Do y’all have ideas for your teams for the space race yet?
I wanted to really push the new era vibe, so my main team is going to be multinationals who don’t have the old GACA Nationalism.
Also another team, mostly as a foil, will be characters all born after the Leviathan war (which was about 17~18 years prior to reborn!) One will be a NuTube star racing for the views to his channel. Remember to like and subscribe!
Jotted this down the other day:
The Ship:
The Tsarina, modified SLCM-Space Cossack-class raider. Cossack-class ships were used in the Coalition-Merge War and the White Cell War to raid enemy supply lines. Cossacks were designed to be stealthy and fast, so they could conduct hit-and-fade operations and outrun ships they couldn’t outfight.
The Tsarina is significantly smaller than the standard Cossack – the original design called for extended patrols and required extra crew space, but this has been removed to add more engines and thrust. The ship still largely retains the stealthy characteristics of the original design.
The Crew
- Aisha Zuku, Former SLCM-Space Commander, veteran of various space combats as well as the Battle of Dragonspace. Despite a decorated service record, she decided to strike out on her own to make a name for herself in the space race. World worry and cynical.
-Tularean, sprite mage (Sola) – youthful and inquisitive, ready for a grand adventure
-Omari, Yeti first mate who owes Captain Zuku a life-debt for when she busted him out of a White Cell POW camp, “gentle giant.”
-V3-888 “Fixer”- put-upon pilot droid that makes everything work.
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Do we have a space race start date?
…maybe end of February?
Just throwing that out there, I’m out of town during Chinese New Year so starting it off during the Year of the Dog makes sense.
I think end of February is good. We do wanna give Mike the time he needs.
Yeah, I was hoping to have the app done by then. Though the super blue blood moon is the 31st, would be a fun milestone for something.
THE SHIP: Kainsaku’s Glory
The official flagship of the nation of NEW NEW LUNARIS, formed in the wake of the White Cell crisis (see “The Legend of Sahl Endeberg”) on the surface of Lunaris, the “light” moon of Crystal III. Kainsaku’s Glory (and a handful of other ships like it) are genuine Lunarian starships, having been built thousands of years ago using magic and technology that is lost to the modern web. It’s probably not a very fast ship at all and is very likely to lose, but nevertheless the crowds will cheer when they see it fly by.
THE CREW
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Sahl Endeberg: The Beloved Hero himself; the youngest Dragoon ever in the history of the Kingdom of Baron; veteran of the Great War; former Police Chief of the City of Kupopolis (and candidate for Mayor [btw, that campaign is now entering its 9th year with no clear frontrunner or election date]). After having accidentally died in a tragic chromate accident during the first ever Robotics Tournament, Sahl Endeberg returned to life and went on living. While the rest of the Web was battered by the clash of White Cell and the Grand Army, Sahl Endeberg travelled to Lunaris on a mission to restore the nation of New Lunaris, which fell to the forces of Zeromus during the Great War. Having successfully done that thing he was doing, he named the new nation he founded New New Lunaris. Because they beloved him so much, the New New Lunarisians begged Sahl Endeberg to be their King, but he refused. He was then offered several other titles, including Lord Imperator, Regent Supreme and Almighty Executive, but ultimately settled for being a Duke, because he liked the sound of Duke and wasn’t sure there were any other people with the title of Duke in the Web of Worlds anymore. When he is aboard Kainsaku’s Glory, however, his title is Admiral Duke.
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Jay Peterson: A moogle black mage who died while rescuing Kusader from kaptivity at the hands of the konniving Kuvallan kommunists (kupo!). Sahl Endeberg met him in the afterlife and decided he would make a smashing sidekick, so he brought him back into the world of the living with him. He doesn’t really have any skills relevant to piloting a space ship; he’s mostly just there so Sahl Endeberg has someone to trade dialogue with. Officially he is the Vice Duke of New New Lunaris.
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PollBot 3000: Sahl Endeberg’s political advisor. PollBot is a robot that Sahl Endeberg built himself, because Sahl Endeberg is good at almost everything, in addition to being a dragoon. (which he is also good at) There was some concern, initially, over the retcon that PollBot 3000 was built by Sahl Endeberg in Proper, after having appeared in Neo where he didn’t seem to recognize Sahl Endeberg, but I’m sure this will all be cleared up to everyone’s satisfaction in the Special Editions.
THE SHIP
Solseaker Midori Motors THRONE Protoype
A prototype “throne” spacecraft for replacing the Diamond corporation’s aging fleet of space ready “seraphim” robotic vehicles, the design trades the seraphim’s customization and armor for speed and maneuverability. Made by Midori Motors, It follows in the tradition of sleek smooth appearance while appearing more elongated and uniform body than most ships of its size. Notably, like seraphim the crew consists of a singular pilot, with the bulk of the piloting done by Diamond’s trademark subconscious ai.
THE CREW
Zachary “Zach” Leo Pilot
A one time GACA cadet pilot from Zozo, Zach left the career behind to pursue a career in the Web of Worlds football federation. Having been recently dropped, he has been convinced that the race would be good way to kick start his career once again.
Danelle Mercia General Manager
Born into the Tasnican upper class, this half-windian, half-hylian managed the team for Midori motors. Known for her looks, Danelle is constantly pushing herself to prove that she is more than the sum of her genetics.
Bok Fluy Chief Mechanic
Little is known about Bok, other then he is a quiet and comes from a space colony family. He appears to be a prodigy at all things mechanical
Christopher “Kit” Davidson Lead Engineer
Kit manages the ships systems and fixes any glitches the prototype may encounter. Dedicated to his job, he is somewhat of a martyr and seeks constant validation in his work.
THE SHIP: Konig Bertrand IV, a customized space yacht. The Bertie, as its crew shortens it to, is an entirely custom-built ship. It has much of the newest technology and finest comfort… or had, until it was redesigned to have a three-core reactor and a five-thruster propulsion system, trading comfort for speed. It has a reverse teardrop shape, except that the “pointy” end now ends in five massive thruster nozzles strapped to the back.
THE CREW
Josef Ernst Maria Pilsudski Helmut von Muselheim IV, the Captain
Josef is – though the rest of the Web could care less – the titular king of Tasnica. That their family has bothered to keep track is something or a miracle and an embarrassment (except that almost no one has ever heard of the von Muselheims, who haven’t been relevant for centuries). He is also a brilliant engineer, who designed the Bertie himself.
Claude Dolman, the Pilot
Claude Dolman is a washed-up, only arguably formerly alcoholic pilot. The White Cell conflict destroyed his ship, which he had earned a lot of money with, and killed his Scandian partner. Dolman is grizzled, but an expert pilot. He openly admits to only being here for the money.
Mariko Sugiyoshi, Sensor Specialist
A twenty-four year-old woman from Eblan. She is a specialist in reading sensors – at least, theoretically. She was an astronomer who specialized in monitoring astronomical sensors. Josef lured her away from a stable job in Tasnican orbital astronomy with promises of a lot of money. The Bertie also has a state of the art sensor suite.
Kupello, Chief Mechanic
A Moogle, who is from Carrion (and specifically Avalon). He doesn’t talk much about that background. He says that is looking for someone, and taking odd jobs as a mechanic to get by. This is Kupello’s oddest job in awhile.
NEW CREW MEMBER ADDED: Vitali Dezhnyov: Former Lieutenant in SLCM-Sea. A young man, most of his active military experience has the backdrop of the Protectorate’s simmering-but-unrealized conflict with Guardia and the Coalition. When he heard that Sahl Endeberg was “putting together a team” to win the Grand Tour, he immediately abandoned his post and went to the Endelair to sign up. Two things are most curious about Lieutenant Dezhnyov: first, as a sailor, he has absolutely no skills that are relevant to crewing a starship in any way. Second, rather than be criminalized or sought for punishment by SLCM-Sea, he has instead been lionized and was offered a commendation in absentia by the admiralty.
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Ringers! – in case we need some random other pilot to eat someone’s space-dust! As a true Kupopolis writer, I’m maybe addicted to making characters. Maybe one of these guys will show up and grow into something bigger. Or maybe not! Just thought having a few filler names handy might be useful.
Chad Brucken. Pilot for the Kuat Consortium, flying the latest-and-greatest Kuat racing ship, the Donnerschalg (“Thunderbolt.”) A total dudebro who made sure to bring his home gym on the ship.
Racer G. Mysterious masked racer with a ship of unknown origin.
Trevor Rukons. A former Unbound pirate, and before that, a Kuat Arms
expert. Trevor is hoping for a third career as a space racer, because why not?
Beluga. Priman pilot hoping to launch his a spacecraft manufacturing start-up business by the winning the race in his own custom-built craft. His natural affinity for maneuvering in three dimensions gives him an advantage in piloting.
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THE SHIP
The Denadorian Rhapsody. A modified GSF Blackbird 2 light cruiser. Since coming under private ownership, the Rhapsody has been scaled down in size, with most of its missile batteries removed and replaced with extra engine power. The Rhapsody was customized after it was purchased by Mystic entrepreneur Mikkel Shrekhali.
THE CREW
Mikkel Shrekhali The Owner
An Ogan from Denadoro, Shrekhali made his fortune in hedge funds and technology entrepreneurship. He is also a figure of some ill repute; after acquiring the manufacturing license for medical therapy nanotech used in the treatment of Daragg’s Syndrome, Shrekhali increased the price by a factor of 50. He also paid over 2 million in auction for the single copy of the album Long Ago in Xiaolang by the Nu-Wang Clan, which he has been hoarding ever since, despite fan outcry.
Sinclaire “Claire” Diavolo The Pilot
A Denadorian Diablo ex-GSF starfighter pilot, Diavolo lost her commission with the GSF for going AWOL and going on a particularly infamous bender with several of her cohorts. That she was dealing with a great deal of what she claimed was “built-in” racism against Mystics within the Guardian military means that her career with the GSF was likely numbered anyway. She is also a bit of an amateur musician, traveling everywhere with a guitar.
The Picaro Brothers The Dogsbodies
A quartet of Imps-- Cicco, Lyuto, Grumbo, and Zippo– with an eclectic and varied expertise in spacecraft tech and various other fields. The four have a tendency to get into one another’s way quite often, and often under foot of others, but in spite of it all, they get the jobs done. Eventually.
Oleg Swolverin The Chief Engineer
A Hench with a knack for machinery, Oleg actually oversaw much of the refit on the Rhapsody when Shrekhali bought it. As such, he knows how it all works, and he’s in charge of keeping it all running, sometimes by thumping one of the Picaros on the noggin and shouting orders at them.
I spent a long time trying to come up with even an idea for a team, when it suddenly all clicked today. A ship with an all-Mystic crew. Et voila, we have Claire Diavolo, the Picaro Bros., and Oleg Swolverin. I haven’t yet decided whether Mikkel Shrekhali will be on the ship during the race, or if he’s just bankrolling his own ship.
Yeah, I’m digging the all-mystic crew. (…and Nu-Wang Clan just proves that other people are better at coming up with punny musical names than I am. Though Bertha Javelins has, perhaps, ascended. Though, I was bad on purpose with Ryolta Celerity.)
I’m thinking it might be useful to get a sense of the relative size of our craft.
Just judging by what’s here, it seems like, biggest so smallest:
Denadorian Rhapsody (biggest) - According to the wiki, “stock” Blackbirds have a complement of forty fighters. Even a reduced size one would probably still be pretty big. (One assumes it had at least some of the flight deck removed/converted, the Gatian space equivalent of a razee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razee. Perhaps during the White Cell War there was a need for faster warships.)
Tsarina - also a modified warship, designed for long patrols, but its base model is quite a bit smaller than the Blackbird. (I mean, it’s like comparing an aircraft carrier with a u-boat.)
Konig Bertrand IV - It’s a “yacht”, which to me says "small, but luxurious, and impeccably upholstered."
Solseaker (Smallest) - designed to be a one-person craft, and meant as a seraphim upgrade, this is probably the smallest.
I have no idea where Sahl Endeburg’s crazy Lunarian tech ship fits. Probably in the middle? Maybe a touch bigger than the Tsarina?
…and since the larger craft all have extra engines added, we can assume that they all have a fair chance to win based on speed. They will have to use different tactics in the asteroid field, though. (Shoot the ice asteroids, but dodge the rocky ones.)
Yeah, I pictured the Bertie as like… Millennium Falcon-ish? It’s not big in the slightest. A “corvette” would be accurate, in sci-fi terms.
New New Lunarian Lunar Ships (say that ten times fast) are not so big, but what they lack in bigness they more than make up for with
Any general ballpark sizes in meters? Like the Solseaker is close to seraphim size and looks like an elongated teardrop with enterprise looking thrusters, about 9 meters long, 2 meters tall, and 3 meters wide.
Hmm. That’s bigger than I’d have thought-- my bad, I really should have read the size etc more carefully-- but I like the idea that the Rhapsody would have other complications to deal with due to its size. (i.e. either circumnavigate asteroid fields, or use what weapons it has left to clear a path maybe?)
It’s not too late to change to another ship model if you want, Jay.
…although I really like having a lot of diverse ships in the competition, so I think keeping it works, too.
Well, if we’re going with Real Numbers in meters, useful famous ships for comparison:
Star Destroyer (Imperial Class):
Enterprise-D: 642 meters
Enterprise (no bloody A, B, C, or D): 288 meters
SR-2 Normandy from Mass effect: 170 meters (though my sourcing on this is not the best!)
Correllian Corvette: 150 meters (I think a “stock” Cossack Raider would be here, because I based it on http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Raider-class_corvette, but the Tsarina is maybe a little less. I might need more crew, lol…)
Space Shuttle: 56.1 meters
Millenium Falcon: 35 meters
Gundam (the original RX-78-2): 18 meters high
X-Wings, Starfuries, and other various starfighters are like 10-15 meters; the real life F-35 is 15 meters. (…and one assumes that flying in space requires extra equipment.)