>>28107065
We shall send back another transmission, this time with an image of the Voyager probe and us explaining its components, much like they appear to be attempting to explain their spacecraft.

>>28107879
Just a voiceover on a static image, or recording a video of explaining the different parts of a Voyager Mockup?

>>28107938
We shall record a video.

Turn 21 Budget:
32RP Trailblazer 15/18
40RP Hecate 13/17
1RP Lunar Buggy 10/15
1RP Improve Grenefeld Engineering to 3
1RP Improve Orion Engineering to 3

Can the Lunar Buggy be tested on Earth?

>>28108086
A mockup of the Voyager is prepared. Visually identical, although it's components are hollow and can be removed by hand. The RTG also does not contain dangerous Radio-Reactive Materials.

How will you present yourself for this video.
>We shall wear our pink frilly dress.
>We shall wear our RRC uniform.
>We shall wear something Regal
>We shall wear something Trendy

>>28108279
No, the lunar buggy must be tested in lunar gravity.

>>28108303
>We shall wear something Regal
We are now representing the Royalty of Midland as well as both the RRC and the SSC; also we do not understand the fashion sense of the aliens and so something trendy may seem terribly urbane.

>the lunar buggy must be tested in lunar gravity.
Then 10/15 is as good as we can make it.

>>28108279
With this budget we can complete the Titan, Hecate, and Trailblazer next turn at a cost of 64RP.
With that completed, we can then build the Turbine on Turn 23 without severely impacting the timetable for the Seraphim.

>>28108494
There is also the manner of the Maned lunar Flyby. If you prioritized the Trailblazer and titan you could work on the Hecate after launching the flyby.

>>28108546
Would we need to launch 2 Titans and a Trailblazer for the Manned Lunar Flyby?

And a budget that prioritizes the flyby would be:
32RP Trailblazer 15/18 (Good Enough To Launch)
40RP Titan 15/18 (Good Enough To Launch)
1RP Lunar Buggy 10/15
1RP Improve Grenefeld Engineering to 3
1RP Improve Orion Engineering to 3

Is the current piloting bonus due to radio-beacon waypoints in orbit +3?

>>28108595
The manned lunar flyby can be completed with just a trailblazer and a titan. It will fly past the darkside of the Moon and return to earth on a free return trajectory, collecting valuable scientific data on how the human body responds to deep space travel, and providing high resolution photographs of the city on the dark side of the Moon.

>>28108595
Also I dropped that rule. It's too easy to get piloting bonuses from multiple pilots or just make everything really reliable.

>>28108664
>Also I dropped that rule.
Please put that in the House Rules section, then.

And it's fine but it's not too easy to get a piloting bonus right now when the manned lunar flyby will be so expensive to get the Failure reliability up. And I don't think we can put two pilots in there, just one if it's a flyby done with only the Trailblazer and Titan.

>>28108705
Trailblazer
>Pilot
>Engineer
>Camera
>Rations
>Rations
>Rations
>Rations

It has capacity 7 and two crew members will consume 4 rations over the course of the mission. This leaves one space for a camera or other payload. Alternately if you are feeling callous you could sacrifice one or two rations for extra payload space, this will injure the crew members on the way back but they will survive unless something else happens to them.

>>28108801
Titan
>Orbital Insertion Fuel
>Orbital Insertion Fuel
>Injection Burn Fuel
>Injection Burn Fuel
>Lunar Capture Burn Fuel
>Lunar Homeward Burn Fuel
>Recapture Burn Fuel
>Deorbit Burn Fuel
>Reserve Fuel

I assume that the Injection Burn is now only 1 instead of 2 burns since you simplified the Homeward Burn to be only 1 burn.

>>28108961
No, injection burn is two, return burn is one. Something to do with the Oberth effect. There is no capture or return burn however. This is a free return Trajectory.

Trailblazer
>Pilot
>Engineer
>Camera
>Rations
>Rations
>Rations
>Rations
Titan
>Reserve Fuel
>De-Orbit Fuel
>Recapture Fuel
>Injection 2
>Injection 2
>Injection 1
>Injection 1
>Launch Fuel
>Launch Fuel

>>28109044
What about Orbital Insertion? Or is that the Launch Fuel?

>>28109195
Yes, I such at being consistent in my terminology.

Well, my support is behind this budget:
32RP Trailblazer 15/18 (Good Enough To Launch)
40RP Titan 15/18 (Good Enough To Launch)
1RP Lunar Buggy 10/15
1RP Improve Grenefeld Engineering to 3
1RP Improve Orion Engineering to 3

>>28109326
>>28108595
>32RP Trailblazer 15/18 (Good Enough To Launch)
>40RP Titan 15/18 (Good Enough To Launch)
>1RP Lunar Buggy 10/15
>1RP Improve Grenefeld Engineering to 3
>1RP Improve Orion Engineering to 3

Confirming budget updating wiki.

>>28109437
We should also send the Foe Star's communications to Ms. Kenaway over an encrypted channel. Perhaps she has trusted linguists.

>>28109513
The transmissions are already shared between both organizations, heavily encrypted as usual. Ms Kenaway is trying her best to find linguists who can be trusted with utmost secrecy.

A few hours after you finish transmitting your video, you receive a reply.

You are greeted by the illustration of an androgynous childlike humanoid figure wearing a robe like garment. You can't be sure if it's a highly stylized illustration of a human, or if they really have disproportionately large heads. At any rate it looks human, although you can't tell it's gender, and it's outfit looks rather foreign. Most notably is that behind it's body are the same X shaped array of square panels that the spacecraft has, sticking out like wings.

The being appears to be greeting itself in it's own language, (Which sounds vaguely similar but not identical to Romantic or Archaic) and seems to be imitating your video explaining the workings of it's spacecraft. However it does so on a much grander scale. It flies through a representation of the spacecraft as parts open up and fly off to reveal the inner workings. Very few parts seem at all recognizable, although the creature attempts to explain there utility through diagrams and animations. It is hard however to tell what parts are symbolic and which are literal. The arrows shot out of various ports over the spacecraft's body could be representing thrust, or be some sort of weapons system.

At the end of the video the being holds up several objects, some of which resemble books. It seems to be asking if you recognize any of these.

>>28110167

Ask our personnel if they could replicate things shown by the aliens.

>>28110329
Your personnel still aren't sure what the things even are. The video seems to give the impression that they are friendly and talkative (or are cultivating the appearance of such) but it demands more questions than it answers.

Most disturbingly there doesn't seem to be any space on the vessel for any kind of living crew.

>>28110476
We shall have several books assembled and another video prepared.
This time we will use a mathematical textbook as a start; math should be universal. We shall start with counting in base 10, and attempting simple mathematical examples to get across our numbers.

Also a children's picture book if one can be found, to attempt to begin putting together basic objects to our words.

>>28110691

This is a decent plan.

Also, a map or a chart relating the most important people in the planet. obviously, Midland wil be written as the best nation, and the royal family as the most important personalities.

>>28110691
It would be possible to hire staff at the National Library to just read books out loud in front of a camera. It could be disguised as a system to create electronic backups for posterity. They would only need a donation of several MVAC machines to help with the task.

>>28111457
Of course.

>>28111668
i hope to god, someone is recording all of this, just getting still images from this to study is going to be awealth of data. are these aliens more gray like, or human like? noses? hair? 5 fingers?

>>28111668
and here we need to build more MVAC, but we are building new rockets. we're not even trying to train the princess for her trip too.

>>28112138
Human like as far as you can tell.
It's a Moe Anthropomorphism of the spacecraft but I don't know how to describe anime without breaking character and using terms that don't exist in the princess's culture.

>>28111668
We cannot afford to do so at this time.
Simply scrounge up whatever books are available on the island.

>>28112479
that and we need to have have someone who can draw good enough and fast enough also take drawings of things if our recording device fails for some reason. It is always good to have back ups.

So, are we getting those books and that video made? Are we moving on to the next turn?

>>28112882
Yes, and it's getting late. I'm having a hard time running on mondays. I might put this quest on Hiatus.

>>28113230
hiatus? that is nearly a death nell for quest threads. you alright over there Godmother? would another night be better? or is IRL problems popping up?

>>28113274
No it's just that the only day I can really run is Monday, which is not a very good day for viewership, and also the day I would rather be relaxing in.

Not many players and an exhausted QM means I can't put as much effort in, which means the quality decreases, which creates a negative feedback loop.

I don't want to drop the quest, but I think it might be better to run some time when I'm not balancing work and school.

>>28113337
ok, in that case, just say you are taking a break till school and work eases up. maybe after the hoildays or such. a burned out QM is a bad thing too.

>>28113337
well good night then Godmother. try next time to run it on any time from friday evenings though the weekends for more people.

>>28114993
Friday Evenings might be possible, It conflicts with my Exalted game, but that session always ends up happening on Monday anyways for some strange reason.

That's not my excuse this week though. Just me being burned out and not having any good ideas.