Ecumenopolis (OOC +signups)

[JW%]

The floor was cold molded stone, the room was a large open space broken only by detritus and the support pillars, the ceiling was exposed ductwork and pipes, radiating the heat that kept the place uncomfortable no matter how you positioned yourself. There was a window that took up one wall, opening out onto a blank wall of the neighboring building. At best it offered some light from the shaft raising another eighty five or so stories upwards, and more downwards. At worst, it was another heat sink for the ductwork and piping.

His name, due to translation efforts of the local populace, was Wing. He sat in the abandoned and built over office complex, locked somewhere in one of the towering skyscrapers that made up the megacorporation city. That wasn't to say the whole world was like this... but since arriving at the space port built on the tops of the skyscrapers he had never seen the ground. Everything went down, down, and further down, into the darkness. There were sewers over his head he knew, and people living beneath his feet.

His partner was exercising herself. Practicing her stances and forms. The hum and glow of her weapons could be heard over the sounds of the building and of the city, if only because of the enclosed space. Twin matched blades made of cyclic plasma fountains, emitted from small cylindrical hilts. Traditional of her order. Her motions were a fluid grace, and he would admit, a pleasure for him to watch, but this was not the time for that.

He was focusing on his own exercises. The Lens he had been granted on a far away world was disconnected from its usual location on the back of his hand. It pulsed slightly, as though living, and he looked through it. Not with just his eyes, but with his mind. He looked through the possible futures, watching them branch and expand with every possible action taking place. Like a small explosion in his minds eye. He kept himself unfocused, watching the ebb and flow of how this mission would transpire. There was danger here. Corruption that he knew about, and corruption that was only suspected. He could only hope to defend himself, to let his partner defend him, and to defend her, when the time came. No, that was just background clutter, not what he was seeking.

There was also... lost hope. Lost, but not gone. Hope that could be found again, rallied behind. There were people here, old ones crushed by the uncaring megacorporations all consuming need to feed itself, and young ones full of vibrant possibilities. Orphans, runaways, outlaws, living in the slums and the pits beneath and between the streets and buildings of this nation-city. Potential untapped that slipped through the cracks. The kind that the Guild could use. The kind that he had been when he had been recruited.

Wing lowered himself back to the cold floor, realizing that he had been telekinetically levitating himself through his meditations. Some of the debris was floating too, and he gently pushed it to one corner, leaving his space cleaner now than it had been when he had begun. He looked over at his partner, her blue skin gleaming with a layer of sweat from her exercise and the heat.

"Dia." Wing called to her. "Have you ever thought about having children?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Character Skeleton~~

Name:
Life phase: (rather than an age in years say "child, teenager, young adult, etc")
Appearance:
Notable possessions: (include your clothing fashion here)
Race: (if known or applicable. You must remain "near human" but mutants, aliens, and even androids are acceptable)
Notable abilities and talents: (include education level)
Living conditions: (implied 'poor' but feel free to expand on the idea)
Reason for apprenticing: (To Wing and Dia in particular, their "Lensmen" or "Jedi" orders in general, and thus to the Adventurers Guild as a whole)

~~~OPTIONAL~~
Strength:
Agility:
Endurance:
Reason:
Charisma:
Heart:

These scale between 0 which is inanimate and without that(IE a rock would still have something like Strength and Endurance, but no Reason or Agility), and 30 which is special forces trained best of the best. A child would probably be around 3, an 'average adult' 5 to 10. Dia and Wing will probably be testing their apprentices in these and other things(the 'notable abilities' listed above) in greater detail as the story progresses, this is just as a rough estimate to start with.
"Heart" is both your courage/willpower/sanity AND whatever mystical sense you feel is correct(Psionic power, the Force, Magick, whatever).

This takes place in no particularly established scifi setting, much like how Triumph City takes place in no particularly established setting. Feel free to use any aliens, organizations, or technology from Star Wars(that's the feel I'm going for), Star Trek, Babylon 5, Galaxy Rangers, Galactic Adventures, or whatever. At least until I have a firmer grip on the setting and I can start saying what I don't want in it.

Alkonost Storm will be co-GMing this with me hopefully, and probably playing more the mentor figure, though my own character(the perspective for the opening narration) should be available too.

[JW%]

((Setting information here.))

An Ecumenopolis means "World-City" by the way. I haven't decided if the city this starts out(and may entirely take place in) IS in fact covering the whole world or not. But it's big enough for Scifi cyberpunk adventures.

Possible story hooks...

Your building/level/block has been having it's water supply prices raised repeatedly, to the point where you can no longer afford water. You ask Wing and Dia to help.
Twist: Your water supply is being 'stolen' by another block who already can't afford it, which is why the second floor is drawing so much they can't afford it.
Twist 2: You're the one stealing the water, inadvertantly hurting somebody down the pipeline from you.
Twist 3: It's power, not water.

An organized crime syndicate/insurance agency is forcing people to pay them protection money. Your homes and jobs are being targeted.
Twist: It's a mandatory 'government'(in as much as the megacorporation is a government) policy.
Twist 2: The victim actually were paid up, until the megacorporation changed the policy and/or shut down jobs in the area.

An upper level corporate head loses one of their prize pets down into the lower levels. The reward for it is worth more than the lives of many of the people in the slums.
Twist: The creature is dangerous and killing, but can't be hunted or stopped with equal force.
Twist 2: The creature is sapient and trying to escape slavery.

Two different floors/buildings/whatever are rivals and have been feuding for ages(possibly because of the above water rights?)
Twist: Romeo and Juliet ring a bell? Everyone is apt to end up dead.
Twist 2: Romeo and Juliet are more taboo than just from feuding families, they're interracial/religious/homosexual/left handed/etc(whatever taboos the society holds) and neither family will accept their relationship even ignoring the feud.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Compositing scifi series into one world here...}
'Civilization', also known as 'The Republic' or 'The Federation', is the primary government within known space. It operates generally as a self policing mechanism, dealing with 'internal' conflicts between it's members, be they species, planets, or nations. As such, 'Civilization' is generally held in the highest regard for it's good work in keeping civil wars contained and a majority of it's population safe and happy, with flourishing trade and exchange of ideas between distant life forms. The overall effectiveness of it in doing much else is questionable, as it's overall size has made mobilizing large scale efforts against exterior threats problematical at best. Fortunately for Civilization it is the largest known organization, and as such usually finds that small scale mobilizations have resolved nearly all threats suitably. So far.

The 'Plumbers' are a group originally dedicated to maintaining technological development between races. Their job was to keep younger races who were less developed from jumping several levels in the technological tree and posing a threat to themselves and their neighbors. The name 'Plumbers' is an intentional mistranslation of their actual title, as each race knows them by a different, innocuous and mundane, title. Their badge, an hourglass shape, usually is implanted with the genetic(or species specific parallel) code of both the agent, and the races they will most likely encounter(or races that have abilities most likely to be beneficial to their mission), allowing said agent to assume the form and abilities of such alien life. While it is unlikely that any are to be encountered in 'Civilization', there are still several worlds technically within it's borders that have been deemed 'undeveloped' and as such out of bounds for anyone but trained 'Plumbers' to interact with.

The Galaxy Rangers are an organization dedicated to bring law and order to the frontier of the colony worlds on the edge, or in fact outside of, Civilization. They are generally considered a 'dying breed'(debatably the 'Plumbers' are already an 'extinct' breed) with usually only one Ranger to a world, if not only one 'passing on by' and covering many colony worlds. The Galaxy Rangers are known primarily for their rough and ready lifestyle, drawn mostly from other branches of service, and are distinct due to their Series Five(recently Six) Implants which take the visible form of a large starburst badge worn on the chest. When triggered the implant acts as a battery, providing the Ranger with enhanced abilities tailored to their specific condition(cybernetics, genetic engineering, psionic disciplines, etc). It's said that no two Rangers are alike.

(insert ground based military branch here... typically restricted to a single planet, nations, or organizations holdings. Stormtroopers would go here)

(insert mega-corporations here)

Starfleet, also known as 'the Fleet' or 'the Patrol', is as near to a military arm as Civilization has. It is more of a joint venture between several member worlds and races to create some kind of force in space. The exact nature of Starfleet tends to be more exploration and scientific than actual military or policing, though they try to uphold order, truth and justice as well. As a primarily space based organization, they operate mostly from ships and while a Captain of such a ship has the legal authority of Civilization backing him(or her or hir or hem or it or...) and the ship based firepower to back it up, it's uncommon that Starfleet interacts in such matters and very rarely provides useful manpower. Their guiding principle seems to be boiled down to "Don't make me come over there".

(insert Jedi and other holy orders here)

The Lensmen are considered an absolute police authority within Civilization. Drawn from other branches and sent to the Arisians, a race of nigh omnipotent beings who have taken an interest in protecting Civilization(and themselves) from threats both external and corruptive, to be judged. If judged incorruptible and of sound moral and logical reason by the Arisians afix a 'Lens' to the subject as their badge of office(it can be removed or hidden by the user, but self destructs if taken by force or cohersion), allowing them to manipulate matter and energy, including lifeforce and thought, through mental means. A Lensman can pull rank on the above organizations(excepting the religious orders and others that do not recognize them), but primarily work alone as either internal affairs investigators, or undercover operatives. A Lensmens tenants promote freedom of the mind, and as such find substance abuse(or at least unscrupulous narcotic dealers, the users are generally considered victims) to be one of the crimes they most actively battle.

The Travelers Aid Society, also known as the Adventurers Guild, is an organization that... well to be perfectly honest was devised by a bunch of rich idiots who thought the universe needed to be more interesting. A good 80% of the Guild is made up of people who think that throwing enough money and manpower at a problem will solve it, and who believe that dressing up as a nocturnal creature and utilizing themed gadgets would be a good way to deal with a cities crimerate. The other 20% of the Guild however is that manpower, often volunteers, who make sure that the 80% funding them are right(most of them do not, however, dress as a nocturnal creature or utilize themed gadgets). Functionally they provide 'good deeds' and resolve issues that have otherwise gone unnoticed or unresolved by whatever forms of government would be applicable. They have no authority(other than what their funding provides), and most volunteers distance themselves from their careers while in service to the Guild. General opinion on the Guild is that they are meddlesome troublemakers with a spotty track record for resolving issues successfully. All the same, they are sometimes the only recourse for certain disadvantaged minorities.

[lovely corte]

Name: Matthew 'Matti' Williams.

Life phase: Young Adult.

Appearance: s3.amazonaws.com/assets.rr.roadrunnerrecords.com/photos/7351/largest/8e8b465b-8d0e-4abc-a155-672d306ef97f-1344609267/heafy.jpg?1344609392

Albeit without the ear gauges and the clothing. He has a lean, even muscle mass from the heavy workloads from the munitions factory he works around and in, on top of the boxing career. He has callouses over his knuckles and on the inside of his hands around the palm.

He has a third degree burn wound, recently healed, on his left forearm from an industrial accident involving super-heated metal and a scar along his abdomen that is the result of a long since mugging.

Notable possessions: Usually he tends to wear ragged clothing which is more utilitarian than anything, growing up in a mostly industrial section of the city. He wears heavy boots, as well as olive pants, over which he usually wears a singlet, the heat of the place not allowing for much else.

His two most prized items are ragged, torn red boxing gloves. Held together mostly with tape and luck, they are Matthew's most prized objects. He usually carries them in his backpack. He also carries a knife, seven inches in length, made from forged steel from the industrial factories for protection.

Race: Human.

Notable abilities and talents: A talented kick boxer, participating in underground fighting championships ever since he was twelve, as well as an A-Grade Student, Matthew attempts to keep himself occupied to escape gang violence as well as to educate himself to end the cycle of poverty.

Living conditions: Matthew lives in a decrepit, overcrowded housing complex for Wards. Born there, he now lives there past the age cutoff as staff, keeping the children in check and supplying a form of income to keep the housing afloat, albeit it is straining both the income from his job, in which he builds munitions as well as his boxing career under the pseudonym 'Apex',

Reason for apprenticing: With talents more suited for Dia's school of training, Matthew hopes to escape poverty and make something for himself. Another, albeit secret desire, is to become a hero and a role model for the youth he grew up with to end the cycle of poverty.

[JW%]

Okay, I seem to have lost my Co-GM on this project, so toss this in archive or something. Failed attempt.

[lovely corte]

Aw. D; Sorry, man! xDS!