Exploratory Mission Number 315

Exploratory Mission Number 315 (EM315) was one of many expeditions mounted by the Terrans during the Rule of Man, leaving Terra in -1965.

Description (Specifications)

The Terran government provided a decommissioned Type M Commercial Liner, which was extensively modified and renamed the Capricious. Telescopic data had identfied many detinations for the exploratory missions, and the objective of EM315 was a group of stars almost 100 sectors distant, in what had been named the Rigel and Precipice sectors.

The Capricious's jump drives were upgraded to J-3, and the ship outfitted with all the requirements for the anticipated 20 year trip. EM315 was not a colonisation or conquering mission, it's objective was to map and survey both the route to and the worlds in the destination sectors, and to prepare the worlds to be culturally compatible to Terra. Interdiciton with any existing sentient beings that were found would be at the discretion of the mission commander, the guielines were that these interdictions were to be friendly and not to subvert any existing cultures.

The objective of the missions were to Terra-ify the worlds that were found, making them culturally compatible with Terra for later contact, trade and possibly colonisation. The ship carried a large number of 'civilisers', civilisation packages and terraforming packages.

'Civilisers' were people who would be left on worlds with the aim of educating any discovered sentient life, and helping them accept the Anglic language and customs to be culturally compatible with Terra.
Civilisation packages were designed to be left on worlds with pre-civilised sentient life. These were usually robots that would last for the length of time necessary to nudge the world towards Terran compatible culture.
Terraforming packes were designed for worlds with no life, but having the conditions present where life could take root. There were many different forms of these packages, from packages of simple soil and flora for use in worlds with water and heavy carbon dioxide atmospheres, to packages containing fusion reactors that will take in the local resources and produce water, oxygen and/or carbon dioxide to create the basics for supporting life.

History & Background (Dossier)

EM315 was formed at Terra and launched in the year -1965. Due to the length of the voyage, and that it was unlikely that it would ever return to charted space, the crew was composed entirely of voluteers, and couples were encouraged. They consisted of planetologists, xenologists, and astrologers as well as the functional members to run the ship. Just under 1000 people left with the ship on departure, under Captain Anci Beau.

The Capricious was outfitted with J-3 jump drives, sufficent fuel for 4 jumps, multiple redundant fuel scoops and fuel processors, extensive Shipboard Hydroponics and vats for artificial meat growth. On ship recreation facilities were also extensive.

On leaving charted space, the Capricious dropped repeater bouys in each system. For many years, in the words from the captains log "the only people who had any real excitement were the planetologists, who got to ooh and aah over each new system and their worlds, and did so without losing any gusto throughout the voyage".

EM315 finally reached the first system in the Precipice sector - Druwaith - in the year -1941. To the amazement of the xenologists, they found a significant percentage of the worlds already inhabited by non spacefaring humaniti. DNA testing confirmed the match, which added further weight to the Ancients Hypothesis.

Further mission summary: Scouted and documented all worlds in the sectors. Set up a planetary base on Palmayra, descendants of the original crew were found alive and prospering when Third Imperium scoutws arrived centuries later. Data arrived back, but Capricious did not. Capricious was found by Third Imperium wrecked on Beauville. Ships log reported a failure of a seal in the fuel system, which led to an explosion and a planned hard landing. No trace of the crew was found on the world.

References & Contributors (Sources)

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• The Precipice Diaries - unreleased adventure by Calizard.