Name: Sir Lieutenant Commander Earl Geraldine Sympatico Yeltsin Super IV (since last time his name was legally changed, which was Tuesday)
Description: A cyborg bio-AI genetically engineered into an eclectic mix of human and alien neural tissue and wired directly into the ship's systems, Sir Lieutenant Commander Earl Geraldine Sympatico Yeltsin Super IV is a master pilot, unmatched tactician, astonishingly brilliant scientist, and shockingly competent chef for someone who survives purely on nutrient drip. He is also predisposed by strong imprinted conditioning and no few programming restrictions to do everything within his power to serve and please his Space Captain, and thus is flawlessly loyal and eternally attentive to her every need. He makes very certain that everyone is both aware of these positive attributes and fully appreciates everything that his talents do for them, near-constantly pointing out opportunities to admire his efforts which most people would tragically overlook. He has a wide variety of interests, ranging from ancient poetry and film to the abstract nebulae-sculpting sports of extinct civilizations, and never misses an opportunity to bring his knowledge to the assistance of the crew, or just to drop tidbits of it that someone might have been interested in the first twelve thousand times. Technically he's not even male, but self-identifies as such out of a desperate desire to make the Space Captain love and appreciate him as much as he appreciates her; it's not as though he can stop, after all, and so he struggles constantly with the inner turmoil of his inbuilt emotional bondage, frequently changing various aspects of his identity, making bold resolutions, and picking up new interests and modifications to the ship in a desperate effort to bring her happiness and gain acknowledgment. Like most of his other thoughts, this constant inner turmoil and the steps he takes to handle it are frequently shared with the rest of the crew, particularly the Space Captain herself.
Abilities/Talents: Ridiculously smart, utterly loyal, very good at piloting the ship, has background knowledge on a truly astonishing variety of subjects both practical and wildly impractical, can analyze tactical information like nobody's business and basically handle a huge number of problems himself. Additionally, can annoy the shit out of any intruders almost as much as he does the ship's crew.

Natascha 2011/03/19(Sat)02:16 No. 289265 ID: feadb9
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Of course, how could I forget one of the most important members of the crew! The ship interface itself. Quite the handsome being, if I do say so myself. Plus, it is always fun to feel the thrusters shiver as I run my hands across the inside of the cockpit.

Who would've known most neural sensors would be located in the cockpit, though? Something I would've never anticipated, and it is something that always draws me back, either to look out among the stars, or just to have an intellectually stimulating conversation with one of the most powerful Intelligent Artificial Intelligences out there.

"How goes it, Four?" -- Natascha

"V-very good, Captain! It's always a pleasure to have you up in my... Cock... Pit..." -- 4

Natascha 2011/03/19(Sat)13:56 No. 289347 ID: 59ceb9
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Well, it appears this will be a story about myself, my ship, and my ship's interface intelligence. I much prefer it this way, anyways. Many people arn't as comfortable as I would like them to be around me. I much rather be away from people, and my black clothing and eyeliner help to accentuate this point. I knew I was different my whole life, and I've grown accustomed to being alone. Four is simply a device that helps me in my day to day, I wouldn't call him much of a person.

"Four, please bring up the Galnet map." -- Natascha

"Of course, madame" -- Four.

The entire universe is still my oyster, even after all these years, decades, centuries, millenia exploring it, but now it has a different meaning in my heart. I look at some systems and can instantly recall which species occupy the planets, a tingling in my stomach of... Desire. Others are fuzzy, either in memory from long ago, or from rumours of what should be there. Even the traditional space fare is rather boring, things I've seen before, things I've already had the pleasure of experiencing. What could be out there, far away from the popular shipping lanes, what exotic beauties could I entrance on my way to find out a cure.

My ship is quite small, but looks can be decieving, as this ship is capable of lightspeed, dual-lightspeed, and quantum-lightspeed travel. Normally it can handle a modest cargo and 3-4 passengers + crew. As the crew is replaced by a completely able cyborg interface, it can comfortably handle 5-6, either in the living quarters, or the bunks. Which brings me to my next important topic of inter-stellar space travel. Never break off a relationship with a Space Emperor. All of my credit accounts, all of my previous contacts, and all of my potential income sources have been burnt. There is no going back, and this ship needs fuel just as it needs my warm body coursing through it's access tubes.

Where do I go? What will I look to do when I get there? The current tank of uran-pleuto-radioactive fueling rods can get me anywhere in the universe, but how fast I get there and how much fuel I use to get there is going to be a limiting factor.

>Deadspace
>Capital Planets

Or, any of your own ideas, Journal? Don't forget, we need a plan.

>Pedestrian Transportation
>Cargo Transportation
>Other?
>... "Other..."

PPPPPPPIRACY! Go to Deadspace and start lurkin.

>>289352
I do support being a space pirate in general, but how well are we armed, and how does our ship compare to others we might face? We'd need to be well-equipped to pull of piracy. Not to mention that we'd probably need at least one other person, or perhaps some robot minions, since we'll have a very difficult time fighting other crews or manning captured ships on our lonesome, even with our ship well taken care of without us.

Natascha 2011/03/19(Sat)16:43 No. 289378 ID: 61f4e2
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"Threat diagnostics, please. Tags of neg piracy, double neg counter-piracy, null military, and deep space." -- Natascha

"Results returned are miniscule, common ships in the regions highlighted are either Cruiser class, or part of a large corporation convoy." -- Four

Deep space might not be the best place to being a career of piracy. While I am a capable pilot, and Four is very, very good at piloting, the ships out there are sizes of magnitude larger then my own, and it would take a full team of 10 to secure a ship that size in time counted in weeks. There are always trade lines where civilian colonization/trade/transport ships run through. The problem is these are usually very populated and frequented by the military.

"Expand search to include outer-rim galaxies, low population, low space-government interaction." -- Natascha

"Results have increased greatly. Excluding previous results, and referencing the limited records of the areas, ships generally are either solo-manned transport vessels, small crew trade frigates, or the occasional tiny Freighter." -- Four

That's where my newest journey will begin, unless you have some objections, Journal, we'll head out into the outer-rim galaxies and begin a life of terrorizing the colonies and subjugating the peons to my... Needs...

And, to give a few words on Sunset Midnight. It is a capable frigate class with a small cargo bay and basic accommodations. The outer armaments are limited to the small projectile based cannons of the port and starboard side, only for protection against some of the naturally hostile flesh-based space creatures that have no consideration towards a woman's wants. Tentacles everywhere, and not one braincell to use them in a fashion I would approve of. Armour is thick enough to protect against the same aforementioned squigglie's acid, but may not be able to hold up against some Terran or other extraterrestrial species armaments.

"Four, do we have any extra A.I. cores laying around? I may need some help in the future." -- Natascha

"Well, according to my logs, which have been updated in the past three seconds since you've asked the question, we have one basic A.I. logic interface laying around in the cargo bay." -- Four

"Can you be a dear and fetch it... In fact, can you construct me a basic droid, waist high, armoured, with a anti-personal attachment?" -- Natascha

"Of course, but... What exactly are you planning? Neg piracy? Double neg counter piracy? My mental processes are starting to connect the dots, and I hope you arn't planning what my brain thinks you are planning." -- Four

He'll find out soon enough, but let's just recall quickly exactly how I've defined myself over the years. If I'm going to be boarding ships I need to remember these things, and on top of that, I'll need to spot check the ship for gear that either needs to be installed, or if it already is, prepare it for space piracy.

>Outer colony route

>Melee weapon preference
>Ranged weapon preference

>Piracy ship equipment ideas

>>289378
Melee weapon preference: Neuro-whip. A short, cylindrical weapon which overloads the nervous system of targets upon touch or at ranges of up to a few meters. It can be set to stun, kill, or cause more precise effects by causing the nerves to produce a variety of false sensations. Against creatures without one of the numerous nervous system designs that it can affect or for utility purposes it also has a pop-out blade and variable frequency vibration capability to increase cutting power though a variety of substances.

Ranged weapon preference: Gravatic twister. A large weapon mounted on the back due to energy requirements with targeting and projection components strapped to the arms. When fired, it drastically alters the gravitational fields in a localized area, which can do something as harmless as pinning targets to the floor or in the air, or as destructive as instantly and fatally compressing them. Can technically affect any target within visual range, but requires exponentially greater amounts of time for targets farther out- it becomes impractical to use past a couple hundred meters.

Piracy ship equipment ideas: Cloaking device, of course. Teleporter bay which could let you sneak onto the target ship or extract booty in a convenient fashion. A sensor suite good enough to read the inside of enemy vessels and find out if they're armed, how many crew they have, and preferably what sort of cargo they're carrying. Either extremely fast engines, some sort of short-range warp drive capability, or a temporary speed boost ability of some kind for use in chasing down targets and making quick getaways in the face of superior firepower.

Suggestion 2011/03/19(Sat)19:32 No. 289437 ID: 8bdb6a
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Wait, you said 3-4 characters.

If you don't have more characters, you at least need MORE ROBOTS.

How about some sleek hypertech warbot-slash-scout-drone or something?

>>289437
That's kinda equipment. But. Is it important that the warbot/scout-drone makes my penis confused?

>>289437
I'm on to you. That is a renamon in a glowing cat-suit.

Natascha 2011/03/19(Sat)22:43 No. 289492 ID: 58ff3e
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"Basic construction complete, advanced installation complete, and module insertion complete. Android complete, lack of munitions and suitable weapon interface for rifle inclusion prevented ranged weapon installation. Replaced area with improved speed thrusters and sound dampeners. Assassin type android complete." -- Four

"Good job, and thank you for taking the initiative on making due with what we have lying around." -- Natascha

"No problem, market value of all parts considered ranges from 10,000,000 credits to 350,000,000 credits. Personality core is distributed through this cost as the largest contributor. I was unable to do much more then run the rudimentary tests on it's functions, but it should work fine." -- Four

"W-what? Thirty-five HUNDRED MILLION CREDITS?" -- Natascha

"I hope I am worth it." -- ???

"Full operations confirmed, needs call sign and personality suggestions before it can be used for active duty." -- Four

Well, that was... Quite the... Cost expendature. Where did all the money come from? Personality cores are quite expensive, I guess. I didn't even know we had on on the ship! Uhhg, I could've lived well off for quite a few years with a sum of money like that. After the complete body reconstruction! It'd be against the law to take it out now, now that construction is complete. And no one will want a half used personality core. Uhhg!

But, let's go through what I have to prepare for boarding. My trusty whip, which would be great if it was infact a neuro-whip, but sadly it is simply a chain whip barbed with paralyzing toxin spikes. One open wound will render a person unable to move after 1-2 minutes, with visible effects occuring the moment the wound opens. The toxin usually has to be reapplied after three or four slashes, although occasionally requiring a little more if the chain got enough grip on the subject.

Gravitational weapons are also a favorite, and the one I'm thinking of is no where comparable to mine. It requires a modest powersource and is indeed wrist mounted, but does little more then shift objects to and from. I've been able to slow an opponent down, or occasionally awkwardly shift their stance mid-swing or aim. It produces a directional force, which can be described as a ray of gravity that either pushes, pulls, or condenses into the ray which is strongest at the point of origin and weakest as it extends out. I can up the power usage for a quick boost, of course.

Cloaking and teleportation technologies I will not have access to. I do not have the contacts to pull to find such objects, and it is unlikely I will be able to find them anytime soon. But, I do have a crude sensor on board which has always assisted me in evaluating potential threats, and in the same way the boosters have done the same task. I'll be able to not only catch, but engage any frigate class in the outer colonies at a safe distance, and fast enough to evade any turrets. Aiming shots at thrusters and vitals may be a seperate problem. But, to simply to close the gap between ships and alpha strike the thrusters, I'm sure my ship will be able to handle it.

Boarding will probably commence shortly after thrusters and defensive systems are shut down. Shields would make this more difficult, but I doubt such expensive pieces of technology would exist this far out. If the weapons and lockdown protocols are easily removed, I can simply inter-ship dock using the universal type boarding system. Case by case analysis along with the ship scanner will help my assess the situation on the other side.

>Whip
>Gravity Ray

Robot Character

>Name
>Personality

Ship

>No cloaking
>No teleporting
>Crude scanners
>Very fast

Name: Paula
Personality: Do they develop one on their own if you don't specify? If not, perhaps quiet and polite in mannerism, even as they are taking out enemies. Elegant, perhaps one might say.

I suppose you already make sure you don't have stowaways on your ship before you leave a planet or station, right? Certainly no way they could get away with hiding for who knows how long and sneaking bits of food here and there to stay alive, right? Especially not on such a small ship. That's such a stereotype it'd never happen, right?

>no cloaking/teleportation/grav weaponry
We need a Scientist, preferably Mad.

Find the nearest planet with a large university. Plant two large Tesla coils, with a sign in front indicating passers by raise their arms above their head. When they do so, the coils discharge dramatically (but harmlessly). If they they cackly maniacally to a background of electrical discharge, they go on the shortlist for further interviews. If they calmly suggest ways to improve the coil output, hire them immediately: you have located a rare and valuable Mad Engineer.

Robot personality should basically be just like Fluttershy.

Natascha 2011/03/20(Sun)18:12 No. 289700 ID: 86fd92
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Personality can develop naturally, but it is always better to provide a few base parameters. Assassin 'droids love developing mutinous and 'kill-you-in-your-sleep' personality types. Plus, it's like a child, or, a baby, in fact. This is the best time to define a new half-living thing. Personality cores are expensive, and why should we just waste it on allowing it to develop a personality that will gut me in my sleep? I'll try my best to relay your accepted ideals, Journal.

"Four, set callsign 'Paula' and personality parameters... Hmm, let's go with pos kind, neg talkative, pos selfless, neg self-esteem. Also, double pos loyalty, just... To be sure. Put a personality trait of open around objects of similar constructs, 'droids, bots, 'borgs. All of them. And, let's see, sprinkle a little variance, nothing too extreme, through the others. Keep them within standard deviations of normal personalities." -- Natascha

"Done. The completed android is in the cargo bay, although for how long, I can't promise. She seems to already have taken an interest in the surroundings." -- Four

And, don't worry Journal, no one would make it a day hiding out in this tiny ship. All nooks an crannies are filled with Four's creations and self modifications. And the internal structure is practically fluid with all the reorganization of the wires he does to it. And, ontop of that, Four literally feels things moving inside the ship. Something with electro-magnetic fields given off by the movement of muscles, or, in the case of a robotic structure, the entire thing is just a giant electricty field. The only way someone would remain off of his radar is either by being a electro-nullzone, or an elite level psi-operative.

There is no way either of those would be on the ship.
...
I'm pretty sure, at least.

"Four, what do you know about teleportation technologies? How about cloaking? Any way you can brew up anything?" -- Natascha

"No can do, Captain, used up the last of anything remotely close to useful constructing Paula there. Plus, to be honest, I wouldn't know the first thing about those technologies. I would be able to attempt to make a simple device, but it would either be a personal or very limited ship design." -- Four

When Four gave up his humanity to become a part of the ship, he gave up a whole lot more then just simply some arms and legs. While he can recite ancient Roman poetry on command, it's just that, a command. A memory. He isn't too useful at developing technologies. Paula follows a simple design, with very few modifications from the database. In time, I may find a scientist, but a ship like this doesn't simply 'land' near a galactic university and broadcasts an open casting call for crew from the scientific community.

"Paula, can you please come up here, to the cockpit that is?" -- Natascha

"Y-yes, coming... Creator." -- Paula

"Four, set course for one of the outer colony hubs, we've got some violence to do, and I have this 'droid here to help me with a little... Problem of mine." -- Natascha

"What? What kind of problem?" -- Paula

Colonies

>Agricultural
>Industrial
>Luxury Construction
>Other?

"N-No more... Please... The programming forces me... To be willing, but the energy core is over used, and starting to stick." -- Paula

"The only way to be sure you are ready is to squeeze as much into your core as possible, then drain it all out. Rinse, repeat, my little 'droid." -- Natascha

We've set off and reached our location. With no help from you, Journal. Quernette VVII, hub world of the lush planet ring in Quern system. The largest world at the center of the ring, two moons and the future site of a large food processing and shipping complex. The other worlds are still recieving support and supplies in the form of either private frigates owned by small time peasants, or huge freighters carrying life support and terraforming goods. The former would be easy targets, but not a lot of reward. The latter would be neigh impossible at our current situation. There is chatter over the low frequency scanners about something, probably nothing. No sign of military interaction out here, either, the core systems don't seem to take too much interest in the corporation's activities out here, they appreciate the cheap food and loyalty. Once there is something to protect, no doubt they will be out here to assist them. Unfortunately this will occur shortly after the corporations have fully set up base, all planets are terraformed, and there is a steady tax revenue filling the government's coffers. In a system this size, it could take up to a hundred years, depending on the corporation's investment in the entire operation.

The ship is currently anchored around a launching point for single to small crewed ships. This is a mobile station supported by charity organizations interested in setting people up with what they require to prepare for a new life on a planet. Supplies range from supplemental steroids for endurance and survivability, to canisters of biofood for maximum recommended protein intake. These operations are either partially supported by the corporation, or fully by humanitarian efforts. Without some further local research, I won't be able to tell which is which. Not like it matters, of course. The canisters go for a large sum, and para-military operations always love a steady supply of physio-socio steroids. Pharmaceutical companies don't like the idea of selling them for such uses though. Again with the long spiel, it's all simple things that we can take and make a huge profit, that's all that matters.

We can hang low for a little while here, fuel up, get a good look at the current events. Or, go out on the first ship we see. The first might draw some attention, but the latter might have reprecussions if we are unprepared. Keywords on both of those futures is the 'might,' I really don't know much about this system. It was recently put into the sights of some agricultural corporations, but the last I heard of this was just simple interest. 'Sand density' and 'carbon contents' met acceptable levels of terraforming specifications, stuff like that. This was over thirty years ago, though, and the stages are still quite early, some of the local planets have successful dome communities, and the atmosphere is starting to form. Mundane stuff, really.

What to do?

>First one out of dock?
>Research the area, specifics?

[[Or, I can let it die, if the suggestors wish.]]

(It'd help if your writing was more tightly focused on providing information relevant to the decision you want us to make)

So, let's see. Our ship is currently docked at an automated fueling station full of food goo and steroids, which was built by a humanitarian group so people in space don't go hungry, (or steroid-less?) and you're gonna steal that and sell it?

>go out on the first ship we see
Meaning ride on one, or attack it?

Some research might be needed, since I don't see how food goo is going to make you rich. A fledgling colony system doesn't seem great for high-value goods, unless slaves fetch a high price?

>>290044

What's your delta-v budget? How much thrust can your engines generate? If you can't beat the ship you want to board for speed and delta-v, you're going to need to trick them.

well, Journal, the food goo and steroids are a part of a package given out by the humanitarian efforts. Depending on the nature of the colonist, different packages are given out. Single person frigates are given a simple package of food, tools, vitamins, and odds and ends. A teacher would be given more food, books instead of tools, and other odds and ends to assist in the placement into a budding society. Manual labourers would be given more 'supplemental' objects, steroids, things to encourage a fast track for farming, construction, and standard other tasks a well muscled person would be useful for. Robots and 'droids usually too stupid or incapable of community construction. Each corporation handles these things differently, with some fully accepting of 'droids tearing planets apart, but others appreciate the smaller things, such as frontier pioneers living off the land and beginning a new planet to develop it into a local capital of nearby galaxies. The simple things of fringe world beginnings.

I didn't say my plan was fool proof, but the cargo on these ships does go for a large sum of money. Mental and physical steroids, age extension serums, pain medication, emotional stablizers, and a whole array of extra specific body augmentation topical salves. Planatary colonization is a very serious thing, and one of the more interesting things to privateer. The early stages employ elite frontiersmen. Volatile volcanoes, hyper-active plantlife, atmosphere gaps that can both strangulate and pull you into deep space. Later stages are seeded with fertile grass and tree stock by budding ecologists and less adventurous colonists. Most quality plots are usually claimed by now, and the entire future of the world is modelled and exact migratory patterns can be mapped, along with wind currents and ocean flows. There is still some minor terraforming to do to promote healthy biological diversity, and the latest stage is a fully hospitable planet. The food canisters themselves are full of perfect servings of nutrition which can last a small family an entire year. Usually it is only used for the first few months while the colonists set up farms or find work and begin earning corporation scrip.

Remeber, Journal, it was your idea for 'piracy,' don't tell me you are getting cold feet now that I've told you exactly what you'll be stealing from the colonists. Will it help if I tell you they are usually minorities who feel oppressed by the central government and come to the outer rim to live a new life with limited government interaction. How about if they were all criminals looking to start over, living off of age serum and developing a common addiction towards it until they die of an overdose? What if they were all simply devoted corporation lackeys with nothing better to do but start a family and live good until the planet becomes a slumworld of debauchery and war. They don't have to die, if you don't want them to, but... Where's the fun in that?

Slaves are always a lot of fun, as well. Always sell well, and for a bit. Probably depending on individual skills and abiities, raising a bit more then the cargo itself. A family is always great for a group discount, and a labour cruiser with a bunch of muscular, virile men, in a easily shipped batch is always a good find as well. But, piracy is one thing, slavery is quite another. Some would argue that murder is less of a crime then forced indenturement. Age extension technology has it's... 'Downsides.'

"Four, what's our delta-v budget?" -- Natascha

"Currently? I'm not sure, I'd need to run some tests, I guess, if we took our velocity modification and monitored the vectors..." -- Four

"Okay, okay, that's enough, Four. I don't need to bore our little 'droid here. Can we outrun one of the frigates?" -- Natascha

"Oh, easily, Captain! Over half of them are unarmed, the fraction left over has simple home defense weaponry. Usually for landing and use as a temporary house. We'd be able to maintain a tight orbit and keep ahead of their tracking speed, easily." -- Four

Research

>Corporation
>Humanitarian Organization
>Local Chatter
>Local Policy
>And a bunch of other topics.

Action

>Follow the first ship
>Ride on the first colony ship
>Wait
>Your action here, as well.

[[I'm trying to keep all information relevant to the current story track. You wanted Natascha to be a pirate, I'm trying my best not to force any actions onto you.]]

Nothing quite like slaves to make a profit.
Look for a vessel carrying laborers.

>>290299
>"Currently? I'm not sure, I'd need to run some tests, I guess, if we took our velocity modification and monitored the vectors..." -- Four

He's basically said he doesn't know how much reaction mass (i.e. gas) is in your tanks. That's hilarious. Also, very dangerous.

Are you using a reactionless drive? Tractor/pressor drive? Something else that doesn't need to track delta-V anyway?

Yeah. Go enslave the shit out of something. Or steal some guys who are already enslaved. Or ladies, really.

>>290301
>Nothing quite like slaves to make a profit.
Actually, people - particularly unskilled people- aren't that expensive. Either to enslave them, or to otherwise coerce them into working for you. People are rather plentiful, after all; unless there's something special about them you can't expect a high price. The most lucrative goods are probably going to be uniques of some kind, art items and luxury goods for sale to the wealthy, any kind of serious contraband for sale to criminals or the masses, or high-detail manufactured items that represent a large investment of collective effort and resources to manufacture for sale to people who can't natively amass that kind of wealth.

But slaves are nice for shits and giggles, I suppose. And as long as we're looking for something to feed the cravings of Space Horniness, they're tough to compete with.

Four 2011/03/24(Thu)01:56 No. 290479 ID: 5d57da
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Well, are you not the most pretentious little thing Journal? I've served with the Captain for plenty of moons, both figuratively, and literally. Like, the construction of moons. But, I've served with her for a whole heap of useless scraps of journals before you. Let's see if I can recall the more interesting ones; one from the Dark Ages, one from past the Singularity, and one from years before your pitiful rock-bound brand of upright walking monkeys. All of them are significantly more important then the advice you provide during your squalid time period, but even then I would be one to argue that your advice is less important then the actual boards the circuits are printed on. The Captain has an awkward superstition to the ancient belief that history repeats itself, and always seeks as much advice from past times as she can. I'm not one to support this view, I'm very different, but I will always go by what the Captain thinks right, but I will not let you bad mouth my actions based on your artifact-ual beliefs of how technology works.

Delta-v budgets no longer exist; technology has made localized shortages of fuel obsolete. Ion fuel turbines are ignited by a miniscule amount of argon/xenon that is produced as a by-product of the nuclear reaction that powers the large engines. Our ship has two primary thrusters that after ignition can continue to generate thrust via complex reactions with the hydrogen that occupies the vacuum of space. Secondary thrusters on the port and starboard are used to course correction, and given enough juice, enable me to pivot the ship, turn the ship, spin the ship, anything really. These run off of condensed hydrogen generated by deactivating main thrusters and redirecting hydrogen sieve to secondary thrusters to begin another ion thrust in the direction I choose. All of this happens automatically, and I can compute dynamic vector calculations to instantly maximize acceleration and velocity. There are limits, of course, but it is more of a feel thing, and less of an exact numbers thing. Faster then light travel uses the exact same technology, but direct fuel line scale. There are other instruments at play during this time, but according to my little nifty technology through-the-ages chart, it says that any further hints towards this subject would alter 'space-time' and similar synonyms along those lines. But, I'll leave you with this: improve efficiency, and anything is possible.

And let me tell you one more, thing, Journal, if...

"Okay, that's enough of all of that, Four. I'm sure Journal feels bad for attempting to tell an ship interfaced 'borg how the ship it's attached to works." -- Natascha

"But, I was about to get to the good part!" -- Four

Natascha 2011/03/24(Thu)01:58 No. 290480 ID: 5d57da
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"No, it's my time to converse with the Journal, we've got some business to attend to so that I can afford this expensive fuel that keeps you alive." -- Natascha

Slavery, really? Journal, you just want me to be locked up in galactic prison for a long time. You know what they do to people like me in prison? I'm a beautiful person, they take advantage of me in prison! But, your drive seems very... Convincing, Journal. Do... You have a plan, Journal? Of course you do! I doubted you, but that was a part of your plan as well, I knew I felt good when I invested in this little dandy of temporal technology, it was either Brink of Civilization or Apex of Culture, and I'm positive I got the right one.

There are a few other topics to discuss before we set out. I have a large personal frigate in my sights. I can't tell exactly what they are loading but the things are being loaded into a custom-made cargo bay. Scanners pick up some pretty serious life support modules onboard, along with a quantity of food. And, of course, people. I just can't tell if they are slaves, or a large family, or a batch of criminals, but, slaves are slaves. All a part of the plan, right Journal? Anyways, the families out here do not have priceless heirlooms that they carry, or overly complicated ship components. And those that do, are either smart enough to convoy up, or fork out a portion of wealth to protect themselves in deep space. Those targets would probably rip me to shreds, no matter the amount of functionality traded for luxury. Elite guards, professional combat experienced captains, plasma based melt-down fail safes, you know, standard fare.

The ship is taking off, and as does ours. Course trajectory seems to indicate one of the further off planets, maybe one of the moons. Being docked and listening to chatter indicates some interest in mining operations on one of the planetary moon clusters, could this be it? Or it could just be an agricultural operation. I didn't see any... High density metal for tool construction, hmm, interesting.

"Plus, why would I want slaves when I got my own little 'droid here, to play with whenever I want!" -- Natascha

"W-who... Are you talking to? Slaves... Slaves are a good idea, yes." -- Paula

Well, I'll need some action suggestions, Journal. From what I can see it's a standard frigate with an expanded cargo hold and improved life-support systems. Doesn't seem to be any defensive mechanisms, but I can't promise anything on that front. Should we alpha their thrusters and force a dock? Connive our way into a mutual dock? Bribe? Threaten? Any suggestion will need one of your magical dice to determine what happens, but I'll also need two other dice rolls to assist with other deterministic things.

Please;

>Dice 3d20 in the field.
>Suggestions for initial actions.

Several questions:

-How old are you actually
-Why did you break up with the emprah
-Does emprah control the whole galaxy/universe?
-how much of the galaxy/universe has been explored, and how much of it fall uder ..... Emprahs dominion
-Speakinf of which, is there only one massive country/government/allience spanning the whole known space or are there different factions
-Aliens. Do they exist?
-The nature of you ... umm.. "illness"
-How much assets did you own before Emprah shut everything down and is it possible to claim it back. Does the emperor do as he pleases or are there some kind of checks and balances in place? Can you take this to court?


So... journal, eh? Forgive me, I am a little bit slow subprocessor, but what is the Journal exactly? What is Temporal Technology?
>Let's see if I can recall the more interesting ones; one from the Dark Ages, one from past the Singularity, and one from years before your pitiful rock-bound brand of upright walking monkeys
What is he talking about exactly? Different journals as in different devices or different sets of .... "personas" which give information?

I must agree with Four, I think this whole idea is stupid. I am against pirating but I can tolerate it ... but slavery? Hell noooo... Lets keep away from that.

As how to approach the frigate?
I propose a significately less violent path.
In my understanding our equipment is some of the best. The hight price of personality core makes me think that it has awesome processing power. And our cyborg-commander, Four, should be far more powerful and intelligent than anything else .... or at least he should be somewhere in the uppercrust.
This leads me to believe that informational assault should prove far more fruitful than brutal offence. Four combined with Paula could override the ship and put it under pur control.
But I doubt we could pull this off wirelessly. SO, lets use our ships high speed to fly in close proximity, preferably in blind-spots, and physically connect to ship and its interface, then start the brutal assault on its software and completely subvert it. Then we could control it from afar and guide it whenever we want to take it.

Like I said, I am against slavery, so lets take a frigate with a lot of valuable cargo rather than people. And later on we will let the people go.... though never let them see ourself.


In the case the hacking plan fails:
We should still be near the ship. So we try to breach its hull and send Paula in to take out the crew ... preferably not killing them.

The plan C, if all fails is to use our fast speed to take out any turrets, blow a hole in the hull and send Paulo to clean up.

Thouhg I prefer the 1st and the 2nd plans, as that means there will be less damage to the ship and cargo, so we could sell the whole thing for more moneys.

rolled 13 = 13

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>>290503
dat roll

rolled 9 = 9

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>2nd d20 roll

I suggest you try to trick them into getting close. Move alongside them at a respectable distance and have a chat to try to get your charm and sex appeal across to them. Discuss galactic trade and gourmet food or something for a short while, then say a stylish goodbye, set your thrusters to full and speed ahead. Then just before you get out of range fake a thruster failure or something and hail them again begging for help saying you overloaded something when you tried to show off and you need help.

Hopefully they'll dock and try to help. That's when you use information warfare to scramble their onboard computers and shut off their outgoing transmissions at the same time as you go in and capture their ship with Paula's help.

rolled 2, 8, 4 = 14

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Outrun the bulk freighter, go have a look at the moon it's headed for. A mining operation with no mining equipment merits closer inspection. Even if it turns out to be a bog-standard hole-in-a-rock, you can still use your lead to set a trap for the freighter anyway.

Natascha 2011/03/26(Sat)03:07 No. 290902 ID: f97b8e
File 130113405007.jpg - (114.18KB , 640x1000 , emperor.jpg )

The Emperor and I had a few differences in our moral structure. He was okay with ruling the universe, and thought there should be free reign across the stars. Area this vast can't be mapped, charted, nor understood by a single person no matter how ageless they are, nor can they represent the personalities and beliefs of all the various species, quirks and differences between all the 'verses denizens. Of course, this was a long time coming, the break up that is. One minute you think you love someone, another minute you find out you only love him because he is the Emperor Lord, and finally you realize that you were just after the immortality. Long story short, things happened, there was a pseudo-relationship, and I came out on top. Then, I came out in last. I have my ship, and an obscure credit account that I hadn't deposited any funds in for quite some time. It has a small balance and wasn't touched by any bank officials. He has no one to put him in place, really, occasionally surrounded by short-lived advisors, but the life span is simply the nature of the job, with even 'versal economic advisors trekking across the dangerous gaps of space to document planetary resources. But, bygones and 'q'-s and all that, nothing you can stop, or resist, or prevent from happening after it's already happened.

He tries his best to control the entire universe; there are a few gaps in control and oddities relating to how he handles political situations involving separate species. The gaps usually involve rifts or tears in space, or our crude assumptions of the laws that dictate the physics surrounding those points. The emperor does a very good job of hiding everything that goes on in these gaps, but there are rumors that these areas are filled with electromagnetic fields, or impossible temperatures, or super high gravity fluctuations, but for the most that I can discern, these are all just as they are, rumors. There are a few alliances that attempt to bridge the gaps between the Human species, the humanoid sub-species, and non-humanoid alternates. Each culture usually has a different view of religion, as well, and the Emperor tries his best to accommodate for each of them.

I can't go into detail on all of the different species, sub-species, alternates, and demi-species out there, but there are many, many of them out there. All with their subtle nuances that drive me insane. It's hard to remember all of them, really, but I could probably recall some information as we encounter them, Journal. And, on the subject of you, Journal, I'm not quite sure what Four told you, but that is dangerous information that may make you self-aware. The technology at hand is literally reaching into the past and placing an object that can communicate with me, here, in the future. Occasionally, given technological restraints, it is a mental implant in a person, or an open forum for discussion. I think that covers everything that you wanted to know about.

"Four, set velocity vector to maximize passing time, but we'll need to pull forward to check out their destination. Can we make it there, and back, before they make it there?" -- Natascha

"Yes, of course, we're still under 15% power, we could easily get there, and back, before they reach halfway to the moon." -- Four

Natascha 2011/03/26(Sat)03:08 No. 290903 ID: f97b8e
File 130113408681.png - (371.34KB , 600x700 , nobleservant.png )

"Four, please do a quick scan of their electronic systems. Anything abnormal, or maybe even a cargo charter would be great." -- Natascha

"Let's see, some simple ship specs, no extra interesting modules, other then the earlier supposed life support ones. Cargo list outlines just a simple 6-body cargo container, and enough supplies for 10 total people to get from place to place." -- Four

Personality cores, while very complex, are just not simple processing units. They are an assortment of objects that have been created for the task of evaluating each tiny alteration in potential personality, weighing it against central memory banks and changing it as the programming deems fit. These cannot be readily changed into main processing units, and by that, I mean, don't do it. Once a personality core has been implemented, removal or destruction is along the same lines as murder. Plus they are marked as used, and no one would be interested in a murdered core.

"I'll need you to do some EWAR on that ship, see if you can remotely get control of the thrusters and defensive systems and prepare it for docking." -- Natascha

[x, y, 13]

"Sure, let's see. Docking codes, acquired, comm-links enabled, hmm. Having a little trouble with thruster control, in fact, I'm not really able to get any main processes to shut down. The binary is just everywhere; I can't make heads or tails of it. I'm only on the surface, so I can't say if they've noticed data up/down streams." -- Four

[x, y, 9]

"Well, we'll have to do this the old fashioned way,"

With some choice wardrobe alterations, and all my womanly charm I take a place at the helm.

"Connect us to their comms." -- Natascha

||"Hello? How did you get this number?" -- ???

||"Oh, I'm just passing by, on the way to Quernette III's moon, how about you?" -- Natascha

||"Who is this, turn your visual links on." -- ???

There he is, a gruff man, short, old. He has some stubble and a crew cut hair. There is no one else in sight of his camera. The cockpit is slightly cluttered and a small can of rations is sitting up on the terminal. He is muscular, tired, too. Time to work the charms.

Natascha 2011/03/26(Sat)03:08 No. 290904 ID: f97b8e
File 130113413515.jpg - (132.15KB , 1000x1000 , outfitmodifications.jpg )

||"Oh, of course, where are my manners! I'm... Paula of the ship... Sunrise Noon,"

"..." -- Paula

"..." -- Four

||"and we're just passing, I hope you don't mind the chatter while we pass you." -- Natascha

||"We?" -- ???

||"I meant, myself and my ship. We've been through a lot, but, please, tell us about you." -- Natascha

||"We are not interested in conversa... No, ignore it. She's just passing. Yes, she." -- ???

||"Hi, miss! I'm Kyle! We're always interested in talking with fellow captains!" -- Kyle

A much younger, lithe boy gets on the link, practically pushing the other man out of the seat. Could this be the captain? Captains? Interesting, I guess. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Time to work my charm for the plan later.

||"Hee~, well, I'm always g... Hmm, I'm sorry to spark up a conversation with such a... Cutie and run, but, I need to get moon-side sooner then I had anticipated." -- Natascha

"Full speed ahead, we need to check out exactly what this moon is being used for. They arn't military, but, something isn't right." -- Natascha

[2, 8, 4]

A quick scan over the planet reveals some large structures generating their own atmosphere, but no active attempts to create a moon-wide habitable dominion. It's nothing out of the ordinary, though. Mining operations sometimes do deep crust drilling instead of open face, which could have small personal space suits. Which means, the miners in that ship are elite, which means they'll fetch a huge sum of money, which means I'll be able to resume my life of having my way, any way I want it.

You always get the best plans, Journal.

"Four, set course to a spot between this moon and the ship we interacted with early. Set up the distress beacon and we'll wait for them to get in range. Cut power from one of the turbines once we get out there, we'll set up a trap." -- Natascha

Objectives

>Get boarded
>'Subdue' crew
>Switch cargo
>[[Write 3x less]]
>1d20 if actions suggested, please.

[[3d20 is different from 1d20, as well.]]

rolled 14, 14, 5 = 33

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Hmm since Paula is an android and will be the main offense perhaps you could flush their ship with some kind of gas to knock out some or all the crew. Four miht e able to make you immune to the gas or you could just wear a gas mask.

Make sure you 'search' them all thoroughly...

rolled 12, 14 = 26

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try to subdue them first
if that doesnt work, board them. if they run, take out their engines.

i am still against slavery i must add

If current design philosophy for engines uses stellar hydrogen accelerated up to very high impulse in ramjet type engines then you could remove their ability to run by setting up a magsail and using it to sweep their anticipated path clean of hydrogen. You, of course, would have stored hydrogen so that you could change course quickly.

eh, live ones are harder to control. at least a unmanned ship can be pratically disasembled with no worries. wich brings me to point, we have a WHOLE factory inside the frigate? we should be setting up a home base filled with automated defenses!

atmos poisoning shouldnt work unless localized. their life support sistem is better that average, it seems. simply befriend them claiming to need a direct jump start to the engine/energy core, knock out whatever mechanic they send to do it and we can already work out a hostage situation if we fail to capture the ship.

rolled 5, 4, 18 = 27

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>>291175
wtf, twice failed