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Post by RedDwarfIV on Jun 28, 2014 15:03:22 GMT -6
A hard sci-fi RP.
Not every universe follows the same physical rules as our own. But there is one, which follows ours so closely that, until its equivalent of the 1950s, it progressed in an almost entirely similar fashion. The difference that would deviate its future from ours was the approval for use of the nuclear pulse propulsion engine; better known as the ORION drive.
Able to lift huge payloads to orbit, and travel between planets, the ORION spacecraft made their owners prosperous. The three nuclear superpowers - the US, the USSR, and the British Empire - expanded. As technology improved, they expanded further and faster. With the development of the Alcubierre drive, the universe was at their fingertips.
Over launchpads across the worlds, huge explosions twinkle as they propel massive spacecraft skyward. The stars of Orion.
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Post by RedDwarfIV on Jun 28, 2014 16:17:26 GMT -6
=FACTION= // Name: Saturn-Enceladus Mining Corporation (SEMCO) // Affiliation: British Empire // Affiliation's territory: Luna colonies 'Mersey', 'Norfolk', 'Ariel', 'Alpha' 'Falkland' (military). Mars colonies 'Oympus Mons', 'Aquifer', 'Bravo', Telos (Military). Ceres colonies 'Charlie', 'Midway', 'Transit' (military), 'Zulu'. Callisto colony 'Empathy', 'New Oxford'. Enceladus colonies 'Tigerstripes', 'MacReady' (military), 'Zebra', 'Antarctica', 'Whisky'. Rhea colonies 'Centris' (military), 'Meredith', 'Churchill', 'Lima'.
Erin Laumer was bored. Her SEMCO atmo-cruiser Spirit was currently gliding through the wispy outer Saturnian atmosphere, its Magnetised Target Fusion engines thrumming loudly throughout the hybrid aeroplane spacecraft, its collectors quietly drawing in hydrogen for the storage tanks and propulsion propellant tanks. The last transport had undocked over haf an hour ago, and everything was running automated. Technically, an atmo-cruiser could operate unmanned. From a safety and economics standpoint, that would seem to be the best option. But the severe faff of getting one of the spacecraft out to the gas giants if one were to be lost had persuaded the mining companies to station humans on board for problem-solving. Or at least, the British companies do she thought. I don't know anything about the American or Soviet birds. The Soviets probably care more about keeping the tech working than the people. The States? Eh, they tend to err on the side of caution. Plus, their atmo-cruisers are smaller. Either they have very well disciplined crews who can take cramped space, or no crews at all.
At the moment, there was no one else on the spacecraft's Flight Deck, though Erin knew that pilot Keith Simmons was sleeping in a cot just outside. She could call him in if neccesary. As she watched the main viewscreen, which was showing the black of space with a faint mist of hydrogen overlaying it, a warning appeared on her consloe. RESUPPY VEHICLE DAMAGED DURING SATURN ATMO ENTRY. VEHICE LOSS LIKELY. PREPARE TO LEAVE ATMOSPHERE, WITH OR WITHOUT LIMPET. The term 'Limpet' was spacer slang for a certain make of transport which was known to have severe faults with its docking clamp mechanism, often resulting in them being incapable of releasing themselves from the spacecraft they were docked to. Clearly someone with a space background wrote that message. Can't imagine SEMCO beaurocrats talking like that. she mused, remembering the offices of SEMCO on Earth without fondness. It was like a dead zone, sterile and without feeling. It'd be tragic, if they weren't so officious...
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Efelix
Theme Designer
not a cultist, may be a communist
Posts: 845
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Post by Efelix on Jun 29, 2014 17:09:25 GMT -6
=FACTION= // Name: Cinturão Interno de Mineração e Desenvolvimento Corporação (Cimedco) // Affiliation: Republic of Brazil // Affiliation's territory: Mars colonies 'Arago', 'Cadiz'. Callisto colony 'Lages'. Enceladus colony 'Feijo'. Ceres colonies 'Capixaba', 'Anadia'. Pallas colony 'Caiaponia'.
Emanuel Cardozo woke to the jarring noise of his alarm clock. He slowly opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling of of his cabin. His mouth was so dry it took effort to pull his tongue off of the roof of his mouth, and his headache felt like he had been kicked in the back of the head several times. Maybe he had. For the past three days, Emanuel had been enjoying the benefits of being a long term employee of Cinturão Interno de Mineração e Desenvolvimento Corporação, or Cimedco. Time on the Evaristo, an ICF engine equipped vessel with all of the necessary facilities for a week of fun. Emanuel had spent his three days in a drunken haze, and with the morning's hangover, he decided it was time to start taking things easier. Before he could get back to sleep, the intercom in his cabin buzzed. "Emanuel Cardozo, please respond." "Here," Emanuel croaked. "Emanuel Cardozo, please report to the bridge." The intercom shut off, and Emanuel groaned. A week of partying would be cut short, back to staring at monitors, watching industrial processes. He wondered where he'd be working now, back to the inner belt, or to some industrial site in the Jovian or Saturian systems.
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Post by RedDwarfIV on Jun 29, 2014 18:44:42 GMT -6
The external cameras on Spirit managed to capture the moment where the Limpet soared by, dead. Erin sighed, and spent a few moments playing with the controls on her console to bring up the communications system link. She put on a thin headset, and spoke into it. "SEMCO AC47 Spirit to all affected parties. Resupply vehicle lost. Leaving Saturnian atmosphere, destination is Enceladus. Flight path attached to message. Please avoid." With that drama out of the way, Erin returned to her boredom.
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