The "opening" to this is IC, so as to set the scene. Imagine that you are part of an audience - a large audience of assorted beings of all species, races, occupations and genders, though all are high-ranking and from various branches of various scientific, corporate and military organizations - and are being addressed by a male, human scientist in his late 40's. A scifi setting - large hall. Our scientist stands at a podium in front of a stage. Behind the stage is a massive screen, capable of displaying images in high resolution... let the games begin! I shall explain more once the initial briefing is complete...
~~
IC:
The scientist clears his throat and looks around at the assembled audience.
"Welcome to Project Aurora, Gentlebeings. As you may or may not be aware, no less than 24 hours ago, the system now designated as Ikori appeared on sensors across the universe, apparently from nowhere, deep within the Neutral Zone."
The crowd seem mostly unsurprised, but a few start whispering to each other in various languages. The screens flicker to display an outer overview of the system. Nearly two dozen planetary bodies orbit the star, most of which are mottled greys, browns and reds.
"Ikori is home to a number of extremely uninhabitable planets, a majority of which are malformed or appear to have suffered extreme damage, perhaps as a result of intense warfare and orbital bombardment. Only one is habitable - the pristine Ikori Omicron, or Ikori XV in the GCPDS*. Where the system appeared from, how it appeared so suddenly in apparently empty space and what happened to it's planets has confounded scientists."
The whispering starts to pick up as the image zooms in on a single earth-like planet - pristine amongst the uninhabitable balls of rock.
"Please, be quiet. What I am about to reveal is top secret, and most of all, extremely important."
The audience quiet down again. The scientist waves one hand and the screens whirr and flicker, zooming in on the surface of Ikori XV. A small grey speck grows larger and larger, expanding as the camera closes in.
"The sole sign of inhabitance on the planet is this. We believe it to be some kind of military installation. What you are seeing here is a live feed from a probe camera as it descends towards the installation. Due to electromagnetic interference we cannot use matter transferrance systems to transport anything down to the surface remotely."
He looks over his shoulder, watching as the probe moves closer and closer to the ground, the soft hum of the landing boosters coming in over the speakers, the scientist turning around fully. A few structures become clear, but the picture seems to be becoming fuzzier and fuzzier. Shapes can be seen moving around on the ground, apparently making for the cover of some of the structures.
"...odd, we appear to be experiencing some technical difficul--"
The scientist stops mid sentence as there is a metallic crunch and the screens display static. The whispering starts again, but the audience seem mostly calm.
"--...ties?"
He turns around again, looking at the audience, looking rather confused.
"Oh dear. That was unexpected... this complicates matters massively."
He clears his throat again and takes a drink from a glass of water.
"Well, as I was going to say... the board will soon be accepting profiling for review."
The audience go quiet again, as if confused.
"Gentlebeings, Project Aurora's goal is now to send a landing party down to that facility. You have all been selected as potential volunteers for the landing party. However..."
Suddenly, the whispering strikes up again.
"...be quiet, please..."
He frowns as the audience quietens down.
"As I was saying, however... not all of you will make it past the final profiling review. Not all of you have to accept this task, either. Those of you who do will be moving to the docking lobby."
He smiles shakily and sips at his water again.
"You may now use your consoles to confirm your profiling data and make any final adjustments prior to submission. You will be deployed by shuttle as soon as all applications are confirmed and the final process is complete."
The consoles in front of each seat light up, activating quietly... and yours is one of the first to activate...
The profile entry display flashes up and invites you to submit your details.
~~
OOC:
All that said and done, we drop back to OOC for the final stage. Feel free to ask any questions - either IC (they will be answered IC) or OOC (they will be answered OOC of course) - though do not expect answers to plot-spoiling questions.
This is the character sheet (profile entry display), C&P it into your reply, then fill it in;
Code: Select all
Full Name:
Age:
Gender: (If Applicable)
Species/Race:
Occupation: (Scientist/Military/etc. - specific particular branch (quantum physics, naval operations, etc.) if possible)
Rank: (If Applicable)
~~
Height: (either format (feet/inches or meters) are acceptable)
Build: (slim? bulky? athletic?)
Colouration: (hair, skin, eyes, etc.)
Traits: (physical or otherwise)
~~
Abilities/Training:
Possessions:
The same goes for your race or species. If you can, link to a description of the species (preferably a relevant wiki entry) or post a full description. Races and species and any innate abilities must be balanced. For example, if your species is capable of turning invisible by natural phenomenon, they may be physically weak and their stealth capabilities may not be perfect. A species with high resilience to damage may be slower than others, and so on.
The general tech level is near future. Lasers, plasmas, etc. etc. - there is no nanotechnology, however. Robotics and artificial intelligences are in full swing, though the latter tend to be kept under careful watch to prevent what Marathon fans might know of as "Rampancy" or rebellion. In other words, robots, androids and cyborgs are perfectly acceptable too. Just anticipate that there may be trouble after what happened to the probe.
Take in mind all characters should be from a military, scientific or corporate branch due to the top-secret nature of the briefing. You are, however, going alone, save for the rest of the volunteers. No orbital support, no escorts.
Last of all; You may not nuke the site from orbit just to be sure.
Addendum; No, you may not use $generic_wide_scale_destruction_weapon on the site from orbit just to be sure.