Discovery

## The Discovery

The ***Discovery*** was the first of the Alterra Long-Range Intergalactic Starliner, created as part of a colonization project throughout the outer reaches of space. It also had a secondary directive; transporting equipment required to install a phasegate that allows interdimensional travel, within Prime-II, the site where it was first launched. It's final mission to date was to evacuate the realm Alterra originated from, as it was under attack by an unidentified anomaly. Current status of Alterra, the universe it resides within, or the anomaly, is unknown.

During a maneuver trough Prime-II, before entering the Phasegate Zone, the anomaly struck the *Discovery* with a highly-lethal energy pulse on the starboard side, resulting in catastrophic hull failure and leading to an emergency landing on the surface of the closest planet within the new universe. All the starboard Lifepods were compromised if not outright destroyed by the energy pulse; most of the port side lifepods that did launch were compromised except for Lifepod 2056, which contained the vessel's commander Allegiant General Lane, and several other Lifepods whose occupants met other fates. Moments after Lifepod 2056 launched, an explosion struck the crippled vessel, causing further casualties. At the time of the hull breach and subsequent explosion, more than a quarter of the occupants perished, minimal casualties occurred during it's forced landing onto the surface of the planet's ocean.

Based on several visual documents, upon crashing, the *Discovery* plowed into the terrain underneath the shallow side of the ocean, unearthing it and leaving small sand hills around the ship, resulting in huge quantities of wreckage along with convenient supplies being dispersed within the vicinity of the ship, providing useful materials such as food & water, and batteries. Multiple alien life could be found surrounding the areas of the wreck site, mostly passive.

By the time contact has been re-established, the *Discovery* is still within a stable state, the majority of the survivors resided within the still-functional interiors of the stricken liner. 3 months after the time of the landing, signals coming from the *Discovery* abruptly disappeared, as of now, the current state of the wreck site is unknown, though a few centuries ahead, the uncharted planet, later designated as *Copper-9*, completely froze after it's core was destroyed.

The *Discovery*'s exact coordinates are unknown, whatever remains of the vessel is most likely completely destroyed or buried under snow. The last known location of it is nearby what used to be the mainland of the planet, with its bow facing north and its stern facing south. It is visible from the surface nearly anywhere on a radius for up to a hundred kilometres. making it a useful landmark for survivors. The vessel's total size was up to 800 cubic feet, it had a very durable hull, capable of holding back electromagnetic pulses along with most weapons used during warfare, unshielded. The *Discovery* holds state-of-the-art leisure facilities, the entire vessel's power was powered by a dark-energy fusion reactor, resources for sustaining life are created trough organic growth facilities for both harvest and livestock, while water is created through the de-icing and purification of the ice formed around the vessel's hull.

## Directives

### Primary Directive

The furthest reaches of inhabited space are due to expand, as Alterra Scientific Research & Innovation launches a newly-constructed capital ship, capable of carrying more than ten thousand passengers, bound for various destinations never seen before with its brand new hyperdrive technology.
The Discovery will first travel from spacedock above Prime-II, making hundreds of consecutive hyperspace jumps through nine different regions within the galaxy, and arrive on the far side of the Ariadne Nebula in three months' time. From there the command crew will pilot the ship beyond the final hyperspace jump, arriving in the next galaxy system approximately 18 months later.
There, upon disembarking passengers, the vessel would also collect materials required for the elite team of engineers to start a 6-month construction project on a Phasegate, a multi-trillion credit investment, which would allow space travel between different realms in the future. In the absence of existing infrastructure in the region, the vessel is equipped with advanced thermal and nuclear power facilities.
 Source: Pick up Abandoned PDA in the Aurora.

### Directive B-4509

 - Mission: Emergency Evacuation
- Objective: Evacuate UNIVERSE-01, maximum capacity increased to at least 100.000 passengers/crew.Find suitable area for permanent docking.
- Last known position: Vicinity of UNIVERSE-4568
- Contact: Multidimensional Solutions Corporates.
Mission brief:
An unidentified anomaly manifested upon the first successful opening of the Phasegate, ravaging the areas within our universe, the Discovery's capacity is increased up to more than a hundred thousand, the objective is to find a safe location where the vessel along with it's occupants are undetected by the anomaly.
Mission Details:
- The Discovery is due to perform a slingshot maneuver around the remains of Prime-II towards the constructed Phasegate approximately 45 minutes post-departure.
- This will bring the vessel within range of the Phasegate's range throughout the other realm stationed within.
- Supplies and natural sources have been massively increased in the Discovery's cargo storage for this evacuation.

## Discovery Interiors

The Discovery has numerous facilities across it's large capacity. Several of them are mostly untouched at the time of the incident, though after the disappearance of signals from within the Discovery, their current state is unknown.

### Administration Office

The administration office is the main hub for communications, administration, and control within the entire vessel. Located near the service areas, it contains some of the most advanced communications relay and an override access throughout the entire vessel's control. It is also the main hub for the Artificial Intelligence System, where it's chassis is stored. As for the current status for the area, most of the equipment is damaged, the A.I, is in a forced emergency shutdown state to avoid causing further damage. The communications relay were still active as the survivors managed to send signals throughout the area.

### Cargo Bay

Somewhere amid the ventral section of the vesse, a large cargo bay capable of storing resources for an entire population of a region. It is seperated into three sections, conventional storage, for storing essential storage, organic storage for growing harvest and/or livestock for food, and facilitation storage for suitable power and additional storage for the numerous facilities onboard, along with repair facilities for transportation, equipment, or the robotic passenger treatment crew.

There is a cargo elevator in the cargo bay, which is stuck halfway. Close to it, there's an Abandoned PDA named "Trans-Gov Profile: Alterra Corp.".

Following the ramp down reveals an underwater section that leads to a T-corridor. To the left, there will be a Sealed Door. To the right, there is a room called the "Seamoth Bay".

### Hangar Bay

A large hangar bay, located possibly midships, houses several service, military, or smaller passenger aircraft. Mostly for storage, they could be used in the middle of a journey, in case of an emergency. The Discovery itself could also be reconfigured into the military's capital ship when needed. For the current status, the area is mostly undamaged during the landing, save for several small fires breaking out, and the destruction for a majority of the stored vessels.

### Control Bridge

The control bridge is located within the forward bow section of the Discovery. Accessed trough an elevator, it houses the most advanced navigational and control technology at the time. It used to be controlled by an Artificial Intelligence system that also doubles as the overseer of the vessel's functions, a Personal Digital Assistant owned by all occupants, and as an automated control apparatus for the vessel. Most of the bridge is intact at the time of the emergency landing. It was also used as a refuge area for some survivors.

### Laboratory

Coming from the Aurora entrance: Remove the crates blocking the doorway, then follow the hallway until there is a fire. On the right lies a fire extinguisher which is useful for putting out the aforementioned fire. Continue until a submerged room is reached.

Coming through the Prawn Suit Bay: Go underwater at the far left corner from the entrance to the Bay to find a tunnel leading to the lab. A room before the actual laboratory contains a Data Terminal with a Data Download titled "Aurora Black Box Data". There also is a Supply Crate containing a Battery in front of a locked door that requires the Laser Cutter. Behind it is the actual laboratory.

A nearby Abandoned PDA has a Data Download titled "Lab Access" containing the code, 6483, for the two nearby doors. These grant access to the storage room, where three Large Sample Flasks can be found, one Cylindrical Sample Flask, a Microscope, and a Sample Analyzer. The two Supply Crates contain Disinfected Water and there's a Data Terminal that states it de-corrupted the player's PDA and unlocks the Repulsion Cannon. On a Counter close to the terminal, there's also an Abandoned PDA named "What Can We Learn From the Hive Mind of Strader VI?".

### Living Quarters

These areas provide residence for passengers and crew alike. The passengers' living quarters are stationed within leisure suites, with balconies overlooking the public passenger areas or a window with a view of space. For the crew, their living quarters are stationed somewhere within the front end of the Discovery, possibly underneath the location of the control bridge. At the time of the emergency landing, the quarters are mostly undamaged, several of them are possibly submerged underwater.

### Drive Core Room

Within the Drive Core Room are four large generators. They are connected by catwalks for service access or repairs. The generators power the main core, located in the center. It powers the majority of the vessel's power along with it's powerful Ion Drive engines. As for the current status of the area, several breaches occurring at the core were documented at the time of the landing. Some of the catwalks are destroyed and the room is partially submerged with water. A Quantum Detonation is at risk of occurring if left unattended for extended periods of time.

### Passenger Facilities

Most of the Discovery's capacity is devoted to passenger services, essentially it was known as a "palace in the skies". The facilities are divided into three sections, although there are no separate classes within the Discovery. The three sections are connected trough a magnetic levitation transport system. For disabled passengers, they are equipped with hover chairs that allows levitation and movement controlled by their will. It had a 4-D immersive virtual cinema/theater, a gymnasium that could also utilize anti-gravity, VR-equipped suites, a robotics bay, several airlocks for spacewalking, a lido deck with a tropical environment along with a network of swimming pools, several leisure and viewing decks, and several fine dining services/cafés. Current status of the areas are unknown, at the time of the hull breach and subsequent crash landing, minimal damage were inflicted.

## Data Bank Entries

Primary Directive: Alterra Intergalactic Colonization Project
Capacity: Commanding Crew (89), Engineering Team (107), Support Crew (102), Passengers (10.235)
Status:
- Defunct
- Sustained heavy damage in orbit of an uncharted planet
- Cause unknown
- Evacuation data unavailable
Mechanical Features:
- Alterra Dark-Matter Energy Ion Drive Core Mk. VI
- Alterra Long-Range Hyperdrive System
- Automated Control System
- Artificial Intelligence System, compatible with Personal Digital System for each occupant
- Advanced navigational system
- Long-range communications relay
- 10.25 cubic kilometers of space for storage purposes
Habitation section:
- Accommodation for more than 10.500 passengers & crew
- Multiple fine dining services serving healthy, fresh, and rehydrated food
- Leisure facilities including VR suites, spas, and a virtual cinema

Structural Integrity: Stable
Drive Core Status: Critically damaged, risk of a Quantum Detonation occurring
Notable Damages:
- Dark-Matter Energy Ion Drive Core sustained heavy damage
- Multiple breaches occurred across the starboard hull
- Numerous areas destroyed by the hull breach
- More than a quarter of the entire occupants perished
- Ion Drive engines damaged

## Trivia

* The Discovery had one sister ship; the *Challenger*, meant to continue the intergalactic cruises while the *Discovery* would participate within inter-universal travels. She was destroyed during the same event that caused her sister's demise.
* General Lane held his position for the commander of the Discovery for three decades. The Discovery's first commander, Commander Daniel Leigh, held his title for almost a century; humans within Alterra's origin universe had extended lifespans.
* The Discovery took almost a decade to construct, during it's launch date, the building team were rewarded participation of the trip for their hard work.
* Several of the Discovery's survivors' logs could be possibly found within Copper-9.
* The Discovery was dubbed "The City of Outer Space" by most of it'spassengers. It's true, as the public areas of the passengers' facilities; with the suite buildings overlooking the area resembling skyscrapers.