DSS: Expedition Ironstar [IC]

[Pencil_Me_In]

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the DSS Oroboris. You have proven yourselves the best of the best and as such have been selected for the most dangerous and necessary mission this galaxy has ever conducted. Your home base will be the Deep Space Station Oroboris located on the farthest point of the eastern rim of our solar system. From there you will launch an expedition to the adjoining system to charter and catalogue any and all planets and inhabitants that you encounter.

Since the decaying of our home planet Earth began in 2010 we were forced to look for alternate sources of living. The entire planet united under one banner in hopes of preserving the human race. It began with space cities. Entire countries were gradually evacuated from Earth to designated stations. From there, our technology increased and we were able to biodome structures that operated similarly to large greenhouses. Plant life and all manners of vegetation were reintroduced. By 2050 we had perfected. There are now 28 cities we so named: The Colonies. However, by this time mankind’s population decreased from 7 billion to 80 million. A devastating loss to our kind. However, as we slowly repopulate and rebuild ourselves to our former glory it is becoming apparent that we will no longer be able to inhabit The Colonies forever. We must find a planet and begin rebuilding once again.

That is why we have called the seven of you here. This mission is of utmost importance. Together you make up Expedition Ironstar

Levels of the Oroboris:

Main level-
Lounge
Dining hall
Kitchen

Top Level-
Conservatory
Control Room

Second Level-
Bedrooms
Bathroom

Bottom Level-
Docking Area
Cargo Hold



Roles:

1. Ironstar Commanding Officer- responsible for leading the mission and ensuring its success as well as protecting the lives of the other six members. Pencil_Me_In

2. Ironstar Assistant Commanding Officer- responsible for leading the mission and ensuring its success as well as protecting the lives of the other six members. Responds directly to the CO. accepting

3. Data System Operator- responsible for making sure all operating systems are working properly and records all data findings and reports back to MC (mission control).Illusionist

4. Operations and Control Specialist- responsible for maintain the base and all shuttle equipment as well as adapting the Oroboris to any and all space fluctuations . accepting

5. Weapons and Exploration Technician- responsible for equipping all members with proper weaponry, defending the Ironstar, and leading the exploration of each planetary system found. accepting senior officer

6. Ironstar Physician and Medical Technician- responsible for the general health of the Ironstar team as well as the mental stability of each person. Must make weekly report to MC. Rawrr

7. Lab and Data Specialist- responsible for cataloging all species and plant life discoveries. Must make annual report back to MC. RumoursPM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Captain's log: Day 46 aboard the Oroboris. All systems are operating at full power. Slight fluxuation in the oxygen levels, but pending further investigation we believe the malnutrition of the conservatory plant life is the source of the problem. It seems the artificial sunlight isn't as affective as we'd hoped. Should have known when I couldn't manage to get a tan...Will keep you posted on our progress. Captain Jason W. Anderson-out."

Jason pressed the button on the recorder and hit the send button on the communication's screen. He leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingertips together. With his eyes closed he listened to the silence of space. There was no movement. No sound. Not a breath of wind. Only the pulse of his heartbeat in his ears.

His watch beeped alerting him to his morning appointment with the Doctor. He stood from the Captain's chair in the Control Room before exiting into the hallway. As he passed the Dining Hall he could hear the sounds of his crew enjoying their breakfast. The days grew longer now that they had settled and the crew did what they could to fill the time. They were fast approaching the border of the system and soon they would be in uncharted territory. Then the real fun would begin.

He knocked on the door to the Doctor's office before pressing the panel to open the door. "SchoÏler?" he asked as he stepped inside. She would be expecting him. Same time every morning. Regular screenings were once a week for the rest of the crew...but daily for him. It was a burden he was willing to take on. A burden to keep his sanity when the lives of his crew depend on him.

[Rawrr]

A slender hand lifted to tuck long blond hair behind the left ear, then rested her cheek in her palm of the same hand. Lotte's other hand was momentarily pressing down, again, and again, and again, throughoutly reading the information she had gathered herself from all of the crew members. Next to her, sat a plastic package of sanitizer wipes, the scent drifting about the room; a scent that she was very much used to. The woman chewed on her bottom lip until a knock sounded on her door, throwing her back to reality.

Bright blond head turned to look towards the door when Captain Anderson stepped in. What was the time? Lotte glanced down at her digital wristwatch idly before turning fully in the rolling chair. "Good morning," She muttered, plucking a sanitizer wipe from the package and extending it towards him with those expectant bright blue eyes watching him over the rims of her glasses. By now, everyone on the ship should know the woman hardly tolerated the chance of germs, which was less possible on a space ship than back at home.

Still, she couldn't be sure his hands were clean and he wasn't carrying anything harmful. Once he'd take the wipe, and without a single word more, the woman will proceed to check his blood pressure, temp., etc. as well as a series of questions concerning his mental well being. Once she was done with the practical medical checks, Lotte leaned back in her chair, clasped her hands in her lap, her white lab coat wrinkling beneath the pressure. "How'd you sleep?" She questioned, cocking her head slightly.

[RumoursPM]

Renee made way across the bridge that divided two sections of the conservatory. She pressed one hand against the railing of the bridge, as she leaned over it to examine the plants. Using her unoccupied hand, she lifted the bud of a flower, that was an outrageously teal color. After staring at the flower with squinted eyes for a few moments, she let it fall back into its original posture. She scribbled a few things in her leather journal before moving along down the bridge.

She couldn't figure out for the life of her, how that particular flower could be peeled and boiled in milk to make for a medicinal soup but, you touch it with your bare hands and you'd receive nasty burns along the sides of your fingers. It frustrated her to be unable to explain such things. Another thing beyond her control. The guys had brought this plant back from the nth planet they had visit in the past few months. This was one thing she envied about everyone else. She pretty much confined to this one room, never getting to go out into the field. She just cataloged what she received.

Renee found herself standingg beside the small pond, which she had manage to cultivate with various fish from various planets. This was the first time she had managed to do so without them eating each other. She bent down, pulling out a test tube out of her pocket, to test the Ph Level. Just right, just like she liked it. She closed her eyes, ignoring the grumbling that began to shake her stomach.

[Pencil_Me_In]

(couldn't find any interesting uniforms so I went with something a little too cheesy for my liking. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to see them)

Jason took the wipe and resisted a grin. "Doctor, you know the base is steril. Is this really necessarry?" Despite the question, he proceeded to wipe his hands and toss the now dry cloth into the waste basket.

He sighed as he took a seat on the med table and began removing his jacket leaving him in his undershirt. As a call for structure, uniforms were mandatory until nine pm. This would allow those on board to task themselves according to the time of day. Just another way to keep busy.

"How's I sleep?" he repeated and thought for a moment. "On my back mostly, though I think I shifted to my stomach sometime during the night." He grinned and let out a small laugh. "Slept the same," he replied more seriously. "Same bed. Same six hours. Same nightmare." He shook his head hoping to rid himself of the images. The same memory of finding his home-his wife... "How about you?"

[Rawrr]

Although Lotte never fully liked being called a Doctor, but she dismissed any thought of telling them otherwise. When Jason reminded her that the base is sterile, Lotte lifted a single hand as if to wave away his words in an idle dismissal. The Questionnaire, after the practical medical check-up, wasn't ever long with Jason, he either told or showed Lotte that he's quite fine and there was nothing to worry about.

"How'd I sleep?"... "On my back mostly, though I think I shifted to my stomach sometime during the night."

Any other person would laugh, but the blond sat there, staring at him with unsure, perhaps a little puzzled, eyes. Had he seriously just stated the obvious to her? Clearly, she wasn't comprehending humor just yet. Maybe a little more of these meetings, and she would, but then again 46 days had already passed.

"...Same nightmare."... "How about you?"

"Fine," Lotte answered his latter question, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Tell me about the nightmare; was it the same this time? Anything different? It has been reoccurring each night, is that right?" Lotte swung around in her chair to her paperwork, either what he was about to say was important or same stuff he said every morning.

She couldn't help but feel bad for the man. She knew his predicament. Of his wife's death. And although Lotte can't fully relate to the loss, she can understand his reaction, after all, she has studied psychology into perfection. Smart woman, but socially awkward.

[Pencil_Me_In]

"Same thing as always..." he muttered and fidgeted with the button on his jacket. "Black smoke, broken rubble under my feet. I push the door open and the whole frame falls down, pass through the foyer and into the living room. Empty. I go upstairs and she's just lying there...still in her nightdress. A calm, almost peaceful look on her face...as though her insides weren't pooled on the floor around her." He cleared his throat as it suddenly felt tight. "I reach for her and wake up. That's all. Just memories." He hated talking about it. Two years later he'd relived that one night a thousand times. He checked his watch, anxious for when he could leave. There were a million things he could think of doing, none of which were exciting, but they were better than talking like this. "Enough about me though...how's the rest of the crew?" Like it or not, his exam was over. He pulled his jacket back on and was now no longer a patient, but was once again the Captain. "Anything I should know about?"

[Awesomeocalypse]

Calmly walking from his room to the observatory, Allen let his mind wander which wasn't always a good thing. He had been in numerous battles and seen countless comrades fall and because of it, his memory often threw his thoughts back into those battles. This was the reason for his trip to the observatory, he found it calming. A twisted home away from home even though his home had never had such a lush garden. He never even had grass for that matter.

Entering the observatory, Allen found that it wasn't empty. Renee was there and she was checking on some sort of flower. Suddenly worried that his 'hardcore' military background would be compromised and he would become nothing more then some PTSD nut-job who had fun staring at flowers, Allen tried to backpedal his way out of the room, but the door closed behind him. If Renee didn't know he was there, she definitely did now. He threw an awkward and somewhat fake smile on and calmly waked over to the nearest bench.

"Morning ma'am." Allen said. Regardless of the fact that he knew her name and had gotten to know Renee fairly well through all the training and crew briefings beforehand, he still felt the need to address everyone by sir or ma'am. Sitting down, Allen began to gaze at all the plants that were scattered about the large room. The soft running water was soothing and the images of war slowly dissolved away and were replaced by a better time. Not wanting to disturb Renee while she worked, Allen laid his head back and closed his eyes. He let the sounds of the observatory paint an image for him rather then looking at the plants. This would be a good tactic later on in the mission so that he wouldn't become bored with looking at the same scenery over and over again.

[RumoursPM]

Renee jumped a bit, looking up at Allen. She squinted her eyes through the artificial rays of sunlight, trying to identify the figure. "Good morning, Allen." She had to admit, it was comforting to get some company in the observatory once in awhile. It got kind of lonely. Not lonely to the point that she was talking to the plants but, lonely to the point of wanting some sort of human interaction. She stood to her full height, pulling the latex gloves off her fingers and tossing them into a bin beside her.

She stood back, her head tilted to the side as her eyes darted across the observatory. From the large trees that resembled those on what used to be Palm Beach, to the minute orange frogs that were found hopping along the surface of some planet a little bit west if where they were now. It was extraordinary to her how many species that were unknown just a few years ago, are now in the very same room with her. It reminded her of Noah's Ark and in this case, she was Noah. She slumped down one of the chairs along the pond. Reaching into the pockets of her wrinkled lab coat, she revealed a small bag of trail mix. It was the offspring of a few foreign grains and seeds. She extended her arm, offering some to Allen with a raised eyebrow.

[Rawrr]

Lotte let out a long sigh, pushing off the table and turning the chair to face him, her arms folded across her chest. Same nightmare. Same description. Traumatized, naturally. She could clearly see he was beginning to grow irritated with speaking of his traumatizing memories. So Lotte let go, for now.

"Enough about me though...how's the rest of the crew?"

Once he stood, he asked this, almost indicating that he was done with the check-up. The blond looked lost for a moment, turning around in the chair as if she'd find the answers on papers; answers she already knew in her head. Turning back around after that little display of awkwardness, she looked up at him, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"Just fine; although I believe Renee would like to go out more on the field rather than stay in the observatory," She continued, "If that's possible, I mean," Yet again, she began chewing on her bottom lip, awaiting his answer.

[Pencil_Me_In]

"I think we'd all like to stretch our legs. I had a feeling this work would get tedious, but I hadn't anticipated it would come within the first two months." He quieted for a moment, pensive in thought. The morale of the crew was quickly slipping. They needed a task. Something to wrap their minds around. Something to do. "Thanks Doc. Another productive meeting." He tossed a smile over his shoulder before leaving the room.

Entering the control room, he pressed the com button, "All crew members please report to the bridge immediately. Captain out."

He stood in front of the navigation board, a chart of the surrounding systems pulled up in a green illuminated three dimension. Jason removed a metalic pen and began tracing a line from one planet across the space toward the Oroboris.

[Awesomeocalypse]

Accepting the handful of trail mix, Allen smiled with a simple "Thank you." He shoved the entire mixture into his mouth. After swallowing the snack, he began looking around again. The only room that should ever be called a living room. Allen caught a small scent of something that didn't agree with his nose, and he sneezed, quickly using his arm to cover his nose. "Excuse me." Allen said, still feeling rather awkward that there was somebody in the observatory.

"So...what is it you're doing around here?" Allen asked, curious about how a person could work with plants knowing that someone, somewhere, was probably going to step on it and trying to strike up some sort of conversation so that he didn't make Renee feel too weird.

[RumoursPM]

She stuffed the plastic bag into her lab coat pockets before leaning back into her chair. She shut her eyes momentarily, before contemplating Allen's question. "The usual. Some new plants to catalogue. Nothing too out of the ordinary." She cracked a small smirk, before opening her eyes once more.


"All crew members please report to the bridge immediately. Captain out."

Renee was about to say some smart-alec comment, seeing as she is most known for her dry humor and sarcasm but; was interrupted by the intercom. She jumped at the sound of the captain's voice echoing through the conservatory. "That means us." She shot him a look, before exiting the conservatory and heading to the bridge.

[Kailator]

"All crew members please report to the bridge immediately. Captain out."

As the message blared across the intercom, 2nd Lieutenant Tim Farrier, sat up with a start. CLANG! He then lay back down again groaning.
"Damn and I was just getting comfy." he muttered to himself absent-mindedly rubbing the small lump on his forehead.
Tim slowly shuffled his way out of the access tube he had been 'working' on and emerged in the cargo bay.
"Better hurry up, don't want to miss a briefing and I have to get cleaned up." he said to the surrounding crates and then set off at a jog to his room for a quick change of clothes.

[AlWayZFrE3]

"All crew members please report to the bridge immediately. Captain out."

Jack stopped what he was doing and looked around, then mumbled, "Since when is there a captain in Sexland?"

It took a few seconds for Jack to realize that he was dreaming and wake up. He sat up slowly, no covers around him and only a thin pair of pants covering his body, "Aw, man, I was about to go again...wait, game time already?"

His mind came back full force and he knew what was going on, so he dressed quickly, attatched his sidearm, and made a fast way to the bridge. He was finally getting some action, real combat or no. There was no way he'd miss this.

((Sorry for the vague post, don't know what else to say for the moment))

[Awesomeocalypse]

"Right." Allen quickly said, jumping to his feet. He watched as Renee left the observatory. Letting out a heavy sigh, Allen slapped himself in the face a couple times. "C'mon Sarge, pull yourself together. You're not some blubbery flower-watcher, and you don't care what she does with the flowers. If they're going to listen to you in times of sheer madness, you need to be mad yourself." Allen said to himself. He practically stormed out of the observatory after motivating himself.

As he made his way to the bridge, Allen allowed the thoughts of his past to cloud his mind. It wasn't the most healthy decision he could have made, but he would let the doctor tell him that. In the meantime, Allen was gone. Sarge had taken over. There was something out there, in the vast emptiness of space, that had never met humans but would quickly learn that their gushers-like body was the tastiest thing to ever make a routine landing on their planet. If they were all going to survive this little endeavor, Sarge needed control.

Walking into the bridge, Sarge moved to the back of the bridge and stood at parade rest, a rigid and very-military stance where Sarge's hands on top of one-another on the small of his back, his arms angled to his side, and his feet shoulder-width apart. Calmly standing there, out of the way of the rest of the crew, Sarge calmly looked around at everything, wondering why the Captain would need to see everyone. Maybe it was finally time to start what they had all come out here to do.

[Rawrr]

"Thanks Doc. Another productive meeting."

Lotte smiled faintly at that. She hoped anything she does is productive. Eventually, after he left, Lotte lifted her head up from her work to listen to the intercom. She assumed she should be there too; to know first hand what the plan was, and if anything, have knowledge so she can ready herself for either accidents, or problems that they might come across later.

White lab-coat donned, the woman slipped out of her office and made her way down the winding halls. Once she reached the bridge, she'd join whomever was already there; most often standing on her own, with not a single interest to strike up an idle conversation. Knowing her awkward state, she'd probably say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

[Kailator]

Tim stepped out of the sonic shower after a 30 second burst and grabbed up his uniform putting it on in a hurry.
"Those showers make me feel too clean," he muttered to himself, shuddering as he put on his jacket.
He paused a moment to check if had forgotten anything then, reaslising he had, walked back over to his desk to get his TX-33, his handheld computer.
"Can't forget you now can I." He said then turned and left the room. He set off at a jog down the corridoor on his way to the bridge.
He entered the bridge and walked to his console and sat down waiting for the captain to begin.

[Pencil_Me_In]

Without bothering to make eye contact with anyone, Jason began speaking as the navigation grid enlarged onto the main monitor. "I've set a navigation course to the nearest uninhabited planet. Ursa Sorna is a planet of dense forest. Mission Control wants a detailed charter of the planet outlining any growth of this plant. Rumor has is that this plant, arboris is rumored to convert carbon dyoxide into oxygen, much like any other plant, but at an alarming rate without the need of sunlight. Naturally, if we can harvest this plant, it will not only regulate our own oxygen levels, but will help in the rebuilding of a host planet for human life.

"After establishing a base camp along the western coast, we'll be splitting into two groups. Sarge, I want you and RT to take the lead on team Beta with Echo. I'll be heading up Alpha with Doc, Swagger, and Hax." He paused to check his watch. "We''' be arriving in the next eight hours. I suggest you pack provisions and something warm. Sub temperatures get below freezing at night."

[Awesomeocalypse]

The Captain's briefing was short, but directly to the point. Sarge didn't like the idea of landing on an uncharted planet with no real intelligence just to look for a plant, but orders are orders. Looking at the neon glowing vegetation, Sarge thought it might be fairly easy to find such a plant, especially at night. Of course, that was just an assumption and he knew better then anyone what assuming did.

Lead team, that's exactly where Sarge liked to be. He didn't want to be in the back letting somebody else who was less experienced or not used to the hardship of combat to be the path finder. He really didn't know the second in command, Echo, who would be on his team. And since Echo was an officer, Sarge already had his opinions of him. He was glad that Renee was on his team, though, so that she could help navigate the flora and fauna of the planet so that Sarge didn't get thrashed by some self-defensive tree.

However, Sarge needed more information. He was completely against asking questions during a briefing, but he'd much rather ask then have to risk danger to the team by attempting to figure it out on his own.

"Sir? Do we have any information on life on the planet? The type with teeth and claws that wouldn't like us picking daisies?"

His question had purpose, even if it did have a snide and sarcastic tone to it. Sarge was used to commanders not liking his attitude until it came down to the wire with bullets whizzing through the air, and then Sarge was always the go-to guy.