You Signed Up for This (Fanfic from Boughene PbP ATU)

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Story:

Week 6
135-1106 0915 local
Boughene/Regina (Spinward Marches 1904)
Scout Base Boughene, Director's Office
Boughene Station

The sarcasm from the comms panel was bitter enough to make Scout Base Director Kehoe flinch. "Ok boss, so it really isn't actually Melissa. Would have been nice for you to have briefed me before I made her cry asking about it. And just what the hellworld is going on here anyhow?"

"Mike, at least you went full encrypt on the call. This could have gone very badly otherwise."

"Director Kehoe, I worked with Scout Ketonic on Feri and I know she was doing shady stuff for us. I knew she'd gone to ground after our guys took her offworld along with Dame Irshinri. Having her -- or rather, her teenaged duplicate -- waiting for me here on the Oganesson Pegasus isn't something anybody sane is going to transmit in the clear. So, why is it her?"

"Look, I went over this with you when you agreed to take the ship. It's a General Products build, not a legacy one from Collace, so you're going to need help keeping it going."

The scout on the other end of the call sighed. "Yes, I know. Meliss -- scratch that, she's Olga, I know -- was loaded with Engineering and Navigation along with Gunner over the generic Technician personality. She'll be fine, but that's not why I'm asking, and you know it." Mike paused. "Why is the ship's Assistive Guest Clone built from the body of Scout Ketonic? That's not fair to her, besides being flat-out creepy."

"Mike, Mike -- It wasn't my call. I'm just making sure the orders get followed."

"Orders? From who?"

"Anonymous, as with most everything that's had to do with her. But it's the same source that had us do the accelerated reconstructive surgery and chimera grafts on Miss Ketonic before she left... so it's legit. We got notification that the Og Pegasus's drive parts from Rhylanor came in at the same time as the orders to thaw Melissa's backup clone for use as the ship's Assistant did."

"Someone's trying to get Olga here, killed. If agents of Feri or House Oberlindes find her, they'll want vengeance. They won't know -- and probably won't care when they find out -- that it's not Melissa in that body."

"Yeah, Mike. Can't rule that out, but that's what the orders said. They must have a reason."

"They do. They're using her as an expendable decoy, and I'm supposed to parade her around until someone strikes."

"The orders don't say that!" Kehoe protested

"They don't have to," growled Mike in response.

"Are you backing out of accepting the ship under Detached Duty regulations?"

"No. It's not Melissa in there, but she saved my backside on Feri a couple of times that I know of. I think I owe it to her to keep her spare body alive. The Olga personality is keyed to this ship. If I don't take it, someone else that didn't know Missa is going to be in the same position with less information and motivation." Mike paused. "I'm in, you bastard."

"I told you, it wasn't my idea!"

"I know. But you didn't weasel out of it, either."

"The needs of the Imperium come before any individual."

"Doesn't mean we have to like it. Scout Blandship out."

The comm screen went blank. Director Kehoe stared at it for a very long time.


References:
A Day in the Life of a Traveller Gamestory (It's long. You can start at the spoiler in post #121 and skip a lot on the way forward, but the spoiler explains who Melissa Ketonic was; #140 has stuff happening to her. Is this foreshadowing?).
Boughene Station Blues (PbP In-Character Thread). It's also long. This story starts after the Silver Streak has departed with the PC party.
Kinunir Class Vanguard Cruiser (trav wiki). A couple of General Products ships didn't work quite right, hence the bit about GP ships having suspect reliability.
Guest (Clone) Traveller wiki.
Type S5 Neon Pegasus Class Long Scout: 199Td, J5/3G, TL-14.

Commentary:
Youtube links that are kind of what I'm throwing into the mix -- or not, this might just be a music dump:
You Signed Up for This -- Masie Peters
Empress of the Damned -- Gunship
Computer Guy -- Savlonic (Mr. Weebl)
Neon Pegasus -- Perry Gripp

Honestly, I'm not sure this is going anywhere, but figured it was worth typing out.
Comments and suggestions are welcome, though.

 

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Thanks for the positive response! I know it's a little insider-y, so I wasn't sure there'd be much interest.

This is a busy week for me, so it may be a couple of days before I can continue this. But continue it I shall.

 

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Story:

Week 6
135-1106 0920 local
IISS 3624368 Oganesson Pegasus (Cockpit)
at
Boughene/Regina (Spinward Marches 1904)
Scout Base Boughene, Boughene Station
Parking Bay Four

"You aren't going to leave me then, Mike? I'm glad you're staying, I like you," says Olga, with an innocently hopeful tone that Melissa had never used.
Melissa's really not in there, I realize. Wherever she is, I hope she's ok. Knowing her and her uncanny luck, I'm sure she is.

"No, Olga, I'm not leaving. This is my -- our -- ship now."

"Great!" she exclaims. "Where do we go first, and how soon do we leave? I really want to help make Oganesson Pegasus fly -- it's what I'm here for." She's totally sincere, and literally correct: she's been custom-programmed for this tasking. I now know better than to ask about her background, because she's been conditioned to actively avoid thinking about the fact that she doesn't actually have one.

Just another bit of unfairness dumped onto Melissa's spare body. The cloners could have given her a full personality and history, even if a mostly made up one. They didn't. They couldn't have made her Melissa though, not as a target, with what she knew. Too much risk.

Maybe it's better that she's not a "real" person, since she's doomed after all -- but that's not right either; "Olga Nesson" is real too, if incomplete. I turn away so she can't see me curse under my breath.

I turn back to her, wanting and expecting a totally random answer. "Olga? Where do you want to go first?"

 

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Story:
[Continuation]

"Feri."

What the - - ? "Um, Olga, that's not really a good choice right now."

"Why not?"

"Remember the woman I thought you looked like?"

"Yes -- 'Melissa,' you said her name was."

"Right. Well, the things she did there on Feri were good and important, but they made the local government mad. If we go there, you'll be in trouble because they'll think you're her, coming back.

"And why did you pick Feri anyhow?"

This drew a blank look from her. Born yesterday, age 20. I keep tripping over that...

A pause, then a reply as if reading from unfamiliar notes: "You two worked together there before, so it must be an interesting world. I would like to see it."

Glitch in her conditioning, I suppose. "Maybe later," I reply, "but it's not a safe place for you right now. Then again, it's not all that safe for anyone these days. Surprised it doesn't have a yellow travel code yet." Olga's face and posture expose her dismay, and I can't let that stand. "Anywhere else should be fine, though! I say, cheerily. "How about it?"

"Efate?" She's a little hesitant there, unsure.

Probably safe enough for now, I think. Three parsecs from Feri, different noble families -- yeah, it'll work. "Efate sounds good. Let's do that."

She brightens up. "Great! How soon?"

"Well," I respond, "I'll need a couple of hours to get my stuff together, and then run the pre-flight checks and file the flight plan. How about you?"

"I'm ready to go right now -- all my stuff is already on board. I live here, you know. I'll work on the pre-flight checks so you can do whatever you need to do. Let's get going!"

She's entirely too perky now. I wonder if I'll be able to handle that for weeks on end...

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Reference:
Feri/Regina (SPIN 2005)

 

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Commentary:
This is 11 days behind the current last event in the Boughene Blues PbP chronology (excluding the flash-foward to the Rangent stopover), for those who haven't done the math yet.

Yes, I'm making it explicit that entire PbP timeline is canon for purposes of this bit of writing.

So: @Spinward Scout: Jon Smithe would recognize Olga as Scout Ketonic from the ship (except that it's not her).
And: @Spinward Flow, @Hairy Jim DeGriz (if you're still watching): All of the present crew of the Silver Streak except for your characters and JT would recognize her, too. It is not out of the question for Puch and/or JT to know Scout Mike Blandship (this piece's POV character) from prior service, but I don't know (haven't rolled it) whether either of them does.

Assuming any of them run into each other, of course. I don't plan to have them do so, except maybe running into Jon somewhere down the line (he's a couple of months in the future, so to speak).

For simplicity, I'm just going to assume that whatever the Silver Streak peeps will have done at Efate didn't make the news (or was hushed up so it didn't), so it won't necessarily impinge on this storyline.

 

[Spinward Flow]

For simplicity, I'm just going to assume that whatever the Silver Streak peeps will have done at Efate didn't make the news (or was hushed up so it didn't), so it won't necessarily impinge on this storyline.

That would be the safest assumption.
Aislinn is definitely going to "toss a rock into the pond" (or "set the cat among the pigeons" if you prefer) at Efate ... but not in a way that would "make waves" in public or necessarily show up in news reporting. One of those cases of those who need to know will know types of deals, but anyone who doesn't need to know will be kept "out of the loop" and left undisturbed.

 

[Grav_Moped]

@Spinward Flow ... also means I don't need to play that out yet, either. Neither of the two inbound events I'd planned work right anymore (HDG's needs him running his character, and yours -- you asked for it, way back -- needed the ship to not be "hers").

 

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Commentary:
Anyhow.

Mike here has a few hours, maybe, to say goodbye to folks and perhaps get a passenger or two. I just need to figure out where this happens.

(Event will illustrate the expected situation on Efate, and might add one or more NPCs.)

 

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Stand by. Might have slipped down a rabbit hole of designing the deck plans for the Neon Pegasus class Type S5 Long Scout... LOL.

 

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Story:
Week 6
135-1106 1000 local
Boughene Station
Module Q-17, Level 5, Zone B
Pancake House

[Scout Mike Blandship (first person), an NPC named "Chimmy", waitresses in non-speaking roles]

I walk in -- they’ve fixed the place up, can’t even tell there was a shootout here a week ago.

Chimmy rises to greet me, all blonde and slender; we shake hands. “Hey, Mike – good to see you, even if you’re on your way off-station,” she says cheerfully.

“Same here, Chimmy,” I reply. “Wasn’t expecting to be headed out quite so soon. Got lucky, got a ride, got to go.”

"So," she asks as we both sit, "who did you have to... whatever.... to get loaned a freakin' Jump-5 scoutship?"

"I have no idea. Wait, come to think of it, maybe I do. It's that Puch guy. My exploration proposal was like his, sociopolitical developments in the border regions. He didn't get a loaner this time, but hitched a ride with Smithe, on an astrographic survey proposal -- and those guys found that ghost ship a couple of months back. Not surprised -- Jon was really good at nav and sensors. Anyhow, the Powers that Be in the Scouts must have figured the odds of getting something good out of a "sociopolitical developments" proposal went way up, and mine was next in the queue." I flag down a waitress, and start with coffee and water. I'll sort out brunch when I see the menu.

Chimmy picks up her coffee. After I’m done with the server, she asks, "Ghost ship? Annic Nova, the one that blew up? So now you're connected with it too. Got any inside info on it, or the crew?"

"Inside info? No. Used to know Tome and Jon -- not at the same time, and it's been a while. Solid folks. Always thought Puch was too formal and introverted to be a good Scout, but I'm glad he got lucky. Being all formal and stuff probably helped with the big crew."

She leans in. "Where do you think they went? Last I heard of 'em, the Dame here gave him and the rest of that bunch the use of her yacht to go chasing pirates. Think they might have been doing stuff about that ghost ship too?"

"Haven't a clue, sorry," I reply. "I mean, they could be, but I'd think they'd be more likely to want to get whoever tried to steal their fast freighter and got it all shot up. That'd frak me off, and I'd take it personally.

The server’s back, with my coffee and a menu. I take a sip – yeah, its hot, but decent. "Where do you think they went?" I ask.

She looks -- puzzled? Guilty? Hard to tell. "Well, I don't know -- that's why I was asking... Maybe Feri if they're just backtracking the ghost ship, or if they think the pirates were the same ones that chased 'em out of Feri. Heck, what I heard was they might even have planned to check out Efate, then changed their minds."

Now I'm the one puzzled. "Efate? Why?"

She throws a conspiratorial look toward me. “Did some research. That freighter was impounded at Feri, then brought here to the station ‘cause Efate’s getting a bit sketchy. Pirates might have something to do with the Efate mess.”

“Fair enough,” I respond. “Planning to head there myself, just for kicks.”

Reference:
NPCs mentioned:
Tomos Puch (my GM-NPC -- and maybe author insert? -- for the Day in the Life and Boughene Station Blues PbPs)
Jon Smithe (@Spinward Scout 's PC in the Day in the Life PbP)

Commentary:
(Regarding the navigator character mentioned in conversation -- *waves*. Just a pretext to drop this in. )

 

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Commentary: (or maybe reference, but it's an IMTU thing.)

Part of the process to request a "Detached Duty" scout ship is submitting the Research Proposal. This is the formal paper describing the specific use to which the Scout is intending to put the borrowed starship. While the details matter (outstanding writing skills can provide an advantage), over the course of centuries it's become almost pro forma and generally a Scout can select from three standardized Research Proposals, of which one or more may be more fashionable (likely to be granted) at any given time:
1. "Socio-Political Changes" aka "Make friends, influence people". Focus on validating worlds' Pop/Gov/Law stats.
2. "Econonomic Trends" aka "Let's make lots of money". Focus on validating trade codes and Tech Level.
3. "Astrographic Survey" aka "Asteroid Prospecting". Generally focus on validating Size/Atm/Hyd and stellar system layout.

Knowing which of the three is currently in fashion is a function of Admin skill and experience (number of terms of service).

I welcome suggestions for additional types of "standard" Research Proposals.

 

[Spinward Flow]

I welcome suggestions for additional types of "standard" Research Proposals.

Actual academic university research projects in various scientific fields.

• Astronomy
• Flora
• Fauna
• Geology/Minerology
• Meteorology (stellar, gas giant, ice giant, terrestrial)
• etc.

Think of all the academic research papers that are just waiting to be written on obscure niche topics of interest to specialists in the field of study. Being able to "go on safari" in a detached scout ship to gather samples for additional study and analysis by universities ought to be one of those public/private partnership deals for the IISS. It means that Scout/Couriers remain a useful commodity even after they've been "retired" into detached duty service, supporting extended exploration/survey work by civilian researchers who need mobility to gather evidence and data in their respective field of study and interest.

Granted, you can't do much with a Scout/Courier ... but the class does have good sensors and it can move a few researchers to where they need to go in order to set up a base camp they can settle into. So pretty much (still) low key "grunt" work (think grad students!) type of stuff, but hitching a ride on a Scout/Courier on detached duty is probably going to be the cheapest ticket available to academics on a shoestring budget who need to "go check something out" somewhere.

 

[kilemall]

One of those future posts I need to do is my CT stats based sensor rules. They are a bit complex compared to the usual base detect at x range raw or say 68A, but were intended for enabling stealth sneaking.

Side outcome of that effort was defining what the absolute detection of everything at 1/8 detection range means. I decided it meant every EM band/gravitic/acoustic sensor is present on default 20 ton bridge size or more.

LBB8 got me thinking that way since 1kg 5000km sensors could fit onboard a medium robot, no reason a whole short range suite can’t fit behind all those avionics access panels.

They have very short range- good enough for planets and asteroids or warning receiver on things like active lock on, and are necessary to avoid common navigational hazards or determine landing sites, etc. They aren’t automated for survey per se, although you can buy software for that.

But a professional survey or prospector can manually use them to achieve results.

 

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Commentary:

Being able to "go on safari" in a detached scout ship to gather samples for additional study and analysis by universities ought to be one of those public/private partnership deals for the IISS.

I'd see that as an external advocacy thing -- find a sponsor that wants to compare (let's say) the plants of a few worlds that'll put in a good word for you to get your own ship, and if you do get it, you run their errands first thing before eventually going your own way. In game mechanics terms, it's a mod to the mustering-out roll that, if successful, gives you your first scenario to go along with the new ship.

In rules sets that provide contacts/allies/patrons during CharGen, you should be able to use a contact you get from chargen events as the sponsor to improve your odds of getting the ship.

 

[kilemall]

I would assume one of the requirements of detached duty not generally known is to submit intel reports on what and who is encountered.

Huge intel net cast wide, never know what little factoid will give away big doings, and DD scout ships running around everywhere means potential opponents don’t know which ones are active duty/on a mission, and which ones are opportunistic ex scouts that can be safely ignored- or ones hot on the trail.

 

[Grav_Moped]

I would assume one of the requirements of detached duty not generally known is to submit intel reports on what and who is encountered.

Huge intel net cast wide, never know what little factoid will give away big doings, and DD scout ships running around everywhere means potential opponents don’t know which ones are active duty/on a mission, and which ones are opportunistic ex scouts that can be safely ignored- or ones hot on the trail.

Bingo. Something kind of like open-source intel, but not quite.

Plus you get plausible deniability. "Yeah, we saw that -- but not "officially." Yet. So knock it off or we will take official note and respond accordingly."

Have the Scout character's player do the campaign log. (Or farm it out to another player in return for "referee bennies" but still consider it the "official" report to the IISS.)

 

[kilemall]

Another common science/intel mission would be fitting what I call a satcaster rack on the turret, and the scout uses them to deploy satellites as survey tool, navigation aid, low starport repeater or other comms functions, etc.

Can a scout help that his/her old service patched in an undisclosed logger/data dump function in the satellite that catches the poachers/agents/smugglers/insertion team in the act and alerts? No they cannot.

 

[kilemall]

Bingo. Something kind of like open-source intel, but not quite.

Plus you get plausible deniability. "Yeah, we saw that -- but not "officially." Yet. So knock it off or we will take official note and respond accordingly."

Have the Scout character's player do the campaign log. (Or farm it out to another player in return for "referee bennies".)

Another bennie game is not all SCDD ships are equal.

A hierarchy of desirable ships can provide an undercover way of rewarding high performance detached duty scouts- or punish them with particularly foul life support or marginal specs machines.

Multiple scout ships rolled indicates maybe a better ship, say a scout A2 or tricked out computer software/weapons turret or custom model. Or how many major on record transgressions the players can do before losing DD privileges due to banked favor.

 

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Another bennie game is not all SCDD ships are equal.

Yep.
Build at TL-13 (LBB5 drives) and you can get J-3/2G without changing the deck plans (noticeably).
Move the upper limit to 199Td and you can get J4 with LBB2 drives.
In this very bit of fanfiction, the Neon Pegasus class scouts (TL-14 LBB5) are nominally J5/3G in 199Td. (This one's a General Products build, so who knows for sure?)

A hierarchy of desirable ships can provide an undercover way of rewarding high performance detached duty scouts- or punish them with particularly foul life support or marginal specs machines.

Multiple scout ships rolled indicates maybe a better ship, say a scout A2 or tricked out computer software/weapons turret or custom model. Or how many major on record transgressions the players can do before losing DD privileges due to banked favor.

"Well, that's another planet we can't go back to..."

 

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Another bennie game is not all SCDD ships are equal.

Coming at this again: the idea here is that someone has to log what happens during the session for continuity's sake. The player running the Scout with the ship is an obvious choice -- their character is doing the reports to the IISS, so the session log becomes the report*. And that's their "out-of-game 'fee' " for being the one who gets to have the ship. Otherwise, another player can do the campaign log in return for the ref awarding something like a free re-roll per session or the like, but it's still the report to the IISS.

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*Bonus points for dramatic presentation: "Captain's Log, Stardate 151-1105..."