Galaxy of Strife

Igadzra Central Command

X'el walked once again into the darkened room of Central Command. He had just returned from negotiating with Tibidat. "Welcome back, Executor," Asai greeted him, standing up at attention. "How was your mission?"

"A partial success. What of the situation in Groned?"

"Executor Ujo is still laying siege to the planet, but he is waiting for a response from the ground troops there. I would also like to inform you that the Third Armada has grown to over forty-five Igazras and their escort Igaras. We can now disperse it to defense fleets."

X'el nodded quickly. "That's excellent. Immediately disperse the needed ships to their assigned systems."

------

In orbit of Igadzra, with the super-station still taking shape, the 3rd Armada began to disperse until only 10 Igazras and 30 Igaras remained. The rest of the ships were sent to reinforce various defense fleets, including the Norhis defense fleet that was temporarily joined with the 4th Armada.

------

Research Projects

Halcyon Torpedo -- 3 RTD

PDS Battery -- 3 RTD

Igazra Upgrade -- 2 RTD

Construction Projects

Idzar'xada Super-Station -- Phase 1 -- 3 RTD

------

Naval Statistics

Current Ship Count (not counting losses in Stror)
290 Igazras
870 Igaras

Production (per RTD)
10 Igazras
30 Igaras

Defense Fleets
Igadzra, Ersadt, Innirian, Mark, Nujja, Mordus, Norhis, Motif, Feviry
20 Igazras ( 180 total )
60 Igaras ( 540 total )

1st Armada -- Mark
20 Igazras
60 Igaras

2nd Armada -- Fighting in Stror (Not counting combat losses)
30 Igazras
90 Igaras

3rd Armada -- Igadzra
10 Igazras
30 Igaras

Innirian Defense Detachment -- Innirian
10 Igazras
30 Igaras

4th Armada -- Groned (combined temporarily with the Norhis defense force)
60 Igazras
180 Igaras

Kelmaon
It is not uncommon amoung the Emalgha for a Director to be very involved with his title. The Director of Arts and Theater often went to plays, the Director of Transportation often went to the autoshops to help repair things, and the Director of Mining often went down into the mines.

Pael groaned. He and a group of miners were deep in the Alpha mines, investigating rumors of another vein of ores to be used in Thermite projectiles. Pael knew you could never have too much of a good thing, and that they had a surplus of Thermite, but against his own intuition and brought a team down anyway. The reason he groaned, however, was because they had been walking for miles and hadn't seen anything but useless rock.

"Sir, maybe we should turn back." Pael nodded.

"I think you may be right. There's nothing but rock in this old tunnel." The expedition turned around and began the long journey back. Mindule really wished they'd brought some sort of vehicle, but supplys were short, so everyone carried his or her own mining tool. As the group turned a corner, there was an enormous explosion above them. The ceiling shook and small rocks fell on their heads. Pael saw the frightened expression on an Emalghans face, and patted him on the back.

"Don't worry, they're just doing something construction up there. We're perfectly safe." There was no wood to knock on, but suprisingly, nothing happened, up until about 10 minutes later, when another explosion rocked the mines. Cracks began to form on the ceiling, as rocks larger and larger started to fall. Somebody screamed.

"Run!!" The group dashed forwards, only to be cut off by a particularly large boulder. Pael didn't understand; this was one of the safest tunnels in all of the Alpha mines. What was happening?

His thoughts were cut short when bits of the ceiling as large as grapefruits began to fall. They turned and ran deeper back, deeper until the tunnel. The last thing Pael saw was a stalactite impaling a young Emalghan.

-----

Something cold dripped in his face. Pael groaned. A lump on his head throbbed. He got up slowly.

"Hello?" His voice echoed, and was responded to by several groans.

"If you're okay, call out your name." After a few moments, a male and a female voice both spoke.

"Thornon here, sir."

"Swain here, sir." The air absolutely reeked of death to the Emalghan's noses. Emalghans have a very accute sense of smell, which is why most of them only use their first name; Pael from the Loria mines (several hundreds miles away) would smell different from Pael of the Alpha mines.

"Lets move. They won't even notice we're gone for a few days."

"Where?" Good question.

"There's only one direction, Thornon. Deeper."

-----

They'd been walking for hours. Thankfully, lots of equipment had stayed intact, so they could still tell their depth and pretty much where they where. Unfortunately, there was a lot of interference from the rock above them.

"Pael, look at this." Swain was pointing to a large opening up ahead. "I think this is an old elevator. It looks like it's blocked up, but... " She pressed a button on the consol that rested on the wall. Lights came on around the elevator and a humming could be heard deep inside.

"Well, lets get it unblocked." For the next 30 minutes, the three worked with their mining equipment to break up a large boulder that seemed to be blocking the doorway. After a bit more, it finally gave way and splitered.

" Wow. This thing is huge. How come we've never heard of a service elevator this big, sir?"

"Not sure, Swain. I guess it must be old. It still works, right?"

"Yes sir."

Then let's get the hell out of here." Swain pressed one of the few buttons on the wall, squinted, and wiped some dirt off the consol.

"Sir, I don't know what this says."

"It doesn't matter, lets just get out of here." One button obviously was clear enough to look like 'up' to Swain, so she pressed it. The doors closed, and something shifted inside the elevator, the doors then opened again. The three Emalghans walked in, hefting their equipment with their tired arms. As they got in, the doors waited a few moments and closed. Around them, there was a slight buzzing sound.

The walls began to move. Pael tensed, then relaxed. It was just some sort of inner ring. The opening in the inner walls that they had just walked through swiveled to the left. As it shifted, Pael looked around. This room really was huge. What on Emalgha did they move with this thing?

Suddenly, the wall locked. It had moved about 90 degrees. Thornon look at Pael.

"What now, s-?s-?sir?" Pael and Swain stared at him.

-----
Kelmaon

"Did you just-"

"Studder? Yeah... I don't usually do that. Did everyone else feel strange for a moment?" Pael shrugged as the ring began turning clockwise again. At last, it reached some doors, 180 degrees from the other doors, and locked in place again. The doors slid open.

"Lets get out of here." Swain took point as they walked out.

"Good news, sir. We're nearly to the surface."

"Great, lets get out... of... Dammit, this isn't working. Why isn't the GPS locating us?" They reached the exit with ease, but as they walked out, they stared.

There was nothing. There as nothing for miles. Where there used to be Alpha city, there was nothing. Where there used to be the mining station, there was nothing. Even in a place as large as the Alpha mines, you could always see something. But this... it looked like the first time they had ever landed on Kelmaon. Thornon cursed.

"Nobody's responding on the comm. Where the hell are we?" Pael looked worried for the first time in as long as he could remember.

"I'm not sure. Turn up the amplifier." With a simple turn of a switch, the power cell went to full capacity and the message was broadcasted into the inner system of Kelmaon.

"If anyone can hear us, please respond."

----------
R&D
same as last post

This post has been edited by grunadulater : 20 February 2005 - 04:41 PM

"Marshall, Kiel-Sunder on your back."

"Why always me, dammit?!"

Three Kraits sped past the Turncoat as it blasted them with Blaze fire.

"Hold on, Marshall, I'm comin' in."

One Helian chased the three, pelting them with Blaze fire.

"Dammit Yeager, I hate you."

"Yeah, whatever, save the thanks for later. We got a job to do."

-----

The Seydlitz blasted one Helian, asisted by a pair of militia Helians.

It continued to weave through the Renegade formation, shooting at Helians.

----- -----

Fleet Positions:
Seydlitz : Blasting Helians
Turncoats: Blasting Turncoats 2-on-1
Helians: Taking on Krait packs 2-on-1

Renegade Fleet:
6 Turncoats (2 destroyed)
40 Helians (12 destroyed)
60 Krait packs(Total 180 Kraits, 10 packs destroyed)

Inukai looked across his desk at the two Renegade captains before him. It was a relief to know they were at least willing to feign the desire to change. The Kayian government had been prodding him, through both official and unnofficial channels, to merely do away with the Renegades and take their ships as prize vessels. It was tempting, but it was not The Way Things Should Be.

"I'm going to need you to contact your leaders, and-" He broke off as the disply inset into his desk blinked. Several new messages had arrived, all with urgent tags. "A moment, if you will." He called the messages up and read through them, a couple of them more than once.

Ascia and Rex radiated both a discomfort and relief into the silence. Despite their best efforts, their body language betrayed their calm demeanors. He could only guess what their relief was for; their lives, maybe. Or perhaps a chance to change for the better. Worse yet, the chance to return to their own systems and bring more Renegades to try and plunder and pillage the South Tip. The reasons for their discomfort were quite obvious.

Whatever it was that affected them, it did not bare much meaning now. These new messages may have changed things - drastically - in the South Tip. Even when he was done going over the messages, he pretended to by reading more of them in order to buy himself time to think. Eventually, he sighed and resigned himself to a course of action.

"You will depart as soon as your ships are repaired. Your crews will accompany you, along with several platoons of our finest Marine Raiders to both ensure your compliance and help you carry out your objectives. An escort will also be arranged to fly CSP while your ships are indisposed. After you successfully complete this mission, you will be allowed to return from whence you came, provided that you do not return to the South Tip with any military force."

Rex and Ascia sat in silence. Ascia was obviously the more dominant between the two, whether it was his personality or rank, but Rex looked to him for his input before he even contemplated whether or not he should agree.

"Where are we going?" asked Ascia after a few seconds.

"A nearby installation. We've received unconfirmed reports that its previous owners have abandoned it, and I feel that it's in our best interest to capture the installation if possible. However, these reports are unconfirmed. It may be that this is merely a trap set to lure us in so that they may destroy our fleet." Inukai stood and started walking over to the liquor cabinet that he'd managed to squeeze into his small office.

"There is a great risk to you and your crews, as you will be the first ones in system, and you will not have a way out. We will give you only enough fuel to reach the designated system as an added security measure to make sure you do not try and run. If it is a trap, we expect you to help us defeat the enemy fleet and capture the installation. If it is not a trap, we expect you to deliver our marines so that they may secure the station."

Inukai had poured some of his own finest Saalian Brandy into three decanters, and set two of the decanters on the desk in front of teh two Renegade captains. He held his own in his hand. "In the event that this is a trap, we're offering you access to our outfitters so that you may be better prepared to combat ships of the Crescent." Inukai raised his glass to them and looked at them inquisitively.

Ascia hesitantly grasped one of the decanters and raised it towards Inukai's. Rex waited till Ascia had done so to brazenly manhandle his own decanter into the appropriate position. The Renegades downed their drinks in one swallow, and Inukai managed nearly the same. He'd been young and foolish at one point as well, and some things just always stuck with you.

<-> <->

After Ascia and Rex had been escorted out of the room to consult with the technicians about their ship repairs and upgrades, Inukai turned to the courier from Tibidat. "Winds are changing this deep in the South. The word is that the Renegades have fled the South Tip, and the Igadzra were responsible for chasing them off."

"Further proof that the Igadzra were becoming more active in our affairs," replied the only other occupant of Inukai's office.

"What's your name, boy?" Inukai asked, rubbing the calloused skin of his fingers slowly over the intricate workings of his empty decanter.

"Lieutenant Rendal Esta, sir."

"Well, Lieutenant Esta, I'm giving you your first squadron command. I think it'd be a good experience for you and for my own people if you were to lead some of our crewers in some... war games with your navy."

"Uh, sir? Oh, I mean, yes sir! I would be honoured." Inukai smiled slightly. The lad may not be the quickest, but he caught on pretty well.

"I'll draw up the orders to assign the squadrons to you and a message for you to carry back to your superiors. You may wait, if you wish."

"No, sir. I'll take my leave." No, not the quickest, but he's probably close to it. It stands him in good stead to understand unspoken orders.

<-> <->

Production: Completed 02.15.05

Production: Competed 02.16.05

Production: Completed 02.17.05

Production: Completed 02.18.05

Production: 1 RTD
-Produces 5 South Tip Warships

Nuclear Arms Program: Completed 02.17.05/2 RTD
-Miniaturized nuclear fusion warheads fitted to Pursuit Missile bodies
-4 Days for 1 kiloton warhead
-8 Days for 100 kiloton warhead

Nuclear Refit: 3 RTD
-Changes loadout on South Tip Warships
-Minus 50 Pursuit Missiles
-Plus 20 Nuclear-Tipped 1kt Pursuit Missiles
-Leaves 5 tons free space
-All newly constructed STWs shall be armed in this manner

ShipCount: NA
-40 South Tip Warships
-75 Aradas
-180 South Tip Fighters
-Akrayhek

Shipcount: NA
-5 South Tip Warships(sans atomic)
-60 South Tip Fighters
-Enroute to Tibidat, via Bakoom - Unobot - Duios

OOC: Control of characters not my own has been agreed to by Paranoid and Wing.

"Greg, what are Kjole and Razel?"

"With the facility project out of the way they locked themselves in their lab and began working on something..."

"On what exactly?"

"One would assume that it had something to do with creation a sythetic to mimic the properties of phase crystal, but they dragged-in several phase cannons, so I'm not so shure."

"Knowing Kjole, he probobly dreamed up a MTC conspircy that most Igadzra wouldn't think of. Its strange, but I almost pity Razel for being locked in a room with a guy crazier than I am when it comes to cookies."

"Indeed he is a lunitic, at least when it comes to the MTC, but his contacts are invaluable to our future plans--speaking of which, now that we have a proper spaceport you should go and order the creation of the beginnings of our tarkforce. Every moment we delay the more difficult it will be to pull our operations off."

"I'll get on it, 2 Laziras comming up!"
---
Ship Production:
2 Laziras
---
Fleet Status:

12 Crescent Fighters: Standing By
4 Aradas: Standing By
2 Miranu Couriers: Ferrying Equipment to Outpost T'akra
---
Research:

General Facilites Upgrade: Adds minimal outfitters (better than standard flea-market), and a small shipyard. Allows minimal retrofitting when nescessary.
ETA: -Done-

Phazed-Crystal Research (?): Kjole thought of a dastardly brilliant MTC sheme in his revenge-driven insanity. With any luck he and Razel will actually manage to create a synthetic from their limited resources; if not Kjole has lost it entirely.
ETA: -Unknown-

Battle of Stror

Once again Captain Dorja's flagship shuddered under the assault of the Igadzra fleet. As he watched the offensive strategy that he had been pursuing was collapsing as the Igadzra pulled their lines together and redoubled their defense. Another explosion shook the ship sending him flying from his command chair. It was as if everything had suddenly gone completely silent as Vehn Dorja picked himself up from the scorched deck. He looked around him and saw his bridge in flames, some of the crew were picking themselves up and manning their stations, the rest were probably dead. Coming to his knees Vehn saw that his helmsman had been knocked unconscious by the blast. The ship was drifting, and the Igadzra were moving in for the kill.

Ignoring the pain from what felt like a few broken ribs Captain Dorja pulled himself in front of the helm and and took the controls. He threw the throttle to full power, and coming about, aimed his ship straight for an Igazra moving to block his retreat. For the first time since the battle had begun, the Zidagar Paladin smiled. With the flip of a switch he activated a rally beacon, and the rest of his ships on his flank formed a triangular formation following his ship. Using all that remained of their hyperfuel the 15 Zidaras and all of the fighters that remained with him poured Phased Beam fire on the Igazras that stood between them.

At full speed they blasted through the Igadzra, leaving the flaming hulks of two Igazras behind them. The majority of them managed to escape, but several of their most heavily damaged ships hadn't been able to endure the punishment that the Igadzra had inflicted. The six remaining Zidaras from the opposite flank joined ranks with their brethren as they retreated towards New Zidagar.

Captain Dorja allowed himself to be relieved at the helm as emergency damage control teams managed to contain the last of the fires on his bridge. They'd managed to put a few minutes between them and the Igadzra, but it almost seemed pointless to do repairs. Every one of his ships had hull damage, none of them had any ammunition left, and they had just used the last of their fuel. As Dorja looked at the other ships in his fleet he could see some of them with entire sections of purple hull plating missing. In the next few minutes his entire command would be destroyed, and there was nothing else he could do to stop it, the Igadzra were just too many.

Vastan IV Citadel, Vastan System, Four Days Previously

"Yes, Sir, the fleet numbered 30 Igazras and 90 Igadza Aradas. With a fleet that size they'd be out of their minds to attack us here in Vastan... they must be going for the new colony in Stror."

The commander of Vastan IV's military headquarters, an aging Paladin with the scars of numerous ground campaigns, nodded his head thoughtfully. "There's no other explanation, the Igadzra aren't known for massing their forces just to redirect them somewhere else. It's too smart for them." He looked down at Flight Officer Norin, who hadn't had even the time to change from his flight suit before he'd rushed into the commander's office. "You are to be commended young Knight... with your foresight we may yet be able to save our brethren in Stror. You've earned a good meal and a night's rest son, I'll have you found some a better room than the barracks."

Norin met his commander's stare with a fierce passion burning in his eyes. He straightened his shoulders, ignoring the fatigue that he felt. "Sir... with all due respect, you need to find me a bay in one of the Zidaras you're sending to Stror, because there's no way in hell I'm staying here..."

Battle of Stror, Present

What remained of the torn, but not yet defeated defenders of New Zidagar had formed a defensive position and were prepared for their last stand. Their retreat had bought them a few more minutes, but the Igadzra were now poised at the edge of the planet's gravity well. Barely more than a dozen Zidaras remained of what had once been nearly fifty, against nearly four score Igadzra ships.

Captain Dorja's broken ribs burned with pain, and he was bleeding steadily from a gash over his right eye. At the moment, however he was concentrating on glaring at the looming Igadzra fleet. "Iggie bastards... why don't they just finish it. Surely we're not striking (i(that(/i) much fear into their cowardly hearts are we boys?" As if the Igadzra had heard his insult, the sensor officer reported that the Igadzra ships were powering up their engines.

"Well then... this is it. Helmsman, prepare to overload our engine core and set up on a collision course for their lead ship. I'll be taking their souls as prizes into the afterlife." The young officer turned to look at his captain, and seeing his fierce determination, entered his command presets. As he did, the Igadzra began to accelerate.

Closing his eyes, Vehn Dorja began to utter his final prayer. As he whispered the first words a tremendous cheer broke his concentration. Opening his eyes saw his bridge crew on their feet in celebration... and looking at his tactical display, he understood why. At the edge of the system an entire Zidagar warfleet had entered the system. Sixty Zidaras, and what looked like over two hundred fighters formed themselves into a united battle line, and began moving towards the Igadzra who had only moment been moving to wipe out Captain Dorja's weakened command.

The ponderous Igazras began to turn to face this threat, but they didn't accelerate. They weren't yet cut off from escape... but with the Zidagar approaching they would soon be surrounded.

New Zidagar Defenders
13 Zidaras (8 Destroyed)
27 Zidagar Fighters (38 Destroyed)

Zidagar Reinforcements
60 Zidaras
220 Zidagar fighters (120 Carried)

Igadzra Fleet
19 Igazras (2 Destroyed)
52 Igaras (7 Destroyed)

Director Mineaux grinned. It was time. The freighters had just finished their simple modifications.

In Emalghion, there were:
608 Fighters
387 Warships
356 Attack Drones
75 Explosive Drones
67 Rocket Drones
20 Freighters
100 Modified Freighters

Among these ships were two designations: the Alpha fleet, and the Beta fleet. 10 Warships and 80 Fighters jumped to DSN-4743. 20 Warships and 60 Fighters jumped to DSN-2061.

-----
DSN-4743
20 Warships and 60 Fighters entered the system with no warning. The 10 Interceptors had little time to respond as they were set upon by the ships. With the new, more accurate Thermite Emalgha Cannons set upon the Interceptors and smashed into them, the Thermite reaction inside each shell melting the Interceptors armor for a few moments before subsiding. 5 Interceptors were destroyed right off the bat, while the remaining 5 managed to escape, barely outrunning the fighters. Several minutes later, the Beta fleet entered the system, and the group of 20 Warships and 60 Fighters headed for Krraali.

-----
Krraali
The 20 Warships and 60 Fighters entered the system, chasing the 5 Interceptors. The Interceptors were quickly destroyed, but not before they managed to transmit the sensor readings of the ships to the station. All Emalgha ships fired their rockets at maximum range, aiming for the large mass of ships in between the station and the Emalghas. The Fighters made a quick round on the advancing Voinians, managing to take out 2 Frigates and 4 Interceptors, while only losing 7 Fighters. The 20 Warships and now 53 Fighters then fired another salvo at the Voinian fleet, then turned and accelerated. The fighters formed a defensive screen protecting the Warships.

-----
DSN-2061
As the 10 Warships and 80 Fighters entered the system, the 5 Interceptors were completely caught off gaurd. 4 were destroyed quickly, as the final Interceptor managed to escape. The Alpha fleet entered the system just as the 10 Warships and 80 Fighters were heading for DSN-7671.

-----
DSN-7671
The 10 Warships and 80 Fighters entered the system in time to see the 6 Interceptors jumping for escape. Again, the 30 Warships and 80 Fighters left the system, this time for Niot, just as the Alpha fleet entered the system.

-----
Niot
The 10 Warships and 80 Fighters entered the system, and immediately began firing rockets at the enemies Cruisers and Frigates. The Fighters ventured close up, but were repelled by heavy neutron fire. After firing a couple more salvos, the Fighters managed to destroy a single Frigate at the cost of 5 Fighters. The Fighters turn and accelerate, while the Warships provide covering fire in the form of many missiles.

----------
Kelmaon
4 Freighters depart for DSN-7625, and 4 depart for DSN-8200. Each carries supplies for building a very small colony. In 7625, the Freighters will use the new scanners to try to discover a new hyper route.

----------
Emalgha and UE negotiation furthers.

----------
Research and Development
UE-Emalgha Thermite Railgun (Dual-Research): ETA: 2 Days (Tuesday, February 22nd)

Advanced Interference Clearing Sensors: ETA: COMPLETE (Sunday, February 20th)

Emalghion Defense Platforms: ETA: COMPLETE 60 Platforms (2 Rocket Launchers+50 Rockets and 2 Thermite Emalghan Cannons each) now defend Emalghion.

Advanced Sensor Distortion System: ETA: PROJECT CANCELED

Emalghan Carrier: ETA: 5 Days (Friday, February 25th)

New Tech
UE Engine Modification:
In trade for the design of the Thermite Cannon, the UE have decided to let the Emalgha have the design of their engine. With some simple modifications, the faster, more efficient engines will installed at 100% productivity on Emalgha ships. ETA: 2 Days (Tuesday, February 22nd)

---------
OOC edit: I can't count days of the week, aparently

This post has been edited by grunadulater : 20 February 2005 - 04:22 PM

Actual story to be resumed at another time, hopefully tonight, by which time I will hopefully be able to make contact with the stand-in for the Voinians and the Rebel commander...for now, here’s the stats and tech.

------
United Earth Fleet and Construction
217 Carriers
833 Destroyers
1192 U.E. Fighters
700 Freight Couriers
100 Scoutships
Per Day: 5 Carriers, 23 Destroyers, 30 Fighters
Earth: 4 Carriers, 10 Destroyers, 20 Fighters (All work will be done temporarily on station construction.)
New Taranto: 2 Carriers, 13 Destroyers, 20 Fighters
Paaren: 3 Carriers, 10 Destroyers, 10 Fighters
United Earth Force Locations:
Grand Armada (Commanded by the Director)
57 U.E. Carriers
233 U.E. Destroyers
370 U.E. Fighters
Location: Dogover
Earth Force (Controlled by Admiral Rivers)
15 U.E. Carriers
22 U.E. Destroyers
78 U.E. Fighters
Location: Yelts
Defense Fleets:
Huron Fleet
10 U.E. Carriers
30 U.E. Destroyers
50 U.E. Fighters
Thoso Fleet
10 U.E. Carriers
33 U.E. Destroyers
50 U.E. Fighters
Valos Fleet
13 U.E. Carriers
35 U.E. Destroyers
60 U.E Fighters
Yandros Fleet
20 U.E. Carriers
50 U.E. Destroyers
100 U.E. Fighters
DSN-1810 Force
5 U.E. Carriers
10 U.E Destroyers
20 U.E. Fighters
Centauri Fleet
31 U.E. Carriers
138 U.E. Destroyers
162 U.E. Fighters
Saalia Fleet
13 U.E. Carriers
75 U.E. Destroyers
100 U.E. Fighters
Sol Defensive Fleet
48 U.E. Carriers
223 U.E. Destroyers
210 U.E. Fighters

---NEW PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT---
Ship refit. All ships that are not directly at eastern border worlds or engaged in battle with Rebel scum will mount Emalgha Thermite weapons. ETA: Two days. (Refit; free slot.)
Subspace Research Program. Will attempt to gain information on subspace (the level of space below realspace). ETA: Three days; amount of progress gained relative.
Station Refitting Program. All Stations will mount blaze turrets and increased shielding upon the development of this project, as well as five hunter missile launchers and a good load of one hundred hunter missiles, making stations formidable and capable of boosting the defense of a system heavily. (Refit; free slot.)
Paaren Station Relocation. This project will disassemble Paaren Station and rebuild it in Centauri’s sky. It will also bring Centauri Station (the result) into immediate service. ETA: Six days. (The material and basic design already exists. Earth Station was built from scratch.)
UE-Emalgha Thermite Railgun. ETA: See Grunadulater’s post and count to the present date...I’m not going to bother checking right now.
---PROJECTS FINISHED---
Earth Station. ETA: Finished. There is now a station that sits proudly above Earth.
U.E. space mine introduction program. Will re-introduce space mines. U.E.-generated space mines will be tossed into U.E. systems and U.E. border systems that are not currently occupied by the Voinians. All production in the Sol system will be devoted to producing space mines upon the completion of this project until further notice.
ETA: Finished. Space mines are being re-integrated with the U.E. defense program.

PROJECTS CANCELLED
Hypermine Railgun. Contact with the Emalgha resulted in a degree of coordination. Both sides agreed to go with a design slightly more classical and practical.

Kelmaon
Pael sighed. Currently, they had several days of food and water left. Swain was off trying to figure out how the hell the Construct worked, while Thornon was trying to make sense of some alien symbols on the wall. So far, neither of them had had any success whatsoever.

A while earlier, they'd tried to reactivate the Construct. As it warmed open, opened its door, and let them in, and had made a buzzing sound. Unfortunately, immediately after the buzzing sound came a sort of 'ding'. Instead of turning a full 180, the Inner ring went Counterclockwise 90 degrees and only let the out the door they came in. Swain suspected that there had been another cave in and that the door was blocked on the other side.

So there was nothing to do now but wait. Wait for the inevitable. The power on their second to last cell was almost gone; they'd scanned for miles to try and find life, but to no avail.

Was it a time machine? Was it a transporter? Did it just destroy everythng in the system except for the people inside? Pael held his head. What the hell was going on?

Krraali

In Krraali, the Emalgha were woefully underpowered for the fleet which they faced. Although the Emalgha managed to pick off a few ships that had strayed out from the main force, soon the entirety of the Voinian fleet was upon them. As Interceptors streaked forward, moving around to the sides, Heavy Fighters and Frigates charged the Emalgha directly as the Carriers deployed more heavy fighters to aid in chasing the fleeing Emalgha. The Carriers themselves defended the station, for they were too slow to catch up.

Outnumbered by interceptors alone, the Emalgha continued to flee, until they were attacked from three sides by hoards of Interceptors, Heavy Fighters, and soon Frigates as well. The fighters poured rockets into the helpless Emalgha ships, causing much havoc and destruction. Several warships exploded under intense rocket fire, as did over a dozen fighters by a hail of fast and accurate Neutron pulses.

Cerberus Warfleet
73 Cruisers
208 Frigates (4 lightly damaged)
330 Heavy Fighters (5 lightly damaged)
221 Interceptors (2 lightly damaged)
292 Heavy Fighters (carried ships)

Emalgha Fleet
11 Warships (9 destroyed, 5 heavily damaged, 6 moderately damaged)
31 Fighters (22 destroyed, 3 heavily damaged, 4 moderately damaged)

------

Niot

The result in Niot was much the same as it had been in Krraali. Although some fighters had gotten picked off, the Voinians quickly retaliated by launching fighters and giving chase to the fleeing Emalgha. The Voinians were slow, but the Emalgha weren't much better.

Closing in from free sides and under an unrelenting hail of Neutron and Rocket fire, the Emalgha suffered heavy losses as the Voinians continued to charge in...

Elysium Warfleet
46 Cruisers
115 Frigates (2 lightly damaged)
290 Heavy Fighters (5 lightly damaged)
225 Interceptors (3 lightly damaged)
184 Heavy Fighters (carried ships)

Emalgha Fleet
3 Warships (7 destroyed, 3 heavily damaged)
46 Fighters (29 destroyed, 19 moderately damaged)

------

Research Projects

Dreadnought Project -- 1 RTD

Rocket Warhead Upgrade -- 1 RTD

Rocket Speed Upgrade -- 2 RTD

Construction Projects

Krraali Outpost -- 1 RTD

------

Naval Statistics

Current Ship Count
(not counting losses in Dogover, including losses in Krraali and Niot)
251 Cruisers
868 Frigates
1435 Heavy Fighters
1066 Interceptors

Production (per RTD)
New vessels assigned to Niot and Krraali
8 Cruisers
28 Frigates
45 Heavy Fighters
40 Interceptors

Subjugation Fleets
Gualon, Gamur, Dyram
5 Cruisers ( 15 total )
15 Frigates ( 45 total )
25 Heavy Fighters ( 75 total )
20 Interceptors ( 60 total )

Armageddon Warfleet -- Dogover (not counting current losses)
95 Cruisers
440 Frigates
570 Heavy Fighters
460 Interceptors
380 Heavy Fighters (carried ships)

Perdition Warfleet -- Obron
25 + 5 Cruisers
60 + 25 Frigates
100 + 80 Heavy Fighters
100 + 70 Interceptors
(10 Interceptors are currently patrolling the Zator system)

Cerberus Warfleet -- Krraali
73 Cruisers
208 Frigates
330 Heavy Fighters
221 Interceptors
292 Heavy Fighters (carried ships)

Elysium Warfleet -- Niot
46 Cruisers
115 Frigates
290 Heavy Fighters
225 Interceptors

Other Ships
(10 Interceptors are currently patrolling the Bakka system)
(10 Interceptors are currently patrolling the Pokoren system)
(10 Interceptors are currently patrolling the DSN-9338 system)

This post has been edited by Captain Carnotaur : 20 February 2005 - 10:03 PM

Stror system

Executor Ithon's eyes widened as he watched the massive Zidagar fleet enter the system. He remained cold and silent for several long moments before giving the command. "Full power to shields! Lay in a course for Sirabor and engage immediately! Now!" he shouted, the orders frantically being relayed to the rest of the fleet, which seconds later simultaneously jumped out of the system and into Sirabor...

------

Ersadt System

Several days later, the exhausted 2nd Armada returned to the Ersadt system. Ithon dispatched a message to Central Command, informing them of the unfortunate defeat, and then ordering his men to take a rest from their hard work and to repair and rearm their vessels. Meanwhile, a handful of reinforcements were sent to reinforce Ersadt against a possible Zidagar retaliatory attack.

------

Igadzra Central Command

X'el sighed, reading the message from Ithon. "The attack failed. The Zidagar received massive reinforcements that Ithon was unable to deal with. He's retreated to Ersadt." X'el looked up at Asai, who was silent.

"The fool... He should have brought more ships."

"Ithon's a skilled leader. He did what he could with the ships he could," X'el replied, giving Asai a slightly unpleased look. "Send Shaei with the 3rd Armada to Innirian. The system is a vital military stronghold, and the Zidagar are gaining power on the border."

Asai gave X'el a slight glare, muttering something and turning around to give the order to Executor Shaei.

------

Groned system

Much to Ujo's relief, after several long days of the Igadzra fleet waiting in orbit, the Renegade forces on Groned surrendered. After some brief arrangements, Ujo and his guards met personally with the leaders of the military and wrote a treaty stating that the new Groned government, re-integrating the former renegades, would not make any offensive action against the Igadzra, and in return the Igadzra would respect their borders.

The renegade commander stood to leave the meeting room, as did Ujo, when suddenly the Igadzra officer spoke up. "I would also like to offer our services in rebuilding your facilities damaged in the Renegade withdrawal."

The commander turned around and blinked. "Help us?"

"Yes," Ujo replied.

"Help... us?"

"Yes," Ujo replied again.

The commander sighed and nodded slowly. "Very well... but no ground troops can be permitted to land on our world."

Ujo nodded understandingly. "Very well. We will send what economic aid we can to help you rebuild. As well, we would like to offer a trading pact to your government. This would further benefit your world, helping to grow and expand your economy. What do you say to that?"

The commander nodded again. "That is good... we could use it."

"I'm glad to hear it. Might you send us some merchant vessels to refuel our ships? We could use it before our trip back home."

"That can be arranged."

Soon after, the Igadzra vessels were refueled by a handful of remaining Groned ships, and then the fleet departed for Mordus. In the following days, Igadzra merchant Laziras would begin arriving, carrying the necessary supplies and raw materials to rebuild the badly damaged Groned infrastructure...

------

Hrinix system

In the Hrinix system, Ambassador Thael had been involved in some lengthy negotiations with the government there as well. Finally, she had secured a Trading Pact with the world, and was now heading back to Igadzra space. The Igadzra no longer needed permission for a base in Nifal, now that the imminent Renegade threat was over.

------

Research Projects

Halcyon Torpedo -- 2 RTD

PDS Battery -- 2 RTD

Igazra Upgrade -- 1 RTD

Construction Projects

Idzar'xada Super-Station -- Phase 1 -- 2 RTD

------

Naval Statistics

Current Ship Count (not counting losses in Stror)
289 Igazras
862 Igaras

Production (per RTD)
10 Igazras
30 Igaras

Defense Fleets
Igadzra, Ersadt, Innirian, Mark, Nujja, Mordus, Norhis, Motif, Feviry
20 Igazras ( 180 total )
60 Igaras ( 540 total )

1st Armada -- Mark
20 Igazras
60 Igaras

2nd Armada -- Ersadt
20 Igazras
60 Igaras

3rd Armada -- Innirian
29 Igazras
82 Igaras

4th Armada -- Groned (combined temporarily with the Norhis defense force)
60 Igazras
180 Igaras

This post has been edited by Captain Carnotaur : 20 February 2005 - 08:35 PM

Krraali
From every side, the Emalghans were being pummeled. There was no possibility of escape. It was all over. As another warship exploded, a message was broadcasted to the Voinians around the Emalghans.

"3..."

"2..."

"1..."

And then the sky erupted. Exactly 178 Fighters, 91 Warships, and 60 Freighters emerged from hyperspace directly in middle of the Voinian fleet that was surrounding the first Emalghans. Caught completely off gaurd, the Voinians lost 30 Frigates, 40 Heavy Fighters, and 30 Interceptors. The Emalghans, fortunately, were completely on gaurd, as they pummeled the Voinians in close range mercilessly with their Rockets and Thermite Emalgha cannons.

And then, the drones emerged from their freighters, which were clearly staying well out of the battlezone. Exactly 100 Attack Drones, 30 Explosive Drones, and 30 Rocket Drones spewed out. The attack drones, with their superior speed and turning capability, began attacking Interceptors and Heavy Fighters like there was no tomorrow. Rocket drones sat on the outside of the Frigates, constantly moving and firing their rockets, then going back to the Freighters to restock. Explosive Drones, particularly deadly, rammed into Frigates with great force, blowing off entire sections of the ships. Space was clogged with ships, and since every single drone looked exactly the same, the neutron turrets weren't quite sure what to shoot at to hit the Explosives. Out of the corner of their eyes, the captains of the Warships watched for the Cruisers to make sure they were safely and slowly trying to get from the station to the Voinians recovering from a shock that was sure to have caused at least one heart attack.

Fleet Losses:
Emalgha:
119 Fighters (53 Destroyed)
79 Warships (11 Destroyed)
67 Attack Drones (33 Destroyed)
14 Explosive Drones (12 Used, 4 Destroyed)
23 Rocket Drones (7 Destroyed)
10 Freighters (0 Destroyed)
50 Modified Freighters (0 Destroyed)

Voinians:
73 Cruisers (0 Destroyed)
159 Frigates (49 Destroyed)
200 Heavy Fighters (130 Destroyed)
107 Interceptors (114 Destroyed)
292 Heavy Fighters (carried ships) (0 Destroyed)
----------
Niot
In Niot, the situation was a little different. The surrounded ships simply went mad. The Fighters flew in any direction, even into the path of a Frigate or Interceptor squadren. The Warships began firing escape pods as the ships themselves smashed into Frigates. The Fighters fired their escape pods, and five seconds later, the sky was actually more on fire than it was in Krraali.

50 AI piloted Emalgha Freighters, each packed full of explosives, entered the system. The hulls of the ships began to glow and splinter as huge amounts of thermite began to react within their holds. At the moment when it seemed that their integrity was on the verge of total collapse, huge explosions ripped from their cores, spraying immense amounts of the superheated metal against the hulls of the Voinian ships. Dozens of fighters were immediately vaporized, and nearly a score of already damaged Frigates couldn't withstand the power of the explosion. Pieces of the burning Freighters also crashed randomly into Frigates, crushing their burning and melting hulls.

A few moments later, 1 second more than the reaction time had been calculated to (at 6 decimal places), exactly 338 Fighters, 277 Warships, and 10 Freighters entered directly where the freighters had. The weary Voinians, still shell shocked from the gargantuan explosion less than a minute earlier, were fired upon mercilessly with Rockets and Cannons. 156 Attack Drones, 45 Explosive Drones, and 37 Rocket Drones emerged from their parent freighters, which were staying far back, and began doing exactly what the Drones in Krraali were doing. Mineaux, aboard the flagship of the fleet, began laughing like a maniac, soon joined by most of the rest of the crew. Mineaux watched happily as the Cruisers tried as hard as they could to get to the battle zone faster.

Fleet Losses:
Emalgha:
311 Fighters (27 Destroyed, 46 Disabled then destroyed)
265 Warships (12 Destroyed, 3 Disabled then destroyed)
104 Attack Drones (52 Destroyed)
6 Explosive Drones (34 Used, 5 Destroyed)
25 Rocket Drones (12 Destroyed)
10 Freighters (0 Destroyed)
0 Modified Freighters (50 Used)

Voinians:
46 Cruisers (0 Destroyed)
59 Frigates (56 Destroyed)
212 Heavy Fighters (78 Destroyed)
113 Interceptors (112 Destroyed)
184 Heavy Fighters (carried ships) (0 Destroyed)

Thousands of Miranu colonists clapped enthusiastically as Governor Kitanu concluded his speech, officially declaring open the Miranu colony in the DSN-3930 system. As was the tradition during the colonization period from 500 to 300 YBP, the system had been re-named from its clumsy DSN- designation, re-christened in honor of the Governor who had led its colonization - from now on it would be called the Kitan system.

It was quite a sight to see - with the help of hundreds of ships, and tens of thousands of colonists working together, the Miranu had constructed a colony in a mere fraction of the time it took their ancestors to do the same three centuries ago. Looking out over the spires and arches of the newly-built city, the colonists couldn't help but feel a sense of true accomplishment, and a reminder of the amazing things that people can accomplish when they work together for the good of all.

---------

Meanwhile, a single Miranu Courier scanned the fringes of the Ji Nebula tentatively. It was the first ship to be outfitted with the newly developed Nebula Penetration Device - and this was the first test run. It had been nearly five hours, and the ship had moved only mere meters in that time. The crew was beginning to get bored.

The two Miranu on board had long since given up hope that the scanning would be anything fast - they'd resorted to passing the time with a Miranu board game that resembled chess - but incorproated both dice and cards as well. Single games had been known to last nearly a day; perhaps this was fortunate given the pace at which the scans were proceeding.

Lieutenant Shiaru pondered his next move carefully - his opponent had already taken nearly a third of his pieces, and he needed to play cautiously if he wanted any chance at victory. His thought was interrupted by a beep from the pilot's console.

"What's that?" his co-pilot asked.

"The Nebula Penetration Device must be working," Shiaru said, clearly a bit excited. "The navigation computer has located a hyperlane!"

"To where?"

"Somewhere to the northwest," Shiaru replied. "I'm laying in a course, and sending a message to Miranu command letting them know we'll be gone for a little while."

With that, the engines on the Courier began to glow, and it jumped out to the northwest, into a completely unexplored sector of space, the first ship to enter the Ji Nebula. What wonders it would find inside, and whether it would return safely... nobody knew.

---------

Research :

  1. Nebula Penetration Device - Complete (took 5 days)
    New Project: Explore the Ji Nebula (5 days, complete Feb. 25th)
  2. Open
  3. Zachit Slot - Reserved for RMA's use

"RIP IT UP!"

Yeager's repainted Helian rammed straight through a Krait and blasted its two companions back into space dust.

The descendant of the man who broke the sound barrier was considered to be somewhat insane, taking in the fact that he was both gregarious and a loner, needing companionship yet also needing time alone.

Not to mention the fact that he had several frozen and edible animals in his Helian's galley.

-----

"Pete, the Rens're retreating."

It was true. Each Renegade ship was desperately trying to head for the jump points, going to the nearest one.

Only several Turncoats and Krait fighter packs managed to escape; all the Helians were destroyed.

-----

The Seydlitz and its accompanying fleet landed back at Gribn, where Peter was called to a militia meeting in the bar.

He came into the bar, and immediately went over to a table where several high-ranking militia officials were sitting.

"...I've analyzed their IFF codes and matched them up with every single Renegade fleet we've encountered. None match up." one was saying.

Peter asked him, "What was the pattern of that code?"

"Reverse hexadecimal, bump on the seventh and multiples."

The color drained from his face. "Iothe militiamen."

"What?"

"They're militia from Iothe. These guys are corrupt, money-seeking, trader-annoying @$$holes who pirate for a living."

One milita officer nodded. "I'll contact the Iothe authorities, alert them of this new threat."

Peter called for a stein of Spatenbrau beer, tossing a coin to the bar.

----- -----
Research Projects:
1. Sensor Improvements (-10 Interference) Resumed ETA: 02/24/05
2. EMPTY

Yelts System
The United Earth fleet, under the command of the insane Admiral Rivers, continued its slow advance towards Gorky. Finally, on the bridge of the Mercury,Rivers snapped.
“Kill them all! I’m sick and tired of these needle missiles flying around blowing up ships in the invincible Earth Force!”
The U.E. ships obediently broke off from the Carriers, chasing after the Renegades. The slow Turncoats and Helians, try as they might to escape to continue firing their missiles, could not escape the fast U.E. Destroyers and Fighters. The mantis-shaped Turncoats blew up, one by one, as the faster U.E. Destroyers poured weapon fire into them, ignoring all of the needle missiles that emerged from the Kraits and Helians in support. At this point, the Fighters that had been sitting in the U.E. Carriers were launched. Fresh and ready for action, they swarmed out of their bays and joined the chase.The Renegade front started to collapse, their damaged ships being unable to match their fresh counterparts. Battered, but still capable, U.E. Destroyers pounded the Renegade Turncoats with their blaze turrets, while the “spent” fighters held off Kraits and the reinforcement fighters used their hunter missiles to effectively annihilate the remaining resistance. When Rivers called the ships back to rejoin the formation and the fighters in for repairs, it was a proud, albeit damaged, force that returned. The Renegade fleet, a shadow of its former self, would have to move quick, as the U.E. fleet started bombarding Gorky itself with blaze fire...
U.E. Losses:
8 U.E. Destroyers
38 U.E. Fighters
25 U.E. Fighters (Launched)
(Not yet processed)
Renegade Losses:
8 Turncoats (1 left)
10 Helians (4 left)
70 Needle Kraits (30 left)
All of the ground between the U.E. fleet and Gorky

-----
OOC: I would really prefer it if Carnotaur was to make the first “damaging” post in the battle of Dogover. It sets up some ground that I can work with...these battle posts are a pain to write.
------
United Earth Fleet and Construction
184 Carriers
701 Destroyers
945 U.E. Fighters
700 Freight Couriers
100 Scoutships
Per Day: 4 Carriers, 23 Destroyers, 30 Fighters
Earth: 4 Carriers, 10 Destroyers, 20 Fighters (All work will be temporarily done on gathering mines for the nearby systems; an average of 25 mines a day is collected)
New Taranto: 2 Carriers, 13 Destroyers, 20 Fighters
Paaren: 3 Carriers, 10 Destroyers, 10 Fighters
United Earth Force Locations:
Grand Armada
57 U.E. Carriers
233 U.E. Destroyers
370 U.E. Fighters
285 U.E. Fighters (Launched)
Location: Dogover

Earth Force
14 U.E. Carriers
10 U.E. Destroyers
45 U.E. Fighters (Launched; inside Carrier bays currently)
Location: Yelts

Defense Fleets:
Huron Fleet
10 U.E. Carriers
30 U.E. Destroyers
50 U.E. Fighters
Thoso Fleet
10 U.E. Carriers
33 U.E. Destroyers
50 U.E. Fighters
Valos Fleet
13 U.E. Carriers
35 U.E. Destroyers
60 U.E Fighters
Yandros Fleet
20 U.E. Carriers
50 U.E. Destroyers
100 U.E. Fighters
DSN-1810 Force
5 U.E. Carriers
10 U.E Destroyers
20 U.E. Fighters
Centauri Fleet
36 U.E. Carriers
148 U.E. Destroyers
162 U.E. Fighters
Saalia Fleet
13 U.E. Carriers
75 U.E. Destroyers
100 U.E. Fighters
Sol Defensive Fleet
48 U.E. Carriers
223 U.E. Destroyers
210 U.E. Fighters

---NEW PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT---
Ship refit. All ships that are not directly at eastern border worlds or engaged in battle with Rebel scum will mount Emalgha Thermite weapons. ETA: One day. (Refit; free slot.)
Subspace Research Program. Will attempt to gain information on subspace (the level of space below realspace). ETA: Two days; amount of progress gained relative.
Station Refitting Program. All Stations will mount blaze turrets and increased shielding upon the development of this project, as well as five hunter missile launchers and a good load of one hundred hunter missiles, making stations formidable and capable of boosting the defense of a system heavily. ETA: Two days. (Refit; free slot.)
Paaren Station Relocation. This project will disassemble Paaren Station and rebuild it in Centauri’s sky. It will also bring Centauri Station (the result) into service. ETA: Five days.
UE-Emalgha Thermite Railgun. ETA: See Grunadulater’s post and count to the present date...I’m not going to bother checking right now.

OOC: Bob, you stationed more ships in Dogover since the beginning of the battle. However, I'll let that slide, and just pretend my ships left, like, today, instead of a couple days ago, to account for the time delay.

------

Dogover

The battle began as the UE and Voinians began exchanging long range weapons fire. The UE got off the first shot with their hunter missiles, but at most half of the missiles made it through, and soon the Voinians responded with massive barrages of newly upgraded rockets, quickly dealing far more damage to the UE. As hundreds of rockets poured down onto the UE, the Voinians continued to charge in, tightening the noose. Their cruisers, the carried fighters already launched and beginning the attack, were guarded by frigates and other fighters to ensure the safety of the massive capitol ships.

The UE were caught in a crossfire from all directions. Many fighters were destroyed, unable to avoid the intense fusillade of rockets. Voinian launched fighters quickly returned to their motherships to rearm after having exhausted their supply of rockets.

Gatling turrets continued to blaze away, shooting down countless Hunter missiles fired at the Voinians. Not all of them could be stopped, however, and two frigates went down in flames. Another frigate, burning and near death, rammed itself into the hull of a United Earth destroyer, destroying both vessels instantly along with a nearby UE Fighter. A single Cruiser, taken down by the combined Hunter munitions of a dozen destroyers, exploded violently, although before it did the Voinian ships backed away and the cruiser charged an enemy fighter wing, destroying several fighters.

Hopelessly outnumbered, the UE formation began to become disorganized under the unrelenting hail. UE Carriers took many hits from rockets, slow and unable to evade the opposing munitions. A wall of weaponry of this magnitude would have been devastating regardless, but with the new warheads, the Voinians delt even greater damage. Their massive warships continued to close in, tightening the noose around the UE armada...

Armageddon Warfleet
Combined fleet of the Tartarus, Perdition, and Abaddon Warfleets
94 Cruisers (1 destroyed)
430 Frigates (10 destroyed)
550 Heavy Fighters (20 destroyed)
415 Interceptors (15 destroyed)
376 Heavy Fighters (carried ships) (4 destroyed)

United Earth Grand Armada
48 Carriers (9 destroyed)
195 Destroyers (38 destroyed)
300 Fighters (70 destroyed)
240 Fighters (carried ships) (45 destroyed)

------

Krraali

Colonel Hakona really wasn't sure why the Emalgha had attacked him with such an underpowered force. He hoped that Niot was not also under attack, for they were the lesser of the two northern fleets.

The Voinians soon regained from their initial shock, not having lost a single crewman to a heart attack, and the Emalgha were now caught in the middle of a massive Voinian fleet. Rockets rained in from all directions, and the inferior Emalgha vessels found that thermite cannons did not work well as armor.

As several more warships exploded violently, the carried fighters from the carriers moved around the flanks of the Emalgha line, then charged them from the rear, shooting a massive fusillade of rockets directly into the Emalgha fleet, then charged in to strafe with their neutron cannons before returning to their motherships to be reloaded.

While drones buzzed around the area, the Emalgha were also surprised by how effective Neutron weaponry really was. It was now considerably faster and much more accurate, and now the drones were being shot down in droves.

The carried fighters of the carriers had unleashed their barrage of rockets, and quickly returned to the carriers to be restocked, and soon after returned to the fray. By this time, however, the Cruisers were within rocket range, and were now bombarding the Emalgha from long range. Soon enough, they entered Neutron range.

"Move fighters and frigates to provide escort for our carriers. Pay particular attention to any drones you might see," Hakona ordered as a rocket detonated in front of his flagship, the Cerberus. It was a result of a gatling turret, which the Emalgha were also encountering for the first time. Half of the rockets that the drones and warships fired, if not even more, didn't get through. The cruisers were now being guarded by quite a few of the Frigates and fighters, who formed a protective screen against incoming rockets, as well as drones and the few modified freighters that remained.

Now that the Cruisers had joined the fray, the Emalgha were woefully undergunned against an enemy who now had them surrounded. Hakona ordered the fleet to regroup around the Emalgha, pulling ships out of the center and to the sides. More Emalgha vessels exploded as they came under the firepower of seventy-three massive Voinian Cruisers, who by themselves could have defeated the Emalgha force on their own, pouring in neutron and rocket fire upon the helpless Emalgha...

Cerberus Warfleet -- Krraali
73 Cruisers (0 Destroyed)
134 Frigates (24 Destroyed)
170 Heavy Fighters (30 Destroyed)
70 Interceptors (37 Destroyed)
292 Heavy Fighters (carried ships) (4 Destroyed)

Emalgha Fleet
40 Fighters (79 Destroyed)
32 Warships (47 Destroyed)
20 Attack Drones (47 Destroyed)
4 Explosive Drones (14 Used, 8 Destroyed)
10 Rocket Drones (13 Destroyed)
8 Freighters (2 Destroyed)
50 Modified Freighters

OOC: And yes, these numbers are accurate. Cruisers are massive, power, and I have 73 of them. I was also jumping the freighters with interceptors, as well as most of the carried fighters that I had, all fully armed with rockets. And yes, my neutron turrets are very accurate, and more than capable of shooting down your drones.

------

Niot

In the Niot system, however, the situation was different. Far outnumbered by the Emalgha, the Voinian commander, Major Hunok, faced a tough decision. His cruisers were just now entering weapons range, and were beginning to mercilessly pummel the Emalgha, taking out multiple drones, fighters, and warships.

Hunok sighed. He could retreat to Fridion, but that would mean sacrificing the Niot system. That couldn't be allowed. If the Emalgha were stopped here, Hunok knew they couldn't have enough ships in Emalghia to properly defend it against Krraali... he had to hold. No matter what.

"Patch me in to the entire fleet," Hunok ordered, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Voinian fleet, this is your commander. The Emalgha fleet cannot be allowed to continue on and wreak havoc among our worlds. Soon, the Cerberus warfleet in Krraali will be striking a crushing blow against the Emalgha. Fight on, soldiers of the empire! Fight to the death! Fight hard, and we will win this day!"

A cheer went up from the Voinian fleet, their crews now rallied to continue fighting. The Voinian ships went into a frenzy, fighting as hard as they could against the Emalgha, doing whatever it took to win the day.

With the arrival of the cruisers, the Voinians were cutting a deep swath into the Emalgha fleet. Frigates and fighters fought through the chaos to join the cruisers and reform the fleet formation. Now the gunners worked at their best, shooting down many drones with the new, more accurate neutron weaponry. As had been the case in Krraali, at most half of the rockets that were fired even made it through.

The Voinians fought on desperately, using the power of their cruisers to full effect. The Emalgha now had only a handful of Explosive Drones left, half of which were promptly shot down, the rest crashing into frigates. Any fighter that was near imminent death went on a suicide run and crashed straight into any nearby Emalgha vessel. Frigates, their cores near to overload and their hulls not much more than a burning wreak, smashed into warships before exploding. The tide was beginning to turn as the Voinians fought on valiantly.

A single cruiser, heavily damaged, cruised straight into a formation of Emalgha ships and exploded when its reactor went critical. Two other cruisers followed a similar example. The Emalgha ships were smaller with less powerful reactors and could never have the same effect. Any fighter that attempted to ram a Voinian vessel received concentrated rocket and neutron fire. Carried Voinian fighters quickly returned to their motherships to resupply their rocket ammunition before returning to the crazed fray as the battle raged on...

Elysium Warfleet -- Niot
43 Cruisers (3 Destroyed)
30 Frigates (29 Destroyed)
140 Heavy Fighters (72 Destroyed)
70 Interceptors (43 Destroyed)
172 Heavy Fighters (carried ships) (12 Destroyed)

Emalgha Fleet
190 Fighters (121 destroyed)
220 Warships (45 Destroyed)
50 Attack Drones (54 Destroyed)
0 Explosive Drones (3 Used, 3 Destroyed)
10 Rocket Drones (15 Destroyed)
8 Freighters (2 Destroyed)

------

Research Projects

Dreadnought Project -- DONE

Rocket Warhead Upgrade -- DONE

Rocket Speed Upgrade -- 1 RTD

Hull-mounted Rockets -- 3 RTD (needs to be cleared with Ipvy)

Systems Upgrade -- 5 RTD (already cleared with Ipvy)

Construction Projects

Krraali Outpost -- COMPLETED

Shipyard Upgrade -- 6 RTD -- A general upgrade to Voinian shipyards, allowing them to build two more frigates per RTD. (still need to talk this over with Ipvy)

------

Naval Statistics

Current Ship Count
(not all losses counted in... it's kind of confusing, so i'll update it after the battles are over for accuracy)
256 Cruisers
784 Frigates
1258 Heavy Fighters
912 Interceptors

Production (per RTD)
New vessels assigned to Romit
8 Cruisers
28 Frigates
45 Heavy Fighters
40 Interceptors

Subjugation Fleets
Gualon, Gamur, Dyram
5 Cruisers ( 15 total )
15 Frigates ( 45 total )
25 Heavy Fighters ( 75 total )
20 Interceptors ( 60 total )

Armageddon Warfleet -- Dogover (not counting current losses)
95 Cruisers
440 Frigates
570 Heavy Fighters
460 Interceptors
380 Heavy Fighters (carried ships)

Perdition Warfleet -- Obron
25 Cruisers
60 Frigates
100 Heavy Fighters
100 Interceptors
(10 Interceptors are currently patrolling the Zator system)

Cerberus Warfleet -- Krraali
73 Cruisers (0 Destroyed)
134 Frigates (24 Destroyed)
170 Heavy Fighters (30 Destroyed)
70 Interceptors (37 Destroyed)
292 Heavy Fighters (carried ships) (4 Destroyed)

Elysium Warfleet -- Niot
43 Cruisers (3 Destroyed)
30 Frigates (29 Destroyed)
150 Heavy Fighters (62 Destroyed)
70 Interceptors (43 Destroyed)
172 Heavy Fighters (carried ships) (12 Destroyed)

Reinforcement Group -- Romit
8 Cruisers
28 Frigates
45 Heavy Fighters
40 Interceptors

Other Ships
(10 Interceptors are currently patrolling the Bakka system)
(10 Interceptors are currently patrolling the Pokoren system)
(10 Interceptors are currently patrolling the DSN-9338 system)

This post has been edited by Captain Carnotaur : 21 February 2005 - 06:37 PM

At last, the Igadzra had completed their much needed upgrade to the design of the legendary Igazra. The new ship now had improved shielding, maneuverability, and a faster shield recharge rate. Immediately, all Igazras in the fleet were ordered to be upgraded to the new design.

With the completion of the project, however, a new one had immediately been started to give the Igadzra navy a little extra edge. It was an Equipment Miniaturization project aimed at downsizing many generalized components of Igadzra technology, allowing room for additional equipment and weaponry to be outfitted on their vessels.

Meanwhile, the Northern Border with the Zidagar was further reinforced by additional warships sent to Ersadt from Igadzra shipyards.

------

Research Projects

Halcyon Torpedo -- 1 RTD

PDS Battery -- 1 RTD

Igazra Upgrade -- COMPLETED

Equipment Miniaturization -- 4 RTD (pre-approved)

Construction Projects

Idzar'xada Super-Station -- Phase 1 -- 1 RTD

------

Naval Statistics

Current Ship Count
299 Igazras
892 Igaras

Production (per RTD)
(ships assigned to Ersadt)
10 Igazras
30 Igaras

Defense Fleets
Igadzra, Ersadt, Innirian, Mark, Nujja, Mordus, Norhis, Motif, Feviry
20 Igazras ( 180 total )
60 Igaras ( 540 total )

1st Armada -- Mark
20 Igazras
60 Igaras

2nd Armada -- Ersadt
30 Igazras
90 Igaras

3rd Armada -- Innirian
29 Igazras
82 Igaras

4th Armada -- Mordus (combined temporarily with the Norhis defense force)
60 Igazras
180 Igaras

This post has been edited by Captain Carnotaur : 21 February 2005 - 12:34 PM

OOC:Post to be editted with something to read tomorrow morning. Having trouble putting stuff together.

============

Research

Zachit
MPM Enhancement
ETA:Complete 18/02 - 21/02

Miranu
Electronic Counter Measures
ETA:Complete 14/02 - 21/02

Zachit
Refit
ETA:2 days 21/02 - 23/02

Miranu
Refit
ETA:1 day 21/02 - 22/02

(- Akrhista, Dirach -)

Zosen’s eyes opened slowly, blinking at the painful fluorescent lighting of the small, clinically bare room. It was not the first time he had awoken in the seven weeks since his accident, but it was the first time he was anywhere near coherent. His head throbbed dully, and he felt drained, yet as he twisted his head to look at himself, he realised with some surprise that he was in one piece.

Wincing at the surprising pain that moving his head had brought, he let his head fall back onto the bed. He sensed a presence at the other side of the room - sensed more than saw, for his eyesight was strangely blurry.

“About time, Rhuikadar,” a low voice murmured softly, his voice not impatient despite his words. Zosen tried to reply, but found that his throat was parched - he felt dehydrated. As if sensing his need, the Azdgari Zosen had sensed stood and crossed over to Zosen’s side, appearing as a dark blur against the white of the walls. The blur offered him a clear liquid in a spherical container with a long stem, and Zosen lifted his left arm - thankfully still attached - to take it. His limbs felt weak, and he almost dropped the flask before steadying himself and forcing himself to sit up and drink.

As he did, he felt his vision clearing, and the blur was confirmed as Chyi-Azhar, standing motionless by his side, regarding him without expression. His mentor, Chyi-Azhar had raised him from infanthood and taught him in the ways of the Azdgari. He had shown no excess of compassion in the years he had mentored Zosen, his hand firm but reasonable. It was almost a surprise that he was here.

“You have been here for seven weeks,” Chyi-Azhar offered while Zosen contained to quench his thirst. Nahari was not one to waste time with niceties - he knew what Zosen needed to know and was telling him it. “Your rank is 6583 - you lost thirty six positions while in a coma. I’m sure you will soon catch up.” That was not flattery - his mentor was indeed confident he would catch up. And would be disappointed if he didn’t do so immediately. Ever since Zosen’s foolish claim that he would achieve the highest level of Azdgari and become a ki’dhasa , Chyi-Azhar’s attitude had changed. If Zosen expected to become one of the five hundred Azdgari in the highest band of the Index, then Chyi-Azhar would see it done, and be disappointed if he failed. It was a peculiarity amongst Azdgari that failure was failure, no matter how high you aimed. If you aimed too high and failed, you were still a failure no matter how high you had in fact achieved.

Zosen managed a nod, and tested his throat. It felt better. “Close race,” he replied with the faintest of smiles.

Chyi-Azhar’s face remained emotionless... Evidently he was not amused. For whatever reason, however, he chose not to begin the lecture that no doubt he had been working on for the better part of seven weeks. Zosen had been foolish. In the last second of the race, he had rolled his Azdara aside to try to pass his mentor, without realising that Chyi-Azhar had not rolled into his path to block him, so much as to avoid the fact there was no other path - Zosen had instinctively, without thinking, rolled straight into a rockface. He had been far, far too hasty, and it had nearly cost him his life.

“ Ki’dhasai do not make such mistakes, child,” Chyi-Azhar said, recognising where his thoughts had led him.

“I’m not there yet, Chyi-Azhar... Give me time.”

Chyi-Azhar shook his head then, almost imperceptibly. “Your time is now. Hiatsa said you will need another two weeks to rest up completely before returning to an Azdara - a new Azdara, if you can afford a replacement to the Raniras. You have that long. After that, you’re coming with me.”

Zosen blinked. “What has happened...?” Clearly there was battle - Chyi-Azhar’s tone indicated it.

“Hyaishi, Yain, Sai-Varitair and Hyaanl have called for increased activity against the lesser ones,” Chyi-Azhar explained, sitting down on a stool nearby. He eyed his left arm, which was left bare by his outfit. He often dressed so, to reveal the massive wound across his arm which a Zidagar had dealt to him some years ago. It wasn’t so much that he was proud of it, but that he liked to remind people that those the Azdgari so casually called ‘the lesser ones’ were worthy of fighting. It was something he rarely argued, but was well known for feeling. “Preparations are continuing, I believe, but within a few more weeks we shall begin raiding once more. Heavily.”

“I’ll be ready for the time,” Zosen said with a slight grin. This was good news indeed. Zosen had never fought the lesser ones before. In the Raniras , he had never been in a real fight - simulated fights and races had been his limit. Zosen blinked then in surprise. You’re coming with me. He would be flying in Chyi-Azhar’s personal squadron?

He voiced his thoughts, and almost wished he hadn’t when his mentor responded at first with a cold stare, filled with an anger clearly not meant for him but arisen by his question. “Yes, you are. That child Hyaishi has organised the squadrons and warbands personally... a travesty. Runar and you will fly with me, as well as two other Azdgari - a young ai’kaita who is called Ka-ruul, and Azhaurai, who I’m sure you’ve heard of-...”

Azhaurai. An Azdgari of barely twenty two years - only three years older than Zosen. And supposedly a legend in the making. His mentor had been Kyhaan himself, but when Kyhaan had died fourteen years ago, the ki’dhasai Dhiryan had continued his training. Dhiryan was a close rival of Chyi-Azhar, and Azhaurai was, by his own mentor’s regarding, an Azdara pilot with far more promise. Unlike Zosen, Azhaurai had fought the lesser ones, once - a Zidagar patrol. He had acquitted himself well in the skirmish - destroying four fighters and finishing a Zidara. His first fight.

Zosen’s eyes narrowed then as he went over the names again. “Squadrons consist of six, do they not? You and I, Runar and Azhaurai, and Ka-ruul... makes five.”

Again, Zosen knew immediately he shouldn’t have said anything. But he continued anyway, awake enough now to have regained his sense of stubbornness. “What is it, Chyi-Azhar?”

“The sixth pilot is called Isa,” Chyi-Azhar responded after a minute, his eyes dark and disapproving.

“An odd name... I assume it’s an honorary then?” Zosen still lacked an honorary name, and by the sound of it he would be the only one of the pilots in Chyi-Azhar’s squadron who was in that position.

“Indeed. I did not recognise it, so I contacted some old friends... who have studied Ancient to the point that they can write in it almost fluently, a rare talent for a language so long dead,” Chyi-Azhar said, “And I found something horrifying. Isa is in fact a mythical concept, an ancient deity in an two thousand year old story that founded a small religion of sorts, which died not long after. The interesting and horrifying thing is, Isa was a goddess.”

“A goddess...?” Zosen repeated with surprise. Oh, such religions had appeared occasionally, but always died off - Azdgari generally weren’t overly concerned with such fantastical beliefs and religions tended to be either private, or last no longer than a generation. The ones that considered the azdhara to be an equal to the Azdgari - those that viewed the feminine as equal to the masculine - were greatly disapproved of. “But why would anyone-”

“Isa is an azdhara. Hyaishi has assigned a whore to my squadron.”

----------------

(- A research facility, Xarnes -)

It had been over eight weeks since Vakhys had officially started work on the subdimensional research which the Council of War had funded him to make a weapon from. Xiaan and Karyd were still stalking him closely, and no doubt passing every message on to the Azdgari who had sent them. In his frustration, Vakhys had traced a few messages and found out who that was - to his near horror. Katarychian Soran Yain had sent them... One of the top four Azdgari members in the Council of War, and an Azdgari infamous for his murderous nature.

Since then, Vakhys had been concentrating so heavily on the applications of his new dimensional theories that he had barely been sleeping at all for the past eight weeks. The last four days had been spent in a research facility on Xarnes he had expected to spend no longer than six hours at.

Vakhys cursed, uttering a combination of Ancient and Common so finely intertwined that he was probably the only Azdgari alive who could make any sense of it. His eyes were heavy and his patience was gone. He angrily threw his fist at the only thing someone like Vakhys could safely throw his fist at - an expensive supercomputer he had bought with the funding from the Council of War.

Out of nowhere, a hand appeared to catch it. Vakhys was momentarily taken aback by the speed at which this Azdgari had entered an empty chamber, and then was too busy receiving a swift elbow to the jaw. He fell backwards with a cry, and was caught by another roughly.

“That will not help anyone,” the white-robed Azdgari Vakhys thought was Xiaan, more from how he stood than any telling difference in his face, uttered. His features were cold, and his voice low and smooth. Karyd still held Vakhys, his nails digging into Vakhys’ flesh with the sort of casual cruelty he had come to expect out of these two. Especially lately - they had been losing patience. “I do hope you are making progress, Vakhys.”

“You try phasing one million kilograms of matter into an unstable subdimension without collapsing it immediately back into realspace,” Vakhys retorted, turning his head to curse in Ancient at Karyd, as he was beginning to feel that his blood was surely staining his clothes where the ruthless Azdgari held him.

Xiaan’s lack of response by way of physical violence came as a surprise to Vakhys. Instead, he merely smiled slightly, and nodded to Karyd, who immediately go of Vakhys and took two steps to stand by Xiaan’s side.

“Nonetheless, a result is expected within four weeks from now. And by a result,” Xiaan paused, indicating Vakhys’ extremely cluttered workstation, “We want a weapon. Not a theory. Doubtlessly, your new dimensional theories are revolutionary pieces of work, but you are being funded to create a weapon. Remember that.”

The two of them walked off then, to leave, with Vakhys having to almost jump out of their way to prevent them from walking straight into them. Just before they left, however, the shaken scientist worked up the nerve to speak.

“I can’t make a weapon out of this, curse it,” Vakhys muttered loud enough for them to hear. “I’m working on its applications as a hypercube - a subdimensional container for masses. In a few months or a year, perhaps... The potential to create antimatter and store it within a subdimension, could herald an entirely new age of technology... A new era , and then you would have all the weapons you wanted. But there is no weapon now. None.”

He realised that Xiaan and Karyd had stopped, but had not moved at all. He began to fear he had crossed a line, and took a step backwards. After a moment, Vakys could hear that Kayrd was chuckling.

“One of your sponsors is coming to oversee your work, Vakhys. He will be here in a matter of hours. You may have heard of him,” Karyd said softly.

“His name is Yain,” Xiaan finished for him, and the two of them walked out of the chamber, leaving Vakhys alone as a sudden wave of fear ran through him.

----------------

After typing in a series of commands and initiating the simulation for the seventh time, Vakhys glimpsed through it again and smiled slightly. Seven times in a row, it’s working. This was good - very good.

It had only been two hours since Xiaan and Karyd had left him with news that Yain was coming, and spurred on by a deep fear, he had returned to his work and had already experienced an epiphany of sorts. After making some sweeping changes to the basic design of what he was coming to call a subdimensional phaser - a very, very primitive version of one, anyway - he had managed to make it work. The device was capable of transferring matter into an artificial subdimension without destabilising it completely.

Allowing himself to fall into a nearby chair - his favourite chair, in fact, brought from his house - Vakhys smiled and contented himself on mental congratulations on his own genius. He had already devised the device to create such a dimension, which he had called a Vakhys-chamber, and he was working on building a proto-hypercube of sorts... But that would be the most difficult venture, and the last. The three components of the entire system - the Vakhys-chamber to generate the subdimension that would be contained in the hypercube, and the subdimensional phaser to transfer mass into the hypercube. In another week, he could start building the entire system properly, as progress had been accelerating as of late.

Vakhys took another sip of a rare Miranu wine that had been imported some years ago in the good old Azdgari way. There were Azdgari wines, of course, but he much preferred the more refined taste of the foreign stuff. This one was a dark purple and was tremendously damaging to the clarity of one’s mind. Vakhys was also notable for a very low tolerance for any alcoholic substances, and so he used drinks like this tirasa to congratulate himself for his achievements, and then he restricted himself to a few sips at most.

There was a single beep, a hollow, insistent sound. It was followed by two more beeps, equally spaced, and then silence. Carefully putting his glass of tirasa down, Vakhys frowned at his workstation. The probability of finding out what had make that irritating beep was quite low, as there were about thirty devices within his sight which were capable of making such hollow insistent beeps, and unfortunately in most cases they seemed to be inclined to do so.

The three beeps repeated after about twenty seconds, and Vakhys suddenly realised what it was - the door! His head was surely in the clouds to have not-...

Of course, a visitor at this time could only be one person. Jumping to his feet, Vakhys literally ran across the chamber to allow the expected visitor in, fearing he’d already be annoyed for having been kept waiting.

----------------

Yain was completely unimpressed by the scrawny, pathetic excuse for an Azdgari whose mere existence seemed to be an insult. Hyaishi had said he would be useful, but as far as Yain could see, he was a worthless waste of time. Almost immediately upon coming face to face with Vakhys, these were the conclusions he drew. It was a wonder Xiaan and Karyd hadn’t killed him already.

An uncomfortable moment passed, and Yain wondered why Vakhys hadn’t offered any sort of introduction. His small, dark eyes seemed stricken by... What was it? Ah, fear. An emotion Yain had seen in the eyes of many, ever since his old name, Soran, was replaced by Yain after that incident years ago.

The tall, strange-eyed Azdgari indicated Vakhys’ new laboratory with one hand, a small, slow motion. Nonetheless, Vakhys reacted ever so slightly, a slight narrowing of the eyes, the tiniest example of a flinch. Yain noticed it immediately. “Show me,” he said simply.

The guided tour was a silent one on Yain’s part, with Vakhys talking quickly. Apparently he had spent his three hours’ warning preparing what he was going to say - or at least he seemed so. He spoke extremely quickly and, impressively for someone with such poor composure, rarely stuttered. In reality, Yain was taking the opportunity to measure up this interesting specimen as much as he was listening to what he was saying. Vakhys took it for granted that Yain would understand none of his tour, so there was little point bothering himself by listening intently.

Vakhys’ tour took about an hour, making a slow circle around the entire facility. From what Yain did listen to, it was reasonably impressive - apparently Hyaishi’s faith in this creature to develop advanced technology was at the least not misplaced. But still, Yain’s fingers twitched with the urge to destroy him, so much did his pathetic nature annoy him.

“...So, as you see, everything is underway and will be complete within about four weeks, I’d imagine. Hypercubes, dimensional phasers and my hypercube generators will all be ready then. The phasers can be fitted onto Arada’s, quite possibly...” Vakhys paused. “I realise it’s not the weapon you asked for, but-...”

“It is,” Yain replied, his silver and bronze eyes observing what appeared to be a blueprint on a table as he spoke. He could barely stand to look Vakhys in the eyes - if he did so for any significant period of time he would kill him, and that was foolish at least until this project was finished. “I am satisfied.”

Vakhys smiled openly - Yain couldn’t quite see it, but he could sense it anyway, he knew. “If I might add, those two you have watching me... they, ah, really aren’t entirely necessary.”

Yain didn’t move at all. Interesting. He doesn’t like my colleagues... I wonder why ever not? “If you wish them to leave you alone, then challenge them and defeat them,” he offered casually. He glanced at Vakhys briefly, whose eyes had widened. He muttered something in a language Yain didn’t understand... Ancient, by the sound of it. He can speak Ancient? This Azdgari... Is indeed an interesting creature.

“I was wondering if perhaps you could ask them to leave me alone - I would work far faster without there, ah, interruptions,” a reply in a more familiar language came eventually, worded very carefully.

Their eyes met, and Yain lost patience. Driving his palm into Vakhys’ chest, he sent the smaller Azdgari flying several metres, skidding along the smooth floor almost comically. He had an urge to follow up, but resisted it, and waited patiently as the scientist stood. He blinked. Vakhys was not standing - he lay curled up on the floor, still and silent. He must be used to Xiaan and Karyd toying with him. I don’t pull my hits.

“Believe me. Better them than I,” Yain said levelly, as if nothing had happened. Vakhys groaned then, but still remained motionless. There was no way he could be this hur-...

Yain was surprised at how little time he had to react. He sidestepped neatly a fraction of a second before the laser burnt through where his hand had been a moment before - any less warning and he would’ve been burnt. Vakhys stood then, the laser weapon in his hands acquired, no doubt, from some dusty pile of equipment underneath the table. He held the weapon in both hands, and his eyes seemed actually quite angry.

“ Kelorah as tor’ha dumai ,” Vakhys muttered harshly.

Yain offered the faintest glimpse of a smile. “Close,” he said after a moment. “You have at least proven to have a backbone. I admit it: you are not as low as an azdhara. Not quite.” Vakhys continued to hold the weapon, however, and didn’t seem keen on talking. He took a step forward, then, as if threatening him.

A soft laugh met his threatening gesture. “Your foolish actions gained you some respect. Do not ruin that by inviting Death so openly.” In the briefest of instants, Yain moved forward and removed the laser pistol from Vakhys’ hands... but refrained from going further, instead letting the pistol drop to the floor.

“That hurt, you bastard...” Vakhys said finally, looking down at his stomach as if his pain was somehow tangible.

“That was nothing, try failure,” Yain replied quietly. The last word seemed to hover in the air for a second longer. “Nonetheless, I am almost as impressed by your progress as your backbone. Four weeks. Develop both to an acceptable level and I will not kill you.”

----------------

There are thousands of worthier Azdgari who would not have fired at me... Perhaps ignorance drove his actions, or have Xiaan and Karyd driven him to the edge of his reason? Either way, he has earnt some small respect. Perhaps I shall make a game of this. How much backbone is he willing to show... Before it snaps?

----------------

(- Terapin -)

A lone Azdara entered the Zidagar system of Terapin, immediately scanning the area and sending messages to Molar, Morin and the Azdgari moons, as well as privately to the four principal members of the Council War, regarding the fleet composition of the system and all other anomalies in the system. The scan took only a fraction of a second, and then the Azdara disappeared from the system without slowing down, entering hyperspace almost immediately due to the Azdgari hyperdrives that after five weeks had been researched and outfitted on all Azdgari ships(*).

The Zidagar had of course known of its arrival, as Leka had been occupied by both Azdaras and Zidagar fighters, the former at least permanently on evasion courses and more than capable of keeping a distance from any other ship in existence. However, due to the large area of hyper-exits, catching the Azdara once it entered had become a difficult task, far more so due to the Azdgari hyperdrive. The probability of an Azdara on such a journey being destroyed was very small indeed.

This was the first of a series of scans, that over the next seven days would occur in: Qerid; Fluron; Plogok; Mark; Nujja; Mordus; Norhis and Motif.

_OOC: From now on, each RTD these scans will be repeated. Could Ipvicus and Carnotaur please speak with me if they want to make a case for heightening probability of destroying the Azdara - I can’t do these scans on a case-by-case basis so we’ll do it generally, and I’ll lose a %age of the Azdaras I send. If you update your technologies to raise your chances, then again, speak with me. Also, if and when Diudir, Apert and Muid cease to be Azdgari outposts, Motif, Norhis, Mordus, Nujja, Fluron and Qerid will only be scanned every 2 RTDs.

(*) The 5-day project was moderated to 3 days by Ipvicus. I kept 5 days, but included 2 days for outfitting._

----------------

R &D
The Azdgari Hyperdrive, inc. refits, was completed at 5/5 on 16/02/05.
The Level 4 Shielding, not inc. refits, was completed at 7/7 on 18/02/05.
As I missed some time, two other projects were started and will be explained on the OOC thread. I’m also very sorry that only Vakhys’ research has been talked about in my posts so far - I reach about seven pages and am tired out and never get to the fundamental stuff.

Subdimensional Research, Stage One: Hypercube Project
10/12 days.

Graviton Impulse Drive (Model: I-1)
5/8 days.

Phase Stealth Field
3/9 days.

Azdgari Hyperdrive (5/5, complete 16/02/05.)
Level 4 Phase Shielding (7/7, complete 18/02/05.)

---------------

Azdgari Fleet

Fleet: 2600 Azdaras, 680 Azdgari Aradas, 150 Azdgari Warships, 600 Freight Aradas.
Production: 140 Azdaras, 23 Azdgari Aradas.

Tollb: 1500 Azdaras, 250 Azdgari Aradas.
Molar: 500 Azdaras, 210 Azdgari Aradas, 80 Azdgari Warships.
Chak: 380 Azdaras, 160 Azdgari Aradas, 70 Azdgari Warships.
Muid: 30 Azdaras, 10 Azdgari Aradas.
Diudir: 30 Azdaras, 10 Azdgari Aradas.
Apert: 30 Azdaras, 10 Azdgari Aradas.
Raigar: 70 Azdaras, 30 Azdgari Aradas.

60 Azdaras are said to be involving in scanning and patrolling.

Patrolling... DSN-2298, DSN-9041, Novish, Racet, Karra, Funit, Reban, Kacca, Calb, Elridi, DSN-2143, DSN-1273, Elder, Dafi, Emnin, Dirach, Lontri, Toi, Plate, Kade, Tinar, Meagh, Azdgari, Leka, Kelmaon, Marafey, DSN-682, DSN-2189, DSN-8204. (Every system I can access.)

Scanning... Qerid, Fluron, Plogok, Terapin, Mark, Mordus, Nujja, Norhis, Motif.

Note that ships on scans will leave immediately. Ships on patrols will remain several lightminutes from hyper-exits and keep that distance from any ships in the system, where several lightminutes = far out of the range of any existing weaponry.

Society Hall, Capital Complex, Tibidat

He’d been called before the Society many times before. It wasn’t in the least bit unusual, but he was seldom nearly this nervous. Then again, the Society had never come under the public scrutiny that seemed so common. “

“Gręthul Urvön you shall enter now.” The giant creature pushed himself away from the wall and stood up to his full height before entering the deliberation chamber. He stood calmly and looked over the other seven occupants of the room. They came from all the Strands, but some were more heavily represented then others.

The Azdgari spoke in an imperial tone that seemed to fit him very poorly. “Gręthul, you made the decision to send Kitra to the Igadzra as an emissary.”

“Yes, I did.” Urvön was uncomfortable having Nosh address him. Nosh was probably the most dangerous member of the Society even though the faction he led was relatively small.

“You realize that Kitra collaborated with the Igadzra.”

“I do not believe she did, she left full reports available and the Igadzra’s actions corroborate her story. Her negotiation skills saved us from annihilation.”

“She did not tell the whole story in the reports.”

That was very peculiar; Kitra was as honest a creature as he’d ever come across. She would willingly kill you if you were against her without remorse, but she’d never lie or cheat for anyone. “Then what is the whole story?”

“She will not tell us.” One of the Igadzra spoke this time. He was clearly slightly irritated that another member was withholding information, especially one of his own race.

“In that case, why have I been called before you?”

One of the Zidagar jumped out of his seat. “She’s close to you. She’d tell you anything if you asked, just get the information from her.”

Urvön turned to the seat where Kitra sat silently. He didn’t like exploiting their close alliance like this, but he didn’t have much choice if he wanted to keep his job. “Kitra, what aren’t you telling them?”

She put her hands down on the bench in front of her and pushed herself up. She looked very tired, but that was only to be expected. She’d lost more than most of them even had in the previous days. “I gave them all the information that was relevant to negotiations. Anything else that might have happened was of a personal matter and had no influence on anything.”

Nosh stood up as well, and scowled across the room at the Igadzra. “Any collaboration with the enemy relates to us. They are our enemy and the ‘peace talks’ that you held damn you more than enough. You and your pet Commander as well.”

An elder Igadzra also stood himself up, he was actually the last remaining founding member of the Society, Pitra. “You think that we could defeat the Directorate with our present forces? You already lost that vote, and as far as I can tell you’re just wasting our time with these games. Do something or we’ll move on to the next issue.”

The Azdgari sneered at the Igadzra and then towards everyone else in the room. “I propose that we neuter this damn fool Commander and put someone who’s actually willing to fight in his place.”

The Commander looked around the room, the Zidagar looked like they were agreeing with Nosh, but the Igadzra were definitely going to back Urvön. That left only the one half-breed who’d managed to gain power and he would never vote to get rid of one of his own kind. Nosh was foolish to even call this to a vote.

“Very well Yetraitnoshkaresa. The issue at hand is the replacement of the military commander. Vote.” The few who were standing sat back down and all the members pressed spots on the table before them. A count appeared in the center.

“Three for removal, three for acquittal, one abstention. I don’t believe our commander will be going anywhere, besides back to work. Thank you for your time Commander Gręthul.”

“I am always willing to pay my dues to the Society.” Urvön backed away and tipped his crest forward before walking out of the room and heading back to work. The fact that he’d angered three of the members of the Society enough to want him gone was frightening, any one of them could easily have him killed and Nosh would have no compunction against it.

Duois City, Duois

“I’ve found just what you need.”

“What is it Reth? We really don’t need much now that the Renegades are gone and the Igadzra are further away. We can finally go back to living in peace.”

“It doesn’t have a thing to do with military or fighting. Duois doesn’t respond well to nutrient supplements and Nitrogen fixers just seem to die left and right. The soil is hostile toward Nitrogen because of the native life, that’s probably why none of the Homeless survived.”

“What are you saying?”

“That in under a decade you won’t be able to grow a single crop.”

“Is there any good reason for me to believe that?”

“No, except these forms I’ve got here with the Nitrogen levels all over the planet.” The Zidagar gave the priest a packet of forms. “The bacteria in your soil just get fatter when you add supplements and they can go dormant when they run out. Almost nothing we’ve tried will kill ‘em either.”

“I wish I could tell you that these are forged, but it matches up with our reports. We just can’t do much about it, so what are you proposing?”

“One of our scientists invented a little gadget, well a lot of little gadgets that work like nitrogen fixers. Their nano-tech and the bio-synthesize Nitrogen, but they’re almost like the bacteria in a Nitrogen-fixer. They hook on to the leaves of a plant and borrow a bit of the nutrients to reproduce, and in exchange they fix Nitrogen from the air, which the plant can process.”

“That will solve all our problems? Is it that easy?”

“Well, probably not. But it works with all your major crops, we tested it. We just want to restore and borrow your facilities in exchange.”

“I guess that sounds fair enough, but after you restore them we get first preference for use, and I have a feeling we’ll need to produce quite a few of these nanos for a few weeks.”

Fleet numbers:

Future production:
20 Crescent Fighters
4 Aradas

Tibidat:
7 Crescent Warships
21 Laziras
58 Aradas
250 Independent Crescent Fighters.

Duois
Tibidat fleet:
10 Aradas
50 Crescent Fighters

Duois fleet:
3 Laziras
15 Aradas
50 Crescent Fighters

Baboom:
1 Crescent Fighter

Hrinix:
1 Crescent Fighter

Nifal:
9 Crescent Fighters

DSN-8075:
9 Crescent Fighters

DSN-5468:
10 Crescent Fighters

Malago:
10 Crescent Fighters

Projects:

LuRay research: Stagnant
Veldegrass cannon research: 1RTD
Renovating Duios Shipbuilding facilities: 2RTD (2RTD production of nanos following)