Elite roleplay: Off station

OFF STATION

Your ship, deep space, anything that is not happening inside the Citi Gateway or Ingaba...

General Roleplay Etiquette:

1. Control only the actions of your own character(s). (AKA: God Mode)
This doesn't matter how small the action is, even if it is as simple as scratching their nose or a direct reaction to something else that just happened. This applies to everything from casual conversation to full blown fight scenes. If you'd like someone to do something specific, PM that person, however keep in mind they are completely within their rights to say no. Especially if said action is inappropriate to their character and/or circumstance.

2. Don't brute force your way into another persons RP.
Approaching with a conversation starter is fine, or indeed some other small action. However charging in, guns blazing and disrupting the flow of another person/pair/groups conversation/arc is about as rude as doing so in real life. If something is going on that you'd like to participate in, be subtle about it. Put out a gentle hook for someone to take, but again, be aware that said hook may not be taken. If you fear it was simply unnoticed, PM the person or people it concerns. Or even leave a message in the OOC forums.

3. Good grammar and spelling is preferred.
We're not asking you to be perfect, but please at least demonstrate willingness. no1 iz gna tak u srsly usng txt spk. There's a wide variety of people here, many who speak English as a second, or even third language. There are even some with varying degrees of dyslexia and/or likely other issues that affect spelling/grammar. We accept them all here. However, people who aren't accepted, are those unwilling to accept polite correction. Remember that even a small thing like the placement of a comma, or the wrong use of there/their/they're can completely change the definition of an entire sentence.

4. Accept constructive criticism gracefully and politely.
If someone spots an issue with your writings, they may wish to help you improve that writing. They may do this through PM or even publicly air their thoughts on the OOC forum. If they have taken the time to be polite and explain what is wrong with your writing, the best way to behave is to respond in kind, using the same manner they have approached you with. It means they have taken an active interest in what you have written and wish to see more. Basically, you have a fan!

5. Don't take the actions or opinions of things done IN RP, to be directly relevant to the writers thoughts or opinions.
Basically, if some ones character calls your character a jackass, it doesn't mean the writer thinks you are a jackass. It's a ROLE they are PLAYING. Watch a movie. The argument between the characters isn't an argument between the actors involved. The same applies here.

6. It's not a popularity contest.
Your RP might be bustling with participants. You have 3 people off station in a fire fight, while another 2 are infiltrating the darkest areas of the station, meanwhile a group of 4 others are tracking your movements in an effort to stop you. Good for you, I'm sure it will be a thrilling read! But you know what? Sometimes the absolute BEST work, comes from two RP characters having a simple heart to heart. Both are valid, both are great, but NEITHER is categorically better than the other. Period.


Inara RP Etiquette:

1. Respect the setting and rules of the universe.
Inara is an Elite: Dangerous 3rd Party Tool. The RP Forums are set in the Elite: Dangerous universe. Elite: Dangerous has rules, as any fictional universe does from Lord of the Rings to Star Wars, or Game of Thrones to Star Trek. If you intend to RP within the Elite: Dangerous universe you are bound by the history and rules of that universe. Simply put, this RP forum is bound by the same rules as the game, so if it can't be done in the game, it is not permitted here. This applies to things from a 50Ly Jump Range on a normal, unmodified Sidewinder, to the destruction of entire stations.

2. Respect the characters created by others.
We have a wide variety of characters already here. It's expected that some will be similar, just as it's expected that two characters will be vastly different. Opinions of each persons character will naturally be varied, but all are valid provided they follow the rules of the universe. You are allowed to interact with, or avoid interaction with, any character in the RP forums. But you have no right to belittle others for their creation. You are not an authority figure on writing, nor are you directly affected by another persons imagination. You might not like it, but you MUST respect it.

3. Be caught up on current events before joining in.
You need basic things like character descriptions in order to interact with them. You also need to know what's going on in the surrounding areas. This is simply because the people you are hoping to RP with, might be gearing up to something that you might not want to be part of. Or simply that the most recent post, out of context, could leave a different impression on the goings on than if you gather that context. We don't expect you to read every single post from the beginning of the forums, just enough to get that basic understanding.

4. Either subscribe to, or frequently check, the Roleplay: Q&A and OOC forum.
People may be discussing something relevant to you there, or even discussing you directly. Perhaps someone asked what the general consensus on the existence or non-existence of a certain object. Or we're just chatting about random gibberish. Either way, be aware of it and use it. If you're unsure about something, such as how guns would look and or behave, or even the music selection, use the OOC forum to ask. We don't have all of the answers, but the collective knowledge and logic usually allows us to overcome an issue and come to a decision on what should be allowed. Frontier Developments, and even David Braben himself, don't have the answers to every possible question that can be asked.

5. Large Scale events exploding out of nowhere are a complete no go.
We get it. Everyone wants their character to be noticed and for people to be tripping over themselves to interact with them. In some audiences, an introduction involving you blasting in for landing in a fiery wreckage of a ship, before cart wheeling out and sword fighting 35 Ninjas before whisking off with the local celebrity for a glorious night of passion, is in fact, cool. This is not one of those audiences. It is generally considered better to build your character up slowly over time. Eventually, you might even have a legitimate excuse to fight those Ninjas. Maybe even with other RP participants by your side.

6. Perfect characters are boring.
The point of a character arc, is that it is in fact, an arc shape. One who is morally unquestionable, fully kitted out and an infinite fountain of knowledge, cannot go through an arc. Give your character flaws. Be it a tendency towards befriending the wrong people, or a bad knee that frequently gives out at inopportune moments. It gives readers something to latch onto and empathise with. You can give your character exceptional capabilities at something, but it requires balance. She's a damn good pilot with no equal, but can't drive an SRV for peanuts. It can lead to some very interesting moments between characters, be it heartfelt or comedic.


Other Notes:
It should be noted that there can be exceptions to these points. For example, good grammar when a character is speaking is actually rare. Few people in real life actually speak with perfect eloquence after all. Or previously arranged actions during a fight scene, such as someone stumbling back after a punch. What's key to remember is context.

All in all, remember this is purely for fun. We have some seriously talented writers here, and others whose writing history starts and ends at high school. But many are willing to help out in whatever way they can. All it takes is that you ask nicely.

Also keep in mind that many people who RP here, also have logbook stories related to the character, or characters, they portray. If it looks like there's an "in joke" going on that you're unsure of, it's probably in those.

In fact, some users have even gone to the trouble of creating "alts" to RP with. If you read back far enough, it's usually pretty clear who has and hasn't, and which ones are the "alts". It's therefore not unheard of to see the apparent seizing of control of other characters. If you do spot one, point it out in the OOC section. If intervention is needed, it will be sorted quickly and (hopefully) politely.

Most, if not all RP participants here have Logbook stories pertaining to their character(s). These are for the reading pleasure of anyone who wishes to do so. While it can be useful to read them in order to gain a bit of backstory on a character you wish to interact with, it should not be assumed that your character shares that knowledge. Within the E:D Universe, these Logbooks either don't exist, or are private diaries kept by the characters. Either way, without explicit statements to say otherwise from the writer, your interactions should reflect that your character is in the dark about any information you, the writer/reader, have gained from reading the stories.
Kasumi Goto
13 Aug 2024, 3:38pm
"Be right there."

I was just about to get bored to death waiting for nothing, only the glow of a star behind me. I briefly triggered the supercruise overcharge function to escape the star's gravity well, without risking to overshoot the transport ship - at least, I wouldn't, once I established the interdictor lock. And it was not hard to, thanks to the wide capture arc modification, and the maneuvering for another ship made it easy to line up anyway.

"Got you now!"

That Anaconda definitely wouldn't be getting away now. I clearly 'felt' the resistance as the pilot tried to fight the interdiction tether disrupting its 'bubble' of shifted space, but to no good, because I had the maneuverability advantage... on large ship grounds, anyway. And, of course, I received a transmission trying to ward me off, of course.

"Unidentified vessel, you must cease all aggression immediately. This is an authorized military transport, and any further hostile action will be met with - "

"Shut it.", I threw out on an open channel as response in a 'totally not bothered and annoyed' tone, cutting the pilot off. "You're not military, and if you wanted me to keep away, you Azimuth idiots shouldn't be fucking with me or my friends."

I cut off the transmission there and continued to wrangle the other ship out of supercruise, ready to stabilize the ship, hardpoints set to deploy the second we both dropped. I'd have a good few seconds, maybe up to a minute, before the escorts arrived, to weaken that transport's shield. Ina would have to do the rest from there, because I'd be turning my attention to the escorts once they arrived. But unless those Diamondbacks had torpedoes with a shield targeting payload, they'd be like mosquitoes annoying an elephant.

'Interdiction successful' popped up on the info panel, and the transport was forcibly ejected from supercruise, along with me. Had it submitted, things would have been more complicated by the FSD going through a shorter safety cycle... but now, the mouse was well and truly trapped. My ship's weapons came out, like a predator ready to strike.
Meowers
13 Aug 2024, 4:06pm
The Corvette zipped past me on the supercharged drive mode and immediately clawed the Anaconda, so, for a few seconds, my most important goal was giving the escorts a hard time interdicting me. Which I did, monitoring them on my sensors and drifting to the 'gap' they formed while scattering: if I was correct, the manoeuvre they tried to perform required ideal positioning to make it an even-sided triangle, which they failed to create, leaving me a fairly wide sector to slip through, not covered by their interdictor modules.

Both Kasumi's Corvette and our target dropped out of the cruise mode right under my nose, in space terms, and I twitched the ship to correct the arrival trajectory in the last second, and disengaged my FSD being a mere two hundred kilometres off.

After that, everything as usual. Find your target, deploy the weapons, cut the distance. Kilometres ticked away one by one as I flew at full speed towards the transport which frantically tried to boost away, hoping to outrun the Corvette, which might've been not the worst idea frankly, if that Corvette was alone.

"Now, let me introduce myself...", I switched to the open comms channel and spoke in a slow and even somewhat mischievous tone, getting close to the Anaconda's sensor range. Its engines were already targeted, my eyes were locked on the distance readings, and a heatsink should've made me almost invisible to their target lock.

The first salvo from two modified Shard cannons disturbed the shields, enveloping my target into a blue glow, and I abruptly cut the speed down to match that of Anaconda, dropping firmly on its tail. Three bright flashes, one after another, marked the arrival of its escorts and they, no doubt, were angry.

"He's mine now. Cover me."
Kasumi Goto
13 Aug 2024, 4:36pm
Loaded with cargo and, clearly, reinforced shielding, that Anaconda had little chance of actually running from me, even if I was not in a particularly fast ship by current standards. And I'd already managed to put a decent dent into said shield before the escorts dropped by.

"Well, let's have some fun, then ..."

I hit the boost trigger once more while toggling off the ship's flight assist momentarily to spin around, and not let the more nimble small ships get on my tail as easily, where a turn with it enabled would have made it a lot easier for them to. I opened fire on the closest one of them, getting peppered with railgun fire while some plasma accelerator rounds managed to miss my ship from it and another. Third one seemed to be holding back, just outside range where gimbals could hit it effectively, so I was keeping a close eye on it, as much as I could at least, toggling flight assistance back on while keeping the ship in reverse... which would naturally take us away from the transport currently getting pummelled by modified Guardian shard cannons.

Diamondback number one triggered a chaff charge upon its shield dropping rapidly, making me switch my targeting to number two. Of course, also had chaff, so I just removed the targeting lock outright and fired the weapons with them reverted into a fixed position. Not much good with the multicannons as they lacked a lead indicator, then, but the laser weaponry would do its work just fine. As the two escort ships currently firing at me actively - without really doing too much damage to the shield - got close, I hit boost again to send the ship forward, adding some vertical thrust to keep the distance to the third. Either it was a missile boat waiting for my shield to drop, or it carried torpedoes, waiting to unload in a moment of inattention. I did not plan to give them one, and flipped around with flight assist off again, locking the first escort once more, while its chaff launcher was still inactive, filling up with another charge.

That trick would probably only work twice, so I had to make it count by killing at least one of them now. Also wondered how Ina was doing with her target while I played the bait, because it'd be a lot easier to get rid of those annoying buzzers with her help.
Meowers
13 Aug 2024, 6:13pm
Figuring out that outrunning the second attacker is impossible, Anaconda's pilot attempted to do the next best thing, boosted manoeuvring, and even escaped my targeting sight for a little while, yet everything was futile. Unable to withstand the bombardment, the shields soon failed and dissipated, leaving the big ship vulnerable to dozens upon dozens of projectiles that my Shard cannons were spitting out, in a cruel and flawless pattern, two after two, keeping the target under constant barrage.

I moved in a little closer, trying to get as much shrapnel into the exhaust nozzles of the Anaconda, and each shot was rewarded by a shower of sparks and pieces of melted metal forcefully launched in every direction. Grates, covering the actual exhaust, gave up almost immediately, turning into a chaos of twisted metal stripes, and then the shrapnel began reaching the inner components of the engine, causing the whole ship to twitch and shudder. Destabilising, Anaconda's engines caused the armour plates in the aft part of the ship to vibrate and come off, tearing the already damaged mounts, exposing the main engines themselves. Then, bluish flames enveloped the left one and, shortly after, it shut down silently. And the right engine went out in a bright flash, scattering the debris and severing the fuel pipes which now dangled in space like a burning spaghetti. The ship lost control and went tumbling in space helplessly.

"You aren't going anywhere," keeping the same slightly mischievous tone, I stated over the open comms so that everyone around could hear me.

Sharp turn around and a quick glance at Kasumi's fight. Which was going rather well but we had to end this as fast as possible. Still out of target lock range but well within visual, was one of the Black Flight ships, which kept distance from the Corvette for some reason. Without thinking twice, I chose this one as my next target, applying lateral thrusters to get firmly into its rear hemisphere, ready to drop another heatsink to fool the sensors.

Of course the pilot realised that this flickering, unstable dot on the sensors was moving faster than an Anaconda could, and pulled up hard, boosting, yet the distance between us was vanishing mercilessly, and I opened fire at two kilometres. Maybe a bit further than optimal, but my trigger finger was itching and there was no reason in hiding anymore.

Long-range railgun setup. Smart. Maybe that's why this ship kept its distance. Yet as soon as the pilot pressed the triggers, I spotted the energy buildup and yanked the stick sharply. The DBX twitched in my direction, but those split seconds of reaction time mattered more than its pilot could comprehend. Three blindingly bright lines crossed the space dozens of metres off my left wing.

"I see everything. Give up now," my voice sounded over the open comms once again as I hammered shot after shot into the Diamondback.

60...40...20...Zero. Shields off. Redirecting more power to the engines, I closed the distance, moving sidewards in an arc.

Another railgun discharge almost got me, dangerously close, but I was already sure it was the last one.

Three hundred metres. All four Shard cannons fully loaded. My sights right on the glass canopy of the DBX. And, I pressed both triggers.

Dozens of sharp projectiles hit the glass and quickly shattered it, letting the air from the inside spread them further. The feeling of panic was almost palpable, as the DBX banked sharply to the right, its pilot trying to put as many obstacles between the thin metal of a flight suit and my cannons. Helpless. Shard cannons thundered once again, sending a wave of shrapnel into the exposed cockpit, tearing through the interior. A terrified scream reached the communication channel, turning into a second of chaotic gurgling and gasping before it finally disappeared. Vague, reddish cloud added to the shower of sharp glass and metal shreds, and torn body pieces with bones sticking out ejected from the destroyed wreck that once was the DBX cockpit, as the ship entered its last uncontrolled spin.

"Third one won't bother you anymore," I notified Kasumi of the outcome of my attack.

Last edit: 13 Aug 2024, 6:29pm
Kasumi Goto
13 Aug 2024, 6:37pm
That was great, but rather than responding, my focus was more on defeating the last two ships. Which were really only alive because of their stupid, annoying chaff launchers, and enough mobility to remain at a distance, where I couldn't compensate for the inaccurate targeting by being close... and there was a reason why I chose gimbals on big ships especially. But one of them had a few holes in the hull from those multicannons already, and a chaff charge had just worn off.

Plasma accelerators would have been better, in the end, yet I had to make this work like this now, and got in closer to the already damaged Diamondback - while its movement was stalled after a boost-assisted turn - firing away with all guns, and as much power as distribution systems would allow, tearing even more holes into the armor. I could see hull fragments and pieces of internal machinery and wiring get ripped out as both the lasers and multicannons tore into the heart of the ship, soon striking at the reactor, until one of the projectiles pierced into the core and sent it into a critical failure state. The ship's shields came back just as the fatal blow was struck, only ensuring that there would not even be the slightest shred of wreckage left, as the protective bubble stopped the explosion from spreading out as quickly, instead annihilating everything within.

The other of the two remaining escorts had turned away from me now, trying to respond to the new attacker, in vain. The only thing that achieved was to give me an opportunity to catch up as they began to engage one another, and rip away at the shields, getting a good target when the Diamondback's belly was pointed my way. Of course, they fired off a chaff charge, but it was only going to delay the inevitable, since one of us would always be hitting, no matter where the pilot turned their attention.
Meowers
13 Aug 2024, 6:58pm
"Chaff yer arse," I stated, pushing the sticks hard to stay out of the last DBX's firing cone. At such a close distance it limited my own abilities to hit, but I knew that the fate of this ship was sealed already: either I manage to get it firmly into my sights, or the chaff wears off and Kasumi's gimballed weapons lock on it, or she will finally chip enough metal off of it while manually targeting from afar.

Eventually, I found a brief moment in our boost patterns to cut the circle and attack more aggressively, a move that mostly leads to a short firing window before sending you far away from your target, but, in two on one, it was all I needed to ensure that this battle won't turn into an endless roundabout. Perhaps, the pilot tried to last as long as possible, calling for help. Well, good luck with that. I hit the boosters and pushed the sticks into the opposite direction, having just enough time to discharge all my cannons at once, three times. The shields of the DBX flashed and dissipated as I zipped a mere hundred metres close, and first breaches decorated the hull. Surprised, the Azimuth pilot broke the pattern which allowed them to stay alive that long, and twitched to the side, avoiding what might've looked like a certain collision.

"Yours now, finish off that fucker."

Last edit: 13 Aug 2024, 7:29pm
Kasumi Goto
13 Aug 2024, 7:07pm
"With pleasure."

I boosted to correct my own momentum which would otherwise have carried me away from the Diamondback which, now that it was momentarily going in a relatively straight line, was a lot easier to hit, while I also had its top to shoot at. And it didn't take long to see large pieces start detaching from the ship... sensors registered an FSD charge, suddenly, but it was too late. A few more good hits, and the hull lost its structural integrity, literally tearing itself apart in front of my eyes. A few parts remained identifiable as a Diamondback, but hardly anything that could be referred to as a functional ship. I brought my own to a halt.

"So, now... where is that transport? I believe, it has something we want."

'And better before anybody shows up to check what is taking it so long.', I added in my thoughts.
Meowers
13 Aug 2024, 7:25pm
"Good riddance," I responded to the explosion. "The transport is... Lemme look."

Of course it was well out of the sensor range, perhaps more than two hundred kilometres away already, it's been floating at the speed it had since the moment I left it. A speck amongst the sea of stars. Yet it did what stars normally don't: it blinked, tumbling and reflecting the light of the main star of this system. And it had a dissipating cloud of burned fuel surrounding it.

A few seconds of turning my head side to side, literally scanning the picture in front of me, and an odd tiny blinking light, surrounded by hundreds of other, even smaller, flickering bits, caught my eye. And, the fuel cloud, dissipated and transparent, yet still faintly glowing in IR and scattering the starlight in UV.

"Yeah, I see it. Follow me," notifying Kasumi, I pointed Marshmallow at the helplessly tumbling Anaconda far away and activated the boosters.

Last edit: 13 Aug 2024, 7:30pm
Kasumi Goto
13 Aug 2024, 7:38pm
"Ok. Will, need your signal, though."

I pulled a funny face, knowing what I was about to say.

"You're faster than me. Again."

This was probably the only time I would curse having all that stuff forming oversized curves, because I could not say that without some other implications in it. My thighs being so fat did just make walking a little difficult.
Meowers
13 Aug 2024, 7:47pm
"Ah, craps. Me sorry," and I stopped boosting and pulled the throttle stick a little back to let Kasumi's Corvette catch up. "Just follow my engine trails until you see it."

The Anaconda still tumbled helplessly, its pilot probably screaming for help on inner Azimuth channels. Should've blasted the comms module as well though, but without a proper navigation marker, any helpers were doomed to search for the ship by scanning the entire system with DSS. Even this way, three shredded Diamondbacks were giving away more interference, making them a good decoy.

"So... How are you actually planning to do it? Should we board the ship?"
Kasumi Goto
13 Aug 2024, 7:57pm
"... have not thought about it. I guess, one of us, might need to go in. At least, to dump out the, cargo. And... probably, can't slip a program through an external connection."

It seemed doubtful I would manage to hack into it from the outside, at least. Knowing Azimuth's security - one of the rare things they were good at - the computer would not even accept an outside connection without proper identification, which we didn't exactly have.

"So... who, is going on it?"
Meowers
13 Aug 2024, 8:21pm
"Hm. I'm no hacker but I can upload some software if working with the terminal directly," I went thinking aloud, looking at the helplessly rotating Anaconda which was about to reach the sensor range already. "But you have to transmit it to me first then."

"And what do you mean by... Dropping the cargo? Everything that isn't an escape pod?"

"...Dammit. I'd really like to toss a coin but we're in zero G."
Kasumi Goto
13 Aug 2024, 8:26pm
"Make the ship eject the cargo.", I clarified. "I am considering the escape pods, part of it."

"Anyway, just... get in there and upload one of my things. Sending now... and make sure you don't hit the button that turns it on."

I glanced at the disabled ship floating in the distance, just about visible, after transmitting the hacking program.

"We might have to slow it down a little first, though. Would make getting on it a lot easier."
Meowers
13 Aug 2024, 8:32pm
A file transmission request appeared on one of the cockpit screens and I hit "accept", reaching the storage box to find a free memory card.

"Yeah, got it. Lemme find a memory card. And, I heard you like bumping into stuff, so stopping the ship is on you."

I let that silly joke hang in the air for a bit, and then clarified:

"But, seriously. You have shields. I don't. Also... If the pilot, and maybe other crewmembers, are still alive, and I think they are, should I fix it?"
Kasumi Goto
13 Aug 2024, 8:41pm
"Ha ha. So funny. But fine, I will do it ..."

I paused briefly, thinking on that other remark.

"Uh... I was, thinking... just tell them to ditch into a pod, over comms. Or once you're on, and plugged in my thing, so the idiots don't try to self-destruct. Either let the Azimuth idiots find them again, or maybe the Thargoids. If they're paying attention around here."

It was unlikely, but that little voice at the back of my mind was saying they were... no thanks to that 'thing' I had felt during the hyperspace transition to the area, on the carrier.

"Unless you don't want to run the risk of us planning to attack their facility, being found out."

Post a reply

You must be signed in to post here.
ROLEPLAY ONLY! Respect the universe settings!
If you are new here, please try to at least partially involve in the ongoing stories and conversations instead of establishing a completely different "arc". You can always turn it to a different story later.