ourspace | II.A.1. INFO: APPING EARTH-PC OR COLONIAL-PC ROUTES

In brief
Earth-PCs and Colony-PCs are the dual “protagonists” of this game. They will initially be pitted against each other, but they are the ones who will put together the pieces necessary to take all out-of-worlders home.

Option 1: The Morning Star

The Terran Confederation is a three-hundred-year-old institution which has brought mankind together and facilitated humanity’s ascent into space. One year ago, the space colonies turned on the Terran Confederation, invading Europe, brutally massacring civilians and stripping the land of the already ecologically-devastated Earth for resources. The colonies declared themselves independent from the Confederation and declared war on its members. They’ve since landed in Latin America, Africa, and Australia, overthrowing governments as they go in their quest for resources. The colonies recently unleashed a plague that’s killed and crippled large portions of the Americas, and dropped a colony on Southeast Asia, perhaps irreparably affecting Earth’s atmosphere. The Confederation-induced death toll is catastrophic.

Five years ago, after an unusually strong solar flare, unfamiliar, advanced technology was deposited across the solar system. The Botticelli Project was created in utmost secrecy, hoping that it could bring more technology and people from other universes, learn from them, and cure the White Plague, and launch a successful rout of the invading Panpolies. However, the Panpolies attacked the Botticelli Project’s facilities, stealing the apparatus necessary for an interdimensional return trip. Commander Tanaka of the crippled research vessel Morning Star has a proposition: keep her ship in one piece, steal the pieces needed to rebuild the return apparatus, and she’ll return you home.

Will you help her?

Earth-PCs will arrive in the inside of the "Clamshell," an enormous white cube, stripped of their powers. For an hour, they will be alone in the Clamshell. After that, a door will appear in the walls of the cube, revealing Captain Chie Tanaka. A moment later, the walls will disappear around you, revealing the industrial, battle-scarred hangar of the Morning Star. Captain Tanaka will explain the world you just arrived in, and suggest a daring plan to return you home. You'll spend the next few days (or OOC weeks) with Captain Tanaka and the new arrivals, trying to stay alive long enough to return home.

Option 2: The Pericles

Humanity has lived in colonies for almost two-hundred years. In 2516, there are more people living in space than on Earth. But since the colonies successfully gained independence from their sponsor nations a century ago, the colonies have been abused and resource-starved by the Terran Confederation: underrepresented in the Confederation, denied the ability to immigrate to Earth, starved of resources. Five years ago, after a massive solar flare devastated colonial farming capabilities, colonists began starving en masse. With approval from the Russian Consortium, the colonies sent a “reverse-colonial” mission to the largely-uninhabited Ukraine to take up farming and mining to repair the aging colonies and feed their starving people. The Terran Confederation ordered them off the Earth, threatening to use military force.

The colonies realized that the Terran Confederation had no interest in aiding the colonies, and many of them left the Confederation to form the Panpolies – the League of City States – and declared a state of war, inviting other nations of Earth to join them in leaving the Confederation. Those terrestrial nations that left the Confederation were immediately attacked by their former allies in the Terran Confederation. The Panpolies are now fighting for their survival as the Terrans attack their Earth food supplies, their colonies, and their Earth allies in South America, Australia, and Africa. Things have been especially horrible since the Terran Confederation unleashed a computer virus that spread through the colonies, freezing many to death on one Confederation, one unaligned, and several Panpolies colonies… and completely wrecking one neutral and one Panpolies colony, killing everyone aboard. It’s a sign of the depravity and desperation of the Confederation that it’s conscripting people from other universes.

Commander Hayes of the Panpolies battleship Pericles attacked a Confederation satellite in orbit around Venus, believing it to be a military production facility. Instead, he recovered a remarkable device, capable of transporting people and weapons – namely, you – from other universes. Appalled by the continuing depravity of the Confederation, conscripting unwilling people from other worlds to fight its war, he offers to immediately return to the Apollo Cluster, capital of the Panpolies, and request his government’s immediate assistance in analyzing the device to send you home. However, it will be a difficult journey through Confederation-controlled space to the Apollo Cluster.

Will you help him?

Colony-PCs will arrive in the inside of the "Clamshell," an enormous white cube, stripped of their powers. For an hour, they will be alone in the Clamshell. After that, a door will appear in the walls of the cube, revealing Commander Casimir Hayes. A moment later, the walls will disappear around you, revealing the industrial, battle-scarred hangar of the Pericles. Commander Hayes will explain the world you just arrived in, and suggest a daring plan to return you home. You'll spend the next few days (or OOC weeks) with Commander Hayes and the new arrivals, trying to stay alive long enough to return home.

Choosing between the Morning Star and the Pericles
The decision can be based on demeanor and outlook, but that can be overridden by other considerations if elaborated in the app.

The default rule is that you should sort based on demeanor and outlook:

Earth-PCs will be the grungier faction. Earth-PCs should be somewhat rougher and more individualistic characters -- people who are willing to break rules and kill to get what they want. They are practical and, while they may have a moral code, it might be a pretty lax or unconventional one. Characters on the Earth-PC route are not necessarily bad or chaotic people, but they should probably be able to handle crude shipmates. Han Solo, Kara Thrace, and Mikazuki Agnus are characters who might end up on the Earth-PC route.
Colony-PCs will be the more honorable and genteel faction. These characters might work well in groups, have strong moral codes, and be idealistic. Characters who have problems with killing should probably go here, even though this is not a required trait. They don't have to be selfless angels, and this isn't necessarily where all the good or lawful types go. But it is definitely where the "officer and a gentleman" types with tidy uniforms who sip tea in their downtime go. Obi-Wan Kenobi, William Laurence, and Kira Yamato are characters who might end up on the Earth-PC route.

However, you may disregard demeanor and sort based on other factors if you discuss those factors in your application.

Sorting to be with (or avoid) castmates. For instance: Han Solo is a rogueish loner, and a purely demeanor-based decision would put him in the Earth-PC faction. But if Leia Organa is already a Colony-PC, Han can state in his app "Han is a roguish loner who demeanor-wise belongs in Earth-PC. But Leia is important CR to him so I want him on Colony-PC." That is okay. (So would putting Han on Earth-PC and making them navigate factional difficulties.) Putting people on opposite ships because they hate each other is also okay.
Other strong affinities. If your character has some strong association with something one side or the other stands for, you can use that as an override. For instance: Shinn Asuka is a jerkass, and a purely demeanor-based decision he probably belongs Earth-PC faction. But in his own canon, he's part of the space colony militia. A player could sort him demeanor-wise into Earth-PC, but could sort him affinity-wise into the Colony-PC.

Or basically any other consideration you can think of, but CR and affinities are pretty strong reasons.

The first month, and goals
For the first week, the Morning Star and Pericles will be separated from each other, and the characters in each faction will not be able to interact with each other. It’s unusual, but it’s part of creating a game with truly antagonistic factions.

The schedule for the first few weeks is:

Morning Star Route:

Week 1: Character arrival, introduction of Captain Chie Tanaka, doing repairs on the damaged ship.
Week 2: Attack by Colonial forces (first interaction with Plot-PCs).
Week 3: Visit to Clamshell’s inventor.
Week 4: Downtime in neutral port (first opportunity for interaction with Colony-PCs).
Week 5: Scheduled plot-free breather.

Pericles Route:

Week 1: Character arrival, introduction of Commander Casmir Hayes, doing repairs on the damaged ship.
Week 2: Attack by Earth forces (first interaction with Plot-PCs).
Week 3: Visit to leading scientist on Solar Quartz.
Week 4: Downtime in neutral port (first opportunity for interaction with Earth-PCs).
Week 5: Scheduled plot-free breather.

Over the course of the first month, Earth-PCs and Colony-PCs will learn three things: (1) Solar Quartz gives you superpowers (or gives your superpowers back); (2) the two halves of the Clamshell need to be united to send them home; and (3) no one in this universe can explain the appearance of Solar Quartz or how the Clamshell works.

This will set up four goals for Earth-PCs and Colony-PCs: (1) acquire Solar Quartz, (2) reunite the two halves of the Clamshell, (3) uncover the mystery of interdimensional travel, and (4) … survive being shot at by the other side.