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.
24 Sep 2024, 8:48pm
I stepped closer and glanced at the display. A schematic of the station revealed the various sections throughout the facility. It was symmetrically designed, with clean lines and precise labels.

Section A:
0: Surveillance Vehicle Bay A
1: Storage and Supply A
2: Living Quarters A / Dining Hall
3: Laboratories A1
4: Laboratories A2
5: Environmental Control

“We’re in this part now… A2,” I said. Next I pointed at the display where it read “Central.”

“This seems to be the main wing where the ship landed. Here are the conference rooms the announcement mentioned, so probably most people are there by now.”

Central:
0: Hangar Bay
1: Security / Armory
2: Administration
3: Conference Rooms
4: Command Center
5: Power Plant

“And what do we have here? Looks like it’s somewhat similar to where we are now, at least as far as the upper levels are concerned,” I continued, tracing the lines on the display with my finger.

Section B:
0: Surveillance Vehicle Bay B
1: Storage and Supply B
2: Living Quarters B / Medical Bay
3: Engineering
4: Production B1
5: Production B2

“It's probably the wing where the Helix is made. I mean, you don't have to be a genius to make that connection based on what we know now. But now comes the trickier part - how can we get this site out of commission without having to enter a firefight?”

And after a short pause, I added.

“It's not just about the people in this facility. When the Herald of Salvation arrives, the system will be teeming with other ships. Therefore it would be better if this place didn't cease to exist until we're as far away as possible.”
24 Sep 2024, 9:09pm
I took a moment to go over that information presented, needing to think so my brain didn’t feel overwhelmed, before presenting some kind of idea.

“Maybe, we… should, try to… raise a, false alarm. Draw guards, that way. But… where?”

That question relating mostly to which area of the facility to raise it in - if it was an idea worth considering. Then I pointed at the security room.

“There. ‘Central, 1’. Security, it says… so… maybe, we can, do… something, from there. But not sure, if it would, hold comms. That may, be administration. And …”

My gaze wandered over to my companion.

“You know, it is unlikely, we can avoid to fight.”

At least I knew one thing - going to the reactor and setting it to overload would definitely wipe this place off the galaxy map, but also create quite a heat signature in the process. And that would draw attention, even if no distress signal made it out… let alone the explosion when it occurred. Nobody in the system could miss that. At best, once the process started, we’d have a minute or two to get to the ship and away before anybody noticed the unnatural heat spike in the asteroids.
25 Sep 2024, 10:45am
“If a firefight is unavoidable, then so be it. However, I would have much preferred a more sophisticated approach, such as inundating the conference room with Helix. Alas, that remains beyond our current capabilities...”

I paused, casting a glance at my companion, a smirk tugging at the corners of my lips. “Raising a false alarm seems prudent, and while we’re at it, we should also disable outbound communications to prevent them from calling for reinforcements. Given that we are uncertain whether this can be achieved from the security or administration sectors, we must consider both options... and since the security personnel are not present in the conference room meeting, I propose we target administration first - before we poke the hornet’s nest itself....”

Taking a deep breath, I added: “Shall we?”
25 Sep 2024, 1:26pm
“Yes, ready.”, I answered, agreeing to the plan, but first instructed my tool to download the map to my wrist computer for further reference, should we need it.

Then I removed it from the port it was currently plugged into, and held my gun firmly again once my magic key was in its designated pouch. We were deep inside the facility now - soon going even deeper - so not holding the weapon at the ready would be stupid.

“There. We can, go now.”
25 Sep 2024, 3:04pm
“All right.”

I made my way out of the lab through the door we had come through and followed the corridor back to the elevator.

“If I remember the overview correctly, we can go up two floors to the Living Quarters A / Dining Hall sectors. From there, there's a connecting corridor to the central building and we'll be in Administration.”

I called the elevator and prepared myself for a wait, but that turned out to be unnecessary - the elevator was still on our level, so the doors opened immediately.

“So far, so good. Here you go...” I took a step to the side to let my companion go first.
25 Sep 2024, 3:16pm
I gave her a funny look before moving into the elevator - not that said look was visible outside of body language, thanks to the helmet - waiting until we were both inside to push the button for the relevant floor. Which, hopefully, would be completely empty with that conference going. Administration, on the other hand, had a good chance of having a few guards that needed putting down around.

“Better hope, nobody saw us, on camera.”, I mentioned while the lift ascended. Because I could not shake that nagging feeling our entrance hadn’t been as unnoticed as it seemed.
25 Sep 2024, 3:32pm
I shrugged my shoulders uneasily at my companion's comment.

The elevator dinged softly, announcing our arrival at Living Quarters A. The doors slid open, revealing a deserted corridor. Most of the personnel were probably gathered in the conference room on a different level by now, which worked to our advantage. We stepped out, our boots making barely a sound on the floor.

I took the lead and walked briskly but carefully along the main corridor. There were various signs and posters on the walls, some of which advertised upcoming events in the dining hall, educational activities and news such as cheap bank loans at the Bank of Zaonce, while others warned about safety risks and informed about vaccinations.

As we passed by the Dining Hall, I could hear the faint hum of machinery and the occasional murmur of voices from behind a closed door. My mind was focused, scanning for any signs of trouble. We needed to reach the administration section without being discovered, so I was all for ignoring that door, but wanted to know the opinion of my companion.

"Voices nearby" I said over our direct comms. "I suggest to ignore this and head on to administration. Your take?"
25 Sep 2024, 3:36pm
“We can, check it later.”, I answered. “Better, to turn off comms, first. Then, less trouble, if we shoot, somebody.”

“Also, we should probably, sabotage stuff, in the… admin center. So, they have more trouble, turning comms back on.”
25 Sep 2024, 4:24pm
I nodded and walked on.

The corridor stretched out before us, eerily silent, leading us straight to the heart of the administration section. The walls here were adorned with more official-looking plaques and directories, guiding us towards our destination.

The administration section was laid out in a grid-like pattern. To our left, a series of offices lined the wall, each door marked with the name and title of the occupant. To our right, a large open area served as a communal workspace, filled with desks and terminals. At the far end of the corridor, a conference room with glass walls stood empty, its chairs neatly arranged around an imposing table.

As I walked on, I almost overlooked a security guard in the communal workroom who had his back to us. He gazed on a tablet, lost in thought, a snack in hand. His posture was relaxed, almost too casual, his uniform slightly disheveled, and a sprinkling of crumbs betrayed his indulgence.

I swiftly ducked behind a nearby desk, nudging my partner. Our eyes met, and I pointed in the direction of the guard. The game was afoot.
25 Sep 2024, 4:31pm
I was not sure about which way was best to handle the guard, so I gestured at the knife on the back of my belt, then threw a look at my gun, as it to quietly ask which one to use.

Neither were ideal, because if I did manage to sneak up on the guard ahead the noise given off by mag boots could give me away before I reached them, or was close enough to slip the knife in for a quick and silent kill.
25 Sep 2024, 4:39pm
I was briefly considering which weapon would be the better choice when noises from the tablet reached our ears. Apparently radio traffic. I assumed that the guard was taking part in the arrival of the Herald of Salvation in their own way...

I gestured Kasumi to use the knife and made a motion with my fingers to indicate moving towards the guard with pauses. Ideally, to move whenever sounds were heard from the tablet.

Then I slowly raised my own rifle. As soon as my companion approached the guard post, I would be ready to shoot in an extreme emergency. But only if we were discovered.
25 Sep 2024, 5:11pm
I had to think about the finger gesture for a moment before I understood, and nodded, putting the rifle on my back and pulling the knife out, holding it in the right hand.

Slowly, I moved toward the guard in a tensed pose, legs placed apart, like a predator ready to pounce at any moment. A very big and round predator, in this case, who also had to be careful to avoid knocking into chairs or desks.

Periodically pausing my movement to observe for any reaction, or to wait for whatever the radio chatter was to pick up again, I kept inching closer, not appreciating the tension - and neither did my blood pressure, most likely. On more than one occasion there was just barely space to slip my body through the gaps between these work emplacements, but I eventually got close and in one swift motion inserted the knife into the neck at the location of the spine, instantly ending the guard’s life. I took up a regular pose again and turned around to my companion, speaking over comms.

“There. Done. But, other security, will quickly miss him, I think.”

I wiped the blood off on the uniform of the dead man before slipping the knife back into its holder. Somehow, not having my thighs touching at all points in time was now a strange, unused sensation… which in itself was probably quite a weird thing. But I didn’t have them spaced apart now, so all was fine and as it was meant to be again… in my weird reality.
25 Sep 2024, 5:37pm
“Most likely. But so far, it seems they haven’t missed the other one yet… and at least this time, we managed without any noise. Well done.”

Up until now, the guards seemed more bored to death than actually taking their job seriously. Either they didn’t expect any visitors unless a ship landed, or today was special because ABEL’s big ship was making an appearance in the system.

“This definitely looks like administration. Pure office stuff. Most of it seems unused though… and no comms here,” I mused, gesturing towards a row of workstations, each one meticulously wrapped in plastic. "Maybe in one of the single offices to the left side of the corridor".

My eyes flicked to the lifeless guard.

“So, snacks are unhealthy after all… just an ordinary guard, I’d say. I don’t think we’ll find a higher-level access on him than what we already have…” I said, nudging the body with my boot. “But let's have a look here in administration before we move on. Maybe we find something useful, or can sabotage something..”
25 Sep 2024, 6:01pm
“I don’t know.”, I said, looking around. “This, looks more like… offices. Where, they do, paperwork. And, so on. So, I guess, ‘Security’ may also hold, facility controls. And, whatever. I think, we should head there, unless you find, anything.”

“Will wait here, unless you need, me. Or, want to move on, already.”

Either was fine with me, but seeing how this had all the looks of your standard office complex handling paperwork, logistics and whatnot, I had low expectations about anything we might find in it - that we didn’t already know of, anyway.
25 Sep 2024, 7:25pm
I looked around for a few minutes, but didn't find anything special. In fact, it was mainly administration, right down to ordering materials. I rummaged around on a console for access codes, but couldn't find anything interesting.

By chance, I came across a personnel file that contained an older audio recording. The file was about a person called Dr Elara Kivinen, who, according to the file entry, had something to do with HELIX research.

"Mmm. Doesn't sound to me like they've modified the Helix so that it no longer affects humans. Sounds more like they were developing some kind of vaccine..."

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.