================================== Part of @SivCorp RP series The Kingdoms ================================== Lost in The Pegasi Frontier Vincent Horizon and his friends were just doing a training mission, but ended up lost in a very distant system right on their graduation day. No problem though, once the festivities are over the Protectorate will notice their absence and will send someone to rescue them, right? Chapter 2: Back to the Stone Age Chapter 3: An Undesired Home Chapter 4: The Battle of Pegasi V Chapter 5: Survivors Prologue - The last voyage of the Pegasus Vincent's Diary: This was supposed to be a simple mission. We traveled with the Pegasus prototype to the limits of explored space in order to test its ftl drive and cryosleep pods. The captain assured us that it was the most advanced Protectorate ship ever made, designed to go where no one had ever gone before. As a science officer in training (and one of the first Novakids preparing to become a Protector), I would be one of the last to enter my pod for the return trip. It was just a requirement for the tests, but as I checked the systems one last time, we received a distress signal. It came from a binary star system relatively far away, but being beyond coordinates 10,000,000 in x and y, that could be considered a pretty short distance. Since we were in a remote sector and the signal was barely detectable, due to some strange interference from the stars, the captain assumed we were the only ones to receive it and decided to go take a look. "Don't worry" he said, "we'll make it back just in time for the party." Because the message said something about failing systems, the captain powered down everything non essential and let most of the crew remain in their cryopods. The chief engineer was the only other person awake. That proved to be a wise decision because as soon as we arrived we started having problems all over the ship. Most of our systems were affected, but I still managed to do a quick scan. There was no sign of any other ships at close range, but we were near a planet with inhabitable conditions. Upon hearing that, the captain ordered me to eject all occupied pods and immediately get to another one. The Pegasus' reactor was overloading fast and we were losing system after system. But he still wanted to try to send an SOS to Earth. My pod launched successfully, but something made it start spinning and the propulsion shut down. It was unlikely to be a malfunction, since we tested everything on board multiple times as part of our training. If something hit the pod... That didn't bode well for the Pegasus. Another warning sounded: the pod somehow had lost most of its oxygen supply. I did my best and managed to restart propulsion and navigation. I had no way to know what happened with the Pegasus, but the pod should automatically set a course to the planet and land as close to the others as possible. With a limited oxygen supply, I started the cryosleep system and hoped for the best... Day 1: Graduation day Asumi's Diary: I woke up from cryosleep and immediately noticed that something really bad must have happened, because I was clearly not on Earth attending my graduation. "It's just a routine mission" they said. Yes, of course. Ejecting experimental pods with frozen cadets is the customary action in these cases. Well, the Pegasus must have cost a fortune, so there was no way they wouldn't notice its disappearance. A rescue mission should be coming soon and it was my duty to survive until then. The planet was hot, but nothing unbearable. My pod had landed in a pond of dirty water and just in front of it I found what looked like a grave. That was a good sign. Whoever dig that could still be around. However, unlike them, the natives were definitely there. I could hear them and they didn't sound friendly. I turned back to grab a weapon in the pod, but it was gone. It sunk in the swamp with all the supplies and technology I had. Great. The creature's noise sounded much closer the second time. Town Level – Nonexistent Population = 1 Food = ( Crops 0 /3 )+( Recipes 0 /2 )+( Drinks 0 / 3 )-( Pop 1 ) >> -1 = 0 + 0 + 0 - 1 Health = ( Food groups 0 )+( Liquid sources 0 )+( Med -0.5 x Pop 1 ) >> -0.5 = 0 + 0 + -0.5 Housing = ( Rooms 1 / Pop 2)x( Beds 0 - Pop 1) >> -1 = 1 * -1 Bed lvl = 0 Morale = (Clothing 0 - Pop 1 )+( Recreation 0 - Pop 1 /10 )+( Sanitation -1 * Pop 1) >> -6.1 = -1 + -0.1 + -1 + -2 + -2 lost on far away planet (-2), lost all supplies and technology (-2) Economics = ( Jobs 0 - Pop 1 )+( Landmarks 0 - Pop 1 /10) + Other 0 >> -1.1 = -1 + -0.1 + 0 Kingdom rating: -9.7 = -1+-0.5+-1+-6.1+-1.1 Very Unhappy, Needs improvement in... everything. Good luck Asumi... Tech Level = wood/stone Fleet Level = 0
Closer indeed! A few meters to the right! Awesome story, man, and I'm sure you won't disappoint with your architecture either!
Thanks guys. That monster is not very easy to notice. I wanted to start on a Arid or Desert planet but since the Novakid Frontier furniture is not yet available, I went for a Forest planet with some interesting subbiomes.
I like how you think ahead, I didn't pay much attention to the world I was settling in. I just let it flow and the story unfolds itself. PS.: One thing you didn't pay attention (I think): unless the density of the fluid in the escape pod is less than the water's or the air there is super-dense, the pod should sink a bit more into the water!
That makes sense! Maybe it has a system to keep it floating? If it failed it explains why it sunk so fast. We can always build bases on other planets. I'll have a Novakid village eventually. All Kingdoms can expand.
Day 2: Back to the Stone Age Asumi's Diary: They were probably still with a hangover from the graduation party on Earth, while I fought against beasts with stones and branches. Why did I agree to come on this mission? They didn't even need soldiers. At least it wasn't cold at night. Escaping that first creature had meant jumping into the swamp, which was definitely not pleasant. The smell ruined my clothes, but fortunately it rained a lot in the morning, so I could at least wash myself. Once I made a spear I started teaching them a lesson. Even without much sleep at night, they wouldn't stand a chance against me. The next step was to try an improvised bow against the flying lizards. And as I killed one of them, I saw an object burning through the atmosphere. When it opened a parachute there was no doubt: it was another escape pod from the Pegasus. It fell beyond the mountain, so I had no choice but to climb it. I gathered some vines and made a primitive grappling hook. If I could reach my parachute, it would get me past the worst part of the climb. And the worse that could happen was another bath in the swamp. On the other side there was another swamp stretching as far as I could see. The water was shallow and luckily I found no dangerous creatures hidden there. Eventually I reached the end of the swamp and encountered a frog like alien. He couldn't speak my language, but he gave me a business card, of all things. Apparently he works for a company called Frog Furnishings and, since the card was in English, he must have dealt with the Protectorate before. That was really strange, because what are the odds somebody else that came from known space would end up in this same planet in the frontier? Maybe I was not that far from civilization. It was getting dark, but I decided to press on. The pod shouldn't be too far. Vincent's diary: The pod's system informed me that I had landed safely, although one day after the others. Because it was launched later and I had to restart the propulsion, my pod had to go around the planet to correctly land near them. The interference from the stars prevented my systems to precisely determine how many and where they were, but at least I knew that I was not alone. My pod trembled and I noticed that I was dangling by its parachute. I grabbed some supplies, weapons and a matter manipulator, all available in the pod's locker. They certainly didn't spare any money with these things! Out of the cave I detected a signal from another pod just a few kilometers away. The journey there wasn't dangerous, but I did have to deal with some of the local fauna. The signal became stronger as I approached it. After climbing a mountain, enjoying the beautiful landscape, I found another survivor near a desert. And it couldn't have been a better person: Flaire, the only other Novakid that I knew was still training to become a Protector. It was really good to know she was all right. We made camp under a waterfall, safe from any animals that could come at night. Despite all of our problems, it was actually quite a nice planet. Later that night another survivor reached us: Asumi. She was exhausted and had apparently lost all of her stuff, including her clothes. She was using some vines or alien leather, I'm not sure, as her underclothes. Not that I commented on that. Humans are one of the few races that have that custom and they seem to be touchy about it. She slept most of the following day while Flaire helped me built a proper camp near the waterfall. The water there was not appropriate for consumption and our pod supplies were running low, so we would have to find a way to collect and test rainwater. If it was not safe to drink, we'd have a serious problem. Town Level – Camp Population = 3 Food = ( Crops 20 /3 )+( Hunting 1 /3 )+( Recipes 0 /2 )+( Drinks 0 / 3 )-( Pop 3 ) >> 4 = 20/3 + 1/3 + 0 + 0 + -3 Food: meat, wheat, carrot, tomato Health = ( Food groups 3 )+( Liquid sources 0 )+( Med -0.5 * Pop 3 ) >> 1.5 = 3 + 0 + -1.5 Housing = ( Rooms 1 / Pop 3)x( Beds 1 - Pop 3) >> -0.67 = 1/3 * -2 Bed lvl = 2 sleeping bags (2 x .5) Morale = (Clothing 2 - Pop 3 )+( Recreation 0 - Pop 3 /10 )+( Sanitation -1 * Pop 3) >> -6.3 = -1 + -0.3 + -3 + -2 Lost on far away planet (-2) Economics = ( Jobs 3 - Pop 3 )+( Landmarks 0 - Pop 3 /10) + Other 0 >> -0.3 = 0 + -0.3 + 0 Jobs: hunter, farmer, carpenter Kingdom rating: -1.77 = 4+1.5+-0.67+-6.3+-0.3 Unhappy, needs improvement in housing and morale. Urgently needs to collect drinking water. Tech Level = wood/stone Fleet Level = 0
Chapter 3: An Undesired Home Vincent's diary: A few days have passed and there is no sign of a rescue mission. And the days here last considerably longer than on Earth. I'm worried about Flaire. Asumi is clearly displeased so I know how she feels, but Flaire seems quieter than normal and she insists that everything is okay. I wonder if she really feels fine though. Since the rain water is suitable for drinking, waiting a little longer shouldn't be a problem. Keeping ourselves busy helps a lot. We invited Mr. Frog (he seems to have accepted this name) to live with us and he has been a great help, even without the ability to speak any of the languages we know. He is a very skilled carpenter and seems to love his job. He borrowed one of our matter manipulators and knew just how to turn it into a fine tool. It's really impressive the amount of detail he has added to our furniture. I suspect that he threw something to grow our crops faster. Between that and Asumi's hunting, food has not been a problem for us. Unless you consider how to preserve it. Flaire has come up with a brilliant solution: she designed a building made of clay and wet sand, with openings on top. We place wet cloth there and when the water in it evaporates it takes the heat out of the interior. We actually don't know how well it works, but it must be much better than leaving our food in the basement. What a genius mind! Wood is everywhere, so we set up a lumber camp to gather enough materials to upgrade our house. The parachute tent is fine, but it was never intended to be a permanent solution. Not that there should be anything permanent. Saying that word seemed to have a strong effect on Asumi. I think she is losing her patience. But she is a soldier and should be all right. It's Flaire that worries me. Asumi's diary: I should have taken more time retrieving my stuff in the jungle. With one of Vincent's guns and a matter manipulator it was no challenge. I even drained that accursed lake and found my pod. But going back meant helping the others build a house. Why should we do it? Where is our rescue? Well, the improvised tent was not ideal, but it's really depressing to build a house, as if we were going to stay here. As the days passed I found proof that Novakids do lose their memories. Those two sometimes seem to completely forget our situation. They will laugh about stupid things, like an alien with a big nose or Mr. Frog living near the outhouse. Unbelievable. Eventually I had no choice but to go explore the jungle another time. And it was then that I found the Felins. They were starving and wouldn't have made it without my help. Once we got back to our camp and they were fed and rested, they told us a very interesting story. Considering how long they have been here, it's safe to assume their ship is the one that sent the distress signal to us. They had been hired to deliver some secret goods in this system, but as soon as they arrived their ship started to malfunction... Just like the Pegasus, but a lot faster, which makes sense considering that our ship was the state of the art and would resist longer. After that some pirates went to their ship and killed all the other members of their crew. The Felins, Shemi and Uthin, were hiding and heard one of the pirates say something about another ship and the Protectorate. While he was confused, they teleported to the planet before anyone could notice them. How did the pirates counter the effects of the binary stars' interference? Did they attack us? If they had weapons, they could have easily destroyed the crippled Pegasus. So... what did they do? And why didn't they come after our pods? Town Level – Hamlet Population = 6 Food = ( Crops 20 /3 )+( Hunting 1 /3 )+( Recipes 1 /2 )+( Drinks 18 / 3 )-( Pop 6 ) >> 7.5 = 20/3 + 1/3 + 0.5 + 6 + -6 Food: meat, wheat, carrot, tomato Drinks: more than enough water stored, but even the rain water needs to be boiled first, so it counts as 18 only Health = ( Food groups 3 )+( Liquid sources 0 )+( Med -0.5 * Pop 6 ) >> 0 = 3 + 0 + -3 Housing = ( Rooms 3 / Pop 6 )x( Beds 8 - Pop 6 ) >> 1 = 0.5 * 2 Bed lvl = 2 sleeping bags (2 x .5), 7 standard beds (7 x 1) Morale = (Clothing 6 - Pop 6 )+( Recreation 0 - Pop 6 /10 )+( Sanitation 0 * Pop 6) >> -6.6 = 0 + -0.6 + 0 + -6 lost on far away planet (-2 for Asumi, -2 for each Felin) Economics = ( Jobs 6 - Pop 6 )+( Landmarks 0 - Pop 6 /10) + Other 0 >> -0.6 = 0 + -0.6 + 0 Jobs: hunter, farmer, carpenter, lumberjack, seamstress, builder Kingdom rating 1.3 = 7.5+0+1+-6.6+-0.6 Content, need to improve morale Tech Level = wood/stone/copper/iron Fleet Level = 0
Your architecture never fails to amuse me, it's always so neat and original... But the story doesn't fall behind either, I just loved the way you introduced the characters' personalities (with possible conflicts that just add flavor to the story) all the while developing the main mystery that will drive the RP onward. Keep going, I demand more!
Chapter 4: The Battle of Pegasi V Asumi's diary: The Felins' story changed our plans. We couldn't simply wait for a rescue. Even if the Protectorate searched every system nearby, they might not come in time to save us from the pirates. So we decided to mine some resources and build a better transmitter. But while we set up our smithy and tested the transmitters in our pods, we received another distress signal. And just before it came, the interference effects seemed to increase tenfold. The signal came from the L7-92, a Vespoid exploration ship. Flaire tried hard to establish a connection with them, with no success. She insisted anyway and after a few minutes the interference returned to its previous level and she succeeded. Remembering what happened to the Felin crew, she hacked the teleporter system and suggested that we went on board to deal with the pirates. The Felins and Mr. Frog were away, so we had to go without them. Once there, we found three enemies, that were quickly dealt with, and most of the Vespoids dead. We were too late to help them, but with a ship we could finally contact the Protectorate. However, before we could try that, the enemy ship hailed us, asking if the cargo was good. If we contacted the Protectorate, assuming the interference allowed us, they would notice. And if we didn't answer, more pirates would come. The surviving Vespoid was just a mechanic and gladly accepted our help. We didn't have much time. According to Vincent, the interference was much smaller than when we arrived with the Pegasus, but the Vespoid ship's systems were still recovering and we couldn't activate the ftl. We checked the scanners and determined that we were on the fifth planet of the system. There were 3 pirate ships nearby. They contacted us again and, judging by their tone, they were getting suspicious. If the pirates sent more people through the teleporter, they would find out that we survived and there would be no escape. We scanned the planet and located the Felins, bringing them to the ship. But before we could find Mr. Frog, one of the pirate ships started firing against the planet. They must have noticed our scanning and the use of the teleporter. One, two, three shots. All in the direction of a small forest between a desert and a swamp... There was no going back now. RIP Mr. Frog. As we tried to decide what to do, a new ship came out of ftl. Something in its design, gray and orange, looked familiar, but I couldn't be sure of what. It moved fast in the direction of the pirates, shooting with more weapons than one would expect in a ship of that size. Their first target was taken by surprise and was quickly destroyed. The second one took some hits and moved to one of the moons of the planet, apparently having no weapons and trying to hide on the other side. The newcomers decided to ignore them and focus on the third pirate ship, that was turning, trying to point some strange antenna to them. It was destroyed before completing their move. Whoever they were, the attackers had just solved our problems. But obviously our accursed expedition wouldn't finish so easily. A much bigger ship arrived, with some serious weapons and another of those strange antennas. The gray ship fought valiantly, always moving to avoid being in front of the antenna. It defied all probability, resisting the superior force and eventually damaging its opponent's weapons and propulsion. As it made another turn to deal the final blow, the unarmed pirate ship came out from the other side of the moon and at that exact moment the gray ship was disabled. It was then that we finally understood what was going on in this system. The pirates had developed a way to amplify the interference from the binary stars and were using it to capture ships that they attracted here. The smaller pirate ship in fact didn't have any weapons, but the bigger one was rotating toward the disabled one, as if getting ready to fire. Our sensors revealed that their weapons were recovering. They apparently were not taking the risk of trying to capture their adversary. We had to help or we would be the next target. An idea occurred to me and I asked the mechanic if they had any form of explosives on board. He said they had only some radioactive material, but Flaire gathered some devices and improvised two bombs. The pirates had completely forgotten about us and we still had teleporter access to their ships. We sent the bombs and the radioactive barrels to them and the smaller ship immediately exploded. Their teleporter pad must have been near their reactor or another critical system. The bigger one was still powering their weapons and, having finally turned toward the gray ship, was also maintaining it disabled with their antenna. Our target showed no apparent damage, but it would be filled with the radiation from the dirty bomb, so things shouldn't be all right there. As it continued to rotate, making its antenna stop pointing in the right direction, we knew we had succeeded. The pirates did not have full control of their systems and the gray ship, although not fully recovered, started moving and firing. The pirates were heavily damaged when they were finally able to move again. Some of their weapons were reactivated and started firing, however, they couldn't aim correctly to hit the gray ship, so they ended up with no other choice except activating their ftl and leaving the system. The gray ship left too, pursuing their dying prey. Unfortunately, one of the last shots from the pirates ended up hitting us. We lost our thrusters and the L7-92, on fire, began to descend into Pegasi V. This damn planet simply won't let us go. Kingdom rating: dropping fast.
I took a screenshot of the planet with my ship as far on the top as possible. Then I cut that part of the picture. The ship images are from the mod page. I "completed" them to give the outside appearance. They had transparency/white background so they can be easily pasted them on the other picture.
LOVE the story elements. Excellent fun.... too bad for Mr. Frogg Hopefully they can pilot that ship enough to salvage some of it when they crash....
Chapter 5: Survivors Vincent's diary: When I woke up I couldn't remember what had happened, but the state of the ship changed that quickly. We had crashed and, judging by the sand, in a desert. However, it wasn't the one near our house, because the gravity was slightly different. We were on another planet. Flaire explained to me that after we put out the fire she sent Asumi and the Felins to reboot the ship's computer. I helped her restart the propulsion, but it would need some time to be activated again and we would crash before it. Luckily, Asumi succeeded and we moved to another star system, arriving at another planet, but not so close that we would fall without the propulsion to save us. We all lost consciousness because of another explosion and we were not awake during the fall. Exploring the planet, we found a human being that had been on this planet for a long time. He said that there was a pirate base with many prisoners nearby and he was the only fugitive that was still alive. The frequent sandstorms covered our ship so we should be all right, but now there would be more searching parties and his house was no longer safe. It occurred to me that the computer must have stored the destination of the big pirate ship after it escaped and Asumi just activated the ftl as fast as she could, with no time to select any other coordinates. Unfortunately, the bridge was under the ship and it was probably the first place to hit the ground. There was no trace of Asumi and the Felins. I couldn't see any way they would have made it. Further exploration led us to a searching party. We followed them and located a tall building. The big pirate ship must have escaped to their base system and now we had no other choice, except finding a way to take control of the place.
