Ben Zwycky

Well, I finally got round to doing it. CIOPS logo large CIOPS logo small Defence Logo static Animated Defence Logo option 1 Animated Defence Logo option 3 Animated Defence Logo option 5 (final choice) have added a seventh pic to all the animations, and I now present the long-awaited (well, maybe you all gave up on it, I did for a while ) Intel wing logo! Intelligence Wing Logo Feedback/ gripes/ sighs of relief would be appreciated Later, ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748 [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 07-01-2000).]

Welcome, Commander 'Tis a shame you didn't join ISS as I feel you would have fitted right in with the rest of us square pegs , but 'twas your choice and I'm sure you shall make a fine asset to Wraith. ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Dreada, that was great. Just what was required. You sure you havenÔÇÖt done this before? [rp] 1955 March 15th, 3001 ÔÇ£Sir, thereÔÇÖs an armed transport coming through the jumpgate from Treas.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£WhatÔÇÖs its IFF?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Terran trader sir, the UCV Terra Nova.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Are they on the Ca-rekÔÇÖs flightpath?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Negative sir, they appear to be heading for Centris.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Well, letÔÇÖs not give them any trouble. We need to encourage trade through here given the state of our economy. Open the central docking bay doors and clear the Ca-rek to leave.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yes, sir.ÔÇØ The massive LRT-10 transport eased out of AleriÔÇÖs cavernous central docking bay, carrying a vital load of supplies to Empirian fleet headquarters. For a moment it appeared that the great ship was too large to fit through the armoured docking bay doors, but then they opened fully to reveal Alpha Centauri in all its glory, filling the great space with light. The collected galleries above watched in awe as the behemoth glided out, soon joined by the GCV Hu-fan, an Aestrom carrier from the west docking bay and the GCV De-pal II, the only remaining Empirian Megaron carrier and flagship of the empirian fleet, from the east bay. The De-pal II was recently constructed and successor to the De-pal, flagship of the fleet in its heyday and commanded by none other than Ugo Ra-Zin for a while before he was promoted to fleet command. Whereas the Depal was only ever called into action in time of war, and earned itself a glorious reputation, its successor had so far been called upon for more menial tasks, like escorting large cargo shipments. It was a sign of the times- of the state of the Empirian military and Empirian economy, and of the value the government placed on this particular shipment. It was partly out of fear of losing another shipment, and partly to put on a good show for the station citizens, to show them that the fleet still had some glory left. To that end at least it seemed to be working. Some on the galleries cheered, some gazed in awe, some smiled at the memory of glories past. The three mighty vessels lined up side by side and halted next to the station. As one, the two escort vesselsÔÇÖ turrets fired three volleys of bright laser bolts that raced each other out into deep space. Their show over, the convoy slowly gained momentum in the direction of the Treas jumpgate, and the happy crowd began to disperse. Some managed to catch a glimpse of the huge holes in space forming, glimmering for a while and then slowly fading from view, but all went on their way with renewed confidence in themselves and their place in the galaxy. The three ships cautiously approached the jumpgate with the Hu-fan leading and De-pal II covering behind. ÔÇ£Give her a nice wide berth,ÔÇØ ordered Gero Fe-jor, the De-pal IIÔÇÖs Commander, ÔÇ£The Ca-rek canÔÇÖt dance as well as us.ÔÇØ The helmsman eased on the retro-rockets and the distance between the two craft increased as the aestrom disappeared through the pulsing sphere of the jumpgate. The transport seemed to take an age to line itself up to the jumpgate and flash through. The De-pal followed approximately fifteen seconds behind, to enable the larger craft to clear the exit on the other side. ÔÇ£Standing by to arm weapons, entering Treas region in 3, 2, 1ÔǪÔÇØ Flash. On the other side, things appeared normal. No hostile caste alarms went off, the Ca-rek and Hu-fan were waiting where they should be, although the Hu-fan was pointing back towards the jumpgate. Suddenly a desperate voice came over the comms system ÔÇ£De-pal! This is the Ca-rek Watch out for the shuttle! They rammed the Hu-fan!ÔÇØ The Hu-fan continued itÔÇÖs slowly list in space, revealing a massive hole in its midsection where itÔÇÖs launch bays should have been, and multiple decks exposed to space. ÔÇ£What theÔǪ? Look for a shuttle, any shuttle!ÔÇØ The CVD flickered through the different ships in the region until it arrived on an empirian mercenary T3 shuttle afterburning straight for them. The distance indicator read 15 clicks and dropping fast. ÔÇ£Afterburn out of here! Get out of the way and cloak the ship!ÔÇØ The De-pal II started to accelerate as fast as it could and shimmer into transparency, but it was too late. The shuttle altered course to match and before it disappeared the sharp nose of the T3 shuttle, specially reinforced for the purpose, had penetrated the armour round the De-palÔÇÖs fighter launch bays, erupting up through the flight deck a moment before the tiny craft detonated, ripping the belly out of the proud ship. The massive shockwave rippled out through the shipÔÇÖs bulkheads, catapulting people into objects and objects into people. When what was left of the bridgecrew began to return to their stations, Gero urgently demanded, ÔÇ£Damage report!ÔÇØ Jina Fe-dal gave no response. Whether the comms system was down or Jina was unconscious or dead was unclear. Gero turned to his tactical officer, ÔÇ£Dari, see if you can access logistix and tell me what the damage is.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£OK,ÔÇØ said the De-palÔÇÖs tactical officer as he worked away at his terminal, ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm in.ÔÇØ The expression on his face the moment he saw the systems report said it all. He immediately calmed himself and reported, ÔÇ£90% of the flight deck is destroyed, as is just under half of decks 3 and 4. We could maybe launch one fighter and one PTA turret is still working, though damaged. Shields are out, multiple decks are exposed to space, the entire ship is flooded with radiation and if we do any tight turns we might fold the ship in half.ÔÇØ Just then the general alarm klaxon sounded. ÔÇ£We have a hostile vessel in the region- a Violon carrier just came through the wormhole. ItÔÇÖs launching fighters!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Abandon ship!ÔÇØ Gero ordered immediately, ÔÇ£We canÔÇÖt hope to defend ourselves- letÔÇÖs make sure that someone hears what happened here. Download the Ca-rekÔÇÖs TACOPS logs to all our ships, and tell the Hu-fan to do the same if they can hear us. LetÔÇÖs give them too many targets to take out.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Transporters are out, as are the shuttles. We maybe have one fighter we can launch.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Then WeÔÇÖll have to stay and try to buy our fighter some time. LetÔÇÖs give those kra-chek something to remember us by. Good luck, everyone.ÔÇØ The De-palÔÇÖs last remaining fighter was catapulted out of its badly damaged bay and headed straight for the jumpgate, against all the instincts of itÔÇÖs pilot. The Violon and its ships arrived out of hyperpace, and proceeded to finish off the two stricken vessels. The Hu-fan seemed to have been less critically damaged than the De-pal; two of itÔÇÖs turrets were firing away at the enemy vessels, and a couple of fighters were . The enemy craft responded by firing volleys of missiles directly into the aestromÔÇÖs superstructure and the great vessel broke in two. All the lights in the front half went out since it was now cut off from the main reactor, and after a few more shots the reactor went up in a big flash of light, sending large chunks of debris spinning off in all directions. The two Hu-fan fighters were cut to ribbons by the overwhelming numbers in a vain attempt to protect the transport which was now at the mercy of the violon and its minions. The dying hulk of the De-pal suffered a similar fate, then the fighters turned their attention to the two remaining craft: the De-palÔÇÖs zodiac class fighter and a T2 shuttle that the Hu-fan had managed to launch, both desperately heading for the sanctuary of the Tramis region. Kio He-lak, the pilot of the zodiac, saw the shuttle go up in a burst of light. It was clear that these pirates didnÔÇÖt want any witnesses. He afterburned even more determinedly towards the jumpgate, then a thought occurred to him. ÔÇÿThese guys are going to keep on chasing me until they think IÔÇÖm dead.ÔÇÖ The missile lock warning started to beep, then became a solid tone. ÔÇ£Hostile launch detected,ÔÇØ gently reported the fighterÔÇÖs computer. The laser hits to the little crafts shields were getting more and more frequent. The enemy craft were faster than him, they were getting closer, but the jumpgate was just ahead. He adjusted a couple of settings and carried on. His shields were getting very low. ÔÇÿGotta time this rightÔǪÔÇÖ His engines started to take hits. His ship weaved at the drop in thrust from the port engine. He brought it back under control but they had gained more ground. ÔÇ£Deactivate escape pod SOS beacon.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Beacon deactivated.ÔÇØ The jumpgate was very close now, but so were his pursuers. Now came his gamble. He climbed hard then span until the centre of the jumpgate was directly above him, then activated the ejection system, firing the cockpit escape pod directly into the jumpgate. Half a second after ejection, the zodiac self destructed, the flash of the explosion obscuring the flash of the jumpgate, and no SOS signal to give away the ejection. Satisfied with their kill, the hunters turned back to their main prey- the transport. On the other side of the jumpgate, Kio lay in his cramped and quiet coccoon, hoping that his ploy had worked, while the podÔÇÖs little engines pushed him silently on towards aleri station. [/rp] ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748 [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 06-28-2000).]

This story follows on from ÔÇÿDistractionsÔÇÖ (the story I was doing in Orion Starstation ÔÇôThe Orion Lounge [rp] Cold. Cold and beautiful. ThatÔÇÖs how space is often described, and rightly so. ItÔÇÖs also quiet, so quiet. No matter how many wars we have or however much we explore it and abuse it, it remains cold, beautiful and quiet, seemingly oblivious to our presence. Such were the musings of Samuel Jordan, chief maintenance man aboard the GCV Cre-nan, an Empirian Canlon armed transport vessel. These were his thoughts as he sat gazing out of a porthole on the vesselÔÇÖs starboard side. Not that there was usually much for him to do in flight, these ships were pretty well put together. He just sat in his office, listening to his favourite soft music and watching the wondrous void go by, as had become his custom. The stars through the porthole started to move, indicating that the ship was turning, though thanks to artificial gravity generation he couldnÔÇÖt feel a thing. They moved this way and that, almost dancing to the music, accompanied by gentle flashes coming from somewhere. Three beautiful comets together slowly arced across his view, each with a pretty shimmering trail behind them. He gasped at the beauty of this sight. As one they turned and were now heading straight for him. Suddenly he realised what they were. Missiles. He scrambled up from his seat and headed for the door, but before he could reach it, one of them impacted the outside wall of the room and detonated, punching a massive hole in it. The room filled with flame and Sam was catapulted into the door by the shockwave before every loose object was sucked out into space. ÔǪ ÔÇ£We have a distress call from the Cre-nan.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Send a squad of fighters to support them.ÔÇØ Four fighters were dispatched From Centauri Station, 2 Defenders and 2 Starfighters. They emerged from the four arms of the mighty station, turned, jumped as one and converged on the Treas jumpgate. As the multiple jumpgate flashes dissipated, the fighter pilots were alerted to the prescence of hostile craft in the region. Two of them immediately jumped towards the nearest raider vessel, the other half cycled through the various ships in the region, searching for the Cre-nan. They were disheartened to find only an empirian military cargo pod, which then disappeared from their scanners, indicating that it had been picked up by someone.They cycled through to two raider T3 shuttles and concluded that there were their culprits, or at least accomplices to the crime. ÔÇ£LetÔÇÖs make their efforts wasted. Blue squad, target the shuttles.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Acknowledged.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£On it.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Right.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£TheyÔÇÖre heading for Arima. Cut them off at the wormhole.ÔÇØ Blue squad all targetted the wormhole to the Tau Ceti system and jumped. The two who had already jumped had to wait a few vital seconds for their jump engines to recharge, which meant that they failed to arrive in time to engage the fleeing pirates. This left a defender and stardrone with a chance to stop the shuttles, which both afterburned towards the wormhole entrance the instant they emerged from hyperspace. The fightersÔÇÖ engines were slightly superior to that of the shuttles, and so they were slowly able to gain on the crafts and unleash their fury on them. The Defenders high-powered Questor class missiles found their mark and reduced the first shuttle to a dissipating cloud of shrapnel. However the stardrone was only equipped with starflash class missiles due to supply shortages, and their inferior warhead and targetting system meant that only two out of the four missiles reached their target and werenÔÇÖt enough to even bring down the second shuttleÔÇÖs shields before it disappeared through the wormhole with a taunting flash. ÔÇ£Permission to pursue the target, sir?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£You know weÔÇÖre not allowed in Tau Ceti space. Maintain patrol in the region for the next half an hour. IÔÇÖll inform Centris Station.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yes, sir,ÔÇØ came the disgruntled reply. ÔÇ£Hey, donÔÇÖt worry about it. Sometimes they get away.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Sir, blue squad reports the Cre-nan was destroyed by raider vessels who all escaped to Tau Ceti except for one of the shuttles that they managed to intercept.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Damn. Well, it had been so quiet for a while hadnÔÇÖt it? What was the Crenan carrying?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Station supplies- repair materials and weapons. We needed those.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yes, I know things are tight right now, but it hasnÔÇÖt mattered much with it being so quiet lately. OK, inform Aleri station and have them add the Cre-nanÔÇÖs manifest to tomorrowÔÇÖs LRT-10 run. In the meantime letÔÇÖs tighten our belts, increase our patrols of the Treas region and hope this was an isolated incident.ÔÇØ[/rp] This story will become a multiplayer one. If you want to join in, you have to email me with what you want to do, so that it doesnÔÇÖt conflict with the main storyline. At the moment my normal email address donÔÇÖt work, so please use [email protected] instead ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748 [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 06-22-2000).]

Yep, that's right Eclipse. Multiplayer in BCM (and BC3020 for that matter) are free, it's only Galcom online that is pay for play, once per month charge to use as often as you like. If any of that has changed, then please correct me, SC. ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Way to go Badger! God bless all three of you with abundant joy, everlasting love and superhuman strength for all those sleepless nights ahead ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Yay! Well done, Badger! ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

[rp] Flash. ÔÇ£Probe link updateÔÇØ gently reported the SvobodaÔÇÖs computer. ÔÇ£Activating TACOPS computer, displaying pluto region.ÔÇØ The 3-D view of the pluto region seemed to wrap itself around Ben. He looked in all directions. Nothing seemed to be amiss; all appeared serene and normal. There were no red target designators anywhere, and only a couple of blue ones. He zoomed in on the blue ones. An empirian tourist transport and a zelon trader vessel, neither of them any sort of threat. Ben zoomed in on the trader ship, ÔÇÿHmm, this is odd,ÔÇÖ Ben thought to himself, ÔÇ£Karen, open a channel with Gazer1; maybe they saw where those ships came from.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£OK, give me a sec.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Why would they go straight past a much softer target with no backup into the most heavily defended region in the quadrant?ÔÇØ Ben thought aloud. ÔÇ£Channel open.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£OK, tell shuttle 1 to go into the pluto region and see what that Zelon trader vessel is carrying.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£On his way.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Right. Gazer1 station, Commander Zwycky of the GCV Svoboda here. WeÔÇÖve had a somewhat unusual incident here with a couple of raider vessels that came through your region. We were wondering if you could help us find where they came from.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Raider Vessels? We havenÔÇÖt had any raider vessels through here in the last two or three days.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£What? We just had two raider vessels, zodiac light fighters who entered earth region less than five minutes ago.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Well, we had no hostile warnings here, and no red TLDÔÇÖs on scope. IÔÇÖll check the TACOPS logs, but IÔÇÖm pretty sure thereÔÇÖs nothing there. Give me a minute to bring them up, Commander.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Thank you.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Shuttle 1 reports that the trader vessel is loaded with vacpacs, deflector arrays, iridium and ODS grazers, amongst other things.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£About as tempting a target as you can get. It just fits together less and less, doesnÔÇÖt it?ÔÇØ commented Ben. Steve agreed thoughtfully. ÔÇ£Commander, I believe I have something for you. We did have two zodiac class fighters come through here from the alpha centauri wormhole and entered the earth jumpgate four minutes ago, but they both had empirian mercenary IFFÔÇÖs, not raider. I hope that is of help.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Great help, Lieutenant. Thank you very much.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£What is going on? They were definitely raider ships.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Go over our TACOPS logs, Steve. See what you can find.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Will do.ÔÇØ After another 20 minutes with no more activity from the Pluto region, Ben decided that nothing more was going to be happening for the moment. ÔÇ£OK, swap over pilots and continue with the training exercises, but watch that probe data and tell me the second anything comes into the pluto region, raider, mercenary, whatever.ÔÇØ After docking his interceptor and exchanging a few ÔÇÿI had you just where I wanted youÔÇÖ boasts with Poltergeist, FrankÔÇÖs mind returned to the situation he had left in JanaÔÇÖs quarters. Even though he was feeling quite hungry by now, he headed straight there and cautiously knocked on the door. ÔÇ£Who is it?ÔÇØ asked a familiar voice. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs Frank here.ÔÇØ The doors opened and Jana and Jolana were sitting on JanaÔÇÖs bed, both laughing at something that had just been said. The old datapad was lying between them, next to a bar of chocolate that was considerably smaller than when he last saw it, a nearly empy packet of marshmallows and a couple of mugs with unmistakable brown rings round their inside rims. Jana was laughing, she was smiling! She jumped up from the bed with a joyful ÔÇ£Frank!ÔÇØ and hugged him and kissed him. He hugged and kissed her back, overjoyed at the transformation in her. He drew his head back and looked into her eyes. They sparkled. ÔÇ£YouÔÇÖre happy, youÔÇÖre smiling, youÔÇÖre better!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yeah, itÔÇÖs great, IÔÇÖve given my life to God!ÔÇØ Frank froze and his expression changed instantly from one of overwhelming joy to one of shocked puzzlement. He withdrew his arms and stepped back. ÔÇ£Wha- you did what?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs brilliant! God is really there, and heÔÇÖs got standards. None of us come anywhere close to living up to them and thereÔÇÖs a price to pay for that. We canÔÇÖt afford that price but because he cares about us so much, he came down to earth and paid it for us. ItÔÇÖs amazing!ÔÇØ Frank turned to Jolana as if she had just shot him through the heart. ÔÇ£What? What did you do?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£When I got here she was reading the bible. We read it together, talked, had chocolate and marshmallows, read some more, then she said she wanted to give her life to God. She asked me how to do it, I told her and she did. I didnÔÇÖt need to persuade her, she wanted to.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£ThatÔÇÖs what happened Frank. ItÔÇÖs what I needed to do, I realise that. ItÔÇÖs such a relief.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Come on, youÔÇÖre scaring me here. This stuff is rubbish.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£No, donÔÇÖt be afraid. Deadboy was right, just look into it for yourself and decide.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Stop right there,ÔÇØ Frank interrupted, ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm glad youÔÇÖre feeling better, you do what you want, but just leave me out of it, OK? IÔÇÖve got to go and get something to eat.ÔÇØ With that, Frank turned and headed out the doors, leaving behind a slightly confused and hurt Jana, who turned to her friend, ÔÇ£What happened?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£IÔÇÖd hoped he would react a bit better than that, but it happens sometimes. ItÔÇÖs come as a bit of a shock to him, and you know heÔÇÖs had some bad experiences in the past.ÔÇØ Back in the SvobodaÔÇÖs ready room, Ben and Chris were about to receive SteveÔÇÖs report. ÔÇ£Well, what did you find?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£OK, erm, when you first look at it, nothing seems out of place, two raider vessels enter the region, are engaged and disabled, then both suffer core breaches before they can be tractored and towed to Galcom HQ.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Right,ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yeah, but the report from gazer1 draws your attention to the moment they entered the region. How could they be mercs on the pluto side and raiders on ours? Have a look.ÔÇØ Steve then brought up a slow motion view of the pluto jumpgate and the two vessels entering the region. The flash of the jumpgateÔÇÖs field collapsing partially obscured their view. ÔÇ£I didnÔÇÖt see anything.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Me neither.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Neither did I, until I slowed it right down. Watch their TTDs carefully.ÔÇØ The sequence was repeated, but ten times as slowly. Both shipÔÇÖs TTDÔÇÖs seemed to almost imperceptibly flicker as they entered the region. ÔÇ£Hey I saw something there.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yeah, just.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£HereÔÇÖs what you saw.ÔÇØ Steve then ran a dead slow frame by frame progression. Both shipÔÇÖs IFFÔÇÖs were blue and read empirian mercenary as they entered the region, then one frame later they disappeared, then in the next frame they read empirian raider in bright red. ÔÇ£In the tactical logs there is a 0.02 second delay between registering a vessel coming through the jumpgate and the hostile vessel warning. Normally this gap would only be a thousandth of a second. This difference is slightly more than the time it takes for a navigation computer to verify itÔÇÖs location. Also, the time delay between the SOS signals being first broadcast and the core breaches occurring was exactly 20 seconds in both cases.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£You mean it was suicide?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£You mean someone wanting to go out in a blaze of glory? If there had only been one vessel, then I might have thought that. But to me the only thing that seems to fit is an execution.ÔÇØ The word came as a shock to both of them. Chris was the first to break the momentary silence. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs a bit of a strange way to go about it.ÔÇØ Ben responded, ÔÇ£Yes, but itÔÇÖs not unheard of. Sometimes in time of war one side has been known to dress prisoners up as soldiers and bring them to an active part of the front line. They tell them to run for their lives, if they can make it to their own lines they are free. Of course the enemy shells them as they run, without knowing that they are actually killing their own people, and if they turn back or refuse to go, they get shot. ItÔÇÖs a very cruel and ironic form of execution, but something I wouldnÔÇÖt put past some of our enemies.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Erm, you mean a couple of Galcom operatives discovered by the Gammulans or Insurgents? Yes, well thatÔÇÖs a possibility, but I donÔÇÖt think itÔÇÖs the most likely one.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Oh, what is?ÔÇØ Ben asked, genuinely intrigued. ÔÇ£Well, in an organised crime syndicate, some of the high ranking members often get aspirations to move up, particularly if they donÔÇÖt like the way the organisation is being run. Normally the top guy in any organisation will have a few totally trusted head enforcers who keep everyone else in line, so in order to take over they have to get rid of those enforcers.ÔÇØ Ben nodded and added, ÔÇ£or sometimes itÔÇÖs one of those enforcers who turns against the top guy, so he has to get rid of the other enforcers or convince them to join him. You think thatÔÇÖs what it is, Steve?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£ThatÔÇÖs what it looks like to me. Our enemies would be more likely to want us to know theyÔÇÖd found one of our operatives, though itÔÇÖs not inconceivable that theyÔÇÖd do it this way.ÔÇØ Chris looked worried. ÔÇ£It was a pretty expensive way to go about it. I mean, the only organisation I know of with those sorts of resources is the SlaÔÇÖti.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Exactly. Ever since the Vesperon conflict, the SlaÔÇÖti have been pretty quiet, even though you would expect the opposite, since it severely weakened both the Vesperon and Empirian fleets, and even our prescence in alpha centauri, and so thereÔÇÖs a lot less to stop them. It seems to me like one of the high ranking officials has got tired of the inactivity and wants to do things his way.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£So we could be seeing a lot more ÔÇÿaccidentsÔÇÖ in the near future.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£DonÔÇÖt you think weÔÇÖre trying to read a bit too much into all of this?ÔÇØ asked Chris concernedly, ÔÇ£I mean, yes this is suspicious and we need to find out as much as we can about this and the SlaÔÇÖti inactivity, but this is all a bit tenuous for me.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Hmm, maybe, but I expect weÔÇÖll find out soon enough.ÔÇØ[/rp] ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Welcome back sir! It's not another fleet, it's just a specialised division within our marine contingent. It was the handbook he's submitting for approval, unless I've got the wrong end of the stick there. What level of detail are you going to go into with it, Jeehun? Not going to give away any top secret info are we ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Welcome to the wonder that is the battlecruiser forum, spacemite! Yes, Eclipse is right, marines can only be tranported to planets in BC3K. If I'm not mistaken, you'll have to wait for BC3020 for beaming marines to other ships or starstations, although galcom online may incorporate it eventually, since BC:Millenium doesn't allow you to walk around in other people's ships or stations. See ya round, ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

You cheater Daniel! All these years I thought you had learned my language, only to findÔǪ Nah, that was OK, made me laugh Here you go, everyone, the mole story is back online! Sorry about the delay, you wouldnÔÇÖt believe how busy things have been. [rp] 0842 March 16th 3008 The hatch opened and John sneaked in and headed for the turboshaft. He selected deck one and the shaft hummed to its destination. Upon exiting the shaft he was surprised to hear voices in the distance and the occasional soft clicks and clanks of men at work. Upon turning the corner to the crew quarters he came across three men in nondescript overalls, two of them up a step ladder, working at an open panel in the corridor ceiling. ÔÇ£Hey, what are you doing?ÔÇØ He asked interestedly. ÔÇ£Upgrading data relays,ÔÇØ replied the man on the floor with the toolbox. ÔÇ£Oh. The notice outside said you were finished 15 minutes ago.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£ThatÔÇÖs when the chief finished. He never checks when the rest of us finish, does he, eh?ÔÇØ He replied, looking up to the other two, who smirked and agreed. ÔÇ£OK, IÔÇÖm just here to pick up a couple of things I left behind. IÔÇÖm a crewmember on the Dark Sun.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£ThereÔÇÖs really no need. YouÔÇÖll be getting your ship back either today or tomorrow.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Well, itÔÇÖs kinda important, and while IÔÇÖm here I may as well...ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Go on, then, we wonÔÇÖt stop you.ÔÇØ As he walked past the stepladder, he looked up at the opening in the ceiling. ÔÇÿThatÔÇÖs not where the data relays are, is it? WhatÔÇÖs that heÔÇÖs got in his hand?ÔÇÖ With the recognition of the device held in the manÔÇÖs hand a sense of total shock came over him ÔÇ£What theÔǪ?ÔÇØ Both men up the ladder looked down at him and recognised the look of shock on his face. Their expression changed to one that filled him with dread. One of them reached for his pocket, and John panicked, pushing over the stepladder and elbowing the toolbox man in the face as he charged past him, knocking him to the floor. He was at a full run before they had got back to their feet and were after him. As he ran a couple of strange small objects flew past his left side and landed on the floor a few metres ahead of him, stopping instantly. As he ran past where they landed, he heard a faint hissing sound coming from them. Puzzled and even more frightened, he gained a new burst of speed and leapt round the corner, heading up the ship. Whoever they were, they were quick. John could hear their footsteps slowly getting closer. He glanced over his shoulder. Two of them were about thirty metres behind him, with strange looking weapons in their hands, like a sidearm, but with a box on the end. They both raised them and fired. Two more of the strange objects came arcing towards him. He veered left to avoid them, they flew passed him and thudded into the wall ahead, where the corridor ended in a T-junction. As he approached the junction, he heard the same hiss, and saw the objects start to slide down the wall leaving scorch marks behind them. He dropped his right shoulder then went left in a vain attempt to throw them off course, but this only served to slow him down a little. They were getting very close now. His breathing got faster and harder. The corridor came to another T-junction. John heard a couple of short whisper-like noises and instinctively ducked, guessing correctly that that was the sound of the weapons firing. Both projectiles flew over his head, thudded into the wall in front and began to hiss. Running whilst bent double is a difficult operation. Attempting to turn round a tight bend whilst running bent double is well nigh impossible, and John lost traction with his right foot, landed on his side and slid into the wall in front, directly below where the objects had impacted. He looked up and saw the molten pieces of metal starting to slide down the wall towards him, leaving a scorched trail behind them, then looked behind him at the two men who had been following, who barely looked out of breath. Terrified, he stretched out both arms in a gesture of surrender. ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm sorry, I surrender, please donÔÇÖt kill me, Aghh!ÔÇØ he screamed as drips of molten metal landed on his overalls and burned right through, searing his exposed skin. One of the men lined up his weapon. ÔÇ£Wha- I surrender, noo!ÔÇØ as the weapon discharged its projectile into his stomach, half winding him. He tried to grab it and throw it away, but it was stuck fast. However, instead of hissing, it gave a soft repeated beep. ÔÇ£Huh?ÔÇØ John was barely able to say before a jump anomaly formed in front of him and he was drawn into it and thrown out in a well-lit room with a large opening where one of the walls should have been. On the other side of the opening stood five very mean looking marines all with their assault rifles aimed right at his head. He raised his hands instantly and looked around the room. There was a bunk in each of the side walls and a food dispenser in the wall opposite the opening. As far as he could tell, he was in some sort of brig, though its design wasnÔÇÖt the same as the one in the Dark Sun. Once he was over the initial shock of still being alive, his left side began to sting more and more until he was in agony, and collapsed on the floor, unconscious. 0845, March 16th, 3008 ÔÇÿWhat a small galaxy!ÔÇÖ Ben thought contentedly to himself as he shut down his communication screen, then began thinking aloud, ÔÇ£Right, back to work. What have we here? Report on administrative anomalies by Cmdr. Ivan Ketovski. Interesting reading, no doubt,ÔÇØ Ben told himself, not sure whether he meant that or not. His thoughts were interrupted by the urgent message from Cmdr. Jamont: Hey, Ben, IÔÇÖve got myself a prisoner here. I think he may have something to do with the mole. Please send a message back to tell me what you think. Ben nearly spat out his drink in shock, before hurriedly activating his secure comms terminal. The familiar face of the head of the Intel wing appeared before him, looking a little impatient. ÔÇ£What have you been doing, I sent you an urgent message two hours ago!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm really sorry, Nick. IÔÇÖve been ill, and I only just got your message. What have you got, I mean what did you catch him doing?ÔÇØ[rp] I hope thatÔÇÖs OK for you, Nick. We need to have a chat about what you have planned. Give me a mail, or better yet we can have a chat on ICQ. My numberÔÇÖs in my signature. Later, ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Darkwind & Poltergeist yellow Smiler & Roadhog yellow Livewire & Redwood purple Sawtooth & Steelfingers purple [rp]Both pairs of interceptors circled their respective asset, watching each other to see who would make the first move as the countdown reached itÔÇÖs end ÔÇ£ÔǪ2, 1, Begin.ÔÇØ Both yellow team interceptors charged towards the purple asset, while the purples came out more cautiously and in tight formation, looking to focus their fire on one of the incoming crafts. Instead of targetting the purple interceptors, however, both yellows targetted the purple probe just behind them and each launched three simulated questor missiles at it. In the meantime, Poltergeists craft now had four simulated perseus missiles homing in on it, and his efforts were now focussed mainly on avoiding impacts with more than one of them at once, and thus give his shields time to recover, but at the same time attempting to keep a rough idea of where the ÔÇÿenemyÔÇÖ interceptors were. Both the purple interceptors having targetted PoltergeistÔÇÖs craft left Roadhog free to target SawtoothÔÇÖs vessel, weaken his shieldÔÇÖs slightly with a burst of laser fire and launch two simulated perseuses of his own. After flashing past the slower moving vessel at a combined speed of almost 3,000 kph, he was able to strafe the purple probe, absorbing a little simulated PTA fire. He then banked round to try and get on the six of one of the purple ICÔÇÖs, who were still both intent on ÔÇÿbagging a ghostÔÇÖ. Poltergeist was at his best, twirling diving and soaring, leading the missiles and purple ICÔÇÖs in a merry dance through the stars. One by one the simulated missiles ran out of fuel and vanished from everyoneÔÇÖs tacscopes. A couple of them impacted, and a few laser shots hit home, but they were spread far enough apart to give his shields time to recover. The purple assetÔÇÖs simulated PTA turrets, slightly damaged by RoadhogÔÇÖs fire, were only able to destroy one of the incoming missiles. The others totally overwhelmed its already weakened shields, and it erupted in a pretty flash of plasma and debris. Sawtooth had managed to avoid one of the simulated perseuses on his tail, but the other had impacted forcefully, and combined with RoadhogÔÇÖs attentions had significantly weakened the shields around his engine. A few hits later and he started to lose ground on his leader, engine damage being simulated by a cut in the available thrust. In a dogfight, slow craft are vulnerable craft, and Sawtooth was now at RoadhogÔÇÖs mercy, of which he didnÔÇÖt expect and didnÔÇÖt receive much. Livewire was now on his own. He had managed to damage PoltergeistÔÇÖs launch tubes and tacscope, but that wasnÔÇÖt good enough- he was now outgunned and isolated. His asset was destroyed, as was his wingman, and the enemy asset was undamaged. He utilised his only option and hyperjumped to the lunar jumpgate. Poltergeist drew back to a defensive position in orbit of his asset while Roadhog maintained his pursuit. In the meantime, Sawtooth and Steelfingers sat in their slowly drifting craft, watching the proceedings through their tacops displays. Livewire and Redwood emerged from hyperspace slightly earlier than Sawtooth and Steelfingers. As he neared the exit from hyperspace, ÔÇ£Hey, thereÔÇÖs only one other anomaly there!ÔÇØ Upon exiting the anomaly, he banked round and tried to use however many seconds he had to gain a momentum advantage over his opponent, a crucial edge in any confrontation. Poltergeist, seeing what was coming, called out to his wingman ÔÇ£Sawtooth! Get back here! The exercise is asset defence, we donÔÇÖt chase runaways. Watch your back and get back here as soon as your jump engines recharge.ÔÇØ Sawtooth engaged his afterburner immediately upon emerging from hyperspace and turned towards LivewireÔÇÖs rapidly approaching vessel, intending to flash by him and get out of his sights and also give him insufficient time to obtain a target lock. It was a bold and dangerous move, but one that was unfortunately also anticipated by Livewire. He not only managed to weaken SawtoothÔÇÖs fore shields as they rapidly approached each other, but at the last second managed to dumb-fire a spread of three simulated questor missiles, two of which slammed into the front of SawtoothÔÇÖs IC, obliterating itÔÇÖs guns, launch tubes and pilotÔÇÖs compartment, ÔÇÿkillingÔÇÖ Sawtooth. The craftÔÇÖs engines and navigation still worked, and Steelfingers was still able to pilot it, but it was out of the combat. ÔÇ£Great shot man!ÔÇØ Applauded Redwood, ÔÇ£now letÔÇÖs go bag ourselves a ghost!ÔÇØ Two remained, Livewire and Redwood in an undamaged IC versus Poltergeist and Darkwind in a slightly damaged IC with a fully functional asset. ÔÇ£Care to pick a winner?ÔÇØ Ben asked Steve in admiration of both his pilotÔÇÖs performances. Steve just smiled in agreement. Redwood watched the hyperjump charge indicator as it reached full capacity ÔÇ£Ready to jump in 5, 4ÔǪÔÇØ The question remained unanswered. Two red blips appeared on everyoneÔÇÖs tacscopes, and a warning klaxon sounded. ÔÇ£Two raider vessels have entered the region. This exercise is now over. Prepare for weapon activation.ÔÇØ All the instruments of the ÔÇÿdeadÔÇÖ ICÔÇÖs came to life accompanied by several confirmatory beeps, and their engines came back on line with a soft hum as authorisation codes were downloaded The soft female voice of each ICÔÇÖs computer reported, ÔÇ£Live weapon activation in 3, 2, 1, active.ÔÇØ A few more indicator lights coming on quickly followed a couple more confirmatory beeps. ÔÇ£Preparing to jump.ÔÇØ The four former combatants converged as one on the two raider vessels that had emerged from the pluto jumpgate, both zodiacs. Zodiacs were powerful craft, well armed and at close ranges had more powerful lasers than the Svobodas ICÔÇÖs, but in many critical areas including rate of fire, manouverability, and laser and radar range, solarian class interceptors were far superior. There were also twice as many of them and they had very much better trained pilots, so there was only one likely outcome, and the sleek looking vessels were quickly disabled. ÔÇ£That was too easy!ÔÇØ celebrated Redwod. ÔÇ£ThatÔÇÖs what the training is for,ÔÇØ smiled Livewire. ÔÇ£Send shuttles 1 and 2 to tow them back to Galcom HQ- theyÔÇÖre probably wanted for something,ÔÇØ ordered Commander Zwycky, ÔÇ£and send a probe through to pluto region. Zodiacs are normally part of a Megaron class carrierÔÇÖs complement.ÔÇØ The svobodaÔÇÖs ICÔÇÖs maintained a vigil on the two disabled craft as the shuttles darted across space towards them. ÔÇ£Whoa,ÔÇØ said Smiler, shielding his face from the bright flash as one of the zodiacs suffered a core breach. ÔÇ£What?ÔÇØ said Steelfingers as the other did the same moments later. The two shuttles arrived to find nothing but a dissipating shockwave and two dispersing clouds of debris. ÔÇ£Hey, did you fire on them while we were in hyperspace?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£No, nobody did, and I didnÔÇÖt see them eject. Anybody else?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£NoÔÇØ ÔÇ£NoÔÇØ ÔÇ£Not me.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Weird.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£DonÔÇÖt understand it.ÔÇØ The Svoboda then arrived and launched its probe towards the slowly pulsing jumpgate. ÔÇ£Probe 3 away.ÔÇØ As the probe serenely homed in on the red glowing sphere at the centre of the jumpgate, ÔÇ£Right, letÔÇÖs see whatÔÇÖs around.ÔÇØ [/rp] ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Well, bein' tetotal will mean I won't be takin part in all yer 'activities', but it'd be kinda interestin to meet some of ya ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Congrats on adding another calendar into the fire, William. I still find it hard to believe that there have been so few of them so far Your honour and Courage above all else has been an example to many. ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Thanks, Harri. I did see Photoshop 4.0 in there. So is creating partitions something you do in your BIOS? I tried searching for it in windows help, but it said it couldn't locate the find tab, and I couldn't find anything in the subjects index about it. Cheers, ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Just how backward compatible is win2k? are all my older packages (Word 97, smartsuite 96, Photoshop 4.0 etc) going to run in win 2k or will I have to create a win95 partition to run all of those? If I do, does anyone know a cheap program to create a dual boot system? Cheers, ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Sorry, Nick. Been trying to include everybody, and sort lost you in the confusion Give me a mail with your ideas and I'll fit you in with humble apologies, ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Cheers, guys Will prolly have something to post tomorrow or the next day. Been sick today (in both senses of the word) ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

HI guys! I was wanting to carry on my story here. You think I should move the whole thing to a new thread, or carry on here? It might disrupt the flow of what you guys are doing. Let me know sometime soon (am writing next post as we speak, but might take a little while) ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

[rp]March 16th 3008 0750 In his new quarters on the GCV conquest, flight engineer John Raffet paced up and down in a panic. ÔÇÿI shouldnÔÇÖt have done that, it was stupid. Maybe I can stop anyone finding out. IÔÇÖve got to get back to the Dark Sun. How? How? Think! The shuttle bay, itÔÇÖs my only chance.ÔÇÖ He set off purposefully, more in hope than expectation. ÔǪ ÔÇØÔǪI just think itÔÇÖs a bit of a liberty, donÔÇÖt you?ÔÇØ Commented Karel Moranek, the Dark SunÔÇÖs (but now temporarily the ConquestÔÇÖs) tactical officer, after having looked over the ConquestÔÇÖs inventory. ÔÇ£Nonsense,ÔÇØ replied Cmdr. Tepe┼í, ÔÇ£this is a fine ship, and in much better condition than the Dark Sun. Commander Dilvorn has been most generous, weÔÇÖll just send a shuttle back to Renegade for the extra supplies we need.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yes, sir,ÔÇØ he replied grudgingly. ÔÇ£Relax, Karl├¡k. ItÔÇÖs not every day you get to fly a wingÔÇÖs flagship- enjoy it.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£OK.ÔÇØ ÔǪ ÔÇ£Shuttle one proceed to renegade station for supplies pickup.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Gah, already?ÔÇØ Sighed Flight Engineer Nick Hunter in disgust, ÔÇ£weÔÇÖve only just left.ÔÇØ He shook his head and sighed. ÔÇ£ Oh well, orders is orders.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Err, IÔÇÖll go for you, Nick,ÔÇØ piped John Raffet, trying to conceal his excitement. ÔÇ£Will ya, John? Cheers!ÔÇØ he replied with obvious relief. ÔÇ£YouÔÇÖll owe me a drink when I get back, you know,ÔÇØ warned John, pushing his luck, and secretly wincing inside. ÔÇ£Hmmm,ÔÇØ Nick paused, considering whether he was on the right end of this transaction, before his lethargy got the better of him, ÔÇ£Aw, go on then, but just one.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£IÔÇÖll look forward to it,ÔÇØ grinned John. ÔÇ£YouÔÇÖll need this,ÔÇØ offered Nick, throwing John a datapad containing the required cargo list, which he caught without breaking his stride. ÔÇ£See ya, Nick.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Bye.ÔÇØ John entered the shuttle and closed its cargo doors behind him, then leant against the wall of its cargo hold and heaved a huge sigh of relief. ÔÇ£Oh, dear. Right, off we go.ÔÇØ He moved through to the pilotÔÇÖs seat and started up the shuttleÔÇÖs engines. The low hum they made was barely audible in the cockpit. ÔÇ£Shuttle one ready for launch.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Acknowledged. Shuttle 1, you are clear to launch.ÔÇØ The little boxy craft gently rose from the shuttle bay floor and eased forward. There was an almost imperceptible hiss of air bleeding out along the sides of its hull as it passed through the limit of the guadran field that held the shipÔÇÖs atmosphere in place. The view of the vast and beautiful infinity all around him, unblurred by atmosphere and relatively unrestricted by the shuttles large viewscreen, would have held him in awe were he not heavily focussed on the task before him. 0825 March 16th, 3008 ÔÇ£Reporting in, as ordered, maÔÇÖmÔÇØ Cmdr. Zwycky saluted with a grin. ÔÇ£I should think so, too. YouÔÇÖre looking a lot better,ÔÇØ replied Linda Waddilove, the SvobodaÔÇÖs Chief Medical Officer ÔÇ£I feel a lot better. I slept pretty well- that was good stuff you gave me!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Considering what was in you, IÔÇÖm not surprised.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£So what did the tests show?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Well, your headaches were caused by a reaction to an artificial sweetener that was in the orange juice you were drinking, making it act like a sedative. ItÔÇÖs been known to happen with people of a certain blood type,ÔǪÔÇØ ÔÇ£AO negative?ÔÇØ Interrupted Ben. ÔÇ£Correct. It has been barred from most drinks, but there are a few less scrupulous manufacturers around, one of which probably supplied your drinks dispenser.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£They offered a pretty good price, no doubt.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Most likely. ThatÔÇÖs how most things get decided these days.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Well, thatÔÇÖs a relief. IÔÇÖll just bring some of the SvobodaÔÇÖs stock over to my office, and try to find the name of that manufacturer. IÔÇÖd better get back to work.ÔÇØ 0840 March 16th 3008 ÔÇÿBay 3, port 2. Right.ÔÇÖ Upon arriving at docking bay 3, John went over to the maintenance scheduling console punched in a password and scrolled down to read: ---------------------- GCV Dark Sun : Maintenance completed 0825 ---------------------- ÔÇÿGood, there shouldnÔÇÖt be anyone on board.ÔÇÖ John walked up the long corridor to the airlock and used his identity key to open the hatch. ÔǪ Ben reached the entrance to his office and paused before entering, apprehensive of the reception he would get. ÔÇÿJust put it behind you and donÔÇÖt let it get in the way of working together.ÔÇÖ He stepped forward and the double doors slid open. Emily looked up, first with a smile, then a look of concern ÔÇ£Hi Ben. Are you OK?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Much better now- there was an illegal additive in the orange juice in my drinks dispenser. WeÔÇÖll need the name of the manufacturer who supplied us that, so we can see that legal proceedings are started against them. In the meantime, I can recommend these guys,ÔÇØ Ben added, ÔÇ£My ship keeps its speciality drinks stocked up from them whenever weÔÇÖre near earth. TheyÔÇÖre pretty good, and not too expensive.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£IÔÇÖll get on it. There are some messages and paperwork for you, which IÔÇÖve forwarded to your console, including a new Tactical Support Wing commander, who needs to be integrated into the fleet training program. Apparently heÔÇÖs an old friend of yours, a Commander Sedlacek?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£DonÔÇÖt know him. No, wait. Da- no, it couldnÔÇÖt be. Daniel Sedlacek?ÔÇØ Ben asked in wonder. ÔÇ£His personnel file has been forwarded to your console.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Right. Thanks, Emily,ÔÇØ concluded Ben with a satisfied smile. ÔÇ£Anytime, BenÔÇØ replied Emily with a smile, at which point Ben dropped his and entered his office. He sat down and looked at the personnel file. 2988 toÔǪ It was! Ben quickly inserted his security key into the comms panel and opened a channel to the GCV Millenium ÔÇ£This is Commander Zwycky. I would like to speak to Commander Sedlacek, please.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Certainly, sir,ÔÇØ replied a youthful female voice, ÔÇ£HeÔÇÖs been expecting your call.ÔÇØ The features and form of his old school friend formed from the mist of light in front of him, still recognisable, but matured and hardened by the passage of time. ÔÇ£Ahoj Daniele! Jak se mas? Bylo to moc dlouhe.ÔÇØ (Hi Daniel! How are you? ItÔÇÖs been too long.) ÔÇ£No, dobre. Souhlasim, bylo to daleko moc dlouhe. Jak se vede?ÔÇØ (Yes, fine. I agree, itÔÇÖs been far too long. HowÔÇÖs life?) ÔÇ£Zivot je dobry momentalne. Co jsi delal?ÔÇØ (LifeÔÇÖs good at the moment. What have you been up to?)[/rp] I hope thatÔÇÖs good enough for ya there, Daniel. DonÔÇÖt feel like you have to carry on the conversation in czech, or anything. I wouldnÔÇÖt be that cruel More on John Raffet's exploits next post! Well, everyone, I apologise for my rping absence of late. Once I get this pesky report done and dusted, hopefully within a couple of days, IÔÇÖll be able to get a bit more involved. Later, ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748 [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 05-20-2000).]

Thanks for the replies so far, guys Have 256MB of PC100 already bought (found a good deal on that), but that's backwards compatible to 66Mhz. Bandwidth will be a problem as far as being a server is concerned (unless BT openworld turns out to be cheap, and that'll probably not get to my part of the country for a good while ). I have a reasonably quick unmetered 56K connection, which I'm not keen to throw away just yet. The main idea with this upgrade was to be ready to run 3020 with no problems performancewise, hence my original plan of an Athlon 600, but it seems I may be able to do better than I planned for the same buck Anyone else have any experience I should know about before making my decision, please post away ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Well, seein' as BCM is practically upon us, 'tis time for me to get the new mo'board I've been telling meself I'll get for the past year. I had me heart set on an athlon 600, but upon lookin down the ol' price list I noticed that for the same price I could get meself a dual socket 370 motherboard with all the slots I need and a couple of celeron 500's. It's the ABit Bp6 I think. I know I need win2k for dual processor support, (because I can't play BCM with NT), and if I don't qualify for a student licence on that (I'm graduating in a couple of months) then this whole discussion is academic. I kno it's only got a 2x AGP slot, and I don't mind that, because I'll prolly be getting a G400 max to go with it. I don't want to spend any more than what I've outlined here, it's just a question of which to go for. (basically I'm looking for good reasons not to go for the dual celeron, otherwise I'll get that) Come on you computer buffs out there, show us what yer made of! ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

Humble apologies for my tardyness. Happy birthday, Blades ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

yayayay! great idea, SC- this is really going to help with fleet recruiting ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748

[rp] The doors to the briefing room opened and Frank came in apologetically. "Sorry I'm late, guys, Jana's been pretty upset." "It's OK, buddy, it's been tough on everyone. You haven't missed anything that important," reassured Firehail. "Huh," snorted Poltergeist quietly, datapad in hand, before continuing, "right- feedback time. How has everyone been reacting to the training exercises? Are there any areas people feel are being overlooked or need going over again?" "Well, I've been hearing from a couple of the backup pilots, that they feel pretty happy about the lead and wingman training, but would like some more work on individual dogfighting tactics, in case they get separated from their partner. I think it's a confidence thing, to know they can handle themselves if things go wrong." "Good. That's positive, and we can certainly act on that. Anything else? "I think we should run a couple of planetary assault scenarios. We might be required to perform one of those pretty soon, and we haven't trained for it in a while. Everyone knows they can get pretty hairy, and we don't want anyone freaking out under fire." "Yes- good point, Frank. I'll get together with Steve and Doug and see what we can set up. It'll be a good opportunity to do a shipwide drill. Other suggestions, opinions?" "Yeah, this uniform just isn't good enough," mused Tony Devorah, sadly. "It does nothing to bring out my cheekbones." The burst of laughter was audible down the corridor, as Tony's trademark grin was fully revealed. "Nice one, smiler." "Yeah." "Hoo, my. Hehe. Right, any serious suggestions, opinions?" There was a silence for a few seconds. "OK," said Poltergeist, looking at his watch, "next exercise is in 30 minutes, and it's space asset defence. We'll do individual dogfighting in the 1400 session this afternoon, and the planetary assault exercise will be announced in due course. Get the backups prepped and ready, and check your interceptors simulated weapons settings and status." The news was greeted enthusiastically by most of the backup pilots. "Cool, probe hunt! I love that game!" "The lessons you learn from this 'game' may well save your life one day. Take it seriously," scolded Poltergeist. "Sorry, sir." "Right, there will be one backup and one regular pilot in each interceptor. You will each be flying with the partner of the guy you replace, who is your most likely partner in a real battle situation, so work as a team. Darkwind, you're with me, Roadhog, you're with Smiler, Redwood is with Livewire and Sawtooth is with Steelfingers. After half an hour, we will swap over." After performing their last minute systems checks, the combatants climbed into their crafts and waited for the command to launch. "Probes ready, simulated weapons systems and IFF signals active and fully operational." "OK, launch probes." "Probe 1 away, probe 2 away." "Set both probe destinations to lunar jumpgate." "Confirmed." "Launch interceptors." All four interceptors were catapulted out of their launch bays and turned smoothly towards the probes as one, engaging afterburners to catch up to their assigned asset. "Verifying IFF yellow 1, simulated weapons and shields active" "Verifying IFF yellow 2, simulated weapons and shields active. Yellow asset active." "Verifying IFF purple 1, simulated weapons and shields active" "Verifying IFF purple 2, simulated weapons and shields active. Purple asset active." Both pairs of interceptor circled their assigned probes, 3 kilometers apart and on parallel courses to the lunar jumpgate, watching each other and waiting for battle to commence. "Acknowledged. Exercise begins in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, begin."[/rp] Just reposting what was lost in the shakeup. More coming sometime soon, probably ------------------ Cmdr. Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda, ISS08 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander ISS Fleet Recruiting Officer Director, CIOPS Directorate of Training and Administration Initiate - Order of Jade Dragon ISS Fleet Homepage GCV Svoboda Homepage "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) ICQ:72897748