Out beyond Victoria Station there is an entire Cosmos waiting to be explored. In 1948 a Son of Ether decided that Space must be explored by men who would venture forth as the ancient explorers who discovered the Americas. That man was named Victor Korvenni, and along with his wife he designed and built The Avalon. He constructed the Avalon with the help of numerous constructs, a multitude of Custos and a mysterious mariner named
Janus. The project took many years and required vast amounts of Quintessence. The end result is a ten kilometer super cruiser that can traverse the vastness of the Cosmos. The Avalon took to the Ehterways with a sense of destiny as a bold experiment of the limits of the human spirit of exploration.
The power source of the vessel is a mystery. Some theorize that it is a special type of multi-sphere Paradox Realm that combines the highest levels of Entropy, Forces, Matter, Prime and Time. Others contend that a Celestine is somehow trapped inside providing power to the ship. What is known is that Victor and his wife disappeared when the Avalon was completed. This happened at about the same time that the main engines were being installed. The very same engines that Dr. Korvenni and his wife had designed and built.
Janus dedicated the super cruiser in 1968 at Victoria Station and became it's first captain. Since then The Avalon has been constantly going beyond the horizon.
The Avalon is certainly the largest vehicle for space exploration ever developed by a Son of Ether. It is also the most grossly overpowered vessel to ply the Etherways. Aside from its mysterious power source, that provides power for a main energy weapon that can theoretically vaporize planets, the ship also boasts three wings of
Spitfire class Space fighters. On the ground The Avalon fields a full platoon of
Marines. These genetically altered bio-plasma clones are more Construct than human. The Avalon is also home to over a thousand human crewmembers who tend to the maintenance of the ship. For manual labor there are thousands of
robots of differing degrees of intelligence and competence. And finally there are dozens of Sons of Ether occupying various positions of authority among the
crew. The
First Officer is a Son of Ether, as is most of the brass. There is a full hospital led by a french Son of Ether,
Dr. Leinart. The Avalon also has a Doctor of Cybertechnology. His name is
Dr. Marcus Alder. There are also a number of Sons in varying minor positions. The Avalon takes the normally reclusive, insular and antisocial mages and trains them to be a cohesive, disciplined team. Rounding out the crew are a small number of Awakened beings as well as a few Mages of other Traditions. The Chaplain of the Avalon is a Celestial Chorus mage by the name of
Father Glenn Howard. A kindly middle aged man who takes care of the casually Christian crew.
The Avalon sports a host of ammenities not the least of which is shipwide Normal Earth Gravity. In the bowels of the ship there is a huge hold that boasts a three kilometer by 800 meter wide, 320 meter high park complete with jungle, waterfall, fish pond and jogging trails. All beneath an artificial sun that turns into a fake moon every twelve hours. The ceiling is painted sky blue so that when the light lowers in intensity it appears all grey. People talk about using a color changing paint so that at 'night' it will turn black, but so far no one has done more than talk. Aside from the mess hall there are also three restaurants and two pubs. These establishments and other shops line 'main street', a length of hall that is twenty meters wide and has buildings facing the open area that are uniformly five stories tall reaching from deck to bulkhead. Main street is 2.3 kilometers long and has civilian housing as well as a landscaped median. Small electric vehicles zip up and down main street while children play with alien pets along the sidewalks. There's also an olympic village, complete with an arena sized hold and seating for ten thousand. Marine games are very popular, but obviously only marines and very sturdy
aliens can participate safely.
Pilots and
Security personel use the
Plasma Gun. Marines use the more powerful
Plasma Rifle.
Plying the Deep Umbra The Avalon has introduced many creatures to the condescending attitude of human explorers. Quite a few
alien races have come to hate humans as a result. The rest just shrug and go about their business as long as the humans don't get too pushy.
Game Notes
The Avalon can set down on water but not on land. The speed of the ship is irrelevant in game terms because it takes it exactly 7 days to reach a new destination, no matter where it is or where it's headed. To return to a location where it has already been takes only seven minutes. The crew of the Avalon can increase this travel time to suit their needs but this is usually done only for dramatic reasons.
The crew of the Avalon have access to Matter Converters that can produce any inorganic material, food or equipment.
