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You are Princess Lydia Tannhäuser Von Cygnus Gates the third, duchess of Tannhäuser and executive director of the Royal Rocketry Corps of Midland. With news of your southern rival putting her own satellite in orbit, you have decided to move ahead with your plans for maned spaceflight.

First order of business is to arrange a tournament to pick potential pilots for the capsule now in development.

>Wiki with archives and info: http://emlia.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=WhatGoesUp.SpacePrincessQuest
>Rules: http://emlia.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=WhatGoesUp.WhatGoesUp

All posts must use the royal we. Any suggestion unfitting a princess will be ignored

>>24212972
>The winner will be selected to ride the Mk4Archangel rocket into orbit, and guide it's capsule safely back down to earth
Were we not going to have Sir Harker be the first man into orbit?

>>24213083
He claims it would not be fair to not have a contest, and even if he wins, you will need more than one pilot.

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>>24213083

That was before we remembered that he's a lunatic. He's still a prime candidate but we can't just let him have it.

so this is like some sort of Kerbal Space Program Quest with added "I want to be the little girl"?

>>24212908
But did you know, It's Yuri Gagarin day?

>>24213210
Yes, have a movie to celibate with. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKs6ikmrLgg

>>24213116
Very well.
Sir Harker will arrange the tournament.
We will liase with the Minister of the Interior to set up the tournament.

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>>24213200

With a side of Henry Kissinger and pretty princess dressup. In other words, the best quest ever.

I'm still getting back up to speed guys, but I am here.

>>24213200

Pretty much what >>24213299 said :)

As for the tournment...

I'd propose flying (obviously), swimming (to test endurance), and then immediately after either, some social function during which the candidates will be discreetly observed by serving staff to see how well they keep their cool right after an adrenaline rush.

>>24213343
Sir harker's suggestion is to pair up the champions, and have half of them fly in parabolic arcs, while the other half must solve some form of puzzle in the passenger seat. Then they switch off.

>>24213455
Very well.
We shall ask Professora Minerva and Col. Smith to come up with the puzzles.

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>>24213244
>a movie to celibate with
I...I will...*sniff*

>>24213921
Although maybe posting a movie in my own quest thread is a bad distraction. Maybe I ought to take a holiday and continue tomorrow.

>>24213975
Come on, at least 1 turn worth of budget.

>>24213343
We suggest a quadrupartite challenge. The first, a test of flying skills. The second, a test of strength- swimming. The third, a test of cognitive capacity, a barrage of timed and tough puzzles. The fourth, a test of tolerance to freefall and gravity, via heavily overdriven carnival rides.

>>24213999
I'll be here at any rate.

Keep in mind that hiring a pilot costs 1 point, and training them costs one more. Mechanically the tournament will count as hiring and training as many pilots as the players are willing to pay for. That's 2RnD points each.

>>24214050
The Professora tells you that high gravity (such as would be experienced in a launch or re-entry) can be simulated more easily than microgravity, just spin the subject around really fast in a centrifuge. Any amount of gravity between earth normal and instantly lethal can be simulated if you spin fast enough.

>>24214058
Very well, how about 10RP, for 5 Void Knights, along with Harker, that's 6 in total.

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>>24213999
>> If even that. Harker is a good candidate and he's free. We need enough potential 'nauts to dispel any rumors of favoritism and to select a good engineer. If we get two that happen to be better than Harker all the better, but it's not strictly necessary.

Also crazy tired, might go to sleep soon.

>>24214050

Endurance and ability to keep your cool is more important than strength, but yeah.

>>24214084

Wheeeeeeeeeeee~ Can we try that too? Please? :3

>>24214311
...if you wish, although I can't imagine Sir Perro will be pleased.

>>24214099
How shall the remaining 25 points be spent?

>>24214360
We shall allocation our 35RP of this turn thus:
10RP - recruit and train 5 Void Knights
8RP - RCS 19/20
6RP - Manned Capsule 6/11
1RP Photovoltaic Power Cell 2/5

Apparently we only got 1 turn of budgeting done last time.

>>24214360
We will never get anything done if we are limited to a single turn's worth of budgeting per session, when most people won't even bother to approve the budget.

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>>24214549

Confirming this budget.

>>24214600
Had to teleconference India this morning so I'm barely conscious. Must... build... rockets....

>>24214659
We had a budget for improving the RCS and the Mk2 Capsule at the end of the last session, but we never got it confirmed. That's been happening for the past several sessions; things that should be getting done, aren't.
We have these big huge lapses of time where absolutely nothing is happening, even though the system is designed for a faster pace.

>>24214549
Confirmed.

The roster for the tournament is as follows.

>Dame, Nicole Dunham
>Sir, Geoffrey Curteys
>Dame, Anne Lytton
>Sir, Jonathon Waleys
>Sir, Lettice Sadler
>Sir, Humphrey Gerard
>Sir, Christopher Grenefeld
>Dame, Kateryn Cobham
>Sir, Harry Hawtrey
>Dame, Elizabeth Palmer
>Sir, Charles Harker
>Lord Protector, Alejandro Perro

>>24214762
>>Lord Protector, Alejandro Perro

Somebody has some 'splainin to do.

>>24214549

Looks good to me. The smaller rockets (MK2 and MK3) are done, so let's stop keeping an eye on them, probably easiest that way. We got Archangel A and Archangel B to worry about.

>>24214762

(Yay for gender equality!)

Ask Amelia who she's rooting for, of course!

Are we agreed upon what is in the tournment? We should go back to the mainland to help officiate it.

Again, I wouldn't be against having serving staff discreetly taking observations at the reception that will follow the events; social grace is not something too important for a Void Knight, much as they will be public figures, but being able to stay level-headed after an adrenaline rush is.

>>24214762
>>24214549
This budget only goes up to 25.
We shall spend the remaining 10RP on the Radiolight Beacon.
10RP - Radiolight Beacon 10/14

>>24214813

Should be fun.

>>24214821

The budget goes up to 35 total right now.

>>24214832
>The budget goes up to 35 total right now.
Yes, I know.
I'm saying that this budget >>24214549
only adds up to 25, and this >>24214821
uses up the remaining 10.

>>24214813
Sir Perro requests permission to represent you in the tournament. In the unlikely event he wins, he will defer his prize to the second place, as is the winners right. He claims he wants the exercise.

>>24214846

Getcha!

No objections on this end. The flight plan for the first orbital jaunt is simple: go up, perform a few orbits (we don't have the equipment to try to stay for any significant amount of time), broadcast a simple greeting in the language of whatever country is being flown over during the first orbit, take a good look around, and hit the RCS for reentry at a calculated time so that the capsule comes back roughly near where the atoll is. Splashdown seems to be the safest option for now.

>>24214883

Please, Sir Perro, do! And thank you for all you've done for us so far!

>>24214883
Very well. We shall allow Sir Perro to indulge his desire for physical exertion.
Will Mister Luxon attempt a showing, as well?

>>24214959
Mister Luxon tells you he has no further ambitions than to serve the house Cygnus.

>>24215017
Very well.
Let us proceed. We shall be in attendance at the tournament, of course.
Shall Colonel Smith or Professora Minerva be in attendance, or does their work here at the Tannhäuser Gate require their presence?

>>24215069
They will be observing the Tournament.

As you prepare however, you receive word from the Navy that the Merikans have launched another rocket.

>>24215069

Do they care? If the Colonel wants a seat, why, of course. If Prof. Minerva cares... well thats her call. Maybe now that she got some attention and budget to her previous line of work, she's in the zone and doesn't want to be bothered with being social.

>>24215171

Wow that was fast. Do we know what's in it?

Hey, it's good practice for guessing trajectories...

>>24215171
>the Merikans have launched another rocket.
We must know, now, the mission and payload of the rocket.

>>24215191

That'd be hard. However, at the very least it should be possible to see if it's broadcasting anything, and what sort of trajectory it is in.

Figuring out how big it is is probably beyond our capabilities.

>>24215191
No announcement from the SSC, but it appears to be slightly larger than the last one. It seems to be entering a stable orbit, no word on it's payload.

>>24215234
This is what we get for setting up tournaments and doing press releases when we should have been working on our next rocket launch.

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>>24215234

They're catching up awfully fast.

>>24215303

We've been doing that WHILE working on our next launch :)

>>24215303
It appears to be silent though, it's not even transmitting beeps, It seems to be in a stable orbit, but it's only visible on active radar, and not doing anything.

>>24215317
>We've been doing that WHILE working on our next launch
What with our budgets continually being sidelined in favor of discussions which don't advance the program or get anything done, it's hard to believe.

>>24215359

OOC: That's the good thing about turn based stuff :)

>>24215337

Maybe it broke? Is it in polar or equatorial orbit? Can we wave at it in case it's taking pictures?

>>24215337
Then hurry up and get to the mainland to oversee the tournament.
The RRC is to continue tracking the rocket and send us updates via radio.

Now let's get going, we've wasted so much time.

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>>24215419
It is in a normal equatorial orbit.

>>24215420
The Tournament is on this island, they are coming to you on the Maiale Volante.

>>24215477
>The Tournament is on this island
Huh, this is the first I'm hearing of it.

We shall immediately begin setting up next turn's budget.
30RP - Mk4a 13/16
3RP - Mk2 Capsule 7/11
2RP - Radiolight Beacon 11/15

>>24215477

Then we shall take a bit of time to freshen up and be sure we're the perfect hostess.

A Void Knight will be a public figure, especially the first one (even if we get scooped). However, if the most uncouth of the lot wins, they go first regardless -- competence above all. If that happens we'll have to pick good handlers is all...

>>24215560

I think if we hurry up with the new capsule we have a cahnce of launching.

>>24215637
Launch, yes, but with a 13/16 Reliability, the chance of failure is too great.
By my estimates, 3 turns is the minimum we would need for a good chance of success.

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>>24215563
Keep in mind that as one of the judges, you can always withhold points for any champion you don't think is behaving chivalrously.

>>24215560
I never said it wouldn't be, I assumed it would be obvious. I shall endeavor to be more clear in the future.

The flying boat, Maiale Volante splashes down in the lagoon and the 10 visiting champions walk towards the tournament grounds, set up in the airfield. Sir Harker has procured two additional Halcon Aerospace Comet 3s (far left) for the flight exercises.

Shall you make any opening proclamations, and which event shall be first?

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>>24215681

That gives our intrepid cannonfodder^W spacemen some time to train.

>>24215760

(I love that style of airplane!)

After a gracious welcome, the swimming competition should come first, since it requires no preparation or logistics.

The formal reception (lunch or dinner , depending on time of day) shall be RIGHT AFTER, to see how the candidates deal with having to mentally switch gears quickly, and keep their poise after an adrenaline surge.


(On an unladylike note: Yay beefcake?)

>>24215760
"Assembled contestants, we bid you welcome to the Tannhäuser Orbital Launch and Command Facility. You shall be tested to the limits of your physical and mental faculties, for we ride upon the very edge of what is possible.
"We bid you all good luck."

And start with the swimming competition.

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To better prepare themselves, the champions will preform all challenges wearing a mockup of the prototype void armor. Swimming in this will be quite difficult.

>>24216019

That's one way to maintain decency....

Jokes aside, that looks very difficult to move in; surely a rescue team is at hand?

Who is Amelia rooting for?

>>24216095
Amelia is having a hard time deciding. She was originally a Harker Fangirl, but that's died down as the novelty has worn off, now she's examining all of them in turn.

As we look on, we have to ponder what could a Merikan satellite in equatorial orbit be doing...

Taking pictures of us? Hopefully it's not a manned attempt gone wrong!

>>24216135
Let the competition begin!

>>24216167
And they are off! Not surprisingly the navy pilots do the best in this having received formal training in swimming while wearing bulky flight suits.

Sir Sadler, Dame Palmer, and Sir Waleys take an early lead.

>>24216365

We'll be thrilled if the first person in space is a woman, of course, but no favorites.

>>24216365

this must look so undignified. Is it being broadcast internationally?

>>24216477

No, but it probably makes for good entertainment for the local workers!

>>24216477
No, it's a good old fashioned chivalrous tournament from the good old days before the 3rd estate had to poke there noses into everything. The press has not been invited.

>>24216557

oh thank god. and oh drat no leverage to use on these knights.

Also this is the perfect chance for something to happen to us, our personal guard is goofing off in our honor. best keep on the look out.

>>24216365
After several minutes of awkward splashing, Dame Palmer is the first to pull herself onto the pier, followed by Sir Sadler and the rest of the group. Sir Curteys is having some trouble and Sir Waleys goes back to help him.

Now it is time for the 12 sopping wet champions to attend a formal dinner, do you allow them to change into proper attire, or do you decide the integrity of the contest takes priority?

>>24216712

It might be seen as needless humiliation... however, these are all intelligent people and should figure out that it's part of the test.

We should give them an intentionally tight amount of time to change, and then have the serving staff observe how the candidates act.

Sir Waleys has just gained a point in this advisor's book, for what it's worth.

>>24216712
The integrity of the contest does take priority.
We shall be testing them thoroughly with the mathematical puzzles under pressure, later.

>>24216828

There's that. A lady or gentleman should be recognizable as such even if they're dressed like peasants.

12 dripping wet void knights enter the dining room, with you and Amelia at one end of the table and Colonel smith and Minerva at the other.

What is the first course, and what shall the topic of discussion be.

>>24216900

First course shall be "SPACE FOOD" or a nice clam soup. We shall go with the space food. The discussion point shall be why the contestants chose to volunteer along with a vocal resume of their talents ad abilities.( we shall check this later)

>>24216900
The first course shall be a light salad, and the topic of conversation shall be what they hope to see accomplished by the space program.

>>24216942

I agree on the shock value, but our guests should be treated with courtesy after today (Plus, we'll have the data wew want).

We should like to hear what they hope the RRC will achieve! With the real purpose of the space program being secret, it's important to find a common purpose. Are they in it for the glory? (There's nothing wrong with that; these are knights after all). For the discovery? For national pride?

>>24216982

well we want them to see what they are getting into and not quit later if they can quit now. It also shows that we are also committed if we are eating the food.

>>24217019

Very true. At the same time, these are also our guests; they get their asses kicked today, but we'll be more hospitable once the shock value for the treatment is gone.

Wouldn't want our reputation as a hostess to suffer!

>>24217053

I'm sorry but this is not a tea party, this is their lives at stake. I'd very much take a few words spoken by some knights saying we were a horrible host to dealing with a potential winner going loony over eating space junk.

>>24217097

Again, I'm all for serving them Tang.... today.

Tomorrow they will expect more of that, and be mentaly prepared for it; the idea is to test for mental flexibility, so we should go easier on them.

>>24217121

Oh I wasn't thinking tang more like water. I was thinking maybe some salted rations passed off as SPACE FOOD because we really haven't done any testing or development for SPACE FOOD. just make an obvious choice between posh food and well its edible. nothing against them or marks off, just something to see how inclined they are to the food. Who knows they may even have a suggestion.

This is their choice what to pick.

>>24217171

That's clever!

The champions engage in discussion as the eat dinner.

Dame, Nicole Dunham
>A bored Heiress, eats the posh food, "I was bored, what can I say, space is very fashionable right now."
Sir, Geoffrey Curteys
>A humble civil servant, eats the posh food, "I thought I'd try..."
Dame, Anne Lytton
>Airforce pilot, eats the space food"I want to prove that a woman can do anything a man can do."
Sir, Jonathon Waleys
>was in the army during the war, eats the space food, "I'll go where my king needs me, your highness. If that be the void itself, than into the void I shall march."
Sir, Lettice Sadler
>A policeman from Hafenstad, eats the posh food "I figure it's safer than bein on the streets your Iness."
Sir, Humphrey Gerard
>Navy Pilot, eats the space food, "Figure this is the best way to get some action with the war over and everything."
Sir, Christopher Grenefeld
>A civilian aviator, eats the posh food, "The view from up there must be amazing."
Dame, Kateryn Cobham
>Airforce pilot, eats both courses without stopping, appears to have a past with Sir Harker. "As if I'd let that scoundrel get away from me in space."
Sir, Harry Hawtrey
>An inventor, eats the space food,"Your rockets are a symbol of progress your highness, I always endeavor to be part of progress."
Dame, Elizabeth Palmer
>A navy pilot from Firthbery, Daughter of a sailor, eats the space food "I wish to sail the sea of the stars."
Sir, Charles Harker
>Airforce pilot and count of Halcon Manor, eats the space food, "I want to be Free from the shackles of gravity, and share that freedom with all mankind."
Lord Protector, Alejandro Perro
>Your bodyguard, Trained from birth by a school of warrior monks in the western isles, eats the space food, "I'm simply representing you Your highness. After all, if space travel becomes routine, I may have to accompany you myself" you get the feeling however that he entered to keep an Eye on Sir Harker.

>>24217337
Sir, Charles Harker
>Airforce pilot and count of Halcon Manor, eats the space food, "I want to be Free from the shackles of gravity, and share that freedom with all mankind."

GOD DAMMIT GOD MOTHER YOU KEEP SHOWING ME ALL THE SIGNS THAT MAKE ME WANNA SCREAM BASTARD OF THE THRONE/TRUE HEIR/CHAR BUT I CAN'T BECAUSE METAGAMING.

>>24217337

We're suitably impressed.... well, not really by everyone involved, but still.

"Hopefully the competition shall remain friendly -- much like ancient sailors, we will share a common enemy with the Merikans in the harsh conditions we'll face."

We smile at Lord Perro. "We certainly hope you'll end up having to deal with that problem!"

"Assume for a moment that you're not qualified to fly -- it may happen, after all. Would you be interested in assisting this endeavor in another capacity?"

To Dm Dunham: "Would you say it's because of the novelty, or because of the fact that there is a competition?"

To Dm Lytton: "Later on we should tell you about Prof. Minerva and the Astrologers..."

To Sir Waleys we wouldn't have much to say other than a quiet but visible bow of the head, both towards our father and the principle he just stated so tersely.

(The others I am really not sure what we could say. Sorry for being spammy!)

>>24217337

Dame, Nicole Dunham
>A bored Heiress, eats the posh food, "I was bored, what can I say, space is very fashionable right now."
in it for entertainment. not a good choice so far, needs more testing.
Sir, Geoffrey Curteys
>A humble civil servant, eats the posh food, "I thought I'd try..."
Looking for a challenge or trying to better himself, requires further interview and observation.
Dame, Anne Lytton
>Airforce pilot, eats the space food"I want to prove that a woman can do anything a man can do."
Driven by sexism and a need for equality, needs physical review
Sir, Jonathon Waleys
>was in the army during the war, eats the space food, "I'll go where my king needs me, your highness. If that be the void itself, than into the void I shall march."
Orange class, might be to zealous though.

>>24217477

Sir Waleys is also the guy who went back and assisted one of his competitors.

>>24217337
Sir, Lettice Sadler
>A policeman from Hafenstad, eats the posh food "I figure it's safer than bein on the streets your Iness."
A cop from the city we could have chosen possibly shirking his duites, Might have potential due to weighing his personal safety.
Sir, Humphrey Gerard
>Navy Pilot, eats the space food, "Figure this is the best way to get some action with the war over and everything."
A glory hound or possible action hero, seeking excitement might bring mission consequences.
Sir, Christopher Grenefeld
>A civilian aviator, eats the posh food, "The view from up there must be amazing."
A man that must have been good to be selected.
Dame, Kateryn Cobham
>Airforce pilot, eats both courses without stopping, appears to have a past with Sir Harker. "As if I'd let that scoundrel get away from me in space."
Potential rival of Sir Harker and also a glutton, should be fun and dangerous, keep an eye on her.

>>24217337
Sir, Harry Hawtrey
>An inventor, eats the space food,"Your rockets are a symbol of progress your highness, I always endeavor to be part of progress."
A flatterer and educated man but from where and what hes made who knows.
Dame, Elizabeth Palmer
>A navy pilot from Firthbery, Daughter of a sailor, eats the space food "I wish to sail the sea of the stars."
An explorer and dreamer. looks promising
Sir, Charles Harker
>Airforce pilot and count of Halcon Manor, eats the space food, "I want to be Free from the shackles of gravity, and share that freedom with all mankind."
see>>24217440
Lord Protector, Alejandro Perro
>Your bodyguard, Trained from birth by a school of warrior monks in the western isles, eats the space food, "I'm simply representing you Your highness. After all, if space travel becomes routine, I may have to accompany you myself" you get the feeling however that he entered to keep an Eye on Sir Harker.
Ehh hes doing good I guess.

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>>24217487

Like I said orange class

>>24217564

At the very least we should ask Prof. Minerva ifSir Hawtrey is any good, if she knows him, and if she wants him on staff should he not make the cut

Allright, It's late and writing responses for 12 people is hard. I'll continue tomorrow.

>>24217612

Thank you!

>>24217612
by by godmother.

fucking char

>>24217629
>>24217586

can someone explain me the "char" and "orange class" parts?

>>24217635
Char is a badguy in mobile suit gundam. Sir Harker looks like him because he wears a mask to cover the horrible burn scars on his face he got when the Comet 1 crashed.

Orange is a character in code Geass who is a cyborg powered by LOYALTY.

>>24217680

thanks! I was thinking char as in the data type... derp.

good night!

>>24217635

Char from Gundam is the son of ZEON Daikum founder of ZEON which is a group of colonies in space farthest from the earth. ZEON's founder is killed by the Zabi family but his two children escape and survive. Cassvale is one of them and becomes Char Aznable the red comet. He supposedly has burn scars and has to wear a mask to hide them. He then spends the show fighting the earth federation and also killing or causing the death of members of the Zabi family. He later goes on to try to free humanity from earth gravity by droping a GIANT ASTEROID ON IT TO CAUSE AN ICE AGE.(not his best moment)

Orange comes from code Geass. Jeremiah is loyal forever. just look up some youtube clips.

>>24217706

thanks! I missed the gundam ref because I'm derp, Code Geass I will have to watch.

"Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it!"