SLYNES - Swirly Lights Yonder, a Never Ending Story

Lord_Iggy · Jan 12, 2010

Don't worry Bil, we're happy to wait to see the update!

North King · Jan 12, 2010

OOC: Now I don't feel guilty about taking up the top post.

Hello, weary reader. If you have tried before to read about the pohm, perhaps you have been a bit lost. They are a confusing people, just like any other sentient species. Like humans, like whales, like Martians. Pretty difficult to summarize in a single sentence. I mean, four-limbed, hairless, bipedal, hyper-territorial, creative monkeys is just a list, not a description.

The only way to know a species is to live with them.

So let us live with a certain member of the pohm. Well call him Timeo hell call himself *click/hum/sharp, falling whistle*. Whenever hes old enough to speak. That should be a few months...

Timeo will live here, in his parents home, for now. They live in a southern border town of Enutu, close to Kekim. It is a sleepy little town, or has been since the Great War nearly , when an errant (?) bomb took out half the homes and businesses. Fortunately for Timeo, it was the western half, but the destruction led to many deaths, and many more still abandoned their homes. Cold-hearted speculators have bought up the homes of the dead families, of course, and are trying to sell them, but that has never really been successful Enutus economy has been in the pits for a while now, and no one wants to move near the border.

Not with Kekim still around.

That was some forty years ago. Today, the village is still sleepy as ever. Meet Niteo, our future protagonists father. Hes a mild chap, orphaned son of two war veterans. He works as a dome inspector, checking that the glass over the kelp fields isnt cracked. It is a boring job, and he is just finishing his day with a considerable sigh of relief. Music plays from a little gadget hooked onto one of his sleeves, but hes barely been able to hear it over the farm machinery. I suppose hes fortunate that he knows all the tunes by heart.

He swims down from the kelp fields their domes are tethered near the surface, and the town lies on the ocean floor about fifty meters below sea level. Organs scattered throughout his body make the transition from pressure to pressure painless; the only pain he feels is that in his aching arm sockets, and the pain in his head which will only grow stronger as he swims into the Accounts Office.

This is a squat, ugly building. It looks like someone took a tin can and dropped a concrete slab on it. Bureaucracies everywhere dont seem to have much of a taste for aesthetic. Niteo carefully pries open the main door with his top arm, and pokes his way inside, pulling his body along and then reaching back with two more arms to close the door. He hears the Accounts Taker before his forward eye can focus on her properly little sniffling breaths out of the blowholes between her arms. She is squat and fat from a desk job almost exactly like the building she works in.

Worker Niteo. What is the status of the kelp farms?

I didnt find many problems. Theres a crack in pane 342 over dome seven, and in 619 over dome twelve, but beyond that, nothing. The fish are getting aggressive, you know I had to spear one to stop it attacking me.

She pulls a lever, which starts a recording machine with a little click. Two cracks, pane 342, seven, and 619, twelve. She pushes it back with another click, and her eye doesnt even flick upwards as she tells him, You may leave.

Niteo salutes her a little sarcastically with his left arm, and goes back out the hatch. He swims the familiar route back home. There are no streets in small pohm towns, of course; those are only in large cities, where the blocks have been built up into great towers. There the tunnels weave both between and on top of buildings, looking a bit jumbled to any of us, used to two dimensions as we are. Pohm always think in three.

In the small towns, it is simple enough to get around. You swim a little up from the start, you swim over the buildings, and down to the finish. Even so, Niteo does not have a completely easy swim. He is harassed by one or two of the Mindless, begging for a person to take them in.

The Mindless are the great tragedy of the Great War. Well, the great tragedy aside from the fact that many people died, but we really should have inferred that from the title Great War. But the Mindless are perhaps a sadder story than even the dead, for they live on, and on, and on, abandoned by their fellow pohm. They were lobotomized and turned into soldiers, and now the states have scattered them, unwanted and unneeded. Niteo pays them no mind. They are so many, and he cannot do much for the great mass of them.

There is a bit of rubble on the east side as well, but it is more scattered than on the crater that is the west; it is in these ruined huts that the Mindless live. It is said that even the omnipresent Accounts Service does not know how many there are. He avoids the worst patches and finally reaches his home, gratefully opening the hatch and slamming it shut.

His wife, his love, his soulmate Otiko is swimming through the house, gathering the meats and the breads from their pantries. Pohm do not cook; they do not need kitchens. She barely even notices his entrance, and no wonder, for she has the great speakers in their warm-room blasting a Lukito symphony. She is singing along with the melody as the greathorns come in on a heroic cascade of notes above a tempest of high pitched, popping clay-stones. She sings most beautifully.

Niteo would sneak up behind her and startle her with his warmth, but of course pohm have an eye in the back of their head and that would be impossible. Instead, he crawls along the floor to do so, hoping she wont notice him. He is about to pounce

and as he pushes off the floor upwards, she swings to the side by the handle of the pantry. Of course, she knew he was there all along. Instincts of a pack hunter. She spins quickly and grabs him playfully; he is powerless against her attack.

Niteo! I did not expect you yet; I was hoping to have the meat and breads on the kebabs ready for you.

But it is my turn to prepare the dinner, Otiko, he protests gently. You neednt act like some kind of slave-wife.

She smiles at him. It is a pleasure, let me tell you. Here, just a few more vegetables on this one she pushes a couple of fresh leaves onto the end of the kebab and hands it to him. His arms all bend backwards, a clear indication of mock-disgust.

That many vegetables? Do you think Im some kind of herd animal?

She giggles, the water gushing out of her blowholes. The current buffets him gently and makes him think of younger days, when she would playfully breathe on him. When even inspecting kelp domes was not yet exhausting. And he takes the kebab, eating it gleefully the raw meat is enough to overcome any of the bitter vegetable flavors.

They finish quickly. Born hunters do not linger over a kill. Their method of eating looks a little weird to you and me. They hold the food with one arm curled through the hook at the end of the kebab, and move the other arms to strip off the food with the mouths at the end of their arms. When they finish, they hook the kebabs onto the hatches for the pantry, and swim through the house. The Lukito symphony is still playing, but now it is on a slow, happy section the chords are warm and rich, popping out of the speakers as though they were about to envelope you.

She fishes a little plastic capsule out from behind a loose plank in the wall, no bigger than a thumb, or as big around as one of their blow holes. It is filled with a powder which you or I would name green, but only the mutant pohm can see colors. The capsule is filled with a drug from the western continent. It is quite illegal.

Niteo does not remember when they started taking the drug, nor does Otiko. It started as an experiment. Now it just drains the pain of day to day existence. It also drains their income. They both contemplate the capsule carefully.

Perhaps not tonight.

Oh? What were you thinking of? I cant possibly sleep yet, and yet Im far too tired for a listening-book. It is true; his joints still ache. There are probably EM transmissions of his favorite programs on, but he usually enjoys those while high.

Well, I was thinking we could do something a little different. She breathes out again, and the water plays out over one of his arms. He can feel himself growing warm, and not just because theyve swum into the warm-room. Her arm loops about his gently, and tugs at one of his sleeves. With a little more effort, it comes off entirely, baring the sex organs beneath. Now he is quite inflamed, and so is she; they undress one another in a matter of half a minute. Pohm fabric, fortunately, does not tear.

Their arms touch, and wrap around one another, and the water streams out of their blowholes; the capsule falls forgotten to the floor. He knows how to play her, and she him, and she stokes his back just so, and he teases her ear-lines, and after several minutes, the ecstasy builds. Their arms stiffen, and all thoughts are washed away, and only pleasure, pleasure and warmth course through their minds.

And eggs come flowing out of her arms, and sperm comes floating out of his, and they mingle in the water. They will get all over the walls until one of them cleans it up later, but neither of them care; this is all they ever wanted, the War and Enutu and Kekim and the wider world can go screw itself for all they care.

Perhaps it would do it good.

And the next day, a record is entered into the local Accounts: N & O Inthe nest: 3,489 hatchlings.

Bil · Jan 13, 2010

UPDATE 8
Firestorm

A new species, the Aiweh, enters the Interstellar Age, sending its first scouting mission into the unknown. Meanwhile, the home world issues new social reforms aimed at aligning the populace for extrasolar expansion, raising stability among the citizenry. Manufacturing efforts find new improvements on factory floors, yielding greater production into the markets all over the world.

The Amoeba home world continues its difficult work in repairing the damage done by "One", though the new simple lifeforms created seem to be spontaneously evolving beyond their expectations. What they first saw as a success turned out to, in actuality, be yet another problem for the colonial lifeforms to deal with. New disease spreads among the weaker entities, causing disruptions amongst the Amoebas hoping to avoid this malady.

Meanwhile, "One" stalls in its progress, primarily concerned with the damage sustained in the recent battle. Returning to a hibernative state, One initiates numerous measures to repair itself while the newly-acquired Kekeji vessel procures suplementary fuel supplies. With the repairs complete, One finds itself anticipating a fuel shortage. Patience grows thin, though the new memories and thoughts of the Kekeji exploration crew is found to be soothing.

Bako Tellian colonies find themselves brimming with refugees following the hurricanes of the past few years on Bako itself, bringing the Tounis colony to its sustainable capacity, though Obra still has plenty of room for expansion. Meanwhile, the home world of Bako continues its efforts to repair the unfortunately high amounts of hurricane damage, with small success coming in the urban areas that have received the most attention. Refugees still stuck living in overcrowded coastal camps speak out against the colonial expansions and urban repair efforts, hitting home with the majority of rural Tellians across the planet; the populace, for the first time in two years, lacks cohesive unity.

Capricocial exploration efforts continue. Though no colonization efforts have been made outside of the home system, expansion continues in the outer planets and asteroid belts around the parent star. In addition to corporate-funded projects, the recent advancements made in general technology has allowed for new asteroid mining techniques that yield greater profits than ever before. Unfortunately, the fruits of technological progress cause a brief upset with lasting results, as the new market-tracking computer systems go online only to crash minutes later. While no damage was done to the information stored within the network, the loss of economic analysis and manipulation for most of a day impacted social stability.

The great exodus of the Distopteran hive finally commences, the population pouring into transport craft day and night for several months, many excess workers, warriors and associated thinkers terminating their own lives to save room. With the populace, the military, the queen and a pile of stored resources onboard, the great Hive Ship leaves the planet of its genesis. Following the presumed trail of the very first interstellar pod, the Hive ventures into the void, battling intense gravitational and energetic forces from the core as it attempts to reach its first destination. Progress is slower than it should be, but steady nonetheless.

Idle thinkers around the cavern habitats of the Nekopteran semi-hive produce new, innovative developments in numerous technical fields. Wind power systems are improved, solar collectors built and dispersed, mining equipment safety vastly improved, new architectural techniques add greater stability to the tunnels, and so on. The Nekopterans revel in their new developments, and as the thinkers push their mental capacities to the limits, the off-shoot semi-hive finally achieves a state of stable, universal individuality amongst even the most menial of workers. Celebrations abound, even amongst the former dissenters.

The Hletho carry on their exploration efforts, though the Startraveler Zoroth is temporarily reassigned to transport duty as another colony is established. For now, the great Startraveler is a mere ferry, but one day, the crew hoped, it would be back exploring the stars. Elsewhere, the Hraef explores I/F-B, and the Tharaez investigates the worlds of H/E-T. The Startraveler Rhetho leaves its captain behind on the Satellian outpost of Ulann, while the rest of the crew presses on to the Satellian home world to further first contact and exploration efforts.

The Iokolu found their first colony, Milui, and though it is only a mining outpost, the populace finds joy in the achievement. The shipyards produce another craft, while the Oluko-Ilume presses on its explorations of the local sector.

Though the war on Halvallah presses on as ever, entering its eighth year of horrid bloodshed and destruction, new life is breathed into remote communities across the planet. As the front is pushed back from the equatorial regions, small towns rebuild themselves, flooded with refugees. Infrastructure returns to a few equatorial areas, though society everywhere else begins to buckle under the sheer weight and expense of this global war.

The Kant, emboldened by new leadership, take to the offensive as the fleets are reorganized with a more militaristic intent. The Red Fleet of Semi-Rational Retribution chases after the survivors of the last attack on Sanctum, pursuing the limping carrier ship to a Phleghesh colony world. The battle is brief, yet surprising; in the moments between jumping into the system and bringing their weapons the bear, the crippled Phleghesh vessel pours out a mess of deadly weapons fire, tearing through dozens of suits and ending just as many Kant lives. Infuriated, the Red Fleet completes its Retribution, rending the Phleghesh carrier to pieces. Still worked up in a battle frenzy, the besuited warriors descend into the thin atmosphere of the colony, sweeping over what seems to be the primary habitat structure. Return fire from the ground is ineffective, and they believe that their damage is done. It is, however, not quite that easy. The structure fired upon turned out to be a large storage center, and in-depth scans show the true colony residing a moderate distance beneath the planet's surface. They would have to wait, for now, to recharge their suits in orbit.

Meanwhile, the Blue Fleet of Singular Purpose and the newly-constructed Green Fleet of Biased Judgement, run through the rigors of training at great cost and speed to get them fully prepared for space combat upon reaching orbit, link up and prepare for an incoming attack. The attack does, indeed, come. It is a brutal endeavor, the single Phleghesh carrier pouring fourth its smaller battle crafts, the Kant tearing some new holes in the carrier with powerful energy weapons, the chaos and confusion of such intense dog-fighting in close proximity to the massive carrier throwing off Kant sensory input, the Phleghesh taking the opportunity to do a small amount of damage. The attackers seem intent on damaging both fleets equally, though it's just as likely that they can't tell them apart at this point. Unfortunately for the Phleghesh, their edge in this war seems to be fading, and they are forced to flee as nearly half of their fighters are lost, and the carrier begins losing atmosphere to internal fires. The chase is brief, and the Phleghesh get away, just barely.

In other Kant news, an exploratory group, seeming to have abandoned the concerns of the core Kant populace, settles down on a nice new colony world where maybe, hopefully, they can escape the fury of war so many light-years away. Unfortunately for the new leadership, stability continues to decline as more Kants flee Sanctum and the other colonies, intending to hide themselves in the void and remote places of the local galaxy. Elsewhere, the Yellow Fleet of Uncertain Salvation undergoes emergency repairs to ready itself for the coming battle with the pursuing Phleghesh carrier. Having recently lost the colony of Hir, the surviving members of the Yellow Fleet feel wracked with guilt and rage, ready to annihilate the wretched aliens upon arrival. The attack never seems to come.

From the Phleghesh perspective of the war, things begin to look grim. Their initial edge of surprise and the lack of organization among the Kant is now gone, and their enemy seems focused on destroying the Phleghesh before they, themselves, are destroyed. First with the loss of the fleeing Isssh carrier and the attempted attack on the mining colony of Gllth, then the defeat of the carrier Rhuuuss at the Kant homeworld, and now the Phleghesh find themselves on the defensive for the first time in this war. The carrier Nhuuuff is recalled to the home world for repairs and a refit of new technology, leaving behind the smoldering ruins of the former Kant colony of Hir. Two new carriers are built, built around the new weaponry systems and carrying full loads of new, much more deadly fighter craft. Despite the damage done by a recent earthquake in one of the industrial complexes, morale trends further upwards as the populace now sees just how desperately they must destroy these terrible alien beings, before they are destroyed themselves.

Great new technical improvements find their way into Kekeji markets and manufactories, while an old disease that once affected primitive Kekeji children mutates quite suddenly and begins to affect adults, no longer immune to the strain, spreading panic and forcing many workplaces to close as emergency measures are undertaken to prevent the spread of the illness. A vaccine is in the works, but it is yet unknown when the work will be finished.

The Nhroaat SsKraed colony of Krensht is expanded as a new wave of immigrants from the home world settles in to the workforce. Back on the home world, however, a major blizzard during the northern winter shuts down large tracts of land until the snow and ice can be cleared, freezing out the economy of the whole region for the season and lingering into the warmer times. Explorers press on, their voyage now coming to eight years of traveling along this galactic arm.

The recent contact between the Orindi and the Hletho still resonates with a sour note in the great city-ships, and if it weren't for careful observation of the surface, the spotting of the Hlethan probe by hundreds of planet-bound Orindi would have started a series of massive, omen-driven wars that would have undone decades of work from the city-ships. The careful placement of "prophets" and "seers" around the planet calms the masses, and numerous new "inventions" springing up across the land brings further peace and prosperity to the primitive Orindi on the home world. The city-ships breath a collective sigh of relief.

The Pohm take another leap forward, settling their first extrasolar colony their native sector, naming it "Denim" and praising the efforts put into it. Unfortunately, the celebrations are cut short as news arrives from the frontier: space pirates, lurking in the between-systems, have already begun lashing out at the cargo ships running between the home world and the new colony. The promised infusion of new resources from this endeavor has fallen on its face already, and the pervasive availability of news amongst the Pohm, with their eternal and direct access to the information networks, spreads unrest even more strongly than it would have been otherwise. However, Pohm explorers of the various nations press on their quests to reap new discoveries for their governments.

Raer colonists settle the world dubbed Yalir, founding the first extrasolar colony of their civilization. Explorers press on in the local sector. Unfortunately, back on the home world, a new cult has revealed itself, worshipping Black Rhesc, the ancient folkloric sea-demon. Ordinarily, their dark messages would have been ignored, but a surprising number of grim prophecies have come true, insigificant as they may be. Whether this is the result of coincidence or some elaborate manipulation is yet unknown, but it has hit home with many of the more simple-minded Raer citizens, beginning to fear that perhaps it was not best to ignore their ancient superstitions.

Little news exists for the Seipas Yag as their still-fragile society continues to plod away at rebuilding. Colonial efforts have not been living up to their promises as yet, for the economic situation does not exist in which extrasolar establishments can be made so easily. While the populace keeps its cool for now, things are beginning to not look so good once more. Explorers carry on their missions.

The Undroth carry on minding their own business, founding a new colony in their home sector and producing a defense force on Grut. Their unity knows no bounds, and productivity exceeds all expectations of possibility.

The Lelinthians continue their study of the Hletho under the direction of Fleet Warden Lotholitel and Chief Liason Uk, while Fleet Warden Kelethletel is instructed to continue exploration while the Home Wardens decide what to do with the violent primitives in sector J/C. Fleet Warden Kululuthul engages in his first combat operation, leading his fleet into the mechanoid-controlled system at J/D-L. With lacking support for his military-minded intentions for the past several years, the fleet performs very poorly against the amassed capabilities of the automatons. Slugging it out back and forth, the Lelinthian fleet takes as many hits as it dishes out, up until a critical power failure overcomes the flagship, taking it out of the fight. The rest of the ships battle on, the fight enduring for several hours and littering the local region of space with billions of flecks of metallic debris. Had the flagship not recovered from its malfunctions, it is believed that the battle would have been a disaster. Fortunately, Kululuthul re-engaged the machine force, dealing the killing blow to their presence in space. Surveying the aftermath, Kululuthul found little remaining of his once-mighty fleet, the embarassment and rage he experienced overwhelming the surviving Culud crew and forcing them to tears. The planetary surfaces were bombarded for days, turned to shattered sheets of glass and fuming craters. The surviving few Culud from the other warships were collecting, as well as the only other surviving Warden. Kululuthul opted not to issue a report, instead preparing to confront the Home Wardens directly on their failure to provide an adequate combat fleet for his needs. Back on Lolan, the Culud combat training program produces its first army of warriors, ready for action where ever it might be.

Spoiler The Third Battle of Sneed :

In orbit of occupied Sneed, two Geskani fleets keep watch for incoming attacks as they await further instructions, though with the unexpected situation on the surface of Sneed, the ruling powers of Ges remain in debate. Resistance on the surface, though annoying, proves futile against the much more war-minded Geskani occupation force, few in numbers though they may be.

The arrival of not one, not two, but three! Satellian fleets in the system was a shock, especially so soon after the invasion. It had only been a year, and the Satellians had already prepared themselves for battle, or so it seemed. About a third of the ships present seemed to be collected junk and, even, asteroids with rockets on them. Many of the Satellian ships did not appear particularly well-suited for combat, and appeared to be holding back from what was soon to be a battle. The more combat-ready ships, as well as the should-be-space-junk surged forward toward the Geskani ships in orbit.

One of the Geskani battle groups left orbit to engage them immediately, while the other group scrambled to complete recent repairs before engaging. The first shots were fired by the Geskani, though were ineffective at a distance, mostly seeming to be a warning if anything. The Satellians replied with warning shots of their own, hitting nothing but making the threat that they might in the future. The Satellian fleet in the background moved itself further away from the battle, slinking around and seeming to be heading towards one of the out-lying gas giants. The other Geskani battle group moved into position, what few repairs could be made holding together for now. A few shots at the nearest objects, mostly the junky ships taking the fore of the Satellian attack, tearing an old rocket to bits. The more combat-ready of the Satellian ships finally engaged, firing through the gaps in the wide-spread formation taken up by the derelicts. Their first true entrance into space warfare met with success, some of the leading Geskani escort ships losing reactor containment in the aftermath of the damage done, tearing themselves asunder.

The Geskani seemed infuriated by this, the leading group lunging head-long into combat, ignoring the junk ships and heading straight for the warships, scoring several key hits on some of the outlying vessels, causing them grievous amounts of destruction. One of the larger transports in the derelict group, taking an opportunity of proximity, kicked in a bank of maneuvering rockets to bring itself into the path of a Geskani cruiser, the two ships utterly tearing each other apart from the extreme forces of the impact. The out-lying Satellian ships disappear behind the gas giant as the second Geskani group manages to forcefully deconstruct a small asteroid-ship in the junk group. The Satellian warships fail to make further success in this round of engagement, thrown off by the ferocity of the Geskani attacks.

That ferocity now turned to the junk fleet, currently intermixed with the Geskani first group, though their tracking systems found it difficult to actually find a shot as the whole of the junk fleet began wildly weaving and bobbing about the battlezone. A cargo freighter exploded in close proximity to a Geskani warship, seemingly undamaged previously, and both vessels ceased to be in the aftermath of the micro-star. Disoriented by the blast, the second Geskani group failed to find targets as well, while the Satellian combat group encountered a brief series of communication failures, leading to a lack of substantial damage done to their opponents.

The Geskani first group seemed to be having trouble still finding the weak spots in the Satellian hulls, while the wildly flittering debris began to assail the second group, ships colliding with other ships, taking out two more Geskani warships, while two of the Satellian derelicts actually collided with each other by mistake. Geskani sensors noticed that sneaky third fleet reappearing, having used a gravitational assist from the gas giant to fly around the battle at great speeds, bringing them incredibly close to Sneed. Geskani ships fire on, though one is lost to the pounding of Satellian guns.

The Geskani return to their groove, tearing another combat ship apart, though the second group finds another of its ships failing to evade the flying junks, exploding from incredibly impact forces, while another ship manages to pull far enough away from an exploding freighter to survive with minimal damage. Hundreds of pods begin to descend across the surface of Sneed as the non-combatant Satellian fleet whips around the Snuddian home world. A Geskani ship of the second group meets oblivion as its reactor quite suddenly overloads from cumulative combat damage, while its brethren fight on with minimal effect. The Satellian battle fleet presses its attacks more steadily, reaching its own groove.

Geskani forces fire upon Satellian forces, while Satellian ships fire back, tearing each other straight to bits. What revealed itself as some kind of transport group joins the battle, its own weaponry appearing to join with the combat fleet, while the last of the junk ships find their marks. From here on, the battle looks grim for the Geskani, the second group destroyed by the last of the suicide-ships, the third Satellian group joining the fight. The last few Geskani ships fight bravely, making their final marks in the battle, before succumbing to a warrior's death. The final explosions cause light to glitter across the battlezone, reflected by millions of flecks of hull metal, creating a mesmerizing, scintillating pattern. Several Satellians remark on the surprising beauty of war.

The pods on the surface opened in the strange wildernesses all across Sneed, met by tiny bands of Snuddian insurgents, hurried off to hiding holes in hills and under forests. Supported and directed by the native resistance, the Satellian Anti-Violation Kinship put all of its training the the test, and surprisingly, eliminated the last of the small occupation force without more than a few hundred casualties, most of whom were Snuddian rebels.

Sneed was free again.

Perhaps it was the constant training. Perhaps it was the addition of bleeding-edge technical advancements in defensive systems and armor plating. Perhaps it was the economic input from the now fully-settled Ulumm-Bukk. The battles at Sneed would surely be analyzed for years to come, but for now, the Anti-Violation Kinship and those few ship operators that had managed to get down to the surface were in the middle of a planet-wide celebration. Apparently, in the chaos, the celebrating Snuddian population murdered their former leaders upon their return from hiding, ushering in the opportunity to generate a new political and economic structure around the globe. The stored wealth of those former leaders was already being put to work rebuilding.

The Geskani reeled in their defeat, the final transmissions reaching the leadership on Ges, bringing about massive arguments and several small fights about the failure to defend against prey creatures. Not only had their army blundered in capturing the planet the year prior, but now their space fleets were little more than metallic dust burning up invisibly in Sneed's atmosphere. New warships were called into service, the latest designs being finished and launched from the shipyards. The Geskani won't be beaten so easily!

Bil · Jan 13, 2010

Spoiler AIWEH (Seon) :

Spoiler AMOEBAS (Vertinari118) :

Spoiler BAKO TELLIANS (Thedreadedlock) :

Spoiler CAPRICOCIAL (Thlayli) :

Spoiler DISTOPTERANS (Anonymoose) :

Spoiler GESKANI (TaylorFlame) :

Spoiler HLETHO (Lord_Iggy) :

Spoiler IOKOLU (tuxedohamm) :

Spoiler IVKINGS (bestshot9) :

Spoiler KANT (Shadowbound) :

Spoiler KEKEJI (NPC) :

Spoiler LELINTHIANS (NPC) :

Spoiler MURGLERS (NPC) :

Spoiler NHROAAT SSKRAED (Megaman_zx) :

Spoiler ORINDI (NPC) :

Spoiler PHLEGHESH (NPC) :

Spoiler POHM (North King) :

Spoiler RAER (Haseri) :

Spoiler SATELLIANS (Daftpanzer) :

Spoiler SEIPAS YAG (NPC) :

Spoiler SNUD (NPC) :

Spoiler UNDROTH (NPC) :

Spoiler GALACTIC MAP :

Bil · Jan 13, 2010

A bunch of high-potential systems this turn. Neat!

EXPLORATION RESULTS

Aiweh

G/J-L: "Barely Habitable, Moderately Productive" (2e value)

Capricocials

D/F-M: "Favorably Habitable, Highly Productive" (3.5e value)

Hletho

H/E-T: "Favorably Habitable, Highly Productive" (3.5e value)
I/F-B: "Favorably Habitable, Moderately Productive" (3e value)

Iokolu

F/D-L: "Slightly Habitable, Moderately Productive" (2.5e value)

Kant

C/H-B: "Barely Habitable, Somewhat Productive" (1.5e value) [Phleghesh colony]

Kekeji

C/B-B: "Uninhabitable, Slightly Productive" (0.5e value)
D/D-B: "Barely Habitable, Somewhat Productive" (1.5e value)

Lelinthians

J/B-O: "Slightly Habitable, Highly Productive" (3e value)

Nhroaat SsKraed

J/H-B: "Uninhabitable, Moderately Productive" (1.5e value)

Pohm

F/H-R: "Favorably Habitable, Highly Productive" (3.5e value)
G/G-B: "Barely Habitable, Somewhat Productive" (1.5e value)

Raer

E/I-T: "Favorably Habitable, Highly Productive" (3.5e value)

Seipas Yag

C/B-T: "Uninhabitable, Slightly Productive" (0.5e value)
E/A-R: "Barely Habitable, Somewhat Productive" (1.5e value)

Bil · Jan 13, 2010

Update: Up!
Stats: Up!
Map: Up!
Exploration: ~~Soon!~~ Up!

I changed a couple things on the map, like the color used to mark Satellian planets (making it more of a sky blue, like their ships, so it doesn't become confusing). I changed the Capricocial color to gold, as requested, and change the ship sprite to be one of appropriate color. Changed the Kant sprite to one provided by Shadowbound.

If anyone else has a custom sprite they'd like to use, send it my way!

If anyone finds any problems at all, let me know!

I stopped writing about what you guys find in systems, because I think it might be more interesting for you to write about it yourselves, if you so choose.

TaylorFlame · Jan 13, 2010

The Singularity salutes the brave Geskani that laid down their lives fighing the alien aggressor. Their sacrifice will not be in vain.

Lord_Iggy · Jan 13, 2010

OOC: Why would a martial species like the Geskani need to paint themselves as victims of 'the alien aggressor'?

Great update Bil!

Daftpanzer · Jan 13, 2010

Aggressor, yeah

I just want my trade route back!

Wonderful update Bil, and I'm not just saying that because my expedition was a success

. I really enjoyed reading the Third Battle of Sneed as you might imagine, but I don't mind if you don't want to go into that level of detail again, you know, assuming there will be even bigger space wars in future

. I for one am quite happy to fill in details between the results. Although I know what its like to have an update magically expand on you.

Bil · Jan 13, 2010

I actually didn't mind writing that whole segment about the battle, but it made me feel like I was skimping out everyone else by not giving them big detailed sections. I feel like the battles, though, since they're entirely on me to resolve, deserve that kind of attention. So, I hope nobody felt left out, but especially considering the equally-as-large PM you sent me detailing Satellian strategy, I think it was justified.

Future battles will probably be just as detailed, if not more so. The Kant/Phleghesh battles would have likely had just as long of an entry, had the Phleghesh fleets really had a chance to begin with.

Bil · Jan 13, 2010

Also, I think it's kind of neat that there are two big wars going on in opposite parts of the galaxy, while the other two "quadrants" are relatively quiet. At least, for now, I suppose.

Next deadline on the 24th? Or should I push it back an extra week, since I took half of this week to update?

I don't mind making it the 31st, as it will give everyone lots of time to write stories, which I like very much. How's about it?

Shadowbound · Jan 13, 2010

Wee, except for the part where the Phleghesh ran away like sissies, everything went according to plan.

tuxedohamm · Jan 13, 2010

I'm happy with what happened, Bil. That's about what I had in mind. Lukoli-xxxxx is the general pattern for a colonizing ship. I will probably continue the patter of explore and colonize in this sector.

Lord_Iggy · Jan 13, 2010

Question: Did the trade routes I suggested start, or have they not started because the other end hasn't confirmed yet?

Bil · Jan 13, 2010

They have not yet started, because the other sides haven't agreed to anything yet.

The Lelinthians won't, not for a while anyway.

Lord_Iggy · Jan 13, 2010

Lord_Iggy · Jan 13, 2010

Bil · Jan 14, 2010

I'm guessing light coloration is explored by, dark coloration is inhabited by? I was actually thinking about making a similar map, though mostly for my own amusement. Cool work, though, Iggy

Glad to see you're keeping track of the explored routes between systems near Hletho space, also. Handy

Lord_Iggy · Jan 14, 2010

Well, the idea is that less transparent colour is one's 'core region' which is the most well known space containing all inhabited systems, and that the more transparent colour is a group's force projection, which is probably quite similar to their explorations. I haven't kept full records of everyone's exploration, except for my own. The idea of my map is that it shows the hyperspace buoy network which allows for near-instantaneous signal communication through Hletho Space. There are a few minor points where the buoy network diverges from my travel, such as some additional connections I've made between the colonies, the lack of a network between Lolan and Warkhad (jumped without warning and wasn't able to get a bearing), and a connection between Melokhad/Urue Aih and Sethkhad, which is where the Rhetho recovered contact with the Thaej Alliance.

Lord_Iggy · Jan 14, 2010

The Growing Fleet

Hiuvus Zoorn rolled from one side to the other of his room. The shipyard director was inundated with work, with the recent construction booms and the approaching completion of the Hrkan Military Startraveler.

The outer reaches of Thaej’s orbit were packed- relatively speaking. The Fleet of the Lelinthian Warden calling herself ‘Lotholitel’ remained docked, and several Culud regularly traveled to the station- a few had been brought down to the planet as guests. The Startraveler Zoroth was back in the very yard in which its construction had taken place, undergoing a variety of upgrades and retrofits, and rumour had it that the Hraef would be returning soon as well. The extremely modular design techniques of the Hletho made this a particularly effective exercise. The many recesses of its hull, some of which had previously held survey equipment, now held a variety of the new weapons developed for the Stellar Navy of the Thaej Alliance. Two high-powered lasers were being installed now, to compliment a battery of smaller point defense lasers. Lovely how it all fit together...

The armaments proposed for the vessels were extremely varied. Over the course of several years of testing, a general weaponry plan had been developed by the Alliance. Large lasers existed to deal out heavy damage at range, with their smaller counterparts intended to work against any potential small hostile vessels, or to protect the ship from any incoming harmful objects. Mass drivers existed as a standard short-range weapon, but many questions were being raised regarding their potential effectiveness. Much more promising were projectile charges, which could be fired onto targets, attach themselves to the hull, then detonate, rupturing the interior and placing tremendous stress on the hull. Experimental ‘Saboteur’ Drones occupied one of the Zir bays, but the latest developments were only just being manufactured. Commonly known as ‘shotgun sand’, this military tool was a coilgun which fired superheated metal shards in a wide pattern. Ironically, despite all the effort placed into developing more ‘sophisticated’ weapons, in the vast majority of tests simply throwing tiny debris head on into oncoming targets was just as, if not vastly more effective than firing a mass driver.

Hiuvus looked at a report on his console. The Lelinthian vessel’s gravity well was disturbing the structure of its pier- again. If it wasn’t accidentally pushing the shipyard out of its steady orbit, it was doing something like this. He would quite like to have a look inside the craft to see what was so dense within it... but the Lelinthians were rather secretive about it. Somewhat irritating. Hiuvus dispatched a Zir group to counteract the stresses acting on the huge beam, extending out into space.

Enjoying a brief calm moment, Hiuvus took a look at the Hrkan. Its new engines flashed brightly, as its initial operating tests began.

It would be fun to fly it...

SLYNES - Swirly Lights Yonder, a Never Ending Story

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