ShiftKnife

Standing orders and rules updated, engineers please read.

Accepted. Speak to a senior engineer on the ship. - CPT. ROXANNE LAFRENTZ

Speak with a senior combat engineer on the Grant. - TSGT. J. LERWICK

Denied for physical requirements. - TSGT. J. LERWICK

“You’ll hold until the ice melts.” That's what came down the pipe after the third retrieval call. Bastard. It’s been a week since we last saw him, that smug piece of shit. That grin on his fucking lips - he knew retrieval would be impossible but he sent us anyway. Klendathu. Centennia. Omega. A thousand losses in between. Millions dead. The number’s rising every day - though really, what does a hundred more dead matter here in this frozen waste? Humanity is on the brink of extinction, and here we are, killing each other for the scraps.

Speak to a senior engineer on the Grant. - TSGT. J. LERWICK

Marc Laidlaw is one of the writers behind the story of Half Life, and retired from Valve about a year and a half ago. Several hours ago, on his personal blog, he posted what seems to be his summary of Half Life 3. He doesn't go into great detail, and changes many of the big names in the story. To a lot of fans in the Steam/Valve community this is being seen as the final nail in the coffin for the beloved Half Life series. Below I've linked to the original blog as well as the version with corrected names seen in the Half Life series. Do you guys think we'll ever get a follow up to Half Life? Original: http://www.marclaidlaw.com/epistle-3/ Corrected: https://github.com/Jackathan/MarcLaidlaw-Epistle3/blob/master/Epistle3_Corrected.md

Introduction Engineer roleplay is fairly open ended - it should follow common sense, and if possible be based on reality. However, it shouldn’t require actual experience in the real world, though it can be helpful. After all, we roleplay things we aren’t, and if we were only meant to be roleplaying things we did in real life then a very small percentage of us would have earned the merit of roleplaying a soldier, let alone an astronaut, medic, or starship captain. If you’ve ever watched an episode of star trek, you know that its writing is filled with ‘technobabble’ - seemingly mindless nonsense meant to sound complicated or otherwise convey that the characters speaking are intelligent. What a lot of people don’t know is that star-trek’s technobabble, like its languages, are actually based on a system and have a certain believability to them once you look deeper. This is sort of how we do things in SSTRP - we’ve written out how things ‘should’ work, though science fiction, and we go about roleplaying them. Keep in mind it is important that your /me when detailing any action should be detailed, though not too long as to slow down the flow of the mission. We should be working towards improving roleplay quality, and that starts with you. Every engineering action, from building defenses, to working with a computer, to welding with your plasma cutter should begin with a competent /me. The only excuse you will ever have in favor of not writing a /me is when it comes to using the M55 in an S2K scenario - still you should at least follow the proper in character procedure. How to Interact with Administrators When it is important for the event runner to know what you are doing as an engineer, first write a /me detailing the character’s action, and second /pm or /report what you intend to find out, or do. Never repeat your /me in /report - it’s confusing and will often delay response time. Simply “/report I’ve accessed the computer. Do I find anything useful?” or something along those lines. Be clear, and concise, and always say exactly what you need to say to get the answer you need. Keep in mind administrators are not required to know engineering stuff like you and I are, they might not understand how our system works. It can be helpful to include important details about your action that someone without this knowledge may not understand. Example 1: /me lifts his plasma cutter from his belt, flopping his welding visor down with his off hand. He then takes a knee, and engages the plasma cutter, adjusting the temperature with the knob on its side. He reaches up, and begins to cut a large hole in the bulkhead in front of him. Follow up with; /report I’ve just cut a hole through this door. Can we proceed? Example 2: /me swipes his hand across the control interface of the computer, scanning through various surface documents and programs. Follow up with; /report I am attempting to access this computer, do I find anything important? Example 3: /me would reach into her bag, withdrawing a PD-31 detector from it. The device seems to have a scanning arm, which she sways side to side to get a good reading of the ground nearby. Follow up with; /report I am using my bomb detector to search of any signs of common explosives, does my device pick anything up? Uncommon Engineer RP & Conclusion Because we haven’t at this time attempted to create a massive database of fictional technology in SSTRP, there are a lot of things that go unspoken that your character may still have knowledge of; computer systems, communications equipment, complex ship-side equipment, the cherenkov drive and things of these nature come to mind. In situations where you feel your character would have a more detailed knowledge of these topics simply use guesswork. Detail your action as well as you can, and write in report what you are trying to attempt as clearly as you can. There’s nothing wrong with winging it, just try to stay believable. Aside from star trek being a good inspiration for this sort of guesswork, popular science fiction and war films can be good sources to draw upon to believably portray the technology of the future. The Hurt Locker, Aliens, Starship Troopers, and even Jurassic Park come to mind.

Added the goonsquad

sorry lerwick only adds his real friends on spacebook

Situation Reports: SITREP#001 4/29/2297 Today is the twenty ninth of April, 2297. Shore leave awarded me the necessary time to rethink a few training programs intended for the "new" course soon to be implemented in the CED. The course isn't exactly new - it's a merger of the old Maintenance course and the MEC specialization utilized by the United Citizen Corps of Engineers. Both of these things have existed for quite some time, but in light of the increased budget the 112th's Combat Engineering Division has received this year, I found an opportunity to bring us up to the standard in that regard. MEC troopers, or "Mechanic Troopers" as they're called, are electromechanical engineers much like a Class A ship engineer. However, they have a sub-specialty aligned towards complex or otherwise unique planetary installations or equipment. This type of specialist should be capable of handling any mission specific objectives that fall outside of the established engineering purview. I hope to find our new MEC specialists will be capable of dealing with things of complicated and unknown nature sometimes encountered on our missions; stellarium devices, ore processors, astronautic devices, vehicles, to name a few bothersome things we've interacted with in the past. SITREP#002 6/16/2297 Fucking bug bastards knocked out my bridge on GV. Fucking bastards. SITREP#003 8/9/2297 Captain Sorrentino was assigned elsewhere in the regiment. This is the forth Captain I've seen come and go, however it was thankfully very uneventful - no massive suicide mission into some fucked bug tunnel. Wish you well, Franco, I knew you'd turn out to be a leader. As for who will take the reigns next, Lieutenant Richardson will be the likely choice - if not, we may see someone like Young, Bellic, or Tuuli get thrown on the fast track. This is all speculation of course, personally I think we should transfer someone in. In other news, engineering is still trucking along. I'm working on new documents to present to the Lieutenant in regards to expanding engineer duties - but progress has been slow on that. Not much else to report.

General Information First Name: James Middle Name: Ward Last Name: Lerwick Age (yo): 30 Date of Birth: December 10th, 2268 Nationality: United Citizen Federation Place of Birth: The Moon Rank: Technical Sergeant Status: KIA Physical Information Height: 6'0'' Weight: 192lbs Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Brown (head usually shaved) Ethnicity: Caucasian Build Type: Endomorph General Physical Description: Well kept goatee, stocky frame, missing right ear, boxer's nose, tattoo with a crossed hammer and wrench, beneath that reads "CAN DO" in military font. Medical History: Sonic grenade injury leading to coma lasting from September 2293, to Mid October 2293 Psychological Information IQ: 111 Preferred Learning Method: Hands on. Academic Interests: Arthurian lore, fables, medieval history, engineering spanning a wide range of fields. Artistic Interests: Photography Athletic Interests: American football, running, lifting weights. Key Personality Traits: Thick skinned, judgmental, unforgiving, modest, insouciant, prideful. Notes: Few friends, though the ones he has are typically close. Pre-enlistment Background High School Education: Graduated. High School GPA: 3.2 College Education (if applicable): None. Extracurricular: None. Criminal Record: None. Summary of Pre-enlistment Life: Born on The Moon and shortly thereafter taken to Portland, Maine. Raised until six by his grandmother and grandfather, until his mother retired from the UCF Navy. Followed work opportunity after high school, leading him back to The Moon where he was born. James then worked as a mine worker on The Moon until he was twenty one, and returned to Earth. Soon after returning, James signed up for UCF Military Service in New York City. Armed Services Career Branches Served In: Mobile Infantry Combat Engineers Previous Units: 155th ACB -> 155th ACB -> 112th MI Demotions: None. Criminal Record: None. Age of Enlistment: 21 Total Deployments: Numerous. Wounds Received in Duty: No serious long lasting wounds. Awards Received: Mobile Infantry Silver Cross, Mobile Infantry Silver Star, Citizenship Ribbon, Mobile Infantry Service Ribbon, Purple Heart **, Engineering Excellence Ribbon, General Specialization Ribbon ***, Federal Defense Medal, Colony Protectorate Ribbon *, Operation Diving Falcon Ribbon Service Record: Signed up for Federal Service in New York City (2289) Assigned for training at Federal training base in Quantico, Virginia (2289) Assigned to 155th ACB, A Company, 1st Platoon, 1st Squad (2289) Promoted to Private (2289) Transferred to 155th ACB, A Company, 1st Platoon, 2nd Combat Engineering Squad (2290) Promoted to Private First Class (2290) Promoted to Lance Corporal (2290) Promoted to Corporal (2nd Squad XO) (2290) Promoted to Technical Sergeant (2nd Squad CO) Transferred to 155th ACB, B Company, 1st Platoon, 2nd Combat Engineering Squad (2291) 155th ACB tasked with defense of core worlds/colonies (2296) Due to personal request of transfer to see combat, transferred to 112th MI, A Company, 1st Platoon, 2nd Combat Engineering Squad (2296) Notable Campaigns: Holland Road, Green Valley, Operation Adrestia, Yukon II Incident, Operation Bread Basket, Operation Moros, Omega Incident FedNet Media Accounts SpaceBook Profile Pic: SpaceBook Friends (ordered alphabetically by last name) Matthew Carverson - The original crust. Ezarath Cazernovia - Don't really have much to say about you any more. Victor Delatorre - I've got your back. Otto Dresdner - On the bounce, Cap'n. †Adorjan Filipovich - Shouldn't have ended like that. RIP. †Rosalind Gastubashi - Been in the unit a long time, but that's not all that matters. You've proved yourself, though you might've been a bit slow to do it. Your death was your own fault, I suppose it was brave - though pointless. Rest in peace. Daniel Gonzalez - A good soldier, not a bad shot with the M55. Michael Harreld - You've had a lot of ups and downs, let's hope it smooths out from here on. You'll make it in the end though, I think. Katie Heartfilia - You used to annoy me, but that seems to happen less. You're a good gal and a competent engineer. †Poppy Holtz - I never liked your hair, it was too poofy. Rest in peace. Mikayla Kowalski - One of the few people who competently executes orders as they're given to her - she'll be an NCO once we finish training her. Felix Krautstag - Goin' career ain't as easy as it looks, eh? Graham Maclagan - I will continue to respect you from afar. Ambrose Moonen - Ey, moonman. Eva O'Casey - Casey's got undoubted skill as an engineer. When you plan on getting that ship I wouldn't mind coming along with. Valentina Pacheco - A bit too soft sometimes. Martin Richardson - A good guy, a real leader and a good engineer. One of my best and most capable. Saige Shields - You're smart, can tell you got a good sense about you. Seems like it took you a while to get used to the ship, too. Born on the moon just like me. Franco Sorrentino - Good soldier. Was a good Captain, too. Garret Swift - Intelligent, trustworthy, honorable. A member of my closest staff, been there through thick and thin. You'll do a great job after I'm gone my man, keep it up. Annabelle Thacker - You're okay. Alan Tram - One of the few guys who's been with me since the 155th. Abbigail Vitsion - You're cracking, you better keep sane. You, among the others stand out as someone I can always expect to make it through. I only wish we kept up to date as much as we did in the early days. Anton Volker - I knew you'd turn out good, that's why I tried to recruit you on your first day here.

ACCEPTED - Speak to a senior engineer on the Murphy. - TSGT. J. LERWICK

I don't think it makes sense to roll for something that is pretty much actually impossible, for example: picking up what is essentially a proximity mine and throwing it away (it would blow up in your face, at that point you are rolling for it to be a dud not for any feat your character is performing), fighting an arachnid warrior hand to hand in anything but a marauder suit (you'd still probably lose even in the marauder suit), or trying to chew your way through a brick wall. For that reason I would support the sentiment that rolls should be dealt with on a case-to-case basis. The problem with trying to roleplay a shootout with 30 or more people participating is that the chat, and our feeble human brains cannot compute 30 separate /me's and still act out the situation in a realistic fashion. It just doesn't work. I value roleplay for what it is, and wherever feasible I partake in it - however, with 30 people participating, it is much more realistic and enjoyable in my opinion to simply have an S2K fight to decide who wins or loses and then dole out injuries and whatever else in event text as necessary. This way, you have a chance to make your character engage in heroics and come out on top - but also we don't stand in 1 spot for 30 minutes to an hour waiting for 30+ players to "/me shoots gun at sep" and compute the ending of the scenario that way.