[FOCI]
Expanded Worlds
You are specialized in a form of aerospace engineering called astronautics. You build ships designed to fly through the empty void of space where vacuum, radiation, temperature differentials, and extremes of gravitational and centripetal forces work constantly to tear apart what you build. This means your mind is sharp, your hands are clever, and your motivation is to break the bonds of gravity and travel to other worlds of the solar system (or perhaps beyond).
Though some of your colleagues fit the stereotypical mold of mussed hair and stained lab coats, that's not your style. As a rocket scientist, you have a certain reputation to uphold, and that extends to how you dress.
Field science kit, marker for writing calculations.
You don't have to spend an action observing to make your next trajectory calculation.
Intuition flares, and you can ask the GM one question about what you're looking at, and the GM will provide a general and true answer.
You observe or study a problem, puzzle, or object for at least one round. The next time you interact with it (possibly in the following round), the difficulty of a related task such as solving the problem or puzzle, or understanding more about an object is reduced by one step.
You are trained in astronautical engineering plus one other area of scientific knowledge of your choice in which you are not already trained.
You jury-rig a piece of mechanical or electrical equipment to make it function above its rated spec for a very limited time. To do so, you must use spare parts equal to an expensive item, have a field science kit or a permanent lab, and succeed at an Intellect-based task equal to the level of the item you are modifying. When complete, using the device modifies all tasks performed in conjunction with the device by one step in the user's favor, until it inevitably breaks. For example, you could improve the spacecraft thrusters to increase a spacecraft's speed, modify the decryption module to more quickly decrypt a message, improve the sensitivity of a scientific instrument package, and so on. Each use of the modified device requires a depletion roll of 1–2 on a d6.
Action to initiate, one hour to complete.
The more you use your brain, the better it gets. You add 3 points to your Intellect Pool.
You are trained in another area of scientific knowledge of your choice in which you are not already trained.
You are specialized in one area of knowledge of your choice.
You are trained in Intellect defense tasks.
When you use Effort to decrease the difficulty of solving a problem or puzzle, you decrease the difficulty by two steps for the first level of Effort you apply. (This ability works in conjunction with Calculated Trajectory on applicable problems.) For example, if you used Calculate Trajectory in the previous round on the problem to decrease the difficulty one step, then use Orbital Mechanic this round in conjunction with a level of Effort to decrease the difficulty, the total difficulty of the problem or puzzle is decreased by three steps.
Your research leads to a breakthrough, and you imbue an object with a truly amazing property, though you can only use the item once. To do so, you must buy spare parts equivalent to an expensive item, have a field science kit or a permanent lab, and succeed at a difficulty 4 Intellect-based roll to create a random cypher of up to level 2.
The GM decides the nature of the cypher. When attempting to create a specific cypher or a cypher of up to level 4, the difficulty is increased by two steps. Creating a cypher does not allow you to surpass your normal cypher limit.
Action to initiate, one hour to complete.
GM Intrusions: Complex machinery is prone to malfunction in novel environments. Funding grants might be withdrawn. Test vehicles have a way of blowing up on the launchpad.