Is this Some Vindication?

So this news came out recently, the U.S. Navy is getting its ratings back. Needless to say, there has been much rejoicing. I feel what I said back in October was accurate

Found Here. I don't own.

Having spent far too much of my life around the U.S. Navy, I project parts of my experiences on to how I see Traveller's Imperial Navy. I think that other people's experiences affect some of how they see their gaming. I read some entries at The Word of Stelios, and his profession comes up in writing about various historical works. His last line in one review was pretty much: don't pay attention to the details if you know about an era; you'll go mad, is important. Bellisario's Maxim: "Don't examine this too closely," from the famous TV producer, is another item to remember. I try to do this as much as possible in settings. I try for a 'just right' amount of detail. There's enough where I think it is important, but not so much I get lost in the details.

The hard part there is, knowing how much is enough!

I'm not sure where I'm going here, but perhaps, for some it's a way to make comments, for some it is to relax, and others, a way to open up and write. Why are you gaming?

Amber Zone: The Unseen Institute

Believed to be an image of the faculty...

Somewhere on the rimward border rumor has a small group of highly skilled, rather mad psionicists who run an effective near open Psionics Institute. The Solomani frequently claim it's in Imperial Space in the Dabei, Magyar, Solomani Rim, Alpha Crucis, and Old Expanses. The Imperials ususally claim it's on the Solomani side of the truce line. Those of a diplomatic bent claim it's on some backwater in the Reaver's Deep or Hinterworlds. What is known about them follows:

In appearance, it is a normal college from the outside, with a staff of Porters running well manicured grounds. Allegedly, there are far too often ongoing events that spill over from the Psionic talents of the staff and students to escape notice. Unusually, it is almost all men who study here with two exceptions.

The Institute is headed by a man referred to as the Archchancellor. A very powerful psion, he is a large fit man, apparently in his mid 60's. His talents include Clairvoyance and Telepathy. By his manor, he suggests the sort of upper class hunter who would have his own Safari Ship. In addition to his Psionic skills, his skill with a hunting crossbow is unnatural. Don't try and talk to him, he won't even pretend to understand you.

The Bursar of the Institute was once quite talented in Awareness and Telepathy, but was mostly interested in numbers. He still can run the books effectively despite having lost his sanity. Highly skilled and powerful telepaths from the staff are able to induce a hallucination of sanity into him, along with substances derived from poisonous Terran Tree Frogs.

The Dean is an even larger man, requiring two chairs to sit on. This powerful Telekentic and Telepath has two major jobs, attending various functions in the city the Institute is hidden in, and amplyifing any sort of crazy psionic affect in the area. He is rather found of trying martial arts, but the local instructors have been terrorized into understanding that you don't tell a rather powerful psion 'No, you don't have a clue' at their gyms.

Curiously, the Librarian is an uplifted orangutan(1), whose sole psionic talent is Awareness. The most pleasant member of the faculty, he enjoys going to starport bars, playing the organ, and is a member of the local police force's reserve. Only speaking in "Ook" and "Eeek", he nevertheless understands Anglic fluently. Rumor is that calling him a 'Monkey' is a surefire way to find the speaker in the hospital the next morning. He is one of the two exceptions to the Insitute's rule that it's adepts are human males, the other was an extremely strong young woman who gave of the aura you would expect of their usual students. Needless to say, that adept died shortly thereafter.

The Head of Inadvisably Applied Psionic Technology is the youngest member of the faculty, having just completed some of his own studies. He is skilled at Telekinesis and Telepathy, but is really an expert at Psionology. He's also the man the Institute ought to be having talking to the outside world, but this maybe intentional, as this young man is actively involved in a variety of projects inside the Institute, including a combination of psionic talents and high tech computers.

Nifty Things You Can Find!

Sometimes, in reading various Traveller groups and forums, you can find cool things like this "Traveller - in Two Pages." If you find yourself trying to get people interested, it lays out a great basis that most OTU players and fans can agree on.

Also, please don't forget your psi-shield when visiting the Zhodani Base. You never know what that psi might be up. (I am joking in this paragraph).

Hell No, We Want to Go! The Draft and the Third Imperium IMTU

The Draft mechanism has been around since Classic Traveller, and is an interesting artifact of the rules at this point. Considering that Marc Miller is a Vietnam War veteran, and the generation who wrote the game, the idea of a military draft seem natural to them. The problem, lies in scale and the gradual end of conscription in most countries since the 1970's.

With the changes in military technology in the past decades, a short term draftee is no longer a good idea for a solider, and considering that most Traveller characters are going to be experienced with technology at least as advanced to us as ours is to Stephenson's Rocket, the end of conscription for many forces makes sense, as the sheer complexity of the equipment most troops will be equipped with.

Then I come to scale. The massive Third Imperium has enough sophonts that mass conscription would destroy an enemy under sheer weight of numbers, yet this would be impossible due to bottlenecks in interstellar transport. Ships that can carry people are reasonably common IMTU, as anyone from most worlds should have seen one, but the idea of moving a million-man ground force is impractical. The requirements to man most military forces could easily be met by volunteers. As an example, the 1980's US military had over 2,000,000 all volunteer personnel out of a population of 224,000,000. The Imperial forces should be easily manned from volunteers in any case.

That leaves us with the 'Draft' mechanic then, and how to square the circle, metaphorically speaking, of a draft yet having an all volunteer force. Rather than the Chinese model of there being a draft board with a quota for an area that always meets it quota from volunteers, here's how I think of it.

"The Draft" is formally known as the Imperial Service Lottery in law. Unlike traditional forms of conscription, where young men are pulled into the armed forces, the Imperial Service Lottery works in reverse. Any citizen of the Imperium can apply to the Navy, Marines, Army, Merchant hiring service, Scouts, or an Imperial intelligence service or Law Enforcement agency to join. If the prospective recruit cannot obtain a volunteer slot in a service, during a set period,  the prospect is entered in to the Draft. This happens usually on a monthly or quarterly basis. The recruiting managers for the world pull the names entered into the Lottery, and thus receive a partial draft of recruits in this fashion. The service, even if they initially rejected the prospect, must take a draftee. Draftees are required to spend their first term in an enlisted status in the Navy, Marines, and Army. Merchant draftees are assigned to lines with mail contracts, or to a Subsidized Merchant. Scout draftees are infamous for their short careers. Law Enforcement draftees are often assigned to Gendarmes or Starport Security, or other manpower intensive, low skilled tasks. This is, of course, a one-time chance for any applicant.

Putting the Crew Together

Imperial Navy Base Terra, Alice Springs, Central Australia

130-1119

            Ian Brickley had gotten back to Navy HQ at Alice Springs last night, and was checking in at the Personnel Unit at 0800 local time. It had been a rough transition, as he’d been on leave in North America the until the day before. He had first found many world’s day and night cycles difficult to adapt to, as his homeworld of Anacreon is tidally locked. The proceeding eighteen years off his homeworld meant it was normal, but the human body wasn’t meant for a thirteen-hour time zone difference. Still, the time relaxing on a wooded, rocky coastline was a welcome relief from the cramped, aging System Defense Boat he’d been commanding for much of the past six months. He’d taken command of it in late 1118, and the little boat and its crew had done well enough in covering routine inspections, including supporting the still new Terran Commonwealth Navy’s customs inspections. They even had taken part in Exercise RAPID RESPONSE, where the SDB Squadron was loaded onto a dispersed structure bulk carrier to deploy to Fenris, and then ferried back to the Sol sytem.

            Now, he just had his orders to report to the Naval Personnel Unit-Terra and wait. Entering the line marked “JUNIOR OFFICERS”, he thought it could be assignment to the staff pool for a while, or else a transfer to another ship, perhaps as a Department Head, or possibly Executive Officer of a destroyer or escort. As a certainly ambitious officer, there was no limit to what he wanted to next in his career. There were about five of them ahead of him, with three terminals reserved for their use. He patiently made small talk with the engineer sub-lieutenant ahead of him, and the weapons lieutenant behind.

            At the head of the line, he went for the right-hand terminal as it opened. He inserted his ID for a scan, typed in a quick passcode, and the monitor spat up a new set of orders.

TO: LT BRICKLEY, IAN D. IN

FM: PERSSOLRIM, DET TERRA

SUBJ: ORDERS TO COMMAND INS BOXING KANGAROO (UNDER CONST)

He couldn’t believe it. He read through it again, and confirmed it. Command of a starship as a junior officer was one hell of a privilege. The terminal gave him additional instructions, as well. It turned out the Kangaroo was still building, and he would be able to take her out as new construction. Call it the chance of a lifetime, to command and build a ship. Ian knew this would be his best chance to make or break his career. The printer spat out a hard copy with more instructions. His instructions required a meeting with a personnel detailer at 0900, and a meeting at the Ship Planning Building at 1300.

LATER THAT DAY

            Following an exhausting series of meetings, Brickley reported to the Flag Officer Commanding, Naval Base Terra’s office. He had mostly been talking to the yeomen and the Lieutenant Commander flag secretary about the whole process. One of the yeomen noted that her cousin was admitted to the Rim Naval Academy at Dingir for the next term.

            The Flag Lieutenant stepped out of the office, and said, “LT Brickley, the Admiral will see you now,” and held the door open.

            “Congratulations, Captain! You’d better get used to that, you know, with your upcoming position,” Rear Admiral Lady Shana Wooten Taulogo greeted him with a smile. She wore the standard office uniform of a Navy officer. White shirt with ribbons rank epaulettes, black trousers, and shoes. Despite never having met her, Brickley had a chance to examine her official biography beforehand.

            “I’m honored, Admiral, to have this opportunity,” he began. “To gain this opportunity…”

            “Well, with your MCUF as an Ensign, and handling of your SDB this year was more like an old veteran of a planetary navy than a young man whose been on larger ships. You are the sort of officer we want in command….” The Admiral continued into her speech, about how he was the kind of officer they wanted for future command positions, and this was the way to find them.

            The unspoken line is that if I mess up I’ll be pushed aside. At best I’ll find myself ashore until I hit retirement, at worst, cashiered. Brickley thought through the extended speech.

            “Bring in Haidan and Hassan!” she directed her Flag Lieutenant, who opened a door and, and a spacer with a camera, and an obviously prior enlisted Sublieutenant came through.

            “Lt Brickley, this is Sub-Lt Hassan. He’s mustang Astrogator who’ll be your XO,” she introduced him.

            “Pleased to meet you, sir, and I’m looking forward to being your XO,” Hassan spoke with a marked corewards accent, shaking Brickley’s hand strongly.

            “Right, you two will have plenty of time to get along,” the Admiral interrupted. She squared him off, with the spacer holding the camera ready to take the picture, “Lieutenant Brickley, for and by direction of His Imperial Majesty, Strephon, by the authority of the Admiralty Board, I do hereby appoint you to command in construction of the Imperial Naval Ship Boxing Kangaroo, to take affect from this 130^th day of the 1119^th year of the Imperium, 49^th of his Reign. Long Live the Emperor!” she said as she pinned a miniature of the Imperial Sunburst wreathed in laurel on the right breast of his uniform, indicating his office as a commander. They smiled together as the spacer took a picture.

            “Long Live the Emperor!” he responded, and the others in the office chorused as well. This formality underlined his new authority.

            “I’ve got an appointment tonight with my husband, so you two officers can consider yourselves dismissed,” the Admiral noted.

            “Thank you, ma’am. I understand my new duties, Brickley responded. He followed Hassan out the door into the reception room. “Sub-lieutenant, do you have plans for this evening?”

            “No, sir, your plan?” Hassan replied formally.

            “Meet me at the officer’s club at 1830, we’ll get to know each other, and figure some stuff out.”

            “It’s been a pleasure to meet you today sir, and I’ll meet you there.”

1200 local, 131-1119

            It had been a productive morning, Brickley had found. He and Hassan had moved into the command office for new ships. An aging, standard issue office building, the space they received was little more than a tiny office off a slightly larger room that had three desks and a work table. Musty, it was obviously unused in several months. Two spacers from the transfer and training division followed a Chief obviously on his twilight tour who opened the rooms up for them. The spacers had stayed with them to turn on the lights and HVAC, wiped down the table and desks, and cleaned the floor in the main room. They would be back for his office while he and Hassan had lunch. A good couple of newbies, he thought, And maybe I can get them for the Kangaroo. We’re going to need a couple of good basic hands.

One of the highly recommended spacers worked out well for their needs. Within her transfer window, Machinist Mate 1^st Class Juliana Brand had the skills and scores they wanted. She was currently assigned to a forward base and was scheduled to rotate back to Terra next month.

            For the pilot, he had one man in mind. BM3 Zabiyah, the pilot on his old SDB. A young man, but by god, he could fly a starship like it was a fighter in a precision group. A video conference with him and his current chain of command got their approval. He’d be here once the paperwork was processed.

            The final senior rating was the Gunner, and that was GM2 Chishan. He was actually assigned to the Naval Personnel Unit on Alice Springs, and he would be reporting shortly this afternoon.

            “Well, that settles it for our Navy side, sir,” Hassan spoke up, shutting down his computer on Brickley’s desk. “I’m not sure how we’re going to get our Marines though.”

            “Well, we have some time. I’d like to have them earlier to get them integrated, but to be honest, they aren’t going to be much use in the yard. Besides, we’ll just be getting a Boat from Fleet Stock,” Brickley replied.

            “Right. And we’re getting our first actual member of the crew today..” Hassan trailed off.

            “Make it a long lunch. I’m tired of mostly seeing your old mug around here,” Brickley replied jokingly.

            “But you’re going to see a lot of it! I’ll make myself scare until 1330, anyhow. Give those two kids plenty of time to goldbrick in here. They deserve it though.”

            “Right, I’ll see you about then, and get our first crewmember checked in.”

TNS Message:

Terra/Solomani Rim                  128-1119

Officials at Terra announced today that the freighter Alcibiades is reported overdue at Barnard Highport, and is now officially considered missing. The J-2 capable vessel, leased by Tukera lines to Lambeth Factors, LIC, of Terra, left Terra over a month ago, bound for Barnard en route to Nuskan, and did not exit jump when scheduled. Alcibiades transmitted the normal messages before entering jump, and reported all systems working perfectly upon arrival at the jump point. Analysis of the jump signature on departure indicated nothing unusual.

A search of expected arrival points Barnard system revealed no recent debris, and no distress calls or other messages have been received. All systems within 36 parsecs are on alert for a possible misjump. The official announcement indicated there is no evidence of hijacking or sabotage, but these and other possibilities cannot be discounted until more evidence comes to light.

Ignoring Current Foolishness

Last year, I put together a fairly long post on assigning rates in the Imperial Navy, and now there is this piece of insanity to abolish the rating system. I am not much of a fan of this for a variety of reasons. It also does not change my vision of the Imperial Navy's enlisted personnel.

Found via other social media

First, the ratings system is and was evolutionary. It has changed over time, if one looks at lists over time, the different professions have come and gone. Boatswain, Gunner, Quartermaster, and Yeoman (it doesn't matter if they are wearing short red skirts) are long standing titles that I see never disappearing as they directly relate to work being done and have vital roles. Some, like Sailmaker, have gone over time. Others may come back.

Second, it's an incredibly unpopular personnel decision. This reminds me a bit of the 1970's change to put everyone in Officer/CPO style uniforms. Those were gone within a decade. There was nobody really asking to change the system for the ratings, and the push back at this point with a petition already available tells me this will only last until there is enough time to find out how little people like the idea.

Third, it's in My Traveller Universe. I can run it any way I want. Enough for you? And I wanted to say something about the current mess we're in.

Even Obi-Wan feels it.

Just as an FYI, I am still interested in how the Royal Navy and similarly organized fleets have their divisions set up.

The Veteran's Jacket

In some regions, it is common to see men and women who have served in an armed force or who have traveled for long journeys across the stars to either purchase or obtain a jacket of this type.

Usually, it is either a jack or mesh jacket, but in some areas a synthetic fiber jacket is the base. The left breast has the individual's name, final rank, and service in all cases. Pilot will wear flight wings appropriate to their service, Army veterans may wear regimental insignia here, and Marines wear the badge of their Corps. Call signs would go here as well. The right often has a command insignia, or may be blank. The right shoulder carries the national or mercenary command logo the wearer is most comfortable with. The left may have a different command's insignia, especially if the wearer served in combat. The back of the jacket, though, is often the most intricately decorated. It often has patches of vehicles the wearer drove, ships served on, major exercises, and historic incidents avoided or participated in. It is almost a visual resume of the wearer's experiences. So if you hear the old Sarge is going out to the frontier, a good retirement gift is a mesh or jack with something to note his service. It might save his life or get him in with the right people.

Cost: Easily twice to three times the base cost for jack or mesh armor. This could be Cr 300 or more.

Legality: Because these are mostly seen as 'keepsakes' and a part of Travelling culture, most law enforcement will not overly harass wearers of these jackets. However, if the 'privilege' is being abused, expect some kind of social sanction, such as being followed, or denouncement by a local veterans organizations.

I got this idea from having seen customized MA-1 jackets by more recent US veterans, and the old flight jackets with custom paint jobs. My grandfather had a custom silk embroidered jacket made for him in Japan during the Korean War.

Adventure Seed: The Old Jacket in the Window
While going about their business in startown, one of the characters (preferably of a military or related background) notes the presence of a veteran's jacket in the window of a pawn shop. The insignia is one of the familiar 179th Fighter Squadron (The Bulldogs), with several familiar looking emblems. Examining the jacket, it turns out it was the property of one Lieutenant Willem Amador, an acquaintance of the character's. A check with the owner turns out that it had been sold to him a few weeks before by a spacer who was in need of quick cash. It's on sale for only Cr 200, well under what these jackets are made for, and it's sentimental value.

1. The jacket was sold by Amador. He was medically retired, and can barely support himself and his family. He will be grateful for any assistance, and would greatly appreciate it's return.

2. Amador died on a journey to or through this world. It was sold by the crew of the ship he was traveling on. His body is preserved in a cryogenic capsule in the starport morgue, with no next of kin on world. It turns out his homeworld is a nearby world. Would the character help an old comrade home one last time?

3. There is a storage chip hidden in the lining, containing a message. It turns out that Amador was murdered while serving as an officer courier. The message tells the characters to turn in the message to the Senior Naval Officer present in a nearby system. What the information does is up to the GM. It may start a war, prevent a war, or draw the characters into a web of espionage.

4. As above, but the message reveals the free trader Amador was on working with a pirate gang. He gives valuable information about where this gang operates from.

5. Amador is very much alive. His jacket was lost on a voyage near the system, and the man who sold it to the pawnbroker was a spacer who was ordered to get rid of it. Help Amador embarrass the man who wanted to be rid of the jacket rather than return it, and earn either a hefty reward, or an ongoing patron, as well as maintain a contact.

6. Amador passed away, but the Bulldogs would like his jacket back. It turns out their main ready room has a collection of fallen members jackets. Return it to them, and become members of their family. Merchant PC's may get charters to support them on operations, and passengers from time to time from the squadron. Who knows what help a network of fighter pilots might offer you.

Image by Rod Thompson at http://alesmiter.blogspot.com/

UPDATE: 9:46 PM:  here's my grandfather's jacket from the Korean War era.

Uniforms and Rank Insignia In My Traveller Universe

I admit: I enjoy militaria, and can get really engrossed in the minituae of uniforms. If I wore them more often, I would get a set of liberty cuffs for my dress blues. My preference for the Imperial Navy in Traveller is heavily based on modern, since World War II, navy uniforms

Interestingly, the Navy has not recieved the sort of description of it's  uniforms in the materials I have available. GURPS Traveller: Ground Forces notes:

The Marines of two levels of full dress uniform. The first, more common outfit is dress black. This uniform is a variation of the Navy's dress uniform and is cut the same way, a black high-collared, single-breasted jacket, trimmed in Maroon, with a prominent Imperial sunburst. (p.39)

Of course, the Navy's would have a gold sunburst, and no maroon trim. Marin J. Dougherty's Sector Fleet, provides for a "Duty Suit" on page 88, noting "The standard duty uniform of the naval personnel is a TL-14 tailored vacuum suit," and goes on to describe it as more of a plug-in to a ship's system than an independent duty suit. Standard vacc suits are available for personnel whose duties require them.

Sean Connery in "The Hunt for Red October." Image from IMDB

So, I am thinking the standard dress uniform looks kind of like the picture at right, except a large gold Imperial sunburst on one sleeve at the seam. I also would replace the Russian-style rank insignia with a more common one. I prefer the ranks of the Royal Canadian Navy as a basis, with the obvious addition of the Royal Navy Admiral of the Fleet sleeve insignia. Part of it is how Naval officer insignia, especially sleeve insignia, are easily recognized internationally. Another is how the Imperial Navy, like the Third Imperium, draws it's legitimacy and past from the Rule of Man, which was set up by the Terran Navy, who I would think, being descended from the various National contingents of the Interstellar Wars, would have standardized on insignia quickly. It may be parochial, but it's also an easy visual shorthand, and immediately understandable.

Artist:  http://robcaswell.deviantart.com/
Found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/travellerrpg/

Then, there's the Scout Service. Largely an informal group of people doing a great deal of things for the Imperium. In my Traveller Universe, they don't really wear official uniforms. Yes, they will have a largely similar appearance, but that's more from function. I am thinking of some sort of European Imperialist trying to set up a 'government' in Darkest Africa circa 1870, or Roy Chapman Andrews in Outer Mongolia. Hardwearing clothing, sometimes in various shades of tan, or whatever color the scout desires. The cut and design may be different, but there is always the blood-red on black sunburst, and field office emblem. Larger ships, like the Lightning-class cruisers assigned to the IISS are going to have more official uniforms, and may even wear airline style epaulets designating rank. Members of the bureaucracy working in offices are going to mostly be in pretty standard civilian dress for their jobs. Personnel, administrators would be dressed for an office, scientists will be appropriately set up for a lab, base crew ready for work in the worst possible weather. Office bound types in suits would wear the blood red sunburst as a lapel pin, while many ground crew would also have a badge or jersey denoting function. X-boat pilots, as part of their complete disregard for other sophonts and good taste, wear Aloha shirts and cargo shorts. The other exception would be security forces for large scout bases. They could wear typical police or army duty uniforms, but with Scout Service badges.

So, comments, questions, or do you think I am barking up the wrong tree here?

CPL Bartlemo Afari, Marine Ship's Boat Pilot and the Crew

I have had this character profile done for a while, I am just being lazy here.

Imperial Marine Corporal Bartelemo Afari is a native Terran who joined the Imperial Marines at the age of 18. Noting his incredible reflexes, he was quickly trained as Marine Flight Crew. Like many natives of humaniti's homeworld, Afari had to prove his loyalty to the Imperium, considering it was about a year after the end of the occupation. He found himself in a closely watched role as flight crew for the Imperial Legation, where his talent got him noticed as an excellent Marine and loyalty for the Imperium.

The next term, then Marine 1st Class Afari was assigned to support anti-terrorism forces in the Rim, where he quickly became the go-to man for flying. He worked with now GMT2 Chishan as well, who was supporting some of the operations as part of a Naval Fire Support Team, the guys calling in the fire from "Big Daddy", in support against occasions where insurgents had found heavy weapons.

He has spent the past year as a duty small craft pilot assigned to Naval Base Terra, and was on frequent runs to Luna. His assignment to the Boxing Kangaroo is much awaited as a return to a more operational role.

Mongoose Traveller 1e Stats
STR 8
DEX C
END 9
INT 8
EDU 9
SOC 8

Animals 0
Athletics 0
Battle Dress 0
Carouse 0
Drive 0
Gun Combat (Energy Rifle) 1
Heavy Weapons (Manpack Artillery) 0
Melee (Blade) 1
Mechanic 1
Pilot (Small Craft) 2
Stealth 1
Streetwise 0
Tactics (Ground) 0

The rest of the crew is going to get very short write ups, pretty much a UPP, and skills. They will get further descriptions when they

Spacehand Apprentice Amos Owen 889986, Human Male Age 20, Discipline 1, Gun Combat (Energy Rifle) 0, Gunner (Turrets) 1, Pilot 0, Mechanic 0, Vacc Suit 0, Zero-G 0

Able Spacehand Opal Hall 698683, Human Female Age 21, Discipline 1, Gun Combat (Slug Pistol) 0, Gunner (Turrets) 1, Pilot 1, Mechanic 0, Vacc Suit 0, Zero-G 0

Spacehand Recruit Ollie Castillo 887768, Human Male Age 19, Discipline 1, Gun Combat (Energy Rifle) 0, Gunner (Turrets) 1, Pilot 0, Mechanic 0, Vacc Suit 0, Zero-G 0

Fireman Silas Kidd 758796, Human Male age 21,  Discipline 0, Engineer (Jump Drive) 1, Gun Combat (Slug Rifle) 0, Pilot 0, Mechanic 1, Vacc Suit 1, Zero-G 0

Fireman Apprentice Valentina Maurer 764885, Human Female age 20,  Discipline 0, Engineer (Maneuver Drive) 1, Gun Combat (Slug Rifle) 0, Pilot 0, Mechanic 1, Vacc Suit 0, Zero-G 0

Marine First Class Comgan Appledorn B78956, Human Male Age 21 Athletics 0, Battledress 1, Gun Combat (Energy Rifle) 1, Heavy Weapons (Manpack Artillery) 0, Melee (Blade) 1, Perform (Bagpipes) 1, Stealth 0, Tactics (Ground) 0

Marine First Class Sadaf Fini 8A7676, Human Female Age 20 Athletics 0, Battledress 1, Gun Combat (Energy Rifle) 1, Heavy Weapons (Manpack Artillery) 0, Melee (Blade) 1, Perform (Drums) 1, Stealth 0, Tactics (Ground) 0

Marine Adan Hoedmaeker 878976, Human Male Age 19 Athletics 0, Battledress 1, Gun Combat (Energy Rifle) 1, Heavy Weapons (Manpack Artillery) 0, Melee (Blade) 1, Stealth 0, Tactics (Ground) 0

Marine Jian Yap 886686, Human Male Age 20 Athletics 0, Battledress 0, Gun Combat (Energy Rifle) 1, Heavy Weapons (Manpack Artillery) 0, Melee (Blade) 1, Medic 1, Stealth 0, Tactics (Ground) 1

Marine First Class Dionyz Franke A98774, Human Male Age 21 Athletics 0, Battledress 0, Gun Combat (Energy Rifle) 1, Heavy Weapons (Manpack Artillery) 0, Melee (Blade) 1, Mechanic 1, Stealth 0, Tactics (Ground) 0

Marine Azubuike Binici 77B648, Human Male Age 19, Athletics 0, Battledress 0, Flyer (Grav) 1, Gun Combat (Energy Rifle) 1, Heavy Weapons (Manpack Artillery) 0, Melee (Blade) 1, Stealth 0, Tactics (Ground) 0

Classic Traveller Generation For Fun

So last night I rolled up a couple of quick Classic Traveller characters using my copy of The Traveller Book. It was pleasantly fast, only about half an hour or so for two characters. My only complaint is how unforgiving the re-enlistment rolls are in CT. I rather like how Mongoose Traveller pulls re-enlistment in to promotion, as it gives the player more decisions to make.

Here is who I rolled up:

Major Arne Hilton 787AA6, 2 Terms Army, Rifle-1, SMG-1 Grav Vehicle-1, Electronics-1, Tactics-1, CR 50000

Commander Baroness Marian Burch 4759AC 5 Terms Navy, Foil-1, Administration-2, Computer-2, Engineering-1, Vacc Suit-1, Pilot-1, Gunnery-1, CR 26000, Foil, 2 High Passage, Pension Cr4000

Got any ideas on how to flesh them out? They may still be useful as NPC's in any Traveller edition.

Below the fold are the die rolls for generation.

UPDATE: My read on the Major, as well.

So, What Books Have Influenced Your Campaign?

Seeing how Appendix N from the original Dungeons and Dragons seems to be a thing, and this particular review of A Spaceship for the King, kind of got me an idea of what books are going to influence how I run this particular set of adventures. In no particular order at this point, other than what comes to mind.

• Space Cadet, Robert A. Heinlein. It's mostly a coming of age tale, but the how and why of "groundhogs" to "spacers" is a good idea for portraying the new recruit into the space service. Also, the various skill sets an officer must have, that don't involve anything to do with operating a space craft are covered. "I will eat pie with a fork," indeed.
• Starman Jones, Robert A. Heinlein. A workman like coming of age tale, the idea of a farmboy getting off planet and into a controlled profession is an excellent idea. The Earth described in this, with hereditary professions and high technology, could be applied to a high law level world in Traveller.
• Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein. It's the ur-example of powered armor. IMTU, this influences how Battle Dress operates.
• The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy. The techno-thriller postdates Traveller by several years, but this one offers a well paced story, and includes a very important enlisted man.
• Jerry Mitchell series, Larry Bond with Chris Carlson. A series of very accurate modern techno-thrillers about a submariner, covering his career, based on various tours of duty. It's a good way to get an idea for what a navy officer's career is like.
• Technic History, Poul Anderson. Nicholas van Rijn and David Falkayn are what your everyday group of Travellers are, while Dominic Flandry is an example of the adventures that can be had for serving officers.
• Casino Royale, Ian Flemming. A deftly written espionage story, with little of the gadgetry from the movies. Also, both sides can have the same goal for different purposes for one mission, yet remain adversaries.
• On Basilisk Station, David Weber. The initial outing in the long running Honor Harrington series, this first book is a good stand alone. A junior officer is shuffled off after embarassing the high and mighty, and manages to do her duty, above and beyond what is required.
• Horatio Hornblower series, C. S. Forester. This epic series is a classic of naval literature and adventure. It could be another campaign inspiration, or a possible NPC source. Both filmed adaptations, Gregory Peck and Ioan Griffud in the title role, are good enough.
• Foundation, Isaac Asimov. Really just the initial book and it's story. Psychohistory, a Long Night, and preserving the ideas of civilization. Does Strephon have pyschoistorians advising him? How well does pyschohistory work in my Traveller universe? Doesn't matter at the level I'm playing at, but some of the ideas on how cultures change and adapt are important, as well as who takes over when the Empire recedes.

And a bonus movie:

• The Sand Pebbles, directed by Robert Wise. In some ways, this is how I see a lot of Imperial Navy crews on the frontier. They can live the good life because of relatively high wages, and mistreat the locals. A few manage to break out of it, but most are content with their abuses. Junior officers are often finding themselves to make fateful decisions.

Questions, comments, and flames are nice, but venting spleen about the problems of the universe at me is not welcome.

Tech Levels and Year

I've seen the question "What year was tech level X first reached?" come around a few times in various discussions online for Traveller. Here's my research on it for Imperial Society:

TL 11, defined as Jump 2, was first achieved during the 1st Imperium. 909 BCE (c. -5422 Imperial) is given in GURPS Traveller on page 47 in the side bar. This may have been the maximum technology level during the Long Night for production purposes.

TL 12, defined as Jump 3 and Meson weapons, was developed by the Terrans around -2284, and deployed within a decade. The Terran Confederation and the Rule of Man are not known to have exceeded this technological development. However, an out of the way lab could have made some TL 13 prototypes...

TL 13 was developed before 624, when the Xboat system was first established. So it roughly corresponds to the Imperial Civil War era.

TL 14 was matured by the late 900's, when the J-5 capable Azhanti High Lightning class Fleet Intruders were produced.

TL 15 breakthroughs were made following the Rim War from 990 to 1002. It is specifically noted the demands of the Rim War led the Imperium to make the breakthroughs required for TL 15.

I have excluded the Darrians, as they mess it all up and their discoveries were not widespread. I have the suspicion much of their work was more theoretical than anything. I heavily relied upon the Library Data in GURPS Traveller, and the history section in Rim of Fire, as well as Mongoose Traveller 1e Core Book to give the dates and defining the technology levels.

Also, this falls seriously close to a fan wank here, but this might also be of some use. It's almost more detail than would be useful in my games, but it's still useful to the fandom at large.

UPDATE: Thanks to a response on the thread I started for this at Citizens of the Imperium, I learned this information. It comes from the MegaTraveller Referee's Companion.

• The Syleans maintained TL 10, that is basic jump capacity through the entire Long Night period.

• TL 11 was re-established by -650, with the establishment of the Sylean Federation.
• TL 12 was re-established by -150, when robot manufacturing commenced. This makes sense, as the Shudusham Concords date from -110.
• TL 13 was re-established by 300, during the Vargr Campaigns.
• TL 14 was a result of the X-boat system being built, thus from 700.
• TL 15 developments were from the Solomani Rim War, and dates from 1000.

Sending in the Marines: SGT Guy Valdez, Marine Squad Leader

The Boxing Kangaroo has a small Imperial Marine Detachment of eight. They are led by SGT Guy Valdez, a native of Banadsan/Banadsan (SR 2920). A rather drab and uncomfortably crowded world, it produces a good number of people for the Imperial Service. Guy Valdez wanted off the world, and managed to convince an Imperial Marine recruiter that he was good enough to be one of those chosen souls. He showed it his first enlistment, where he was noted as being an excellent trooper and a candidate leadership.

His next term was an assignment to anti-terrorist operations on the Rim, and his unit was noted as being particularly successful. A reporter wrote a major book about, as did one officer, that were combined into a holovid miniseries. This gave Marine 1st Class Valdez a bit of notoriety, and a small gain in social standing. He was selected for and promoted to Corporal at this time. With the exception of being on a short media tour, he calls this a 'happy time'

The past three years saw him advanced to Sergeant, and his skill set deepened. Working security on for an Explosive Ordinance Disposal team near the Navy base at Ys/Gemini (SR 1732), an improvised explosive device set up as a secondary booby trap knocked his suit of Battle Dress around a bit, leading to a rather nasty scar on his nose and forehead. It has barely slowed him down.

Mongoose Traveller 1e Statistics:

Sergeant Guy Valdez, Imperial Marines, age 29

STR A
DEX 8
END B
INT 8
EDU 8
SOC 8

Athletics 0
Battle Dress 1
Computers 0
Explosives 1
Flyer 0
Gunnery (Turret) 1
Gun Combat (Energy Rifle) 1
Heavy Weapons 1
Leadership 1
Melee (Cutlass) 1
Melee (Unarmed) 1
Stealth 0
Streetwise 0
Tactics (Ground) 1
Zero-G 1

Image is from SJ Games GURPS Traveller: Star Mercs, found at this location.

Library Data Update: Smade's Planet

Smade's Planet/Gemini (SR 2433) has experienced a growth in population and local wealth. Exploiting it's position as a neutral world between two hostile states, it currently serves as a conduit for information across the armistice line, and a deal of tourism. Currently, population is believed to number several thousand, but the anarchy present on the world makes it difficult to know if these are either permanent residents or temporary hires on term contracts supporting tourism or other services. Both the Imperial and Solomani Navies have deployed patrol craft to the system for observation and conduct outbound customs checks, but local consuls are have set up a system to minimize interference on the other nation, and set up temporary visas.

UWP is now D778300-5.

The Leading Gunner and the Pilot

Today, I offer you a two-for one special, and rounding out the collection of Naval personnel who actually matter aboard the Boxing Kangaroo.

The head weaponeer is GMT2 Tsang Chishan. He is a 29 year old native of Cathay/Vega (SR 2012). Like many from his world who have left, he is (quietly) disappointed with the nature of the theocratic government. His family has long been low end merchants in an Open Commercial Zone abutting the starport. One of the reasons Cathay has its large Naval Base is it is a recruit depot for for the Vega Subsector, and it takes in a large number of disaffected youths.

His initial term in the Navy was heavily schooling based, with him attending an advanced gunnery school, along with the typical promotion schedule.

The next term, however, was not. While involved in furious combat with raiders in the Boskone system (SR 1214), he managed to disable one ship's main drive with a good shot, and was promoted to Gunner's Mate (Turrets) 3rd Class.

In the past few years, he had a fairly quiet career, but while serving as part of a Naval Fire Support Team on an exercise, his swift thinking ensured the ships conducting the live fire portion of the training did not affect the Marine unit he was working with. This quick thinking lead to his promotion to Gunner's Mate 2nd Class. He also met Marine Corporal Bartelemo Afari, who also will be part of the Kangaroo's Marine Detachment.

Mongoose Traveller 1e Stats
STR 4
DEX A
END 9
INT 9
EDU 7
SOC 4

Animals 0
Computer 1
Comms 1
Discipline 1
Engineer (Electronics) 1
Gun Combat (Shotguns) 2
Gunner (Turret) 3
Gunner (Bays) 1
Mechanic 1
Pilot (Starship) 1
Recon 1
Sensors 0
Streetwise 0
Social Science (Philospohy/Tianhe) 0
Vacc Suit 0
Zero-G 0

Rogier Zabiyah is almost the stereotype of smart kids who don't have much going for them who join the Navy. A dry place with not much going for it other than a large starport and Navy base, Imarir/Suleiman (SR 1510) is the kind of place a smart man wants to leave and not return. Especially when he got into trouble with a gang outside of the starport a week before he enlisted.

Almost as soon as he started his career, BM3 was noted as having an almost supernatural skill at piloting the starships and large craft of the Navy. This lead to a close call as far as living, but he made it through, and was promoted.

After this, he was assigned to the helm branch and rated a Boatswain's Mate. He was promoted to Third class about a year after this in an incident where a misjump occurred taking his destroyer to Mirabilis/Capella, across the truce line. His skill at piloting lead to them being able to quickly refuel at an outer gas giant, and then jump out to Sarpedon and it's Imperial Naval Base. In the ensuing investigation, he was noted for his quick thinking, and decorated with the MCUF. Much of the rest of the bridge staff was cashiered, or re-assigned far from the truce line. He has spent the past year with LT Brickley, as the pilot of a Dragon-class SDB.

Mongoose Traveller 1e Stats
STR 7
DEX B
END 7
INT 9
EDU 8
SOC 6

Animals 0
Astrogation 0
Discipline 1
Gun Combat (Slug Pistol) 0
Gunner (Turrets) 1
Life Science (Ecology) 1
Mechanic 1
Perform (Bosun's Whistle) 1
Pilot (Starship) 3
Pilot (Small Craft) 1
Survival 0
Sensors 1
Vacc Suit 0
Zero-G 0

Another Way to Finance a Ship

While most players are familiar with the use of mortgages for purchasing starships, historically, another method was use for the purchase of ships. I learned about this at the Maine Maritime Museum a few weeks ago on vacation.

Basically, it's setting up a small corporation or partnership to own it.

On the Maine coast, ships, like the massive six masted schooner Wyoming, would have shares sold on the basis of one sixty fourth of the cost to build the ship. One share would be for the Captain, and usually the man or firm who bought the most shares would be the nominal 'owner' and make the decision on naming the ship. Ownership as little as one twelfth of the whole ship would be a man the owner.

As a comparison, Wyoming cost $175,000 to build in 1909, about $4,400,000 today. This compares to the MCr 37.08 cost of a Classic Traveller Type A, or MCr 36.57 for Mongoose Traveller 1e. That puts one share in Classic Traveller at Cr 579,375, or MgT Cr 571,3593.38. You can spread out the risk across more shareholders than the standard sole proprietor owner-operator free trader.

While this option would mean your ship can no longer operate that freely, as it's now the property of a group of people, there is no longer the overhead of owing the mortgage payment each month. Instead, any return after 'overhead' is complete gets split up into the ownership group as a return of capital. This does mean the captain needs to get his annual maintenance in, though. Smart captains might seek to start buying out some of the smaller shareholders also.

For those Travellers who wish to purchase a ship in this method, I recommend having a Bwap purser, working through Hortalez et Cie, LIC or another Megacorporate banking arm, or being willing to take on an accountant.

The Engineer and Ship's LPO

The core of any military team is it's experienced leadership, and MM1 Juliana Brand provides this as Ship's LPO and Chief Engineer.

Officially, she is MM1 Lady Juliana McAuley Brand, IN. As a younger child of the Marquis of Saagii/Madoc (Diaspora 2333), she was unhappy about her essential position in life on Saagii: go to a comfy College or University, and enter the bureaucracy or become a pawn in the Noble Game her father and older brother were intent on playing. Showing a streak of independence while at the end of her private education, she spoke with the recruiting Chief at the Saagii Starport. She had two requests: to be in another sector, and to be just another spacer. The latter was easy, but the second was a bit tougher. She was able to talk her uncle into taking her with on a trip to Eleusis/Concord where he was taking a swordsmanship class. She left him with a note for her parents that she did not intend to return home and was enlisting. After a few years, they did send her a message via X-mail. Her uncle still thinks it was a great trip, and fun.

Recruit training was difficult, but by no means did she fail. Her first posting ran into trouble, when as part of an inspection party on a free trader it turned violent, and gave her both experience with a blade, and a long term aversion to personal combat. She doesn't mind ship weapons launches, but locks up when in personal combat. Her first term saw her promoted to Able Spacehand, and she requested training in an Engineering rate.

She was approved to become a Machinist Mate, and completed that training quickly. Her aptitude for this work was noted as being unmatched, seeing her quickly make MM3.

The following term saw her continue to grow as a spacer and mechanic. This was marred by an illness and liberty incident in cold water contracted while working at the Naval Base at Kidashi/Albadawi. The viral infection followed up the near hypothermia she experienced, and reduced her Endurance. Her promotion status was never in doubt despite this incident.

Her prior tour was uneventful, but she did meet Marine then Corporal Guy Valdez, who is also coming to the Kangaroo as the Sergeant leading the Marine Detachment.

Mongoose Traveller 1e Stats:

STR 5
DEX 8
END 6
INT 9
EDU 8
SOC C
Age 34

Animals 0
Art (Singing) 0
Carouse 1
Computers 1
Discipline 1
Engineer (Power Plant) 3
Gun Combat (Pistol) 0
Jack of All Trades 1
Leadership 1
Mechanic 2
Melee (Blade) 1
Pilot (Starship) 0
Vacc Suit 1
Zero-G 1

More Additions to the Blogroll

I'm adding Yet Another Traveller Blog  and The Zhodani Base to the blogroll. If you have a Traveller Blog, please add me!

Rolling the Dice on Working Passage

Over at Twilight of the GM there's a good post on low cost travel. I'm more interested in the Working Passage section. I'm assuming that most Traveller players are familiar enough with the risks of low passage, and quite honestly, IMTU there's little need for stowaways from able bodied workers.

He's got a good point that most spacers seeking working passage are going to be rather down on their luck, and really the Loneliest Man on the Ship. He's not part of the team that's the crew, yet he's not part of the passengers. In frontier and unsettled areas, a man working his passage is really a quasi-legal form of slavery. Limited in length, but there's little, if any, redress possible to the Captain's authority. Good captains are not going to have much of a problem with crew retention, but sometimes there may be issues in the crew that require a spot correction.

Also, I am of the opinion that in most universes for Traveller, there is going to be some sort of Hiring Hall or Guild for Starfarers in decent sized ports. Perhaps along the lines of modern maritime unions, or maybe in the model of the Worshipful Company of Shipbuilders or Honorable Company of Master Mariners. Generally, rolls for people looking for Working Passage should be based on Technology Level and size of the port.  A guild member in good standing would be more likely to be trusted than some random spacer looking for work and desperate to leave, and only recommended by charitable organizations. If a guild member is mistreated by the Captain, the Captain can receive penalties the next time he stops at that port, or possibly loose his own membership (mistreats brother spacers!). This is a way to cover from a player missing from the session.

If the PC's are operating a starship, you can also use Working Passage to introduce characters like a Rhysling, or a older, semi-retired spacer, who perhaps is a contact of one of the crewmen, and takes Working Passages on a few starships with good routes to see the universe. Working passage, spend a while on planet, and then look for another to get home, or keep going, Think of the old James Garner movies "Support Your Local Sheriff!" and "Support Your Local Gunfighter" where the hero is going through to somewhere else, or Lazarus Long at the time of the "The Tale of the Adopted Daughter" . If they turn out to like the old codger, there's a ready made adventure hook.

Abandon Ship! Not quite...

Here's an interesting post I got via the Classic Traveller G+ group.

I left an extended comment on how also to conceive of escape attempts, and that while unlikely, a life boat of some sort may be nice to have.

Book Review: Terminal Lance: The White Donkey

Terminal Lance has been around for a while, and is kind of a guilty pleasure to me, a non-combat veteran and a Navy type. However, Maximilian Uriarte has been one of the first and consistent voices on military life and issues in the past few years. He’s covered everything from the insanity of uniform issues (see here) to garden variety gripes and notes like how unpleasant MRE’s are. His three times a week strip is largely slice of life humor, but The White Donkey is a more serious work. Here, Abe and Garcia go from a pair of junior enlisted jokers that are easily transformed into guys the (military reader) would be familiar with to far more real Marines.

The plot question is largely Abe trying to understand why he joined the Marines, and what he was looking for when he joined. The story is fairly episodic, with it kicking off on a training exercise that culminates in an extension because the very green platoon leader misplaces his rifle. There’s a flashback sequence with Abe’s not-quite-girlfriend where the question comes up as well. The next episode is a pre-deployment exercise at Twenty-nine Palms, CA, and then some leave time. Abe and Garcia are inseparable buddies here, and being from the same state, end up on the same flight home on leave that serves as another major episode. Mr. Uriarte handles the dealing with family members as well, with the leave episode, and an unpleasant exchange with Abe’s sister. The pre-deployment section ends with a briefing on where the Iraq episodes will take place.

Operation Iraqi Freedom is a major event in the story, and it was for the Army and Marine veterans who served during that time frame. The titular white donkey appears, and it stops the convoy that Abe and Garcia are in. The minutiae of war from the bottom appears in several stories. Sweeping for fragments of IED’s, working with the Iraqi police (who initially lacked uniforms, so wore day-glow belts to denote their status), and little operations as well. However, the story goes from slice of life, to a much darker tone when Abe ends up shooting an innocent man who was charging a checkpoint. He is shook up about it, yet his NCO comes in, and talks with him about how what he did, was not a bad thing. Next it’s back to slice of life, but Abe’s crisis gets worse. A conversation with and Iraqi police officer, at this point uniformed, shows how out of touch Abe has become. It culminates when the normal vehicle commander cannot do a mission, and he makes Abe the commander for one. On this fateful mission, it gets worse, and events lead to Abe, seen as a guy who has potential, going out of control. Once he goes home on leave after Iraq, he does little but drink, and leaves a bar he’s met some old friends with because he can’t stand the “Did you kill anyone?” question. In a drunken stupor, he drives off, and it comes to an emotional end.

This is a good story about what happens, yet its rawness maybe off putting to some. In some ways it reminds me of King Rat, and The Things They Carried, as both are wartime stories written to help the author come to terms with what he saw. And combat, especially combat, is hell on our minds. We train and socialize ourselves from infancy that violence to others is not acceptable, and this is the one time that taboo goes away. About the last third of the story is dealing with that stark fact.

Applying this to Traveller is fairly straight forward. The US Marines have been an influence, even subconsciously, on how American players have seen the Imperial Marines, but this can also be for any veteran character, particularly single term troops of any service. An issue that came up from his personality, or other reasons. Also, the episodes of the training and combat sections are useful in ideas for scenarios in military and mercenary games. The boot lieutenant forgetting his weapon, cadre instruction on finding IEDs, and joking around with some buddies when a round comes through randomly are nice little starts for a session. Also, the characters can serve as valuable NPC portrayals as ideas for how to play troops on the front line.

The XO

All ships need an capable right hand man, and someone the entire crew will respect. In the case of the Boxing Kangaroo, that man is Sublieutenant Eneri Mohammed Hassan, a veteran of far too many years of service in Strephon's fleet at age 41. He wears three hats aboard the Kangaroo, XO, Astrogator, and Senior Watch Officer.

A native of Kagaushus/Kerr (Massila 0402), he enlisted as a young man to escape the unpleasantness of that world. Over time, he grew into a man who knows the space ways. His initial service was uneventful, save for an incident where on brig detail, he was forced to subdue an unlucky soul attempting to escape. This earned him meritorious promotion to Able Spacehand. He began his specialization in Astrogation at this point.

He announced at the beginning of his next term he wanted to strike* Quartermaster. He easily passed those requirements, and was promoted to Quartermaster 3rd Class. Assigned to a ship conducting a tour of the client states in the Delphi Sector's trailing region, he learned wilderness survival.

His next tour was in the Old Expanses, where conflict with Solomani renegades earned him a nasty little scar across the chest, and he got handy with a cutlass. This tour led to his promotion to Quartermaster 2nd Class.

The fourth tour was to the Naval Depot in the Solomani Rim as a staff Astrogation Assistant. Then Quartermaster 2nd Class Hassan met a young widow working in the Personnel Section, and began a relationship with her. This persuaded him to apply himself and pass the exam for Quartermaster 1st Class.

Shortly thereafter, he found himself working closely with the senior officers of Sylea-class Battleship INS Nagiida. Working hard, he gained the reputation as the leader of the Astrogation Section, and the confidence of the Captain. There may be something regarding a liberty incident neither will speak about. He capped off this tour with selection for Chief Petty Officer, and award of the Long Service Medal.

Prior to his assignment to the Kangaroo, he was conducting a counter piracy mission, where it turned out that one of the suspects was the former spacer he had an altercation with as an Able Spacehand. He worked with the man to ensure a reduction in sentence by turning Emperor's Evidence, and it allowed the rest of the gang to be broken, earning Eneri a Meritorious Performance of Duties citation. He followed this up with a commission, and recently completed education for his current role, after a brief apprentice cruise.

Mongoose Traveller 1e Statistics
STR 7
DEX A
END 9
INT A
EDU 9
SOC 7

Administration 0
Astrogation 3
Comms 1
Computers 2
Discipline 0
Gun Combat(Rifle) 1
Mechanic 0
Melee (Blades) 1
Pilot/Starship 1
Navigation 1
Sensors 2
Streetwise 0
Survival 1
Vacc Suit 1
Zero-G 0

*Meaning specialize in.

The Captain

The Boxing Kangaroo is commanded by LT Ian Brickley, IN. Age 32, this is his first command of a Starship. He is a native of Anacreon/Esperence (SR 1011), a Rich, Twilight World. In his youth, he did enjoy himself a bit, but was a member of a youth debate league, and read history as well. Desiring to serve the Imperium, and see more of the universe (his family is the respected operators of an adventure resort, and he met a number of senior officers and nobles in the course of working with there) he applied to and was accepted to the Rim Naval Academy at Dingir. He was enrolled in the Flight Program, and passed the courses, and received his commission as an Ensign.

In serving aboard a destroyer on a routine patrol mission during his first tour, he obtained a sensor contact of a Solomani infiltration ship. The ship surrendered once interrogated to avoid a further diplomatic incident, and he was awarded the MCUF, and promoted to Sublieutenant.

His next mission led him to serving aboard INS Mortal Quench-Fire (CF-6401) in an extended operation in the Reaver's Deep while serving as Junior Officer of the Deck and 1st Lieutenant, was instrumental in the pursuit and destruction of a pirate band. This recognition lead to his promotion. Transferred to a command school, met an important diplomat working with Imperial-Solomani relations.This lead to his requesting to be posted to near the Armistice Line. He briefly held command of SDB during 1118 and early 1119 as a precusor to being assigned to the Boxing Kangaroo.

Mongoose Traveller 1e Stats:

STR 6

DEX 8

END 7

INT 9

EDU 9

SOC A

Skills:

Advocate 0

Astrogation 0

Carouse 0

Comms 1

Discipline 0

Drive 0

Gun Combat (Pistol) 1

Leadership 1

Melee (Blade) 1

Pilot (Starship) 1

Recon 1

Social Science (History) 0

Sensors 0

Tactics (Naval) 2

Vacc Suit 0

Zero G 1