Scotty

$ilk, Where to start... I read your current life story with a number of mixed emotions. Primarily I am proud of the commitment you have to God and your children. I am saddened by the loss of your marriage. I worry about all the people involved. I am uplifted by your strength. I am refreshed by my own faith that all things work out for the good. I am joyful of the community support. I am encouraged to come out of my lurking hole (which is very deep indeed) to post a reply to a complete stranger. You bare your soul, not only the committed members of this forum, but to all passers-by as well. You will someday reflect on this and have a good, nervous chuckle. As most married couples will admit, we all have gone through a stage of what you are troubled with now. Although most don't end in the same dreary state, there is always something to be happy about at the end of the day. Maintain your strength. Hold fast to the Lords path. Be true to yourself and your family. The beginnings of my marriage were very similar to yours. I know how it goes, but thanks to God it didn't end. I give your children and both of their parents my prayers freely. One thought that has helped some... keep a journal. Keep it absolutely private. Be completely honest. Every day, write a new page and re-read one page from 7 to 14 days ago. Reflect on what you just wrote from the past and learn. So often emotions get in the way of true memory and important lessons are forgotten. And most of all don't dwell on the negatives that were written in the past, but look at what you just wrote and try to see the positives since then, this is the toughest thing to do! Don't rip open old wounds. Finally, I for one thank YOU! You have shown the strength of dozens of men, yet your life is just starting. Give my regards to your parents for the upbringing you received. It reminds me that there are different size bumps in life, and to take each one carefully, so not to break something. Scott

Ok, SNG. Pick Elite Marine. Change primary gun to ZS10. Give guy a name. Accept. Use DJP to go to Ins. Base somewhere. Fire awhile at baddies. Go to weapons station and get more ammo first. ...Game hangs. Not freezes, but I get a repeating sound effect of the weapons getting new ammo. I can move my mouse left and right but not get away from the weapon station and I never get the menu up again. I have to ALT-Esc to get to desktop and kill the game from there. I've done this twice with the exact same results. Everything else seems to be OK so far. Great game. System specs. WinME PII 450 Radeon 32 DDR - 7075 driver. Sony 52x CD 228MB RAM DX 8.1 SB 128 Sound - edit, forgot some system specs. Thanks, Scotty [ 11-26-2001: Message edited by: Scotty ]

A husband and wife were watching the news on television: The devastation of the World Trade Center; the videos of different countries around the world crying with Americans over past weeks; reporters updating and attempting to analyze political tradgedy; President Bush making speeches. The wife turns to the husband and says, "I'm so thankful that Bush is our President. He is doing such a wonderful job. It's unbelievable the way he has stepped up and handled this situation. I'm so grateful he's our Commander and Chief." The husband turns to the wife and says, "Shut up, Tipper!!" Scotty

Yep, I got the same crap on the same card as above. I did at least get it to run, but the graphics REALLY blow. I did resort to the previous drivers, wme_radeon_4_13_7075.exe and they mostly work. (Still some graphic ickies and such, but the game runs.) I was REALLY upset before that the drivers sucked, but now I am just mad. Unfortunately, those who upgrade graphic drivers THEN get the game will blame the game. SC - I was wondering, not being a PC programmer, why some games work with one set of graphics drivers and another will not? Is it more coding style or preferance, or is it deeper than that. I don't need a long explanation, but kindly ask for a high level one. Thanks, Scotty.

THIS is the Game Your Mother Warned You About! Luc & SC ÔÇô I like MECS too, but I think it is too narrow. ... an example or two: - MECTES ÔÇô Multi Environment Combat, Trading and Exploration Simulation MEMS ÔÇô Multi Environment Military Simulation I think that MEMS sums it up a little better, as there is more to the military than just shooting everything in sight, just like the game. - I am not trying to steal LucÔÇÖs original idea, so MECTES and MEMS should go to him, not me. I will take the assist though. Scotty

Yes, if both pilots and all terrorists have guns, there is a good chance that you are going to be FUBAR. But that would be because the pilots would probably be dead. However, it is less likely that the bad guys can get through security with a gun. Yes, I know it's possible. But it would take some serious kahoonas (eh?) to even attempt it. It is not worth dying for if you can't even get on the plane. That's why the last guys took common items with them. Go ahead and shoot up the cockpit, though. As long as one of the pilots is still functional, and he's worth a darn, the plane should land successfully. You have redundant systems for EVERYTHING in the cockpit. You would have to hit everything at least twice and most of the time four or more times. Plus, they are all in different areas. -- Pilot and Co-pilot each have the same stuff and each of their stuff is running on redundant systems. (Pulled out the technical glossary for that ) Plus, the air traffic tower personel are trained to verbally guide a dis-abled plane down. And Luc - thanks for bringing that up. I was going to, but forgot. The Hawaiian Air jet tends to actually support me. That plane lost an incredible amount of structural support, yet continued to not only fly, but land. I am really shocked that it didn't buckle on the ground. Yes, a couple people died, and that is unfortunate, but the plane held together and saved the rest of the passengers. So, a small bullet hole wouldn't do diddly. (Another tech term) Lesson here, wear your seatbelt the whole time. And BTW, I am not so keen on there being any guns on the plane. Just spend the extra twenty grand and put in a steel door at the next 'C' or 'D' check. The current doors really are just a very lightweight fiberglass panel. An alternative would be to put the cockpit on a completely separate air system and allow the release of a sleeping agent in the passenger compartment if things go bad. This would really be easy to do. And in fact, if I did fly, I would look forward to sleeping the whole way. One really stupid idea I have heard being floated around would be to put an automatic override from the ground in place to fly the plane by remote control. How long until the bad guys figured out how to tap into that system and they fly EVERY SINGLE PLANE IN THE SKY to a target. That's one helluva bad idea. No thank you. Quick lesson for those who keep asking themselves. A 'D' check on an airplane is when it is completely stripped and checked. The interior is ripped out completely, all access panels are removed. Skin is removed. Flight systems and controls are gone. Everything. And, as the dumb a**es I used to work for found out, you don't do it all at once, otherwise it's a b**** to put back together and have 1,000,000 rivet holes line up perfectly. But after all the stuff from one area is gone, you look the plane over with a magnifying glass and look for rust, cracks, dents, bending, holes, warps and just about anything else that shouldn't be wrong, and fix it. That takes months to do on a 747, and costs a ton of money. A 'C' check is about the same but not quite so extensive. An 'A' check is a visual lookover inside and out for obvious defects. A 'B' check involves removing all access panels and doing a complete visual and/or non-destructive testing on all major, easily accessable systems, sometimes more, sometimes less. I tend to agree with Soback as well. The security on the ground should be better. There really is very little NEED for carry on luggage. Some medications and reading materials for adults, baby needs and stuff for your kids to keep occupied, but nothing else. However, I am waiting for the first report of a diabetic not being able to take on their insulin shot with them, then getting really sick because the airplane is delayed five hours and he/she needed a shot. Scotty Edit - Geepers, I get long winded. [ 09-30-2001: Message edited by: Scotty ]

quote:Originally posted by Soback: Actually airplanes leak air through the pressure release valve and that leak is controlled. So a bullet hole would be an uncontrolled leak and stress fractures around the bullet hole can grow and make the whole airframe come appart. As a licensed A&P aircraft mechanic, you are mostly correct about the valve, but a hole the size of your finger in the aluminum skin of a big commercial aircraft would not be much of a problem at all. First, the size of the hole compared to the size of the aircraft would not cause 'explosive' decompression. Decompression yes, but it would be really slow and more than likely the automatic pressure valve would just close some more so the pressure would still be even inside, but with a high pitched whistle out the skin. You would have to move about nine people from the area. One of the many pressure valves on a 747 is about a 14" butterfly valve near the rear of the plane. Second, we are talking about aluminum alloy which is very soft. It won't crack (much) and cause the airframe to collapse, or a bigger hole to form, except from the pressure 'pushing' the aluminum out around the hole. Imagine a small zit with a hole in the middle on the outside of the plane. Third, if the bullet were to strike a window instead, and if the bullet were to go through it (1" to 2" plexiglass) I don't think it would shatter and cause problems. I confess to not know much about firearms strength to plexiglass. However I can almost guarantee that a bullet will not go through the cockpit glass. Ever see the bird cannon to test that stuff? Awesome. Fourth, I'm sorry to say that duct tape would not work to plug the hole that way. You see there are two or more layers of skin, one on the inside which is less airtight than the one on the outside. So unless you want to crawl on the outside of the plane to plug the hole, you will still lose pressure from the other myriad of holes on the inside layer of skin. My suggestion would be a sock stuffed as deep as possible through the first layer to try to get to the outer layer. Fifth, if you had any ideas how many rivets are missing on an airplane, or how many holes are in the fuselage (mind you they are not very big), or how much rust is on the frame, you would never fly again. I will add that all of those defects are usually well within the tolerance of any major commercial jet, but to see the total number of repairs during a 'C' or 'D' check is pretty scary. No, I don't fly. Yes, however tragic the past events, the skies are a lot safer now just from the reduction of planes in the air at one time, or more specifically, the fewer planes at and around an airport at one time. Not to mention that now the airlines have an abundance of planes and can rotate them in and out of service for repairs and tests more often. If they do or not has yet to be seen. Scotty.

First, let me say that if you do it, I'll buy it. But let me tell you what I wouldn't like about it. The SC is notorious for the issue of invalidating all saved games every time a patch is installed. And yes, there will be patches, as this is beta code. And, as this is a game that you need to move up the ranks on, that will be annoying. And will probably dissuade me from updating every time there is a patch. As for the dual CD problem, I would actually require a trade of the beta CD for the boxed CD, but that is kinda hard for mail order folks, but a serial number/time stamp with it is just wrong. I would be buying the beta at store cost, if I decided not to run down to EB to trade up to the latest copy for a while (maybe so I wouldn't have to start over again), I don't want my game to just quit working 'cause it got too old. Plus, what if a bus hits the SC while buying donuts? We would all be sitting with expired games. So yeah, go ahead and offer it. Those in the official beta testing group won't get it, those that are waiting for a 100% bug free version will wait, quite a while I suppose, those who are unsure will wait for the feedback, the rest of us will buy it. And there are quite a few of the rest of us. I will end by saying that there must REALLY be a good reason SC is thinking about doing this. Maybe he is really stumped with some issues, maybe he is getting burnt out and needs a few weeks off, maybe both. Maybe the missus needs some huggy time. Maybe he needs some sleep. Maybe he just feels bad that it is not finished yet, so this is a compromise to us, not his values. Maybe he wants to wake up with a smile tomorrow, instead of the self-imposed deadline staring him in the face. ...Maybe I'm all wrong. But whatever the reason, I'll give you a break. I’ll buy. I for one don’t fear you running out on us. Besides, your unfinished product is still far better than most other’s finished work. Best Regards, Scotty

Ok, here goes. Here is what I didn't like. Everything else is OK. 1. While in first person mode, it appears that when crouching or going prone, my view actually raises. 2. Can't jump while running. 3. Jumping is nothing more than a hop. And what's it good for if can't be used while running. (yes, read VCF, still don't like it) 4. Speed limit of fighters in atmosphere. 999 mph (Using US values for ease) is ok, but when going down, gravity should allow you to exceed this. I put my fighter in a 90 degree climb, went and ate lunch, came back. Fighter is a little over 5,000,000 feet. Which is around 900 miles high. Not in space yet? OK, time to go back down. Will only go down at 999mph. OK, lets play. Shut off engine. NOW I'm going down. Highest speed is around 34,000 mph. Turn engine back on at 1,000 feet. All is well. But still would like to leave engine on and go faster in dives. 5. Doing a 360 deg yaw in fighter, only lose ~50% of speed w/o AB. Only ~30% with AB. Plus, it only takes about 4 seconds to do a circle. Might be ok in space, but not on a planet. 6. When hyperdrive activates, it takes roughly the same amount of time to go 935,312 miles or 2,001,694 miles. 124 seconds. 7. Need a way to cancel out of the instant mission screen. Hitting esc exits out of the game completely. 8. Turning in FP mode. I guess this will be changed when mouse look is activated, so it's just a little annoying right now. Takes only 56 taps of the turn key to do a comlete circle. That's a little over 6 degrees per tap. Kinda hard to line things up. 9. While walking in FP, and viewing through F9, my guy occasionally starts walking under the ground. Hitting F1 it seems everything is ok, F9 and he's underground again. This is only mainly in cities. It kinda seems like he is walking down a ramp, then a little later, walks up a ramp again. 10. I dig the moonwalk while backing up, but style points won't win a war. (And where's the one white glove?) 11. Flying a fighter in atmosphere. If going forward and hit retro key, you must actually point the nose up past 10 degrees to start going backwards. If going backwards, must point the nose down past -10 degrees to start going forwards. Yeah, seems kinda long, but of the other things I tried, I like. A few things out of hundreds aint bad. Scotty [ 06-23-2001: Message edited by: Scotty ]

quote:Called "random error message syndrome". Appears for no reason, exactly once, never seen again, and of course noone else you talk to have ever experienced it. That's what I chalked it up to as well. quote:You did try to start it twice in the beginning, didn't you? Sorry, don't quite follow. What is 'it'? If you mean run the install, yes. In fact many, many twices (Lots). quote:In your case the reason could have been exhausted swap space though. Thought that at first, but re-booted my computer, so no, couldn't have been. Scotty. BTW, I am really blowing my lurking status lately.

Here's what I did. Renamed old d/l, just took off HC at end of name. Re-d/l new copy from FilePlanet. When finished, went to download folder and ACCIDENTALY double clicked on the old version, expected the same error box, but the darn thing started to run. Canceled that one, just to be sure and double clicked on the new one, it worked too. Canceled the new one, had to double click the old one again, and the danged thing started up again like nothing was ever wrong. So I let it run and installation seemed fine. Beats me what was going on. Hadn't changed anything since the last failed attempt. Ah well, time to now go and play. Thanks for your time, Scotty.

Thanks, but already started there. First took forever to actually get in (they seem very busy tonight), and when I did, I was only getting around 20kps. But over at FilePlanet, I got around 90kps. All in all, I am saving time by waiting. Go figure. BTW, I appreciate your interest in my prob, and you can be sure I will let you know how it turns out after the re-d/l. I was sure hoping someone else was having the same thing. Sure could've used some moral support. Thanks, Scotty

Yes, did install and play E1 demo. It has been completely off my computer for at least a few weeks. But, I don't see that as being an issue in my case. Immediately I get the error msg. I don't get a splash screen, nothing. Just a nice box with an empty button. Do you know exactly where the temp file it is looking for is located? If it's not one of the standard temps... no, that wouldn't even matter, it should create one if it needs it, shouldn't it? Beats me. Still in que. Twenty minutes left, before twenty minute d/l. lol. Thanks, Scotty

Sorry, never meant to blame it as BCM's fault. I knew that. Just thought maybe you had some crystal ball you could look into, or had some prior experience of the problem. I did the following. Cleared out c:temp and c:windowstemp, just for the heck of it. Restarted my computer... it had been on for a few hours, so...maybe? Checked free space, again, still at 4.5GB free. Tried to install again, same result. Ah well, in the que for another d/l, but I am completely stumped by this one and I really don't see a new d/l as solving this, as the file size is perfect and... well, who knows, it might work. Thanks anyways, Scotty

I sure hope you put up this topic as a troubleshooting spot. I am getting this error message from installShield for the BCME2 Demo. "Error writing to the temporary location" Which has one button underneath that is blank. No "OK" or "YES" or "NO". Just a blank button. I can't fathom what this is for. And I wouldn't know where to look anyway. HELP!!!! Meet all minimum specs by a mile, have DX8 installed, Swap file set to 600MB, Hard drive has 4.5GB left, d/l file is exactly 127,321,679 bytes. Any more info let me know. Edit - Oh yeah, WINME. Thanks Scotty [ 06-22-2001: Message edited by: Scotty ]

try here Scotty

quote:LOL!!!! And when was the last time you played/thought of BC before you said that? Was that his real name, and you didn't notice until then, or was his name different, and you just mispronounced it by accident, and then from the deep bellows of hell suddenly remember BC? I lurk almost every day, so BC is always around. However with BCM coming, it is near the forefront of my mind. No, the guys name was Paul something, but not Resnig (yes I know it, but I am trying to keep some form of dignity by not revealing where I work), but I have just always remembered the old Paul Resnig posts about leaving him on a moon, or shooting him up in a shuttle, or putting him in the brig, or whatever, just to get him off the bridge. Well, that was early BC3K, well before v2.9. Fortunately for me, there was someone else who probably visits this site and knows who I spoke of, and had to share it with the crowd (who also fortunately, probably doesn't visit this site). Scott

How do you know you've played this game too long? To start with, I've been around here a while. I lurked forever, finally signed up, posted a few times, been lurking ever since, now back to posting. What brings me back is a recent experience that I went through that I thought you might enjoy. A little long, but worth it. Imagine yourself as being picked from a crowd at work to introduce somebody from the company you work for at a stockholder/invester/asskiss/hobnob party. Your job is simple. Just recite one line. Five words. "Ladies and Gentlemen, (Persons first name followed by last name)". Simple, very simple. After all, the person you are introducing is none other than the senior vice-president of your company. A couple weeks later you are at the hall preparing to make your mark in history. Of course you are a little nervous. There is more money in the room than you'll ever see in 100 lifetimes. And those hundred or so people staring at you are snobs at the least to full-fledged... well, something not nice, and at least one man who is from hell. You approach the podium at a confident pace, flick the microphone once to ensure it is on, and with all the courage you can muster, slowly say: "Ladies and..." clapping starts, "Gentlemen..." much louder clapping. Now with a much louder voice "Paul..." clapping really loud now, "RESNIG!” Now the applause goes from a roar to a cross between clapping at a roar and a hiccup...then whispering...then louder sounds, like “Who?” Now, there was still clapping, as more than half the people didn’t really know who you were supposed to be introducing anyway, but you could immediately tell there was a difference. And you really don’t know why! Your brain went on instant fart mode. Now you know the guys name is Paul, and you know of a Paul Resnig, but the two just don’t seem to fit for this older gentleman walking your way. Why doesn’t Resnig sound right? HOLY S***!!! Now you feel the blood rushing to your head, sweat start pouring, short gasps of precious oxygen and that guy is still walking your way, smiling and chipper, but staring right at you. After about what seems like a week, this guy Paul, who is definitely NOT Paul Resnig, extends a hand out to yours. You extend yours, and as you are shaking his hand, you manage to blurt out, “I am really sorry for messing up your last name.” “Oh? I didn’t notice,” comes the reply accompanied by a bright, honest smile and a short chuckle. Oh happy days and jubilation! He didn’t notice! Yippee! You begin to exit stage right...behind you Paul is saying “Thank you, thank you” with his hands raised up. But just as you are stepping off the stage and the applause has all but stopped, from the depths of hell, somewhere in the middle of everyone, you hear, very loudly: “GO BATTLECRUISER 3000”. Have you ever just about lost all control of your sphincter in front of millions of dollars? Luckily, that other guy, from hell I must add again, is apparently the only other person in the room to notice the reference, as nobody laughed, snickered or even acted like it was spoken in the first place. I left the building immediately, the SVP Paul went on with his speech and all was well ever after. Now none of you know me, or know you know me, but a few might after this. At least one I think, and you sir...well...you’re the funniest man I know, even if you are from hell. I am still laughing out loud a good week after. So THAT is how you know you’ve been playing this game for FAR too long. Back to lurking. Scotty.

quote: Whew! WarpCore Breach Averted! Good Work Scotty! You're quite welcome. Been some time since someone called out my name here. Scotty

This may help. Last year sometime I read in this forum about a similar problem. It has to do with...fast find(?) or something like that. I think it has to do with MS Office. If I remember correctly, it automatically searches all files on your hard drive on a regular basis (every 30 mins?), and that really puts a load on your CPU. Anyway, I tried to find the posting, but no matter what I searched on, I couldn't find it. I know someone out there knows what I'm talking about. So they can be more specific. I don't have MSOffice on my box right now, so I can't give more info. Hope it helps. ------------------ Scotty "AARRGGHH, Beam THIS up!!"

Actually guys, my IOD is at 10% when I do this. I just fire for a while then stop when shuttle gets to about 15 - 20 left. (Have noticed that should stop before blowing up shuttle, though. Can't repair it if it's gone.) Also, put a different twist on this and launched a fighter, dropped BC's shields, switched to fighter...and...yep, shot up the BC. Then went to repair it. I actually found this to be most helpful after a long campaign where not a lot of damage was taken but the crew (officers) are dead tired and you need a LONG time to rest. (IE: left game on overnight)

Running v2.09. I like the tip and tried it. But unfortunately, I pound away on my shuttle too long and end up killing my flight engineer every time. Shuttle still accepts commands even though it has a corpse in it, so nothing lost besides one guy or gal. I also found that if I do this trick, after doing all repairs (and I mean replacing or repairing, whichever is LONGER), my mining drones are only about half full, so I do it again. (Of course this will cost me two people for three full drones... fair trade me thinks ) This could be different depending on the planet mining, not too sure. One other quick...tip? If you accidentaly de-couple the IOD by clicking on 'de-couple' from the IOD drop down menu, you need to manually re-couple by hitting the 'scroll-lock' key. I thought that it used to re-couple by clicking on something else, but I could've been drunk that time. Who knows.

I've had this ready for some time, but needed to steel myself in case it wasn't a hit. I also double checked my assumptions against the 2.08 manual and fixed those that were inaccurate. Prelude: I am by all intents and purposes for this story the Chief Engineer, Scotty. Total freak of accident, I assure you. But, nevertheless, I am. My story will be told from him. Anybody who wishes to add his or her own or expand upon my story may do so, and I welcome it. For those who haven't read anything from me yet, just fasten your seat belt, this is going to be a bit on the wild side. Let's see what you folks are made of. Ready...Set...GO! [RP on] "Aye, she's a beut', all right." I thought out loud to no one in particular, and just as quickly wondered why I was thinking in Scottish, as I gazed out the shuttle view port to the shipyards holding my new ship, the "Prinor" - short for Pride and Honor. Well, not really mine, but knowing my commander, Michael Snow, I will put enough of my energy keeping this ship together to make her breathe like my own. Commander Snow, or Commander Snow Job as everyone calls him to his back, has a reputation for getting into the worst of situations, all through no fault of his own, except possibly the last one. That one sent our ship to the repair docks for months, and it started out as a simple enough patrol out in the Pluto sector. {Fading to recent memory} During a standard patrol, an SOS was received from a distressed transport. Their engine was having overload problems and the crew didn't feel comfortable continuing the way it was. The transport was at least sixty years old and didnÔÇÖt look to be any less than one-hundred sixty years old. Snow offered to tow them to their sister ship, now stationed at the Pluto star station, Gazer1. The only stipulation was that we needed to stop by one last jump point to finish up our patrol. The transport crew was delighted and gratefully accepted the offer. They proceeded to take their core off-line and we 'hooked' them up with the tractor beam. Just after we arrived on station at JMP-12, the Pluto to Earth jump point, three insurgent medium class Starlance fighters and one Starwarrior heavy cruiser appeared through it just below and off our bow. Thinking to put an end to the whole affair rather quickly, Snow ordered "Nose down, full stop, launch all fighters, weapons up, IOD to 40%, shields up...belay that, shields down...shields to be raised on my mark". The reasoning for the shields to wait was that IC-3 was having problems with its shield modulation software and needed the shields down for docking and recovery. The orders were carried out to the letter. Nose went down to face the fighters...six seconds later full stop was reached. Weapons and IOD active in the interim. IC-1 and IC-2 launched. IC-3 launching. IC-4 on station awaiting an engineer to finish tightening the last attaching clamps around the new HUD it had just received. Shields raised then lowered, exactly on cue from the commander. Thus the tractor beam was automatically disengaged. Exactly nine point four seconds after first contact with the enemies, the forward momentum of the transport caused it to strike our battle cruiser below and aft. It was very lucky for us that the captain of the transport at least had his wits about him. He immediately ordered for full thrusters to try to bring the nose of his ship down, somewhat easing the damage to both ships. But not by much. The impact of such a large and overburdened transport into the naked hull of a battlecruiser, with or without shields up, is something only nightmares are made out of. The cooling clamps for the main reactor were immediately shattered and the impact drove the battlecruiser into the flight path of IC-3, ending both pilots distinguished careers rather quickly. After I pulled myself back up from the floor, nearly 20 meters from where I had been sitting two seconds ago, I automatically recognized the distinct alarm of reactor overheat. With about thirty seconds before overload and not enough time to repair, I ordered the core ejected. And that would've been the end of it, but with a disabled transport just below the ejection port on the battlecruiser, the core had an obstacle in its way. Fortunately, the designers of the BFCoreEjectorSystem had planted enough high explosive energy into it that the core ripped through the upper hull of the transport and back out the bottom. However, having done this, the core had slowed to such a pace that it would never reach the distance necessary for a safe core explosion. The docking clamps that held IC-4 in place were all that saved the fragile fighter during the first collision by the transport. So with the tech finished, it left the comfort of its command vessel and was flying around and under both large ships to try to sneak in on the dog fighting. As IC-4 circled under the transport, now with a gaping hole on the underside of it, the core that was previously ejected, exploded. The brave pilots of IC-4 never even new they died. Simultaneously, the now very crippled transport took a shockwave that threatened to tear her apart. As it was previously using its thrusters to push itself away from the jack ass military ship that stopped right in front of it, the force from the explosion rammed the transport back into said jack ass military ship. Thus damage to our battlecruiser was intensified, but not nearly as bad as the transport, now with radiation and structural integrity alarms screaming throughout her. The insurgents, having realized the predicament their opposition was in, and probably having a hard time concentrating while laughing, immediately started strafing runs across our hull. Adding the occasional missile didn't help things either...at least from our point of view. Fortunately, the Starwarrior didnÔÇÖt decide to join in...yet. IC-1 and IC-2 were superb dogfighters. They formed a team almost unstoppable in any combat situation. Through sheer determination and awesome tactics, along with one remaining IOD cannon and tons of luck, they had the three insurgent fighters mopped up rather quickly. It was just at this point that the Starwarrior decided to come into the battle. Stipulation on the captainÔÇÖs motive has yet to be agreed upon. But this imbecile came directly at us at what appeared to be ramming speed. I still think that he was just trying to scare the living crap out of us. Which he did quite well I might add. But in the precious few minutes my team and I had, we were able to get at least the missle launcher working. Shields were still out though. Commander Snow ordered the fighters behind us to try to catch the cruiser as it would be turning around to come after us again, assuming it didnÔÇÖt ram us, and to dumb fire the first two missiles available. He didnÔÇÖt care what they were, just ÔÇ£launch the damn things in a straight line towards the oncoming shipÔÇØ. As I learned later, his hope was to just get them to veer off and give us a chance for target lock next time. The first missile out was an STS-Starflash. Not much of a threat even if it did hit the target. But the second missile out wasnÔÇÖt a space to space missile at all. It was an OTS-Bugnor. The crew was apparently having weapons loading drills right before we picked up the freighter and never got back to replacing the correct sequence of missiles. Nonetheless, the oncoming ship didnÔÇÖt veer off at all. The first missile struck the port nacelle. This had the effect of pushing the ship slightly starboard. The opposing captain apparently corrected his course back in line with us. For when the second ÔÇÿmissileÔÇÖ hit a few seconds later, after all, an OTS is much slower than an STS, it hit directly under the nose. Now not being a weapons engineer, I didnÔÇÖt even know if the OTS would explode in space. But it did. And how. Completely and utterly destroying the Starwarrior. There is nothing worse than just getting the barest systems back in line to have them knocked out again so quickly (well I suppose I couldÔÇÖve been on the Starwarrior and getting blown up by an OTS). This time the explosion sent a shockwave that took us directly on the forward upper decks. Of course, because the freighter had hit us previously, it had transferred some of its momentum to us and our two ships were separated at the time...at least until we came crashing back on top of it. Furthering the damage to both ships, again. After the whole affair, the captain of the transport vehemently refused any more offers of help. His original crew of three was still in one piece, but suffering badly. Between the broken bones, cuts, scrapes, bruises and radiation from an exploding core just below their ship, they were probably within their rights not to want any more help... at least not from us. In fact, Snow had to call out for help himself, what with the core gone, most of first deck crushed, dozens of personnel in and around medbay, two fighters lost, all shuttles disabled or destroyed in their bays, you know, severe battle damage. {Back to present} "The good old days", I mused as I re-thought that battle. The fighter jocks on that particular ship were the best; they definitely saved all our butts that time. I would hate to think what wouldÔÇÖve happened if the enemy fighters hadnÔÇÖt been destroyed before that cruiser entered the scene. I still couldn't believe that Snow had command of any ship after that fiasco. There were hearings over the matter and Snow was found not guilty due to a few technicalities. Of all things, the tractor beam settings were set to tight; thus the towed transport was eighty meters closer to the battlecruiser than is standard. The court ruled that if the tractor beam had been set properly, or loosely, in my mind, the transport would've had time to avoid our battlecruiser. So in essence, they put the blame on me. That really riled up my red blood cells at the time, but the court decided not to press charges against me or put any mention of this ruling in my personal records. As it turned out, my adjustments to the tractor beam was saving the ship .8% in energy costs while in use. It was also decided to implement the design into all existing and future models, but with a memo to accompany it which warns all commanders that "...ships being towed in the future will be closer than before, so 'pay attention'...". Typical bureaucracy. The other technicality was that the officer manning the shield controls was too fast. Can you imagine? Executing orders exactly on cue from your commander was now considered a bad thing. And the officer didnÔÇÖt yell loud enough over the chaos that the tractor beam was disengaged. Well, in my personal opinion, it is was SnowÔÇÖs duty to ensure that we were stopped before doing anything that disengaged the tractor beam. But I also know that when combat situations occur, little things are forgotten. Yeah, little things that can turn into big things. "Approaching our new ship, Scotty". I looked over at Commander Snow Job himself and chuckled. Snow was dressed, as all commanders are on their first date with a new ship, in his best uniform; stiff collar, shiny new buttons, glowing whites...the works. "All dressed up with no place to go, eh Commander? Especially in this case since there is still a week until we leave dry dock, so to speak." I said smiling. We are, of course, still going to have to test out the systems and you can't do that in a dock. But one week until we get the official send off. Really, when it came down to it, I liked Snow. But he just had a knack of, not bad luck, but weird luck. Such as the time... "Scotty, aren't you excited about getting aboard her? I don't think I've been this excited since my first command." More prodding from Commander Snow. Shaken out of my thoughts, I said, "Yeah, I am. Just wondering what the construction yard engineers and technicians forgot to install or screwed up. There is nothing worse than taking a ship straight out of its initial construction. Even though everything is brand new, nothing works right the first time. And last I heard, they are still a good four days behind the latest schedule." Which put them a total of 117 days behind the original one. Ten minutes later, Commander Snow and I were standing below the loading ramp of the shuttle that carried us to the Prinor. As it is my job to be the first officer aboard any ship I am chief engineer of, I am here now to make sure it is ready on time. As it is Commander Snow's job to be a pain in the ass at the most inopportune times, he is here as well. I really didn't need someone breathing down my neck as I struggle to do eleven days of work in only seven. Besides, I plan on doing my own breathing down other incompetent's necks. Looking around the shuttle bay, I couldn't help but notice how clean everything was...and empty. There weren't cargo containers stacked in the corners, fluid stains on the deck, scoring on the walls, or even dust in the corners. Even the two crewmen doing last minute diagnostics and repair work on the far side of the bay were spotless. This ship had the look and feel of being brand new, which it is, but also of being untried and very fragile. Sometimes in the thick of things, I could've sworn the only thing holding our ship together was the dust and grime between the cracks. "What do you think so far?" Snow said as he craned his neck around the shuttle bay himself. "The paint looks good." I replied. "Heh, heh. Always the pessimist, aren't you? You won't be happy with this ship until you tear her apart and put her back together again. Something of a strange goose, you are." "You mean 'strange duck' I think. And yeah, it's hard to trust somebody else with something so important as your life. I mean, I trust you to get us into the deepest, most bizarre battles. But, I need to trust myself that the ship will get us out of it again. Without re-checking everything, I'll never know if something wasn't done up to specs, or better. And my life is very important to me, as is, dare I say it, yours too." Gawd, I hated saying that. I donÔÇÖt want him to know how much I like him. "I agree wholeheartedly. I like me living as well. That's why I always do whatever I can to make sure you are on my ship.ÔÇØ Snow said, but getting more somber. ÔÇ£I know about the rumors concerning my...um...luck, or lack of. But, have you ever considered that both you and I are always together when something bad happens? You could be the unlucky one. Heh, bet you never thought of putting the blame on yourself, had you? And you shouldn't. It could be that unlucky things happen to us, but one of us brings enough good luck to get through it in the end." "Think what you want, Snow. I make my own luck." Grimacing after saying that. Nothing like quoting something from a stupid holo-vid at a time like this. ÔÇ£And making sure this ship is top notch all the way is one of those ways. You just make sure that you don't try to take out a space station with this ship alone for a while, by the way. We are going to have enough green recruits on board, that we might have trouble with one small fighter." "Or maybe we won't even get into orbit." Snow said smiling the whole way. "Snow, I don't know about you. You of all people should know that the orbit function of ships this size were disabled over two years ago." I couldn't help laughing at the total stupidity of Snow's joke. Not funny at all, just too stupid not to be. "Yeah, but why do they still put the orbit button on the main console and reference it in the operations manual is a mystery to meÔÇØ, Snow added. "I don't know, maybe they'll find a use for it in the future and just re-label it to something else. Like maybe a button to..." "ATTENTION ON DECK!" Blared the first technician to finally recognize the Commander on the ship. I reckoned that enough shuttles have been transporting materials and personnel back and forth that Snow wouldn't have been recognized right away. That and the fact that his arrival was unannounced. Both crewmen in the shuttle bay snapped to attention. Hilarious, when you look at it. The poor sap that hadn't noticed the Commander yet stood at attention facing the shuttle bay entrance. I suppose he was expecting someone to enter through there. Snow just shook his head and grinned. "At ease, gentlemen. Pretend I'm not here right now. I would rather get this ship up and running than playing military right now." Startled and now looking very embarrassed, the second crewman glared over to the first and whispered, "Why didn't you tell me he was over THERE", pointing with his finger. "Well Scotty? Do you want to go to the bridge with me? See about all of the new enhancements that are supposed to be there?" Oh, this is going to be good. I had heard some rumors about the bridge. Time to go see if they are true. "Sure. This might be the only opportunity I have to spend time up there this week." Making it to the turbolift was somewhat comical. Everybody we met first had a look of surprise on their face, then struggled to get in proper form and salute the Commander and me as we passed by. Snow obviously enjoyed it, but then insisted on spouting the same rhetoric that he unloaded to the crew in the shuttle bay, but I could've done without it. At a time like this, every minute lost saluting and talking means it is another minute not spent working. Such is the military, I guess. When the doors opened to the bridge, I immediately noticed that the rumors were true. Snow stood gaping into the bridge area, his eyes wide and a big grin on his face. He ever so slowly crept out of the lift and spread his arms wide. "This is GREAT", he yelled, startling the half dozen technicians working in the area. And of course, they all stopped to salute. Snow quickly returned the salute a resumed his impression of hugging a house. "Absolutely incredible. Look at all the room, the lighting, and the viewscreen. Look at that viewscreen", he said again as he walked towards it. Wonderment is oozing out of him. He is in heaven. Almost bursting out my own clothes, for another reason altogether, I couldn't wait any longer. "But Commander Snow? Where are you and the other officers going to sit?" Just as quickly, Snows composure went from awe to total shock. "WHERE'S THE FURNITURE?" he screamed to no one in particular as he did a complete 360 degree turn. "WHERE IS THE FREEKIN FURNITURE?" he yelled again. The technicians, just getting back into there role of worker bee, almost jumped out of their skin when Snow started screaming. I almost lost it right there. That was the rumor I had heard about. The Supreme Commander had ordered last minute changes to the layout of the bridge and they hadnÔÇÖt been completed yet. So, the standard bridge furniture hadn't arrived yet. "Sir", I replied in my best impression of a drill instructor. ÔÇ£The furniture is on back order". Oh I wanted to laugh, but carried on with my tale. ÔÇ£The Supreme Commander has ordered that all bridge chairs be re-covered in paisley syntho-fabric with artificially scented head rests. And the forward momentum restraining devices, or seat belts, had to be returned because they clashed with the new colors. He decided if the ship was captured there shouldn't be a major fashion fo-pau to embarass us.ÔÇØ The poor technicians, they wanted to laugh too, but their Commander was still somewhere between shock and rage. And looking at him showed he might be directing that rage towards me. "SCOTTY! GET IN MY READY ROOM! NOW!!" "Yes SIR!" I snapped off. Once inside his ready room, Snow was just shaking his head. Not even looking at me. "Scotty, you could've told me. I would've told you. That was very wrong of you to make me look bad in front of those people." "Yeah, maybe", I snorted, "But you should've seen the look on your face. God, I hope the bridge recorders were working. If that's the only thing on this ship working, I hope it was that." I started a bout of uncontrolled laughter, good enough to tighten those glaring eyes from Snow a little bit further. "Scotty, get out of here. Go play with your little machines in engineering." Snow said this with a degree of defeatedness, but I also knew paybacks are a bitch. "Yes Sir!" I said with a wide mouthed grin on my face. I did an abrupt about face, waited for the doors to open and strode on out. The whole way to engineering I was smiling, occasionally laughing out loud as memories of Snow's reaction hit me again. The poor unsuspecting crewmen I met in the halls didn't have a clue...yet. I'm sure the technicians on the bridge will be talking soon enough. It really isn't going to be that bad. This little scene just brought the Commander down a notch and put some humanity back in him. [RP off] Feel free to add any people, places, events or whatnots. Or just put in your own off the wall story. Later. Scotty.

Very, very nice. But, the pic of the Firestorm brings up an interesting, albeit small, tactical question. If I fly my fighter/shuttle/battlecruiser(?) between all of the Firestorm's legs(?) and it fires at me but misses, would it cause damage upon itself? I would surmise that it would, but who knows? (Well, the SC does. Will he tell?) If it's a feature under wraps, I can deal with that. I have patience. Ooops, that was fast, my patience seems to have left. What to do...