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Location: G03 - New California Tags: Spaceship The Reaper, a design which spent ages in the engineering workshops of MANTIS, pursuing the perfect blend of atmospheric maneuverability and deep space range, and packing some big guns to boot, has finally emerged from an orbital factory, the location of which is classified. To make use of the new design a new squadron has been formed, drawing from MANTIS' elite pilots. Romgal Squadron was the result, and it is currently deployed in the Sector around New California. Fleet Command: Romgal leader, do not acknowledge and preserve your position. Execute scramble code Oscar-Foxtrot-Alpha. That is All. C&C Welcome!
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Location: G03 - New California. Tags: Military building, spaceship. Chapter 19: Wraith. “Command - Retina: new contact” The voice announced over the bridge A-Comm system. “Unidentified vessel bearing Zero, Nine, Zero mark Zero, Three, Eight.” Aboard the bridge of the MANTIS battlecruiser Shadowfall, Captain Aurixx looked at the central Real-Time-Navigation-Array display. “Definitely a ship?” Aurixx asked. “Yes sir.” The voice replied. “It’s in a controlled descent.” Aurixx cast his mind back to the reports detailing the MANTIS operations in the area. Damn it! He thought. The Shadowfall had been part of the MANTIS core fleet for months but had now been ordered to depart for New California to support the corporation’s new presence there. That was six days ago and the report detailing MANTIS operations had only arrived two days ago. He had digested what he could but... Whatever it was on the scanner was descending down what had become a ‘no fly zone’ between the Shadowfall and the nearest gaggle of Octan vessels. It could be Octan. He thought. Trying to gather intelligence, or push the boundary and see what happens. He needed to know what it was, and quickly. “Interceptor prepped?” he asked calmly, turning to the Deck Officer who had instinctively checked their battle readiness at the news. “Yes sir. She can be gear up in seven minutes.” “Get her out there.” Aurixx replied. “I want eyes on this thing.” “Aye sir.” The deck officer replied, turning to the Comms officer who relayed the instruction. “Bay two, this is command: Launch interceptor.” On the underside of Shadowfall, the second of its three docking bays suddenly became a flurry of activity. Personnel on the deck were disconnecting the fuel and power lines from the vessel that sat there and the maintenance cranes were retracted to the edges of the bay. In the cockpit of the vessel, Pilot Vashin Tulka quickly followed his carefully memorised pre-launch sequence. Once complete, he waited for the deck to clear and launch authorisation to be given. He steadied his breath and tried not to notice his heart beating so much. Focus, focus. A voice came over the A-Comm. “Wraith One, this is launch control. The light is green, you are clear for launch.” “Roger that launch control.” He replied. With the gravity in the bay deactivated, a minor thruster burst gently raised the Wraith class interceptor off the deck. A second burst stopped it as the bay lights flashed, indicating that the ship’s position was central to the opening. “Engaging main engines.” Vashin announced as he advanced the throttle levers and the ship surged forward out of the bay. The ship shuddered as it pushed through the atmosfield that protected the interior of the bay from the hazardous vacuum of space, signalling Vashin to begin his turn towards the target. Keeping the engines at full burn, he angled the ship, curving his trajectory away for the planet below and back up towards outer space. The Wraith class interceptor was undoubtedly quick and heavily armed. It was designed to arrive first, assess a situation and if necessary, deal as much damage as it could to the benefit of a follow-up fighter squadron. It wasn’t designed for prolonged engagement. A fact that prayed on Vishen’s mind. Shadowfall was a cruiser, not a carrier... There would be no follow-up fighter squadron. “Three minutes to target.” a voice said over the A-Comm. Vishen made some adjustment to his course to ensure he came up behind the unidentified vessel. On the edge of his scanning range, two new blips appeared, they were in a similar orbit but were approaching fast. The computer registered their ident signals... Then it hit him, He was in a heavily armed fighter heading at high speed straight towards... Octan. Thank you for reading. All comments and feedback welcome as always.
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Location: B06 Sorn Tags: Military, Spaceship Hawk taking a MANTIS Sky Sabre fighter out for a spin in the sky above Sorn. - - - -
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Location: E01 - Donwarr. Tags: Military, Building, Spaceship. Previous chapters can be read on my website here. Chapter 12: The Engineer. First engineer Elliana Seyka had a buzz about her this morning. She was generally regarded as being spritely but this morning she was particularly excited. While Darksight was undergoing repairs, an opportunity had arisen. The game was afoot and whatever move they were making needed a Quadstar… An Octan Quadstar and by virtue of the unexpected outcome of Yseult's mission in Darksight, they had one. What they didn't have was a means of getting it where it needed to be. The Quadstar was a short-range superiority starfighter; very fast, very maneuverable but at a cost. The fuel tanks were small and they had no GATE drive so they relied on a carrier for trans-anomaly deployment, and an Octan carrier… Well, they're harder to come by. That's where Ellie came in. She had a reputation for her design and engineering skills; Big Sal had identified her potential early on and brought her into MANTIS. She shared his enthusiasm for science, if not quite his approach to it but from the very beginning, she felt that he understood her, her dreams, her ideas, her passion; and she hadn't regretted accepting his invitation. She had risen through MANTIS quickly and now commanded a substantial engineering research and development effort, of which Darksight had been the latest product. What they needed now was different, and she didn't have long to come up with a solution. In the end, she had decided that delivery by carrier was impossible, carriers were as incognito as a slap in the face, no, something else was required… And she had delivered. There was risk involved though. This is MANTIS… She thought to herself as she entered the engineering bay… We eat 'risk' for breakfast! To keep operation details on a need to know basis. Ellie’s brief was very specific and almost impossible… She liked ‘almost impossible’. There was no way to fit a GATE drive and the extra fuel capacity needed into the tight design of a Quadstar, not without modifying it beyond recognition and that wouldn’t do; it had to look legitimate or the plan wouldn’t work. Instead, she put them outside the Quastar in a bolt-on booster… A Jump drive. The unit contained all of the components needed for trans-anomaly flight; simulations had suggested that the Quadstar’s compact design would be very sensitive to the gravitational turbulence that caused so many pre-G.A.T.E. explorers to get lost. To combat this, the drive needed large gravitational stabilisers; they were a little cumbersome and prevented the Quadstar from landing with the drive attached but they did look awesome, she thought. Riddaeon was stood waiting for her, admiring her work while he did. The unit rested on its back, the four protruding stabilisers acting like legs. “I assume the fighter attaches up there.” He stated upon hearing Ellie approach, gesturing upwards. “That will make it a little awkward for the pilot won’t it?” he asked, turning his gaze to Ellie. There goes my carefully planned introduction. She thought. “The unit remains in orbit. The fighter attaches for trans-anomaly and detaches at the other side”. Riddaeon stepped back, taking in a wider view of the jump drive. “What if it’s captured?” He asked. “That’s the risk.” Ellie responded, a hint of stern-ness in her tone. She wasn’t about to let this… administrator tell her she should have done a better job in the ridiculously short time she had to conceive, design and build this thing. “If you want a unit that’s more compact, more secure… Fine, give me six months. If you want a unit now… This is what you get”. Riddaeon thought for a moment. “Any restricted tech?” He asked calmly. “No.” Ellie replied, a flash of confidence in her voice. He’s conceded the point. She realised. Now he’s just making sure he’s I’ve covered the bases. “Fine...” Riddaeon finally said, turning to her. “Walk me through it.” They walked over to the engineering console and Ellie tapped the controls to bring up the file she'd originally prepared for what was left of her introduction. "Quadstar fighters..." She began. "... Are heavily modified versions of an old Space Utility Vessel from the pre-G.A.T.E. era. Basically a multi purpose tug and docking unit, They'd fly out to unmanned cargo carriers, dock with them and take control to pilot them in. That connectivity is still there in every Quadstar so I designed a unit the fighter can dock with." The display showed a simulation of the Octan vessel with the jump drive attached. "What if someone finds it?" Riddaeon asked. "The on-board flight system will try to keep out of sight and avoid proximity to other craft..." Ellie answered. "... But in the event that a vessel other than this Quadstar gets too close, it automatically self-destructs." There was a moment of silence. The reason for this measure was obvious but so were the consequences. "And the pilot?" He finally asked. Ellie knew the answer would be harsh but it had to be said. "They'd be stranded... They'd need to ditch the ship and find another way back". Riddaeon stared at the screen; he knew which pilot he was about to put at risk., and that he'd have to be the one to tell her. "Alright..." He said. "...Test-flight it and let me know when it's ready to deploy." Ellie nodded and Riddaeon proceeded to the exit. "Erm..." Ellie tried to say something but didn't quite know how to start it. Riddaeon stopped and gave her a moment to decide. He soon realised what she wanted to ask. "I saw the transmission too..." He said. His tone had softened, they had both been close to BigSal. "He was a friend. We must remember that... But he is also an enemy of the corporation now... We must remember that too." Thank you for reading. All comments and feedback welcome.
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Every space colonizing corporation, group or private company, needs their own submersible to explore, harvest or kill the deep ocean floors from planets, moons and comets. The following three submersibles are build to represent their own faction. My own submersible for AG back then, was the Kaito Mk1 from Kawashita. I did some subtile modifications so it does not break as easily (its still not recommanded to play with it, though). Octan GUPPY かいと (Kaito) Mk1 Stealth Sub V2
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Location: G03 - New California. Tags: Civil, Building. Previous chapters can be accessed through the AG player index here. Chapter 21: Old Times. Yseult looked strangely at home reclined in her seat surveying the unsightly inhabitants of the bar. The establishment wasn’t just ‘not corporate’, it was the kind of place corporates didn’t go. A few patrons had given Ellie a look up and down as they walked past, some smelling the corporate branding, others for other reasons no doubt. One look at Yseult and they had quickly and silently moved on. Her face was stern and not in the mood to tolerate anyone pushing their luck. It was the third night Yseult had come here but the first time Ellie had been allowed to come with her. The first two nights, Yseult had returned to the their room with bruises; Ellie had figured the previous nights had both ended in fighting of some kind and from the looks and whispers between the regulars, she was building the picture that Yseult had actually come out of them the better. She had asked what had happened but Yseult had just told her she was ‘making contacts’. She wanted to believe that it hadn’t just been because she liked it. They were sat in a booth and past the wall against which Yseult leaned was a holoscreen showing some broadcast or other. “In planetary news.” The presenter said. “Faulty gravimetric compensators have been blamed for the recent loss of two Octan Corporation vessels which burned up in the atmosphere recently killing two pilots. The findings are unlikely to quash rife speculation that it was caused by a firefight as tension between Octan and the increasing fleet of MANTIS ships in orbit grows. Both corporations deny that any fighting has occurred...” Yseult noticed that the news had caught Ellie’s attention and leaned round to view it herself, turning back a moment later, less interested than her colleague. She saw the look on Ellie’s face, a look of concern, guilt even. Two pilots had died and Ellie had found it very easy to wonder if they were to blame. Maybe she wouldn’t have worried so if they were on some official MANTIS mission but for some reason, this was different. They had been offered the consignment by The Forwarder: Just like old times - Yseult had thought as she checked the job sheet. To a casual viewer it looked like any other but The Forwarder had his ways of hiding the real details if you knew what to look for. She had wanted to say no at first... A new ship, a clean break. They had collected the container from an orbital holding station around Terrial Major, the problem was going to be the delivery. The growing MANTIS presence on New California had put everyone there on edge, especially the corps so she’d had to rely on her old tricks to get through. I’m not supposed to be that person anymore... It cost me everything, the small mirror in the Speedy Owl’s cabin had tried to tell her... She hadn’t listened; The job paid enough for her to not listen. And so, deactivating her transponder, she descended the Speedy Owl down the tightly monitored corridor between the Octan and MANTIS fleets. When one responded, so did the other. It had been a risk but she new what corporate types were like. Once they were close enough to each other, she became a forgotten blip on the scanners and once she passed through the ionosphere, they were too far behind to track her. Ellie noticed Yseult looking at her and stopped watching the news. She thought for a moment, pensive. “One of them had a family.” She said. “So do many others.” Yseult replied. “Do you think the things you design, you build, have never killed someone with a family?” “That’s different.” Ellie responded. “That’s for the corporation... What was this for?” Yseult sat on the question for a moment... It was clear Ellie had a belief in the corporation that she didn’t, never had and never would. She spent a moment thinking how to phrase her response... When you try to explain it to someone like Ellie, someone who believes, you have to phrase it right. “You believe in your corporation. What does your corporation believe in?... You?... Humanity?... Or the number at the bottom of the quarterly result. These corporations are trying to tear each other apart... What happens when the Galaxy is not profitable enough... eh? When you are not profitable enough. Corporations come and go; water, food, electricity... You will always need these things. You think your corporation will provide them when you are not... profitable? Silence hung in the air between them, the clinks and chatter of the busy bar a muffled dull sound that couldn’t penetrate the bubble of tension around them. Ellie’s breath wavered, her eyes fixed. She wished she had an answer, she wished she could say with confidence that Yseult was wrong. Her eyes turned stern, sharp. The bright innocence she normally showed was gone. “And what do you believe in?’ She asked, her voice short and harsh. “What will bar brawls and risking getting shot down to smuggle someone else’s contraband earn you?... Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité?” “L’eau, La nourriture, l’electricité.” Yseult replied without hesitation, her voice full of a determined realism. “In the corporations, the plates are full and the beds are comfortable; anything to make you forget that tomorrow, maybe they change their mind.” “And if Big Sal is right” Ellie proposed. “And this Upsilon is something we need to find... For all our sakes...” She looked around at the dank, grim collection of strays that had dragged themselves in from wherever they came to spend what little they had earned on forgetting how they earned it. Her gaze returned to Yseult, her eyes - daggers. “Will they help? When the time comes... Where will they be?” They both knew the answer to that... Thanks for reading. All comments welcome as usual. Luc.
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Location: D04, Terrial Minor Tags: Vehicle, Land Vehicle Job: Driver Start Log: Fairly standard assignment: patrol Terrial Minor and make sure Kawashita or Octan has not been completing any operations there. This new Titanium Thunder hover speeder made it fun though, man can that thing move! See more pictures here.
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Location: G03 - New California Tags: Spaceship A raspy voice cut through the comm silence, jolting some of the younger pilots to attention. They'd been awaiting the arrival of someone or something for several weeks in the G03 sector of the Andromeda galaxy. However, today was the first time most squadrons had been in the same area at the same time. "This is Osiris." Crackled the voice, "Prepare" "This is Captain Pangolinus. MANTIS pilots, the time is now. Octan shall remember this day, for as long as they hold on to a claim in this galaxy, this day will live in infamy in their minds. But for the great minds of MANTIS, it will be legend!" The Osiris: Now for the other ships (In spoilers) The Quaddagger Starfighter Edition
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Location: G03 - New California Tags: Vehicle, Land Vehicle Job: Driver Start Log: Always great to have the backing of a well equipped maintenance team. After my last mission I returned to base, and while I awaited a new assignment, my speeder was given a thorough going over by the mechanics. Several other speeders were also being docked in the maintenance bay. (This speeder was previously used in my Desert Patrol build) See more pictures here: brickbuilt.
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The 1077 class variable wing stealth fighter and spy craft, the Dragonfly, currently stationed on the planet B06, also known as Sorn
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The 1077 class variable wing stealth fighter and spy craft, the Dragonfly, currently stationed on the planet B06, also known as Sorn Delete this please, made an error with title so made a new thread
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Location: G03 - New California Tags: Location: Current Temporary Office of CEO SpacerSteve A voice spoke over the intercom, "Holo Transmission for you sir. Broadcast content unknown." and promptly the voice faded out. Spacersteve turned to the central projector, awaiting yet another news agency requesting comment on Octan's Impending victory perhaps, or another report of equipment failing that he didn't have the people to fix. The transmission flickered into view in the shape of Captain Pangolinus, previously listed as MIA following his disappearance in Octan territory, but recently returned at the head of a battle fleet, which reports claim is engaged in heavy fighting. "Sir, if you are receiving this message, then I have given the order to abandon the Osiris, and for all MANTIS craft in the system to retreat. I will stay with my ship til the end, as my service life is nearing its end. I was given a drug which resulted in rapid deterioration of brain cells while in captivity, and the antidote I obtained from an octan facility bought me only two weeks more of brain function. It has been twelve days since that antidote and I feel myself fading back into an abyss. If you should have need of my starship designs in the future, they are in the care of the Morph Program. I will not explain where or how, but if you need them, you will find them. Agents Urtem and Aryna perished in the attempt to rescue me, honor them well. I regret that my return has been so brief, but my brain will not last. If the internal affairs department figured out where I came from, you may send my remains to rest there, if not I shall rest on Torresta. I wish a fond farewell to my fellow members of M.A.N.T.I.S. and especially my fellow pilots. This is Captain Pangolinus, Signing Off"
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Location: H03 Kallin Tags: Military Building, Spaceship - Guard: Maxximus will see you now. - Maxximus: Welcome Henry, I have someone I want to introduce you to. This here is my guest from the Octan corporation, Stuart Smith. Hawk: It's Hawk actually, and it's nice to meet you Stuart. Stuart: It's a ple........ Captain: Great I will bring him to the brig for interrogation. I will have him singing his secrets like a bird in no tim...... - Guard: Get your hands off of him! Captain: What's going on here? Hawk: Echo team, stand down! - Maximus: Captain I like your teams spirit. That's why your teams one of the best in MANTIS. Like I said before, Stuart here is my guest. There is no need for an interrogation. Captain, Hank has a mission for you on the surface of Kaalin. I have a ship waiting for you so if you could take your team Captain, and prepare for your mission. Captain: Yes sir.... Stuart: Your troops certainly live up to their reputations. Hawk: My apologies, So what was it you wanted to tell me. Maxximus: You know how our profits have been down over the last few months. With the CEO missing now, the council of five is demanding a solution to get our revenues back up. I want to sell MANTIS's Military expertise. I call it MANTIS Security Solutions. We will do anything from offering advice on how to improve base defenses to providing full MANTIS Spec Ops protection in exchange for resources. Stuart here was the first one to take up my offer. So what do you think? Hawk: Um.... I don't know. What do you think the soldiers will think of....... Maxximus: Great I'm glad you like it. Now if you could, go with Stuart to the planning room. He will fill you in on what they need done. - Guard: Sir Maxximus: What is it? Guard: We just got an urgent message from Maxxene. They found him. Maxximus: Great ready my ship. - Hawk: So what is it you needed. Stuart: Well one of our drilling outposts stopped communicating with us last Oktobrinali. Any attempt to restore communications has failed. Our Satellites have not seen any damage to the base. With our fleet leaving the system our special forces are stretched to thin for any further investigation on our part, so that where you come in. Hawk: I will see what my team can do. Stuart: Great. I hope you guys can do the job because what you charge could be considered piracy.
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Location: F04 - Illustria Tags: Spaceship *Static* Fleet Command: Vorpal Leader come in, repeat vorpal leader. This is fleet command. Switch to secure transmitter. Vorpal Leader: Copy command. Fleet command: We are instigating scramble code Oscar-Foxtrot-Alpha, you need to get the entire squadron active and on duty. Any octan ship you encounter, you obliterate it or you capture it. Any pirates, you blow their gold plated grins to smithereens. Are we clear Commander? Vorpal Leader: Crystal. Fleet Command: Very well. Ending Transmission. Vorpal Leader: WE'RE MOVING OUT! TO THE VORTEXES! GO! GO! GO! There was supposed to be a render of multiple vortexes, but my rendering program is acting up. It's nice to be back to building for AG. C&C welcome!
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Location: F04 - Illustria. Tags: Civil, Building. Previous chapters can be accessed from the AG player list here. Chapter 17: The Forwarder. Yseult and Riddaeon walked down the expansive row of shipping containers in the corner of the yard. The air was filled with the heavy industrial sounds of a busy freight port. Cranes, walkers, ships and voices all working through the night to keep the cargo moving. Freight... No wonder Yseult looked so at home; this was her world. Eventually, in what appeared to be a small clearing between the stacks was a lone grey container with ‘IFA’ painted on the side; the acronym for the Independent Freight Association - a Galaxy-wide union for tramp freight operators that acted as a focal point for customs and contract negotiations with the various governments and corporations of Andromeda. Their influence had diminished somewhat in the past year as the ‘big three’ had favoured discounts offered by larger shipping lines or recruited small operators into their own fleet but in some form or other, the IFA was still here. It had taken a string of calls and deals to get here and Yseult had refused to tell Riddaeon who it was she was trying to arrange a meeting with. They were supposed to be acquiring a ship... This didn’t look like a starship sales office. Riddaeon knew there were all kinds of small underworld operations going on in the Galaxy but didn’t think Yseult would have been so involved or why they would be going here for a ship when they could requisition one from the MANTIS fleetyard. Yseult rapped on the container door, the sound reverberating through the metal, then she stood, arms folded and leaned against the door frame. She looked Riddaeon over. “Just remember.” She informed him. “Let me do the talking.”. Riddaeon might have objected to the demotion but the clunk of the locking mechanism on the door releasing prevented him. Yseult grabbed the lever, pulled the container door open and stepped in. The container was dim; pale blue lights along the floor and ceiling edges gave the interior an almost misty hue. Directly in front of Yseult was a low table with two chairs positioned opposite each other and stood next to the far chair, a man, stood poised with one arm behind his back. “Yseult Brenneaux!” The man asked in a voice thick with memory and nostalgia. “Brenneux.” She corrected him. The man’s face turned quizzical. “Are you sure?” He asked. Yseult ignored the question and proceeded to seat herself in the nearest chair. The man looked at Riddaeon, his eyes fixing on the agent. “And who would your MANTIS... associate be?” He asked, his tone changing to one of near disgust. Riddaeon was taken aback. He’d worn civilian clothing to keep his allegiance discreet but the man still knew. “We’re not here on official business”. Riddaeon replied. “Of course not.” The man said. “You wouldn’t have gotten half way here if you were.” “His name is Riddaeon.” Yseult interjected to break the tension and avoid the tedious posturing she could sense was rapidly approaching. The man broke into a pleasant, if noticeably fake smile. “Well then.” He said as he sat in the chair beside him and carefully slid the gun he’d been holding back into its clip on the underside of table. “Why don’t you tell me a little about your... Unofficial business and we’ll see if I can help.” “We need a ship.” Yseult said before anyone else tried to engage in small talk. “Fine.” The man replied. “What’s your destination?” “No, to buy.” Yseult responded. The man’s face changed again. More unexpected news. “What about...” He stopped himself from finishing the question. The look on Yseult’s face told him not to pry on this one. He thought for a moment, his eyes looking over both Yseult and Riddaeon - sizing them up, getting the measure of them. “You want a box runner I presume?” He asked rhetorically. “There’s a few around right now. What are you looking for?” Yseult was staring straight at him, hesitant to ask. The man let out a brief smirk. He knew what she was asking for. “I don’t have one of those.” He said, shaking his head. “No-one does these days.” “Something quick then.” Yseult replied. The man tapped a finger on his knee, pondering. He gestured Yseult off the chair. “Stand back”. He said. “I’ll have a look for you.” Yseult got up from the chair and stood aside. When she was clear, the man touched a control somewhere and the table tilted up into the wall of the container. As it did, equipment tilted down from its underside, configuring itself into a screen and control device. The man used the touch controls in front of him. “There’s not a lot this time of year.” He said from behind the screen. “There’s always more around Marzn when new models come out but I know a few people who’ve always got something to sell...” The screen tilted back flat allowing the man to look straight at Riddaeon. “... For the right price.” He added. “But that won’t be a problem for you I suppose.” Riddaeon hoped not but this project was off the books and with Big Sal on the run, access to funds wouldn’t be as easy as it usually was. The man looked over to Yseult. “Tee Four-Twenty? Might need some work but she’s in better condition than most.” “Speedy Owl?” Yseult responded. The man gave a single, confirming nod. Yseult considered the option for a moment. “Okay.” she continued. “We’ll take a look.” The man put the data on a small bio-chip and handed it to Yseult. He looked at her as she went to take it from his hand. “Wherever you’ve been.” He said quietly. “It’s good to have you back.” There was warmth in the words. Yseult’s fingers clasped the chip but the man’s hand held it firm. “There’s always work for a good box runner.” He added. Yseult stopped in her tracks. The man everyone called ‘The Forwarder’ had given her a lot of work in the past but there was a reason no-one knew his real name; some of the work had paid a lot more than the usual rate. But then sometimes, when consignments had been thin on the ground and she was on the verge of having to choose between food and fuel, she knew he’d paid her to run empty containers and put just enough in her account to keep her operating. She was grateful for that. “Thank you”. She said. The Forwarder released the chip and gave Yseult a small acknowledging nod as she took it. She nodded back and turned to leave as a loud metal creak came from Riddaeon already opening the door. Can’t wait to leave. The mechanical whirr of gears sounded, the console once again became a table as Yseult walked to the door. Turning back just before she left. She went to say something but it caught in her throat. She hesitated, changed her mind, turned and left. “Another time perhaps.” The Forwarder said quietly to himself, an air of calculation about him like a chess player considering the multitude of possibilities and implications of an unexpected move. Thank you for reading everyone. I hope you enjoyed it. All comments and questions welcome.
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Location: G05 Jen's Star Tags: Spying, Military building Previously... ...and back in those days you really knew everyone. I mean, you'd never get this situation here where I'm walking two people I've never seen before to the weapons tower. I mean, for all I know, you could be MANTIS spies. Err... Yeah, those were the days. Back when Octan really was the friendly corporation. I'm talking about before we came to this galaxy. What was wrong with the old galaxy, that's what I'd like to know. I don't hold with this GATE travel nonsense. Don't understand how it works. Don't want to know either. What was I talking about? Um... Oh yes, the old days. Yeah, it was much better back then. I'm talking about before we bought Explorien. Why are you wearing that shirt anyway, young lady? It's quite strange behaviour. Yes, it is strange. The sort of thing that attracts attention, as I keep telling her. And I told you that I'm not going to wear anything with an Octan logo on it. I'd rather stick a catcus up my- What's that? Speak up! That's the trouble with young people these days, always muttering and wearing 'retro' clothes. If you ask me, it was much better in the old days. Anyway, here we are. Oh boy, that is a big gun. Yes, that will do nicely. What's that? Of course, we didn't need all this weaponry back in my day. People respected each other back then. I'm talking about before all that business with Blacktron- Wait, how old are- Don't interrupt me, young man. That's the trouble with you young people, you're always in such a hurry. Well, now that you mention it, we are in a bit of a hurry, so if you could just give us the access codes and be on your way... Yes, yes, hold on. You know, those youngsters back at base treat me like some old relic, but whenever the navigation systems go down it's always me who has to go on the long walks to the outposts. Those whippersnappers couldn't find their ways out of a paper bag. It is odd how often the navigation systems go down though... I seem to end up spending a lot of time walking out here on my own. Yeah, I wonder why... I guess technology just isn't as reliable as it was in my day. I'm talking about before we left the solar system. Oh, come on! There's no way you're- Listen old man, are you going to give us those codes or what? Alright, alright. Now there's a droid on the roof you'll have to work with... Oh, don't worry, she's great with robots. Now I just have to find which pocket I put the codes in... I'm not supposed to write them down, but my memory isn't what it used to be. Back in the old days I had the best memory around. I'm talking about before we- Oh, that does it! I'm starting to think I should have taken my chances with S.P.I.D.E.R... Thanks for reading! C&C welcome! Photography was a bit rushed, but oh well. There's a close up of the roof in the spoiler.
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Location: C04 Aeristus Tags: Civil building, spaceship Urgh… wha…? Sal? You’re awake? Wha…? Long? Where… what…? What happened? You caught Marphacian Swamp Fever and nearly died. We’re in a Kawashita hospital on Aeristus – they were the only ones with the expertise to save you. Ugh… I feel terrible. Last thing I remember was taking my experimental GATE-cloak ship for a test flight. Yes, you passed out during the flight. We tried to treat you, but the fever was too advanced. You’ve racked up a considerable medical bill over the time you’ve been here. How long has it been? A week or so? Almost exactly four months. WHAT?! Your executive health insurance covers you for the first three days, of course, but… FOUR MONTHS?! That’s not possible! Wait… I’ve been here for four months? And I’ve been here the whole time? I haven’t been seen anywhere else? What? Of course not, how could you- Four months would make it Oktobrinali… they must have already started… but if I haven’t been seen, then… they must have found him… but then… Long, quickly, who knows I’m here? What are you talking about? WHO KNOWS I’M HERE??? Just me and the Council. Maxximus believed it would be embarrassing if it became known that we had to rely on Kawashita to save you. Well, that’s something. I suppose if they knew where I was I’d already be dead. If who knew? …SPIDER? Ye-, I mean… who? Damn it Sal, don’t play dumb with me. I know you know about SPIDER. Tell me what it is. What do you know? Nothing. All I can come across is cryptic references to webs all over the place. Ever since SpacerSteve and Hawk went missing, the Council doesn’t trust anyone – they won’t tell me anything. If they’re missing then they’ve put the plans into motion… and if they found him then they have everything they need… Long, you’re sure I haven’t been seen anywhere since I fell ill? No. How could you possibly... wait... You can’t have… it's impossible, not to mention completely unethical... but it would explain the doubled productivity… What? Sal… did you… did you clone yourself?? What?! How did you know that?! Of course! Ever since your productivity suddenly doubled I’ve been wondering how you did it. It all makes sense now. But… how? And why? Project Lambda. The employee weaponisation project? No, that was just the part of it the Council knew about. The real aim of Project Lambda was to create an army of enhanced, obedient clones for SPIDER. What?! That’s what all my research has really been about. Awesomnium extract for growth acceleration, the persuadomatic for brainwashing, the employee weaponisation, the advanced weaponry. But when I finally almost perfected the process and created the first clone, I realised that I’d become expendable. After all, if SPIDER had an almost perfect and completely obedient clone of me, why would they need actual me? So I kept my success secret from them, and have been stalling them ever since. But when I got ill, my clone should have covered for me. If he didn’t, it means SPIDER must have found him. And if they found him, they’re finally ready. This is insane… we need to tell SpacerSteve about this when he gets here. WHAT?! I thought you said he was missing?! No, he reappeared a while back. I sent him a message as soon as you woke up and- We need to leave. Now! What? Come on! Do you have a ship here? No, but your stealth ship was brought here with you. But Sal- Even better! Let's go! Sal- Come on, there’s no time! Sal- What?! Maybe you should put some clothes on first. ---- Later: This ship is hideous. Hey, I never got to finish it! And it may not be much to look at, but with the GATE-cloak it's completely undetectable... in theory... Sal... What did you mean when you said your clone is almost perfect? Ah, yeah. The awesomnium serum worked perfectly for temporary growth acceleration, except for the hair. For some reason, his hair growth seems to be permanently accelerated... Damn it. ---- Thanks for reading! C&C welcome! Finally, all is revealed! As you may be able to tell, I've been working on this story for a loooong time (although SPIDER was not my idea, and was worked into it later). A pic of the whole build and the ship in the spoiler.
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Location: F04 - Illustria. Tags: Military Building. Previous chapters can be accessed from the AG player list here. Chapter 16: Upsilon. “It was dangerous…” the fuzzy holo-image of the hairy man said, his words only just discernable above the crackle and static of a signal that was being bounced and routed through countless locations and servers to avoid detection. “… Aiding the return of an Octan operative when you could have eliminated him… Treasonous, even.” It was a suggestion Riddaeon had contemplated himself ever since leaving Vyken Tyros at the spaceport with his false identities and his tickets back to Octan. But in that time, he had also reasoned his answer. “If you’re right…” He responded. “… And we cannot tackle this alone, MANTIS may not be enough, we need contacts in the other corporations and we need the measure of them.” “And what is the measure of this one?” The holo-image asked. Riddaeon thought for a moment, recalling the Octan agent he had picked up in the clearing on Donwarr. Tyros had been careful about what he had said in their conversation. Riddaeon had gleamed no secrets, but he hadn’t tried to. He wanted to know the man, not the corporation. “He’s loyal…” He answered. “… But principled. It will be where those two separate that we will have leverage…” Riddaeon paused for a moment, considering. “His time on Donwarr has affected him. He’s seen what The Quarrel did to the civilians. The kind of things employees don’t get told.” The holo-imaged crackled as the signal re-routed. It couldn’t stay connected the same way for too long. “Do you think he will be able to convince her?” the hairy visage asked. Riddaeon thought for a moment. That would be a feat. She was not easy to convince of anything. She was an idealist, a believer. But so was Tyros. “Maybe” he finally replied. “But he wouldn’t do it alone. He’d convince someone else first.” “Who?” The image asked. Riddaeon’s eyes gleamed with the knowing of a plan not yet fully formed. “Someone who trusts him.” He said. “His student… and her aide”. The hairy visage contemplated the revelation and the disapproval turned to near excitement. “Then we are ready?” it asked. Riddaeon nodded. “Good.” The image continued. “I will send you the information retrieved with the cypher Yseult acquired… She will find Upsilon for us. And then… So many questions will be answered.” An hour later, Yseult entered the small makeshift office that Riddaeon had made for himself somewhere deep within Sentinel, a surveillance outpost that had been built at the end of The Quarrel on the edge of MANTIS territory to observe and analyse Octan activity, of which there had been too much lately to ignore. She sat down in a seat at the end of his desk, a sheen glass black desk with a built-in keyboard and transparent 3D holoscreen display. “So.” Riddaeon opened with. “I hear you managed to crash another ship into yet another one and lose the new engine we built for it all in one mission.” He let it hang there for a moment. Yseult wasn’t sure if he was being humorous or if she should floor him for the criticism. She just sat in silence which she immediately realised probably made her come across as cold. I hate when people aren’t clear. She thought. I never know how to respond. Riddaeon sat back in his seat raising his hands to concede that his quip probably hadn’t been as successful as he had hoped. “You're a good pilot" he added to try and ease the unintentional tension. "You make it back when others wouldn't, and I think you’re ready for your real mission here.” That caught her attention. “Real mission?” She asked. “You probably figured out that you joining MANTIS wasn’t a coincidence… You were marked for recruitment, by me, to a specific task. A covert operation that no-one else, even in MANTIS knows about. Except for Big Sal, of course.” Yseult recalled her uneasy conversation with Riddaeon in the depths below Uplink the day she nearly rode away from it all. He tried to tease her with information then too. He wanted her to want to know. She had a feeling he was just as eager to tell her anyway. “Lucky for you I chose to stay this long.” She proposed. “Well… Quite.” Riddaeon conceded. “A number of Big Sal’s recent experiments have...” He looked for the right words. “... Not yielded the results we expected. When Big Sal reviewed the data, he found that the experiments didn’t fail, they were never, even on paper, going to achieve what he was trying to do.” “Why even do them?” Yseult asked. “When he re-did the equations, they all came out different, yet familiar. He believes he did them right the first time, but someone... or something was changing them”. “Sabotage?” Yseult proposed. “We thought so.” Riddaeon responded. “But that possibility has been eliminated. No, either Big Sal is actually the worst scientist in the Galxy, or some... thing has somehow been changing the equations and forcing his experiments to fail.” The revelation seemed lost on Yseult who’s face told him on which option should would put her money. Riddaeon knew why; from the outside, could you blame anyone for not taking Big Sal seriously? If he was to convince Yseult, he would have to let his guard down a little. “He may look like a crazy wild-eyed mad scientist from some comic book.” He said. “But I’ve been through more with Big Sal than anyone knows. I wouldn’t be here if it were not for him.” Riddaeon looked pensive. What he said next, he said with complete conviction, complete belief. “If Big Sal says the equations were altered... Then they were altered.” “I am just a pilot.” Yseult responded. “You’re unpredictable.” Riddaeon quickly interjected. “Big Sal ran new equations... traps. He believes that to bring whatever is doing this out into the open, we need something he called ‘Upsilon’. He doesn’t think the corporations can find it, they’re too organised... Too predictable. He believes that to find Upsilon, we need something...” “Unpredictable.” Yseult finished. Riddaeon opened his arms, palms out and gestured. And here we are. Yseult was considering the proposition. “What is this Usilon?” She asked. Riddaeon was hesitant in his admission. “We don’t know.” He replied. “We don’t know what it is or where it might be. Big Sal is working on a way of detecting it. He’s using the cypher you extracted to access Octan’s sensor network. If he picks anything up in MANTIS or Octan space, he’ll tell us where to go. That’s why we need you. Everyone else is too... Corporate.” Yseult considered the plan. It didn’t make much sense to her; it sounded full of things she wasn’t being told. “And if I walk?” she asked. Riddaeon grimaced. Any other employee would’ve saluted and been half way across the Galaxy by now. Why did she have to be so difficult? “Then we may not find out ‘who’, ‘what’ or most importantly ‘why’ until it’s too late.” Yseult recalled the dreams she had on Donwarr, the creature kneeling over her, speaking to her. You must find Upsilon. Coincidence? It didn’t seem likely. It felt like Riddaeon wasn’t the only one wanting her to do this. She looked Riddaeon in the eye, a confidence had appeared on her face, and was that even a small smile. “I need a ship.” She said. “No problem.” Riddaeon responded. “This is MANTIS. Take your pick”. Yseult was shaking her head and the smile had grown. She’s got a plan. He thought. “Not one of your ridiculous flying advertisements.” She said. “A real ship... A proper ship... A box-runner”. Her face changed. She’s remembered something. Riddaeon thought. Nostalgia. Something from her past. “And I know who we must see to get one” She said. Her personality had changed. There was something in her eyes that Riddaeon had not seen before. Life. He leaned forward. The tables had turned; now she was the one in the know. He was the curious one... And he had to know... “Who?” Thank you for reading. All comments welcome.
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Location: G02 - Freegate Tags: Vehicle, Spaceship. Chapter 15: Autofreight. Her breath had never felt so loud… Or so deep. Conserve your air she told herself. The adrenaline made it hard. She was sat still but her body was in survival mode… Panic. High above the bright white pearl of Freegate, in a quiet and lonely orbit, just far away enough to touch the blackness and silence of deep space, a solitary Quadstar drifted gently, the planet below and the debris-like specs that were the hive of orbiting Human and alien activity visible through to large dome-like cockpit windows… It was beautiful… The round concave window giving the lone occupant a deceptively wide view of open space and the sheer vastness of even this small section of the Galaxy… Yes, it was beautiful… And scary as Hell. Over the previous two hours, Yseult had run through all the options a MANTIS agent in a stolen armed Octan fighter had. There was MANTIS activity on Freegate and plenty of it, but with Octan recently taking control, how close could she get in a fighter? Her mission was covert, even MANTIS didn’t know she was there. She could go to Octan… She has the ship to get there, but what then? She’d heard that Octan didn’t keep prisoners; just took their belongings as a fine and turned them loose. Why pay to keep a criminal when you can profit from one? But that was non-corporates - the contractors and workers who broke the rules… True or not, those rules won’t apply to me.. She thought. I’m with MANTIS now. She thought of approaching an independent vessel but with talk of spiders and Dust Demons… Could she take the risk? Her thoughts turned to the GATE drive: If Octan found it will they know what it's for?.. Will they be looking for me? Presumably the missing Quadstar had been reported by now, the fight on Donwarr was so long ago. Her attention was caught as an ominous black outline drifted slowly into the bright light of the planet below. By its relative size and position, it eclipsed a significant portion of the illuminated planet. While it wasn't as big as the Jade Sun. the external containers' black clean finish made their size difficult to gauge but it was clearly an old AutoFreight unit of some kind: Harking from the pre-GATE era when trans-Galactic travel was a long and dangerous business, Unmanned freight avoided the risks associated with an occupying crew. The containers were massive to reduce trips and black to make them harder to detect for potential pirates. Only the colour-coded lines belied any information about them at all: Greens for biomass, blues for water and so on. Fitted with GATE drives, they were still used… A big box floating in space… No-one to look… No-one to notice. Yseult recalled her mission on Donwarr: the escort. How had he followed that small freighter through the anomaly?.. She suddenly realised. Of course! The large Autofreight unit was underpowered for its size, using multi-orbit slingshots to get up to speed efficiently. Before the anomalies were discovered, ships like that used slipstream to travel between the stars but while smaller types of vessel like the Speedy Owl or Shire class used raw power to reach slipstream velocity, larger bulk vessels took their time using the planet's pull to gain speed. The same is still true today in respect of reaching the anomaly, it's just easier and the freighter might do it in two orbits rather than five. Yseult's only hope was to intercept the freighter, unnoticed and latch on, riding it back to… Well, Lesser Drigo hopefully. If not… One crisis at a time, she thought. Even with her transponder off, there was no way to maneuver to the freighter without being noticed. She began running calculations through the Quadstars navigation software. Monitoring the freighter, she estimated its course… She was a long way off and… Two blips emerged from behind the freighter. She looked down to the planet, barely making out two black flies buzzing protectively around it… An escort… With MANTIS transponders. As the freighter needed slingshots to reach the anomaly, she hoped they were just there to safeguard it around Octan space: The two megacorps had taken up positions on opposite sides of the planet and tensions were rising. Perhaps when they neared the anomaly, the escorts would back off. That’s my chance. But it would be a high powered dash. She set the computer to monitor the freighter’s time to the anomaly compared to her own at full burn… If the first got smaller than the second, she wouldn't be able to reach the freighter before it entered the anomoly. Right now, with only life support active all she could do was sit in the pale glow of the planet’s light… and wait. The next time the Autofreighter passed it was much closer and well on course for the anomaly. Yseult wished for a moment she’d lowered her orbit; she could have latched on now with time to spare but then she glimpsed the two buzzing flies… still there. She wasn’t after a firefight, especially not against MANTIS. She calmed herself; there would come a moment when she would have to make a move or it would be too late. Not yet, not yet. Once the freighter was ahead of her, Yseult began to power up the Quadstar. One system at a time so as not to cause an energy spike for any listening ears. She tracked the freighter: it was ahead of her now. Not much time. She started the engines, as easy as she could and held the throttle. Her breath deepened, she tensed her arms to stop the adrenaline from shaking them. An alarm sounded: the timings had equalised… She looked at the two escorts – still there. Could she really fly towards them, a fighter at full speed? Was she afraid? She was losing time. You have to do it. You have to. The display in her Quadstar changed as two small blips peeled off. They’re backing off! Her right hand had already pushed the throttle lever to maximum and a bright trail of exhaust plasma streamed from behind the Quadstar’s engines as it powered forward. She gained on the freighter rapidly, angling the fighter slightly towards the planet to shorten the route. She would have to adjust for that later but she needed everything just to catch up. She monitored the freighter. Closer, closer and the escorts: Where were they? She widened the scope on her navigation screen… Both of them were pulling a hard turn back towards the freighter… no, back towards her. Yseult’s left had tensed on the flight-stick. Her index finger brushed the trigger as she tried to tell herself she was ready to use it. If she didn’t make it to the freighter, a fight would ensue. A voice came over the A-com. “Unidentified vessel, this is Watchdog nine; you are on our scope. You are in MANTIS controlled Freegate orbit without authorisation. Power your vessel down and prepare to be escorted to the surface. If you resist, you will be fired upon.” They’re too far away. She told herself, but the blips were coming round fast. She watched their arc – nowhere near as tight as a Quadstar could pull but they would be on her soon. The freighter loomed much closer but her time to GATE entry was still too high but not by much. “Unidentified vessel…” The voice repeated the earlier instruction. Yseult ignored it, a vocal blur on the periphery of what really mattered. The gentle dive had given her extra speed, now she had to get back up again. Normally she would just pull up but that would divert thrust from forward motion… She couldn’t afford that. The lift engines she realised. The antigravity repulsors worked the same as with her hoverbike, a small centrifuge of anti-plasma distorting space-time outwards. The amount needed to reverse the curvature caused by a planet at surface level was significant but up here. It should barely be anything. Activating the lift repulsors, Yseult applied power and the Quadstar began to move back into a higher orbit. The shortcut had given her speed and saved time but she wasn’t sure how much. The new manoeuvre confused the computer’s estimate. After a few seconds, a new figure appeared; desperately close to the freighter’s, its timer ticking down a mere fraction before Yseult’s. Alarms sounded as Yellowish-green streaks blasted past the Quadstar. The escorts. They were almost on her, closing from either side. The freighter, only seconds ahead. She was still gaining. Five seconds. She rolled the Quadstar 90 degrees. I won’t catch it she realised. But it was too late, she was going too fast and a tenth of a second after the freighter disappeared… so did she. Inside the anomaly, the gravitational eddies and currents buffeted the small fighter like a fly in a hurricane. Yseult wrestled the controls. Every anomaly was different inside; age, distance and the amount of space-time that had leaked in from outside all affected the length and difficulty of the journey. With no GATE drive, it was only a matter of time before her ship was torn apart. She was so close to the freighter, but close was no good. Trying to maneouver the Quadstar directly was useless. Inciting a barrel roll, Yseult sent the fighter out and round as tight as she could, knowing that there wouldn’t be enough room to complete the roll; there was a freighter in the way. But that was the point and Yseult accentuated the roll to make the Quadstar hit the side of the huge container floor first, the magnetic floor grappling on. Please hold. Please hold. Alarms and warnings were blaring from the impact… but it held. Thank you for reading. Any and all comments and criticisms are welcome.
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Location: G02 Freegate Tags: Land Vehicle, Spaceship, Military building - - Hawk: Nice to finally meet you. Our mutual friend tells me you found something that might be of interest to MANTIS. Gerik: You can call me Gerik. I am the leader of the Junk rats. Dax didn't tell me you were MANTIS. I suppose your credits are still good though. - Gerik: Well here she is. Captain: Is that what I think it is? Gerik: That there is a genuine Allied avenger. She's seen better days though. Captain: Hawk, if the Space Police ever found us with this they would put us in a four by four cell for sure. Your not really going to buy this are you? Hawk: Captain, have your men load it onto the trailer.
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Location: G03 - New California Tags: Spaceship The shipyards of M.A.N.T.I.S. are running full tilt, 24/7 constantly cranking out new designs and mass numbers of older craft. The latest design is a simple pod, built for pure speed in order to get commandos to the surface of a planet or the hull of an enemy ship. To make up for this craft's lack of weapons are strong armor, an old experimental design has been updated, given increased weaponry, and put into mass production. This design was christened the Bulletblade. The Pod The Bulletblade Testing on using Bulletblades to protect drop runs by the pods is nearly complete, and both craft will soon enter main fleet service. The bulletblade is an update of a design used in one of the challenges, so judge it as you see fit. The pod is new. C&C welcome!
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Location: Ertauq - E03 Tags: Land Vehicle, Space Vehicle, Vehicle, Civil building Extraction 1.1 Extraction 1.2 MANTIS Light Blue Grey Squadron's forward base on Ertauq. [MANTIS comm] "Fighters to your ships. Fighters to your ships. Alert. Alert. Fighters to your ships." [MANTIS Squadron Commander] "Light Blue Grey Squadron. Our spies have found the missing Octan base in the Ertauq sector. Uploading coordinates and schematics to you now... [MANTIS Squadron Commander] "Because of the large number of docked ships and limited defensive capabilities, each of you will have a designated target to..." [MANTIS pilot 1] "The hell?!? (Wilhelm Scream)" [MANTIS pilot 2] "Sir! Iceman's canopy it just... Oh God No!..." [MANTIS pilot 3] "No no no no no no..." [MANTIS pilot 4] "I can't control it sir it's..." [MANTIS pilot 5] ... [MANTIS pilot 6] ... [MANTIS pilot 7] ... [MANTIS pilot 8] ... [MANTIS pilot 9] ... [MANTIS pilot 10] ... [MANTIS Squadron Commander] "Light Blue Grey Squadron! Report! What the hell is going on back there?!?!" [MANTIS pilot 11-14] ... [MANTIS Squadron Commander] "Ertauq Base! This is Grey Squadron Commander Stone! I've lost contact with my squadron. Comms are dark. Scope is clear. No sight of hostiles..." [Hannibal] "Copy Stone. Prepare for ejection." [MANTIS Squadron Commander] "Ejection?!? Who is this? How'd you access this frequency?!? Show yourself you son of a..." [Hannibal] "I am the frequency Commander Stone. Now, it's time to join your men you marauding scum..." [Octan Traffic Control AI] "MANTIS fighter squadron, alter your vector immediately. This is Octan Traffic Control. This is a peaceful facility providing humanitarian relief to the citizens of the Ertauq sector. You have not registered a flight plan and I have deemed your presence hostile." [Hannibal] "Octan Traffic Control, this Commander John Hannibal. I am in possession of 15 MANTIS fighters and require immediate docking..." [Octan Traffic Control AI] "Former Interim-CEO John Hannibal has been dead for 133 cycles. And we are aware of the tasteless clones out there, how dare you desecrate that man. Prepare to be fired up... What! Wait, who's there? No! Stop! ... What's that smell? 01101000 01100101 01101100 01110000..." "Ahhh. That is better. Docking permission granted Extract 3, designation 'Combat Piloting.' Welcome home John."
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Location: C02 Hunston Tags: n/a "Wake up, Virginia," a voice called, from the other side of a dream. "You must wake up." One by one, conscious thoughts came drifting into focus, the drowsy fog lifting and chasing sleep from his eyes. He heard a different voice mumbling, a voice that was familiar and yet that he had not heard for what seemed like ages. After a few moments, he realized the mumbles were his own, and managed to twist them into a single word: "Wut?" Followed by a more distinct "Who?" The first voice, clearer now, gave the reply: "Ha ha, why it is you, Virginia! You are finally coming to. Good." He understood the words spoken, but had no idea what they were supposed to mean. He opened his eyes, but the misty sunlight made him close them again. As his brain struggled to decode the sudden flood of information from his long-dormant senses, he sat up from where he had been lying, pushing off the sort of gauzy blanket that had covered him. Eyes still closed, he turned to where the voice had come from. "But I'm not...I'm not...my name is not Virginia," he stuttered. "My name is...my name is..." As he cast his mind around for this once-known fact, he opened his eyes and looked up at the being who had woken him. If he hadn't been so disoriented he might have been startled at the sight of the four-armed man before him. Instead, he simply kept staring, and said, "Scorpio. My name is Scorpio." "Scorpio, not Virginia? A pity, I liked Virginia better. Although the others suggested even more unusual names, I suppose it makes sense that your real name be the most unusual of all." Scorpio was thoroughly confused, and wasn't altogether sure he wasn't still dreaming. The four-armed man continued. "My name is Farrs Farrkas. I was once a chieftain of my people, and I have been looking over you since your arrival." "My arrival...? How long have I been here? And where is here? Scorpio inquired. "You are simply here. Where all Things are. Although we have rarely seen anything such as you here. You have been here for several months by our reckoning. "Several months...?" Scorpio's mind was going wild, searching for anything to connect to, when he was interrupted by Farrs: "Your companion arrived at the same time, but she has not shown any inclination to awakening yet." Companion? Scorpio looked over to the other side of his cot. There, also lying prone, was his sister. His sister, Arsenica, whom he had not seen in years. What has happening? Then he noticed the scar on her face and it all came rushing back: his captivity in Octan, the transfer through the Gate system. The swirling green vortex was the last thing he remembered seeing, usually the Gates weren't green, were they? What had happened? The woman who had captured him had been his sister all along? How had he not recognized her? He turned back to Farrs. "Where did you say I was?" "Where all Things are. We have never given it a name because it is where we have always been. Except that...after you arrived, my people were broken. Conflict, which had never been known before. They all left in an exodus and are no longer Here." "Your people all left you? Why? Where did they go?" "Come sit with me in the bowery. Eat. Drink. I will tell you." "We have been observing your activities--your people's, I mean--and many of my people saw your arrival as an omen. They saw their own doom as your people transversed the realm you had overrun to arrive in ours. They said they were leaving Here to establish a New Here. I suppose they are now Someplace Else." As he spoke, Farrs gestured to the sky, where Scorpio could see faintly in the clouds several small spheres with invisible lines connecting them. It took him a moment before he recognized what it was he was looking at. He recognized Torresta, and saw that he was probably on a world correspondingly close to that. Or something. Scorpio looked at the heavens, then back to the motionless form of his sister, and then back to Farrs. "So, what do we do?" "I was going to ask you the same question, Virginia." "I told you, my name is not Virginia, please don't call me that. It's Scorpio, okay?" "Sorry. That is what my people elected to call you when they were still here. I will try and remember. Scorpio." "Thanks." Scorpio felt an unexplained trust for Farrs. Surely the fact that he had been watching over him for so long was part of it, yet it felt deeper than that. "Aha, do you see? This is why I wanted you to awaken." Scorpio looked and saw his sister's face contorted in pain, then relax again. "She does this sometimes. You did it too, even to the point of screaming, but then were still and color returned to you. And now you are awake." Perplexed, Scorpio looked at his hands and began screaming. "What happened to me? I used to be...normal! Now I'm...I'm..." He looked and noticed that Farrs was also a lighter pale color, almost white or sand yellow. His sister, however, was still a healthy bright yellow. What was going on...? **************** If you remember much of Scorpio's story (and even if you don't), this entry probably raises a lot of questions (like: 'wait, isn't Scorpio dead?' short answer: yes) while hopefully not being too undiscernible. I had planned for this story to come later, but with AG1 potentially wrapping up in the foreseeable future, I figured I had better start on it if I wanted to get anywhere with it. More answers will come later, but for now know that everything that will happen relies on story threads that were either laid down by me myself or piggybacking off of hints made by @LucasLaughing or @woofmcmoose in entries of theirs from way back. *JUDGES: the building seen is an official set (Starlight Inn) with very few modifications, and should not be judged. The landscape and tree and such is all original work, and although the crystal part at the base of the tree resembles the Elves Crystal Cave, it differs significantly enough that I consider it my own. The tree: AG week 67 by rodiziorobs, on Flickr The Bowery, Bizarro Scorpio, and Farrs Farkas AG week 67 by rodiziorobs, on Flickr
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Location: B06 Sorn Tags: Military vehicle, spaceship, spying MANTIS amplified radar stations on Sorn had detected an unidentified craft in the airspace of MANTIS territory on Sorn. The ship was tracked to a small island. Echo team was dispatched to investigate the landing site. - - Sir it looks like it's a Kawashita ship. Whats it doing here? - Take your team and scout the area, and retrieve the shuttles memory core. It might help us figure out what happened. - Yes sir - - The perimeter is clear captain but something isn't right here captain. All the cargo looks like it has been picked though. Our amplified radar never detected another ship in the area. - We should probably finish this up quick then before Kawashita or whoever did this comes back. Seven do you have the memory core yet? - Yes sir. - - Great. Echo team requesting extraction. More pictures under the spoiler tag.
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Identification: Paul Bricktron Occupation: Explorer Report Code PB - WB - A04 Report: Infiltrating Kawashita base - Searching important informations - Reached gas facility Report: Secret mission - Enough spots to hide Report: Kawa guards won't see me - Seem to be inattentive Report End
