Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

I am posting this link to many other sites in hopes that your story will generate intrest and sales for SEIV Gold. Excellent work BTW. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Definetly not! This has become the first thread I look for when I come to the Shrapnel forum thesse days.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Stranger’s call

2408.7

Trilek moved toward the temple, mindful of the heavily armed Remorhaz soldiers patrolling this section of town. Trilek, like all of the other Norakians on Providence, was a deeply religious being. The very basis of his life was centered around the worship of the Goddess of Light. Every activity that took place in Norakian society revolved around worshiping the Goddess. Now, with the Continuum defeated, many feared that the Remorhaz would put an end to the worship of the Goddess of Light, and possibly make them take up worship of their alien god. Some of the remaining elders talked of fighting these Remorhaz to the death, as that would be preferable to turning a blind eye to the Goddess for the sake of one Norakian life. This most drastic of changes frightened many.
It was not to be, however. After that fateful day, when the Remorhaz soldiers had come, life seemed to run as normally as possible for the Norakians on Providence. The soldiers stayed out of their way, and amazingly let them continue worshiping at the temple. This unobtrusive occupation put many of the Norak at ease. Then the planetary governor arrived a month later. Once again the elders plotted in the dark corners of the city. Now they will oppress us with their laws. With a new government will come a new way of life. We must not turn from the Goddess! they would preach. Many of the people were upset by the possibility of changes, but most were just frightened.
The governor did not try and change their way of life. Of course he had a list of laws drawn up by the government back on Remorhaz, but these mainly dealt with the rights of the Norakians as members of the Remorhaz Society. There were no oppressive laws, and there were no restrictions on religion. The only hint of anything different was that Remorhaz law now applied to the citizens of Providence, although the Norakian laws would also still be observed. The governor and the high elder would work together to build a revised set of laws, which took both Norak, and Remorhaz law into account.
So the Norakians were allowed to live their lives as they had before, but with new laws, and of course alien troops patrolling the streets. Trilek moved past the worshipers gathered outside of the temple and entered it. He quickly found a spot where he would be comfortable, bent down on his three legs, and began his prayers. He tried to concentrate on the words, but he found his mind wandering. He kept thinking about something he had read while visiting the Remorhaz Cultural Exchange Center. It was about the rights of the citizen of the Remorhaz Society. He remembered something about all citizens having the right to choose to worship their own god in their own way, the right to live their lives as they chose so long as it did not interfere with the lives of others, and the right to be free of bondage in any form. These principles did not go hand in hand with the teachings of the Goddess. The Word of the Goddess said that above all else, the Norak should follow her guidance. Everyone knew that she spoke thru the priests, and so all guidance by the priests should be viewed as guidance from the Goddess herself. Norakians were expected to put the will of the priests above their own needs. This was the way it had been for centuries. How would the Goddess view her people if the began to follow their own guidance? Would they all be condemned to eternal damnation?
Already, the Goddess had commanded the Norak to join themselves with the Remorhaz Society, so she must have meant for them to live within it’s principles and rules. Trilek was frusterated by such questions. He would have to hear what the priests and elders had to say on that subject. For the first time in his life, he would have to decided which path to take. It was quite frightening for him, while at the same time liberating. In the meantime, Trilek prayed as hard as he could for guidance, but none was forthcoming. He looked at his timepiece, and noticed that he had been praying for 35 minutes. The High Priest had said in this time of change, all Norakians should pray for one extra hour per day. Trilek stood up, and looked around. A few of those around him, who had seen when he had come in, watched him curiously.
“I cannot concentrate. I am going home,” he said, and with that turned and walked out of the temple.
He didn’t get very far. Quickly a monk came running down the street, his robes trailing behind him.
“Trilek, you are shaming the Goddess. You have not prayed long enough. We all need her guidance in this time of trial. This is the will of the High Priest, who speaks for the Goddess. Come back to the temple at once!” The monk made to grab his arm.
Trilek shook off his grasp.
“No! I cannot concentrate and I do not feel well. My prayers do the Goddess no good today. I am going home!” He turned to walk away, but this time the monk placed his arm around Trilek, and made to carry his back to the temple.
Before he knew what happened, Trilek grabbed the monk’s arm and tossed him to the ground. A crowd started to gather, and a gasp ran thru the spectators. The monk, now laying in the street on his back, looked shocked. Quickly, shock turned to anger. He reached under his robe and pulled out a stun stick.
“Blasphemer! You will be reported to the High Priest, and you WILL come with me to pray. Your punishment for disobediance will be severe” The monk made to stand up, but quickly a squad of Remorhaz Space Marines swept thru the crowd, weapons in hand. They stood between the monk and Trilek. One of the Space Marines spoke.
“I’m sorry, brother, but you cannot wield that stun stick. It is considered a lethal weapon under Article Six of the Remorhaz Code of Justice. Please place it on the ground.”
Trilek suddenly remembered to breathe. He had been ready to take a stun stick to his nerve cluster for defying a holy man, but instead these Remorhaz soldiers had saved him. The speaker, probably the leader, turned to him.
“Sir, my name is Sergeant Chuck Williams, Remorhaz Space Marine Corps. Do you wish to press charges against this monk?”
Trilek was dumbfounded. He just looked at the sergeant blankly. Press charges? What in the Goddess’ name did that mean?
“Sir, as a free citizen of the Remorhaz Society, you have the right to press charges against this man. The charge would be assault with a deadly weapon. If you do press charges, we will confine him in the brig, pending a trial. Do you wish to proceed with this course of action?” The sergeant looked at him expectantly. Or was there a hint of a smile on his face?
Trilek recovered his wits enough to stammer an answer, “No. No Sergeant Williams, I do not wish to press charges against the brother. I am not permitted to. It is against our ways to accuse one of the clergy of a crime. By our laws, he has the right to punish me.”
Sergeant Williams’ face turned serious.
“I understand that right now, there are still some questions about how Norakian law and Remorhaz law are going to be enforced here, but let me set you straight on something. You are all free citizens of the Remorhaz Society now. One of the benefits of citizenship is that no one can force you to do anything against your will, and no one can tell you how to live your life. Above all else, unless you break a law, no one has a right to punish you.” He paused for a moment, and looked as if he would say more, but then turned away. “Ok, Renton, help the brother up.”
One of the soldiers yanked the monk to his feet. Trilek tried to look away as the monk shot him a vicious look that promised a reckoning once the soldiers moved away. Suddenly, Trilek grew angry with the monk. He stepped up to him.
“Brother, I am sorry for going against the law of the Goddess by resisting your commands to return to the temple. I can see that you are planning on making me pay for my transgression with physical punishment. However, I am now a free citizen of the Remorhaz Society and if you so much growl in my direction, I will have you arrested by the soldiers. May the Goddess watch over you, brother.”
With that, Trilek turned his back on the monk and walked briskly toward his habitat.
The monk recovered from his shock enough to shuffle back toward the temple. The crowd that had witnessed the entire incident broke up, but soon a word was spreading like wildfire thru the entire city. That word was freedom. The very prospect of it gave many Norakians hope for the future. The Urban Pacification Centers were working in improving the mood of the Norakians.

Two new colonies were founded. Prospect, a medium rock planet with a carbon dioxide atmosphere was established in the Regotha system. This planet was high in mineral resources, but once again its effectiveness was limited because the colony was domed. Also, the first permanent Remorhaz presence was established in the Yullado system when the planet Deniper was founded. The planet had a rock surface with a methane atmosphere. This colony was to serve as a resupply base for the Navy.

At Glory, Manticore and Honor pulled into the space yard for refitting. These ships were given priority over any new construction at the yards, as these ships had to be sent back to Xillantha as soon as possible.

The shuttle carrying Grand Admiral Urian smoothly entered the atmosphere of Norak. After a shallow dive, the pilot brought the shuttle over Norak City. Grand Admiral Urian had not been to Norak before. What he saw from the window shocked him. The city was gleaming like a jewel in the light of Lapzooli’s single yellow sun. The colonists were making very efficient use of the supplies brought here by the convoys. Outside of the city, the land told a different story. Everywhere Urian looked he could see the scars left on the land by the orbital bombardment. Entire valleys were scorched, with the stubs of incinerated trees poking up like bones from the ground. BLasted wreckage of what had previously been some kind of Norakian structure, and everywhere he looked were huge craters carved into the planet. He had seen videos of the bombardment, and it’s aftermath, but it was nothing compared to seeing it in person. Grand Admiral Urian felt a knot in his throat. He knew that the Norak had forced their hands. He knew that even when their Last planet was being invaded they refused to surrender. Still, the price had been paid not by Norakian soldiers, but billions upon billions of innocent civilians. The number of non-combatants who must have perished here alone must have been astronomical. The site of the scarred planet hardened his resolve to avoid using orbital bombardment as a viable weapon in the future at all costs. The cost in life was just too high.

2408.8

Both Norak and Timerron finished their shipyards this month. These yard would not only allow new ships to reach the front quicker, but they would also allow for faster refit and repair times for the fleet. Both shipyards would begin production of new ships immediately.

The Remorhaz Society secured its place in the Iolo system by colonizing Correlia. Correlia was a huge rock world with an oxygen atmosphere. The planet was rich in mineral and radioactive resources. Also, in the Wanduk system, a colony was established on the world of Ymoria. This world was also a huge rock planet, but it had a hydrogen atmosphere. This colony was established mainly as a research post to excavate the remains of a derelict spacecraft that had crash-landed on the surface of the planet sometime in the past. The Research Guild was hoping that at some point in the future, they would be able to discover some advanced technology in the wreck. They were surprised when they quickly discovered a relatively simple design for a large, unmanned anti-matter propelled probe. They immediately forwarded these plans to the military, which adapted them to use current missile and satellite technology to create unmanned drones for military use. These weapons would hopefully prove useful in the upcoming offensive against the Rage.
Not much else could be gleaned from the spacecraft, but the scientists and archeologists continued to study it in hopes of discovering to whom the craft belonged, and how it ended up crashed in the Wanduk system.

To date, the Remorhaz Society had colonized fifteen colonies in ten different systems. The population of all of these worlds topped 3.1 billion people.

Back in the Xillantha system, the Rage fleet appeared again. It once again seemed to be heading for Fort Justice, but no one could be sure. Meanwhile, “Spare Parts” was winding down it’s second season. Critics said that the writing for the show remained strong, and as long as Rage fleets continued to “buzz” the system, the show would have endless material with which to work. The Navy hoped to put an end to this soon, of course. The Xillantha fleet, short a frigate and a destroyer, went on alert and prepared for combat. Governor Kalashnikov cursed the Rage for fools, and knocked off early for a night of partying. Whenever the Rage appeared, the planet’s party mood skyrocketed.

In the Yukra system, Timerron detected an Ukra-Tal fleet of six destroyers, which had just come into the system. No course was confirmed, but the nearest target was Timerron. The planet began construction of another weapons platform. If they came, the planet would have an adequate defense. The main problem was that no one knew the level of the Ukra-Tal technology, and so had no idea what sort of weapons the Yukra Defense Fleet would be up against.

In the Regotha system, Hawk was deployed to recon the Lezzari system to check on Rage strength in the sector. If a target of opportunity presented itself, she would attack.

The threatened colonies of Fort Justice and Timerron could only brace themselves and wait for an attack that might not even come.

to be continued...

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Bravo, Bravo. Nice work.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

I read, I like, enuth said.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

The Battle of Timerron

2408.9

Lieutenant Commander Harper Douglass watched as the six Ukra-Tal destroyers deployed in a line on the tactical display. Between the destroyers and Timerron, he saw his own ship RSS Falcon and the rest of the Remorhaz fleet arrayed in an arrowhead formation. Besides his own ship, the Remorhaz fleet consisted of another system patrol ship, RSS Peregrine and a Glory Class Destroyer, RSS Virtue. Backing them up were three defense satellites, and the weapons platforms on the surface of the planet.
This is going to be close, he thought, and we still don’t know what sort of weapons the Ukra-Tal possess. We’ll keep them off the planet as long as we can.
“Sir, Captain Greeley is on the com for you” the communications officer called out.
Douglass switched on the com unit. The face of Captain Enis Greeley, commander of RSS Virtue appeared. The screen split, and Commander Mike Wells appeared also. Wells commanded RSS Peregrine. Both officers looked grim.
“Well boys,” Captain Greeley started, “here’s how we’re gonna play this one out.”
Captain Greeley, the fleet commander, was never one to stand on ceremony.
“We’re going to stay between those destroyers and Timerron as long as we can, and take them down one by one. I don’t really know what to tell you about weapons…we’ve never encountered anything like what these Ukra-Tal have. The sensor readings are…inconclusive, so it’s liable to be a nice surprise when they start firing.” All three officers chuckled. “Anyway, let’s spread out, try to draw fire, and see if we can’t send some of these buggers to hell, eh?”
Douglass felt his confidence rising. Here they were facing a superior enemy force, and Captain Greeley was as calm as ever.
“Aye, aye, sir. We’ll bait them for you” Douglass answered. Wells did likewise.
The com switched off, and Douglass went back to the business of running his ship. The Ukra-Tal force consisted of two Burtrask Class Destroyers, two Djusholm Class Destroyers, and a Drammen and a Bygland class destroyer. As Captain Greeley had said, they weren’t quite sure what sort of weapons the destroyers had, as the sensors weren’t reporting any conventional weapons that they could detect. Harper rubbed his chin.
“Ok, helm, take us in. We are going for shoot and scoot, so once the enemy locks onto us and fires, get us out of range as quickly as possible.” Under his breath, he muttered, “Assuming they have missiles on board…”
The helm officer acknowledged.
As the two fleets approached each other, the sensor officer shouted a warning.
“Commander! The Bygland and Drammen have just fired some sort of…projectile. The readings are crazy though, sir. Sensors are reporting the projectiles as organic objects!”
Harper did a double take. “Organic? What the hell?”
“I can’t understand it either, sir. That’s what the sensors are telling me. I’m trying to get a lock on them now. They should be up on the viewscreen once I find them.”
Harper watched tactical as the forward sensors tried to acquire the Ukra-Tal missiles against the starry background of space.
“There they are, sir! Zooming in now.” He paused while he fine-tuned the display. “Oh my god!” The sensor officer blanched as the view homed in on the targets.
The display locked onto something out of a nightmare. Hurtling thru space toward his ship was some sort of slime-covered…organism. Douglass didn’t know of a better way to classify it. He did know that it was coming at them very quickly, and it didn’t look like it was going to be friendly when it got there.
Harper ordered Falcon to turn away from the incoming projectiles, while Peregrine moved into enemy missile range. She too drew fire, and turned to run. Once the first enemy destroyer came into range, Virtue, the weapons platforms, and the satellites all targeted a single Djusholm destroyer and fired their missiles. The missiles ran true, until they closed to close range with the Ukra-Tal destroyers. At this point, the enemy destroyers began firing some sort of small projectiles in incredible numbers into the path of the Remorhaz missiles. The projectiles shot out from a previously unseen opening on the top of the enemy ships. Every single Remorhaz missile was knocked either destroyed or disabled.
Harper watched in disbelief as the attack was so quickly blunted. Not a single missile hit the enemy ship. The good news was that the Ukra-Tal projectiles fired at his ship and Peregrine had apparently run out of energy and were dispersing.
During the evasive maneuvers by the Remorhaz ships, the other four destroyers had moved into firing range of Timerron. They all fired more of the seeker organisms at the surface. Harper followed them on his tactical display. The projectiles screamed thru the atmosphere, homing in on the largest city on Timerron. They slammed into the surface, and a huge mushroom cloud shot up over the city.
Harper stared at the tactical display. How many colonists had just died?
The com officer spoke up again. “Sir, it’s Captain Greeley for you.”
“Put him thru.”
The screen snapped on.
“Harper, I need you to listen to me. This is a no win situation. I want you and Mike to get the hell out of here. I’m going to stay behind and try to keep them off of your backs for a little while.”
Harper watched the captain, astonished.
“Captain, what about the colony? There are 19 million people down there, sir!”
Greeley shook his head. “Harper, getting yourself killed is not going to save any of them, but maybe if you get the intel back to Remorhaz, they can figure out some way to put us on a more even footing with the Ukra-Tal.”
Harper’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t think straight. Retreat?
“Sir, I can’t leave you here…”
“This is not a request, Lieutenant Commander Douglass. You will make all efforts to return to Remorhaz, and let them know what we are up against. When Timerron falls, there isn’t going to be anything between the Ukra-Tal and Remorhaz. I need you to get show them what happened here. We need to find a way to stop them.”
Harper could feel a lump building in his throat, and tears in his eyes. It wasn’t supposed to work this way! Victory or defeat was expected, but being ordered to turn tail and run, while 19 million colonists faced certain death was unthinkable. Still, he was a professional officer, and did not disobey orders, no matter what his personal views were.
“Yes, sir. Good luck, Captain. See you back home, ok,” he choked.
Greeley smiled. “Go full bore all of the way home, and don’t look back. Good luck to you, too.”
Harper gave Greeley one Last salute, and then passed his orders on to the helm officer.
“Helm, turn us around. Nav, plot the best course for Remorhaz. We’ve been ordered to withdraw.”
The entire bridge fell silent. No one wanted to abandon Timerron. No one wanted to run away.
Harper could feel himself losing control. “Damn it! I don’t like this anymore than you do, but we’ve been ordered to retreat. We WILL follow Captain Greeley’s orders! Move it, people!”
The XO was the first to snap out of it, and started prodding people into action. Soon the crew lost themselves in their jobs.
Virtue continued transmitting intel to the fleeing system patrol ships. Harper watched in horror as the Ukra-Tal unleashed another of their weapons. From the “bow” of their craft, a large appendage poked out and from it, a green substance issued forth. The substance expanded as it flew thru space, and entered the atmosphere. When it finally hit the surface, everything it touched was immediately corroded as if by a very powerful acid. This acid seemed to burn thru everything…buildings, rocks, and people. Harper turned away. What the hell were they going to do to stop the Ukra-Tal? Was there anything that could be done in time to contain them?
He glanced back at the tactical display, and watched as Virtue fired at the enemy fleet. A few more salvos of organic missiles and a wave of acid barrages finished off the colony on Timerron. The Ukra-Tal then turned their attention to Virtue. Captain Greeley tried to fight them off for as long as possible, but there were just too many of them. Quickly and efficiently, Virute was destroyed in a rain of seeker parasites and acid globules.

In the end, Falcon was forced to leave Peregrine behind. The Ukra-Tal destroyers had caught up with them, and Peregrine sacrificed herself by turning to engage them while Falcon escaped. They jumped into the Lenoltris system, leaving the destroyers and a much larger fleet of 20 Ukra-Tal ships behind. What Lieutenant Commander Douglass didn’t know was that they had also left Peregrine behind. With only one engine and most of her structural integrity gone, she was crippled, but not destroyed. The odds were greatly stacked against them, but they had to try and make it home.

To be continued...

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Man, good story writing, but I hate to see that happen to you. The Ukra-Tal stink! I hope you whoop their arses before too long.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Well, it's my own fault. Overexpansion and a three front war will do that to you. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Offer them a tribute, bribe them.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That's against my religion! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

I'll have to see what happens. They're about to get PD weapons, and another level of shields. Grand Admiral Urian is hoping he will be able to contain the Ukra-Tal, and then move in to try and knock out the Rage. Of course, that could be tough going with the new "no colony destruction" policy, but maybe the destruction of Timerron will change their views on that front... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Since the Rage are really "just machines", I belive a case could be made for a "Cleansing"

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Securing the perimeter

2408.9

Grand Admiral Urian had been in a foul mood for days. The news of the defeat in the Battle of Timerron had hit him hard. Upon learning of it, the admiral had locked himself and his staff in an office for a day and a half, stopping only to accept nourishment. During that time, he and his staff had watched the vids and reviewed the intelligence, determined to find a way to stop the Ukra-Tal from advancing any further into Remorhaz space. His main concerns now were the colonies of Correlia and Ymoria. With the loss of the Yukra system, the path to these two colonies was wide open to the Ukra-Tal. Worse still was the fact that the Navy had exactly one ship that could be moved to protect these worlds, the RSS Midguard. The problem was, the Midguard was the only ship protecting the planet of Remorhaz.
So, after a long consultation with Chairman Sachmo, it was decided that these two colonies would have to be left on their own for now. For Urian it was the hardest decision he had ever made. Between those two planets, they had decided to leave 10 million Remorhaz citizens to their fate at the hands of a numerically and technologically superior force.
Other decisions were made at the same time, however. First, Remorhaz and Glory would begin constructing a new defense fleet. Second, once Correlia finished building her spaceport, the colony would immediately begin construction of a space yard. If Correlia fell, then Ymoria would be completely cut off from the rest of the Society, so that planet, and the Iolo system, had to be held at all costs. Third, the transport RSS Hispania was in the area with a cargo of defense satellites. If the wormholes from Yukra could be seeded with enough satellites, then possibly the Ukra-Tal could be contained. Urian wasn’t betting much on that situation, but with enough satellites, maybe it would force them to think twice about making a run for the wormhole.
Urian also decided to go ahead with the offensive against the Rage. If they could be knocked out, or at least weakened, then the Navy would be able to divert its full attention to the greater threat from the Ukra-Tal.
The research guild was able to deliver some much-needed good news. The University of Hera had been studying military techniques of the Rage and Ukra-Tal and had discovered the basic theories of point defense weapons, torpedo weapons, and combat electronics. With a bit more research, they promised a point defense cannon prototype within a month. The Naval Weapons Bureau also hoped to have the next generation depleted uranium cannon in production within the next month also.
Urian and his staff decided that while the battle against the Rage would be the next phase of the war, he wanted to have all of his ships upgraded to the latest models before beginning the attack. This meant that they would probably not begin operations for another six months or so. He was still hoping to lure a Rage fleet into a trap outside of the Lundra—Lapzooli wormhole, but he didn’t need the latest ships for that battle.

Transport RSS Loxias was ordered to head to the Iolo system to deploy its cargo of defense satellites at the wormhole to the Yukra system. Hopefully, they would get there in time to slow down the Ukra-Tal. Otherwise, it might turn out to be a wasted trip.

2409.0

Commander Mike Wells opened his eyes. It took them a few seconds to focus, and when they did, he found himself looking up at a bay of medical instruments. His throat was dry, and his head was pounding like a bass drum, but otherwise he felt ok. He worked up the nerve to sit up, which caused him to almost pass out. When his head cleared, he found himself looking up at Crewman Tim Dawkins and Lieutenant, JG Francois Richard.
Dawkins tried to ease Wells’ head back onto a pillow. “Sir, you have to be careful about moving. You too a pretty bad blow to the head.”
Wells shut his eyes and tried not to think about the fact that his head was about to explode.
“Dawkins, what happened? How in the hell did we get out of that battle alive?”
Dawkins continued to fuss with a sheet. Obviously, he didn’t want the commander getting out of bed.
“Well sir, they had us dead to rights. They pounded us, and we thought we were finished. Some of those damn seeker parasites ripped off the left fore quarter of the ship, and one slammed right into the bridge. Then those acid globules started burning holes thru the entire ship. Everything that wasn’t melting or already blow to hell was on fire sir. Once the ship started losing pressure, those of us still alive thought it was over for sure then.”
He took a ragged breath. He was still pretty shaken up from what Wells could hear.
“Then, they just left us and chased Falcon. I don’t know if they got away or not, but I guess they thought we were finished. Those of us left went to work saving what we could of the ship and trying to get some power back on. We were able to save one of the engines, sir. We aren’t moving very fast, and the only steering we have are the auxiliary maneuver jets, but we are making way.”
Wells tried to do some calculations.
“One engine…how far have we come?”
“We are making about one parsec a month, sir. At this rate, we should make it to Lenoltris in about 3 months.”
Three months, in a hostile system, without support. Those weren’t very long odds.
“Do we have any communications at all?”
Now Richard spoke up. “Not as of yet, sir, but the good news is that the communication officer is recovering and should be able to get working on the emergency com equipment soon. Right now, we are just trying to keep Peregrine together and underway. It’s not been easy, sir. We took more damage than I though we could. We shouldn’t even be here anymore.”
Wells held up his hand. “Francois, who made it? How many men survived?”
Wells heard Richard’s voice break. “Including you, sir, we have 22.”
22 men survived out of 130. Wells tried not to think about it, but it hit him hard. Those men were his responsibility, and he had gotten them killed. He knew he still had to try and get the other 21 men home, but it would be a while before he was able to accept the fact that so many of his crew were gone.
“Alright guys, help me up.”
Richard and Dawkins tried to protest, but one look from the commander squelched their arguments. Slowly they helped him to his feet. Once Wells was sure he wasn’t going to pass out from the pain, he found he was able to support himself.
“Ok, let’s get to the bridge. Maybe if…”
Dawkins broke in. “Sir, there ain’t a bridge to go to. They took it out. You and the Ensign were the only two we found. If you two hadn’t been secured, you wouldn’t be here now.”
Wells stared at him. “Well, what sections are left?”
“Medical, the back part of broadway, engineering and part of the engine room. Oh, and some of the officer’s berths, including yours, sir. How about that, sir? When we get back, you won’t have to buy new uniforms?”
Dawkins grin split his grimy face in half. Wells couldn’t help but smile back
“Alright then, guys. Let’s see what we can do to help this old girl get us out of here.”

Just as promised, the research guild delivered a prototype of the point defense cannon to the Navy. Quickly, the design bureau began working to incorporate them into all ship designs. Now the Remorhaz ships would be able to defend themselves against missile attacks on an equal footing with the enemy. The Army also decided to incorporate the PD cannon into a new generation of weapons platforms, to help planets defend against incoming missile attacks.

2409.1

The epic voyage of the Peregrine was not to be. Two parsecs from the wormhole, she was set upon by the same six destroyers that had glassed the colony of Timerron. They toyed with the wounded system patrol ship for a while before finishing her off with a well placed acid shot. The ship collapsed, it’s structural integrity finally destroyed. The wreckage slowly drifted apart before colliding with an asteroid field. Parts of the ship would remain trapped in this field for millions of years.

The Navy Intelligence Bureau reported a strange message they had received from the Rage. It read:

The Lundra system has been claimed by our people. You will die if you stay there.

Grand Admiral Urian was pleased to hear this news. Maybe they were becoming a thorn in the side of the Rage Collective. Possibly, the presence of Zeta Fleet would goad them into acting rashly. If not, the Remorhaz Navy was prepared to wait them out. When they were ready, they would strike.

The research guild produced a second-generation point defense cannon in one month. This cannon had a higher rate of fire and had a better hit ratio than the first generation guns. They were immediately incorporated into the ship designs. They than began trying to design a mine which could be used in space. It was hoped that mines, when used in conjunction with defense satellites, would allow choke points (such as wormholes) to be closed off to the enemy with a minimum fleet presence required.

Governor Hadrian Ervay was ushered into the shuttle. He and his staff had just finished inspecting the newly completed spaceport on Correlia. Whether any convoys would be able to make the journey from the core systems with the Ukra-Tal being so close was another matter entirely. Ervay sat down on the acceleration couch and looked out the window of the shuttle. Correlia was such a beautiful planet. It reminded him of Remorhaz, except that the atmosphere had a bluer tinge here, and the nitrogen in the upper atmosphere periodically ignited, burning off in a fantastic light show for the cities below to watch. He hoped that his colony wasn’t going to wind up as a smoking crater anytime soon. If the Navy would get off of it’s *** and get him some protection, this planet could really contribute to the Society. If they were left exposed to the Ukra-Tal, however…well, he didn’t want to think about that.
He was pushed back into his seat as the shuttle lifted off. Quickly the acceleration compensators countered the thrust of the engines, and he was comfortable again. He watched as they rose into space, thinking about what the future held for his colony. Soon, out of this window he saw the framework for the new space yard. In their wisdom, the Navy decided that Correlia would be the next staging point a defense fleet and so needed a space yard to be constructed. Ervay couldn’t help but think that once Timerron had built a space yard, the Ukra-Tal had decided to attack. Was it a coincidence, or did they consider that enough of a threat to warrant an attack? Ervay wasn’t sure, but he would be sure to have plenty of weapons platforms built before they came to take his colony out.

On Providence, the 1st Space Marine Brigade loaded back aboard the Mongoose. Along with Artemis and Comet, this fleet would meet up with Hawk in the Knoglam system. The fleet would then assault Lezzari III. This would be the first attempted capture of a Rage planet. No one really knew what to expect from the Rage, as there had not been much contact with them. The Space Marines were ready for a little payback, though, and were looking forward to this drop.

2409.2

A new colony was founded in the Wanduk system. Cherek was a Medium rock planet with an oxygen atmosphere. It had a high content of both mineral and organic resources. If allowed to prosper, this planet would be a cornerstone of the Remorhaz Society.

A massive Naval upgrade program was begun this month, with three ships being upgraded at Glory, and six undergoing upgrades at the Norak ship yard. Crews worked horrendous hours to get the ships turned around as quickly as possible. The increased combat power of the fleet made the entire operation a risk worth taking.

2409.3
Remorhaz and Glory both launched the first of the new Glory C Class Destroyers. RSS Shining Victory was launched from Remorhaz and RSS Skydancer was launched from Glory. Both ships were ordered to Correlia.

In the Lundra system, the defense satellites picked up a Rage fleet of eight ships moving a maximum speed toward the Lapzooli system. While most of the ships in Zeta fleet were being refit, the wormhole had two sets of defense satellites. Grand Admiral Urian was hoping that these defenses would slow the Rage fleet down enough that all of the ships would be refit and would then be able to take on the remains of the Rage fleet. It was a race against the clock.

The Marine Assault Fleet closed in on Lezzari III. No Rage ships were in system to greet them, and so the fleet was able to approach the planet. Aboard Mongoose Major General Steven Brooks was pacing in the Combat Information Center. Sensors reported the Rage colony possessed a weapons platform that was armed with weapons that had not been encountered before. Brooks was confident that the frigates would be able to destroy these weapons, but he wasn’t sure of their capabilities. He would need both frigates to survive so that they could attack any Rage surface military targets that might endanger his Space Marines.
Captain Brennan watched as the fleet entered the wall formation. He was in command of the assault fleet until the actual launch. Now it was his turn to show the Rage what the Remorhaz Navy was made of.
The fleet closed to effective missile firing range and fired all tubes. Comet moved in a little closer to get a better solution, and the Rage unleashed their weapon. A purplish beam of energy streaked from the surface of the planet and hit Comet amidships. The beam destroyed one of her missile tubes, and then continued down her hull, bLasting the engine room. 4 of 6 engines were disabled in the first and two subsequent bLasts.
Brennan watched with concern as the beams tore up Comet. Brennan hit the comlink, and the face of Commander David Trinner appeared.
“David, are you alright? What’s your status?” Brennan could see a haze of smoke in the background.
“We’ve taken heavy engine damage and lost a missile tube. Casualties are heavy. The beams went thru our hull like a hot knife thru butter, R.J.” Trinner croaked. He looked like he had aged a year since Brennan had Last seen him.
“Alright, hang back for a bit, David. I’ll try and hit those guns, and you see what you can do about damage control.”
Trinner stared blankly at the screen. “Ok, R.J. Be careful!”
Brennan winked at him. “Not too careful,” and with that broke the link.
He tracked his salvo on the tactical display. Both his salvo and Comet’s were targeting the Rage weapons platform.
The missiles from the Remorhaz ships destroyed the Rage weapons platforms. Then Comet and Artemis began firing at ground installations. Hawk also moved in and fired at targets with her DUC, while Mongoose moved in to drop the Space Marines.

PFC Jake Renton closed his eyes during the drop. The Blazer bucked thru the atmosphere like a wild stallion. Renton opened his eyes for a split second to watch Sergeant Williams. Williams was talking into the intercom, and smiling. Good, thought Renton. He wouldn’t be smiling if we were taking heavy fire.
Renton closed his eyes again, and before he knew it, he heard the thump as the Blazer separated from the landing skid. He opened his eyes and looked to the sergeant again. Williams was holding the thumbs up to the Lieutenant…the whole company had made it down. The engines of the Blazer roared to life, and they were off.
About ten minutes later, Renton was surprised to hear the main guns of the Blazer fire. Normally, the platoon would be deployed and the Blazer would provide support. If the Blazer was firing but not signaling for the Marines to deploy, then they had the enemy in a bad position. The Blazer bucked as it flew across the unseen terrain, firing its main guns.
Forty-five minutes later, the signal came to dismount. Renton formed up with the squad, and quickly they deployed around the Blazer. The first thing he saw was the remains of what looked like a large scrap pile. Only upon closer inspection did he realize that he was looking at a Rage fighting vehicle and it’s crew splayed out across the ground. Renton kicked at the pile of scrap. Fighting against living machines would take some getting used to. Then a message came down the line from Colonel Jimenez. The enemy had been defeated. Renton and the rest of 4th platoon marched toward the domed living area that had been set up by the Rage colonists. Oxygen was a hazardous environment for the Rage, so a domed colony was required. The downside for them was that a domed colony was easy to capture, and if threatened with destruction, was a very effective tool against a resisting population. The population quickly surrendered once the planetary Main Sequencer was captured and destroyed. Since the Rage could not function as part of the Collective without a local Sequencer, the remaining Rage population became docile, and continued about their everyday lives. There would be much to learn about the Rage before they could be made full members of the Remorhaz Society, if it were possible at all.
As soon as the planet was secured, the utility shuttles came down from [i]Mongoose[i] and began shuttling the troops and Blazers back into the ship. The entire fleet was to head back to Providence and await further orders. Bravo Company from the 3rd Battalion was left on the planet for pacification duty. Major General Brooks, by decree of the Chairman of the Remorhaz society, renamed the colony Nova.

To be continued...

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Go Remorhaz, go Remorhaz, go go go Remorhaz... Kick some Rage butt! hahaha... nice story as always Sachmo.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Message from the Rage Collective:

"It is a pity that you will not suffer long before you die."

Great story, I enjoy every installment. I'm afraid I'm pulling for the Rage, though. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Excellent story. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif I have but two words. Excape Pods. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif No need to loose men if you have a nice ship to be used as a decoy while your made a run for it in the excape pods. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Nooooo! No escape pods please! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Lifepods are for commercial liners. When warships get destroyed, people die. Unless you plan on having the enemy pick them up and put them in a prisoner of war camp. That might be interesting, and a stroy line noone has used in any of these SE4 stories yet IIRC.

Great story Sachmo, keep it up. I found myself genuinly disapointed when the Peregrine was caught. I was pulling for them to make it home.

Geoschmo

[ July 22, 2002, 13:19: Message edited by: geoschmo ]

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">POW Camp: I was definately mulling it over, but then I thought about it...in this universe, the wars being fought have so far been proved to be fights for survival. If you plan on wiping an enemy race out completely, it would be a waste of resources to hold on to their troops! Now if Remorhaz were to capture some of the enemy... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Yes, I wanted Peregrine to make it too. I was building up a big story because I thought the Ukra-Tal were going to ignore it...since it wasn't much of a threat. I guess once it approached the wormhole, they didn't want it to escape with any intelligence! Oh, well!

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Oversite

2409.4

The Rage fleet that had been moving toward the Lapzooli system and the planet Norak had once again demonstrated the unpredictability of the Rage Collective. The fleet would probably have been able to fight past the defense satellite rings, push thru and attack the planet Norak with at least 1 or 2 Remorhaz ships still being refit, but instead they changed course and headed into the western, unexplored wormhole. The Lapzooli fleet breathed a sigh of relief. Any extra time to prepare to meet the Rage on a more equal footing was more than welcome.

Lieutenant Commander Neaton was expecting a warm welcome when RSS Hawk finished the jump from Lezzari into the Jethanis system. According to Fleet Intelligence, this should be a gateway system into Rage space. Instead, a sweep of the system revealed only four tiny rock planets with hostile atmospheres. Still, Neaton could feel that the Rage were in this system somewhere, but none of the planets showed their presence.
“Mr. Devers, are you absolutely sure you’ve checked every planet for signs of a Rage Colony? I would hate to leave one in our rear area”, Neaton asked his Science Officer.
Devers stayed glued to his screen.
“Absolutely, Commander. There are no Rage colonies on any planet in this system.”
“Thank you, Ensign Devers.” If the Rage weren’t here, then why in the hell did he have such a strange feeling? There was something they were missing…but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Neaton brought up every piece of intelligence he had on the Rage. His tactical display was flooded with scientific facts, anatomic displays, brief cultural dissertations, but Neaton wasn’t even sure what he was looking for. He was hoping that it would grab his attention when he saw it.
He flipped thru a few more documents. Suddenly, there it was.
“Science, scan every rock moon in this system that has no atmosphere. I think we just might find something.” There it was, in the racial overview. The Rage Collective’s preferred planetary climate was a rock world with no atmosphere. Upon discovering a new system, standard operating procedure was to actively scan a system for ships, and then do a passive scan of all planets within a system to search for colonies. Most of the time, the moons and smaller bodies had been omitted from scans, as these objects were too small and usually uninhabitable for most races. They had not taken into account the strange biology of the Rage, however. A moon without an atmosphere would be an excellent destination for a Rage colony.
“Sir, Rage colony detected on the moon of Jethanis IX. Estimates are that there are roughly 11 million Rage colonists on this world.”
Neaton blanched. What if they had bypassed a Rage colony in another system?
“Sparks, get the word out to Naval Intelligence. Every system vacated by the Rage will need to be checked for colonies. Also, the SOP will definitely need to be changed.”
Within hours, Neaton’s fears were confirmed. The entire fleet had left Nova unguarded, and there was a rather large Rage colony still in the system on the alpha moon of Lezzari IV. Hopefully, the Rage on this world didn’t have a shipyard, or Nova was going to be in a ton of trouble, and quick.
Lieutenant Commander turned Hawk around as quickly as possible and made for Lezzari IV. Someone needed to find out what the Rage had there, and Neaton was the only Remorhaz ship left in system.

Back on Providence, work was begun on a new Glory C Class Destroyer. Its firepower would be needed to support the taking of these recently discovered Rage colonies.

In the Yullado system, Hispania arrived at Yullado and picked up another 5 defense satellites. She immediately turned around and headed back to seed the Lenoltris-Yukra wormhole. In Iolo, Loxias was able to do the same at the Iolo-Yukra wormhole. For at least a little while, the Ukra-Tal would be stopped at Yukra. Possibly, that was all that they wanted?

The Research Guild unlocked the secrets of the space mine, and also discovered a system that would be able to safely clear them. Immediately, a design was created for a new space mine, as well as a ship that would be equipped to lay them. This would help shore up the borders of the Remorhaz Society. Work was then begun on the principles of Energy Pulse and Torpedo weapons.

To be continued...

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Please keep posting stories if you can. Your work is as adictive as the game. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

[quote]Originally posted by sachmo:

Quote:

Lifepods are for commercial liners. When warships get destroyed, people die. Unless you plan on having the enemy pick them up and put them in a prisoner of war camp. That might be interesting, and a stroy line noone has used in any of these SE4 stories yet IIRC.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">having recently viewed the original 0079 MS Gundam serise, i feel inclined to refer you to a page from Zeon fighting doctrine.

it is imperitive to the morale of a man fighting in space that he believe that he can be rescued, and that his comrades in arms will do anything in their power to rescue him.

of course, this doctrine is a trueism that extends to battles at sea, in the jungle, on the desert, and danm near anywhere else.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thanks! I am trying to find time, but with my new daughter, it looks like I'm pretty much limited to weekend nights. Thanks for reading, though. I'm glad you are enjoying it!

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

[quote]Originally posted by Puke:

Quote:

it is imperitive to the morale of a man fighting in space that he believe that he can be rescued, and that his comrades in arms will do anything in their power to rescue him.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">This might be true from a military doctrine perspective. But what the soldiers tell themselves to keep sane during a battle, and what the actual circumstances are usuallly difer wildly. I was talking about more from a believable story perspective. A ship sunk at sea anywhere on earth is a few days at most from a friendly port. It is entirely possible that survivors could be recovered before they run out of supplies, even in a hostile area controlled by enemy forces.

However in space generally, and in Sachmo's story specifically, this ship was at best three months from the nearest Remoraz colony, and well behind enemy lines. The chances of a succesful recovery are at best extremly remote. And that would require an immediate military operation to return to the sight of the initial battle. Without that the chance becomes zero. It's not as if the men can open the hatch and drink rainwater and rig up a fishing line to catch some food. Unless you make the case that they could find a habitable planet in the system to hide on. That idea has some possibilities.

On the other hand a P.O.W. camp would be fairly believable, and interesting arc for the story. And then there would be some chance at repatriation down the road.

Geoschmo

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

This is a good excuse to plug Timothy Zahn's "Conqueror's" trilogy (_Conqueror's Pride_, _Conqueror's Heritage_, _Conqueror's Legacy_). One of the main characters is a P.O.W. whose escape pod was retrieved by the enemy in the first chapter.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

A small victory

2409.5

At the University of Manticore, scientists from both the Navy and the university were able to apply the principles of anti-matter to the weapons field, and the first anti-matter torpedo was successfully test fired. Also, the capital weapons project harnessed the power of meson bursts to a meson bLaster. Mesons were an effective weapon against armor because their density allowed them to penetrate further into the material then a solid shot weapon would be able to. The depleted uranium cannon was still a superior weapon, but the meson bLaster would open all sorts of possibilities for the next stage of capital ship weapons. Both weapon types would be able to be made into miniaturized Versions, for use as troop weapons. The Army and Space Marine Corps began working together to construct a prototype for a handheld meson bLaster for the infantry, and trials were begun to test the effectiveness of the meson bLaster when attached to the Blazer assault craft. The General Staff of both services were hoping that these new weapons would increase the lethality, and in turn the survivability, of their troops. In the meantime, the Research Guild focused all of its efforts on designing the next generation of spacecraft…the light cruiser. It was hoped that with enough light cruisers, any technological gap between Remorhaz and their enemies could be overcome with superior firepower. The light cruiser would be able to bring a large amount of firepower to any fight. The research was expected to take a little over half a year.

Gina Jager watched the viewscreen as the space yard at Norak faded in the distance. Nemesis and Furious were heading to the Lapzooli-Lundra wormhole on patrol. The fact was that Grand Admiral Urian had wanted to send a more powerful patrol out, but these two frigates were the only two ships on which all upgrades had been completed. Gina was confident that they could slow down anything that the Rage sent their way. With this latest refit, she felt that her ship had vastly improved its combat power. They were equipped with the latest Contra-Terrene engines, point defense cannon, and the latest generation of capital ship missiles. Also, her crew had been able to take liberty on Norak, and so was much fresher than they had been when they had arrived back in system months ago. She knew that eventually, everyone would want to get back to his or her home planets, but since they were engaged in a two front war, everyone was in it for the long hall.
Captain Jager was in command of Task Force 9.5. She was ordered to patrol the wormhole and eliminate any threat presented to the Lapzooli system in that area. This gave her a lot of tactical flexibility, but she intended to keep everyone alive and not do anything foolish. She quietly hoped that her crew would get a chance to strike back at something. Everyone in the fleet had been on edge since the Ukra-Tal had wiped out Timerron. While the capture of Nova was definitely a moral booster, it might as well be on the other side of the universe. Her people needed to feel like they were doing their part. Maybe they would get the chance, but she would be damned if she would be goaded into doing something stupid just to satisfy those urges. As Grand Admiral Urian had reminded her before they had left port: above all else, her duty was to get her people home.

Chairman Sachmo picked up the hardcopy of the communication that Ambassador Mulatti had sent to him. Early this morning, a ship, presumably equipped with a very powerful transmitter and stationed in Rage space, had broadcast a message to the Remorhaz Society. It read:

“Your pathetic ships must be removed from the Xillantha system.”

No one knew quite what to make of it, as that was all that the message said. Was it a request, stating that if the Remorhaz presence in the Xillantha system was removed, there could be a possible peace? Was it a ruse? There wasn’t really any way to know for sure. Ambassador Mulatti felt that it was a boast, a sort of diplomatic slap in the face by the Rage. He thought that they were daring the Remorhaz Navy to try and stop them from taking the system. Well, Sachmo knew that the Rage had entered the system many times, but they had been unwilling, or unable, to attack Fort Justice. Chairman Sachmo didn’t see much different this time, so he decided to fight fire with fire.
He spoke into his com unit. “Yarboro, get me Ambassador Mulatti on the line, please.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
The Chairman and the head of the Remorhaz Diplomatic Corp discussed the matter at length, but in the end it was the Chairman’s idea that they decided to go with. Norak would broadcast a message, directly to the Primary Sequencer, stating that the Remorhaz would not withdraw from the Xillantha system under any circumstances, and in fact demanded that the Rage remove their colony on Lezzari IV A immediately, or that colony would be “annexed” by the Remorhaz Society in due course. As he dictated the message, Sachmo smiled. That response ought to get the Primary Sequencer’s chips in an uproar, he thought. It was time to teach those machines that humans can be as unpredictable as they are.

The shipyard on Remorhaz turned out the only ground assault ship in the Remorhaz Navy, the RSS Quasar. The destruction of Timerron had driven home that face that the enemies of the Remorhaz Society had no qualms with destroying innocent colonists. While the policy of the Remorhaz government was still to spare the lives of as many noncombatants as possible, these ships were found to be of immeasurable value during any opposed planetary assault, and needed to remain in the fleet. The Chairman hoped that it and its load of planetary napalm would be used sparingly.
Next, the Remorhaz shipyard began construction of another Mongoose class troop transport. This vessel would join the fleet in Xillantha. From here the Navy would be able to launch the “left hook” of its two-pronged assault on the Rage Collective, with the intent of recapturing the Fezzran system. To do this, more Space Marines would be needed, so many of the planets in the rear area of the Society began calling up reserves with the intention of forming another brigade. If the Rage presence in Fezzran could be eliminated, Lenoltris would only be threatened from one direction, and Xillantha would finally be safe from direct invasion.

On Nova, the Rage variety of an Urban Pacification Center was constructed. Since the Rage were sentient machines, it had been quite a challenge for the Remorhaz xenopsychologists to uncover the secrets to pacifying a captured population. What they had come up with was simple. The pacification center would broadcast, on millions of frequencies, information packets that would illustrate to the Rage population the concept of free will. Since the Rage would communicate on different frequencies to convey emotion, no one was quite sure how the Rage would respond to these broadcasts. Tests with individual subjects had been inconclusive, but most tests with isolated Rage beings usually turned out the same way. The success of this pacification center would have to be observed on the Rage population as a whole. Needless to say, this first month would prove to be one of frayed nerves for the Space Marines and Remorhaz government officials on Nova. Not knowing if you were about to be suddenly faced with over 26 million angry, sentient machines would do that! The Space Marines had the small consolation of knowing that the scientists were right there with them, and if something did go wrong, they would be in as much danger as everyone else.

In the Wanduk system, Cherek was finally able to complete the system spaceport. The mining companies on Ymoria were more than happy to pay for the initial shipments of resources over to Cherek, as the spaceport would allow them to finally transport their cargo out of the system, and to get paid for doing it. The Wanduk system had become a key resource supplier for the Society in less than a month.

2409.6

Fort Justice completed construction of a shipyard. The fleet would now be able to complete repairs on station, and new ships would be able to be launched from here. The first task of this new shipyard was to refit RSS Honor. Eventually, all ships in this system would be upgraded, and aggressive patrols of the Fezzran system could begin.

In the Regotha system, RSS Mongoose took on a population of 8 million Norakians. These colonists would populate Nova, and the Rage on this planet would accompany the assault fleet to Lezzari IV A, where the Space Marines would again invade a Rage colony. While the transfer of colonists was taking place, most of the Space Marines were given liberty. They bought everything that they could find, drank everything put in front of their noses, and ate everything that wasn’t still alive, and even in those cases exceptions were made. If the Norak had been impressed with the Space Marines at work, they were doubly awed at their ability to carouse and find whatever fun there was to be had when off duty. For many Norak citizens of Remorhaz, it was another huge lesson in the advantages of a free society. They learned that these men, who months before had been their bitter enemies, were now quite easily able to relax on a planet filled with Norakian beings. The Space Marines seemed to treat the Norakians as fellow citizens, and not as a conquered people. Quite a few of the more liberal thinking Norakians had even made a few friends among the Space Marines before they shipped off for war again. The impression that was made upon many of the Norakians by the Space Marines would soon become apparent.

In the Lundra system, Task Force 9.5 moved into range of a single Rage Furious Class Destroyer. Jager deployed Nemesis and Furious in a wall formation. She ordered Furious to go high and left to try and draw the Rage missile fire. Scanners indicated that the enemy destroyer had already sustained significant damage. Jager was wary of a trap, but the Sensor Officer assured her that the scan was clean. If only she could be so sure that nothing would come out of the wormhole…
Jager closed to within range. The Rage ship had superior missiles, and fired a salvo first. Gina felt her heart skip. She was pinning most of her hopes on the new point defense cannon. She had seen them work in vids of the tests, but actual combat was a whole different world.
“Helm, get ready to move with best speed.”
“Yes ma’am,” Ensign Ernst Dorland responded. Gina could her the doubt in his voice. He also was of the opinion that the best defense against missiles was to open the range before they hit you.
“Weps, make sure that those PD cannons are working properly. This is going to be a short fight if they aren’t.” She looked at the tactical display. All of the readouts for her point defense cannons looked good, but it never hurt to be sure.
“Aye, aye, Cap’n,” the Weapons Officer replied.
The Sensor Officer spoke. “Captain, Icelus is closing off of the port beam. She’s coming very close, Cap’n.”
Gina felt sweat break out on her forehead. She hoped that the combined firepower of her PD cannons and the PD cannons on Icelus would be enough to knock the Rage missiles out before they hit. If not, and those missiles hit Nemesis, Icelus wouldn’t stand much of a chance against the Rage ship.
The combined firepower of the PD cannons was enough to save Nemesis. Gina watched the tactical display as the Rage missiles were quickly disabled or destroyed by thousands of super-accelerated shells. She could see the ghosts that the shells fired by Icelus left on the viewscreen as they streaked across the blackness of space, and then the red and yellow blossoms that would appear as the shells found their targets.
The Rage Furious Class destroyer was able to withstand eight missile hits before her main reactor went and she was vaporized. Gina’s crew cheered as their spread of missiles finished the Rage ship off. Gina allowed herself a brief smile. It was a small victory, but it cheered the crew and buoyed their confidence. Now the Rage knew that there would be no more free passage thru the Lundra system. The Remorhaz Navy was intent on challenging their power in this system. No doubt the Rage would return with more ships, but this time the Remorhaz Navy would be waiting for them.

To be continued...

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Sachmo, a request. Could you post a screen shot of the galactic map so we can see where these systems are? I am getting confused. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Gee sachmo... I gave up SEIV months ago because my exam results were nose-diving. Now I've an urge to head over to PBW and join a game! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Starmap of Remorhaz Space and other points of interest

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">
Knoglam-----Regotha Tudran-----Zanthris-----Koltan

| \ | | |
Lezzari Lapzooli-----------Wurtuy-----Neckron----Velocitas
| | | | |
Jethanis—Aldan--Lundra----------Xillantha---Yullado-----Organtrix
| | |
Fezzran-----Lenoltris----Ultrinox
| |
Yukra-------Iolo
/ |
Devonshire Wanduk</pre><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">System Information
1. Velocitas- home system, this is where Remorhaz is located along with Vilnius
2. Neckron- home to Glory, Black Hills, and Salvation
3. Wurtuy- asteroid filled system with no planets. Was site of many battles with Norak
4. Tudran- first system captured from the Norak, home to Spitfire and Hera.
5. Zanthris and Koltan- Empty systems.
6. Lapzooli- former home system of the Norak Continuum, now home to planet Norak.
7. Regotha- Last system of the Norak, now home to Providence and Prospect
8. Knoglam- asteroid filled system.
9. Lezzari- home to Nova, first planet captured from Rage
10. Jethanis and (UE)- home of Rage colonies, unexplored system is suspected home of Rage Collective homeworld.
11. Lundra- asteroid filled system, main transit system for Rage, now to be interdicted by Remorhaz
12. Xilantha- home to Fort Justice and front line system in war with Rage.
13. Yullado- home of Deniper, small planet which mainly serves as a resupply base. Early in the war, a Rage colony in this system was glassed.
14. Organtrix- empty system with rouge gas giant traversing system
15. Fezzran- Rage controlled system which houses former Remorhaz colony Cirius. Objective of next Remorhaz offensive.
16. Lenoltris- not currently colonized, but system is claimed by Remorhaz. Wormholes from this system to Fezzran and Yukra are seeded with defense sats.
17. Ultrinox- empty system filled with organic growth
18. Yukra- Ukra-Tal controlled system which is home to former Remorhaz colony of Timerron. Here is where Peregrin met her fate.
19. Iolo- home to Correlia, lynchpin to right flank of Remorhaz society.
20. Devonshire- Ukra-Tal system. Not known if this is homeworld system or only flank.
21. Wanduk- home of Cherek and Ymoria. Quickly becoming major industrial center for Remorhaz Society.
22. Aldan- home of Texrak Hegemony

If anyone has any questions/comments, just let me know. Hope this helps, Geo!

[ August 10, 2002, 09:28: Message edited by: sachmo ]

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Preparations

2409.7

Captain Brennan sat down in the captain’s chair aboard his new command, RSS Fortitude. She was the first capital ship built by the Providence shipyards, and she was twice as powerful as Artemis was. She was also his reward for his performance in the invasion of Nova. His actions had helped save Comet from destruction, and his attacks against the surface defenses on Nova had been so effective that the Space Marine landing had gone virtually unopposed. Because of that, Naval Command had decided that his task force needed more firepower, but Brennan would get the first ship out of the yard. That was a very high honor indeed.
Brennan cast a glance around his bridge. It would take time for him to mesh with the new crew, but he was confident that they would all be on the same page before they went in to attempt to take Lezzari IV A. They would not reach Nova for approximately three months, and when they did they would face the daunting task of recolonizing the planet with Norak colonists. He didn’t expect that mission to go smoothly. He didn’t understand much about the Rage as a species, but if they were anything like Humans they would not like being moved from their planet. For once, he hoped that in this instance the Rage were very different, otherwise this mission could get very ugly.

Task Force 9.5 entered the Aldan system in the first week of the month. They were expecting the system to be Rage held, as this was one of the wormholes from which Rage fleets had been observed jumping from. When the scanners made a system sweep, it wasn’t the Rage that they found, but a race known as the Texrax Hegemony. Gina immediately started the first contact protocol, and sent a message back to Norak.

Chairman Sachmo was just finishing reading a new bill proposal when the com unit range. Yarboro’s voice chimed thru informing him that it was Ambassador Mulatti. The Chairman quickly accepted the call.
“Good afternoon, Sangi. What can I do for you?”
The ambassador looked serious. “Sir, Captain Jager has made contact with a new race, the Texrak Hegemony. Their home planet is in the newly explored system of Aldan, which is west of Lundra. This was a system we had hoped would be the Rage home system, but we were shocked to discover that there was a previously unknown race inhabiting the system.”
The Chairman did not dare let his hopes get the better of him.
“Oh, this is important news. Hopefully, these Texrakians are a peaceful people. I don’t think we need any more enemies.”
The ambassador shook his head. “Chairman, the initial reports are that they are moderate towards us. This is the best initial contact we have had with a race since the very early days with the Norak.”
“Well, Sangi, I have every faith in your abilities to keep us peaceful with them. If we get any information from them, please let me know as soon as you can.”
The ambassador nodded. “I shall, Chairman. I have already begun assembling a diplomatic team that should reach the system in a month. I will update you as soon as we know anything else.”
The Chairman smiled. “Thank you, Sangi. Have a nice evening.”
With that the closed the connection. Immediately, he had Yarboro connect him with Grand Admiral Urian. He wanted to be sure that the Navy was ready, and in a position to hold their ground against these Texrakians . He would not allow another Timerron to happen again.

This month, 4 million Remorhaz colonists set out from Glory to colonize the Lenoltris system. It was deemed worth the risk by the government since the Fezzran system would soon be under attack by Remorhaz forces anyway, and that action should keep the Rage from counterattacking in the Lenoltris system.

Remorhaz finished construction of the RSS Badger, a Mongoose Class Landing Ship. This ship moved out to the Neckron to pick up the newly organized 2nd Space Marine Brigade, and would then move into the Xillantha system to join up with the rest of the fleet. From there, Fezzran would be the target. Remorhaz began construction of a supply ship for this attack fleet.

In the Yukra system, RSS Falcon abandoned it’s station outside of the wormhole from Lenoltris and attacked the undefended Ukra-Tal colony on Timerron. Her depleted uranium cannons destroyed the colony completely.

2409.8

Chairman Sachmo felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Of course, it was only the beginning of a negotiation process, but the Texrak Hegemony had approached the Remorhaz Society offering a Trade Agreement. With this treaty would come a non-aggression pact, and valuable cultural input from another race. He hoped that this treaty would come to fruition, and that eventually the Texrak would fight alongside the Remorhaz Society, but not having them immediately declare war on the was a start, and a nice change of pace. The Chairman began to wonder to call this day when it became a Society-wide holiday. He was thinking “Harmony Day”, but he would have to get the input for his staff. Maybe they could tie it in with the Norak somehow…

Norak launched the RSS Faith, another Glory Class Destroyer. She moved into the Lundra system to help Task Force 9.5 hold the Lundra-Lapzooli wormhole. The Navy took the discovery of the Texrak Hegemony as a serious threat, and until the treaty was signed they would be treated as so. Norak began building a colony ship to occupy some of the smaller, incompatible worlds in the Lapzooli system.

RSS Shining Victory and Skydancer arrived in orbit over Correlia. If the Ukra-Tal made a push for the Iolo system, the Iolo Defense Fleet should be able to at least slow them down. Once Correlia finished construction of it’s shipyard, then the fleet would grow in size and eventually move back into the Yukra system.

2409.9

Remorhaz launched the RSS Jenny Cushman, a Cyllene Class Fleet Supply ship. She headed out for Fort Justice to join up with the Xillantha fleet.

On Nova, the population transfer went off without a hitch. One of the keys that the Remorhaz xenopsychologists discovered about the Rage population was that in order to function as a society, there needed to be a sequencer to issue orders to the population. In fact, without the presence of a sequencer, the local population would cease to function. While there were still many holes in the knowledge of how this entire process worked, the scientists were able to make an amazing discovery on Nova. They found that a human could be substituted for a sequencer and the population would treat this human as their “controller”. At this time, Governor Mitchell Cantberry was the human “sequencer”. Governor Cantberry was able to issue orders to the population and have them carry them out with absolutely no question. Through this method, he was able to keep the population completely peaceful and productive.
There was, of course, a downside to this arrangement. He always had to have at least one Rage being around at all time, to act as a “herald” for Cantberry. Since he was human and could not communicate through the instant link that the Rage population seemed to share, there had to be one Rage being to pass Cantberry’s orders on to the rest of the population. So when it came time to load the Rage population onto the Mongoose, it only required a few simple orders from Cantberry to get the entire population moving. What he would discover soon was that he was going to have to move with them, as they refused to allow the ship to leave orbit if their “sequencer” was not with them. So Cantberry agreed to travel to Lezzari IV A with “his people.” The process that began here was sure to be repeated as more Rage systems came under Remorhaz control.

2410.0

In the Lenoltris system, Remorhaz colonists landed on Lenoltris II and renamed it Highrock. This huge planet had a methane atmosphere, so the colonists would be forced to live in domed communities. The planet also had absolutely no native vegetation, and the surface was covered with granite continents. This harsh world was rich in mineral resources, and would be mined as soon as a spaceport was constructed.

The Texrak Hegemony agreed to enter into a Trade Alliance with the Remorhaz Society. Ambassador Mulatti had his men establish an embassy on their homeworld, and personally traveled to Norak to bring their diplomats to Remorhaz. Immediately, traders from both sides began exchanging star charts so that they would be able to navigate each other’s space ways. Not long after, ideas began to move back and forth between the empires. Hopefully, some scientific advances would come from this.

At Providence, Comet was repaired, and a new Glory Class Destroyer, RSS Liberation was launched. Both ships immediately headed for Nova to join with the rest of the fleet for the eventual assault on Lezzari IV A. They were set to arrive in system in 2 months.

The Navy Design Bureau was able to create a larger hull size for their ships- the light cruiser. The prototype of the Ganymede Class would be created at Glory, while a second would be launched from Fort Justice. The first cruiser was scheduled for delivery in just under two months. Along with the ability to build the light cruiser, the physics of the hull design also would allow the building of a larger class of transport craft. These ships would be introduced when practical. The next project was an attempting to upgrade the anti-matter torpedoes. Command felt that these weapons might be able to tips the scales even further toward the Remorhaz Society, as point defense weapons could not defend them against.

In the meantime, a Rage fleet of seven ships jumped into Lezzari. Since no one could be sure what the Rage intentions were, the assault fleet remained in orbit over Nova. If it seemed like they had no chance, the fleet abandon the planet and fall back to Providence.
Captain Brennan didn’t like the idea of running, however. He was prepared to send these Rage ships to hell.

To be continued...

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

http://forums.civfanatics.comhttp://...ipersmilie.gifRight on Target. Very nice read indeed. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ August 12, 2002, 13:16: Message edited by: geoschmo ]

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Nice story once again.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Stick and move

2410.1

“Captain Brennan, I understand that the odds of your ships defeating the Rage fleet are not in our favor. Nevertheless, the Norak colonists here on Nova feel very strongly about fighting for their freedom. It was hard enough getting them to agree to evacuate 6 million colonists. They all wanted to stay and fight. As it stands now, you would probably have to force the remaining 1 million into the shuttles at gunpoint. They simply refuse to abandon the planet.” Governor Nina Leeks held up hands and shrugged.
Brennan ran his fingers thru his close-cropped hair. The fact remained that the Rage fleet was within a parsec of Nova. They still had enough time to evacuate all of the colonists from the planet. If Brennan’s fleet remained behind to cover their retreat, Mongoose stood an excellent chance of escaping and making for Providence. However, that would mean that Remorhaz ships would not be able to count on the support of the recently constructed weapons platforms on the surface of Nova. Without those platforms, the Remorhaz ships lost a significant amount of firepower. Still, when weighed against the lives of 1 million Remorhaz citizens, there was no choice.
“Governor, Major General Brooks can make them leave. Please don’t force us into anything” Brennan glanced at Brooks, who nodded imperceptivity.
“If they aren’t smart enough to save their own lives, Governor, then my men will do it for them. Haven’t those Norakians seen enough of this war? If the Rage ships push thru our fleet, the colonists will be sitting ducks. I can’t in good conscience leave this planet without them.”
Governor Leeks stood up.
“Gentlemen, you are both officers in the military. I understand that it is your sworn duty to protect the lives of Remorhaz citizens. However, there is something you are overlooking here. These Norakians have been given a whole new outlook on life in the Remorhaz Society. Never before have they enjoyed the amount of freedom that they have now. It stirs strong feelings in many of them, as you can see. They see this as a chance to pay us back for the gift we have given them. They see this as a chance to keep their families and people free from tyranny and harm. So you would force them to leave, because that is your duty. However, in doing so, you may be denying them their most basic rights. Also, if the Rage defeat you here, what is to stop them from catching Mongoose in space, destroying her and everyone on board? At least this way, they have a fighting chance. Please, let them stay.”
Brennan looked over at Major General Brooks again. Clearly, he was considering the governor’s words.
“Alright Governor, we will discuss this. Of course, we will have to clear any decision to let these people stay with Remorhaz. Neither of us can approve something like this on our own. I hope you understand,” Brennan said.
The Governor nodded. “Of course. Please contact me if I can help in any way. If you will excuse me, I have to help prepare for the defense of our planet.” She headed toward the door.
Brennan watched her leave. Once the door was shut, Major General Brooks let out a long breath.
“Good god, Brennan! If you had told me a year ago that I would be arguing with a Remorhaz citizen to protect Norakians, Norakian citizens of Remorhaz no less, I would have told you to go eat your hat!”
Brennan laughed. “Yes sir. It’s quite a turn of events.” He thought for a moment. “Governor Leeks makes some good points, doesn’t she?”
The general folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. “She does. You know, situations like this are usually celebrated as heroic acts. Why is it that I am so uneasy about it?”
“Because it’s suicide. Our chances of defeating that Rage fleet are pretty slim. We just don’t have the firepower. If we had another month, I would feel a lot better. As it is, it’s going to be a rough ride. I hope we make it out of this.”

In the end, the Chairman gave the 1 million colonists permission to stay on Nova if they wished. Major General Brooks still was not happy about it, but he remained silent. Mongoose detached herself from the Marine Assault Fleet and headed full speed for the Knoglam system. If the fleet survived, they would return. If not, they would make for Providence along with Comet and Liberation. Of course, that was if the Rage actually attacked. Once could never be sure what they were going to do.

The Research Guild was able to improve on the anti-matter torpedo design and extend both its range and payload. All future Ganymede Light Cruisers would be fitted with this advanced torpedo design. By the beginning of the next month, they planned to have completed research on a second-generation anti-proton beam.

Remorhaz launched RSS Cerci, an Icelus C Class fleet repair ship. She headed toward Xillantha to join the rest of the fleet. She would join them as soon as possible, but the timetable would not be held up to accommodate her joining before the assault on Fezzran. That assault should begin in the first week of the next month.
In an interesting turn of events, the Rage sent a transmission to Fort Justice. It read:

“Pathetic weaklings, flee from the Xillantha system.”

This presented the Navy with an interesting scenario. If the Rage attacked Xillantha in force, it might be worth it to first try and defeat the enemy fleet before assaulting Fezzran. Hopefully, if the Rage fleet was destroyed, that would mean that ships which were responsible for defending Fezzran would be lost, making the assault much safer. Rear Admiral Sakazawa was made aware of this situation, and he increased the alert status of the fleet. If the Rage came, they would jump them. The fleet in Lundra was also notified, so that they could intercept any reinforcing fleets coming from that direction.

In the Lapzooli system, the planet Harkness was colonized. This colony was to be a research colony.

The Texrak Hegemony proposed a research and trade alliance. Ambassador Mulatti quickly ordered his mission to accept the treaty. The Texrak were quickly becoming the Remorhaz Societies first stalwart allies. Time would tell if they would enter the war on their side or not, but at least they weren’t looking for a fight.

2410.2

The Remorhaz fleet at Nova barely escaped with their lives. The Rage ships moved in and glassed the planet, leaving the fleet to fight for their lives. Not one hit was scored on the Rage fleet as they were able to use their superior maneuverability as an advantage. Once the battle was over, the Remorhaz ships had nothing left to protect, and so immediately fell back toward Providence. Whether the Rage ships would follow or not remained to be seen.

The Research Guild completed work on the second generation of the anti-proton beam. The next project was aimed at discovering the secrets of astrophysics.

Glory launched the first Ganymede class light cruiser, RSS Ganymede. This ship headed for the Xillantha-Lundra wormhole, to join taskforce 9.5.
Correlia complete construction of its shipyard facility, and immediately began construction of two Nemesis class frigates.

2410.3

An Ukra-Tal fleet of 22 assorted ships appeared in the Wanduk system at the beginning of this month, and fell upon the colony at Cherek. Without mercy, the Ukra-Tal scorched the planet from low orbit. No Remorhaz citizen was left alive. The colonists on Ymoria saw that they were next, and a massive panic ensued. The Chairman tried to gain contact with the Ukra-Tal government for a possible discussion of terms of surrender of the planet, but there was no response. No one was in any position to send any aid. The factories on Ymoria began construction of space mines, which they hoped would discourage the Ukra-Tal fleet. It was a thin hope, indeed.

Remorhaz launched the first Ganymede B class light cruiser, the RSS Orion. She and the Midguard moved to take up stations to protect the core systems from an Ukra-Tal attack. There was nothing to stand in their way if the fleet in Wanduk decided to head for Remorhaz. Production was stepped up on minelayers also, to lay a huge defensive barrier of mines to attempt to slow the Ukra-Tal down, at least.

Rear Admiral Sakazawa was surprised when his fleet completed the jump into the Fezzran system. He had expected to surprise a Rage attack fleet gathered in system, but instead he found two unprotected planets.
The first, Fezzran VI, was a domed planet populated by about 6 million Rage. The entire 2nd Space Marine Brigade was dropped, and the planet was captured without much of a fight. The local garrison had been neutralized from space by the rest of the fleet. The planet was named Vengeance, and immediately as request was placed to have a colony ship constructed so that Cirius could be recolonized. The Remorhaz Society was determined to hold Fezzran this time around.

Ambassador Mulatti stared at the com unit in muted shock. He wasn’t quite sure why, but the mood of the Texrak Hegemony had quickly darkened over the Last few months. It was now to the point where the entire Remorhaz diplomatic mission was being expelled from Texrak space.
Once he was finished with the details of the embassy evacuation, he contacted the Chairman. Needless to say, he wasn’t happy.
“Damn it, Sangi! What more can we do? Could one of our enemies be doing this to us?” The Chairman’s face was as read as a dachenberry.
“It’s entirely possible, but without an intelligence network to speak of, we have no way of knowing, sir. I think that we should be ready for anything from the Texrak.”
“You can bet on that, mister. Thanks for calling me so soon, Sangi. I guess when it rains, it pours, huh?”
Sangi relaxed ever so slightly. “Yes sir. Let me know if you need anything from me, sir.”
The Chairman just grimaced and closed the connection. He sat back in his chair and took a stiff pull from his scotch. What more did it take to have normal relations with alien races? I wish I could figure out what is required to keep our neighbors happy, he thought.
Well, I’m glad I kept that task force in Lundra.
He placed a call to Grand Admiral Urian.
The admiral decided that they would redeploy the 1st Space Marine Brigade from Providence and have it join task force 9.5 in the Lundra system. Once they linked up, and when the inevitable war started with the Texrak Hegemony, the Space Marines would be able to sweep into Aldan with the rest of the fleet and hopefully knock them out of the war in one swift, punishing attack. He hoped that things stabilized before that, but past history showed that it probably would not.

2410.4

The Ukra-Tal fleet destroyed Ymoria.

RSS Falcon was lost when she warped into the Yukra system and ran into a minefield just outside of the wormhole.

In the Fezzran system, the Xillantha Defense fleet continued its attack against Rage colonies. This time, the target was Fezzran IV. 4 weapons platforms, and a belt of defense satellites protected the planet. It was also home to 105 million Rage colonists. Rear Admiral Sakazawa ordered the fleet to move into maximum firing range of the planet and destroy all defenses found. Once the defenses were neutralized, the 2nd Space Marine Brigade assaulted the planet. This time there was organized resistance, but it was crushed by the overwhelming might of the Space Marines. Brigadier General Richard McMasters, summed the combat up best in his after action report, “The Space Marines were in among the Rage lines before they knew the bombardment was over. To them it must have seemed as if they were receiving fire from their own rear area. Unfortunately for them, it was our boys.” Fezzran IV was renamed Scorpio.
The Fezzran system was now back in Remorhaz hands. Both newly captured worlds would be used as forward supply and repair bases. The fleet would immediately begin preparations to deny the Rage entry into Fezzran, but they would also attack any targets of opportunity that presented themselves. The offensive was not to stall under any circumstance.

The loss of the Wanduk system was quickly being felt throughout the Society. This month, projections called for a deficit of around 4300 mineral resources from construction. While the society had built up a considerable stock over the past few years, this was not the time to have to curtail production because of supply shortages. If pressure could be sustained, the Rage might be put on the defensive. A lack of supplies at this point in time could be disastrous.

To be continued......

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

You should put all of your work together and offer it as a download. I would love to read your story all at once. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif And leave it laying around the office for others to enjoy. Perhaps get a few people to buy the game.

Very nice work. Very detailed and easy to read. If you do not write for a living, perhaps you should consider doing so. Or at least writing a book as a hobby, kinda like what your doing here. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Thanks very much, Raymond. No, I don't write for a living...I'm a QA Analysist, actually! If you want to read the story from start to finish without interruption, it's posted at www.spaceempires.org under the fan fiction section. I suppose if someone were interested I could email them the Word document of the story, but it's 95 pages long! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Plans

Chairman Sachmo raised a hand as he entered the room, beckoning the others to take their seats. He needed to get down to business as soon as possible, and he didn’t have the time to stand on ceremony.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. It seems events are moving faster than we anticipated. Let’s get to it, alright?”
He sat down heavily in the chair at the head of the table. Before he could look up, Yarboro had powered up the data terminal and dimmed the lights. Floating in the middle of the large table was a hologram of the Remorhaz Society. Remorhaz military forces showed up in the Regotha system, Lundra, Fezzran, Organtrix, and Iolo, roughly outlining the “front”. Beyond those points lay enemy space.
Sachmo frowned as he studied the image. Wanduk drew his eye first, recently lost to the Ukra-Tal. Lost wasn’t exactly a precise word for what had happened there. The Remorhaz colonists in that system had been butchered. 40 million people burned to cinders by acid projectors and other horrors wielded by the Ukra-Tal. It was as good a place to start the discussion.
“Grand Admiral Urian, is there anything we can do in Wanduk to regain the system from the Ukra-Tal?”
From the darkness, Urian’s voice was grim. “No sir. Wanduk is lost.”
The Chairman took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “How about Iolo? If the Ukra-Tal come calling, can we stop them at Correlia?”
“No sir. Currently, the Iolo defense fleet consists of two Glory class destroyers and one Nemesis class frigate. The weapons platforms on the surface consist of one Viper 5 and one Defender. At this time, the Correlians are trying to mine the space lanes around the planet, and once that is done they will try to build more weapons platforms. Enroute to Iolo are the light cruiser Orion and the frigate Midguard, however they won’t reach Iolo for about four months. If the Ukra-Tal come knocking before that, it will be a slaughter.”
Some of those gathered for the meeting gasped in utter astonishment. Many knew bits and pieces of what was happening on the Ukra-Tal front, but not many had seen the big picture. Once they did, the direness of the situation was apparent.
The Chairman tapped a button on the data term, highlighting Iolo.
“If Iolo falls, then there is nothing stopping the Ukra-Tal from pushing into the core systems, or even right on to Remorhaz itself? Is that what I’m seeing, Grand Admiral?”
Urian nodded. “Yes, Chairman. If we lose the fleet at Iolo, there is nothing to stop them. We could move one of the fleets from either Fezzran or Lundra, but they might not reach us in time. Also, such a move would present other complications.”
The Chairman stood up.
“Then we can’t lose the fleet. If the Ukra-Tal come into Iolo before we have gathered sufficient strength, we will fall back, system by system, until we have enough firepower to stop them. Then we can take back what is ours. If we lose the core systems, then we lose the war.” The Chairman considered the map for a moment.
“I want a transport moved to Correlia as soon as possible. If the Ukra-Tal come for battle, I want that planet evacuated.”
The Grand Admiral was punching notes into his data term. “Yes, Chairman. Marne is on her way back to Correlia as we speak.”
The Chairman studied the hologram again. Between Remorhaz and Iolo were two barren systems. If the Navy could slow any Ukra-Tal attack down, there just might be time to move one of the fleets back to Remorhaz in case of an emergency. If they didn’t lose many ships, they should be able to take on the Ukra-Tal battle fleet on fairly even terms. Everything hinged on the Rage offensive.
“Grand Admiral, tell us about the Fezzran offensive.”
The admiral’s voice seemed to gain some life. At least he did have some good news to deliver.
“Sir, Fezzran was a much easier target than we expected. We aren’t sure why the Rage left the system practically undefended, but we were able to capture both Rage colonies in two months. We didn’t suffer a single casualty.”
A cheer welled up from the gathered officers. Sachmo smiled.
“Excellent, Grand Admiral. Very well done. Fezzran has some very rich worlds to colonize. We can return to Cirius, too. That will help offset the loss of Wanduk, and will boost the moral of the people.”
“Yes Chairman. We also suspect that the unexplored system west of Fezzran to be a Rage system. I was planning on sending the fleet ahead as soon as possible. It’s very important that we keep the Rage off balance.”
Field Marshal Gulman spoke up.
“I completely agree, Chairman. If we can quickly defeat the Rage, then we can concentrate on the Ukra-Tal.”
The Chairman nodded to him. He then turned to Commandant Hunter of the Space Marine Corps.
“Hunter, how are your Space Marines fairing?”
The Commandant looked up from his data term, where he had been furiously writing notes.
“Chairman, my Space Marines get better by the drop. 2nd Brigade accounted very well for itself in Fezzran, sir. They are ready for anything we throw at them.”
“Good to hear. Very good.”
The meeting continued for hours. The strategy for this pivotal time in Remorhaz history was set. The bulk of the forces were to concentrate on finishing off the Rage, while an intense effort would be made to build up fleet strength in the Iolo sector. Also, the wormholes would be mined from the core systems out, to provide defense belts for the fleets to fall back behind. They hoped that the Ukra-Tal offensive would slow after the quick capture of the Wanduk system, but they planned for the worst case. It was going to be touch and go here for a while.

Captain Jager looked at her orders with carefully concealed relief. Nemesis and Triumph had been ordered to proceed at best speed to Deniper in the Yullado system, where they were to await further orders. She wasn’t exactly sure what they were going to be doing, but being that much closer to Remorhaz was a step in the right direction. She had been away from home for almost ten years now with barely a month spent back home. A few weeks with her family would be paradise, but she didn’t want to get her, or her crews, hopes up. She knew everyone missed their loved ones terribly .At least at Yullado they would be off of the line for a few days. She hoped that they would be able to get in a little r&r.

2410.5

The scientists at Our Blessed Mother University on Remorhaz, with the help of millions of credits in aid from the Remorhaz Research Guild, made a breakthrough in the area of Astrophysics. By studying the interstellar phenomenon that Captain Jager and others like her had discovered in the early days of the Remorhaz exploration of space, they were able to unlock the keys to allow them to manipulate the energies of the very stars. This was only the tip of the iceberg with regards to the practical applications, but with a bit of work they believed that they could construct a repulsor beam for the Navy, discover how to manipulate spatial bodies, and also how to gather the energy of the stars and use it to supplement the power cores on ships. This research would begin, as all research had a habit of doing, when the funding came thru.

At Glory, the first Remorhaz minelayer was launched, the RSS Eos. She would immediately travel to Black Hills and Salvation to gather the mines that had already been constructed there, and begin mining the wormholes of the core systems. The first ring of defense was going up.

On Vengeance, one of the recently captured Rage worlds in the Fezzran system, an urban pacification center was created. They hoped that this one would be as successful as the one on Nova had been, but just in case, a battalion of Space Marines remained on planet.

Rear Admiral scanned the faces of his officers. Lord, did they look tired. Many of them had been fighting for almost nine years. They wanted to go home, and spend some real time with their loved ones. They knew that the way back was much further than the road ahead, and so were quite happy for a chance to finish off the Rage. It was time to press on.
“We don’t know what’s in the next system, folks, but intel believes that it should be crawling with Rage. Our orders are clear. We are to find, and destroy, the Rage homeworld. Remorhaz needs us to put an end to this war, and quickly. Any colony we can’t take with the Space Marines is to be destroyed,” a hand shot up from amongst his officers, “yes, that is a departure from SOP, but apparently when the Ukra-Tal glassed Cherek and Ymoria the Chairman had a change of heart.”
The hand was quickly lowered.
“If we can find the Rage homeworld and destroy the primary sequencer, we can finish this. We don’t really know what we will find, but I know we are ready for it. The Rage knocked us for a loop in Lezzari, and now we get to return the favor. Fezzran is our, and we won’t stop until every Rage planet is either under our control, or left behind as space debris. Questions?”
No one raised a hand. They were determined, and ready to get this bloody work done.
Sakazawa nodded. “Excellent. Get back to your ships, and good luck to us all. Dismissed.”
Xillantha Fleet sped thru space silently, powered by vengeance and deadly intent.

To be continued...

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Very nice read. I wanted to know, so I checked.

Close Estimate:

Words = 48353
Characters = 228211
Sentances = 3724

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level = 6.9
Flesch Reading Ease = 68.4

Font 10
Times New Roman = 64 pages.

I would say that you are off and running on that book. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">huh? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thanks? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

And a Wow for sachmo http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif .
Moderators: can we make a sticky of this tread.
Because this will give everyone a lesson in how to roleplay in SEIV

Thanks sachmo

Sparhawk

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

http://www.geocities.com/hohoho611ca/storylinks.html

You should post a link to this thread in the "Classic Threads" thread.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Although I enjoy this story, I feel that you should take some time and proof read your work.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You are right, but I like to take the limited time that I have to play the game and write the story. Since this is just for fun, I was hoping that most people would overlook the gramatical and spelling errors. BTW, you did much better this time...I'm proud of you. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

*Shakes his head* MoW, why do you have to be so mean? For the love of god, this is one of the best stories out, and you have to go and insult the writer? We all, every Last one of us, have limited time to do many things in life. The fact that a few of us take time out of our busy days and do something as talented as what Sachmo has done here, should be viewed as an inspiration and not be aynilized word by word.

My spelling sucks, and I know that a great many of the poeple here would love for me to buy a Word Processor, but the plain truth is simple. I post here because I enjoy it, not because its a job. If you want perfection in life, and from what I gather you do, then perhaps you should go somewhere else. For here, we don't stand on it, and we appreciate what people do to make this site, and this game even more enjoyable than it already is.

You can either be a part of it, or not, but please do not aspire to insult someone as talented as Sachmo. His work is beyond approach.

Oh ya, JMHO. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Please forgive me. Sachmo, your writing skills are awsome to say the least. I am humbled by your skill, and honestly did not mean any offense. I mean that. I love what you have posted, and wish for you to go on posting. Mr. Atrocities is right about one thing, I should learn to keep my big mouth shut.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Well, I have read through all Sachmo's Posts and can't find one single mispelling of the word 'canon' anywhere. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Geoschmo

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

You didn't offend me, MoW. That was my point. There are a lot of people you need to apologize to on this forum, but I'm not one of them. If you step up and apologize, then we can probably be friends. If not, I'll just ignore you. I won't fight, either, so don't bother. Thanks for listening.

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Ok, any future Posts in this thread not directly related to the story will be deleted without warning. I am not going to lock this one down. I like it too much. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Hey congradulations Sachmo on breaking a 100 Posts. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

DOH! Didn't even notice...but thanks. Also, thanks for the kind words, guys. All that matters to me is that people are enjoying the story. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

Love the story Sachmo, just worried about when you take a leaf out of Barbara Cartland's book and introduce the 'love interest'!!!!!!

Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
 

I think she's more in love with her career, but you never know... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif