The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Ok this is the first scene i wrote, i'll be posting the next few in a few days, hopefully you guys will enjoy it! I have read thorugh it a few times and it isn't as detialed as some of the following chapters because i didn't want it too long. So enjoy the first chapter

The small cruiser silently sped towards battle. A sleek oval dome which then led on to a small tubular neck that widened at the back. Half way down this neck were 2 small curving structures that together on each side of the neck looked like a crescent. Where the neck got wider were two huger flanking wing like structures that curved forward. These structures added a second crescent shape to the back of ship, it could be described slightly like a boats anchor. The wing like hull was where most of the components were housed. It was a dull dark metallic grey colour and was made up of metal plating with dark purple lines separating the curving plates. The bridge, crew quarters and life support was found in the front oval dome alongside two Shield Depleters, the front was also home to the combat sensors and ECM defences. In the tubular neck the two primary and secondary shield generators were placed. The rest of the Components were found in the larger wings. 6 Jacketed Photon Engines, a solar sail, the emergency resupply pod and two large level 3 Quantum Torpedoes. It was a masterful ship, all coated in stealth armour that allowed the ship to use low-level cloak when needed. The Tamarrian Ascension class Cruiser, the pinnacle of Tamarr Technology. It cruised towards the alien battlecruiser, barely visible except when the twin suns highlighted it’s armour. The mood on the ship’s bridge was tense. Against the Taeron Battle Cruiser they were hopelessly outgunned, the Taeron had an alien beam weapon that pierced their shields easily. Beside them though was a Phong Afognak battlecruiser. It was a lot thinner than the Tamarrian ship, but it was deadly, hundreds of little lights shined out from it’s grey hull that glinted different colours because of it’s crystalline armour. On board most hands were on the bridge, scanning communications frequencies for distress calls, manoeuvring the ship, checking the shield levels. In the middle of this stood an alien in a black robe. It had a hairless head, large tear drop eyes and 4 arms; also it had a long neck, no nose and mouth and a red sash over it’s shoulder from one side to the other, dressed in the same uniform as most of the aliens on the bridge, although others had different coloured sash. This particular alien had some valuable medals on it’s, he was making weird harmonic noises obviously communicating with his crew. Its name was Cyria E'diar. High Kah’tal of the Tamarrian fleet and the most decorated military official in Tamarrian history. The Battle plan was simple. The Tamarrian ship would get into optimal firing range and open fire with its Depleters and Torpedoes. This would damage the Taeron Battlecruiser then the Phong would take the fire from the enemy. Its Special Phased Shield Technology was effective against the Taeron alien beams. The Afognak would then open fire with its 2 huge crystalline energy magnifying cannons, ripping the Taeron ship apart. The two allies stopped and waited, the Phong ship slightly in front to absorb the fire. They knew their ECM was more advanced than the Taeron, but they also knew the Taeron had sufficient scanners to defeat the Afognak’s electromagnetic counter measures. The Ascension was safer with its armour giving them a 5% defensive bonus. But that didn’t help in the battle. The Taeron headed close range and caught the Afognak out of position. On board Cyria’s harmonic noises were fast and intense.
“Pilot! Get us facing that ship now; he’s caught the Phong out of position! Weap’s fire at will once you have a clear shot!” The Ascension tried to get itself in position to fire and the Taeron’s opened fire. A stream of purple Polaron beams raked the side of the Ascension, purple explosions ripping through the hull taking out a shield generator and an engine. Deep gouges scarred the side of the Ascension as it got into position and fired all it’s weapons. Firstly the two shield depleters fired and the Taeron’s shields burst into colour, almost like fire they swirled round the gold and blue ship, constantly being lowered. Then two purple bursts were fired from the larger wings. They streamed effortlessly through space and exploded against the shields. Two large Purple fireballs tried to rip their way through the shields but they held! The Phong by now had pulled into position and opened fire with its High Energy Magnifiers. A multicoloured beam fired from them and one bLasted its way against the golden shields. Eventually the Taeron’s Shields fell and the second bLast took out a huge section of the front curving wing, destroying a phased Polaron beam and melting its way through all 4 layers of titanium armour. The Ascension was retreating by now, waiting for it’s quantum Torpedoes to reload but the Taeron again opened fire upon them. This time the front took most the damage and the Afognak’s crew watched in horror as the bridge and life supports were vaporised, thick purple plumes of smoke leaked out of the ship, swirling around in space. Before it hit Cyria saw the beams heading towards them and gave the order for everyone escape pods but they had barely moved when the beams ripped through the hull. The Phong’s crew saw the aftermath as the survivors were sucked out into space. Their lungs exploding and dying instantly, they floated limply through the cold void. For the next few hours the Taeron finished off the Ascension and then tried to retreat. The two ships battled for positions with the Phong taking heavy damage from the Taeron’s beams. The Two ships attacked and retreated, again and again. Eventually the Phong lost their Last HEM Cannon and had to retreat, the Taeron though had lost 2 engines and the space between the two wounded ships grew. For the Tamarrian/Phong Alliance, this battle was a disaster, now nothing except a weaponless hull of a Afognak class Phong Battle cruiser stood between the Tamarrian Homeworld and the Taeron fleet, times were getting rather dark indeed…

Thats the first chapter, hope it's good, eventually when the Fanfiction site is up i'll post it there as well

[ April 10, 2003, 22:27: Message edited by: Raging Deadstar ]

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

I like your sytle... especially how you blended in tangible game components. Related it to the gaming experience very well.

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Nice read. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Looking forward to more.

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

I'm suprised i got two favourable reviews as i believe this isn't as strong as other chapters i've written so hopefully they'll be enjoyable to read. I was nervous about posting this as it is my least favourite chapter. Thanx for the support

I can brag that "the King" likes my work, any places open for an official scribe http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Finally got a minute or two to read the story.
Great job RD. I liked that chapter alot, and if you say that was the worst chapter that you have written; I can't wait for the next ones! This looks like it will be a great story indeed.

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">LOL... you are certainly a contender! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Lots of talent in the forums as well. I have to catch up with some of the other authors' work too. A nice diVersion indeed.

The trouble with appointing cabinets is that the life of the King looks to be very short...

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Primitive read story, Primitive like story, Primitive want more.

Mr. Deathstar better not let Primitive wait to long http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Yep, It's good.
Heavier on the scenic description than the aliens thoughts and emotions. But as they all died it would have been a bad investment to build up the characters http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

The headline "Liebration of Tamarr" makes me wonder, will it be conquered and then liberated by the Tamerrians or will the Taerons "liberate" it?

I will read the rest of the story aswell!

[ April 13, 2003, 12:47: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

I'm currently rewriting the first few new chapters so i thought i would post the Tamarrian Races Biology, Society and History descriptions! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Hopefully will have the next chapter up tomorrow

>Welcome to Tamarrian Databanks On Alpha Leonis IIX
>Please enter your Tamarrian Data Chip
>>>Scanning…
>Welcome Advisor Maliki Shamayan
>>Access Approved to enter Tamarrian First Contact Frequency…

Tamarrian Biology
The Tamarrian Continuum is made up entirely of the Tamarrian Race. They can be loosely be described as bi-pedal. Their skin ranges from dark and light purple to dark blues, usually with strange natural coloured markings. Unlike other bipeds in the galaxy like the Phong or Hedres they have many noticeable differences. They have 4 arms and 2 long legs, both of which are extremely strong, thin and long. They have a small spherical body with very light layers of fat deposits that makes them prone to low temperatures. The shoulders and chest of the body is dominated by a large bony chest plating which extends over the shoulders. It is padded with cartilage and muscle underneath to protect where the twin hearts, lungs and other specialist organs lie. This bony structure then goes up and forms the neck. The neck is slightly long and supports their light heads. The Tamarrian head is medium sized and is mainly filled up by their brain, their eyes are slightly more tear shaped than most races and are usually pure black. Where most bipeds have a mouth and nose there is just flesh, with a slight vertical opening which serves as a mouth and nose, this opening is also an air filter which destroys toxins in the air so it is suitable to breathe in. The Tamarrian’s don’t have external ears. Instead they had 3 small holes, two on the each side of their head and one at the back. Tamarrian’s senses were extremely acute, with excellent eyesight, smell and hearing. Coupled with their small size and extra muscular limbs they were extremely agile and can do most tasks a lot faster than most species. This explains the little time it takes the Tamarrian’s to create grand architectural cities and grand ships; this has earned them the label of Hardy Industrialists. Tamarrian’s also carry a metallic arm piece on their lower right arm. This monitors their health and contains their Tamarrian Data card that contains the History and general information of that Tamarrian. If a Tamarrian falls ill these arm pieces can diagnose them and, if serious, can contact the Tamarrian’s Health service. They are immune to a certain level of poisons and toxins and are resilient to most diseases.

Society Description
The Tamarrian’s are extremely religious. This was caused by the way Tamarrian’s decomposed. Usually 2 days after they died they decompose in a brilliant flash of light, a chemical reaction caused by the decaying of their insides, they believe that at this point they “Ascend”. This motivates the entire society. They believe once they ascend they can become one with nature. This has caused the Tamarrian’s to become extremely careful and protective with nature, and many of their cities flourish with exotic fauna. The Continuum is ruled by 10 High Priests, 2 high priests come from 1 of the 5 cults that make up the basis of the Tamarrian Religion. There is also a High Omnicron who represented the Tamarr race has a whole. The 5 cults that make up the societies are: The Warrior Cult. They believe they have to protect the Tamarrian’s and their planets, they effectively rule the Military. The Time cult who represents those who create the minerals and resources for the empire to use, they believe that if they optimise their time they will reach Ascension through helping the Tamarrian Society. Then there was the Nature Cult who believes that by caring for the planets and nature of the Tamarrian Continuum they will ascend. The Seers who are dedicated to learning and education, they believe by further advancing the technologies of the Continuum they will ascend. Lastly was the Ascension cult whom believe that through driving themselves to perfection in everything they do they will reach Ascension. Every cult works with each other and Tamarrian law is based on rules and guidelines from all of these cults. There is no internal fighting between the sects and the people enjoy a peaceful life

General History
The Tamarrian Continuum began it’s era as a Space faring race just over 50 years ago. The planet they evolved on had 5 separate continents, and for many years 5 different Governments ruled over the planet. But after many wars and technological advancement, which created greater and greater threat to the people, the Tamarrian’s overthrew the corrupt governments and placed the Priests in charge of the Society. After many new laws were passed that gave the people more freedom the Tamarrian’s discovered the sufficient technology to move out into space. It wasn’t long before they found alien life and placed a knowledgeable scholar named A’tush to represent them to the Aliens. They have so far proposed and maintained many successful treaties with the neighbouring life forms. However After a long war with the Taeron, which thankfully only resulted in the loss of one planet, they are now under a protectorate, which the Taeron wish to expand to a Subjugation treaty and to the extent of unconditional surrender.

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

It escapes me how people can come up with stories and ideas and then sit and put them to paper. The attention and dedication you all must have is amazing. Bravo.

[ April 20, 2003, 07:59: Message edited by: CNCRaymond ]

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Heres the Next Chapter, and i have been cruel and added a cliff hanger. Hope you enjoy! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

The Tamarrian cruiser hadn’t seen the pirates coming. Reports had already came through that the Pirate Clan had superior cloaking technology and this certainly was a problem for any Tamarrian ships deep in Phong territory. However it got in the same sector as the Ascension was irrelevant, it now needed dealing with. The Kah’tal Obe looked on at the large screen on the bridge. The pirate battlecruiser was a slender green ship with large skull and cross bones depicted on the sides and front. Near the back it had a large mast that was home to its radio equipment and ECM. It had little lights all the way down the side of the vessel and at the back two small wings. The Pirates themselves had been a nuisance ever since the Tamarrian’s moved out into space, they existed far into the Phong’s territory, striking deep inside their empire, they were experts with intelligence and just caused problems by stealing resources and sometimes whole warships. The Battlecruiser moved closer and closer towards the Ascension Cruiser. On board Obe looked on, issuing the occasional order to his crew as they maintained the shields and activated the weapons. He wasn’t a High-ranking Kah’tal; some had said he didn’t have the decisive edge to make decisions in combat. He sometimes had to agree, he was a very nervous character, he had only got so far in the military by his astounding intellect. He himself believed he should have been a tactician, he had already predicted Taeron and Pirate moves with exceptional accuracy. But he was in charge and now he had found them. The crew of the Ascension 003 cruiser were investigating a recent spread of Pirate attacks on behalf of the Phong, usually just Light Cruisers attempting to capture ships and the occasional pirates hijacking civilian transport or stealing resources. They were also searching for a crippled Pirate Light Cruiser which had attacked a Phong Colony, but with no offensive weapons it had just sat there for a couple of weeks. Obe was worried, he hadn’t expected to be attacked by a Pirate battle cruiser, it was an extremely bold and unusual move by them.
“Ok crew, once that ship is in optimal range we open fire and fall back!” He sounded. The crew acknowledged and began waiting. Obe looked at the Weapons Officer who was straining to get a good lock on the pirate ship
“Kah’tal they have extremely high shields and Counter Measures, I don’t think we have the fire power to do enough damage on the first exchange!” He shouted across the bridge. Obe sighed to himself. Close combat with the Pirates certainly was bad idea. The Pirate Battle Cruiser had no offensive weapons as such, extremely advanced shield technology and shield depleters. They also were rumoured to have a tractor beam on board. The aim was simple, to get the ship at point blank range with no shields and board it. Obe looked around, he hated combat situations and his twin hearts were beating extremely fast. His thoughts were broken by the Weapons officer’s shouts as the shield depleters discharged themselves onto the pirate battlecruiser.
“Torpedoes Away!” The harmonics floated in the air as the two Quantum Torpedoes sped towards their target and exploded. The Pirates shields burst into a phosphorous light with giant sparks dispersing from the point of impact. The aftermath of the Torpedoes sent a huge shockwave through the pirates ship,
“Shields down to 55%” Announced the Weapons Officer, Kah’tal Obe tried to hide his disappointment, he was hoping to get them down to around 40%, now he had to wait so the torpedoes could reload. The Battlecruiser quickly sped towards them, opening fire with it’s own shield depleters, it also fired it’s Tractor beam but luckily it missed the ship. The Tamarrian’s Purple shields blazed into action taking the full force of all 4 depleters at once. Obe was worried and ordered them to retreat. Over the next hour the Pirate clan opened fire a second time bringing their shields down to 10% and still closed the range. Bringing up the schematics of the Pirate Battlecruiser they found they were using highly sophisticated Quantum Engines, and apparently from the dossier of information were “Propulsion Experts” Obe was worried, they couldn’t escape from the ever closing pirates and had little defence to stop a boarding party. He could see the frustration on the Weapon officers face as he tried to find a way through the pirates sophisticated ECM that was disrupting their sensors. Suddenly the sound of his voice was heard again as another salvo of torpedoes were fired. They curved gracefully and Obe’s hearts sank as one of them missed its target and detonated itself. The shield depleters were having trouble to with only half of their attacks on target.
“Listen Up, I want everyone except the pilots to the Armoury in the crew quarters now! We might be outgunned but I’m sure as hell not giving up without a fight!” The entire bridge cheered and most Tamarrian’s departed to carry out their orders. Obe smiled to himself, he felt the bravest he had ever felt in his career, it was time to show his peers what a Kah’tal he really was! He knew the Pirates were planning a boarding of the ship and it worried him, it worried him greatly. He quickly brought up the ships schematics and planned the defence. Obe would order the main hallways to be sealed off and they would defend corridor by corridor until, if necessary, falling back to the bridge and hiding behind the strong titanium layered doors. As he got changed into his combat gear and loaded his anti proton rifle he swallowed to dampen his dry throat. Obe was scared; he hadn’t had any boarding combat since the days in the warrior sect, he then placed his red sash over his shoulder and looked in the mirror proudly He knew he had to quash the fear inside of him, the crew relied upon him. It was time…

[ April 20, 2003, 19:40: Message edited by: Raging Deadstar ]

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

*Shameless Bump* http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Wow! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif Excellent... what happens? Agghh... suspense! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif Keep it up! Again; I love your weaving the game elements into life.

BLasted space pirates.

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

cool, more fic! I hadn't even spotted this earlier...

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Very nice story, RD. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Great story! Go Cyria!

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

It's a bit rushed but heres the next installment, hope you all enjoy!

The battle was not going well. The corridors were dimly lit by purple emergency lights and were illuminated by laser fire from both sides. The hallway shone with a blinding light, sending shadows across the law. A high-pitched harmonic noise was heard as a Tamarrian soldier fell to the ground. He could instantly taste the smouldering blood that had been thrown up his long throat as the incineration beam ripped open his chest. He looked down only to see smouldering charred flesh convulsing as his twin hearts ruptured and pumped their final beats round his body. The Tamarrian felt his eyes close and slowly let his life slip from his gasp. It was a painless death; the incineration rifles the pirate boarding party attacked with practically burnt the nerve endings away. Kah’tal Obe looked down at the fallen soldier, more sadness filled him, but a steely core deep inside him made him carry on.
“Get him out of there!” He shouted, trying to hide the sadness that was choking him. Two other Tamarrian’s threw a small spherical orb down the corridor and waited till it exploded. The entire hallway was illuminated by a phosphorous blaze. Using this distraction they dragged the lifeless body out the junction and carried him to the makeshift morgue in the crew quarters, around 60 or so bodies were lying under blue blood stained sheets. The light finally fizzled out in the corridor and the fire began again. Obe hid behind the corner and quickly aimed his anti-proton rifle round the corner. He looked through the computerised Aim screen as it identified the life forms down the hall with red little circles. He tried his best to keep the rifle from bucking out of his hands from the recoil and squeezed the trigger harder, subconsciously hoping it would fire more bLasts, every time shuddering in his grip. Obe wasn’t an experienced soldier, and boy did he wish he had some of them. They were so well trained they could hold and operate two of these rifles simultaneously. Obe was having trouble firing just one, and he was using 3 of his arms, two to just keep it from jerking it’s way out his grasp. He gave the order and a group of 5 soldiers tried to run the 5 metres to the next room. Suddenly there was a large rattling and a barrage of bLasts ripped through them, their momentum sending them backwards into the shots that had pierced them. The Kah’tal knew what that was. The pirates had invented an incineration beam mini-gun. It was equipped with 6 barrels and fired in quick succession with devastating consequences. Obe shook his head, they were losing badly. He decided it was time to surrender. This pained him greatly but as he looked round the corner to the makeshift morgue he decided no more lives could be lost.
“Fall back to the bridge” He shouted above the screams of perishing life forms and rifles. The remaining crewmembers quickly retreated. The bridge was built into two floors with the entrance being on the top floor. The top floor wasn’t much. Two suspended gangways that followed the curving walls lined with computer systems. Obe quickly followed the Last few crewmembers in and sealed the bLast doors. Three layers as thick as the ships hull rolled together and locked. He looked around and stepped onto a platform that slowly lowered him to the main part of the bridge. The main centre of the bridge was a large circular computer desk that projected a large 3d hologram into the air above it. The rest of the bridge’s stations were positioned facing this hologram projector. The remaining crewmembers fell into position and awaited their captain’s orders. Obe quickly brought up a map of the system. He studied it intensely, only distracted by the thuds and explosions from the bLast doors. It would take the pirates a good hour to burst through that. The nervous Kah’tal looked around, every one of the crews tear shaped black shining eyes were fixed on him. It was then it struck him. A Phong Afognak battlecruiser was only 3 sectors away. He brought up the information of the allied ship and decided that it was worth the risk. He hailed the ship hoping that the pirates weren’t blocking all frequencies. It was 3 sectors away from them and in a week could easily pick them up, hopefully by then the pirates would have left the sector and they could be picked up. He pressed a button on the circular desk and watched as a panel of flooring opened up. He ordered the crew to head down there and sighed a breath of relief as the Phong captain’s hologram appeared above him.
“Greetings From the Tamarrian Continuum! I am Kah’tal Obe and my vessel is under attack by a Pirate Clan boarding party! Under the guidance of our Trade and Research Alliance we ask humbly for your help, the remaining crew and myself have a maximum of an hour before we are captured. We plan to jettison ourselves into space using our escape pods, we have enough supplies to survive for 1 cycle but we request you come and pick us up!” Obe hoped that he spoken his words correctly in the language used by all nations allied with the Phong. The Phong captain look worried through his polymer skin. Obe looked at him pleadingly, the Phong were at war with the Pirates and hopefully would be sympathetic to their plight. The Phong captain remarked he was to plead their case to the Phong Military officials and would respond in the next 30 minutes. Obe waited patiently, the crew was hopefully prepared to jettison from the ship. The waiting was excruciating as he then opened up a panel on the walls and pulled out some trilithium explosives and ordered the Last remaining crew members to place them around the hangar where the escape pods were, if they were going to escape he was pretty much determined to make sure the pirates couldn’t pick them back up. He turned round to see the Phong captain’s expression, it seemed favourable.
“Our military chiefs have asked our glorious Chancellor Gerath personally for his approval on a rescue attempt and the Phong Confederation are prepared to annexe any pirate ships in the sector to rescue you and your crew! You shall be picked up in 3-5 days depending on how long it takes to destroy your ship. Any damage to the controls would be extremely helpful!” The Phong captain winked and the transmission ended. Obe quickly smiled and picked up the 2 packs of explosives and fixed them under the navigational controls and the weapons desk. Hopefully that would prevent the pirates from attacking the Phong. He set the timers and quickly ducked under the floor and closed the opening. All along the walls of the hangar were large beams with triangular supports inside, attached to these were around a hundred escape pods, each capable of carrying 2 people, below the large floor was being cleared of all druids to be opened. As he climbed into his pod he looked at his first officer he could only pray the explosives would detonate, otherwise a fate of being experimented, probed on and cloned for the use of pirate clan… well it wasn’t worth thinking about!

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Another good one, R_D. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

Hmmm... escape Pods. Wonder if anyone had sugested this as a game component for SEV? Seems like it could work.

In any event, it may keep Obe alive to fight another day...

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Very nice read RD. Alot of pretty intense action and suspense. Looking forward to the next edition. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Yep, good stuff, I need more, give me more!

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Sorry guys, i let myself slip out the story writing loop. This next chapter introduces some characters and is a go between before the next event i'm writing now.

*Shameless Plug* I recommend you head over to the Newbie Galactic Combat II thread, the ending is great and mystefying! Thanks for the great story Ruatha

Now onto our story

A thousand stars, all-burning in their splendour, illuminated the night sky. The atmospheric illuminations shimmered, greens, blues, reds, they all ignited the sky into a mystifying collage. Two of the three meteor raked moons glowed down into the deep valley where the lights of civilisation buzzed around like pretty plasmaflies. A gigantic tower stretched upwards into the sky, it was a grand sandstone-esque tower and its sides shone a pale creamy white in the moonlight, giving off a placid glow. Hundreds of little lights shone out from the grand tower. Its base was hexagonal and all sides sloped up for a mile in height until they reached the grand spire. Around four fifths of the way up large prongs began to stick out before reaching the top that flattened off. The top was finished off by 6 enormous prongs jutting out from each side and sliced their way skywards. A long sleek ship slowly glided its way towards the top of the tower. It’s huge cylindrical engines stretching for half the hulls length across the sides. Its dull purple coating reflected the many lights of the city from below. It slowly came to hover above the landing pad on the top of the tower, firing its landing engines and slowly came to rest. A door depressurised and a couple of guards walked out and made sure the area was secure, although they needn’t have bothered, only a few of the most faithless Tamarrian’s would think and attempt on their rulers life, never mind attempt it. But with an uneasy treaty with the Taeron no one was taking his or her chances. An old Tamarrian staggered out of the space ship, above him the great prongs of the tower cast great shadows. He leaned on his staff and let out an icy breath. The nights were cold here on Alpha Leonis IV for a species used to 18 hours daylight. The coldness rattled his old bones to the very marrow; he put one of his 4 frail hands on passing royal assistant to relieve pressure off the staff he leaned on, he slowly smiled at the kind man and then looked out onto his city. Around the grand tower were many smaller pyramids and tens of gardens. These spread out around the tower in all directions for 3 miles until they reached a circular river that cut off this architectural grandeur. This was home to the many religious temples and shrines, museums, universities and anything deemed cultural by the Omnicrons. On the other side of the river the giant buzzing city began. Large glass towers rose from the ground, seemingly miles from the city below kissing the clouds almost. Thousands of massive buildings in all directions like needles, bridges connecting these tall skyscrapers together in series. It was possible for people to live their entire lives without ever setting foot on the surface of this planet. But as the main temples were found in the grounds of grand tower this was very rare indeed. Many a vehicle floated below his viewpoint, flitting around like excited insects. The old alien sighed and looked to the stars for the answers he sought, only to be reminded of the peril that chased his people. A golden speck of light above the clouds which was a Taeron Cruiser, an everLasting reminder of the Taeron's presence here. It’s gold and blue hull visible through the mist. He turned round sighing deeply, 2 young aliens, also from the Tamarrian race, stood there with their own staffs. They were given to all those in a position of power, carved from the finest hardwood trees of Alpha Leonis IV and topped with grand crystal. But one of the young alien’s was made of a grey dull metal, twisting up the length until it reached a 5-pronged top, not unlike the grand tower they stood on top. The old Tamarrian’s eyes acknowledged the young aliens appearances and ran a hand of his face. His skin ruined by wrinkles and patched with brown blotches, but his black eyes added contrast to his ghostly pale skin. His hair was long and grey but straightened as if by the very wisdom he knew. He was the High Omnicron and the leader of the Continuum, no one commanded as much respect as he did. But the old man cared very little for royal protocol. He ran a hand through his long flowing hair and was about to communicate with his friend.

The female alien stepped forward and flicked her red flowing hair. She smiled at the old Tamarrian and bowed. She was obviously in the Last few tenths of pregnancy and her blue dress slightly rippled as a breeze blew past.
“Welcome Back Your Highness, I am glad you arrived back safely, shall I take the plans?” she asked, cocking her head slightly sideways.
“Thank you my dear.” Replied the High Omnicron, undoing a bond from his wrist and passed the girl the metal armoured box. She slightly buckled misjudging the weight but easily recovered. The old Tamarrian felt slightly unfair giving this to a pregnant lady who was obviously beginning to show the strain of carrying children so he motioned for a guard to help her.
“Please take this to the War room, the Kah’tal are eager to see the new designs. Also please come and see me in one hour, I think it’s about time you took maternity leave.” He added, the female smiled and gladly accepted the guards help. Tamarrian pregnancy was extremely hard in the Last few tenths, as usually Female Tamarrian’s carried multiple babies. They left for the lift in one of the stone prongs and the male alien slowly walked forward from the shadows. Dressed in white robes with a metallic blue sash and a gold embroidered symbol on it. His hair was dark and fell in short spiky curtains around the side of his forehead. His eyes were almost black in the dark night and his skin a lot more purple than that of the old man. The young alien’s mouth opened slightly and a melodic sound floated through the air. Originally Tamarrian’s had communicated by harmonic melodies generated by their vocal chords, but as they encountered other races they eventually conformed to a language that most races in the surrounding systems spoke.
“Your highness, contemplating tomorrow’s decision?” he asked, his voice fair and comforting to the old Tamarrian’s ears.
“You know me too well my good advisor, yes tomorrow I fear will be a sad day for our continuum.” He sighed once again. For tonight was the Last night of his reign as High Omnicron. The wind blew silently making both men’s white robes rustle and wave like they were swimming in an invisible ocean.
“A’tush, are you sure you’re making the right decision? I fear you retire to soon.” The old man coughed slightly, the force shuddering through his decaying larynx. He was old, 179 years old to be precise, and in A’tush’s opinion far too old to be running an empire under siege.
“Maliki you are young and the passing year makes no difference to you, but my time is soon and my Ascension is due, it is time my old friend, I sense the continuum will grow in such a way that the Taeron will fear!” Maliki nodded, and held out his hand, indicating they go inside. A’tush nodded and followed him into the tower. The insides were decorated with gold walls, not real gold for it was far too precious. The walls glittered and shined nonetheless though, the floors paved with marble, it was an extravagant piece of architecture.
“Young Maliki I know I can trust you to be aware of the murky shadows, I fear for the new High Omnicron, young Jyttsche is a more able successor than many think, but she is not accustomed to the ways of the Taeron, I assume you will protect her with the same care as you have with I?” Maliki closed his eyes, put one of his many fists on his heart and bowed, as was accustomed to requests of superiors in the Tamarrian Continuum. A’tush smiled through his ancient lips, he knew Maliki would serve him well, he always had. Maliki thought quickly to relieve the awkward atmosphere the conversation had brought on.
“Were the Phong’s reactions favourable?” He asked quietly. A’tush smiled remembering the courtesy the Phong had shown him on his stay. The Tamarrian’s were deeply shocked by the failure of their cruisers in the Last year and had decided to revamp the entire design of their ships and units, a highly unpractical move but one the Military and Seers thought was necessary They had decided to get the Phong’s top architects and engineers to review their designs, and with a few minor suggestions to increase performance the Phong agreed these new ships would serve the continuum well.
“Yes, we have a few flaws to get rid of but otherwise these new ships will be in soon, hopefully they will give us an edge if the Taeron decide to invade!” A’tush answered, even though the Taeron had forced the Tamarrian’s into a subjugation treaty and were aggressively pushing for complete surrender. A’tush looked around the exquisite hallway and sighed, he hoped the continuum would rally behind young Jyttsche, he also hoped that his and Jyttsche’s proposed plan of the future would hold up before the scrutiny of the Seers and the Naturists. These thoughts haunted him as he strode off towards the Council Leaving Maliki to catch some rest, the next few tenths would be exceptionally hard. Maliki never noticed however the lurking creature behind the shadows of an intersecting corridor, unfortunately the Tamarrian’s weren’t as wary of the shadows as they should have been.

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Goodie.
Much scene building whith rich descreptive text.
Btw I really like the Taeron shipset, my new favorite in PBW!

(Taeron cruiser above Alpha Leonis IV:)
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/newup...1053402343.BMP

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

I hope those new ship designs are based on some breakthrough technologies. And I hope the crews get some practice at the ship/fleet training facilities fighting off pirates and such...

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif
Keep it up.

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

*Ba Da Bump*

Shameful, but i'm going for another 2 opinions and see if i should string the plot out a bit more! But I have a feeling you want me to get to the action soon! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

I just now had the time to read your story RD. Very nice writting; I enjoy how you put into great detail the way the buildings are set up and so forth. No detail is too small to be left out. Hopefully whenever I get back to my story it will be half as good as yours is turning out to be. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif (Note: I'm working on a plot like for this chapter in my head now. So hopefully I can put that into 'writing' soon.)

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yep, more action.
Explosions and death.
Destroy those beutiful buildings!

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Ok this is kind of a fill-in chapter so i can implement some new characters and link it to the ideas i have, the next chapter should be up tonight, i'm writing it as we speak http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

The grand street of Ashguard stretched far out into the distance, packed to the edges with the people of the Tamarrian Continuum. Thousands of colours adorned the sea of people, each wearing a sash to represent their cult. On each side the large pyramids and temples grew like trees on a riverbed. The street was roughly a mile long and paved with sandstone slabs. People hung from the large statues that stood proudly on each side of the road. Heroes of the Tamarrian’s past. The road led up to the 50 or so steps that led up to the grand tower of the Continuum. At the top of these steps stood a glass podium, a small microphone waited for its speaker. Beyond the glass podium a large marble plaza stretched on before the giant tower that was the Grand Temple reached up to the sky. It’s pale stone sides glowed in the twin suns that bathed everything in a pleasant luminescence. A’tush leaned on his hardwood staff and proudly walked out, the crowd erupted into cheers of adoration. The thunderous applause continued till A’tush modestly signalled for silence. He was dressed in white silk that shone and glimmered, around the neck and the ends of the sleeves were silver with strange blackened inscriptions. Upon his head stood a circlet of silver encrusted with small diamond like jewels between the entwining wires. He looked behind him nervously, the smile returned to his face as he saw his two advisors Maliki and Ara’drei, Ara’drei was a tallish Tamarrian with a noticeably longer neck than most, dressed in a long white robe with a black piece of fabric draped over one of his shoulders to his opposite waist, A symbol that he was in the Death Cult. His cheeks were quite narrow; his eyes were a rare dark brown and shined almost unnaturally. He had a small crop of hair that met in a V shape on his forehead. Beside them stood the 10 members of the High Priests and around them the Omnicron guards clad in metallic armour and large azure cloaks carrying large staffs with sharpened blades. A’tush coughed slightly and cleared his chest.

“Welcome Children of Tamarr! Like all things that the beauty of nature bestows upon us things must come to an end. The grand trees that line our forests, the beautiful flowers that enchant our gardens, even the twin suns that shine above us will fade to dusk…” The crowd was silent, all waiting in hushed anticipation, many had guessed that today High Omnicron A’tush would step down as leader of the Tamarrian Continuum.
“And as the fabled empires that forged the stars rose and came to rest so must my reign over such wonderful citizens. I’m afraid my time has past good friends, and I cannot represent such a great empire any longer. Over my years I have seen the strongest of our people travel to and beyond the extreme, in our future I can see us travelling further, to the stars and beyond, as a great nation! So I must proudly step down and with all my honour give way to the new High Omnicron, her highness Jyttsche!” Some of the crowd burst into applause, not only for the new High Omnicron but also for A’tush retiring. Maliki gulped slightly, it was hard for him to see his most trusted friend step down from his position, it worried him slightly that A’tush was nearing his ascension. He looked over at the row of guards; there were 10 on each side facing each other with their staffs held above their shoulders, creating a triangular arch in which the new High Omnicron began to walk under. Maliki gasped and many people turned their heads, she was so… Maliki couldn’t search for a word that summed her up; beautiful in his opinion was too much of an understatement. Her blue hair was long and straight, glinting in the sunlight like sapphire, the tips were strangely a faint silver colour that parted across her shoulders. Along her face around her eyes were two darker symmetrical patterns that spread like wings across her lilac face, under her hair ran a chain that then ran across her forehead, a silver jewel hung from it. She was dressed in white robes, her sleeves and top of her chest were veiled in snowy mesh and strands of the mesh fell from her wrists in an arcing loop to the backs of her arms. She slowly walked underneath the staffs and approached the podium, A’tush bowed and handed over his circlet and bestowed it upon Jyttsche’s head. The crowd erupted into applause and cheers as holocams flashed dazzling all with a phosphorous blare. Large projectors beamed the pictures into the sky as thousands gazed upwards. Maliki gazed at the beautiful young women that was his new ruler, her face radiated euphoria. But she had an aura of caution, as if the enormity of the task before her was weighing down on her shoulders.

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Ok a more exciting chapter, hope you enjoy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

The long train of ships slowly crossed the Metallah system. This system was the Last system claimed as Taeron space and one of the warp points led to Alpha Leonis, home system of the Tamarrian’s. The ships were essentially quite small compared to an escort but they were a staple to the Taeron Confederacy. This train was one of many that carried the valuable resources the colonies produced. This particular one was heading for the Gryphon Planetary Space Yards, the main homeworld of the Taeron. The ships were the typical blue and gold of Taeron design and looked like miniature Versions of their medium transports and the storage compartments were bursting with all resources. There were 8 of these tiny transports and 2 gunship’s to protect them. They never noticed the small group of 7 strange ships close in on them. They were all silver and the stars light reflected and shimmered on the hulls of the deadly looking craft. There were no distinguishable markings on any of these crafts and they didn’t give off any signal declaring their allegiance to any empire, they cruised along and quickly formed an attack formation. These ships were a joint venture created by the Tamarrian/Phong Alliance. These particular craft belonged to the Tamarrian’s intelligence agency. Their mission was set, to capture as many of these transports and bring the resources to Alpha Leonis. 1 of them was a fleet control ship and the rest specially designed “mini-fighters”. They weren’t as strong as a Taeron Gunship but with a number advantage they had an advantage. They split into 2 Groups and quickly flew in, opening fire with lasers as they attacked. The purple beams began to demolish the gunships.

“The battle goes well, order the fleet to disable offensive craft and then board as many of the transports, hopefully our communications jamming technology will stop them sending out a distress call!” The captain smiled and turned round to his first officer. The Captain was a Tamarrian and the first officer a Phong. The Intelligence agency allowed any race to join to give it a better chance of avoiding detection. The first Officer looked around, his large eyes scanned the displays and his strange polymer skin gently twisted into a smile.
“I shall order the boarding teams to start, and signal our defectors to disable their engines Captain!” Replied the First Officer, he quickly pressed a few buttons and barked out some orders. This raid was possible because many of the Taeron transports used slave labour and it was pretty easy to find a disgruntled Taeron to defect and do the intelligence’s dirty work, it was much more cost effective compared to setting up enough defectors on all ships to overthrow the crew. The two aliens watched as the ships finished off the gunships and began to board the transports. They knew exactly what ships to board first, the defectors were on board the ones that would attempt to escape. Suddenly a giant explosion ripped through 1 of the ships that was escaping, the shards of metal flailing off into the void of space.
“Alas, it seems one of the defectors had to improvise, At least those resources won’t be used by the Taeron, her sacrifice won’t be in vain.”

She looked around the giant room, the main generator of the ship was before her and behind that the ion drives. She could hear the giant rings rotating and grinding round the engines. She was a Taeron, dressed only in the blue uniform that all of the “weak” on the ships had to wear. Originally the Taeron had ordered all those classed as weak to be destroyed and it worked for thousands of years. But eventually they found it easier to use them as slave labour. She quickly entered one of her superior’s codes. She shuddered in disgust, remembering the seduction of the captain of the ship, she hated the Taeron’s way of life, she hated the society, hated the rulers, hated those who enforced meaningless bloodshed and labour! She could remember countless family members being killed off because they reached the age of “elder culling” She had lost both parents that way and she despised them for it. The computer screen flashed and she began the process of shutting down the large engines. Giant vents of steam began to stem from ventilation vents and the room slowly began to be filled with a slight fog. Pushing all thoughts of hatred to the back of her mind she continued shutting down the engines, she never heard the gentle clinks of someone coming down the ladder into the room, she never heard them drawing the bLaster and only when she felt the barrel push against her temple did she stop her actions. Her breath grew quicker and instinct took over as she span round and punched the Taeron straight in the face, leaving an orange bloody mess. Suddenly the room was illuminated for a second and she felt numbness in her thigh, She looked down and saw the burnt mess that was her thigh, orange blood-oozing out at an alarming rate, but she never felt it, the bLaster had burnt all the nerves in her leg. She staggered back and hit the generator control cylinder and leaned against it. The male Taeron was swearing expletives as he came over and kicked her legs from out of her. She staggered and fell to the floor, landing on her knees. She felt a subtle singe of pain shoot up her thigh and let out a slight gasp. The Male now proceeded to push the bLaster against her head again and was still swearing. She felt her legs giving out of her and she quickly began typing gently, the male hadn’t noticed and began to give her a lecture on betraying the Taeron Confederacy. He never noticed her pushing a fatal sequence and entering the captain’s password, he never noticed her push the captains key card into the drive. He finally stopped his boasting of loyalty and his face radiated pleasure, dreaming of promotions he could get for stopping a sabotage operation and killing a Taeron traitor.
“Any Last requests?” He asked, the female realising the Terran phrase. She pressed the key and watched as blue lights started flashing everywhere and sirens sounded.
“Only that your death is slow and painful!” she replied coolly, she felt a pain, the most intense pain she had ever felt before, but it was only for a split second. The side of her head exploded into a mess of blood that covered the computer and sent bits of burnt muscle and flesh everywhere, her head banged off the keyboard and she toppled to the floor, leaving the world for a better place, and leaving her enemies to a quick and unavoidable death!

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Bump

Come on guys, one opinion on the Last chapter, thats all i'm asking http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Enjoying it thouroghly, especially the planetside action - I always enjoy descriptions of alien planets and cultures, and yours is particularly vivd.

As for the intel attack: Yeah, good stuff. THere are a few writing-style things I noticed, but I assume you're looking more for comment on the story. I like the way you've focussed on one of SE4's less prominent aspects (intel) - more ppl shoould do this.

I have to say the whole story is kind of scattered - I get the feeling you didn't plan it much, or that you didn't stick to the plans you made. You're pulling it back together though, so I'll just shut up and keep reading=-)

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

I'll post feedback on the story when I read it later today. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif I'll just edit this post to do it as well.

Ok, well I read the two new chapters. I would have to say nice job RD! I certainly like the action you have going and how everything is developing. Everyone else covered the other areas that I thought of so I will leave it at that. Nice job once again.

[ June 09, 2003, 20:03: Message edited by: Ragnarok ]

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

As usual, nice work! Vivid. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

I do agree that the scope of your tale seems somewhat grand... I like to hear that you are tying things back in that you originally introduced.
I'll be patient of course. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Out of curiousity, do you have an idea about the size of your story? For instance, would you classify it best as a short story, novellette, grand tale, etc.? Or are you writing this more from a free flow as the ideas come to you to paint the picture, and are uncertain about the scope as of yet?

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

Well i have some plot ideas but those are for later on. I'm currently just writing events from the Last year of Tamarrian space travel. Now that i have the new main character introduced things will become a little more organised i assure you http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif I only put the intel sabotage in just for a little twist http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif As for size i have a feeling it could end up being a long story, and i have a lot of spare time coming up so i can see this story growing to be more than a Short Story!

Thanks for the feedback, and dogscoff, any criticisms are welcome! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Re: The Liberation of Tamarr
 

I finally found the time to read your story. Good going RD, I like your descriptions. Am curious to see how this will turn out.