Camp Pournelle

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## Camp Pournelle's Domes

Over the years of service of Camp Pournelle the Base has been expanded with several domes and some have suffered damage or destruction due to their low cost construction and micro-meteor impacts. in the Original Timeline the Base is decommissioned in 1978 after only 13 years and as such some of the Domes were never constructed and others were never repaired or damaged, while in the Boxtree and Living Rulebook Timelines the Base is operated by the US for 47 years and even after it is abandoned the Base continues to have human presence so events run to the modern day (either 2025 for the Boxtree Timeline, or 2095 for the Living Rulebook Timeline.)

### Dome 1

So Named because it was the first Dome to be erected on the Lunar Surface, this Dome contained Living space for 6 as well as a common room, scientific equipment, and engineering workstation. the Dome was also covered in Lunar Dust after it was built to protect it from impacts and radiation from the sun.

This Dome was converted into the Operations center for the Base Commander when the first Training of Marines began on the Moon, and remained so until the Base was abandoned by the US.

after 59 years of operation this Dome finally failed and was later dismantled by Commander Blaine (In the Boxtree or Living Rulebook Timelines) for its parts.

### Dome 2

This dome was erected just 3 days after Dome 1 and was designed with the same interior, it was also covered in lunar dust to protect it, and remained a Habitation Dome primarily used by the Scientists posted at Camp Pournelle until the Camp was abandoned by the US, and is one of the few domes to survive to the present without any breakdowns or deaths.

### Dome 3

After Dome 2 was set up the third Dome was ready for use within a month of the first and was designed to offer the same facilities as Domes 1 and 2, even being covered in lunar dust to protect it. after 8 years of operation without incident Dr. James Pike used an Airlock on Dome 3 to commit suicide and left his personal possessions in this Dome.

After 12 years the air cycling system of Dome 3 failed and valuable oxygen began to leak out onto the lunar surface, while the Technicians attempted to repair the problem, lunar dust had destroyed several components and the Dome was abandoned and sealed. (In the Original Timeline this was to be the end as the Camp was abandoned only 11 months later.

2 years layer the Dome was finally repaired using parts from Earth and became functional again, though the new Marines arriving found it quite disturbing to find Dr. Pike's personal effects still in his old quarters, and refused to touch them. Dome 3 continues to function up to the present since its repairs, though the constant reminder of Dr. Pike makes it the most depressing Dome to live in.

### Dome 4

After one of the original Supply rockets landed over 100 miles off course this Dome was written off, but by the 2nd year the Marines operating a long range training mission located the Module and transported it progressively back to the Sea of Tranquility, three weeks later this Dome was operational adding another 6 berths to the Camp.

Dome 4 operated until the Base was abandoned in the Original Timeline, but continued to be used up to the present in the Boxtree and Living Rulebook Timelines without any serious problems.

### Dome 5

After 4 years the US Government decided to send more Modules, of the Seven sent this was the first to be assembled adding another 6 personnel berths and a single rover for use with training and research purposes.

just 3 years after it was assembled the Dome suffered an unknown accident and was breached, this caused all the air in the Dome to escape so quickly that cost the lives of 7 Marines and 2 Scientists before emergency doors were sealed.

by year 13 the facility was abandoned in the Original Timeline and this Dome remains breached, in the Boxtree and Living Rulebook Timelines the dome was finally dismantled in year 15 for parts to help maintain other Domes.

### Dome 6

After the arrival of 5 out of the 7 new Modules sent this Dome was assembled, though this Module did not expand the Personnel Berths, instead it was a focused Hydroponics Dome, divided into 4 sections that each produced enough food to support 4 people for an indefinite period, though repeated problems with low budget equipment made this dome only able to produce enough food for 10 people.

By year 13 the Base was abandoned in the Original Timeline, though the Dome was left with growing plants inside. In the Boxtree and Living Rulebook Timelines the Dome continued to function, and in year 15 the food production issues of the Dome were solved allowing it to produce enough food for 16 personnel.

### Dome 7

By the middle of the 4th year this Dome was erected and provided the Camp with another 6 Berths and a second Rover, though by year 12 this Dome like Dome 3 suffered a fault with the Air Processing systems and began to leak Oxygen onto the lunar surface, at the time the fault could not be corrected and the Dome was abandoned.

In year 13 this Dome like the entire Camp was abandoned in the Original Timeline, while the Boxtree and Living Rulebook Timelines it remained abandoned until year 15 when it was finally repaired and became available for personnel.

This Dome continues to be used until the present (2025 or 2095 depending on which timeline is being used), though several electrical faults in the design make this Dome a constant strain on the Technicians who maintain it, and eventually all 6 berths were assigned to Technicians to increase the availability of repairs to the Domes endlessly malfunctioning systems.

### Dome 8

In October of the 4th Year this Dome was finished and added a further 6 Personnel berths to the base along with some additional Scientific equipment, though the lack of additional Scientists made the Dome almost useless for Scientific studies until December of the next year when more scientists were sent to make use of the systems there.

a year after the Dome was occupied by Scientists the first Heavy Weight Weapon Laser was developed in this Dome, and it gained the unofficial nickname 'The Laser Dome', and until its 8th year the Dome continued to function as a research site for Laser weapons technology.

in year 12 this Dome much like others suffered a failure of the Air Systems and began to leak, eventually being abandoned until the base was abandoned in the Original Timeline.

In the Boxtree and Living Rulebook Timelines the Dome was repaired by technicians and the 'Laser Dome' was able to resume work on Laser Technology, this continued until the 47th year of operation when the Crew were recalled and the base abandoned, though Commander Cross and then Blaine continued to use this Dome for Laser research until the present.

## History

While Camp Pournelle was built on The Moon, its history is short due to the US abandoning their space program, depending on which timeline you are playing the dates for the Bases construction and abandonment vary, along with a number of other events over the course of the Bases operational lifetime.

Depending on which timeline you choose to include in your game the amount of time the Base was operational will affect the events listed as the longer the Camp was running the more that could be done on the Moon, the Events listed below are based on the Camp being founded at 'Year 0', and each event follows based on the operational lifespan of the base until the Camp is abandoned.

**Year 0:** Four rockets are launched with automated payloads to land at the Sea of Tranquility, while a fifth rocket carries 3 Astronauts, after a week of travel the rockets land, though one of the automated payloads lands more than 100 miles of course. the Astronauts then begin the assemble the first module to provide them with larger living areas, and within a month three of the sections are set up and ready, the Astronauts then return to Earth leaving the Camp unoccupied for six months while Hydroponically grown plants begin to settle.

**Year 1:** 6 Scientists and 10 US Marines are sent to Camp Pournelle to begin using the base, the Scientists are charged with maintenance and research, while the Marines begin to train in the extreme conditions of the Moon and in orbit.

**Year 2:** Working on long training operations the Marines identify the landing site of the missing supply module and begin transporting it back to the Camp, taking 3 weeks to travel the distance and finally the base is finished with all 4 Modules, the expansion makes life easier and the US Government begin considering further expansion.

**Year 4:** Seven new Modules are launched from Earth for the Moon Base, due to poor quality parts two of the Modules are lost in space, the remainder land later than scheduled and the Science teams begin further expansion of the Camp, within three months an additional 30 Marines are sent to the Camp for training, but no new Scientists are dispatched.

**Year 5:** The existing Scientists on the Lunar surface begin to send requests to the US Government for more Scientists to be sent, as they are no longer able to engage in scientific studies due to the expansion of the Camp. By December the US sends 9 additional Scientists and charges them with further development of Laser technology.

**Year 6:** The first light weight laser systems are developed on the Moon, allowing for Tanks and APC's to be equipped with Laser weapons, and gradually the research develops smaller versions until the Marines on the Moon begin training with Light Weight Weapon Versions of Lasers.

**Year 7:** A catastrophe occurs when Dome 5 is breached, 7 Marines and 2 Scientists are killed, the tragedy puts Camp Pournelle into a low as the US decide to recall all but 10 of the Marines back to the Earth, leaving a large base with few people.

**Year 8:** Dr. James Pike suffers from a psychotic brake and commits suicide by leaving the Camp without a Space Suit, leaving the remaining 14 Scientists in a state of depression. The US Government recall all the remaining Scientists leaving 10 Marines on the Moon.

**Year 9:** In January 5 Military Technicians are sent to the Lunar Base to continue maintenance of the base, in August 20 new Marines and 5 more Technicians are sent to the Moon, and Camp Pournelle becomes an entirely military establishment, training troops to operate in low and zero gravity environments.

**Year 12:** Four of the Domes develop faults and begin to leak air, the Marines and Technicians begin working round the clock to repair the damage, eventually retreating into the remaining 6 Domes.

**Year 13 (Original Timeline):** Camp Pournelle is abandoned after the US ends their space program, over the next four months the personnel are shipped back to Earth, though the last Shuttle back suffers a systems failure and burns up in the earths atmosphere, leaving 3 custodians without a way home or hope of rescue.

**Year 13: (Boxtree and Living Rulebook Timelines)** 20 of the Marines are recalled to Earth and two launches of parts and tools are launched so that the Technical Staff can begin to reclaim some of the breached Domes.

**Year 14:** Dome 3 and 8 are repaired and repairs on Dome 7 Begin, 20 new Marines are sent in November to begin training.

**Year 15:** Dome 7 is repaired, but Dome 5 and 9 are unable to be restored, the Technicians dismantle them for parts to keep the other Domes running.

**Year 17:** Now trained the 20 newest Marines are recalled to Earth and a new batch of 20 are sent, the decision is made to officially put Commander Blaine in command of the Camp and of training units of Marines.

**Year 19:** 20 Marines are rotated through training and the next arrive, 5 Scientists are also sent to begin new scientific studies into the expansion of the Lunar Base.

**Year 21 to 29:** Marines continue to be cycled through the training program, the Lunar Scientists begin studying new armor materials and develop an Armored Space Suit that becomes nicknamed 'The Beetle'.

**Year 30:** 20 Marines returning to Earth suffer a Navigation error and crash into the Arctic Circle, all 20 Marines are lost and the fuel burns for 3 days before going out.

**Year 31:** President North cancels the Training program and no new Marines are sent, Commander Blaine accuses the President of losing sight of the big picture and abandons the Camp with 3 Technicians and 5 Marines, launching their Ship off into space along with significant supplies and weapons. Sargent Cross is made the new Commander of Camp Pournelle.

**Year 32:** Marines and Technicians are sent to Camp Pournelle to restore them to 10 of each, an additional 5 Scientists are sent and ordered to begin study on building more Base Modules using Lunar Materials.

**Year 35:** Development of better processing techniques allows the construction of Dome 10, the largest Dome on the Moon and built from compressed Lunar Dust, within 6 months the Dome cracks but no lives are lost.

**Year 38:** Dome 12 is finally repaired and careful study begins to determine the viability of the Dome.

**Year 40:** Dome 12 becomes a large Bio Dome and two rockets are launched with supplies to expand the Plant and Animal options for the Dome, in September Dome 3 suffers a catastrophic Breach, 2 Scientists die.

**Year 43:** Dome 12 becomes a stable ecology and begins producing enough Air, Water, and Food to support 25 people.

**Year 44:** President Gore's election results in the Lunar operations being scaled back and all remaining Marines are recalled to earth.

**Year 47:** In the Boxtree and the Living Rulebook Timeline Camp Pournelle is abandoned after the US ends their space program, over the next ten months the personnel are shipped back to Earth, though the last Shuttle back suffers a systems failure and burns up in the earths atmosphere, leaving 3 custodians without a way home or hope of rescue.

**Year 48:** After the US abandons its Space Program Camp Pournelle is left with 2 Technicians and Commander Cross acting as independent Custodians, with no resources from Earth and an all Male group they are left to fend for themselves with no Earth Return Vehicle.

**Year 49:** Commander Blaine returns to Camp Pournelle with his crew, expanding those on the moon to 5 Technicians, 5 Marines, Commander Blaine, and Sargent Cross, 3 of the personnel are now women and Commander Blaine begins a breeding program.

**Year 50:** Eva Blaine becomes the first Human to be born on the Moon, two boys are also born later that year.

**Year 52:** Nine Children now growing up on the Moon causes Commander Blaine to order the construction of 2 new Domes with similar methods to Dome 12.

**Year 55:** Domes 11 and 12 are completed, plants and animals are spread out into the new Domes.

**Year 58:** The Air, Food, and Water production on the Moon reaches enough to support 75 people, a total of 23 Children have been born on the Moon by this time.

**Year 59:** Dome 1 suffers a breach but no lives are lost, the Dome is simply dismantled to provide spare parts.

**Year 60:** Commander Blaine's first Son is born, and Eva Blaine reaches the age of 10 and already stands more than 5 feet tall. This is the present date for the Boxtree and Living Rulebook Timelines (2025 or 2095).

### Original Timeline

The construction of Camp Pournelle was organized and executed over a short period of time and the base was only in operation for a few years in the original Timeline, this offers only a small window of activity to the US.

**1965:** America puts the first man on the moon, nine months ahead of schedule. Camp Pournelle is built in the Sea of Tranquility soon after

**1978:** America quits its space program, Camp Pournelle is left operational but abandoned.

### Boxtree Timeline

Lasting for several decades the Base was able to engage in many activities and grow considerably, in this Timeline the Camp was first built in the same year as the Original Timeline but had considerably more time to expand and run operations for the US Space agency.

**1965:** America puts the first man on the moon, nine months ahead of schedule. Camp Pournelle is built in the Sea of Tranquility soon after.

**2012:** America quits its space program, Camp Pournelle is left operational but abandoned.

### Living Rulebook Timeline

Both built later and abandoned later, the Camp has a long operational life in this Timeline, but its first construction and its abandoning occur later in the history of the Dark Future, but allows the Camp to act as a resource for the US for a considerable time.

**2035:** The US Builds Camp Pournelle in the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon.

**2082:** America quits its space program, Camp Pournelle is left operational but abandoned.

## See Also

Sea of Tranquillity

History

The Moon

Index