OOC...A New Space Odyssey to Launch!

[ariosto]

Alex Sanchez-Tremayne and his partner are the proud owners of a rundown tramp merchanter, due to some lucky hands at the gambling tables on Phoenix Prime (forgive me PP!).
Forced to take on dangerous and high risk jobs on the rim of the
Galactic Empire, they are about to embark on a series of hair raising adventures guaranteed to leave you hot and bothered until the next episode!

I am modeling this on the 'campy' pulp fiction of the fifties so a sense of humor would be of great benefit.

Our two Rogues will be the permanent cast with other players
invited to 'guest star' in each distinct episode of 20 or 30 posts.

The first episode will be;
Transport to the Prison Planet of Hel!
In which a notorious pair of criminals will be taken aboard in chains for ultimate delivery to that Devils Island of Space...HEL!

I will need a partner of course...a winsome, but efficiant and aggresive type, who can keep my somewhat whimsical character inline.

And also for the first story,
Intersteller Criminal one...Male
and Intersteller Criminal two...female

I may add more characters depending on response.

Please contact me by PM if your interested.


Thanks!
Ari

 

[ariosto]

The Spinward Marches, The Lady Macbeth and Alex Sanchez

On the far Spinward Marches of the Sigma Draconis galactic arm the hand of Imperial authority rests lightly.
Defense and protection of the far flung settlements scattered across a thousand worlds is often in the hands of mercenary war lords or else lacking all together.
Specially apointed warden's and bounty hunters often handle the day to day business of policing the 'fringe' worlds.
The essential trade necessary between these frontier outposts has fallen to the roving free traders. Unaligned with any of the conglomerate shipping cartels of the Empire, they take their small heavily armed ships into the jaws of danger to fulfill the vital role of commerce and communication where no one else will dare.
The profit and the risk are enormous....
Among the smallest and 'hungriest' of these 'gypsy' tramps as the cartels call them is the:


http://www.ariosto.homestead.com/files/sship.jpg


Free Trader Merchant Ship...Lady MacBeth
Registered, Freeport, New Ireland...#NI-07-809997-R5
to: Maximillian Duggan O'Shea....lic#NI-Ib-I888141
Alejandro Sanchez-Tremayne....lic# NI-Ib-II505572



The 'Lady' had seen better days since her comissioning almost fifty years before out of the Ling Standard ship yard on Gran Columbia.
She was of a type well known in Far Spinward and had been plying her trade with mediocre success for nearly 5 decades.
The Buusward Class cargo ships, could be put to many uses, heavily armed they often appeared as independent corsairs or as part of the patrol fleets of the local warlords..
Stripped of weapons they could haul a fair amount of cargo with minimal crewing between the scattered worlds.
It was this last feature that caused Alex Sanchez to mortgage his soul and every credit he'd won at the faro tables to buy half interest in the "LadyM" when a desperate Maxey O'Shea made the offer.
Alex was a 10th generation Spacer, who had worked his way to Masters papers before he was thirty years old.
He was also a hard drinking, hard living, gambling man which was not all that unusual out here on the frontier.
But it was Maxey's sense of responsibility to his ship that kept the partners even marginaly solvent and counterbalanced Alex' often self indulgent behavior.

It all came crashing down a month ago when Maxey O'Shea dropped dead with a heart attack at the tender age of sixty.
Leaving Alex' own share of the ship in questionable legality.
And there was another problem.
Imperial protocols required two sentients on even the smallest ships
So he did what he was good at...he lied.

You could, by giving up sleep and rationing bodily functions, run a 'Bullward' class alone but it wasn't easy. And it was..as noted...highly illegal. Alex had no choice, he was broke and the cost of a qualified crewman was not in the picture right now.
So Maxey the ghost and Alex the sleepless continued to run the 'LadyM', deeper and deeper into the red.

On the frontier planet of 'Verdad', where could be found the only Imperial holding station and transfer point within a dozen lightyears, Alex went on a raging bender.
He needed it by God! And be damned if it took up the last credit he possessed...He was at the end of the line...the end of his rope.

When the woman picked him up in a Front Street Bar and bedded him in her hotel room, he was too far gone to realize what a dangerous stunner she was and way too far gone to be able to make any sort of an intelligent business decisions!

 

[Honey_B]

Talleah

Like a refugee from Amazon Women on the Moon, I bring you Talleah - Blonde, buxom, and with the unmistakable bearing of an aristocrat. Raised on a planet that had long since dispensed with men, Talleah was raised as a warrior, receiving the necessary training she would need to fulfill her hereditary post as a palace guard. When a nasty affair with the queen ended badly, Talleah found herself booted off her homeworld, exiled for life.

The Interplanetary Counsel had a use for Talleah, and she was recruited almost immediately. Becoming an elite assassin for the Empire, she had been effective up to a point. However, the career was short-lived when conflict with her superiors ended her involvement with law and order. The Empire didn't have much use for a woman who constantly refused to bow to the authority of a man.

And so, Talleah found herself among the rogue group of bounty hunters who made their money from the cases that the Empire didn't want to bother with. Outer reaches, hellholes, places of last resort, these were Talleah's most frequent haunts.

 

[Snork Maiden]

Pam Strickland - Out regions Free Trader

-

 

[Honey_B]

Smashing post, Snork Maiden. It will be a pleasure working with you. Ok, I've got a suggestion regarding the proposed plot before we get started. From what I've been told, Talleah has the contract to take Pamela to the penal colony, but she turns her over to Alex for half the bounty. I just can't rationalize why a bounty hunter would do this.

So, here's my suggestion. From Ari's last post, it's been suggested that Talleah and Alex shared a night together. From this meeting, he could have learned of her plans to transport Pamela for a significant pay-off at HEL. Perhaps he could step in and snatch Pamela for himself.

We could open the thread on Talleah's ship, which Alex has already disabled. He steps in, neutralizes Talleah, and takes the prisoner for himself. What y'all do beyond that is up to you. Anyway, it would give my character reason to set off on hot pursuit.

What do you think?

 

[Snork Maiden]

-

 

[ariosto]

Hey you guys!

Here Here!!!!! Third Variation or is it fourth?

Wishing to avoid undue complexities, I propose that
Talleah does indeed have the contract on Strickland and the others prisoner (s)(who!?).
Theres a problem though, a considerable bonus will be paid for the arrival of these valuable convicts on Hel within 10 days and Talleah's ship, high tech and swift as sin, has nevertheless overloaded her starboard Ion Converter Gizmo and will be drydocked at least a week!

She wants all those pretty "sovereigns' really bad...greedy wench! and seduces Alex...not hard to do, after she finds out he's desperate for a cargo as well as her flesh!

To safeguard her 'asset' she agrees to acompany the cargo on the Lady Macbeth...putting us all in the same place anyway.
Her ummmm...'deputy' can either act as her bodyguard on the voyage to Hel or stay in charge of her own ship which she will summon as soon as things get sticky.

In the meantime, Strickland while playing fast and loose with Talleah and ummm...me..the convicts...(orgy here<grin>?), can be engineering a plot to break free and take over the ship...

Fate will interven in the form of space pirates and in the midst of the fighting, Strickland will be set free to help fight the ship. Something that will cause Talleah to summon her own craft to intercept....That money!!!

And so on.
the first scene can be in Talleah's bedroom when the deal is made or on board the Macbeth when she arrives with the prisoners...

So many ways to jump...so little time.

 

[Snork Maiden]

-

 

[cgraven]

Any chance of and old sailor gettin a role in this thread?

 

[cgraven]

C. J. Higgins ex operations officer of a Galactic Empire Nova class star destructor, ex war hero of the Telepathic Wars, ex Captain of the intergalactic freighter Amorphous for the Coralline trading cartel, drifter, malcontent, and know a merchant of opportunity.

He smiled to himself merchant of opportunity it had a much nicer ring to it than pirate. Hell most of the cartels got there start on the outer rim in just such away, till they became rich enough to buy protection and then respectability. Most everybody at one time or another had been on the wrong side of the law or what passed for the law out here.

There where two cargos that could make you rich, one was smuggling arms, if you had the guts and money, but that was sure to have at least half out the out worlds wanting your head, and arms always raised an eyebrow. Worst yet were those buying them, where radicals and they talked to much for C. J. liking.

The other was medical supplies, with space sickness, radiation poisoning, and a host of afflictions the scientific types hadn’t even come up with a name for yet, no one but on one questioned where the medical supplies came from as long as they got them, and they where willing to pay quite handsomely with no questions asked.

Pickings had been good along the shipping lanes of the Sigma Draconis galactic arm. Six successful raids in the last six months, one more and C. J. could retire as a gentleman of leisure on some nice little world.

Well that was the plan, but it did not quite work out that way. Now he was being led to the holding cells an ex pirate on his way to Hel..

 

[ariosto]

I'm going to retire the casting couch now...sigh...since we've made our quota of lusty Rocket Jockeys and Jockettes.
There are still a few roles to settle but if you already know your part go ahead and post a bio here.

The story has changed in the making somewhat and by this evening, I'll post a new introduction and the final cast.

Thanks to everyone for your response!

Steiner your PM is full and I need to talk to you...

 

[Steiner]

My apologies, Ariosto - that oversight has been dealt with...

 

[Snork Maiden]

-

 

[ariosto]

The tale I've proposed has changed somewhat over recent days and although I still concieve of it as a continuum made up of episodic adventures, the first adventure has grown from something quite 'light', to a very rich and many layered story, more than capable of standing on it's own.
A new intoduction will launch the action thread which will begin by this time tomorrow.


The cast is complete and consists of;

Alex Sanchez-Tremayne, owner and operator of the small free trader Lady Macbeth, scratching out an existance among the fringe worlds of the Spinward Marches.
Played by.....me.

Pamela Strickland, notorious smuggler, tried and condemned to penal servitude (oh my!) on the convict planet of Hel.
Played by....Snork Maiden

Talleah, bounty hunter and mercenary warden, in whose charge Pamela Strickland has been placed for deportation to Hel.
Played by....HoneyB

Talleah's 'deputy' and assistant
Played by...Miltone

CJ Higgens...another smuggler, captured, tried and condemned to Hel
Played by...CGRaven

Female prisoner, unspecified crimes, condemned to Hel
Played by...Secret Desires


Special appearences will be made later in the story by Steiner and White Queen.

 

[cgraven]

BIO

Name: C J Higgins
Age: 51
Height: 5’ 11”
Weight: 175 lbs
Hair: Ginger
Eyes: Hazel

Occupation: Merchant of opportunity, some would say Space Pirate. Currently a guest of the Terran Empire’s Security on the remote space station VK-W1.

Back ground History.

The 3rd son of Captain Shawn Higgins of the intergalactic freighter Genoa registered to the Coralline trading cartel. C J had grown up on the Genoa in the days prior to the introduction of the improved pulsed ion drive engines when a single voyage could take six years. Lying about his age he enlisted in Terran Empire’s Security forces and was assigned to operations navigation and weapons department. He was serving as a navigation chief at the out break of Telepathic Wars. A splinter group of rebels he because their prolonged exposure to solar radiation on the long deep space voyages had developed Telepathic abilities which they had learned to harness to create a devastating psychokinetic weapon. Their goal was to reestablish the old republic. Though small in numbers they had devastated the Terran Empire’s Fleet. Through a series of brutal and devastating battles, the use of assassin, and special operations the rebels where slowly losing ground. Quite by accident C J and stumbled on an effective counter measure to the rebels’ psychokinetic weapon was promoted to operation officer of a new Galactic Empire Nova class star destructor. At the conclusion of the war he was discharged because of his background of growing up on a deep space freighter and was labeled a security risk.

C J found himself an outsider and became a drifter, and malcontent, every time he tried to establish a new life the stigma of his youth and the Empire’s paranoia put and end to his endeavourers. Finally he turned his hand to piracy.
In the end that landed him waiting for transport as a prisoner, bound for the pineal colony of Hel.

 

[ariosto]

All right the action thread is up and running!
Most likely Talleah (HoneyB) should post next, after which everyones on their own. Please stay withinn the general story line. Once underway and about midway in the voyage there will be a Mutiny/Pirate attack to deal with.

If you are in action with another player and cannot post for several days, please try and let us know it.
A maximum of one post per day per player please, and try and post every other day if possible.
Thanks!

We could use a bio from Miltone and Secret Desires here...please?

 

[Miltone]

Bob

IC: No sooner said than done, Ari. Although this idea has evolved a bit since you first started it up, I hope that we can still retain at least some elements of the trashy 50s era sci-fi films. I’ve always wanted to play with a room-sized computer with large knobs and dials, make love to buxom curvaceous blondes, and fly in spaceships that look like ’59 Cadillacs.

BIO:
Name: “Bob”
Age: Unknown
Height: 6’ 2”
Weight: 195 lbs.
Hair: Blond
Eyes: One Green, one Cyan (bionic)

Occupation: Talleah’s second; science, weapons, and computer specialist.

Background History:

At one time Col. Robert J. Powers was a member of the elite Empire Dark Angels Squadron of top gun fly boys. During a horrific encounter with the dreaded Norealean Horde, he was gravely wounded when his craft took a direct hit from a photonic weapon. The best doctors gave up hope of saving his life until a secret experimental bionics project adopted him and restored those parts of him that has been destroyed, making him a sort of six-billion credit man. His right arm, torso, trunk and hips are his own, most everything else is artificial.

The experimental drugs that he was fed during the numerous and laborious bionic transplants did have an unintended beneficial effect in that his biological remains were “enhanced” to match the superhuman performance levels of his bionic components. From the outside he appears to be a healthy hunk of a man, but inside the mix of man and machine creates an imbalance with the machine usually winning.

When the surgeries were finished and his rehabilitation was complete, the scientists released him to the Empire's military, but to their great dismay, they found his quirky unpredictable behavior completely unacceptable for military purposes and discharged him as private citizen “Bob”, a creature half-machine and not half-human, thoroughly unprepared to cope with a foreign universe around him.

Before taking a job with Talleah, he flew interplanetary garbage scows; he spent five years on a deep space research vessel; he fought as a mercenary in the Bourellian Wars; he solved the puzzle of the Armenian Gambit; and most recently had served as an aide de camp to the renegade Carnakus, the Fist.

The only flaw discovered thus far is that he is rendered completely incapable of emotion. Which makes him an ideal fit for working with Talleah, since she can interact with him all she wants, yet never has to worry about him falling in love with her. His cool unflappable logical demeanor and superior albeit artificial romantic wit make him the perfect traveling companion.

 

[Snork Maiden]

It would appear that more than a few people have an issue with Me personally. For that I am deeply saddened because few really have taken the time to really get to know me and most just love to criticise my points of view.

Yes I do vocalize passionately about things that matter to me and if this badge of unpopularity, which I have been awarded is because of that then all I can say is that I wear it proudly. I received plenty of hurtful PM's over the weekend which I have just finished digesting and I just have this to say in response.

I would rather be unpopular for speaking truthfully from my heart than to be popular for giving out the candy everybody wants.

For the sake of peace and harmony and with the hope that this thread which has so much potential can get of the ground I am withdrawing,as I am from all the other threads in which I am involved.

I had a fabulous weekend away and some deep heart to heart chats with my partner and I am listening now to his words of advice, and in light of the PM's i have decided to severe absolutely all connections with this web site and people that post here.

Good luck and goodbye.

Ro

 

[Miltone]

So sorry to hear ...

Dear Snork Maiden,

I'm so sorry to hear of your decision to leave Lit. It's too bad that some small minded individuals have taken to alienating one of the more free-spirited and open-minded people who frequent these pages. Although we never wrote much at all together, your spirit, intelligence, wit and charm will be greatly missed. Good luck to you. You will be missed.



Miltone

 

[ariosto]

Snork, I've tried to PM you but youve cut the umbilical.
I'm sad to see this day come. Your outspokeness has alienated some here but others will feel the loss.
You and I have tackled some of the more intricate threads at LIT.
Memorable ones.

If you ever long for a game og GO or canasta you know where to find me.

I am halting this thread temporarily until we can sort things out.

 

[cgraven]

Snork I am filled with a deep sadness at this news.

My dear I wish you the best and I send all my best wishes for you and yours to have every happiness possible.

Good luck my friend and you’ll always be in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[Snork Maiden]

I forgot the IM list but it's covered now and now I have isolation which is good.

Having been tarred and labelled I may as well play the part described for me.

It wasn't my intention for people to take my comments personally.

Having been accused I will make a public statement. Find my first post to the roof, it doesn't get any better than that. Having been accused of being a whiner and a moaner, I have never posted any moans or whines, I may have stood up for myself. No one else will and yes I did personally attack 2, TWO people in there but I did try to make amends.

I never brought depressing 'Oh my buisness is failing' crap, or 'Oh my relationship is failing' or even 'oh my .... died', or 'oh my .... is ill' type posts In fact I tried to keep my personal stuff out of the place. Yes I did have 3 - 4 months of post natal depression. Yes I did for the most part deal with that on my own and no the help I got wasn't from anyone associated with that poisoned ink well.

Yes I did on numerous occassions express my reluctance to post in that viper pit known as the Roof Top to several people who kept nagging me to post there. I should have seen the signs on the notice board, once I started they turned so sweetly upon me. Fortunately the posts stand to substantiate that.

You know the most annoying thing is that whilst people are so quick to critisize me for what I say they seldom critisize what I say - how strange is that ?

I wish I had never fought so hard to defend the place in the past. Just call me 'idiot'

God I feel like a weight has been lifted from my chest.

Iaceant canes dormientes

 

[ariosto]

I think enough has been said to offend just about everyone.
Us middle aged types are apt to be fragile.
This was meant to be an OOC thread for a space story and not a sounding board for greivances.

This OOC thread is closed. Let it die.