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[PTTG??]

Name: Pitor Zymbalski
Nationality: California Republic
Gender: Male
Proficiencies: Maintence & construction(Reclamation Equip.), Mining equipment operation.
Bio: Ow.
Manager of Reclamation and Waste systems wasn't as glamorous as Captain or EVO Director, but the REC-W capsule, being so essential to the mission, was built to last. After the initial explosion, my on-duty staff (about 3 crew members) and I started emergency procedures and managed to seal the hatches and get into emergency positions. Landing was tough but we managed to use the compressed atmospheric nitrogen canisters to power the landing thrusters, getting us into a survivable landing vector. Even with that, it was a severe crash and at the moment I don't know how many others survived. The water and O2 tanks have mostly burst, the reactor capsule is probably still in orbit, and the equipment is non-operational even with the resources, but the most important components are there. And we still have plenty of No²!
As I wasn't planning any special activities, I'm in REC-W mission fatigues, (jumpsuits with dayglow-orange shoulder bands), with only my tool belt. There may be a suit or three in the REC-W capsule. If I'm lucky, there isn't too much of an atmosphere leak.

I guess there's some room for REC-W team members, or somebody who dashed aboard after the explosion.

To summarize: No suit, in a capsule with broken life support stuff, no airtanks other than emergency ones, I do have tons of compressed nitrogen, and maybe some NPC/PC crew members. I hope that I can find a radio...

[Nilocy]

Name: Rosetta Carnegie
Gender: F
Nationality: Scottish Republic.
Proficiencies: Micro Biologist, Nano robotics.

Rosetta, or Rosie for short, was working with Vlad in the lab on a new strain of low oxygen photosynthetic microbe for carbon dioxide to oxygen transformation when the alarm set off. Protocol dictated that any critical work has to be sealed in nano carbon 'black boxes'. Not having enough time to react to the alarm she through everything she could into the box, nano blocks, strains of the research and assorted papers she'd been writing. She managed to get to Vlad's pod before he shot it off.

(yeah, that was shit i know. but im tired and thinking of fun stuff to go find at the crash site )

[Aqizzar]

Gender: Female (If I was a male, that spaceship would've been one giant sausage-fest.)

It's worth mentioning that NASA has actually put some thought into this problem.  Any Mars mission is going to be a long trip there, a long stay, and a long trip back.  And they're sending astronauts, not Bishops.  So NASA has come up with a lot of disturbing, clinical ideas about who to send and how to accommodate them.  That was all before the Flight of the Jilted Phoenix in 2007 showed the danger of romance on the mission deck.  At any rate, it is something to keep in mind, but I'm not going to dwell on the details.

So, technology.  I'm suddenly realizing that I don't know the first thing about space travel or the machinery you'd need to live on Mars, beyond the stuff you get from layman's Ain't Space Cool type books.  I'm not letting that slow me down, but if anyone has any technical ideas or understanding of this stuff, feel free to PM me or discuss it here.  I'll reward more plausible sounding ideas for attempting fixes.  And MacGyvering is strongly encouraged.

Eleven people is plenty to get started.  I'll write up profiles for my use, and put together a preliminary turn.  We'll go on from there.  New entries are still allowed for now I suppose.

[PTTG??]

So, this is the third mission, so what did they do before and did they leave anything?

Orbital mechanics dictate that with a breakup in orbit- especially when in landing- you'll get a line of debris/survivors, curved by the Coriolis effect. Since this is a polar explorer, what you'll probably see is everyone distributed in a curving line near the pole, with the first landers at one end and the late landers at the other.

Also, there are two launch paths towards Mars; a long, cheap one, and a quick, expensive one. Most likely, cargo would be launched for months or years beforehand on the long path, and crew would take the short path and land just before the goods. So, it's likely that cargo pods will be touching down after a while. If anybody will be within 10,000 miles of them is uncertain, of course.

[Aqizzar]

So, this is the third mission, so what did they do before and did they leave anything?

The first mission was a long flyaround, to prove people could make the trip.  An unmanned scout landing was attempted, but unforeseen problems with the equipment aborted recovery.  In all the commotion, you've forgotten what exactly was left.  The second mission was lost with all hands somewhere over the equator.  Disaster struck in only moments, and the last seconds of transmission suggested something in the retrorockets went horribly wrong when the ship tried to slow itself for reentry.  Whether anything made it to the surface is a very good question...

Also, there are two launch paths towards Mars; a long, cheap one, and a quick, expensive one. Most likely, cargo would be launched for months or years beforehand on the long path, and crew would take the short path and land just before the goods. So, it's likely that cargo pods will be touching down after a while. If anybody will be within 10,000 miles of them is uncertain, of course.

Great stuff to know.  If you've got any specific information about travel times and routes, I'd appreciate the help.  Just PM it to me.  That goes for anyone who knows something technical.

Everyone watch the skies for falling treasure.  I'm sure someone is going to get beaned by a falling cargo pod.

Also, what the fuck is up with these network problems?  Is anyone else having trouble loading the forum today?

[Strife26]

Name: Captain Strife
US Army
Skills: Nuclear Technology, Construction

Strange member of team, Strife. The Air Force puke who had been scheduled to fly started . . . puking (heh). At the last moment before launch, NASA decided to send whoever was available as opposed to messing up their careful time schedule (especially with cooperative weather). Thankfully, Strife was perfectly qualified for the operation.

He had spent most of the flight watching his reactor. Sealed up in its own, reenforced section, it stayed inactive, but with enough uranium for several years of operation nearby. There hadn't been a bunk for the poor soldier onboard. Strife had settled down into the safer of his two sections, where the construction stuff was stored. Not much space, but Strife didn't mind having just a sleeping bag and depleted Uranium for a bed (yea zero-G).

Strife was inside the construction pod when everything went south. All of the scrap metal stayed put for impact, Strife had welded most of it down. The reactor pod had seperated and crashed somewhere else, sadly. Being reenforced, like the construction section, Strife hoped that it had survived. Otherwise, there a fair chunk of mars might be irradiated.

Strife's reentry vehicle was suprisingly well suited for the task at hand. The emergency stuff survived (including Strife's exposure suit), along with some extra stuff he had stashed there. Extra rations and one extra air tank was all that Strife could fit. There was also all of the scrap metal (Aluminum, Titanium, DU) that anyone would need, plus a good selection of tools. Strife also retained his personal effects: Strife's real uniform (ABU's + trenchcoat), some survival gear (lighter and stuff), and a couple of Strife's favorite books.

Dazed, but unharmed, Strife attempted to collect his thoughts . . .

((PS: Darn you for raising the points that I had thought about PTTG!))

[Duke 2.0]

 If things don't get too hectic, I would like to join.

 Harry Stamper
 A no-nonsense oil driller from Texas, he was recruited several years before the mission started in order to have a proper driller onboard. During those hears he has trained endlessly to be just as qualified as other astronauts, and he has never been prouder. He won't take crap from anybody, and dislikes working with people he does not trust. Think Armageddon.
 He is skilled in drilling and Geology, there mainly to secure underground lodgings and drill for resources beneath the cold rocky surface.
 How did he survive? Well, interesting story. He was assigned seats within the storage bay for the various mining, prospecting and drilling machines because the mission required him to start work immediately. Whatever the problem was, it arranged the various mechanics and machines into a lattice that helped make the storage bay more structurally sound. During the turbulent entry into the atmosphere, he entered the pressurized hatch of a mining vehicle designed to take advantage of the lower gravity to move rock much quicker than conventional Earth mining vehicles.
 Turns out the things was built to survive multiple cave-ins and dig it's way to the surface. Those NASA folks really don't want to lose their toys. Harry did get some bruises and cuts from the bumpy landing, but nothing PATRIOTISM can't handle.

[Strife26]

<Snip>
  but nothing PATRIOTISM can't handle.

What can't patriotism handle? I totally want to Strife to meet up with this feller. Can't trust the sovs you know.

[Pandarsenic]

Also, riding reentry in a fridge is perfectly acceptable.  Long John Silver is now stuck on the surface of Mars in refrigerator.  I hope for your sake that someone else lands nearby.

Oh god, what have I done....?

[Sir_Geo]

If possible I'd like to join.
Name: Sergio (nickname Trippy)
Nationality: USA
Gender: Male
Proficiencies: Aeronautical Engineering, equipment operation (knows how to operate much of the equipment he works with), and Mathematics
Survival Story: Was in the cargo pod that housed a lot of the aerial observation equipment and a solar powered plane*. He was looking over some of the equipment with his friend. When the explosion occurred his friend went off to see what had happened. When the ship started to go down he strapped himself in. He broke his leg during the crash and passed out. It is unclear whether anyone else is in the cargo pod except for his friend's pet tarantula that he kept in there for certain reasons (squeamish crew members).

*One of the wings broke during impact.

[Grek]

Roy Boucher
Canadian Male
Specs: Surveying and Radio Opperation&Repair
Bio: Roy once had a dream. He was going to become a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, just as his father and his father's father, was before him. But then he failed the physical exam to get into the force. He would never become a Mountie. His dad called him a failure and threw him out. He ended up working as a surveyor for various businesses, mostly oil drillers and contractors hired to build phone lines. He used to fool around with broken radios as a hobby. All he really ever wanted was to be a mountie and make his parents proud.

He's been selected by the Canadian Government to go to Mars and survey of some of the geography as part of the geological team. When the ship crashed, he was in one of the medical bay complaining about motion sickness. He is currently hiding under a metal table covered in butcher's paper down with his pants off.

[n9103]

But then he failed the physical exam to get into the force.
...
He's been selected by the Canadian Government to go to Mars and survey of some of the geography as part of the geological team.

Of interesting note: The physical testing to be an American astronaut is one of the more rigorous, to include those done by the Military and SWAT.
Not that it would surprise me much that them Canucks would make it harder to be a Mountie than an astronaut.

[Aqizzar]

Alright, I've got all the characters lined up and all the necessary locations designed.  Now I really need to go to sleep.  I'll arrange it all into an actual starting post when I get up, so if anyone still wants to join, now's the time.

Some commentary.  You all did a great job of thinking up survival situations on your own, and I've got a pretty good picture of the vessel and resulting crash.  I figured I'd have to do a lot more initial work, but the aftermath is writing itself.  No one will be in momentary danger when they land, but some people are in more dire situations than others.  This is probably going to be the least random turn in the game, as I'm placing people and resources to encourage finding each other and prioritizing your problems.

I did not expect Deadlycairne's entomology lab, and I love it.  Another possible method of waste-food-recycling now presents itself in his ant farms.  I promised you, life on Mars is going to suck.

Then there's Strife26.  Who the hell brings a trenchcoat to Mars?  I'm a little surprised you didn't squeeze in a katana or something.  On the other hand, you were the only person who thought to bring some reading material.

Sir_Geo, I'll have to change up the plane a little to accommodate physics, but it's a cool enough idea to keep.

[webadict]

Ah man. I'm too late for the party. I'll take an NPC I suppose...

[qwertyuiopas]

WAIITTT..

If I can still get in:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Nickname: Qwerty(optionally Qwertyuiopas)
Gender: Male
Nationality: Canadian(not french-canadian, since those guys are greatly disliked)
Proficiencies: Programming, electronics.
Survival: Was working in a sheltered area on the external surface of somewhere of the station(preferably near someone with mechanics/robotics) to fix some broken electronics(routine maintainence, mostly) and survived due to the space suit and because the module landed with Qwerty on top(avoided death by being crushed).