So, since I’ve had to change gears again IRL and spend more time doing article writing and working, I’ve not been able to paint as many models or play as many large-scale games. But the itch to paint persists, and me and Kinpatsusamurai are starting up a new campaign of Space Station Zero which will help me also scratch the itch to play tabletop games for a while. I present the crew of the U.S.S. Oceanides, a research and survey vessel that has been plucked out of the Beta Quadrant and dropped on the doorstep of the mysterious Space Station Zero, an awesome tabletop skirmish / roguelike game by Snarling Badger Studios, by Uncle Atom of Tabletop Minions and Vince Vinturella. This is my crew, and Kinpatsusamurai has built a crew of his own as we co-op this.

Commander Tu’Shan is the First Officer of the U.S.S. Oceanides, and arguably the sole voice of reason on a starship of plucky, rambunctious “Lower Decks” personalities. Not only does he have the merit of a century and a half of experience, most of that in the Starfleet service, but he also boasts abilities as a telepath and borderline psyker that will be key to the survival of his Away Team. His aim on Space Station Zero is to try and determine, a la Voyager, how they were transported to this mysterious place and how they can finally, someday, reach home when the rest of the station’s whisked-away populace seems to have given up on trying.

Dr. Squatch, who definitely isn’t named after an internet soap brand, is a gruff Tellarite with a heart of gold. He exemplifies the “combat medic” archetype, always ready to leap into the fray to help his crewmates and his friends. He is hardier than most of his crewmates but sometimes that hardiness, paired with his brashness, result in him taking unnecessary risks or biting off more than the medical officer can chew.

Ensign Ruby Goldberg is aptly named, because things just have a curious habit, however convoluted, of going her way. Ruby is a Conn officer on the command track, with a side specialization in Tactical, and is the best person on the Oceanides to have flying the ship in a firefight. Right now, though, she’s not on the Oceanides – and as part of a grounded Away Team, will she still be able to thread the needle and stick the landing on this one, or is her luck about to finally run out?

Lieutenant Commander Siri – and what is Siri, exactly? Some say she’s a Tellarite, some say a Cardassian, some say both, some say neither, and the truly ludicrous just think she’s an Emergency Engineering Hologram that attained sentience. Whatever the truth is, nobody knows the Oceanides better than Siri – and there’s nothing virtual or holographic about the toolkit she carries, which doubles as a close-combat melee weapon.

Lieutenant Quay has had a long and undecorated service in Starfleet, and wears the latter part as a quiet chip on his shoulder. Try though he might to stand out, as the second Klingon in Starfleet, every time he earned an achievement or distinction the phrase “Oh, Worf did that first” followed him like a curse. While somewhat disillusioned he is still faithful to his friends and his crew and tries to uphold his Klingon honor to the best of his abilities. Perhaps other warriors will sing one day of this as the story where Quay finally stepped out of Worf’s shadow and rewrote his destiny.

This won’t replace my battle reports or my short podcast series per se, but I thought this would be a fun way to keep getting some games in while real life kicks my butt for a while, and I’m looking forward to posting updates from our dungeon crawl through the depths of Space Station Zero. Also, I can’t recommend Uncle Atom or his work enough. The man is a treasure. Go give him a look. See you next week!