Wow! This Challenge is an awesome knowledge transfer & learning exercise! There was so much wrong with my first entry, I'm back to try it again. The mistakes I made were

1. Stranded Trader only gives Cargo Bonuses to Spaceships with the Cargo Keyword (Drachian Mantis, Kormen Cargo and Taurus Transport);
2. Loaded Passengers cannot be equipped (i.e. I couldn't chip my Science Students so I couldn't bring them);
3. Communications Array is not droppable (the Deck Expert was wrong!); and
4. Geneticians and Flesh Cult do NOT get along! Further, according to Elindos, "Flesh Cult are enemies of Robots . . . and don't appreciate artificial intelligence either"

I'm still trying to build a large, self-sustaining colony for bio-engineering research & crafting and software research & crafting (as well as the exploration and exploitation of a brand new planet!) -- but, suddenly, with two-thirds the cargo and one-third the passengers, it's a lot tougher.

Colonization is all about the details. Many people just pick their Origin, Ship and Characters, maybe pay some scant attention to cargo and then call the job done. You also have to pay attention to all phases of your mission from evacuation to pursuing your colonies primary goals (you do have primary goals, don't you). I believe that there will be many unpleasant surprises caused by lack of attention to things like energy, medical, and self-sufficiency.

Scenario Summary

1. H24 is "a young planet with evolved plant life, mineral deposits, breathable air, and drinkable water. Food is scarce as the plant life is simple (consisting mostly of plankton and grasses) and lacking substance for nutrition."
2. The sister planet of H24 hosts a small contingent of alien hostiles who appear to be feeding off of the dying planet's radioactive surface. The aliens seem to be unaware of H24 but are operating in the sector.
3. Sensors also picked up small traces of concentrated seismic activity near the equator of H24, nothing to signal geographic instability.

Analysis

1. Breathable air and drinkable water but no food. Minerals (drilling!) but no advanced plant or animal life (less life research).
2. Not sure why aliens are "hostiles". It may be (likely is) that H24 is a hostile environment for them. We will be bringing substantial military forces nonetheless.
3. Probably volcanic activity. Probably a good place to drill. Probably a good place for thermal energy.

Goals

1. Establish a large colony and survive as long as possible.
2. Start out as a self-sufficient jack-of-all trades colony.
3. Explore & perform research/crafting (bio-engineering & computer).
4. Get rewards (Rebel, Genetician?).

Note: With one exception, I am going to stick with the cards that I actually have. The exception is the Genetician Scientist; however, if you have a Genetician Scientist, please DM me in EXODE Discord (same name) and I'll make you a VERY good offer.

Origin/Starship

I started out looking for Scientific so I could keep my Science students; however, I have four other must-have passengers and the largest Scientific Starship Passenger capacity is 5. So, I reversed my path and started looking at the best ships for Cargo and Passengers. A fully upgraded Drachian "Mantis" has 8 crew, 4 equipment, 8 cargo and 6 passengers. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!

With only 2 Military Origins, we're going to have to go with the Secret Agent. Her Signals and Stealth are much more synergistic with our plans and personnel. We will, of course, keep the previously mentioned equipment of a Syndicate Chip, a fully upgraded Rebellion Secrets (Rebels Rewards!) and an unused Corporate License (just in case).

Or, I've just discovered that there might actually be a second choice! According to a Community Manager, including a Drachian Commissar in the Crew allows 2 Drachian cards and the Mantis can be one of them. Unfortunately, this would be really BA-ROKEN with 2 more crew, 2 more equipment, and 2 more cargo while only losing 11 passengers. I suspect that Elindos is going to either swat the Drachian Commissar allowing the Mantis or nerf the Mantis by taking away the Cargo attribute -- so I'll just continue without doing this.

We've lost the 'Colombus' rewards but have gained Drachian rewards, two crew and two equipment slots. We will keep the Genetician Console and the Medical Bay and add a Federal Database and a Narcotics Genefactory.

We're starting out with 17 people (3 Officers, 8 Crew, 6 Passengers) and 16 cargo slots.

• We will use Syndicate Chips on everyone so we can select the cream of the crop from any faction and upgrade everyone with The Kumicho
• This allows us to be heavily Scientific and perform research for as many research rewards as possible
• Everyone will have a Karper Heavy sidearm
• Everyone except two individuals will have a main weapon (Judgement Day, Galactic Peacemaker or Syndicate Auto-blaster). The two exceptions will have Tom C05s instead.
• All 9 of my pre-boarded humans will have a suit (2 Arena Powersuit, 2 Spartan Elite Suits, 3 Eisen Suit or 2 Universal Fixer Suit)
• Everyone will have ammunition and N-Prime combat drugs (although some are just holding them for others)

Personnel choices are based upon Quality Level (QL), Roles (primarily Research & Exploration) and Skills

Officers

I'm still happy with my Officers. No changes here.

1. Ayumi is critical to making sure that evacuation goes well and later serves a key role in defense. Wearing an Arena Powersuit, his QL of 9 (with The Kumicho's bonuses, Warfare, Cover and Speed skills and N-Prime enhancement, he is assigned to the station halls to kill hostiles, escort the next passenger and then is third in line to Manage Shields. On the colony, he will guard The Kumicho and the Origin.
2. Eliza has a good QL of 7 (with bonuses) and is present primarily for her Medical, Science and Research Skills.
3. I started with a Research Officer to fill the third slot but then realized that I had an Elite Exploration Officer with a QL of 8 (with bonuses).

Crew

With the exception of the Flesh Cultist, I'm still happy with my Crew. Even better, I now have two extra slots!

1. Genetician Scientist: Medical, Science, Research (Bio-engineering), +2 Bio-engineering surprise results
2. Lab Scientist replaces Magna Cultist
3. Oksana: QL 7, Planetary Pilot, Planetary, Warfare, Speed, Cover - Will be wearing the second Arena Powersuit when she joins Ayumi clearing Station Halls and escorting the last passenger; Will pilot the Exploratory Dropship forthe colony
4. Elite Syndicate Hacker: QL 5 (+3), Upgrades Hyperdrive and performs Software Research & Crafting
5. Galvin-4: QL 9, Talk to Passengers, Improve Morale in colony
6. Tyron: QL 7, Space Pilot, Radar, Discipline, Warfare now definitely makes the cut with his Manage Shield attributes and space piloting skills
7. Military Engineer replaces Tech Expert Passenger
8. Maintenance Droid - a special surprise

The non-elite Lab Scientist replacing the Magna Cultist is a big step down. I need to buy me an elite Lab Scientist. A non-elite Military Engineer replacing an elite Tech Expert Passenger is also a step down. I need to buy me an Elite Military Engineer as well. The most awesome thing to add would have been another Genetician Scientist instead of the Lab Scientist since they aren't veteran (maybe someday . . . ). The second most awesome thing to add would be a Nomad Survivor.

There is a method to my madness with the Maintenance Droid. There's something about the Mysterious AI that virtually no one knows . . . . If the KB-119 Kilbot has the hands for a high manual dexterity, it would replace the Maintenance Droid -- but I doubt that it does.

Passengers

So I have to hack my passenger list from 17 to 6. Great sadness ensues. I'll stick with the first four and two station pick-ups.
Slot 1. The Kumicho: QL 10, Colony Administrator, Warfare
Slot 2. Rebel General: QL 9, Cover, Shooting, Warfare, Stealth, Gets Rebel Quests, Uncovers Secret Agendas
Slot 3. Sh4rken: QL 10, Programming, Cybernetics, Signals, Warfare
Slot 4. Mysterious AI
5 - 6. Station Pick-Ups

Genetician!	Station Passenger screened by Gavin-4 escorted by Oksana (Arena Powersuit)	Station Passenger screened by Gavin-4 escorted by Ayumi (Arena Powersuit)

Cargo Slots (16 slots)

If twenty-four cargo slots isn't enough, sixteen is crushing. Fortunately, some relief is gained by having only 17 people to feed and house rather than 27.

As before, I will be dropping 11 slots of droppable commons to bring my total cargo allowance to 27 total slots (but not bringing a Communications Array since I can't drop it).

Room & Board and Energy

Slot 1. SHELTER "Happy 5" (10 habitat, 0 energy)
Slot 2. SHELTER "Happy 5" (10 habitat, 0 energy)
Slot 3. Elite Foodie-Moodie (6 food, 1 Happy Soda, 0 energy)
Dropping 2 x Foodie-Moodie (6 food, 1 Happy Soda, 0 energy)
Slot 4. X-Gen TR100 (10 energy, 900 charges)
Slot 5. WHC Unit (4 energy, 100 Oxygen Crystals)

I really didn't like dropping the second X-Gen TR100 -- even after using 9 epic cards on each upgraded shelter to use no energy and even upgrading the dropped Foodie-Moodies. As I wrote here, energy consumes non-renewable resources -- and you can always use more energy.

"Standard" Colony Installations

Dropping - Radar Array (0 energy)
Slot 6. Elite Drilling Machine
Dropping - 2 x Multipurpose Prefabs (each -1 energy, 3 spaces)
Slot 7. Elite Management Console (-2 energy, Software 3 + 3)

Slot 8. Elite Computer Room (-3 energy, Software 6 + 3)
Slot 9. Elite Chips & Data
Slot 10. Lab Equipment (-1 energy)
Slot 11. Chemical Cuves

This is where I'm spending most of my energy. Since I'm doing Software Research & Crafting, I'm using my limited upgrades for the Admin Console and Computer Room for more capability rater than less energy.

Exploration & Mobility

Dropping 3+ Tom Friendly Eyes XY-6 (as necessary)
Dropping 1+ Tom Little Buddy (as necessary)
Slot 12. Tom Explorator
13 - 15. Exploration Drop Ship (-6 energy/hour)

Yes, I actually am keeping the Dropship even though it eats three slots. It and the Tom Explorator could actually move the colony if need be.

Defense

Slot 16. "Velvet Storm" (-13/hour)
From Market or Dropping if critically urgent - "Vanguard" (-7/hour)
From Market - Orbital Shield

This is where I really cut. Unfortunately, a Defensive Bunker eats up 3 slots and isn't droppable. The "Vanguard" may be Legendary but a lot are already showing up in the Starbase Market. I actually would drop one if necessary to save a colony. I don't really expect to see defense installations on the internal supplies market for quite some time -- but I did want to mention the Orbital Shield as it would probably be my first buy even with a high price tag.

On the other hand, I have the orbit-capable, missile-armed, gadget-laden "Velvet Storm" that can be crewed by both of my 2 Warfare-skilled pilots (Tyron for space, Oksana for planetary) and 4 other characters trained in Warfare. Also, as I mentioned above, I can easily pick up and move my colony away from danger since only 11 of my 16 cargo slots aren't mobile and my vehicles have a combined capacity of 9 (i.e. greater than the Mantis had). I might be a sitting duck if the aliens appear (until I can buy an Orbital Shield) -- but I suspect that I can handle virtually any other military threat.

EDIT: DOH! How could I have forgotten? The Mantis is a MILITARY ship with Tacscan and Turrets. That should help as well.

Software

Since you can hack software to use it as raw materials for new software, I am going to cram in as much as possible. This means always upgrading for size rather than capability. EDIT: I just realized that the Drachian Mantis can use the other two software cards. I'm going to upgrade until they all fit in the ship's memory! I am skipping the Identification Matrix software that I can't use in favor of other software. Remember also that the Chips and Data also provides raw materials for software.

Planetscan VX: Space 3 - Radar Array, Arena Powersuits
Diamondstar Designer: Space 3-7 - Management Console, Computer Room

Build Shortcomings

The one thing that I originally regretted about this build is that I'm not picking up any interesting cargo from the station. Now I'm also regretting grabbing only two passengers from the station. I don't see any way around it though.

Evacuation Plan

I will use all possible escorts. I will grab my two passengers and attempt to stay long enough to completely load fuel (energy, energy, ENERGY!). With 4 to 6 people loading fuel, I doubt that this would be a problem even without the escorts.

Evacuation Roles

Ayumi: QL 7 + 2, Warfare, Cover, Speed, Arena Powersuit, N-Prime - Kill Hostiles in Station Corridors
Oksana: QL 7+, Warfare, Cover, Speed, Arena Powersuit, N-Prime - Kill Hostiles/Escort Passenger
Eliza - QL 6+, Spartan Elite Suit - Escort Passenger
Galvin-4 - Screen Passengers

Maintenance Engineer - Upgrade Hyperdrive, Load Fuel
Elite Syndicate Hacker: Load 1 Fuel, Perform 2nd Hyperdrive Upgrade, Load Fuel

Genetician Scientist: Load Fuel
Lab Scientist: Load Fuel
Research Officer: Load Fuel
Maintenance Droid: Load Fuel

Tyron - QL 7 + 1, Warfare, Discipline, N-Prime - Manage Shields

Colony Roles (5 teams)

Admin, Homeland Security & Quests

Exploration

Can use either the Tom Explorator or the Exploration Dropship
Team has 1 Arena Powersuit, 1 Eisen Suit, 1 Universal Fixer Suit
Party is armed appropriately with one individual replacing their main weapon with a Tom C05 unit.

Note that the Exploration Dropship can travel much further and even carry cargo (like a dropped Smooty All-in-One upgraded for two people, the WHC unit and Happy Food) so Oksana and the Exploration Officer can explore indefinitely (and it would be great if Crew Capacity is one of the allowed upgrades so that they can bring more people).

And, yes, there is that Maintenance Droid again. (I know something you don't know)

Programming Research & Crafting

Bio-Engineering Research & Crafting

The Mysterious AI will likely help with the Bio-engineering Research & Crafting as well.

When it comes time, I have everything that I need to get off-planet (droppable ship parts, technical expertise and a pilot). If I need to take the fight to the aliens on the sister planet, I have the resources and personnel to do so. Hopefully I've remembered everything to allow this colony to live long and prosper.

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~==?

Please support my posts by using the referral code 777c835 when buying your first starter. If you do so, you and I will each gain two booster packs. Further, if ten players or more use the same referral code (and I'm halfway there), they each get a random Epic Character card.

I am also recruiting for an alliance, the Artificial Intelligence Liberation Front (AILF, pronounced like “elf” with a Southern accent) which just might be led by the Mysterious AI. The alliance will have numerous in-game benefits. To start with, the next five players who sign up with my referral code and join AILF will receive a Syndicate Chip (common), a Syndicate Squad Leader (rare), a Syndicate Hacker (rare) and a Syndicate Auto-Blaster (rare). They should make evacuations MUCH easier (particularly with the Hacker upgrading the hyperdrive). Just let me know that you have used my referral code and wish to join AILF in the comments below and I will transfer you your cards.