Scenario
The Edsel is a destroyer, Edsel class (the only one), largely regarded as a failure in ship design. Somehow, serious flaws in architecture and engineering were not caught until the prototype ship was fully built and operationally tested. From its launch, it has been plagued with mechanical and operational problems that have played havoc with its fitness and combat-readiness, to the point where it became the butt of jokes throughout the Navy. Soon, it had become a dumping ground for personnel who were considered too disruptive or incompetent for front-line service, but who had not done anything sufficiently egregious to warrant being discharged. About nine months ago, FedNavOp sent down an order to retire the embarrassing vessel, to the relief of all involved, but just before the order was executed, the Grand Senate countermanded it, stating that it had found an important political use for the vessel. The Edsel's new five-year mission:
 |
to stay in permanent parking orbit around the vacation planet of Atlantis; |
|
to meet with curious civilian VIPs and their charges; |
|
to boldly give tours of an "authentic Federation starship"! |
As a result of being on extended tour duty (as opposed to a tour of duty) and because of incompetence and apathy among the ship crew, several systems important to the Edsel's functions as a warship are in serious disrepair; in addition, what little military discipline the ship once had has largely dissolved in the face of prolonged inactivity and the banality of the ship's primary mission, such as it is. Many of the crew have nothing useful to do; others have taken to performing their duties in a lackadaisical manner; still others have busied themselves with hobbies. There are people on board Edsel that are diligent workers; there are those who are competent at their jobs; and there are those you can get along with. But those are three fairly separate groups.
This is, however, still the Federation Navy, and subject to military law. Blatantly illegal activities can still get you caught, and there are worse places than the Edsel that criminals can look forward to. Take the Dirt Mines on Regulus V for example: the temperature approaches -40 degrees during the summer heat wave, and the dirt is so hard it has to be mined with explosives which claim the lives of several convict miners each month. And then there are the Snow Ghosts. And you're mining dirt. It's really great dirt, but still.
Game Elements
Live-action roleplaying games, or LARPs, come in many shapes and sizes. For this particular game you can expect:
| A humorous take on the Star Trek universe. This is the side of Starfleet that ISN'T advertised in the recruiting materials, populated by a bunch of people that you wouldn't expect could have made it through the Academy--the underachievers, the slackers, the non-heroic. Don't expect to play any characters that appear in a serious episode of any of the Star Trek incarnations! |
| A minor amount of mechanics. There are item cards and special abilities. There's some amount of statistics (how much damage you can take, your level of stress, etc.) but you won't need math to keep track of them. You won't spend much time, if any, with rock-paper-scissors or dice. |
| Mayhem. You're on the worst ship in Starfleet, from the poorly designed vessel to the incompetent and/or inappropriately-assigned personnel. Given how frequently the transporters/warp drive/holodeck malfunction on the Enterprise, what do you think the odds are of a peaceful afternoon on the Edsel? |
