Chapter 20: Arming
And I thought arming the Gannet was a pain in the neck. The Ryu, as it turns out, can take IBL's in three of it's four turret slots. I do not however, have the cash to do that, so instead, I mount up and go searching for PRG's. Two in the nose, from the Buster Hauler now sitting in it's docking bay. That will for now, be it's cargo salvage ship, and the three Solanos will be it's interceptor wing. Of course I'll need to arm and outfit them, but that won't take too long.
With both the Gannet and Ryu at the Light of Heart shipyard, and my two stations ticking over nicely, it's time to look towards the goal of financing my own Solar Power Plant. It's a long haul from the south gate of Akeela's Beacon to the Wheat Farm and Silicon Mine, and it will be much easier if I can build my own SPP north of that gate. Plus I'll be able to acquire fuel there for free.
But first, guns. The encyclopedia-ex-galatica is a fantastically useful guide to the universe, even lacking the large, friendly letters of Don't Panic on the front. Instead it says: "Don't Trust the Auto-Pillock." I gather one of the two, the Auto-Pilot, or Encyclopedia is defective. Since the Auto-Pilot seems capable of crashing a satellite into things, and the Encyclopedia only lists things I know how to find, I'm inclined to believe it's both. Not having FAA's on the list is more than a touch annoying, though I've been told that the Teladi produce them.
Of course, since they aren't even listed, I haven't the first idea where to look for them. I guess I'll put out some feelers amongst the less savory members of the various pirate organizations.
In the mean time, I've decided to name my Ryu, 'The Decadence of Piracy', or 'Decadence' for short. At the same time, the Gannet has become, 'Gunboat Diplomacy'.
As soon as I can source some Hammer Heavy Torpedoes, I'm going to use the Gunboat Diplomacy to stomp yet another Carrack infesting my Happy Hunting Ground.
Now I'm tired of those things, and I think that the only thing to do, is to teach the pirates a lesson they will not soon forget. For now though, I swap to the Amazon, and fly to Haktikvah's Faith. The Carrack is off to the west, busily amusing itself by giving traffic a beating, and I slip past with ease, but not before accepting a return ship mission in Ceo's Sprite, which is where I was headed. The Pegasus Sentinel jumps the return trip aboard the Mos Eisley, and makes it easily. And wonder of wonders, there's a Flak Artillery Array Forge in Ceo's. And they have two in stock. Mos Eisley lands, and purchases both, but not without having to drain some funds from my stations. The Military Outpost yields a pair of boarding pods, and a quartet of Energy Bolt Chainguns. Two scan asteroid missions, both wanting the same 8 roids, three in Ceo's Sprite, and five in Company Pride scanned. So, having completed on, I also complete the second.
Now, to find another ship to not return. I need some missiles. But first, I think I'm going to beat up some Paranid for their valuable cargo.
[TC] A Pirate's Revenge [Book One Complete]
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A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
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APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
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Thank you.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
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Scion Drakhar
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Neeros wrote:Awesome.
A Pirate's Story.pdf(KIA) by _Zap _ From Nothing.PDF(complete) by _Zap _ Prodigal Son(active) Original Thread, Prodigal Son_PDF
Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
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Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
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Chapter 21: Luxuriously Luxurious Lavatories
Seriously, the thrones in the Ryu are gold plated. Not the seats fortunately. Those are padded. I'm pretty sure I'd rather not know what with though.
But first, how did I find that out. Well, it started with a mission. I was to find and recover a fighter. The Mos Eisley was busily collecting missiles for OTAS. So, needing to get it from A to B in a fairly short time, I summoned the Decadence to me, and docked with it, then jumped to the target. The combination of the Decadence's ability to haul the ships, and the Amazon's ability to reach them really, really fast, it proved a winner, and I was able to take missions reaching from Aladna Hill to Rhonkar's Fire without a problem.
Then I got to test out the ability to build stations, selling an abandoned Raijin, in order to fund the purchase and placement of a Teladi Flower Farm M. For a profit roughly twice what I paid for the station, once I'd taken the price of the station out of the equation. Later, I also accepted and completed a mission to drop a Sun Oil Refinery L in Legend's Home of all places. That brought me a cool million or so credits, and some good relations with the Teladi.
I also, as it happened, was able to set Decadence up as a CODEA carrier. Three Solano's' acting as Interceptors, the Mamba as the first of the Attack Fighters, and a slightly under armed Buster Hauler on patrol. Of course, since it's sitting in Legend's Home, I doubt it'll have it's defenses seriously probed.
Me, I hopped into the Mos Eisley and took off to Haktikvah's faith. The hunting wasn't good. Only a handful of freighters, and one freight transporter, that I had to short jump to the south gate to catch. And all that he did was explode. Loser.
Of course the one Paranid that dropped freight and left me some Computer Components, and Quantum Tubes. Having no further prospects, I returned to the Mos Eisley, and landed. I think I need to find another place to pirate. But so far nothing has given me what I need. Perhaps heading east a bit. But first, I need to reset my hold.
Of course, having 6xHEPT's and 2xPBG's, I can BBQ anything, and punch through all but the heaviest freighter shields in a single volley. I wonder, how hard it would be to take a TL? Hmmm... What a lovely thought.
Seriously, the thrones in the Ryu are gold plated. Not the seats fortunately. Those are padded. I'm pretty sure I'd rather not know what with though.
But first, how did I find that out. Well, it started with a mission. I was to find and recover a fighter. The Mos Eisley was busily collecting missiles for OTAS. So, needing to get it from A to B in a fairly short time, I summoned the Decadence to me, and docked with it, then jumped to the target. The combination of the Decadence's ability to haul the ships, and the Amazon's ability to reach them really, really fast, it proved a winner, and I was able to take missions reaching from Aladna Hill to Rhonkar's Fire without a problem.
Then I got to test out the ability to build stations, selling an abandoned Raijin, in order to fund the purchase and placement of a Teladi Flower Farm M. For a profit roughly twice what I paid for the station, once I'd taken the price of the station out of the equation. Later, I also accepted and completed a mission to drop a Sun Oil Refinery L in Legend's Home of all places. That brought me a cool million or so credits, and some good relations with the Teladi.
I also, as it happened, was able to set Decadence up as a CODEA carrier. Three Solano's' acting as Interceptors, the Mamba as the first of the Attack Fighters, and a slightly under armed Buster Hauler on patrol. Of course, since it's sitting in Legend's Home, I doubt it'll have it's defenses seriously probed.
Me, I hopped into the Mos Eisley and took off to Haktikvah's faith. The hunting wasn't good. Only a handful of freighters, and one freight transporter, that I had to short jump to the south gate to catch. And all that he did was explode. Loser.
Of course the one Paranid that dropped freight and left me some Computer Components, and Quantum Tubes. Having no further prospects, I returned to the Mos Eisley, and landed. I think I need to find another place to pirate. But so far nothing has given me what I need. Perhaps heading east a bit. But first, I need to reset my hold.
Of course, having 6xHEPT's and 2xPBG's, I can BBQ anything, and punch through all but the heaviest freighter shields in a single volley. I wonder, how hard it would be to take a TL? Hmmm... What a lovely thought.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
Chapter 22: Paranid Dreams
I seem to have fallen asleep for a while, while I was managing my cargo. Because now there are Paranid floating around. And away I go.
Pickings are good, one Demeter carrying Crystals, and Teladianium, and an empty Dolphin. That one bailed, and left me shields. I send it along to follow the Mos Eisley, and call Salvage Bucket to jump in and pick up the Crystals and Teladianium floating around the area. While that works, I pick on handful of pirates who don't understand that this is my hunting ground, and they're scaring away all the Paranids. Then I have to hold the hand of the Salvage Bucket, because it seems that Caiman, translates into can't pick up space junk.
So, after a crash course on ware collection, I'm ordering the Salvage Bucket to follow the Mos Eisley.
I think I might want to work on getting a more effective salvage method though. Perhaps exploiting CODEA's Cargo Salvage mechanism might work. Hm...
The next target I pick up is a military Supply freighter, packing a bunch of Advanced Sats. Then a freight transporter, full of Bofu and Nostrop. Fortunately, I can make a handy profit with both of those, but for now they go into the Salvage Bucket and I go hunting for more profits. But I think for the moment, I'll abandon this area. Pickings are a bit sparse, even though a Military Cerberus has just moved into the area, to keep down pirate capitals. I think I'll move. Gunne's Crusade seems to be a likely spot for more Paranid traffic. And perhaps some trafficking.
First though, I have to shepherd my new Dolphin back to the Light of Heart Shipyard. But I'm only in Gunne's Crusade a few minutes, just enough to pick up an abandoned Mercury Tanker XL, and ambush a Paranid Food Transporter packing Meatsteaks.
At that point, I learned that the Elena's Fortune Military outpost had boarding pods. Leaping clear to it, I immediately started swearing, and hauling the controls off to the left, pulling around the gate, and hiding from the Carrack sitting in Elena's. Of course, there's also a Thresher here, and it looks like it might be a good fight.
Unfortunately for me, the Thresher is just passing through, and wanders out the West gate without engaging. The Carrack seems set to terrorize the trade lanes, but then it closes in on the Military Outpost, and quickly looses it's fighter escort. Come to think of it, I don't see the Weapons Platforms that usually float around here. Interesting. So, IM7FY-32, Are we going to be good friends? Or are you going to die in space.
Die in space. Though the fact that they were firing Hammerheads probably helped it along. Ah well. At least it left some worthwhile salvage. Not from itself, but from the ships it destroyed. And those that it forced to bail. A Solano, a Nova, and one of it's accompanying Blastclaws.
Of course, it's only after the fighting has finished that the Boron Military shows back up. I do get a look at the M4+ that they have, and I like it. I'll have to check a little more into it, but the Pike is a nice looking ship.
For me, I dock at the Military Outpost, while the Decadence arrives to haul away my spoils. Once it's got everything, I transfer the Tomahawk Missiles, Hammer Heavy Torpedoes, and Boarding Pods, then send it to Terracorp HQ for a transporter device. Of course, it leaves behind it's Patrol Fighter. It's only got one at the moment, until I 'locate' a mate for it.
As it's on it's way back, I also notice something. An Argon Colossus. I wonder where that's been while the Carrack was ravaging Elena's Fortune.
Probably sipping Spacefuel. Of course since it's dead, I guess they've decided it's now safe to come back. Schmucks.
I think, now that the Decadence is back, I'll try some Paranid Piracy in Split Fire. As I fly towards the south gate, I wonder if these small acts of piracy are really doing any good. I begin to feel as though I should be doing more. Perhaps attempting to strike at the heart of Paranid space. And yet I know that doing so would be foolish. At least for now. Even with the Gunboat Diplomacy, one capital does not a fleet make, particularly one which is meant to inspire fear in an entire race.
I think it's time to begin the planning. What do I need to take on the Paranid, and what do I need to utterly crush them into nothingness, to make them fear to return to space, even long after I'm dust floating in the depths of silence. What do I need?
A monument. Something that might not be permanent, but that will long survive me. Something to inspire fear and terror in my enemies.
I need my own sector. After all, no one treads lightly in Loomanckstrat's Legacy. Even those that are friendly to the pirates. And no one stands against the Weaver's Tempest without feeling overwhelmed. I need to make a mark in the universe. A permanent reminder of ME.
I guess I'll have to think about that later. For now my fleet is important. Let's see. They hate the Argon. Exactly why I cannot fathom, though I suspect that it's because Argon founded the Goner Religion, and it competes with their religion. They're friends with the Split, but I can't imagine anyone not being terrified of the Split. And particularly of their designs.
The Teladi have good designs, but they're more annoying than hate worthy. Though, I might end up with a Phoenix as the backbone of my fleet. Because really, that's an awesome ship.
The Raptor holds more ships, but the Colossus is better shielded. The Raptor is significantly faster. The Colossus has a better... shielding? Okay, so I think the Raptor is the better carrier.
Panthers will make good supporting carriers. While Cerberus will be good escort frigates. Plus I can use Centaur's as escort Corvette's.
Eclipses as close interceptors, and Mamba Raiders as fast Attack Fighters. Discoverer Raiders as Recon Fighters. And Falcon Haulers as Cargo Salvage. Asp's as Escorts.
I might find some problems with Tenders, but I think Ryu's will handle the job without much trouble. And some OTAS Mistral Superfreighters to supply the Ryu's.
Of course this is all far in the future, and I need infrastructure, not just of weapons but also money to buy this sweeping fleet.
The problem is that I'll probably never hold all the territory I need, no matter how much firepower I put into the fleet. So I must set a goal. I have to raze Paranid territory. Everything burns, but it slowly circles inward. A long, unstoppable collapse inwards until I arrive to scourge the Paranid Prime Sector.
What a lovely dream. Now, onwards to piracy.
Sort of. Turns out pickings are pretty truly slim. Not helped at all by the Argon military showing up in quite a bit of force, which is to say with a Titan and escorting Cerberus.
Of course those could have been in Elena's Fortune about ten minutes ago and not missed a fight that had to be handled by a bunch of fighters, and a particularly deadly corvette. And it wasn't even a heavy Corvette either. Definitely interesting.
Since there wasn't anything worth shooting at, instead I took two missions from the local Soyfarm, and found myself scanning everything in the sector for Valuable Freight. Which every pirate knows means, every single thing on the ship, up to and including the crew itself. So I scanned the Titan, the Cerberus, all the accompanying fighters, ever freighter I could reach in time in the Valkyrie. If I'd known what I was going to be doing, I'd have brought the Amazon instead. But the Valkyrie worked out well, and I got quite a few credits for the two missions. Even the fact that one was offering seven percent and one was offering two of the total value, each mission was worth more than a million credits. Not a bad haul for not being shot at, which is something I'm always interested in avoiding.
Seeing no opportunities for 'Profitssss' as the Teladi say, I swung around north, and ran straight into a bunch of pirates that somehow made it through Elena's without falling a foul of the local fighters, or interestingly, the Decadence's own fighters. A quick check of the map revealed it was a simple matter of the fact that the Mamba from Lookmanckstrat's' Legacy, which is the Decadence's soul attacking fighter, was simply not fast enough to catch the group which consisted of two Harrier's and a Pirate Elite. Since they ran directly into the firing arcs of both the Titan and Cerberus, they didn't last long. Surprisingly, the Elite survived, it's pilot bailing, and the ship even surviving a last glancing blow from what looked like a CIG blast, but that did no damage. Might have been an IPG round, now that I think on it. Not that I'm going to complain to loudly about a free ship.
Anyway, I follow it back to the Decadence, still parked in Elena's, and dock shortly before the Elite. But it's been a very long day, and decidedly stressful. So I order the Decadence to dock with the local Military Outpost, and then shut down all the non-essential systems.
As it turns out, the bedrooms aboard the Ryu are extravagant. Decadence is well named. Soft feather mattress, automatic species detection, adjusting to temperature and sound preferences for the best sleep. Full bar, Full bathroom, with shower and tub, and even a hot tub. The Yaki really know how to live. No wonder there are always a few Ryu floating around Yaki space. As nice as this ship is, I wouldn't want to leave either. I knew there was a reason for the additional credits. And this is it.
I seem to have fallen asleep for a while, while I was managing my cargo. Because now there are Paranid floating around. And away I go.
Pickings are good, one Demeter carrying Crystals, and Teladianium, and an empty Dolphin. That one bailed, and left me shields. I send it along to follow the Mos Eisley, and call Salvage Bucket to jump in and pick up the Crystals and Teladianium floating around the area. While that works, I pick on handful of pirates who don't understand that this is my hunting ground, and they're scaring away all the Paranids. Then I have to hold the hand of the Salvage Bucket, because it seems that Caiman, translates into can't pick up space junk.
So, after a crash course on ware collection, I'm ordering the Salvage Bucket to follow the Mos Eisley.
I think I might want to work on getting a more effective salvage method though. Perhaps exploiting CODEA's Cargo Salvage mechanism might work. Hm...
The next target I pick up is a military Supply freighter, packing a bunch of Advanced Sats. Then a freight transporter, full of Bofu and Nostrop. Fortunately, I can make a handy profit with both of those, but for now they go into the Salvage Bucket and I go hunting for more profits. But I think for the moment, I'll abandon this area. Pickings are a bit sparse, even though a Military Cerberus has just moved into the area, to keep down pirate capitals. I think I'll move. Gunne's Crusade seems to be a likely spot for more Paranid traffic. And perhaps some trafficking.
First though, I have to shepherd my new Dolphin back to the Light of Heart Shipyard. But I'm only in Gunne's Crusade a few minutes, just enough to pick up an abandoned Mercury Tanker XL, and ambush a Paranid Food Transporter packing Meatsteaks.
At that point, I learned that the Elena's Fortune Military outpost had boarding pods. Leaping clear to it, I immediately started swearing, and hauling the controls off to the left, pulling around the gate, and hiding from the Carrack sitting in Elena's. Of course, there's also a Thresher here, and it looks like it might be a good fight.
Unfortunately for me, the Thresher is just passing through, and wanders out the West gate without engaging. The Carrack seems set to terrorize the trade lanes, but then it closes in on the Military Outpost, and quickly looses it's fighter escort. Come to think of it, I don't see the Weapons Platforms that usually float around here. Interesting. So, IM7FY-32, Are we going to be good friends? Or are you going to die in space.
Die in space. Though the fact that they were firing Hammerheads probably helped it along. Ah well. At least it left some worthwhile salvage. Not from itself, but from the ships it destroyed. And those that it forced to bail. A Solano, a Nova, and one of it's accompanying Blastclaws.
Of course, it's only after the fighting has finished that the Boron Military shows back up. I do get a look at the M4+ that they have, and I like it. I'll have to check a little more into it, but the Pike is a nice looking ship.
For me, I dock at the Military Outpost, while the Decadence arrives to haul away my spoils. Once it's got everything, I transfer the Tomahawk Missiles, Hammer Heavy Torpedoes, and Boarding Pods, then send it to Terracorp HQ for a transporter device. Of course, it leaves behind it's Patrol Fighter. It's only got one at the moment, until I 'locate' a mate for it.
As it's on it's way back, I also notice something. An Argon Colossus. I wonder where that's been while the Carrack was ravaging Elena's Fortune.
Probably sipping Spacefuel. Of course since it's dead, I guess they've decided it's now safe to come back. Schmucks.
I think, now that the Decadence is back, I'll try some Paranid Piracy in Split Fire. As I fly towards the south gate, I wonder if these small acts of piracy are really doing any good. I begin to feel as though I should be doing more. Perhaps attempting to strike at the heart of Paranid space. And yet I know that doing so would be foolish. At least for now. Even with the Gunboat Diplomacy, one capital does not a fleet make, particularly one which is meant to inspire fear in an entire race.
I think it's time to begin the planning. What do I need to take on the Paranid, and what do I need to utterly crush them into nothingness, to make them fear to return to space, even long after I'm dust floating in the depths of silence. What do I need?
A monument. Something that might not be permanent, but that will long survive me. Something to inspire fear and terror in my enemies.
I need my own sector. After all, no one treads lightly in Loomanckstrat's Legacy. Even those that are friendly to the pirates. And no one stands against the Weaver's Tempest without feeling overwhelmed. I need to make a mark in the universe. A permanent reminder of ME.
I guess I'll have to think about that later. For now my fleet is important. Let's see. They hate the Argon. Exactly why I cannot fathom, though I suspect that it's because Argon founded the Goner Religion, and it competes with their religion. They're friends with the Split, but I can't imagine anyone not being terrified of the Split. And particularly of their designs.
The Teladi have good designs, but they're more annoying than hate worthy. Though, I might end up with a Phoenix as the backbone of my fleet. Because really, that's an awesome ship.
The Raptor holds more ships, but the Colossus is better shielded. The Raptor is significantly faster. The Colossus has a better... shielding? Okay, so I think the Raptor is the better carrier.
Panthers will make good supporting carriers. While Cerberus will be good escort frigates. Plus I can use Centaur's as escort Corvette's.
Eclipses as close interceptors, and Mamba Raiders as fast Attack Fighters. Discoverer Raiders as Recon Fighters. And Falcon Haulers as Cargo Salvage. Asp's as Escorts.
I might find some problems with Tenders, but I think Ryu's will handle the job without much trouble. And some OTAS Mistral Superfreighters to supply the Ryu's.
Of course this is all far in the future, and I need infrastructure, not just of weapons but also money to buy this sweeping fleet.
The problem is that I'll probably never hold all the territory I need, no matter how much firepower I put into the fleet. So I must set a goal. I have to raze Paranid territory. Everything burns, but it slowly circles inward. A long, unstoppable collapse inwards until I arrive to scourge the Paranid Prime Sector.
What a lovely dream. Now, onwards to piracy.
Sort of. Turns out pickings are pretty truly slim. Not helped at all by the Argon military showing up in quite a bit of force, which is to say with a Titan and escorting Cerberus.
Of course those could have been in Elena's Fortune about ten minutes ago and not missed a fight that had to be handled by a bunch of fighters, and a particularly deadly corvette. And it wasn't even a heavy Corvette either. Definitely interesting.
Since there wasn't anything worth shooting at, instead I took two missions from the local Soyfarm, and found myself scanning everything in the sector for Valuable Freight. Which every pirate knows means, every single thing on the ship, up to and including the crew itself. So I scanned the Titan, the Cerberus, all the accompanying fighters, ever freighter I could reach in time in the Valkyrie. If I'd known what I was going to be doing, I'd have brought the Amazon instead. But the Valkyrie worked out well, and I got quite a few credits for the two missions. Even the fact that one was offering seven percent and one was offering two of the total value, each mission was worth more than a million credits. Not a bad haul for not being shot at, which is something I'm always interested in avoiding.
Seeing no opportunities for 'Profitssss' as the Teladi say, I swung around north, and ran straight into a bunch of pirates that somehow made it through Elena's without falling a foul of the local fighters, or interestingly, the Decadence's own fighters. A quick check of the map revealed it was a simple matter of the fact that the Mamba from Lookmanckstrat's' Legacy, which is the Decadence's soul attacking fighter, was simply not fast enough to catch the group which consisted of two Harrier's and a Pirate Elite. Since they ran directly into the firing arcs of both the Titan and Cerberus, they didn't last long. Surprisingly, the Elite survived, it's pilot bailing, and the ship even surviving a last glancing blow from what looked like a CIG blast, but that did no damage. Might have been an IPG round, now that I think on it. Not that I'm going to complain to loudly about a free ship.
Anyway, I follow it back to the Decadence, still parked in Elena's, and dock shortly before the Elite. But it's been a very long day, and decidedly stressful. So I order the Decadence to dock with the local Military Outpost, and then shut down all the non-essential systems.
As it turns out, the bedrooms aboard the Ryu are extravagant. Decadence is well named. Soft feather mattress, automatic species detection, adjusting to temperature and sound preferences for the best sleep. Full bar, Full bathroom, with shower and tub, and even a hot tub. The Yaki really know how to live. No wonder there are always a few Ryu floating around Yaki space. As nice as this ship is, I wouldn't want to leave either. I knew there was a reason for the additional credits. And this is it.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
Chapter 23: Blades in the Darkness
My dreams are tormented, despite the softness of the mattress, and it's supreme comfort. On one hand, I'm remembering things I should have no recollection of. Of the death of my original body. I keep seeing nightmares of Paranid warships bearing down on me. I shouldn't be seeing this.
On the other hand, I'm also seeing.. visions. Visions of a Pirate Empire. Run by a young man who seems little older than me, but at the same time seems to be ancient. I don't know why I should be seeing this. I'd have heard about such an organization if it existed, right?
Morning brings the cold light of reality, and the harsh glare of the morning lighting system. One of the slightly less inspired systems the Yaki developed. The lights can only return to the normal, sun yellow they provide by way of a button, mounted on the wall near the door, and as far from the bed as possible. As a way of waking the occupant, and forcing them to get up and walk across the room, and become awake, it's fantastic. It's impossible to ignore without being blind. As a way of greeting a person who's lying in bed, staring at the ceiling , it's a bit frustrating. Especially the temporary blindness that accompanies it. Stumbling swearing to the button, I find it, and I'm in darkness for a moment as my eyes adjust to normal lighting. Well, even if I weren't up, I am now.
Decadence slides away from the station with ease, and makes a jump to Legend's Home. I transfer with the Valkyrie to the Mos Eisley, and send the Decadence to join the Gunboat Diplomacy at the Aladna Hill Military Outpost. It doesn't stay there for long. After transferring the Boarding Pod picked up from Elena's Fortune, it jumps to the Argon Prime Shipyard, where it buys a Crystal Fab L, and deploys it for some quick credits. Then a 'Supply Ship' mission asking for the Dolphin Tanker I just happen to have nets me quite the profit, carrying quite a but of excess junk from the Salvage Bucket and the Hold.
I notice something troubling though. I'm burning through quite a lot of energy cells, bouncing around the Universe with the Jump Drive, and I have no way to replenish them myself. As I consider building my own SPP, I get a call from OTAS. Cerise Parii, my contact wants a Taxi to the Light of Heart EQD. And he wants a TP. For a moment, I'm perplexed as to what to do, until I remember I'm in a sector with two Shipyard's. So, the rapid purchase of an Express and Jumpdrive, and some Energy stripped from the Mos Eisley, completes the mission easily. Since they don't offer me a new mission right away, I look around Light of Heart for a few missions. And stumble across a banged up Buster Raider. It's not in great shape, but it's been abandoned. The Valkyrie slips out, and brings me into range to claim it.
I do, and spend a few minutes welding with the laser built into my suit so it doesn't look like it's going to fall apart when the engine is started. Not that I trust it enough to do that in just an EVA suit. So I retreat to the far superior shielding of the Chokaro.
The ship holds together, and docks. I'd say glided in, but a controlled crash is a more appropriate word for what it did. I suspect that it's perhaps got a defective auto-pillock, even more than usual, so I decide to have it checked over by a shipyard before I fly it. And I am going to fly it. I love the looks, like it was built to run. It's like the Amazon. Never intended to be standing still if it can manage to avoid it. And I will help it in it's quest to run. As soon as I find some guns and shields for it.
A taxi mission for OTAS gives me a new contact, and a serious reputation boost. From 23 to 37 percent is quite the jump. So is 37 to 65. That was another taxi mission.
Then I get lucky. Sitting in Gunne's Crusade, feeling much like a spider as I plan to lay down sats, I suddenly find myself glad I didn't'. What hoves into view is a Caravel. It's some how managed to have five ships docked, possibly stacking two Elites in a single slot. But it's packing an insanely substandard shield in the form of a 25mj. It disappears under the fist of a Banshee before I can snap a picture. Then down go two of the Blastclaws defending it. And then the remaining fighters engage in a furball with an Argon Weapons dealer, which ends with it vaporized, and one of the Elites in the same condition. They succeed in forcing a Nova pilot out of his ship, and turn on me. Unfortunately, I 'm a significantly better pilot than the Nova, and prove no easy prey. In fact, I prove myself the hunter, bagging both the Elite, AND the remaining ship.
A Blastclaw Prototype. With a cavernous cargohold for a fighter. 650 L sized units of bay. To say that it's a great score is an understatement. I think I might move into it and put the Valkyrie into mothballs. But not just yet. First, I have to get them out, and second I have to get them repaired. The solution to the first is easy. Decadence has lots of hangar. Not enough as it turns out. She's packing 10 fighters, and only has room for two more. Mos Eisley would have to drop the Amazon and Buster Raider and then come back for us. I don't want to sit out here unable to run like that. There's really only one option.
A com message reaches out across light years of space, hopping from gate to gate through a series of Teladi designed, Argon supported, and Boron funded communications relays. It dances across the intervening space before being boosted across the gate threshold. The shipyard in Legends Home is it's destination. The order is decoded and payment transferred from the account. And off the racks of ships ready for sale and transfer to owners, comes a Zephyrus. A sleek, and capable ship, mounting three top of the line two hundred mega-joule shield generators, and housing up to four fighters, the ship is transferred into the docking cradle, and technicians swarm over it, fitting it with a jump drive, and Triplex scanner, and it's own trading system extension. The ship releases from the docking clamps, and is met by a trading vessel transferring a small quantity of energy cells. Just enough to send it across to Light of Heart, three sectors away, for it's final fitting at the equipment dock there.
Prepped and painted, and prepared for service, it glides north through the gate, and docks with the closest Solar Power Plant, and the on-board computers of ship and station converse within a few nano-seconds and the pre-programmed orders it's been given see it filled with energy for it's trip. It gets new tasking orders, and leaps through the jump gate network to the system known as Gunne's Crusade. Then it follows another ship, of it's own class, but as unlike it as the three fighters approaching it at a snail's pace. Then it learns it's new name.
Tow Wagon. A proud name, for a proud ship.
Tow Wagon leaps into Gunne's Crusade, and approaches the Mos Eisley, swinging around on her stern. The three fighters of it's cargo approach and slip into their docking spaces. A quick transfer of energy later, and the Tow Wagon is on it's way to Legend's Home, and the Federal Argon Shipyard there. The Nova will be repaired, and join the Decadence, as will the Elite. The Blastclaw may become my personal ship, or not, depending on whether or not it speaks to me. If not, I'll stick with the Valkyrie and wait for an opportunity to upgrade to something like a Corvette. I like the look both of the Split Dragon, and the Boron Hydra. The former is a real warship, sleek, and fast, and well armed. Shields are a bit of a concern though. On the other hand, the Hydra is less heavily armed, but better shielded, and has quite the interesting missile selection. Choices, choices.
While I'm contemplating, several new targets wander into the area, including a freight transporter, which is packing nothing but a pilot, a High-Tech Trader full of sats. And fighter drones. Sadly he goes down with his entire cargo, except for the fighter drones. Fortunately for me, between PBG's in the front, and two turrets of PRG's, make short work of drones. A weapon trader yields a cargo of PSG's, and some Aurora missiles. And two Energy traders force me to call in Hold 3 which is my Vulture Hauler, to come in and collect both from the Chokaro, and from the dropped cargo.
It's about this time that OTAS calls for a mission. It's a station defense mission, for the Special Weapons complex in Aladna Hill. And it's a good one. I manage to acquire a bailed Viper, and Buzzard Vanguard. Plus a Pirate Harrier, and standard Buster. Of course the Buster, Harrier, and Buzzard are going to the shipyard, but so is the Viper. But the Viper is getting repaired, while the others are getting sold. During all this, I get a message from the Decadence. It's filled it's hold with the 1000 ore I ordered it to mine. Now to put a Discoverer Raider I purchased for a song to use as it's Microchip supplier. Just have to find a place to buy chips.
But that's a question for another day. For now, I dock at one of the SPPs in Aladna Hill, and retire to my room. It's been a long day, and I deserve a rest before I continue my piratical depredations of the Paranid shipping and merchant fleet. Perhaps I'll even take on a capital with my new, mighty Viper. It came with some missiles, and I have more in the Salvage Bucket.
Now that I think of it, I think I'm going to have to buy another TL, just to hold all my spoils. What a lovely thought.
My dreams are tormented, despite the softness of the mattress, and it's supreme comfort. On one hand, I'm remembering things I should have no recollection of. Of the death of my original body. I keep seeing nightmares of Paranid warships bearing down on me. I shouldn't be seeing this.
On the other hand, I'm also seeing.. visions. Visions of a Pirate Empire. Run by a young man who seems little older than me, but at the same time seems to be ancient. I don't know why I should be seeing this. I'd have heard about such an organization if it existed, right?
Morning brings the cold light of reality, and the harsh glare of the morning lighting system. One of the slightly less inspired systems the Yaki developed. The lights can only return to the normal, sun yellow they provide by way of a button, mounted on the wall near the door, and as far from the bed as possible. As a way of waking the occupant, and forcing them to get up and walk across the room, and become awake, it's fantastic. It's impossible to ignore without being blind. As a way of greeting a person who's lying in bed, staring at the ceiling , it's a bit frustrating. Especially the temporary blindness that accompanies it. Stumbling swearing to the button, I find it, and I'm in darkness for a moment as my eyes adjust to normal lighting. Well, even if I weren't up, I am now.
Decadence slides away from the station with ease, and makes a jump to Legend's Home. I transfer with the Valkyrie to the Mos Eisley, and send the Decadence to join the Gunboat Diplomacy at the Aladna Hill Military Outpost. It doesn't stay there for long. After transferring the Boarding Pod picked up from Elena's Fortune, it jumps to the Argon Prime Shipyard, where it buys a Crystal Fab L, and deploys it for some quick credits. Then a 'Supply Ship' mission asking for the Dolphin Tanker I just happen to have nets me quite the profit, carrying quite a but of excess junk from the Salvage Bucket and the Hold.
I notice something troubling though. I'm burning through quite a lot of energy cells, bouncing around the Universe with the Jump Drive, and I have no way to replenish them myself. As I consider building my own SPP, I get a call from OTAS. Cerise Parii, my contact wants a Taxi to the Light of Heart EQD. And he wants a TP. For a moment, I'm perplexed as to what to do, until I remember I'm in a sector with two Shipyard's. So, the rapid purchase of an Express and Jumpdrive, and some Energy stripped from the Mos Eisley, completes the mission easily. Since they don't offer me a new mission right away, I look around Light of Heart for a few missions. And stumble across a banged up Buster Raider. It's not in great shape, but it's been abandoned. The Valkyrie slips out, and brings me into range to claim it.
I do, and spend a few minutes welding with the laser built into my suit so it doesn't look like it's going to fall apart when the engine is started. Not that I trust it enough to do that in just an EVA suit. So I retreat to the far superior shielding of the Chokaro.
The ship holds together, and docks. I'd say glided in, but a controlled crash is a more appropriate word for what it did. I suspect that it's perhaps got a defective auto-pillock, even more than usual, so I decide to have it checked over by a shipyard before I fly it. And I am going to fly it. I love the looks, like it was built to run. It's like the Amazon. Never intended to be standing still if it can manage to avoid it. And I will help it in it's quest to run. As soon as I find some guns and shields for it.
A taxi mission for OTAS gives me a new contact, and a serious reputation boost. From 23 to 37 percent is quite the jump. So is 37 to 65. That was another taxi mission.
Then I get lucky. Sitting in Gunne's Crusade, feeling much like a spider as I plan to lay down sats, I suddenly find myself glad I didn't'. What hoves into view is a Caravel. It's some how managed to have five ships docked, possibly stacking two Elites in a single slot. But it's packing an insanely substandard shield in the form of a 25mj. It disappears under the fist of a Banshee before I can snap a picture. Then down go two of the Blastclaws defending it. And then the remaining fighters engage in a furball with an Argon Weapons dealer, which ends with it vaporized, and one of the Elites in the same condition. They succeed in forcing a Nova pilot out of his ship, and turn on me. Unfortunately, I 'm a significantly better pilot than the Nova, and prove no easy prey. In fact, I prove myself the hunter, bagging both the Elite, AND the remaining ship.
A Blastclaw Prototype. With a cavernous cargohold for a fighter. 650 L sized units of bay. To say that it's a great score is an understatement. I think I might move into it and put the Valkyrie into mothballs. But not just yet. First, I have to get them out, and second I have to get them repaired. The solution to the first is easy. Decadence has lots of hangar. Not enough as it turns out. She's packing 10 fighters, and only has room for two more. Mos Eisley would have to drop the Amazon and Buster Raider and then come back for us. I don't want to sit out here unable to run like that. There's really only one option.
A com message reaches out across light years of space, hopping from gate to gate through a series of Teladi designed, Argon supported, and Boron funded communications relays. It dances across the intervening space before being boosted across the gate threshold. The shipyard in Legends Home is it's destination. The order is decoded and payment transferred from the account. And off the racks of ships ready for sale and transfer to owners, comes a Zephyrus. A sleek, and capable ship, mounting three top of the line two hundred mega-joule shield generators, and housing up to four fighters, the ship is transferred into the docking cradle, and technicians swarm over it, fitting it with a jump drive, and Triplex scanner, and it's own trading system extension. The ship releases from the docking clamps, and is met by a trading vessel transferring a small quantity of energy cells. Just enough to send it across to Light of Heart, three sectors away, for it's final fitting at the equipment dock there.
Prepped and painted, and prepared for service, it glides north through the gate, and docks with the closest Solar Power Plant, and the on-board computers of ship and station converse within a few nano-seconds and the pre-programmed orders it's been given see it filled with energy for it's trip. It gets new tasking orders, and leaps through the jump gate network to the system known as Gunne's Crusade. Then it follows another ship, of it's own class, but as unlike it as the three fighters approaching it at a snail's pace. Then it learns it's new name.
Tow Wagon. A proud name, for a proud ship.
Tow Wagon leaps into Gunne's Crusade, and approaches the Mos Eisley, swinging around on her stern. The three fighters of it's cargo approach and slip into their docking spaces. A quick transfer of energy later, and the Tow Wagon is on it's way to Legend's Home, and the Federal Argon Shipyard there. The Nova will be repaired, and join the Decadence, as will the Elite. The Blastclaw may become my personal ship, or not, depending on whether or not it speaks to me. If not, I'll stick with the Valkyrie and wait for an opportunity to upgrade to something like a Corvette. I like the look both of the Split Dragon, and the Boron Hydra. The former is a real warship, sleek, and fast, and well armed. Shields are a bit of a concern though. On the other hand, the Hydra is less heavily armed, but better shielded, and has quite the interesting missile selection. Choices, choices.
While I'm contemplating, several new targets wander into the area, including a freight transporter, which is packing nothing but a pilot, a High-Tech Trader full of sats. And fighter drones. Sadly he goes down with his entire cargo, except for the fighter drones. Fortunately for me, between PBG's in the front, and two turrets of PRG's, make short work of drones. A weapon trader yields a cargo of PSG's, and some Aurora missiles. And two Energy traders force me to call in Hold 3 which is my Vulture Hauler, to come in and collect both from the Chokaro, and from the dropped cargo.
It's about this time that OTAS calls for a mission. It's a station defense mission, for the Special Weapons complex in Aladna Hill. And it's a good one. I manage to acquire a bailed Viper, and Buzzard Vanguard. Plus a Pirate Harrier, and standard Buster. Of course the Buster, Harrier, and Buzzard are going to the shipyard, but so is the Viper. But the Viper is getting repaired, while the others are getting sold. During all this, I get a message from the Decadence. It's filled it's hold with the 1000 ore I ordered it to mine. Now to put a Discoverer Raider I purchased for a song to use as it's Microchip supplier. Just have to find a place to buy chips.
But that's a question for another day. For now, I dock at one of the SPPs in Aladna Hill, and retire to my room. It's been a long day, and I deserve a rest before I continue my piratical depredations of the Paranid shipping and merchant fleet. Perhaps I'll even take on a capital with my new, mighty Viper. It came with some missiles, and I have more in the Salvage Bucket.
Now that I think of it, I think I'm going to have to buy another TL, just to hold all my spoils. What a lovely thought.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
-
Scion Drakhar
- Posts: 932
- Joined: Wed, 27. Oct 10, 03:15
I see another empire growing in the shadows.
A Pirate's Story.pdf(KIA) by _Zap _ From Nothing.PDF(complete) by _Zap _ Prodigal Son(active) Original Thread, Prodigal Son_PDF
I'm doing my best. Tuesday I'll have fast internet. The next update is in progress, but it's photo heavy, so I'll have to wait.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
Chapter 24: Rumor
I heard a rumor. About a secret Boron military complex, far in the south-west of the Galactic Map.
A couple of contacts gave me a partial map to the fastest route there. Turns out you can't get there, without going through at least one Paranid sector. So I went through Priest Refuge, which is at least a border sector, and a not especially populous one at that.
The Amazon gave me the speed to cross the sector without getting caught, or even seen. And one gate lead me to Barren Shores. The West gate was tempting, but so were the asteroids to the north. I swung around to skirt them, and see how far they reached, when I ran across these.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00048.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00050.jpg
The Hydra is in pretty bad shape, but has two CIG's aboard. The Pike is in technically worse shape, but has nothing on it.
On the other hand, it's an M6, and an M4, just waiting for a new owner. All I have to do is take them. The Pike is easy. A simple EVA, and a short hack later, and it's mine.
Tow Wagon is ordered to hold it's sale of the Elite, and head to OTAS HQ to pick up a jump drive, and to one of the SPP's in Akeela's for energy for my new Corvette, and to come and pick up the Pike. Mean while I sit with my repair laser, and begin welding the paneling to the outside of the Hydra. Thankfully, most of it is floating around in space near the ship itself, though I can't lay hands on all of it. The Mos Eisley arrives, bringing some spare Teladianium plating, and a place to land the Amazon. I might not fly out the Hydra, but I don't want to sit with nothing but a 5MJ shield between me and vacuum this close to Paranid infested space.
Gunboat Diplomacy also arrives, and I notice a slight problem. This piece of space is getting mighty crowded.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00051.jpg
Pic http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00052.jpg
So I send the Mos Eisley and Tow Wagon several km up the ecliptic plane, and move the Gunboat Diplomacy a tad further out of the trade lane. Then I continue the welding of the panels to the Hydra.
One eye on the laser, and one on the oxygen meter tells me it's time for a breath of air, so I climb back into the Kestrel and watch the meter rise as the ship recharges my air supply.
While it's doing that, I begin examining my marines.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00055.jpg
Mostly two star fighters, and one three star hacker. The problem is two one-star fighters and a no-star fighter. Hopefully I'll have the ability to take control of the Hydra without a problem, but here's hoping. And back into space I go, this time to finish the welding. Given that the ship is lacking shields, this will be a fairly easy capture, which is to say select target, launch marines, cross fingers. Of course if it doesn't work, I'm out quite a few marines, and I have 0 replacements for them.
If it does, I can abandon moving to the Blastclaw Prototype, and go up to a nice Corvette instead. If not, I have to go find a Military Outpost... what am I thinking? The Decadence is already at the Elena's Outpost...
Why is it informing that it's completed my orders? Last I recall, it had already done that when it docked. Message log... Enemy contacts? Well, this is interesting. One of my pilots managed to kill two ships. I guess those Solano's proved themselves as Interceptors. I only hope that the Gunboat Diplomacy can prove itself as a warship, capping this Hydra. Just a few more percent to go before I can launch. 85%? Good enough I think. Time for some fun.
Success!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00057.jpg
My first attempt at boarding, and even though it's a derelict, I still managed to loose half my marines. On the other hand, the Gunboat Diplomacy succeeded admirably. I now feel properly piratical. Though exactly what the marines were fighting, they won't tell me. No matter. A little transporter work later, and the Gunboat Diplomacy, Tow Wagon, and unnamed Hydra are on their way back to Aladna Hill, Legend's Home and Light of Heart, respectively. The Mos Eisley and I are busy chasing down that rumor, while I order some purchasing by remote. I'll have to send it along to Elena's Fortune to pick up the two spare 200MJ shields from the Decadence, but for now it's got one from the Light of Heart Equipment Dock.
Continuing on westward, I come across a weirdness. A Boron Caiman Hauler. It's for sale, and cheap, so I pick it up, along with a Manta. I like the Manta, and it'll be a good marine hauler. It takes a bit, but I cross the sector and enter Dark Waters. This is where the rumor says the gate to the hidden weapon production facility is. For a bit, I found nothing. Then I saw a Recon Octopus vanishing off the scanners. Above me.
Up and through and into the special sector.
Oh crap.
That bloody Orca scared me. Stupid fish. I move in and dock at the Military Outpost. First thing first. Check for interesting missions. Nothing. Now I buy the lone Ion Disruptor available, and snatch another handful of Flail Missiles. At the same time, far to the north, the Hydra is being repaired at the Light of Heart Shipyard, then follows my Viper on to the Equipment Dock, where it picks up the 200MJ from the Hold there, and then both it and the Viper fills with the various software. Then the Hydra jumps on to the Elena's Fortune Military Outpost to collect the two spare shields from the Ryu, and back to Aladna Hill.
Meanwhile I'm heading northward, picking up a Taxi mission, then stopping when the north gate in Bad Debt reads as Trinity Sanctum. I'm not ready to engage the Paranid quite yet. Especially not without some heavy missiles. The sort which are launched from the Gunboat Diplomacy. I have a few, but not nearly as many as I want, not yet. For now, I spool up the Jump drive, and land at Aladna hill, transferring the boarding pods that the Hydra picked up in Elena's. I'll also have to bring some Tomahawks it snagged south to the Viper at the Light of Heart EQD. But first, I think I'll see what OTAS has to offer.
I heard a rumor. About a secret Boron military complex, far in the south-west of the Galactic Map.
A couple of contacts gave me a partial map to the fastest route there. Turns out you can't get there, without going through at least one Paranid sector. So I went through Priest Refuge, which is at least a border sector, and a not especially populous one at that.
The Amazon gave me the speed to cross the sector without getting caught, or even seen. And one gate lead me to Barren Shores. The West gate was tempting, but so were the asteroids to the north. I swung around to skirt them, and see how far they reached, when I ran across these.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00048.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00050.jpg
The Hydra is in pretty bad shape, but has two CIG's aboard. The Pike is in technically worse shape, but has nothing on it.
On the other hand, it's an M6, and an M4, just waiting for a new owner. All I have to do is take them. The Pike is easy. A simple EVA, and a short hack later, and it's mine.
Tow Wagon is ordered to hold it's sale of the Elite, and head to OTAS HQ to pick up a jump drive, and to one of the SPP's in Akeela's for energy for my new Corvette, and to come and pick up the Pike. Mean while I sit with my repair laser, and begin welding the paneling to the outside of the Hydra. Thankfully, most of it is floating around in space near the ship itself, though I can't lay hands on all of it. The Mos Eisley arrives, bringing some spare Teladianium plating, and a place to land the Amazon. I might not fly out the Hydra, but I don't want to sit with nothing but a 5MJ shield between me and vacuum this close to Paranid infested space.
Gunboat Diplomacy also arrives, and I notice a slight problem. This piece of space is getting mighty crowded.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00051.jpg
Pic http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00052.jpg
So I send the Mos Eisley and Tow Wagon several km up the ecliptic plane, and move the Gunboat Diplomacy a tad further out of the trade lane. Then I continue the welding of the panels to the Hydra.
One eye on the laser, and one on the oxygen meter tells me it's time for a breath of air, so I climb back into the Kestrel and watch the meter rise as the ship recharges my air supply.
While it's doing that, I begin examining my marines.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00055.jpg
Mostly two star fighters, and one three star hacker. The problem is two one-star fighters and a no-star fighter. Hopefully I'll have the ability to take control of the Hydra without a problem, but here's hoping. And back into space I go, this time to finish the welding. Given that the ship is lacking shields, this will be a fairly easy capture, which is to say select target, launch marines, cross fingers. Of course if it doesn't work, I'm out quite a few marines, and I have 0 replacements for them.
If it does, I can abandon moving to the Blastclaw Prototype, and go up to a nice Corvette instead. If not, I have to go find a Military Outpost... what am I thinking? The Decadence is already at the Elena's Outpost...
Why is it informing that it's completed my orders? Last I recall, it had already done that when it docked. Message log... Enemy contacts? Well, this is interesting. One of my pilots managed to kill two ships. I guess those Solano's proved themselves as Interceptors. I only hope that the Gunboat Diplomacy can prove itself as a warship, capping this Hydra. Just a few more percent to go before I can launch. 85%? Good enough I think. Time for some fun.
Success!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00057.jpg
My first attempt at boarding, and even though it's a derelict, I still managed to loose half my marines. On the other hand, the Gunboat Diplomacy succeeded admirably. I now feel properly piratical. Though exactly what the marines were fighting, they won't tell me. No matter. A little transporter work later, and the Gunboat Diplomacy, Tow Wagon, and unnamed Hydra are on their way back to Aladna Hill, Legend's Home and Light of Heart, respectively. The Mos Eisley and I are busy chasing down that rumor, while I order some purchasing by remote. I'll have to send it along to Elena's Fortune to pick up the two spare 200MJ shields from the Decadence, but for now it's got one from the Light of Heart Equipment Dock.
Continuing on westward, I come across a weirdness. A Boron Caiman Hauler. It's for sale, and cheap, so I pick it up, along with a Manta. I like the Manta, and it'll be a good marine hauler. It takes a bit, but I cross the sector and enter Dark Waters. This is where the rumor says the gate to the hidden weapon production facility is. For a bit, I found nothing. Then I saw a Recon Octopus vanishing off the scanners. Above me.
Up and through and into the special sector.
Oh crap.
That bloody Orca scared me. Stupid fish. I move in and dock at the Military Outpost. First thing first. Check for interesting missions. Nothing. Now I buy the lone Ion Disruptor available, and snatch another handful of Flail Missiles. At the same time, far to the north, the Hydra is being repaired at the Light of Heart Shipyard, then follows my Viper on to the Equipment Dock, where it picks up the 200MJ from the Hold there, and then both it and the Viper fills with the various software. Then the Hydra jumps on to the Elena's Fortune Military Outpost to collect the two spare shields from the Ryu, and back to Aladna Hill.
Meanwhile I'm heading northward, picking up a Taxi mission, then stopping when the north gate in Bad Debt reads as Trinity Sanctum. I'm not ready to engage the Paranid quite yet. Especially not without some heavy missiles. The sort which are launched from the Gunboat Diplomacy. I have a few, but not nearly as many as I want, not yet. For now, I spool up the Jump drive, and land at Aladna hill, transferring the boarding pods that the Hydra picked up in Elena's. I'll also have to bring some Tomahawks it snagged south to the Viper at the Light of Heart EQD. But first, I think I'll see what OTAS has to offer.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
Chapter 25: Paperwork
I think I need an administrative assistant. Seriously. I spent twenty minutes to day doing paperwork. I found myself at the Military Outpost in Aladna Hill, calling for the Mos Eisley to jump across the verse to Home of Light, for a fresh jump drive and a Transporter device for the Hydra. I also need one for the Salvage Bucket. But I just spent a fortune hiring gunners and mechanics for the Decadence. It's also got a Machinist and Helmsman, so it should be a bit quicker to jump and run when I need it. I also notice while it's here that I need some more storage space. I happen to have seen a couple of juicy looking TL's in Ministry of Finance. A Casino and an Arena. I don't like hospital ships. They always tend to be messy. And it takes forever to clean up the bits...
Where did that thought come from? I've never boarded a hospital ship. Okay, I think the paperwork is getting to me. Time for some honest piracy.
The Snake in the Roid's the name of the Hydra, is a monster of a pirate ship. Two rounds from the CIG's knocks the shields off of most freighters, and convinces them to drop goods quickly. The other slots are full of PRG's because I don't have any IPG's lying around.
The tail gun is an Ion D, that I snagged from the Military Complex in Depths of Silence. It turns out to be a fantastic defensive weapon. How? Simple. There I was, minding my own business, hammering away at a Paranid Military Supply transporter when the three-eyed jerk drops fighter drones. I'm not terribly concerned, having enough shielding I can shrug off the dozen or so that are floating around. The freighter neither bails nor drops his freight, which is annoying, and frustrating. Of course there's a considerable amount of salvage, but that's no help for the loss of a hold full of Firelance missiles.
GRAAH. Then I here this odd noise. None of the gauges are under alarm status. Except the weapon batteries, but those are always complaining after a fight. But they're... fluctuating. What's going on? A check of the externals explains it. The rear turret, the one with IonD, is set to missile defense. Apparently it's decided that drones are close enough, and it's blazing away with IonD which is bouncing from drone to drone as they cluster up and attempt to attack. It doesn't do a lot of damage, but it's doing against three, weak drones. At this point, there's only one thing to do. Step on the throttle, and make some popcorn. Why the Hydra comes with a popcorn maker, I have no idea, but there you are. It's also got Oreo storage, but I have no idea what that is.
It doesn't take long before it's completely destroyed the entire group, without me needing to fire a shot from the main guns. That's a decidedly enjoyable feeling. Even the Valkyrie needed me to do some maneuvering to keep the turrets on target.
I think I've fallen in love with the Hydra. Of course the quarters leave something to be desired, so I think I'll stick with the Mos Eisley for normal operations. But for the kind of pirating I'm doing, this is just fine. I think I need some nicely punchy missiles to go with it though. I took on a TM and bit off more than I could chew. The PRG didn't do enough damage, and the CIG's don't affect it the way they do freighters and fighters. And it took far longer to kill than I expected. I eventually ended up ramming it.
The station defense on the other hand proved it's worth beyond a doubt. It bailed the M8, and a Nova Raider, and plowed through the M5's like they weren't there. Even took care of the missiles fired at me. I love it.
I decided that it was time to, as the immortal Steve would say, to aim to misbehave. Unfortunately, it's not to be. The two delicious looking Albatross in Ministry of Fortune, are not so fortune. One is packing a Hull Polarization Device, and the other is packing an Advanced Firewall. Both of which my marines have previously informed me are no-go's. The fact that both are hiding behind the 10GJ wall of firepower that is the Teladi Phoenix.
And I don't have the firepower to take it out, nor do I have the desire. Which kind of puts a crimp in my plans. I'd rather not steal from the Split, or Argon, and the Boron sectors are not well designed for boarding. The horrible soup they prefer in sectors always makes it hard to know what's in the sector, whether or not your marines are going to splat on a rock.
Checking Seizewell shows that it's local defenders are well equipped with a Condor and Shrike, and a Phoenix in Ceo's Sprite. There's one last option, the Grand Exchange shipyard, far in the east. Rumors say it's good hunting, with no heavy weapons hanging around. Apparently there's a Xenon sector just out the North Gate that occasionally sends rampages down through the sector. I guess the Teladi have figured out that as long as they don't have a heavy military presence in the sector, the Xenon don't bother them as they pass through. Of course I only reach Jonferco's headquarters in Belt of Aguilar. At that point, I'm too frustrated to go any further. Fortunately Jonferco has rooms for rent. I don't have the energy to jump the Mos Eisley, or Decadence in to sleep in, and I'm already here.
I think I need an administrative assistant. Seriously. I spent twenty minutes to day doing paperwork. I found myself at the Military Outpost in Aladna Hill, calling for the Mos Eisley to jump across the verse to Home of Light, for a fresh jump drive and a Transporter device for the Hydra. I also need one for the Salvage Bucket. But I just spent a fortune hiring gunners and mechanics for the Decadence. It's also got a Machinist and Helmsman, so it should be a bit quicker to jump and run when I need it. I also notice while it's here that I need some more storage space. I happen to have seen a couple of juicy looking TL's in Ministry of Finance. A Casino and an Arena. I don't like hospital ships. They always tend to be messy. And it takes forever to clean up the bits...
Where did that thought come from? I've never boarded a hospital ship. Okay, I think the paperwork is getting to me. Time for some honest piracy.
The Snake in the Roid's the name of the Hydra, is a monster of a pirate ship. Two rounds from the CIG's knocks the shields off of most freighters, and convinces them to drop goods quickly. The other slots are full of PRG's because I don't have any IPG's lying around.
The tail gun is an Ion D, that I snagged from the Military Complex in Depths of Silence. It turns out to be a fantastic defensive weapon. How? Simple. There I was, minding my own business, hammering away at a Paranid Military Supply transporter when the three-eyed jerk drops fighter drones. I'm not terribly concerned, having enough shielding I can shrug off the dozen or so that are floating around. The freighter neither bails nor drops his freight, which is annoying, and frustrating. Of course there's a considerable amount of salvage, but that's no help for the loss of a hold full of Firelance missiles.
GRAAH. Then I here this odd noise. None of the gauges are under alarm status. Except the weapon batteries, but those are always complaining after a fight. But they're... fluctuating. What's going on? A check of the externals explains it. The rear turret, the one with IonD, is set to missile defense. Apparently it's decided that drones are close enough, and it's blazing away with IonD which is bouncing from drone to drone as they cluster up and attempt to attack. It doesn't do a lot of damage, but it's doing against three, weak drones. At this point, there's only one thing to do. Step on the throttle, and make some popcorn. Why the Hydra comes with a popcorn maker, I have no idea, but there you are. It's also got Oreo storage, but I have no idea what that is.
It doesn't take long before it's completely destroyed the entire group, without me needing to fire a shot from the main guns. That's a decidedly enjoyable feeling. Even the Valkyrie needed me to do some maneuvering to keep the turrets on target.
I think I've fallen in love with the Hydra. Of course the quarters leave something to be desired, so I think I'll stick with the Mos Eisley for normal operations. But for the kind of pirating I'm doing, this is just fine. I think I need some nicely punchy missiles to go with it though. I took on a TM and bit off more than I could chew. The PRG didn't do enough damage, and the CIG's don't affect it the way they do freighters and fighters. And it took far longer to kill than I expected. I eventually ended up ramming it.
The station defense on the other hand proved it's worth beyond a doubt. It bailed the M8, and a Nova Raider, and plowed through the M5's like they weren't there. Even took care of the missiles fired at me. I love it.
I decided that it was time to, as the immortal Steve would say, to aim to misbehave. Unfortunately, it's not to be. The two delicious looking Albatross in Ministry of Fortune, are not so fortune. One is packing a Hull Polarization Device, and the other is packing an Advanced Firewall. Both of which my marines have previously informed me are no-go's. The fact that both are hiding behind the 10GJ wall of firepower that is the Teladi Phoenix.
And I don't have the firepower to take it out, nor do I have the desire. Which kind of puts a crimp in my plans. I'd rather not steal from the Split, or Argon, and the Boron sectors are not well designed for boarding. The horrible soup they prefer in sectors always makes it hard to know what's in the sector, whether or not your marines are going to splat on a rock.
Checking Seizewell shows that it's local defenders are well equipped with a Condor and Shrike, and a Phoenix in Ceo's Sprite. There's one last option, the Grand Exchange shipyard, far in the east. Rumors say it's good hunting, with no heavy weapons hanging around. Apparently there's a Xenon sector just out the North Gate that occasionally sends rampages down through the sector. I guess the Teladi have figured out that as long as they don't have a heavy military presence in the sector, the Xenon don't bother them as they pass through. Of course I only reach Jonferco's headquarters in Belt of Aguilar. At that point, I'm too frustrated to go any further. Fortunately Jonferco has rooms for rent. I don't have the energy to jump the Mos Eisley, or Decadence in to sleep in, and I'm already here.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
Chapter 26: Grandly Exchanging Boarding Pods for TLs
I hope. Time to undock from Jonferco, and see if there are any TL's available to steal in Grand Exchange. Unfortunately it's once more, not to be. Unlike the other sectors, there are no civilian TL's here. Only the Supply Albatross, which seems to have perfect defense. I launched several missiles to confuse it before firing my Hammerhead, but to no avail. It unfailingly shot down the hammerhead despite a dozen wasps and a full barrage of flails.
Some days it just doesn't pay to pirate. I wonder if I could take on that Phoenix? Hmm... no, not worth the effort. I'm more likely to wind up a smear in space, since I haven't the firepower to stomp down it's shields long enough to get anyone on board.
However, I am not quite ready to say No More to my attempts to pirate. Perhaps I'm merely looking in the wrong spot. I think I'll venture south into Merchant Haven, and see if there are some Albatross down there.
In the mean time however, I find myself getting a message. Two actually. First, it seems one of my CAG's managed to stray quite a ways of the beaten path, and locate a Tenjin that's free for the taking in the Vault.
While that's going on, the Argon inform me that the Yaki, my comfort constructing compatriots in the war against the unholy Paranid, have jacked on of the Argon Colossus strutting around the verse looking pretty. Bloody bunch of idiots if you ask me. I mean, I love the Yaki, I really do, but they don't even have M7's. Seriously. What happen, did they float up an knock? That's probably what did happen, and the Argon let them in. Bet they had to pull blasters and announce it was a stick up before they figured it out. I say let 'em have it. The Argon deserve to lose it. Morons.
Leaping to Tears of Greed, after purchasing a local map, it appears, right there on my gravidar. A Teladi Arena. No Advanced Firewalll, no Hull Polarization, and no Internal Sentry Lasers.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00058.jpg
And no guns. Now to snatch it. Maneuver into position, lock it up, and fire. Firestorm connects, leaves one shield still intact. Move in hammering away with CIG's, the switch to PRG's for easier management. Boarding Pod impact, bounce. No good contact. Scream with rage.
Apologize. Find more pods, try again. Realize completely out of Firestorms, try Hammerhead. Too strong. There's no bloody balance. Watch marines slam in, fail to succeed even piercing the hull. Missiles away, blow TL, punch out of sector. Wait.
Come back later. Another TL, still luckily not packing any of those nasty bits of annoying. Of course, I still have to cap the bloody stupid thing. Missile away!
Success! Yes! Finally. And with out a casualty. I guess those Teladi were stoned. Though I watched up to the last moment, and the CLS never was destroyed, I got the ship minus all the passengers, and all the shields. A tad frustrating, but that's why the Gunboat Diplomacy packs a spare 200MJ shield. There's also a 25MJ on board, though I haven't the slightest idea where it's from. That goes on the 'Tross as well. I'll outfit it with full shielding later, but for now 225 is more than it has, and since it's going to spend it's time docked a lot, it's not really going to need more. I think I'll take advantage of CODEA's Cargo Salvage ability. At least, once I build up some Teladi rep so I can lay hands on some Falcon Haulers. And some Buster Escorts. For now, I'm heading back to OTAS HQ, to see what they have on offer. I wonder if I can manage some Solano Escorts instead of Busters? I think they've got equal shielding and the three on the Decadence have performed better than I hoped.
And the one upside to this Teladi Escapade is that when I docked to repurchase my police license, they'll forgive anything if you wave enough cash at them, I also acquired 14 microchips. Those are hard to find, and they'll be useful once I give them to the Decadence, which will make use of them two repair two of it's ships, which are so absurdly damaged, that they don't fly at the moment.
Of course, I want to construct my own complex, but at the moment, I'm more focused on earning money for the construction of a Hammer Heavy Torpedo, and Flail Barrage Missile Complex. I think I'll slot it into that Unknown between Montalaar, and New Income. Of course, I'm calculating that I need 58+ million credits.
That's a lot of dough. And considering I'm going to have to spend a while just scraping together the cash to repair the Great Hold, which is what I'm calling the Albatross now, I'm not sure how I'm going to lay my hands on that kind of money. I wonder, if I can find that Colossus and tell the Argon about it without the Yaki finding out it was me? I might have to go through a Teladi Facilitator. For now though, since OTAS wants me to chase someone down, and I'm not in the mood, nor awake enough to do that, I'm going to dock at the Aladna Hill Military Outpost, and enjoy the absurd luxury of my Ryu penthouse.
I hope. Time to undock from Jonferco, and see if there are any TL's available to steal in Grand Exchange. Unfortunately it's once more, not to be. Unlike the other sectors, there are no civilian TL's here. Only the Supply Albatross, which seems to have perfect defense. I launched several missiles to confuse it before firing my Hammerhead, but to no avail. It unfailingly shot down the hammerhead despite a dozen wasps and a full barrage of flails.
Some days it just doesn't pay to pirate. I wonder if I could take on that Phoenix? Hmm... no, not worth the effort. I'm more likely to wind up a smear in space, since I haven't the firepower to stomp down it's shields long enough to get anyone on board.
However, I am not quite ready to say No More to my attempts to pirate. Perhaps I'm merely looking in the wrong spot. I think I'll venture south into Merchant Haven, and see if there are some Albatross down there.
In the mean time however, I find myself getting a message. Two actually. First, it seems one of my CAG's managed to stray quite a ways of the beaten path, and locate a Tenjin that's free for the taking in the Vault.
While that's going on, the Argon inform me that the Yaki, my comfort constructing compatriots in the war against the unholy Paranid, have jacked on of the Argon Colossus strutting around the verse looking pretty. Bloody bunch of idiots if you ask me. I mean, I love the Yaki, I really do, but they don't even have M7's. Seriously. What happen, did they float up an knock? That's probably what did happen, and the Argon let them in. Bet they had to pull blasters and announce it was a stick up before they figured it out. I say let 'em have it. The Argon deserve to lose it. Morons.
Leaping to Tears of Greed, after purchasing a local map, it appears, right there on my gravidar. A Teladi Arena. No Advanced Firewalll, no Hull Polarization, and no Internal Sentry Lasers.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00058.jpg
And no guns. Now to snatch it. Maneuver into position, lock it up, and fire. Firestorm connects, leaves one shield still intact. Move in hammering away with CIG's, the switch to PRG's for easier management. Boarding Pod impact, bounce. No good contact. Scream with rage.
Apologize. Find more pods, try again. Realize completely out of Firestorms, try Hammerhead. Too strong. There's no bloody balance. Watch marines slam in, fail to succeed even piercing the hull. Missiles away, blow TL, punch out of sector. Wait.
Come back later. Another TL, still luckily not packing any of those nasty bits of annoying. Of course, I still have to cap the bloody stupid thing. Missile away!
Success! Yes! Finally. And with out a casualty. I guess those Teladi were stoned. Though I watched up to the last moment, and the CLS never was destroyed, I got the ship minus all the passengers, and all the shields. A tad frustrating, but that's why the Gunboat Diplomacy packs a spare 200MJ shield. There's also a 25MJ on board, though I haven't the slightest idea where it's from. That goes on the 'Tross as well. I'll outfit it with full shielding later, but for now 225 is more than it has, and since it's going to spend it's time docked a lot, it's not really going to need more. I think I'll take advantage of CODEA's Cargo Salvage ability. At least, once I build up some Teladi rep so I can lay hands on some Falcon Haulers. And some Buster Escorts. For now, I'm heading back to OTAS HQ, to see what they have on offer. I wonder if I can manage some Solano Escorts instead of Busters? I think they've got equal shielding and the three on the Decadence have performed better than I hoped.
And the one upside to this Teladi Escapade is that when I docked to repurchase my police license, they'll forgive anything if you wave enough cash at them, I also acquired 14 microchips. Those are hard to find, and they'll be useful once I give them to the Decadence, which will make use of them two repair two of it's ships, which are so absurdly damaged, that they don't fly at the moment.
Of course, I want to construct my own complex, but at the moment, I'm more focused on earning money for the construction of a Hammer Heavy Torpedo, and Flail Barrage Missile Complex. I think I'll slot it into that Unknown between Montalaar, and New Income. Of course, I'm calculating that I need 58+ million credits.
That's a lot of dough. And considering I'm going to have to spend a while just scraping together the cash to repair the Great Hold, which is what I'm calling the Albatross now, I'm not sure how I'm going to lay my hands on that kind of money. I wonder, if I can find that Colossus and tell the Argon about it without the Yaki finding out it was me? I might have to go through a Teladi Facilitator. For now though, since OTAS wants me to chase someone down, and I'm not in the mood, nor awake enough to do that, I'm going to dock at the Aladna Hill Military Outpost, and enjoy the absurd luxury of my Ryu penthouse.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
-
Scion Drakhar
- Posts: 932
- Joined: Wed, 27. Oct 10, 03:15
Just a request, could you include an asset list with ship names? I'm a bit slow and get confused with which ship is which when you just refer to them by name.
A Pirate's Story.pdf(KIA) by _Zap _ From Nothing.PDF(complete) by _Zap _ Prodigal Son(active) Original Thread, Prodigal Son_PDF
Sorry. I forget that not everyone can keep them straight like that:
Mos Eisley= Chokaro
Amazon= Pirate Kestrel
Valkyrie= Advanced Pirate Eclipse
Decadence= Ryu
Gunboat Diplomacy= Gannet
Snake in the Roids= Hydra
Mos Eisley= Chokaro
Amazon= Pirate Kestrel
Valkyrie= Advanced Pirate Eclipse
Decadence= Ryu
Gunboat Diplomacy= Gannet
Snake in the Roids= Hydra
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
Bit of a short one this time. Next one will have more meat. Promise.
Chapter 27: Pirate Crusade.
Haktikvah's is mostly quiet. Except for the offer of a puzzle piece to the location of the missing M1. Frankly, I'm kind of surprised, but not too much. This is a pirate sector after all.
I'm leery of doing too much piracy there though. There's only a couple of Paranid traders, and a huge Paranid battle group. An M1, a Deimos, which is the M7, and a lot of fighters, not counting what the two caps can carry is a bit more than I'm willing to take on without some firepower in my corner, and with the Gunboat Diplomacy having only perhaps two dozen Flails and a dozen Hammers, I recall that discretion is the better part of valor, and valiantly run away.
To Gunne's Crusade. Here the pickings a bit better, and I have to call for Great Hold twice before the day is over. Of course it's not all roses. I do have a mishap with some Gauss Cannon Ammo.
Not fired at me fortunately, though I suspect the Teladi might like to. Or they did until I brought them an M4 as I was on my way to Gunne's. Now we're all square.
No, this was one of two crates, each containing 16 cases, both floating in space. 16 cases is 25 units of XL freight each. I have a 1500 unit XL cargo bay. Why are these numbers important? Well, this is why. I managed to hoover up almost everything around, moving back into transporter range of the Great Hold when I approached the limit. Unfortunately, this time I managed to miss-calculate the available space in my hold. Helped not at all by the fact that the GC rounds were floating just behind a crate of energy cells I did not see until it was too late to do anything about them.
So instead of 48 cases of expensive Gauss Ammo, I got a mere 19. I hate that, and it's entirely my fault.
Of course there were a few things I couldn't get, such as the 2000+ units of Magalit an unlucky food trader dropped when I tagged him with my CIG's. Even if I emptied my cargo bay, I couldn't have done it, and that would have entailed dumping all my weapons as well. I'm sure not even the Paranid are that stupid.
Fortunately the Great Hold is reasonably quick, and capable of picking up something like that without problem. It's hard to miss running over things with it, even by remote.
Finally deciding I had enough, which means there were no more Paranid coming through, I jumped back to Aladna hill for a little maintenance, and paperwork, and to plan for my next outing.
And to get more jump fuel.
Chapter 27: Pirate Crusade.
Haktikvah's is mostly quiet. Except for the offer of a puzzle piece to the location of the missing M1. Frankly, I'm kind of surprised, but not too much. This is a pirate sector after all.
I'm leery of doing too much piracy there though. There's only a couple of Paranid traders, and a huge Paranid battle group. An M1, a Deimos, which is the M7, and a lot of fighters, not counting what the two caps can carry is a bit more than I'm willing to take on without some firepower in my corner, and with the Gunboat Diplomacy having only perhaps two dozen Flails and a dozen Hammers, I recall that discretion is the better part of valor, and valiantly run away.
To Gunne's Crusade. Here the pickings a bit better, and I have to call for Great Hold twice before the day is over. Of course it's not all roses. I do have a mishap with some Gauss Cannon Ammo.
Not fired at me fortunately, though I suspect the Teladi might like to. Or they did until I brought them an M4 as I was on my way to Gunne's. Now we're all square.
No, this was one of two crates, each containing 16 cases, both floating in space. 16 cases is 25 units of XL freight each. I have a 1500 unit XL cargo bay. Why are these numbers important? Well, this is why. I managed to hoover up almost everything around, moving back into transporter range of the Great Hold when I approached the limit. Unfortunately, this time I managed to miss-calculate the available space in my hold. Helped not at all by the fact that the GC rounds were floating just behind a crate of energy cells I did not see until it was too late to do anything about them.
So instead of 48 cases of expensive Gauss Ammo, I got a mere 19. I hate that, and it's entirely my fault.
Of course there were a few things I couldn't get, such as the 2000+ units of Magalit an unlucky food trader dropped when I tagged him with my CIG's. Even if I emptied my cargo bay, I couldn't have done it, and that would have entailed dumping all my weapons as well. I'm sure not even the Paranid are that stupid.
Fortunately the Great Hold is reasonably quick, and capable of picking up something like that without problem. It's hard to miss running over things with it, even by remote.
Finally deciding I had enough, which means there were no more Paranid coming through, I jumped back to Aladna hill for a little maintenance, and paperwork, and to plan for my next outing.
And to get more jump fuel.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
Chapter 28: Scouting
I need a carrier. The Decadence is amazing. There's nothing at all like flying it, and the accommodations are second to none that I've encountered.
But it packs 12 fighters, and a mere 800MJ of shielding. Of course, given that I started out with a 'mere' 5MJ of shields, that's nothing to sneeze at. That said, I want something that can hold more punch and can take more punch. Even if the speed isn't quite up to snuff, that's fine. I know how to work carrier. Which is to not try and use it to chase down fighters and let it's own fighters do the work.
A Carrier is not a Destroyer. That's the mantra.
But I want, and need one. I intend to construct a Hammer and Flail plex to feed the Gunboat Diplomacy. And I need to be able to protect it while I'm not around.
A Raptor would be ideal, but I don't feel up to stealing one, and definitely don't have the cash to buy one. Plus it'd cost a fortune to fill it with fighters.
I think I'm going to go with a Galleon if I can get it, or a Condor if I can't. Galleon has good turret coverage, Condor has rear entry. Galleon won't further agitate the Teladi.
Plus it'll annoy the Pirates, and frankly that's worth it alone.
Problem: I haven't the slightest idea where to find a Galleon. I suspect there might be some in the area around Grand Exchange, and I've heard of a pirate group who have a base of operations south of the Paranid. Duke's is the name bandied about, and I've seen his hazardous materials and dangerous goods transporters running around. Bright, glowing red on my screens. Thus I'm planning to bring along some Gunboat Diplomacy, my Strike Viper, and have the Great Hold standing by to pick up any salvage that survives. First though, I need some Hammers and Flails. So my first job is to set up a couple of Adv Sats. One in Haktikvah's, one in Gunne's. And perhaps one in Loomanckstrat's.
Then I'll sit near the Great Hold in Light of Heart, so I can jump on any Paranid Military Supply Transporters that happen to wander through my Sat Net. Then I pounce. Or try anyway. Military Transports aren't always happy to get rid of their goods, nor are they all that likely to bail. If nothing else, there's always more where that came from. On the other hand, I might switch to the Valkyrie and use the Great Hold as a jump bus.
Though, given the nasty tendency of Military Supply Traders to pack lots of fighter drones, I think I'll stick with the Snake in the Roids.
Unfortunately pickings are not only slim, but non-existent. In fact, without going into the Paranid sectors, they seem to be completely missing in action. So, deciding that the only way to deal with the Paranid is to arrive packing a carrier. Since there don't seem to be any in convenient reach I decide to head to Maelstrom, and look around there. Unfortunately, amongst the many wonderful qualities the Snake in the Roid's possesses, speed is not on the list. And since I do not have an M7 with any teeth, and seriously, my apologies to the Gannet, but it lacks both speed, and enough flails to do more than annoy anything larger than a pirate patrol. And considering I'm in the mood to dive danger close to a carrier to scan it, that's not a good thing. Frankly I'd prefer not to get this close without a Teladi Phoenix, but I'm confident in the abilities of the Amazon to keep me out of trouble. However, like the Gannet, the Great Hold is slow and toothless. The Decadence however, is now fully armed with 4 FAA, and a bunch of PRG and CIG's. Of course if anything bigger than an M5 closes in I'm jumping like a maniac while launching missiles in the same manner. Steve knew the truth. Wanton Use of Nukes is the best plan around.
So, arming it with the best I can manage, I jump down to Merchants Exchange, and see a Xenon Patrol on it's way back towards me. While I like the idea of attacking the Paranid with a fleet of Xenon ships, I don't think now is the time to try and acquire some. Particularly not with what the Gravidar identifies as two P's and a PX bearing down on me full speed. Flipping some missiles out of the tubes as the M5's approach, the Teladi are in the midst of paying me as I jump out of the sector to the west gate of Grand Exchange. The only thing to do is to open the throttles, and hope the Decadence's flank speed is enough to reach Grand Exchange ahead of the Xenon. I'm right and it is, and I sit there waiting out the patrol. Once it's over, I make a decision. The Decadence will remain HERE, while the Amazon and I go looking for trouble. And a Galleon. I'm hoping against hope that one does not lead to the other.
As it turns out it does, but not what I expect. Not all the pirates here are unfriendly. One of them even has a mission to build a station. A Teladi Bliss Place L. Fortunately the time limit is not bad and the Decadence is at Grand Exchange, which conveniently does indeed sell the Bliss Place L. I meet up with the Decadence coming out the South Gate of the Unknown between Gaian Star and Maelstrom. Docking, I turn it around, because that's where the location of the beacon is.
'Warning: GATE MALFUNCTION.' This is a very, very not good sound, but I'm already past the horizon and unable to stop. I only hope I survive.
Ending up on the far end of the gate, I get a nasty surprise. Apparently someone has already colonized this sector.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00061.jpg
And they aren't particularly happy to see me.
“Unknown ship, identify yourself.” the computer tells me the order originates from the Split Panther hanging around the sector, identified as Tiamat by the computer and looking ready to open up on me with it's guns. There's also an Albatross called the Flamingo, with what appears to be the beginnings of a horribly garish paintjob, of pink and yellow stripes, complete with space suits crawling over the outside. Also in sector is what appears to be a Heavy Osprey, called the Last Word. It's also apparently on sector defense, because before I can answer it's also hailing me with:
“Unknown Transport, you will identify.” the voice from this one is female and Argon, where the other was male and Split. And they don't seem to like each other.
“I asked first Argon. My question takes precedence.”
“Foolish Split, you're here as a temporary measure, in your overgrown supply vessel.”
“Overgrown Supply Vessel! This is a Mighty Split Warship and...”
Blessedly the communications are cut off as the Albatross transmits. As expected a Teladi is aboard this one, and he is, surprisingly nice.
“Apologiesss. My compatriotsss are overenthusssiassstic. I am Slots. Pleassse state your intentionsss.”
“Decadence, I'm here to deliver a Bliss Place for a client. I don't... wait, there's the Nav Beacon. If you'll just give me a moment I'll be out of your hair.”
“Blissss Placcce? But we already have the Houssse of Dreamsss to sssupply all your Ssspaceweed and Fuel needsss. What kind of fool could be setting up a rival empire?”
“Pirates out of Gaian Star asssked... damn it. Asked me. To put it up here. I just do what I need to get paid.”
“Indeed. I will take thisss up with my employer. Deploy at will. I will deal with thessse two.”
Shaking my head, and ordering the automated construction drones to begin deploying the station, I listen in as the Teladi calms the pair down and explains who I am and what I'm doing here, and then he even bids me farewell in the best way a Teladi knows how. With a crate of Spacefuel, and one of Weed. He must really like me. He only charged half price for the weed. Time to head home.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00063.jpg
As I leave, the computer informs me of another malfunction, but this time I'm not too worried. I do notice I don't receive credits for building the station, but neither do I gain rep. In fact, returning to Gaian Star shows the pirate base to be completely gone. Decadence jumps into the sector to it's east, and passes through the south gate. But there's nothing there, not even the station I dropped. Drinking an entire bottle from the crate of fuel, which IS still there, I punch up OTAS on the command computer and order a jump there. I was going to share this stuff with my employee's but I think I'll just pass out the Weed. I need some serious drinking to forget that little event.
---
Pics here!!
I need a carrier. The Decadence is amazing. There's nothing at all like flying it, and the accommodations are second to none that I've encountered.
But it packs 12 fighters, and a mere 800MJ of shielding. Of course, given that I started out with a 'mere' 5MJ of shields, that's nothing to sneeze at. That said, I want something that can hold more punch and can take more punch. Even if the speed isn't quite up to snuff, that's fine. I know how to work carrier. Which is to not try and use it to chase down fighters and let it's own fighters do the work.
A Carrier is not a Destroyer. That's the mantra.
But I want, and need one. I intend to construct a Hammer and Flail plex to feed the Gunboat Diplomacy. And I need to be able to protect it while I'm not around.
A Raptor would be ideal, but I don't feel up to stealing one, and definitely don't have the cash to buy one. Plus it'd cost a fortune to fill it with fighters.
I think I'm going to go with a Galleon if I can get it, or a Condor if I can't. Galleon has good turret coverage, Condor has rear entry. Galleon won't further agitate the Teladi.
Plus it'll annoy the Pirates, and frankly that's worth it alone.
Problem: I haven't the slightest idea where to find a Galleon. I suspect there might be some in the area around Grand Exchange, and I've heard of a pirate group who have a base of operations south of the Paranid. Duke's is the name bandied about, and I've seen his hazardous materials and dangerous goods transporters running around. Bright, glowing red on my screens. Thus I'm planning to bring along some Gunboat Diplomacy, my Strike Viper, and have the Great Hold standing by to pick up any salvage that survives. First though, I need some Hammers and Flails. So my first job is to set up a couple of Adv Sats. One in Haktikvah's, one in Gunne's. And perhaps one in Loomanckstrat's.
Then I'll sit near the Great Hold in Light of Heart, so I can jump on any Paranid Military Supply Transporters that happen to wander through my Sat Net. Then I pounce. Or try anyway. Military Transports aren't always happy to get rid of their goods, nor are they all that likely to bail. If nothing else, there's always more where that came from. On the other hand, I might switch to the Valkyrie and use the Great Hold as a jump bus.
Though, given the nasty tendency of Military Supply Traders to pack lots of fighter drones, I think I'll stick with the Snake in the Roids.
Unfortunately pickings are not only slim, but non-existent. In fact, without going into the Paranid sectors, they seem to be completely missing in action. So, deciding that the only way to deal with the Paranid is to arrive packing a carrier. Since there don't seem to be any in convenient reach I decide to head to Maelstrom, and look around there. Unfortunately, amongst the many wonderful qualities the Snake in the Roid's possesses, speed is not on the list. And since I do not have an M7 with any teeth, and seriously, my apologies to the Gannet, but it lacks both speed, and enough flails to do more than annoy anything larger than a pirate patrol. And considering I'm in the mood to dive danger close to a carrier to scan it, that's not a good thing. Frankly I'd prefer not to get this close without a Teladi Phoenix, but I'm confident in the abilities of the Amazon to keep me out of trouble. However, like the Gannet, the Great Hold is slow and toothless. The Decadence however, is now fully armed with 4 FAA, and a bunch of PRG and CIG's. Of course if anything bigger than an M5 closes in I'm jumping like a maniac while launching missiles in the same manner. Steve knew the truth. Wanton Use of Nukes is the best plan around.
So, arming it with the best I can manage, I jump down to Merchants Exchange, and see a Xenon Patrol on it's way back towards me. While I like the idea of attacking the Paranid with a fleet of Xenon ships, I don't think now is the time to try and acquire some. Particularly not with what the Gravidar identifies as two P's and a PX bearing down on me full speed. Flipping some missiles out of the tubes as the M5's approach, the Teladi are in the midst of paying me as I jump out of the sector to the west gate of Grand Exchange. The only thing to do is to open the throttles, and hope the Decadence's flank speed is enough to reach Grand Exchange ahead of the Xenon. I'm right and it is, and I sit there waiting out the patrol. Once it's over, I make a decision. The Decadence will remain HERE, while the Amazon and I go looking for trouble. And a Galleon. I'm hoping against hope that one does not lead to the other.
As it turns out it does, but not what I expect. Not all the pirates here are unfriendly. One of them even has a mission to build a station. A Teladi Bliss Place L. Fortunately the time limit is not bad and the Decadence is at Grand Exchange, which conveniently does indeed sell the Bliss Place L. I meet up with the Decadence coming out the South Gate of the Unknown between Gaian Star and Maelstrom. Docking, I turn it around, because that's where the location of the beacon is.
'Warning: GATE MALFUNCTION.' This is a very, very not good sound, but I'm already past the horizon and unable to stop. I only hope I survive.
Ending up on the far end of the gate, I get a nasty surprise. Apparently someone has already colonized this sector.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00061.jpg
And they aren't particularly happy to see me.
“Unknown ship, identify yourself.” the computer tells me the order originates from the Split Panther hanging around the sector, identified as Tiamat by the computer and looking ready to open up on me with it's guns. There's also an Albatross called the Flamingo, with what appears to be the beginnings of a horribly garish paintjob, of pink and yellow stripes, complete with space suits crawling over the outside. Also in sector is what appears to be a Heavy Osprey, called the Last Word. It's also apparently on sector defense, because before I can answer it's also hailing me with:
“Unknown Transport, you will identify.” the voice from this one is female and Argon, where the other was male and Split. And they don't seem to like each other.
“I asked first Argon. My question takes precedence.”
“Foolish Split, you're here as a temporary measure, in your overgrown supply vessel.”
“Overgrown Supply Vessel! This is a Mighty Split Warship and...”
Blessedly the communications are cut off as the Albatross transmits. As expected a Teladi is aboard this one, and he is, surprisingly nice.
“Apologiesss. My compatriotsss are overenthusssiassstic. I am Slots. Pleassse state your intentionsss.”
“Decadence, I'm here to deliver a Bliss Place for a client. I don't... wait, there's the Nav Beacon. If you'll just give me a moment I'll be out of your hair.”
“Blissss Placcce? But we already have the Houssse of Dreamsss to sssupply all your Ssspaceweed and Fuel needsss. What kind of fool could be setting up a rival empire?”
“Pirates out of Gaian Star asssked... damn it. Asked me. To put it up here. I just do what I need to get paid.”
“Indeed. I will take thisss up with my employer. Deploy at will. I will deal with thessse two.”
Shaking my head, and ordering the automated construction drones to begin deploying the station, I listen in as the Teladi calms the pair down and explains who I am and what I'm doing here, and then he even bids me farewell in the best way a Teladi knows how. With a crate of Spacefuel, and one of Weed. He must really like me. He only charged half price for the weed. Time to head home.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll27 ... n00063.jpg
As I leave, the computer informs me of another malfunction, but this time I'm not too worried. I do notice I don't receive credits for building the station, but neither do I gain rep. In fact, returning to Gaian Star shows the pirate base to be completely gone. Decadence jumps into the sector to it's east, and passes through the south gate. But there's nothing there, not even the station I dropped. Drinking an entire bottle from the crate of fuel, which IS still there, I punch up OTAS on the command computer and order a jump there. I was going to share this stuff with my employee's but I think I'll just pass out the Weed. I need some serious drinking to forget that little event.
---
Pics here!!
Last edited by Triaxx2 on Thu, 21. Apr 11, 15:44, edited 2 times in total.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
Chapter 29: Shaken, but not Stirred
Back to pirating. Hunting Galleons is dangerous, and I need something to calm my nerves. The crate of fuel is now strapped behind the captains chair of the Snake in the Roids and I'm strapped into the Captain's chair. Fuel in one hand, and control yoke in the other, it's time to Crusade through Gunne's and snatch some Paranid hardware. I hope.
Nothing useful out of the 'Nids yet, though there seem to be some Pirates pretending real hard to be harmless Boron. Of course the fact that they're flying armed and tuned Caiman's is a dead give away. Just a couple of missiles out of them for the moment, but now I'm looking real close at any one who meets two criteria. One they ain't tripping as Split on the Grav, and two, they ARE flying Caiman's. Seems good criteria, and since I'm in Pirate space, if I scan them, and they are legit, no harm, no fowl. But if they do turn up pirates, well, bounty ain't gonna be the only mutiny around, hear me?
Wow, what a tangent. Ooh, Gravidar is picking up three contacts, bearing... that-a-way. Pirate Nova. Meh. Pirate Harrier. Eh, okay. Pirate Falcon Vanguard. SCORE. First of the defensive forces for the Great Hold. I hope. Here goes nothing.
And out comes nothing. Oh, I did, through the careful and considered application of first CIG's to knock out the Nova, and the PRG to shred the Harrier, I applied some CIG persuasion to remove the shields, and then gave him a love tapping with the PRG to make him jump. A Paranid pirate? Shooting gallery. Unfortunately, the problem with the Hydra is a lack of stopping ability and MASSIVE bulk. So I did not get my Falcon Vanguard.
Then a Paranid High-Tech trader made his presence known on the Gravidar. Packing some nice missiles, which I can't recall the name of, and some other goodies, I engaged him with the same Tactics. Worked again too. Except that he didn't bail until there was nothing left in his hold. This is not working out, so I'm going to move to a new hunting ground. This time it's Mi-Ton's Refuge. I'm hoping this will work to my advantage.
It doesn't. The first bloody thing I see in the sector is another PIRATE CARRACK AGHhh!
Viper Strike in bound. Right into the face of the bloody Galleon I've been searching for. Split! Emergency jump to the south gate. Now he's in position to remove this Carrack from my six. As he does the Bloody Carrack decides to attempt to ruin my day even further. Typhoon. Let's see, swarm class. Each doing 30k of damage. Not a killing stroke, but not fun at all. Counter battery eliminates my entire stock of Disruptors and there's still one after me. Lovely.
Unfortunately, while the Viper Strike gets off a shot, it has to leave the system to avoid having a Kestrel implanted in a location that's very hard to have it removed from, and apparently without the mother ship to guide them, the missiles decide to wander off course, and never make it to the Carrack, which proceeds to launch two more Typhoons at me. Deciding that today is just not the day for piracy, I punch the jump drive, and order a leap to OTAS. While it charges, I pull out another bottle of fuel. Bad Day indeed.
Back to pirating. Hunting Galleons is dangerous, and I need something to calm my nerves. The crate of fuel is now strapped behind the captains chair of the Snake in the Roids and I'm strapped into the Captain's chair. Fuel in one hand, and control yoke in the other, it's time to Crusade through Gunne's and snatch some Paranid hardware. I hope.
Nothing useful out of the 'Nids yet, though there seem to be some Pirates pretending real hard to be harmless Boron. Of course the fact that they're flying armed and tuned Caiman's is a dead give away. Just a couple of missiles out of them for the moment, but now I'm looking real close at any one who meets two criteria. One they ain't tripping as Split on the Grav, and two, they ARE flying Caiman's. Seems good criteria, and since I'm in Pirate space, if I scan them, and they are legit, no harm, no fowl. But if they do turn up pirates, well, bounty ain't gonna be the only mutiny around, hear me?
Wow, what a tangent. Ooh, Gravidar is picking up three contacts, bearing... that-a-way. Pirate Nova. Meh. Pirate Harrier. Eh, okay. Pirate Falcon Vanguard. SCORE. First of the defensive forces for the Great Hold. I hope. Here goes nothing.
And out comes nothing. Oh, I did, through the careful and considered application of first CIG's to knock out the Nova, and the PRG to shred the Harrier, I applied some CIG persuasion to remove the shields, and then gave him a love tapping with the PRG to make him jump. A Paranid pirate? Shooting gallery. Unfortunately, the problem with the Hydra is a lack of stopping ability and MASSIVE bulk. So I did not get my Falcon Vanguard.
Then a Paranid High-Tech trader made his presence known on the Gravidar. Packing some nice missiles, which I can't recall the name of, and some other goodies, I engaged him with the same Tactics. Worked again too. Except that he didn't bail until there was nothing left in his hold. This is not working out, so I'm going to move to a new hunting ground. This time it's Mi-Ton's Refuge. I'm hoping this will work to my advantage.
It doesn't. The first bloody thing I see in the sector is another PIRATE CARRACK AGHhh!
Viper Strike in bound. Right into the face of the bloody Galleon I've been searching for. Split! Emergency jump to the south gate. Now he's in position to remove this Carrack from my six. As he does the Bloody Carrack decides to attempt to ruin my day even further. Typhoon. Let's see, swarm class. Each doing 30k of damage. Not a killing stroke, but not fun at all. Counter battery eliminates my entire stock of Disruptors and there's still one after me. Lovely.
Unfortunately, while the Viper Strike gets off a shot, it has to leave the system to avoid having a Kestrel implanted in a location that's very hard to have it removed from, and apparently without the mother ship to guide them, the missiles decide to wander off course, and never make it to the Carrack, which proceeds to launch two more Typhoons at me. Deciding that today is just not the day for piracy, I punch the jump drive, and order a leap to OTAS. While it charges, I pull out another bottle of fuel. Bad Day indeed.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016
The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain