[Alex Heartnet]

Why do you only send 1 guy over to board? I?m sure oyu cna spare one more from one of the less important positions.

I volounteer for boarding suport.

This is Sector 7 6.  At this point, all the crew positions are important.

Edit:  Can't count

[Alex Heartnet]

(Sorry for the long delay between posts – being ill sucks.)

Oh look!  It’s the slug that tricked us earlier, flying what must be his spare ship!  Finally, a chance to get revenge!







With the rebel fleet nipping on our tails and a store beacon nearby, the logical thing to do is to jump into the nebula.



Sadly, the store does not have much to offer except repairs.  The scrap metal instead goes towards upgrades.





Another shop!  And I just spent most my my scrap…bugger…









...Wait a second.  What did we just purchase?



Bah!  Evil lawyers, with their fancy 'contracts'!  Power up the teleporter, and flush the intruders out of the airlock!



NGTM-1R shoots the intruders at point blank range as they force their way through the door.



The slugs should really connect the life support system with the rest of the ship.  But then again, isolating the life support does mean that slug shipyards can sell more used ships…







Alert!  Intruder on deck….oh wait, it’s just Jabba the Hut.  Cancel the alarm.



Guess it won’t hurt to ‘hire’ a human ‘worker’.  Perhaps sell the Pegasus and Artemis missile launchers in the hold, and….ooh!  Glaive beam!







Guess I will hire another worker with my remaining scrap.  A pleasure doing business with you, Jabba.  Really.  You had just what I required.

[FireSpawn]

Captain's Log:

I like to think of myself as a tolerant and open minded federation officer. I have a multi species crew, and my roomate back at the academy was an Engi (that sonofacoffeemachine new more about astronavigation than the instructors, and was one hell of a party animal. Hell, even the other Engi cadets were amazed by the fact that he both managed to obtain several quarts of depleted reactor gel but also didn't suffer any adverse effects after he drunk it all, all his attempts to copulate with the air-con aside...But I digress). But the Slugs? Them, I can barely stand. We've been in this Slug nebula for a couple of days now, and we've faced numerous counts of back-stabbing and piracy. Add to that, their psionic abilities and the sensitive infomation I have, we end up with a possible problem.

In other news, I've been recieving complaints from several members of the crew that their is a fowl smell coming from a closet in the weapon bay, which has been equiped with a no-standard mantis locking mechanism and reinforced with a spare hull plate. Due to my lack of knowlege of Mantis customs, and an attatchment to all my limbs, I will task NGTM1R with the investigation.

[Scourge of Ages]

Scourge's log:

Slugs. Yep. Love 'em. I think the standard practice from here on should be: If they're not on your payroll, always assume you're going to need to cut them into gooey fillets. Even if they are on your payroll, keep an eye on 'em. I say this because we got boarded by a few of them while the captain was chatting with a Slug about some possible acquisitions. Took care of them easily enough.

Trashman's been looking a bit green recently, I wonder if he can smell my closet? I emptied it out a few jumps ago, but I guess there's some bits I missed? I should sneak in there and swab it down sometime. Or, better yet, make our new Slug do it! Yes.

[TrashMan]

TrashMan's log:

Two new crewmembers joined our motly crew. Now I'm not the greenest here (unless you count my skin color near Scourges locker. What the hell does he keep in there that can stink so impossibly bad? Serisouly. We should weponize that s***!)

One of the new crewmembers is a slug.. Yeah, you can all see where this is going, no? No one really trusts him and I can't say I blame them given all our experience with that species. I kinda pitty the guy. He's going to have to work really hard to earn the crews trust.

The good news of today is that the other new crewmemeber is a woman! Finally. I was getting tired of the sausagefest anyway. Had a nice long conversation with her. Which reminds me... grub time. Better hurry to meet her in the mess hall!

[Mongoose]

Oi, no shipcest!

[Alex Heartnet]

So, any takers for Lana or Marin?  Otherwise, I might have to play Lana, and my posts will be divided between me posting the next part and me playing as Lana.  And besides, Trashman probably won't much like me playing Lana - if current trends continue, he'd have to lock himself in the advanced medbay half the time.

[NGTM-1R]

Long may the Slugs continue to make mistakes in their design.

[Alex Heartnet]

Lana's Log:

Men!  I just don't get them!  Even out here in the middle of hostile space, they only ever seem to have one thing on their mind.  I tried having a nice, long conversation with him, but he was such a jerk!  Even the slugs were more courteous then this!

At least now that I have that blaster magnum, I won't have to rely on using that steak knife I found in the mess hall to chase him away.  Come to think of it, I can't even find him anywhere.  Hmm...

The captain had me undergo a medical examination in the rather impressive medbay.  The medbay computer kept saying something about a 'mutation', whatever that is.  Much of been a computer glitch or something, as I was declared fit to serve anyway.

[TrashMan]

Ok, not that's just rude.

My log sez nothing of the kind - just a "nice, long chat".

I should sue you for deliberate character villanization! Viscious slander. I am nothing but a perfect gentelman!

[FireSpawn]

*Engage Ship Announcement System*
Now hear this. Under the Federation Navy Doctrine article 5-N, sub section 45/a; "During a combat situation, all crew are to keep all interactions to a professional level as failure to do so may result in breaks in discipline and the chain of command."

Need I remind you all that while I may be a little lax on this particular rule, the system AI has access to all logs made by the crew and will notify me of any cause for concern. I understand that we face death in the eye for every second we traverse the void, but I will not allow us to fall prey to our baser instincts that may cause problems in the future!
Remember all those lost in the battle of Calypso Prime! Remember the fall of Vega! REMEMBER THE BURNING OF THE GARDENS OF IOR!

WE, are the keystone for the final battlement against the oncoming sqaull of injustice. WE, are the spearhead for the lance of freedom. WE HOLD THE FUTURE OF THE GALAXY UPON OUR BACKS! Nobody else knows what we do. Nobody else can carry this burden to the finish, and come out victorious.

Remember that despite species, gender or any other differences we may have, this crew is Family. Not of birth, but of blood. Blood spilt together in the course of completing  this mission. Not of birth, but of deed. As each of us have and will put our crewmates before ourselves.


We have almost reached the end of our journey, and the outcome is not something that I can foretell. But know this: Though we may head towards out death, we will die with our brothers and sisters beside us as we carve a wound into our enemy that our names will be spoken only as whispers in darkened rooms. And we will know that throughout our mission, we were the ones to carry the flames of hope for the Federation.

FireSpawn: Out.

*Announcement End*

[TrashMan]

TrashMans log:
Date....whatever.

I warned them. I warned them not to buy those mashrooms and eat them. That vendor was shiftier than a slug, why was the only one to see it?
Ya know, I expected the crew to be sick or chained to a restroom for a while, but what happened was crazier. Can you say halucianations? Those shrooms got everyone high and the effects started manifestign suddenly.

One minute I'm talking to Lana, the next minute she's swinging a knife at me and sprouting obscenities that would make a truck driver recoil in disgust. Scourge was having a staring contest with his shadow. NGTRM ran around naked. Firespawn was making long, winded speeches to an empty room.
It's crazy.
The only ones unafected were me and the slug. Me because I didn't eat them and the slug..I guess his biology works differently.

It's gonna be a chore sorting this out when the crew gets back to normal. For now I barricaded myself inside the security room. From here I can watch what is going on and react if something happens, while at the same time safe from the crazy out there.
Hmmm...better keep a close eye on slug boy. He might try something now. Oh yes, I have my eye on you slug boy!

[Alex Heartnet]

Lana's Log:

Oww.  My head.  Why do I feel so miserable...?

...I won't suppose the slug ship right outside the window has anything to do with this.



Now where'd I put that steak knife...

[Mongoose]

I warned them. I warned them not to buy those mashrooms and eat them. That vendor was shiftier than a slug, why was the only one to see it?
Ya know, I expected the crew to be sick or chained to a restroom for a while, but what happened was crazier. Can you say halucianations? Those shrooms got everyone high and the effects started manifestign suddenly.

"Obnoxious little frog."

[Scourge of Ages]

Scourge's Log:

Well, it's happened. The shadow is back. I though I killed it long ago, but it came back last night. Just as I was really starting to feel at home and even reasonably safe around my crew, that shift, creepy punk came back. Oh, I gave him an ear full, and I think I scared him away for now, but I must keep vigilant.

The other day, Captain gave a neat little speech about family and crew and the glory of the Federation and stuff.

I didn't buy most of it, but...
For one thing, I'll be glad when this is over. These Rebel jerks are really making life hard.
On the other hand, I haven't really felt kinship since I left the Mantis homeworlds. These crazy, weird, squishy (especially the new slug) crewmates could actually be a family. If the new girl doesn't stab Trash's eyes out first. Ah, but I guess that's what family is for?

Oooh, enemy ship on sensors, time to sharpen my claws!

[FireSpawn]

Captain's Log:
Just finished spying on monitoring some crew logs to make sure that all the crew are still mentally sound. Scourge seems to be suffering from some for of hallucinations, but I feel that until our mission is complete it carries little risk for the time being. Still, I wish we had the facilities on hand to deal with mantis psychology.

And due to the log entry of another crew member, I feel the need to state this: My speeches aren't long winded! They are inspiring and, and...Ah who am I kidding, what my roomate D3KK3R said back at the academy was right. He said "Bro, it's much easier to do your job if you're smashed. Now you should try some of this reactor gel, it tastes like 01100101 01101100 01100101 01100011 01110100 01110010 01101111 01101110 01110011."

Ah man, things were a whole lot simpler back then. Who'd have thought that it'd all go to sh- *ALERT ALERT*

DAMN! ALL CREW TO BATTLE STATIONS, HOSTILE SHIP INBOUND!

All Non-Essential Programs Will Now Be Terminated In Accordance With Combat Protocols: LOG #113449322-A1 Terminated

[Alex Heartnet]

The slugs that have been telepathically manipulating the crew of the Bastion die a slow death.

After spending a bit of time in the advanced medbay, the crew is fit for action again.



Huh wha?  Free stuff?  In a slug system?  Yeah, right.



Now, this is yet another lightly armed slug interceptor.  You get three guesses on what happened to it, and the first two don’t count



Yet another slug ship’s failed attempt at trickery.  Good thing we upgraded our life support systems.

Unfortunately, our heroes have gotten too accustomed to fighting tiny interceptors.  The mere thought of something that can fight back is quite terrifying indeed.





The top-of-the-line MKII Defense Drone fails to shoot down a low-tech Artemis Missile.  Scourge, Lana, and the Slug ‘help’ Orpheus repair the engine room.





One laser barrage later, things start to go horribly wrong.  The fire in the stern airlock is quickly put out, but the defense drone is barely functioning and Trashman is trapped in the middle of a blazing inferno.



In classic HLPX-COM fashion, the high-powered missile never actually hits the target when you need it the most.



Put out one fire, and the slugs just set off a firebomb in another room.  This encounter would have been hugely unpleasant if we didn’t have our O2 systems working.



NGMT-1R demonstrates his brilliant firing solutions.  And when I say ‘brilliant’, I mean ‘might as well just power the darn missile launcher down’



And now our defense drone is offline.  When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.







We may not have won that particular battle, but at least we are still alive.  Orpheus performs some ‘minor’ upgrades while everyone else attempts to put out a blazing inferno with tiny fire extinguishers.

[Alex Heartnet]

Sector 7!  Would be a shame to die so close to the end now, would it?



A trap!  But for whom?



Even the slug assault ships are flawed, it seems.  This one has painful weapons, but no medbay.



I probably should have just sent my guys in there to begin with, but oh well.



Our journey through Sector 7 continues to be relatively uneventful, with several slug ships either getting boarded or outright destroyed.  Until…



Judging from the hilariously bad Mantis costumes the slugs boarding us are wearing, this would appear to be yet another Slug trick.



I stupidly try to block a bomb-type weapon with a defense drone.  Doesn’t exactly work well.



Meanwhile, our Mantis imposters beam out, but it appears one of them has been fatally wounded…



By the way, our drone control system is still on fire.  Do something about it, guys!



Bah, this blaze refuses to go out.  At least the blast doors are holding.  Maybe it would be better to vent that compartment into space…



Our ship may be on fire, but at least the hull hasn’t been split into two.  The same cannot be said about the slug vessel…



Given all the grief that thing has caused me, I think it’ll be easier to just destroy it outright…





But there is still damage control to do, and according to the nearby computer console the fire is spreading!



Rather then fighting this blazing inferno, the crew chooses to instead vent nearly the entire ship into space and figure out how to fix the door control from there.







Good as new!  …If you don’t count all the wear and tear from the dozens of battles this ship has been through…

Burn marks, damaged tiling, jury-rigged systems, broken spanner halves, bloodstains…yep, this is a used ship alright.

[Scourge of Ages]

And slug slime! Don't forget the slime! (No offense, new guy, you're cool!)

[Veers]

Just curious, (I havent seen it mentioned yet. I probably missed it) but has anybody seen this yet?

A WIP Mod by the name of Faster than Hard Light