Newbie Galactic Combat II - Story Thread

[Ruatha]

Weyrlings
Mon, Nov 18 at 07:33:30 EST

WEYRLINGS 2403.4
================
"-Sire", the colonel was always afraid when he approached the God Emperor Ruatha, you never knew what humour he'd have, sometimes it amused him to chop off heads before lunch.
"-Yes, What is it", Ruatha answered impatiently, wifting his tail high in the air.

"-The Sons of Thunder has asked for a trade, they want Ice colonization tech from us, they will give us plenty in return".
The Colonel had his tail pressed to the ground in the humiliating ritual that the God Emperor Ruatha demanded of all subjects that approached him.

"-What is the problem then, make the trade"

"-But, but.. We don't have Ice Tech, Sire"

"-Well, do they know that? If so why do they bother us, anyway they should be destroyed, kill them all!"

"-Sire, we're not at war with them, and they have a mighty fleet."

"-Not at war, we're always at war, with everyone, they just don't know it. We'll, don't kill them today then, but arrange the trade. And I want a spy report of their leaders face when he realizes he's been fooled!".

"-Instantly Sire", the colonel responded, withdrawing backwards, almost hurting with ache from not being able to show his claws in anger.

The colonel went immediately to the Free Council and reported the events.
The Free Council was outraged at this provocation that might cast the Weyrlings to war.
The Colonel accepted the task set upon him by the Free Council: To decline the trade and then take his own life, so that the God Emperor Ruatha wouldn't find out about the Free Council if he chose to torture the Colonel instead of plainly executing him, one never knew what mood the God Emperor might be in.

The war wouldn't start today at least, the Colonel thought as he slit his throat, watching the picture of his wife and children as the blood poured from the cut arteries.


Re: Weyrlings
Tue, Nov 19 at 01:26:04 EST
WEYRLINGS 2403.5
================

The Free Council was in meeting.

"-We must do something, the God Emperor Ruatha is quite mad, and more and more of the population are showing symptoms of madness."

"-Yes, these symptoms have increased these past 200 years, ever since The One became dormant."

"-It must be awaken again!"

The Free Council was referring to the Weyrling Common consciousness that had ruled Weyrling society up to 200 years ago.
200 years ago the Weyrlings first made contact with an alien species.
Seeing that the alien individuality had made the aliens prosper and develop technology unknown to the Weyrlings. The One decided to transform Weyrling society to an individual one instead of a collective and went to sleep.
The decision had been a good decision initially, the Weyrling scientists, now unhindered by common goals and any need to listen to others started researching various areas, quickly gaining space travel capabilities.
But now the stress of being individuals started to show in Weyrling society, psychic illness, previous unknown was flourishing in the society. The feeling of loneliness was enormous.

"-Do we all agree?"

"-Aye" "-Yes" "-Of course"...
The vote was unanimous, the One must be brought back.

"-But how can it be done? None has any real influence on the One, the few of us can't wake it our self, I guess the whole population would have to concentrate to do it, and in the state many are now I don't think they would agree to it!"

"-There is another way! A scientific group has on the order of the God Emperor Ruatha been working on psychic weapons, they believe some of those weapons might be used to wake the One. But the God Emperor Ruatha has forbidden any further research in the area."

"-No, it must be continued. Can those scientists be trusted?"

"-Most of them yes, those who has travelled to far down insanity road has entered other projects, mostly doomsday weapon projects. But some still continue the psychic research in secrecy. One of them is my mate.", Said Marit the Warrior.

The Free Council issued a mission to Marit, wake the One by all means before was too late.


Re: Weyrlings
posted by: tbontob Posted Wednesday, Dec 11 at 3:34 AM
Wed, Dec 11 at 03:34:08 EST
The war council was in full session.

Ministers and generals were poring over maps of star systems. The society was under assault by an implacable enemy and a solution had to be found to win the day.

Finally, a general stood up and declared he had a solution to the crises. In a loud stentorian voice he stated while pointing with his baton “We take our defensive forces from these four locations and bring them here”. Once our forces have joined, we make a massive push against our most hated enemy, break through into his system and push on to obliterate his home world.

Pandemonium erupted!

Yells and screams drowned out any further comments the general had to make.

“My wife and children live there!”

“It would mean as much as 10 billion dead if the enemy should decide to attack those areas from which we have withdrawn our forces.”

“My investments would be ruined!”

“The enemy could take this opportunity to drive on to our home planet and incinerate it!”

Amidst all this commotion, a courtier ran into the room and approached Zaxxon, the central speaker. Three times the courtier had to repeat himself before Zaxxon understood the import of the message.

It took 5 minutes to bring the meeting to order.

Zaxxon then stated that our esteemed intelligence service has uncovered that the “God emperor, Ruatha is mad!” Zaxxon went on to say “This is a heaven sent opportunity to eliminate a rival.”

The room went deathly silent as each person tried to put the information into some sort of perspective.

Finally, a small, reedy voice from the back of the room asked, “Where did our intelligence service get this information.”

Zaxxon: “Our espionage operator penetrated the inner circle of power of Ruatha’s homeworld.”

Reedy voice: “And where is Ruatha’s homeworld?”

Zaxxon: “We don’t know”

Reedy voice: “How can we eliminate a rival if we do not know where he is?”

Zaxxon yelled: “We’ll find out!!!!!!!!”

Reedy voice: “We have always been a nation of peace. What has Ruatha done to warrant us to want to eliminate him?”

Zaxxon starting to turn beet red, screamed: “He must have done something! No one is perfect!”

Reedy voice: “So you are suggesting we make war on a nation which may be inclined to be friendly with us, when we can barely defend ourselves against our present enemies?”

Everyone stared at Zaxxon as it started to sink in that Zaxxon mind may have become unhinged by the stress of the conflict.

Forbidden thoughts came to the surface of many in the room:the one who is mad may not be Ruatha but Zaxxon!

Zaxxon collapsed under the many thoughtful stares. And had to be carried out on a stretcher.


Re: Weyrlings
Wed, Dec 11 at 02:10:59 EST
WEYRLINGS 2403.6
================

Avrel Kopre, Intelligence officer in the Divine Intelligence Service tried to blend into the background as he approached the throne.

"-Excuse me Oh graceful God Emperor" He managed to say.
The God Emperor Ruatha quickly turned around and stared at him
"- What?"
"- The empire of the CCCP demands that the exploration ship V'ger be withdrawn."
"- Demands???! This demands action! Call for the generals! Call for War!" The God Emperor Ruatha was working up into a frenzy.
"Kill them all!", turning to the guards he pointed at Avrel, "Chop his head off!".
Quickly the closest guard severed Avrils head from the body with a quick movement of his claws.
The head physician moved forward pressing the hypodermic injection probe towards Ruathas skin, Ruatha quickly slumped back into the throne.
"-KILL, Kill, kiiiiil l l ", he started snoring.

The Master of Ceremonies quickly raised his voice:
"- The God Emperor Ruathas Words has been fulfilled, the traitor is killed", he turned towards the Generals.
"Now, you fix this within the hour, report to me your decision and I'll put it to the God Emperor when he awakens, he is open for suggestions at those moments...."

The Divina Armed Forces Head Committe was in meating.
The discussion was short and concise, there was really no options.
Aliens could never be allowed to dictate Weyrling foreign policy, V'ger would go on.
A message was sent to the CCCP stating that more information was needed as to the meanings of the demands.
The Weyrling exploration forces had several times accepted alien requests to abstain from exploring their territories.
But this was something new, a race demaning that they stop exploration of another races territory, trying to stop other races from meeting and setting up peaceful treaties.
More information was needed, but the prospect of war was clearly felt in the room.
All efforts would be made to avoid it, but if it came, the Weyrlings would be ready!


Re: Weyrlings
posted by: tbontob Posted 21 hours ago
Thu, Dec 12 at 05:33:24 EST
Zaxxon gradually awoke to the murmuring of?

"The Zaxxoness has move to Estonile with the children and has?"

"to become unhinged by the war with the CCCP and?"

"I know the position of Central Speaker is an appointment for life, but there must be something that can be done when our leader goes batty as a fruitcake."

Opening his eyes, Zaxxon notices that he is in bed. Around him, small Groups of nobles, ministers and military officers are talking is soft tones.

He motioned his friend, Eston to approach and asked about the talk about his wife.

Eston looked down at his feet and stumbled for words?

"Please Eston, tell me the truth!"

"Well, your wife left for Elstonile with the children and?"

"When I am unwell, she leaves on a trip?"

"Yes, she has relatives in the systems which the general wanted to withdraw forces from and?"

"Yes, yes"

"And well, uh she, uh, ahem, was offended that you did nothing to stop the discussion of removing the protective fleet in the system in which her parents reside."

"What! The meeting was in an uproar! We didn't even have the chance to discuss it"

"Well, ahem, she feels if you loved her, you would have done something to stop it. And since you did not, you could not love her."

Zaxxon groaned in pain and then asked. "What do you propose, my friend?"

"Well, I recommend you go after her and apologize to her on bended knee. And if necessary beg for her forgiveness."

"But Elstonile is in the opposite end of our society. It would take weeks to get there! And more weeks to return! What am I to do with the crises at hand?"

"Hmmm, that is a problem. If you leave, you will have abandoned your post as the central speaker. Abandoning a post in time of war is treason and you can be hung for it."

"Whaaaat?"

"Yet if you do not go to her, that will be proof to her that you do not love her."

"How can she do this to me?"

"Well, in her mind, love conquers all. So if you do not do battle to go to her, then you must not love her."

Zaxxon collapses back into the bed in shock.

Eston coughed, "Ahem, there is another matter. We have lost contact with our espionage officer in Ruatha?s court."

"How is that? I thought it was impossible to sever contact with an operative."

"We don't understand it. He had an undetectable organic transmitter in his neck connected to his brain stem. The only way to prevent Avrel Kopre from contacting us is to separate his head from his body."

Zaxxon mused, "This Ruatha is a formidable ruler of nations. No one has been able to detect our spies before and yet at a stroke he was able to ascertain who our spy was and do the one thing that would sever our contact with our spy. He must be a genius par excellence!"

"Yes, if we ever meet, we must be sure to give him many gifts to assuage any anger he may have towards us."

Zaxxan asks "And what of our war with our hated enemy?"

Eston replies "Nothing has changed. We are waiting for any instructions you wish to give."

Re: Weyrlings
Fri, Dec 13 at 02:16:26 EST

WEYRLINGS 2403.7
==================
The Weyrling Intelligence committee was in session.

“- I do believe this was the first wise decision Ruatha has ever made.
Do we have any means to detect these spying devices?”

“-No. It was pure luck. When Avrel Kopre’s remaining ashes were transferred to the box the device fell out.
The only way we have found to detect it is by seeing it or feeling it, and that is probably impossible when it’s in it’s proper place, which location in the body that is we still don’t know.
It’s a totally alien technology.”

“-Where does it come from?”

“-We haven’t the slightest clue! But the empires who are most suspicious right now is either the CCCP or the Sons of Thunder. We have recent intelligence analysis saying that those are the most threatening empires right now.
But we still don’t have enough data to blame anyone.”

“-I believe that there is a massive secret invasion force in our empire, fitted with these devices. Trying to infiltrate our governing structure.
We must put all officials and officers in the empire under surveillance.
We have the cooperation of the secret police and the military in this.
All personnel must move in Groups of three , a military, an intelligence officer and a member of the secret police.
There will be a total curfew, around the clock.
All scientific research will be aimed at finding a way do detect these devices, we estimate that there might be millions or billions of them in the empire.”

-----------------------------------------------------------
The Weyrling society came to a halt.
A total curfew was enforced throughout the empire, anyone found outside unaccompanied by a military, an intelligence officer and a secret police was executed. The corpses were littering the streets. People were starving in the homes, food was being delivered but the logistic problems were staggering.
The people wasn’t happy!

The God Emperor Ruatha knew nothing of this, no one told him.
He still issued orders as usual, and as was more and more common these days most of them were ignored.

[ February 21, 2003, 23:25: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Ruatha]

Re: Zaxxon of the Zax's
posted by: tbontob Posted 1 hour ago
Fri, Dec 13 at 03:51:10 EST
Days had passed since Zaxxon relapse.

One day, he would be overwhelmed by his need to see his beloved Zaxxoness. He would call out his retinue and preparations would be made for the departure to Elstonile.

He would only change his mind when his good friend Eston spoke of "treason" and the certainty of his death by hanging.

Zaxxon would then be depressed for days.

Then he would be overwhelmed by his love for his beloved Zaxxoness and again he would give orders to travel. Eston would again convince him that the Zaxxoness would rather have a live and responsive Zaxxon than a dead one.

This cycle repeated itself over and over.

Zaxxon lost weight. His scales lost luster and hung limply from his frame. He became hollow-eyed and his bright red skin turned to a mottled pink and yellow patchwork.

Zaxxon started to mumble about his Zaxxoness...how beautiful she was...her incredible gentleness...her loving gestures...how delicate she was...her sacrifices...her inability to defend herself, both verbally and physically...and how he must have offended her so deeply for her to leave him.

He found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on sociey matters. His lack of attention to matters of import, meant that the society was becoming rudderless at a time when it could least affort to do so. The society was beginning to fall apart.

Finally, Zaxxon could take it no longer and begged his friend to go to the Zaxxoness and convince her of his undying love for her.

"Tell her how much I love her and how much she means to me. And how much I love the children. But do it gently since she is of a very delicate nature and so easily wounded."

Eston prepared for the journey to Elstonile and left the next day with a retinue of loyal Zax nobility and castle guards.

Zaxxon's spirits lifted with the making of this decision and was again able to focus on matters of importance.

He wanted to know more of the organic device that was used to spy on Ruatha's court and asked to see Spiii, head of his intelligence agency

Spiii had this to say:

They came upon Avrel when he was a student 20 years ago. He was in a serious accident and during the operations to repair his body they were able to implant the device without his knowledge.

It was only by sheer good luck that Avrel became an Intelligence officer in the Divine Intelligence Service.

The organic device needs power to transmit information but as the body is a poor producer of electrical energy, it can be dormant for years until the person becomes emotionally charged.

Then suddenly the message of Ruatha's insanity came through loud and clear.

We believe that Avrel must have had such a deep, undying love for his emporer/god, that his deep distress over Ruatha's condition resulted in enough energy to transmit the data.

Zaxxon asked "Then this device is really of limited usefulness?"

Spiii thought and then reluctantly resonded with "Essentially yes"

Zaxxon: "So not only did we go to inordinate expense to implant the device, we did it on the very remote chance he may be associated with Ruatha and not become a simple cobbler or baker."

"Yes"

"Well, if I was Ruatha, I would be laughing my head off! He must believe we are total incompetents to do something like this! We do not know if Ruatha is mad, temporarily mad or if only Avrel thought he was mad and he really is sane."

"Uhhh..yes"

"So, this device did nothing for us! We do not know if Ruatha is really sane or not. And as such, it contributes little if anything to our knowledge base of Ruatha and his empire."

"Uhhh...well yes"

"Dolts! The purpose of espionage is either to improve our situation of make the other's worse in some way. Neither of these things happened! Let's just hope Ruatha never finds out about it for the logical conclusion would be that we are so stupid that we would be easy prey for his empire!"

Spiii agreed with, "You are right! I will see to the entire revamping of our espionage bureau to ensure all future expenditures meet those requirements."

"See to it! I would be particularly interested in what you can learn about the CCCP."

[tbontob]

THE LOCATION: JUST OUTSIDE OF THE ENTRANCE TO ELSTONILE CASTLE.

The trip to Estonile castle was uneventful but somewhat subdued. Each member of the party knew the importance of effecting a reconciliation between Zaxxon and his beloved Zaxxoness.

They had just arrived. The drawbridge over the moat to Elstonile Castle was down over the moat which was a good sign.

But the portcullis was also down and it barred their way into the castle. But this was not necessarily a good or a bad sign.

Eston requested admittance to Estonile Castle.

After a short wait, the Zaxxoness appeared high up in the tower over the entranceway and wailed, "Where is my husband?"

Eston replied with "He is not here, my lady. But I have some very important Messages from him which he wishes I convey only to you and personally."

The Zaxxoness's hand flew to her cheek as she exclaimed "Oh!". Eston then observed her rushing towards the stairs of the tower.

Eston sat down to await the appearance of the Zaxxoness. His heart was filled with joy as he contemplated, "The lovebirds miss each other terribly. Now all he had to do was effect a reconciliation between Zaxxon and his Zaxxoness and then he could go home to his own family."

================================================

THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE

Zaxxon was energized. Knowing that he would soon be reconciled with his Zaxxoness, he was able to pour his energies into state affairs.

A courtier came in to inform Zaxxon of the acting Research Director request for an audience.

"Acting?"

"Well, the head of the department has suffered a stroke and is in the hospital. Shall I show him in."

"Yes, yes"

The acting head had a somewhat strange appearance. He was fat, being somewhat rolly-polly and seemed to lean backwards from the waist as he approached Zaxxon.

"What is your name?"

"R2D2"

"That is an ususual name?"

"Yes, apparently, my parents saw a foreign movie and thought the name fit me."

"How so"

"They never outright told me. But they seemed secretly amused whenever I asked them. At times it almost appeared as if they could hardly contain themselves from laughing."

R2D2 continued with "But I know they only wanted the best for me! My father was a Research Director level 3/security clearance 3. They shortened 'Research''2nd level''Director''2nd level clearance' to R2D2. That is one explanation. But sometimes they said it was a contraction of 'Research & Development'. It was terribly confusing to me. They assured me this was their way of encouraging me to not be satified with Research Director level 3/security clearance 3."

"Interesting! So what did you want to see me about?"

"Well, my superior focused on propulsion but we seem to be going nowhere with it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he wanted to research reverse speed so that if a battle seemed lost, our ships could 'get out of Dodge' fast."

"But don't all our ships have inertial dampeners?"

"Yes"

"And doesn't this mean that they can turn on a dime?"

"Yes, and thereby speed away instantly."

"So he wanted to have our ships 'back out' rather than 'turn about' to leave?"

"Yes sir. We probably would have propulsion 7 or 8 by now if we hadn't invested so heavily into reverse propulsion."

Zaxxon color was rapidly turning red "So, change it!"

"Well, being only 'acting' head of the R & D department, I don't have the authority to change research projects."

Zaxxon's countenance started to turn purple at the incredible stupidity of things. Only seeing the court physician surreptitiously pulling out a hyperdermic needle, gave him cause to restrain himself.

Tightlipped with stress, Zaxxon could barely whisper "The acting head of R & D has all the rights and privileges as the head of R & D."

"Oh! May I take my leave to make some changes?"

Barely containing himself, Zaxxon whispered "Yes"

================================================

THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE
THE TIME: SOME HOURS LATER

After some hours of rest, Zaxxon was able to function again.

"Spiii wishes to see you, sir."

"Send him in"

Spiii rushes in to report on the reorganization of the espionage department.

"Good news, sir! We only have 1,138,297 operatives with the device in Ruatha's empire."

"What! 1,138 thousand?"

"And 297, sir"

Zaxxon groaned. If Ruatha should find out about this, they would most certainly be at war.

"And you are sure the device is completely undetectable?"

"Yes sir! And not only that, but the emmissions are broadband and radiate out in all directions, so there is nothing at all that will connect us to them."

"Thank God!" However, in spite of the reassurances, Zaxxon was uneasy for Ruatha was a mighty ruler and only the foolhardy dared to anger him.

"There is something that we cannot make sense of, sir."

"Yes"

"Well, you know the person must be 'emotionally charged' for the device to receive enough energy to work. In the past we would receive information on a mixture of 'unhappy' events and 'happy' events. The death of a wife, discovering a son has cancer, being fired from a job, being charged with a criminal offense are just a few examples of 'unhappy' events we would receive."

Spiii continued "Happy events would be things like winning the state lottery, the birth of a son, getting a contract for 100,000 widgets, an ugly spinster getting married are some 'happy' events we get."

"Yes, yes, go on"

"Well, recently, we are only getting massive numbers of unhappy events. There are no happy events at all! And not just the regular unhappy events, strange ones, like a son or daughter starving to death, indiscriminate arrests in the middle of the night, babies dying because they cannot get medical attention because of some curfew in effect, executions without due process of law, just to name a few."

Zaxxon exclaimed "Thank God for some good news!"

"Pardon" exclaimed Spiii as he tried to comprehend how Zaxxon could be so happy over the sufferings of others.

"Since we had nothing to do with the crisis in Ruatha's empire, he cannot blame us it!"

Zaxxon was actually jubilant!

Zaxxon continued, "And furthermore, he will be so distracted by the terrible events happening in his empire, that even if he should somehow happen to stumble upon the device...I know, I know you claim it is undetectable...but even if he should somehow stumble onto one of the devices, he is unlikely to notice or pay much attention to it because of the crises which requires his attention."

Zaxxon was so happy he didn't notice Spiii quietly leave the room.

EDIT============================================
Apparently Ruatha didn't post his update to his empire. As my update to the workings of the Zax empire is dependant upon the workings of the Ruatha's, I give his update here...
==============================================
Posted by RUATHA

The Exploration Committe was in session.

"-We have been ordered by the Divine Intelligence Service to turn back V'ger.
And as the domestic state of the empire is at right now I concurr. We can't really fight any war now, the empire is shutting down.
Furthermore, if the CCCP has such advanced technology that the mind-control device implies, we do not want to fight them.
And not to forget, so far the CCCP has been honourable towards us, wich is more than we've been against them!"

"-But to turn back a exploration ship on the demand of aliens! This will set a dangerous example. Who nows what we might find if we jump through the wormhole that V'ger is parked at?
Are we such cowards that we are afraid of mere aliens?"

"-Nothing we can find there will solve our current crisis, we cannot risk to enrage the CCCP anymore.
V'ger will turn back.
We will explore that part of the universe, but not now, not with V'ger!
It's not about courage, well not so much about courage as about survival!"

[ December 15, 2002, 19:48: Message edited by: tbontob ]

[Ruatha]

Weyrling Empire 2404.2
=====================

The curfew was lifted.
The society could not operate with it.
But the streets of the empire was still deserted, every here and there you could find a small group of people hurrying home with precius food supplies.
Most people were afraid, there was no way to know if your neighbour or the shop assistant at the shop around the corner was being controlled by aliens through an invisible mind control device.
There was no news of how they had been incorporated into the bodies of the victims.
It was known that the devices must have been in place for a long time, as there was no difference in the way those with devices and those without behaved, it was assumed that the aliens had thourogh information of the Weyrling society.
So far 78 devices had been found, most couldn't be traced back to an individual.
The mass deaths had resulted in mass cremations, 2-300 people being incarcerated at once, and the ashes being searched afterwards.

-------------------------
The free council was in session:
"-How is progress on the device to awaken The One going?"

"-Badly, all research has been shifted to means of detecting these mind control devices. But we do belive we will make some progress in psychic technology within one year. That might be enough to create something that can awaken the one.", Marit replied.

"-We must hurry. The mass hysteria caused by the mind-control devices has increased the spread of madness. Estimates is that more than 10% of the population is completely nutters.
It's hard to be sure as most are isolating themselves in their homes."

"-We will do our best, as always. Let's just hope it's enough."

"-On the positive front, our relationship with the CCCP is improving. Rumors now implies the Infernal Realm as being the master minds of the mind-control device plot.
But we do not know why those controlled hasn't started their attack yet, it might be that they aren't ready yet."

"-Yes, the Infernal realms people are so ugly, their demonic appearance haunts me every night.
I'm afraid we warriors hasn't done much damage to them yet, one colony ship is all that we've destroyed, and that was even before the war started."

"-yes, we should be grateful that the Thermolians has destroyed most of that Infernal realm's fleet.
Did you hear that Ruatha wanted to start a war with the Thermolians when he heard that, he thought they had robbed us of the glory of destroying these wile creatures.
I belive he really thinks we are at war with the Thermolians now, thankfully no one heeds his commands anymore."

"-I agree that it's good that he is almost powerless. However that has left us in a power vacum, no one rules at present."

"-Soon, The One will awake and set all things right...."

[ February 21, 2003, 23:15: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[tbontob]

THE ZAX SOCIETY
================================================
THE LOCATION: JUST OUTSIDE OF THE ENTRANCE TO ELSTONILE CASTLE.

Eston was happy, contemplating a quick resolution of the marital difficulties between Zaxxon and his Zaxxoness.

Five minutes passed...

He thought of the love Zaxxon had for his beloved Zaxxoness. It showed in many little ways. There were the little touches and quick glances of affection that often passed between them. It also showed in the gifts he gave her as he showered her in material things, jewels, works of art and property such as Elstonile Castle.

Fifteen minutes elapsed...

He reminisced on the the laughter which they exchanged. The quick wit and the repartee that went with their verbal parrying. It was a joy to see...

Thirty minutes slipped by...

He reflected on how they met. It was love at first sight. The Zaxxon was absolutely captivated by her beauty, slenderness, softness of features, delicate physical frame, emerald green eyes and ...

He was interrupted in his reverie by the gong which signaled the evening meal in the castle.

An hour? Where is the Zaxxoness?

He went up to the portcullis and signalled to a beefy soldier to approach.

The soldier, a hardened veteran of many wars was festooned with tattoos all over his chest, arms and back, approached Eston. He fixed Eston with a hard stare and said, "Wad ya want?"

"I want you to take a message to the Zaxxoness and tell her..."

Eston noticed that the soldier started to sway, tremble uncontrollably and eyes twitch.

"What's the matter?" Eston asked.

"Please sir, anything but that! I don't want to be rewarded again!"

"Rewarded! Talk sense, man."

"Sir, it is a long story. A year ago, the Zaxxoness heard of a ritual the humans have...the bubblebath. Apparently the females of the species love to sink into a tub of it and it relaxes them. It is even coming into favor for human males to use it without having to fear ridicule, just like they now can go into a beauty parlor to have the spikes on their heads trimmed."

Voice trembling, the soldier continued "Well the Zaxxoness bought carloads of the stuff. If you look you can see 10 boxcars of the stuff on the railroad siding there. Must be 20 tons at least."

"Anyways, I had disturbed her with an urgent message and she rewarded me with a bubblebath. It was fabulous! As I relaxed more and more, my pleasure escalated. Soon, I had no control over my muscles at all and slipped to the bottom of the tub."

"I would have drowned except for a serving girl who noticed the bubbles rising to the top of the bubblebath as I expelled my Last breath."

"Sir, I want nothing more in the world than to perform a service such as delivering your message. I'd sell my soul for another bubblebath."

"But the rational part of me tells me I am addicted to it. To cope with my addiction, I now attend Bubblebath Anonymous. I try to observe the 12 steps faithfully, but I am barely hanging on as it is. So, if the Zaxxoness should offer me another bubblebath, I don't think I'd have the fortitude to say no to it...I want it so badly."

"And then I would be either dead or so hopelessly addicted to it that I would have no hope of redemption."

Eston couldn't help but pity this proud yet defeated warrior. His battle scars and tattoos were no defence against the soapbubble.

He thought, "I will have to find another way to get a message to the Zaxxoness!"

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

THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE

Strong-of-the-Arm Custor entered the room with "Sir, you wished to see me?"

"Yes, how is our war with the CCCP going?"

"Well, we are barely holding our own. They made a probing attack at the Big Horn system which we were able to turn back."

Strong-of-the-Arm Custor continued "Then there is the attack at the Little Big Bugle system but fortunately it was mined, so they lost their ships in the minefield."

"So we are holding our own?"

"Yes sir, but as I said at the meeting we must bring our forces together and ..."

"Yes, yes I know. We will discuss it later.", Zaxxon interjected. He didn't want to make a decision on that issue until he had reconciled with his Zaxxoness!

"Well then may I take my leave as I must get back to the defence of the realm."

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

THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE

Zaxxon was feeling good, knowing that the silver tongue of Eston would bring his Zaxxoness back to him.

He was in conference with Spiii.

"So what do we really know of Ruatha?"

"Sir, what we know is only what we can deduct from inferences." replied Spiii.

"And what is that?"

"Well we infer that Avrel suffered a heart attack or stroke, brought on by his distress over his belief that Ruatha may be insane."

"From that we infer, that Avrel must have had a deep and abiding love for his emperor...so much so that it caused his death."

Spii continued, "There is also civil unrest, but it doesn't appear to be directed against Ruatha. If it were, there would be riots and attempts to depose him. This fact with Avrel's deep love for Ruatha leads us to the inescapable conclusion that he is deeply loved by all his people."

"And finally, we also believe he may be a great warrior. We get unclear Messages about his involvement in the war with the Thermolians. Since the Thermolians have been wiped out, it would appear that he is the cause of their demise."

Zaxxon replied, "I truly envy him. To be so deeply loved by his people. And to be such a general as to wipe out a race. Whereas, I can barely hold my own against the CCCP..."

[Ruatha]

Stardate 2404.4 Weyrlings
==========================

In the Weyrling military headquarters:
"-Did you hear what happened to our task force that was sent out towards the Infernal Realm?"

"-No, what?"

"-They were on their way to glass a civilian planet, our first real target. No real opposition was expected, it was meant to put the fear of the empire into those demons.
When our task force arrived at the small planet they struck some infernal devices called mines, in an instant all ships were destroyed!".

"-Mines, what is that?"

"-A cowardly weapon! They put war heads in space around the planet, when our ships arrived the war heads went off and exploded. The Infernal Realms military didn't even stay to watch the carnage. They dumped these mines and ran before we arrived, the cowards.
They killed the innocent crews on all four destroyers!
Now all those million demons on that planet can go on with their miserable lifes instead of being, *cough*, liberated by us."

"-So, will we send any more ships?"

"-No, it took that taskforce over two years to arrive at the front, the war will be over before any more ships arrives."

"-Does Ruatha know?"

"-Ofcourse not, no one has told him.
We can't tell him, he might blame the military and order the execution of all military personnel. The intelligence service wouldn't delay in complying with that order, even though it would cast the empire into even more chaos!"

"-But why hasn't the Intelligence Service informed him?"

"-Those cowards! They are afraid he would blame it on bad intelligence and order all intelligence personnel executed. And ofcourse, if he did, it would be our duty to comply and rid the empire of all intelligence scum."

"-I see. Any news on the Mind-Control Devices?"

-"No, the intelligence service is keeping a tight lid on all research, we might have to do something about that.
Let's go and talk to admiral Elyssandra, she might now what to do!"

[tbontob]

ZAX Society
============================================

THE LOCATION: JUST OUTSIDE OF THE ENTRANCE TO ELSTONILE CASTLE.

Eston was in a quandary.

He had a mission to accomplish. Not only did the health of Zaxxon depend upon his actions, but also the very survival of the society may depend upon it.

So, he could have "ordered" the guard to relay his message to the Zaxxoness.

But the distress of the guard was so great, that it brought out his deep sense of compassion. He decided to wait for the changing of the guard.

Almost eight hours, after midnight, the changing of the guard took place. But when Eston made his request, the new guard exhibited similar signs of distress. Eston decided wait a further 8 hours.

Morning dawned. With the changing of the guard, Eston approached the new guard on duty and made his request.

The guard started to tremble and sweat...

"Are you addicted to Bubblebath as well?" Eston asked.

"No sir, but I heard about it."

"Then why are you so afraid?"

"I have seen the deep longing of my fellow soldiers for another bubblebath. I have participated in holding them down as they exhibited severe signs of withdrawal. It is not something I wish to experience."

Eston could not bring himself to order the guard to deliver his message and turned back to his camp.

================================================

THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE

Zaxxon was happy. That morning, he had leaped out of his bed with a heart bursting with joy. He thought, "By now, the silver tongue of Eston must be doing its work. Why, even now, the Zaxxoness must be preparing for the trip back to him!"

He felt that nothing would affect his feelings of happiness and well being. This was going to be a great and momentous day!

His thoughts were interrupted by "R2D2 wishes to see you, sir."

"Send him in"

R2D2 burst in with "Sir, I have changed the funding for the research and development projects.

"Great. Tell me abo..."

"Well, I reduced the funding for reverse speed by 5% and put the 5% into researching propulsion. This way the research into reverse speed will not be lost and we will eventually get the next level of propulsion."

Only then did R2D2 become aware of the beet-red color of Zaxxon and of the court physician pulling out an empty hypodermic needle from the arm of Zaxxon.

"Whaaaaat?" R2D2 exclaimed.

"If you value your career, I would suggest you put some more thought into the projects you are funding." the court physician interjected.

================================================
THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE
THE TIME: 2 hours later

Zaxxon was beginning to emerge from his 'short nap', when Strong-of-the-Arm Custer burst in with "I must see him!"

"Sir, we must do something!" Going to the maps, he continued, "The CCCP is showing increased activity at these three locations! We must pull our ships of the line from this location to bolster our defenses."

Zaxxon started to tremble and hyperventilate when he realized that the system Custor wanted to abandon was the system where the Zaxxoness's parents lived.

Zaxxon again felt the prick of a needle and fell into a deep sleep.

================================================
THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE
THE TIME: 3 hours later

Zaxxon had almost fully recovered from his 'inoculations', when a courtier announced that Spiii wished to see him.

Zaxxon said, "Well Spiii, I hope you have some good news!"

"No sir! We have discovered that the CCCP has subordinate allies. A number of them are assisting the CCCP with resources, ships, intelligence and God knows what else."

This time Zaxxon hardly felt the pinprick.

================================================
THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE
THE TIME: 1 hour later

"Dip-low-Mac-Sea, the minister of foreign affairs wishes to see you sir."

Zaxxon responded with a weary "Send him in"

Dip-low-Mac-Sea said, "I have some bad news, sir."

"Well, it couldn't be any worse than what has happened so far!"

"Two more empires have declared war on us."

This time a hypodermic was not necessary as Zaxxon passed out with the shock of the announcement.

[Ruatha]

Weyrling Empire - Dawn, the new beginning. 2404.5
=================================================
It was an ordinary day in the God Emperor's palace, orders were issued without being obeyed, heads were rolling and guts opened, the blod pouring out of the throne chamber, Ruatha was in a good mood.

"Send in another wench!" He screamed after having killed his Last rape victim (in full view of the 234 attending persons in the throne room).

The High Guard closest to Ruatha twicthed the wiskers in a nervous manner, the High Guard's tail whisped slowly back and forth while pressed to the floor. Suddenly the Guard reaches for his beam wepon, steps forward and points it towards Ruatha, no other High Guard seems to react.

"-Death to the tyrant", the high pitched noise of the beam blends with the splatter of God Emperor Ruatha as he is split in the middle when the Guard sweeps the beam from Ruatha's head to the floor.

Now the other High Guards finally reacts, drawing their weapons and aiming at the killer.

The former High Guard moves his warm beam weapon upwards and points it towards his own head:
"-Long live Zaxxon, ruler of all , oh, sorry, I mean.. Long live the free Weyrlings, freedom to the people!"

As he presses the trigger the high pitched noise is this time abruptly ended by the splatter of the exploding head.

[ February 21, 2003, 23:13: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Ruatha]

Weyrling Empire, A new sun arises. 2404.6
========================================
The provisional council was in session:
Admiral Elyssandra as acting chief of state was leading the procedings:
"-What is the state of the realm?", she asked.

"-Well", the general next to her replied, "It's quite odd, but the moral has never been higher. We belive those prone to panic were mostly killed in the recent disorders.
The Empire has responded well to the quick takeover by us military, as we have provided order.
That you Admiral has been appointed Chief of state helps, as you are seen as an honourble leader. Most remember your efforts in the short "Sons of thunder War" which you won singlehandedly with that weapon platform."

Elyssandra spoke again,
"-Good. Now we must make plans for the future. The fleet must be strenghtened. Surely some external forces might try to take advantage of the situation. Also we must send more ships to the Joint Alliance Force, so far our contribution has been laughable. We must prove ourselfs to the alliance now so that they don't turn against us.
General elections can't be held in any predictable time, I will continue as Chief of State for as long as needed.
We have already seen to a quick building program for the fleet, and we have a general defence plan for the next three years.

Now to another matter, we must find out who made us the favour of disposing of Ruatha. I'd like to thank them but of course they must be punished severly. High Guard Anjel who assasined Ruatha made a somewhat confused statement before taking his own life.
This Zaxxon he mentioned is unknown to us, it has been proposed that he might have been mad, or the sanest Wyerling around if you'd like to see it that way. Most evidence hovewer points towards the "Free Council". I'd hate to punish them as I do belive they are true patriots, but if we can't find anyone else to blame soon we will have to point the guns towards them.
If you haven't been informed of that underground movement, you ought to know that they are trying to awaken The One, these efforts are inofficially supported, but officialy we don't know of the existance of that "council".
We do know that the insanity still continues to rise in the population, the proportion of insane Weyrlings has decreased due to the recent events but the rate of affection increases. So far we haven't found any cure, and this insanity was unknown during the unity under The One.

So, to work. Strengthen the fleet, and let's find those behind Ruathas death!"

__________________________________________________ __________________________________

A public statement was made through all embassys to the alien civilizations:
Ruatha is dead, Matriarch Elyssandra now rules the Weyrlings. Death to all enemies of the Weyrling people and may their friends prosper.In the few systems in wich conflict with others might arise, the fleet strenght was raised.

[ February 21, 2003, 23:14: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[tbontob]

THE ZAX SOCIETY
================================================

THE LOCATION: ZAXXON'S BEDCHAMBER OF ZAX CENTRE

Zaxxon was screaming.

The high chamberlain ran into the room in response to the anguished cries of his Zaxxon.

He had to shake Zaxxon with increasing roughness until Zaxxon awoke. He was wild-eyed, pale and shaking.

"You had a bad dream, Sir."

"It was so vivid, so real."

"What Sir?"

"I dreamt I was being sliced in two, from my head to my foot. Blood was everywhere!"

"Just a nightmare, Sir!"

"No, it was more than that! It was so vivid, so real...so extraordinarily real!"

"Well,..."

"What does it mean?"

"I could ask the court physician, Sir"

"Yes, ask him to come at once!"

============================================
THE LOCATION: ZAXXON'S BEDCHAMBER OF ZAX CENTRE
THE TIME: 30 MINUTES LATER.

The court physician was saying "From what you tell me it can be no more than a bad dream..."

"No, no! It was more than that!" interjected Zaxxon.

"Well, I think we can help calm you." said the court physician as he prepared a hypodermic.

Zaxxon went hysterical, "No, no. I don't want to go to sleep. I may dream it again!"

"Hmmmm. Well, if you will calm down, I will not give you an injection."

"Yes, yes. I am calm, I am calm!" said the wild-eyed Zaxxon in a trembling voice.

"But my dear Zaxxon, we need to resolve this."

Zaxxon was so disturbed that he didn't notice the court physician and the high chamberlain had moved to a corner of the bedchamber and were discussing his situation in low whispers.

"We are at a loss Sir as to how to explain this event and its significance. We will put it before the council to ascertain how we should proceed. Is there anything we can do for you, now?"

In a trembling voice, "I just wish my Zaxxoness was here now. I could relax in her..." Zaxxon stopped, turned red and amended with "I meant with her."

"Well I am confident that Eston and the Zaxxoness are on their way here at this very moment."
================================================

THE LOCATION: JUST OUTSIDE OF THE ENTRANCE TO ELSTONILE CASTLE.

Eston was starting to panic.

He called a meeting of the Zax nobility who had accompanied him on the mission.

"Well, it seems obvious that she will not meet with anyone unless it is her Zaxxon." said one noble.

Another responded with "And if we cannot meet with her, then our mission is doomed. What could we tell Zaxxon? He had such high hopes for a reconciliation."

Everyone looked at each other, hoping against hope someone had a solution.

Seconds passed. Seconds turned into minutes. Everyone had a haunted look.

"Ahem, I may have a solution." said the guard who was in charge of the flap to the tent.

"Ignore him. He is only a guard! What does he know of matters such as these!" said one of the nobles.

"Insufferable!" said another.

"Low class...

The guard persisted with "But, I may..."

"Do you want to be dishonourably discharged from the service without a pension." shouted a noble.

Eston stepped in with, "Gentlemen, gentlemen! We have not come up with a solution. I do not want to go back to the Zaxxon and tell him our mission was a failure."

When the nobles had the opportunity to digest what Eston said, he continued with "I propose we allow him to tell us his idea."

Grudgingly, the nobles saw the wisdom of Eston's words and gave permission to the guard to speak.

"Well, it seems obvious that the Zaxxoness will not meet with anyone but her Zaxxon. And the Zaxxon cannot come here. So, the only solution is to pretend the Zaxxon is here and wants to see her. Once you have an audience with her, you can plead your case."

The meeting turned into an uproar.
"That's terrible you would suggest such a...."
"To lie to the Zaxxoness..."
"You actually suggest we use deceit?
"She could lay charges if we did such a thing!"

Unanimously, the nobles turned down the guard's suggestion with utter contempt!

Sadly Eston said "I do not want to return to Zaxxon to tell him the bad news. Personally, to avoid that, I would try almost anything."

"But, I however much I would like to try it." he continued. "I cannot do it without your help."

Zaxxon concluded with "So if this mission fails, it fails because you are not prepared to risk offending the Zaxxoness."

The nobles all responded with,
"My ethics do not permit me to lie...
"It is not right!
"To even imply that we do such a thing...

To a man, the nobles agreed that they should return to Zax central forthwith.

Sadly Eston said, "Yes. I will report our failure to the Zaxxon. It is likely he will ask if we have tried everything. If he does, I will have to tell him "No." because I didn't have your support."

Eston continued with "We should realize our society is imperilled with the war with three empires. How well our society performs depends in large part on the Zaxxons health and enthusiasm."

The nobles responded with
"Maybe so, but to demand we lie..."
"My conscience will not allow it."
"Sometimes we just have to accept things."

Eston quietly said, "But I think we have a law which says that if by action or inaction a person imperils the society, he could be hung."

The nobles went into shock and then suddenly said:
"Our Zaxxons health is paramount."
"We should do our duty."
"It is only right that we do what we can to reconcile the Zaxxoness with the Zaxxon."
"I am sentimental and want to try to get these lovebirds back together."

"How do you propose we do it?" Eston asked the guard.

"Well, if it was the Zaxxon, he would be accompanied by a retinue of nobles dressed in their finest silks and literally dripping in jewels. To do less may expose you."

The guard continued with "Then, I would suggest you pretend that Zaxxon is in the litter. Make sure the litter openings are closed with silks, give the reason that the Zaxxon is ill and requires immediate attention of her physician."

"Here, here!", the nobles shouted happily, each thinking of the silks and jewels they would like to have.

Historians would write that it was not only the nobles inner sense of duty and loyalty to do the right thing and but it was their compassion for the lovebirds which unwaveringly led them to change the course of history.

[Ruatha]

Weyrlings: The Surprise.
=========================

Date 2404.9 The Weyrling Empire:

"-Why so silent?", Asked Matriarch Elyssandra and continued:
"I realise that the sudden change in the Earth alliance's stance towards us is a bit unexpected, but it's also an opportunity we must take advantage of."
"What has the intelligence service to tell us about the situation in the Earth Alliance leading up to these events?"

"-Well", the intelligence liason officer begun,
"President Sheridan seems to have disappeared, no one knows of his whereabouts. As he was the initiative taker to our military alliance, the alliance between us turned to dust the moment he disappeared. We have heard rumours of a military takeover in the Earth Alliance. It can be that the military there belives that we are weak after Ruathas death and want's to take advantage of the situation.
There has been some speculation that by launching the Early Warning system satellites in the Irith system we might have provoced this attack. Remember that the only ship lost so far is the ship that deployed those spy satellites.
The good thing about those spy satellites is that they have picked up the traces of two Earth Alliance destroyers, the Lexington I and the Claymore 4 moving towards the Kadok system. "

Matriarch Elyssandra responded:
-"These spy satellites, they are armed, right? Can they be used to defend the Kadok system?"

"-They are well armed yes. But against two destroyers? They wouldn't stand a chance. And they aren't in any defensive position anyway, they're located out in an unimportant sector in the system. The idea being that they should spy, not fight."

"Well then. It would seem that it's up to us in the military to solve the situation, as we always do.", Elyssandra replied and turned towards her military chief in command:
"What forces do we have in the region?"

"-Not that many I'm afraid. The Hunter class fighter carrier Endavour is currently loading supplies in the Kadok system. It was scheduled to depart that system next month, and then there would have been no ships there.
The Hunter class carriers are an old design. They haven't been improved since the construction almost two years ago. But still, they are the largest ships we ever built. And if I may say so, we haven't made any finer ships since!
The Endavour is carrying seven Tie Deceptors and 28 Advanced Tie fighters, the ship itself is heavily armed with two large Depleted Uranium cannons of the highest tech class.
In practice combat we've hseen that a single Hunter stocked with fighters can easily take out two of the most advanced destroyers we are able to build. So if the Earth alliance dares to enter the Kadok system they will regret it!
In the near systems we have two special ships, the PC Alpha class light cruisers Gurkan and Tomaten, they aren't that well equipped for combat but will propably take out a destroyer in one on one combat if needed."

All attention was turned towards Elyssandra as she started moving her tail from side to side, the excitement the prospect of war made in her was obvius to see.
"-So, we haven't had a good fight since the small Sons of Thunder war almost five years ago. Granted, this war didn't come were we expected. We are poorly prepared but that will only make it a bit more exciting!
It's time to get some target practice. If we're lucky we might consolidate our territory in a far more cost effective way than we had planned. This way we don't have to trade an entire system for a few albeit strategic important still economic worthless small planets.

These are the orders for this month:
One, the Endavour is to move into an defensive position and intercept the Lexington and Claymore if they enter the Kadok system.
Two, the Light cruisers Gurkan and Tomaten will be rerouted towards Kadok at highest speed, there they will join with the Endavour and create the task force "Fast Reply", the PC Alphas will defend the Endavour that will be the main offensive unit.
Three, The Intelligence service will start doing their job properly, we shouldn't have been as surprised as we were by this attack.
Four, start the construction of mine sweepers and a new offensive force in the area.
Five, probe all Earth alliance channels for a peaceful resolution to this. I'd hate to back down, but Sheridan has been our friend and for his sake we will have to try to spare some Earth Alliance lives.
Six, two of the warriors Body 2 class destroyers at Kalzeron VIII will be stocked and ready to leave next month. I'll take command of them and head into the combat zone with them.
Seven, initiate a strengthening of all borders, others might try to take advantage of this situation.
Eight, tell the scientists to look for any connections between the mind control devices and the Earth Allince, they migh have been planning this a long time.
Nine, send a request to the Central Power alliance headquarter that they stay out of this. If they join this there will be no way to stop the annihilation of the Earth Alliance, and altough we will fight, I'd rather have the Earth Alliance as neighbours than radiated ruins.

To sum this up: We will whip those Earth Alliance asses so hard they will never forget this lesson."

Rear Admiral Ayles stod up and stared at Elyssandra:
"Admiral, sorry i mean Matriarch. I'm glad that it's you who are leading us now. If Ruatha would have stayed in power we would have been doomed. You Madam has proven your combat skills before. I speak for the entire empire when I say that we are yours to command!
Let's fight!"

Everyone left the room with their tails eagerly moving from side to side.

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

The Free council was in session:

Marit spoke up:
"- We must speed up the attempts to awaken the one. Things are happening that must be stopped.
Rumours has it that Elyssandra turned down partnership with one of the most powerful races in the known galaxy. And now this war with the Earth Alliance. I've served with Elyssandra during the Sons of Thunder war, she is an excellent commancer but I think she is too eager to fight. She is truly military from the inside out.
I can't understand why the Earth Alliance attacked us like this! We've been friends as long as we've known them. They were one of the first races we discovered out there. I mean, if it hadn't been for them we would still be a one planet race!
We must hurry up, the madness in the empire isn't stopping. Most people don't think about it anymore since Ruatha died, but the madness still increases, without the one we are lost.

[tbontob]

Re: Zax Society - A matter of money
posted by: tbontob Posted Less than 1 min ago
Tue, Jan 28 at 05:35:59 EST

THE LOCATION: The War Room of Zax Central.

Strong-of-the-Arm Custor was finishing his monologue with "...and so our enemies have been making probes in strength all along our defensive line. Here, here, here, here, and here! We are holding, but just barely. What we don't understand is that the probes are only by the allies of the CCCP. But if this continues, they will overwhelm us! We must do something!"

The meeting broke up into an uproar.

"What do you propose?" Zaxxon asked.

In order to appear more commanding, Custor raised his body to his maximum height and said, "We should take our fastest ships and strike here! It would mean leaving our slower ships with their rapid-fire weapons behind, but if we strike fast and hard, we should win the day."

The meeting broke out in a multitude of screams and howls. Zaxxon was starting to sweat, because it was just an occasion like this that his Zaxxoness made her decision to leave for Elstonile.

After some minutes, Spiii was able to ask "And what if a strong fleet of ships of the CCCP are waiting there for you? You said they have not participated in the probing attacks."

Custor responded with, "I cannot see how they can be there! But even if some of the CCCP forces were there, we can handle them!"

"But what if they are all there?"

Custor responded with "They won't be! We must take an aggressive posture or we will surely lose the war to them. Our attempts at peace are getting us nowhere."

Spiii addressed the council with "Unfortunately, I must agree with Strong-of-the-Arm. Intelligence operations against our society have increased in both frequency and severity. They are mainly perpetrated by the CCCP's most eastern ally and we can only expect things to get worse. We need more funding to repel these espionage and sabotage assaults...."

"Is there any good news?"

Custer stepped forward with "Well, we did take a strategic Warp Point. But now, we must keep a fleet there to defend it."

THE LOCATION: The War Room of Zax Central.
THE TIME: 60 minutes later.

Zaxxon "So, we are agreed! We are not ready to conduct a major military assault! But, we will increase the tax rates on all sources of income increased in order to have sufficient funds to construct a new fleet."

Above the "Hear, hears", a minister was heard to say "I would also suggest we make it a war crime to wastefully waste the society resources!"

Above the chorus of "Hear, hears", Zaxxon asked, "Could you be more specific?"

"Yes sir! It would be a war crime punishable by hanging. That is... if anyone were caught misusing the states money or resouces in any way. To give it teeth, there would be no exceptions and no defence can be raised against it. The act of doing it would be enough!"

The "Hear, hears" reached a crescendo. Zaxxon said, "So be it. We will call it the War Measures Act."

THE LOCATION: JUST OUTSIDE OF THE ENTRANCE TO ELSTONILE CASTLE.

Eston and his retinue were planning to leave on the morrow and were busily packing their belongings in preparation for their trip to the luxury provincial capital of Sod Dum.

He asked for the name of the soldier who was so helpful.

"Loy Al tew deBone, Sir"

"Well, ask and see if he can accompany us on the journey to Sod Dum. We will make it worth his while to do so."

THE LOCATION: Sod Dum, the provincial capital.
THE TIME: A day later.

Eston was watching the excited nobles ordering their new clothes with their gold thread, pearls and precious gems inlaid into the fabric.

He was more apprehensive over the selection of rings, necklaces, bracelets, pendants and other jewellery.

He knew these noble were not rich and could not afford to pay the cost of their new clothes or their jewellery.

At first he had objected. Strenuously objected. But Loy Al tew deBone assured him that only the richest nobles accompanied Zaxxon on his trips. The Zaxxonness had a keen eye and to select anything less would risk exposure.

Eston sighed as he was being measured for clothing that was so rich, he could never pay for it even if his lifespan was quadrupled.

He reassured himself with the thought that the fate of the society depended upon him and him alone in facilitating a reconciliation of the Zaxxon with his Zaxxonness. In such circumstances, how can the society not support his actions?

Even so, Eston was shocked when he was presented with the bill!

It was enough to buy three battle cruisers of the line.

THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE

Zaxxon sighed as he contemplated the draft of the War Measures Act. "We must all make sacrifices." he said and signed the act into law.

He was tired. He was still having weird dreams, only now it was of birds and elves. So disturbing, he would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.

He knew the birds were significant in some way. What were they. Wrens? Starlings? And the elf had a name...what was it? Elyssandra! Wasn't Elyssandra an elf in that book the humans thought so much of...the Hobbit? No, not the Hobbit....

"What about the Zaxxonness? Why haven't I heard anything?"

R2D2 replied, "Elstonile is on the opposite end of our society, sir. It's much too early to have any communication."

"This is ridiculous! Not knowing for weeks what is happening in our empire. Can't we research an effective means of communication."

"We can", R2D2 responded "but that would mean cutting back on our research on reverse propulsion even further."

"What do you mean?" Zaxxon asked in astonishment.

"Well, 50 percent of our resources are going into researching reverse propulsion."

Only the concerned look of the court physician and the physician's act of picking up his medicine bag caused Zaxxon to refrain from exploding.

"Reduce it even further and put it into researching communications. And Spiii, see what you can learn about the god-emperor Ruatha."

"Why sir?"

"I can't explain it. I just have these weird dreams."

Zaxxon paused and then continued, "Also, post a reward of 1,000 Zaxxonites to anyone who can discover a way of communicating over long distances. Maybe that will spark enough interest to find a way to communicate with Ruatha and the Zaxxonness."

[ January 29, 2003, 00:06: Message edited by: tbontob ]

[Ruatha]

Weyrlings 2405.3
==================

The private diary of Elyssandra Eliason, Grand Admiral of the Fleet, Matriarch of the Weyrlings and Hero of the Empire.

Location: Destroyer Responder, Taskforce Elyssandra Flag.
-----------------------------------------

Standing here in my quarter staring out into space, my inside feels as empty as the view in the windows.

Problems, problems, problems. Always something that needs my attention.

Trouble is brewing everywhere.

The one thing that finally gave me some exhilaration since Ruatha’s death turned to nothing.

The Earth Alliance cruisers Lexington 1 and the Claymore 4 turned and ran as fast they could. The new leader of the Earth Alliance started talking of peace and restoration of the alliance almost before we knew the alliance was dissolved.

No combat for me and my fleet this time it seems. We can’t really blame them for the destruction of the spy ship, it wasn’t supposed to be there, and it was an Earth alliance system after all.

Deniability, we can’t even mourn our lost crew in public, they never existed.

We must go and retrieve the remnants of that ship; we owe it to that crew. I really hate those mines. Now we’ve lost five ships to these mines throughout our history. No enemy in sight and then unexpected death.

Never again. I shouldn’t have let that ship face those mines alone, they should have had mine sweepers with them, what was I thinking of? Ordering the intelligence service to increase surveillance but not instructing them how! Always, Always specify what you want done Elyssandra, into every detail, do never forget that again!! But who could have expected the Earth Alliance to cancel the Military Alliance, it had Lasted for so long!

I should have expected it, never trust anyone but yourself!

But, alas. New threats are looming at the horizon. Oh to feel combat again and rid the mind of all thoughts. The initial anticipation and exhilaration turning towards fear as the enemy approaches, then nothing, cold as ice inside when the guns start vibrating through the hull and the shields screech while trying to fend of the incoming fire. And finally, the liberating victory, to still be alive contrary to all expectations before the engagement.

Those who made me hero of the empire don’t know the fear I felt as the Sons of Thunder Destroyer approached my small weapon platform, statistically we would have been dead within minutes. Pure luck I think, ingenious strategic and tactical mastermind, the military headquarter called it.

Combat. It might not be as far away though even if the Earth Alliance turned and ran home. The Central Power headquarter is controlling half our fleet at this moment. Operation Sledgehammer is proceeding as planned. I might just get there in time to take control of the Weyrling part of the operation.

Although no one doubts the success of the operation it’s still one of the most dangerous situations we’ve put ourselves in, not even the lunatic Ruatha posed such a threat to the empire.

This operation will make a massive resource drain on the empire, if the FMA attacked during the operation we wouldn’t stand a chance. But so far they do seem to be preoccupied, let’s hope that continues.

I’ve given the diplomatic corps the mission to forge a new treaty organization, the JOint DEfence Treaty organization (JODET), that ought to alleviate any threat of an FMA attack.


Seeing this empty space outside makes my thoughts wander. I haven’t seen Illian, loved husband for three months, my heart aches. It’s probably for the best though. I can’t stand hurting him anymore, so this separation is a relief as well. I must divorce him, I know that, but I cannot, cannot, it hurts so much!

If only he knew how much I love him, but he mustn’t be allowed to realize that.

Oh, Illian, how did it come to this, we were always so good to each other. And now the empire has parted us. As always we must do our best for the empire, after all, there must be a place left for our children to grow up in.

I remember when I first realized you were in the underground movement. Your confused scientific mind could never keep such a secret from an organized officer as me. You kept leaving compromising documents lying on your desk plain to see. I burned so many of them, yet you never wondered what had happened to them, knowing you, you had probably forgotten they existed. I’m glad all the children had moved out, they would have known instantly as well, had they still lived at home.

I didn’t know what to do in the beginning. My duty to the empire would have made me report you. Ruatha would probably have had us both killed then, still that wouldn’t have stopped me. But my love for you did, 34 years together and you can still spark that fire in my heart.

I couldn’t tell you either, you would never have continued in the underground then and risked my life.

After reading your documents I started understanding what you were doing and why, and I do agree, The One must be awakened. Only you have the mind needed to finish that task. That was what most attracted me so long ago, your smart head, always running hot with ideas and thoughts.
So what was I to do then? I started distancing myself from you, turning away in bed, not answering when you spoke to me at dinner. You have tried to talk to me about our relationship but I always refused. Hurrying to work, saying that the affairs of the empire were more important than you, I lied. You are most important to me by far, but if you don’t awaken The One I’m sure I’d loose you anyway. The imaginative ones are easier targets for the madness it seems.

The whole empire is about to crumble and fall in upon itself, I’ve seen the madness spread.

These Ruathians must be a sign of the madness, more people are worshipping him now than when he was alive. And then it was mandatory, you were obliged by law to worship him.
Now I heard they want to build a huge statue of Ruatha holding a shoe in his hand, they must be mad!

I’ll have my secretary draw up the papers for the divorce and send them to you. It will probably come as a shock to you, but I can’t go on seeing you everyday, loving you and at the same time trying my best to hurt you. If I’m lucky I might get killed in this Sledgehammer operation.

I’ve heard they’ve made a new flagship for me, the Indestructible. So it doesn’t look like I’ll have that escape route, damn!

What I’d really want to do is to take you with me on a starship, we’d fight our way out to the unexplored west. Rumours says that there are strange civilisations out there. And great wars. Nothing substantial, probably mostly drunken bar imagination, but the CCCP ambassador looked a bit embarrassed when he denied that they were at war, so who knows. I heard my crew telling stories they’ve picked up in bars while speaking to CCCP traders. There was this story about these funny aliens, dying from bubble baths!. What we do not know, we make up histories about! You’d love that story Illian!

If we can get all known civilisations to sign up on the JODET maybe we will get permission from the CCCP and the Ghouls to explore the far west after you’ve awakened The One, if you still want me then.

Trying to kid myself! I’m Matriarch of the Weyrling Empire, spanning over more than hundred of inhabited worlds. When will I get opportunity to go exploring? This might be the Last time I ever get on a spaceship. So I won’t turn back to Kalzeron anytime soon if I have a say. And as Matriarch, I do believe I have some power to wield!

Those Ghouls. They scare me. Their harsh attitude, always angry, never friendly.

Can there ever be peace with such as those?

No, I’ll drop all these thoughts and go out to the bridge. This young inexperienced crew will jump at the opportunity of an unexpected combat exercise. I’ll contact the destroyer CP Refound and order them to make an attack round on us, that’ll take my mind of these idle useless thoughts. Oh, Illian, I miss you so.

[ February 21, 2003, 23:27: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[tbontob]

Re: ZAX SOCIETY, A Diplomatic Message
posted by: tbontob Posted Less than 1 min ago
Mon, Feb 3 at 12:07:49 EST
------------------------------------------------
THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE
THE TIME: STARDATE: 2405.4
THE PEOPLE: ZAXXON, R2D3, Dip-low-Mac-Sea, Spiii

R2D2 was speaking of the current crises. "The people are going crazy, sir. Thefts and assaults have quadrupled. The only thing to be grateful for is that homicide is down by 20% and that is only because the mind of the populace is on other things."

"What are you talking about?", Zaxxon asked.

"The reward, sir."

"The reward?"

"Yes sir, the reward of 1,000 Zaxxonites for a improved communication device."

"Oh, yes the reward, what about it?"

"Well, it is a fortune, sir. Even a reward of 1,000 Zaxxonoles is a fortune to most people. But to give 1,000 Zaxxonites..."

Zaxxon interrupted, "So what has the reward to do with the crime rate?"

"Well, the stores were quickly sold out of electronic components. After that, the crime rate quickly escalated. People starting ripping electronics out of any source they could find. Half the street lights no longer work and the ones that do is only because the military are guarding the lights that remain. Then the people starting assaulting anyone whom they suspected of hoarding the electronics they needed to create a improved communication device."

R2D2 continued with "Homicide is down only because the people's attention have shifted from dwelling on the rage and anger they have against their spouses, employers etc to creating the new device. Some deaths have occurred due to conflict over acquiring some electronics, but remarkably few so far."

"I see, any other effects?"

"Well industrial production is down because production plants can't get the electronics they need and foodstuffs are in short supply because labour intensive crops are rotting in the fields."

-------------------------------------------
THE LOCATION: Sod Dum, a provincial capital.

Eston and the nobles were busily packing. The purchase they had made had tripled their baggage. More money had to be spent to buy luggage to store the purchases of days past.

They also had to hire additional porters to carry the baggage and guards to protect the wealth the baggage contained.

Everyone was happily bubbling except Eston. The nobles in particular were happy because they were doing their duty for the society. They dwelled on the enormous sacrifices they had made...sacrifices that should be written up in the history books. They may even be given the title of "Saviours of the Society". They also daydreamed about the effect their new finery would have on their friends and relatives.

The fact that their newfound wealth would raise their stature in Zaxxon circles was something they did not care to dwell upon. They preferred to think and dwell upon the extreme sacrifices they had made to reunite Zaxxon with his Zaxxoness.
-----------------------------------------------
THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE
THE PEOPLE: ZAXXON, R2D3, Dip-low-Mac-Sea, Spiii
THE TIME: An hour later.

A courtier rushed in. "Sir, there is a rumour that someone has made contact with the Wreylings."

"Who made the...."

"How did they...."

"When did they make contact?"

The courtier replied with "I know little more. But the city is abuzz with it."

Dip-low-Mac-Sea said, "I will excuse myself from this meeting sir. I would like to prepare a diplomatic message to the Wreyling Empire."

"Do so, and report to me as soon as you have prepared it."

-----------------------------------------------
THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE
THE TIME: An hour later
THE PEOPLE: ZAXXON, R2D3, Dip-low-Mac-Sea, Spiii

"So what have you got?" Zaxxon asked.

"This is the message, I would suggest you send." Dip-low-Mac-Sea said and started to read from his prepared document.

"Greetings, God-Emperor of the Wreylings.

May you live and prosper to the full stature of your years.

May you live longer than the normal allotted lifespan given to Wreylings.

May you continue to govern your empire in the style and manner you are accustomed to. In particular may you continue to do more and greater deeds for which you are renowned throughout the universe.

May you exact your most severe revenge against all the enemies who oppose you.

May your enemies suffer the worst possible torture in this world and in hell.

May your enemies' kinfolk and friends suffer in this world and in hell.

May anyone who has said the slightest ill-word against you or your descendants in the next ten thousand years suffer the worst possible torments.

May you be able to exact your revenge in full measure against anyone who expresses any criticism of you or your reign.

May you and your descendants rule the Wreyling Empire for the next 10,000 years and beyond.

If anybody should rise up against you, may they suffer the worst possible torment and their cries of anguish be heard down the centuries as a warning against future uprisings.

If anybody should rule instead of or in place of your descendants, may they suffer the worst possible torments in this life and in hell, forevermore. May their bones ache to their core. May the fleas of 10,000 camels infest their armpits. May the...."

"Enough!", Zaxxon shouted. "If someone sent me this diplomatic message, I would be offended."

Dip-low-Mac-Sea responded with "Yes sir, I agree. It would be offensive to us. But the God-Emperor's reign seems to be...well, somewhat excessive. We don't want to offend such a powerful personage by being diplomatically polite and say nothing. We need to take a positive stance with him in the manner which he understands."

"You really think so?"

"Yes sir, I do. It is imperative we do it this way if we want his support."

Against his better judgement, Zaxxon said, "Then send it as soon as we make contact."

[Ruatha]

I do belive that Eston is living dangerously right now....
(some new law I recall)

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Ruatha:
I do belive that Eston is living dangerously right now....
(some new law I recall)<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yo! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

EDIT: But not just him as you will soon see. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[ February 03, 2003, 18:45: Message edited by: tbontob ]

[tbontob]

Originally posted by tbontob:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Ruatha:
I do belive that Eston is living dangerously right now....
(some new law I recall)<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yo! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

EDIT: But not just him as you will soon see. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">RE-EDIT Is anybody enjoying this or is Ruatha and I engaging in an intellectual form of onanism? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[Ruatha]

I know that there is another story in NGC2 being written, altough it can't be published yet due to in-game situations.

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Ruatha:
I know that there is another story in NGC2 being written, altough it can't be published yet due to in-game situations.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Your story or somebody elses? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Ruatha]

Somebody elses.... nuff said....

[Greybeard]

I'm enjoying reading the story and have even suggested some story lines to Ruatha. I'm not much of a fiction writer, although I am enjoying the diplomacy part of the game.

Keep up the great work...Greybeard

[CaptRR]

Here is my feeble attampt to add to the story line. Be warned, I'm not a very good writer, or a very good speller, so as long as you don't go in expecting much, you won't be disappointed. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

The silence. In the years and decades to come that is what he would remember most. It had started out as any other day, the normal routine of life in the great floating city. Over half a million souls called the huge structure home, and twice that number visited it every cycle. But as Prince Dravel watched it crumble through the clouds into the deep oblivion below, all he could remember as he watched from high above was the silence, and in the silence he knew that everything had changed.

Chapter 1
Galactic Standard Year 2404.9

"You have done a most excellent job, Josha" President Dravel the VII of the Draven Republic said as his skimmer drifted high above Landing City, "A most excellent job indeed, this years founders celebration will be the grandest ever."

The slightly overweight man next to him smiled slightly and allowed himself to take in the view. It was remarkable indeed. Landing City, was not so much a city on the ground as it was a huge immobile star base. On its base where huge anti-grav generators that actually held the city in the upper atmosphere of Kornephoros X, one of the Galaxy's largest Gas Giants. The city measured nearly 35 kilometers in Diameter, with over 40 main levels, and that wasn't including the 15 or so 70+ story buildings that littered the cities landscape. Below on the city "streets" many hundreds of people labored to erect stages, and other decorative structures over the usually featureless buildings.

"You give me more credit than I deserve Mr. President."

Dravel snorted, then gave his companion a stern look, "Didn't you learn not to argue with your president, Mr. Chairman."

Chairman of Defense Relations Josha, leaned back in his seat, "I am a low dweller Mr. President, you know how we are with matters of Etiquette, we just don't have a highlanders sense to shut up and agree."

Dravel laughed, nodded his head and then turned his attention back to the scene below. Him and the Defense Relations Chairman had nibbled at each other's upbringing since they were children, and despite that upbringing they had both become good friends. "At least you have more sense that a Terran, the damn fools, rejected our Last territorial concession."

Jasha whipped his head around at that Last statement. "How bad?"

"Bad. They are now claiming the entire Lasat system, and they have been hinting at Acamar too."

"Acamar?" Josha was astonished by that. "I can understand Lasat, its only two jumps from their home worlds, but Acamar too? We have deep roots in that system, surely they know we'll never give it up without anything short of a full blown war.."

There was a silence, then the President spoke, "Politics my friend, have never been your strong suite. They know we'll never give up Acamar, but they figure they can use it as leverage against us. Force us to give them some territorial concessions in exchange to keep them completely out of Acamar."

Josha rubbed his hand against his temple, he hated politics, he could balance fleet figures all day, and deal with any Admiral, but he knew he was completely out of his league when dealing with politicians. If ever there was a bunch that deserved to be lined up and executed it was politicians, present company excluded of course. Dravels words brought him back to the present, "To make matters worse our scout ships have detected a huge fleet movement in the Ansuroer system."

Josha let out a sigh, "Yes Mr. President the report came across my desk this morning, I haven't been able to draw too many conclusions over the obvious of course, it seems like a stupid thing to do." The Ansuroer system was just one jump into Agamar, part of the Republics' settled territory. What didn't make sense was that Agamar was an almost totally worthless system. It's five planets were far from hospitable, and only a modest number of citizens had settled there, making most of their income from trade tariffs between the Jophur Republic and the Terrans. In any war plan that Josha had overseen he had almost always given up Agamar, it just wasn't worth defending, it had no modern shipyards, and worse little natural resources. "Our scouts estimated the number at 35 Destroyers, most of them are of that new Strike Carrier class, naval intelligence guesses that they are some kind of mini fighter carriers, no info on payload though."

"The Wyrlings disagree with your intelligence operatives", Said President Dravel, "They think they are a type of missile ships."

"Mr. President, as far as I can see it doesn't really matter, our response is still the same, we need to increase our expenditures for the fleet defender project. Besides, I have a hard time trusting the Weyrlings Intelligence operatives, ever since that maniac Rutha was killed they haven't quite been the same. They are still some of the best worriers I have ever seen, but before when Rutha was alive they seemed tempered, only wanting to go to war as a Last resort, despite what their leader said. Now, though, they seem to crave the fight, even hinting at a war with the Terrens as a means of reducing the Alliance's trade defecate."

The President turned back to his friend, and rubbed his chin like so often did in situations like this. "I don't know, I've met their new Matriarch, even if it was just over a com link, she seems as reasonable as any Weyrling I have ever met. Certainly not as crazy as that madman Rutha."

There was a few seconds silence, "None the less, it doesn't really matter, I don't think the new Matriarch will try to do anything in contrary to what the Central Powers HQ says. So far as I have seen she seems content to follow their advise."

That brought another subject to the surface, "Do you think we will hold majority in the Central Powers Alliance Representatives next year?"

The President looked worried, "I don't know Josha, before Rutha kept his empire in such chaos that he never had a chance to mobilize any support in representative elections, now though, this new Matriarch seems to be contacting the Thermolian's and even a few worlds in our own republic to vote for Weyrling representatives. I fear we may lose our single seat majority, and with that our ability to control the Alliance.

There was several more seconds of silence, then the President smiled, "Why are we talking of such gloom subjects on this day? The Founder celebration is tomorrow, we should be raising a drink to our ancestors."

Josh sighed, "I'm afraid I can't join you Mr. President, I have to head to Central Powers Headquarters tonight and update them on our treaty talks with the Terrens."

Dravel frowned, "That's a shame Josha, we could have painted the city, like the old days."

Josha almost laughed at that memory from his childhood. "Oh well," said the President his mood now starting to lighten back up, "I trust you are not going to make my son's ship escort you there?"

"No sir, him and the King Dravel the first will be doing an atmospheric pass over Landing City as part of the Celebration. He's been looking forward to this for a while, I'm afraid he would retire if I tried to pull him away."

The president smiled at the thought of his son. Despite being the prince, and next in line in the Presidency, his son had insisted on joining the Peoples Navy, and with no help from his father, not from the lack of offers mind you, he had moved up the Ranks, and distinguished himself as one of the Republics best officers. Prince Dravel had made his father very proud the day he had taken command of the 'King Dravel the first', it was at that moment, the President had known his son would make a fine successor when the time came, even if the kid was still a little too headstrong for his own good sometimes.

"You know despite you not being here to witness the celebration that you helped set up, I think this will be one of the best Founders Celebrations ever, and certainly the most memorable."

The Presidents skimmer continued to drift high above Landing city, but down below a group of people labored to move huge unmarked box through the city streets. Normally a box of this size would have been stopped and examined by the local Police, but in all the commotion of the city this day, the box was moved undetected.

Chapter 2

"... and that about sums it up Prime Minister." Prime Minister Yalare was jogged out of his internal thoughts, he cursed himself, he had let his mind drift again, sign of the times, trying to solve the trade defecate that the President had dropped in his lap had been taking more and more of his time, and sleep was becoming more of a luxury with the increased time constraints.

The Prime Minister cleared his throat, "I'm sorry Golman, I was distracted what was that you were saying about the time table."

Goleman inhaled and began again, he was obviously annoyed that he had to repeat himself, "As I was saying Sir, if current military buildup continues as the Defense committee recommends then the trade defecate will reach critical in about 10 years. That is of course assuming that domestic stays at its current rate of growth."

Yalare tilted his chair back, purposely he looked away from his young aid, he didn't want the young chap to see his anger, anger at Dravel and his crazy military build up against a threat that didn't exist. The treasury was running bare trying to support the maintenance costs of all those ships, and that wasn't even including the current ones under production. If something wasn't done in the next 15 years those ships would have to be abandoned, the Republic wouldn't be able to keep them manned, and that most certainly would bring them to the notice of their neighbors. Seeing a financially strapped Republic is all but an invitation to invade. No, Yalare would not allow it, he had been elected to make sure that didn't happen. But what to do? The President controlled the Defense Committee, Yalare had been fooled into giving it to him for control of the Budget committee. At first it had seemed like a great idea, he could simply control the military by controlling their budget. The plan had failed though, Dravel had gotten public support behind an unprecedented military buildup, a "Build-up For Peace" he called it. With the public behind him, Yalare had no choice but to approve the military's budget.

That left him with a major problem, to get elected he had premised to increase social spending, if he failed to deliver he certainly would no longer be Prime Minister come next election cycle. So Yalare had done the only thing he could, went into deficit spending, using the trade income to supplement it. The public loved it, more gravy programs flowed, and they also had a first class military, the envy of the Galaxy, but Yalare knew the truth. They could not keep going like this forever. Something had to be done, and quick.

"Sir." It was Goleman, Yalare had almost forgotten about him.

"Yes, Goleman, upload the report to my terminal before you leave, I'll look some more into it tonight." Goleman nodded and after a courtesy bow left the room, shutting the old fashioned door behind him.

Once again Yalare was alone with his thoughts. The President had too much power, that was the problem. The prime minister could seize power, for a short time, but he needed 75% of both the Upper and Lower People's Committees to vote no confidence in the President. With 35% of the Representatives being in favor of the Presidents initiatives, getting the votes he needed was going to be impossible.

Yalare hated the way he had too play along with the President. Yalare was the rightfully elected representative of the Republic, not some idiot born with a silver spoon in mouth, that had simply inherited the job! Hate burned inside of him. Hate for the founders, who had stuck him with this idiotic Government. Hate for the military that was shooting black holes into his budget. But, most of all he Hated President Dravel.

Yalare took deep breaths; he had let his anger get the best of him for a moment there. He rubbed his hands over his yellow rough temples. Like all Draven's, he had much in common with Humans, but long ago the Founders had genetically modified themselves to live in the harsh Gas worlds. The result had been thicker skin, and the ability to breath a much thicker atmosphere. Still though Dravens had to live in the floating cities that had been built inside of the gas giants, like Delta Citythat he was in now. Dravens still respected their human heritage, and even celebrated many of the known human holidays.

"You worry too much," Yalare froze. As usual the words seemed to come out of thin air.

Yalare took a few moments to regain his composure before he responded. "I have done as you ask," he said, paying no particular heed to any of his surroundings, "why do you continue to visit me."

The voice didn't even take a heartbeat to respond. "I am part of you."

Yalare snorted, "Don't give me that, I know exactly what you are." That was only partially true, he knew that he had been infected by one of the same organisms that had caused so much trouble in the Weyrling Empire, but this one was different from the one's that had infiltrated them. When his doctor had discovered it, he had noted that it seemed to be of Draven origin. Sure it shared the same qualities, especially in the brain interface, but this one had no physic transmitting abilities, at the time the Doctor wrote it off as an attempt to infect the Dravens like the Weyrlings had been infected, but it had to be modified sense Draven's were immune to what was being called in intelegence circles as the Weyrling brain drain. The doctor took note but assure Yalare that the device was inert.

Years past, and Yalare never paid much attention to the device in his head. That had changed one day though after he had taken his seat as Prime Minister. He began to hear voices when no one was there. At first it was a word here, or a sentence there, nothing that Yalare couldn't write off as hearing things. Then one day, he had been sitting in his office, and he heard the voice, it sounded dark, mysterious. What made it worse was that he was able to talk to the voice and the voice answered back. The voice never gave much detail as to what it was, or what its ultimate objective, but it had promised certain benefits to its host, for just a favor every now and then. If he agreed he would gain untold mental abilities, if he did not accept he would die of a heart attack in moments. The "voice" could not control him per say, but it could effect certain involuntary functions.

Yalare agreed reluctantly, and the voice had been merciful in its requests, it had just insisted on giving low interest loans to a small corporation in Landing City that dealt with the Disposal of Radioactive material from inert missiles. In return Yalare had gained the ability to recall information, any information he had ever seen at will. He could read, at unheard of rates, all in all it wasn't a bad deal. He still didn't like the idea of a parasite crawling around inside his brain though.

"Part of me huh? Why did you want those loans?" The voice said nothing, as usual whenever he asked a question the voice was unable to answer, or as Yalare thought, unwilling, it simply didn't say anything, he guessed it was limited programming, but he couldn't be sure.

He took a breath, and began going over the reports for the day, he knew he wouldn't get any information out of the voice, he never did. As he read over the reports an blinding speed, he never realized his right hand shaking slowly.

Chapter 3

Manning, watched the gauges in front of him, and frowned. "That's not good, we'll have to take down the center antigravity generator." Deep in Landing city, was the Antigravity control room that controlled the great generators that actually kept the city from falling into the depths of Kornephoros X. Normally 9 generators kept the city aloft, the city could float with as few as 3, as long as they were space around the cities' perimeter, and not in one area. Now though the central generator 1 was acting up, it was located in the center of the city, probably the best place for a generator to go bad, but still manning hated taking any of the generators off line, even for a short time.

His assistant was already making the call to shut the Center generator down, at the time manning had no way of knowing he had just doomed 500,000 people do their deaths.

Commander Dravel, prince of the Draven republic sat in his command chair, and watch the hallo of the festivities below. He wished he could be there in person, but he was going to be doing a low high altitude pass over Landing city soon, he knew his place was here, on the flag deck of his Ship. Around him was the sound of a ship of war. Its people doing a thousand vital duties in order to keep the great bulk of King Dravel the First operating at peak efficiency. He smiled as he his father took the stage.

His father the president was a great speaker, probably the best the Commander had ever seen, and he loved to have a crowd. Certainly there was one there today, more than Dravel had ever seen on Kornephoros X second largest city. His father cleared his throat and began to speak.

"My fellow Draven's welcome to the opening day of the Founders Celebration," a burst a cheers flooded out the sound of the Halo's speaker, and distorted it for a moment, but just as quickly as it had started, the cheers subsided, the President continued, "500 years ago the founders began construction on this very city, spawning the creation of the greatest civilization ever seen." More cheers, this time even more intense, Commander Dravel smiled, his father truly was a great speaker.

Most of the traffic was still pouring into the docking ports of Landing City, the traffic was more than any of the controllers had ever seen, so much that they discounted the small skimmer that left an unregistered docking port at over 5 times the speed that was allowed by Landing City regulation. The traffic controllers simply moved traffic away from the renegade skimmer, after all they had his transponder code, and could always ticket him later. Besides they had had to clear the traffic lanes so the King Dravel could make its flyover.

Chapter 4

Prince Draven and the King Dravel had been descending for over 30 minutes to get into the upper atmosphere of Kornephoros X. If timing was right, he would pass 50 kilometers over Landing city at 10 seconds after 17:00 hours, just after his father finished his speech. The large vessel buffeted slightly as its drive field hit the atmosphere of the planet, Dravel smiled, yes this will be a sight to remember.

President Dravel, was loving the attention, this was the largest crowd he had ever spoken too outside the Capital, and he would enjoy every moment of it, "and with that my Fellow Dravens' I want to wish every one of you a very great Founders Day..." He never finished his sentence for at that moment less than 400 yards from where he was speaking a 1 kiloton Nuclear bomb exploded.

Landing City was designed to take a nuclear bLast from an orbital bombardment. In such a case it would simply bring up its shield generators, and attempt to ride the bombardment out, but this was different. The bomb was placed on the eastern half of the city, well inside of shield generators, there was nothing to stop the explosion as it ripped into landing city like a shotgun tearing though paper.

The bombs bLast wave destroyed everything within 800 feet in an instant. The president, and most of the crowd never knew what happen, they were simply there one second and not there the next. The massive wave of heat that expanded outward from the explosion annihilated the several of the cities tall buildings, another 65,000 died with the collapse of those massive structures. Radiation rippled through the city mortally poisoning those that would survive the initial bLast. Still the worst of the bomb was neither of these. The Electromagnetic Pulse, that proceeded the radiation and the bLast ripped into the cities critical electronic systems, among them were 6 of the Cities antigravity Generators. The pulse left 3 generators on one side intact. Suddenly the entire load of the City shifted to one side. The generators were never meant to hold the load of the entire city on one side. The computer systems that were left tried to compensate for the missing generators, they had the thrust, but it was concentrated in too small of a area. Slowly the city began to tilt.

The King Dravel was only 25 seconds from its flyover, when a great light flashed in front. Alarms all over the ship went off. Commander Dravel's response was instant "Break off run," The pilot was already responding, pulling back as far as the computer would allow.

"Sir," it was Saha, the communications officer, "we just lost Landing City Control."

Dravel was about to question him further, but his wepons officer broke in, "Sir, sensor systems are picking up an Electro Magnetic Pulse.

Behind him the navigator, gasped, "Great Creator!"

By the time Dravel turned to see what she was looking at. At the front of the command deck on the forward monitor, was displayed Landing City. Black smoked bellowed out of a great hold on its eastern side of the city. But most concerning of all was the 35 degree tilt, the entire city was on, and it was increasing every second. It was also slipping deeper into the planets atmosphere. Small skimmers darted from everywhere on the city, trying to escape the doomed city. And on the bridge of the King Dravel, they could do nothing, but stare in silence..

[Ruatha]

Great story. It's good to have a third writer now!.

[Ruatha]

Originally posted by Greybeard:
I'm enjoying reading the story and have even suggested some story lines to Ruatha. I'm not much of a fiction writer, although I am enjoying the diplomacy part of the game.

Keep up the great work...Greybeard<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well. This is my first fiction I've written. The good part is that I have plenty of room for improvements.
But it's fun nevertheless so I still recommend it.

[Ruatha]

2405.5 Weyrlings:
=================

Good Evening.
These are the news from the Last month 2405.5 presented by the Weyrling Imperial Broadcasting Cooperation.

Reports from survivors from the disaster that struck Landing City half a year ago are starting to trickle through to our empire. Rumours of sabotage are coming from the Draven Confederation. Hovewer there has been an effective news blockade from the authorities in the region stopping us from bringing you any real facts even after all this time. That has been a source of several rumours aswell, why all this cloak and dagger stuff? Dravens, present us with facts, the population in the universe is shouting.

In the same region of the universe the Terran Galactic Imperium are flexing their muscles. They have cancelled all treaties with our empire, the implications of this is not all clear today.
Matriarch Elyssandra hovewer, being cautious as always has dispatched the Light Cruiser "Reconsider" to the area to teach the Terrans to show their neighbours respect! Ouch, I can already hear their painful shouts after our glorius military has spanked their behinds! Political commentators speculate that it won't be long before they come crawling back, begging for forgivness!

In the south the menacing Ghouls Clan are increasing their provocation against the empire by launcing a massive colonization effort around our borders. They have aswell sent a large warship, the "BCR 3 0011" to threaten our population in the region.
Matriarch Elyssandra tells the news that we should keep calm;
"There is no signs that they are intending anything agressive at this point, and if they do the people in the south can sleep comfortable with the knowledge that there are enough forces in the region to protect them. This is also to be seen as a warning to the Ghouls clan to avoid an arnament race in the region!", Matriarch Elyssandra stated yesterday from the Destroyer "Responder".

In the Northwest the state of emergency has been lifted and the forces are standing down from their hightened alertness. The new leader of the Earth Alliance has stated that he wants to normalize relations with us. So far the Earth Alliance has proven these words by withdrawing their warships from the Irith system.

Our great scientists has been able to create a planet! Yes, you heard right, not a molecule or a pineapple, an entire planet!
The colonization agency states that this is the beginning of a new era, now we can continue our expansion without military means. No need to upset our neighbours, we can colonize new planets at home.
They urge those who has been reluctant to leave their relatives for the colonization program to rethink; Now you can colonize a frontier world at home, with only a short voyage back to your folks!

The military are also trying to recruit more personal, the Ship yards has produce lots of new ships, hovewer, alot of them has been forced to be decomissioned as there aren't any crews to man them. So sign up today and do your duty for the empire. Remember, Matriarch Elyssandra started as a junior officer and today she rules the Weyrling Empire, can you repeat that??

The grumpy Sons of Thunder has been given a outstanding trade deal by the Matriarch. The entire Ahab system with nine inhabited planets, two of wich are oxygenated. In exchange for the disputed planets the Sons of Thunder are currently occupying inside Weyrling territory. Albeit most of the population in the Ahab system are deported criminals, but nevertheless, what a deal!
Rumours has it that a similar deal is being drawn up for the Earth Alliance.
Wether the Sons of Thunder will agree to this trade or not is not clear at this time. The Sons of Thunder embassy refuses to answer any questions, as if that should be any news!

Scientists are also stating that there are no real need to be concerned about the "mind-control devices". Currently it is belived that the devices can't really control their victims. So if you belive you have an alien artifact implanted in your central nervous system you can now relax, it isn't that bad afterall!

The Ymer Scout ship in the south has reported large Romulan force movements. These ships are hovewer not heading towards Weyrling space and as the Foreign affairs minister so wisely put it when he heard the news; "Good, any figh in wich we aren't involved is a good fight!"

In the east the Argon Confederacy has sent yet another frigate into territory populated by the Weyrling Empire. But as we haven't claimed the system as ours and the Argons seems to be a really nice people no official protest has been made, that we know of.

From the Delari system reports has it that the Dravens are strip-mining the asteroid fields. Without concern for the future generations thay are wasting all resources today. This the Resource ministerium says with a strong voice, is not something we as Weyrlings would ever do, we do belive that the universe should be protected, and it's up to us Weyrlings to protect it.

This is all from the News this month.
Good evening.

[CaptRR]

Rutha sort of painted me into a corner with his news broadcast, so now I have to attempt to roll with it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif . Anyways heres chapters 5 & 6, alot shorter this time though.

Chapter 5

Commander Dravel stared at the purple orb of Kornephoros X. From 700 kilometers up it looked so calm, so peaceful, a kind of subdued beauty that only ones home world can have. Its endless clouds did not show any of the chaos that had happened nearly 15 hours ago. Dravel trembled at the thought of those endless hours, he was sure they were the longest of his life. Such horror such pain, so much loss.

Among the dead was his Father, the President of the Republic. Several senators had died as well, but those losses paled in comparison to the death totals that had come across his desk not 15 minutes ago. There were so many names on that list. More names than he had ever seen, names that burned in his mind, not hundreds, not thousands, but hundreds of thousands.

The image of the city disappearing into the vastness of Kornephoros X replayed itself in his mind again. He had felt so helpless at that moment, unable to do anything as the very people he had sworn to protect were lost. The hours that followed he had tried. Oh creator how he had tried. Dravel had used all of home fleet's resources, every shuttle that was capable of atmospheric flight had been sent to search for survivors, but except for the few that had made it out on skimmers, they found nothing. Nothing but light wreckage of Landing City that had some how gotten caught in the endless wind currents of Kornephoros X.

Still while he had been searching for survivors others had been searching for answers, but there were precious few to be found. Most of the evidence had been lost with Landing City. It was known that a nuclear detonation had erupted on the eastern side of the city, but beyond that no one knew how it had gotten there, or who had placed it. The republics nuclear specialists had flocked to the location where the doomed city had once been, looking for answers in the clouds around it, but after 15 hours they had, had little to report.

Not long after the disaster he did his duty and contacted the Prime Minister, to tell him that the President of the Draven Republic was dead. Yalare had of course given his condolences , and promised that he would use all the governments resources to find those responsible. Dravel had stared at the screen for long seconds after the Prime Minister had cut the circuit. His father had never liked the Prime Minister, the two had battled for control of the government ever since Yalare had been elected prime minister. His father had outmaneuvered Yalare when he took control of the Defense Committee, and Dravel suspected that Yalare had never forgotten that. Now, the game had changed.
The Presidency was an inherited position, technically Dravel was now the President, but the Republics constitution mandated that a new President could not take office until the next general election. Until Dravel took office the Presidents duty's entire fell upon the Prime Minister, who by law was the only one who could call a general election. Dravel got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, Yalare could postpone calling an election for at the most 4 years, but until that time the Republic was being controlled by one of his father's worst enemies.

Chapter 6

Yalre stood in the center of the Great Hall of the People's Committee. Both the upper and lower committee's were here today for this emergency session. There was no doubt as to the reason, word of the disaster at Landing city had spread across the whole of Kornephoros X, and would soon spread across much of the Republic. Yalare knew that the response to the news would be panic, especially for the residents of the floating cities, something had to be done, and quickly.

Yalare cleared his throat. "Senators of the People's Committee I am here today under the Gravest circumstances. We have been attacked, our people have been murdered, our President is dead." He paused for a moment letting his words sink in. "The cowards who did this did not attack from a starship, they did not make any demands, they simply slaughtered innocent Dravens without mercy, without thought. These monsters planted a nuclear device within Landing City, their goal simply to kill as many men, women and children as possible."

"However, my fellow Dravens, their effects will be much worse. Already people are trying to abandon the great floating cities of Kornephoros X, for fear that they may be next. Soon this scene will be repeated all throughout the Republic." He paused, and watched the terror seep into the eyes of the senators, and they imagined the floating cities, the lifeblood of the Republic, abandoned in an endless sea of clouds. "We cannot allow this to happen, we cannot allow the Republic to slip into the ashes of history, we cannot allow it, I will not allow it!" His Last words came out with such force that few in the room could doubt his resolve.

"That is why I am here before you today, to ask that you help me save the Republic from its own fears. Later today I will propose a resolution to enforce martial law across all worlds of the Republic." Muted conversation suddenly lit up around the room, no one could believe what they were hearing, martial law had never been declared in the republic.

Yalre held his hand out for silence, "I wish there were a better way, but unless we stop people from leaving the floating cities we will see an end to all that we hold dear. We must gain control of the transportation, and communication systems if we are going to be able to stop this madness from spreading everywhere. We must act now!" He banged his hand on the podeum, as the room burst in exploded with applause, and in his mind a lone voice, encourage him, always convincing Yalare that what he was doing was for the good of the republic.

At the end of the day over half the Senators voted in favor of martial law, none of them knew that they had signed their own death warrant.

[tbontob]

Originally posted by CaptRR:
Rutha sort of painted me into a corner with his news broadcast, so now I have to attempt to roll with it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif . <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yeh, he kinda does that doesn't he? But then I have probably painted him into a corner as well. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Maybe, more times than he has painted me into one. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Anyways, that is what makes this thread so interesting. We think we are going in one direction and then someone does something that forces us to change direction.

Ruatha shocked me when he killed off his alter-ego the God-emperor Ruatha. It forced me to re-evaluate and re-assess my long term plans on the unfolding relationship between the Wreylings and the Zax. I wrote about it (among other matters) in the "Ingame Stories" of the Newbie Galactic Conflict site.

All I can say is "roll with the punches." http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[tbontob]

Re: Zax Society
posted by: tbontob Posted Less than 1 min ago
Thu, Feb 6 at 05:01:25 EST
----------------------------------------------
THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE
THE TIME: STARDATE: 2405.5
THE PEOPLE: ZAXXON, R2D3, Dip-low-Mac-Sea, Spiii, Strong-of-the-Arm Custer and Cord-Ill-Era

Stong-of-the-Arm Custer was morose. He was getting a new fleet with all the new up-to-date technology and with it he should be able to "whup some ***". But there was a problem.

Custer was saying, "The hulls of the new battle cruisers have been built and the engines installed. However, the installation of the other components is being held up because of the electronics shortage. If the shortages continue much longer, the ships will be outdated before they leave the yards."

"Dip-low-Mac-Sea, what news of the contact with the Wreylings?"

"I have some unsettling news." Dip-low-Mac-Sea said.

"Yes, what is it."

"Well, it would seem we do not have not made contact with the Wreylings."

"What happened?"

"Well, it seemed like one of the inventors picked up a strange signal which he thought was in the Wreyling language."

"And?"

"Well, it wasn't"

"What was it?"

Dip-low-Mac-Sea turned a beet red and then answered, "It seems he was able to pick up certain sounds in a building close to him and er...ah...ahem...."

"Yes, yes, get on with it!"

"Well it from a couple who were doing their duty to increase the Zax population, sir. The female in particular was loud and vociferous in her shouts of...ahem...passion."

"How in the world could he mistake that for the Wreylings?"

"Well, with all the grunts, groans and squealing, he thought it must be the Wreylings talking among themselves."

"Hmmm. Well, keep the diplomatic message ready. If and when we are able to make contact with the God-emperor Ruatha, I want you to send it immediately."

After a pause, Zaxxon continued, "With all the dislocations caused by the reward, I am inclined to withdraw the reward and..."

"I wouldn't do that!" Cord Ill Era interjected.

"Who are you?"

"Cord Ill Era of the Department of Motherland Safety, sir."

"And why shouldn't we withdraw the reward?"

"In simple terms, the people would riot. If you think things are bad now, they will be impossible if you withdraw the reward."

"R2D2, how is the research in communications progressing?"

"Very well, sir. We now have instant communications between adjacent solar systems."

"And how much is the communications budget?"

"Five percent, sir."

R2D2 carefully watched Zaxxon carefully as Zaxxon performed some mental calculations. When he noticed the Zaxxon's color suddenly turning beet red, he quickly said, "But with the emergency, I intend to increase the communications budget."

"Do it, we need a solution to this crises."
===========================================
THE LOCATION: Sod Dum, a provincial capital.

Eston had almost finished packing when Loy Al tew deBone walked in.

"I'll be glad to get to Elstonile Castle and get this over with!" Eston said in an irritable voice.

"Ahem. Ah, well, ah, we are not finished."

"Not finished?"

"We do not have the seal of Zaxxon."

"The seal of Zaxxon? Why do we need it?"

"Whenever the Zaxxon takes a trip the seal is always openly displayed on the vehicle he travels in. If you do not have the seal, the Zaxxonness will know you are not Zaxxon."

Eston groaned! It seemed nothing was going right. "All the seals are kept in Zax city. How can we get one here?"

Loy Al tew deBone responded with, "Well I know this forger. It will be expensive..."

"Impossible! No-one can duplicate the seal."

"Yes, I agree. Except this forger is exceptional which is why it will be expensive."

"More money! Where is this...ah...acquaintance of yours?"

"In Go More Ah. It's the capital of the state adjoining this one."

"When can we get it?"

"We will have to see him first. I have already arranged the meeting. We should leave now to see him."

[CaptRR]

More of the story, this should give Rutha some room to manuever.
___________________________________________

Chapter 7

Jasha sat in his office and thumbed the data card his hand, so much had happen in the Last 2 months since the Landing City Tragedy. He had expected to be relieved of his Committee chairmanship when Yalare took over, but the exact opposite had happen. Instead he had been ordered to proceed to the Central Powers Headquarters, there he hadn't had a lot to say. The original reason for his trip was to update fleet status, but once he had gotten to HQ he had been bombarded with questions, all having to do with Landing City. Unfortunately he had no answers to give, so he had stayed at Headquarters for the Last 2 months, listening to the trickle of news that was coming out of the Capital nowadays.

Josha tried to get updates on what was happening at home, but he had found that his own department was reluctant to give him information, citing security. When the Landing City tragedy happen it was all over the news, now suddenly it was gone, as if someone was trying to hide it. Josha knew that Yalare must have taken control of the communication channels, but the Peoples Committee would have blocked any such move. He had heard a few leaks, rumors mainly, about how the Prime Minister had declared marshal law, but every time he tried to follow up on it, he had been stopped cold. The Prime Minister's Last com, had made it clear that he wanted Josha to stay at Central Powers HQ, as far away from the Republic as he could be sent.

He was interrupted from his thoughts, but a movement at his door, for a second he was startled, but that soon faded as he recognized the figure entering the small office. "Jobe, how are you doing?" He stood and walked around the table to greet his friend.

Jobe, was a tall man, taller than most Dravens even, and he carried an air of confidence that was seldom for a man of his stature, that was part of the reason he had been made the chief Representative to the Central Powers Alliance Representatives. It was one of the proudest positions in all known space. Something was wrong though, his friends normal confidence was gone, he looked tired, worn, as though he had gone been in a street fight, and lost.

"Jobe, what's wrong?"

Jobe took a deep breath, there was no way to make it sound good, "Mr. Chairman, I'm afraid I have some rather unpleasant news."

Josha retook his seat behind his desk, Jobe was hardly ever formal with him, only when he had some important, usually bad, news did he drop back into the formal titles he had used during his upbringing. Josha motioned for him to continue.

"As you know, we lost 2 Central Powers Representatives in Landing City." The statement was cold fact, already known, but something was different in the way he reported it. "Well normally when a representative dies his replacement is appointed by the President. We thought that the Alliance would allow our Prime Minister to appoint a replacement in the place of our President since he too died at Landing City, and up until today that's what we thought would happen." He stopped as if struggling for the words. "Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, the rules for our inclusion in the Central Powers Alliance do not give us any leeway, only the President may appoint a representative if one is dies in office, and we will not have a President until the next Election cycle."

Josha sat back heavily in his chair, what was happening was now dawning on him, and it scared him even more than when he heard the news of Landing City. "Great creator, it can't be."

Jobe looked at the floor, he knew how his friend felt, he felt the same. He had tried to debate it over the Last several hours, but in the end he had no leverage to work with, it was law after all, and it was unchangeable.

Over a minute must have passed before either man said a word, finally it was Josha who broke the silence, "Who?" was his only word.

"I'm afraid I don't know that yet, Josha, but there's one thing for sure, with the loss of those two votes, the New Governor Of the Central Powers Alliance will be from the Weyrling delegation."

Josha couldn't believe it. He never thought he would live to see the day that the Republics future rested on Rutha's Empire.

Chapter 8

Yalare worked diligently over the terminal in his office, it was small for the position he now held, but it suited his needs, and most of all it was secure. But it didn't matter right now, he had a major problem, the Republics Budget problems were getting worse, he had thought that with the loss of the President he would be able to scale the Military back, but that had not happen, the Terren Galactic Impereum had rebelled against their old leader, no one knew what happen too him, but the important thing was that he no longer in control of the Terrens. A new leader had arisen from the death of the old one, Mao Dzendun. Yalre would have welcomed the new leader, and used the opportunity to negotiate the border, so that he could stop this insane military spending.

Mao Dzendun had other ideas though, he had begun by blaming the Republic for the the problems that the Terrens were now having, and even go as far as to cut trade relations. Mao Dzendun had also accelerated his own military buildup, claiming it was to protect against the imperialist Draven's. Yalare was no military genius but he knew that scaling down the military now would mean the end to the repblic, but with the spending staying the same, and no increase in income he saw no way out of this problem.

"You know what you have to do." Yalare froze it was the voice again.

"Wha-what are you talking about." Yalare stumbled for the words, he was beginning to hear more and more from the voice, what scared him most was that he was beginning to agree with it on many things, it was as if Yalare was losing himself.

"You can't fool me remember, you know what you have to do, for the good of the Republic."

Yalare's heart was racing, what the voice was suggesting was impossible, 'I-I can't, it would kill millions."

The voice was as calm as ever, calculating in many ways, "Millions now or billions later, you choose."

Yalare, wanted to say it was wrong, to show where the voice had been mistaken in some way, but he couldn't it was cold, hard logic. Yalre picked up a small datacard and inserted it into his terminal. He looked through the report until he found the line he wanted, his hand flowed gracefully yet slowly over the keyboard. He didn't change much on the short report, just one word, but it was enough to change report entirely.

He finished, saved the document and reached for the send switch, his finger stopped just short of it. "I can't do it" he said, his voice crackling slightly, he couldn't believe what he was doing.

The voice was there again, always there, "Millions now or billions later, you choose." Yalre's finger pushed the send button. He froze there for several minutes, it was done, he had just paved the Republics Future, unfortunately it would be paved with blood.

[Ruatha]

Weyrling Empire 2405.8
The Weyrling Destroyer "Responder"
-------------------------

Captain Areia was sitting at the helm discussing with her second in command Anselm Thurya.

"-Thurya, you seem to always know what's going on. Have you heard anything about the Light Cruiser Reconsider that was sent out towards the Terrans? I mean the official Version of them hitting an asteroid field at full speed is pure bull****. No Weyrling ship would be able to such a mistake!"

"-Well Areia, When we resupplied at that Draven planet Troiken IV I happened to get some time over to visit a local pub. And the Dravens have an altogether different Version of what happened the Reconsider going around.
They said it was destroyed in a battle with a Terran Destroyer, and that we Weyrlings are so embarrased about loosing our first ever ship to ship combat that we are covering it up. But hey, I'm not saying that our headquarter are lying, but that's what I heard anyway."

"-I wouldn't put that beyond them. Our fleet hasn't got such a glorius reputation before, and if we lost a LC to a destroyer that would upset some people at home!
Remember all that fuss that was stirred up Last time we were at war, the four destroyers, glory of our fleet. Killing an unarmed colony ship and then being wiped out by mines! What a success!"

"-As Captain, do you know when the Matriarch will leave our ship. It's quite nervous having her around. I mean, she's nice and all that but I don't know how to treat her. I mean she's a war hero, our military leader and civilian leader. And Last week she was trying to chat with me! I didn't know what to say; Beutiful weather, eh? Was all I could blurt out, 2 standards away from the nearest planet!! She must have thought I'm daft."

"-I think she's a down to earth type. We've had some good talks during the trip. She's been teaching me some strategy and tactics. Trying to get me to apply for the Fleet Grand Officer school!
Yesterday she said we'd meet up with the Indestructible next month, and then shell transfer flag to that ship.
Not to be disrespectful but I too feel it's cumbersome. Here I am, fresh on my first command and I'm piloting the Flag ship of our fleet!

When you were at that Draven bar, did you find out what this buildup is all about?
I've never seen so many ships at the same location before!"

"-Well, this is as I said before pure speculation.
It was said that their Chairman of Defense Relations, someone called Josha was trying to get the Central Power alliance to go in and end the Infernal realms war. It seems he doesn't think the Thermoilans can handle it. I don't blame him, have you ever seen a Thermoilan? Scary people!!
On the other hand someone said that the Thermoilans had demanded that the entire CP fleet be used in a attack against the Sarnak. It seems the Sarnaks, never heard of them before mind you, has declared war on the Thermolians several times.
One guy said we were going to spank the Terrans butts for destroying Landing City and implanting the Devices into us Weyrlings. I can tell you that there is still a lot of upset feelings about Landing City, never mind what we don't hear in the news. There were even some there who insisted it was us Weyrlings who had destroyed the city.
Another rumour was that the Argon confederacy was planning a surprise attack on us and that we were planning a counter attack, the one telling this story insisted that the Argons already had attacked us, and conquered half the CP territory. And that it was just a gigantic coverup that was keeping us all from knowing. I guess if that was true though, we wouldn't see so many ships outside the hatches as we do today!
But there might be some merit to this story. I heard from reliable sources, the Matriarchs secretary, a real nice guy if you catch my drift...I'm going to get alot of more sleep when he leaves with the Matriarch!", Thurya started laughing.

"-If you can focus your thoughts for a second Thurya, please!
What did this hunk tell you?"

"-He said that there had been alot of communications with the Argons recently, and that the Matriarch, altough not revealing what it was about, seemed very disappointed after the Last communication with them!"

"-That's not much evidence of an Argon attack if you ask me, maybe you should go and pump him for some more! Information I mean", now both officers laughed.

"-If that's an order my Captain, I'll do my best to comply, for the Empire!", Thurya raised up and left.

[Ruatha]

Will post next tomorrow (* this is a shameless bump*)

Ahh, Tbontob where are you?? I'm waiting for the next episode (No pressure here...)

[ February 15, 2003, 17:36: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Ruatha]

ARRGHHHH.
I had written three pages and then I deleted it. I'm going nuts!!!
It took me three hours of writing!
And it was on a work NT machine during the slow hours of the night. So I don't have admin rights and can't install any undelete program!!!

[ February 16, 2003, 08:05: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Ruatha]

(I thought I'd write a long one this time so that my enemies won't have the strenght to read all of it!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif )

I hope I've given Tbontob and CaptRR something to work with here.

As people in other threads have written before. Any feedback is wanted, if anyone actually manages to read all of it.
This is the first time I've written any stories since grammar school!
I've had a tough time finding the right way for the story but now I think I've narrowed it down to the characters I will follow in the future.
I've put in an explanation to "The One", even if I already explained it before the previous explanation hsa sedimented down to the beginning of this thread.
If anyone of my allies think I tell too much of the in-game secrets please let me know!

Nuff said, here it is (Rewritten after being deleted, ouch)
--------------------------------------------

Weyrling Empire 2405.9
-----------------------
On the Destroyer "Responder";

"-All hands prepare for docking in 10 minutes. Open shuttle bay doors and seal all internal air locks", Ariea's voice sounded over the ship.
Turning towards Elyssandra she turned off the intercom and continued.
"Matriarch. Admiral Gryt from the "Indestructible" contacted me five minutes ago. He said he had vital information for you and requests that you transfer flag to the Indestructible as soon as possible."

"-Good." Elyssandra started to say.
"My secretary is heading to the shuttle bay with my stuff. I'll be ready when the shuttle arrives. It's been a pleasure travelling with you Areia. You run a good ship.
Official orders as to the task of this fleet will arrive tomorrow. We have some difficult times ahead but I'm quite convinced you will pass the coming battles with flying colours.
Don't forget what I've said about continued military school after this operation is finished. I think you have a concise strategic mind and that you will benefit from higher education, and that the fleet will benefit from that aswell.
Goodbye Captain, give my thanks to the rest of the crew. "
Elyssandra turned and started walking towards the shuttle bay.

"-Goodbye, admiral", Areia spoke silently.

Thurya came up beside Areia.
"-I was glad she joined us but I'm even happier that she's leaving.
She unsettles me, I don't know why but she makes me nervous. I guess it's all that power she represents."

"-I've spoken alot with her during this voyage. She's really nice when you disregard all that surrounds her. All that power means alot of responsibility aswell you know!"

"-Ofcourse I can see that Ari. But still. I'm glad we're rid of her."

Later onboard the Battlecruiser "Indestructible";

Elyssandra strode quickly into the strategy room and seated herself at the head of the strategy table.
"-Admiral Gryt. You wished to see me?"

A large broad shouldered man with a long tail stood up.
"-Matriarch. Yes, we have analyzed the battle in the Lasat system.
We were quite surprised by the events there. It was supposed to be an easy victory for the 'Reconsider'.
Initially we couldn't understand what went wrong. We analyzed all telemetrical data looking for weapon malfunctions or errors in the handling of the ECM or sensors. But we found nothing!
Then we started looking at the ships manouvers. We were amazed. The Terrans has no respect for their technological disadvantages. They press their ships and weapons far beyond all safety limits, it shouldn't be able to do what they did.
Their agressivness is unpreceded.
Our ship was following our standard tactic. Staying as far away from the enemy as possible to avoid harm and still within optimal range for our own weapons.
That tactic can't be used against the Terrans it seems.
Therefore I have developed a new tactic.
It means that we are to close with the enemy until the hulls nearly touch and then open fire! It should win the day.",
He turned proudly towards the Matriach and awaited her response.

"-I don't like it."
She said and continued,
"But I see that it is necessary. Also the fleet tactics needs to be revised. Upon engagement all ships are to break formation and engage the enemy at point blanc range.
It will be a bloody carnage!
It will also open up our ships to boarding from the enemy. As you know all ship crews has been disarmed and all hand weapons are locked away, requiring two seperate people to open them. This is ofcourse to stop someone afflictad with the madness from killing of an entire crew."

Admiral Gryt, somewhat surprised at the negative response when he had awaited praise replied,
"- The psi Corps has two ships in the fleet, they can retake any captured ship if the need arises."

"-Very well. Issue the order to the fleet and see to it that they start training the new tactics immediately. Also give the order for operation Sledgehammer to start.
The morale amongst our crews is at an all time low.
We have never won a victory in a ship to ship battle before. Our neighbours are battle hardened but our military have had a peaceful existance so far.
We need a quick decisive victory to boost moral. Contact the Draven flag ship and tell them that we will take the lead. If they see any enemies they should avoid engagement and alert us.
From what I know of the Dravens that shouldn't be too hard to convince them of."
Turning towards the Intelligence officer she continued.
"What have the Intelligence service to report? Have you had any success in your covert operations and what resistance are we about to encounter?"

The Intel Officer stood up and begun speaking,
"Matriarch. We have successfully planted and exploded 14 ship bombs in the Terran fleet. No ships has been completely destroyed but we assume that some has been crippled. They seem to have been completely unaware of the presence of our agents.
As to the fleets coming battle;
We belive the Terran destroyer 'Defiant I 0001' will depart the Lasat system when our fleet arrives there. It will propably join up with the armada of Heavy Carriers that are waiting inside the Kuat system. The Terran Imperator Star Destroyer Class Fighter Carrier is a behemoth of a ship. It masses at 1000kt. We belive our first battle will be with six of these carriers and five defiant class II destroyers. They will deploy atleast 100 heavy fighters but propably no more than a thousand.
We would have thought that we should win that battle with acceptable losses to our side. But due to the recent battle where the 'Reconsider' was lost we recommend utmost caution when engaging the enemy."

Elyssandra stood up and raised her voice,
"- Have you not been listening to what we've said? We can't use 'utmost caution' when we engage the Terrans! We can't use any caution at all, we must cast our crews at highest speed straight towards the enemy guns or we will be lost."
She sat down again.
"I need to see the Foreign office attache in my quarter in 15 minutes, and arrange a FL communication with the Chief in command at the Gamma Umi system, then patch it through to my quarter.
Was there anything else?"
As there were no replies she stood up and left the room.

A couple of minutes later it knocks on the door to her quarter.
"-Matriarch. Foreign Office Internal Attache Rhyt Reporting."

"-Come in attache", Elyssandra said and indicated a seat to her right,
"please sit down."
After Rhyt was seated she continued.
"I'm about to talk to the Commander at Gamma Umi and I don't want to seem uninformed then. Give me a concise update about the dealings in the west."

"-Matriarch. The Earth Allaince accepted our trade treaty and it has been carried out. We will contact them later to set up a population transfer to send the populations of the respective planets back to their empires.
The Sons of Thunder however declined your offer. They have also made demands that we remove our satellites in the Hermes system.
The Ghouls are as usual making threats, we are still not sure what they want. They've made no clear demands or spoken of their intentions."

"-Good report, attache. You people usually bores me with lengthy detailed information. This was very concise and to the point.
Can you open the com pad?"

Attache Rhyt leaned over and switched a knob on the com pad on the wall and pressed the appropriate places on the screen to let the com link through to the cabin.
The Screen lit up and showed an old man with white fur and an iceblue steady gaze.
"-Matriarch. Admiral Tbon at the Gamma Umi heaquarter reporting."

"-Greetings Tbon. What is the current threat situation in the west?"

"Matriarch. The Sons of Thunder has a small force in the Gamma Umi system, three destroyers a frigate and a cruiser. No big threat there.
In Hermes the situation is different. They have massed six destroyers, five cruisers and ten battle cruisers there. Most of the ships are named to give the impression that they are deploying defensive satellites and mines. This can ofcourse be a rouse.
So far we have seen no sign of agression from them but they've stationed most of their ships at the worm hole leading into Gamma Umi. I would prefer it if our fleet aswell was situated at the wormhole but I don't want to provoce them. They are upset enough as it is about our satellite in their system.
In the South the Ghouls are coming with threats as usual. Our allies says that they have mostly fighter Groups in the area and not so much offensive capacity at the moment. This might change in the future but we've been assured of updates from our allies who have insight into the Ghouls force concentrations, so we should be forewarned. Personally though I prefer to be forearmed. We have dispatched a third of the Gamma Umi response force to Alpha 2 Lib to stand there as a defensive force. We will continue a slow buildup of the defences in that system.
The Sarnaks have massproduced a new type of light cruisers called Novas. We don't know anything of the placement or defence of these ships but they are popping up in increasingly worrying numbers in the south.
As to our own forces we belive we have enough forces in the south to counter anything the Sarnaks, Romulans or Ghouls might be plotting against us.
The hot spot at the moment is ofcourse the Gamma Umi system.
Here we have a strong force that can take out anything the Sons of Thunder might throw at us. I do not think we have enough to be assured of a successful offensive attack though. So I'd recommend against that."

"-You seem to have the situation under control Tbon. I want you to continue as you have started. Maybe improve defences towards the Sarnaks, they have declared war against the Thermolians and we don't know how far that might go.
When it comes to the Sons of Thunder I must strongly order you not to initiate any aggression. If in doubt, back off. I think we agree on this strategy for now.
But I also want you to make a strategy in case the Sons of Thunder attacks. Primarily you shall in that case free the Sons of Thunder occupied planets in the Gamma Umi and Fronabywlax systems. Then the plan shall make room for an expansion into and annihilation of the Sons of Thunder territory.
We shall not start a war there but if it comes to us we shall finish it.
Any questions Admiral?"

"-Matriarch. None."

"-Good. Elyssandra out", she reached out and turned off the FL com link.
Turning towards attache Rhys she continued.
"I want the foreign office to concentrate on the Argon confederacy for awhile. Try to see what you can save from the failed alliance plans. The Argons might be a good ally should we ever come into internal struggles in the Central Powers alliance.
And also send a message to the Thermoilans where you express our concern over their expansion into Argon territory.
If all is clear you may leave now."
Elyssandra stod up and opened the door, Rhys left with bow

Later aboard the Weyrling Destroyer "Responder";

The Com pad buzzed to life in Thurya's cabin.
"-Thu, Get your *** up here! I need to talk to you and you're supposed to relieve me in five minutes anyway so stop that snoring and get moving!"
Before Thurya could respond the com pad shut down.
She put on her clothes and quickly brushed her teeths, then started running in the small leeway up to the command bridge.
The Responder was a Destroyer and quite a large ship compared to earlier frigates and escorts. Still, most of the bulk of the ship was made up of weapon generators and the auxiliary battle technology. The rest was mostly engines and a small part left for the crew. The ship was quite crowded despite the small crew of 19. Four officers and 15 crewmen. At the aft a small shuttle bay also served as gym when no shuttles were expected. Most of the crew served in two or three positions. One or two routine tasks and one battle position. Thurya was anselm and second in command. The reason she was aboard was that her sister Areia had gotten her first commission and was allowed to choose her own crew. Secretly Thurya thought that if Areia hadn't choosen her she would never have been given a ship position. Most propably she would sit shuffling paper at an office now if it wasn't for her sister.
Entering the small bridge with room for four people, currently only occupied by Areia though, Thurya took her seat at the left of the bridge and swiwelled her chair towards Areia.
"-What's up Captain?"

"-Thurya, We've been given new orders. Some of them were expected but some I can't understand. I want your opinion on them.

"-Sure, Captain"

"-First and not so unexpected. We are to proceed at full speed, holding our position in the fleet. Destination is a system called Kuat. There we will engage any Terran force we can find. Destroy all planetary defences and open the way for a Draven Army landing force. That's clear to me what it's all about, politics.
But here comes the strange part. We are to adopt and train a new tactic. Close to hull contact range and then open fire, no fleet formation, all ships for themself.
I mean this goes against everything we've practiced. The only time I used point blanc tactics was when we were b-force during the manouvers, and then we were supposed to loose! And we are to train this new tactics while heading for Kuat.
It'll be hard but still alright for us as we have a fast ship, but some of the ships won't have any speed left to train when we're going at S7 towards Kuat.
What do you make of this?"

"-If you don't get it I'll never will. You are the strategic genius in the family, remember. Still, if the order comes from the Matriarch I'll trust it. She hasn't kicked me out of the fleet yet and for that I'll be forever grateful. I mean with that confused behaviour that she must have observed in me when she was here. I was constantly babbling when she was around, making no sense."

"-You got a point there. Hell, I'm surprised they let you into the military to begin with. You've never made any sense", Araia laughed a little and continued.
"Still, somehow you do seem to get to the truth of things in the end. Give me your best assesment of this new strategy. Why change strategy just prior to our first real battle?"

"-Well. As you know rumours has it that the 'Reconsider' was destroyed in combat. I belive that aswell. They might have learned something from that which forces us to change tactics.
Perhaps the Terrans has a really powerful long range weapon that's inefficient at short range?"

"-You see. Even you can come up with a good idea from time to time. Now you have the bridge. I'm feeling tired so I'll hit the bunk now. I think I might have catched a cold that doesn't want to break out. I've been tired for over a week now. Have fun here and don't touch anything, Goodnight", Areia stood up and left.

Meanwhile at Kalzeroon I the Free council was in session.
Marit the Warrior was speaking to the assembled council;
"-I've got good news for you. Our scientists belive they are close to awakening The One. I've been promised a demonstration in a couple of months of what they've come up with so far."

Local mayor Gris spoke up,
"-How do they propose to wake The One?"

"-They told me but I don't understand half of it. It seems that they are planning to use the alien Mind Implant devices. They've been experimenting by implanting devices into Womba cats that seems to resemble us in their central nervous systems.
The MI devices works by gaining energy from the limbic system when that is energized by emotions. It seems to have a lowest level of energy required to generate a transmission, it's all or nothing. When the device initiates a transmission it gathers all cortical information and transmits it in a short psi burst wave. This is what they belive after experimenting with the devices, they implanted it on womba cats and really teased the cats, then they could use the new psi weapon technology to catch the psi burst waves sent out.
What our scientists have tried to do is to make it work the other way.
They generate a phased shift psi burst wave wich resonates at the same frequency as the MI device transmitts in. The signal is picked up by the device wich then short-circuits and is destroyed. But before it self destructs it sends a harmonic alpha wave up to the limbic system which then stimulates the amygdala that is located close to the Celia vortex gyri. In the Celia vortex gyri we belive our native psi generator is located. In the Womba cats the Celia psi generator enables them to warn each other of dangers and to coordinate hunts in the pack even if they are out of sight of each other. We Weyrlings have the same structures in our brains but it seems to be dormant in us right now. We belive this is the key to awaken The One.
When the Celia vortex is stimulated it starts to transmit a specific continous psi burst that attunes individual brains to each other, creating a network of brains working as one, The One.
Another good thing about this is that the transmitter we are building to awaken The One might also shut down the receiver that receives the transmissions from the MI devices. That ought to come as a surprise to whoever it might be that has inplanted the device into our population.
The problem is that we are short on devices. We have aquired 27 of them. But each experiment ends with a broken device. We can't use volounteers as we have no way of knowing who has the device and who hasn't.
So if anyone of you can get some MI devices let me know. Official numbers says that over 20 000 has been found so we should be able to get some more."

After alot of questions and discussions the meeting was ended.

As Mayor Gris came home he immediatly called his intelligence service case officer.
"-This is Gris. You said I should call if we needed anything. Now we do.
We need alot of the alien Mind Implant devices."

"-Will a hundred suffice?"

"-Yes, good, good. Can you send them over to my house?"

"-No. So many devices is a truckload. You must get a truck and then call us again. Then we'll set up a rendesvouz and transfer the devices to your truck, we'll make it an odd number, 107. Do you need an explanation to present to your council or will you make one up yourself?"

"-Thanks, but I think I'm quite capable of making up a good excuse myself!"

"-Good, call us when you're ready. Bye."

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

Weyrling Empire 2406.0
-----------------------
On the Destroyer "Responder";

Chaos reigned on the bridge.
On the floor Areia and Thurya where rolling around with one hand locked at the other's body. Punches were given away like presents on a birthday. Claws dug deep into the flesh and the floor was getting red from the blood that gushed out of the two combatants.
Thurya was clearly getting the worst deal. She could hardly see for all the blood that flowed past her eyes, one ear was hanging on by a thread of skin connecting it to the rest of her. As they were rolling around Thurya felt Areias fangs dig into her neck, ripping apart the fur and flesh while compressing the vital blood supply to the brain.
So this is how it ends, Thurya thought before the world blackened out.

When Thurya came to again she was lying on one of the tables in the combined mess and infarmary. She knew this as she heard the boiler bubbling away making hot beverages. She could only see some light when she tried to open her eyes. The eyebrows where to swollen to allow her to open the eyes.
The siren that had awoken her belched again and Jugg spoke on the com channel.
"-All hands prepare for docking in 10 minutes. Open shuttle bay doors and seal all internal air locks."

Thurya made an effort,
"-Areia?", she managed to press out through her sore throat.

She heard fotsteeps approaching and then the voice of Fyor, the ships cook and medic spoke,
"- She's strapped down in her bunk. You where lucky that Jugg and Frej decided to go and practice on the bridge when they did. They arrived and saw Areia standing on top of you, blood everywhere. They didn't know what to think but Areia solved it for them by attacking them. Jugg hit her on the head with a spanner and she passed out. A minute more and you'd been dead due to the bloodloss. As it is you'll be up again tomorrow. You have mainly bruises, hematomas and flesh wounds. I've stitched you up proper but you'll have to stay here tonight so that we can monitor the swellings. They should go down before the morning.
There's a shuttle coming in to clear up this situation.
I'm sorry about Areia, she was a good captain."
Thurya turned over and closed the swollen eyes.
I should have known, she thought to herself. The tiredness, the irritability and when she wasn't eating properly. I should have known she was getting the madness. It's my fault, I should have known. Now the agression, followed by a couple of days of anorexia and then death from lack of fluid and nourishment.
Lying there blaming herself she didn't notice someone coming up beside her.

"-Hi Thurya", Matriach Elyssandra spoke softly.
"I heard about Areia. I'm sorry. I got to know her quite well during our journey together and it's a great loss for all of us, especially now when we are facing our biggest challenge ever.
We have a shortage of officers in the fleet now, the madness is taking people indiscriminately. So you are hereby given the battlefield commission of captain."
She raised her voice,
"Thurya Kyli, I give you this sword, the destroyer Responder, keep it well and wield it with honour in combat."
She lowered her voice again and continued,
"Your two junior officers are also raised a rank and you'll have to appoint a new corporal instead of Frej who becomes sergeant. You may chose anyone from the crew that you belive is suitable. I've brought along a crew replacement, he's being assigned a bunk now and will report to you tomorrow. I heard you'll be up again tomorrow. Anselm Jugg will have command until then.
Are you listening to me Thurya?"

Thurya turned over and pressed the eyelids open somewhat.
"-I'm listening, Matriarch"

"-Enough of that matriarch stuff. We've travelled together for months, call me Elyssandra.
You have an obligation towards your crew now Thurya. You'll get ample of time to mourn your sister when operation sledgehammer is over, and propably other reasons to mourn aswell.
It might very well be so that Areia only shortened her lifespan with a couple of weeks, you might go the same way soon, we're heading to war. Consider that. And think about your crew, they rely upon you now. I know you have doubts concerning yourself. It's time to cast those away now.
We can take Areia with us on the shuttle if you like. Then we can arrange transportation home for her when it's over."

"-No.", Thurya raised her voice.
"This is her ship! She'll remain here as long as she lives. Then I'll give her a military funeral and space her remains.
Please, go now."

"-It's alright. I'll leave now. If there's anything you wish to talk to me about, contact me at the Indestuctible", Elyssandra left for the shuttle.

Thurya closed her eyes again and wept slowly.

The next day Thurya was able to function again. After having taken official command of the ship she went to see her sister who was still strapped down in her bunk.
"-Hi Ari", Thurya didn't get any response except from a wild gaze and a growling.
"I'm not ready for this Ari. It should have been me instead of you lying there.
You were always an excellent captain. The whole crew looked up to you. They know me, they know who and what I am. How in the hell are they going to trust me?
And how will I be able to go on without you?"
Thurya sat looking at her sister and captain.
She could feel the loneliness inside of herself. As every Weyrling did, she feared that she would fall to the madness next.
She knew that all Weyrlings felt the loneliness. They weren't meant to be individuals. The Weyrlings had been a collective for countless thousands of years before the one became dormant three generations ago.
After having made radio contact with the Earth Alliance and discovering that it wasn't alone in the universe, the One had started worrying. It had taken the old Weyrling race a long time to develop that crude radio communication device. From the long continious transmission from the humans in the Earth Alliance the One discovered that the young human race had developed the same technology in what compared as a millisecond in the one's life.
It wasn't that the one was slow or stupid. It could process almost endless amount of data and come to a decision instantaneous. That was the problem the One decided, it came to one decision, that it didn't try anything else as it had already decided what was best. There wasn't any trial and error, no competition and no struggle. There was too much harmony. The One decided that to ensure the survival of the Weyrling race, it had to become individuals. In the beginning it seemed as the plan worked. With help from the Earth alliance in the beginning there was a quick technological spurt. Since then developments in all fields had reached unprecedented heights. The drawback was that all Weyrlings felt an inner ache, a longing for something missing, a loneliness.
Thruya knew all this, but knowledge didn't stop the aching loneliness. The feeling was even worse now when it was augmented by the grief over Areia.
The ways to deal with the loneliness differed. Thurya had used sex as a comfort. Her motto had been, if it walks and talks! Since coming to the ship Responder, the past night in the infarmary was the first one spent alone.
Before they were assigned to the ressponder Thurya and Areia had spent alot of nights together exploring. But since they came to the Responder Areia had always turned down the invitaions from her younger sister. She said that a captain couldn't indulge in such things with the crew. Thurya hadn't been offended but always thought that Areia made too much fuss about being in command.
She was already beginning to understand Areia better. The Responder was a small ship, arguments and quarrels where legio. Since taking command three hours ago she had already been forced to resolve an issue that had arised between anselm Jugg and crewman Jon, a misunderstanding really. Jugg had ordered Jon to take the third shift in engineering, without knowing that Jon had just finished the second shift. Jon thought Jugg was using his new command power to revenge himself on Jon as Jon had won the Last card game and had gained half of Juggs salary. It was a mess to clear up, especially as Thurya had used Jon as her lover almost the entire Last week. No one said anything but from the looks from Jugg she knew he wasn't glad about the outcome of her decision. He meant that she should have backed him as he had been the highest ranking officer at the time, any misunderstanding wasn't really an issue he thought.

From now on, I'll have to be satisfied with my own company, Thurya thought sadly. Right now she could use some comfort.

"-Captain to the Bridge", Anselm Juggs voice sounded on the intercom tearing Thurya from her thoughts. She let go of Areias tail that she had been holding. Holding the paw was to dangerous as Ariea still was too agressive from the madness but not weak enough from the anorexia to be trusted not to use her claws.
Thurya looked again at her sister and whispered as she went to the door.
"-I'll miss you Ari, why you, why now?"
She wen't slowly towards the command bridge.
After discussing implentation of the new tactic to be used in the coming training that was scheduled later that day, she went to her cabin to meet the new crewman that had arrived yesterday, at the same time thinking about who among her crew that would make the best corporal, it wasn't an altogether easy decision.

Standing outside her cabin door when she arrived was the new crewman. As she approached he stood to attention.
"-Captain. Crewman Try Eliason reports for service."

"-At ease. Come in and sit down crewman Try.".
As they went in Thurya thought about the information she had just received, Eliason, that was the family name of the Matriarch. So this crewman was a close relative to Elyssandra, interesting but mostly complicating, she thought. As if I didn't have enough of **** to deal with right now without this pile being dumped on me.
Not that he looked bad though she thought.
As he reached his files over to her and she started reading it she realized that he was quite competent too, high grades and good recommendations.
"-What is your preferable area?", she asked.

"-I'm not specialized in anyway, but I do like to fire the big guns!", he smiled as he said this.

Thurya didn't feel in the mood to respond to that smile,
"-Very well. Report to Anselm Jugg. Tell him to send gunner Moi to me and that she will be given a new task. You will be taking her place as gunner.
You are dismissed.", She opened her desk and put the files in amongst the others.

-"Yes Captain", as crewman Try left she thought to herself. So, my first major decision wasn't that difficult. Now I'll just have to give the news to Corporal Moi.

Weyrling Empire 2406.1
-----------------------

Aboard the Battlecruiser Indestructible.
Flagship of fleet Sledge.

The private diary of Elyssandra Eliason, Grand Admiral of the Fleet, Matriarch of the Weyrlings and Hero of the Empire.
/Start recording/
"-Soon I'll again feel the exhilaration of combat. And we will have alot more warriors in the weyrling military in a couple of months aswell. Maybe then my actions at Gamma Umi against the Sons of Thunder won't be such grand feats anymore. It would be nice if the 'Oh great hero Elyssandra' attitude towards me was somewhat diminished.

These Dravens. They never cease to surprise me. When we told them to let us take the first fight they didn't act surprised. Here I thougth they were among the greatest cowards I've met. Always attacking in grand fleets, always outnumbering the enemy plenty to one. And then they go and send two fast destroyers aead of our fleet. Brave but stupid. Maybe they feel they need to prove a point for us. It will end with the destruction of those two destroyers though. I don't think they took our warning about the agressivness among the Terrans seriously. Well, they will soon know.

I haven't heard anything from Illian since I got the confirmation that he had received the divorce papers. I was relived but sad when I got the news that he had signed them. Not a word from him... I thought you'd fight for me Illian...
I guess I can't blame you, the way I've treated you before I went away.

Try asked me on the shuttle to the Responder why I wanted a divorce. 'It's complicated', was the only answer I could give him.
I hope things are going well on the Responder. Seeing the tragedy played out I decided we shouldn't be on the same ship me and my son. If the Indestructible goes he might still make it on the Responder. I know the Responder isn't as well shielded as the Indestructible. But being the flag ship is like painting a big target sign on our back; 'Here I am, come kill me!'. I think he'll stand a better chance on the Responder. If only that Thurya woman can get some grips on herself. Perhaps now that she doesn't have to compare herself to her big sister she can gain some confidence. The One knows she'll need it in the days to come.

Oh those Ghouls, what to do about them. Admiral Tbon want's us to go to war. I don't think we're prepared for a two front war right now. And what about the CCCP, what would they do then. They've always treated us with the greatest respect and courtesy. But they are partners with the Ghouls. What an unbelivable couple they make, the wild Ghouls and the civilized CCCP!
Now what to do with the Argon confederacy? They want our help but aren't willing to commit themself. Like children, always wanting but not prepared to give.
They seem like a noble people atleast and my heart goes out to them, but they've rejected our help so I don't see what we can do! They will have to fend for themselves. Perhaps we can offer the remaining Argon population sanctuary amongst us if things goes really badly? What would the others in the Central Powers say about that? Those bickering goats! Can't they ever agree on anything? The Thermolians always taking the opposite opinion from the Dravens. If they had been in the same room I'm sure they would have started a fight at the Last Alliance Head meeting. I've never seen Yalare so mad. I though he'd explode when the Thermolians refused to agree to his proposal. Strange how he could control himself so quickly though! One moment mad as one can be and then, cool as ice, argumenting the Thermolians right into a corner they couldn't back away from. They just had to agree, that was splendid argumentation! I've never really liked those dead Thermolians, they give me the creeps."
/Stop recording/

The same time at Kalzeroon I the scientist Illian Eliason was explaining to Marit the Warrior;
"-When we switch the transmitter on, you will see the Womba cat in cage one go limp. That is the MI device shortening out. But just a few seconds later, you will see the Womba cat in the cage two also go limp. And that one doesn't have a MI device implanted.
The Celia vortex gyri will resonate a harmonic psi pulse that will set the brains in synchronous though patterns. If they where Weyrlings they would think as one, but Womba cats aren't developed for that so they'll just go limp. That wouldn't happen to a Weyrling!
We hope."

"-Ok, Illian. If you say so I belive you. Now turn it on."

Illian reached over to the transmitter and pressed down the green engage button.
Then everything happened at once. The Womba cat in the first cage went limp. Marit who stood beside Illian fell to the floor at the same time.
Illian released the engage button and called for help as he reached down for Marit.
The medics who was there within seconds couldn't wake her. All vital functions where working as they should but the brain patterns where irregular and strange.
"-She must have had a stroke!", one medic suggested.
"-The parameters aren't consistant with a stroke!", another one replied.
As no one knew what to do she was transferred to the city hospital and placed in the neurological ward.
Illian was afraid that the new transmitter might have a side effect, causing brain dysfunction amongst some Weyrlings.
No one else was allowed into the room when they experimented except those who had already participated when the transmitter was sending.
Illian started to check and recheck every step of the theory and the transmitter to try to understand what had happened to Marit.
Naturally this took time from the actual experiments and the work on awaking the one came to a halt.

In the Destroyer Responder Thurya was sitting at the helm talking on a dedicated comm channel with a gunner control seat.
"-Try, you must anticipate the moves of the fighters. The point defence cannon is not a fire and forget weapon. And as you're aiming I'd guess you'd thought it was a forget and fire weapon!", She laughed a bit when saying this.
Gunner Try was really an excellent gunner. Atleast when it was the main guns he was shooting with. Firing on long ranges he could instinctively anticipate where the target would be when the beams reached it. With the point defence cannons it was a different thing! Sometimes Thurya thought he was playing with her. How could such a good gunner miss constantly on close range? She would joke with him first and later she would get frustrated. This time she told herself she would stop the training before she started yelling at him that he was the worst gunner she'd ever seen. And the worst part about it all was the feeling that he was having fun at her expense when she lost her temper. Areia never lost her temper, Thurya thought. Thurya was always thinking; 'What would Areia had done', when faced with a problem. The main problem was, she wasn't Areia, she would never be. She sighed as she thought that and at the same time watched Try's next attempt at killing the target drones. The same results as always, the drones lived to fight another day!
"-Gunner Try. Practice is finished. Go about your non combat duties."

"-Aye captain.", She heard over the comm channel.
Try released the harness and climbed out of the gunners seat. From there he could control all the weapons on the ship. In actual combat all five gunner seats would be manned. Together the five gunners would control the four main cannons and the point defence cannon.
Try started dismantling the point defence cannons sight display to calibrate it.
When he wasn't training he was supposed to calibrate and maintain the weapons aboard. And help out wherever he was needed. Polish the ships interior, help in the kitchen etc. He liked target practice best. He was wondering how long he could keep this up, he had to keep missing the target drones with less and less marginal each time so that the captain wouldn't give up.
The captain. She was a mystery. He could sense she liked him but she hadn't made any move yet. And a crewman didn't make a move on the captain!
Life aboard a small destroyer in the Weyrling fleet was kind of tedious. There wasn't that much space around and not much to do. The 15 crewmen served five at a time in three seven hours shifts, except in battle when everyone was needed. Everyone slept in the same room. When you weren't working you either sleept, ate, trained in the gym, played cards or had sex.
Try knew he was the only one aboard who hadn't done it with the captain. That made him feel like he had a special form of relationship with her. He knew it was self delusion. The captain hadn't had sex with anyone since becoming captain, you couldn't keep something like that secret on a small ship as this. But nevertheless, his relationship with the captain was different than for all the rest.
When they met in the corridors it was mostly; 'Good job' or 'How do you get along on the ship' or something equally neutral.
The only time emotions was shown was during training. As Try was wery slowly getting better the captain had increased his training schedule, he hoped he wouldn't have to prove his real competence at the point defence cannon yet for a while. he liked sparring with the captain over the comm channel. Sometimes she took control of the drones herself, then Try sometimes really tried to hit it, sometimes he actually did, then he shouted as if he'd never done that before, pretending it was just a lucky shot!
He was determined to explore the mysterius captain, if she would just let him.
He couldn't understand why she had shut away everyone from sharing the pleasure of her bunk.
Perhaps it was the loss of her sister. The rest of the crew said they had been real close, he could tell that was true by observing her at the previous captains funeral. It was a shame if a woman such as captain Thurya would stop having sex forever, Try tought, as she was a really sexy cat!

[ February 18, 2003, 21:57: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Ruatha]

Hi Ruatha.
You said you wanted comments so here goes:
First; it's too looong. Why don't you do as Atrocities and shop it up into smaller portions, see his story thread for ideas.
Secondly, I think you should do well to choose a gengre and stick to it.
So far you've changed the way to tell the story aswell as the contents from time to time. I mean, take this Last episode. What is it? A love novel? pornography? A mystery? A historical novel?
Make up your mind and stick to it.
And what is this thing you're doing with your main characters?
First you had Ruatha as main character. Then you killed him and introduced a couple of more characters. In this episode you killed of another main character and crippled another, I wouldn't want to be a main figure in one of your stories!!
Previously you had very few characters but in this episode the names have exploded to huge proportions! How are we going to keep track of all these people. And what is it, and Icelandic Saga? 'Try' the son of Illian and Elyssandra, son of....

CaptRR has written a more traditional sci fi story with a main character (Prince Draven) a bad guy and a mystery. Tbontob has aimed at the humerous angle and succeded very well, I like the names in his characters!!
As I said before; find your angle and stick to it.
On the other side this Last episode is an improvement when compared with the other episodes, but just to looong http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

What I like about this thread is the way you three are weaving your stories together, can't wait to read Tbontobs and CaptRR's next episodes!

[ February 19, 2003, 07:00: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[mlmbd]

Ruatha, *<font color=purple>L</font><font color=#9933CC>O</font><font color=purple>L</font>* First the stories are 'Great'. Second, try to make them smaller pieces. I know that one isn't easy. But you will get more people to follow the story, if they don't feel like they are reading a novel. Just a thought. And I did make the same suggestion to 'Atrocities'. Third, there is nothing wrong with your style. It is 'Your Style' after all. Fourth, I have enjoyed the stories! Keep it up.

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font>

[Ruatha]

Thanks mlmbd for the reply.
I hope you log on now right after I post this?
Otherwise I'll have to try again!

Will have to check when it's morning in Texas...

Hmm. You seem to be 7 hours behind us.
Your Last post was 22.37 according to the forum, the forum is one hour behind me, so you posted latest at 21.37 my time or 14.37 your time(?) (Texas time). So I can't say that you've been up late. It's friday today. perhaps you go to work early?
Say you get up between 7-8 and as you are internet addicted like the rest of us you sign on to the forum before breakfast.
The first Lurk reports was posted about 14-15 (Swedish time), and you'd need parhaps an hour to do it.
I should post between 12-13 swedish time or 5-6 in the morning Texas time(!!) to be at the top of the forum when you sign in...

Which means I'll have to post again in 1-2 hours from now!

[ February 21, 2003, 10:05: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[mlmbd]

Ruatha, You are 'Welcome' for the comments.

There is not an "Exact" time I do the <font color=white>"</font><font color=#9933CC>LURK REPORT</font><font color=white>"</font>. Just sometime after Midnight (Texas; Central Standard Time) on Friday. You did make the <font color=white>"</font><font color=#9933CC>LURK REPORT</font><font color=white>"</font> this week, in fact you are there "<font color=maroon>TWICE</font>"! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font>

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Ruatha:
Hi Ruatha.
You said you wanted comments so here goes:
First; it's too looong. Why don't you do as Atrocities and shop it up into smaller portions, see his story thread for ideas.
Secondly, I think you should do well to choose a gengre and stick to it.
So far you've changed the way to tell the story aswell as the contents from time to time. I mean, take this Last episode. What is it? A love novel? pornography? A mystery? A historical novel?
Make up your mind and stick to it.
And what is this thing you're doing with your main characters?
First you had Ruatha as main character. Then you killed him and introduced a couple of more characters. In this episode you killed of another main character and crippled another, I wouldn't want to be a main figure in one of your stories!!
Previously you had very few characters but in this episode the names have exploded to huge proportions! How are we going to keep track of all these people. And what is it, and Icelandic Saga? 'Try' the son of Illian and Elyssandra, son of....

CaptRR has written a more traditional sci fi story with a main character (Prince Draven) a bad guy and a mystery. Tbontob has aimed at the humerous angle and succeded very well, I like the names in his characters!!
As I said before; find your angle and stick to it.
On the other side this Last episode is an improvement when compared with the other episodes, but just to looong http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

What I like about this thread is the way you three are weaving your stories together, can't wait to read Tbontobs and CaptRR's next episodes!<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">LOL

Critiquing our own stories in public. What will we do next?

Wish I had thought of doing that! Ruatha, are we so desperate for some feedback, any feedback that we look forward to reading our own critiques?

About style, I did suspect you killed off "Ruatha" in order to try on a new set of clothing. But here is a thought, 'character developement'. Zaxxon with his paranoia was almost as 'nutso' as Ruatha in the beginning of this story. He is learning to control his paranoia, but it is still there, lurking in the background of his psyche to come out when the stress of the moment is great.

My current concern is that I have made him too much of a stable character in a 'world gone crazy empire.'

I thank you for your comments on my attempts with humor. If some of the ridiculous (but possible) events of the Zaxxon society has brought the occasional smile to the reader, I will have succeeded in my attempt.

And I was wondering about the names and places. Like, were they striking a funny-bone? Or, was there a lot of internal groaning whenever the reader encountered a new one?

I hope to submit a story soon. A family crises is abating and I am hoping the inspiration will begin to flow again.

And I have a lot of catching up to do. I haven't read your most recent installment which I want to do right now!

[Ruatha]

Hi Tbontob.
The real reason I killed of Ruatha is quite simple.
In my single player Games I always called my race's leaders for Ruatha.
When I started Newbie Galactic Combat I for some reason didn't.
When I started writing I didn't think of this but then I started getting in-game Messages adressed to Matriarch Elyssandra.
So I had no option but to change leader someway to make the game and the story consistent.

I'm planning on developing Elyssandra some and Thurya more. So from now on Thruya is the real "main" character.
I don't know why I suddenly stand with alot of female characters and a shortage of male ones.
And I hope the "Respodner" doesn't get killed in the coming combats. Their first combat was a small one and a victory. More on that in next episode though. But I suspect there will be lots of battles in the future, now that I'm at war.

About your story.
I do find it amusing.
I really liked their addiction/fear of bubblebaths! (I actually laughed for real when reading it!)
Some elements though I belive are too obvious, as to what will happen I mean. But I'm not sure (Thinking of the future death of a certain official who is spending alot of money...) if I'm right though??
My favorite name is Loy Al tew deBone, I would like it if he proved to be a traitor, but on the other hand that would also be too obvious!
And will the reverse engine tech lead to something ? I can't wait for this revolutionary tech to be finished!

As to CaptRR.

Who planted the Nuke??
Who is controlling that device??
You're building a real mystery here....
Tension is arising!

I check the thread both here and at the Game forum each day to see if anyone of you have posted a new episode!
I still hope someone else will come along aswell.
It would be fun reading the thoughts of the Ghouls for example, as I'm having alot of trouble with them at current.

[ February 21, 2003, 23:08: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[CaptRR]

Remember I'm a little behind Rutha in the stories department, I'm catching up and my next one should have me caught up to him, until then though...

___________________________________

Chapter 9

Commander Dravel was deep in a dream when the com woke him. Which was probably a good thing, since the dream was more of a nightmare, he had been having nightmares ever since the tragedy, he could not even remember one time that he had gotten a good nights sleep. He would always wake up in a cold sweat, images of people dieing by the hundreds of thousands, and he would see himself, helpless to do anything about it. Could do nothing as his people and his father were killed. No not killed, murdered, there was no doubt about that, someone had deliberately murdered all those people.

Dravel wiped the sleep from his eyes, his military training, and years of being woken up in the middle of the night was already beginning to take effect, in a few minutes he would be alert. Alert for what though? He had transferred to Agamar, system a few weeks ago. Apparently there was some intelligence reports that the Terrens who had just got through a major power struggle might try to take advantage of the Republics weakened distraction with the Landing City Disaster. But that was neither here nor there, right now he had a message he had to answer.

He rolled out of bed, and did a small stretch and activated the com on his desk, on the small screen Sasha immediately appeared. Sasha was beauty as far as Dravens go, and being one of the few females on a Republic ship, she was quite popular with the crew, but anyone who thought that she slept her way to the top would be mistaken, below the beautiful exterior was dedicated officer, and despite being in the communications field she was also a gifted tactician. Dravel had tried many times to move her up the chain of command, even trying to get her, her own command. She had turned him the offer's every time, her reply was that she simply "wasn't ready". He suspected that the young officer while being a genius lacked confidence. That would have to change, if she was to advance much higher than Captain.

Dravel suppressed a smile, had she not been in his chain of command Dravel would certainly have tried to court her, but alas it was never meant to be, Navy regulations strictly forbid it. "This is the captain"

Here voice was as beautiful as ever but there was something in it, a dread that seemed to permeate every sound, "Uh, Sir, sorry to wake you, but something just came over the News Service and I thought you would want to know."

Dravel became worried, something bad had happen he knew it, could the Terrens have attacked? No that didn't make since, they were in lightly defended Agamar, a battle fleet would have invaded through here first, so what else could it be. He took a breath, he knew he wasn't going to like it, "what is it Sasha?"

"Uh sir, I..." she stammered for a second, "I think you ought to take a look for yourself." A heartbeat later the com switched, it now showed a lady seated at a desk, there was a lot of activity behind her. Dravel recognized it as the Headquarters of the Dravel News Agency, and the reporter at the Desk was Lelar, the head reporter for the DNA.

She was already talking, Sasha much of patched his com into the raw news feed. "...this startling news comes as no surprise to some, but to most it is a real eye opener, For the first time we now know who is responsible for the Disaster at Landing City."

Dravel Froze, breathing seemed labored, every breath was a struggle. This is what he had been wanting to know for 3 months. Now that he was close to learning it he felt fear, if Sosha's reaction was any indicator he knew that the news was not going to be good, and that there was not going to be any trial, something bad was about to happen, Dravel could feel it.

The reporter continued, "For those of you just joining us, The office of the Prime Minister today released the findings on the investigation into the Landing City Disaster. Most of report was general information about how Landing City was destroyed, but the most stunning of part of the report was the source of the Nuclear Weapon." Lelar, paused as the screen was replaced by a graphic of the letter, 1 sentence was highlighted and enlarged so it could be seen clearly. Lelar read it out as well. "It is the findings of this commission that the Nuclear weapon was in the 1 Kiloton range, and Isotopes taken from the clouds surrounding Landing City at the time, had been able to Identify the origin of the Fissionable Material as Sphinx."

Dravel could feel the room spinning, he fought for balance, and gripped the table as tight as he could, he wanted to scream, to take his ship into Terren space and kill everyone in sight, ravage their planets. Make them feel the same pain that they had caused him. He fought back the tears. It could not be, he thought, what the Terrans had done is and act of war. They had killed half a million people, including several Central Powers Representatives, and most of all the President of the Republic. Certainly they must know that the Draven people would cry for revenge, and the Central Powers would almost certainly be drawn into the conflict. It didn't make sense, but it was true, and the repercussions were obvious.

Commander Dravel looked back at the screen, Sasha was on it now, how long had she been watching him? He had no way of knowing, he calmed himself the best he could, "Sasha, did any other orders come in with the news cast?"

Sasha hesitated for a moment, distracted at seeing her captain, no her Prince, after all he was destined to inherit the Presidency soon, in pain. She had to admit he was an attractive man, and as a women she had often fantasized what it would be like, to be joined to the Prince. All little girls dreamed of that fantasy ever since they heard the fairy tales that had been passed on from generation to generation. Most of those stories involved dragons and castles, and while modern time had neither the romantic air that surrounded it was still there, but Sosha pushed that thought aside, it was dangerous to think such things, it could spell trouble. If he ever knew how she felt it would destroy her carrier, at the very least she would be sent to another ship far away from him.

"Yes sir," she stammered for the words, her thoughts still trying to come out, if only she could speak up, to go to him, hold him in his time of need. She would give him everything she had, some of her strength to help her prince, but it wasn't meant to be. "Yes sir," she repeated again this time with more confidence, "we are to proceed to the Agamar-Ansuroer warp point and wait for orders. If invasion of the system looks imminent we are to take any steps that we see fit to protect Agamr."

"Thank you Sasha," he was able to see a hint of smile on her lips, but just a hint, "Tell the Navigator on duty to proceed to the warp point, when we get there put us on tactical alert, I don't want anything sneaking up on us."

"Yes sir," and with that the connection was cut. Once again Dravel was left alone in the still dark cabin, the wine of the engines was the only sound, and while he new that a war was coming and he dreaded the massive loss of life that was to come, a part of him cried out for revenge, for his people, and for his father.

Chapter 10

"Members of the Central Powers Alliance, the course that we must take is clear, our very future is at stake," Josha sat in the great hall of the Central Powers Alliance Headquarters and listened as the speaker of the Alliance made his speech. The Weyrling was tall, and could most be associated with what was once called a cat, although no one would say that to their face, everyone in the known universe had heard that a Weyrling could tear almost any creature in half with those sharp claws, although that was probably fiction, no one wanted to put it to the test. The new speaker a relative of the Weyrling's Matriarch had rocked the statuesque very little, much to Josha's surprise, but that was changing now as this speech was demonstrating. It had been barely 2 weeks since news of who caused Landing City's demise was released. The news agencies, which Josha suspected were now under the control of the Prime Minster, had shown massive protests, some wanted the Terren's leader's head on a plate, many more though wanted to take the fleet into terren space and wipe out everything.

Josha had never seen such an outcry, and it was showing in the central Powers Representatives. Josha had tried to urge caution, tried to get the Representatives to wait, but he had failed. When the Weyrling's introduced a resolution to plan for military operations against the Terren Galactic Imperium, it had almost been Unanimous. Some Dravens voted against it, but not many. Josha knew that the representatives from his own Republic were up against a wall, the citizens wanted revenge, and if the Representatives tried to get in the way, they would be taken out of the way either at the next election cycle, or perhaps more forcefully. Emotions were running that high.

The speaker continued, Josha could see the speakers mouth moving, but the translators took a second to catch up, "We have already voted for war, that is not the discussion, we must now allocate the funds to initiate the opertion this alliance had voted to initiate." Josha looked down at the terminal in his lap, being the Chairman of the Dravens Defense committee he had been put in charge of planning the Draven side of the campaign, despite his objections to the war, the plan he had put together was elegant and simple. The Weyrling's had put together a similar plan, when the two were combined it looked like a sure fire way of fighting the opening stages of this war. Sledgehammer was its codename, and it seemed to fit, never had any empire or alliance fielded the amount of ships there were to be used in this operation. At first Josha could not believe it himself, the logistics of it were mind boggling, the cost of it was more so, that's what this meeting was about, who would pay the bulk of the cost for the war. The Weyrling's wanted the Dravens to pick up the tab. The Dravens wanted the Weyrlings to. In the end it would probably be a combination of the two, but first the politicians had to play their little political game and see who could squeeze the Last credit out of who.

Josha looked through the names on the list, ships, well over a hundred would be involved in the main fleet, and there would be even more before this is was over. The Dravel shipyards were operating at 110% now, and the newest Battleships were just coming off the lines, a new dreadnaught class was already in the works, again the cost was staggering, but no one seemed to mind now. Everyone was caught up in the fever of revenge, already the battle cry "Remember Landing City" was being circulate around the Draven ships. No one was concerned about the massive loss of life that was to come. As far as Josha knew a war of this scale had never been faught in the known universe, a war that didn't make sense. Why had they bombed Landing City? Certainly they must have known we would find out, and when we did, no peace talk would stop us.

Josha forced himself to relax, the war was on, already the Terrens had declared war because they had been told to leave Draven Space. Although they had attacked no Central Powers Ships, it was obvious they they were staging for a massive attack. The Draven-Weyrling fleet was going to be assembled soon, and Josha knew of nothing that would stop the armada from destroying every Terren in its path.

[CaptRR]

Originally posted by Ruatha:

As to CaptRR.

Who planted the Nuke??
Who is controlling that device??
You're building a real mystery here....
Tension is arising!

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">It wouldn't be much of a story if I gave away the ended now would it. Oh well, I guess I can tell. The name of the person responsable for everything is......
<hears a ringing>
Oh well dinners ready, talk to you all later.

[mlmbd]

CaptRR, very nice chapter. Tis going to be a 'Great' story. It shows!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font>

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Ruatha:
[QB]Hi Tbontob.
The real reason I killed of Ruatha is quite simple.
In my single player Games I always called my race's leaders for Ruatha.
When I started Newbie Galactic Combat I for some reason didn't.
When I started writing I didn't think of this but then I started getting in-game Messages adressed to Matriarch Elyssandra.
So I had no option but to change leader someway to make the game and the story consistent.

I'm planning on developing Elyssandra some and Thurya more. So from now on Thruya is the real "main" character.
I don't know why I suddenly stand with alot of female characters and a shortage of male ones.
And I hope the "Respodner" doesn't get killed in the coming combats. Their first combat was a small one and a victory. More on that in next episode though. But I suspect there will be lots of battles in the future, now that I'm at war.

About your story.
I do find it amusing.
I really liked their addiction/fear of bubblebaths! (I actually laughed for real when reading it!)
Some elements though I belive are too obvious, as to what will happen I mean. But I'm not sure (Thinking of the future death of a certain official who is spending alot of money...) if I'm right though??
My favorite name is Loy Al tew deBone, I would like it if he proved to be a traitor, but on the other hand that would also be too obvious!
And will the reverse engine tech lead to something ? I can't wait for this revolutionary tech to be finished!QB]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I wondered why Ruatha was killed! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif I can see the necessity of it.

I look forward to seeing how your "new" characters respond to crises.

As to comment on what will happen to the certain official and Loy Al tew deBone will be to let the cat out of the bag. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Up till now, I have been inputing my stories into the little screen on the PBW site. There were a number of problems with this, the most current one being there was no "save" feature. With the family crisis, I didn't have a large enough block of time to write the next chapter of the story.

So, I am going to do something different and write in Word and then post it here. I will also post it on the PBW site, but as you know there is the problem of the PBW site messing up the punctuation. My plan is to provide a link from the PBW site(if it can be done) to this site for the readers who look for the story at the PBW site.

I am hoping this will work. Consequently, my next chapter will probably be quite short as a part of its purpose will be to test to see if this will work.

[tbontob]

Well, here is the next 'partial' installment of the story. Hope this works.
=================================================
The Zax Society
THE LOCATION: Go More Ah, a provincial capital.

Eston and Loy Al tew deBone were wending their way down the narrow crooked street of the poorest section of the city. The buildings were crowded together. Most were two or three stories with the second or third story extending over into the street. On occasion they blocked out the sunlight and pitched the ground into shadows and darkness.

Eston thought the buildings were charming. It was drizzling and the overhanging buildings protected them from getting soaked.

But, he didn’t like the stench! A yellow stream flowed in the gutter along the curb of the street. Feces, rotted food and other material he couldn’t identify bobbed along as the miniature river ran downhill towards the river.

“You tell me he is willing to do it for 20 Zaxxonites, so why does he need to see me?”, Eston asked Loy Al tew deBone.

“He is an eccentric. And he didn’t exactly agree to it. It is a small fortune and since he knows I do not have the money, he deduced I was asking for it on behalf of someone else.”

Eston observed that Loy Al tew de Bone was unusually vigilant. Often the guard’s gait would slow as he scanned the shadows of the buildings they were to pass. Eston was starting to get nervous and tension was building in his shoulders. In exasperation, he said shouted, “So?”

Loy Al tew de Bone responded with “Ssssshhhhh…” stopped, looked about carefully and continued with “It is his policy not to do any work unless he meets the person who wants it.”

“But why does he …” Eston gasped with shock and pain as he was suddenly slammed into a building wall by Loy Al tew deBone’s shoulder. The watery contents of a bucket of feces fell at the spot where they had been standing just seconds before.

Eston exclaimed loudly, “What the…” but was cut off in mid-sentence by the hand of Loy Al tew deBone covering his mouth. Scant inches from his face, he could see the guard’s eyes frantically scanning the street to see if they had drawn anybody’s attention.

“Quiet!” he hissed. Seconds passed and then he slowly removed his hand with “Come, there is a basement pub over there where we can talk.”

Eston looked about and could not see a pub or even anything that looked remotely like a pub. The guard took him across the street to a stairway which was so narrow that two people could not pass by each other. At the bottom was a heavy oaken door. The guard’s fist pounded on the door, and a slot in the door flew back and a voice demanded, “Yeh?”

“We want a beer.”

“Sez who?”

“Blackheart, of the Sick Illian clan.

“He’s dead! So fuc…”

“If you don’t let us in, I will personally cut your heart out and eat it for lunch!”

A long pause and then the door opened. The doorman stood respectfully back as they entered.

“Come, let’s take that corner table!” As they seated themselves, Eston noticed that Loy Al tew deBone took particular care to ensure his back was to the corner of the room.

“Wad ya want?” asked the barmaid.

“Two Ke Ne Edians and make sure the government seals are intact!”

When the barmaid left, Eston whispered, “What the hell is going on? Who are you? How do you know of this place? Who is Blackheart? Why doesn’t your service record show your connection to Go More Ah? What is…”

Loy Al tew deBone sighed. “I was hoping to avoid this.”

“I am the eldest son of the drug lord of the Sick Illian clan. Until a few years ago, I was the consigliore of the clan which effectively put me second in command.”

“Our clan is engaged in all types of businesses including prostitution, numbers and drugs.” If it was illegal, we did it. My name was Blackheart and I was very good at my job. Our clan grew in strength from eighteenth place to second.”

“Another clan grew envious of us and kidnapped my wife. They forced her to take a drug which is so addictive, so damaging, so life-threatening that…”

“No!” injected Eston. “You don’t mean….”

“Yes, the most addictive drug we know of.”

“But it has been Banned on pain of death. Having any connection with it at all is a certain death sentence.”

“Yes. But those who are addicted to it will pay any price to get it. The profits are enormous and our clan peddled the drug without conscience. And it is easy to administer, either by a needle or by drinking it.”

“So, they kidnapped my wife and forced her to drink Kokka Kolla. I was too late to save her. As you know, drug rehabilitation is 99% ineffective. Worse it is a poison and after 100 or so fixes, the victim dies.”

“I did everything to find a cure or an anti-dote. I tried to buy the formula of the product from the humans. But no one knows the formula except a few humans in a place called USSA and they wouldn’t sell. My efforts to kidnap them were unsuccessful. Our attempts to analyse it also met with failure.”

“So, my wife died. I went crazy. I kidnapped the drug lords who were responsible. And their families including wives and children. Then I forced the drug lords to watch Kokka Kolla being administered to their wives and children. A few drug lords went crazy and tried to stop it. When one of them tried to interfere, we just hacked off a limb and cauterized it. As you know cauterizing a limb prevents it from regrowing which is an eventual death sentence in our clans as it is an obvious sign of weakness”

“But even I grew sick of the suffering. Especially the little children. But it was too late to stop it.”

“After that, my heart was not in my job and I left the clan and entered government service.”

“But there is nothing of this in your record.” Eston stated.

Loy Al tew deBone responded, “Yes, it is amazing what money and connections can buy. I am telling you this so that you know the danger we are in. No one, and I mean no one walks alone here. To do so is a sure sign of weakness and invites an attack.”

“Walking with a non-resident is tantamount to walking alone as non-residents are viewed as weak and slow-witted. That also invites an attack. So, it is important not to do or say anything which shows you do not belong here.”

The guard continued with “Which brings us to the topic of the forger. No one knows who he is, where he came from or even what he really wants. So we just call him ‘The Forger’. “

“I said he was eccentric. He is much more than that; he is absolutely paranoid. But he is a genius. It is virtually impossible to distinguish his work from the real thing.”

”All the crime lords use him to forge things. However, every few months, he would become paranoid that he was being ratted on to the police, so he would just disappear for 6 months or a year. This was bad business for us, because the work of other forgers was much inferior, which meant the cops, soon discovered and destroyed our businesses. With the arrests, expenses skyrocketed and it became unprofitable to do business.”

“So, the crime lords met to see if something could be done to limit his paranoia. A fund was created with all the crime families contributing equally. The sole purpose of the fund was to track down all the members of a family who ratted on the ‘The Forger’. Since the families have been contributing to it every year, there is enough money now to track down and kill any aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, aunt or uncle of any member of the family ten times over.

“Did it work?”, asked Eston.

“Yes, it does reassure him. On occasion, he will leave abruptly, but the frequency and duration is much less than it used to be. Now, it may be for only a week or so.”

“Which is why I urge you to say as little as possible. The less said, the less likely he is to become paranoid.”

“But we should leave now. If we are late, it can set off his paranoia.”

The information had overwhelmed Eston. He needed time to digest it. Even though he wanted to ask dozens of questions, he quietly rose with Loy Al tew deBone.

The double and triple storied buildings no longer appeared charming to Eston. He now felt they were crowding in on him with hidden menace.

[Ruatha]

Hmm, The Loy character is developing, he is more complicated than I thought.
Also, I won't buy any fizzy beverages tonight, I don't want to become addicted. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[mlmbd]

tbontob, nice, very nice! I will be looking foward to the remainder!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font>

[tbontob]

Thanx guys, here is another partial installment. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

The Zax Society
THE LOCATION: ZAXXON’S BEDCHAMBER OF ZAX CENTRE
THE DATE: 2408.61

Zaxxon had just come out of a troubled sleep. He looked hollow-eyed and haggard. All night he had tossed and turned.

He was depressed. The troubles of the society were weighing him down and there was no relief in sight. Worse, his personal life was in a shambles. He had no news on his beloved Zaxxoness. He felt he should have heard something by now. There was just this awful silence.

He missed the comfort his Zaxxoness gave him. Many times each day he would blame himself for the separation. Often he would spiral into a deep depression and when he did, he was unrelenting in his condemnation of himself. In particular, he wished he had spoken up immediately to quash the proposal to combine the fleets to attack the CCCP. By not doing so, he had caused his beloved Zaxxoness to leave for Elstonile.

He only got out of bed when the High Chamberlain entered the bedchamber to announce that it was time to dress and prepare for the meeting with his department ministers.

THE LOCATION: THE SEMI-OVAL OFFICE OF ZAX CENTRE
THE DATE 2408.62
THE PEOPLE: Zaxxon, R2D2, Dip-low-Mac-Sea, Spii, Strong-of-the-Arm Custer and Cord-Il-Era.

The meeting had just convened.

“Good News, Mr Central Speaker. We have made contact with the Weyrlings!”

“Wonderful, Dip-low-Mac-Sea. But are you absolutely sure?” asked Zaxxon.

“Yes, there is no doubt about it. And I have sent the diplomatic message to Ruatha, the god-emperor as we had agreed upon.”

“Good, good. Have they replied?”

“Not yet. In diplomatic circles, it is unusual for a response to take so long. Puzzling in fact. I’m wondering if we should have been more direct in our message.”

R2D2 interjected, “Maybe Ruatha is taking stock of his resources to ascertain the help he can give us. Maybe he is thinking of gifting us cruisers or battle cruisers to teach the CCCP a lesson. That will explain the delay.”

“Hear, hear!” shouted the members of the meeting. Zaxxon spirits lifted.

He thought, “This would be good news. Why else the delay? That must be the reason for the it!” A smile came to his face. “Help is on the way!” he thought.

“We certainly could use their help!” said Strong-of-the-Arm. Warp points have been cleared of mines. Some warp points have been destroyed. So far we have won the skirmishes, but the true test will be if they come in force.”

“What is the condition of our fleets?”

“More than half have been upgraded! A few more months and they will all be upgraded. Also, significant numbers of modern battle cruisers are on station.”

Without hesitation, Custer stated, “Sir, I want to reiterate that we should combine our fleets and strike at the CCCP or one of their allies now!”

Zaxxon’s heart flip-flopped! To agree to Custer’s proposal would alienate his Zaxxoness even further. If only she were here so he could discuss it with her to get her agreement.

In his heart, Zaxxon knew something should be done, but he prevaricated with “Now is not the time. When we are stronger, we can implement your plan.”

Sensing the lie, Custor’s face momentarily showed his impatience and disgust. “Would it be in order for me to draw up detailed plans?”

Zaxxon felt he was being crowded into a corner out of which there was no escape.

[mlmbd]

tbontob, 'Excellent' read. I will be waiting on your next installment! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font>

[tbontob]

Hi guys here is the next installment. Hope you enjoy it.
=================================================

The Zax Society

THE lOCATION: GO MORE AH.

Eston walked silently with Loy Al tew deBone as they wended their way through the twisted streets of Go More Ah.

Eventually, they came to a vast clearing in the center of the city. Looking again, Eston saw it wasn’t empty. The rusted steel skeletons of buildings pointed into the sky like the rotted teeth of a carnivorous animal. Bricks, stone, metal girders, rusted cars and other junk littered the vast space before them.

“He’s in there?” asked Eston.

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“Right there.” Loy Al tew deBone pointed towards the middle of the so-called clearing.

“Where?”

“It’s an underground bunker. Forty feet of the best reinforced concrete you can buy and lined with titanium.

“It must have cost a fortune.”

“Yes, he has been well paid for his services by the crime syndicates.”

After a short pause, the guard continued with “This place is booby trapped. Nobody knows how many. I wouldn’t be surprised if were in excess of a thousand, maybe as many as ten thousand. There are even rumors that he has a small nuclear device.

“A nuclear bomb?”

“Yes, and I have no doubt he would use it if he believed he was on the point of being captured by the authorities. Of course, the booby traps are not a great concern to the cops. It is the nuke which has them worried.”

“Yes, I would imagine it would.”, Eston replied absentmindly.

“And this isn’t his main refuge. No one knows where he hides out when he is in the throes of his paranoia.”

“So, don’t wander off. And don’t touch anything no matter how interesting it looks. It could be your life and possibly mine as well.”

“How do we get in?”

“We start by taking that path there.” Loy Al tew deBone said, pointing to a spot between rusted cars and jumbled up stones with rusted girders.

The path was narrow and Eston had to follow in the footsteps of Loy Al tew deBone. Eston sensed movement and realized they were being tracked by a number of security cameras along the path. After 50 feet, they entered a very small clearing which had four paths radiating from it. In the center was a fat pole with a number of buttons. Loy Al tew deBone pressed the largest button and a slot opened.

“Whatever metals or pLastics you have, put them in the box.” Loy Al tew deBone said as he put change, watch, keys and his belt buckle into the box.

“You don’t have any internal metals like pins”, he asked

When he received a negative answer, he asked “How about organics?”

“No, I don’t. What is all this?” asked Eston.

“It is part of his security system. Now check again, because if you have forgotten anything, I can assure you he will find out and if he doesn’t kill us, he will never give us an opportunity to see him again.”

“What about your shoes?” to which he received the reply “They are stitched leather, no metal.”

Assured that all metals and pLastics were in the box, Loy Al tew deBone shut the box and after a moment, a voice instructed them to take the left path.

After another 50 feet, they entered another clearing, identical to the first. They were told which path to follow.

They entered another identical clearing.

“This is a maze.” said Eston. “And did you notice all those cameras following our every move.”

“Yes, and there are pressure sensors on the path, infrared sensors, vibration sensors and God knows what else.”

Eston goggled at the guard, “All those?”

“Plus some devices we have probably never heard of.”

Receiving further instructions, they continued on their way to the next clearing.

After a while, Eston lost count of the number of clearings they entered and exited.

Eventually, they came to a large clearing. A small structure the size of a telephone booth was at its center. The sides, door and roof were constructed of a transparent material, which allowed an unrestricted view of its interior.

Eston and Loy Al tew deBone crowded into the booth. Closing the doors triggered a mechanism, which caused the booth to descend.

In addition to its downward movement, the elevator slowly rotated on its axis. Within a short length of time they lost all sense of direction. Being pitch black, they also had no idea of the distance they had traveled as they moved downward.

Eventually, the elevator stopped, the doors opened and a dim light flicked on revealing a vehicle the size of a golf cart. They entered the cart.

“Make sure you buckle up, it’s going to be quite a ride.” Loy Al tew deBone instructed.

The light flicked out and after 30 minutes of twists and turns they arrived at their destination, a huge cavernous room. Eston had no idea where they were. They could be 15 miles away from the booth or have doubled back and be right next to it.

The huge room was not partitioned. Eston could see the sleeping area in the farthest corner on his right. The kitchen was on the farthest left. In front of him were tables containing chemical apparatus. Along the walls were machines of various sizes and shapes.

Out of the shadows, limped a short man who looked old and unkempt. However, his eyes were sharp and piercing and his skin was that of a young man.

“Blackheart, you old rascal! And who is this?”

“His name is Eston and he wants to purchase the seal from you.”

“You do, do you? And why do you…” Suddenly his eyes narrowed. “He’s a cop!”

“No, no, he isn’t!” exclaimed Loy Al tew deBone.

With amazing swiftness, ‘The Forger’ approached and sniffed Eston like a dog.

“He’s a cop!”

“I tell you, he isn’t!”

“If he isn’t a cop, then what is he?”

“He’s a government employee.”

“Same thing! Get out! Get out!” exclaimed the forger and ran to his sleeping area.

After making hand motions to Eston to not move, Loy Al tew deBone ran after ‘The Forger”.

Eston could see “The Forger” jamming clothes and other articles into a bag. He was close enough to catch the conversation.

“Must leave! Must leave!”

“He is not a cop!”

“I trusted you! Why did you bring him here? And he is a cop!”

“We need the seal to scam the Zaxxoness. And if a crooked government employee is a cop, then I guess he is a cop.”

“He’s a crook?”

”Yes! He wants to scam the Zaxxoness!”

“One of us?”

“Yes!”

“No. No. No. Not possible. Not possible. Even a crooked cop is bad news.”

“In all the years we have known each other, have I ever cheated you?”

“No.”

“Have I ever lied to you?”

“No.”

“We need you to do this for us.”

“No. No. No. Not possible. Not possible. You are twisting my brain!”

“You said you would do it for 20 Zaxxonites.”

“No. No. No. I said I could do it for 20 Zaxxonites once I saw the buyer!

“Well here is the buyer!”

“He’s a cop!”

“What is the price to sell to a crooked cop?”

“No price. No price. Not possible. Not possible.”

“There must be a price!”

“OK! OK! 20,000 Zaxxonites!”

“That’s impossible!”

“See, I told you! Not possible. Not possible. Now get out. Get out!”

“It’s possible.”

“Huh?”

“I said it is possible.”

“Not possible, not possible.”

“It is possible.”

“Not possible, not possible. Must be in old unmarked bills no larger than 20 Zaxxonollars.”

“That’s impossible!”

“See, I told you! Not possible. Not possible. Now get out. Get out!”

“You never asked for it to be paid in paper money! Why now?”

“Traceable. Traceable!”

“Electronic transfers?”

“Yes, yes. Trace the transfer and I lose everything!”

“Gold, jewels?”

“Yes, yes, Change the molecular structure. Can be identified anywhere. Then lose everything. Everything.”

“If they can change the molecular structure of gold or jewels, can’t they do the same for paper money?”

“Yes. Paper money flat. Able to change the molecular structure back.”

“You can do that?”

“Yes, yes. Must be thin for me to do it.”

“You can roll gold into thin sheets.

“Yes, yes. Must also be non-metallic.”

“We can do it.”

“No. No. I say impossible. You say impossible. Not possible. Not possible.”

“It is possible.”

“Impossible. Impossible for me.”

“Impossible for you? Why?

“Going on vacation. Impossible. Impossible.”

“You are going on a vacation now?”

“Yes, Yes.” A pause, and then “No, No.”

“You are not going on a vacation now?

“Yes. Yes. Few days.”

“Why not go now?”

“Must finish job for At Hilla daHun.”

“You must finish a job for the crime lord, At Hilla daHun?”

“Yes, yes. Rail gun.”

“A rail gun? Whatever for?”

“Discovered wife in flagrante delicto with lover. Want to punish both.

“Punish them?”

“Yes, yes. Put them in capsule and shoot them into space on a trajectory towards the sun. Not hit sun but spiral orbit around sun. Watch lovers look into each other’s eyes as they slowly fall into the sun. Taunt them with a water tube only one can have. See how much they really love each other before they die. See if they willing to sacrifice themselves for the other before they die.

“But all traffic to and from the planet is monitored. It will be discovered and boarded”

“Yes, yes. But able to cloak it for a short time. Not see. Not see. When cloak breaks down, don’t matter. Don’t matter.”

“Won’t the acceleration kill them?”

“No, no. Extra long rail gun. Power usage over longer period. Difficult to detect when in operation.”

“Why don’t you leave now?”

“Kill me! Kill me! He crazy. Crazy. Driven by revenge. Revenge. If can’t kill them in way he wants, will take his revenge out on me. Agreed to do it. Don’t do it, then feels justified in exacting revenge on me. Die either way. At hand of At Hilla daHun or crooked official.”

“I see.”

“So angry, so angry. Blinded to it’s potential. Once used, then I own it. Good for smuggling contraband off planet. Not realize this. Make a lot of money with no investment. Mega Zaxxonites to build. No cost to me.”

“When will you have it done?”

“Four days. Maybe three.”

“How long will it take you to create the seal?”

“Not possible, not possible.”

“Why?”

“Where you get the paper money?”

“Let us worry about that. How long?”

“A day. A day. But will not stay to do it!”

“Agreed. We will get back to you.”

“Not want to do it. Not want. Must have money here first before I do it.”

“I know my friend. I will see you shortly.”

Loy Al tew deBone joined Eston and said, “Come! Let’s get out of here before he changes his mind.”

Retracing their steps and following the instructions given by voices emanating from the poles, they eventually collected their valuables and emerged at the edge of the large clearing.

“You seem troubled, my friend.” observed Loy Al tew deBone.

Eston jumped. He was wondering if The Forger and Loy Al tew deBone had staged the meeting to get 20,000 Zaxxonites out of him. They had sounded convincing but they both had criminal backgrounds. And really, what was one more crime to them?

“Yes, 20,000 Zaxxonites is a huge fortune. More than double what we paid for the jewels and clothing. And I don’t like paying 20,000 for something that is only worth 20. The way I see it, we have three choices. The first is to go back to Zax Central and get a genuine seal. That will delay matters for months and I don’t know if Zaxxon will be able to cope for that long. When I left, he was on the verge of a major nervous breakdown. This may be enough to tip him over the edge.”

“Two, we can go to one of the other forgers and pay him 20 Zaxxonites to make the seal.”

“And three, we can pay the 20,000 Zaxxonites to the “The Forger.”

“Well,” said Loy Al tew deBone I cannot speak to going back to Zax Central. And whether to pay 20,000 Zaxxonites or not is a value decision only you can make.”

“As for going to another forger, I am sure we can get one of the other forgers to do it and probably for considerably less than 20 Zaxxonites, maybe even less than 5 Zaxxonites. The question is, will it convince the Zaxxoness? I have seen her pick out a diamond from a pile of zircons at twenty paces. I don’t know how she did it. Probably something in the shine or refracted light. We could try it, but if we fail, we will not have a second chance.

“I do know this,” Loy Al tew deBone continued, “If we want to purchase the seal from The Forger, that decision will have to be made soon. It will take time to accumulate that amount of paper money in used unmarked bills.”

Eston and Loy Al tew deBone entered the hotel lobby after midnight. Eston was so deep in thought he didn’t notice the smirk on the concierge’s face.

They had rented the whole penthouse of the hotel for their entourage. As the elevator door opened, they heard laughter and giggling. Seconds later they observed that the nobles were in various stages of undress with beautiful women who were similarly undressed. Wine and liquor bottles littered the hallway. Most couples were so absorbed in their lovemaking that they were oblivious to their presence.

Loy Al tew deBone picked up a bottle, “Hmmm. Bonaparte 1801. Expensive. Like outrageously expensive.”

Then he looked at some of the women. “These are not street whores. These are top of the line professionals who will only see someone on appointment and then only on their terms. To make an appointment with them, you must have money and lots of it. Where did they get it?”

He looked at Eston and saw the stricken look on his face.

“You didn’t! You didn’t give the nobles the clothing and jewels?”

Eston didn’t reply. He walked woodenly into his suite and closed the door.

==============================================
The plot thickens. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
Anybody want to venture a guess on what happens next? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[mlmbd]

tbontob, great stuff, here! Indeed, the plot thickens. I am stoked! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font>

[CaptRR]

I'm sick so this might not be that good, I hope you all enjoy these two chapters. I know this should provide Rutha sith some storie material.

__________________________________________

Chapter 11

Commander Dravel looked around the round table, most of the seats were empty though. The King Dravel was built to be a command ship, and because of that she had been designed with large briefing rooms in order to accommodate the staff of the various Squadron commanders that would fall under a fleet infrastructure, but now there was only one other ship with them in Agamar, that meant a lot of extra room. One of the results of that extra room was the inclusion of several people who normally didn't attend briefings, one of them being both ships Psychic Weapon Representatives. The PWR was basically in charge of the of the ships Psychic branch. That branch had become more and more important as the Draven fleets reliance on Psychic weaponry increased. But Psychics or Psi's as they were called tended to be an isolated group, there were relatively few in a crews company. Many tended to be receptors for what was termed stray thought, not mind reading per say, but the Psi would experience the same emotion as the person giving out the stray thought. Those emotions could be anything from joy, and happiness to paranoid delusion, and in some cases Suicidal tendencies. Many Psi's couldn't take handle this constant bombardment of stray thought, for that reason suicide among Psi's was extremely high.

For this reason children who demonstrated Psi characteristics were immediately taken into Government custody, before their use for military applications was discovered, they were simply isolated from the general public, it was found that the Psi's couldn't receive stray thought from each other only from Normal people. For many years Psi's lived an isolated existence, shunned away society. A special floating city had been built for them, though not as grand as the other floating Cities on Kornephoros X, it was adequate for the relatively few Psi's that existed. Their isolated life changed though once contact with the Weyrlings had been established. The Weyrlings were a psychic race by nature, and had even been joined together as a collective whole at one time, it was unclear how this collection had been broken, but it was clear that the Weyrlings retained much of their Psychic technology, and once the Central Powers Alliance had been formed that technology was shared with the Dravens.

The results had been staggering. Using amplifiers a Psi's could create bLast wave large enough to destroy a ship. The wave was more powerful than the Depleted Uranium Cannons that had been standard issue on ships in the past, even if it was larger. Almost overnight Psi's were drafted into the military, in order to power these Telekinetic Projectors. Dravel many times detested the way that the Psi's had been forced into military service, but he recognized the realities of the situation. The Republic needed those weapons, and despite basically conscripting the Psi's the Republic tended to treat them as best as they could. Dravel use to joke that the Psi's cabin were twice as big as the Admiral's, and they got twice the pay too.

Dravel knew however how important the Psi's were to the survival of the Republic, and the Psi's by and large accepted their role in Society preferring it to the total isolation of the past.

The door in slid open and the final guest arrived, the Captain of the Furies Edge, Captain Lanare of Acamar. The captain was a short man, probably the shortest man at the briefing, but he carried himself with an air of confidence that had served him well in the Academy were he aced every single command simulation on record. As a result he had become the youngest captain in the history of the Draven Republic.

Once the Captain was seated the briefing started. Dravel cleared his throat, "Welcome," he paused gauging his audience, "We have been given orders."

Anyone who might not have been paying full attention was now riveted on Dravel's words. They had been sitting on the Agamar-Ansuroer warp point for 3 months now, since the Terrens declared war. Since then they had not tried to attack. But there had been reports of several small engagements in the Lesat system, some rumors even of a Weyrling ship being lost.

The lights in the room dimmed and a hologram appeared in the middle of the table showing the warp points in the Draven Republic and the Terren Galactic Imperuim. Currently the northernmost warp point was blinking. "Ok people we are here, in 4 hours we will enter the Ansuroer system and begin unrestricted warfare against any Terren Ships that we find there. We will make our war though the Ansuroer where we will meet up with third fleet. Our goal is to clear Ansuroer so that Agamar won't be in direct danger while third fleet engages the enemies main force."

The PWR from Furies edge interrupted, "Commander, I've never hear of third fleet."

Dravel smiled, "that's because third fleet had never existed until now. Just before war broke out the Weyrlings and us began assembling our forces in the Acamar system. Once the Terrens declared war the Central Powers Representatives Enacted the Sledgehammer Plan. The plan is simple, a joint Weyrling- Draven fleet will go right into the heart of Terren space and destroy all its industrial capabilities. Once the Terrens have been neutralized we will begin annexing worlds for forward bases, with our combined fleets we will have virtual immunity to strike where ever we want."

"Lieutenant Sosha will read the rest of the orders." Dravel watched as Sosha stood, and began o recite the orders that had come a few hours earlier. Dravel never heard a word though, her voice was like a song, and the way she moved was intoxicating. Dravel was sure he had never seen such a beauty in all his life. He wanted so badly to tell her how he felt, to touch her, not as one officer to another, but as a man to a woman. He leaned back in his chair, not really caring how wrong his thoughts were, but just enjoying her voice while it Lasted. Maybe some day, when this war is over, and he was President he would tell her. If that wasn't a reason to survive this war nothing was.

Chapter 12

Golmen sat silently in his chair as the Prime Minister paced in front of him. Yalre was mad, no mad was probably an understatement. Golmen wasn't even sure furious would be strong enough a word to describe the prime ministers mood.

"That ignorant... idiotic, ball of fur. If she was in the same damn sector I would rip her head off with my bear hands!!"

"Yes sir," was all Golmen could say, the Prime Minister always had this reaction after he had talked to the Weyrling Matriarch. She seemed to have a gift for upsetting Yalare that few living beings could achieve.

"I can't believe, she wants to go ahead this Sledgehammer!! Doesn't she realize the cost, and then she wants us to Pay the majority of the cost. Why I ought to..." The rest was a series of curses that Golmen would have sworn were form 5 different Languages. He took a breath, Yalare would have sworn the Matriarch was out to give him a heart attack. Every plan he sent out to Alliance HQ she would have here Representative change just enough to put it against his favor. This time had been particularly bad. Yalare had proposed a joint operation against the Terrens that would have spread the cost evenly over all three Central Powers Members, the Matriarch had changed the proposal to a joint fleet that was mostly supported and consisted of Draven units, after all the Dravens had the most to gain from this operation. The Thermolians still entangled with their war with the Infernal Relms had agreed.

Yalare had been furious with the Matriarch, and he had told her exactly what he thought of her. In response, the Matriarch had the Central Powers Speaker which was also a Weyrling throw him out of the Headquarters building. Yalare had eventually been let back in to the building, but only with the promise that he would act civil. Imagine, a fur ball telling him, the leader of one of the greatest empires in the known Galaxy, what to do. It was embarrassing.

Finally Yalare was starting to feel a little calm, "its ok Golmen you can leave." Golmen left in a hurry happy to be relieved from his role of punching bag. Yalare sat back in his desk.

"Why do you listen the that foolish matriarch?" it was the voice again.

Yalare nodded his head, he really didn't want to deal with this now, not only was the Matriarch preventing him from fulfilling his goals but now he had to deal with that voice in his head, "I have no choice," he said "She has control of the Central Power, I can't do anything military related without her approval."

"You should be running the Alliance, not her."

Yalare smiled, the voice was right, but what did it matter what should be happening the fact is, she was in charge.

"You could be running the Allaince."

Yalare froze, he hated the voice, despite gifts it had given him. Still he wanted control of the Alliance badly, "How?"

"The Matriarch is leading the Weyrling fleet into battle, should something happen to her it would change the balance of power in the Alliance."

"Are you saying that we should kill the Matriarch!" Yalare couldn't believe what the voice was saying. Starting a war was one thing, but killing an Empires leader, especially a friendly one was unspeakable.

"I didn't say anything about killing, I simply said that Combat is dangerous, sometimes there are friendly fire incidents, and escape pods have been known to fail."

Yalare was breathing hard now. How could he even be considering what the voice was suggesting, it was an act of war. No he wouldn't do it, he would not kill an ally no matter how much he loathed her.

The voice seemed to sense his thoughts, "Don't get high and mighty on me now," the voice was different now, no longer cold and calculating, now it was rage, Yalare had never heard the voice so enraged, he was more scared now than he ever was in is life. "I know exactly what you are, I know exactly what you did it!" Suddenly Yalare was assaulted by hundreds of images at once, terrible images. He couldn't believe what he was seeing in them.

"No, that's impossible!" Yalare was not in a panic, what he was seeing couldn't be him, but somehow he knew the images he was seeing were him. Yalare looked down at his hands they were shaking madly, "Great Creator what have I done?"

Yalare was almost comatose for several hours as he struggled with the images now captured forever in his mind. In the end he typed a letter in his terminal, it was short and to the point. It was addressed to a friend of his who was the Captain of one of the Sledgehammer Fleet ships. As Yalare pressed the send key, he knew that he had gone too far.

[mlmbd]

CaptRR, I love the interaction between, the Matriarch and Yalare. Both chapters are very good. Being sick, does not seem to have affected you!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font>

[Ruatha]

Weyrling Empire 2406.3
----------------------

The Weyrling fleet was preparing for the Worm-hole jump between the Lasat and Kuat systems. They would soon be in enemy territory for the first time and the fleet was set to full alert.
The Draven fleet was following a couple of days behind.

Aboard the Destroyer "Responder":

Thurya pressed the alarm button and spoke into the internal communication channel.
"-All hands prepare for wormhole jump.
Our intel says that we will meet light opposition on the other side of the wormhole. Our fleet will win but as to the individual ships no predictions can be made, so stay alert. Be sure that it's the enemy you are targeting. No one fires before my command to do so.
I have orders from fleet command to fire at all enemy targets, so today we might become warriors, make me proud.
Here we go!"
While Thurya saw the other ships in the fleet start to disappear into the wormhole she couldn't help herself from thinking of her dead sister, maybe I'll see you tonight Ari, she thought and gave the command to jump. The ship moved into the wormhole and was finally in enemy territory. The war had truly begun.

When they came out in the Kuat system the battle indicators started blinking. On the tactic screen they could see the fleet gathered after the jump and a single Terran Strike carrier class destroyer heading away from the fleet while at the same time launching fighters.
One has to admire the courage of those fighter pilots, Thurya thought as she saw the fighters go straight against the fleet and immediatly turn into debris as they came into range of the Weyrling main guns. After awhile a few fighters managed to come in closer but was then swiftly disposed of by the point defence cannons. From the tactic screen Thurya could make out that it wasn't inferior piloting skills that made the Terrans die. They managed to avoid most of the beams and guns directed against them but the sheer number of projectiles and energy beams heading towards them created an impenetrable net killing the fighters in the deadly web.
The fight was cleary going in one way only. It was only a matter of time before the fleet caught up to the destroyer and finished it off.
Another thing that was clear was that Thurya wouldn't get her sword blooded today, the Responder would never be able to reach the enemies before the battle was over. They could only watch and learn.

It took less than 30 minutes and then the battle indicators went limp and the tactic screen only showed friendly objects.
Thurya gave the order to the crew to stand down and leave the battle stations, those who where on the routine shift went back to their ordinary tasks, the rest of the crew gathered in the dormatory talking about what they had just witnessed.
The atmosphere in the ship was tense. In the same time as they felt joy of the victory they also felt disappointment that they hadn't been able to participate and prove themselfs as warriors, and also some shame over the overwhelming odds that the Terrans had faced, it didn't feel as any great heroic task that the fleet had delivered, more like being the school yard bully kicking the little kid around. There wasn't much glory in that.

The comm screen in the command bridge flared to life,
"-Destroyer Responder. Keep position in the fleet. Combat status Beta. New course is downloaded to your navigational array now."
The screen turned black again. There hadn't been much joy in that voice either Thurya thought to herself.
"-Anselm Jugg, you have the bridge". She got up from her seat and started walking to her cabin feeling somewhat tired after the battle tension.

Aboard the Battlecruiser Indestructible,
Flagship of fleet Sledge;

Elyssandra had sat up long past her sleeping period with the rest of her staff analyzing the short battle.
It didn't look good.
Inside the Kuat system was a large Terran fleet. Numerical it was outnumbered by the Weyrling fleet alone, not to talk about the Draven fleet.
The Terrans had about 30 ships, the Weyrling fleet was over 50 ships and the Draven fleet well over 70 ships strong.
With the current positions the Weyrling fleet would face that Terran fleet alone, the Dravens was too far behind to catch up to the faster Weyrling fleet that was heading on a straight course towards the Sladden wormhole, where the Terran fleet had took position.
Numbers aren't everything they had agreed upon during their analysis. In the Terran fleet they where facing they had spotted a deployed fighter group consisting of over 150 fighters. The rest of the fleet was made up of battleships, large carriers and some destroyers. The Weyrling fleet might be greater in numbers but in tonnage they where about equal.
They had faced 34 fighters in this first battle, and most of the fleet didn't understand how hard it had been to hit those fighters! They had been forced to use an overwhelming amount of weapons to defeat a single destroyer with it's fighter escort.
Those Terrans know how to fight, and we don't! Elyssandra thought to herself.

They now had several options.
They could continue as was originally planned and go for the Sladden wormhole. Elyssandra thought that they might succed against that Terran fleet but the cost would be great. After that battle, win or loose, the Weyrling fleet would be a beaten force. They couldn't continue as an effective fleet after such a battle.
Another option was to use the newly constructed worm-hole opener the empire had. Now they could open worm-holes between any systems in the known universe.

They could use that to send in a replacement fleet, better equipped and better trained. The Sledgehammer fleet had been assembled over years and many of the ships where really obsolete and had crews that hadn't trained at any of the new war academys.
But to open a worm-hole and send in a new fleet and bring out the current fleet would still take months to coordinate.
Months that the Terrans would use to strenghten their fleet.
Elyssandra looked out over the tired staff and spoke;
"-There is no use in making any decision now. Let's all sleep on this and continue our planning tomorrow.
You are dismissed."
She got up and walked to her cabin.
During the day she had also been given the news that the Empire had established contact with a new race. The Zax society.
They had received a very strange message from them, being what the analysts called "psychotic in it's nature".
It had been directed to the late emperor Ruatha. How the Zax society had heard that name she didn't know, but rumours would travel far she thought.

She remembered some lines in the message:
"May anyone who has said the slightest ill-word against you (Ruatha) or your descendants in the next ten thousand years suffer the worst possible torments.
May you be able to exact your revenge in full measure against anyone who expresses any criticism of you or your reign.
May you and your descendants rule the Weyrling Empire for the next 10,000 years and beyond.
If anybody should rule instead of or in place of your descendants, may they suffer the worst possible torments in this life and in hell, forevermore. May their bones ache to their core. May the fleas of 10,000 camels infest their armpits."

Well. They had been wrong hadn't they Elyssandra thought, ruathas reign hadn't Lasted any 10,000 years. And my armpits don't itch yet!
She had turned the issue over to the diplomatic corps to ponder, How do one respond to such a strange message?
She didn't really care about that now, it wasn't important in these circumstances.
We need bigger ships and more of them. I'd better contact Alliance headquarter and see if the Dravens have any funds ready for transfer, so far they hadn't payed all they had promised. Granted their contribution to the fleet cost was greater than the Weyrlings but the Weyrlings didn't expect to make any profit from this war. Secretly Elyssandra thought that maybe that was the Dravens main reason for participating in the war, to take over Terran territory and increase their already large production of resources. It didn't feel good to depend upon aliens to finance the fleet but what to do? The Weyrlings must keep forces in the empire territory ready to defend against unexpected threats, we can't send all our ships to this war. The dravens must understand this, or I must make them understand, again.
I hope I can talk to prince Dravel. He is a much more civilized alien than that Yalare character. Still it couldn't be easy for Yalare. To rule after the popular King Dravel. I had it easy, anything I did was far better than what Ruatha ever did. She smiled a little as she opened the door to her cabin.

She undressed and slid into her bed and when the head hit the pillow she was already asleep.

[ March 06, 2003, 14:06: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Ruatha]

The game is at 2406.6. The Last story from my part was 2406.3. So I have two months ready to be written, the synopsis is written.

It's only time to put down all the words that I'm missing. Perhaps this weekend I'll catch up to the game again. (Much has happened, the war rages on!)

[tbontob]

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

And the relationship between you and the Dravens is intriguing. Makes one wonder if all relationships, no matter how beneficial, have their disadvantages.

I await the next installment.

[mlmbd]

Ruatha, thrilling stuff! I await, MORE! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

tbontob, I believe all bad relationships have good and bad points. Conversely, all good relationships have bad and good points!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font>

[ March 06, 2003, 17:36: Message edited by: mlmbd ]

[Ruatha]

Weyrling Empire 2406.2
-------------------------
On Destroyer "Responder":

Thurya walked into the crew dormatory.
There where some people sleeping with their ears pointed downwards, effectively closing out all external sounds.
The only one awake in the dormatory was Try.
Thurya was starting to feel the craving for his company at nights and wasn't far from giving up what she sometimes thought of as a silly notion about not sleeping with her crew.

Try was deeply occupied with a device that was making weird noises, "beep, beep, beep..."
"-Try, what are you doing?"

Try didn't look up from the device, Thurya saw that it had some sort of communication screen fitted to it.
"-Hi Capt'n.
It's a new thing I've got from some of my friends back home with the Last mail delivary.
It's called a video game. See this little round figure is called Eat-man, he goes around in this maze and eats all these cokies while staying away from the ghosts."

Thurya was puzzled.
"-Ok, what's the purpose of it?"

"-You see, It's me controlling the little round figure that eats the cokies, I'm supposed to eat as many as possible before I die!"

"-Die, what do you mean?"

"-Well. It's entertainment. It get's harder all the time and eventually I die."

"-I still don't understand the purpose of it. Does it train your reflexes, can you win some prize?"

"-No. It's the challenge to get more cokies than I did the Last time.
My friends have implemented a new technology, computers, into this game. Now they need money to invest in it and they want me as a partner."

"-It seems like a bad idea. Pointless. It will never make any profit.
Now put that away, you need extra training at the point defence gun. You really stink at it you know, and if you don't improve soon I'll have you transfered to internal maintnance at one of the stationary weapon platforms, so hop to it.
I want you in that turret in five minutes, I'll be at the bridge.

"-Yes captain. I'll just play one more time then I'll be there!"

Thurya left while shaking her head slowly thinking that he might be cute but sometimes he seemed darned stupid aswell.

[Ruatha]

Next "month" comes later tonight.

[CaptRR]

Hmmm.... you can just tell that something bad is abut to happen http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

_______________________________________
Chapter 13

Admiral Panar gripped the sides of his chair as the familiar disorientation of a warp transit subsided. Dravens didn't handle warp transits as well as most other species, a side effect of their Genetic Engineering, but it was a small price to pay. The disorientation Lasted only seconds, it took that long for the Targeting system to cycle so the hindrance to combat was minimum. The system tactical display began to fill first with planets, then a few minutes later by known contacts in the system. Panar wasn't surprise by what he saw, it confirmed what the Weyrlings had reported, a lot of well defended planets, with almost every Terren ship sitting on the Sladden Warp point. The Weyrling fleet was in-route towards the Sladden warp point, but he knew that was only an illusion. Matriarch Elyssandra had already informed him that her fleet would only head towards them, but would avoid combat. It was an attempt to draw the terren forces off the warp point so that the Draven forces could run through into the Sladden system and crush the terrens home worlds.

However, even the matriarch didn't expect the Terrens to budge. They had the defensive advantage, and moving would expose their home systems to attack. If the terrens maintained their position the matriarch wanted to combine the Draven and Weyrling Sledgehammer fleets and then make a combined attack on the Terren's position.

Panar snorted, cowards he thought. The Weyrlings had no business in combat as far as he was concerned. Their first combat with the Terrens had been an embarrassment to the alliance. A single destroyer taking out a light Cruiser, Panar would have laughed at the thought had the consequences not been so severe, and now this. Elyssandras Ronda view point would add at least a month to their journey. A month that the Sledgehammer plans had not accounted for, sure the Terren Fleet was about the same tonnage as the Draven fleet but the Dravens had already proven that all things being equal a Draven ship could beat an equal Terren ship. No, Panar would refuse to join with her, he wouldn't put the plan in danger in order make the Matriarch feel secure, he was sure his fleet would prive victorious over the Terren's, and then he would lead the way into the Sladden system and prove that the Dravens should have been running this war from the beginning.

"Sir" it was the communications officer, "we have a message coming in from Kornephoros, it's addressed your eyes only." Panar took the pad from the young Lieutenant with a snap. He didn't like being interrupted when he was thinking, especially when the one doing the interrupting was a lowly Lieutenant.

Panar dialed his code in and submitted his thumbprint to the pad as the Communications officer disappeared into the background of the Command Deck. Panar noticed that it was from the Prime Ministers office. Panar had known Yalare for years, long before he entered politics. In fact his current position was probably because of the friendship he had with the Prime Minister. Yalare had pulled him from commander of Training operations, where the Dravel Presidency had basically marooned him, and put him in charge of the Draven Sledgehammer fleet. It was an honorable position, Panar had never commanded so many ships, and he knew it was the Ticket to his future. After he crushed the Terrens he would be ready to take on Politics, maybe even become Prime Minister some day.

He slowly read the message, and then reread it. He couldn't believe what the Prime Minister wanted to do, it was crazy, but there was something about it. A certain justice. Panar had never liked the Matriarch, she wanted too much from the Draven people and then wanted to run the show, with her out of the way it would give command over both the Draven and Weyrling Sledgehammer fleets, thus when he finnaly crushed the Terrens it would be a Draven Victory, it would be his Victory. But how to do it, he had to make sure it couldn't be traced back to him, or for that matter to the Draven Government.

An Idea came to him, it would be perfect he thought, the man had showed a tendency to be a loose cannon, and his hate for the Weyrlings was well known. "Lieutenant," He called out.

The communications officer appeared seemingly out of nowhere, "Send out a message to the Troikens Pride, tell them I would like to meet Captain Jalan as his earliest convenence."

The Lieutenant responded with a "yes, sir" and then disappeared again. Panar smiled. Yes it was a perfect plan, command might even give him a medal after all this was over, even if the most gratifying part could never be known to them.

Chapter 14

Captain Jalan of Acamar 3 felt the gentlest of thumps as the shuttle docked in the landing bay of the Fleet command ship. It took several minutes for the bay to compress, and still longer while the load officer on the shuttle scanned for any airborne contaminates and took care of the general post docking checklist. All in all Jalan guessed he had been waiting at least 15 minutes before he was cleared to leave the shuttle. He straitened his uniform made sure that his cap was on strait and then proceeded towards the hatch.

Jalan was annoyed, it was bad enouph that he was being forced into joint operations with the Weyrlings, but now he was being called away from his ship to this meeting with the Admiral. The old man was probably going to bust his chops for that little high-speed pass on the Weyrling Cruiser, but damn if that furry idiotic captiain didn't deserve. Jalan relished the thought, he had passed his ship so close and as such high speed that the backwash from his Engines had destroyed several sensor systems on the Weyrling Cruiser, the stupid cat would be spending many nights trying to repair those systems.

Jalan didn't like the Weyrlings, in fact his dislike bordered on paranoid hate. Jalan recognized that himself, and he didn't mind it, in his opinion he had a good reason for it. It was before the formation of the Central Powers Alliance, and one of the first times a Weyrling vessel had come across a Draven ship. There was mutual distrust, neither side knew very much about the other, and each others technology appeared to be radically different. The Draven ship attempted to scan the Weyrling vessel, unknown to the Dravens though, the Weyrling's fire control systems operated on the same frequencies as the Dravens scanners. This interstellar coincidence was a disaster, the Weyrlings thought that the Draven ship was attempting to fire its weapons, even though it no such intention. The lightly armored Draven ship was completely destroyed by the Weyrlings, along with it went 95 Draven's including Jalans Father.

Jalan had been just 7 when the military officer came to deliver the news to his mother. He remembered that night for the rest of his life, his mother's sobs seem to Last forever, and outcry of pain that Jalan had never heard come from her. Jalan thought that soon the military would strike back at the Weyrlings, but it was not to be, instead of a counter attack, the President had issued an apology of all things, and promised to work with the Weyrlings in the future to prevent any more accidents. It was at that moment that Jalan swore he would strike back at the Weyrlings. It was part of the reason he had joined the military, he thought for sure that this alliance would fall apart eventuntually, and when it did he would finally get his revenge on the Weyrling Empire.

Jalan's thoughts were brought back to the present as an Enlisted man, Admiral Panar's Secretary he assumed, met him at the bottom of the ramp.

"Captain Jalan?" the man said. Even though it sounded like a question Jalan knew it wasn't. The man damn well knew who he was, who else would be on the shuttle, but he had to at least act polite, it was part of the game that had to be played in the service.

Jalan managed his most sincerest smile, even if it did still look fake, "That's me."

"Sir," the man then gestured towards the hatch at the end of the landing bay, "I'm suppose to escort to Admiral Panar's day cabin, it right this way."

Jalan walked in the indicated direction, with the Secretary taking up position just in front of him. They didn't walk that far, though it did seem like it. Draven ships unlike the Weyrlings vessels tended to be over crewed. The Admiralty had long ago figured the best way to handle damage was to have plenty of trained people to fix that damage. With all the extra crew compartments, and the bulky weapon systems it made for a cramped ship, most of the hallways where just big enough for 2 people to squeeze by. The effect was to make a short walk an exercise in athletics.

They did get to their destination and the enlisted man stepped aside as he motion Jalan into the opened hatch. Jalan proceeded into Admiral Panars day cabin, if you could call it that. Being that warships were cramped already they didn't have much room for perks such as offices, the day cabin served both as a bedroom and office for the ships commander, or in this case the fleets commander. Still as small as the office was by dirt side standards it was downright large by ship standards, even a Cruiser. The Admiral stayed seated in his desk as Jalan entered the room, he closed the door behind him as was standard for meeting such as this, and introduced himself.

"Sir, Captain Jalan of Acamar 3 reping as directed." He held himself at attention for a few moments before the Admiral looked up from his console and motioned for Jalan to take a seat.

"Captian Jalan," said the Admiral, "I was just going over your record, it appears you have a rather colorful past."

Damn it Jalan thought, the Admiral was calling him her to bust his chops, maybe even relieve him command, although that was doubtful with the war going on. Before Jalan could say anything the Admiral continued, "in particular your relations with the Weyrlings leave much to be desired, I see no less than 9 incidents you have had with our alliance partners, if we weren't currently at war I'm sure the Admiralty would have you stripped of command and put on the first freighter headed for a court martial."

The Admiral sounded head serious, and Jalan could feel the fear welling up inside of him, but then the Admiral's frown turned into a smile and his voice seemed to lighten. "Fortunately we are in a war and I believe we have a good use for someone of your, uh, unique history." Panar saw the expression on Jalan's face; "lets just say that you aren't the only person who feels that the Weyrlings should get back to their own planet where they belong."

Jalan was confused, he had only met the Admiral a few times, and even though it was well known that the Admiral didn't share much love for the Weyrlings, he had never made any actual derogatory marks towards the Alliance Partners. "I'm not sure I know what you mean Admiral."

"Oh come now, Captain. You and I both know how our Alliance with the Cats have weakened us. We no longer even have total control over our own military, we have to bow down to this Central Powers HQ, and you know who controls that HQ? That Weyrlings that who."

Panar was now standing and walked around his desk to where Jalan was sitting, "I knew your father Jalan, he was a good man." Jalan was surprised by the mention of his father. "We should have drove our fleets right into Weyrling space and killed every one of them for that atrocity. Instead we form this ridicules alliance, and look what that brought us, under the command of the Matriarch of an alien empire. Imagine what the founders would have thought. A Draven having take orders from a cat."

Jalan was speechless; Panar was speaking exactly what he had thought since his father's death. "But sir," said Jalan, now relieved at having an ally in the Admiralty, "what can we do, we are under orders to obey the Central Powers HQ?"

Panar smiled so broadly that he was sure the Captain would see right though him. "I'm not sure captain, but what I do know is that the Republic would be a lot better off if that matriarch of the Weyrlings were out of the picture, with her gone, control of the Central Powers would fall back to the Draven's where it belongs, and then we could execute this war the way it should be run."

"I agree sir, but I don't think the Matriarch has any intention of stepping down soon, certainly not as long as it would give us back control of the Alliance."

Panar nodded, "your right, but the future of our people is at stake, we can't wait around for the matriarch to give us back what rightfully belongs to us, something must be done." The Admiral stopped and looked at Captain, "Tell me Jalan, how much do you trust your crew."

Jalan stiffened in his chair with pride, "I trust them completely, I hand picked them all."

Panar waved his hand, "no, no, what I should have asked is where your crews allegiance lies. Is it with the Alliance or the Republic?"

The response was instantaneous, "Definitely with the Republic, sir."

The joy Panar now felt was threatening to boil over, this had been too easy, now all he had to do was cap it off. "In that case captain, I have a special assignment for you. Matriarch Elyssandra has asked for us to dispatch one of our ships to escort her back to Headquarters. It appears she has some business there and all her ships are unavailable. I have decided to send the Troikens Pride. The journey will take you through Lasat where our sensor coverage is still weak."

Jalan was following along, and couldn't believe what the Admiral was proposing, but if it worked, Jalan would finally have his revenge. He decided to play along, "I'm sure there are some enemy vessles that are hiding out there, between our sensor nets."

The Admiral nodded, "that is of course my assessment as well, we are all aware of how faulty the Weyrling escape systems have been lately, and we wouldn't want them to have to use them with the Matriarch on board. It would be a shame if she never made it to HQ."

Jalan leaned back and listened as the Admiral explained what he wanted Jalan to do. It was so easy, he thought, the entire thing would be reported as a sneak attack by the terrens, there would of course be no Survivors among the Weyrlings. The plan was perfect, he would have his vengeance finally. Unknown to him, the Admiral had no intention of letting Jalan make it back to HQ either, he had already had the Troikens Pride's IFF transponder code changed. As soon as he entered the Acamar system the ship would be destroyed by the Automated defenses, the entire thing would be attributed to a damaged system from the "terren sneak attack" that had already killed the Matriarch, there would be no Witnesses.

[Ruatha]

2406.4 Weyrling Empire.
--------------------------

Aboard the Destroyer "Responder":

Thurya was astonished over Try's expertise at the point defence guns, he hit almost anything they could throw at him. The change in his results had been sudden and understandable she thought.
"-Try, training is over, excellent result. Meet me in my cabin for evaluation."

"-Yes, capt'n", Try responded and left the turret.
When he arrived at Thuryas cabin after having finished his post maintnance of the point defence cannons Thurya was waiting for him. He entered and sat down. Their relationship had developed and was now on the surface the same as what she had with the rest of the crew, a comradiere.
"-So Try", Thurya started. "I think we both know what has initiated this drastic improvement in your handling of the PDC's. Do you want to talk about it?
I know it must have been bad seeing that Terran fighter pilot hit the turret, and to clean up that mess he left on the turrets wievports must have been gross!"

"-No, it's not that.
When we moved away from the first battle and passed that debris field we where getting up speed so I didn't catch any close look at him. I just saw a flashing light and then the view ports where all red. I didn't understand what had happened until you up in the bridge informed me what it had been.
And to go out and clean it up wasn't all that bad either. The remains where mostly unidentifiable, blood and some small flesh and clothing strips jammed into the angles of the turret. What really got to me was this;"
He pulled out a strange looking wallet from his pocket and gave it to Thurya.
"There's not much in it. Some money and some id cards. But if you open that Last flap by pressing that button you'll see some pictures Of the pilot, Garret Jahson was his name. See there, that must be his family, his kids. Look, he was a person, just like you and me. It could have been me that smashed into a Terran ship if circumstances where reversed. We don't know if he was still alive and had time to understand what was about to happen.
This is no game Captain. I realize that now. If I don't do my best we might all die becouse of me."

"-Yes, I've feelt that way all along. Like living on overtime!
Still, don't let this get to you. We have a job to perform and so do the Terrans. They might be people like us but it's either them or us, so don't hesitate if you get them into your sights."

"-Never. I don't want to die. So if it means I'll have to kill them, I'll do that."

"-Good. I've diversified your training schedule to include more training with the beams. I still think you'll do better at them. And I've decreased your training time, the other gunners need more practise too.
That will be all. And if this thing about the terran smashing into your turret starts to bother you even more, I wan't to know about it. Is that clear?"

"-Yes."

"-Good, now you may leave."
Try got up and went to the mess to help out with the next meal.

Aboard the Battlecruiser Indestructible,
Flagship of fleet Sledge;

Elyssandra had thought about what to do for a whole day before reaching her decision. Now her new strategy was being put into action.
The Weyrling fleet and the Draven fleet would merge to form an unbeatable force. It was the only way to be assured of victory.
The Dravens hadn't exactly jumped of joy when she introduced them to her plans but eventually they had complied.
Now the faster Weyrling fleet would try to draw away the Terran fleet guarding the worm hole to Sladden while they at the same time waited for the slower Draven fleet to catch up.
If they succeded they would merge up with the Dravens at a designated sector and then head back to the worm hole and pass through it to utterly destroy the Terrans industrial capabilities.
If they didn't succed they would have to do it the hard way. But with both fleets merged Elyssandra was sure that they would win against the Terran fleet if needed and still have enough force left to destroy the Terran homeworlds.

The Draven military had complied she tought. But that Yalare was bugging her again. When Elyssandra had talked to the alliance headquarters the Draven attache had insisted that the Dravens had paid all they should. And that there wouldn't be anymore resources coming from the them.
It felt bad to abandon the fleet at this time, but with the fleets merging there wouldn't be much to worry about. So Elyssandra planned to take the Indestructible and leave the fleet, then make best speed towards the Alliance headquarters and straigthen this out.
If all went as planned she would make it back to the fleet in time to witness the end of the war. Still she didn't have to rush away, she would stay another couple of weeks and lead the coming joint operation. After they had a clear path into the Sladden system the Indestructible would leave. It would travel alone, the Lasat system was cleared of all enemy presence so there was no real danger for the virtually unarmed ship. The Indestructible was a one of a kind sjip, a battlecruiser built for leading. It was heavily armoured and shielded but with a limited offensive capacity, it was meant to assure the survival of the leader, not to win combats.
As it wasn't equipped with that much weaponry the Dravens had insisted that she should take a Draven ship with her as escort, to show that they were an alliance. A show of unity.
She actually thought it was a good idea.
She had ordered admiral Panar to send a ship to meet up with them at the wormhole leading to Lasat in a months time. She just hoped that it wouldn't be one of the slow ships the dravens had so many of. That would be a real annoyance.
During the time she was away her second in command, admiral Gryt would be commanding the fleet. The Draven admiral Panar had complained and meant that he should lead the fleet in Elyssandras absence. But Elyssandra was reluctant to let him. The Dravens might be good at the actual fighting but as to their strategic capacity she hadn't witnessed much and wasn't really capable of judging it. It was too big a risk to hand over command to them merely to show unity. They would have to accept that this was a Weyrling led operation.
Elyssandra and the Indestructible would stay one more month and lead the joint battle if the Terrans didn't leave the wormhole. After that she would have to leave for alliance HQ.

On Kalzeron Prime;

The research aiming to awaken the one had come to a complete stop as a second casualty had happened.
A cleaner in the next room had become comatose, just as Marit, when they had turned on the device one day.
Ilian didn't understand why.
The condition of the cleaner Jon and Marit was weighing heavily on him, he thought it was he's responsibility. He might have killed those people if they didn't wake up from their coma. The device was just too dangerous.
He was spending most of his time going between the two hospitals where the comatoses where placed.
He had fought this separation idea, they should have been placed in the same hospital he thought. Then the doctors would have two cases to work with and would have a better chance to cure them. But the Free council had fought him, and they where in charge. They said that it was too risky. Two comatose cases made up an epedemic and the authorities would surely investigate it. But one isolated case wasn't enough to draw their attention. So the patients where treated at different hospitals by different doctors who didn't know of the other case.
Ilian had a hard time not telling them when he went to the hospitals to visit.
And he felt inadequate, he was actually a theoretical practician engineer, not a medical proofessional. He couldn't understand what had happened, there was nothing in his theories explaining it.
He could understand the Free councils fear of detection. Under Ruathas reign they would have been executed. Now that Ely ruled that was unthinkable. But still, it was an attempt to undermine the authorities and they would surely receive some sort of penalty. Ilian thougt they would be fined but the others on the project feared life time imprisoment. Ridiculous Ilian thought. Yes, Ely had changed a bit since taking reign of the Weyrlings, their divorce proved that. But she was still the Ely he had known most of his life.
He didn't understand why she wanted the divorce. But he wouldn't stand in her way, even though it casued him alot of pain. Even more now that he couldn't bury himself in his project.
Oh Ely, I miss you so, he thought.

[Ruatha]

I pasted this whole story, all three Versions into word using 10pts fonts. 83 pages so far!

Here is the first hmtl Version (will try to get them inphase later and put headlines etc):
Newbie Galactic Combat 030307 Collected works. (http://ruatha.homelinux.org/ngc.htm)

[ March 08, 2003, 09:21: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[mlmbd]

CaptRR, I like it. All of you are cooking! Very nice!

Ruatha, Really good stuff. Do you name all your ship's? You all will have enough work by the end for a great book!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font>

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Ruatha:
I pasted this whole story, all three Versions into word using 10pts fonts. 83 pages so far!

Here is the first hmtl Version (will try to get them inphase later and put headlines etc):
Newbie Galactic Combat 030307 Collected works. (http://ruatha.homelinux.org/ngc.htm)<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I really like the idea of different colors. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Ruatha]

I put it up on the Emergency site (http://ruatha.homelinux.org) and that means tha it won't be on-line all the time, it's predominantly up when there's trouble at the PBW site.

[Ruatha]

Weyrling Empire 2406.5
------------------------

The plan had worked as expected initially.
The Weyrling fleet had passed the Sladden wormhole at high speed, initiating the thrust needed to diverge from the wormhole at the Last possible point.
Also as expected the Terrans did nothing, they where still sitting with their fleet guarding the wormhole, this was a disappointment.
After a couple of days it was also obvious that something was horribly wrong.
The Draven fleet wasn't heading for the designated rendezvous sector, they where heading for the wormhole.
There was nothing Elyssandra could do.
The Weyrling fleet was fast, but it couldn't defy the laws of nature. They would have to cancel their momentum before they could head back towards the wormhole and then they would arrive about a week after the Draven fleet. By then the battle would be over.
Elyssandra had serious doubts of the outcome of that battle.
Space combat was difficult. You had to match speed and course with the target, otherwise the battle would be over after the first few rounds of the weapons and the ships would loose contact with eachother. This had been tested but had never been any success.
If you however matched speed and course correctly you couldn't back off. To increase speed or alter the course to take you away from the enemy would take days. If you hadn't won by then you had propably lost. Ties weren't common. What the Dravens where doing now was an attack approach, and Ely could see that they where doing it well.
They where constantly deaccelerating as they headed towards the wormhole, when they arrived they would virtually have no speed left and the combat would commence.
In combat ships moved around each other and fighters went about in a furious speed. To the combatants it usually appeared as the fighting ships where moving freely in every direction, but actually they where just deaccelerating and accelerating in one general direction, and when heading away from the general direction they altered their true course by a minimal degree. Still, it was merely theory when you where in battle, you fought and manouvred relative to the other ships. You didn't think of terms of accelerating and deaccelerating, you though of survival and death, the other ones death!
What it all came down to was that the Draven fleet was on its own.

The tension aboard the Weyrling ships increased for every day that the Draven fleet closed in towards the Terrans. Matters weren't improved by the strict communication silence that the Draven fleet where keeping.
Elyssandra had tried to contact the Dravens at the Alliance HQ and succeded with that, but she shouldn't have bothered.
They had absolutely no idea what was happening in the Kuat system. They insisted that Elyssandra had command in the Kuat system, so if the Draven fleet was heading towards the wormhole it must be Elyssandra that had ordered it, and then why was she bothering them?!

Finally it came about.
The Weyrling fleet was to far away to see any details, but from the long range strategic sensors they could tell it wasn't going well. They couldn't see the individual Terran ships, only the gravitational anomaly from the combined Terran and Draven fleet. But they could see the friendly object beacon signals from the Draven ships wink out one after another. After a day there was no Draven ship left that could transmit it's beacon signal.
Still the wormhole continued to emitt a gravitaional disturbance, telling the Weyrlings that a fleet was still present.
It was stunning. The Terrans had took out a fleet twice it's size, and with propably very few losses to themselfs!

Elyssandra was furious.
She finally managed to get through to the Draven homeworld but wasn't allowed to speak with Yalare himself.
But one of his staff told her that the Dravens weren't planning on sending any more ships to the war atleast for another year.
Elyssandra couldn't belive it. She knew the Dravens had a large reserve of immensely big powerful ships, bigger than the biggest Weyrling ship ever constructed.
This war was fought on the behalf of the Dravens, and now they wanted to sit it out. And propably send in some colony ships afterwards to claim the planets the Weyrlings would fight for.

Elyssandra was very tempted to cancel it all. Take the fleet and head home towards Weyrling space. Let the Dravens fight this war when the Terrans brought it back to Draven territory, she thought.
But from what she had seen today, she also belived that Dravens would loose. And after conquering the Dravens the Terrans would surely remember the Weyrlings, and then the Weyrlings wouldn't have the Dravens by their side, only the Thermolians. And how much have the Thermoilans contributed to the Alliance?, she though with a bitter mind.
No, the Terrans must be defeated in Terran space, that was obvious.

Elyssandra called for a staff meeting in the strategy room.

"-Admiral Gryt. I will leave the fleet with the Indestructible and meet with the Draven ship Troikens Pride at the wormhole leading to Lasat. From there I will go to the Alliance headquarter and bash some Draven heads. I will bring the Draven fleet back with me to finish this war.
In the meantime your order is to survive.
Avoid all direct confrontation with the Terran fleet. Destroy as much of the Terran production capacity as you can. Glass all planets that aren't too heavily fortified. This will lead to massive losses of Terran civilians, but we have no options I'm afraid.
have you understood your orders admiral?"

"-Matriarch. Yes. It won't be pleasant but we will do it."

"-Good. Now patch me through to Admiral Tbon. He is currently at Kalzeron prime with the Hammer fleet."

"-Matriarch", the communication officer responded immediatly and pressed the appropriate buttons and knobs.
The commuication screen flared up and Admiral Tbon's white fur was projected upon it.

"-Matriarch, what is your orders? The Hammer fleet is ready!"

"-Tbon. I want you to open a wormhole from Kalzeron into the Sladden system. Lead the Hammer fleet in. Occupy the main Terran planets and glass all minor planets. You must destroy their industrial capabilities. We can't allow them to build up their fleet while I fetch the Dravens.
Are the orders understood?"

"-Matriarch. Yes.
About this wormhole though. It will present a major risk for our own homeworlds. The Terrans will try to send a fleet through and do unto us what we are doing to them. May I suggest we close this wormhole as soon as we have passed. I don't belive we will be needing any escape route."

Elyssandra wasn't sure about what Tbon meant by that Last remark. Was he so sure of victory? She was afraid he might be too cocky. Or perhaps he didn't belive in success? Which was worse she didn't know, so she didn't question him.
"-Yes, close that hole as soon as you are through. And while you're at it. Send through all Planetary killer drones we have ready at Kalzeron prime.
Elyssandra out."
She didn't want to talk to Tbon anymore, that very short discussion had been disturbing enough as it was. She gave the communication officer order to close the commnication and he did so.
"I'll be leaving immediatly. So Admiral Gryt. Transfer fleet flag to the battle cruiser Carl Gustaf. The staff will be spread out on 5 ships, conferences will have to be arranged through com links. We have done it before and we can do it again.
I wouldn't take the Indestructible if it wasn't our fastest ship, speed is of essence here."

The staff went to their quarters to pack their gear. The Indestructible would be an empty ship during the travel to Acamar and the alliance HQ.
The Indestructible was a battle cruiser arranged for a large crew, mostly strategic personal and tacticians. Fully crewed there were almost 200 people on the ship. Of those about a hundred would be leaving the ship to remain with the fleet.

The next day the Indestructible left the fleet and started it's journey.

At Kalzeron prime;

Ilian couldn't do this anymore. The burden of two lifes ruined was too much.
During one of his visits to Marit he told one of the staff at the hospital that he had heard of a similar case at the Eastern hospital, could there be any connection? He had asked.
After that things happened quickly. The doctors on the both hospitals talked and the cleaner jon was transfered to the same hospital as Marit within a few days.
When they rolled his bed into the same ward as Marit, Weyrling society shook in it's foundations.
All of a sudden all Weyrlings in the hospital froze in their movement, all tension in their faces disappeared. The effect was spreading rapidly, within a few seconds the surroundings of the hospital, another second the entire Kalzeron prime and half a second later all Weyrlings in the galaxy froze in their movements.
"I....am...who....am....I....?"
Billions of brains started working coherently, acting as one intelligence.
The One had awakened.
To the One it seemed like eons passed as it was getting a grip of the situation. It tested the sensorical input from billions of bodies. Strange sights, sounds and smells. It felt pain receptors signalling as people in bad positions frooze up and got hurt. As an example it felt the bodies of the freeclimbers as they fell to a certain destruction on the cliffs beneath the cliffwalls.
Thankfully most of the transportations where fully automatic. Otherwise the toll would have been much higher.
It started probing the countless of memories and understood what it was, it was The One. It had once decided that individualty was better than itself.
When seeing what had taken place during the three generations it had been dormant it saw that it had made a correct assumption.
The One had an enourmous capacity. It could keep billions of thought patterns going simultaneosly, testing different solutions to problems. But it didn't have much feelings. It took logical decisions. Decided the best course of action and followed that. It didn't test and try different solutions, that would be a waste of effort and it couldn't force itself to do that.
The individuality of the Weyrlings had brought astounding progress. Individuals where geniouses, the One was a large supercomputer.
Realizing this didn't in any way bother the One, individuality had been the best solution so it had been forced to take that path.
But now it saw something that it couldn't have foreseen before it went dormant!
The Weyrlings were meant to be a collective. As individuals they felt immense loneliness and eventually they would all succumb to it and the Weyrling race would die out.
The one thought about all the possible solutions and decided which was the best.
It eased it's grip on the minds of the Weyrlings, letting the individual personalities up from their dormant state.
"I am the One, We are the One. You are not alone anymore!"
It had found that the Weyrlings needed both, individuality and collectivness.
"I will always be here for you!", it directed it's voice to each individual, and each individual felt the truth in the voice and knew they weren't alone anymore.

From the time the first Weyrling froze up in the hospital it had taken five seconds before they all snapped out of their condition. Marit and Jon also sat up in their beds.
The one had seen the inplanted alien devices in their central nervous systems and deactivated them. It had found 1,115.231 functioning devices inplanted into the Weyrlings, all had been deactivated. The devices had been the key in awakening the One. When Marit and Jon was brought close to the device Ilian had made the device had functioned as it was meant, and activated the Celia Vortex in them . Unfortunately one Weyrling wasn't powerful enough to make other brains harmonize with it, but thow of them in close contact was enough to start a cascading effect.

The Weyrling society had taken another step in their evolution.

Aboard the Destroyer Responder;

Thurya was about to order another training drone to be launched when everyone aboard froze where they where.
After a few seconds they came to again and stared with a smile on their faces at eachother.
"-WE AREN'T ALONE! WE ARE ONE!", They all said in unison before they started speaking their own thoughts. It was chaos. But it was a happy chaos. Thurya had never felt such a joy in her entire life, she wasn't alone! It was ecstasy multiplied and raised by infinity! SHE WASN'T ALONE!!
She joined in the hugging and kissing that went on around her.
During all this they could all hear the One talk softly to them, cautioning them not to show the aliens that they where One. The aliens wouldn't understand, they would propably be afraid and turn against the Weyrlings.
The one didn't understand the aliens at all. But it knew it didn't understand them , so it had decided that caution was the best strategy.
Thurya ran down towards the turret where Try was unstrapping his buckles. She ran into his embrace and soon they where on the floor rolling around and tossing their clothes. They could hear eachothers thoughts, both knew what they felt for eachother, they also knew that it was alright. The rest of the crew knew all this and approved. All this they now knew. Things where so simple, why complicate it.
All over the ships strange encounters where happening. Anselm Jugg and crewman Jon where embracing. There had been bitter feelings between them for months now, steming from a misunderstanding. Now they both knew it was a misunderstanding. They where One!

Aboard the Battle cruiser Indestructible Elyssandra could feel Ilian's thoughts and feelings, even though he was an enourmous distance away. The contact was simultaneous. They now knew that it had all been pretend, they where One , and they where in love.
The One was trying to have conversations with alot of these individuals, millions of them at the same time. It was somewhat puzzled. It didn't understand their reaction and had a hard time getting them to react to the contents of it's words.
Elyssandra paid some attention to the inner voice and understood what it said;
"You are still Matriarch, Elyssandra. I am One but I do not know how to rule an empire. If I take over we will be lost. You will always have my guidance, I will tell you the best logical solutions to your problems. I can tell you what the rest of the Weyrlings think in different matters. But you must make the decisions. You have things that I don't; Feelings, intuition, guts and alot more which I see that I lack, therefore I am inferior to all of you, all of me. We are One, but we are also many. Things will never be the same again, yet they will still be the same!"

Elyssandra knew the meaning of these words and accepted ithem, but she was mostly focused on the love that went between her and Ilian who was so far away, yet still so close.

And the ship was slowly approaching the Lasat worm hole where captain Jalan awaited in the Draven light cruiser "Troikens Pride".

[Ruatha]

Yep, I now got more than 100 ships with individual names. Altough some of them might nor be very imgainative.

BTW.
Thank's for your continuing support http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[mlmbd]

Ruatha, lots of really great story, there. Evolution, amazing!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font>

[Raging Deadstar]

Hey, i used to read this story a lot but i kind of lost track of it, but i managed to sit down and read about 2 hours of this story (i than ruatha for this because of his long stories http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif )

Well just thought i'd say i really am enjoying this, the humour and seriousness compliments each other superbly, keep up the good writing!

*Appluads!*

[Ruatha]

Thanks for the feedback.
It is really appreciated as these are the first stories we are writing aa we're taking our weak steps towards fame as authors http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[mlmbd]

Ruatha, Originally posted by Ruatha:
Thanks for the feedback.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You are more than, Welcome!
Originally posted by Ruatha:
It is really appreciated as these are the first stories we are writing aa we're taking our weak steps towards fame as authors http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">If these are 'WEAK' steps, then the Sci-Fi world had best look out!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font>

[CaptRR]

Well here's some more fodder for the story people. I would have had this out of Saturday, but my computer had some problems and I had to reinstalled winxp, unfortunately I forgot to backup my story. Oh well it let me start the chapters again http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
_____________________________________________

Chapter 15

The battle was not going well, Admiral Panar thought as a fresh round of fighters swarmed in on his line. A cruiser vanished in a cloud of plasma, there was no time for the crew to make it to escape pods, even if their was time they would have been incinerated by their dead mother ship's exploding fusion reactor. Panar closed his eyes for a moment, wishing that he could ignore what was happening, he had messed up, and badly, trapped by the despicable Terrens, his fleet was going too slow to escape, and unable to avoid the swarms of fighters coming in at his ships in all directions.

The battle should have been his, he had the terren fleet outnumbered, and in an even fight his capital ships could beat any terren vessel, but then the Terrens had flushed their carriers, and it had become obvious that they had made quantum leaps in fighter technology. First there were the numbers, he had expected to fight a few dozen, maybee a hundred, not the hundreds that were ripping his fleet to shreds. All things being equal his Fleet Defender Point Defense gun ships should have been able to stop them, but as the first formation of fighters got into range of his Fleet Defenders it had become clear that the terrens had beefed their defensive characteristics. Only about a dozen fighters died in that first salvo, not the tens of dozens that had been expected, and the survivors ripped into the fleet defenders with a vengeance. One Defender after another died, and with it the fleets primary fighter defense, and all the while the Terren carriers kept on on sending more waves of fighters.

Panar looked into his plot, as a Light Cruiser vanished from it, only to be replaced by the faint readings of escape pods, there were too many of those faint readings littering his plot.

"Admiral," it Commander Lakan, the Fleet Deputy Commander, "I'm afraid that was the Last Fleet Defender."

Panar knew he was right, the fighters sensing the sudden lack of Point Defense Fire split up and began hitting separate targets, within 30 minutes Panar had lost half his fleet and he hadn't even gotten into range of the enemies capital ships yet. He knew it was over. There was nothing he could do, he couldn't run, couldn't fight. The battle was basically decided, the only thing he could hope to do was inflict some casualties.

"Communications to all ships." He said.

"Yes sir," The communications officer responded. He flipped a few switches and then nodded to the admiral that he was on.

"All ships" Panar tried to sound like a leader, trying to sound like their was some fight left in him. "I want all ships to charge the enemy line into point blank range, we need to eliminate some of those Battleships." Panar knew that what he was doing was suicide, he no longer had the advantage in tonnage, and he was about even in numbers. His ships would be ripped to shreds, but he could at least take a few of them with him.

He took a deep breath as another ship vanished from the plot, "Good luck to all of you. Command Out." On the command deck their was no sound, only the necessary conversations for a ship at war.

Panars ship was one of the first destroyed in what would become known as the final charge. Over 35 Draven ships died in the charge, joining their 40 brothers in the. In the end over 28,000 Dravens sacrificed themselves for a single enemy Battleship. 28,000 Hero's lost in the silence of space.

Chapter 16

News of the Draven fleet traveled fast, and although details where hard find the repercussions where almost instant. Josha had been in numerous meetings with Central Powers Representatives over the Last couple of days, most had not been good.

This meeting was beginning in the same way, "Chairman" said the Central powers Speaker, "the actions of your fleet have left us in a predicament." The Weyrling slurred his speech slightly.

"I assure you Mr. Speaker that Sledgehammer fleet was not acting on my orders." He had said the same thing numerous times, it was true, but that didn't make any difference, the fact was the Draven fleet was gone, Operation Sledgehammer was now in serious doubt.

"And these numbers" continued the Speaker, "are you sure you can't get us the extra ships any sooner?"

"I'm afraid not sir, those are the best case estimates for the latest ship designs, we have increased production at most of our major shipyards but even at this hurried pace the newest Dreadnaughts are still a year away."

"This is not acceptable, your Admiral Panar may have cost us this war."

"I don't think its quite that bad," Josha knew even though he wasn't lying hw was stretching the truth "the Weyrling Sledgehammer fleet is still largely intact, and we are pulling some of our Reserves to the front in order to stop any incursions into alliance space. For now..."

"For now our fleet is on its own" The speaker interrupted, he wasn't mad, didn't show any emotion, just stating a fact.

Josha took a breath before continuing, he had to choose his next words carefully "Unfortunately that's true, but the new Draven ships coming out of the shipyards will be much more powerful than the entire Sledgehammer was before this mistake. Our reserves will be sufficient to hold major alliance systems, while rebuild. Besides if I know your matriarch she'll be keeping the terrens too occupied to worry about an invasion."

The mention of the matriarch seemed to calm the room. In fact Josha had expected more of a tong lashing than what he got. The Dravens had dropped the ball after all, but this conversation with the Central Powers Speaker had been very civilized, like a father having a conversation with one of his children who had made a mistake. That was a far cry from the Speaker that had been ready to bite his head off just a few days before. Something was different about the Speaker, something that Josha couldn't put his finger one.

In fact now that he thought about it, many of the Weyrlings he had met the Last couple of day had acted the same way, a kind of cool detachment that wasn't there before.

"O.K. Mr Chairman" said the speaker, "Our fleet will do what we can to convince the terrens to stay away from alliance space, but I expect you to have a working fleet in one year, at that time we will recommence Sledgehammer."

'Thank you Mr Speaker" Josha turned to leave, but stopped when the Speaker called out to him.

"Mr Chairman, the Matriarch will be coming to Alliance HQ in a few months, I will expect you to give her an update of the Draven fleet once she gets here."

"The matriarch is coming here?" Josha could hardly believe it, he had expected the Matriarch to stay with the Weyrling fleet.

"Yes, I believe she is being escorted by one of your ships," The Speaker thought for a moment, "a Captain Jalan, I think that's the name of the ships commander."

"Captain Jalan of the Troikens Pride?"

"Yes, you know him?"

Josha inhaled then let it out slowly, "lets just say I've had a few dealing with him in the past, he isn't very fond of the Alliance." Josha wanted to say more, but he couldn't come right out and tell the Speaker that he didn't trust one of the Captains from one of his ships. Even if that Captain had been basically appointed by Yalare along with most of the commanders of the Sledgehammer fleet.

No he couldn't say anything, all he could do was hope the Matriarch had a safe journey.

[Ruatha]

Good update as usual.

I was shocked to see the Draven fleet gone. Thankfully the Terran player has dropped out and the AI plays for them now. Otherwise the entire Weyrling fleet would be dead as well I assume!
I think the Terran player thought the odds overwhelming, he was a replacement and had propably not checked his aggressive/defensive bonus!
If had stayed until the battle against the Dravens he would have had a good chance to kill us both off!

What will happen in Lasat? I'm not sure!!
Who will get the call to decide it? Let's see who Posts the results of that journey first!
I've got some ideas but if you write first I'm adaptable!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif (Haven't written anything yet, only ideas.)

In the game the Indestructible has just entered the Lasat system. I've done some simulations of a battle between those two ships, the Indestructible and Troikens Pride.
Interesting results....

Tbon> I'm thinking of exporting the video-game "Eat-man" to the Zax Society. Let's just hope they're not as addicted to that as too bubblebaths.
Hmm, perhaps the Weyrlings can get some side income from smuggling bubblebaths to the Zax!

[ March 11, 2003, 12:47: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Raging Deadstar]

Great Chapter, makes me wonder what terrible things await the mantiarch? i really look forward to find out whats going to happen in the next few chapters

Great Work CaptRR http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[mlmbd]

CaptRR, losing the fleet was totally unexpected! Wow, I do hope those Dreadnaught's are the answer! Oh, excellent addition!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font>

[CaptRR]

Thats right folks, NGC story lives!!! I'm reviving this story becouse I'm simply too stubborn to let it die, and besides I havn't finished my story yet. So here is the next chapter http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
______________________________________________

Chapter 17

It was raining inside of the floating city that made up the capital of the Draven Republic. It was a scheduled rain, artificial like everything else in Capital City. Many hours before the residents had taken in much of their outdoor materials in anticipation for the downpour, and so the streets looked almost abandoned. Even the cities police force took the weather in stride by reducing the number of patrols. After all no proper Draven wanted to be out in a rainstorm, so there was really no need for the heightened patrols that had become common in the wartime republic.

That was exactly what a lone man in a raincoat had been hoping for, as he traveled down the streets of the Republics largest floating city. Very few people wondered out of their houses, or for that matter even bothered to look outside during a rain, so the man was able to slip through the city with no one noticing. He didn't take any chances though, like a fish swimming through an ancient ocean he twisted his way, though ally's and streets alike, a few times he even retraced his steps, one could never be too careful in what had become a dangerous republic. That wasn't known to the general public of course, most people were simply too busy with their own lives to pay much attention to what was going on around them, the few that did seemed to change their mind quickly. The ones that didn't simply vanished.

It hadn't always been that way, only over the Last month had people began to turn up missing. Something was happening inside the Draven government. Ever since the loss of the Sledgehammer fleet the Yalare Administration had gotten very paranoid, many of the Committees that had been the staple of the Draven Republic had been either reorganized or disbanded all together. It was probably no coincidence that most of the disbanded committee's had been appointed by President Dravel himself, and tended to be political rivals of Yalare. Some of the chairmen of those committee's had disappeared from the public view, many had retired to the colony worlds, or so the Government said.

Representative Somar didn't think so, and as he made his way through the rain, he was sure that everyone in the Peoples Committee didn't think so either. Not that it mattered much what they thought, Yalare had managed to secure his position over the Last year with such skill and grace that he had rendered the Peoples Committee all but impotent. When they had authorized martial law, it had been thought that it would Last only a few months, until the tension caused by the Landing City disaster had passed, and so no one had thought to enact a time limit on the Martial Law vote, in their hurry to save the Republic, they had made it into a dictatorship.

Finally Somar came to his destination, a small indiscriminate house close to the edge of the floating city. The house seemed to scream of a modest background, but the very fact of the houses existence in a crowded city where tall buildings where the norm, gave away its true origins. As Somar walked toward the door, he noticed the rain tapering off, he had made it just in time. Soon the police would be back on the streets, he quickened his pace, and reached the door just before it opened. The man at the door seemed just as modest as the house he inhabited.

"Welcome, Representative Somar, rainy day isn't it?"

"Not as much as back home," Somar recited the code phrase, if he had said anything else, he would not be allowed in the house. The Man smiled and moved aside inviting Somar in.

"I'm glad you could make it Somar."

Somar took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack, like the rest of the home; it seemed to come from a simpler time. He couldn't even see a terminal, even though there must me one, it was a testament to the craft men who designed the architecture, hiding modern necessity in an ocean of antiques, and doing so without sacrificing the simple beauty of the time that it was modeled after.

"I wish the circumstances were different Hamal, I really do."

Hamal only smiled, but it was forced, he had been on the peoples committee for over 30 years, and only retired just before the Landing City disaster. Even though he was officially out of politics, he still had a lot of contacts, not only in the Peoples Committee, but also in the Prime Ministers inner circle. Hamal, was part of the Crown Conservatives, a political party that tended to favor loyalty to the Presidency. They tended to avoid too many programs that would "rock the boat", even if it meant making many of the same mistakes over and over.

Somar on the other hand was leader Industrial Reformists party and tended to favor a totally elected form of government, most of his party regarded the office of the Presidency in its current form to be a slap in the face of Democratic Society, so they almost always tended to side against the President. Prime Minister Yalare was a member of the Industrial Reformists.

Hamal was already heading towards the couch, an elegant, if not terribly expensive piece of furniture that was made out of what was once called wood. Hamal waited until Somar sat before continuing, "I understand," he made a small regretful sigh, "It appears our republic had been corrupted."

"Yes, it does." Somar made a small if mischievous smile, "Hamal, I know we haven't always agreed, in fact I think I called out an overbearing Idiot one time..."

"I believe the exact phrase was 'Overbearing Idiotic Weyrling Sympathizer'"

Somar snickered, and then turned serious, "However, I never doubted your commitment to the Republic. That being said, I need your help."

Hamal, considered for just a moment, no matter the two's political differences they had always understood each other's commitment to the Draven Republic; they just had different views of how to run it. "I'll do what I can, of course."

Somar considered how he was going to proceed, then decided the best route was probably the most direct. "I've been hearing rumors, none of them can be confirmed of course, but the people who are telling me have always been very reliable."

"What kind of Rumors?"

"Most have been discouraging, but inconclusive, over the Last month police forces have been beefed up in the floating city's, even thought the crime rate has actually reduced. Also over 24 junior officers have been promoted to ship captains, the Defense Committee claims that they are being promoted do to the man power shortages caused by Sledgehammer, but there are better more qualified officers that have been waiting for Captains slots much longer. The only connection that I can see between the officers is that they all have close ties to the Yalare family."

Hamal nodded, but wasn't surprised; undoubtedly he had already heard everything he was saying.

Somar continued, "Then there are the disappearances, many committee members, especially on the Defense committee have conveniently retired, but I know many of them, and when I tried to contact them, they all had taken their retirement off world, and were unable to be reached, and that's just what my sources have seen, I've only scratched the surfice."

"I see," said Hamal, "That confirms what my sources have told me, it seems that Yalare is securing the Republics armed forces, as well as the Committes that control them. Almost all of the new dreadnaughts built in Kornephoros seem to be crewed by officers loyal to Yalare, the ones in Acamar seem to be unaffected, but then again they are under the watchful eye of Josha, and dispite him, in effect, being put into exile at the CP headquarters he still has a lot of pull, and he's actually in Acamar, not 3 months away like our prime minister."

Somar spoke up, "But Acamar only has about one third the production capacity of Kornephoros, even if Yalare is unable to get any of his loyalists into Acamar, he still has over two-thirds of the new ships under his orders."

"But what will Yalare with those ships?" Hamal asked the question almost rhetorically, like a teacher asking a student something he should already know.

Somar hesitated; this was the moment he had feared when he made the journey here, taking such careful steps to avoid detection. Now was the defining moment. He could get up and leave and no one would be able to prove that anything he had said was treasonous, but if he continued and was caught he would most certainly have a quake and painful disappearance of his own. Somar did not like that thought, but if he left his republic was doomed, and he could not allow that.

Somar spoke slowly, and carefully, if he was going to go down for treason, he was going to make sure he did it with at least some dignity. "Hamal, I think the Prime Minister intends to take over the Republic when the time comes for President Dravel to be sworn in."

Hamal did not say a thing for a few moments, and Somar thought his fears were confirmed, that this had been some kind of elaborate rouse to get him to commit treason so Yalare could get rid of him. His fears ended almost as fast as they had begun, "I think your right Somar, the question is what are we going to do about it?"

Somar felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and the two talked for hours about a what they could do to make sure Yalare didn't destroy what the founders had worked so hard to create, and as they talked they never noticed 2 men in a building next door, as they aimed a listening dish towards Hamal's small house. The two men were no strangers to this type of work; after all they had been in the Last skimmer to leave Landing City.

[ March 21, 2003, 02:40: Message edited by: CaptRR ]

[Ruatha]

Nice.
I'll write up some stuff I've already plotted. It'll come up in about a week, and then the future of Elyssandra will be decided........

[mlmbd]

CaptRR, Thats right folks, NGC story lives!!! I'm reviving this story becouse I'm simply too stubborn to let it die, and besides I havn't finished my story yet. So here is the next chapter http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yeah, US! Like the story addition! Oh, I am very glad to hear, ; "you are not finished with your story, yet". Because, I am not finished reading, yet! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Ruatha, I will eagerly be waiting!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font

[Ruatha]

Weyrling Empire 2406.7
-----------------------
At Kalzeron prime.

Illian sat in his lab discussing with the One, this is something he had been occupied with alot since the awakening.

The Weyrlings were in a completely new and henceforth unknown situation. What capabilities have they gained and what limits does the One have, this needs to be ascertained Illian belives.

"-How comes that you still exist while we retain our individuality? There shouldn't be enough neurons for you to use should there?", Illian asked in his mind and directed the question towards the one.
The use of their newfound capabilities where becoming easier and easier for each day, and more and more of the uses of it was discovered.
To speak with someone, you no longer had to be in the presence of that person, you could just voice a sentence in your head while picturing who you wanted to receive it, one or several individuals. If you wished you could send the sentence or tought or emotion blindly for anyone to hear but that was generally not appreciated, others could shield away your thoughts but it was thought that it was the senders obligation to make sure where the thought was sent.
When the awakening happened everyone had sent blindly and it had been hard to make out one's own individual thoughts even though the One had let the individual minds up to surface again. It had taken weeks before people began feeling themselfs again, clarifying the boundaries of their own individualites.
Most Weyrlings had come through this phase without problems. Those who where in contact with aliens though where an altogether different matter.
It had quickly become clear that they couldn't contain their joy over not being alone anymore, so the One had retained control of all Weyrlings who had contact with aliens, only letting their individuality take control when they where alone. This didn't leave them enough time to train their new abilities and clear out the borders of their own individuality. All these people where slowly being replaced and sent home so that they would get enough time on their own to deal with the new situation. Meanwhile the One was seeing that the aliens where noticing the difference in the Weyrlings they met, still it didn't want to try to mimic emtions as it thought it propable that it would insert the wrong emotional response, no response was better.

"-I use the neurons in the Weyrlings that are asleep, and a proportion of every Weyrling brain is used by me. If you where to make extensive tests you would find that the cognitive functions of the Weyrlings has degraded some since I awoke, but at present we do not have tests precise enough to show this. The wast amount of Weyrlings means that I don't have to use very much of each brain to function, but I'm nowhere near my original thought capacity though.", the One responded.

"- So now we have telepathic and teleempathic capabilities, but sadly enough we haven't found any aliens who have the Celia vortex so we can't scan any aliens. That would have been great though!"

"- Yes, it would have made my understanding of the aliens much easier, I still cannot understand their motivations and thoughts. It will make it hard for me to deal with them, therefore most of the dealings with aliens are best left in the hands of the individuals, not the collective."

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

Weyrling Empire 2406.8
----------------------
The Starship Indestructible located in the Lasat starsystem:

Matriarch Elyssandra was sitting in the command bridge of the Indestructible, admiral Gryt was leading the battle.
After they had entered the Lasat system the Troikens Pride had slowly placed itself in a position behind the Indestructible.
Captain Jalan had stated that his intent was to protect the vulnerable rear of the Indestructible which where out of the Indestructibles weapons aiming arch.

During an uneventful passage between some asteroids the second in command Larissa had sat at the helm when the Troikens Pride had opened fire with all four of it's telekinetic cannons. The Indestructibles shields had flared up but held most of the incoming fire away and the ship had escaped the first volleys unharmed except some minor dents in the armour. Admiral Gryt and Elyssandra had run to the helm when the ship was shaken by the incoming fire and the ship's crew had instantly taken their battle positions. When Gryt and Elyssandra reached the bridge they where fully informed, their new telepathic capabilities had it's advantages.

Admiral Gryt barked out his orders;
"-All weapons fire at will, use your opportunities!
Heading 250 by 180 and full reverse!"

The Indestructible seemed to do a loop and came out beside the Troikens Pride some time later and then their powerful phased polaron beams started to fire. The Indestructible was a battlecruiser but had only two main weapons, large mounted phased polaron beams of the fifth level. The beams penetrated the Troikens Pride's shields as if they hadn't existed, but the Troikens Pride had advanced ECM capacity and mots of the beams missed, the only damage inflicted upon the target was some severed antennas sticking out from the hull.
Despite being a light cruiser the Troikens Pride carried more weapons then the Indestructible who was a command ship and was geared towards defence with shields and heavy armour.
The Troikens Pride opened up again with it's telekinetic cannons, this time Captain Jalan didn't fire them all at once but in a sequence and aimed at the same point on the Indestructible. The first three rounds where caught by the shields who sent out bright lights as the energy ate away at the incoming projectiles, the Last round hovewer pierced through the hole left in the energy barrier by the presedent shots, it struck the Indestructible in the front of the ship, creating a man deep crater in the thick armour, this didn't cause any fear in the crew as the armour was three times as thick as that. Some melted metal struck the portholes in one of the polaron beam turrets but it didn't block very much of the view.

The Troikens Pride altered course, now it was on a straight collision course which unaltered would ram the larger Indestructible just below the command bridge.

"-Roll 180 and present another side to the target!
Then come around zero by 180 and full ahead. Take us away, this isn't a battle we wish to fight"

The Indestructibles engines spewed out massive amounts of ions as the throttle was pressed to the bottom.
The more modern engines were slowly accelerating it away from the Troikens Pride, even though they would soon be out of eyesight of each others they would still be within fire range for a long time.
The polaron beams fired again and again, there was a massive exchange of projectiles and beams between the both ships but the advanved ECM on the both ships made it almost impossible to gain a lock on the target.
Elyssandra could imagine Jalan laughing at their combat capacity, but she couldn't fathom why he had started this fight.
Another round of telekinetic cannon fire was caught by the shields, this time the aim wasn't as precise and the rounds hit different parts of the shields and caused no damage to the ship.

The Troikens Pride was no longer within sight so the gunners where relying on the target scanners to aim their shots. The gunners fired their beams at their own will and there was no coordination between the shots, that wasn't really necessary as they didn't need to concentrate their fire to penetrate any shields or armour, if the beams hit they would deliver all their destructing energy to the vulnerable innards of the Troikens Pride.
As the Indestructible fired her two beams over and over again while the generators spewed out the massive amounts of needed energy they made an impressive light show, but no real damage until one beam hit straight on. On the scanners they could see the beam hit in the middle of the light cruiser leaving no visible entry mark on the hull but instantly one of the telekinetic cannon turrets exploded outwards, sending debris in all directions. A moment later the Troikens Prides engins went dead. Now the distance between the two ships increased quickly.
On the bridge they could through the scanners see an EVA team leave the Troikens Pride heading for the engines, propably some debris from the exploding cannon that damaged some vital component in the fuel distribution cutting of all fuel to the engines, was the analysis by the bridge crew.
The Troikens pride was still firing its two remaing cannons but at the quickly increasing distance their aim was very bad and the rounds almost didn't make it all the way.

Elyssandra was somewhat upset. Her tail was wagging wildly from side to side and her fangs where visible through her tight lips.
"-Gryt, take us to alliance headquarter as quickly as possible.", Elyssandra ordered. Continuing but not speaking out, only voicing her thoughts and sending them to the One she continued:
"We need an explanation to this attack at once! Are the Dravens going to war against us or was this a madmans attack? Also we need to send in some ships to try to capture the Troikens pride, that might be our only chance to get true answers. Detatch the Psi corps ships from the Sledge fleet and send them here to try to capture the Troikens Pride. If they can get captain Jalan to convert his alligience to us we will have the answer.
And get the Speaker in the allaince headquarter to question the Dravens, if they need to know how we got the information so fast to headquarter womba**** them!"

The voice of the One responded at once in her head,
"-Womba****? We have no wombacats at the headquarter and so no defecations from them either."

"-Sorry, it means that you should come up with a lie, and in this case as they are the aggressors it can literally stink, just as womba****. They will be so occupied with providing answers that they will propably not dare to question any explanation we might give."

At the Central Powers Alliance Headquarter:

Speaker Farth was sitting on the podium staring down upon the Draven reprasentative Josha.
"-So, what explanation do the Dravens have as to why they have tried to assasinate our leader, an unprovoced attack upon the very symbol of the Weyrling Empire?
Does this mean war? Our fleets are gathered at Terran space and with the wormhole openers they can be in Draven space within weeks, is that what you wish? If so speak up and we will grant your request!
You may be sad to know this but the Matriarch survived this surprise murder attack and is heading here at this moment, she isn't pleased with our Draven allies right now!
We are right now discussing this with the Thermolians and they are as shocked by the Draven actions as we are.

Now, Draven Josha. You may leave, but return quickly with a good explanation if the alliance shall have any chance of surviving your deeds!"

In the Kuat system aboard the Destroyer Responder:

The new tactic was working.
The Hammer fleet had entered the Terran home system Sladden by a wormhole which closed behind them.
They had already landed troops at two of the Terrans homeworlds and captured them intact, destroying masses of construction star bases orbiting the planets. The resistance had been sparse. A few weapon platforms had put up a token resistance before surrendering.
The Terrans had some starships in the system but they seemed reluctant to attack the large Hammer fleet. Many of the Terran ships where leaving the system towards Nyran space. The reason for this was uncomprehensible to the Weyrlings.
A single Terran Battleship had been converted to the Weyrling side by the Weyrling intelligence service. That ship had the Last month alone glassed three Terran worlds, depriving the Terrans of resources. Still the Terrans seemed unwilling to commit their ships to battle even against this single ship.
The same pattern was seen in the neighbouring Kuat system where the Sledge fleet was glassing planet after planet with little resistance. The main Terran fleet was still located at the wormhole connecting Kuat to the Terran homesystem Sladden, unwilling to leave that strategic point even though the Sladden system already was compromised.
Thurya though that perhaps they had already destroyed so much of the Terran infrastructure that the ships were stuck due to inadequate resupplies. The Weyrling fleet was equipped to fight far from home in enemy territory, but the Terrans had planned on fighting at their known territory with ample resupply bases present. Those bases where now being destroyed in a faster and faster pace. In the Kuat system only two planets remained, more than ten worlds where now uninhabited.

The Responder had been given new and appreciated orders. Up to now they had been doing flank protection for the fleet while they went from world to world and burned millions of people to ashes, largely unapposed.
Not a very actionfilled assignment but Thurya hadn't complained, rather nothing to do than participate in the killing of millions of unarmed civilians. She could se the necesseity of it as the superior Draven fleet hadn't been able to put a dent in the Terran fleet. Attacking them would be suicide, and if she had to choose she'd rather fry some Terrans than die herself.
These new orders where appreciated though as they might indicate some coming action.
Intelligence weren't reporting any major enemy fleet movements in the neighbouring systems apart from the Sladden system. Now the Responder was assigned to recon duty, they should pass through the closest wormhole and check out the next system, if it seemed safe the Sledge fleet would follow as soon as the Last Kuat planets had been turned into artistic glass sculptures.
Thurya edged her ship closer to the Wormhole and seeing no danger she gave the order to pass through.
On the other side everything seemed calm when suddenly something started to shimmer on the left side of the ship.
Try who was manning the main gun on that side voiced to Thurya;
"-Thu, it's a ship coming out of cloak, it shouldn't be a terran ship as we've never gotten any indication that they have that kind of technology."

"-It could be a Draven ship, if it is fire as soon as you get a clear shot. We know what they tried doing to the Indestructible and we don't have that kind or armour!", Thurya sent.

"-No, it's not a Draven ship, it looks like a CCCP ship but not quite.... Hey, it got Terran markings!! Targeting, Firing!"

The Responders four Phased Polaron beams opened up almost at the same time. The Terran ship hovewer wasn't where they had thought it would be and all shots missed widely. The Terrans constantly changed their tactics and pressed their ships to unbelivable prestations, making them almost impossible to hit.
The Terran destroyer opened fire with some kind of beam and hit with the first shot, the beam wasn't fired as the Weyrling polaron beams in short bursts but rather as a continious beam.
First they could feel the ship vibrate but it didn't seem to take any damage but then the warning lights on the bridge started flaring. The ion engines magnetic inducer coils where being overloaded and started melting. The cooling system couldn't cope with the incoming energy and the cooling gases started boiling and vented out into space, sending geysers of white fumes out through the emergency vents. The engines shut down and the Responder was dead in space.

The Terran ship was closing in, the Responders weapons franticly tried to get a lock but the Terrans had engaged advanced ECM's making it hard to aim correctly. The Terran ship opened up with a polaron beam of their own, blowing one of the Responders four main guns into debris and sending the gunner out into space in small pieces, the emergency vacuum doors on the ship closed immediatly. Another beam from the Terrans evaporated all reamins of another Weyrling Gunner along with her gun turret.
"-Abandon ship!!", The One's voice echoed in the heads of the Responders crew. All the crew headed for the escape hatces, grabbed the emergency packs and said godbye to the Responder. Before leaving Thurya armed the automatic self-destruct mechanism and then joined the others abandoning the ship.
The small objects the individual Weyrlings posed were too small for the Terrans to track and the emergency packs containing oxygen and fluid refreshers and nutrishments would enable them to survive for a month. Previously it was belived that anyone out there wouldn't make it that long, propably not more than a week before they would open their suits to the vacum to end the intense loneliness they would experiance. Now when they were in constant contact with each other and the One they would propably survive.

The Terran ship docked with the Weyrling ship and troops swarmed aboard, finding an empty ship.
Try had been caught in his tower that had been damaged by debris from the exploding gun turrets so he hadn't been able to get loose and abandon ship at the same speed as the others. There hadn't been any fear that he shouldn't make it, he just had to wind the turret into the correct position by hand and should have had ample of time before the self destruct destroyed the ship.
Rounding a corner towards the closest escape hatch Try ran straight into a Terran marine, there was no meaning of putting up any struggle, it would have been a one-sided match. On one side a Terran marine in combat armour with a phaser gun and on the other Try in a exposure suit and no weapon.
The Weyrlings might look fearsome but against an alien they where not very god in close combat, originating on a low gravity world they where quite weak. They looked strong and fearsome with fangs, claws and big muscles, but the muscles weren't very effective, they had developed for use against other low gravity animals.
Try was quickly ushered over to the Terran ship that severed it's bonds with the Weyrlings ship. Finding it virtually deserted the Terrans quickly suspected something was wrong, and they didn't intend to stay and see what surprise the Weyrlings had planned for them.

Floating in space seperated from the other in the crew Thurya voiced to Try,
"-Hang in there my love, we'll come after you."
"-I know you will Thu!"

Thurya saw her ship explode in a consuming fire ball, the escape hatches had air pressure catapults that threw the crew safely away from the ship so there was no big risk of being hit by debris. Thu could see glowing pieces pass by her as the tears flowed down her cheeks. She was a warrior now, finally she had fought her first battle. But she didn't feel as a warrior, she felt alone."

[ March 31, 2003, 06:48: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[mlmbd]

Ruatha, the addition is just 'excellent'. It was well worth waiting for. Your decription of a de-cloaking ship was amazing! Good stuff!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font

[Ruatha]

Hi Mlmbd and thanks for the reply!!!!!

What posed the biggest difficulty was how to decribe the tie between the Indestructible and the Troikens Pride.
Earlier in the story I've said that battles continue until one side wins, that withdrawing from battle is very hard, as it is in SE4.
But in the simulation between these two ships they kept on missing, scoring one hit each during all the combat until the time ran out!
The Troikens pride took damage as described but those gunners on these two ships where absolutely stinking.
They couldn't hit a barn from the inside with a cannon! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

And why that Terran fleet won't move from the wormhole I can't understand, some AI problem?
I'll have to run some more turns and see what happens.

Do you want the turns mailed to you, CaptRR and Tbontob? They aren't necessary for the story but they help me with the plot.

[ March 30, 2003, 19:10: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[CaptRR]

I had to slick my hard drive and I didn't back up NGC so I'll need one of the turns emailed to me so I can get my galaxy map back. As far as emailing all the turns, it probably won't matter, I'm about to take a big left turn in the story, one that the game has no way to simulate, I've been hinting at it in my Last submission, and it will be interesting to see what the Weyrlings do once this errr... event takes place.

About the gunners, you have to remember that both ships have some of the best Alliance Tech in them, even if the Troikens Pride is a little older. I think I will amoung other things write an addition tonight that explains what went on onboard the Troikens Pride.

[CaptRR]

Chapter 18

Captain Jalan sat silently in his chair; he always did that just before a battle. It was a time to contemplate what he would do, to weigh his options so to speak. Sometimes this time would give him the opportunity to change his strategy, but he knew he could do no such thing here. His plans has been laid out weeks in advance.

Jalan was amazed that his plan had been this easy, well most of his plan had been easy anyway. Jalan knew that his crew would never attack an allied ship unless that ship had attacked them first. So the trick was to make the crew, or at the very least the Command Deck crew think that the Indestructible had initiated an attack on the Troikens Pride, it would have to be convincing too, but not debilitating, after all the Indestructible was almost twice the size of Trookens Pride, and she had better shielding too, but Jalan had the element of surprise, and he knew that would help balance the scales dramatically.

Slowly Jalan had sought allies to his plan, it hadn't been that hard either, Troikens Pride hadn't exactly been the symbol of Draven Pride. In fact his ship had become sort of the dumping ground to much to the Republic's problem cases. The result was an almost endless list of people who were just begging for a little bit of revenge on the Republic. Jalan had chosen just 2 other people to help him in his plan, the Simulations Officer, and an environmental tech that had been sent to his ship after he had beaded most of the air out of a compartment that was being worked on. The tech and the work crew had been having some problems, and while it was never proven that the tech did anything, there were some suspicions.

Together the 3 co-conspiracier's worked on Jalan's plan, and with his command codes it had been easy to insert the program into the Tactical, and enviromental networks. In fact the hardest part had been waiting until the time was right, that part had taken 2 weeks.

Now here he was, the time was almost perfect, but their was a problem, and his name was Commander Lancer. Unlike most of the ships crew, Lancer was an exhalent officer. As far as Jalan could ascertain the only reason he was on Troikens Pride was to keep an eye on Jalan. Lancer was smart, too smart, he had even questioned the logic of moving behind the Indestructible when Jalan gave the order.

"It's not a good defensive position, and will weaken our combined point defense" Lancer had said in respond to Jalan's order several hours before. Still despite his objections, he followed the order, but Jalan was sure that if Lancer ever suspected what he was doing, that the man would take his sidearm and shoot Jalan dead on the spot. He would watch Lancer, if he gave the slightest indication of figuring it out, Jalan would kill him.

Right now though, Jalan had other things to worry about, it was almost time for his plan to kick off, the program had been set into motion even before the order to move behind the Indestructible had been given. Jalan looked around the command deck, it was the night shift, and it was at minimum staffing, only about 5 people in all. Commander Lancer was studying something at his desk in front of the main plot, beside him sat the night shift tactical officer who was going over something with the pilot. The other two officers were at their stations on the side walls engaged In their duties.

Suddenly a loud explosion echoed through the ship, almost instantly the battle stations siren sounded. Jalan knew it was the shuttle bay that had suddenly depressurized as per his program, the resulting sudden decompression would cause a lot of noise, and a few rattled shuttle bay tech, but otherwise no other damage. The damage computers on the other hand would report an explosion.

Jalan put on his best game face, and tried to look surpised, "Commander what going on!"

Lancer had jumped out of his seat and run to the damage control station and was quickly punching in commands. "Sir, theirs' been an explosion in the shuttle bay, no idea of the cause yet, we are reading loss of air pressure on that deck."

By now the Tactical officer had pulled up the main plot and run through a scan, Jalan knew that what she was actually seeing was a program super-imposed over the current scans, they showed her exactly what Jalan wanted. "Captain, if these reading are correct..." she trailed off quickly tapping buttons on her console, obviously double-checking her readings.

"Lieutenant, what is it!" Jalan's annoyance wasn't an act

"Y-yes sir, if these readings are correct, the Weyrling's fired at our shuttle bay.

"What?" it was Lancer "why would they do that, they are totally out of position."

"It doesn't matter, commander, Tactical, get me a firing solution on the Indestructible."

Lancer was at his side almost instantly, his voice lowered so the rest of the bridge couldn't hear it. "Captain, this doesn't make sense, they are totally out of position for a fight, we need to contact the Indestructible."

Jalan didn't bother to lower his voice, "Commander, we have been fired on by our so called allies, its obvious that they intended to hit our shuttle bay to prevent us from launching escape pods. Now I will defend this ship and if you try to stop me, you will be shot!"

Lancer didn't budge for a moment, and Jalans hand slowly gripped his phaser weapon. He was stopped by the sound of his tactical officer, "Captain, the Telekinetic Projectors are on line, and we have a firing solution plotted, shield will be up any moment."

"Good," Jalan looked back at Lancer, the first officer was moving to his station, obviously not wishing to press the argument now. "Pilot go full thrust, Tactical you can fire as soon as you are in point blank."

Jalan felt the ship suddenly accelerate, and the image of the Indestructible grew in his screen.

"Firing in 4, 3, 2, 1." The ship seemed to thump as the Trokens Pride's 4 telekinetic Projectors ripped through space, and into the Indestructible's armor. The damage though was minimum, and ever so slowly the Projectors recycled.

The Indestructible didn't wait though, the damage to her armor had been superficial only, she was a command ship and was heavy on the defensive systems, she also had good engines, and those engines went to 100 percent as her Captain accelerated in wide maneuvers designed bring Indestructible's weapons to bare, at the same time her RADAR image was lost in a hail of ECM.

"We've lost her on sensors," it was Lancer, he was running both the damage control station as well as the Sensor station, a double duty for sure.

"Tactical, estimate their course from the Last reading and forward them to the pilot." Troikens Pride shuddered at the sudden violent course change. Jalan wanted to curse, he had hoped to do more damage on the first volley. He still had the advantage, but only slightly. If he knew the Weyrling Captain, he would be trying to assess his damage, he wouldn't to contact Triokens Pride yet; it would give away his position if he did.

Space was big, and rarely did combat resolve itself quickly, that was certainly the case here. For 3 hours Indestructible and Triokens Pride volleyed for position, their ECM's keeping the other from getting an accurate lock on the other. Occasionally the two ships would come out of their ECM interference and exchange fire, but these shots rarely hit once the Indestructible had managed to come close and sheer off some comm. antennas. Jalan was getting impatient, this should have been over quickly, the first volley should have taken out Indestructible's engines, If the ship was unable to move her ECM's would be worthless.

"Sir," it was the tactile officer, the head one. By now the main command crew had come to their stations, also everyone was in EV suites, just in case their was a breach. "We are getting a several sensor ghosts off our port."

"Can you get a solution."

"Working on it, they have some good ECM on that ship."

"Work Faster" Jalan snapped.

Several minutes passed, suddenly the tac officer yelled, "Clear reading on our port."

The bridge erupted in activity. Quickly the coordinates where sent to fireing control, and a solution was plotted, and the Telekinetic Projectors opened up at the Indestructible. Most missed, but some got through the ECM. The shields on the Indestructible absorbed most of the volley, but their was few systems that could stop that fury for long, and inevitably a hole developed in the Indestructible's protective layer.

The tactical officer noticed this, and the remaining Projectors opened fire on the weakened part of the shields. Armor was torn from the Indestructible's hull like paper being blown off by a bazooka, but the armor did its job, and protected the vulnerable hull beneath it.

"Direct hit, I think we got some though, ecm is still playing hell with fire control"

"Noted" Jalan thought for a moment, the Indestructible's damn ECM had to be eliminated, and the only way to do that was to get in closer, use his Radar to burn though the ECM's, all he needed was one clear shot. "Pilot, bring us in closer, I want to get below its ECM curtain."

Lancer spoke up, "Sir? That will also make our ECM less effective."

"I realize that Commander, but we have more weapons than they do, so follow my orders or I will have you removed."

The command deck was silent, Commander Lancer wanted to remove the Captain, but in the middle of a battle? Lancer would be court marshaled for sure, no he had to play along, and just hope Jalan didn't get them all killed. "Pilot, you heard the Captain, take us in closer."

"Yes Sir."

The Troikens pride accelerated towards Indestructible, but Indestructible suddenly changed direction and began accelerating away, firing polaran beams as she retreated. Jalan was furious, he had been tricked, now he would have to slow his acceleration and then redouble back onto Indestructible in order to get a clear shot.

Jalan began to pace around the command deck. He was losing the advantage. If the Indestructible got away it would most certainly warn HQ, and his ship would be hunted down. That was when, a polaron beam finally made it though the Troikens Prides's ECM. It was a lucky shot, and hit right on the ships Telekinetic Projector, the shrapnel from the exploding projector hit several of the engine pods and ripped through them. Almost instantly 80% if Troikens Prides thrust vanished and Indestructible began pulling away quicly. Jalan knew the battle was lost.

Chapter 19

Josha went back into his office like a hurricane. He had just got the dressing down of his life by the Central Powers Speaker, the Weyrlings were furious, and who could blame them. A Draven ship had attacked the Matriarchs vessel, it was all Josha could do to keep the Weyrlings from sending their fleet into Lasat to take out Troikens Pride personally. Creator, what had that madman Jalan done!

Josha rubbed his head, it made no sense, why had Jalan been put into a position of escorting the matriarch in the first place, and why hadn't the approval for those orders come to him. Something was up, someone was trying to kill the Matriarch. Quickly Josha opened his computer, and began searching all the deployment orders concerning Troikens Pride. It didn't take long to find the order for deployment with the Indestructible. Then Josha looked in shock at what he saw. The approval had come through the Prime Minister himself.

Josha sat frozen for a second, not believing what he was thinking. The prime minister knew Jalans history as well as anyone, the only reason he would have approved the orders, were if he was hoping Jalan was going to do something. But that would meant the Yalare had plotted to kill the Matriarch.

Josha sat in his office for a long time, not knowing what to do. He couldn't tell the Weyrlings, they would tear into home systems, and while the new ships would probably stop them, it would be bloody, the Weyrligns were good generals, but the Dravens had probably the most Industrial Empire in known space. No this was a Draven problem, the Central Powers need to stay out of it, but what can he do. Slowly Josha took out a the keypad and began typing a letting to Central Powers speaker, he knew some of explanations seemed flimsy at best, but they should be enough to keep a war from breaking out. Although it would mean sacrificing Trokioens Pride, unfortunately he would have to offer up that ship as a sacrificial lamb to satisfy the Weyrlings while Josha took care of bigger problems. His second letter was to Commander Draval.

[ March 31, 2003, 02:38: Message edited by: CaptRR ]

[Ruatha]

Quick response CaptRR.
I'll send you a turn file later.
Just write on and I'll follow your plot! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

I dont have any general empire spanning storyline anymore so I can follow you. My future plans mostly involve Try and Thurya. But the war against the Terrans will go on unless I'm diverted http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Will write my next episode in a couple of days.

[Ruatha]

Weyrling Empire 2406.9
----------------------

Aboard the Light cruiser Desperation:

The ship was running in cloaked mode, it was one of the newest light cruisers the Weyrling empire had built, encompassing the newest and most advanced technology that could be found in the empire.
The ship didn't actually need any crew as it was run by an AI computer core that was capable of making intelligent decisions based upon it's orders and the current circumstances around it.
Despite this the Weyrlings didn't feel comfortable letting a machine capable of destroying worlds run on it's own without supervision, so there was a skeleton crew of three officers aboard.
One would have thought that there would be ample of space aboard this ship but that was not the case.
Aboard the Desperation was 323 Marines and an extra fleet officer, Thurya.
Their goal was to free Try, he was the first and only prisoner that the Terrans had taken and the Weyrlings weren't going to let them get away with it, it was time to send a signal to the Terrans and all other races out there, you don't mess with the Weyrlings!

The Weyrlings had become worried, the war against the Terrans was going to good, the Terrans should have defeated the Weyrlings by now but they seemed unwilling to go into battle.
The Weyrlings had lost two carriers, a light cruiser, a space yard ship and a destroyer since the sledgehammer operation was launched. Meanwhile they had glassed 18 worlds, invaded and occupied the three Terran homeworlds and destroyed 22 orbital space yards and three battleships. Something was wrong!
It would be easy to sit back and relax but that might be a fatal mistake, the Terrans had an impressive fleet, some of which was in the Kuat system but many ships had also left for the Terran-Nyran borders, and there was no war between those two races, this was uncomprehensible.
And now the Dravens, attacking the very symbol of the Weyrling empire!
The Argon confederacy, previously good allies, had declared war upon the Weyrlings as had the CCCP empire aswell. Still there hadn't been any hostilities from them but that might just be coming. There hadn't been any explanation for the war declarations, and with the Central Powers alliance on the verge of collapse and most of the Weyrling forces concetrated in Terran space the situation could turn critical very fast.

Aboard the Desperation was also a new device that had never been used before, it was time to send a signal, and it would be heard all over the galaxy!

The crew aboard the Desperation was in constant contact with Try and knew his location at all times, well almost all times.
There had been a lapse of a few days when Try had been comatose after to hard torture resulting in a brain bleeding. The Terrans had operated and treated him so that he had recorpurated before they started the torture again.
Try had told them all he knew, about the force concentrations of the Weyrlings, the awakening of the One, everything. But still the torture continued, coupled with psychoactive drugs. The Terrans had no psychic technology and if it weren't for this, Try would have been lost.
Along all this Thurya had been in constant contact with him, shared his pain. She had needed some medication of her own to cope with it but she wouldn't abandon him. Her burden was eased some by Elyssandra and many more who also shared Try's pains in some degree, but the close connection between Try and Thurya would have made it impossible for Thurya to shut out the pain even if she wanted.

Try was being kept on a facility on a barren moon deep inside Terran space close to the Nyran border, guarded by a battle ship in orbit, in the system was also a large concentration of Terran warships, posted there for an unknown reason.

Going along with the Desperation was the destroyer Runaway, also under cloak.
There would still be some weeks before they could get Try out, if they where successful. But with the pleasure the Terrans was getting out of torturing Try they wouldn't let hime die, he was the symbol which they could take out all their anger and revenge upon for the millions of Terrans killed by the Weyrlings and the billions living under Weyrling occupation.

Inside the Lasat system:

The two Psi corps light cruisers Gurkan and Tomaten was scanning the system with their long range scanners.
So far there was no sign of the Troikens Pride, but it was only a matter of time. They knew it hadn't left the Lasat system, and if it was here they would find it, and if they found it they would get some answers.
Captain Jalan would be happy to give them all the answers he could, he would love the Weyrlings when the Psic corps was through with him. He would be useless afterwards as his undying loyalty would be all that he could focus upon, the greatness of the Weyrlings.
The only reason he would be able to provide answers was becourse he would do his utmost to please his new masters.
The Psi corps personnel couldn't wait to get him under their care, they had never been allowed to test their arts on any Dravens before and now they had a whole ship to their disposal, this would be fun!
The only problem right now was the two Draven dreadnoughts that had entered the Lasat system, claiming that they would assist the Weyrlings in hunting down the Troikens Pride.

At Central Powers Headquarter:

Elyssandra was sitting with down with the Draven Josha, prince Dravel hadn't been at alliance headquarter when she arrived so she would have to do with this represantative.
The Draven assured Elyssandra that the Dravens had no intention of cancelling the alliance, that captain Jalan was somekind of renegade rouge and please, go ahead and destroy the Troikens Pride, he said.
How could it be that the Troikens Pride had been dispatched to escort duty, Elyssandra wondered.
It had all been Admiral Panars decision and unfortunatly he was no longer alive to be questioned, was the answer she got.
Hovewer she tried that was the brick wall she came up against, Panar was dead and if the Dravens had their way Jalan would soon be aswell, they seemed to think that the Weyrlings would destroy the ship in retaliation. Something Elyssandra thought was strange, the Dravens had access to psychic technology aswell and knew that the Weyrlings had Psi Corps ships equipped with alligiance converters in the vicinity of the Lasat system. But Elyssandra wouldn't point this out to them, if they wanted Jalan dead, let them think that the Weyrlings would do it for them.
Now she just had to find a way to get those Draven dreadnoughts out of the Lasat system, and she thought she knew how.
"-Now see here Josha, we have two state of the art Light cruisers in the area, well equipped to destroy the Troikens Pride.
But in the Lasat system neither you nor we have any forces right now.
Our Sledge fleet left that system to hunt down the Terran cloaker that we discovered in the neighbouring system, unsuccesfull by the way. Thereby leaving a heavily populated oxygen world with it's colonized moon in the Lasat system.
Your two dreadnoughts are well placed to go in and take out those planets, our two light cruisers can't stand up to the forces in that area. We lost two fighter carriers and a light cruiser that was dispatched to destroy those worlds.
To recall the Sledge fleet would cancel the momentum that our forces are having, the next month we will glass 15 more worlds if we can continue as planned."
"-I can't make a desicion alone on this Matriarch", Josha answered.
Ellysandra was growing impatient,
"-You are the Draven represantative to the Cental Powers alliance, if you can't decide that what are you doing here??".
"-Come now dear Matriarch, things aren't that easy! Could your represantive here decide the movements of your forces?"
"-Farth? Ofcourse he can if he thinks it's necessary.
Now you see to it that the Terrans are deprived of that world in the Lasat system, or that Terran fleet in the Lasat system might resupply and head into Draven space! SOmetimes I'm not sure why we fight this war for you, it's time you start doing some damage to the Terrans aswell. If your forces had followed orders this war should've been over by now.
If you can't decide what your forces will do, get me prince Dravel instead, he atleast does what he says. I'm sure the king would have been proud of him, but perhaps not with the rest of you Dravens."

With this she stood up and walked out of the room and went back to her quarters.

[Ruatha]

I got to put up a map over the area here.
I'm writing at work and uses the names of ships and systems out of my memory.
That's why I'm talking about "Neighbouring systems" "The border between Terrans and Nyrans" etc.
Not satisfactory.

Awaiting the future events...
(Have Tbontob given up the story? Now when we're free to write by our imagination he could get involved more in our stories... complicating it all even more http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif )

[ April 01, 2003, 19:51: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[mlmbd]

<font color=purple>WOW</font><font color=white>!!!!!</font> You guys are really kicking! Ruatha and CaptRR, the additions to your stories are very very good!! Keep it coming!!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font

[Ruatha]

Originally posted by mlmbd:
<font color=purple>WOW</font><font color=white>!!!!!</font> You guys are really kicking! Ruatha and CaptRR, the additions to your stories are very very good!! Keep it coming!!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hurray for our complete fanbase. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
You make it all worthwhile Mlmbd! (and yes, she does love you best, dude!)

[ April 03, 2003, 17:58: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[mlmbd]

Ruatha, Hurray for our complete fanbase. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> I don't think I am your entire fanbase. Lots of <font color=white>"</font><font color=#9933CC>LURKER'S</font><font color=white>"</font> out there. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font

[Raging Deadstar]

Yep, unfortuantly my computer freezes up a lot on these forums so i don't get much of a chance to post in other threads beside the cantina and troopers race directory. But i am definatly enjoying the story, it seems to have gotten better since you abandoned the game and turned it complete fiction. Keep up the good writing, also ruatha, check out my fanfiction site thread as i have some suggestions that i need authors to reply on

[CaptRR]

Chapter 20

Commander, Prince Dravel looked out the window as his skimmer headed towards the surface of Acamar VII. The blue white world, grew as the small craft went through its decent. It was so different than a Draven world, Dravel thought. So much water, and actual land. Of course that was part of the reason Acamar VII had been chosen as home for the Central Powers Headquarters, it was jewel nestled in the Draven Republic, yet controlled by the Thermolians, and finally its location close to the Weyrling Empire made it the ideal choice for greatness.

It had been a month since Dravel received a cryptic message from Josha. The message basicly said that Dravel was need at Alliance HQ now, and to take any ship he needed was need at Alliance HQ now, and to take any ship he needed to there. Fortunately Dravel had been Agamar, where he was forced to retreat to once the news that the Sledgehammer fleet had been destroyed. He hadn't retreated back alone though, he had captured a Terren Battleship, once the scientists had finished looking it over, Dravel had conscripted a crew for it, and it was now the primary defense for Agamar, his ship the King Dravel was their as well, though it was in the yards for repairs. Fortunately a replacement ship was available, it was old, and it weaponry was outdated, but it was fast, and that is the only reason Dravel had made it to Acamar so fast.

But why had he hurried? The note that Josha wrote didn't go into too many details, but it did have a passing reference to the Troikens Pride. Something was definitely up, and Dravel knew if he had been hurried off the war front so fast, that something involved the Draven Government. He shuttered slightly, not for the first time he realized that he was soon to be the President of the Draven Republic, a post that he had not expected to inherit for a long time. He would go from being a mere commander in the Draven Space Navy to the leader of all the Draven people, it was a tough subject for him to get his mind around, but he had been groomed for this since he was a child, he knew he would succeed at it.

The skimmer began to shutter violently as its gear extended, and it made its final decent to the Central Powers HQ. He had a great view of the main building, it was known as one of the most beautiful structures in the known Universe, incorporating the best architects from 3 races into its structure, it's sweeping 1 kilometer tall towers, the administrative centers for each race, seemed to keep watch over the central structure that housed the actual heart of the Central Powers. It' simple beauty never showing the trouble that lied beneath, the fact is the Central Powers were in trouble.

The Weyrlings were in trouble, what should have been a great occasion for their race after they took over the leadership of the Alliance, had turned into a nightmare, first with the opening steps of the War, then with the CCCP declaring war on the Weyrlings, and now the incident with the Troikens Pride. The Allinace was on the verge of collapsing, and if that happens, the glacier that is the CCCP would swallow up the Draven Republic, and then the rest of the Alliance soon after.

It wasn't all bad though, the Weyrlings had made great strives against the Terrens, even if the Dravens had been less than successful in that regard. The CCCP while declaring war hadn't made any overt action towards the Weyrlings, but it was strange, why had the CCCP declare war against the Weyrlings, and not the Allinace as a whole?

The skimmer thumped as it came into contact with the ground, and a few minutes later the door opened. For the next couple of minutes Dravel was escorted by Josha's aid through the sprawling Central Powers Complex. The towers were even more stunning on the ground than in the air, they seemed to stretch to the edge of the sky, yet each tower seemed to hold just a touch of its maker. The ones designed by the Dravens, which were also the shortest, seemed to take inspiration from the floating cities, their bases were narrow, and then they got wider us they raised from ground. In an age before Anti-gravity those structures would have been impossible, but now they rose to astounding hights.

The Thermolians Towers were simple yet their paint scheme that changed color depending the angle that you were looking at it from. The sudden change in color could be daunting at first, but all the colors seemed mix well with each other. Little was known why the Thermolians decided on this paint scheme, but rumor was that each color represented each one of their First colonies.

Finally their was the Weyrlings buildings, they were the tallest as well, yet they were a far cry from the nomally strait buildings that littered the Thermilian and Draven sections. These buildings seemed to all curve towards a central point. Dravel had once been told that it had something to do with their Religion, their worship of "the one", but no one had ever confirmed this since little was known of the Weyrlings Religious beliefs.

After a short ride though the Draven compound, Commander Dravel was finally brought to Josha's Office. It technically wasn't the office of a Central Powers Representative, since Draven was just filling that role while the real Representative was back on Konoephoras X, supposedly in meetings with the Prime Minister.

In the mean time, the Chairman of the Defense Committee Josha was also pulling duty as the main Draven Representative to the Central Powers. As Dravel walked into Josha's office the Chairman smiled and rose.

"Its great to see you Prince, its been too long," Said Josha as he extended his hand.

Dravel took it, and returned his smile, "Yes sir it has, I wish you could come to the King Dravel more often, my crew really enjoys showing off their ship to the Defense Chairman."

Josha, continued to smile, but directed Dravel to some couches at the far end of the room, at the same time his secretary came in and laid drinks on a small table.

"I'm sure they do," their was a slight air of laughter in Josha's voice. No crew liked to have their ship inspected by the top brass, but it would have been impolite for Dravel to at least not offer. Amazing, Josha though, Dravel was the prince of the Republic, yet he never forgot that he is an officer in the Space Navy.

Josha's mood turned more serious though. "I' sure you are wondering why I called you here in so much of a hurry."

Dravel took a sip of his drink, and swallowed it. He then leaned back in his chair, trying to anticipate what was coming next, "I think it has something to do with the Troikens Pride, but the look on your face tell me it goes much higher than just one ship."

Josha nodded, "yes much higher. To put it lightly Prince, the Central Powers is on the verge of collapse, and our enemies are ready to capitalize on that collapse. I think Captain Jalan may have been working under orders from the Prime Minister himself"

Now he had Dravels full attention, and he sat upright, he was about to say something when Josha raised a hand, letting him know their was more.

"It gets worse, I think the Weyrlings are suspicious of this, and are going to take steps to capture Captain Jalan, and then use whatever methods to extract that information from him."

Now Jalan understood the nature of Josha's worry. If the weyrlings found out the Prime Minister tried to murder their matriarch they would rip into Draven space demanding they hand over Yalare. Of course the armed forces would never turn over their Prime Minister to any foreign government, no matter how righteous the cause. There would most certainly be a war, the Dravens had the Industrial strength and the Weyrlings had the Scientific and Military tacticians, the war would be bloody, and would probably end up leaving one race extinct.

Dravel spoke softly, "You want me to hunt down and destroy the Troikens Pride?"

It was not so much a question but a statement, something he had to do in order to save his people, but Josha surprised him.

"Creator no", Josha said with a slight yelp, "your father would role over in his grave if I sent you on a suicide mission." The mention of Dravels father caused a slight uncomfortable moment of silence, even after 2 years Dravel still felt he would never be quite the man his father was.

Josha continued, "No Prince, I have already dispatched 3 ships to take care of the situation. 2 dreadnaughts on search, and an unmarked stealth ship tailing the Weyrling search party have been dispatched. If the Weyrlings find the ship before we do, the Stealth ship will destroy the Troikens Pride, and then try to escape, if it can't escape then the stealth ship will destroy itself."

Dravel took a deep breath, "What about the crew's?"

"The stealth ship is mostly computerized to prevent the Weyrlings Psi corps from using their subverters, the rest know how important their mission is, and that they not be taken. As far as the Troikens pride, we built the ship, we know its weak points, it will be destroyed, quickly, or at least their will be no life left on the ship. To be honest, we will probably lose 100% of both crews."

Dravel understood why Josha had giving those orders, and how difficult they must have been. Even if the ship destroyed the Troikens Pride their was almost no way it would be able to get away from the Weyrlings, and if Dravel knew Josha, he had ordered the crew to not fire on the Weyrlings, he could not risk making things worse. That stealth ship was being sent into the fire, with virtually no protection, it would die, without it or the crew every even having a chance to survive.

Their was still one thing though, "Sir, why did you call me all the way out here it the situation was already under control?"

The deadpan seriousness in Joshas eye's frightened Dravel for a moment, "My Prince we cannot sit idly by and watch our Prime Minister destroy our Republic. I'm afraid we must remove him from power."

"What?" Dravel's mind was realing, what Josha was suggesting was an act of treason.

"I know Prince, I felt the same way, but I assure you there is no other option. I have been looking over fleet movements, if we don't act now, we will soon be unable to act. Yalare hadn't secured his power with all the Military, once he has all the Military loyal to him, he will be unstoppable, we act now, or we lose everything."

Dravel thought, and now it made sense that Josha had called Dravel here, he was the Prince, next in line to the Presidency, if he demanded that Yalare step down it would carry much more weight than an exiled Defense Chairman.

"Prince, I have to be honest, Yalare has placed a lot of commanders in strategic places, but he hasn't been able to get much headway in Acamar. Don't get me wrong, most of the military commanders are honest, but Yalare has control of most of the Admiralty, and its going to take a major effort to make the Captains turn against what they perceive is the rightful government. I'm afraid, Yalare won't go down without a fight."

Dravel, dreaded what he might have to do, never had a Draven ship fire on another, but if Yalare had that much control over the fleet he might have to. He took a breath, it was time to get down to business, "What kind of forces are up against."

Josha took a small pad out of his pocket, and read it over, "So far, I think I can get you 15 dreadnaughts, 7 battleships, and about 17 other smaller vessles. Oh yes, and I think I can get you a warp point opener and closer."

Dravel shook his head, "That's not enough, home fleet alone has twice that many ships, and that's not including the new ships that are coming out of the yards as we speak."

"I know, but it's all we have, my Prince. Yalare has been keeping most of the new ships close to home, and I'm afraid all we have been able to gather are whats being put out by the Acamar shipyards. On the plus side, the ships I'm giving you are among the newest in the fleet. They were originally scheduled to deploy as part of the second Sledgehammer fleet, but since the Weyrlings have the situation with the Terrens in hand I don't think we will need them for Sledgehammer."

Now Dravel looked Josha square in the eye, and spoke slowly, emphasizing his point, "We are going to have to tell the Weyrlings eventually, and when we do they are going to want Yalare's head on a platter, plus I imagine they will be quite upset over us not telling them earlier."

"I know," Josha said, "I know, but they Weyrlings aren't stupid. A little arrogant, and annoying sometimes, but not stupid. They will understand why we are doing what we are doing, even if they won't be very happy about it. Hell, I might even give them Yalare after all this is done, the Weyrlings would probably be a lot nicer than me."

Dravel smiled slightly and stood up, "well I better be going, it looks like I have a lot of work in order to get my Fleet together, is their anything else, Josha?"

Now it was Josha turn to smile, "a matter of fact there is, Commander. You do know that commander of a fleet is an Admiral's position, and we can't have people you are commanding outranking you now can we?"

"Uhh, I guess not." Said Dravel a little flusterd.

"In that case Commander Dravel, I know promote you to full Admiral, with all the rank and Privileges." Josha shook Dravel's hand and gave a picture perfect salute to the new Admiral. Dravel returned it just as perfectly, "My aid has you new rank insignia waiting for you, good luck Admiral."

"Thank you Josha, I'll need it."

Chapter 21

That fool! That stupid idiotic fool! That was all Commander Lancer could think right now. Here he was on a crippled ship, being hunted by two weyrling Cruisers, and now he had been forced to throw his Captain in the brig.

Lancer looked at the Tactical display, it wasn't good. The Troikens Pride was out gunned and was losing ground fast to the two Weyrlings Cruisers, that weren't even trying to use their stealth systems. And why should they? The Trokens pride was not in good shape, she had lost several Engines, and was down a Telekinetic Projector. To make matters worse, his only salvation, 2 Draven dreadnaughts were clear across the system. He had no chance of making it to them before he was overtaken by the Weyrling vessles. And it was all the fault of that traitorous fool Jalan.

Once the battle was over, and Indestructible had gotten away, it had taken only a few hours to find the sabotage, and when Lancer checked that sabotage it had Jalan's codes all over it. Lancer had wanted to shoot the fool right their, but instead had settled for throwing him into the brig. That didn't help his current situation though.

Lancer had thought about calling out to the Weyrlings, explain to them what had happen, but he knew that would do little good. If the Troikens Pride's sensor's were working correctly, those were Psi corps ships, the elite of the Weyrling fleet, and the most feared. They were sent in for search and destroy, or Lancer feared even more capture. It was doubtful the Psi corps would be in a negotiating mood, it was more likely they would feign talking in order to get a lock on the Troikens Pride, and when that happens, it would over.

If only the Indestructible hadn't hit their long range communications antennas, then he might have been able to call fleet HQ, and explain the situation. Instead the Troikens Pride was out here, all alone, with their own allied hunting them down.

Lancer took a breath, "Pilot, change course I want randomize our course as much as possible, maybe we can evade those Light Cruisers." Lancer knew their was no chance of that.

The young pilot though didn't give any indication that he knew, instead he nodded and began to plot a randomized course, trying to put as much distance as possible between them and the Weyrling vessels. It was a losing proposition, the Troikens Pride was just too slow in its wounded state.

Lancer looked once again at the Tactical readout, it was only a matter of time.

[Ruatha]

Ahh, goodie...
Much to work with!

[mlmbd]

CaptRR, another GREAT chapter! You get thumbs up from me! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font

[Ruatha]

The intersting hot-spots right now:
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/newuploads/1049732746.jpg

[Ruatha]

2407.0
In the Secunda Giedi System.
---------------------------
Aboard the Destroyer Runaway.
Only one of the three shifts of the crew was in service, of the 19 aboard two where at the command bridge, one in the engine room, one was preparing a meal in the mess and two where doing maintnance on the cloaking device.
The Runaway was a special ship in that it had no offensive capability, she was a fast personnel carrier and now she was running with only her crew aboard, making her innards a wast empty space. Something unusual for the Weyrling crew who was usually serving on ordinary ships.
The Weyrling ships where luxurious in the space allocated to every person aboard when compared to many other species, but to a Weyrling the ships often seemed crowded.
Serving in this huge empty innards was a different experiance for the crew.

"-Should we alert the captain?", Sergeant Krut asked anselm Roy who was heading the ship while he pointed at the scanner screen.
"-Negative, He's asleep, no use wakening him. Alert the Desperation that we might need some assistance and start to close the distance to them."
Krut got information from the One about who was in command of the Desperation right now and voiced to the captain of the Desperation:
"-We're seing an asteroid field in our way, are you picking up on it too?"
"-Yes, we are manning the point defense cannon turrets right now, it shouldn't be any problem, just stick close to us!"
"-Affermative"

As they closed in on the dense asteroid field the smaller Runaway destroyer closed the gap too the larger and better armed light cruiser Desperation.
Asteroid fields weren't really a threat as they were more vacuum than asteroids and usually the ships passed right through. Actually ships tended to avoid running through asteroid fields if they weren't pressed for time.
The Recovery task force hovewer was pressed for time and pushed straight through. Smaller grovel and minor rocks could be handled by the armour but larger rocks needed to be bLasted first.

"-Time to give a warning, no way around it but to waken the ship"
Sergeant Krut opened the ship wide intercom:
"Alert. We are entering a minor asteroid field and we might experiance a bit of bumps for a while, no need for alarm. Carry on as usual!"
A couple of minutes after the warning they felt the first bump as the ship hit a minor rock which was repelled by the armour. After that it started to become uncomfortable as the ship rocked almost constantly in a disharmonic beat.
The crew was experianced but still lay awake as this wasn't all that common, it happened from time to time but you didn't experiance it every year.
On the bridge the anselm and the sergeant watched as the Desperations point defence turrets opened fire now and then, most of the times the blocks they where firing upon didn't pose any threat but it was a welcome target practice and a break from routine.
An asteroid larger than a battleship showed up on the scanners ahead of the ships, the calculation unit quickly stated that it would be a near miss by half a kilometer, not dangerous but impressive as the huge block closed in at enourmous speed (actually the block was nearly still but the ships was travelling near maximum speed).
When they where almost there one of the Desperations turrets opened fire at the block, gunner Lise thought she might have time to etch a grand "L" on the block as they passed by.
The cannon rounds hit the edge of the block, chiselling out a mansized corner that shot out infront of the Runaway. No one had reflexes fast enough to act on the threat!
The block hit the Runaway on starboard below, tearing through the armour and punching a hole into the Runaway, coming to a halt three meters inside the hull, killing the captain instantly as it hit the captains quarters. The engines shut down immediatly and the Desperation accelerated for another second before they shut down their engines aswell.

"-What have I done, What have I done??", they could all hear gunner Lise's question that was voiced without direction. The loss of the captain was immediatly felt as a disturbance in the collective by the crews on both ships.

As the Runaway was dead in space due to ripped circuits that would take another week to repeair the decision was made to split the task force.
The Desperation would proceed to the Giik system and rescue Try. Thurya as senior officer without a ship position would be transferred to the Runaway and take command of that vessel.
She wasn't needed in the rescue as that would be handled by the marines.
The Runaway would do repairs and would meet up with the Desperation at the warp point between Secunda Giedi and Giik when Try had been rescued, then all personnel would be transfered to the Runaway and the Desperation would be left with the ship AI in command, programmed to perform it's final task.

As the Desperation entered the Giik system the crew was amazed at what they saw.
The scanners went wild.
The fleet of ships massed in the Giik system outnumbered even the once mighty Sledgehammer fleet, approximately 200 ships where in the system. Mostly Battleships but some smaller and some larger ships aswell, fighter Groups running all over the system. More than half of the fleet was Nyran but a sizable part was Terran.
"-Now we will see what is most advanced, our cloak or their scanners", the captain thought aloud.
But as they slowly approached the planet where Try was being held there was no indication that they had been spotted. It took two weeks to finally arrive at the planet. When the assault shuttles landed guards fired upon the marines.
But the Weyrling marines weren't unprotected spaceships crew, they had the best defensive and offensive technology availible to the Central Powers alliance and the ground battle was only going one way. As good as the Terrans might be in space battles the prision guards where no match for the Weyrling marines, bodies littered the yard as they swept into the complex.
Finding Try was no problem as they had constant contact with him and the One showed the direction.
After a quick retreat into the shuttles all marines and Try was soon aboard the Desperation which started to power up the engines.
There was only one enemy ship in orbit and that was on the other side of the planet.
The ships in the system seemed to be gathered at one point mainly with a lot of ships heading in that direction.
The advanced scanners could already detect several ships starting to alter course towards the planet, and several hundreds of fast fighters starting to head in the general direction of the prison planet.
The number of ships in the system wasn't anticipated but they had planned on being pursued.
The Desperation would under cloak head for the warp-point, then after having transferred the personell it would head to the star and blow up the entire system!
Seeing this incredible mass of ships in the Giik system the Weyrlings had thought of it as a divine gift. The Nyrans would suffer a terrible loss aswell, but they couldn't prove it was the Weyrlings, and even so, after this the Nyrans wouldn't have any force left to be afraid of.
Only a couple of hours after the sucessful escape a stellar event showed up on the scanners. At the point of the main mass of ships a new warp point was slowly being opened. The one instantly connected this with a similar event starting at the same time in the Kalzeron system some distance from Kalzeron prime.
In a week the Terran/Nyran ships would be in Kalzeron, which now was defended by only 6 destroyers!
That fleet would do more damage to the Weyrling empire than the Weyrling had managed to inflict upon the Terrans during the entire war. So this was the reasson the Terran ships weren't attacking. They had been diverted for this purpose.
Even though the One couldn't feel fear, it could sense that feeling amongst the Weyrling population.
The decision aboard the Desperation was easy, even without the guidance of the One, everyone aboard the sip agreed and the Desperation altered course for the Giik star.
The Runaway would continue to be an empty ship.

Both Try and Thurya wept alot the following three days as they where in constant connection up to the moment the Giik star exploded!
The Runaway waited outside the Giik system for the wave front to pass by the warp point before they could enter it, but the trip home would go much faster due to the new warp point between Giik and Kalzeron.

Inside the Lasat system:

The Psi corps ship Tomaten was slowly gaining on Troikens Pride, Gurkan had diverted in a semicircle intended to take it arround Troikens Pride, so that there would be no chance escape.
The Troikens Pride hadn't tried to contact them, that didn't alter things but the crew had thought that the Dravens would plea for their lifes. More peculiar was that they hadn't started to fire upon the Weyrlings, they must know by now that there was no escape! Yet still they continued their turtlelike escape attempt.
When Gurkan was well ahead of Troikens Pride and the psi Corps was sure of success they started to power up the alligience converters. Soon the One would get more insigth into the Draven mind!
Then space itself started to shimmer beside Tomaten, the crew on Tomaten understood that it was a ship coming out of cloak. Most propably a Draven ship.
Very well, they might be able to destroy Tomaten who had it's weapons trailing Troikens Pride but they sure wouldn't be able to take out Gurkan. One Psi corps ship was an afforable price for two Draven ships full with Draven crew, and the Draven ships tended to be packed with crew. Oh, how many minds to probe, the feelings in the Psi Corp crew was stil high when the Draven ship that materialized fired it's first salvo.
Aimed at Troikens Pride.
"-Noo", the captain of Tomaten cried out.
"Full ahead, put us between those two ships. Gurkan, capture Troikens Pride now!"
But it was too late, one round from those telekinetic cannons shouldn't be enough to destroy a ship such as Troikens Pride, but the Dravens obviously knew where to aim. The troikens Pride exploded in a ball of fire.
"-Gurkan, take that new Draven ship instead while they're firing upon us!"
Then the other Draven ship joined Troikens Pride in a ball of flame.
It was uncomprehensible. The Weyrlings hadn't fired a single shot, and now two draven ships was ashes.
What had happened here??

At Central Powers headquarter in the Acamar system:

Elyssandra was sitting in her quarters discussing with Prince dravel.
"-I'm glad you could make it here, but also dissappointed that you are leaving so soon!", she said.
"-Even though it's always a pleasure to meet you matriarch, I'm saddened that I must leave. But I must follow some leads that might explain this attack upon the Indestructible. Right now it's as hard to understand for me as it is for you. But I have been looking into captain Jalan's movements before the attack and I'll be questioning everyone he had contact with previous to the attack. And that goes for the late admiral Panar aswell.
I guarantee you that I will find answers, just give me time!"
"-I wouldn't have belived anyone else. But your father the King acted with great integrity when he kept us out of war when our races met.
So long ago it seems now.
I see that you are truly his son. Follow your leads prince Draven, I trust you in this, but keep us informed, our patience isn't endless!"

Days and weeks passed.
Elyssandra had given up any hope of getting ships from the Dravens. And had begun packing to return to Kalzeron and Ilian. The plan that was meant to send a warning to the Argon and the CCCP was promising to wipe out the Terran fleet aswell. Try was to be rescued anyday now, he could be home in a couple of months. To have the family gathered again, it had been so long since that had Last happened.

The Indestructible had been repaired and the trip to Kalzeron was a short one now that the weyrlings had opened a wormhole directly between kalzeron and Acamar.
After boarding the Indestructible they left for the wormhole to Kalzeron. Try had been rescued and Elyssandra was feeling great. She was on top of the world.
Then it hit her, the Terrans and Nyrans where opening a warp point into Kalzeron.
They wouldn't have time to open a warp point to the Sledge and Hammer fleets and bring them home in time. And against what was coming they wouldn't have a chance anyway. The only solution was painstakingly obvious, she would never se Try again. Her son!

Elyssandra was in the Kalzeron system when the star destroyer went off. When she arrived at Kalzeron prime she received a message from what remained of the terran goverment. They surrendered unconditionally. The Nyrans had declared war and allied themselfs with the Argon confederacy and the CCCP.
From the new Terran subjects the Weyrlings learnt the reason for the war declarations from the Argon and CCCP.
After torturing Try the Terrans had gone to the empires surrounding the Weyrlings and the Central Powers alliance and showed recordings of Try explaining about the One and the collective. The Argons and the CCCP having seen changes in the Weyrlings suspected that it was something infecteous and wanted to either isolate or annihilate the Weyrlings before the "disease" spread to their empires.
The Nyrans had been planning a war a long time, primarily against the Dravens but when the Terrans asked them to join forces against the Weyrlings they had gladly accepted. Thinking of the hundreds of rich planets in the Weyrling empire.

The Weyrlings now controlled all Terran territory. The Weyrlings asked themselfs: for what? They joined the war for the alliance and won a vicory and a prize they never sought. What to do with it?

The One and the Weyrlings had thought on the matter and a decision was made.
The Weyrlings would abandon their new possesions, the Terran territory would be handed over to the Central powers alliance to handle. All outgoing warp points from the Weyrling Empire would be shut off, the one to Acamar would be saved to Last.
Inside the Weyrling empire a intricate net of warp points would be opened, the resulting gravitational disturbances would make it impossible for someone to open a warp point into the empire.
With new ringworlds and sphereworlds soon being finished and 34 worlds already with breathable atmosphere and 121 more worlds soon to have breathable atmosphere, as the atmospheric converters where staring to operate, the Weyrlings would have ample of space to expand within their own borders.
This was to be kept a secret until it was to late for anyone to intervene. For all systems to be shut out with the new warp point network operative would take less than three years.
Three years to arrange for a future in isolation.
Three years to keep this secret from becoming common knowledge, no one not a Weyrling would be allowed to know.
The expulsion of aliens from Weyrling territory would have to be handled with some finesse, but out they would go. Soon, there wouldn't be any aliens left inside the empire.
The Central powers alliance wouldn't be allowed to know that it was about to loose one of its members, not until it was too late to do anything about.

If the universe didn't want to have anything to do with the Weyrlings, the Weyrlings could do without the universe. They had already learnt all they needed to know from the aliens.

[ April 09, 2003, 21:18: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Raging Deadstar]

Very good Ruatha, i'm curious what will happen between the dravens and the wreylings now the wreylings are shutting themselves out. A very good chapter http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[mlmbd]

Ruatha, another great addition, Sir! I am enjoing this story!

I was wondering as RD about "what will happen between the dravens and the wreylings now the wreylings are shutting themselves out."

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font

[CaptRR]

Grumble, grubble.... damn Isolatinists Weyrlings ...

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

[Atrocities]

Damn it took me most of the day to get caught up on this thread. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif I eagerly away another installment.

[Ruatha]

CaptRR> Anything coming up soon? (Don't wanna press you, just eagerly anticipating the next chapter.)

Tbontob> Given up on this story?

[ April 13, 2003, 13:02: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[CaptRR]

Yep, got one coming really soon. Your isolationism, through me for a loop http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

I had to delete what I wrote, and re-write it, no biggie. I'll have anouther chapter by the end of the day.

[Ruatha]

Originally posted by CaptRR:
Yep, got one coming really soon. Your isolationism, through me for a loop http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

I had to delete what I wrote, and re-write it, no biggie. I'll have anouther chapter by the end of the day.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Oops, sorry.
But I didn't hink it would affect you all that much as (I tried to keep it as a secret...).
But I guess that if the other races know of the One, the info will leak to the rest of the CP eventually.

[CaptRR]

Maybee so, but a move this big is bound to cause alot of movement, and wonder (for instance why give the captured terrens to the CP).

Originally posted by Ruatha:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by CaptRR:
Yep, got one coming really soon. Your isolationism, through me for a loop http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

I had to delete what I wrote, and re-write it, no biggie. I'll have anouther chapter by the end of the day.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Oops, sorry.
But I didn't hink it would affect you all that much as (I tried to keep it as a secret...).
But I guess that if the other races know of the One, the info will leak to the rest of the CP eventually.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

[Ruatha]

Ahh, yes.
Didn't think of that http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[CaptRR]

Short chapter this time
____________________

Chapter 22

"You are hereby charged with Treason, Conspiracy to commit treason, attempting to incite a revolution, and plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister. How do you plead?

Somar listened to the words; most of them were correct charges, except the assassination plot. It didn't matter though, in the two months since Somar had been arrested while leaving Hamal's house, he could see everything leading to this point. It was a classic setup, his trial was a secret, if it was ever even revealed to the general public, the only thing that would be known was the verdict, and of course the sentence. Which Somar had no doubt would be death.

The small room he was in now, didn't even resemble a court room. In fact their were little decorations at all, only a small table where the "judge" sat, and two other tables for the defense and prosecution. In all only about 4 people other than he were even present. Somar didn't even have the option of a lawyer, he was being forced to defend himself, but again he doubted that a lawyer would affect the outcome in the least. He was a dead man.

The Last 2 months had been hard, he and Hamal had both been arrested and shipped to this secret prison. Once they arrived at the prison he had lost sight of Hamal, that was also the Last time he had seen the older Draven, but he had heard, oh creator how he had heard. Mostly at night, he would hear the screams, that seemed to Last forever, occasional a name would be screamed out, no doubt Hamal was being tortured to give the name of so called co-conspirators, and also no doubt those names would be exactly what his torturers had wanted him to say.

Somar didn't blame Hamal either, their was no way a person could stand up to torture forever, everything had its breaking point. Somar by contrast hadn't been treated badly, other than the lack of toilet facilities, and the distasteful food, he had been treated remarkable well, even if he was locked in his cell the entire day, and was forbidden to see any visitors.

It hadn't taken long for Somar to figure out why he was being treated well. It was simple, he was being fattened up for his trial. No doubt the star witness for the prosecution would be Hamal himself, after he had been properly conditioned that is. Somar's suspicions were confirmed once he walked into the courtroom. In a corner chair sat Hamal, or what looked like Hamal. He had aged considerably over the Last 2 months, the man looked look frail, like a moving corpse.

Somar took a breath, if he claimed innocence he would convicted then shot. If he pleaded guilty, he would be forced to make a statement, then shot. Neither choice appealed to Somar, but his options were limited, and damn if he was going to go down he would go down swinging.

"Not guilty", Somar managed to say.

The judge didn't even flinch, only nodded, then looked over to the prosecutor. "Tanat, is the Government ready to present its case?"

"Yes it is Sir," Tanat motioned to Hamal in the corner. Hamal obeyed however slowly, and made his way to the seat beside the judge.

"Representative Hamal," Continued Tanat, "You have admitted to the government that you and several other Representatives in the Peoples Committee conspired to assassinate the Prime Minister, is this true?"

Hamal spoke, but it sounded rehearsed, fake, devoid of Hamal's usual charm. "Yes"

Tanat didn't even skip a beat, "And is it also true, that Representative Somar orchestrated the entire thing?"

Somar was on his feet instantly, "that's not true!"

The judge pointed towards Somar, "The defense will remain quite or be held in contempt."

"I will not. If I am going to be dammed I will be dammed on my own terms. This entire government is a sham, it has been taken over by Yalare, and has no representation of what the founders intened. Yalare..."

Somar never finished his sentence, a guard game up from behind him and hit him in the head knocking Somar to the floor. As reality slowly faded away, and blackness seeped into his vision the Last thing he saw was Hamal staring at him, his eyes saying what his mouth could not.

Later that day, Somar along with 56 other Representatives were shot for treason. In effect the Peoples Committee died in a lonely field just on the edge of Capital city.

Chapter 23

Yalare watched the news, it was no surprise of course when it was told that Somar and 56 other representatives had been convicted of treason. Yalare had complete control of the media, and the only thing that got out was what he wanted to get out.

He leaned back in his chair, ignoring for a moment the two other people in the room with him. If the people knew the truth about the Yalare they would certainly have him killed. In fact when Yalare had first learned the truth about himself he had wanted to kill himself. The voice, had turned out to be nothing more than a figment of his imagination. A way for his mind not to accept what he had done. After the voice showed him, he finally had to deal with the reality. It took a while, for several weeks he had refused to leave his office, but in time, he had come to accept that what he had done was for the good of the republic, if his plan worked, the Draven republic would be stronger than ever, and the looming threat of the CCCP would be gone.

Yes, he had planed the destruction of Landing City, but had been the only way to get rid of that foolish president, while inciting a war against the Terrens. For the most part his plan worked, unfortunately the Draven armed forces hadn't fared too well against the Terren's the loss of the sledgehammer fleet had been upsetting, but not disastrous. In the end the war with the terrens had been nothing more than a distraction to the big picture, which Yalare was now seeing with unparallel clarity.

Their was a problem though, that fool Josha had apparently caused some sort of communications blackout with the Acamar system. Everytime he tried to contact the system, or even the Central Powers his communications were getting bounced back to him. Josha was obviously up to something, he just had to find out what.

"Prime Minister" one of the men in the room finally said, "are you sure you have the Josha situation in hand, if you do not we need to know now so we can take care of it." The man's accent betrayed where he was born, even if he had been genetically altered to look like a Draven.

"Tell you boss, that Josha is a bug, and that I will take care of him. The only thing he could do is call on those despicable weyrlings, and if he does that he'll being plying right into our hands."

The man looked at his companion for a moment, then back at the prime minister, "We are troubled by the delays, you should have had Josha taken care of months ago. If you don't take care of Josha, we will be forced to withhold the shipments."

Yalare stood and gave the man the sternest look he could, "don't you dare threaten me, your boss needs us more than we need him. I will take care of Josha, you take care of the shipments."

The man hesitated for a moment, "Assuming you have Josha taken care of, the shipments will be here in 3 months."

"Good," said Yalare, and then retook his seat, "I'm, sure you boss will be glad once this entire situation is behind us."

The man nodded and then turned to leave, but stopped, "is their anything you wish me to tell him?"

"Yes," Yalare couldn't hide his smile, once Josha was taken car of Draven's would take their place in the Universe, "Tell Stalin, that he will soon have the Weyrlings on a platter, cooked and stuffed curtsy of the Draven Republic."

[Ruatha]

Whoo, scary.
I didn't expect that http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/confused.gif

Hmm, what now, will have to think. But alas, the Weyrlings knows nothing of this....

[Raging Deadstar]

Woah, that was totally unexpected! Great Plot Twist CaptRR!!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[CaptRR]

I was actually going to work this plot twist in over the next couple of installments. But, events change, and I ended up having to rush it. I can tell that Rutha is prepareing for an end to his side of the story, and I figured I better start doing the same. Still their is plenty of action left, for the most part my story is planned out, and I garentee the best parts are yet to come.

[Ruatha]

No need to rush, I still have three years before the Weyrlings are isolated. And much can happen to stop that from actually happen.
But it gives me an opportunity to end the story from my side eventually.

There are some ways that some of the dead Weyrlings might make a comeback, but I don't tink I'll use that.
Propably I'll focus on the ones i haven't killed off yet http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[ April 13, 2003, 23:46: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Ruatha]

Who ho, even shorter than yours CaptRR!

2407.2 Weyrling Empire:
-----------------------

Elyssandra sat in her chamber looking over the strategic map of the Weyrling territory.
So far the borders towards the Ghouls clan had been shut down. The new intra-empire warp-point network was starting to unfold, much was left to be done but everything was going as planned.
What was most disturbing was that the former ally of the Weyrlings, the Argon confederacy had started sending in small attack ships into Weyrling territory. Targetting unarmed freighters and asteroid miner ships.
Not a threat but a nuisance.
And the Central Powers alliance wasn't much to count on these days.
The Dravens had refused to declare war upon the Argons and the CCCP, claiming that there wasn't really any actual real war involving them and the Weyrlings, only diplomatic problems that the Weyrlings ought to resolve themselfs.
The Central Powers charter needed all three partners to agree if the alliance itself was to declare war upon another nation.
The Thermolians had said that they would support the Weyrlings if the alliance got involved in the war, but sofar the Weyrlings had never seen an actual Thermolian warship in action, they were to busy with their war against the Infernal Realm.
Elyssandra let out a deep breath, it seemed as if the only ones that really put up any effort to support the other members of the alliance was the Weyrlings.
Weyrlings had died when the Weyrlings had sent ships into the Thermolian-Infernal realms war. And the multitude of lifes that had been sacrificed to defend the Dravens from the Terrans was still an aching wound in the collective mind.
No Dravens or Thermolians had even been wounded in the defence of Weyrling space!
Elyssandra was more and more convinced of the righteusness in the isolation decision.

Thurya was expected home tomorrow. Elyssandra had tried to speak to her since Try's death. The death of her son had been a hard blow to both Elyssandra and Ilian, but Thurya seemed to be the one that was affected the most.
She wasn't alone in her opinion but surely the one that voiced it most loudly, she thought the isolation decision was an abomination.
Elyssandra belived it was a reaction to Try's death, but when she tried to raise that with Thurya she only got abuse back,
"You are petrified in your thoughts and you've dragged the One along with you!" was the Last thing Thurya had voiced to her before shutting Elyssandra out.
Life wasn't fun anymore, Elyssandra thought. She got up and headed for the bed, she seemed tired all the time now.
Ilian was at the lab experimenting with the One.
It took along time before sleep finally shut away her thoughts of her dead son.

Thurya was expected home tomorrow.
She didn't look forward to it.
She would surely have to meet Try's old emotionless old haggard to mother when she arrived.
Thurya was somewhat of a hero herself now, after all, she had been involved in some way in the bLast that ended the Terran war.
She wasn't sure of how to use this, but the one thing she was sure of was that this isolationist thought that was predominating Weyrling life at the moment had to be stopped.
Surely it must be obvious that the Weyrlings would again stagnate if they isolated themselfs.
Hadn't the one once chosen the long sleep so that the Weyrlings would go out into the universe and interact with others?
How did the collective belive that things had changed so radically to be able to ignore that fact?
Somehow, this had to be stopped!

[ April 16, 2003, 20:41: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[tbontob]

Hi Ruatha.

No, I haven't given up. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Just haven't had the time. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

It is so bad, I haven't even read your stories yet. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Hopefully soon, I will be able to participate.

[CaptRR]

Chapter 24

Josha watched as Fifth fleet accelerated away from Acamar VII. It was a strange feeling, watching a fleet as large as this one leave without so much as a mention. Usually when large fleets left their home station families and friends would gather in the orbital stations to see them off. This time though, operational security had made that impossible. As far as the families of the Dravens manning the fleet knew they were just leaving on a standard training cruise within the system.

Josha took a breath, he had taken a shuttle up to one of the orbital shipyards to clear his mind. He figured that watching the ships speed off might give him some perspective. Instead it filled him with guilt. Guilt at sending the Prince on an almost impossible mission, against his own people, and guilt at the lives that would be lost in the months to come.

Still Josha smiled, he had no idea what would happen when that fleet showed up in the home system, but he was sure their was no one more competent to lead it than Prince Dravel. He was young, yes, but he had his father's flare, add to that his keen tactical sense, Josha was sure if victory could be found Dravel would find it.

Josha turned from the large windows overlooking the planet, and headed towards the hatch that would take him to his shuttle. He had a full schedule ahead of him. The Weyrlings were making some strange ship movements, nothing major. A shipyard gearing down here and there, and the occasional warp point closure. Those things in themselves were not alarming the Dravens themselves had begun to close unnecessary warp points themselves. The gearing down of shipyards however was strange, after all technically they were at war with the CCCP, and the Argon's weren't exactly being the most friendly to the Weyrlings right now either. Nothing overt had happen, but they had been harassing Weyrling freighters, and if Intelligence reports were correct the Argon Confederacy wasn't exactly acting as a single entity.

For years the CCCP and Argon intelligence corps had been running major operations against each other, but the CCCP with its vast resources had been much better at it than the Argons. The results were major uprisings all over the Argon Confederacy, ships missing, and leader's being assassinated. The Draven Intelligence Agency predicted that unless something major happened the Argons would begin to splinter very soon. Josha didn't exactly look forward to having an unstable empire right next to Draven Territory, but at this point he couldn't do anything about it.

Josha almost laughed, the Dravens weren't exactly the symbol of unity right now on the verge of a civil war. Somehow though Prince Dravel had to pull it off and win back the Repubic. Then and only then could they start to repair all the damage done by Yalare. It would be hard to win back the trust of the Weyrlings, if Josha were in their shoes he would have left the alliance a long time ago. The Weyrlings at least seemed to be leaving the alliance in place, even if they had began to regard it as a burocratic mess, and even stopped asking for assistance from the other members.

As Josha entered the landing bay, he saw his aid standing beside his personal shuttle. As the aid spotted Josha, he began to walk towards him. Once he was within a few meters he produced a pad and began to skim its contents while giving Josha a summarized Version.

"Sir, I got a message from SysComm."

Josha nodded, SysComm was short for System Communication Center. They handled all faster than light, and slower than light communications going in and out of the Acamar system. The center actually contained representatives from all member of the alliance, since Alliance HQ was in the system, but the Dravens primarily ran it.

"Are they going to be able to meet our requirements?" asked Josha.

His aide looked at the padd again, "more or less, they said they can block all Draven communications going out of the Acamar system, but since we don't control the Weyrling or Thermolian communication nets someone could route though their communication networks and bypass ours completely. It seems more likely that someone would use the Termolians though."

"Why's that?" Asked Josha.

"Well sir, for some reason the Weyrlings communication nets have been almost unused. About the only thing that goes over the lines is Messages from other races going to their homeworld, if someone tried to use their net it would stick out like a sore thumb. The Thermolians on the other hand have an almost saturated net, it would be much easier for someone to use their net without them knowing about it, it would simply get lost in the static."

"I see. Well it will have to do. All we have to do is stop Yalare's official orders from going to the Alliance HQ, as long as we can do that we can stop him from asking for help from the Alliance."

The aide looked at Josha thoughtfully, "You really think the Allinace would give him help after how many time he's repeatedly thrown them to the wolves?"

"I doubt the Weyrlings would, but the Thermolians haven't had to deal with Yalare too many times, they would just be abiding by the Allinace Charter."

"I see" said his aide as they walked to the shuttle, "But isn't the Alliance going to get a little suspicious when they lose all contact with most of the Draven Republic?"

Josha nodded, "they most certainly will, but thats the purpose of our meeting with the Speaker this afternoon."

"What are you going to tell him?"

Josha srugged, "The truth, that Yalare is a madman, and that the military has been forced to uphold its constitutional duty and stop him. Considering the speakers past dealings with Yalare I don't think he will complain too much. Mostly though I just want them to stay out of this, we don't need Yalare using the Weyrlings as a propaganda tool. If the Draven people thought that they were being invaded it would make the princes job harder."

Josha and his aid entered the shuttle and took their seats, as they did Josha looked out the window. Just outside the launch bay he could see the Last glimmer of Fifth fleet disappeared.

"Good luck Prince. Let the creator watch over you."

Chapter 25

Comrade General Speratii was not a happy man. Another of his ships was having trouble with its stealth generators. If Speratii could have shot the tech responsible for the generators he would have. As it was though all he could do was send the ship back for repairs. He couldn't take the chance of his force being spotted, not this deep in hostile territory.

Slowly he took a deep breath and let it out through his mouth, he used the moment to calm himself. It wouldn't do him a lot of good to scream at his subordinates no matter how much he wanted to.

"Comrade Colonel Lackcheck, that makes the third vessel we have had to send back this month. What is the problem?"

The young Comrade Colonel squirmed slightly, the man had danced around an explanation for the Last hour, attempting to bury his commander in so many details that he wouldn't see the overall trend. It was common trick for someone who didn't want to answer the question.

"Well uh..." squirm "Comrade General... uh... the Generators were never meant to run this long. When Stalin himself laid out the uh... requirements for the generators it was never mentioned that they be designed to run for so long without a break."

Speratii leaned back; satisfied that he had finally beaten the explanation out of the younger man. "So" he said slowly, "you are blaming Comrade Stalin for your failure."

The Colonel's face got white as a ghost, and he stuggled for words, "No Comrade General... I was just noting that it wasn't a requirement that is all."

"Any decent Fleet Maintenance officer would have planned for our long stay," observed Speratii, "If you failed to plan the only conclusion I can make is that you are incompetent, and should be sent back to home world in disgrace. With might I add a full copy of you actions in this room. I'm sure Comrade Stalin would be very interested in how it is his fault that you are unable to do your job."

Now the maintenance officer was on the verge of panic, "No Comrade General I didn't mean it that way, I was just..." He stammered for a moment trying to find any way he could do get himself out of the situation. "I just meant that..."

"Colonial," said the General cutting off the Lackcheck sharply, "I will make you a deal. I will not punish you for your incompetence this time, but so help me if another ship falls out of the fleet I will have you thrown out an air lock, and I'm sure your family would get a call from Internal Security. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Comrade General," Said the Officer, still scared to death.

"Good, in that case get out of my office" Lackcheck obeyed instantly, and Speratii was left back to his maps. Speratii actually had no intention of throwing the man out the airlock, or turning in his family to Internal Security, but it made a great motivation tool, and right now he needed every member of his fleet operating at 100%. If he was spotted, the entire plan would go up in flames, and Speratii was sure that Stalin would not make the same idol threats that Speratii just did. He would simply carry them out, and hang his head up for all to see.

Comrade General Speratii went back to looking over the star charts. It showed the current traffic patterns, which were quite heavy, as usual in this system. In the center of the maps was the major population centers, and quite major they were. The entire system was among the most populated in the known universe, and the Industrial capacity of system was greater than any single in the CCCP. Slowly Speratii made some calculations, and estimated that he would have more than enough firepower to accomplish his goals. That is assuming the Intelligence people were doing their jobs. The Last thing that Speratii wanted to do was face the defensive fire from those planets, he doubted a strait battle with them would Last 10 minutes.

Yes if everything went as planned Speratii would accomplish the greatest strike in history of the CCCP. He looked down at the target area of his map, the fire patterns were perfect, his ships would have clear fire paths at the planet and her shipyards. Speratii smiled as he read the name of the planet "Kornephoros X".

The Dravens were in for quite a surprise.

[mlmbd]

CaptRR, you did yourself proud. I imagine the twist came from the beginning of the unseen, from Ruatha isolationism. Whether or did or not. The chapters 22 and 23 were great! Now 24 is awesome! The Dravens were in for quite a surprise.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">So are the rest of us, I imagine!

Ruatha, very nice, Sir! I think there is something going on here! Not sure just what. But I do get the feeling there is, something yet undone. Might be wrong!

<font color=purple>mlmbd http://www.shrapnelgames.com//ubb/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif </font

[Ruatha]

Phew!!
Reading that I was afraid that the CCCP had infiltrated my home system!!!
What a relief that they where somewhere else http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[CaptRR]

Originally posted by Ruatha:
Phew!!
Reading that I was afraid that the CCCP had infiltrated my home system!!!
What a relief that they where somewhere else http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ya but they are in the Draven home system! As if the Draven Republic doesn't have enouph problems.

[Ruatha]

CaptRR, please go ahead and write, you don't have to wait for me. I'm lacking direction here now.
Will have to wait for my musa to wake up!

[CaptRR]

Originally posted by Ruatha:
CaptRR, please go ahead and write, you don't have to wait for me. I'm lacking direction here now.
Will have to wait for my musa to wake up!<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">No its not that. I've been in dial up hell with only about 25 minutes a day to surf the web and do stuff. Most of that is spent in PBW. I just got my cable in today at the apartments. I will write some more chapters soon, just trying to get back into a schedule. Going to back to school, is a learning experience.

[CaptRR]

I know it been a long time, but I am back. I'll try to keep the story going between studying and school, that means I will only be able to write about once a week. So here goes.
________________________________________

Chapter 26

"..and that about covers it, Questions?" Dravel looked over his assembled officers as they exchanged glances. For the Last hour he had filled them in on his plan, they had raised an occasional question here and their, but overall they had sat and listened, most no doubt were still trying to their mind around an invasion of their home system. Dravel had to admit he knew had they felt, no one had ever mounted an invasion of the Draven Home system, the place was like a fortress. The defenses started with mines, lots of mines, just under a hundred on every warp point going into the system. Backing up the mines are 3 Large Bases, 2 of which were heavily armed with the latest Telekenetic Projectors. Then assuming you were able to get through that hailstorm you still had to face the wrath of home fleet, an armada of almost a hundred ships, 25% were the latest Dreadnaughts.

All that didn't even take into consideration of the Weapon Platforms located on the planet. Usually when a fleet attacked a planet, it would engage the weapon platforms on the surface. Once those platforms were out of the way, the assault on the planet itself could begin. The problem here was that more than half the weapon platforms were located inside the floating cities themselves, taking them out would kill a great many Dravens, and that was something Admiral Dravel was not willing to do."

Captain Hanack was the first to ask as question, "Why not hit the shipyards at Kornephoras VII first?"

Dravel thought about it for a second, "If this were an operation to destroy the home system then yes, Kornephoras VII would be the best target, its shipyards account for most of the systems production. However, Kornephoras X is the home of the Republic, if we can hit there, with minimum civilian casualties, I'm sure the rest of the Republic would fall in line." Dravel had to admit that leaving the shipyards intact could come back in bite them later, after all having an intact industrial area that close would leave most of the systems war fighting elements intact. Most of all though, Dravel didn't want this to turn into a long and drawn out civil war. For the most part almost all the republic was taking a wait and see attitude, no one wanted to upset whoever was going to be left after the cards fell, as of now this little war was between Kornephoros and Acamar systems. If Dravel could win this war quickly, it would mean keeping the conflict from spreading across the rest of the republic.

The next person to ask was Captain Tenal, Dravel's fleet XO, that short Draven was almost a legion amongst the Republics Navy. The captain had managed to beat almost every "unbeatable" scenario in the Academy, and he was almost single handedly responsible for putting an end to the piracy in the outer colonies, so when the man spoke he got respect. "Admiral, I was wondering sir why are we charging in so fast to the planet? Why not just go in slow, and try to get some extra support from the rest of the system?"

"Tenal, I don't think we can count on getting much support from the rest of the system. Yalare hasn't got them locked down as tight as the Capital, but he still isn't very well liked there. I imagine, with the exception of the shipyards, that the rest of home system will want to stay as far away from this as possible. Besides, we will want to draw as much of home fleet away from the planet as we can before we hit them with our little surpise. The more that are left to guard, will make it that much harder for us down the road."

Tenal simply nodded, Dravel noticed that no one had any more immediate questions, although he was sure to get a flurry of fresh ones as the days went on. "If there are no more questions, then we'll adjourn for today, and meet back up here tomorrow at 0800." With that, most of the captains stood, and began to confer with their various aids. For the next servral minutes, Dravel walked around and answered various questions and signed other documents for approval. After a few minutes the room was almost empty, only the aids were left to sort out the details of his plan, that was when Dravel noticed Sosha in the corner.

Her smile immediately lit up the room. Sosha had come with Dravel on his trip to Acamar to help out with any communications with him and the small fleet in Agamar. Since the terrens had surrendered though she had found herself with little to do. The only thing that the King Dravel was doing now was overseeing the reconditioning of a couple of Terren Battleships for use of the Alliance, the work was important, but slow.

So Sosha had busied herself as the Captains secretary, that meant the two had spent a lot of time together, which Dravel didn't mind at all. Even if he couldn't have a relationship with her, that didn't meant he couldn't spend time the beautiful officer. As Dravel approached her now, she noticed his smile as well, and the two locked eyes for a moment. It was strange in a way, and heartbreaking in another. If Dravel hadn't joined the Navy he would never have met Sosha, yet that same Navy also had rules about Relationships within the ranks. Yet somehow that didn't matter right now, all he wanted was her, and after all this was over, rules be dammed, he would throw away his commission if he had to, some things were worth it. Besides after this fight was over, Dravel was sure that he will seen enough of war to Last him a lifetime.

Up to a few weeks ago, Dravel had no idea if Sosha felt the same way towards him as he for her, but as they had worked together the Last couple of weeks she had let on subtle signs that indeed their was an attraction their, even though she did her best to hide it.

"Sir," she said now, her voice strong yet fragile, "I just got back your requisition request from Troiken I. The administrator over the bone yard at first was hesitant to grant you the ships, but I simply informed him that it wouldn't be a good idea to upset a war fleet parked right off his back door."

"So we are getting the ships?"

"Yep, plus a few extra that he failed to report as space worthy to command." Her smile was as wide as now. The Administrator of the "bone yard", a place were ships were sent in storage when they had run their life cylces, was known a fierce negotiator, often times wrangling headquarters for months over the smallest budget expenditures. The fact that Sosha was able to get almost his entire inventory was amazing. "He wanted to warn you though, that almost none of the ships are armed, and the few that are armed have weapons that have been obsolete for years."

Dravel waived a hand, "For our use it doesn't matter. Dispatch as many techs as you can space, I also want the Engineers their ASAP. It is imperative that they get that armor in place, or all this will have been for nothing."

Sosha nodded as she quickly took notes on her pad. "I'll have them leave immediately, also we are going to be running short on armor, which ships should get it first."

He had to think about that for a moment, "make it the first group, they are going to be taking the brunt of the damage." Once again sosha nodded as she wrote it down.

Once she finished and looked up, their eyes met again. "God," Dravel though, "she certainly a beauty."

"Also" he said, "How would you like have dinner with me, we could use the time to finish."

A small twinkle showed in her eyes, "Why, Admiral, are you asking me out?"

The sentence was obviously a joke, but it still made Dravel's temperature rise, and he stumbled over his own words trying to speak, "Uhhh... well, that is of course, if you are available."

"Thank you Prince," she said, the smile never leaving her face, "I would be honored."

Dravel watched for a moment, and for a second his future didn't seem that bad.

Chapter 27

"What do you mean, we have lost contact with Acamr!" Yalare was screaming at the top of his lungs. The victim of his rage, Golemen just looked up. "How do you lose contact with an entire star system, what happen did you misplace it?"

"No sir," Golemen said as humbly as possible. The Last thing he wanted to do is upset the Prime Minister any more, people had turned up missing that had done far less. "It appears to be a complete communications breakdown, every time we try to send orders into the system, or even try to communicate with the Central powers, we run into a road block. Whatever it is, its being done on purpose from Acamar"

Yalare slammed his hand on the desk, it hit so hard, a couple of object fell off, and hit the floor only added to the drama of the act, "its Josha, I'm sure of it. He's trying to orginize some kind of rebellion I bet, fine, if he wants to be mortar the so be, dispatch home fleet, I want Josha taken into custody."

Goleman shifted in his chair uneasily, "That may not be a good idea Mr Prime Minister."

"Why not." Goleman could see that he prime ministers rage was about to boil over, this Last bit of news might send him over the edge.

"We have been getting some reports that a large formation of Draven ships is headed through Troikens. Unfortunately astro control for the system says there are no unusual movements within the system. My sources are pretty reliable, so I am inclined to believe that astro control is lying."

Yalare stared in silence this was bad news indeed, Probably worse than the communication problem in Acamar. For weeks now, responses from most of the planets in the republic had been strange. Not anything concrete but, their responses seemed too robotic, as though they were sending in enouph information just to get the job done, but trying not be overly friendly. Now with Astro control not reporting the movement of a large group of ships, it was obvious that what they were doing. A war was coming, and they didn't want to take sides. If they had sided with Josha in his band, the communications would have stopped completely, with that Yalare was thankful, at least he wouldn't be fighting the entire republic just a portion of it.

"In that case, pull back the home fleet to Kornephoras X, if they come through the Warp point, we'll engage them at that time. Also put the Base crews on alert, if anything comes through that warp point, I want it dead, understood?"

"Yes Prime Minister."

"If Josha thinks I'm going to let him destroy me he is mistaken."

Out in space, the home fleet of the Draven Republic began their movement towards the Capital, and silently the stealthed fleet of the CCCP took note, and followed.

[Ruatha]

The tension is rising....

[Raging Deadstar]

Ooooh, interesting...

The question is who will the CCCP Be siding with? *suspense* http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Cyrien]

Side with someone? I wouldn't. I would let them battle it out and then take down the leftovers. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Intersting to see how he manipulates the story. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ May 04, 2003, 14:26: Message edited by: Cyrien ]

[Ruatha]

2408.0 The Weyrling Empire
---------------------------

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/newuploads/1053364922.jpg

Thurya felt somewhat numb due to the psychoactive drugs that seperated her from The One, it was impossible for the collective to track her movements now. She had severed all ties with her people, all for the good of her people!

The small interstellar shuttle was slowly approaching the construction site at Alpha 2 Lib.
The ship was loaded with explosives.
Ever since Try died Thuryas life had felt meaningless and empty, and now that the Weyrlings were going to isolate themselfs it had lost all meaning, the only thing that still brought her some joy was to fly amongst the stars, pass through the wormholes in anticipation of what would be on the other side. And now that was going to be taken from her.

Never!

It wasn't egoistic motives that had prompted her to take action, she was fully convinced that isolation would be the doom for the Weyrlings. Stagnation and decay was the future for the people who had risen so fast, she couldn't let that happen.
If it meant sacrificing herself to show the rest the true way so be it, she didn't have all that much left to live for anyway. It was a small price to pay.

"-Shuttle Erax respond", the comm channel opened with a surprising loud voice. Thurya hadn't used a comm channel for ages it seemed.
"-Is there anyone aboard? We receive no contact with any Weyrling aboard! If there is anyone aboard respond!
We are sending a boarding crew!"

Thurya armed the explosives and pushed the throttle control forward to maximum.
The engines roared into action and pressed her deply into the seat, the small ship was unbalanced in mass versus power, it was heavily owerpowered and accelerated quickly.
Thurya opened an all direction comm channel.

-"This is Thurya Kyli speaking. Our people was stagnating before, after we opened ourselfs to the great wastness of the universe we have risen and become a great nation. Our achivements are legio and we are renowned for our honour and reliability.
Now we have decided to abandon the rest of the universe, to put ourselfs into isolation and care nothing for what happens to our allies who we have sworen to aid.
I cannot silently watch this deceit.
If we isolate ourselfs we will also loose our motivation to evolve, to strive forward. We will stagnate and perish.
This cannot be.
To stop this I will gladly give my life.
To those working on the System Gravitational shield in the Alpha 2 Lib system, head for your escape pods now, in two minutes it will be too late.

Don't forget this sacrifice for our people, take it for what it is, my Last service for our common good, reconsider what you are doing.
Thurya Kyli out".

Thutya shut down the comm channel, watched the escape pods starting to launch from the orbital yard ahead of her as the crew there realized what was about to happen. All would propably not make it, but Thurya still hoped they would.

At first the yard seemed to grow so slow on the front screen that Thurya thought the engines had somehow malfunctioned even though she could feel the acceleration making her every move cumbersome.
The jets of the disappearing escape pods became clearer and clearer as she approached and soon the yard was growing at an astonishing speed. She had never approached another object in space this fast while watching it on the front screen. It was an exhilirating feeling, she smiled as she felt the adrenaline pumping though her veins.

Here I come Try and Areia, finally!

[ May 19, 2003, 18:22: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Ruatha]

And so I've killed another of my main characters.
Really only Elyssandra left now.
Thurya was depressed and became a suicide bomber, The depression somewhat clouded her judgement is my belief.
Now I'm awaiting what is happening to the east in the Draven territory....

[Ruatha]

2???.? The Weyrling Empire
-------------------------

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/newuploads/1053364847.jpg

Elyssandra sits in her room all alone and thinks of the years that has passed by.
So much sorrow, so much pain.
She still has the love of her life, Ilian. There will be joy ahead, but not enough to balance the sorrow she has felt in her life.
The hole left in her heart when her son Try died will never be filled.

There where some bumps along the road, but despite her sons beloved taking her life trying to stop a plan set in motion by Elyssandra, the Weyrlings where finally isolated, cut off from the rest of the universe.

You have witnessed a tragedy. During the short period the Weyrlings roamed the galaxy billions of people died, to which end? The Weyrlings left all their conquerings and returned to their home, never to be seen again, becoming a short parantesis in the history of the galaxy.
What happened to them? No one knows, many tried to contact them or open worm holes into their territory but all failed.
Did they stagnate or did they flourish? Who can tell? The facilities they built obviously still operate as it is impossible to open a wormhole into those systems that should be there! Where they well designed and flawlessly built? Or are they still maintained?
The questions are many but the answers are few.
So ends the tale of the Weyrling race, they conquared a waste nation despite never winning any decisive battle, they left their mark in a desolated system, once nurturing the lifes of multitudes, now only rocks and debris.

The universe is propably a better place without them........

<Center><Font size=20>THE END! </center></font size>

[ May 19, 2003, 18:24: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Ruatha]

Don't miss the previous chapter also written today before you read the end chapter below this post!

And it's just the end to the Weyrling part, not the Draven or Zax stories. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ May 19, 2003, 18:25: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Raging Deadstar]

Is this the end or will Capt RR tell us what happened to the CCCP and the Dravens? you can't end like this! Noooo please don't end *begs*

Ok i recovered http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Great ending Ruatha, leaves a lot of mystery surrounding the story. At least we have NCG3 to read http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[CaptRR]

Nope not the end for the Dravens and the CCCP. Probably alot more left to it, just too busy to do much writing lately. I'll correct that soon thoough, I've been thinking about how the next couple of chapters will play out, now that Rutha has lost most of his characters, it gives me a little bit of freedom to shape the Universe as I see fit http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Don't worry soon all will be reveiled, and the great war will be upon everyone.

[ May 21, 2003, 16:57: Message edited by: CaptRR ]

[Ruatha]

Yes.
I set an unknown date on the final chapter and said there where "bumps" on the way to isolation to give you more freedom to use the Weyrlings if you need.

Eagerly awaiting!

[CaptRR]

I know its been a while, and for that I appologize. I hope that you will think it was worth the wait. Here are the latest chapters.

_______________________________________

Chapter 28

The Draven Dreadnaught “Landing City” was a flurry of activity. People swarmed everywhere. Most were engaged in the standard trials that always happen just before a ship was brought into war, but there were a few that stood back from the flurry to reflect. Some of them wrote letters home, the electronic documents would be sent just before the ship passed through the warp point into the Draven home system, and transmitted through the rest of the Republic. Other’s were off duty, and were resting up for the long days to come. Deep in the heart of the great ship, in the fleet command center of F-COM as it was called, Prince Dravel watched the plot.

The room was the largest on the ship, measuring nearly 15 meters tall and twice that wide. In space such large volumes were hard for life support systems to deal with, it also decreased the structural integrity of the vessel. However, the “Landing City” was the newest ship made from alliance technology. Her new life support systems could handle almost 4 times the amount of space they were forced to deal with. Add to that, the ships structure was made from Fiber Steel, a relatively new invention that had 3 times the strength of normal ship construction material, with only a slight increase in weight. All these factors when combined with the need for a central control room for fleet operations had led to the addition of F-COM.

The room was far from empty though, over 75 members of Dravel’s staff busied themselves on with the activities required to move a fleet of over 65 ships even if most of them didn’t have crews. Along the walls were 3 stories of terminals and equipment necessary to support the fleet. In the center along with Dravels desk was the largest and most prominent addition to the room the 10 meter tall Holographic plot.

Dravel nodded in approval as the Last of the suicide ships was moved into position at the front of the fleet, its slow speed was evidence of its huge mass, after all this ship had started life as a transport, the only ships in the Draven inventory that were larger were the mammoth dreadnaughts. Finally the ships icon flashed green, showing that all its systems were good.

“Sir,” Sosha answered from her station just to Dravel’s right, “The Gold Rush is reporting all systems are green, the fleet is now ready for transit.”

“Thank you Sosha,” Draven said with a sigh, this was the moment he had, had nightmares about for weeks, he was about to send almost 50 thousand Dravens into battle, a battle that they were probably going to lose. Dravel had sent many people to their deaths, he and death were no strangers, but he had never done so against his own people. The people his fleet was getting ready to attack were no less honorable than he. They were doing their best to defend the republic, even if it was being run by a madman, and because of Dravel those thousands of live would be snuffed out. He was sure the nightmares he had, had would be nothing compared to the ones to come. The only comfort that he could count on was that he was doing it to save the republic.

He looked over as Sosha, her beauty was simply amazing even at a time like this. Over the Last couple of weeks they had grown closer. When Dravel had first met her, he was sure that it was no more than a hormonal attraction, a school boy love affair, that would pass with time. He was definitely sure that the feelings that he harbored towards her were not the same as those that she harbored for him. Something had happen over the Last couple of weeks though, he had gotten to work closer to her than ever, and he began to feel that their was definitely something their, something that Dravel had never felt before. Was it love? Dravel really didn’t know, what he did know is that once all this living hell over with he was going to ask her to Marry him, it would cost him and most likely her as well their commission’s but in the end they would be giving up the military for a life as a President and first lady. But first they had to survive the immediate future.

“Sosha, patch me into the fleet broadcast channel” Dravel paused while hit buttons on her panel to put him on every speaker on every ship in the fleet. Such occasions were rare, but, Dravel felt in this case it was needed. As the warning tone signaled almost all work stopped on the F-COM, he was sure the same scene was being repeated all over the fleet, as people turned to hear him speak what could be the most important speech in all their lives. Dravel took a breath.

“Brave men and women of Third Fleet, I speak to all of you now on what may be the darkest day in our Republics history. None of us want to be here, I’m sure that when we signed up for service none of us ever though we would be engaging our own brothers in battle. If we had known we no doubt would have chosen another path, but as dreadful a task this is, I assure you that if we don’t do this, it will be the end of everything that we hold dear.

Today, we stand on the edge of an abyss. We can sit still, and do nothing while the Draven Republic collapse around us, or we can fight. Fight for our friends, our Mothers, our Brothers, our sisters, and our Fathers. What we do today, will determine the future of the universe, whether the Dravens will continue to exist or fade into the darkness of history. Today, all of us, every single member of our fleet, makes a state. We will not go quietly into the night! We will fight to the end, and only when the Last of us has no more breath will the Dravens truly be beaten; I say again we will not go Quetly into the night!”

At those Last words Dravens fist hit his desk, but the pounding was drowned out by the cheers around him. In every ship, everyone from the lowest ranking cook to the most decorated Admiral, crewmen cheered. Not for the deaths that were to come but for themselves, never had the future of so many relied on so few, no matter what happens history would never forget Third Fleet.

Dravel looked over to Sosha who had a broad grin on her face. Dravel stepped over to her, and put his hand on her shoulder, “Give the word to all ships, initiate Operation Redemption.”

Slowly the ships of Thrid fleet moved into the Warp point, and into their Destiny.

Chapter 29

Commander Linoris was bored. He had been giving command of the Kornephoras warp point defense station almost 6 months ago. At the time he had known that being assigned to the Defense base that orbited the warp point was a career ender, but he was still young and at the time had thought that it wouldn’t affect him. He would spend a few months their, 6 at the most and then be assigned one of the new dreadnaughts coming out of the yards, after all the way the war was going, the fleet was in need of command level officer. Unfortunately the war had ended when the Weyrlings defeated the terren’s, and that effectively ended Linoris’s chances of promotion. Now here he sat, in what must be the most boring assignment in the galaxy. The “alert” that Kornephoras X had ordered, had provided a few days of excitement while he went though drills, but that had passed quickly, and ground into dull routine.

Now here he was, on third watch, looking over the 3 warp point defense bases. Linoris sighed as he checked off another routine status report. Once again, all the automated systems appeared to work fine. He lifted his cup of Nanal leafe tea to his lips and began to take a sip.

Suddenly alarms went off; in his surprise Linoris spilled his cup on himself, leaving an impressive stain. “Son of a...”

His curse was cut off by the tech reporting, “We have incoming unscheduled transits, multiple signatures, and force estimate of at least 50 vessels.”

Linoris’s fear was now overtaking the burning sensation on chest. This wasn’t suppose to happen, all ships were required to file a flight plan before they transited the warp point. Certainly a fleet this size would have caught Linoris’s attention, it could only be an attack fleet. “Visuals.” He ordered. Almost instantly several of the screens scattered around the command deck showed a close up view of the warp point. It colors slightly distorted by the gravitational waves ripping though it, for a second it seemed that the storm at its center subside then in the blink of an eye, a bright light surged, and a ship took shape, then another, and another, and then they were lost in a sea of explosions.

The defenses on the warp point were an old Version. Their weapon systems had not been upgraded in almost a decade. After all the general theory was that if a fleet ever got this far the Draven Republic was doomed anyway. But what the defense system lacked in quality they more than made up in quantity. Before the first ship was finished transitioning, automatic defense system had activated the mines, and each of the small warheads had activated their friend or foe transceivers. By the time the second ship had finished transitioning it had been determined that the codes returned by the invading ships were not authorized. Cold computer logic kicked in, and each mine communicated with other beside them. Targets were prioritized, and compared to the mines internal database for the area that was weakest. When the third ship finished transitioning, the mines engaged their, hyper impeller engines. These engines could accelerate a device to almost a tenth of the speed of light inside of a second, unfortunately the devices were a one use variety, and the engine burned themselves up in half that time. It wasn’t a big deal though, at these ranges it brought the mine into lethal range of the invading ships almost instantly. The mines proximity warheads engaged and release the magnetic rings holding almost a liter of anti-matter. When the anti-matter came into contact with matter they exploded. The resulting explosions were equivalent to a 1 megaton nuclear explosion. Each ship had been assigned 10 mines, and as each went off, space itself rippled, as anti-matter and matte came together, and ships vaporized, but not fast enough.

The ships, Large transports really, were absorbing ungodly amounts of damage, often times, mines would have to attack the same target twice. Still the mines computer cores lashed out at the invaders, and ships would only appear for a few seconds before a group of mines would descend on them, lashing at them with Nuclear fire. But the ships kept coming, and soon the wall of fire produced by the mines began to slacken off, and finally the Last mine detonated, slightly damaging a large transport that had just translated into the system.

Only after the battle was over, would anyone relies the beauty of Prince Dravel’s plan. The lead ships had been procured from the bone yard, and had been programmed to go though the warp point first. They had no crews, and over the Last couple of weeks Dravels engineers had loaded as much armor onto the ships as they could handle. The result was a slow, ugly, defenseless ship that could absorb huge amounts of damage. This was an ideal answer to Dravel’s problems with regard to his inability to procure any mine sweepers. Instead of sweeping the mines guarding the warp point, Dravel had simply absorbed them with worthless ships. Now the doorway was clear, as the first of Dravel’s warships began to transition into the Kornephoras system.

[Raging Deadstar]

Go Prince Dravel! A sound tactic, Lets just hope the endings happier than ruathas http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif Will love blossom between the two and i'm interested to know what will happen to yalare. Keep up the good writing, it was worth the wait http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Ruatha]

I would have liked to see that fireshow!

[CaptRR]

Chapter 30

Linoris watched as the Last of his mines detonated itself against yet another invader, their seemed to be no end to them. Tactical had reported over 15 ships destroyed, but they kept coming.

The command deck of the Kornephoras had been busy to the point of panic the Last 2 minutes. No one had ever tried to invade the Kornephoras system. Even during the dark days when it looked like the Dravens and Weyrlings were going to go to war, no one had put much faith in an attack on the Draven home system, it was just too bold of a move, the system was too well dedended, yet here someone was sending what seemed like waves of ships against his mines.

His tactical officer looked at him, her look was one of death, “Sir,” she said, her voice, almost cracking, somehow she kept it under control. “We have identified the ships, they are Draven.”

“What?” Linoris started to breath hard, he had just destroyed 15 draven ships, what the hell was a Draven doing trying an unauthorized transit, what was going on.

“Communications get me in contact with whoever is in charge of that fleet, find out what the hell is…”

“Commander, the commander of the fleet is signaling us.” She paused for a second listening to her ear piece. “We are being ordered to power down our weapons, and deactivate warp point defense systems, if we do not comply immediately we will be attacked.”

Linoris was speechless, what was a Draven ship doing threatening his stations. This was mad. “Tell the whoever is in command over their that we will not power down our weapon system’s until we know what is going on.”

The communications officer nodded, and began talking into softly. The computer automatically separated his voice from the background noise and sent the signal out. It only took a moment to get a response. “The fleets commander is requesting a visual.”

“Agreed.”

Waiting for a visual took a little longer, encryption keys had to be exachanged but overall Linoris’s communications officer was able to expidate the process rather quickly, in less than a minute the screen on his console blinks, and on it appeared the image of a familiar Draven. Linoris gasped in surprise.

The voice spoke with the same pride that had been seen on countless holovids. “Commander, I am Prince Dravel, if you do not comply with my orders I will be forced to open fire.”

Chapter 31

Dravel watched the holographic image of the commander. The man was young for his position, but that wasn’t so unusual these days. The recent war with the Terrens had propelled many through the ranks much faster than they otherwise would have. What did come as unusual was the fact that he hadn’t been fire upon yet. The three base station’s guarding the warp point were capable of tremendous fire, despite their age. Dravel was sure he could take out the stations before his fleet was destroyed, but he would take losses. Losses he couldn’t afford.

The surprise on the commander’s face made it evident that he hadn’t expected a Draven fleet. He probably didn’t even expect a real attack through the warp point, after all the Kornephoras warp point defense was suppose to be one of the most boring assignments, with several systems of friendly territory between it and the nearest neighbor it wasn’t expected that an attack would just come out of nowhere.

The Commander seemed to get control of himself. “I’m afraid I can’t do that sir, my orders are not to let anyone into the system without authorization, and it’s clear by your entry that you do not have permission to pass.”

“Commander,” Dravel said, his voice pleading, he didn’t want to fire on the station if he could help it but he was being left little choice, “We have 15 Landing City class dreadnaughts pointing shield skipping weapons at you, you won’t Last 10 minutes in a firefight. Commander, I’m pleading with you, don’t be a fool, we are here to free the Republic, Yalare is not worth dieing for.”

The commander sighed; Dravel wondered what thoughts were going through the young Draven’s mind. In the end Dravel got his answer, “Sir, I am ordering you to stand down your weapons, or I will be forced to defend this system.”

“I can’t do that commander.”

The expressions of Linoris’s face said it all, he was a man trapped by duty. Since his days in the academy he had it drilled into him that the defense of the Republic was paramount, now he was in a dilemma. The Republic was corrupt, he knew that, but it was still the rightful government, a government he had sworn to protect. “In that case sir, you leave me no choice.”

The image instantly disappeared. Draven could hardly restrain himself. “That stupid fool! He’s outnumbered, outgunned, why won’t he just give up.”

It was Sosha who answered, “He’s doing his duty Prince, at least what he feels his duty is.”

Dravel looked at her, she was right, but damn how he wished the young man would have just surrendered, instead of throwing his life away.

A voice boomed over the loudspeakers in the F-COM, it was the fleet Tactical officer, “Base stations have opened fire, all hands brace for inpact.”

Dravel looked at the plot the bright red lines arched themselves across the screen. A time to inpact notice shown over them, as well as weapon type, and hit percentage. Already the Third Generation Alliance Jammers were lowering that percentage down at a staggering rate. A few would hit, but the damage would be far less than Dravel had feared.

Dravel took a breath, he could feel the pit of his stomach fill with vile at his next word, Father forgive me, he said to himself. “All hand’s return fire.”

The Base stations had huge power draw from their fusion rectors could put out twice as much power as that of a ship. Add to that their massive size, and the fact that they didn’t need heavy propulsion systems, and you have a heavily armed beast. Each station mounted 7 Telekenetic Projectors, but they were of an old variety. From the moment that the base’s had fire, ECMS had lashed out at the Base’s guidance systems. As guidance was lost each of the Telekentic projections began to veer of course. 21 shots had been fired from the Base’s of those only 3 hit their targets, and those were easily shrugged off by the dreadnaughts shields.

Now Third Fleet brought its own fire to bear. The Landing City Class of dreadnaughts sported a new weapon. The Phased Polaron beam was a new alliance development. After realizing that soon all empires would have the ability to shield their ships, alliance HQ had began work on a way to bypass an enemies protective shield. After almost 3 years of work the Phase Polaron Beam was developed. The weapon used a small amount of antimatter, which is brought slightly out of phase with the resonance of the universe. The antimatter is for all intense and purposes invisible to any type of energy shielding. However once it is brought into contact with “real” matter, it is brought back into phase rather violently. The only flaw was that only a small mount could be brought out of phase at a time.

The alliance had figured that the trade off was worth being able to bypass shields, and ordred the weapon developed. Unfortunately it wasn’t ready in time for the end of the Terren War, but all new alliance ships were being built with this new weapon system. Now a wall of phased anti-matter was ejected at near light velocities towards the lumbering base ships. As designed the anti-matter passed through the base’s shield as though they weren’t their, and sliced deep into the hull of the massive fortresses.

Explosion after explosion ripped into the base’s without protective shielding only armor was left to absorb the energy being released, and that didn’t Last long. Layer after layer was ripped away, and giant sections buckled and fell away, but that wasn’t the end of it. After all the punishment the bases were still standing, weakened, yet still operational. Their shields gone, most of their weapon systems disable or destroyed, they attempted to fire on third fleet again. They never got the chance though, behind the wall of Phased anti-matter came an equally impressive wall of telekinetic projections from third fleets smaller vessels. The weakened bases were no match for this, and one of them disappeared in a ball of plasma, it multiple reactors going critical.

The remaining two took this as a sign, and immediately shut down their remaining weapons. By this point though they were basically floating scrap metal, already escape pods were flowing from their mangled hulls, a sure sign that it was over.

Dravel looked at the carnage he wrecked, he hadn’t lost any ships, but he had just sent several thousand Dravens to their grave. He tried to take a calming breath but it didn’t seem to help, “Pick up survivors, then head towards Kornephoras X, its time we end this. If anyone needs me I’ll be in my quarters.”

Without even waiting for an acknowledgement Draven turned and left the room, he felt sick and needed to be alone.

Sosha watched as her prince turned and left, if everyone hadn’t been too busy trying to search for survivors they would have noticed the thing line of a tear down the side of her face.

[Ruatha]

Ah, Duty, so misguided!

[Raging Deadstar]

Great Chapter, seems a shame for honourable dravens to perish needlessly but i guess change and peace comes at great cost. I'm looking forward to seeing more!

[Ruatha]

CaptRR I want more.
And Tbontob, if you ever get time, what happened to Strong-In-Arm and the rest of them?

[Ruatha]

Originally posted by Ruatha:
CaptRR I want more.
And Tbontob, if you ever get time, what happened to Strong-In-Arm and the rest of them?<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Still valid http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[CaptRR]

You know in all my work I forgot about this thread completely http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Since play by web appears to be down for a few days, I think I can use that time constuctively.

I actually just checked on my comptuer, I apperently have a few chapters that I have not yet posted, but I wanted to use this time actually complete the story before pbw comes back up http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

I'm back working on it now.

[Ruatha]

Goodie, I can wait!

[CaptRR]

Well maybee not the end of the story, but the end is near. Hopefully I'll update a little more than Last time.
______________________________________________

Chapter 32

It was a beautiful night at the Headquarters of the Central Powers, but you couldn’t have told that by the semi-empty streets in the city. Josha noted this with the other reports coming in. All over alliance space the Weyrlings were recalling parts of their population. Even here at HQ over 90 percent of the representatives from the weyrling delegation had left. In a world where the population was evenly split between the 3 races of the Alliance it had become noticeable. Add to that the reports that warp point going into Weyrling space were being closed as well. Any other time Josha would have just though they were being prudent, just reducing the routes for a future invasion to take. But the points they were closing were major trading routes.

Despite all of this, the Weyrlings were continuing to push their shipyards at war time rates. With the loss of revenue from trade, they had to be running a huge deficit. Frankly it looked like the weyrlings were taking on an isolationists policy, but that didn’t explain the increased build rate.

Josha sighed, and looked at his watch. It was late, and way past the time for most government facilities to close down, but the Central Powers Speaker had insisted on a meeting at this time. When Josha asked why, he simply changed the subject. More peculiar was the location. Instead of the speakers office, he had insisted on meeting in the Alliance VIP space port.

The port was empty, more so now that almost a third of the population seemed to have left. The VIP space port was located deep in the city center on top of one of the Alliance administrative buildings. It was used exclusively for visiting statesmen, and of course the speakers Yacht. It also had the distinguished honor of being one of the most glorious ports in known space. It’s view of the alliance headquarters had inspired many artist to paint pictures of the skyline, and many a poet had said the view was a gift from the creator. But today it filled Josha with dread. The 3 sections of the city could be seen easily from here. Both the Dravel and the Thermolians sections could be seen clearly, their huge skyscrapers reaching to the heavens, glowing with life. The story was much different with the Weyrlings section. It looked almost abandoned. Only a light here and their came from their buildings. In effect that section of the city looked like a ghost town.

It was a grim reminder that the Weyrlings were facing a dramatic shift in their attitudes towards the universe, an attitude that didn’t include the Alliance.

The sound of steps snapped him back to the present, and Josha turned to see the speaker of the Central Powers walking towards him. He was followed by several other Weyrlings. Josha recognized them as his aids, one of them wore the outfit of the Weyrling Navy, his approximate rank equal to an Admiral in the Draven Republic.
As the speaker approached Josha bowed, his show of respect was repeated by the speaker and his aids.

“I hope you are well, Draven Josha. I must apologies for the location, but I’m afraid time is short.”

“It is ok speaker”

The Weyrling, gave his races closest approximation of a smile. “Still, hopefully after we finish you will understand my haste.”

Josha looked over the speaker and his aids, over the years he had learned to read Weyrlings pretty well, but all he saw now while he looked over them was a mask. Whatever they were up to they were playing it close to their chest.

“Draven Josha, I’m afraid it is time for us to part ways.”

Josha tried to look surprised, but he had to admit he was expecting this, instead he settled for a courteous nod. “I expected as much, Mr Speaker.”

“You are a smart for a Draven,” now Josha could see that Weyrling smile cross the cat like creatures lips, “so I had no doubt that you would have noticed our sudden withdraw from this planet.”

Josha nodded, “Yes, I had noticed,” he swung his arms towards the window, indicating the darkened Weyrling buildings, “it was after all hard to miss, what I don’t understand is why.”

“Draven Josha, I will try to explain as best as I can, but in many ways it will still seem strange to you. After all the alliance still considers the One to be a myth, but you see Draven Josha, The One is real, and it is so much more than any kind of God. The One is everything to us, it is our beginning and our end, our future and past all rolled into one. To be honest there is no word in your language to describe The One.”

The Speakers aids nodded in agreement. Whatever this One was it was something that they believed in with all their hearts.

“Ok, Mr Speaker, I understand this One is important to you, but what does that have to do with you leaving?”

The Weyrling nodded his feline head, “I’m afraid Draven Josha you understand nothing of the one, but that’s all right, you don’t need to. You will of course remember it was a Weyrling fleet that did the initial occupation of the Terrens. What we found was… disturbing.” The speaker seemed to shudder visibly.

“And this is the reason you are leaving? Something you saw while occupying the terrens?”

“No Draven Josha, its not something we saw, its what we learned when we probed deep into the minds of the Terrens. We saw hate, as pure and evil as anything we had ever experienced, and it was aimed at the Weyrlings.”

Josha was about to voice his objection, but the Speaker cut him off.

“I know what you are about to say Draven Josha, but the hate we saw was deeper than something as simple as war could produce. That hate was woven into the very fabric of their being. Do you understand what I am saying? The Terrens were breed to hate Weyrlings!”

Josha froze for a moment, the implications of what was being said were staggering. Most of the known races were offshoots of Terrens in some way. That included the Dravens.

“Speaker that can’t be, the Dravens have no hate for the Weyrlings.”

“Perhaps not now, after all, the trait seems to have been repressed in the Dravens. But, it is bound to come out eventually, maybe not now, but in the future for sure. It might take a hundred generations before the effects begin to become noticeable, and when that happens the Dravens will turn on the Weyrlings as well.”

“Speaker this all sounds too implausible, could their have been some kind of mistake.” Josha was pleading, almost begging, he couldn’t believe that what the weyrling was saying could be true.

“We have studied the facts as conclusively as possible, and from what we have been able to determine, all races that spawned from terrens, as well most of the other known races have this hate buried in them, waiting to come out. We also believe we know the source.”

That riveted Josha’s attention. “The source?”

“Yes Draven Josha. You see 65 thousand years ago, before even the Terrens had developed on the planet that you call Earth, the Weyrlings spanned across all of known space, and beyond. Our records, indicate that despite our relative size we were very poor technologically speaking. Our ships operated off solar wind, and journeys took centuries even with the help of the warp point network.”

Josha tried to take all this in, what the speaker was telling him couldn’t be true, no one had ever suspected that the werylings were as old as he was now claiming, but something in the speakers voice convinced him that all that was being said was true.

“Dispite the huge gulf between stars we were all One. The One kept us together, even if we were to never see another Weyrling we knew that we were always one. For thousands of years we lived this way. We never invented better technology because we simply didn’t need it. What was several hundred year journey when we were never alone.

We traveled the stars and found life everywhere, but none was advance as us. Oh sure their was potential, but it was thousands of years distant. We were content that we were the only intelligent species in the Universe. At least that is what we thought.

We still don’t know who they were, but we knew they wanted us extinct. Their physic abilities were unmatched, and even as their massive swarms of ships came down upon us they used their physic abilities to turn our own people away from the one and against us. It took everything we had to beat them. Trillions of Weyrlings died in the conflict, but we managed to drive them back to their home system.

We had thought it was over, but in the end they unleashed the worse weapon imaginable. It took the strength of every Last one of them to project a psychic virus.

All of a sudden billions of our own people went what could only be explained as mad. We destroyed ourselves in such numbers that they could not be recorded. We think this is when some of our scientists began to alter the genes of developing species. Instilling a hate for the Weyrlings in every life bearing world they came across.

We survived, but not before we lost almost 99 percent of our species. The one was scared deeper than words can convey, and we withdrew inward, into just 3 planets. From their we started to rebuild. The one knew that we could not survive another war like the Last, so it went into seclusion, and let our own competitive instincts build the technology needed to win the next war. It took us a long time develop better ways to travel the stars, and when we finally ventured out of our own warp points we found that the Galaxy was filled with life.

We never suspected that life had been altered by our ancestors, until we looked into a Terren and saw what we most feared. Hate for ourselves, the very hate we had thought was behind us, beried forever.”

Josha just stared at the Speaker, not sure what to say. What was being said was amazing, it was so unbelievable he could not see how anyone, much less an entire race could have made it up.

“That Draven Josha is why we must leave you. We cannot live in this Universe beside you. Your own nature would eventually turn against us, and we cannot fight off everyone. Instead we have come to learn, that the time of the Weyrlings has past, the future is now with you, and it is a future we cannot be a part of.”

Josha searched for words, “But what of the Alliance, surely the alliance cannot hold without you.”

The Weyrling looked up though the space ports huge glass dome, and for a moment stared at the stars in the night sky. The view was breathtaking, and Josha realized this would be the Last time he would see the Weyrling, they were right the Weyrlings could not live in this Universe anymore, the actions of their ancestors had made that impossible. No, the future belonged to the other races.

The Weyrling looked back down at Josha, “You are correct, the alliance cannot hold, but perhaps it was never meant to. With only three races, we are not diverse enough to stand off the CCCP and its vast resources, but if others we aligned together maybe you might just have a chance.”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend” Josha muttered softly, for some reason that phrase seemed appropriate.

“Indeed, Draven Josha, Indeed” With that the Weyrling bowed, as did the rest of his guests. Josha stood and watched as the Speaker got into his yacht and vanished into the night sky. For many hours Josha just stood their in the space port staring out the windows. For some reason the Universe seemed a little more frightening.

Chapter 33

Yalare paced his office. The news of the invasion fleet reached the Capital just a few hours after they entered the system. The amount of ships the enemy had were not many, already home fleet which outnumbered them 2 to 1 was already on an intercept course. No the invasion fleet was not the problem, what was a problem was who was leading that fleet. Of all the Dravens in command it had to be Prince Dravel, the rightful heir of the Presidency.

Even though Yalare had placed a lockdown of all media word had gotten out, that Prince Dravel was coming to free the people from Yalare. Almost every floating city had been having riots continually. Yalare knew that if the Prince managed to get troops on the ground, then the people would rally around them. Yalare may have an extensive security force, but they couldn’t fight off an entire planet!

Yalare wanted to run but he couldn’t. He was sure the Prince would be killed when home fleet managed to crush the Princes little fleet. The word of the princes death would enrage the population, and Yalare would be disposed of like any other dictator in history.

It wasn’t fair, he told himself. All he was trying to do was help the republic, and now that same republic had turned against him! Fine if that was the way they wanted it, he would make them pay.

Slowly Yalare reached into his desk and took out a small black box, it looked almost antique and mesured 15 centimeters across, with an old style keypad being its only feature. Yalare rubbed it with his hand.

“Oh yes, if they want me that bad they can have me, but they will pay more dearly than they could imagine.”

[Ruatha]

I like it!
It was a good description of the Weyrlings far history and a good farewell!
Things start to look bad for that scumbag Yalare! Good!
But what is he up to now?
Has it something to do with the cloaked CCCP ships??
Or is it another bomb??

Why are the Weyrling shipyards working so? They have 130+ planetary SY3:s so they can output alot if needed, but what are they doing now?

Suspension!!!

[ August 07, 2003, 11:34: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Raging Deadstar]

Great update! I've been eagerly awaiting the next few chapters of this story and i'm impressed. It gives us a great insight of the Wreylings. Hope you find time to write more soon!

*Round of Applause* http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[CaptRR]

Chapter 34

The purple ball of Kornephoras X was beautiful. It sky's full of clouds shown brightly against Kornephoras the blue sun. Of course Prince Dravel knew it was an illusion. What he was seeing as he looked as his screen was thousands of kilometers distant. It was only being shown brightly through the ships optics, and they creped across the endless gulf that separated interplanetary distances.

It had been 2 weeks since the fleet has had fought it way through the warp point. The wreckage of the system bases still sent out streams of radiation. That was undoubtedly part of the reason few survivors had been found, that's something that still burned in Dravels heart. Sure intellectually he had known he might have to fight fellow Dravens, but up until the moment his ships had actually fired he had never quite believed it.

Now he took a breath, the memories of that day, came flooding back to him in full detail. He could hear the ghosts of his fellow Dravens that had died, he knew that those ghosts would haunt him until the day he finally passed.

The only thing that had made it bearable was Sosha. For several days following the fight Dravel had all but locked himself in his cabin, only leaving long enough to do his duties, then he would retreat back into his own personal purgatory. Their he would question what he was really doing here, making war on his own people, after all they had elected Yalare, maybe it wasn't Yalare who was the tyrant, maybe it was Dravel himself, and just when he was about to give up. To maybe call this entire invasion off, Sosha had arrived.

Dravel didn't know what she had said, his own emotional turmoil was too much. But just by her being their it somehow was able to take away the pain... no, not take it away, but someone to share it with. To take the burdon that he had been carrying himself and spread it between the two of them.

He wept that night, for many hours, and Sosha wept for him, and somewhere in that time they had realized what they meant to each other. The next morning when they woke up they were still embraced in each other's arms, and it seemed as if an anvil had been lifted from Dravel's heart.

Now, finally he was no longer alone.

It wasn't long after, that the incoming ships of home fleet had been spotted. Dravel still dreaded having to fight against his fellow countrymen, but now at least he could find solace in what he was fighting for. As he looked up and saw Sosha their working hard at her console the reason was reaffirmed in her warm eyes. She noticed him looking at her, and blushed slightly, but her smile radiated within him long after she looked back to her work.

Dravel did the same. He stared at the plot showing the incoming ships, they outnumbered him at least 2 to 1, and unlike the base stations these ships would have Phased Polaron Beams. The next generation of shielding was suppose to be able to stop PPB attacks, but as of yet no one had managed to adapt it to an actual warship. In any conflict his shields would be worthless against home fleets landing city class dreadnaughts, of course they would be in the same pickle, but they had more ships than he. No, the only way to win a battle with home fleet was not to fight them at all, and that was exactly what Dravel was going to do.

"Sosha?"

Her head snapped up, and despite her trying to act professional, a small hint of smile still came through. "Yes my Prince... err, I mean, Admiral." She blushed at slip of tung.

Dravel, smiled at her slip up, it was innocent of course, and had some other junior officer made that mistake he would have undoubtedly given them a talking too they would not forget. But, this was Sosha, and right now he didn't give a damn about rules and regulations.

"I want you to open a communication with the flagship of Home Fleet. But, I don't want Yalare knowing, so you'll have to use sub light communications."

"Yes, sir, it'll take a few minutes to set that up."

"No problem Sosha, we still have time." And Dravel gave Sosha the broadest grin he could manage.

Chapter 35

"...Once again I reiterate my warning to home fleet. If you do not alter from your intercept course of us we will be forced to engage you. Yalare is not worth dieing for Admiral. I await your reply." With that the small hologram over the table vanished, and the room light came back up to normal.

Admiral Nakanorma, looked over his assembled officers, "That came in over slower than light communications in a directed beam 5 hours ago, we have positively Ided the speaker as Prince Dravel. Observations?"

Commander Harlow, was the first to speak. The commander had been a "special" appointment by the Yalare administration after the former commander vanished of course that wasn't long after his less than flattering comments about the government. Admiral Nokanorma tried not to think about that, it was just more proof that the republic had gotten more dangerous over the Last few years.

"I think the prince it attempting a coup just as the Prime Minister said before we departed. He knows he can't win, so he is hoping that we will go ahead and let him walk right up to Kornephoras X and take it over. It's desperation pure and simple."

Nokanorma thought about it for a moment, then nodded his head, "I got to fight in war games against the prince several times. When his back is against the wall he never tries desperation ploys. No he is up to something."

"Sir," said Harlow, "I think you are letting your personal relationship cloud your judgment." Harlow didn't even try to keep the venom out of his voice. Their was no love between the admiral and the commander, as far as Nokanorma was concerned the commander was idiotic political appointee, totally unqualified for the position he now held. His only trait for the job was his unending loyalty to Yalare himself.

"Commander," Nakanorma did his best to keep his voice even, "Whatever my personal feelings for the Prince, it is abundantly clear that he is breaking several Republic laws, and it is our job to stop him." Good Nokanorma thought to himself, let Harlow try to make an issue of that.

Harlow seemed taken back, he had hopped to edge the admiral into a confrontation that would let Harlow assume command of the fleet, but Nakanorma seemed a little more cunning than that. Oh well there was always next time.

"I was not trying to insinuate anything Admiral, and I apologize for any misunderstanding."

"None the less," Nakanorma went on ignoring the commanders stuttered explination, "we still only have one course of action, we will continue to intercept the Princes fleet. Once in range we will send out fighter strikes. The fighers will hammer their main battle line from long range, as well as suppress their own fighters. We will then move our capital ships into range and engage the enemy wit PPB's. Commander, I trust that you concur with this action?"

"Of course Admiral."

"In that case Gentlemen, lets get ready, we launch fighters in 10 hours."

Chapter 36

Lieutenant(j.g) Shanar watched the empty blackness of space only occasionally broken by stars before her fighter cockpit. Relatively she was going almost 10% the speed of light, but outside it looked as though she wasn't even moving. Also as she looked outside it appeared that she was lone, but that was just an illusion. Her instruments told the real tale, she was joined by over 215 IF-302 attack fighters. Each spaced several kilometer apart, its immense force glowed as individual icons in Shanar's helmet display. But as immense as the force she was now apart of was, it was nothing compared to the onslaught that was heading her way.

Dravel's force had brought several of the Alliances new Escort Carriers with him. Their relatively small fighter compliment was augmented by their ability to handle starship style weapons. Shanr really didn't care about that right now though, the force coming at her was from Home fleet, it had no need for starship style weapons on its carriers so it used full blown Super Carriers. Their immense bulk could hold almost 100 large IF-400's, home fleet 7 of these, and that was what was coming at her now. 600 fighters of variouse classes was heading right to the Princes fleet.

Shanar had no doubt most of those fighters were optimized for anti-shipping strikes, but their would be more than a few escorts mixed in amount them. It wasn't all doom gloom, as far as her sesors were able to tell, they were using exclusively large fighter designs. The IF-302 that Shanar now piloted was of a small figher design. In a one on one fight the smaller fighter would lose, but the her wing had no intention of making this a fair fight. They would close to max weapons range, fire their missles, and then turn around, using their faster speed to elude the enemies as long as possible. It wasn't a perfect solution, and undoubtedly they would lose some pilots, but at least they would weaken them down so that the prince's point defenses could finish the job.

"Ok, everyone" it was her commander over the wing com system, "pick your targets, remember fire and leave. We don't want any hero's here. Good hunting everyone, out."

Shanar picked her targets, and imagined a pilot like her was doing the same against her. It was horrible to think that she was shooting at her own people, but she had little choice. Slowly the clock counted down, and then began to beep. She was in range, "Computer" she said the small crafts cybernetic intelligence, "commence staggered firing on primary targets, on mark."

She took a breath, it seemed forever, and the silence of her cockpit surprised her the only sound was of her own life support systems. She exhailed slowly, letting the stress flow out of her, "Weapons release, Fire."

The craft shuddered slightly as a massive load of a 1,000 Kilo missiles detached. Barely a heartbeat later it ignited its own Contra Tarrene engine and sped off into the darkness at a staggering rate, the process was repeated over and over. In all she launched 6 missles at 3 targets.

Barely a heartbeat after her Last missle detached her blood ran cold. Her computer beeped its cold uncaring warning in her ear, "Inbound missiles. 12'oclock forward, Inbound Missle..."

Shanar pulled the craft into an almost 90 degree turn, even with the compensators on board 20g's got through. The only thing that even remotely allowed her to live was the sensors in her suit redirecting blood to the brain. But she still blacked out.

She didn't know how long, but it couldn't have been more than a second she woke again. The roar of the computer still screaming in her ear, "Inbound missle 3'oclock right, Inbound Missle..."

Shanar cursed under her breath, and lauched decoys out, at the same time bringing the F-302's engines to over 130%. The crew dogs would just have to ***** at her for burning the fuser out, they wouldn't get the chance if she never made it back.

She was still struggling with another turn when she was almost blinded by the brightest light she had ever saw as the first missiles from home fleet stuck home. Their antimatter warhead unleashing huge amounts for energy for just milliseconds, but it was enouph to rip though the small f-302's like so much toilet paper.

Shanar's fighter buckled against the shockwave's roaring everywhere around her, as she attempted to pilot her craft through what could only be explained as hell. Then just as suddenly as it started it was over.

Ever so slowly, she was able to take stock of the survivors, their were so terribly few. She didn't know if it was proper for her to give the order but she really didn't care, Home fleets fighters would be doing the same as her, and it wouldn't be long before a second volley came through "Everyone back to the ships, on the double, anyone who doesn't keep up will be left behind." That brought a few laughs. And Shanar whipped the f-302 around back towards the fleet. So few were going to be coming back today. Of the wings original 215 fighters, just over 100 came back to the carriers to reload, and rearm.

[Ruatha]

What's the prince up to now, the odds doesn't look good!

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

[Raging Deadstar]

Interesting, i wonder what the prince is up to, i'm sure he has a back up plan. Great writing as usual http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Ruatha]

*Trembling with anticipation.......*

[Ruatha]

Still waiting for the conclusion....

[Ruatha]

Anyone heard anything from Capt RR recently??