The Achilles

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The Achilles is shaped like the mythical manta ray from ancient Terran history. She is gunmetal gray with red striping along the edges of her wings and tail. At 37m long and 27m wide, she is a small ship, but is sleek and elegant. Built 50 years ago in the Cygnus Shipyards on Cygnus IV in the Kashmere Province, the Achilles is beginning to show her age. There is some new hull plating on her starboard wing where she took a torpedo hit in a “misunderstanding” with the Colosian Planetary Defense Force over the planet Orpheus. The paint doesn’t quite match. On the port wing, the red edging has been scraped away from a “near miss” with a pirate Wolverine Light Fighter.

Entryway

The Achilles has a top hatch and a bottom hatch, both leading by ladder into the entryway. The bottom hatch outer door sticks a little from some damage caused a few years back during an opposed boarding operation (some people just don’t cooperate with the ISI). Both ladders end in the airlock, a small chamber with room (barely) for 4 crewmembers. The rungs on the ladders are almost at a mirrored shine from long years of hands and boots crossing them. As the airlock opens into the hallway (or Octagon, as the crew calls it), the person entering notices that the air does not smell like the stale, sterile, metallic smell from newer ships. There is a hint of lubricant and coffee – not unpleasant – the smell of a well used, functional machine. The Octagon name comes from the fact that the hallway is 8-sided. The soundproofing has worn down a bit over the years so the engines are a little louder than in other ships, but not uncomfortably so. To the left of the pressure doors that lead to the bridge is a bronze plaque listing the name Achilles, her christening date, her first Captain (Elias Dorath), and a symbol said to represent an ancient Greek helmet with a stylized Achilles across it.

Kitchen

The kitchen/common area has the most lived-in look of the whole ship. The floor has various colors of stains that don’t seem to come out with any treatment. The snyth-wood table is dented from a disagreement that the pilot had with the navigator a few years back. The cooking equipment is up to date and there is always the smell of hot synth-café permeating the room. New crewmembers are always directed to the “hotseat” for their first meal on board. For some reason, the bench along the wall shared with the Medical Bay picks up an electric charge whenever the ship transmits a TBD message. Of course, there is always someone available to transmit a TBD message to initiate the newest crewmember with a mild shock. The techs always seem to be too busy on other repairs to fix it. One wall has a large screen normally used for holo-vids and mission briefs/debriefs. There is also an entertainment suite with computer games, flight, gunnery, and navigation simulators, and music.

The head has a small sonic shower, a sink, and a toilet. The bathroom faucet leaks (and always has – there is a mineral stain to prove it).

Sick Bay

The sick bay is sparse, with a few cabinets (two panes with cracked glass from a small scuffle while interrogating an unwilling subject) containing an excellent selection of medical supplies, drugs, and instruments. The examination table is obviously not the original, being recently replaced with updated technology. It stands out from the rest of the well-used room. The cryo-stasis unit is also state-of-the-art. The room has a slight, elusive formaldehyde smell from something that was spilled a few years back.

Storage

The storage area has seen a lot of use over the years as is evidenced by the dents in the walls and scrapes on the floor. Half of the storage area has been converted to an exercise room. The floor of the exercise area is a rubberized padding. There are several grav-resistance exercise machines, a grav-treadmill, and a small ground-hoops court. The lights usually come on with no problem, but when they flicker, a sharp whack just to the left of the control console gets them working.

Communication Room/Library

This room is dark and crowded with all manner of electronic equipment. The two workstations have full access to the ship’s computers and TBD communication system. The workstations have comfortable, well-used syth-leather chairs. The chair closest to the aft has a tear in the seat and the stuffing shows a bit.

Bridge

The bridge gives the feeling that someone tried to install twice as many electronic devices as he should have. There is always the sound of a low hum and the viewer is dazzled by blinking lights, readouts, and displays. The Captain’s chair, in front of the helm, is well-appointed black synth-leather. There is a coffee stain on one arm that resists all attempts to remove it. There are generally numerous chocolate candy wrappers in the folds of chair and on the floor under the helm. The helm is the primary station for the weapons systems. The astrogation station has more displays and monitors than the helm. It is the secondary station for weapons system and communications. The bridge has a busy, cramped feel to it when manned for action, but is a quiet, comfortable place to watch the universe go by when things are slow.

Lab

Like the sick bay, the lab is outfitted with the latest test equipment. It has two long worktables with a suite of nanoscopes, centrifuges, detection and identification equipment, and auto-sterilizers. There is a large stasis-storage container and a cabinet full of chemicals and scientific supplies. The etching left from the acid splash from that alien specimen picked up somewhere on the Border Worlds is still visible on the starboard wall.

Cabin #1

The cabins are designed for multiple occupants to sleep in shifts. Cabin #1 has a well worn and stained tan carpet, two synth-wood wall lockers, a desk, computer station, and a chair.

Cabin #2

Cabin #2 is similar to Cabin #1 except the door no longer fully closes after that little bump on Adonis VII, so there is a wooden door stop next to it to keep it from swinging.

Engine Room

The pressure door from the entryway leads into a small airlock/containment room filled with sensors, rad-scrubbers, and chemical/biological neutralizers. After away missions on questionable planets, all crewmembers must come here to detox. Above the pressure door leading to the engine compartment is a small placard that reads, “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.” Some odd joke from a tech that nobody ever took down. The engine compartment is loud and warm. Only techs usually come here to inspect the Cygustar Twin Hyperdrive engines. Backup engineering functions can be done here, but all of the main controls and monitoring equipment are located in the main Engineering room. Engineering has three workstations for techs to monitor the status of the Hyperdrive and matter/antimatter reactor (which is behind the pressure doors on the starboard wall). Not as loud and hot as the engine room, Engineering is still busy, warm, and full of electronics. For some reason that techs can’t explain, the life support system just can’t quite compensate. Engineering can be used as a backup bridge if necessary.