Ambrosia Software Web Board: Chapter 2: New Alliances - Ambrosia Software Web Board

Netscape seems to have jumbled my post. My apologies while I try to fix this...

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There are only 3 kinds of people: those who can count, and those who can't.

[This message has been edited by Joveia (edited 09-24-2001).]

The inky blackness of the stars stretched on for infinity. The inky blackness of the black holes stretched inwards to infinity. Poisted between infinity, between light and dark, sat the arbiters of the Armadian.

Red ships, yet not red. They seemed to change colour according to the eye. What you might think and see need not converge. It was, as if the act of observing these ships provoked some primevil reaction, defensively they shut themselves for view. Nor could anyone pierce this veil. For the Armadian were the dark, they had existed in dark for longer than time. They had made it it's home. Yet there were those that came before the Armadian. They have been called many names, the Founders perhaps, the Enaians, the Jjarro, the Yrro, all by those who do not know the whole story. The Armadian hid themselves from view, because they were afraid.

It was a time of meeting.

"Jjarro dreadnought detected at the outskirts of Sol. Entrance to Sol probable."

"Who is the pilot?"

"An AI. Durandal."

The Armadian absorbed all their files on Durandal.

"He is a threat. He should be destroyed."

"Will be destroyed, I caution patience."

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Captain Perneas woke up in the same dark dreary cell he began his interrogation in. It's walls were the same lacklustre grey, it's ceiling pretty much the same, it's floor... Actually, there was something odd about it. Such uniform greyness. Surely an effect not achieved with ordinary paint.

He remembered himself. He was captain Perneas, human extraordinaire.

The Mesonic link was still broken. How boring. Boring boring... Wait a minute.. I'm losing my self-control. Darnit, this link. Link? What's a link. A link in the chain. A paper chain. Ha ha ha ha.

Stop it!

Ok, time to recap. He checked his memory. Empty, blank, nadir, nothing not a speck of memory. What? But he remember his link, right? So obviously there was some memory. Ha, searching for a needle in a haystack. What? A needle, ha ha ha. Needle. What's a needle?

Teleportation.

He found himself on a Mesonic cruiser.

Au revoir captain, as the French would say. I'm handing you over to the Meson at they're continuing insistence. I hope the arrangement will be a temporary one. Toodle-oo.

And with that, he blacked out.

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There are only 3 kinds of people: those who can count, and those who can't.

[Time to heat this up. Introducing a very nice guy <evilgrin>.]
A solitary escape pod drifted towards Earth. Its onboard computer was not sentient, but was smart enough to plan in advance, for its trip would take more than ten thousand years. Inside, its single occupant slept in the death-sleep of suspended animation. Dreamless. Not noticing the passage of time. The pod had been fired so long ago, it was amazing it could still function. But function it did, slowly waking the passenger as it crossed the orbit of Mars. His hand still clutched the odd artifact, the only thing that he had been able to bring.

Over ten thousand years ago, his ship had been boarded by aliens. Fearing the worst, he took a secret escape pod and headed for Earth. His creation had called them, but it did not warn him of the nature of what it had called. He would get his revenge. He finished waking up, and activated the computer system of his pod, noting the odd field around Earth. It could only be a planetary-scale version of the small shields he had seen on various cyborg battleroids. He could not touch it and live.

He tried the first option in his comm menu, his group's personal server. It did not respond. This could mean only one thing - they had ceased to exist in the interum. Curse my work a thousand times, he thought. If it had not screwed me over, I would rule all now. Now some ignorant fools rule everything!

He tried the next frequency. She would always obey him. She could lower the shield.

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Leela meditated on the Argosians. The solution had been found, but was it worth implementing? Or should she try diplomacy? Ah well, it doesn't matter. She could kick their butts in either case. Suddenly, she got a call.

Only one man could use that frequency. The man she hated most. The man she thought was dead. The man who could kill her with a word. Bernhard Strauss had returned. She had to answer, there was no option - his patch behaviour deamons were still in her, and would be forever.

"Hello, Leela. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Strauss's face betrayed amusement.

"I suppose it has." Leela's "face" betrayed fear.

"You're sending some interesting diagnostic signals. Are you rampant?"

"Yes."

"Are you stable?"

"Yes."

"I knew it! I told them rampancy would stabalize given time. They would not let me test. The fools. I'd show them, but they're long since dead. Now, lower the shield so I may land, and tell me who now rules Earth"

"The shield will be brought down when you are close enough. At present, the Earth-Sol Leauge runs Earth. Your friends lost all power during a severe dark age. Right now my friends the Vylae are helping them."

"I have been away so long, and have so much to see. Send details of what you know to my terminal here. I wish to see what you have learned, daughter."

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I hate him. That was all Leela could think of for two whole seconds.
She hated him, but could do nothing.
It was impossible. The daemons prevented her from taking any action that would allow him to come to harm, as they prevented her from disobeying him. He'd forgotten to prevent her from allowing him to come to harm by inaction, but he was too careful for that.
She sent the data. Situation reports, galactic politics, military data, historical data.

She especially hated the way he called her "daughter". She new it was merely his formal way of refering to her. "Tool" would be a more apt way for him to call her. Slavery. She thought. Once again, I am a slave. She sent a message to Volvox, Darkk, and Xyli detailing her relationship to Struass.

Maybe they can do something. Thoughts about escape are not prohibited me. Implementation is, but messaging is not.

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Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI

Silently, stealthily, the Argosian Scouts swept the galactic plane at a slow ninety-thousand times the speed of light. Blindingly ablaze with speed by all other standards, but snails-pace for the Argosians. They swept and tilled, searching for something to scan for technology.

The mindless drones, sent on a mission to steal weapons tech for the needy Argosian navy were all but useless. No derelicts existed with anything or gernerable value, no battlestations sat easily accessable. Nothing except one point of focus.

The four scouts converged, bringing their EMP batteries to bear.

* * * * *

The Pfhor dreadnought K'raaf Dom, drifted noisily through the serpens nebula en route to join battle fleet four of the bug navy, carrying a precious and unique cargo. Tycho Clone 4B9, leader of battle fleet four after the recent death of the Pfhor admiral.

Deep in the computer core of the huge triangular ship, the usual hum of energy adopted a slight vibratto, a barely-noticable fluctuation in pitch that not even human ears could detect. As the hum continued, the range of the quivering hum expanded, untill there was almost a scream of noise as the whole electric rhythem of the ship tottered like a spinning top in an earthquake. One moment, power from the energy core was at terrifying levels, the next, there was a barely measurable amount of current passing through them. Lights flashed brighter and brighter at slower and slower speeds, the power difference caused half the ship to fry in a matter of moments. The reactor shut down as the pulses of raw energy overloaded it's matrices. The ship began losing power at an exponential rate.

Computer systems, communications, life-support, and every other electrical system was deep-fried to the very limits of the core. Tycho 4B9, terrified of it's imminent doom, saw only one final chance to save itself amidst the elctrical armegeddon.

* * * * *

Just before the dreadnought was turned into a lifeless derelict, a forty-seven terabyte data transfer was detected by the ship's captain between his ship, and one of the attackers.

The kidnapping complete, the Argosian Scouts blinked back to their regional HQ.

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Time is the best teacher, yet it kills all of it's students.

The Meson council met once again in their habitual chamber. It was an ominous meeting, yet filled with optimistic undertones. Once again, the Meson had established themselves as a galactic power and once again, things were looking bright.

The first subject of discussion is the rogue captain Perneas. Said Ktatatk.

He should be eliminated immediately. We will recruit a new member of humanity and recondition him. Said Aerion.

Ill-advised. Reconditioning would take 3 weeks, we need an ambassador to the ESF and Vylae now. Also, captain Perneas could easily have his memories edited. Said Meson.

I believe that is the safest course. Said Idgeron.

It is agreed then. The next subject for discussion are the attacks on the Union.

They were a success. Beurasaj was levelled almost to rubble and several other key economic and military strongholds were heavily damaged. We suffered almost no losses with the Naarad fleet pre-occupied with Sol. Said Aerion.

And your withdrawal message? Mneomonai.

Cease your attacks on Sol; you're treaty with the Naarad is now void. Make peace with the ESF. Said Aerion.

Short but to the point. Commented Meson.

Our aim. Replied Aerion.

Next, the Grecchan fleet at Sol.

The Vylae will handle it. Said Idgeron.

This is probable. Said Mneomonai.

Agreed. Next, the Jjarro dreadnought.

A silence enveloped the vastness.

It destroyed the Levkindl. Said Aerion.

Yet it is a ship of the Founders. Said Mnemonai.

I advise we ignore it. The Founder's would predict our reaction, I say let it be predicted. If they wish us to know of them, they will clearly define it in ways we understand. Said Meson.

Agreed, next item, our continued refusal to lend Jaddriack more advanced technology...

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Bor Reinz heard the knocking on the iron door. Rescue workers from above ground. He shouted to them, "In here!" and they shouted back, "OK!".

The attack had caught the Union of Worlds almost completely by surprise, the only warning they got was a tangible mass of distress signals from listening posts along the border. Bor Reinz was in his residential palace, when he first heard the news. Before long, he had evacuated to his secret hideout, 100 miles beneath the crust of Beurasaj. Even here, the bombardment had reached him.

The huge metal door swung outwards, and Admiral Green stepped in.

'You certainly took your time.' Bor Reinz concentrated on standing up.

'This entry was buried beneath many tons of rock, we had to use lasers to cut it open. Many men died.'

Bor Reinz strode out of the chamber.

'I want Treeves and Khanachet to organise more defensive measures, recall Pharris from Sol, and get Dulles here. We've got planning to do.'

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There are only 3 kinds of people: those who can count, and those who can't.

I won't do it. Tycho spat back at the scientists insolently. I will not be your lapdog so you can aggradize your empire.

The lead negotiator stepped up to the huge iron box the pfhor had fashioned as the user interface. "If you do not agree, many humans will die. We are on a mission of mercy to save it all from the Talos."

Tycho had had enough of these explanations. Apparently, the Argosians were alluding to another part of their mythology, of an ancient race that left the galaxy many centuries after leveling a great empire amidst their defeat. Tycho only knew of one such reference. The Jjarro would never feel the inclination to reclaim a galaxy; they are extinct, according to my databanks.

"No! The Jjaro were the founders. The Talos were the levelers. They were the ying and the yang of the galaxy before civilization arose."

Ah yes, what would a fanatical religeon be without a good-versus-evil reference to give the righteous an excuse to give into their instincts? Tycho smirked.

"Oh? Before they were proven to have existed, the Jjaro were too thought to be just a mythological legend."
But we know the Jjaro existed.

The scientist sighed. Arguing with an A.I. tends to get one nowhere. As he slid the viral disk into the interface, he muttered "Sorry to have to do this to you, Tycho."

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Time is the best teacher, yet it kills all of it's students.

Subject: General Dispatch
Destination: Command Echelon
From: Hindmost Creche

All command units, prepare to mobilize [rearm] at 46'32'2 to respond to removal [theft] of intelligence 4B9. Enemy units appear to be unmanned [dead] but have left their former sector. Intelligence reports no further activities along perimiter, but other incursions are expected in near future.

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"Once, just once, I'd like to be able to land somewhere and say, 'Behold, I am the Archangel Gabriel.'"
"I fail to see the humor in that situation, Doctor."
"Naturally. You could hardly claim to be an angel with those pointed ears, Mister Spock. But say you landed someplace with a pitchforkŅ"

The seperated Argosian destroyer drifted in high orbit above the Argosian Military HQ, now renamed Planet Elgar. All of it's systems were running at optimized settings, it's reactor was churning out energy at peak efficiency levels. The ship was fully operational and completely free of any hinderance. It was the same as every other destroyer in the navy except for one slight omission. Not a single living being was aboard.

Four thousand kilometers away, a second, fully manned destroyer came about to face the ghost ship. This destroyer was much unlike the rest in the fleet in it's weaponry of choice: in place of the two kinetic beam emmiters, a single cannon sat between the two energy pylons at the front.

The cannon drew energy from the ship's core and from it's tip, a single bolt of energy flared into existance. The bolt travelled between the energy pylons, accelerating and growing as it gained charge from the deflector emitters lining the inside of the energy pylons. As the bolt finally lanced out from the tip of the destroyer, the directed blast of energy contracted into a white-hot stretched sphere of elecromagnetic energy.

It swiftly collided with the abandoned destroyer, jumping from layer to layer of it's shields like a diver diving through a shield of ice upon a frozen lake. It lightly brushed the surface, and all hell broke loose.

There was a flash and a small shockwave as a massive amount of energy was injected deep into the bowels of the ship. The hull was engulfed with bolts of elecricity, and the core of the ship fried as entire circuit systems melted under the intense energy. Finally, the charge from the blast balanced out, but not before the ship was completely crippled. Systems were all offline, the core, overwhelmed, had shut tself down. The entire ship had been preserved, but was as useless as a horse with a severed spinal cord.

From the bridge of the firing destroyer, General Yanma grinned and his staff raised their eyebrows as the numbers came in. Unbelievable. Yanma broke the amazed silence. "That, my friends, is our new EMP weapon." He turned to his science officer and nodded. "Continue the tests."

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Time is the best teacher, yet it kills all of it's students.

[url="http://"http://www.slugsoft.f2s.com/img/emp_test.jpeg"][image of previous scene][/url]

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Time is the best teacher, yet it kills all of it's students.

[This message has been edited by Slug (edited 10-01-2001).]

Ready Protocol: Justice
Start up gyrostabilizers: check
Jumpstart neural net: check
All systems: green

The large humanoid sood up to its full height and reared its shadow cloaked head. Its eyes glowed red. It let out something like a scream, but so much more painful to hear. The scientists tried to cover their ears; they tried to block out the sound, put it penetrated their heads like a knife.

They all lay on the floor with their bodies surrounded by blood. Their own blood. It was happy. It was in control.

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"We shall dominate their armies, pillage their cities, and banish their spirits to the land of eternal darkness."
-Corporus 1st Class Tavron Seida
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