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Forum game: RP thread
I am currently sitting in the porch of my manor in Novoye Ligovo with my staff, cursing the REMFs who delayed the supplying of the fleet and instructing my beautiful secretary / executive officer on the proper procedures for exiling them to the crystal mines. I am not in my flagship bridge, as it is currently inoperable, thanks to the aforementioned REMFs' reluctance to properly maintain ships of reserve fleets. Where is the Motherland headed to, I ask you?

I am also drafting a letter to my good friend and academy schoolmate, R.Ad. Georgiy Kuznetsov, informing him of the unforeseen delays, imploring him not to get himself killed until I can reinforce him and requesting his assessment of the front-line situation.

The Nova is buzzling with life as everyone prepares for combat. Looking at the main screen I can see barrels of large anti capital guns and some 2nd generation fighters flying along...
"What's the meaning of this? Don't we have anything else than those old rusty things you call fighters? No wonder morale has hit an all time low!"
Silence falls over the bridge. It is full with officers of different ranks, some from the Nova, some from other ships of 2nd DD. Still no one dares to say anything out of fear of getting sent to the crystal mines.
"Just what happened to the Motherland? This attack wasn't exactly unexpected. Yet the only thing I managed to do was moving the fleet a bit closer to the frontlines. Getting permission for such a small move during peace times was already hard."
Silence.
"Alright! While our fighter screen may be a bit lacking but we can make it up with anti capital firepower. I want these cannons *pointing out of the window* at peak performance. We are going to use barrage more than once in this war and I don't want to see one of them failing over firing constantly. That's all!"
"Yes Sir!"
While everyone is getting to their individual meetings I'm walking back to my cabin. Once inside the display switches on and shows the arrival of one new mail. Seeing the sender "Ivan Dimitrievic Kalazonitov" actually puts a smile on my face for the first time today. It was a nice time back in academy...
Reading it sent my smile down the face and if it wasn't a holographic display I would need a new one now.
After some minutes I wrote my answer informing him of the frontline situation with two Nordera fleets of unknown size approaching. This war is very likely to start with some very intense battles and neither of the two LSF fleets already close to the front is likely to hold for itself. I hope he will arrive in time and sent some of these incompetent REMFs to the "reeducation camp". Until then I will try my best to prevent the Nova from getting pulverized by overly motivated suicidal Nordera.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2013, 03:19:50 pm by Spoon »
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Offline Lepanto

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Re: Forum game: RP thread
Thanks, Spoon. Derp, forgot about Stranded.

------------------------------------------------------------

    Rear Admiral Carlos Santiago was not having a good day. Taking another swig of Harcon coffee, the only thing which would be keeping him awake for the next few days, he leaned back in his comfortable ready room chair and took another look at the strategic map displayed on the holotank. He had been quite content with the 4th's Starlance exploration duty on the western fringes of League space. Now, his 4th Fleet was moving at full speed to the galactic east, spurred into action by reports of a massive, unexpected invasion by unknown species. At maximum safe speed, he knew it would take three to four days for the 4th to reach the front. That is, unless the front had collapsed before they arrived.

    That seemed unlikely; with four allied fleets in engagement range of the enemy's two opening thrusts of two fleets apiece, the League forces should hold the line until all reinforcements had arrived. Fragmented initial reports indicated that the "Cordi" and "Nordera" invaders' tech levels were on par with or inferior to most League units' equipment, so the opening engagements looked roughly even. Underestimating the enemy, though, would likely be a fatal mistake.

    The League command situation, though, was another story. His orders from Commonwealth Fleet Command had been confused and contradictory, and the LTW's decentralized military model made it impossible for any one entity to exercise effective control over all League forces. The individual fleet commanders had seemingly been left to their own initiative. It was already obvious that the LTW could not count on immediate, large-scale Cyrvan military support in defense of its territory. Victory or defeat, then, would likely depend on all Terran factions' fleet commanders' ability to smoothly coordinate an effective defense.

    Santiago did not love war, but this was a clearly justified war of self-defense, and he would do his duty to Crown and Country. The 4th Fleet CRF personnel under his command, fortunately, had responded to their orders with characteristic zeal. He only hoped that such dedication would be enough. The main cannons on the Warrior and Inflexible had both unexpectedly shorted out during firing tests, and the flagship's mechanics had reported elevator trouble. Hopefully, repairs could be made en route. He was mostly proud of the performance of the men and women under his command, and was confident that the 4th would distinguish itself in combat once battle had opened.

    Whispering a quick prayer to St. Michael for valor, he gave the order for the St. Louis to engage jump drives. The battlefield beckoned.
"We have now reached the point where every goon with a grievance, every bitter bigot, merely has to place the prefix, 'I know this is not politically correct, but...' in front of the usual string of insults in order to be not just safe from criticism, but actually a card, a lad, even a hero. Conversely, to talk about poverty and inequality, to draw attention to the reality that discrimination and injustice are still facts of life, is to commit the sin of political correctness. Anti-PC has become the latest cover for creeps. It is a godsend for every curmudgeon and crank, from fascists to the merely smug."
Finian O'Toole, The Irish Times, 5 May 1994

Blue Planet: The Battle Captains: Missions starring the Admirals of BP: WiH
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Re: Forum game: RP thread
Day 0, Champion-class carrier Swift, Sol Force 2nd Fleet, Polaris system

"Broadcast message to all second fleet elements, priority Alpha: prepare for urgent transit to the Aldebaran system through Formalhaut, overrides previous orders. Starlance jump at 2000 hours. Go to Enhanced Readiness status. Switch to wartime loadouts when necessary. More details at 1800 hour." The CIC remained silent for a whole 5 seconds after the Rear Admiral finished dictating his message, then the captain started distributing orders: "Comm, recall any bird still out there. Chief, place the ship in Enhanced Readiness condition. Engine room, warm up the starlance. Gunnery control, prepare for weapons and shield check in 15 minutes. Helm, move us away from the station, there's gonna be a lot of activity here for the next few hours." As the ship came to life, eyes kept drifting towards the Admiral, looking for some sort of answer. Wartime loadouts, load as much ordnance as you can. Wartime loadouts, that means that wherever you are being send to, expect to see combat. Don't worry, you always know in advance when the higher ups are planning a training exercise involving being fully loaded.

"Sir, the Legend, Ram and Fearsome are all reporting ready for action."
-"Captain, the ship is at Enhanced Readiness."
-"Incoming friendlies, the Raptor, Peace Lily and escort fighters are preparing for emergency resupply."
As the traffic around the flagship increased, a series of tactical reports came in from Force HQ, sealed for the time being. Rumors of war with the Cyrvan began to spread accross the channels, until Rear Admiral Fremont's second broadcast.

"To the officers and crew of the second fleet, I regret to inform you that humanity is once again threatened by an outside force. The aggressors are two unknown species, designated Cordi and Nordera. The exact reasons behind this invasion are currently unknown. What we do know is currently being transmitted to all ships. I recommend everyone to get familiar with these tactical reports before we hit Aldebaran. Pay extra attention to files regarding the Cordi, as our fleet is being moved to counter their advance.
Preliminary reports indicate that the technology displayed by both these species is qualitatively inferior to ours, forcing them to use swarming tactics. Stay alert, and prepare to show why we are Humanity's Iron Wall. Today, we fight to win. And show the LSF that the SF is the best. Message Ends. Captain, take us to the Formalhaut Starlance."

As the the flagship and its escort prepared to make their intrasystem jump, the Admiral thought "Man, why do I always have to fight the creepiest dudes in the galaxy? Must be some kind of cosmic joke."



That's it for now. I'm thinking about sprinting to the front line. This is exciting :)

 

Offline Torchwood

  • 27
  • Mechanical Templar
Re: Forum game: RP thread
My, my, looks like everyone's all fired up about this. That makes me happy.
Ahem, back to character.

Day 0, Task Force 765, currently in transit towards Ruba Pegasi
"This is Rear Admiral John Harkness speaking. Unknown hostiles have been sighted entering our space, and we have been ordered to move to Ruba Pegasi at best speed.
All ships, set course for the Rubi Pegasi starlance. Assume fleet formation. Cavaliers, form the vanguard. Dukes, set up escort positions around my carrier. Helm, all head full."
As the Temeraire and the Dauntless moved to guard the Lord-class carrier Senhime, crews all around the Third CRF fleet continued running last-minute drills in preparation.
Fighter pilots are drilled on fleet maneuvers, beam capacitors and magazines are checked and double-checked.
The gunners are eager to fire, well-prepared for the fight.

 
Re: Forum game: RP thread
Flagship Sovereign
3rd Sol Fleet
Lyrae System
Day 0


*Sigh*

So it begins.

The admiral looked up from his monitor at his crew scattered around the bridge. Would everybody be ready? They'd been in skirmishes before, but from the looks of it - This was far beyond anything they had done before. What were these ships? The first set looked... Primitive, and the second; bug-like. Nothing in the recovered footage regarding their strengths or weaknesses.

What did they know? Only that whoever, or whatever they were, were capable of silencing an entire Terran garrison in a matter of hours.

"Comms, open up a fleet-wide channel, and get it on speaker."

"Roger that, standby... Alright, you're live in five... four... three... two... one..."

"To the pilots and crew of the 3rd fleet, this is Admiral Soryu speaking. As of right now, we are in a state of war - There has been a simultaneous attack on the systems of Crux and Kardoen of unknown origin that have managed to wipe out all that stood before them. Aside from their general ship count, we know next to nothing regarding their strengths or weaknesses.

Regardless, it is our honorable duty to stand among our allies before this new foe. As far as I'm concerned, the lot of them deserve nothing less than a face-full of explosive firepower. If they want our systems,our resources, our homes, our families - They can pry em' from our cold, dead hands. We're bringing the fight to them - We depart immediately.

Helm, engage subspace drive."

 

Offline Veers

  • 29
Re: Forum game: RP thread
I had already made plans to reinforce the 1st LSF, and hoping that another fleet moves down to reinforce the 2nd LSF at Odin. I can move there as well however, but Vega is more of a priority for me right now due to it's higher rating. We need to hold her longer (assuming we get pushed back)

Let me get this post up and I'll have another look at what you are saying, makes sense. But I stll want to ensure Vega is definitely secure first.



Flagship Silver Arrow
1st Commonwealth Royal Fleet
Ruba Pegasi System


"So that's it then..." one of the Captains uttered as the command screen flickered out. To air seemed to hang heavy not just in the room, but also upon their hearts. "No warning. Krux and Kardoen have already fallen and we have no idea if there are any survivors that managed to retreat." Their mood seemed very somber at best.

Veers stood up, "Less than 30 minutes ago, we and the entire Terran populace entered into a state of war against these new invaders. Right now each faction is raising their reserve fleets and we will do no less. Command is already preparing the 3rd and 4th Fleets and we shall see them supplied and ready for action soon." He paced around the table as he spoke, stopping only to bring the viewer back on-line again.

This time, the viewer appeared showing the galaxy as a whole. The hostile systems identified in red and friendly systems still marked green. "Intelligence will provide us with more information upon these hostiles within the next 24 hours. Until then Command has authorised the deployment of both the 1st and 2nd CRF fleets to combat the invaders, and we shall meet them head-on in battle."

The viewer zoomed in on the 2nd CRF Fleet in Virgo, "As you know, 2nd Fleet is commanded by Rear Admiral Lorric, with 3rd and 4th Fleets being commanded by Rear Admirals Harkness and Santiago respectively. They will be deployed as soon as they have been supplied. But however, We will not be joining Admiral Lorric at this time..."

Veers paused as the viewer changed to Vega and a symbol denoting the 1st LSF Fleet appeared, "We will be moving to Vega to reinforce the 1st LSF Fleet under Rear Admiral SpardaSon. We have not established direct communications with the 1st LSF at this time, but will do so as soon as we enter Vega."

"They however have been informed of our arrival".

"Gentlemen, return to your commands. You have 4 hours to ensure your vessels are combat supplied and ready, run your drills and we shall depart Ruba Pegasi at 0500. Dismissed." The Officers exchanged salutes and departed towards the hanger, Veers remained in the viewer room with the Captain of his flagship, Captain Fel. It was not much longer before Fel departed as well, the Silver Arrow needed his attention.

Veers however, stared deeply into the map and thought of what was to come.


---- 0500 ----
---- Ruba Pegasi + Tamy Starlance ----
---- 1st Fleet - Commonwealth Royal Fleet ----


The Fleet had rallied at the Tamy Starlance and quickly assumed formation, "Communications, give me a fleet and system wide band please..." Veers said, "Video on-line as well. Captain, with me if you please."

The Comms Officer acknowledged and a few moments later everything was on-line. The bridge fell silent..

"This is Rear Admiral Veers of the 1st Commonwealth Royal Fleet, New Britannia. Broadcasting from the Silver Arrow, Ruba Pegasi." He paused for a moment and quickly glanced around the bridge, everyone had fallen silent and their eyes were turned to him.

"As you already know, New Britannia and the other Terran powers have entered into a state of war against these foreign aggressors. I am here to inform you, here and now. That We will prevail in this conflict, We did not ask for this fight but it has been thrust upon us. As citizens of New Britannia I know we stand together as one people, one force against Tyranny, against Hostility."

Again He paused, barely noticing Captain Fel shifting behind him into a full salute to the Royal Family, "One Force, that through loyalty to ourselves, our friends, family, Loyalty to our crew and our ships, and loyalty to the Crown. It is through loyalty that we shall prevail!"

The comms officer had slowly begun to feedback some return audio from around the system, one thing that citizens of New Britannia were known for was their steadfast loyalty and patriotism to the Crown. And the silent cheering from the speakers nearly echoed throughout the ship. "We shall soon return, having made our borders safe from foreign aggressors again." Veers also shifted into a full Royal salute as well, "Through Loyalty, Victory!" He shouted.

The crew shouted as well, several nearby screens showed other vessels and settlements within the system in the same patriotic rush that they were all experiencing. With their live feed now reduced to only the fleet Veers have the order,

"1st Fleet into the Starlance, we are moving to Vega, Captain Fel" as they turned together and grasped arms, "The Silver Arrow is yours, take her into the lance."


Edit: Order adjustment made, good idea and I can still decide where to go next turn.
« Last Edit: July 22, 2013, 07:54:04 am by Veers »
Current Activities/Projects: Ideas and some storyline completed.

ArmA 2&3 Mission Designer and player.


WoD - I like Crystal. <3

 

Offline Lorric

  • 212
Re: Forum game: RP thread
Personal Log

   This is a black day for humanity. When the news broke, I could physically feel the cold rush of fear ripple through the whole fleet. An alliance of two alien races launched a simultaneous assault on the fringe systems of Kardoen and Crux. They took what meagre forces we had posted there completely by surprise. The systems were conquered with brutal efficiency. Where have they come from? How could they get so close without being detected? What are their capabilities? The latter question will soon be answered. By us. We are as close as any fleet to Crux, and we will be moving to Aldebaran to prepare a defence there against any further alien incursion. We are here. So it’s up to us. It’s just that simple. There is no doubt in my mind they will come. This is obviously a full scale invasion. I am absolutely certain we’ll have to fight.

   Our fleets are spread out across our space. Why wouldn’t they be? We can only hope we are strong enough to hold out until the reinforcements come. But as I told the fleet to earlier, I spit out this fear of the unknown. We are just as unknown to them as they are to us. We did not train for this role just to cringe in fear of an enemy we’ve never even tested ourselves against. What would those who fought the Cyrvans, a race known to be vastly superior technologically to us, think of us now, after the shining example they set for the whole of humanity in the face of such odds? By the time I and my fellow officers were through, the fears had turned to cheers. And I intend that when this is over, it is these aliens that will fear us.

   Now I must make ready for the coming war.

   Lorric shut off the console and exited his quarters, which were built right in next to the bridge.

   “Admiral on the Bridge!” The nearest man shouted crisply.
   “At ease, people.” Lorric said calmly, as he made his way around to his command chair and sat in it.
   “Bring up the main communication line.” The order was smartly carried out, giving Lorric an open channel to every member of the crew of his flagship.

   “This is Rear Admiral Lorric to all personnel aboard the Soaring Spirit. You all know the situation. We leave for Aldebaran in the next three hours, and there we will engage the enemy. The Soaring Spirit is more than soulless materials crafted into a warship. It is the beacon which all ships in this fleet follow. It is the rock, the foundation on which this fleet is built. It serves as an inspiration to every man and woman that flies with the 2nd CRF. Consequently, we will not be sat behind the rest of the fleet directing the movements of our forces like some orchestral conductor. This ship will be where the fighting is thickest. Where it is needed. Where it can set an example to every man and woman in this fleet and live up to it’s proud name and legacy. Anyone who is not comfortable with that is free to leave now. In fact, anyone who is not comfortable with that, I order you to leave now, because you’ll just weigh the rest of this crew down as we wade into the enemy forces. The finest men and women in this fleet have been placed on this ship and I will see that all your abilities are utilised to the fullest. And if there’s anyone who got here by pulling some strings or because they were owed a favour, you do not belong here. Get off my ship. As for the rest of you, take care of whatever business you need to, and say goodbye to your loved ones. Make sure you do that via video link. Look deep into their eyes when you bid them farewell. Fix the image firmly in your minds. Because that’s what you’re fighting for. We do not fight for land or ideals or conquest. We fight for our homes and families. We fight for the very survival of our human race. Lorric out.”

*4 hours later*

Personal Log

   We are now heading at all speed for Aldebaran. I checked the duty roster. Not one person left the ship. It makes me proud to command such a fine crew. Everyone is in remarkable spirit under the circumstances. And it’s not just the crew of this ship. It’s the whole fleet. All the ships in the fleet are sending messages of friendship and good fortune to each other. Morale is extremely high. All personnel are carrying out their orders with dedication and conviction. I could not ask for more. I hope I can make them think the same of me and bring them home safe.
« Last Edit: July 22, 2013, 10:23:29 am by Lorric »

 

Offline Jellyfish

  • 29
  • No relent
Re: Forum game: RP thread
"Greetings, crew, airmen, and personnel of Sol Fleet Warship Firelance. I am Rear Admiral Jason Windforce, CO of this ship and of the newly formed Battlegroup 11. You may have heard the rumours about what's happening in the far systems. Before I go on, let me remind you of some history:

The first ships to travel the cold, hostile space between the stars were Sol Fleet.
During the turbulent times after the UNU fell, order was maintained by Sol Fleet.
The Cyrvans were pushed back and brought to the negotiating table by Sol Fleet.

Those are but a few of the events in our history. A history which you are now part of. You are Sol Fleet, the most powerful war machine known.
The rumours were true. Alien species are invading both Cyrvan and Terran space.
They may be endless in number. They may be savage and bloodthirsty. It matters little. We will show them what it means to anger the children of Sol!

We will depart in a few days. I say again: you are Sol Fleet. I know you will make your home proud."
"A weapon is only as powerful as its wielder. With this weapon, you'll be but an annoyance, which would greatly dishonor it. With this weapon, I can change history. With me, this weapon can shape the universe."

 

Offline Lepanto

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    • Skype
Re: Forum game: RP thread
TL;DR RP post incoming:

========================================================================================

    "...Look deep into their eyes when you bid them farewell. Fix the image firmly in your minds. Because that’s what you’re fighting for. We do not fight for land or ideals or conquest. We fight for our homes and families. We fight for the very survival of our human race. Lorric out.”

    Santiago smiled as he closed the GalVideo feed of Lorric's speech, which he'd played for the whole ready room, that had been quickly leaked onto the 'Net by some anonymous 2nd CRF crewman. "He's always had the 'Zeal Speech' down pat ever since our War College days, and honestly, I think he means every word of it." The CRF's intense, legendary martial valor always made Santiago proud to be a Britannian, especially in the modern age, where such valor was hard to find among Terrans.

    "You sure he's not just posturing for his autobiography?" Lt. Commander Aubrey Scott chimed in. Santiago's quick glance over the faces of his assembled coterie of officers showed that most of them silently agreed with his silver-haired, bespectacled fleet gunnery chief. Everyone knew that her vision was 20/20 and she only wore fake glasses for the librarian look; Santiago only let her get away with her constant eccentricities and snark because 4th Fleet's drill accuracy had increased by 27% under her supervision. Some felt like she was half-Cyrvan.

   Still, a friend's reputation had to be defended. "You haven't known him for... well, nearly a decade, now. Trust me when I say that Lorric's a CRF man through and through. Not to mention, his strategic coordination is the only reason that the Terran fleets are operating on a coordinated defensive plan. If it weren't for him taking charge, without a pan-Terran central command, we'd all be running around like headless abavians."

    "Point taken." Scott said, and took a sip of her Harcon coffee.

    Captain Ronald Jellicoe, the 3rd Division's black-haired CO, spoke up. "I met him back when I was captain of the Excelsior, during the Ruba Peg Crisis four years ago. If it weren't for his 2CRF bailing us out of the Kurohagen Pirates' trap, we'd have lost a lot of good people." Jellicoe was an unremarkable but trustworthy commander, and anyone who knew him would trust his eyewitness reports.

    Santiago fondly remembered his and Lorric's joint anti-pirate campaign in Ruba Pegasi, or at least as fondly as he'd ever remember a combat operation. "Heh, Lorric's never let me live that one down. Anyone willing to take a 10-credit bet that we'll be returning the favor by the time this war is over?"

    Scott shook her head slightly. "Gambling on the outcome of military operations, thanks to your personal rivalry with a fellow commanding officer? I'm shocked, shocked, by such a flagrant breach of fleet regs by a flag officer. Make it 20." Santiago nodded. Someone chuckled.

    "Need I remind everyone that we have more pressing business to attend to?" Even if Santiago hadn't been looking at him, he would've immediately recognized the dour voice of Commander Percy Beresford, the 4th's blue-haired, long-faced chief of logistics. Santiago respected Beresford's ability and dedication, but never liked dealing with the territorial logistics chief's constant complaints about overuse of fleet resources and the semi-informal atmosphere of 4CRF's staff meetings. Nevertheless, he nodded to Beresford to proceed with his report.

    Beresford didn't disappoint, as he shifted the table's projector to display rows of images and statistics. "As you can see, we are in no condition for sustained combat for two days at best. The Inflexible is fully operational, but we'll need to get a whole new cannon assembly installed on the Warrior, and that won't be completed until tomorrow evening. Lt. Conagher reports that he's probably fixed the flagship's elevator trouble, but he'd rather replace the entire assembly just to make sure." Probably? Santiago groaned under his breath. From his experience, carrier launch systems had an unfortunate tendency to fail during launches just before combat began, leaving one strikecraft wing out of three sitting on the deck until the problem was fixed midway through the fight. Generations of Terran engineers had failed to iron this tendency out of successive carrier designs, dubbing it the Mi Shoon-Ballance Effect.

    Beresford continued. "Captain Armuir of the Cadence has confirmed that his earlier reports of Cordi shapeshifter infiltration among his crew were, in fact, baseless." Santiago sighed with relief. "If I had my way, that database officer of his would be in the brig right now for spreading baseless rumours, but I understand that shipboard discipline is each Captain's business. Anyway, Captain Arthur of the 53rd Sabers reported that his pilots need another day of training to properly transition to the Excalibur. Asplund Tech keeps over-engineering their 3rd Gen strikecraft, and retraining our pilots has caused no end of trouble."

    Santiago had had enough of his loquacious subordinate. "Beresford, that's enough. This meeting isn't your personal soapbox, either. Just tell me if there's anything that needs our personal attention, and I'll trust you to do your job."

    "Sorry, sir." Santiago thought his subordinate was at least partially sincere, but chose not to press the topic. "Only that we can't depart for Ruba Peg for at least two more days, not if you want the fleet in fighting shape. Oh, and Commander Dashwood of the 20th Thunderbolts wanted you to sign a leave form so her squadron can see the local air show before we depart."

    "Permission denied. We've too much to do for our personnel to be slacking off like that. Some LSF units might get away with that kind of lax discipline, but not in the CRF." He surveyed the assembled officers, most of whom had remained silent throughout the proceedings. "Everyone, just do your job. There will be another staff meeting on the day of our departure, at 1400 hours. Until then, ladies and gentlemen, you are dismissed."

    As the assembled officers filed out of the ready room, Santiago was inclined to indulge himself in at least a momentary respite. Nobody would see or disturb him in here for at least half-an-hour, he hoped. Dialing up the fleet's free HoloNet (naval service had its practical advantages) on the table's projector, he leaned back in his memory-foam chair, took a sip of his darjeeling tea, and allowed his body and mind to relax as his favorite show's catchy opening jingle played.
========================================================================================

    How many references to various stuff can you spot?
« Last Edit: July 22, 2013, 10:00:40 pm by Lepanto »
"We have now reached the point where every goon with a grievance, every bitter bigot, merely has to place the prefix, 'I know this is not politically correct, but...' in front of the usual string of insults in order to be not just safe from criticism, but actually a card, a lad, even a hero. Conversely, to talk about poverty and inequality, to draw attention to the reality that discrimination and injustice are still facts of life, is to commit the sin of political correctness. Anti-PC has become the latest cover for creeps. It is a godsend for every curmudgeon and crank, from fascists to the merely smug."
Finian O'Toole, The Irish Times, 5 May 1994

Blue Planet: The Battle Captains: Missions starring the Admirals of BP: WiH
Frontlines 2334+2335: T-V War campaign
GVB Ammit: Vasudan strike bomber
Player-Controlled Capship Modding Tutorial

 

Offline Flak

  • 28
  • 123
Re: Forum game: RP thread
Meanwhile, somewhere in Virgo

"Boss, we hear more and more of random chatters from CRF public channels, looks like this new bug alien threat is real afterall. Are you sure it is a good idea to receive that contract?"
"It is already signed, Gavriil. I don't think it is a good idea to back down now unless we want to sully our reputation. Besides, we are not the only group of hired guns the UGC ordered to support them."

The Silver Falcon and the Thunderhawk along with the escorts are on their way to the Aldebaran starlance after a resupply in one of the mercenary orbital platforms in Virgo. Baron Markus is still sitting on the bridge, enjoying his mug of Phoenician coffee.

"Anders, Gavriil, don't you two want some? You both looking unusually serious. Why don't you cool off a little."
"I have to pass for now, boss" Captain Anders replied. "I am not in a mood for a drink with so much things hanging on my mind."
"Me neither, I guess I'll go check the other guys."
"The alien bugs again, Anders? Or was it something else."
"I don't know for sure. Perhaps just because I don't what to expect. Or maybe I was just wondering how those bugs looks like."
"At least I am glad we are not fighting those dang elves again, my uncle told me they were quite a handful. They and their plethora of beams and missiles, a very impressive and deadly light show he said, very hard to get even close without getting torn to ribbons."

Meanwhile, Commander Gavriil retreated to the leisure room.

"You are still on the game, Jerry? Was it Firespace 4 again?" Gavriil said, as he approach one guy who apparently has been sitting in front of the computer for hours.
"Of course, never get enough of this. Good for practice too. Though somehow I am itching to try those experimental Sodesuka and Berkut fighters that the Dynasts gave us for payment. Can't believe they just handed over their experimental fighters like that, and not just a few of them"
"Sure, looks like we all do. Nevermind that, they probably already have them mass produced somewhere we don't know. Those Dynasts are never very open with everyone else anyway."
"Considering the rest of their fleet appear to be flying pieces of junks, I am not sure about what they are doing.
"Right, anyway, as long as it kills, who cares if they are pieces of junks anyway."

Meanwhile back at the bridge.
"Boss, we have a large fleet ahead of us. It appears to be the CRF, the second fleet by look of it."
"What? Why are they leaving their post. And that, well isn't that the Soaring Spirit? Admiral Lorric's flagship."
"No idea, maybe we should ask them about the situation?"
"Don't bother, they will hail us soon enough. They are probably just as confused as we are seeing two modified Elephant class carriers out of nowhere."
"Looks like they do, one of the ships is hailing us"

One of the bridge officers patched the communication and the holo screen flares up "Attention unidentified vessels, this is Captain Jackson of the CRF Cruiser Edinburgh We have potential combat situation in Aldebaran, please identify yourselves and your intentions."
"We are the Nightmare Raiders mercenaries. We are going to rendezvous with the UGCR fleet from Tauri. But why is the second fleet mobilizing, is there an alien invasion going on?"
"Im afraid there is, I suppose the UGC you are going to meet can tell you more. They just lost contact with their outposts in Crux."
"Anything else about the enemy we should be aware of?"
"Alien bugs as you may have heard. They were first encountered by LSF scouts not a week back. The rest of the reports are sketchy at best, so we can't tell you much more. Allright, if there is nothing else, please form up behind our formation, the starlance is going to be congested so we have to avoid uneccesary accidents."


"So the alien bug monsters were true."
"Yeah, at least we know what we are dealing with."
"But losing those outposts that fast, I have a bad feeling about this."
"The garrisson are probably just meant to fight off pirates and rioters, they are not large enough to fight off an invasion, so that isn't highly surprising."
"I guess we have to see it to believe it."

As one by one the ships enter the starlance, silence suddenly fall on the bridge of the Silver Falcon. Anders gazes into the distance, as he watches the drive plasma of the Soaring Spirit flickers and disappears into the starlance, he utters to himself, "It is only the beginning.".

 

Offline Lorric

  • 212
Re: Forum game: RP thread
Lorric stood tall before the main view screen overlooking his fleet, as his image was projected out to his subordinate officers throughout the fleet.

   “This is Rear Admiral Lorric to all ship captains of the fleet. To all fighter squadron leaders. To all wing commanders. Soon, we will engage the enemy. For many of you, this will be a new experience. It has been some time since the 2nd CRF has seen action, and not since the war with the Cyrvans anything remotely on this scale. Most of you know my style of command, but for you new people, once the battle is joined, I trust you to manage your section of the battlefield. I will be managing my section, which I promise you will be the most crucial point. While I will still be there to offer a guiding hand if you ask for it, it will be up to you to issue your orders to those under you and manage your section of the engagement. And this may be a new experience for many of you in a combat situation. Trust your instincts and your training. Trust your first impulse. You may well find yourself second guessing yourself after giving your orders. What if it’s the wrong choice? What if there’s a better plan? What if, what if… Ignore it! How are those under you going to have any faith in your ability to lead them if you’re second guessing yourself? If you give orders then retract them soon after? They will lose confidence in you and be confused, and this will be more damaging than whatever compensation your new plan may offer even if it is better than the original. I’m not saying stick with your original plan all the way, if it becomes obvious the plan is failing, then change it. But otherwise stick with it. Free your mind for reading the battlefield and ensuring the plan comes to fruition, not second guessing yourself. Trust in yourself and your men. Stand tall and exude confidence and it will spread to your men and they will be confident also. We are the 2nd CRF. A band of brothers and sisters, united in vision and purpose and will. And our enemies will see that. And they will be afraid.

   Lorric turned from the screen and strode to his quarters to prepare another entry into his personal log.

Personal Log

   We are as ready as we’re ever going to be now. I’ve done my best to motivate everyone, and that’s all I can do for now. Going against a completely unknown enemy, how can you plan for such a thing? We will therefore simply engage the enemy by the standard doctrines of the CRF and go from there. It seems we’re going to be working with Xeus L. Fremont of the 2nd SF and Andrew Bradwater of the 1st UGC in Aldebaran. We will put a wall of humanity together in Aldebaran and deny the aliens passage. I am pleased to be working with the SF. The SF are second only to the CRF in terms of dedication, courage and strength. It will be an honour, and I am most pleased that the entire SF will be heading to the front in this area of space. To see the entire Sol Fleet deployed, now that will be a truly magnificent sight to behold. However, the 1st UGC is another story. True to form as a UGC fleet admiral, Bradwater has called up a whole mess of mercenaries into his ranks. I hate mercenaries. How can you trust men who fight for money? Especially now, they still insist on fighting for money when our very survival as a species is on the line? Mercenary scum. They’d probably stab their own mothers in the back for a few bottles of beer. They'll probably all jump out just as soon as we start taking a few losses. This puts me in mind of the Kurohagen Pirates' Campaign. That whole farce got started because of mercenaries. Mercenaries were hired to clean up the pirates that had been striking at the rich pickings available in the area. A little too rich. The mercenaries cleaned up the pirates easily. But after they crushed the pirates at their base, they got to see how much booty the pirates had been taking. And so they decided to stop being mercenaries, and start being pirates. The powers that be, in their wisdom, had dealt with a fox around the henhouse by bringing in a tiger. A tiger which then sent out a fake distress call about uncovering a major pirate base and being pushed back, and then pounced on the unsuspecting 4th CRF who answered the call…

   Speaking of which, my old friend Santiago is going to be like a caged tiger over in Ruba Pegasi. Roaring and clawing at the bars which hold him. And anyone who slows his escape from that cage is going to be like a man locked in a cage with that tiger. Going by the reports, his fleet could well be the last to engage the enemy. But I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait when he finally arrives. It’s not all bad though, from his position in Ruba Pegasi, he will be afforded a strong tactical perspective. By the time his fleet gets underway, he will be able to see exactly where his forces are needed, and from that location, get there expediently, no matter where it is. And there’s no admiral I’d rather have more than Santiago making that decision. And certainly no admiral more than Santiago I’d rather have coming to my aid. However, I intend to see that he won’t need to come to my aid…
« Last Edit: July 23, 2013, 12:51:00 pm by Lorric »

 

Offline Flak

  • 28
  • 123
Re: Forum game: RP thread
Aldebaran system, one day later.

"It was just yesterday we arrived here, but somehow it felt like a month." Commander Gavriil said, as just he walks into the bridge of the Silver Falcon. "How is Jaxon and the others in the Thunderhawk?"
"Same as us it seems." Baron Markus answered. "They just seemed as excited as we are. Hey Jerry, you have been hanging around the bridge in the last few hours. Already bored with your little games?"
"Not at all, I am just a little uneasy with those CRF guys around. I can't see them from here, but I can feel their cold gaze even through these walls, looking at us as if we are traitors of the Commonwealth, it is just chilling me to the bone. Most of us are Britannian citizens, and looks like they know it."
"Uncomfortable working with the UGC this time, Jerry? At least we are still on the same side as the CRF this time. My position is much worse if that is the case. I am not just one of their citizen you see, I am a noble. That 'Baron' in my name isn't a nickname or even the 'Red Baron' kind."
"Hah, never thought that was the case. Better than being a pirate then. Guess we still have to earn their trust by our actions it seems." Jerry turns around, seemingly wishing to get back to his computer, suddenly something appeared on their radar."
"Another latecomer. A Lord class? Who else owned one of those things outside the CRF?"
"That must be Duke Nightwing. Yes, he is a Britannian noble like me, at least I am not the only one in these mercenary business you see. Unusual for him to be late though."
"That explains how he get one of those cool Britannian war machine. You think Commodore Jameson is going to chew him out for coming late?"
"You bet."

Meanwhile, on the Golden Dawn.
The holo communicator flares out, then a man in dark officer's suit appears on the screen.
"You are late, Duke Nightwing. Unlike the other sellswords, I thought you Britannian nobles prided yourselves in punctuality."
"It cannot be helped, Commodore Jameson. We have some difficulty finding some spare parts for our ships back in Fomalhault and then..."
"I am not interested in your fanciful excuses! By accepting the contract for the UGC, you are to follow your contract to the letter. Did I made myself clear?"
"But at least we didn't miss any of the actions."
"Can't you idiots at least have some sense in you? We are not dealing with some petty pirates or union busters this time. We are dealing with some aliens we have never seen before. When the missiles start flying, the last thing I want to see is some of you running around like headless ducks you are. I need all of you sellswords to be present during the tactical briefing. I trust those noble ears of yours hear that clearly enough."
"Yes, Commodore Jameson, very clear."
The communicator clears out. Everyone in the bridge seems a little riled up.
"They don't pay us enough to put up with that asshole."

 

Offline Lorric

  • 212
Re: Forum game: RP thread
Report from Rear Admiral Lorric to Queen Amalia Victoria

We are all very honoured by this message of support, Your Majesty.

Two enemy fleets entered the system, one comparable to the size of our own fleets, the other 1.5X larger. We were the first into battle, and engaged the larger of the two fleets, conducting ourselves in the finest traditions of the CRF, buying time for our honoured comrades of the Sol Fleet to also be in position to defend Aldebaran. But a new threat has emerged heading for Tauri. Somehow, the enemy has the ability to bypass the starlance and Aldebaran completely. Our fleet took significant damage in the engagement with the much larger enemy fleet, and that combined with out location leads me to believe it will be prudent to relocate to Tauri, where we will regroup our forces and create a strong defence, as space in Aldebaran is freed up for our honourable brothers and sisters of Sol to deploy and display their martial prowess to the enemy.

Tauri is our richest system, and beyond Tauri is an open path to Sol itself. This threat must contained at once, and as a knight of the CRF, I will ride to defend the innocent from harm and co-ordinate a defence with support from the 4th SF, who are also rushing to assist. I have made my wishes known also to the 2nd UGC, who I hope will also assist in the creation of this second front. This is an absolutely vital point of engagement, and we must act now to secure it. There is no greater duty for a knight than protecting the innocent.

Rear Admiral Lorric of the Soaring Spirit and the 2nd CRF.

 

Offline CommanderDJ

  • Software engineer
  • 210
    • Minecraft
Re: Forum game: RP thread
Rear Admiral Iera stood on the bridge of the Hand of Absolution, scrutinising the reports of the conflict going on in Aldebaran.
"Comms, inform the Swift and the Garuda that the 1st SF will be joining in the fight to assist them."
"Sir!" The comms officer immediately set to her work, and looked up from her terminal a few seconds later. "Message away, sir."
"Good. Now get me a fleet-wide channel."
"Done."

The Rear Admiral stood up a little straighter, hands clasped behind his back.
"To the valiant men and women serving on the ships of the 1st Sol Force Fleet: this is your admiral speaking. You all know the mission, and what is at stake. In a short time we will be joining our brothers and sisters in the fight in Aldebaran, and if the situation remains tenable, we will push through to Tauri to intercept an as yet unknown enemy."
Iera took a deep breath before continuing.
"You all know what you must do. You all know who and what you're fighting for, and I have faith in every single person on every ship in this fleet. We are the iron wall of humanity, and always have been. We will not fall. We will not break. If we are pushed back, we'll simply come back stronger. We shall send our enemies to the depths of hell, where they belong."
The channel closed, and the Rear Admiral wasted no time.
"Helm, coordinate with the fleet and set a course for Aldebaran. I want the Hand spearheading our fleet into combat. We're going in."
[16:57] <CommanderDJ> What prompted the decision to split WiH into acts?
[16:58] <battuta> it was long, we wanted to release something
[16:58] <battuta> it felt good to have a target to hit
[17:00] <RangerKarl> not sure if talking about strike mission, or jerking off
[17:00] <CommanderDJ> WUT
[17:00] <CommanderDJ> hahahahaha
[17:00] <battuta> hahahaha
[17:00] <RangerKarl> same thing really, if you think about it

 

Offline Torchwood

  • 27
  • Mechanical Templar
Re: Forum game: RP thread
Day 1, Task Force 765
As Rear Admiral Harkness was studying the intial reports of engagements against the enemy, he heard the distinct sound of a subspace exit notifying him that his fleet has arrived in Ruba Pegasi.
The situation looks troublesome - from what has reached him enemy fleets are vast in numbers, and more and more of them keep pouring in. His gut feeling told him that is but the tip of the iceberg. To make matters worse, LSF reports indicate that one of the enemy fleets possessed a hitherto unknown FTL capability. "This will be an uphill battle both ways", he ponders in the solitude of his quarters. Harkness could not show his worries in public. As a leader, he had to appear confident at all times in front of his subordinates, lest troop morale suffers.

Ruba Pegasi is calm for now. Even though engagements are reported across multiple systems, the battle is nowhere to be seen. To those looking at the SitReps from afar, the alien threat seems so distant, almost unreal.
But very soon, this would change. In time, everyone would feel the war.

As Task Force 765 is making its way to Tamy, Harkness takes some time to address the fleet on the vidscreen. A speech is broadcasted across all ships in the Third Fleet.

John Harkness:
"Ladies and gentlemen of the Royal Navy, we are facing the greatest threat humanity has ever encountered."

"Crux and Kardoen have fallen under alien control. While the League Star Forces and Delest advance fleets have battled the savage Nordera in Draco and Hydra, our brave brothers and sisters in arms of the Second Royal fleet have joined forces with the First Sol Fleet in Aldebaran to fight the Cordi."

"The valiant fighter corps of our Second Fleet harassed targets of opportunity whenever they could while warships struck their carriers with heavy beam fire. Faced with a large number of enemies, they fought against the aggressors with valour and perserverance, inflicting considerable losses on them."

"These men and women are a prime example of Britannia's finest. Their courage and devotion is an inspiration to us all. Soon, our time will come to hold the line. We will face an enemy faring the stars in search of an easy conquest. They seek to plunder our star systems, and they shall find a wall of steel to greet them. It is our duty to keep the citizens of Britannia safe. We will bring honour to our Navy, our Queen and our Country!"

"Wherever the enemy may go, our fleet will meet them. Our cannon will answer those who threaten our home! No matter the price, we shall defend our homes. Through iron and steel, we will force the enemy to yield or die!"

"We are the Third Royal Fleet, and we will fight for Britannia! For Queen and Country!"

Cheers and applause resonate across the fleet. Shouts of "For Queen and Country!" are heard throughout the Senhime.
Rear Admiral Harkness flashes a warm smile, visibly pleased with the courage and devotion of the men and women under his command. No matter what happens, they will be ready.
While his XO urged him to rapidly move the fleet into Odin to reinforce the defenders in Hydra without delay, Harkness insisted that battle readiness. A weapon, he explained, is useless without an iron will behind it.
 

 

Offline Lepanto

  • 210
  • Believes in Truth
    • Skype
Re: Forum game: RP thread
As the members of his brain trust could not be present together in the same place, thanks to their busy schedules, Santiago was forced to handle this impromptu staff meeting via holo-conferencing. He'd called up an emergency meeting to discuss the initial battle reports from the Northern and Southern Fronts, and see how the data from those reports could be used to improve the 4th's fighting chances for when they did enter battle. Admiral Harkness's 3CRF had already left the system and headed for Ruba Pegasi, ready for battle. The 4th, though, still had another frantic day of preparation to go before being battle-ready.

Lt. Commander Scott had been speaking from a hologram "sitting" at her usual place on the briefing table, exasperation leaking into her tone. "...blasted little bug ships! I've seen a 45% drop in our combined turret/fighter hit ratios when we ran the provisional Cordi simulator from HQ on our most recent drills. And, no sir, I don't think it's just the stress we've all been going through these past couple days." Santiago knew that the frantic schedules of drills and logistics he'd set had been driving his personnel to their limit; after getting complaints from five senior officers about unacceptable stresses on their men, he'd restored the usual R&R periods. "I've got Mackie from engineering re-calibrating our fighter primaries to better track Cordi fighter movements, but he's calculating that he'll only have provisional solutions by the time we reach the front."

Santiago nodded. "It's better than nothing. Do what you can, but remember the extra workload you're putting on our engineers." Scott was good at her job, but her territorial, melancholic nature meant she sometimes needed to be reminded that people outside her department existed.

"You can say that again," Beresford's hologram commented from across the table. "Her proposed re-calibrations will increase our flight crews' daily workloads by 19 percent."

Santiago moved to head off another clash between his most temperamental officers. "Making sure our pilots can actually hit Cordi fighters, if we end up engaging them, is a top priority. The re-calibrations are approved. Next order of business?"

Jellicoe had been listening in silence from his position on Santiago's left, but quickly spoke up. "Lorric."

Everyone knew which incident he was referring to. The fleet's rumor mill was already ablaze with the news that 2CRF's admiral had disregarded Queen Victoria's instruction to hold fast in Aldebaran. Controversy was fierce over whether Lorric had made the right decision.

At Santiago's reluctant nod, his raven-haired commodore continued. "With all respect to Her Majesty, from a military standpoint, he clearly made the right call. The 2nd was battle-damaged, and his decision to rotate out and resupply enabled the fresh 1st SF to be rotated into the Aldebaran engagement."

Scott chimed in. "You can say that again. Her Majesty would do us a favor if she stuck to giving speeches and left the strategy to the professionals. With all due respect, of course," she backpedaled after a few glares in her direction."

Santiago shook his head. "Aubrey, would it kill you to learn some basic tact?" To her credit, she looked mildly sheepish. "But never mind that right now." Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I'd be inclined to agree, but you're all aware how much damage this dustup is already causing to our morale. I don't want to release a fleet-wide public statement condemning Lorric for using his common sense, but I don't want to publicly insult Her Majesty, either. If no one has any pertinent objections, I'll make no statement and hope this whole dustup blows over somehow."

No one raised any objections. "Next item of business?" No one had anything to offer. "Then, meeting adjourned."

We did NOT need this.
"We have now reached the point where every goon with a grievance, every bitter bigot, merely has to place the prefix, 'I know this is not politically correct, but...' in front of the usual string of insults in order to be not just safe from criticism, but actually a card, a lad, even a hero. Conversely, to talk about poverty and inequality, to draw attention to the reality that discrimination and injustice are still facts of life, is to commit the sin of political correctness. Anti-PC has become the latest cover for creeps. It is a godsend for every curmudgeon and crank, from fascists to the merely smug."
Finian O'Toole, The Irish Times, 5 May 1994

Blue Planet: The Battle Captains: Missions starring the Admirals of BP: WiH
Frontlines 2334+2335: T-V War campaign
GVB Ammit: Vasudan strike bomber
Player-Controlled Capship Modding Tutorial

 

Offline Jellyfish

  • 29
  • No relent
Re: Forum game: RP thread
Initial reports of the battle didn't look good. The enemy was more numerous than expected, and Aldebaran, Algol, Draco and Hydra were contested.
Rear Admiral Windforce analyzed the forces stationed in Aldebaran. The 1st UGCR, 2nd CRF and 2nd SF: Rear Admirals Bradwater, Lorric and Fremont, respectively. Windforce knew they were peerless tacticians and leaders. "What kind of kind of enemy has them stalemated like this?"

The answer made itself known as more reports came in. They were engaged with a race christened the 'Cordi': insectlike beings that overwhelmed their opponents with immense numbers. They weren't alone, a second race, the 'Nordera', assaulted Draco and Hydra, engaging the 1st LSF, 2nd DD and 2nd LSF. 1st LSF reported heavy damages.
There were also reports of a third race in Algol.

And all Battlegroup 11 could do is roam around Librae like a caged lion.

"Are those damn intersystem drives charged yet?" Windforce demanded to know.
"No sir" replied an engineering officer, "it'll take three more days for us to be able to jump to Tauri"

The Rear Admiral considered moving to Algol and leave Aldebaran to the capable hands of the 1st UGCR, 2nd CRF and 2nd SF, but he was receiving requests from 2nd CRF to cover their retreat to Tauri and coordinate its defense against the third race, moving in directly from Kardoen. Those events forced a dramatic change of plans.

"Hold on, guys. Hold on just a few more days. We're coming"
« Last Edit: July 25, 2013, 09:39:20 pm by Jellyfish »
"A weapon is only as powerful as its wielder. With this weapon, you'll be but an annoyance, which would greatly dishonor it. With this weapon, I can change history. With me, this weapon can shape the universe."

 

Offline CommanderDJ

  • Software engineer
  • 210
    • Minecraft
Re: Forum game: RP thread
Rear Admiral Iera watched from the bridge as the 1st SF arrived in Aldebaran. All ships were accounted for and had their orders, and the fleet was at full readiness. However, it would still be some time before the fleet would make contact with the enemy. Iera turned to his XO, Arnaya Regulle, a pale, blonde-haired woman who looked like she was chiselled from ice instead of born.

"Captain, the Hand is yours. Be ready for anything. I am not to be disturbed unless it is urgent." She snapped off a crisp salute, which the admiral returned.

"Yes, sir."

Without another word, the admiral strode off the bridge, headed to his quarters for some sleep. He had a feeling he wouldn't be getting much in the next few days.




OOC: Thanks, Jellyfish.
[16:57] <CommanderDJ> What prompted the decision to split WiH into acts?
[16:58] <battuta> it was long, we wanted to release something
[16:58] <battuta> it felt good to have a target to hit
[17:00] <RangerKarl> not sure if talking about strike mission, or jerking off
[17:00] <CommanderDJ> WUT
[17:00] <CommanderDJ> hahahahaha
[17:00] <battuta> hahahaha
[17:00] <RangerKarl> same thing really, if you think about it

 

Offline Enioch

  • 210
  • Alternative History Word Writer
Re: Forum game: RP thread
[initiate wall of text]

---------------------------------------------------------------

The door to the briefing room opened with a soft hiss and a faint grinding of metal and two troopers bearing the insignia of an Admiral’s Guard took positions next to it, their expressions blank. A sergeant stepped into the low-lit room and saluted crisply.

“The system Governor has arrived, Sir!” he snapped.

Rear Admiral Kalazonitov tore his eyes away from the holographic displays he and his staff were poring over and returned the salute.

“Very well, Uryadnik. Lead him in, if you please. Ladies and Gentlemen, that’ll be all, for now. Tanya, Dmitri, please stay. Captain Urumov, I will see you on the bridge.”

As the staff officers saluted and shuffled out of the room, the admiral settled back into his chair with a faint sigh of relief, taking care not to snag his ceremonial blade in the armrests and laying his walking cane across his lap. He very pointedly did not reach for the half-full glass of vodka on the small table next to him, although, by the Empress, he needed the drink.

“Is everything ready?” he asked the slender woman who slid to parade rest next to his chair with the practiced ease and silence of a shadow, her hands clasped behind her back.

“We did cover every issue in the schedule, Admiral,” she replied “and everything seems to be working out as best as one could hope, under the circumstances”.

“And the circumstances being what they are, one should not hope for much,” Kalazonitov said crossly. “But what I meant was, is everything ready in regards to our guest?”

“Absolutely, Sir,” his aide said, producing a dataslate reader and a small container, filled with data storage crystals.

Kalazonitov nodded and turned to the other person still remaining in the room, a Fighter Command Captain standing at attention near the end of the long briefing table.

“Sit, Dmitri, please,” he said, gesturing toward a chair next to him and the FCC covered the distance in a few brisk steps and sat with the promptness of a well-trained dog. “I didn’t want to raise the issue during the briefing, so as not to further impact morale, but I assume there are no good news on your front?”

“No, Sir!” Dmitri Grishenko replied crisply, leaning forward in a way that radiated keenness and concern. “Not really. I am afraid the absence of any 3rd-generation fighters in the system supply stations has been confirmed. We have had the opportunity to top off our logistic vessels on 2nd-generation spare parts, thankfully, but we will be flying rust-buckets, sure enough.”

“And any 3rd-generation fighters will have to be transported to the front lines from the Core worlds, after lots of bureaucratic nonsense and delays, while the 1st and 2nd Fleets are getting torn apart,” Kalazonitov mused darkly. “Oh well, the Tenants do say we must do with what we have.” He shrugged and smiled bitterly. “But that doesn’t mean one must not strive to acquire more,” he concluded. “As I will now demonstrate. Tanya, make sure the discussion is recorded.”

The door opened again and the two troopers escorted a man into the room. The newcomer was dressed in civilian attire, perfectly tailored to hide the beginnings of a paunch and decorated with the crimson sash of a high-ranking government official. He oozed confidence from every pore, and gave Tanya an appreciative one-over as he entered, not bothering to hide his grin.

“Ah, Governor!” Kalazonitov said, his tone jovial. “Welcome! Please excuse me for not standing to meet you, but … old wounds you see.”

The Admiral knocked on his left knee and a hollow metal sound rang out. “Lost it three years ago in a shuttle accident. Please let me introduce myself. Rear Admiral Ivan Kalazonitov, at your service. This is my aide, Lieutenant Commander Tanya Skivlana and my Flight Commander, Dmitri Grishenko.”

“A pleasure, Admiral,” the Governor replied, with a slight bow. “May I ask how I can be of assistance?”

“Ah, yes.” Kalazonitov gestured towards the chair opposite to his and Governor Di Xin settled into it like a fish slipping into a pond. “Please excuse my summons, but I am afraid there are some issues which have to be addressed before my fleet leaves orbit for Silva.”

“This should be interesting,” the Governor said, leaning back and radiating concern. “I wonder what issues those are, that must be discussed with me and not with my subordinates.”

Kalazonitov also leaned back, and Skivlana placed the dataslate reader into his outstretched hand. “First of all, Governor, I would like to thank you in person for the swift assistance and the quality supplies you provided my fleet when we arrived in-system.”

“No thanks are required,” Di Xin said with a magnanimous wave of his hand. “I did only my duty and, after all, I am just a co-ordinator.”

“If you say so,” Kalazonitov nodded. “Nevertheless, I feel I had to thank you. No doubt, the delivery of faulty spare parts as part of the supplies was a regrettable mistake.”

The Governor’s expression froze.

“And the plasma conduits with expired cooling gel packs for the energy batteries of my Grashdanin cruisers must have been mistakenly redirected by some careless official,” Kalazonitov continued, in a pleasant tone, glancing towards the dataslate. “My technicians inform me that they were long past their expiry date and in the brink of catastrophic failure. Even disposal in a proper facility would be hazardous.”

The Governor sat bolt upright. “I…”

“I am absolutely convinced that those incidents that might very well have been considered criminal negligence or even wartime sabotage by other commanders were not due to any lack of attention on your part.” Kalazonitov concluded with a smile that very obviously did not reach his sunken eyes.

“I … assure you, Admiral, that those responsible will be identified and properly chastised for their negligence,” Di Xin said, his voice steady, but his complexion slightly pale.

“Very good!” Kalazonitov exclaimed. “I can ask for nothing more. That said, and with the pleasantries out of the way, I must tell you that there are things that concern me. For instance, are you aware that your supply depots are sorely lacking in supplies?”

“What?” The Governor seemed genuinely taken aback. “I assure you that they operate well within official parameters.”

“Not so,” the Admiral stated, slotting a new data crystal into the reader. The screen flashed an alarming shade of red. “You see, despite satisfying amounts of 2nd generation fighter spare parts and capital ship ordnance being available, you are unable to supply my fleet with any 3rd generation units.”

“That is hardly the fault of my supply officers!” the Governor protested. “No such units were delivered!”

“Quite so,” the Admiral agreed. “However, it is the circumstances under which no such units were delivered that concern me. You see, it appears that, while the fighters scheduled to arrive here were diverted to the 5th Core Fleet, your supply officers did, somehow, acknowledge receipt of them and have continued to draw amounts from BuFunds for those vessels’ maintenance. Essentially, the Dynasty fleet is somehow maintaining those fighters both in the Core Worlds and here.”

Kalazonitov lowered the dataslate and stared at Di Xin like a cat looks at a broken-winged bird. “Tell me, Governor, do your men travel through six starlances and back, once per month to check on those fighters? I thought not.”

The Admiral leaned forward. “But I would be willing to overlook this, if your people’s meddling with the official records had not resulted in them clearly stating that a fleet’s worth of Spirt-Voz and Ray platforms were available here and if I, therefore, hadn’t counted on them being available. Imagine my surprise when it turned out they weren’t.”

“I will not stand here and be insulted because some lowly officials decided to embezzle funds of the military!” the Governor protested. “I can hardly be expected to be aware of every small-time crook’s efforts. My responsibility reached as far as approving the diversion of the fighters to 5th Fleet and this I did precisely according to regulations. This is clearly the fault of the bureaucrats at your funding department, who failed to notice the embezzlement earlier!”

“And trust me, they are currently under investigation,” the Admiral stated coldly. “My people did some investigating themselves, however. It seems that your people's money laundering pipeline was not as secure as they thought.” Kalazonitov slid the dataslate on the table, toward the Governor. “Can you explain how almost sixty percent of the embezzled funds ended up in bank accounts owned by you or members of your family, Governor?”

There was silence for a few seconds, which seemed like ages. Then Di Xin opened his mouth to say…something, but the Admiral cut him off with a sharp gesture.

“You have lined your pockets with stolen silver, Di Xin,” Kalazonitov growled, leaning back into the shadow of his chair, his gangly limbs remindful of those of a spider sitting in its web and feeling an interesting set of vibrations. “And not only this once. You have squeezed your system dry, always taking care not to leave any trace. And you would have succeeded in getting away with it if not for this war. You see, there is military law now. And as senior military leader in this system, I could – and did, order investigations using more thorough means than those available during peacetime, especially if I suspect sabotage or treason.”

The Admiral’ s hand reached for the glass of vodka next to him almost by itself, but Kalazonitov jerked it back with a tic-like gesture.

“Again, I might have overlooked it,” he sighed. “But thanks to your efforts of the last five years, I have to go to battle with a fleet that is barely combat-worthy, especially compared to its potential on paper. The conscripts, enlisted men and officers you have provided me are frankly, useless. While they were civilians you bled them dry and now their morale is abysmal, as they think they will have to risk their lives for the sake of your wallet’s safety and not the Empress or the Motherland. I’ll have to drill them hard while advancing, I’ll have to somehow lift up their spirits and I’ll still have serious doubts that they will not prove unworthy of their uniforms. All in all, Governor, you have made my life very difficult indeed and I am not pleased at all.”

Di Xin’s eyes darted around the room, but the stone-cold expression of Lieutenant Commander Skivlana and Captain Grishenko’s murderous glare offered him scarce comfort.

“What you are probably thinking, right now, is ‘why am I not mining crystals yet?’” Kalazonitov continued mercilessly. “That is mainly because I can still use you. You have contacts, you have your slimy tentacles spread throughout the system and change of authority at this point would only cause further delays. However, do not misunderstand me.” Once more he leaned forward and his eyes were as cold as the tundra of Siberia IV. “You are, by any definition of the words, a criminal, a traitor and an all-in-all waste of oxygen and if I ever hear a peep of complaint out of you or because of you, I will have you in front of a military court in a heartbeat.

“You will become the most ardent of supporters of the military. You will spend a gracious amount of your own wealth to keep my men and women flying and fighting and you will use your considerable political clout to divert as many assets to the frontlines as possible. I want you to work miracles, Governor, because, frankly, it is a miracle you retained your position.

“And do not waste any breath praying for my death on the field. I have taken measures to keep you on a short leash even if the war claims me.”

The Admiral leaned back and drank his vodka with a swift flick of his wrist. Then he pressed the intercom button on his chair

“Send in Boris.”

The door opened and a giant in a Chief Petty Officer uniform entered the room, snapping to attention with a thud that shook the floor. His face was scarred with burn marks, common to foundry workers and he saluted the Admiral with pride almost resembling hero worship.

“Governor, meet CPO Boris Karcharoff,” the Admiral snapped. “He will be your liaison and bodyguard from now on. We cannot have anything bad happening to you, can we?”

The giant smiled and the Governor had a brief mental image of a bear baring its fangs.

“I must warn you,” the Admiral said with a wintry smile “that he will be reporting your every move to me and that it is his reports that will determine whether I will continue to prop up your little house of cards. Rest assured that he will be accurate and impartial. The fact that he was unjustly re-assigned to a position of lower responsibility by one of your corrupt employees who wanted a scapegoat before he joined the Fleet and I discovered his many talents should not affect his judgment too much.”

“Now get out Governor. I have a Fleet to run.”

Not long after the door had closed after the hastily retreating Di Xin and the satisfied Captain Grishenko, Kalazonitov sighed and thumbed on the holomaps of the briefing table.

“We can probably hold them, Tanya,” he said softly. “But I do not think any of us will see the end of this war. Those early months will be brutal and we are going in under-prepared and unsupported. Look at those early reports! Our allies are getting pounded. The LSF 1st Fleet is almost half gone, and they are still far from safe. And now it’s Georgiy’s turn and I am still here, my fleet as lame as myself!”

His voice had gradually risen to a growl and he pulled himself together with difficulty.

“You never heard me say that, Lieutenant Commander,” he sighed. “Empress help me, but I need to get a grip. If I am not self assured, how can I expect to lead my sailors?”

His aide did not reply, but her presence next to him was reassuring as Kalazonitov turned his eyes toward the starmap glowing in green, yellow and ominous red and wished that he could will his fleet to the aid of his friend.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Well, that took a bit longer than I thought. I'll probably keep those shorter from now on

Lorric, you made me laugh. Shame on you. :P
'Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent'  -Salvor Hardin, "Foundation"

So don't take a hammer to your computer. ;-)

  

Offline Flak

  • 28
  • 123
Re: Forum game: RP thread
Baron Markus stares into the sky from the bridge window of the Silver Falcon. He hardly blink as the skies of Aldebaran flashes and flickers in the distance, lighting up the bridge and the windowed interior of the ship. They can barely see the actions of the 2nd CRF dishing it out against the unknown invaders. Everyone else seemed to fall silent.

"The battle reports are coming through. Looks like we got some data about the enemy." Captain Magnus Anders suddenly flares up from across the bridge. "Looks like some kind of bug monsters, not powerful but they are highly manueverable, and there are always bound to be a crapload of them at any one time. Shall we run some kind of simulation just to test our combat readiness against this new invaders?"
Baron Markus turns around, seemingly waking up from his trance. "Great, Angelo, can you make up something out of this data? Perhaps there are some use in Jerry's favourite game afterall."

"That should be easy, boss." Lieutenant Angelo answered casually. "Jerry actually did us a service by installing his Firespace 4 game to almost every computers in the ship, so it should be installed here. Good thing he also has also installed this Winds of Dusk mod, it does nicely because it has fairly accurate data of every known Terran and Cyrvan ships. This open source design should make it easy to just inject this flight data into... there it goes, nice and easy. Now all that is left is just upload it into the central server, and the simulators can just download it for there."

"Good!" Baron Markus smiled. "Now I want to give this a try, I wonder why Jerry and that new guy Sanjay, can spend hours in this thing, the control appears to be similar to our fighters anyway."

"I guess I'll try to" Angelo smiles as he turns to the nearest computer.

The new flight data however, appeared to have turned the game inside out, and filling it with loads of 'Goddamned Bats'.

"Man, what are these things. They don't hurt much for sure but they are dang too many of them, and they can just 'pew pew' you as they slide sideways. Hopefully our pilots can get used to fighting these."

Suddenly, the relative silence was broken. The alarm roars which made almost everyone jumped from their seats.

"We got hostiles incoming!" shouts Anders. "Two capital ships on our starboard flank. Two more in a distance straight ahead! They are launching strike crafts, or was it bugs? I don't know."
"Everyone to your stations!"

The decks rumbles as everyone rushes to their positions. Baron Markus tries his best to keep everything under control. "Helm, get us into position! Activate point defenses! Prepare to engage with our broadside! Alpha and Charlie wings, stay close to the Silver Falcon, don't get pulled too far!"

A short distance away, can be clearly seen from the bridge of the Silver Falcon is an ominous lilac glow appearing by the sides of the Golden Dawn, before igniting into a blinding light that sears the skies. The bright violet beams tears into one of the so called Motherships directly in front of the Silver Falcon, skewering it as it erupts into a fireball.

"That's one hell of a weapon." Baron Markus said as he stares in amazement. "That's Duke Nightwing for you, he didn't lie about his toys after all. "

Nearby, the Thunderhawk already begun pummelling one of the Motherships with torpedoes, and as it gets in range of  the main weapons, the broadside beams and railguns impales the ship, turning it into space dusts. Meanwhile, the Golden Dawn is charging the large beam weapons again, and took out the next mothership. The holocommunicator suddenly opens up, and there appears a tall brown haired man with toothbrush moustache in a white suit. The man smiles just as Baron Markus is looking up into the communicator, and he raises a glass of red wine in his right hand.  "I'll leave the last one for you, Markus." The communicator disconnects before he could say anything in return.

"Allright, you hear it, let's make sure we score the kill on the last one."

As the last mothership is getting in range, the Silver Falcon fires with all her broadside weapons and guts the mothership inside out.

"Fighters, head out, finish off the remaining strike crafts but ignore the retreating ones."

"That was quite a bit of surprise wasn't it, but they stood no chance."

"Gavriil, Marvin, how are you guys holding up out there?"

"We are not used to these kind of enemies, but we held up fine, I got ten of them it seems. I think Junichi got sixteen." Gavriil's voice is heard from the radio, his heavy breath can be felt in between his words.

Anders took a deep breath, then he looked at everyone in the bridge "That appeared to be a scouting party wasn't it.".

Baron Markus turns around from the front of the bridge, and answered "More than likely, considering the other fleets are already engaged."

Anders then looks at the fresh fleet messages in one of the bridge computers. "We've just got some reports, from the UGCR scouts. Looks like another fleet just arrived in Aldebaran, and it looks like they are heading this way."

"Are we going to meet them head on?"

"I don't know, they didn't mention anything else.  Unless they decide to reinforce their fleets already engaged with the 2nd SF, and 2nd CRF, this is the only flank left open for them."

Baron Markus looks into the distance again, and muttered "Then we better prepare, have some rest if you are not on duty, you are going to need it. And let's pray Duke Nightwing's fancy guns don't let us down at the time we need them most, I don't know how reliable those experimental weapons are."