Ben Zwycky

[rp]After a few seconds, the doors slid open. There she stood, as lovely a sight as ever, unsure of what to do or say, with her long and curly blond hair slightly wet at the front, as if she had just hurriedly washed her face. "Hi," said Frank quietly. "Hi," came the soft reply. There was an awkward pause. "I'm really sorry." "I know." Another pause. "You want to come in?" "Can I?" "Yeah." Frank cautiously entered the room, and looked around. It was well ordered, but with a number of homely touches scattered about, including a badly concealed picture of him, he noted. He sat in the swivel chair by her comms terminal, and she sat on her bunk facing him. She cocked her head slightly over to one side and gave a little sigh. Her expression changed to one of expectation and Frank took his cue. "There's no excuse for what I did. I don't know what I thought I was doing." "You were upset. You had a right to be. Your whole world was turned upside down." "But I never should have taken it out on you," Frank moaned "Maybe you were right." "What?" "I did think of deadboy when I saw you, especially to start with, but I came to see that you are very different to him. I like lots of those differences. I like you. He never would have done what you just did." "What, hit you?" "No, face up to a big problem and come and talk to me about it. That's why our relationship ended." "How's that?" "One of the people I grew up with was pilot of a sentry that turned raider, the Ridgley. Deadboy knew about that, but he was forced to destroy it to protect a convoy it was attacking on the way to Pluto. He couldn't face me after that and just avoided me as much as he could from then on. It went on for days, until I just told him that it wasn't working and we should stop seeing each other. We still weren't on very good terms when the Vesperon conflict started, and I hardly saw him at all during that." "So you chose to be with me because you felt guilty about dumping him just before he died?" "I have to admit that I did, to start with. I'm really sorry about that. It was really stupid. You mean a lot more to me than that now." "Why? I'm nothing- just a bunch of molecules grown in a tank and given some of your old boyfriend's memories." "Not to me, and not to a whole lot of other people on board. You are Frank, a very kind, honourable, sweet and gentle man who cares about me a lot, and who I care about a lot." "No, this is all just too weird for me. I can't go back to how we were as if nothing's happened." "I don't want you to. I want you to be yourself, the real you, and take your time to make your own decisions. Until then, we're just friends, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. If you ever want to talk, or cry, or scream, or relax and enjoy yourself or anything- anything at all, you just knock on my door." "I don't know- I need to think about this, it just doesn't seem right." Frank got up from the chair and started towards the door. "Hey." He stopped. She got up and continued, "I'll go with whatever you decide. It's going to be OK, OK?" "Yeah." Frank mumbled unconvincingly. "OK?" She repeated insistently. He turned his head round and replied, "OK," still not sounding very assured. Jana reached out to take his hand, but he had already turned and opened the door and was on his way to his quarters with a lot on his mind.[/rp] Sorry about the delay. Same excuse (projects). ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

How did I not spot that? I took part in that thread, and even suggested an idea similar to that! I must really be getting old before my years Objection withdrawn, but it does make it pretty easy to destroy a station now. ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

If they're that touchy, would you have them on your ship? one hit in the wrong place and whoops, there goes your no claims bonus. ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

Not too bad. I suppose you could have broken it up into little sections and copied and pasted them here every so often to build up some tension, but it worked fairly well as it is. Maybe using OTS's like that isn't quite realistic. How do you think starbases try to defend themselves from OTS's? Just shooting them would most likely destroy them, not detonate them- nuclear detonation is actually a fairly precise business. I have an idea of how else it could be done, which I could email you if you want, but it's probably not something you could do on the spur of the moment, and so maybe just as unrealistic in the context of the story . That's my only gripe, really- apart from that, not too bad. Keep it up! ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) Oh, and maybe you could save it in a more accessible format, like save as html, or as a word 6.0 file. It'll keep most if not all of the formatting, and be more readable. Not everyone has Word 97 or higher! Might even take up a lot less space on your server. [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 02-04-2000).]

I think he meant close the thread so there won't be any posts after his epilogue, unless I've misunderstood that completely. Yeah, it's been cool, good fun. Now if you can just run Orion as well as you've run this then the insurgency will have an awful lot of worries come BCM ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

[rp] The sound of the plasma blast reverberated around the toilet block, echoing off all the hard surfaces. Frank gazed in shock at the hole it had made. 'So loud!' "We've got a weapon discharge on board! Deck two." "No!" Cried Ben. 'what have I done?' The rest of the bridgecrew looked at him slightly confusedly. "Livewire, are you alright? Livewire! Frank! Talk to me!" Frank looked down at his hands, then his gaze switched back to the hole in the floor next to where his sidearm had landed. He then began to register a disembodied voice calling his name. It was a worried voice. He began to listen. As he focussed on it, he thought he could recognise it and then he was suddenly aware of his surroundings. "Talk to me! Frank! Frank!" Still somewhat disorientated, he activated his communicator. "Uhh- Frank here." "Thank God! Are you alright?" "Umm, I think so," Frank replied puzzledly. "What happened?" "Uhhmm," then looking down again, "oh. I dropped my sidearm and it went off. Sorry, I'm a bit shook up." "Ah. Well, that's understandable. Firehail's on his way to see if you're OK. You had us worried for a while there." "I had myself worried." Frank stood up and opened the cubicle door. Just then the door from the corridor opened and Firehail rushed in. "Frank!" he called out in surprise and relief, "I heard a shot! You OK, buddy?" "I dropped my gun and it went off. I'm OK." "Phew, you had me worried for a sec there!" "I didn't enjoy it much either." "Man, you look terrible! Come on, let's go have a drink." "Not just yet," replied Frank with newfound determination, "there's something I've got to do first." Five minutes later he knocked gently on Jana's door.[/rp] ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 02-22-2000).]

Are you using version 2.09? There are only missions after TOD2 in 2.09. You get put off duty until further notice when there are no more missions left. ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

[rp] ÔÇ£ThatÔÇÖs ridiculous!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£I canÔÇÖt imagine how hard this must be to take, but itÔÇÖs the truth. I could get Linda to come in here and confirm it, if you want.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£I canÔÇÖt be. No, no way.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Think about it. DoesnÔÇÖt it explain a lot of things, like why you canÔÇÖt remember any of the major events from the four months before you arrived here? ThatÔÇÖs how long he was here.ÔÇØ Frank grew more and more distressed as more and more little things seemed to make sense in terms of this revelation, but his mind wasnÔÇÖt ready to give in just yet. ÔÇ£No, no, no! I would have known! Someone would have told me!ÔÇØ ÔÇ£We wanted to give you enough time to firmly establish your own identity. I stand by that decision. Would you have preferred to have been told right at the start?ÔÇØ There was a long silence as Frank finally accepted the truth. He was a clone. His next question was barely audible, ÔÇ£so everybody knew?ÔÇØ Ben didnÔÇÖt know how else to answer, so he just quietly said, ÔÇ£yes.ÔÇØ More silence. Ben broke it. ÔÇ£Look- you are not him. YouÔÇÖre an individual and you make your own choices. He did things you will probably never do, and you will do things he never did. You will make different decisions. You already have.ÔÇØ Frank heard the words, but they didnÔÇÖt register in his mind, which was full of swirling and conflicting thoughts. Then a terrifying possibility flashed before him. ÔÇ£Jana. She loved him, didnÔÇÖt she?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£They went out for a little while, but it didnÔÇÖt last. You have a chance to succeed where he failed there.ÔÇØ Frank's head dropped into his hands and he sighed painfully. ÔÇ£ThereÔÇÖs not really any reason to not put Deadboy on that plaque now, unless it makes things worse for you, but you donÔÇÖt have to decide that now. ThereÔÇÖs no rush.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£I canÔÇÖt do that now. I need some time alone.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Of course. Take all you need.ÔÇØ Without another word, Frank headed back to his quarters in a daze, not acknowledging anything or anyone. As he arrived at his quarters, he met Jana waiting outside for him. She skipped over with a joyful ÔÇ£Hi!ÔÇØ then saw the expression on his face and became extremely concerned. ÔÇ£WhatÔÇÖs wrong?ÔÇØ Frank just looked down at the floor and made as if to carry on. She took his hand and crouched slightly to get into his field of view. ÔÇ£Come on, you can tell me.ÔÇØ Frank straightened up and looked at her, his eyes full of anguish, then half-whispered, ÔÇ£you donÔÇÖt love me. You love him.ÔÇØ Jana was totally bewildered. She let go of his hand and drew her head back, as if avoiding a blow. ÔÇ£What? Who?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Deadboy.ÔÇØ She was stunned. ÔÇÿHow did he know? How could he know?ÔÇÖ Frank took her silence as an admission of guilt, turned away and headed off down the corridor. When she regained her senses a couple of seconds later, she ran after him, saying, ÔÇ£No, wait-ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Get away from me!ÔÇØ screamed Frank as her turned and shoved her away as hard as he could. She slammed into the nearby bulkhead, cracking the back of her head painfully against the unforgiving surface. She cried out in pain then sank to the floor,sobbing heavily. Frank stormed off somewhere he could be more sure of some privacy. He reached the small toilet block, locked himself in one of the cubicles and sat down. Then he gave his mind full reign to wallow in his new pain. His whole life was a lie. He was only three weeks old. Most of his memories werenÔÇÖt even his. The woman he thought had fallen for him was just using him to replace the man she really loved, and he had lashed out and hurt the woman he loved. Ben's personal communicator beeped. "Yes, what is it?" A distressed voice answered. "It's Jana here. Are you alone?" "Hang on." Ben went back into his ready room and switched on the communication panel. Jana's face formed in front of him, looking very upset. It was obvious she had been crying. "OK, I am now. What's wrong?" "It's Frank. We just had a fight. He's very upset. He knows about Deadboy." "Yes, I know." "I'm scared he's going to do something stupid. Can you send someone to see if he's alright?" "OK, Jana. I'll do that." "Thanks." "Steve- check perscan. Where's Livewire?" "Uhm. He's on deck two, in the toilet block next to the officers' quarters." "OK, thanks, Steve. Firehail?" "Yes, sir?" "I want you to go check on Livewire. He's in the toilet block next to the officers' quarters. He's found out he's a clone." "Oh, man! I'm on it." As reality around him faded into insignificance, Frank brought out his sidearm and turned it over and over, transfixed. If there had been anyone else around, he wouldnÔÇÖt have heard them. He watched the light glinting off the sidearmÔÇÖs metal surfaces- so smooth, so beautiful, so captivating. He placed the butt in his right hand and firmly closed his fingers round it. It fitted snugly. He gently placed his finger over the trigger. It was so comfortable, so natural. One squeeze, and this nightmare will all be over. No more pain. No more worries. No more lies. One little squeezeÔǪ[/rp] ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 02-22-2000).]

Cool! I'm pretty sure I've got distant czech ancestry too, and I speak some czech (though that's purely coincidental), even though the name Zwycky is more polish in origin. (It's not my real name now, but it was my great great grandmother's maiden name, and I like it ) Sedlacek is structured just like any typical czech surname. Doesn't sound german or polish to me (but then I only know a few Polish names) The c probably has an upside down one of these ^ above it in the original spelling (that symbol doesn't exist in this font). Anyway, if you'd like to incorporate it into your character, you could have yours and mine growing up together or something. Also, you should really join up with a fleet if you want to get properly involved in the RP world here. Maybe you have already. I can recommend the ISS Fleet (but then I'm a bit biased there ) That said, whenever you start to post, I look forward to reading it. TTFN ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 01-27-2000).]

[rp]As he left his quarters the next morning, his mind aglow with thoughts of his new love, Frank again noticed the plaque above the Interceptor Pilot's quarters. He asked Firehail, "Who was that guy?" "Cavalry? He was a flight engineer- a backup pilot. A real hero." "What did he do?" "He only flew one mission, and got killed, but on the way he took out 9 enemy ships two sentries and saved a constellation class BC." "Wow." Frank exhaled, taking in the enormity of that achievement. He then looked puzzled, "what about the other guy in the IC? Why isn't he mentioned?" "You don't want to find out about all our old warstories:- We'd like to find out about yours! How'd it go with Jana last night?" "Oh, wow, it was amazing! I've never- I mean it was like- it was just amazing, we got on so well, she's so lovely, I just can't believe she wants to be with me." "You'd better believe it, boy! You are one lucky man! You just make sure you treat her properly- She means a lot to a lot of us, and we don't want to see her get hurt." "Believe me, that's the last thing I want to do! I'm going to be as careful as I can." "You do that, but remember you've got a job to do as well." "I will." Frank carried on with his training assignments, occasionally shaking himself out of daydreams about the lovely Jana. In the back of his mind, though, he was still curious about the identity of the guy who flew with Cavalry. During his next break, he went down to the ship's library and looked up the mission reports. "Initiate search for Gregory Robinson and/or Cavalry. Indicate where mentioned in tactical reports. "Gregory Robinson replaced Robert Grayson during the battle of Mercury in the Vesperon Conflict." 'Robert Grayson? That's Firehail!' "Who was copilot to Gregory Robinson in the battle of Mercury?" "I'm sorry, that file has been corrupted. Please ask system support for assistance." "Never Mind. Display Interceptor Pairings for GCV Svoboda during Vesperon Conflict." ------------------------------------------------------ TACTICAL PAIRINGS FOR THE VESPERON CONFLICT IC-1 STEELFINGERS/CUTTHROAT IC-2 POLTERGEIST/SMILER IC-3 FIREHAIL/DEADBOY IC-4 CARRION/SHOWCASE 'Whoa, that's too weird, though maybe that's why Jana made that mistake. I suppose callsigns aren't unique, but what are the chances... I've got to find out what this guy was like.' He logged off the ship's Library and went to see Firehail again. "Deadboy. You flew with him. What was he like?" "Where'd you get that from?" "From the ship's Library." "Oh. You really want to know what he was like?" "Yeah." "OK, here's what he was like." Firehail looked Frank straight in the eyes. "He was a great pilot, and a great friend to all of us. He was a decent, honourable and dedicated man, and he gave his life saving others, because that's exactly the type of guy he was." Firehail's eyes started to mist up as he continued, "if we could talk to him today, there's not one of us who wouldn't want to say how much we all loved him." "Whoa," responded Frank, taken aback by this show of real emotion. "So why isn't he on a plaque up there?" "That wasn't my decision. Just drop it." Firehail replied, on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." About half an hour later, "Ben, one of the interceptor pilots wants to talk to you. He says it's important." "Thanks Karen. I've got a bit of time now, tell him to be in my ready room in 5 minutes." The doors from the bridge opened and Frank hurriedly walked in. "Ah, Livewire! How are things? Are you settling in well?" "Very well, sir!" "Relax, Lieutenant. How's Jana?" "How did you know about that?" "Word gets around, particularly among the czech contingent here. You're a lucky man." "I know, she's lovely- Uhm, Oh. That's not what I'm here to talk about, sir." "Right, what is it then?" "It's about Deadboy, sir. The pilot who flew with cavalry. I was wondering why there is no memorial to him above the pilots quarters." "Cavalry was a special case. No other pilot has been given that honour. Was there anything else?" "But why not, sir? Deadboy seems to have been just as heroic as this cavalry guy, and he meant an awful lot to the people I've talked to about him. Why not honour his memory?" "Don't worry about it, Lieutenant. It's not your concern." "Begging your pardon, sir, but I think it is my concern. I'm here as this guy's replacement, an I'd like to know what on earth he could have done to prevent his death being honoured?" "Lieutenant! This is a military ship, and there are some things that you don't need to know." "Excuse me if this is out of line, sir, but this seems totally unlike you." "What?!" "I mean, with every other matter you've been totally open and helpful, but you don't seem to be able to trust me here. The truth is important, good or bad. I need to know." Ben sighed and rubbed his eyes. "You're really not going to let this go, are you? That's a good attitude to have in this galaxy we live in. Well, sit down, Lieutenant. You're not going to like this."[/rp] ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

Welcome, Daniel! Another enthusiastic storyteller will be most welcome. Interesting surname you have there. Not czech in origin, is it? The firearms list for the strike pak can be found here (a little way down in one of the SC's posts). That's about as official as you can get. The ISS fleet homepage has the official timeline and a breakdown of the fleet structures as they have stood up until now (they're going to be changed soon) Good luck, ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

Yay! My exams are all finished for ever! Boo! Still got lots of coursework to do. Anyway, [/rp] It was to be another standard Svoboda training exercise, if done with a little more urgency than normal. Four backup pilots/copilots versus four regular pilots/copilots, the two backup-piloted interceptors in lead and wingman formation, the two regular interceptors instructed to fight on their own. It had been done many times before, most of them had lost count how many. Certainly into double figures. To start with, the regular pilots won hands down. It wasn't even a contest. Slowly, the backup pilots started to see the benefits of formation flying. The concentrated firepower, the relative security of leading which enabled more concentration on obtaining a missile lock, and the defined roles to focus on. They began to win every so often, then more often than not. At this point, the regular pilots were released from being restricted to standard manoeuvres and tactics, and were allowed to throw in some of their more advanced moves every so often, and they gained the upper hand again. The backups learned and adapted and became more flexible in their formations, then the regulars threw in more moves to demonstrate, teach and occasionally humiliate a backup pilot should he start thinking too highly of himself. Right now, when they threw every move they could, the regulars would still win 80% of the time, but they had grown to respect their backups and knew they were competent enough to be relied on when it counted. After the initial training session (slightly shortened this time) there came a lesson in taking on capital ships. (The regular pilots changed with the regulars for this one.) First of all a few strafing runs on the practice targets, set up to respond like sentry class cruisers, teaching them about finding weak spots in PTA coverage, avoiding the ships main guns and avoiding missile locks where possible. They also learned how to avoiding a simulated incoming missile when they failed to avoid the lock, but they still had to look out for PTA, IOD and enemy ship's fire at the same time. (the two IC's not doing the drill were instructed to act as the target's support ships.) After this, they all took on the Svoboda in a simulated duel, with Simon at the helm and Steve at tactical making their life a misery, 'destroying' three of them and 'disabling' the other. The drill was run again. And Again. They did slightly better each time, and on the fourth attempt actually 'disabled' the Svoboda when one of the new flight engineers decided to try and suck up to the bridge crew by bringing up drinks for them all, but tripped over himself and spilled hot coffee in Steve's lap. This understandably distracted Steve, and since the other bridge crew weren't ready at their posts as would be the case in a combat situation, this gave the backups a bit of time to do some damage. When he had stopped laughing, Ben ruled it 'an unrealistic simulation' and it was run again, with Christine Samson taking over at tactical while Steve got himself cleaned up. They did reasonably well, indignant at the cancellation of their 'great victory', and caused significant simulated damage to the Svoboda's shields, cargo bays, engines and flight deck, and escaped when their own simulated damage was getting too high. Then the other regulars took over from the first backups and the first session was done again. As Francis Morgan docked his interceptor and started to shut down its systems, he saw the lovely sight of Jana Kubíková crouching down by his craft's nose, attaching the power cable to recharge its reactor. His mind switched from dogfighting mode to trying-to-remember-what-Mirek-taught-me mode. He opened the canopy and climbed out of the cockpit, his feet landing together on the floor just after she got up from attaching the cable. He then said with as much confidence as he could muster "Ahoj Jano! Jmenuji se Frank." (Hi, Jana! My name is Frank.) She unleashed a heart-warming smile as she replied, "dobre! Ahoj Franke!" (Good! Hi, Frank.) "I'm afraid that's about my limit," replied Frank with a slight welsh lilt. "That's OK. You're accent's not bad, but it could do with a little work." "Oh, it'll get it," he grinned. She grinned back, "I should hope so. How was it out there, Deadboy?" Her smile dropped as she instantly realised her mistake, "I mean, Livewire? Sorry." "That's OK. Not too bad, really. I feel ready to get out there and do some good. Hey, you know, some guys back at the Academy used to call me Deadboy. I never liked that name, but it did seem to somehow fit. I could change it if you want." "No, Livewire's nicer, but I think I'll just stick to Frank." Her smile had fully returned. "You hungry?" "Starving." Then they had a really nice meal together in the canteen. The food was the same as always, not the best they'd ever had, but the company and conversation made it special. They talked for hours about their backgrounds, likes and dislikes, what they hoped for in the future and what they feared might happen in the next few days. She held his hand all the way back to his quarters and even kissed him goodnight! While his head was still spinning, she squeezed his hand and said a quick "Good night, Frank" before skipping off down the corridor like an excited schoolgirl. Frank stumbled back to his bed in a daze and collapsed into the most contented night's sleep of his life. [/rp] I'll do some more soon. TTFN, ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

Greetings, all. Sorry I haven't posted in a while (exams, still) I was going to say something a while back about the enormously long travelling times in this story not being consistent with the game, but I never did. Also, in the fight between Mallone and the doc, I don't think the doc would have kicked Mallone in the face. It's pretty difficult to reach up there, especially for someone not practised in hand-to hand combat. Maybe in the stomach. And then there's the launch. The words "extreme range" bringing it forward by nearly 4 hours and "still be three hours from the rest of the fleet" can't really place us in the same region, we'd have to be at least two or three away, even by this story's journey times. I realise that this is all way to late and would mess up quite a lot of the story, but it doesn't quite "fit" to me. Sorry. Oh, well one semi-disastrous performance this morning, only two more to go, ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 01-24-2000).]

Welcome, Eagle_Four! I will try to answer your questions, but I might be wrong about some of these things. If I am, someone please correct me. 1. When you say, 'find nothing' do you mean that you can't see them in TACOPS, or you didn't get a message at the top of tacops saying ter/rai has left earth? If you can't see them in TACOPS (and this is also what might have happened with your IC), make sure you are observing the correct region. Go down the list to the probe you have in earth and click on it then select view probe region (earth), then it should bring up a view of the earth region (it has the earth in the middle) with the ships in it. If you are in the wrong region, you can still give orders to the IC in that region if you have a probe there. If you didn't get the message, then maybe those raiders were randomly generated in that region. That happens every so often in different places. 2: Yes, you can't put a probe in orbit around a planet. If by orbscan you mean being able to see everything on a planet, you don't need to have a probe in orbit to do that, just go to TACOPS and zoom to... the planet by itself. Then click on the planet and select observe. 3: Don't know about that one. Have to ask someone else. If you want help getting started, a good place to go is Galcom Academy Also, if you can tell us what languages you are more comfortable speaking, there might be someone else here who speaks it who could help you. I know we have people from Germany, Holland, Norway and Portugal here, and there are probably a lot of others. Hey, that gives me an idea. Why don't we make a list of experienced commanders who speak various languages that we can refer people to if they find english difficult. I, for instance speak a bit of czech and there's a guy in my house who speaks it fluently, so I might be able to help there. Just an idea, ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 01-13-2000).]

Not to worry, just click on the download files option from the right hand side of the home page, then scroll down until you find v2.08 to v2.09, download it and activate it in your BC3k directory. It's free and not too big (1.5MB), so won't take too long to download. I'm feeling extra helpful, so just click here if you're feeling lazy. v2.08 to v2.09 Patch Have Fun! ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 01-11-2000).]

Ouch. There's worse to come. [rp] Before the doc could raise his lacerated arm to defend himself, Mallone had charged into him, slamming him hard into a nearby wall before grabbing that arm at the point where the blade had gone in and wrenching it painfully behind the doc's back. "You having fun, yet?!" He shouted into the doc's ear from an inch away. He didn't wait for an answer before bringing his free hand precisely down on the doc's left collarbone, snapping it like a twig. He then wrenched his arm well above where it should have been able to go, using the jagged edge of bone to rip through the muscle and soft tissue around the doc's shoulder, producing a satisfying scream of agony. He wasn't going to give him the dignity of a quick and painless death. Wrenching the docs arm round again to the front, producing more screams, he let go of his arm and brought a big heavy boot into his chest, catapulting the doc across the room, and breaking a few ribs in the process. The doc landed painfully on his back a few metres from Mallone, but still facing him. "I had no choice," he said weakly as he brought up his right arm as if to fend off Mallone's next attack. Maybe it was the loss of blood, maybe the distraction of fighting the pain from his mortal wounds, or maybe just clouds of rage that prevented Mallone from noticing that the doc had been carrying a second weapon. A weapon that he had carried the whole time he had been on the ship, that had become just part of his uniform. A weapon that most people rejected as being weak and ineffective. A wristlaser. As Mallone jogged over to where the doc lay, he percieved the sudden squeezing of the doc's right fist, which drew his attention to the small barrel lined up at him. It was too late to prevent the laser burst slamming into his throat, shredding his windpipe and severing both major blood vessels. His eyes widened as he fell to his knees, both hands going to his neck and his mouth opening, vainly attempting to gasp for air. Martin had never been very good at hand to hand combat, in fact he had almost failed to be promoted because of this, but what had saved him then and now had been his proficiency with a wrist laser. He had had his wristlaser modified many years ago to have a second trigger mechanism on short wires that he could hold in his right hand, so that he could fire it with one hand instead of having to reach across with his left. It had saved his life once before, and did so again today. "I don't enjoy this," he said as he quickly lined up a second shot and squeezed, aiming into Mallone's open mouth, causing a red eruption from the back of his head. Instant. As the realisation dawned on him, so did the shock of his injuries. He painfully rose as quickly as he could, and frantically searched for some stimulant to stave off his impending unconciousness. He managed to grab a hypospray and inject himself as his vision started to blur and darken. His eyesight and balance quickly recovered, but unfortunately so did his ability to feel the agonising pain in his shoulder, what the state of shock is there to prevent. His next priority was to find some local block to enable him to think about something other than his pain. Upon finding it, and injecting himself his mind started to clear. He looked up at his rescued goon. He was dead. There was no doubt about that. He looked down at Mallone. He was dead- a murderer to the last. There was only Ailsa left in any sort of healthy condition apart from one medical droid. As Martin walked over to his healthiest patient, he felt the piece of bone scraping against his shoulder blade. A sickening feeling, if not actually painful. He turned to the one remaining droid "Wake her up, she's needed upstairs, then see to my shoulder." 'The commlink! Neena must be worried.' He walked over to the terminal. [/rp] Hope that was gory enough for your liking, there Blades. I won't be posting very regularly for the next couple of weeks- exams- but I might make the odd appearance, so don't kill me off yet, unless you really want to TTFN ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 01-10-2000).]

[rp]As I manoeuvred the gurney round the various obtacles lying in the corridors- deactivated drones, pieces of bulkhead, corpses and unconscious goons my general revulsion at the whole scenario grew. It reached a peak at a particularly gruesome section of corridor, where the walls and floor were caked with blood that had only been there long enough to just start to congeal, leaving the surfaces slimy and slippery. Even with my military doctorÔÇÖs training and my experience, I really had to fight the waves of nausea and focus on the job at hand. ÔÇ£Well, here we are, Sergeant. Your new home for a while.ÔÇØ I looked around to see what was left of the equipment in Medibay. Not having had a running gun battle there ensured that the vast majority of the equipment was intact, but there were only two medical droids left- one who had only been damaged rather than destroyed (like all the others) carrying out the prep-for-surgery command, and one who had been unable to leave the medibay due to having a piece of shrapnel embedded in its drive mechanism. Martin also spotted the black clad goon he had saved from the haywire drones, and Ailsa Strang, still recovering from a combination of infections and injuries. She wasnÔÇÖt well at all, and under normal circumstances he would never allow her back to duty in the state she was in, but in these circumstances we will need all the help we can get. I got Sergeant Diamond into a stabilisation cubicle and activated it. I then went over to my rescued goon, ÔÇ£Nice to see you made it here, son! You doing alright?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Not to bad, doc, but I think my fighting days are over.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Maybe, maybe not. A good cloning bay will sort you out.ÔÇØ He looked down at the stump where his hand should have been. ÔÇ£I wish IÔÇÖd never come on this mission.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£At least youÔÇÖre learning that not every order is a good one.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Yeah.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Wait here a bit. IÔÇÖve got to sort something out.ÔÇØ I went over to the comms panel. ÔÇ£Neena, I guess youÔÇÖre in the mood for some good news.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£ArenÔÇÖt I always?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Well, IÔÇÖve got Diamond stabilised, and I might be able to get Ailsa up and able to help you if you want. She wonÔÇÖt be fully capable, but better thanÔǪÔÇØ At that moment I though I heard a sound at the other end of the medibay. I looked up, but couldnÔÇÖt see anything. ÔÇÿJust getting paranoid,ÔÇÖ I thought, ÔÇÿbut then again, better safe than sorry.ÔÇÖ I drew my sidearm with my left hand and started to walk towards where I thought the sound came from. ÔÇ£WhoÔÇÖs there?ÔÇØ I called out. [/rp] Maybe I am paranoid. ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

[rp]Personal Log Interceptor Pilot Francis Morgan callsign 'Livewire' Well, this is the start of my third week aboard my new ship- 'The Svoboda'. It's very different from my last one. It's a Galactan, the finest class of ship Galcom has to offer, part of the infamous In System Support fleet, which apparently played a major part in scuppering the Vesperon invasion of Galcom not so long ago, although I can't remember any of that. Strange. Anyway, that's not the main thing that makes this ship different. It's the way I get treated here. There's a great spirit amongst the crew and they push you really hard in training and make a real effort to make you feel part of the team, but there's something else. Something I can't quite put my finger on. It seems like I get treated a bit differently from the other new crewmembers- it's almost as if lots of the crew know me already, but I've never met any of them before. Maybe its because I'm the only new pilot, but I don't know Ah, that's probably it. Stop worrying yourself, Frank.You've got more important things to think about, like this impending war, and that very cute flight engineer who keeps smiling at you. Jana Kubikova or something. Surprising, that. Girls like that don't normally give me a second glance, especially if I haven't made an enormous effort to get to know them, and then I normally do something really stupid and they don't want to know anymore. Take care with this one, Frank, you may not get another chance like this again. I wonder if anyone round here can teach me some czech? I'm pretty sure that's where she was from. Doesn't seem fair her knowing my language and me not knowing hers. Not that that really matters with translator technology as it stands, but it could get a good reaction, I suppose. Anyway, got to go now, time for another training mission. End Log Simon Richardson, the Svoboda's Flight Officer was sitting at his post, staring at the bridge viewer, which displayed the beautiful globe of earth set in front of a black silken backdrop sprinkled with diamonds and faint multicoloured clouds. However, this was not what his mind saw. His mind saw the beautiful face of Ruth McIntyre, chief medical assistant on the GCV Nightingale, a paramedic vessel. He thought of her beautiful eyes and nose, her wonderful smile and laugh, and her lovely voice telling him how much she missed him. "Simon! Watch out!" came the voice of Ben Zwycky, rudely interrupting his peaceful thoughts. "Huh?" He had been so captivated by his mind's eye that he had failed to notice he had started to gently drift the Svoboda forward, and it was coming dangerously close to the GCV Conquest. "Whoa! Sorry." He took the helm and turned the Svoboda sharply away from the Conquest and back to where he had initially been told to halt the ship. "Seems to me you need something to do, Simon. Head for the training area."[/rp] I haven't posted to this thread for a while. Not much time (projects and exams). ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS07 Adjutant to the Fleet Commander In System Support (ISS) Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins) [This message has been edited by Ben Zwycky (edited 01-05-2000).]

[rp] Chief Medical Officer Martin SummersÔÇÖ personal Log I got the call in from Spencer, ÔÇ£DiamondÔÇÖs been hurt badly. Neena needs you in cargo bay 1 pronto.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£be there in 2 minutesÔÇØ I replied, then turned to my patient, ÔÇ£Well, son, thatÔÇÖs about as stable as I can make you here. You think you can make it to medibay on your own?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£I think so, doc.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Well, take this with you,ÔÇØ I said, pinning a communicator badge on him, ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖll give out a signal telling the remaining medical droids to treat you, and you can contact me if youÔÇÖre in trouble. Gotta go now.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Thanks, doc.ÔÇØ I heard faintly as I left the ventilator shaft and headed down the corridor. When I arrived, I saw Neena standing over diamond, neither of them looking very healthy. The knife sticking out of Sergeant DiamondÔÇÖs stomach made him the most obvious target for attention. He was alive, barely. After giving him something to lower his abdominal blood pressure and slow the flow of body fluids and some extra coagulant to help his natural repair systems, I removed the knife carefully. He would have 10-15 minutes at best. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve got to get him to medibay,ÔÇØ I told Neena, getting out the field stretcher and attaching the two pieces under him. ÔÇ£Help me lift him onto this gurney. Can you manage that with your better arm?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£IÔÇÖll give it a go, Martin.ÔÇØ Neena put down her rifle to grab hold of her end of the stretcher, then the call came in. ÔÇ£Neena, we have a serious problem. The weaponÔÇÖs launched.ÔÇØ Neena just stood there for a couple of seconds in total shock, before shaking herself out of it. ÔÇ£Did you manage to damage it at all?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Difficult to tell. We damaged a lot of the equipment in here, but maybe not anything critical.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£OK, it was attached to a probe, so you should be able to chase it down with an interceptor, if weÔÇÖve got anyone left to fly it.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm on it.ÔÇØ Neena shut off the channel and turned back to the doc and the stretcher. ÔÇ£Knowing Mallone itÔÇÖs probably a cloaked probe.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Well, if we know where itÔÇÖs headed we could just mine a jumpgate or something. They can burn through cloaks sometimes, canÔÇÖt they?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£You may have something there.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Uh, OK, what about the Sergeant here?ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Oh, right.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£3, 2, 1, liftÔÇØ Neena winced painfully as they lifted Sergeant Diamond up to the gurney.[/rp] Hope that wasnÔÇÖt putting too many words into NeenaÔÇÖs mouth there, Blades. Just introducing my ideas. ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS13 ISS Fleet Administrative Assistant http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

Oh well, I think I'll add a little more to the chaos here. If this is too far out of line, then it can always be deleted. [rp]Chief Medical Officer Martin Summers Personal Log Countdown T- 22 minutes Our second attempt to exit the ventilation system did not go so well. Not being of a military mindset, I forgot to check that the corridor was completely clear before attempting to leave the shaft. Also, not being the most agile officer to ever walk the corridors of this ship, I overbalanced out of the access point and fell into the corridor, landing heavily on my left shoulder and finishing flat on my back. When Jayce poked his head round to see whether I was all right, he found a rile muzzle pointed in his face, and looked up to see another three black-clad goons surrounding me. He deflatedly crawled out of the ventilation shaft and gave up his rifle, as did I. Just as the team leader was about to call in and announce his victory, two of the HK's came round the corner, decided that four heavily armed marines were much more of a threat than two unarmed medics, and sliced two of them in half before they could react. Jayce dived back into the ventilation shaft, and I followed him as best I could while the two goons tried to defend themselves. One got a couple of shots off before a drone sliced off one of his hands and severely gashed his leg, then the other got a couple of good hits in before taking a plasma blast to the face. Not a pretty sight. While the drones were slightly distracted with the last goon, my medical instincts got the better of me and I yanked the third goon into the shaft with us. Satisfied that they had sufficiently pacified the area, the drones buzzed on down the corridor to find some more targets. "Aagh! My leg! (the shock of losing his hand hadn't let him feel that yet) Doc! You gotta help me!" I started to open my medkit and we both worked quickly to stabilise him. "OK, son, we'll help you, but you've got to help us, too. Where is the weapon, and when is it launched?" "Thanks, doc. It's in the Probe Launch Bay, and it'll be launched in 20 minutes." "Jayce, contact Neena and tell her." [/rp] That is the right place, isn't it? Well, now we know, and now Mallones goons have another worry. That was a concern that was aired when Mallone ordered their deployment, and it seemed a good time to justify that concern, now that even Mallone's guys can't shut them down. If it's messed up your next post, then I'm sorry. I COULDN'T HELP IT! I'M A VICTIM OF MY CREATIVE URGES! HELP!

Anyone remember the BC3k film competition Desylva started? I reckon this story would win hands down. It's got everything - good characters, good plot, it reveals a lot about the galcom universe and doesn't rely on too many non-game technologies. ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

Tac, I hope you don't mind me pairing us up, but it seemed somehow appropriate. [rp] Chief Medical Officer Martin Summers- Personal Log Countdown T-24 minutes When we started to pair off, I was thinking of going with Mckendrick, but he seems to prefer the company of his little flock of droids. In the end, I got paired up with Jayce, which is no bad thing. I'm really starting to appreciate the military part of his training. We had our first encounter with those goons a couple of minutes ago. Jayce had just about got a ventilation cover off in a vertical section of shaft when we heard a couple of goons coming along the corridor. Jayce urgently whispered to me to drop to the horizontal section below, which I did, as quickly and quietly as I could. He then got out a grenade which was primed to go off one and a half seconds after it left his hand, so he told me later, and waited for them to go past. He pushed the vent cover open slightly, and threw it at their feet before dropping down the shaft. I sort of caught him, but he still landed with a bit of a thump, which I hope was completely drowned out by the explosion. We were both a little dizzy from the concussion, so I gave us both some mild stimulant to clear our heads, then we carried on as quickly as we quietly could to another exit point. [rp] Hope that's convincing enough. Tac, you can describe our next little adventure. ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

Well, I never had an exact time in mind for my first story (Introducing Ben Zwycky), but it slots in very nicely with eternal diligence (about two weeks beforehand) and it's (maybe shortly) after the first gam invasion (the one before Gamma Omega). I think Eternal Diligence fits in nicely before Procyon Entity (however long it takes the vesperons to get their confidence back beforehand), so whenever we get a date for Procyon Entity and decide how long its after Eternal diligence, we've got a workable section of timeline sorted out I think. ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

Commander Zwycky, GCV Svoboda and crew prepped and ready for whatever you require, sir! (although I do need to upgrade my computer in time for BCM, which isn't looking too likely right now, but I'll be there eventually- I'll roleplay my heart out in the meantime) ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)

[rp] Chief Medical Officer Martin Summers Personal Log Countdown T - 36 minutes Here I am again, expecting to have been killed by now, but still fighting. Just before we left the shuttle bay, I sent a modified quarantine directive to most of the medical droids, ordering them to anaesthetise and prep for surgery all unregistered personnel throughout the ship, because of the current biohazard alert. Maybe they would be able to take out a couple of those goons for a while, or maybe they would just make an effective distraction for us to make our move. At the same time Spencer added proximity triggers to my anaesthetic ejectors in the service tunnels. Then things got hectic. We all rushed into the ventilation shaft with Sgt. Diamond going last, closing up the entrance and appearing to attach some sort of booby trap to it. It looks like they won't be able to follow us in a hurry, or work out which way we went. So we've escaped, and we're finally on the offensive. I hope Tamara made it to the tunnels. [/rp] ------------------ Commander Ben Zwycky GCV Svoboda ISS Fleet http://www.watson-jones.swinternet.co.uk/Svoboda "Nakonec pravda vitezi" (in the end the truth wins)