Looking forward to the next part!
The First House of Argon (Complete)
Moderators: TheElf, Moderators for English X Forum
Part Nine
The last number I saw was ‘3’, then I felt the pull of the transport.
We arrived somewhere else, a dark room. I had just started to move when another wave passed through my body, a second transport. We arrived again. Then another wave, another transport. And another. A whole sequence of transports passed, such that by the time we stopped I was thoroughly nauseous.
Are we nearly there yet!?
A few seconds in the darkness then I felt my fellow travellers pull me forward. A door opened and we walked into a bright room full of busy men in robes. For reasons of discretion, I will be vague, but I soon realised we were back in the capital city of Argon Prime, close to the aero-space-port.
Now, we were moving up the escalator toward the space-port.
“Those men,” I whispered. “The men shooting in the... they looked like... They were Argon Special Forces. ASF troopers.”
“Yes,” he said. “The fiercest, most loyal dogs of the Argon Secret Service. Now you see what we’re up against.”
I was aghast. I was being pursued by ASF troopers?!
Sarah must have read my expression. “Welcome to the wanted list,” she laughed.
We arrived in the bustling aero-space-port – the same place I had landed barely a stazura ago. The next Orbital Lifter was over three stazura away.
This, K stated, was unacceptable. After a brief discussion, he hired a private Lifter for some 100,000 credits.
...
Sarah was an able pilot. She quickly got us launched and set a course for the ecliptic region. In the back of the ship the we sat, strapped to our seats. Laying back in his chair, K picked up from our earlier conversation.
“The Xenon have changed a lot over the jazuras,” he said, “You do know about the origin of the Xenon? The Terraformers?”
“Of course. Your ancestors, the Earthlings, built them to colonise space. Then they turned on you and tried to ‘Terraform’ Earth. Nearly wiped you out. Nathan Gunne saved the day.”
“Sure. They attacked Earth and every colony.”
“I know,” I said.
His eyes narrowed. “So what about Earth’s defenders? Where were they?”
“Well... I suppose there weren’t any. And why would there be? If there was no-one else in the loop. No-one to defend against. They wouldn't...”
“No,” he shook his head. “That’s Boron thinking. Humans, we’re paranoid. We couldn’t live without a defence force even if we conclusively proved there was no-one else in the universe. Never. No, the military’s been the backbone of every human civilisation.”
“Alright,” I nodded. “So where were they?”
“I’ll spell it out: We didn’t have anyone to defend us from the Terraformers, because,” he spoke slowly, deliberately. “The Terraformers were our defenders.”
“I...” I trailed off.
“Why else were they such a lethal fighting force? If they were built to plant trees and oxidise atmospheres, why were they armed at all?”
I nodded.
“We made them to look after us,” he concluded. “A lethal self-replicating weapon. The ultimate defence force. The irony being that they slaughtered us.”
“An interesting theory,” I affirmed.
“Theory? No. Fact. In Earth’s heyday, the Terraformers were Earth’s deep-space scouts, navy, the police, frontier colonists, and a breakdown service all rolled into one. We’ve recovered some lovely accounts of Terraformers saving pilots after a thruster blow-out. I’ll forward copies.”
“No, no... This theory doesn't hold!” I said. “Nathan Gunne, he led Earth’s defences against the Terraformers! Defences. So there were Earth defenders.”
“Check a history book! Nathan was a pirate! He led pirates against the Terraformers. Well... ninety-percent pirates, there were one or two military ships. And why pirates? Because these were the only human ships that carried their own heavy weaponry.”
I sat back to consider this.
“Okay,” I said. “This is different from my understanding of Argon history: Nathan a pirate. It's different, but I won't reject it outright. But I don't see what it has to do with anything.”
“I suppose the key point is this: we actually designed the first Xenon fighter ships. If you look at all the ships they’ve ever used in combat, they’re really just evolving modifications of the original designs made by humans.”
“So they lack originality?” I said flippantly.
“Exactly!” He pointed a finger at me. “Exactly... Until now.”
He dragged me across to the wall-console.
“Look at their latest ships... This is footage of their newest fighters. All appeared just recently, almost simultaneously. Most since the Khaak, and look... completely different.”
“These are their new fighters? They are strange.”
“And what worries me... these are original. Artistic even. And they're nothing like anyone else's designs, purely Xenon. If this is... it means they're thinking for themselves in radically new ways.”
“That they're evolving?”
“Exactly,” he said again.
A beep on the comms. Sarah’s voice came through the speakers.
“We’re in the ecliptic, sir. We can transfer to the Nova from here.”
“Excellent.”
...
The last number I saw was ‘3’, then I felt the pull of the transport.
We arrived somewhere else, a dark room. I had just started to move when another wave passed through my body, a second transport. We arrived again. Then another wave, another transport. And another. A whole sequence of transports passed, such that by the time we stopped I was thoroughly nauseous.
Are we nearly there yet!?
A few seconds in the darkness then I felt my fellow travellers pull me forward. A door opened and we walked into a bright room full of busy men in robes. For reasons of discretion, I will be vague, but I soon realised we were back in the capital city of Argon Prime, close to the aero-space-port.
Now, we were moving up the escalator toward the space-port.
“Those men,” I whispered. “The men shooting in the... they looked like... They were Argon Special Forces. ASF troopers.”
“Yes,” he said. “The fiercest, most loyal dogs of the Argon Secret Service. Now you see what we’re up against.”
I was aghast. I was being pursued by ASF troopers?!
Sarah must have read my expression. “Welcome to the wanted list,” she laughed.
We arrived in the bustling aero-space-port – the same place I had landed barely a stazura ago. The next Orbital Lifter was over three stazura away.
This, K stated, was unacceptable. After a brief discussion, he hired a private Lifter for some 100,000 credits.
...
Sarah was an able pilot. She quickly got us launched and set a course for the ecliptic region. In the back of the ship the we sat, strapped to our seats. Laying back in his chair, K picked up from our earlier conversation.
“The Xenon have changed a lot over the jazuras,” he said, “You do know about the origin of the Xenon? The Terraformers?”
“Of course. Your ancestors, the Earthlings, built them to colonise space. Then they turned on you and tried to ‘Terraform’ Earth. Nearly wiped you out. Nathan Gunne saved the day.”
“Sure. They attacked Earth and every colony.”
“I know,” I said.
His eyes narrowed. “So what about Earth’s defenders? Where were they?”
“Well... I suppose there weren’t any. And why would there be? If there was no-one else in the loop. No-one to defend against. They wouldn't...”
“No,” he shook his head. “That’s Boron thinking. Humans, we’re paranoid. We couldn’t live without a defence force even if we conclusively proved there was no-one else in the universe. Never. No, the military’s been the backbone of every human civilisation.”
“Alright,” I nodded. “So where were they?”
“I’ll spell it out: We didn’t have anyone to defend us from the Terraformers, because,” he spoke slowly, deliberately. “The Terraformers were our defenders.”
“I...” I trailed off.
“Why else were they such a lethal fighting force? If they were built to plant trees and oxidise atmospheres, why were they armed at all?”
I nodded.
“We made them to look after us,” he concluded. “A lethal self-replicating weapon. The ultimate defence force. The irony being that they slaughtered us.”
“An interesting theory,” I affirmed.
“Theory? No. Fact. In Earth’s heyday, the Terraformers were Earth’s deep-space scouts, navy, the police, frontier colonists, and a breakdown service all rolled into one. We’ve recovered some lovely accounts of Terraformers saving pilots after a thruster blow-out. I’ll forward copies.”
“No, no... This theory doesn't hold!” I said. “Nathan Gunne, he led Earth’s defences against the Terraformers! Defences. So there were Earth defenders.”
“Check a history book! Nathan was a pirate! He led pirates against the Terraformers. Well... ninety-percent pirates, there were one or two military ships. And why pirates? Because these were the only human ships that carried their own heavy weaponry.”
I sat back to consider this.
“Okay,” I said. “This is different from my understanding of Argon history: Nathan a pirate. It's different, but I won't reject it outright. But I don't see what it has to do with anything.”
“I suppose the key point is this: we actually designed the first Xenon fighter ships. If you look at all the ships they’ve ever used in combat, they’re really just evolving modifications of the original designs made by humans.”
“So they lack originality?” I said flippantly.
“Exactly!” He pointed a finger at me. “Exactly... Until now.”
He dragged me across to the wall-console.
“Look at their latest ships... This is footage of their newest fighters. All appeared just recently, almost simultaneously. Most since the Khaak, and look... completely different.”
“These are their new fighters? They are strange.”
“And what worries me... these are original. Artistic even. And they're nothing like anyone else's designs, purely Xenon. If this is... it means they're thinking for themselves in radically new ways.”
“That they're evolving?”
“Exactly,” he said again.
A beep on the comms. Sarah’s voice came through the speakers.
“We’re in the ecliptic, sir. We can transfer to the Nova from here.”
“Excellent.”
...
A chatty part there! Hope it's alright.
I'll put up the next part tomorrow. I meant to post this part Saturday. Sorry I'm so slow (it's not cos I only type with the index finger on my right hand and still have to look for the keys - honest!!
)
Oh, and Terraformer Dreams I am working on. I had a cool new idea tho and it required a total rewrite of the upcoming part. It may take a bit longer, but it will be worth it... maybe, possibly, if it works, I hope.
I'll put up the next part tomorrow. I meant to post this part Saturday. Sorry I'm so slow (it's not cos I only type with the index finger on my right hand and still have to look for the keys - honest!!
)Oh, and Terraformer Dreams I am working on. I had a cool new idea tho and it required a total rewrite of the upcoming part. It may take a bit longer, but it will be worth it... maybe, possibly, if it works, I hope.
I'm gonna be honest here; I haven't yet read Farnham's Legend.
I've based most of this story on bits and pieces I picked up from the games, with the odd nod to the Argonopedia website, and maybe other stories I've read. I may well step on its toes a little (I already see I've given Nathan Gunne's ship a different name).
If there are any real glaring contradictions it's because... uh... it's because this is all ancient history! All these events ocurred over 800 years ago, so who can say exactly what happened!?! Especially after those nasty Argon wiped out all the historical data! Uh... YEAH!
I've based most of this story on bits and pieces I picked up from the games, with the odd nod to the Argonopedia website, and maybe other stories I've read. I may well step on its toes a little (I already see I've given Nathan Gunne's ship a different name).
If there are any real glaring contradictions it's because... uh... it's because this is all ancient history! All these events ocurred over 800 years ago, so who can say exactly what happened!?! Especially after those nasty Argon wiped out all the historical data! Uh... YEAH!
Part Ten
In the Nova, ‘K’ took off his mask.
“Itches,” he said.
I saw his face: unfamiliar, younger than I had expected. “So you can tell me who you are now?”
“That’s... No. Not yet. I want to show you that anyway,” he said. “We’ll be at base soon.”
“Sir,” Sarah called from the cockpit. “I think we have a tail.”
“Yes,” he nodded. “I imagine so. Bound to attract attention with a hired Lifter.”
“Should we jump?”
He leaned into the cockpit, “They’ll have a jump-scan. Mm. Lead them around the systems for a little while. Let’s see who's actually following us.”
“Right.”
“A story,” he said to me suddenly. “President’s End, you remember it? Before the Khaak.”
My mind blanked. “Vaguely. It was a mining colony, I think. Silicon mines. A cloth rimes fact?”
“And,” he said. “One big station in the system...”
“There was a Chip Fab,” I remembered.
“And... a beta Photon Pulse Cannon factory. It was to the south of the system. It was there for a half jazura or so before the system was destroyed. You can look it up on old maps.”
“Okay. So what about it?”
“It was owned and ran by an Argon. A ‘Shipping Magnate’ named Gejet Sun. A civilian. But beta PPCs aren’t civilian goods. Top of the range guns. Each one cost a million, and they only work on the largest ships, M1s, M2s. So he had a very select clientèle. His main customer was, naturally enough, the Argon Navy.”
I nodded. “And?”
“And just before the Khaak arrived, the Argon Navy was trying to expand. They decided to commission six new fully-armed Titans. Each would look after its own system. So they commissioned the bare-bones build with the shipyard. For armaments they set up auctions, lowest bidder wins. So naturally enough, a bidding war broke out. Finally, Gejet Sun won the contract for the guns.”
“But then the system was blown up?” I guessed.
“No. Ha! No, no. What he did was worthy of a Teladi. To win the contract he bidded at cost. Then he built all the guns, all according to contract. Then he trebled the price tag.”
“Treble?! But surely the price was stipulated in the contract,” I objected
“Sure,” he nodded. “He broke contract, paid a big fine. But guns that large take a long time to build. And by now, there was no one else with any kind of stockpile. If they didn’t buy from him, whatever the price, there was no-one else to buy from. Not in the quantity they needed. And they needed to roll out their ships in a time-frame. He had them by the balls.”
“By the..?” I was shocked. “What? So they paid triple?”
“They didn’t have the credits – this was the problem! Even the Navy’s pockets aren’t bottomless.”
“So what happened?”
“Gejet Sun earned ‘Advanced Magnate’ status.”
“The Navy I mean?”
“Well they had no choice. They had to reduce the order. In the end, they rolled out just four of the six ships. Two were left in the shipyard awaiting weapons systems. Wanna hear the irony?”
He hesitated.
“One of these was the one destined for President’s End. With a Titan present the Khaak would’ve been slaughtered, without it... Well... Mr Sun was out of the sector when it happened. He’s rebuilding his ‘empire’ back in Lyrae. You’ve seen what became of all the others in President’s End.”
He got up abruptly and leaned into the cockpit.
“Sarah,” he said. “Status.”
“One definite tail. A Buster.”
“Jump now. What are they gonna do?”
She laughed, “Okay.”
“Just wait two miz,” he said. “I'll send a message ahead.”
He came back to the seat next to me and started programming a message.
“We'll be there soon.”
...
It took me a while to recognise the system we jumped into, one of the few sectors I had never visited. In the end I recognised it only from descriptions, from articles I have written. It is quite famous. Or rather... infamous.
Loomanckstrat's Legacy.
...
In the Nova, ‘K’ took off his mask.
“Itches,” he said.
I saw his face: unfamiliar, younger than I had expected. “So you can tell me who you are now?”
“That’s... No. Not yet. I want to show you that anyway,” he said. “We’ll be at base soon.”
“Sir,” Sarah called from the cockpit. “I think we have a tail.”
“Yes,” he nodded. “I imagine so. Bound to attract attention with a hired Lifter.”
“Should we jump?”
He leaned into the cockpit, “They’ll have a jump-scan. Mm. Lead them around the systems for a little while. Let’s see who's actually following us.”
“Right.”
“A story,” he said to me suddenly. “President’s End, you remember it? Before the Khaak.”
My mind blanked. “Vaguely. It was a mining colony, I think. Silicon mines. A cloth rimes fact?”
“And,” he said. “One big station in the system...”
“There was a Chip Fab,” I remembered.
“And... a beta Photon Pulse Cannon factory. It was to the south of the system. It was there for a half jazura or so before the system was destroyed. You can look it up on old maps.”
“Okay. So what about it?”
“It was owned and ran by an Argon. A ‘Shipping Magnate’ named Gejet Sun. A civilian. But beta PPCs aren’t civilian goods. Top of the range guns. Each one cost a million, and they only work on the largest ships, M1s, M2s. So he had a very select clientèle. His main customer was, naturally enough, the Argon Navy.”
I nodded. “And?”
“And just before the Khaak arrived, the Argon Navy was trying to expand. They decided to commission six new fully-armed Titans. Each would look after its own system. So they commissioned the bare-bones build with the shipyard. For armaments they set up auctions, lowest bidder wins. So naturally enough, a bidding war broke out. Finally, Gejet Sun won the contract for the guns.”
“But then the system was blown up?” I guessed.
“No. Ha! No, no. What he did was worthy of a Teladi. To win the contract he bidded at cost. Then he built all the guns, all according to contract. Then he trebled the price tag.”
“Treble?! But surely the price was stipulated in the contract,” I objected
“Sure,” he nodded. “He broke contract, paid a big fine. But guns that large take a long time to build. And by now, there was no one else with any kind of stockpile. If they didn’t buy from him, whatever the price, there was no-one else to buy from. Not in the quantity they needed. And they needed to roll out their ships in a time-frame. He had them by the balls.”
“By the..?” I was shocked. “What? So they paid triple?”
“They didn’t have the credits – this was the problem! Even the Navy’s pockets aren’t bottomless.”
“So what happened?”
“Gejet Sun earned ‘Advanced Magnate’ status.”
“The Navy I mean?”
“Well they had no choice. They had to reduce the order. In the end, they rolled out just four of the six ships. Two were left in the shipyard awaiting weapons systems. Wanna hear the irony?”
He hesitated.
“One of these was the one destined for President’s End. With a Titan present the Khaak would’ve been slaughtered, without it... Well... Mr Sun was out of the sector when it happened. He’s rebuilding his ‘empire’ back in Lyrae. You’ve seen what became of all the others in President’s End.”
He got up abruptly and leaned into the cockpit.
“Sarah,” he said. “Status.”
“One definite tail. A Buster.”
“Jump now. What are they gonna do?”
She laughed, “Okay.”
“Just wait two miz,” he said. “I'll send a message ahead.”
He came back to the seat next to me and started programming a message.
“We'll be there soon.”
...
It took me a while to recognise the system we jumped into, one of the few sectors I had never visited. In the end I recognised it only from descriptions, from articles I have written. It is quite famous. Or rather... infamous.
Loomanckstrat's Legacy.
...
-
Captain Chris sTc
- Posts: 991
- Joined: Fri, 6. Feb 04, 01:21
-
Kurt Shur'Tugal
- Posts: 489
- Joined: Sat, 25. Feb 06, 05:23
Thanks for the comments people.
I thought the reporter angle could be interesting. It's flexible - it lets him be a passive narrator, or an active participant. Problem is, I'm starting to like this character, which is difficult when... Well, I don't want to give any spoilers away here!
A short part.
Part Eleven
I'm no hero.
Perhaps I am too used to writing ‘Pirate Sectors’ and ‘hostage crisis’ in the same sentence. Slaving is almost a hobby in these parts, along with hijacking, kidnapping, sport-killing. I had even heard rumours of bio-weapon testing on sentient species. Nasty stuff. Entering this sector did not fill me with confidence.
“No,” K told me. “Loomanckstrat’s fine. We run the show here. Down in Moo-Kye's is where you have to watch out – nasty pirates there.”
Sarah agreed: “Even I don't pass through there without good friends in Orinoco's”
“We normally use Shades if we want to go south,” he added. “Avoid antagonising our neighbours.”
“The Yaki?”
“Among others,” Sarah said. “Yaki are organised. The loner gangs are worse. Imagine the kind of person that gets kicked-out of a pirate clan! Nasty people. Little groups of slavers or killers lurking in M3s. Ruthless.”
“We’re actually doing a joint project to clean up these sectors,” said K. “The First House talks to them, tries to lure them into the fold. Failing that, the Shades wipe ’em out. Our own breed of philanthropy.”
“The Shades!” I exclaimed. “Yes! I meant to ask. So what’s the connection?”
“Between us and the Shades?” He asked. “Different groups – same aims. Compatible needs.”
“So you're separate groups?”
“Kind of. But we’re pretty symbiotic. Our aims are almost identical, and we compliment each other perfectly.”
“In what way?”
“Well, it’s like this, we provide them with resources, equipment, safe harbour and purpose; they provide us with an elite unit: some of the best fighter-pilots in space. They’re quite legendary.”
“Okay. So what are your ‘shared aims’.”
“Toppling the government and making Argon strong again.”
“So, you're saying the Shades and... and...” I trailed off. I was now staring past Sarah's shoulder, out of the cockpit to where that ominous station loomed. “We're not going here?”
“Welcome to the Anarchy Port. Old Annie,” he said. “Home.”
...
I thought the reporter angle could be interesting. It's flexible - it lets him be a passive narrator, or an active participant. Problem is, I'm starting to like this character, which is difficult when... Well, I don't want to give any spoilers away here!
A short part.
Part Eleven
I'm no hero.
Perhaps I am too used to writing ‘Pirate Sectors’ and ‘hostage crisis’ in the same sentence. Slaving is almost a hobby in these parts, along with hijacking, kidnapping, sport-killing. I had even heard rumours of bio-weapon testing on sentient species. Nasty stuff. Entering this sector did not fill me with confidence.
“No,” K told me. “Loomanckstrat’s fine. We run the show here. Down in Moo-Kye's is where you have to watch out – nasty pirates there.”
Sarah agreed: “Even I don't pass through there without good friends in Orinoco's”
“We normally use Shades if we want to go south,” he added. “Avoid antagonising our neighbours.”
“The Yaki?”
“Among others,” Sarah said. “Yaki are organised. The loner gangs are worse. Imagine the kind of person that gets kicked-out of a pirate clan! Nasty people. Little groups of slavers or killers lurking in M3s. Ruthless.”
“We’re actually doing a joint project to clean up these sectors,” said K. “The First House talks to them, tries to lure them into the fold. Failing that, the Shades wipe ’em out. Our own breed of philanthropy.”
“The Shades!” I exclaimed. “Yes! I meant to ask. So what’s the connection?”
“Between us and the Shades?” He asked. “Different groups – same aims. Compatible needs.”
“So you're separate groups?”
“Kind of. But we’re pretty symbiotic. Our aims are almost identical, and we compliment each other perfectly.”
“In what way?”
“Well, it’s like this, we provide them with resources, equipment, safe harbour and purpose; they provide us with an elite unit: some of the best fighter-pilots in space. They’re quite legendary.”
“Okay. So what are your ‘shared aims’.”
“Toppling the government and making Argon strong again.”
“So, you're saying the Shades and... and...” I trailed off. I was now staring past Sarah's shoulder, out of the cockpit to where that ominous station loomed. “We're not going here?”
“Welcome to the Anarchy Port. Old Annie,” he said. “Home.”
...
Part Twelve
The docking clamps had barely locked when I felt another nauseating wave of energy pull through my body. K and I were transported to the interior.
“This,” he winked. “Is the bit your average pirate never gets to see. Come.”
He strode for a door. I trailed after him into the next room. As I entered, the scale of this room hit me. It was huge! Far from cluttered little spaces of most stations, this single room was the size of a wheat farm! Could a room this big possibly fit in here? Evidently. A myriad of people in Goner-style clothes darted around the room.
My host led a path through the room. I trailed behind gaping like a fool.
To my right, an awesome sight: the hugest mass of information technology I had ever seen. Imagine the Antigone Archives, the pride of the Federation, and multiply this by ten. Maybe twenty. Now you have the idea. By mere existence this place mocked Antigone. And this was just to my right!
To the left, the towers. The far wall was coated in one giant bookshelf stacked over twenty metres high. Perpendicular to the wall, in lines leading into the room, were shelves, similarly high and stacked with dark crates. Teams of hover-forklifts – streaks of yellow – serviced these shelves, retrieving and replacing boxes at the command of terminals at each end of each row. It was an artefact archive. Perhaps you have visited the Holy Goner Library in the main Goner Temple in Cloudbase SW? If so, you will have some idea (if not, I heartily recommend it!) Experts consider the Holy Goner Library to be the leading artefact library in the Universe. It is a breathtaking collection of antiquities. Yet it would fit in the merest corner of this monstrous construction.
“Our little library,” K laughed, moving his arm to take in the whole room.
...
Outside, a lone Buster was somehow granted docking permission. It crept into the docks.
...
At the end of the room was a small Stimuline-Bar – men in Goner-style robes sat quietly at the tables around us.
“Have you ever heard a good reason for the Argon suppression of Earth history?” he asked after I had recovered from the sheer scale of the room. “Anything convincing?”
I remained silent.
“To start anew all over?” he asked. “Clean slate. Right?”
“As I understand it, yes. As they could never go home they buried the history of it,” I replied cautiously. “Is that untrue?”
“Not untrue. But it’s not the whole truth either. It’s rather...” he trailed off, putting a finger to his ear.
“It’s rather..?” I prompted.
He was looking behind me now, distracted.
“Rather?”
“Sh!... wait,” he snapped. I looked behind me, lots of men in robes walking around; nothing seemed different.
He started speaking quickly.
“There’s something I have to attend to right away. Urgent. You should catch some rest, then we can... Or if... Yes! You’re a researcher, aren’t you? You’re known for your research? In your journalism? That’s your Thing, right? Okay! A challenge. You've got an hour... No. A stazura. Lose yourself here in the archive. I’ll clear you for use of all the equipment. Use it all. Look up everything you want to know about the First House. Go nuts! See what you can figure out. Colt’s diaries are a good place to start. Colt Gunne. I'm going to leave you here, I'll be in that room, there, at the end.”
I peered in the indicated direction.
“Find me when you're done,” he rose to his feet. “No hurry.”
He abruptly vanished into the crowd, leaving me alone in this huge archive.
Free use of the Universe’s biggest Archive!? I was – if you’ll excuse a crude Argon phrase – as happy as an Argnu in defecant!
“Colt... Gunne?”
...
The docking clamps had barely locked when I felt another nauseating wave of energy pull through my body. K and I were transported to the interior.
“This,” he winked. “Is the bit your average pirate never gets to see. Come.”
He strode for a door. I trailed after him into the next room. As I entered, the scale of this room hit me. It was huge! Far from cluttered little spaces of most stations, this single room was the size of a wheat farm! Could a room this big possibly fit in here? Evidently. A myriad of people in Goner-style clothes darted around the room.
My host led a path through the room. I trailed behind gaping like a fool.
To my right, an awesome sight: the hugest mass of information technology I had ever seen. Imagine the Antigone Archives, the pride of the Federation, and multiply this by ten. Maybe twenty. Now you have the idea. By mere existence this place mocked Antigone. And this was just to my right!
To the left, the towers. The far wall was coated in one giant bookshelf stacked over twenty metres high. Perpendicular to the wall, in lines leading into the room, were shelves, similarly high and stacked with dark crates. Teams of hover-forklifts – streaks of yellow – serviced these shelves, retrieving and replacing boxes at the command of terminals at each end of each row. It was an artefact archive. Perhaps you have visited the Holy Goner Library in the main Goner Temple in Cloudbase SW? If so, you will have some idea (if not, I heartily recommend it!) Experts consider the Holy Goner Library to be the leading artefact library in the Universe. It is a breathtaking collection of antiquities. Yet it would fit in the merest corner of this monstrous construction.
“Our little library,” K laughed, moving his arm to take in the whole room.
...
Outside, a lone Buster was somehow granted docking permission. It crept into the docks.
...
At the end of the room was a small Stimuline-Bar – men in Goner-style robes sat quietly at the tables around us.
“Have you ever heard a good reason for the Argon suppression of Earth history?” he asked after I had recovered from the sheer scale of the room. “Anything convincing?”
I remained silent.
“To start anew all over?” he asked. “Clean slate. Right?”
“As I understand it, yes. As they could never go home they buried the history of it,” I replied cautiously. “Is that untrue?”
“Not untrue. But it’s not the whole truth either. It’s rather...” he trailed off, putting a finger to his ear.
“It’s rather..?” I prompted.
He was looking behind me now, distracted.
“Rather?”
“Sh!... wait,” he snapped. I looked behind me, lots of men in robes walking around; nothing seemed different.
He started speaking quickly.
“There’s something I have to attend to right away. Urgent. You should catch some rest, then we can... Or if... Yes! You’re a researcher, aren’t you? You’re known for your research? In your journalism? That’s your Thing, right? Okay! A challenge. You've got an hour... No. A stazura. Lose yourself here in the archive. I’ll clear you for use of all the equipment. Use it all. Look up everything you want to know about the First House. Go nuts! See what you can figure out. Colt’s diaries are a good place to start. Colt Gunne. I'm going to leave you here, I'll be in that room, there, at the end.”
I peered in the indicated direction.
“Find me when you're done,” he rose to his feet. “No hurry.”
He abruptly vanished into the crowd, leaving me alone in this huge archive.
Free use of the Universe’s biggest Archive!? I was – if you’ll excuse a crude Argon phrase – as happy as an Argnu in defecant!
“Colt... Gunne?”
...
Part Thirteen
Rather than trying to accurately remember every source I used, I’ll sum up what I learned from the archives.
Nathan R. Gunne was an Argon hero.
Following the battle to save Earth and the destruction of the Earth-gate, the Earth-fleet were without a home. They searched for many jazuras before finally settling Argon Prime. In the early days of Argon, Nathan Gunne was a very influential man. The Earth battleships – still under his direct command – protected the fledgling Argon Federation.
Nathan and his children founded the first space stations, including the first orbital shipyard and the first weapons plants. Over time, they built a large fleet to protect their space interests. Later, when private space-stations began to spring up, Nathan extended his fleet to take in the defence of all Argon. They became the official defenders of Argon space, known under the honorary titles ‘The House of Gunne’, ‘The First House of Argon’, or simply ‘the House’.
Naturally enough, the Senate down on the planet resented Gunne’s space supremacy. I found the following newspaper article:
Date: 2/7, year: 42, 'The Daily Sonra'
The newly formed Senate are challenging the laws on weaponry in space. Under existing laws Nathan Gunne and his heirs – the House of Gunne – own exclusive rights to produce and license weaponry for use in space. They also retain complete control of the defence fleet, along with the right to tax stations for this service. The Senate is trying to overturn this law, branding it ‘fundamentally undemocratic’.
“[This law] dates back to Nathan Gunne's early years,” said Senator Carmen, “It was solely designed to give him full legal command over the War Fleet. Obviously, the law is no longer relevant. There’s no longer a war!”
The Senate claim this law slows weapons research, stifles the economy, and holds back military growth. Family Gunne argues that “the Terraformers respect military force, not market force.”
Nathan Gunne, head of House Gunne, refuses to relinquish weapons rights, stating: “We will not leave the protection of humanity to petty businessmen.”
------------
I was reminded of the magnate in President’s End.
Nathan died in 45, and his son took over the House. The conflict between the Senate and the House continued to grow as the Senate became more powerful. Conversely, as memory of Earth faded, support for the House faded.
‘In fact,’ one article claimed. ‘It was not some childish memory-repression reflex that caused us to turn our backs on the True History [of Earth]. The Senate erased Earth history deliberately to wipe Gunne’s hold on the public imagination.’
...
A later heir to the house was the near-legendary General Nida Gunne. His tactical genius turned the tide in the Xenon war, and led the Argon to victory over the Xenon in 255. Charismatic and able, he significantly restored the Gunnes’ prestige – leading to a new golden age for the House.
Colt Gunne, born 310, was Nida's grandson. Colt lacked the vision and charisma of his grandfather. By all accounts, he was a dry, unappealing man, but a man of principle. It was these principles that led him to drag the reluctant Argon into The Boron Campaign against the Split.
There are varying accounts and varying dates, but this war was clearly longer and bloodier than anyone expected. In the end the Argon barely even won, rather pushing the Split back to a profitless stalemate until the Split lost heart. Colt took no end of political flak for this, as evident in writings of the time:
'The Galaxy', Date: 12.9.351
With our fleet down to 50%, Mr Gunne should be asking himself how he plans to defend us against the next Xenon threat. Indeed, after this unimpressive ‘victory’ over the Split, where we’ve won nothing but the thoroughly unimpressive fish-folk as allies, we collectively wonder: what were we doing there? What were the benefits to us of entering this war?
As Gunne again extorts ‘taxes’ to fund his follies, the Argon people again call out for weapons liberalisation and an accountable military; the Senate again petitions the archaic laws.
After it all, one cannot help but marvel at the sheer front of Mr Gunne as he speaks out against these ‘Evil Split’, who he claims are ‘warlike monsters’ led into battle ‘on the whim of petty militaristic dynasties’. One cannot but wonder if Mr Gunne has ever seen a mirror.
------------
The law was repealed in 350, and the Gunnes were stripped of power. Their ships were commandeered by the Republic – thus founding the Argon Navy – and Gunne’s factories were ‘appropriated’ (Colt’s diaries prefer the word ‘stolen’) and sold off in auctions. In the end, the Gunne’s were left with only the family ship, the Loki, Nathan’s original battleship. Colt was hounded from Argon Prime. The First House finally found solace among the order of the Goner.
Years later a fiery young Gunne known as Nate, supported by some radical Goner, tried to re-establish the Gunne dynasty. He led a charge on Argon Prime. But by now, all memory of Earth was lost, along with any tolerance for the Gunnes. The Navy were taking no prisoners. They attacked, and chased ‘the traitor’ south, through ‘Light Home’, finally losing him amid the rocks of Ore Belt.
The Goner ex-communicated the radicals to distance themselves from Gunne.
Nate, and his ex-Goner friends set up a base far north of the North Gate amid the asteroids of Ore Belt.
Eventually the Loki made one last flight taking Family Gunne – The First House – into the new sectors. They seized Loomanckstrat’s Legacy as their home.
...
I finished my research as if awaking from a long sleep. Nearly two stazuras had passed. I wandered across the archive. The room at the end was locked, but as soon as I pressed the buzzer, I was granted entry.
After exchanging some pleasantries with K, I came to the one thing that had stuck in my mind from my research. The one thing I couldn’t resist asking.
“So,” I said. “Nathan’s flagship. The Earth ship. The Loki?”
“Loki, yes. At least, that was the pirate name. Earth pilots knew it as something else... Dragonfire, I think.”
“Right...” I hesitated. “It flew here? To Loomanckstrat’s?”
“Yes.”
“It’s still... operational.”
“Completely.”
“And it’s... Is it still here? In this system?”
“It’s here.”
“Can I see it?” I almost begged.
“Sure can.”
...
Rather than trying to accurately remember every source I used, I’ll sum up what I learned from the archives.
Nathan R. Gunne was an Argon hero.
Following the battle to save Earth and the destruction of the Earth-gate, the Earth-fleet were without a home. They searched for many jazuras before finally settling Argon Prime. In the early days of Argon, Nathan Gunne was a very influential man. The Earth battleships – still under his direct command – protected the fledgling Argon Federation.
Nathan and his children founded the first space stations, including the first orbital shipyard and the first weapons plants. Over time, they built a large fleet to protect their space interests. Later, when private space-stations began to spring up, Nathan extended his fleet to take in the defence of all Argon. They became the official defenders of Argon space, known under the honorary titles ‘The House of Gunne’, ‘The First House of Argon’, or simply ‘the House’.
Naturally enough, the Senate down on the planet resented Gunne’s space supremacy. I found the following newspaper article:
Date: 2/7, year: 42, 'The Daily Sonra'
The newly formed Senate are challenging the laws on weaponry in space. Under existing laws Nathan Gunne and his heirs – the House of Gunne – own exclusive rights to produce and license weaponry for use in space. They also retain complete control of the defence fleet, along with the right to tax stations for this service. The Senate is trying to overturn this law, branding it ‘fundamentally undemocratic’.
“[This law] dates back to Nathan Gunne's early years,” said Senator Carmen, “It was solely designed to give him full legal command over the War Fleet. Obviously, the law is no longer relevant. There’s no longer a war!”
The Senate claim this law slows weapons research, stifles the economy, and holds back military growth. Family Gunne argues that “the Terraformers respect military force, not market force.”
Nathan Gunne, head of House Gunne, refuses to relinquish weapons rights, stating: “We will not leave the protection of humanity to petty businessmen.”
------------
I was reminded of the magnate in President’s End.
Nathan died in 45, and his son took over the House. The conflict between the Senate and the House continued to grow as the Senate became more powerful. Conversely, as memory of Earth faded, support for the House faded.
‘In fact,’ one article claimed. ‘It was not some childish memory-repression reflex that caused us to turn our backs on the True History [of Earth]. The Senate erased Earth history deliberately to wipe Gunne’s hold on the public imagination.’
...
A later heir to the house was the near-legendary General Nida Gunne. His tactical genius turned the tide in the Xenon war, and led the Argon to victory over the Xenon in 255. Charismatic and able, he significantly restored the Gunnes’ prestige – leading to a new golden age for the House.
Colt Gunne, born 310, was Nida's grandson. Colt lacked the vision and charisma of his grandfather. By all accounts, he was a dry, unappealing man, but a man of principle. It was these principles that led him to drag the reluctant Argon into The Boron Campaign against the Split.
There are varying accounts and varying dates, but this war was clearly longer and bloodier than anyone expected. In the end the Argon barely even won, rather pushing the Split back to a profitless stalemate until the Split lost heart. Colt took no end of political flak for this, as evident in writings of the time:
'The Galaxy', Date: 12.9.351
With our fleet down to 50%, Mr Gunne should be asking himself how he plans to defend us against the next Xenon threat. Indeed, after this unimpressive ‘victory’ over the Split, where we’ve won nothing but the thoroughly unimpressive fish-folk as allies, we collectively wonder: what were we doing there? What were the benefits to us of entering this war?
As Gunne again extorts ‘taxes’ to fund his follies, the Argon people again call out for weapons liberalisation and an accountable military; the Senate again petitions the archaic laws.
After it all, one cannot help but marvel at the sheer front of Mr Gunne as he speaks out against these ‘Evil Split’, who he claims are ‘warlike monsters’ led into battle ‘on the whim of petty militaristic dynasties’. One cannot but wonder if Mr Gunne has ever seen a mirror.
------------
The law was repealed in 350, and the Gunnes were stripped of power. Their ships were commandeered by the Republic – thus founding the Argon Navy – and Gunne’s factories were ‘appropriated’ (Colt’s diaries prefer the word ‘stolen’) and sold off in auctions. In the end, the Gunne’s were left with only the family ship, the Loki, Nathan’s original battleship. Colt was hounded from Argon Prime. The First House finally found solace among the order of the Goner.
Years later a fiery young Gunne known as Nate, supported by some radical Goner, tried to re-establish the Gunne dynasty. He led a charge on Argon Prime. But by now, all memory of Earth was lost, along with any tolerance for the Gunnes. The Navy were taking no prisoners. They attacked, and chased ‘the traitor’ south, through ‘Light Home’, finally losing him amid the rocks of Ore Belt.
The Goner ex-communicated the radicals to distance themselves from Gunne.
Nate, and his ex-Goner friends set up a base far north of the North Gate amid the asteroids of Ore Belt.
Eventually the Loki made one last flight taking Family Gunne – The First House – into the new sectors. They seized Loomanckstrat’s Legacy as their home.
...
I finished my research as if awaking from a long sleep. Nearly two stazuras had passed. I wandered across the archive. The room at the end was locked, but as soon as I pressed the buzzer, I was granted entry.
After exchanging some pleasantries with K, I came to the one thing that had stuck in my mind from my research. The one thing I couldn’t resist asking.
“So,” I said. “Nathan’s flagship. The Earth ship. The Loki?”
“Loki, yes. At least, that was the pirate name. Earth pilots knew it as something else... Dragonfire, I think.”
“Right...” I hesitated. “It flew here? To Loomanckstrat’s?”
“Yes.”
“It’s still... operational.”
“Completely.”
“And it’s... Is it still here? In this system?”
“It’s here.”
“Can I see it?” I almost begged.
“Sure can.”
...
Cheers guys!'Light Home' yes, that is Home of Light.
I might be wrong, but in the very first X game - X-BTF - even though the text still said 'Home of Light', I'm sure the computer audio called it 'Light Home'. So I thought I'd use that as the system's 'old' name.
(Or maybe my memory's just making this up...
...it's been a long time since I played X-BTF! Anyone care to corroborate?)Next part in a day or two.
-
Kurt Shur'Tugal
- Posts: 489
- Joined: Sat, 25. Feb 06, 05:23
Cheers, but can't take all the credit for the history!
I've based it quite largely on the time-line in that Argonopedia site I hyper-linked earlier. Just built as close as I could around what was already there. There's still more to come though! Next part tomorrow... or just maybe REAL late tonight.
There's something else I'm hoping to get posted tonight...