Blades

[Narrative On] Mission + 20 days 23 hours 56 minutes ÔÇ£Commander Stone!ÔÇØ It was Neena Polovoski, the combat officer who spoke with such urgency. ÔÇ£What is it Lt. Commander?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£My security board just lit up like a Christmas tree. There is an unauthorized transmission in progress.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Confirmed,ÔÇØ started Reynolds. ÔÇ£We have a tight beam transmission broadcasting from somewhere on deck three.ÔÇØ Stone frowned in his command seat. This breach could jepodise the entire operation. ÔÇ£Cut it off Mister Reynolds.ÔÇØ Reynolds fumbled with his control panel. ÔÇ£I cant sir, itÔÇÖs not going out through the communications grid.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£What?!ÔÇØ shouted Stone. ÔÇ£Where the hell is it broadcasting from then?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Sir!ÔÇØ it was Polovoski again. ÔÇ£I believe I can answer that.ÔÇØ Stone got up from his command seat and hurried over to the combat officers terminal. ÔÇ£Well, Neena?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£One moment commander. Reynolds, patch me through to engineering.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye Lt. Commander.ÔÇØ A moment passed, and then the engineering Chief came onto the link. ÔÇ£Spencer here, whats up?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Chief,ÔÇØ started Neena, ÔÇ£are you monitoring a harmonic shift in the phase varience of the deflector grid?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yes Lt. Commander. I was just about to realign the grid to stop the bleed . . ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Chief, I believe theres a masked transmission being piggybacked on the leaking shift. Can you determine this from down there?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Stand by Lt. Commander.ÔÇØ Another moment passed while the Chief began a systems analysis on the deflector grid. ÔÇ£Confirmed bridge, theres a tightly focused signal being routed through the deflector grid. The harmonic shift we detected was masking most of the signal.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Hell.ÔÇØ Said Stone. ÔÇ£Mister Reynolds, begin jamming the transmission.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Sir,ÔÇØ said Reynolds, ÔÇ£If I start jamming, we will light up like a supernova. Anything within the region will spot us for certain.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Understood Reynolds. Jam the signal.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye aye, sir!ÔÇØ Reynolds began the process of jamming the signal transmission. Hopefully, only a portion of the transmission would get through to itÔÇÖs intended recipient. ÔÇ£Mister Polovoski,ÔÇØ started Commander Stone. ÔÇ£I want deck three sealed off completely. Then get down there with a full squad of marines and find whoever sent that transmission.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye commander,ÔÇØ replied Polovoski. ÔÇ£But how are we going to be able to positively identify the culprit?ÔÇØ Chief Spencer returned on the link. ÔÇ£Commander, whoever manipulated the deflector grids phase varience would have to have done so manually, from either deflector control or one of a half dozen subsystems throughout the ship. They would have been exposed to the field for a brief time, and that should be detectable with a medical scanner. Only problem is, the phase varience will dissipate very quickly, and since the deflector grid and subsystems are located on all decks, there might not be enough time to scan everyone before the varience is undetectable.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Thanks for the tip Chief, weÔÇÖll take it from here. Bridge out.ÔÇØ Neena Polovoski began to carry out her instructions. First, she locked down all exit points from deck three. Then she summoned Stg. Diamond on the link and briefed him quickly on the situation. ÔÇ£Oh, and Sgt?ÔÇØ she said just before linking off. ÔÇ£We have to have a little talk later on about that incident in the galley.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Commander, the signal is being jammed.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Nice work mister Reynolds. Were you able to intercept any of it?ÔÇØ Reynolds again tapped on his terminal, pulling up the diagnostic logs and searching through them for the signals frequency. ÔÇ£Aye sir, we got a piece of it.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Can you translate it?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir, running it through the cipher now. Sir, the transmission has ended.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Good. Stop the jamming. Mister Polovoski?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£On my way out sir.ÔÇØ Said the Lt. Commander as she made he way off the bridge and down to meet Sgt. Diamond and his squad. For the next few moments, Stone had Graves at tacops scan the surrounding area for signs of hostile vessels. He also had Jensen at helm alter course and take evasive action to throw off any potential sensor lock. Relieved when no ships were discovered, he allowed himself to sink back into his command chair and give his beating heart a chance to calm down. ÔÇ£Transmission decoded sir.ÔÇØ Said Reynolds. ÔÇ£But I only managed to get a few words here and there. IÔÇÖll route it to your MFD.ÔÇØ Stone nodded and awaited the decoded signals translation to appear on his screen. Regarding the ###### atrocity ## Sol: My ##########. I do, ####### ##### that Omega #### will not deter the ##### Special ###### Team from ##### mission. Regarding my recent ######: Accomplished. Although the ############ of how I passed through the security nets ####### ### ###### ## issue, it is a simple matter of ######### ## ### officers onboard #### it ### necessary ## ##### disable ### ######## ##### before ## ########. Unfortunately, ## ### #### ## ### ### engineers first. ### ######### ###### ### ####### Angela DeGuerre. # ## ########## extraction immediately. #### ### ### #### ## #### ## ### ##### aboard this ship are set ##### It may have been an oversight ## ### ########### Department. ###### ###### ### ###### ########### ######### ### #### #### take appropriate action. ÔÇ£Wonderful.ÔÇØ Said Stone as he finished reading the scrambled text on his screen. ÔÇ£Sir?ÔÇØ enquired Reynolds from his station. ÔÇ£It looks like we got a bigger problem than we anticipated mister Reynolds. I donÔÇÖt believe this is the work of just one individual. We got ourselves a leaky ship.ÔÇØ Just then, Neena Polovoski linked in. ÔÇ£Commander?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Go ahead Neena.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Sir, the team and I are in position and ready to move into deck three.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Good hunting mister Polovoski. Bring me those traitors, alive if possible.ÔÇØ The sound of a pulse rifle being cocked, combat armor being fastened into place. ÔÇ£Yes sir. If possible.ÔÇØ Mission + 21 days 00 hours 07 minutes [Narrative Off] ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

New thread, same story. New shoes, same socks. You get the idea. The plot thickens . . . .

Angela, dont take this the wrong way, but you might want to re-read the last two threads and have a good look at the 'Insanity Loves Company' thread. What you will notice is this :- I clearly defined the parameters upon which players can post within this storyline. It was done to prevent the thread from falling out of sync with the main storyline. Thats why the characters involved in this game are pre determined (As outlined within the ILC thread) and limited to personel on board ship. As for other personel, they are just cogs in the wheel of the story, each having their own things to do but not so much that they can overtly mess with the main theme. Some characters within the plot have their own agendas and have had specific briefings from me which are in line with the plot. They have freedom to do all sorts of things, but they cant screw with the basic premis to much without invalidating it and making my job as story teller a nightmare. I'm sure you can appreciate my position here. Your character was murdered simply because it put me into a position where It risked invalidating the plotline. To be frank, it was a bit much to make your first post exposing the threat. I reacted in a way consistent with the flow of the story. I'm sorry you didnt appreciate that, but what else was I to do? As for your last post, you have again put me in a position where I'm left with few choices to me. I'll try and come up with somthing slightly less gruesome than before. Heres an idea, why not look at the other players postings and see how they are interacting with the main story. It should give you a good feel for what you can and cant do in this thread. I know, it's more restrictive than some of the other RP threads in the forum, but it needs to be to keep the story together. Anyhow gang, this threads getting long as well. Time to clsoe this one down adn start another. ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

Sorry Angela, this is my thread. I can do whatever the hell I want. Also, you might want to check the time index you included as it doesnt match up with the TOD as reported by Polovoski. One more thing, I'd really like to know how a marine was able to bypass a half dozen or so security protocols to gain access to the life support system, and tie it into the log system. Oh yeah, and how this particular marine knows who the murderer is. Should make interesting reading. [This message has been edited by Blades (edited 08-30-99).]

[Narrative On] Mission + 20 days 17 hours 48 minutes Since the commanders announcement a few hours previously, the crew of the Chikuma had been going about their assigned duties with quiet, methodical efficiency. Communication within the ranks was down a great deal, and only a few morbid discussions were to be heard in the galley during off hours. Marines constantly patrolled the corridors and major compartments, and the ships compliment of pilots were kept on high alert, confined to the pilots ready room and awaiting launch instructions. Commissioner Logan and his daughter, once again unfortunate enough to be on board the Chikuma were confined to quarters, and kept under guard. Chief Spencer, already overworked and tired from the long shifts he had been pulling to get the ChikumaÔÇÖs repaired and upgraded systems fully functional was finding it difficult to keep on top of the almost endless minor system malfunctions plaguing the ship. If he didnÔÇÖt know better, he might have started to believe that there was a saboteur on board ship. Ailsa Strang, the ships navigation officer was finding her lack of duties tiresome, and he time on the bridge nearly pointless. Since the dismantling of the navitron system, and the installation of the commanders own orders navigation package, she found herself doing little more than occasionally flicking a switch and programming in unfamiliar coordinates. She wasnÔÇÖt used to navigating a ship through unknown territory, but had little choice in the matter. The ships destination, as were itÔÇÖs orders, we completely secret, known only to the commander and possibly the XO. Once, she tried to correlate the ships position with the backup navitron maps, but discovered that all such access was denied. The commander was alerted to this, and sternly reprimanded her for the breach in security. Like Ailsa, Reynolds had little to do on the bridge. Since all communication outside of the ship had been halted, he had little more to do than route occasional transmission to and from engineering on the commanders order. At least Jensen was busy. She had to fly the ship manually, following the unusual navigational waypoints that the commanders orders package dictated to her. She had no idea where she was, where she was going, or even when they would get there. Each new waypoint was displayed upon arrival at the last, sometimes going back on itself and confusing their heading further. It was as if whoever had commissioned these secret orders didnÔÇÖt want the ships crew to know their destination until they had arrived there. Why was everything so secret? Were there enemy spies on board? True, the commander had mentioned that certain elements within the Fleet had betrayed the conference, and were actively aiding the Gamulans, but surely this crew, this bridge crew could be trusted. Neena Polovoski was also quite busy. Although not familiar with the commander and fleets intentions, she was observing normal wartime readiness and combat protocol. The pilots were on constant standby, and the marines were actively patrolling the ship. She had placed the diplomatic party under guard and forbidden them access outside their quarters, despite the loud and threatening complaints of Commissioner Logan. She hoped that soon the commander would allow her to know what their orders were, although judging by the stern glare on his face, she wasnÔÇÖt about to find out any time soon. Of all the bridge crew, it was the tactical officer Graves who was the busiest. Constantly at his tacops terminal, he scanned every inch of available space for signs of Gammulan or renegade GalCom vessels. His task was harder than normal, since nearly all the ships sensors were disabled to aid the ships stealth. However, he was still able to scan a few hundred kilometers around the ship, so the would at least have a few seconds warning if they were attacked. So far however, nothing had shown up. Mission + 20 days 18 hours 24 minutes [sECURITY REPORT] Lt. Commander Neena Polovoski Theres been a murder on board. During a standard sweep of the flight deck, marines #16 and #17 came across the horrifically battered remains of crewman Angela DeGuerre, Class 2 Flight Engineer. Her body was crammed in part into the exhaust port of IC3 and the remainder allowed to hang in plain sight. The CMO is currently doing an autopsy of crewman DeGuerreÔÇÖs body, and we expect to get preliminary results within the hour. Upon inspection of her quarters, the only clues we found was a badly damaged data pad. IÔÇÖm currently going over the memory module in an attempt to salvage the most recent entries. IÔÇÖm not hopeful I will find anything, since the damage is so severe. Whats worse, the security monitors on the flight deck and PQ1 went down with a systems malfunction, a few minutes before the estimated time of death. No marines were patrolling either areas at the time of the malfunctions. Samual Light, IC3 pilot contacted me a few minutes ago to inform me that he had received an anonymous in ship transmission apparently warning him about structural damage to his Interceptor. He was on his way down to inspect his craft when the body was discovered. He is currently being interviewed by Sgt. Diamond. So far, we have little to go on. The random systems malfunctions over the last few days were thought to be just teething problems with the new systems, but after the murder of this poor young woman, it looks likely that we have a saboteur on board. As a result, I will shortly implement new procedures for our marine compliment, and I will have Chief Spencer assign a diagnostic team to go over every system with a fine toothcomb. Hmmm, I hear Benni Arnald is quite a dab hand in diagnostics. IÔÇÖll have him head up the team. This is the last thing we need with everything else going on. Assasinations, declerations of war against the Gammulans, random system malfunctions and now murder. IÔÇÖm starting to believe that this ship has used up itÔÇÖs full quota of luck. ADDITIONAL: - Apparently, there is some sort of disturbance in the galley right now. Some tech down there just linked up and ÔÇÿrequestedÔÇÖ that I come down here and take a look. He advised that I give Sgt. Diamond a call as well. Something wrong with the holovid display or something. I dunno, this is more Spencers line than mine. Still, I could do with stretching my legs. I might even stick around for a bit to watch the show. Mission + 20 days 18 hours 26 minutes [Narrative Off] ***** Sorry Angela, you were too tempting a target. I promise for your next character, I wont kill you off so quickly. Just watch your back with the others. ***** ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

Ok crew, those involved in the Preemptive Strike thread please go back and read again my edited last post. Once you done that, please ammend the follow up posts accordingly. And no, I dont want to discuss it. ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

Ok crew, I've recently recieved email from worried members concerning the most recent addition to the Preemptive Strike RP Thread. So I'm here just to clear up a few key points. 1) I obtained permission from Derek to post regarding the SC's unfortunate demise. 2) This does not eman that other RPers can start including main BC characters in their own threads, or indeed killing them off. The previous example was a one off venture, approved by Derek and subject to limitations. 3) Please dont start approaching Derek for permission to do things in your own threads. As far as I understand, this was a unique venture, and not one to be casually repeated. 4) DO NOT start refering to events in the PS thread in the other storys until AFTER the PS thread is concluded. Sorry if this sounds a bit blunt, but It's mentioned here to safe guard against new participants who might not understand the rules the RP community has observed since it's inception. We dont want to see mass discussions reguarding what you can and what you cant do in the RP forum, or any storys cropping up with Paul Resnig gettin continually spaced. What I did was a one off, and probably wont be repeated again. Lets leave it there. ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

Ok, that sounds good to me. Although I wouldnt write historical events in stone just yet. Theres more to the thread than meets the eye. But more on that as it comes. ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

Not exactly sure when this RP thread is set, cos I cant get an accurate time line with all the other threads, although I did start it in mid 3003. Thats changeable though, depending on when all the other RP stuff is set. I'm flexible with this, so give me a date and I'll ammend it. ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

Before anybody begins shouting ÔÇÿHe canÔÇÖt do that!ÔÇÖ and starts chasing Derek around for answers and a whole barrage of questions, note that I have been in discussion with Derek regarding the content of the Preemptive Strike RP thread and have been granted permission to publish the most recent addition to the story. So, there is no need to question what has happened and IÔÇÖm sure Derek would prefer NOT to be quizzed on this, as would I. So, sit back and read, participate and do what you lot do best : Be creative. ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

[Narrative On] Mission + 19 days 8 hours 22 minutes ATTENTION CREW OF THE GCV CHIKUMA !! This is Commander Stone. At 18:37 hours GST, agents of the Gammulan military perpetrated a heinous crime against GalCom and the peoples of Earth. During important, and until recently, top secret negotiations between our representatives and members of the Kandorian and Credian governments, a Gammulan strike team boarded and assaulted GalCom HQ from a cloaked cruiser in orbit. The raid was thorough and utterly brutal, making way from their initial beam in location and directly to where the conference was being held. It is with deepest regrets that I must inform you that the entire diplomatic party and military representatives from all sides were killed in the ensuing firefight. I received verification of this act moments ago, and have already begun to implement emergency procedures. In response to the assassination, Fleet Command has immediately broken all diplomatic ties with the Gammulan government and their allies and are implementing retaliatory strikes. In effect, there now exists an open state of war between GalCom and the murderous Gammulans. Be aware, Fleet Command suspects that the Gammulan assault team was aided and abetted by renegade elements within GalCom. Several as yet unidentified Battle Cruisers and support craft are believed to be supporting the Gammulans, although their exact numbers have yet to be confirmed. As part of the retaliatory efforts, the GCV Chikuma and several other fleet ships will be involved in TOP SECRET military efforts against the Gammulans. As such, all communication off ship have been halted for the duration of the emergency. Battle readiness will be maintained at all times. Any crewmembers found attempting to communicate outside of the ship will be executed for treason. Further updates will be made available as I deem them necessary. That is all. Mission + 19 days 8 hours 24 minutes [Narrative Off] [This message has been edited by Blades (edited 08-28-99).]

Gallion, you are one sick puppy. ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

Not wanting to alarm any of our 'Challenged' insurgent cousins, but are you aware that Andergum's hooch was orininally confiscated because it gave Tac dihoreah? Just thought I'd mention it . . . . ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

[Narrative On] Mission + 19 days 7 hours 55 minutes Commanders Personal Log Five days out, and still nothing much to do. We have been sitting in Sirius for the last two days, watching a variety of alien and human vessels swoop through the system on their way to, or from Sol. Apart from that, nothing much has been going on. Chief Spencer is complaining about a series of seemingly random system malfunctions and Comms officer Reynolds has gone down with some sort of stomach illness. HeÔÇÖs down in med bay right now, getting treatment from the CMO. The new crew seem to have settled in well. I had Jensen do the greet and speech thing for me while I was still having discussions with Stiles. Still, I spose I should make the effort to personally greet them, although IÔÇÖve already had a run in with one of the new engineers. What was her name? Stephanie I think. Assigned to team three. Hmmmmm. I found myself thinking about her late last night. Imagining how inappropriate it would be to have a date with a member of the crew. Hell, it was a breach of protocol for one thing, for another, relationships between crewmembers is not encouraged simply because of the nature of our duty. However, I donÔÇÖt dictate to the crew how they spend their off hours, and I wont interfere with any relationships that happen on my ship. Providing, of course, that the relationship doesnÔÇÖt interfere with ships operations. If I find a buttock imprint on any of the ships terminals, IÔÇÖll personally drag those responsible to med bay and have them neutered. For another thing, I couldnÔÇÖt ask her out because IÔÇÖm her commander and she one of my crew. It wouldnÔÇÖt be right. People would feel uncomfortable around her. The Chief would have a fit. Hehehe. Maybe it isnÔÇÖt such a bad idea after all. IÔÇÖll have to think on it some more . . . I wonder what duty shift sheÔÇÖs on right now? Maybe IÔÇÖll stop by engineering and see whats goin on . . . a quick inspection . . . innocent enough . . . . . . the commander has every right to inspect his crew . . . . . Computer, pull engineering team threeÔÇÖs rota from memory and display from da- ÔÇ£Commander to the bridge!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Bridge, this is the commander. On my way . . Oh well, looks like life is once again interfering with my private thoughts. IÔÇÖll have to resume this line of thinking at another time. Shame, but duty calls. ÔÇ£Computer, end log.ÔÇØ Mission + 19 days 8 hours 2 minutes Commander Stone entered the bridge in a less than graceful manner. He had been daydreaming since he left his quarters, and had forgotten about the malfunction in the bridgeÔÇÖs main entrance access door. He collided with the unopened panel and cursed loudly enough to startle the night shift duty officer. ÔÇ£Commander Stone!ÔÇØ said the surprised officer. ÔÇ£Are you ok, sir?ÔÇØ Stone forced himself through the gap and slowly made his way over to his command chair. The nervous junior officer evacuated the seat as he approached, pulled his uniform in place and saluted his C.O. ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm fine.ÔÇØ The commander said, rubbing his nose gently to soothe the pain. ÔÇ£Nothing the good doctor cant fix.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye, sir.ÔÇØ Replied the junior. Commander Stone took his seat, and briefly leaned back and took in a breath. ÔÇ£Whats our status?ÔÇØ The junior officer handed a datapad to Stone and then began to summarise the nights events. ÔÇ£Sir, we are on a slow orbit of the primary markers within this system. We past marker three 2.5 hours ago, and we are due to intersect with marker 4 in another 45 minutes. Helm is on automatic, engineering has reported another minor malfunction in the targeting system. Apart from that, itÔÇÖs dead quiet sir. Or rather, was, sir.ÔÇØ Stone nodded as he looked over the pad. Pretty much routine. Nothing here to warrant the commanders attention. ÔÇ£Why did you call me to the bridge then mister . . . . ?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Stewart, sir. Kyle Stewart.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Why did you call me to the bridge in the middle of the night, mister Stewart?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£We are receiving a priority data packet from HQ, sir. Marked F.Y.E.O.ÔÇØ Stone frowned. ÔÇ£Has it finished transmitting yet?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yes sir. At least the first part, sir.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Good. Transfer it to my MFD Stewart.ÔÇØ Stewart hurredly carried out his instructions. A moment later, Stone found himself looking down at the MFD and manually entering his access code. The last digit in place, the terminal bleeped in an accepting manner. The terminal screen darkened, and two brief lines of text began to fill the screen. Stone read them, one after the other. He read them again, just to confirm. ÔÇ£Have you been able to authenticate this mister Stewart?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Not yet sir. The computer is authenticating and decoding both parts now. We should have verification in moments.ÔÇØ Stone took the time awaiting for authentication to ponder the nature of the second transmition. It could be mission orders, or a fleet wide briefing, maybe even personal instructions from Fleet Commander Stiles. Whatever it was, it was serious. So serious in fact, that it had been given an Omega designation. ÔÇ£Mister Stewart, have you been able to authenticate an Omega designation?ÔÇØ Stewart quickly tapped into his computer terminal. He shook his head, and again re-verified the data packets security signature. Reluctantly, he nodded at his commander. ÔÇ£Aye sir. IÔÇÖve confirmed the packet as Omega.ÔÇØ Stones stomach tightened. Something was up. Omega was a disaster broadcast, reserved for the most urgent of matters. Only used four times previously since GalComs creation, the last time it was used was when hostilities between GalCom and the Gammulans developed into all out war. ÔÇ£Understood.ÔÇØ Said Stone. ÔÇ£Alert the senior staff, have them report to their duty stations immediately.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir.ÔÇØ Something was up. Something bad. Neena Polovoski quickly dragged herself into her uniform and rushed out of her quarters and nearly collided with Tamara Jensen. They both quickly exchanged apologies, before hurrying up the corridor and towards a turbo lift that would take them closer to the bridge. ÔÇ£You have any idea whats going on?ÔÇØ asked Jensen. ÔÇ£None at all.ÔÇØ Replied the combat officer. ÔÇ£Although we donÔÇÖt appear to be under attack. The bridge officer would have signaled battle stations in a micro second if anything like that was happening.ÔÇØ Jensen agreed. ÔÇ£Maybe a surprise drill?ÔÇØ Neena shook her head. ÔÇ£No, the commander is required to disclose that kind of info to the executive officer, which as far as I understand is still me. And he didnÔÇÖt.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£You got any ideas then Neena?ÔÇØ The combat officer had a few, but wasnÔÇÖt about to disclose that to the helmsman. ÔÇ£I havenÔÇÖt got a clue Tams, although whatever it is, itÔÇÖs probably bad.ÔÇØ The pair reached the turbo lift and were quickly transported near to the bridge. A few moments later, they pushed themselves through the malfunctioning doorway and took their positions. ÔÇ£Flight officer on station.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Combat officer on station, sir.ÔÇØ Stone nodded at each of them from his command chair as they spoke. Moments later, the remainder of the senior officers were in attendance at the bridge. Chief Spencer was the last to report, coming up behind the CMO and a reluctant Reynolds in tow. ÔÇ£Whats this about, commander?ÔÇØ asked Spencer. Stone ignored him. He was busy reading through the second part of the data packet transmittion. The crew patiently awaited his response. Moments passed, then an entire minute. Finally, the commander cleared the new text from his MFD and leaned forward in his command chair, his head falling into his outstretched hands. ÔÇ£Mister Stewart, you are relieved.ÔÇØ The junior officer quietly acknowledged him with a ÔÇ£Yes sir.ÔÇØ And then made his way off the bridge. The rest of the bridge crew were deadly silent and looking over to the commander, each with their own deep look of concern on their tired faces. ÔÇ£Mister Reynolds, lock out all access to the communications array. I donÔÇÖt want anything coming in or going out again until I give the order.ÔÇØ Reynolds looked surprise. ÔÇ£All access sir?ÔÇØ Stone nodded. ÔÇ£Aye commander.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Mister Spencer, I want this ship prepped for battle readiness within the hour. Navigation, lock out the navitron computer completely. I want that thing offline and dismantled.ÔÇØ Both officers acknowledged without question, although they each were baffled by their orders. ÔÇ£Helm, disable autopilot and manually take us to the sol jump gate.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye aye, sir.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Mister Polovoski?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yes commander?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Get the marines prepped for combat, and put us on red alert.ÔÇØ Neena Polovoski frowned at her commander. ÔÇ£Sir, whats going on?ÔÇØ Stone rounded at her. His eyes were alive with frenzied activity, as if trying to rationalize the thoughts going on within his head. He seemed to be struggling to keep from bursting into a rage, but gradually managed to calm himself down. ÔÇ£We just received an Omega directive mister Polovoski.ÔÇØ The combat officer nearly gasped. ÔÇ£Omega, sir?ÔÇØ Stone nodded. ÔÇ£Yes, and the follow up packet has briefed me on the situation.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£What was it commander?ÔÇØ asked the CMO. Reluctantly, but well within protocol, the commander explained the contents of the second data packet. In turn, each of the senior officers looked to one another as if to ask for personal verification of the terrible news they had just heard. ÔÇ£Oh my god.ÔÇØ Whispered Jensen from her console. ÔÇ£When did it happen?ÔÇØ Stone glared at her. ÔÇ£A little under thirty minutes ago.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Has it been confirmed?ÔÇØ asked Reynolds. Stone nodded at nobody in particular. ÔÇ£It has. No survivors. The bodies have been positively identified. There is no doubt.ÔÇØ Ailsa Strang was finding the news difficult to accept. ÔÇ£Theres got to be some sort of mistake commander. The security is so tight on these thin-ÔÇ£ ÔÇ£There is no mistake mister Strang. ItÔÇÖs been confirmed. ItÔÇÖs happened.ÔÇØ A moment of silence passed on the bridge, each officer locked into their own private thoughts. Finally, the commander again broke the silence. ÔÇ£Mister Polovoski, alert the marines and put the ship on red alert.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir.ÔÇØ She replied, and began tapping into her console. As the alarm klaxons began to whine throughout the ship, those officers not needed on the bridge began returning to their primary stations. Those on the bridge continued with their previous orders, and the commander, still shaken from the devastating news pondered his next actions. ÔÇ£Mister Reynolds?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye commander?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Prepare or a ship wide announcement. ItÔÇÖs time we told the crew whats going on.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Understood sir.ÔÇØ Stone leaned back into his command chair, and wiped a hand across his sweaty brow. ÔÇ£God help us all.ÔÇØ Mission + 19 days 8 hours 19 minutes [Narrative Off] ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

PREEMPTIVE STRIKE : PART TWO [Narrative On] Mission + 14 days 13 hours 5 minutes Commanders Personal Log The refitted Chikuma left dock a little under an hour ago. So far, all the updated systems seem to be in working order. We are preparing for a shield and reactor test while en route to Pluto, and should have completed the armor reinforcement by the time we enter orbit. I must say, I was relieved to get away from HQ after the last two weeks. My time with Fleet Commander Stiles was beginning to get tiresome, but it was necessary to the task ahead. He filled me in on a few loose points, and made sure to congratulate me on my fine work in and around Varan. It seems that the operation will proceed as scheduled, even though there have been some minor breaches in security. Apparently, an insurgent agent was on the staff for a time, and was only discovered while attempting to transmit the delegations transit coordinates back home. ItÔÇÖs a good thing it was intercepted, or things could have gone very badly for us over the next few weeks. Still, the transmit ion was halted almost immediately and the Insurgent detained. Despite them being the domestic enemy, you gotta admire their dedication to the things they believe in. Just a shame they cant play nice and accept the governments rules. Still, they were useful to us a few years back when they pretty much rescued us from Gammulan extermination. Things would be a lot different now if they hadnÔÇÖt been around to assist. Anyway, weÔÇÖre at half power until we given the new engines time to adjust to our mixed up power consumption formula. Chief Spencer informs me that even though we have upgraded shield and reactor systems, we still shouldnÔÇÖt push too hard for combat duty until all the transition bugs are worked out. IÔÇÖll see what I can do to accommodate him. In the mean time, IÔÇÖm going to start to schedule some combat drills to prepare the crew for the important duty. ItÔÇÖs only a matter of time now before everything happens, and I donÔÇÖt want us to be caught off guard when/if things get messy. Hopefully they wont. This crew deserves better than what fate has handed down to us. Hmmmm. I say fate, but what I really mean is Fleet Commander Stiles. God, I really hope heÔÇÖs right about this. No, scratch that, I know heÔÇÖs right. We have to maintain strength and readiness. We canÔÇÖt allow our enemies to get the upper hand and dictate to us the way the game is played. Sigh . . . . . of course, there is still the chance that our enemies already know whatÔÇÖs going on. If security wasnÔÇÖt tight enough, or the right people learn the wrong things, then everything we have worked so hard for would be for naught. We dare not let that be the case. Everything would collapse if that happened. I have to keep the faith. The mission will succeed and right will prevail. It has to. End Log Mission + 14 days 13 hours 8 minutes [Narrative Off] ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

No guys, you dont want things to be too interesting. It's complicated enough without weaving in another thread into the blanket. Incidently, it taken me a while to go through the other RP threads, and I'd just like to say you doin a bang up job. Keep it up and I may have to work overtime. ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

[Narrative On] Mission + 0 days 20 hours 38 minutes. PART 1 EPILOGUE A little over an hour ago, the GCV Chikuma and all on board we in dire peril. The bold plot to ambush the suspected raiders in Varan had nearly turned into a disatster. The ships that poured through the jump gate and into the massed barrage of turret and crab fire had been commited to their task. Their numbers overwhelmed the GalCOm ship and its static defenses. The Chikum, in retreat and badly damaged managed to execute a meneuver that would have torn a lesser ship and crew to pieces. Somehow, she managed to stay together long enough to defy the raiders ambitions, and send many of their over confident pilots to a bruning hell. However, deck plates, blown cargo pods, even unfortunate personel were blown clear during the rain of fire and exposed to the cold of vaccume. The Interceptor pilots, out gunned but not outmatched bravely held back the advance of the raider fleet and beat them back to the jump point. Heavily damaged and out of ordinance, they chased down the remaining raiders and executed them ruthlessly. By the time the RTB order had been acknowledged and the crew had begun emergency recovery and repair operations, the bridge had issued an SOS broadcast and patiently awaited for a recovery vessel to be dispatched. Engineering was a mess. Concentrated weapons fire from the raiders had devastated the hyperjump engines and rendered all but maneuvering jets useless. The commanders final order to burn into the debris field had pushed the main drive system beyond itÔÇÖs limits, and had burned them out totally. Elsewhere within the ship, hull breaches were being quickly sealed by demoralized work crews, while marines explored the effected decks for intruders and possible survivors. In every case, they found none. Those unfortunates who had not evacuated from breached locations had been blown out into space, or smeared upon bulkheads for later identification and removal. Medbay reported a total of 38 casualties, of which 12 were confirmed as being fatal. Several more personnel were listed as missing in action, including a team of marines that had been unfortunate enough to be within proximity of one of the larger breaches. One technician had even almost drowned while working in the waste disposal area, when a rupture in the tank had blown him across the deck and knocked him unconscious. As the recovery bays were repaired, the first of the Interceptor Pilots began to return. They staggered from their devastated fighters, greeted by medical personnel and technicians alike. They were applauded for their efforts, and even Combat Officer Neena Polovoski managed to pull herself away from the bridge to congratulate them. She sent the commanders highest regards, and promised each of them a bottle of the commissioners private stash of Empirian ale. As for crewman McKendrick, the unwitting pilot of shuttle 2, there was no applause, no recognition. His efforts had been forgotten by the command crew and his fellows, but he wasnÔÇÖt disappointed. He was just glad to be back in one piece, whole and reunited with the relative stability of the ChikumaÔÇÖs deck plates. He knew that next time he would be so eager to volunteer for shuttle duty. Still, he had his moment, knew of his own victories. That was more than enough for him . . . . . An escort wing of fighters from the GCV Kitty Hawk arrived in the debris field two hours later, sent by their commander to watch over the grounded Chukuma until the recovery ship appeared to rescue them. By the time this had happened, most of the critical systems had been at least partially stabilized, and the crew were able to think of the future again, instead of pondering the arrival of another raider fleet, sent in to clear up the remains of the Chikuma. A probe sent through the jump gate into Varan monitored several badly damaged capitol ships retreating to Cronus, their few remaining fighters flying cover for the stricken fleet. There was no doubt, the raiders would be out of commission for some time to come. The Chikumas victory had brought limited stability to the region. This by itself was worthy of congratulation. Commisioner Logan filed several complaints against the Commander and his crew over the next few days, threatening legal action against each of them for bringing him and his daughter into a combat zone. In time, his protests would be forgotten, and no such action would be taken against the accused. During the slow journey back to GalCom HQ, the commander and senior staff presided over burial ceremonies of the dead crew, and prayers were said for those so heroically lost. Attendance was high, and many had something to say about their lost comrades, including an inspirational speech by Sgt. Diamond. The commander, who stood grimly at one side saluted each of the metallic coffins as they were launched into space, the frown on his face displaying the pains of grief and a look of burning pride. Upon return to GalCOm HQ, the commander was summoned to fleet command to answer for his actions. The command staff were kept on board ship, supervising repair efforts with HQÔÇÖs own technicians to help bring the Chikuma back to operational status. The combat pilots were each granted a four day leave, as were most of the rest of the crew. Only those recently transferred were kept on station, not yet having accumulated enough duty time to warrant leave. However, they were not expected to perform any real duties, so for the best part of their time they played a hand of cards, exchanged battle stories and even found time to contribute when boredom set in. All the while, most were oblivious to the dark cloud that was approaching in the distance, threatening to engulf GalCom and affect the inhabitants of the entire galaxy. All over the quadrant, plans were being put into motion, secrets were being exchanged and attack strategies were being drawn up. In the weeks to come, the GCV Chikuma would play a major part in the coming events, struggling with conflicts foreign and domestic, choosing a path that would lead them to victory or death. The struggle awaited them . . . . . . . Mission +14 days 9 hours 30 minutes [Narrative Off] ***** This ends the first part of the story. If you want to make posts regarding character activities during the two week refit and repair period, go ahead. An opening post that leads into the second part of the story will be posted 24 hours after this goes up, so you got time to further flesh out your character before things get really interesting. Anyhow, hope everyone is enjoying it so far. Big things are a commin. Comments on the Insanity Loves Company thread please.***** ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

[Narrative On] Mission + 0 days 20 hours 12 minutes Jennifer LoganÔÇÖs personal log ItÔÇÖs been manic out in the corridors. People shouting, crewmen running, everything has gone haywire. I donÔÇÖt really know whats going on, although it looks like some sort of battle is raging around us. When daddy brought me here, he told me that this was just a good will tour, with stop offs at various alien stations to to a bit of hobb nobbing. Seems the commander had other ideas. Or maybe fleet command. I donÔÇÖt know. Anyway, I was in the corridor, having a look around this awesome ship when the klaxons started going, and people started pushing their way through the narrow spaces. I tried to get back to my quarters, but ended up getting lost. When the explosions started, I began to get really scared, but the worst thing was knowing how my father would react when I got back. I seemed to get stuck in place, not sure what to do or where to go. Then this pilot almost ran into me. He seemed very surprised to see me, and started shouting voer the noise of the explosions. Then a really violent crash happened, and I found myself hurtling towards him. He caught me, holding me tight in his big, strong arms. WOW! If the girls back at school could have seen us there, it would have made them soooo jealous. The pilot, I donÔÇÖt know his name, was sooooooooo fine ItÔÇÖs almost untrue. I wonder how old he is? Anyway, as soon as things died down a bit, he took my hand and started dragging me down the corridor. He said something about getting me to his quarters, I mean MY quarters, but then we ran into some marines and he stopped them dead. He told them to take me back, but they argued. HE started to shout at them, and it seemed to intimidate them enough to do as they were told. As he pulled away from me, I reluctantly let go of his hand. He seemed to pause a moment, before flashing a gorgeous grin at me and tearing off back down the corridor. Hmmmmmm. It was so romantic with everything that was going on. Imagine, the ship in a desperate battle, the pilots scrambling to defend the ship, and then this man, MY man coming to my rescue, taking me away from harm and getting me back to safety. Just a shame we had to run into those marines, I could have stayed with him forever. Anyway, the marines got me back to my quarters, and promptly threw me into daddys furious gaze. He shouted at me, and I started to cry. I tried to explain to him I had been lost, but he didnÔÇÖt want to hear any of it. He told me to grab onto something and hold tight. He cursed the commanders name, and started going on about how he was going to settle his hash when this was all over. I wasnÔÇÖt listening. I was thinking about my pilot . . . I hope heÔÇÖs ok out there . . . . End Log. Mission + 0 days 20 hours 14 minutes. [Narrative Off] ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

Well, tis done now I guess. And I was so enjoying actually getting mail every day. Hrumph. Never mind, I'm not bitter (No, really) so I guess I'll let it slide. Got a feelin that this one only going to be up a few days as well, since everybody likes to put up big posts. Power to the people! Keep it comming gang, I want an Oscar out of this. ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

New chapter huh? I guess I should have though about this before. Ok gang,theres jsut a couple of more things that need to be sorted before I start a new thread. Incidently, consider this thread as a PROLOGUE, and I'll start chapter 1 proper as soon as I see somthing appropriate here to close it. Dont forget, there are still fighters out there that need bagging. Get to it crew, times a wastin. ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

Roster has been updated with the new aquisitions. Players in control of medics and the CMO are going to have their hands filled for a while. BTW, did we manage to establish a numerical date for the Dilligence story? ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

*** Just a quick point gang. Dont to much about it if our threads dont matchup 100%. I know it's difficult to keep everything in mind, and It makes it a bit harder keeping to a time reference, but it will eb worth it in the end. Just so you know, onec this little endevour is concluded (Which is a long way off eyt I promise you - I should have started the initial post with PROLOGUE) I shall be taking all the very best elements and writing it out as a complete tale. Might take me the rest of the year, but I'll do it. Anyhow, game on.*** [Narrative On] Mission + 0 days 19 hours 51 minutes The Chikuma was a ship in trouble. Ablaze in space, hurtling at speeds above capacity to keep out of turret range from persuing capitol ships. Fighters darted around it, burning dangerously close to the ships hull, unleashing concentrated weapons fire into the paper thin shields that barley surrounded the aft section. Allied fighter craft, already heavily damaged from skirmishes with the invading P-21ÔÇÖs, spearheaded a counter strike against one of the heavily damaged Garids in an attempt to draw fire away from the retreating Chikuma. ÔÇ£Tactical!ÔÇØ shouted commander Stone from the helm console, over looking the frantic looking Jensens every evasive more. ÔÇ£Have IC1 break off and return to base. Instruct IC3 and 4 to concentrate fire on the Garid. Have IC2 cover them.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Sir!ÔÇØ shouted Graves. ÔÇ£IC1 is requesting permission to continue to engage the Garid.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Denied.ÔÇØ Said Stone. ÔÇ£Tell Banish to get his flyboy ass back here and rearmed.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yes sir, communicating that to him now sir.ÔÇØ The bridge shook from the impact of more weapons fire, and several subsystems blinked out of commission briefly before rebooting. ÔÇ£Commander!ÔÇØ It was Reynolds, the communications officer. ÔÇ£Medbay is reporting casualties.ÔÇØ Stone quick stepped over to him, and looked down at the commlink log as it began to update. ÔÇ£Where those casualties coming in from?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Port side sir, deck 2. Cant give you more than that, damage control computer has suffered a partial failure. Engineering reports they are working on it.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Screw the damage control computer,ÔÇØ said Stone, ÔÇ£tell Spencer to turret 2 back online. We taking a beating on our exposed quarter.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir!ÔÇØ acknowledged Reynolds, before being rocked sideways from a massive explosion somewhere within the ship. The vibrations from the explosive shock were greater the previous blows, indicating a major system had been destroyed, or even worse, a hull breach. ÔÇ£Where did that come from?ÔÇØ shouted Stone. ÔÇ£Sir!ÔÇØ it was Jensen at helm control. ÔÇ£We just lost our jump engines. We cant go to hyperspace.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Dammit.ÔÇØ Shouted Stone, bringing a closed fist down hard on the communications console. ÔÇ£We were so close to full charge.ÔÇØ The ship rocked again, perhaps from secondary explosions, perhaps from more weapons fire. Nobody could tell without the damage control computer operating. At least, not remotely. ÔÇ£Commander!ÔÇØ shouted Graves, ÔÇ£Shields have been breached. WeÔÇÖre taking hull damage again!ÔÇØ Stone turned from the communications terminal, and looked intently at the main viewscreen. Outside, the image of a number of the huge fighters arched in a loose formation in front of the Chikuma. They were pulling away, ahead of the stricken ship, maneuvering to a safe straffing distance before turning back to make their run on the ships exposed port side. ÔÇ£Mister Graves, whats IC1ÔÇÖs position?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Sir, IC1 is on final, approaching on full burn.ÔÇØ Stone frowned. ÔÇ£How many Vandals we got buzzing us now?ÔÇØ Graves tapped away at his console for a few moments. ÔÇ£Counting twelve now sir, several others have broken from their attack and are returning to cover the damaged Garid.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Twelve . . . . . ÔÇ£ said the commander slowly. ÔÇ£Sir, IC1 requesting emergency landing clearence.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Denied.ÔÇØ Said Stone. The Tactical officer looked confused. ÔÇ£Sir? You ordered him back to resupply.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm fully aware of that graves, tell him to break from his approach and engage the fighters ahead of us.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Commander,ÔÇØ started tactical officer Graves, ÔÇ£with all due respect, your sending IC1 to their deaths. Theres no way in hell they can engage that number of fighters with the kind of damage they have sustained.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Noted Graves, now execute your orders.ÔÇØ Graves turned back to his console. ÔÇ£Sir! Aye, sir.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Navigation!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye commander.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Put this region up on the main screen.ÔÇØ Ailsa StrangÔÇÖs fingers darted over the touch sensitive control on her navigation console, and transferred her regional data directly onto the bridges viewscreen. ÔÇ£Tactical, overlay all ship movements onto the navigational map.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir.ÔÇØ More tapping of controls. ÔÇ£On screen sir.ÔÇØ Stone viewed the overlay map as it appeared on screen, and worked his commanders instincts and experience into a possible escape plan. ÔÇ£Navigation, you see that debris field out there?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir.ÔÇØ Said Ailsa. ÔÇ£Sensors indicate it is quite dense and full of radioactive waste material.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Explosive?ÔÇØ asked the commander. ÔÇ£Negative sir. The material within the containers isnÔÇÖt concentrated enough to produce an explosion. Weapons fire would simply destroy the containers and disperse the material.ÔÇØ Stone smiled. ÔÇ£Perfect.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Commander!ÔÇØ shouted Graves. ÔÇ£IC1 has engaged the raider craft.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Have any broken from the main group?ÔÇØ Graves looked over his console readout. ÔÇ£Aye sir, three, no four fighters have broken from the main group and are engaging.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Excellent.ÔÇØ Said Stone. ÔÇ£Whats the status on the other Interceptors?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£ICÔÇÖs 3 and 4 report Garid destroyed. IC2 engaging the escorts.ÔÇØ Stone smiled with approval, and again looked back at the bridge viewscreen. He was formulating a plan in his head, a risky plan that had the possibility of doing as much damage to the Chukuma as the remainder of the raiders ships. ÔÇ£Tactical, how long until the main fighter group are within straffing range again?ÔÇØ Graves began to make hurried calculations on his terminal. ÔÇ£Sir, the main group is advancing towards us right now. They will be within firing range in 65 seconds.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Polovoski, interface with Tactical and give me a countdown in 5 second intervals.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir. 60 seconds on my mark . . . mark!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Reynolds, get me engineering.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir,ÔÇØ said Reynolds, activating the link to the engine room. ÔÇ£Chief Spencer on line.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Chief,ÔÇØ started Stone, ÔÇ£how are the engines holding out?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£55 seconds,ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Just barley, sir!ÔÇØ replied the chief, raising his voice to compensate for the noise in his engine room. ÔÇ£Hyperdrive is gone, and we not getting it back anytime soon. Also, the reactors are operating at 20% above normal just to keep what little shields left in place. I recommend we disable every non essential system and-ÔÇ£ ÔÇ£50 seconds,ÔÇØ ÔÇ£No time chief, I want you to transfer every bit of energy from every system except PTA and shields and shunt them into the engine and integrity field generators.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£45 seconds,ÔÇØ ÔÇ£What the hell for commander?ÔÇØ Stone didnÔÇÖt have time to explain it to his chief engineer. In fact, he didnÔÇÖt really have time to do anything but issue orders. If his plan was to work, this was going to be his one shot at it. If he missed this opportunity, it was probable they would all shortly be sucking vacc. ÔÇ£Just do it chief, youÔÇÖll work it out soon enough.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£40 seconds,ÔÇØ The tension on the bridge was mounting quickly, each officer breaking into an uncomfortable sweat as their commander tried to regain control of a desperate situation. ÔÇ£Tactical, order the ICÔÇÖs and shuttle to head into the debris field.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir,ÔÇØ said Graves, ÔÇ£communicating that to them now.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£35 seconds,ÔÇØ Stone rushed over to Jensen. ÔÇ£Helm, prepare to bring the ship about and angle our nose at the debris field.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir, but it will take us tim-ÔÇ£ ÔÇ£Standby Jensen. Tactical?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£30 seconds,ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Sir?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£The second we move, have the remaining turrets lay down covering fire.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir, but the fighters will anticipate the fire patten as we begin moving. They will steer clear the fire and duck down to avoid it.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£25 seconds,ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Not if they donÔÇÖt have time to see what weÔÇÖre up to, Graves.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Sir!ÔÇØ It was Jensen, looking very concerned. ÔÇ£We cant pivot that quickly.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£20 seconds,ÔÇØ Stone bolted over to his helmsman. ÔÇ£We can if we execute a high energy turn.ÔÇØ JensenÔÇÖs face went pale. ÔÇ£High energy turn sir? The extra stress on the hull will collapse the super structure.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£15 seconds,ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Engineering is reinforcing the field integrity grid, she can take it.ÔÇØ As if on que, the bridge lights dimmed and all non essential systems winked into oblivion. A deathly hush seemed to envelope the ship, from the officers on the bridge to the stomping marines on patrol. Everything was unearthly quiet, except the low crackling of numerous small fires and the excited hissing of the pressure leaks. ÔÇ£Reynolds, put me onto ship wide.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir, your on!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Sir! Ten seconds!ÔÇØ Stone quickly cleared his throat before he made his hurried announcement. ÔÇ£This is the commander. Brace for impact! ÔÇ£5 seconds!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Helm, you ready?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£4 seconds!ÔÇØ Jensens fingers darted again over the console. She tapped in the maneuver, held her thumb over the execute command. ÔÇ£Ready commander.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£3 seconds!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£On my mark!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£2 seconds! One . . . ÔÇ£ ÔÇ£Punch it Jensen!ÔÇØ From the exterior view of Shuttle 2, crewman McKendrick watched in horror as the GCV Chikuma executed the nearly fatal high energy turn. He could almost feel the tearing of the ships superstructure as the Chikuma violently spun and pivoted hard to port. Debris from torn hull plating skipped off into space, taking with it support beams and gutted cargo pods. Somehow, the ship remained intact throughout its turn, although an explosion in one of the launch bays was now spitting fire into the dark night. A torrent of turret fire erupted in the same instant, arching out like a thrashing snake, raking into the massed fighters as they bore down onto the ChikumaÔÇÖs recently delivered aft. Some were obliterated in the insane turret fire, some others pulled mad evasive maneuvers and collided with their fellows, but most escaped with a few glancing blows, pulling hard to port and ducking remarkably close to the Battle Cruisers fiery engines. ÔÇ£Now!ÔÇØ barked Stone from behind the flight officers seat. Jensen thumped the engagement button, and was almost unseated from the violent burst from the engines. In an instant, the unfortunate P-21 pilots that had managed to evade the Chikumas weapon fire were incinerated at close range from the hellfire that spewed forth. The Chikuma herself cried out in twisted agony as she darted towards the debris field, sending shards of already destroyed hull plating spinning off behind her. ÔÇ£Tactical report!ÔÇØ shouted Stone over the groaning of this ships superstructure. ÔÇ£Sir, three Vandals destroyed in the crossfire, two more pancaked while evading, and five more have been destroyed in our engine burst!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£What does that leave us with?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Three more are heavily damaged and limping back towards the jump gate, and the four that persued IC1 are still active.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£What about the caps?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£The remaining cap ships are pulling back to the gate sir. We got them on the run.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£ICÔÇÖs 2, 3 and 4?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Being persued by the caps defenders. I count 4 of them.ÔÇØ Stone steadied himself against his flight officers chair. ÔÇ£How long till we enter the debris field?ÔÇØ Jensen made a brief calculation. ÔÇ£50 seconds sir, although IÔÇÖm red lighting on the engines.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Cut power to engines, let us coast into the field.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye, sir.ÔÇØ Stone stepped away and attempted to get back to his command chair. He found the short walk difficult, as the violent charge was unbalancing him. ÔÇ£Tactical, how are our pilots faring?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£They have consolidated their forces sir, and are making a stand against the remaining fighters. However, they are in bad shape, and weÔÇÖre still a long way off from being able to assist them.ÔÇØ Stone grimly smiled. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre not in any shape to assist them as it stands anyway, Graves.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Aye sir, thatÔÇÖs an understatement.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Have them make a run back to us. WeÔÇÖll see if we can light their way for the fore turret.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yes sir.ÔÇØ Stone looked around his bridge. So far, they had escaped what looked like a commanders worst nightmare. Somehow, they had kept the ship together and not gone up in a ball of flame. The crew had performed admirably, even under such difficult conditions. The plan had been daring, and in simulator conditions probably would have failed. However, this was the GCV Chikuma, and she was a helluva ship with a well deserved reputation. Stone was beginning to fully understand this. ÔÇ£Mister Reynolds, get me chief Spencer on the link. I got a feeling heÔÇÖs going to want to shout at me . . . . ÔÇ£ Mission + 0 days 19 hours 57minutes [Narrative Off] ***** Phew! ***** ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

[Narrative On] Mission + 0 days 19 hours 43 minutes Tactical Officers Battle Log ##### DOWNLOADING TACOPS DATA TO LOG TERMINAL ##### ##### DOWNLOAD COMPLETE ############################## ##### UPDATING ENGEGEMENT RECORDS  ######## ##### UPDATE COMPLETE ################################# ##### DISPLAY RECORDS TIME INDEX + 19 + 30 ############# ##### DISPLAYING PRIMARY THREATS #################### ##### AESTROM CLASS ATTACK CRUISERS ####### 2 ###### ##### GARID CLASS SUPER CRUSIERS ############ 3 ####### ##### SENTRY CLASS SUPER CRUISERS ########### 3 ####### ##### P-21 VANDAL SUPER FIGHTERS ############ 31 ###### ##### LIGHTSTAR LIGHT FIGHTERS ############### 4 ##### Computer, display Chikuma battle stats + 19 + 30 ##### ********************************************* ##### ##### SHIELD RECHARGE AT MAXIMUM ################# ##### SHIELD COVERAGE AT 100% ###################### ##### SHIELD STATUS 89% ############################# ##### HULL INTEGRITY AT 100% ####################### ##### IOD POWER AT 30% ############################# ##### IOD DECOUPLED ############################### ##### PTA 1 STATUS ##### FIRING MAX CAP ############## ##### PTA 2 STATUS ##### FIRING MAX CAP [CAUTION] ### ##### PTA 3 STATUS ##### FIRING MAX CAP ############# ##### ********************************************* ##### ##### IC1 STATUS ##### DEPLOYED ##### OP STATUS 96% ### ##### IC2 STATUS ##### PRE-LAUNCH ### OP STATUS 100% ## ##### IC3 STATUS ##### PRE-LAUNCH ### OP STATUS 98% ### ##### IC4 STATUS ##### DEPLOYED ##### OP STATUS 88% ### ##### DEPLYD SUPPT CFT STATUS ### SC2 OP STATUS 53% ## ##### ********************************************** ##### Computer, display hostile stats, current time index. ##### UPDATING ENGEGEMENT RECORDS  ######## ##### UPDATE COMPLETE ################################# ##### DISPLAY RECORDS TIME INDEX + 19 + 38 ############ ##### DISPLAYING PRIMARY THREATS #################### ##### AESTROM CLASS ATTACK CRUISERS ####### 1 ###### ##### GARID CLASS SUPER CRUSIERS ############ 2 ###### ##### SENTRY CLASS SUPER CRUISERS ########### 1 ###### ##### P-21 VANDAL SUPER FIGHTERS ############ 21 ##### ##### LIGHTSTAR LIGHT FIGHTERS ############### 4 ##### ##### *********************************************** ##### Computer, display friendly support craft status, current time index. ##### ********************************************** ##### ##### IC1 STATUS ##### DEPLOYED ##### OP STATUS 47% ### ##### IC2 STATUS ##### DEPLOYED ##### OP STATUS 82% ### ##### IC3 STATUS ##### DEPLOYED ##### OP STATUS 77% ### ##### IC4 STATUS ##### DEPLOYED ##### OP STATUS 64% ### ##### DEPLYD SUPPT CFT STATUS ### SC2 OP STATUS 51% ## ##### ********************************************** ##### Computer, display Chikuma current status, same time index. ##### ********************************************* ##### ##### SHIELD RECHARGE AT MAXIMUM ################# ##### SHIELD COVERAGE AT 100% ###################### ##### SHIELD STATUS 39% ############################# ##### HULL INTEGRITY AT 89% ######################## ##### IOD POWER AT 30% ############################# ##### IOD DECOUPLED ############################### ##### PTA 1 STATUS ##### FIRING MAX CAP ############## ##### PTA 2 STATUS ##### OFFLINE !!! ################### ##### PTA 3 STATUS ##### FIRING MAX CAP ############# ##### ********************************************* ##### Computer, download operational logs to emergency beacon and update. Hold on standby for jettison. Mission + 0 days 19 hours 44 minutes [Narrative Off] ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI  PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

Once again peeps, I am in somthing of a cunn-, conni-, connundram (?)or words to that effect. Since I'm a busy body, I havent yet had time to fully read all the other creative work in this forum. I've been too busy lampooning up the fleet in 'Origins Of A Galcom Commander' and getting the 'Preemptive Strike' RP together. However, I have just gone through Badger boys stopy (Excellent I might add) as way of catchup. Badgerius mentioned in the PS thread that I should take a good gander at his story and see whats up. I'm glad I did. There may well be some inconsistencies with my current RP thread due to the tensions in Empirian and Vesperon regions. This causes somthing of a problem as far as correlating each thread into it's own timeline withoiut invalidating every buggers work. So, I am proposing this. Since I have already set a time and date for the PS thread, and I havent noticed one in the Dilligence tale, I am suggesting that Badgerius's tale take part a short time AFTER the conclusion of the PR story. I did notice that the Dilligence thread runs almost parallel with Davids own thread, but I havent been able to track down a hard written time frame. So, if this meets with both authors aproval, I would like to submit their storys take place AFTER mine. Anyhow, please post your recomendations here, and remember tthat you guys did this first, so you have final say in it. If you have any other suggestions, again please post them. And while I'm here, how are you finding it? Oh, and one more thing, shortly I will be posting somthing here that is directly relevant to the plot in PS and may well cause quite a stir in the RP community. I'm not going into any details, so I suggest you all just continue to play along and wait for it to happen. You will know when it does. I got it covered crew, I know what I'm doing ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230

Um........Phish? Sorry to interupt, but are you sure you want to be doin this? After all, playing this woman is going to be difficult enough without all the casual RP players falling over themselves to get a crack at a marine character. But if you like, go ahead. Just remember that she's actually 18 years old, and although rebelious, she got a sensible head on her too. Unless she finds the crews hidden hooch . . . . . Ok, back to the plot. Off topic posts into the other thread. This is strictly RP. Hmmmm. Must spank myself for that. ------------------ Commander Blades GCV - TSUNAMI Ôäó PRIME Fleet 'For Queen and country' ICQ#31927230