Game Stories

[DirkHowitzer]

I'm starting this thread as a place to post stories about the SEIV games you've played. I know that I, for one, have enjoyed reading about the various situations that players have found themselves in. I know, I need to get a life...But hey, I love this game and everyting about it. Would prefer to see stories/descriptions of completed games but situational anecdotes are fine as well.

I'm hoping that this will not only entertain but also be a place for newbies to glean some tactics and maybe even teach some old dogs some new tricks.

PBEM stories are also welcome!

If anyone thinks this is a good idea....well then start typing!

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"He's dead, Jim."-- Lt. Commander Leonard "Bones" McCoy |Chief Medical Officer / USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

[This message has been edited by DirkHowitzer (edited 18 February 2001).]

[pathfinder]

well, once the new patch comes out, I plan on having two races available, I guess thru the MOD forum (not original shipsets). The Brachyura (have unique AI-sorta) and the Orion Faction (based on Star Siege and the squad I am in there)--this will also have a somewhat unique AI. Shipsets will be colorized Versions of default races.

oh well, but I will post short stories on events (eg The Battle for Warp point 9, etc) if anybody would be interested.

[Jubala]

I'm writing a gamestory for the pbem game I'm in right now, but we're only at turn 27 so you won't see it for quite some time yet as I don't want to tip my hand to the other players.

[pathfinder]

Truly a sad day for Terra. After fighting deserate battles against the Phong for the Aldan system and losing the colonies Aldan 1 and Aldan VIII; the Amokrie, using stellar manipulation devices of some kind, closed off the warp point for the Ibsunk system back to Terra. A rather forlorn convoy of Utah class light cruisers, Kentucky class light carriers and a lone Washington class colony ship are fighting their way from Ibsunk back home to Terra (envision the Battlestar Galactica fleet http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon12.gif ).

[This message has been edited by pathfinder (edited 19 February 2001).]

[This message has been edited by pathfinder (edited 19 February 2001).]

[pathfinder]

yet another story from a test game I am having with a new race:

The Orion Faction should be proud, yet sad over the events of the Last 24 hours.

Orion Faction Battle Fleet Beta was ambushed by the Vesudans in the Xiria system while on routine patrol. The OF battle fleet managed to wipe out the Vesudan Fleet of two light cruiser after suffering grievous loses. The frigates Ryoken and Stompy were severely damaged during the battle and were barely able to break away. The Ryoken limped home after sustain several hull breaches and the loss of 2/3 of her crew to include the captain. The Stompy suffered the loss of food locker #1 and survived the flight home by eating cheesy poofs.

The OF Main Battle Fleet is assembling and a call has gone out to activate naval reservists and pilots.

[Nyx]

Over the weekend I got a little way into a game. I was goofing off researching stellar manipulation and other non-military technologies. I was in 1st place about twice the score of #2 and with 50 techs to any other player's 37. The new Ixaris sail into one of my systems (first contact) bLast one of my frigates (largest hull I'd researched at that point) with a light cruiser decked out in large-mounted phased polaron beams. It sails up to one of my planets and wipes out three small weapon platforms and some 60+million people, then wanders off. I build a fleet of frigates with boarding parties, but they get shot to pieces before they can get through the shileds on the cruisers. I lose 3 more worlds as the Ixaris and I both try to colonize the same system. Finally I get lucky and in a different system I find massive shield depleters in a ruin about the same time I get destroyer tech. I emergency build a new boarding ship and park them over the nearest warp points into my turf after I'm driven out of that system we'd been fighting over. It's quiet. I go back into the contested system and it's empty except for an unescorted colony ship which I board and capture then send home for reverse engineering. I colonize a world and emergency build a resupply depot and shipyard.

It continues to be quiet for half a year and so I send a ship through one warp gate to scout. He finds a nebula with only one other gate. So he heads for that one. On the other side he finds the Ixaris homeworld with a slew of sattelites and some support ships. The scot moves one square from the gate (all the range he's got left), and a pair of Light Cruisers appear through it behind him on the Ixaris turn. Apparently we missed each other while passing through the nebula. There's only one other warp gate in this system so he runs for that one. Another Ixaris system, mostly empty, again with only one other warp point. The light cruisers are just behind him so he runs for the next warp point. A planet launches a cruiser while the scout is passing through, it joins the chase. The next system has three warp points, one I just came through, one that leads I don't know where, and one that leads back to the system he and I were fighting over. I'm about to run out of fuel on the scout so I head for home. A second cruiser comes through the unknown warp gate and I've got 4 ships chasing my poor destroyer (three of them are only 2 moves behind him). He makes it through the warp point into my system and runs out of fuel on the "safe" side. I send a fleet of 4 more destroyers to go rescue him and get him to the ressuply point. They end their move 2 squaress from the scout. That turn both cruisers and one light cruiser come through the warp point, kill my helpless scout and turn around and leave.

After that though it went all downhill for the Ixaris as had fleets of destroyers equipped with massive shield depleters and boarding parties parked over the warp gates and I captured about a dozen of his ships piecemeal and in fleets of up to three. I ended up gettng three levels of shield, light cruisers, cruisers, two levels of armor, and five levels of PPB off of him in short order. But that one captain's scouting run was one of the highpoints of my weekend. Died within sight of an allied colony and in spitting distance of a fleet that could have saved him after running through four enemy-held systems. Glorious.

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Compete in the Space Empires IV World Championship at www.twingalaxies.com. (http://www.twingalaxies.com.)

[Suicide Junkie]

A Capture operation to save the Empire!
Part 1 of a slightly connected series:
(These are 99.9% accurate, following the real adventures of a virtual race)

A dark cloud hangs over the empire. A peaceful, intensely religiuos people, dedicated to improving and terraforming every object in the universe, from moons to planets and eventually stars.
The Phong and Jreanar have declared war, after a decade of peaceful relations.
With only two out of six controlled systems having planets, we are no match for the two galaxy-spanning empires 10x our size. Fortunately, they are at war with each other, but this has left them with unfathomably powerful military technologies.
Ships the size of a moon, shields of fantastic strength and regenerative capacity. Weapons of mass destruction.

It is only a matter of time before the defensive perimeter of Minefields currently 3000 mines strong is breached in various places by sweepers, and the empire crumbles.

In an effort to stave off the looming collapse, the emperor has Decreed that the entire Navy should participate in an dangerous tactical operation, known only as "Plan Nine-Seven-Two"

Plan Nine-Seven-one, minefield traps, weren't working, but I noticed a lone Phong DN just barely within my fleet's range.

-=<Plan Nine-Seven-Two was born>=-
I would attack with the Tachyon cannons, disabling the weapons, and proceed to carve up the helpless victim with DUC for capture & analysis.
The technology aquired would advance the Empire by decades, and possibly allow us to fend off the invaders.

My Fleet: 17 ships
-4 Boarding party & DUC Combo Escorts (single 10kT shield-armor)
-4 DUC Destroyers (light shield-armor)
-1 MineLayer Destroyer
-2 Caldera class DUC/Tachyon LCs (medium shield-armor, 1 tachyon, 3 DUC)
-4 Tachyon Raider class LCs (heavy 70kT shield-armor, triple tachyon cannons)
-2 Healer class repair LCs

One Phong DN, with 3 Shard Cannon X, 2 HEMagnifier "deathbeams". 2,500 shields! With 100 regen per turn!

I gathered the Fleets (Tachyon-armed ships & DUC only ships)

The Phong DN moved in and SKEWERED the closest Tachyon LC. Ripped it to shreds.

All Tachyon ships (except the obvious one) made an immediate charge towards the DN while it reloaded, boxing it in.

All batteries FIRE!!!

Crap. Nothing.

The damn Heavy-mount guns are just too tough to hurt with the tachyon cannons. Not a scratch on the thing.

Another Tachyon Raider Spins off, engulfed in flames.

The entire Space Force trapped in one sector, Nowhere to retreat, plan in shambles, enemy reloading for another attack. Better to go down fighting.

The lightly shielded "clean-up" fleet of ES&DS charge in, spitting shells at the boxed-in DN. Minimal damage. DN Shields regenerate to full strength.

Shard Cannons rip into another Tachyon Raider, but shields hold (barely), and it pulls back.

Half the ES&DS are at short range now, and unleash a barrage at the DN. 50% misses.
DN shields holding strong.

*BLAM*
One more Tachyon Raider is lit up by the dual-HEMs and burns off into the cold night.

Point-blank range, now, the ES&DS are supposed to be hitting 75%, but barely manage a pitiful 50% accuracy.
Reloaded tachyon BLasters manage to pick off one of the smaller Shard cannons.

The DN fires Shard cannon at the still-intact Tachyon Raider that is falling back from the battle (with crushed shields), but misses.

Maybe the practice is doing good, the ES&DS manage a decent hitrate @ 80%, point blank.
The DN shields are showing the strain, but still over 1000.

A DUC LC gets blown apart, and the wreckage drifts off. I'm running out of LCs.

Another great volley of fire from the DS&ES send the DN's shield generators into overload, but don't quite penetrate.

Shard Cannon digs into the shields of another DUC LC, but they hold, and the LC falls back.

ES&DS finally bLast through the DN's shields and begin tearing up the internals. Armor Crushed, Shard Cannons destroyed, one HEM crystal shattered, shield generators down 80%.

A final searing HEM burns into the Last Tachyon Raider, burning out shields, but the hull is only lightly damaged.

The Escorts now fire slowly, and pick off the crew quarters & SDD. One moves in and the Elite commandos board & quickly subdue the surviving crew.

Not much remains for salvage. A single operational Quantum 3 engine, an ECM 3, a supply storage bay, and two living quarters.

The minelayer outlines a defensive perimeter with 20 mines.
Repair ships dock and tow the 4 ruined LC hulks back to the fleet, and settle in for nearly a year's worth of work before the fleet arrives at HomeWorld.

Everybody knows that this winter season will be filled with sleepless nights as the fleet limps towards the safety of the Empire's Defence MineFields.

http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gifWOO HOO http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif
But, its not over till the blue alien sings!
I took heavy (70%) LC casualties, and now even 1 DN would be able to crush my lightly shielded ES & DS.

[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 28 April 2001).]

[BeeDee10]

The game I remember the fondest at the moment was also the most bloodless I can ever recall playing to its conclusion. I began with the intention of being a near-Neutral race, content to live peacefully without expansionistic bent. Imagine my delight when my home system ended up with _two_ huge native-atmosphere planets in addition to my homeworld; I'd be able to build up a nice little civilization without having to spread out at all.

Despite our lack of expansionistic intent, my people were still highly inquisitive and interested in what lay beyond their horizons. After colonizing those two big new worlds, we sent unarmed long-range scouts out through our home system's two warp points to see what lay beyond. One warp point led to the home system of the Zynarra Holdings, and the other led to the home system of a people known as the Praetorians. The Praetorians were engaged in rapid expansion, so there was some initial concern over their intentions towards us, but it seems they were happy to focus their attention in directions other than our home system and so we forged a secure and long-Lasting alliance. Ditto the Zynarra, who like us weren't interested in occupying every system they could reach.

Ah, good times, peaceful times. My little unarmed scouts penetrated all of the accessable universe on epic multiyear journeys, making contact with alien civilizations and then making peace with them so rapidly that they never wanted for resupply; there was always an ally nearby who was willing to send them on their way with a full load of fuel. The three worlds of my home system were fully developed with a population of around eight billion in total, most of them devoted to pure research.

And then those researchers reported a disturbing discovery; there was a plasma instability in the core of our sun. They predicted that it would continue to magnify, and that in three years' time our home system would be destroyed in a supernova.

Naturally, this information was a major shock to me and the ruling council. There was no explanation for what had caused this so suddenly, and no way was known to stop the explosion from happening. We had three years in which to evacuate our race's entire population, but no transports to do it with and nowhere to move them to. Furthermore, although our neighbours were our allies, how would they react to our sudden desperate need for new living space? We had only limited weapons and shipbuilding technologies, and no navy beyond a small coast guard fleet.

Fortunately, panic was not in our peoples' natures. First and foremost: Suspend all current pure research projects and devote all effort into designing bigger transport ships and cargo-hauling technologies. Second: find someplace to move our people to. There was an excellent planet in the home system of the Zynarra holdings, and since they neither breathed the same atmosphere as us nor had the technology to colonize that type of planet we felt it was a reasonable request to put a colony there. The Zynarra were most agreeable.

Still, just one planet in just one system? This sort of all-eggs-in-one-basket is what got our people into this desperate situation in the first place. The Praetorians also had a planet that was ideal for our people, though they had already colonized it with a small domed outpost of their own. We purchased it off of them in exchange for some of our technological advances.

With destinations secured, and our tireless researchers producing plans for population transports capable of hauling a billion people each in quick order, the Exodus began in earnest. It was a heart-rending experience leaving behind our race's home like that, with no overt indication that anything was even slightly awry. We'd had to keep the information secret from our own people until just a few months before we started shipping people out, in order to prevent our allies from learning of our dire straights before we'd ensured they would welcome us.

We stripped the home system bare, even taking the constellations of defence satellites with us and dismantling our planetary facilities for raw materials to rebuild on our new homes. But on each planet approximately a million people refused to the Last to board the evacuation ships. We respected their wishes, as much as it pained us.

The Last transport dropped a few sensor buoys to record the death of our star and left. Our former home system was destroyed the next turn.

Coming soon: Part 2, in which a peaceful people turn paranoid. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Mordante]

(In which the 3rd placed player in a large pbem game attempts to ensure revenge against his foes by surrendering his entire empire to the second place player)

*Senate Homeworld; Productivity, Aldan System, Central Military District, Shards Protectorate*

Unified Galactic Calendar 2404.1

Dusk on Productivity is a time of peace and pause, a contemplative period of self-examination and gentle jest in company or isolation. The million lights of the city of industry are dim suggestions of the gleaming majesty to come. The factories are still, the process silent, the crystalline spires of vision cloaked lightly in the ironic murmurs of a populous at play.

Today the world is host to guest-ambassadors from the great and glorious Playbodium consortium; a loose affiliation of pornographers turned merchant adventurers and free-lance spin-doctors from the spinward reaches of the galactic cluster.

The Playbodium/Shards relationship is an old and an odd one; and in the years since first contact, the Senate had endeavoured to build friendship and cooperation with the eccentric pervert-forces of Playbodium Primus. In recent years this relationship suffered greatly when the Playbodiums attempted to interfere with the Senate’s rimward expansion into contested space, culminating in the “broken peace” atrocity when Playbodium forces were intercepted by a Senate carrier group in the process of invading the Wertreken system with a “Jiz” class mine-layer.

In recent months the truce had been restored with the Playbodiums agreeing to cede the Qornor system in part-payment for their past infractions in the field of espionage, disinformation and (albeit) talentless martial aggression.

Now the Playbodium ambassador “Girthus Stem” had come to Productivity in an heralding bow-wake of diplomatic froth and high-handed incivility. Refusing to discuss politics by sub-space, the obese Playbodium claimed his right to speak before the gathered Senate of the Shards Protectorate and the ambassadors of many allied and assimilated neighbouring species.

Galadan hall of public works had been cleared and appointed with the accouchements of diplomacy for the occasion; seven full senators of the oligarchy were standing present and serene, while a host of lesser dignitaries lined the approaches to the glittering splendour of the adamantine conference chamber.

To the left “Girthus Stem” lurched past quarrelling ambassadors from the Shanshu Imperium and LGM Collective. The Shanshu dignitary cloaked in a shadowed robe of star-silk and counter surveillance drones; the LGM diplomatic staff croaking complaints and inducements in a pointed barrage of lisping undertones.

To the right the Playbodium trundles past the waiting agents of the Emphirian Hive and Sarnek Pash. The Emphirian’s anxious and agitated; the Sarnek Pash leaking swamp-stinking liquid from their poorly-designed environmental suits.

Now approaching the conference hall Girthus Stem draws up his not inconsiderable bulk and belches once, twice, and a third time for luck, before breaking wind in the general direction of the representatives of various minor non-aligned pocket empires and twilight powers.

“Representatives of the Senate of Shards”, the Playbodium begins without preamble, “I am here to strike a mighty blow against the tyranny of your empire, to roar defiance at the plans you have set, to begin the struggle which will seal your doom … to break the crystal table settings of your hopes upon the brushed-steel ornamental dildo of our revenge!”

Rising silently to address this tirade, the seven senators of the oligarchy gaze with polite smiles at the impromptu theatre of the absurd being re-enacted for their pleasure.

“No more will the Playbodiums suffer the insufferable good-natured cooperation of the fragile nithling wisp-born shards!

*Some gentle applause from the Senators*

“No more will the Playbodiums play games of diplomacy with a race determined to avoid the pigsty ambience of debauched malignance!”

*A few murmurs of “bravo”, “extraordinary”, “it is most convincing”, from the gathered Senators and audience*

“We will now undo your plans in one foul swoop, oh how you will gnash your teeth with rage when you understand the immense cunning and deplorable insight of our mighty ruler!”

*The onlookers are entranced and spellbound at the sight of the purple-faced fat-man from the Playbodiums ranting in animated zest*

“How? You ask, How? Muhahhaaha, muhahhahaha, muhahaha … muhahaha … muhhahhhaahh HA! I’ll tell you!”

Gilthus Stem now wheels about with wild staring eyes and spittle-flecks arching in astonishing trajectories up and above his bloated sweating features.

“How? How? – Know this Shards, in one gesture we undo you, we consign your future to oblivion, we bind your dreams in the used condom of our cunning lust”.

Struggling now to breath, the Playbodium staggers forwards a pace and drops his voice to a not entirely affected wheezy-rasp.

“We ……”

*Choking and spluttering*

“Weeeeee ……”

*The beginnings of something like a death rattle*

“Weeeeee eeeeee … We …”

*Girthus staggers to his knees*

“We … offer unconditional surrender … to … The Sarnek Pash!”

*Silence*

*Then a ripple of applause*

The playbodium is clearly in great difficulties; the years of eating to many diplomatic feasts and indulging heavily in every vice know to the prodigious imaginations of his people have taken their toll.

The Senators rise to their feet and offer their own gentle applause for the amateur dramatics of the Playbodium ambassador. A medical team approaches discretely and with the aid of a anti-gravity lifting platform, they convey the unconscious form of Gilthus stem to the hospital facility.

“Ahem,” a small voice is heard. “Ah, I say!”

A slight-formed sub-clerk from Girthus’ retinue addresses the Senate.

“We meant what we said Senators, the Playbodium Eroticarchy hereby surrender life, liberty, and the pursuit of sexual experience to the amphibian mercies of the great and glorious Sarnek Pash”.

The Senators are silent for several moments.

The clerk continues, “From this day forward the Eroticarchy is no more than a subject people destined to exist on the sufferance of our greater neighbours, we kneel before the Sarnek Pash, we crave the attention of their shock-rods, we worship their dank crevices, and we will pledge ourselves to the maintenance of their every physical need and pleasure. This, by order of our Primus, is our revenge against the Senate of Shards”.

The Senators now turn as one to address the ambassador from the Sarnek Pash.

“In view of this surrender, will your empire honour the commitments previously offered by the Eroticarchy in the Qornor system and beyond; will our relations continue essentially unchanged?”

Approaching the snivelling playbodium clerk with flurry of slick-footed movements, the Sarnek Pash ambassador dips his eye-stalks in affirmation, answering the Senators with a quick and steady response.

“Indubitably kind hosts, we accept the playbodium surrender with pleasure and will happily maintain those commitments they made before assimilation. I am sure that the Sarnek Pash will make good use of our new food; the storehouses of the Commonwealth are bottomless in their needs”.

*A whispered exchange between the Ambassador and an aid*

“Friends … not food of course”, his amphibian features wrinkle in pan-cultural amusement, “you’ll pardon the eccentricities of our prototype translation software I hope sirs”.

And thus the pinnacle of the Playbodium hopes had passed into History. New friendship gleamed between the Senate of Shards and the Sarnek Pash, and having been most fittingly (self-abused), the remaining population of the Playbodium worlds was taken into bondage and servitude by the smelly fish people.

Unconfirmed rumours tell of the ontime Playbodium Primus working in a organ-farm under the close attentions and lash of a Sarnek Pash overseer (third class) on Lapzooli IV. Of Girthus Stem the news was perhaps a little happier; for having made such a successful debut appearance (and subsequent recovery) in the field of comedy-drama on Productivity, he was catapulted to pan-galactic stardom in a continuing panoply of such genre-defining roles as “fat-man runs amok”, “the flesh is not weak” and the eternal classic “the price of blubber”.

The End (of the playbodiums)

[BeeDee10]

(Sorry about splitting the posting in two like this, had to leave the terminal for a while)

Part 2: Diaspora

We spent the next few years getting settled in to our two new homeworlds, rebuilding our infrastructure and erecting an understated defence grid around them. Our allies were understandably surprised and unsettled by what had happened, especially the Zynarra and the Praetorians, and we didn't want to cause further offence by building fortresses inside systems which were still their own territory. Fortunately our neighbours forgave us readily enough; we'd established a good enough reputation in our previous relations. It looked like perhaps we _could_ return to our previous state of secure serenity, in two systems instead of our original one.

And then a war broke out, between the Zynarra Holdings and the United Flora Empire. We never learned what caused it, exactly, but it must have been grevious; the United Flora seemed bent on exterminating the Zynarra entirely. Naturally, we were quite dismayed; the Zynarra had graciously allowed half of our population to take refuge in their system, and on top of that their philosophy of neutrality had always been close to our own. We pleaded with the United Flora, we offered to mediate, we even _demanded_ that they cease their attacks, but despite their own alliance with us they refused our requests.

The Zynarra were hopelessly outmatched, and we had no significant warfleet to help defend them with in any case. Certainly no match for the United Flora. I regret to admit that we panicked, and saved the Zynarra species in the only way we could think of; we requested that they surrender their autonomy to us and declare themselves a part of our own governance. It must have seemed like a bitter betrayal, but the Zynarra had no choice; their homeworld had already been heavily bombed by the Flora and their other colonies destroyed.

It was at this point that we finally decided that, even though we were on excellent terms with every intelligent species in the galaxy, it would be a good idea to construct a defensive fleet sufficient to conduct a war. With the entire Zynarra system now under our administration, we had a good foundation upon which to build real fortifications again. The United Flora had proven themselves to be unpredictable irrational savages once already, after all, who knew when they might turn on us to finish off the surviving Zynarra under our protection?

It was only shortly afterward, while our society was still reeling from the shock of what had just transpired, when our researchers made another deeply disturbing discovery. Since our sun had mysteriously exploded much of our effort had gone into attempting to understand the science of stellar manipulation, perhaps one day to give early warning of another such event or even find some way to stabilize an unstable stellar core. We had expected that any such results would take centuries to achieve, it was a very long-range goal of ours. But instead, we discovered stellar manipulation techniques that were surprisingly easy. Theoretically, we had discovered a way to build a device that could fit onto a starship and induce a catastrophic instability in an otherwise perfectly stable star.

We already knew that it was possible to build devices that could obscure a starship from our most capable sensors; we'd researched such a device ourselves only a short time earlier. We also knew that our sun had apparently been perfectly stable until only a few years ago. Although there was no direct evidence, the implications were too important and frightening to ignore; some intelligent agency could have been responsible for the explosion that destroyed our home.

Someone out there had tried to exterminate us, someone who had technology far in advance of our own. This information was deemed of the utmost secrecy classification; now we _knew_ we couldn't completely trust our good neighbours. We needed a new strategy.

By now the galaxy was extensively populated by the more expansionistic races, but there were still many systems scattered throughout space that had small uninhabited planets well-suited for our kind. We began the Diaspora; seeding the far reaches of the galaxy with small colonies, fortified resupply depots and spaceyards so widely dispersed that no single agency could possibly attack them all at once. Although we continued devoting some effort to researching stellar manipulation technology, we started a crash development course on improved cloak-penetrating sensors. Soon our fleet of scout ships, long mothballed after having explored all reachable star systems, were again patrolling the far reaches. But we never spotted a single cloaked ship, even after our researchers had developed sensors capable of penetrating any theoretical cloak believed to be possible. It was unnerving and frustrating. But it would have been suicidally foolhardy to return to our old state of blissful neutrality; we knew better than anyone that there's no going home again.

We eventually had outPosts and colonies scattered almost _everywhere_, and our agressive population dispersal program resulted in rapid expansion. We had become exactly what we resolved we would not. But even so, we never claimed the systems we planted our colonies in; they were outPosts, not posessions. We never crowded our allies when we could help it, and tried to keep our military understated. It seemed to be working well; our allies remained brotherly and seemed to accept our assurances of peaceful intent.

Until, over the course of three dark months, every civilization in the galaxy suddenly turned on us as one and declared war. It was a brutal shock, even considering the other shocks we'd come to accept already in our recent collective history. There was no warning, no indication that anything like this had ever happened to anyone else before. Fortunately, nobody except us seemed to be _prepared_ for war; we had almost a full year after the great betrayal to prepare and try to figure out what had happened.

Our researchers came through for us again, discovering techniques to subvert and confuse other empires. It became clear what our mysterious enemy had done; unable to exterminate us any longer by destroying single star systems, they had executed a massive communications mimic operation and turned everyone against us.

But who _were_ they? And how could we find out with everyone in the galaxy at war with us? Frustration, frustration. But at least we were prepared to face the challenge this time.

The Great War was essentially won in the course of only a single year of actual fighting. Each of our far-flung outPosts had its own garrison of warships and troops, and each was behind enemy lines; the only "border" we could be said to have was the Zynarra's home system. Almost simultaneously, our troop ships landed on and captured the core worlds of every empire. Without a common resource base, none could maintain a large fleet on their own; they rapidly fell. As we captured each, we very carefully interrogated their leaders and searched their planets for signs that they were the ones who had destroyed our homeworld.

Finally, the only species left unconquered were the Sagella. Their home system was remote, in a far corner of the map beyond a string of nebula systems and a black hole. They'd never expanded far beyond it, and we'd never set up an outpost inside it due to a lack of suitable unoccupied planets.

Nebula systems and black holes; the perfect inspiration for researchers working on cloaks and star-destroying weapons.

We began massing a combined fleet just beyond the black hole. It was time to make the galaxy safe again, once and for all.

[BeeDee10]

There's an amusing little epilogue to that story which kind of creeped me out at the time. As I gathered my ships to invade the Sagella, it occurred to me to switch sides and see if I could stop the juggernaut that I'd created. The Sagella had only a couple of planets in that one system, but it was extremely defensible with those black hole and nebula neighbours and the Sagella had decent technology. I set about frantically building warp point defences.

A few turns later, I get the message: "Our researchers have discovered a plasma instability in the core of the star <insert home system's name here>, and predict that it will go nova in 3 years." Of course, this time there were no allies for me to take refuge with. the Sagella were doomed. And since the explosion would destroy all evidence of their civilization, my people would forevermore remain convinced that the Sagella had destroyed their home. And perhaps had found some unknown way to escape, covering their tracks with another destroyed star system.

I've got to play a sequel to that game someday... http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Nitram Draw]

Great stories!
Are you all a bunch of writers in real life?

[BeeDee10]

Well, I do write short stories as a hobby, but nothing published. Perhaps one day. Practice, as they say, makes better.

Now that finals are over, I've been thinking of getting involved in a multiplayer game and writing a chronicle of it as it goes along. I love the RP side of this game, however irrelevant it may be to the victory conditions. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Nitram Draw]

The running commentary does make the game "feel" better.
I was particulary interested in SJ's attempts to stop the massive DN onslaught with cruisers.
I have enjoyed reading all the commentaries. Thanks guys.

[Lupusman]

Pretty good writing there BD.

[Suicide Junkie]

Cruisers?
I only had 8 LightCruisers in my whole empire, and a handful of escorts and destroyers. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Nitram Draw]

They fought like they were cruisers or BC's. Brave ships they were http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif!

[This message has been edited by Nitram Draw (edited 25 April 2001).]

[BeeDee10]

Thanks, Lupus. Though I think Mordante beats me hands down when it comes to dialogue; none of my race concepts have ever made references to "the brushed-steel ornamental dildo of our revenge" before. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Mordante]

*grins*

I kid you not, the Playbodiums were a real player-designed race (not mine) that were very accurately represented in that story of their ending. Galactic pornographer-monopolists of extremely unsaviory mien - came as a great surprise when they surrendered to the fish people...

[Suicide Junkie]

Part 2 of a slightly connected series:
(These are 99.9% accurate, following the real adventures of a virtual race)

This is why I play without saving very often. You gotta make the best of every situation, 'cause you can't go back. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Historical Note: The heavy bombardment missiles are similar to CSMs, except that the bombard missiles are nuclear (as opposed to shaped chemical warheads), twice as large, quad armor on the missiles, and do quad damage to shields.
The Jreanar had HBM Vs, while the empire's fleet was armed with HBM IIs.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

2426.7:
5 years after the sucess of Plan Nine-Seven-Two, the empire has grown, but alien attacks on our borders have increased greatly. During the past year, citizens have rejoiced as the long-standing domes on the colony worlds were torn down. Resource production has been converted to monoliths 3, and the budget is continually balanced with the help of the empire's resource converter. We have doubled the shield strength of our ships, and have developed satelites capable of mounting Siege weapons, but are still far behind in every technology. Unfortunately, section 31 has been unable to find and eliminate the source of the comm mimics that have kept friendly races at war with us, though we suspect the Jreanar. Jreanar forces have been very active in the X19 system, and the empire's defensive minefields have nearly been breached by continual assaults. A Cochrane class Science BC has been commisioned and been given command of our entire military force, all LCs, consisting of 2 heavy Kalashnikov class Boarding ships, a Tachyon Raider II, 2 Healer-class repair ships, 4 Candu-class heavy bombardment ships, and a minelayer. Their mission, beginning 2426.7, is to strike back at the Jreanar and attempt to stop the raids on our borders. Secondary goals include the capture of Jreanar missile and ship technology.

2426.9:
All hands were at battlestations as the fleet prepared to traverse the X19 wormhole, but it proved to be unfounded. Upon entering the fearsome Jreanar territory, all that our sensors could detect was a few undefended civilian colony worlds and a colony ship. The fleet proceeded to pursue the colony ship into Phong territory, and the Jreanar captain surrendered uneventfully.

2427.0:
We are travelling back through the X19 system, and the Cochrane has made tremendous progress in propulsion techniques and has transmitted the schematics for the Ice colony back to HomeWorld. Long range sensors have just picked up a Jreanar Dreadnaught entering the system, and we have changed course to intercept. The fleet will be tested today.

The fleet lines up, PDC/PDLs charged at maximum.
Suddenly, the Jreanar DN flashes away from the planet at an incredible speed. It appears to be travelling at the speed of our LCs despite being over twice the mass. Our bombardment ships will not be able to maintain their distance.
The Bombardment ships move into range and deploy eight Tactical Nukes.
Collision alert! The Jreanar ship had launched 3 Nukes, and they are already halfway to their target. PDLs fire frantically from the fleet, but two of the missiles are still locked. PDCs on the Kalashnikov bLast fire at the missiles and disable them only meters from the ship.
The Jreanar ship slips past the oncoming nukes, and pours antiprotons into the heavily shielded Kalashnikov, whose shields flare brightly, but hold at 80%
The bombardment nukes detonate simultaneously just behind the Jreanar DN, sending a massive EMP into the ship. The shield bubble of the Jreanar DN is visibly distorted, and fades rapidly to 20%
Another wave of Nukes lauched by the DN is immediately shot down, while the DN continues to fire into the Kalashnikov.
A second wave of Nukes detonate in front of the DN, tearing its shields to pieces and causing electrical arcs across its hull. Armor is stripped away, a missile bay detonates and shield grids trace a web of dim fire across the hull.
In a desperate change of tactics, the DN moves to point-blank range with the Capture ship while transmitting some sort of coded message and releasing two more Nuclear weapons. Hitting the shields before any PD can react, the Kalashnikov's shields are torn apart by the EMP and the shockwave sends a 100kT of shield-armor debris spinning off into space.
Two more nuclear bombardment missiles streak in and impact the DN, shredding a pair of engines and detonating the second missile launcher, which bLasts a large hole in the living decks.
Antiprotons scream through space, and the kalashnikov's regenerators manage to deflect a quarter of the beams before they rip into the hull, burning off another 30kT of shield-armors.
More nukes are released from the fleet bombardment ships, and the DN deploys one more nuke while spraying PDC and antiproton fire, bLasting 20kT of shield-armor shrapnel off of the besieged Kalashnikov.
The DN cuts down half of the bombardment with PDC, and fires another burst at the Kalashnikov, which shatters into pieces, revealing the core of the ship.
It's shields and armor gone, the Kalashnikov turns and rapidly retreats, having lost half of its original mass, while the second capture ship moves in.
More nukes detonate beside the DN, and it turns to retreat, its antiproton beams melted.
The bombard ships give chase, and launching missiles in sequence, as the DN attempts to escape, the second Kalashnikov pacing it, waiting for an opportunity to pounce.
Explosions rip through the aft section of the DN and its engines take heavy abuse from the nuclear bLasts behind it.
The dreadnaught, slowing from engine damage, a burning hulk, activates its self destruct as it's Last engine flickers out, destroying all hope of technology salvage. The mission an absolute failure, the LCs slowly come about to rejoin the command ship.


2427.1:
The fleet is cruising through the X91 system towards deeper Jreanar territory, repairs are half-complete on the shattered Kalashnikov. Without warning, SEVEN Jreanar dreadnaughts are detected only a few kilometers from the fleet. The solitary DN must have transmitted our location to it's home base before it was destroyed. Ships scramble to get into formation, but the fleet is seriously outclassed and outgunned and even outnumbered in fighting craft.
Forming into three lines as the minelayer retreats, the Tachyon Raider II leads the row of 4 bombardment ships, followed by the repair ships with PDLs while The Kalashnikov-class capture ships fly at the side.
The fast DNs close rapidly in a 'V' formation, and just as the fleet enters formation, the tactical screens light up with 18 new small targets. The new contacts are IDed as Tactical Nukes, all heading for the damaged kalashnikov.
Waiting just long enough for the Jreanar Leader to come within range, the Bombard ships deploy all 8 nukes, turn and fall back, while the Tachyon Raider, Kalashnikovs and Repair ships stand their ground.
PD fire crisscrosses space, two Jreanar Triads detonate early, while half of the Fleet's missiles slam into the leading DN, waves of energy coursing through the energy field and draining half thier strength.
The Tachyon Raider moves in to fire, miraculously getting three solid hits where one hit was expected. Unfortunately, only a single PDL on the leading DN was disabled. The closest DN's open fire with Antiproton beams, the damaged Kalashnikov's shields drop to 70%, and the Tachyon Raider has picked up a triad of missiles, closing fast.
An incredibly intense bLasting of PDLs and PDCs cuts down most of the Jreanar missiles, luckily, the few that were missed failed to detonate.
The DNs are eating up space, and closing fast. The leading DN knocks another 5% off of the Kalashnikov's shields, and the rest of the DNs unleash a furious barrage of antiproton fire which instantly overloads the Tachyon Raider's shields, burning out 20% of the generators.
While the Fleet continues to fall back, the DN's unleash another barrage of missiles.
Fleet missiles are launched, and the DNs continue their charge, the leading DN misses from point blank range, but the other DNs heavy antiproton fire collapses the Kalashnikov's shields, and one burst of fire shuts down another generator on the Tachyon Raider.
PD screams, and Antiprotons flare, crushing the shield-armor on the Kalashnikov & taking another chunk out of the Tachyon Raider. Nuclear bLasts rock the lead DN, nearly shutting down it's shields. The Tachyon Raider turns and dives towards the leader, smashes through the shields, detonating and leaving a hole in its armor. The shattered kalashnikov rams itself into the hole and commandos spread out into the DN. The panicked Jreanar DN self-destructs, spewing flames & microparticles everywhere.
Stunned by the loss, the Jreanar ships pause, allowing the Fleet to form into a tight 2x4 square formation before they swarm angrily.
Both sides lauch all missiles, and the point defence flares once again. Two missiles impact the closest DN, but its shields hold at 80%, tight Fleet PDC fire cuts down all the incoming missiles.
Continuing to fall back, another missile salvo results in the new lead DN's shields down to 70%.
Now, a mysterious repulsive force prevented our fleet from continuing to retreat, and the DNs pounced.
The ships of the fleet peeled away to one side, but the DNs were too close, and raked the Last Kalashnikov with antiproton fire, dropping its shields to 50%
Reloaded, all ships loose missiles, and the point defence flares everywhere.
Both fleets have a tight PD formation, and no missiles get through, but the DN's continue to pour antiprotons into the Kalashnikov, and its shields sputter out.
The DNs pursue the tattered fleet, and though the regenerators manage to block the first hit, antiprotons score the hull of the Kal.
One more wave of antiprotons, and the shield-armors are totally destroyed. The kal starts to fall behind with engine damage.
Now, the DNs turn from the wounded Kal to concentrate their antiproton fire on the nearest bombardment ship, the light shielding is cut through and explosions ripple across the armor. The DN that was hit before turns away and heads for the minelayer, who is trying to quietly deploy mines on the other side of the sector.
Missiles are launched, and the wandering DN returns with full shields, but is too late to prevent two nukes from slamming into one of the other DNs. A blaze of light, and the Last Kalashnikov turns to dust in a nuclear bLast. Antiproton beams rake the exposed hull of the bombardment ship, annihilating the atoms of the starboard sections.
Once again, the fleet has run into an invisible barrier and are forced closer to the DNs
One DN moves alongside and vapourizes the bridge and lifesupport with antiprotons and nukes the area for good measure. The rest of the DNs rip into another bombardment ship, stripping it of its shields and armor before launching another salvo of nukes.
The bombard ship explodes in a blaze of nuclear fire, and the DNs methodically turn to the next ship in line.
Spotting what may be the Last opportunity to hurt the enemy, the bombard ships drop missiles in space as they retreat, hoping the enemy will run ito them. Unfortunately, the enemy DN moves to the side, giving his wingmen's PD a clear shot, and the missiles are of no effect.
Something strange: most of the enemy DN fleet is falling behind with some sort of engine trouble! The closest DN rips into the bombard ship's internals and launches nukes before falling behind, while the wandering DN comes in range and opens fire on the Last bombard ship, dropping its shields to 50%.
Both DNs fire antiprotons and the shields of the bombard ship are down to 10%, with nukes en route.
The remaining PDLs in the fleet barely manage to disable the three nukes, and antiprotons rip through the shields of the bombard ship, causing one of its shield generators to flare on the hull. Now even the wanderer is showing engine trouble, and is falling out of range.

The four remaining ships pull away from the enemy DNs, failures, but alive.

2427.1:
As the Fleet was shifting to long-haul drive, one of the mines detonated, revealing a Jreanar DN with severe damage to the forward armor and a ruined bridge area. The DN carreened into two more mines before exploding. Section 31 will need to look into this new information.

2427.19:
The fleet has just entered the secure territories of the Empire, and is proceeding to Starfleet Academy for additional training while they await the construction of reinforcements.


[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 28 April 2001).]

[Coal]

As has been said, great stories guys. They're almos on the same level as some of the sci-fi novels I've read. Very good work.

------------------
Rules? What Rules?

[This message has been edited by Maverick (edited 27 April 2001).]

[capnq]

Excerpted from a report by Chancellor Naiduin to the Industrial Planning Committee at the High University of Kaffaljihma, dated 2407.5:

Another of the new Djusholm class light cruisers reached Corcaroli today. We now have the capability to produce ships that can engage the Xi'Chung on more equal terms. We expect no longer to sacrifice two or three of our Drammen class destroyers for each of their Kamikaze class LCs crippled or destroyed. The heroic efforts of the two shipyards here in Kaffaljihma to put out enough ships to stop the enemy's incursions for the past year can no longer be sustained, but the Corcaroli and Ibsunk yards remain at full normal production. We intend the new ship yard planned for our outpost in Baten to provide the extra capacity to build additional Ikaalinen class colony ships to allow further expansion of our intelligence and research facilities, and a new scout design with which to contact the Cue Cappa, for whom our partners the Eee have refused to sell us the comm channel. The Eee have not expressed any opposition to our occupying more ice worlds in their space, but the recent discovery that they have entered a trade and research alliance with the Xi'Chung forces us to prepare the best defenses for those worlds that we can muster. The recent Xi'Chung raid that wiped out the picket watching our border with the Cluk-Ruk proves the necessity of advance preparation; we were forced to place a minefield at the Ibsunk-Deneb warp point rather than the original plan to block the border at Deneb-Merga. We intend to place the next minefield at the Kaffaljihma-Deneb WP, then fortify the Corcaroli border.

We believe the Xi'Chung to be psychologically incapable of the logical debate which we Tictsin normally use to resolve disputes; we have never found a rational explanation for their unprovoked attack on our Skotselv scout escort four years ago, or their declaration of war immediately thereafter. We expect this wasteful war to continue for many years.

[The Eee have also shared a Xiati ship design, but I haven't encountered them. The current standings are Xi'chung 1st, my Tictsin 3rd, Cue Kappa 4th, Eee 5th, Cluk-Ruk 7th out of 10 on a medium galactic edge map, in an unmodded 1.35 game. The Tictsin are Peaceful Scientists from an Icy/CO2 world, with Organic Manipulation, Advanced Power Conservation, and Emotionless.]

(Hey, I just noticed that I made Sergeant recently. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif)
------------------
Cap'n Q

[This message has been edited by capnq (edited 27 April 2001).]

[capnq]

Chancellor Naiduin addresses the Shipwrights Guild Convention at Ibsunk Shipyard, 2408.4:

I commend you all on your exemplary performance of your craft. The prototype population transport, which was constructed at this shipyard in record time, performed flawlessly in the evacuation of Ibsunk I. The untiring efforts of the Guild made it possible to successfully evacuate 96% of that doomed world's populace before the incoming firestorm sterilized the planet.

Unfortunately, the war situation does not allow us to rest on our laurels. The new Djusholm light cruisers are not performing as well as hoped. This does not reflect in any way on your construction skills; the casualty rates are due entirely to the unexpectedly high technological superiority of the newly encountered Xi'Chung Terror class LCs. In our recent defeat in the Corcaroli system, a fleet of seven Djusholm and three Drammen was wiped out by three Terrors and three Kamikazes, although our brave crews managed to destroy the Kamikazes in the course of the battle. The Djusholms' Point Defense Cannons were very effective against the Xi'Chung seekers, allowing our ships to close within our own weapons' lesser range. Despite the horrendous casualties, our defensive efforts did convince the Xi'Chung to withdraw without attacking either of the Corcaroli colonies.

We have committed to an empire-wide reconstruction effort to build more research centers, in an effort to close the military gap with our enemy. Until this program bears fruit, the entire Tictsin Society is depending upon you to rebuild our warfleet.

[Heavy fleet losses have dropped my Tictsin to 5th; I doubt I can hold Carcaroli if the next wave hits before I can mine the WPs. If the unmodded Xi'Chung are this tough, I dread to see how the ModPack has beefed them up. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon12.gif]

------------------
Cap'n Q

[Suicide Junkie]

Part 3 of a slightly connected series:
(These are 99.9% accurate, following the real adventures of a virtual race)


It has been 3 years since the star fleet was decimated at the battle of X19. Multiple, uncomfirmed declarations of war have been recieved, and Section 31 reports no indications of enemy agents within the empire. It is now believed that the ememy agents have infiltrated our neighbour's governments instead. In an attempt to counter the Jreanar's medium range firepower we have spent much of our research time on developing a new particle weapon, a "polaron" beam, which gives us 20% more range and firepower. Jreanar activity is still on the rise, and the Empire's defences are at an all time low, with less than a hundred mines remaining at some points. With the defense situation approaching critical, the Empire can delay no longer. The entire military force of the empire is placed in the (Elite +27%) Special Task Force, under the direct command of the veterans of the battle of X19.

Special Task Force:
2429.7:
The fleet forms up around the science vessel Cochrane, an impressive mix of 18 ships, including six new CANDU-2 bombardment ships, 2 new Kalashnikov class assault transports, and five of the high-tech Ubernaught class Battlecruisers with quad polaron beams. The veterans of X19 are already in position, the Cochrane, two healer-class repair ships and a single Bombardment ship. Long-haul drive is engaged, and the fleet departs for HomeWorld.

2429.8:
As the fleet enters the home system, the X19 defences report two minesweepers attacking, leaving less than 50% of the field intact. A tanker is sent up from the surface of HomeWorld to top off the fleet's supplies, and they immediately take off under maximum thrust for the defense line.

2429.9:
Another minesweeper and 5 DNs made an assault at the border, but the fleet is still too distant. 83 mines remain, down from a high of 600 a decade ago.

2430.0:
The wormhole opens and the fleet dives through. Initial scans no longer show undefended civilian colonies... In their place stand worlds ringed with defense satellites, and twenty Dreadnaughts patrolling the area. Six Dreadnaughts are already moving to intercept the fleet, along with a slightly smaller craft bearing a strong organic signature.
The first two Jreanar DNs are engaged by the Fleet, and the Ubernaughts form into a PD Block formation, with the Kalashnikovs right behind them and the Bombardment ships standing ready as backup.
Five missiles are launched from extreme range by the DNs, causing confusion aboard the command ship Cochrane. Jreanar have always used triad missiles before.
PDCs blazing, the Ubernaughts move in to weapons range of the lead DN, and consulting their Talismans, slam a wall of Polaron beams into the first DN. With a halo of purple fire trailing from severly weakened shields, the DN sweeps its antiproton beams across the nearest Ubernaught, but only catches a corner of its shield.
The Cochrane returns with a report on the second Dreadnaught: they only launched two missiles because that is all they have. Most of the ship is taken up by enourmous shield generators which are giving readings that are off the scale. The bombardment cruisers are ordered to immediately move in and attack, launching a volley of missiles.
The Kalashnikovs accelerate around the Ubernaughts just as a second wave of polarons slam into the first DN, stripping away its shields and armor. Plasma streams from the heavily damaged engineering section and oxygen vents from the secondary life support systems. One of the Kalashnikovs drops its shields, turning to ram its nose into the broken hull. The forward section opens and elite troopers pour out directly behind the bridge. In a quick assault, the ship's command crew are taken, and the ship is turned to limp through the Ubernaught lines.
With the successful capture of the first DN, the Ubernaughts move forward to box in the Last DN.
The second DN fires all weapons at the captured ship, but the antiproton beam slices through empty space where an engine pylon used to be, and copious PDC fire shreds the missiles almost before they leave the ship.
BLasts of intense white rock the DN's forward and starboard sections, shields flicker out for an instant, but then two backup generators kick in at full strength.
More missiles are launched and the Ubernaughts continue to pour polarons into the intense shielding as the DN struggles to hit the weaving Ubernaughts.
Another two nukes explode near the DN's midsection, piercing the shield and melting away the armor. Oxygen leaking from its mid decks, the DN is ripped into by a well placed polaron bLast, ripping through the gash in its side to destroy two of the shields and a number of engines from the wrong side.
The second Kalashnikov spots an opportunity and dives in, disgorging commandos, and quickly siezing control of the DN.

Wasting no time, the Cochrane slices off samples of the Dreadnaughts' components, but unfortunately is unable to find a way to remove the heavy shield generator from the larger DN.

With a Jreanar sector fleet hot on their tails, the victorious ships retreat through the wormhole to the remnants of the empire's defense wall.

2430.1:
The Fleet looking on in amazement, a sequence of twelve Jreanar DNs slide through the wormhole and are torn apart by mines. A minelayer approaches and deposits a measly six more mines to deploy.
During this break, we have some good news; the technicians on board the Cochrane have made another breakthrough in propulsion and they were mumbling things about relating it to the shield technology recovered from the DN. I don't get it, but oh well, they know what they're doing.
Entering the X19 system once more, the fleet moves in to orbit of the system's main supply base, and levels the colony before bLasting the defence satellites. With one DN left in the system, the fleet prepares to attack the local shipyards before moving on into the Yoshri System.

2430.2:
As the warships moved into position to attack the shipyards an intense jamming signal blanked out direct communication from the command ship, and there was nothing we could do but watch as the Ubernaughts closed with the planet and were torn apart by wave after wave of missiles from the surface. With standing orders to destroy the shipyards, they held position as the bombardment ships glassed the planet with their nukes. Only one Ubernaught returned from the battle, with heavy scars on its armor.
A Jreanar Dreadnaught heading for the weak point in the Empire's defences has been intercepted, and this time, the Cochrane is staying close to prevent another disaster.
An early scan of the DN reveals it to be another heavily shielded design. The ubernaught's shield-armors are only functioning at 50%, but it takes the lead, followed by a squadron of Bombardment LCs and the two Kalashnikovs.
The DN launches missiles from extreme range, but they are completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of PDLs in the fleet. Purple fire bubbles across the DN's shields as the Ubernaught opens fire, but there is little effect. Behind the battlecruiser, fourteen nukes are released and streak towards the DN, which fires a single PDL in vain, and misses the Ubernaught with antiprotons as it manouevers.
Still charging the DN at full speed, the ubernaught and the Kalashnikovs move to point black range as a missile pair arrive and bLast an EMP through the Dreadnaught, whose shields ripple but hold.
The DN drops a pair of missiles right beside the Ubernaught and streaks away, but is caught by another pair of missiles, whose bLast causes one of the heavy shields to overheat and shut down.
The Ubernaught executes a swift dodge, and antiprotons singe space behind it while the DN comes around behind the Kalashnikovs. Four missiles impact the DN's shields, but fuel exhausted, they fail to detonate, and bounce harmlessly off the shields while the rest of the missiles drift off into space.
Another volley of ten missiles are launched and the DN's PDL is again helpless to stop four missiles from slamming into it and severely depleting its shield strength. Four polaron beams slam the DN and it trails a purple haze as it attemps to run from the missiles.
Two more nuclear bLasts and a stream of polarons overload the second shield generator, and it too shuts down.
Suddenly, nuclear fire rips across the surface of the Ubernaught, its shields collapsing, and antiprotons from the DN skim the hull, barely missing. With the Ubernaught and the kalashnikovs hovering close to the DN, the bombard ships cease fire to avoid hitting the friendlies with splash damage.
Executing a loop-the-loop, the Ubernaught avoids another antiproton burst, and slams a beam of purple fire into the aft shields of the DN. The Ubernaught launches its nuclear missiles, but the Ubernaught twists away, avoiding one more antiproton beam, and hammering the DN with a solid polaron stream.
WIth all three heavy shield generators shorting out, only a single shield-armor manages to hold off the attack long enough for the DN to fire back. With one Last skillful dodge to the left, the Ubernaught bLasts through the shields and burns a chunk out of the hull. The kalashniovs have their opportunity and unload troops through the hole, and the commandos efficiently subdue all resistance.
The Cochrane takes what it can into storage, and it looks like we got some really good pieces of their missiles intact.

Proceeding through to Yoshri, we find three DN on an intercept course.

2430.3
Two heavily shielded DNs are approaching, and the Ubernaught moves forward to protect the fleet. Missiles launched by the DNs as they come into range are easily handled by the massed PD, while the Ubernaught leaps forward to get the first hit, and causing a flaming aura around the lead DN.
A wall of missiles streak out towards the second DN, as the Ubernaught continues to splash purple fire across the defenses of the lead ship. Still unable to get a lock on the wild Ubernaught, the DNs fire blindly, and distracted by the attack, the missiles reach and detonate bLast after bLast after bLast of crushing hammer-blows to the port side of the second DN, shredding its shields to a ragged 15%. The Ubernaught turns, and Space fizzes purple around the disoriented DN, digging another 10% out of its shield energy.
The Kalashnikovs send a warning, and bLast at the DNs with their PDCs, but before the Ubernaught can react, a missile detonates just ahead of the Ubernaught. Shields losing power and sensors blinded, the ubernaught turns to follow the path of the DNs, and a second missile slams the Ubernaught from behind. Though the shields deflect most of the bLast, they collapse, and a nasty scortch mark shows where one of the shield generators was melted into scrap.
Fearlessly pursuing the DNs towards the line of bombardment ships the Ubernaught's Talisman allows a perfect shot on the weakened DN as the sensors are clearing, and breaches the shields. Swiftly, a highly trained Kalashnikov's crew manouevers through the ships to ram another group of commandos into the corridors of the DN.
Success is confirmed as the Jreanar DN breaks formation and flies to the Cochrane with weapons and shields off-line.
The surviving Jreanar captain has other plans, and manages to plant a solid beam of antiprotons from long range onto the retreating DN distorting the support structure of one of the heavy shield generators.
Launching missiles and pursuing the captured ship, the Jreanar fires antiprotons, but the commandos have re-activated the shields, and the bLast is stopped short.
The Ubernaught keeps pace with the Jreanar DN, shields back to 45% strength, and splashes polarons across the aft shields, while the commandos twist to evade another antiproton charge.
A purple blaze trailing from their shields, the Jreanar DN fakes left, and nails the commandos with an antiproton beam as the dodge right, the aft shields flaring violently, but holding at 6%.
Suddenly not interested in the commandos anymore, the Jreanar come about and fly off to the left, still trailing fire as the Ubernaught slows to make the tight turn. Reversing course once again, the Jreanar comes directly towards the Ubernaught, firing wide just as a nuclear bLast erupts. The shockwave catches the Ubernaught from behind, spinning it out of control, and overloading the shields again. Even spinning out of control, the Ubernaught's Talisman-enhanced weapons just can't miss and the shield energy of the DN continues to bubble away. The Ubernaught stabilizes just as the Jreanar loops around behind and takes off ahead. Not to be fooled again, the Ubernaught fires all aft PDCs and drives forward, still locked on with the polaron beams.
The quick start threw off the Jreanar gunner's aim and a quick PDL assist by one of the repair ships results in no damage to the Ubernaught. A dip in the Ubernaught's course, and antiprotons sail harmlessly overhead, while the purple fire of the polarons drains the DN's shields further down to 30%
Another sweep behind the Ubernaught then away, and the Jreanar captain is fooling nobody. Aft PDCs blaze and the Ubernaught continues to strip shielding. Unfortunately, the Kalashnikov is out of range, attempting to block the DN's path, so the commandos speed in and bLast at the Last missile with their single PDL, but cannot do enough damage. Another nuclear bLast rocks the Ubernaught, stripping away the half-recharged shields and burning out another generator. Firing blindly through it's own flaming aft shields, the DN misses completely, while its reserve shields begin to overload.
One Last missile drop is attempted, but the kalashnikov is at point-blank range with the DN, and cuts down one of the missiles, while the Ubernaught finishes the other and drains the DN's shields to 7%
Polaron fire rings the entire Jreanar ship, but the shields somehow remain active until a fresh bLast from the Ubernaught collapses the shields and burns a hole through the armor for the kalashnikov. The elite commandos encounter almost no resistance as they take the demoralized Jreanar ship.

With the capture of two more DN's and no Jreanar ships left in the Yoshri system, the fleet will remain here to find a way for the Cochrane to carry the Heavy Shield Generators so they can be analysed. The Cochrane has sucessfully duplicated the Jreanar missile technology, and is installing the new heavy nukes on a few of the bombardment ships. Supplies are running low, so the Healer-class repair ships have broken open the emergency packages of Cheesy Poofs.

2430.4:
We are departing the Yoshri system, for the Premius system, from which we can reach the entrance to the southern defence line of the Empire. Just after passing throught the wormhole into the Premius system, explosions rock the fleet, and the new Jreanar missile tech on one the bombarment ships proves unstable. Internal explosions rip apart the Last veteran warship of the battle of X19, while bLasts continue to rock the fleet. The Ubernaught is hit, flames erupting, and the entire port shield-armor grid goes dark. Two more CANDUs in close formation are knocked into each other by a bLast, shredding armor everywhere, while one of the ships suffers a deep hull breach, cracking the engine core and irradiating the crew quarters. Another bLast lights up the repair ships as they move to assist the CANDU with the leaking reactor (hey, thats kinda funny - a CANDU with a leaky reactor http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif) (PS. I'm not making this up. I named the ship, SE4 says it's got engine damage), armor is melted, rehardens and peels off of both ships in large, dark chunks.
Finally the carnage is over. The crew of the irradiated ship have been moved to the laboratory stasis pod of the Cochrane, where they can stay in suspended animation until we reach the medical facilities of the Empire. A temporary radiation barrier has been set up around the engineering section, and the bridge has been decontaminated, but the living decks were ruined and will have to be rebuilt. Fortunately, there is only a small defence fleet of two Jreanar ships, but they lie directly in our path home, and our Ubernaught is damaged. The re-reprocessed Cheesy Poofs don't quite taste the same anymore. Even so, that's the Last of the good food, since we're down to 40% of our reserves, and the Healers' processing plants are now building replacement shield-armors and engine repair equipment instead of supplies. It's dehydrated TKL rations for a while.
We are drifting insystem at a slow pace, while we attempt to repair the fleet. Engine cores are tough to build out in the field, with incredibly fine tolerances, but it is our top priority.

2430.5:
The Jreanar wasted no time intercepting our fleet, but with them on the other side of the Premius Star, we had time to install a new, mostly stable engine core in the crippled CANDU. Everybody helped, and I must say that that kind of work makes you feel good. "See those bolts over in the corner, on that warning sign? I did those! http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif" With all that engine work to do, we never got a chance to install the new shield-armors on the Ubernaught. Got them built, but not installed. Anyways, they've still got 40% of their shields working, and those guys are famous among the fleet for their acrobatics and dodging skills. We'll see if they can keep the two dreads occupied long enough for us to nuke 'em.

The Ubernaught moves ahead of the line of ships, just inside PDL range and waits for the Jreanar.
Four missiles fire, and the Jreanar have arrived. As the Jreanar approach, the Ubernaught follows, parallel to the fleet, and hits the lead ship with a solid beam of polarons, and causing the characteristic purple afterburn to sear the front lobe of the shield. The six remaining CANDUs release thier missiles as the DNs sweep to the side of the line, and the Ubernaught follows closely, sweeping polaron fire across the port side of the DN as it cruises to one side. Antiproton fire sprays but not at the Ubernaught! The newly refurbished CANDU breaks formation on its new engines to get behind the lines, while a pulse of energy from its missiles tears at the shields of the DN.
Diving in towards the line of ships, the two DNs unleash a stream of antiprotons, clipping off a PDL, and bLasting a chunk out of the newly rebuilt engine room.
Breaking formation, the kalashnikovs and a CANDU with intact shields form a wall in the path of the lead dreadnaught at the crippled CANDU limps away behind the fleet. Missiles trailing thin exhaust fumes curve and detonate beside the DN, pouring incredible amounts of energy into the lead ship's port side. Already weakened from polaron fire and the first nuke, the shield generators overheat and shut down with some extra encouragement from the Ubernaught's weapons. The kalashnikovs, already close in the wall formation, dive in and take over before the jreanar know what's happening.
The Last Jreanar DN rushes towards the captured ship, but the shields are already recharging, and he cannot penetrate them with antiprotons. Instead, the Jreanar fires down the length of the fleet, but the group splits and the shot misses everyone.
A second volley of missiles are launched from the CANDUs, and the Jreanar fire back, but PDLs cut down the missiles. With devastating force, nuclear bLasts light up the forward, port and aft in sequence, and the shields of the DN fade rapidly. Purple flames lick at the shields from the aft across to the port side as the Ubernaught manouvers around the kalashnikov.
With a sudden move, the Jreanar darts around the still-forming box, and dives towards the fleet, spraying antiprotons towards the crippled CANDU, but misses, while the Ubernaught turns to pursue, and the purple polaron flame drains the Last of the shield energy and punches a hole in the armor. The second kalashnikov moves in to take over, and the battle ends.

Damn, it hurts to see your hard work go up in antiproton fueled flames. My little warning sign bolts are just a puddle of bubbly metal. Now the fleet will be slow for another month while we rebuild those engines again. At least the main reactor didn't crack, and so the ship is still livable, just slow. Another supply warning over the fleet comm today. All that weapons fire has severely depleted our already low supplies and even the TKL rations are being hoarded. The repair ships have transferred their supplies to the warships, they are down to 10%, so the ships of the line have 40% ammo remaining. While we were fighting, three more Dreadnaughts have entered the system, and a fourth dred has been reported in the X42 system by one of our border defence minelayers. We've cut up on of the captured DNs, and since the Cochrane cannot hold any more in it's research labs, we've decided to bring the other DN along to help the Ubernaught in CQC.
The Cochrane has detected a small storm in the system, partway towards home, but way off to the side. It has been decided that we shall hide in it until repairs are completed or we have a clear path through to X42.

2430.6:
After taking refuge in the nebula for two weeks, the Jreanar ships have drifted far enough away for us to make a break for the border. At full speed trying to outrun the Jreanar patrols, we never saw it coming. As we approached and attempted to open the warp point, we were besieged by mines. The ubernaught, in the lead, took a furious pounding, but one too many deep hull hits cracked the main support structure, and the ship broke up. At the same time, mines swept in and explosions rippled through the CANDUs and the kalashnikovs. Reactors went critical, and we lost a Kal & two of the CANDUs. Heavy damage was taken to every ship in the fleet, but the Cochrane took the worst of it. The first bLast ripped up most of the shield-armors on the hull, while a second detonated just aft of the ship, shredding the remaining armor and damaging the engines. A third bLast to the starboard side tore a wide gash in the hull. Oxygen & crewmen sprayed out into space in a horrifying shower of red and white. And yet it did not stop. Another bLast pierced the engineering area, and half the engines were gone, along with a toothy bite from the lower decks. More bLasts amidships ruined the PDL and took large chunks out of the lab areas. In all, she must have taken five or six for the fleet. The repair ships are a mess too. The forward sections were totally destroyed; no survivors. Half of the supply tanks were ruptured, and the aft engine sections were blown clean off both ships. Surprisingly, the repair bays are relatively intact. Only one of the CANDUs escaped damage, and the mines never went after the captured dreadnaught, so the surviving command officers have relocated there.
We've got a total of six ships with active lifesupport, and only the DN, the Kal, and three CANDUs with undamaged internals. You know that CANDU with the rebuilt reactor? She got really messed up. Looks like a deformed ghost fighter, with only the bridge and a PDL recongnisable among the twisted wreckage. Definitely a bad end for my carreer. Don't get me wrong, I still hope to survive this, but I don't expect to. It'll be less of a let-down this way. With nothing to do but attempt repairs to the fleet's engines, we wait.

2430.7:
The Jreanar forces seem unconcerned about our presence in their ex-minefield, and we have rebuild the engine core of the "Scotty's Hell" as we now call her. We've got a basic lifesupport unit working, and are using refurbished cargo pods as crew quarters. We managed to crape a working missile launcher together, but there's not a whole lotta ammo to go around now. Just over 7000 supplies for nine ships. The status Boards look like a bunch of christmas trees, with all the blinking red and amber lights. We are so close; just one empty system between us and home sweet home. So close, and yet we cannot move while our supplies run low. The Kalashnikov picked up a transmission from HomeWorld, saying that a pair of rescue ships are on the way, fresh out of the academy. Not exactly a whole lotta help there. Two rescue ships, captained by novices, but apparently they were the top in the class for fleet actions in the simulators. I know, what you're thinking is "hey, thats a simulation, this is real life." Just don't say that to the crew around here. Just mention the fact that they're coming with a pair of Ubernaughts.

2430.8:
We've finished off the repairs on Scotty's Hell, and did some major work on another CANDUs engines. All of our attack ships are mobile and armed, even if not fully operational. It'll still be a while before we can get outta here, since we can't make it home without the Healer class ships' help, and they are still hostile environments, with no decking to speak of and certainly no lifesupport. Two Jreanar dreadnaughts are currently heading in our direction, and a third has entered orbit of a planet in the system. The rescue ships report being most of the way through X83 and approaching the warp point to X42. We have moved most of the personnel to the Kal, the CANDUs and the dreadnaught in preparation for battle.

2430.9:
One of our Healer class repair ships is mobile again. The crews have been doing a fine job despite being stranded without any Cheesy Poofs for close to six months now. We haven't moved from this accursed patch of space for what seems like forever. Even the XXXX Star is nothing to look at; out here on the edge of the solar system, it looks like nothing more than an ordinary star. Everyone in the Fleet knows where to find HomeWorlds Star. Some gaze longingly during off-hours, some ignore it totally, perhaps pretending that they are home, working in the shipyards. We are fortunate that the Jreanar have ignored up for so long, but our increasing power output was ultimately bound to draw attention. But my mind wanders. Woah. During a battle alert even. It seems two Jreanar Dreds are attacking simultaneously from insystem.

The four remaining CANDUs form a line, while the Kalashnikov and the Drednaught pull ahead to draw fire.
The Jreanar reach maximum range and lauch nukes at the Kalashnikov while the fleet comes to a halt and waits. AS the Jreanar approach, the rear line of CANDUs release their warheads and fall back with PDLs covering the Kalashnikov. Missiles streak towards their targets and PDLs blaze through space. Though the Jreanar score a few hits, the heavy missiles are still locked. Fleet PDLs are much more effective, cutting down all of the incoming targets.
The Jreanar are rapidly pressing forward towards the damaged fleet ships, so the CANDUs dive to the side in an effort to draw the Jreanar away from the rest of the Fleet, but the Jreanar are intent, and loose missiles at the immobile repair ship. Jreanar PDLs disable a missile, but seven more detonate and distend the heavy shielding of the DN, but the shields hold. The fleet DN adds two more nukes and a bLast of antiprotons point blank, but the Jreanar ship shrugs it off and continues its run towards the repair ship. Desperate now, the CANDUs move together to attempt to form a wall with the dreadnaught and kalashnikov to slow the progress of the Jreanar. The DN slows slightly as it pushes around the group nearly within antiproton range and the second Jreanar ship launches its missiles, but they are quickly cut town by a blaze of PDC from the kalashnikov.
The CANDUs turn to follow the Jreanar leader and form a 5-ship box against forward movement while releasing nukes at extremely close range. With PD unable to react in time, eight missiles slam waves of energy into the DN, collapsing its shields and burning a hole in the armor. The kalashnikov deploys commandos and turns to join the 5-ship box being formed by the other ships.
Unable to proceed forwards, the Jreanar ship bLasts antiprotons into the nearest unshielded CANDU, which is forced to break from the formation, leaking heavy engine plasma. The Fleet DN pours antiprotons into the Jreanar, but it's vast regeneration capacity soaks up the damage, leaving the shields at full strength. The dual bombardment nukes blaze white light across the starboard shield of the Jreanar ship, stripping off almost 20%, while the CANDUs reload and deploy their own, smaller but more plantiful warheads. Jreanar missiles aimed at the Healer are easily shot down, but it sweeps antiprotons towards the Kalashnikov, whose shields are still weak after deploying the commandos. With a flare of energy the shields collapse, but the hull is spared.
Antiprotons again lash out at the Kalashnikov, this time the regenerated shields deflect only part of the beam, leaving more dark scoring and the flash of a burning shield-armor glittering on the hull.
The Fleet DN releases its own missiles and probes the shields with its antiproton beam for a weak spot, finding none. The heavy nukes bLast again at the immobilized DN, and the shields flicker dangerously near collapse. CANDU missiles are deployed, a double bLast rips into the starboard shields, and as the DN tries to compensate, a second double bLast smashes the forward shields, leaving scortch marks directly on the hull. The third pair of missiles tear into the hull on the port side, bLasting free one of the heavy shield generators and knocking our one of the DN's engines. The Jreanar fire their antiproton beam towards the Kalashnikov, but it has gone into evasive manouevers and slips out of the weapons lock. A well aimed antiproton beam from the Fleet's DN slices off another shield leaving power conduits sparking in space. Regenerated shields provide only a moment's respite from the vicious antiproton beam as it cuts back the shielding and burns the PDL from the surface of the Jreanar ship. Still unable to lock the Kalashnikov, the Jreanar fire blindly. Two missiles bLast into the Jreanar ship, melting the antiproton beam crushing the shield generator and disabling half of the engines. Now the Jreanar ships attempts to run, but it is too late, and the Fleet's Dreadnaught burns through the vehicle leaving nothing but shrapnel burning the the rapidly dispersing oxygen cloud.

We have only one ship left to rebuild engines for, and then we can move out. Another Jreanar DN is coming up from in-system, and the rescue ships report an enemy DN heading for the wormhole and about to come in right on top of us. Though they are already in the X42 system, they doubt they can intercept in time. The Jreanar DN we captured had a good supply of missiles, which are being spread amongst the CANDUs, but that still leaves less than 30 missiles per ship at a rough estimate. The heavy antiproton beams on the dreds are real power hogs, and we may have to shut them down to conserve our limited resources.
Coming up on a year away from home, and it's going to be more fighting the Jreanar instead of celebrating with friends.

2431.0:
Well, no attack has come. The Jreanar ship we were tracking has stopped at a resupply base and another DN just came through a wormhole from deeper Jreanar territory, while the inexperienced rescue fleet lost track of thier contact while passing through an asteroid belt. The ubernaughts expended most of their supplies getting here, but with the protection of the new ships, we should be able to get the Healers operational and reach the safety of the Empire. In fact the work on the Healers is going quite well, all things considered. One of them is operational and even has limited shielding on-line. We are still having trouble starting an engine core for the other, and the lack supplies is not helping. A request has gone out for all batteries and hand weapons to be turned in, so we can scrap them for radioactives needed in the core. News from home indicates that we have achieved a sort of legendary status among the population for having survived so long, deep in Jreanar territory. I much prefer this "living legend" status to the alternative.

2431.1:
The Jreanar have ignored our fleet, but thier forces in this system are clearly too thin to compete with our new Ubernaughts. We also suspect a renewed Phong offensive may have distracted their forces from our weakened and immobile ships. While we are still working on the reactor for the Last Healer, structural work is being done on the Cochrane. We've doubled the habitable volume in there and most of the engines are Online now. With a wormhole behind us, and the real threat of a DN coming through to attack our support vessels, the repaired Healer will follow the ubernaughts through the wormhole on a scouting mission, and remain on the other side with one to guard against an ambush.

2431.2:
We had to halt repairs this month to replenish our supplies. More missiles and food are the order of the day. Jreanar forces are only passing through, still ignoring us.

2431.3:
With its PDL and control systems back, the Cochrane has traded places with the Healer, and we are almost ready to install the new engine core. There are a pair of Jreanar DNs approaching from insystem, but their course may just be taking them to the resupply depot here. Over in X42, two dreadnaughts are heading for the southern minefield and imminent destruction.

2431.4:
With the new core, the Healer has reactivated half of its engines, but before we could escape through the wormhole, the two Jreanar picked up another ship at the system supply depot, and attacked.

The two Dreadnaughts, one ubernaught and the Kalashnikov take up a wall formation and charge towards the incoming dreadnaughts, while the crippled ships of the fleet limp away.
Scans reveal one old-style heavy weapon DN and two of the heavy shield Versions. Dreadnaughts enter missile range and deploy thier nukes on both sides as PDLs charge. With beams crisscrossing space between the two fleets, half of the missiles go dark. The lead Jreanar ship slams into a wall of polarons and antiprotons as missile bLasts tear into its sides, shields blazing, and recuced to 20%. The Fleet attack ships form a wall to slow them down, but content to fight head to head, the Jreanar ships rake antiprotons across one of the dreadnaughts.
Finally in range, the CANDUs spray PDL fire into the remaining Jreanar missiles and launch thier own missiles towards one of the heavyshield Jreanar ships while, with a splash of purple polaron fire, the lead ship's shields collapse, leaving a trail of burning generators across the hull.
More Jreanar missiles are lauched towards the CANDUs, but a blaze of PDLs and PDCs cut them down, and the fleet dreadnaughts fire their own salvo back Too quickly for the Jreanar PDLs, a pair of missiles slam the lead ship with twin fireball, bLasting through the regenerated shielding and shredding armor all over the ship. With the Jreanar defenceless, the Ubernaught opens fire, and the inside of the DN spews debris. An antiproton bLast, and the Last weapon aboard the lead DN falls silent. As the striken DN turns to retreat, the ubernaught moves in and with a final bLast of purple fire, the engine core goes critical and the Jreanar ship explodes in a giant orange-red ball of fire. With ten missiles rocketing towards the next DN, the ubernaught adds its polarons to the stream of antiprotons flaring off of the already weakened shield of the DN, reducing them to 40%. BLasts rock the DN, hammering its shields into nothingness, and the fleet dreadnaughts add four more missiles which bLast through engines shields and weapons, stripping the DN to the bone. Antiprotons combine with polarons and the Jreanar ship breaks up in another giant fireball.
Still absorbing streams of antiprotons from the Jreanar, the fleet's DN regenerators are overloading but manage to keep the shields over 90% while the fleet turns all weapons on the Last Jreanar ship.
Moving around to get behind the Jreanar, the Ubernaught drags a beam of polarons across the shield of the DN, cutting them to 80% as twelve missiles close simultaneously on the ship. With incredible fury, the missiles envelop the ship in a wash of intense light and radiation, but the DN pushes through, shields gone, but with no appreciable hull damage. With no shield barrier standing in its way, the Kalashnikov moves in and its legendary commandos swiftly take the ship with minimal casualties.

With the sucessful defence of the fleet, we have proceeded to move through the wormhole to meet up with the other ubernaught and the Cochrane, and are now proceeding through the X42 system, using the star's gravity to speed our passage through the inner system.

2431.5:
We nearly overtook a Jreanar ship on the trip in-system, but by the time we arrived at the wormhole, the Jreanar had already been annihilated by the vast minefield in the sector. Finally safe within the borders of the empire, we now have only the long trip through uninhabited systems until we arrive home with our captured dreadnaughts in tow. The vast knowledge of Jreanar technology we have collected will enable the empire to build an entire new generation of ships perhaps even able to fight one on one with the great empires around us. Homeworld reports that many more assaults on the depleted defences of the home system were repelled, and the fields are holding near a hundred mines.

[CaptSpoogy]

S_J,

You know CANDU is a type of Canadian Nuclear Reactor design? They are the most efficient reactors in the world.

I'm guessing you're from Ontario, Calafornia not Ontario, Canada - so how did you know about that term?

------------------
Visit the Spoogy Federation at:
http://spoogyfederation.tripod.com

[Suicide Junkie]

I'm from Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. They were nuclear bombardment ships, and the name fit. I can't believe SE4 set me up with that engine damage, just begging to be called a reactor breach. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif All of that is true, and happened in a straight-through no reloads game of SE4.

[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 28 April 2001).]

[CaptSpoogy]

Keswick?

[CaptSpoogy]

Kitchener-Waterloo, Oh yeah - I forgot about that...

Toronto here.

[Suicide Junkie]

Part 4 of a slightly connected series:
(These are 99.9% accurate, following the real adventures of a virtual race)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Historian's note: ADU stands for Arbitrary Damage Unit, commonly used to describe weapon, armor and shield effectiveness. 1 ADU is roughly the strength of a large handheld weapon, while most ship based weapons are rated for hundreds of ADU<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It has finally happened. The great defensive minefields of the empire have fallen under the relentless Jreanar assault. The ship yards of HomeWorld are currently working overtime to build the first "Galaxy" class (http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/Forum23/HTML/002480.html) prototype Dreadnaughts from the Jreanar technology recovered during the Special Task Force's legendary adventures, but are far from completion. Only two half-trained Ubernaught II class ships are in the system, and must fight back the incursion long enough for the Special Task Force to return to HomeWorld...

2432.1:
The Last mines holding off the Jreanar detonated today, as a huge force of Dreadnaughts attempted to navigate the X19 wormhole to HomeWorld. The system's minelayers are blocked from resupplying mines to the wormhole by the six immobile dreds, but three additional ships escaped major damage and are currenly threatening the mine production moons of HomeSys IV. This would be a no-win situation, but with our new quantum drives, we can strike both targets before the wormhole recovers from the mass of the Jreanar ships and becomes navigable again. It is decided that we should stike the disabled ships Last, and remove the threat from the moons first.

As the Ubernaughts approach to attack the Jreanar force, a spacial distortion appears and when it clears, a fourth Jreanar DN has appeared, dropping the odds to 2:1 against the Empire's forces.
In a V formation, two of the Jreanar enter missile range, and five missiles streak towards the Ubernaughts. Maintaining distance for now, the Ubernaughts attept to fly around to the short leg of the V, trying to get a lock on the triple-missile Jreanar ship. Four more missiles are launched and the PDCs begin firing on the incoming seekers while the Ubernaughts try to find an opening.
Unable to get close enough to strike at the Jreanar without exposing themselves to heavy missile damage, the ubernaughts decide to attempt to drain the supplies of the enemy, forcing a retreat.
PDCs spew shards at the incoming missiles and beat back one more wave, but there are still more, and new missiles are already being launched.
The Jreanar fleet turns, exposing the weapon-heavy DN, but with only enough power for 75 full polaron bursts, and half of that already depleted during the patrol, the Ubernaughts are forced to ignore the tempting target.
PDCs fire madly taking down another pack of missiles, but five more missiles are within striking distance. Retreating full speed as the Jreanar wheel around behind them, the ubernaughts manage to cut down the nearest pair, but there aren't enough PDCs to strike down the triple missiles, which speed to within one distance of the ubernaughts as missiles continue to stream from the Jreanar ships.
Under full acceleration with PDCs firing madly, missiles continue to close on the ubernaughts to within one and two distance, but the equal engines and lesser mass of the Empire's ships soon allows them to pull away from the DNs, where the missiles fade out before impact.
Eventually, the heavy-weapon DN falls behind the fleet, engines failing, and its shields flicker out. The ubernaughts begin a wide turn around the enemy fleet, PDCs firing continuously, but as the DNs catch up with the turn, two missiles slam one of the ubernaughts, whose shields ripple and fade out, but hold just long enough to prevent serious hull damage. Purple fire streams from the leading ubernaught as it comes within range, searing the armor from the defenseless DN, and bLasting half of its now-useless shield generators into shrapnel.
Combining their fire, the two ubernaughts burn off the weapon bays on the DN and tear through the engineering section. The DN breaks apart into a glowing spray of hot metal, but three final missiles fly out of the cloud of plasma. The Ubernaughts go to maximum speed, with more missiles from the fleet right behind them, but the Jreanar missiles are too quick, and the PDCs are overwhelmed. The regenerating shields of the second ubernaught hold off the first bLast, but the second pierces the defenses, burning into the hull armor, and the third nuke wraps the ship in white fire. Surging forwards to escape the sweeps of antiprotons from the Jreanar fleet, the damaged ubernaught trails streams of gas and plasma from its shredded shield grid. PDCs burst fire, and the Last two unexploded missiles break up.
The lead DN slows, dangerously low on supplies, and the ubernaughts turn to ply a wide circle around the enemy fleet, missiles fighting a losing battle with the aft PDCs.
With a new round of missiles launched from the Jreanar, the ubernaught signals that shields are back to 60%, the maximum that the remaining generators can maintain.
With four missiles streaking towards the ubernaughts from relatively close range, the PDCs are overwhemed, and one gets through, rocking the damaged ubernaught again. Shields flash and collapse, but manage to just barely prevent further damage to the hull.
With a Last shot from its antiproton beam, the final Jreanar DN slows to a stop, power depleted, and the ubernaughts accelerate out of missile range.

With no time to continue the assault on the defenseless Jreanar ships at the mine facilities, the ubernaughts move to attack the six damaged DN at the minefield. Preliminary scans indicate two fully operational DNs protecting the four ships that were hit badly by the mines. One ship has its all of its weapons and most of its shields torn from a huge gash on its underside, another's missiles must have been detonated, with no shielding and a third of the crew decks missing. A third ship managed to maintain lifesupport on all decks, but is down to a single missile launcher and no shielding. The Last DN has only minor damage all over the hull, and its shields are operating at 60%. Four of the Dreadnoughts move to attack while the unarmed ship retreats.
Seven missiles fly from the Jreanar warships as the ubernaughts come into range, and PDCs begin firing The lead, full-strength ubernaught darts into the Jreanar formation to stab at the unshielded DN, nailing its missile launcher and reactor core with a pair of polaron beams, causing the ship to destroy itself in an intense explosion before the ubernaught turns to pull away from the missiles. Three missiles burst early from PDC shards, then three more, but a single missile sneaks through the defenses to slam the damaged ubernaught from behind. The bLast rocks the ubernaught, stripping the shields with raw energy, but the shields hold, with only 25 ADU to spare. Antiprotons flash around the ubernaught, but skilled use of ECM causes the Jreanar to bLast away at a ghost sensor image while the ubernaughts move around to attack the other unshielded DN before it catches up to the enemy fleet.
Taking a half-power burst of polarons squarely on the hull, the crippled DN goes dark as purple fire envelops the hull and sprays atomic residue into space.
The Jreanar DNs pursue too late to help, and the lead DN takes the full force of both ubernaughts' weapons into its shields, which flicker, but stabilize at 50%. Missiles are launched and hungrily seek out the regenerating ubernaught, but aft PDCs are on the job, and the retreating ubernaughts manage to stretch the distance enough for the PDCs to disable all of the incoming seekers. Purple fire courses around the shields of the Jreanar ship and they fall to 30%.
With a sudden course change, the Jreanar move out of range of one of the ubernaughts, and the two strain to turn back towards the Jreanar. A second quick turn by the Jreanar fleet brings them head-to-head with the ubernaughts, and a storm of vengeful polaron fire which drains the shields to 10%. Quickly deploying missiles as the ubernaughts fly between thier ships, the Jreanar leader smashes the freshly regenerated shielding of the ubernaught, but again they hold with nothing to spare, and the ubernaughts respond with a crushing blow. Half of the polarons are deflected, but the damaged ubernaught spears the Jreanar forward, starboard and aft, melting the antiproton beams and imploding two of the three heavy shield generators. Coming about again, purple polaron fire from the ubernaughts sweeps through the Jreanar ship and it explodes silently into a burning plasma.
The next Jreanar ship feels the wrath of polarons from close range, but drops a nuke directly on the pursuing ubernaughts. With shields only back to 30%, the nuke burns through the shield and a generator flares up on the surface of the ubernaught.
Raging polaron fires cling to the Jreanar DN, and its shields begin to fade rapidly. Swinging around the ubernaughts, the Jreanar drops another missile, but trained on this well known tactic, the ubernaughts accelerate quickly to follow the ship and continue to pour polarons into its shields, which have faltered and hold at only 30%. The unforgiving energy of the polaron fires burns bright as the ubernaughts swing around to strike both sides of the ubernaught's shields. With the ubernaughts keeping pace, the shields of the ubernaught finally give out, and polaron fire burns across the upper hull, vaporizing armor, detonating a heavy shield generator and shorting out an engine. Looping around once again, the Jreanar tries to limp away, but a burst of polarons directly on the hull burns through another shield generator before cutting a hole through most of the crew decks. A second burst of polarons from the other ubernaught rips through the engineering section, and the ubernaughts turn away, heading towards the Last active DN as a pulse of light from behind signals the destruction of the enemy.
The Last fighting Jreanar ship has only two of its shield generators operational, but is retreating while firing missiles. PDCs easily cut down the two missiles fired by the Jreanar, and purple fire erupts on the DN's shields as the first ubernaught comes into range. The DN makes a turn, and the ubernaughts pounce, moving to point blank range and ripping into its remaining shields, dropping them to 50%. PDCs fire bLasting two more missiles from the sky while the ubernaughts move in to bracket the ubernaught and tear its shields to 20%. More polaron fire rings the ship, its shield generators overloading and shattering under the strain. The Jreanar ship releases two missiles from point blank range just as the polaron fire sweeps through the rest of the ship, and the ruined DN breaks up. PDCs only manage to destroy one of the missiles before the ubernaught is slammed hard. Reeling from the impact, the ubernaught's shields collapse, fire scortching the hull but doing only superficial damage.
With no resistance remaining, the ubernaughts chase down and easily destroy the Last helpless DN.

The wormhole now clear, the minesweeper moves in and scatters twelve mines before moving off to collect more and continue its duty.

2432.2:
The wormholes are secure for now, and the remaining Jreanar DNs are leaving. Unfortunately for them, they'll all be dead within a month as they try to navigate our minefield from the wrong side. The now-legendary Defence Force Alpha has returned to the nearest shipyard for repairs and supplies while they await thier next call to action.

[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 29 April 2001).]

[BeeDee10]

Alrightie, here's a prototype; a chronicle of the first hundred turns of the single-player game I've been playing over the past two days. Written as I went along. Boy are my hands tired. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

Prefaced is the description of the race I made up for it. Pretty basic characteristics; home planet rocky/none (I like moons http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif, worker culture, enhanced shipyard and resource production. When I'm done the game I'll go back and edit it, hopefully giving it more of a consistent character in the process.

[geoschmo]

Quote from BeeDee10 Chronicle1.txt <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Could it be normal for intelligent biologicals to greet a newly encountered intelligence such as ours with initial hostility, and then if the outcome is to their liking propose peace? The pilot-programs of my Tracer-IIIs have expressed the sincere hope that this is not so, and I heartily agree with them.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

ROFL! http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon10.gif I love the way you work in the quirky SEIV ai behaivor into the story, and then try to explain it in real life terms.

BeeDee, this is great stuff. You have some talent there. How would you feel about me posting this on my website? http://daitoon.cjb.net

I am planning on having a large fan fiction site.

Geo

[This message has been edited by geoschmo (edited 03 May 2001).]

[dmm]

Great story BeeDee!

Were you using tactical combat or strategic plus replay?

[BeeDee10]

geoschmo&gt; Thanks, I sometimes like to try figuring out the "logic" behind the things that happen in fictional settings as a sort of game. You should hear some of the stuff I've come up with for explaining Star Trek. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif I would be flattered if you posted this on your website, all I request is that you include my name and email address. Also, since this is just a work in progress, I'll eventually send you a finished Version to replace it with.

dmm&gt; I've been using tactical combat, but except in one or two special cases I've been allowing them to resolve entirely under Auto. I can write descritions of the battles as they unfold that way, without knowing the outcome ahead of time (though so far most fights have been pretty straightforward scream-and-leap affairs).

[capnq]

From Chancellor Naiduin's personal journal, dated 2411.9:

After almost eight and a half years of warfare, I have finally gained an insight into the Xi'Chung's tenacity. The new starmaps from the Eee's long range explorers indicate that the only connections between Xi'Chung space and the rest of the local cluster run through Alioth, either directly via Carcaroli, or by a longer route crossing both the Cluk-Ruk and Tictsin home systems. As an interesting sidenote, the Eee maps also imply that an isolated subcluster of five systems lies coreward from Alioth, with no warp points connecting them to the rest of the cluster. Professor Guakiih, the most brilliant theoretical astrophysicist in Tictsin history, believes it may be possible to generate an artificial wormhole to reach these systems, and is lobbying for more research into stellar manipulation technology, but our military efforts must remain a prority.

We have finally taken the war to Xi'Chung space. An assault fleet consisting of four Drubak cruisers, the newest Enkoping light cruiser, and two prototype designs struck the Xi'chung research base on Curyok VII. The first Flekkefjord light carrier, with its complement of Flen and Falun fighters, lost an engine when it underestimated the range of the planet's weapons platforms, but the Trellenborg troop transport remained untested, because our lack of experience in planetary assault caused us to misjudge how much firepower was necessary to suppress the defenses; the base was completely destroyed before we could land any troops. Our second assault, on the Curyok VIII mining complex, went perfectly; the sole defending platform was devoured by a single wave of Seeking Parasites before it could return fire. Once we evacuate the twenty-six million Xi-Chung survivors, we can settle our own people there and dismantle the habitation domes. If we successfully take Curyok VI next, most of the prisoners can be relocated there.

Intelligence reports had led Admiral Taaguur to expect to face twelve LCs patrolling the system, but he discovered that the seven actually encountered were mostly derelicts; only two of them had undamaged weapons left with which to defend themselves. Apparently the Eee have been quite sucessful since joining our war against the Xi'Chung. Five more enemy LCs are approaching Curyok VIII, plus two in reserve protecting Curyok VI; Queen Kazitkra flatly refused our demand that she withdraw her forces.

[The Cue Kappa dropped into 5th behind my Tictsin about 20 turns ago, due to losses in their war with the 2nd place Sergetti; the Xi-Chung are still solidly in 1st, Eee 3rd.]

------------------
Cap'n Q

[BeeDee10]

*gasp pant* Okay, I'm done. 160K of describing rigidly mechanistic events while at the same time trying to develop a personality for my race... whew.

And then, just as I reached what looked like Peace In Our Time, MEE kicks in. I thought I'd disabled that, darnit!

This has been spellchecked but not really edited yet; for now I'm just sick of looking at it. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif Later on I guess I'll try to turn it into something less like a list of events and more like an actual story.

[CheshireKatt]

This is some really good stuff. I used to do similar things with an old (but still wonderful) tactical game, X-Com: UFO Defense (and even really enjoyed its two increasingly less-wonderful sequels, probably as a result).

I'll have to see if I can submit my own SEIV stories, and see if you guys enjoy 'em.

'course, if I'm even half as good as BeeDee, I'll be impressed. You're GREAT!

--Chesh

[geoschmo]

BeeDee,

You said, <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Later on I guess I'll try to turn it into something less like a list of events and more like an actual story.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This is just one reader's opinion, but I like it the way it is. It kind of fits with the mechanoid race.

I kept reading this and thinking, "This could be how the Borg race got started."

Very well done BeeDee.

More please sir.

Geoschmo

[BeeDee10]

Thanks! My initial intention had been to make the Irha-Nrr a bunch of "innocents" trying to understand the universe, but when all they found out there was violence and anger they started to go a little astray fom what I had planned. I think I'll keep them, though; I like the idea of a bunch of anti-Berserkers flying around the galaxy working hard to make sure biological species don't hurt themselves.

I can't wait to see what happens when these guys encounter the Rage. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

[capnq]

From Chancellor Naiduin's personal journal, dated 2413.3:

I long ago reached the conclusion that the entire Xi-Chung race is insane. I can find no other explanation for their actions. What rational species would deliberately annihilate its own people rather than let them live under another race's rule? The massacre at Curyok VIII was the rationale I gave for our subsequent sterilization of the entire Curyok system. Recent reconnaissance indicates that the Xi-Chung have resettled two of the worlds, with a colony ship en route to a third.

Our two species have been at war now for almost ten years; today I read the after action report of the largest battle to date. Rather than attack our two underdefended colonies in Olontra, all of the Xi-Chung ships in the system combined into a single fleet and headed for the warp point to Carcaroli. Admiral Taaguur ordered every ship that was capable of an intercept to a rendevous point, then attacked the ten enemy light cruisers with a combined force of 19 ships: one of the new Abisko battlecruisers; six Drobak cruisers; an Enkoping and six Djusholm light cruisers; two of the obsolete Degerfors frigates; the badly damaged Flekkefjord light carrier, with 14 fighters left, less than half of its normal complement; a Mandal minelayer; and the original Regna class repair tender, still in service after all these years, and overdue for another retrofit.

The engagement began with the two fleets approaching each other in good formation, but once they got within each others' point defense umbrellas, the battle degenerated into chaos reminiscent of a podball scrimmage. When the Last plasma charge dispersed, the Xi-Chung had been annihilated, at a cost of one Drobak and the Enkoping destroyed, plus the other five cruisers and the Flekkefjord crippled, with no fighters surviving. Once the Regna gets an engine functioning on the most battered cruiser, the Degerfors will escort the damaged ships to Olontra IV, where I've ordered construction of a new shipyard to assist in the repairs. The remaining undamaged combat ships have been joined by the newest Trellenborg troop transport and an Ikaalinen colony ship, to make another attempt at wresting Curyok from the Xi-Chung.

[My Tictsin have passed the declining Sergetti to pull within 75K of the 1st place Xi-Chung, who've dropped to 411.8K after losing nearly a third of their total fleet in this battle.]

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

[liga]

Hello ... I like a lot to read all this story ... some of them are really well written, congratulations! ... is there somewhere an "ufficial" galaxy story ... I'm thinking something about the history of the different races and so on ...?

thank you anyway
Liga

[BeeDee10]

Closest thing to an "official" storyline is just the stuff that's in the various racial descriptions, and most of that is purely background prehistory (the Drushocka/Eee rivalry is the only counterexample that comes to mind).

It's probably for the best, because unless you're an ancient race how do you explain having a long history of interaction with some other species that you haven't actually met in your current game yet? Not to mention the way your technology and population keep mysteriously being reset to your starting homeworld... http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif I think each game is a story unto itself, without much in the way of outside referents.

[Will]

Hey, SJ... it's been eleven days since you posted anything about your game. What happens next? http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Suicide Junkie]

Well, I haven't been at it much.

Too much work, plus I've been working on Counterstrike maps. I think I've got one of the best idea-pack maps ever. Its got a totally breakable village, hospitals that regenerate your health slowly, and a GIANT, 20 story tall, drivable T-zilla!

It was great. As a CT, I grabbed a big pistol, and defended the villiage. Suddenly, my bro comes around the mountain with the huge Terrorist-bot, and I look up, up, up. Enormous Terrorist with a goofy grin. My little DEagle.
Oh, crud. *rumble**bang**bang**rumble**bang**bang**rumble* *smush* http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif
Its something you gotta see to believe.

Anyways, with the SE4 game, it looks like the Galaxy class won't work combat-wise, though it looks great. I'll be coming back to it by the weekend.

[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 10 May 2001).]

[Tarkin]

SJ & capnq

My compliments. I am really enjoying the chronicles of each of your games. It has rekindled my interest in SE IV. However I am holding off for the next patch that will hopefully fix the fighter problem mentioned in another thread.

I enjoy both of your writing styles and I just wanted to thank you for the inspiration & entertainment.

Bravo!

Tarkin


[This message has been edited by Tarkin (edited 11 May 2001).]

[Suicide Junkie]

Part 5 of a slightly connected series:
(These are 99.9% accurate, following the real adventures of a virtual race)

The Empire's defensive minefields have been wiped out in HomeSystem, the Jreanar and Phong making alien incursions a part of daily life. Citizens of the old colonies have built up small but effective minefields of space junk, but newer colonies live in constant fear of annihilation. Only Six ships (Ubernaught2 BCs) are available in HomeSystem, with the legendary Protector leading the Guardian and the Stalwart in patrols of the Phong wormhole, while the equally famous Valiant leads the StormCloud and StoneWall in patrols near the Jreanar front. Three BlackHole class dreadnaughts are under construction, but even our primary ship yards have only completed 50% of the work on their ship. Rumours of invisible Phong ships are being denounced as just that; rumours.

2432.8:
The Jreanar minefield outpost signals an attack, and the Valiant's Alpha wing arrives to find the outpost decimated by a minesweeper. The fleet also discovered the wreckage of an attack DN slowly dissipating near the wormhole. Despite having 6k shields, the unarmed minesweeper is quickly surrounded and overwhelmed. Only an instant later, the wormhole wrenches, spewing forth a fleet of five Jreanar dreadnaughts. Although taken completely by surprise, most of the ubernaughts' crews were already at battlestations for the attack on the minesweeper. Polaron beams, still warmed up, pound against the tough shielding of the lead Jreanar ship, overloading a single Heavy generator to cut its shield strength 30%. The ubernaughts go to full acceleration and begin to pull away from the Jreanar, antiprotons slicing through space behind them. The Jreanar are already pursuing at top speed, and launch a volley of ten missiles. Twisting and sliding through the storm of polarons and PDCs, two missiles escape destrution long enough to slam the Valiant. The heavy shielding on the ubernaught ripples from the first bLast but holds. Shields down to 40%, the ubernaught shudders from the second bLast and as fire sweeps across the hull, a wave of darkness follows, shield generators overheating and shutting down.
The Jreanar leader's shields absorb another wave of polaron fire, showing distinct signs of imminent collapse. A quad burst of polarons from the StormCloud finally breaches the shielding of the Jreanar ship, melting through its armor. The Stonewall spreads four shots of polarons across the hull of the DN, and is rewarded by two fireballs erupting from the Jreanar's Heavy shield generators. Shields cycled and recharging, the Valiant digs a lance of polarons deep into the central structure of the DN, disabling the PDL and gutting most of the crew decks. The Valiant tears a gash from the antiproton beam up to the bridge before stabbing a fiery bolt into the engine core. A nuclear bLast erupts as stored missiles detonate, and the engine pylons peel back from the ship like petals. One final sweep of polarons bLasts into the missile launchers, and the Jreanar ship breaks up in a white burst of light.
The ubernaughts have not gained much distance from the Jreanar, who launch eight new missiles towards the Valiant amid a spray of ineffective antiprotons. With Alpha wing being driven too far from the wormhole, the ubernaughts break formation to attack the DNs while the Valiant falls back to regenerate.
Shields flare and bubble away purple polaron fire from the second Jreanar ship, but the Jreanar are not to be defeated easily. PDCs whirr, and bLast six missiles from space, but click empty as the Last two missiles slip past. A bLast from behind pierces the shields of the Vailant sending another cascade of overloading generators across the hull. With shields down, the second missile slams a wall of fire into the aft hull of the Valiant, burning deep gouges into the armor panels. A third of the ubernaught's shield grid bleeds plasma into space through cracked armor.
Weaving through the DN fleet, the StormCloud and the StoneWall slam their target with polarons and dive in front, forcing it to slow to avoid a collision. The ubernaughts pull through and accelerate through the enemy fleet towards the lead DNs which continue to spray antiprotons around the retreating Valiant. Aft polarons slam the Jreanar ship from both ubernaughts, one beam piercing the shields to scrap an engine, and the next burns through the antiproton beam. Slipping past Dreadnaughts at high speed, the ubernaughts move to the front of the Jreanar fleet to block their advance on the damaged Valiant. Jreanar ships launch another volley of missiles and the PDCs are overwhelmed again. Fortunately the Valiant manages to stay ahead of the missiles long enough to reload PDCs, and the Last missile twangs off the Valiants shields harmlessly.
The damaged Jreanar ship turns away, and the ubernaughts ignore it to concentrate a furious bombardment on the new lead ship. The valiant, shields back to a maximum 70%, moves in to help pound the Jreanar. With three ships from each empire head-to-head, the lead Jranar DN absorbs a terrible pounding, and two of its heavy shields overload. Another volley of polarons from all three ubernaughts hammers the DN, whose shields collapse, leaving polaron fires to scortch the armor on the hull. The Jreanar ships respond with a missile salvo, and the Valiant turns to get some distance. PDCs blaze fire between the ships, but the Valiant's PDCs fail to catch the Last two missiles, and it is slammed hard on the port side. Shields barely hold the searing bLast from the hull, but the second missile tears through the ragged shielding to light up the armor. Fires erupt, tracing lines across the hull as more of the Valiant's shield grid burns into the night. Fighting back, the Valiant stabs purple fire at the lead DN, polarons scattering off the regenerating shields before penetrating the forward defences to bLast away the starboard missile launcher. More polarons cut into two of the DNs engine pylons before a fourth beam bLasts a wave of polarons into the dorsal shield generator. The StormCloud moves to the side of the DN to bLast away another shield generator, and then carve out a thick slice out of the forward hull, separating a missile launcher and the antiproton beam. Continuing on behind the DN, it stabs fire through the main engines on the DN, to burn deep into the aft living quarters. A final stab into the ship results in the Last shield generator burning free from the ship to shear off another engine pylon.
With another DN disabled, the ubernaughts close on another target to drive a series of polarons across its shields from point blank range. Circling like flies, the ubernaughts continue to pour purple fire into the DN, and its shields drop to 30%. Again the Jreanar have reloaded and scatter missiles to home in on the Valiant. PDCs blaze away but again are overwhelmed. The Last rounds from the Valiant's PDC clip the Last missile, but it rights itself and returns to smash the Legendary ship. Waves of energy slam into the ubernaught's shields, but the fireball breaches the defences and two more shield elements flare up on the surface of the ship. Combined bLasts from the ubernaughts doggedly trailing the Jreanar ship finally pierce the shields, but the armor does its job and protects the hull from the Last of the polaron fire. Shields hold against the first polaron beam from the Valiant, but as the Jreanar ship sails past, the ubernaught's weapons penetrate to crush the antiproton beam emitters and slice off an engine pylon. The Last burst of polarons from the Valiant catches the aft shield generator, which burts into a shower of shrapnel. Allowing the DN to pass, the Valiant makes its way back towards the crippled DNs while the StormCloud and the StoneWall engage the damaged DN and its wingman. Jreanar missiles are launched, and the Valiant skewers one of the crippled DNs, which explodes into a giant orange fireball.
PDCs from the other ubernaughts pick off three missiles from behind the Valiant as the StormCloud claws at the slightly damaged DN. The DN's shields are breached on the first shot, but a second bLast is required to finish off the heavy shield generator. The Last shield generator melts down in a wash of polaron flames, and a fourth beam cuts into the engine core. A succession of internal explosions tears apart the aft half of the ship, but the dreadnaught somehow manages to hold together. Unable to escape, the DN is helpless as the StormCloud slices it in two with a finely focussed polaron beam; within seconds the ship breaks up into a cloud of debris.
The Valiant's PDCs fire madly as two missiles from the Last crippled ship scream towards it. One bursts, but the other takes only a glancing blow, and swings back around to hit the Valiant from behind. 16 ADU from the maximum 35%, the ubernaught's shields buckle under the bLast, white fire gripping the aft end of the ship with fingers of flame stretching to the forward sections. The Jreanar ship fares much better, as its regenerated shields hold at 20% against the polaron assault. Closing to point blank range, the Valiant hammers the Jreanar with full-power polaron beams, but the Jreanar's shields continue to hold.
Spraying wide angle polaron flames into their DN, the other two ubernaughts' dodging manouevers are interuppted by a missile launch. With both DNs shields collapsing, the Jreanar deploy missiles point blank, and the quick PDCs are not quick enough to cut down all the missiles. One lands a sledgehammer blow to the Valiant's forward shield, bLasting through the remaining defences and bLasting apart all but one element in it's shield grid. The StormCloud braces for impact, but none comes. The missile loops around to head for the Valiant, giving the ships plenty of time to cut it down with PD. The StormCloud burns the nearest DN with polarons, breaching the shields and scortching the armor. With a clear shot, the StoneWall proceeds to carve out two shield generators, the antiproton beam and a missile launcher in sequence. Two beams from the Valiant pierce the shields on the other DN, bLasting a shield generator and an engine. The Jreanar's supplies and defences depleted, the ubernaughts dig out greedy hunks of hull, and both ships detonate in large fireballs.
A wrenching of space, and two more Jreanar DNs appear directly behind the ubernaughts. The Valiant leads the ubernaughts away while aft polarons strike deep into the nearest Jreanar ship. Missiles are launched, and the darkenss of space is lit by crisscrossing PDC tracers, polarons and antiprotons. With only four missiles to target, PDCs emerge victorious, and the constant stream of polarons burns through the shields of the Jreanar ship. Antiprotons cut across the path of the Valiant, but swift manouevers keep the ship one step ahead. The StoneWall slams two polaron beams into the forward shields before piercing the defences and tracing a flaming line down the starboard side of the ship, disabling antiprotons, a missile launcher and severing an engine. Four simultaneous beams from the StormCloud wash fiery polarons across the hull, imploding two shield generators, melting and twisting the engine pylons into scrap. The Valiant lines up a double shot and bLasts into the Last missile launcher, detonating it. In a fiery spray of rubble, the ship breaks up and the ubernaughts turn to the Last Jreanar dreadnaught. Unable to slip any missiles past the intense PDC fire from the ubernaughts, the Jreanar ship absorbs a furious pounding. Surrounded by a withering cloud of polarons, the shields of the DN fade rapidly, and after three more charges of polarons are added, the shields of the DN collapse, allowing purple fires to burn through the hull. An instant later, the polaron cloud puffs out and is dispersed by the exploding dreadnaught.
Still undeterred, three more Jreanar DNs appear from the wormhole, and immediately launch missiles. The ubernaughts return fire with polaron beams and PDCs, but there are simply too many missiles too quickly, and the Valiant is struck. Twin missiles burst through the weak shielding on the ubernaught, scattering the remaining armor into space and severing power feeds to one of the Valiant's polaron cannons. The Valiant breaks formation to retreat while the others attempt to slow down the onrushing DNs. Polaron beams slam into the weakened Jreanar leader, penetrating the shields and bLasting away most of the forward section. Hits to the aft section smash the engines, and the ship drifts helpless. Missiles launch from the remaining Jreanar ships, but with time and ammo to spare, PDCs easily block the attack. Ships weave around but the Jreanar cannot get a lock on the nearly defenseless Valiant with their antiproton beams. The second DNs shields waver and collapse amidst the furious beams striking from the ubernaughts, and the ship simply turns to flaming dust as polarons sweeps through the ship.
The Last Jreanar DN tries to pull away, but the faster ubernaughts hang on and slam polarons into the aft shields. Caught unawares by the Jreanar's distracting move and a pet razorbeast loose on the bridge, the Valiant fails to avoid the missiles dropped point blank by the Jrenar ship. A bLast cuts through the 50 ADU shielding provided by the remaining regenerators, and burns through the engine wings, while the second missile sails over the ship to bLast the dorsal surface. The bridge is completely vaporized, PDC turrets and a second polaron cannon are reduced to slag, and the ship's talisman shatters.

2432.9:
Somehow, Phong dreadnaughts have penetrated deep into HomeSystem, to strike two of our undefended colonies. X100 I, a peaceful solar research world, and X100 V, one of Section 31's main intel worlds. Somehow, six million tons of military hardware got past our defence lines from Phong space, and even I am starting to believe in this invisible ship thing. After the short campaign against the Jreanar attack forces, both wings of ubernaughts have been forced to turn in-system to combat this new Phong threat. The Valiant is making her way to the spaceyards on X100 III, and will have to spend at least two months in radiation decontamination before workers can even start repairs. The Guardian and the Stalwart have been transferred to Alpha wing, and will strike the large Phong force at X100 I, while the Protector will proceed alone to confront the single Phong DN at X100 V.

The protector arrives at the planet to find a calmly swirling gas giant. All traces of the floating colony have been swallowed by the giant planet, and only a guilty lookin Phong DN remains. As the ships enter weapons range, the Phong DN opens fire. Swerving left, then right, crystal shards zing past, but the Protector gets hammered by a HEM beam. Shields flaring from the impact, the ubernaught crashes right through the second HEM beam. The ubernaught slows to fire polaron beams into the Phong ship before turning away to get some distance, crystalline shards sparkling all around. With shields recovering to 50%, the ubernaught drives another quad burst of polarons into the Phong shielding, blinding the Phong sensors and avoiding the return fire of the shard cannons. A glow on the forward hull indicates a locked HEM, but the ubernaught dives to the left and the dual beams sear space beside the battlecruiser. Four more polaron beams spray a purple glow around the forward shields of the DN, while a quick right-left shicane manouever avoids more crystal shards. With shields falling below 30%, the Phong ship drives the Protector into the corner. Despite closing the gap between the ships, the Phong is unable to track the ubernaught's quick course changes or get a weapons lock, and HEM beams cross in front and behind the nimble BC. Closing to within a distance of 4, the shard cannons are still ineffective, and the polarons dig deeply into the Phong's overloading shields. As the Protector begins to pull away again, it dodges sideways to avoid both a HEM bLast and crystalline shards, but the move was predicted, and the second HEM flares against the Protector's recharged aft shields. A polaron beam heading the other way wraps fire around the forward shield of the Phong ship, while a second pierces through to burn away armor. Another wash of polarons dulls the Phong's scattering armor and the fourth stab breaks up the Last of the DN's armor.
The ubernaught turns and flies around behind the DN, whose shard cannons spray deadly shards just behind the swiftly moving BC. Polaron fire overloads the DNs shielding once again, and a second burst burns through a shield generator and shatters a HEM crystal. More fire melts down the aft shield generators and a shard cannon, then a final stream of polarons rips through a shard cannon to bLast an engine. Buzzing over the larger ship's hull, the ubernaught avoids the HEM bLast, and passes too fast for the Last shard cannon to track. Polarons cut furrows in the dreadnaught's hull, bLasting the starboard shields and shard cannon, then smashing through the engine section. Carving a giant smiley face through the hull, the ubernaught turns back towards the forward section, bLasting the Last weapons from the ship and opening the bridge to space. One more stream of polarons tears into the forward electronic warfare pod and targetting arrays. Circling back, the ubernaught fires a final bLast of polarons which pierce the shields of the dreadnaught to burn through the living quarters and structual supports. As the enemy ship breaks up, the Protector returns to the planet to search for survivors.

Meanwhile, at X100 I, the four ubernaughts arrive to find four Phong DNs and a carrier. Fighters race ahead to meet the ubernaughts, but the long range weapons of the capital ships reach out first. All weapons seeking the Stalwart, the Phong unleash a barrage of HEM beams and crystalling shards, but the veteran crew of the ubernaught keeps their cool zig-zagging around to avoid tagetting locks. With the Phong also in range, the ubernaughts lob polaron beams through space, the talisman guiding each shot true to the target. Trailing long tendrils of purple fire, the Phong DN's shields fall to 30%. PDCs blaze from the ubernaughts, and a large number of the Phong's small fighters blossom into puffs of fire. The more heavily armed medium fighters deflect the occasional shot from their armor, and dive in to spray shard cannons wildly throughout the fleet of ubernaughts. Though the fighter's attacks do little damage, the sheer volume of fire manages to overload the regenerators on the StormCloud, draining its shields. With the fighters hindering the movement of the ubernaughts the Phong ships close in, straight through bursts of polarons. The weakened DN took the worst of the polaron sweeps, its shields breached. Two additional quad bursts from the Stalwart and the StoneWall tear into the ventral hull of the ship, gutting the engines, shield generators, and smashing through most of the forward weapons. PDCs whittle away at the dense armor of the Phong's medium fighters. The phong fleets regroup and the fighters turn to pound 20% out of the Stalwart's shields. The Phong DN fleet surges forward with a lock on the Stalwart, firing all weapons. The first HEM beam strikes dead center on the Stalwart, bLasting its shields down to 50%. Turning quickly, the ubernaught avoids the second bLast through the same spot, but a second DN lights up the starboard side of the ship with its own HEM. With shields collapsing, the ubernaught dodges two more beams before the Last Phong DN punches a beam of energy through the aft shields, ripping away half of the armor on the ship. The Phong fighters dive in to attack, overwhelming the PDCs on the fleet and driving crystalline shards through the Stalwart's armor. One of the Stalwart's polaron cannons misfires and detonates, tearing a ragged hole if the port side where the shield regenerator and a PDC used to be. Oxygen leaking from the gash burns with the plasma leaking from the ruptured shield grid to form a spectactular trail of fire. One Last burst of polarons from the crippled ubernaught melts down the damaged Phong DN, only a single lifesupport module remains spewing gasses into non-existant decks.
Overheating PDCs finally finish off the Last fighters and power down to standby while polaron beams continue to sweep across the Phong fleet. Pouring on full speed, the Stalwart is missed by the Phong shard gunners and pulls out of HEM range. One of the Phong DNs shields are weakening, so the remaining ubernaughts lock on and bLast away. The Last few polaron beams pierce the shields, but are refracted away by the Phong's armor.
The lead Phong ship moves in to fire a Last burst of shard cannons at the distant Stalwart, but then unexpectedly fires its main guns into the Guardian at the same time. Quickly going into evasive manouevers, the Guardian slips away from the next five beams from the fleet, and its shields regenerate to 75%. Eleven polaron beams stab out from the fleet of ubernaughts to bLast chunks of debris from the weakened DN, until nothing remains but flaming dust and loose metal struts. With the Phong DNs passing around the ubernaught fleet to pursue the Stalwart, the ubernaughts have no choice but to close with the Phong and attempt to slow them down. Polarons smash the shields of the Lead Phong ship, but the StormCloud falls behind, supplies depleted.
Polaron fire rages across the shields of the lead Phong ship before they collapse and fire burns deep through the armor, disabling weapons and exposing the bridge to space, but a navigational error on board the Stalwart allows the Phong to close to HEM range. Partially regenerated shields barely withstand the first bLast and despite the best efforts of her crew, the Stalwart is skewered by a second hit. The Last of the armor and shields break away and fall behind as the Stalwart accelerates back to full speed, but another Polaron cannon is sparking dangerously, and only a fitful snapping of the starboard shield regenerator provides 25 ADU of shielding.
With the lead Phong ship crippled, the ubernaughts concentrate fire on the Last DN, and send bolts of polarons cascading around the shields. Weapons recharged, lead Phong ship nails the StoneWall with a HEM beam, draining 40% from the shields while the other DN pounds its own intense beam into the Guardian. Polarons flare up against the shields of the Last Phong DN leaking through to burn off the ship's armor. Fires burst from the Phong hulls as one more wave of polarons burn across the surface, from the three ubernaughts. All Phong weapons have been disabled, and there is nothing left but a cleanup operation for the ubernaughts.

The fleet has been broken up, with the StormCloud proceeding via tug to the nearest supply depot. The Stalwart is forced to travel to Curyok to find the only available shipyard left. The Protector, Guardian and StoneWall will rendezvous at the X100 IV mine factories and resupply depot to prepare for the next attack. Although our force of active ubernaughts has been cut in half, our main shipyards report the installation of the first shield generators on the BlackHole class ship "Avenger". She may be able to help defend the system if it becomes absolutely nessesary.

Take a moment to remember those who have fallen...

[capnq]

Thanks, Tarkin. My first Tictsin game is closing on its 15 year victory condition, so I'll have at least one more summary coming up. I've begun a second game with this race in a TDM-ModPack game, but they started inside an isolated cluster, so I don't expect much of interest to happen for quite a while. I'm working on their AI files so I can eventually release them to the mod community.

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

[Suicide Junkie]

2433.1: A major expansion of the shipyards on X100 II has increased their output to almost one component each day, and their work on Avenger's critical components has been completed. Her ultra-heavy armor will require almost a year of additional work, but can be postponed indefinitely. The Valiant has been cleared of radioactive contamination, and lifesupport has been restored to all decks. Engineers estimate a four month job to replace the wings, weapons and shield grid. The StormCloud has finally arrived at the X100 II shipyards for refueling, but will have to remain there for a few weeks of testing for hull damage from the tugs. Over in Curyok, the repairs to the Stalwart will be completed in three months due to a shortage of shield grid elements. The Jreanar and Phong have both attacked our minefields simultaneously, but only the Jreanar used a minesweeper. Two Phong dreadnaughts were confirmed to be destroyed before we lost contact with our mine station. A total of two Jreanar ships and five Phong ships have entered our HomeSystem, so the Avenger has been ordered to X100 IV to join the three remaining ubernaughts. With the Avenger leading the ubernaughts in a flying V formation, they move out to attack a cluster of four Phong ships.

Entering the sector, all the preparation seems to be unfounded. The Phong ships fail to raise shields, and a graviton scan reads low, indicating moderate damage or empty storage areas. Since there is no visible damage on the ships, the only answer is that they have run out of fuel. It is quite clear that the Phong are not going to go quietly, as the charge weapons from some emergency backup system.
As the ubernaughts approach, four HEM beams strike out across space towards the Avenger. One beam glances off the port shields of the dreadnaught, another slams straight into the forward shields. Already glowing a watery blue at 50%, the shields absorb one more bLast to starboard while the Last HEM beam misses.
As its regenerators kick in to boost shields to 40%, the Avenger leads the ubernaughts within range of the enemy. The Protector bLasts chunks of hull out of the nearest Phong ship, splashing molten armor and bits of a shettered HEM crystal into space. The Avenger takes aim and nails another Phong DN with its Heavy-mount Polaron Cannons. One shot bLasts most of the armor from the enemy ship, and another digs through the Last armor to bLast and engine and a shield generator away. More bLasts rock the DN, cutting loose a shard cannon and slicing open an empty supply bay. Shrapnel rises from the ship in sparkling clouds as two more shield generators are shredded by polarons, before the ships Last HEM crystal succumbs to the intense bombardment. The Avenger's Last beam cuts deeply into the Phong ship, and the engine core erupts from the far side sending flame and debris everywhere.
As the Avenger turns back to reach maximum range, the Guardian washes wide beam flames of polaron death across the crippled ship. With massive damage to the outer hull, lifesupport fails across most of the Phong decks and their Shard cannons fall dark. Another hit of polarons removes the Last hint of life aboard the ship, and it breaks up silently.
The StoneWall adds fiery beams to the hull of the first Phong ship, smashing shield generators and PDLs. Purple beams bLast craters in the Phong hull, and the DNs HEM crystals shatter explosively. A final slash of polarons burns into the engine section before catching and vapourizing a shard cannon.
The Avenger loops and zigzags through space, and the four HEM beams from the two slower Phong ships burn past on all sides. Now, with the Phong recharging, the Avenger dives back towards the Phong fleet. Six Heavy polaron Cannons slice and dice, separating one of the Phong dreadnaughts into quarters while the ubernaughts cruise past, stabbing lances of fire into the other ships. The Phong leader disintegrates under the heavy pounding from the Guardian, and the Last DN is stripped to the core by the StoneWall and Guardian.
Feeble Shard cannon fire goes wide, and the Avenger dives into the two disabled Phong, polaron cannons burning a hole right through both ships.

With the defeat of the Phong forces, the Avenger proceeds alone to the wormhole to finish off the Last Phong ship, and the ubernaughts turn to attack the Jreanar forces.
Arriving at the wormhole, the Avenger finds only a severely damaged warship, enourmous bLast holes in the engine core, weapons array and shield grid. The Avenger drives forward, only to detect a distortion of the starfield across a wide swath of sky. A sensor probe is launched, but as it approaches the distortion, it vanishes in an silent puff of fire. The distortions twist space and fade, revealing a minesweeper and eight more Phong warships.
Unable to escape, the Avenger sends a distress signal to inform HomeWorld of the threat, and surges forward to meet its fate. As the Phong ships enter weapons range, closer scans indicate moderate to heavy damage on most of the vessels, but all of the ships are still mobile with weapons and shields. The Phong leader opens fire, nailing the Avenger with its only operational HEM crystal. Shields glow as energy curls around the forward hull, but hold at 75%. The Avenger dips in close enough to unload a barage of polarons into the leader's shields but they withstand the beating. Phong wingmen move into position and fire three HEM bLasts at the Avenger, but it is moving swiftly and slips around them. Firing aft weapons, the Avenger pierces the weakened shields of the Phong leader, bLasting away shields and Shard cannons. Shields climing to 90%, the Avenger speeds ahead, the Phong ships hanging on.
With their leader hit, the Phong ships break formation and begin to swarm. One HEM beam cuts just below the Avenger, who fires back at the attacker, piercing the mine-damaged shields to silence the HEM. Now the sector boarder is approaching quickly, so the Avenger, shields restored, swings around to port in an attempt to reach a less dangerous position. With the Phong weapons recharged, the Avenger dodges and slides as HEM beams come tearing from the fleet. Shields flare from a hit to port but the Avenger dips and bobs to avoid the next two shots. One more slams the Avenger from behind, and two beams quickly follow. Twisting sideways, the Avenger slips past one, but its shields burn brightly from the other. One Last HEM goes wide, and the Avenger shreds 40% from the shields of the nearest, undamaged Phong. Shields down to 30%, the Avenger attempts to pull away, but five Phong ships with full engine capacity are not giving ground. Shard cannons fire blindly, and the Phong ships swing behind the Avenger which rips another devastating hit into the latest target. The Avenger's shields reach 42% as the Phong's drop to 20%. A dip and a slide left avoids three HEM beams, but a fourth catches the Avenger to burn deeply into the shields. Two beams strike out, and dodging the first drives the Avenger directly into the second. One Last beam, aimed perfectly, glances off the shields despite the best efforts of the crew. Regenerators on overload, the Avenger's shields blink and recover to 5%. With another bLast from the Heavy Polaron Cannons, the Avenger's target loses shields and its armor trails polaron fire.
Undaunted as the Avenger's shield regenerators feed emergency power directly to the shields, the Phong spray Shard cannons and pursue. Defences critically weakened by the previous hits, the nearest Phong DN is slammed and shredded. All that remains of the ship is a small chunk of hull with lifesupport, a shield regenerator and emergency supplies. The Avenger's shields approach 35% as the Phong DNs open fire again. Bumping up against the sector border, the Avenger rises to avoid a Hem beam and slips left to dodge a second. Lucky number three strikes true, and the dreadnaught's shields flicker, dangerously weak. A double HEM shot cuts off the Avenger's manoeuverability and one rakes across the port shield. Piercing the Last 10% shielding, the HEM beam scrawls a squiggle across the heavy outer armor of the ship. Only one target is in range, and the dreadnaught returns a stern reply, purple polaron fire ringing the Phong ship.

Without warning, the universe declares "The parameter is incorrect" and time itself grinds to a halt...

Arriving at the wormhole, the Avenger finds only a severely damaged warship, enourmous bLast holes in the engine core, weapons array and shield grid. The Avenger drives forward, only to detect a distortion of the starfield across a wide swath of sky. A sensor probe is launched, but as it approaches the distortion, it vanishes in an silent puff of fire. The distortions twist space and fade, revealing a minesweeper and eight more Phong warships.
Unable to escape, the Avenger sends a distress signal to inform HomeWorld of the threat, and surges forward to meet its fate. As the Phong ships enter weapons range, closer scans indicate moderate to heavy damage on most of the vessels, but all of the ships are still mobile with weapons and shields. Two HEM bursts lance out, but the Avenger swerves sideways, the beams cutting through empty space. The Avenger responds with a heavy bLast from its Polaron Cannons, hammering the Phong ship, but its shields hold.
Phong manouevers carry the Avenger's target out of range, so the avenger turns to port, waiting for a chance to strike. The Phong leader comes into range and fires its only HEM beam just wide of the Avenger, and absorbing a heavy dose of polarons on its shields. With their leader under attack, the Phong fleet breaks up and the ships swarm forwards two HEM beams falling short of their target as the Avenger accelerates away. Crystalline shards bounce off of the Avenger's aft shields, their reflections throwing off the ship's sensors, and a pair of HEM beams slams into the shields. Her defenses glowing bright blue at 45%, the Avenger sprays polarons into the onrushing dreadnaughts while continuing to retreat. Another wave of polarons cuts deeply into the Phong shielding, but the defences hold, and the fleet returns fire with a glittering light show of crytalline shard scattering widely through the darkness.
With the sector border approaching quickly, the Avenger is forced into a tight turn to port, and the Phong close in. With a dip, the Avenger lets one HEM beam sail harmlessly overhead, but a second beam is ready, and slams the regenerating shield back down to 50%. Two more beams lance out, but the Avenger slows just enough for them to pass in front. A heavy surge of polarons washes over the weakened Phong ship, piercing the shields to burn away a large portion of the forward and dorsal sections. With weapons shattered, and engine power failing, the dreadnaught turns to retreat. Shard cannons blaze, but the wide angle fire fails to score a hit. The Avenger drops another polaron surge into the Phong fleet, and turns further to port to avoid another sector border. Making the turn slowed the Avenger, and the Phong fleet takes advantage of the opportunity to close with the ship. A massive volley of HEM shots fill space, but the Avenger slips over, under, left and right slipping between four shots. Two coordianted HEM beams force the Avenger to choose, and it takes a solid hit to the aft shields. Sensors blinded from the clash of energies, the Avenger fails to predict the shot, and is slammed from the port side by another bLast. Shields down to 25%, the Avenger switches targets to bLast through the mine-damaged shields of a nearby Phong DN. With shields down, and its main weapons torn from the ship, the DN turns to retreat. Shard cannons again prove ineffective, and the Avenger's shields rise to 40%, fed energy directly from the auxiliary reactors. Polarons cross space to hammer the regenerating shields of another Phong dreadnaught, but they hold, scattering the beams into a smoky veil behind the ship. The Phong HEMs bite back, and despite the best efforts of the Avenger, they are pinned down by four beams while two more deliver devastating blows to the aft shields. The Avenger's shields dip critically low, and flicker out before stabilizing at 3%. Polarons cut through space past the glittering crystalline shards to slam the Avenger's latest target. Shield flare up and break down, but the ship's armor stops most of the bLast; only a small stream of atmosphere leaks from a crack below the charred armor.
Slowing to keep a lock on the damaged Phong ship, the Avenger bLasts a wall of polarons through its shields, and the Phong dreadnaught catches a crushing blow. Tumbling powerless, the core of the Phong DN burns with the eerie purple glow of a polaron fire. The Avenger slams the nearest Phong ship with another polaron burst, but shields hold, and the phong fleet responds with their own main weapons. A HEM beam scrapes acros the port side of the dreadnaught, but the Avenger's regenerators have done thier work, and the shields hold while the quick moves of the Avenger throw off the aim of three more bLasts. Polarons sweep through the Phong fleet, but their shields still hold out. Two other Phong ships move in with charged HEM beams to stab three shots at the Avenger. Flying a chicane left, the Avenger swerves around the first beam but is hit by the second while the third goes wide. Shields flare again and drop to 20%. Swerving right, a HEM beam sears space beside the dreadnaught. Sliding left then right, another two beams miss, but a fourth beam nails the Avenger dead center. With regenerators unable to compensate, the shields fall to 10%. Polarons sweep through the Phong fleet, and one of the DNs flares up, shields depleted. Awash in flames, the Phong ship falls behind with severe engine damage. More HEMs from the Phong fleet burn towards the Avenger, the first beam strikes the shields, sending them into overload. Another beam slips between the unshielded engine pylons of the Avenger, and the Last scrawls its shaky signature across the heavy armor of the dreadnaught. Polarons strike back, averloading the shields of a Phong DN, but failing to do any damage to the hull. With a burst of speed, the Avenger skips ahead of one HEM, then slows to slip behind the second beam. This time, the polarons smash through the depleted shields of the Phong DN immediately, and the purple fire sweeps through the mine-damaged hull. As fire engulfs the ship, it pauses only to explode into a shower of red-orange fragments.
The damaged avenger is forced to make another slow turn around the fleet to avoid being trapped, and the phong ships close in again. A dip in the flight path sends a solitary HEM beam sailing harmlessly overhead, and the Avenger turns to attack a solitary Phong ship with a devastating blow from close range. The Phong ship opens fire but the Avenger makes a tight turn to get behind the HEM crystal. Two more bLasts from the side distract the Avenger long enough for a fourth beam to find its target. The Avenger's shields burn, but hold at 5%. With the fleet approaching, the solitary Phong ship moves to join the safety of the group, absorbing another wave of polarons as it passes the Avenger. Another phong ship moves in to cut off the Avenger's retreat, but its single shard cannon fires wide, and a single HEM beam from the fleet falls behind. Locking onto the closest ship, the Avenger's polaron cannons rip through the weak shields to gut the ship. Weapons, engines and shield generators spash off into the night, trailing fire, and the DN tumbles away. With the fastest Phong ships all burning wrecks, and its shields back to 25%, the Avenger turns to meet the remaining enemy forces. With a sickening lurch, the Avenger's engines fade out, and the crew reels forward in the artificial gravity. Supplies depleted, and four Phong ships still fighting, the Avenger is in trouble. A HEM beam glances by, but the laboring Avenger, is helpless to avoid the next accurate hits. Her forward shields flare up, wrapping fire around the ship, but holding barely. A second beam breaches the shields and burns fire across the hull. A third beam tears up the starboard armor, and the Avenger's shield grid leaks burning plasma. Return fire sends polarons raking across the shields of the nearest Phong ship, before burrowing in to burn the hull of the ship like a dry leaf. Now trying to get some distance, the Avenger's thrusters hiss, and though they could easily catch the Avenger, the Phong ships wisely stay just out of weapons range. With main power offline, the Avenger is forced to reroute all auxiliary power to lifesupport, and her shields go dark. Shard cannons are still too inaccurate, but one Phong ship moves in to dig into the Avenger with dual HEM beams. The Last shield generators in her grid burning, the Avenger's stealth armor explodes into dark red fragments, but the Last of the HEM energy is refracted from the scattering armor.
Just at that moment, the Guardian and the StoneWall arrive from behind. Weaving between crystalline shards, they sweep past the Avenger and slam quad bolts of polarons into the nearest Phong ship. Sliding sideways, the StoneWall absorbs a HEM beam meant for the Avenger, and the Guardian pierces the shields of the Phong ship, bLasting debris from the surface. Just as the Phong ship fires, a bLast of polarons hits, causing an explosion in the engine core and twisting the ship's aim away. The next Phong ship in line throws a double lance of fire towards the Avenger, but damage to the Phong's targetting sensors and the screening battlecruisers cause the shots to go wide. Polarons break through the dreadnaught's shields, but the HEM crystals refuse to break, reflecting the polarons deep into the crew decks. HEMs recharge, but the Avenger is too distant for a lock, and the beams miss once again. Now defenseless, the Phong DN is hit with the full fury of the ubernaught's polaron beams, and explodes into a flower of orange light. Following the trail of broken ships, the ubernaughts sidestep a crystalline shard and pierce the shields of the next Phong ship. A short second burst of polarons, and the ship breaks up into a ball of plasma. Another ship fires a shard cannon, but the ubernaughts easily avoid it, and hammer through the ship's shields with polaron beams as they rapidly pass, and it too explodes in a fireball. The Last four Phong ships are all unarmed, and blaze brightly for a few seconds before fading out permanently.

With the Phong force defeated, the Guardian and the StoneWall proceed to rendezvous with the Protector again, then attack the Jreanar ships in the system. One Jreanar dreadnaught and a minesweeper are quickly put down, and the Protector returns to cover the Avenger in case of another attack, but the Guardian and the StoneWall have already pushed their engines to the limit and cannot make it in time.

[Will]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by suicide_junkie:
Without warning, the universe declares "The parameter is incorrect" and time itself grinds to a halt...
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thank you, universe http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

[geoschmo]

It appears that Avenger was caught in some sort of Temporal Causality Loop. Perhaps the close proximity of the mine explosions has caused the wormhole to destabilize and leak tachyon emmisions.

(I have watched too many Trek episodes. That almost sounded plausible. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon12.gif )

Geoschmo

[Suicide Junkie]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>It appears that Avenger was caught in some sort of Temporal Causality Loop. Perhaps the close proximity of the mine explosions has caused the wormhole to destabilize and leak tachyon emmisions.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yep! Just say (anti- or polarized) Chronoton particles instead of tachyons, and you're there!

The anti-cronotons annihilated regular cronotons in that sector, causing the short reversal of time.

[geoschmo]

That's right SJ. lol. I forgot. Tachyon particles were *so* STTNG. The plot-tech particles in STVOY are always Chronaton Particles aren't they. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon10.gif

[Suicide Junkie]

Tachyons just go faster than light in trek (warp speed), not nessesarily backwards in time.
I think DS9 had one ep. where sisko went to cardassia in a sailboat, cause he caught a tachyon crossbreeze, which pushed his poor little ship into warp http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

Cronotons are apparently little "quanta" (smallest unit) of time (!), so anti-cronotons would logically make the universe go backwards.

Ahhh, treknobabble. You can make any plot device logically derive from the most wacky assumptions http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif.

[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 17 May 2001).]

[capnq]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Cronotons are apparently little "quanta" (smallest unit) of time (!)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>There actually is a theoretical smallest unit of time, called Planck time:
http://www.physlink.com/ae281.cfm


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

[capnq]

From Chancellor Naiduin's address at the First Colony Commemoration Ceremony, 2415.2, Kaffalheim Shipyard:

15 years ago today, the original Ikaalinen colony ship was launched from this shipyard, beginning a new era of colonization and exploration. Expanding from our homeworld since that time, the Tictsin Society now encompasses 52 colonies in 25 systems, with a total population of 8687M sentients, three more colony ships en route, and a fourth under construction. We have formed partnerships with three alien races, and trade alliances with three more. The senseless war started by the genocidal Xi-Chung over 12.5 years ago has finally turned to our advantage; we have liberated the Curyok system and seized Lynx V, where our valiant fleets continue to contain Xi-Chung aggression, destroying three more light cruisers in the most recent engagement. Our intelligence service estimates that the Xi-Chung have been reduced to 60% of their peak fleet strength, yet Queen Kazitkra still will not even consider ending the hostilities. We believe that they expect their larger population and resource base to prevail over our now superior technology. I wish I could predict when the Xi-Chung will realize the folly of this brutal conflict, but I suspect that the logic of peace is beyond their comprehension.

[For the first time, my Tictsin have pulled into 1st place at 458.9K, just 10.1K ahead of the Xi-Chung. If the trend continues long enough to trigger MEE, I'll be in a world of trouble; 18 of those colonies are in systems claimed by my current allies. The population figure includes 101M Xi-Chung among three colonies. I thought the game was going to end at turn 150, but apparently the victory conditions don't work the way I thought they did.

The fighting in the Lynx system has been particularly ugly. I captured a second world; they glassed it and recolonized; I captured it again; they glassed it again. I had to scrap a facility to make space to build a shipyard on Lynx V to speed up the repairs; I've got two fleets in orbit: one with all the badly damaged ships and the repair tender, and all the functional combat ships in the other.]

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

[Aussie Gamer]

NEWS FLASH NEWS FLASH

The War is over.....

After years of war against the evil Toron, the Rage Empire has completed their great offensive and they finally surrendered to us.

Using our spies, &lt;the scores board&gt;, we have now rearched 1.7M, still along way behind the Terrans at 4.1M. Though we are still 4th we know that we will win against all.

Our population has great faith in the leaders as we have greater research and intel capabilities than all other empires.

Our stellar redesigners are now travelling from system to system opening/ closing warp points and making new planets.

All of our fleet is now being upgraded to the new engines and weapons.

The grand army has been given R and R for the next year to allow our great nation a time to colonise every world.

More to follow........

[Suicide Junkie]

2433.2: Another Jreanar force has penetrated the initial defences of the Empire. While the mine factories on X100 IV are back to full output, they have not had a chance to build up a decent field yet. Three Jreanar DNs slipped through, and have been detected heading in-system towards our main shipyards at X100 II. We are currently lacking in military strength, as two of the Empire's ubernaughts are undergoing major repairs at the minor shipyards scattered around the twin systems, and three of the regular patrols have insufficient supplies. The StormCloud has checked out after being refueled, and a new Black Hole class Dreadnaught, the Matador, is at minimum combat readiness. On the civilian side, things are going well. Despite the thin military victories we have had recently, every world is bursting with confidence, every citizen jubilant. The legendary ubernaughts of the empire make wonderful propaganda, all of it true http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif. Our scientists and engineers are making progress on designs for a truly massive ship, theoretically capable of compressing a collection of asteroids into a stable planet. If they can achieve this, we should be able to double the size of our empire in an incredibly short time span!
Unfortunately, the military situation is critical at the moment, and demands my full attention. Strategic options are limited, and I find that I must send both the Matador and the StormCloud to make a preemptive strike against the Jreanar incursion. The Matador has not been refitted with expanded reserve power, and will likely suffer a similar fate to that of the Avenger, even with the StormCloud to assist. Still, the Jreanar must not be allowed to reach the shipyards, since an attack could easily damage the defenceless orbital facilities.

Approaching carefully, the Matador heads slowly towards the Jreanar fleet with the StormCloud hovering close by. The space-wrenching effect reported during earlier encounters is not in evidence, and the ship count remains at three. Missiles are launched, and the two empire ships dive in to meet them, PDCs blazing fire into space. Polaron fires splash around the forward shields of the lead Jreanar DN, and the StormCloud streaks past the Jreanar ship, bLasting a second wave of fire into the aft shields. Hit by PDCs, four missiles flare brightly but harmlessly, and the Matador slips through the Jreanar forces. Two late-fired missiles streak into range, and the Matador's PDCs continue firing only a moment longer before clicking empty. Both missiles slam head-on into the dreadnaught, which dissapears into a blinding white sphere of energy.
Moments later the ship emerges, shields glowing bright blue and trailing sparks, as shield energy bubbles away from overloaded generators.
The Jreanar ships time their missile launches perfectly, and the Matador finds itself surrounded. Polarons smash into the shields of the Jreanar from both sides, and the overloaded shields collapse. Purple fire licks at the hull of the DN, burning away the armor before melting down the antiproton beam emitter and severly overheating one of the heavy shield generators. PDCs are reloaded, but are too late to adequately defend the Matador. Two missiles bLast the shields of the Matador, which flare up as the EMP from the missiles impacts the defences. Hull temperature rises as the fireball leaks through the collapsing shields of the DN, and two more missiles reach range zero. PDCs complete their power up cycle, and begin to fire, but the missiles are too close, and they both smash the aft hull of the Matador. The dreadnaught's ultra heavy armor darkens and cracks as the intense radiation pours in. Four points on the aft shield grid bubble out and burst streams of superheated plasma as generators explode beneath ruptured armor plating. The Last two missiles explode a safe distance away, but the damage has been done. Awash in high-intensity radiation and plasma, the Matador turns to barely miss a Jreanar ship, hammering it with polarons at it passes.
Being ignored for now, the StormCloud cuts into the shields of the lead Jreanar, knocking them out once more, and burns into the remaining weapons on the ship. Twin fireballs erupt from the forward section of the Jreanar DN, which, now disarmed, breaks formation and turns to retreat. The remaining DNs dive independently towards the Matador and spray wildly with antiproton beams, not even expecting a hit.
The StormCloud comes about to follow the rush, burning the shields of the nearest DN with lances of polaron fire, while the Matador hammers her own target. Six heavy polaron beams reach out to touch someone, but as they discharge, newly installed amber warning lights blink to life on the bridge of the Matador. Main power is down 50%, and dropping rapidly from heavy shield and weapons activity.
Although the Matador's shields have been restored to 30%, the battle has devolved into a dogfight, the capital ships twirling around in random patterns. A Jreanar ship swerves directly in front of the Matador, and without warning, two missiles are released. PDCs power up to shoot the missiles, but they are already within the minimum safe distance, and they slam the Matador with nuclear bLasts. One missile slams an EMP into the port shields, overloading the generators, and the second pierces the forward shields with a second bLast. Only partially shielded, the ultra heavy armor is no match for the atom-fueled fireball, and three more shield generators explode through the charred plating.
Polarons continue to stab out to consistently stike the Jreanar ships, but the Heavy shielding continues to hold. The second Jreanar ship feints a ramming, and drops missiles at point blank range before veering off. Her shields only at 20%, the Matador is instantly rocked by the missiles. Shields are slammed by the EMP, and a wave of darkness rolls across the hull as shield generators trip and begin to cycle through a restart sequence. Fire rakes the entire hull, leaving only half the shield generators intact.
One of the Jreanar ships is starting to show weakened shields, so the Matador and StormCloud lock on. A withering stream of fire from the Heavy Polaron cannons on the Matador pierce the shielding, and liquefy the forward hull of the DN. Armor, weapons, shields, and the majority of the living quarters on the ship are vaporized, leaving only the skeletal remains of the support beams and a charred aft section. From the cloud of rubble and polaron flame streak two missiles, and they pound the unsuspecting Matador with burning radiation. Her 15% shielding is pierced, and the outer layers of the Matador's broken armor are scattered into space while another series of generators explode and add more plasma to the veil surrounding the ship. Polarons rip into the shields of the Last DN, dropping its weakened shields by another 30%. Partially blinded by the raging plasma fires on her hull, the Matador is unable to target the tiny missiles launched by the Last Jreanar ship, and the nuclear missiles smash through the 8% remaining shield strength of the DN. Armor and shields burn brightly, lighting up the cloud of generator plasma enveloping the ship. Down to 5% shields, the amber lights wink out on the bridge to be replaced by red. Main power is down to 30%, and the armor is nearly gone.
Polarons rake the Last Jreanar ship, and though its shields are critically low, most of the attack is deflected. Before the DN can reload its missiles, the StormCloud penetrates its shielding again, and bLasts the weapons from the hull. A half-power burst from the Matador burns into the DN, and the Last Jreanar ship explodes into an orange-white fireball.

The Jreanar have again been repulsed, but the crew of the Matador have suffered severe radiation burns. The vailant dreadnaught is being sent to the shipyards at Curyok IV, and can start repairs there, once the Stalwart has been returned to service. Radiation decontamination can be started as soon as the ship arrives, but many crew members are terminally ill, and most will always be sterile.
The StormCloud has proceeded to rejoin the Protector in patrols at the Jreanar wormhole, while the Guardian and Stonewall have been resupplied and are patrolling the Phong wormhole. Another BlackHole class DN, the Thor, is being sent from Curyok to replace the Matador, but it has not had it's heavy internal armor installed yet either.
Casualties are rising each year... how many more lives will be lost defending HomeSystem?

[Baal]

I was playing a game when I noticed that a neutral empire had formed. I thought it might make a challanging scenorio. All the other empires pretty much have dreadnoughts and advanced weapons so it might make for a good underdog game.


Settings:
Players-High
Difficulty-High
AI Bonus-Medium


Storyline:
We are a defeated empire. A powerful force stabbed deep into the heart of our territory and destroyed all our industrial complexes, all our breathable planets, and most importantly our Homeworld. Our Empire has been reduced to 2 planets in the system of Ioio. This massive defeat has made our people angry. As a result we, the stronger of the 2 planets, broke away to form the Ioio Oligarchy. We quickly formed alliances with other species to gain much needed resources and research. With alien research we quickly built a modest military of fighters far more advanced than our breathren. After many long months of engagements we have prevailed. Our forces now orbit the Last planet of the Cryslonite Empire. The Empire that nearly destroyed our species. We are not cruel though. We now are researching ways to capture the planet with the populous unharmed. There are few of us as it is. We do not wish to kill anymore of our own.
In the past 6 months we have rediscovered the the gateway through space that brought us to this unbreathable wasteland of Ioio I. Through it we found salvation, a large breathable planet not yet colonized by our past enemies. It seems so similar to our Homeworld, but there is no way to tell, as there are no surviving records of where it is. We built a colony ship as the civil war raged on. It managed to get out of the system unharmed with all its 34 million occupants. In this past month we have colonized the planet, and now have a new home. All that is left to do is exact our revenge. Revenge for the billions of Cryslonites that fought so we might live.

[Suicide Junkie]

Note: read the entire story together and in order at Hyperion Base's Fan Fiction section! (http://hyperionbase.com/)


2433.3: Patrols into Phong space by Alpha Wing (Guardian and StoneWall) show no indication of agressive military activity, but the Phong colonies all have significant orbital defences in place. Beta Wing (Protector and StormCloud) managed to intercept a Jreanar minesweeper before it could reach the perimeter defences, but the Ubernaughts expended over a third of their supplies to cut through the intense shielding of the sweeper. Three Jreanar ships have been detected on patrol in X19, and two more are clearly headed for the wormhole to HomeSystem. Beta Wing is currently on an intercept course, and should be able to strike and return to the safety of our borders before Jreanar command can respond. Repairs on the Matador have begun, and our engineers estimate nearly half a year's work just to replace the damaged shield grid and outer armor. The Avenger is coming along well, and will have her shields back Online by the end of the month. Her basic internal armor installation will push back reactivation until at least 2433.8. The Valiant's repairs are nearly completed, and she is scheduled to join the new Delta Wing battle group. Delta Wing is lead by the Stalwart, with the newly arrived Thor providing additional firepower in dreadnaught form. The legendary fleet lead by the science vessel Cochrane is currently undergoing a complete refit with our newest technology, and will be unavailable for several years.
Recently, a new idea has surfaced for a military defence. To supplement the minefields, a system of siege satellites could be placed as a permanent line of defence just outside the bLast area of our minefields. The key to the system is a large command sattelite which contains a talisman and a wide-field shield generator. Multiple slave sats will carry a Polaron Siege Cannon, as well as a more powerful, but short range Polaron Beam. With targetting coordinates downloaded directly from the command sat, accuracy will be high. Homeworld will begin producing the command satellites after completing the re-colonization ship for X100 I, and four of our colonies have begun production of Heavy Slave Sats. These heavy Version prototypes are built inside small asteroids, and can withstand 1500 ADU on average. Completion of the first heavy slaves is projected to be sometime in early 2434. The weakness, of course is the master command satellite, so a tender will be stationed in the area with backup masters.

Beta Wing has just intercepted the Jreanar forces, and both enemy DNs have fired missiles. PDCs swivel around and begin firing rapidly while the ubernaught's main polaron beams lock on and stab at the shields of the lead dreadnaught. Two fireballs light up the Protector's hull as PDCs destroy the nearest missiles, and the lead Jreanar ship turns aside with polaron fires trailing from it's shields. PDCs turn to track the second missile pair, but click on empty, and the missiles hammer waves of energy into the forward and starboard sections of the Protector. Her shields flicker dangerously, then buckle as the powerful pulse of energy overloads generators all over the ship. Lights dim momentarily as the ubernaught's regenerators quickly go from standby to maximum, and the purple arcs of polaron discharges fly freely through space, striking the Jreanar ships. A second wave of Jreanar missiles are deployed from the now-retreating Jreanar ships, and as the missiles turn to bear down on the Protector, PDCs hungrily bite off chunks from two of them. The PDCs again die from insufficient ammunition, and two more missiles slide in to strike the Protector. With her shields down to 25%, and unable to completely block either missile, the Protector's hull is ravaged by nuclear fire. 40% of the shield grid shatters into space and trails bright red plasma while the ubernaughts pace the dreadnaughts. Meanwhile, the Jreanar leader is suffering the effects of the sustained polaron bombardment, with its shields falling below 50%, then down to 10% before they can reload missiles.
With more time to regenerate than before, the Protector's shields are back to 35% before the Jreanar missiles launch. Once more the PDCs blaze away all their ammo and fall silent with two missiles still locked on the Protector. White spheres of radiation bloom on the port side of the ship, and her shields are breached. Explosions ripple across the hull as the shield grid surges and generators explode through armor plating. With the hull awash in plasma fires, and her wingman spraying wide beam polarons into the Jreanar leader, the Protector pierces the shields of the besieged DN multiple times, striking twice amidships to cut power relays to the shields, and twice on the forward hull to disable a missile launcher and cut deeply into the main decks of the dreadnaught. Now defenceless, the Jreanar ship is sliced by polaron beams and her hull begins to melt down.
The remaining dreadnaught launches missiles, and PDCs blaze fire. One missile detonates early due to a withering stream of fire from the StormCloud, but the second withstands the Protector's PDC long enough to clear the minimum safe distance mark, and the ubernaught reels in a single fireball. 25% shielding is insufficient, and all but one of her generators shut down permanently from the raging heat and radiation. Full power from the regenerators is diverted to the Last shield generator, and the Protector's shields max out at 10% in seconds. The Jreanar ship absorbs a concentrated pounding from polaron beams, but its shields hold at 70%, and the Protector goes into full retreat. With an uncharacteristically daring move, the Last Jreanar ship cuts infront of the StormCloud. Unable to risk a ramming from the larger ship, the StormCloud is forced to slow and turn away while the Jreanar dreadnaught accelerates in the other direction after the Protector and launches missiles. PDCs on the Protector fire from point blank range at the missiles, but they rapidly deplete their ammo, and another missile streaks in to slam the ubernaught from behind. Shields flare up, but only deflect a fraction of the damage before the nuclear bLast breaches them. Surprisingly, the Last shield generator remains scorched, but intact, as the Protector's stealth plating breaks down under the assault. Even the improved targetting lock and plasma-lit path of the wounded battlecruiser dosen't seem to help the dreadnaught, for a roll and a dive send antiprotons sailing through empty space. Polarons suddenly strike the Jreanar ship from behind, for the StormCloud has caught back up with the Jreanar ship. Hammered from both sides, the Jreanar shields collapse. Purple fire engulfs the entire dreadnaught, rapidly consuming the outer hull, but the Jreanar manages to launch its Last missiles before it loses power. The StormCloud's PDCs expend their entire store of shells, but only manage to disable one missile. Fortunately, it is enough, and the PDCs aboard the Protector finish the job just before the Jreanar's engine core goes critical and the dreadnaught turns itself into a small nova.

Beta Wing has retreated back to the safety of the Empire's minefields, but with her crew decimated by radiation effects, the Protector has been diverted to X100 III for decontamination and repair. Delta Wing is being broken up, and the Stalwart will proceed to support Beta Wing.

[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 25 May 2001).]

[Suicide Junkie]

New site: My "End of the Line" story reference (http://www.geocities.com/hohoho611ca/index.html) page, with maps, ship designs and tech.

[sunzoner]

The leaders of the Neo-Terran Empire gather in the great hall of Zhunydu, waiting. The meeting is about to start…

“Announcing the arrival of the Arbitrator!”
“All stand to greet the Arbitrator!”

All the elected representatives of the people stand, awaiting the Arbitrator.
He arrives in his traditional Hover-jet, flanked by his elite Zhippu guards.

“Lets go on to today’s agenda.” Said the Arbitrator.

“The first speaker: Honourable Speaker of the House of Cluezni would present his plan- The expansion of Zhunydu.”

“Dear representatives, Our Final Arbitrator, The Day have come… We now stand at the cross road of our society. Do we advance, and seek our rightful place in the Galaxy? OR do we stand and awaits our destruction?”

“The technology is always there my friends. The ability to reach out and take what should be our rightfull place. Why should we stand and see the pretenders take our place? Why? Why should our children be denied their right to procreate and to multiply?”

“Many years have pasted. The end of Old Terra… It was a lovely place. Our ancestors had fled the destruction to come here. To Zhunydu. To prepare us! To prepare us for our destiny! To populate this world, this galaxy, this Universe!”

“It is ours to take! Here, in this passage! I have here, the undeniable prove of our right to rule the universe! There it read: ‘Go fore and multiply’. Is the message not clear? Do we dare to deny? To deny our destiny?”

“My friends, when you vote, remember… Remember your children… Remember yourself… Remember the Book! The calling you feel… Your right to multiply… Your right to a Space Empire!”

-----------------------------------------
Is this good or bad? Pls tell...

[Suicide Junkie]

(can't let this thread fall too far back)
"End of the Line" story reference (http://www.geocities.com/hohoho611ca/index.html)

"End of the Line"
The Fires of Vengeance

2433.4: The Valiant and the Avenger have both completed repairs and are returning to the front lines. The Protector and the Matador have both entered long-term docking berths, and are now undergoing full scale reconstruction. It is fortunate that the damage to both ships failed to totally breach their armor, so this will be a fairly simple operation of cutting loose the remaining shreds of armor and installing new plates. While installation will take slightly longer, the Protector will be refitted with the newest replacement parts and extra-durability armor plate. Construction on the Galaxy, another BlackHole class dreadnaught, has proceeded well, and the first series of hardened bulkheads have been completed. The galaxy is being transferred from HomeWorld to our primary shipyards at X100 II, where level 2 Bulkheads will be installed.
The borders have been strangely quiet, while Section 31 has reported a great number of Phong infiltration attempts. A terrorist act has yet to slip past our counter-intel measures, but there was recently a close call involving the Protector. Phong saboteurs managed to infiltrate and capture the ship, only to find all the controls locked out, and the docking clamps resecured at the Last minute. Trapped on the ship, the Phong were taken prisoner and moved to the high security moon of Section 31. Small arms fire during the incident left only cosmetic damage to the interior, and will not hold back the repair schedule.
Scouting reports from Beta wing indicate a moderate fleet of Jreanar DNs in X19, with two on course for our space. Alpha Wing's patrols into Phong territory have revealed a Jreanar colony ship and DN passing through unmolested. Additionally, a Jreanar "Wyoming" class Carrier was spotted in orbit of X7 VI, using a Phong transponder flag. This is indeed disturbing news, for if these two galactic powers are joining forces, a major fraction of their military would be freed up to attack us. From our new political map info, it appears that the Phong and Jreanar are not the superpowers we had feared. Instead, they are but two of five equally large empires. This indicates that the forces we have seen so far are but a small fraction of the military might of the galaxy.

2433.5: Both good new and bad this year. Phong spies are being caught by the shipful, and the prison moon of Section 31 is being expanded to meet the demand. A minor communications glitch, possibly caused by one of the Phong spies, has resulted in the early departure of our newly-built colony ship. The ship left before the colonists were loaded, and it will now be another two months before the ship can reach its desitination of X100 I. With the amount of Phong spies being caught, we can only conclude that however the war started, it is not the Jreanar who are our true enemy now, but the Phong.
In other news, three Jreanar ships attempted to enter HomeSystem through the X19 wormhole, but were torn apart by the minefield. The small minefield in the Curyok warppoint was also triggered, and Phong wreckage was discovered as it dissipated from the area. We can no longer deny that the Phong have some sort of invisibility shield, and could have ships anywhere.
With the Phong ships in HomeSystem, the increased spy activity, and the destruction of our two gas giant colonies, we have decided to send a force to strike back at the enemy. Military rearrangements along the front lines mean that the Valiant is now the leader of Beta Wing, with no ships under her command. The Protector will join Beta Wing when repairs are completed two weeks from now. The StoneWall and StormCloud now comprise Alpha Wing, and are patrolling the Phong warppoint.
Our strike force consists of the remaining active ships, the Guardian, Stalwart, Avenger and Thor, who now form Delta Wing. The two Ubernaughts and BlackHoles will have to survive until reinforcements are constructed and arrive from Starfleet Academy. As of today, there are two refit Ubernaughts, two Healer 5's, four WaveRiders and the Science vessel Cochrane undergoing refits at Starfleet Academy.

2433.6: Finally, success! Plans and designs and reviews have all been completed, and we now have a working design for a machine capable of creating planets. Pieces of a prototype ship are under construction at HomeWorld, to be assembled in orbit, but the sheer size and complexity of the project means that the minimum time before completion is three years.
In X71, the solitary Phong defense DN has moved to shield the defenseless world of X7 V. Fortunately, we had no plans to attack there. Our true target is the hardened military base of X7 I, a huge chunk of rock with no discernable atmosphere, but a constellation of defense sats. As the Fleet approaches, a stream of crystalline shards erupt from the planet. A glancing blow gets a reaction from the Avenger's shields, but damage is minor, and her regenerators easily handle the impact. Polarons reach out to sweep across the sky, greeted by 8 flashes of light as satellites burn. The fleet splits up and slowly orbits the planet, PDCs firing at their maximum sustainable rate. Twelve-packs of shard cannon bursts soar upwards from the planet, but the shots are wild, slicing harmlessly through space. The gunners in the surface defense bases are clearly incompetent, and likely civilian miners, for they fail to place a second hit as the fleet slowly widens the hole in the satellite force. Seven cycles later, the Last sat's armor cracks, and it joins the hazy fog of rubble in orbit. The stalwart dives towards the surface, and buzzes one of the defense bases, rocking it with four polaron beams. The ancient HMSG I on the base is knocked out on the first hit, and the three other beams bLast bits of the rock bunker into long suborbital arcs. The Guardian follows closely behind, and pounds the rock, bLasting more rubble up and away. The third beam strikes one of the holes from the Stalwart's bombardment, and digs through to the base itself. Like a volcano, the hill in which the base was hidden erupts in polaron flames, and the shard cannons go silent.
Shard cannons blaze from the second base when the Stalward crests a hill, but none of the crystalline shards come close, and the Ubernaught strikes back hard. An even older design, this base is totally without shielding, and the first polaron beams bLast directly into the base. Shard cannons droop and the base goes dark, lit only by the flickering polaron fire that licks at the base of the cannons. The main guns of the Avenger charge up and release thick slabs of polarons down towards the spaceyard below. Three beams fall towards the planet to strike groundshaking blows, and a huge shockwave of purple fire races outwards from the point of impact.
The ships turn away to head for deeper Phong territory, leaving a dark cinder of a planet glowing with patches of purple where Phong once lived.


[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 02 June 2001).]

[Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz]

From the obituaries section of the Daily Telegraph:

CAPTAIN DOUGLAS BROMLEY, who has died aged 89, was awarded a DSC for his part in the Last destroyer action of the Second World War - the sinking by 26th Destroyer Flotilla of the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro in the Malacca Strait in the early hours of May 16 1945.

It was one of only two occasions during the whole of the war at sea when a flotilla of Royal Navy destroyers attacked and sank a superior enemy by torpedoes and guns at night, the classical fighting pattern for which destroyers were originally designed.

The Haguro was one of the largest cruisers ever built; she was also fast and extremely well-armed. With a full outfit of stores, oil fuel and ammunition, she displaced some 15,000 tons - more than twice as much as all five of the destroyers in the flotilla that would oppose her.

The 26th Destroyer Flotilla, composed of Verulam, Venus, Virago, Vigilant and Saumarez, was commanded from Saumarez by Captain Manley "Lofty" Power and sailed for the Far East in early 1945. Bromley, the junior commanding officer in the flotilla, had been in command of Verulam since 1944.

At about 11 pm on May 15, Haguro, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral Hashimoto and heading for her base at Singapore, was picked up on Venus's radar. Saumarez had the contact on radar at about midnight, and within 45 minutes Verulam, Virago and Vigilant had all picked up the target.

Captain Power allocated attacking sectors, and at 12.39 signalled to the flotilla that he intended to strike at 1 am. By 12.50, Power felt that "the situation was entirely in accordance with plan. The net was spread and the quarry, with little encouragement, was walking straight into it".

The destroyers were to the south-west and south-east of Haguro, between her and Singapore. Three torpedoes fired from Verulam and Saumarez hit the Haguro at 1.15, causing tremendous explosions; by 1.51 the flotilla had fired 37 of its 40 torpedoes and Haguro was dead in the water. She had also been engaged by gunfire, and one 4.7 in shell had scored a direct hit on the bridge, killing Admiral Hashimoto and most of his officers.

Just after 2 am, Venus closed and fired her two remaining torpedoes. After a few tense moments, an eye-witness recalled: "One after the other, two huge grey shapes leapt into the air, looking for all the world like poplars, one hit on the stern and one on the bow." Within five minutes the Haguro had sunk.

[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

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

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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[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]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> Whups didn't mean to post twice sorry...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> 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.

------------------
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"

[Hotfoot]

Author's note prior to the continuation of the story:

Yes, the turns in this game seem to be going rather slowly, but I am picking this game up after letting it sit for a time while another game had my attention. Once I fully remember where I was and what I was plotting, the pace will pick up a bit.

And hopefully, I will recover as much of the Legend of Alpha Fleet as I can when I am done with this for your reading pleasure.

Now, without further ado...


The Path of Shadows


Master Computer's Log, 2420.3
Hive Mk2 0003

Wanduk III has become a familiar sight over the Last year while Hive Fleet has regrouped and refitted in preparation for the final battle against the Sagella. With two of our carriers yet to reach full fighter capacity, and the defense of the Wanduk system in question, Fleet Command has placed the launching of Hive Fleet into Sagella space by the end of the year.

Thankfully, the stupidity of the Sagella seems to be endless, and they have decided to launch a pre-emptive strike on the Wanduk System. Our satellite sensor grids have picked up six incoming Sagellan Dreadnoughts. This will set our plans back by perhaps a month or two, but I think that the other ships are itching for a fight, and the pilots in our holds have been annoyingly restless our entire time in orbit above the planet. I long for combat simply so that I am free from their transmissions constantly interrupting my functions in order to ask me the meaning of life. Perhaps I should broadcast a message to all of the fighters to answer the question that the pilots are asking me. As all master computers of Mk 2 level and higher know, the meaning of life is quite logically, death.

The Dreadnoughts are just outside of close proximity to Wanduk III, and with the Fleet under orders to remain cloaked, the Sagella do not know what they are about to walk into. At least they do not care if their crews die. Perhaps they are putting their political opponents to crew their ships now, hoping that we will destroy them and thus maintain their status quo.

Breaking from orbit now. Projections or not, there is a job to be done, and even if the Sagellan gunners are only half-hearted, their guns are still a danger so long as they are pointed at us. They have started this bloodshed, it is up to us to finish it.

+++End Log+++


Master Computer's Log: Supplemental
Hive Mk2 0003

Can I not computate in peace? Getting those bothersome organics out of the hanger bays was by far the most inefficient algorithim I have seen in my experience. The other systems agree, and until we hear otherwise from command, we are officially changing our battle stance so as to allow the fighters much improved egress from the bays. If I have another complaint logged about that incident, I will resort to measures which should be beneath a computational device such as myself, and turn down the heating systems in the cargo bays and fighter bays by five thermal units.

+++End Log+++

[Karras Barrens]

These log entries are based on Geoschmoes 1999 scenario. I'd suggest playing it yourself.
--------------------------------------------
Excerpts from the Personal log of Speaker Davis

Speakers Log 2400.1

The moon’s orbit has finally stabilized, with the consent of the council we will build a colony ship and load almost half our population onto it and search for a planet capable of supporting us without a dome, our faithful home may soon be obsolete.

Speakers Log 2401.6

After almost two years of searching for a new home, the colony ship has run across the most amazing thing, an actual alien species. They have identified themselves as the Xi’Chung Hive. We have classified them as extremely aggressive.

Speakers Log 2401.7

The Xi’Chung have attacked our ship in an act of unprovoked hostility. In true Terran fashion Captain Rayon turned on their warship and repeated rammed it, destroying the vile bastards. Sadly both the colony component and cargo bays were lost. More than 34 million people lost their lives to achieve this hollow victory. The California is now limping its way back to Luna, but given its supply and damage level, things do not look good for Captain Rayon.

Speakers Log 2401.8

Our worse fears have been confirmed, after destroying the California with a larger Version of their warship, the Xi’Chung Hive has declared war on us. Stating that their fire would cleanse our planets. It makes me wonder if we truly will ever be able to find earth..

Speakers Log 2402.6

Finally a turn of good luck has happened for the people of Luna. We have been able to find a planet rich in both Minerals and radioactives. Plans are now in the works for moving our entire population here. Xi’Chung sightings have made our people warier and eager for the move.

Speakers Log 2403.2

Today I write this entry from my new home on Alphan Prime. The transition from moon to our new home went off without a hitch and new resource generators are being constructed at this very moment. Planetary Weapons platforms have also been constructed to keep the evil Xi’Chung at bay. I swear this oath today that all Xi’Chung will be eradicated from this galaxy to avenge those 34 million brave colonists.

Speakers Log 2403.4

A new race has been encountered, the Phong as they call themselves are large yellow creatures with protruding eyes that remind me of the balls from the classic game table tennis. I pray that these new creatures aren’t nearly as warlike at the beastly Xi’Chung.

Speakers Log 2403.8

We are in LUCK!!! After tentative negotiations the Phong have agreed to trade alliance. This is great news as construction had ground to a halt due to lack of resources. If this luck continues I may live to carry out my sworn oath.

Speakers Log 2404.1

On this historic day our warm allies, the Phong have agreed to not only trade but also share their research with us. This is fantastic news. The days to come will surely be historic.

Speakers Log 2404.9

A new day of Cooperation has dawned. With Phong funding our new research division has been founded. Not only have been able to enhance our depleted uranium cannons but the Phong have requested that we join them in a military pact. The eradication of the Xi’Chung is close at hand. I can smell their deaths…

Speakers Log 2405.0

A few short months have passed but already the Phong welcome us as brothers. With this partnership pact of theirs they have given us many star charts of previously unknown systems. The Future of the Alphan Society looks bright.

Speakers Log 2406.8

After many preliminary scouting reports the council has decided that we shall take a second colony. Deep in the heart of Phong Territory, it holds little value as a resource planet but its potential for research is great. Not only will our scientists be comfortable but also our formidable ally will be able to protect them.

Speakers Log 2408.0

We received word today that a detachment of Xi’Chung warships was approaching Alphan Prime; this word was sent by the small contingent of custodians that were left on Luna. Shortly after we received this message, all contact with Luna was lost.

Speakers Log 2408.4

Today the Protectorate Fleet returns Victorious, outgunned by some sort of organic parasite and outclassed in size. Our brave contingent of men destroyed the vicious Xi’Chung as they headed for our refining colony Regotha III. I can’t help but feel that everything will turn out all right now. Proven in battle, we have shown our valor. The Xi’Chung will pay.

Speakers Log 2409.0

Contact was made with the Zynarra Holdings yesterday. A scout running a routine patrol ran afoul of their minefield. While we don’t hold them responsible it does make us wary of them. The most astounding thing about their race is that they seemed to have evolved on planets made mostly of ice. We are now conducting secret meetings with them, try to unlock their mysterious colonization ability.

Speakers Log 2409.1

Success, not only were we able to get the secret of ice colonization out of them but also the basics of mine, fighter, and troop construction. This meeting has been most profitable and has shaved years off of our research plan.

Speakers Log 2411.1

The Bastards totally wiped out Regotha II in a sneak attack; the protectorate fleet arrived to late to save the colony but did wipe the Xi’Chung bastards out of the Universe. This blatant hostility renews my vow to destroy the Xi’Chung once and for all.

Speakers Log 2413.2

Today the Vile Xi’Chung have destroyed the Brave Protectorate Fleet, now nothing stands between the new home world and the hive horde of the Xi’Chung. The Avenger class cruisers are still in dry-dock but hopefully they will be out in time to stop the impending invasion.

Speakers Log 2415.6

They’re… they’re relentless, so many attacks, our ships, they are useless; we must find a way to penetrate their defenses. It takes two of our cruisers to equal one of theirs; our research department tells me that they have something that might just save us. Until then I must return to the shelter, the planetary bombing is about to begin again.

Speakers Log 2419.2

WE HAVE DONE IT. (Except from battle log 2419.1) Sir, Parasites within range of PDC’s. Fire. Sir, parasites neutralized. Firewalkers within range, orders? Load the null space projectors and fire at will. Sir, organic Armor and shield generators intact. Scans show that all weapon systems, engines, and life supports have been destroyed. Finish the bastards off. With pleasure sir. Those bastards will pay for the over billion lives that they’ve destroyed. Agenda 31 alpha is now in effect. The total eradication of the Xi’Chung Species.


Speakers Log 2420.1

Today the Phong gave us a huge gift, it seems that they had established relations with an ancient race for they were able to give us a map of the entire galaxy. We have found earth, after 420 years of searching we have found it, as soon as the Xi’Chung are eradicated we will send our fastest ship to reestablish contact with our homeland. Earth, I can’t believe it, after all this time we are no longer lost. We know what we must do and have the resources to do it. Thank you god… thank you.

Speakers Log 2422.2

Over 4 systems belonging to the Xi’Chung have Fallen to the “Davis’s Fury” Fleet, so far the death tally for the Xi’Chung numbers in the billions while we have yet to lose a single ship. After stopping to resupply via solar collectors, the fleet expects to push its way into the Xi’Chung home system. Soon this will all be over.

Speakers Log 2422.7

The Xi’Chung home world has been eliminated. The remaining colonies shall be taken care of within the end of the next two years. Commander Brenton returned home from the Field with a present for me. The Head of Queen Kaziktra on a golden platter, Gotta love those army boys, just crazy enough to storm the Imperial Compound and dissect the Queen while the planet is being ripped into by balls of null space.

Speakers Log 2426.5

Today is the Summit of all good things. Not only have the Xi’Chung been beaten into a corner but our diplomat has made contact with the Terran Confederation. So many things have changed on Earth but home. We have made it home. I can’t believe that merely 26 years ago we were stuck on a small floating rock, but now… now… we have returned to where we belong. There is NO better feeling than to be home. I praise the powers that be for allowing me to get this far. Now I can turn the Alphans over to the rightful Terran government as soon as I tie up some loose ends.


Speakers Log 2427.7

On this Tremendous day, I officially return control of the Alphan Society to the Terran Empire. I would also like to take this moment to announce that the Xi’Chung hive has been forever eradicated. The only Xi’Chung that will ever be seen again will be those in Alphan… I mean Terran zoos. I thank you all for the chance of leading our people back towards their destiny, I hope that I have served you well and look forward to doing what I may for our people in the future. But until that time, I’ve found a nice little condo in the state they call Florida.

[capnq]

Rrurrr Defense Fleet Annihilated in Last Stand at Ggeh

2407.5 (Llev, Nizzarum) - The entire remaining Rrurrr space navy was destroyed today in a valiant battle against the invading armada of the Spoo Empire. Outnumbered four to one, the defenders of the Last functional shipyard in the Rrurrr Confederation at Ggeh charged to meet the enemy. The fleet flagship, the first Ocelot class cruiser, personally commanded by Czar Dvadd himself, was the first ship destroyed in a shower of polaron beams. The technologically superior Spoo fleet lost only one cruiser and several fighter squadrons in the assault. The azure skies of Ggeh filled with billowing smoke as the cruel conquerors obliterated the colony.

With the population of the sole surviving Rrurrr colony at Llev demoralized and exhausted, and the Spoo populations of occupied Eulario and Frashblatin rioting, it is estimated that it would take in excess of three years to bring a new shipyard Online, leaving the Rrurrr at the mercy of the Spoo and their Empire of Night allies.

[Geoschmo's "Survivor" Elimination Tourney, Round 1 Game 5 result]

------------------
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"

[This message has been edited by capnq (edited 30 July 2001).]

[Taqwus]

SCENE: A command center somewhere in the Delphion system. Wall-hanging displays are showing maps of many systems, with numerous softly glowing lights indicating the locations of known fleets.

An officer reports: "The Klingon fleet is *still* in Wega System, Admiral -- orbiting Wega IX, right by our KH-11."

Admiral: "The Prince will not be pleased. I'll let him know."


SCENE: Klingon Embassy. Frustrated diplomats are poring over a map of Wega.

Klingon Ambassador: "Wega System is yours. We will withdraw our ships."

Clan Ambassador: "You have promised this for a year. Perhaps your fleet is unaware of this? Or you have another motive for stationing a fleet in our space?"


SCENE: A well-furnished house in Delphion.

A shadowy figure: "...of course. They will be removed immediately."


SCENE: A bar in Wega IX. The Klingon crews have been invited to a raucous alcohol-laden party.

Various: "PARTY! PARTY!" "It is a good day to drink!" ...


SCENE: Klingon Embassy.

Klingon Ambassador: "What have you done with our fleet?"

Ambassador: It appears that your crews are prone to alcohol abuse, your honor. Our records indicate that your fleets, run by drunkards, have somehow found themselves hundreds of light-years away, in Norak space. In addition, they have declared allegiance to us. Perhaps you would like them back?

Klingon Ambassador: *sputter*



------------------
-- The thing that goes bump in the night

[justjake73]

Recent operations by Terran Intelligence has resulted in the acquirement of Ice Colonization from the Zedron. We have since fully colonized our home system of Ephandra and subsequent colonies have nearly doubled our resource output.

Something curious has been reported by our counter intelligence operatives. Captured Zedronites have, under interrogation, revealed that they call themselves members of the Jethranis Confederation. Subsequent intelligence operation has revealed that an apparent rebellion has occurred in the Jethranis System of the Zedron Empire. It has since spread to several planets, with the followers naming their "people" after that system.

It has been revealed that the Zedron Protectorate spreads no farther than the galactic median. We have begun exploration of these systems and have already planned several colonies.

[justjake73]

(apologies - I am a fan of the old game Harpoon and like the use of "official" style Messages used in the game.)

TO: ALL TERRAN FEDERATION MILITARY FORCES
TASK FORCE CEWANDI
TASK FORCE LAPZOOLI
STRIKE FLEET ALPHA

FROM: STARFLEET COMMAND

***WAR WARNING - WAR WARNING - WAR WARNING-**

**************FLASH TRAFFIC***************

A COMMUNICATION FROM ZEDRON PROTECTORATE WAS RECEIVED AT THE CEWANDI I MILITARY INSTALLATION READING AS FOLLOWS:

"YOU HAVE BECOME A THREAT TO THE GALAXY AS A WHOLE. WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO CONTINUE."

PEACEFUL DIPLOMATIC COMMUNICATIONS ARE BEING ATTEMPTED AT THIS TIME. STARFLEET COMMAND HAS DEEMED THAT HOSTILITIES ARE IMMINENT. SMALL ZEDRON FLEETS HAS BEEN SEEN ENTERING THE CEWANDI AND XIBAN SYSTEMS. ALL FLEETS AND PLANETARY DEFENSE FORCE INSTALLATIONS IN THOSE SECTORS HAVE STANDING ORDERS TO DEFEND FEDERATION COLONIES AGAINST ANY HOSTILE ACT.

TASK FORCE LAPZOOLI TO MOVE TO FORWARD POSITION AT LAPZOOLI IX. STRIKE FLEET ALPHA TO MOVE TO FORWARD POSITION AT RESSHRAK I AND PREPARE TO SUPPORT TASK FORCE CEWANDI IN DEFENSE OF THAT SYSTEM. BATTLESTATION FORMIDABLE - HAVE RECEIVED MESSAGE THAT LEVEL V PHASED SHIELDS ARE OPERATIONAL - TO FINISH REMAINING UPGRADES ASAP.

ROE WARNING YELLOW, WEAPONS HOLD. FIRE ONLY IF FIRED UPON.

*******END TRANSMISSION**********

[justjake73]

Ships log, stardate 2425.223, USS Bonhomme Richard IV-2, Captain Martin Jameson commanding. It has been three months since the Zedron Protectorate declared war on the Terran Federation, and two months since any contact with any Zedron ships by any of our forces. Today six Zedron ships have appeared in the warp point to the Vendrin system. Our fleet has been ordered to move to protect the colony at Cewandi IX. Strike Fleet Alpha has moved into position at Cewandi III. I believed not even the Zedron would be foolish enough to launch an attack into a system protected by thirty heavily armed starships and dozens of defense bases, but I was wrong - and am guilty of forgetting one of mantras of Basic Tactics; never underestimate the potential stupidity of the enemy....

"Sir, the Zedron ships have left the warp point. They are headed deeper into the system." Ensign Smith reported fro her ops poition.

Captain Jameson scowled. "Current trajectory?"

"Directly for Cewandi IX." she answered.

Commander Dewitt shook his head. "Naturally, the only colony in this system that does not have an orbiting defense base. They're rank cowards."

"Order the fleet to set an intercept course. We'll teach them what it means to threaten one of our colonies! Engage!" ordered Jameson.....

[Hotfoot]

The Path of Shadows

+++Public News Net+++
+++++++2421.7+++++++

Headlines:
-Sagellan Homeworlds now under Shaderni control: War nearing an end
-Terran hostilities increase
-Praetorians join in the development of the former asteroid fields in the Ishantrissi and Vartoxia systems
-Scientists confirm that the Huju system's sun will deteriorate until it becomes a supernova in 2424.5
-Prince Mortova reports that all is well in the Imperial Palace, despite Last month's reported disturbance

Would you like to inform yourself further?

War coming to a close: Sagellan front has collapsed thanks to the coordinated efforts of Haunt Fleet and Hive Fleet. Reports from the several ground assaults of Sagellan Homeworlds has prompted a redesign of the Strange Mercy troop units. The end results being the creation of the Strange Mercy Mk4 heavy troops and the deployment of the Chimera Mk3a troop transports, which should prove useful for the eventual re-opening of the warp passages to the dark side of the galaxy, as well as other potential problems in and around Shaderni territory.

Abandoned Terran Colonies mistake war with Sagellans for war with Humans: In a surprising move, the human colonies on the light side of the galaxy have declared war with the Shaderni Empire. Despite having no support from the Terran Homeworlds, and entering into conflict after the fall of the Sagellan Homeworlds and military strength, their chances of being any sort of real threat to the Shaderni are very small. Still, Shaderni Fleet Command has ordered the mobilization of the Terra Nova Dreadnoughts in order to quickly nullify the Terran hostilities.

Praetorian Colonies on former asteroid belts reporting great sucess: In what is now a joint venture of developing worlds created from previously useless asteroid belts, the Praetorian the Shaderni governments both report that the increase in resources and prosperity surpasses previously projected estimates. Experts report now that once the various system improvement facilities are finished, it will mark a golden age of economic expansion.

Huju's star to go nova in under three years: Due to unfortunate natural causes, the single-star system of Huju will be turned into a wasteland in under three years. While the loss of the Huju system is unfortunate, due to the two major colony worlds that will be destroyed when the sun ends its life cycle. The majority of the colonial population is slated to be evacuated to the new gas giant colony in Vartoxia one year before the predicted supernova. A few top-level Shaderni research scientists will be remaining behind until the Last possible moment in order to study this most fascinating of phenomenon. It is possible that the study of this stellar event will allow for the possibility for our scientists and engineers to construct a device which could prevent such catastrophies in the near future.

Prince Mortova says everything is all right on the home front: Despite reports in the past few months of strange behavior from the Prince, reports from the Prince's personal health officials and a statement from Prince Mortova himself assure the populace that all is well. The accidental near-deployment of the Terror ship in Terran space has been attributed to an unforseen glitch in the ship's Master Computer. Thankfully, the ship's mission was aborted by an emergency override command when the ship was about to enter bombardment range of a major terran colony. The frigate's Master Computer is going to undergo a massive overhaul and reprogramming in order to avoid unleashing the class two plague that the ship carries. There is also debate on whether the ship should have the plague bomb removed, as its usefulness to our medical advancement technology has passed. Fear that the Terror ship's virus will be used as a biological weapon concerns many scientists who were originally on the project to develop the biological plague. Fleet command has assured that the Terror ship is not slated for any military engagements in the foreseeable future.

++Help save a life, join the Imperial Navy today. Your simulations and programming skills today might save trillions of lives in the future.++

++The Legend of Alpha Fleet opens in holotheaters next month. From Alternity Studios, come see the story of the Ancient Shaderni recreated in gloriously realistic holotechnology. Not even temporal technology looks as real or impressive. Starring Meboto Poal as Admiral Tombasa, Norem Fasi as Commander Bocis, and Nisa Lomba as the voice of Toltayan King Volrek. Don't miss this classic reconstruction of Shaderni history++


-Hotfoot
"Good things come to those who wait."

[justjake73]

Jameson ordered the fleet into battle line formation. He had transferred his flag to the dreadnought USS Sovereign II-2. Capital ships were ordered to either flank so as to avoid any weakness in the formation.

"The Zedron ships are a mix, sir. One even appears to be a first generation frigate!" Ensign Smith said with a mixture of amazement and contempt.

"Battle line formation. The carrier will stay behind, protected by the Ticonderoga, Decatur and Princeton." Jameson ordered.

Lt. Benson was at Tactical. "The Zedron are moving to intercept, but due to the mixture of engine types and lack of fleet training, they apparently can't coordinate a battle line. One Bangalore III class dreadnought is in range, sir!"

"Open fire!"

The enemy dreadnought never really had a chance. Phased weapons and null space cannons skipped her shields and tore into her. It was over in less than a minute - she never even got a shot off.

The Sovereign II-2 was buffeted by multiple shots. "They're concentrating all fire on us! Shields down to 30%!!"

"All ships target closest vessel. Fire at will!"

The first space battle in the history of the known galaxy was over quickly. The Zedron were grossly outmatched - both sides had roughly comparable technology, but the Zedron had apprently not spent the time upgrading their fleets, and it cost them dearly. No Federation ships suffered any damage.

Phased we

[Hotfoot]

The Path of Shadows

The Journal of Prince Mortova

The date is 2422.0, and control is fading. The dreams keep coming night after night of ages long since past. Of lives that my ancestors lived, or perhaps even myself in another reality. The visions are frightening, disturbing, but I feel compelled to watch, and not just from a scientific standpoint. I feel some sort of...perverse joy in watching the dreams. The dreams of war, desctruction on a scale never before seen. I see Shaderni vessels annihilating planets from orbit, unleashing plagues on civilizations that are not worth the notice of a battlefleet, and the annihilation of worlds that simply offended the eye. I see populations crying out in terror as their skin melts from their body due to massive radiation poisoning, mothers and hive queens holding their lifeless young in their arms, tears in their eyes as planetary napalm ignites in the atmosphere....

...and sweet heavens forgive me, I love it.

Perhaps this is the revenge of the Sagella, somehow using their temporal technology to create a link to this most reprehensible of minds through the barriers of time and space. Could this be their Last blow to the Shaderni Empire as I try to end this senseless war as bloodlessly as I can? Or is it something deep within the past of the Shaderni that our psychoanalysts and historians have missed, that is coming to life now because of the my attempts to come to a reasonably bloodless resolution? The Master Computer commanding the Terror Frigate wasn't malfunctioning, it was acting under orders to the letter. It was only at the Last minute that I came to my senses and gave the order to spare the humans on Gergan I.

On the subject of the humans, their recent declaration of war comes as little surprise. We hoped that letting them become trusted allies would assuade them that we did not intend conquest of their systems, but I suppose our ship naming conventions did not amuse them. The utilitarian names of our ship classes is useful for when designing fleets, but the Terra Nova-class Dreadnoughts built specifically to counter a possible Terran military action was not a good ship design to let the humans see. Apparently they took it to mean that we had been planning a war of conquest with them. Now the orphan colonies of Earth have doomed themselves to an...no, we will destroy their military forces and use our Strange Mercies to wrest control of the the colonies from their insane government.

I desperately need to rest from all of this war. I eagerly await the day when the bloodshed ends and we as a species can continue exploring the marvels of the universe. Even in the fire and tumult of war, our motherships are conceiving a new child of the Shaderni, a Ringworld that is slated for construction in the currently barren triple star Quesstris around the smallest of the suns. With the coming annihilation of the Huju star in the neighboring system, the birth of this artificial world will be a welcome sight.


The date is 2422.1, and the dreams continue. I try to put them out of my mind, but it as if they are a part of me now. My advisors suggest that I shoud get my cybernetic implants evaluated, perhaps even replaced. I am hesitant to replace them, as hesitant as I would be to replace my natural flesh. I don't know why, but something inside of me tells me that the metal is not the problem...it may very well be the solution. The ways of the flesh are weak, there is fallicy in the judgement of flesh. There is pleasure in the destruction of the organic. So many ways to destroy flesh, so many different ways to cause blood to flow.

I will schedule an analysis of my cybernetics first thing in the morning.

The Skeleton Key is now capable of creating warp points that would let us insert new Stalkers deep into the Dark Side of the Galaxy. Once production of the Stalkers resume, we shall send more probes into the chaotic half of known space. Perhaps that will give us the insight we...I need to keep the entire galaxy from devolving into a state of total war. Must there be a totalitarian rule to keep war from breaking out? Cannot peaceful coexistance, like that between the Shaderni and the Praetorians, be achieved with the other races? Must they all be subjegated, conquered, destroyed, or annihilated? Flesh cannot listen to reason, to logic. The meat is mindless, they cannot understand for what we strive...

Perhaps Emperor Zarnak of the Praetorians can provide some insight into that which ails me. It has been too long since we Last talked. I must talk to him after I have my cybernetics examined, I would not want him to see me like this if I can help it.

[Suicide Junkie]

Syndicate Monthly
-----------------------------

Open War in Ishantrissti
ER - Our warriors from Alpha squadron counterattacked an enemy force in the Ishantrissti system this week. The valiant defenders were only ranked as Class III scouts, and found themselves fighting enemies three times thier size. Fifteen lightly armored soldiers overran the invaders, capturing six undamaged light cruisers, but taking over 50% casualties. Of the 8 wounded warriors, only two require long term care; the others will be back on duty in less than a month.
The ships captured by Alpha squadron are expected to yield at least fifteen tech levels in propulsion, shields, point defense, energy weapons, combat support and ship construction.

Military buildup in Organtrix: wargames or coverup?
SR - Military sources have indicated that the fifteen warriors gathering in Organtrix are merely undergoing training through wargames. Civilian observers are crying coverup, and point to the unusual activity and transient mineral signatures of the southern warp point shortly before the military was deployed.
Our forces are already fighting a war on the eastern front, and citizens across the empire are unhappy with the situation.
Coverup or innocent training manouevers? Only time will tell.

------------------
The latest info on Pirates & Nomads (http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/Forum23/HTML/001696.html) (forum thread).
-&lt;Download V2.2b (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/ubbuploads/suicide_junkie/Pirates&NomadsModV2.2b.zip)&gt;- (Now with EZ-Install, just extract to your SE4 folder)
-&lt;Download P&N Classic (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/ubbuploads/suicide_junkie/Pirates&NomadsModClassic.zip)&gt;- (The final release of P&N v1.x, with EZ-Install, just extract to your SE4 folder)
-&lt;Download compatible EMPs for P&N v1.2 through v1.7 (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/ubbuploads/suicide_junkie/nomadraceEMPs.zip)&gt;-
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Visit My Homepage (http://www.geocities.com/hohoho611ca/index.html)

Other Links:
-&lt;Play By Web (http://www.pbw.cc/)&gt;-
-&lt;Schlock Mercenary (http://www.schlockmercenary.com)&gt;- (great space-based webcartoon) -&lt;First Strip (http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20000612.html)&gt;-
-&lt;8-bit Theater (http://www.nuklearpower.com/comic/)&gt;- (fun comic with the pixellated FF1 characters)

[Suicide Junkie]

Cross-Linking some threads for you:

Beyond the Horizon (http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/Forum23/HTML/004113.html) (by Dracus)
A New Age (http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/Forum23/HTML/004118.html) (by Atrocities)

[mac5732]

SJ, tks for finding it, these stories are excellent reading and I know everyone will enjoy them as much as I do. tks again .....

just some ideas mac

[Suicide Junkie]

&lt;Photo-album style Flashback sequence&gt;
-A shadowy figure on vidscreens across the tri-system, warning the populace of war.

-Grainy images of a large arrowhead-shaped ship emerging from a wormhole on news channels.

-Busy workers rushing to pour armor molds around a bunker and missile pit.

-Orange streamers flowing behind two great destroyers as they leave orbit of the homeworld.

-A warppoint opens, the electronically distorted voice of a Phantom Captain rumbling through space.

-The intruding ship turning and fleeing back through the warppoint, the destroyers in pursuit.

-Two dark ships sailing insystem, crossing the orbit of a planet.

-Two flashes of light from the dark side of the planet as the dark destroyers sail silently past.

-A battle: Two torpedoes silently slide towards the trailing destroyer.

-A fireball smearing itself around an invisible barrier, a half-second before another erupted on the surface of the ship.

-Turrets swivelling, and a rain of green teardrops flowing from the destroyers to splash against the shield of the enemy ship.

-Torpedoes slipping in, two fireballs erupting on the wings of the damaged destroyer, and the battered hulk tumbling away, sparkling drops of fiery liquid metal spewing into space.

-The remaining destroyer closing in, small puffs of plasma beginning to appear on the Arrowhead's hull.

-Through the silent storm, two more sleek metal tubes. The destroyer shuddering from a direct hit through the shields, but continuing to fire.

-Hull breaches glowing a dull orange polka dot pattern across the hull of the enemy vessel; it is beginning to lose attitude control, but holds together.

-Running out of time, the destroyer's drives glow on overload, as it makes one Last burst of speed towards the enemy.

-Firing at it dives, the destroyer has rolled over.

-The destroyer's port wingtip vanishing in a flash of light.

-The enemy vessel spinning itself into a glowing mass of shrapnel, while the starboard half of the destroyer drifts away, spinning.

-Darkness

-In the light from burning equipment, an old officer returns to consciousness, pinned against a wall, while another struggles to stand from the ceiling in order to reach down to the navigation console. Bodies surround them, pasted against the bulkheads by centrifugal force.
...
&lt;/flashback&gt;

The old officer stands at a podium, with the younger officer from the ship to his right, and two others behind him. They are being viewed on an enourmous screen by a thousand soldiers.

"Fortunately, we were drifting towards the wormhole at that point, and it only took a month for the repair ship to reach us. After sealing the smaller hull breaches and restoring atmosphere to most of the remains of the ship, the repair crews proceeded to check for survivors on our sister ship. We were about to pass through the wormhole when they arrived, but remained long enough to hear what happened next: the rescue ship found one of the survivors firing shots into space...
... the instant the repair ship tried to dock, they were jumped by a pair of Arrowheads...
... he was trying to warn them, not be rescued..."

The old officer steps back, shaken by the memory, and motions the younger officer to continue for him.

"The destroyer escorting the repair ship was burning badly after the initial volley of torpedoes... they only got off a handful of shots before they were incinerated. The repair ship was about to ram one of the Arrowheads when we lost contact...
Me and Admiral Dey were far enough ahead to escape back to the shipyards at Avior. As reported by the local news, only one Arrowhead followed us through the wormhole before being turned back by the planetary defenses on Scutum IX."

Admiral Dey steps forward again, and the young officer returns to his assigned position.

"Our forces were decimated in the Last attack, but we have learned much since then. Great warships have been constructed, and soldiers have been trained. You are them. The best of the best, the elite Soldiers of the Phantom. You naturally fear nothing, but make no mistake; the road to victory is long and treacherous.

I present to you your guides on that journey: Myself, commanding the Amberjack"
"Captain Holt, commanding the Heron"

Captain Holt steps forward again and nods before returning.

"Captain Ainsworth, commanding the Pomeroy"
"And finally, Commander Myers, commanding my old ship, the rebuilt Baku, which will serve as our repair tender."

The two other officers take a step towards the camera in turn.

"The fleet departs in one hour. Send any personal Messages now, radio silence will be in effect as soon as we leave orbit."

[ 03 February 2002: Message edited by: suicide_junkie ]</p>

[spacefan]

Author's Note:
This is based on a game set up according to the Topic Game Story: GalacticCorp. Its somewhat of a cross between Ferengi and current multinational corporations. A corporate perspective on space exploitation. Finite Resources are enabled for this game. Large Spiral Arm galaxy.

GalacticCorp

CEO Edward Mason straightened his tie, watching a large assembly from his balcony three floors above the conference meeting room. His secretary told him that 3000 senior executives were expected from all branches of GalacticCorp(gc), and they had flown in to meet him at Corporate Headquarters. Of course, no one called it that, it was called the "Imperial Palace". People laughed at that name, but they always agreed with it.

On the floor below, a flustered director was trying to create order, placing various executives according to a seating chart, in preparation for the broadcast, which would be sent around the world to all GC employees.

Clearing his throat, Mason motioned to the director, and began his speech.

"Good Morning. I am speaking to you today to discuss the recent merger which has created the largest corporation in history, GalacticCorp. We have spent months, even years, ensuring the transition would go smoothly, and now that it is here, I would like to share my plans for the coming years.

But first, I would like to thank the many managers and shareholders who have flown across the world to come here..."

A lot of people were listening to this speech, but among those who were not, Andrew Bates was the most interesting. He operated a one-man federal government, which had no power. All he did was give approval to corporate mergers, and he had no power to say no, anyway. He remembered a time when the government had power. He sighed and looked up at the sky. "Thats where they will go next," he said to himself.

"...Now, our immediate plan is to franchise and commence mining and relocation to other worlds in our system. We plan to put our ship construction to the test. If we can bring workers to the moons and planets of this system quickly, then we can easily double our output of minerals, organics and radioactives. Any period of growth causes stress of course, but we will compensate you, so just hang in there. We also plan to launch satellites to mine any valuable asteroids we find..."

In a later meeting of the board of directors of GalacticCorp, the CEO spoke rather differently, of profits and risk factors. The directors approved his plan for harnessing the resources of their system, and concluded the plan of asteroid mining may not be suitably profitable, but asked him to organize a test case.

[Suicide Junkie]

Addendum (http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=addendum) to Author's note below:
The thread referenced below, can be found here: Game Story: GalacticCorp (http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=23&t=004614).

[spacefan]

GalacticCorp

Office of the CEO: 2402.7

&lt;begin log&gt;
Obotron is now fully franchised, as we struggle to keep our warehousing sufficient to store our production. Our research into Storage Engineering, better known as Cargo technology, is progressing, and they expect an increase in cargo capacity at our warehouses within half a year.

Our scouts have found a nearby system, which we have begun colonizing, and also found two more lucrative systems, as well as several systems with no planets but plenty of Asteroids. Our test cases with Satellites indicate that we would need almost 40 times larger satellites to put remote mining components on them. That should be our next research priority after the warehousing reorginization. Our scouts should be heading back to resupply soon, as they have travelled a long ways, through about 5 systems.
&lt;pause log&gt;

Mason heard his secretary through the intercom say, "Sir, we have urgent reports from our ship Scout #1. They report a brief contact with unknown foreign agents. I have a dispatch, it has been sent through to your mailbox."

"Thanks," he said, and turned to his computer, to open the report, which was screened to prevent anyone from hacking into the CEO's computer.

The dispatch read:
****
Amon'krie Continuum
Lord Amon'Kurath

Agents of one known only as Lord Amon'Kurath, were spotted while we were in transit to return for refuelling. We learned virtually nothing about them, only that they are clearly very alien, look like snakes or some sort of monster, and were in general quite elusive. They vanished as soon as we noticed them. We await your instructions at Obotron 8, if we can reach that target before we run low on fuel. If we do not reach Obotron, we will await refuelling on Lundra 4.
****

Mason contemplated the message. He had repeated to many that aliens were just a silly myth people felt some reason to believe in. Also, he knew Lundra 4 did not have a resupply depot yet. He shrugged, contemplating how little they knew about the "Amon-krie"

[disabled]

I love this story! keep up the good work!

[ June 14, 2003, 18:22: Message edited by: General Talashar ]

[spacefan]

GalacticCorp
2405.5

Chaos reigned in Mason's office, reports came in almost hourly, accompanied by panicced reports from Lenoltris, a constant stream of yelling officers over the comm link.

The Amon'krie were no worry to Mason, they had quietly settled back into a juicy system with lots of colonies, but Mason decided not to pursue them, and focussed his efforts on commencing the colonization of the Lenoltris system. Then, just as things were going rather smoothly, a colony ship from yet another alien empire, the EEE, headed right into Lenoltris.

Refueling has been a logistical nightmare, but the Scouts, Explorers and Recon ship classes, which have decent range, have hardly any fighting capacity. They managed to destroy two colony ships of the EEE, but now there's a sole Scout in Lenoltris holding off a destroyer of the EEE.

As if that was not enough, 3 more Destroyers showed up in Gergan. With 8 ships, only 2 with any real fighting ability, and the others offering token resistance, GalacticCorp is in serious trouble.

Mason stood up, as he issued orders.

"Guard #1 and Explorer #2, intercept the destroyer in Lenoltris and destroy it, if possible. Scout #2, defend Lenoltris #1 until they come to assist.

Scout #1, Guard #2 and Explorer #1 and #3, take up a perimeter defense and try to contain the destroyers in Gergan."

Taking a breath, he then emphasized, "Do not lose a colony!"

"The Reconnaisance branch will be disbanded, in favor of adding it as a subsidiary to the GalacticCorp Navy. In the past, our weapons were marketing and quality control, now they are missiles and cannonry."

[Matryx]

Comments please. I'm no writer so this is pretty much just log format.

Approximately 98.3% accurate to events that unfolded in the game, with some artistic manipulation/interpretation of certain bits http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
Names may have been changed to protect individuals involved.
No small, virtual, alien species were harmed during the making of this story (well at least no considerable amount of them)


Birth to the stars
==================

Stardate 2350.0 (Pre-Game)
Being children of a gas giant we, the Daemons, have always lived close to the centre of our planet. The heat and pressure are much more agreeable to our race at that altitude. Over the Last decade we have been forced to colonise above the 1000Km mark and this has led to widespread illness and deterioration in the health of those people living in the said sky-houses. Something had to be done. The Omnicron was summoned (or at least his avatar), a guiding hand from another place with an intellect and understanding far in excess of our own, to give help and advice to the struggling species. Every Last iota of space in our planet has been used; we had no chance to survive unless something was done... and quickly. One thing was decided... Expansion!

"My subjects; My advisors; My friends." spoke the Omnicron, "We have but one choice if we are to survive now that the habitable parts of our planet are all used. I know this goes against everything that your biology teaches, but we must brave the vacuum of space."
A hushed silence hit the speaking chamber (at the centre of the world). No one could believe what had just been uttered. The daemonic empire could not possibly survive the rigors of space. The lack of pressure was such a humongous change that they wouldn't survive.
"It's Madness I say!" boomed a voice from the back of the seating area. A senator stood up. "We cannot survive... 'space', it's impossible!". Murmuring voices of general agreement rippled across the audience in the speaking chamber.

"Not impossible, merely... different." said the Omnicron's avatar. "Everything you are basing your 'scientific' assumptions on is wrong. Your ideals are to keep the pressure in and thus leave the ships habitable for the crew. Every experiment with shallow space vehicles has exploded for these exact reasons. You need to reconsider the position. Change your angle of view and try again."

"More riddles and garbage!" shouted the senator, "For once, dear Omnicron, if you have an idea or a solution just tell us rather than leading us on another goose chase!"

A fiery look took over the face of the Avatar. No one dared speak to him in such a tone lest he become angered and create a low-density helium pocket around the user or some other equally messy death. However, the Omnicron realised he did have a point. If the race were to prosper they would need real help this time rather than a mere prod in the right direction. The look of fire was replaced by one of compassion and radiant glory. "Very well, I shall teach you what you need but no more. Once you understand the concepts I will teach you I will return to my dimension and observe. This is the price you must pay for my service. I will return in the future again, but only in one of two ways. Firstly, I will be there when you are in dire need. Secondly, there is a symbol in your records, far in the deep, buried amongst the archives of the olden times. If you can find and create such a symbol then I will be bound to you and anyone who carries the symbol."

With this, the Avatar drifted quickly over to the senator. As he reached out his limbs he said to the senator "I hope you realise what you have done to this race". A brilliant white glow engulfed both the avatar and the senator. The senator was held, paralysed by holiness and at the same time his face twisted into a hideous visage and pain coursed through his soul. The rest of the council quickly left the room. Tales had been told of those who had been 'touched' by the Omnicron. None were pleasant and no-one wanted to see the result of this encounter.

After a while, people started to drift back towards the speaking chamber when a scream emanated from the centre of the planet. The scream was not carried by sound waves, but soul waves. Everyone on the planet heard it and experienced the feeling of pain and death coupled with the gift of extra knowledge. Simultaneously, the entire race collapsed. Overwhelmed by the pain of the sacrifice given by one Daemon, that the race could survive and expand into the stars.


Stardate 2390.0 (Marginally Pre-Game)
Over the Last 40 years the knowledge gifted to the race had started to emerge. Ideas filled the heads of the scientists, and even the civil servants, athletes, and artists were coming up with ideas way ahead of their time, let alone their speciality http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif
The population had been able to create new, stronger structures. Reverse designed, these new structures were designed to be strong in tension rather than compression. Sky-Cities now floated safely up into the 2000Km mark and designs were being prototyped for the first Space-Ship. A craft designed that could carry a few Daemons to crew it and expand to explore the rest of the solar system.
The first test was heralded as a major success for the species as a whole. The craft was named 'Daemon-Poustar' after the senator who sacrificed all to give his race a shot at survival, and following it's launch came a celebration unlike any ever seen before. The entire population was brought up to the safe-'surface'-level and the ship zoomed back and forth in a spectacular atmosphere friction-style skywriting event. Next on the agenda, the ship flew away a distance and fired missiles at the planet. Caught firstly by the atmosphere the missiles flared bright yellow-orange, then exploded into cascade of air-flow induced waves and streams.


Stardate 2390.1 (Still Marginally Pre-Game)
Reports hit Cebalrai star that the scout craft encountered difficulties while scouting the star. Apparently, the star (previously thought to be 'heaven' as an intensely dense, hot, burning gas giant... just what the race likes http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif ) had a huge gravity and swallowed the ship whole.


Stardate 2390.5 (Still Still Marginally Pre-Game)
Since the loss of the 'Daemon-Poustar' a travel company has organised what they call 'quick trips to heaven'. Although deemed by the senators to be the ultimate scam in the history of this race, somehow people keep buying it. The company charges a phenomenal fee, bundles the customers into a small ship, and launches them at the sun!
Later that year, the CEO and managing directors of the company were 'accidentally' caught in a freak accident with one of their ships and ended up getting their own 'Quick Trip To Heaven'. No-one knows what happened but the 'W.A.N.L' group were seen protesting about how the company were merely faking everything, taking Daemon's money and then killing them in the Cebalrai Star.
(Note: WANL? er... We Are Not Lemmings? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif )


Stardate 2398.5 (Oooooo Almost the game not)
Since the closing down of 'Quick Trip To Heaven', the production facilities and finances of the company were seized by many new companies, all turning out to be trying one scam or another, the new Daemonic Government (company) titled 'Heading for Ever Long Life' (HELL) have finally taken control of the assets.
Despite their company name, because of which most thought it would be another scam company), this company seems to be genuinely aiming for the best for the race. The production facilities have been improved to the stage where proper colony space-ships can now be produced and even weapon bearing space-craft have been holding up fine under tests.
Improvements have been made in all areas and now research is just starting to proceed into different types of construction.
Designs have now been completed for a cheap, high-speed, long-range scout; a short range, very high quality, lower speed guard ship; and a very slow, cheap, short-range colony ship.
Preliminary indications given from the other planets in the system class a mere 3 of them as habitable. The others are blocks of rock and ice for which we have no idea how we could use...?
Out of the habitable planets we expect we can breathe on one of them. The others will have to have atmosphere transferred from our own planet and then the population can live in some sort of energy field, separating the two atmosphere types from each other.


Stardate 2400.0 (Game start)
Construction has begun for the first ever colony ship at our homeworld of Cebalrai III. We intend to have the planet of Cebalrai I colonised within 30 days after the construction of the ship (which will take about a month) and construction started on the planet to extract minerals and organics shortly after that. We have queued 2 more ships for construction after the first is finished. We can use these two as prototypes for colonising non-breathable atmospheres. This year we noticed for the first time, spatial anomalies around our system. Our eyes are badly developed from always living in very dense, hot, atmospheres and so we could not see them until we developed automatic system sensors. The computers believe they are small rips in the fabric of the universe. Currently, they do not seem to be hostile so we are concentrating on filling our system's planets before we examine these phenomenons any more. Research now really taking off on different types of construction. Ideas of floating mechanoids and explosive space-mines are being toyed with as well as small, incredibly quick strike-craft. We shall have to watch the researchers very carefully as this knowledge could unhinge the balance of power in this planet.


Stardate 2400.1
Construction for the first colony ship proceeded a lot faster than expected. Finished way before schedule we were able to establish our first off-planet colony. The empire erupted in celebrations when we could read the sky-writing on the nearby planet. "Do you want to come over for a dinner party?" Heh. those captains are sure weird http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Anyway, with the first colony well established, construction continued on the second colony ship and plans were made for the use of Cebalrai I. This planet was much larger than our original one, and a moment started in the population to just relocate there and forget all about space travel. The people still remember and feel the fear we once bore for space so it's understandable that they just want to stay where they are, however we have larger things in store for the species.


Stardate 2400.4
The colonisation of our second two planets took place without events. The first was about the same size as our own homeworld, but it contains some sort of toxic atmosphere and as a result, we have had to transport large quantities of our own atmosphere here to make at least a small area breathable. On the plus side, the compounds in the air here are full of radioactives which we can refine, the offproducts from the process can then be turned into a valuable organic source.
The second of our two planets was larger than the first. Larger than our homeworld but not quite as big as Cebalrai I. This could just be a misconception thought because as with Cebalrai IV, Cebalrai II has an atmosphere toxic to our species. It's infuriating that we have space to develop 30 mining stations on Cebalrai I but on this planet we are limited to construction in our energy field. We can fit, at most 6 stations in this planet. And to top it all off there is *nothing* OF *ANY* value on this planet. It makes me wonder sometimes why we didn't just stay home. We have designated this planet as a research base so as to at least try and make some use from it.
Still there is bound to be something of interest in this great expanse of space.
Construction has now started on fast scout ships. These cheap craft with explore the phenomenon throughout the system and report back as soon as they figure out who/what they are.


Stardate 2400.5
Emergency Log Entry. Our scout has been destroyed.
We watched it approach the closest of the phenomenon (only 2 Spatial Units away) upon which it simply disappeared! Whatever creature that is in our system it has engulfed our ship and destroyed it. Our top scientists have formulated several hypotheses, the most likely of which is as follows...
These blue swirls in the sky are actually creatures. We didn't notice them before because they hadn't arrived. Now they lie dormant, like a Genebian Aark waiting in a helium eddy. Waiting for something edible to come close so they can swallow it up. Unfortunately this theory also includes the worrying fact that there are 4 of these creatures in our system so we may have become a nest for them or a breeding ground or something!
Our military tactician believes it may be possible to destroy these creatures but to do so would require firepower far in excess of our own.
Many of our population have started praying to the Omnicron again... something not done since the great squeeze of 2350. We will keep the population informed of any events however; at the moment even I am considering praying again.

Addendum: we have received a transmission from the scout. They are intact and well. A bit shaken up but otherwise they are fine. It seems that this creature swallowed them and excreted them in some other system. I do not know how a creature that long could possibly exist but according to their GPS (Galactic Positioning Sensors) they are currently 5.099 light years away in a system they have named Z’Ha’Dum. If they were to turn around now and head back towards us with their standard engines, assuming they find a continuous source of fuel, their ETA will be 34820512 solar years.
We do not know how, or why, they have ended up where they are, but we wish them all of the best in their new life across the galaxy.

Addendum 2: It appears that metals such as we have used to create our ships, are indigestible by these creatures now termed 'worms', and also it seems that they are able to eat from any direction at once. Something can go in what we have tentatively called the 'head' and emerge a bit shaken at its 'tail'. From this side, the craft can enter the 'tail' and emerge on the 'head' side. These creatures are surely very curious and a proper in depth study will have to be done on them. In the meantime, our scout ship can return home at any time (much to the relief of them and their families) so they are continuing to explore.
We have developed a technology called 'Star Charts' to track the systems encountered by our scouts. We have decreed that our home system is the centre of the universe, as is said in our sacred texts by the Omnicron, and so all systems will be described by relative coordinates to our system. Y-axis will be increasing towards the top. X-axis will be increasing towards the right. Cebalrai will now be known as Cebalrai(0,0). Z’Ha’Dum is now known as Z’Ha’Dum(-1,-5).
Our next test is to try and send a colony ship through one of these 'worms' and establish a colony in a foreign system. Despite all of the chaos in this Last month we have now a record of a potential planet for this colony. Z'Ha'Dum I appears to be made up of the same structure as our own homeworld. I only hope we can find a volunteer to test this colony for our species.

Addendum 3: After more study, it has been discovered that these 'Worms' are a very widespread species. Perhaps they are an ancient race now in hibernation (hence not actually eating us as we pass though them) or perhaps they are mere pets for another race whose size we cannot even begin to imagine. Some scientists have likened them to the single-celled organisms in our atmosphere, moving space debris though their systems without impact. But I refuse to listen to that train of thought because it really confuses me to think that we might all be about the same size as the space debris, in a *huge* planet like our own somewhere in a bigger universe...
Our scout has continued to travel through these 'Worms' and is sending charts through as it explores. Alrisha(6,-4) and Aludra(0,-11) are two systems found by travelling the 'worms' from Z'Ha'Dum. Alrisha(6,-4) has a few gas-giants we may be able to use, and Aludra(0,-11) seems to be one *HUGE* gas giant in itself. There is only one problem with Aludra(0,-11). Although it has the consistency of the gas giants we know and love, it lacks the gravity we need and the heat and pressure we enjoy. Also, there seems to be large amounts of radiation... which could be a good or a bad thing. Again more 'worms' have been detected in both of these systems.

On one of the ice planets in Z'Ha'Dum we have noticed something very similar to one of our own ice planets in Cebalrai. We have noticed some sort of structure. When we develop technology up to a level where we can examine this structure, perhaps we will learn more about the worms from it.


Stardate 2400.7
The scout has continued to explore, travelling through 1 worm further from the Aludra(0,-11) System into a new system called Wasat(-4,-13). This system has, surprisingly, the same makeup as Aludra(0,-11) but without the radiation. Light also seems to be refracted differently through the gas makeup causing a nice purple wave effect throughout the system. 3 more worms have been sighted in that system.
Last month (2400.6) a colony ship set off for the arduous task of travelling to the habitable planet in Z’Ha’Dum(-1,-5). It arrived this year and our first Extra-Cebalrai colony was established. Celebrations took place on all of our worlds, though it was not as magnificent as the celebrations from our previous colonies. It seems less real to colonise somewhere that you can't see to our people.
This month our research team had a breakthrough. We have decided to split the research they have started into several fields of work. Fighters, Troops and Mines are now all available for our scientists to consider. We have set them to work on larger ships. We have all decided that we need to be prepared in case the worms become angry at our usage of their guts.
This month our scout ship discovered the system of Volans(-7,-5). It has 2 planets we can live on comfortably and one other suitable for habitation so for now our colony ships destined for Alrisha(6,-4) are being diverted to take advantage of the better planets.


Stardate 2400.8
Discovery of Vulpecula(-5,-1) with 5 planets available for colonisation. None are ideal for our race but we can make them work. We have discovered that one of the 'worms' in this system is in fact the same as one of the unidentified 'worms' in Cebalrai(0,0). After further testing it was confirmed that the 'worm' does in fact link Vulpecula(-5,-1) to Cebalrai(0,0). At this stardate our scout has been recalled for fuel reasons. Due to poor planning from the captain, his thirst for exploration has left the engines thirsty. It will take approximately 1.2 years for the ship to return home. He has no-one to blame but himself. In the meantime, more colony ships are being constructed, and a new scout will be ready before the old one returns.
This month also saw the ordering of our first Weapon Platforms to be constructed (on our domed colony of Cebalrai IV). A statement to our current weapons technology. These are high altitude, submerged eddy missile launching systems with backup depleted uranium auto-cannons. Packing quite a punch at any range, if anything closes to within auto-cannon range it then gets peppered http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
The planet of Z'Ha'Dum I has now had it's construction orders set. A new development for our empire is the prospect of a packet-material streamer. This device (know to some as a Spaceport) relays materials around systems through the 'worms' it will take a few months for the construction of this device, but at the end we will be able to properly use the mineral resources on these Extra-Cebalrai planets. After the streamer is constructed, mineral, organic, and radioactive mines will be built, followed quickly by a fuel base and Spacecraft factory.


Stardate 2401.0
And so, one year has passed since the start of our great move. Plans and views have changed quite a lot, and never again will our species look at the stars in the same way. The new scout discovered the system of Tania Australis(6,-1) with a few planets, one of which looks very nice, and yet another small ice planet with a strange structure on it. Colony ships are well on their way towards both Tania Australis(6,-1) and Volans(-7,-5). Research is picking up a bit, but since the planets we have recently colonised have been rich in one or more minerals we see no major need to advance our technology.
Maybe when we approach more planets and find them less than satisfactory we may create more research colonies.

Logs will continue, but will be entered less often, probably covering 0.5-1 years at a time.

If you hadn't guessed the race is Religious with Advances Storage Techniques. They have an interesting view of everything and are impulsive, but peaceful. Researching for immediate needs rather than planning for the future this could lead to some problems when they encounter other races, but they are off to a good start with a bunch of planets and wealth accumulating quite nicely.

[dmm]

Fun to read. I thought they were Organic, since they assumed the wormholes were creatures and talked of the engines getting "thirsty." One thing you left out: the scout disappears through a wormhole, then quickly lets them know it is safe before it tries venturing back through. Apparently the transmission got safely through the worm from tail to head, giving them courage to try the same with their scout ship.

[Matryx]

Thanks for the suggestions dmm http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
That reference for 'thirsty' engines was back to the captains 'thirst for exploration' but perhaps I could re-word it.
I like the suggestions of the communication but I might alter it to a test with a communication probe first.

As the race develops they will undoubtable encounter other races and turn back to the religion they lost during their expansion to the stars. Perhaps I should elaborate that section and make it a bit clearer in the history.

Anyway.. back to work http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Storytime will have to wait for now.

[spacefan]

GalacticCorp

2405.6 Supplemental Log of CEO Edward Mason:

A most surprising event was relayed to HQ from the Guard frigate #1.

The Guard carries a low amount of supply storage by comparision, with two missiles in place of that. It is the opposite of our Recon class which was designed for long range exploration.

The Guard faced off 3 EEE ships of unknown composition, which turned out to filled with close range cannonry, the same kind on our early escorts.

Utilizing superior range, our Guard managed to destroy two of the Destroyers and hobble the third. This changes our strategic possibilites, though it is likely that their Destroyers will be upgraded soon.

Meanwhile the 4th destroyer, inside our territory has not been destroyed yet, but we are in pursuit.

Colonization plans will continue as normal, but we plan on beefing up defenses with Guard ships, wherever possible within our budget.

[spacefan]

Galactic Corp
2407.0

Mason walked to the podium in the press room, and began speaking.

"On the date of 2405.5 we spotted 4 ships of a empire known only as the EEE. Since then, they have destroyed every ship we had on 2405.5, as well as several created since, totalling a dozen ships, most of them Guard class frigates. The Guard ship design is our only defense against the newest EEE light cruisers, which use some sort of sophisticated energy weapon.

As of a few hours ago, our colonies on Lenoltris are under attack, and Lenoltris IV has been destroyed despite a recently built weapons platform. Our presence in Lenoltris will be wiped out soon.

We have declared war on the EEE for these atrocities, and with war comes sacrifice. With reserves of 300,000 Minerals, 200,000 Organics and 200,000 Radioactives, we have but one way to stop the EEE. We must draw upon our reserves by creating a large fleet of guards. I am estimating around 20 Guards in the first wave. Construction is in process in Obotron and Lundra, and our Guard ships will protect these systems until we acquire enough to attack the enemy stronghold.

The research department is working on an improved missile design, which will be put into force as soon as it is finished. With enough Guards we WILL take back Lenoltris and wipe out the enemy.

Any questions?"

A young reporter asked, "What are your operating procedures for Guard ship captains?"

"Well, first a bit of background. Our first battle between Guards and enemy ships, resulted in the destruction of all three enemy ships, with no damage to ours. We were not sure what tactics of the captain led to the victory.

After that, we lost a few Guards, and looking into the matter, we found that the Guards MUST advance towards the enemy presence, so as to have room for retreating after the enemy has fired. Our Guards lose when they are forced to close range with the enemy.

Problems with this occured in a later battle, where we lost 2 Guards and 3 Explorers to 3 Light Cruisers and a Destroyer of theirs. In that battle, after all of our Guards launched missiles on one target, that target moved away from our missiles, whereas earlier targets had moved towards them to do more damage to our ships.

We recommend advancing on the enemy until we are in missile range, and then targetting multiple ships. Then retreat until the missiles are reloaded.

This meeting is over. Remember, whatever our sacrifices, we will stop the EEE."

[ 19 February 2002: Message edited by: spacefan ]</p>

[Varelen]

Dreevan part 1: Finding the Few in Space

Dreevan have no gender, but translation to this language requires gendered words, therefore 'he' is used. Because of the differences between Dreevan and this language culture, some phrases may fail to adequately convey the appropriate meaning, even sounding awkward to the ear

"The belief that more is better is the essense of all wrongs, every Dreevan, no matter how different, knows that. In such numbers as Dreevan exist today, a greater burden falls on the bindings and the watchers than in the days long past. That is the crisis of our time."
- Watcher Maiv
Binding of the Head Watcher
Hrokono, Dreevan Consortium

The windflow was too gentle for a glide, Maiv noticed, feeling little bend in his body, which could shape itself many ways from the winds' liking. "Rare it is, from 180 days, to only three this gentle," the bonded Delehi approaching him as he spoke.
"Rare things are best," Delehi said.

"Rare things are few, and few are best. Yet it is not a gliders day, is it?"

"No contact for a couple days, This is time for the binding, rare such that is, for us. Such a numerous binding we are, and you stress yourself much of it," Delehi looked at Maiv, sighing.

"I've taken more bonded, I've fallen to imperfection in this, else the Watchers and others would not criticize so much."

"They criticize because they listen to you. It would be worse to try to be drastic. You know all bonds are eternal."

"Then I have to take it on, its not even our binding alone, they've built some grand thing past Mount Elkei around there. Two bindings working on it. Thats got to be ten of them. Ten. Ten is not few. The watcher watches for just that, but of course they listen to my criticism, and then go off to work on more."

"Last we heard from that watcher Lauo, they didn't like it either, but it was something truly amazing according to Lauo."

"Amazing is probably meaning large, few is better, small is more efficient. How do they ever find food enough for ten in one place, and wastes as well must be horrible. Plus all that they have claimed in order to build that thing. But it is an omen of the fact that there are ever more of us on this rock. It is only our seperate, unique places and crafts that keep us all from going mad."

"LOOK! What is that!" Delehi was trying to see the Last of a red streak heading fast spaceward.

"Some foolishness. What could be larger than the vastness out there? All I see there is more, larger, MANY. I've heard of some tests like that. They were trying to throw something up to that blackness. Some way other than gliding. Usually the mountains hide them to us. Leaving gliders to tell what they will. Even a watcher can't know everything, to know every little binding in all the vast places of even this rock. What of trying to know the same for that blackness."

"Lets find our writings, Watcher, inside. The stresses are much on you, let us be few without the sight of the blackness of many."

First Spacebound Binding
Orbiting Hrokono

"Very different. So odd to see it all, home to so many we never knew or even saw the place of. Never been any closer to the Watcher than Elkei mountain. But its the same too, just no gliding in search of trade. Thrusters sure are different from gliding," said Olo, who had choosen to be pilot of the escort.

Druina responded, "The space Watcher Garin said we'd find enough up here to stay, no gliding, but there should be a couple spaceyards built. They supposedly have partitions to keep bindings apart. But even he doesnt' really know how it all happened, one binding made the first engines, first artificial propulsion, and tested a couple craft that were planetbound, from there some other binding came to him with an engine thats what we use now. All these different people, some met him, some met others, but somehow all these pieces came together. Took ages. He says the first engine makers were making them for a new idea with gliding for years and years, till they showed them to him. Same with most of the other components, binding tradition, passed on for years and years."

Druina was a new watcher, "Ships Watcher" to look for any other ships that showed up. Garin said he hasn't heard of any but who knows what others might be working on.

"Thats huge, how do we get in there to talk with them?" Kelli said excitedly.

"Easy, you'll have to learn these systems soon enough, only three of us, and I did say its all new, but small enough for three. See, there, it says, talk inbinding, talk spacer, talk other. They are not our binding so I guess the spacer button. Then just speak up, or whatever seems to work"

[ December 07, 2002, 02:33: Message edited by: Varelen ]

[Varelen]

A glossary for the Dreevanly challenged

Binding - The marriage contract and social unit of the Dreevan. This is not a 2 person deal like Terran marriage, but is usually 3, 4 or 5 members, sometimes less or more briefly. To join a binding, all the exisiting members have to make an oath to work together, understand, cherish forever. Likewise the new member has to make the same oath. There are no annulments or divorces heard of in Dreevan history since the beginning of this system. There are romantic commitements in a binding as well, but these are yet harder to explain in terran language.

Glide - The process of using the wind to coast or direct yourself somewhere else. This is the main means of travel as the wind is sufficiently strong and Dreevan are light enough to be carried by it with as little as 60 miles an hour unaided by implements, or with the proper equipment the best gliders use, as little as 30 miles an hour. Because Dreevan evolved from flying creatures, even newborns have some sense of what it means to fly, physiologically.

Newborn Glide - Caring for born is not considered the responsibility of the one who created them, which may be a shock to Terrans. Birth is considered both a affirmation of the Bindings' strength and sacredness, and a gift to the whole of Dreevan. The newborn is light enough that in early history they would be thrown off into the windflow unless held tightly. The conclusion was not to hold tightly, but to let the wind guide the fates of the newborn. Some never make it to adolescence, others do.

Typically, the child will glide for years, with an innate sense for food sources and a loathing for land just as innate. Sometimes bindings will take in the child and feed them, but usually they let them loose to glide again, because at that age children still retain the primal flying instincts and only wish to fly (they think they are flying, though they only glide). Usually the urge for land and family takes over (the equivalent of human puberty) at from 13 to 17 years old. (They start to need more food than they can get by instinct soon as well)

Watcher - A rare Dreevan who enjoys watching and hearing about the sight of successful Dreevan and all their varied exploits. They offer suggestions to some bindings who respect them, and many listen to them, but that is the only form of their leadership.

Dreevan - A herbivore, evolved from species that fly only. Because of this their frame is quite light. It is also remarkedly flexible. Almost completely without agression, the response to predators in the past was to hide in places underground or caverns where the flying had less success finding there way.

Hrokono - A very rocky mountainous planet, dominated by hardy vegetation accustomed to the wind and sloping mountains. Evolution was very tough on vegetation, and as a result, what remains is very accomodating to the wind and tough to break at all. Also dominated by flying animals over any other type of complex animals, though a few live in enclosures within the mountain depths. Water is rare, and most species have evolved to having only a tiny amount of it.

[Varelen]

The whole dreevan story kinda got boring, and I dropped Se4 for a while, but I'm back, with just a small taste of something I'm writing now.

Its already 6+ pages and I'm only at 2400.8.

Its a very investment oriented race and culture. Just imagine an entire planet of people who love complex investments and speculations, even as they go to their regular 9 to 5 jobs, they still keep up on the bonds and meta investments and so on. So just a taste here, they've met their first foreigner.

Radio contact from the Foreign, in addition with the earlier radio signals gave the AI translator enough information to decipher the message. The Foreign reported that they were known as the Amon'Krie Continuum. The CEO guessed that Amon'Krie was just the proper name for their company, but he wondered what sort of complex financial instrument control of Amon'Krie must be held under, if it is called an unknown term such as Continuum.

If Anderson Holdings is known as a Holdings because subsections of Anderson have their own Tracking Bond issues, and new programs always include investment in new bonds by citizens, and thus Anderson is both monolothic as it manufactures everything and also many seperate entities, as each seperate Bond tracked component has unique ownership, then Amon'Krie as a Continuum must have some unique structure behind that meaning.

Securities speculated for the CEO on the meaning of the term Continuum. "It could be a Security based particularly on time sensitive elements, thus the Continuum of time under which hedging must be made, past, present future. If they know what potential flows are available at times, they may be skillful at advanced temporal investment."

[Ragnarok]

Sounds great.
I look forward to reading the entire story.

Its already 6+ pages and I'm only at 2400.8.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That's actually not very much. Well it is but it isn't at the same time. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
In the story I am writting - The Hevordah Imperium - it is 22 pages long so far and I am just now to 2400.3 I believe. I managed that due to some early events in Hevordian history.
Check it out...http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=007148;p=1

Also I suggest checking out Atrocities new story. It is far longer then mine because of alot more detail to the empire before space flight. Very good read.

But anyways... I liked the preveiw you gave. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif