Thursday Night Game ~ The Daedalus Event - Human Space Empire Test Play

"Sire the seers report that something has entered our space! Something very ominous" 
"Another sub-planar demon, I suppose?"  
"No Sire The Khalid ibn Yazid has returned from beyond the pale" 
"Summon the  Spocery Guild & the..."
"Summon my advisers & the astrologers.... Now fool!"  
The Khalid ibn Yazid was one of  the last of the fleet of a fleet of 
 scientific probes, the design criteria specified that the spacecraft had to use current or near-future technology and had to be able to reach its destination within a human lifetime. There were 24 made during the ca. 12000 period & they are all surrounded by legend. The specifications are available to any child within reach of a psychic viewer: 

Specifications

• Overall length: 190 metres
• Propellant mass first stage: 46,000 tonnes
• Propellant mass second stage: 4,000 tonnes
• First stage empty mass at staging: 1,690 tonnes
• Second stage mass at cruise speed: 980 tonnes
• Engine burn time first stage: 2.05 years
• Engine burn time second stage: 1.76 years
• Thrust first stage: 7,540,000 newtons
• Thrust second stage: 663,000 newtons
• Engine exhaust velocity: 10,600,000 m/s & 9,210,000 m/s
• Payload mass: 450 tonnes

 The non-replicating design was modified to include all subsystems necessary for self-replication, using the probe to deliver a "seed" factory with a mass of about 443 metric tons to a distant site, having the seed factory replicate many copies of itself there to increase its total manufacturing capacity, and then using the resulting automated industrial complex to construct more probes with a single seed factory on board each over a 1,000 year period. Each REPRO would mass over 10 million tons, mostly fuel needed to decelerate from 12% of lightspeed. 

Of those 24, 12 have returned & six brought with them nano plagues, one was the head of a black fleet, & still others have brought destruction in the form of nuclear holocaust to a number of colony worlds. Now one has entered the staritstan 8 system. 
Psychics & Seers have been having nightmares & visions for weeks. The sporcery guild has called for brave adventurers to do a fly by & possible boarding. None of the pirate clans will risk their ships!

So this is for tonight's game! We've got three players for this basic Human Space Empire Game!
Bob- Adventurer or Astronaut
Russ - Warrior
Forrest - Scientist
All information on the  Project_Daedalus here
Part three of the Article will be delayed for now! Later folks & GAME ON!
 Back from the game a few quick impressions:

So tonight was interesting. I had Forrest make several extra characters for the table top rpg group & they tore right into the setting. Then they tore into the system. I asked what are the strengths & weaknesses of the system. I got at least 6 different comments here.