[TC] A Pirate's Story [Completed]

[Triaxx2]

A marine from Nuklear Slug's DiD Zen and the Art of Running Away, who seemed virtually invincible, at least until the Osaka he was on jumped to another sector, and got vaped.

Who then continued on in Wanton Use of Nukes, until he fell while boarding another Osaka. He was the sole survivor at least once in the first one and seemed immortal against overwhelming odds.

Thus my suggestion.

[Kirlack]

I love this story... It makes me want to be a pirate. I'm rather amazed you haven't died yet!

Likewise, in fact it's inspiration from this story that got me playing my Unholy Traitor game. Building up a trading empire is fun but nothing quite compares to the thrill of piracy!

[e1team]

Every time I want to make a pirate game I end up being friend to all races, blasting Xenon to bits and saving damsels in distress. I just can't make myself bad! What's the secret?

[Kirlack]

I don't set out to be "evil", but when that particular ship you've been thinking of getting shows up, or the freighter you just scanned is carrying millions of creds in cargo....there's just this itch to attack and take what I want If anyone in the sector at the time takes offence at that attitude they can feel free to take it up with me then and there, I'll be waiting, PBGs first

[Scion Drakhar]

I love this story... It makes me want to be a pirate. I'm rather amazed you haven't died yet!

You and me both, mate.

He's been very, very lucky.

Indeed. I'll take being lucky over being dead anyday, though.

I might begin to suspect his name is Steve.

My word! What footsteps to walk in!

...nothing quite compares to the thrill of piracy!

Yo ho and a bottle of rum!


23. Aah, the X2 sagt Bussi auf Bauch turns o’ fate...

Right then.

So. I found myself wonderin' if the Cap'n o' that Osprey was as tempted as I was to sort out our problems with cannonfire. I called that thick lil’ Teladi feller back over n' over tryin' to explain the sitch to him. I tried so many times that he eventually just stopped takin' my calls. This o’course pissed me off so bad I actually started firin' up the IBL's and was about to blast that TM to slag when my first mate, (a competent and morally ambiguous Argon feller I picked up in Acquisition name o' Gil -the Snake Eye- Jerigan) reminded me that it wouldn't go over with the higher ups all that well and once again, they had my money. Damn. So there I sat, blowin' up wave after wave o' lil purple spaceships hellbent on our destruction, waitin' fer that TM Cap'n to finally figure it out n' get his ass in gear. Then, right around the time another Khaak cluster point jumped in near on top o' us n' a Corvette jumped in about 15 clicks off, I started wonderin' if maybe I'd been doin' my job a bit too well. So, all of a sudden the Good Fortune, bein' somethin' of a temperamental old ship, developed some 'technical difficulties.' In other words I turned off my turrets n' waited fer 'em Khaak to sort out my problems fer me.

So. I watched as the Osprey n' 'em damn fighters went straight fer the nearest targets, namely that cluster o' fighters. They did well, too. Between the three o' 'em they managed to get every last one o' em Khaak. Heh. But not before 'em two escort fighters went up in smoke. At which point the Pelican, not havin any fighters to wait fer, started his engines and finally passed through the gate. Hallelujah! At which point I sorted out my technical problems and blew that incomin' Corvette to bits. A minute or so later that Osprey passed through the gate n' I was off the hook ... or so I thought.

As soon as that Osprey passed through the gate I got an incomin' message from command. A scout was fleein' the scene n' they wanted me to tail it to see where it came from in the hopes that it would lead us to the source o' the Khaak. Apparently they're expectin' some real serious action here too, cuz a whole fleet o' Teladi bombers came outta the S gate to give me some help. It wasn't necessary but I do appreciate company, at least when it's not shootin' at me.

So. I followed that scout and, not wantin’ em to feel useless, let the Teladi fellers handle the majority o' resistance along the way. The scout leads us to another o' those Khaak stations, which confused me, cuz I'd just been through here escortin' that TL earlier and this station hadn't been here when I did. Still ponderin' this marvel of buildin' expediency, I get another message from command. They want me to destroy yon station.

Okey doke.

[ external image ]

I get paid and am once again free to do whatever I like. I like to kill folks. I like it even more when I get paid fer it n’ these days I get paid well. Needless to say I'm a happy feller.

After a lil' while o’ riddin’ the ‘verse o’ it’s least popular blokes 'em FF fellers send me a message again ‘requestin’’ my presence back at command. Seems they’ve built a station off in Khaak sector 931 and it’s under attack. (Who‘d a thought?) Needless to say they want me to go do somethin’ ‘bout it. So. I top off outta my fuel freighter and go sort out their problems fer ‘em. It’s just a couple o’ Corvettes so no big deal fer Good Fortune. I do find myself wonderin’ who the braniac is decidin’ to build stations in Khaak infested sectors wit’out givin’ ‘em any backup though.

Anyhoo. Wit’ their problem sorted I decide to commit a lil’ piracy as apparently my assassinations have upset the pirates again. Right now the only base friendly to me is the one I’ve got my mercs trainin’ at. So, I aquire a few more weapons and a few more missiles before bein’ recalled to A148 where it’s back to K931 to defend against another assault. I get there n’ find I’ve got ‘help’ this time. However, I think the same feller whats been decidin’ to go n’ build undefended stations in Khaak sectors is puttin’ together the patrol rosters too. I say this cuz my backup is comprised o’ an Argon Cerberus, a Boron Kraken and a Split Tiger. Needless to say the Boron and the Split were shootin’ at each other when I showed up ... while three Khaak Corvettes wit’ a good sized group o’ fighters closed on their position. So, rollin’ my eyes, I signal my crew to go cut off the Khaak while the Kraken n’ Cerberus sort out their disagreements wit' the Tiger. So much fer ‘universal co-operation.’

So. I spend the next lil’ while lookin’ fer a hacker n’ takin’ missions from the pirates in an attempt to make nice. It’s a work in progress.

I’m called back to A148 again and ... oh brother... they want me to guard another convoy. I really hate protection details. This time it’s three Boron ships: two freighters n’ a Hydra. I gotta say I felt a lil’ weird about protectin’ Borons. They apparently felt the same way cuz they left me in the dust. My best speed is 96m/s. They took off at 125m/s n’ never looked back. This o’ course made protectin’ ’em a bit difficult. I assigned a fighter to either’ freighter to back up the Hydra and between the three o’ ‘em they were able to take care o’ the fighters what came knockin‘. The big problem, though, woulda been a Corvette gettin’ through. Now I couldn’t give a monkey’s what happened to ‘em Boron aside from it bein’ a failed mission, but losin’ either one o’ my fighters’d hurt. So every time one o’ 'em Corvettes showed up I threw missiles at it until it finally got pissed off and came after me. Which o‘ course resulted in it gettin‘ burnt to a crisp by my IBLs. So it took a while, and woulda been a lot easier if ‘em Boron’d actually let me keep up, but in the end they all got to the S gate and I got paid. Now, I happened to need jumpfuel right then and as my fuel was parked at the FF command center I jumped down n' followed ‘em Borons outta the N gate in A148 ... where I was treated to a show.

Life definitely has it’s irony, I tell yah. After survivin’ the 100+km treck through a Khaak infested sector complete wit' wave after wave o' angry purple spaceships tryin' to frag 'em, those Boron exited the gate into the 'safety' o' A148 ... where they were promptly blasted into confetti by the Split Tiger guardin' the door. I’d be willin’ to bet ’em Boron weren’t expectin’ THAT. There were a couple nice goodies in the wreckage, though ...

[Triaxx2]

Now you have me doing it. (It's very hard to handle a Nova in a Jaguar. Especially when he's got PBG's in the front and a PRG in the back.)

[Scion Drakhar]

Now you have me doing it. (It's very hard to handle a Nova in a Jaguar. Especially when he's got PBG's in the front and a PRG in the back.)

Are ye MAD?! Consider me curious, though. How'd you do?



24. Bloody Split!

Right then.

So. After laughin' myself to tears at the fate o' yon Boron I fuel up at the military base and hop back to Aquisition. My mercs are in the final stages of trainin' but not one of 'em is even a third o' the way done wit' it. So I take some missions fraggin' convoys in the hopes o' gettin' the pirates to play nice again. Eventually I get all the bases back to bein' friendly, although they've still forgot to turn 'em LT's off down in Loomanckstrats. So, I branch out a bit, takin' missions from the different PB's and eventually find myself over HF way, where I dodge a large battlegroup centered around a Ray, and talk to some angry dame at the Anarchy Port who wants a convoy turned to shrapnel just next door in NM. I head on over to NM where I dispose o' said convoy and then notice that Ray taskforce comin' in through the E gate behind me. I'm assumin' it's the same one what took some shots at me a while back in HF. I'm just about to hop outta sector when I notice another taskforce comin' in from the W ... and this one's Split. Oooh. This could be good!

So. I park well outta the trade lane to wait n' watch. 'Em FF folks send me a message tellin' me to return to base immediately and I o' course ignore 'em. The Ray group is pretty much just that, it's a Ray and some fighters. It may have been bigger earleir but if it was it's run afoul o' somethin' out here in the dark and lost some o' it's support. The Split group, on the other hand, is centered around a Tiger, but has a large escort includin' a Dragon, several Viper bombers, and a swarm o' fighters. So, needless to say I'm all a tingle just waitin' fer the show to get started and hopin' both groups annihilate each other n' leave me lots o' goodies to collect.

It's a bit o' a wait, as the Ray group is doin' just under 60m/s and the Split group just over a 100m/s, but when it kicks off it's glorious. The Ray opened up wit' what I'm assumin' were PPCs n' the Tiger was throwin' IBLs n' after a lil' bit 'em two Vipers started fillin' the sky wit' Tomahawks. The fighters were goin' at it n' there were explosions poppin' off all around those two Capitals. I tell yah, it was beautiful. The Ray o' course turned that Tiger into shrapnel, but while it was concentratin' on the Tiger enough o' 'em Tomahawks got through to thoroughly cook that Ray wit' nuclear fire, n' a moment later it too was a brief but beautiful new sun. After that it was just mop up and the remainder o' that Split taskforce made fer the E gate. In their wake was exactly what I was hopin fer: 2 more IBL's, plus a PPC, an Ion Pulse Generator, a couple Ion Shard Railguns and a small assortment o' missiles. I do love gettin' paid to watch good theater.*

So. After grabbin' the goodies I head back to the military base in A148. When I get there Fjuny t'Scct tells me there is "large" number of Khaak nearby, apparently stompin' all over the stations they've just built in the N. (I won't say it.) So. I jump in through the S gate o' the "unknown" sector to the N o' A148 w' my guns hot n' ready fer all out war wit' the Khaak. Turns out it's 3 Corvettes n' the Teladi Peregrines in the area clearly have it thoroughly in hand as I didn't fire a shot. Fjuny t'Scct, however, calls me up when they're all toast n' informs me that my combat skills are beginnin' to impress him. "Sure!" says I. "If you've got any more jobs like this 'un you just let me know!" I get paid n' am once more left to my own devices.

So. I hop on over to Aquisition (where my mercs seem to be in exactly the same state o' trainin' they were in last time I checked) n' take a few more jobs fer the pirates. I also take a couple oppo'tunities to rob some poor freighter Cap'n's blind and then I'm recalled to A148 again. I dock at the military base where I get this sinkin' feelin' in my guts n' find out I'm supposed to guard another bloody convoy.

It's another group o' Teladi ships. Same makeup as before: a Vulture freighter, an Osprey, and a !@#$%&!!! Pelican. The Pelican o' course fell behind again and this time the Khaak did take an interest n' it got shredded. How tragic. The other two ships make it through the S gate just fine and I get paid.

Feelin' that old itch I accept a couple o' executions, whack a couple guys n' make some real money.

I'm recalled to A148 again and find that another one o' their stations in Khaak space is under attack. (You don't say!) Again, I've got "help" and this time the stupidity o' the makeup is just glarin'. It's a Boron Kraken and a Split Tiger wit' a couple friends in the form of a Dragon and a couple fighters. They are o' course doin' their best to kill each other. I decide to simply pretend they're not there and make fer the Military Base which is under attack from 3 Corvettes. I take out the first two and am just linin' up on the third when all o' a sudden I get additional contacts on the Gravidar. I check the sector map n' all I see is the last Corvette. Not sure what to make o' this I finish scrappin' the Corvette n' Fjuny S'cct is once again complimentin' my fightin' prowess. Then all o' a sudden I'm takin fire again, and it isn't from Khaak. I open up the exterior camera n' spin it to see what the hell is goin' on ... only to find the Split Tiger n' Dragon, apparently done wit' the Kraken, are now both hostile n' tryin' to kill me!


*Sorry fer not snappin' pictures.

[Triaxx2]

Probably would have fared better had I realized it was a Nova Prototype before I engaged. Needless to say, a DID is not in the cards.

On the other hand, I love the Bailing Add-On, because I'm flying a dragon that used to belong to pirates. 2xPAC for capping, and 6xMD for killing. Delicious.

[Scion Drakhar]

Probably would have fared better had I realized it was a Nova Prototype before I engaged. Needless to say, a DID is not in the cards.

Yeah I believe it. PBG's vs 2mj shields and my money is on the PBG's. Those bloody things hurt.


25. The Suicidal Paranid Death Cult

Right then.

So. Needless to say, bein’ shot at by my “allies” upset me some. Now, that Tiger Cap'n really shoulda let his shields recharge some after gettin' done wit' that Kraken but I guess he was after the 'beautiful death' the Spartans once aspired to. Well, he got it. That Tiger'd come up alongside me n' was poundin the 'Fortune with its Starboard guns. I grabbed the helm myself, threw the ship into reverse n' hauled the front end round to face the Tiger. Then, while my port Guass Cannons were workin' it over I started sendin' charged IBL fire into that Spilt ship broadside. The Dragon meanwhile was gettin' the snot kicked outta it by the underside Flaks and the starboard Guass Cannons. The Tiger had passed me at this point n' was unable to bring it's primary guns into play. It never got the chance. Charged IBL fire fried its shields n' set fire to it's hull while the Guass Cannons blasted holes right through it. In short order it was blindin' explosion dead ahead o' me. A moment later the Dragon exploded somewhere underneath me.

"Bloody Split!! THAT's what you get! Shoot at MY ship, will yah?!"

Still sorta in shock I checked the inventory o' the MB I just rescued, mostly outta needin' somethin' to do more n' anythin' else, n' noticed they were sellin' a pair o' boardin' pods. Wantin' to stockpile those fer when I get a missile frigate I tried to dock n' was told no. Bloody hell! Apparently it's a Split base. So. At this point I was feelin' somewhat irritable. I started stompin' all around the command deck, cursin' the bloody Split, n' the Bloody Final Fury effort, n' the Bloody Split some more (which got me some hard looks from the members o’ my crew o' the that particular persuasion.) I ranted n' raved and stated, emphatically, that we were not gonna work fer 'em FF @$$#@!&$ anymore n' would get by wit' good old-fashioned honest piracy. So I jumped outta sector n' back to Aquisition, lookin' fer a nice healthy convoy to destroy. Before I could comm the pirate base, though, Snake Eye pulled me aside n' pointed out that those FF fellers had just paid us near a million credits fer that last assignment.

"Really?"
"Yeah. "
"Huh."
"They also don't seem exactly cross wit' us fer showin' ’em Split the business end o' our guns."
"They don't do they?"
"And ..." Says he at last, fixin me wit' that one funny lookin' eye o' his, " ...you did like it." ... refferin' to blowin' that Tiger to hell. At which point I started to laugh cuz he was right. I did.
"All right," says I, "I'll think about it."

So. The PB was offerin' an execution n' it was pretty straightforward, an easy two million cred. While we were about it n' sendin' a few Yaki to fiery graves, I got to thinkin'. Passive income would be nice. It'd also be nice to be able to supply myself wit' my own jumpfuel. It'd also be nice to have a homebase so my ships weren't all danglin' from the dockin' clamps o' a Teladi EQ. I mean, you never know who you might piss off, or when. So. Maybe I'll start lookin' fer a good place to start buildin'.

I'm still musin' when 'em FF fellers give me another shout. My crew all looked at me. "Fine!" Says I. "We'll continue to entertain 'em. Fer now."

I dock at the MB and am informed that they need another convoy brought safely through the known unknown sector in the N. Whatever. I roll my eyes n' signal the jump. We enter the sector through the E gate to meet up wit' the convoy n' I'm gettin' myself prepared fer another bout o' aggravation. I'm not, however, even remotely prepared fer what actually happens. It's a five ship convoy o' Paranid Demeters n' they were all clustered just to the south o' the gate when I jumped in. The strange thing was none of 'em were movin'. Odd. I cut engines to wait fer 'em to get whatever their issues were sorted out. After a minute or so I get impatient though n’ comm the lead Demeter. The Pilot answers n’ as soon as he does I know somethin’ is wrong. It’s somethin’ about the way he’s lookin at me.
“Uh ... Do you fellers need help?”
“Tainted defiler,” he says to me. “Violator! Despoiler of the Empire! Blasphemer of the word of Priest Duke! Profane desecrator of the Holy Light! Most base enemy of the Priest Xaar!”
I couldn‘t help it. My crew was lookin’ at me wit’ somethin’ a lil’ like awe, n’ to be honest I kinda liked it. I started grinnin‘. “Aw, shucks.” Says I, “Stop it.”
“For your crimes against the Xaar and Priest Duke may your soul be ripped apart and cast into the void! May you suffer in eternal unrelenting ...!”
“Oi! Listen here, mate. If you’ve got a problem wit’ me why don’t we take it up back at the base in A148? Right now, though, I got a job to do n‘ times a tickin, hear? So why don‘t you just get your ugly arse in gear, start ‘em engines n‘ make fer yon south gate, eh?”
That Paranid actually smiled at me. Now, I’ve never seen a Paranid smile before n’ I’ll tell yah, it ain’t a pretty sight. Now normally they’re just callin me names n’ shootin’ at me. So, the sight o this feller’s sneer made me just a lick uncomfortable.
“With our deaths we curse you to the abyss.“ He cuts comms.
Huh?
I’m about to call him back when the Split mannin‘ the gravidar tells me he‘s gettin‘ power spikes from all five freighters. A moment later I get to watch those Demeters explode one after another. I'm standin' there wit' my chin on my chest, totally flabbergasted, when Fjuny t'Scct calls me. He's very dissappointed n' reccomends I get some more trainin' before comin' back to work fer 'em.

"Say WHAT?! Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me. Some crazy Paranid go n' self destruct all their ships n' that's MY fault?!" He cut's comms wit'out another word.

Now, I honestly don’t quite know what to make o’ that. I’ve never had a Paranid kill itself instead o’ lettin’ me do the job fer ‘em before. Kinda odd, that. I’m still shakin’ my head when FF command sends me another message recallin‘ us to A148 .Apparently they've decided to let me try again. There's another Paranid convoy I'm supposed to escort. So I jump to the E gate again n’ this time it’s a pair o’ Nemesis' (Nemesii?) They're right there, but again somethin' strange is goin’ on. I put ‘em both up on the vids. One of 'em isn't movin'. The other is, though, n' apparently belongs to the same suicidal group ‘em freighter Cap’n’s did n’ I get to watch as it rams the other Nemesis n' they both explode.

I actually pinch myself to see if I'm dreamin'. Ouch. Nope I'm awake n' as if to prove it Fjuny t'Scct is callin' me up to tell me just how much less'n thrilled he is. I do find myself wonderin’ if the Paranid’ve universally decided that the way to deal wit’ me is to kill themselves. Oooh. That’d be nice. So, wit’ visions o’ Oddy’s n’ Deimos’ flyin’ into asteroids at the very sight o’ me I take an execution from the Loomankstrats Anarchy Port. As we're finishin' the mop up we get called back to A148 again and once more Fjuny S'cct has a convoy he wants me to escort. "Really? Are they Paranid?" As a matter o‘ fact they are. Two Demeters n‘ a Nemesis n‘ they‘re just as crazy as the last two convoys n‘ promptly blow themselves to bits. I knew there was a reason I didn’t work wit’ the Paranid. Besides bein’ totally obnoxious they’re bloody insane. Fjuny t’Scct is once more scoldin’ me fer bein’ incompetent n’ I’m laughin’ so hard my sides hurt.

I decide to commit some piracy over in the Split Fire, Brennan’s Triumph area to see if the rest o’ the Paranid’ve lost their bloody minds n’ developed suicidal tendencies or if it‘s just a local phenomena restricted to the FF campaign. It does seem that they‘re all crazy though as I am privy to the sight o’ a Paranid High Tech trader tryin’ to take out an entire Argon Military Patrol centered around a Heavy Centaur n’ escorted by somewhere round a dozen fighters all by his onesy while sat in nuthin’ but an M4. A lil’ while later a Demeter Cap’n attempts the same trick. They both end up scattered across the trade lane. I’m fetchin’ the goodies floatin’ in their debris field when FF command calls me back to A148. Fjuny t’Scct has another convoy he wants me to escort. “Paranid?” No. They’re Argon. Shucks. I was havin’ such a good laugh.

So, once again, I jump in through the E gate o‘ the sector to the N. This time I’m supposed to see two Argon Centaurs n' a Nova to safety. They're all movin'. In fact they don't seem to think I'm worth the effort o' waitin' fer n‘ leave me shoutin‘ fer ‘em to wait up. They get so far ahead that I'm forced to short jump to the S gate to keep 'em from gettin' cut to pieces by the last three Corvettes. They didn't self destruct, though. They didn't ram each other, and they all made it through the S gate. It’s just the Paranid what‘s all gone off the deep end. Fjuny t'Scct calls me up n’ gives me a 'well done' n' I get paid.

Now I’ve just got to go find some more Paranid to laugh at.

[Playbahnosh]

Okay, I just read this epic in one go. My sides hurt and my eyes are full of tears, all from laughing like a maniac, especially on that last part about suicidal Paranids. I would love to see a group of paranids get pissed at me and with a "now we show you!" yell they proceed to faceplant on asteroids and fly into each other all kamikaze like. Oooh, so that's the way to die like an idot! Thanks, sensei, I'll keep that mind for the day the rest of my braincells finally decide to check out on me.

I just freggin love your story, don't you dare stop writing! If you do I get so mad at you I'll drive into oncoming traffic on the freeway and headbutt a 18 wheeler in the grille with pedal to the metal. That'll show ya!

[eldyranx3]

Out of all the feats you've managed, not getting the Mod's attention and having this story bumped over to the Creative Universe section is by far the most impressive

[Triaxx2]

Surprisingly, out of four tries, I only once made the mis-step of getting caught by the PBG's. Mostly I couldn't avoid the PRG to succeed in killing or capping it.

I finally decided to go after some Boron instead.

[Playbahnosh]

Your story is having a profound effect on me, and as I see it, on others too.

Seriously, when I'm done with my current playthrough (I wanna finish all the plots at least once in my TC history) I'll go and be a pirate too. It sounds tons more fun than just play the nice guy gunning pirates, xenon and whatnot for pompous capitalists all the time :/

I loved playing the pirate in Freelancer, it had it's charms to waylay trading lanes for loot and then hauling ass into the next asteroid field to lose the heat, sneaking around through hidden wormholes instead of using jump gates...

Even now when I'm the "good guy" in TC, when I see a nice ship with some cool stuff in the cargo (I have a habit of scanning them) sometimes I imagine just unloading at it, gathering the crates and legging it outta there. Too bad I need the race rep for the plots...

[Snafu_X3]

Excellent rendition! It never occurred to me what having a pirate's rep might do to the plots - ROFL!

Keep going - this may turn out to be equal to The Master of DiD <whispers Nuklear Slug> !!

[choggy2]

I'm sitting at my desk at work with coffee all over my shirt from laughing so much at your last update - top stuff!

[Scion Drakhar]

My apologies for the late post. My ISP had some technical issues today.

Out of all the feats you've managed, not getting the Mod's attention and having this story bumped over to the Creative Universe section is by far the most impressive

I assure you I'm doing nothing deliberate. When I began this thread I didn't know where to post it and Spoilers seemed the most logical. I'm just playing the game and writing about it. I have no preference to it's location and no argument against it being moved, as long as I can find it, anyway.


Thanks for sharing the laughs, folks. It does me very good to hear about them (apologies for the coffee stains.) Also, Snafu_X3, I don't quite know what to say. I consider that extremely high praise. In fact, for anyone who hasn't read Nuklear-Slug's exploits I highly reccomend them. He truly is the Master of DiD and in many ways my inspiration. So, thank you.

Now, without further ado...



26. War

Right then.

So. While 'em FF fellers r' scourin' the ‘verse lookin' fer new n' interestin' ways to entertain me I check on my mercs n' take another couple o' jobs from the pirates. While my crew is practicin' their aim blastin' Yaki into confetti I find myself lookin' through the universe map fer a sector that might be worth buildin' in. There'r quite a few that have the necessary resources to get started wit', but I find myself confronted by a number o' factors I don't like. First off, I don't want to park in a race sector as my relationships wit' most o' 'em are unstable, to say the least. The Teladi I seem to be on consistently good terms wit' but honestly you never know what'll happen n' I don't want to invest millions o' credits buildin’ a factory only to have the locals get mad at me n' start shootin' at it. I'm also hesitant to build in a pirate sector fer pretty much the same reason, n' wit' the pirates I don't even need to piss 'em off. Those boys'll start shootin' at me just fer fun. Well, maybe not ME, but my station, sure. At the same time, if I'm buildin' a factory fer income I'm gonna need to build it somewhere folks'll actually trade wit' it. So. I definitely need to think it over some more and decide what I want to build, what it's purpose is, and then 'the where' should become a bit more apparent.

So. I've just bounced back into Aquisition when 'em FF fellers send me this message:

[ external image ]


Huh. That's a bit different. Well, we're not doin' anythin' else at the moment. So, "Fire up the jumpdrive, boys! We're headed back to Final Fury land!" A few seconds later we're exitin' the warp tunnel into...

"Oh, hell ..."

All o' the 'Fortune's turrets open up at once. I hear explosions all around us. There's so much fire in the night that I can't sort out what's what or who's shootin at who. All across the sector starships are explodin' in brief, fadin' flashes in the dark. My heart's instantly triphammerin' in my chest and my teeth have bared into a snarl n' still I don't know what's happenin'. Then a Khaak scout makes a kamikaze run straight into the bridge window n' it all becomes clear. As the explosion clears I see a Corvette just a few clicks in front o' us. At which point I'm screamin' at the top o' my lungs. "FIRE!"

The 'Fortune unleashes a wall of burnin' death upon that Corvette, transformin it into a blindin' wave o' light in heartbeats. As the explosion fades I see both a Khaak Carrier n' a Khaak Destroyer in the distance. There r' about half a dozen Corvettes scattered throughout the sector. Fighters'r everywhere. Three Corvettes'r gangin' up on a frigate off my Port side. Three more'r tearin' fighters apart between I n' the Military Base. Everywhere I look explosions are rippin' the night apart.

Keepin' the jumppdrive controls ready I call up the sector map to get a better idea o' what's goin' on. Fer a second it looks like the whole map is nuthin' but hostile contacts, but after a moment I sort it out n' realize I'm far from alone. There's a Split Tiger not too far from me swattin' fighters like flies. There's an Argon Cerberus near the Military Outpost off to the left. It's the one gettin' triple teamed by Corvettes. There's an Argon Colossus to the east o' the Military Outpost headin' fer yon Destroyer n' a Split Python far in the South.

Right then. Now I'm not normally one fer savin' the day, but if we're gonna get through this I want as many o' these friendlies at my side as possible. The Tiger seems alright so I ignore it. The Cerberus is in trouble, though. I fire a typhoon at each o' the Corvettes beatin' on it n' push my ship into full ahead. As we get close the Cerberus manages to take out one o' the Corvettes. It's shields'r real low, though n' I'm wonderin' if I'm gonna get there in time. Then my typhoons catch up and some o' the warheads make it through. It's enough to knock out the shields o' one o' the Corvettes. That Cerberus notices n' don't waste any time thinkin' about it n' lays into that Corvette wit' everything it's got. So, the second Corvette goes down. The third apparently got pissed at me when that typhoon lit into it n' broke off the Cerberus to come after me, givin' the Argon a clear shot at it's six. Who promptly starts shovin' CIG rounds up it's tailpipe. This confuses the Corvette n' it starts to wallow, not seemin' to know who to shoot at. A moment later I'm in range n' my Guass cannons've open up. Caught between the Cerberus n' the 'Fortune it gets shredded in heartbeats.

Wit' the Cerberus ok n' it's shields recoverin' I turn toward the next cluster o' Corvettes, currently ginsuin' fighters n' M6's both. On approach, wit' Khaak fighters constantly harryin' us, I watch 'em Corvettes hit a Centaur from three directions simultaneous. A heartbeat later I'm shieldin' my eyes from the explosion. The goin' is slow in the Fortune. She's not a fast ship, n' we have to watch as whole wings o' fighters get shredded by those three Corvettes. Eventually we're in range, though, n' I'm screamin' again. "Let's send 'em to hell, boys! Unleash the dogs!"

We dump 37 MKII fighter drones into the night and open up wit' Guass and IBL fire. Between the combined fire o' the 'Fortune, the Cerberus, n' the few remainin' Argon fighters those Corvettes become burnin' slag and then we're headin' after the KM1 n' it's hornets nest o' fighters.

It's wave after wave o' Khaak scouts, interceptors, n' fighters. We're throwin' swarm missiles around wit' complete abandon. The air 'round the 'Fortune is ablaze with kyon beams, PAC fire n' the detonation o' the Flaks. Several more Khaak make suicide runs on the Fortune. The Cerberus falls in several km's off our port side n' the space between us becomes a killzone. Pure adrenaline is floodin' my veins. I feel like I'm ridin' the crest o' a massive wave n' the whole 'verse is spread out before me. I'm screamin' curses at the enemy n' my crew both. The Carrier is loomin' before us like some giant purple spider rippin' the night apart with brilliant ship rending spiderwebs, destroyin' fighters in droves. Beyond it the Destroyer has ripped the shipyard open lettin' it explode across the sector like a dyin' star. As the brilliance clears I see the Carrier light into a Dragon, sendin' it up like a tribute to the shipyard's destruction. And then the Carrier, that giant spider, is in range o' our guns. "FIRE, ye scallywags! FIRE, ye fecculent maggots! FIRE N' BURN THAT MONSTER DOWN!"

The 'Fortune now has 8 IBL's in the main guns n' we charge 'em to maximum 'fore lettin' em loose. Over n' over in laserbank drainin' succession' the 'Fortune sends full powered charges straight into the face o' the beast. The Cerberus is right beside us off our port bow n' that Split Tiger has come up above n' to Starboard to add its guns to the hunt. In moments the Carrier's shields r' down n' it's hull is failin'. It has no intention o' goin' alone though. The Cerberus' shields were too low to start wit' n' that Carrier deals it the majority o' it's wrath. A moment before the Carrier's hull completely fails the Cerberus erupts off our port bow. An instant later the Carrier becomes a white halo so bright n' brilliant it blinds me n' the shockwaves o' both ships dyin' rock the fortune.

As soon as the glare fades I start bringin' the 'Fortune round to come to bear on the Khaak Destroyer, but it was done. The Destroyer had got itself pinned 'twixt the combined fire o' the Split Python, the Argon Colossus n' the large orbital weapons platform. In just heartbeats I was witness to yet another blindin' explosion ... and then, fer a moment, it's quiet.

It was far from over, though. Just as my crew began to cheer I saw jump flashes beyond the military base. My heart sinks. It's another Khaak fleet complete wit' a Carrier, a Destroyer, n' three more Corvettes. A moment after that n' that whole Khaak fleet lays into the Military Base. Fjuny t'Scct was immediately broadcasting on all channels, sendin' new orders to all ships: Protect the base. Prevent it from bein' destroyed. Silence fell over my command deck n' my crew began to look at me.

"We're not done, mates. Full ahead."

[Joe McCracken]

Really good story. I am also playing bankrupt assassin. I didn't go the pirate way, but it is a good challenge none the less. You give me some good ideas though. Keep up the good work.

[Snafu_X3]

Good battle description

[Playbahnosh]

you had to end it on a cliffhanger why don't you... Can't wait for tomorrow's episode! This is golden!

[Kirlack]

Hahaha, I can see me telling my grandkids all about the exploits of the Cap'n of the Good Fortune! Keep it up Scion!