In the year 2023 humans celebrated as SETI discovered a signal which was unmistakably not human, yet intelligent. It took them months to discover the meaning behind the signal, but when they did, the Earth was struck with fear. It simply said "Surrender".

A week after we deciphered the message a fleet of alien craft appeared in the system. They communicated in Earth languages this time, but their message was the same; Surrender. We fought back, but even our strongest weapons were unable to do anything to their ships. They landed and, though we were able to slow them down, the Reptilian Vs'Ks'Thi troops managed to capture the planet, save a few rebel groups, in eight days. During their assault most of them used abilities that could be considered supernatural or paranormal.

They then informed us of our fate. We were now a slave world of the Vs'Ks'Thi Empire, and the people of this world will be used by them or their trade partners the Chigani (essentially the Roswell aliens). Any who challenge them will die.

Not long after the invasion was over, however, other ships full of members of other alien races arrived. They were from the Freedom Alliance, a group of former slave worlds that had banded together to protect each other and to prevent other worlds from becoming enslaved. Earth had been captured due to bad intelligence. The Alliance believed they were going to capture a different world. The Alliance would, however, aid the people of Earth in the planet's liberation.

That was one hundred years ago. Many humans have since been freed, and many more have had their paranormal abilities unlocked, either through synthetic drugs or the Doma fruit, a plum-like fruit which grows on Thalla and contains a chemical which slowly unlocks powers. We fly aboard the alliance ship "Washington" a privately owned ship owned by Captian Harris, a Human. We are allowed to function within Vs'Ks'Thi and Chigani space only as a freighter, and should we show any hostile moves, if we are caught aiding rebellious slaves, or use forbidden technology, such as a cloaking device, we will be destroyed.

We intend to break all three rules.

Oh, this seems pretty interesting.

Count me tentatively interested.

Cool. Any ideas on how to make it better?

I actually really like what you've got down already, but I do have some questions.

I take it the PCs are to be humans, or are aliens an option? I'd sooner play a human myself, but diversity among the crew would certainly be interesting.

The paranormal abilities are also interesting- are they to be universal across the PCs, or will only some characters possess them? And how would ESP, particularly its precognitive aspect, function? Would the character using such an ability have to concentrate in some way, or is it more of a passive awareness?

And one last question (or a few related ones), how does FTL work in this setting? You mentioned hyperdrives in the OP, I think- so the ship would pop into another dimension to bypass Einsteinian physics, then? That's a perfectly reasonable way to go, but how long does it take to get from point-A to point-B? Say, for the sake of argument, how long would a Sol to Alpha Centauri (about 4.4 light years) take? Is it instantaneous, or does it take a bit?

I hope I'm not coming across as demanding, but I'm just curious.

I actually really like what you've got down already, but I do have some questions.

I take it the PCs are to be humans, or are aliens an option? I'd sooner play a human myself, but diversity among the crew would certainly be interesting.

The paranormal abilities are also interesting- are they to be universal across the PCs, or will only some characters possess them? And how would ESP, particularly its precognitive aspect, function? Would the character using such an ability have to concentrate in some way, or is it more of a passive awareness?

And one last question (or a few related ones), how does FTL work in this setting? You mentioned hyperdrives in the OP, I think- so the ship would pop into another dimension to bypass Einsteinian physics, then? That's a perfectly reasonable way to go, but how long does it take to get from point-A to point-B? Say, for the sake of argument, how long would a Sol to Alpha Centauri (about 4.4 light years) take? Is it instantaneous, or does it take a bit?

I hope I'm not coming across as demanding, but I'm just curious.

I'll start as both a Human captain and his Thalleen wife, though:

so aliens are fine. A Chigani or a Vs'Ks'Thi will have to prove that they aren't our enemy, maybe even that they are an ally, before even stepping aboard, though.

Any character can have powers, though you don't have to if you don't want to. Power can work anyway you want them to as long as they aren't OP, as you are designing them. In the case of ESP, they could work either way. Passive would probably be weaker, though, or may give you less info. For example, if you have Psychometry and you pick up a gun, you might know that it's killed many people, but if you concentrate, you would see them being shot. Also, not every power from a set needs to be opened at once, and the more powerful ones may be harder to unlock.

The travel time would depend on the ship, but for us Sol to Alpha Centauri is a few hour trip. For a Chigani ship, maybe ten to fifteen minutes. You can't be attacked while in hyperspace, unless you bring the attacker with you and they remain close enough to stay with you, or you lock your fields together in real space before jumping. Different drives are built off by enough to keep someone from intersecting your field (they have to match a 5 dimensional location with you moving and no way to track your exact coordinates, as one dimension is based on the drive and fluctuates a bit).

Asking questions is fine. In fact, I hadn't thought over the hyper-drive as much until you asked about it.

Interested

@Mr_pinkcool. any questions?

Not yet, I'll be sure to tell you of I think of any though.

@Mr_pinkOkey, dokey.

@TheUnknowable

I do have a couple more questions, if you don't mind.

1) What kind of small arms are prevalent in the setting? Energy weapons of some kind presumably exist, but would they be the sort of thing our crew would be armed with, or would we be largely relying on more primitive firearms (or slugthrowers, if you prefer)?

2) Has Earth been significantly altered by its enslaved status? By which I mean, do the old political divisions still exist? Do the former governments still exist on paper, or have they been done away with entirely in favor of some kind of Imperial alien administration? Also, what is life on Earth (and other places humans inhabit) like? Is it endless toil and misery for everyone, or are some humans given preferential treatment in exchange for cooperation and collaboration? Have the aliens tampered with human law, education, even culture?

Oh, and do you want the interested to go ahead and write up CS's, since you posted the form in the OP? I've got an idea for a character, I think.

@TheUnknowable

I do have a couple more questions, if you don't mind.

1) What kind of small arms are prevalent in the setting? Energy weapons of some kind presumably exist, but would they be the sort of thing our crew would be armed with, or would we be largely relying on more primitive firearms (or slugthrowers, if you prefer)?

2) Has Earth been significantly altered by its enslaved status? By which I mean, do the old political divisions still exist? Do the former governments still exist on paper, or have they been done away with entirely in favor of some kind of Imperial alien administration? Also, what is life on Earth (and other places humans inhabit) like? Is it endless toil and misery for everyone, or are some humans given preferential treatment in exchange for cooperation and collaboration? Have the aliens tampered with human law, education, even culture?

Oh, and do you want the interested to go ahead and write up CS's, since you posted the form in the OP? I've got an idea for a character, I think.

1) The Freedom Alliance uses particle beams and laser weapons, but most of the slave worlds either use rail guns or Ion guns, which are non-lethal on lower settings, but shut down electronics. As we trade with the Alliance, you can use their weapons if you want to, and fairly expensive if bought from them. They would be very expensive on the grey market, as the Chigani heavily tax imports from them and weapons.

2) The Vs'Ks'Thi have governors for their slave worlds, with the Earth having one stationed in each territory, America (San Fransisco), Europe/Africa (Paris), Asia (Beijing), Artic (North Pole City), Antartic (South Pole City), and Luna (Tranquil City, Sea of Tranquility). The first three export slaves (about 100k per 1/10 year) and the last three, considered by their governors to be terrible postings as they are mining colonies, import 1k slaves/immigrants per 1/10 year. They created human governments to govern each area and coordinate slave and tax (in the form of raw material) export, but don't really care what the humans do with their territory as long as they don't break the general laws (restricting certain tech, not supporting rebels, etc.), pay their taxes and send enough healthy, adult slaves. Many of the old governments still exist, though they have assimilated other countries in the area. Many of the slaves the are exported are serious criminal offenders, as all human territories export their dangerous criminals as slaves.
Humans are all subordinate to the Chigani and Vs'Ks'Thi, but some humans have gained their freedom through service to them. Think of it this way, human structure has at the top Free humans, then normal humans (who can be taken as slaves at any time, but rarely are as they don't need that many slaves), then there are Slave humans, who are directly owned by a Vs'Ks'Thi or a Chigani or are on the market for this reason. Generally, the normal humans who suck up to the aliens are freed, and become the upper class. The middle and lower class are made up of normal non-Slave humans, and earn enough to live on, but often with a standard of living below our present day developed world standard. Then the slaves live in whatever conditions their masters give them. For the most part they sleep in bunkhouses, share areas with other slaves, and work every day of every week for long hours, as the Masters who treat their slaves like that earn a profit faster.

Yeah, go ahead and post a CS if you want.

Name: Patrick “Paddy” Malone

Race: Human

Age: 30

Appearance: Of below-average height and 'ever-so-slightly' bulging in build, Malone is not exactly blessed with an athletic build. His coal black hair has receded nearly to his ears, and looks likely to retreat to the crown of his head within a few years. His brown eyes are soft and mellow, oft becoming entirely misty when he's imbibing.

Power: Uncanny Dodge- Malone has the ability to perceive the intent of others, allowing him to quite accurately predict the movements and attacks of enemy combatants. This gives him a rather significant edge in small-scale encounters, though he has thus far had difficulty making effective use of his ability when dealing with larger groups of opponents. He suspects that a large number of minds to be sensed at once make focusing on any particular one troublesome.

Personality: Malone is typically genial and mild-mannered in peaceful situations, making jokes and singing songs to mark the passage of time. He possesses what he would himself call a “healthy distrust of strangers,” but very much cares for his friends and comrades around him. When drinking, he tends to become rather maudlin, waxing romantic about this or that thing about Earth, and cursing the alien menace that had enslaved it. He only seldom panics under fire, preferring to hurl insults and abuse at the enemy- whether they can understand him or not.

Skills: Shooting, navigation, singing, and in a pinch, piloting

Crew position: Navigator/Astrogator, Morale Officer (Self-appointed post)

Bio: Patrick Michael Malone was born in Tipperary, Ireland to an American mother and an Irish father, both free humans. His early life was pleasantly uneventful, and Malone spent much of his childhood reading about Earth history. His mother particularly encouraged this, instilling in him a burning hatred for the tyranny of the Vs'Ks'Thi and the bondage his fellow humans were forced to endure. His father raised him within the Catholic faith, however, and from thence he learned above all humility and mercy.

In time he grew to be a bookish and fairly kind young man. Interested as much in the future as in the past, he studied technical manuals on starship navigation in his adolesence. In time he left home, taking with him what little money he had, along with a small token of his faith and a revolver, which had been passed secretly through his mother's family for three generations. He found work aboard a shipping freighter and found he immensely enjoyed the camaraderie and adventure that such a life brought.

Working under a number of different civilian captains, Malone found himself the navigator of the Washington, under the command of Timothy Harris.

Equipment: Rail rifle, Colt Peacemaker (.45 revolver), cleaning kit, light jumpsuit, western poncho, St. Michael medalion, wristcomp loaded with stellar cartography notes and traditional Earth music

This seems rather interesting, and questions I had were asked already, so I can start drawing up a CS then!

Name: Gregory Church

Race: Human

Age: 44

Appearance: Towering over most other humans, Church is a massive example of the human male. Long years of hard labor has left him in the best physical shape of his life, even if it left something to be desired in personality. Under his crude looking clothing and cloak, is a towering mass that leaves not one bit of fat, being all muscle and scar tissue. Indeed, his most defining feature is the thick crisscross pattern of scars on his back, limbs, and even a long scar from the top of his left cheek, running down to the bottom of his right cheek. And yet, he has a thick, unkempt mass of raven black hair and a constant stubble that, no matter how long or often he shaves, remains no matter what. So he doesn't bother with messing with it, leaving it as is.

Powerset: Telekinetic Marauder (Telekinesis)
Mental Haymaker (Offensive) - Gathers up all his pent up rage and focuses it in a telekinetic blast, the size of a fist, usually aimed at a single enemy's face. Accompanied by a thrown punch, though this is unnecessary. While more powerful then usual attacks from telekinesis fields of skill, it is far more taxing and less elegant. Granted, this also means it takes raw power instead of clever redirection, typically, in duels of telekinesis since the raw, raging blow cares little for games of sport and is fully meant to smash through defenses instead of slipping around them.

Armor of Disdain (Defensive) - Encases himself in a suit of mental, repulsive, energy formed of his disdain for slavers and those that support them rather than resist. The more powerful his emotions towards a given foe, the more potent the defensive field. Likewise, near useless unless he has some level of disdain and hate for an opponent. Typically works well against most forms of attacks, but can only withstand as many blows as the mind can resist, dependent on willpower, although internal damage is suffered should more than a few blows be stopped, varying with strength granted..

GET OVER THERE! (Utility) - A cruder form of moving objects, the power grasps and launches something in the general direction that is desired. Not advisable for fragile or delicate work, but more than useful for launching larger, heavier objects where they are needed. If in an irate, angry state, the power is more useful, fueled by the irritation and rage fueled desire to just get things where they need to be. In theory useful on individuals, but not intended for such.

Personality: Church is a angry, typically unkind man that seems to care for little more than the next time he can drink. At first impressions he is gruff, xenophobic and blunt, lacking any sort of mannerisms or impressions of a gentle or free upbringing. He is distrustful and distant due to this, in his own words, never trusting anyone who makes more than he does. The more well spoken and gentlemanly someone comes across as, the less he likes them or trusts them, since he fully sees this as a matter of being in one of those families that bowed so readily to the alien slavers that held the reins over hundreds of races so readily. About the only time he seems happy is when there is booze, fighting, or some combination of the two. He throws himself at both with wild abandon, fighting with no concern for his own life and drinking like it was the last day of his life. But he is always tight lipped, never sharing his stories or past without a damn good reason. His hard exterior softens in the presence of other former slaves, even more so with others that fought against their captors as actively as he did, and reveals a troubled man indeed.

Skills: High Aptitude in Mechanical and Electrical applications, Ranged Combat, Brawling, Drinking

Crew position: Mechanic/Electrician, Cracker of Skulls (Joyfully self appointed)

Bio: Unlike many apparent fortunates, Church was born into slavery. He barely spent a few weeks a free baby before his family was taken off to the slave ships. His parents were no criminals but had, apparently, angered the wrong people and had the family, baby and all, trundled up the ramp and sent off to some God forsaken mining planet. His parents were dead with in a week, and his care rotated from surviving slave family to slave family, until he was old enough to take care of himself, barely at five years old.

Church was put to work as soon as he was physically able, working as an aid and running supplies all over the volcanic world's mineshafts and quarries, wherever his work group was shipped off to after their prior work was done. He got whipped and beaten often, by both the Vs'Ks'Thi slavers and other humans who were put into supervisory roles due to good behavior and no remorse for his fellow man. His hate for any slavers and their collaboraters only grew over the long years. He would spend over thirty years a slave, but he did learn a few things while he was a slave.

Firstly, between heavy manual labor, Church learned to work machinery and electronics rather impressivly. This was out of necessity, but he refined it in private, as part of his latest scheme to escape the slavery he was trapped in. His longest running ploy was an illegal communicator that sent vital information that would lead to the planet's eventual liberation. Granted, if it wasn't for his technical skills he would have long since been dead. But his masters sufficed with beating him within an inch of dying, and leaving medically inclined slaves to patch him up. Right before his liberation he stole a warden's shotgun, a hateful human man that enjoyed making his slave wards suffer, and would have gotten two facefulls of buckshot if his 35th birthday had not arrived.

On Church's 35th birthday the liberation came, and a massive number of slaves were freed from the mining world. One of the last off was Church, dragging two near dead men under each arm like they were just cargo, not even breaking a sweat from it. Escaping from slavery and tasting freedom for the first time, he volunteered to operate as part of liberation efforts for other humans. He was often times the muscle for operations, acting as mechanic and electrician when under cover, although he was ill suited for being sneaky or subtle when it came to slavers. But he would find himself on board the Washington, under the employ of a Captain Harris, and all he could do was wait for that chance to go crack some more slaver skulls. And their spineless pets that sold their fellow men into bondage for their own cushy lives.

Equipment: Two Handed Pipe Wrench, Sawed Off Over/Under Shotgun, mechanics tool kit, electricians tool kit, crude ballistic armor, thick all weather cloak, goggles and breathing mask

@Illogical JimI like the character. The only "issue" I saw was that he had a single power, not a set. That's not a big deal, though, as you can always expand it later if you want. Not everyone needs a full set of powers. The description hints at lines of expansion into both telepathy and ESP. A cross class person would work well too.

Anyway, approved.

might be cool

Unfinished

Definitely interested if there's room

@Illogical JimI like the character. The only "issue" I saw was that he had a single power, not a set. That's not a big deal, though, as you can always expand it later if you want. Not everyone needs a full set of powers. The description hints at lines of expansion into both telepathy and ESP. A cross class person would work well too.

Anyway, approved.

Yeah, I was thinking he'd still be something of a novice, that being the only ability he's really able to use. With further use of Doma/drugs I imagine he'd develop somewhat more advanced powers.