<div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace.<br/><br/>A self-contained world five-miles long, located in neutral territory.<br/>A place of commerce and diplomacy for a quarter-of-a-million humans and aliens.<br/>A shining beacon in space, all alone in the night.<br/><br/>It was the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind<br/>- the year the great war came upon us all.<br/>This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations.<br/>The year is 2259; the name of the place is</strong></span></div><br/><div align="center">(https://geekoutsw.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/clearlogo-597.png)</div><br/>With a silent whine imperceptible to all but the most sensitive of ears, the<em>Robinson</em>transitioned further into the hyperspace corridor. What few passengers remained close enough to their viewports to stare outside did so with no small degree of wonder - and instinctual anxiety. Incredible though it was to be able to traverse vast distances of space in manageable timeframes, the dangers involved were always relevant - and never forgotten.<br/><br/>But in spite of the inherent excitement of space travel across sizeable distances of the galaxy, there was little during the voyage that had offered distraction. In the several weeks since the<em>Robinson</em>had departed Earth for Babylon 5 it had stopped but a handful of times, and then only when mandated by the captain's schedule. Scant few individuals came aboard the old Bradbury-class liner when it did so; mostly, passengers departed for the planet's surface, causing the ship's already small compliment to decline yet further.<br/><br/>Yet in spite of the meagre number of passengers, the voyage was not without its troubles. Space-worthy and well-equipped though the<em>Robinson</em>was, it was not free of its quirks: it's environmental controls were experiencing considerable problems, and little the staff could do seemed to better their state. As a result, most aboard the passenger liner had trouble sleeping, as their quarters were invariably too hot, too cold, or possessed weird smells and sounds which seemed to emanate from the air ducts. The ship's doctor did his best to proscribe sleeping pills when requested, but if this proved beneficial to the general mind-set of the passengers it was scarcely noticed.<br/><br/>It was fortunate then that the Robinson was sizeable enough a spacecraft - and it's passenger complement a fraction of the norm - that those aboard it did not struggle to find a measure of privacy and isolation when desired. Though none of cabins were particularly comfortable due to the environmental controls, there remained enough of them that relocation was entirely possible if one discomforting factor proved particularly intolerable; and for those seeking a more active distraction, the<em>Robinson</em>possessed a fully-equipped gymnasium, a staffed dining room, a vidroom, and also an observation dome.<br/><br/>To their credit, the<em>Robinson</em>'s crew had done their level best to accommodate their varied passenger base, and had made certain to include a cook who could cater to the preferred culinary preferences of each species that had come aboard during the voyage. Few had deigned to dine together, however, as the lack of sleep had made most keep to their own company, thus forcing the staff to rework the availability of their kitchen to accommodate everyone. In spite of this, the cook remained among the most cheerful of souls aboard, and his varied fare, which included a number of Narn, Abbai, Human, Brakiri, and Centauri dishes, was always fresh and appetising - or at least it was to those who partook of such meals.<br/><br/>In full view of a number of tables, a vidscreen was inlaid, broadcasting the latest Interstellar Network News feeds through StellarCom. The staff, under normal circumstances, might have offered to change the channel to something more enjoyable for whichever passengers were visiting the dining room at the time; but with recent events being as they were, the generous offer was politely ignored, and the ISN feed kept active.<br/><br/>Late into the voyage though the<em>Robinson</em>now was, the news channel remained thick with speculation about the recent death of Earth Alliance President Luis Santiago, who had passed away when<em>EarthForce One</em>had exploded over Io. His Vice-President, William Morgan Clark, had been sworn in and promptly promised to continue his predecessor's policies, as well as maintain the continuity of the government. By comparison, the supplemental news stories touching on the past attack on Raghesh III by the Narn seemed lacklustre, with the Network certifying that tensions between the Narn and Centauri were diminishing - a fact that many amongst both factions might quickly declare a bold-faced lie.<br/><br/>A final news summary about the increased raider activity along mercantile routes - and an seemingly innocent, yet still prominent, remark about how the rise in attacks seemed to have been inspired by the increased trade put forth by the Minbari Federation - rounded off the Interstellar Network News segment, and the vidscreen was switched off. What food could be carried over to another day was moved into storage, and the empty plates were cleaned and rehoused in their respective spaces. The staff bid goodnight to the few passengers who had opted to dine so late, and reminded them - almost apologetically so - that they were only a day and a half away from Babylon 5. With that comforting thought in mind, the few active passengers slumped off to their chosen domiciles, sealed shut the door behind them, and attempted once more to get a good night's sleep.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><em><strong><span class="bbc_u">GM Notes</span>:</strong> Welcome, everyone, to our Babylon 5 campaign!<br/><br/>You are all aboard the Earth-registered spacecraft</em>Robinson<em>, a liner en route from Earth to Babylon 5 - a journey which has taken several weeks so far. It's entirely up to you whether you boarded the craft on Earth, or if you were one of the passengers picked up during one of its few scheduled stops in Earth space along the way.<br/><br/>Although space-worthy, the</em>Robinson<em>is old and nights have proven uncomfortable due to the environmental controls. This means that few people have spent much time together, in spite of the ship only having a minimal passenger compliment.<br/><br/>Whether your characters have conformed to this same pattern of isolation is entirely up to you, but I'd like everyone to provide at least one post detailing what they've been up to during the voyage, as well as anything else you wish to put out there: their thoughts on recent galactic events that might be known to them, how they're handling the journey so far, and what they might have been doing prior to coming aboard. You can provide as much or as little detail as possible, but please keep in mind that this is the point at which you'll be finding your character's feet - best to make use of the opportunity now before you reach Babylon 5!<br/><br/>In line with the above, I'll let you all determine whether you'd like to have met, or spent time with, one another during the voyage so far. This can lead to you guys working together on RPing out some scenes if you wish, but this isn't mandatory. Again, it's just an opportunity to engage in some character establishment, as well as kick off some RP.<br/><br/>There are other passengers, and you can engage with one or more of them if you wish, but for the most part they've been keeping to themselves. (I'd rather give you all a chance to focus on your own characters and inter-party RP than interrupt with NPCs, but am more than happy to introduce some if you wish.)<br/><br/>However you choose to spend your time, I ask that you detail events no further than your characters turning in for the night, as suggested above in the opening post. At that point, you will be a day and a half out from Babylon 5. When everyone is caught up to this same moment in their stories/scenes, I'll post again to move us on.<br/><br/>Let me know if you've any questions. Otherwise, have fun, and get started finding your characters through play!</em>