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Resupply Duty


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Greetings, fellow Commanders!

I think Commander Cruis.In hit on a neat idea with his Commander's Log topic. I decided to give it a try myself, as it looked like it would be pretty fun to do. I will be using Universal Combat Collectors Edition for this mission. I hope this will respark the RPG forum. Pictures really help out a story making it more interesting. Now, without further adieu, let's begin, shall we? :birthday:

[rp]

Starstation New Frontier in orbit around Rinaal. As you can see, the station has been totally renovated from it's earlier appearance. It is also Fleet Admiral ShoHashi's command, where he leads Bishamon Fleet.

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Fleet Admiral ShoHashi was a bit bored as he glanced over the incoming logistical reports on his video terminal. "I really need to get away from this for a bit," he thought to himself.

He swiveled in his chair a bit to his right and spoke to his vidcom. "Mariko, I need to take a bit of a break. We have a resupply mission heading to Pravis tomorrow, right?"

Lieutenant Commander Mariko Tomosaki was ShoHashi's Administrative Assistant on New Frontier. "Yes sir, the supplies are scheduled to be loaded on a Canlon at 0400 tomorrow morning."

"I'm thinking that's my ticket out for a quick breather. Cancel the loading of the supplies on the Canlon and load them instead on the Aries. Have her ready for a 0800 departure," said ShoHashi.

"I'm on it, sir," replied Tomosaki.

At 0800, the ICV-Aries begins to pull away from Starstation New Frontier on a heading towards the Pravis gate.

PHOTO001.png

ShoHashi felt right at home on the bridge of the Aries. Even though he spent most of his time on New Frontier these past years, it was alway more comfortable on his ship than the station despite the luxurious accomodations of the starstation.

"Helm, prepare to jump to the Pravis gate on my mark," said ShoHashi to his Helm Officer, Lieutenant John McAlter.

"Aye aye, sir," replied McAlter.

"Jump!" said ShoHashi.

Rinaal began to rapidly fade away in the distance as the Aries raced towards the Pravis gate in hyperspace.

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"Preparing to enter normal space in 5....4....3....2....1, normal space," said McAlter.

The Aries re-enters normal space from hyperspace.

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"Pravis gate just ahead, sir." said McAlter.

"I see it, Lieutenant," replied ShoHashi. "Maintain course and speed."

The Aries closes in on the Pravis gate.

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The Aries comes through the gate into the Pravis system.

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"Now in Pravis, sir," said McAlter. "All systems normal."

"Tactical, scan for hostiles," ShoHashi directed to his Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Phil Stamos.

"No hostiles detected, Admiral," said Stamos.

"Ok then, so far so good," replied ShoHashi. "Jump to Pravis when ready, McAlter."

The Aries begins it jump to Pravis.

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In hyperspace, Pravis begins to rapidly get larger as the Aries gets closer.

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"Jump completed, sir, Pravis orbit achieved," said McAlter.

The Aries begins to finalize minor orbital course corrections before the offloading of supplies begins.

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ShoHashi looked at Pravis on the main viewscreen. Even though he had been to Pravis numerous times before, he always marveled at how different it looked from Rinaal.

"Ok," he said to himself, "Time to get this show on the road."

.....TO BE CONTINUED.....

[/rp]

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[rp]

"Sir, we are approaching the Pravis jumpgate," said the Flight Officer.

"Proceed, Mr Skidmore."

ECV Ashdod, a Euporie-class Starcruiser, was returning home from Valkerie space after scouting asteroid fields and collecting non-specific intel. In fact, not even Sergeant Richard Garrison, Ashdod's Commander, knew what Vanguard Fleet wanted his Company of five heavvy cruisers to locate. Look for flat zones on asteroids and monitor ship traffic. Passive scan only; maintain radio silence, the mission orders had said. 'That still doesn't make sense,' Rick thought as the jumpgate flashed Ashdod's transit to Mandorian territory.

Tac Officer Corporal Tracy Dodds gave a start, "Red contact, Pravis orbit!"

Garrison shifted his gaze to the bridge viewer without skipping a beat. "Red alert! Maintain course. Tracy, talk to me."

"Ter/Ins Megaron, callsign and subclass unavailable, sir."

ECV Ashdod was crewed by the BCM standard personnel complement of 25, a size of group that Vanguard Fleet called a Section (14 to 26 personnel). Garrison's rank of Sergeant was the first of the Command Officer ranks and could also command an Unarmed Transport's minimalist Section of 14 people. Ashdod's Section was tired, and emotionally drained after spending three weeks in Valkerie space, and wanted a change of pace. But this? The other four ships in Ashdod's Company had since redeployed back to Zelon borders. Rick closed his eyes. "Activity?"

"She appears to be offloading cargo, sir." TO Dodds answered. The bridgeviewer indicated that Ashdod was ready to jump. "Skidmore, take us to the Rinaal gate at maximum impulse, not hyperdrive."

Rick stood up from his command chair and walked over to Dodd's Tactical station to view the TACtical OPerationS computer. He wanted a good, hard look at that Insurgent carrier. If the Insurgent High Command had a sizable base on Pravis, why did Spectre Fleet order a carrier to do a transport's job? Why couldn't Ashdod see its callsign? Had the Insurgent Commander detected the Earthcom cruiser?

[/rp]

Sho, thanks for starting this. :birthday: Anyone want to join us?

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Thanks for the comments, Spindoktor and rtoolooze1. It's appreciated.

Sho, thanks for starting this. Anyone want to join us?

No problem, Quazar.

I originally just started this as an "After Action" report of sorts, partially in response to Cruis.In's post. I thought that for something like this, it would be better posted in the RPG section. I have the game saved, so I'll just resume it when I add more to the thread. It may get a bit interesting now that Quazar has jumped in. :birthday: Speaking of which, where's your pictures, Quazar? :applause:

I'll be adding more to this sometime near the end of the week, so stay tuned.

-Sho

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Ah, gotcha! I didn't realize yours was an AAR too, Sho. Good choice on using the RP forum. I apologize for not catching that. I would have asked first, before contributing, if I'd known it was an AAR.

Speaking of which, where's your pictures, Quazar? :birthday:

I usually post from school where I don't have the game handy to take shots. So we'll just leave this bit of ingenuity in your, and Cruis.In's, department for the moment.

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Ah, gotcha! I didn't realize yours was an AAR too, Sho. Good choice on using the RP forum. I apologize for not catching that. I would have asked first, before contributing, if I'd known it was an AAR.

I usually post from school where I don't have the game handy to take shots. So we'll just leave this bit of ingenuity in your, and Cruis.In's, department for the moment.

Is there any possible way I could add to this thread?

I would still be Indie, but within the storyline..with Pics and such.

I do play this game almost everyday, going on almost 11 years now...

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Is there any possible way I could add to this thread?

Sure, c'mon in! :birthday: This should be a fast-paced storyline. But the posting rate will be quite lax. I may only contribute weekly or monthly. Plus, remember this is Sho's plotline, so he's the one that drives it. We'd love to include you too, Shingen.

I would still be Indie, but within the storyline..with Pics and such.

Pics aren't mandatory. But, if you want to include them, go for it! Let's see what you come up with.

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Good post Sho. Thanks for kickin' it up a notch! Didn't do pictures yet but I really like the capability. If any one is curious, yes I was having a little fun with my XOs name.

[rp]

The thousand yard stare. That's what he looked like to anyone on the bridge. Staring at nothing in particular but locked on to something nevertheless. He was staring at his thoughts and listening to the voices in his head. Everyone hears the words of their thoughts but Cmdr. Teknocack Prime of the ECV Stormhammer liked to think his were just a little louder than the average person. So loud in fact that it made it hard to concentrate and almost cost him his promotion.

"Commander Prime......"

He passed the board though, and was put in command of one of the most powerful and beautiful(Prime thought) battlecarriers in the whole of Earthcom. A Firestorm class carrier was one of the most powerful warships in the known galaxy only eclipsed by the Stormcarrier class vessels. Cmdr. Prime preferred the better fighter compliment on the Firestorm and believed his ship to be the more powerful overall package.

"Commander, sir...."

His first mission with his new command wasn't a mere shakedown cruise. Prime had been ordered to the Krynon system in Kandorian space. From here he was to conduct remote surveillance with probes in the Cyrian and Xyon systems as well as directly monitoring the system he was in. In addition to monitoring ship traffic the orders also directed scanning for "flat zones in asteroid belts", with passive scanning only, and to maintain radio silence except for the tight beam burst transmission with the launched probes. So, a day and a half of scanning essentially nothing-

"Commander Prime!"

Prime lazily looked up into the eyes of his XO, Lt. Cmdr. Jason "Beans" McCracken. Was that a little bit of irritation in his expression? With a start Prime realized that he'd drifted off again.

"Sorry Jason," Prime said. "What've you got?"

"Sir, our probe in Pravis just sent us a burst transmission. Sir, we have an insurgent carrier in Pravis, but we can't determine callsign or subclass. It also appears that the Ashdod just jumped in as well."

Prime pursed his lips, "The Ashdod? I thought she and her group had returned to Zelon space. Where is the rest of her fleet?"

"No other ships in the vicinity Commander, just the Ashdod. She is currently heading to the Rinaal jumpgate. Orders, sir?"

"Go to condition yellow. I want fighters prepped for launch. Tactical is to watch this like a hawk and feed it to my console. It looks like the Ashdod is commanded by a Sgt. Garrison. I wish we could tell him we have his back but we can't. What you will do is order our probe to match course and speed with the Ashdod and hopefully Garrison checks the probes origin and realizes a friendly is in the neighborhood," Prime rapped.

Jason cleared his throat, "What if he fires on our probe, thinking it is a Trojan or other threat?"

"Then he won't know we are here, but we will still be ready to assist. Set course for the Tyrus-2 wormhole but do not jump. Wait for my order."

Prime turned to his console already formulating plans of attack if things went sour. Jason waited for a moment to be dismissed, let out a small sigh, and turned to pursue his orders.

Prime wasn't too fond of noncoms commanding cruisers but the little he knew of this Sgt. Garrison suggested he was a competent commander. Depending on how things went in the next few moments, Prime might find out a whole lot more about Garrison.

[/rp]

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[rp]

Shuttle 1 pulled away from the Aries at a leisurely pace while Ensign Don Walsh went over the short pre-planetfall checklist.

The Pravis system wasn't exactly a friendly system for the Insurgents. The Mandorians controlled the system. The Insurgents had just negotiated a very uneasy truce with the Mandorians in order to establish several bases on the surface of Pravis. Walsh knew he needed to be careful that his flight plan to the surface wouldn't cause a provocation with the Mandorians.

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Ensign Walsh was a very adept shuttle pilot, especially after just graduating from pilot training two weeks before. Some of his friends back at school were amazed at his skills and it was often said that he was a natural. He always wanted to be a fighter pilot, and shuttles were just the first step on the way to the goal.

The only thing that made Walsh nervous was the fact that there was a Fleet Admiral sitting next to him in the cockpit. ShoHashi picked up on that and tried to break the ice.

"So, Walsh, have you ever been down to Pravis before?" said ShoHashi.

"No, sir," replied Walsh, "This is the first time, actually."

"We actually have several bases down here, but the one we are resupplying is an outpost still under construction."

Walsh nodded, keeping his eyes on the HUD.

"Planetfall in 5 seconds, sir," said Walsh.

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Minutes later, Shuttle 1 was speeding over the surface enroute to the outpost.

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"Wow, look at all those sand dunes," said Walsh. "So desolate."

"Yeah, well, desolate is why we put the outpost here!" chuckled ShoHashi. "We Insurgents really don't like unwelcome guests."

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"Ah, that must be the place," exclaimed ShoHashi, pointing ahead.

"Yes sir, it is," replied Walsh. "Aries Shuttle 1 requesting permission to land," he said into his headset microphone. "Copy permission granted."

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Ensign Walsh settled Shuttle 1 carefully down on the surface.

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ShoHashi unstrapped himself from his seat.

"Ok, I guess while you're offloading I'm going to go out and see how the construction is going. Let me know when your done and I'll be back," said ShoHashi.

"No problem, sir. I'm thinking it'll take about a half hour," said Walsh.

ShoHashi headed back to the shuttle's cargo hold. He donned the standard-issue EVA equipment out of the equipment locker and started down the ramp which was already down.

It was early morning and daylight hadn't arrived yet so it was quite cool out. He was glad to be wearing the warm jacket he had on.

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"The outpost is starting to take shape nicely," thought ShoHashi while he looked around. He turned around just as a heavily armed figure walked up to him.

The figure snapped to attention and gave a salute to the Admiral. ShoHashi saluted back and said, "At ease, Lieutenant."

"Thank you, sir. I'm Lieutenant Thomas. This is a rather unexpected visit, especially from a high ranking officer such as yourself!"

"Well, I just want to get and stretch my legs a bit, Thomas. Promoting up in rank doesn't make a whole lot of things easier. Heck, I'm doing more paperwork as an Admiral on a starstation than I did as a commander of a ship!" said ShoHashi.

"I'll have to keep that in mind as I further my career," chuckled Thomas.

"I got about 30 minutes until the shuttle is ready to leave, so I thought I'd come out and see how the construction is going. It's one thing to see it on paper and another to see it in person," said ShoHashi.

"Alright, I'll take you on a quick tour then," said Thomas. "See those antennas over there? That's the new

Communication Intercept Module that Eversor Wing just fielded. I guess we'll see how it works out here in the field."

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Eversor Wing was the Research and Development section of the Insurgent Fleet. They developed, tested and fielded the new weapons systems and technology that the Insurgents utilized. The Communication Intercept Module or CIM was Eversor's newest creation. This device would allow forward outposts to intercept and decode encrypted GalCom messages, thus giving up valuable intelligence.

....TO BE CONTINUED....

[/rp]

-Sho

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Man, Sho! Good work. Keep the pics coming! :P

Tek, :wavey: glad you could join us! You're right about the noncom commanding a cruiser. I'll address this eventually in another topic. For now, trust me; Sergeant Garrison is a Commander alright with 28 years of service time in lower paygrades.

[rp]

"What's our position with Pravis, relative to the Rinaal gate?"

"We're just about even with the planet, sir." said Flight Officer Ryan Skidmore, already inputting his next coordinates.

Rick smiled, "Good. Mr Kamezaki, please relay our findings so far to our listening post in the Lanix V starsystem, encryption level 4."

------

To: ISO, Vanguard Fleet HQ

From: ECV Ashdod

Subj: Reconnoiter completed

We have completed our sweep of Valkerie space and have spotted several promising locations to construct the new supply depot in or close to the Gammulan Quadrant. Potential for future clandestine ops looks positive.

Enroute back to Zelon space we have spotted a Ter/Ins Megaron orbiting Pravis. We are deviating to investigate and request break from radio silence.

Sergeant Richard Garrison

Commander of ECV Ashdod

------

"Message away, sir." said Comms Officer Hidetoshi Kamezaki.

Rick had returned to his command chair and was viewing tacops on his own console. As he watched the Insurgent carrier launch a shuttle for the planet surface, a short-range probe appeared on sensors.

"Commander?" said Tracy.

"I see it, Ms Dodds. Why didn't we see that probe before?"

"It must have only been scanning passively 'till now." offered CMO Kamezaki. "Incoming transmission, sir." he continued and relayed it to Garrison's command chair console.

------

From: Earth Command

To: All Vanguard Fleet forces in the Credian Quadrant

Subj: Fwd: Reconoiter complete

--begin original message--

To: ISO, Vanguard Fleet HQ

From: ECV Ashdod

....contents of original message....

--end original message--

All ships may break from radio silence.

Yours,

General Trevor Ridgeline

First Assistant Wing Leader, Intelligence and Special Operations (ISO)

Vanguard Fleet

------

Prompt and to the point, just as Garrison liked it. "Good. Mrs Tolen, please plot a spiral course toward Pravis at impulse only and give me an ETA. Skidmore, zero our trajectory out into an elliptical orbit that takes us over where that Insurgent shuttle is going with a minimum altitude that matches the Mandorian ODS. Mr Kamezaki, get a message to that probe, encryption level 3. Find out who and where its mothership is and if her Commander could lend us a hand."

"Yes, sir." came the reply from the three bridge officers. "ETA approximately 27 minutes." added Nav Officer Claire Tolen.

"Tracy, you'd better wake up the Combat Officer. Tell him to prep a team of marines and be ready to accompany me personally to the surface. With our support craft deployed to Capella, we may just beam down before we even reach the ODS orbit level."

Richard Garrison wanted to find out exactly what this Insurgent commander was up to and if that Earthcom probe's mothership could help.

[/rp]

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Tek, you still with us?

Our current RPG, Resupply Duty, is turning out pretty nice so far. It takes place in the Pravis region. So far we have ShoHashi, myself, and teknocack. This story shouldn't require a lot of commitment, perhaps one post per author per week (if even that). The point here is for us to flex our writing muscles and see what happens. Anyone is welcome to jump in at any time. That means you too, Ben. How about it?

[rp]

ECV Ashdod slowly circled the Mandorian planet. The Earthcom probe had not responded. Getting closer to Pravis's atmosphere on each pass progressively interfered with Ashdod's long range sensors searching the Cyrian starsystem for the probe's mothercraft. So Garrison launched an SR probe to monitor conditions in space. He had his suspicions on what the Insurgents were doing here. Perhaps they had reached an agreement with the Mandorians to build bases beyond starstation New Frontier in Rinaal orbit. This did not surprise Garrison. Galcom's Wraith Fleet used to be headquartered exactly where New Frontier was now, before the Gammulans destroyed that spacestation. The green-complexioned Mandorians, and later even their sister race the Kandorians, had permitted Wraith Fleet to establish numerous installations within their borders in exchange for aid against the Gammulan and Valkerie invasion of the Credian Quadrant. So after the destruction of Wraith HQ around Rinaal, it was not entirely unreasonable to expect the Mandorian military to roll over their agreement with the next batch of Terrans who came to pick up the pieces, The Insurgents.

In fact, the Mandorian government hardly regarded Spectre Fleet any differently than the UFN influenced Galactic Command, or Earthcom for that matter. They would not aid either side of the ongoing Terran civil war, which was quite a cold war at the moment. Many UFN supporters hoped that the Insurgents would just leave Earth over time and establish a separate nation. But not all Earthcom officials shared that view. General Ridgeline had ordered ECV Ashdod to investigate any Insurgent installations that Commander Garrison found in the course of his other duties. The discovery of this Insurgent Megaron had come after an especially grueling clandestine operation deep within the Valkerie home system of Omega Centauri. Rick was tired of sneaking around. His crew needed action.

"Sir we have established a low-level orbit around Pravis."

"Good. Can you positively ID that Insurgent Carrier now?"

"Yes sir. It's the Megaron-class ICV Aries, commanded by Admiral ShoHashi."

ShoHashi was one of the three current leaders of Insurgent Central Command, together with Admirals Geryg Chavik and Kyle Antillies, and was at the top of the UFN's most wanted list.

"Relay our findings to our probe. Broadcast it on a wide-beam frequency, no encryption. This is too big for us to handle alone. We need more help."

Comms Officer Kamezaki complied and sent the message. But Rick and his crew knew that they didn't have much time.

[/rp]

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Quazar posted:

Tek, you still with us?

Our current RPG, Resupply Duty, is turning out pretty nice so far.

Yes, I'm happy with it so far! It's turning out to be interesting. :P

Quazar posted:

This story shouldn't require a lot of commitment, perhaps one post per author per week (if even that). The point here is for us to flex our writing muscles and see what happens.

I'm not exactly the world's best author, but this is how you can get a lot of practice in writing! My posting schedule for this is during the weekends. I sure hope some Insurgents join in so I don't get screwed! :wavey:

-Sho

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Tek, you still with us?

Yeah, I'm still here. Got super slammed this week. Will post nlt this weekend. Sorry for the delay.

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Sho, your writing flows very well with your shots. Even without the pics, your narrative style is top notch.

Tek, you're developing your characters well, mixing in realistic humor that fits the story setting and is memorable. No need to apologize. I been slammed before, too. :P

You're both doing great! Anyone else want to try?

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[rp]

Back aboard the Aries orbiting Pravis......

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Lieutenant Phil Stamos was glad to get some Command time in. The more hours you had commanding a ship makes you stand out that much more when the promotion board comes around. Stamos' main goal at the moment was to make Commander and have his own ship.

When Admiral ShoHashi departed for Pravis, he left Stamos in charge of the Aries until his return.

"This command time is a piece of cake," chuckled Stamos to himself. "What can go wrong?"

"Lieutenant Stamos," said Ensign Orelli. Orelli was filling in for Stamos as the Tactical Officer. "Sensors are picking up another vessel in orbit."

Stamos swiveled in his chair towards Orelli. "Indentify."

"Not sure. It's too close to Pravis's ionosphere, interfering with the the accuracy of our sensors. The only thing I can tell you with the readings I have is that it may be a starcruiser. Don't hold me to it though."

"So much for easy command time," thought Stamos. "Whoever it is knows what he's doing by keeping close to the ionosphere."

"Ok, let's get a visual identification then. Launch FC-1. Order them to close with the contact and see just who the hell that is," said Stamos.

"Aye aye," replied Orelli.

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"Aries, this is FC-1, orders understood and am now heading to the contact," said the pilot's voice over the bridge comm speaker.

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"Sir, I just got a message from the Aries. There's an unidentified contact in orbit. I think you'd be safer if I get you back up there. Offloading of supplies is done anyways," said Ensign Walsh over the wrist communicator.

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"Enroute," said ShoHashi into the communicator. ShoHashi turned to Lieutenant Thomas. "Sorry to cut the tour short, but duty calls. Keep up the good work on the outpost."

The two men saluted each other, and then ShoHashi headed back to the shuttle.

A few minutes later, ShoHashi was strapping himself in his seat aboard Shuttle One. Ensign Walsh busied himself with the prelaunch checklist.

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"Alright sir, we're ready to depart," said Walsh.

"Let's go then," replied ShoHashi.

Shuttle One began to slowly climb into the sky, heading into orbit.

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"Aries just ahead, sir," said Walsh.

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"Shuttle One to Aries, requesting permission to dock," said Walsh into his headset.

"Permission granted, use Bay 2," said a voice from the headset.

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"Roger, Bay 2, on final approach," replied Walsh.

Back on the bridge of the Aries, Lieutenant Stamos was diligently monitoring the situation. He knew that once ShoHashi arrived on the bridge, he'd want an accurate sitrep.

"What's FC-1's status?" Stamos questioned Orelli.

"FC-1, what is your status?" spoke Orelli into his headset.

"Aries, FC-1, I'm closing on the target and should have a visual in approximately 5 minutes."

PHOTO010-1.png

....TO BE CONTINUED....

[/rp]

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ShoHashi was one of the three current leaders of Insurgent Central Command, together with Admirals Greyg Chavik and Kyle Antillies, and was at the top of the UFN's most wanted list.

[/rp]

It's Geryg :P:wavey:

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Ah, now I see what you meant, Sho. When you suggested snapping a pic of my cruiser and your fighter (while we were in live chat), I had not yet read your post. It's more clear to me now that I've read it. This thread is loading pretty slow as it is, so I'll let you make that call.

It's Geryg :P:wavey:

Thanks, Chavik. Sorry I didn't catch that earlier. I've now edited my post.

[rp]

"Sir, ICV Aries has launched a P21 Vandal on an intercept course with Ashdod."

"Activate weapons, deactivate PTA, and prepare to move us closer to the planet, out of its ionosphere."

"Yes, Commander." replied Mr Skidmore.

"We just received a text transmission." interjected Mr Kamezaki.

"Let's see it."

------

From: Commander Hayley Lavelle, ECV Gath

To: Commander Richard Garrison, ECV Ashdod

Subj: support craft recall

Rick, I got your message. Our fighters in Capella were ambushed. 4 of 10 craft destroyed, including both of yours. All but one of the pilots safely ejected and were picked up by the other six fighters. I've ordered them to RTB to recover. Two of them are too damaged to rendevus with our four cruisers here in Lanix V. I've reassigned them to Ashdod for the moment. I need you to take those damaged two in and give them repairs, medical attention, and fresh weapons and personnel.

I don't know what's going on with that Insurgent carrier you found but we just had our own little situaiton here in Zelana and are in no shape to help you there in Cyrian. Remember that J Company is due back at Earth Command Starbase in three days.

Godspeed, Garrison.

Command Sergeant Major Hayley Lavelle

Commander, ECV Gath

Company Commander, J Company

------

J Company consisted of 125 personnel, assigned to five bcm heavy cruisers (25 personnel each): ECVs Ashdod (Starcruiser) Ashkelon (Starwarrior), Ekron (Solnar), Gath (Questar), and Gaza (Sunflash). All had the Euphorie-subclass configuration.

This meant each cruiser had two fighters instead of two shuttles, more damage-resistant transporters and five 5-man escape pods, reduced cargo and personnel capacity, a single sleeping quarters for all crew including the Commander, a 5-man combined guest/prisoner quarters in the already small cargo bay - among other changes. The corridors, bridge, flight deck, medibay, galley, fitness center, etc, the whole ship interior was much smaller and tighter than normal to give the craft better maneuverability and intruders fewer places to hide - at a cost of cargo space, personnel comfort, and non-stop combat endurance.

A Company in Vanguard Fleet consisted of 117 to 134 personnel, ie the amount of personnel necessary to crew one super carrier (117), two heavy carriers (2x67), or any combination of capital craft that required a total of between 117 and 134 personnel. A Sergeant Major could command a super carrier. Any Company of 118 or more personnel was led by a Command Sergeant Major.

Commander Garrison finished reading Company Commander Lavelle's message as J Company's six surviving fighters entered Pravis from Capella. The four best off ones imediately targeted the Rinaal jumpgate while the other two set course for Ashdod.

"Commander, the Insurgent P21 Vandal has IDed us and is altering course."

"Maintain our own heading, Mr Skidmore. Prepare to receive injured personnel. Inform Chief Engineer Petrycki that I will personally lend a hand in repairs on the flight deck. Ms Dodds, you have the con."

[/rp]

Tek, if Commander Prime commands a Firestorm, that'd make him at least a Sergeant Major. Just remember, his position is Commander. You can just use Commander in your signature and posts. Since you are playing as Earthcom, please let me know if you have any problems with my concept of a Company for Vanguard Fleet, or if you don't like the ranks I've introduced. I value your opinion and would, at your request, take this idea back to the drawing board.

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Quazar,

I just popped off on my first post about non-coms based on my experience in the Army many moons ago. Not a big problem with Earchcom/Vanguard way of doing things. If we have to explain it then I just came from somewhere else since only an officer would think what I did in my first post. I'm sure there are ways of explaining it or playing with it and see how it affects my rp character as time moves on. As to your idea of what a company is, I will defer to you but may make a suggestion from time to time. You guys are more versed in the BC/UC mythos than I so I consider myself a junior member in that respect. Also, because of your greater knowledge I would ask if I make any mistakes, please correct me. I will try to be somewhat vague on details unless I can research before I post.

Sho,

I dig the pictures and don't want them to go away but is there a way to use lower res for a little bit faster loading. Not for me, mind you. I can load the page and come back in a bit, so it's no big deal for me, but for those who read the post it might be nice. This wouldn't really remove the impact of the visual part of the narrative. Just a thought.

I really dig what both of you are doing and hope I can at least contribute positively.

[rp]

ECV Stormhammer had eased into within 5km of the Tyrus-2 wormhole. Now she waited along with her crew for orders to action. Commander Teknocack Prime could almost feel the power throbbing in the engine room through his Earthcom issued boots. Yes, sometimes if he just stopped and let the voices subside he could feel the thrum of massive energies. It was a special moment when he could do this, and all too rare. The voices always came back and the power struggle began anew.

"Commander," the ships XO, Lt. Cmdr. McCracken said with a little more force than normal for a junior officer.

"Ahh crap," Tek thought as the moment passed.

Jason had been with him on three other postings. Their friendship had grown and there had been no question who he wanted for his right hand man when Prime got his promotion and then when he was given this command of an Earthcom ship. So Jason was much more a friend and confidant and less the junior officer he appeared to be.

Tek sat up in his command chair, "What have you got for me Jason.

After dubiously eying the sheaf of printouts in Jason's hand he added, "The short version please, if you don't mind."

A little hint of a smile in the corner of his XO's mouth before he continued.

"Of course sir. The Ashdod has sent a message to our probe so they know we are around but not where we are. They are requesting position and status."

Prime opened his mouth to speak but Jason continued, "Also, radio silence has been lifted so with your permission we may send a message to the Ashdod."

"Do it," Prime said, "Tell Garrison that we are on our way and ready to assist. They were first on the scene so we follow their lead. Nav officer!"

"Yes sir," said his Nav officer.

"Plot a course to Pravis and engage immediately. We have a sister ship to back up and a lot of jumps to get where she is. Tactical, I want a cloak as soon as we jump to Pravis."

"Aye, sir!", they both said crisply.

Cmdr. Prime didn't know his crew well, but the service record of this ship told him that they were one of the best and knew it. Right about now he was damn glad of it. He desperately did not want a fight but was also thrilled by the prospect of entering combat with a crew this good.

"Commander," his Tactical officer said, "the insurgent cruiser has launched a P-21 Vandal fighter. It is on course for the Ashdod."

"Better let the thrill take over. We may not have a choice any longer," Prime thought. "Tell engineering that I want absolutely no unnecessary down time on those jump engines. Spin those suckers up with whips if they have to because it looks like we needed to be there yesterday!"

[/rp]

Again, sorry for not maintaining the posting order. I shall endeavor to improve.

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tecknocack posted:

Sho,

I dig the pictures and don't want them to go away but is there a way to use lower res for a little bit faster loading. Not for me, mind you. I can load the page and come back in a bit, so it's no big deal for me, but for those who read the post it might be nice. This wouldn't really remove the impact of the visual part of the narrative. Just a thought.

Quazar and I discussed this a bit last weekend. I'll try to think of something, and take your low res suggestion, in consideration. Perhaps even something as simple as starting another thread entitled Part 2 might help. I, too, think the visual parts make the story much more interesting. An added benefit is that it's actually pretty fun trying to set up for the shots! :P

tecknocack posted:

I really dig what both of you are doing and hope I can at least contribute positively.

We appreciate you contributing as well!

tecknocack posted:

Again, sorry for not maintaining the posting order. I shall endeavor to improve.

Don't worry about it, we've done away with the posting order. Just post when you can.

-Sho

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[rp on]

"Give me a SitRep," said ShoHashi to Lieutenant Stamos as he strode through bridge hatch.

"We detected an unknown vessel in low orbit around Pravis," replied Stamos. "At this point, I'm not sure who or what it is, let alone what their intentions are. Whomever it is, they certainly seem to be going to great lengths to keeped masked."

"Did you launch a recon?"

"Yes sir. FC-1 should have an ID any time now."

"Put the comms on speaker."

Stamos nodded to Ensign Orelli. Orelli promptly tapped a button on his console.

"Aries, I have a visual ID. It appears to be EarthCom starcruiser. They've powered up weapons"

"What in the hell are they doing here?" thought ShoHashi.

Thoughts began to materialize in ShoHashi's head as he strode over to the battle console. Did EarthCom somehow find out about the new Communication Intercept Module? Have the Mandorians sold us out for their own benefit?

ShoHashi spoke to Stamos. "Have FC-1 RTB."

Stamos repeated ShoHashi's command to FC-1.

"Copy that," said FC-1 over the speaker.

"Lieutenant Stamos, set condition red and power up weapons systems. I want our remaining fighters on standby."

ShoHashi then turned to the Communications Officer, Lieutenant Commander Mike Tanberg.

"Contact the outpost and tell them to go to condition red, we have hostiles in orbit. Then send a priority one message back to New Frontier on our current situation. I want to be ready in case this gets blown out of proportion."

"You got it, sir," said Tanberg.

[/rp]

You guys are all doing a outstanding job on this! :P

-Sho

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You guys are all doing a outstanding job on this! :wavey:

-Sho

Thanks brother. You are the original rocker on this thread and you have my thanks for that as well. I'll rank myself as a distant third in the overall quality of the writing but I will give myself, you and Quazar much credit for keeping it tension filled. It's a pretty good read from start to present. I know Quazar is getting ready to drop a bomb on us. I can just feel it. :P

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Looking good guys! We're on thread page two now and approaching fourteen hundred reads.

I just popped off on my first post about non-coms based on my experience in the Army many moons ago.

Thank you for your service to our country, Tek! When and where did you serve? Sho is a Marine. The real world experience the two of you can bring to the RPG is very important to me.

As to your idea of what a company is, I will defer to you but may make a suggestion from time to time.

Yes, please do offer your suggestions any time. The Earthcom structure takes a combination of RL Army and Marine rank names, and applies them to Vanguard Fleet in a completely new way. For now, I'll only use what we need for our story. Teknocack Prime commands a bigger ship than Rick Garrison - measured by personnel, not firepower - so, for this story, your character outranks mine! Unlike Galcom or the Insurgents, I do not intend for Earthcom to have a rank called Commander (because the RL army doesn't have it either). If it's ok with you two, I'd like to let Commander, in Vanguard Fleet, be a position - a form of address - not an Earthcom rank. BTW Tek, these are just character ranks. You and I as players are probably closer to higher Fleet positions than simple ship commanders.

I'm sure there are ways of explaining it or playing with it and see how it affects my rp character as time moves on.

Don't worry about what your character said or thought. As we learn from each other and polish our writing styles, there are bound to be some inconsistencies. Please do not edit your first post for that reason. Leaving it the way it is will more clearly show our own learning progression as players.

Besides, I gave you absolutely nothing to go on - no reference material stating what a Sergeant does in Earthcom (I'm basing my info off of this but don't get too carried away). So you were perfectly justified in how you adapted. :wavey: Please continue to use Commander and Lieutenant Commander as forms of address.

I would ask if I make any mistakes, please correct me.

Likewise for myself on RL military issues.

I'll try to think of something, and take your low res suggestion, in consideration. Perhaps even something as simple as starting another thread entitled Part 2 might help.

So far, I've been writing my posts to this topic from school, where I don't have access to UCSE. I agree with Tek. Thread loading times can detract some readers. (I knew this would happen from the beginning.) But starting a new topic is not necessary, Sho. The forum displays only twenty posts per thread page by default. So the thread loading time we have right now is the longest it will take (for guests anyway). Except that a logged in user may set his profile to view more than 20 posts at a time. But we can only limit the thread loading time so much and still include pics.

I, too, think the visual parts make the story much more interesting. An added benefit is that it's actually pretty fun trying to set up for the shots! :2M16:

Absolutely, Sho! Don't let snapping shots get in the way of advancing the storyline, but please do include pictures when you can. They're worth it!

I know Quazar is getting ready to drop a bomb on us. I can just feel it. :P

True, I've got a longer one coming, but check your PM first.

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teknocack posted:

I'll rank myself as a distant third in the overall quality of the writing

Hehehe, I'm not much better! :P

teknocack posted:

I know Quazar is getting ready to drop a bomb on us.

Yeah, I just hope I can handle it with minimal damage! :wavey:

Quazar posted:

Sho is a former Marine.

Ahem...as any Marine will tell you, there is no such thing as a "former" Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine. :2M16:

-Sho

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