Astronius Collective
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This article is a work in progress and will get improvements at a later time.
The Ship
The Collective exists because of the pretech ship created on Astronius. After it was used to evacuate citizens, many remained on board. They named the ship the Hope, and themselves the Astronius Collective.
The Collective's Goals
The initial goal of the Collective was to help Astronians find new homes on other planets. The pretech colony ship could travel to distant systems at a fraction of the cost of a standard passenger ship, allowing Astronians to relocate on planets outside of their originating cluster. Over the next few years, those who wanted to find terrestrial homes did, and those that remained on the Hope did so because they preferred it. This shifted the Collective’s goals from evacuation to exploration, seeking habitable locations for new colonies to begin the first expansions since the Silence ended. All the while studying their own ship to learn techniques to improve modern ship designs based on the working pretech.Methods
The Collective spends most of the year exploring uninhabited and unmapped locations in known space. They might spend a week in travel before dispatching smaller ships to moons, planets, asteroids, and other locations for months at a time before moving on. The ship's massive biodomes produce oxygen and food for inhabitants, and fuel scoops allow the ship to use a nearby star's energy to power the next spike drill. The ship berths at a spaceport only once or twice a year, though remains berthed for at least a month. During this time, many Collective members have shore leave to vacation on-planet. However, many others continue working - reporting findings to relevant sources, gathering materials and supplies not found elsewhere, performing ship maintenance not possible in the field, or handling personnel changes.Life on Board
The Collective today mostly consists of Astronians. There are strict population maximums on board, but each time they berth at a spaceport, there is opportunity for members to depart and new ones to join. The application process to join can be arduous, as everyone on board must be able to contribute meaningfully to the success of the Collective as a whole, even if that's performing janitorial services. The ship offers near every service one could find on planet, from schooling to apprenticeships to recreation and more. There’s always more work available for the right person.Public Perceptions
Few have anything bad to say about the Collective. While they haven’t yet founded any new colonies, their travels have uncovered new sources of valuable materials and provided new and updated rutters to known locations. For many, the ship itself is a sign of hope, that we one day will regain what we lost in the Scream. Collective members are often well-respected and given discounts when arriving on planet, and the sight of the Hope is always a cause for celebration. However, others have a less charitable view, believing the group to be selfishly monopolizing pretech that could be put to better use for the sector as a whole. Others, primarily of the piratic nature, seek to take the ship for themselves. Since the colony ship has little offensive capability, several members organize patrol routes with fighters to help deter would-be attackers.Maps
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Hope
Map of key locations of the pre-tech colony ship owned and operated by the Astronius Collective. (Art by Annie Stein)
Information
Founding Date
3209
Leader
Related Professions
Organization Vehicles
Achievements
- Successfully evacuated citizens from Astronius
- Catalogued 87 new lifeforms on the moons orbiting Mithorous
- Located new sources of Helium in the Psyche Cluster, near Xeros
- Established mining outposts on multiple asteroids in the Hiranya Cluster for various heavy metals
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