Charles Lindsey

quote:Humans need sleep, don't jump 5x within 24hrs. Ummm, starting at Galcom I can be at Polaris1 in 7 mins. That's 5 jumps. Would be fun to crank it up again though.

Sympathies extended Commander Vauban. Words can't do justice. Charles Lindsey

David, I was referring to the story I have been playing with in the other thread. That timeline is immediately after the Gammulan invasion. So there is no way "Chavik" could see you with a month having past in your story. I didn't mean anything bad by it and hope you didn't take it the wrong way. I just thought it would be half neat to tie the threads together (loosely) with a sighting or so. And that's only if I get off my can and actually put something there. But that's what I meant. A month is too long for the "Chavik" character to ever see you. As always, looking forward to more stories. Commander Chavik ICV Phoenix "I think my biorythms are off"

I see it now. Heck you could have sent me to the brig for missing that. *G*. No, you weren't too subtle. I flat out missed it. Hope to see more soon.

I like it so far. Sounds like you have it all planned out. Feedback from a reader's perspective: How did the thugs steal Gavin's security key then the clone steal it again? (Actually the second post, had to re-read all of them to remember ) Plausible out: Thugs stole it and passed it to the clone or thugs got scared at being argued with and simply cut him then ran away; at which point the clone then stole it. That was from a truly reader's perspective. That one caught my eye. BC3K perspective: How'd the clone appear so quickly? Takes a while to clone someone. But I like it. Lessee, you (Your Character) are transporting an important diplomat and you (YC) have an evil clone on board which no one knows about. Hmmm. *G* Charles (Chavik)

I never batted an eye on that one. Read Foss's first post. That's where he got his orders to go to the edge of Gammulan space from Commander Junkarri. I just assumed the Stabat Mater did some eavesdropping or that Commander Junkarri filed the flight path with Centcom and then it was relayed to the Stabat Mater through channels at Galcom. As soon as the Deterrence crossed the border that was the deviation. Sebastian has to catch up to this point is all. David, I found your reference to the Gamm war. A month is too long for me though. If the Deterrence had been towed back to Galcom I thought it would be neat for Chavik to gawk at the Deterrence being towed back. Especially since I hinted that I would be in Polaris. Do watch out for that parts clerk at Wraith though. I hear he's been a bit edgy lately. Something to do with abnormal requisition procedures. *G* Commadner Chavik ICV Phoenix

20.83333~ hours to be exact. That's 20:49:48 dividing it out. Hey, ya never know when those last few seconds will be crucial. Plus I've mailed pics to DeSylva and Sebastion. BCdeck3top is really poor quality though. Perhaps with that and Derek's suggestion of looking at the logistix computer it will help. I can mail them to whoever wants them or perhaps host them for quick reference. Sebastion, you referrenced 19:02 then strolled through the galley ( a few minutes in my mind) then consumed your meal in a few minutes. Then you strolled to the turboshaft (Another few minutes in my mind) and gave it the "bridge" command. Then at 20:23 the doors opened. Helluva a long turboshaft ride. I see where I was confused. Thanks for clearing that up. DeSylva, the VTOL bay takes a huge chunk out of the interior of the BC. That's what makes the Starion radically different. Things had to be moved around in order to get everything back in. I also think this will make the Starion slightly larger. Commander Chavik ICV Phoenix [This message has been edited by Charles Lindsey (edited 06-19-99).]

Sebastion, it depends on which pic you are referrencing. The old pics show the galley as being on deck two. The new pics (for the Starion) on the screenshots page show the galley as being on deck one. Either way the Galley is amidships. The problem I had was that the turbo shaft does not slide sideways. They only go up and down. You could not enter a turboshaft at the galley and arrive at the bridge. Again, perhaps I am missing your intention but you could have Turbo-shafted from the deck two galley and then strolled to the bridge. Comments? I wanna know what the heck you got up your sleeve! Interesting as I said. *G* Keep going. The turbo shaft thing is only a technical difficulty.

Damn, now we got two of 'em on a roll. Hold onto your seats people. David, you used your own out. Cool. I'll save mine for future use unless you see the need. Either way works. Sebastion, Interesting POV to say the least. I don't think we have Star Trek style Turbo shafts though. I have watched too many people walk around in Perscan. Lest I seem rude (private joke to those who caught some of yesterday's posts) perhaps I missed something. (You did wish to know of grievances, but I don't think you expected this ) Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Shafts go between levels only. Correct? Other than that little thing it's interesting. I too wish to see what the Stabat Mater is doing shadowing the Deterrence. Would like to see how it plays out. One last Question. David, about when is this occurring? Slightly after the Gammulan invasion (did you referrence it? I forget.) or much later than the Gamm invasion? Commander Chavik ICV Phoenix "When did I get drafted to the RP police? DeSylva!"

I only see two problems. There is no Shield Generator. There is a charge unit and there are energy cells (Trade.pdf) which together or with all related parts combined could be considered a shield generator. Dunno. But best to use game related terms. Most spare parts are stored in CB2. So unless you don't actually have the parts CB1 being a mess shouldn't be a prob. Other than that I don't see anything wrong. Existing tech and capabilties were shown and all that stuff. I see an out of which I am sure you are aware of. Waiting to read more.

*RP* ON Chavik transferred the controls to the flight officer. He'd had his little bit of fun. Please target the Tyrus-2 wormhole and proceed Mr. Myers. "Sir? The navitron is repaired. I can simply plot a course to where ever we want to go." "No," said Chavik, "Do it the old fashioned way for now. I need time to hear exactly how that Navitron got repaired and where you got the part from. Commander Woods, into my quarters please. *RP* off: Referencing the new screenshot where the commander's quarters are behind the bridge *RP* ON Mr. Myers sat scratching his head. Well there was only one way to do it. He brought the Mark2 to bear and they jumped to the Tyrus-2 wormhole. They slid through Lydam and here he was confronted with two wormholes. The trip to Chanis-1 had been interesting. Also a dead end. He turned back around and got the correct wormhole in Lydam this time. Two more jumps and they were back in Antis. Meanwhile Chavik listened as Timothy Woods relayed the story about the shopping trip to Wraith HQ. Chavik simply shook his head. "Do you mean to tell me you risked crewmembers and this ship on this hairbrained scheme? Had one of you been captured or even lost your commlink badge they could have found our position. That was brash Mr. Woods. I won't give you a violation but it will be in your report." They left Chavik's quarters and resumed their positions on the bridge. "We've arrived in Antis," reported Mr. Myers. "Shall I begin docking procedures?" "No, there are some things I want to check out on Polaris-2. Please plot a course to there. We've all had a rough time of it and a trade run will serve as R&R as well." Chavik went back to his quarters to wait on the arrival in the Polaris system. He had to bring something back to Rattler. *RP* OFF

*RP* ON Chavik sat and then listened in amazement at the story of the renegade BC. He could almost place the images in line with the story. Reaching out to the support ships. "Targeting" nullspace. The last few weeks had been stressful that was for sure. He promised himself the next milkrun would be just that. Polaris-1 had some nice recreational facilities. When Timothy Woods was done Chavik asked, "How do we stand on Iridium?" "We have enough for three full days of cloak sir. We found a rather rich deposit on Moon 4. The tanks are full and we have the transporter full of it and anywhere else we could find. That's over six and a half hours. Plus what the drones are currently mining. It may come up to about 8 if the drones have reached capacity." "I don't want to stay here another 8 hours. How are the systems doing? Has the hull been repaired yet?" asked Chavik. "Almost," said Commander Woods. "It's at 85% and rising. Mr. Black has added some reinforcements since those areas were open anyway. All engineers are working on it as you said and the marines are carrying parts and tools. They aren't real happy about that. We've finished fixing the cloaking system. We let out no tachyon particals that we can scan for and the system is now at 100% efficiency. Shields are full and the crews are working on the computer systems. We still have to do some clean up in troop quarters one and two but I thought you might systems operational first. IC Launch bays are operational but still damaged. Shuttle bays two thru four are inoperable. We couldn't have gotten those drones out at all without transporting them." "The marines will just have to live with it. They are here to protect this ship among other things and that includes helping in repair if the survival of the ship is at stake. The rest sounds good. I'm ready to leave. Shall we rejoin the bridge crew?" asked Chavik as he got up and walked out of his quarters. They had to avoid none too few engineers as they made their way to the bridge. Techs intent on their repairs tended not to notice anyone else. Chavik actually liked that. To him it meant they were concentrating on their job. They arrived on the bridge and Chavik took the command chair. He had brought his VR visor with him but did not slip it on. "Mr. Hill," Chavik asked the tactical officer, "are any enemies around the jumpgates as before? Have any interesting ships launched from the station?" "No sir, and they've taken to defending the station only," said Mr. Hill. Chavik nodded. "Mr. Myers, please target the Hadar-9 jumpgate please." "Don't you mean Antis sir? We have the Navitron fixed as well," replied Mr. Hill. Chavik was confused. When he had left the bridge there had not been any more AI Interfaces aboard the ship and that part was definitely needed to make the navitron computer functional again. He recounted what he remembered and definitely thought there had not been any more Interfaces aboard. Perhaps they had pirated a shuttle's since the launch bays were inoperable, he thought. It wouldn't last long but it might work. He looked at Commander Woods hoping for an explanation but Commander Woods was looking rather despondent and glaring at Mr. Myers. "Commander Woods, I'd like to find out how we got an extra AI Interface from nowhere when we get back to the Antis. Mr. Myers, I mean for you to target the Hadar-9 jumpgate and assign it as the flight path. Does anyone remember where we parked the Den?" It wasn't that funny but a few junior officers in "the pit" chuckled. It was more to relieve the tension they felt than at the humor. The Mark2 jumped. It was the first of several but they were finally able to withstand an assault. The abundance of Iridium allowing them to remain cloaked almost precluded that but one could never tell. Chavik slipped on the VR visor and looked at TacOps. Several fighters were still around the station but they had slowed from what he remembered. As they neared the jumpgate Chavik accessed the cloaking system. He didn't have time to trust his officers. Timing was the key. When they were half a click away from the jumpgate and about ready to make the transition Chavik switched off cloak. Their TTD sprang upon the screen the color of new growth on a plant. A second later the view of Rinaal region was replaced with a view of the Hadar-9 region. Chavik liked that last bit and assumed the flight control. He targeted the wormhole to the Tyrus-2 system himself. He removed his visor and asked, "Anyone remember the way home?" Commander Chavik ICV Mark2 *RP OFF Tac I could have sworn you defended the jumpgates also. I wrote us both an easy out. The times for the cloaking ability was gotten by adding the fuel tank capacity to all four shuttle's capacity (minus the 750 for the drone ,[ but I did beam them out, hmmmm]), the transporter capacity, and all four ATV's capacity. A small liberty since Irirdium is only stored in the fuel tank in the game. Then I divided the total capacity by the 1500 units tank capacity to come out at 6.6666 hours. Then I figured the drones have capacity even though you can't access them in the game. So I guessed at about 8 hours of cloak. I've had way more damage than I posted. Really. It was way back in my free version days. NO system was green. I really don't remember but will guess that fully 60% were red. I fixed everything myself with my own engineers. No wimping out at Galcom for me on that particular game. I had the most fun with that game trying to repair and stay functional and still fight. Any way I'm babbling now. [This message has been edited by Charles Lindsey (edited 05-21-99).]

I apologize Parias. The trader bit was my fault. I was correct and incorrect. Trader is an allowed caste but you are not that. You are an Insurgent who is trading. Big difference. I take full responsibility for that one. But in the spirit of "It's how you play the game" the name shouldn't matter much . Thanks for listening even though I was incorrect. Further posts e-mail to me. I'll forward to Akira and we'll see what's up. ICQ me again. I don't mind. Sorry again. We'll work it out. Charles

You can be a trader Parias. That is an allowed Caste. I see by the times you and Ron (Akira) crossposted. The base on Sygan is named Sygan according to the Stations.pdf file. Thus the reason for that part of the editing. Ron is right. If it isn't in the manual don't state it. Learn the game as it is.

Thanks Akira, and after having a day to think about it I see holes in my part of the story big enough to drive a tractor trailer (maybe a Jenstar ) through. How did I get Parias down to Antis after he reported to the command in Sygan, or how was I at Sygan instead, etc., etc. I see it now. What kind of transport did you choose Parias? I didn't assign you one so you are free to choose. Choose carefully and you can have some fun. *G* I figured you would use another BC but since you chose a transport have fun. But I see that hole in my story too. *RP* ON Chavik watched as Parias left the small office in Sygan. He almost didn't need it but it came in handy at times. Times such as this. Interviews with crewmembers. People wanting to transfer. He listened to those requests and duly forward them on. And interviews with salesmen. Sheesh! Someone was always wanting to sell something. And theirs' did the job better than the other guy's. From Weapons to computers to electronics everyone wanted to sell something. It didn't matter that some were illegal. Illegal by Galcom standards at least. As the door shut Chavik replayed the recording and watched for signs of remorse. There were some but a willfulness underlay even that. That would see him through some tough times thought Chavik. After viewing the recording a second time Chavik compressed it and sent it to Ratttler, Akira, and Jester. He hoped he had done the right thing but it was the best he could come up with on short notice. He went into the quarters attached to the office. All command staff had similiar office/quarters at Sygan reserved for them. He began packing for the trip home. He'd been here long enough and this last had about worn him out. He was sure he'd have messages waiting for him. *RP* OFF Hopefully that filled that hole . Parias, I like the snoots. But they are not part of the standard items. We should be allowed illegal items. (haven't checked that in game but it seems we should be. *G*) You would have been best to pick one of the standard items or the illegals. But out of thirteen races I'm sure there is something we don't know about. Not for me to decide though. Perhaps it will slide. Dunno. I do like them though. Reminds me of Tribbles. I have a problem with Trade Post. Planets have Starbases. A little editing would fix that. Derek allowed each fleet four but I am assuming the rest have only one according to the navmaps.pdf file. If you choose a planet that should have four I think Starbase1, Starbase2, etc. would be sufficient. Otherwise they are named. Checks Stations.pdf Akira? Derek? Commander Chavik ICV Phoenix [This message has been edited by Charles Lindsey (edited 05-17-99).]

Akira: tame by military standards yes I suppose it was. But it was the most I dared.*G* I don't hate him. Charles

Cool save Parias. Blaming your "ignorance" of a "spy caste" on Mr. Mordan is great. Yet you still trust him to be on your BC as per your last post? Or perhaps you don't trust him but he has finagled his way onto your BC anyway. Intersting. *G* Anyone feel free to correct me but I don't see anyting wrong with this last post. Parias (the fictional character) has been duped by Mr. Morgan. Mr.Morgan is now on Parias' BC . *G* But I think you recovered well. Continue please. This is interesting. *G* ------------------ Commander Chavik ICV Phoenix "We Shall Arise From The Ashes"

*RP* ON "Well, Mr. Parias, you certainly have stirred things up a good bit around here. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" said Chavik. Mr. Parias stared numbly. He played with his fingernails and looked at his boots. He looked at the walls in Chavik's office and at the ceiling but never once did he make eye contact with the man asking him questions. "Some may label your actions as taking the initiative but I think it was just pure brashness. What were you thinking stealing a Galcom Battlecruiser??" said Chavik, his voice rising a little. "Galcom has been touchy about that ever since the mass exodus of Commanders a couple of years ago. Whole crews mutinied and left Galcom service. That still stings. If it hadn't been for the Gammulan invasion and our help they might be at our throats still. Yet they still have issues with that too. You have stirred the pot royally. Stealing a Galactan Class Battle Cruiser and then assassinating her entire crew? You got guts I'll give you that. But it must be tempered with reason. And then you go and spread rumors about an entire spy caste? Think man think! Oh I'm a memeber of the spy caste, may I please have a job? No one in their right mind would fall for that. Any caste can have a spy but for it to work they must remain within their caste. Other wise it won't work." "Now we have to do damage control. Are you sure no one got off a message to Galcom?" asked Chavik. Parias simply nodded. "And you report that you were able to change the IFF signature? And no other ships were in the region to spread and info?" Parias nodded yes to the first and shook his head no to the second question. "Perhaps they think a new crew has been destroyed by raiders. We'll find out shortly. And do you have a crew for your new BC? She won't run long on her own," said Chavik. He seemed lost in thought for a moment and then added, "But I do have a crew for you. Some new and some old. I have quite a few senior officers who are not quite ready to be retired yet. I'll have list for you in a second," said Chavik as he bent down over his console. Chavik took several minutes perusing personnel files and then looked up with a small grin. "Ok, here is your senior staff. You will notice that the combat officer and the tactical officer have many years of service and are probably ingrained in their ways. As is the chief engineer. The others I leave up to you. That includes IC pilots, marines, system engineers and flight engineers and other staff officers." "Now; you have shown some brashness in getting your own BC, ahead of some others I might add, but I think we should leave it at that. However we will monitor your activities. Most Insurgent Commanders who have graduated to their own BC have the trust of the entire Insurgency behind them. You I think we should handle a little differently. I invoke the heirarchy of the Insurgency. You are hereby confined to trade runs for six months. After which your performance will be reviewed. You have the perfect right to defend yourself but you must complete the run to the benefit of the Insurgency." "I think that should be enough Mr. Parias. I have assigned the senior crew members that I think you will need. Listen to them. They are crusty but good. Set in their ways to a fine point. But they will do you proud for what you have ahead of you. You are dismissed," said Chavik as he looked back at his console. Mr. Parias slowly stood up and turned towards the door. He looked back at Chavik but he was absorbed in his console. Parias started thru the door when he heard Chavik say, "Oh, and Mr. Parias, no more rumors of unsubstantiated castes please?" Mr. Parias hung his head again and walked out of Chavik's office. Chavik listened as Parias left. He was muttering something about top dog and making decisions. Chavik shook his head. The Commander wanted to do right but just wasn't versed in the finer points. Perhaps he'll get better Chavik thought. *RP*OFF Parias, the dressing down is real. You are enthusiastic but umm ermmm *blunt comment follows* you just ain't right yet. I can tell you are sincere about the game so listen to us. If you have any questions e-mail me about anything. I don't think Akira would mind either. We both like the writing aspect of this roleplay forum. Stay within the game. I've given you a lot to work with if you choose. Do so and have fun. But no new castes and no new ships. Shall the RP continue? Who took you in? {G} Just be careful Commander Chavik ICV Phoenix

Sorry Shadowstar. I been lazy for a while, then my keyboard got fried plus we have had inventory this week. Which means we have been have been getting ready for it for about a month. Not much of an excuse but there it is. Timothy Woods little strike team into Wraith worked. They now have an AI interface for the navitron computer. There was a little hubbub when Chavik left his VR visor on and took a little nap. The only thing left is to get out of Wraith thru the "Net" defense. I have already figured out a way. I think I posted that it had been several hours. Has the "Net" been in effect that long? This will take place after I have decided that Gallion is not worth watching (He hasn't resurfaced, we are damaged and outnumbered). We got a good peak at Wraith plus a look at one of their defenses. *G* If anyone wants to post on my little excursion to Wraith go ahead. My team has already escaped. Do what you want but you must let them escape since I have already posted such. No damage either This post was to let you know that I continue to think of this thread. Just gotta gather my thoughts. Chavik

Oh, Akira! I thought of that. That particular sentence was very, very carefully worded. (At least I thought about it a lot before I typed it. ) Shadowstar; I liked the character development. It's cool. Maybe Parias should post RP post on his sputtering career in the Insurgency. In which case I will need a report on Trading procedures. *BFEG* Chavik (Charles)

Way back in Akira's thread Approaching Apocalypse Commander Gallion was down in the heart of Gammulan space wreaking havoc. Unfortunately When Commander Tac tried ot recall him a virus had been slipped into the message along the way. It is rumored to have been slipped into the IFF codes for the shortlived TDV alliance. After losing several ships in the first few chaotic minutes of the attack The Insurgents and the Terrans pushed back not one but two different frontal attacks by the Gammulans. Commanders Rattler and Akira had discovered the development of a new synth-Iridium on Neptune. Akira was given free reign to stop this development as he saw fit before it could get into the hands of the Gammulans. Akira took over the attack personally. He put everyone on board one vessel and sent them back to th eInsurgent base at Sygan. He then used the SVR (what I have been calling Super VR); a command chair enhancement whose origins are not entirley known but allows a single commander to take command of linked vessel in a strike group. After Akira's attack succeeded he jumped into Pluto region and no Terran has the plans or any of the synth-Iridium. Akira's plan failed in another way though. Even though all of his strike group was destroyed his mind transcended the link and remained in the SVR consciousness. Without a direct conscious controling the craft the Nevermore wandered into nullspace. Upon losing contact with akira, Locke was assigned to search for him. Chavik bucked orders and stayed behind to help. The search did not go well. Running low on cloaking fuel Chavik decided to use the SVR that existed in the command chairs of high ranking Insurgents. Chavik used the shuttles and IC's of the Phoenix to form his own little net. He finally caught a faint feel of "something" at the edges of his consciousnes. Locke and Chavik decided Akira must be in nullspace. He almost went the way of Akira but he had other humans on board to pull him out of the command chair in time. Akira rested in the medibay and the two commanders escorted him home. Meanwhile Commander Gallion was still trying to find whoever had sabotaged his computer systems. With comms down he could not hear Tac's recalls. He had rigged up a device to alter the IFF codes on his ship. This was aobut the only thing still working reliably. With it he was able to send code to Rattler. Rattler invited him inside "The Den" for a meeting to discuss the situation. While they were discussing things Akira had woken up. Though not entirely lucid he could function. Akira attacked Gallion and gave him a lasting scar from his choking attack. Rattler had not been any help so Gallion decided to leave. Chavik had been inside the station and had been instructed earlier to take a new cruiser on a shakedown cruise. Nothing was intended to come of it but upon launch Chavik saw the Corsair Wing outside of The Den. He decided to follow. Corsair made their way back to Wraith with Chavik following. They had started to notice the extra flash of the jumpgates though. When they entered Rinaal the new crew got a good gawk at Wraith and a good smack from a transport. The transport exploded and the force of the explosion knocked the Mark2 away at speeds above those a probe could reach. The Mark2 had also taken considerable damage and decloaked. Wraith was monitoring the region and as soon as the enemy vessel showed on their scanners they scrambeld several wings of fighters. If one vessel could come in cloaked so could thirty or more. Gallion docked and had a discussion with Tac while the station was trying to defend itself. The speeds the Mark2 had reached had carried very far away from any navigable obect and even while it bled off major amounts of speed the Mark2 was able to change course and find a hiding place. They had also managed to regain cloak and had gotten an AI interface from Wraith Station. They have been performing mining operations to maintain adaquate cloak. Chavik had fallen asleep with his VR visor on and in that semi-conscious dream state had actually taken control of the Mark2 for a bit and caused a small ruckus. Summary OFF That's where we are now. Sorry I went back so far but I think I tied everything together. Should be enough to put yourself in at any point and write yourself forward though. Commander Chavik ICV Phoenix

OK I promise if I post next I will start a new thread. I am hoping other commanders would do the same. But I couldn't even goad you once? Not even after running rampant on your station? *G* Now that my marines are back I only have to install the AI interface (not really needed which Mr. Woods will soon find out *BG*), decide Gallion and Wraith are no longer worth watching, and go home. We had an offer of one more commander joining in. I hope he does so. ShadowStar; Where'd ya go? Feel free to jump in. As long as ya don't mind me posting my followups to your thread. Derek has given us generous leeway in this forum and I try not to abuse it. But since Tac asked and the thread count is up there I will do so if I am the next person to post. It gets sticky but we have done well so far. Anyone else feel free to start a new topic here. But I will follow up. Good to see you again Ristar. Welcome back. Commander Chavik ICV Phoenik Charles

Warning! Warning! this thread just went PG. A couple of curse words are in my text. Wildcard, thought Chavik as the datapad slipped out of his hand. Heh, what insurgent isn't? But those were the fore runners. The new crews ought to have some discipline, an understanding of the philosophy. But the fore runners. Those were different. Rattler, Jester, Lord David. Myself? No. Just tired. And Akira, always finding new tech. Like that bloody SVR. The one I used to find him. Akira lost, wandering. Locke! You stay here. I'm going to try to find Akira. Commander Timothy Woods sat in his chair. He felt it would need servicing already as he had spun it around the bridge so many times checking the state of things. "What's the matter Tim?" asked Jhoanna Hayes. "Scared Chavik will come back and find out about your little gambit?" "No!" replied Woods. " I just want to make sure everything is going allright. How are those drones doing?" "Fine," replied Mr. Don Hill. "We've gotten another 30% in just this short while but we won't know what we have till we get them on board and let the shuttles extract the minerals." "Make another transfer then. I want all we can get when the guys get done shopping." "Aye sir." Chavik sat in the chair in his quarters. Almost like the command chair. That chair. Chavik shuddered. And remembered. He remembered the devices coming out of the chair. Wrapping around him. And the thoughts. Clear, vibrant,enhanced. The Mark2 shuddered. "What was that?" asked Commander Woods. "What was what?" asked Jhoanna. The Guardran field had kept everything perfect but Timothy Woods was on edge and had spent the last several hours listening to the Mark2. Something had changed. Something subliminal. Mr. Myers spoke up. "Sir, the Navitron computer is trying to plot a course." "We were ordered to stand still," said Commander Woods. "Plus the AI interface is gone." "I'm not doing anything,"said Mr. Myers, "and with the interface gone it can't find the course. Wait, it's rerouting." "Turn it off before we're exposed. Someone might see the jump anomaly." "I can't sir. It refuses." The life in this thing! How clear everything looks. Now to look for the other. Reach out. There! At the edges. So faint. Bleedover? Nullspace? Must be. Target. Set Flight Path. Engage Hyperjump engines. The Strike Group ran down the hall of Wraith Station. They slowed to a walk as the hall curved past plain site of Stores. They rounded the corner into the service tube after making sure no one was watching. Suddenly an alarm sounded. "Damn," said Mr. Barlow, "I shoulda used a knock out gas." "Definitely time to call our ride," said Mr. White. "You got that right," said Mr. Barlow while accessing his Commlink. "Sir, the Navitron has locked on," said Mr Myers. "Where?" asked Comamnder Woods. "No where sir." "What?! Cut the engines. Is the Cloak still holding?" "Sir, the Strike team is ready to beam aboard. They are requesting transport out," reported Jhoanna. "Cloak is holding and we are jumping. Still no coordinates." "Strike will have to fend for themselves for a bit. This ship is a lemon. Systems report Black." "Affected systems show 100% integrity. There is no apparent cause for the malfunction," said Mr. Black "Well find it. Where are we now Jhoanna?" "Sliding out of the system at a pretty good clip. Much more and we'll be in uncharted territory." "Cut engines!" Mr Myers slumped at his station. "They won't disengage sir." Commander Woods wanted to tear his hair out. Too much was happening too fast. And half of it unexplained. "Shut down the stupid reactor then! Nothing is to have power until we figure what the hell is going on." "Reactor Power cut sir," reported Mr. Black. "We've come out of Hyperspace sir," said Mr. Myers as the soft blue emergency lighting on the bridge came online. "Request emergency power to engines to reduce speed." "You have twenty seconds. I want everything back offfline before the HJ engines recharge," said Commander Woods. "Aye sir," came the reply from both Myers and Black. "They should have gotten us by now," said Mr. White. "I'll transmit again," said Mr. Barlow. "Strike group re-requesting transport out," said Jhoanna Hayes. "Do it. While we have power. You have fifteen more seconds Mr. Black. Make it snappy. Have you found the problem yet?" "Beginning transport now. And my engineers have been working on the problem. The commands have been coming from a command VR visor." "That's impossible. I haven't been doing any of this. And no one else has a command ..." Commander Woods trailed off. They heard several security detail troops go past as they waited. They were really beginning to sweat now. It would only take time before they were found and then found out when compared to Wraith Station's records. Another troop was coming. They were getting closer. They stopped. The leader said " 12,15, and 17, check that service tube. I hear the Station Commander wants to put these guys on special supension. " Barlow could hear them coming closer and had his sidearm ready when he felt that tingle begin. "Strike group aboard," reported Mr. Black. "Trace the malfunction to Commander Chavik's VR visor." Mr. Black hesitated. "Working on it." A few moments passed. "Confirmed sir." "Sever that link." Another moment. "We can't sir. Commander Chavik's Visor has some command staff overrides built in." Woods was furious. What gives him the right? He left the bridge without even leaving it in command of anyone. He practically ran to Chavik's quarters. The door was locked but at least Chavik hadn't overridden those codes. Woods input his override codes and waited a moment while the dor opened. He was ready to give Chavik one good peice of his mind. Woods rushed into the room to find Chavik sleeping. A datapad was lying on the floor. Woods saw that Chavik still wore his VR visor. He shook Chavik awake. Chavik started awake at the rough handling of Commander Woods. "Huh? What's wrong?" "At the moment you are sir. If you would remove the VR visor we might be able to control this ship for a while." Chavik groggily stood up. He removed his visor and handed it to Woods. "What happened?" he asked. "Well that's quite the little story. You might want to sit back down," said Commander Woods as he smiled. *RP* OFF And that's what happens when you fall asleep with your VR visor on. At least how I envision it. *G*

I thought it was great! You did Rattler proud and I'm sure he'd be impressed at the honor you gave him. You sure you haven't found the archives to the old forum when all this started? *G* Welcome aboard Commander Shadowstar. Glad to have you. Commander Chavik ICV Phoenix "Loves a good read"

Good story Hamblin. I liked it. Chavik (Charles)