Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Shrike on February 28, 2003, 01:00:04 pm
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First, a bit of reference:
The OOC (Out Of Character) thread (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,13521.0.html). Where you post new ships you've stolen from your friend's campaigns, stuff we should know OOC, random rants and gloats about your victories....
A handy thread with multiple node maps (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,367.0.html)
Other than that, the rules:
Rule 1: Have fun
Rule 2: Blow stuff up
And try not to bring the Shivans in just yet. I want to let everyone get at least one post in to introduce their ship/character/location before the chaos begins. ;)
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Beta Aquilae
January 28th, 2385
Admiral Greenbridge stood at ease in the space bridge of the Vanguard, his new command, the cloud-covered globe of Beta Aquilae visible beyond the distant bow of his ship. The ship was so new that the bridge still smelled of the solvents used in the manufacture of the plastics. At the moment, the bridge was mostly deserted, the Vanguard's crew mostly on leave before she set off on her maiden voyage.
One of the screens was life feed from GTVN, showing the activation of the Charon portal. Assuming everything went right, the prodigal sons and daughters of Earth would soon be reunited with their homeworld.
OOC: Just a quick post.
It's been almost twenty years since Capella, and the GTVA has militarized to an incredible degree since. It is groaning under the weight of arms. However, the GTVA has also begun to come apart at the seams, under the strain. At game start, there are no factions save the GTVA.
Yet.
The opening of the Charon portal is expected to send shockwaves through the GTVA and the whole deck of cards may just collapse, with unfortunate results for those caught in the shuffle.
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Wolf 359
January 28th, 2385
Echelon City glittered and shone in the light of the distand star Wolf 359. Despite the bright light, the black of space and stars were all clearly visible giving an ominous yet somehow beautiful touch to the scene. Only the barest hint of the armored transparent dome above could be seen as it caught the reflected life of the nearby rocky world that was Wolf's second planet.
In a normal city, one would have expected to see mountains or perhaps plains of rock or sand past the city limits rather then a 200 meter wall of metal with inset hatches and windows into control centers. However, Echelon City was no normal city. After all, what other metropolis was situated on the upper hull of the largest space-faring GTVA ship in existence?
The GTVA Echelon, 50km of metal and armor, filled with construction, manufacturing and processing bays, bristling with weapons and topped by an entire city. The first City Ship ever constructed. A center to GTVA activities..or it was to be.
Strolling across the golden-colored tiles that decorated the central plaza, GTVI Admiral Trellor admired the distant sky-scrapers. Some with their glass and metal frames of Human construction, others the organic fluid shapes of Vasudan design. He wore a black uniform, decorated with insignia and medels from past campaigns most of which were classified. A black cloak billowed about his heels as his booted feet clicked on the tiles. Atop his head was the standard Admiral's cap emblazoned with the GTVA symbol.
Sitting at a small cafe table he ordered a fizzy Vasudan beverage and relaxed. A GTVA officer, probably a greeter, spotted him and began moving towards the table.
"Admiral Trellor?" he asked with a crisp salute. Trellor returned the gesture without standing and studyed the young man. Obviously a new recruit, his uniform was too well kept to be a vetran. The insignia on his collar revealed him to be a Lieutenant. "Sir I am to welcome you aboard the Echelon. However I admit we were not expecting you for some time yet."
Trellor sipped his drink and smiled out from under the brim of his hat, "I like to make my own scheduals. Advantage to my position."
"Yes sir. Shall I fetch the captain for you sir?"
"No thank you Lieutenant...?"
"Kimsey sir."
Trellor nodded and set down his drink, "No thank you Lieutenant Kimsey. I will visit the bridge myself when I'm ready. Dismissed."
"Sir!" the young officer clicked his heels and snapped off another salue before headding off on probably yet another errand. Trellor continued to sip his drink for a minute or two more before he was joined at last by yet another visitor. This one was Vasudan, tall even for his species, wearing only a black sash denoting his GTVI position.
"Well Hishmal what say you?" motioning at the city around them Trellor smiled.
Hishmal squinted at the distant towers, "It is impressive. A marvel of construction."
Trellor placed his booted feet on the table and clasped his hands over his chest, "Indeed it is. Think it will do as a headquarters?"
The Vasudan nodded, "It will do I believe." Suddenly there was the sounds of an explosion, screams and a blaring alarm that echoed through the dome. Officers and civilians sprang into motions, running either to alert stations or for cover.
The young officer who had greeted Trellor came flying up in a panic, "Sirs! A large number of the crew have just attacked the command centers! They've taken over control of the vital areas of the ship!"
Trellor raised an eyebrow at Hishmal, "Your agents are rather timely today."
Hishmal nodded, "Indeed. I will have to remember to commend them."
"Sirs? What are you..." Lieutenant Kimsey's sentence was cut off in a gurgle. He sunk to the ground slowly, a red stain appearing on his now-crumpled uniform. With a last wet choke he slumped to the tiles and was still.
Trellor replaced the small pistol into the holster within his uniform, "Well then Hishmal, shall we go inspect our prize?" Stepping over the slowly forming blood-pool under the corpse of Lieutenant Kimsey, the GTVI Admiral and his Vasudan compatriot began striding towards the nearby tram center. Around them could be heard the music of gunfire and symphony of terrified screams. The concert of mutiny was in full swing.
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Delta Serpentis
January 28th, 2385
Adam braced his head carefully with his hands - left beneath his chin and right near his crown. *crack* A twist to the left. Reverse the hands. *craaack* A twist to the right. He flexed the powerful muscles in his arms and looked behind himself in the station's floor-to-ceiling windows. Here she came.
She walked with a swing in her hips. Lieutenant Lisa Tresston, floor commander. Adam gulped. He would be cool, he had to be cool... she came closer...
Of course, he wasn't cool at all. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple, and he was actually scared out of his wits. Then again, he didn't have a stunning figure either; he was a sickly-thin little boy, only nineteen years old. And his name wasn't Adam.
Lisa walked past, and Percival drew breath. He didn't realise he'd stopped breathing for a full minute as Lisa, twenty-five, had walked past. He coughed, breathed quickly, and half-curled over himself as he filled his lungs with GTVA-manufactured oxygen. "Are you alright?" Lisa had stopped to see how he was; just his luck.
"I'm fine, thanks," He said, but he kicked himself in his mind. He shuffled back to his terminal, his mandatory hourly stretch-session complete. The screensaver flicked off, and the news began sprawling down the page again. Percival sighed and scanned the words.
Breaking News: Pirate raids have become increasingle audacious in the past three weeks. Official Security Board members have refrained from comment, but our investigators have discovered that a compliment of four GTF Pegasus fighters, some of the newest ships in the fleet, went missing from a Naval convoy flying through the Beta Aquilae asteroid field. GTVI denies such reports. Updates at 2300 Galactic Standard tonight.
The screen lit up with an alert. !!Unknown Contact!! Percival looked up from his display and thought he saw, in the periphery of his vision, a flash like a subspace opening. But when he focused his attention, it was gone. And so was the contact.
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OOC: is it to late for me to join? i hope not
IC:
The GTI Arcadia class station in Dubbe, one of the outer GTVA systems. the best possible description for this place is: a junkyard. the station looks like an Arcadia on the outside, but that's it. inside, most area's can only be enterd in an EVA suit, and the station's fighter complement consists out of nothing but a few Myrmidons an a bunch of Herc 1's. the commandar of the station, captain Jonathan Adwin, an GTVA veteran from the second great war, is waked by the beeping of the console nezxt to his bed. he sits right op in bed, and immediatly reg=rets it, since he hits his head agains't a loose bulkhead. he curses, and pusahes a button on the console. "yes, this is captain Adwin, what is it?" "sir, we have an strange contact on radar, sir" replys the XO of the station, commander Sean O'Hannon, also an GTVA veteran, and the wingman of the captain for years. Adwin replies:"are you sure this isn't a piece of junk?", "yes, it's slowing down, and changing course, every 20 minutes." "i'm on my way to the bridge, prepare a wing of myrmidons" ends the transmission
OOC: sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes
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Beta Aquilae
January 28th, 2385
Edward "Ed" Lewis was gazing at the huge ship in high orbit over Beta Aquilae. The new behemoth of the GTVA, the Vanguard. Ed admired the ship, which was trully a beauty, and thought that soon all his crew might contemplate how powerful the GTA... no, the GTVA had become. Soon the Charon gate would be open, and so would be the way to Earth. Ed wondered how that meeting between the new earth government and the GTVA would turn out.
He left his Pyro drift slowly under a corvette to avoid being spotted by a patrol wing that was coming a bit too close for his taste. The Pyro was too small to be regarded as more than some static on radars, but it was still quite visible to the eye, and Ed didn't want to be spotted in an area he supposed was restricted to civilians. And if he were caught, what could he possibly explain to those men?
Patrols were qiute numerous today, Ed thought. He didn't want troubles, and he knew that even if he was a good pilot, and the GX was an even more formidable fighter, he would stand little chance against a wing of highly trained military pilots. Fighting pirates and mercenaries was something, fighting militaries was another.
Taking a last glimpse at Beta Aquilae, he typed a few coordinates and pushed a button. The pyro started glowing bright yellow as the warp drive was charging up, then the ship vanished from the scene.
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oups, double post
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Laramis IV
January 28th, 2385
The protesters had surrounded the small millitary base on the outskirts of Hiute. They'd come out in force tonight - nearly a thousand of them, screaming, chanting, waving their signs. It was snowing hard, but they still came. They'd reached a fevered pitch - they weren't really protestors anymore. They were a mob.
Only 20 riflemen guarded the front gate. Riot shields and assault rifles ready, they stoicly endured the taunts and heckles of the teeming mass. At least until they starting moving.
Someone yelled, "Let's make 'em move!" and almost in unison they began creeping towards the guards, first cautiously, then with a brazen aggressiveness.
The lieutenant in command called out, "Halt! Halt, or we will open fire!" but it fell on deaf ears. The protestors came ever closer, some brandishing their signs as if they were weapons.
Private Johnston lost his cool. "Back! Back, damn you!" he cried.
A snowball slapped into his shoulder, knocking him off balance. He snapped. He took aim and opened fire on the jeering, tightly packed mob. His comrades followed suit..
3 hours later
Hundreds of bodies were strewn in front of the base. Blood ran through the streets like a river.
The news spread quickly. The people of Laramis had reached the breaking point...
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Alpha 1's cockpit:
the pilot looks at his engine status display and sees is main engine is slightly off balanced, he kicks the concolse, and ignores the warning. mutering: "darn peaces'o crap, half the ship hangs together by ductape!"
command: "alpha wing, check in for launch"
alpha 1: "alpha good to go!"
alpha 2: "let's fly!"
alpha 3: "rock 'n roll!"
alpha 4: "waddaya waiting for?"
command: "commenicng launch in 3, 2, 1"
BANG!!, an explosion rocks the station, when alpha 1 engages his burners, his engine core collapssed.
command: "alpha 1, come in please"
"alpha 1, respond"
nothing but static, wich is logical since the was completely blown to pieces.
command center, GTI Dubbe:
cpt Adwin: "what happened?"
the lt. at fighter command: "reactor core breach on Alpha 1, fighter destroyed, no eject dedected."
cpt Adwin: "Damn! report Alpha KIA, Alpha 2 leads the wing, let them continue with their mission, and start an investigation, i want to know what caused the breach."
cmdr O'Hannon: "aye sir!"
alpha 2's cockpit:
aplha 2: "****, we've lost Alpha 1, ok gys heads up, check your own engines, if it's ok, set a course for the unknown"
alpha 3: "roger, engines are fine"
alpha 4: "i copy, engine cehck's out ok, on my way now"
later, when the fighters reach the contact:
alpha 2: "i've got a visual on the ship, i can't recognise the class , it's at least 3,5 clicks long, and about as wide as an Orion, i can see sme nasty looking turets, and something that resemble's an fighter bay."
command:"has the target activated it's IFF beacon?"
alpha 2: "no sir, no IFF, not even an sensor lock"
command: "hail them"
alpha 2: "unkonow vessel, this is Alpha 2, 309th fighter squadron, GTI Dubbe, respond please."
"......."
alpha 2: "no response, should we engage? "
command "negative, do not engage, w'll sent a transport out to dock"
alpha 2: "copy that, holding position"
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GTI Dubbe, marine briefing room:
CO: "Alright men, listen up, we have an un known vessel lieng about 30klicks of the station, and it isn't responding to hails. command wants us to dock and check it out. standard armanament, but take a hul cutting laser with us, i doubt that they'll roll out the red carpet for us"
the men slightly chuckle, but then prepare their equipment and board their transport.
GTT Dubbe 2
GTT Dubbe 2: "this is the transport, we're engaging docking procedure now, cover us alpha"
alpha 3: "roger, but there is not much to cover you from."
the transport docks, and after some time, the marines have cut throug the hull of the unkown ship.
Marine CO: "move out, 4 teams!"
the men spread to the ship, but find nothing but empty corridors, and abandond quarters, no conoles, no furniture, no lights, but life suport is operating.
suddenly internal weapons pop up everywhere, and open fire on the men.
"all units, fall back, fall back!!!" yells the CO of the squad, but right after his transmission he takes a bulet trough the head. the same thing happens to most marines, but two of them make it out.
meanwhile, chaos exists outside as well, at the same time the guns appeared, fighters appeared from nowhere, and attacked alpha wing. only alpha 4 made it out, by exedentially activatng his jumpdrive. the transport found a way to do the same.
GTI Dubbe, bridge
cpt "What the hell happened out there!?!?"
sience officer: "not sure sir, i detected weapons fire, but now it all stopped... wait a minute sir, i am detecting jump signatures, unknown configuration.
XO: "entering or leaving?"
sience officer: "leaving sir, the computer regognises two of the sgnatures now, one GTT Elysium, and one GTF Myrmidon, the rest, 25, are unknown."
cpt :"only one myrmidion, are you sure?"
SO:"yes sir, positive"
the captain rubs his eyes, and sighes.
"there is nothing you could have done captain, i'll take it from here if you want, Jonathan." replies the XO softly
"ok, i'll be in my quarters if you need me, contact GTVA command and inform them of the situation."
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January 28th, 2385
Beta Cygni System, Asteroid Belt
35 Kilometers from Antares Jump Mode
The man known only as Nyx stared out of the window, as his eyes recieved the light from Beta Cygni's yellow sun which the nearby asteroid field reflected. The base, the secret headquaters of the Noctis Organization where he lived and worked was situated just outside the outer edge of the field. There were no other bases beyond the asteroid belt whose line of sight to the Noctis base was not blocked by the belt. And so the base could hide itself with the asteroid belt without having to risk collisions, and the fact that the jump node to Antares was a mere 35 km away made it even better location. Just in case though, a wall of sentry guns protected Nyx and the 32 other inhabitants from a stray asteroid, and if need be, a stray fighter wing that got too nosy.
But what did it matter. The bases greatest defense was the almost total lack of activity in the form of arrivals or departures. The base was merely for important communications and decisions. And I wouldn't be here if it weren't for those damned GTVA securitiy people, Nyx thought. And he knew that the GTVA was beginning to come apart. One did not need the kind of inside information he had to see that.
"Sir, it is almost time."
Nyx walked over to his viewscreen and turned it on to see a wide shot of the Charon.
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January 28th, 2385
Polaris
The day's functions concluded, the politicians shuffled out of the hall.
As their echoing footsteps faded, a lithe blond figure of a woman rose from her seat and approached a side door. Entering the room she sat down and activated a terminal set into the desk.
'Hello?'
'Neal here - your encryption code had better work.'
'It's foolproof - unless you gave GTVI your key?'
'I think not. Whats' the status of our little cell right now, then?'
The sound of a sigh came from the other end of the line
'always buisiness with you, isn't it?' and he continued without giving Neal time to reply 'the project is proceeding ahead of schedule, we've got more than what we need provided you can keep our arses covered at the political end. There was one hiccup - we had to neutralise a couple of alliance patrol ships that were snooping around too close, made them look like busted reactors though. For crying out loud get a mole into the fleet attache - if we have to kill any more ships things will start looking suspicious, if they dont' already!'
Neal leaned forward and smiled
'You'll be glad to know we won't have to go to the effort. Things are nearly in place here and after we activate the third phase I doubt the alliance would even bother enforcing their sovreignity.'
'how much do you doubt they would? You know very well we dont want a military coup on our hand here!'
'Just leave the politics to me and concentrate on getting that hardware ready in double quick time, Drekker - once we come out into the open we'll need something to back up our claims, that is the role you play here - I appreciate your concern but we've all got our parts to play in this, and we have to stick to them if we ever want to succeed.'
After a moment the sound of a shuffle came from the terminal
'Just take care of yourself, ok? we'll be ready for a shakedown run in just under a week. And keep those patrols off us - its hard enough trying to hide the drydock let alone four large ships.'
'I always take care - and the local sensor net appears to be exhibiting anomalies tomorrow' she said with a grin, and signed off. So... the culmination of seventy years careful planning was coming into fruition. She fervently hoped nothing went wrong at the last minute.
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January 28, 2385
Luyten 726-BA
Here another nice day for the GTD Quetzalcoatl, another common day for the 201st Squadron a little patrol assignament near the jump node to Laramis.
Alpha 1: Carnales listos pal patrullaje? (Ready for the patrol guys?)
Alpha 2: Ready sir
Alpha 3: Why always you say the orders in spanish?
Alpha 4: Chale Alpha 3 tu nomas sigue ordenes (Shut up Alpha 3 only do the orders
Command: Well alpha wing stop your chatter
Alpha 1: Yes sir, escucharon bola de babosos (listen up people)
Command: Ready to launch in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, launch!!!
Alpha 2: yahoo!
Some minutes after.....
Alpha 1: Well people, only 5 minutes to return home
Alpha 4: This is the last minutes here, gracias a dios (thanks to god)
Alpha 2: Please not religion!!
Alpha 1: Ok people ready for the return?
Alpha 3: Yes sir!!
Command: Alpha, we receive unknown signatures!
Alpha 2: Oh my god
Alpha 4: Who says no religion here?
Alpha 2: Ok, ok
Command: Well people are only 3 unknown signatures, go to investigate.
Alpha 1: Yes sir, ready guys?
Rest of the alpha wing: Yes sir
250 meters to the unknown objects......
Alpha 4: Chale, que demonios es eso? (what the hell is that)
Alpha 2: I think they are freighters of some type
Alpha 3: yes i think that too
Alpha 1: Well scan the freighters
Alpha 3: nothing in the freighters, and they aren't terran freighters
Alpha 4: Yea, i think they are Vasudans but what they are do here?
Alpha 1: What the hell they are shooting me
Command: We can't know were are they origin, alpha destroy them or disable him.
Alpha 1: Yes sir, disabling now!!
Alpha 3: Freighter 3 disabled
Alpha 4: Ya le jodi los motores al freighter 1 (Freighter 1 disabled)
Alpha 2: Freighter 2 disabled and disarmed
Command: Well people we send Omega wing for docking with the freighters.
Omega 1: Right here sir.
Alpha 4: What??, i receive some message from the freighter 3, but isn't terran or vasudan.
Alpha 1: Chale estan explotando (what? they are exploding)
Command: Well people, Omega recover the fragments, Alpha cover Omega and return to base.
Some hours after in the GTD Quetzalcoatl....
Command: well alpha and omega i call you for a debriefing.
Command: i this moments we send all the data recovered to the headquaters of the 11th fleet here in the system.
Alpha 1: what you konw in this moments?
Command: really?, nothing also the headquaters deploys the GTD Tlaloc near here if we need a reinforcement.
Command: alpha, omega dismissed, all other information send to you in some hours.
Out of the debriefing room...
Alpha 4: oye Alpha 1 que piensas que haya sido? (Alpha 1, what do you think of this?)
Alpha 1: No se, pero no se me hace nada bueno..... (I don't know, but i think this is bad......)
Alpha 3: Well who wants a beer?
Alpha 2: i want
Alpha 1: i want
Alpha 4: i want one chela hehe.......
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Vega, 0300h local time
"Tango-Gamma-13, cleared for departure. Have a good one." The clipped military voice didn't sound particularly cheerful, but graveyard shift was always like that. Beats the hell out of the garbage run, McGregor though. He'd been hauling waste from the decomissioned GTD Arithmides for the last 2 years. The old Orion wasn't supposed to hold people for that long, but resettling the Capellan refugees had went tits-up when they allocated the money to the Charon project. I guess, he though, giving humanity their home back is more important than giving Capellans a new home. The freighter set on autopilot for the long trip to the outer rim refuse facility, he settled back in his seat and waited.
t-minus2 hours
The soft, insistant beep woke McGregor up immediately. 10 years of military service had taught him to wake quickly, and it didn't take him long to appraise the situation... it wasn't good. He swore in disbelief, looking at the navigational warning. He was far off course, and by the looks of it the engines had fried.
He quickly flicked switches, hit buttons, but no response. The ship had already slumped into a drunken stupor, with only the barest reactor functions remaining. Crap. With the ship only barely alive, McGregor had to switch on the automatic distress signal - and wait.
t-minus 1 hour
The computer beeped on an automatic warning, signalling an incoming message.Thank god, though McGregor, stumbling over to the command console.
"This is refuse ship TG-13, I require immediate assitance. Please respond"
The reply was swift... "TG-13, we recieve. Are enroute, will arrive in approximately 1 hour. Over."
t-minus 0
On cue, the screen lit up with the blue glow of an immenent ship arrival. But what came was far different from anything McGregor had seen, even in the military. Giant, black and sleek, it looked almost a military vessel - but had no GTVA IFF codes. As it drew closer, he began to see the scorch marks, the deep grooves in the hull... this ship had seen conflict, and a lot of it.
"TG-13, we have you on sensors. Prepare for docking."
"Um, roger... not to be rude, but who are you?"
"Prepare for docking TG-13, and we'll explain everything"
.
.
.
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OOC: And so it begins, for real.
Vega XII C
Hammer of Light Colony
January 28
The sand of the ancient colony spun up and around the low huts made of old metal. They were once part of a series of transports, Terran and Vasudan alike, that were now worn by the desert sands of this long forgotten moon.
Da'id T'pl marched through the early morning hours toward one particular hut at the end of the the village's only road. The light, and tattered cloak he wore fluttered as yet another light gust of wind wipped down the streets only to be forced into dust devils as it encountered the buildings.
The last hut, his destination, stood the largest out of the batch. It had been, in a former lifetime, a Elysium transport, but now served as the community building. It was temple, capitol, market and general common building, a busy place for something so small. Da'id stopped a moment before the symbol of the Hammer of Light which sat to the right of the door. He made a gesture of worship to it, then moved to a set of stares beyond it.
The rickety, rock cut steps led up the side and two the top of the transport. Many days had been spent moving these few stones from the small quarry several kilometers away and bringing them here for this one purpose. A waste? No, for planted on top of the old transport was the observation platform and the few still functioning tracking devices, shielded from the elements by a simple stone shack.
Before this shack, and looking across the empty desert stood a figure. He wore the same raggity clothing as Da'id, but it seemed more full, more vibrant in comparison.
"There you are," Da'id said as if surprised. "They're waiting for you."
"I was just thinking father," the figure said. "I will likely never see this place again."
"All for the better."
"So you say." The figure, small compared to the broad shouldered Vasudan, stepped forward, nearer the edge of the transport. "But this is my home, and will be forever and a day. I don't want to leave."
"You must, it is your destiny."
"So you say." The figure stepped back from the edge and faced his father. "And I know you are right. I must go, and face my fate, whatever comes."
The Vasudan grabbed the figure in a great bear hug. "I will miss you, my son."
"And I you." A few moments passed in embrace, then seperated as they should. "I can go now. You will always be with me."
"And you with me." Da'id watched his son start down the stairs to the ground. In the distance, he could just see the small ship waiting for him.
The figure stopped. "One last thing. Are you sure?"
"I've checked and double checked."
"Then I will go," the figure said. "And be the Eishtmo."
-
Polaris-Deneb node
The two fighter wings and antiquated Fenris class cruiser didn't know what hit them as half of the communications satellites in the system dropped offline and four capital-class vessels jumped in and maneouvered to secure the node itself.
At the other two nodes, a similar story rolled out as the Polarians executed their long-awated coup of the system.
A mere ten hours later, with an estimated eighteen skirmishes against loyalist forces resulting in no casualties for either side, the final GTVA Military vessel departed from the system.
Neal walked out onto the promenade of the local govornment building where a large party had broken out on the lawns - the smoke from a few barbeques at the foot of the building, tempting her to go down and enjoy the revelrie. Unfortunately she had work to do - pulling of a bloodless coup was one thing, the installation of a planned social structure was probably going to be a great deal more painful.
Meanwhile, across the system, shielded from sensors by the flux caused by an almost pure-iron asteroid passing very close to the gas giants' upper cloud layer, the one thing that could keep the fledgeling nation safe from reabsorption was undergoing pre-flight testing....
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Tavern on the Green, Central Park, New York City, Earth, Sol System
January 24th, 2385
The Admiral smiled at the waiter as he poured the crystaline Moscato Giallo, Giacomin, 2384 vintage, into the equally crystalline goblet. A sweet and rosy scent rose from the glass as Julius stirred it – perfectly fresh, just as such wine should be served. He motioned to the waiter, and more wine was poured into both goblets standing at the otherwise empty table. The Admiral inhaled deeply from the goblet, seeped some of the wine, and rested the glass on the table again. The man before him didn’t seem to be at all concerned about the wine, yet a persistent smile clung to his face.
“So, it is almost completed then. I take we can schedule the first full inspection for next monday?” The smile on the other man’s face widened.
“That would be perfect, sir. I’ll have the crew ready for it.” He reached for his goblet for the first time, and drank a generous amount of wine from it. That ship was his greatest achievement, the soon-to-be pride of the fleet, and he was eager to show it to his superiors – and to his friend, who had trusted him from the beginning, who had pushed the project through the council so long ago. He was also eager to rub it in the face of everyone who had doubted him.
“Excellent, Ron, excellent.”
And their conversation drifted back to the small talk of friends who had not seen each other for a long time.
***
Belisama Drydock Installations, Earth Orbit, Sol System
January 28th, 2385
Admiral Julius Moschel walked briskly through the wide, windowless corridors of the gigantic installation, sided by Doctor Tracey and followed by an entourage of staff officers and assistants. Julius and the Doctor, a Commodore in his own right, chatted about trivial matters, as if extending the conversation from the previous thrusday. It was the first official inspection of the project, but it wasn’t a public one, so there was no need to show off for the reporters – or for the opposition at the council. They were about to reach the airlock to the transfer tube when one of the staff lieutenants sprinted forward, brandishing a tablet terminal, and calling for the Admiral’s attention.
“What is it, Lieutenant?”
“Sir, this just came from Jericho C&C, it’s marked as extremely urgent.”
The Admiral had previously addressed the lieutenant with a smile on his face and a jovial tone, both of which promtly vanished as he keyed in his personal security code at the tablet.
“Perfect timing,” he muttered.
Something was happening at the Delta Serpentis node.
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Uncharted system (Delta Pavonis), 3 jumps distant from Tau Ceti
0248 hours, Galactic Standard Time
January 27th, 2385
Commodore Greshan stared out the bridge viewport of his ship, the FWD Avalon, watching the empty void of space for signs of activity. "Hell," he said aloud, "I hate these expeditions. It isn't like we have anything to gain from being out here." Greshan was not ordinarily critical of his missions, but this was the fifth time in as many months that he had been leading expeditionary missions to chart worthless and empty systems on the edges of Free World Alliance space. The last four had turned up nothing aside from a few comets and one unusually dense dust field, and this mission was beginning to have the same prospects. He had dismissed most of his bridge crew for the night; it was obvious that this system was vacant, and he was only awake to debrief the recon wings when they returned. Just as he turned from the window, a small beeping began sounding from the comms console. Greshan approached the console, and flipped a switch to open the channel. He knew it was one of his recon wings making a report, as they were the only craft in system, but no check-ins were scheduled for another ten minutes.
"Recon Wing Delta to Avalon, over..." the message chattered out.
"This is the Avalon, pilot. What's your status?" replied Greshan. Usually the pilots on these graveyard recon watches just needed someone to talk to, and Greshan was not opposed to a bit of idle chat himself. After all, he was well liked among the crew for his friendly attitude in non-combat situations.
"Avalon, I hate to raise you at this late hour," came the reply. Delta 1 knew how Greshan ran his ship, and that he would be manning the comm alone this late at night. "We've located an unknown object that we thought you might like to know about. Transmitting video feed now..."
A screen on the comms panel flickered to life, and after a few seconds of blackness Greshan could make out a starfield through the scanlines of the recon fighter's small gun-camera. "Pilot, is this some kind of joke?" Greshan lightheartedly asked.
"No sir, can't you see it? Wait, here we go..." The image began panning out, as the recon pilot adjusted his camera to take in a wider angle. Greshan's tired smile faded to a blank stare as the image expanded to reveal a massive blue ring. All he could do was quietly mumble "What the hell..."
Low Orbit
Sigma Draconis II
1330 hours Galactic Standard Time
January 28th, 2385
Admiral Davis was sitting in his ready room, high up on the conning tower of the Archangel, looking out the viewport at Sigma Draconis II, the seat of Terran government beyond Sol and Admiral Davis's home planet. For an instant he was cought up by the beauty of his homeworld as Sigma Draconis rose over its surface, glinting blue from the vast oceans below. He had work to do though, and he could ill afford to daydream today. He looked over his desk, news reports filtering in from across the alliance and a large stack of recommendations for the upcoming round of upper-level promotion applicants nearly covered what most officers would consider a luxuriously large briefing table. Davis sorted through a stack of reports from various parts of the alliance, pulling out one labeled "Sol Briefs." Though it had been over 70 years since contact was lost with Sol and the GTA, and over 30 years since any long-range radio messages had been picked up from that system, convention still dictated that all information regarding the rest of the human race beyond the now-defunct Sigma Draconis - Sol node be referenced by Sol itself. Opening the document, he looked over page after page of radio messages, mostly random chatter, intercepted from Terran systems by listening posts set up throughout the Free World Alliance for this purpose. The news he was reading was history for the GTVA, having taken at least 10 years to reach FWA space, but he nonetheless could not resist reading over them. The transmissions were from Sirius this time, and Davis let out a long sigh as he glanced through the report. News from that system had been growing troubling of late, with battle chatter taking an increasing role in the system communication record. It appeared that the GTVA had found itself on the verge of civil war. One passage stood out to Davis as he read:
'Today we stand against the tyranny of the great "alliance" that has opressed our fellow terrans for a decade. Let us, with one fell swoop, cleanse our worlds of the Vasudan menace, and take back for humanity our one true destiny. Today Sirius, Regulus, and Polaris are free under the leadership of the Neo-Terran Front.'
~source unconfirmed, trace indicates an Admiral Aken Bosch
"So it did happen again" Davis said to himself. For the seventy years since cutoff from earth, there had been no major violence in the systems of the FWA. How could these once backwater and forgotten colonies grow into prospering and powerful worlds in so short a time, while the seat of humanity was engaged in one brutal civil war after another? Davis could find no answers among the garbeled messages that made up the rest of the report. He set it back on his desk and reached for the top promotion recommendation on the pile closest to him.
Before he could scan past the name on the form, a comm tone sounded across the ready-room. The voice of the Archangel's chief communications officer, Leiutenent Belle, rang out over the comm, "Admiral Davis, we are recieving a priority one transmission from Commodore Greshan, FWD Avalon. Your presence is requested on the bridge." "On my way," Davis automatically responded as he stood from his chair. As he left his ready room, Admiral Davis could not help but feel a sense of urgency in responding to this message; he knew all to well that it would have taken the Avalon at least a day to manuver within communications range of the FWA.
[3 minutes later]
The bridge of the Archangel was busteling with activity. Officers were coming and going with orders to transmit to the fleet, comms chatter was being interpreted by over a dozen personel in a console pit just below the main viewports, and combat officers were conducting targeting excercises for the weapons crews. Davis immediately made his way to Leiutenent Belle's console, as it was not often that an officer of Greshan's independence made a priority one transmission. He knew that whatever it was, it was worth his attention. "What's going on, Leiutenent?" Davis asked in that serious though compassionate tone that many believed had earned him the position as head of Alliance Fleet Command. He commanded respect, but did not put fear into his subordinates. One of the greatest strengths of Davis, and of the FWA as a whole, was the quality and loyalty of his personnel.
"Sir!" Belle fired off a quick salute as she looked up from her console, "Greshan is getting impatient. He keeps insisting that he speak directly with you. He would not let me record the message either. Shall I put it through to your ready room?"
"Thank you Leiutenent, this console will be fine. You have security clearance, and about as private a spot as one can get on this bridge. I don't have to tell you that whatever said will be confidential."
"Yes sir. Connecting now, audiovisual link established."
The communications panel switched immediately to an image of Commodore Greshan. Greshan was obviously excited, and didnt wait for Admiral Davis to prompt a response. "Sir," he said, "we've found something." Davis could see Greshan noding to an officer off screen, and there was a flicker as the video transmission switched to a scout camera. Davis's eyes widened, and all he could hear Greshan say was "Something big..."
-
Vega System
Former GVD Vengence
Another thud. The sound of voices seeped their way into the box, muffled by the lid. Then a sharp shove snapped the side of the box followed by a low creek as a prybar forced open the lid. The Eishtmo covered his eyes as light poured into the black box.
"My brother, welcome." The Eishtmo uncovered his eyes and took the hand of his brother who helped lift him from the container.
"Je'ph, my brother, I am honored to be here." He stood up and examined the room. It wasn't exceptionally large, but had at least two rooms, the larger one he was now in held a single bed and desk, the other doors were closed.
"We should be honored my lord," a Vasudan in the corner said. He stepped forward and gave a simple salute.
"Ma'thon, I see you are well."
"And at your service as always." Ma'thon would have bowed had it been Vasudan tradition, but the awe and respect he had for the Eishtmo could be seen by anyone who had witnessed the scene. Though no one did save Je'ph.
"All went well in bringing you here. They know you are aboard, but do not know who you are," Je'ph assured him.
"Very good, very good indeed." The Eishtmo moved to the desk and sat down, examining a collection of files and letters that littered it. "I take it all is ready."
"Yes milord," Ma'thon replied. "The Ice Heart awaits the order to reenter GTVA space. The Keef is currently hiding amongst the Unbelievers, his ships ready to strike at a moment's notice."
"And the ships?"
"Two are ready," Je'ph replied. "Aside from Ice Heart's fleet, which has been ready for several years now."
"He's quite eager isn't he?" The Eishtmo smiled. "I shall have to meet this 'Ice Heart' one day."
"Yes my broth," Je'ph caught himself. "My lord."
"I shall always be your brother, never forget that. Let us get under way, we have much to do."
"The Hammer of Light shall rise again," Je'ph said.
"No my brother," The Eishtmo said. "The Hammer of Light is dead. We are the Neo-Hammer of Light, and we shall survive."
The Vengence, and ancient Typhon destroyer, threw open a subspace portal and made its way to leave the system.
-
FWDn Archangel
Low Orbit
Sigma Draconis II
1445 hours Galactic Standard Time
Jaunary 29th, 2385
Admiral Davis was sitting in a briefing room just off of the bridge. For the past six hours his bridge crew had seen him in virtually the same position, sealed behind a soundproof glass wall and staring into a monitor on the desk in front of him. As the second watch duty officer, Captain McCoy, stepped on to the bridge, he saw the Admiral and motioned for Leitenent Belle. "What is he so busy at?" asked the Captain. "He is in conference with the President and the Assembly. He must not be disturbed," was Belle's reply. She knew all too well why the conference was called into session, but also knew that only the Admiral could that information to the rest of the crew.
Shortly Admiral Davis flipped off the monitor and stood up. He walked out on to the bridge, glancing at the officers at their posts. "The watch has changed," he thought to himself. "How long did that conference take?" Six hours, and the longest conference he could remember having before took a little over 15 minutes. As he entered the bridge, Admiral Davis turned to his communications officer. "Leiutenent Belle, I need to transmit a message to the fleet." "Yes sir, I will open a channel," she said, typing in the advanced commands for multiple ship communication. "Go ahead"
"To all commandig officers of the FWA: Yesterday at 1330 hours, we recieved an unexpected communication from the FWD Avalon. This ship was conducting a routine mapping and exploration mission in the Delta Pavonis system when it encountered an object the likes of which we have never before seen. After careful deliberation with President Kerr and the Free World Assembly, it has been decided that secrecy on this issue is not necessary or productive, and therefore the following information can be shared with your crews at your own discression.
"The object encountered by the Avalon is not a ship or station by Terran standards, as it has no propulsion system or internal compartments for habitation. However, this structure (as it is plainly not of natural origin) is of tremendous importance. For those of you aware of the archeological excavations throughout our space, the origins of this object should appear clear; it is apparently some device constructed by an ancient subspace-faring race, whose technological prowess was superior to our own current levels. We are as of yet unaware of this structures importance or capabilities, but the science crews aboard the Avalon believe it to be a subspace device of some kind. It is unarmed (the Avalon's researchers are unable to locate so much as a power source) and bears no threat to our ships. The scientists are, however, unable to analyze the structure further due to equipment limitations. It has therefore been decided to recover the object and move it to Sigma Draconis for further study.
"The importance of this discovery cannot be understated. The full resources of the FWA are being committed to understanding this device and its potential for furthering of our own capabilities. A flight of transports has already been dispatched to Delta Pavonis for recovery, and it is essential that no harm, natural or man-made, come to these vessels. Many of you will recieve new orders within the hour."
Davis nodded to Leiutenent Belle, and she flipped a switch to cut the feed. "Now transmit all incoming reports to the fleet, on the same channel. Repeat the message at half-hour intervals throughout the afternoon."
As he turned from the communications panel, Davis could see the proflile of a wing of transports cruising up from the surface of Sigma Draconis II. "Helm," he said, "Break orbit. Set your course for the Tau Ceti node.
-
Vega system, 0500h
BWCv Libertie, Ops desk
The Libertie, a Sabre class corvette, silently cruised into low orbit around Cthulu, 3d planet in the Vega system. On board, Captain Serge Basualdo disconnected his comms link with his superiors, and strode back to the main ops room. Inside, the commanding officers of the Libertie and the Scimatar wing based onboard were waiting. Basualdo entered, and flipped on the holgraphic display for the briefing. A schematic map of Vega appeared, showing the positions of GTVA and government forces. This was not going to be an easy briefing, but it was inevitable. Everything had a price to pay.
"Welcome gentlemen. I've just confirmed our orders with Command. We are to proceed to point Gamma-Delta-9 and wait there for further instructions." Understandably, this upset the officers surrounding. Most vocal was the leader of the Libertie's Scimitar squadron, Lt. Nihopolous. "With all due respect, sir, what the hell are we doing fannying about waiting for the Warlocks beck and call? We came here to fight for our Capellan brothers and sisters , not to chase shadows at their behest!". Basualdo took a deep breath. Nihopolous was a skilled pilot, but he'd never adjusted to the military lifestyle. The 'with all due respect' was the best Basualdo could expect from him. "Lieutenant, I understand your concerns. But we are operating under strict operational security, and I can only do so much. When the time comes, you will be made aware of our plans, but until then i expect a professional demenour". "Yes, sir", an obviously pissed-off Nihopolous replied.
As Basualdo moved into the rest of the days daily brief - drill schedules, repair work, and other mundane activites - his mind was already turning to his other orders, the ones sitting in a sealed red envelope under his bunk. Throughout the day, even into the sleepness night, he repeated his mantra. Everything has a price to pay. He just hoped the price wouldn't be as steep as he, as they all, feared.
-
Wolf 259
January 29th
The Echelon's bridge had been given the nickname beehive by it's constructors. The command center consisted of a hollow ovoid around the inner walls of which were row upon row of circular walkways. Terminals were set into niches in the walls where crisp uniformed officers and technicians murmered into headsets. Forming the top and bottom points of the room were masses of cable snaking into hemisphereical pods. These were the two computer brains for the center, processing the terrabytes of information that flowed through the room and out along data conduits to other computer brains within the massive vessel.
Jutting out from a midpoint down the outter wall, a platform held a single large command chair, encircled by consoles and HUD systems. Sitting amid the controls like a king on his throne, Trellor watched and listened to the hum of voices echoing in the beehive. Standing just behind him, Hishmal stared off towards some distant part of the command center, occupyed in his own thoughts.
"Well Hishmal," Trellor cycled through an HUD showing status reports, "I must admit that was one of the cleanest coups I've ever witnessed." Hishmal made no reply. Trellor smiled and brought up a fact-sheet of casualties from the previous day. "Only 37 security personnel killed and 47 wounded. Some light civilian and technician casaulties but nothing to worry about. I have to commend you and your men."
"They did as they were instructed," Hishmal finally replied, "I ask no more."
The command chair turned 180 degrees and Trellor clasped his hands over his stomach, "Indeed but without the training of their ex-GTVI General do you think they would have done so well so quickly?" He shook a finger slowly at the Vasudan as he turned back to the consoles, "Doubt not your own capablilites my friend. That is the first step towards error."
"Perhaps."
Ignoring the less-then-optimistic retort, Trellor flipped on the shipwide communications channel and cleared his throat, "Attention all officers, technicians, civilian populance and honored guests. As you know your ship has been taken over. Do not panic. We are not holding any of you hostage for randsom or for acts of terrorism. This is...let's call it a radical change in government."
"I am Octavius Trellor. Once I was an Admiral of the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Intelligence agency. Many of those who aided this time of change yesterday were also once members of the GTVA in some form or another. But today, we are no longer allied with the failing government that lost not one but two worlds to the Shivan menace. We are not a part of that seathing morass of beaurocracy that fights it's own wherever they desire change.
Today, on this ship, the GTVA rules no longer. Today this ship becomes the center of a new Empire! A new law! A new purpose! Today we are all a part of the Terran Imperium!" Trellor switched off the comm. system and sat back. From around the command chamber came the occasional cheer or whistle of approval.
"Interesting speech," Hishmal said.
"Thank you Hishmal your applause is always a comfort I'm sure," Trellor's voice held a mocking tone. He rose from his chair, "Come now old friend. Perhaps it's time we toured our new home. After all, when the fleet arrives we will want to give the commanders a tour of our new captial."
"Of course." Hishmal fell into step behind the new self-appointed Admiral. He wondered secretly if this new order was as new as his friend and commanding-officer claimed it to be.
-
Let the fun begin.
Beta Aquilea
GTS La Cava
January 29, 2385
Captain Albert Nelson leaned back in his chair and stared out the great panaramic window of his dark office. Outside, an old Demios corvette, old meaning not new. Compared to La Cava, it was a mere child.
Galactic Terran Station La Cava was old, very, very old, and there was only one other that was like it anywhere. Once, there were dozens of the Boyington class stations all over the Allied systems, mostly in the old GTA, where they started after all. Before contact with the Vasudans was even made, Boyingtons were being constructed in every Terran system. Not any particular design was given for them, just a hodgepodge of parts and station pieces that managed to get out of Sol. Over time, a general "design" was settled on, but no two were exactly alike.
La Cava was one of the first, stationed over a rather desolate moon in Beta Aquilea, its mission was to protect mining ships as they deposited their cargo into large transports for shipment back to Sol. When the 14 Year War started, the military took over operations, and it became the military HQ for the system, until the Arcadia was built. Even afterwards, it served as the primary military supply base. As the war dragged on, it changed hands several times, serving both Terran and Vasudan alike. When the eventual stalemate started, it was firmly in Terran hands, and was considered quite a prize by Command.
The Great War made it even more important when the Arcadia fell to the Lucifer. It and several other Boyingtons, located in out of the way areas of other systems, were the only surviving outposts of the GTA behind the Shivan front lines. After the Great War, it was once again the center of military activity in Beta Aquilea, serving as security check point for the BETAC talks.
As the years went by, however, La Cava became less and less important. By the Second Incursion, it was almost forgotten, until the newly built Arcadia became overwhelmed in moving personal and supplies to the front. And then, nothing. For the last 20 years, it did little but host the occasional warship and transport, even its mining job had long ago been rendered obsolute.
Three years ago, Nelson, near retirement age, was assigned here. About then, talks began about scrapping the old station, it's usefullness over. Nelson fought it, having fallen in love with the antique station. Hope of keeping it in service collapsed six months ago, but there was always the historical socities. After all, what group could reject the preservation of a station that hosted the likes of the Sagitarius, the Reliant, the Patton, the Galatea, the Bastion, the Aquitaine, the Vasudan Vengence, Hope, Psamtik and Memphis? Every major ship since humainty escaped the bounds of Sol through the present save the Colossus?
Apparently, all of them. At the beginning of the year, the battle ended. La Cava would be scrapped. Three weeks ago, the retrofitted beam cannon, a weapon that fired only in tests, and even then caused more damage to the station than it would ever inflict, was removed and likely scrapped as worthless. Last week, the remaining weapons were pulled from the station, leaving it defenseless, not that it needed defending. Even the small squadron of fighters were removed, as well as all the personal that supported them. Only a skeleton crew remained, and they were to leave when the scrapper arrived, on the first of the month.
So there was nothing to do, and nothing to pack now. Well, almost nothing, only a picture of Nelson's dearly departed wife, who died some three years ago now, and few pens and papers. The rest was stowed in a box next to the desk, ready for the trip. Silently, Nelson blamed Captian Gavin of the only other Boyington, McMurphy, out in Ribos. The bastard had been doing the same things as Nelson in protecting his station, only he had lied and cheated to get it. There's no way the Lucifer visited McMurphy and left without turning it into scrap!
"Sir, the First Light is leaving." The only other thing on the desk was a small screen connected with the central control room. On there was the face of a young Lieutenant who's first assignment was to oversee the shut down of the station.
"Thank you Lieutenant." He watched as the Sobek moved into the field of the window on the opposite side of the Deimos. The Terran warship would be the last, offload what supplies the Vasudan one didn't take, and the Sobek had taken an awful lot of supplies. Nelson wondered what the Vasudans were planning to do with all that stuff, its not like they were getting ready for war or anything, just getting the stuff off the station before it was turned into soda cans or something. No matter, there wasn't much point to the mess anymore, Nelson was ready to retire with the old station. Too bad it had to go before he did.
"Sir." That Lieutenant again.
"What?"
"We're getting a strange signal from the First Light. Have a listen."
We are the Neo-Hammer of Light. Those who follow the Eishtmo will be spared, Unbelievers will die. Surrender now.
"What the hell?"
"It's aimed at the Deimos sir."
Suddenly the room brightened as a beam shot out at the Terran corvette, scowering the hull. The ship rattled, but didn't open fire, its weapons powered down for the docking with La Cava. The First Light fired again, tearing deeper into the ship.
"Get out a signal to Command!" Nelson yelled, barely taking his eyes off the scene. The Deimos finally fired its own beam, nicking the Sobek, but doing little else. The targeting system must have been damaged, the Terrans were firing blind.
"I can't sir."
"Why not!?"
"Well, its just not possible." The tone wasn't angry, or frustrated, but resigned. Nelson may have been old, but the hint was obvious. He threw open the top drawer of the desk revealing the only thing in the whole desk, a small pistol. Outside, a bright flash went off as the Deimos met its fate. Nelson turned away and opened the door into the central control room.
"Put your weapon down Captain." A Vasudan soldier, probably off the Sobek, stood pointing a large, powerful rifle at his chest. Nelson shook his head slightly and handed the soldier his weapon.
He was escorted down to the control room floor where the rest of the crew was lined up against a wall. He settled next to the Lieutenant. "Sorry sir."
"It's alright," Nelson said. A thought then occured to him, and a smile ripped across his face. He even chuckled a little.
"Sir?"
"They can't shut us down now Lieutenant."
"I don't understand."
Nelson looked at him. "We've got history behind us now boy. We're at the start of a revolution!"
-
The Slimy Shivan
January 30
The music raged on at an unfavorable volume. Many of the patrons happily nodding their heads to it, while others straining to listen to what their friends had to say. Buck raised his head, smelling the foul stink of alcohol and sweat and shook his head awake.
"Uugh... What the hell?" Buck said to the himself in a heavy scottish accent, as he raised his head fully from the bar table. He looked down at a unconscious women sleeping on his lap and prodded her to see if she was still alive. She groaned as Buck poked at her, but didn't move an inch. Unceremouneously Buck pushed the unconscious woman off his lap and she fell with a thud to the pubs floor. Distant laughter above the loud music was heard from behind him. Buck grabbed a couple of peanuts from a bowl next to him and popped them all in his mouth. I need some protein. I need to stay awake... Ugh...
He stood up from his bar stool and held onto the bar table for ballance. He was certain that he was stationary and the rest of the world was spinning around him, being the stuborn prick he was. Closing his eyes, he tried to steady the planet.
"Heh, heh. Careful there buddy, or you'll spew your peanuts all over my bar table!" came a voice next to him.
"Ugh..." was Bucks only reply as he opened his eyes again. The world was steady again and he ventured foward towards the exit, bumping into a few patrons.
"Hey watch it!" Buck heard. He panned around and stared up at a looming bald headed freak of man. The guy stared down at him with a pissed off look and a giant ring hanging from his nose.
"Sorry there pal. Your nose ring distracted me." Buck replied.
"Oh really? How about I distract you with my FIST!" The music seemed to quiet down and many of the patrons turned around. Buck smiled broadly. Aah, a good way to sober up...
***
The streets were usually nice and quiet around this time. A perfect time to take out your girlfriend and show her the beauties of the city. Unfortunately sometimes you happen to get lost yourself in the vastness of the city you've grown up in.
Feeling rather embarrased with himself, Darren tried to figure out where he was, without alarming his girlfriend. He knew he took a wrong turn from the movie theater when he wanted to show her some of the darker streets of the city. What he wasn't counting on was actually getting lost in them. All around him he could see walls blackened by pollution and high rises of poverty stricken buildings. He knew about the place but never actually came here. Many people were living in the streets, shunned from the higher classed people. As a couple of bums walked by he noticed that some of them were even old pilots for the GTVA. Darren turned to see that they were happily talking about the glory days and their vast adventures.
Darren had always wanted to be a pilot. But he was forced to go to law school and then work for his father. His friends had gone, seeking glory and adventure. A couple of months later they were sent back in boxes. This made Darren change his mind rather fast. Now he worked for his father and happily lives in the middle of the city.
"Sweetie, where are we?" He turned around to stare into questioning eyes.
"Oh, were in the slums. But don't worry, this place is safe," Darren looked around and spotted a lone pub at a street corner. "Lets go inside and ask for directions."
Right then a huge bald man with a nose ring burst out of the window and crashed into the ground unconscious. Loud shouts were heard from inside followed by screams. Out of the door burst a man covered in flames running around trying to douse them, but onfortunately loses interest and just stops and collapses. Close behind him came a flow of people panicking to get out of the pub, with many of them bloodied and screaming.
Darren held his girlfriend close, who was screaming her head off as another man flew out of the window. A fire was lit inside the pub and it soon filled with acrid smoke that spewed out of the door and window. Finally, as the last panicked person left screaming the bar with a bloodied nose cursing "You burned my pub!", out of the smoke emerged a man carying a woman over his shoulder. He carried the woman to the closest street bench and dropped her there as the fire behind him raged on.
The man happily lit a cigarette and sat next to the unconcious woman, rubbing a big red welp on his temple. He then turned around and saw Darren and his girlfriend standing there, both holding each other in a death grip. Being polite the man stood up and walked over, offering a cigarette.
"So- Sorry... Don't smoke..." Darren replied as the man shrugged and pocketed his cigarettes.
The man eyed them and noticed their clothing was not of the area. "You guys seem to be lost eh, need any help?"
"no-no... Just directions..."
"You sure? I can give you a ride. My ships right over there. Just a couple of blocks down."
Darren eyed the burning corpse behind the man, and then quietly shook his head.
"Oh come on. It won't be problem. You guys are lucky to get out here without being raped! Least I can do is get you safely out."
The man grinned and Darren finally reluctantly agreed. His girlfriend however was shacking her head frantically.
"Oh by the way, whats yer name?" The man asked, stepping over the unconscious bald man as he began walking to his ship.
"Darren... Darren Fritz."
"Fritz eh? Heh, knew a Fritz in the GTVA long way back. But probably not related to you. I'm Buck. Buck "nine lives" Mcgregor."
The name flared something in Darrens memory but he couldn't remember it. But somehow he felt a bit more calmer, and a bit more scared.
"Why 'nine lives' ?" Darren looked down to see Linda manage to speak finally.
"Heheh... Thats a long story little las. Aye. Well, to put it in a nutshell it was my first day in the GTVA as a fully fledged fighter pilot. What should have been a rutine patrol ended up being a fight for survival ye has never seen! My whole wing was blown away in minutes but I managed to stay in the fight and blow away an entire convoy before the fleet realised I was still alive. I thought it was just an exercise or something. Oh well. After they found me bloodied and surrounded by shivan debris. After they scanned the flight recorders they were amased that I even survived. No one should have survived! But I did! Aye! So they called me nine lives after that. Like a cat ya see? Oh the days of old." Buck smiled to himself as they walked to his ship. Finally they turned a block and gazed upon a large ship that seemed to be a cross between a fighter and freighter.
"That ship doesen't seem to look... Legal..." Darren said.
"Aye, it aint. But me an the local force have an agreement ya know. I'm a bond collector." Buck said with a grin, running up the ramp of his ship.
It all came flooding back to Darren now and he gulped. Linda looked up at him confused.
"What is it honey? What is he?"
"He's a bounty hunter."
To Be Continued...
-
The Warlock, Vega System
1200 hours
Captain, we've had some intelligence reports from Beta Aquilae. The cool, semi-feminine voice of the Warlock broke into Captain McGregors sleep ritual. It'd only been a few days since he'd been picked up by the destroyer, but a lot had happened in that time. Including a somewaht hasty commissioning as a captain in the so-called Black Watch - largely due to his friendship with a certain Admiral 20 years before. Of course, he'd been told Admiral Cobb was dead, but since when did you believe what intel told you?
The rank - Captain - was a grade above his old SOC rank, but in a ship largely crewed by former elite GTVI officers it wasn't that high. For some reason, he'd been chosen as a replacement for Major Cunningham (the Watch used a strange hybrid of Army and Fleet ranks for some reason). According to Admiral Cobb 'the ship liked him'. Of course, if the ship liked him so much, why the hell was it interrupting his sleep?
"Understood, patch it through - summaries only, though" I understand. The text flashed on screen - rumours of an attack in Beta Aquilae on the GTS La Cava (currently unconfirmed), and a few messages from the rest of the fleet regarding heavy mobiliisation of the fleet in Vega. The latter concerned McGregor a lot. He didn't want the fleet on red alert, but if they moved into Beta Aquilae..... regardless, it was interesting and worrying.
"Um, do we have any names of involved ships?" We have accounts of a docking Deimos class vessel, name unconfirmed, and an unconfirmed rumour of a Sobek class corvette involved. McGregor scanned the report text again... no communications from the La Cava (hardly unusual, the station was due to be scrapped), but none from the Deimos corvette there, either. Although the Black Watch couldn't care less about the systems outside Vega, something about the reports worried McGregor. He hastily made up his mind, and summoned the Command staff.
1615 hours, BWCv Libertie
Captain Basualdo was growing impatient with command when the orders arrived in. Settling in front of the comms terminal, he opened up the coded transmission channel. "Cpt. Basualdo, BWCv Libertie, code Alpha-Gamma-Delta-6-3. Line is secured, go ahead Command."
"We have your signal locked down, Captain. You are to proceed to the Beta Aquilae jump node, and travel into the system itself. Once inside Beta Aquilae, conceal yourself and await further orders"
Basualdo was somewhat taken aback - the Black Watch had never operated outside Vega, nor had ever needed to.
"Command - why?"
"We believe there is a potential threat to the region in Beta Aquilae. Details are hazy, but we believe there is an emerging hostile force in the system. We'll transmit the intelligence we have at the end of this transmission."
"The BWCv Independence will accompany you. The Warlock will move into the vacinity of the node, and provide fighter escort when required."
"Understood. I'll prepare the crew myself." Basualdo knew the Warlock had never shown face in over 20 years, so it's moving to a highly visible location was a clear statement of support and intent.
"One thing, Captain. Prepare your crew to be battle ready, and prepare for engagement. Out."
The Libertie powered up it's subspace drive, and moved silently away from Cthulu.
-
January 30, 2385
Beta Cygni System
Cold Harbor Base
35 Kilometers from the Antares Jump Node
0900 hours
Nyx smiled. His latest report from his subordinate Relenir was favorable. The Baorin pirates had pledged their support for the coming operation. Other, smaller factions were sure to follow. The GTVA had thought that Beta Cygni was under effective control. In 3 days, they would be proved horribly wrong.
1700 hours
The mining group was escorted by nothing more than a cruiser and 2 fighter wings. Which was to be expected. There had been remarkably pirate little activity in Cygni for that past 7 months, so patrols and escorts had been stepped down. Some in the Security Council had even considered moving fleet assets out of Beta Cygni and into more problematic systems.
The Baorin wings began the fighting, attempting to draw the two wings into combat but being careful to avoid the Leviathan. The fighters were not taking the bait.
Three Herc II wings appeared and began to open fire on the civillian ships at the edge of the convoy. Another Baorin wing convinced the GTVA fighters to attack. With its two fighter wings tied up, the Leviathan called for backup and moved to engage. Straight into the trap.
A Noctis Aeolus jumped in behind the Leviathan and fired, causing massive damage to the port hull of the cruiser. A minute passed and the Leviathan's reactor was breached, destroying what was left of the ship. Three Satis gunboats belonging to Relenir's force jumped in and docked with three of the now completly disabled, disarmed, and unescorted mining ships.
The GTVA reinforcements jumped in just in time to see the pirates escape three ships plus.
The forces in Cygni would now have to step up patrols and escorts from rapidly increasing attacks, distracted away from the real operation that was to commence much deeper in the system...
-
January 30,2385
Beta Aquilae System
"Captian we ready to get under way." said John he gives a crewman a pda and pushes him away. Capt Victor Gorgola was sitting in his chair reading the latest reports. "ok john." he stares at the navigations officer "Mao head for the Laramis System. Full speed."
Mao entered the coordinates took out a calculator and said "ETA 5days 2hrs."
"Thank you!" replied Victor
now we have to wait.
-
Inside the BERSERKER
January 30
They had taken off about 10 minutes ago when suddenly Darren felt the ship shudder. Buck looked up to his console as he was in the midst of a conversation and cursed. He scrambled into the cockpit seat and adjusted his belt.
"Better buckle up kids," He shouted behind him. Darren and Linda did so with no argument. " we got a little company."
His ship, the Beserker was a true wonder to see in flight. He easily dodged the incoming fire as he veered up into orbit. Buck took a glance at his aft viewscreen and noticed that they were only two old merc fighters. However, both had old military markings that caught Buck's eye. Hmm, interesting... He barrel rolled to port as a missle shot right past his bow, glancing his starboard wing. Hey! That wasn't merc weaponry! He assesed the situation and took a quick starboard turn as they come up behind him. The mercs began their turn when suddenly one exploded into pieces as the top "hidden" turret of the Beserker came alive. The remaining merc veered off from his exploding wingman.
All the while, Darren and Linda were holding onto dear life as Buck controlled his ship with an almost satanic grin.
"Honey, who the hell is he?!" Darren looked over her shoulder to see if Buck heard, thankfully he didnt.
"He's a bounty hunter! THE bounty hunter! He captured Avant and his Six Thieves! He was the one that blew away the Dogs of War pirate base!" He saw her eyes widen in shock taking in what he just said.
"You mean he's the one who managed to rescue that Vasudan chancellor and his family from those anti-vasudan criminals? Didn't he go up against dozens of pirates and atleast two of their capital ships before discovering he was at the wrong place?" She said with a whisper. "And then when he finally freed them they gave him a country to own?"
"Aye! But it was hundreds not dozens. And they gave me a planet. Too big I told them, so I accepted the cash reward alone." Buck said as he flew his ship.
Both Darren and Linda looked towards Buck, in shock that he actually heard them, as he blew away the last merc. Finally, rubbing his hands, Buck stood up from his cockpit chair and came over to them.
"Now then, anyone want something to drink?"
-
Antares
NHD Psomething
A volley of beams echoed across the gap between the warships. On one side, a Terran destroyer fought a losing battle against the agressors, an NHOL destroyer and her escorts. In the valley between the battling beasts, fighters twisted and exploded in their own personal dances of death.
Aboard the Psomething, Keef smiled. The GTVA wasn't ready for them, as expected. Also a great number of his people were on the Neo-Hammer of Light's side in this war. It did his heart good to know that Lord Eishtmo's message had been well received. Only a few hours earlier had it begun to spread, the Eishtmo was coming, and the Unbelievers must be destroyed at his bidding.
Keef, a code name he had taken to protect himself and his followers, had gotten his message sometime ago to prepare, laying the ground work for the Eishtmo's arrival. A loyal member of the Hammer of Light, he had been a priest only five years ago, doing his duty to the Empire aboard ship. Then the call came, and within those five years he went from a Captain, chief priest of the GVD Psomething, to its commanding Admiral, thanks in no small part to the efforts of other Hammer of Light members.
The destroyer suddenly flashed, dying in a massive explosion that shook even the Psomething. This battle was over, and another waited ahead of him.
"Set course for the next target," Keef said. That's all these ships were to him, targets. They weren't even enemy ships, simply objects to be removed. The count was now at three corvettes, a destroyer, several cruisers and many, many fighters. Soon another batch of ships and fighters would join that toll.
But even his fleet, now moving away from the debris of the fallen, was nothing compared to what was coming. Lord Eishtmo had told him that there was a much more powerful force coming, one that would ensure victory for the NHOL, regardless of what the GTVA did. For now, though, he was to recruit from within the GTVA, and he did that by destroying Terrans, as many as he could. Soon the ranks of the Believers would swell until no one could oppose them, even without the special help the Eishtmo promised.
"Sir, a small battlegroup has been spotted on an intercept course," the Psomething's Captain said.
"What is it?"
"A destroyer and two corvette escorts, full compliment of fighters."
"Very well, we'll take them first, then move on to the Terran instillation. Order the fleet to form up and call in our support. Let us show them the true power of the NHOL!"
-
Vasuda
Bridge of the GTC Lugh
January 30th
Captain O'Reilly entered the bridge, just back from a meeting with Rear Admiral McCormick.
Commander Johnson, the XO, rose out of the captain's chair. "So Captain, where are we being shipped off to?"
O'Reilly sat in his chair and turned to face his exec. "We're being deployed to Antares. Apparently, the Hammer of Light is back. At least one destroyer is definitely there, possibly more."
Within the hour, the task force had departed for Antares.
Antares
The 18 ships of the task force entered into the system.
Lieutenant Commander Kelly looked up from his console. "Sensors have picked up a Vasudan destroyer with escorts attacking a Terran destroyer, which appears to be greatly outnumbered."
The captain relayed this information to the Rear Admiral, who ordered him to engage the Vasudan destroyer.
In order to present more targets, the task force broke up into 6 groups, each containing a Lugh-class battlecruiser, designed to fill the gap between corvettes and destroyers, and 2 Fenris-class Light Cruisers to provide additional antifighter support.
They then set their engines to full, and attempted to engage the NHOL.
-
Wolf 359
January 30th
"So what's our plan of attack?"
Trellor, wearing a long black cloak about his uniform, glanced at the speaker, a short clean-shaven man wearing an Admiral's uniform. He glanced down again at the large system map layed out over the table-screen, "Well my good Jevolius that is what we are here to determine."
Hishmal pointed to Luyten which expanded to fill the screen, "I would suggest here Emperor. It is known commonly as the bottleneck. A place that would cut off the GTVA from accessing Wolf 359 and Barnard's star."
"Excellent Hishmal. A perfect place to blockade at. We will set up ships here," Trellor pointed to the Laramis node, "And deploy the RBC's we aquired from the good Admiral Kahmsu. We will deploy again at Dubhe. Thus securing the "Backwater Systems" from our enemies."
A female Vasudan Admiral leaned forward over the map, "And what about the shipyards in Barnard's Star?"
"Plans are already in motion," Hishmal replied, "My operatives will have it in our control soon. Communication outside of theses systems has been carefully filtered to provide the GTVA no indication of our activities here."
Trellor clasped his hands behind his back and walked slowly around the circumfrence of the raised dais that the table sat on. He glanced casually out the high windows that over-looked the city from the heights of the Tactical Command Center. "The new Dominator class destroyers will be arriving shortly. They were not easy to aquired but will be most useful in the soon-to-come conflicts."
He looked over his shoulder at the congregation of renegade Admirals and Generals around the table-screen, "It won't be much longer before the GTVA takes note of our activities. A few days at most. We need to be ready for them."
"I may be able to assist in that matter," Hishmal dropped a small data pad on the table, "My agents recently aquired some interesting news. The GTVI have moved their latest version of the Upsilon Device to a remote station in Ross 128."
"An Upsilon Device? Interesting," Trellor raised an eyebrow, "Can it be acquired."
"Yes. With time and resources."
"Take what you need my friend. Such a device could be...useful. How is the progress on the new weapons projects?"
Jevolius, the man who had spoken first, cleared his throat, "They are almost ready sir. Another week at most."
"Good," Trellor turned back to face the group, "In the meantime get your forces into position. Use the nesessary means to ensure that no one suspects you are anything but routine GTVA patrols. The news of your sudden disappearances won't be noted for at least a few more days. If anyone gets in your way...crush them."
-
FWDn Archangel
Sigma Draconis-Tau Ceti Jump Node
Sigma Draconis system
0900 Hours Galactic Standard Time
January 31, 2385
Four days ago, the Avalon had discovered an alien device in Delta Pavonis. Two days ago, it was decided to mount a recovery and analysis operation, and news of the discovery was spread throughout the FWA. The scientific community was as excited as Davis could remember it ever being, and a veritable fleet of civilian science vessels and military research craft was already en route to Delta Pavonis. The recovery operation was temporarily suspended, as many scientists wanted to study the device in its current location. Even the archelological societies were getting involved; it was suggested, and preliminary evidence supplied by the Avalon's science officers seemed to confirm, that the device was of similar construction to many of the ancient ruins scattered across FWA worlds. It was known that this race possessed subspace technology, and there were suggestions that this device may act on subspace, though how or why remained a mystery. The past 72 hours had been very busy, and there seemed to be no relief in sight. "Sir, the fleet is assembeled," the snappy report from the comms officer on duty broke the Admiral's thoughts. "Very well," replied Davis, "Helm, take us to Tau Ceti. We will rondevous with the fleet before making for Delta Pavonis. Engage subspace drive when ready."
Momentarily a blue glow engulfed the Archangel, as its mighty subspace drives powered up. The ship slipped into the node, and was gone.
-
GTC Virginia
Ross 128 System
January 31, 2385
"Everyone to their battlestations. I repeat get to your battlestations." Yelled Loran
Victor ran through the corrider passing crewman on the way to the bridge. Pushing past a few who were to slow.
Victor yells "What the hell is going on!" he sits in his chair
John responds, "We are about to exit subspace to recharge our jumpdrives and well we are going to end up in the middle of an ambush."
Victor eye's his first officer then starts giving commands.
the GTC Virginia exits subspace. A pirate attack group that was sitting in space before awakening with life and started to head straight for the Virginia. The pirate bombers broke off from the rest while attempting to destroy the engine subsystem while triple A beams streak after them.
"Victor there's the Support ship. should we destroy them?" asked Weapon ops
"Fire the Beam cannon and hold off those damn bombers." replied Victor
The green beam vaporized the support ship. The Pirate commander watches their support ship blink out of existence. the commander of the pirate Attack group calls for reinforcements. A few minutes later a patched together Leviathen class cruiser jumps in starting to fire lasers and it's main beam cannon. the Leviathen's name Valkyries Fury was on the engine section of the ship. The Valkyries Beams scorched the Virginia's hull melting through also venting air. The Virginia's beams nearly melted the piranha missile launcher on the Valkyries Fury.
"Sir, Engines at thirty percent. jump engines are at maximum ready to jump at your command."said John
"Get us the hell out of here,NOW!" yelled Victor
The GTC Virginia jumped out heavily damaged with beam scars near the airlock, air venting. Victor was glad to get out of there.
"Where are we at?" asked Victor
"Ross 128 system, sir!" replies the navigator
"Okay, see if there's an Arcadia Installation near by willing to give us repairs." said John
The navigator and communication officers started searching coming up with one.
the navigator said with a worried tone,"The station that encountered the shivans, sir."
"Exit subspace and commit to microjumps to the installation. Hope, hope to whomever you praise that the installation isn't occupied by the pirates." said Victor
-
OCC: Sorry I'm late Grey Wolf, but duty called. Of course, you may regret it after this.
Antares
NHD Psomething
The first flashes of death went off as the fighters of the two battle groups advanced on each other. The small ships dipped and weaved through each other and the weapons fire trying to break through to the otherside, guiding their bomber charges to their targets. Sweeps of missiles flooded the now crowded battlefield.
And then came the cruisers. Two NHOL cruisers jumped out into the middle of the furball, knocking any and all out of the way as they exited their portals. Now anti-fighter weaponary came to bear, cutting bombers to shreads.
The GTVA commander wasn't a fool, though. A second flight of bombers and fighters jumped in nearly on top of the advancing, and seemingly defensless, NHOL forces. The bombs dropped from their bays, and screamed toward the NHD Psomething, the largest sitting duck in all history. That is, until the bombers fighter cover shot forward and destroyed the bombs. Half of the fighter escort turned on the bombers, tearing them to ribbons.
While GTVA Command tried to figure what was going on, more portals opened. Corvettes and cruisers of a dozen different types appeared right beside the GTVA forces, funnelling them toward the Psomething and her small battlegroup. In all, nearly thirty ships had appeared, and the chances of a GTVA victory nearly vanished into nothingness.
Keef smiled at the sight. "And just think Captain," he said quietly. "We are just a small part of the advance force!"
Alpha Centauri
NHD Vengence
"Milord," Ma'thon said with a short bow.
"Yes," Eishtmo said without looking up. His desk was covered in papers and report tablets, most dealing with their destination and the status of Ice Heart's fleet.
"Keef is engaging a sizable GTVA fleet in Antares."
"That's good," Eishtmo said. "That will keep the GTVA busy for a bit." He stopped a moment, then began digging through the various paperwork. "Ah. Yes, this would be a good time."
"What would that be my lord?"
"Order the 5th Fleet to Attack Vasuda Prime," Eishtmo said. "Time to send the Emperor a message."
-
OOC: Since he's taking his time, I'll play with Vasuda
Vasuda
Ten thousand years ago, the various factions of the Vasudan race were brought under a single flag and name, the Empire. From the Imperial capitol, Vasudan Emperors have commanded billions. Times changed, a Parlament was established, and they commanded the Vasudan people until the Great War.
When Vasuda was destroyed.
Not really destroyed. The Lucifer destroyed every major city and monument on the planet, rendering 90% of it more uninhabitable than it already was. Still, a small fraction remained, and when the Shivans had been drivin away, and the Emperor disolved the Parliment, a new capitol was built on that fraction.
The Imperial City of Vasuda. It is here, for the last 50 years, the Vasudan people rally to a cause greater than themselves, rebuilding a demolished civilization, and comming out stronger because of it. A symbol of the power of the Emperor, and a target of hate of the Vasudans.
Followers of the Neo-Terran Front, whose weapons and ships were destroyed by the GTVA after the Second Incursion, chose to make this their target. Bombings were frequent in those later years. Today, they are all but forgotten by all but the oldest, and they believed it would never happen again.
And then the bombs of the Neo-Hammer of Light fell. The battle above the Imperial City raged, viewable by those on the ground. Flashes of dying ships and the streaks of beam cannons were watched like fireworks against the cold desert night. When the fighters of the NHOL finally managed to break through, the horrors began again. The people screamed in terror, fled their homes in a mass panic. Even the Emperor fled, moving to an underground system that pulled him far from the capitol to a shelter in the middle of the wastelands.
When the fear subsided, and the NHOL had been driven away, the people returned, the Emperor returned. They re-exaimined their reactions, and were appaled by it. The message of the Eishtmo had been sent, and hundreds of thousands were convereted by it.
On that day, only three bombs fell, and they hit nothing.
-
FWSC Vespucci
Sigma Draconis-Tau Ceti Jump Node
Sigma Draconis system
1115 Hours Galactic Standard Time
February 3, 2385
Professor Blake, formerly the head of the archeological team on Epsilon Eridani IV, had been studiously working over a collection of alien transcripts in an attempt to decifer their meaning. (OOC: my faction never encountered the Vasudans, and thus have had more difficulty in translating ancient texts.) He glanced out the porthole of his quarters, only to see the massive hull of the archangel not two kilomaters away. Blake never had liked the military. While he understood its purpose even when there was no hostile force capable of touching the FWA, Blake still felt uncomfortable when he saw the massive FWA warships. It was only with hesitancy that he had boarded even this barely armed science cruiser less than a week ago. How he wanted to see these ships jump out and leave a scientific expedition to its own devices. "That's it!" he said aloud. He pressed the comm switch on his desk, and said "Bridge, I need a secure comlink to the Archangel. I must speak with Admiral Davis as soon as possible.
FWDn Archangel
Admiral Davis heard the message from across the bridge, despite all of the noise and commotion that always engulfed it. It wasn't even very loud, but Davis knew it would only be a matter of time until he started getting requests from the scientists to experiment on the alien device. He walked up to the comm to see a balding man in a white coat in the viewer, having a terse conversation with Leiutenent Belle. "Academia," Davis thought. He never could take the air of superiority assumed by so many scientists. He nodded to Belle, and she switched the transmission to Davis.
"What can I help you with, professor?" Davis asked, hiding his annoyance.
"Admiral," Blake responded, "I have some information on this device that we cannot afford to pass up. I have recently translated a piece of alien text which refers to a 'star gate', something which I was about to take as a misinterpretation. The text describes activation and deactivation codes for an alien device of some kind. I think we have found one of these 'star gates', powered down from millinia of disuse but probably still operational. I would like to try the activation codes on the gate if I may."
"Where will it lead?" Davis asked.
"We don't know. Your guess would be as good as mine. We do think that it works on subspace, possibly on natural nodes too unstable or weak for our use. There does seem to be enough subspace distortion in this region to indicate the presence of such a node, though granted not a very strong indication of one."
"If true," Davis replied, "this could lead to some dangerous situations indeed. I would prefer to try this on a node that we know leads to secure space."
"We know of no such node, sir" was the scientist's response.
"But we do. It's history now, since no one can find even a remote trace of it, but we still know exactly where the node to Sol was located. Can we move this device - this 'gate'?"
"I'm not the subspace scientist, but I've run into passages about constructing these 'star gates' in my research. The were built in planetary orbit, so I would think that they could be moved."
"Thank you professor, I will have to insist that you accompany this operation until we set up in Sigma Draconis. Admiral Davis out."
Davis turned back to Belle. "Have the transports ready themselves for towing. We're going to move this thing back to our space."
-
OOC - I'm running out of filler ideas. Hurry up Grey Wolf, or I'll just blow your fleet to hell and move on.
Zeta Pegasi
NHD Iron Fist
Admiral "Ice Heart" Harak Chontamentet stared out across the fleet of the Neo-Hammer of Light. Everyone who enters space, he had long ago concluded, eventually stares at the stars from a large window like he was doing at the moment. The Private Observation deck of the Iron Fist was dark, as usual, so Harak could see the dark bodies of the fleet moving against the planet outside. This was his fleet, not just under his command, but litterarly his. He had built it, molded it with his own hands. They were loyal to him, and him alone.
Save for the Eishtmo, to whom they were all loyal. Harak could remember the first time he heard the message of the Eishtmo, as a young pilot aboard the Iron Fist, fighting the Shivans during the Second Incursion. The call had come, and with many others, more than he could count, they had taken over the mighty destroyer, and disappeared into the night. They left evidence of its destruction, even a few of their number stayed behind to "tell the tale."
Then they arriaved at Zeta Pegasi, one of the two hidden and distant Hammer of Light colonies. Depression was all that Harak felt when he saw it. These were not holy warriors, but religious zelots, weak, undesiplined, yet totally loyal. It took time, but the relativily small crew of the Iron Fist transformed them, and as the years passed, Harak became their leader.
And then he built his fleet. The Ramses was first, the mighty destroyer that would be the model for an entire class named after it. A hybrid of Vasudan and Shivan technology, it had the weapons and armor to make it next to invincible on the battlefield.
The Ramses class was the first, followed by the Imhotep corvette and the Snefru cruiser. All three were twisted mixes of Vasudan and Shivan technology, all three were the deadliest the Vasudan people had ever built. Yet they were all overshadowed by the modifications to the Iron Fist. The mighty Hatshepsut was changed, modified, improved. It no longer even looked like any other member of its class. And what power. At his fingertips was the power of a juggernaut, with nary a rival to its power as far as the eye could see.
As far as Harak's eye could see. There was another Hammer of Light colony, out in Cassiopiea 528. It was well known to most of his people, as they had been transfered here soon after the Iron Fist had begun its work. But many were still there, building something, something powerful. It was to be the Eishtmo's flagship, and would lead them to victory. That's why it was called the Victorious.
"Admiral." Vice Admiral Temara Ryksos, Commander of the Ramses NHD Abydos entered the room quietly.
"What is it my friend?"
"A report from GTVA space. The Eishtmo is on the move, and the first phase of the plan is in action."
"Excellent. How long before he reaches Cass 528?"
"Three or four days, perhaps as much as a week."
Harak thought on this for a moment. "Good. Perpare the fleet for another set of manuevers. I want to be ready when the call comes."
"There's something else sir." Ryksos handed a small tablet to Harak. "This just arrived from Cass 528. We are to retool the shipyards to produce them."
The Ice Heart examined the images. Blueprints and specifications for three new ships, unlike any he had seen before. Few details revielded themselves to him, but there was much that was unfamiliar.
"They also included plans for the advanced portions of the ships. Our engineers are examining them as we speak."
"There are no names."
"No sir, as per Lord Eishtmo's orders." Ryksos moved unconfortably. "Apparently he believes many heroes will be made, and these ships are to be named after the greatest." A pause, a moment for his words to sink in.
"I see."
"However, I think our fellow Believers may already have a name in mind for the destroyer. Though there is no official name, a nickname has already been given to it." The Vice Admiral scrolled the screen to a hand written phrase at the bottom of the main blueprints.
"The Voice of God."
-
February 4th, 2385
Beta Cygni System
Fredericksburg Base
Alexis Relenir was anxious. Preparing for the attack had taken far longer than he had expected. Fornunately, to compensate, this gave his forces extra time to draw away greater and greater assets of the Beta Cygni fleet away from the inner system. Now only the Troiana, an Orion, and the Phobos and Hestia, two corvettes remained in "The Deep Red", as the region was called. Soon one would be destroyed and the other captured.
February 5th, 2385
GTCv Hestia
"All right, all right, what is it?" said Lieutenant Commander Seret Kallon, XO of the Hestia. He was desperately trying to get some sleep while he had the chance.
"We just picked up a distress call. Captain wants you here immediately."
"Oh, great..." He hurredly put on his uniform shirt and ran to the bridge.
"I'm here, what's this about a distress call." His eyes were immediately immersed in the blue-white hue of subspace.
"A freighter, near Cygni 3. They reported that pirates have disabled them. We are about 15 seconds away."
"How many pirates were there?"
"They didn't say, their comm was breaking up- The blue white hue was replaced by the pitch black of space.
And to greet the Hestia were five cruiser, and countless number of fighters. There was no freighter to be found. The sensored screamed of hostile contacts.
"Oh ****."
NC Balrog
"Dammit, those bomber's need more cover!" said Relenir. The battle was going badly. They expected just a quick strike, only to find a much better protected Troiana than expected. Her hull integrity was still at 45% and her reinforcemetns had arrived. Meanwhile his bomber which he had worked so hard to obtain were being torn to bits.
"This is never going to work, we've already lost 4 times as many people as we were supposed to." He sighed. "Withdraw."
Well, we still have something to claim as a victory. She's badly wounded and it will take a while to repair her. And there still is the Hestia... Relenir waited anxiously for news on that front.
Kallon had barely made it out of the rapidly decompressing bridge before the doors closed when the blast shield ruptured from extremely accurrate fire. They wanted someone to survive from the bridge, they want to capture us...
"Sir, Commander!" yelled one of the crew rushing to Kallon. "Is the Captain dead?"
"Yes, he's dead... he was right behind me, he almost made it out. It appears I'm captain now. Damn those pirates! Where did they get all that firepower?"
"We've recived a transmission from them. They're ordering us to surrender."
Ordering us? Still, we have no chance. Well...
"Tell them we surrender."
-
Wolf 259
February 5th
"They know," Hishmal said as he walked up to the raised dais at the head of the large chamber. Through the tall windows, a single chair looked out with Trellor perched like a predator.
Trellor didn't turn from his view over the glowing lights below but nodded slightly, "It was bound to happen sooner or later."
"The GTVA itself hasn't released the information to it's regular corps, but the GTVI is mobile."
"The GTVI?" at this Trellor stood and turned, his face contorted with a scowl, "They are sending the intelligence corps after us?"
Hishmal blinked, "Worse then that. They are sending Robertson."
"Robertson," Trellor's voice was like ice, "Admiral Robertson. So they decided the only way to stop me is to send in my former partner. That means they know it's me and that means, we have an insider." Trellor began to pace slowly across the dais. He took off his Admiral's cap and ran his hand through his silvery hair.
Hishmal didn't move from his position near the stairs, "Shall I have the intelligence teams begin a sweep?"
Trellor stopped as though the question had stunned him. A moment later he resumed pacing, "No. That will arouse suspicion and the GTVI will move their timetable up. For now we simply go on as planned. What is the status of our forces?"
"The weak GTVA presence in these systems was no match for our ships. We destroyed the GTC Amok, GTC Cypher and GTCv Adonis without trouble. We lost the TIC Forge to a fighter squadron however."
"Replaceable."
Hishmal nodded, "Yes. Replaceable. The shipyards are in our possession and the blockades have been established as requested. The RBC platforms will be online within 24 hours. Also, the GTD Imperium, GTD Brimstone, and GTD Damoclese have arrived."
Trellor smiled, "The new Dominator class destroyers. Excellent. Have the Imperium take command in Dubhe, the Damoclese in Luyten and have the Imperium remain here."
"As you wish. The Dwarf fighters will be ready for a trial run in a week. The Upsilon Device aquisition is taking a little longer then anticipated but will be ours before two weeks is though. Lastly...there is one other delicate matter..."
"Cerberus?"
"Yes sir. Cerberus. The notes your father gave you are not specific enough to the hiding place. It make take us some time to sift through the nebula and locate it."
"Just find me that ship Hishmal. It is important that you find that ship."
"To the Imperium or to you sir?"
Trellor sat back in his chair, looking out over the city once more, "There is no difference."
-
Februrary 6th, 2385
Beta Cygni System
Fredericksburg Base
"With our capture of the Hestia, I beleive it is time to discuss our long term plans."
Relenir began the briefing. He would have liked to have waited to begin discussing permanent partnership with these pirates, but Nyx had insisted it be done now.
"Before we can attempt to really begin pushing for control of Beta Cygni, we must realize two things."
"One, the GTVA simply does not have enough resources to properly guard anywhere outside the inner regions. They have approxamately 50 ships on patrol or escort, with enough strength to effective guard one-fourth of the area they must cover now."
"Two, our intelligence and probably those of your forces also can see that we are outnumbered and outgunned 15 to one, even with the Hestia. Understand that we can never win any large engagement."
The leader of the Baorin Pirates, "Warlord" Joseph Hadur interrupted him.
"Still, we must increase the pressure on them. Now is the time to begin attacking their heart."
"Hadur, just as the GTVA does not have the resources to control the outer regions, we simply do not have the firepower to begin attacking the inner region. The attack on the Troiana has cost us dearly."
"An attack which you commanded! You were overly cautious with the Orion's escorts, and we lost too much time because of it."
Those fools! They have no grasp of strategy. We would have lost half our attack force if they had been commanding.....
"Hadur, this is not small convoy and wings of fighters we are attacking! This is the GTVA fleet we are talking about. Destroyers, not cruisers. It would be fatal to be too aggressive too early."
"Than what is our plan? I am waiting."
"We must convince the GTVA that they simply cannot control the belt and force them inward. With the Hestia, I believe we do have enough firepower for such an operation...
-
OOC - Wow, quiet in here. I'll fix that.
Tau Sigma
GTC Horan
The GTVA is filled with reminders of the past, stretching from the ruins of Vasuda, to the decaying Boyington's. Each once was the shining beacon of their civilizations, the guideposts to the future, the gateways to the stars. But time and war have pushed these aside, making way for new monuments, new stations, new ships, and new worlds.
Yet there are still pieces of history that are at work in this world of the future. Where beam cannons and flak guns now dominate, ships that were built before they were even concived continue to ply the sea of stars, seeking to protect all who are under their care. The Galactic Terran Cruiser Horan, Leviathan class, is one of them. Built during the inital construction run of the class, more than 60 years earlier, the Horan has served in more single battles than any other ship in the fleet. It helped lift the GTA to victory in Gulnara, and just managed to survive the Vega Engagement, one of the few to do so. It fought on the lines against the Shivans, even taking on a Cain alone for nearly an hour before reinforcements arrived. As the Vasudans began to wipe out the last of the Hammer of Light, what the thought was the last that is, the Horan was forced to protect an ailing Vasudan cruiser from a HoL suicide attack. During the Second Incursion, now fitted with beams and flak, it again took on a Cain, winning without help this time.
But that was long ago. Though the Horan still commanded respect, it was out gunned by the newer cruisers coming of the line. Yet when the call came out for a ship to test the newest high tech ion cannons, the Horan was the first to arrive, and the first to show what the old warhorse of the fleet could really do. For a brief moment, now nearly five years ago, the Horan was a warship again, the star of the GTVA.
It kept the cannon, of course, but the while the weapons were new and powerful, the ship was ancient beyond anyone's standards. It was schedueled to be decomissioned in a couple of months, on the anniversary of its comissioning, at 61 years of age.
Captian Bud Aelred is also schedueled to be decomissioned then, retire actually, but only at 59. It made him feel good that the entire crew was younger than the ship itself, it made him feel young. Out here, on the edge of known space, that was one of the few feelings he got any more. The other was boredom, and lots of it.
"Sir, sensors picking up a subspace portal, Vasudan configuration." Lieutenant Louis Sandra, sensor operator. Greatest wish: To be the first to positivily identify the start of the Third Shivan Incursion. As such, she's always on the look out for the strange and weird.
"That's not so strange Lieutenant, we are in a Vasudan system." For the last four months, the Horan had patrolled Tau Sigma, one of the most remote Vasudan systems in existance. The "colony," if one could call it that, amounted to a small outpost station and an automated mining colony. Nothing of any real interst in the system except the two nodes out, one to Altair the other to a desolate dead end.
"Sir, its a destroyer, and its right in front of us!" The main screen lit up with blue swirl of a subspace portal only a few hundred meters from the Horan's bow.
"All stop!" Aelred yelled.
"Aye aye!" Spacefares Mate John Johnson, helmsmen. Parents were uncreative with his name apparently. The only reason he joined the military was a bumper sticker he say that said "My other car is a Hecate." He thought it would be cool to have one too.
The Vasudan destroyer pulled through the portal, its purple hull almost invisible against the black sky. "Typhon class, they must have sent them out to pasture like us." Commander Todd Ripper, Exceutive Officer. Young, intellegent, wants to serve on a ship that might see action one day. He will, he will.
"I doubt that," Aelred said. "Sission, hail them."
"Aye sir." Lieutenant JG Julie Sission, communications. Whenever she gets a chance, she transmits a fairly powerful signal towards Earth in an attempt to tell a long lost relative that the family is still alive. They haven't heard anything back yet, but they're still trying. "I've got the captain sir."
"On the main screen, if you please." The screen flashed the face of the Vasudan captain, his (or her, hard to tell) crew moving busily around in the back. "Welcome to Tau Sigma Captain, I'm Captain Bud Aelred of the GTC Horan."
"Thank you Captain, I am Captian Je'ph T'pl of the GVD Vengence. Our apologies for nearly hitting you, we did not know you'd be out here." Aelred could remember a time when the translation would be so flat, you couldn't tell if the Vasudan was joking or dead serious. This one was serious.
"Quite alright. What brings you out this far?"
"Vasudan Command wishes us to take another survey of the system beyond. They believe another node may be found there."
"They're sending you on a wild goose chase." I hope that translates right. "We've had dozens of survey ships in the system and they've found nothing. Hell, I've been in there, and my sensor operator couldn't find anything. And she's on the look out for Shivans half the time."
"No disrespect," translators aren't perfect. "But we do have quite a bit more equipment than you do. And we have our orders."
"Understood. Well, have fun. If you find anything, let us know."
"We will do so, Vengence out."
"Sir, Typhon's have a lot of equipment, but they should have at least two or three long range survey ships with them," Sandra said.
"He's lying." Lieutenant Jake Thomas, weapons officer. Good shot, but a declared anti-Vasudan. The only thing that keeps him from going off on the locals is the fact that he's more scared of them than anything else.
"Agreed," Aelred said. He rarely did that with Thomas' remarks, but the statement was true. "But confronting them will do no good."
"Then what do you want to do?" Todd said.
"After they've gone through the node, we'll send a probe after them, say an hour later."
"They'll be suspious."
"We'll say we're doing it to keep an eye on them, for safety sake. Thomas, prepare the probe."
"Aye sir."
Aelred turned to the main screen, the mighty Typhon moving off toward the node in the distance. Perhaps, he thought, this tour would have at least one interesting thing about it after all.
-
Tis' quiet again.
February 10th, 2385
Beta Cygni System
Fredricksburg Base
Kallon had been waiting for over half an hour in the large room. His handcuffs, to use the archaic term, had been removed, and he had helped himself to the refreshments they had left him. He even tried the door, it was locked. He chuckled. Doubt they would be that stupid. The room he had been “confined” in for the past 4 days was far more comfortable than he had expected. He had decided to just wait, mostly because he didn’t know what to do.
Finally, the door was opened, and a man of roughly medium build walked in. His hair had a dark brown color, with a tinge of red in it. He was better dressed than most of the people he’d seen on this base.
“Hello, Commander Kallon, as you can see, we don’t have much in the way of holding cells, so I had you put in one of the lower quality dorms. I take it you appreciate this, hmmm?
He had decided previously to give these pirates straight answers. “Yes…quite nice, although I don’t know if that’s a good sign.”
The man smiled. “That’s good enough. Time to introduce myself. You may have heard of me. My name is Alexis Relenir.”
“Hell yeah I’ve heard of you. You were the XO of the Perecles. You were rising through the ranks, and you deserted with a promotion coming. You were quite a story 2 years back.”
“I highly doubt that the news gave an accurate account. But that is irrelevant. You gave the surrender order on the Hestia…” Kallon looked down. Relenir tried again. “Commander-
“What has happened to my men?” Kallon asked abruptly.
“They are fine, their quarters aren’t bad, though we’ve had a lot of trouble finding places to keep them. Of course that’s ok, considering we now have a Deimos. Which brings me to the point of this meeting. You see, it won’t take long to repair her, but we are short on crew. And the people who are available are more experienced with smaller ships.”
“And you want us to help you out? The answer is no, pirate. And you need me if you want the crew.”
“Correct, but I still think I can have you, prisoner,” which he said with distaste. “And I believe you mistake us for the Baorin. We are not pirates.”
Kallon shifted his head back. “Then who-
“Your crew and you will serve on the Hestia. In return they will be taken care of. We will keep the ratio of my men to your men at least 3 to 2, to make sure you don’t try to revolt while the ship is out. There is no alternative. We need the Hestia in order to take Beat Cygni.”
Kallon gasped in horror. “Take Beta Cygni!?”
“Yes, you fool. Your precious GTVA only grows weaker…
-
OOC: I'm on my way, but I still need more action around Sol/Delta Serpentis or I'll just be running in to inactive territory. The lack of activity here is annoying, as I need some action at my destination to begin wreaking havoc of my own. Who had Earth?
FWDn Archangel
Mystic Gate Staging Area
Sigma Draconis system
1600 Hours Galactic Standard Time
February 12, 2385
The Alien device, recovered a week earlier, was undergoing final setup phases at the old Sigma Draconis - Sol jump node. Science ships had been screening the area for several days, and had finally located a small convergence in subspace that marked the bounds of the collapsed node. The alien device had been towed into position, and final preperations were underway to begin activation. Admiral Davis watched from his ready room as the last component was positioned around the node. The desk that once sat in the center of the room had been lowered into the floor (a special feature of the Archangel's command briefing room was that it could be reformed to serve multiple functions) and a holograph projector was active. "Good," Davis said to himself. The hologram displayed a map of the local sector, and Davis could tell that all of the Second Fleet and most of the First Fleet were in position to prepare for the unexpected. For all he knew, the portal that he had brought into the seat of Terran Power in the FWA would open to a system filled with whatever ancient race had constructed it, and which would sweep out ino Terran space once activated. He felt confident in the science reports, which had continued to point to the subspace stabilization properties of the device, and was not worried, but he was not going to take any chances. It would not be long now, he thought, before the device would be brought on line and the readiness of the FWA to face the unexpected could be put to the test. Davis peered back out the viewport into the depths of space. A patroling fighter wing caught his eye, and he watched them coast across his field of vision. "So beautiful," he said aloud, "and yet so dangerous. Are we ready to plunge back into the unknown?"