Emergency Rations: Travel Edition

[StarBase 118 Staff]

Welcome to Emergency Rations, where each month we highlight details from the worlds of Star Trek and UFOP: SB118 to fuel your fandom, inspire your writing, and help bring your sim to life.

This month’s theme is vacation! We’re well in to vacation season here, and I haven’t gone any farther than the other side of town. In Star Trek, exciting destinations are only a transport away.

You have caught up on your reading; you have scrolled through all the forums; you have read the entire wiki again. You could use one more detail to close out your post before you get away. It’s time to break out the Emergency Rations…

We’re Starfleet simmers, so let’s face it – we know how to do shore leave. But if your character broke away for vacation, where would they go? Somewhere relaxing? Entertaining? Adventurous? Any memorable trips from earlier in their life? Any they’d rather forget?

As you chew your way through your rations, think about how you can incorporate these items and ideas into your sim. When you’ve succeeded, tell us about it on the forum. We’d love to hear how you’ve put your creativity to use!

Destinations. Think about the wide variety of vacation destinations on our own planet Earth. How many exist on other worlds? What about a world with no features? Here are a few popular locations many Federation citizens will have explored: Risa (of course), Brentalia (the zoo planet!!), Ferenginar (the galaxy’s most profitable Board of Tourism), and Argelius II (according to our wiki, the next most popular spot behind Risa – just don’t get Jack The Ripper-ed!). What is the future of leisure activities like golf, or gambling?

Getting There. Here is a math problem about travel: You travel the planet Earth by public transporter, jumping from one public transport station to the next, each with a range of approximately 40,000 kilometers. Assuming a rate of 20 travelers per transport and an air pollution index of 0, how long before you end up naked in the desert with all your credits stolen by Vegas dabo girls again?

In addition to transporters, you can also travel by starship, shuttle, or commercial tourist starliner. What is a space cruise ship like? Planetside, what kind of old-fashioned or new-fangled ground transport might you find? And, is there a 24th century version of a travel agent?

What to Pack. Everyone: do not forget your Ferengi-Federation Standard Dictionary. If you forget your Ferengi-Federation Standard Dictionary, you will not be able to barter with Ferengi in their own language. They’re at every tourist trap in the galaxy by now, you guys. And that’s basically all you need to take with you, because everywhere you go has replicators. Maybe some levitation boots in case you’re in Yosemite.

If you find a way to mention a Ferengi-Federation Standard Dictionary in your post this month, and tell me about it on the forum, you will receive a special prize, and the prize is a place in my heart, because nothing makes me happier than seeing a dirty deal defeated by language.

Please visit the forum and let us know how you used these ideas in your writing! Happy simming!

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