Bendross III
Group Name: The Bendross III colonization Mission
Created by: Gene Ambacher and Jay P Hailey
Appearance: Gene's 1990s Bendross RPG, Jay's Bendross Stories effectively, Cyberpunk meets Colony Alpha.
Number of Members: 15,000 colonists and crew on the Bendross III as well as support crew
Nature of Members: Colonists and starship crew chosen to be the best of the best of the 2060s
Organization: Corporate and paramilitary.
Game Role: To take the PCs to the Bendross system and strand them there.
World Role: To take the colonists to the Bendross system and strand them there, facilitating the colonization of the system.
Relative Influence: On Earth, little. Another corporate boondoggle. In the Bendross systemn - extreme - the secon coming of civilization.
Public or Secret? Public
Publicly Stated Goal: To create a prosperous and profitable colony in the bendross system.
Relative Wealth: Compared to other colonization missions, above average - Arthur Bendross was shooting the works.
Group advantages: The best equippment money could buy and the best people who could be filtered through the
Special Abilities: They have no idea what is and isn't possible and so are liable to improvise truly unusual solutions to problems.
Group disadvantages: Crossing unknown space to an unknown location and they don't even clearly know just how much they don't know.
Special disadvantages: They are in a slow, under armed rattle trap of a ship
Those who favor them: They themelves, allied Lemurites
Those opposed to them: Monsters, Predators, Evironmentalists
Area of Operation: Bendross Alpha, the Bendross system.
Headquarters Location: Landing/Bendross/Olson "City"
Public Face: Intrepid colonizers and explorers of a strange new world.
Notable Members:
Arthur Bendross - meglomanical billionaire financialist who funded the
colonization as a monument to himself.
Alicia Bendross - Niece of Arthur Bendross and defacto ruler of the Colony
Brennan Antony - Vice President of Colonial Operations.
Captain Donovan Olson - An old and experienced astronaut. His experience helps get the ship to Bendross
Martin Kerenski - Senior Security Associate, Excursion Team Two and Tenth Shift.
Michelle Gibbons - 10th Shift and Excursion 2 Chief Science officer, ecologist and bio-sciences,
Stephanie Jon Dou -10th shift and Excursion 2 Chief Medical Officer
Linda Vasquez - Bendross I Security.
Hamilton Ashby - 10th Shift Excursion 2 Chief Pilot and Computer programmer.
Rudy Greenvele - 10th Shift and Excursion 2 crewman
Tristan Mancuso - Senior Engineer
History of the Organization:
2072 - The Bendross III Launches
2082 - Tenth Shift on Bendross III
2092 - Bendross III arrives in the Bendross System
2097 - Bendross colony established and growing successfully
Fate of the Organization:
The Colony on Bendross Alpha was successfully established and has grown to become
a modern, inhabited planet in the 2370s.
Ship Name: Bendross III
Brief description of ship: A spine with cylindrical modules attached - and a warp drive section tacked on the back.
Fleet role: Colonizer
Age: 10 years old when launched
Built: 2062
Length: 300 meters
Distinguishing Marks (Odd paint job, repair scars etc.)
The Bendross III was a heavily altered normal space tug. It also had the Bendross
Corporate Logo painted all over it. This normal Space tug then had a warp drive
stage built onto the back.
Equipment Quirks and Problems: The Bendross III was a one-of-a-kind conversion. She was a technological pathfinder and had teething problems
Equipment Advantages: When completed the Bendross III had the most advanced Impulse Drives and Warp Drives of her day, and coul outrun most of the ships in the Earth system.
Shuttles, number, any odd ones?: The Bendross III had large numbers of cargo shuttles, landing tugs and excursion crafts.
Primary Power: The Bendross III used a first generation revised matter/anti-matter reactor. It successfully operated for 20 straight years and then was abanoned, a feat that makes modern warp drive engineers blanch
Secondary Power: The Bendross III used a robust array of fusion reactors
for all operating power.
Primary Weapons: The Bendross III mounted a powerful Laser cannon on
the nose to clear obstacles in her path.
Secondary Weapons: The Bendross III mounted two missile launchers with a small variety of conventional and nuclear missiles
Service History : The Bendross III was one of a number of sub light freighters designed to support colonization and exploitation of the Solar system. The economic ruin of the third world war destroyed the finances and will to pursue such activities.
This lead to the giant normal space freighters being docked, sold very cheaply and exploited poorly for the ongoing war on Earth.
When news of the invention of Warp Drive and first contact broke, there was no real plan or organized concept of how to use this new technology and new ideas.
There was a general feeling that Earth was on the verge of destruction.
This lead to a sort of frantic land rush feeling. The Ship known as Bendross III was sold twice to speculators seeking to exploit the land rush away from Earth.
then the ship along with five other of similar constction was bought by the Bendross Corporation. Three of them were fitted out as colonizers.
After a twenty voyage through interstellar space the Bendross III was stranded in the Bendross System. The ship served for 30 more years as a mining ship, explorer and spac based manufacturing center before being retired due to metal fatigue of her skeletal structure.
The Bendross III Joined the Bendross I as part of th bendross Colony's space station and exists today as a museum in the Bendross System.
Crew: 10,000 Mostly in cryogenic hibernation. 12 - 24 people awake on watch.
On a scale of 1 - 1000 where 1000 is The Enterprise-D
Science capacity - 250
Crew Comfort - 100
Duration - 4000
Medical facilities - 100
Tactical maneuvering - 10
Strategic Speed - 3
Defense - 3
Offense - 3
Versatility - 50
Internal Security - 10
-*-
10th watch
The tenth year of the Starship Bendross’ Colony mission. Expedition team
#2, the PCs, were the on duty crew for the 10th watch.
A frightening hand canon
Joe Little’s side arm. A conventional firearm, probably a revolver in the
.500+ caliber range. Inappropriate for the colonization mission (Once his packed
supply of ammunition was gone, there would be no resupply) Joe kept it mainly
for Psychological effect. Probably a Casul 454
A Killer, Poison Flatline, a Krash, A watchdog
Hacking programs used by netrunners. See the Cyber Punk 2020 rule book for details
Work Pod
A vehicle used in orbital construction. Noted for an excellent view. “A
work pod that, if anything cost more than his old WWIII eras fighter plane.
The work pod was a robotic vehicle that was essentially a small transparent
aluminum bubble with a heavy set of maneuvering thrusters and a plethora of
robotic arms all over it.”
Alicia Bendross
Arthur Bendross’ niece. For reasons yet to be explained she finds herself
a participant in the Bendross III mission. A spoiled rich girl, a vapid air
head persona covers a competent schemer
Alpha Centauri Colony
Earth’s first extra-Solar colony, eventual home to Zefram Cochrane. Alpha
Centauri is home to a thriving Human culture. However they welcomed the Earth
Colony on their second habitable planet, as a gesture of friendship, to take
advantage of Earth people’s technical acumen, and as a sort of off site
backup of Earth culture, which they feared was doomed on Earth. The Colony is
a joint project between Earth and Alpha Centauri. The Alpha Centauri Colony
quickly adapted to Alpha Centaurian Culture, and integrated well.
Amy Harbaugh
One of the technicians on 7th watch on the Bendross III mission. Not as pleasant
a woman as she first appears.
Aritous Blake
A former Adventuring companion of Rudy Greenvele, Bryant Staad, Drake Anderson,
and Simon Vogel. Vogel and Blake had a marriage that went bad, Blake left the
LA area in 2062, taking her children, Rose Vogel and Arthur Vogel with her.
Armstrong City
The first City on the Moon, in the Sea of Tranquillity. A subterranean warren,
it’s generally boring in 2072, concetrating mainly on the business of mining
the moon to supply space infrastructure.
Arthur Bendross
A Fabulously wealthy entrepreneur and Capitalist in the 2070s. Since the invention
of Warp Drive he has been hemorrhaging money trying to establish a human presence
outside of the Solar system. Bendross a closet Science Fiction fan believes
that humanity needs to get away from Earth before it self destructs. He is also
an egomaniac of the first water, and believes that if he’s in on the “ground
floor” of interstellar travel and exploration his name will live on forever.
Balgoria
A postage stamp country in Eastern Europe. Scene of fighting during WWIII. A
reference to Mike Mayhews traveller game.
Bendross I
The first of the Bendross Colonization ships. Carrying 5000 people in hibernation
and a first generation warp drive, it utterly disappeared 5 years into it’s
mission. No one on Earth has any idea what happened to it. The Bendross I was
stocked 2/1 with women, many of the women pregnant, under the impression that
men were less necessary and that immediate population growth was imperative.
Bendross II
A near duplicate of the Bendross III mission launched three years prior to Bendross
III. It detonated just outside the orbit of mars, killing all aboard. Later
examination of the evidence indicates that this ship was the victim of sabotage.
A modified long haul Cargo ship carring 10,000 colonists in hibernation
Bendross III
The last of the Bendross missions, this ship as similar to the Bendross II,
except with somewhat updated drives, equipment and planning.
Bendross III Project
The name of the project dedicated to recruiting people for and outfitting the
Colony ship Bendross III
Bendross Security
The security department of the Bendross Corporation. Known for taking their
job way too seriously. Allegations of violence and murder have never been proven.
They hire veterans with proven track records of intelligence, ruthlessness and
physical durability.
Black Lake
A lake near Vista City California. Hard to get to, and in a small valley, This
area was abandoned in the early 21st century, and later became the cemetary
for the area. On good days Black Lake looks like fun for water recreation but
it’s always colder than is really comfortable.
Boeing
The last of the American Areospace Giants. In the 2060’s using liscensed
copies of Cochranes warp drives and technology derived from that break through,
Boeing produced an innovative and useful set of new space ships and starship
technology. However, Boeing did this by going deeply into debt anticipating
a further growth in space based economy. This space boom did occur but not quite
as hard as Boeing was banking on. Boeing sold expedition and cargo vessels at
cut rates hoping to stay ahead of mounting debts.
Bonanza
A mid 20th century video program, featuring the adventures of the strangely
all male Cartwright family in a highly fictionalized 19th century western America.
Like many other cultural relics of the 20th century, it survived long past it’s
own relevance, due mainly to the lack of energy and money for the 21st century
to make it’s own cultural expressions.
Brenan Antony
Vice President of colonial Operations, Antony is the on site supervisor for
the Bendross III colonization mission. Antony is a die hard fanatic for the
Bendross Corporation and invests a lot of his self image in the well being of
the Bendross Corporation.
beta-cloth
A sort of cloth created from spun and woven silicon. Generally the consistency
of Denim, Beta cloth is very tough and not terribly flammable compared to organic
cloth. Since it’s made from Silicon, beta-Cloth is very popular in space
based economies. Beta-cloth circa 2072 is highly engineered and comfortable.
Brown
A Bigot in Orbit City. Gets his ass kicked.
Brown, another brown
In the late 2050s This Brown was murdered. Rudy Greenvele and several friends
became involved in the death and eventually brought the killers to justice during
a frightening gun battle. This event marked the beginning of Rudy, Bryant, Drake
and Simon as an adventuring group. Not too long afterwards they formed the “Nightstalkers”
private detective agency in Los Angeles.
By 2062, the Nightstalkers had broken up amidst bad feelings a melodrama.
Bryant Staad
A tall, chiseled man, with aristocratic features, and impressive physical presence.
Bryant was an old friend of Rudy Greenvele from college. One of the founders
of the Night Stalkers Detective Agency, Bryant lost interest in the group when
he met and married Jacqueline Post, a doctor from Arkansas. Bryant was a programmer,
and a good one, given that he never got a neural implant and went into Cyberspace.
Bryant had three children, triplets, of whom he was inordinately proud.
Chez Mario's
A Night club thematically based on the classic series of video games from the
late 20th century. Characterized by bright colors, and hydraulically driven
rising and settling blocks, dances often taken the form of nerf riots with patrons
belting each other with foam rubber mallets and other instruments of destruction.
Like Studio 54 three generations earlier, Chez Mario’s appeal was based
on exclusivity. Doormen only let in the most beautiful, stylish or well known
people. Getting accepted into Chez Mario’s was a major sign of social approval.
Clemenceau from the European Union.
A European space cruiser. Following the escape of Khan and the theft of the
warp drive prototype Savannah, Both the European Union and the United States
tried to flog their tired economies for space based military forces. The Clemenceau
was one of a very few such ships which proved to be mostly useless anachronisms.
However they gave Earth useful experience in how to man and organize space going
ships.
Clyde Tombaugh
The Astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1938. Hamilton Ashby used the name as
an Alias.
Coke
A soft drink manufacturer. By the mid 21st century Coke parlayed an financial
Empire into multinational power and influence. Coke owned many brand names and
subsidiary organizations. Coke had a finger in almost everything. By the 2050s
selling softdrinks were a small part of their corporate earnings. Often spoken
of in the same breath with Microsoft as the biggest challenge for hackers.
Command module
Part of the Bendross III where the bridge and command and control computers
were housed. Because this was a modular set up, the bendross III was able to
be equipped with some of the most advanced equipment of it’s day signifigantly
enhancing it’s performance.
Console Cowboy Hacker
In Cyberpunk 2020, often refered to as a “Netrunner” see that book
for details.
Continuum Displacement Drive
The original name for Cochrane’s Warp drive. In the Early Warp Drive era
it was common to speak of full on, big ship FTL drive as warp drive, and the
smaller systems used for in-system travel by the name Continuum displacement
Drived, or CDDs. This system was later refined and termed “Impulse Drive”
Cops in a Can
Hamilton and Stephanie Jon Dou’s ironic name for the default position of
in ship security held by Martin and Hamilton. A reference to the no-doubt still
running “Cops” TV show.
Crips, or the Bloods
Two competing political parties in the Southern California Area. In the mid-21st
century, it was essentially impossible for any politican to make any head way
in Southern California politics without endorsement from one of these two groups.
Although fierce rivals in the 20th century, by the 21st century political leaders
such as Ice T, and Snoop Dogg lead the gangs into the lucrative and influential
fields of politics. Critics and politics watchers claimed that the rivalry and
feud between the two groups was mostly show in the early 21 century and that
the two parties were all but identical. Allegations of violence and murder against
political critics and rivals on the part of the crips and bloods were never
proven.
Crystal Heathers
An Agriculture specialist from 7th watch. Murdered sometime during the voyage
of the bendross.
Crystal Lannier Ashby
Hamilton Ashby’s mother. Out of pride she tried to go it alone when her
husband was killed. Crystal Lannier Ashby was a baliff at the LA county courthouse
and despite poverty, seemed to be holding her head above water. However in 2059,
Crystal Lannier Ashby was killed in rioting at the courthouse.
Cyberspace
A consensual mass illusion. A graphical method of representing data and data
relationships on the world wide web. First popularized by William Gibson in
his 1984 novel “Neuromancer”. In a case of life imitating art, the
hackers of the early 21st century used the technology on online games to create
a new way of representing the world wide web, based on Gibsons imaginings. By
the mid 21st century, the notion of Cyberspace had taken hold and it was the
medium in which most programmers and hackers worked.
Donovan Olson
A veteran of the second mars missions of the 2010’s. Olson and his crew
were among the first to successfully use hibernation to make a long journey
across the solar system. A contemporary of Col. Shaun Jeffery Christopher, Olson
was hailed as a heroic astronaut in the old mold. Olson survived into the 22nd
century by virtue of spending a grand total of nearly 40 years in hibernation,
a record in the annals of space exploration. In 2072, Olson was considered retired,
and well out of date in the modern space industry. But Arthur Bendross asked
Olson to command the Bendross III mission under the impression that technical
skill was present, but leadership and experience were necessary. This decision
probably saved the Bendross mission.
Drake Anderson
An adventurer in the 2040’s, with Rudy Greenvele, Bryant Staad and Simon
Vogel. Drake was a photographer who was never well suited to adventuring. Eventually
he discovered his calling in the field of politics. Selling out to the crips
the effeminate but charming Drake became a long time state representative in
the California state senate. Drake was a closeted gay man and never truly admitted
his own orientation to himself.
DY-100 local space freighter
An artifact of the late 1980’s Reagan Space program, this ship was an orbit-to-orbit
ship designed to build and support space stations, and the fledgling space defense
system. In 1996 Kahn and a party stole one, and naming it the Botany Bay they
ran for deep space. A DY-100 was part of the disastrous first mars Mission which
failed with heavy casualties. The DY-100 was never well suited for deep space
missions, because it’s nuclear motor, while fast for the late 20th century
was not fast enough to make deep space exploration practical. Refit with CDD
drives the DY-250 made a resurgence was a generic design seen for nearly a century
all over the Solar system. The DY-500 refit with warp drives saw some success.
Eastern Alliance
The Eastern Alliance was a Coalition of eastern states, resentful third world
countries and holdovers from Colonel Green’s war. In a war later described
by historians as a conflict between outright totalitarianism and corporate totalitarianism
with better PR, the Eastern Alliance and the Western Allies fought for 15 years
in an orgy of violence, called at the time, World War III. WWIII never ended
so much as it simply ground down. By the late 2050’s and early 2060’s
the Eastern Alliance was in full economic collapse, starvation and poverty was
endemic. By the late 2060’s the discovery of warp drive by the west rendered
the Eastern Alliance irrelevant. Some terrorism was seen after this but the
Eastern Alliance was effectively done.
Eric Stillwell
A physicist on Excursion Team Two. A genius and savant.
Excursion Team Number Two
The Bendross III included in its organization three excursion teams, groups
meant to be scouts, investigators and field scientists for the mission. Excursion
team #2 included Martin Kerenski, Hamilton Ashby, Rudy Greenvele, Stephanie
Jon Dou, Michelle Gibons, Eric Stillwell, Michella and one more who’s name
escapes me. Tristan Mancuso, the Ship’s chief Engineer hung around with
Excursion Team #2 quite a bit but was not officially a member of that team.
Executive Hair
A high ranking officer in the Bendross Corporation, he was responsible for making
the deal which put Hamilton Ashby on the Bendross III.
F-4 Phantom II
A type of fighter plane, used in the 1960’s over Viet Nam. Steve Ashby
flew one. Mikki Ashby kept pictures of the planes her family flew in her den.
Hamilton Ashby recognized the type of plane his great grand father flew.
F-97/98
The last front line American transatmospheric fighter plane. These served from
the 2050’s until obsoleted by advancing technology. The F-97 was capable
of semi-ballistic strategic flight at mach 15+ and could engage enemy targets
from the ground to low earth orbit. This plane featured the latest in smart
composite materials, high tech avionics, scram jet engines and genius missiles.
Most F-97s were equipped for neural interface for superior control and reaction
times By the early 2060’s the once proud planes were flying without proper
maintenance or spare parts, in barely functional states. Still their pilots
made them fly and managed to score kills against Eastern Alliance Air dreadnoughts
and battlewagons. By 2065, a bare handful remained on alert status, the rest
having been stood down and stripped for parts. By 2070 they were obsolete, and
generally considered laser bait.
Farley chip
A type of cybernetic implant. Politics for 150 years have used files called
“Farley files” to enhance their memory of colleagues and constituents.
A farley chip essentially fills the same function allowing a properly equipped
cyborg literally photographic memory, and the ability to hold dozens of personnel
files in an electronic adjunct to his personal memory. Handy for politicians,
salesmen, celebrities and other people who specialize in social relationships.
Hamilton can use these in his neural interface, and Idly wishes for ione during
his great aunt’s (Mikki Ashby) funeral, but Hamilton actually doesn’t
own one. From GURPS Cyberpunk
The blue prints
The blue prints of the Bendross III never were printed out on paper. The flat
display would have been considered hopelessly inadequate. Instead the blue prints
were a horribly complex series of three-dimensional images in the computers
of the day. People Studying the plans could view components from any angle,
rotate them or view then in the context of the whole machine including simulated
operations. Hamilton Ashby could, using his neural interface actually seem to
enter the virtual space of the blue print and interact with them as if the object
described were three dimensional objects before him. This technology was old
hat by the time of the Bendross III first being pioneered in the 1980’s
and 1990s by Boeing for their 777 aircraft. The Blue prints of the Bendross
III had been compromised by hackers and subtly rewritten to ensure the failure
of the mission. However alert colonists discovered these flaws and correct versions
of the blueprints were recovered and placed under higher security.
Friese
One of the crew people of the Bendross III on 7th watch
Galleria mall
A relic of the 20th century consumer culture. The Galleria Mall was a huge building
sub-divided into shops which displayed an incredible variety of goods for sale.
By 2070, the Galleria mall in the Western area of Los Angeles was 80 years past
it’s prime and it showed. However in the slow rebuilding from the wartime
economy, the mall was being slowly but surely recovered and rehabilitated.
Gauss gun
A form of personal side arm, it uses a series of magnets to accelerate a steel
needle down range at exceptional speed. A very effective weapon it came into
limited use at the end of WWIII and was adopted as the sidearm of the Bendross
III colonization project. It had two major advantages of conventional weapons,
the energy cell could be recharged indefinitely and the ammunition was steel
which the colony would be refining for it own use anyway. Gunpowder demands
a separate manufacturing process and isn’t useful for any other purpose.
Gutenburg Project MVD
A collection of classical works of Earthly civilization in a simple electronic
format. If held in print form, it would require several large buildings to hold.
Since the 1980’s the Gutenburg project has been working to gather classical
works and make them available for free in electronic format. The 2072 edition
of the Gutenberg Project MVD contained essentially the source code for 6000
years of civilization on Earth. Rudy Greenvele acquired it and smuggled it onto
the Bendross III hoping to preserve the core files of Earth civilization if
Earth did not survive.
Hamilton Ashby
Jay’s character on the Bendross III. A former fighter pilot and veteran
of WWIII, Hamilton’s post war career was as a “netrunner”, a
programmer and hacker. Hamilton has a neural interface, which allows him to
plug his brain directly into computers
Hanson Mychels
A frightening thug, tougher than you. He is covered with scars tattoos and is
a true sociopath who sees nothing whatsoever wrong with casually killing people
who get in his way. Mychels was a Commando During WWIII, in units noted for
brutality and thoroughness in their work. He was also a member of the feared
San Fransisco SWAT team, referred to as the “Snuffies” who kept law
and order in mid 21st century San Fransisco by the simple expedient of killing
any criminal, street operator, or cyberpunk who failed to surrender immediately
and unconditionally. Mychels was discharged from the SFPD when he and his team
responded to a shoot out in a local cyberpunk bar, and unwisely settled the
issue by slaughtering every living soul inside. Including a reporter whose camera
was live at the time. Mychels was immediately hired by Bendross Security, who
admire that sort of an attitude in their security troops
Hibernation hangover
A condition germaine to hibernation. Generally resembles a hangover. Sufferers
note headaches, aches and pains, and a generally unwell feeling following a
stint in hibernation. The main symptom of a hibernation hangover is visual impairment.
This generally goes away after a few minutes to an hour as the tear ducts recover
function and the eyes get moistened and recover from their ordeal.
High Frontiers colonization training program
A basic training outfit to train colonists for extra solar colonization missions.
They specialize in survival and orienteering training as well as familiarizing
colonists with an urban background about how live on farms and make them work.
Although admittedly working with too little information on extra solar planets,
it was felt that basic survival training was better than nothing.
The High Frontiers Training Program was essentially a wholly owned subsidiary
of the Bendross corporation, but still trained numerous colonists for several
missions.
Houston
A fellow netrunner of Hamiton’s acquaintance, she helps him out in a jam
and then disappears
Hunter vids
A mid 20th century video program, featuring the adventures of a tough cop and
his female partner in a fictionalized 20th century western America. Like many
other cultural relics of the 20th century, it survived long past it’s own
relevance, due mainly to the lack of energy and money for the 21st century to
make it’s own cultural expressions.
Jack Nogano
He is the Patriarch of the American Nogano Family. They are Nissei (People of
Japanese descent born in the U.S.) and of mixed parentage as well. This makes
the American Nogano Family not as well accepted in Japan. But they maintain
several Japanese traditions including staunch loyalty to family and adherence
to a code of honor. Jack Nogano is the president and CEO of Nogano America Corporation,
a small fry in the world of mega-corps, but still quite large, powerful and
wealthy. Jack is the grandson of Mikki Ashby and her husband, name currently
undefined.
Jack Rockwell
One of Alicia Bendross’s body guards. A Former Soldier, he was injured
in the war and took terrible injuries to his neck. He survived and was cybernetically
reconstructed. After a brief career in the LAPD, Jack turned to a more lucrative
and less dangerous career path of corporate security. Jack in nearly 7 feet
tall and unhappy on the Bendross III. He has a beach bum accent and loves to
surf. He follows a very laid back sort of Zen philosophy.
Jaqueline Post-Staad
A doctor from the Arkansas Ozark country. She moved to LA and hooked up with
Bryant Staad. Jacqueline adventured with the Night Stalkers briefly, but when
she and Bryant got serious about their relationship, they quickly left the world
of adventuring behind.
Jennifer Ashby
Steve Ashby’s wife. Hamilton Ashby’s great grandmother. She was a
government agent in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Following Steve’s
Death in 1994, she joined the FBI and fought subversion by the Khanian Supermen
with bitter vengeance. After the war, Jennifer retired to Vista City and Joined
the Vista City Police Department and helped found the Special Investigations
Squad.
Jennings, the chief mission pilot
The chief mission pilot for Bendross III. Hamilton considers him a overly conservative
wimp. Jennings is trained as a space pilot, not a fighter pilot. Probably a
good thing for the Bendross III
Joe Little
Alicia Bendross body guard, A laid back surfer dude accent in a scary looking
pro football figured street samurai. Joe Little accepted the job in order to
get medical treatment for an ill family member. He means to keep up his end
of the contract no matter what.
John Ashby
Son of Spaulding, grandson of Steve, Father to Hamilton. He was a fighter pilot
in the 2030s. He was shot down and killed in Colonel Green’s War. He left
his wife, Crystal Lannier Ashby and Hamilton Ashby behind.
John F. Kennedy from the United States
An American space cruiser. Following the escape of Khan and the theft of the
warp drive prototype Savannah, Both the European Union and the United States
tried to flog their tired economies for space based military forces. The John
F. Kennedy was one of a very few such ships which proved to be mostly useless
anachronisms. However they gave Earth useful experience in how to man and organize
space going ships.
John Lansing
A member of the 7th watch crew on the Bendross III. He is an agricultural and
botany specialist. He hopes to institute light impact farming on their new world.
Lansing has expressed strong political opinions.
Jurassic Park
A mid 20th century video program, featuring the adventures of a groups of scientists
and adventurers confronting dinosaurs in a fictionalized 20th century. Like
many other cultural relics of the 20th century, it survived long past it’s
own relevance, due mainly to the lack of energy and money for the 21st century
to make it’s own cultural expressions.
Kelli
She’s the receptionist for the High Frontiers Colonization training program.
She not too bright, but makes up for it by being self centered and bitchy.
Kerry Mark
She is Donovan Olson’s hand picked executive officer. She’s an adventurer
and space trained, but more importantly, she's an organizational whiz.
Leo Branigan
An Agricultural Specialist on the Bendross III, very handsome (reminiscent of
Casper Van Deim or Brendan Frasier) Leo is not too bright and easily for women
to manipulate.
Lowell Dome
An Observatory on the far side of the Moon. Still struggling to get completed
and operational, never the less it’s a permanent inhabitation on the Moon.
Luddites
A terrorist organization. They believe whole heartedly that technology is the
root of all evil. Picture the descendants of the ELF. They engage in bombings,
terror raids and sabotage trying to defeat Earth’s technological culture.
Dangerous opponents, they’re inconsistent and show no hesitation on using
the most advanced or dirty or destructive technology to accomplish their ends.
Malcom Forbes
A rich entrepreneur and mogul of the 20th century. Friend to stars and celebrities,
in his 70’s he threw the biggest social events in the world and drove a
Harley Davidson motorcycle around new York City. After his death it was revealed
that despite a long marriage and several children that Forbes was gay. Rudy
considers him something of a hero.
Marines
The United States Marine Corps, a subset of the U.S Military. Noted for fearless
competence, like all the services they were essentially used up by WWIII, although
the US marines had the distinction of retaining more discipline and better unit
morale until the end of the war.
Mark
On of Hamilton Ashby’s contacts, a “Fixer”. Mark received the
Mystery file from Hamilton Ashby and soon thereafter disappeared.
Mark Corp's Arcology
A huge self contained building in the heart of Los Angeles. Arcologies are self
contained buildings, which generate and recycle their own food, water and air.
They are expensive but very good for reducing pollution and increasing the carrying
capacity of a city. The Mark Corp’s Arcology in Los Angeles was a huge
feat to complete during WWIII, but seems to be justifying the expense. It decreased
high profile land values and shipping traffic all over LA.
Mars
The fourth planet in Sol System. Class H planet, not inhabitable except with
domes and arcologies. Visited by earth people consistently during the 21st century,
but not colonized until Impulse drives made reaching it more convenient. Once
the Mark Corporation proved an Arcology as a technological feat and impulse
drives allowed more easy access to the planet, then colonization proceeded at
good pace.
Martin Kerenski
Broc’s Character, A Space Marine, a very large man, generically handsome,
he is almost terminally blasé and matter of fact, but very much a follower
of the “Can Do” school of life.
Mayhew’s Vipers
A mercenary group operational in the 2050’s. A reference to Mike Mayhew’s
Traveller game.
McDonalds
A restaurant. A place where people can purchase pre-prepared food packaged for
easy transport and consumption. McDonalds restaurants were the most successful
example of the concept of franchise marketing. McDonalds restaurants appeared
everywhere and customers could be assured that every meal purchased at any McDonalds
was consistent with every other. The food itself was of dubious quality. When
traveling to the planet Bendross, Bendross colonists became acutely aware that
they would never again have another McDonalds hamburgers (Or at least it would
be until McDonalds could ship a restaurant out to the colony) And so some people
tried to cluelessly smuggle fast food on the ship.
Michelle "Mikki" Ashby-Nogano
Hamilton Ashby’s great Aunt. A former Government agent and mover and shaker
at Nogano America, she allowed Hamilton to drift away from the Family feeling
that if he wanted family, he’d come to them. She kept an eye on him anyway.
Her affection for her family was a reflection of her upbringing and reinforcement
from her Japanese Husband’s culture.
Michelle Gibbons
Sandi’s Character. A botanist and geneticist, She’s a genius. She
is one of a group of people (About half the crew) who earned her place aboard
the Bendross III through raw competence, rather then by bribery and influence.
Michelle Gibbons is vulnerable and real, and generally a refreshing change for
the Bendross III
Microsoft
One of a few world spanning mega-Corps. Microsoft in terms of money and power
is bigger than any individual country.
Microsoft has diversified its holdings and has it's fingers into almost every
aspect of Earth's economy.
Mojave
A desert area in California, chosen for the High Frontiers colonization training
program, because of it's challenging nature and proximity to Los Angeles.
Mr. Mittlesohn
An odd information broker in Los Angeles, a contact for a number of investigators
and adventurers. He advises Rudy to find natives and learn their ways. Does
he perhaps speak from experience?
Mulligan
A member of the 7th watch, Partied withCrytal Heathers and et-al
MVDs
Multiple Versatile Disks. Descendants of CDs and DVDs, they hold a boat load
of data and are the common data storage format of the late 21st century
Nogano-America
An American based corporation. Although it started out life as an extension
of the evil Japanese Nogano Corpration, it mutated as it uptook American DNA.
A player in the shadow world of the early 21st century. Small compared to the
huge multi-nationals, it was plucky and held up it's end of bargains it made
One of Ashby’s Ancestors
A reference to Scott Steven Ashby, (QV)
one-year duty shift
To make the 20 year trip to the star called Bendross, most of the colonists
were placed into suspended animation. But the ship needed maintenance and upkeep
to continue functioning. So watches were set, which each took a one year tour
of duty, providing routine maintenance and upkeep on the vessel to ensure it
would make it to the destination
Orbit City
A conglomeration of space station and construction yard, it is the port city
to deep space. In later years, its function will be performed by Space Dock.
The location of action in the creation of the new space infrastructure
PADDs
Personal Access Display Devices. The latest iteration of a notebook computer,
Designed by Microsoft and its subsidiaries, to try and take the emotional place
of pen and paper. Hopelessly defeated on the ground, they become popular in
space where you don't have toi pay the energy cost to ship each new sheet of
paper up the gravity well.
Paul Whitebear
The Director of the High Frontiers Colonization Training Program. A Military
Veteran, he's a good organizer, knows his survival skills (and those qualified
to teach.) and has an “understanding” with the Native American Mafia.
Position – Computers
A starship bridge position invented by Donovan Olson. Appropriate to conditions
where a human being is directly interfacing with the ship's computer. Otherwise,
it's a subset of the chief engineers job
Ranscombe
Vice President of Space Operations for Bendross Inc.
Rudy Greenvele
Jay's other Bendross Character. A flamboyantly gay man, and a wealthy one, he
bribes his way onto the Bendross Mission more out of a sense of ennui with his
life on Earth than any burning desire to explore strange new worlds.
Russian model ZK-742 nuclear limpet mine Circa about 2030
A limpet mine designed to be attached to nuclear aircraft carriers and other
high value targets at .05 kilotons it's actually a restained and efficient use
of force on the nulcear device scale. The Russians designed this to counter
act American military power, but wound up selling their military equipment and
techniques on the open market following the Eugenics war. No one likes the way
weapons, explosives and other military gear found their way into terrorist and
criminal hands following this.
Sanyo
One of the huge Multi-National corporations that is trying to run the world
as it winds down in the late 21st century. Mentioned by Hamilton as a challenge
for hackers
Scott Ashby (1945 – 1994)
Hamilton Ashby's great grandfather. A viet nam era fighter pilot, an apollo
astronaut and moonwalker, he was also a secret agent. He returned to active
duty as a fighter pilot more or less by surprise for the Eugenics war and was
killed in 1994
SEAL or a Ranger
A type of American Special Forces trooper. Highly trained both physically and
mentally, they are bench marks for excellence in the military arts.
Sergeant Blume
The chief survival trainer at the High Frontiers Colonization training program.
Picture R Lee Emory (Mail Call, Full Metal Jacket) here. I was.
Simon Vogel (2024 - ????)
A psionic in the mid 21st century – Simon was a member of the Nightstalkers
with Rudy Greenvele, Drake Anderson, Bryant Staad, Aritous Blake and Jaqueline
Post-Staad. He married Aritous Blake, and then despite a considerable physical
disadvatage, he became abusive of her. He went insane, however and was confined
to an institution, which struggle to enable him to recover and then use his
mental powers for national security purposes. Simon Vogel disappeared during
the AI war and has not been seen since
Spaulding Ashby (1984 – )
Scot Ashby's Son and Hamilton's Grandfather. Spaulding was assigned to a special
forces unit before becoming a fighter pilot and serving with distinction.
Spaulding's fate has not been established yet
Spaulding's wife Helen
Grand mother to Hamilton, Not much has been established about her yet
Spoiler “I been paid, Dude.” What Joe Little’s motivation
is
Little's Mother was ill with terminal cancer. He joined the Bendross III Crew
as Alicia's Body Guard in exchange for life saving treatment for his mother.
Stephanie Jon Dou
Sandi's character in Bendross. Stephanie is an MD, with some emergency room
experience. However immediate prior to joining the Bendross III mission she
was a highly paid Plastic Surgeon in Los Angeles. She hocked everything she
owned but amanged to come up with the $10 million bribe to secure a berth on
the Bendross III
Sysadmin
The person responsible for running and maintiaing a large networked computer.
A contraction of System Administrator
the Airforce Academy.
Located in Colorado, this is where Air Force Officers are trained. A demanding
academy, it was attended by Steve Ashby, Spaulding Ashby, John Ashby and Hamilton
Ashby.
The Aries II? The Mars Mission?
I haven't refined the time line on this yet, but an exciting and story worthy
mission to mars which had a disaster and was salvaged from total destruction
by Donovan Olson's Astronautical skills.
the Bendross data construct
The virtual reality representation of the Bendross Inc Data network. Or at leats
the parts accessible from the net.
The cybernetic underground
The culture of Street Samurai, Console Cowboys, Fixers, Riggers, Rockers, Medias
and general street life people, who formed a sort of under ground counter culture/rebellion
to the corporate take over of the world between 2050 and the 2090s
Hamilton and Martin were part of this culture before finding themselves on the
Bendross.
The first man to step foot on Mars was fifty years ago Or 2022.
the Rainbow Gladiator
A creaky, old and almost helpless but very earnest DY-100 Space craft owned
by Greenpeace, an organization with definite Luddite over tones. They tried
to interfere with the launch of the Bendross III with no success
The San Francisco Police Department's legendary Special Weapons Unit, the
Snuffies.
In the 2060s and 2070s the San Fransisco Police Departments SWAT Team was exceptionally
violent and murderous, just the thing to quell violence by Nihilistic Cyber-punks
and random psychopaths.
A reaction to their times, they were disbanded during the new, more enlightened
era, many members wound up insitutionalized or jailed.
The Siberian Rescue
The Event which made Rudy Greenvele a public adventurer, a friend was kidnapped
and held for ransom in Siberia. Rudy gathered together a team of mercenaries
and approached the hostage scene in a stealth LTA vehicle, and then rappelled
down with his mercenaries and took part in the fighting that released his friends.
To Rudy's dismay, one of the crewmen of his LTA ship was a ringer for a news
network and the whole event was broadcast live to the wired world.
The Staad Triplets
Elizabeth Marie, Jefferey Henry and Alexander Michael, all three kids the image
of their father, tall, sculpted, physically gifted and intelligent. They grew
up in Los Angeles in an idyllic Leave-it-to-Beaver life style, with Rudy as
a distant uncle.
Tristan Mancuso
Brocs bendross Character One of the Few humans Born in Space, Tristan is not
well acclimated to one full g, or the bugs and slime of life on a planetary
surface. He's a spacer and an engineer.
US Marines, Space Recon
The Unit of the Marine Corps tasked with assaulting and capturing enemy Space
assets. They specialize in
Van Ness
A technician on the 7th watch, a compatriot of Crystal Heathers
Wu Shu
The oldest of Chines Kung Fu Styles, evolved over time as a womans style and
then as a display style and then as a competition style. Practiced by Stephanie
Jon Dou. She was competitive but not championship level.
Zefram Cochrane
The Inventor of the warp drive. Expected to be the next Bill Gates, or Bendross.
Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this material for me.