The Walkers, updated 9-28-03

[chewy027]

I guess when you look at it that way Oleg someone could make the case that she should forgive them already...

Terrans 19th place with 89.1k pts
Rebel Alliance 16th place with 125.5k pts
Vandron 12th place with 171.7k pts
Aquilaeians 3rd place with 408.7k pts
Star Empire of Romii 1st place with 581.5k pts

2404.3 - 2404.9 ~ A few Thoughts

The Following is an excerpt from the personal logs of Lord Chagnon:

While the preparations for an adequate defense are being made, Vice Lord Junon continues to work tirelessly to advance his people and keep them technologically competitive with the other galactic powers. He knows that should we fall behind, there would be no hope for our people. The only thing that could be more catastrophic then loosing a technological race would be a severe resource shortage, but ironically, we are not in danger of that. And so Junon works day and night on the various projects that we decide upon. He is currently working on finishing the assignment of reaching a new level for religious technologies. It appears that he will finish this current research within the next few tenths, and then the cycle will begin again with another technology area or even another set of technology areas. Recently he has made advances to our shields, phased weapons, point defense, and propulsion. Apart from this, Junon also has taken it upon himself to constantly petition me to make colonizing the remaining worlds that hold those mysterious ruins a top priority. Now that we have stolen the technology to colonize ice planets from the Rebel Alliance we will begin to do this in earnest. Already we have reached another in the Aquilaeian controlled system of Asellus Astralus, they were not very pleased. From this world we learned of a technology we did not even realize existed, that of massive engine destroying weapons. We also learned more about the race that had previously inhabited the planet, discovering that ice planets were their preferred planetary composition. We know that these worlds hold more secrets of this mysterious empire that seems to have existed long ago, and we want those secrets to be in the hands of the Vandron. Junon has worked very closely with Vice Lord Exnon in seeing that there are ships bound for each of these planets.
Speaking of Vice Lord Exnon, he is doing an excellent job of making use of our colonization capabilities. Serenity and Hope are producing a colony ship every two tenths, and with the recent procurement of ice planet colonization, he has been busy finishing the colonization of our home system and our neighbor the Parvenium System. These two systems are our backbone and must be solidified from any possible infiltration. At the same time we are continuing to claim worlds in the Gliese System as well as its neighbor Alpha Leo. Both of them are about half colonized by our people. Our empire now spans five systems over twenty-eight worlds.
Of course, the overseer of all of our defenses for those worlds can not go without mention. Vice Lord Defcon knows every detail of every plan so well that he dreams about the preparations while he sleeps, or so he tells me. We now have thirty battle ready ships to the Aquilaeians over sixty battle ready vessels, many of which are much larger then our largest class. It is hoped that our Overtaker Class ships can help to tip that balance in our favor. Defcon has also recently convinced me to take a gamble and upgrade the entire fleet’s weapons to the phased polaron beams or PPBs. If we were to be attacked now, the only thing that would prevent us from being slaughtered would be those same Overtaker Class boarding vessels positioned on the wormholes. But I don’t believe that even they will be enough if our entire fleet’s weapons are out of commission, however, it is hoped that it will not have to come to that. Defcon has also recently made a trip out to personally brief Admiral Nefta and her Host of Heaven battle group. Should we be attacked, her ships will be the main force to counterattack. He bulked her battle group up to eight ships, including two Overtakers, and confided in her some of our counter strategies. He also explained to her how it had been discovered that it was the Aquilaeian’s fault that Redemption One had been destroyed by the Terrans, as the Terrans thought is was an Aquilaeian vessel attacking them. Defcon tells me that he could see that the affect this information had on the Admiral was exactly what he was looking for.
Vice Lord Mandron keeps himself busy with working on improving relations with the Aquilaeians. Unfortunately, they have declined all of our trade offers and gift offers and after a while, have simply refused to even acknowledge our transmissions. Therefore, Mandron has turned his attention to improving relations with the other known empires. He outdid himself with a military alliance with the Star Empire of Romii, and is now working towards a partnership with them. If our relations with the Aquilaeians should fail, Romii will be a powerful ally that we may be able to turn against them. The Rebel Alliance continues to be wary of our presence though they have made no aggressive moves towards us, and we are in no danger from the Terrans, as they continue to hold us in high regards. However, their war with the Aquilaeians does not go well for them. They have pleaded with us to end our partnership with their enemy and join their forces, and while tempting, simply is not the way of peace for us. We will wait and see what the future holds, and will be prepared for whatever course be taken.
As for myself, I have overseen each of them in their endeavors, and have tried to guide them with wisdom and honor. I do not think that I will be able to come to a peaceable agreement with the Aquilaeians, but by every means available I will continue to try. In the meantime, I must continue to prepare our worlds for any and all possibilities. May the wisdom and favor of the Almighty guide me, and may he watch over us all.

[ September 10, 2003, 15:54: Message edited by: chewy027 ]

[chewy027]

Terrans 18th place with 98.1k pts
Rebel Alliance 15th place with 113.4k pts
Vandron 10th place with 229k pts
Aquilaeians 3rd place with 501.7k pts
Star Empire of Romii 1st place with 770k pts

2405 – 2405.5 ~ Commencement

“…and our upgrade has been complete. All of the ships in our armada are now equipped with the PPBs,” finished Vice Lord Defcon as he was briefing Lord Chagnon on the current condition of the fleet. “We are now moving all ships back into defensive positions astride the wormholes sir.”
“Good work Defcon, keep me informed as to the progress of these maneuvers. How is our actual ship production coning along?”
“It goes well sir, we have been adding a vessel or two every two tenths. However, the constant production of colony ships has severely impaired our ability to mass produce an adequate fleet. We are relying heavily on the Overtakers’ ability to steal ships from the enemy should an attack come.”
“I see,” answered Chagnon. “Do not fret Defcon; many of those worlds which the colony ships have built up are now beginning to produce ships themselves. Soon enough we will have more shipyards than we’ll know what to do with.”
“I understand Chagnon; I just don’t feel comfortable knowing that the Aquilaeians fleet is twice as large as ours, and constantly growing.”
“I wouldn’t worry too m…much about that Defcon,” put in Vice Lord Mandron.
“And why do you say that?” asked Chagnon.
“Because sir, we must not forget that the Aquilaeians d…depend on us for our resource p…production. I believe that that f…fact alone is what is keeping them from attacking us.”
“An interesting point Mandron,” agreed Defcon, “one that I hadn’t really thought of before.” He went on, “So it must be safe to assume that when our resources become dispensable to the Aquilaeians war will not be far behind.”
“But Defcon, you must remember that it is never wise to make assumptions,” corrected Chagnon half jokingly, and then more seriously went on, “besides, in the Aquilaeians eyes, if they were to attack us and win they would have no need for resources traded to them by us…they would be able to colonize our fallen worlds and take all that they would ever need. Still, the fact that our trade is a significant portion of their resource supply is a fact that we must use to our advantage.”
After a lull in the conversation Vice Lord Exnon spoke up, “My lord, I have just received word that Arctic Seven has reached its objective in the Shedir System.”
“Excellent, contact them over the com at once,” ordered Chagnon.
“Right away sir” obeyed Exnon. “Captain Impo of Arctic Seven is ready sir.”
“Captain Impo, good work on securing your objective.”
“Thanks my Lord, the fact that the birds don’t have ice colonization technology makes it pretty easy actually.”
“So any idea as to what these ruins will teach us?” asked Junon
“Well it’s a bit too early to tell, the scientists are combing over them now. I’ve been told that it looks like some more new technology that we’ve never seen before, something about massive shield depleting weapons.”
“Excellent work Impo,” put in Defcon. “You have done well in securing the ruins on these worlds. Make sure that a space yard and re-supply station are built so that we will have another forward base within Aquilaeian territory should we need them.”
“Yes,” agreed Chagnon, “see to it that those facilities are built, and then return back here to Serenity for your next mission. We have detected another world in the southern star cluster that seems to have more ruins, you will head there next.”
“Well I guess they weren’t lying when they told me I’d be able to see the galaxy if I went into the space navy. I’ll get those facilities built right away and then return home. Impo out.” And with that he ended the conversation.
“Well I must say,” said Exnon, “that Impo certainly is a reliable captain.”
“Yes he is,” agreed Defcon, “I may have to steal him for a battle group.”
“Let’s allow him to finish these missions before we go sending him off into combat,” said Chagnon, “of course, if a war does come upon us we will need all of the able Captains we can get.”
“Now then,” went on Chagnon, “Junon, how goes your research?
“Ah yes of course, I suppose I should let you all know what I do everyday, now shouldn’t I?” he said with a chuckle. “Well then, I just finished research into the theoretical field of construction, as you all know. We then decided to increase our defensive capacities by researching space mines. I recently finished that project, and am now awaiting the next. As for the mines themselves, it appears that I can devise a way to make larger more powerful mines with more research. But as it stands, we now have the capacity to make small seeking mines that we could easily place over wormholes or even above our planets as a first line of defense against any oncoming vessels.”
“Outstanding," echoed Defcon, “we should begin production of these mines at once. We can store them on any and every planet and then launch them as necessary.”
“There is one small problem,” Junon put in, “in order to make the mines truly effective I believe that we should research stronger warheads to place inside of them. This will allow us to deliver maximum firepower per mine.”
“Make it so,” said Chagnon. “These mines could be our final defense if all should go wrong.” He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts before going on, “Now then, where were…” he was cut off by an aid that came scrambling through the door.
“Excuse me my Lord,” the aid looked both nervous and saddened to be bearing the news she did. “We have just received news from the Gliese Protectorate Battle Group that they have been attacked.”
“Those Damn Aquilaeians,” said Defcon aloud, “I knew they were building up in that system. I should have had them better prepared.”
“It wasn’t the Aquilaeians who attacked us Vice Lord, it was the Rebel Alliance,” answered the aid.
“The Rebels?” a puzzled Chagnon asked “why would they possibly attack us after not even acknowledging our presence for so long? This makes no sense.”
“Perhaps, the Aquilaeians bought them off and are using them as a sort of probe to feel where our defenses are the weakest” put in Defcon.
“Impossible,” spoke up Mandron, “The R…rebels and the Aquilaeians have been at w…war with each other for almost two years now. It m…makes even less sense for the Rebels to become allies with the Aquilaeians than for them to attack us.”
“Any other information about the attack?” questioned Chagnon.
“Just that no damage was taken to any vessels in the Battle Group and that the attacking Rebel cruiser was destroyed.”
“You mean to say that there was only one attacking ship?” asked Defcon incredulously.
“Yes sir, only one ship attacked the battle group.”
“This information only serves to deepen the insanity of such an attack. These Rebels must be a truly unwise species.”
“One other thing my Lord,” finished the aid, “We have detected enemy ships approaching some of our colonies in the Alpha Leo System.”
“Thank you, you are dismissed,” said Chagnon with a wave of his hand. “Well gentleman, it appears that we misplaced our fears. This is not to say the Aquilaeians are no longer a threat however.”
“So what will be our immediate actions?” asked Exnon. “We must move to protect the colonies in the Alpha Leo System.”
“I agree” put in Junon, “We can not allow those colonies to be lost.”
“But the only available ships to protect that system are in Gliese,” shot back Defcon. “If we were to divert them it would leave the Gliese System wide open for an Aquilaeian invasion!”
“Nevertheless, Defcon, we must move to protect those people,” came Chagnon’s response. “Vice Lord, see to it that none of those colonists are harmed, and that all threats to them are eliminated.”
“Yes my Lord,” replied Defcon, “and what of the other Rebel colonies in those two systems? We do not have enough manpower for an invasion of those worlds. Therefore, in order to neutralize them we would have to destroy those colonies completely, a massacre of countless innocent lives.”
“I am aware of this fact Defcon,” Chagnon then paused for a moment before going on, “that is why you are not to touch those colonies. Destroy any ships you find, but harm no innocent lives. We must uphold the tenants of peace.”
“I understand my Lord. I will see to it at once.” And with that Defcon left the room.
“Junon, continue on with your research into these mines and warheads. I want to be able to begin mass producing them in their strongest form as soon as possible.”
“Yes my Lord,” said Junon.
“Mandron, see if you can find out why in the name of the Almighty we were attacked.”
“At once my Lord,” he replied.
And Exnon,” he paused for a second, “elevate the priority of reaching the worlds that hold ruins on them.”
“Of course, my Lord,” obeyed Exnon.
“This could be the beginning of a very long fight for us, and we need all the help we can get. You are all dismissed.” And with that the meeting was adjourned.

[ September 11, 2003, 04:13: Message edited by: chewy027 ]

[chewy027]

Rebel Alliance 17th place with 98.4k pts
Terrans 16th place with 117.8k pts
Vandron 6th place with 277.8k pts
Aquilaeians 3rd place with 593.8k pts
Klingon Empire 2nd place with 624.8k pts
Star Empire of Romii 1st place with 872.6k pts

2405.6 – 2406 ~ Adaptation

“All hands to battle stations!” cried Commander Halas of the Gliese Protectorate Battle Group. “Close on the lead battle cruiser, and fire at will.”
Vice Lord Defcon had immediately mobilized this battle group to intercept the Rebel threat in the Alpha Leo System. Presently, there were two separate Rebel battle cruisers posing a threat to Alpha Leo Prime, the system capital. It was these two ships that the battle group had to intercept.
“Commander, I am detecting no shields on the present target.”
“Excellent, maybe we can end this engagement quickly with some swift boarding action.” He collected his thoughts and then went on, “Captain Ambron of Overtaker Thirteen, make your way to that vessel and board it.”
“Yes sir” came the reply, “and what about those guns?”
“Don’t worry about those guns; we’ll take care of them. Just get in close enough to launch your boarding pods…All other vessels lay down cover fire for Captain Ambron’s ship.”
In an instant, the space around them was lit up by PPB fire. Overtaker Thirteen skillfully navigated the distance between itself and the battle cruiser and made ready to launch its pods. Just then, the battle cruiser took notice of what was going on.
“Commander, the battle cruiser is turning towards us, they are beginning to loose their gu…” just then the enemy vessel let loose a broadside barrage into the oncoming Overtaker that instantly depleted the ship’s shielding, decimated its boarding pods and main weapons, and blew away much of the top portion of the ship including the bridge.
“Damnit, those were good men!” the commander screamed aloud to no one in particular. “Redemption eight and thirteen, swing around that ship’s starboard side and unleash hell. The rest of you, shoot to kill.”
The two redemptions drew across the starboard side of the ship raking it with PPB fire and disabling two of the main large DUCs aboard the ship. At the same time, they evaded or absorbed all return fire within their shields. The ships to the fore of the engagement surrounding Commander Halas’s own Redemption Five continued to loose their PPBs into the ship. They succeeded in destroying the enemy’s crew quarters and life support.
“They’re crippled” exclaimed Halas, “Redemptions Eight and Thirteen target the main engines, don’t let them escape.”
Just then a faint buzz was heard over the comm., “this…i…ensi…Farragut abo…Over……teen. I have con……the…engi……attempt…ram….Rebel…”
“What was that?” asked a bewildered Halas, “Are there still people alive on Overtaker Thirteen?”
Just then the tiny little vessel’s engines flared and the crippled ship turned toward the mighty Rebel battle cruiser and plunged full speed into the mid underbelly of the ship. A blinding flash lit up space as the Overtaker’s engines ignited and hit what must have been the weapons Cache aboard the battle cruiser. Explosions reverberated through the ships hull and tore it apart from the inside out
“Battle group report in” said Commander Halas in a solemn voice, “what’s your status.”
“All ships report zero to minor damage Commander” reported his first officer. “They are awaiting their orders.”
“All ships regroup into formation; make way for the second battle cruiser. Let’s try this again, without losing anyone this time.”

“I want the good news from each of you first,” commanded Lord Chagnon. “We’ll start with Vice Lord Exnon.”
“The good news, ah yes, let me see,” he thought for a moment and then went on, “Well, we have colonized several new worlds and our ship on its way towards Bastion in the Gamma Pavonis System is progressing rapidly.”
Bastion is a fully colonizable gas world in the far south of the star cluster below the Vandron’s home cluster. It holds more ancient ruins in an uninhabited system. It had been decided that Captain Impo head there instead of the previous target and begin construction of a system capital, far away from Aquilaeian Space, in the off chance that they should have to flee.
“Is that all?” asked Chagnon.
“Yes my Lord,” Exnon answered, almost sounding sorry. “With the increased production of the military vessels, there has not been much new exploration or colony ships built.”
“I understand,” replied Chagnon, “see to it that the ‘ruin worlds’ continue to get top priority.” He then turned to Mandron and addressed him, “So what have you got?”
“I’m afraid I don’t r…really have any g…good news sir. Our relations have remained the s…same with all known races. However, there is b…bad news.”
“I didn’t ask for that yet now did I,” said Chagnon a bit jokingly, but stern nonetheless.
“I’m s…sorry sir.”
“Well spit it out then, what is this bad news,” commanded Chagnon.
“Well we have m…made contact with a new r…race sir, the Klingon Empire. Unfortunately, they immediately d…declared war on us, citing something of our unworthiness, and the g…glory of battle.”
“I see,” answered Chagnon, no one else would dare speak. “And how great of a threat do they pose to us?”
“That is unknown at this time,” answered Mandron.
“Anything else then?”
“No sir,” replied Mandron as he slouched back in his chair as if having gotten a great burden off his shoulders.
“Junon, surely you have something good to report.”
“Yes, my Lord,” he began. “I finished my project on the warheads for the mines, and I believe I have reached as high a level as is possible. As for the mines themselves, I also finished my research into developing a larger size; still, I believe it would be possible, with much more research, to increase the size once more. However, I believe my time would be better served in a different area of research with the onset of this war with the Rebels.”
“What did you have in mind?” asked Chagnon.
“Increasing the range and firepower of our PPBs, sir.” He went on, “After much discussion with Defcon, we decided that in order to give ourselves a tactical advantage we must have the most powerful weapons available to us to pierce the armor and shields of our enemies.”
“Sounds alright to me, continue on with that line of research then.” Finally, he turned to Defcon, “and what news from you.”
Defcon’s face was a mix of emotions as he spoke, “Well my lord, I too have mixed news, though I fear the bad outweighs the good.”
“Go on,” commanded Chagnon, “Lets have it all then.”
“Well, sir, the Gliese Protectorate has recently engaged the two Rebel vessels in the Alpha Leo system. They destroyed both, but lost an Overtaker in return.”
“I see,” commented Chagnon. “This is to be exp…”
“If I may finish then, sir” interrupted Defcon.
“I’m sorry, go ahead.”
“The worst news however is a recent discovery Junon and I made. We recently went over everything we knew of the Aquilaeian ship designs, and found that all of their most recent designs are using self-destruct devices.”
“What does this mean for us?” asked Chagnon.”
“It means, sir,” answered Junon, “that if an Overtaker captures a ship with one of these devices on it, the ship will automatically explode and most likely destroy our Overtaker with it.”
“Those treacherous Aquilaeians,” sputtered Exnon, “they know exactly what we will try to do to them.”
“Precisely,” put in Defcon. “We will still be able to capture ships that do not have these devices, but they are not expected to be in great number.”
Just then Lieutenant Tramom, the aid to the High Command, entered the room. “My Lords, we have just received word that the Rebel colony on Alpha Leo II has completed a battle cruiser and is sending it towards Alpha Leo Prime. The Gliese Protectorate is not in range to intercept it in time.”
“We only have one option then,” answered Defcon, “we must move the Gliese battle group to take out that ship, and then we must order the battle group to attack that Rebel planet. We can not allow it to continue to produce ships that can take out our colonies at will.”
“Wait,” put in Exnon, “isn’t there an Overtaker that was just finished on Alpha Leo Prime? Perhaps it may succeed in capturing this attacking ship.”
“Yes, there is” answered Defcon. “But look what happened to the Last Overtaker that tried that.”
“Still,” exclaimed Chagnon, “we must try.” He paused and then went on, “However, I agree that we cannot allow that colony to continue to produce ships to attack us. This is a fact that I have puzzled over in my daily prayers and meditations, and I have decided that in this war, or any others, if the enemy is willing to burn our worlds, then we must do everything in our power to stop them, even if this means destroying their colonies. This may not be the way of peace, but it is the wisest thing for us to do.”
There was a moment of silence as the High Command took this in and pondered what it meant for their people. Throughout their history, the Vandron had prided themselves on their commitment to peace as well as wisdom. This would now change; they would now employ the means necessary to ensure their own survival, even if that meant destroying an enemy’s world.
Chagnon then went on, “this does not mean that we will look for a fight, it simply means that if, and when, war comes we must do whatever is necessary.”
After some more brief discussion, the High Command agreed on this new policy and set to work on the various duties given to them. In the meantime, they anxiously awaited the outcome of the upcoming battle between the lone Overtaker and the Rebel battle cruiser approaching Alpha Leo Prime.

[ September 11, 2003, 23:15: Message edited by: chewy027 ]

[chewy027]

2406.1 – 2406.2 ~ Boarding Action

“Troops, we are the Last hope of saving Alpha Leo Prime,” began Major Evon, the commanding officer of the boarding unit aboard Overtaker Eighteen. “If we fail, then the colony falls, and all fifty-six million colonists with it.” He paused dramatically and then continued, “That is why we can not fail.” Another pause, “You all know how this works, we get in our pods, three troops to a pod, and launch over to the Rebel battle cruiser. I know none of you have ever done this live before, hell I’ve only done it live once myself and that was against a colony ship. But that doesn’t matter. We have to rely on our training and ability to make quick, wise decisions to get us through this. Unfortunately, this ain’t no colony ship; this means we will encounter fierce resistance aboard the vessel once we cut through the exterior hull. I expect all thirty of you to perform as one cohesive unit, and to come out of this alive. Keep in contact at all times, be aware of everyone’s position and situation in your individual squad, and always think before acting; following these laws will save your life.” He stopped and looked at his unit as if determining who was going to live and die and then went on, “Once you’re aboard, secure your area and link up with your counter squad to continue on. Once you have done this, make your way to the bridge and take control of the ship. Only one of the five bi-squads has to accomplish this to win the ship, but remember…it is not a race.” He dwelled on this Last statement for a bit and then continued. “From there, the remaining bi-squads will systematically move through the ship clearing out any other resistance…Any questions?” The room was silent, and then suddenly the battle claxons began blaring, “Ah, just in time…let’s move out.”

The Rebel battle cruiser and the Vandron frigate silently crept towards each other as if playing a giant game of chicken, except the Vandron Captain knew he was going to flinch first.
“All troops are positioned and ready sir,” said the Com Officer to the captain. “They only await your command to lift off.”
The captain knew that this was the most essential portion of the maneuver, if he couldn’t manage to get his ship close enough then he’d have to come around for another pass, if they survived. They had practiced and simulated thousands of times, but nothing was the same as the real thing. Ideally, you wanted to be no more than a few miles apart, any further then that and the boarding pods risked missing their mark. However, the closer they got the higher the probability their own ship would be destroyed.
“How is our heading?” asked the captain.
“We are heading straight at them sir,” came the reply.
“How many miles separate us?”
“About a thousand sir, we will be within range of launching the pods in twenty seconds.”
“Major Evon, you have twenty seconds before launch,” the captain said into the com. “May the Almighty bless you this day.”
As the time slipped away, every person aboard the Overtaker unknowingly held their breath and waited to see if this would work, they all knew exactly what was at stake. Then, unexpectedly, the Rebel vessel increased its speed and closed the distance much quicker then they had anticipated opening up a volley of DUC and Meson fire as it did.
“Launch the pods now!” screamed the Captain; those would be the Last words he would ever say.
As Major Evon’s pod broke away from the ship, he could see that it had been heavily damaged by the initial volley. There were gaping holes in the hull, and small explosions spreading throughout the ship. There was also a massive breach were the bridge had been.
“How many of our pods made it off the ship?” asked Evon to his second in command, Lieutenant Danon.
“Eight of ten sir; pods eight and five were caught in the initial volley,” replied the lieutenant.
“Amend the bi-squads to pair squads that lost their partner.”
“Already done sir,” came the swift response.
“How is our trajectory?”
Viton, the pilot responded, “We’ll make contact in five…” and few seconds later there was a loud thud as they came in contact with the hull of the Rebel Battle Cruiser.
“Sir, Pod three missed the ship!” cried out Danon.
“Those unlucky bastards,” thought Evon, “hopefully the Rebels‘ll destroy them so they won’t go crazy in that pod.”
“Ten seconds until we’re through the hull sir,” yelled out Viton over the whir of the laser cutters.
“Almighty be with us,” and with that Major Evon leaped through the opening into the Rebel vessel.
He landed on the floor and immediately went into a roll against the opposite bulkhead, dropping a Rebel trooper in the process. Lieutenant Danon and Viton came next as Evon laid down cover fire for them, narrowly missing being hit with return fire himself; two more rebel troops went down.
“This hallway is secured sir, which way do we go now?” asked Viton.
“Where did we land on the ship?” asked Evon.
“We got lucky sir; we landed near the fore of the ship, close to the bridge.”
“Good work Viton, but we’re not out of this yet.”
“Our partner squad, Four, is a level below us sir,” said Danon as he referenced his holo-projector on his wrist. “They initially encountered resistance but quickly neutralized it sir. In fact, we haven’t lost any other troops in the initial docking phase.”
“Excellent, now let’s meet up with them. Danon, where is Ten?”
“Not far from us sir, on this level.”
“Have them meet up with us then, we’ll go in as a tri-squad since three missed the mark.”
Just then, bLaster fire ripped out a chunk of the bulkhead above him. Instantly, Viton cut down the attacker in a return volley that caught the trooper full in the face.
“Let’s move out,” ordered Evon.
They made their way forward encountering light resistance along the way.
“All squads reporting advancement sir, we have taken out a total thirty-two Rebels so far sir,” reported Danon.
The sound of bLaster fire could be heard coming from below and in front of them. They turned the corner to find squad ten pinned down behind a bulkhead with five Rebel troops laying down heavy fire in their direction. Immediately, Evon and Danon dove for the opposite bulkhead dodging fire as they did. Viton pulled a grenade from her belt and hurled it in the direction of the Rebel’s as she dove in behind squad ten. The bLast took out two of them and wounded another. Then, Evon rolled across the floor, as Danon and Ten laid down cover fire. He loosed a steady burst of searing energy that cut down the injured Rebel and maimed another while the cover fire picked off the third. The maimed Rebel lay there moaning lightly for help as Major Evon approached him cautiously.
“You Rebel scum,” he sneered, “which way to the bridge?”
The Rebel said nothing, but sat up and tried to lift his weapon. In an instant he was dead as Danon seared a hole through his heart.
“Thanks for your help Major; they had us pinned down pretty tight.”
“Don’t mention it…Danon, where is Four now?” asked Evon.
“They’ve made it up to our level sir; they’re moving to meet with us now.”
They continued on down the hallway toward the designated meeting point on their holo-projectors. The noise of bLaster fire had slowly dwindled as the minutes wore on. Finally, they met up with squad Four after downing two more Rebel troops along the way.
“Sir, bi-squad Two just encountered a pocket of heavy resistance. It appears they were ambushed sir,” exclaimed Danon. “They burnt through a door and met heavy fire upon its collapse; two of our troopers have been killed.”
“So we’re down to nineteen then; alright, lets be aware of what’s on the other sides of doors from now on,” Evon said with a bit of sarcasm.
They continued on toward the bridge encountering no Rebel resistance until they came to just such a door.
“Sir,” spoke up Danon, “the schematic says that this is the antechamber before the bridge.”
“Excellent, Seven begin burning through. Viton and Four, position yourselves on either side of the door but do not go through until I do. Danon you will be behind me. I want you to throw two grenades in front of me as I dive through before you follow. Next will come Viton and Four as Seven covers them. Let’s move people”
After two minutes of melting through the door, it fell to the ground with a loud clank. Instantly Evon dove through and to the left going into a roll and coming out of it in a crouch and opening up fire on the fifteen Rebel troops that lay in wait for them. The grenades exploded and filled the room with smoke as Danon landed with a thud next to him, blood draining from his arm, though he continued to fire. The smoke actually worked to their advantage as their visors switched over to infrared and allowed them to continue to see through the haze. Evon could see three Rebel bodies strewn on the floor where the grenades had exploded. Suddenly Viton came rushing through the door and rolled in right behind the other bulkhead to the right. Evon continued pouring on the cover fire as Viton and Four came through. He caught a Rebel in the gut, and then in the top of the head as he slumped over in agony. Danon continued to shoot, though it didn’t seem to have any particular effect other then to keep the Rebels down. Viton advanced up to the next bulkhead and picked up one of the Rebel guns as one of the members of squad Four took a laser to the chest and fell down beside her. Viton knew that their body armor could ward off a glancing blow, but if a direct hit was taken there wasn’t much that the armor could do. She readjusted herself against the bulkhead to get out of the line of fire that had taken down her cover man, and called out to Evon to cover her. Evon then rolled out in front of Seven as they made their way through the door and with them laid down a barrage that cut down two more rebels. Viton then leaped from her position unleashing fire from both of her guns as she hit the floor and went into a roll. Her fire caught the leg of a Rebel trooper and separated it from his body below the knee. He fell over screaming in agony clutching the trigger of his own weapon and accidentally blew the head off of the trooper standing next to him. Viton came to a stop and threw two more grenades down the hall as she realized her own calf had been hit, though not too seriously. The explosion of the two grenades sent the wounded Rebel and two others flying and again filled the room with a haze. Evon ordered Seven to move up and take position in front of Viton while he and the Last two members of Four laid down cover fire. Seven quickly moved up and mowed down another Rebel, though the lead in that squad took a hit to the head which dropped him on the spot. That brought the total to four remaining Rebels in the antechamber to seven Vandron troopers. Viton got down onto her belly and crawled out into the haze between the two remaining members of Seven and put a laser through the throat of one more Rebel as bLaster fire whizzed over her head. Seven then took the arm off of another before catching him in the chest and putting him out of his misery. The two remaining Rebels retreated down the hall through the door that lead to the control room. As one of the troopers in Four stepped out from behind her bulkhead to follow the fleeing Rebels, she was shot from behind in the leg. As she fell she twisted and was able to pick off one of the Rebels that had come from behind them to attack her before she caught another round on the chest and fell dead. Danon rolled over onto his bad arm and unloaded a full clip of energy rounds into the remaining three Rebels that had attacked them from behind. He slowly got up and peered around the melted doorway to make sure there were no more enemies and found himself staring at three members of bi-squad three.
“Report!” yelled out Evon.
“Sir, bi- squad two has eliminated all resistance on levels four and five. They didn’t loose any more troopers after the initial ambush, and have four remaining,” replied Danon.
The leader of bi-squad three spoke up, “We cleared out levels three and two and chased these Last four troops up here, which the Lieutenant quickly dispatched. We have three troops left.”
“Danon, order the remaining members of bi-squad two up here on the double. In the meantime take an inventory of what we have available.”
They waited about fifteen minutes for the Last four troopers to rendezvous with them. After taking their inventory they had enough rounds of energy fire left, but only three grenades which were given to Viton. Just then a strange alarm began blaring and what sounded like a countdown commenced.
“Damnit,” screamed Evon, “Everyone, quickly to the bridge.” He gave orders as he ran, “Danon, Viton and Seven lay down cover fire for the members of bi-squad two and three. Four, you will follow me in after Two and Three.”
Two and Three rushed through the door and met a wave of energy fire. They estimated that there were about 12 remaining Rebels holed up in the bridge. Two Rebels were immediately felled by fire from Two and Three, but two of the members of Three and one of Two also met their deaths. The surviving troopers scattered against the bulkheads laying down cover fire as Evon and Four came through. Evon took off the head of what must have been the captain of the ship, and hit another in the shoulder. He dove to the floor as he watched two grenades sail over his head and land in the midst of the Rebels. They exploded with a tremendous boom and sent Rebel’s body parts flying everywhere. The Last members of Two and Three then jumped out and finished off the surviving Rebels.
“Now where in the name of the Almighty is the off switch for this damn self-destruct sequence?” screamed Evon to no one in particular.
Viton came running up to the control panel and tried frantically to shut it off, but she did not know what to do. This ship was slightly different then the schematics that they had been briefed on, and so they didn’t know exactly how to turn the device off. Then Danon came up and affixed his holo to the computer. He punched in a few commands and all of a sudden the alarm stopped.
“What the Hell did you do?” asked Evon in shock.
“I uploaded a virus into the computer’s mainframe” replied Danon sounding as shocked as Evon did. “Nothing in the ship will function right now, but at least it won’t blow us up.”
A loud cheer went up from the remaining ten troopers, they had made it.

“Sir,” exclaimed Defcon, “the Rebel vessel has stopped.”
“What,” said Chagnon in disbelief “has the boarding attempt succeeded?”
“It appears so my Lord. Alpha Leo Prime is reporting that the vessel is within range to open fire, but is doing nothing.”
“Praise be to the Almighty this day,” said Chagnon. “Have that vessel and the hull of the Overtaker towed into the space yard on Alpha Leo Prime immediately. Give all survivors a hero’s welcome on that world.”
“Gladly,” obeyed Defcon.
“My lord,” stepped in Junon, “what will we now do with this prize ship?”
“Well, we have two options, we may service it and add it to our own navy, or we may deconstruct it as we did to the colony ship and see what we may learn from it. I think I know which way you are leaning on this issue Junon. What do you think Defcon?”
“I would agree with Junon that it should be deconstructed. Perhaps we will learn how to build larger ships from its design. That would more than make up for the loss of one such ship.”
“See to it that it is done right away then,” ordered Chagnon.
“Yes sir,” answered Defcon.
And with that the members of the High Command went off to celebrate this small victory among the many losses that would surely come.

[ September 12, 2003, 15:41: Message edited by: chewy027 ]

[Mudshark]

I'm enjoying this story Chewy.

[chewy027]

Thanks Mudshark...here's a little more...

Phong Confederation 18th place
Rebel Alliance 17th place
Terran Confederation 16th place
Vandron Empire 6th place
Aquilaeian Empire 3rd place
Klingon Empire 2nd place
Star Empire of Romii 1st place

2406.3 – 2406.5 ~ More Thoughts

The following is an excerpt from the journal of Lord Chagnon:

The analysis of the Rebel ship provided us with more information than even Junon expected. From it we were able to adapt our point defense weaponry to a more powerful model and we were able to configure our engines to be more efficient. We learned of meson bLasters, an energy pulse weapon, and most importantly of all, we were able to analyze the construction of the ship to develop our own light cruisers. We immediately designed the Wrath Class attack ship to supplement the tiny vessels in our fleet. These ships immediately went into production around the cluster, so that if the Aquilaeians do attack us, we will stand a greater chance of beating them back. Junon was also able to finish up his own research into combat support and a more powerful PPB, both of which were implemented in the new Wrath light cruisers. It was then decided to begin research into a new type of engine as well as more efficient repair droids. Junon believes that he can develop an entirely new engine that will grant us greater speed and efficiency then the current ion variety as well as a droid that can repair two components per tenth without a space yard present. We shall see.
After the bloody combat aboard the Rebel battle cruiser, Major Evon and his troops were given a grand welcome on Alpha Leo Prime and hailed as heroes by the people there. Indeed they should be, for if it were not for their heroic efforts aboard that ship the colony may not even be there today. Evon and the other survivors refused to be coddled, however, and requested immediate transfer to another Overtaker Vessel. We granted them this request and they are now en route to Overtaker Three in the Host of Heaven battle group, one of the ships under Admiral Nefta’s command. Nefta herself has been patiently waiting in the Parvenium System for any Rebels to make their way through either of the wormholes leading into that system. She is perhaps our best fleet commander; however, I fear her lust for vengeance. Only the Almighty truly knows how her fate will play out.
Exnon tells me that the colony ship has reached Bastion and has begun a colony there. Captain Impo will construct the essential facilities: a space yard and resupply depot, and raise a fleet for himself there. If the Aquilaeians want a fight, we’ll be prepared to give it to them. Impo will use his ships to sweep through the southern cluster eradicating the large, but undeveloped, Aquilaeian presence there. Of course, if all goes poorly, we will make our way to Bastion and try to fight our way back from there.
A colony ship has also reached another “Ruin World.” I don’t know if it was because Impo was not with this ship, but they didn’t find any new technologies to salvage. There were more mysterious ruins and clues to the great race that had once inhabited the planet, but nothing overly concrete. If this race is indeed where the Almighty came from then we still have much to learn.
Meanwhile, Mandron has continued talks with each of the races that we have come in contact with. He made some progress, though for the most part, relations remain relatively unchanged with each. He has tried very hard to induce the Star Empire of Romii to agree to a partnership with us, but they continue to refuse. Something tells me that they will agree to a partnership only when they are ready for it. However, the Rebel Alliance, surprisingly, begged us to sign a peace treaty with them, in the form of a trade alliance, after we captured their vessel. We have given them the benefit of the doubt and accepted their plea, though we have made it clear that any hint of treachery will result in a severe response from us. The Klingons continue to make idle threats as they haven’t even tried to attack us. Mandron believes that they are located in the southeastern star cluster, and hence are not in a position to bring much force against us. At the same time, Mandron has confirmed our long time speculations that there was another race on the cluster to the northeast of us. We finally made contact with the Phong Confederation. They are not a very powerful race, though we don’t know much more about them than that. Mandron initially brokered a trade alliance with them with the expectation that they would eventually become a partner to us, which they did within three tenths. At least we are making allies as quickly as we are making enemies.
Finally, Defcon reports that the Rebel Colony in the Gliese System has been wiped out by the Aquilaeians. This puts to rest one threat in that system, but sheds light on just how brutal these Aquilaeians are prepared to be. It was hoped that if war would come that at least it could be conducted away from the innocent civilians on these worlds. If the Aquilaeians will burn an enemy world that doesn’t even pose a threat to them, then I can only imagine what they will do with our worlds should they have the opportunity to harm them.
Defcon has also reported that with the neutralization of the Rebel battle cruiser, he feels there is no need to divert the Gliese Protectorate back into the Alpha Leo System. I have agreed to this, simply because of the threat from the Aquilaeians. Strategically, Gliese is much more important then Alpha Leo. The planets in that system are now capable of building their own fleet and have commenced with that. In time, Alpha Leo will have its own Protectorate to take care of any Lasting Rebel problems. However, I have one great concern with those two systems; it has been reported that a great fleet of Aquilaeian ships has been spotted numerous times in and around those systems. The strength of this fleet has exceeded twenty-five ships, nearly all of which are at or above frigate size. If this fleet were to attack either of those systems I do not think they could Last long, especially since their ships are nearly all equipped with those damn self-destruct devices. Our only hope is to draw it into either the Parvenium System or the Halifax System, our home system. Here we have the strength to defeat such a fleet, but the battle would most likely be severe. In the simulations that have been run, we have an equal chance for victory and defeat. Let us hope that the Almighty will favor us if and when that time ever comes. In the meantime, we will continue to build up our fleet in expectation of the inevitable confrontation that awaits us.

[chewy027]

Phong Confederation 18th place
Terran Confederation 17th place
Rebel Alliance 14th place
Abbidon Enclave 7th place
Vandron Empire 6thplace
Klingon Empire 3rd place
Aquilaeian Empire 2nd place
Star Empire of Romii 1st place

2406.6 – 2407.8 ~ Humdrum

“It’s been too quiet,” thought Admiral Nefta as she sat in her command chair staring off into space. “I know the Aquilaeians are going to try something, they have too large a presence in our systems not to. Yet, as the tenths pass they continue to go on their way barely even noticing us. It simply makes no sense. What is the wisdom in tying up resources by stationing ships in our systems? Perhaps they’re just trying to scare us into not trying anything ourselves. But that makes no sense; they know that we would never initiate a war. No, the only reasonable answer is that they plan to attack. So we must be ready.” She had been having these discussions with herself for over a year now. Tactically, the Aquilaeian presence made no sense other then to position themselves for an attack, and yet the attack had not come. This is what bewildered Nefta because the Vandron fleets grew stronger by the tenth. They became larger, faster, more powerful, and better defended as each day went by, and the Aquilaeian threat began to look less and less like a threat at all. Yet deep down Nefta knew that the real reason she was tired of waiting for an attack was that she herself yearned to continue the fight to avenge her sister. To Nefta it did not matter how many victories she won against the Terrans or the Rebels or Aquilaeians. All she knew was that they were responsible, maybe not directly, but it was their fault that she was dead. It was simply the way that these galactic powers operated that was to blame. If they could just live at peace with each other Sharnon would still be here. Therefore, she had decided a long time ago that as long as there were other powers who would oppose the Vandron, she would not have her thirst for vengeance quenched. “I wish the Rebels and the Terrans would not have capitulated so easily,” she thought in disgust. “I didn’t even get a chance to fight in a major engagement in the war with the Rebels, and these Klingons haven’t even shown themselves in our systems much less attacked us; they must be a cowardly people. Yes, my only real hope for a battle now is the Aquilaeians, but when are they going to give it to me?”

“Yes, of course we will continue with our previous agreements. This is simply an upgrade over those prior arrangements,” explained Mandron as he was finishing up a partnership treaty with the Abbidon. “Think of it as us becoming as b…brothers. We will share everything, and hold back nothing.” The ambassador from the Abbidon seemed to finally understand what Mandron was getting at, and finalized the deal. With that settled Mandron retired to his quarters to rest. “I can’t believe how easily manipulated they are,” he thought to himself as he walked back to the room. “Of course, it’s not like I’m leading them into a war, ours is a peaceful endeavor that will allow both of our people to flourish,” he stopped his hurried pace to look out the window. “Still, it does seem that these Last few tenths have dragged by. Apart from the Abbidon negotiations, boring talks at best, there have been no new surprises from any of the other races.” He continued on his trek back to his room, “I almost wish the Aquilaeian would contact us, even to deliver another threat about us having a treaty with their enemies. Yes, the Aquilaeians,” he paused again, “they are always a challenge to deal with. They may be our enemies, but they’re damn good diplomats.” He had finally reached his door, “Oh well, I suppose this will be another boring night. Here’s to hoping the Almighty gives me a divine revelation in my meditations.” And with that Last thought he entered his room and retired for the evening.

“…and that should do it,” thought Junon as he was putting the final designs into the computer for simulation. “I think we’ve finally acquired the knowledge and expertise to build Cruiser sized vessels,” he said aloud to Chagnon and Defcon.
“Good work Junon, you never disappoint,” congratulated Chagnon. “So what is that now, five breakthroughs in the Last year?”
“Something like that,” replied Junon. “Let’s see, a new armor material to protect our ships, those marvelously fast contra-terrene engines, another level of religious technology, and a more efficient means to capture ships. Yes my Lord, I do believe it was five new breakthroughs.”
“So what does he turn his attention towards next?” asked Defcon. “The Aquilaeians haven’t made a move toward us in over a year, and the Klingons haven’t shown their ugly faces, perhaps we should look into something a bit less militaristic?”
“Actually, I have already begun my next line of research,” put in Junon, “or perhaps it would be more accurate to say have continued an old line.”
“How do you mean that?” asked Chagnon.
“Well, when I finished my research into that Last round of religious research, I hit onto something that may prove a decisive advantage for us militarily. However, I will need much time to perfect it, which is why I have begun it now.”
“And what is this Almighty-given technology that you have hit upon?” laughed Defcon.
“You laugh now,” replied Junon, “but you are not very far off the mark.” Defcon stopped chuckling as Junon went on, “in my research into harnessing our religious understanding and meditation, I realized that when we Vandron are in a highly meditative state, we react with near perfect exactness to the world around us.” He paused for a moment to allow this information to sink in before going on, “While that may be of little use to us, I also realized then when given a specific task, like hitting a ball or swatting a fly, the accuracy of the people within this state of deep meditation was 99.9 percent dead on.”
“I still fail to see how that can help us,” put in Defcon.
“Well then I’ll get straight to the point,” cut in Junon. “I believe we can harness this seemingly Almighty driven meditative state to make the gunners on our vessels have impeccable precision in their targeting. I do not yet know how this will be done, which is why I need time, but I do believe it can be done.”
“If that is what you wish to pursue then you may,” allowed Chagnon. “If your theories about the outcome of this research are to hold true, then no force should be able to pose a threat to our people.”
“Bigger ships would be nice,” said Defcon with a stern face, “but I suppose this would be good too,” said Defcon with as he broke into a smile. “Besides those birds aren’t going to try anything any time soon. We may as well develop this targeting technique so that if they do come for us they’ll be wishing they hadn’t.”

After the explanation of the new cruiser class ship, Chagnon went back to his quarters and received a brief synopsis of the current exploration and colonization efforts by Exnon:
All goes well my Lord. We now control forty-seven worlds across ten systems. We have again begun production of more colony ships to reach more worlds since the threat the Aquilaeians pose has somewhat diminished, and so the number of worlds we control should begin going up sharply again. Also, the exploration side of things is gong extremely well. With the new star maps we have received from the Abbidon we now know the contents of over eighty percent of our quadrant. There are only a handful of unexplored systems and wormholes left. While we do not know what races inhabit these other star clusters, we at least now know what stellar objects inhabit them. We have also learned of more worlds throughout the quadrant that harbor ancient ruins. One system in particular, the Omicron System, has three worlds with ruins. It is my belief that this may have been the home system of the race that built these ancient structures. However, it is not an easy system for us to reach. Perhaps we will meet one of the races in that area of our quadrant who can teach us more about that system. Until then, we really don’t know too much more about these ancient people. Until next time, Exnon out.

After reading this summary, Chagnon began his daily meditations. He thought on all the usual things, and said all the usual prayers. He enjoyed the serenity and peace of it, and the deliverance from stress and worry that it provided to him. He had been worried about an invasion for so long now that he had forgotten what it was like to truly be at peace. “Perhaps,” he thought, “we were all wrong about the Aquilaeians. Maybe they never intended to attack us but simply wished to prove their dominance. They haven’t made any hostile moves in over a year now; maybe we simply misunderstood their intentions.” He finally gave in to his optimism with a sign. “But what does it matter,” he finished, “we must be prepared for whatever lies ahead, and the most likely event is still war.”

[ September 18, 2003, 16:14: Message edited by: chewy027 ]

[chewy027]

Just so you know, to whoever has been reading this, my classes have started up in full swing so i won't be able to put nearly as much time into this as before, as is evidenced by the three day layover in the latest update. I'll continue to play and write, just don't expect a whole heck of a lot each week.

[ September 16, 2003, 04:40: Message edited by: chewy027 ]

[The FryeR K]

Well keep up the good work, and I'll keep readin
You are a good author, and it is a fun read.

[chewy027]

Thanks FryeR K...here's a bit more...

Terran Confederation 17th place
Phong Confederation 16th place
Rebel Alliance 15th place
Abbidon Enclave 7th place
Vandron Empire 6th place
Klingon Empire 3rd place
Aquilaeian Empire 2nd place
Star Empire of Romii 1st place

2407.9 – 2408.7 ~ The Next Engagement

“Redemption Seven has been hit, ma’am,” said Lieutenant Kalgon to Admiral Nefta.
“How badly?” asked the Admiral.
“They are effectively out of the fight ma’am,” replied Kalgon.
“So we are down to twelve ships from our original twenty,” said Nefta to herself. “Do we have any boarding craft left?” she asked Kalgon
“No ma’am,” came the quick reply. “Two were shot down while they attempted to board a battle cruiser while the third’s boarding crew was unable to disarm the self destruct device aboard another battle cruiser and was lost in the subsequent explosion.”
“Very well,” Nefta replied, and without another thought for those lost ships went on, “Captain Orton, move your task force in to flank the second battle cruiser.”
“Yes ma’am,” came the swift reply.
Meanwhile Nefta led her task force on a head-on approach to the lead battle cruiser. PPBs lanced out from their ships and melted the organic armor covering the vessels; not one of their shots missed. Nefta’s ship took some heavy return fire from the lead battle cruiser that sent emergency claxons blaring.
“Ma’am,” screamed Lieutenant through the clamor of the claxons, “we’ve lost two of our forward PPBs and our port engine. Our shields have also been depleted.”
“Lieutenant, take us out to maximum firing range,” she commanded with ice in her voice. “The rest of the ships in task force one are to press the attack.”
Her Flood MK 1 class cruiser fell back from the front of their line, but remained within firing range. It continued to pour down PPB fire from its three remaining guns all of which squarely hit their target. Meanwhile the rest of task force one moved in around the lead battle cruiser. PPBs cut deep gashes into the ship blowing out the engines, bridge, and five of the seven gun emplacements. Captain Orton’s task force two was having similar success with their target. His five ships had all but destroyed the vessel as small explosions rippled through the second battle cruiser.
“Target neutralized,” reported Orton to Nefta. “I await your command on the next target.”
“Move in to take out that final cruiser,” came the order.
“At once Ma’am,” replied Orton.
He immediately moved his five vessels into position to attack the final ship. This cruiser had been pestering his group as they took out the second battle cruiser. It had been staying on the periphery of their formation taking pot shots as it flew by, but its fire was inconsistent and all of the damage it had dealt had been absorbed by their ship’s shielding. As soon as Orton’s task force came into range their PPBs began blazing. In the first volley, the organic armor was blown away and unable to regenerate itself. The commander of the target ship must have realized that he was the new target, as the vessel turned and vectored away from them as quickly as possible. Only the two Wrath Class light cruisers could keep up with the ship and poured fire into its aft taking out four of the main engines. This allowed the rest of the task force to catch up and loose fire of their own into the unprotected ship. At the same time, Admiral Nefta’s task force had disabled the final battle cruiser.
“All ships report targets have been neutralized,” reported Lieutenant Kalgon.
“Excellent Lieutenant,” came the steely reply, “all ships finish off the vessels; turn them into floating piles of debris.”
With that all of the ships opened fire one Last time. There was a blinding flash as all three of the final enemy ships were vaporized by the PPB fire. Then unexpectedly battle claxons began blaring again as another Aquilaeian battle group appeared through the wormhole right in the middle of their formations.
“Take evasive action,” screamed Nefta with a hint of shock and surprise evident in her voice. “Concentrate fire on the lead battle cruiser.”
Again, PPBs rained out from the vessels and the combined firepower of all twelve ships was enough to overwhelm the lead ship’s organic armor and reduce it to smoldering wreckage. However, the other four Aquilaeian vessels were also battle cruisers and they opened fire immediately after they realized what they had flown into. They caught an old Angel class escort in their initial fire and blew it to pieces as well as taking a Redemption Class destroyer effectively out of the fight. The ships also loosed a horde of organic seeker parasites. Fortunately, two of the remaining ten active ships were Shield Class defense light cruisers and they shot down all but one of the seekers which exploded harmlessly against Captain Orton’s Wrath light cruiser. The Vandron vessels continued to fight back the Aquilaeian vessels concentrating their fire on one ship at a time, never missing a shot. The second battle cruiser’s armor melted away and its innards were ripped apart by PPB fire from Admiral Nefta’s crippled ship. It hung motionless in space before it lit the view screens with a tremendous explosion, the force of which shook Nefta’s ship.
“Captain Orton,” commanded Nefta, “move your remaining four ships around the underbelly of that lead battle cruiser.”
“Yes ma’am,” came the reply, and the four ships instantly began the maneuver.
“Nefta,” screamed Orton, “the second battle cruiser has dropped to our starboard side, give us some cov…” but his voice was cut out as the battle cruiser opened fire and melted the entire forward of his ship before he could finish his plea for help.
“Damn those birds,” shouted Nefta, “All ships fire at will destroy them all,” she seethed, the hate dripping from her voice.
PPB fire and was everywhere slamming into the battle cruisers from all angles, any hint of a coordinated attack gone. A second Redemption class destroyer was downed as well as another Angel. A second later the lead battle cruiser went up in an inferno of molten steel and lifeless organic flesh. One battle cruiser remained to Nefta’s seven remaining vessels. Nefta’s ships poured PPB fire into the battle cruiser taking out the engines and almost all of its weapons. Just then one of the Shield class defense light cruisers went up in flames and disappeared in an expanding ball of gas and fire as two more Aquilaeian battle cruisers came through the wormhole and sunk their seeking parasites into the ship’s hull.
“We must pull back,” pleaded Lieutenant Kalgon. “We can not fight these ships.”
“Silence,” screamed Nefta, her emotion flowing from her like a gushing waterfall, “we will never retreat.” She turned to the com officer and ordered all ships to continue firing on the crippled battle cruiser.
The crippled ship began to break apart just as Nefta’s own Flood class cruiser was hit again with enemy fire. Explosions rocked the bridge and Nefta was thrown to the ground.
“Damage report,” gulped Nefta as smoke filled the CO2 filled air around her. There was no response. “Lieutenant Kalgon, what is the damage?” she asked again, and again there was no response. Then she saw Kalgon’s body lying motionless on the ground and she knew why she wasn’t being answered. She ran to the nav officer’s console and made the necessary adjustments to ram the lead battle cruiser with what was left of her ship. The remaining vessels in her battle group continued to exchange fire with the battle cruisers melting away the armor of one and destroying half of its engines and weapons. It was toward this ship that Nefta steered her smoldering Flood cruiser. All around her there were short circuiting and malfunctioning systems. Outside her, two more ships, one Redemption and one Shield, went up in explosions as the second battle cruiser loosed another round of seekers which could not all be shot down. Nefta’s cruiser swung around and accelerated to meet the bow of the crippled enemy vessel. The Aquilaeian ship realized what was happening and began to fire frantically at the oncoming ship. But it was to no avail; an angry screech shot through Nefta’s ship as its compartments were impacted and compressed under the pressure of the collision. A second later a searing ball of fire swept through the vessel, starting a chain reaction that engulfed both the Flood cruiser and the Aquilaeian battle cruiser.

Nefta slowly awoke on a table with glaring lights and a contingent of concerned onlookers surrounding her.
“What happened?” she asked.
“You blacked out in your sim pod,” came the reply from Vice Lord Junon. “When your ship rammed the vessel, instead of waking up from the simulation as you were supposed to, you somehow stayed attached momentarily and it caused you to black out for nearly ten minutes.”
She thought about this for a second and then asked, “Were we victorious over the final battle cruiser?” asked Nefta.
“Yes,” answered Vice Lord Defcon. “The final Redemption was able to destroy the Last battle cruiser after it too was rammed by the crew of the remaining Wrath light cruiser.”
“So we won,” she said more to herself then anyone else.
“Yes you did, and against a larger foe,” replied Defcon. “You performed brilliantly up until the end at least.”
“What do you mean by that?” asked Nefta.
“Well you see,” put in Lord Chagnon, “we wanted to see how far you would go…if you would fight to the end or pull your ships back once the battle turned against you. You had already won against the odds Nefta, yet you continued to press the attack even after two more small battle Groups appeared through the wormhole. Do you feel that was wise?”
“Without a doubt,” came her icy reply.
“But you died,” pointed out Chagnon.
“And I won,” she replied
“I thought you’d say as much,” said Chagnon. “Do you not think that it would have been wiser to fall back and save the five ships that were limping away from the fight? There was a well defended space yard but a sector away from your position. You could have docked there and repaired your battered battle group.”
“I would have lost the advantage of surprise my Lord,” she replied. “When the enemy ships appeared through the wormhole they were initially blind to our presence. That is why we were able to destroy some of them so quickly.”
“I understand that Nefta, but you are not completely answering my question. Perhaps I should phrase it differently; was it wise to sacrifice the simulated lives of your remaining battle group when you could easily have regrouped and lost none in a later battle?”
“From that perspective, it was not a wise decision. But,” she quickly followed, “it was tactically wise to press our advantage. I had no way of knowing that those enemy battle Groups would come through the wormhole.”
“Point taken,” said Chagnon, “but you must not forget the fact that a war can not be one in a single engagement.”
“I understand,” said Nefta, the steeliness returning to her voice.
“Still,” finished Chagnon,” your tactics were brilliant and your sacrifice admirable. I would not want to be an enemy commander facing your battle group.”
“Thank you my lord,” replied Nefta and then went on after a pause, “what was the accuracy of our gunners.”
To this question Junon again spoke up, “the accuracy was ninety-nine point nine percent on all shots fired. The single errant shot came when a PPB hit a seeker instead of a ship.”
“So this meditative technique really works then,” she said reflectively.
“Yes indeed it does,” said Junon. “After nearly a year of research I believe we have finally developed the means to have nearly one-hundred percent accuracy in engagements. How else do you think you were able to win?” finished Junon, only half jokingly.
“I still won,” she shot back, not joking at all.
“Nevertheless,” interrupted Chagnon, “this new capability will make our fleet much more formidable. However, it will take much time to outfit our ships with the provisions necessary to contain our gunners in meditation chambers while in battle.”
“At least now is as good a time as any to retrofit our fleet,” volunteered Vice Lord Exnon, “especially while we are producing as many colony ships as we are.”
“We can discuss this later,” put in Chagnon, “now I believe it wise that we allow Admiral Nefta and her crews to rest a while before they begin their next engagement.” He turned to Nefta, “and Admiral, see if you can try to go about your future engagements looking at the situation from all angles. And please, try not to give us any more scares,” he finished with a smile.
“I will try my best,” she said, and then after a short pause finished, “though I can make no guarantees.”

[ September 19, 2003, 03:55: Message edited by: chewy027 ]