Alpha Outpost - OOC

[Cam]

Alpha Outpost is one of many such bases under the control of the 83rd Light Infantry Regiment on the Serengeti world of Undae. The planet is filled to the brim with natural resources, and the landscape is dotted with mines exploiting the vast array of materials, pumping them into the Confederacy of Human System's economy.

However, Undae had been a hot-spot of Independent Human Initiative activities during the Planetary Civil War, leaving it under a strong martial rule to protect the peace now that the conflict has ended. But despite the strong presence of the CHS Marines, the planet is still plagued by the old resentments and hostilities of the rebellion. This can prove to be unfortunate to those who have settled there. The full story can be found here.

All of this is of little concern to you. You have received the worst job in all of the 83rd Light Infantry. You are a member of the 2nd Rapid Response Unit, and this makes your life a living hell.

There are dozens of reasons you could have ended up with this unwelcome assignment. Perhaps you disobeyed one to many orders? You could have failed a psych evaluation. Maybe someone in Central Command has it out for you. It may even be that God Almighty himself despises you as an individual. The point of the matter is, you are certain that someone upstairs does not want you around.

The 2nd RRU is made up of soldiers who simply cannot function in a proper unit. Counter to the 83rd Infantry's overall reputation as a group that gets things done, no questions asked, you are part of the most infamous unit under its command. The 2nd holds the reputation as the best cannon fodder you can send to weaken up enemy forces to preserve the lives of more valuable soldiers so long as you don't mind a lot of collateral damage. CentCom will get every last drop of usefulness out of you that they can.


Welcome to Alpha Outpost! If you've stuck with me this far, you may be asking yourself, "How can I get in on this?" Well, humble reader, I'll tell you! You can follow the directions that I've provided for you below. Please note, unless you have been specifically told otherwise, you will be joining as a private.

Creater's note: I've been involved in a lot of RP's over the years, and I've developed a school of thought that does not place much emphasis on character sheets and bios. You can say a lot of things in a bio that don't match up with how you actually play the character. For example, you could say that your character is a genius. You could claim that he or she is gods gift to the scientific community, never mind the fact that the character appears to have the cognitive ability of a toddler. Or you could say that your character is a fantastic people person who everyone loves to be around, despite the character acting like an ass to everyone else in the game. Basically what I'm getting at is that I don't care what you put down in your bio. I will judge your character not by the things you say about him or her, but by their actions in the game. So don't stress out over little details, what everyone really cares about is what happens in canon. That's where you should do your development. All I really need to know is your name and your Military Occupational Specialty. Now, let's get crackin'.

Name: (What do people call you? First and last name, plus an optional nickname.)

Age: (How old are you?)

Gender: (Yes is not an appropriate answer.)

Appearance: (What do you look like?)

Biography: (A brief history of your life up to this point.)

Weapons: (Pew pew!)

Equipment: (Any inanimate object no inherently meant to kill someone.)

MOS: (What do you do for the military?)



You, the reader, may now be asking yourself, "I wonder what sort of technology this game employs?". Well, I'm here to tell you that, as well. It has been decided to take a rather Laissez-fair approach to our technology. We are going to let you, the player, help build the technological world of our game by allowing you to submit your own ideas (albeit, following a few guidelines). The administration of the RP will then either approve or deny your creation, and the final product will be archived for later use.


The Great Big Book of Technology.


Weapons

The weapons of the Alpha Outpost universe will fall into one of two categories: Ballistics or Energy based firearms. Ballistic based weapons function under a kinetic pulse firing mechanism that propels a solid projectile as its means of attack. These weapons can range from takes on modern weapons like the M-16 to something completely out of the imagination. Energy based weapons will function under a sort of battery powered electric firing mechanism, using a blast of superheated particles as their means of attack. This can present itself as lasers, plasma, or anything else that the player can come up with. Sky's the limit here, so long as it is believable for the setting.

Land Based Vehicles

The vehicles of Alpha Outpost function with a combustion engine, though they do not have to run on fossil based fuels. They can be hybrid designs, running on a combination of oil by-products and electricity. There will be no hover craft technology for these vehicles.

Atmospheric Aircraft

Unlike Land based vehicles, aircraft may function on a hovercraft principal. They may also utilize the combustion engine or a hybrid. These will range from troop transports to assault craft.

Artificial Intelligence Constructs

An AI in our game can fall into two categories: one of Singular programming or of Multiple programming. A Singular-Programmed AI is one that has a single, well defined task. Be it maintaining life supports on ships, tracking data logs or what have you, a Singular AI will preform its designated task perfectly but is useful for little else. Multi-Programmed AI's, on the other hand, are at the height of human science. They are creative, intelligent, and near-sentient. These improvements come with a trade-off, however. They are much more expensive to produce and experience a much higher failure rate than their one-track-minded counterparts. The average functioning life of a MP-AI is a little under ten years, where as an SP-AI can function unhindered for decades.

More will be added here if needed, and these guideline will be subject to change. Any approved device will be archived under the appropriate heading, as mentioned above.

Now that is all out of the way, let's discuss the rules you are expected to follow.

1) Use correct grammar and spelling as much as possible. It is vital to smooth and enjoyable gameplay that people be able to understand what you are saying. Everyone makes mistakes, and no one is perfect. I understand this, but please do your best.

2) You are not a God. Only I may claim that right. If you step to far out of the bounds of what's believable , or if you just outright ignore the laws of physics, you will be warned (or if severe enough, punished.). This includes things like auto-hitting and the like.
2a) You are not a super soldier. You can be hit, or even killed. You do not hit everything you shoot at, and sometimes, your enemies get away. Do not be a Mary Sue.

3) Be respectful. To the game and those that play it, show respect. If you have a disagreement, contact someone in charge. It will be settled in a peaceful matter that will not disrupt the game.

4) The catch-all. Other wise known as the "Don't be an idiot rule," if you don't think it's something you can get away with it probably isn't. This also grantees that, though not specifically stated, there are standards that you are expected to uphold as a rational human being.

5) Have Fun. This is probably the most important of them all. It is a game, after all. Don't take things too seriously, and have a good time.

All rules are subject to additions, revisions, and anything else that I see fit.

The IC Thread

[CalPal]

Name:
Major Calvin Palmer

Age:
31

Gender:
Male

Appearance:
Caucasian, 5'11, buzzed brown hair, synthetic right eye with 5x zoom, heat and night vision capabilities, athletic build, thin "dragon skin armour": ceramic/titanium composite disks overlaying each other, similar to reptilian skin.

Biography:
Calvin Palmer did not join the military via conventional means. Or, at least he doesn't believe he did.

It's hard to explain the circumstances involving Calvin Palmer first joining the 2nd Rapid Response Unit, mostly because almost every single memory Calvin Palmer has of his former life is lost. He doesn't know how it happened or who would want him to forget - he has theorized that losing his right eye in combat didn't help bring back his memories - but since joining the 2nd RRU, he has dedicated any free time he has to finding out who he is and why he's here. As a positive consequence, Calvin Palmer became quite familiar with a wide variety of political issues, both local to Undae and in human space. He became the unofficial, then later the official, public relations officer to handle any political fallout relating to the people of Undae and the 2nd RRU's involvement in their lives. Obviously, he is a very busy man as a result.

Another thing that's hard to explain is something he prefers to keep to himself, rightly so. There's a voice in his head, and they have rather friendly conversations with each other.

Weapons:
- CM HP-83
- M99 PDW

Equipment:
Binoculars, note pad and pen

MOS:
- Major
- Acting 2nd in Command of the 2nd Rapid Response Unit
- Chief Public Relations Officer of the 2nd Rapid Response Unit

[Brainal]

Name:
Corporal Sonn Jaegar

Age:
28

Gender:
No

Appearance:
Caucasian, 5'9", Messy medium length brown hair, blue eyes, thin but toned build, manly bits

Biography:
Sonn happened to work in a back-washed clinic after HE graduated college with a PhD in the Medical Field. However, instead of getting a nice job in a hospital, since the economy was in a bit of a down-turn at the time on his planet, he got stuck in a clinic that took patients from four different towns. Mostly receiving drug abusers and alcoholics as patients. He quickly got fed up with it, and turned to drinking and smoking in a desperate attempt to calm himself.

And that's when he happened to treat a military soldier one day, who happened to been wounded in a firefight with a drug-running gang. After some talking, and a lot of bitching about how much it sucked to get shot, he bailed the clinic and signed up for the Military. However, there was a slight issue. He had possibly, thee worst accuracy, ever, of all time. They gave him a gun and sent him into combat, and well, he fired full-auto aiming down the sights at a group of five-enemy soldiers.
Every shot missed. Not even a flesh-wound.

The squad he was assigned to was good enough to not be wounded every mission, and his superiors would rather have someone who could shoot and patch up his buddies. So, they scraped him, replaced him, and shipped him off to the 2nd RRU. They gave him the rank of Corporal, however, for demonstrating slight leadership qualities and being able to keep other's calm in a stressful situation. Which he claims to be a lie, and his CO just through that in there to make him look good. Point is, he's here so he can patch up the idiots who get shot.

Weapons:
Combat Knife, Standard Issue Side-Arm

Equipment:
White armor small-arms bullet proof, shoulders have a mounted light and a red cross on each of them. Helmet capable of comms, displaying bio-signs, etc. etc. Standard Medical Equipment. Generally has a Lighter, A Pack of Cigarettes, and a steel flask of some kind alcohol or another on him at all times. Uses a small tac-pad on his wrist to manage medical situations and comms.

MOS:
-Corporal
-Medic/Surgeon

[CalPal]

It's the 2nd RRU, now. Not the 83rd like we thought prior.

[potatocat]

Name:Richard Browan (aka. Hunter)
MOS:Marksman/Ranged Support Being a sniper one of his most used lines is "Don't let that tank look at me!"
Appearance/age: Richard is 30 years old man and hates it when younger people call him old. He is of average height and weight (even though he gained a few pounds after starting drinking). His dark brown hair never goes past his ears and he is always clean shaven, after all, he is still a professional. Even though his role is one of ranged support, he always carries his M1911 on his hip. As he would state when asked why he carries it he replies,"Rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." He wears the standard military uniform, but of course camouflages when appropriate. Wears little to no body armor.
Weapons: Carries a T11 MAR and uses custom made ammo. His pet load is an explosive round that penetrates the first target then detonates with a large amount of fragmenting on the other side. An old M1911 colt kept in good condition from constant maintenance.
Equipment: SP-AI designed to give ballistics data and calibrate the rifle to take the shot appropriately.
Bio: Richard can be herald as one of the best shots in the majority of occupied space. His prowess with a rifle is near perfection, and he ensures that it stays that way, but of course you can never hit everything especially after heavy drinking drinking. Being the kind of man that has a plan to kill every man he has ever meet as earned him a place in the 2nd RRU. In contrary to what happens in this man's head, he appears as fun loving and enjoyable to talk to, but under this mask of sarcasm and witty humor lies a cold, hard, and calculating man. He never takes risks he can't handle. He is a master of covering his tracks. Anyone with incriminating evidence of him never got a chance to pass it along. This was until a sly man out witted him and got away. The dossier that man was carrying held everything the military needed to prosecute Richard, but in stead of execution they came up with a worse punishment. He would have to go from being the top of the crop,to the lowest of the low. A private in the 2nd RRU. This completely changed Richard. He started drinking heavily, and constantly. He often jokes that his flask and his rifle are his two best friends.
He has spent his entire life in the military and that's all he knows. He was taken from his family at a young age because higher-ups saw his skill with a rifle. So they raised him to be the ultimate hunter. Stalking his prey with deadly precision. Waiting for hours in an advantage point for the target to appear. When he is "on" nothing distracts him. His fun and lighthearted exterior fade into nothing and his training kicks in. It was this creation of the ultimate hunter that scared the higher-ups into sending him into the 2nd RRU, but it didn't help that he killed his commanding officer after being told to execute one of his spotter, who was also his best friend. His ability to preform has been hampered by alcohol abuse.

[Superfly]

Name: Thomas "Shush" Shanks

Age: 28

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Biography: Shanks grew up on the cold streets of London back on Earth. His mother was a prostitute and his father was most likely one of her customers, Shanks never met the man but is told frequently by his mother that he inherited his father's sailor tongue. Since he was young he has liked to feel like he was part of something important. Whether it was a youth club that cleaned up vandalized street walls or a fantasy sports club. Shanks has always wanted one thing and that is to simply belong. However, because of his speech impairment, that has rarely happened.

He enlisted in the military when he was 18, eager to prove himself. Unfortunately, he had the same problems he had elsewhere. People laughing at his stutter or making petty jabs. His nickname was acquired in his first week by trying to say his surname. It has followed him around his entire career. Shanks will be the first to tell you that his positioning on Undae is simply down to bad luck. He was accused of forcing himself on a Major's daughter, when he tried to explain himself to the girls father he intended to say:

"This is not what it looks like!"

Instead the Major heard this:

"Tits-Tits-Tits-Tits!"

He has been stationed on Undae under the 2nd RRU since.

Weapons:

The Rattler: The rattler is a heavy assault rifle that uses ballistic armour piercing rounds. It can fire up to thirty two rounds per magazine. It is effective from medium to long distance but has heavy recoil. On the sight is an infrared scope that can see through six inches of concrete, making it lethal to enemies under cover. The scope cannot see through metal.

Scattershot: This ballistic shotgun was built for crowd control rather than to kill, although it is still capable of delivering fatal blows to close ranged enemies. It is heavier than the average shotgun. It carries twelve rounds at maximum capacity and fires four for each pull of the trigger. The unique thing about this gun is that its shot is extremely loud and intimidating. It is advised that when it is being used to apply safety headphones for hearing protection. Under the barrel of the Scattershot is a teargas grenade that can explode on impact post launch.




Equipment: Compass, handkerchief, sun glasses

MOS:
- Engineer of the 2nd Rapid Response Unit
-Infantry of the 2nd Rapid Response Unit

[Splendorman]

Name: Captain Zoe Harrison

Age: 27

Gender: Female

Appearance: Ginger, 5'10", Athletic build. Has intricate tattoos across her left forearm, stomach and shoulders, the last of which runs up her neck.

Biography: Zoe grew up on earth, in the poorer sections of the London Supercity. Her conditions lead to a rather crass personality, but didn't hold her back from attending the University of Cambridge as an electrical engineer/physics double major. During her time there, she got very involved in the Church of the Resplendent Light. She earned her bachelor's quickly and proceeded to dive right into her Master's, when the war broke out as she began constructing her thesis. She joined up to defend the earth and met Mikhailo during this time. They fought together, eventually winning the war and growing quite close. They hold a serious relationship to this day.

Weapons:
Given that she tries to prep her loadout for each mission on a case by case basis, her weapons are never consistent, she uses what she can and what she needs. The only real constant is a slightly long, curved knife with an intricate design on the blade.

Equipment:
Regulation armor, a holy book of the Church of the Resplendent Light, a piece of scrap metal from an old anti personnel mine.

MOS:
Captain
Chaplain

- - - Updated - - -

Name: Mikhailo Baskov

Age: 29

Gender: Male

Appearance: 6'3, Heavy Build, reminiscent of a heavy weight lifter. Black hair shaved close to the scalp with piercing blue eyes.

Biography: Mikhailo comes from the United Slavic Districts, having previously served in the peace keeping force. When the war broke out he signed up as a bomber, but was rejected due to his size. A comment by the recruiter lead to his interest in EOD, the eventual path he chose. In hindsight he came to love this career choice, when he was assigned to Zoe's unit as they were clearing a separatist cell. He pulled her away from a mine and covered her with his EOD suit, holding a tender moment with her, until blood started to seep from his nose. Unfortunately, though he was good at his role of EOD, he'd always had trouble with superiors and after one incident involving a broken bottle, thirty seven stitches and several unanswered questions concerning what constituted "safe disposal of deactivated IEDs" he was sent to the 2nd RRU. Zoe applied for transfer the next day, after personally repeating Mikhailo's "disposal" of the deactivated, though seemingly functional IED in the commanding officer's bunk.

Weapons:
Mikhailo is partial to explosive weapons, generally using a grenade launcher, though he also carries a KG 74 with as much ammo as he can carry for when he needs more precise work. As well, he carries a non regulation Machete

Equipment:
Mikhailo is of course suited in a modern EOD suit, the bulkiness only adding to his menacing appearance. The visor has also been painted such that as it lifts up it looks like a pair of jaws opening and closing.

MOS:
Master Sergeant
EOD

[Mister Frost]

Name: Pvt. Corran 'Flak' Faal.

Age: 33 Earth years.

Gender: Male.

Appearance: Corran stands at 5'9, weighting in at 172 pounds, his has an above average build. Which is mostly due to the fact he likes to stay in shape, which really doesn't do a lot for him, considering his age. But he still wants to be able to run loops around new recruits, and know that he can hold his own in a fight. He has rather short hair, which is more or less kept a military regulation length. Most of the time Corran will be found wearing his military a myriad of different clothing, ranging from simple a simple bland top and pants, to his fatigues. His combat BDU's are dressed down to offer more mobility over protection, which means he has a few 'open' spots on his armour, that could see him killed if he does some stupid, and exposes himself to enemy fire.

Biography: Corran was born a on ship, specifically a freighter his parents being part of crew which ran fright from the Outer-Colonies to the core. His father wanted Corran to follow in his own foot steps and become a freighter Captain, so he spent a large part of his time on many different ships during his childhood. Never really staying on one ship long enough to form a 'bond'. But as a result of this, he did learn how to adapt to living on a ship, as well as gaining some rather limited weapons training from his father.

When Corran started to become of age, he started to resent the idea of working on a freighter, it was just the same thing over and over, take freight from planet A to planet B. He simply didn't like that at all, he thought about finding a job on a planet, but he knew if he did that he'd be abandoning his parents, which chances are he might just never see again. So instead he opted to stay on the ships, for a few more years, until he found a job for himself that would keep him in contact with his parents.

That job presented it's self when the freighter that Corran and his parents were working on, came into the possession of pirates. The crew were held hostage for several weeks, until finally they were saved by Confed Marines, who effortlessly boarded the ships and disposed of the pirates. Corran was amazed at what he had seen from the Marines, and in a way he felt that he was now in their debt for saving them. So, against the objections of his parents he signed for the Marines a few days later.

The training to become a Marine was ... not easy to say the least, Marines were expected to be some of the finest troops in all of the Confederacy, and that meant the training was meant to be hard. But somehow he surprised himself when he was able to get passed the 'hell week', which was designed to brake many of the recruits. Only the toughest deserved to be Marines.

The Marine training lasted for some six-months before he could finally call himself a Marine. Though it didn't feel 'right', mostly because he hadn't seen any real combat yet. His time with the Marines however was short lived, while he served for some six years, and was showing promise to become a fine officer. Corran was not 'a perfect marine', in that he was becoming too friendly with the daughters of many of his Commanding Officers, he found himself being moved from unit to unit, until he finally pissed off the wrong man. Major General Harken saw no better punishment fro the man, then to send him to the planet of Undae.

The world was powder-keg just waiting to explode into open rebellion, and Harken knew that. There wasn't much of a Marine presence on the world, only a small under-manned division, which served as the over stressed defence force for the planet. The General had enough sway with Division's commanding officer to make sure that Corran remained in the Division for as long as he lived, there would be no promotions, or transfers for him. Obviously this move utterly destroyed his career in the Marines, and the fact the world fell into open rebellion just weeks after he arrived on the planet only made things worse for him.

The division was effortlessly destroyed by the Rebels, but not everyone wad killed, or taken. Only a mere company of men survived, most of them formed into small cells, no contacting one another to remain alive. However, Corran was not going to hide to survive, no instead he tuck the fight to the rebels, and well he lost, hard. He was caught placing a bomb in a Rebel HQ, and was going to be executed for his crimes 'against the people'. The events that transpired after his capture aren't really considered the truth, but he swears by it that it is.

Corran was able to escape from his captors, by seducing the bases commander, who just happened to be a woman. Once he had escaped, he returned to his mission and detonated the bomb, killing hundreds of rebels. He returned to his comrades are was met with relative open arms, but the war on Undae would drag on for many more years before help arrived. Those long years dragged by, each day felt like the last, every man just wanted to end it, but the thought that eventually, help would come kept them (mostly) sane.

He didn't know how long it was when the Marines finally came to liberate Undae, his mind told him it was decades, while logic told him it had been too long to remember. Either way ... he was safe, or so he thought. Most of the Marine units that had survived from the start had became mentally unstable, but not insane enough to warrant a discharge. The marines were still trained, they still knew how to kill, they knew the planet, and more importantly they were expendable. Some one them became hero's to the masses back Earth, but the others became part of units that shouldn't of even existed.

Corran found himself in the 83rd Light Infantry Regiment, which for all intensive purpose was a good unit, nothing bad to it's name. Apart from the fact it had a expendable unit, the 2rd Rapid Response Unit, the guys you send in when you want to judge the strenght of the enemy, or just want some fodder thrown at some MG nests. Corran made a rather limited reputation with in the 2RRU, he was one of the first marines in the Unit and now he was one of the last men that really knew why they what the unit was.

From time to time the unit grew and grew, then people were killed, then it grew. It began to become a dumping ground for those who pissed off the wrong people, or were just insane. Yet, some how the unit was fully wiped out, not everyone sent to the 2RRU was an incompetent, some of them were even special forces, some of them really knew how to fight. But they never lasted long, eventually they all passed on, they didn't get a grave, just a name on a board ... that was it.

Corran never really went past the rank of Corporal, every CO always thought he was one mission away from a body bag, so they never promoted him, but then again no one ever got a promotion in the 2RRU. Yet against all expectations he survived, some times with a bullet wound or two, but he always came back to base. He was considered a 'good luck charm' from the other troops, if you were in his squad chances are you might just get back to base in one piece. He was a Marine, he was damn well going to be one, even if he was in the shit holes of all shit holes.

Weapons: M478A3 Assault Rifle, the M478 is actually all the way from when he was station on Undae, well not this specific weapon. The Marines still make the M478, albeit in limited numbers. It still stops a man dead, as much as any modern weapon does. While it may not have the needed strenght to beat armour, he is fighting rebels, were their armour consists of wearing thick clothing, or some badly shaped metal, it really isn't a problem. Plus, there was a reason why people invented aiming.

M99 PDW, his side arm which is considerably more modern than the M478 by at least three decades. The M99 sends three 5mm rounds down range and into the enemy at 1,200 m/s. It kills it's enemy good, but it has cumbersome iron sights, and it's burst features burns threw ammo fast, and can be problematic when several ememies are in the region.

Type 44 Combat Knife, a simple 12.4 inch combat knife, made from modern materials.

M147 Jackhammer, the Jackhammer is meant to be attached to a modern assault rifle, and act as a under slung shotgun attachment. However due to some battering, Corran was able to get his hands on one of these, though considering how rare the ammo for it is, it spends most of it's time at base, alone, unused.

Most, if not all of Corran's equipment was gained via stealing, looting or with cold hard cash.


Equipment: He has a rather worn picture of Vanessa Harken, who is possibly the mother of his possible child. A set of car keys, for a card he doesn't own anymore, which he lost in a poker match. Lucky sucks, he has a pair of socks which he has kept since he was stationed on Undae, they've kept his alive for this long, so he keeps them close (and away from his nose). He 'acquired' a Laptop a few years back, which he intended to use to contact his family, but in a fit of rage he snapped it in half. It just sort of lays there under his bunk, broken.

MOS: Corran is a trained marksmen, he is able to do what all Marines can do, which seems to be a trait that is lacking in the 2RRU. He is also a trained driver, he can drive most ground vehicles, but has very little experience with using anything that flies.

[Tzer]

Weapons:

• Mossberg 970,
  M16

Personally, I have a problem with using current weapons as your main armaments. Keep in mind those are 250 year old guns at this point. Parts and ammunition would be incredibly rare, especially out on a colony. I see nothing wrong with an antique pistol or revolver as a trophy-sidearm, but an M16 just seems inefficient. It's a museum piece by now. I'll confer with the other admins before I explicitly prohibit it.

I've copy-pasted the Big Book of Tech into my google doc, and written a little about weapons. I've incorporated everything I've seen in this thread so far with a slight tweak here or there. Feel free to use one of those or come up with something of your own. I'll be expanding upon the document once I get home and read more character sheets.

As for everyone else, all the current sheets look fine except for one minor issue I have with Mister Frost's. Newbies don't start out as corporals, all of you start off as a private. Anyone you see with a higher rank is a vet of the earlier threads, and are carrying their command ranks over to the reboot. My own character sheet should be up by tonight.

[Superfly]

My bad, I figured all current weapons would be somewhat updated. I was generally going for something you could have a clear image of if needed, but updated to current tech. How would you like me to fix it?