Game Stories

[Suicide Junkie]

The Slippery Slope of War

I'm expanding nicely, and I've got DS, Propulsion 3, and some religious tech.
My homeworld has been repeat building colonies for 25 turns or so, and I've got a 5-system cross of habitable planets in a sea of asteroids and storms.
Every arm has a shipyard, and the homeworld has two.
All of a sudden, the CueCappa come into the left arm of my empire, take my gifts, and proceed to level a colony. Instantly, the home system switches from colonies to warships.

But, the best warships I can build are speed 7 (12 engines) DS's with 5 DUC 1s.
The first three arrive in the besieged system just as the CueCappa LCs wipe out thee more colonies, including the Shipyard.

I have a fleet of four, more advanced (DUC 3)models coming, but the CueCappa reduce the system to one colony (which my ships are sitting on).

As they move to retreat through the wormhole, the Last two LCs come close enough to reach in one turn, and so my fleet of three ships rushes in.

The enemy has dual (large mount) TK projector 3s, and a neural stunner thing.

My Destroyers zoom in, in a tight arrowhead formation, and spray fire wildly.
15 DUC rounds flash past the hulls of the lead LC, disabling 3 (of 12) engines.
The left wingman gets slammed hard, losing weapons control (reload time), two guns and some engines. He breaks off and runs for it.
The remaining two Destroyers close to point blank and spew nearly harmless DUC rounds. 20 damage at a time, the LCs slowly lose engine power while they pursue and bLast at the damaged DS.
My DS is crippled by two big hits, losing its C&C systems as well as many engines, but the damage from the other two DSs is taking its toll. One LC loses a TKP, and the other loses the bridge.
The crippled DS is bLasted again, and down to almost nothing, but the other ships have stopped one of the LCs, and my ship starts to get away.
The LCs finally go down after 17 rounds, leaving all three primitive DSs surviving

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Two turns later; the damaged DS has been restored to half hitpoints, 2 MP, and one DUC I. The five DS reinforcements are still en route, but the three old ships have taken up orbit around the newly established military base near the warp point.
And... 6 CueCappa LCs and an ES have arrived to avenge their bretheren.

By the time my DSs have circled the planet (slowed down by the cripple), the quick ES has arrived. My fleet exchanges fire with the ES at 1/3rd accuracy, but 11:1 in guns. The ES misses, and absorbs 3 hits, losing lifesupport and dropping to 2 speed.
The heavy firepower of the LCs streams out, but are too distant to score any hits.
My cripple turns back to lead the ES away from the planet, and the others surge forward to strike at the LC wing.
The left wing LC loses crew quarters and some engines to the strafing attack of my DSs, and drops to 1 speed.
TK projectors search through space, and the cripple is slammed, losing C&C functions as its neural core is crushed. The crippled LC smashes the neural core of one of the other DSs, which falls to 2 movement and loses a DUC.
Blazing fire impacts the damaged LC, and a number of hits are scored, but the LC suffers no loss in capability.
On the other side of the battle, the CueCappa fleet catches up with my disabled DS, and it is shredded by their TK powers.
My DSs fire back into the damaged LC, and the flurry of slugs manages to disable one of the TKPs.

With the loss of the DS, the CueCappa fleet swings around. As an afterthought, one of the LCs uses its TKP to punch a huge hole in the protective dome. Hydrogen gas pours through the facility, slaughtering millions while debris rains down. In minutes, the colony is desolate and lifeless.

With the colony lost, the surviving destroyers turn to escape, hoping to survive long enough for the reinforcements to arrive.
The entire CueCappa fleet seeks the damaged destroyer, but only one finds it. Two devastating explosions rock the ship, severing three more DUCs and sending the ship's neural tendrils into shock.
DUC shards clatter off of an LC, but it suffers no damage.
The crippled DS is spared, but the lead ship is hammered, and loses power.
Unable to keep ahead of the enemy fleet, the crippled DS is shredded, and drifts off, lifeless.
The Last ship spurts slugs towards the nearest LC, damaging its engines.
Before the DS can pull away from the fleet, two ships combine to smash it around, disabling most of the engines.
With no chance of escape, the DS turns to head straight for the LC and fires slugs. The LC shrugs off the impacts and hammers the ship with its TKPs. The poor DS is batted around the fleet before disintegrating into shards of metal and guts.

-----------------------------------

My four advanced DSs (DUC IIIs) arrive, and speed in to counter-counter-counter attack.

My fleet comes in using a wall formation, and shifts from side to side. The enemy fleet is thrown into disarray as the slower ships fail to follow the manouevers of their leader.
The CueCappa get the first shot due to their range advantage, but fail to hit. All four destroyers open fire, sending waves of slugs towards the nearest (and fastest) enemy ship.
Tiny flashes pepper the hull, marking each impact point, and the ship falls back with engine damage.
The CueCappa reach out with their telekinetics, and this time manage to snag a ship. One of the destroyers reels as an explosion rips out some of the organic guts of the ship. It quickly turns to limp away at half speed.
Chattering fire from the remaining cannons pierces the command & control systems of another LC, and it falls behind.
CueCappa weapons fail to stike, as the Destroyers fall back, covering their wounded wingman.
The constant stream of tiny slugs damages the engines of two more LCs as they try to charge forward, but not before a series of blows smashes another destroyer. Organic systems crushed, and its engines a mangled mess, the ruined (but salvagable) destroyer drifts off away from the battle.
Still covering the retreating ships, the remaining two destroyers blaze their cannons at any ship with movement remaining.
The CueCappa fleet burns, but continues to press forwards, thier Psy assaults failing to hit.
One by one, the LCs turn away and retreat as their weapons become unusable.

In the end, only one CueCappa ship is destroyed, but the rest of their ships have a thousand small holes, and the victor is clearly me.

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[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 16 July 2001).]

[Hotfoot]

The Path of Shadows

What has come before:

For years, the galaxy was at war. The Humans and the Eee, the Praetorians, the Krill, the Sagella, the Xi'Chung, the Sergetti, just to name a few. The Shaderni, through this whole time, were unwilling participants in wars of aggression begun by other races for purposes of greed, fear, or unthinking aggression. Never had they started hostilities, but as several races soon discovered, it was not for lacking the capability to do wage war. The first to discover this were the Ukra-Tal Collective, who engaged the Shaderni in a bloody, eight year war. No reason was given by the Ukra-Tal's Government at the time, but after the fall of the Collective, information was released that when the war was declared, politicians were using the Shaderni's proximity as a debate in election debates. When a pro-war, Ukra-Tal supremicist faction won senate majority, the general population was already incensed and ready for war. When the Shaderni scientists and full industrial capacity was turned towards war, the Ukra-Tal politicians learned of their mistake. By the ending of the Shaderni/Ukra-Tal War, Prince Mortova turned the Empire towards consolidating the new Ukra-Tal holdings, opening up contact with new races, and preparing against any further aggression by other races, such as the Xi'Chung. The insects seemed to enjoy conflict, and had oddly declared war whilst at war with the Praetorians, a close partner of the Shaderni, which was the same period as the war with the Urka-Tal.

Then came contact with the other races, the war with the Ukra-Tal having kept the focus of the Shaderni for so long. The dozen or more races which existed outside of Shaderni local space were most curious. Some had technological marvels and monstrosities which inspired a flurry of research from curious Shaderni scientists, while others had cunning and treachery which started a war of spymasters. The most powerful races, the Eee, the Praetorians, and the Humans, were all involved in several military conflicts. The Shaderni quietly expanded, colonizing planets with rich resources and favorable conditions. There was also much research put into the Genesis project, so as to make use of the large asteroid belts in the center of Shaderni territory.

The other races were hearing about the wars of the Shaderni, and how relentless their fleets were once comitted. The only race which stayed a steadfast ally to the Shaderni were the Praetorians, because of the bond of friendship forged when they first met. The Praetorians, so used to being judged by their disgusting appearance, were surprised by the quick acceptance of the Shaderni. It was not a one-sided acceptance, however. The Shaderni consider actions and the mind high and above physical appearance, and the Praetorians have no discernable sense of smell, and did not seem to mind the smell of Methane that always lingered around Shaderni encounter suits. This early friendship and following alliances quickly grew into a situation of mutual support. It is, perhaps, the most stable alliance in the galaxy to date.

As Shaderni colonies began to develop, it was clear that the Early Shaderni conquests had opened the door to much wealth, and with wealth comes greed. Shaderni war fleets had been in something of a decline since the end of the Last major conflict, and technology continued to advance. Suddenly, as if the whole galaxy had gone mad, wars broke out between several races and the Shaderni. Not willing to waste lives needlessly on futile wars, the Shaderni used the warlike natures other races against each other, sowing seeds of distrust among its enemies, pitting them one against the other, buying enough time to come up with a more permenant solution to the problem.

The Genesis Project was a resounding success, and was one of the reasons for Shaderni advancement. But scientists found more fascinating developments. Shortly after the ability to create and destroy planets was discovered, the key to controlling wormholes was unlocked. The spiral galaxy had several warp point choke points, which the Shaderni had used to their advantage in earlier conflicts with minelayers to defend the homeworlds. When Shaderni scientists reported their findings to Prince Mortova, the monarch locked himself in his study for weeks, reviewing starmaps, and occasionally calling in advisors and asking them cryptic questions before dismissing them. When he emerged, he order the capital homeworld's shipyards to begin construction on a ship following his exacting specifications. It would not be completed for more than three years.

For four years, chaos reigned. Treaties were made, broken, re-established, wars were declared, cease-fires agreed upon, and the insanity of the other races solidified the decision made by Prince Mortova years before. And shortly following a raid in Shaderni space by the Sergetti, with the precision of a surgeon, two warp points near the galactic core disappeared into the ether. The Terran civilization was cut off from dozen of its colonies, all of which happened to reside on the same side of space as the Shaderni, Praetorians, and Sagella.

The Galaxy was cleft in twain by the machinations of Prince Mortova and the Shaderni Empire, but not before one vessel was left behind in secret to watch over the other races and report back when the time was right, when the survivors had either destroyed themselves or given up the ways of senseless, random acts violence.

This record is short and incomplete in many places, but it's haste is required by the need to understand what has come before so as to understand what is to come.

The journey down the Path of Shadows has begun. Where it will lead, only time will tell.

+++Journal of Bova, Watcher and Listener of the Historian's Guild+++

-Hotfoot
"The tale begins"

[This message has been edited by Hotfoot (edited 19 July 2001).]

[justjake73]

Recent History of the Terran Federation

A TENSE peace is in place between the Terran Federation and the Zedron Protectorate. Repeated attempts by the Federation to broker a trade alliance or nonagression pact with the Zedron have all been strangely rejected. Relations are deemed "moderate."
An occasional Zedron light cruiser or frigate will wander into the Federation border systems of Ushphada and Cewandi, but leave soon after. Any thought of aggression will be countered quickly by the large Federation fleets present in both systems or the weapon platforms of the Planetary Defense Force.

The large Federation Science Ministry has recently discovered technology sufficient to build a Battlestation. Combined with heavy mounted phased polaron beams, heavy DUC V's, Level IV Torpedoes and heavy shielding, the new "Indomitable" class defense base will add a significant defensive force to our borders.

Federation Intelligence has recently uncovered the designs for a new Zedron defense base. Counterintelligence has foiled every Zedron intelligence operation to date. From various intelligence operations, we have a better idea of where to concentrate our scientific endeavors.

The construction of a second "Shiloh" class battlecruiser is proceeding according to schedule. Colonization of the Hollifax system is also on schedule; the remaining three Rock surface worlds will add to our already formidable intellgence, research and mining operations.....

[justjake73]

Recent History of the Terran Federation

A TENSE peace is in place between the Terran Federation and the Zedron Protectorate. Repeated attempts by the Federation to broker a trade alliance or nonagression pact with the Zedron have all been strangely rejected. Relations are deemed "moderate."
An occasional Zedron light cruiser or frigate will wander into the Federation border systems of Ushphada and Cewandi, but leave soon after. Any thought of aggression will be countered quickly by the large Federation fleets present in both systems or the weapon platforms of the Planetary Defense Force.

The large Federation Science Ministry has recently discovered technology sufficient to build a Battlestation. Combined with heavy mounted phased polaron beams, heavy DUC V's, Level IV Torpedoes and heavy shielding, the new "Indomitable" class defense base will add a significant defensive force to our borders.

Federation Intelligence has recently uncovered the designs for a new Zedron defense base. Counterintelligence has foiled every Zedron intelligence operation to date. From various intelligence operations, we have a better idea of where to concentrate our scientific endeavors.

The construction of a second "Shiloh" class battlecruiser is proceeding according to schedule. Colonization of the Hollifax system is also on schedule; the remaining three Rock surface worlds will add to our already formidable intellgence, research and mining operations.....

[justjake73]

Whups didn't mean to post twice sorry...

[Hotfoot]

The Path of Shadows

Journal of Prince Mortova

The Date is 2420.1. The Skeleton Key Operation was a success. For nearly a year now we have lived without the annoyance of other races' insanity. The Terrans who remain are understandbly distressed at being forcibly cut off from their homeworld, and they suspect our involvement in the matter. What action they will take, if any, is unknown, but without support from their homeworlds, perhaps they will understand the better part of valour is not ritual suicide.

The Praetorians seem to have joined with our spymasters against the Sagella, and word is reaching even more of the Sagellen ship crews of the insanities of their political leaders, as Hive Fleet has encountered at least two Sagellen Dreadnoughts under Praetorian command. Apparently the Sagellan ruling class was pressing their labor class into service on their warships and severely mistreating them, making subVersion rather easy on one level, while the ruling class ship commanders are very easy to bribe, sometimes wanting nothing more than asylum within the Shaderni Empire. While this is a good sign of how their system is falling apart from within following the first usage of Hive Fleet, the subverted ships have a rather disturbing tendancy to turn their guns on their own too easily for my liking. Perhaps they are eager to kill their own to prove their loyalty, but I am loathe to trust traitors, even if I I helped to create them. Perhaps especially so.

Speaking of Hive Fleet, I am quite impressed at the improvements that have been made since the fleet's Last major military action in Sagella space. The Nest light carriers have been refitted to have almost as much fighter capacity as the older Mk1 Hive Carriers. The newer Hive Carriers have a total cargo space of 4300 kilotons, and laden with the newer Dirk heavy fighter/bomber designs have proven to be quite effective in simulations. In fact, simulations of Hive Fleet in action have shown that the only real threat that they could possibly face would be nearly half a dozen Baseships loaded to the very brim with our most advanced point defense cannons. Most promising, as the Sagella have no designs that even come close to that functionality. My admirals assure me that our next incursion into Sagella space will end the war. Chimeras filled with Strange Mercy ground units will be used once plantary defenses and hostile fleets are neutralized. We hope that our using ground assaults to take planets instead of simply glassing the worlds shows how willing we are to accept surrender to end the war, especially with our extraordinarily sub-par performance in that area of warfare compared to the projected capabilities of other races. However, since ours is the only Empire to make proper ground combat units, our weakness has yet to be exploited, thankfully.

Meanwhile, closer to the homeworlds, Haunt Fleet is undergoing a final shakedown before being sent to secure the colonies near what remains of Terran space. They will be the spectres that will watch our boundaries, waiting for the day when the pathways are opened once more, revealing either the chaos of war once more, or the tranquility of peace. I only hope that the other races will have tired of conquest by that time, or the fleet of ghosts will call even more into their fold.

On perhaps a lighter note, the rioting on the outer colonies is dying down as word spreads about the strength of Hive Fleet and the recent internal strife of the Sagella. Though I regret the solution to this conflict being so destructive, soon my people will be able to expand, explore, and examine the galaxy unhindered by bloody wars threatening their very lives. The galaxy is dangerous enough without cannons blazing through the vaccuum.

A report has come in from the Stalker Mk2 we inserted into the war-torn other half of the universe. Apparently further care will be required in certain systems, as it lacks minesweeper components, and despite the focus the other races have for war, or perhaps because of it, the sensor technology being employed is quite often more than enough to detect the ship while cloaked. Keeping an eye on the progress of the other races will not be as simply as we had hoped, and should the Stalker be lost, it may be quite some time before we ever reopen the passageways of the warp again.

[capnq]

quote:

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Whups didn't mean to post twice sorry...

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The Edit button gives you an option to delete your own post in a checkbox near the top of the page, if you want to clear out the duplicate.

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Cap'n Q

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the
human mind to correlate all of its contents. We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was
not meant that we should go far. -- HP Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu"