Beyond the known, the next galaxy

[Spritely Zombie]

"Permission granted, commander. You first priority is to the safety of your troops, secondary priority is take the ship as intact as it currently is. Finally if any of the aliens are unarmed and appear to be unconcious or surrendering, then they are to be restrained. Scan them thoroughly, make absolutely sure they're unarmed before bringing them aboard."

Gokan enters a few commands into the command terminal. Several small screen appear, showing the displays of the tactical camera's and sensors built into the armoured suits of the marines.

"No heroics commander."

Gokan switches the comm over to idle, no longer transmitting he can nonetheless hear the communications chatter of the seasoned soldiers. A moment later he switches it over to the Integument's channel.

"Captain Venek, prepare for salvage operation. If you can't fit the entire ship into your hold, I want to know what bits we want to keep, so get your best science team on sensors and do the most thorough job of scanning the ship you can."

"Roger that captain." replied Venek.

Gokan flicked the comm back to idle, leant back slightly in his chair and watched on the monitors as the Space marines along with the assault drone swept the ship for remaining hostiles.

[Avenger]

OOC| thank a bundle. Will be adding some life into my chars for the moment till Dm |OOC

Captain Matthews sipped silently from his mug while reading reports from various parts of the ships. He sighed after finishing the stack of reports on his desk. Muttering nonsensical phrases he keyed in his console and queried for his TO.

“How’s the simulation going?”

A very loud sizzling sound of laser fire accompanied by a loud yelling greeted his query. “They are getting there. At least this time they didn’t blow up any part of the ship”, he shouted.

“Very well, get them rested now. We will be moving out to rendezvous with the colony ships very soon.”

“Very good sir”

After an hour later, signal from central command transmitted the coordinates for the rendezvous point. The bridge was a hive of activities with the command crew running last minute check-ups

“What’s the status?”

“Everything is green sir and we are given the go for disengaging,” replied the XO.

“Ok, Helm, disengage the docking clamps and take us to the coordinates. Half power please, those colony ships will take a while to get there”

As the familiar hissing of the disengaged docking clamps he felt the gentle vibrations of the grav wave engines slowly come to life. The view of the space station slowly moving away signals things are going underway.

“It never ceases to amaze me,” he muttered.

“What does?” the XO asked.

“Station 0. Even after all these years, the size of the space stations always amazes me”

As the York waded slowly through the eerie of space, two rather large colony ships also disengaged from the station 0 and proceeded slowly to the rendezvous point.

“We will enter the system faster the colony ships. SO, prepare to run a full scan for any nasty surprises. Don’t want any pirates jumping on us. TO, Get the pilots to their fighters before we exit hyperspace. I want them ready to depart once we get there.”

“Aye sir,” they replied in unison.

[Crazyboy]

Mission Seven Please.

[Mad cat]

ooc- ok -ooc

listens to his helmsman

ok, take her in, prepair the troops

the ship moves up to the alien craft and docks, the bunker mariens move accross into the other vessle

activate the security drones and deploy one of the assault drones, i want this ship under our controll ASAP

Stinger: It would appear that the shippes are floating around in tiny pieces.
Mouse: Okay. Let's see if that station needs any help. If it seems they are doing okay we should head back to the diplomat though, and finnish up. I'm starting to feel abit nervous not having any shields and all.

The shipp moves closer to the station, status reports flikkering over a small view sceen.

to astroid mining station: Hello This is captain Micke Jhonson of the bioship Stingray. I was wondering if you guys will be alright now or if you need anymore help?

Mouse quickly checkes the damage reports just to be on the safe side.
Mouse: Hey stinnger you should try to optimize our powersupply a bit so that we don't loose our cloack in the middle of a fight again. Although I guess I was overloading it a bit.. Oh and as soon as we get back I'm buying you some nice new shields.

[Heiro]

Ro smirks.
One hell of a pilot.
"Scal, bring us about, and lower the shields and try to get the hull as stable as possible."
"No, Sir!, opening comms!"
"Wai..."
This is the Bioship Scal to SH1-V. You bastards! You almost hit us directly! What were yo...

Ro slowly, but surely, begins to clap. Scal, noticing the noise, stops shouting for a second, and allows the sound to echo around the chamber. Ro then approaches a console, and without a moments hesitation, says:

Well done, captain. That was one hell of a maneuver. I was very impressed. Please, refrain from taking our kill, next time. In the spirit of comradery, how would you feel to a drink?
"Captain! No!"
"Scal, did he hit you?"
"No..."
"Was harm done?"
"No....."
"Then kindly shut up..."

[Spritely Zombie]

Gokan flicks the comm channel.

"It would be my pleasure. So long as your ship promises to keep the airlock pressurized when I board." Gokans words are tinged with humour, making it fairly obviously somewhat of a joke. "I'll head over once we're on our way back."

[Heiro]

I can't promise anything, the ship doesn't like you...
Ro chuckles, before continuing
Good luck over there
Ro switches off the comm, and heads to prepare the finest drinks onboard.

[flapjack]

Czar/Nutc.. Crazyboy: Your both ships quickly depart for the ambush area, arriving only 15 minutes later. Almost immediatly scans come in of the entire system. Seconds later your scanners pick up the incoming strike corvette that is your target.

SO: "Incoming, 1 strike corvette coming in, 15 minutes till arrival. I've got a scan of the entire system sir."

Lutetia system
White dwarf star
no planets, asteroid belt at 67 billion kilometers from the star, no other anomalies.

Disrupter: You fly closer to Hewitt's ship while it's still fighting the pirate vessel

Hewitt: Your ship shudders again as your twin heavy railguns unloaded, followed immediatly by the blue streak of 4 AC torpedoes as they homed in on their target. In front of you a bright yellow flare filled the sky as the heavy railgun rounds smashed into the shields of the pirate vessels. Moments later 10 PD rockets sped forward, exploding on and around the incoming torpedoes. Neither of the enemy torpedoes make it through and your ship barely manages to dodge the twin beams of high energy laser weaponry from the frigate.

TO: "We can take them sir."

Fluffie: After about 75 minutes you're called out of the holodeck by a happy sounding engineering. After a few minutes of travelling through the ship, of which 3 minutes trying to get a turbolift to open its doors, you arrive in the small shuttle bay with the slipstream fighter taking up a small patch of space to the right of the entrance. It looked normal from the outside and but all the opened panels showed the shield generator had been significantly changed from what it had been before.

Engineer: "Ah, we've just finished up, she's fueled up and ready to go sir. Ofcourse it's only a 1 man fightercraft but we've managed to squeeze in some firearms and explosives, they're in the 2 side panels in the c*ckpit."

Gokan: The marines quickly swept through the small ship, encountering no enemies in any part of the ship. After a few minutes the commander reports in.

commander: "Sir, I think we've got a problem, all the escape pods are still onboard but there aren't any aliens, neither dead or alive, anywhere on the ship. All the primary systems are secured tough so it can be salvaged."

Venek: "That ship will easily fit in our cargo hold, should we pick it up right now?"

others: LATER, I'm a busy kid. I'll be less busy soon again so you guys that have been DMd right now should go and post

[Czar]

Fate:XO, Activate Cloak, 100%. Comm, open hailing frequencies to our companions.

XO: Aye, aye Sir. All cloaking systems to maximum!

Comm: Hailing frequencies open, captain.

Fate:<Red Storm, may I suggest a Hammer-and-Anvil maneuvre, where you are the hammer, and we are the anvil? We will maneuvre to cut off his escape route and then decloak and open fire, thereby driving him in range of your guns. Clean and effective. How does that sound to you?>

Fate:Helm; intercept and circumvent if you please. Prepare for H&A.

Helm:Aye, aye Sir. Setting the stage for H&A.

Fate:SO, keep an eye on the enemy if you will...

SO:I'm on the ball, Cap'n.

Fate:Then let the games begin...

[Czar]

ooc/ Let me take this moment to introduce the rest of my crew...

XO: Xavier Santiago. 34, from Brasil, Earth. Straightforward and a people person. Cool under pressure, but sometimes a bit too conservative. Seems a bit distracted of late...

SO: Lin Huang. 26, from the Nova Kong Settlement on Sito 3. She is smart and quick, but sometimes a bit on the haughty side. Full blooded Chinese ancestry, and she'll make Damn sure everyone knows it...
Has a soft spot for Bobby Jones.

Comm: Bobby Jones. 21, Tranquility Base, Earth's Moon. Young- in more than one way. Linguist and good talker, but he tends to love the sound of his own voice a bit too much... Needs to be reigned in from time to time.

Helm/Conn: Sandra D'Angelo. 24, Miami, Earth. Hotrod and Spitfire are just a few of the nicer monnikers this girl's got. She turns on a dime, but scrapes the paint Every time. Good, but cocky...

Engineering: Casey McCormick. 38, Cydonia Shipyards, Mars. Casey "Can Do" McCormick has torn apart And rebuilt virtually every machine ever made by man, and even most things alien. All he wants? MORE! He longs for new discoveries, and has been known to tinker and invent with reasonable succes... Just needs to keep his priorities straight. Has a Love/Hate relationship with Sandra D'Angelo.

Medic: Thomas Biggs. 30, Acapulco, Earth. Mr. Bedside Manner. More than one lover per port of call. Even the Love Boat's never had 'em so bad. Wants a shot with Lin, Sandra And Alexandra...

Tactical: Alexandra Duvall. 22, New Amsterdam Settlement, Hell Sector. Tough, agressive and triggerhappy.
Needs to be restrained, but mostly from breaking the doctor's nose. Has an uncanny sense where enemies weak spots are.

Ship: Shroud. The old bioship's BCPU has taken control of the ship's computer, to communicate with the crew. Has been known to be a bit cranky from time to time, as it's current status comes up. Unswervingly loyal to Fate, Tolerant to most others. Adores Casey and Sandra, however...

This adds a bit of flesh to the ship... /ooc

[Hewitt]

*Everyone ducks subconsciously as the twin beams of enemy fire streak close by Diamantina.*

TO: We can take them sir.

Hewitt: Then by all means, 'take them'. Fire again! and helm! Keep up the good work...

TO: Yes sir.

Helm: Work? I mean... thank you sir...

*Outside the Diamantina claws herself back around on the enemy frigate bring her weapons around for a second wave of fire even as the first lot of torpedoes are still closing on the pirate vessel. Taking a few seconds to line up a good shot Diamantina fires, unleashing once again the dazzling light display of the AC torps and the twin heavy rail guns.*

[Fluffie]

"Right then. Are there any armour vests or personal shield generators around, or will this have to do?"

After the either positive answer (which means that Fluffie straps one one) or negative answer, the Captain climbs into the fighter and quickly runs all plefight checks. Probably encountering no faults or flaws, he looks outside of the cockpit.

"Alright guys, clear the launch bay."

EO - "Aye aye Captain."

The EO looks at his crew still in the hangar and rallies them, quickly having them gather their stuff before clearing it. The blast doors close as Fluffie closes the capony and powers up the fighter. Taking his weapons offline and distributing the free power to his engine and shields, he opens a channel to the bridge.

"Alright, XO, you have the bridge. If anything happens, send the signal for back up. Try getting the Freigther fixed for flight to that ship, but I don't want you lot damaging her. If nasti-ness appears, call for back up again and cloak till they arrive. Other than that... Bye guys!"

XO - "Roger that. Ready to leave?"

"Ready."

XO - "Permission granted, prepare to be dropped. Bay doors opening.... now."

Beneath Fluffie's fighter, two doors open, swinging open to the outside. The black void of space beneath him, Fluffie is dropped. Although probably not possible in reality, it somehow manages to occur. For my fantasy's pleasure

The fighter's engines flare up and it quickly speeds forward, moving away from the Freighter. Destination: that frigate sized ship.

XO - "We see you fly... Good luck."

"Shields still at 100%... Lets rock. You have your orders, I'll contact you as soon as I see something new."

XO - "Alright."

Fluffie then hums to himself as he keeps his jet on course, occasionally throwing a look at the sensor screen...

On the bridge, the XO looks around.

XO - "Lets hope he doesn't get himself in trouble... SO, EO, try to rig the Freighter to go and rescue our Captain if needed. Maybe you can modify the cloaking field?"

[Crazyboy]

Crazy watched through the window of his ship, as it slowly moved away from the space station, the small torpedo boat dwarved by the massive structure. The Red Storm slowly gained speed as it moved away from the space station, untill it reached cruising speed. When it was a safe distance away, a surge of energy ripped through space, as a vortex was created into hyperspace. The Red Storm jumped through the vortex and started its short journey.

-= 15 Minuets Later =-

A vortex opened in an area of empty space. The Red Storm emerged in the system, devoid of life. The ship slowed as the Sensor Officer started scans of the system

SO: "Incoming unit. 1 Strike Corvette detected at range. ETA 15 minutes. System scan shows the star is a White Dwarf. No planets. Asteroid belt detected 67 billion kilometres from the star. One other ship detected..."

Comms: "Incoming transmission from unknown ship. Seems his on the same mission as us sir. Suggesting we work together. Patching him through"

Fate:<Red Storm, may I suggest a Hammer-and-Anvil maneuvre, where you are the hammer, and we are the anvil? We will maneuvre to cut off his escape route and then decloak and open fire, thereby driving him in range of your guns. Clean and effective. How does that sound to you?>

Crazy sat in thought for a moment, as the SO patched through scans of the other ship.

"If I may, I suggest we change roles. You stay cloaked and behind the enemy ship when it enters. We could use our anti-drive torpedoes to stop the enemy escaping. If they turn and run, you can decloak and open fire, and they'll reveal their backs to us. If they stay and fight, you can decloak and shot them up the ass."

As Crazy awaited a reply, he clicked on the internal PA.

"All hands, report to battle stations. Enemy contact in ETA 14 minutes. Torpedo rooms, load anti-drive and anti-capital ship torpedoes."

Crazy clicked of the internal comm system, as personal made their way into their battle stations. In the torpedo rooms, the 12" anti-drive torpedoes were loaded into their tubes, and sealed shut, while the 16" anti-capital ship torpedoes were slowly slide into their tubes. The torpedoes were sealed in. The tube doors hissed shut, and were sealed, as the gunners awaited their prey and got more torpedoes ready to load.

[Czar]

Comm: Sir, Incoming transmission...

Fate: Let's hear it.

Red Storm: <If I may, I suggest we change roles. You stay cloaked and behind the enemy ship when it enters. We could use our anti-drive torpedoes to stop the enemy escaping. If they turn and run, you can decloak and open fire, and they'll reveal their backs to us. If they stay and fight, you can decloak and shot them up the ass.>

Fate: Sounds reasonable. Alexandra, what do you think?

Tactical: Not a bad plan either. Whichever you decide works for me.

Fate: Then let's give this team effort a go. Comm, put me through to them, and Conn, alter course according to alterate tactics.

<Red Storm: That plan works for us. Changing course to match. Counting down to flashpoint. Mark!>

Conn: Changing course now.

XO: Tactical, Weapons Hot!

Tactical: Weapons hot, sir. Lemme attem!

Fate: Down girl. Keep your cool, we don't want to blow our surprise!

Tactical: (Sullen) Yes, Sir!

Engineering: Just try and keep my hull scratch free, sir... I just had her waxed and polished...

Fate: I'll try, Casey. We'll see what we Can Do...

SO: [Cough]Crappy Joke[Cough]

XO: What was that, SO?

SO: Nothing sir...

[Spritely Zombie]

Gokan flicks the comm over to Venek.

"No... I don't like this."

He pressed another control turning it into a three way comm.

"Commander. Check for any sign that the ship was fully automated. If you can't find any, get your men out of there and back onboard the SH1-V. Venek, get the troops into the cargo hold. If we pick this ship up, I want it completely locked down and all weapons aimed at it. Better be ready to jettison it too, just in case it's rigged to self-destruct."

His responce was two almost simultaneous rogers. Frowning slightly he turned his attention back to the monitor, which still showed the helmet-cameras of the marines.

[flapjack]

Avenger: The briefing is summary, you are to defend the 2 colony ships as they head out to the planet, neither of them may sustain any damage at all. After the 2 colony ships deploy to the planet, you will have to hang around and defend the new colony untill the PDS comes online, when this happens the colony is deemed to be fully self-sufficient and you will no longer be needed.
Your ship and the 2 colony ships slowly approach the edge of the Station 1's jump perimeter and jump to FTL speeds, your ship matching speed with the 2 slower Colony ships, the journey will take the good part of 3 hours.

Blake: ooc/ there are still 4 mercenary ships on this mission, 1 of them is you, the other 3 are NPCs, don't expect to much from them since they'll be equipped with the typical mercenary captains, aka fools. They will, probably, listen to your suggestions tough /ooc
As your ship approached the edge of Station 0's jump perimeter you notice 3 other ships coming in hard towards the 2 frigates your ship is forming up with.

SO: "Scanning our 'friends' sir, here come the results."

Helm: "In position, we're jumping."

In front of you the universe suddenly seems to bend around your ship as the hyperdrive activates, a few moments later you're in hyperspace and heading towards the target area, the journey taking 45 minutes.

2x 'Parker' class frigate, SNF 242 and SNF 246
2 engine mounts
1 armor mount
4 shield mounts
20 weapon mounts (14/12/8)
4 additional mounts
4 fighter mounts

drives:
Impulse drive
Hyperdrive

armor:
Polarized hull armor

shields:
2x spatial distortion shields

weapons:
16x aft laser turret -4 weapon mounts (all arcs)
3x forward double pulse laser -6 weapon mounts (forward, starboard, port)
2x forward 12" torpedo tube -8 weapon mounts (forward)
starboard double light massdriver -1 weapon mount (port, forward, aft)
port double light massdriver -1 weapon mount (port, forward, aft)

additionals:
crew quarters -1 additional mount
secondary power system -2 additional mounts
redundant firing control -1 additional mount

fighters:
4x Raptor light fighter -4 fighter mounts

cargo:
4x troopers -4 tonnes of cargo space
2x defenders -8 tonnes of cargo space
4x 12" anti-capital torpedoes -4 tonnes of cargo space
4x 12" anti-fighter torpedoes -4 tonnes of cargo space
1x 12" 'Base-killer" modified torpedo

The Hawk, gunship class mercenary vessel
2 engine mounts
1 armor mount
2 shield mounts
14 weapon mounts (12/6/4)
4 additional mounts
2 fighter mounts

drives:
modified impulse drive -1 engine mount
optimized hyperdrive -1 engine mount

armor:
Modified polarized hull armor -1 armor mount

shields:
modified spatial distortion shields -2 shield mounts

weapons:
2x port gatling laser -4 weapon mounts (port, forward, aft)
2x starboard gatling laser -4 weapon mounts (starboard, forward, aft)
forward Heavy hellbeam cannon -10 weapon mounts (forward)

additionals:
4x weapons pod -4 additional mounts

cargo:
8x troopers -8 tonnes of cargo space

The Blazer, Light carrier class mercenary vessel
2 engine mounts
2 shield mounts
6 weapon mounts
6 additional mounts
24 fighter mounts

drives:
damaged ion drive -1 engine mount
hyperdrive -1 engine mount

shields:
2x deflector shield -2 shield mounts

weapons:
12x light massdriver scattered across the ship's hull -6 weapon mounts (all arcs)

additionals:
workshop -4 additional mounts
secondary power system -2 additional mounts

fighters:
2x eagle attack bomber -8 fighter mounts
4x bulldog class medium fighter -8 fighter mounts
2x diplomat class medium fighter -4 fighter mounts
4x modified Raptor class light fighter -4 fighter mounts

cargo:
4x troopers -4 tonnes of cargo space
large unidentified object -100 tonnes of cargo space

The Way of War, heavy frigate leader class mercenary vessel
3 engine mounts
3 armor mounts
6 shield mounts
26 weapon mounts (24/12/8)
8 additional mounts
8 fighter mounts

engines:
prototype grav wave drive -2 engine mounts
prototyp linear drive -1 engine mount

armor:
prototype neutronium armor plating -3 armor mounts

shields:
prototype multi-layer spatial distortion shields -6 shield mounts

weapons:
forward prototype heavy plasma bolt launcher -18 weapon mounts (forward)
32x prototype light energy displacement turret -8 weapon mounts (all arcs)
2x forward prototype double UV laser cannon -2 weapon mounts (forward, starboard, port)

additionals:
2x weapons pod -2 additional mounts
secondary power system, tied in directly to energy boost -2 additional mounts
2x energy boost, boosting heavy plasma bolt launcher, few from secondary power system -2 additional mounts
prototype multi-spectrum anomaly detection array -2 additional mounts

fighters:
8x prototype light fighter -8 fighter mounts

Mad Cat: Your bunker marines laborously move across into the other ship, where they find they're unable to proceed because the corridors are only 2 meters high, whereas each bunker marine stands at 3 meters tall. Your assault drones are unable to proceed without at least 1 other squad of troops.

Mouse:
Stinger: "A bit, A bit, you overloaded the cloaking system a bit?? There was a powerspike that could have devastated me, luckily I managed to contain it and it only blew a bunch of circuit breakers. Oh and some wires, you'll want to have the cloaking system checked up as well."

Asteroid mining station over comms: "Luckily that other bioship placed itself between those aliens and us, they're in a lot worse condition. We've got a small fire near the mining systems but there aren't any major damages anywhere. Tough the entire mining rig will need to be replaced, I don't think your ship happens to have a spare mining rig lying around tough."

Others: Sorry to have to keep you waiting, I'll continue this tomorrow morning.

ooc/ Wipes off head after building a whole bunch of new vessels, oh and Blake, you'll be arriving a few million kilometers from the asteroid field, there aren't any surprises yet so you can post that and yell at some of the other mercenaries about your plans. /ooc

[Avenger]

“We are in position to jump sir, “reported the helmsman.

“Where are the colony ships?”

“Taking they’re own sweet time as usual. Figured they have waited that long, can afford to be slow now,” answered the XO.

“Comms patch me through to both the captains.”

“Got both of them on now,” he replied.

“Greetings, Captain Matthews here and I’ll be providing the escorts for this mission. Shouldn’t have any troubles but just in case, we should make some arrangements. Don’t suppose there is a problem me arriving a minute before your ships do?”

“A full minute?” they gasped. “In that minute someone might create a gravity well and pull us in. You are going in the same time as us,” one of the captains replied.

“Guess there is a risk there. OK then I’ll match your speed. Matthews out.”

“I think they heard your sarcasm there captain,” the XO s******ed.

“I'd surprised if they didn’t. Helm, adjust our speed to match them.”

“Aye sir. Course is set, the colony ships are in position. Engaging FTL drives in 3, 2, 1.”

The straining of the engines generating the necessary energies was barely audible on a bridge as the 3 ships engaged its FTL drives. A sudden burst of light then darkness again. To a careless observer, the ships would have just vanished into nothingness but in reality, the ships travelled in speeds normal eyes would not be able to follow.

“ETA 3 hours,” reported the helmsman.

“Good, get everyone rested, wake me up 15 minutes before we reach destination.”

“Very well sir,” replied the XO.

[flapjack]

Czar/nutc... crazyboy: Your ships slowly ease into position as the strike corvette jumps in.

SO: "Target has arrived, range is 15000 kilometers and closing. I have a scan of the target."

TO: "Target locked, weapons hot. They're raising shields and charging weapons."

Helm: "Engaging evasive maneuvers."

Criminal mind, Strike corvette
2 engine mounts
1 armor mount
4 shield mounts
12 weapon mounts (12/4/2)
2 additional mounts

engines:
impulse drive -1 engine mount
linear drive -1 engine mount

armor:
eldar armor plating -2 armor mounts

shields:
eldar energy shields -6 shield mounts

weapons:
forward heavy hellbeam cannon -10 weapon mounts
quad laser turret -1 weapon mount

additional mounts:
armor pod -1 additional mount
shield pod -1 additional mount
ship refit, -1 weapon mount, +1 shield mount

cargo:
Alien artifact -10 tonnes of cargo space

[Fluffie]

no dm for me?

[Disrupter]

Duke paces back and forth across the bridge wondering why its taking over a month to get to the ships.

"Maybe i should have gotten better engines....."

[flapjack]

time till next DM: 6+ weeks.

Oh and disrupter, you're within long range of the ships already, you're just not firing at the enemy ship and the enemy ship is occupied with someone else. I do suggest you start changing course tough, because there's a surprise a coming

[Hewitt]

6 WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[flapjack]

okay, so maybe I was lying :P

just discovered I've got an internet connection for a while here, at least for another couple of days so I'll try and dm today or tomorrow.

[Mad cat]

frowns at the marines report, and thinks for a moment

marine!
marine: sir?
i want you, your men and those drones to secure that craft! even if it means crawling around on your hands and knees
marine: yes, sir...
marine?, let the drones do any of the shooting for you, and i will try to get another team on board asap to ensure that this will never happen again
marine: yessir

looks about the bridge for a moment and orders the ship into a standby like state

[Disrupter]

Finally realizing that he is still alive, Duke takes control of the helm. He steers the Gauntlet off course alittle and tries to come around the group to the back of the action.

"Fighters, follow the Gauntlet until we are engaged or until further command."
"Aye sir"
"Ensign, i want all guns to fire on that ships engines as soon as we are in range. Then focus all firepower on all visible guns, then take out fighters, in that order."
"Aye sir, will do."

Duke sat back in his chair and watched the enemy ship slowly move out of sight as the Gauntlet turned.

[Crazyboy]

SO: "Incoming. Target detected. Range is at 15,000 km and closing."
TO: "Locking on. Weapons are hot. Torpedo bays locked and loaded. Enemy vessel has raised shields and are charging weapons."

"Helm. Take us in close. Head them towards Captain Fate. TO, prepare to fire."

TO: "Weapons in range."

"Fire."

TO: "Firing tubes 1 through 4. Torpedoes away."

"Helm, evasive manuvers. Avoid their guns. Engines to full power."

Helm: "Aye. Engines at full power. Initiating evasive pattern beta tango."

The small torpedo boat that was the Red Storm charged headlong at their target, Criminal Mind. The engines on the Red Storm glowered brightly as they took on all the power they could. Four red blasts streaked from the front of the ship, as the torpedoes were fired. Almost immeditly, the Red Storm begain dancing and diving, so they enemy gunners had a hard time locking on and shooting back.

- = Summary = -

- Fired 12" Anti-Drive Torpedos and 16" Anti-Capital Ship torpedoes.
- Attempting to head the Corvette towards Czar
- Evading enemy fire.

[flapjack]

Fluffie: Your fighter swiftly slides out of the hangar bay and towards the massive gas giant, almost immediatly an alarm light blinks on, warning you about the grav well you're entering, the fighter immediatly shakes as the modifications come online, moments later your sensors go blank, their range reduced to only 100km

EO: "Nope, no way this ship is going any closer, we're simply to big and heavy. It might be possible with a pair of grav waves engines, but I don't have any of those lying around here."

SO: "He's gone, I've lost his sensor signature, there isn't anything we can do now, at least not untill he gets closer to that moon, we might be able to pick up his sensor signature there."

Gokan: Several minutes pass as your marines sweep the ship thoroughly.

MC: "Well, the ship is a bio-ship and the computer core certainly seems to be powerfull enough to run the ship, at least for a short amount of time. But there aren't any automated maintenance droids and such, in addition the internal defense system is offline. Unfortunately we have no way to interface with the shipbrain as it is."

Venek: "If something happens, we can simply decompress the cargo hold. Our space marines can survive exposure to space and there isn't anything important in the hold anyways. Hold on while we move over, we'll be there in about 5 minutes so you'll have plenty of time to think this over sir."

Avenger: A loud blaring sound brings you back to the world of the waking. For a moment your mind races, the sound being exactly like the intruder alarms, but as you roll around and jump out of bed you see the flashing light on the alarm clock and end the wailing with a distinct klunk as you hit the top of the clock, slightly harder then you should have.

internal comms: "Captain report to the bridge, we are 10 minutes till arrival."

Mad Cat: Your marines are still to bulky to enter the alien ship, also crawling would be about the worst possible thing for them to do.

Disrupter: Your ship immediatly shudders as your weapons fire at the enemy ship, weapons flashes smashing into their aft shields, but doing no visible damage, moments later more weapons fire flashes across your screen as your fighters, still holding position around the gauntlet, opened fire as well.

Hewitt: Your first salvo of railgun rounds smashed into the frigate's shields, causing them to flare brightly but not abnormally, your torpedoes however where a lot more effective as their shields flared brightly to stop all 4 torpedoes, successfully as said torpedoes detonated against the shields, the shockwave significantly slowing it down, your second salvo of heavy railgun fire however went uncontended and ripped directly into the forward section of the ship, plasma immediatly starting to pour from 2 substantial holes as your second salvo of torpedoes closes rapidly.

TO: "That's a hit, they won't like what's coming next."

XO: "that is most likely a kill, they won't survive 4 AC torps without their shields."

SO: "1 of our friends is opening fire at their aft shields, no significant damages."

<transponder inactive, ship identy unknown>, Frigate class
2 engine mounts
1 armor mount
4 shield mounts
20 weapon mounts (14/12/8)
4 additional mounts
4 fighter mounts

drives:
impulse drive -1 engine mount
linear drive -1 engine mount

armor:
improved polarized hull armor -1 armor mount

shields:
modified improved particle shields -4 shield mounts

weapons:
2x 12" torpedo launcher -8 weapon mounts (forward only)
2x forward high intensity laser cannon -2 weapon mounts (forward only)
forward EM emitter array -4 weapon mounts (forward only)
starboard light EM emitter array -2 weapon mounts (starboard, aft)
port light EM emitter array -2 weapon mounts (port, aft)
aft quad light mass driver turret -2 weapon mounts (aft, port, starboard)

additionals:
class 1 cloaking system -2 additional mounts
class 2 stealth system -2 additional mounts

fighters:
4x modified assault shuttle -4 fighter mounts

cargo:
way to empty to be right.

damage report, unknown frigate:
forward shields offline
starboard shields 60%
port shields 60%
aft shields 75%

primary shield generator damaged, energy conduits on decks 3 and 4 damaged, major hull breach on decks 3 and 4, hull integrity at 75%, power spikes detected across the forward section.

[Bakan]

*Random Posting.*

*Fly towards the combat, charging all weapons and shields, and begin acquiring targetting locks.*

[Czar]

Fate: Get behind her baffles Conn. We want her blind to us until we can open fire. SO; Preform a passive scan of her aft shields to locate the 'weak' spots the engines create in a shield. If we hit her there we have a chance of punching through...

Conn: Humping her baffles, sir...

SO: Scanning... Give me a second...

Fate: Tactical; Cycle the weapons and stand ready for a quick heatup of the coils. Engineering; Preheat them as high as the cloak can syphon off.

Tactical: Aye sir!

Engineering: I'm not sure how long we can keep that up before we damage the coils, sir, so if you can- keep Tactical on a short leash...

Fate: We'll see if the target will be accomodating, Engineer... SO?

...

[Disrupter]

"All fighters, stay with the Gauntlet. Do not swarm until i say so. Continue long range firing."
"Aye sir."

Duke turned on the comm to the armory.

"Attention all infantry. Prepare to disembark onto the enemy ship. Load all weapons and equip all gear. Your orders are to kill anything that presents a threat or fights your take over. Listen to your squad leaders, and go directly to the bridge."

Duke listened to various "aye sir" and "yes captain" repsonces before closing the channel. He turned around and faced his ensign.

"Ensign, cut the shields that face away from that ship by half, reroute the power to the facing shields, i dont want anything getting through. Oh and cut the cloaking, they know were here. Reroute all that power as well."

"Aye sir, rerouting power, cloak coming off-line now."

[Avenger]

ooc/ Hope you don't mind me entering the system. I'll leave the innitial scanning results to you /ooc

Avenger: A loud blaring sound brings you back to the world of the waking. For a moment your mind races, the sound being exactly like the intruder alarms, but as you roll around and jump out of bed you see the flashing light on the alarm clock and end the wailing with a distinct klunk as you hit the top of the clock, slightly harder then you should have.

internal comms: "Captain report to the bridge, we are 10 minutes till arrival."

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

Nursing a small bump on the head, Captain Matthews quickly got his dressed up and headed directly to the bridge. Accidentally bumping on his XO which incidentally was nursing his head in the same fashion that he was.

"You were asleep?"

"Yes sir," he grumbled. "TO's shift started about 1 hour ago."

"You know what?"

"Know what sir?"

"We need a higher roof on our quarters," Matthews replied with a grin. Audible laughter can be heard echoed through the bridge and many of the senior officers seems to emerge in the similar predicament with the captain.

"Pilots are in the fighters and ready to deploy. Weapons will be online once we exit the jump," reported the TO

"Entering system in 3 minutes."

The announcement drove the staff to an even greater urgency as last minute checks were hurried in preperation for the exit.

"Exiting in 3, 2, 1,"

The helmsman never managed to finished his announcement as the three spacecrafts exits FTL speed.

"Fighters are deploying. Weapons are online and charging," announced the TO.

"We should be getting the scan results in a few moments," added the SO.

[flapjack]

Crazyboy: Your torpedoes streak towards your target, however the Criminal mind quickly unleashes several bursts of laser fire onto your torpedoes, which break apart in mid-flight.

TO: "They shot our torpedoes down, we'll have to get in a lot closer before we fire again, so that turret of theirs won't be able to respond."

SO: "Be carefull, that Hellbeam is nasty and their linear drive will finish charging in a few minutes."

Helm: "Evasive maneuvers and closing to firing range, they're still coming straight at us."

Czar: Your ship quickly maneuvers to directly behind the enemy craft, which goes oblivous to what's happening behind it.

TO: "Weapons locked on their engines."

SO: "That weakspot isn't very weak sir, I doubt we can penetrate their shields with the first couple of salvos, whereas that heavy hellbeam will not be funny if it hits us."

XO: "Remember to decloak before firing though, we don't want the cloaking device to explode on us."

EO: "Do remember, otherwise you'll be a down a cloaking device and a lot of crew."

damage reports:

Criminal mind
forward shields 100%
starboard shields 100%
port shields 100%
aft shields 100%
hull armor 100%
hull integrity 100%
internal systems undamaged

The Shroud
forward shields 100% <DOWN>
starboard shields 100% <DOWN>
port shields 100% <DOWN>
aft shields 100% <DOWN>
hull armor 100%
hull integrity 100%
internal system undamaged
cloaking device 95% charge remaining
all fighters docked and undamaged
cluster missile launcher 10/10 missiles remaining

Red Storm
forward shields 100%
starboard shields 100%
port shields 100%
aft shields 100%
singularity emitter 100%
hull armor 100%
hull integrity 100%
internal systems undamaged
12" torpedo launcher #1 AC torps 9/10 remaining
12" torpedo launcher #2 AC torps 9/10 remaining
16" torpedo launcher #1 AD torps 8/10 remaining
16" torpedo launcher #2 AD torps 8/10 remaining
20/20 12" AC torp reloads remaining
21/20 16" AC torp reloads remaining
4/5 16" AD torp reloads remaining
5/5 16" AM torp reloads remaining

Disrupter: Your ship suddenly shudders violently as your cloaking systems overload and violently break down, almost immediatly the pirate frigate opens fire on your fighters with its massdrivers, which due to their being in formation with your ship make for perfect target practice.

EO: "The cloaking systems just went boom, they'll have to be completely refitted. Rerouting power from the cloak to the shields sir."

SO: "Our fighters are making target practice, they have to break formation now."

FC: "2 raptors down, fighters are breaking formation to engage the enemy."

TO: "Returning fire."

damage reports:

unknown frigate:
forward shields offline, primary shield generator damaged, forward shield cannot be regenerated
starboard shields 60%
port shields 60%
aft shields 60%
hull armor 50%
hull integrity 75%, major hull breaches on decks 3 and 4
internal systems damaged, energy conduits on decks 3 and 4 damaged, power spikes detected across the forward section
cloaking system offline, 100% charged
linear drive 100% charged
all fighters docked and undamaged

The Gauntlet:
forward shields 90%
starboard shields 100%
port shields 100%
aft shields 100%
hull integrity 100%
internal systems damaged, cloaking system destroyed, minor damages in engineering.
cloaking system DESTROYED.
all fighters deployed, 4 raptors and 6 demolishers remaining

Avenger: As you jump into the system there is nothing, for a moment or 2, then 2 massive flashes of light announce the arrival of the 2 massive colony ships, which are still in formation with you ship but dozens of times larger.

SO: "Nothing unusual in the system."

Helm: "We're on course towards the target planet, ETA is 30 minutes."

TO: "Fighters are in formation around the colony ships."

Eriadi III.
Average yellow star
2 planets, asteroid belt outside of the 2 planets

Average desert planet, closest to the sun: 2 moons, very little water, scattered non-sentient lifeforms detected, high mineral content. Average surface temperature of 43 degrees celcius, atmosphere is oxygen-nitrogen, 0.75 times earth gravity

Average lush planet, second closest to the sun, mission objective: 1 moon, 40% covered in water, large amounts of vegetation and non-sentient lifeforms detected, average surface temperature of 19 degrees celcius, atmosphere is 24% oxygen, 40% nitrogen and 35% Helium.

[Disrupter]

ooc/ i power the damn cloak down so why it overload and explode...../ooc

"Damnit all i paid good money for that cloak."

"Were rurouting all its power sir."

"Ok, Fighters, take down those guns, go in full throttle, ignore anything that opposes you, except for enemy fighters. Priority one is the guns."

Duke watch on the screen as the ten ships speed away at full throttle dodging bursts of laser fire nimbly. They were soon out of sight, but their lasers were visible, as the bounced off the shields.

ooc/ can i retireve any downed pilots?/ooc

[flapjack]

ooc/ you can retrieve downed pilots. The cloak went boom because first you severely overload it with those fighters, then you start shooting while your cloak is still up, after that you drop the cloak. For next time, drop cloak first, then shoot /ooc

[Avenger]

Avenger: As you jump into the system there is nothing, for a moment or 2, then 2 massive flashes of light announce the arrival of the 2 massive colony ships, which are still in formation with you ship but dozens of times larger.

SO: "Nothing unusual in the system."

Helm: "We're on course towards the target planet, ETA is 30 minutes."

TO: "Fighters are in formation around the colony ships."

Eriadi III.
Average yellow star
2 planets, asteroid belt outside of the 2 planets

Average desert planet, closest to the sun: 2 moons, very little water, scattered non-sentient lifeforms detected, high mineral content. Average surface temperature of 43 degrees celcius, atmosphere is oxygen-nitrogen, 0.75 times earth gravity

Average lush planet, second closest to the sun, mission objective: 1 moon, 40% covered in water, large amounts of vegetation and non-sentient lifeforms detected, average surface temperature of 19 degrees celcius, atmosphere is 24% oxygen, 40% nitrogen and 35% Helium.

-----------

"Asteroid belt. Great, there always is one fo those around. If you know what you are doing, you can practically hide an entire fleet in there. Please keep a close watch on that asteroid field. If all goes well, its just another babysitting job"

"Aye sir," replied the SO

"TO keep fighters out there until those hulks starts debarking. Set up a rotation schedule for two fighters to be out there most of the times."

"It will be hell for the pilots sir," he protested.

"Perhaps, come to think of it just keep them around until the colony ships start with the PDS. After that just run periodic patrols."

"Yes sir."

Well seems we're not needed here. I'll take a look at those cloakes. If it's not too much I
might be able to fix it.
Mouse checks the status display.
Seems the circut breakers are blown. Pretty sure I can fix that.
Mouse goes back to the engineering room and ducks down to check out the circutery in the cloacking terminal.
Wow there's sure a lot of wires in here. You think you could help me out here stinger
A few of the wires jigle a little and begin to regenerate as mouse put's em together.
Stinger:I think I can take it frome here you'r more in the way then you'r helping anyway. You take care of what you do and I'll take care of myself okay.
Mouse grumbles a bit to himself as he get's back to his feet.
I think we should get back to that diplomat. When you'r done taking care of yourself you think you'd mind moving your ass over there.
Mouse sat back down in his chair feeling left out as he always did when there were repairs and such that needed to be done. Since he realy wasn't any good at fixing stuff. Stinger always had to take care of that. But he alwas felt like he wasn't needed, although he realy wasn't. He sat back in his chair and waited for Stinger to finish up the repairs.
Okay let's get over to that diplomat. Is the cloaks working now?

[flapjack]

Mouse/Zombie/Mad cat/Heiro: Out of nowhere suddenly appears a wormhole, through which moments later 3 ships come.

SO: "Alien ships, they have shields up and weapons hot, we're being targetted."

TO: "I have a lock on these new arrivals."

Mouse: Your ship was quickly moving towards the Diplomat, when Stinger reported the enemies

Stinger: "3 hostiles just popped out of a wormhole, right next to the asteroid mining station. They're targetting Captain Heiro and Captain Gokan's ships."

Mad cat: Your marines are still stuck at the airlock of the alien ship, when your SO suddenly reports the arrivals.

Zombie: While you're still docked to the other alien ship, the wormhole opens and the 3 alien ships come out of it, 1 of the frigates immediatly breaks to attack your freighter, while the heavy frigate leader targets you.

Heiro: You're floating in space doing nothing, the 3 alien ships appear and 1 of the frigates targets you.

2x alien frigate
2 engine mounts
1 armor mount
4 shield mounts
20 weapon mounts (14/12/8)
4 additional mounts
4 fighter mounts

engines:
grav wave drive -2 engine mounts

armor:
alien armor plating -1 armor mount

shields:
alien energy shield -2 shield mounts
alien kinetic shield -2 shield mounts

weapons:
2x forward alien energy cannon -8 weapon mounts (forward only)
4x aft alien defensive gun -8 weapon mounts (all arcs)
1x forward alien particle projector cannon -4 weapon mounts (forward only)

additionals:
secondary power system -2 additional mounts
alien internal systems enhancement -2 additional mounts

fighters:
4x alien light fighter -4 fighter mounts

1x alien frigate leader
3 engine mounts
2 armor mounts
4 shield mounts
24 weapon mounts (18/14/6)
6 additional mounts
8 fighter mounts

engines:
grav wave drive -2 engine mounts
alien wormhole drive -1 engine mount

armor:
alien heavy armor plating -2 armor mounts

shields:
alien energy shield -2 shield mounts
alien kinetic shield -2 shield mounts

weapons:
3x forward alien energy cannon -12 weapon mounts (forward only)
4x aft alien defensive gun -8 weapon mounts (all arcs)
1x forward alien particle projector cannon -4 weapon mounts (forward only)

additionals:
secondary power system -2 additional mounts
alien internal systems enhancement -2 additional mounts
alien shield grid enhancement -2 additional mounts

fighters:
4x alien light fighter -4 fighter mounts
2x alien medium fighter -4 fighter mounts

damage report:

alien frigate 1:
forward shields 100%
starboard shields 100%
port shields 100%
aft shields 100%
hull armor 100%
hull integrity 100%
internal systems undamaged
fighters launching

alien frigate 2:
forward shields 100%
starboard shields 100%
port shields 100%
aft shields 100%
hull armor 100%
hull integrity 100%
internal systems undamaged
fighters launching

alien frigate leader:
forward shields 100%
starboard shields 100%
port shields 100%
aft shields 100%
hull armor 100%
hull integrity 100%
internal systems undamaged
shield grid enhancements online
wormhole drive 0% charged and charging
fighters launching

friendly ships:

Stinger:
hull armor 100%
hull integrity 100%
internal systems undamaged
slipstream drive 100% charged and ready
cloaking device 50% charged and charging
12" torpedo launcher 10/10 AC torpedoes remaining
1/1 12" AM torpedo reload remaining
2/2 12" AC torpedo reloads remaining

The interdictor:
forward shields 100% OFFLINE
starboard shields 100% OFFLINE
port shields 100% OFFLINE
aft shields 100% OFFLINE
hull armor 100%
hull integrity 100%
internal systems undamaged
hyper drive 100% charged and ready
cluster missile launcher 1 10/10 missiles remaining
cluster missile launcher 2 10/10 missiles remaining
fighters docked and ready to launch
DOCKED

Scal:
LDS emitter 1 80% charged
LDS emitter 2 80% charged
LDS emitter 3 90% charged
LDS emitter 4 90% charged
hull armor 85%
hull integrity 85%
internal systems have suffered insignificant damages.
linear drive 100% charged and ready

SH1-V:
forward shields 100% OFFLINE
starboard shields 100% OFFLINE
port shields 100% OFFLINE
aft shields 100% OFFLINE
singularity emitter 70%
hull armor 80%
hull integrity 90%
internal systems undamaged
linear drive 1 100% charged and ready
linear drive 2 100% charged and ready
linear drive 3 100% charged and ready
class 2 stealth system 100% charged and standing by
stealth plating 80% intact
12" torpedo launcher 9/10 AC torps remaining
1/1 12" interdictor torpedo reload remaining
1/1 12" AD torpedo reload remaining
1/1 12" AF torpedo reload remaining
1/1 12" AM torpedo reload remaining
DOCKED

the integument:
forward shields 100%
starboard shields 100%
port shields 100%
aft shields 100%
hull armor 100%
hull integrity 100%
internal systems undamaged
hyperdrive 100% charged and ready
cloaking systems charged and ready
PDRL 250/250 PDRs remaining
fighters docked and ready to launch

[Hewitt]

ooc: Just a quickie for now.

Hewitt: Ok just fire the railguns one more time for good measure. After those torps hit they are toast.

TO: Yes sir, firing...

*Outside, the Diamantina lets loose with another two slugs from her heavy railguns as the AC torps close in.*

SO: Sir, the Gauntlet just launched shuttles. I think they might be trying for a boarding.

Hewitt: A bit late don't you think? Comms, open a channel with the Gauntlet.

Comms: Aye sir, transmitting.

Hewitt: "Gauntlet, this is Diamantina. Call off your shuttles and fighters so they do not risk begin caught in the blast when this pirate blows. Your too late Gauntlet. This bounty is mine. Hewitt out."

Whoha let's try to avoid those frigates. Try to stay away frome the fight while we wait for the cloake to recharge. load the torpedoes and target the closest fighter with your turrets, and fire when you have a sure hit. Keep moving as much as possible so we don't give em a free shot at us.
<ooc> pressed for time will get more later </ooc>

[Fluffie]

Fluffie flies on, slowly, due to the short range of his sensors.

[flapjack]

I'm back, DMing will commense soonly