When it takes place: The year 2018.
The Basics:
The Daedelus League, a group of Novas who make it their hobby/business to explore near space, is quietly approached by an engineer that tells them he and an associate can take them further than anyone ever dreamed. They jump at this opportunity, but do their best to keep it under wraps.
Their best isn't nearly good enough. The public, surprsingly enough, is kept unaware but there is the looming threat that any one of the world's major players may find out and try to shut the project down if certain requirements aren't met. This, tada, allows you as the ST to bring in player characters that might not otherwise be chosen for a space-type expedition...and do mixed groups for added tension if you please. An example of this would be Project Utopia vowing to fight the expedition tooth and nail unless a team [or even just one] of their novas leads [or joins] the expedition, or Mathematician approaching the leaders of the League's project and requesting that he be allowed an emmissary to join them in exchange for his silence.
You get the idea.
In any case, the characters are either approached by the League or signed up by their respective affiliations. Then, depending on who the Daedalus League has appeased, there are the problems of getting official approval for such an endeavor [it'd be hard to hide...maybe] and training the novas that have joined on. This is made harder/easier by the fact that the designer, Dr. William Waters, is a nova that has yet to be discovered as such and doesn't wish to be; harder because this might add to Terragen dislike of the endeavor when combined with the fact that there will be a baseline crew of fifteen as well as possibly being Project Utopia approved, and easier because it will make the case for moving forward with assembling the necessary technology easier should Project Utopia not approve.
Yes, this part of the game is a bit of a power-play, and as all these deals are being made behind closed doors the characters should be made to feel very integral to the whole thing. If the League upsets Utopia you can expect a subtle but thurough thrashing of their character in the public eye, but depending on how they handle themselves they might still remain new heroes of the planet...or utopia could succeed and they might be seen as fringe group science wackos that are a danger to themselves and others. Let them reap the benefits of good negotiating, and let them deal with the consequences of crossing the wrong people.
Should things go well, the construction will take place in a giant hanger in Florida for a week or so under the watchful eyes of Project Utopia. Should things go really badly...well Dr. Williams and the League have a few cards up their sleeves. One of these is named Dr. Talbot Cleen, the hidden associate of Dr. Williams and a master of Molecular Alteration. With a photographic memory, an incredible intellect, and scapel-sharp concentration of power the plan is for this featureless-faced [his aberration] daperly-dressed cane carring young scottsman to create the vessel att he last moment no matter how things go; you can't sabatoge that which doesn't exist yet. Hidden aboard a small station on the other side of the moon, he uses the few weeks of "construction" down below to concentrate and study what he must do.
The ship that he creates, whether it's boarded casually as the world watches it's creation in wonder or boarded hastily as enemies tear at their heels, is more than large enough for novas, crew, and supplies [all of which have to be loaded quickly by various ready crews]. It has a continuous half-G of gravity, and can warp for 3 successes+[rolled Percep+'Pilot' as 'Warp'] once every three days. If rushed there will be much to do after the first jump [hydroponics need to be taken out and set up, labs need to be stocked, etc.]. There's also a small 5 person shuttle that requires alot of maintenance [or a bit of nova help] to work more than a few times.
Perhaps, if you're sadistic, Dr. Cleen didn't quite get everything right...or the ship is damaged in a hurried escape for powerful enemies.
Possible Hooks after Liftoff:
~Williams will find a way onto the ship, either by demanding that it needs him to go, or sneaking on board; what Daedalus never knew is that the doctor is not only a genius but a prophet...and he harbors a secret but fanatical need to reach a certain set of coordinates. When they arrive there's...:
Nothing...and then a ship startlingly similar to their own comes out of nowhere,
manned with people claiming to represent the 'Psionic Orders'... Yes, an
obvious oportunity for a Trinity cross-over.
Nothing...and then a ship startlingly similar to their own appears out of
nowhere. It's abandoned, but when the power is restored a warning message
begins to play over and over, pleading and cajoling that the recipients [maybe
even called by name] return to earth and stop what's going there to destroy it.
And there are a million other options here. This is particularly interesting should you also follow one of the below options, as Dr. Williams will grow more and more agitated as time goes on if his wishes aren't met. The transition from kind old man to fanatically obsessed individual should be played out slowly if this is the case.
~The Daedalus League sent the expedition out to explore certain points in the universe and bring back materials [and scientific recordings] that would be suitably impressive to make the whole thing worth while. This has all sorts of options I won't even get into, from interstellar sight-seeing, to stumbling upon a new world and searching for signs of habitation [and maybe finding signs that there was once intelligent life here...but now there are barely even any large mammals...hmmm], to finding new and amazing sentient creatures.
~ There are dangers hidden onboard. Remember the marine [I believe that's right] from The Abyss? Now imagine something similar happening to an otherwise collected Directive agent that managed to infiltrate the League's selections for a baseline support crew before the whole thing was annouced. Or a mentally unstable and physically inhuman Harvester terat that smuggled themselves among the supplies crates?
And So On:
Anything I might say here can only be the beginning, howver. This can be an adventurous exploration, a horror-filled trip of suspense, gritty expedition, or a wild space-opera.
If anyone particularly likes what's here so far, hates it, or just wants to see more before making a decision just write me and perhaps I can help with whatever. Hope this helps someone with a game.