Of Journeys into the unknown, smelling faintly of fish [DiD]

[Master of the Blade]

Right, after a lot of organising, Forrester now has his fighter wings, and I have arranged my hangar like this: Blue wing are ten Thors.
Red wing is lead by Snowship, soon to be joined by another four Tenjins.
Purple wing is lead by Buck Rogers, soon to be joined by four Falcon Haulers.
Orange wing is Emperor Jon and a Skate Prototype.
I've also stuck some more fighter weapon production onto my complex. We now have production of HEPTs and PRGs.
Trigger is on guard at the weapons complex, and Olterin is protecting the weed/boozeplex- The Pirates have been somewhat pesky recently. Soon, we will go to war. I just need to acquire one more ship- my personal destroyer- the original Ray. Then, we shall strike at Family Pride and raze it to the ocean floor, and with it, the Split Dynasty will fall.

But most of this chapter will be composed of a certain XI mission, where the combined fighter fleets of my two light carriers work in unison to rid Getsu Fune of a Xenon wave.

Chapter 36: Crash To Desktop

Well, after a little work, I have improved the complex's functionality- I now can easily outfit most fighters with HEPTs and other mid- range weapons. This has nullified my earnings, though, so I jump to Getsu Fune in The Hive and find that the Argon Equipment dock is offering a mission. I'm about 65km away though, so I use my Spitfyre, Vanishing Act to get there in time. It's a plea for help from the sector administrators, about intel on a large Xenon assault force preparing for war. I accept the mission, marked as 'Very Hard' and with a base pay of 4Mcr. This is massive, and gets me wondering about what could be coming through that gate. Forrester's here after getting his new fighter wings- green and white- equipped with Mass Drivers and ammunition, so I have him on standby ready to help if things go belly-up. I fly back to my Panther and fly towards the North gate, to intercept a pair of Js, each filled with 36 fighters. This is going to be quite a scrap. I call Forrester to get into position and check weapons operation.

Reaching 10km from the nearest J, I position myself directly in front of it, and let off several charged attacks from 9km out. At least some hit- the Xenon carrier loses a large amount of shielding shortly before returning fire. It also stops and I can't prevent it from launching all its fighters. Great. Either way, the battleship's generator overloads and explodes, taking it down. I move my attention to the next J. But travesty! My up/down batteries of ISR have wasted all my energy firing hopelessly at fighters! Now the J is within PPC range and I have no weapons energy to fire back. Damn! Sound the retreat! Disable upper and lower turrets! Rear turret to missile defence, now! Jamming the steering unit sharply right, I bring the nose of my ship round through 180 degrees just as the first supercharged photon shots hit my shields. I manage to evade most of them though, and escape to a safer distance to allow my laser banks to replenish. Then I charge back in, not bothering to charge the IBLs this time, and move underneath the J, keeping my forward IBL bank pointed at it. This tactic succeeds, but also lets me eat a volley of assorted ISR and CIG shots from the rear turret. My shields stabilise at 65%. With both battleships down, it's safe for Forrester to come and help clean up the mess of fighters milling around. I tell my various fighters to launch, and line my PALC battery up with the nearest fighter. These beam weapons aren't especially powerful, but they use next to no energy and are quite accurate to boot, so they make the ideal weapon to deal with fighters.

Forrester soon arrives, and the CFA turrets light up the sky:

[ external image ]

Soon, the area is well covered by my fighter forces and the Xenon are beginning to thin out:

[ external image ]

About a minute later, my fighter wings return to their carriers, jobs done:

[ external image ]

[ external image ]

The only damage sustained, ironically, is through MD friendly fire among green and white wing. It's only minor, but still rather irritating.

Anyway, the payout was another 20Mcr, and I'm again in a financially rock-solid situation.

Just some pics which should be eariler, but I can't be bothered to find their correct positions:

My way of giving the tentacle to the Xenon. Been there since I set up the complex:

[ external image ]It'd been taking up room onboard the maelstromic for absolutely ages, and I had to get rid of it. I'm astounded as to how long it's lasted.

A very good marine who came free with a Split Boa:

[ external image ]

And a fellow Boron in Bluish Snout with very few scruples when it comes to making money:

[ external image ] Seriously, who'd stoop so low?

[Snowship]

We'll crisp any and all opposition Commander


I feel your pain with ISR's depleting your energy

[Master of the Blade]

In memory of Leo 'Steve' Kayean and his great work entertaining us all, we shall now drink to his achievements, and wish him well in the Next World. NUKLEAR-SLUG, I and my crew salute you! May real life treat you well.

Maybe we'll put up a statue. Or perhaps we could live by the high-yield nuclear warhead for a while. Wanton use of Nukes!

[Master of the Blade]

NOTE: I am helping to beta test Emperor Jon's new 'Achevement Guild' AL plugin, which provides various rewards for meeting certain requirements. It is still an early version and there may be balance issues. Who thinks I should use it in the DiD?(this is probably the least likely option to kill the DiD- I'll end up overwriting my saves if I have a seperate game going.) As for my war with the Split, soon. Very soon- I have once again broken the 200Mcr barrier, so I'll have quite a large float fund after I've bought the new battleship. Next chapter coming soon- I haven't done much worth reporting.

[Buck_Rogers]

Entirely up the you mate. Its your DiD after all. Alot of people think vanilla is the way to go. Sod that, I say!

[Master of the Blade]

Vanilla? Who needs vanilla?

I suppose you're right, so, to save time, I will run the achievement guild in the DiD. Unless, of course, anyone objects.

[LordForrester]

Just keep a good back up of your saves before the Mod is installed

[Olterin]

As was said... have a good backup of your saves, or better yet, have two.

... Next installment?

[Sp@c3Ch!mp]

I am reading up on this DiD and am only at page 3 or 4 but so far it is very entertaining. keep it up

[Master of the Blade]

Saves already backed up- I don't want a repeat of what happened when I first installed the X2 ship callback mod.
Sp@c3Ch!mp, nice to see someone else taking an interest!


Chapter update'll be later today, but first, a Boron holo-vision report from the Kingdom end newsnet:

'Reports have emerged that the well-renowned ex-navy Boron entrepeneur Swien Luf has confirmed to the Boron military that he will be launching an assault on the Split later today. His motives for this are unclear, but he has stated that it is time for the Kingdom to stop relying on external help in battle. Inside sources say that Queen Atreus and the parliament approve of this decision, after shocking loss of life on the Queen's Retribution battlefront. Here is Lalo Di of the Boron Intelligence Service(Covert, Undercover Initiated Team), BIS(CUIT) with more information on the situation.'

'Luf, as we all know, was publicly humiliated when he was expelled from the Navy for warmongering. Experts at BIS(CUIT) were worried that he could turn on the Kingdom and would have to be eliminated. It turns out that this was completely incorrect, and Luf has been awarded a knighthood after proving his worth in assisting all over Kingdom territory. We know that our colleagues at the Argon Intelligence Service are worried that these developments could rekindle the inter-race wars, but since the Split refuse to stop incursions we see this development as only prudent. The OmniCorp, headed by Luf, seems to accept citizens of any race, including Split, seemingly merely upon application. However, we believe the corporate structure is still sound. Disturbing reports have come in that Luf is employing a Khaak, and this has been confirmed- they are less than disturbing since this particular individual us part of the Khaak Social Image Rehabilitation Programme and poses no threat to the Commonwealth.'

'Well, that, it seems, would be that. Now to Dede De for a report on recent advances in video gaming...'

[Sp@c3Ch!mp]

If you are still looking for a pilot, I want to sign up.
Pilot name: Harmon Rabb
Ship preference: TS or TP(anything that can be used for trading)
Ship name: space bar(if naming a ship is allowed)

And now I will continue with reading the story.
You have more story in one chapter then NS did I believe

[Master of the Blade]

You seriously want a TS/TP when there's fame and glory to be had? OK then, I'll... ummm... I actually don't have that many freighters atm. I'm a more combat-oriented player. You could have an elephant, courtesy of the Achievement Guild I suppose. Is that OK? If you're dead set on flying a freighter, you'll have a lifespan of about three minutes- all my TSes have been buying energy cells for my weed/boozeplex in the PTNI HQ area, and the Xenon from X347 like to eat them. Still, your choice!

Now, I think it's most fitting to write this up from the Split's point of view. Yes, my crew! OmniCorp is going to war! The seige on Family Pride has officially begun! I'll even crack out the Claymore! Yes, that's right- Wanton Use Of Nukes! FOR STEVE!!!!!!



Intercepted transmission from Split tactical command to dockyard hands and field commanders in Family Pride:

(Split commander speaking)
'You say you've come under attack by a BORON force? Those lily-livered peace-loving fools would never dare to strike at Family Pride! What is the status of the Raptor group stationed there?'

(Split field commander)
'You requested the Raptor group to assist in the assault of Queen's Retribution, SIR! The Boron have opened fire on police and military ships in the area, SIR! Request deployment of retaliatory forces, SIR!'

(Tactical commander)
Granted. We are sending a Heavy Dragon and escorts to assist. What is the fleet composition the Boron are using?'

(field commander)
'SIR! A Heavy Dragon is not enough, SIR! Multiple fighter contacts, two destroyers, a carrier and two frigates, SIR! Several corvette class ships too, SIR! The Boron fleet commander is flying a decommissioned Dragon, SIR!'

(Tactical)
'A heavy dragon is all we can spare, soldier! Do with her what you can. We are negotiating backup from Family Whi. Station status?'

(field)
'SIR! The shipyard has been destroyed, SIR! We appear to be the target of... one. two... seven... five... six... EIGT BARRAGES OF PHANTOM-CLASS MISSILES, SIR! We need backup, now! We are recieving a communication on all channels now, SIR! Playing it to you now, SIR!

(Swien Luf)
'FOR STEVE!!!!!!!!*ahem* You shall pay for your agression towards the Boron kingdom! You can see that you are severely outgunned and outnumbered. Give up now and change station control to me and I may spare you. These missiles can still be self-destructed.'

(Field commander)
Us? Surrender? NEVER! Die, Boron Scum! The Split Dynasty will prevail! SIR! Backup, NOW!

(Tactical command)
'STOP CALLING ME SIR!!!!! What is the ETA of the torpedoes, soldier? Field Command, come in! Damn....'

(Swien Luf)
'Too late. Far, far too late. You Split are so complacent. You shall PAY!'

[Screenies next chapter. Yes, I'm evil. But, there is a picture of all eight missile barrages on their way. I was practically dancing with evil glee. ]

[Snowship]

sector wide furball, nice to see some screenies from the action

Taste Fire Split

[Sp@c3Ch!mp]

mmmm short lifespan? yeah well what the heck Sign me up for the freighter duty. I'll own the split and xenon butt!!

EDIT

Harmon Rabb's background

Name: Harmon Rabb
Race: Argon
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Background:
Former Argon military fighter pilot. He used to pilot the Argon M3 Nova 'Bizkit'.
Helped to push back Xenon incursions in the sectors around X347.
Has 34 confirmed Xenon kills.
Helped to protect a convoy that was under attack from a hive fleet.
Killed 7 ships
During his last tour, he helped to secure argon sectors against pirates.
While pursuing a Pirate M3, his ship got badly damaged and he had to undergo several operations. The ship had to be scrapped.

The Argon military gave him the medal for bravery under fire.
He resigned the military, honourable discharge, to go look for a more peaceful life.

[Master of the Blade]

Sp@c3Ch!mp has a death wish... Anyway, I'll feel bad if you die in a freighter, so you can have a Mistral resupply/weapons trading boat from my weaponplex. You'll have a more active role and I can keep an eye on you so the Xenon can't chomp the freighter.(Didn't anyone get my reference to the Kirby series at the end of the Boron news report? )

Chapter 37: Strike at the Black Heart

After some admin, I command the fleet to jump into Family Pride. The Split still suspect nothing so I use the time to contact a mysterious 'achievement guild', which messaged me recently. Apparently I am elgible for rewards based on my influence on the Universe. I ask for the rewards to be sent to my complex sector. I am amazed when the ships jump in instantly. I get a Xenon P, an elephant with a military base onboard, an 'arrow' racing ship and assorted other fighters, along with some cash injections. Nice! I send everything that can dock to my complex and send the Elephant away from the main area. I'll take a look at them later. But first, I must orchestrate my betrayal of the Split Dynasty. The fleet has assembled and my bomber is in position. I jump in and transfer over to my new command corvette, a very sleek ship- one of the Split's, but discontinued. Just proves they have no sense of style:

[ external image ]

As my battle fleet moves into position, I take my first look at the Decommissioned Ray- my newest destroyer:

[ external image ]Shiny...


The sector map before I release all hell... This'll teach the Split not to leave their core sector undefended...
[ external image ]

Fleet in position? Good. Beyond here, there's no going back. We shall fight them in the nebulas, and we shall fight them on the borders. We will fight them in the voids and we shall fight them over planets. We shall fight them with courage, willpower and superior tactics. We shall fight them with battleships and fighter craft, and we shall fight them with a strong scent of pine! We shall take back space which should belong to the Kingdom and drive them back to the furthest reaches of the Universe for what they did to the Boron. And then we can go gome and maybe have a cup of tea- Forrester says he can get us some from Earth. Global settings... Split to foe. Fleet, ATTACK!

The battleships begin to move in and the fighters launch, hunting down the sparse smattering of Split police, flying around and wondering what the hell happened. I arm my lasers and dive into a group of M4s, ISRs blazing. They scatter, but I maintain my target lock and soon they're little more than dust floating on the solar winds. The destroyer Tsunami opens fire on the shipyard, just as a Heavy Dragon and escorts comes through the gate. I move off to intercept the reinforcements, which respond by firing several Thunderbolt missiles off at me. Olterin, supposed to be guarding the Decom. Ray, flies over to help out. Between us, we easily overpower the meagre Split reinforcement group. With the sector mosly secure and Split shipbuilding in ruins, I command the OmniCorp bomber, Wave of Terror to launch an excessive number of torpedoes at the local Equipment dock- the Split field command center and ship resupply base:

[ external image ]FOR STEVE!

Well, it'll take a while for them to arrive, so... Split shipyard's been destroyed, the trading port is taking heavy fire, and the other stations are going to follow suit. Now, how're those torps doing?

[ external image ][ external image ][ external image ] I couldn't get a screen of the impact- I accidentally pressed F2 at the wrong time... Sorry.

Well, that would be that. Now it's time to mop up and move on.

[Sp@c3Ch!mp]

Thx for an active role general, SIR.
If I may sir,
is it possible for me to get a fighter role in the future? If I get tired of this trader life that is. Sir.

PS: loved the speech

[Master of the Blade]

You can have a fighter role anytime you like. Just say the word. DISCLAIMER: You may get killed.

[LordForrester]

Give him a Falcon Hauler. He will live longest in that.



Alex looked over his ship checking for damage from the cockpit of the Nova raider he was flying.

The Exterminator had not taken any damage to the hull in the last fight thanks to the excellent work the admiral did in eliminating the capital ship threat. They had a little internal damage from some improperly tide down cargo but that problem had been taken care of.

He looked at the exterminator with a sense of pride. She was a fine ship. Small but every inch of space was used to its best extent. Because the fighters were docked externally she was able to launch everything very fast.

Alex was also thinking back on the conversation he had with the Admiral and the other fleet officers. He was ready to go to war with the Split but it was going to be HUGE undertaking. I just hope we have the resources to keep the presser up.

Finding everything in order Alex sung his ship around and headed for the docking bay. The fleet would be leaving soon and he needed to be on the bridge.

No matter what happens the Exterminator will be ready to fight. He thought back to what his grandfather use to say. No Guts No Glory! Well we have the Guts lets see if we can get some Glory.

[Master of the Blade]

Forrester, I do NOT intend to lose this war! And remember, always tie down the cargo! Any damage to internal paintwork must be taken from your own funds. Anyway, the Split seem to have given up protecting Family Pride after we took out a Tiger they foolishly sent to help. There were no company destroyers handy until the end of the fight, but the decom. Dragon with quad MDs and your MD fighter wings(with FLAK support from the Exterminator itself), we destroyed it and its escort with NO losses. The fleet sustained zero casualties, and we're going to fight our way through Split space up to Company Family Whi, where we'll escape through Teladi territory. The bomber's running out of stuff to throw at them, so I may have to modify the launchers so's it can fire the galley sink at the Split. Our only close shave was when Trigger(Our Khaak fleet member) tried to solo the Tiger. He had to jump out with 2% of his shields left. No damage though, so I can recall him at any point. Anyway, time for another intercepted Split transmission. This time, between the Split tacticla command and the Tiger captain:

(Commander)
'Captain, have your ship ready and fly to family Pride immediately. We are under attack from a Boron attack force! Bring any escorts you can, but make sure they can keep up. Ready your weapon batteries- this is NOT a drill.'

(Frigate captain)
'SIR! Will go, SIR! Request enemy fleet composition, SIR!'

(Commander)
'Why are all my soldiers CALLING ME SIR?! It gets on my wick! Stop immediately! Enemy fleet consists of two destroyers, a Carrier, two frigates, a bomber, three courgettes and about thirty fighters.'

(Captain)
'Courgettes, sir? Aren't they a Terran vegetable? Don't worry. We're on our way. ETA: two minutes.'

(Commander)
'Corvettes, Soldier! Is a Split not allowed his comical puns? The trading dock, equipment dock and the main shiyard are down. Boron forces seem to be sparing the HQ of the shipbuilding company supplying the decommissioned ships. Situation is dire- do not hesitate to use overwhelming force. The Boron fleet commander is flying an old model Dragon. Target that and put an end to this before the situation destabilises!'

(Captain)
'SI- Yes. We have arrived now. The battleships are approaching the production stations. Commencing strike- We have contacts! Skiron-class corvette incoming! IBL turrets, FIRE!'

[Company channel:Trigger, you idiot! Someone back him up, now! Anyone? Ah, Forrester. Bring all the fighters you can spare and help him out. I'll come too.]

(Captain)
'Enemy forces are approaching. Our target is down to 50% shielding, but we have lost 20%... Command ship sighted! I never would have thought I'd see that model again. It's cursed I tell you! We are losing hull integrity due to Mass Driver fire, and our initial target has escaped. Enemy frigate contact detected! Fighter wings, intercept! I'll take care of this one.[Talking to a technician]What do you mean, blind spot? I was told of no blind spots when I took command of this ship! What's the status of the fighter wing? WHAT??? All gone? Griffon? We lost our entire fighter escort to THAT puny little thing? IBL batteries, FIRE!!!!'

[Company comms. 'Forrester, look out! IBLs are locking onto your ship. Take evasive action!']

(captain)
'It is more resilient than I thought. I've had enough of this. Bomber wings, fire on the enemy Dragon! What? A Terran? What's-'

(Split Commander)
'Status report, soldier! Have you done yet?'

(Split Captain, over the sound of M/AML shots exploding against his shields- yep, Olterin's arrived!)
'Not good. We're taking heavy damage to shielding and hull, and I think that's oh no... OH NO!!!! AAAARRGH!!!!!'

(Split Commander)
Damn...


Yes. The merit of the speedy Decom. Ray meant it could move into position and nail the Tiger with a few PPC/IC combos. Even I didn't realise that'd happened, and I planned it! [Again, screens coming next chapter.]

[Olterin]

Olterin looked around the bridge, assessing the situation

"Helm, adjust heading to follow the lead ship. Tactical, status report?"

"Sir, our shields have not been significantly damaged during the last engagement and are regenerating. M/AM launchers are cooling down."

"Don't let them overheat like that again, will you? Give me a tactical analysis of the hostile ships."

"Sir, they appear to use lightly shielded, but well-armed and very maneuverable vessels. Their technology is decades behind ours - they didn't see us coming until we were almost in weapons range. The two weapons of note that we should be watching out for that the enemy seems to prefer are Mass Drivers and... Pulsed Beam Emitters. The MDs appear to be able to bypass shields, although they don't do significant damage - certainly nothing engineering can't take care of. The PBEs are a shield-stripping weapon, their disadvantages being very short range and very high energy consumption."

"Can they match our speed?"

"Yes, sir, they can - however, as I have already said, their ships are lightly shielded, so if we ever get into a situation calling for a tactical regrouping-"

"You mean of having to retreat?"

"-yes, sir. We would outlast them in that scenario."

"Good. Comms, send a message to the admiral that he might wish to consider employing more Terran-made hardware."