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Re: Space: The Third Story.

The klaxxon blared for a few seconds, sounding the automatic shipwide alert that the Crbrs was approaching critical speed, the point at which the ship, its crew, and the anti-gravity drag generator, reached a velocity at which the fabric of the universe, which was being disrupted by the anti-gravity drag generator, could not get out of the way fast enough, like the air around a fighter jet creating a sonic boom.
Commander Krg braced himself in his chair as the universe suddenly rippled then tore, a great maw opening before him, belching hate and flames to engulf the Crbrs.

For several hours the Crbrs rode the tides and torrents of Subspace, the whirling turbulence beneath the calm of the universe, picking its way though the currents caused by the stars and the planets, surfing its way to Kandarin over waves seemingly made of a hatred beyond all mortal comprehension.
For several hours Subcommander Erf looked distinctly unwell. How ironic, Krg thought.

The Crbrs brutally shouldered its way back into the universe, engines roaring at full burn as the hull trailed flames. The Kyrozch did not wait to see which side the new arrival was on, and immediately opened fire.
"GRK! Launch all fighters, now!"
The deck lurched and the structure groaned as the first volley struck the ablative armor with a WHUMP.

"So, it's defeat for you, is it? Someday I must meet a similar fate..."

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

They came.

Hundreds of them - ships that Carl could never have imagined.

Blue energy streaked from the Icharys to each enemy in turn, taking it down with a single blast, while the ship itself moved with a nimbleness that left Carl disoriented.

When it was all over, Carl was speechless.

"...wuh..." was all he could manage. Argus, on the other hand, was unfazed.

"It's only a momentary distraction," he told Carl. "Focus on the primary."

Carl composed himself. He was sure that if the Icharys could travel between universes, it would be able to complete what needed to happen next, but he had forgotten the coordinates.

"Access to the EarthCom Network, please," Carl asked the ship.

A panel folded up from the floor. Carl watched as the ship logged itself in. It suddenly hit him that the Scion now posed a security risk to the UEF, but it was too late to correct that, and UEF command codes rotated every 24 hours anyway.

He deftly accessed the information he needed. "Upload these coordinates to your navigation computer," he said. The ship instantly complied.

A few seconds later, the terminal went blank. "I cannot perform further access of the EarthCom database," the ship's voice said. "The encryption code has changed."

"There will be no further need," Carl noted. "Can you jump to the coordinates I've given you?"

The ship was silent for a few moments. "Yes, but it will take time. The coordinates you have specified exist on a different dimensional orbit. It will take me a few minutes to recalibrate my jump systems."

Carl nodded. "Of course."

They sat back and waited, until the ship spoke again. "I am now ready to jump."

"Let's go," Carl said.

The ship lunged forward, slicing into the extradimensional turbulence between the nodes of the Multiverse, then pitched forward. Outside the ship, all around them, things began to turn in on themselves; they were rotating and moving in a spatial dimension they did not have the faculties to perceive.

The ship burst through another bubble, slicing cleanly through the fabric of the space in orbit around Rubi-Ka. Everything felt different here; the laws of physics themselves were different.

"Where to?" Argus asked.

Carl nodded down toward the pastiche of terraformed land interspersed with harsh desert that made up Rubi-Ka's surface. "I have some business to attend to. If we're going to do this... we'd better do it right."

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

The images were disturbing. Homes, parks, pools, shopping mall, all deserted. Acid Rain has wiped most of Gerudo II clean of life. The Imperials had retreated to Gerudo III while Republic forces were still clearing the rubble from Gerudo I.

"Bring the ship around. Send down a shuttles to get Colonel Bloodmoon, I have a new assignment for him."

"Yes, Sir!" The officer said and tapped away at his console. Garrus glanced back at the video feed from the drone. Acid Rain had never been mass-produced in large enough quantities to be used as a primary weapon, but it seemed the Empire wished to do so. As the images passed before his eyes, an idea began to grow. It wasn't original, safe and probably suicidal, but Garrus thought deeper and deeper into it and soon found himself smiling at what he had come up with. It was the perfect way to win the war, even if security would be tighter after the incident involving the nuclear warheads, but if there was one thing Garrus knew Bloodmoon could do, it was this.

George Smith Patton
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

The battle had been swift. After Matt and his men had disabled the Imperial defenses, the Republic forces had swarmed in, tearing through the Imperial position with frightening ease. Nothing had been spared; walking through the ruins of the Imperial position, Matt could see nothing but dust, fused into glass in some places.

"Mission complete," he said quietly.

"Very good, Colonel," came the response from Republic Command. "We are sending a shuttle to extract you and your people."

"Understood," Matt said, closing the link.

"No Terranova?" one of his men asked pointedly.

Matt shrugged. "Apparently not. It doesn't matter, though. We're still guests of the Talus Republic." He considered for a while as he saw the engine glow of a Talus shuttle break through the clouds. "Whatever this next assignment is, it better be good..."

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

"You want me to do WHAT!?" Matt spluttered.

"You heard me correctly, Colonel," Garrus replied calmly.

Matt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It wasn't so hard after all; it was only different. Differences scared most people, but not him. After all, he was the best. "All right, then. You've got it. All goes well, this war'll be over by tomorrow."

Garrus nodded. "I knew I could count on you, Colonel."

Matt smiled. "What's new?" he asked rhetorically, closing the link.

He turned back to his men, standing at attention behind him on the bridge of a modified Talus corvette. "I won't lie to you. We may not make it back from this mission. But if we make sure the job's done... it'll all be worth it. That's why we're here - we get the job done, and everyone knows it." He took a deep breath. "Battle stations, everyone. Let's make this happen."

As his men jumped to their stations on the bridge, Matt turned to the viewscreen again, wondering if all he had just said was true. We have a long day ahead of us, he thought to himself.

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

As the tanks rolled past Jeodan as the other Cy'Tan realized they were slightly faster then them as such he jumped on one. The other hundred or so Cy'Tan did the same. The corvettes they had come down in lifted up just high enough to let the Kryzoch feel their plasma bolts accompanied by a hail of fire emanating from the UEF artillery pieces.

The Kryzoch space fleet already started firing onto the formation of tanks and APC's but the shots were caught by the combined strength of the corvettes shields as they continued to fire. The tanks took the shape of a semi circle; leaving just barely enough room between two to let an APC, probably carrying heavy weapon teams, pass. Suddenly the tanks stopped and all fired in unison to the Kryzoch battle line that had just formed. Very fast agile creatures had already filled the area between the big boys and they were being picked off by the gunners on top of each tank.

Jeodan had just congratulated the man on his tank for a well aimed shot when suddenly a spider like creature leaped on his face and started drilling at the young soldiers' face. As lightning Jeodan had reacted but it was already too late. The beast had drilled right through, leaving a huge hole where his eye was supposed to be.

The APC's rushed forward and at least two Cy'Tan soldiers jumped on top of every APC. Then the APC's stopped just as abruptly and around ten men, depending on the weaponry they carried, jumped out from the rear and set up their weapons as the tanks closed in after them.

The Cy'Tan jumped off and stood behind the APC's awaiting the order of Jeodan to go ahead with the strike.

Not many people know this, but I own the first radio in Springfield. Not much on the air then, just Edison reciting the alphabet over and over. "A" he'd say; then "B." "C" would usually follow...

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207 Reply by Salamandastron (edited by Salamandastron 17-Sep-2008 02:43:41)

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

George Smith Patton
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

"Approaching the Kalnoky system in five minutes," the Talus computer's voice announced, but Matt barely heard it. He was deep in thought, caught in a series of flashbacks that revisited every facet of his life.

Why he had been chosen as a SpecOps officer, why he had advanced so quickly through the ranks, why now he was spearheading possibly the most dangerous mission in recorded history, was obvious. Since as far back as he could remember, he was the best.

Even as a student of PSM 313, District 401, he was at the top of his entire class; he was taking Tier Five and Tier Six classes in combat tactics, leadership, and military technology when his classmates were struggling to meet their Tier Three requirements. Sure, there were always fools who wanted to challenge him, cut him down to size, but at the end of the day, no one could stand up to Matt's iron fist, literally or figuratively. It was legal and perfectly acceptable for him to give a challenger a bloody nose, too - his instructors considered it a way for him to assert dominance in an arena of fierce competition. Matt smiled silently to himself, recalling those boyhood fights.

It got better once he turned sixteen years of age and headed off to his mandatory military training. On his second day of boot camp, he was identified as a leadership candidate, promoted to Corporal, and moved to the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. A week later, his supervisor decided that he wasn't being challenged enough; he was offered a chance to complete his qualification exams without further study. He jumped at the opportunity and passed both his Infantry I and Command I certifications with flying colors.

He spent two years in the Armored Command Unit program before his superiors decided he was overqualified, so he was moved to the Special Forces program, becoming a Captain in the UEF Special Operations Service, Deneb Division. He served there for another three years before being offered a transfer to Rigel Division, the most prestigious SpecOps division in existence. He gladly accepted, and in another three years, after making his name among friends and enemies alike, he was promoted to Major.

He served as an instructor for many years as the quantity of available missions declined, earning a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in the process. Then, the Reddington Incident happened. Just a few years later, the Tunnel was opened, and with it came a promotion to full Colonel and a return to active duty.

He was here now. It was clear to him, as it had always been, why he had been chosen for this. Why he had accepted, though, was a different matter.

It all started with Katherine Bates.

They had met during a short period of shore leave while he had still been in the ACU program. By the time he had achieved his Special Operations II certification, they were seeing each other regularly; a year after that, they were engaged.

Then, while he was away on assignment, the Aeon attacked their home, part of a settlement near the Western Front.

Matt could still see the twisted wreckage, could still hear the crunch of dirt baked dry by phason fire. The Aeon had overrun the defenders, tearing through the line like butter, razing everything to the ground. He had tried to believe that Katherine had gone down fighting, but, replaying through the event logs, he came to understand that the Aeon had come too fast - that she had probably still been sleeping when the Aeon hordes had swept through.

He took this experience to heart, along with the lessons that came with it. It gave him a streak of suicidal genius that he carried with him everywhere.

He could never avenge the pain, but he could instead turn it into his strength. He looked up. They were entering the Kalnoky system; the Republic fleet warped in on the other side of the planet right on cue.

As the Republic fleet began a suicidal clash with the Imperial forces half an orbit away, Matt made as the Aeon did so long ago, ordering the corvette full-throttle into the atmosphere and toward the landing point. Speed was his ally now, the only one he had left.

"If all goes well, this war'll be over in ten minutes," he said to himself.

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

"We'd better do this right," Carl warned Argus. The two brothers were in the shuttlebay of a massive Kyrozch vessel.

As they stepped forward, the alien biomatter giving ever so slightly under their feet, the alien clicking noises around them shifted abruptly from a slow trickle to a rapid, high-pitched cacophony. "They know we're here," Argus whispered.

"Do you think subtletly is my strong point?" Carl shot back. Kyrozch spiders, bigger than hubcaps, scrambled down the slightly oozing green walls around them; they were keeping careful watch over the human intruders, but did not open fire with their ocular lasers.

The lighting changed slightly; it seemed to beckon them onward.

"It looks like they _want_ us to be here," Argus noted.

Carl nodded. "For good reason, too. Destiny is in the air. We can all sense it."

A bipedal Kyrozch drone scrambled out of a portal that had appeared out of nowhere to their left. Carl and Argus turned to face it; Argus raised his beam rifle instinctively, but Carl raised a hand in a suppressive gesture.

"Let them make the first move," Carl cautioned.

The green Kyrozch drone, composed of little more than an armored head with legs, regarded the humans with curiosity for a moment through tiny slitlike eyes, then turned and scrambled off toward the light, which now appeared to be beckoning more urgently than ever.

"I guess we go onward?" Argus asked rhetorically.

The two headed off toward the light, their boots pressing into the slightly spongy floor.

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

The battle on the ground was swift and decisive. when the initial Kryzoch attack failed against the battle formation, much thanks to the Cy'Tan, their mass drivers and fighting skills, ranking atleast 10 to one kill ratio each. All fire consentrated on their dropships and other constructions they had already placed on the planet. Decemating them entirly.

During the cleanup, Jeodan sensed the wardancers had arrived, making surprisngly good headway in orbit.

Not many people know this, but I own the first radio in Springfield. Not much on the air then, just Edison reciting the alphabet over and over. "A" he'd say; then "B." "C" would usually follow...

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211 Reply by Salamandastron (edited by Salamandastron 22-Sep-2008 03:51:18)

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

Garrus clung to the arm rests of his command chair as his flagship, Thresher, bucked as another series of missiles got through the ship

George Smith Patton
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

"We'd better do this right. God help us," Matt said to himself.

The Talus corvette was rapidly losing altitude, pursued by a contingent of Imperial fighters. All around the cargo bay, sparks flew as weapons fire slammed into the hull.

Matt's grip tensed on his hoverbike. Three of his men would drop to the palace grounds, eliminate all opposition, and set up the bomb on a ten-minute fuse. Matt and two others would drop to the palace's upper levels, force their way to the throne room, and execute the Emperor. To create a diversion, the corvette would crash-land right into the palace's middle levels. After all, nobody had ever told Matt to bring the ship back intact... nobody had ever told Matt that he was coming back.

Matt pressed a button on his hoverbike, and the entire bottom of the cargo bay blew out explosively, sending the six men plummeting toward the city below.

Matt and his five men started up their bikes; three of his men, one carrying a chemonuclear bomb in compressed storage, dropped away, heading for the palace courtyard district. Matt and his two others guided their bikes toward the palace's roof, hundreds of stories above ground level.

"Why do all galactic palaces have to be so tall?" Matt asked himself.

The rush of wind tore aggressively at his face as he viewed the approaching landing zone through a protective visor. Matt sighted a landing zone - a flat part on the roof with maintenance access.

Matt nodded to his men and pointed as best as he could. He saw signs of acknowledgement.

Matt stared back at the chosen site, which was getting a little too close for comfort now. He knew he must jump now, or there wouldn't be enough room to slow his fall. He leapt, and was instantly clear of his bike, which flew down and crashed into the building somewhere below them.

As Matt and his men flew through the air, their suits projected a cocoon of blue energy that protected them and slowed their flight through the air. Matt drew a pair of pistols from his belt and wielded them, ready for action.

Seconds later, they landed on the rooftop, their descent dampened entirely by their suits. The roof was devoid of any hostile presence; Matt was certain this would not be the case once they entered the palace interior.

"Let's move," Matt ordered. "Garrus is counting on us."

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213 Reply by [RPA] Matthias Bloodmoon (edited by [RPA] Matthias Bloodmoon 22-Sep-2008 03:45:52)

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

Corridors. More corridors. They hurried through, conscious of the fact that every valuable second spent was one too many.

They did not stop to take aim at the Talus guards, but instead relied on their instincts. They were short on time, and any time wasted would jeopardize the security of the entire mission.

They blasted through one doorway, then another, making their way to the throne room.

The circular chamber was cavernous; the roof seemed to rise somewhere into the heavens. In the center, a massive throne, bathed in light from above, held the Talus Emperor in all his glory.

Using his twin pistols, Matt gunned down the Emperor's guards in a matter of seconds. Before the Emperor could react, his two men raised their rifles and fired at the possessed Talus ruler.

Nothing happened. The Emperor was not even scratched.

"Fools!" the Emperor howled; the chamber darkened as he said this. "You will fear the wrath of the Star-gods!"

Matt stared the monstrosity in the eye and shook his head.

"Not if I can help it," Matt whispered. He unslung from his back a grenade launcher loaded with a forty-millimeter pointed silver slug, aimed at the Emperor's head, and fired.

The Aeon-forged blessed silver left a green trail as it sliced through the air, punching right through the Emperor's skull, sending bright tendrils of neon lightning throughout the black cloud that was the Star-god's spirit. Screaming in intense pain, the Star-god rushed out of the Emperor's body and flew up into the depths of outer space.

Matt looked at the slumped body before him, wasted by the evil energies that had possessed it moments previously.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," he commented.

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214 Reply by Salamandastron (edited by Salamandastron 22-Sep-2008 22:10:59)

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

Garrus watched ship after ship explode before him, thousands of fighters and bombers swarming around larger ships. He watched as hundreds of missiles impacted on shields, or tore through armor like it was tissue paper. Orange beams pierced the darkness as Graser turrets blazed fury at enemy vessels. Hundreds of tiny green fragments leapt between closer ships as close-range energy cannons came online and unleashed their own wave of death. His ship rumbled as it belched another wave of missiles towards the enemy.
Then Garrus noticed something in the hologram. Imperial ships were breaking off, heading back to the planet at full speed. He knew the plan had either gone horribly right, or amazingly right, but he had to prepare for the worse.

George Smith Patton
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

Without warning a Cy'Tan fleet emerged from hyperspace, a hundred Kedelbe along side a five hundred Agressor class ships, countless corvette Gunships. But no fighters and bombers. The Cy'Tan fleet had emerged as close as possible to the Imperial fleet and stayed in formation as the republic fleets slowly fell. One by one they fell, in full fury and guns blazing they fought until the bitter end. Some crashing their ships to the Imperials.

'Their devotion to their cause shall be unseen among humans for many generations to come.' The Cy'Tan commander thought as he watched the battle projection.

""Projectile incoming sir." One of the officers at the tactical panel said.
"I see it, Imperial or republic?" The commander queried.
"Quick calculations show Imperial. Margin of error sixty percent." The officer replied.
"That's good enough for me," The commander said with a smile. "charge the blaze ships to full power and start moving the rest within firing range."

The small energy blast had only the faintest of power left before it hit the massive shields on one of the Fury ships. It was as if a tiny speck of dust landed on a giant, but that speck alone was a declaration of war. The Blaze ships charged forward at full speed as the Fury ships unleashed their twin cannons onto the enemy formation. First a massive ionic ball, and then a ball of plasma. The two 'balls of fury', dubbed accordingly by UEF officers, crashed into the Imperial fleets flanks devastating numerous ships and crippling many others. Unfortunately the recharge time for these ships is so long the battle could have been decided on the republic side if the Cy'Tan ships did not relieve more pressure immediately.

As they appropriately did. With mass drivers cutting through the adequately weakened ships by the republic onslaught.

Not many people know this, but I own the first radio in Springfield. Not much on the air then, just Edison reciting the alphabet over and over. "A" he'd say; then "B." "C" would usually follow...

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216 Reply by Salamandastron (edited by Salamandastron 22-Sep-2008 22:10:27)

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

Garrus watched, as the Republic Fleet seemed to merge with the Imperial one. Ships dropped off the hologram rapidly, and then something exploded into his view. Hundreds of Cy'tan ships appeared out of nowhere, firing into the Imperial Fleet. Garrus knew that the battle was over, but he refused to let the Imperials slip away and prevent Matthias from leaving.

"Intensify forward fire! Continue pushing forward! Get me a link to Admiral Deathsquad." Garrus said and watched as the Imperial flake collapsed under heavy fire from the fresh Cy'tan Fleet.

"Link open!" Garrus turned to his screen and saw Jeodan's face appear.

"How unexpected to show up for our little tea party. While I applaud your bravery, I must request that you stop the fleeing Imperial squadron from razing the Palace, and my men, to the ground." Garrus said with a faint smile as his ship shook as several more missiles slammed into its armor.

George Smith Patton
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

"If they are so important to you instead of your men on your ships, fine. SEND IN THE FIGHTERS AND BOMBERS!" Jeodan yelled as he closed in the link.

Suddenly thousands of bombers and fighters spawned right under the Imperial elements that were slowly moved back from the two fleets. The bombers flanked by the fighters acted as one swarm of units, almost as a snake that slithered around the Imperial ships firing off rounds of missiles and lazer fire into their sides. Jeodan watched as the as the Imperials realized they could not escape this swarm and then moved back to to their main fleet, that was still being pounded by all sides. Or so it appeared to Jeodan, while in fact they prepared for a suicide mission, without warning all imperial ships turned and rushed at full speed towards the planet. 'Why do they so zealously protect what is lost?' Jeodan thought and then ordered the Fury ships to jump in front of the advancing Imperial fleet, that seemed to much to handle for the swarm. The Fury ships jumped and powered down everything except their mighty shields, powering them to maximum power.

To the men inside the ships they probably didn't notice a thing, never heared a sound of what was to follow...

Not many people know this, but I own the first radio in Springfield. Not much on the air then, just Edison reciting the alphabet over and over. "A" he'd say; then "B." "C" would usually follow...

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218 Reply by Nai

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

Two Dreamweavers greeted each other and conversing about the call by the Scion to assembled. It has been a great long while since such an assembly had been called. Several hundred are beginning to assemle into the Great Hall of Ad

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

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219 Reply by Nai

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

Lt. Dale Matthewsen had been working the replenishment and resupply commands now for a solid eight years. His tour was due to wrap up soon, and word from above was he would be off to commanders school where he would get a little tactical and administrative training and then tack on his bronze oak cluster as an official Lt. Commander. He was only a few days away from getting frocked. His XO, Commadner Daviess had proudly made the announcement that Dale would be getting the promotion at last weeks command gold outing. Someone Dale had tough the XO was more ore less dropping the news to get his bar tab covered, as it is traditional to buy the round the day you get news.

The Navy and it

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

Garrus watched the Cy'tan descend upon the Imperial Fleet and then surround them. Then an incoming message arrived on his console.

"Garrus." He recognized the face and responded coldly.

"Septimus."

"I... Well. Let's keep this frank, my Fleet is surrounded and will never be able to survive the next few minutes. I hereby surrender all of my ships to the Talus Republic." Garrus couldn't believe it. He turned to the Communications Officer who began to rapidly type in commands.

"Then this battle is over. I will be sending Marines and personnel over to commandeer your ships shortly." Garrus said and cut the link. Next he waved to the Communications Officer and Jeodan's face appeared.

"Garrus? How can I help you?"

"Cease fire. Admiral Septimus has... surrendered. We will be sending over Marines and personnel to take control of his ships, but I doubt they'll put up any sort of struggle-" Garrus was saying when the link died. He turned to the Communications Officer. "What happened?"

"I don't know... Fleet-wide Communications just died." The Officer replied panicky.

"Calm down. Now find out what happened, use the short-wave system to contact all the ships around us, see if you can multi-link and give us a short-wave web." Garrus said and looked out at the dozens of ships, probably with bridge crews just as panicked as his.

George Smith Patton
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

"Master Cheif Petty Officer Awl Jax", the middle aged man said aloud. "Chief Warrant Officer Awl Jax," shaking his head. "I don't like the sound of that. Sort of like it trumps my years of service as an elisted man."

"Oh you be quiet", said his wife. "They only give that to the best of the best, and besides we need the extra money."

Awl Jax was thinking to himself, she was right. As ussual, Kathy was right. "I know, but, hun.. I just never imagined. I just know they are gonna give me a desk job billet, then who will take care of my guys? You think senior cheif Thomas cares one bit about these boys. I sure know he's got a gumption for Timmy."

"Whose Timmy?"

"Oh some raw green pea that basically finished boot. Gun ho, you know the type hun. Too dump to know better, and too smart to see their way out of any mess."

"Reminds me of someone I used to know." Kathy said with a chuckle.

With that Awl reached over and grabbed his wife gingerly, giving her a big squeeze and a kiss on the back of the head. "I don't have a clue who your talking about."

With that Kathy wiggled free turned around, give him a peck on the cheek, "You just get back tomorrow, and perhaps I'll see if I can jog your memory" And promptly pranced out the door, stopping to grab her lab coat with the McDouglas Aviation Center emblem and ID card hanging by the door.

The memory faded briefly, it was the last time Awl Jax saw his wife. He put down the picture of Kathy he was holding. Gave a kiss on his fingers and placed in squarely on her image. She was one of the 12,000 or so people assumed deceased at the facility, which was now little more than charred earth.

He stood up, dawning the new uniform as a warrant officer, it itched a bit, and had a very distinct smell of starch. He grabbed his hat off the dresser next to Kathy's photo and walked out the the transport. He silently made his way listening to the news on the radio. Station after station was all about the war. Buy war bonds, avenge the fallen, could it have been the Scion, round up execution of people believed to Scion followers, no way it could have been, detention of ships trying to make the pilgramage to Scion worlds not to mention teh CotL representatives constantly defending the action, saying we brought it on us by using such hideous weapons. The ride in was was more or less a means keep his mind off the tribunal today. His Jag laywer said he would meet him in the parking lot prior to the questioning, with a collection of witness statements.

Pulling into the parking bay, Awl Jax was momentarily surprised to see Fireman Timmy Delomileir walking out. Aside from a brief exchange of ackowlegement, they could not speak to each other due to the Hush order the tribune had edict. It was unfortunate, as he knew Timmy too was grieving as both of his parents were killed in an accident the day after the Juptier had returned. He knew even though the police told him it was an accident, how do they end up getting stripped and drawn and quartered? They were needlessly killed over a bumber sticker supporting the Scion.

He was troubled so much by that. The press had been unscroupulously making them out to be either villians or martyrs, even despite the protest of local government officials.

But he digressed. This was a very important day. He continued to walk towards the military courthouse. He could hear his lawyer running up behind him for a good 20 seconds, but only turned to glace as he caught up. This JAG officer wasn't much of a defense attorney he thought. He was glad I'm on trial here. He didn't seem much like a military man, pretty frail looking in all actuality.

The attorney went over the steps on how the tribune would begin, and had him sign a few doccuments as they waited in the hall to be called. He recognized a number of the petty officers and other crew of the Jupiter that were in the engineering bridge that day. Awl was thinking again about how serious all this was. And despite a few salutes and smiles, the only noise in the hall was JAG attorneys small talk about what to do and how to do it. Most just sat there quietly waiting to be called.

A good 20 minutes went by before he was called. How typical of the military, hurry up and wait, but at least they were punctual in formal matters. Awl entered the court's prominade, where a good 40 eyes were not affixed to him. He was really nervous, and it crossed his mind he might have missed a belt loop on his new uniform. He checked himself and confirmed he was good to go.

He knew this was important, but it was not until now that he got a real sense of how important this was.

"This Tribune now calls Chief Warrant Officer Awl Jacoby Jax, please take your place at the table." He saw Lt. Commander Matthewsen sitting with a group of brass and military guards around him. There was one seat next to him that was open. This was here he was instructed to take a seat. He crisply made his way, squaring the corners to the chair, and took his seat in the fashion he was instructed to by this attorney. He was impressed, the little guy knew his stuff, it went pretty much exactly has he said it would. Awl Jax sounded off his name and rank, and waited until he was given the go ahead to sit. There were serveral line admirals and high ranking men before him. Most shuffled or read the paperwork and affidavits on the events of two weeks ago.

The head magistrate, a three star admiral began. "Chief Warrant Officer Awl Jax. I want to start off saying how ..", he paused to think of the right word, "thankful we are for your testimony and to the many years of service you have given the Tallus Empire. And the training and expertise that you demonstrated on your watch that day will be that of legends. Your command at repairing the Jupiter ensured that over 6,800 personel were about to return home, and I believe within the next month we should have the Jupiter back in service.. Thank you."

Many of the other men in the room concurred, and though no one applauded, the tension in the room melted from his shoulders. To here of his actions spoken in this way sadly was not as fullfilling without Kathy. The tear the creaped down his face as the Magistrate spoke was for her.

"You are aware you are on strict orders not to speak of the events we will discuss in the room. It is impairative that we determine the effect of the Scion's technology and what played out in the Engineering bridge have many angles and we do not want it corrupted in any way."

"I do, sir"

"Please explain to us the events as you saw them unfold."

"Yes Sir, I was the Damage Control Chief of the Watch in the engineering bridge. We were having your typical underway replenishment detail. We'd had a few cracked portlasses from the ice debris on the cables, but other than that, everything was what i would call typical."

"This was far from a typical watch, what first report did you get"

"About a purple flash of light from planet side, followed nearly instantly by a blue flash, then a massive explosion planetside."

"And who reported this in?"

"One of the starboard side watchstanders called it up over the 4JC, there were at least two others that confirmed the event. I reported aloud to the Engineering Officer of the events, although he was already turned and listening in on what I was hearing reported in"

"So there was no discussion of what might have caused it?"

"No Sir. None that were reported to us, and the majority of those that witnessed the explosions were standing duty in the cargo sections sir."

The magistrate lifted up a few of the papers on his desk, and reviewed them for a moment, then added in a few lines by hand on the paper. "Is this when Lt. Commander Matthewsen began to begin diagnostics on the engineering control systems?"

"No sir, but it was roughly two minutes prior to full scale diagnostics were started. Petty Officer Jamus had already begun his at the time. I do not believe it is within the regulations to begin such an operation during underway replenishment"

"Then what happened?"

"Lt. Commander Matthewsen requested use of one of my DC runners has he said their entire communication package was apparently malfunctioning"

"We took we initaly though was collateral damage on the port side the Jupiter?"

"Was it just near where the Lassiter had been?"

"No sir, the explosion of the Lassiter that close to us caused significant structural damage central to sections 144 and around repair locker 1A1. Mostly all were surface skin damage as well as some kenetic damage from the Lassiters debris."

"So nothing central to the cargo bay initially?"

"No sir, we received nothing from anyone. It was as if whatever took out a ship the size of the Lassiter also took out the cargo sections."

"Strike that last part, Warrant Jax, please no speculation. We have plenty of speculation around here, what we dont have is alot of survivors, thus we dont have alot of facts."

"Yes Sir, I understand that, but one of our watchstanders was in the middle of a conversation with one of them at the time of the attack. He did briefly have his headset fall off from the blastwave, when he donned it back on, he said no one was there."

One of the magistrates spoke up, "We have already heard from Petty Officer Callaoiway, and he substantiates your claim".

"What did you do then"

"We began damage control operations on the affected sections of the ship. The forward galley was our inital concern, a fire there would have gutted the front of the ship, as we didn't have an intact suppression system. Shrapnel had knocked out the pumping units and generator. We attended to that."

"So, as I understand you, when the attack occurred, you have full communications with your teams, but Lt. Matthewsen did not with his?"

"Yes Sir. I believe that is why Lt Commander Matthewsen went into the repair locker to start running a thread up to the bridge."

"Did you physically see him walk into the repair locker?"

"Yes sir, I did."

"At this time, and this is important, you had full communication capabilities with your various repair lockers and watch standers?

"Yes sir, I did."

The magistrate then asked Lt. Commander Matthewsen, "Was this why you choose to try out the sound powered phones?"

"Yes Sir, I felt that if it worked for them, it would work for us, and I know DC teams have training to route them in the event of casualties for remore fire fighting on ships. I thought it wasn't much, but if we could get communication back we could gain control of the ship and keep it from foundering and drifting into the planets atmospher. We were not even flying blind at that point Sir."


Some other minor details were asked, but the magistrate concluded again with thanks to both men, and finished by saying. "I want you two talk things over now. See if you can remember any more details. I believe we've gotten the right information, and again ,I cannot reinterate enough, how thankful we are to you for your quick reaction Lt. Commander Matthewsen, and your experience Chief Warrent Jax. There are many many famlies in your debt today. In my mind, you are heroes, and if I could award you some medals over this, you'd have a more of them that I would.

"We are ajourned for lunch, we will reconvien in 2 hours." lifting the gavel, the magistrate hit the desk and all rose and in military fash departed.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

"General Clarke," an officer called out. "You really need to see this."

"How bad is it?" Stephen asked. They were onboard the UES Unification, holding orbit around Blacken Prime.

The officer paused. "Let's just say that it could trigger a mess."

Stephen nodded wearily. "Let's see it."

Images were projected on the main viewer of the fleet command bridge. "The Scion appear to be on the move again. They appear to have interfered at Kalnoky Prime; for what reason, we don't-"

Alarm klaxons suddenly started sounding.

"Sir, fleetwide communications just died," another officer notified them. "We've brought the ship to red alert. Intraship is being jammed as well."

"Sensors?" Stephen asked.

"Offline, along with all systems, but we have backup power, and we're working on restoring emergency functionality."

"Get the sensors back online ASAP," Stephen ordered. "I want to see what's causing the problem."

"Roger that, sir... right, emergency data links are operational. Systems coming back online... I am initiating sensor scan now. Nope, nothing remotely hostile in the... what the hell... that looks like something Scion, but it's not broadcasting any codes... I can't target it."

"Can you establish a data link with Blacken Command?" Stephen asked.

The communications officer tried for a few seconds. "It's an ugly hack, but I've done it. We cannot move from geostationary orbit, though, or we'll lose the link."

"Get me Admiral Baines," Stephen ordered.

"Done," the comm officer replied. Admiral Robert Baines's face showed up on the viewscreen.

"What the hell is going on?" Admiral Baines asked immediately, sounding evidently irate.

"We were just about to ask the same of you," Stephen replied. "We've lost contact with the Fleet. We suspect Scion involvement."

Admiral Baines sighed. "Damn it. I have two fleets deployed rimward to stave off the Kyrozch threat, and I can't even recall them now. We're sitting ducks."

"We're in a similar bind," Stephen replied. "We've all lost all military communication with our offworld fleets. Carl is out-of-universe, so he's no help right now." Stephen sighed. "I don't want to sound threatening in any way, but I'm starting to think that the UEF is receiving more than it bargained for when it entered the war."

"Are you saying you'll pull out?" Admiral Baines asked interrogatively.

"I'm not saying anything," Stephen shot back, "except that my temper is starting to boil over. We were originally here to combat Star-god activity, but it seems the Star-gods are still at large. Now, we're dealing with something potentially far more powerful and deadly than even that." Stephen sighed. "I can no longer tell if our presence here is worth the resources we're spending to maintain our link between Blacken Prime and Earth."

"So you're just going to bury your head in the sand and pretend we don't exist?" Admiral Baines demanded.

Stephen closed his eyes, exasperated. "I don't know what we're going to do, Admiral. I'm just giving you a heads-up. We are not happy with this turn of events, and we felt it was our duty to notify you. Beyond that, we have no further comment." Stephen nodded to his communications officer, who cut the link.

"God, more complications..." Admiral Baines grumbled to himself. All he knew is that the UEF was the real backbone of the Unified Fleet, and if they packed up and left, Blacken would be left in a bad position indeed.

"Whatever voodoo you're attempting, Logan, it'd better be quick..."

Proud user of Ubuntu 11.10 / 12.04 LTS

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223 Reply by [RPA] Arocalex (edited by Gwynedd 26-Sep-2008 08:40:37)

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

"What just happened?" Jeodan barked at the commnucations officer.
"I can't tell, we've lost all communications with the republic fleet." he replied.
"But within the fleet?"
"The psychers are still relaying information although they are having a much harder time."
"Open the hatches, I want to see what's going on and get all the psychers to channel their strength into this ship." Jeodan said as he got up and started walking towards one edge of the room.
Jeodan sensed the ship buckling under the immense power of the psychers. Everything from weapons to sensors were shut down to act as conduits. Jeodan felt the power on the tips of his finger and ordered the ship to contact Garrus.

"GARRUS!" It came to him like a inaudible roar and Garrus was pushed back in his seat.
"SORRY," again a sound that pushed Garrus even more to his seat."okay, it should be fixed now, used too much power. Garrus..." The last bit sounded like anything Garrus had heard, it was a female voice speaking as if her words were carried by the softest s of winds. Garrus felt himself strange hearing it. He felt like his first crush. "Jeodan here," and with that the spell was broken and Garrus snapped out of it. "what the [w00f!] just happened?"

To which Garrus replied: "We are in the same mess, and I didn't knew you could do this or have such a unmanly voice doing so." Garrus couldn't help but smile, just a little bit.
"Very funny, truth be told it's very complicated, I'll explain later. Any ways to overcome this?"
"I'm guessing what you are doing, we are still testing some options."

Not many people know this, but I own the first radio in Springfield. Not much on the air then, just Edison reciting the alphabet over and over. "A" he'd say; then "B." "C" would usually follow...

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

All around him burned. The very fabric of space time warped and eventually broke spewing forth dark enerngies which propelled him even furthur. Everything within sight flew past at phenomenal speeds and where he passed rippled with unimaginable forces . Propelling him faster and faster was his desire to rule, his hunger for souls and his hatred for life. This was his domain and he sensed everything inside it. When he sensed the arrival a very powerful soul and his followers, followed by an equally powerful one he had cause for panic. Once he felt them leave he pressed toward their last known presence.  He flew at an increasingly fast speed untill he hit a unmovable object. The Star-Gods could not be stopped and in their own lairs this rule was ten fold, but what ever this was did not move and as he pressed into it he sensed who had created it, and who had risked his very essence in trying to stop him.

"LOGAN!" He screamed and the sound travelled through the shield. He stepped back a few steps and gathered his power and unleashed all of his anger and hatred at the 'shield' It strained and warped but held, much to the dismay of the Star-God. He shouted again as he blasted away at the shield and was angered even furthur as it did not move. Then he felt oddly calm despite the raging that went through his body.

He focused on the energy signal of one Logan Grimnar, the creator of this little shield. His distorted mouth curved into a small smile as he finally made the link.


Logan had felt a growing pressure from behind his skull for a while and assumed it was a simple headache. But when it grew to such an unbearable pain, it felt as though it had exploded in a wave of noise so evil and drenched in cold that it froze the command deck in a thin sheet of ice. Men and women were shocked as they felt it and were suddenly encased in an icy prison. Logan had however managed to stand up and was now facing the back of the ship. He rose from the ground several inches and began to converse with something the crewmembers who managed to defrost them selves could not see or hear.


"You have become troublesome, Horakai and you must be removed. Tell me how to pass this delay and I will make the death for your humans swift and mostly painless. Fail and their suffering will eventually force you to obey me." Said a dark and deep voice. Logan ignored what ever it had called him and answered.

"Never, while you are trapped in your hole I will begin your down fall. When you make it through you will be meet with a thousand upon a thousand lances and when I lift your charred remains high above the battle field, no one will ever have the will to fight us. Turn now and I will let you rot here in silence and you will decay as we all forgot what you began." Logan retorted. His face had transformed into a mask of pure power which radiated so powerfully the Star-God felt it.

"You have chosen damnation for your humans and the everlasting torment of the never ending screams. I will be sure to reveal to them as they beg for an end that it was your ignorance and pride which began it all, Horakai." Logan was barely ready for what happened next and only managed to cut the link before he was enveloped in the dark fire which sped towards him. As the link was forcably severed Logan flew backwards as though he had been hit by a train. He hit the opposite side of the deck and fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. He leapt to his feet as the men and women around him looked towards him. He looked around and took everyone in.

"We need to get back now." He said.

Then I lived.

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Re: Space: The Third Story.

"What have you come up with?" Garrus asked the Communications Officer.

"We can use short-wave transmitters built as a back-up against EMP attacks to contact ships, but if we go too far away... We lose it. If we can enter a tight orbit around a planet, its possible we can raise them on the transmitters. The other thing is.... we can't contact any one on the outside."

"I understand. Get as many ships as you can to link up to the short-wave transmitters. Send troops to take control of the Imperial vessels and get me Commodore Venz."

"Done and done, Sir." The Communications Officer said to Garrus. Garrus returned to his command chair and spoke to Jeodan.

George Smith Patton
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

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