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Post by Star Captain Killian Bekker on May 5, 2005 16:08:48 GMT -5
The Naval Battle raged closer until the small fleet centered around the Samurai's Destiny was drawn into the battle.
Contact! Bearing 038. It's a big one sir, looks like a Battlecruiser!
Bring us into an intercept position. If they wanna tango, then let's give them a partner.
Fire Control bring all weapons to bear on that contact. Hold your fire until my mark.
Affirmative sir. Weapons armed, locked and loaded. Awaiting your command.
Starlight, we are engaging the incoming warship. We're gonna need all the firepower we can get. We're gonna charge through to get us a clear path for a jump.
Understood.
The Starlight, a Thera Class Carrier launched all of its remaining fighters and bombers. It brought to bear an impressive amount of firepower and the impending battle was going to be more a battle of stamina, than wits.
On the other side of the Samurai's Destiny was an Impavido Class Destroyer the Nova[/a]. The Destoyer launched its bombers and brought it's weapons online.[/color]
This is gonna be one hell of a fight.
All personnel not assigned to damage control and medical duties are hereby ordered to assist in any shape or form.
Helmsman, bring us to flanking speed. Let's not give them an easy target. Once we clear, I want us to make a jump out of here ASAP.
Aye aye sir. Flanking speed.
This is Starlight and Nova, we are engaging the enemy Mjolnir Class Battlecruiser. Confirmed several other vessels in the attacking fleet.
Affirmative. Let's get the hell outta here.
The Battlecruiser started the battle with several salvos of Killer Whale missles striking the Starlight across her bow and causing severe damage. In reply, her Hammerhead Aerospace fighters raked the Battlecruiser with AC/20 fire damaging two of her Heavy Naval Gauss cannons.
The following hail of exchanged Naval Gunfire was a torrent of PPCs, Naval Gauss and missle volleys. Mixed inbetween were fighters jockeying for postion and attack vectors.
Section 07 taking severe damage sir! Several decks reporting mostly minor fires and a single hull breech on deck 4.
Additional damage control required in Section 07 on all decks. Priority is deck 4 hull breech.
The Nova engaged the Zechetinu II Class Corvette that had made its way into the fray. The Destroyer took heavy damage on her port side from dozens of salvos from the Corvettes 4 Barracuda and 4 White Shark missle launchers. The Destroyer fired into the Corvette with all 16 of its LRM-20 launchers and blew a large chunk off the ship close to the bridge.
Meanwhile, the Samurai's Destiny was busy keeping the waves of missles away with her numerous Anti-Missle Systems. Replying with Naval PPCs and damaging one corvette and crippling another.
Sir! The Nova is listing to Starboard! She's going to enter Rochelle's atmosphere!
How long until we break out and can make a jump?!
Unknown, sir. Sensors report an unidentified group of ships approaching. Different vector, but our sensors are damaged and we cannot confirm who they are yet.
Several more waves of explosions rocked the Samurai's Destiny as the Anti Missle System was overwhelmed.
Another breech on in Section 07 on deck 5 and 6. Deck 4 is under control, but we can't take much more if we want to safely jump!
Damnit, we need more ships...
The Starlight began to move into a blocking position for the Samurai's Destiny to get past the Battlecruiser with minimal exposure to the behemoth's weapons. The carrier was pounded with gunfire and missle barrages. Her fighters were losing ground and taking heavy losses trying to keep the frigate relatively unharmed.
Sa..r..'s Des...y, .. ..e t....g h..vy da..ge. ..e N..a is lost. We do... know ho. ...h lon..r we can hold. S....tio. is ble... R..o..end mak... jump ASAP.
Not here...not now, it isn't time.
Sir, the Starlight is beginning to break up!
I tried to convey confidence, but the crew knew all too well. If help didn't arrive soon, we wouldn't live to make the jump to safety.
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Post by General John "Aegis" Murlance on May 5, 2005 17:36:13 GMT -5
Three pinpoints of light coalesced into existence in the midst of the battle wich raged over the surface of Rochelle. Slowly growing in size, and then, with a sudden roar, exploding into a trio of full-sized rifts, the anomolies berthed a leviathan combat JumpShip emblazoned with the crest of the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission, flanked by twin Heavy Cruisers, both proudly displaying the royal-blue clenched fist insignia of House Steiner. The cruisers immediately opened fire on the battlecruiser, drawing its fire away from the main fleet as their assault lasers and PPCs hammered away at the behemoth's thick hide. The combat JumpShip followed suit, unleashing a barrage of Thunderbolt missiles, heavy gauss, and railgun rounds into the fray. In the midst of the onslaught, a small Spheroid DropShip, also bearing the MRBC crest, and flanked by twin AeroTech transports, disengaged from the lead vessel and rocketed toward the Samurai's Destiny.
I stormed onto the bridge of our hospitible rescuers' DropShip, which was afforded a birds-eye view of the combat as it sat in its docking cradle aboard the JumpShip. I winced in pain as I overexerted myself, and my still-healing ribs retaliated with a sharp jab. Shrugging off the pain, I glanced around for the ranking officer.
"Where's your commander? There's something he needs to know!"
Before anyone could proffer a response, a loud commotion was heard on the lower tier. I ran to the rail, and looked down in time to see Sergeant Johnson running for an escape transporter.
"Screw this, I'm out of here! I'm not getting paid enough to die for you guys!"
With that, Johnson strapped himself in and initialized the machine. As it powered up, I could see him waving at Captain Maxwell.
"See you later suckas! Ha ha!"
A powerful, jet-engine whine began to fill the air, and the transport shook violently, not unlike a dog attempting to pass a peach pit. The smell of voltage wafted through the compartment, and the machine's interior lighting flickered erratically. It appeared that Johnson was looking around wildly for an "abort" switch, as he begin clawing desparately at his harness. A shimmering white light began to envelop the interior of the pod, an intense heat radiating from within the unit. As Johnson let out a cry of pain and terror, his body was disintegrated at the molecular level, and then re-materialized...inside-out.
As his smoking entrails dripped sickeningly out of the transporter, I could just make out its selection screen flashing an ironic message.
"Destination Transporter Not Found. Aborting."
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Post by Lieutenant Kei-teh Kintaru on May 6, 2005 14:23:23 GMT -5
I was stumbling back with a bucket of water that I had collected from the communities well. Its weight and size was a little too much for my supple body, regardless I carried on at a steady pace; mother needed the water for tonight’s feast. I could barely wait for the feast, as today marked 100 years of our clan’s unity, so everything was going to be extra special. We, The Kintaru’s certainly knew how to throw a party!
I decided to pick up the pace by strapping the water bucket to my back with the straps provided on the bucket. Doing this I could pick up my pace to a quick jog. Even though I was young of age, the strict training I had received since I could remember was paying off. Each day I would collect one of these large buckets of water, strap it to my back and race home without spilling a single drop. After breakfast it was strict martial art training till mid afternoon. I began this form of special Kintaru clan training for a year now, since I was ten, and now I was finally getting the hang of it. Of coarse I had been learning the other tutorage since I could remember; history, current technologies, kendo, Kintaru Style Martial Arts etc. The Kintaru’s were indeed taught well and this had been the way of life for 100 years.
Today was different though. No training. No teachings. Today was a day of celebration, something I had hungered for the entire year… even though technically this WAS training. I rushed through the woods beyond the watering well, clambered up the hill side and jogged down the path leading to the waterfall, all the while making sure non of the water had spilt. As I reached the apex of the river leading to the oversight of our secluded village, something didn’t seem right… I rushed to the wooden gates that secured our home. I struggled to push the ten foot high, thick oak doors, which was very strange… Sasuke, my older brother was on entrance duty today and he was nowhere to be seen. As I walked into my home I was stunned with absolute horror. Sasuke was lying in a pool of his own blood. As I looked around I saw more dead bodies, however not all of them were members of my clan. They had weird insignias on arm bands that were wrapped around their upper arm. They were insignias that showed a red hand print of some sort. The world around me distorted, and a blood red lighting coated my sight. As I walked towards my house in slow motion, a crow sat perched on the roof of the wooden hut. It spread it’s wings and looked directly at me.
“Don’t look boy…” The crow said in an eerily human voice. I ignored the bird. It’s word’s had in fact compelled me to do the complete opposite. I opened the thatch door and saw death straight in the eye. My entire family were slain, even Sasuke was present. And out from the darkness came an unforgettable face. A face without remorse or sorrow in it’s eyes.
“The divine is no less paradoxical than the vicious… Send Lucifer my regards, BOY.”General Ren said in a grimace tone. He arched his arm up and brought his claymore sword down across my head. The World around me faded to black…<br> I woke up, the taste of blood fresh in my mouth. Boots beloging to men and woman frantically rushing around the area clambered viciously around me as I began to regain consciousness.
What happened? I though, trying to figure out where I was and how I got here. Then everything snapped back into place. I was following Captain Maxwell, trying to find General Aegis when the ship had been violently rocked by a naval class gauss rifle. I wasn’t able to maintain my balance and I had fallen to the ground, knocking myself out. I sat up sight and started to retch; I had swallowed a couple mouthfuls of blood from a cut to my inner mouth. I had achieved this when I fell face down, accidentally biting into it.
What the hell was dream about? Something from my memories? Was Ren affiliated with the WOB?
I calmed myself down and stood up slowly, I was a little woozy, but otherwise fine.
Shit. Now I’ve lost Ben... I looked to my left and then my right trying to find a sign of some sort. I had found one straight away. It indicated that I was on “C” deck. To my left was the Mech bay. To might right was the infirmary and bridge. I began to jog towards the infirmary when I saw Maxwell and Aegis himself head towards the Bridge. I started after them when a herd of techs and doctors rushed in front of me carrying wounded personnel, cutting me off. When the herd had all gone, I set after them.
"Where's your commander? There's something he needs to know!"Aegis said, winching slightly at his wounds. He looked around anxiously for a couple seconds before locking eyes with mine. I rushed towards him.
“Sir… its good to see you again.” I said, realising I should of snapped to attention. I corrected myself, feeling a little stupid doing so. Aegis let out a smile.
“At ease, Kintaru.” I relaxed, desperately wanting to ask some questions regarding his health. I was about to ask him if he should be up and about, and not in a bed in the infirmary, when he interrupted me.
“Thanks to you and Maxwell, I survived that horrific accident. Thank you.” Aegis said. I returned the smile.
“Not a problem sir---“Another round hit the ship, rocking us even more. The shock of the round caused some overhead monitors in the bridge to explode and catch fire. A group of techs rushed to extinguish the fire, extinguishing foam coated the entire fiery mess. The bridge overlooked a hall like compartment below. It housed all the emergency escape pods and transporters on the Samurais’ Destiny. I noticed Maxwell leaning over the safety rail, with a look of concern on his face. Below, a figure stood halfway in a transporter looking up at us, waving all the way. Sergeant Johnson I think… one of the member of the Legionnaires whom I didn’t know too well, had just stepped into that machine.
“What?! Get back here you coward!” I shouted over the noise of klaxon and distant explosions that grew loader and loader. Me and Maxwell stood watching Johnson key in his destination and strap himself in. Another blast, closer than before, rocked the ship. This blast must have caused the transporter to malfunction; Johnson was beginning to panic and frail in his secure seat. I flash of white light secluded our view of what happened next. As the light faded away just as quickly as it had appeared, Johnson's carcass remained. It was a bloody mess, his body had been turned inside out. For a brief moment… I was sure he was still alive.
Me and Maxwell looked at each other, than back at the fallen Legionnaire. Aegis strolled behind us, placing a hand on both of our shoulders.
“Retreat is currently not an option...” He said in a grimace tone. Shaking away that grisly image, I turned to the General.
“Where am I needed sir?” I said, trying to keep the contents of my stomach down…
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Post by Dr. Jessica Saturina on May 6, 2005 19:31:35 GMT -5
Adrenaline already flowing rapidly through my body, as the battle around us intensified. Hearing a lot of yelling coming from the bridge where I was headed to find General Aegis Kleais, I kept heading in the direction of all the noise. Arriving there only in time to see the General with his hands on the shoulders of two other men. I stood still waiting for them to turn before I snapped a salute .
Commander Black Mamba reporting General Kleais.
Standing very still, not daring to smile or relax, at first the look on his face told me that I was not exactly what he was expecting. I stood very still as I waited for his reply.
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Post by General John "Aegis" Murlance on May 6, 2005 20:15:18 GMT -5
I turned toward the Commander as she spoke, caught off-guard by her sudden appearence. I quickly dismissed what I assumed was possibly a shocked expression from my face, and smiled, returning the salue, and then offering a handshake.
"Commander. Welcome aboard. Wonderful of you show up on such a short notice to pull our asses out of the fire. I hope it didn't inconvenience you much."
The Commander chuckled, and her posture relaxed a bit.
"No more so than usual...sir. Hope our sudden arrival didn't scare you too badly. We did try to be melodramatic about it."
"If that's what you call subtle, I'd hate to see 'angry.' The reports I've read are tantalizing enough."
The Commander allowed a brief chuckle, then resumed her military bearing. She was a legend amongst the ranks of the MRBC...a superlative soldier - and a force to be reckoned with. I had high hopes her presence here would be the trump card we needed to get us out of this fine mess.
"The Liberty is at your disposal, General. She's berthed at docking pylon two. I've ordered the crews to have her prepped for the transfer of the Legionnaires' 'Mechs."
"Excellent. Thank you, Commander. I trust the Lyrians understand that they are NOT to fire on any FWL ships under ANY circumstances?"
"The message was delivered. Forcibly."
I nodded in approval.
"Then let's get this show on the road. WHERE is the commander of this barge?"
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Post by Dr. Jessica Saturina on May 6, 2005 21:53:07 GMT -5
Taking the General's hand in mine. I give a firm handshake, relieved to see him smiling as well.
"Commander. Welcome aboard. Wonderful of you to show up on such short notice to pull our asses out of the fire. I hope it didn't inconvenience you much."
Chuckling softly, my body relaxed a bit
"No more so than usual...sir. Hope our sudden arrival didn't scare you too badly. We did try to be melodramatic about it."
"If that's what you call subtle, I'd hate to see 'angry.' The reports I've read are tantalizing enough."
I chuckled again briefly, feeling my face go red a bit, but turned quickly, sure that no one noticed
"The Liberty is at your disposal, General. She's berthed at docking pylon two. I've ordered the crews to have her prepped for the transfer of the Legionnaires' 'Mechs."
"Excellent. Thank you, Commander. I trust the Lyrians understand that they are NOT to fire on any FWL ships under ANY circumstances?"
"The message was delivered. Forcibly."
The General nodded his approval and then went about his business trying to locate the commander of the ship.
Feeling more self assured now that the initial introduction was over, I left to go back over to the Liberty where I could over see the work there, not wanting anything to go wrong. Walking briskly making my way through the corridors towards docking pylon two. suddenly another person walking very fast as well bumped right into me knocking me down
Oh my god, I'm so sorry are you alright?
He said as he helped me from the ground back to my feet.
I'm fine, its not a problem, guess we both had other things on our minds.
He held out his hand as he introduced himself
I am Captain Gunman, and you are?
Taking his hand in mine shaking it frimly
I am Commander Black Mamba, it is a pleasure to meet you.
Likewise, I heard you were joining us, glad to have you aboard Commander.
Thank you Captain, I really would like to stay and chat but I have to get over to my ship to oversee some work there.
Snapping a sharp salute to the Captain, I once again began walking briskly to my destination, feeling a little embarassed about the encounter with Captain Gunman, but trying not to think too much about it.
Duties first girl
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Post by Star Captain Killian Bekker on May 7, 2005 8:38:23 GMT -5
The newly arrived ships punched a hole in the enemy formation and sent them packing. Unlike a battlemech and pilot which could reasonably be replaced easily, a Battlecruiser could not.
The Battlecruiser began pulling back towards the rest of it's main fleet and the smaller ships followed suit as they were being quickly outgunned.
Sir, the Blakist warships are disengaging and regrouping.
Good, let's not give them a second round.
Helmsman, contact the MRBC ships and tell them once we get those transfers complete, I want to Jump. Preferably now and finish later.
Damage control, ensure we are ready for a jump. I don't want any nasty surprises because of hull damage.
Sir, the MRBC ships are giving us a go for Hyperspace Jump. They said they'll finish the transfer afterwards.
Damage control is reporting all decks are green for Hyperspace Jump.
Outstanding.
Take us out of here. Destination Tau Ceti IV. Proceed when ready helmsman.
The ship shuddered a little due to the damage and entered the Hyperspace Jump. The trip was long, but fortunately uneventful. They arrived safely at their destination and awaited the MRBC ships to finish the transfer of personnel, equipment and other materials that was evacuated.
This is the commander speaking. We have safely arrived at Tau Ceti IV and in friendly space.
All hands, stand down from battle stations. I repeat, all hands stand down from combat operations. After we are done here, I'm ordering a mandatory 72 hour period of R and R while we make repairs.
All Legionnaires commanders are requested to the bridge at your earliest opportunity. That is all.
A great sigh of relief passed through the ship. While many are battle hardened soldiers, the naval battle was one of the fiercest most have ever seen. With the Samurai's Destiny in friendly space, they could truly relax.
All stations reporting that they are secured from combat operations. All systems returning to standard mode.
Another day my honor was tested and I passed...
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Post by Captain Benjamin Maxwell on May 7, 2005 14:05:29 GMT -5
Something was terribly wrong. As General Kleais, Captain Gunman, and myself walked onto the bridge of the Samurai's Destiny, and the ship's jump engines throttled down and the maneuvering thrusters began to fire, I searched for the vista I'd come to expect from countless other jumps...blue-green forests, cities and oceans rolling past...the typical cookie-cutter paradise. Much to my surprise, however, I found the Samurai's Destiny drifting in deep space, far from anything even remotely resembling a planet.
The jump point we arrived at was badly mangled, and it boggled my mind how the device could have safely gated us in without leaving something behind. Subconsciously, I took inventory of my extremities to ensure that they were all safely intact.
The sheer amount of debris which surrounded the jump point indicated that something violent had happened here. The fragments which now drifted through the cosmos offered very little clue as to what their function used to be, or what took place. The stars here looked familiar, but dead reckoning our way to the planet wasn't going to be easy.
"Commander Dillenger...I suggest you signal your crews to be prepared for combat. I don't like this at all. See if you can get a fix on how far out from Tau Ceti we are."
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Yeoman Hobson
Yeoman
Senior DropShip Pilot
DropShips...the only way to fly!
Posts: 18
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Post by Yeoman Hobson on May 7, 2005 14:15:07 GMT -5
As I joined General Kleais, Captain Maxwell, and Commander LeatherNeck on the bridge of the Samurai's Destiny, I could tell something was afoot. The navigation officers were frantically plotting manual courses across the bridge's star charts, and the command staff themselves all had grim expressions on their faces.
"Captains - what's going on? Where are we?"
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Post by Dr. Jessica Saturina on May 7, 2005 20:11:36 GMT -5
After listening to the radio transmission to finish transfers quickly in order to do the jump, I radioed back to the Helmsmans to let Commander Letherneck know that we could stand down from the transfers until after the hyperspace was completed. Holding down the communicator button
All crew of the Liberty this is Commander Black Mamba, all transfers are hereby put on standby until after the Hyperspace Jump is completed, I will let you know when to continue.
All my crew checked in with me, letting me know they received my transmission and was standing by for my next orders.
After a long wait I finally heard that the hyperspace jump was completely and that we were in friendly space and could all stand down from battle mode. I did relax a little bit, but never was one to let my guard down completely. Always being taught to be ready for battle at a moments notice, this feeling was with me at all times.
All crew of the Liberty, hyperspace jump completed and successful, ressume transfer
Aye commander came over my communicator several times, and I continued to oversee the work from a slight distance, just to make sure all was done well. All work was completed in just a few hours. Then remembering Commander Lethernecks request for all Commanders to join him on the Bridge, I began to walk briskly along the corridors once again making my way to the bridge of the Samurai's Destiny, feeling very excited about the outcome of the last battle, having been able to take part in it as well.
Finally reaching the bridge, trying not to let my excitment get control of my actions, I stepped into the room, seeing General Kleais, Captain Gunman, Captain Maxwell, and Yeoman Hobson all standing about with grim expressions on their faces, then hearing Captain Maxwell say.
"Commander Dillenger...I suggest you signal your crews to be prepared for combat. I don't like this at all. See if you can get a fix on how far out from Tau Ceti we are."
Then hearing Yeoman Hobson "Captains - what's going on? Where are we?"
Sensing something was terribly wrong and that things weren't as freindly as thought at first. My mood changed instantly, the ready for battle mode back in full force, taking a firm military stance I addressed Captain Maxwell
Captain Maxwell Sir Snapping a sharp salute Commander Black Mamba Sir. My ship the Liberty and my crew are at your command Sir Standing at attention awaiting the Captains orders
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Post by Lieutenant Kei-teh Kintaru on May 8, 2005 10:13:04 GMT -5
We had just come out of hyperspace, and I had already got a bad feeling buried deep in the pit of my stomach. A quick glance out of one of the port side windows confirmed that feeling. The jump point was shrouded with floating debris, some of which was hard to decipher what they belonged to. Either we had jumped to the wrong location… or our destination was under attack and he had missed it. If my second guess was correct, I wasn’t sure when the battle had taken place. However, I could tell the enemy struck fast and hard. This especially worried me, because I saw NO enemy casualties or debris from the enemy.
I had once again managed to split myself from Maxwell and the group just before the jump, something that was beginning to become a bad habit. Before the jump, I hadn’t wondered very far from the bridge when a swarm of armed personnel had carried me off to join a group of civilians in the rear of the ship. Their plan was to collect all the civilians and casualties and place them in a safe location, so that when the jump had completed the jump they could be evacuated from the ship first. I tried to explain to them who I was, but they wanted non of it and kept pushing me into the large hall that was filled with the culmination of civilians and the sick and wounded.
And now, with the hyperspace jump completed and my suspicions mounting, I did not feel very comfortable here. I needed to be with the rest of my team, preparing myself for the worst. Walking to the door that would lead me out of the hall, a guard stopped me.
“Civilian! Where do you think you're going?”The male guard said, in an nervous tone. I could tell he knew that something was wrong.
“MechWarrior Keith Kintaru of the Legionnaires. Step aside, I need to get in contact with my OC—“The Guard cut me off, something else that was become a bad habit.
“All civilians are ordered to stay within the containment hall. For your own safety stay here.”The guard said. He wasn’t paying attention, even when he was telling me this his eyes were drifting around the ship, scanning for any anomalies. Standard procedure I presumed. His standard procedure wasn’t helping my team mates. Grabbing him by the sleeves of his combat vest, I pulled his face close to mine.
“STEP ASIDE! My team mates need me.” I replied, emphasising each word with a very slight pause. Staring into his eyes I could see he was worried. Not because of my threatening behaviour, but because he had the same feeling in my stomach. This was the quite before the storm. I pushed him back a little and noticed his uniform. It had the insignias on his arm that indicated he was fresh from training. If I was in his position, I would be especial worried about the Blakists. He took his attention off “by the book” procedure and looked calmly before stepping aside. I gave him an appreciative nod, pressed a couple keys on the key pad located by the door and opened it.
Right…now to find the others…
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Post by Captain Benjamin Maxwell on May 9, 2005 7:43:00 GMT -5
"Sir! I have a fix on the planet! We are a good distance out - but I've triangulated our position based on a star shot, and I believe, if we perform an in-system jump, it should put us in orbit!"
I quickly returned the salute to Commander Black Mamba, and motioned for her to stay on the bridge. A pirate jump was never a good idea, due to the tricky mechanics of manually directing the process based on educated guesses. One miscalculation could materialize the JumpShip inside a planet's core, or directly in the path of another vessel. It was for this reason that jumps to regions without interstellar links ("jump points") had been outlawed.
However, given our current predicament, I wasn't sure there was much of an alternative.
Commander Dillenger took the information in, and turned to me. I suppose the gesture was an acknowledgement of the fact that there were now two crews aboard the Samurai's Destiny, and a need for assurance that I was comfortable with the risk. I nodded silently, and eased into a nearby jumpseat.
"Bring the K-F drives online. Jump us into low polar orbit of the planet - if there are hostiles there, I don't want our presence to be immediately detected. General Kleais - you may want to contact your friends back at Rochelle and see if there are enough of them left to give us another hand, if needed."
Kleais nodded, and started tapping out a message on his personal communicator. A mighty roar began bellowing from within the ship's hull, and the Samurai's Destiny exploded forth into hyperspace, emerging just a few seconds later in orbit of Tau Ceti IV.
"Report!" Commander Dillenger exclaimed.
"Sirs...you better see this..." the navigator murmered, almost inaudibly. As the view came up on the main display, my breath caught in my throat.
Tau Ceti IV was burning. Huge firestorms swept across the surface, painting golden rivulets of flame across its now-charred surface. What was left of the oceans were now pitch-black, and angry clouds of soot and ash rolled across them, partially obscuring several large craters where great cities once stood. In orbit, a myriad of communication and spy satellites, most of them badly damaged by interstellar debris, floated listlessly through the void, their power sources having been overloaded by a massive EMP blast.
There was no communications activity on any of the comm channels normally used by the planetary command, and so, the comm officer tuned in the AM/FM band, patching it through the bridge's speakers. My ears were met by a blast of static, and as he scrolled through the frequencies, I heard the Emergency Broadcast tone on channel after channel.
By all appearences, the planet was dead.
Something terrible had happened here.
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Post by Dr. Jessica Saturina on May 10, 2005 16:22:03 GMT -5
The activity on the bridge of the Samurai's Destiny was in a mad flurry, of everyone manning their post, trying to find out more information about the situation outside the ship. Captain Maxwell returned my salute and motioned for me to stay on the bridge. I stood watching all the activity around me, standing there tense and ready for anything, when Captain Maxwell spoke
"Bring the K-F drives online. Jump us into low polar orbit of the planet - if there are hostiles there, I don't want our presence to be immediately detected. General Kleais - you may want to contact your friends back at Rochelle and see if there are enough of them left to give us another hand, if needed."
Things looked pretty bad outside and both Captain Maxwell, and Captain Gunman, along with General Klegis looking extremely worried, and now we were going to do another jump, one that would be very dangerous, but I wasnt worried about the jump, I knew Captain Maxwell knew what he was doing. I radioed my crew.
Crew of the Liberty this is Commander Black Mamba, secure the ship and get ready for another hyperspace jump
Seeing Captain Maxwell slip into a jump seat I did the same, belting myself in, looking around the room at all the grim faces, no one knew exactly what had happened here or what to expect next
The jump was completed with no out of the ordinary events, everyone including myself unbelted themselves and got out of our jump seats, except those sitting at their work consoles. Then I heard Commader Dellinger say "Report!"
I heard the Navigator murmer in a shocked almost inaudible voice"Sirs...you better see this..."I heard Captain Maxwell make a quiet gasping noise. Everyone looked shocked, when I looked up at the main display myself, I couldn't believe my eyes, what I was seeing was beyond comparahension, I wasn't altogether sure what I was looking at but it looked very bad. There was a frantic effort to establish radio contact, but to no avail, nothing was coming through. Something was horriblely wrong here and everyone stood around in awe and disbelief of what their eyes saw.
Looking at both Captains, and the General, not really knowing what was coming next, I just stood there waiting for somone to speak and begin to let us know what to do next, I was ready for anything.
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Post by Captain Adam "Gunman" Wolf on May 10, 2005 20:54:49 GMT -5
I stood in disbelief as I stared down at the carnage below. I thought the brutality seen on Rochelle was bad, but it was, it was nothing compared to this, the entire planet seemingly destroyed, ravaged beyond belief. Most likely by outlawed Nuclear weapons just like they used on Rochelle. Those Blakists bastards, have they no conscience, no remorse? They have to be stopped .... but what can we do?
Standing there, the sounds of the frantic crewmen attempting to establish communication faded out as though I wasnt really there and this was all just a dream, I looked about slowly as time itself seemed to slow, I watched the similar expressions on Captain Maxwell's face and the General's too, all the CO's shared my disbelief and look of being lost and disoriented. Then my gaze fell upon Commander Black Momba, the woman I accidentally had run into earlier in my rush to the bridge. There was something about her, something intrigueing enough that it momentarily diverted my attention from the carnage below, only for a moment though, and then things went back to normal. The voice of the crewmen giving up with the communication sounding crisp and clear again, the slight sighs from my fellow friends around me, everything back the way it should be, well everything aside from our once beautiful planet of Tau Ceti IV.
"Ben, ... do you think? .... Is there a chance they could have survived? I mean we have to check it out, the base. Salvage what we can and then, I dont know, find somewhere to go til we can get things worked out?"
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Post by Lieutenant Kei-teh Kintaru on May 11, 2005 16:25:18 GMT -5
Finally, I had reached the bridge. I was expecting loud voices reading out status reports, the harsh thuds of boots stomping on the metal grating of the bridge floor as personnel carried out orders. Instead I got a deadly silence. However, before I realised all of this, I rushed in blurting out with apologies for my lateness.
“Sorry sirs. I had been “herded” by some of the…” I couldn’t finish my sentence. I saw why everyone was stunned with utter shock and horror. Taking a couple steps closer to confirm my worst fears, my chin hit my chest. An indescribable injustice had occurred. The surface of the once busy and often hectic Tau Ceti IV was nothing but a lifeless rock of burning death fires which belched from gigantic craters. Obvious us of outlawed nuclear armaments quickly culminated my assumption.
“Blakist bastards…” I murmured, still in utter disbelief.
Shock subsided, and anger took it’s place. My face screwed like a fist and my knuckles turned bare white as a clutched in desperation for some sort of atonement. Alas, nothing had been atoned.
"Ben, ... do you think? .... Is there a chance they could have survived? I mean we have to check it out, the base. Salvage what we can and then, I don’t know, find somewhere to go till we can get things worked out?" Gunman said to Ben, still staring at the carnage that had in sued. Ben’s head looked down a little, crestfallen by the horrific sight. Ben was about to reply, before I stepped forward.
“Captain Gunman… Captain Maxwell… If you do form a salvage team, you can put me at the top of the list… sirs.” I said, trying not to choke on my words. My heart felt as if it was up in my throat. Many may have seen this outrageous act as an unfortunate series of events. The lives of these people, were nothing more than a statistic. However, we, the crew, saw this as a tragedy. For many, this was their home. Loved ones resided here, as did family. Even though my home world far from this, it still broke my heart to see so many lives extinguished.
I awaited their reply.
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