| The Great War |
"So how did the shakedown go?" asked Vice Admiral Marcus Septim.
"She runs well, Marcus. Proud to be her XO," said Lieutenant Jack Septim, Septim's brother.
The ship that Jack had served as shore party leader and XO on had been the Dragonheart, a small frigate not unlike the Dragonfire before. But it was heavily modified, and was an all new ship. The shields were reinforced, designed by Crotian and Human scientists, it was one of the best small frigates in the fleet.
"Glad to see that it went well. Miss the Fury?" asked Septim.
The Fury had been Jack's first command after the corvette 436-697. He had hunted and killed many ships in his group, but that was now behind him.
"A little bit, but I'll get over it," said Jack.
"Good," said Septim.
"Dad's proud of you, talked to him yesterday. He may not show it, but he is," said Jack.
"I know," said Septim.
"How's Alice?" asked Jack.
"She's doing well," said Septim.
"Great, how's the baby?" asked Jack.
"Four months along...gonna be a boy, we're naming him James," said Marcus, "I'm going to marry Alice in two months. It's not going to be a large wedding, just you, mom, dad, Gordon, Greg, and a few others."
"Really? Why didn't you tell me sooner!" said Jack.
"I don't know," said Marcus, "But I love her."
"That's good," said Jack, "I need to get going, where's the wedding going to be?"
"Kerait Park," said Marcus.
"Alright, when?" asked Jack.
"Twenty-third of Septimber," said Marcus, "Can't think of any other month than that of our ancestor."
"Good idea, I'll see you later," said Jack.
"Alright," said Marcus.
With that, Jack walked out the door, and Marcus sat back in his seat. He had several reports to file, and a lot of other things to do.
Best get busy...
With that, he started his work.
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Matthew jogged along the ports looking at this different assortment of ships. He looked back and saw his brother Drew running after him.
“Hello,” he said, “I’ve been trying to talk to you all day!”
“What is it?” said Matthew.
“I was wondering if you knew where father was!” said Drew.
“I think he’s over strolling in Kerait park.” said Matthew.
“Ok, thanks!” said Drew.
Matthew finished his jog and went aboard his ship, the Marquis, and went to the control bridge. He then retired to a chair and sat down, and thought over everything that happened today.
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"What do you have to report Mr. Wilson?" Gordon Kyphus said as he was walking across the bridge. He was in charge of the cruiser "Tolriel" which was something Gordon was very proud of.
"The shields work beautifully admiral. We have made them 1.25% more efficient than last week." said Lieutenant Daniel Wilson. He was the man in charge of the engineering section of the ship. He was always working at increasing the efficiency of the ships he was given, and Gordon was glad to have him.
Gordon sat in his chair on the bridge and looked ahead at the depths of space. The KS Tolriel was docked at KSS Seven orbiting about Koam.
"Mr. Tiffin, how are the power levels reading?"
"The engines are in perfect condition sir, and I think we could actually push 5% beyond the safety perimeters without any danger. I love this ship because it still handles very well despite the size. The large frigate KS Lorias just reported that they are at 100%. The large frigate KS Telrion states that they are at about 90% combat readiness. They are installing some replacement equipment." said Ensign Julius Tiffin as he was working at his station.
Julius Tiffin was the main pilot and also did regular checks on the fleet's condition. He had scored high 90's on all of his academy tests and Gordon was glad to have him along.
"Excellent...it seems like our fleet is just about ready for combat." said Rear Admiral Gordon Kyphus.
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After work, Septim got into his car in the parking garage and drove to his home in Kerait City. It was large, and had a bit of land, and that was rare. His house was one given to him by the government after his heroic efforts at the Battle of Baratago a year earlier, it was the war that gave him the rank of Vice Admiral. The house and the land was probably worth a little over 3.5 million Kerans. The planetwide megatropolis of Kerait City was running out of room, and only around 400 standalone houses and mansions were left on the planet. Marcus and Alice were blessed to have a house like it. As the KCA-98 (Keraitian Civilian Automobile Mk. 98) pulled into the driveway, Alice walked out to greet the man inside. She was a year younger than him, and was of average height. Her hair was brown and her eyes were blue. She was beautiful, and Marcus loved her very much.
"Hello honey," said Marcus as he got out of the car holding his briefcase.
Alice responded to the greeting with a kiss. Then, together, they walked inside.
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Demonsul emerged out of hyperspace. Unknown to him, many fights had taken place since his absence. However, he had more than his share of action.
Demonsul was a Freelancer. That meant he worked for money. Thousands of Kerans usually, as the Kieraitians had been his main employer recently. He was a tall man, often carrying a carbon pulse rifle over his shoulder. He needed it in these times of war.
Scythe was a Qalik ship, once belonging to the alien race's armada. Demonsul captured it in the Expanse of Skies, a huge light blue nebula. Since then, he had incorporated his four corvettes he had controlled previously into the structure of the frigate, giving it more tricks than any other ship he knew. He was still working out the kinks in most of the Qalik technology.
As Demonsul surveyed the surrounding space, he saw a familiar looking planet in the distance. Programming the hyperdrive to accept Koam as a destination had been a success.
As te powerful engines kicked to life, Demonsul found himself next to KSS-7 in a matter of seconds. Opening a communication channel to the station, he said, "This is Freelancer Demonsul, reporting to Kierait on matters about the war. I wish to have permission to dock at a port."
"Roger that Demonsul," replied a bored sounding station worker. "We can give you port sixteen on the other side of the station."
Demonsul didn't respond, he just flew the Scythe round to the port and docked it. He had worried about this, as he had had to replace the Qalik's trangular docking door with one of the corvette's Kieraitian circular one. However, it seemed to be working fine.
As the docking clamps closed, Demonsul hoped his tactic would work. He was suspicious, even paranoid in nature, and so had only decided to dock after he had planned the docking in detail, so that the Kieraitians would not steal Scythe.
As the docking door light went green, Demonsul walked along the black glastic docking tunnel, and stepped into the station.
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[[OOC: Waiting for Travis...-_-]]
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[[OOC:Why is he even signed up?He barely did anything last time and now he won't start -.-]]
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[[Now now...he still has some time. RPs do not need to fly at 100mph]]
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[[Nah, but I do prefer the ones that go at 1 event/day.]]
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[[OOC:WHERE IS TRAVIS!?]]
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[[No clue really...Septim will be back today sometime. He can do w/e then]]
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[[OOC: Will post later today, if Travis doesn't want in, oh well...]]
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[[OOC: I'd better put more characters. I will post a list of noteworthy races later.
Characters (NPCs)
Chairman Maxwell Benson - Once a power hungry Lord, he came to power by overthrowing the former chairman, George Johnson, and taking the position of Chairman.
High General Frank Gomez - A gifted land tactician, he is able to coordinate forces with extreme skill. He was once a member of the Dragons, the personal guard force of the Chairman.
Grand Admiral Bart Candor - A natural space Commander and Supreme Commander of the Keraitian Navy. He is a man with a dry sense of humor and a code of honor that has made him respected by his men, but disliked by almost everybody else.
Fleet Admiral Gregory Hoffman - Septim's friend and commanding officer since the start of the war. He replaced Rear Admiral Jackson when he was judged unfit for command after a mistake.
Director Howard Grayson - Director of the Kerait Intelligence Service. He is cunning, intelligent, and somewhat cold.
Grand Admiral/Han-Bakne Gannus Vekarian - Supreme Commander of the Crotian Navy and a friend of Septim's. He was the first Crotian to speak to the Keraitians.
Grand Admiral/Vesno-Tar Ku-Relen Var - Supreme Commander of the Venerol Navy. He is loyal to the Alliance and ready to sacrifice his life for any member.]]
Marcus woke up to his ComPhone ringing. He grabbed it and responded with a groggy "hello"?
"Vice Admiral Septim, this is Chairman Benson," said a familiar voice.
Septim shot up and was somewhat nervous.
"Yes sir?" asked Septim.
"A Qalik fleet has been detected on the edge of our system. We need all officers to report to their flagships and command their fleet," said Benson.
"Yes sir, I'll be there," said Septim before hanging up.
"What is it?" asked Alice as she woke up.
"Work, I'm sorry dear," said Septim as he got on his uniform.
Alice said nothing as Septim got dressed, and before he walked out the door, Alice said one thing.
"Good luck, Admiral," said Alice with a groggy smile.
"Thank you, madame," said Septim with a smile before running out the door. On the way out he grabbed the holster with his pistol in it along with his keys. Twenty seconds later, he was on his way to the spaceport.
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Gordon woke up to his comm channel beeping next to his bed.
"Admiral Kyphus report to the bridge." said the panal.
Gordon rolled over and hit the respond button
"I'm on my way." said Gordon as he slowly crawled out of bed. He got into his uniform and grabbed a cup of coffee on his way to the bridge. He also strapped on his standard issue pistol as most crewmen carried one. He walked onto the bridge and saw Ensign Tiffin and Lieutenant George Mace at their stations.
George Mace was the second in command of the ship and also a friend that Gordon made quickly. "Glad you could make it Admiral Kyphus. We recieved a message about a Qalik fleet being reported at the edge of our system." said George as he looked at a computer. "Seems that all officers were to report to their stations until given further orders." he continued. Gordon walked to his seat and pulled over his mobile computer. "Yes, it does look like one has been spotted. Thank you for waking me Lieutenant." said Gordon as he scrolled through the information given. "I don't see anything about how many ships or what classes. How long has this information been up?" asked Gordon as he continued searching.
"Only about an hour sir. The report was sent in maybe fifteen minutes before that so more information may come in soon." said the lieutenant as he worked at his station.
Gordon stood up and stretched his muscles. "I will go see Mr. Wilson in the engineering bay down below. You can reach me with the comm channel if anything happens. I want to see how his work on the engines is going and if they are done tweaking them. I don't want to find out that he disassembled them when we may be on call." said Gordon as he walked to the doorway. He walked down the corridor to the elevator and stepped inside.
The elevator went down several levels until he was on the Engineering Deck. He stepped out to find Lieutenant James Avery, his security officer. "Good morning Lieutenant. Did you hear that we may be seeing some actions?" said Gordon as he stopped to talk for a quick moment. "Yes I did sir, I was just doing my rounds and making sure the men are alerted to that. I will contact you after I finish my rounds and get to the Security Command Station." said Lieutenant Avery. "Go ahead then." said Gordon as he walked down the corridor and into the engineering bay.
"Mr. Wilson are you here?" said Gordon as he walked into the bay.&nb*beep*an suddenly dropped down in front of him covered in grime and grease. "Sorry about the scare sir. Was working on the coolant systems. Ensign Collins is somewhere around here but we can find him later. The engines are all ready to go anytime you need to. I saw the report about the Qalik fleet and made sure they were ready. They are running at about the same as when you checked yesterday, but I will get them better." said Daniel Wilson. "Alright, that is what I wanted to know. Thank you Lieutenant." said Gordon as he turned around and went back to the bridge.
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Matthew felt his vibrating ComPhone. He opened it up and heard the chairman saying calmly but nervously, “Report to your flagship and meet with the others immediately! A Qalik fleet has been detected!”
After closing his phone, he got up from his chair and ran up to the controls. He got on his suit and ordered that the boat be released from the port. He armed himself with a two standard pistols and ordered that all his men get some too. He turned on the engine control and nothing happened. Smoke filled the room.
“What is going on with this thing!?” he screamed.
“The engines overheated, Lieutenant!” shouted a crewman.
“FIX THEM!!!” Matthew screamed in his face.
“We’re trying! But the smoke is too thick to see what we’re doing!” shouted the crewman. Matthew remembered an air filtering machine he made in flight school. He turned it on and most of the smoke disappeared.The crewmen worked on it a long time and they were almost done, but they couldn't get them to work.They plugged in the water pump. The engines still wouldn’t work. He kicked it several times and they gave a sputter. He kicked the engines again and they sputtered to life. He started up the engines again and awaited further orders.
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[[We are in space...where the heck are you?]]
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[[OOC:I had a bit of trouble with my engines..I'm there..thats why I clearly said: He started up the engines and awaited further orders. By awaited further orders..I meant IM ALREADY IN SPACE AWAITING FURTHER ORDERS!]]
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[[OOC: Well you called your ship a boat and I was reading something about a water pump XD]]
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As the Qalik fleet zoomed toward Koam, the Kerait fleet flew at it. The KS Kerait, with Grand Admiral Candor aboard, flew at the head of the fleet, behind which thousands of ships ranging from fighters to massive battleships flew with it.
"This is Grand Admiral Bart Candor. Lets kick some ass," said Candor over the FleetCom."
The KS Goliath cruised near the Kerait. When the ships got within range, they fired everything they had. Ships exploded, debris flew through space, and the Goliath began pounding two large frigates. Ships flew around, fighters destroyed fighters, and the entire battle was a big chaotic showdown.
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"This is Rear Admiral Gordon Kyphus preparing to engage hostile forces. Launching fighters and preparing defenses!" said Gordon over the FleetCom. The KS Tolriel fired a spread of warheads and missiles as various enemy large frigates and small ones. "Mr. Tiffin make sure you keep a far enough distance from the other ships in the fleet. I do not want to hit anyone with so many ships around. Lieutenant Mace, keep communications open with the other ships in the fleet. I want to know their statuses at all times. Keep firing salvos of warheads at the large frigates and cruisers. Fire the missiles at the smaller ships. Give'm hell men!"
The KS Tolriel continued firing missiles and warheads at the attacking fleet while manuevering around other ships. The KS Telrion unloaded a salvo of missiles on another large frigate followed by a warhead which ultimately destroyed it. The KS Lorias did a similar tactic, but simply fired a stream of warheads.
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Matthew saw a large Qalik fleet coming towards him and the others, and saw the Tolriel shooting like crazy at the ships, making a pleasurable fireworks display.
“Fire two warheads, one at a different Heavy Frigate!” Matthew said.
10 seconds later, 2 warheads zoomed by and smashed into two Qalik Large Frigates, destroying the engine on one and destroying the bridge on the other. Both creaked and groaned and caved in partially before flying to of control and smashing into other ships.
“I didn’t know they did that..” said Matthew contentedly. He was joking with his men until he saw a swarm of fighters coming at his ship.
“FIRE FOUR TORPEDOES!” yelled Matthew.
Four torpedoes zoomed out from the Marquis and destroyed most of the fighters. He launched two of his own squadrons of fighters and told them to destroy the Corvettes. He fired another warhead and destroyed a light cruiser, and a torpedo crippled another heavy cruiser.
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Demonsul was barely out of the Scythe when suddenly he was forced to action. Dragging everyone back inside, it took seconds to get the Scythe out of the dock and into the gulf of space. Kicking the Scythe's powerful drives into action, Demonsul thundered towards the battlefield. As he reached the already debris-strewn space, he was forced to slow down to avoid ramming the KS Goliath. Luckily, the station AI had logged Scythe as a friendly, and so Demonsul was not immediately targeted. But in order to avoid confusion, he quickly opened fire on an approaching heavy frigate with all guns.
He hadn't fired all guns on the Scythe at once before, and was unprepared for the massive recoil generated by the three mass drivers. He had to put the engine back on in order to stop the Scythe crashing into everything. But the weapons had done their job, smashing through the heavy frigate and detonating the power core. The frigate's wreckage soon joined the rest of the battlefield's debris.
As the wreckage bounced lightly off of the KS Goliath's hull, Demonsul muttered to himself, "Glad to be back."
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While the big ships were firing at eachother, several Kerait drillpods filled with Keraitian marines flew through space from the several Kerait Launchships. When the drillpods made contact with one of the enemy ships, Fleet Intelligence marked the ship as a friendly due to the marines on board. The drill shot several shield errosion pulses that eroded the shield where the drill would hit. The drill then went through the Qalik ship and several clamps locked the pod to the ship's hull. Inside the ship, an airtight seal solidified around the pod and the drill shot off, revealing an airlock. The airlock then opened and several marines wearing KP-8 power armor walked out with their assault rifles at the ready. KP-8 armor was the eighth type to be developed, and was so far the most protective. Made from a strange bendable material found on Jorlen-7, the material could bend like the body. The armor was streamlined and colored a navy blue, it also had a built in interface that lessened the chance of friendly fire. The armor could stop up to one thousand rounds of small arms fire, and could probably stop five RPG rounds, but that didn't stop the men inside from being careful. The squad leader, Captain Robert Lakson, stepped out first and looked around, his men did the same. Their helmets had night vision, infared, and many other modes. The Qalik did not emit much heat, so infared was almost useless.
"This is squad three on Qalik Dreadnought Alpha. Clearing," reported Lakson.
With that, squad three went about securing their part of the ship. At other parts of the ship, fifteen other power armored squads were doing the same exact thing.
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[[I really can't do many RPs nowadays. Kick meh outeh!]]
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KSF Stormblade was traveling through hyperspace at full speed. A part of the fleet was engaged in combat and the ship was dispatched to aid after returning from a mission. Commander Karl Dark was anxious to get there. His latest missions were only scouting and patrol missions and he was craving for a fight.
The ship exited hyperspace minutes later, arriving in full combat.
"Lieutenant Sharpe, hail the fleet and let them know we are here! All hands battle stations! We are in a battle zone! Fire all weapons! Ensign Tumar, battle speed! Evade their fire!"
KSF Stormblade joined the battle firing all weapons gainst the enemy. Several fighters were destoyed and a Qalik Frigate wa*beep* multiple times. As a result the frigate was cripled and dead in the water.
"This is Commander Karl Dark to the fleet! We are boarding Qalik Frigate Restar! I repeat! We are boarding Qalik Frigate Restar!"
"Commander Dark to all hands! We are boarding an enemy frigate! All Star Troopers are to be prepared for boarding at the starbord hatches!"
Within minutes the boarding party was ready. They were wearing KS-8 power armor and oxigen tubes. Karl was with them. As they boarded the Qalik Frigate, Karl Sent a message to Sharpe:
"Lieutenant, we are aboard! Anounce the fleet!"
The boarding parties were met with enemy fire, but due to their equipment and training, as well as numerical superiority, the defenders were overwhelmed. The surviving crewmen were taken prisoners and the ship was abbandoned after a brief search for survivors and equipment that could be usefull.
KSF Stormblade closed his hatches and left the Qalik Frigate. If it survives the battle, at the end it will be taken to Kerait or the nearest shipyard for repairs.
KSF Stormblade rejoined the battle, firing all weapons.
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The marines soon secured the Qalik dreadnought with the help of their power armor. Afterwards, they called back on the Marine Operations Communications Channel (MarCom).
"This is Lakson, ship is secured," said Lakson.
"Good work, the battle is going fine spaceside," said the AI, who had the personality of General Hank Norman.
"Glad to hear it, Hank," said Lakson.
***
"Alice? How are our shields?" asked Septim to his AI.
"They are fine, Valan," said Alice.
"How many ships do they have left?" asked Septim.
"They currently have thirty corvettes, ten small frigates, five large frigates, two cruisers, and one heavy cruiser left," said Alice, "Their dreadnought has just been captured by marines."
"Alright," said Septim, "Lets stay back and let the Kerait handle this..."
***
The KS Kerait pulled towards the battle, it's MegaLaser was fully charged and aimed at the heavy cruiser.
"Remember the Quicksilver!" yelled Candor before the laser fired. Less than a second later, the Qalik heavy cruiser was destroyed. Then, three shipbuster bombs flew from the missile launchers and split into ten missiles each, they all hit their marks, and some even destroyed two. With that, only a few corvettes were left, and the Kerait Defense Fleet made short work of them.
"Good job everybody," said Grand Admiral Candor, "We can go home and sleep now!"
Everybody laughed, and after giving a two page report, Septim drove home and did just that.
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As the Scythe gradually cooled down it's pulse cannons, Demonsul tried to make contact with the Kieraitian Intelligence. The information he had needed using, or else everyone could be in danger.
While waiting for a response, Demonsul hoped they could use the information he had to turn the tables on the Qalik. So far, no major offensives had been staged, but Demonsul knew that this would have to change...
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Karl heard Grand Admiral Candor's suggestion. He turned towards the ship's AI who had the personality of Commodore Samantha Rinal.
"Sam, is that frigate we boarded earlier in one piece?"
"Yes. But now has a little more holes."
"Never mind that. Commander Dark to all hands! Great job men......and women! Now before heading towards Kerait, we must bring that frigate from earlier. Watches 3 and 5 are to be stationed on it until we reach Kerait!"
He turned to Ensign Tumar
"Ensign, set a course to the abandoned frigate!"
"Aye aye, skipper!"
Karl turned to Lieutenant Karina Sharpe.
"Lieutenant, hail the Grand Admiral and ask him where to tow the captured frigate."
"Yes Sir!"
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[[OOC: Delran, AIs are VERY rare. The only reason I have one was because I had an expiremental ship in the last RP. And they sure as hell aren't going to have the personality of some Commodore. The making of an AI requires a brain to be cloned, and the process is more painful than childbirth. General Norman probably couldn't feel pain due to the amount he had experienced. The original human Alice was probably one tough lady. There are probably only around 25 AIs in the entire navy.]]
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[OOC: AI means artificial intelligence, I not think that you require a human brain for that. You said it had personality and I followed you. Basic, AI has the personality it's designer gives. And it is freaking cpu!]
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[[OOC: Yours is a basic AI then. Mine is a Super-AI, requiring the cloning of a human brain. Every ship has a basic AI, but it doesn't talk, it speaks through a computer and it merely performs diagnostics on damaged systems. Super-AIs are capable of speech, operating the auto-turrets, increasing efficiency, and much more...]]
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Gordon Kyphus saw that the battle was over. "Mr. Tiffin, recall all fighter squadrons back to the hanger bays. We are going home." said Gordon. "Yes sir." replied Mr. Tiffin who turned on the comm system. "This is the KS Tolriel calling all fighters, return to your home ships now." he said before turning off the channel.
After several minutes all fighters were recalled and secure. Gordon did a double check on all systems. "Mr. Tiffin, let's head back home." he said. "With pleasure sir." replied Mr. Tiffin who had the ship enter the wormhole followed by the rest of the accompanying fleet. The fleet with the KS Tolriel exited the wormhole near Koam and docked at KSS 6, 7, and 8.
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[OOC: Most AI are capable of speech and performing various tasks such as diagnose the ship's systems, operating ship's systems and equipment but cannot operate a ship through a warm hole. That is what I know.]
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[[OOC: This is not Star Wars, Halo, or anything like that. It's the Great War. So those AIs don't exist and were actually never thought of, this is what we have: Basic AIs, and Super-AIs.]]
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[[And Freelancer hostile AIs. Just have to add that.
HAI:
A hostile virus-like program that is inserted into a system and subverts it into the hands of the user. After that, it acts like a regular basic AI.]]
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The Marquis shot one last torpedo at a retreating light frigate and smashed it. "All fighter squadrons to flight deck 2." said Matthew over the ComRadio. "Yes sir, Lieutenant!We've been wanting to come back, because these things are a little cramped.." Matthew chuckled at that statement.
A few minutes later the fighters returned. "Any losses?" asked the commanders of both squadrons. "No, not that we know of." "Alright then, lets go..Drew, turn on the systems and get the men ready for worm-travel." said Matthew. "Yes, Matthew." he replied. The ship brought up a worm-hole 5 minutes later and arrived at Koam.
"Permission to land, this is Lieutenant Matthew Tarmak." The radio was silent about 30 seconds. "Ok, land at dock 14." said a tired worker."Ok." replied Matthew, landing the Marquis there.
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Demonsul continued to wait. Tapping his fingers on the holographic controls, he filled the time waiting for a response by experimenting with the new systems. Apparently, the ship was equipped with part of something called an 'ion beam array', whatever that was. It appeared to be some kind of high-caliber multi-ship weapon. Putting the matter aside, Demonsul continued to search, uncovering a ECM pulse generator and some form of orbital bombardment launcher with no ammo. Never mind, he thought, just wait for the call.
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"Mr. Wilson, how are things looking on the engines?" asked Gordon as he waited for the reply. "Fine sir, I have increased energy output by another 1% and increased efficiency by about 5%. If we keep this up we should be the fastest cruiser by the end of the month. I will talk to Lieutenany Avery about working on the weapon systems and see if we can get firing speeds increased. It all depends on the cooling systems for the guns since the main problem that we run into is overheating and warping of the firing tubes." said Daniel Wilson. "Very good Lieutenant, I will check on your progress later." said Gordon.
Gordon turned to George Mace. "Want to go get some coffee in the mess hall? I can then work on my favorite fighter in the storage bay. Always want to keep modifying it. I could also work on one for you." Gordon said. "Um, I am not much of a fighter pilot sir. I went straight from the academy to officer school and then worked my way up. I did not have any fighter days like you did." said George. "A shame George, those were some fun days. Dangerous but fast as fast can get without being in hyperspace." said Gordon. "Let's go get that coffee." said George as the two men stood up and walked off of the bridge.
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Chairman Benson was in his office staring out the window, his hands behind his back. Buckled at his side was a longsword. A few seconds later, Fleet Admiral Johnson entered his office.
"Greetings, Fleet Admiral," said Benson.
"Sir!" said Johnson as he saluted, he knew why he had been called. He had failed to detect the Qalik fleet, and now, he would pay for it, but maybe, just maybe, he could get out of it.
"At ease," said Benson as he turned around, "You know, Admiral, when people fail at their posts, other people must succeed at theirs in order for victory to happen. You failed at your post, Admiral."
"I'm sorry," said Johnson.
Johnson was a good man, and had led a straight life, but this one mistake was looking to put an end to it.
"Sorry is not acceptable, but due to the outcome, we received a new dreadnought. That is acceptable, you will be demoted to the rank of Vice Admiral, your life is spared for today," said Benson.
"Thank you, sir," said Johnson as he saluted and walked out the door, his heart was beating quite quickly.
***
"Come to my office," said Admiral Hoffman over the phone.
"Yes sir," said Septim over the ComPhone.
He then got up and walked out his door, down a few hallways, and into the office of Admiral Gregory Hoffman.
"Welcome, Admiral Septim," said Hoffman with a grin.
"You mean Vice Admiral," said Sepitm sitting down.
"No, I mean Admiral!" said Hoffman with a full fledged smile appearing.
"Admiral? What happened?" asked Septim.
"Johnson got demoted, Benson didn't like that he couldn't hold off their fleet at Kerton. He's in your office now, I'm in his, you're in mine," said Hoffman as he sat back down.
"Wow!" said Septim, somewhat shocked that Benson would knock down such a good officer as Johnson.
"Congratulations, Admiral," said Hoffman.
"Congratulations to yourself, Fleet Admiral," said Septim with a smile.
[[OOC: Johnson stirred up some stuff. Deallus, you're now a Vice Admiral. Travis isn't here. Everybody is a rank higher than they were. Demonsul, you're a Freelancer, but you got paid for your part in the battle. 300,000 Kerans
:-)]]
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[[I'm still waiting to make contact with Kieraitian intelligence! Do something about that, go on IRC! But the cash is appreciated...]]
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KS Stormblade exited the wormhole near Kerait towing the captured frigate.
"Steady as she goes ensign! Approach the dock! Lieutenant, hail the Fleet Command Office!"
"Aye aye Skipper!"
"Sir, we have Admiral Hoffman at the ComRadio!"
"Sir, Commander Dark reporting in!"
"Your report Commander!"
"Sir, the KS Stormblade sustained minor damage during the fight. We arrived in the late phase of the battle, although we traveled at full speed. We managed to capture one of their frigates and we are towing it in. Awaiting further orders!"
"Leave their frigate there with one watch. One of our maintenance crews and a towing ship will come soon to tow it to a repairs dock. Dock the Stormblade in dock 40 for repairs and improvements and report to my office!"
"Yes Sir!"
One hour later Karl was in the office of Admiral Hoffman.
"Nice to see you Captain!"
"Sir..., I am Commander!"
"Not since you brought home that frigate! We made very good use of the time and brought it to a dry dock for inspections. You damaged their engines, but that can be repaired or replaced, there are several holes in the hull and you dissabled their weapons system. Everything can be restored. More valuables were the intel from their central computer. Nice work and congradulations! You earned that promotion!"
"Thank you Sir!"
"No! Thank you for the beatifull present you brought us! You will be give a new ship to command, but that will be determined later! Dismiss!"
"Sir!"
Karl saluted and exited the office.
[OOC: Septim, you decide what ship kind of ship I get and the specifics of the ship.]
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"This is Harold Freeman of the Keraitian Intelligence Service...why have you tried contacting us?" asked a man over Demonsul's Com.
"I have urgent information regarding the war," replied Demonsul.
"What do you have?" asked Freeman.
"I have vital information, patch me through to someone important!" responded Demonsul angrily.
Freeman turned to a console in his station and pressed a few buttons.
"I'm the Deputy Director of the Keraitian Intelligence Service," said a voice, "Who is this?"
"This is Freelancer Demonsul, and thank you very much for the prompt service," replied Demonsul sarcastically.
After a while, he added, "I have some important information regarding the Qalik."
"I know how you freelancers work, you want money? Fine, what do you have?" asked the DDKI
"I have very useful information. However, it's a bit hefty, and I need to meet someone in person to transfer it over."
Demonsul had tried to use the long-distance data transfer on the Scythe earlier, and the resulting events had been disasterous.
"Fine, meet me in the Heddlebert Cafe in Kerait City, sector 7G," said the DDKI.
"By the way, my name is Andrew Wolfe," said the man before the link was killed.
Shortly after this, Demonsul was striding down the broad walkway towards the cafe. When he reached the cafe, Demonsul looked round. He spotted Andrew's face in the crowd, recognizing it from the video comlink, and went over. "Good to finally meet you in person," he said.
"Good to meet you too, so, what do you have? I have a computer here ready to do the money transfer," said Wolfe.
Demonsul gave Andrew a disk. It was programmed to swap the data for a few hundred thousand Kerans the moment it was inserted. "Just put it in, and I'll walk you through what we found," said Demonsul.
After he had worked out that he had lost three hundred thousand Kerans, Wolfe said, "Alright...so what do we have? I don't understand your encrypting,"
Demonsul tapped in a few keys. "Oh, that's nothing, gibberish meant to hide the content," he explained. After the passcode was entered, a 3-D diagram of a huge asteroid appeared on the monitor.
"The hell is that?" asked Wolfe.
"Do you remember the clip I sent back from when I captured the Scythe?" asked Demonsul. When Wolfe thought for a second, he tapped a few more keys. "I included it on this disk anyway...well, the important part."
The screen now showed the view out of a corvette's front viewscreen. A massive asteroid hung motionless in a ple blue nebula. After a few seconds, a hole opened in the side of the asteroid and some ships flew out.
"Hidden base...or possibly a ship..." said Wolfe.
The screen went back to the data view, and the asteroid became filled with networks of white lines. "No, definitely a base, but it can move."
Demonsul pointed to a large mass within the asteroid.
"This is a huge jump drive. It can move the asteroid and a fleet hundreds of times the size of the ones we have faced so far." Pointing to more points on the asteroid, he added, "Thousands of powerful turrets, making frontal assault practically impossible. Control towers, docking bays, habitation decks. What do you make of that then?" he added, leaning back.
"I think that one of our stealth frigates can make it past it, and an extra powerful drillpod. And then very good men to get inside," said Wolfe.
"Think again, this thing if three miles across." responded Demonsul. "You'd need an army. But, it's not all bad," he added.
"Your corvettes have stealth capabilities?" asked Wolfe.
"I have no more corvettes. Hell, I'm not going up against that thing. What I was going to say is that it is the only one they have." said Demonsul hurriedly.
"Alright, we have quite a few stealth frigates, but we need time to build the customized drillpods," said Wolfe.
Thinking, Demonsul continued. "Well, it's the only one they have now, in any case. But I did some very daring recon and stuff, and I found out that they are building another!" Demonsul waited for this to sink in.
"Damn..." said Wolfe, "Alright, lets strike the one that's being built at the same time...Turrets built yet?"
"A few, a few..." Demonsul said. "But it's under tight security. This is one of the few times I would actually suggest frontal attack."
Tapping at the keys, an image of an asteroid half-covered in white lines appeared. Several contruction stations were attached by long tubes.
"Hmm...is this all there is defending it?" asked Wolfe.
"Well, this is the thing. They moved it into a thick asteroid field to resource it better, and that meant that they couldn't keep their fleet close to it. But the positioning couldn't be better!" Demonsul continued excitedly, bringing up a map of nearby systems. "Koam is here, orbiting this star, and this is the next system over. The asteroid field, by sheer luck, is here!" Demonsul pointed to a thick cloud of brown dots only a short jump away from Koam, amid which a red dot was flashing. "If we strike, we will be unable to use ships larger than any frigate, but neither will the Qalik." Demonsul changed the image back to the diagram of the new station.
"Hmm...what's this?" said Wolfe, pointing to a large cylinder that was being held stationary above the asteroid.
"That, as far as I can tell, is the cause of our advantage," said Demonsul. "They transferred the station to the asteroid field so they could make this and insert it. It's the stations central power core."
"This should be easier than I thought," said Wolfe. "So we only need to blow up the power core?"
Demonsul tought about this, then shook is head. "No, they already inserted it. These diagrams are somewhat out of date."
"Oh..." said Wolfe, seeming somewhat disappointed. "Well, my men will look this information over carefully..." he finished.
"Alright..." said Demonsul, and stood up.
Before long, he was back in space, orbiting Koam. Hopefully the Keraitians would decide a further course of action soon, he felt an itch for battle.
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Director Howard Grayson was reading over the analysis of the Qalik Dreadnought when Deputy Director Andrew Wolfe walked through the door.
"Director," said Wolfe as he sat down.
"What did he have?" asked Grayson.
"This," said Wolfe as he put his computer on Grayson's desk and turned it around. Grayson read, and looked up.
"What is it?" asked Grayson.
"Some kind of space station," said Wolfe, "Look at the second one though...it's going to be done within the year, but at the moment we can strike."
"I'll send this to Candor, and then to the Chairman, did you pay him?" asked Grayson.
"He paid himself," said Wolfe.
"Hmph, freelancers...good job," said Grayson.
"It wasn't me, it was Demonsul, and he has a "good job" in the form of three hundred thousand Kerans," said Wolfe.
With that, Wolfe got up and walked out the door, a few minutes later he was back at his office.
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When docking, Matthew accidentally put the engines on full speed and rammed into another ship. "Dang..that's not supposed to happen!"."What was that!?" screamed Drew. "I hit the full speed button and rammed into another ship!" said Matthew. Matthew and Drew looked out and saw a small dent in the other ship. "That'll cost AT LEAST 750 Kerans..I hope I have that with me.." said Matthew. Matthew backed up and docked without breaking anything. Matthew then sat down and hoped the commander of the ship he rammed was friendly.
Later Drew came running as fast as he could."What is it!?" yelled Matthew. "You've been promoted to Commander!" he screamed back."I HAVE!?" yelled Matthew before falling backwards out of his chair. "Are you all right?I didn't think your reaction would be that big..." said Drew. "Yes..I'm fine." answered Matthew.
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[OOC: Septim, I am still waiting for you to assign me a ship.]
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[[OOC: You can do it yourself. You're a Captain now, so you get a large frigate with a basic AI on board. Commanders get small frigates. Vice Admirals get heavy cruisers. Admirals get batleships.]]
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[OOC: There was also something about carriers. You sent me that through PM.]
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[[Can Something Happen Already?! I'm just waiting here..!]]
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[OOC: You are not the only one!]
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[[OOC: You can Captain a carrier if you want, they aren't that fun to Captain as Keraitian carriers have hardly any weapons and use fighters for protection...and all of you are under my (Admiral Septim's) command, as I am the Commander of the Fifth Fleet out of Koam.]]
Dark and Septim had just left his office when a call came over his ComPhone. He picked it up and held it to his ear.
"Fleet Admiral Hoffman," he said.
"Hoffman, got some bad news. Nukrell is under attack by a Qalik fleet, pretty big one too. Their defense force can't hold out for long," said the voice of Jerry Brukol, the Officer in charge of the long range communication station at KSS-2.
"I'll send my best," said Hoffman before calling another number.
***
Septim was walking out of the building when his portable ComPhone rang. He held it to his ear as he made his way to his vehicle.
"Admiral Marcus Septim," said Septim.
"Septim, this is Hoffman. We've got some bad news...Nukrell is under attack by a Qalik fleet. I need you to take the fifth fleet out there," said Hoffman.
"Orders understood," said Septim.
"Hoffman out," said Hoffman before hanging up.
***
Septim ran to the docks and just reached the PropDock (Proper dock) when Ace ran up to him.
"Mark!" he yelled as he ran up.
"What is it, Ace?" asked Septim as he walked towards his ship.
"You've got a new flagship!" said Ace.
"What?" asked Septim.
"You're an Admiral, you get a battleship," said Ace.
"Take me to it," said Septim.
"Aye aye, Admiral," said Ace.
***
Septim had just sat in his command chair when his new battleship and flagship, the Titan, lifted off.
"This is lead pilot Ace, we have liftoff," said Ace as the battleship pulled into space.
The others should be along shortly...
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