Ten Forward NPCs (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ten_fwd_npcs) wrote2015-06-15 11:49 pm
ten_fwd_npcs) wrote2015-06-15 11:49 pm
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[Tour]: New Passenger Orientation (IC Primer)
"Hi, I'm Miles O'Brien," smiles an officer wearing Operations gold. He has a friendly, relaxed disposition about him. "Welcome to the Enterprise. Now that you've passed quarantine, we want you to be comfortable while you're here. We're doing everything we can to get you home, but in the meantime we hope you'll consider the Enterprise a home away from home. Let me show you around."
With a broad wave, he beckons you to follow him as he starts explaining a few important things.
☆ The Ship, and Why You're Here
☆ End of the Tour, and Noteworthy Moments (game events)
☆ The Federation and Starfleet
☆ Who's Who on the Ship
With a broad wave, he beckons you to follow him as he starts explaining a few important things.
☆ The Ship, and Why You're Here
☆ End of the Tour, and Noteworthy Moments (game events)
☆ The Federation and Starfleet
☆ Who's Who on the Ship
The Ship, and Why You're Here
Chief O'Brien starts off by leading you into a hallway, and accessing the computer panel running the length of the wall. He pulls up a schematic of the ship.
"This is the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D). It's a Galaxy-class starship, and the fifth ship to bear the name. Basically what that means is she's one of the most sophisticated and ... complicated ships ever built by the Federation. She has 42 decks, and a combined crew and passenger load of about 1,130 souls, and that number is growing every day. Thanks to Q."
He arches his eyebrows, bobbing on his toes slightly.
"Which brings me to the reason you're all here. I'm sure you've already heard about Q from others on the ship, but in case you haven't you should know that he is a very powerful alien — with a bad attitude. That last part is important, because if you ever encounter Q while you're here, it'd be best for you to walk away and find an officer to help. He can be ... unpredictable. You shouldn't have to worry while you're here, he hasn't threatened anyone and the crew aboard will make sure everyone stays safe, but to be on the safe side keep your distance.
"Anyway, he stranded us during a mission on stardate 43289 — oh, that's another thing. Stardates are how we measure time here. That's April 16, 2366 in the Gregorian calendar. Don't worry, we still use that. Anyway, he stranded us and started bringing people aboard just like you. We don't have any knowledge of how or why, other than that he has some master plan in mind for all of us here. But he has sent people back to their homes before, so don't let that discourage you. The captain is doing everything he can to get you a more reliable way back home."
He feels like he's gotten a little offtrack, so he clears his throat and starts over. "So let's move on and I'll show you some of the ship."
As he leads you from room to room, he's open to answering questions, staying chatty and pointing out key features of the ship along the way. It isn't an exhaustive tour, but the main areas you may be frequenting are covered well enough so you'll be able to find your way around later.
End of the Tour, and Noteworthy Moments (game events)
"All right, now that you've seen most of the ship — at least, the areas where you're allowed (don't worry, Lieutenant Worf will tell you all about the areas you're not allowed when he shows you your quarters after this) — I'm going to let you see one of our shuttlebays and transporter rooms. Normally you wouldn't be able to visit those without an escort, but that's why you have me.
"Shuttles and transporters are our main ways of leaving the ship. We do make stops at some planets and starbases where you'd be allowed to get out and see more of the universe firsthand if you wanted to. Last December we stopped at Risa for a holiday. Oh, Risa is, well, for lack of a better word, a paradise planet. Beaches, ocean, fishing, rock climbing... The weather is always perfect there, and the locals are very friendly," he smirks. "We even picked up a few new passengers while we were there. Everyone had a good time, for the most part. Better than they were having on the ship, anyway. During the holidays Q likes to ... get into the spirit of things."
Well, you're bound to find out eventually. "During Christmas he let a bunch of suckling pigs loose on the ship, said it was in honor of Saturnalia. He also had some kind of magical mistletoe hanging in random places, and threw a big party in Ten Forward, and oh! - there were some small holodeck malfunctions. Nothing terribly dangerous, but that's not the only time he's done something like that. On Halloween he made the replicators produce nothing but candy, and stuck everyone in silly costumes. He did the same thing during Mardi Gras. And in February — well, I'm sure you can imagine the sort of messes he might have made around St. Valentine's Day. I hate to admit it, but we've all gotten used to the sudden tricks and parties.
"This is a transporter room. It's the main way we get places, and it also happens to be where I work on the ship. Basically, a transporter converts matter into energy in order to beam it to a location. It's completely safe, and it's not just for individuals — you can transport belongings and supplies as well. It's incredibly useful, especially for a ship that might not have the ability to land, and in an emergency situation it allows us to evacuate or rescue more people at a single time than loading them onto a shuttle would. Last year, there was an incident at a science and mining outpost on Alemar III. It wasn't that long after people started showing up on the ship, and a few of them had gone down to take a tour of the outpost. There was an earthquake while there, and much of the facility was damaged. We even lost communication. I'm not saying this to alarm you — yes, traveling through space can be dangerous, but the point I'm trying to make is that we were able to instantly beam up the wounded and trapped once we were able to reestablish communication, thus letting the doctors get to them all the faster."
He smiles a bit tightly. "One thing about the Enterprise: it's always an adventure."
The Federation and Starfleet
O'Brien leads everyone back to Deck 10, but before you enter Ten Forward he shows you a PADD.
"This is what we call a PADD, or Personal Access Display Device," he explains. "You'll each get one in your room. These sync up to the computer's databases on the ship, which means you can access any un-restricted information you need. Here, let me show you how it works."
He presses a few buttons (which some of the 21st century humans might liken to doing a Google search on a smart phone), and then turns the PADD around so that everyone can get a quick look at the screen. He's called up an article on the history of the Federation.
"I'm sure you're all curious about where you are now. With a few easy commands I've just accessed a file on the United Federation of Planets. Starfleet is the Federation's deep-space exploratory and defensive service. We're sailing in Federation space right now, which means most if not all of the people you'll encounter will be members of the UFP. So I suppose I should let you know a little bit about what that means.
"The Federation is an interstellar federal republic. It was founded in San Francisco, Earth, in 2161, and as of today it encompasses 8,000 light years with about 150 formal member worlds. Each planetary government agrees to exist semi-autonomously under a single central government based on the principles of universal liberty, rights, and equality, and to share their knowledge and resources in peaceful cooperation and space exploration.*
"The Enterprise is the Federation's flagship, and part of her ongoing mission is to maintain exploratory, scientific, diplomatic, and defense functions throughout the whole of the Federation. Her principal function is the advancement of our knowledge about the galaxy as well as science and technology, and the defense of the Federation. Because of our mandate of deep-space exploration, we may all frequently be brought into contact with cultures and species none of us have known of before now. You are all now official representatives of the Federation in these cases." He lifts a hand, chuckling. "Don't worry, we won't be sending you out as diplomats. You may meet a few while you're here, though.
"Now, as for Starfleet, Lieutenant Worf will be giving you more information about some of our directives, but it's important you know that we're not just a military force. While the Enterprise does have those capabilities, it's not a Federation warhorse. Yes, there will be certain risks on board, especially with Q upping the stakes for all of us; however, we exist during a time of relative peace. I assure you all, you'll be quite safe on board.*
"Now, if you'd like to learn more about what it means to be a member of Starfleet or of the Federation, the crew has arranged for a class to be taught by a qualified officer. If at any point you choose to volunteer on the ship, you will be bound, by a certain extent, by our rules, and expected to uphold those responsibilities. But you've only just got here, so let's not jump the gun. If you do decide you would like to take that class, you can inquire about it with one of our officers. Which brings me to the last part of your tour..."
* ooc: while O'Brien likely would have gone into detail about the Federation's history and more technical specs about Starfleet, that can be incredibly dry to read so we wanted to keep this succinct. If you wanted your characters to get more info than what's written above, you can assume they did and flesh out those details from the linked wiki articles.
Who's Who on the Ship
Putting the PADD aside, O'Brien approaches the computer terminal one last time. This is simply because everyone will be able to see it better than the small PADD screen.
"As I've demonstrated, you can get all kinds of information from our computers. The main ones respond to voice commands as well as physical input. Let me show you — Computer," he says. The computer chirps in acknowledgment. "Show me a list of our chiefs of staff."
A list of all the highest ranking officers appears on the computer terminal, beginning with the captain and working its way down from there. Chief O'Brien turns to face you.
"You've already met several of our officers, but if you ever need help or assistance finding one of our ranking officers, you can call up this list at any time. The ship's captain is Captain Picard, Jean-Luc. His first officer is Commander William Riker. From there you'll have the ship's Second Officer, Lieutenant Commander Data, her Chief Engineer Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, our Chief of Security Lieutenant Worf, and head of below decks security Lieutenant Natasha Yar. Our Chief Medical Officer is Commander Beverly Crusher, and the ship's counselor is Lieutenant Commander Deanna Troi; both of whom have an open door policy for any who may want to take advantage of that. As for myself, I hold the rank of chief petty officer, and often perform my duties as the transporter chief.
"There are of course many other Starfleet officers on board. Those in red uniforms represent our Command Division, gold uniforms are Operations, and blue is our Sciences and Medical Division. You can tell an officer's rank by the pips on their collar. Also, only Starfleet personnel wear combadges, except in rare special cases. If you need assistance while you are here, these are the things you should keep an eye out for.
"Well," he says, heaving a deep breath. He smiles one last time. "I think I've talked your ear off enough for one day. If you'll step through the doors back into Ten Forward, Lieutenant Worf will see to it that you're shown to your new rooms and answer any further questions you might have. Thank you all for your attention."