Badgerius

Thanks, everyone. I'm really enjoying writing this. Thanks, SC, for clearing up those technical issues. I'll check to see if any changes are needed to the script. More to come, soon! ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence

[RP ON] Lt. Commander Alison ONeil stepped out of Shuttle 1 and looked out across the barren landscape at the battered hulk of the White Tigress. Behind her, the rest of her team got themselves organized for entering what was left of the freighter. Four Marines, two systems engineers and a pair of medics stowed gear, tightened toolbelts and checked weapons, waiting for the word to go. ONeil saw the suited forms of Sergeant Peterson and Private Jackson bounding towards her in the low gravity. "Report, Sergeant," she said crisply. Peterson and Jackson came to a stop and saluted. "Sir, the main crew section is pretty much gone, crushed on impact. The cargo bay seems intact, for the most part, and the bridge is intact." Hans paused, preparing to give the bad news. "All sections appear to have decompressed, either on impact, or when the engines were destroyed." ONeil absorbed the news in silence. There hadnt been much hope of finding survivors, but now there was none. Emergency shelter bubbles only had 48 hours of life support, and Space suits had only 12 hours. It had been over 80 since the crash. "Understood," she said, finally. "Have you determined the best places to enter the hull?" "Yes sir," replied the sergeant, wishing he felt as cool as the XO sounded. Of course, thats why shes the XO, he thought to himself, and continued his report. "Entry to the bridge is best accomplished through the emergency bridge airlock on the upper hull. As for the cargo bays, I figure we can go in through the spot where the engines were." ONeil looked at the gaping hole that was now the stern of the vessel. "Good point," she said. "Well check out the bridge first. Mount up!" The rest of the group fell in behind the XO, and began walking towards the derelict ship. Alison stepped onto the frozen bridge deck. The only light was coming from her flashlight. Emergency power on the ship had long since died. She cast the beam of her flashlight along the deck plates of the bridge. There they were. The unmistakable forms of those who had died by exposure to hard vacuum. Alison had seen horrible, bloated corpses like these before, but that didnt keep the bile from rising in her throat, or keep her vision from blurring with sudden tears. She silently counted the bodies, slowly, to regain her composure. Twelve bodies. The entire crew had died on the bridge. By the time she had finished counting, her voice was once again crisp and cool, though the tears remained, hidden by the visor of her suit. "Medics, prepare these bodies for return to the Diligence. They are to be returned to their homes for proper burial. Jackson, bring the ATV over here. Well put them in there." The medics moved forward to carry out the gruesome detail. "Techs, see what you can get out of the ships computers. Sergeant, take the rest of the Marines and check out the cargo bays for salvage." Hans and the Techs said "Aye sir" in unison and proceeded with their assigned tasks. That left Alison to report in. "Ground team to Diligence," said over the Comms circuit. Sev took the call himself. "Report, XO," he said. "No survivors, sir. Were bringing the bodies and any computer data we can salvage back to the ship." Sev closed his eyes. He hadnt been expecting a miracle, but secretly, hed been hoping for one. "Understood. Return to the Diligence when youre done. Diligence out." Sev looked at his watch. It was time. He punched the comms button. "Chief Engineer Leonev to the bridge." Time for more bad news. Lt. Andreii Leonev arrived at the bridge in his coveralls, covered in sweat. He didnt look tired, but Sev suspected he had worked the last 36 hours straight. I guess were down to five crates of fresh coffee, he thought wryly. "Report, if you please, Lieutenant." said Badgerius softly. "What is the condition of the IOD?" The chief engineer was a no nonsense type. He got right to the point. "There are stress fractures in the laser array," he said, wiping his forehead with his arm, "and those fractures are transmitting vibrations throughout the whole system. The vibrations will eventually cause something to break." He wiped more sweat from his face, and continued. "Still, I see no reason why we cant continue to use the IOD until something does break. My team is already reassembling it. Id say well be done in about" He paused, calculating in his head. " 10 hours. Eight if were lucky." Commander Sev Badgerius let a small grin appear on his face. At least something good was happenning today. "Good work, Lieutenant. Carry on." ----------- Hans Peterson was perplexed. Hed expected the cargo bays to be empty, or at least empty of anything of value. The only reason a ship would have for attacking a freighter would be for her cargo, yet it was all here. Around him was cargo pod after cargo pod, full of everything from fertilizer to Surface to Air Laser batteries. Hed spent the last hour cataloging all of it, and according to the ships manifest, nothing was missing except the cargo that was blown out of the aft cargo hold when the engines were taken out. The Marine Sergeants mind eye presented him with a list of two possibilities: Either they wanted just to kill the crew, or they took something that wasnt on the manifest. And if they wanted to kill the crew, he thought to himself, why leave the ship intact? One of the corporals let out a long, low whistle. "Hey Sarge, this stuff is worth a fortune! How are we gonna get it back to the Diligence?" Peterson fixed the corporal with a stern look. "Were not, Marine. The cargo bay is full, remember?" Then the Sergeant relaxed, and let out a sigh. "Besides, the insurance underwriters have already laid claim to any cargo found on the wreck to offset their costs. So well let them come and get it themselves." Just then Petersons suit radio crackled. "Sergeant, were all done on the bridge. Whats your status?" ONeils voice had an odd edge to it. "The cargo is cataloged, sir. All of the cargo appears to be here." "Thats strange." If ONeil was going to say something else, she changed her mind. "Were taking Shuttle 1 back to the Diligence. Secure the area and return on Shuttle 2." "Aye, sir. Peterson out." Hans eyed the marines lounging about the cargo bay, following the time honored marine tradition of catching rest where and when you can. "All right, you bunch of schoolgirls!" he roared in his best drill sergeant tone. "On your feet! Last one aboard the shuttle gets to walk!" [RP OFF] ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence

Here it is! As promised! [RP ON] Sergeant Hans Peterson sat in the navigators seat of Shuttle 2, staring glumly at the cratered landscape streaking by below him. Four days. Four days theyd been searching for the downed freighter. Almost five since it had crashed. It was worse than looking for a needle in a haystack, they were looking for a particular crater on a planetoid of craters. About all they could do was look for large concentrations of Radine and hope for the best. Hans had been morose all morning. It wasnt just that he had just about given up hope of finding anyone alive, but also that he was beginning to wonder what his own chances were. It hadnt taken long for the news of the engine and weapon problems to circulate through the ship, and the Evac drill the day before, along with the fact that the Diligence was doing her best to hide in the moons shadow, left him with the feeling hed be seeing action soon. Not that he would have minded action, normally. But the last time, things hadnt gone so well. Memories flooded into to his minds eye, unbidden and unwanted. A different ship. A different star system. A different rank. A delaying action against intruders to allow as many people to Evac before the Capn scuttled her. Hans was the last off. The bridge crew hadnt even tried, staying on board to coordinate the crew, and then to manually blow the ship. Hans had gotten a promotion and a commendation, but a Marine shouldnt let his Captain die. "Hold up a sec, got something," said Private Jackson from the pilots seat. "Large Radine deposit, with radiation to match a post-critical reactor. This could be it." "Affirm. Contacting the Diligence." Hans activated the Comms system. "Shuttle Two to Diligence. Good contact at grid reference 102 by 247. Investigating." The Comms Officers voice was haggard. Hed been at this for a long time. "Roger, Shuttle 2. Good hunting." The shuttle veered off towards the contact, slowing to allow the occupants to use their eyes to search as well as the shuttles sensors. "Tallyho!" Hans had seen her before Jackson. "Two oclock low. 700 meters. Hot damn, I think shes intact!" "Coming around," said Jackson, bringing the shuttle onto the new heading. "I see her. It looks like she came in pretty shallow. The bows stove in, but I think the bridge is intact. Hey, whats with the engine pod?" Hans had seen it, too. The engines of the freighter were just gone. The twisted superstructure just forward of where the engines should have been gave silent testament to the cause of the ships demise. "Good God," Hans whispered, "she was blasted out of the sky." [RP OFF] ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence

Thank you. That's high praise from someone who's co-writing a riveting tale himself. And my belated condolences on your recent loss. More's coming. I promise! ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence [This message has been edited by Badgerius (edited 08-05-99).]

Ok, I'm back from vacation. I should be posting new stuff either later today, or tommorow. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence

I just remember something in one of the manuals... "The details of the cloaking device technology are shrouded in secrecy, but it makes the Galactan class battlecruiser one of the most advanced in the fleet." or something like that. I just assumed that meant the Mk2 was the only Terran ship that had it. I could be mistaken. Anyway, the Diligence was one of the first off the assembly line. No cloaking for her. (or if all else fails, it's broken!) ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence

I'm glad you like it. I'm going on vacation for a week, so there won't be any new story until then, but after that I'm hoping to post every couple of days or so. I suppose I'd better put down my assumptions early so that they can be corrected. The SC mentioned he might start us off in the MK 1 Battlecruiser for 3020 back in the "Introducing the Starion" thread in Development news. So I don't think I'm too off base putting myself in command of one. But, if anyone objects, let me know. Stats for the Constellation are hard to come by. I've had to make some assumptions. If anyone has accurate data (like anyone on the Strike Pak team) it would be appreciated. 1 The MK1 has 2 main decks and a subdeck. 2 It has four shuttles 3 The renegade class interceptors are single seaters. 4 The crew of the Mk1 is about 2/3 that of the Mk2 5 I'm picturing one cargo bay, one crew quarters, etc. Basically, everything the Mk2 has two of, the Mk1 only has one. 6 There are bathrooms in the captain's and XO's quarters, plus one for every other bunkroom. (Thinking of you TAC) 7 The Mk1 is NOT equipped with a cloaking device According to the ship stats, the PTA guns and interceptors are armed with Type02 lasers, but the weapons stats put that as more powerful than the Galactan's Type0. Anyone know if this is true? In answer to your question, Ben, all the officers have bridge stations, except medical and research. However, the engineer and combat officer also have other stations. The Diligence is a very old ship. Her bridge layout is probably different than other Mk1s. ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence [This message has been edited by Badgerius (edited 07-28-99).]

[RP ON] A man lay on his back staring up at the sky. He did not know what sky, nor did he care. He did notice that the sky had pearly white rings and a purplish tinge. He was also aware of a beach extending infinitely to both sides, and a green ocean coming ashore beyond his feet. The man was content. All was well. Then the man became aware of a sound. It was not a good sound. The sound was that of impending doom. Involuntarily the man identified the sound, and with recognition came the collapse of the universe. An alarm clock. Commander Sev Badgerius of the Constellation class Battlecruiser GCV Diligence, one of the oldest active vessels in Galactic Command, lay staring at the many layers of white paint on the ceiling of his quarters, gathering his thoughts. His first thought of the morning was the same as every other morning: "I want a bed." The captains quarters of the Diligence were quite large. Large enough for a desk, a dresser, a private washroom, and a bed. Unfortunately, The Diligences cargo bays were quite small, and so the bed had to be removed to make room for six crates of fresh coffee. "Although," he thought, extricating himself from the hammock that hung where his bed should be, "hammocks are more comfortable, its just that its harder to get up in the morning." While he shaved, Badgerius went over the ships status in his head. Current Location: Neptune space, orbiting one of the moons of the gas giant. Mission: Search and Rescue, looking for the wreckage of a LRT-10, the White Tigress, that went down 18 hours ago, cause unknown. Ship status: Hanging in there, barely. The last bit caused him to wince, and he almost cut himself with the shaver. The ship was supposed to be rotated in for an overhaul six months ago, but something had always gotten in the way. Either some other ship needed urgent repairs, or some emergency developed practically on top of them. It was beginning to get tedious. "And dangerous," Sev thought bitterly, remembering the conversation hed had with his chief engineer the night before. "Sir we need to take the hyperjump engines offline," the engineer had said. "The displacement field emitter casing is cracked, and we cant fix it in the field." "Ok, fine," Sev had responded, "we havent been using them except for combat, anyway, so that shouldnt pose a problem. Well have to take any crash survivors to HQ by shuttle. Anything else?" "Well" Sev knew there was a list of things broken, or not working well as long as his arm, so he interrupted. "Anything major?" "Just one, sir. The IOD is making an odd sound when we power it up, but I cant tell what the problem is without stripping it down." "How long?" "Maybe 36 hours to strip it down, and assess the damage." Sev sighed. He hadnt liked having his main weapon out of commission, especially when the loss of the hyperjump engines effectively prevented retreat. But the thought of the IOD blowing sky high just as he needed it appealed to him even less. "OK, do it," hed said. Commander Badgerius walked the five steps from his quarters to the bridge, and looked around. The Diligences age was apparent in the design of her bridge: no chairs. The bridge followed the design of 20th century ocean going warships, although it combined the traditional bridge and Combat Information Center into one room. At the front of the bridge was the view screen, currently showing a detailed scan of the small moons surface. About a third of the way back was the helm, a station with the flight controls for flying the ship in real space, as well as controls for firing the ships forward firing weapons. Behind him was the map table, where the Tacops map was displayed. That was where Sev usually stood, as it had a small repeater console of that would show data from any station on the ship. On the starboard side, lining the walls, were the navigation, crew operation, and logistics consoles. On the port side were the engineering and flight deck operations consoles, along with comms. Currently, most of the officers were clustered around the map table, talking earnestly. Sev noticed that his engineer was not on the bridge. "He must be getting an early start," Sev thought. The Comms Officer noticed him. He was standing at his console, directing the actions of the interceptors and shuttles scouring the surface below. "Capn on deck," he said loudly. Standing orders prevented the bridge crew from coming to attention. Sev had just gotten tired of saying "As you were" every morning. The executive officer, or XO, looked up and came over. She was a six foot tall Irish woman with flaming red hair. Those who didnt call her Sir or Lt. Commander ONeil, called her "Big Al." "Whats our status this morning?" asked Sev. "Weve located the downed ships thermal entry trace, so that narrows our search area considerably. Were still searching a couple of hundred square kilometers, but at least its not the whole planet." "Good. Now for the bad news. The hyperjump engines are offline indefinitely, and the IOD is down for at least 36 hours to assess a possible problem." Her eyebrows went up. "You mean, if we get in a fight, we cant run and we cant shoot?" "Basically." She spun around to face the helmsman. "Helm! Lower our orbit to 200km!" The helmsman perked up. He hadnt had anything to do in three days. "Aye sir!" The XO paused for a moment, then added "Helm! What day is it?" The helmsman glanced at the clock on his console. Thursday. But he knew there was only one right answer to this question. "Monday, sir!" Big Al sighed. "I knew it." Commander Badgerius didnt comment on the change of position. His XO was as good as they come, and knew the three edged sword of combat as well as he. When faced with combat, run. If you cant (or wont) run, fight. If you cant run, and you cant fight, that left just one option. Hide. Sev walked over to the map table repeater console, and had the computer schedule an Evac drill for sometime that afternoon. They might need it. [RP Off] ------------------ Commander Badgerius, GCV Diligence [This message has been edited by Badgerius (edited 07-28-99).]