Sesmar Station

[jayphailey]

Sesmar station

This is the Space Station over Oron that supports the archaeology missions there.

It also acts as a deep space station for ships travelling from the Federation to the Lefyt Colonies.

Cargo ships come in a line bringing supplies and fuel.

The system has deuterium in a gas giant. Reading show there's a small black hole in the center of the planet, eating it. In a few centuries it won't be safe to approach. This was an act of spiteful vandalism by who ever killed Oron.

There are fuel scoop shuttles and two Anti-matter refineries in the system. But they're smaller units, based on older tech. They're hand-me-downs from another station that upgraded.

There two defiant class escorts and anti-raiding marines. But it's widely know that Oron was looted in antiquity, and nothing of resale value remains there.

Civilians can come and go, at will. Although few do. Oron is in "The Desert," a globe 100 light years radius from Oron where no class M planets remain - The War of The Gods.

Although raw materials are easy to come by, by dilithium drive its a slog with nothing to visit. Archaeologists disagree.

The Federation has claimed Oron's system as a protectorate. The goal is to do archaeology and put the knowledge gained out in public for everyone. The Lefyt, the Darnarans, Orions worlds in the Federation, and Orions aligned with the Orion-Sphere have an interest in the place.

So the Federation wants to protect the archaeology without favoring any one group of descendants.

[jayphailey]

I named it "Sesmar Station" when it should have a Deep Space number

But I couldn't figure one that I'd remember and would be weird. I am leaning towards Deep Space 42

Your Input?

The Station itself

It's large. I am picturing a larger K type space station

Most of the size is supporting science crews, and the science mission

They have a batch of Expedition Shuttles - Normal shuttle gear and technology, just a bigger hull designed for On-Ground camping and to support archaeology work. The Shuttlecraft Equivalent of an RV.

Otherwise a normal batch of support shuttles for the mission.

Inside the rooms tend to be big. Since people are staying there for a long time and it's not meant to move, the designers made it big and roomy to give residents a sense of space.

Missions of the Station
Support Archeology crews and their science
Support traffic across the desert
refuel and resupply federation and civilian traffic
SAR to a limited range

So basically a small special purpose research university mixed with a truck stop.


Lounge 14 -
Along one wall it has a sign - this is an old hotel sign from Oron-Las Vegas. it's rusted and dented a little, written in Ancient Orion, with an odd script.

The lounge is lined with items and artifacts, and holographic plaques explaining them.

It's the crew kind of playfully diving into Oron culture. Many of the items are replicated or estimated recreations of Oron items.

It also features real booze from a dozen planets as well as good replicators. It is manned by service holograms - designed to never become sentient. They're pretty good at their jobs.

The main activities here are talking about sports, talking about politics, bitching about the equipment which to them looked old and used up, and how they can never get the smells out of the expedition shuttles. And arguing about the Orons. So. Much. Arguing.

Many of the people here will remember this place as one of the best times of their lives.


Lounge 37

It over looks one of the big shuttle bays. This one is frequented by the technicians who repair and maintain the shuttles. They are also called on to repair and maintain the station, and occasionally starships.

These guys are not on the cutting edge of tech, but they make generic stuff come and go like it's nothing. They could take half a blown up shuttle and have it flyable in a week.

It smells of some sort of grease. In our day this would be engine oil, coolant and cutting oil. The smell is baked in. This is why the fittings and fur niture are Federation generic - you're going to get oil all over them, and they want stuff they can throw into the replicator when it gets too messed up.

On the wall is a picture of Utah Phillips. They all know "Moose Turd Pie" But more, they know about the American Union movement of the 20th century.

They also have old fashioned tools on the walls, combined with pro union propaganda.

They're about 1/3rd of the way to organizing and forming a local of the IWW themselves - even though the IWW hasn't existed for centuries. They've just developed a pro-union metaculture.

If someone treats any of the station staff badly they might have these guys show up with pipe wrenches.

But that doesn't happen, usually, which is why they're only 1/3rd of the way - there's nothing much to organize AGAINST!

Frequent topics - helping each other with technical problems - everyone encounters something they haven't before and the next guy has seen it, so they support and teach other. Bitching about the scientists mistreating the gear and what smell are they talking about? Singing old union songs - finding stuff on the toxic edge between poison and booze, and drinking that. Educating newbies about the "Old Days" and how the Unions had to fight for better working conditions - as if they only missed by 5 minutes themselves.

[jayphailey]

Station Administrator
T’zelka of Vulcan - From the Vulcan Science Academy. Was a Starfleet Commander a long time ago. She retired to pursue science. She runs the station, and facilitates to scientific investigation of Oron

Dr. Keela Morto - Gold Orion. PHD In Archaeology. Leads the science, plumbing the depths of Oron

Lieutenant Sam Mokolo - Runs Small Starfleet Security Contingient. A Mix of red shirts and Marines, intended to fend off a pirate raid until a ship could respond. (This guy is pretty low ranked for this. Probably a Commander)


Fanont Otheic - A scientist from Darnara, joined the project.

Tham Joi-Sit-Rio-Xyk - An Archeologist from The Lefyt Colonies.

Zealeu - A Damyip Social Unit.

[jayphailey]

> Dr. Keela Morto - Gold Orion. PHD In Archaeology. Leads the science, plumbing the depths of Oron

Although T'Zelka administers the station, Morto leads the actual Archaeology mission. He was deliberately chosen by Starfleet for this, due to his previous work on Ancient Orions and frankly because he is an Orion.

Morto is not popular among the Nobles of the Orion Sphere. He has contradicted their narratives with facts. We know they won't let that slow them down.

Morto is acutely conscious that, as he unveils new things about Oron and the Oron Empire, he is, himself joining the story. So he's advancing cautiously, methodically.

A lot of his junior scientists and support people are not really aware of how far into the future their work will be viewed. Morto is using "The Academy" as a stand in. "How do you think "The Academy" will view this

As if all of Archaeology in the Federation is in one big building on Earth or something.

It's working so far.

-*-

Starfleet Intelligence has stood up two departments

Oron Collapse Zone
and
Ancient Oron Empire.

For these reasons - Both could affect the Federation currently, and so knowing things becomes critical.

These are based at New Canada and the Starbase there.

There's a lot of Ovelap with the Orion Pirates Dept.

So that's an adventure generator for the future "Starfleet says go look here" and "Starfleet is curious about that thing and sends us to find out"

They know that there will be a "Shard Empire" desk in time, but right now that's under the Oron Collapse Zone desk.

[Innkeeper]

I named it "Sesmar Station" when it should have a Deep Space number

But I couldn't figure one that I'd remember and would be weird. I am leaning towards Deep Space 42

Your Input?

They are looking for the meaning of everything.

But that doesn't happen, usually, which is why they're only 1/3rd of the way - there's nothing much to organize AGAINST!

"Unions do not organize shops. Mangament organizes shops." --Walter P. Reuther

[jayphailey]

"Unions do not organize shops. Mangament organizes shops." --Walter P. Reuther

I have quoted that one a lot. Including to three or four managers.

[jayphailey]

The wind played across the ruins.

It was quiet. I sat with the silence for a moment. It was the silence of death. Birds should have been chirping. Insects should have been calling. The wind should have had grass and trees to play around.

The wind seemed to remember.

There was a black/gray dust. It gathered in corners. It mixed with sand and dust. It formed a layer of mud in places with lots of rain.

The dust was the life and the people of the planet. In an instant something horrible unzipped every living molecule. Everything alive turned to ruined goo. When it dried out, it became the dust.

When I got back to my ship, I was going to have to shower some of the people of Oron out of my hair.

Li'ira and I shared a bleak look. The same thought occurred to us at about the same time.

The hats, gloves and long sleeves of the archaeologists made sense now.

Someone said "Music!" and turned on a device.

Something modern and poppy played - filling the area of the dig with the noise of life.

The wind ruffled my hair. Was it happy to see us?

Pretty soon, I'd start seeing ghosts.

-*-

We turned back to temple of Marana, the Mother of the Gods. It was one of the sites that wasn't a crater.

Gian and her crew were arrayed. They were recording a report. The first of their people to set foot on Oron for who knew how long. Senior Captain Gian had her crew recording her looking around, touching the ground and putting some of the dirt of the homeworld into a bottle.

Then they arranged themselves to film her looking reverently at the temple. It was a mound of rocks with the suggestion of a building to it - Not bad for centuries of lifeless abandonment.

The archaeology crew was used to this. They worked without looking at Gian and her crew. More tourists making a name for themselves at the work site.

[Innkeeper]

Ugh. A depressing place to work.

[Innkeeper]

"Unions do not organize shops. Mangament organizes shops." --Walter P. Reuther

I have quoted that one a lot. Including to three or four managers.

Usually the ones that need ot hear it the worst, and won't. I'm retired, screw that.

[jayphailey]

Usually the ones that need ot hear it the worst, and won't. I'm retired, screw that.

You need union protection down at the "ow" factory.