If you want Kelly, there's always Perversions of the Force. Still, great chapter Stravo.
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Excellent chapter, Stravo.
Everyone else out there who is thinking about writing a fanfic, look at the way that Stravo seems to effortlessly weave together numerous sub-plots, without damaging the consistency and feel of the whole. Learn from that, and use it in your own writing. Not many people manage so many diverse strands of story as well as Stravo, and so it is a very good example for you to read and understand.
Also note how hard he works to make sure that the characters are the same from the television show and the movies from which he draws them. Stravo is the best in the business.
BTW, Stravo, best of luck with the Golden Star Destroyer Awards. You earned it.
Everyone else out there who is thinking about writing a fanfic, look at the way that Stravo seems to effortlessly weave together numerous sub-plots, without damaging the consistency and feel of the whole. Learn from that, and use it in your own writing. Not many people manage so many diverse strands of story as well as Stravo, and so it is a very good example for you to read and understand.
Also note how hard he works to make sure that the characters are the same from the television show and the movies from which he draws them. Stravo is the best in the business.
BTW, Stravo, best of luck with the Golden Star Destroyer Awards. You earned it.
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Latinum Star Recipient; Hacker's Cross Award Winner
"one soler flar can vapririze the planit or malt the nickl in lass than millasacit" -Bagara1000
"Happiness is just a Flaming Moe away."
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High praise indeed coming from you MoO. I'll never forget that it was you that was there at the begining giving me advice, valuable criticism and support. This fabfic would not be the fu one that it is today if not for your help in those early days.Master of Ossus wrote:Excellent chapter, Stravo.
Everyone else out there who is thinking about writing a fanfic, look at the way that Stravo seems to effortlessly weave together numerous sub-plots, without damaging the consistency and feel of the whole. Learn from that, and use it in your own writing. Not many people manage so many diverse strands of story as well as Stravo, and so it is a very good example for you to read and understand.
Also note how hard he works to make sure that the characters are the same from the television show and the movies from which he draws them. Stravo is the best in the business.
BTW, Stravo, best of luck with the Golden Star Destroyer Awards. You earned it.
Imagine if you will a Dark Critic named Vader. We fight in the Carbon freesing chamber in Bespin. It would go something like this:
"Master of Ossus has taught you well, you have control over your writing, now, release your plotlines, only your denouement can destroy me!"
Thanks MoO, your words as always mean very much to me.
Wherever you go, there you are.
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Stravo, you are the seemingly perfect example of what to do with a story. Your stories hold plots, sub-plots, and sub-plots of sub-plots. I honestly don't know HOW you do it, but I'm sure it has SOMETHING to do with not being any mere mortal. Either way, another very well done chapter. Kelly's death, although sad, is understood. After all, someone must die to show the evil of a character....After all, it's not a very convincing story if everyone who people wanted to die died, and everyone who they didn't want to die didn't.
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A Christmas present for all my loyal fans. Please enjoyv the latest installment...onto Chapter 34
Chapter 34: Gods of War part. II
“Prepare to fire all forward batteries.” Tarsi ordered tersely as the interior of the bridge was bathed in the strobe like glow of the Dominion super battleship’s main weapons array. The Dominion fleet was now quickly collapsing in on him and their fire power bore into the Adjudicator’s shields.
“Aye sir.” His XO paused for a brief moment. “Sir, our shields are beginning to buckle.”
“A few more moments, my friend.” Tarsi replied.
Tarsi watched the Dominion battleship fill his forward view port completely, its weapons systems tearing into the Adjudicator mercilessly.
“Fire all batteries.” he ordered calmly.
The Adjudicator unleashed a barrage of turbolaser fire. The Dominion battleship’s shields flashed for a millisecond as they were completely overwhelmed and suddenly it blossomed into a small sun. The bright flash of the matter-antimatter annihilation completely darkened the view ports as the autoshading activated to maximum intensity. White hot debris and plasma showered down on the Adjudicator as several lighter Dominion ships were caught in the blast as well.
Tarsi smiled triumphantly at the sight of the massive vessel’s destruction.
The Dominion fleet did not hesitate, did not falter. They continued their relentless attack on his ship and soon they had the Adjudicator completely surrounded as the smaller fighters swarmed over the large ship.
“What’s happening?” Tarsi muttered in confusion as he watched the Dominion forces continue their onslaught.
“You tried to emulate Lord Nemesis’ strategy when you conquered the Romulans. However you did not count on a simple difference that Lord Nemesis would have accounted for.” Xon replied softly.
Tarsi turned his head to face the Vulcan.
“What are you babbling about?”
“The tactic that Lord Nemesis used counted on an intimate knowledge of your target’s psychological makeup and status. His show of invulnerability coupled with the firing of the superlaser on Romulus was what he needed to break their collective will. However, the Dominion is an entirely different target. The Jem’Hadar do not know fear, they live and fight for their gods and they were bred to war. The Romulans, for all of their bluster and bravado, are not killing machines without fear, they were not bred for war, they are not motivated by a desire to please their gods. Lord Nemesis knew that the Romulans, like most humanoid species is driven by a desire to survive, and he pricked that weakness by showing the futility of the struggle.”
Xon indicated the swarm of angry ships that had closed in on the Adjudicator and were pounding her mercilessly.
“They have no such illusions and that was your critical error.” Xon finished.
Tarsi pursed his lips and glared at the smug Vulcan.
“Why do I keep you by my side?” he hissed.
“Because, despite your general arrogant attitude and feelings of superiority you recognize in me a calm voice of reason that you have found you can rely on.” Xon replied evenly.
Tarsi arched an eyebrow slightly and a tight smile crossed his features.
“I suppose you do not believe in luck?”
“Luck is a superstitious notion that seems endemic to humans, when they cannot except the randomness of the universe.”
“It’s a shame, because your luck has saved you from death more times than I can count, Vulcan. But have a care, do not presume too much or you will find that even my ‘enlightened’ patience has its limits.”
“Of that I have no doubt.” Xon replied neutrally.
“Captain, Captain Vash is on the hololink.”
Tarsi nodded and strode over to the small disc on his command section and a small figure of Captain Vash shimmered into view. Vash was shaking his head ruefully.
“You’ve stirred the hornet’s nest now, Captain. As usual, the rest of the triumvirate has to come to your rescue.”
“Well, don’t take too long, I may end up racking up this entire Dominion fleet as a kill.” Tarsi replied with a wolfish grin.
“We’re on our way.”
As soon as Vash’s image vanished Tarsi turned on his heel and stalked over to the weapon’s pit.
“Status?”
“They’re hitting us with everything they have, we count close to a thousand ships focusing their firepower on us. Shields are holding but beginning to show strain sir. Frankly, we can’t hold out under this kind of bombardment for long.”
“Navigation?”
“They have us hemmed in sir. We have very little room from which to maneuver and we cannot find a good position from which to protect the hangar bays. We won’t be able to launch fighters or bombers to help us.”
“With the amount of heavy fire out there sir, I wouldn’t recommend launching anything.” his squadron commander added.
Tarsi nodded, ignoring the gnawing concern in his belly. There were a thousand enemy ships between him and his fleet. He may have walked into a trap as Xon had so coldly pointed out. In wanting to emulate the man that had nearly killed him for his incompetence at Vulcan, he may have committed another such volley.
He would be damned if he was going to lose his ship to a fleet of genetically engineered fanatics.
“Have all gunnery stations switch to flank mode, prepare to bring engines to full power, we will exploit any breach opened by our guns.” Tarsi ordered.
“Aye sir.” his men snapped and quickly went about their duties.
Tarsi did not want to look outside. He could imagine the horde of Dominion ships crawling al over his ship like an infestation of Daramalan mites.
“Would you look at that.” Vash breathed as he saw the Adjudicator more clearly now as the Inexorable began piercing the Dominion lines to get to the heart of the fleet. The Adjudicator had nearly disappeared under the cover of Dominion fighters and heavy cruisers that had formed a tight perimeter around the warship and were now cutting loose with everything they had.
“I want weapons coverage on the Adjudicator as soon as possible, have the Romulan 4th and 5th Tactical wings envelop the Dominion fleet on the far side of our engagement area.” Vash ordered coolly.
“Do we request assistance from the ready reserve in orbit?”
“Absolutely not. This is a mess that the triumvirate got itself into and the triumvirate will get itself out of.” Vash replied.
The battle was drawn as the triumvirate and her attendant ships ripped into the horde of Dominion vessels, the Romulans cloaked themselves in waves and soon raced around the perimeter of the Dominion fleet decloaking just as the Dominion fleet turned its attention to the triumvirate attack, exposing their rear to the first salvo of Romulan fire.
“We have a break in their lines!” his XO exclaimed.
“Get us in there and lay down heavy flak, try to provide as much fire support to the Adjudicator as possible.”
A bright explosion flared up ahead.
“What was that?” Vash asked worry creasing his forehead. There was some movement ahead, the Dominion fleet was now starting to break but not because their lines had been smashed or morale crushed, but because they were moving to position themselves. The smaller ships were starting to flit madly around and then another explosion larger than the last.
The entire fleet was now beginning to scatter and it reminded Vash of a feeding frenzy. The small fighters were lining up and soon they were charging through the heart of the fleet like darts. A ripple of explosions soon followed as they darted out of view.
Comprehension dawned on Vash’s face.
“By the emperor.” he breathed.
“Suicide runs, Captain, the Dominion fleet is making suicide runs on the Adjudicator, her shields are buckling!” his XO reported, anger in his voice.
“Alert all commands, tell them to concentrate all fir eon the lead elements of the Dominion fleet and disrupt their attack runs. Have the Vanguard and Halberk move immediately to over watch position and cover the Adjudicator directly.” Vash whirled over to his squadron commander.
“I want anything that can fly to move in there and disrupt that wall. Every TIE fighter, every bomber, anything, get them in there now!”
“Aye sir!”
Vash turned and watched in stunned horror as a Dominion heavy cruiser plunged down and was immediately followed by a bright explosion that illuminated the space around them like a small sun.
“Any transmissions from the Adjudicator?” Vash asked.
“None, sir. They seemed to have been cut off in mid transmission when the first few ships struck. Perhaps there has been damage to their transmitter.” His XO suggested.
“Let’s hope so.” Vash added softly.
“Transfer everything we have to the shields and lets show these bastards what a real attack run, flank speed back the way we came!” Tarsi snapped over the crew pits as another Dominion fighter crashed itself against the bridge tower. The explosion rocked the massive warship as more Dominion ships descended upon them. The madness had begun moments ago and what Tarsi thought was an isolated incident had grown to an actual tactic used by the enemy.
Madness. Who commanded their entire fleet to make suicide runs against the enemy? Even the mad Klingons only occasionally dashed their ships against the Empire, but this was organized suicide attacks and Tarsi had never faced this before. The rebels were certainly not ones to avail themselves of such a tactic.
“You forgot that these are mass produced soldiers and ships.” Xon added.
“What?”
“The Dominion produces ships and men the way you and I produce products. They are nothing more than assets to be used by the Founders as they see fit and you should remember from our briefings that they used this tactic against us several times in the Dominion war.”
“There is nothing to gain from this. At least against the Federation this tactic would destroy their ships but against us?”
“That does not seem to be the case now does it?” Xon pointed out as a Dominion cruiser dove right into the forward forecastle without hesitation exploding into a bright white ball of light.
“Forward shield grid failing sir, we can’t take much more of this.”
“Are we in position?”
“Aye sir.”
“Flank speed then and don’t stop until we’re through.”
“Aye.”
The Adjudicator leapt forward like some desperate predator escaping a swarm of ants. Dominion warships were batted aside by the behemoth as she plowed through them. Miniature suns erupted all along the mighty bow of the Adjudicator as the tactic caught the Dominion fleet completely unaware.
Tarsi smiled triumphantly as he could see the other side of the wall of Dominion ships and the rest of the triumvirate coming to his defense.
“Look!” his XO exclaimed jabbing his finger out at the view port.
Tarsi followed his finger and his eyes widened slightly.
A tight formation of 8 Dominion fighters was racing straight for the bridge and they were coming in fast and true.
“I want all guns to concentrate on those fighters now!” Tarsi shouted.
Flak bursts exploded all along the upper portion of the star destroyer as every gun that could traverse upwards unleashed torrents of plasma in unending streaks of explosive force. The space above the Adjudicator erupted into incandescent fury for a moment and as the flak clouds parted Tarsi’s face hardened. Two fighters were coming in now and there was nothing that could stop them.
One was missing her entire starboard nacelle and pylon, the other seemed untouched. Tarsi stared at them as time seemed to slow down as only adrenaline fueled senses could do. He would not flinch, he would not close his eyes. He was an Imperial officer and he would die with the pride that he felt the moment he slid on this uniform and took on the sacred duty of an officer.
Suddenly two precise green bolts whipped down into view and struck the two fighters. They exploded into white hot fragments that impacted against the bridge tower.
“What?”
“The Relentless, sir, she’s in the fight and taking over watch position.” His XO reported, disbelief in his voice.
“The Relentless? She is on permanent patrol around Romulus. What in the name of the Emperor is she doing here?” Tarsi asked as he stalked over to the view port. Sure enough, the Relentless hung over the Adjudicator and was pouring heavy fire into the Dominion fleet elements that were getting too close. Instantly recognizable by her heavy damage, her arrow shape marred by a missing tip lost on Vulcan to Kirk’s “Hammer”, one of her main engine nozzles shattered at the battle for Earth and the Bridge tower a mangled mess of twisted neutronium. She was not a pretty warship but to Tarsi right now she was the most gorgeous sight he had seen in a long time. She was as damaged and as beautiful as her captain.
“Illith, you amazing woman. You deserve better than me.” He whispered.
“Sir, that’s not all.” His XO began. Tarsi started to turn when a titanic blast erupted and filled the bridge with light despite the polarized screening on the view port.
The wall of Dominion ships that had just a moment ago been swarming him were gone. A sea of debris, hot gasses and corpses littered the star field.
“What was that?”
His answer was before him as a giant shadow suddenly draped over the Adjudicator. The Emperor’s Will hung over the battle like a great god. The enormous warship had arrived and had instantly dominated the enemy fleet. The single blast was a result of hundreds of heavy turbolaser batteries firing in a single salvo.
The results were spectacular.
Of the hundreds of Dominion warships that had been swarming the lines, a few dozen were suddenly limping away quickly and trying to go to warp. Even the survivors were damaged and battered as was evident by the trails of molten metal and venting plasma.
Tarsi could not help but smile.
“And so to all enemies of the empire.” He stated grimly.
“Sir, we are receiving a transmission from Lord Nemesis.”
Tarsi nodded.
“Put him on.”
Tarsi walked over to the holonet receiver and suddenly Lord Nemesis appeared standing on the small receiver disk.
“My Lord.”
“Captain Tarsi, collect your fleet. Alert all commands, we are jumping to hyperspace as soon as all ships are in position.”
“I don’t understand, My lord. Without the fleet how can we secure the planet until we can get all the cloning facilities off world?”
“Leave that to me, Captain. Now gather your ships. There is precious little time.”
“Of course, My lord. At once.” Tarsi bowed his head as Nemesis’ image wavered and disappeared.
“Alert all commands, we are to form up on the Emperor’s Will immediately and secure for hyperspace.”
“But what do we do about the planet?”
“I believe that Lord Nemesis has given you your answer.” Xon interrupted calmly. Tarsi turned his head and saw what Xon saw.
Wings of Romulan warbirds were decloaking around the fleet and gliding like silent birds of prey into position around the planet as the Imperial ships began pulling away towards the Emperor’s Will. Tarsi noticed that the Emperor’s Will had with her every single Imperial warship in the fleet.
“What could be so important that he would strip our fleet from the rest of Imperial space?” Tarsi wondered aloud.
“Not only that but it looks like we have about three full Romulan fleets here now, that’s quite a dent in their fleet back home. Lord nemesis must have handed out every spare hyperdrive we had in storage to get this many warbirds here quickly.” His XO added.
“Sir, I think I might have an answer for you.” The Navigator interjected from the crew pits. Tarsi walked over quickly.
“What is it?”
“These jump coordinates the Emperor’s Will just transmitted to us takes us deep into Borg space, in fact, near the very center of it.”
Tarsi stared down at the nav comp and saw the relative positions for the jump and their fleet.
“He is going to take us into the heart of the enemy.” Tarsi stated.
“There was nothing you could do Wes.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Wesley Crusher replied darkly, his back to his mother as he worked on a power conduit. It seemed that everything needed constant attention when others were around. He only wanted to be left alone.
But then again, he was afraid to be alone. Because sometimes, when it was quite and dark, he could still hear her scream as she fell.
Beverly Crusher shook her head as she watched her son. He was no longer a boy, but a young man. She felt as if she had missed so much. Where had the time gone? And now he was here in obvious agony and she wanted to help him. He was just not letting her in. When did he become so closed off? His father was not like this…or was he?
“She fell, the others confirmed that the gantry failed and she fell too fast for you to save her. She can’t blame yourself for this Wesley. You’re becoming too responsible like your father.”
“That’s the first negative thing I’ve ever heard you say about dad.” Wesley said with a cold edge to his voice, back still turned to his mother.
“That’s not what I meant Wesley.” Beverly paused and collected her thoughts. This was not going well at all. It was as if Wesley had to challenge her on every point, he did not want to give her an inch at all.
“The droids and search teams are looking for her body and when they find it we’ll be able to put her to rest. You need closure Wesley but I want you to know that you can come to me if you need to talk about anything.”
There was a long silence between them and Beverly stared patiently into her son’s back.
“Mother it would be best if you left now.”
“Wesley.” she reached out to her son and touched his shoulder. She could feel a deep chill for a moment as if she were touching ice. Wesley turned his head slowly and peered into her eyes. Beverly gasped and stepped back as if she had been stung.
“I think it would be best if you left mother. We are going into battle.” he repeated but the voice was darker, older and powerful.
Beverly shook her head and stormed out of the section, glancing back with a mix of shock and revulsion.
Those were not her son’s eyes. For the briefest second in the low light of the chamber, she could see quite clearly that those were not Wesley’s eyes at all. he watched her leave and a cold smile came to his lips.
He was alone again in the dark. And it was good.
“Chekov! It’s good to see you back.” Kirk said with a grin and slapped the young ensign on the shoulder. Chekov strode out of the hangar bay and smiled warmly at his Captain. Doctor McCoy and Charlie Evans flanked Kirk.
“Thank you keptain. It was a long trip but I think we have made a deal.”
“Excellent. So we found that Russian consortium that you remembered.”
“Yes sir, but it was wery odd.”
“What was?”
“The Russians I spoke to said that they had to move out to the fringes because their consortium was not allowed to function in Federation space.”
Kirk looked puzzled.
“Something about the rights of corporations being annulled several years back.”
“Annulled? What could that mean?”
“I’ll tell you what it means, Jim.” McCoy began as they walked down the corridor from the shuttle bay. Chekov left the fleet several days ago to track down a Russian consortium that dealt in dilithium. They had some very lucrative contracts with the Federation back in Kirk’s era and Chekov was counting on the fact that they would still be around nearly a century later.
He had been right but was also disturbed by a turn of events that happened in the Federation years ago that forced the consortium out into the fringes.
“It means that the Federation you and I knew and loved is long gone replaced by this pasty, lifeless, politically correct reasonable facsimile of our Federation.”
Kirk looked at McCoy with a bemused expression.
“Don’t look at me like that, Jim. This isn’t the Federation, this is Federation lite.”
“The doctor may be right, keptain. My sources in the company say that they were no longer allowed to function independently in Federation space so they moved out to the Argolos cluster. Seems that many of the companies we knew have moved out to the fringes, some even in the Orion sector.”
“Orion? Why the hell would anyone want to move out to that hole?” Kirk grimaced as they entered the turbolift.
“I’m telling you Jim, have you looked at your pension fund?” McCoy needled.
Kirk looked suspiciously from Chekov to McCoy.
“What about it?”
“The fact that there is none.” McCoy finished.
“Well how the hell can there not be a pension fund?” Kirk exclaimed.
McCoy frowned.
“Because maybe they outlawed money.”
“Uh, what’s a pension fund?” Charlie asked innocently. He had vainly tried to follow the conversation, head turning from one speaker to the next, but Charlie felt a little out of his depth. he had spent most of his life on a solitary planet, conversing with beings who had no conception of human values or interests. Charlie could talk to them of philosophical theories that had evolved on other worlds millennia ago but the nuances of Federation life escaped him.
“When people get old Charlie, and they’ve worked most of their lives they get a pension when they retire.”
“Retire?” Charlie pondered.
McCoy rolled his eyes.
“When people get too old Charlie, they stop working and live their lives.” Kirk answered patiently. He genuinely liked the young man. He remembered when Charlie almost vaporized his ship and held his crew hostage. He was an angry young man then, and angry young men with vast psionic powers tended to lash out the only way they knew how. The results had nearly been disastrous. But he looked on this young man now and he saw change, growth. It was an inspiring thing. People could change and grew, even those who were like gods.
If that were the case, perhaps there was still hope for them all.
“But shouldn’t you live your life now?” Charlie asked wide eyed.
Kirk laughed and clapped Charlie on the shoulder.
“Perhaps we should, Charlie, perhaps we should. I guess there is wisdom in youth, eh?” he said with a warm smile. Charlie smiled in return and basked in the affection. He knew now more than ever that he would never let anything happen to James Kirk.
“You know, if this is true, we’re going to have an awful time negotiating with third parties for the supplies we need.” Kirk sighed as the doors slid shut and the turbolift ascended.
“Speaking of which Keptain.” Chekov began.
“Pavel, as long as you didn’t sell off one of our starships I don’t WANT to know what you did to get them to agree to supply us with dilithium.” Kirk interjected.
“Actually Keptain, it is easier than that.”
“Oh?”
“The head of the consortium, Vasilli Zaitsev, is a fan of yours. He read all the stories about you and has some collector’s items from your past, including a hull plate from the Enterprise A.”
“What the hell is the Enterprise A?” McCoy asked.
Chekov shrugged. “I assume it’s another Enterprise like this one, this one is called the Enterprise E.”
“Go on Chekov.”
“He wants to meet you sir. He said that if his childhood hero looks him in the eye and tells him that he needs these supplies and he will be paid back after the war he will be content with that.”
“A personal meeting huh?” Kirk mused as the doors snapped open. McCoy stepped out of the turbolift and fixed Kirk with a bemused expression.
“Looks like we can cash in on some of that hero worship stuff that’s been going around lately.” McCoy eyed Charlie with a critical gaze. Charlie blushed.
“You know, I have yet to meet a Starfleet doctor that says that he’s read all your work and keeps McCoy memorabilia.” Kirk said with a wry grin.
“You bast-”
The doors slid shut and Chekov tried his best to hide his grin. Kirk nodded to himself for a moment. Charlie grinned like a little boy.
“Chekov, you tell you friend Zaitsev that I will meet with him, but for now, we have a mission to accomplish.”
The doors snapped open and they walked out onto the bridge. The crew was busy with last minute adjustments and preparation as the view screen showed the fleet slowly forming up around the Excalibur. The massive conical warship was slowly beginning to lumber forward.
“Of course keptain.”
“Spock, what’s our status?”
“The fleet is standing by for your orders, Captain. All ships report ready, the Excalibur reports that all tests of the power grid have been completed and the shield grid has been activated. The hyperdrive is standing by.”
“Are we sure about this?” Kirk asked softly as he walked over to Spock’s station.
“The theory is sound. The Excalibur utilizes a power source that creates a powerful subspace distortion, a bubble if you will in subspace. By attuning our own warp cores to that bubble we can extend it around the fleet, in essence using our own warp shells as attenuators. In essence we will attach our own warp shells to the Excalibur’s enormous subspace bubble.”
“Like soap bubbles sticking to each other.” Kirk added.
“The metaphor is satisfactory.” Spock replied. Kirk glanced down at his friend but as usual there was no sign that pock ever meant it to be a joke. Somehow, Kirk was beginning to suspect otherwise.
“Carry on Mr. Spock. Mr. Sulu, set course for the target system, all starships standby for subspace folding and we will be traveling via hyperspace. We have no idea what this will do to the ship’s systems so let’s lock everything down and standby for possible emergency procedures.”
“Aye sair.” Scotty replied from his post at the engineering section of the bridge.
“Standby for hyperspace at my command. Get me Captain Riker on the screen.”
“Aye sir.”
The screen wavered for a moment and Riker appeared on the screen. Behind him the rest of the Enterprise E’s crew sat at their stations, the only new face was Tom Paris at the helm.
“Captain.”
“Captain Riker, we’re standing by. This is going to be a vital mission. I have the utmost faith that you and your crew will do their best as befitting any crew of the Enterprise.”
“Thank you Captain. We will be generating our subspace field in precisely two minutes.” Riker paused to smile. “See you on the other side Captain.”
“You’re the tip of our sword, Captain Riker. Make us proud.” Kirk replied and the screen winked off replaced by the star field outside and the vast Federation fleet that had gathered her for this battle. Charlie took his place behind the Captain’s chair and waited impatiently for this battle to begin.
“You know, a lot of the guys aren’t particularly thrilled that we’re not going to Earth.” Tom Paris said casually as he brought the beast to a full stop and prepared to engage the hyperdrive. He was used to flying sleek craft and after being spoiled on the Millennium Falcon lately, he considered this ‘promotion’ as helmsman of the Excalibur to actually be a demotion. What skill did it take to pilot this behemoth?
“Earth is a trap, Kirk smells it and so do I. SO he decided the best way to avoid a trap is to not be there. Besides, it’s the last place they’ll expect us to go.”
“I don’t care much for that logic, I prefer to think of it in more simple terms, there’s a death squad intent on killing 10,000 humans on Earth and we’re heading in the opposite direction. What’s wrong with this picture?” Tom griped.
“As you were, lieutenant. We all have family and friends back on Earth but we have to have faith in Captain Kirk that this action we’re about to take will save their lives not doom them.”
“There’s precious little of that in this universe right now, Captain. Very precious little faith.” Tom muttered as he activated the hyperdrive.
Chapter 34: Gods of War part. II
“Prepare to fire all forward batteries.” Tarsi ordered tersely as the interior of the bridge was bathed in the strobe like glow of the Dominion super battleship’s main weapons array. The Dominion fleet was now quickly collapsing in on him and their fire power bore into the Adjudicator’s shields.
“Aye sir.” His XO paused for a brief moment. “Sir, our shields are beginning to buckle.”
“A few more moments, my friend.” Tarsi replied.
Tarsi watched the Dominion battleship fill his forward view port completely, its weapons systems tearing into the Adjudicator mercilessly.
“Fire all batteries.” he ordered calmly.
The Adjudicator unleashed a barrage of turbolaser fire. The Dominion battleship’s shields flashed for a millisecond as they were completely overwhelmed and suddenly it blossomed into a small sun. The bright flash of the matter-antimatter annihilation completely darkened the view ports as the autoshading activated to maximum intensity. White hot debris and plasma showered down on the Adjudicator as several lighter Dominion ships were caught in the blast as well.
Tarsi smiled triumphantly at the sight of the massive vessel’s destruction.
The Dominion fleet did not hesitate, did not falter. They continued their relentless attack on his ship and soon they had the Adjudicator completely surrounded as the smaller fighters swarmed over the large ship.
“What’s happening?” Tarsi muttered in confusion as he watched the Dominion forces continue their onslaught.
“You tried to emulate Lord Nemesis’ strategy when you conquered the Romulans. However you did not count on a simple difference that Lord Nemesis would have accounted for.” Xon replied softly.
Tarsi turned his head to face the Vulcan.
“What are you babbling about?”
“The tactic that Lord Nemesis used counted on an intimate knowledge of your target’s psychological makeup and status. His show of invulnerability coupled with the firing of the superlaser on Romulus was what he needed to break their collective will. However, the Dominion is an entirely different target. The Jem’Hadar do not know fear, they live and fight for their gods and they were bred to war. The Romulans, for all of their bluster and bravado, are not killing machines without fear, they were not bred for war, they are not motivated by a desire to please their gods. Lord Nemesis knew that the Romulans, like most humanoid species is driven by a desire to survive, and he pricked that weakness by showing the futility of the struggle.”
Xon indicated the swarm of angry ships that had closed in on the Adjudicator and were pounding her mercilessly.
“They have no such illusions and that was your critical error.” Xon finished.
Tarsi pursed his lips and glared at the smug Vulcan.
“Why do I keep you by my side?” he hissed.
“Because, despite your general arrogant attitude and feelings of superiority you recognize in me a calm voice of reason that you have found you can rely on.” Xon replied evenly.
Tarsi arched an eyebrow slightly and a tight smile crossed his features.
“I suppose you do not believe in luck?”
“Luck is a superstitious notion that seems endemic to humans, when they cannot except the randomness of the universe.”
“It’s a shame, because your luck has saved you from death more times than I can count, Vulcan. But have a care, do not presume too much or you will find that even my ‘enlightened’ patience has its limits.”
“Of that I have no doubt.” Xon replied neutrally.
“Captain, Captain Vash is on the hololink.”
Tarsi nodded and strode over to the small disc on his command section and a small figure of Captain Vash shimmered into view. Vash was shaking his head ruefully.
“You’ve stirred the hornet’s nest now, Captain. As usual, the rest of the triumvirate has to come to your rescue.”
“Well, don’t take too long, I may end up racking up this entire Dominion fleet as a kill.” Tarsi replied with a wolfish grin.
“We’re on our way.”
As soon as Vash’s image vanished Tarsi turned on his heel and stalked over to the weapon’s pit.
“Status?”
“They’re hitting us with everything they have, we count close to a thousand ships focusing their firepower on us. Shields are holding but beginning to show strain sir. Frankly, we can’t hold out under this kind of bombardment for long.”
“Navigation?”
“They have us hemmed in sir. We have very little room from which to maneuver and we cannot find a good position from which to protect the hangar bays. We won’t be able to launch fighters or bombers to help us.”
“With the amount of heavy fire out there sir, I wouldn’t recommend launching anything.” his squadron commander added.
Tarsi nodded, ignoring the gnawing concern in his belly. There were a thousand enemy ships between him and his fleet. He may have walked into a trap as Xon had so coldly pointed out. In wanting to emulate the man that had nearly killed him for his incompetence at Vulcan, he may have committed another such volley.
He would be damned if he was going to lose his ship to a fleet of genetically engineered fanatics.
“Have all gunnery stations switch to flank mode, prepare to bring engines to full power, we will exploit any breach opened by our guns.” Tarsi ordered.
“Aye sir.” his men snapped and quickly went about their duties.
Tarsi did not want to look outside. He could imagine the horde of Dominion ships crawling al over his ship like an infestation of Daramalan mites.
“Would you look at that.” Vash breathed as he saw the Adjudicator more clearly now as the Inexorable began piercing the Dominion lines to get to the heart of the fleet. The Adjudicator had nearly disappeared under the cover of Dominion fighters and heavy cruisers that had formed a tight perimeter around the warship and were now cutting loose with everything they had.
“I want weapons coverage on the Adjudicator as soon as possible, have the Romulan 4th and 5th Tactical wings envelop the Dominion fleet on the far side of our engagement area.” Vash ordered coolly.
“Do we request assistance from the ready reserve in orbit?”
“Absolutely not. This is a mess that the triumvirate got itself into and the triumvirate will get itself out of.” Vash replied.
The battle was drawn as the triumvirate and her attendant ships ripped into the horde of Dominion vessels, the Romulans cloaked themselves in waves and soon raced around the perimeter of the Dominion fleet decloaking just as the Dominion fleet turned its attention to the triumvirate attack, exposing their rear to the first salvo of Romulan fire.
“We have a break in their lines!” his XO exclaimed.
“Get us in there and lay down heavy flak, try to provide as much fire support to the Adjudicator as possible.”
A bright explosion flared up ahead.
“What was that?” Vash asked worry creasing his forehead. There was some movement ahead, the Dominion fleet was now starting to break but not because their lines had been smashed or morale crushed, but because they were moving to position themselves. The smaller ships were starting to flit madly around and then another explosion larger than the last.
The entire fleet was now beginning to scatter and it reminded Vash of a feeding frenzy. The small fighters were lining up and soon they were charging through the heart of the fleet like darts. A ripple of explosions soon followed as they darted out of view.
Comprehension dawned on Vash’s face.
“By the emperor.” he breathed.
“Suicide runs, Captain, the Dominion fleet is making suicide runs on the Adjudicator, her shields are buckling!” his XO reported, anger in his voice.
“Alert all commands, tell them to concentrate all fir eon the lead elements of the Dominion fleet and disrupt their attack runs. Have the Vanguard and Halberk move immediately to over watch position and cover the Adjudicator directly.” Vash whirled over to his squadron commander.
“I want anything that can fly to move in there and disrupt that wall. Every TIE fighter, every bomber, anything, get them in there now!”
“Aye sir!”
Vash turned and watched in stunned horror as a Dominion heavy cruiser plunged down and was immediately followed by a bright explosion that illuminated the space around them like a small sun.
“Any transmissions from the Adjudicator?” Vash asked.
“None, sir. They seemed to have been cut off in mid transmission when the first few ships struck. Perhaps there has been damage to their transmitter.” His XO suggested.
“Let’s hope so.” Vash added softly.
“Transfer everything we have to the shields and lets show these bastards what a real attack run, flank speed back the way we came!” Tarsi snapped over the crew pits as another Dominion fighter crashed itself against the bridge tower. The explosion rocked the massive warship as more Dominion ships descended upon them. The madness had begun moments ago and what Tarsi thought was an isolated incident had grown to an actual tactic used by the enemy.
Madness. Who commanded their entire fleet to make suicide runs against the enemy? Even the mad Klingons only occasionally dashed their ships against the Empire, but this was organized suicide attacks and Tarsi had never faced this before. The rebels were certainly not ones to avail themselves of such a tactic.
“You forgot that these are mass produced soldiers and ships.” Xon added.
“What?”
“The Dominion produces ships and men the way you and I produce products. They are nothing more than assets to be used by the Founders as they see fit and you should remember from our briefings that they used this tactic against us several times in the Dominion war.”
“There is nothing to gain from this. At least against the Federation this tactic would destroy their ships but against us?”
“That does not seem to be the case now does it?” Xon pointed out as a Dominion cruiser dove right into the forward forecastle without hesitation exploding into a bright white ball of light.
“Forward shield grid failing sir, we can’t take much more of this.”
“Are we in position?”
“Aye sir.”
“Flank speed then and don’t stop until we’re through.”
“Aye.”
The Adjudicator leapt forward like some desperate predator escaping a swarm of ants. Dominion warships were batted aside by the behemoth as she plowed through them. Miniature suns erupted all along the mighty bow of the Adjudicator as the tactic caught the Dominion fleet completely unaware.
Tarsi smiled triumphantly as he could see the other side of the wall of Dominion ships and the rest of the triumvirate coming to his defense.
“Look!” his XO exclaimed jabbing his finger out at the view port.
Tarsi followed his finger and his eyes widened slightly.
A tight formation of 8 Dominion fighters was racing straight for the bridge and they were coming in fast and true.
“I want all guns to concentrate on those fighters now!” Tarsi shouted.
Flak bursts exploded all along the upper portion of the star destroyer as every gun that could traverse upwards unleashed torrents of plasma in unending streaks of explosive force. The space above the Adjudicator erupted into incandescent fury for a moment and as the flak clouds parted Tarsi’s face hardened. Two fighters were coming in now and there was nothing that could stop them.
One was missing her entire starboard nacelle and pylon, the other seemed untouched. Tarsi stared at them as time seemed to slow down as only adrenaline fueled senses could do. He would not flinch, he would not close his eyes. He was an Imperial officer and he would die with the pride that he felt the moment he slid on this uniform and took on the sacred duty of an officer.
Suddenly two precise green bolts whipped down into view and struck the two fighters. They exploded into white hot fragments that impacted against the bridge tower.
“What?”
“The Relentless, sir, she’s in the fight and taking over watch position.” His XO reported, disbelief in his voice.
“The Relentless? She is on permanent patrol around Romulus. What in the name of the Emperor is she doing here?” Tarsi asked as he stalked over to the view port. Sure enough, the Relentless hung over the Adjudicator and was pouring heavy fire into the Dominion fleet elements that were getting too close. Instantly recognizable by her heavy damage, her arrow shape marred by a missing tip lost on Vulcan to Kirk’s “Hammer”, one of her main engine nozzles shattered at the battle for Earth and the Bridge tower a mangled mess of twisted neutronium. She was not a pretty warship but to Tarsi right now she was the most gorgeous sight he had seen in a long time. She was as damaged and as beautiful as her captain.
“Illith, you amazing woman. You deserve better than me.” He whispered.
“Sir, that’s not all.” His XO began. Tarsi started to turn when a titanic blast erupted and filled the bridge with light despite the polarized screening on the view port.
The wall of Dominion ships that had just a moment ago been swarming him were gone. A sea of debris, hot gasses and corpses littered the star field.
“What was that?”
His answer was before him as a giant shadow suddenly draped over the Adjudicator. The Emperor’s Will hung over the battle like a great god. The enormous warship had arrived and had instantly dominated the enemy fleet. The single blast was a result of hundreds of heavy turbolaser batteries firing in a single salvo.
The results were spectacular.
Of the hundreds of Dominion warships that had been swarming the lines, a few dozen were suddenly limping away quickly and trying to go to warp. Even the survivors were damaged and battered as was evident by the trails of molten metal and venting plasma.
Tarsi could not help but smile.
“And so to all enemies of the empire.” He stated grimly.
“Sir, we are receiving a transmission from Lord Nemesis.”
Tarsi nodded.
“Put him on.”
Tarsi walked over to the holonet receiver and suddenly Lord Nemesis appeared standing on the small receiver disk.
“My Lord.”
“Captain Tarsi, collect your fleet. Alert all commands, we are jumping to hyperspace as soon as all ships are in position.”
“I don’t understand, My lord. Without the fleet how can we secure the planet until we can get all the cloning facilities off world?”
“Leave that to me, Captain. Now gather your ships. There is precious little time.”
“Of course, My lord. At once.” Tarsi bowed his head as Nemesis’ image wavered and disappeared.
“Alert all commands, we are to form up on the Emperor’s Will immediately and secure for hyperspace.”
“But what do we do about the planet?”
“I believe that Lord Nemesis has given you your answer.” Xon interrupted calmly. Tarsi turned his head and saw what Xon saw.
Wings of Romulan warbirds were decloaking around the fleet and gliding like silent birds of prey into position around the planet as the Imperial ships began pulling away towards the Emperor’s Will. Tarsi noticed that the Emperor’s Will had with her every single Imperial warship in the fleet.
“What could be so important that he would strip our fleet from the rest of Imperial space?” Tarsi wondered aloud.
“Not only that but it looks like we have about three full Romulan fleets here now, that’s quite a dent in their fleet back home. Lord nemesis must have handed out every spare hyperdrive we had in storage to get this many warbirds here quickly.” His XO added.
“Sir, I think I might have an answer for you.” The Navigator interjected from the crew pits. Tarsi walked over quickly.
“What is it?”
“These jump coordinates the Emperor’s Will just transmitted to us takes us deep into Borg space, in fact, near the very center of it.”
Tarsi stared down at the nav comp and saw the relative positions for the jump and their fleet.
“He is going to take us into the heart of the enemy.” Tarsi stated.
“There was nothing you could do Wes.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Wesley Crusher replied darkly, his back to his mother as he worked on a power conduit. It seemed that everything needed constant attention when others were around. He only wanted to be left alone.
But then again, he was afraid to be alone. Because sometimes, when it was quite and dark, he could still hear her scream as she fell.
Beverly Crusher shook her head as she watched her son. He was no longer a boy, but a young man. She felt as if she had missed so much. Where had the time gone? And now he was here in obvious agony and she wanted to help him. He was just not letting her in. When did he become so closed off? His father was not like this…or was he?
“She fell, the others confirmed that the gantry failed and she fell too fast for you to save her. She can’t blame yourself for this Wesley. You’re becoming too responsible like your father.”
“That’s the first negative thing I’ve ever heard you say about dad.” Wesley said with a cold edge to his voice, back still turned to his mother.
“That’s not what I meant Wesley.” Beverly paused and collected her thoughts. This was not going well at all. It was as if Wesley had to challenge her on every point, he did not want to give her an inch at all.
“The droids and search teams are looking for her body and when they find it we’ll be able to put her to rest. You need closure Wesley but I want you to know that you can come to me if you need to talk about anything.”
There was a long silence between them and Beverly stared patiently into her son’s back.
“Mother it would be best if you left now.”
“Wesley.” she reached out to her son and touched his shoulder. She could feel a deep chill for a moment as if she were touching ice. Wesley turned his head slowly and peered into her eyes. Beverly gasped and stepped back as if she had been stung.
“I think it would be best if you left mother. We are going into battle.” he repeated but the voice was darker, older and powerful.
Beverly shook her head and stormed out of the section, glancing back with a mix of shock and revulsion.
Those were not her son’s eyes. For the briefest second in the low light of the chamber, she could see quite clearly that those were not Wesley’s eyes at all. he watched her leave and a cold smile came to his lips.
He was alone again in the dark. And it was good.
“Chekov! It’s good to see you back.” Kirk said with a grin and slapped the young ensign on the shoulder. Chekov strode out of the hangar bay and smiled warmly at his Captain. Doctor McCoy and Charlie Evans flanked Kirk.
“Thank you keptain. It was a long trip but I think we have made a deal.”
“Excellent. So we found that Russian consortium that you remembered.”
“Yes sir, but it was wery odd.”
“What was?”
“The Russians I spoke to said that they had to move out to the fringes because their consortium was not allowed to function in Federation space.”
Kirk looked puzzled.
“Something about the rights of corporations being annulled several years back.”
“Annulled? What could that mean?”
“I’ll tell you what it means, Jim.” McCoy began as they walked down the corridor from the shuttle bay. Chekov left the fleet several days ago to track down a Russian consortium that dealt in dilithium. They had some very lucrative contracts with the Federation back in Kirk’s era and Chekov was counting on the fact that they would still be around nearly a century later.
He had been right but was also disturbed by a turn of events that happened in the Federation years ago that forced the consortium out into the fringes.
“It means that the Federation you and I knew and loved is long gone replaced by this pasty, lifeless, politically correct reasonable facsimile of our Federation.”
Kirk looked at McCoy with a bemused expression.
“Don’t look at me like that, Jim. This isn’t the Federation, this is Federation lite.”
“The doctor may be right, keptain. My sources in the company say that they were no longer allowed to function independently in Federation space so they moved out to the Argolos cluster. Seems that many of the companies we knew have moved out to the fringes, some even in the Orion sector.”
“Orion? Why the hell would anyone want to move out to that hole?” Kirk grimaced as they entered the turbolift.
“I’m telling you Jim, have you looked at your pension fund?” McCoy needled.
Kirk looked suspiciously from Chekov to McCoy.
“What about it?”
“The fact that there is none.” McCoy finished.
“Well how the hell can there not be a pension fund?” Kirk exclaimed.
McCoy frowned.
“Because maybe they outlawed money.”
“Uh, what’s a pension fund?” Charlie asked innocently. He had vainly tried to follow the conversation, head turning from one speaker to the next, but Charlie felt a little out of his depth. he had spent most of his life on a solitary planet, conversing with beings who had no conception of human values or interests. Charlie could talk to them of philosophical theories that had evolved on other worlds millennia ago but the nuances of Federation life escaped him.
“When people get old Charlie, and they’ve worked most of their lives they get a pension when they retire.”
“Retire?” Charlie pondered.
McCoy rolled his eyes.
“When people get too old Charlie, they stop working and live their lives.” Kirk answered patiently. He genuinely liked the young man. He remembered when Charlie almost vaporized his ship and held his crew hostage. He was an angry young man then, and angry young men with vast psionic powers tended to lash out the only way they knew how. The results had nearly been disastrous. But he looked on this young man now and he saw change, growth. It was an inspiring thing. People could change and grew, even those who were like gods.
If that were the case, perhaps there was still hope for them all.
“But shouldn’t you live your life now?” Charlie asked wide eyed.
Kirk laughed and clapped Charlie on the shoulder.
“Perhaps we should, Charlie, perhaps we should. I guess there is wisdom in youth, eh?” he said with a warm smile. Charlie smiled in return and basked in the affection. He knew now more than ever that he would never let anything happen to James Kirk.
“You know, if this is true, we’re going to have an awful time negotiating with third parties for the supplies we need.” Kirk sighed as the doors slid shut and the turbolift ascended.
“Speaking of which Keptain.” Chekov began.
“Pavel, as long as you didn’t sell off one of our starships I don’t WANT to know what you did to get them to agree to supply us with dilithium.” Kirk interjected.
“Actually Keptain, it is easier than that.”
“Oh?”
“The head of the consortium, Vasilli Zaitsev, is a fan of yours. He read all the stories about you and has some collector’s items from your past, including a hull plate from the Enterprise A.”
“What the hell is the Enterprise A?” McCoy asked.
Chekov shrugged. “I assume it’s another Enterprise like this one, this one is called the Enterprise E.”
“Go on Chekov.”
“He wants to meet you sir. He said that if his childhood hero looks him in the eye and tells him that he needs these supplies and he will be paid back after the war he will be content with that.”
“A personal meeting huh?” Kirk mused as the doors snapped open. McCoy stepped out of the turbolift and fixed Kirk with a bemused expression.
“Looks like we can cash in on some of that hero worship stuff that’s been going around lately.” McCoy eyed Charlie with a critical gaze. Charlie blushed.
“You know, I have yet to meet a Starfleet doctor that says that he’s read all your work and keeps McCoy memorabilia.” Kirk said with a wry grin.
“You bast-”
The doors slid shut and Chekov tried his best to hide his grin. Kirk nodded to himself for a moment. Charlie grinned like a little boy.
“Chekov, you tell you friend Zaitsev that I will meet with him, but for now, we have a mission to accomplish.”
The doors snapped open and they walked out onto the bridge. The crew was busy with last minute adjustments and preparation as the view screen showed the fleet slowly forming up around the Excalibur. The massive conical warship was slowly beginning to lumber forward.
“Of course keptain.”
“Spock, what’s our status?”
“The fleet is standing by for your orders, Captain. All ships report ready, the Excalibur reports that all tests of the power grid have been completed and the shield grid has been activated. The hyperdrive is standing by.”
“Are we sure about this?” Kirk asked softly as he walked over to Spock’s station.
“The theory is sound. The Excalibur utilizes a power source that creates a powerful subspace distortion, a bubble if you will in subspace. By attuning our own warp cores to that bubble we can extend it around the fleet, in essence using our own warp shells as attenuators. In essence we will attach our own warp shells to the Excalibur’s enormous subspace bubble.”
“Like soap bubbles sticking to each other.” Kirk added.
“The metaphor is satisfactory.” Spock replied. Kirk glanced down at his friend but as usual there was no sign that pock ever meant it to be a joke. Somehow, Kirk was beginning to suspect otherwise.
“Carry on Mr. Spock. Mr. Sulu, set course for the target system, all starships standby for subspace folding and we will be traveling via hyperspace. We have no idea what this will do to the ship’s systems so let’s lock everything down and standby for possible emergency procedures.”
“Aye sair.” Scotty replied from his post at the engineering section of the bridge.
“Standby for hyperspace at my command. Get me Captain Riker on the screen.”
“Aye sir.”
The screen wavered for a moment and Riker appeared on the screen. Behind him the rest of the Enterprise E’s crew sat at their stations, the only new face was Tom Paris at the helm.
“Captain.”
“Captain Riker, we’re standing by. This is going to be a vital mission. I have the utmost faith that you and your crew will do their best as befitting any crew of the Enterprise.”
“Thank you Captain. We will be generating our subspace field in precisely two minutes.” Riker paused to smile. “See you on the other side Captain.”
“You’re the tip of our sword, Captain Riker. Make us proud.” Kirk replied and the screen winked off replaced by the star field outside and the vast Federation fleet that had gathered her for this battle. Charlie took his place behind the Captain’s chair and waited impatiently for this battle to begin.
“You know, a lot of the guys aren’t particularly thrilled that we’re not going to Earth.” Tom Paris said casually as he brought the beast to a full stop and prepared to engage the hyperdrive. He was used to flying sleek craft and after being spoiled on the Millennium Falcon lately, he considered this ‘promotion’ as helmsman of the Excalibur to actually be a demotion. What skill did it take to pilot this behemoth?
“Earth is a trap, Kirk smells it and so do I. SO he decided the best way to avoid a trap is to not be there. Besides, it’s the last place they’ll expect us to go.”
“I don’t care much for that logic, I prefer to think of it in more simple terms, there’s a death squad intent on killing 10,000 humans on Earth and we’re heading in the opposite direction. What’s wrong with this picture?” Tom griped.
“As you were, lieutenant. We all have family and friends back on Earth but we have to have faith in Captain Kirk that this action we’re about to take will save their lives not doom them.”
“There’s precious little of that in this universe right now, Captain. Very precious little faith.” Tom muttered as he activated the hyperdrive.
Wherever you go, there you are.
Ripped Shirt Monkey - BOTMWriter's Guild Cybertron's Finest Justice League
This updated sig brought to you by JME2
Ripped Shirt Monkey - BOTMWriter's Guild Cybertron's Finest Justice League
This updated sig brought to you by JME2
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NecronLord
- Harbinger of Doom
- Posts: 27383
- Joined: 2002-07-07 06:30am
- Location: The Lost City
FIRST POSTER!!!!!
YAY FIRST POSTER!! since new chapter
ah.....the path to happiness is revision of dreams and not fulfillment... -SWPIGWANG
Sufficient Googling is indistinguishable from knowledge -somebody
Anything worth the cost of a missile, which can be located on the battlefield, will be shot at with missiles. If the US military is involved, then things, which are not worth the cost if a missile will also be shot at with missiles. -Sea Skimmer
George Bush makes freedom sound like a giant robot that breaks down a lot. -Darth Raptor
DOH!!! *kicks computer*
ah.....the path to happiness is revision of dreams and not fulfillment... -SWPIGWANG
Sufficient Googling is indistinguishable from knowledge -somebody
Anything worth the cost of a missile, which can be located on the battlefield, will be shot at with missiles. If the US military is involved, then things, which are not worth the cost if a missile will also be shot at with missiles. -Sea Skimmer
George Bush makes freedom sound like a giant robot that breaks down a lot. -Darth Raptor
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NecronLord
- Harbinger of Doom
- Posts: 27383
- Joined: 2002-07-07 06:30am
- Location: The Lost City
Sweet I like the whole pension fund thing...
Kahn&Thrawn.
Wanted, alive and kicking ass.
Kahn&Thrawn.
Wanted, alive and kicking ass.
Superior Moderator - BotB - HAB [Drill Instructor]-Writer- Stardestroyer.net's resident Star-God.
"We believe in the systematic understanding of the physical world through observation and experimentation, argument and debate and most of all freedom of will." ~ Stargate: The Ark of Truth
"We believe in the systematic understanding of the physical world through observation and experimentation, argument and debate and most of all freedom of will." ~ Stargate: The Ark of Truth
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Sea Skimmer
- Yankee Capitalist Air Pirate
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Thawn had better show up soon and put the Federation pansies back in their proper place, being utterly ass raped across the quadrant.
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
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Col. Crackpot
- That Obnoxious Guy
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two fleets in motion! where are they going? whenwill dark wesley freak out? and kahn...and thrawn....shadow fleet! damn stravo! steven king called, he wants his evil sub-plots back!
"This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we’ll be lucky to live through it.” -Tom Clancy
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Col. Crackpot
- That Obnoxious Guy
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Darth Garden Gnome
- Official SD.Net Lawn Ornament
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brilliant as per usual, although it seemed strangley short (probably just me). Can't wait to see the Doomsd-er-Excalibur in battle, but where? With Nemesis' pants down caught up with the Borg hes gonna give the Roms a run for their money.
But as many have said, WHERES THRAWN! The mans a genious and Nemesis needs someone to counter his rage.
But as many have said, WHERES THRAWN! The mans a genious and Nemesis needs someone to counter his rage.
Leader of the Secret Gnome Revolution
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Soontir C'boath
- SG-14: Fuck the Medic!
- Posts: 6828
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- Location: Queens, NYC I DON'T FUCKING CARE IF MANHATTEN IS CONSIDERED NYC!! I'M IN IT ASSHOLE!!!
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It appeared short to me too. This latest chapter was quite refreshing. I love the battle and the conversation with that vulcan. The Pension part was funny lol. NEED MORE!!!!Darth Garden Gnome wrote:brilliant as per usual, although it seemed strangley short (probably just me).
Cyaround,
Jason
I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."
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Grand Admiral Thrawn
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Kelly Antilles
- Sith Acolyte
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) Excellent, Stravo, as always.-
Admiral Drason
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This isn’t the Federation, this is Federation lite.
I like how Kirt & co are just realising that they arent trying to saving their Federation but a shallow mockery of it.
"Okay, I'll have the truth with a side order of clarity." ~ Dr. Daniel Jackson.
"Reality has a well-known liberal bias." ~ Stephen Colbert
"One Drive, One Partition, the One True Path" ~ ars technica forums - warrens - on hhd partitioning schemes.
"Reality has a well-known liberal bias." ~ Stephen Colbert
"One Drive, One Partition, the One True Path" ~ ars technica forums - warrens - on hhd partitioning schemes.
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Luke Starkiller
- Jedi Knight
- Posts: 788
- Joined: 2002-08-08 08:55pm
- Location: Ottawa, Canada
My guess is Romulus; sweet chapter, need more.Darth Garden Gnome wrote:Can't wait to see the Doomsd-er-Excalibur in battle, but where? With Nemesis' pants down caught up with the Borg hes gonna give the Roms a run for their money.
What kind of dark wizard in league with nameless forces of primordial evil ARE you that you can't even make a successful sanity check versus BOREDOM? - Red Mage