The Chiron Chronicle 6: 2182

[DarkCloud]

OOC: I'll post in about 2 days, everyone please look at my post in Discussions.

[Guardian]

To: Chairman Yang of the Hive
From: General Braddock

Your proposal is acceptable. If you can supply us with enough missile rovers to equip six regiments within a year, we shall gladly share our files on advanced sub atomic theory. The basic design (6-1-2) is acceptable for now. If all goes well, we can discuss production orders for more advanced models at a later stage.

General Braddock


U.N. Missile Foil Crusader

The six foils were now slowing down and altering course to begin a slow, lazy patrol of the area. They were now about 650 nautical miles (a bit over 1000 km) away from the Hive's coast. At this distance they were harmless to the Hive, and the Hive was harmless to them. They were also out of range of deep radar or any other long range sensors, so they and the land based Hive forces could not see each other. In other words, they couldn't do much from this position, and they were indeed not doing much at the moment. However, the reason for their being here lay not in what they could do from here, but in where they could go from here; If things went sour again, they could re-enter the Planetneck theatre in a matter of hours. They would be staying in this area for some time, just in case...


At the defense line, west of U.N. Haven City

Commander Cooke had just finished an abbreviated inspection round and found himself smiling. The mood of the troops had changed in the light of recent developments. Their determination was still there, but the anger and hate that had in some cases been threatening to flare out of control was now being replaced by a cool, calculating confidence. The Spartans are isolated now. The Hive won't help them anymore, the Morgans won't help them anymore and the University is too busy being @ssholes on their own! And the damned Spartans have started fighting amongst themselves! We on the other hand are more united, better coordinated and more motivated than we have been for decades, we have more resources than they do and a strong alliance backing us. Damn it, we can do this! We can win! We can beat the Spartans! Yes, it will still be hard, but it can be done. And there is no need for us to reduce ourselves to their level. There is no need to become Spartans. We can fight this war as Peacekeepers and come out of it with our honor and integrity still intact. And then we will not only have beaten the Spartans. We will also have proven that they are wrong! The thought made him smile even wider.


[OOC: Am I to play out the "Clash of the Titans" on my own now that Cyber's gone or should I wait for someone else to tell me what the Spartans are going to do?
Oh, and I just realized that the war against the Spartans has been going on for a full year already! The Peacekeepers should have some reinforcements on the way by now... ]


U.N. News Network

*Broadcast begins with the image of the blue and white flag of Peacekeepers flying high and proud against a blue sky on a clear summer's day. A fanfare is playing in the background as a somewhat agitated, yet steady and confident voice announces that this is the U.N. News Network with today's headlines.*

Voice: In spite of the loss of Data Acquisition to the Spartans, things are looking better now than they have for some time. The Spartan Federation is now completely isolated, as the Hive has officially withdrawn from the Apex alliance and signed a peace treaty with the Peacekeeping Forces. Chairman Yang and the Central Committee have proven more reasonable than some of us would have thought.

*New scene: Planetneck, Peacekeeper side. Formers and groups of soldiers are busy cleaning up the area and repairing the bunkers. The soldiers are quite obviously kind of pissed off about something... The camera zooms in on a group of bodies that have not yet been removed, obviously nerve gas victims...*

Voice: However, the decision not to pursue the Hive's use of nerve gas in the conflict does not sit well with our people.

*New scene: U.N. Enforcement Base. Angry mobs being held at bay by riot police outside General Braddock's headquarters. Similar scenes from U.N. Headquarters...*

Voice: In spite of this, most of us do understand the reasoning behind the agreement and the need to focus our efforts on fending off the Spartan threat.

*New scene: U.N. Enforcement Base again. Three regiments of Data Angel rovers parading through the streets, heading out of the base to the north...*

Voice: The Data Angel rover units that have been receiving upgrades at U.N. Enforcement Base are now ready for action. They moved out earlier today, heading north towards the Spartan front.

*New scene: Two U.N. Transport foils escorted by three missile foils, off the coast of PK Island. The transports are loaded with rovers and supplies headed for the Eastern Continent. The camera zooms in on a rack of missiles on the deck of one of the foils. The missiles themselves are full of "greetings" from the workers and crew who have handled them. One of these "greetings" stands out clearly and remains on the screen for a while; scrawled on the front section of the missile is the message "If you can read this, you're a lucky Spartan..."*

OOC: Guardian, i will be doing summaries of what the spartans are doing. And can build your rovers at the island and crew them on the continent. it is alowed and makes sence.
Nautilus have three units on the central continent :P and the most advance and powerful there to at the moment :P one north of Inspiration Point at the border, and the other two north-east of Garland Crater, between Epsilon Center and University Heights.
Darkcloud, sorry, but maybe better if you state your ideas at the discussion, no? :P and no nukes please. Pi Complex south of Manifold Nexus and east of Inspiration Point is vulnerable to University attacks from Outpost #1 and Zarya-Sunrise, while Inspiration Point is more concentrative of Ally military.

Hotzones on the continent: Data Angel/University Border, between Trojan Source and Cosmograd. Cyborg/University border between Epsilon Center and Research Heights and between Inspiration Point and Library of Planet.


Spartans...


The Main Army is waiting impatiently for the order to attack from the general, who is waiting for some response from the Junta in Sparta Command. Something is going there and the general is not sure. He knows that the general of the blockade guardians was ordered to Sparta Command for "processing", for defying orders to have his units equip with Nerve Gas and to attack the unknown Rovers in the Upland Wastes. He is also currently receiving reports that the "unknown" rovers have attacked and wipe out some of the Guardian units near Blast Rifle Crag. The unknown rovers (OOC: nautilus battle dragons) are currently sieging the base. The rest of the Blockade Guardians are being slow to respond, because they were waiting for their general and currently having sabotage problems. So by the time they get to Blast Rifle Crag, the Unknown rovers may of already taken Blast Rifle Crag. With that situation going up north, the combine army being cut off by the peacekeepers and now the Hive backed off from the alliance, the Junta is in disarray. Since the General of the Main Army is part of the Junta, he waits until some news or response from Sparta Command, who have been keeping quiet in past month.

the Cult of War units are taking a beating, losing a unit so far. Yet, they are still giving a lot of pressure to the Peacekeepers and its allies at the defence lines. the Cult of War units seem to be trying pierce through the defence lines.

As for the Combine Army, well, their supply and retreat route as benn cut off, but they are still in control of Data Acquisition. They are short in supplies, but they still start raiding/attacking the local surroundings and "acquiring slaves" from the farms, forests and mines. They are pretty much waiting for the peacekeepers to attack.

OOC: the clash of the titans will happen, just delayed a bit

[Guardian]

Planetneck

The three Cyborg regiments had arrived at the Planetneck the day before. There had been some confusion regarding their presence here, as the Cyborgs had already signed a Treaty of Friendship with the Hive. However, their orders had not been changed, so here they were. The Peacekeeping Special Forces who were already there seemed strangely ambivalent towards the newcomers...


From: General Braddock
To: Chairman Yang of the Hive

Chairman, I feel I should inform you that our forces at the Planetneck are being reinforced by three Cyborg regiments of Trained Silksteel Sentinels. These are defensive units and they're no threat to your forces unless you actually attack them, which we hope you will not do.
On a different subject, we would like to alter the specifications for some of the rovers we have ordered from your factories. If possible, I would like two of these units to be equipped with Deep Radar.

General Braddock


From: Commissioner Pravin Lal
To: Prime Function Aki Zeta-5

Yes, we have indeed tightened our security, and I am proud of the results we have achieved in such a relatively short time, although I deeply regret that these steps were necessary. Your data on Silksteel Alloys are safe with us now, and do not worry about your hesitation to share it with us. Even I can see that you did right under the circumstances.
Hopefully, we shall see better times than this.

Commissioner Pravin Lal


From: Fleet Commander George Evans, U.N. Navy
To: Captain Svensgaard of the Nautilus Pirates

Any chance of learning how to build cruisers?

[Natan]

From: Chairman Shen-ji Yang
To: Ministry of Industry

You are to begin the construction of six 6-1-2 rover regiments, two of them to be equipped with advanced "deep radar" sensor systems. Do not, repeat, do not, train any additional soldiers to man these regiments. Construction must be completed within the year. However, you are to continue the upgrading of our gatling rovers to missile armaments. Use of military forces to complete this mission is authorized.

From: The central Committee
To: Ministries of Science, Industry

You are to begin construction of a second human genome project. Focus attention on the ability to produce new human beings while forgoing the natural reproductive process, on developing the ability to conduct advanced genetic engineering of humans and others predictably and efficiently. Aditionally, you are to research the effects of genetic engineering on our society, and determine, in conjunction with the Central Committee, how we can best make use of the fruits of your labors. For now, your work on this project, although highly important, is to be considered secondary to a certain important project currently being carried out by the ministry of industry. Your resources will be limited, but we expect you to make the most of it.

OOC: I think I can build the rovers and do some work on the Human Genome project at the same time since my forces are no longer on a war footing, I am not training troops to man the rovers, and I don't expect to do that much work on the human genome project this year. But no one answered my question about technological research in an earlier post.

[Guardian]

U.N. News Network

*Broadcast begins with the now familiar image of the blue and white flag of Peacekeepers flying high and proud against a blue sky on a clear summer's day. A fanfare is playing in the background as today's headlines are announced...*

Voice: It's a great day for the alliance! The Chiron Alliance in general and our alliance with our friend the Planetmind in particular. Finally, we have some good news to report that aren't about war! We have made a scientific breakthrough in the field of Ecological Engineering.

*New scene: A hill... covered in fungus... the camera "climbs" the hill - and there, sitting in the fungus on top of the hill, is Commissioner Lal...*

Lal: Lifeforms have always shown remarkable skill at innovation and ingenuity in the face of environmental hurdles. Unfortunately, in the case of our species, this "ingenuity" has often had an absolutely devastating impact on our environment. As a result, we destroyed the very world that we lived in. By all rights, we should have been extinct by now. However, we found this new Planet, and it has taken us in and given us a second chance... and we have a chance now to prove that we do learn from our mistakes. Are we worthy of this second chance, or should the Planetmind send the mindworms and locusts in to kill us all off while there is still time? That, my brothers and sisters, is up to us, and our ability to live in a world without destroying it.
Today, we have announced the completion of a new line of research, which we have called Ecological Engineering. This research leads to new ways of thriving within the existing ecosystem, rather than competing with it. This is just the kind of thing we need in order to prove ourselves worthy of a second chance.
As is customary, this new technology will be made available to our Chiron Alliance partners immediately.


[OOC: I know the Cult of Planet already has this tech, but I don't think anybody else does... you'd think the Gaians might be into this kind of research as well, but I haven't heard anything about it so I'm assuming the Peacekeepers are the first non-Cult faction to come up with this...]


Dream to Planetmind...

My dear friend...

General Braddock wanted to give you a medal for what you did at the Planetneck during the recent skirmishes with the forces of the Hive. However, I have a different idea...
Instead of a medal, I propose to turn our side of the Planetneck into a "Chiron Preserve" with fungal fields and forests for your children to sing and play in. Do you like this idea?


[This message has been edited by Guardian (edited April 10, 2001).]

[Christantine The Great]

OOC: To stur things up I think I'll give Planetmind a head cold...

Dream to Commissioner Lal

That would be very kind. I could use the land to make new troops to protect the island. I need new...neural pathways...Spartt.....Destruction.

New PLANETFUNGUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guardian]

Dream to Planetmind...

Yes, my friend. We now have the ability to plant new fungus!
And we shall get to work on it immediately!
Will this help your current... illness? Or is there anything else we can do?


Planetneck

The soldiers would have to finish repairing the bunkers on their own.
The formers were moving out...


U.N. Enforcement Base

The crews of two new regiments eagerly awaited the arrival of their rovers...


Defense line, west of Haven City

Commander Cooke was getting restless. The Spartans still hadn't made their move. What the hell was going on?? Why haven't they moved? They must know this waiting game isn't exactly making us weaker...


South of Data Acquisition

The three regiments of Data Angel rovers were moving north at best speed...


[This message has been edited by Guardian (edited April 16, 2001).]

[Natan]

OOC:Will someone please tell me what the time scale is for the tech advance formula and how to use it? I hate to whine, but I need to know.

From: Minister of Industry
To: Chairman Shen-ji Yang

The first two 6-1-2 rovers should be on the way to planetneck within two weeks.

Location: The Hive-Free Drone border, between Laborer's Throng and the fungal patch. Laborers are building a defensive line all along the border.
Time: 5:30, planet time.

The Private, First Class, was guarding the laborers. It was a hot day, as usual on this part of planet. The laborers were working on a bunker complex. Some were pouring cement for pilboxes, others were laying landmines. Still others were digging tunnels and foxholes. One group was making an observation tower. They were, for the most part, working diligently.
He watched as one laborer pulled his head out of the tunnel he was digging and called over his work supervisor, a young member of the Yang Security Forces, to take a look at the tunnel. As the other laborers on that tunnel watched, the two men crawled into it together, but only the laborer came back out. A look of terror was on his face as he started running towards thte private screaming "Mindworms! Mindworms! They're in the tunnel! They killed the supervisor!" The Private, a little suspicious, shouted back "Plug the tunnel!," but the laborer kept running. By know the entire camp was readying whatever weapons it had. The guards were readying their flame guns. The Private came running to the tunnel to look himself, and the laborer hit him on the head with his shovel and pryed the Private's semi-automatic carbine out of his cold dead hands. He had struck the private with the edge of the shovel, and the blow was so hard that the private was unconscious and bleeding from his head. The laborer flicked off the gun's safety and turned it on the other guards, who were all running towards him with their flame guns. They stopped, then ran for cover, but it was too late. Seven or eight of them were dead. The laborer was a good shot. The other laborers were fleeing now, except for a few who had struck their own guards and taken their weapons in a similar manner, and were engaged in the same kind of maniacal shooting. Most on the scene assumed that they had been driven mad by the mindworms, but there were no mindworms to be seen. Soon, the worksite was abandoned, except for a few brave souls. One of them turned to the man who had just gunned down a dozen guards and declared "Good shooting Sam. Let's go home now." The gunmen turned to him and spoke firmly, but with love, as he said "No. We must liberate the others first."

... to be continued

[DarkCloud]

OOC: Natan Use either of these:

Every 40 (Game Month Days)-
60% to tech- 4 tech pts.
50% to tech- 3 tech pts.
40% to tech- 2 tech pts.

and the original-

7+ [(tech%+#tech)*2]-fac
7+[(50%+9)*2]-5
7+[9.5 *2]-5
7+ 19 -5=21

The original is 7 points times your tech% plus your number of techs
times two minus your faction bonus.

If I remember correctly, (well, LMP XWaste and myself drafted this 4 months ago! ) you were to receive 6 tech points a game month if you had 60% to tech, 5 if you had 50% and so on.

Probe Leader Anastasius Koph-Powell Transmitting to Head Academican Prokhor Zakharov

Sir... Zak... we have been ambushed... Cyborgs everywhere... Device disabled-
Deny all involvement... I... suicide... wish... luck... ... ... ... ...

Council Meeting in University Base

Zakharov> We must figure some way to avoid losing face in this failed nuclear detonation;
if it had worked we would be in a position to bully the Cyborgs into peace- but now...
VonClant-Reynolds> Sir- how about we apologize, halt all forward motion against the Cyborgs
and give them Daniel Jakhobs-Howell as a prisoner.
Zakharov> That sounds like a capital idea.
VonClant-Reynolds> Thank you sir.

Zakharov> If that works we will then move into Plan Beta.
VonClant-Reynolds> Plan Beta?
Zakharov> Show it to them Cryzal.
Cryzal Cold-Quezan> Thank you- now as you can see from this map we have several layers of
bedrock under University Base. Drilling through them will cost us development for war
materials, but should allow our research to continue at full speed. What drilling through them
will give us is a large amount of tunnels under Chiron where we can conduct our experiments
safely and out of the way of other factions quarrels.

This project may take up to twenty years just to relocate University Base itself, but Rocky
Crag and Memorial Caverns already have large amounts of tunnels dug out. It would only take
at most a year for them to seal themselves off under 50 tons of rock, and with the new agricultural
tools, they should be able to survive.

After that the engineers in Rocky Crag will begin to dig tunnels towards University Base
and within a period of 50 to a hundred years the University will be completly underground,
supplied by the suns' nutritious rays with 'sun crystals' which are in development as we
speak.

These 'sun crystals' will be carried by mindworms to light the way and nurish our people.
And thus, we shall become fully independent of the overworld.

*clapping*

Daniel Jakhobs-Howell on radio to Anastasius Koph-Powell

Anastasius- can you read me- can you read me Anastasius, I didnt see a mushroom cloud yet-
what is keeping your mission- Anastasius!

OOC: Natan - I say percentage of resources would depend on what your faction is currently doing. will allow your faction being half or two/third way into some new tech, but would be a bit slow with the upgrading of military, second human genome, re-education and so on going on.
Darkcloud - tunnels from Rocky Crag to University Base, or did i get it wrong? if so, that would take a long long long time. over 10 000 kilometres from each other! and can't exactly completly turn University Base underground. Further expansion underground wise yes, but not tear down the base and make it underground, especially with large population. the top parts of the base already built should mostly still be there, mostly abandoned or whatever. for the people that rather stay above-ground :P to connect all of University with caverns could take centuries and wouldn't seriously be healthy for the planet, and would almost be impossible to properly maintain too, with tectonic shifts,, planetmind, and so on. not giving heck, just trying show and make sence of the idea Also, if the military from Rocky Crag, which should be small and hidden, decide to attack, would reveal the base and then Cyborgs will be the area and will soon find the base and Memorial Caverns. at the moment, the Cyborgs don't seriously know of them and could go around in building a new cyborg base on top of them too :P
Guardian - the clash of the titans will happen, but will not be as much of a big thing as Cyber would of made i was wondering, what are you going to with the survivors of U.N. SeaQuest?
SMAC Fanatic - sent the map of the continent to ya, gif form. anyone else want it? the points would be per month for the new one, the old, every 5 months? I know factions been getting new techs, but some already had them, just not mentioned until now and there is a big activity of exchanging techs sence the War and before it.
Argonaut - what is the coordinates of The Sprawl please?


To: Aki Zeta-Five, Cyborgs
From: Captain Svensgaard

Dear Svensgaard,
After much deliberation on our part, we have decided to allow your researchers into our city. However, this will only happen on three conditions - they are not to leave the environs of Alpha Prime, they are to have all their movements carefully documented by our observations teams, and any and all advances are to be shared with us immediately.
Yours in friendship and co-operation,
Aki Zeta-5

I accept those conditions. A Nautilus Science Team will be sent and should be at Alpha Prime in about a month.

Captain Svensgaard

To: Datatech Sinder Roze
From: Captain Svensgaard

Then don't return Morgan Bank, wasn't asking your faction to do so. Just told Morgan that you people COULD, nothing about your people will. I don't like Morgan either, but taking advantage of him and his faction would indeed be profitable. Also allows us to keep tabs on the Morganites.

Captain Svensgaard

To: Fleet Commander George Evans, U.N. Navy
From: Captain Svensgaard

You people sure getting the habit of calling faction leaders without following the chain of command. If you want our technology in making cruisers, ask your Commissioner to ask me for it. Besides, i would think your faction have the research facilities and naval yards to figure out how to build a Cruiser, especially when our naval yards was supplying Merchant Cruisers to your merchants.

Captain Svensgaard

(OOC: the Apollo freighter that blew up SeaQuest was a Merchant Cruiser. they are not design for military use, but should help boost research on Doctrine: Iniciative. the contruction of Cruisers takes awhile to build, longer than a Foil)


Siege of Blast Rifle Crag

The six Battle Dragons have been sieging and blockading the base for couple of weeks now. They are not coming out of the base to fight them, but their Perimeter Defence is quite ready. Surprisingly, the bases garrisons have ECM Jammers, so will make it even harder to conquer the base. Sure they can do it, but they would suffer major losses doing so and won't have much left to keep the base very long. The rest of the Blockade Guardians are not coming after them it seems, but have regrouped at Janissary Rock. The Probe Team succeeded in distracting them, but they weren't even bothering coming. That is very strange. The Probe Team seem to have been lost, the spartan probes at the base must of got'em. Anyway, the Battle Dragons will continue to Siege Blast Rifle Crag until Gaian reinforcements arrive or whatever.

Library of Planet, University Territory

LMP's Probe Team were able to get across the border with the other two porbe teams with the help of the Battle Dragon unit. They were able to sneak into Library of Planet, despite the large military presence. The been there for almost a month now, contacting various Infiltrators and some of LMP's connections to find anything on Project Alpha. The only thing they found so far are rumours, nothing concrete. If this Project does exist, than it is very well kept secret, surprisingly for University. The only he can seriously find anything useful would be to get to the capital, University Base. So they went there...

Morgan Industries

The Probe Team sent to acquire Planetary Economics have succeeded for sure, but Morganites have giving the tech the Pirates after they pulled out. So since then, they shipped the files they acquired to "Nautilus of the Sea" anyhow, just incase that Morgan may pull a fast one on the Pirates. Sence then, they pretty much dulled around, acquiring recon information and checking on the status of some infiltrators, which one got killed during the bombarment. While they were snooping on the local network, they discovered that the Morganites are having a Secret Project going, known as the Planetary Energy Grid. The project has slowed down to almost an halt when they got into the war, but they are not focusing their attention on it now that they are at peace again. This project surely boost the Morgan economy considerably. In the rate it is currently going, the Project would be completed 1-2 years. They quickly sent this data on the Secret Project asap to Nautilus Intelligence.


******************************

To: General Braddock
From: General Kane of Hive

Thank you and yes, would be nice to be able to get back to Hive territory, but that will not be possible. There is not much chances of me staying as General, even then, Hive "re-education" is technicly "brainwash", as you people put it. I will not return, but as for the rest of my units, it is their decision. I will not stop them. I will continue to help you peacekeepers in defeating the Spartans.

General Kane of Hive

To: General Kane
From: Major Kurita

I brought the remmants of our units to the Monolith, which is currently repairing and rebuilding our units, while also building some replacements. We were able to salvage some wrecked Spartan rovers and their missile launchers. Because of that, the Monolith upgraded our units with Missile Launchers, which was interesting. Of course, the biggest wonder is still the reviving and repairing of our dead soldiers, but not enough to properly crew all of the rovers. Our Hive knowledge of properly taking advantage of Monoliths is quite useful. We will stay here until our units are back in shape.

Major Kurita

OOC: i know, i may be a bit exagerative. Monoliths is still a serious mystery, and just want to make it seem that the Hive have done lots of research on them and taking advantage of. with the presence of superior technology at the Monolith automaticly got it to upgrade all the rovers that it was repairing, rebuilding and building. The idea of bringing soldiers back life makes sence, how could the Hive units pilot rovers without replacement troops? as if Hive will send replacements to units that "betrayed" them, but the revived soldiers would have some mental and memory side effects, since their brains were dead and there would be neural damage, which was repaired/regenerated, but the memory no. Also, not all of the dead soldiers they brought got revived and they didn't brough dead soldiers, that lost their heads(or a hole in them), into pieces, completly burnt to the bones and so on. so they, only have about 3 msl rovers now, with no armour, and some not properly crewed.


*****************


Sparta Command

When General Kell (OOC: Sparta Kell mentioned a few times in the Datalinks and some stories in AC Fiction ), the commander of Blockade Guardians, arrived to Sparta Command about a month ago, he found the base was in disarray. There were skirmishs throughout the base between the Spartan garrisons, some of populace and few Cult of War people. Colonel Santiego has declared the disbandement of the Junta after some big arguments about General Kell, Santiego's leadership and all sorts of other things. Technicly, there is a small civil war going, revolution or whatever going on between Santiego and the Junta. Santiego ordered the communication blockout of the whole base to prevent the Junta members in contacting anyone at the other bases. during the past month, Sparta Command was currently being purged of the Junta and their loyalists with the help of the Minister of Intelligence and General Kell. Some of the Junta was instantly killed at the start of the whole thing, rest ran into hiding or lead some of their loyalists from the garrisons and the population into trying to stop Santiego. One by one they were defeated and killed by the Santiego's followers, which is most of the base. Some Junta succeeded in escaping the base and to properly hiding in some hidden spots of the base. The Communication blackout as been lifted and Santiego is now reorganizing a new government and the Sparta Command. She established the new Spartan War Council, appointing new ministers, generals, governors and so on. General Kell has been giving command of the Spartan Military has the Minister of Military. The first session of the War Council was an important one. The Minister of Intelligence was to purge the entire faction of the Junta and its loyalists, or anyone else against Santiego and the newly reformed Government (which is still a Police State). General Kell was to reorginize the Military and to coordinate with Spartan Intelligence in purging the Junta. Sparta Command is secured, and still being even more secured, but there is the problem is that the Main Army isn't the vicinity, because they are all currently located at the PK front, under the command of Junta General Von Gelzburg. The Combine Army (what is left of the North,West and South armies) are at U.N. Data Acquisition behind enemy lines, under Commander Weiss, which the Council are not sure of his loyalties. The Blockade Guardians are at Janissary Rock and are loyal to General Kell specificly, which is ok, aslong they don't follow the Junta. As for the loyalties of the Cult of War is still unknown. The Spartan Navy is unknown aswell. They are not sure about the Governors and Garrisons. Unknown Rovers are sieging Blast Rifle Crag and the Hive pulled out of the Alliance, which doesn't surprise the Council. why would they bother dealing with the Spartans who are currently fighting among selves? For the time being, the Spartans will be isolated to the rest of the world until Sparta Command regains proper control of the whole faction and the Junta purged. The Military will run this faction like it always should have been, not by some greedy political corrupt facists Junta.

[OOC: Now Spray, you take charge of them now :P I made room for you to shape the Spartans and Santiego the way you want now, but not without its problems. Santiego/War Council will have to purge the faction of the Junta and its loyalists, regain some bases which the Junta may control and so on. leave the story to you. But makes sence for the Junta having control of Southern Bases, especially with the Main Army. Some other bases may not follow the Junta or Santiego to be independent on their own. But is for sure that Santiego has control of Sparta Command and Janissary Rock with the Blockade Guardians. I was thinking of getting Blast Rifle Crag's Governor to make a deal with the Battle Dragons sieging the base for a "cease-fire" and allow them in the base. Governor could be Junta loyalist, or simply was one and doesn't want to get "purged", so why not try to get unknown rovers to hir or whatever. But do have to watch out, since the population are hardcore spartans and believe in honor. they will not accept surrender or being giving control to another faction or whatever. Can send whats left of Blockade Guardians to stop the Unknown Rovers, but would get weakened and Santiego won't have much of a military left under her control to stop/get rid of the Junta army under their control. The Combine Army is an unknown and are stuck behind enemy lines, so won't be a factor unless they found a way to get out of peacekeeper terrtitory, but will be hard as the PKs, Kane's Hive units, and Data Angel reinforcements will be surrounding them and retake Data Acquisition. anyway, you have control of the Spartans. do remember, what is done is done.


Main Army

Junta General Von Helzburg received a Comm message from the Governor of War Outpost(Junta loyalist) about the situation at Sparta Command and that the remmants of the Junta are on the run. Also saying that Santiego has got the Intelligence to start purging the faction of the Junta. That is grave news to the Junta, never thought something like this could happen. The Main Army is currently under his command, so could go stop Santiego, but there is still the Peacekeepers to deal with. So he thens orders some units he knows that are Santiego followers to distract/attack the PKs while the rest of Main Army pulls back to War Outpost. Many of the commanders of the units were wondering whats going, but they were following orders anyhow.

3-4 Main Army units start moving towards the Defence Lines to attack while the rest start moving to War Outpost.

[DarkCloud]

OOC: I wouldnt move 'everything underground', just most- I did say it would take upwards of at least 50 years... anyways... estimates are never always correct

This just gives the University more of an excuse to be an group of isolationists which are a cramp in the side of everyone because of their complaints that others are trespassing on their territory

If the Cyborgs write towards peace then the war is over, Zak will sacrifice Jakhobs and a few other rovers...

Of course Daniel Jakhobs-Howell will escape... but thats another story...

[Guardian]

[OOC: Well, I didn't realize that the Peacekeepers had been receiving merchant cruisers and stuff... Guess Evans wouldn't have asked then, since - as you say - they could figure it out on their own, and quite possibly would have already done so by now... Anyway, I estimate the U.N. Navy will launch its' first cruiser some time in 2183 (not this year but the next), and possibly not until the last half of the year. They are currently busy building rovers and aircraft for use against the Spartans, and the continental bases have their hands full trying to train enough crews for these units and the ones the Hive is building rovers for...
As for the U.N. SeaQuest surivivors... well, a good little bunch of them have joined the military, and many of these have been shipped to the continent for training. Others have been sent various places were labor was needed for the war industry, and... well, that's about it for now. Eventually, some of them will head back out to sea to found another base, but probably not until after the war. For the time being, they're just doing their best to help fight the Spartans...]


U.N. Enforcement Base

The transports from the island had arrived and been unloaded. Two new regiments of Assault Rovers were forming up and getting ready to move out. Back at the training facilities, other crews were being pushed to the limit and then yet a little further... another two units were supposed to be ready in less than a month...


South of U.N. Data Acquisition...

The three Data Angel units had taken up position at the very edge of the base radius... They were waiting for orders...


At the defense line, west of U.N. Haven City...

Commander Cooke stared at the incoming sensor data in disbelief. A couple of hours ago, what looked like maybe 3 or 4 Spartan regiments had appeared at extreme detection range, approaching the lines... They were still coming, and there still weren't any more of them. Have the Spartans lost their minds? Or is this another diversion?? Well, they're hading almost straight for us... Just four regiments with no backup... if they try to attack us with that, they must be either insane or just plain suicidal...
He went to call in another aerial recon...

[Natan]

OOC: So how to I use that formula? How much tech do I get each month, since the month seems to be the scale you're using?

Rovers are now moving out towards the planetneck on large trucks, to be turned over to the peacekeepers secretly under cover of darkness in a few days.

[DarkCloud]

OOC: Perhaps LMP can explain better- I think I have explained it as best I can.

If you give 60% to tech you get 6 points with one plan

The other plan- I forgot how it works, sorry
oh well...

[Natan]

quote: Originally posted by DarkCloud on 04-16-2001 09:06 PM OOC: Perhaps LMP can explain better- I think I have explained it as best I can. If you give 60% to tech you get 6 points with one plan The other plan- I forgot how it works, sorry oh well...

Could you walk me through how a player might use this system? Or, to be more specific, how many techs of what level do I get for a tech point? Do I really get six tech points at 60% tech every month?

and, so as not to make this post completely devoid of in character writing:

From: Chairman Shen-ji Yang of the Hive
To: The council

I would like to make my services available to the council as a mediator, in the hopes of bringing the devestating Spartan-Peacekeeper war to an end. I feel that do to my contacts in both factions I am well suited for the task, and the senseless war must come to an end.

[Sprayber]

Sensor Equipment House, somewhere near Commander's Keep:

General Kessel awoke with a major headache from the previous nights action. As the commander of the Military District of Inner Sparta, he was Santiago's point man with the governors of each base. Until ten days ago he had been the third most powerful person in the Spartan Federation. He had managed to side step the purge of the Junta. After all he had been at Santiago's side for nearly ten years. Now he was on the run. Apparently when Santiago wanted the whole Junta gone she did mean ALL. Last night some of Kell's death squads had searched the supply barracks at Ironholm just as Kessel and his squad of loyalists had finished setting up a secure comm channel. The resulting firefight had ended in the death of Kell's squad and three of Kessel's men. "What the hell was happening to Sparta? Great, now I'm talking to myself" Kessel got up to go search for some food in the mess room down the hall. After the action last night they had to find a new place to hold up. Somehow he had to find a new location. Somewhere that had a secure comm. channel. As much as he detested Von Helzburg, he was the only one that was in the same situation he was. Or at least he hoped Helzburg wasn't in with Santiago. Kessel needed an army. And the only army in Sparta that wasn't loyal to Santiago was Von Helzburg's.

Sparta Command:

General Kell was in a relatively good mood. After all Santiago depended upon him to run the government now. Without the Junta she had no one else to turn to for support. Kell had leaped at the opportunity presented to him by Santiago when he first arrived at Sparta Command. He was still wary about her timing though. In the middle of a war was not the time to go around changing things if they worked. But as long as she depended on him, Kell would not ask questions. Besides he had despised the Junta anyway. Kessel,Von Helzburg, Maltz and the rest of them had consistently blocked his ambitions since the last Hive war. True he was the only one to be granted an army all his own without full membership in the Junta. But the others had raised objections to that as well. Santiago in her wisdom had done it anyway. Now of course there was still the war with those cowardly Peacekeepers and their allies. And then there was General Von Helzburg with his army intact. The plan was to have one of his Kell's contacts inside the southern army to kill Von Helzburg when the appropriate time came. This did not happen however. So instead of a dead Helzburg, there was an army in the south that was not under his control. But he was not worried at the moment. He still had his blockade guardians at Janissary Rock. The Combine Army at Data Acquisition under Commander Weiss was somewhat of an unknown. But he knew Weiss to be a patriot. He would follow orders from Santiago. If worse came to worse, he would be ordered to destroy the base to avoid the allies from taking it back. That would mean losing the Combine Army but that didn't matter. What mattered was getting control of the Southern Army intact if possible. Kell had toyed with the idea of suggesting to Santiago to seek an end to the war. A smile spread across his face. Maybe offer up Von Helzburg and Weiss as bargaining chips. But he had decided only to hint at it instead of an outright suggestion. One could never tell about Santiago these days. The only thing that annoyed him in a significant way was Kessel. He had gotten away yet again. He was the only one that presented a meaningful threat to Santiago's power. The governors knew and even respected him. That was not good for Santiago, therefore not good for him. Kell made a mental note to double those searching for Kessel. He would enjoy killing him. Hopefully he would have the chance to do it personally. Now it was time to issue orders to those who would take them. Oopps, he ment relay Santiago's orders.

[OOC: Santiago does not know that Helzburg had been warned by the Governor Wilcox of War Outpost]

From: Colonel Santiago
To: Governor Wilcox of War Outpost

The Southern Army under General Von Helzburg is to be treated as a rebel army. You are to resist their attempt to enter the base. We do not have any reinforcements to offer you. If however, you have proof that General Von Helzburg is not in command and is indeed a prisoner. You have permission to take custody of him and make arrangements for his transport to Sparta Command.

From: Colonel Santiago
To: Commander Weiss

Commander, you are to resist any and all attempts by the allied powers to retake Data Acquisition. As a show of defiance you are to rename the base Ruby Ridge Memorial. No surrender Commander. No one gets out of Ruby Ridge Memorial alive. As a show of confidence that we have in you, I am promoting you to the rank of General. Do Not Become The First General In Spartan History To Surrender!!

From General Weiss
To: Colonel Santiago

Thank you Colonel for your confidence in my abilities, and I assure you that we will never surrender in the face of cowards like the Peacekeepers.
[This message has been edited by Sprayber (edited April 20, 2001).]

[Guardian]

U.N. Headquarters

Commissioner Pravin Lal studied Yang's message to the Council... So, the good chairman wanted to make peace between Spartans and Peacekeepers... Hmmmm... Interesting...
"the senseless war must come to an end", Yang had said.
Lal nodded. He could not disagree with that.
But... how do we explain this to the Spartans?
And... how can we make peace with the Spartans if we don't believe a word they say??


Aerial recon flight, near the pre-war border, north-west of U.N. Haven City

What the hell??!
Captain Cilia Anderson tried to take in what her sensors were telling her and found that she could only boggle at the concept... It seemed... 4 regiments of the Spartan main army were approaching the defense line, while the rest of the army appeared to be heading back up north towards War Outpost...

What's wrong with this picture??

The Spartans must be in more trouble than any of us realized...


Defense line, west of U.N. Haven City

Commander Cooke shook his head slowly as if trying to clear it... He had always thought the Spartans had to be kind of nutty, but never in his wildest dreams would he have suspected this...
The reserve forces originally under his command still had the surviving Frontal units with them. Together, they had pretty much turned into the U.N. main army... All in all, they had 14 regiments of rovers and 7 artillery units. They'd been sitting here for months now awaiting an attack by the Spartan main army which had not yet materialized... Their initial losses had mostly been replaced by now, so they were at near 100% strength... -And now the Spartans were coming their way with 4 regiments...

Looked like it might be time for a second Operation Fury...


U.N. Enforcement Base

Kyla Johnson was ready. And she had been for a couple of hours already. But... there were still a few more minutes remaining... Once again, she walked around the rover... her rover... then she got on board and started flipping switches on the weapons console...
Now a corporal, she had finished gunnery training at the top of her class just under a month ago. Her unit had been set up with the new Assault Rovers and now they were ready to roll out! Kyla had been assigned to the lead rover of the 1st Platoon, commanded by sergeant Gonzales. They had finished the complete systems check the day before so she knew the rover was ready for action. As the no. 1 gunner, Kyla was responsible for targeting systems and weapons. She had checked them all several times already and she knew they were good to go. But... for lack of anything better to do, she went through parts of it again...
Donning her helmet, she activated TADS, the Target Acquisition and Designation System and smiled as the system came online.
Come on, baby, light my fire...
When wearing this helmet, Kyla saw the world through the "eyes" of the rover, which were a series of sensors mounted on the turret and hull... Motion sensors, infrared cameras, range finders, zoom lenses... she had it all. She could see in the dark, she could detect hidden objects that were hot, cold or just happened to move half an inch at the wrong time, and she could zoom in to get "up close and personal" with distant targets. In the center of her vision were the targeting "crosshairs", indicating the point at which she was "aiming" at the moment. The targeting computer knew where she was looking and would handle the rest. All Kyla had to do was turn her head to place the crosshairs over her target and pull the trigger. Outside the rover, the missile launcher and gatling machine guns came alive, swinging from side to side and then zeroing in on a tree growing at the edge of the base...
"Be glad you're a tree", Kyla whispered... "If you'd been a Spartan, you would have been toast!"

Half an hour later, she was standing on top of the rover waving the blue and white flag to the cheering crowds as the new units paraded through the streets before leaving for the front. These were her people. These were her ideals, her hopes and dreams and her promises... this was what she was willing to fight for, possibly die for... To make a better world... And although she might have all hell ahead of her, Kyla Johnson was having the time of her life.

[This message has been edited by Guardian (edited April 18, 2001).]

[Guardian]

Defense line, west of U.N. Haven City

They were moving out!
14 rover units, supported by 7 artillery regiments, were in motion to catch the four Spartan units in a gigantic pincer movement. If they succeeded, the Spartans would be completely surrounded, blasted by the artillery and then attacked from all sides at once.
Not one of them would escape.


U.N. News Network
Special broadcast, on Spartan frequencies...

*Broadcast begins with the flag flying high and proud, etc... only, this time it is the Spartan flag... the camera zooms out and the picture expands to show that the flag is flown by a Spartan rover, flanked by other Spartan rovers... A fanfare is playing in the background as the rovers keep charging across the desert at top speed... then, suddenly, clouds start piling up in the sky above, it gets dark and the music turns into a funeral march... thunder and lightning split the darkness and the wind covers the camera lens with sand... darkness fills the screen for a while as the funeral march keeps playing, then, slowly, a new picture fades in... the Spartan flag is now a torn rag, covered in blood and dirt, lying on the ground being stepped on by Peacekeeping soldiers as they go marching by... they don't seem to even notice it... The camera follows the soldiers as they move away and disappear behind a wreck... then the camera zooms in on the flag again, or what's left of it, as it lies there abandoned and disgraced... the wind is slowly covering it with sand... the music slowly fades...*

*New scene: U.N. Data Acquisition... Spartan sentries keeping vigilant watch in all directions, waiting to be attacked by an enemy who can afford to let them wait...*

Voice: Spartan soldiers! Congratulations! You have won!
But... wait a minutes... this isn't right... Where's your big reward and ticket home? Where is the power and glory that you've all dreamed of??
Look around yourselves... and tell us, what do you see other than death and despair?

Is this your survival?
Is this your strength and courage?
Is this your power and glory?? And your honor?!?

Do you indeed have any of these things??

Think about it...

What are you fighting for ?

*New scenes: burnt and twisted bodies in the wreckages of U.N. SeaQuest... prisoners being used as human shields during the attack on the defense lines... hundreds of civillians gassed at Data Acquisition...*

Voice: There is no honor in any of this...

And indeed, the world sees you as murderers, not soldiers.

That's right: we think you're just a bunch criminals

We do not think you have what it takes to face us and win.
We do not think you have what it takes to survive.

In other words, we believe you have failed utterly and completely and that there's nothing left for you to fight for.

Pray you are better men than you appear...


Now... as a "greeting" to those of you who are currently trapped inside the base you now call Ruby Ridge Memorial... we're going to play a song for you... I don't know if any of you are old enough to remember Def Leppard, but here is a song of theirs called Paper Sun...

*New scene: As the song starts playing in the background, the screen is filled with more pictures of Spartan sentries on guard duty... How did the Peacekeepers get all these pictures from Data Acquisition? Why, probe teams, probably... anyway, some of the sentries appear kind of troubled...*

Does it hurt to remember
Does it help to forget
Do you know what you started...


*New scenes: TONS of mindworms slithering through the wilderness on the way somewhere... Peacekeeping Forces getting ready for an attack... aircraft taking off from some base somewhere... ships coming across the sea with equipment and supplies, including the picture of the missile that said "If you can read this, you're a lucky Spartan"... then more pictures from the devastated U.N. SeaQuest, and more gassed civillians at Data Acquisition...*

Do you still hear them screaming
And does the fear make you run
Is the anger inside of you
A gift from father to son

I don't believe in you
(You've come undone)
I don't believe in what you do
(This can't go on)...


*New scenes: Rover wrecks and bodies strewn across the desert... the wind is slowly covering them with sand... the picture of the Spartan flag lying in the dirt shows up again... *

There's not a reason why
There's nothing left to justify
There's nothing left inside

'Cause you're livin' on a paper sun
Blind to all the damage done
Livin' on a paper sun
Waiting for the time to turn
Livin' on a paper sun
You can't hide and you can't run
All your dreams have come undone
Livin' on a paper sun


(discontinuety)

[Sprayber]

Sparta Command:

General Kell was anxious when he walked into Saniago's office. What could be so important that she could not wait until the morning. "Sit down General Kell." Santiago motioned at a seat in front of her desk. "We have received an interesting proposal from Yang today." This got Kell's attention. "Has he agreed to resume the war against the Alliance?" "Not quite. He offers his assistance in ending the war between us and the Peacekeepers by peaceful means." Kell let out a laugh before Santiago could finish. "Is there something amusing General?" "Well, it's just the thought of Yang playing the peacemaker." When he sees that Santiago is not laughing, Kell straightens up a bit and clears his throat. "Sorry, Ma'am" "What do think of the offer General?" "Well, to be honest how can we refuse?" I believe that General Weiss is in a hopeless position at Data Acquisition, ah Ruby Ridge. I believe that he is loyal to you and will prove to be a valuable ally. One worth saving, if at all possible. And there is always the possibility that we could use him if the Peacekeepers demand some kind of concession." Santiago nods and simply says "I see". "And what about our situation with the Southern Army?" Kell looked uncomfortable as he began to speak "Helzburg could turn out to be a long term problem. My contacts that were supposed to eliminate him have not reported in, so it is reasonable to assume that they are dead." Kell paused for a second time before he continued. "We should try and lure Helzburg to Sparta Command. We might be able to use the peace as an excuse to get him up here. Maybe we could offer him to the Peacekeepers as an offering." "From your words General I am getting the impression that you are not convinced that we can win this war." Here was the moment that he had dreaded. "I am just looking at the facts that are presented to me. The main bulk of our army is under the command of General Helzburg. We have another force in Data, ah Ruby Ridge, that is behind enemy lines. Hope is not lost, but things might be better if we could concentrate on internal matter for the time being. We can always continue where we left off." Santiago studied a painting on the far wall depicting the first landers planting the Spartan banner in a field of fungas. "Perhaps you are right. I will contact Chairman Yang and get a clarification on his plan. Then we can proceed from there." Kell smiles at Santiago's compliment. "One more issue before you go General." "Yes ma'am" "What is the status of General Kessel?" The smile on Kell's face disappeared at the mention of Kessel's name. "I have doubled the amount of men looking for him. We will have him within the week." "Do I have to remind you of how dangerous he is? If he and Helzburg get together or if by some miracle Kessel is allowed to contact the outside world, he would present a serious threat to Sparta's security. Not to mention your health. Am I clear?" "Yes ma'am" "Good. Dismissed General."

From: Colonel Santiago
To: Chairman Yang

I am intrigued by your offer of mediation of an agreement that would bring peace to our continent. Before I could commit to any deal, I would like to hear more of what you have in mind. Also, we all are aware of the unjustified hatred the Peacekeepers hold for the Spartan people. I would need assurances that Lal can keep up his end of any agreement And I also would like assurances from you that you will follow through as well.

Blast Rifle Crag:

Commander Tran was furious that all his calls to Sparta Command had been ignored. Not even the pleading of Governor Pontas could get a response. This never would never have happened if General Kessel was still in power. Santiago must have written the base off as disloyal and would merely allow the unknown besiegers to take the base and do her dirty work. But he would not give her the satisfaction. He and the rest of his garrison will die before that happens. The irony was not lost on him as he went on with his inspection of the bases defenses. If something did not happen with the next week he feared that all would be lost.

Ruby Ridge Memorial:

General Weiss was not a happy man. It seemed like forever ago that he had taken Data Acquisition in what at the time was the triumph of his career. Now he was stuck in this bloody hell hole. And the great Santiago in her infinite wisdom had renamed the base. He suppressed the urge to laugh at the irony. He had joked with Helzburg that he wouldn't die in Data Acquisition. Now that it was Ruby Ridge Memorial, he was guaranteed to keep his promise. Santiago had promoted him to General. "Don't be the first Spartan general to surrender she said. Don't let anyone out alive she said." Weiss was beginning to wonder if Santiago was crazy or the rest of her officers were for following her. And these damn Peacekeepers keep blasting outdated music at them. Some of the veterans didn't mind. They said that they had heard worse while fighting in the Monsoon Jungle. Weiss's unit had never entered the The jungle. He was in this one and his glory had rapidly turned into a nightmare. "Lieutenant, put snipers on the walls. When a PK sticks his head where he can be seen, shoot it off." Let them show that on PK news.

Somewhere between Commanders Keep and Blast Rifle Grag:

The past few days had been pure hell. General Kessel and his band of loyalist had managed to steel a personal rover and avoid detection by Kell's death squad. But the going was slow and hard on the body. Kessel's men numbered only 20 now. But they all knew that if they could get to the Drone border than maybe they could cause trouble for Santiago. Kessel had wanted to go directly to the border, but Janissary Rock was a Santiago stronghold. Maybe if he could get into Blast Rifle Grag, he could take advantage of his friendship with Governor Pontas. Whatever the outcome, one thing was certain. Santiago would pay. And pay dearly.
[This message has been edited by Sprayber (edited April 19, 2001).]

[Natan]

From: Chairman Shen-ji Yang of the Hive
To: Colonel Santiago of the Spartans

**Encrypted**

Here is my offer: I will help to negotiate a peace favorable to you, in exchange for Doctrine: Air power. Afterwards, I would like to discuss the improvement of diplomatic relations between our factions. Quite frankly, Lal and his "Chiron Alliance" frighten me, and I would like to counterbalance them.

At Planetneck:

It was the usual bright twilight on planet caused by the second sun as the rovers moved across. A contingent of Yang security troops passed along with the convoy. From a small bush, a voice called out "Halt!" The peacekeepers came out from cover, guns trained on the security force. "We'll take it from here," they're leader shouted with confidence. The security troops turned over the unmarked rovers as planned, then went back to barracks to catch some sleep, and a berating from their commander for failure to spot the peacekeepers earlier. In a different situation, the mistake could have been their last.

[DarkCloud]

OOC:

Where is Argonaut?
Shouldnt SMAC be back by now?

You get
6 tech if your % is 60%
5 tech if your % is 50%
4 tech if your % to tech is 40%

a game-month: 40 days
But In real life 1 day= 7 or so game days (I think. It is hard to remember back when I originally made the rules.)

[Natan]

quote: Originally posted by DarkCloud on 04-18-2001 07:45 PM OOC: Where is Argonaut? Shouldnt SMAC be back by now? You get 6 tech if your % is 60% 5 tech if your % is 50% 4 tech if your % to tech is 40% a game-month: 40 days But In real life 1 day= 7 or so game days (I think. It is hard to remember back when I originally made the rules.)

So if my tech level was 50% then I could get a level five tech every six days? Or what else do I do with tech points? How do I trade them in for tech?

[Guardian]

[OOC: Ummm... shouldn't the above be sorted out in the discussion thread? This here is the story... ]

Planetneck

Commander Grafton wasn't sure what to think... His men had just escorted the convoy with the rovers out of the area, and by now they should be well underway to Humanity Base, where the rovers would be literally picked apart and inspected by PK technicians before anybody would try to use them. They still weren't sure about the Hive...


U.N. Data Acquisition
(The Peacekeepers do not recognize the new Spartan name...)

John Murdock slowly started moving again, crawling on his belly to stay out of sight... He'd been lying still for nearly half an hour after one of his buddies had stuck his head out a little too far and gotten himself killed by a Spartan sniper... Well, he thought to himself, at least we got their attention with that special broadcast... The next phase will be harder...


Elsewhere...

The ground was alive with mindworms as they kept slithering along, moving slowly but steadily... Some would soon be at their destinations, while others still had quite some distance to go. But... as they drew closer to their target, they would have roads to move on...


...and further south...

Kyla removed her helmet, stretched out and stiffled a yawn. It was time for a break. Maybe she should try to get some sleep while there was still time. Probably a good idea... Outside, it was a beautiful day with clear skies and the twin suns shining down upon the rovers as they sped north...


U.N. Headquarters

Commisioner Lal was talking to General Braddock on the Holo-Com...
The subject was chairman Yang's offer to serve as a mediator to help negotiate peace with the Spartans...

Braddock: I don't know what it is Yang is up to, but I do not trust him very much further than I could throw the Unity core...
Lal (nodding slightly): I know what you mean... (short pause) Nevertheless, we are Peacekeepers. We cannot reject such an offer. We have to at least hear what they have to offer...
Braddock (nodding his agreement): Granted. But I'm not so sure it will go much further than that...
Lal: That depends...
Braddock (nodding again): ...on what their idea of "peace" is...

Lal nods slowly and is momentarily lost in thought...


From: Commissioner Pravin Lal of the Peacekeepers
To: Chairman Sheng-ji Yang of the Hive

Chairman, we are ready to enter negotiations and will cooperate in any way we can to bring this unfortunate war to and end. How do you propose to handle this?

[Sprayber]

From: General Von Helzburg
To: Commander Hale

*encrypted*

Commander, you are to send the two XMsl Rover group from Sparta Command into the main thrust of the PK line. This is a probing action designed to find any weaknesses in the defensive line. If this message arrives as new information comes in you are to react accordingly. The Use of nerve gas is not authorized. Repeat. Use of nerve gas is not authorized. You are to back off to a safe distance to watch the outcome of the engagement. Do not allow any dissent in the ranks Commander. There are eyes watching.

Near PK defensive line:

Captain Drake could not believe his eyes has he read the text only message coming in from Commander Hale. What does he mean sending my men into the PK defensive line with only another unit of rovers. And not authorized to use nerve gas. The Commander sure as hell didn't have any problem with it in previous engagements. Drake knew, just like every other Spartan solider, that one day he would be called on to do something that would most likely mean his death. But never did he think that his superiors would tie his hands like they had done this day. As those thoughts crossed his mind Sergeant Knop, announced that Commander Hale and the two other rover units were pulling out to the Northwest. Another text message scrolled across Drake's screen. GOOD LUCK....... IT HAS BEEN A GOOD TOUR...... COMM. HALE

[OOC: Sorry for the confusion, Guardian. Hale doesn't see any PK's in the area. General Heltzburg just wants those two rover groups from Sparta Command gone. He does not trust their loyality to him. Probably for good reason. Instead of just having them killed by himself, he sends them off to be destroyed. As for Hale. Watch the outcome of the engagements were Helzburg's words. If I were Hale and had a suspicion that those two units were being sacrifaced I would try and get as far away from the area as possible. I'm not overly concerned about them though. If the story fits then don't worry about getting them. Just a thought. Maybe since Hale is a high ranking officer, maybe the PK's would like to capture him. Maybe this could be a way for the PK's to learn about the troubles in Sparta.]
[This message has been edited by Sprayber (edited April 19, 2001).]

[Guardian]

[OOC: Ummm... if commander Hale is to "back off to a safe distance to watch the outcome of the engagement" then he must have (or have access to) deep radar or some sensor array, right? Well, the Peacekeepers are flanking him (or trying to...) right now, so if he has long range sensors and they aren't all switched off, he should smell a rat any time now...]


North of the defense line

"Sir, sensors report that the Spartans are splitting up, sir! One group seems to be heading back up north!"
Commander Cooke frowned... If the Spartans had detected them, it would make sense for them to split up, but one group heading north?? What the hell...??!? Have the Spartans really lost their heads or are they trying to mess with ours?? Well, there was no time to ponder that now... he would assume that the surprise was down the drain and that the Spartans somehow knew he was coming even if their reaction made little sense to him at the time... "Let's watch them for a while and see what they do next", he ordered. "But get the artillery ready to fire, and let's see if we can arrange for some air to join this little party too! Maybe some of them will escape, but we'll give the rest of them a reception they won't forget any time soon." He allowed himself a thin smile as they kept speeding north...

[Natan]

From: Chairman Shen-ji Yang of the Hive
To: Colonel Santiago of the Spartans and Commisioner Pravin Lal of the Peacekeepers

I call upon both of you to effect an immediate cease fire, and to send me your starting positions for negotiations, including maps, to me via comm-link. Afterwards, we will discuss exact terms for peace. But the madness must stop, and now!

OOC: I really do need a good map of the territory under discussion, and Guardian, there are no problems with those rovers. Or at least, if there are, Yang didn't put them there.

[DarkCloud]

OOC:
You would get 5 tech points at 50% tech research to use to buy tech which cost as follows:

TECHLEVEL- COST
Level 1- 3 tech points
Level 2- 6 tech points
Level 3- 9 tech points
Level 4- 12 tech points
Level 5- 15 tech points
Level 6- 17 tech points
Level 7- 20 tech points

etc.

Plus at least one of the prequistices; hopefully two- except in the case of the Alien Conversation Techs as there are no aliens; but we can still use the techs and benefits.

[Guardian]

U.N. Headquarters

Commissioner Lal was not a happy man.
The reason was obvious to anyone who knew him, and to most who did not...


From: Commissioner Pravin Lal of the Peacekeepers
To: Chairman Yang of the Hive and Colonel Santiago of the Spartans

Chairman, I thank you for trying to bring this unfortunate conflict to an end. However, the Spartans are notorious for their "dirty" schemes, and we just plain do not believe that they are serious about these negotiations. From our point of view, it looks like they are merely trying to get us to lower our guard, which would only prove their point about our people being "naive and foolish"... I realize that I do not sound like myself in saying this, but alas, we have learned a thing or two from previous encounters with the Spartans. Consequently, I regret to inform you that a case fire will not be possible at this time. If the Spartans are sincere about wanting peace, they shall have to prove it to us first, because we are not going to take their word for it.

Colonel Santiago, I know you think I'm a weak minded fool with a short memory and an enormous capacity for self-delusion, but I still remember our first war... When you and your junta first decided to make war on our people, you made a public statement where you told your people that this war was necessary "to help our fellow humans in peril". You then proceeded to murder several thousand of the people you claimed to be "helping"... you also sent a personal message to me in which you stated that our people would never be at peace until you were drinking wine from my skull...
And when our people were out of your reach, you turned on Yang. For no reason whatsoever, other than "wanting blood". Yang and his people had done nothing to offend you in any way, but you just went ahead and slaughtered them by the thousands...
More recently, your people have deliberately caused a nuclear disaster at U.N. SeaQuest, which has caused tremendous damage and loss of life. Again, this was done for no reason, as these people had done nothing to threaten you. And the same goes for many of the people at Data Acquisition, whom you massacred with nerve gas.

Do you really think we're going to just forget about all of these things and call a cease fire simply because you ask us to? Sorry, but that's not going to happen. You Spartans have no honor, you have no integrity, and we simply have no reason whatsoever to believe that peace with you is even remotely possible under the present circumstances. This, of course, is most unfortunate and deeply regrettable, but that is how matters stand at the moment and you have nobody to blame for it but yourselves.

Change all this and we may have something to talk about.

Commissioner Pravin Lal


U.N. Humanity Base

Technicians were hard at work inspecting the newly arrived unmarked rovers. So far, they hadn't found anything wrong anywhere. As a matter of fact, the rovers appeared to be quite well made. One by one, the rovers were cleared and lined up "ready for use"...


North of the defense line

The pincer was closing! The two Spartan regiments who were still going south would have no chance whatsoever. The other two were running like crazy back up north and they just might get lucky... Commander Cooke's eyes burned as he stared at the computerized situation map on his screen. In another hour or so, those southbound Spartans would have the full attention of seven Peacekeeping artillery regiments, and that was just the beginning...


U.N. Haven City

The noise was deafening. A seemingly endless line of jets were taxiing onto the runways and taking off with thunderous roars. The U.N. Air Force was launching the largest air strike in human history on this planet. Their target: Those two Spartan regiments who were running back up north...


Somewhere south of Data Acquisition

Sergeant "Speedy" Gonzales was doing another one of his rounds, keeping himself informed, as he used to put it. As usual, he was pleased with what he found. Everything seemed to be working well here. Good. They'd need it all when it was time to go in there mixing it up with the Spartans...
*
He noticed that corporal Johnson was taking*a*nap again, and as he was passing, he couldn't help but stop and look at her for a few moments...* She just looked so peaceful and... cute... lying there curled up in her cramped sleeping quarters, breathing softly... "What are you doing here, Kyla?", he thought in a moment of un-military reflection. She really shouldn't be out here on a rover heading for the front... she should be living out her dreams somewhere nice and peaceful... to build... to create... something, anything but this! Yet, here she was, on a mission to crush, kill and destroy... and she would do it, and she would do it well... she wouldn't hesitate... and she wouldn't have it any other way... well, she would, but not under the present circumstances... Why? That was simple: Because she thinks that if we don't stand up to defend this world, the Spartans will destroy it.

It might be kind of un-military for a sergeant to be thinking that way, but he really wanted her to make it. No, he corrected himself, it's not un-military at all... not for a Peacekeeper... that is the difference between us and them... We love each other. We love everyone by default...

That is how we can hate the Spartans and not hate ourselves for it...

The rovers were still traveling north at full speed.
Pretty soon now... Kyla would be needing all her gunnery skills...

[Natan]

From: Chairman Shen-ji Yang of the Hive
To: Commissioner Pravin Lal of the peacekeepers

You have made a terrible and wicked decision. Your statement is what your young people might describe as a "cop-out." If you want peace, than stop the violence while keeping your forces on high alert. If necessary, a neutral peacekeeping force made up of forces from various neutral factions can be sent to patrol a DMZ while negotiations go on.