The Rusty Bucket

The Rusty Bucket was the nickname given to the ship suspected to fail the most, somehow the vessel not only held together but was one of the only vessels to succeed in colonisation of a planet against all odds. The original name of the ship has been forgotten, mostly because it was burnt off to begin with when it left Earth's atmosphere. The ships records recorded its name only as a ID number (#113DS4) and no one has any catalogue of the name of the vessel. Part of the problem was the ship was completed so "last minute" that it wasn't synced with Commend in the fleet.

History
The ship was made in 4058AD and was one of the last ships to be completed, it was successfully finished on the day of the launch, practically having "hell's grasp reaching after it as it fled", as it was one of the last ships to escape Earth. The escape left it with a permenant scarring, giving it a "rusty" look that could never be completely removed. It was the most crowded on board with conditions being poor. It had no shuttles, no weapons, and had only enough food and water to last a single year. The ship caused a minor detour as a result while things were sorted and was blamed for causing lost time to the Terran Colony Fleet within its first year. The ship was noted for its constantly breaking down, but due to the swiftness of the engineers on board, they were always able to get it running within a time limit. The over population issue was eventually resolved and extra citizens dispensed among the other ships of the fleet.

The ship became seperated from the rest of the fleet in 4183AD, and spent the next 700 years drifting by itself after its navigational systems failed to sync with the rest of the fleet. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, given what happened to the rest of the fleet soon after.

Due to a history of the vessels occupiants blaming (and lynching) captains from 4735AD onwards, captains were selected for their least value to the crew. Most captains in this period thereafter lasted on average 2 years, with many dying within days of promotion.

In 5042AD, almost 1000 years since it launched, the vessel found, landed and colonised planet 1455. The ships most famous captain, Captain Dale, became the captain credited with the success of the ships mission. The ship was broken down and any useful technology was gathered. The tale of the ships was lost in further generations but became part of myth and legend for the descendants of the planet, who found they had to all but restart their off shoot of the human race from scratch. The result was, aside from one or two things, they were reduced back down to a Technology level of 2 overall for a very long time.

It would be not until 101570AD that other members of the human race found the descendants of this ship; by this point the entire planet was florishing and teeming with life. The technology of the planet was at a Technology level of 8 by this point and had become a basic empire between a number of planets with new technology level 9 emerging.

Captains
For the most part, the ships records of captains is long, too long to list and due to its 1000 year lifespan incrediably long. Only notable captains are known.


 * Captain Dale; Dale rose to his role of captain in 5040AD, after being promoted from just a janitor to captain, a hefty promotion that was not deserving and he was severly underqualified. Dale had none of the traits for a good captain, yet somehow bumbled his way beyond expectations. A lot of this was Dale had a desire for simplier lifestyle he missed and often he fought so he could live long enough to retire and return to the life he desired. This of course never happened and he served as captain even after the ship was broken down for parts on planet 1455.