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First thread: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/11026/

The story up to now: You are Scruffy Scruffington Jr, janitor and maintenance technician on the Free Trader Ship Eutropia.

You woke up with a terrible headache in the ship's locker about a hour ago. The captain and the first officer were dead next to you. The ship is under total lockdown, but you can manipulate power wires to (hopefully) cut power to the magnetic locks on the doors.

Suffering from partial amnesia, you're still putting together what happened.

The things you know:

Ship's crew:
Captain: Rodger Ecarias (dead)
First Officer: Akyriaklyafy (dead)
Engineer: Ellen Amundsen (unknown)
Helmsman: Rrarlk (KO from hypoxia, you managed to get him in a spacesuit just in time. Might have suffered permanent damage)
Technician: Scruffy Scruffington (you)
Passenger: Oskar Kristes (with you)
Passenger: Hermann Elmore (unknown)

The captain was transporting a "secret cargo" for the IISS. Your ship should arrive to its intended destination, the Luushakaan system, any moment now.

The life support is damaged. You don't know exactly what is wrong, but suspect the air to be carrying carbon monoxide.

Oskar Kristes claims to be an IISS agent on the ship, and that Hermann Elmore is a saboteur for a foreign nation in possession of psychic powers. He also claims that he managed to resist his psychic powers thanks to special training. He is armed and proficient in hand-to-hand combat.

Picture is the map of the ship.

Rooms accessible:
Ship's Locker
Captain's Room
Crew Room 2 (your and Rrarlk's room: Rrarlk is here, passed out)
Passenger Room 1 (Oskar Kristes' room)
Airlock 1
Airlock 2

Inventory:
Your keycard
22 Credits
Crumpled-up post-it note: "Please come see me in the mess hall at 9. There is something you must know."
Earbud
Akyriaklyafy's keycard and password.
Akyriaklyafy's datachip (contains personal data)
Captain's password.
Post-it note found in the captain's cabin: "Please come see me in the mess hall at half past eight. We need to talk. The other passenger you have embarked at our last stop is not who he claims to be. H. E."
Wooden brush
Tool belt (contains various tools)
Flashlight (in use)

Feel free to ask any questions.

If you decide to do a rolled action, I will roll it before posting the result. Rolls are 2d6. An 8 or above is required for most actions, but easier actions might be more forgiving, and harder actions less so.

Incidentally your actions during this first few threads will be used as a basis for your character sheet's scores later.

>Attempt to hack the door open from the ship's computer.
>Ask Oskar what makes the cargo so important that an unknown party would sabotage the ship, but not important enough to warrant proper support. You deserve that much with your friends all dead or worse.

>>101374
>Attempt to hack the door open from the ship's computer. (rolled action, will take 10-60 minutes)
It can't go worse than the last few attempts

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Rolled 1, 2 = 3 (2d6)

You head over to the computer screen in the corridor.

You HOPE you remember enough about programming to manage to hack together a solution for the lockdown. Or a workaround at least.

Were you good with computers? There's probably only one way to find out.

"...Say, Oskar?" You ask the passenger over the comms, while he looks around the corridor, maybe searching for something, or just making sure he's not missing anything.

"Yes?"

"What's in that ton of cargo, anyway? I deserve to know that much."

"I don't know." He replies. "I just know it's very important that it reaches Luushakaan intact. Besides, even if I knew what it was, I wouldn't be authorized to tell you."

"Really? They don't tell you?" You wonder.

"Need-to-know basis. It's a locked container that must reach destination. What's inside it doesn't make a difference, does it?" He replies.

Meanwhile, on the computer, you find someone else using the ship's messaging system.

You read his messages while trying to hack the door.

(rolling...)

You struggle with the ship's computer for nearly 20 minutes before finally concluding that you have no idea how to hack the doors open, or maybe there is no way to do that from the computer without the captain's keycard.

Oskar is getting restless.

>Cut power to the door to the cargo hold and engineering from the small maintenance panel next to the door. (rolled action, failure might cause unforeseen consequences).
>Cut power to the door to the cargo hold and engineering from the main maintenance panel in the ship's locker. This will cause multiple ship systems to lose power, but it's safer to connect and disconnect.
>Use the ship's computer. (to do what?)
>Try to distract Oskar and steal the gun from him. (rolled action)
>Ask Oskar to figure out a way to open the door instead.
>Search Oskar's room.
>Search your own and helmsman Rrarlk's room.
>Ask something to Oskar (what?)
>(Other?)

Actions on computer messages:
>Did you shoot Oskar? How do you have a gun?
>Do you know what happened to the crew?
>Who do you work for?
>How can I take out Oskar?
>What happened in the mess hall?
>Why should I trust you?
>(other questions?)

>>101505
>Cut power to the door to the cargo hold and engineering from the main maintenance panel in the ship's locker. This will cause multiple ship systems to lose power, but it's safer to connect and disconnect.
Well shit.

What was the time line on how Hermann called everyone to the mess?
Did Oskar go before or after everyone else?

>>101505
>What happened in the mess hall?
>Do you know what happened to the crew?
>Why should I trust you?
>Who do you work for?

>Cut power to the door to the cargo hold and engineering from the main maintenance panel in the ship's locker. This will cause multiple ship systems to lose power, but it's safer to connect and disconnect.

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>>101519
>What was the time line on how Hermann called everyone to the mess?

You were called there at 0900.
The captain was called there at 0830.
Oskar claims he was called there at 0915.

You hide the conversation on the computer screen, so that Oskar will not accidentally read it.
You then return to the maintenance panel and cut power to the cargo bay.

The emergency lights go out. You feel the background hum of the ship's systems drop in pitch.

Oskar helps you open the door to the cargo bay.

The bay is dark, cold, and gravity is at half power. The air vents here have stopped. About three-fourths of the available space is taken up by rectangular metal containers.

You remember she ship's bill of lading: the Eutropia is carrying 12 dtons of spare precision-made machine parts, 40 dtons of various electronic components (mainboards, memory storage units, etc), and 80 tons of bertrandite, a beryllium ore. Plus one ton of "special cargo".

The "special cargo"'s container has no particular distinguishing features.

Any container can be opened, breaking the seal on it.

On the other side of the cargo bay are the doors to engineering. You test them to see if the maglock is engaged or if it's been deactivated by the wire you cut.

It's deactivated. You can open them.

You notice that Oskar makes sure that the special cargo's container is still intact and with an unbroken seal.

You notice two drops of blood on the floor, one near the door to the corridor, one near the door to engineering.

>Enter engineering
>Open a container (which one?)
>Try to distract Oskar and steal the gun from him. (rolled action)
>Try to take down Oskar. (rolled action)
>Tell Oskar about the messages that Hermann has been writing you.
>Ask something to Oskar (what?)
>Type something to Hermann over the computer (what?)
>(Other?)

From this point on there are a lot of different things you might want to do, depending on who you trust or not trust. Don't feel yourselves limited by these options, and feel free to write in new ones.

>>101576
>Enter engineering
We gotta find Ellen before she dies if she isn't already, see if we can't go in quietly while Oskar is busy with the box..

Does it look like the blood was going in any particular direction?
If whoever was bleeding was moving then the blood drips should point in the direction they were heading, assuming they're from the same person.

>>101598
Seconding.

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>>101598
>Does it look like the blood was going in any particular direction?
>If whoever was bleeding was moving then the blood drips should point in the direction they were heading, assuming they're from the same person.

It's just two single drops. They're not pointing in any direction.
Evidently whoever was bleeding had relatively minor blood loss.

You open the door. Engineering is lit and functioning, with screens and monitors on. It has, however, no gravity, and a number of tools and spare machine parts are floating around.

Amidst them you see the lifeless body of Ellen Amundsen, the Eutropia's engineer. She seems to have lost a great deal of blood from her nose, but her overalls are ruined and ripped, as if she has been in a hand-to-hand fight. She has a few bruises. A lot of the blood is floating around her in a cloud of spherical droplets. Quite a bit of blood has splattered itself on panels, monitors and assorted machinery.

Upon closer inspection, you notice a more obvious cause of death: a bullet hole in her chest.

"Well." Oskar breaks the silence, catching up with you. "We seem to be late."

>Fix the life support. (rolled action)
>Run a shipwide diagnostic.
>Inspect the body.
>Use the ship's computer. (to do what?)
>Try to distract Oskar and steal the gun from him. (rolled action)
>Try to take down Oskar. (rolled action)
>Tell Oskar about the messages that Hermann has been writing you.
>Ask something to Oskar. (what?)
>Send a message to Hermann. (what?)
>(Other?)

>>101644
>Inspect the body.
So the blood leading away must be the attacker, she got a hit in at least.

Search her body for anything we can use, did she get a note from Hermann too?

>>101644
>>101697
Also did we see any blood in the corridor?

>>101644
>Inspect the body.
Try to determine what kind gun might have been used.
Check her pockets for anything that might be useful in restoring the ECLSS.

Can we pretend to have had a close relationship with Ellen to make Oskar uncomfortable and/or feel guilty? Because then caress her cheek and tell her we're sorry.

>>101748
I don't mind trying it, but I'm kinda worried that Oskar is the psionic and he was lying about it being Hermann.

Can psionics read minds in Traveller?

>>101794
I've the same concern, though that could reveal him.

And they can, yes. Or at least surface thoughts, so to speak. Been a while since I played Traveller.

Rolled 5, 5 = 10 (2d6)

>>101697
>Search her body for anything we can use, did she get a note from Hermann too?

You briefly search the body. She has various tools and notes related to her work in engineering. You add some of her tools to your own utility belt, filling any gaps you had in functionality.

She does not have a post-it note or other note like the ones you and the captain had.

>>101713
>Also did we see any blood in the corridor?
There was a single drop of blood, at the end of the corridor, near the entrance to the airlocks and/or the cargo bay.

>>101748
>Try to determine what kind gun might have been used.
Rolling for your attempt to identify the wound.

>>101748
>Check her pockets for anything that might be useful in restoring the ECLSS.

You still don't know what is wrong with life support, but her tools and notes might be of use when you tackle that problem.

>>101748
>Can we pretend to have had a close relationship with Ellen to make Oskar uncomfortable and/or feel guilty? Because then caress her cheek and tell her we're sorry.
Heck, it might even be true. Do you want to do this?

>>101794
>Can psionics read minds in Traveller?
You don't know the details. Psionic science and research into psionic subjects are strictly banned in the Third Imperium. There is a lot of hearsay, rumors, myths, propaganda and fear-mongering on the subject.

It's very likely that they do, however.

(rolling...)

>>101828
>Do you want to do this?
Absolutely.

Tragic backstory is go!

>>101828
I don't mind if we had a relationship with Ellen.

>>101834
Guess it's a go.

Memories return to you.

Ellen Amundsen. She was one of those people.

The bright and brilliant yet awkward ones. She could not make small talk with other, normal human beings if her life depended on it. (Or with most other races for that matter.)

When talking about starship engines and systems, she was at her happiest.

Long phrases filled with technobabble words that sounded made up on the spot. Spending time, even her free spare time, trying to figure out ways to improve power routing through the Eutropia's fucked up, ancient wiring, or getting rid of that stupid ghosting effect that covered up one fourth of the radar display in gibberish whenever the ship accelerated at 80% throttle.

She would talk about that stuff so often even now you still remember it. Even just being the engineer on a small, stupid hauler like the Eutropia, with no real prospects of career or recognition, she was happy.

You hoped that, one day, you would be able to make as happy as that engine made her.

Seeing your distress, Oskar inches closer. He's keeping his hand on the gun, constantly looking at his back.

"...You two were close?"

You don't feel like answering.

Trying to focus on the here and now, realizing that your own life is also at stake here, you inspect the entry wound. The bullet left a large, messy, ragged wound. There is no exit wound: the bullet is lodged inside somewhere.

This wound was definitely not done by a gauss pistol.

Gauss weapons fire narrow, high-velocity piercing slugs, generally made from tungsten. They would leave a smaller entry hole, and it's very rare that a gauss shot would not go all the way through an unarmored human body.

Therefore, you conclude that the bullet must come from a conventional gun, where the projectile is propelled by a small explosive charge.

Searching a bit around, you also retrieve the brass casing, floating in mid-air in the zero-g environment of the room.

>Fix the life support. (rolled action)
>Run a shipwide diagnostic.
>Use the ship's computer. (to do what?)
>Try to distract Oskar and steal the gun from him. (rolled action)
>Try to take down Oskar. (rolled action)
>Tell Oskar about the messages that Hermann has been writing you.
>Ask something to Oskar. (what?)
>Send a message to Hermann. (what?)
>(Other?)

>>101911
>Run a shipwide diagnostic
The casing wouldn't happen to match the bullets that the captain had in his room would it?

Should we try to message Hermann?
See if he still has a the gun he used to shoot Oskar with, find out what kind and where he got it from.

>>101911
Interesting. So unless Oskar is hiding another gun, he couldn't have shot Ellen.

>Check the rim of the casing for the caliber.
>Run a shipwide diagnostic.
Our captain had a box of 9x19mm if I recall, suggesting he had the weapon for it as well. If Hermann's the culprit, he could've gotten it off of him.

Also, fighting urge to ask Hermann if he shot Ellen.

>>101911
>Fix the life support. (rolled action)
>Run a shipwide diagnostic.
We probably don't need to worry about disarming Oskar for now, but I still don't really trust him. Let's just get the important things out of the way

>>101994
She was bleeding from the nose too though, why shoot her if she was being attacked psionically, can that not kill people or something?

I'm assuming nosebleeds mean psion attacks at least.

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>>101992
>The casing wouldn't happen to match the bullets that the captain had in his room would it?

They do. 9x19mm.


You sit at the main engineering computer. Ellen's credentials are still logged in. She was doing some routine checks.

You run a general diagnostic for all of the ship's systems. It seems that most of the damage comes from simple power loss, likely caused by your interference with the ship's wiring in the attempt to open the maglocks on the doors.

The only exceptions are the life support system, which has "incorrect parameters", and navigation (that is, the system that connects the ship's engines to the cockpit's controls), which is reported as "serious damage".

Checking Ellen's notes, you learn that "incorrect parameters" means that a system is working perfectly well, but not in the way it's supposed to, whereas "serious damage" means an actual physical damage to the system.

"...So, we're alone on the ship?" Oskar asks, somewhat ominously.

"Why?" You wonder.

"We're in vacc suits, Hermann probably isn't. At this point, no reason to reconnect life support. I don't know how it's gone wrong, but if he doesn't have a suit, it's an easy way to take him out without facing him directly." He reasons.

>Restore life support system (rolled action)
>Perform an in-depth analysis of one of these problems. (which one?)
>Use the ship's computer. (to do what?)
>Try to distract Oskar and steal the gun from him. (rolled action)
>Try to take down Oskar. (rolled action)
>Tell Oskar about the messages that Hermann has been writing you.
>Ask something to Oskar. (what?)
>Send a message to Hermann. (what?)
>(Other?)

>>102124
>>Perform an in-depth analysis of one of these problems. (which one?)
Well he's not wrong about that, but find out more about what kind of damage navigation took

>>102124
>Perform an in-depth analysis of one of these problems. (which one?)
I guess nav.

>>102124
>"I still have one crewmate depending on me, and he's likely sustained permanent brain damage thanks to your bullshit cargo, friend."
>Perform an in-depth analysis of navigation

>>102124
Could we program the computer to send out a distress signal as soon as we drop out of jumpspace?

>>102260
>Could we program the computer to send out a distress signal as soon as we drop out of jumpspace?
Yes. It could be a standard distress (which would be easy to do), or a custom message you'd write down yourself (which would be harder and require a roll).


You glower at Oskar. "I still have one crewmate depending on me, and he's likely sustained permanent brain damage thanks to your bullshit cargo, friend."

He takes one step back. "Hey. Hey. I'm not the one who cut life support. Don't get mad at me."

You turn back at the computer screen. "...Is it worth it?" You ask him.

"What?"

"The cargo." You reply, slowly and deliberately. "Is it worth people dying for it?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. Evidently, someone thinks it's worth killing over it."

"Yourself included." You note, bitterly.

"I didn't join the Scouts because I knew it was going to be easy."

You have the feeling you've heard that phrase before.

You interrogate the computer on the damage navigation has sustained. It seems that you will need access to the cockpit to even attempt to repair it.

You feel a vibration going through the ship. You'll drop out of Jumpspace very soon.

(cont.)

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Meanwhile, Hermann (or whoever this is) sends you another series of messages.

What do you intend to do now?
>Restore life support system (rolled action)
>Perform an in-depth analysis of one of these problems. (which one?)
>Use the ship's computer. (to do what?)
>Try to distract Oskar and steal the gun from him. (rolled action)
>Try to take down Oskar. (rolled action)
>Tell Oskar about the messages that Hermann has been writing you.
>Ask something to Oskar. (what?)
>Send a message to Hermann. (what?)
>Try to unlock a door from the engineering console (which one?)
>Send out a standard distress signal.
>Send out a custom distress signal. (which one?) (rolled action)
>(Other?)

>>102321
I'm kind of tempted to just leave Oskar and Hermann to each other, to unlock both his room and the Bridge door and then when Hermann comes out to fight we make a break for the bridge and lock the door behind us.

>>102321
>Perform an in-depth analysis of one of these problems. (which one?)
Life support.
>Send out a standard distress signal.

>>102321
>>102333
Still kinda on the fence, but for now let's at least unlock the door to the bridge so we can get to fixing navigation in there.

Also I just noticed that Hermann asked if we're in Engineering, but either is pretending not to know about Ellen or just really didn't know.

>>102321
>Point out to Hermann that you're not an engineer.
>Mention that only one person could reliably reestablish the LSS.
>Ask him where he got a gun.

>>102321
We should definitely fix life support so we won't need these suits. I also like the plan of leaving Oskar and Hermann to fight each other.

>>102441

>leaving spies to kill each other

Dangerous. One of them is psychic and furthermore we don't know what the cargo is. For all we know, we're interrupting a planned terrorist strike - rescue teams haul us into the orbital dockyard or where ever and then the ship explodes.

You interrogate the computer on what is going wrong with life support.

You just finished typing out that command,that you feel the sudden yet oddly familiar sensation of an invisible force pulling you "down" through a non-existing direction, as if an invisible boot kicked you along the fourth dimension.

The ship has returned to normal space.

"...We need to get the ship on a stable orbit soon." Oskar mumbles. "There's no way to know where we popped up. We could be heading straight for a sun."

"I'm not an engineer, okay?" You grumble, turning away from the computer. "I'm doing what I can. There's only one person here who could properly reestablish the LSS."

"I don't care about life support." He repeats. "If it kills Hermann, we're better off. I'd say maneuvering the ship has the priority."

"Where did you get a gun, anyway?" You ask, glaring at the piece peeking out of his pocket.

"Standard issue of the IISS." He replies. "It bothers you?"

"You shot me." You point out.

"Because you attacked me." He counter-points out.

"Because you were pointing your gun at me." You counter-counter point out.

"Because there's a psychic assassin on board and I wasn't sure you weren't being used by him to kill me? I'm still not one hundred percent sure about that, by the way."

You roll your eyes, and type out a line on the computer. It chirps a loud siren of acknowledgement. "Distress Signal Activated." A computerized voice says.

"Wait, distress signal?" He's clearly surprised, and steps forward towards you, but then stops himself. "...I- uh. Is it a good idea?"

"You said it yourself." You point out. "We might be falling into a sun or planet right now. You're worried about the cargo?"

"I'm worried about a lot of things." He mumbles. "Mostly Hermann. He might still be alive, hiding somewhere on the ship."

>Restore life support system (rolled action)
>Perform an in-depth analysis of one of these problems. (which one?)
>Use the ship's computer. (to do what?)
>Try to distract Oskar and steal the gun from him. (rolled action)
>Try to take down Oskar. (rolled action)
>Tell Oskar about the messages that Hermann has been writing you.
>Ask something to Oskar. (what?)
>Send a message to Hermann. (what?)
>Try to unlock a door from the engineering console (which one?)
>Send out a standard distress signal.
>Send out a custom distress signal. (which one?) (rolled action)
>(Other?)

>>102551
>"I don't care about life support."
I think those comments were supposed to be targeted at hermann.

>>102551
>Try to unlock a door from the engineering console (which one?)
Hermann's and the Bridge too .

Not much time left anymore.
Oskar or Hermann, it's time to decide what to do. My worst idea is to definitely let the two of them go at it, but then see who turns out to be the psionic and take them out in middle of the fight.

>>102581
Oh, sorry. I got confused. I'll fix that in the next update.

>>102551
>Try to unlock a door from the engineering console (which one?)
Bridge.
I don't think letting Hermann out is a good idea. It might get rid of one of our problems, but whoever wins will probably become hostile towards us right after.

>>102551
When we first met Oskar, before he got into the spacesuit we saw his back right? Was there an exit wound from when he was shot?

Could we examine the jacket he was wearing and presumably took off and left in the airlock when he put on his spacesuit?

Examining the entry hole and determining if the jacket is armored will help us determine what weapon he was shot with. If the bullet didn't go through him and he was unarmored we can be reasonable certain that he is the IISS agent and not Zhodani given that the Zhodani agent probably stole the captains gun its unlikely they've switched weapons.

>>102551
Also lets unlock the bridge

>>102627
>When we first met Oskar, before he got into the spacesuit we saw his back right? Was there an exit wound from when he was shot?

There wasn't.

You couldn't check his jacket now without looking very suspicious (but you still can do that if you want, for example to determine if his jacket is armored or not), but you're fairly sure he was shot by a conventional firearm. The entry wound is similar to the one you saw on Ellen. You saw it from very close when you were struggling with him.

>>102648
Could we access recorded security camera footage, if any through the computer? Did we try that already?

Rolled 2, 6 = 8 (2d6)

>>102666
You didn't, but you can try. Rolling for this.

>>102673
Oh boy, did we actually succeed at a thing?

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You exchange a few words with Hermann.

Just to stay sure, you try to access the camera logs.

You find out that everything before 10:00 has been deleted by the captain's user account.

After that time, all you see are your own movements.

You hammer at the keyboard for a bit and succeed in unlocking the cockpit's door without causing damage. Fortunately, from this console and with Ellen's account, you have access to a lot of systems on the ship.

You make your way to the cockpit, with Oskar following you.

(cont.)

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The ship's command cockpit is as narrow and cramped and clumsy as you remember.

You could refer to it interchangeably as a "cockpit" or "command bridge". Truthfully, you feel it's too large to be the former and too small to be the latter.

Lights are on. Gravity is normal. All of the screens, sensor feeds and radar displays are offline, either blinking with [NO SIGNAL] warnings or other error messages, or downright unpowered. You have no way to see what's going on outside the spaceship.

One of the maintenance panels under the helmsman's console is open. Ripped wires and smashed datacards are spilling out of it.

The Eutropa has definitely seen better days. Too bad you weren't around to witness them, you guess.

Oskar groans. "He got here before us."

A brief inspection of the systems confirms your fears: with the helm sabotaged, you can't properly control the ship's maneuver drive as a pilot. And, with sensors unpowered, you're blind.

All other systems are active, at least. Including comms, which means your distress signal went out, and that you might receive an answer if someone replies to it. At least some good news.

>Attempt to repair navigation. (rolled action)
>Look of a workaround to the loss of navigation. (rolled action)
>Reattach the wires you disconnected earlier, try to bring at least sensors back online.
>Send a message from comms. (what message?)
>(what else? nearly all options from previous posts are still valid, obviously)

>>102752
>Attempt to repair navigation. (rolled action)

>>102752
>Send a message from comms. (what message?)
Let's try and get a proper SOS out there, tell whoever is listening that Nav and sensors are down and we're going to crash, mention we have injured and dead on board. Oskar was a little jumpy at the first distress signal we sent out, let's see if he let's us do this one.

>>102796
"Flying blind out of jumpspace" might be more appropriate, but yeah.

Maybe specifically calling on Scout assistance and see if Oskar breaks character.

>>102796

Let's do this, more to test Oskar than to provide more information.

You pop comms open on all frequencies and send a custom distress signal.

You clear your throat, grab the mic, and say:

"Mayday, Mayday, SOS, SOS, Signal GK, Signal GK. Here is free trader Eutropia, repeat, free trader Eutropia. We suffered damage in Jumpspace, navigation down, sensors down, flying blindly, multiple dead and injured on board. We require immediate assistance. Signal loops."

Putting down the mic, you put the signal on repeat.

"We're in the Luushakaan system." Oskar considers, nervously. "It's barely inhabited, just a refueling station. And it's an extraterritorial corp holding."

"Meaning?" You ask, turning to face him.

"Meaning that, well... If they just wanted to make us disappear and take the cargo, there wouldn't be any sort of legal oversight. They could just do that."

In that moment, as you're half-turned to face him, he's facing you in turn, back turned to the door. You can see the door opening, and another man whose face you can't clearly see, in a light vacc suit of unknown make, standing on the doorway, with a gun pointed at his back.

Your vacc suits have a visor plate only in front of you: Oskar can't see behind himself.

>Do nothing.
>Shove Oskar out of the way. (rolled action)
>(Other?)

>>102894
>>Shove Oskar out of the way. (rolled action)
Alright then, I'm pretty convinced Hermann is the bad guy then.

>>102894
Shove oskar
Oskar is like 60% chance the IISS agent

>>102902

Seconding. We have to trust Oskar at this point, if nothing else, we know that he's not immediately hostile.

We can't say the same for this new guy.

>>102894
>Shove Oskar out of the way. (rolled action)

Rolled 1, 6 = 7 (2d6)

Acting on pure instinct, you leap at Oskar and try to knock him out of Hermann's line of fire.
(rolling...)

>>102920
I was just about to call this exact roll.

>>102920
We really need to git gud.

>>102920
Low and high kills the Oskar

>>102926

We've been a pretty realistic janitor so far, I have to say. Mostly fucking up left and right while highly trained operatives are sneaking around and assassinating crewmates

You body-slam Oskar and you both fall to the ground just as you feel two gunshots echo in the control room.

One bullet hits you in the right arm, just below the shoulder. You feel a sudden, sharp, penetrating pain and your whole arm goes numb.

You roll in pain on the ground for a moment. Other two gunshots are exploded right afterwards, you you're not following exactly what's going on.

When you lift your head from the ship's metal pavement, you have a split-second to take stock of the situation.

The intruder is Hermann. Now you recognize him. He's wearing a light, custom vacc suit, probably one he packed himself. The gun in his hands is the captain's, tracking Oskar, who is desperately trying to roll into him and grapple him before he can get a proper shot off.

His gauss pistol has fallen out of his pocket in the process, and now lies on the floor about two meters from you, in the middle of the room.

>Dive for the gun.
>Dive for the gun and immediately shoot Hermann. (rolled action)
>Dive for the gun and immediately shoot Oskar. (rolled action)
>Dive for cover.
>Help Hermann tackle Oskar. (rolled action)
>Help Oskar tackle Hermann. (rolled action)
>(other?)

Because of the wound, you are at -1 on all actions.

>>102954
>Dive for the gun and immediately shoot Hermann. (rolled action)
You shot Ellen you mother fucker. Probably.

>>102954
>Help Oskar tackle Hermann. (rolled action)
He killed our sweet Ellen. Time to take a power drill to his knees until he talks.

>>102954
Dive for the gun and then immediately for cover.

>>102977

Tackle and subdue! That fucker shot Ellen and we need information.

>>102977
>>102984
Don't forget, he's a psionic, maybe. Leaving him alive might not be the best idea

>>102996

Good point, but maybe he's out of brain power right now? Can't see why he'd go for a standard pistol ambush otherwise.

>>102996
That's why we have Oskar to wang him over the head if he tries shit.

>>103006
>brain power
Is that how that works?

>>103016

I have literally no idea. I haven't read the traveller rule books and I'm not familiar with the setting.

This seems to be a rare case where the players and the player character are equally uninformed about something.

Rolled 4, 1 = 5 (2d6)

Just as Oskar collides with Hermann, you leap back to your feet and run at the two of them as fast as you can.

You dimly see Oskar grabbing Hermann's gun's barrel and jerking it out of the way to deflect a fifth shot. The two fumble for the gun for a split-second, before it slips their grasp and bounces on the floor, finally stopping right under the captain's chair.

(rolling...)

>>103016
In Traveller, you have a number of points that are used up as you use your psionic powers. The points regenerate over time with rest.

Considering the LSS hasn't been functioning, however, it'd seem unlikely that Hermann has been able to regenerate his "pool."

Should be said that QM may have it work a little differently.

With what feels like a practiced move, Hermann, whose helmet and suit leaves him better vision and mobility than Oskar's or your own, twists Oskar's body in the struggle, so that your rushed attack collides with him instead.

In the chaotic tangle of bodies and limbs of this clumsy close-quarters grapple, Hermann kicks the two of you to one side as he dives to grab the dropped gun again.

You hear Oskar cursing over the radio something incomprehensible, but clearly directed at you personally (and possibly your parentage).

As the two of you quickly stand back up, Hermann grabs the gun and fires two more shots as he rolls behind the partial cover of the captain's seat, though those two rushed snap-shots fail to hit anyone.

You are dimly aware of the fact that this gunfight is tearing the cockpit's avionics and controls apart, however.

>Dive for cover
>Dash out of the cockpit (rolled action)
>Dive for the gauss gun (rolled action)
>Charge Hermann (rolled action)
>Put your hands up
>(other?)

>>103068
>Dash out of the cockpit (rolled action)
Let them fight while we go look for some wires to cut to fuck up the room they're in. It's about all we're good for.

>>103068
>>(other?)
Punch him in the dick.

>>103068

Fuck it.

Leap over the captain's chair and try to wrestle the gun away.

No idea what the standard magazine is like for his pistol, but he's fired at least 6 rounds between this little clusterfuck, and killing Ellen. Probably more.

>>103068
>Blind Hermann with the flashlight
>Charge Hermann

>>103114
More like nine. Seven in the current SNAFU, one in Oskar, and one in Ellen.

>>103068
>Charge Hermann (rolled action)
Give Oskar the chance to get the gun and finish him off I guess.

Rolled 1, 3 = 4 (2d6)

In the confusion of the moment, you somehow decide that charging the gun-toting maniac firing shots in your direction is the sensible course of action.

Screaming a war-cry that he probably can't even hear past your thick vacc suit plus his own, you attempt to leap over the captain's chair and wrestle Hermann to the ground.

(rolling...)

>>103156
Best idea.

>>103156
We're gonna need some medical assistance after this.

File: no dreams now.gif (458 KB, 250x250)

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>>103156

>>103156

Shit, man. We're a janitor with no combat training and this guy killed our gf.

We're definitely getting killed though.

You get shot in the chest.

The impact, even though it's partially absorbed by your heavy vacc suit, is terrifying, and you're thrown back from where you came, slamming, hard, against the pavement. You feel like your chest is on fire, and the blood trickling down on your body beneath your protective suit.

Still dazed, you confusedly try to at least sit back up, and that's when a second shot hits you, straight in the brain.

This, however, isn't a physical 9mm parabellum bullet, but like someone taking a sledgehammer directly to your mind.

Pain fills your head, and, for a few seconds, you lose your ability to think. All you can do is curl up on the ground, your thoughts completely blank save for the overwhelming feeling of your skull being slowly split open by a chainsaw.

Time passes. You're not sure how much.

Bit by bit, you regain consciousness. You feel someone rolling you over, until you're face-up.

When your thoughts reconnect to your brain, you're lying on a stretcher laid down in the corridor. Unfamiliar people in unfamiliar spacesuits are all around you, most of them wearing uniformly silver-grey suits with yellow highlights. One of them is cutting you open with a circular saw.

...Oh. No, he's just cutting your vacc suit open.

You hear them talking, but you can't quite make out what they're saying. One of them kneels next to you and puts an oxygen mask to your face.

>Struggle, grab that man in a headlock.
>Try and stand up and escape.
>Wait patiently.
>Ask them who they are and what they're doing.
>Pass out from blood loss.

>>103220
>>Pass out from blood loss.
'ey

We aren't dead!

>>103220

Wait patiently.

We're tired man. Fuck all this shit. We were supposed to wash the damn floors, not tangle with spies.

>>103220
>Wait patiently.
We had him right where we wanted him.

>>103243
Now we're Captain fothe ship by default I think.

>>103220
>Ask them who they are and what they're doing.
But be completely bláse about it.

We have a mission.

Kill Hermann.

He's probably already dead and we're going to be so disappointed.

File: hospital.jpg (55 KB, 680x382)

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You pass out.

When you come back to, an indeterminate amount of time later, you find yourself in what looks like a small but very well-equipped hospital.

Two individuals are in the same room as you. One is clearly a nurse, in a white coat. She shines a small but very bright light into your right eye, and you suddenly jolt, fully awake.

"...Alright, I guess that settles it." She mumbles to herself, turning the light off. You notice she's wearing a name tag in the same silver grey and yellow colors you saw on those spacesuits. You can't read her name: your eyes are having trouble focusing.

The other occupant of the room is a suave-looking man in a business suit. "Well awoken, mister Scruffington. If that's really your name. Should I call you that anyway?"

"Bwuh?" You manage to ask, as feeling returns to the rest of your body.

Every part of it hurts.

You realize your upper right arm is encased in a cast, and your chest, exposed, is covered in a thick layer of some greyish substance. It hurts and itches, both at the same time, and you have to fight the instinct to scratch or peel it off.

You have a light, transparent oxygen mask over your mouth, but you can talk fairly freely through it.

>Who are you?
>Where am I?
>What happened?
>Where is Oskar?
>Where is Hermann?
>Where is Rrarlk?
>What do you mean, real name?
>(other?)

>>103374
>What happened?
Super not dead!

>>103374

Start with who are you and where am i?

Then lead into what happened to the other guys

>>103374
>What happened?
>Where is Hermann?

>>103374
>Where am I?
>What happened?
>Where is everyone?

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"Wh...wh... what happened?" You manage to weakly ask.

The man patiently smiles while the nurse leaves the room. "Thanks to your assistance, agent Oskar was able to neutralize the enemy agent and prevent our cargo from being destroyed."

"Neutr- that means-"

"Quite." He smiles, taking a badge out of his breast pocket and showing it to you. It bears the symbol of a deep red sun, with a flaming corona. The text under it reads "I.I.S.S.", but you can't make out the smaller words underneath. "You can call me Canan. I work for the Scout Service, under chief Moore. Oskar was one of my men."

"...Was?" You reply, suddenly realizing the tone in his voice. "Is he... dead?"

The man lets out a long sigh and shakes his head. "No. Probably not, at least. The doctors say he has about a seventy percent chance of surviving the operation."

"So... Hermann...?"

"Hermann, or rather Tatstezzhi Jelsiaanj, was a Zhodani Consulate spy. We found enough incriminating evidence on his person and in his baggage." He shrugs lightly. "Not that it changes much, anyway. He was dead on arrival."

You glance around, trying to get an idea of your location. "...Am I on Luushakaan?"

"You're on Garrison." He replies. A full week of travel away! "Luushakaan didn't have the facilities to treat you, so we struck a deal with Sternmetal Horizons, Inc, to have you transported here in cold sleep."

"...What about Rrarlk?" You ask.

"He's alive, though he suffered serious brain damage. Still, most of it might be repaired. Fortunately, your captain was a careful man. His corporate insurance will cover at least part of the expenses. As will yours cover your own, of course." He smiles. "The aftermath of this incident is not over yet, and it will involve a lot of paperwork, of course."

He pulls out of his pocket your own keycard.

"In the process of compiling this paperwork, we noticed a most intriguing fact, mister Scruffington. Namely, that all your credentials are falsified."

"I'm sorry?" You nearly jump up.

"No official records of citizenship, conflicting data from all of your personal documents... Frankly, this would be enough to make your insurance null and void."

He stands up, and walks up to your bed.

"...You might have saved the life of my subordinate, mister Scruffington or whatever you name is. That means something to me, so I won't divulge this information. But I need to know the truth from you, or I will get you discharged from this hospital immediately."

(cont...)

[character creation]
>I... I honestly don't remember.
>My criminal record isn't exactly immaculate. I needed an ID to get a job, so... I had one made.
>I never really had any ID, to be honest. I've always been a drifter.
>I used to work for a very important corporation. When I left them, my personal ID was revoked. I had to make do.
>I've been in the Scouts too, you know. But, after a certain... incident, I had to lay low. So I've been issued fake ID.
>(Other?)

(This is going to be a chance to "redo" character creation, in a more formalized way, as your character regaining some of his memories after the ordeal he faced.

You can change any detail that has been previously established about the main character if you wish, or, you can keep them the same.

I've decided I'll keep running Traveller Quest. I don't particularly dislike the idea of the main character being a Futurama joke, but if the quest is to become a more consistent long-runner, I'd probably prefer something less derivative. Still, I'll go with the vote's results.)

>>103624
>My criminal record isn't exactly immaculate. I needed an ID to get a job, so... I had one made.
Cool. Criminal background always comes with neat perks

I wasn't here for the first thread, so I'm not that big of a fan of just a janitor.

>>103624
>I... I honestly don't remember.
I kind of like the idea of keeping our amnesia. I also like the idea of trying to figure out why we chose the name of an old tv show character while falsifying documents.
Also glad you're keeping this. I've been enjoying it.

>>103624
>>My criminal record isn't exactly immaculate. I needed an ID to get a job, so... I had one made.
Whoo, space shadowrunner!

>>103624
>I... I honestly don't remember.
I kinda want us to have been in the Imperial Marines. Secured some sensitive material and got whisked away, suddenly finding ourselves stranded without money, home, job, or any recollection of having been in the Marines.

So we picked up the easiest job we could find, which happened to be as the janitor on Eutropia.

(going to leave this vote up for a bit longer than I would normally because it's fairly important and I'd like everyone following to have a chance to weigh in.)

(also: this leaves open the possibility of being of a different race or gender than previously established. On high-tech planets that sort of cosmetic surgery would be possible. Of course, that would be limited to purely humanoid races, like Aslan and Vargr.)

>>103757
Who are the Imperial Marines?

>>103780
I'd rather stick with human for now

>>103624

I honestly don't remember!

We really did think we were a lowly janitor

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>>103792
Imagine the US Marines, but with orbital drops and the ability to declare martial law. They supplement the personnel on Imperial starships and in starports, combating piracy and insurgency, and are deployed to ruin the day of anyone threatening the peace of the Imperium.

>>103780
I'd prefer something that involves some sort of combat capability. If you got anything that seems space pirate-y I'd go for that, although I'd also approve of Imperial Marine or Smuggler.

>>103840
That sounds pretty cool and it would be absolutely shameful if we were one considering how badly we fought.

>>103874
We had the instinct, though. Strike fast. Strike hard.

We just can't remember our training.

You roll your eyes. "...Alright. I'll admit that... well, Scruffy Scruffington might not be my REAL name."

"It's the name of a minor character appearing on an ancient Solomani entertainment show from twenty-five centuries ago." He replies.

You whistle. "I'm impressed. How long did it take you to find that out?"

"The Scouts are more well-versed in ancient pop culture than you imagine." He replies, obliquely.

You bite your lower lip.

Your memories are MOSTLY back to you. Some parts are still missing, and the worst thing is that you have no idea if it's anything you just have sincerely forgotten, or if it's part of the damage your brain has suffered from the psychic assault.

"I served in the navy."

"What navy?" He asks back, sounding almost sarcastic.

"OUR navy." You clench a fist. "Imperial Marines, 213th fleet."

"Archduke Norris' Own." He smiles. "So you fought in the Fifth Frontier War?"

You settle back down onto your bed. "I'm glad I forgot most of that."

"You're a long way from home."

"Once I got my papers, I found out I was bad at... not being under the arms." You mumble, digging in your past.

"A common issue among veterans." He nods.

"I fell in with some... unsavory people." You acknowledge.

"Who?"

"I... I don't remember exactly. I left before I could go too deep. Changed sector."

He looks at your facial expression carefully, clearly considering if he can believe you or not. "Well, it doesn't make a big difference." He shrugs. "The Service is willing to do you a big favor, mister..." He smiles. "Scruffington? Or do you have a real name you want to give me?"

>Name?

(for reference: if you're a Solomani Human, modern names work perfectly fine, both english and not. If you want inspiration, https://donjon.bin.sh/scifi/name/#type=serenity;serenity=Serenity Male has a useful generator for Serenity names. And Serenity is a Traveller TV series anyway. Substitute "male" for "female" if you decide that your original gender was different.)

>>103840

I'll change my vote to Marine if that's the consensus. Seems cool.

>>104039
>https://donjon.bin.sh/scifi/name/#type=serenity;serenity=Serenity
>Hunter Butler
That's fuckin' neato

>>104058

Ambrose Bowery?
Gibson Steele?

>>104039
Scott "Scruffy" McCabe, Boarding Marine.

>>104039
Cyrus "Blackjack" Hunter

>>104039
Blackburn. Malachi Blackburn, call sign "Tombstone."

(Since we're having so many different options and no one of them is getting wide support: each of you roll a d100 and link back to your proposal. Highest roll gets picked.)

Rolled 17 (1d100)

>>104145

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>104088

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>104164
I'd like to keep Scruffy as a nickname in addition to whatever our real name is.

>>104108
Forename.

>>104145
Surname and nickname.

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>104108
>>104164

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>104058
Let's go

>>104108
>>104193
I'm okay with this actually

>>104188
Malachi is pretty edgy.

Cyrus Blackburn sounds neat, though.

Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>104188
Rolling, I guess.

>>104088
I second this if that means anything.

Are we keeping our Irish/Scottish ancestry?

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>104088
Change it to Rapid response force and I'll back this. I want high speed, low drag!

>>104208
I'm still hoping we keep "McCabe", but I'd be alright with being Cyrus "Scruffy" McCabe.

Probably a minority, though.

"Hunter." You introduce yourself to Mr. Canan. "Cyrus Hunter. My old nickname was Scruffy, but that was a long time ago."

He writes down something on his tablet, then hands it to you. There's a long page full of legalese, and a box where to sign.

"Like I was saying, the Service always rewards help. After all, it's the best way to make sure people will help us in our times of need."

"How practical." You comment, trying to navigate the dense wording of the text you've been given.

"The Service is willing to give you a legal ID and recognition. In your case, we'll contact the 213rd fleet and get your data from them. Clean criminal record, all legit." He explains. "Plus, some extras. The reward that should have been granted to your captain for delivering our special cargo will be split between you and his family and heirs."

A wandering thought strikes you. "What about the Eutropia?"

"It was owned by your captain and his employer, fifty-fifty. Still, there's a reward for saving the ship, and the proceeds from the cargo on top of that." He takes a small comm from a nearby table, and types a bit into it. "You know how ship shares work, Mr. Hunter?"

"They're a form of sponsored credit." You answer, amazed. "They act as a net discount on the price of purchase for an independent spaceship. And, with all the contacts you Scouts have, it's not hard for you people to throw around ship shares."

"The Service is offering you this deal." He lifts his eyes from the small device to stare right into your own. "You will not disclose the full details of what happened on the Eutropia. Feel free to speak about pirates, or a saboteur, or terrorists, or whatever. Not a mention of Zhodani spies, or of our special cargo, or of our own agent. Furthermore." He wags a finger in front of you. "You owe the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service a favor. One that we will come and call in, someday."

He puts the device back on the table.

"And in exchange, we will give you a new ID and, should you wish to stay in the Free Trading business, offer you a 20% share sponsorship over your future ship purchase."

You go through the document again, and confirm his words.

"What if I don't want to get myself into debt?" You wonder with an aside glance.

Canan shrugs. "I understand. Being a Free Trader isn't for everyone. Your alternative is this." He pulls out a thin crystal-clear card with a golden strip running through it out of his pocket. "Five hundred thousand imperial credits, payable in any main banking corporation of the Third Imperium."

>I'll take the ship.
>I'll take the money.
>You can keep both, I don't want to deal with you.
>(Other?)

(Basically, here's where you decide if you want to play a "classic" Traveller campaign, putting together a crew for a small ship and adventuring through the galaxy, or if you'd rather play on your own terms.)

>>104356
So, basically an orbital drop trooper? Like the guys who get into pods and land on planets?

>>104370

Take the ship loan!

This has been an excellent quest, btw

>>104370
>I'll take the ship.
Well no point playing Traveller if we don't play Traveller.

>>104370
>I'll take the ship.
Preferably something that's not an outdated piece of shit.

>>104370
>I'll take the ship.
>(Other?)
Know of any good retired scout pilots you can direct me to? Figure it'd be good to know if and when you want the favor repaid.

>>104370
>I'll take the ship.
Make it a nice cruiser sized ship or something.

>>104375
Not quite like that. But in concept of rapid response to threats yes. Like our away team is in trouble and we drop everything and grab a gun (since we are already in gear) and hop on a dropship to the team in trouble.

>>104425
Think we can haggle a bit?

>>104425
Maybe hear if we can be put in contact with some of the guys from our old unit. Friendly faces and all that.

>>104527
>Think we can haggle a bit?
I'm pretty sure we might be able to ask for a little extra if we agree to let them put an "Off Duty" Scout in our crew. Besides being a sort of liaison to them, Scouts usually end up well versed in how to operate and maintain a spaceship, as well as some general xenology and biology skills.

>>104370
Actually, do you mind expanding a bit on what ship shares are and how they work?

>>104363
Idk why but I like it too Scott McCabe...
>Scottish Mick.....
hehehehehe

>>104594
Not the QM, but basically, one single ship share is worth one percent of the entire cost of a particular ship, including all of the amenities and bonuses that were installed. In a typical game of Traveller, the guy who had a majority of ship shares was considered the owner of the ship.

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You briefly consider your options.

"I'll take your deal." You sign the document.
TRAVELLER QUEST will take a brief pause, because it's super late. It will continue tomorrow.

Bit by bit, in this phase, we will build a character sheet as our hero, Cyrus "Scruffy" Hunter, rebuilds a new life for himself while he rediscovers his old one and recovers from his wounds.

>>104405
>Preferably something that's not an outdated piece of shit.

You'll have your chance to shop around and pick one.
Don't underestimate the outdated pieces of shit. They have one overwhelming advantage: they're cheap.

>>104425
>Know of any good retired scout pilots you can direct me to? Figure it'd be good to know if and when you want the favor repaid.
>>104583
>I'm pretty sure we might be able to ask for a little extra if we agree to let them put an "Off Duty" Scout in our crew. Besides being a sort of liaison to them, Scouts usually end up well versed in how to operate and maintain a spaceship, as well as some general xenology and biology skills.

This will be brought up tomorrow.

>>104527
>Think we can haggle a bit?
Unlikely that it'll work.

>>104535
>Maybe hear if we can be put in contact with some of the guys from our old unit. Friendly faces and all that.
Most of your unit is from a very far away place. Still, you might find a few of them in your area.

>>104594
>Actually, do you mind expanding a bit on what ship shares are and how they work?

Ship shares represent contacts, credit rating, savings and favors owed that a character can put towards ownership of a space vessel. In this case, it's an offer from the Scout Service.

Thanks to their influence, you can purchase a spaceship at a 20% discount.

If you partner up with other people who also have Ship Shares (from the Scout Service or other sources), these will stack.

In any case, you will have to pay for the ship. Spaceships easily cost tens of millions of credits. You will have a monthly payment to make.

>>104649
All fair, guy. Thanks for running.

>>104649
What did we get for saving the old ship we were on?

>>104686
Part of those 20%.

>>104686
Awe, I was almost salivating at the prospect of a %70 off purchase on our first ship.... But I guess it doesn't work that way.

>>104649
I'm looking forward to it OP.

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TRAVELLER QUEST is back.

Your convalescence lasts for another two weeks. Even though you're housed in a state-of-the-art, ho-tech hospital, the damage you have suffered is severe: you took a 9mm bullet square in the chest, and only the fact that you were wearing a heavy, armored vacc suit saved your life.

On top of that, the medics of the Scout Service are apparently very keen on examining how your brain reacts to the aftermath of the psychic assault you suffered. You are given a large variety of psychotropic medications, and your brain activity is monitored constantly.

A psychologist is also assigned to you: an old man who introduces himself as "Dr. Paulo" with a well-kept beard that strikes you as somewhat antiquated. The man seems genuinely more interested in your well-being than in any information on psychic warfare that can be derived by examining your reactions, or, at least, that's the impression he gives you.

Furthermore, the department of veteran affairs is collaborating with the Scouts by releasing all the information they have on your past. That means up to your discharge, five years ago, at the end of the Fifth Frontier War.

In what capacity did you serve?
>Ground Assault. (Skills: Melee 1, Gun Combat 1, Heavy Weapons 1)
>Star Marine. (Skills: Zero-G 1, Gunnery 1, Sensors 1)
>Mechanized. (Skills: Mechanics 1, Drive 1, Comms 1)
>Recon. (Skills: Recon 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1)
>Quartermaster. (Skills: Admin 1, Comms 1, Advocate 1)
>Field Engineer. (Skills: Mechanics 1, Explosives 1, Comms 1)
>Battlefield Medic. (Skills: Medic 1, Biological Science 1, Investigate 1)
>NCO. (Skills: Tactics 1, Leadership 1, Admin 1)
>(Other?)

>>106054
>>Star Marine. (Skills: Zero-G 1, Gunnery 1, Sensors 1)

>>106092
I feel like we have skill in either electronics or engineering given the amount of wire hacking and jury-rigging we were doing.

>>106092
Star Marine sounds good though

>>106054
Can you tell us what each of the skill traits are? Or maybe a link to a guide?

>>106102
Like I have no idea what are
>Investigate
>Advocate
>Gunnery
I could guess the rest.
Also, can we custom pick a class?

>>106105
Advocate is knowledge of common legal codes and practices, especially interstellar law + oratory, debate and public speaking

Investigate is keen observation, forensics and detailed analysis

Gunnery is firing starship mounted weapons

OP seems to be using the skills from the mongoose version of traveller

>>106102
>>106105
Most of them are pretty much what you imagine. I'll be using a simplified version of the actual Traveller system: getting rid of some of its skills, and of attributes.

Rolls will be 2d6, with a base target number of 8 for average difficulty rolls.

If you LACK a skill, your roll will be at -2.
If you HAVE a skill, you roll with that skill as a bonus. So if you want to shoot someone, and you have Gun Combat 0, you'd roll 2d6. If your Gun Combat is at 1, you'd roll 2d6+1. And so on.

You can custom pick a "class" if you can give me a good justification.

Investigate is everything forensic. Examining crime scenes, checking bodies for wounds and doing autopsies, detective work, and so on.

Advocate is knowledge of laws, rules and regulations.

Gunnery is skill in the use of starship weapons (as opposed to Gun Combat, which is for personal firearms, and Heavy Weapons, which is for heavier, crew-served ground weapons)

http://www.traveller-srd.com/core-rules/skills Here you can see a list of skills and brief descriptions. Keep in mind we're not playing this by the book, of course.

>>106109
Yes, I'm basing this off Mongoose Traveller.

Your sheet already has some "starting" skills at 0, based on your background (marine) and your work on the Eutropia (janitor and handyman).
Keep in mind that the three skills you're picking for this vote are not the only skills you'll have. You'll get to pick some more.

>>106054
>Investigate 1
We more or less figured out who the saboteur likely was before it was too late. All I really want, that or some +1 tech skill.
I'll just go with Star Marine since I was like my 3rd choice and I want to get things going,

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You served in the Star Marines of the 4518th Lift Infantry Regiment, attached to the 213th fleet, on board the battleship Queensland. You fought in the Fifth Frontier War, against the Zhodani Consulate, and took part in several actions, both boarding and planetary assault.

You don't quite remember WHY you joined the Marines, though. You have no recollections of your family, and only vague memories of your childhood.

The planet Regina, in the Spinward Marches, your birthplace, is far away, and more solid information from those far reaches of the Third Imperium might take months or years to arrive, so you'll have to make do with what you can piece together.

Another big gap in your memory, and the one that troubles you the most, is what happened AFTER you left the Marines. Most of it is hazy, though you're sure you...

>...worked as a mercenary for some time. (Skills: Gun Combat 1, Recon 1, Tactics 1)
>...joined a criminal gang. (Skills: Gun Combat 1, Streetwise 1, Melee 1)
>...became a smuggler. (Skills: Broker 1, Stealth 1, Deception 1)
>...ended up as a lawless drifter. (Skills: Survival 1, Gambler 1, Streetwise 1)
>...somehow ended up in a pirate crew. (Skills: Pilot 1, Astrogation 1, Melee 1)
>(other?)

>>106172
>...became a smuggler. (Skills: Broker 1, Stealth 1, Deception 1)

We're gonna hire pilots and security officers for our ship so we don't need those skills. Broker and Deception will come in handy as a starship captain.

>>106172
>>...worked as a mercenary for some time. (Skills: Gun Combat 1, Recon 1, Tactics 1)

>>106172
>...became a smuggler. (Skills: Broker 1, Stealth 1, Deception 1)

>>106172

>...became a smuggler. (Skills: Broker 1, Stealth 1, Deception 1)

>>106172
>>...worked as a mercenary for some time. (Skills: Gun Combat 1, Recon 1, Tactics 1)

>>106189
This

>>106172
>...became a smuggler. (Skills: Broker 1, Stealth 1, Deception 1)

>>106172
>...worked as a mercenary for some time. (Skills: Gun Combat 1, Recon 1, Tactics 1)

>>106235
>>106225
You already voted.

>>106238
Ech. Vote didn't show up at first, sorry about that. Stuck on phone.

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After your discharge, you worked some time as a mercenary, either solo or jumping from unit to unit, to outfit to outfit, never really finding a proper place where to settle. You even did your fair share of smuggling work: anything from simply helping traders dodge customs, to some... of the heavier stuff. Weapons, illegal drugs, the works.

You bailed when you realized you were too deep in. When you realized that things weren't going to turn out good. You needed a change of pace.

You got rid of anything pointing to your old life and travelled to the Reaver's Deep sector. A remote place, the Imperial borderlands right on the edge of the neutral zone with the Aslan Hierate. On the other side of the Rift.

A place where to start again.

You landed your gig on the Eutropia. Bad pay, no recognition, but it was a starting place. You had a chance.


After two weeks, you're dismissed from the hospital with a clean bill of health, ten thousand miserable credits to your name, and your personal things, clutching the papers the Scouts gave you to help you start again, with your own ship, in exchange for the bullet you took for one of their own.


You're ready.

(To round out your character sheet, pick some skills from this list. Your character starts with a pool of XP to spend among these skills. Since voting on how to spend XP in multiple skills would be messy, I'll spend those points, prioritizing the skills that get more votes. If few skills get a lot of votes, you'll specialize in those, werehas if your votes are spread out among multiple skills, your character will be a lot more well-rounded.)

Your starting equipment will be determined by your skills.

>Admin
>Advocate
>Animal Handling
>Athletics
>Art
>Astrogation
>Battle Dress
>Broker
>Carouse
>Comms
>Computers
>Deception
>Diplomat
>Drive
>Engineer
>Explosives
>Gambler
>Gunner
>Gun Combat
>Heavy Weapons
>Investigate
>Leadership
>Mechanic
>Medic
>Melee
>Persuade
>Pilot
>Recon
>Science
>Sensors
>Stealth
>Streetwise
>Survival
>Tactics
>Zero-G

>>106272
Um, is there a limit on how many skills we can choose?

Regardless, here's my picks:

Carouse
Deception
Gun Combat
Melee
Survival

>>106297
>Traveller
I thought he was going to post a part 2. But yeah, how many "skill points" do we have?

>>106306
I do not know ">Traveller" how that got into my post.

>>106272
>Broker
>Diplomat
>Gun Combat
>Leadership
>Melee
>Persuade
>Streetwise
I kinda chose a set focused on being Captain of the ship as well as general fighting stuff, general leading people skills and skills for finding work.

Also the wiki you linked mentioned a Jack of All Trades skill, is that not available since you excluded it from your list?

>>106297
>Um, is there a limit on how many skills we can choose?

Well, not really, but, of course, if you pick all of them, your vote will not be very meaningful.

The idea is that I'll tally the votes and then buy the skills that got the most votes.

>>106306
>I thought he was going to post a part 2. But yeah, how many "skill points" do we have?

30 points, where increasing a skill from "none" to "0" costs 2 point, increasing it from it from "0" to "1" costs 4 points, from "1" to "2" costs 8, from "2" to "3" costs 16 and so on, exponentially.

>>106309
>Also the wiki you linked mentioned a Jack of All Trades skill, is that not available since you excluded it from your list?

Yes, of course it is. It's stupidly powerful and only has (barely) any sense if you do completely randomized character creation.

>>106272
>Admin
>Advocate
>Mechanic
>Leadership
>Broker
>Tactics
>Deception
>Diplomat

using these as references... Not sure if I picked correctly
https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/the-classic-traveller-skill-system/
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showwiki.php?title=Traveller:Skills-and-Tasks
http://www.stormtiger.org/bob/gaming/traveller/megatraveller_skills.cgh

>>106054

My picks:

Persuade
Leadership
Admin
Comms
Diplomat
Deception

>>106309
Seems appropriate. Seconding.

Wish I had better time.

>>106341
Actually scratch comms and put tactics in instead

>>106272
>>106309
>Pilot
>Medic
I'm going to add these two to the list, just in case we run into another situation where we need to fly a shit or help someone not die.

>>106297
I'll add pilot, streetwise, and persuade to my list, then.

>>106349
>fly a shit

Beautiful.

>>106309
Second

So the ones that have been picked the most will likely have us spend points to get it to +2 correct?

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Leaving the hospital with the few things you own, you find yourself on the streets of an unfamiliar world.

Garrison is the extreme frontier of the Third Empire, but it sure doesn't look like that from here. You're in Fort Mayhope, the largest city on the planet and its capital, as well as the site of the world's main spaceport.

It's a dense place, covered in large, squat, blocky, ugly buildings as far as the eye can see, jutting out of the ground seemingly at random. This place was originally born as a fortress world, you dimly remember, and it seems like it's carrying that mark in its architecture. Everything looks halfway like a bunker, and dark, drab colors dominate the landscape.

Even though it's day and cloudless, the sky is a dark shade of blue, lit by a distant, white sun. You almost regret leaving the air-conditioned, partly-underground hospital: the air is hot, and you quickly find yourself sweltering in your heavy spacer clothes. You take your jacket off and stuff it in your duffel bag, trying to move from shade to shade.

And, thanks to the city's layout, there is not much cover to be found.

Now you have 20 ship shares burning a hole in your pocket. It's the chance of a lifetime, and you will be careful not to waste it.

>I should try and settle down, keep eyes and ears open, see if I can find prospective crew members on this planet.
>I should do some research, or head to a dealership, and start thinking about what sort of spaceship I want to get.
>I should move off this planet and somewhere where I'll have a better chance to make a good start. There are better places than this.
>(Other?)

>>106480
>I should do some research, or head to a dealership, and start thinking about what sort of spaceship I want to get.

>>106480
>>I should do some research, or head to a dealership, and start thinking about what sort of spaceship I want to get.
Guys, I'm thinking something about 200 dTons with at least jump 2 as a baseline. So a Far Trader would be a good choice.

>>106480
>I should do some research, or head to a dealership, and start thinking about what sort of spaceship I want to get.

>>106480
>>I should do some research, or head to a dealership, and start thinking about what sort of spaceship I want to get.
It would probably help to have a ship before we start looking for people to crew it, if just so we know how many people we need and what kind of expertise is needed to pilot it.

Although I guess we will miss out on being able to stack Ship Shares if they have any.

>>106511

I kinda want to have us buy a mercenary cruiser and start a mercenary company

>>106511
a far trader has such a small cargo bay though. Why don't we aim for the 400 ton range instead.

>>106522
Good point we should definitely look for people who also have ship shares to buy a ship together. It just makes fiscal sense considering a single ship share takes 1% of the price.
A single ship share on a Far Trader would be worth 513,855 credits

Ships are very expensive

>>106554
>I kinda want to have us buy a mercenary cruiser and start a mercenary company
We are pretty set up for it considering our skillset.

As for Ship Shares, we could stick to just research for now and then look for people trying to buy the same kind of ship so we could add our shares together.

>>106480
>>I should do some research, or head to a dealership, and start thinking about what sort of spaceship I want to get.
We don't have to buy right away.

>>106578
Or people looking into starting in the same business as us.

Obviously we'd need to make sure our allegiances align.

>>106554
>a far trader has such a small cargo bay though. Why don't we aim for the 400 ton range instead.

It's a lot more for upkeep and mortgage costs, though (fat trader costs 97,182,00, far trader costs 51,385,500, both at base cost), and besides, people will pay through the nose to have something delivered quickly.

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You don't have a crew, you don't have friends or even know anyone here. So it's premature at best.

But you take the paper out of your pocket again, look at it again, and stuff it in your pocket again, trying to suppress a grin.

A true man cannot resist the call of space.

You get a seven-days trial connection to the planetary network for your comm, and, after checking a few key info points, find out that General Products, LIC, has a front office not far from where you are now.

They're probably your best bet.

Moving around the city by foot is messy: there are few designated pedestrian crossings, and vehicles here seem to go at full speed all the time. On top of that, all streets here are huge, multi-lane monstrosities that cut the city in squares and slices, with no way around them except through them.

But, eventually, after some trial and error, getting lost once, and nearly run over five times, you arrive at the bottom of an ugly cube of armored concrete painted blue, with a grey stripe running along it. No windows, just like every other building here.

You get in, finding yourself suddenly refreshed by the impact with the air-conditioned interior. You put your jacket back, take your number, and wait in line until one of the corps will have time for you.

Fortunately, you don't have to wait too long, and a bespectacled young woman in a black business suit, looking very formal, greets you with a chipper "Can I help you?"

"Yes." You clear your throat. "I was interested in knowing what your company's offer of spaceships is."

She scans you for a moment. You know that look. She's trying to tell if you're here to waste her time, or if you do have the money. Wordlessly, you show her the note from the IISS, and she nods in response. "Certainly! Our main yards are in St. George, so we can offer a more limited selection here, but if you're willing to wait a month for delivery, then we have a lot of options available to you, mister...?"

"Hunter."

"Hunter. Is there anything you were specifically aiming for?"

>Not really. Do you have a list I can browse?
>It should be small and personal.
>It should be cheap, maybe an used one.
>It should be fast and maneuvrable.
>It should have a very good Jump engine.
>It should be a good trading ship.
>It should be a good passenger ship.
>It should be well-armed and armored.
>Do you have anything like a scoutship?
>Do you have anything like a deep-space mining ship?
>Do you have anything like a far trader?
>Do you have anything like a yacht?
>Other (explain to the employee what sort of ship you're looking for).

>>106614
Something armored please

>>106614
What kind of ship was the Eutropia?

>>106614
>>Do you have anything like a far trader?
Failing that, something with Jump 2 and a decently sized cargo hold would be nice.

After that, see if they can do improvements to the ship armor.

>>106634
It was a Free Trader based on the "Fat Frader" template: a 400 dton ship, specialized for medium-scale trading over medium distances.

A 400 dton ship is probably a risky thing to get, considering that other than your shares, you don't have other sources of money or other sponsors.

Ships in Traveller are based around tonnage. 100 dton is the smallest autonomous ship capable of Jump. A 100 dton ship will probably have a crew of 2 to 4 people and just a handful of tons of cargo. These ships are generally used at pleasure yachts, private boats, or by explorers venturing into the unknown.

200 dton ships make up the bulk of light shipping in Charted Space. There can be all sorts of ships in this tonnage. They'll usually have between 3 and 10 crew.

And so on. Tonnage goes potentially way up, but, without a credit check and serious sponsorship, you probably won't be able to obtain anything above 400 tons.

Basically, think of a spaceship, and of what you'd like to do with that spaceship.

>>106614
>>106657
Right then we should probably get a Far Trader, work on making reputation for ourselves and getting an income started. Once we're making money or finalize what we really want to do we can upgrade ships into something bigger.

>>106614
>Do you have anything like a scoutship?
If we're going with starting as a private security service contractor, what's essentially an interstellar corvette/attack helicopter would be fitting.

If we're not going with being private contractors (at least explicitly),
>Do you have anything like a merchant cruiser?
Think a cross between a far trader and a scoutship.

>>106614
>It should be well-armed and armored.
>It should be a good trading ship.
>Do you have anything like a far trader?

>>106705I like this idea, I really just want weapons and armour but trading would be good

>>106712
I'm just letting mine added up to a total of the most picked options.

>>106712
Pretty sure we can request them to slap a turret or two on the ship. Helps deter opportunistic piracy.

>>106671
I support this idea.
>>106657
Hey OP, since I missed character creation, is there a chance to get more skills as time goes by? I think we could benefit from an investigation skill.

>>106725
That's the general idea with the latter of >>106672

Far trader with point-defense weaponry and close-range guns for boarding deterrent. And added armor.

>>106671

I support 100%. Once we build a rep for fast, professional service for exotic cargo we could trade up to a larger ship.

"Well, I've been in the Free Trading business." You reply, after giving it some thought. "So I was thinking to start a small, private trade company."

"Subsidized or speculative?" She asks.

You answer with a shrug. "I don't plan on being picky. A Free Trader should never be picky."

She smiles. "I see. So, something based on our Far Trader hull? Two hundred tons, say?"

"Add some weapons and armor to the base design."

She takes notes on a small tablet she's carrying. "Any reason?"

"Well, when I worked on my old ship, there were some routes we were afraid of doing, and some we downright avoided, because they weren't secure. Generally, places outside Imperial borders. Troubled areas, with wars, pirates, and so on." You recall. "There's a market there, for a ship with maybe less cargo space, but more well-protected."

"A dangerous job." She notes.

"Can't be worse than the Marines." You joke. Partially.

She nods politely. "So, if we're working off the Far Trader hull, we're talking about a 200 ton ship, Jump-2, a 1G maneuver drive?"

You think about it carefully.

The Jump rating of a ship indicates how many parsecs she ship can jump in one week. Generally, a ship will have fuel for just one jump, because liquid hydrogen takes a lot of space on a ship.

Jump-1 means you'll be restricted to trade lines along close stars. No Free Trader will get that.
Jump-2 is the standard, and means that the ship will be able to get ALMOST everywhere. Few stars are more than 2 parsecs away from all other, after all.
Jump-3 is faster, allowing a ship to travel even in the area of space closer to the Rift, where the stars are sparse, and will generally make long trips massively faster.
Jump-4, 5 and 6 are more specialized speed, for messenger boats, fast-strike ships in the military, or people with a lot of money and space to waste.

The maneuver rating of a ship, on the other hand, indicates how fast and agile it is in real space.
Most trading ships will just have a 1G. Enough to fly around. Not enough to fly around quickly, and making them sitting ducks in case a fight breaks out. Or if someone is chasing them down. It goes all the way up to 6G, but 6G is for racing ships, police and rescue services, and the likes.

Higher-rated engines will cost a lot more, and also take more space on the ship, meaning less cargo, less everything else.

What model of jump engine should you ask for?
>Jump-1
>Jump-2
>Jump-3
>Jump-4
>Jump-5
>Jump-6

With what class of maneuver drive?
>1G
>2G
>3G
>4G
>5G
>6G

>>106671
I'm not sure you understand just how much spacecraft cost. A single turret with space for a single weapon is 200,000 credits. But we probably don't want that, we want a double or triple turret (500,000 or 1,000,000 Cr. respectively)
And that's without any weapons or ammunition.

A base model Far Trader is 51,385,500 Credits
20% off makes that 41,108,400 Credits

If we pay 171,285 credits a month we will pay that off in 40 years. Now ideally we'll make a shitload of money and pay that off earlier but whatever ship we buy we're going to be paying it off for a long time.

So we want to get max value from our ship shares and buy everything now and get that 20% off and not wait till later and go broke from maintenance payments and skip buying any weapons and get killed by pirates.

This is all assuming Mongoose Traveller rules btw, OP could make things cheaper or whatever I guess.

>>106773
>Jump-2
>1G
No need for more, besides we can upgrade later.

>>106781
>Jump-2
>3G
We will probably be taking risks for bigger payouts.

>>106782

Agreed. We need to build a rep before we get trusted with the high-paying contracts anyways.

>>106773
Jump 2, M-Drive 2. The bigger engines we get, the more fuel we need, and the more fuel we need, the less cargo we can carry on our ship as it's replaced with fuel cells.

Besides, most independent pirates will be using renovated traders. That should keep us about par with them.

>>106796

That's a good plan to shoot for but I don't think we could even make the monthly payments on something that fast.

Safer to take the baseline ship and upgrade from there.

>>106773
>Jump-2
Just that much is fine, but I'm kind of tempted to get at least a 2G maneuver drive if we plan on going into dangerous space which could be pretty lucrative.

>>106805
How hard/expensive is it to upgrade a ship?

>>106808
>How hard/expensive is it to upgrade a ship?

Most ships are fairly modular. They're definitely upgradeable. New components will cost a bit more than they'd cost if you bought them with the ship, but not a LOT more.

>>106805
Also don't forget, we still have a chance to find some crew members that have there own Ship Shares which would make things easier on us

>>106824

True, but the faster we pay off the ship the faster we start making pure profit. Also I'm not entirely sure that we want to partner with someone with more ship shares than we do anyways. How can we be the captain if the engineer technically owns more of the ship?

>>106808
The problem isn't cost but space. Our ship is only 200 tons and every ton of engine or power plant is a ton taken away from cargo space and thus directly costing us money, especially as we are a cargo company.
And the amount of room for fuel we need on the ship will increase as well, further decreasing cargo space.

>>106773
Jump-2
1G
is probably fine. If we get into ship to ship combat we've fucked up hard anyway, no sense wasting money on a nice maneuver drive when we'll probably be outclassed in a fight anyway, given that we're just a small trading ship.

>>106773
Jump 2
G3

>>106796
I'm willing to downgrade to 2G I only picks 3G since I'm not sure how good or bad 2G is and thought middle of the road would be fine. Saving money is good and all, but if it means we fall short of it when it matters and we die? Well then its kinda wasted.

>>106833
That's fair, how much space do we lose per upgrade?

>>106845
Going by MongTraveller, about an extra dTon, but the engines use twice as much fuel in a week.

You weigh the various options in your head, and page through quite a few of GP's informative brochures before finally making up your mind.

"...I'd go with keeping the Jump-2 standard, but upgrading the maneuver to 2G accel." You take her tablet and write down your requests, then hand it back to her.

"So, a trading ship with J-2, G2, decent weapons and armor for travel in unsecure regions of space and outside Imperial borders." She repeats. "I'll run a search. I'll just need three last things: Are you looking for something capable of making atmospheric landings, or a purely space-based model? And have you given any thought to whether you'd want a model with fuel scoops or not?"

"You mean, a model that can siphon hydrogen off gas giants to use as fuel?"

"Anything rich in hydrogen, not just gas giants." She explains. "Even water can be used as a hydrogen source, for example."

"Of course it'll cost more." You groan. "And take up valuable space onboard."

"Well, it's a very useful optional." She nods. "It will give your ship the ability to refuel even in some remote, uncivilized systems."

"What's the third question?" You ask her.

"New, or used?" The employee smiles.

>I'll take a distributed ship. It's unable to enter atmosphere, and can't have fuel scoops, but it'll be far less expensive.
>I'll take a standard ship. Just being able to do simple landings and take-offs in atmosphere is enough.
>I'll take a streamlined ship. Even if they're expensive, they're more agile in atmosphere, and come with built-in scoops

Combined with:

>I don't think I'll need fuel scoops or an onboard refinery. I don't have plans to go to places without proper spaceports.
>I think that having fuel scoops onboard easily pays off the extra cost.

Combined with:

>No way I'm getting stuck with a second-hand ship. I want something fresh out of the factory. I want to peel that plastic myself.
>I'd be willing to buy something a bit used, as long as it's not ancient.
>What's the cheapest you have?

>>106883
>I'll take a standard ship. Just being able to do simple landings and take-offs in atmosphere is enough.
>I think that having fuel scoops onboard easily pays off the extra cost.
>I'd be willing to buy something a bit used, as long as it's not ancient.
I think used gives the ship more personality.

>>106883
streamlined is worth the cost. Adds so much value. It means we can fly around easily and use our ships guns on the planets surface. If we're going to remote and dangerous places it's almost necessary.

>I think that having fuel scoops onboard easily pays off the extra cost.

>I'd be willing to buy something a bit used, as long as it's not ancient.
Agreed on the personality

>>106883
Far Traders are usually streamlined and are figured into the 51,385,500 cost (at least in MongTraveller), so that should work.

Using unfiltered fuel lends a -2 to jump rolls, so, yeah.

As for the final option, always go used.

>>106883
>I'll take a streamlined ship. Even if they're expensive, they're more agile in atmosphere, and come with built-in scoops
>I'd be willing to buy something a bit used, as long as it's not ancient.
Is payment upfront or can we wait until we have the ship here assuming they don't have it in stock, I'd like the chance to look for crew while we wait.

I mentioned it earlier, but is there any chance we can ask her if she knows anyone looking for work or where we might find some people willing to do dangerous work?

>>106901
I like this option

Also can we find some sort of veteran club for the space marines where we can hire crew and maybe try a bar for crew as well

>>106978
>>106960
Once we have a ship in mind it'll be easier to convince people to join our crew, but agreed bar/veterans club crawl is next on the agenda

>>106883
>I'll take a streamlined ship. Even if they're expensive, they're more agile in atmosphere, and come with built-in scoops
>I'd be willing to buy something a bit used, as long as it's not ancient.
It'll pay for itself in due time.

Ask her if she knows anyone on Garrison looking for work, or anywhere we can look for such people. Preferably veterans.

>>106883
>I'll take a streamlined ship. Even if they're expensive, they're more agile in atmosphere, and come with built-in scoops
meaning they take less space with the built in scoops right?
>I think that having fuel scoops onboard easily pays off the extra cost.
Some places would definitely gouge us since we would have no choice
>I'd be willing to buy something a bit used, as long as it's not ancient.

>>106986

I vote for these options too.

"Well, I'd prefer a streamlined ship with built-in scoops, and, I guess it's okay if it's an used ship, as long as it's not really old."

"Excellent." She finishes typing on her tablet, and drums with her fingers on the edge of her seat while the device processes the request. "We have six ships available that fit your request. Do you want me to talk you through them, so we can find the one that you're looking for together?"

It's really happening, you tell yourself. I'm really buying a spaceship.

"Sure." You reply with a light nod, trying not to look too eager or nervous.

The lady taps on her tablet, and a holographic projector built-in in the ceiling of the meeting room you're in springs to life, projecting a large image in mid-air, lazily rotating to let you see it from all possible angles.

Boxes of scrolling text appear to the side, listing each model's technical details You drink in the information.

"You can move between them by waving your hand left or right." She informs you, helpfully.

(continues...)