clear that Dana herself didn't agree with any of this, but regardless it was unfair to blame Dana for this, to tell her his worries about when she herself most likely agreed, and Carter knew it but at this point he just needed to voice it. After a few seconds he recoiled back, pulling his hair back and taking a deep breath to calm himself, It's not her call... Not her call... He thought to himself debating it all in his head.
"I'll... It wont be easy to explain to Thanica and the others," It was a given that Thanica wouldn't like it one bit, but of course this was not hers or anyone's call other than bureaucracy. Carter stood up, trying to keep his cool in the presence of Tava, and for consideration of Dana's own position. Grabbing his bag and setting it back over his shoulder Carter gave a slight nod to Dana, "I'll let you know when we're heading back... try to keep it easy with the baby..." With that he began to walk out of the room. The Human stopped before heading out the door, looking over to the Federation officer. "You coming?"
Tava looked confused, glancing between Carter and Dana. His decision to leave had, as far as she was concerned, come before Dana had told him the most significant piece of information, "Aren't you going to tell him...?" Tava turned back to Dana, with an eyebrow raised.
"Next time," she said, her expression inscrutable, "He's in a hurry."
"Alright," Tava shrugged. Apparently Dana was in two minds about sharing that particular nugget. She hurried after Carter, "Also dude," she added as they moved out through the Consulate again, "you need to remember stuff happens while you're away. Your paramour already knows about the KC officer. They're like sparring buddies or something."
"Of course they would..." Carter murmured, "I leave for a few days and its like the whole place has gone upside down..." Walking out of the consulate Carter began making way towards the hangars, in direction to where his had lost been docked. The pair passed by the security checkpoint fast, there was no need to check them. It was back into the market district, as crowded as ever.
"So you're fed, captain huh?" Carter said, he didn't give Tava any time before he moved on to the next topic. "So what are your commendations, your background," he moved quickly through the crowd, expecting Tava to follow behind.
"If you're asking if I'm what you humans call 'green'," Tava paused for dramatic effect as she followed in Carter's wake, "Yes, but only literally. I've had to do some fighting in the past, which wasn't fun. Got shot. Recovered. Not everyone did. Got a bit of artificial lung to replace the hole in the real one, but it works just as well so I can't really complain. Not much more to say, though I can get my fall career history sent across, if you are interested," she went silent for a moment before adding, "Oh... you probably think I'm younger than I am. We Berds don't tend to show the years too much until we get to reproductive age."
Carter kept on moving through the crowd as Tava talked, passing through vendors, soldiers, and all types of wandering patrons, Well good to know she's sees some combat at least, he thought as he noticed they were getting close to the hangars. "I don't very much look for people's age so much as their experience miss Gebeth," finally exiting the masses of people the due approached the main gate into the hangars, it was a different area than the docks. The docks had incoming and outgoing ships on a constant basis but this particular area served to retain ships for an extended period of time, and the Defiance laid within it. "You'll be surprise at how good some Kiel look for being over 100," Carter said in jest as he walked into the bay, several Gollar, Federation, and even some Command servicemen walking around. The human circled around for a few seconds, trying to familiarize himself with the area again, quickly he began to walk again towards the Defiance's holding deck. "So you've never been to Andromeda I gather?" The Human asked, continuing a casual walk.
"Just Tava will do," Tava replied, "And no I haven't. You and your crew are the only people from this galaxy who have, which means that unless you get me killed before lift-off I'm going to be a famous explorer," she couldn't keep the grin off her face at that prospect.
Even the eventual sight of the rather unimpressive Defiance wasn't enough to wipe that off her face. Yes, the ship looked like a second-rate cargo hauler someone had strapped some guns onto, and in this case appearances weren't deceptive, but it was a second rate cargo hauler that had had some real adventures happen in it. And now she was going to get to be a part of that as well. This promised to be a lot of fun.
