Welcome to Karum Station

Feb 12, 2025 11:46 pm
Here's a general overview of Karum Station
https://www.dedzone.net/games/ATDW/images/KarumStation.gif
KEY:
A1: The Docks Where all shuttles come and go.
A2: Karum Hotel Where the tourists stay. 500 rooms.
A3: Arsaidh Museum A place where select Arsaidh objects are placed on display.
A4: The District All kinds of restaurants, bars, and entertainment.
A5: The Gardens Arboretum
B1: Personnel Quarters Off-limits to Tourists. Station personnel and deep divers reside here.
C1: The Hangar Where all missions depart and arrive.
C2: Mission Control Where all missions are planned, briefed, and reviewed.
C3: Medical Center A state-of-the-art facility.

The station rotates, thus imparting 0.9 g to the outer ring (A) and 0.5 g to the inner ring (B). The asteroid has artificial gravity plating equivalent to 1.1 g.
Feb 12, 2025 11:55 pm
After a month-long flight, your shuttle, packed with tourists and deep diver wannabes, arrives at Karum Station. After gathering your belongings, you're all too happy to depart the craft and follow the crowds towards the Arrival Center. Above your head is a sign welcoming you to Karum Station.

Welcome to Karum Station! We hope you had a pleasant trip. If you're a tourist, simply follow the indicators being sent to your mobile devices right now. If you're interested in becoming a Deep Diver and exploring the galaxy aboard an Arsaidh craft, please head to the Recruitment Center on your right.

Finding the Recruitment Center was easy enough, and the recruiters warmly greeted you. They asked about you, why you came, and explained the program. They handed you a tablet with forms to sign, explaining that you would be an independent contractor and thus you'd be responsible for covering all of your costs while on Karum Station: room and board, health insurance, medical bills, etc. If you can't afford to pay, they won't throw you out an airlock, but they will send you back from where you came from.

Drake Industries will provide basic equipment and weapons for your missions, but if you want to upgrade from any of that equipment, you can purchase those upgrades at the supply store. All weapons and equipment are kept in storage lockers down in the asteroid.

There's an NDA too.

You sign it all. Why not? It's not like you want to go back to where you came from.
Feb 13, 2025 11:15 pm
STATION ORIENTATION:

After signing all the forms, the recruiter shakes your hand and welcomes you into the program. After giving you a Deep Diver ID bracelet, she hands you off to a young man who will be your guide to the Deep Diver dormitory.

You pass by the entrance to the hotel, which is still processing the tourists and other station guests, and walk up to a checkpoint for the Inner Ring. Two guards casually monitor the traffic going in and out of the gate. There's an audible ding as your bracelet indicates that you're permitted to enter the Inner Ring.

The tube connecting the two rings is short, maybe 10 meters. You feel the gravity gradually lighten as you make your way to the Inner Ring. Gravity here is about half of Earth, which makes your luggage feel that much lighter.

The guide turns to the right and leads you to the dormitory section of the ring. He explains that they try to group people by gender, but occasionally they have to make compromises.

You've been assigned Basic Amenities. It costs 20 Drake Coins (DC) per week. You'll be sharing a room with three other divers. The basic meal plan is rehydrated nutripaste six days a week and solid food on Sundays. You're allotted two hours per week at the gym and another two at the library. Health insurance is extra.

"Each room has a bathroom which you'll all share. The shower delivers two 40-second sprays with an interval of two minutes in between. You're allotted one use per three-day period. Additional uses will be charged to your account at a rate of five DC per shower."

You wonder if you can actually go three days between showers. You secretly hope that your roommates won't.

He says, "You'll no doubt hear stories of basic-level Divers being murdered in their sleep by crazed roommates. But those are just rumors designed to scare off the newbies."

You make a note to check out how much Standard Amenities cost.

You arrive at your assigned dorm room, the ID bracelet on your wrist activates the door lock with a chime and green LED light. Seeing that there aren't any problems, he wishes you good luck and many successful dives before leaving you to meet your roommates and heading back to the Recruitment Center.

Ryoji Hiromoto

ForeverDED

Feb 19, 2025 10:34 pm
DEEP DIVER ORIENTATION:

Ryoji Hiromoto
You've gathered with other Deep Diver trainees in a conference room to learn some of the basics of what it means to be a Deep Diver, what equipment you'll use, and what's expected of you in the field.

The first thing you learn about are the spacecraft.

There are three of them: "Circle", "Triangle", and "Pentagon." Other than their sizes and how many personnel they hold, there really isn't any difference between them.

Each craft flies itself. There's a navigation interface with a host of symbols. Selecting these will instruct the ship where to go. These will be provided to teams before each mission.

There are no airlocks on the ships. When the hatch opens, there's a force field that maintains atmosphere within the ships. The doorway will be surrounded by light to give a general indication of what's on the other side. Violet is vacuum. Red is hazardous. Green is liquid. Blue is safe.

The ship automatically maintains a breathable atmosphere for humans. Apparently the Arsaidh breathed an atmosphere similar to Earth's.

Nevertheless, each team member will be given the following gear:

Level B Hazmat Suit
Vacc Suit
5 Oxygen Pellets (Each pellet is good for 6 hours)
5 Batteries (Each battery is good for 6 hours use for equipment, less so for weapons.)
1 Alprazolam pill (short-acting tranquilizer)
1 KSA Service Pistol and 3 clips of ammo (10 shots per clip)
1 Combat Knife

Both suits are equipped with a gear harness, oxygen pellet converter, two shoulder-mounted LEDs, and internal comms.
OOC:
If you want to add these to your character sheet now, that's fine. You can also wait until the mission begins.
Each Deep Diver team will be given the following:

1 Survey Scanner
1 Medical Kit
1 Thruster Pack
1 Survival Kit
6 Travel Rations per team member (Each ration is good for 1 week)
OOC:
Other than the travel rations, hold off on adding this stuff until the mission after it's decided who will be bringing what.
UP NEXT: General Mission Objectives

Ryoji Hiromoto

ForeverDED

Feb 20, 2025 1:11 am
MISSION OBJECTIVES:

Ryoji Hiromoto
Your job as a Deep Diver will be to journey to the world assigned to you and gather as much information about it that you can and report it back to Mission Control. Your team will be paid for this information.

It is strongly recommended that you bring back as many materials and artifacts as you can safely fit aboard your spaceship. Don't worry about the size. Everything has value, and you will be paid accordingly.

Some of the things you'll find include data crystals…
https://www.dedzone.net/games/ATDW/images/data-crystal1.jpg
https://www.dedzone.net/games/ATDW/images/data-crystal2.jpg
and alloy cubes.

https://www.dedzone.net/games/ATDW/images/alloycube.jpg

But you'll also find a variety of artifacts (The artifacts shown vary from wooden boxes engraved with geometric patterns to metallic blades covered in intricate sigils. Metal rods with buttons and silver spheres. Gold rings with inscriptions and concave metallic disks that hover over surfaces.)

Some of these things are ornamental, but others are devices. We're not sure if they're site dependent or independent, but the more we have to study, the sooner we'll find out.

At this point in your orientation, the instructor turns the floor over to questions.
OOC:
So if you have any questions about this stuff, you can ask them here.
Feb 20, 2025 11:09 am
Quote:
metallic blades covered in intricate sigils
Is it like a sword?
Quote:
Metal rods with buttons and silver spheres
How long are the rod usually? Not sure i get the silver spheres on it.
Quote:
Gold rings
Like a finger ring or... ?

Thanks
Feb 20, 2025 5:46 pm
The silver sphere is clearly a thermal detonator. I've seen Jedi.
Feb 20, 2025 6:40 pm
Nebula says:
Quote:
metallic blades covered in intricate sigils
Is it like a sword?
The picture is that of a dagger.
OOC:
Sorry, I wasn't able to provide one at this time.
Nebula says:
Quote:
Metal rods with buttons and silver spheres
How long are the rod usually? Not sure i get the silver spheres on it.
The rods are typically 25 cm.
The silver spheres listing was meant to be something separate, not a silver sphere attached to the rod.
Nebula says:
Quote:
Gold rings
Like a finger ring or... ?
Yes, either a finger or another type of appendage of similar diameter.
Emberskyes says:
The silver sphere is clearly a thermal detonator. I've seen Jedi.
In fact, it could be. ;)
Feb 20, 2025 10:04 pm
"I guess this stuff is hard to break, so if I used the knife to protect my team, that would probably be OK?"

Ryoji Hiromoto

ForeverDED

Feb 20, 2025 10:38 pm
Ryoji Hiromoto
A puzzled expression comes across the instructor's face. "If you mean the combat knife that each of you are assigned for your missions, then yes. If you mean an Arsaidh relic, well, we'd prefer that you didn't use it in combat. Doing so might introduce contaminants into the item and spoil our scientific analysis."
Feb 21, 2025 4:21 am
Eris hesitated, then slowly raised her hand. It wasn’t a bold gesture—more like a small, cautious wave—but it was enough to draw attention. She cleared her throat softly, her voice steady but tinged with the slightest hint of self-consciousness.

"You mentioned we might encounter 'data crystals'. Do you have any idea what kind of information they’re likely to contain?"

Ryoji Hiromoto

ForeverDED

Feb 21, 2025 7:58 pm
ogion says:
Eris hesitated, then slowly raised her hand. It wasn’t a bold gesture—more like a small, cautious wave—but it was enough to draw attention. She cleared her throat softly, her voice steady but tinged with the slightest hint of self-consciousness. "You mentioned we might encounter 'data crystals'. Do you have any idea what kind of information they’re likely to contain?"
Ryoji Hiromoto
"Every one is different, and the exact contents are classified."
Feb 21, 2025 8:13 pm
"So, what are we allowed to do with them when we find them? Do you want them returned as we find them, or are we allowed to use them, in extremis, and if we know how to use them?

Ryoji Hiromoto

ForeverDED

Feb 21, 2025 9:26 pm
Ryoji Hiromoto
"All data crystals, alloy cubes, and artifacts are to be loaded into your ship and brought back to Karum Station. You will be paid for everything that you bring back.

"We don't encourage using anything that you find. There's a lot that we don't know about these artifacts. Injuries and fatalities have resulted from improper and ignorant use of items found offworld."
Feb 22, 2025 3:11 am
A loud sigh emanates from the back of the room, "So we probably shouldn’t touch nothing," a woman with short blonde and red hair says from the back of the room, "we definitely shouldn’t muck about with nothing and we’re going places unknown with little more a handgun and a knife."

She snorts, smirking ever so slightly as she fixes her hair, "Sounds fun."
Feb 22, 2025 9:14 am
A rather scruffy, unshaven man near the front turns at the new voice. "Been through worse" he says. "Adapt and overcome and all that bollocks."
Feb 22, 2025 6:15 pm
"Hooya." The woman at the back says in a passable imitation of an American accent. "Willkommen in der Scheiße, Bruder." She adds with a laugh.

"When do we get to go?" She asks leaning her chair back against the wall. She has a distinctly Scandinavian accent.
Feb 22, 2025 11:57 pm
Dimitri, a solidly built, dark skinned man with his hair slicked back, shrugs. "Sounds like what we signed up for. Start at the bottom, then fortune or glory."
Feb 23, 2025 3:23 am
https://i.imgur.com/7yVR2ji.jpegEriko Sato, a globally adored pop icon, now stands on the precipice of a dramatic transformation at Karum Station, a beacon of humanity's desperate hope amidst a dying Earth in the early 22nd century.

Invited to Karum Station by Drake Industries as a public relations asset, Eriko is far more than a mere celebrity. She is a shrewd negotiator, and a beacon of hope for the little people. While outwardly projecting the image of a morale booster for the colonies across the solar system, she secretly harbors a deep resentment towards the corporations and Martian elite who exploit the Earth's dwindling remaining resources.

Eriko is driven by a burning desire to find a solution to Earth's ecological collapse. She is not just seeking a new challenge; she is on a covert mission. Her past, etched with the harsh realities of poverty, fuels her determination to fight for the marginalized. She is preparing to become a deep diver, a dangerous pursuit into the mysteries of alien technology, using this new role to gather information and influence.

Behind the glamorous facade and captivating stage persona, Eriko Sato is a complex and driven individual. She is a master of disguise, using her celebrity to move within the circles of power and influence, all while plotting a rebellion against the very system that seeks to control her. Her performances, once mere entertainment, now carry the weight of social commentary and coded messages of resistance. She is a symbol of hope, a voice of defiance, and a social force to be reckoned with.

Rising from the depths of poverty to the heights of stardom, Eriko is a study in contrasts. A vision of striking beauty, with her long, layered black hair adorned with vibrant colors and inspired accessories, her dramatic white makeup, cat eyes, and bold red lipstick. Picture of her without makeup are rare.

Eriko is sitting at the table with her fellow deep divers, wearing one of her signature short kimonos, with vibrant red floral patterns, speak of her artistic spirit and unyielding connection to her Asian heritage, even as she ventures into the cold, utilitarian world of space exploration. Her tights are bare, but most of her legs are covered by long boots, her arms are crossed and she observe silently, not having any follow up question. She smells fresh and parfumed, not like someone who didn't shower for a couple of days like the others.

Her gaze lingered on Hiromoto, another Japanese face in this corporate hive, and in the space of a heartbeat, she'd filed him away: corporate drone. Untrustworthy.
Last edited February 23, 2025 4:31 am

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