Because high-ranking Troubleshooters don't just shoot trouble in the face. There're other missions involved- ones that might not be so messy, but would be politically inconvenient for another faction to acknowledge is actually happening under their nose. And Lun turned out to be an interesting character.... So, this is what a 'big' Troubleshooter mission might involve. Months of buildup beforehand, hardware built in secret, a little misdirection and then somebody blows it wide open a few months afterwards. The UBA investigation by the Knight Sabers took nearly a year to come to a head.

And, well, I noticed nobody else seems to have much turnover in property or circumstance. Nobody ever crashes their spaceship.... they last until the author thinks of something cooler.

-------------------------------

The Story of Lun.

Lun was intended to be the future. Soviet built, she skimmed the surface of the Caspian promising high-speeds and high cargo capacity at effiencies unmatched by conventional aircraft. Then the Soviet Union collapsed.

Lun was parked on the shore, her maintenance and upgrades placed almost permanently on the long finger as the money dried up. She was parked waiting for thirty years, kept free of corrosion by replacement of her Zinc anodes and the intention to use her again 'someday soon'.

In April 2024, with most of the hardware aboard two generations obsolete, she was purchased from Alekseev by an anonymous bidder and flown off the Caspian. All 300 tons of her.

----

February 2024

An explosion rips open the the skies over Texas as half a dozen bright contrails blaze through the evening skies. The smoking remains of a starship engine smash into a cattle ranch. After hitting an unidentified atmosphere skimming object the Dragon Wagon It careens through the upper atmosphere, struggling to skip off on emergency thrusters only after striking an unidentified flying object.[1]

Those aboard survive, the Wagon limps home on two remaining engines. An insurance assesor determines her to be beyond economic repair, and totals her out at market value. The wreck makes her final journey to a Great Justice hanger, to determine the origin of the object she hit before being scrapped.

This left the residents of the expanding Frigga without a cruiser to rely on - a transport-capable craft was especially needed to support the race team, and Ford's bounty hunting - among other things. The original plan had imply been to replace like with like. This was shelved soon after sealed orders arrived by mail drone.

Instead, they purchased Lun. Spending the entirety of the insurance fund on the hulk, they replaced the eight engines in-situ with Fusion turbines and managed to make a transit flight over Georgia and the Black Sea to the Mediterranean where it could be picked up by JMC for heaylift transportation to Frigga. Publicly, it was planned to fit her out into a replacement for the wrecked Wagon - as a ship capable of going Bounty Hunting, transportation to Asteroid races, taking on business trips to Survival Shot clients, or vacations. She was to be a comfortable, well equipped cruiser with a secondary search and rescue role.

In private, she was being built for a mission. A very specific mission

Recover several tons of Gate Metal from Arcadia for a classified Great Justice project, without being caught violating the Ecological preservation Area by the Federation. [2]

Lun's waving was old-fasioned at best, with her real purpose being carefully hidden. She has fittings for ten crew in reasonable comfort, with up to thirty being possible if people are willing to share, or fill unusual spaces. A cargo hold was built into her keel spaces. Her six missile tubes were converted into shuttle-launch tubes, each one containing a small single-person craft - literally a missile with a man in it. The main radome was replaced by an observation deck to combat long-journey Claustrophobia, with secondaries adapted to form a sensor area and a point-defense system. Her 8 Turbojets were replaced by fusion-cored turbofans to generate the initial lift needed for takeoff, with a transition to spaceflight capable mode. She has a modest cruising speed of 0.04C, but is capable of up to .11C at full power on those occasions when fuel consumption is not a primary (Or secondary, or even tertiary) concern.

Armaments are minimal - enough to shoo away pirates. Simple autocannons for and aft - in turrets, with point-defence capability.

Finally, a mind awoke within the computer systems of the new cruiser. Lun's core was quickly moved to an independant body. She uses a dedicated wireless link to interface with the ship.

And on the surface, that's all the majority of Fen see. The only hint to its true purpose was an overpowered - and unusually arranged - sensor array and large interwave transmitter mounted on top of the tailplane.

Truthfully, Only 2 of the missile-shuttles were flyable - the other four have had their life support and the majority of their propulsion systems left out to make space for a shielded cargo compartment. The cargo bay itself functions as a moon-pool in the ocean, containing a crane, and fittings for two RGM-83-M Marine Balls, three high pressure hard diving suits, a transport sled named 'Azorian' and ocean bottom equipment. The Aft compartment was converted into a small biolab - ostensibly to put up the pretence of being amateur research.

All of this was carefully hidden from Starfleet. As far as their inspection teams were concerned, Lun and her crew were nothing more than a group of people on vacation together, diving and fishing in the life-rich waters of Arcadia, with a little amateur bioresearch on the side.

Lun brought home 8.5 tons of pure Gate Metal, despite being searched twice by Starfleet in the process. This metal then dissapeared into a deep black project linked to an organisation known as 'Interesting Times'.

Lun's true purpose was only revealed to Wikileaks three months after she returned, blowing open the Arcadian secret and rendering all the effort put into keeping it moot. Details of the mission and its observations leaked out, along with videos from the Bottom Team, including details of the Sparks.

Conspiracy theories have always revolved around Lun. Some Fen are convinced the Moskito is a backdoor method for developing a strategic weapons platform, slipping past Space Patrol oversight by calling it a manned spacecraft. Rumours still revolve around how much Starfleet actually knew about the mission beforehand and how hard their inspection teams actually looked. The cynical suggest that the zone of ecological preservation was established by the Federation to keep Gate Metal to itself.

The consequences of this leak, remain to be seen.

Lun meanwhile, can be found on Frigga where she spends the majority of her time now handling Search and Rescue duties for the local sector, when she's not used for business. The airlocked moon-pool and grappler crane makes her well suited for the role. Her operation is subsidised by the Sailor's Armed Militia as a reserve ship in the auxiliary fleet, with Daryl Haur listed as Captain. She has since been modified to have two landing pads with tiedowns on the top of both wings to allow her to carry larger auxiliary craft to assist rescues or shuttle crew to ground as necessary.

Incidentally, her name is pronounced 'Loon', as in Lunar, *not* Lun as in Lum.

The second unfinished Lun, 'Spasatel' is being investigated by the SAM - mong others - for possible purchase and conversion into spaceflight capable dedicated rescue craft.

--------

"It costs ten thousand dollars to run these engines for ten seconds": Eight main engines. Do the math. All eight are normally used for take-off. Lun cruises on two happily.

"Water-born." Needs to be sprayed with salt-water monthly to inhibit corrosion. Has basic beaching landing gear - so can ground slowly in a hanger or up a slipway. Cannot land or takeoff on a runway at speed.

"You must think in Russian".... onboard computer displays default to cryllic on startup. And like to reset when it's most inconvenient.

"Dashcam Spy:" Camera mounted on the instrument panel, looking out over the nose. Must be operational for the engines to start. Has a habit of being pointed at exactly the right place at exactly the right moment.

"Am I over here?" Handwaved Radar allows Lun to use Digital Memory of Radio Frequency techniques to disrupt enemy scanners, capable of fooling systems less powerful than her own into thinking she is roughly 100km away from where she actually is. Not really useful at space ranges - except for deflecting missiles in the terminal phase of flight - but on a planetary scale it can be far more useful.

"Unix Useability": Lun was built and optimised for its intended mission first, and the people using it third. It makes her difficult to live with. Comm's and sensors are overpowered, with the sensors arranged inneficiently for spaceflight. The cargo bay is innacessible when landed, and both wings get in the way of proper docking at airlocks. And that's just the beginning...

==Crew Quirks==

"One weekend a month:" Officially (And only occasionally) Manned by a crew of SAM reservists, and remains on standby for rescue and patrol duties as needed. Training duties and fleet duties are attended as required.

"All animals are equal....": Lun is available for anyone living on Frigga who needs the use of a heavy cruiser, for whatever lawful purpose, provided the need is genuine. Naturally, it's a good idea to book in advance as there can be a waiting list. And repairs/replacement do have to be covered by the person doing the damage.

"Some animals are more equal than others." Ford tends to take precedence - as the official papers-holding owner - since Bounty Hunting can require a 'flexible' schedule. Official business for Survival Shot, Asagiri, or Frigga itself comes first.

=== Azorian ===

The Azorian was intended to act as a hardware carrier suporting the mission to mine the ocean bottom for gate debris.

The sled contains fittings for holding both Balls (The obvious nickname was quickly shot down), three hard diving suit docks, miniature transport sleds and various arm-tools for both Balls. The Balls have been modified from models used by the Venus Terraforming project for surface maintenance and cable inspection- their atmospheric thrusters replaced by underwater pumpjet engines. Power is supplied by onboard Tanalloy batteries giving an endurance of up to 1 week in an emergency.

Spare power cells are stored on Azorian. Each Ball is positively bouyant, weighed down by lead shot which is automatically released in the event of a power failure causing an uncontrolled ascent.

The diving suits themselves are further adaptations of VTP hardware, with fully sealed joints. Some adjustment to suit the wearer is required. Each suit is fitted with remote manipulator hands, with additional tools on Azorian itself. Small wildlife sample containers were also provided.

The team operating Azorian were referred to as the 'Bottom Crew', and were drawn from members of the Venus Terraforming Project.

Incidentally, Azorian is named for the original Project Azorian - a CIA secret plan to recover a sunken Soviet Submarine from the Pacific Ocean, under the guise of an ocean mining expedition.

== Sparks ==

Local group of Arcadian Deap Sea Fauna (Darts, Bulbs, Bloomers, Shooters, Zippers and Whizzers) that appear to live off residual energy collected or leaking from Gate Metal chunks. They generate weak bioelectric fields which stimulate the release of energy from Gate Metal.

And disrupt the Tannaloy power packs of Azorian and the Balls as they sense a food-source. They also swarm the sensor equipment on Lun, and the handheld units used by the dive team. They may be mistaking the sensor arrays for other Sparks.

Noted for bioluminescence.

Of debated intelligence. Especially once the videologs were released after the mission was revealed to Fenspace which appearred to show them responding to attempts to communicate via flashlight.

A recovered Spark had a noticeably high body concentration of Handwavium. Above the usual biomod threshold.

The observed sparks may even be different genders of the same species.

== Moskito ==

Created in fine tradition of the first spaceflight pioneers, the Moskito is a missile with a man in it. Literally. The original two were built from surviving S-270 Moskit missiles, replacing the bit that goes bang with a cramped cockpit and small bubble canopy. The tungsten penetrator is retained in the nose to maintain proper centre of gravity. Propulsion comes from a single fusion plant driving a quad-coil engine similar to the open-sourced designs on an old-model Blackbird.

Moskito's are launched from their tubes by a HTP-90/RP-1 fuelled 'Goddard Drive'. This provides the initial kick to get it clear of the tube and - in atmosphere - up to a respectable cruising speed. Fusion torches would damage the hull.

Landing planetside is obviously an oversight. Skids are fitted, which are better suited to low-gravity space operations rather than water landings. Each Moskito is also fitted with a full guidance system capable of fully automated flight - a legacy of the early test phase when it was too dangerous for humans to fly them. This lead to suggestions that they aren't really meant to be landed. Lun's registration as a 'Guided Missile Cruiser' only fuels speculation that she was built for less wholesome purposes than publicly announced.

Both Moskito's wear a single flower decal on a wing. The two pilots refer to themselves at the Striking Lighnting Special Attack Squadron - black joke referring to them both being registered as 'fighters' despite having no discernable weaponry and very little provision for getting back on the ground. The Moskito uses the same flight-suit technology as the Kulbit racer. Much to the enjoyment of onlookers.

Controversy surrounds the Moskito, with some Fen convinced the Moskito is a backdoor method for developing a strategic weapons platform, slipping past Space Patrol oversight by calling it a manned spacecraft. This controversy may even have been intentionally created, to hide Lun's true purpose.

The other four were little more than hollow mockups with the fuel tanks used as secret storage compartments. Which explains the odd propulsion arrangements.

The two surviving Moskito's have gone on to prove their worth as fast couriers, cruising at close to The Limit.

----- Quirks

"Missile with a Man in it.": Literally. Nav-plotter, throttle, stick, pedals, a few buttons and a seat. Bring your own life-support.

"Petrov's nemesis.": The cause of numerous misindentifactions in early warning systems.

"I can't drive .055 .": Tough to control at low speeds. With the main engine idling it's still doing .057C.

== Lun 'Rune' Alekseeva ==

"Capitalism, is where someone can have a sportscar, a bigscreen television and a big house. In an ideal world.
Communism, is where someone can have healthcare, secure work and his children a good education. In an ideal world.
Realism is where someone can have a sportscar, a bigscreen television, a big house, healthcare, a secure job and everyone else can have none of these things. That's the real world."

Lun awakened within the missile control computers about mid-way through the reconstruction of the ekranoplan on Frigga. She awakened shortly before the old computers she awoke in were due to be removed to make space for crew cabins. This set the reconstruction schedule back a few weeks until the half-waved Ekranoplan could be flown to somewhere capable of moving her to a standalone body.

Lun pronounces her name as 'Rune' to distinguish herself from the Ekranoplan Lun

On-duty, Lun wears the Uniform of a Lieutenant in the Soviet Navy. She acts as co-pilot and navigator for her current crew - only taking command if requested, or if the crew's competence falls to dangerous levels. It's at her insistance that Lun (Spacecraft) is made available to all residents of Frigga.

Off-duty, Lun indulges in wearing denim, watching Dallas, and swimming. She has a thing for old Soviet Science Fiction writers with Roadside Picnic being a favourite of hers. She maintains a private office in virtual space for serious business needs, furnished as befits a Lieutenant of the Northern Fleet. She has also managed to organise the construction of a swimming pool on Frigga by a group of volunteers. (Though nobody actually realises she started and drove the whole thing... as far as most are concerned, it just sort of happened.)

Lun is self-described as a communist. Despite being somewhat bitter about the real world results of both systems - with the feeling that both -isms will ultimately be corrupted to the same end - she still tries best to change her one small corner of the universe and practice what she believes in, hoping to start at the bottom rather than lead from the top.

Lun has pale blue eyes and dark hair.

--- Mundane attributes ---

"So why don't they wear a tel'nik?" Most definitely not Soviet Airforce.

"Better red than....": Lun is an honest communist. Tell her you need something, and she'll give according to her best ability. She naturally expects the same in the return - and can be bitterly offended if people don't reciprocate without good reason.

"Will you travel with me?" Anarchist-communist. Attempting to create a revolution of fellow travellers, each taking the same path without a leader to follow. She feels all revolutions are doomed the moment somebody is put in charge, as all systems of authority eventually come to exist solely to serve themselves. Thus all such revolutions will eventually become self-serving regimes. Her debates with Chris Marsden have been described as 'interesting'.

"Because they are a most probable War Trophy": In the habit of wearing cheap denim when not on duty.

"It is wise to study the ways of one's enemy": Owns every single episode of Dallas. Among other shows of similar vintage.

"Water-born" Lun can swim at a competitive pace. She has the physique to match.

"Ty chyo, blya?" Normally even tempered, Lun will slip into her native language when really annoyed or feels the need to vent.

--- Handwavium abilities ---

"A Modern Product of Our Super Science:" AI Robot. Technically doesn't need to eat, sleep or drink. Theoretically immortal.

"Part of the ship. Part of the crew:" Lun has a wireless link to the ship's systems, allowing her to take direct control in an emergency, or monitor multiple systems if the ship is undermanned.

----------------------------------------------

Crew positions are available -to those with relevant security clearances, or who've relevant experience and are willing to sign the Classified Materials Order. [4]

[1] Not an alien Spacecraft, but something that was just plain unknown at the time. It's suspected it may have been a low-earth skimming Chinese Stealth surveillance drone on a Polar orbit to take it over Nevada. This is part of an unrelated plotline (Closer to Henning's Gas Station story)
[2] Knowing the Federation, this was the truth. Nobody wanted a full-blown gate-metal Goldrush which would disrupt the delicate terraformed ecosystem and invalidate any research into it.
[3] Lun will happily wait 200 years to achieve her goal. She has time. And when Communism finally arrives, it will simply be 'the way things have always been done here'. Nobody will notice any different.
[4] The emergency Diver was 'Atlanta Sammy' An obvious pseudonym for someone in desperate need of a holiday.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

Decided to put him here, for discussion outside of the Aliens thread.
The Statbox version:The Blue Demon
[table]

So - I find myself running one of the (relatively rare) timed missions in Champions - trying to disarm a bunch of bombs in a warehouse full of zombies before they go off -

And I find myself thinking two slightly snarky thoughts -

1) "There's nothing in this warehouse BUT THE ZOMBIES. Wouldn't you WANT the bombs to go off?" >.>

and - Due to the slightly more, shall we say - campy tone of Champions compared to CoX, as I'm running around looking for that last bomb and time is beginning to run out, I can't help but think -

2) "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!"

Strandbeest


After seeing that video, I liked the models did the usual thing and found http://www.hlj.com/product/GAK06168/ (english FAQ & instructions http://otonanokagaku.net/english/magazi ... /book.html) the third of what Adam displayed and it arrived today. I built it in an hour or so and only had one issue at the early on stage.

I'm now thinking of getting the other's. http://www.hlj.com/product/GAK06360/ is one I've found. Also those Japanese mooks seem so much more enjoyable then those 'some parts fortnightly' piecemeal things us English speakers get.
Heck, it's one issue and I've a completed item. I think I now see why......;|

edit:lost the video
--Rod.H

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_ ... rc=flyouts
The NSA has only themselves to blame for this. I predict heads will be rolling..if they haven't already.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

http://io9.com/iain-m-banks-author-of-t ... -512173168
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

They're not actually fanfiction, as such, but they are prose fiction, so here they are anyway. Feel frree to use them straight or revise them to fit in a character's mouth if you have a place for them to fit, it's why they're here, just try to rmemeber to tell me about it so I can read what you make of it.

------------------

"While I was lying there, waiting to heal, I had nothing to do but think... I wondered, what if they thought I'm already dead, and left? But knowing you guys, even a little, I realized that was impossible. Then I thought, what if they tried to climb after me, and fell to their deaths? I'd have to tell XXX's bratty brother, and the rest of your families... but I realized I don't even know who that might be. So I decided, I should get to know everyone better, not just the best ways to fight together. Because even if you all live to die of old age surrounded by fat great-grandbabies, eventually all that will be left is memories, and I want to remember more than the way XXXX drops her left shoulder when she commits to a lunge, or how YYYY always makes a bunch of clones at the beginning of a battle to hide around the edges and make sneak attacks. Those kind of memories... they're empty after a while."

----------------

It wasn't until I saw the terror in her eyes that I stopped, and realise just what my life had become. Had I really begun as a pampered girl in a fancy dress like this? Then I saw the spark hiding in the back of her eyes, the self-disgust as being so weak and terrifed, and I knew. Yes, I had, and now I had found the next Pirate Queen, the one who would captain the Iron Rose after me.

With a little toughening up first, of course.

"Put the ropes away, boys, this one's for the crew berths, not the hostage cabin," I ordered, and the way that spark blazed into anger, the way she sputtered in outrage at the suggestion that her family would be unwilling or unable to pay a ronsom rather than collapsing in in fear and pleading wa all the confirmation I needed. "Oh, don't worry, you'll not be sharing some seaman's bunk," I assured her. I run a taut airship, and I'll have no man aboard who would take would should only be given. "Not at the same time, at any rate, and I guarantee you'll be too tired to care that someone else was just rousted out of the bunk by the time your watch ends for months. Of course, if you can't take the exertions, you're free to become the plaything of anyone you choose..."

I'm still watching her eyes, and I can see that challenge take hold... actually see the idea of protesting about the wealth that's obvious in the clothes and jewels she's wearing being enough to pay a pretty daughter's ransom, discarded in favor of showing her who can't take it and play along until I get a chance, then rescue myself.

And if the grin that spreads across my face is more frightening than reassuring, that just means she has good judgment, because I'm Black Jack Jannie, Terror of the Skies, and my only enemies that aren't dead are kings and admirals.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

I haven't seen anyone pop up when I've been on lately, but my friends list is a bit small. I'm over on Beholder, with a Trickster Rogue, currently romping around Ebon Downs.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

It took a dedicated team of 40s with INSANE amounts of DPS but we finally blew past Durtok and Ironclad, after that everything was anti-climactic, including the actual encounter with Firewing. (Kinda reminds me of Sephiroth in FF7 that way...) 
But I gotta give them props, this is - as far as I can tell - about 99% faithful to how Firewing is presented in the original source material books, including the artwork and his overall attitude. 



Stalnoy Volk was the character I took into this. Switched him to full-on Ranged DPS mode for artillery support and stayed in the air as much as possible raining down death from above with another Powered armor PC named "Gunhed". I think we had darn near identical loadouts and the synergy was amazing. Had a very good healer and shielder on support and at least one melee toon drawing off aggro at critical moments. 

Why don't people tell me about these things?
[video=vimeo]//player.vimeo.com/video/66784863[/video]Star Trek Continues E01 "Pilgrim of Eternity" from Star Trek Continues on Vimeo.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.