The Walkers, updated 9-28-03

[EvilGenius4ABetterTomorro]

How can you improve the story? Go to war! I bet you can war against the Aqualarians and the Rebels at the same time.
"You rebel scum!" - one of the best lines out of Star Wars.

[chewy027]

I think war may be coming from the Aquilaeians, of course I won't start anything myself simply becasue i'm trying to roleplay the Vandron as best I can, and they're a peaceful lot. Still it is tempting, the Aquilaeians are just now starting to finish off the Terrans and are ripe for an attack, oh well. It's a pity really about the Terrans, I was so looking forward to giving Admiral Nefta her revenge. I guess i'll have to write it in some other way.

[oleg]

Originally posted by chewy027:
...I was so looking forward to giving Admiral Nefta her revenge. I guess i'll have to write it in some other way...

She murdered ~40 millions for one sibling. Should be enough. Aquarlians are pure evil. Andreas made a _very_ good job here

[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 ]