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[SOL SYSTEM]
Ortinus was asleep in the cockpit of Irto One. No responding signal had come for hours. The remaining pilots of the squadron had had lunch, as Ishimans could hunt in the water very well, and were now extremely bored and agitated.
Suddenly, he heard a faint pinging sound. Ortinus sat bolt upright, straining his ears. It repeated. He began focusing on the direction of the sound. It was repeating every few seconds. As he focused in, he heard a low, droning sound along with it. He powered up Irto One, and activated the scanner. The object making the noise was an old human vehicle, for underwater combat. The ship moved right near the squadron, and displayed a message to them.
"This is the UNS Freedom. We're sending you a schematic of our vessel, and our lower docking hatch will be outlined. Come aboard."
Ortinus downloaded the schematics, and saw where the docking hatch was. He opened the entrance/exit ramp on the bottom of his fighter, and jumped down into the ocean water. He opened his eyes, and swam over to the lower docking hatch. The other three pilots of Irto Squadron were right behind him. The hatch opened, and some humans were standing above him. The humans pulled the Ishiman pilots into the ship, and closed the hatch.
"Welcome to the UNS Freedom. If you'll come this way, our captain would like to have a word with you."
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[SIMLAB CLUSTER 239583, ZEUS SYSTEM]
Mag got the external view of the transport, and watched where they were going. They came up near a simlab, and Mag began watching the airlock as they docked. The Cantharan EVATs filed out onto the simlab, dragging Mag with them. A Salrillian met them.
"What is that?"
"The only surviving passenger. The others died in a gunfight. The droid has been off for the entire trip."
"Good. The passengers were not important, only the transport is important. A transport will arrive to pick you up in a few minutes. Give me the droid, I'll take it to a cell."
"Thanks for providing us with transport."
"You are most welcome."
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[UNS HEADQUARTERS, ISHIMA SYSTEM]
The heavy destroyer came in and landed on one of the landing pads. The crew and the freed prisoners came out, and walked to the building. A guard met them at the door.
"I'd like to speak with Admiral Carter."
"I need an authorization code."
"297 Alpha."
The guard stepped off to the side, allowing the individuals passage. After walking through several halls, the captain at last stopped in front of a door and knocked on it.
"Come in," came a voice from inside.
The captain walked into the room. "I have brought the liberated prisoners."
"Ah, good. We'll have a person come by to pick them up." Admiral Carter turned, and began sending an email.
"What about my fee?" asked the captain in an angry voice.
"You'll have it in a few hours."
"I thought we agreed that I'd have it upon arrival."
"We had a change in plans. Don't worry, you'll get it."
"I'd better."
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"I think I have discovered the problem with humans. It is not entirely stupidity, as I once thought. It is their pigheaded and baseless philosophy: "If it isn't me, then it's opinions, feelings, and life do not matter, and it was meant to serve me." They also have this ability for creating excuses that are pointless, but they get others to believe it. A few examples: "It's only some savages. It's only five acres of rain forest. It's only one semi-truck. It's only fifty gallons of toxic waste..." After this realization, I marvelled at how humans, and the rest of the planet, have survived for so very long."
- Me
Chapter 2 - After the Fall
MultiQuote
#52
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Posted 21 January 2001 - 03:42 PM
[Mag, is that the USS Caveat? or do you have plans for Irto Squadron and the USS Freedom?]
More and more, Pharris had been hearing suggestions. Implanted feelings, urges, needs. He hadn't known where they came from, he had hardly known that they were there, but now something was making itself manifest in his mind. A strong force, but gentle. It was not a threat, not an invasion, but an adoption, the intertwining of two threads. Pharris had not been able to put his finger on the source, but he knew that it was only giving him a better grasp on his Axis. Now, he knew what it was. Now he saw it. From orbit, he saw it. It was different. He had always known of it, had felt it a hundred thousand times, but now it was his. He saw the tremendous network covering the world, and knew it was his.
Audemed...
The realisation was followed by a great feeling of satisfaction from the Core. Pharris was now approaching a new level of self awareness too. Now he heard more than feelings, he felt thoughts, he knew plans, he saw the connections between billions and billions of pieces of seemingly irrelevant material. He learned it, ingrained them into his conciounceness, and wanted more. His new friend gave it. No longer was Pharris alone in command, he was part of a mutual cooperation for the Axis, for their Axis.
[This message has been edited by Captain Pharris (edited 01-21-2001).]
More and more, Pharris had been hearing suggestions. Implanted feelings, urges, needs. He hadn't known where they came from, he had hardly known that they were there, but now something was making itself manifest in his mind. A strong force, but gentle. It was not a threat, not an invasion, but an adoption, the intertwining of two threads. Pharris had not been able to put his finger on the source, but he knew that it was only giving him a better grasp on his Axis. Now, he knew what it was. Now he saw it. From orbit, he saw it. It was different. He had always known of it, had felt it a hundred thousand times, but now it was his. He saw the tremendous network covering the world, and knew it was his.
Audemed...
The realisation was followed by a great feeling of satisfaction from the Core. Pharris was now approaching a new level of self awareness too. Now he heard more than feelings, he felt thoughts, he knew plans, he saw the connections between billions and billions of pieces of seemingly irrelevant material. He learned it, ingrained them into his conciounceness, and wanted more. His new friend gave it. No longer was Pharris alone in command, he was part of a mutual cooperation for the Axis, for their Axis.
[This message has been edited by Captain Pharris (edited 01-21-2001).]
#54
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Posted 21 January 2001 - 08:38 PM
[OCEAN NEAR NEW ZEALAND, EARTH, SOL SYSTEM]
The USS Vengeance hovered at about 400 feet below water. Silent running was tedious, as the ship sat, unmoving, the crew utterly silent.
One officer sat looking at his unchanging panel when suddenly he saw something.
"Conn, sonar, I have a submarine contact."
"Sonar, conn, what is it?"
"Conn, sonar, not a human vehicle. Beyond that I have no idea."
The captain and XO considered this. They drove a small nuclear attack submarine, and could probably take down the enemy sub with torpedoes. But they had to worry; what was a sub doing here. The Auds shouldn't have them, the Sals didn't like them, and the Cantharans hadn't used them last occupation, so why start now? The captain, however, made up his mind.
"Load tubes one and two with Mk 89 ADCAPs and make them ready in all aspects including opening the outer doors..."
------------------
Subcommander g'Var "8 Lightnings" Krai'un
Second in command of the Escort Starbeam.
“Imagine if you will, you’re standing on a grade of finely processed salt in a salt factory. Now, there is a very large rusty blade flying towards you at a very high speed. Imagine now, the feeling you will have as you fall into that salt after you are run through with that blade.” -Marathon Infinity, Terminal 0, Page 2, You Think You’re Big Time, You’re Gonna Die Big Time, Vidmaster’s Challenge Edition.
The USS Vengeance hovered at about 400 feet below water. Silent running was tedious, as the ship sat, unmoving, the crew utterly silent.
One officer sat looking at his unchanging panel when suddenly he saw something.
"Conn, sonar, I have a submarine contact."
"Sonar, conn, what is it?"
"Conn, sonar, not a human vehicle. Beyond that I have no idea."
The captain and XO considered this. They drove a small nuclear attack submarine, and could probably take down the enemy sub with torpedoes. But they had to worry; what was a sub doing here. The Auds shouldn't have them, the Sals didn't like them, and the Cantharans hadn't used them last occupation, so why start now? The captain, however, made up his mind.
"Load tubes one and two with Mk 89 ADCAPs and make them ready in all aspects including opening the outer doors..."
------------------
Subcommander g'Var "8 Lightnings" Krai'un
Second in command of the Escort Starbeam.
“Imagine if you will, you’re standing on a grade of finely processed salt in a salt factory. Now, there is a very large rusty blade flying towards you at a very high speed. Imagine now, the feeling you will have as you fall into that salt after you are run through with that blade.” -Marathon Infinity, Terminal 0, Page 2, You Think You’re Big Time, You’re Gonna Die Big Time, Vidmaster’s Challenge Edition.
#55
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Posted 21 January 2001 - 10:36 PM
[this is Slug talking]
The combined fleet sat at the jumpgate, their weapons trained on it. For the jumpgate led deep into Audemedon territory and would soon be the staging ground of their reinforcements.
The fleet was meager and small. All three of the remaining UNS Carriers sat there, accompanied by their last Heavy Destroyers and a squadron of cruisers, flanked by a sextet of gunships. Two Gaitori mercenary groups had joined them as well as a few miscalanious Ishiman transports. At the center of it all sat the Ishiman Gateship, in the process of closing the jumpgate permanently.
The Audemedons had ignored this and sent ships through, one at a time. Each ship was destroyed as it exited, unable to get a warning off before it's demise, thus the Audemedons continued to send shiups in strings, one at a time.
So was the surprise when the Gateship picked something up. "There is a large object in the jumpstream heading for our direction."
"Gunship?"
"It's profile is too large for that... not even a carrier will fit that size."
"Gateship?"
"Rediculous. The only vessels that would fit that profile... who is this 'Gerald Y. Levt'?"
"You mean Jerry Levt? The Rear Admiral? The Chimaera survived?"
"Apparently."
The jumpgate exploded in the crackling of subspace and light and debris spewed forth. It's three massive pylons dislodged and burst into flame as the massive object overloiaded them. As the light died down and the glow faded, the profile of a UNS Carrier could be made out, it's hull sundered and it's body crumpled and wrecked. It was all but crippled. On it's nameplate, where now a gaping hole had taken roost, letters could be made out.
UN.........AERA
"That's Jerry alright"
[This is Mag from here on]
[PACIFIC OCEAN, EARTH, SOL SYSTEM]
The four remaining pilots of Irto Squadron walked into the room. The captain of the USS Freedom was waiting for them.
"Ah, greetings. I'm Captain McGrahm. I've been hearing about your condition, and volunteered to meet you."
"What can we do for you?"
"Well, the resistance would love to have four Ishiman fighters. Of course, most of what we can do right now is under the oceans, so we'd have to do some modifications..."
"What kind of modifications?"
"I was thinking of replacing the shield generators with light torpedo bays."
"I don't know about that. Those shields make me feel a lot safer."
"Most Audemedon weapons can get through your shields very swiftly, though."
"That's true. So, where do we go for these modifications?"
"We have a base located in the Carribean. Head on over there, flying over the Isthmus of Panama, and we'll have one of our subs meet you and guide you in."
"Carribean? Panama?"
"That's right, you're foreign to this planet. Here's a map."
"Thank you."
Ortinus and the other three Ishiman turned to go, but Captain McGrahm cut in. "Please, stay for dinner. I'd like to get to know you better."
"Ah, thank you."
---------------------
[SIMLAB CLUSTER 239583, ZEUS SYSTEM]
Mag had nearly been dragged all the way to his cell at the other end of the simlab, when he decided to try to escape. Repair droids did not tend to be too combat capable, but Salrillians didn't seem like they'd be, either. The Salrillian had its tail wrapped around his feet, so Mag leaned forward and grabbed it. The Salrillian was startled, and let go as it turned around.
"Look, this will be much easier for both of us if you'll just cooperate. Walk this way." the Salrillian began going down a corridor.
"Well, come on. You wouldn't want me to call security, would you?"
"If you do call security, I'll rip you to pieces."
"Really? A repair droid? Don't be silly. Come now, or I'll just get security in here to take you."
Mag and the Salrillian looked at each other for several moments. "Very well. You leave me with no choice." It went over to a nearby computer, and was about to start using it when Mag threw it off to the side.
The Sal got up, and flipped over to Mag. It grabbed him, and tossed him at a wall. Mag was mostly unharmed, he just had a dent and some scratches. Salrillians were stronger than he thought. Mag ran at the Sal, but got grabbed by it and thrown over its head before he could do anything to it.
"You see, even a technician like me is more than enough of a match for you. Why don't you just cooperate?"
Mag began running down a corridor, in the direction he had come from. He'd have to find his way back to the transport, while not being caught by the Salrillians...
[This message has been edited by Slug (edited 01-22-2001).]
[This message has been edited by Mag Steelglass (edited 01-22-2001).]
The combined fleet sat at the jumpgate, their weapons trained on it. For the jumpgate led deep into Audemedon territory and would soon be the staging ground of their reinforcements.
The fleet was meager and small. All three of the remaining UNS Carriers sat there, accompanied by their last Heavy Destroyers and a squadron of cruisers, flanked by a sextet of gunships. Two Gaitori mercenary groups had joined them as well as a few miscalanious Ishiman transports. At the center of it all sat the Ishiman Gateship, in the process of closing the jumpgate permanently.
The Audemedons had ignored this and sent ships through, one at a time. Each ship was destroyed as it exited, unable to get a warning off before it's demise, thus the Audemedons continued to send shiups in strings, one at a time.
So was the surprise when the Gateship picked something up. "There is a large object in the jumpstream heading for our direction."
"Gunship?"
"It's profile is too large for that... not even a carrier will fit that size."
"Gateship?"
"Rediculous. The only vessels that would fit that profile... who is this 'Gerald Y. Levt'?"
"You mean Jerry Levt? The Rear Admiral? The Chimaera survived?"
"Apparently."
The jumpgate exploded in the crackling of subspace and light and debris spewed forth. It's three massive pylons dislodged and burst into flame as the massive object overloiaded them. As the light died down and the glow faded, the profile of a UNS Carrier could be made out, it's hull sundered and it's body crumpled and wrecked. It was all but crippled. On it's nameplate, where now a gaping hole had taken roost, letters could be made out.
UN.........AERA
"That's Jerry alright"
[This is Mag from here on]
[PACIFIC OCEAN, EARTH, SOL SYSTEM]
The four remaining pilots of Irto Squadron walked into the room. The captain of the USS Freedom was waiting for them.
"Ah, greetings. I'm Captain McGrahm. I've been hearing about your condition, and volunteered to meet you."
"What can we do for you?"
"Well, the resistance would love to have four Ishiman fighters. Of course, most of what we can do right now is under the oceans, so we'd have to do some modifications..."
"What kind of modifications?"
"I was thinking of replacing the shield generators with light torpedo bays."
"I don't know about that. Those shields make me feel a lot safer."
"Most Audemedon weapons can get through your shields very swiftly, though."
"That's true. So, where do we go for these modifications?"
"We have a base located in the Carribean. Head on over there, flying over the Isthmus of Panama, and we'll have one of our subs meet you and guide you in."
"Carribean? Panama?"
"That's right, you're foreign to this planet. Here's a map."
"Thank you."
Ortinus and the other three Ishiman turned to go, but Captain McGrahm cut in. "Please, stay for dinner. I'd like to get to know you better."
"Ah, thank you."
---------------------
[SIMLAB CLUSTER 239583, ZEUS SYSTEM]
Mag had nearly been dragged all the way to his cell at the other end of the simlab, when he decided to try to escape. Repair droids did not tend to be too combat capable, but Salrillians didn't seem like they'd be, either. The Salrillian had its tail wrapped around his feet, so Mag leaned forward and grabbed it. The Salrillian was startled, and let go as it turned around.
"Look, this will be much easier for both of us if you'll just cooperate. Walk this way." the Salrillian began going down a corridor.
"Well, come on. You wouldn't want me to call security, would you?"
"If you do call security, I'll rip you to pieces."
"Really? A repair droid? Don't be silly. Come now, or I'll just get security in here to take you."
Mag and the Salrillian looked at each other for several moments. "Very well. You leave me with no choice." It went over to a nearby computer, and was about to start using it when Mag threw it off to the side.
The Sal got up, and flipped over to Mag. It grabbed him, and tossed him at a wall. Mag was mostly unharmed, he just had a dent and some scratches. Salrillians were stronger than he thought. Mag ran at the Sal, but got grabbed by it and thrown over its head before he could do anything to it.
"You see, even a technician like me is more than enough of a match for you. Why don't you just cooperate?"
Mag began running down a corridor, in the direction he had come from. He'd have to find his way back to the transport, while not being caught by the Salrillians...
[This message has been edited by Slug (edited 01-22-2001).]
[This message has been edited by Mag Steelglass (edited 01-22-2001).]
#56
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Posted 22 January 2001 - 09:28 PM
The two advanced capability torpedoes sped through the water. The enemy heard them, but had no chance of evading them. Soon the SONAR operators reported the sounds of a breaking up submarine. But still the question remained; what were enemy submarines doing here? What could they do about it?
------------------
Subcommander g'Var "8 Lightnings" Krai'un
Second in command of the Escort Starbeam.
“Imagine if you will, you’re standing on a grade of finely processed salt in a salt factory. Now, there is a very large rusty blade flying towards you at a very high speed. Imagine now, the feeling you will have as you fall into that salt after you are run through with that blade.” -Marathon Infinity, Terminal 0, Page 2, You Think You’re Big Time, You’re Gonna Die Big Time, Vidmaster’s Challenge Edition.
------------------
Subcommander g'Var "8 Lightnings" Krai'un
Second in command of the Escort Starbeam.
“Imagine if you will, you’re standing on a grade of finely processed salt in a salt factory. Now, there is a very large rusty blade flying towards you at a very high speed. Imagine now, the feeling you will have as you fall into that salt after you are run through with that blade.” -Marathon Infinity, Terminal 0, Page 2, You Think You’re Big Time, You’re Gonna Die Big Time, Vidmaster’s Challenge Edition.
#57
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Posted 22 January 2001 - 10:56 PM
"And to think you always considered me the irresponsible one."
William and Sarah Darkk had been filling each other in on what had happened while they had been apart. Sarah had been rather shocked at the piracy, but not too shocked.
"Sis, we are related, after all. So, they used you to test how much they could stuff into a human head?"
"Yeah, they taught me things, modern construction theory, engineering theory, computers, Salrilian, mimicing their body language - that was the hardest - and a smattering of other things. I've always liked to build stuff, and they wanted to see what humans could do."
"I see you've managed quite some feats in the few days you've been with us."
"Well, I converted the fore cargo hold into a small construction plant, suitable for cruiser-class ships. I've got a cruiser, pretty much off the shelf parts, hybrid human-cantharan hull design, rapid forward laser, antimatter pulses, 5 cmissles. Nothing specacular, but not bad."
"I heard you've been modifing that schooner we captured for that job in Sol."
"I wanted to talk to you about that..."
------------------
Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI
William and Sarah Darkk had been filling each other in on what had happened while they had been apart. Sarah had been rather shocked at the piracy, but not too shocked.
"Sis, we are related, after all. So, they used you to test how much they could stuff into a human head?"
"Yeah, they taught me things, modern construction theory, engineering theory, computers, Salrilian, mimicing their body language - that was the hardest - and a smattering of other things. I've always liked to build stuff, and they wanted to see what humans could do."
"I see you've managed quite some feats in the few days you've been with us."
"Well, I converted the fore cargo hold into a small construction plant, suitable for cruiser-class ships. I've got a cruiser, pretty much off the shelf parts, hybrid human-cantharan hull design, rapid forward laser, antimatter pulses, 5 cmissles. Nothing specacular, but not bad."
"I heard you've been modifing that schooner we captured for that job in Sol."
"I wanted to talk to you about that..."
------------------
Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI
"In literature as in love we are astounded by what is chosen by others." Andre Maurois
Onii7/Frinkruds and his funky forums
macgamer.net
Onii7/Frinkruds and his funky forums
macgamer.net
#58
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Posted 22 January 2001 - 11:33 PM
"Conn, Sonar! I just got something big! Two fish just jumped up to full and took out an undetected sub contact. I can hear fragmentation, she's going down."
"****, Sonar! Where the heck did they come from!?"
There had never been an enemy submarine in the Earth's Oceans. Whatever had been killed could have been another human vessel.
"I have no clue. I had a blank screen till those torps lit up. They're pretty far off, upwards of twenty miles. I just caught the zip and the bang. The fish sound like new ones, MK 89 or late MK 48, Something with a ducted prop."
"Who do we have in the area?"
The XO was already checking the charts and the task list.
"We're near Vengeance's patrol area, but that goes halway to Midway, Freedom is still way to our North. Mako and Bedford are loose in the Pac. I don't know, take your pick. My bets on Vengeance or Mako."
Captain Sackler looked at the chart, then at his XO. They nodded at eachother.
"Close on the downed contact. Make it real quiet like. Sonar, keep your ears open for one of ours. Somebody go wake up the dive team. X, you have the conn."
He stepped down and went to his stateroom to encode a message to the USS Freedom to delay the rendezvous until further notice.
As the long, towed ULF antenna sent the coded message, the huge bulk of the USS Caveat slunk silently towards the downed, unidentified contact.
[This message has been edited by Trey'sh Maletena Wizr (edited 01-23-2001).]
"****, Sonar! Where the heck did they come from!?"
There had never been an enemy submarine in the Earth's Oceans. Whatever had been killed could have been another human vessel.
"I have no clue. I had a blank screen till those torps lit up. They're pretty far off, upwards of twenty miles. I just caught the zip and the bang. The fish sound like new ones, MK 89 or late MK 48, Something with a ducted prop."
"Who do we have in the area?"
The XO was already checking the charts and the task list.
"We're near Vengeance's patrol area, but that goes halway to Midway, Freedom is still way to our North. Mako and Bedford are loose in the Pac. I don't know, take your pick. My bets on Vengeance or Mako."
Captain Sackler looked at the chart, then at his XO. They nodded at eachother.
"Close on the downed contact. Make it real quiet like. Sonar, keep your ears open for one of ours. Somebody go wake up the dive team. X, you have the conn."
He stepped down and went to his stateroom to encode a message to the USS Freedom to delay the rendezvous until further notice.
As the long, towed ULF antenna sent the coded message, the huge bulk of the USS Caveat slunk silently towards the downed, unidentified contact.
[This message has been edited by Trey'sh Maletena Wizr (edited 01-23-2001).]
#59
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Posted 23 January 2001 - 02:11 AM
*Darkk's Messaging System, please leave a message.*
SENDER: UNSFLTADM Jackson Spann
RECIPIENT: UnalignedSC William Darkk
MESSAGE BEGINS:
"Darkk, this is Spann.
Firstly, I want to congratulate you on your success at your current mission. Salrillian shipping has been hurt a great deal, and they've been forced to put more of their ships on convoy guard duty instead of at Earth. I'm sure you've noticed that yourself. I'd imagine that the resistance on those convoys is getting pretty stiff. It's rumored that the Salrillians have constructed a few Q-ships to combat pirates like you, but I'm sure you've handled what they've thrown at you.
Right now I've another need for your skills. As a pirate, you're very good at breaking through blockades and evading forces. Which is exactly what this mission entails. On Earth is the Trey'sh Maletena Wizr's Trey'eck. I'm sure you can look up the definitions in your dictionary. The Trey'eck was trapped on Earth when the occupation began and was unable to escape. He has however been taken by the human resistance on Earth. We've gotten in contact with him since then and now we need him extracted. Neither the UNS nor the INS can diplomatically afford to be caught in the act, so we need an "unaligned" retrieval force. I want you to retrieve the Trey'eck from Earth. The extraction will be coordinated with the resistance, so all you'll have to do is fly in, pick him up, and fly out. There'll be no waiting on the surface of the planet and the total time you spend in atmosphere will be minimal. Speed is essential to this mission, so prep your crews. You will be inserted into the Sol system in 4 days and will rendevous with a small resupply station in the asteroid belt. Following that, you will then make a HALO style entry into the Earth's atmosphere and meet the resistance at a predetermined LZ. You will then proceed with all possible haste from Earth orbit to another predetermined point where you will be pulled out via jumpgate. It's all very orchestrated, so I hope you don't have too much trouble. You'll be given the locations of the LZ and the Jump point at the resupply station. Good luck Darkk, I know you can do this.
UNS Fleet Admiral Jackson Spann.
MESSAGE ENDS
LOG 23.12.2594
*Thankyou for using Darkk's messaging service. Have a nice day!*
------------------
Ne Cede Malis Sed Contra Audientor Ito
SENDER: UNSFLTADM Jackson Spann
RECIPIENT: UnalignedSC William Darkk
MESSAGE BEGINS:
"Darkk, this is Spann.
Firstly, I want to congratulate you on your success at your current mission. Salrillian shipping has been hurt a great deal, and they've been forced to put more of their ships on convoy guard duty instead of at Earth. I'm sure you've noticed that yourself. I'd imagine that the resistance on those convoys is getting pretty stiff. It's rumored that the Salrillians have constructed a few Q-ships to combat pirates like you, but I'm sure you've handled what they've thrown at you.
Right now I've another need for your skills. As a pirate, you're very good at breaking through blockades and evading forces. Which is exactly what this mission entails. On Earth is the Trey'sh Maletena Wizr's Trey'eck. I'm sure you can look up the definitions in your dictionary. The Trey'eck was trapped on Earth when the occupation began and was unable to escape. He has however been taken by the human resistance on Earth. We've gotten in contact with him since then and now we need him extracted. Neither the UNS nor the INS can diplomatically afford to be caught in the act, so we need an "unaligned" retrieval force. I want you to retrieve the Trey'eck from Earth. The extraction will be coordinated with the resistance, so all you'll have to do is fly in, pick him up, and fly out. There'll be no waiting on the surface of the planet and the total time you spend in atmosphere will be minimal. Speed is essential to this mission, so prep your crews. You will be inserted into the Sol system in 4 days and will rendevous with a small resupply station in the asteroid belt. Following that, you will then make a HALO style entry into the Earth's atmosphere and meet the resistance at a predetermined LZ. You will then proceed with all possible haste from Earth orbit to another predetermined point where you will be pulled out via jumpgate. It's all very orchestrated, so I hope you don't have too much trouble. You'll be given the locations of the LZ and the Jump point at the resupply station. Good luck Darkk, I know you can do this.
UNS Fleet Admiral Jackson Spann.
MESSAGE ENDS
LOG 23.12.2594
*Thankyou for using Darkk's messaging service. Have a nice day!*
------------------
Ne Cede Malis Sed Contra Audientor Ito
#60
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Posted 23 January 2001 - 04:12 PM
[Slug, the Ish havn't declared war yet, so they can't send ships into the occupied territory, but assuming they decided to, would they send a gateship with no ISN escort?]
Pharris was puzzling at it. Like a cord tied around the hands of his mind, this was holding Audemed back. He was puzzling at it. Not that he could have identified it if he wanted to, it was fed to him at such a conceptual level that there was no need for that. He would cut the strands that held back his friend. He would release him so that they could rise to take their place. He felt he could cut the strands, cut the bonds, he had found the way, but he knew better than to risk drawing attention now, so he left them on, but loose, so that at a moments warning, the cords would slip. Pharris felt satisfaction and he liked it. There was much to do.
-----------------
"Pharris has been interacting with the server at over 10^540 terabytes a second for the last seventy two hours. I don't like it, its unusual, and unpredicted."
Ssisinevex slid to the console, looking over the junior technicians shoulder at the readouts from Audemed.
"That is not a matter of worry, that is good news. Look at the sectors he is acessing! Pharris is rekindling Audemeds collapsed intelligence, and adapting it to better interface with him. It is no matter of worry, I assure you."
"But surely Pharris cannot modify the program himself?"
"He can now. With so much of Audemed simply locked out, there is little he can do as an intelligence, but I have comitted significant ammounts of time to making the interface capable of evolveing. Much like Audemed himself was once capable of doing, but enough, I must meet with Pharris now. we play chess now, to test his skills."
As he slid through the simlab, Ssisinevex was actually concerned. The interface program had evolved extremely rapidly, and Audemed seemed to be extremely active. It was not right. Perhaps hiding from the prophets was not such a good idea. He would quiz Pharris upon Audemed's activity.
------------------
NEW NAME FOR THE DREADNOUGHT
The Hard-Boiled Egg
Why?
Because she cant be beaten!
Pharris was puzzling at it. Like a cord tied around the hands of his mind, this was holding Audemed back. He was puzzling at it. Not that he could have identified it if he wanted to, it was fed to him at such a conceptual level that there was no need for that. He would cut the strands that held back his friend. He would release him so that they could rise to take their place. He felt he could cut the strands, cut the bonds, he had found the way, but he knew better than to risk drawing attention now, so he left them on, but loose, so that at a moments warning, the cords would slip. Pharris felt satisfaction and he liked it. There was much to do.
-----------------
"Pharris has been interacting with the server at over 10^540 terabytes a second for the last seventy two hours. I don't like it, its unusual, and unpredicted."
Ssisinevex slid to the console, looking over the junior technicians shoulder at the readouts from Audemed.
"That is not a matter of worry, that is good news. Look at the sectors he is acessing! Pharris is rekindling Audemeds collapsed intelligence, and adapting it to better interface with him. It is no matter of worry, I assure you."
"But surely Pharris cannot modify the program himself?"
"He can now. With so much of Audemed simply locked out, there is little he can do as an intelligence, but I have comitted significant ammounts of time to making the interface capable of evolveing. Much like Audemed himself was once capable of doing, but enough, I must meet with Pharris now. we play chess now, to test his skills."
As he slid through the simlab, Ssisinevex was actually concerned. The interface program had evolved extremely rapidly, and Audemed seemed to be extremely active. It was not right. Perhaps hiding from the prophets was not such a good idea. He would quiz Pharris upon Audemed's activity.
------------------
NEW NAME FOR THE DREADNOUGHT
The Hard-Boiled Egg
Why?
Because she cant be beaten!
#61
- Lame space monkey
-
- Group: Members
- Posts: 2,636
- Joined: 27-February 00
- Gender:Not Telling
- Location:Omisha
Posted 23 January 2001 - 07:37 PM
[NY SJELLUND, does anyone get the joke/dedication here?]
The Obish were on the run again. News had arrived less than an hour ago of the Audemedons' imminent arrival. But as before, this was planned. In less than another half of an hour, the fleet was centered around the jumpgate. All civilians had been evacuated. All previous casualties had been replaced, as well as well as the addition 8 Gunships. Gradually, slowly, the Obish fleet was becoming an armada. But sooner or later the Audemedons would realize their predicament, and send a fleet large enough to obliterate them. Right now there was only opportunity to increase their numbers.
(5 TR, 12 GS, 21 ES, 2 BA) The Obish units had been organized together to maximize efficiency. The gunships each escorted a transport, the other 7 each commanding a point (Ntk'eron) with 3 escorts.
Gvelar gire ytara...
The Obish fleet packed itself up, and left, departing to its next target, Kvesar.
-=o=- -=o=- -=o=- -=o=- -=o=- -=o=-
[2.3 Terran days later]
The Ishiman Heavy Cruiser sat in the system, scanning, rescanning for any lifesigns in the area. Not only were there no Obish lifesigns, there were no human lifesigns either. Nothing... An Ishiman scouting party shuttled down to scan the remains of the human outpost. The scanning device was brought out, and again the area was scanned. Human traces were found, and suddenly a blue wave appeared across the monitor. The party looked up. Inscribed on the wall was a simple message. Kvesar.
------------------
-Pallas Athene of Dysian Beta, Obish Consensus Representative
-Nieru Dast, {M}ilitia Aeriane
-Danae Vernius
"Cheaters don't really win, and winners don't really cheat. Unless you're talking politics." -Durandal
[This message has been edited by Pallas Athene (edited 01-24-2001).]
The Obish were on the run again. News had arrived less than an hour ago of the Audemedons' imminent arrival. But as before, this was planned. In less than another half of an hour, the fleet was centered around the jumpgate. All civilians had been evacuated. All previous casualties had been replaced, as well as well as the addition 8 Gunships. Gradually, slowly, the Obish fleet was becoming an armada. But sooner or later the Audemedons would realize their predicament, and send a fleet large enough to obliterate them. Right now there was only opportunity to increase their numbers.
(5 TR, 12 GS, 21 ES, 2 BA) The Obish units had been organized together to maximize efficiency. The gunships each escorted a transport, the other 7 each commanding a point (Ntk'eron) with 3 escorts.
Gvelar gire ytara...
The Obish fleet packed itself up, and left, departing to its next target, Kvesar.
-=o=- -=o=- -=o=- -=o=- -=o=- -=o=-
[2.3 Terran days later]
The Ishiman Heavy Cruiser sat in the system, scanning, rescanning for any lifesigns in the area. Not only were there no Obish lifesigns, there were no human lifesigns either. Nothing... An Ishiman scouting party shuttled down to scan the remains of the human outpost. The scanning device was brought out, and again the area was scanned. Human traces were found, and suddenly a blue wave appeared across the monitor. The party looked up. Inscribed on the wall was a simple message. Kvesar.
------------------
-Pallas Athene of Dysian Beta, Obish Consensus Representative
-Nieru Dast, {M}ilitia Aeriane
-Danae Vernius
"Cheaters don't really win, and winners don't really cheat. Unless you're talking politics." -Durandal
[This message has been edited by Pallas Athene (edited 01-24-2001).]
]
#63
- fogey
-
- Group: Members
- Posts: 1,768
- Joined: 23-January 00
- Gender:Male
- Location:Portland, OR
Posted 24 January 2001 - 10:24 AM
[I think that you should probably change it to they went down in a shuttle and set up a scanning device on a tripod...]
[Slug agrees]
Levt woke from his week-long sleep, boardering nearly on comatose at one point. He had mad it back to UNS space, or whatever it was that was now the long string of Human refugees that, only with the protection of Gaitor, managed to survive the Salrilian onslaught. Levt made it, but not unhurt. He had lost his left arm, shattered four ribs, and had an eyepatch stapled to his head. But that was not what had hurt him the most.
Amidst the many battles the Chimaera had fought in during the year of hell, his first officer and wife, Samantha Levt, had died. Yet inside, Jerry felt unlike he ever had before.
The door slid open and the Admiral waled in. Levt's face brightened at the chance to share the dreams- or visions- he had experienced. "So... Gerald... You wanted to see me?"
"Yes Admiral. It's about the fate of humanity." The Admiral's brow furrowed. "I don't know where to start..."
"Start wherever you will, Jerry. We have plenty of time."
"We were deep in Audemedon space when we came upon a massive nebula. Taking the opportunity to hide in it for temporary repairs and much needed rest, we detected a rift.
"I was sleeping when I had a vision. As if someone at the other end of that rift was reaching out to me. Each night, that... person would reveal more and more to me. The Chimaera was fully patched up, but I ordered us to stay there so I could continue talking to this man.
"He told me his race was also in danger of being overrun by hostile aliens. They built a machine and destroyed the aliens, but they had waited too long and his race was all but knocked to the stone age.
"He said he would show me how to build his machine.... and he did. The Salrilians are trying to exterminate us to prevent fulfilling this prophecy of theirs. If we build this machine, we will fullfill the prophecy and exterminate them! Then we can exterminate the Cantharans! Then Axis and Gaitor-"
"Nobody would stand for those atrocities, Gerald!"
"We'll exterminate them too! Humanity will rise to it's rightful place in the galactic order- the only niche!"
The Admiral was horrified. "You're mad! It's some Audemedon trick on the mind!"
"Alexi didn't think so." Levt looked at him, a glimmer of pure insanity in his eye....
------------------
"I think I have discovered the problem with humans. It is not entirely stupidity, as I once thought. It is their pigheaded and baseless philosophy: "If it isn't me, then it's opinions, feelings, and life do not matter, and it was meant to serve me." They also have this ability for creating excuses that are pointless, but they get others to believe it. A few examples: "It's only some savages. It's only five acres of rain forest. It's only one semi-truck. It's only fifty gallons of toxic waste..." After this realization, I marvelled at how humans, and the rest of the planet, have survived for so very long."
- Me
[This message has been edited by Slug (edited 01-24-2001).]
[Slug agrees]
Levt woke from his week-long sleep, boardering nearly on comatose at one point. He had mad it back to UNS space, or whatever it was that was now the long string of Human refugees that, only with the protection of Gaitor, managed to survive the Salrilian onslaught. Levt made it, but not unhurt. He had lost his left arm, shattered four ribs, and had an eyepatch stapled to his head. But that was not what had hurt him the most.
Amidst the many battles the Chimaera had fought in during the year of hell, his first officer and wife, Samantha Levt, had died. Yet inside, Jerry felt unlike he ever had before.
The door slid open and the Admiral waled in. Levt's face brightened at the chance to share the dreams- or visions- he had experienced. "So... Gerald... You wanted to see me?"
"Yes Admiral. It's about the fate of humanity." The Admiral's brow furrowed. "I don't know where to start..."
"Start wherever you will, Jerry. We have plenty of time."
"We were deep in Audemedon space when we came upon a massive nebula. Taking the opportunity to hide in it for temporary repairs and much needed rest, we detected a rift.
"I was sleeping when I had a vision. As if someone at the other end of that rift was reaching out to me. Each night, that... person would reveal more and more to me. The Chimaera was fully patched up, but I ordered us to stay there so I could continue talking to this man.
"He told me his race was also in danger of being overrun by hostile aliens. They built a machine and destroyed the aliens, but they had waited too long and his race was all but knocked to the stone age.
"He said he would show me how to build his machine.... and he did. The Salrilians are trying to exterminate us to prevent fulfilling this prophecy of theirs. If we build this machine, we will fullfill the prophecy and exterminate them! Then we can exterminate the Cantharans! Then Axis and Gaitor-"
"Nobody would stand for those atrocities, Gerald!"
"We'll exterminate them too! Humanity will rise to it's rightful place in the galactic order- the only niche!"
The Admiral was horrified. "You're mad! It's some Audemedon trick on the mind!"
"Alexi didn't think so." Levt looked at him, a glimmer of pure insanity in his eye....
------------------
"I think I have discovered the problem with humans. It is not entirely stupidity, as I once thought. It is their pigheaded and baseless philosophy: "If it isn't me, then it's opinions, feelings, and life do not matter, and it was meant to serve me." They also have this ability for creating excuses that are pointless, but they get others to believe it. A few examples: "It's only some savages. It's only five acres of rain forest. It's only one semi-truck. It's only fifty gallons of toxic waste..." After this realization, I marvelled at how humans, and the rest of the planet, have survived for so very long."
- Me
[This message has been edited by Slug (edited 01-24-2001).]
#64
- Member
- Group: Members
- Posts: 79
- Joined: 26-December 00
Posted 24 January 2001 - 04:19 PM
Coasting slowly and cautiously in at four knots, the USS Caveat covered the distance in just under three hours. She was a tremendous vessel, one of the largest in the world, but she was also amongst one of the quietest. She was very near now, Sonar was still hearing the groaning of twisted metal collapseing under the intense pressure. Somewhere, three hundred feet below the keel of the USS Caveat lay the crushed body of an unknown submarine. Sackler was cautious. Whoever had made this kill was probably still in the area, and the Caveat could be next. The caveat was now running dead silent. The only noise she made came from her nuclear reactor, which had been powered down to its lowest setting, so that not even the tiny hum of the muffled coolant pumps would get through four hulls and twenty inches of rubber soundproof insulation that separated the crew from the sea. With the work that had been done on her since her adoption by the UNS Resistance, the USS Caveat was almost undetectable when she ran silent.
"Conn, Sonar. Reacquired sonar contact sierra 3. Bearing 042."
The sonar operator was whispering into the intercom, as leaned back in his chair, so he could look through the sonar room door, and see his captain on the bridge.
"What's she up to?"
"She just turned, I think she started the screw up to get coasting again."
"Got a better Idea who they are?"
"I only got a glimpse at her, but she's a single-scew. Judgeing by how fast she got going, she's small. Small and quick."
Sackler looked back at his XO,
"Mako is an Oskar-2, isn't she? Doesn't fit the bill as a small attack sub. It's Vengeance or nothing. What do you think, sonar?"
"Could be, wanna try the gertrude?"
"Think she's listening?"
"One way to find out..."
------------------
Faris eck Vaenar Maletena-Wizr, Trey'ish of the Ishiman reestablishment comittee.
"I don't think I'm alone when I say that I'd like to see more and more planets fall under the ruthless domination of our solar system."
"Conn, Sonar. Reacquired sonar contact sierra 3. Bearing 042."
The sonar operator was whispering into the intercom, as leaned back in his chair, so he could look through the sonar room door, and see his captain on the bridge.
"What's she up to?"
"She just turned, I think she started the screw up to get coasting again."
"Got a better Idea who they are?"
"I only got a glimpse at her, but she's a single-scew. Judgeing by how fast she got going, she's small. Small and quick."
Sackler looked back at his XO,
"Mako is an Oskar-2, isn't she? Doesn't fit the bill as a small attack sub. It's Vengeance or nothing. What do you think, sonar?"
"Could be, wanna try the gertrude?"
"Think she's listening?"
"One way to find out..."
------------------
Faris eck Vaenar Maletena-Wizr, Trey'ish of the Ishiman reestablishment comittee.
"I don't think I'm alone when I say that I'd like to see more and more planets fall under the ruthless domination of our solar system."
#65
- Member
- Group: Members
- Posts: 79
- Joined: 26-December 00
Posted 26 January 2001 - 12:21 AM
The EAM came out of the printer, and a buzzer went off. The XO and the radioman opened the locked case with their keys, and the XO tore the page out of the printer and closed the door, taking his key. He read it, then passed it to the Captain, who read it too. Sackler looked up at his dive officer.
"Take us to periscope depth, make your cruise speed five knots, make heading five knots and await further instructions. Drop a marker on this spot, we'll be back to see this wreck in a few hours."
As the Dive officer relayed the orders, Captain sackler found the Trey'eck and led him to the rear of the sub. Aft of the reactor Housings and the large engines, generators and turbines, in the cramped space below the aft torpedoe room, five SEAL troopers were playing cards.
"Hey boys, I need a favor, fast."
They looked up expectantly, perhaps it was an assault on an ocean platform, or even better, an assault on an occupied seaside town, maybe an extraction, something, anything better than sitting in the hold of a Sub for six weeks.
"What's up, boss?"
"I need you to get this guy ready for a dynamic sea-to-air pickup ASAP. High speed."
They looked slightly dissapointed as he pointed to Myrk. Even Myrk seemed slightly surprised at the statement.
"Sea to Air extraction? Me?"
"Yep, just got it over the wire. we're sending you up in one hour. You're getting a dustoff, along with a large ammount of highly important data if I can gather it in time. Don't worry, these guys'll get you set up. I need to go."
And with that, the Captain was running back towards the command and control center. One of the huge Seals patted the Trey'eck on the back heartily.
"Don't worry about it, a shallow water blow and go is nothing. All you gotta do is sit back for the ride. Come on, I'll get you outfitted."
The Trey'eck couldn't help but feel nervous despite the man's casual tone, he seemed like he would use the same casual manner to describe a violent encounter with an angered Gaath.
--------
fourty five minutes later, Myrk didn't feel much better. Five hundred feet of high grade polymer tethering attatched him to a large, heavy package. He was packed into the large airlock with one of the SEALs, who was also breathing from a scuba tank. The man adjusted the complicated, bulky harness that secured him to the tether.
"There you are, mate. Right as rain. Now, we wait for the word."
He didn't seem the least bit concerned with the Water that was rapidly filling the chamber.
--------
Sackler looked at the chart. They were as close as they were going to get.
He flicked a dial on his intercom, and simply said "Now"
He waited for several lights to turn red than green, then ordered the ship turned south.
"Finalize targeting solutions for missiles 1-15. Open the outer doors and standbye for launch. Sonar, say when."
Even though he knew they wern't nuclear missiles, he still felt anxious lifting the plastic safety cover on the big red button.
---------
It hadn't seemed so straightforward to Myrk. He heard the "Now" clearly enough, but after that, things went off. The outer door opened, and he saw the SEAL toss the heavy package out the door and pull a cord. There was a loud noise as the small package swelled tremendously, and rocketed upwards out of view. Myrk saw the large coil of tether rapidly reeling out. He felt a strong arm haul him out of the airlock into the open. He found himself standing on the deck of the sub. The SEAL was ginning around his regulator, he gave Myrk a thumbs up, and suddenly he was gone, falling down into the darkness. Or so it seemed until Myrk plopped out on the surface of Pacific Ocean. He floated calmly, Ishimans were very comfortable swimming. A thousand feet up, attatched to him by a long cord, A baloon floated lazily in the sky. Myrk lay back and floated aprehensively.
------------------
Faris eck Vaenar Maletena-Wizr, Trey'ish of the Ishiman reestablishment comittee.
"I don't think I'm alone when I say that I'd like to see more and more planets fall under the ruthless domination of our solar system."
"Take us to periscope depth, make your cruise speed five knots, make heading five knots and await further instructions. Drop a marker on this spot, we'll be back to see this wreck in a few hours."
As the Dive officer relayed the orders, Captain sackler found the Trey'eck and led him to the rear of the sub. Aft of the reactor Housings and the large engines, generators and turbines, in the cramped space below the aft torpedoe room, five SEAL troopers were playing cards.
"Hey boys, I need a favor, fast."
They looked up expectantly, perhaps it was an assault on an ocean platform, or even better, an assault on an occupied seaside town, maybe an extraction, something, anything better than sitting in the hold of a Sub for six weeks.
"What's up, boss?"
"I need you to get this guy ready for a dynamic sea-to-air pickup ASAP. High speed."
They looked slightly dissapointed as he pointed to Myrk. Even Myrk seemed slightly surprised at the statement.
"Sea to Air extraction? Me?"
"Yep, just got it over the wire. we're sending you up in one hour. You're getting a dustoff, along with a large ammount of highly important data if I can gather it in time. Don't worry, these guys'll get you set up. I need to go."
And with that, the Captain was running back towards the command and control center. One of the huge Seals patted the Trey'eck on the back heartily.
"Don't worry about it, a shallow water blow and go is nothing. All you gotta do is sit back for the ride. Come on, I'll get you outfitted."
The Trey'eck couldn't help but feel nervous despite the man's casual tone, he seemed like he would use the same casual manner to describe a violent encounter with an angered Gaath.
--------
fourty five minutes later, Myrk didn't feel much better. Five hundred feet of high grade polymer tethering attatched him to a large, heavy package. He was packed into the large airlock with one of the SEALs, who was also breathing from a scuba tank. The man adjusted the complicated, bulky harness that secured him to the tether.
"There you are, mate. Right as rain. Now, we wait for the word."
He didn't seem the least bit concerned with the Water that was rapidly filling the chamber.
--------
Sackler looked at the chart. They were as close as they were going to get.
He flicked a dial on his intercom, and simply said "Now"
He waited for several lights to turn red than green, then ordered the ship turned south.
"Finalize targeting solutions for missiles 1-15. Open the outer doors and standbye for launch. Sonar, say when."
Even though he knew they wern't nuclear missiles, he still felt anxious lifting the plastic safety cover on the big red button.
---------
It hadn't seemed so straightforward to Myrk. He heard the "Now" clearly enough, but after that, things went off. The outer door opened, and he saw the SEAL toss the heavy package out the door and pull a cord. There was a loud noise as the small package swelled tremendously, and rocketed upwards out of view. Myrk saw the large coil of tether rapidly reeling out. He felt a strong arm haul him out of the airlock into the open. He found himself standing on the deck of the sub. The SEAL was ginning around his regulator, he gave Myrk a thumbs up, and suddenly he was gone, falling down into the darkness. Or so it seemed until Myrk plopped out on the surface of Pacific Ocean. He floated calmly, Ishimans were very comfortable swimming. A thousand feet up, attatched to him by a long cord, A baloon floated lazily in the sky. Myrk lay back and floated aprehensively.
------------------
Faris eck Vaenar Maletena-Wizr, Trey'ish of the Ishiman reestablishment comittee.
"I don't think I'm alone when I say that I'd like to see more and more planets fall under the ruthless domination of our solar system."
#66
- Member
-
- Group: Members
- Posts: 2,003
- Joined: 16-January 00
Posted 26 January 2001 - 03:03 PM
Suddenly, Myrk felt a strong tug. The cable jerked to an angle and Myrk felt himself flying through the air at great speed. He looked up and saw a Cantharan schooner had hooked the cable onto itself. "Oh, great," he thought, "I'm going to be the Cantharan's hostage now."
The cable was winched up, and he entered the ship. "Greetings, friend. Sorry about the shock, but I needed a fast hull. Welcome aboard the DEF Outrun, my name's William Darkk, and I'll be your pilot today. Despite appearances, safety is my main concern. Strap into a seat, there's gonna be some shaking in a second."
Myrk quickly grabbed a seat and belted himself in. As soon as he had secured the harness, Darkk pushed a switch. All of a sudden, Myrk felt himself pushed back in his seat by 7 times his weight. "What is this?"
"Sorry, but we've got to avoid being hit, the Auds have noticed me now." As if to confirm his statement, a bright purple beam stabbed the air to their left.
"What kind of craft is this?" Myrk could see the mach numbers climbing rather dramatically.
"Cantharan schooner, rigged with an experamental antimatter rocket. We're currently at 1/64th power."
"ANTIMATTER ROCKET??? Even the Cantharans and Gaitori banned those for safety reasons! I want off!"
"The only way off is 2 miles down. Don't worry, my sister's a better engineer than them, it'll work OK."
The schooner made a very rapid crossing of the Americas and the Atlantic, arriving over Europe. "Here's where we make a break for it!" Darkk shouted. High overhead, a large bulk freighter initiated superlight and headed straight toward Earth. As it neared the atmosphere, it broke apart into tiny chunks. These shot into the atmosphere at absurd speeds, creating columns of fire in the skys over Europe, confusing sensors and making it impossible to locate anything in the air.
The Outrun shot upwards. As they began to leave the atmosphere, Darkk charged the superlight. "Warning, use of superlight in an atmosphere is extremely hazardous." the ship's computer chimed. "Darkk, what are you doing?!?!?" Myrk screamed. "Get ready for a little jolt."
The ship entered superlight, shaking like it was in a blender. All around, trails of fire extended through the air. Myrk's teeth were rattling, his bones were rattling, if he had had fillings they would have fallen out. The ship cleared the atmosphere just ahead of some planetary defense missles. "We're not out of this yet. I don't have the reserves to continue to the jumpstream start at superlight, we'll have to go on the rocket and run the guantlet."
Darkk stopped the superlight and kicked the antimatter engine up to full. The auds in orbit were unable to pursue, but the ones leaving the planet tried. Darkk was weaving constantly, swarms of ASB beams and insaa pulses flying about him. The auds were persistant, if nothing else. A carrier attempted to block Darkk's escape pysically, but he noticed its shields were down, turned the ship around, ignited the drive, and used the energetic photons to cut a hole through it. Myrk was screaming at this point.
Darkk dodged through a maze of tazer fire, unable to even see them due to the speed of the ship, dodging them primarily through the ship's own instability. The drive had gotten them to 0.05c, and the auds could not intercept or pursue. Jumpgate in 30 minutes, with nothing that could get between them and it.
Suddenly, the jumpgate opened. A massive orange bulk, 3.8km long, came through it. Darkk had heard stories from battle hardened mercenaries about the Audemedon Battleships. They were said to fire missles at a greater rate than the UNS Carriers of old could fire magnetos, and to be able to focus a tazer at twice the range of the Aud Carrier. Darkk had never met anyone who had seen them personally, and he reflected why: anyone who did was dead.
The auds seem intelegent today, Darkk reflected. The Battleship wasn't moving, and was physically blocking the gate. Darkk's trick with the carrier would stop unshielded ships, but not shielded ones that had them up. Darkk didn't have weapons, and the other gates were being surrounded. He would have to dislodge the massive monstrosity. He would have to do it fast. He dodged the swarm of missles emanating from the front end of the ship, and reflected that this at least had not been exagerated. Darkk swung under it, with the missles still following, plowing through his photon trail with their shields, and tazers lashing at him furiously.
Darkk hit the "overload" button, and dumped EXTRA antimatter and matter into the reactor, making it redline for a second but putting him well ahead of the missles. He managed to get the ship between him and the missles, and they rammed into it. It began to drift slightly. Darkk opened the jumpgate and shot through at full power, scraping his shield against the Battleship's, but making it through. Myrk had fainted.
Several hours later, aboard the stolen superfreighter Escapade, Darkk's current base, Myrk woke up.
"I told you it would be OK," Darkk teased, "You'd think the boss would have given you more training in courage. But it's OK, we're safe now."
"Thank you very much, privateer Darkk."
"Ah, you recognised the UNS operative insignia I've pinned on. I'm afraid we can't take you back to Ishiman territory for quite some time, but you'll be quite safe here."
------------------
Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI
[This message has been edited by Fleet Admiral Darkk (edited 01-26-2001).]
The cable was winched up, and he entered the ship. "Greetings, friend. Sorry about the shock, but I needed a fast hull. Welcome aboard the DEF Outrun, my name's William Darkk, and I'll be your pilot today. Despite appearances, safety is my main concern. Strap into a seat, there's gonna be some shaking in a second."
Myrk quickly grabbed a seat and belted himself in. As soon as he had secured the harness, Darkk pushed a switch. All of a sudden, Myrk felt himself pushed back in his seat by 7 times his weight. "What is this?"
"Sorry, but we've got to avoid being hit, the Auds have noticed me now." As if to confirm his statement, a bright purple beam stabbed the air to their left.
"What kind of craft is this?" Myrk could see the mach numbers climbing rather dramatically.
"Cantharan schooner, rigged with an experamental antimatter rocket. We're currently at 1/64th power."
"ANTIMATTER ROCKET??? Even the Cantharans and Gaitori banned those for safety reasons! I want off!"
"The only way off is 2 miles down. Don't worry, my sister's a better engineer than them, it'll work OK."
The schooner made a very rapid crossing of the Americas and the Atlantic, arriving over Europe. "Here's where we make a break for it!" Darkk shouted. High overhead, a large bulk freighter initiated superlight and headed straight toward Earth. As it neared the atmosphere, it broke apart into tiny chunks. These shot into the atmosphere at absurd speeds, creating columns of fire in the skys over Europe, confusing sensors and making it impossible to locate anything in the air.
The Outrun shot upwards. As they began to leave the atmosphere, Darkk charged the superlight. "Warning, use of superlight in an atmosphere is extremely hazardous." the ship's computer chimed. "Darkk, what are you doing?!?!?" Myrk screamed. "Get ready for a little jolt."
The ship entered superlight, shaking like it was in a blender. All around, trails of fire extended through the air. Myrk's teeth were rattling, his bones were rattling, if he had had fillings they would have fallen out. The ship cleared the atmosphere just ahead of some planetary defense missles. "We're not out of this yet. I don't have the reserves to continue to the jumpstream start at superlight, we'll have to go on the rocket and run the guantlet."
Darkk stopped the superlight and kicked the antimatter engine up to full. The auds in orbit were unable to pursue, but the ones leaving the planet tried. Darkk was weaving constantly, swarms of ASB beams and insaa pulses flying about him. The auds were persistant, if nothing else. A carrier attempted to block Darkk's escape pysically, but he noticed its shields were down, turned the ship around, ignited the drive, and used the energetic photons to cut a hole through it. Myrk was screaming at this point.
Darkk dodged through a maze of tazer fire, unable to even see them due to the speed of the ship, dodging them primarily through the ship's own instability. The drive had gotten them to 0.05c, and the auds could not intercept or pursue. Jumpgate in 30 minutes, with nothing that could get between them and it.
Suddenly, the jumpgate opened. A massive orange bulk, 3.8km long, came through it. Darkk had heard stories from battle hardened mercenaries about the Audemedon Battleships. They were said to fire missles at a greater rate than the UNS Carriers of old could fire magnetos, and to be able to focus a tazer at twice the range of the Aud Carrier. Darkk had never met anyone who had seen them personally, and he reflected why: anyone who did was dead.
The auds seem intelegent today, Darkk reflected. The Battleship wasn't moving, and was physically blocking the gate. Darkk's trick with the carrier would stop unshielded ships, but not shielded ones that had them up. Darkk didn't have weapons, and the other gates were being surrounded. He would have to dislodge the massive monstrosity. He would have to do it fast. He dodged the swarm of missles emanating from the front end of the ship, and reflected that this at least had not been exagerated. Darkk swung under it, with the missles still following, plowing through his photon trail with their shields, and tazers lashing at him furiously.
Darkk hit the "overload" button, and dumped EXTRA antimatter and matter into the reactor, making it redline for a second but putting him well ahead of the missles. He managed to get the ship between him and the missles, and they rammed into it. It began to drift slightly. Darkk opened the jumpgate and shot through at full power, scraping his shield against the Battleship's, but making it through. Myrk had fainted.
Several hours later, aboard the stolen superfreighter Escapade, Darkk's current base, Myrk woke up.
"I told you it would be OK," Darkk teased, "You'd think the boss would have given you more training in courage. But it's OK, we're safe now."
"Thank you very much, privateer Darkk."
"Ah, you recognised the UNS operative insignia I've pinned on. I'm afraid we can't take you back to Ishiman territory for quite some time, but you'll be quite safe here."
------------------
Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI
[This message has been edited by Fleet Admiral Darkk (edited 01-26-2001).]
"In literature as in love we are astounded by what is chosen by others." Andre Maurois
Onii7/Frinkruds and his funky forums
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Onii7/Frinkruds and his funky forums
macgamer.net
#67
- fogey
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Posted 26 January 2001 - 04:42 PM
[UNS HEADQUARTERS, ISHIMA SYSTEM]
As Captain Mordos was exiting the building, he spoke into his wrist pad. "Admiral Carter didn't stick as exactly to the agreement as I'd planned. Go to plan B."
His second in command was listening with his earpiece. "Aye, sir." He turned on the ship's comm, and spoke to the crew. "Plan A failed. Go to plan B. Be near the airlock, with weapons ready, in ten minutes."
Ten minutes later...
"Everybody ready?" asked the captain.
"Aye, sir!"
"Good. Go." he pointed to the building.
The crew ran out of the ship, and shot the guards. They proceeded to storm the building, rounding up Admiral Carter, and shooting the freed prisoners. They brought Carter to the heavy destroyer, where Captain Mordos was waiting.
"What is the meaning of this?!?" asked Admiral Carter in a very angry voice.
"Just a few thousand credits. Take him to the holding cell, and get us out of here."
The admiral was taken onto the ship, and it rocketed for the skies.
---------------------
[CARRIBEAN, EARTH, SOL]
The fighters turned on their scanners, and found the base. They docked in their specified port, and the pilots climbed out. A human met them. "Welcome to Alpha. Captain Sackler asked me to meet you, and get things arranged. Come this way, please."
---------------------
[SIMLAB CLUSTER 239583, ZEUS SYSTEM]
Mag walked quietly down the dark hall, looking for some sort of computer to hack into. He'd stolen a long range photokinetic beam rifle from a guard that wasn't paying attention.
An orange beam passed by his shoulder. He spun around, and ducked into a corner. He had found that shooting around corners while using infrared vision worked very well for gunfights. He began firing like mad, and the Salrillians soon withdrawed. Mag was gonna get killed one of these days if he didn't find a map...
------------------
"I think I have discovered the problem with humans. It is not entirely stupidity, as I once thought. It is their pigheaded and baseless philosophy: "If it isn't me, then it's opinions, feelings, and life do not matter, and it was meant to serve me." They also have this ability for creating excuses that are pointless, but they get others to believe it. A few examples: "It's only some savages. It's only five acres of rain forest. It's only one semi-truck. It's only fifty gallons of toxic waste..." After this realization, I marvelled at how humans, and the rest of the planet, have survived for so very long."
- Me
As Captain Mordos was exiting the building, he spoke into his wrist pad. "Admiral Carter didn't stick as exactly to the agreement as I'd planned. Go to plan B."
His second in command was listening with his earpiece. "Aye, sir." He turned on the ship's comm, and spoke to the crew. "Plan A failed. Go to plan B. Be near the airlock, with weapons ready, in ten minutes."
Ten minutes later...
"Everybody ready?" asked the captain.
"Aye, sir!"
"Good. Go." he pointed to the building.
The crew ran out of the ship, and shot the guards. They proceeded to storm the building, rounding up Admiral Carter, and shooting the freed prisoners. They brought Carter to the heavy destroyer, where Captain Mordos was waiting.
"What is the meaning of this?!?" asked Admiral Carter in a very angry voice.
"Just a few thousand credits. Take him to the holding cell, and get us out of here."
The admiral was taken onto the ship, and it rocketed for the skies.
---------------------
[CARRIBEAN, EARTH, SOL]
The fighters turned on their scanners, and found the base. They docked in their specified port, and the pilots climbed out. A human met them. "Welcome to Alpha. Captain Sackler asked me to meet you, and get things arranged. Come this way, please."
---------------------
[SIMLAB CLUSTER 239583, ZEUS SYSTEM]
Mag walked quietly down the dark hall, looking for some sort of computer to hack into. He'd stolen a long range photokinetic beam rifle from a guard that wasn't paying attention.
An orange beam passed by his shoulder. He spun around, and ducked into a corner. He had found that shooting around corners while using infrared vision worked very well for gunfights. He began firing like mad, and the Salrillians soon withdrawed. Mag was gonna get killed one of these days if he didn't find a map...
------------------
"I think I have discovered the problem with humans. It is not entirely stupidity, as I once thought. It is their pigheaded and baseless philosophy: "If it isn't me, then it's opinions, feelings, and life do not matter, and it was meant to serve me." They also have this ability for creating excuses that are pointless, but they get others to believe it. A few examples: "It's only some savages. It's only five acres of rain forest. It's only one semi-truck. It's only fifty gallons of toxic waste..." After this realization, I marvelled at how humans, and the rest of the planet, have survived for so very long."
- Me
#68
- Member
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- Group: Members
- Posts: 675
- Joined: 12-January 00
Posted 26 January 2001 - 06:47 PM
The Salrillian ambassador nodded it's insectlike head towards Spamo.
"You have many thankss for appearing here. Hopefully you will not doubt our benign intentionss?" More spittle dripped as the thing spoke.
"We shall have to see how I judge your intentions." Spamo replied.
"Your visit was so brief. We had barely enough time to show you our main population centers. Come, contact your Ishiman friendss and we can give you a more complete tour of ou... your planet."
"No, I have business to attend to. We shall be in communication Sleerushka. Good bye."
Good riddance
Spamo strode up the gangplank into the executive shuttle. It rose up and out of the atmosphere towards the waiting Salrillian carrier, that was to convey him to the rendevous point with the UNS fleets.
"Sskilled aren't we Sspann? Not so clever as you might think."
---------------------------------
The jumpgate at Ishima bustled with activity as ships flew in and out, going
on various errands about the galaxy. One such ship that entered the Ishima
system was one of the brand new UNS Heavy Destroyers. Designed to replace
the aged class of HVD's, this one was built with Ishiman aid. The UNS
Rosemary was one of them.
"Ishiman Traffic control, this is the UNS Rosemary. I'm requesting an officer's shuttle for the Admiral here. He's got some news for the Trey'sh."
"Roger Rosemary. A shuttle has been dispatched."
A short while later, Admiral Spann strode into Maletena Wizr's office.
"Spann! You're back already?"
"Your Trey'eck has successfully been extracted from Earth. He's en route to Ishima as we speak."
Wizr's eyes lit up. "The mission was successful?"
"Quite well. I had a mercenary captain I know pull him out. They used an old Cantharan vessel, so I'm quite sure that the Salrillians won't know who stole him for a short while."
Wizr nodded. Then he smiled as a few thoughts entered his head. "I suppose we can use that time to put a bit more pressure on the Salrillians."
Spamo nodded his agreement. "I can keep him in hiding as long as you'd like. Of course, communication won't be cut off, but if he doesn't need to be back in action anytime soon..."
"Yes, I think that will do well. I do relish the idea of belittling the Salrillians." Wizr smiled and sat back in his chair. "Things are starting to turn our way I think."
Spamo took a seat in Wizr's office. "Care for some tea?" he asked, as he ordered some from Wizr's assistant.
"Yes, thank you."
"The assault fleet to retake Earth is nearly complete, as far as I hear from your engineers. I've never seen the UNS so well equipped." Spamo said as he sipped at his tea. "I can almost smell the clean, fresh air of a liberated Earth."
"I'm sure you can. Now there's just the excuse for war that we have to make."
Spamo nodded. "I've got that taken care of."
-------------------
[Somewhere, Ishiman space]
Colonel Jacobson stood on the bridge of the UNS Hyperion. The Ishiman captain of the ship sat behind him in the command chair. "Are the ships evacuated?"
"Yes sir. All ships are reporting readiness."
Eight captured Salrillian vessels hung in space, their autopilots programmed with complex navigational commands. Nearby, four large, defenseless, and quite crewless frieghters sat.
"Execute the operation."
As the Hyperion watched, the Eight Salrillian vessels swooped at the now fleeing freighters, who beamed distress signals, prerecorded by the crews, and intercepted and jammed by the Hyperion. A few minutes later, the four frieghters were floating debris, and the Eight Salrillian vessels superlighted away. They would self-destruct a great distance away, their corridors packed with explosives as to leave no traces save for the occasional free radical.
"Mission accomplished."
A jumpgate opened and the Hyperion left.
[Terribly sorry about the delay. It's been a hectic week(end).]
------------------
Ne Cede Malis Sed Contra Audientor Ito
[This message has been edited by El Spamo (edited 01-27-2001).]
[This message has been edited by El Spamo (edited 01-30-2001).]
"You have many thankss for appearing here. Hopefully you will not doubt our benign intentionss?" More spittle dripped as the thing spoke.
"We shall have to see how I judge your intentions." Spamo replied.
"Your visit was so brief. We had barely enough time to show you our main population centers. Come, contact your Ishiman friendss and we can give you a more complete tour of ou... your planet."
"No, I have business to attend to. We shall be in communication Sleerushka. Good bye."
Good riddance
Spamo strode up the gangplank into the executive shuttle. It rose up and out of the atmosphere towards the waiting Salrillian carrier, that was to convey him to the rendevous point with the UNS fleets.
"Sskilled aren't we Sspann? Not so clever as you might think."
---------------------------------
The jumpgate at Ishima bustled with activity as ships flew in and out, going
on various errands about the galaxy. One such ship that entered the Ishima
system was one of the brand new UNS Heavy Destroyers. Designed to replace
the aged class of HVD's, this one was built with Ishiman aid. The UNS
Rosemary was one of them.
"Ishiman Traffic control, this is the UNS Rosemary. I'm requesting an officer's shuttle for the Admiral here. He's got some news for the Trey'sh."
"Roger Rosemary. A shuttle has been dispatched."
A short while later, Admiral Spann strode into Maletena Wizr's office.
"Spann! You're back already?"
"Your Trey'eck has successfully been extracted from Earth. He's en route to Ishima as we speak."
Wizr's eyes lit up. "The mission was successful?"
"Quite well. I had a mercenary captain I know pull him out. They used an old Cantharan vessel, so I'm quite sure that the Salrillians won't know who stole him for a short while."
Wizr nodded. Then he smiled as a few thoughts entered his head. "I suppose we can use that time to put a bit more pressure on the Salrillians."
Spamo nodded his agreement. "I can keep him in hiding as long as you'd like. Of course, communication won't be cut off, but if he doesn't need to be back in action anytime soon..."
"Yes, I think that will do well. I do relish the idea of belittling the Salrillians." Wizr smiled and sat back in his chair. "Things are starting to turn our way I think."
Spamo took a seat in Wizr's office. "Care for some tea?" he asked, as he ordered some from Wizr's assistant.
"Yes, thank you."
"The assault fleet to retake Earth is nearly complete, as far as I hear from your engineers. I've never seen the UNS so well equipped." Spamo said as he sipped at his tea. "I can almost smell the clean, fresh air of a liberated Earth."
"I'm sure you can. Now there's just the excuse for war that we have to make."
Spamo nodded. "I've got that taken care of."
-------------------
[Somewhere, Ishiman space]
Colonel Jacobson stood on the bridge of the UNS Hyperion. The Ishiman captain of the ship sat behind him in the command chair. "Are the ships evacuated?"
"Yes sir. All ships are reporting readiness."
Eight captured Salrillian vessels hung in space, their autopilots programmed with complex navigational commands. Nearby, four large, defenseless, and quite crewless frieghters sat.
"Execute the operation."
As the Hyperion watched, the Eight Salrillian vessels swooped at the now fleeing freighters, who beamed distress signals, prerecorded by the crews, and intercepted and jammed by the Hyperion. A few minutes later, the four frieghters were floating debris, and the Eight Salrillian vessels superlighted away. They would self-destruct a great distance away, their corridors packed with explosives as to leave no traces save for the occasional free radical.
"Mission accomplished."
A jumpgate opened and the Hyperion left.
[Terribly sorry about the delay. It's been a hectic week(end).]
------------------
Ne Cede Malis Sed Contra Audientor Ito
[This message has been edited by El Spamo (edited 01-27-2001).]
[This message has been edited by El Spamo (edited 01-30-2001).]
#69
- fogey
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- Group: Members
- Posts: 1,768
- Joined: 23-January 00
- Gender:Male
- Location:Portland, OR
Posted 27 January 2001 - 08:27 PM
[26 hours doesn't count as "a few"... 
]
------------------
"I think I have discovered the problem with humans. It is not entirely stupidity, as I once thought. It is their pigheaded and baseless philosophy: "If it isn't me, then it's opinions, feelings, and life do not matter, and it was meant to serve me." They also have this ability for creating excuses that are pointless, but they get others to believe it. A few examples: "It's only some savages. It's only five acres of rain forest. It's only one semi-truck. It's only fifty gallons of toxic waste..." After this realization, I marvelled at how humans, and the rest of the planet, have survived for so very long."
- Me
]------------------
"I think I have discovered the problem with humans. It is not entirely stupidity, as I once thought. It is their pigheaded and baseless philosophy: "If it isn't me, then it's opinions, feelings, and life do not matter, and it was meant to serve me." They also have this ability for creating excuses that are pointless, but they get others to believe it. A few examples: "It's only some savages. It's only five acres of rain forest. It's only one semi-truck. It's only fifty gallons of toxic waste..." After this realization, I marvelled at how humans, and the rest of the planet, have survived for so very long."
- Me
#70
- fogey
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- Group: Members
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- Joined: 23-January 00
- Gender:Male
- Location:Portland, OR
Posted 28 January 2001 - 11:58 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Talon Karrde:
(Slug, that sounds a LOT like Starcraft: Brood Wars to me)
(Slug, that sounds a LOT like Starcraft: Brood Wars to me)
Slug is in the habit of taking stuff from other places and putting them in the RPG with a few tweaks. He should do more of his origional stuff, though; that stuff's great.
------------------
"I think I have discovered the problem with humans. It is not entirely stupidity, as I once thought. It is their pigheaded and baseless philosophy: "If it isn't me, then it's opinions, feelings, and life do not matter, and it was meant to serve me." They also have this ability for creating excuses that are pointless, but they get others to believe it. A few examples: "It's only some savages. It's only five acres of rain forest. It's only one semi-truck. It's only fifty gallons of toxic waste..." After this realization, I marvelled at how humans, and the rest of the planet, have survived for so very long."
- Me
#71
- Lame space monkey
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- Group: Members
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- Joined: 27-February 00
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- Location:Omisha
Posted 28 January 2001 - 08:29 PM
He didn't say who's at the end of the rift ;-)
------------------
[KVESAR]
On the run, again.
The Audemedons had finally decided to come in force. The long wait had been a clue, but the fleet had begun filing out only slowly after that. There was no indication of an attack, no indication of any knowledge of the Obiards existence.
Until a cone of orange fire erupted from the jumpgate.
The 7 nearby Escorts and the Battleship Th'riha'n immediately started for the jumpgate to rejoin their comrades in the Delta Pavonis system. But the Audemedons had attacked in numbers too great to be avoided. Two of the Escorts remaining had actually made it to the jumpgate. Two of the halves of the Battleship had as well - salvageable, but never to be the fighting craft she once was. The doors had, fortunately, sealed of the majority of the ship from the gaping hole left by Trazer fire, but even without casualties, it was a devastating loss.
Four escorts had gone E'tlaq'sa* to save what they had.
------------------
[DELTA PAVONIS]
It was a poor facility the Obiards had come to. But it was neccessary. The continual advances before had brought them closer and closer to Audemedon space- and that could no longer be tolerated.
Nothing but escorts could be produced.
But the Th'esare had completed the reverse engineering of the Audemedon holgram device-allowing it to be put to use on the Escorts. For the first 8 hours, each of the current escorts was brought up to date. And for the remaining 40 they had alloted for the system, another 8 would be built. Hopefully it would be enough.
------------------
Can we steer towards the conquest of Earth now? We can spend maybe 20 posts getting there, then close it off as a cliffhanger with the fleets assembled. Then we wait for Slug to create the next chapter with the battle.
*Kamikaze, essentially
------------------
-Pallas Athene of Dysian Beta, Obish Consensus Representative
-Nieru Dast, {M}ilitia Aeriane
-Danae Vernius
"Cheaters don't really win, and winners don't really cheat. Unless you're talking politics." -Durandal
------------------
[KVESAR]
On the run, again.
The Audemedons had finally decided to come in force. The long wait had been a clue, but the fleet had begun filing out only slowly after that. There was no indication of an attack, no indication of any knowledge of the Obiards existence.
Until a cone of orange fire erupted from the jumpgate.
The 7 nearby Escorts and the Battleship Th'riha'n immediately started for the jumpgate to rejoin their comrades in the Delta Pavonis system. But the Audemedons had attacked in numbers too great to be avoided. Two of the Escorts remaining had actually made it to the jumpgate. Two of the halves of the Battleship had as well - salvageable, but never to be the fighting craft she once was. The doors had, fortunately, sealed of the majority of the ship from the gaping hole left by Trazer fire, but even without casualties, it was a devastating loss.
Four escorts had gone E'tlaq'sa* to save what they had.
------------------
[DELTA PAVONIS]
It was a poor facility the Obiards had come to. But it was neccessary. The continual advances before had brought them closer and closer to Audemedon space- and that could no longer be tolerated.
Nothing but escorts could be produced.
But the Th'esare had completed the reverse engineering of the Audemedon holgram device-allowing it to be put to use on the Escorts. For the first 8 hours, each of the current escorts was brought up to date. And for the remaining 40 they had alloted for the system, another 8 would be built. Hopefully it would be enough.
------------------
Can we steer towards the conquest of Earth now? We can spend maybe 20 posts getting there, then close it off as a cliffhanger with the fleets assembled. Then we wait for Slug to create the next chapter with the battle.
*Kamikaze, essentially
------------------
-Pallas Athene of Dysian Beta, Obish Consensus Representative
-Nieru Dast, {M}ilitia Aeriane
-Danae Vernius
"Cheaters don't really win, and winners don't really cheat. Unless you're talking politics." -Durandal
#72
- Member
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- Group: Members
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- Joined: 16-January 00
Posted 28 January 2001 - 08:42 PM
[Pharris wanted to end this chapter himself, and have me start the next chapter.]
------------------
Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI
------------------
Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI
"In literature as in love we are astounded by what is chosen by others." Andre Maurois
Onii7/Frinkruds and his funky forums
macgamer.net
Onii7/Frinkruds and his funky forums
macgamer.net
#73
- Member
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- Group: Members
- Posts: 231
- Joined: 12-January 00
Posted 29 January 2001 - 01:18 AM
[I want to get the conquest done; I want to go back to my Ob-Ka subplot...]
[AXIS MAJOR AREA]
The solitary Audemedon cruiser flew slowly through space. It was a good thing that Audemedons were not fully sentient, for any normal being would have found this patrol run incredibly boring.
A capsule floated nearby. Nobody could say how it had gotten there; not yet, anyway. It was about forty centimetres long, and twelve wide. It was made of a strange material that seemed to glow, and, if analyzed, was a little stronger than titanium.
The object drifted leisurely into the sensor range of the cruiser.
The cruiser considered it, and had seen nothing like it before. If it had seen nothing like it, he should report it to his masters, and the Salrillians, who would surely wish to study it. The cruiser altered course to make a pickup. As a tractor beam locked on, beams of energy lanced out from the capsule, obliterating the cruiser.
[Don't worry, this is to do with my character, not the main plot.]
------------------
Subcommander g'Var "8 Lightnings" Krai'un
Second in command of the Escort Starbeam.
“Imagine if you will, you’re standing on a grade of finely processed salt in a salt factory. Now, there is a very large rusty blade flying towards you at a very high speed. Imagine now, the feeling you will have as you fall into that salt after you are run through with that blade.” -Marathon Infinity, Terminal 0, Page 2, You Think You’re Big Time, You’re Gonna Die Big Time, Vidmaster’s Challenge Edition.
[AXIS MAJOR AREA]
The solitary Audemedon cruiser flew slowly through space. It was a good thing that Audemedons were not fully sentient, for any normal being would have found this patrol run incredibly boring.
A capsule floated nearby. Nobody could say how it had gotten there; not yet, anyway. It was about forty centimetres long, and twelve wide. It was made of a strange material that seemed to glow, and, if analyzed, was a little stronger than titanium.
The object drifted leisurely into the sensor range of the cruiser.
The cruiser considered it, and had seen nothing like it before. If it had seen nothing like it, he should report it to his masters, and the Salrillians, who would surely wish to study it. The cruiser altered course to make a pickup. As a tractor beam locked on, beams of energy lanced out from the capsule, obliterating the cruiser.
[Don't worry, this is to do with my character, not the main plot.]
------------------
Subcommander g'Var "8 Lightnings" Krai'un
Second in command of the Escort Starbeam.
“Imagine if you will, you’re standing on a grade of finely processed salt in a salt factory. Now, there is a very large rusty blade flying towards you at a very high speed. Imagine now, the feeling you will have as you fall into that salt after you are run through with that blade.” -Marathon Infinity, Terminal 0, Page 2, You Think You’re Big Time, You’re Gonna Die Big Time, Vidmaster’s Challenge Edition.
#74
- EUnuch
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Posted 29 January 2001 - 07:24 AM
[Been a LONG time since my last post]
It had been a fairly uneventful week for Talon Karrde. The Wild Karrde was currently undergoing repairs in the hangar of the 4-mile long Eleejeetian Gateship. In the past week him and his squadron had ambushed a pair of Salrillian convoys. The Eleejeetian fleet had so far fared pretty well, having lost only 2 dozen ships since the war began. The Wild Karrde now had 26 kills to it's credit, the last one having been an Audemedon carrier that managed to slice off the port nacelle of the Wild Karrde with it's trazer beam before succumbing to it's onas pulse gun. He shuffled with distaste through the paperwork on his desk. Some things never change, do they? He thought back to the time when Earth had been free, when...
[2 HOURS LATER]
Commander!
Karrde woke up, embarrassed of having dozed off.
Commander, I have a message for you! The young ensign addressing him handed him the message.
Karrde read the contents of the datapad.
Are you sure?!
He stared at the Datapad, incredously. The Ensign nodded.
Dismissed! The Ensign gave a smart salute and walked out of the office.
Karrde stared at the Battle plan, hope rising in his soul...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Eleejeetian Gateship engaged it's engines and sped towards it's target, the far away system of Thasero...
- - - - -
[slug]
[guys, aside from the names (coincidence) I see no similarities between that and Brood War]
Jerry Levt smiled smugly. In the weeks following his discussion with the Admiral, he had taken a large number of troops and ships and abandoned the main fleet, last seen heading for Gaitor...
------------------
--Talon_Karrde, MoC, 61:4--
Visit [url="http://"http://www.planetarion.com"]www.planetarion.com[/url] and sign up for some real gaming experience!
[This message has been edited by Slug (edited 01-29-2001).]
It had been a fairly uneventful week for Talon Karrde. The Wild Karrde was currently undergoing repairs in the hangar of the 4-mile long Eleejeetian Gateship. In the past week him and his squadron had ambushed a pair of Salrillian convoys. The Eleejeetian fleet had so far fared pretty well, having lost only 2 dozen ships since the war began. The Wild Karrde now had 26 kills to it's credit, the last one having been an Audemedon carrier that managed to slice off the port nacelle of the Wild Karrde with it's trazer beam before succumbing to it's onas pulse gun. He shuffled with distaste through the paperwork on his desk. Some things never change, do they? He thought back to the time when Earth had been free, when...
[2 HOURS LATER]
Commander!
Karrde woke up, embarrassed of having dozed off.
Commander, I have a message for you! The young ensign addressing him handed him the message.
Karrde read the contents of the datapad.
Are you sure?!
He stared at the Datapad, incredously. The Ensign nodded.
Dismissed! The Ensign gave a smart salute and walked out of the office.
Karrde stared at the Battle plan, hope rising in his soul...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Eleejeetian Gateship engaged it's engines and sped towards it's target, the far away system of Thasero...
- - - - -
[slug]
[guys, aside from the names (coincidence) I see no similarities between that and Brood War]
Jerry Levt smiled smugly. In the weeks following his discussion with the Admiral, he had taken a large number of troops and ships and abandoned the main fleet, last seen heading for Gaitor...
------------------
--Talon_Karrde, MoC, 61:4--
Visit [url="http://"http://www.planetarion.com"]www.planetarion.com[/url] and sign up for some real gaming experience!
[This message has been edited by Slug (edited 01-29-2001).]
conform now. conform now. conform now.
differences cause conflicts. conforming is happiness.
join us. express your commonality. copy and paste.
Boom bam as I step in the jam, God damn.
differences cause conflicts. conforming is happiness.
join us. express your commonality. copy and paste.
Boom bam as I step in the jam, God damn.
#75
- fogey
-
- Group: Members
- Posts: 1,768
- Joined: 23-January 00
- Gender:Male
- Location:Portland, OR
Posted 29 January 2001 - 02:57 PM
[SIMLAB CLUSTER 239583, ZEUS SYSTEM]
The heavy destroyer docked with the simlab, and Captain Mordos stepped out through the airlock, where he was greeted by several Salrillians in a dark, humid room.
"I've brought the package you requested," said Mordos, and he waved one of his hands back into the airlock. Three of his crew members carried a battered and beaten Admiral Carter into the simlab.
"Good work, Captain Mordos. Give him to us, and we'll give you your payment once we have him secured in his cell."
"Very well. Waited this long, why not a few more minutes. Give to them," the captain said, turning to the crew members that were holding Admiral Carter. They obeyed, and the Salrillians carried the admiral through a door.
"We'll be back in a few minutes," one of the Salrillians said as the door was closing.
Captain Mordos waited with his crew assembled to recieve his payment. He was anxious. What could be taking them so long?
As if in response to his question, a bright green gas began coming out of the overhead vents. The world began swirling, and the floor came up at him. Everything faded to black.
The gas was sucked back into the vents, and pure air entered the room. The Salrillians came in again, and began dragging the crew members off to various cells.
"Foolish humans," one of them thought.
Then a Salrillian voice came over the intercom, "Tech teams, begin removing the weapons from the heavy destroyer."
---------------------
[TWO HOURS LATER, SAME LOCATION]
Mag walked into the room. He was still using his infrared, and he saw a heavy destroyer outside. The odd thing was, though, that it had no weapons. It would still do better for escape than the transport. He cut away at the airlock, and was soon inside. The infrared showed him the bridge, and he made his way to it. Once there, he quickly hacked his way into the piloting controls. Mag would have to get out of the system very quickly...
------------------
"I think I have discovered the problem with humans. It is not entirely stupidity, as I once thought. It is their pigheaded and baseless philosophy: "If it isn't me, then it's opinions, feelings, and life do not matter, and it was meant to serve me." They also have this ability for creating excuses that are pointless, but they get others to believe it. A few examples: "It's only some savages. It's only five acres of rain forest. It's only one semi-truck. It's only fifty gallons of toxic waste..." After this realization, I marvelled at how humans, and the rest of the planet, have survived for so very long."
- Me
The heavy destroyer docked with the simlab, and Captain Mordos stepped out through the airlock, where he was greeted by several Salrillians in a dark, humid room.
"I've brought the package you requested," said Mordos, and he waved one of his hands back into the airlock. Three of his crew members carried a battered and beaten Admiral Carter into the simlab.
"Good work, Captain Mordos. Give him to us, and we'll give you your payment once we have him secured in his cell."
"Very well. Waited this long, why not a few more minutes. Give to them," the captain said, turning to the crew members that were holding Admiral Carter. They obeyed, and the Salrillians carried the admiral through a door.
"We'll be back in a few minutes," one of the Salrillians said as the door was closing.
Captain Mordos waited with his crew assembled to recieve his payment. He was anxious. What could be taking them so long?
As if in response to his question, a bright green gas began coming out of the overhead vents. The world began swirling, and the floor came up at him. Everything faded to black.
The gas was sucked back into the vents, and pure air entered the room. The Salrillians came in again, and began dragging the crew members off to various cells.
"Foolish humans," one of them thought.
Then a Salrillian voice came over the intercom, "Tech teams, begin removing the weapons from the heavy destroyer."
---------------------
[TWO HOURS LATER, SAME LOCATION]
Mag walked into the room. He was still using his infrared, and he saw a heavy destroyer outside. The odd thing was, though, that it had no weapons. It would still do better for escape than the transport. He cut away at the airlock, and was soon inside. The infrared showed him the bridge, and he made his way to it. Once there, he quickly hacked his way into the piloting controls. Mag would have to get out of the system very quickly...
------------------
"I think I have discovered the problem with humans. It is not entirely stupidity, as I once thought. It is their pigheaded and baseless philosophy: "If it isn't me, then it's opinions, feelings, and life do not matter, and it was meant to serve me." They also have this ability for creating excuses that are pointless, but they get others to believe it. A few examples: "It's only some savages. It's only five acres of rain forest. It's only one semi-truck. It's only fifty gallons of toxic waste..." After this realization, I marvelled at how humans, and the rest of the planet, have survived for so very long."
- Me
