Species: Human
Affiliation: Compact Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Nickname: “Tripod”
Bio:
Lieutenant Commander Peter Lancaster, known widely by his irreverent nickname “Tripod,” is a warp engineer and one of the few humans with operational experience aboard a warp-driven vessel. A self-described dwarf, Lancaster embraces crude humor, lewd jokes, and an unfiltered personality, which masks his brilliance as an engineer.
Lancaster originally served with Captain Hideki Okada aboard the Alcubierre, the first ship to achieve faster-than-light travel without wormholes. When the project was abruptly cancelled, Lancaster resigned in protest. His return to service, like Okada’s, was involuntary—he was reactivated by the Compact Navy under Admiral Eileen Burke to serve as chief engineer aboard the Challenger, a retrofitted Zephyr-class starship fitted with a warp drive.
Known for his sharp wit and zero tolerance for incompetence, Lancaster is critical of Cybercommand, particularly their engineering mishaps. He personally discovers that their poor retrofitting work on the Challenger would have flooded the ship with superheated plasma on first activation.
Despite his flamboyant exterior, Lancaster is deeply committed to his work. He expresses genuine concern about the dangers of warp travel without FTL navigation or communications, particularly the risk of colliding with uncharted objects in deep space. His engineering knowledge proves crucial to getting the Challenger warp-ready in time.
Lancaster claims he was reactivated partly as punishment for a sexual misadventure with the wife of Vice Admiral Honarius—an encounter that may or may not be true, but is told with his usual colorful flair.
His bond with Okada is one of easy camaraderie, marked by gallows humor, shared frustrations with higher command, and mutual respect. While Lancaster often deflects serious topics with innuendo, he is one of the few engineers capable of managing a warp vessel’s unique needs—and he knows it.
Appearances: Warped, Flight Blade, Storming Amargosa, Jump