EVE Fiction

Hello and welcome to the Play By Post.

This topic will be where the story develops and situations are posted. The player characters should post here to respond to the situations presented. If you feel the need to talk to me privately please send me an Eve-Mail.
I appreciate your desire to be a part of the story but if you are not one of the PCs I will ask you to refrain from posting. Talk to me via Evemail if you want to participate.

At this time I am not going to try and have us operate an online dice rolling program. For simplicity I will make all the rolls and narrate the results.

Each character has three chances to proclaim that they are particularly skilled in a certain situation and receive a bonus (+1 or +2, depending) to the action. From then on they will keep that bonus and be able to use it on future rolls of the same kind of action.

The Fate System uses what are called Fate Points. These points are used to significantly increase the likelihood of your character succeeding at their intended action. Each of you start out with 5 Fate Points.

I will occasionally offer to reduce the chance of you succeeding at a given task (as guided by your aspects) in exchange for a Fate Point. This is called Compelling an Aspect.

You may spend a Fate Point to gain a bonus on rolls in a situation that relates to your Aspect. This is called “invoking” an Aspect. Essentially, you are declaring that your Aspect will matter in this scene. By spending Fate Points you make it important (or at least relevant) to the scene in a way that benefits you.

Specifically, before or after you roll, you may spend a Fate Point to invoke your Aspect. Doing so grants you one of the following benefits:

+2 Bonus on the Dice Roll
Reroll the Dice
Invoke for Effect

You may also spend a Fate Point without invoking an Aspect but in those cases it merely grants you a +1 bonus.
For example, you could spend a Fate Point to invoke your Big Dumb Ox Aspect, granting you a bonus on a Strength Ability roll. Likewise, you could spend a FP to invoke “Soon this city will be mine!” and gain a bonus on just about any action that directly relates to your attempt to take over the city.

In addition to bonuses to rolls, you may also invoke Aspects for effect, gaining some measure of narrative control. In essence, you may be allowed to sit in the GM seat for a moment and describe events that are affected by your Aspect. For example, you may spend a Fate Point and invoke Trained by Corporal Frank Sheppard upon meeting a fellow soldier to declare that this soldier also served under Corporal Sheppard and that you two know each other. However, any such effect must be approved by the GM who always has veto rights.

Aspects that aren’t brought into a scene via invoking or compelling just sort of fade off into the background. Yeah the character is a Big Dumb Ox, but unless the player spends the FP and invokes the Aspect, you can assume that your character’s size and strength weren’t really relevant to his actions during the scene. Even in a tavern brawl, every punch isn’t going to be dependent solely on the attacker’s Strength. Maybe he was throwing glancing blows and was having a hard time getting his hands on his opponent. It isn’t until the player spends the FP and invokes the Aspect that he declares “right now, being a big ox matters”.

Sample Aspect: Captain of Charlie Company
Possible Invoked Result:
[Bonus] Gain a +2 bonus (or reroll) on rolls to attack with typical military small arms.
[Effect] The soldier you just met is an old friend from the service.
[Bonus] Gain a +2 bonus (or reroll) on rolls to lead men in distress.
[Effect] Get noticed by a high ranking general.

But First lets meet our players:

Telgram Sam

Defining Aspect:
Cunning Diplomat

Character Aspects:
Alliance of the Philosophically Enlightened
Jack of all Trades
"Our souls ride the vessel of our bodies through the great unknown"
"The real problem is those damn Amarr slave holders"

Abilities:
Agility 1
Endurance 0
Perception 3
Strength 1

Knowledge 3
Reasoning 3
Willpower 2
Craft 2

Deception 3
Empathy 3
Persuasion 3
Resources 0

Specialty Aspects:
Industrial Inventor (Craft)
Dislikes Heretics Nation (Persuasion)
The “Tanto”, a Jaguar class frigate (Resources)
Can call on help from members of The Drones Club (Persuasion)
Bad luck with money (Resources)

+1 hacking (computers/electronics)

+1 Interest in virtual neurology/AI

+1 blind recklessness/banzai/berserk/Leeroy Jenkins (the flip side of usually being a calm, low-key personality)

5 Fate Points

Adreena Madeveda

Defining Aspect:
Young Sebestior Idealist

Character Aspects:
"You shall seek knowledge."
Grew up repairing cars and trucks for her home colony
"We're nothing but dignified nuclear waste."
Almost pathologically low self-esteem

Abilities:

Agility 2
Endurance 1
Perception 3
Strength 0

Knowledge 3
Willpower 2
Reasoning 3
Craft 3

Deception 1
Empathy 3
Persuasion 2
Resources 1

Specialty Aspects:
"Here's some ductape, let me fix this" (craft)
Hunted by Angels (persuasion)
The “Qui Es In Caelis”, a Thrasher class Destroyer (Resources)
“Back home, people hold together" (persuasion)
"I don't lift." (strength)

+1 in "Zen and the art of ship maintenance"

+1 in History & Archeology

+1 in being a nerd :D

5 Fate Points

Taking into consideration that I was undocking from a highsec hub and that my computer is showing no diplomatic issues with the three ships around me, I ignore them, for the moment...it is very unlikely that they will aggress, given that we're all likely to be suffering some manner of disorientation.

I initiate a directional scan in 360 degrees at maximum range, followed by a system scan, using full criteria, waiting to see what it yields...though initial results don't feel promising...

While waiting for the scanners to compile any data, I target the remains of the modified Venture and initiated subspace engines to move toward the wreck, sending my camera drones to examine what's left of this ill-advised experiment.

"All crew, report in." I speak through the ship's intercom system. I can feel that there are remaining crew, but are they ready for service? I don't know...I need to assess my internal situation, as well as this external quandary. Checking all systems...

While attempting to examine the husk of the Venture and manage damage control, I keep the other three ships in my peripheral...

"The Thrasher and the Jaguar would have to go first, can't have them cutting my teeth...that Omen poses the least threat...that is, if they all decide to gang up on me...let's just see what they do..." I thought to myself, tactically, as I await my reports and scan results...

"What the hell is that idiot doing?" The thought crossed my mind as soon as the microwarp drive started, while Alma's cries continued to hammer the pod around me. "Keep cool, Seph, keep cool. You can die, really die... it's too soon for that, there's too much to do. Focus, secure the area." With quick, martial phrases, I issued commands to the crew to restart all system's functionalities and prepare the ship for any eventuality.

Following my mental thoughts, the pod transmited my commands to the systems. It was simple, time for an evasive maneuver, one cannon focusing on each of the other vessels. Hopefully they'd understand this was nothing personal against any of them, but death was too much of a risk. I still had to make up for the past, so I couldn't allow myself to die in this forsaken waste. Which made me notice I did not know where I was, and no information was coming from CONCORD or any other instance to identify the system. As usual, CONCORD proved worthless.

A tried to sent out a comm line to all using the local channel. Maybe we didn't have FTL communications, but hopefully we'd be able to speak in this short area. Or maybe some of the engineers aboard would be able to arrange that, that's what they were being paid for afterall.

-Ave, pilots. This is captain Sepherim Catillah aboard the INS Wraith, I have you all locked on target but it's only a safety measure. I repeat, I have no hostile intention against any of you in particular, and will only fire if attacked. I recommend each of you take the positions I'm sending to you, as tactically they're the most unappropriate for all our ships, so we would all be equally unable to attack eachother properly*.-

I made a small pause, then continued.

-Seems like the warp drive that fool activated has damaged some of my pod systems, thus I will be maneuvering back into docking position soon to have them repaired. Have you got the same problems? Does anyone know who that idiot was?-


*OOC: to try out the system and game mechanics a bit, I'd like to create a location Aspect named "Safe Distances". Is it possible with a tactical roll of Awareness? Do I have to use one of my Fate Points to activate my "Firm Commander (Perception) Aspect? Or would the ex-military one be better to judge the strategic situation?

A wave of relief washes over me, as my crew reports in and systems begin coming online. The bank of five Capacitor Recharger II's, running in tandem with the Capacitor Control Circuits I rigged up, will bring me up to full power, fairly quickly...good.

Bringing my ship up alongside the Venture's decimated hull, I stop 250m away, "Cargo Hands! Get out there and bring in any remaining modules, look for anything curious...and be careful." My emulated voice bellows over the intercoms, "Drone Hands! Get that little salvager out there to aid the Cargo Hands! Stand by with the Warrior II's and web drones! Engineering! Standby for Micro-Jump and/or conventional Jump initiation! Gunnery! Check the magazine and bring all turrets to bear on neutral ships! Comms! Get that FTL transponder online, on the double! Mechanics! Check all bulkheads and double check the armor for integrity! Science Teams! Get some people down to cargo and standby for analysis of the remains! Check for friendly cynosural signatures within 4ly and lock on! Analyze the radiation stream for composition and residual effects! Finally, run Itsukame Innovations through the databases, see what you can find."

Those are some damned good crew, down there...I'm counting on them to do their utmost, "Science Team...whatever happens next...I'm counting on you, get me that analysis!"

What the hell is that thing 10km3 toward the star? Would be nice if I had some probes...



Well, that's good...I accept the channel invite, but disregard the suggestion. Let him talk and try to keep the others from bugging out while I do what I have to do. At least I have a warp sig to the star...I can head there and cloak up, if things get out of hand.

The ship is starting as quickly as it should, proof of the quality of Amarrian ships and crew. Makes me proud for a second, but things are happening too quickly to focus on that. I ignite the thrusters and start heading to the safe distance* I assigned to myself as the locking counter progresses. Meanwhile, I start the routine checking of the public profiles of those ships around me; none seem red or orange on the hud, but you never know what neutrals may be.

The chatter of the crew members running the diagnosics and working to get everything working is reasuring. In a sense, it's as it should be, but it worries me that they lost consciousness as well. An EMP burst shouldn't do that, not to people. Maybe some sort of weapon was used? A test of some kind? If such a thing does exist, it would be a terrible weapon to behold, and could certainly damage the pod pilot dominance of space quickly by making us all vulnerable like everyone else. No ships seem to be cynoing in, though, so maybe it wasn't an ambush, but one has to be sure. While the data on the other pilots was being processed, I started an energy analysis of the wreck: if such a weapon existed, it certainly would need the vast amount of energy that ship has in order to function, so it was important to know if its capacitator would be able to work again or it wasn't a threat to any of us.



*I invoke the "safe distance" Aspect, which I believe is free for me since I'm the first to activate it, and will use it as a bonus to any defense rolls I may have to make.

As soon as it is appeared likely that the Jaguar would regain full operational ability, T. Sam set it to subwarp propulsion at 50%. He wanted to put some distance between the ship and the trail of radiation, and also into the best possible defensive range. The Sin battleship moving in the direction of the wreck of the failed jumper. To investigate and/or salvage? Or to open to a more optimal range for battleship turrets? More distance to a battleship was not necessarily a good thing for frigate.

At that moment he received warning of a target lock. It was the Omen. He immediately initiated target lock back and turned the Jaguar toward the Amarr battleship. He was checking his capacitor for micro warp drive power when the Omen's pilot came in over LS comms. "Amarr military officer, eh?" T. Sam thought. "And apparently the regular take-charge officer type. This might be interesting. But his suggestions are reasonable. No personalities and politics, Sam, let's just get out of this hole." He kept the target lock on the Omen, but veered the Jaguar off its approach vector.

"Copy, Captain Sepherim Catillah, and greetings. Jaguar piloted by Telegram Sam here. Confirming that I also have no aggressive intentions. What an idiot mess this is. I'll remove my target lock as soon as yours is removed. As a show of good faith, moving to the position you suggested. Please understand if I adjust the final position somewhat. To what is optimal for this Jaguar's safety."

Sepherim's suggested locations looked generally good defensively for each ship. T. Sam reached the suggested point and fine-tuned the position somewhat. Then he set the Jaguar into a continuous motion pattern. He would keep the ship moving in unpredictable directions, continuously, while in this safe distances location.

The Sin appeared to be investigating the wreck and beginning salvage. The Thrasher just sat there, as if dead. "Sin and Thrasher and Sin, greetings from Jaguar piloted by Telegram Sam. Asking that you confirm your intentions, so we can get that part over with. Suggest that we work together to get out of here and back to whatever each of us was doing. In the meantime, locking targets-- mutual deterents and all that."

He locked the Sin and the Thrasher, and prepared to unlock the Omen if it did the same for him. He opened directional scan and began carefully scanning the system.

[OOC-- The goal of the scanning is to obtain the most complete information on the system possible, including warp-to coordinates. A roll against Perception? I'd like to use a Fate point to maximize the results].

'Great...just great...FTL is working, but no connection...where the hell are we?'



It was going to come down to this, it seems...no reach to anyone except these three and one hell of a mess to be in. At least they all followed the Amarr captain's directive, placing them at a reasonable distance from me...let's see that it stays that way...

"Neutral pilots, I am AstraPardus, Security Division Lieutenant of Lightspeed Enterprises. My intention is to figure this mess out and get back to work." I said in the mutual comms channel, hoping that would placate their curiosity, for the time being.

Here I am, no where to go but toward some unknown star, no databases to reference, nothing to do but get behind those bulkheads and get some answers. Even if the pilot is pulped from their own glorious idiocy, there should be some logs or something substantive to shed some light on at least what happened, if not why...

...otherwise...we're all stuck here...damn.

I cue up my intercom, "Engineering...Comms...stand down. We've got no where to go and no contact with any corporate offices or personnel, for now...stand by to stand by."

"I've got top men working on it, right now." I respond, with consideration to Sepherim's input. Meanwhile, my intercom roars out, "Marines! Get down to assist the Cargo Hands with wreck entry! Capture Pattern: Beta03...we've got a live one in there, and I want to talk to them...personally."