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Into The Fire : ACT Three - Firestorm


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Into The Fire

Act Three ÔÇô Firestorm

WeÔÇÖre moving on in the story now. WeÔÇÖve been too quiet as of late, but with Gallions recent defection to the Insurgency, itÔÇÖs probably a good idea to continue onwards since some of the events in this tale are related to it. If youÔÇÖre not sure what Im talking about here, you may well want to read back through the previous two threads and join the dots.

Onwards ..

[RP]

11:11 hrs, 19th May, 3008

Modified LRT-15 Transport S.S Vulture

Command Deck

Commanders Log

The last twelve hours have taken itÔÇÖs toll on me. IÔÇÖve had to deal with attacks on my crew, an officer breaking down, tensions between the mercs and commanders from both GalCom and Insurgent ranks. Whats worse, I still havent spoken to Rattler since the briefing. Every time I get close to having a discussion with him, some other emergency gets in the way.

Take the med bay, for example. That came as a real shock. Im glad Foss was there to deal with it. IÔÇÖve got too much on my plate right now to deal with that on top of Akumas collapse.

Sigh.

Akuma  I can see her on the monitor screen right now. Shes in engineering, consulting with the merc engineer and trying to squeeze a little more power into the deflector grid. She looks so . Young.

. And then theres Neena. Damn I miss her. Seeing her on the McKendrick, face to face with Insurgent One himself was quite a sight . I enjoyed her surprise, enjoyed seeing her completely taken aback. Heh, perverted it may be, but what can I say?

Sigh.

Six more hours and will will be at the rendevous point. So far we havent attracted any unwanted attention. Well, there was that sensor echo just after we left the station  seemed to be tailing us for a while . But its gone now. I had Gallion up here checking over the readings. He was reluctant, as youd expect and it wasnt comfortable having him on the bridge with me.

HeÔÇÖs got a real problem with me. Blames me for him being brought up on charges. Hell, I donÔÇÖt really know what happened out there during the fight. I was just asked to review data and pass judgement based on the information available. From what I saw, he was guilty as charged. Whether or not that was everything, I cant say. I cant know.

Whatever the case, my vote was just one of a handful . It wasnt as if I myself clapped him in irons and led he to the dock. Still, he blames me more than most .. or maybe it just seems that way. Hell, I dont know.

Whatever the case, whatever the truth . Hes here now . Im still not sure of the how and why, but the Galcom newsfeed we intercepted a while back made it clear that he escaped from captivity . Killing at least one escort in the process. That makes him an outlaw now  a man without a home. Nothing more than a wanted criminal  he shouldnt even be here. He should be under guard, confined to quarters . Nothing to do with this mission.

. Yet at the same token, he is the perfect man for this mission. He has the skills, the guile and the audacity to be a vital part of this team . And hes also right in his rantings  we are unprepared  my stalling in the briefing room obviously tipped him off to that. Like it or not, once we get aboard the McKendrick  were gonna need him there to help us plan the Akiras extraction.

Hmmm. Ive also noticed him and Rattler speaking. Although not the best of friends, they have a grudging respect for eachother. I can relate to that. The Man behind the mirrored glasses is a charming character  its difficult to really hate the guy . What he stands for, easy enough  but the man himself  ? The relationship between him and Akuma still confuses me. I know few of the details, and like a paranoid fool, I dragged Akuma along on this joyride with me as insurance against trechery.

Morally, it was the wrong thing to do . But tactically, I had every right to do so.

He probably thinks im using her . And in a way, I am  but theres something more going on than im willing to admit  and considering the things she said to me a few hours ago in her quarters  well, I know theres something more to it. But where does that lead me?

Sigh.

Too many things to think about. Too little time for trivial worries. I have to get focused  stay sharp .. be ready for battle.

Six more hours  six more hours and then we can . What? Alarm?

End Log

Savage cut the recording of his personal log a few moments after the alert klaxons began blaring through the ship. He looked to his right at Reynolds who was monitoring the Vultures communications systems.

ÔÇ£Whats going on?ÔÇØ he shouted over the din.

Sir! Comms are being scrambled. TacOps has picked up a bogey . A big one bearing down on us. It came out of nowhere!

Savage bolted from his chair and rushed up to the TacOps consol. ÔÇ£What we got?ÔÇØ he said to the merc manning the station.

Tactical is having a hard time identifying the target. Lots of distortion surrounding it 

Savage shook his head. ÔÇ£ThatÔÇÖs because it just decloaked you moron.ÔÇØ

The merc frowned, then nodded. Ah, I knew that  getting a reading  its a SuperCruiser class, Gammulan military .

Gammulan millitary  striking behind the lines!

Oh hell  full power the shields, PTA systems to 80% . Get us the hell out of here!

From behind him, someone entered the bridge and barked over the noise.

ÔÇ£What in the hell is going on, Savage?ÔÇØ

The fleet commanded didnÔÇÖt bother turning. He knew that voice very well by now. ÔÇ£In case tha klaxons didnÔÇÖt give it away, weÔÇÖre under attack Rattler. Any other pointless questions you want to ask while you have my attention.ÔÇØ

Savage felt a sharp slap on his back, and noticed Rattler had barged the merc tacops officer to the side and was looking down at the console.

Hmm. Supercruiser .. we can out run it.

Thanks for that heads up, Rattler. It didnt occure to me to run like hell 

Rattler grinned whilehe worked the console. I thought all you Orion commanders stood youre ground . Didnt run from a fight.

In case you hadnt noticed, this isnt the bridge of my Firestorm  we are way outclassed in this tin can.

A merc from the front of the command deck glared at the fleet commander. ÔÇ£Hey! ThatÔÇÖs my ship your talking about.ÔÇØ

Both Savage and Rattler shot the merc the kind of look could freeze a lake.

Ok, ok  said the merc. Was just sayin is all 

Just then, the Raven shuddered from the impact of concentrated turret fire, unballancing Savage and sending him hurtling to the deckplate.

ÔÇ£Helm!ÔÇØ shouted Rattler. ÔÇ£How long until we can initiate another hyperjump?ÔÇØ

The helmsman quickly pulled up the information on his console and relayed it back to Insurgent One. Six minutes until we are at full charge . According to our flight path, were one jump from the systems exit wormhole.

Six minutes thought Rattler. Even if we jigged like crazy to evade her, our shields couldnt take that kind of pounding for that long . We need to buy us some more time.

Savage pulled himself to his feet and looked at Rattler. ÔÇ£We cant last that long.ÔÇØ

Rattler nodded. ÔÇ£I know.ÔÇØ

Again, the Vulture rocked from more weapons fire. The moment it passed, the tacops readout displayed some grim news.

Shields at 48% . At this rate were not gonna last another two passes.

Rattler nodded. ÔÇ£You got any bright ideas fleet commander?ÔÇØ

Savage frowned. ÔÇ£This isnt my kind of fight. Evading the enemy is something IIS is good at, not Orion.ÔÇØ

Despite the grim situation, Rattler grinned at Savages remark. How true . Lets have a look here 

Rattler pulled up a system may and quickly examined the surrounding area. Instantly he scrutinised the current flight path, took in all pertinant details and barked an order to the helmsman.

ÔÇ£Helm, break our current course and burn like crazy into the debris field.ÔÇØ

The helmsman nodded and began making the course corrections.

Savage looked over the readout Rattler had pulled up, and for a moment failed to see the reason why Rattler was pointing the Vulture into such a dangerous area.

Then he saw it.

ÔÇ£That one?ÔÇØ he said, pointing to a large asteroid a few hundred klicks into the debris field.

ÔÇ£That one.ÔÇØ Said Rattler.

Savage nodded. ÔÇ£Nice thinking, I almost missed it.ÔÇØ

Rattler smirked. Dont feel bad, Savage. Ive tried this trick before 

ÔÇ£Tried?ÔÇØ said Savage.

Rattler nodded. Ask me about it later 

The Vulture took another glancing blow from the Gammulans turret weapons. Although the shield damage wasnÔÇÖt severe, the continual pounding was making a mess of low priority, hence low shielded, subsystems.

Sir! announced Reynolds as he steadied himself. Weve got a new problem! Hostiles have boarded us. Two squads of Gam marines have beamed on board . Decks two and three!

Oh shit, this is soooooooo not good.

ÔÇ£Sound general quarters! All personel, repel the intruders!ÔÇØ

The battle for control of the Vulture was on.

[/RP]

Hopefully that will wake you up. Get your asses out there and kick some Gam butt!

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

Fleet Cmdr. Karl Savage

GCV - Tsunami, Orion Starstation (CENTRIS)

Fleet Leader, ORION FLEET

www.orionfleet.com

'Here cometh the storm!'

[This message has been edited by Blades (edited 02-21-2001).]

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You nailed that puppy on the head Blades and it's about time somebody connected all the dots cool.gif

[rp]

May 19, 3008

GCV Graf Spee

Shadowing the LRT-15, S.S Vulture

Rico monitored the TacOps display, wondering for the umpteenth time whether or not he had made the right decision when the S.S. Vulture unrepentantly launched from Pixan Star Station. Per instructions left by Gallion, he set a course to shadow the transport - wherever its destination may be. There was one moment that made Rico's heart skip a beat or two as the Graf Spee got to close its target.

Patience Rico, we're not invisible, just hard as hell to pinpoint on sensors ... if we maintain the distance from the target. Not to close...yet not to far away. Damned if I do and damned if I don't......

The Vulture would hyper-jump, and shortly after the Graf Spee would hyper-jump. If all players were in plain sight, it would've looked like the too vessels were leap-froging each other. Except that each was getting no where fast as theGraf Spee maintained its 200000km distance from the aimlessly wondering S.S. Vulture.

Rico's quasi-boredom with the aimless chase ended with the TO breaking the busy silence of the bridge, "distortion field detected ... unknown ship decloaking near our mark ..."

Great, Rico thought, just we I/we needed - a radical variable in this already unpredictable foray....

"Unknown ship identified, hostile ... Gammulan Supercruiser ... it's engaging our mark Sir!"

"Stand down from silent running, engage cloak, ... "

"Vulture taking hits ..."

"... activate weapons, get those shields up ..."

" ... her shields are holding ..."

"... set course for the Gam SC, ..."

"... Vulture heading for the debris field Sir!"

somebody is thinking on that ship "...activate hyperjump!"

"Hyperdrive activated....ETA to target 90 seconds..."

"Weapon systems charged,

"PTA activation on my mark, Vagrants in the queue first,"

"Shields activated!"

... gotta get close that Gam Supercruiser before the dumb-dumb missiles are let loose, twice the punch of a Vagrant but w/o any tracking capabilities.

"Emerging from hyperspace!"

The Graf Spee had HJ to with 30km of the Gam Supercruiser and began closing on its new prey.

"Target Lock!"

"Disengage Cloak," Rico ordered when the distance between the battlecruiser and supercruiser reached 20km, "activate PTA and IOD. launch missiles...."

A slight shudder could be felt as throughout the battlecruiser as the first volley of her Vagrant missiles were launched at the Gammulan Supercruiser. The crew felt another slight shudder as the second volley was launched.

Rico felt better than he had in a long while. He was back in the saddle again, doing what he does best - hunting Gams. What is a lone Gammulan Supercruiser doing this far in enemy territory? Then reality dawned on Rico as he realized exactly where the Graf Spee was located....oh.....shi.....

"Break off attack! Disengage from the target! Activate cloak! PTA OFF!" he ordered, "get us into that debris field quick!"

Activity on the bridge of the Graf Spee increased as the crew implemented his orders. Slowly, ever so slowly the lumbering battlecruiser veered away from its prey and headed for the debris field. With any luck they would make there without attracting to much attention or so Rico hoped.

Only time will tell whether or not Rico's silent prayers were answered.

[/rp]

TTFN

[This message has been edited by Gallion (edited 02-21-2001).]

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[rp]

SS Vulture

11:12

The sudden shaking of the ship and klaxon caused the security squad in his room to look at each other. Ah c**p, I knew something like this was going to happen!. Nimitz stood up and heared the loudspeakers blare "All personel, repel the intruders!ÔÇØ Damnit! NImitz leveled his eyes at the nearest merc and said, "Give me your sidearm and let's go!" The merc nodded quickly and gave him his sidearm.

Nimitz was headed down a corridor when he heard a sound around a corner, he held his weapon at the ready and peered around Gammulans! Oh s**t! He leaned back and activated his communicator "TacOps, this is Nimitz, I have sighted eight, repeat, either Gammulans, repeat, I have sighted eight, Golf-Alpha-Mike-Mike-Uniform-Lima-Alpha-Noverember-Sierras, over" A man's voice came over the comm "We know Nimitz, keep off unless it's urgent, out." His voice sounded cold. Well, I always wanted to be a hero. He leaned around the corner and opened fire, catching one in the head and killing it....

[/rp]

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[rp]

11:12 hours, 19th May, 3008

Modified LR-15 Transport S.S. Vulture

Room ST-6

Tringkts is in full bloom, the beautiful nature preserve in the hight of its spring glory. The subtle shades of the green-brown trees and the dark granite sides of the valley filled Liev's eyes, the rustle of the wind sending a delightful chill down his spine. Inhaling deeply, he took in the scents of the kreenn bushes surrounding him. Soft music wafted across the deep valleys between the crags. Music?, he thought with a start, Tringkts is a no-tech zone. He strained his alien ears, and now the music sounded more like ship klaxons...

He jumped from his bed. Gone were the sights of the preserve, the ugly metals walls of the Vulture sprang back into being. Emergency klaxons were sounding, the tones for combat/battle stations. This was troublesome, as Liev was riding in a highly unarmed freighter. Then the klaxons switched tones. "General quarters! Intruders on board!", they said. He quickly got dressed. His general quarters, as a civilian, would be in his quarters. Waiting in his room for intruders to be dispatched (or dispatch himsefel) did not suit Liev, however. He performed a quick wake up/warm up exercise, and took a look outside his cabin.

He looked up and down the short branch hallway, leading to other rooms such as his. He saw nothing but doors (either the rooms were empty or thier occupants were adhering to the general quaters). To his right was the main passage for this deck. He walked over and scaned it.

Directly in front of him were three squat armored figures, thier backs to Liev. AT first he thought they were the local mercenaries patroling the deck. But then one of the trio shifted his arms and Liev saw the barrel of a Gamma Arms MI-S class ion rifle. Standard issue to Gammulan starship marines.

Only moments had transpired. There suit senors had not picked up Liev's breathing or heartbeat yet, and he could probably escape back to his cabin without alerting them. But they were Gammulans, a terrible crime in Liev's eye, and were attacking him (in effect), an afront to Liev's dignity and ego. So he jumped.

The Gammulan neck his similar to most huminoid species. In carries the spinal cord (or equvilant) and gives the head flexibity. The Gammulan neck, however, was astonshingly complex in bone structure. There was a certain spot that if hit with enough force would plunge several sharp ones into the nerve clusters at the bottom of the skull, killing the Gammulan instantly. The Gammunlans were aware of this, however, and provided a large ammount of impact armor around this area. Too much though would hamper head movement and visiblity, though, so it was still rather thin. It could still protect from any hand-to-hand combat.

So Liev used his foot. At the same time jumping forward, coiling his legs, and then puahing them out just so, he managed to fall to of the marines unaware. The third marine was quite aware, however, and spun to meet his attacker.

Liev was prepared for this, too. Using the momentum of his first attack, he spun in the air, dodging the first shot. He landed on the ground (a bit slowly, he thought), and lashed out out the Gamm's legs. The marine of course did not fall over, his servos keeping him steady. However, those same servos locked his legs for a few moments, still absobing the blow. Liev took this time and the Gammulan's confusion to kick his rifle out of his hands.

The rifle was bonded to the marines suit by magnets. However, the suit computer was still in patrol mode, and had not fully grappled the weapon. Partly because of this and partly becasue of the Gammulan still seeing if his mates would stop falling, the rifle flung away from him and down the corrider, past Liev. There was still enough juice in the magnets, however, to provided signicant resistence to Liev's kick. He winced as his leg broke.

The Gammulan had just begun to realize that he was alone and without his rifle. He drew his sidearm, and tried to hit his assailant, who was now quickly rolling to the fallen rifle. Fired once, fired twice, the ball stopped. Fired...

...up at the ceiling as Liev shot a full blast of ionized energy at the Gammulan. He crumpled.

Liev felt like crumpling, also. The leg was only now begining to call his attention, and the adrenaline was holding off most of the pain. He decided to make the most of it, and hobbled (crunch) back to his room.

Thumbed the call panel, and manged to call a medic before he collpased.

[/rp]

The first casuality of the day! smile.gif

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SS Vulture

11:20

Great, caught between the gammulans and a hard place. The sound of bullets bouncing off bulkheads had been sounding pretty steady now. He glanced at the bulkhead behind him; it was turning a bright red from the energy being directed into it. He had managed to kill at least 3 of them, but if this continued he wouldn't live much longer. He quickly glanced around and then got a idea, he pulled a empty mag from his belt and yelled "Grenade!" He tosses it around the corner and heard them talking, taking a deep breath he dived sideways firing, one, two, three down! Suddenly the feeling of pain rush through his side; it felt like he had broken some ribs. He quickly got on the communicator, "Nimitz reporting, 6, repeat, 6 Gammulans down, over." A man talked, "Roger that Nimitz, there's a person that called for a medic a few corridors down from you, do you think he can help him, over?" Nimitz sighed, but cut it short from the pain. "Roger, en route, out."

Nimitz walked over to the gammulans and grabbed one of their rifles and grabbed all the extra mags. He starts heading down and grabs a medkit from a aid station among the way. "What a cr**py day this is...."

[/rp]

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well here goes.... you just had to go screw things up and take our weapons, didn't ya Blades? biggrin.gif

rp on

Antilles jumped when the warning klaxons went of. He mentally scolded himself for the unnecessary activity and looked over his shoulder to visually assure himself that Hoffman was ready. He shouldn't have bothered, as usual the burly marine was there, scanning the confines of their cabin for signs of hostile incursion.

The sounds of a firefight rang from outside the door. Kyle put up his hand in a fist, Hoffman silently moved beside him. Antilles reached up with his other hand and readied himself to hit the door's activation switch.

As his superiors hand moved toward the panel, Hoffman tensed, barely noticable beneath his armor. Antilles tapped the panel at the same time he brought his right hand down in a choping motion; Hoffman burst into action, nearly cracking his head on the opening door.

Quickly scanning the corridor, Hoffman motioned all clear and Antilles cautiously joined him. Commodore Antilles scanned the carnage the firefight in the corridor had left. The still smoking wounds of the bodies sprawled in whatever position they fell attested to the recent firefight.

Kyle crept over to the first merc, and fumbled around the still warm body removing the ammo cartridges and its blaster. As soon as Kyle had armed himself, Hoffman to salvaged what weapons he could from the corpses. Looking more at ease now that he was once again armed, Hoffman followed Kyle as they slunk through the smoke filled corridors. Antilles motioned for Hoffman to halt, Hoffman tilted his head listening. A soft grunt sounded from the corridor to their right, Cautiously Antilles looked around the corner and jumped back as he was greeted with heavy weapons fire. All he saw was a slight hint of what looked like a human uniform. He motioned for Hoffman to flank the corridor and neutralize the attacker. As they split, Antilles hoped he had made the right decision.

Rp Off

Help is on the way whisper... try not to fry me.

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

Commodore Kyle Antilles

ICV-Eclipse, Destiny Starstation (Nevuela)

Commanding Officer, Destiny

Spectre Fleet

"You can only love or hate something you truly understand"

[This message has been edited by Eclipse (edited 02-22-2001).]

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[RP]

1104hrs, 19 May, 3008

Modified LRT-15 Transport SS Vulture

Guest Quarters

The missile exploded on the port side, rocking the ship from side to side. "Evasive manuevers, Pattern Delta!" Somerset shouted, hanging onto the arms of the command chair as the Swiftsure strove "upward" to get away from the trio of Gammulan Stormcarriers chasing them.

"Shields down to 58%, Commander!" Kamarov informed him as the ship was struck again.

"Inform all ships to prepare to come about, attack pattern Zeta. Let's throw them for a loop," Somerset ordered. After enough time passed for the orders to be confirmed, he said "Execute!" with ice in his voice.

The three BC's and five Supercruisers turned about to attack. Immediately, the BC's and two SC's cloaked, and manuevered wildly.

Within a matter of minutes two Stormcarriers were disabled, and the other was flotsam.

That was when a Gammulan Heavy Cruiser decloaked right in front of the Swiftsure and launched a pair of missiles at her. Somerset looked in the viewscreen, watching them as the headed right for his nose.

The impact and fire blew the helm and nav consoles apart. Shrapnel tore through the people manning those stations and ripped through them like buzz saws.

One of those buzz saws went right through Somerset's chest, and he stared at the gaping wound, and he screamed.

The scream woke him.

That was when he heard the atonal sound of GQ. In the darkness of the cabin, he stabbed toward the comm button on his bedside terminal.

Only aboard this ship, the terminal wasn't there. Somerset fell out of the bunk and onto the decksole.

"Damn," was the only curse he allowed himself. He remembered where he was. On a harebrained mission, and now that mission appeared to be in trouble.

Since he wasn't part of the crew, he had no assigned GQ station. But he was also, for the purposes of the mission, "not an officer" and free to do as he wished.

The intercom squelched "General Quarters! Intruder Alert!" and then returned to the atonal sound. He walked up to the door, which obidently slid open, and peeked his head out.

He found bodies not too far down the corridor. Slowly he crept up to them, taking note of the blood around them.

Yellow blood.

There was only one humanoid organism that had yellow blood. A careful look confirmed his suspicion. Gammulans. Bloody hell. Never rains but it pours, he thought to himself as he grabbed at a sidearm and holster.

He slid the newly acquired weapon into the holster and strapped it on, grabbing a left-over rifle. It appeared someone had been there before him, since the Gamms no longer had any spare magazines.

Instead, he stripped the magazines out of the remaining rifles and sidearms, putting them into the apporpriate holders on his weapons belt. He then looked around, and gathered up a commlink, and wrist scanner. No use in being unprepared.

That was when he noticed one thing he would've missed later on. Grenades. An evil grin slipped onto his face as he put those on the belt too. It was then that Somerset thanked God that he took that Marine Qualification Course a few years back. That had not only enticed him to keep in shape, but gave him adequate training for repelling boarders.

As he hefted his rifle and used the wrist scanner to find life forms in his area, an icy glare entered his eyes. The killer in him gave a smile that would have terrified anyone there to see it.

Because for Benjamin Somerset, it was payback time.

[/RP]

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

Commander Benjamin Somerset

GCV Swiftsure, Wraith HQ (Lyrius)

Wing Leader - Wraith Fleet/SIN Wing

Stealth is the only thing between you, and your enemy's guns.

[This message has been edited by Ben Somerset (edited 02-22-2001).]

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He he he...

[rp]

Modified TRT-15 Trnasport S.S. Vulture

11:14, May 19, 3008

ST-6

It had only been a minute or two since his encounter with the Gammulans, but already his request for help had been responded to. The merc on the intercom said one of the other guests was on the way with a medkit.

There was gunfire outside the door. Liev strained to hear the type of fire. It sounded like...no, it couldn't be! There were at least two distinct parties, one on either side of his corridor, but they both sounded like Gam rifles! A Gammulan civil war? During a boarding? What was going on?

Wait, now he heard three weapons! That one was from the weapons the mercs were carrying, cheap Terran affairs.

Then, a voice?

"Stop! It's Nimitz!"

Then:

"Nimitz? Who's Nimitz?"

"I think he's one of ours, sir."

"Are you sure, Hoffman?"

"I think...yow!"

More gunfire, from the merc rifle.

"Die, Gammie scum!"

"What the...Ben! Ben! It's Kyle!"

"What? Oh! What are you doing here?"

"Something about an injury..."

On the other end of the hall...

"Hey, you too?"

Liev groaned, and the world went quite dark.

[/rp]

biggrin.gif

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here goes..

rp on

Modified TRT-15 Trnasport S.S. Vulture

11:15, May 19, 3008

ST-6

Commodore Kyle Antilles looked down at his chrono, there was under a minute left before Hoffman should be in position. He mentally started to tic off the seconds until he would explode around the corner hopefully drawing whaterver was there's attention.

30 seconds, he thought. Antilles shunted his built up energy into checking his weapon, and got into position.

3... 2... 1... NOW Hoffman charged into the corridor. As he cleared the corner, he saw Antilles jump out and hit the deck giving him a clear line of fire if there were any hostiles.

Both Antilles and Hoffman froze at the sight of Nimitz standing there trying to open the door to a cabin. Kyle approached him and signaled Hoffman to stand guard. The burly marine shifted his aim slightly, and reached down to pick up one of the remaining Gammulan rifles. Hoffman hefted the weapon, seemed pleased, holstered his own handgun and began scanning the corridor.

"What are you tring to do, nimitz, get yourself shot up? Your lucky we didn't come around shooting!" Antilles said in a course whisper.

He looked angrily over at the Officer by the door waiting for a response.

rp off

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

Commodore Kyle Antilles

ICV-Eclipse, Destiny Starstation (Nevuela)

Commanding Officer, Destiny

Spectre Fleet

"You can only love or hate something you truly understand"

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[RP]

11:14 hrs, 19th May, 3008

Modified LRT-15 Transport S.S Vulture

Command Deck

For the third time in the last minute, the Vulture rocked from both internal and external explosions. The deck plating below fleet commander SavageÔÇÖs feet began to rupture from the violent pummeling, and he found himself losing his footing once again.

ÔÇ£Dammage control! Get some people to reinforce the SIF on deck 1 immediately!ÔÇØ

Savage grunted as he stamped down on the buckled plating.

ÔÇ£Ah, sir?ÔÇØ asked Reynolds.

Savage stopped his foot pounding for a moment as he met Reynolds apologetic eyes. ÔÇ£What is it now?ÔÇØ

Another blast from the Gammulan attacker almost rocked Savage off his feet.

Sir, we dont have a damage control team to dispatch . We dont have much of anything here.

Savage grimaced and stamped down in frustration again on the deck plate. ÔÇ£What kind of a ship is this?ÔÇØ

More buffeting from weapon impact. Two console mounted against the aft bulkhead blew out and sent shards of plexiglass scattering over the bridge.

ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs a transport!ÔÇØ bellowed one of the mercs. ÔÇ£We never expected to take this ship into actual combat for gods sake!ÔÇØ

Savage ignored him and glanced down at the depressing battle statistics on the tacops display.

Shields are almost gone . Hull integrity falling by the minute . Internal explosions running along the length of deck two . What next?

Savage knew better than to ask these silent questions. The universe always had a knack of handing him his ass just when things couldnt possibly get any worse . Yet 

Sir! shouted Reynolds. The Supercruiser  shes ceased firing.

Savage checked the tacops console. Reynolds appeared to be correct. The Gammulan Supercruiser had indeed stopped its barrage of weapons fire  yet she wasnt breaking pursuit . If anything, she was closing .

Uh oh, I got a bad feeling about this.

ÔÇ£I think weÔÇÖre about to have a new problem.ÔÇØ Said Rattler in his dead pan voice.

Savage looked up into his partners eyes  and read in an instant what the grizzeled old warrior was thinking.

In that instant, Reynolds reported a power spike from the Gammulan vessel. In the instant that followed, the familiar sound of a transported beam began to pierce through the noise of burning fires, shouted status reports and sparking internal systems.

Savage went for his side arm the same instant as Rattler, and turned so the two men were back to back on the bridge as nine additional Gammulan warriors blinked into existance.

ÔÇ£Aim true!ÔÇØ said Rattler, raising his sidearm and firing into the head of a Gammulan that had materialised a mere seven feet from him. The Gammulan collapsed, the focused energy beam burrowing through his faceplate and punching through, into his brain.

Savage fired at a Gammulan that had appeared a mere three feet to his left. He was fortunate, the Gammulan having materialised with his back to him. The shot hit him squarely in the back, knocking him to the floor but not killing him outright. In fact, the relative low yield of SavageÔÇÖs standard sidearm probably didnÔÇÖt even hurt him through all that armour.

He didnÔÇÖt give it any additional thought, mainly due to the sudden and unexpected rushing rfom another Gammulan who he hadnt previously seen charging into him and sending the pair of them hurtling over the tacops console.

Savage landed hard with the Gammulan on top of him. He looked up into the visor of the alien aggressor and failed to surpress a shrill gasp as the Gammulan pounded hard onto his chest with a large, powerful fist.

There goes a rib, thought Savage.

The fist pounded down again. Another sharp wince, more cracking.

There goes another one. Looks like Im gonna die now.

Not Today![/ib] shouted the other voice in his head. Today you will get the crap beaten out of you, but you will NOT die!

Savage decided he prefered the opinion of this side of his brain.

The Gammulan hunched over Savage didnÔÇÖt expect the frail human commander to rear up and smack his head into his faceplate. He was genuinly surprised when the impact slightly unballanced him, but was more than a little ammused that the human had knocked himself unconscious with the pitiful blow.

This hesitation, however, enabled Rattler, who had just finished dispatching a third Gammulan marine with his energy pistol the time to force the muzzel of his weapon against the Gammulans left temple and pull the trigger, vaporising a golfball sized path through his head.

Savage was oblivious to all of this, however, and embraced the welcome unconsciouness like a comfort blanket.

When he ragained consciouness, he found himself looking up into Reynolds blodied face and wondered where ÔÇÿFluffyÔÇÖ had gone.

ÔÇ£Wheres Fluffy?ÔÇÖ asked the Orion Fleet Commander.

Reynolds looked confused. ÔÇ£Ah, the bridge is secure, sir. We lost four of the mercs and Rattlers banged up pretty bad.ÔÇØ

Savage blinked away confused imagery in his head and struggled to sit up. ÔÇ£Whats our status?ÔÇØ

Reynolds helped the Fleet Commander to his feet while he gave his report. ÔÇ£The Gammulans on deck two are contained. We beat back the capture team on the bridge and weÔÇÖre about 30 seconds away from our nav objective. Rattlers got the helm.ÔÇØ

At that moment, the Gammulan Supercruiser reknewed itÔÇÖs turret fire.

ÔÇ£Guess they decided weÔÇÖre too much trouble to capture now.ÔÇØ

Savage nodded and looked over the beat up bridge. Bodies were strewn everywhere, mostly Gammulan.

ÔÇ£They were just trying to beat us down before. Now they want to kill us outright.ÔÇØ

ÔÇ£Glad you decided to rejoin us!ÔÇØ shouted Rattler from the helm. ÔÇ£Get on the nav terminal and give me a countdown to initiate the slingshot thrust!ÔÇØ

ÔÇ£Aye, aye.ÔÇØ Said Savage, not for a moment realising he was now taking orders from his mortal enemy.

Reynolds helped Savage over to the nav terminal, and brushed aside the dead merc that previously occipied that station.

Quickly, he pulled up the data from the nav computer, correlated his data with that of the helm console and calculated the optimum angle to execute the maneuver.

Thirteen seconds  said Savage.

More weapons fire buffeted the Vulture. A ruptured fuel coil exploded somwhere midship and lit up his console like a christmas tree.

We cant take another impact like that . We got one shot at this and one only 

Nine seconds .. eight . Seven 

ÔÇ£Standby for emergency maneuver!ÔÇØ shouted Rattler. ÔÇ£All hands, brace for impact!ÔÇØ

Three  two  one 

Pray.

ÔÇ£ENGAGE!ÔÇØ

The Vultures afterburners burned into life and propelled the smaller ship across the surface of the large asteroid they had been heading to. Not more than a hundred feet from itÔÇÖs surface, it skitted across itÔÇÖs surface like a missile, following the contours of the landscape before pulling up to gain some altitude.

Likewise, the Gammulan ship pursued the transport, but kept a respectable altitude and not being drawn close to the surface.

Rattler cut the afterburned and allowed the transport to cruise in itÔÇÖs new orbit, gaining distance from the pursuing vessel as it did so.

Once more, the Gammulan Supercruiser lanced out with itÔÇÖs turrets, missing the Vulture by a short margin and hammering the asteroids rocky surface.

The Vulture continued itÔÇÖs orbital run around the asteroid, and breached the mid way point well ahead of the Gammulan vessel. Now positioned close to itÔÇÖsoriginal course away from the debris field, Rattler punched the afterburners once again and propelled the ship faster away from both the pursuer, and the asteroid.

Well achieve breakaway velocity in six seconds . Five . Four  three 

The Gammulan vessel breached the mid point of itÔÇÖs own orbital pass of the asteroid, and fired itÔÇÖs own afterburned systems in an attempt to catch up to the running Vulture.

However, the mass of the Gammulan vessel was significantly greated than that of the fragile transport, and with the additional burden of being caught in the asteroids gravity well, failed to make up the ground they had intended.

The Vulture had no sich difficulty pulling away  its mass didnt hinder the get away like that of the Supercruiser and sped away from the encounter and clear of the debris field.

The Supercruiser could only slowly break from the asteroids pull and watch helplessly as their prey burned away to freedom.

ÔÇ£Very nice.ÔÇØ Said Rattler, taking his hands away from the helm console. ÔÇ£Looks like we bought ourselves the extra time we needed to initiate a hyper jump.ÔÇØ

Savage looked to his left at the Insurgent Commander in Chief and offered an exhausted smile. We did good . This time.

Rattler nodded. With any luck, next time we get jumped by a Gammulan warship, well be more prepared to fight a more conventional battle  something youre better suited to.

ÔÇ£YouÔÇÖll get no argument from me.ÔÇØ Said Savage.

A few moments later, the Vulture engaged itÔÇÖsfully charged hyperdrive engines and hurtled back on course to the systems exit wormhole. Somwhere behind them, and completely unknown to the Vultures damaged sensor systems, the Gammulan Supercruiser mysteriously exploded.

Reynolds painfully sat down at the communications terminal and opened a channel to sickbay. ÔÇ£Foss, we got wounded up here. I need you up here, stat.ÔÇØ

He killed the comms link without waiting for a confirmation reply, and began to compile status reports from all over the ship, frowning at the appaling casualties among the merc compliment and now, more than ever before, wishing he wasnÔÇÖt on this suicide mission.

[/RP]

Most of the merc compiment on board ship weÔÇÖre killed during the boarding operation. The Gamms busted up a few of the Galcom and Insurgent boys, but there were no casualties other than those written in. There are now weapons strewn all over the ship, and hardly any mercs to take them off you. If you want things to get ÔÇÿInterestingÔÇÖ, nows your time chaps.

Incidently, Im away for a couple of days, so donÔÇÖt expect anything else until the weekend.

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

Fleet Cmdr. Karl Savage

GCV - Tsunami, Orion Starstation (CENTRIS)

Fleet Leader, ORION FLEET

www.orionfleet.com

'Here cometh the storm!'

[This message has been edited by Blades (edited 02-22-2001).]

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[rp]

Akuma sat up from her fall against one of the machines in engineering the chief engineer laying unconcious beside her. She checked his pulse and when she was sure he was alright she stood and made at a mad dash from the bridge.

Upon entering she found a warzone.

"Rattler?!" She called out

"Commander?!" She looked around. "Where are you?"

She ran a hand through her black/violet hair and cleared her throat. "What the hell happened?"

[/rp]

Just got back from Cranbrook, tired...Blah.

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

Commander Akuma Minako

GCV - Tenchi, Orion Starstation (CENTRIS)

Deterrence Battle Group

www.orion-hq.fsnet.co.uk

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[rp]

SS Vulture

11:15

Nimitz explained his situation and what he was doing when the ship rocked harder. He looked up. "I don't know about you, but I've gotta go help someone." Nimitz was about strode off when he realized the ship wasn't rocking as much and he couldn't hear any more shooting. He activated his communicator "Ops, this is Nimitz, do you copy, over?" He waited a few moments. "Ops, this is Nimitz, do you copy over?" A man responded "This is Ops, we are kinda busy. We've taken heavy damage and most of the mercs are dead. Call only if urgent, out." Oh great. He glanced over at them. He looked at the cabin door with contempt and shouted, "Unless you open that d**med door in 10 seconds, I'm gonna kick it down!"

[/rp]

We're having a party now, aren't we?

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

Master Gunny. Sarge. Nimitz "Defcon" Adams

Marine Detachment, GCV-Dauntless

ISS, Tactical Support

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Foss.... you are running out of time! wink.gif

I can stall a bit more.....

[RP]

04:00 hrs, 19th May, 3008

SS Vulture

Sickbay/Medibay

Thinking over his options about what to do with this upstart insurgent suddenly dumped in his balliwick, Commander Foss decideds to rest on it before making any final decisions. Humming to himself, Foss taps a few commands into a nearby console.

"Ensign?"

"Yes, Commander Foss?"

"Wold seems to have a phobia w/ clinics. I want him moved to room 14g, deck 1 as soon as you finish setting that broken arm." With that, Foss heads out of sickbay to contemplate his choices before making an irreversible plung.

05:30 hrs, 19th May, 3008

SS Vulture

Rm 14g, deck 1

The room is medium sized, roughly 5 meters square. Entering the room, it has a private head in the back left corner straight across from the entrance. On the left wall the food dispenser while on the front wall is the closet, stopping 1 meter from the door. Wold was on a bed stuffed in the back right corner, restraining straps removed. Next to him another cot had been placed for the mercenary guard. Both are asleep, though Wold, judging from the thrashing, seems to be having drug induced dreams.

11:11 hrs, 19th May, 3008

Having had her rest the merc steps into the head. WHAT THE H** NOW!?!?! as the red alert warning screeches through the room. Jerking the bathroom door open she sees that a gammulan had transported directly into the room. "It" had leaped to the side of her comotos charge and had a wicked serrated blade raised in the left hand ready to sever Wold's head from his body.

Not having time to aim, the merc snaps her disrupter up and slams the firing stud home while issuing a fervent, silent prayer that Wold doesn't suddenly awaken and sit up.

The gammulan had no warning or time to react as it's chest suddenly explodes out the front of the combat armor. The impact from the shot bounces the dead gammulan across Wold's bed before it slides off to the floor leaving a trail of yellow blood.

...the grass...it's...weird..why is it a flourescent pink? It seems to...move..like it's waving...beconing...a path...where to? Should..NO...can't follow... its waving more vigerous...What's happening? Pulled..dragged...down the path...NO NO NO..begging, NOT THE canyon... can't... The ground, rocks, moving..earthquake? What's that shreeeek? IT WON'T QUIT...my ears.. I see a door...clawing, scratching, PRYING...YES " Wold's eyes pop open as a heavy weight on his chest slides off. A warm, oozing feeling of flowing liquid soaks through his clothing. Bewildered, he turns his head and sees a somehow familiar looking woman in combat clothing w/ smoking rifle standing w/ a rather empish grin on her face.

"Well, it seems that I underestimated my bid to Commander Savage. In case you don't remember me from way back, my name is Melody, but I go by Mel. Tell you what. You sit or lay, as the case may be, tight and I'll go check things out. I'll be right back! Oh, here's a stunner incase someone desides to 'hello' while I'm gone."

Wold nodded a response as his mind was still trying to figure out who she was, where he was, and why he was there. She turns and disappeared out the door.

Fourty minutes later Mel pops back into the room carring a duffle bag. After taking a change of clothes out, she stuffs it into the closet then she walks over to Wold's side.

"Here, take these and go get cleaned up. In the meantime I'll shove this gammulan out an airlock. BTW, the mercenary complement seems to be severly reduced and that the other commanders are now armed. I, ah, tracked down your confiscated items for you and they are now in the closet. Commander Foss is supposed to be back any time now."

Though awake, Wold's mind is still sluggish. Taking the clothing he heads to the bathroom to get cleaned up. [/rp]

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

Commodore Wold

ICV-Drakr, Spectre HQ (Antis)

Commanding Officer, Spectre HQ

Spectre Fleet

ICQ 4669033

"You can only love or hate something you truly understand"

[This message has been edited by Wold (edited 02-23-2001).]

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RP

I have always been of the mind that anything you can grab can be used as an weapon. I onced killed a man with a spoon but that is another story... I was just finishing the a chapter in my liberated copy of Atlas Shrugged (which I got from an dead Earthcom officer who was the one I killed with the spoon but as I said its another story... Anyway I looked up and I saw an rather suprise Gammulan. While being an pirate you see alot of stuff and are always prepare for anything but this really took that cake. The said alien pointed its riffle at me and shot but by then I rolled off the small cot the ship's crew claimed was an bed and threw my copy of the 1000+ hardcover book with all my strenght, knock the Gammulan back blood streaming for its head. I then grabed one of my shoes that was laying on the floor and threw it again, hitting it in the eyes. I kept on doing this will trying to not get hit, after 1 minute I ran out of stuff to throw, then I saw it, the waste paper basker with an garbage bag I quickly doved for that took out the and charged the alien while he was taking aim. Right when I made contact wiht him I felt an burning senastion on my foot, focusing on the matter at hand I threw the bag over the aliens head and twisted it, I had once saw this move in an movie, and what happened, I made it very angry at me. It now blined shot me again, I felt another burning senastion, and fell down, as I was falling I tried to kick it, while succeding I found another problem I was missin part of my foot. This attack knock the Gammulan down on the ground, droping his weapon, I imeadtly rushed to grab it before he reocovered and did so. Not paying any attenion to the pain in my feet I got up again and fired 4 rounds into the body on the ground. Once I made sure he was quite dead, I started to try to walk and fell down, I decided to go on with plan B, crawling, I got out the door and started crawling towards sick bay bleeding badly. Missing large parts of both my feet, and quite out of it. As I was starting to black out my final thoughts were Ohh #### I hope they only have the records I gave them of my current name of John Silence, not my old idenity of the wanted pirate Jermery Irons.... Then blackness

/RP

Sorry got busy, I figured that not all the hero's in this epic are going to have such an easy time, so please have somebody find me and take me to sickbay.....

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Finally got time to edit this smile.gif

rp

Kyle Antilles motioned to Hoffman and they both took up guard positions beside the door as the officer they had supprosed began to pry the door open. They both began scanning the area around them for signs of movement on thir sensors.

Rp off.

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

Commodore Kyle Antilles

ICV-Eclipse, Destiny Starstation (Nevuela)

Commanding Officer, Destiny

Spectre Fleet

"You can only love or hate something you truly understand"

[This message has been edited by Eclipse (edited 03-19-2001).]

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Ah, finally, I am all caught up and ready for some action smile.gif Sorry I was out of the loop for so long, car accident, yadda, yadda, yadda, I'm fine now and ready to write what I hope will be an interresting addition to this great story.

[RP]

10:30 hrs, 19th May, 3008

Mk. II Battlecruiser UCV-Susceptor

Medibay

"Slow down, what happened?" Commander Stone demanded of the estatic medic.

The medic took a deep breath and repeated his statement. The Cmdr. just stared blankly at the the man, he was bewildered by this news. He decided not to worry about the how or why now and proceeded to Engineering.

Once in engineering he spotted his CSO, Jet Thompson, vigorously going from panel to panel tapping the touch pad screens.

Stone looked at his Cheif Engineer, who also had a surprised look on. She looked back at him, questioning eyes. Stone just put up his arms, knowing just as much as she did.

"Jet?" Stone said finally. Thompson did not seem to notice that anyone was even in the room, he continued his panel tapping.

Stone went up to Jet, grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

"Jet!? What . . . how?" Stone didn't know what to ask first, but seemed to have Thompson's attention now.

"I take it you know what I really am now." Thompson replied, looking at Stone with those haunting grey eyes.

"I was going to build a new reactor for you..."

"I have nanites that are automatically released when I sustain any damage. They repaired my reactor."

Stone just seemed to stare at Jet, then he patted him on the back and allowed a smile.

"Good to have you back man."

Jet smiled back at his Commander. If only you knew the truth Zeke, if only you knew where I came from . . . where your own family originated, this was said only in Jet's brain, where no one could pry.

"So, what exactly are you doing?" Stone went on.

Thompson's mind immediatly went back to the task at hand, "During the time I was unconscious I came to a sort of momment of clarity where I believe I was given the answer to our current problem."

"What?"

"I have found a way to enhanse the cloaking device, but it will only work on a small vessel."

11:00 hrs, 19th May, 3008

Mk. II Battlecruiser, UCV-Susceptor

Shuttle Bay

"This is insane . . . you want to board the SS Vulture!?" Jake Burke, the ship's XO, exclaimed.

"Aye, and you are going to fly us in," Cmdr. Stone said calmly.

"Why aren't I going to there with you? Why is Thompson here going?"

"So many questions, I'll answer them on the way," Stone said simply, stepping into the modified Shuttle.

After a quick prelaunch sequence the modified shuttle cloaked and proceeded toward the SS Vulture. The UCV Susceptor, however, veered away and proceeded back to Pixan.

"It's simply, Jet can mask our bio signatures and we need you to fly this thing back to Pixan."

"What happened to our original Plan?"

"It went out the window when my drone depleted it's power supply. What's the ETA to target?"

Jake sighed, he knew he couldn't change his friend's mind, despite how crazy this plan sounded.

"ETA to target is 2 minutes. One last Hyperjump. Whoa, I'm picking up something . . . no it's gone."

Jet looked over the sensor readings, "It's a cloaked ship closing in on the Vulture."

"Continue as planned," Zeke said relunctantly.

A Jump Anamoly seemed to appear out of nowhere as the cloaked shuttle jumped to rendezvous with the SS Vulture.

"They are decloaking . . . it's a Gammulan Supercruiser, engaging the Vulture."

Zeke hesitated, could the Fleet Commander keep his small ship alive. He would have to risk it, this was his only chance to get aboard. Zeke gave the order to continue and just as they dropped out of Hyperspace the Vulture entered it, followed by the Gammulan vessel. Luckily, shuttles charge quickly and it wasn't long before Zeke's ship was in hot pursuit.

"The Gams are beaming over Marines. This is our chance." Jake said quickly and Zeke and Jet ran to the transporters.

11:13 hrs, 19th May, 3008

Modified LRT-15 Transport SS Vulture

Jet and Zeke materialized safely in an abandoned room.

"Are we still here?"

"No, I have masked our bio signatures. As for our visual signatures. . ."

Zeke was thrown against the wall as the ship rocked from the Gam attack. He gathered himself up he noticed voices and weapons fire outside the room he was hiding in. He looked at Jet, they were both thinking the same thing, was this a fatal mistake?

[/RP]

There, this should make things more difficult for me wink.gif

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

Commander Zeke Stone,

Mercenary

UCV-Susceptor - "Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible."

[This message has been edited by Commander Zeke Stone (edited 02-26-2001).]

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(RP on)

04:00 hrs, 19th May, 3008

SS Vulture

Medibay

What to do, what to do? Damn it, I was tired. Still a lot to do, unfortunately. This situation with my new patient wasn't making things any easier. I went over to the console monitoring his vitals. What little information about his phych profile did my precious little good. All I had to go on was the merc's report, and the comments from the medical staff. I began humming an old tune from my youth. I didn't even realize I was doing it until I looked up to see the youngest member of the staff staring at me with undisguised amusement. Naturally, I stopped as soon as I noticed her stare. Big mistake. That meant I had to cover for the blunder. Clearing my throat as quietly as I could (not very), I hastily made some instructions off the top of my head.

"Ensign?"

"Yes, Commander Foss?"

I quickly glanced at the displays, frantically trying to find something for her to do. "Wold seems to have a phobia with clinics. I want him moved to room..." I checked the ship schematics for a moment, looking for a room with the necessary space. "14g, deck 1 as soon as you finish setting that broken arm."

"Yes, sir."

It finally occurred to me that she was the only one who hadn't reacted with slight annoyance when I had come into the medical bay with orders from Blades stating that I was the new CMO.

I was too tired to deal with Wold right away. His life wasn't in immediate danger, and I had to think about what to do with this genetic "tinkering" that he had gone through.

I left the medibay, heading back to my quarters.

I wasn't more than five steps away when the door opened a second time.

"Commander Foss, sir!" a voice called out.

I turned to see the same young medico. She quickly shoved a datapad into my hands. "It's my report, sir. I forgot to give it to you when you were looking through Wold's profile."

She seemed unusually nervous, all of a sudden. Her voice had dropped to almost a whisper.

It didn't dawn on me that she was giving me a hint to read it right away. Probably because I was too tired.

"Thank you, Ensign. I'll take a look at it in the morning."

"It is morning, sir." She said simply, then turned and went back into the medical bay.

I returned to my quarters and tossed the pad onto the table. I was about to turn away when two words and one number caught my attention in big red letters: Urgent - Priority 1.

Well, this was certainly interesting. It also could only mean one thing: Bad news.

I picked up the pad and started looking through the report. I didn't have to read it for long.

I reached over and toggled the comm switch. "Foss to bridge, I need to speak with the communications officer..."

0507 hrs, 19th May, 3008

SS Vulture

Medibay

The mercenary, Lieutenant, for sake of arguement, Darren Ashton, stood in front of the desk, looking somewhat uncomfortable, which was fine with me.

The entry from the bridge comm system ran through a third time before I shut it off.

"I have a simple question for you, Lieutenant." I said, calmly. "Did you or did you not order one of the mercs to kill Commander Wold?"

"I thought he might be a danger to the medical staff, sir."

I shook my head, not taking my eyes off him. "That's not what I asked. I didn't ask what you thought, I asked what you said! Did you or did you not give the order to kill Commander Wold?"

"Yes, sir, I did. I don't know what to say, sir. I guess I lost my head for a moment."

I nooded, then stood slowly. "I see. Well, as a medical doctor in any capacity, you should know that we cannot allow ourselves to lose our heads. It often gets people killed, you see."

"Yes, sir."

"As for me, aye, I've lost my head one or two times in my youth. But that was before I became a doctor. Before I took the Hippocratic Oath."

"I just..."

I interrupted him before he could attempt to feed me another line of "I'm sorry, sir."

"I don't want to see that kind of behavior again, do you understand, Liuetenant Ashton?"

He composed himself quite admirably for one so young. "Yes, sir."

"Good. I won't lie to you, Mr. Ashton. It will be some time before I can trust you again. Nevertheless, I'm willing to give it a try if you are."

"Of course, sir."

"Dismissed."

Ashton left the room. Damn, I didn't trust him. I couldn't explain why, but I just didn't trust him. All I had to go on were the words from the comm system and the Ensign's report. I couldn't suspend him from duty just for that. After all, it had been an unusually dangerous situation. A genetically enhanced human in a berserker rage was not exactly something to be taken lightly.

For a moment, I forgot how tired I was.

I activated the terminal on my desk and called up Commander Minako's profile. I read through it for hours, memorizing every detail.

I don't know how long the young ensign was standing in front of my desk, but the grin on her face told me that I'd been auditioning for the concert hall again.

"I think you missed your calling, sir. You should have been a singer."

Sighing, I decided to roll with it this time, rather than dodging it. "Humming a tune is far different from actually singing it, Ensign." I said, reaching over to shut down the terminal.

"Ashton is a good MA, sir. He just gets a little carried away, sometimes."

"Why were you so nervous in the corridor, Ensign?" I asked.

"I just..." She turned away for a moment. "I just don't want to be the one to hand in a report that gets someone fired."

"Ensign..."

"Kate, sir. My name is Kate Donalds."

"Kate, if you hadn't handed in that report, there is the very real possibility that his actions could have repeated themselves. While it is still a danger, it is far less than if I hadn't known at all."

That seemed to calm her down a bit. She at least managed a smile.

Then, whatever force it was that had kept me going for so long, simply vanished. I slumped down in the chair. Kate rushed over and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Sir, it's 11:00. You've been up all night. Get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."

I managed a tired smile. "It is morning." I said.

She smiled, then helped me to my feet. I stumbled to my quarters, and flopped down on the bed. I didn't even bother to change.

Now, depending on your point of view, this is a good thing and a bad thing. From the professional point of view, it is a good thing. Having one's uniform on ensures that they do not have to put it on later. As a result, one can be on-station in less time. From the personal point of view, it is a bad thing, because it gives one less time to wake up before one is on-station.

From my point of view, it was very bad. Had I taken the time to change, Murphy probably would have left the ship alone. Unfortunately, he's not so kind.

I was just starting to drift to sleep when an all too familiar sound ripped through the air...

Combat Alarm Status. Damn! I bolted upright, the aching of my body gone in an instant along with the fatigue. I bolted out of bed to get my uniform on. Then I remembered that I hadn't taken it off.

The ship jolted hard, and I barely managed to bring my arm up to stop my head from hitting the console... on the other side of the bed.

It did me some good. The last of the cobwebs faded from my mind. "What next?" I shouted.

Damn, but I should never have done that. Five seconds, as usual. Five seconds after that thought, the alarms changed.

They didn't shut off, no. No, it couldn't be so simple. No, they changed! Not the good kind of change, either. It was the bad kind of change. The kind of change that tells you that things have just gone from worse to ****storm. General Quarters had just been sounded.

Then, that oh-so-wonderful phrase rang across the deck. "All personel, prepare to repel boarders!"

Prepare. Hah! Preparing is something one does before things go as they had just gone. The first shots echoed outside my door not a second after the announcement.

I opened the door to see - oddly enough - nothing. No signs of combat anywhere. The sounds were there, but nothing else was. There were going to be a lot of people in the medibay soon enough, though. It was time I got there...

11:14 hrs, 19th May, 3008

SS Vulture

Near Medibay

Weapons lockers are wonderful. A wristlaser and standard pistol were my best friends. I'd made it through the warzone in record time. Actually, I hadn't happened upon any fighting, which was odd.

Ensign Kate rushed around the corner. "Sir, we're being boarded! We've got wounded incoming..."

I don't know what the rest of her sentence was. Funny thing about mistakes. People do a lot to prevent them from happening again. In this case, I did damn near everything to prevent it. Over Kate's shoulder, down the corridor, I saw a single Gammulan soldier taking aim. Straight for her back. I'd seen this game before.

I also reacted a lot quicker. Eight years ago, I'd lost my best friend to this sort of situation.

Without hesitation, I grabbed the tunic of her uniform and threw her to the side with my free hand... Just as the soldier fired.

The shot would have hit her. Instead, it hit me. The movement of throwing her across the hall had pressed me into the wall. Instead of hitting me dead center, the shot lanced through my side.

I must have dropped the weapon. Either that, or Ms. Donaldson was a professional pickpocket. The pistol was in her hand.

A pickpocket she may have been, but a soldier she was not. She hesitated.

I didn't. I still had the wristlaser, and the bolt found it's way straight into the head of the Gam soldier. Another kill to my extensive collection.

The shot from the Gam rifle slammed into the bulkhead just above her head. It was a close call.

"You alright, ensign?"

"Yes!" She shouted, confidently enough, but she was shaking like a leaf.

She helped me into the medibay, then sat me down on a bed. Before she could administer treatment, the first casualties started flooding in.

It was triage time, and I could wait. The shot had cauterized the wound.

Some were serious, others weren't. It quickly became apparent, however, that the medical bay wouldn't hold the number of casualties that would be brought in.

After a few minutes, the fighting stopped. The last Gammulans had either fled or been killed.

Unfortunately, the real work had just begun.

Then, I got the call that I feared most. It wasn't the call itself, but rather, the person who made the call. It was Reynolds. Not Savage, not Rattler. Reynolds.

"Foss, we got wounded up here. I need you up here, stat."

"On my way."

Ensign Donaldson stepped in front of me. "Sir, I can't let you leave. Your wound..."

"Can wait, Ensign. There are people up there who need my help, and they are going to get it without delay."

"What about the people here?"

"They are in your capable hands, Kate. You know your job better than anyone."

She glowed with pride. Or maybe she was blushing with embarrassment. In either case, she stopped fussing.

Three medics nearby looked uncertain as to what to do. I walked over, and, ignoring the pain, grabbed a stretcher.

I pointed to each of them in turn. "You two, stretchers, you, trauma kit. We're heading to the bridge."

They hesitated, damn them. "I said get two stretchers and a trauma kit! MOVE!"

(RP off)

Whew! Finally caught up! Blades, can you send me an e-mail when you get back? I need to know what the specific injuries are, or do you just want me to wing it?

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

Commander David Foss

GCV - Deterrence, Orion Starstation (CENTRIS)

Wing Leader, Deterrence Battle Group

www.orion-hq.fsnet.co.uk

'This far, no farther!'

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Guess I'll have to get moving...

[rp]

SS Vulture

11:20

After getting the door open (a rifle can make a wonderful welder) Nimitz peeked in. Great. What a wonderful day in the neighborhood. Nimitz checked on his condition What's his name? Doesn't matter now. He checked the man's injuries Hmm, broken leg. He got on his commlink, "This is Nimitz to Medibay, I've got a man with a broken leg down here in a room on deck 3. Out." Nimitz administered what first-aid he could, which was mainly using quick-drying foam for a cast and giving him a pain killer. After making sure all would be in order, he clipped the medkit to his belt and activated his commlink, "This is Nimitz, I'm on Deck 3, what do you need me to do,over." A man's voice answered, sounding a bit hurried, "Everything. Out." Great, I get to play medic, marine, and engineer. He sighed and went outside to the corridor to start cleaning up the corridors and administer first-aid. What a day...what a day. First the guy that tried to kill me and now Gammulans attack. Feeling a bit of pain, he taped up his ribs and continued working....

[/rp]

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  • 2 weeks later...

(RP)

Independent Mercenary vessel ÔÇÿLEOÔÇÖ,

Bridge,

11:22

Caine was getting bored. It had been three weeks since he and his crew completed their last contract, and this region seemed to be unusually quiet. He always came here when times were going slowly, and he usually had no trouble finding a rich cargo-merchant in need of escort.

Caine rubbed the stubble on his chin absently as he sat in the command chair, staring at the nav charts, calculating how he could stretch what he had a little further. Sitting beside the young human was his wife, Jo-Shtann. They were an odd couple to say the least, and always turned the heads of the new recruits when they realized their commanderÔÇÖs marital status. After a while it became a sort of game for them to see how long it took for the recruits to figure it out. It was virtually unheard of for a human and Vesperon to form such a bond, and even rarer for them to act on it.

Sir One of the bridge officers looked up from his post. Weve picked up a ship on passive, its not much, but it might be worth a look.

Caine turned to face the officer who spoke. ÔÇ£I need a little more detail than ÔÇÿa shipÔÇÖ Huber, would you care to go into more detail?ÔÇØ

The man gave Caine an apologetic look. ÔÇ£Sorry sir, but weÔÇÖll need to get closer first, or switch to active scannig.ÔÇØ

Either option wasnÔÇÖt all that desirable right now. He didnÔÇÖt know what they would come across, and wasnÔÇÖt willing to jeopardize anything for free.

(/RP)

Sorry to just barge in. Ive been trying to get an E-mail addressANY address from Foss for a while now so I could go through the proper channels, but he has been too busy. If you want me to smeg off untill I can get an E-mail to one of you, Ill just make a post having Caine leave the area. cwm7.gif

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

Kenneth Dominik Caine:

Captain

Interceptor wing leader

Independant mercenary.

"Knowledge dispells fear, and you know nothing of me."

[This message has been edited by Caine (edited 03-08-2001).]

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[RP]

11:14 hrs, 19th May, 3008

Modified LRT-15 Transport SS Vulture

"Allright, let's get down to business," Zeke instructed Jet.

They each took one side of the door, Rifles in hand and set for stun. They didn't want to start killing people if they could be on the ship for a while. Zeke held his hand up with three fingers up, then two, one. He hit the door release and they both spun out and around the door, Zeke pointing left and Jet pointing right. Just as their scans had indicated there was nothing in the corridor.

"We need to find a computer terminal, which way?"

"I am detecting what could be a terminal down this way." Jet informed and they proceeded to the left in the direction of the terminal.

Zeke was just about to round the corner when he suddenly heard some shouting.

"What are you trying to do Nimitz, get yourself shot up? Your lucky we didn't come around shooting!"

He backed away from the corner silently, looking at Jet.

"Three humans," Jet whispered.

"We'll have to take the long way."

They turned and went to the opposite end of the hallway, and this time were met with two Gams. Zeke fired once and then jumped back around the corner barely avoiding two shots which struck the wall loudly.

Zeke hit the floor and rolled out from the around the corner, firing as he did this. One of the Gams was down and the other one running straight for Zeke who was just getting to the other corner and leaping to his feet.

Jet reacted quickly and grabbed the unexpecting Gammulan by the back of the neck and lifting him into the air. He tossed and against the wall and blasted it dead with his wrist laser.

"Are you allright Sir?"

"I'm fine, let's get moving before we meet up with some of their friends, or even worse some of the passengers."

[/RP]

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

Commander Zeke Stone,

Mercenary

UCV-Susceptor - "Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible."

[This message has been edited by Commander Zeke Stone (edited 03-10-2001).]

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Guest Mikel

[rp]

SS Vulture

11:30

Great. The engines. Nimitz walked inside and heard some people And a Gammulan or two? He readied his rifle and grabbed a stun grenade he took off a body earlier. Peeking around the corner he saw Jeez! Some gammulans and some...mercs? What are they doing!? He carefully moved away and informed the bridge of the situation. Nimitz readied the grenade and pulled the pin One...two...three and tosses it around the corner. He jumped around the corner and started firing....

[/rp]

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[rp]

11:25

UCV ÔÇÿLEOÔÇÖ

Bridge

Caine sat motionless for several minutes after HuberÔÇÖs discovery, considering his options. He needed money or, better yet, the supplies themselves. He detested haggling with the independent merchants, and almost always felt swindled afterwards.

Finally, Caine turned towards his wife, a devilish grin on his face. ÔÇ£Shall we?ÔÇØ

Jo-Shtann knew that look all too well. They were going for it. Anticipation brought a smile to her lips as well, and she turned to navigation. ÔÇ£Try and catch up to our new friend, and switch to active. We donÔÇÖt want to scare him away.ÔÇØ

The carrier changed course, and began to head for itÔÇÖs new target.

11:30

UCV ÔÇÿLEOÔÇÖ

Bridge

I wonder what the rush is Huber broke the silence, Wherever theyre going, they must be late.

Another minute of silence followed, then Huber was finally able to get more information on the craft they were chasing. Calling CaineÔÇÖs attention, he gave a brief report.

ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs a Transport vessel. Pretty banged up too. I guess that explains the rush.ÔÇØ

The new information brought another smile to CaineÔÇÖs lips. ÔÇ£At least that will make them eager to hire help.ÔÇØ The day was shaping up to be a good one, the human only hoped that it would remain so. ÔÇ£LetÔÇÖs see if we can get them to reign in a little. Open an audio channel.ÔÇØ

ÔÇ£Done.ÔÇØ

Caine takes his friendliest tone. ÔÇ£This is the independent mercenary vessel ÔÇÿLEOÔÇÖ, it seems you boys have run across a little trouble. WeÔÇÖre offering you some help,ÔÇØ Caine lowers his voice slightly, ÔÇ£for a small price, of course.ÔÇØ

He then resumed his normal voice, calm and business-like. ÔÇ£I have four engineers standing by to aid you in field repairs, and I can transfer over other crew if necessary.ÔÇØ

Jo-Shtann quietly ordered four engineers to a shuttle as Caine waited for a response.

[/rp]

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

Kenneth Dominik Caine:

Captain

Interceptor wing leader

Independant mercenary.

"Knowledge dispells fear, and you know nothing of me."

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[RP]

11:30 hrs, 19th May, 3008

Modified LRT-15 Transport SS Vulture

Jet's internal sensors lit up like a christmas tree as he quickly detected the incoming explosive.

"GRENADE!" Jet yelled before turning and shooting it in mid-flight. The grenade exploded knocking them both to the floor, which was a good thing because it prevented them from being killed by the man who came around the corner shooting.

Zeke rolled into the hallway to the left and Jet rolled into the one to the right. They were both watching the man down the hall they were just in with internal heartbeat sensors.

Not wanting to risk extra attention Zeke gave the silent order to split up and meet at the terminal they were looking for.

Zeke started down the hall and suddenly noticed a sharp pain in his leg almost causing him to fall over. He looked down to discover a piece of metal sticking into it.

[/RP]

Ohh, gotta stop that blood, wouldn't want to leave a blood trail wink.gif

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

Commander Zeke Stone,

Mercenary

UCV-Susceptor - "Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible."

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