Space Race: 1998 (Alternate History Sci-Fi)

Well, since my attempts at crossovers amounted to nothing, I thought I'd try something original. A love letter to early 20th century sci-fi, the Space Race, and the 90's, all in one package.

Point of divergence from our timeline: December 14, 1962. Just as in our timeline, the American probe Mariner 2 has become the first probe to explore another planet, and just like in our timeline, that planet was Venus. Unlike in our timeline, however, Mariner 2 revealed a planet that was only slightly warmer than Earth, with a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, clouds made of water, and a magnetic field as strong as Earth's. The public, naturally, goes wild at the revelation that Venus is almost certainly an abode of life. The Space Race enters an ever-more frantic pace than in our timeline.

July 15, 1965. Mariner 4 flies by Mars, again, just like it did in our timeline. And it finds Mars to be a cold desert world with a thin - but thicker than in our timeline - atmosphere. The photographs it took are similar, but with one major difference. Strange metallic structures and odd lights near some of the craters. As with Mariner 2 and Venus, people around the world are stirred into excitement about the possibility of life on the Red Planet.

October 19, 1967. The first international space exploration mission occurs - the American Mariner 5 and Soviet Venera 4 arrive at Venus almost simultaneously. Mariner 5, unlike in our timeline, is equipped with a camera to take photos of Venus from orbit. And it reveals a world that's mostly covered in clouds... but where there are gaps, blobs of blue and green can be seen. Meanwhile, as Venera 4's lander enters the Venusian atmosphere, it confirms the Earth-like nature of Venus' atmosphere... as well as detecting what appears to be pollen.

So, the Space Race continues with increased fervor throughout the 60's and 70's, with the Mariner, Viking, Venera, and certain Pioneer missions exploring the Inner Solar System. Outposts are set up on the moon, following the historic Apollo 11 mission - a mission which saw the original plans of Kennedy and Khrushchev for a joint American-Soviet moon landing realized. And the inhabitants of Venus and Mars are revealed.

Venus is home to two sentient species, both of whom are at an Iron Age level of technology - the elf-like, matriarchal Nyriim, and the warlike reptilian Sokozae. (In more detailed terms of appearance... think Record of Lodoss War's dark elves for the Nyriim, and Warhammer Fantasy's lizardmen for the Sokozae.)

Mars, on the other hand, is home to the Alhar - a race of humanoid robots left over by some now-gone precursor race. (For these guys' appearance... imagine slimmer versions of the original Battlestar Galactica's Cylons.)

As for the Outer Solar System, well... things proceeded similarly to how they did in our timeline. Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 become the first probes to explore Jupiter and Saturn, respectively, followed soon after by Voyagers 1, 2, and 3. Yes. Voyager 3.. Launched a year after its siblings, Voyager 3 goes to Jupiter and Saturn, before heading out on a different trajectory, in this case, becoming the first probe to reach Pluto in 1991. And speaking of Saturn, strange radio signals were detected on Titan by both Pioneer 11 and all three Voyagers...

Fast forward to 1998. The Cold War has ended with even more of a whimper than it did in our timeline. The existence of alien life caused relations between countries to thaw, and under Gorbachev, the Soviet Union became increasingly democratic (and avoided collapsing). Not a full democracy, mind you, but certainly better than it was in our timeline. Germany has reunited, and overall, East-West tensions have calmed. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows. A new Space Race has started, reminiscent of the Age of Colonialism in the 17th and 18th centuries. The moon has been colonized by the various countries of Earth, and the United States and Soviet Union have established bases throughout the Inner Solar System, asteroid belt, and on Jupiter's moon Callisto... though Europe, India, China, and Japan have all been playing catch-up. There are also cases of Nyriim, Sokozae, and Alhar moving to Earth, albeit with a case of sever culture shock for the Venusian species. Galileo is in orbit around Jupiter, Cassini is currently en route to Saturn, to finally answer the question of just what was making those radio signals on Titan...

All of this info, however, is of secondary concern to the crew of the private freighter Bellerophon, who are more concerned with just keeping their old ship flying, and seeing their next paycheck. Little do they realize that they'll soon find themselves caught up in events that threaten to shake the entire solar system to its core...

So yeah. Join up as a member of the Bellerophon's small crew of about... oh... seven, eight, or nine. Your character can be any one of the four races mentioned - Human, Nyriim, Sokozae, or Alhar. Just give a synopsis of who they are, and what they're doing on this ship, and you'll be good to go!

As for the Bellerophon herself... she looks kinda like a fusion of the Ares IV from The Martian and the Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov from 2010: The Year We Make Contact . It's only lightly armed - four x-ray laser cannons, two railguns, and one charged particle cannon - so try to avoid combat unless there's no other choice.

Now... who's up for this?

Yo, this is cool and it gives metal gear vibes for some reason, definite interest.

Nice, nice. Glad to see you onboard.

Anyone else up for this?

You have my attention.

Interested.

So... perhaps I should clarify the roles of the Bellerophon's crew: We need a...

• Captain (Claimed)
• First Officer (Claimed)
• Science Officer (Claimed)
• Doctor (Claimed)
• Pilot
• Navigator
• Engineer
• Security Guy

Also, I've been thinking of adding some of the... zanier... projects of the Cold War into this, like psychic warfare projects.

So... what roles on the ship will your characters have?

Edited by MasterOfAntics on Aug 26th 2020 at 4:17:48 AM

I'll likely claim Engineer.

I'm interested in playing an Engineer. I've actually done a lot of reading about the Soviet Union and the cold war so this setting's pretty interesting!

I call dibs on Captain

Nice, nice.

Now, to post the character sheets...

Alright, here the character sheet template is:

• Name:
• Age:
• Sex:
• Race: (Human, Nyriim, Sokozae, Alhar)
• Role on the Bellerophon:
• Brief Backstory:

Once you fill these out, I'll approve your characters, and this ship can launch!

So... any character sheets ready?

It's coming, I still need to sort out the character and how I will play him

And character here.

• Name: Isaac Marston
• Age: 32
• Sex: Male
• Race: Human
• Role on the Bellerophon: Captain of the Ship
• Brief Backstory: Isaac served with various North American agencies in his time and has slowly pulled himself up to the role of Captain, he found himself on the Bellerophon as part of a kicking aside for newer captains during this great space race and colonization of the Solar System. Since then he's taken to trying to keep the ship running.

Edited by EchoingSilence on Aug 14th 2020 at 9:06:22 AM

Hey, is this still open? I’d love to join.

Yup, this is still open. Just need to get the Bellerophon's crew ready, and we'll launch.

And Captain Isaac Marston is approved.

Name: Yukkie Scott

Age: 23

Sex: Female

Race: Human

Role on the Bellerophon: Doctor

Brief Backstory: A Japanese-American adopted by a doomsday cult in Midwestern California, Yuki was the only survivor of the mass suicide the group took in attempt to escape a shootout from the FBI while she was 7. As traumatized as she was by it, she’s learned to hide her pain with stoicism. After graduating from the University of California with an MD, she joined the Bellerophon wanting to help others without having to kill others. She has some combat experience, but not nearly enough to go to the front lines with.

Approved.

Oh hey, a sci-fi travellin' around game. This sort of thing is my jam.

You mind if I take an interest? Might have a good idea for a Security Officer.

Sure!

So, should I wait for a few more sign-ups, or just launch this thing and wait for people to sign up whenever?

I’m down for whatever

I'll give it one more day, and if no new sign-ups come, then I'm just launching it, and whoever wants to join can sign up then.

• Name: Francis Pierre
• Age: 32
• Sex: Male
• Race: Human
• Role on the Bellerophon: First officer
• Brief Backstory: Francis was born in a severely poverty stricken France, his life being dictated by the dumpster out back and what was thrown in it. He was roped into a life of crime by a cousin at a young age and became a semi-infamous robber. Soon, however, he was caught and imprisoned. While in jail, he heard stories of a great communist nation, where one never had to struggle and all men were truly created equal. After three years in jail he was released, and quickly immigrated to the Soviet Union. There he rose through the ranks of the military before an on-battlefield accident resulted in the deaths of three civilians. His career was almost over. After years of office work and demotions, he was finally offered one last chance to repair his career. All he had to do was get on a spaceship.

Edited by Ka-Kamie-ie on Aug 22nd 2020 at 8:43:41 AM

Hmm... mostly good. The Bellerophon is a private ship, though. Just change him to be ex-military entirely, and you'll be good to go.

Alright, change of plans. Due to exhaustion from work and other IRL chaos, I'll launch this thing on Wednesday, regardless of who's actually signed up or not. Sound good?

Yup