There is no need for characters to buy basic clothing, food-stuffs, rescue gear --etc. This is true for each department. We may assume that each department comes equipped from central quarter-master corps or supply with STANDARD supplies. This includes personal armor, weapons, and ammunition for the Marines; standard exo-gear for Neo-Dogs and Neo-Fins; lab gear and supplies for the academic departments as well as computerized specialty libraries; machine tools and raw materials for the workshops; and "ample" spare parts for maintenance and engineering. In addition, Terragen Life Support reprocesses organic waste back into oxygen, fresh water, algal and yeast nutrients. These provide an adequate (if very institutionalized) diet when laced with minerals, vitamins, artificial flavors, and artificial colors.
The santa claus machines provided in each Galactic cabin can provide far more than just "basic" nutrition. Unfortunately for the crew, Interstellar Service and Naval policy discourage use of santa clause machines. Nevertheless, they can be accessed with the Representative's approval on special occasions or by the Commander in Charge (remember this is as likely to be the Dean as the Navy Captain) in case of urgent need. The machines can also be used to replicate medical or biological samples. Nevertheless, Terragen doctrine discourages reliance on technology that is not thoroughly understood by Terragen experts. Therefore, any real food or beverages, and the more common medications, SHOULD come from ship's stores.
Other items --such as the contents of the ship's arsenal, the ship's weapons lockers, pre-fabricated cyber-chip mental implants, the contents of the on-board databases, expedition gear and so on, can be left to default determination by the G.M. --and even with extensive pre-planning on the part of the players the presence of many items will still need to be determined by an ad hoc die roll. Even so, if the players want to be CERTAIN of having something (or a certain quantity of something --say, Tymbrimi grav-tanks, a half dozen x-ray gatling lasers in the ship's locker, or a dozen ultralight aircraft for expeditions) they had best request such gear before leaving on their mission. Remember, if you leave it up to the G.M. there won't be many nuclear weapons in your arsenal. (Some, but not many.)
Initial staffing plans and command structure have already been specified by the Mission Planning Board. If senior officers or staff (that is, you players) have any objections or recommendations, speak up before leaving on your mission. It is a lot like submarine duty. Don't expect much support or communication from home, meanwhile senior staff will try to run the mission as discretely as possible --meaning "radio" silence over long periods.
We will be aiming for an "ensemble" style of role-playing. Be prepared to design personal effects for each character as you create it. As play goes on, it may be useful to start with the character's original little horde of stuff she would have had at the beginning of the mission and then "age" the character's personal effects.
Note that personal wealth is basically irrelevant while on the mission. True,
wealthy characters might have some social status even aboard ship, and the occasional mensch of a character
might try to speculate on penny-ante interstellar trade, but for the most part a character's personal
economic status is irrelevant to the campaign and most of its adventures. Besides, none of those
cultures outside of Main Sequence O-2 Civilization are going to take your Terragen Credits. Even
Galactics consider the Tg Credit to be a very "soft" currency. The most universal standard of
Galactic value is the "Library Token" (gal-coin) that allows about 64 minutes of access to a
major Galactic Library facility at a standard booth.(1)
II. The shake-down cruise: To Garth and Back.
To test the Ibn BaTTuta prior to sending it on it's first mission of exploration,
the Tg.Is.S administration has decided to send it on a delivery run to Garth Colony on behalf of the
Terragen Institute for the Promotion of Sapience and the Thenannin Garthiling Uplift Project. There is no reason to expect any serious
incident during the trip. Crew will receive briefings on dealing with their
Thenannin and
Ynnin guests. Crew should expect
problems to result from internal friction with their guests and the difficulty of hiding their contingent of
Kiquis from the Thenannin clan members. The
other probable origin of inconvenience will be mechanical snafus in the ship itself and difficulty getting
the crew to settle into a smooth and efficient operating routine.
A. Who
The crew will be relatively unchanged. It will include about a dozen expert consultants (of whom ten will be Human) from various contractors along to help break-in the ship. Like most members of the crew, they will need to be kept ignorant of the Kiqui aboard.
All alien attaches, except for the two Synthians and the Tymbrimi tactical advisor, have yet to take their posts. The Kanten linguist will come aboard at Garth.
The Ibn BaTTuta will carry a number of passengers on its maiden voyage. Of these, the most important will be a Thenannin diplomat and uplift scientist responsible for the 32 Neo-Gorillas being transferred to the Chooser Uplift Station on Garth. He is accompanied by a Ynnin guard, and three Ynnin assistants. All five must be accommodated in Galactic quality cabins. A half-dozen Terragen uplift scientists attached to the Chooser project should also be housed in the Galactic cabins along with several Garthings who will wait on their Patron, Sponsors, and the Ynnin. Other Garthings will need regular access to the Galactic quarters to take psychological tests, learn simple tasks --etc. The live cargo hold will be used as a play area for the Garthlings. The Garthling group is also bringing an updated genetic library from the Rwanda Gorilla Research Facility, along with relevant new data from Earth.
Only one Thennanin --known for her strength of will and easy-going, flexible personality --will be accompanying the Garthlings due to the primitive conditions aboard the Ibn BaTTuta. Even with sophisticated Galactic living quarters, life in cramped quarters over an extended time is a tremendous psychological stress on any Thenannin. This stressor will only be exacerbated by travel in stochastically variable B-level hyperspace among uncouth and unpredictable Humans. (This is why the Thenannin didn't send more personnel on the voyage.) The Thenannin administrator will spend most of the time asleep in her room. When not sleeping, she will be loath to leave those areas specially conditioned for her comfort with illusions of spaciousness. Even then she will need to take a medication that simultaneously lowers her level of anxiety and increases her level of motivation. As a result, she will tend to be unusually curt and tempermental --at least for a Thenannin. She will also be unusually stubborn, and her judgment slightly impaired. It is possible that she may eventually need to remove herself from duty and enter stasis. Just in case, another qualified Thenannin is in a high-tech suspended animation tube, with automated revival (and suspension) systems that will be kept in sick bay. (Full medical records and medical cyberchips for Thenannin and Ynnin will be provided for medical crew on the Ibn BaTTuta.)
Incidentally, standing orders forbid entering e-level hyperspace with conscious Thennanins aboard. Thenannins should be placed in suspended animation before entering e-level hyperspace --though in an emergency they can transit e-space while comatose. Ynnin must be medicated to transit hyperspace safely. Experience has shown that Neo-Gorillas and Werewolves (Neo-Dogs) can safely travel in e-space, but are much more comfortable when on moderate doses of anti-anxiety medication. (Oddly enough most Neo-Elephants seem to do ok in e-space without anti-anxiety medications.) Anti-anxiety medications may also be appropriate for sensitive members of other Terragen species. No information on Kiqui reaction to e-space travel is available at the present time.
Another group will be eight Neo-Dogs and an Uplift technician heading for Garth with genetic material for those Werewolves who have been chosen by Garth-side project managers to reproduce --or at least raise pups. All the Elephant sized freeze tubes contain Neo-Elephants due for Garth. Two personnel from the project along with relevant material are accompanying them.
Thirty-six Kiqui are bound for Garth along with extensive genetic material, data, equipment, and supplies. The Kiqui will form the core of a major covert uplift project on Garth. It is hoped that the Kiqui will do better in Garth's polluted waters than Neo-Dolphins. They are accompanied by six project personnel and appropriate life-support supplements.
Overloading the Terragen life-support system should not be a problem since its maximum occupancy rating assumes that the entire Terragen complement consists of Fins. Each Dolphin can safely be replaced with up to four Humans or Neo-Chimps. Low ranking Human and Neo-Chimp military personnel can be doubled- (or tripled-) up for the duration of the voyage to Garth.
The Thenannin contingent will make considerable demands on the Purser crew and the ratings assigned to purser duty during the trip. (Those temporary room attendants are also a major weak spot in proper protocol. For the Tytlal attaché the whole situation calls for at LEAST one prank.) The Captain, First Mate, and the Representative are other P.C.s that should be on hand, as should all the members of the ship's Diplomatic constituency. Workers in the Sophontology academic branches might also be busy as consultants for the Diplomats during the voyage--helping with conflict management and resolution. Several false alarms or close calls will probably occur during the voyage so sensor crew--including the Synthian advisors, should be drawn up as well. Design bugs will require responses from Engineering staff and manufacturers' consultants (who can be rolled-up by players as needed).
A Kiqui escape will require rolling up a number of Marines (and maybe some of the Neo-Dog passengers and Fin crew) to track down the curious explorer(s) A.S.A.P.--if not sooner. It is very embarrassing to have unauthorized Sophants see clients that do not officially exist.
To sum up:
Characters to roll up right away:
TgIsS Representative
Representative's Assistant
Tymbrimi Tactical Advisor (Tytlal)
Captain
First Mate
All Purser Crew
Those temporarily assigned to Purser duty
Diplomatic Corps
Characters to create next:
Senior Sensor Crew
Chairperson for the Remote Sensor Analysis Department
Both Synthian Attaches
(also start players rolling up the tactical department to keep them from ignoring
sensor cautions as invariably being false positives.)
Characters to roll up as needed:
Sophontologists
Other sensor and communication crew
Engineers
Manufacturers' consultants
Kiqui wranglers.
Medical Staff
1. By coincidence one basic unit of Galactic time is
close to being one light-A.U. Tradition says it represents the mean distance of the Progenitors' home
planet from its sun. This unit is very close to being eight minutes of time and is called a hab.
A standard Library token purchases a hab squared of Library access --or roughly sixty-four minutes of
use. One Library Institute (albeit with internal administrative sections) serves H-2, O-2, Built, and
even Quantum civilizations --consequently, Library access is among the most universal of commodities
throughout the Five Four Galaxies.
e3v5r1