Thr35Fingers
Interstellar Hijinks
The highly dangerous nature of a Sampler's work requires the most iron discipline and strict adherence to safety protocols. Combine this with each crew member typically having a deep understanding of his work and equipment and you have some of the most competent spacers in the galaxy, for everyone knows an incompetent Sampler is already a dead one.
Samplers are known for running some of the tightest ships in the known galaxy. In 2344, whe a Union ambassador was visitng Sampler 7 on a friendly cultural exchange, he told a Sleigh crew that they had a "near-military" discipline, thinking he was paying them a compliment. By the time his Marine escort had pulled off two ensigns from him, he'd realised his error. This incident is remembered as the "Night of a Thousand Apologies."
But, if Samplers are known for their rigid discipline while on-duty and conducting mining operations, they are also known to celebrate life in its fullest when off-duty.
Indeed, a sun-ship with empty holds coming off-rotation is a completely different ship. To bleed off the stress that comes with one of the most dangerous jobs around, Sampler crews will engage in all sorts of antics. Fart-gas in the ventilation, expanding foam in the shower tanks, food fights and pranks of all kinds are commonplace everywhere but the engine room, which is off-limits.
The crew of the Republic-registered SS Dirty Fracker perphaps took things a little too far. After a particularly taxing mining shift and dispersal of their neutrons, the head chef decided to spike the celebratory meal with Angorian liquor. After an inebriated food fight the crew and captain headed to quarters to sleep it off. The mining shift, however, was up to mischief as usual. The captain woke up to find himself locked in his cabin.
The miners hijacked the bridge by bribng the navigator and helmsman with alcohol and set the course for Altair 7. The off-duty engineering team, meanwhile, had donned spacesuits and EVA'd with buckets of paint and gone over the ship's name, replacing "Fracker" with //CENSORED//.
Once in orbit around Altair 7 (after two marriages and one all-hands brawl), the rogue crew established a geosynchronous orbit above the planetary governor's water yacht. The governor, known for his radical Naturalism, had previously railed against spacers in general and especially Samplers, banning them from the planet.
The crew used the solar shield to create an articial eclipse above the boat, which was currenty hosting the governor's daughter's wedding. Being entirely solar-powered, the yacht quickly depleted its batteries while still out in deep waters.
Only when the governor had paid a healthy ransom and revoked his ban did the crew leave orbit. Incidentally, their departure was celebrated not only by the governor's retinue but also by a tribe of primitive who had heralded the eclipse as the End Times. The first thing the governor did back in port was have a hydrogen-powered engine installed in his yacht.
The captain, who hated seafood (and had thus been fed nothing else), was finally released as the ship arrived at Charlemagne for shore leave. He congratulated the crew on a successful prank, then immediately confined them to quarters on bread and water. He released them after a day and they made landfall together for a bar crawl.
Sampler's oath: "Steel in our blood, our blood in the Steel."
Interstellar Hijinks
The highly dangerous nature of a Sampler's work requires the most iron discipline and strict adherence to safety protocols. Combine this with each crew member typically having a deep understanding of his work and equipment and you have some of the most competent spacers in the galaxy, for everyone knows an incompetent Sampler is already a dead one.
Samplers are known for running some of the tightest ships in the known galaxy. In 2344, whe a Union ambassador was visitng Sampler 7 on a friendly cultural exchange, he told a Sleigh crew that they had a "near-military" discipline, thinking he was paying them a compliment. By the time his Marine escort had pulled off two ensigns from him, he'd realised his error. This incident is remembered as the "Night of a Thousand Apologies."
But, if Samplers are known for their rigid discipline while on-duty and conducting mining operations, they are also known to celebrate life in its fullest when off-duty.
Indeed, a sun-ship with empty holds coming off-rotation is a completely different ship. To bleed off the stress that comes with one of the most dangerous jobs around, Sampler crews will engage in all sorts of antics. Fart-gas in the ventilation, expanding foam in the shower tanks, food fights and pranks of all kinds are commonplace everywhere but the engine room, which is off-limits.
The crew of the Republic-registered SS Dirty Fracker perphaps took things a little too far. After a particularly taxing mining shift and dispersal of their neutrons, the head chef decided to spike the celebratory meal with Angorian liquor. After an inebriated food fight the crew and captain headed to quarters to sleep it off. The mining shift, however, was up to mischief as usual. The captain woke up to find himself locked in his cabin.
The miners hijacked the bridge by bribng the navigator and helmsman with alcohol and set the course for Altair 7. The off-duty engineering team, meanwhile, had donned spacesuits and EVA'd with buckets of paint and gone over the ship's name, replacing "Fracker" with //CENSORED//.
Once in orbit around Altair 7 (after two marriages and one all-hands brawl), the rogue crew established a geosynchronous orbit above the planetary governor's water yacht. The governor, known for his radical Naturalism, had previously railed against spacers in general and especially Samplers, banning them from the planet.
The crew used the solar shield to create an articial eclipse above the boat, which was currenty hosting the governor's daughter's wedding. Being entirely solar-powered, the yacht quickly depleted its batteries while still out in deep waters.
Only when the governor had paid a healthy ransom and revoked his ban did the crew leave orbit. Incidentally, their departure was celebrated not only by the governor's retinue but also by a tribe of primitive who had heralded the eclipse as the End Times. The first thing the governor did back in port was have a hydrogen-powered engine installed in his yacht.
The captain, who hated seafood (and had thus been fed nothing else), was finally released as the ship arrived at Charlemagne for shore leave. He congratulated the crew on a successful prank, then immediately confined them to quarters on bread and water. He released them after a day and they made landfall together for a bar crawl.
Sampler's oath: "Steel in our blood, our blood in the Steel."