“Accomplish”
The NSS Charter is a currently grounded Shaika Assault Carrier that is being used as an officer training academy in the Hanya continent on Nepleslia. Originally a gap-stop measure, the ship has persisted, and become almost a permanent fixture in the landscape. The original crater it landed into has been filled in and even a small city has sprung up beside this point of interest, known creatively as Chartertown.
The ship itself was originally ordered down after the battle of Kennewes, where it was used to train the next generation of officer cadets from all corps. Many renovations have taken place in the interior to optimise its training role, however the major systems of the vessel have been left active and are meticulously cared for by an army of engineering students. Technically the ship is ready for take off at any time, although this would produce some rather unhealthy effects for the nearby town and support facilities to say the least.
A cadets curriculum is determined by their chosen corp, if they have one, and profession. Generally cadets are taken after the Training Camp stage, those ear-marked for officers and some of the technical corps are sent here via shuttle. Cadets usually start their first day by being assigned a bunk and then given leave to explore the ship, classes begin the next day. Classes include lectures, demonstrations, simulation sessions and then practical application. Very chaotic.
Most students keep on top of it by letting the ships AI tell them when they're needed where, and by partying in the ships recreation centres. It's become a tradition over the years for cadets to try and sneak over the perimeter to visit the nearby whorehouse in town at least once. Those who succeed are often written in academy legend, as security teams are thorough with their job making sure that the feat remains as legendary as it should be.
A holdover from the original vessel, all thirty of these rooms remain mostly intact, although their range of stock has increased considerably to various weapons, including examples from both ally and enemy.
The bridge has been changed somewhat from its space-faring days, many of the control systems are partitioned off from each other to allow examination through simulation. Many of these tests are directly competitive, as such “crews” are in sound proof areas during the tests. The captain still watches from the command platform as these exercises are going on, able to peek into any partition via camera.
The bridge has also become the nerve centre for coordinating the huge tasks required to keep the academy running, so many of the terminals are filled with staff managing the day to day running of the place.
This is a large, posh room. Invariably, it contains the same deep green shag carpetting of the bridge, a large desk containing a powerful computer work station, a small kitchen, a full bathroom, and a view screen on the wall. This room has been half converted into a small office, with a dividing wall to give the captain some privacy. From here the captain can work in a quiet area while still being able to recieve guests on business. Here is where some of the most serious charges are brought when serious criminal acts occur.
Slightly smaller than the captain's suite, but still quite nice. Has many of the same details, although lacks the kitchen, and the carpet is blue as opposed to green. It has also received an office conversion, although the XO tends to handle more physical means of disicpline.
A place for the instructors to relax between classes and socialise together away from cadets. The room is very similar to the rest of its class, however the chess boards have been replaced by more modern holographic gaming sets.
Feeding hard-working cadets and keeping training amouries full is a large logistical issue on a vessel this size, one that the cadets themselves often see to everyday as supply managers and quartermasters in-training work out the daily affairs of running a somewhat-working ship overseen by their instructors.
Upon landing these area was renamed Cadet Barracks and still houses fifty men in each room. Conditions are cramped, cadets are stressed and light discipline is enforced to help keep sleepers sane. Most beds have a privacy curtain, but that's about it.
Used for senior students, the slightly less cramped bunk area is used for those nearing the end of their training. The running crew sleep in the same areas as the instructors.
Unfortunately many of these rooms did not survive the transition from warship to academy, many being converted into classrooms, study centres, or other needed areas. Only about 130 still fulfill their intended purpose.
Almost unchanged from the day it was first built, the simulation chambers of the vessel are often kept busy with rotating recruits. Some times green officers still leaning the basics of command, other times aggressive seniors competing for bragging rights.
Located near almost every barrack and the bridge, these are simple, automated centres designed for dispensing quick medical assistance for minor injuries.
Many of these room have been converted to operating theatres and other medical training centres, while all are capable of accepting patients, only about 30 of them are still fully staffed by professional crew to deal with incidents that happen around the ship. A few of the areas have been converted for specialised medical scanning equipment.
No longer a fighting ship, the cloning areas have been completely removed, as well as the biomass storage to supply them, the space used instead to create lecture halls and classrooms for hard working students. While there is a working clonebay in some medical bays on the ship, they are not sufficent to repopulate the crew several times over.
These are wide hallways with white floors, walls, and ceilings, lined with green. There are LED lights built into the siding that may be used by the AI to guide personnel to wherever they need to go. In most hallways, there is at least one heavy Xaser turret built into the ceiling to assist against boarders.
Due to the immense size of the ship, the largest passageways contain self-propelled walkways. However, the Spinal corridor (That reaches from engineering to the nose of the ship) has a small tram. There are also two tracks that circle the mid-deck of the ship. In case of boarding action, these systems are usually shut down.
One of the most heavily used areas of the ship, many of the PA's that once lined its hallways have been swapped out for training models, and basic sets to teach rookies. However all have seen extensive use over the years and not a one among them is without scratches and dents from rough or clumsy handling. Additional markings have also been painted on the walls and floor to provide recruits with increased awareness of where they need to be, and which areas they need to avoid in the hustle and bustle of bay. The Fabrication System that used to occupy some space has been removed and replaced with a observation and muster area for recruits. Mixed in with its complement are examples from both enemy and ally, although most of these are only for demonstration.
Receiving similar treatment to the PA bays, the recent drop in manned fighter use in Nepleaslia has seen a greater increase in mech and heavy PA training. The variety of mechs has also increased as different models become available and captured enemy examples are brought in.
Despite the impressive size of the ship, and its bunk space, it was decided that further inferstructure should be built outside to maximise its training potiential.
Although primarily used for officer training, technical corps often use the still functional equipment on board the Charter as training for fully active warships. First set down as a group of pre-fab buildings constrcted near the midsection of the vessel, this has slowly sprawled with roads and further pre-fabs. The “temporary” nature of this facility meaning that very little roots have been established.
Even with the impressive facilities provided by the ship, trainers did not want to risk recruits trying to make emergency landings in the crowded ships bays. The Secondary is a dirt runway pressed flat with rollers and gravel, despite only seeing light usage most of the time, it occasionally sees use for drones in live-fire exercises and to help alleviate the ships bays when heavy traffic becomes an issue.
Near the runway six simple, open hangars have been made to accommodate aircraft on standby, fitting two smaller craft or one larger each. An underground facility was also built while the original crater was being filled in, but is now used only for storage and drones. There are four access doors to the facility between selected hangars, the facility itself is made up of carpark-like levels with elevators and stairs. A few old relics may still be found under dust covers in the lowest levels.
With the nearby city, and large target the ship itself makes, a perimeter was set up two kilometres around the ship designed to keep cadets in, as well as intruders out. Despite being only lightly manned and armed, it's enough to deter most intruders. The perimeter itself is set up mostly as an electrified chain-link fence, with sensor posts spaced every dozen meters or so on either side. A guard post controls access by road. Every few hundred meters or so a medium scale defence turret has been set up, although these have never been called upon. Most incidents are dealt with via security response teams in vehicles.
I've left personnel on-board the Charter completely unmentioned, this is so any future Nep GMs who might want to run a plot on it will be free to create their GMPCs of choice. I've also tried to leave enough room for any enterprising GMs to expand upon the article, adding maps, details, nooks and crannies and so forth.
I currently feel that the page is lacking in some tacit way, it doesn't quite feel right as it is. I'm requesting that anyone with any ideas or possible rewrites for this contact Kokuten or me (Jimmy).
This submission is hopefully in the final stages before being submitted for review, work is still ongoing.
Signed. Jimmy