[Michael Thayne]

Originally Posted by GnomesofZurich

Registering interest.

Given that the campaign will have an emphasis on space combat, would an interface pilot (Pyramid #3/30 Spaceships, p. 11-17) be acceptable and, if so, what type of interface should be used?

Also, would it be more appropriate for such a character to be an RI employee or a member of the Unified Treaty Organization?

Cybernetic interface. More likely an RI employee—military officers tend to be in the system in observer-type roles (though there might be an officer-pilot to shuttle VIPs around).

Originally Posted by ammulder

I'm interested, but trying to come to terms with the setup.

Let's assume the explosion wasn't an accident. Who might be behind it? Aliens? The military of some empire other than Micronesia? Fanatics? Some kind of opponent in an industrial or trade dispute?

If some ships had invaded and destroyed the gate, would the station have been expected to notice them by now, or are sensors not that good at whatever range the gate was at (or stealth shielding common or whatever)? Is it a typical ploy to invade a system with a bunch of ships and a spare gate, then destroy the existing gate the moment you arrive to cut off your target, and install your new gate if and when your conquest is complete? "Let us win or spend 57 years waiting for a new gate to be delivered via sublight drive"?

Not a "typical ploy", definitely. It's an interesting theory, but this is meant to be hard-ish sci-fi, so being stealthy in space is difficult in the extreme. Maybe someone found a way?

If the system is cut off, will the wealth of a Filthy Rich/etc. character be honored or is everything going to fall back to local scrip and interstellar currency becomes worthless?

This is one of the places social engineering comes in. Can you persuade people to honor your previous social status in spite of everything going topsy-turvey? Probably easier with Rank, or if you have most of your wealth tied up in assets conveniently located in the system. The "space tourist" option is on the list of "things that are possible but not necessarily recommended".

Finally, is Helios self-sufficient or is there some sort of deadline by which the whole system will crumble if trade is not restored? (I don't know, no local source of steel, no high-tech factories, no antibiotics against the native organisms, no starship maintenance facilities, whatever.)

Helios is very much self-sufficient. Ithaca and Troy both have high-tech factories inside them, which get raw materials from asteroid mining. Helios has no Earth-like planets; it's possible there are weird extremophile microorganisms somewhere but they'd almost certainly die instantly inside a life-support system designed for humans.

Originally Posted by ericthered

I'm interested. Looking at making a Gadgeteer, or perhaps a high level administrator otherwise.

You said Cinematic Advantages were on the table. What about cinematic skills? I'm particularly interested in Computer Hacking and perhaps Inventor! or some other wildcard. Also, are destiny points ok for this campaign?

Destiny points are fine. Computer Hacking is fine. Focusing on one or two inventing skills probably makes more sense given that it's a 250-point game, but I can think about Inventor!

You said any of the TL9 modifications are on the table. Are custom engineered species? I'm leaning towards spacer a little, but I may want to do something on the weird side.

Yes, though details will need GM approval.

A few setting questions:
How big is the outside world? 1000 times bigger than Helios, + Earth? 1000 times bigger than modern earth?
What does the population of the Helios system look like? roughly how many on planets? How many on each space station? What's the economic reason for its existence?

Helios' population numbers in the tends of thousands, most of them roughly equally divided between Ithaca and Troy. As noted above, it lacks Earth-like planets. The main draws were gas giant mining and asteroid mining. Dozens of similar colony systems exist, with the number rapidly growing.[/quote]

[quote]What role will languages play?

Major languages are Standard English and Indian English. If you know one at Native, learning the other at Native costs 2 points. Other languages exist but aren't important.

Originally Posted by johndallman

Interested. A UTO military officer is a possibility. You said it would be useful to have a PC with "significant social chops", so would a UTO diplomat be a plausible character?

Yes.