SE:IV B5 RP

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-06-09 05:39pm

Instead of the meek apology Kullenbrach was hoping for from the Dilgar for invading his space, he got an assurance that the Dilgar ships would be out of his territory "by the end of the year". It was January. Kullenbrach fired back a message:

Code: Select all

The Dilgar most certainly will not have a full year to remove yourselves from our space, which you should not have violated in the first place. The only reason we did not destroy your ships on approach is because we confirmed that they do not carry weapons or troops, but that is no excuse for invasion of Brakiri territory with no explanation. If we do not hear a reasonable explanation for this by stardate 2411.2, we will mark your ships as hostile and destroy them. At this time, we may also see fit to destroy the mining ships outside of your territory and replace them with our own.

Kullenbrach was considering doing that last bit anyway, seeing as how the Centauri were unlikely to agree to mining rights, and it would be a shame if the Brakiri couldn't use their large fleet of mining vessels. The Dilgar had dug themselves a fresh grave, as usual. Last time they closed a warp gate, no one could prove it was them. This time, a Brakiri scout ship hidden in a storm observed and recorded the whole thing. If Kullenbrach couldn't blackmail his way into mining rights, none of the other races would care if he simply took over the operation by force.

The sale of ships to the Narn had been disrupted for many months now, and he was starting to feel the strain on the economy. He had budgeted his construction based on having that income, and he was becoming increasingly irritated at having to do without.

In other news, communications with the Corporates had been cut again because of the Dilgar stunt. Perhaps the Corporate response had been cut off by the loss of contact, but Kullenbrach was getting tired of eating static from the Corporate Sector regarding the ships they owed him. He would send Ambassador Krull to talk with them about it.

For some reason, most of the Corporate battleships were now strangely showing up under Centauri IFF tags. Probably a computer glitch. He doubted that the Centauri had the means to purchase that many ships at once.

- - -

Ambassador Krull sent a short, direct message to the Corporates: "What about our ships?"

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-06-09 06:14pm

"Sir, we've been cut off again from the other half of the galaxy."

"Gatecrashers again..." G'Kar rubbed his temples. "What is it with these gatecrashers? Who was it this time?"

"We're not sure sir, but it's likely the Dilgar again."

"Do they have a death wish? Kullenbrach is going to be furious."

"Yes sir. Speaking of that, he sent a message relaying his concern about the trade delay."

"Tell him that the trade will resume quite shortly," G'Kar said. "The Dilgar may attempt to cut us off from the rest of the galaxy...but it is an action they shall come to regret."

Tobor · Post by **Tobor** » 2006-06-10 07:11am

-OOC-

It was the ninth month of ten Arthur. Sorry if this wasn't clear but the implication was supposed to be that the shis would be out by the time the year ticked back to xxxx.0.

Opps

-/OOC-

Tobor · Post by **Tobor** » 2006-06-10 07:52am

ISN feed

In other news today. The Dilgar COnfederacy released a press statement saying that the closure of the Rhagesh Jump gate was unavoidable. THey cited reasons of a near miss space accident due to incompotent Narn traffic when the obsolete Arleigh - Burke cruisers passed through months before. The destabilisation threated the region and so the gate was closed to prevent catastrophic damage to the system.
They also report that the Star gate network will be re-established this month throught the Koula system.

As always brining you the important news FIRST!

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-06-12 03:05pm

"What a week, what a week..." Kullenbrach muttered to himself. The Dilgar had colonized planets in his territory, so he prepared the troop ships. The Corporates had destroyed some more of his ships, and still had given no word on the ones they already owed him. The way Kullenbrach figured it, Marxis now owed him 20 heavy baseships.

The Shadows had also finally attacked him, the Ancient scum. Stamping out the Shadows wouldn't be quite as nice as killing the Vorlons, but it would be a whole lot quicker and easier, and it's not like the Shadows didn't rampage through Brakiri territory wantonly destroying his ships in the early days just like the Vorlons had. The Shadows had powerful, long ranged weapons, which meant that Kullenbrach would need a large fleet to keep casualties to an acceptable level, but that was no problem. The other races had come a long way since Kullenbrach first rolled out his base ship fleet, but he still had the most powerful navy in the galaxy.

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-06-12 06:07pm

M6

Vir watched the monitor, transfixed, as it showed one of the jump gates into the Cooke system open in the usual flare of blue. A small, black vessel emerged, escorted by a small number of warships.

The Shadows' ambassador had finally arrived in the system and was now a mere few parsecs away from the station.

And so far as Vir was concerned they couldn't have shown up at a worse time. After a period of relative lull, tensions were flaring up in the galaxy again and thus things were flaring up on the council, too. The Shadows' ambassador would further excite those tensions, Vir was sure.

"Ivan," Vir said to his assistant. "I think our jobs are about to get much more complicated."

GuppyShark · Post by **GuppyShark** » 2006-06-13 08:22am

Tap. Tap tap. Tap tap tap. Tap.

Captain Bouchard tapped his fingers against the side of his command chair irritably. He was sure some of the captains of the Tunguska's sisterships were buried behind their desks, but not him. If he was going to be given the glory of captaining one of the most powerful warships in the galaxy, even for a few short months, he wasn't going to waste it in his cabin.

Still, sometimes the bridge could be damned boring.

Especially right now. Nobody had said a word for at least ten minutes.

"I'm picking up something on my radar!" exclaimed a young sensor tech, excitedly. He lifted his coffee cup up for a better look at his screen.

"What is it?" Bouchard asked.

"A cup of coffee!" the sensor tech grinned.

Instantly, two bridge crew stood up, grabbed the sensor chief under each armpit, and pulled him bodily out of the bridge.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood..." was all Bouchard heard after the bridge access hatch slid shut.

"Sir," began a communications officer. Conscious that all eyes were on him, he chose his words carefully. "We've lost communications with Command. It looks like one of the jumpgates was shut down."

Bouchard mulled it over. Such an occurance wasn't unheard of - if the politicians had actually planned for them, they wouldn't be a hassle, but as it was, military men like him had to deal with them.

He didn't much like being this deep in Centauri space without contact with Command, though. Especially since this mission was so strange.

'Accidental' IFF stuff ups, alien species permitting each other to manufacture in orbit of their homeworlds, stranded Earth crews, now their route home was cut off...

Oh, fuck. Why didn't he see it sooner?

"XO, get me a sitrep on what's left of the fleet. How many of our ships are still under our command?"

"Four, sir. Hammer of God, Sword of Wrath, Battle of the Line and ourselves."

"Damn. It'll have to be enough. Sound general quarters."

--

Klaxons sounded throughout the mighty vessel. Crewers rushed to their duty stations, though many had let their readiness slip. Even this deep into alien space, many of them had their thoughts set too strongly on off-world R&R.

--

"Captains."

"Captain Bouchard, what are you doing?" This was Captain Lord of the Sword of Wrath.

"We have to act decisively, now. The aliens have brought us here, and bought our ships out from under us. Now they've cut off our route home. I expect the next thing they'll do is to capture us and use us to lead a multi-alien fleet aimed directly at Earth."

"Not without precedent. What are you suggesting?"

"We strike hard. Look at this planet! It's supposed to be Centauri, but its orbit is crawling with Brakiri - Brakiri we've already fought once. Note that they're not picking fights with the Centauri. If that isn't evidence of an anti-Human aliance, I don't know what is."

"I'm in. We've got to get home and warn everyone." That was Captain Greenslade of the Line. One of Marxis' old war companions, he had been given the honour of naming his own ship. The name suited the Captain.

"We should take this to the Admiral." Captain Hammond. Younger, not as sure of himself or his command.

"No," Bouchard said, not unsympathetically. "The Admiral is in the hands of the Centauri, we have to assume he is compromised. We four are the only ones that can act, right now. We can't afford to throw away the chance."

--

"Captain Bouchard, all stations report ready."

"On my command. Fire!"

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-06-13 04:16pm

It didn't come as a huge surprise to the Planetary Defense Commander of Thessin X when four Corporate ships were not transferred to Centauri command. The Corporate Sector seemed to have some ships with the same names. Probably some counterintelligence measure by President Paranoia, the Commander thought. Either that, or the comm. channels were just garbled.

In any event, this wouldn't have been a problem, if not for the fact that the recent gate crash had cut off all communication with the western half of the galaxy, causing the enemy/ally beacons to start acting up.

The Commander ordered the ships they did have to move a parsec away from the planet, to avoid any accidental conflicts and sent a brief message to the remaining Corporate controlled ships to do the same.

Suddenly, the four Corporate ships opened fire upon the unarmed and immobile Haven shipyards and the half constructed Kraken hulls they were working on. The Commander quickly ran from the comm. but it was too late. The tremendously powerful weapons of the Corporate ships reduced the Haven yards into scrap, reducing the Centauri ship building capacity by almost a third in seconds.

"Oh, there goes my holiday bonus," the Commander groaned.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-06-14 11:36am

"The alien terrorism must come to an end. Not only has the jump gate between Centauri and Human space been damaged, but vital resource shipments as agreed to with the Centauri Emperor have not arrived. Our vessels must be presumed captured, part of concerted alien conspiracy to assemble a war fleet to assault human worlds."

"The Corporate Sector has time and time again attempted to maintain the balance of power in this galaxy. However, alien treachery has been proven time and time again, this time with disasterous consequences. Millions of human beings will lose their jobs this quarter due to the raw material delay from aliens who we negotiated in good faith with. Free trade is the staple of interstellar economies and by sponsoring intergalactic terrorism, alien governments undermine the very foundation of human society."

"Therefore the Corporate Sector is immediately preparing its own jump gate construction fleet, and sending a punitive expedition into the eastern rim as soon as a stable jump gate can be constructed," Marxis said.

A flurry of questions followed. "What about Earthforce and the Minbari?" a brown-nosed reporter said.

"You're with us or with the terrorists," Marxis said. More questions were shouted.

He stepped from the podium behind the curtain and faced Vera.

"Any word from General Stiller?" Marxis said.

"Nothing. We can't get through the hyperspace interference with the jump gate destroyed."

"What about R&D?"

"The Minbari have jump capable warships."

"It'll be a cold day in hell when I ask aliens for help," Marxis said. "Have our people keep trying to get a message through." I will slaughter a thousand aliens for every dead human, thought Marxis.

Brian

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-06-17 12:43pm

The Ancient scum were no match for the mighty Brakiri warships. This little war had just started and it was about to be over. Based on analysis of the battle, it took two Shadow ships firing at point-blank range to destroy a Brakiri ship, while one Brakiri ship could destroy two Shadow ships at medium range. The Shadows had a large range advantage, but it would not be enough. Kullenbrach could easily take these Shadows against even odds, and he outnumbered them more than 3 to 1.

The destruction of most of the mining ships that had entered Shadow territory was a blessing in disguise. He had made too many mining ships and there weren't enough places to put them. Now maintenance costs were freed up and there were just enough idle ships to remote mine in Shadow territory once they had surrendered or were cleansed, then he could finally afford to remove his ships from Centauri space, as Mollari was no doubt getting pissed off at their continued presence.

Still no word from the xenophobic Corporates about his ships. The new fleet was almost ready, and the old one was still powerful enough to mop the floor with the Shadows. Perhaps it was time to give the xenophobes something to be phobic about. Still, the Corporates were at odds with the MVB, who would have to go through the Corporates to get to Kullenbrach. It would be foolish to upset that balance. And yet, he couldn't let the alien haters get away with so much destruction with no consequences. This would require more thought.

GuppyShark · Post by **GuppyShark** » 2006-06-18 10:41am

News from home concerned Fala'andu. Their former 'partners', the Brakiri had moved armed baseships into space known to belong to the Shadows, under a flag of peace, and thus bypassed the Shadow defences. They now threatened the last Shadow homeworld.

So much for aiding them against the Vorlon/Minbari alliance.

He arranged a meeting with the Brakiri ambassador. He would remind him that the Shadows' value as allies outweighted the value of their planets.

And if that didn't work, then the Brakiri would have yet another enemy.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2006-06-19 11:57pm

M6 Council Chambers

"Ambassador Robert Fox of the Earth Alliance, you have the floor."

"Thank you. I am afraid my business here is not at all pleasant. I have been assured by the commanding officer of this space station that there are now no less than seven large starships, at least five hundred kilotons or larger in mass, currently in the Cooke system. At this time I must ask that the governments under whose flag these ships fly - the Minbari Federation, the Dilgar Confederacy, and..." and here Fox seemed almost unsure what to do with the rather simplistic name, "...the Shadows - immediately register the mission and flight plan of each of these starships with the commanding officer of this space station. This is a matter of utmost importance; if these ships are armed, then the possibility of an incident - even a wholly unintentional one - becomes far too great for us to ignore. Cooke should be a system of free transit, to be sure, but we cannot have armed starships loitering unnecessarily next to the galaxy's largest collection of diplomats and the biggest space colony yet founded."

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-06-20 01:15pm

The Shadow homeworld now flew a Brakiri flag. The Ancients must have felt that their superior technology would win out. If they'd gathered better intelligence, they'd have known just how strong and numerous the Brakiri navy was. Kullenbrach sent a message to them:

Code: Select all

It's over. Surely you can see that. Surrender and you can still see the Vorlon perish under our rule. Refuse and watch us conquer the rest of your planets. It's your choice, Mr. Defel, but we will resume attacks if we have not heard an answer by 2411.6.

The invasion of Tr'Ess'Na had been costly in terms of troops, but they were all automated anyway so no one cared back home. They could be easily replaced. Kullenbrach had briefly considered giving the Shadows back their homeworld if they surrendered, but once he saw how much research and resources its facilities were capable of producing, he nixed that idea. Still, he would give them back the other planet the Brakiri had taken. If they did not surrender, of course, he would simply take all of their other planets as well. This was a great day for his empire. One bunch of Ancient scum down, one to go. Kullenbrach had a feeling he would need all of the territory and resources he could get, judging from what he was hearing about the Minbari. Kullenbrach checked the status on the new fleet. Soon now, very soon.

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2006-06-20 02:23pm

Withdrawn more or less again from interstellar affairs, Delenn waited back on Minbar, within a crystaline citadel of it's capital city. She stood in wait for a message to arrive. It soon did, Lennier appearing.

"Delenn, there is news to the east. The disruptions in hyperspace navigation seems to have given the Brakiri enough time to muster an attack on what is left of Za'ha'dun.."

Delenn did not need to be told the results. Through their reckless expansion and exploitation of their home systems, as well as those of their neighbors...

She turned her head. "And the White Star Fleet?" she asks. Lennier nodded softly. "Another two hundred have been commissioned for the Anla'shok. The Warrior Caste will support us in this action." he said.

"Then the hammer will fall soon, should they turn their attentions to us." Delenn turned. "Please take me to the communication center. I will contact the humans."

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-06-20 04:02pm

"Mr. Marxis, Mr. Marxis," Cameron, a greasy haired reporter said chasing the most powerful single human being in the galaxy to his limosuine. "What do you have to say about the Interstellar Red Cross's accusations of prisoner abuse?"

"Utter lies perpetrated by the liberal left," Marxis said. "The Yolu and Hurr have prospered under our rule. In fact, the deployment of our warships to the Hurr-Yolu border has ensured the two civilizations have lived in relative peace for the past three years."

"What of photographs and documentary evidence of torture?"

"Digitally altered. Our relocation camps adhere to the strictest standards." Marxis paused. "The Corporate Sector will defend the Yolu and the Hurr from outside interference. Any intrusion by any power whether it be Alshain's peaceniks or aggressive aliens will be considered a provocation."

Brian

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2006-06-25 02:07am

Earthdome
Presidential Office

"There's still several Shadow cruisers within spitting distance of M6, Mr. President."

"Alright. Order the Tellus battle group to continue on course. If those Shadow ships don't leave soon, we'll move the carrier group in and... and present our request more forcefully." At that, Alshain smirked.

"Yes, sir. May I suggest...?"

"Yes?"

"The Omega prototype has just been completed. Perhaps a demonstration-"

"No. Omega represents a leap ahead for Earthforce; it's going to be the backbone of our new navy. Let's keep her quiet for now. Run her around the block on a shakedown cruise, but keep her within EA space."

"Understood."

"How's the deployment of our jump gate defense grid coming?"

"On schedule, Mr. President, as are all of our other projects."

"Excellent. Keep me informed."

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-06-27 07:08pm

Kullenbrach received the Shadows' defiant message with a smile. Good, he didn't really want them to surrender anyway. With the new space opened for mining, Kullenbrach could finally move the miners out of Centauri territory and into more fertile Shadow territory. Things were really coming together.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-07-03 02:04pm

Marxis Corporate Headquarters

Marxis smiled to the cameras. "Today the Corporate Sector has made a historic breakthrough. We have begun negotiations with the Dilgar to give them the equipment and means necessary to defend their territory. One hundred fully equipped warships will be sent to the Galactic East in exchange for cultural and economic concessions."

"Not only will this agreement solidify the Corporate Sector's commitment to galactic peace, but we we have done what President's Alshain's negotiators could not for years. Achieve real stability in the region by assisting governments in maintaining their territorial integrity."

"Due to last month's unfortunate incident with the Centauri, the cultural exchange will take place with skeleton crews and specially hand picked negotiators. The expedition will also attempt to acertain the fate of the crew who went missing deep in Centauri space. We will also attempt to reestablish contact with the Brakiri."

"We sincerely hope that this gesture of good will by the Corporate Sector will convince the Dilgar to stop their closure of jump gates. We understand that the Dilgar must ensure the safety of their people, but with this purchase the Dilgar will no longer have a reason to be afraid of any alien incursion."

"As to the Corporate Sector's inhabitants, they need not worry about their own security. Although the Earth Alliance has forsaken you, the Corporation has not. You are our family. We are constructing more warships to serve your interests, and in a year our shipyards will rebuild our fleet with hundreds more super dreadnaught class warships that will replace our aging United States fleet, along with a new class of vessel that will dwarf all the ships of every other galactic empire. You will be safe."

"Thank you all."

Brian

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-07-03 02:28pm

Kullenbrach read, and then re-read Marxis' announcement. Things were going to get interesting fast if he was really going to hand over 100 Corporate Sector warships to a rogue state like the Dilgar. A race that had backed out on years of friendship in a failed attempt to steal his ships that they could have simply bought. A race that had twice bisected the galaxy with warp point closers, causing the destruction of 20 Brakiri ships, and a large percentage of Centauri shipbuilding capacity, not to mention significant losses of trade revenue. There was no telling what they would do with a full strength, fully modern fleet. Kullenbrach shook his head. Marxis had lost his fool mind.

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-07-03 03:15pm

"Damn that Marxis, damn him straight to hell!" Londo raged. "I plunged the Republic into debt to keep this from happening and Marxis goes and makes it happen anyway! Has the man lost his mind! The Dilgar would be the alien menace he keeps prattling on about if they had the firepower and he hands them 100 warships!"

Dmitri had never seen his emperor in such a state, but he could fully understand it. The Dilgar had never shown any desire for peace whatsoever. Just the opposite in fact. They seemed to have a desire to destabilize the galaxy that bordered on the suicidal. They could've stopped their war against the Narn while they were ahead, but instead they'd continued on until the Vorlon/Minbari bloc had unleashed near armaggedon on them. They'd split the galaxy in half twice, earning the ire of most of the star nations, and for what? No reason Dmitri could understand. Even worse, a Dilgar gatecrasher had been spotted in Jodan, though Dmitri was sure that it would at least wait until the ships were transferred.

Either Marxis was a complete idiot, which recent history indicated he was not, or he was deliberatly trying to destabilize their quadrant of the galaxy.

Londo poured himself a tall of glass of bravari and drank deeply. He seemed to calm down. "Dmitri, get Vir on the line."

"Yes, Excellency."

Tobor · Post by **Tobor** » 2006-07-04 02:29pm

Rai'jal looked over the proposal that the Coroprate ambassador had presented him with.

He admitted to himself that the deal definately held potential. 100 of the Heavy Baseships would be quite an asett to the Dilgar Confederacy and would give them a much needed boost of stability.

The financial side of the deal would not be an issue. However, he must admit that he had reservations about the additional requirements for business with the Corporates. The number of Hotequeches in the field was a well kept secret, even from most of the Dilgar field commanders and using them to create warp holes on behalf of other nations was somewhat dubious to say the least.

He instructed Filed commander Bra'ka to return home. He would need his expertise and experience to fully patriate the crews of these alien ships.

-----

Commander Bra'ka breathed a sigh of relief as he put down the communique. It had been five long years since he had been stranded here. Practically exiled within the Na'koleen system. The fleet he had taken to occupy the Narn homeworlds now numbered only three ships. Once he brought Oblivion to the many Narns that oposed him, but now... Now, all he had was the remnants of that once glorious fleet. As he looked upon the bridge of his cruiser he sighed. She seemed so old and frail now, especiallywhen compared to the newer, faster Baseships and heavy Baseships that were striding the Galaxy. He admitted to himself it would be a shame to finally put her to rest when he reached Ka'Traatzi but as Rai'Jal explained he would be required for his intimate knoweledge of Alien vessels.

Giving one final glance to this desolate cloud he had been parked in for the last few years, Bra'ka gave the order that the fleet had been longing for. Finally, finally Oblivions'-edge would be returning home...

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-07-05 12:39am

Dmitri had not seen Londo so calm since before Marxis released the news of selling the war fleet to the Dilgar. The young aid didn't know the exact reason for this turnabout, but he was willing to wager that it had something to do with the message he'd recieved from Vir.

"You seem...pleased, Londo," Dmitri said. "Has the situation changed?"

Londo only smiled cryptically. "Come, my young friend. Drink some bravari with me."

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-07-06 03:18am

"The Brakiri want... uh, they want twenty ships. Because we--" The aide squinted at the text. "--we owe them."

Marxis read the message over. "Straightforward these Brakiri. I like them."

"What do I tell their Ambassador?"

Marxis paused. "Nuts. And after you say that, contact the Earth Alliance through our back channels. If the Brakiri do decide to retaliate, we need to know where our venerable President stands."

"The Hurr Ambassador is here as well."

Marxis smiled. "Send him in."

Brian

Tobor · Post by **Tobor** » 2006-07-06 01:36pm

Rai'jal looked sourly at the report.

Slowly his expression changed to a smile. Finally he thought to himself. Those fools have buried themselves. Well, he thought, if they want to play hard...

Lets play hard.

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-07-06 09:21pm

"You did magnificently, Vir," Londo said. "The Warmaster will not be so casually throwing around money on warships now. And Marxis cannot be so cordial with a nation that does not honor its bargains."

"Thank you, Londo," Vir said. "So far, it is not common knowledge around M6 that I was the one who orchestrated the embargo, but every ambassador I spoke to knows, of course, as do many of their aides."

"Don't bother trying to keep it a secret, Vir," Londo said. "If the Dilgar are going to strike someone out of retaliation, it will be us. Their only border is with us. And they will regret it if they do."

"What about the 100 Corporate ships?" Vir asked.

"I'm hoping the Dilgar or the Corporates will terminiate the deal," Londo answered. "If not, and the Dilgar attack us with that fleet, we can defeat them. We have our own fleet, and it will swell with Krakens soon, too. And if need be we could probably get more ships from the Brakiri, but I doubt we will need to. If the Dilgar tangle with the Lion of the Galaxy, they will regret it, this I swear."