[SRP] The Mole: A Science Fiction Mystery (OOC)

[muffinstud]

Space is not the final frontier. It is only the means by which man has made multiple others. By delving into the depths of space, Man has discovered new forms of energy, new limits to the human condition, new worlds to be explored and conquered. While the vastness of space will never be fully explored, the true exploration is that of man himself.

Now is a crucial moment in the development of a vast network of colonies. As the decades passed, mankind has found thousands more worlds like our own, all strangely devoid of intelligent life. The closest ones were naturally the first to be terraformed and colonized, but those first had enormous costs in resources and in human life. As man's technology improved, so did his understanding of how to subjugate these new worlds. The newest and brightest example of this innovation is the ECSS Horizon.

Earth Confederation Star Ship Horizon is the first in a new class, called tillers. It differs from the standard colony barge in a number of ways. Firstly, it is equipped with a revolutionary new engine, capable of making the distance to new worlds in weeks instead of years. It carries a payload of highly specialized and powerful terraforming equipment. Once unloaded, Horizon's small crew will be able to build the needed infrastructure to ensure a successful colony once the barges arrive. And since the ship itself remains in orbit, the cost of losing the advance party is much smaller.

However, unbeknownst to the crew, the Confederated Earth Nations have decided to perform an experiment on the souls aboard. They will spend one week in space, during which communications will be impossible. Once they arrive, it will be at least two years before the first colony barge arrives, let alone any assistance from the fleet. And so one member of the crew has been assigned a daunting, sinister task.

One crew member is a mole.

The Setup
You are a crewmember aboard the ECSS Horizon. As such, you have a role to fill. Your character should have a specialization aboard the ship, and a specialization once you make planetfall. There must be at least one pilot, and you can have the same specialization in both locations (example, a doctor). The main portion of the rp will take place aboard the ship while it's in the one week transit period.

Anyone may post a character here, but only those people I indicate will actually be in the rp. There is no real set number of players, but I want to keep this from being too big. This is all in good fun, so try to keep things interesting. I know I will.

One of the players will be chosen at random to be the mole. The mole... Well, their job is to turn the rest of you into women with the tools provided him/her. The reasoning behind why this is happening will be explained during the rp itself. While the mole will be the one choosing who gets transformed and when, I will actually post the changes as they occur.

There will be no pictures with this rp. All the changes, plus your final form, will be described narratively. So a big imagination is a plus. As a side note, I tend to lean towards the slower transformation, so be sure to let me know if you want things to go faster than the others. Also, a part of the whole setup requires at least a partial interest in men. Unless you expressly indicate other mental changes, nothing else will happen to your character's mind.

Smart Bands
This will be a key element in the rp. Think of a Pip-boy 3000 from Fallout 3, only designed by a less arrogant Steve Jobs. It's everything a smart phone is, with a small holographic interface that allows full text input, video chat, and access to all of the tools around the ship. It also serves as your personal ID, and is customizable in appearance to suit the user.
For example, one could wear one that looks much like a wrist watch. Upon sitting in an exoskeletal mining frame (trust me, there will be lots of fun toys in the cargo bay), it will produce a holographic interface at your fingertips to control the device, whilst allowing you to chat with the other members of your team. These things are your social lifelines, and the only real way to communicate with people other than doing so in person.

While the wrist band is the most popular configuration, they can also be a wide number of objects. However, they must be easily worn on the person, and quickly removable for safety reasons. The device itself is miniscule and easily concealed in any number of materials, save for thin fabrics. In that case, it's simply pinned on, but very few think a tiny crystalline circuit board to be a fashion statement. (At this point, those green circuit boards have been replaced with crystals, the circuits composed of tiny intersecting geometric planes that guide beams of light.)

Shell Suits
Another key element in the rp. This is your uniform aboard the ship. It's adjustable in color, allowing it to function as makeshift camoflage in the field. Most models are built to cover up to the ankles and wrists, but are easily modified to suit the style of the wearer. Shell Suits also tie into your Smart Bands, allowing the user to monitor vital signs and nutrition. They also plug into larger tools (like the mining frame) to give the user a higher degree of articulation than just the interface from a Smart Band. They attach securely to other units of clothing, doubling as environmental, vacuum, biohazard protection suits depending on the situation. The only downside is they tend to be a little on the tight elastic side of the spectrum. There are no other items of clothing besides the shell suits aboard the ship (You may have a modest number of them, we're not barbarians here) and they also double for your footwear unless wearing specific boot attachments.

To clarify how they perform and look, here's a clip from an old TV show that inspired me. Centurions Exo-Suits The Shell Suits are similar in function, however their technology acts more like a close contact bluetooth in how there are no visible hard points like in the cartoon.

Character Bios
I would much prefer if all or most of the crew is male, but the situation would still fit if there were one or two females. Your character sheet should be the usual spiel, only make sure to indicate the following bits of information:

Physical appearance:
Preferred physical characteristics after transformation, if any:
Appearance of Smart Band and preferred configuration of Shell Suit (you have more than one, this is just the color and cut you prefer to wear.)
Mental changes: (the default will be no changes save for a mild romantic curiosity towards men. If you wish to be Bi, or if you wish for a particular kind of mental nudge, please indicate.)
Ship duties: (Your role as a crewmember on the ship)
Planetside duties: (Your role once the hard work on planet begins)

In the next post, I will provide an example bio with my own character.

[muffinstud]

Character Sheet (not everyone has to be military or paramilitary, just to clarify)

Name: Captain Gregor James Hardy
Age: 25
Physical appearance: 188cm, 85Kg (6'2", 189lbs). Lean, but athletic build. Black buzz cut hair, brown eyes. Deep tan skin, light for his mulatto heritage.
Smart Band: wide segmented metal band (like those on nice wrist watches) with no apparent device. It's just a bunch of little metal strips when inactive.
Shell Suit: White with blue stripes on the shoulder where his Captain's lapels attach. Another blue stripe on the belt line. Crew neck and long sleeves and leggings.
Ship duties: Captain, represents the CEN starfleet. It's his ship.
Planetside duties: Fleet communications, coordinating arrival of colonists and supervising construction of all necessary facilities.
Preferred end result: I know what I like, and I'll be handling his fate.
Mental changes: None/Standard

Short Bio: Captain Hardy is a career space man. Joined at 18, he moved up the ranks quickly through hard work, determination, and a passion for his work. It didn't hurt that the laws of relativity made it so while he is physically only 7 years older, he's had a long 30 year career under his belt. Now that he's reached the rank of Captain, he's gotten tired of all the lonely trips into the void. He volunteered for this mission, hoping that he can find happiness again on a new world. That, and the colonies are as much out in the boonies as it gets, which means no more red tape. How he hated that red tape. Once the colony reaches a self sufficient status, he intends to retire and settle down at the ripe old age of 30, if he's lucky.

[Blaze]

Damn, this looks interesting~ Let me give it a shot.

Name: Dean Summers
Age: 29
Sex: Male
Height: 173 cm
Weight: 53 kg
Smart Band: His glasses
Shell Suit: His white lab coat
Physical appearance: Dean is a rather tall man, standing at 173 centimeters tall. Despite this, he is rather gangly, like his body went through a massive growth spurt at some point and never had time to fill out. His curly brown hair is cut short, only a long fringe left untamed to hide his large forehead. Blue eyes sit behind black square-lens glasses which double as his Smart Band. He wears a buttoned up lab coat which is also his Shell Suit which hides the plain jumpsuit he wears underneath.
Preferred Appearance Post TF: Rather small and petite with long curly hair. Otherwise, go nuts.
Mental changes: Maybe a slight envy for more developed women that she can't ignore?
Ship Duties: Doctor
Planetside Duties: Also doctor.
Bio: Dean is a civilian doctor, one of the best. Graduating from medicine school at 24 years, he gained critical acclaim for his vast knowledge and the rapport he established with his patients. He was content with becoming a successful doctor, but the Confederated Earth Nations had other plans. They approached him, offering him the job as doctor on their new starship. He politely refused at first, but they didn't take no for an answer. They paid off the hospital he worked at to terminate his contract, leaving him without a job. They offered the position again, and with no other option, he accepted.

[Shy Shay]

Name: Luka Harold Melrose
Physical appearance: Standing at 5 feet 6 inches and lanky. He has brown hair that he keeps in a smooth style that fully covers his head, but a keen eye would be able to tell he is begining to thin. He has a comforting air about him, something that calms people, in a friendly way.
Preferred physical characteristics after transformation, if any: Well, sexy, ideally. Maybe something virbrant, and distinctive about her, something that draws attention.
Appearance of Smart Band and preferred configuration of Shell Suit: His smart band is, well, a wrist watch. Not the most original of things, but it's useful and fuctional. His Shell Suit is more or less standard. He usually has it set on black or grey, sometimes a nice brown. It covers his entire body except for his head.
Mental changes: Hmm... you know what I usually like, Muffin, but this time could you add I'd like an addition. A cumpulsion to, well, not be exactly straight with people.
Ship duties: Thereapist
Planetside duties: Thereapist

Short Bio: Luka was never someone particularly noticable, but he always noticed how people... well, how people messed things up with lies and such. Due this... talent of his, he ended up as a therapist. He was very good at his job, so they upgraded him, pretty much without his permission, to space ship duty, making sure people can adjust and don't go crazy.
He is very direct by almost never and never lies, and if he does it's a very bad sign. He expects others to do the same for him. He is also always willing to hear others opinions and ideas. As such, he is usually not heard. He has been known to blow up in anger... once... with a patient. He is now in intensive therapy. That is the only blemish on his record, though.

[Bigmouthstrikes]

Name: Neil Sterling
Age: 22
Physical appearance: 5'11, short, messy blonde hair with a slight part. Skinny build.
After transformation: very long hair, preferably waist length, brown and wavy. slender build. Not top heavy, but very leggy. Roughly 5'9"
Smart Band: Neil's Smart Band is built into a sweatband he wears on his wrist.
Shell Suit: A mechanic style jumpsuit with a white undershirt. When worn casually, has its sleeves rolled up.
Mental changes: Gradually increasing femininity
Ship duties: Neil is the tech coordinator for the ship. He handles the day to day operations of the computer network on board and much of the equipment and intricate tech
Planetside duties: On the Planets, Neil is responsible for setting up communications equipment, maintaining and repairing equipment and setting up any infrastructure required for dwelling on a planet.

Bio: Neil was a top ranking student at the most prestigious IT school in his colony. However, following mass migration away from it following a dangerous plague, the planet was left largely devoid of people and opportunity. Seeking a way to put his skills to use, he was recruited by the Earth Confederate Nations. Neil is a bit of a slacker, and works better at his own pace than at others. He's not a natural fit for a military or government operation, but he took the job anyway. Though he struggles with living up to their standards, he excelled in the functions required of him. Neil is gifted in programming, electronics, repair and networking and as such, is good at making sure ship journeys go smoothly. Despite this, however, he's still problematic to have in an official environment sometimes.

[Stray-chan]

I'm very interested in this, but I shall need a day or two to come up with a character. I would like my character to be in engineering, though, keeping the engines working in space, and the terraforming equipment working planetside.

[Knight Errant]

Yay! Muffinstud RPs! And I get in on the ground floor of this one... double yay!

Name: Isaac Grumm
Age: 43 (physically still in his late 20's)
Sex: Male
Physical Appearance: Tall and broad, Isaac' has has a shaved head, his eyebrows revealing his natural hair color of black. He has pale blue eyes, and a scar running down the side of his face, just barely missing his eye.
Smart Band: Isaac has a HUD monocular head band model. Think a scouter from DBZ or Garrus's eyepiece from Mass Effect.
Shell Suit: While on duty, Isaac wears a Suit modified for combat. The stretchy material is woven with reinforcing mesh, and the chest, forearms, and front of the legs have lightweight armor plating.
Preferred Appearance Post TF: I will guide you with these two words! Buxom redhead. Thats about it. Though ideally having his ruggedness change to maximum soft and sensual womanhood would give me the most amusement.
Mental changes: None besides whats standard.
Ship Duties: Chief Security Officer
Planetside Duties: Setting up the foundations for colony security, as well as continuing his duties as Chief Security Officer.
Bio: Isaac grew up on Prometheus. A volcanic factory planet, Prometheus provides the colonies with raw and finished materials of metal, stone, and volcanic glass. As a bastard son to two of the workers, Isaac was placed in the company orphanage. He spent most of his young days learning how to build and fix the heavy machinery that ran the skyscraper sized furnaces and manufacturing plants that were the lifeblood of Prometheus. And though he was good at it... he hated the lack of choice he had over his own situation. That changed one day after he got involved in a brutal fight, hospitalizing his opponent... who happened to be the son of one of the Prometheus Executives. He would have been locked up for the rest of his inconsequential life... but happened to catch the eye of Nova Security, who had broken up the fight. Or rather, restrained Isaac after he had broken a few ribs. One paperwork exchange later, and Isaac was headed off planet. He had changed owners... but it was better than being in a cell. A decade later, he was one of the hardest, smartest, best-trained security agents Nova had. The years from there were filled with sporadic work and stasis (Nova freezes their best operatives during times of little work.) Until finally, Isaac pulls enough strings to get him assigned to the Horizon. Practically a vacation slash retirement plan.

[Zoey]

Oh my, a space RP involving being in a crew and going somewhere unknown... How can ANYTHING go POSIBLY wrong!

Name: Lieutenant Markus Sloan
Age: 27
Physical appearance: Roughlty 5'12 and has a bit of bulk to him, but not much since his job is mainly to get from point A to point B in a chair. He has short brown hair and dark brown eyes. He also has a scotish accent (Cause real men are scotish) and when not dodging asteroids in space, he likes to enjoy a nice safe 2XXX made cigarrette.
Preferred physical characteristics after transformation, if any: TG and like the others, really attractive (how original!)... Maybe a blonde woman with very long hair and a sizable bust, blue eyes, half an inch long fingernail's from the tip of the finger maybe already nicely manicured? Plump lips, a very nice hourglass shape with spotless perfect smooth skin. Nice and shapely long legs. Ummm... Pft, I dont what else? Voice of an angel? :p
Appearance of Smart Band and preferred configuration of Shell Suit: Im going out in a limb here, cause right now Im a droowling fan boi of this series so Im gonna jump at the chance to copy my hero! So I want this suit!. The smart band being on the wrist and when Im too busy, thankfully the voice of a nice soothing french gal, updates me on the situation.
Mental changes: Default
Ship duties: Pilot, derp! I can't believe no one wants to drive the big freakin space ship! D=<
Planetside duties: Maintain the ONLY MEANS TO ESCAPE, incase the situation turns into a Space Tropper-esk problem and apart from that help in defensive structures like: walls, guns turrents to keep the nasty wildlife away, traps, gun turrents and the occasional crowbar <3

Short Bio: Markus was a fighter pilot plucked for this mission. He was plucked for this mission from his base in PLANET Pluto, after accidentally crashing his ship into the home of Mr. Renalds a flight instructor everyone hated. This ACCIDENTAL accident got him shiped away to another assigment. He knows space like the back of his *****, which makes him a great pilot if a bit unorthodox in his approuch sometimes. He really didn't care much for politics and stuff. He just wanted to get paid and have fun (with the ladies)... Oh and mess around with his inventions. One of his favorite hoobies in Earth MK2.5 was to hunt (beasties with friends in a big online multiplayer game, only available over the WII! Mons- Ahem...) so he knows alot about setting up traps and self defensive which will hopefully keep our targets/settlers alive.

[muffinstud]

So far I'm liking what I see. Of course, I've kinda driven and beaten these players to conform to my whims. But hey, what GM doesn't do that?

So yeah. I spent 13 hours staring at moving asphalt today while sitting on my butt. What did that net me? Well, my sanity is still somewhat intact thanks to the full Foo Fighters discography (much happiness) but I also managed to find some fun toys to put in your quarters and in the cargo hold. I would like to use this thread to also hold all the reference information for the stuff your characters will already know about. Here are the topics that I've come up with. Let me know if any of them don't really interest you. Oh, and you are free to suggest things to add, as long as we can find a way to make it fit with how this little universe works.

The formation of the Confederate Earth Nations

General technology (the stuff that makes all your stuff go.)

Medical technology (for the nurse in all of us)

Mechanized Armors (Combat and Utility Mechs)

Weapons (Lethal and Non-lethal)

Culture (Differences between Earth and the colonies, slang, and stuff people tend to do for fun)

I'll give you the first entry as a freebie, since it doesn't really fit into any of the topics anyways. (Kinda might fit in Culture, but meh.)

[muffinstud]

Alma Corp Space Rations (Also known as the only food you'll have for a whole week)

The greatest bane and blessing of a spacefarers journey. Alma Corp is the only company throughout all known space to have the means to produce and ship their food products reliably and cheaply. As such, it has a near monopoly on the market. Unfortunately, cost effective shipping comes at the cost of sheer randomness. Food items are almost never in the correct packaging. Colony ships have been known to frequently provide full, balanced meals from a cargo hold full of what the packaging said was creamed corn. As random as it is, it's actual food and it keeps very well. The company slogan was derived 200 years ago from a slanderous campaign by their last real viable competitor. Their campaign was: "Alma foods, they taste like dirt!" (The company synthesized food, claiming it was better because it wasn't grown in dirt.) Alma's reply, and their company slogan ever since?
"Alma Corp Foods: Made From Dirt!"

[Harri-chan]

Name: Koren Jenkins

Age: 17

Physical appearance: Koren looks pretty young, but then again he is fairly youthful. His eye sight is terrible, so he wears quite thick glasses. His dark brown hair reaches to his shoulders, having a slightly curl to it, and always seems to be a mess. He has quite a round face, although he's not really overweight, he's just very average and plain. He's a little short, but not by much, again, most people would consider him of average height.

Preferred physical characteristics after transformation, if any: I'd like a bookish/nerdish sort of appearance. I'll leave it up to you what you do with that, wether it's a very petite nerdish look or a nerd with great big breasts. I'll let you decide wether she looks prim, proper and feminine, or looks like a nerd that doesn't have a clue how to act feminine.

Appearance of Smart Band and preferred configuration of Shell Suit: His smart band takes the shape of a glossy black plastic bracelet with a thick greyish line around it that leaves just a small black border on either side. The line of grey is actually a touch screen input and it can be turned different colours or be filled with icons. His favourite suit is grey, coming up to his neck, with long sleeves and legs. (I'd like if possible for the girl suit to be a dress? Sleeveless, still a high neck, but perhaps a mid-thigh ending to it? If reforming it into a dress is too much, then ending with mid-thigh shorts would be fine, but a skirt portion would be preferred, with the top half going white, with thin grey borders around the neck and holes for the arms, and the 'skirt' staying grey, sort of creating a smart skirt and blouse look like a librarian? If the dress can't work, I think solid grey would be best)

Mental changes: I'd be fine with no mental changes, but also fine with small tweaks.

Ship duties: Several earth animals and plants have been sent on the ship, both to determine how they react to the new planet's atmosphere, but also to be used to help determine what is to safe to eat on the new planet. Koren's job on the ship is to tend to these plants and animals, and keep all the records on them.

Planetside duties: Xenobiologist - To research and record details of alien plant and life forms

[Knight Errant]

Ooo shiny... start filling them up! Especially the ones about weapons and mechanized armors!

Also what about the Horizon itself? Explain a bit more about its inner workings and terraforming technology.

[muffinstud]

Okay, this post has two purposes. Firstly, the RP will begin this Saturday. That's 2 and a half days. Be ready.

Secondly, I promised universe backstory. And I think you all would like me to start at the same topic. So, here we go.

Mechs Aboard the ECSS Horizon

It should be noted that the fuel for all of these mechs is currently unavailable, both for safety sake and for the purpose of re-entry. With the exception of the Warlord, they are all approximately 10-15 meters tall, with the Shining Knight being the tallest and the Mule being the shortest (The 4FD version stands at 5 meters when on all fours). The Warlord is only 12 meters tall when stripped, but when fully loaded it reaches a full 20. Below are just the operational characteristics. You'll have to take a look at them in the rp to get the full physical description!


Utility
Mule
Civilian model construction armor. It's not pretty, and it doesn't move very fast, but it's extremely durable anc can carry loads up to 20 times its own weight. Comes equipped with a welding torch and Gecko brand friction pads that allow it to climb walls and ceilings. Has 3 fully articulated fingers.

Mule 4FD
This is the same machine as the Mule, except it trades its arms for a second pair of legs. It can carry up to 50 times its own weight, and drag up to 200.

MUA 11 Quarrymaster
Mechanical Utility Armor
This mech has 4 arms. The lower, smaller pair are manipulators with three fingers that have access to mining attachments on the torso. The upper arms consist of enormous pneumatic pistons with substantial weight to them. Their default configuration is to have blunt end attachments, but the manipulators can change these out on the fly with chisels, drill bits and saw blades. A talented pilot can operate all four arms simultaneously. The Quarrymaster is also capable of great leaps, allowing it to apply explosive amounts of force with its pistons. In the right hands, this machine is unmatched in close combat, and comes standard with a large bore MAR attached to the back.

MUA 15 Skimmer
Incredibly fast and light, the Skimmer excels at carrying loads and setting up equipment in remote locations. It is capable of jumping to great heights, and can hover for short periods of time with the assistance of thrusters in the back. Its feet and legs are engineered in such a way that when running fast enough, it can travel across calm water. Instead of any defense systems, it carries an onboard comms relay that can connect any number of mechs in a modest area. It has three fingers, and comes equipped with a bayonet.


Combat/Peacekeeping

MFA 21 Shining Knight
Mechanical Fighter Armor
Top of the line military assault battle armor with 5 fully articulated fingers. Retractable shield and bayonet in forearms for close combat. T-Cell fed miniguns on shoulders, two back mounted hard points for ordnance delivery. Smaller than most other assault models, this mech was designed to carry heavy ordnance in cramped places and to quickly close distance with slower, less nimble mechs in order to kill the pilot but salvage the machine. Standard issue for military police pilots, as the shield allows them to take a hit from a variety of sources without compromising speed or the ability to react to developing situations.

MAA 16A Warlord
Mechanical Assault Armor
The ultimate answer to the question "Can you blow that thing up?" This hulk sacrifices maneuverability and even its arms for sheer firepower. Two top mounted rail guns can accurately kill targets more than 10 km away. The A model is designed especially to counter aerial targets, with a complex preemptive targeting system and highly maneuverable mini-rail flak cannons. As if this weren't enough, the entire surface of the Warlord is covered in missile delivery systems for medium and short range targets. The real advantage to taking this machine to a new colony is, because of its size, it can double as a combine after a quick retrofit.

====================
Hope this piques your interest. If not, then my next post will have the Personal Armors. Raise your hand if you'd like to be Iron Man in space!

[Bigmouthstrikes]

Kinda wish there were more female PCs...

[Harri-chan]

Well there's one less now, as after saying I could be in, Muffin has changed his mind. He doesn't think there's any reason a woman would get given the agent. I know they wouldn't intentionally, and have tried suggesting an accident, but he's not having any of it. I'm pretty upset as I was really excited about this, but it's not meant to be. Have fun.