spitballing some ideas here, everything subject to debate & change...
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The First Interstellar Colonization Conference (*not* a Convention, there's a difference) convenes on Stellvia (buying out the entire hotel block along with one ring) in 202X. The goal of the conference is to hash out plans and policy for outworld colonies now that Fenspace is closing on mature enough to support it and terrestrial nations are looking on getting into the action. Attendees are reps from the Space Powers, Fen-aligned nations and Convention members with an interest (UFP, Soviets as a stand-alone, Artemis, Greenwood, NERV off the top of my head as the majors, probably others as well).
Some highlights:
* The Federation cedes partial control over Chiron and Arcadia to UNOOSA to help spur colonization.
** Arcadia colonization is limited to areas outside the known impact zone for the Arcadia Gate, to minimize looting.
* Greenwood & USGov enter into 25-year colonization agreement for Gwynedd.
* India reaffirms commitment to the Shamballa colony, pledges to move another 50,000 people there in the next five years.
* PRC announces plans to colonize $star_tbd{1} using only homegrown technology. This is the first time China has publicly endorsed anything handwavium-related since the Last Train Ride of 2009.
* And I'm sure you guys could come up with some more bullet points, I'm just trying to get the idea out.
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skygirl: omg Mal you didn't
skygirl: twitter is lying again right?
skygirl: Mal come on you didn't do this
notclearedforthat: Que?
skygirl: you didn't tell the Aussie PM to fuck off on international TV, right?
skygirl: that's just a hallucination or trolls being trolls?
notclearedforthat: Well, no. I told him that the Soviet wasn't going to approve any of his plans to colonize the Citadel coast.
notclearedforthat: All in very clear and polite language.
notclearedforthat: And THEN, since the withered old racist didn't seem to get it, I used words he'd understand. To wit, "fuck off, we're full."
skygirl: oh god. why.
notclearedforthat: Because he was asking for it.
notclearedforthat: Because scooping up terrifed boat people & shipping them off to a concentration camp on another planet isn't colonization, it's next-level supervillainy.
notclearedforthat: And because he kept trying to push it knowing we'd never agree, because he thinks we owe him something.
skygirl: well when you put it like THAT
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Checkpoint Charlie (UV/BL Ceti)
The UV/BL Ceti system is a red dwarf binary about 8.7 light years away from Sol. Neither star is really capable of supporting life, as they're both dim red dwarfs orbiting close together and both are flare stars capable of sterilizing worlds completely at random. The system would be of only passing interest to astrophysicists except for the invention of the stutterwarp in 202X and resulting colonization boom.
By a quirk of interstellar geometry, UV/BL Ceti turned out to be right on the stutterwarp path for four our of five "core" colony worlds: Gallifrey, Vulcan, Shamballa and Gwynedd. Combined with the stutterwarp's mandatory post-jump cooldown period, a lot of traffic suddenly appeared in the system with nowhere to go for 48-72 hours. Sensing opportunity, entrepreneurs set out for UV/BL Ceti, located a suitable Luna-sized object and established the Checkpoint Charlie outpost, offering refreshment, entertainment and resupply for ships heading inward or outward...
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SITE DESIGNATION: TANIS
LOCATION: $lat, $long, Valinor (Z1Ret a.1)
DESCRIPTION:
Tanis is an overgrown ruin discovered on the surface of Valinor via photomapping done by the Third Expedition. The site is roughly ten to fifteen square kilometers in size, indicating a small town or outpost. Buildings within the site were carved from the native stone similar to buildings found in parts of Luna. Layout seems to be radial in nature, with ring paths connected by spokes radiating from the central building...
(...) The central building is still 95% intact, albiet covered with loess and ground cover. It also incorporates Gate Alloy Component #2 (skuldium) and possibly semi-inert handwavium into the building rock, indicating that this particular building was meant to endure beyond other structures at Tanis...
(...) Inside the central building is a large chamber approx. 20m in diameter and 30m high. The section of wall opposite the entrance is decorated with an elaborate set of glyphs (...) upon entering the chamber investigators discovered that handwavium based systems within the building were still functional and activated upon their arrival...
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery
FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information
"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"
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The First Interstellar Colonization Conference (*not* a Convention, there's a difference) convenes on Stellvia (buying out the entire hotel block along with one ring) in 202X. The goal of the conference is to hash out plans and policy for outworld colonies now that Fenspace is closing on mature enough to support it and terrestrial nations are looking on getting into the action. Attendees are reps from the Space Powers, Fen-aligned nations and Convention members with an interest (UFP, Soviets as a stand-alone, Artemis, Greenwood, NERV off the top of my head as the majors, probably others as well).
Some highlights:
* The Federation cedes partial control over Chiron and Arcadia to UNOOSA to help spur colonization.
** Arcadia colonization is limited to areas outside the known impact zone for the Arcadia Gate, to minimize looting.
* Greenwood & USGov enter into 25-year colonization agreement for Gwynedd.
* India reaffirms commitment to the Shamballa colony, pledges to move another 50,000 people there in the next five years.
* PRC announces plans to colonize $star_tbd{1} using only homegrown technology. This is the first time China has publicly endorsed anything handwavium-related since the Last Train Ride of 2009.
* And I'm sure you guys could come up with some more bullet points, I'm just trying to get the idea out.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
skygirl: omg Mal you didn't
skygirl: twitter is lying again right?
skygirl: Mal come on you didn't do this
notclearedforthat: Que?
skygirl: you didn't tell the Aussie PM to fuck off on international TV, right?
skygirl: that's just a hallucination or trolls being trolls?
notclearedforthat: Well, no. I told him that the Soviet wasn't going to approve any of his plans to colonize the Citadel coast.
notclearedforthat: All in very clear and polite language.
notclearedforthat: And THEN, since the withered old racist didn't seem to get it, I used words he'd understand. To wit, "fuck off, we're full."
skygirl: oh god. why.
notclearedforthat: Because he was asking for it.
notclearedforthat: Because scooping up terrifed boat people & shipping them off to a concentration camp on another planet isn't colonization, it's next-level supervillainy.
notclearedforthat: And because he kept trying to push it knowing we'd never agree, because he thinks we owe him something.
skygirl: well when you put it like THAT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Checkpoint Charlie (UV/BL Ceti)
The UV/BL Ceti system is a red dwarf binary about 8.7 light years away from Sol. Neither star is really capable of supporting life, as they're both dim red dwarfs orbiting close together and both are flare stars capable of sterilizing worlds completely at random. The system would be of only passing interest to astrophysicists except for the invention of the stutterwarp in 202X and resulting colonization boom.
By a quirk of interstellar geometry, UV/BL Ceti turned out to be right on the stutterwarp path for four our of five "core" colony worlds: Gallifrey, Vulcan, Shamballa and Gwynedd. Combined with the stutterwarp's mandatory post-jump cooldown period, a lot of traffic suddenly appeared in the system with nowhere to go for 48-72 hours. Sensing opportunity, entrepreneurs set out for UV/BL Ceti, located a suitable Luna-sized object and established the Checkpoint Charlie outpost, offering refreshment, entertainment and resupply for ships heading inward or outward...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SITE DESIGNATION: TANIS
LOCATION: $lat, $long, Valinor (Z1Ret a.1)
DESCRIPTION:
Tanis is an overgrown ruin discovered on the surface of Valinor via photomapping done by the Third Expedition. The site is roughly ten to fifteen square kilometers in size, indicating a small town or outpost. Buildings within the site were carved from the native stone similar to buildings found in parts of Luna. Layout seems to be radial in nature, with ring paths connected by spokes radiating from the central building...
(...) The central building is still 95% intact, albiet covered with loess and ground cover. It also incorporates Gate Alloy Component #2 (skuldium) and possibly semi-inert handwavium into the building rock, indicating that this particular building was meant to endure beyond other structures at Tanis...
(...) Inside the central building is a large chamber approx. 20m in diameter and 30m high. The section of wall opposite the entrance is decorated with an elaborate set of glyphs (...) upon entering the chamber investigators discovered that handwavium based systems within the building were still functional and activated upon their arrival...
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery
FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information
"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"