[d20 Future] Location idea resource

[thol]

OK. Let's try this again. Please read this before posting.

This thread is a tribute to the old fantasy location idea resource thread. I wanted to do one that was related to science fiction, in anticipation of d20 Future.

The whole idea behind this thread is to get your creative juices going in an exercise that gives you a name, but not a thing. Some may think it restrictive, but I like to think it is challenging. And you may come up with something from another's name that you might never have thought of.

If you want to post just any idea that comes to mind, Alaska Roberts has kindly started a free-form thread here.

The rules for this thread are simple:

1. Post about whatever the last poster named.
2. Leave a new name at the end of your post.
3. You can't answer your own name.
4. Please leave off your signature.

When elaborating on a name, it can be a planet, a space station, a ship, a nebula, an outpost, a starport, a space hulk, a shop, a bar, whatever kind of location fits the name you're given.

Here we go again...

Next up: Brilliance

 

[thol]

Brilliance

Located in the twin-star Sirius system, Brilliance Station serves as stopping point for everyone from traders to the military to tourists. It is situated between the two stars, about 5AU from Sirius B, the dim white dwarf of the system. It's big brother, Sirius A, is 15AU away, and is the most luminous star within 25 light years of Sol; hence the station's name.

Brilliance is a large circular station, typical of early Imperial construction, but with late era modifications to that design that makes it different from other stations of its time. It is composed of three 'donuts' connected to a cylinder at the center, and to each other by four columns evenly spaced along the outer rim.

The center cylinder, known as the Tube, is where ships dock, and is where the main interaction for all who visit Brilliance takes place. There are shops, recreation, repair facilities, and everything else you'd find on a typical station.

The three outer 'donuts', known as the Rings, serve three seperate purposes. The center ring, or Ring Zero, is home to the Imperial Government contingent on Brilliance. It has military quarters and training facilities for the System Defense Force and Imperial Marines, government offices for commerce & trade, and is also home to a small squad of the Imperial Scout Service.

The lightward ring, that closest to Sirius A, is known as Ring One, and is home to Imperial Science & Discovery. It holds vast amounts of equipment and laboratories for some of the most cutting edge technology and astrophysical research in the galaxy. Many secrets of the empire are said to reside here. It also studies the relationship of both the Sirius stars.

The dwarfward ring, that closest to Sirius B, is known as Ring Two. It is the home of civilians, workers, travellers, and whomever else wishes to make a permanent or temporary home here. Most who aren't station employees tend to live here for only a short time, and although life on the station is never boring, it is just too easy to hitch a ride to somewhere new. Nevertheless, there are apartments, hotel rooms, casinos, sports facilities, and residential shops. Despite the heavy Imperial presence on the station, there is a surprising seediness factor to parts of Ring Two, and many unexpected adventures can be found.

Next up: Johan's Loop

 

[Justin D. Jacobson]

Johan's Loop

The culmination of Faster-than-light (FTL) travel came in a fashion far different than any had anticipated:

In 2196, faced with a prematurely dying sun, the free nations of the world--having banded together to achieve a solution--ferried their citizens to the massive transport ships that had been constructed in orbit around the Earth. These ships meant to breach the boundaries of our solar system and make way for a nearby system with a planet suitable for terra-forming and colonization.

As the fleet reached virgin space, something quite unusual occured. The Earth-based sub-light drives interacted with an existing, alien-created FTL network. This alien technology, not fully understood, allows a properly equipped starship to achieve ever-increasing levels of acceleration along the path of the waypoints. The effect is similar to the operation of a particle accelerator.

However, although the Earth ships contained some hardware that activated the FTL system, they possessed none of the equipment to control it. The transports were scattered to the four corners of the universe.

One such ship was the Dawning Star. Principally harboring the terra-forming equipment, the technicians to run it, and a military contingent, the passengers of the Dawning Star found themselves in a distant galaxy. Fortunately, there was a planet within the galaxy that was a suitable candidate for colonization. They dubbed the planet Eos.

Some time shortly after the commencement of colonization, the humans made contact with an alien race. Their name is difficult to pronounce in the human tongue; they took to calling them "elgies" (a bastardization of L.G.'s, which itself is an abbreviation of "little green men."). The elgies, the humans came to find, are a technologically advanced, peaceful species. In the years that followed, the humans learned much from them.

It was also revealed that they were the ones who constructed the FTL network that brought the humans to this galaxy. Unfortunately, they suffered similar misfortune, and their ability to utilize the network was compromised.

Humans now refer to the string of FTL waypoints from Earth to Eos as Johan's loop, named after the original captain of the Dawning Star.

Next Up: The Weinstein Orbital

P.S. - Small confession: This entry is a brief summary of the introduction to my upcoming d20 Future, hard science, sci-fi setting: Dawning Star. But I do enjoy the resource threads.

 

[FolcoTook]

The Weinstein Orbital

The Weinstein Orbital Facility was a joint project between Haley Aerospace and GalactiCorp. Constructed in 2110 AD and placed in high orbit at Mars in 2111, it served as the primary asteroid processing facility for 40 years. While it never failed to turn a profit, accusations of unsafe working conditions and a near sweatshop-type environment dogged its operations.

In the Martian Uprising of 2153, the separatists seized the facility claiming it belonged "to the people of Mars by right of the blood spilled for our corper oppressors." At this point, GalactiCorp, with holdings and interests well beyond the Weinstein Facility, was willing to write it off as an operational loss. Haley Aerospace, on the other hand, was determined to fight.

The siege lasted for months. When the mercenaries hired by Haley boarded the station, they met very little resistance. Indeed, many of the separatists were already dead of a stange illness. The Weinstein Orbital Facility was imediately quarantined and has been off limits for the last 20 years.

On deck.... Hypership Rising Star

 

[NewLifeForm]

Hypership Rising Star

Don't know why but this sounds like an Anime title to me...So...

Welcome aboard the Galactic Star Union's last hope, the experimental FTL space cruiser Hypership Rising Star. As the suns of various star systems in the GSU are transformed into HyperWarp Gates by the evil alien Dreggetti, our heroes speed through the galaxy in an attempt to reach the legendary Cosmolarity X, a spatial anomaly capable of transversing time and enabling the damage done by the Dreggetti to be undone...possibly at the cost of the lives of everyone aboard the Rising Star.

In addition to the obvious dangers of space travel, our heroes must overcome love triangles, personal grudges and battle with the Dreggetti Bioweirds using the GSU's mighty mecha, the Rising Armor Uchujin.

Good luck Rising Star! Do your best!
Hypership Go!

Next...Gemro's Landing

 

[Ralts Bloodthorne]

Gemro's Landing
Gemro's Landing is a small asteriod facility in the Sol/Terra system that contains a luxury gambling resort and a starship "refit" facility. The facility is not technically legal, but since it services everyone, equally, it's quasi-legal status has allowed it to be used as diplomatic "neutral ground" several times.

Gemro's Landing started as a small FTL Communications Relay early on, but was abandoned as advances in technology made the communications relay basically worthless. The Terran Government abandoned it, and the Terran Defense Forces destroyed any "sensitive" equipment aboard it.

The asteriod lay forgotten for decades, until on Artur Gemro discovered it while wild-cat 'riod mining. Checking the station's bubble dome integrity, he figured it would not take much to fire the place up and get it working well enough to open a "belter way station."

The way station did well, but unfortunately, there was a lot of fighting and drunken brawls as wildcatters stopped there to refit, purge contaminated atmospheres, and reload thier water supply. Looking for entertainment, he began pitting rats against one another in a "pit-fight" like arena.

The gambling profits from the rat-fights began bringing in more money than the supply selling side of Gemro's business, and he began casting around for a way to increase this lucrative, then still, side venture.

Luck was with Gemro, when a Terran museuam went bankrupt, and Gemro managed to aquire all of the exhibits, mostly pre-space gambling machines. No VR, no AI, indeed, most of them were mechanical only devices. Strangely enough, the miners trusted the things that went "whirrrrrr, KLUNK" more than the "gambling feelies" which cajoled, tricked and lied.

Within 10 years, the entire asteriod was covered with bubble-domes and landing platforms, and Gemro's Landing was moving up in scale. From wildcatters to dilletantes looking for something to do.

While Gemro's Landing is, for the most part, for the wealthy and idle, rumors still exist of a darker side, where death matches take place, and the stakes in a gambling hall can be the gambler's life.

Next Up: The Spiphax Rift

 

[C. Baize]

The Spiphax Rift

The Spiphax Rift is quite the anomaly. Where something like this would normally be labelled a 'white hole', these things are not normally over a light year in length, and shaped like a tear in the fabric of space.
Anomalous as that is, the widely varying degrees of gravity along the rift calls like a beacon to space bound gravitic surfers braving oblivion for the thrill of the ultimate ride, with nothing between them and death except their skills and their gravitic surf craft.
Several space stations are situated in close proximity to The Rift for a myriad of purposes from scientific research, military research, to simply hedonistic entertainment stations where surfers gather and collect on bets, to the most lascivious of holo-entertainment suites.
Rumors persist about The Rift that it is a gateway to another dimension, and that if a craft could be created to withstand the intense gravity, a whole new universe would be open to them to explore. Whether or not this is true is still up to speculation, as no such craft has been created, and nothing of the sort has come OUT of the rift, that anyone has witnessed.

There has arisen a sudden tension between the scientific and military communities studying The Spiphax Rift, sparking yet more rumors though neither side is talking about the reasons...

Next up: Sar Pallin

 

[thol]

Sar Pallin

In a forgotten region of the Orion Arm, between the emptiness of the Drift and the maelstrom of the Hexan Nebulae, lies an old Terran colony from the ancient days before the Alliance: Sar Pallin.

A slightly arid and rocky class M planet, Sar Pallin was at one time a thriving colony in the early days of the second galactic expansion known as the Big Push. A favorite stopping point for those in need of refueling, both mechanically and mentally, it served many a traveller and Pusher alike.

When the Hexan star systems went supernova, the hyperspace links to the coreward part of the Arm were disrupted. For almost 200 years, Sar Pallin was cut off from the rest of the empire. When the links finally began to function again, albeit strangely, the first travellers to arrive at Sar Pallin found nothing but empty structures and partially functioning robots. A few tried to recolonize the planet, but the planet was eventually abandoned altogether. It's purpose as a stopping point was no longer relevant, partially due to easier colonization closer to the galactic center and disinterest in the virtually unknown space beyond the Drift, but mostly because of the quickening war with the Varan Collective.

In the early days of the Alliance, centuries after the colonists disappeared and the planet was forgotten, a small band of pirates came across Sar Pallin during a search for a better hideout. Saturation near the center of colonized space had reawoken the interest in the Drift and beyond, and the hyperspace links once again seemed to function normally. When Alliance Privateers discovered and scattered the pirates, they decided to settle the planet as a perfect foray point into the Drift. Soon came the scientific community, as well as the Alliance military proper. In the span of 4 short years, Sar Pallin has become the hub of all Drift space operations.

The mystery still remains as to what happened to the colonists, and many a xenoarchaeologist is at work towards that end. Some say aliens live among the dark matter space of the Drift, and they saw the colony as a threat and eliminated them. Others point to the tiny anomalies still found in this section of the hyperspace continuum in support of a SDS (Sudden Dimensional Shift) hypothesis. Yet others point to the recently discovered markings found buried in sand that cover the Old City square, claiming they are not written in any known script, though detractors say they are only weathered beyond recognition. No matter the reason, life goes on on Sar Pallin, and naught but a memory remains of the ancient Terrans who once lived there.

Next up: Voray Six

 

[Ralts Bloodthorne]

Voray-6

Voray Six

WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
VORAY-6
125KCr Reward​

Description: Six feet tall, 250 lbs, dark black skin, grey eyes, no body hair, right side of face matte black cybernetic replacement. Commonly wears leathers or outlawed Cygnus War-Pig Combat Armor.

Crimes: Murder of Citizens, Assassination, Destruction of Federation Property, Murder of Star Law officers, multiple violations of the Ares War Convention of 2238.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPREHEND! TO BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS!

Despite what Star Law would have people believe, Voray-Six is not a single individual, but instead, a product of the Cygnus Corporations nerfarious biological division.

Genetically and cybernetically enhanced, the Voray-Six projecct intended on creating telepathically linked clone soldiers who could not only coordinate thier efforts effectively, but could also replace killed soldiers by using a captured enemy.

By injecting a retrovirus via bite into a victim, they could create a new soldier to replace the one who was lost, with the prisoner suffering a complete loss of personality and looks. Even muscle-memory and genetic memory was lost and replaced with a Voray-Six soldier.

Onboard nano-creation engines enabled the Voray-Six to rebuild damaged or lost warfare equipment, with multiple V6's getting together to build larger items such as plasma cannons, guass rifles, and in the case of a whole group of 12 or more, a small FTL capable starship.

Unfortunately for the Cygnus Corporation, the Voray-Six broke loose during "testing phase" and managed to escape, destroying a 6 TCr facility in doing so. Since then, they have become mercenaries for hire and soldiers of fortune.

Despite Star Law claims, they do not butcher everyone in sight, nor do they hate humans. The Cygnus Corporation, yes. All humans, no.

Voray-6 hides out in a self-named asteriod, carefully masked and shielded to appear as an unaltered asteriod. The asteriod is fixed with a hyperdrive and several different kinds of shielding, as well as pop-up weaponry, making it the equivelant of a heavy cruiser when it comes to protection and firepower.

This asteriod is unknown, as of yet, by Star Law, and contains the necessary psychical and mneomic cloning devices to recreate any member of the Voray-Six that are killed. Inside also is heavily defended by autonomous machines, with everything from nanite disassemblers to viral code packet burst projectors to just plain fire.

Over half of the money the Voray-Six makes is put into thier asteriod home/base/starcraft, with little of it being spent on luxury, but rather better equipment.

If the base were to be discovered, it would undoubtably not only attack anyone intending on investigating it, but would also chase them down to eliminate them, and with the expansive and expensive ECM system on board the craft, it is doubtful that any ship that discovered it could squeak for help.

Next: Phobos Incedent Observation Station

 

[Ralts Bloodthorne]

**BUMP**

Let's not lose this.