[DID] Best Served Cold - APR Book 2

[Zaitsev]

Wohoo, Triaxx2 is back!
*sits down and read with great anticipation*

[Triaxx2]

I am indeed, I was able to work out the video card issues. Question though. Any idea if the Yaki shipyard ever has the M or L equipment sets of ships in stock? I'm wanting some Tenjins, but I need to know if I'll have to equip them myself.

[Zaitsev]

I am indeed, I was able to work out the video card issues. Question though. Any idea if the Yaki shipyard ever has the M or L equipment sets of ships in stock? I'm wanting some Tenjins, but I need to know if I'll have to equip them myself.

No idea
But then again the RNG seem to be especially uncooperative in most of my games, so I end up getting M or L versions maybe 1 out of 15 times I check it.

[Baratheon79]

I am indeed, I was able to work out the video card issues. Question though. Any idea if the Yaki shipyard ever has the M or L equipment sets of ships in stock? I'm wanting some Tenjins, but I need to know if I'll have to equip them myself.

I think I've picked up some L variants in my current game (I'm using a Tenjin myself as a personal fighter, and they also make up about half of the attack fighters on my Galleon). Was quite awhile ago, though; most of the time it seems only the S variants are in stock. Though, at the point I'm at now, I wouldn't bother waiting, since I can just outfit them from the stockpile of 25mj shields and fighter weapons I've built up.

Anyway, glad to see this is going again. This particular DiD is what got me using CODEA myself (and convinced me to try out the Galleon as a flagship).

[Kirlack]

It definitely stocks the M and L variants, I bought L variants when I kitted out Blue Wing in Po8

[Triaxx2]

Thanks guys. Always nice to know I have readers. If anyone else is out there, let me know. It makes me feel good.

Yeah, I'm back. I wasn't able to resolve the video card issue, but I was able to get around it for the moment. So I'm back to the fun stuff. Shields I have. Fighter weapons are rather scarce though.

Found some. It's a bit of a light fitting, but I did it.

[Triaxx2]

Chapter 6: Fishing again.

Ordering the Pelican to fly to Power Circle, I jump to the Hub. I need more pods before I can make any more captures, and the marines need a break anyway. So I'm going to bring Mos Eisley, and Amazon to the Hub and go Ray hunting.

Lucky Planets is the first stop. It's not my favorite sector to try and do anything with, but it's an acceptable starting point. The Ray there is a bit of a last resort, with Polarized Hull and ISL. Advanced Firewall Software, I can deal with, but ISL is a definite no-no, and HPD is just a pain in the ass.

There's a Ray in Family Rhy, making a hell of a lot of noise, and apparently having quite a bit of fun using capital class weapons on Civilians. (I'd say harmless, but they are Split.) It's packing AFS and ISL, so I turn and burn back to the Mos Eisley lest I get caught between the Boron Battlegroup and inevitable Split response fleet.

Jumping up to Menelaus Frontier, I find one there. It's only got AFS and HPD. I'm pretty sure I can take it without a lot of hassle. It's only got 7 GJ of shielding though, which is frustrating, because three barrages do seven point two. Which means two barrages and one manual launch of 7 Hammers. Then I have to get the Marines in. Aigh. Fortunately, it seems that Gunboat Diplomacy has been collecting boarding pods. It's got 20 onboard, and two were picked up from Warsquid. Splitting them to 11 per ship, which admittedly is a bit silly since Gunboat doesn't have any marines. Anyway, it's only a moment before Venomous Cobra is here and ready to punch some squid. At least that's what they tell me.

A minor hiccup occurs when I'm about to launch and I'm informed that the target only has 5GJ of shields. It seems that the scans got confused and the Amazon had bad data from the previous scan. I call back to Mos Eisley, and order them to send Amazon to the Revenge for a systems check.

That could have been a fatal mistake. For the Squids that is. I'd have been fine, if not happy. As it is, it's much easier to knock the shields down, but that much harder to control them. The marines take the ship, with just a few percent knocked off, however it does have 8 PPC's on board, and wonder of wonders, all the marines survived. Sending it to the Argon EQD in Light of Heart, to be fitted, I move there as well.

There are a couple of annoying Paranid, one of whom decides to engage my fully armed and Split Frigate. Needless to say he enjoyed a pointed lesson at the hands of several Flails, which then went off and chased away the others. Hooking up with Revenge, I transfer over and send the Cobra to PMP for missile rearmament. Jumping down to Lucky Planets, I drop into a horde of Paranid, lead by a Military Heavy Nemesis, and three Hades bombers. The forward IBL's chew up the Nemesis. Several Hornets intercept the Bombers, but not before they can launch. Watching a nerve wracking amount of firepower course my way, I 'm thankful for the automated Mosquito Missile Defense system, it launches and counters all but one of the missiles. Fortunately, one missile isn't enough to kill me, even if it is a Tomahawk.

The Elephant appears behind me out the gate and begins blazing away with it's own guns. For a couple of minutes it's a real furball, and it's all I can do to keep the local Ray from getting involved. It requires a shut down to keep the main batteries from trying to blow holes in the mostly harmless Paranid freighters. It's not that I'm being kind to them either, it's that I'd rather not have that Ray suddenly become annoyed enough to wander over and ventilate all the atmosphere in here.

There are ten Pikes at the Lucky Planets equipment dock. And when they've landed, I remember WHY. They're only M sets, bought by accident. Which means they're underarmed and underequipped, and in serious need of some maintenance. Particularly after the first one bounces off the bow of the Revenge. Geez is the AI retarded. It's not like it can't SEE me.

So, ordering that one to stop, I swing the entire bird around and allow the others to land, then we jump out to Aladna Hill and the jump beacon I placed there earlier.

I need a stiff drink.


Okay, so I've had a flash of brilliance. I'm only going to reshield those ten new fighters. I'm going to fit them with 6x IREs each and a 25 MJ shield and set them up with a lot of Wasps. These will become my Interceptors. With that kind of heavy missile load and that many IRE's they won't do much good further out, but they'll have the continual firepower to shred any M5 that manages to close in.

And wonder of wonders, I even have all the shields and IRE's I'll need to do it. I'm not sure what the plan is from here. I know I need more firepower and more ships to deliver it. The trouble is that right now it's a waiting game and I don't like waiting. I want things to happen, and do so now.

Alright, I think I have an idea of the plan. I need more microchip production. It's taking forever to get them to the Revenge, even with no NPC's allowed to trade. Which means I need to locate a capital to steal. I wonder if there are any I can 'liberate' from Duke's sector? Perhaps there's more than one. I'm going to use Amazon, and run from Patriarchs Conclusion to Duke's sector and then find out what's hanging around.

Oh, I know for a fact that his blasted carrier is not only back, but that it will be waiting right at the gate. Not a problem. I'm more than capable of out running it, and out maneuvering it's IBL's. So I'll do that. And if it's got too many fighters, I will apply some high explosives until it ceases being an issue.

I've also removed some of the Mechanics from Revenge. I don't need that many, and Command and Control needs them more. I've kept only the Split Mechanics. It's not anything against the other races, but I want the militancy of the Split on board. I'll have to replace my Boron Navigator though. It's not anything he.. she... that's been asked for. I just feel that perhaps it's not the best idea, a Boron Navigator on a Split ship, crewed by Split warriors, and miscellaneous bad asses. I figure putting Mulu on the War squid, which is crewed exclusively by Boron, will be a much more suitable assignment. I have an Argon Navigator on-board who's busy learning the idiosyncrasies of the Revenge in preparation to take over. I guess I'll have to learn her name. Or him. I can't recall which it is just at the moment.

Which means I've probably had enough of this Spacefuel.

[Triaxx2]

Chapter 7: Bait and Splash

Argh. Okay, so yes, that's most assuredly not a pirate Argh. It's definitely a hungover Argh. Which means while I still intend to go into Duke's sector in Amazon, I'm not doing it right away. I don't know how many of you have had the... pleasure of flying while hungover, but I can tell you from experience that even with a Turbo Booster, the Pirate Kestrel is NOT capable of out running a hangover.

Okay, so with that on the back burner until I cease seeing triplicate, I'm going to do some administrative work.


Right, I have ceased vomiting, and there appears to be only one of the universe. And no, I don't have any interest in getting into a discussion on whether or not that's the truth. That's why I no longer have landing rights on Argon Prime. Anyway, Amazon is prepped on the flight deck and it's had a full system overhaul, including a complete system wipe and a fresh freight scanner. And a new mineral scanner, after the old one was destroyed in some sort of explosion, causes unknown, no matter how much screaming I ordered. Those involved in the incident have been instead reassigned to removing scorch marks from the interior of the Hub sphere. The Xenon used it for target practice rather often and so have we. So it's going to be rather a big job. I'm sure it will give them time to think though. Hopefully about what else could be used for target practice.

Every time I climb into Amazon, I think of two times. One is the first time I climbed into the cockpit all those weeks ago. The other is racing away from the Unsuspected. It's what steels me every time I deal with the Paranid. There's pain in those memories. One is the fresh pain of 'my' death. The instants of a feeling of blood boiling. Rage at death.

The second is the pain of anger. Screaming, ice cold rage that's so hot it hurts. I want to see those three-eyes pay for what they did. And I will see it happen.

“Admiral okay?” It's one of the Split Mechanics.

“Yes. Fine. Just thinking of revenge.”

“Ah. Good thought.” He reached up and clapped me on the shoulder with his hand. “But remember. Revenge clouds judgment. Keep mind open to all possibilities. Perhaps find nice man. Settle down. Raise many generations of Paranid slayers.” I sighed. Bloody Split matchmakers.

“Thanks for the advice. I think I'll keep that in mind.” he laughed the deep belly laugh that certain Split develop. After a couple minutes the ringing in my ears died away. Amazon fired under my touch, and in a moment, I was bursting free of the docking port. Behind me, Revenge turned and headed for the shipyard. It was my hope that soon it would be joined by one or two other ships which would be for sale. Amazon has just enough fuel on board for a one way return trip, so it won't have to try and fly back on it's own.

Entering Duke's, I find that the only capital ship at all, is his Zeus carrier. This is a bit surprising, but not nearly so surprising as his Headquarters still being gone. Or perhaps gone again. There are several Duke's Military Nemesis, but they're no match for Amazon's speed, or the power of the Hammers launched from the Cobra. The actual boarding operation goes nearly flawlessly. Two marines fail to breach the hull and end up taking a long walk back. I'm certain they'll take some ribbing for that one. Hilariously, it's a pair of Boron marines. So perhaps they were out for a swim, instead of a walk.

There are also three marines who somehow made excuses not to go. They are going to join those two idiot mechanics in their scorch mark scrubbing duties. And I think I'll organize a firing demonstration.

Anyway, with the Zeus ending up at 92% hull, I decide it's not worth repairing something I'm just going to sell, so I jump it to Patriarch's Conclusion, and find out it's worth 56 million and change. That's a big cash infusion. Jumping first to Patriarch's to retrieve Amazon, I pick up a defend station mission for the local ammunition fab. Watching the fighters struggle with the lighter birds, I decide my plan of changing around the Pikes as interceptors isn't the best. I need some fast movers. I think Scorpion Raiders might be the ticket. Fast, mounts HEPT. I can use those five MJ shields, and I think they'll also mount PRG's. Jumping to the relative safety of the unknown sector west of Unholy Descent, I park up near the CODEA Supply Complex. It seems that I have a need for more Wasps, so it's easiest just to land here.

I really want to put up an Equipment dock somewhere, so I have a more convenient place to dock for the night, so I don't have to leave the automated defenses running. It'll also mean a place to set up some research and development labs. The ability to produce my own Triplex Scanners and Fight Software and such would be a tremendous boon. I'm thinking I'll do just that. I mean, I don't really want to have to run all about the universe every time I need more equipment. I could even setup one of the carriers as a fighter equipper. Have it jump to a sector, take delivery of the fighters, and then dock at my EQD and equip them all at once, probably cheaper than the race docks could manage. I could even set it up to purchase things, like Microchips, or weaponry, and have a CLS ship sitting to pull stock as soon as it makes a purchase.

I've decided to add a couple of Microchip plants to the CODEA Supply Complex. That will give me a supply for Revenge, instead of having to rely on the BS complex. I'm going to route all those to Command and Control, to keep it able to repair ships and such. Mahi Ma has suggested he's going to need some in the future, so I'll probably keep a few on hand. Can't be that bad.

Anyway, with the chip plants now part of the CODEA complex, I can get some repairs done. I'm going to see if I can find one of those predictors. Supposedly, they're psychic and will be able to tell me what I'm getting myself into before I end up rolling across six or seven sectors trying to clear up the Kha'ak infestation. I mean, it's not that I don't enjoy doing my civic duty, but having to fire that many warheads just to deal with a bloody corvette is not pleasant. I think that when they decided on it, it was mis-nomered and should actually be a Kha'ak Frigate. Because while it's not shielded like one, it's definitely armed like it.

Of course, I can use a destroyer to deal with them, but after a few, the ship tends to get it's shields knocked down, and I don't know about you, but I don't relish the thought of waiting the hour it takes for the shields to recharge. Of course, now that the Ray is in place, oh, I've named it The Great White Guardian. Rather a fitting name I think. Anyway, with TGWG in place, that frees up Born of Ashes, so I suppose I could just swap destroyers in and out as I move from sector to sector.

What really annoys me is that I can't even use carriers, because the fighters get entangled with the Corvette's and end up destroyed, and frankly that costs more than the money I receive for destroying them. And I know for a fact it's more for one ship than I get as reward for destroying a corvette, even considering the additional rewards for the individual ships.

So I'm going to find myself one of those predictors and have them stay on the bridge with me, so I can find out just exactly what sort of mission I'm undertaking and what I'm fighting. I can make a lot of cash fighting the Xenon, because their ships tend to be armed with PBE's and IRE's and PAC's instead of the annoying Kyons. Heck, even patrolling for pirates won't be an issue. I'm even considering the commission of a unique ship for myself. Don't get me wrong, I love the Panther, but I need more cargo space. I'm getting a lot of bomber attacks and I really don't want to run out of Mosquitoes and end up dead because of it.

What else... ah, yes, the OTAS shipyard finally had some Solano's with the L equipment package in. Which means I have five new academy grads sitting in their ships, busily pushing all the shiny buttons, and annoying the living piss out of Morgan. I received a message from her earlier today, the words of which I shall not repeat, lest my memoirs fall into the hands of some mischievous rapscallion who runs to his parent's and causes them to become irritated with me for no good reason. However, the gist of it questioned my parentage, my upbringing, my social graces and general nature as well as my sense of humor. Ultimately I believe she will come to understand that I had no ill intentions, inspite of her suspicion that I was 'out to get her'. I strongly suspect the involvement of alcohol in her dictation of the letter. The footnote 'Oh, by the nine war gods she's been drinking again.' is a definite clue.

I rather think she's my kind of woman. Anyway, to business. I am going to set up an Equipment Dock, I just have to decide where. I'll do a little research. PMP is kind of crowded, and Avarice isn't very well defended. And west of Unholy Descent is both out of the way and in the path of Paranid Wrath. I'd rather not wake up in the middle of a Paranid attack fleet. (Again.)

Hopping up to Interworlds I start looking for a mission. Several catch my eye. Two deliver ship missions, both of which are satisfied from ships picked up in X472. Defending the station gets frustrating because I end up losing a Pike. And finally, I learn that Amazon was destroyed by a Paranid Hyperion Vanguard crossing Sacred Relic. I though it had landed already. That's aggravating to say the least.

Jumping to Nathan's Voyage, I have Delivery Wagon/Hub coming from Omicron Lyrae to build a Spacefuel Distillery L. With that done, I head out west to Weaver's Tempest. I'm not here to check in on the Missile Complex, not that I won't as long as I'm here, but it seems to be ticking along quite merrily so I leave it alone. No, I'm heading north to Senator's Badlands. I want some Tenjins. And I'm going to drop these Pikes off until I can turn them into functional members of my fleet. I think I'll move my interceptor pilots into Tenjins, except for Lieutenant Silsarna, who's got a Cutlass and seems to thoroughly enjoy getting up close and personal with people in it. Lieutenant Kayean (No relation she says) and Petty Officer Jerigan, are already in Tenjins, so they'll be flight leaders.

I'm going to get another Pirate Kestrel. I don't know what to name it, but it won't be Amazon and I won't sully the name. Hmm... I have cash enough I could purchase an Akuma. Just buy it out right. Wow. I think I'm going to stop here for a bit and see if some L equip set Tenjin's become available.

[Zaitsev]

Good one. Also nice to see I'm not the only one having problems with misbehaving ships

[Triaxx2]

Yeah, I hate that.

[46_n_2]

just finished reading this... i must say it is a good read.... i dont like using carriers so its nice seeing how that game style works

[Triaxx2]

Did you also read the first?

Anyway, I don't like carriers either, not without Scripts. I had tremendous fun with Anarkis Defense System in Reunion, and I changed to CODEA when I got TC. Without something like that, it's no where near as easy. The carrier itself becomes an accessory, instead of being the center of the group. CODEA means all I have to do is steer my carrier towards enemies and the fighters kill them.

It's just so much fun to watch my little minions race out, and chew the enemies apart with PAC fire then turn and race back home.

The other thing it does is allow the carrier to repair my fighters, so if they get hit with mass drivers, or hard enough to punch through the shields but not enough to instantly destroy it, then they can be patched up with relative ease. Of course, the sheer expense means it's not a perfect solution.

[46_n_2]

havent read the 1st one... there isnt much free time around here. it took like a week to finally read all of this one

in one of my old TC games i tried to do the carrier thing, but after outfitting a galleon with the fighters and sending her to battle, the losses were too high.... after that the galleon was assigned to sector patrol duty and left to rot.

[Triaxx2]

I can certainly understand a lack of time. And the first one is a hundred chapters long.

Yeah. The vanilla method is pretty bad. They don't co-operate, and don't use missiles and things that let them engage and survive. It's also not a poor man's exercise either. I can only do it because I capture and sell a lot of ships. I've gone from 43 million credits to 17 just recently after buying some ships to replace losses. And that's after I fitted them.

I learned two things during the course of these DiD's. Massed Fighters rule, and just buy L versions. They provide enough bang for the buck for the AI, and enough equipment you don't spend hours looking for it. The other thing CODEA does is allow you to equip a bunch of ships straight from the dock without having to go through the trade menu for EVERY SINGLE SHIP. Being able to equip 65 fighters at once is insanely easier than doing it one at a time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to steal another Brigantine. And a Zeus.

[Triaxx2]

Chapter 8: Big, Bad Birdies

So it seems that they aren't going to have them anytime soon. I bought them anyway, and brought in Great Hauler 2, which has a huge amount of stuff pulled from ships harvested form Xenon 472. Fitting them out with five PRG's, two PBGs and two PAC's, I jump to Light of Heart to fit them with software. I'm also going to hook up with Hidden Blade and hook it up with a ship that will become the supply tender for Warsquid. One of my lieutenants isn't particularly happy with me, but meh. I'm going to split them up some, adding two more to the interceptors to bring me up to 6 and the rest will go into the attack fighter hangar. York Colard is swearing at me the entire way to the transporter room. I keep comforting him by explaining that it's not a permanent assignment, he's not impressed.

Jumping first to Aladna hill and finding nothing, I jump to Black Hole Sun and find a Xenon patrol and Xenon Fleet defense for the military outpost. It's a hard work, but ultimately I end up losing only one ship. There's an abandoned Tenjin sitting near the north gate, and I pick it up for my own. Valkyrie is great, but the Tenjin is just nicer.

The Tenjins performed admirably. Even the pilots can't stop raving about them. The only fighter lost was actually a Pike from the Scavenger's Lair, which is pretty good considering I fought four Q's and several P's. The Bombers actually destroyed 2 of the Q's, and probably one or two of the P's with spare missiles.

I've named the two Kestrels Atalanta I and Atalanta II, after a mythical greek warrior woman. Jumping to the Hub to have Warjack repaired aboard Command and Control reminds me that I need to get the Ore moved to the Hub. Which means I need cargo carriers. Which means a cleaning of Xenon 472. Some people have asked me why I go through Xenon 472. The secret, is that if you attack and 'clear' Xenon 347, more ships will jump in on you. They don't take the long route. But if you clear out Xenon 472, the Xenon will fly into Grand Exchange and Zyarth's Dominion and take two routes to reach you. This gives you time to have the salvaged ships dock with a carrier, or send them through a jump gate. I'm not going to send them to a jump gate where the Xenon are headed. Which is why Great Hauler 2 and Delivery Wagon/Hub, are both equipped with Singularity projectors.

Using Viper Strike to enter the sector, I deploy four barrages of Tomahawk's, one against each of the four Xenon Q's in the sector. Then call for the Revenge, and Scavenger's Lair. Once the four Q's are down, I also bring in Rapscallion and move towards the Xenon Shipyard. Covered by fighters from Revenge and Scavenger's Lair, I reduce the shipyard to a rapidly expanding fireball of gasses. One problem with the Mars Fire Control System, is that it takes it's own sweet time destroying stations. And yes, I could have done it easier with missiles. However, even Death Barge is lacking enough Torpedoes to easily complete the job.

I think I'm going to have to arrange a couple of Zephyrus with Bomber squadrons on board. Then I can call those in to deploy bombers and destroy the stations. It'll certainly be faster than letting Mars have at them. I think it's afraid of them or something.

Anyway, a battle damage assessment shows that I lost two of the Pikes from Amazon, which means I'll need more. I have considered switching entirely to Tenjins but they aren't fast enough for my needs. On second thought, I think I'll use the two open slots to slot in a pair of fast movers. Of course that means I have to weigh my options.

A quick check of the options shows three. One is the Teladi Kestrel. The problem is that it's a bit faster than I really want to put in the hands of my pilots. The Jaguar Vanguard is quick, but pretty lightly shielded. It's not likely to last long against anything heavy, but it's fast enough to reach out and touch a target and has a heavy enough generator to do a lot of damage.

The last option is the Fujin sentinel. It's well armed, well shielded, and quick enough to do it's job. Yet again, I'm low on shields and PAC's. I think I'm going to have to construct a PAC and a shield complex. Sigh, more money.

Well, since I appear to have enough ships to transport the necessary four hundred and fifty-thousand ore, I guess I'll get started. The Xenon start on their way through the sectors towards X472, mostly coming along the southern route. It's a good way to keep my Argon Reputation high, so I jump Scavenger's Lair south, and have it engage Xenon M's. When I see LX's and Q's approaching, I bring Born of Ashes in and then jump in near it with Rapscallion. Having noticed that Tenjins take forever to land without Docking Computers, I send Revenge to OTAS HQ, and then bring it to Nathan's to back us up. I am wise enough not to take Q's lightly. The more firepower we can put on this spot, the better. I think I'll bring in Knight's Lance. I do notice that I have to have the engines on the Born of Ashes retuned. Apparently when the ship was damaged, the engines were severely knocked around. I guess the mechanics didn't fix it.

Shmucks. Of course it's still a mighty ship, with ten gigajoules of shielding and enough firepower to flatten the Q's on it's own. However, I've seen Q's do some ugly things, so I'm not going to trust them. I wish I had enough to fully fit out Great Wyrm and put it in the fighting as well. I probably could but I'm going to wait. I think the five capitals will be more than sufficient to deal with the Q's. I hope so.

[Triaxx2]

Chapter 9:Friendly Fire

So it turns out that yes, I have sufficient firepower and shielding to deal with the Q's. It's my own ships that I have to watch out for. What happened?

Well, I picked up a Pirate Harrier that happened to wander through the gate and get ganked by Pikes from Revenge. It was in pretty bad shape, but since all I wanted was a mobile watch tower essentially, so it didn't matter. I sent Atalanta I out to claim it, and then sent it through the gate into Wastelands. Once it arrived, it became a waiting game. Which is what I was doing, sitting and watching the turrets work their magic, joyously using capital class weapons to shoot fighters out of the sky. When the first Q came through I put both Knight's Lance and Born of Ashes on alert, and ordered them to attack all enemies. Well and good, and I punched the throttle wide, engaging the closest Q. The first trouble spot was when Revenge launched it's Tenjins. Ordering them to avoid the huge ships, they ignored me. Ordering them to return, they finally disengaged. And got Ganked from behind by those chip heads. One ship went down and took it's pilot with it, Lieutenant Pok Cheram however, managed to eject herself from her Tenjin and survived, running as fast as her suit thrusters would go, not that I blame her. Two birds down, and you know what? Those bloody things are expensive. With one of the Q's turning to chase the Tenjins I had to turn and engage it.

With the hull of the ship as it turned out, because I managed to mis-judge the distance between us. I turned back and found myself between two Q's, though one was momentarily distracted by a passing trader. Turns out those shiny Paranid ships are good for something after all. Target Practice. While dealing with the distracted on the other sets up for a broadside and starts hammering me with IBL rounds. Fortunately it's Knight's Lance to the rescue, catching it's attention with it's PALC's and then finishing it off with a volley from it's main guns. I turn my attention to the two remaining Q's and accidentally ram one.

The pair of them try to gang up on me, but I'm not only packing PPC, but I'm also being backed up and Knight's Lance opens up with it's main guns and PALC. If you see where this is going, congratulations for having more foresight than me. See, when Born of Ashes was damaged a month or so ago, it's engines were damaged more severely than I thought, and I hadn't had a chance to have them retuned. So this meant that as I was preparing to deliver a knock out blow on the last two ships, Born of Ashes was arriving on scene to deliver a knock out blow of it's own. To me as it it turned out. I swung around and reached 4% shields, just as the last rounds from my starboard battery caused the computers on the Q to shut down. Unfortunately, as I was doing that the Born of Ashes fired it's own volley of killing shots down towards the Q, just before it bailed. Unfortunately, I was just moving into the position mid-way between the Born and the Q. Meaning the Born's fire slammed down along Rapscallions dorsal spine, punched through the last of the shields, and reduced hull integrity to 51% before emergency thrusters could throws us out of the line of fire. Unfortunately, the last of the rounds pulverized the Q, and sent it's reactors prompt-critical.

I would have wept if it were not for the sheer terror of the rounds hammering the ship. Racous, dangerous pirate that I may be, I am not at all ashamed to tell you that those rounds hammering on the hull of Rapscallion scared the bloody piss out of me. It took me a good five minutes to regain control enough to speak. It's always good to have a capable crew, or at least a capable first officer. At least in this case, it was a capable captain, who order Born of Ashes to stand down, and Knight's Lance park itself between us and the gate, until I was able to regain control of myself. The stiff drink he gave me helped some. Even through the daze of terror that was fading, I was not amused by the straw, until I realized how badly I was shaking and that I needed it.

Hmm... It's pretty nasty having an experience like that and it makes you understand that life only happens once and that it's not a good idea to take chances.

Fortunately, while the damage was bad, the MARS fire control system was able to compensate by reprogramming the Rapscallion's own fighter drones to not only protect the ship, but to actively repair what damage they could. The rest will need a some internal work, the kind requiring humanoid mechanics. I could take it to a shipyard, but I think instead I'll let the mechanics on Command and Control have a shot at it first. If necessary I'll send it to the Legend's Home Federal Argon Shipyard. If not, I'll send it to the EQD in OmLy, or perhaps Light of Heart.

Right now, I'm going to sit down and have a very, very, very stiff drink, and then a long, hot bath and a nice sleep. I send for the Revenge, and then park near Decadence, and spend the night there.

[46_n_2]

holy friendly fire batman!

another reason i'll leave the large fleet stuff to you in my game (not DiD) all Qs are dealt with by bomber. (the joys of having more tomahawks than my m8 wings can hold)

keep up the good work

[Triaxx2]

So due to some issues from that nasty real-life thing, this may well be my last post for a few days. I'm not dead, but it's one of those things that always gets in the way. I'll be back as fast as I can, but to tide you over until then:

---

Chapter 10: Keeping on Trucking

So, you might ask, what was so insanely important that I would risk my life in Xenon 472. Well, it turns out that the answer, is Ore. See, I need to move 450k units of the stuff for Mahi Ma. He seems a little nuts, but he hasn't steered me wrong yet, so I'll trust him. Okay, okay, so he did send me into a sector full of Xenon clever enough to blister the paint on a ship going more than 630m/s. And I had to engage a Xenon Q with the rear guns on a carrier, instead of the proper method, which involves a Bomber and a few Tomahawks.

In any case, he's asked for ore and I've done a few calculations. The only way to move that amount of ore is with a lot of transport ships. The most convenient place to find a lot of freighters that A) are cheap, and B) have no pilots to annoy me about the technicalities of ownership. Of course the one problem is that I have to set up a CLS ship to deliver ore from the station to the various ships. I think I'll also bring along the ships I've collected in Cloud Base South East as well. I don't know if it will be enough to move all the ore I need, but it's worth a shot.

I've also noticed that I need an SPP down west of Unholy Descent. I simply cannot bring enough energy cells in, so I'll add an SPP, and bring in crystals instead. It's more efficient, but I thought I could do it with energy cells, but the CLS ships were taking the long route instead of using jump drives as ordered. Dumbasses.

So what's going to happen in PMP, is that I'm going to have Commodore's CLS move from the Energy Complex, to each freighter filling it with ore, until all of them are full of it, then they'll play follow the leader with Great Hold acting as Leader. Instead of going through the rigamarole of trying to outfit them all with jumpdrives, or trying to drag them through X534. Okay, so I wouldn't strictly be dragging, I'd be plowing the road with a giant missile frigate, but it's more effort than it's worth. Instead, I'll take the risk of an incursion, and use a projected warpgate to move them from PMP to Akeela's Beacon. I'm not willing to risk possible consequences of activating even a projected portal within the Hub, particularly not the chance that the entire structure might explode, or cause the universe to collapse in on itself.

Once they have begun moving to Akeela's Beacon, I will position destroyers in Akeela's Beacon itself, and missile frigates in PMP. I have no interest in taking chances.

Anyway, with there being no way to purchase Fujin Sentinels, I instead go with a pair of Jaguar Vanguards. Which is funny, since I end up with Boron pilots in them. The boron are not particularly amused, but frankly, I don't care. They'll do their jobs, or be fired. From a torpedo tube. With that done, I jump to Senator's Badlands and set up a couple of stations, to supply Rastar Oil to the SQUASH Mine fab that's been built. Arriving I also get a mission to build an Argon Flail Fab a little north in Okracoke's Storm. That's a piece of cake, which leads to a mission to deliver a Raijin, and 7002 crystals, for right around 15million credits. That's about 2200 credits a unit, give or take fifty.

Well worth the effort for bringing them in. Most of the rest of the day is spent doing administrative work, nothing interesting. I stop for the night at Terracorp HQ.

The following morning, I consider working for Terracorp, except that the convoy protection mission they want is supposed to start in Paranid Prime. Not only is that an inconveniently long trip, but it's also in the middle of the home sector of my sworn enemies. I know that Terracorp doesn't check reputations, but really, I mean, that's like the single most inconvenient place to have the convoy at. After a bit of negotiation, they agree to let me meet it in Emperor Mines instead. Once the fighters have scraped the bloody Paranid off me, the Pirates are a piece of cake. Even though they've brought bombers. Tenjins to the face tend to do that.

Cloud-base South-west is actually completely quiet. It's Ore-Belt that becomes an issue. They've got an Osprey, and a bomber and I got caught up trying to catch the freighters. Jumping into the next sector, I manage to get there in time to blow the bomber to shrapnel and then bail the Osprey. Once more the Salvage Claim Software proves it's worth, as I pick up the Osprey as I go by.

Along the way, I pick up a mission to patrol Ore Belt for Pirates, so I drop Scavenger's Lair in the middle and trail the convoy to Terracorp. There's a last ditch effort for the pirates, but I manage to screw it up for them by ramming my Panther down the throat of an incoming Carrack. There's an ammo forge in Home of Light that wants some protection, so I hammer some IBL's through a Bomber and then into another Carrack. Heading south again to Ore Belt, I help finish the attacking pirates off. I have to save Scavenger's Lair from a very angry bomber, that fired at Scavenger's as a last ditch because my goblins were defeating it's missiles. Fortunately I'm able to destroy enough of the Tomahawks that Lair survives, even if with only 3% shields. A trio of build missions through Ore Belt, Home of Light and Red Light both reminds me to add to my Barren Shores complex, as well as providing me the capital to do so. I've also got to repair some damage done by a Mass Driver wielding Harrier to Scavenger's Lair, but I'll get Command and Control to deal with that.

As I'm supervising construction of two additional Boron Chip Plants and their attachment to the Barren Shores Chip Complex, I get a message about ships under attack in Unknown Sector. I flick across the map, afraid I'm going to see a Paranid Attack fleet smashing TGWG, but instead it's a couple of pirates killing on of Warsquid's Pikes.

I'm going to have to see if there's a Pirate base there, and if so, I'm going to have to remove it from existence.

[Triaxx2]

Chapter 11:Asset List

Stations:
Solar Power Plant L Alpha {Akeela's Beacon}
Solar Power Plant L Beta {Akeela's Beacon}

BS Chip Plex {Barren Shores}
>Boron Chip Plant X7
>Boron BoFu Chemical Lab L
>Boron Bio Gas Factory L
>Teladi Silicon Mine L x2

LH Plex {Legend's Home}
>Argon Chip Plant
>Argon Crystal Fab L
>Teladi Flail Missile Production Facility
>Teladi Flak Artillery Array Forge
>Argon Cahoona Bakery L
>Argon Cahoona Bakery M
>Teladi Sun Oil Refinery L
>Argon Cattle Ranch L
>Argon Cattle Ranch M
>Teladi Flower Farm L
>Teladi Ore Mine L
>Teladi Silicon Mine L

Argon Wheat Farm L {Legend's Home}

Pax Mort Paranidia Energy Complex {Pax Mort Paranidia}

>Teladi Ore Mine x15
>Teladi Silicon Mine x7
>Boron Solar Power Plant XL X2
>Boron Solar Power Plant M
>Boron Crystal Fab L x5
>Boron BoFu Chemical Lab L x6
>Boron Bio Gas Factory L x6

Pax Mort Paranidia Missile Complex {Pax Mort Paranidia}
>Boron Hammer Heavy Torpedo Fabrication Facility x2
>Boron Tomahawk Missile Manufacturing Plant

Pax Mort Paranidia SQUASH-Lasertower Complex {Pax Mort Paranidia} x2
>Split Chelt Space Aquarium L
>Split Rastar Refinery L
>Split SQUASH Mine Factory
>Split Laser Tower Factory

Avarice Crystal Hub {Unknown E of Montalaar/Avarice}
>Boron Crystal Fab L x2
>Boron Bio Gas Factory L x2
>Boron BoFu Chemical Lab L x2
>Teladi Silicon Mine L

Booze East {Avarice}
>Argon Space Fuel Distillery L
>Argon Wheat Farm L

Booze West {Avarice}
>Argon Space Fuel Distillery L
>Argon Wheat Farm L

Weed East {Avarice}
>Teladi Bliss Place L
>Teladi Dream Farm L

Weed East {Avarice}
>Teladi Bliss Place L
>Teladi Dream Farm L

Southern Supply Complex (Hammer/Flail/Energy) {South-west of Unholy Descent}
>Boron Bio Gas Factory L x16
>Boron BoFu Chemical Lab L x16
>Argon Cahoona Bakery L x3
>Argon Cattle Ranch L x3
>Boron Crystal Fab x16
>Argon Flail Missile Production Facility x7
>Argon Hammer Torpedo Fabrication Facility x7
>Teladi Ore Mine L x8
>Teladi Silicon Mine L x10
>Boron Solar Power Plant
>Boron Solar Power Plant L x7

Southern Energy Complex Supplemental {West of Unholy Descent}
>Teladi Ore Mine L x12
>Teladi Silicon Mine L x5

CODEA Supply Complex {West of Unholy Descent}
>Argon Cahoona Bakery L
>Argon Cattle Ranch L
>Argon Mosquito Missile Factory x2
>Argon Wasp Missile Factory x3
>Boron Tomahawk Factory
>Boron Chip Plant x2
>Boron Bio Gas Factory L
>Boron BoFu Chemical Lab L

Weaver Missile Plex {Weaver's Tempest}
>Boron Crystal Fab L x3
>Boron BoFu Chemical Lab L x4
>Boron Bio Gas Factory L x4
>Teladi Silicon Mine L x3
>Teladi Ore Mine L
>Boron Solar Power Plant XL
>Boron Flail Missile Production Facility x3
>Boron Hammer Torpedo Fabrication Facility

Xenon Hub {HUB}

Teladianium Hub {HUB}
>Teladi Teladianium Foundry L x5

M1:

Goner Aran [Command and Control – Repair Station]
Argon Colossus [Going Xenon Commando]
Teladi Condor [Scavenger's Lair]
Boron Shark [Warsquid]
Boron Medium Weapon Platform
Boron Small Weapon Platform

M2:

Teladi Phoenix [Born of Ashes]
Split Python [Great Wyrm]
Pirate Brigantine [Rapscallion]
Boron Ray [The Great White Guardian]

M7:

Argon Minotaur [Death Barge]
Argon Minotaur
Split Cobra [Venomous Cobra]
Teladi Gannet [Gunboat Diplomacy]
Argon Cerberus [Guard Dog] 'Captain Gil Gusta'
Teladi Shrike [Shriking Banshee]
Split Tiger [Knight's Lance]
Split Panther [Queen Anki's Revenge]

M6:
Pirate Centaur [Commodore's Yacht]
Split Dragon [Hussar] 'Captain Morgan Utley'
Pirate Osprey [Legend's Defender]
Terran Vidar [Legend's Guardian] 'Captain Flot Cheram'
Boron Hydra [Snake in the Roids]
Goner Truelight Seeker
Split Heavy Dragon [Wyvern]
Pirate Osprey x3
Argon Centaur x2
Pirate Centaur
Argon Heavy Centaur Prototype
Split Heavy Dragon x2

M8:

Split Viper [BOM Viper]
> Lieutenant Kriss Weamond
> Lieutenant Neol Poler
> Lieutenant Jarren Gisler
> Lieutenant Rabeka Pareii

Split Viper [Crystal Energy Supplement] 'Logistician Frenk Halter'
Split Viper [Energy><Crystal Transfer] 'Logistician Nyota Colard'
Split Viper [Viper Strike] 'Cargo Messenger Nil Sillarne'
Terran Claymore
Argon Gladiator
Split Viper x2

M3:
Pirate Blastclaw [ATF Blastclaw] {Decadence} 'Lieutenant Gil Giorno'
Split Mamba Raider [ATF Mamba Raider] {Scavenger's Lair} 'Recuit Huritis Gantellos Hanirases III'
Argon Nova [ATF Nova] {Decadence} ' Lieutenant Frenk Giorno'
Pirate Nova Raider [ATF Pirate Nova Raider] 'Lieutenant Kareen Sillarn'
Yaki Tenjin [ATF Tenjin] {Queen Anki's Revenge} x4
> Ensign Trali Fi
> Petty Officer Lolo Pi
> Recruit Popo Mu
> Lieutenant Pok Cheram

Teladi Falcon Hauler [CSV Falcon Hauler] 'Recruit Janit Cheram'
Split Mamba [CSV Mamba] 'Recruit Yatima Keppel'
Teladi Falcon Hauler [IBL Supply] 'Logistician Holu Lu'
Terran Cutlass [INC Cutlass] 'Lieutenant Endy Silsarna'
Argon Eclipse [INC Eclipse] 'Lieutenant Jennaia Pareii'
Split Mamba [INC Mamba] {Guard Dog} x6
> Recruit Boso Ha
> Lieutenant Ashunty Hunter
> Lieutenant Jo Silsarna
> Lieutenant Janit Springer
> Lieutenant Thalia Cruise
> Lieutenant Kleo Weamond

Yaki Tenjin [INC Tenjin] {Queen Anki's Revenge} x4
> Lieutenant Latasha Seldon
> Lieutenant Jennaia Kayean
> Lieutenant Tosi Bu
> Petty Officer Ban Jerigan

Xenon L x22
Pirate Blastclaw [LH Supplement Blastclaw] 'Logistician Scot Springer'
Xenon LX x6
Teladi Falcon [Nividium Transfer] 'Logistician Aron Nedley'
Argon Nova Vanguard
Pirate Advanced Eclipse [Valkyrie]
Yaki Tenjin [Warjack]
Boron Barracuda Prototype
Boron Barracuda Vanguard x4
Pirate Blastclaw x3
Pirate Blastclaw Prototype
Split Chimera
Argon Eclipse
Teladi Falcon x2
Teladi Falcon Sentinel
Teladi Falcon Vanguard x2
Split Mamba x7
Split Mamba Vanguard x4
Argon Notus Hauler
Argon Nova
Argon Nova Prototype
Argon Nova Raider x4
Argon Nova Vanguard x5
Yaki Susanowa Hauler
Yaki Tenjin x8
Terran Experimental Shuttle

M4:

{Warsquid} (Boron Pilots)
Boron Pike [INC Pike] x10
Boron Pike [ATF Pike] x25
Boron Pike [CSV Pike] x5

{Queen Anki's Revenge}
Boron Pike [ATF Pike] x2
> Lieutenant Warron Keppel
> Ensign Frenk Marval

Boron Pike [ESC Pike] x4
> Lieutenant Mulu Bo
> Lieutenant Hali Bi
> Lieutenant Yvona Keppel
> Lieutenant Mak Giorno
Boron Pike [CSV Pike] 'Petty Officer Kulo La'
Yaki Raijin [CSV Raijin] 'Lieutenant Tomes Ohneaim'

{Scavenger's Lair}
Boron Pike [ATF Pike] x8 (Teladi Pilots)

Pirate Elite [ATF Pirate Elite] {Decadence} 'Petty Officer Kleo Sillarne'
Argon Buster Raider [Busta Raida]
Argon Buster Raider
Argon Buster Vanguard
Boron Pike [Fish Stick]

Boron Mako (Gas Station Mover 1-7) {Gas Station} x7
>Logistician Aron Slamer
>Logistician Ban Selek
>Logistician Erine Hang
>Logistician Frenk Keswen
>Logistician Kaylen Halter
>Logistician Jo Springer
>Logistician Pico Sahkarna

Pirate Buster Hauler [Hub Energy Supply] 'Logistician Endy Braks'

Xenon Mx17
Pirate Elite [Decadence CLS] 'Recruit Endy Jerigan'
Split Asp x2
Argon Buster x6
Argon Buster Raider x8
Argon Buster Sentinel
Argon Buster Vanguard x8
Teladi Buzzard
Teladi Buzzard Vanguard x2
Argon Elite x5
Boron Mako x3
Boron Mako Raider x3
Boron Pike x12
Split Scorpion
Split Scorpion Prototype x2
Split Scorpion Raider
Split Scorpion Sentinel x4
Argon Solano

Argon Solano [Legend's Training Squadron]
>Lieutenant Ulla Weamond
>Lieutenant Cerise Keswen
>Lieutenant Ban Gisler
>Lieutenant Mikal Hang
>Lieutenant Cate Selek

M5:

Argon Discoverer [Aran Equip Tran]
Teladi Kestrel [Atalanta I]
Teladi Kestrel [Atalanta II]
Split Jaguar Vanguard [ATF Jaguar Vanguard] {Queen Anki's Revenge} x2
>Recruit Nini Hu
>Recruit Nana Wa

Teladi Kestrel [Delivery of Goods] {Command and Control – Repair Station}
Argon Discoverer Raider [Destroyer Escort]
Argon Discoverer Raider [Disco Sat Dropper]
Argon Discoverer Raider {Going Xenon Commando}x6
Argon Discoverer Raider [Fuel Trader] 'Logistician Warron Sillarn'
Argon Discoverer Raider [Fuel Trader B] 'Logistician Iaron Springer'
Boron Octopus Raider [Gate Scanner 1-2]

Argon Discoverer Raider (LH>AB Crystal B-1,2,3) x3
>Logistician Karry Sillarn
>Logistician Scot Keppel
>Logistician Mayenne Kayean

Argon Discoverer Raider (LH>AB Crystal Crystal Transfer A-1,2,3) x3
>Logistician Scot Braks
>Logistician Daye Gisler
>Logistician Ulla Brano

Split Jaguar [Lucky SOB]
Xenon N x13
Argon Discoverer Hauler [REC Discoverer Hauler] x6 {Scavenger's Lair}

Argon Discoverer Hauler (Weaver's Energy Mover 1,2)
>Logistician Uma Keppel
>Logistician Ulla Sillarne

Argon Discoverer [Weaver's Fuel Trader] 'Courier Jo Hang'
Terran Advanced Discoverer
Argon Discoverer x6
Argon Discoverer Raider x5
Argon Discoverer Vanguard x2
Split Enhanced Jaguar
Yaki Fujin Sentinel
Teladi Harrier x3
Split Jaguar x3
Split Jaguar Raider
Split Jaguar Vanguard x10
Boron Octopus Raiderx2
Boron Octopus Vanguard
Terran Rapier x5

TL:
Yaki Ryu [Decadence]
Argon Mammoth [Delivery Wagon/Hub]
Teladi Albatross [Gas Station]
Argon Mammoth [Grand Trunk]
Terran Atmosphere Lifter [Great Hauler 1]
Terran Atmosphere Lifter [Great Hauler 2]
Terran Atmosphere Lifter [Missile Warehouse]
Terran Atmosphere Lifter [Warehouse 1]
Teladi Albatross [Great Hold]
Split Elephant [Great Trunk] 'Logistician Val Halter'
Split Elephant [TDR Elephant] 'Commander Tata Di'

TM:
Teladi Pelican [Commodore's CLS] 'Logistician Jennaia Jovi'
Teladi Pelican
Yaki Chokaro [Mos Eisley]
Yaki Chokaro [IBL Supply Transfer Station]
Split Boa (Jump Boa)
Argon Magnetar (Replen)
Argon Zephyrus (Tow Wagon II)
Split Boa x2
Argon Magnetar x2

TS:
New Entries:
Boron Dolphin Superfreighter [TDR Dolphin Superfreighter] 'Commander Halilo Wi'
Argon Mercury [TDR Mercury] 'Commander York Colard'

TP:
Boron Angel (EST Angel) 'Major Dealer Kleo Springer'
Terran Scabbard (Hidden Blade)
Split Iguana Vanguard (People Picker) 'Lieutentant Latasha Springer'
Argon Express (Wheat CAG)
Boron Angel x2
Argon Express x3
Argon Express Hauler
Split Iguana x2
Split Iguana Vanguard x2
Boron Manta Hauler
Teladi Toucan x3
Teladi Toucan Hauler

GO:
Goner Ranger (Ranger 1-5)
>Logisticians
>>Dal Jovi
>>Yannet Kayean
>>Frenk Gusta
>>Daron Bro
>>Sheron Jerigan

Reputations:

Trade Rank: Manufacturer 8%
Fight Rank: Crusader 50%

Argon Hero of the Federation [L] 1%
Boron King's Knight 74%
Split Honoured Strong Arm of Rhonkar 12%
Paranid Enemy of Priest Duke 23%
Teladi Company Director 19%
Goner Trusted Pilgrim 5%
ATF Earth Access 0%
Terran Senatorial Advisor 33%

Terracorp – Contracted 55%
OTAS – Combat Expert 42%
Operation Final Fury – Second Lieutenant 27%

Liquid Assets: 31,025,270 cr

Time Flying: 15-10:50
Ships Owned: 686
Stations Owned: 280

[Triaxx2]

Chapter 11: Cleaning House.

Well, Commodore's CLS is hard at work, ferrying Ore from my Ore complex in PMP to the convoy of ships that will carry it to the Hub. Great Hauler 2 is in position just south of Great Hold in PMP, with Death Barge and Gunboat Diplomacy hanging nearby.

Delivery Wagon/Hub is sitting in Akeela's Beacon, currently with Rapscallion and the newly refitted Great Wyrm on guard. Born of Ashes will be holding position inside the Hub itself, in case something decides to jump in there and spoil the fun. I'll be sitting aboard Revenge, being followed by Knight's Lance and Venomous Cobra, waiting to react in case anything goes wrong. Scavenger's Lair will be sitting further north in Akeela's and Going Xenon Commando is going to be holding position in the Hub. Shriking Banshee has been armed and is standing by, ready to join the battle.

What can possibly fail to go wrong?

Anyway, I know there's a pirate base down there, I can't find it. I'm going to send Xenon Commando after I complete the shipment. For now though, I jump north to Home of Light, because at the moment, I'm still waiting for Commodore's CLS to finish filling the convoy. First request is to eliminate a Carrack run by a fish in President's End. After that, I take a convoy escort to Elena's Fortune. Which turns out to have Xenon after it. After the 6th wave, I finally lose my temper and employ all the resources at my disposal, which happens to include a missile frigate. Turns out that Xenon react fairly explosively to Flail Barrage Missiles. Finally, I land at the Military Outpost, sliding in just ahead of a Military Transporter. All that's available that I want is a Split Helmsman.

I think I need to go find another capital ship to steal. Then I can build a solar power plant or two to supply power to the Complex west of Unholy Descent. Cleaning up some Paranid ships in Elena's Fortune, I start looking for a new capital to take.

Jumping to Bala Gi's Joy turns out to be a big mistake. I lose a Pike, two Tenjins and the remaining Jaguar Vanguard. That's annoying. I'm going to replace the Tenjins, and one of the Pikes, then slot two Jaguar Vanguards in. It turns out I'm in luck, and both Senator's Badlands and Family Rhy are fully stocked with L equip sets of Tenjins and Jaguar Vanguards. I purchase ten of each, and then jump to Senator's Badlands to pick up the Tenjins. What I pick up first however, are two missions. One for the construction of an Argon Spacefuel Distillery L in Weaver's Tempest, and one for the defense of the SQUASH Mine fab, from incoming Paranid Forces. I call Rapscallion into help and order the bombers to engage the Deimos the Paranid have sent, but Rapscallion kills it before the missiles have the chance to arrive.

I lose none of my ships, and instead, they force the crew to eject from one of the three Nemesis that the Paranid sent. I have the guns trained on it, and am ready to give the order, when I hear a voice in my head that tells me to STOP. I'm not sure why, but I feel I should listen to that voice. I figure that if nothing else, the Yaki will use it as target practice. Picking up my three Tenjins, I jump to Family Rhy and pick up a pair of Jaguar Vanguards then move to the equipment dock to equip the Tenjins. Then it's on to OTAS HQ, for Docking Computers. I need them for the Atalanta I/II as well. Flying without them isn't too much fun. While there, I find a mission to assassinate a Paranid Pirate, and one to transport my OTAS contact. The latter wants to head to one of the SPP's in Akeela's Beacon, so I won't be doing that in Revenge.

Taking the assassination turns out to be very annoying. The target is flying a Pirate Osprey, and is escorted by a single bomber. Unfortunately for me, there's also an Argon Military Cerberus sitting right there by the gate which destroys the Osprey, jerking my payday. I'm not too perturbed, because it wasn't that much and I just wanted the three-eye dead. On the other hand, the bomber destroys the Cerberus, which is frankly better than seeing it kill my Tender, which jumped in right behind me. Idiot. It doesn't take long to clean up the fighters though, and then we move on to Legend's Home to hook up with Hidden Blade and transport my contact.

Returning, I pick up another taxi mission. This time they want speed. I give it to them, using Atalanta I.

For some reason the client is a bit frazzled when I go more than two hundred kilometers in under eleven minutes. Pirate Kestrel+Turbo Booster=SPEEEEED. She steps off just a bit frazzled looking, but I got her here within the (admittedly generous) hour and forty-five minute time limit given, so she pays. And then throws up on the dock. I can't help but laugh. I tell her next time I'll bring a faster ship. She heads for the bathroom.

I love doing that to people. Heading south to Legend's Home to meet up with Revenge, I pick up a build mission in Montalaar, and realize it's better to just have Revenge jump to me, instead of flying back to it.

Instead, I split the difference, and have it jump to Avarice' North Parking Lot jump beacon then run there to meet it. Checking in and seeing that the ships are still loading for the Hub convoy, I decide to jump into Born of Ashes and see what Generally Funny Looking wants from me. I know, I know, it seems odd that I have such respect for some Split, and so little for others, but I really don't enjoy being bossed around. I prefer to be the one doing the bossing. And since I'm driving a destroyer, my position is reinforced. I do get a bit distracted by a mission to defend the local CIG forge. Fortunately, it's only a bunch of Yaki, who I bribe to make it look good and eject. They self-destruct, so I don't get a bonus, but I do get the reward. They're on-board now, so I'll have Hidden Blade run them to the Shipyard.

There are an absurdly large number of Kha'ak scouts, more than any single cluster I've ever seen would spew out. So I call in the Revenge and have it jump into the middle of the mix. A couple of build station missions, one from the shipyard, and one from the Pirate Base in the Unknown sector just to the north. Both Argon Fabs available at the local shipyard, so they're relative doddles for a couple million credits. The Pirates actually pay better.

The military base turns out to be far more profitable. In addition to nearly a full million for just completing the mission, I also get bonuses for destroying ships, and while I'm there, a mercenary Thresher also in the system, bails under fire from four Kha'ak Corvettes. The totally unarmed Cobra doesn't survive, which makes complete sense. Fortunately for me though, I have 10GJ of shielding, and I'm also fully armed, and ready for a fight.

After dealing with the Corvette's it becomes entirely a matter of sitting and watching the rewards roll in. While I keep the Kha'ak entertained, Tow Wagon jumps in, claims the Thresher, and gets it out of the sector while the Kha'ak are trying to get organized, instead of just going boom.

Ultimately, it turns out to be the easiest 12 million credits I've ever made. Frankly, the Kha'ak didn't even throw anything even remotely capable of scratching the shields. The lowest I got was 86% and that's because I had three super-clusters break right on top of me.

Once the mission ended, I returned to the North Parking Lot in Avarice. The Thresher is worth about 7.5 million, so it's a toss up to see if I want to repair it and add it to the sector West of Unholy Descent's defenses. Or do I just want to sell it. I'm not sure, so I'll hold on to it for now, and decide later. I'll have to move it out of the Queen's Retribution Shipyard, but it was the only place I could reach with the jump fuel on hand and still get Tow Wagon II out.

I finally decide that it's time to take a rest. The ships are loaded, and in the morning, I'll begin the transit process.