Difference between revisions of "Ciara"

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(Random Bogspeak Quote from Battlestart Galactica)
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[[Image:Anne Devlin.jpg|thumb|left|Anne Devlin, XO of the ''Ciara''... after someone at Mr Gorsky's bar suggested that [[Guacamole|the green stuff]] would cure her hangover. Picture taken at [[Port Phobos]], 2014]]
 
[[Image:Anne Devlin.jpg|thumb|left|Anne Devlin, XO of the ''Ciara''... after someone at Mr Gorsky's bar suggested that [[Guacamole|the green stuff]] would cure her hangover. Picture taken at [[Port Phobos]], 2014]]
 
After the war, she spent another year with Great Justice, before standing down and returning to running freight between Earth, Mars and the Crystal cities. Towards the end of 2015, with the Irish Government keen to establish further links with Fenspace after [[Yet Another Bright Idea|the great land sale]], they hosted an RTE documentary crew interested in 'The Irish emigrants to space'. The camera crew filmed their routine, and a trip to [[1247 Memoria]].
 
After the war, she spent another year with Great Justice, before standing down and returning to running freight between Earth, Mars and the Crystal cities. Towards the end of 2015, with the Irish Government keen to establish further links with Fenspace after [[Yet Another Bright Idea|the great land sale]], they hosted an RTE documentary crew interested in 'The Irish emigrants to space'. The camera crew filmed their routine, and a trip to [[1247 Memoria]].
 
Heading towards 2020, she remains active on the same cargo routes, carrying on with their lives the same as a hundred other small-time freighters and passenger haulers.
 
  
 
They've maintained strong links with the Stellvians, and are regular visitors to station taking on freight and passenger charters to Venus or Mars. They rarely travel beyond the main belt, but have been spotted as far out as [[Ganymede]] orbit and are occasional visitors to [[SSX Base]].  
 
They've maintained strong links with the Stellvians, and are regular visitors to station taking on freight and passenger charters to Venus or Mars. They rarely travel beyond the main belt, but have been spotted as far out as [[Ganymede]] orbit and are occasional visitors to [[SSX Base]].  
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''Great Justice Fast Attack/Defence Effectiveness Award''. Two lines<Br/>
 
''Great Justice Fast Attack/Defence Effectiveness Award''. Two lines<Br/>
 
''Jolly Roger Flag''. Three Daggers. Ten Red Bars. Four White Bars. Six Life-buoys. Five Crossed Sabres, one Happy Swordfish, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree. <Br/>
 
''Jolly Roger Flag''. Three Daggers. Ten Red Bars. Four White Bars. Six Life-buoys. Five Crossed Sabres, one Happy Swordfish, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree. <Br/>
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== As a Museum Ship ==
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Since 2023, Ciara has been permanently moored in the [Convention Fleet Museum], in Hangar 18 in Port Phobos.
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She has been restored to her Great Justice configuration, with a number of interactive exhibits being established throughout the ship giving an overview of the history of Great Justice, and the Ciara's role in events.
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An amateur radio station operates on regular dates from her radio room, while her crew bunks regularly host overnight stays for Space Cadet troops.
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Her engines and main generators are still intact. In theory she could still fly under her own power.
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A befits an old Warship, Ciara has [Ghosts]
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== Stories ==
 
== Stories ==

Revision as of 19:56, 29 July 2018

Spacecraft Registry
SS Ciara
Spacecraft Characteristics
Base HullL.E. Ciara, Former Irish Navy patrol ship
Drive Type2 x Diesels driving main Wave Motion drive
Drive RatingCruise: 0.06c Max: 0.125c
Armament76mm Oto-Melara Cannon.

2 x Rheinmetall autocannon

PEIG
OwnerAthacon Committee.
Flag of RecordRepublic of Ireland.
Registry NumberP-42
Launched04 November 2010
PurposeChartered cargo and some passengers.
Primary CrewRaymond Garret (Captain)
Anne ‘CutieKitty’ Devlin (XO)
Sam Crean (Pilot, navigator)
Susan Mullholland(Chief Mate)
Megan Fitzpatrick (Comm’s)
Seán McKenna (Chief Engineer)
Other CrewOrla Tubridy (2nd Engineer)
“Sed” (Computer Technician)
Tom ‘Touji’ Carrol (Mechanic)
Patrick Kearney(Financial Officer)
Talky Toaster(Toaster)
After 2013
Aisha (Catgirl engineer)
Misha (Catgirl deckhand)
Paul Platowski (Boskonian Defector)
Milly Jackson (Computer Tech')
Micheal Perry (Chief Mate)
Auxillary VehiclesArtemis and Luna (handwaved Jaguar speedboats)
Operational StatusMuseum Ship as of 2023
This box: view  talk  edit


(Created by “Dartz”)

Siúlaigí a chairde, siúlfaidh liom. Mar cheo an tsléibhe uaine ag imeacht go deo. D'ainneoin ár dtuirse, leanfam an tslí. Thar chnoic is thar ghleannta go deireadh na scríb

Formerly a Peacock class patrol vessel of the Irish Navy, the L.E. Ciara was sold off due to budget cuts and high running costs in early 2010. At the same time, the Athacon animé convention was stuck for a venue. A joke was made that they should buy the Ciara and launch it into space, and would have been forgotten if the con hadn't failed to find a suitable location. With financial backing from a University Manga society, and disgraced banker Patrick Kearney, the committee purchased the ship and quietly set about 'waving her for spaceflight.

Launched in late 2010, the ship spent most of her first year in fenspace shuttling freight and passengers unconcerned with comfort between Earth, Stellvia, The Island and Crystal Tokyo. As 2011 progressed into 2012 she found herself in greater demand as more fen, unsettled by rumours of ships mysteriously disappearing, decided they wanted to travel on an armed ship.

Ciara was en-route to The Island when SOS-Con was called by Haruhi Suzumiya, and quickly diverted to Port Phobos for the convention.

She spent the first half of the Boskone War based in Port Phobos, escorting bulk carriers arriving in from the main belt or responding to nearby distress calls. It was unglamorous work but necessary. The presence of an armed ship, with a squad of Sammies aboard, was usually enough to deter an attack. In January 2013, they took part in the evacuation of Crystal Osaka, rushing in-system at full speed, with a stop to refuel and disembark any unnecessary personnel at Stellvia. They were one of the last ships to leave the City.

In July 2013 , Ciara responded to a distress call from the fuel carrier Little Grove which claimed to have struck a gravitic mine. Coming shortly after Ptichka's crash in similar circumstances, the crew rushed to the rescue, only to fly right into an ambush. The ship was crippled, loosing most of her main systems including propulsion and comms array. When less than a day's worth of Oxygen aboard, Captain Garret decided that their best chance of survival was to take the two Jaguar speedboats and try to make the journey to nearby settlements to get help. [1] Garret successfully navigated to a nearby asteroid using little more than a pocket chart and a calculator over the course of two days. The remaining engineering crew were able to jury-rig a simple spark-gap transmitter using some batteries and some welding equipment which allowed rescuers to get a fix on the ship's position by tracking the resulting interference. The second Jaguar however, was found abandoned a month later, with no sign of the crew, having run out of fuel a few thousand kilometres short of their destination.

It took two months to refit at Hephaestus, during which time her armament was upgraded to modern standards, adding anti-shipping missiles, point-defence weaponry and an integrated Mithril radar and fire control system. After some testing, she returned to her usual patrol. In December 2013, she received another distress call from a Boskonian ship. Still wary, Ciara and her crew nevertheless rescued the ship and it's crew. Their compassion startled the Boskonian captain, Paul 'Savage Eye' Platowski, who defected, turning over information about a ship running Catgirl'd prisoners back to Earth. Using this information, they were able to rescue the prisoners and arrest their captors. Two of the catgirls, Aisha and Misha, joined the crew taking positions as an engineer and as a deckhand.

Anne Devlin, XO of the Ciara... after someone at Mr Gorsky's bar suggested that the green stuff would cure her hangover. Picture taken at Port Phobos, 2014

After the war, she spent another year with Great Justice, before standing down and returning to running freight between Earth, Mars and the Crystal cities. Towards the end of 2015, with the Irish Government keen to establish further links with Fenspace after the great land sale, they hosted an RTE documentary crew interested in 'The Irish emigrants to space'. The camera crew filmed their routine, and a trip to 1247 Memoria.

They've maintained strong links with the Stellvians, and are regular visitors to station taking on freight and passenger charters to Venus or Mars. They rarely travel beyond the main belt, but have been spotted as far out as Ganymede orbit and are occasional visitors to SSX Base.

Ciara was permanently docked at Port Phobos in July 2023, the ageing cruiser having earned an honourable retirement. She serves as a museum ship, alongside the Destiny Nova.

Mundane Attributes

  • Nice Boat: Incapable of landing on solid ground. Still capable of ocean travel.
  • Banned from Argo : Due to a clerical error when she was being decommissioned, the Ciara is still fitted with her primary armament. The guns were unmodified at first, but were lightly waved for space use shortly before the commencement of OGJ. Some pacifist stations will turn her away because of them.
  • PEIG : The most advanced non-lethal weapon in Ciara's arsenal. Consists of a high-power inductive transceiver, a computer, and a digitised recording of Peig Sayer's dictating her autobiography. Capable of instilling despair, depression and demotivating in even the stoutest of hearts, leaving them in a melancholy stupor, unwilling to fight back.[2]

Crew Quirks

  • A Charming Brogue: Most of the crew are of Irish extraction, with varying accents, the only constant being that none of them sound like Bono, know Bono, or have ever had anything to do with Bono. Sometimes causes confusion, especially for those who've no idea who Bosco was.
  • Magnets for Melodrama: Leijiite melodrama follows in their wake across the sea of stars. Last-minute rescues, sticking to your ideals against impossible odds, heroic sacrifices and the 'noble enemy' are par for the course.
  • Fooling No-one: If ever anyone deserved the label Space Pirates it's the Crew of the Ciara. They've never described themselves as such.
  • The Dutchman's awaits.: They never leave a distress call unanswered, often citing the legend of the Flying Dutchman when asked why. Someone aboard may even be the 'origin' of the legend.
  • Just ordinary folk: After five minutes of fame for startling Fenspace by launching with a military gunboat, Ciara and her crew faded into the background. Not many people know who they are without having to look them up. People know the filk song about the heroic rescue gunship caught in an ambush, but won't know it's about them.

Known Vehicle Quirks

  • In the Navy now: As a (former) Naval vessel, the Ciara holds herself and her crew to a higher standard, expecting a little professionalism from those aboard her. The ship will generally keep herself clean and tidy, cleaning up rust, paintwork, dust and spills on her own. However, she will only do this so long as the crew meet her standards. This requires a functioning chain of command including a Captain, XO, Chief Engineer and a Chief Mate, as well as some form of uniform for the crew. Clean con staff t-shirts with some form of rank insignia seem to suffice. Passengers are exempt.
  • The National Colour: The ship will always fly the Irish Tricolour from her mast. If it is taken down, a new one will take its place. If another flag is placed on a higher part of the ship than it, the Tricolour will move to a higher position.
  • Dinosaur burner: Her engines will only run reliably on diesel oil from Earth. It can be shipped anywhere in space, but it has to come from Earth. Coupled with high fuel consumption if she wants to do anything fast, this limits her range a great deal and ties her either to Earth, or a station where her crew can store fuel..
  • The sea of space: Even in space, the ship still behaves like she is floating on an ocean with a light swell. Not uncomfortable, but noticeable. May aggravate seasickness in some passengers, but the crew are used to it. Also produces a drag on the hull that increases with speed, similar to water, requiring her engines to be run constantly.
  • Roadrunner: Her foghorn will always make a loud 'Meep-Meep', which will attract nearby dogs and especially Coyotes.
  • Schroedingers bugs: A phenomenon first noticed in computers at least as far back as the 70's. The ship's computers and electronics work... so long as nobody notices that they aren't supposed to work. It doesn't matter how this realisation is made, once it happens the program involved immediately crashes and refuses to work correctly until the problem is fixed. Thank God for Open Source.

Jaguars

A pair of small Rigid-hulled Inflatable Boats carried aboard the Ciara named Luna and Artemis, their engines have been waved and modified in a similar manner to their mothership. Fast and maneuverable, on the surface they were often used to chase drug smugglers at high speed. They lack an enclosed cabin, proper navigation or any life support system, but are light, fast and can turn and stop on a penny while carrying ten passengers and one pilot. Each Jaguar is more than capable of keeping up with the mothership. A higher 'wavium content per kilo compared with the mothership has caused the Jaguars to start behaving like little kittens seeing Ciara as their mother cat.

Jaguar Quirks

Mommy!: With a mindset like a young kitten, they don't like being separated from their mother. If the pilot doesn't pay enough attention they try to wander back. If kept away for too long they start to sulk and get depressive. This has the slight benefit that if the crew aboard are incapacitated, Luna and Artemis will naturally find their way home.

Shiny!: Like above... if the pilot doesn't pay enough attention, they will wander towards any nearby light source.

Mouse!: Anything else small and fast *will* be chased down, unless the pilot grabs a hold.

Catnip!: When given catnip... usually via the fuel tanks, the Jaguars are noticeably 'happier' in a way nobody can quite explain.

Nursing kittens: The kittens are still nursing from their mother. They can only be refueled using diesel oil from the Ciara's onboard stores. Anything else will be refused messily and violently.

Awards

Operation Great Justice: 4 Battle Stars
Serenity's Thanks:
DBF Pin: 2 Stars, Diesel Engine'd vessel substituting on operation for a more advanced one suffering a malfunction.
Clean Sweep Broom.: 3 Stars. Convoy Escort Mission, subject to enemy attack, with no loss of shipping.
Iscandar Pennant: Succesful mission. Against all odds.
Great Justice Battle Effectiveness Award. Gold.
Great Justice Engineering Efectiveness Award. Three Lines.
Great Justice Fast Attack/Defence Effectiveness Award. Two lines
Jolly Roger Flag. Three Daggers. Ten Red Bars. Four White Bars. Six Life-buoys. Five Crossed Sabres, one Happy Swordfish, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

As a Museum Ship

Since 2023, Ciara has been permanently moored in the [Convention Fleet Museum], in Hangar 18 in Port Phobos.

She has been restored to her Great Justice configuration, with a number of interactive exhibits being established throughout the ship giving an overview of the history of Great Justice, and the Ciara's role in events.

An amateur radio station operates on regular dates from her radio room, while her crew bunks regularly host overnight stays for Space Cadet troops.

Her engines and main generators are still intact. In theory she could still fly under her own power.

A befits an old Warship, Ciara has [Ghosts]


Stories

The Ciara appears in the following stories:


  1. Expecting it would also buy more time for those left aboard
  2. Studying of Peig in Irish schools having been long banned under child-welfare laws.